Author's Note:
I'M BACK, BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE!
...don't know why, but I felt like saying that. Or singing that. Don't judge me. Dumb song's been stuck in my head, for whatever reason.
So as you may know, or as you may NOT know...this coming Sunday, on Christmas Eve, marks the two-year anniversary of this story, Smash Life. To be honest, I never would imagine in a million years I would be writing up to this point, but here we are now...
Although I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter, I will be writing yet another excruciatingly long author's note for this chapter. Therefore, any reviews for chapter 104 will be answered in the author's note for chapter 106. Not that it would be a big deal, considering I haven't received that many guest reviews as I did in the past. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...but as long as people are still reading the story, then I can't complain. Otherwise, I would be petty!
I can only assume that most of you will gloss over this author's note, just to get to the story. Sometimes, I wonder if you even read the author's notes at all. But that won't stop me at all from writing this, so if you wanna skip over this entire note, then go ahead and be my guest, nobody's stopping you...
This time around, I don't really have a story to tell you. Last time, I told you guys about the inspiration I had for writing this story - about how I discovered perhaps the greatest sitcom after Seinfeld, "The Office" - two years after the series finale - just from looking up John Krasanki after watching his performance on "Lip Sync Battle", and how I wanted to make a "mockumentary" fanfic series using Super Smash Bros. I know you don't want me to tell that story again.
And I would tell you guys the story of how I first discovered Super Smash Bros, but I bet none of you would care to read about that. Let's just say that I first played Super Smash Bros at my cousin's house, and leave it at that.
So at this point, you're probably thinking, "What is CrashGuy01 even going to write in this author's note anyways?" Or maybe you're thinking about the presents under the Christmas tree, and you're just dying to open them on Christmas Day because you're so much into the holiday spirit just like I am. One time, on Christmas Day, five years ago, I woke up around 6:30 in the morning - earlier than everyone else - and hopped out of the bed, ready to open some gifts...before being told to head back to bed. Yeah, I'm that kind of guy sometimes.
But enough needless blabbering. I bet you're beyond bored at this point, and I can't say I blame you. So allow me to use this author's note as a means to reflect upon the year 2017...
What has happened during the year of 2017? Let's see...Donald Trump was sworn into office, Tom Brady won yet another Super Bowl (bleh...), Kendrick Lamar pretty much cemented himself as the best rapper in the rap game right now, I got accepted into the University of South Carolina - whose basketball teams made spectacular runs in the March Madness basketball tournaments, with the women's team winning the championship - and my boys, the Hardy Boyz, returned to WWE at Wrestlemania. Perhaps the greatest moment for me as a wrestling fan...I still remember shrieking like a little girl when Jeff Hardy appeared on stage. Frankly I didn't recognize the Hardyz theme song before the Hardyz appeared, but oh well.
And what has happened during the year of 2017 in Smash Life? Hmm...Luigi and Daisy become parents, Organization XIII did their invasion thingy, Mario and Peach had their disastrous wedding day, Jakob was being a total jerk to everyone, Dr. Eggman wanted to seek revenge, and then there was the 100th episode. Which I thought I did an underwhelming job in. But that's just me, some of you might think otherwise.
I will admit, there were times when I thought I totally phoned it in when writing this story. Thought I phoned it in while writing the 77th and 78th chapters, when the Heartless invasion was taking place. Thought I phone it in while writing chapter 86. Thought I mailed it in while writing the aforementioned 100th chapter, trying to make it some kind of special attraction. Thought I mailed it in while writing a few other chapters.
Admittedly, there were times when I felt overly self-conscious about my own work. I wouldn't tell you all this if I was lying. I'm pretty sure most other fanfic writers out there feel self-conscious from time to time. Sometimes you have to feel self-conscious, in order to fully understand the true value and worth of your own abilities.
But overall, I think that I had perhaps the best chapters of Smash Life this year, particularly from chapters 55 to at least 73 or 74. (I probably wouldn't include chapter 72 though, I didn't like that chapter. Sucked compared to the others.) That was a time - from the start of January, all the way to around the middle of May - that I truly enjoyed writing Smash Life, felt like I was writing something truly special. I'd like to consider that 18-19 chapter stretch to be the prime of Smash Life, unless someone can convince me otherwise.
I believe that this story's best and funniest moments happened during those chapters, and I in fact deem chapter 69 to be perhaps the best chapter I've ever wrote for this story, even though Derick Lindsey said that chapter 67 was the best one to date. He has a good point - I mean, Yoshi using a magical book to make his twisted pairings come to life? Why didn't I think of that myself?!
And the reviews...well, what can I say? 782 reviews, that's a pretty big number. That's like, seven and a half reviews per chapter! (And yes, I use a calculator to determine how many reviews I get per chapter; again, don't judge me.) Last year, I was geeking out over the idea of closing in on 300 reviews...and now I'm on my way to 800! Got some awesome fans out there, man. I remember one night, I was looking at the number of reviews, 487...
...and when I log into my account the very next day, after a very long day, I see that number rise to 497! That really caught me by surprise. Those days, I was getting lots of reviews...and I felt kinda spoiled. Didn't think I deserved that many. But like I said, I got some awesome fans...the reviews may not be coming in as much nowadays, but as stated earlier, as long as people are still invested in the story, then I won't gripe at all.
And now, without sounding like an egregious kiss-up, there are some people I feel like thanking...
-BlackLouie, an awesome dude I met while writing a story over on the Crash Bandicoot archive. He was probably two of my most faithful readers, reviewed almost every chapter. BlackLouie, if you're reading this, I'm hoping to publish the sequel to the Crash story before the end of the week, so keep your eyes peeled buddy!
-SammerKingdom, for giving me the suggestion of having Toon Link and Young Link as buddy cops. Your suggestion might've saved the two Links, since I literally would have nothing planned for them to do.
-Smasherfan88, for giving me suggestions week after week after week. Happy to see you've gotten yourself a Fanfiction account and writing Smash stories.
-The anonymous guest reviewer who supplies with me loads of suggestions on a weekly basis. Wish I could know your name, but if you don't want to reveal it, then it's fine with me.
-Darth Sigma 86, for recommending that I add the guys and gals from Tokyo Mirage Sessions to the story. If not for your suggestion, I would be struggling in regards to writing about Fox and Falco.
-YoKaiShoubiao, for creating a TV Tropes page for this story...a page in need for some wiki love. Screw my laziness...
-Roydigs22, for your very...Lucario-centric requests. I still remember you getting on me for having Lucario and Gardevoir an item, despite being in different egg groups. Pokemon breeding is the one thing about Pokemon I don't quite understand, so it's safe to say that I ain't no Professor Elm...
-And another thank you to everyone who favorited/followed this story this year - super legenda, Strange Toast, Frozenprince45, Fictionman101, Megaheracross2.1, Lolster239, ShockNinja227, Ally Nicole Rose, ronald103, williambash, and many, many others. Another thank you to those who have been here from the very beginning, and along the way.
This chapter will be another year-end chapter, containing characters and moments that helped shape this story in 2017. Not everyone or everything will be included - had to make some omissions, so I could finish the chapter on time. I always try to finish before or around midnight nowadays, so that I could have the rest of Friday to myself...on most Fridays, I wind up regretting finishing chapters earlier than I should. Writing keeps me from being bored. This chapter is, not including this author's note, close to 20,000 words - the most I've written in one chapter for any story I've ever done. So hopefully, I have my work cut out for me. And on a related note, I'm pooped. But as the old saying goes, hard work pays off!
And now that I've reached the end of this author's note - I bet you're rejoicing right now - I must close things out, by wishing everyone a safe and blessed Merry Christmas. Would wish everyone a Happy New Year, but I'll be back next week after Christmas, so what's the point...
...but that's all from me. Enjoy the chapter, everyone!
Episode 105: Redemption
Tonight was finally the night - the night in which Master Hand's holiday concert spectacular was going to begin. Master Hand had hyped up his glorious concert ever since he announced it - went about telling people in Seattle, hijacked billboards to promote the concert, and even hijacked the Seattle radio stations as well. Disc jockeys a many were all lining up to sue Master Hand for hijacking their programs.
The concert, which also included Master Hand's proposed play, had performers from Star Records - Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, Yashiro, Little Mac, and Knuckles - with DJ Octavio as the DJ. Those participating in the Christmas play included the Duck Hunt Dog as Rudolph, Snake as Ebeneezer Scrooge, Robin as Jack Frost, Donkey Kong as Frosty the Snowman, and Cilan as the Grinch.
What was the plot exactly? Nobody knew - quite frankly, no one didn't even want to know what the plot was! The random blend of characters was concerning enough to quell the excitement, if there was even any.
As preparations for the concert were still being made, one of the performers, Knuckles, was feeling down in the dumps. The echidna unfortunately broke up with Rouge after the events of the previous episode, upon learning that his woman happened to be in love with Shadow. The gift the edgy hedgehog received from Rouge seemed to have confirmed it. Knuckles couldn't stand to be in a relationship with a woman who couldn't be faithful to him, and decided to move on from Rouge, although moving on was hard for him to do.
Knuckles: Today marks the one-week anniversary of my breakup with Rouge. We had to leave on mutual terms, and I think Rouge was more crestfallen about the breakup than I was. But, the woman has to learn her lesson, and I have to learn what it's like to be single again...perhaps Captain Falcon can give me some advice. Provided he doesn't encourage me to start a business to cope with my feelings, and end up behind bars afterwards.
"Ah, what could have been, what could have been..." Yoshi sighed, as he hung up the last of his drawings on his wall in his room. These drawings were depictions of the oddball pairings he formed in episode 67 - Link and Samus, Aerith and Ike, Shadow and Dixie Kong, Mr. Game and Watch and Malva, etc. Said pairings came to existence because of the book Yoshi wrote in, provided by Organization XIII. Knuckles entered the room, and saw what Yoshi was up to.
"I thought you were done with your stupid pairings, why did you have to draw pictures of them?" questioned Knuckles; everyday the echidna wondered how he ended up having Yoshi as a roommate. "Stop dwelling in the past!"
"Like you're the one too talk - every time I see you in this room, you're always moping about breaking up with Rouge! So who are you two talk about?"
"Whoever said I was moping about Rouge, I'm just...trying to cope with being single, that's all. Rouge is in the past, and now I gotta keep my mind and focus on the future...if I can even do that, that is. Life being single is hard!"
"You're making it seem like being single is one of the worst burdens a person can bear! I have been single all my life, but do you ever see me complaining? Nope, I don't think so! And don't even bring up Birdo, that freak doesn't deserve to be my..."
"You called, sweetie?" a voice called out, as Yoshi nervously turned his head towards the bedroom door. It was Birdo, Yoshi's girlfriend that Yoshi does not consider to be his girlfriend. "Found you right where I want you - now come to my loving arms, lover boy!"
"SAVE ME!" screamed Yoshi as he opened the bedroom window and hopped out, with Birdo also escaping through the window and chasing her man. With the annoying roommate in Yoshi gone, likely to be held up by Birdo for the rest of the day, Knuckles hopped on his bed, letting out a sigh.
The echidna, lying back first on his comfy bed, would look up at the ceiling, and reflect for a good while. He had to be at Master Hand's holiday concert, and Master Hand was depending on Knuckles to absolutely deliver in that Rudolph rap song. But Knuckles wasn't in the right mind frame for rapping, and felt like skipping the concert entirely. Master Hand wouldn't be happy about that, not at all.
"Anyone in-a here?" an Italian voice inquired, as Mario stepped inside the room. He saw Knuckles lying on his bed, and knew that the echidna was thinking to himself. "You should know-a better than to leave your bed-a room door open - you won't believe the many times-a Peach saw my...extremities, after I take a shower."
"Oh hey Mario, nice of you to join me," said Knuckles, briefly looking up at the plumber. Mario's company - or any company, for that matter - was always more welcome than Yoshi's. "I've been thinking about boycott the concert tonight, don't think I can do it...don't have the right mindset, if you know what I mean."
"Sorry about you and-a Rouge breaking up. I deserve-a some of the blame for having Shadow tell-a everyone about his date, and not telling him-a the truth earlier. Should have nipped the whole-a thing in the bud..."
"Nah, Mario, you don't have to apologize, the writing was on the wall already. The fact that Rouge would even agree to a date with Shadow of all people was telling. Had I found out about Rouge's untrustworthy nature before, I would be feeling even more devastated...then again, I should always expect 'untrustworthy' from Rouge anyways."
"NO IT CAN'T BE, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" a loud voice boomed throughout the mansion, shaking the foundation. It was enough to make Knuckles fall out of his bed. "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE TODAY?!"
"That must have certainly come from Master Hand - only he can have his voice boom throughout the mansion like that," remarked Cappy, just as startled as Mario and Knuckles were. "Wonder if he's freaking out over anything concerning the concert...better not be anything petty!"
Bowser: As per tradition, I'm bringing back my list - the List of Bowser 2.0 - to scribble down the names of more stupid idiots to my list during the holiday season! I already wrote Rouge's name down, just for playing Knuckles AND Shadow like fiddles. Playing Knuckles is one thing, but playing Shadow? You're just asking for a Chaos Control to come his way. I'm surprised Shadow was willing to spare Rouge...unless that Shadow was an IMPOSTER!
Just like the Sweeney Todd play, you had to pay to get inside the lecture hall to see the concert, unless you were a resident of the mansion. Manning the ticket stand was Zelda and Fiora, wearing adorable Santa hats. The concert was two hours away from the start time, and the two ladies were bored. A short man with a large afro, funky-looking glasses, and some '70s style clothing approached the stand, strutting his stuff.
"Is it too early to enter this prestigious hall?" asked the short man, as Zelda and Fiora peered over to see the man. "Well like they always say, the early bird gets the worm! One ticket for the Christmas concert, please!" Zelda and Fiora were able to see through the short man's disguise...
"Cortex we both know it's you, so drop the act," Zelda said to the mad scientist, who sheepishly took off his glasses. "Just so you're aware, those living in the mansion are allowed inside for free, while everyone else has to pay for a ticket. The perks of being a resident sometimes..."
"Why that sounds lovely! Usually vendors at carnivals refuse to let me on free rides, which is what leads me to destroy and take over their amusement park with an iron fist! Thank you for being good Samaritans, Zelda and...lovely blonde girl I see around the mansion every Friday or so." Cortex still didn't know who Fiora was, much to Fiora's chagrin. "I'm sure this concert will be a blast..."
Before Cortex could enter the lecture hall, he was tackled to the floor by the buddy cops, Toon Link and Young Link. Toon Link would hold Cortex down, as his partner Young Link cuffed up the evil genius.
"You are under arrest, for practicing jaywalking indoors!" Young Link informed Cortex - what kind of criminal offense was that?! The Hylian brought Cortex up to his feet, as he ripped off his afro. "Don't think that committing such a heinous crime in your throwback attire will negate your deviance!"
"This is a conspiracy, how is practicing jaywalking indoors a crime? How do you even practice jaywalking to begin with?! I demand an explanation!" Cortex wouldn't get one, as Toon Link and Young Link walked the mad scientist away. All while Uka watched from afar, with Berkut standing by.
"You see that Berkut, you see what I have to put up with all these years?" Uka asked the paladin, who understood Uka's pain. "I wish to leave Cortex and leave him in the dust, but at the same time, he would be hopeless without me...he would have been dead had I not joined him."
"Cortex might be bad to deal with, but he can't be any worse than Alm...I would honestly kill to see that bloke on his dying breath," said Berkut; it seemed like he and Uka were slowly starting to get along with one another. Slowly, but surely.
Inside the lecture hall, Bowser was writing down the names of spectators on his list. What did the spectators do to deserve their names on the list, you might ask? Being the first to show up at a concert that was set to begin two hours from now, of course!
"What is WRONG with you people, why show up so early for?!" Bowser angrily asked the spectators, most of whom were too busy noodling on their phones. "You're just like those perfect freaks from public, always showing up to class on time and answer questions in class...you're too dedication, and over-dedication will be the ultimate downfall of mankind. Just you wait and see!"
Man: I had my name added to "the List of Bowser" just for sitting in the back of the lecture hall. Bowser told me that I would be too far away from the action. What about you?
Woman: I got added to the list for sitting in the front row! Was accused of being "too perfect". Seems like Bowser would add you to the list just for sneezing.
Bowser was craving, he was craving for more names to add to his list. He had already added the spectator's names, and now, the Koopa King was searching for more. He was wishing for someone to enter the lecture hall, and soon his wish would come true, when a Mexican dude with blonde hair entered the lecture hall, delighted to see Bowser.
"Bowser, nice seeing you again!" the Mexican greeted the Koopa King, holding out his hand; Bowser would reluctantly shake it. The Mexican dude was Favela, the famous dog whisperer who guided Bowser in "conditioning" his "dog" Sonic in episode 64, when Bowser and Sonic stayed at the mansion while everyone else was on vacation. "How have you been? Is everything going well with you? Hope you've been having a blessed holiday so far."
"Uh, same to you, man," Bowser said after he was done shaking Favela's hand. What business did the Mexican dog whisperer Favela have at the mansion? Was he here for the concert? If so, then how did he know about it?
"I see that you're wondering why I'm back again - you see, the owner of the mansion, Master Hand, extended an invitation to me asking to come to his concert. He was very demanding, and so I decided to come here and see the concert for myself. Now I must ask you...how are things coming along with you and Jose?"
"How did Master Hand even know about you...oh yeah, my pet dog, Jose! The two of us have been getting along a lot better ever since you gave me your guidance." Bowser saw Sonic walk by, and snatched him and brought him close to him. "Isn't that right, good pet dog of mine?"
"Bowser what are you doing, I'm not your pet dog..." said Sonic, trying to escape from Bowser's grip, but to no avail.
"Shut up and play along..." Bowser whispered to Sonic, before redirecting his attention to Favela, sporting a grin. "But yeah, we never would have bonded well if it weren't for you. I have been making Jose submit to my dominance, just like you taught me!"
"Very good, very good!" Favela nodded his head, glad that Bowser was improving his relationship with "Jose". The Koopa King was certainly moving along in the right direction. "Obviously I came to the lecture hall, so I'll just look around and see what this mansion has to offer. Have a great rest of your day, Bowser!"
"You too man!" Bowser called out to Favela, who exited the lecture hall. Once the dog whisperer was gone, Bowser released his hold on Sonic, letting the hedgehog go. "Thank you for playing along Sonic, you're a real lifesaver!"
"Wish I could say the same about you...too bad that's not even possible," remarked Sonic, dusting his shoulders off, as he went on his way. As Bowser added the names of Favela and Sonic to his list, another person would enter the lecture hall, and greet the Koopa King.
"What's up Bowser, how you been?" greeted this person, alarming the Koopa King and catching him by surprise. This person was Tobias, who along with his classmates was given free tuition by Bowser. Albeit inadvertently. "Doing good?"
"Doing just fine, can't complain!" replied Bowser, who noticed that Tobias was wearing a University of Washington hoodie. Go Huskies! "Got accepted into the University of Washington, eh?"
"That's right, and I'm majoring in political science, just like former president Barack Obama did. Told you I'm gonna be U.S. President one day! I would never chase my dreams if it weren't for you!" Of all the nice things Bowser seldom did, helping a bunch of students get to college might be the koopa's proudest achievement.
Tobias: Heard about the holiday concert on the radio; that concert was overhyped on every radio station in town, and maybe even throughout King County! Since I figured Bowser would be at the mansion where the concert was held, I thought...why not pay my guardian angel a quick visit?
Mario and Knuckles entered the lecture hall, looking for Master Hand, but the giant hand was nowhere to be found. Ayaha would walk by, glancing at her clipboard.
"Ayaha have you seen-a Master Hand anywhere around here?" Mario would ask the Star Records secretary, hoping she would have the answer. "I heard-a his booming voice all the way-a from Knuckles' room."
"Yeah, I think just about everyone in the mansion heard Master Hand," replied Ayaha, who felt her ears still ringing. Better bring some ear plugs, just to be safe. "Apparently he's crying over some 'guest performer', who he claimed was kidnapped. He's backstage if you wanna speak with him."
So Mario and Knuckles headed backstage, and saw Master Hand crying, or at least making crying sounds. Itsuki was there to comfort the giant hand, patting him gently.
"It's okay, Master Hand, I'm positive she'll show up later," Itsuki soothed the giant hand; his face seemed to suggest that the young man was forced to be with Master Hand and console him during his time of despair. That, or Ayaha put him up to it.
"But what if she doesn't show up in time, what if she's gone forever?" fretted Master Hand, as Mario and Knuckles neared towards him. "Then my holiday concert, or musical, or whatever you want to call it, will be ruined forever!"
"What appears to be-a the problem, Mr. Aoi?" Mario would ask the young man, as Master Hand continued making his strange crying sounds. Sounded like the giant hand was crying for the first time; Master Hand thought too highly of himself to ever cry.
"Master Hand had Aerith use the teleportation device, and teleport some singer to the mansion for the concert," explained Itsuki. "The singer, Master Hand said, was supposed to be a guest performer - saved for the concert's final act. An attraction that would give people their money's worth. While everyone was rehearsing and whatnot...the singer just vanished! Master Hand assumed she was kidnapped."
"Mind telling us who this singer was?" asked Knuckles. No point in looking for the singer if Itsuki didn't provide a name.
"I think her name was Joanne, though I've been told by Fox and Falco that's not her real name, it's more of an alias." The name Joanne certainly struck intrigue in fear in Knuckles. "She was in the recording studio, rehearsing with the idol singers, and then just like that...boom! Gone in an instant. DJ Octavio's not here, so he's no suspect."
"Sorry if I ask, but who is this Joanne chick, and why is she so important?" asked Cappy, not that all familiarized with the singer.
"Joanne is just some incognito pop singer who was brought to the mansion in the week leading up to the Super Bowl," explained Knuckles, fondly remembering Joanne singing in the gaming room. "Just so she could make Viridi happy. Though it's hard to make that girl happy...and I should know from experience!"
"If you want, Master Hand, we can work-a with Layton and Luke, and find-a out where Joanne could be," Mario said to Master Hand, giving him a shred of confidence that Joanne will be found. A very small shred of confidence, but any confidence was better than nothing. "I know you care a great-a deal about your concert, and we wouldn't want you to make-a last minute changes!"
"Greatly appreciate it, Mario...I'm counting on you and Knuckles to find Joanne before the concert starts," Master Hand said, as Mario responded with a nod. "Granted she'll be saved for last, but I want her to be as ready as she can be once the concert begins!"
Master Hand: Don't get me wrong, the idol singers are all great in their own respective ways, but they aren't "all that" - not like their singing voices will instantly blow you away, like Alicia Keys or that guy who sings "Take on Me" by A-ha. Which is why I recruited Joanne, to show those singers how it's really done. I've designated her to be the main attraction of the concert, and without her, my concert would be an instant failure!
Mario and Knuckles would meet up with the two British detectives, Layton and Luke, in their room. They discussed the matter regarding Joanne's supposed kidnapping, and began hypothesizing as to why the singer was kidnapped, and what purpose her kidnapping would serve.
"Let's go over a list of who Joanne's supposed kidnappers could be," said Layton, holding up a list of suspects. "Bowser? Can't be him, he's more obsessed with winning over Lara than anything. King Dedede? Not like he would want a singer singing to him anyways. Dr. Cortex? He has been complaining about undergoing 'villain decay', but I don't think kidnapping Joanne would restore his faith in being a villain. Has Joanne ever been kidnapped before?"
"She was once kidnapped before...by mistake," answered Knuckles, as he cracked his knuckles. Heh heh... "When Organization XIII was meddling around trying to snatch Aerith, they infiltrated the gaming room without warning and kidnapped Joanne instead of Aerith, because they were in the dark. Can't remember who rescued Joanne, but apparently I've heard that Corrin had something to do with it."
"What about Cackletta, Fawful's old master?" theorized Luke; Cackletta once tried to steal Peach's voice, just so she could awaken the Beanstar - the protector of the Beanbean Kingdom - and grant her evil wish. Thankfully Mario and Luigi ruined her plans. "Kamek did bring Fawful back from the dead, so what if he did the same for Cackletta?"
"I doubt that would be the case-a if that were true," replied Mario, familiar with Fawful's undying loyalty to Cackletta. He would ask a Beanish girl out on a date if the evil witch ordered him to. "Fawful is known-a for being extremely loyal to Cackletta, and if Cackletta were alive, Fawful would have no business working with-a Dr. Eggman."
Suddenly a knock was at the front door. Layton went to the door and opened it, greeted by three familiar faces - a large green crocodile, a purple chameleon, and a bee flying in the air.
"Ah, Team Chaotix, welcome!" Layton would say to Vector, Espio, and Charmy with a smile. "Come on inside, we have enough room for you!" Team Chaotix would enter the room, acknowledging Mario, Knuckles, and Luke. "So what brings you back to the mansion?"
"Master Hand informed us about his concert, and asked if we wanted to come," explained Vector, taking a seat on Layton's bed. "And when I say Master Hand asked, I mean that he straight up implored us to come to the concert, in a very demanding way."
"Many others are expected to come too," added Espio, also seated on Layton's bed, with his arms folded. Charmy was too excited to even take a seat. "Heihachi's grandson and his supposed girlfriend, Lightning Farron and her crew, the kahunas and trial captains from Alola, Caeda and her lady friends, and some others I'm forgetting. Master Hand sent us a full list of people he invited."
Vector: My memories of Christmas aren't so fond...there was this one time when my boys and I went on a undercover mission at some mall, and I had to dress up as Santa Claus. Charmy and Espio, they had to be my elves. Anyways, I was in the mall, greeting kids and letting them sit on my lap and have them tell me what they wanted for Christmas...and this ONE KID had the gall to ask me about my teeth. Who does that kid think I am, that wolf from Little Red Riding Hood? All caught up in the moment, I immediately went off on the poor guy, and his mom saw me tearing his son up and whacked me with a purse, repeatedly...No, Espio and Charmy didn't see, thankfully - when they asked about the bruises on my body, I just told them that some parent tried to give me a wolverine as a pet. Charmy instantly bought the excuse, but Espio, not so much...
"So fellas, what are you investigating today?" Vector asked, slightly craving the idea of cracking a holiday-related case. "Did someone steal gifts from underneath the Christmas tree? We have done stuff like that before, and trust me, it ain't easy!"
"Actually, we're dealing with some-a thing more serious," answered Mario, making Vector's eyes grow wide. How could anything be more serious than stolen gifts? "Master Hand had brought this-a singer named Joanne to the mansion, to sing at his-a concert, and Joanne has mysteriously gone-a missing...Master Hand assumed that she was-a kidnapped."
"Did you say 'kidnapped'?" asked Charmy, as the bee took out some photos. Might be just what Mario and company needed. "While Vector and Espio spoke with Luigi, I found this guy snooping around the mansion...took some pictures of him on my camera." So Charmy would reveal his pictures to the others, greatly alarming everyone by who this mystery person was...
...it was some guy dressed in a black cloak - a cloak that, by appearance, belonged to Organization XIII. This mysterious fellow was seen carrying a sack in all of the pictures, looking around to see if anyone was looking. Interestingly enough, Joanne was carried around in a sack when she was kidnapped.
"Organization XIII is back at it again, huh?" said Espio, stroking his chin. Organization XIII already caused trouble once before, and now it seemed like they were back to their old, usual ways. "Either they left behind an extra cloak at the mansion by accident and someone just decided to wear it, or they found another way into our universe."
"Let's hope it's not the latter - I'd hate to fight legions of Heartless again!" said Knuckles; the echidna loved to kick some butt, but Heartless were the only exception. "Do have to admit, fighting them was a good workout..."
"Sir Mario?" Isabelle's voice was heard from behind the bedroom door. The door opened, as Isabelle poked her head inside the room. "There you are Mario, I've been told that you would be here! Not sure if you knew this already, but I'll just tell you anyways...Master Hand invited a lot of people to the mansion, and many of them are coming right now."
"Yes, Espio has informed-a me already," said Mario, making Isabelle's job easier for her. Regardless, Espio beat Isabelle to the punch. Therefore he should replace Isabelle as Master Hand's assistant. "Anything else I need-a to know?"
"This is, but I'm not sure how you will react to it...our former resident forensics expert, Ema Skye, just arrived and wishes to speak with you when you're available."
The name "Ema Skye" nearly caught Mario off by surprise. The plumber remembered back in episode 77, when Ema betrayed Mario and company, and sold out to Organization XIII as a means to advance their Heartless invasion. All because she was guaranteed that Mia Fey, a late friend of Phoenix Wright, would be brought back to life. Alas, it was all done for naught, as the Organization played with Ema for their own interests.
Ema might be wanting to give Mario a heartfelt apology, and ask for forgiveness. Should Mario accept the apology or not?
Isabelle would take Mario to Master Hand's room, where the plumber would find Ema Skye, standing by herself. The forensics expert was looking remorseful, like she considered herself unworthy to be standing in the presence of Mario after the act she had done almost thirty episodes ago. No point of backing down - she came to the mansion for a reason.
Ema: Admittedly, I was nervous about returning to the mansion...was afraid I might get put on blast instantly when someone answered the front door. But instead of someone like Mario or Fox or anyone else opening the front door...I was suddenly greeted by an orange marsupial wearing jean shorts and sneakers. Was told by Isabelle that his name was Crash Bandicoot. Speaking of Isabelle, she was the second person I saw upon my return, and I told her that I wished to make amends with Mario and Master Hand, and pretty much everyone else. I was told that Mario was the only one available...so I'll just speak with him.
"Hello, Mr. Mario, haven't seen you in a long while..." Ema started things off, as Isabelle closed the door. Locked it just for good measure. "How have you been the last time I saw you?"
"Aside from-a Dr. Eggman sabotaging my wedding and me moving out with-a Peach...everything has been-a swell," replied Mario, daring not to tell Ema about Jakob causing ruckus. It would probably take him forever. "How are things coming along-a with you?"
"Oh, you know, still doing that forensics stuff...granted my reputation has taken a hit ever since everyone found out about my involvement with Organization XIII, but I'm still on the job, so that's good."
"Good to hear, good to hear...I've heard from-a Isabelle that you wish-a to speak with me, is that-a correct? Say it now, or forever hold-a your piece..."
"Yes, I do have something I wish to get off my chest...I know I've apologized to everyone before after the whole Heartless conundrum was finished, but I just want to apologize again, for selling out to the Organization like I did. Thought my initial apology wasn't heartfelt enough..."
"Anything else that you want-a me to know?" Mario wanted to make sure Ema had everything off her chest. Put any grievances to bed.
"In addition to my apology, I'm also asking for...forgiveness, for what I did. Wanted you, and the others, to forgive me, that's all." After taking everything into consideration, Mario would make up his mind...
"Fine then - Ema Skye, on behalf-a of myself, and everyone-a affected, I accept-a your apology. Your heart-a felt apology, rather." A wave of certainty would rush over Ema, as the forensics expert let out a sigh of relief. Glad that was out of the way. "I will also forgive-a you of all your previous misconduct...but on one-a condition."
"And what condition might that be?" Ema was hoping that this condition was nothing drastic - wanted it to be simple, sweet, and to the point, so she could get this whole thing over with.
"You have to do-a me a huge solid first. Let me fill-a you in...so Master Hand, he has this Christmas-a concert today, and he 'recruited' this singer named-a Joanne to be his 'guest performer'. But Joanne is missing, and Master Hand is afraid-a that she might've been kidnapped! So since-a you're technically a detective, I want you to help-a me and the others in cracking this case. Deal?"
"If that's all I have to do to earn your forgiveness...then count me in. So where shall we start? Or have you started already?"
In the foyer was Captain Falcon, speaking on the phone, and in case you needed to know who he was calling...it was Olivia. Yes, the racer was having yet another phone call with the woman, as he stood near the staircase.
"No, no, tell Hala to take his time, you'll all arrive shortly," said Captain Falcon, telling Olivia not to have Hala drive like a madman to the mansion. "As long as you're here is what matters. Can't ruin the big surprise!"
"Okay Falcon, I'll try not and rush Hala...if only we had a more capable bus driver," Olivia murmured on the phone. How Hala even got to drive a bus was a mystery. "Hala just missed a turn, so it might be a while before we arrive. Just be patient. Goodbye, for now!"
"Adios Olivia, I will see you soon!" Captain Falcon ended the phone call, and placed his phone in his holster, as he went up the stairs. What could his 'big surprise' be?
Captain Falcon: Grrrraaah! You people are starting to annoy me now! Did I not say that Olivia isn't my girlfriend, are you hard of hearing? Or are you like Jakob and trying to start stuff to tear the residents apart? Well I don't know spreading rumors about Olivia and I is going to put everyone at a standstill, but try as you must - I'll still deny your concerns!
Immediately after Falcon headed upstairs, guess who entered the mansion, with her friends Caeda, Raven, and Lilina? Nowi, that's who! The half-Manakete brought her daughter Nah along, because what great mom would leave their child behind?
"You sure you wanna go through with this, Nowi?" Caeda asked the half-Manakete, who looked oddly confident. "There's no going back at this point, so if you screw up royally, then it might be all over..."
"No, something has to be done," replied Nowi, with a confident smile. Wanna take a bet Falcon might be involved in whatever Nowi had in mind? "And you ladies are going to help me! So how about it?"
"Yeah...I think I'm going to go see Roy," said Lilina, as she stepped away from the ladies, before making a run for it. Now it was down to three ladies - and Nah, unless you want to exclude her.
"Chrom and I have lots to catch up on, so I should go," said Raven, making an escape similar to Lilina's. That meant Caeda was stuck with Nowi and Nah, and sought to do what her friends did.
"I should see what Marth is up to," said the Pegasus knight, only for Nowi to grab her arm. Third's time was definitely not the charm this time around.
"Marth can wait until later - he's probably looking at himself in the mirror and thinking about how fabolous he looks," said Nowi as Caeda tried to break free, but to no avail. "Right now, you're sticking with me!" Caeda wished she was stuck with someone else.
With Ema staying in Layton's room - likely done for her own safety - Mario went to to the teleportation room. On his way there, he encountered Link, with many individuals standing behind him - Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Link of Breath of the Wild fame.
"Just couldn't help-a yourself, could you Link?" Mario shook his head at Link, taken back by the Hylian's lack of self-control. "Cloud, Midna, and Zelda not enough-a company for you?"
"Cloud is stuck with Sora, Zelda is manning the ticket stand near the lecture hall, and Midna...well, she's starting to annoy me," was Link's explanation, though Mario wasn't convinced. "Hence the reason why my Link buddy and the Champions are here. Urbosa was 'too busy' to come along."
"And what about Princess-a Zelda, where is she?" BOTW Zelda was the only person from the group missing, aside from Urbosa - perhaps the princess was checking to see if her eyebrows were still intact.
"She's in the bathroom right now, she'll be joining us shortly...I think." Aha, so she was checking for her eyebrows! Might be standing in front of a mirror analyzing her face. Would be a shame if the princess' eyebrows ever got shaven again. "Or she'll look for Zelda and hang out with her, who knows. Now if you excuse us, we have some arcade games to play!"
"Let's hope there's nobody hogging any of the arcade machines..." said BOTW Link, recalling the numerous efforts he, Link, and Cloud executed to draw Wolf away from the Simpsons arcade game. Wolf spent more time attacking NPCs than attacking the enemies!
Link: A new arcade game has been added to the arcade room...Balloon Fight. And I'm inviting my Link buddy and his Champion friends to play with me, since Zelda and Cloud are busy at the moment. Midna isn't a great sport, so I refuse to play with her. Unless there's money on the line.
As Link led his crew down the hallway, Mario kept walking to the teleportation room, where he would see Aerith running the teleportation device. The flower girl was delighted to see Mario once the plumber showed up.
"Figured I would see you here," smiled Aerith, as Mario smiled right back. "Master Hand gave me full control of the teleportation device, as you see. I just sent a group named Off the Hook to the mansion some time ago, under Master Hand's orders. Someone you would like me to teleport to the mansion? Just tell me the name of the individual, and I'll see what I can do!"
"You remember when-a the Phantom Thieves were-a here, right?" asked Mario, as Aerith nodded her head. Those Phantom Thieves played a very crucial role in bringing down Jakob. "See if you can-a teleport them to the mansion. I have no idea where-a they could be..."
"Okay then, so you want the Phantom Thieves...shoot, I don't think I can remember their names. Give me the names of the Phantom Thieves, and I'll plug them into the device." Mario would give out the names - six in total - as Aerith plugged the names in. "Anyone else you have in mind?"
"Yes-a I do, there's one more investigative group-a I want at the mansion...and they happen to be from-a the TV World."
With Lilina and Raven catching up with Roy and Chrom, respectively, poor Caeda was stuck with Nowi and Nah, as Nowi led the Pegasus knight around the mansion, seemingly looking for someone. Nowi never specified who this someone was, and it made Caeda feel somewhat suspicious.
The search would take Nowi and company to the gaming room, where a sparse crowd was gathered. K.K. Slider was on the stage, behind his turntable set, with three other individuals - Pearl and Marina, from Off the Hook, and Ryu. What, oh what, could possibly be going on?
"Alright my party people, who's ready for the rap battle to begin?!" K.K. Slider asked the crowd, speaking into the microphone, as the crowd cheered. Ryu was apparently going up against Pearl in a rap battle...but hey, if Mario came close to beating the Inkling, then anything was possible. "On this side...she is one-half of the popular pop duo, Off the Hook, and she is accompanied by Marina...give it up, for PEARL!"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Pearl would say to the crowd, who cheered for her. "I can easily guarantee you that this will be a swift victory!"
Pearl: I was this close, this close, to losing to that mustached bum Mario. Had Mario not dropped his mic and got himself disqualified, I could have very well lost! This will be my chance to redeem myself, and what better way to do that against some silly street fighter?
"And on this side, he is the iconic face of the Street Fighter franchise, and he knows how to pack a punch...here is RYU!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, as Ryu got little to no reception from the crowd. Mostly everyone was wondering why Ryu even agreed to a rap battle in the first place.
"No challenge is too easy or too hard for me!" boasted Ryu, pulling on his headband and tightening it. "Prepare to be left in the dust, worthy challenger!"
Ryu: Many people were surprised when I killed it during karaoke, rapping that song. Not a single mouth in that gaming room was left closed that night, after my performance. To show everyone that my karaoke performance wasn't a fluke, I'll be going up against Pearl in the rap battle, and defeat her mercifully!
"Are both competitors ready?" asked K.K. Slider, as Ryu looked out and was surprised to see Ken, Cammy, and his love interest Chun-li in attendance. The three were seated together, with Ken giving Ryu a thumbs up. The moment Ryu saw Chun-li looking at him, he immediately froze, as sweat poured down his face, before collapsing on the stage. Ken and company were shocked and concerned. "Hold up people - Ryu might be down for the count! Someone help the man!"
As Chun-li and company went over to Ryu, trying to bring him back to his senses, Nowi entered the gaming room, while Caeda and Nah remained near the entrance. Nowi would find Wario seated in the crowd, eating some buffalo wings.
"May I speak with you for a quick second?" Nowi would tap Wario on the shoulder, making the fatso stop eating turn around. "It's me, Nowi...Captain Falcon's ex-girlfriend. Speaking of Captain Falcon, I was wondering if you know where Falcon might be. You are with him in the Romance Club, are you?"
"Phew, for a second there I thought you were asking me to share my wings with you..." Wario sighed in relief, clutching his chest. "...and yes, I'm in the Romance Club with Falcon. Or we used to be, before the Romance Club ended. What do you wanna see your ex for?"
"Oh, no reason, I just want...just want to speak with him, that's all." Hearing this response, Wario assumed Nowi wanted to make Captain Falcon pay even more for "cheating" on her...and the fatso was all for it!
"You might wanna check around the lecture hall. Word is that Falcon's been snooping around there for days. If he's not there, then try the Pokemon sanctuary - he's been frequenting that place more often than he used to!"
"I'll just go to the Pokemon sanctuary first, that might be closest. Thank you!" Nowi would pat Wario on the shoulder, as she left the gaming room to speak with Caeda and Nah. "To the Pokemon sanctuary we go!"
The missing case would be brought from Layton and Luke's room to the Star Records room, when Mario, Knuckles, Ema, Layton, Luke, and Team Chaotix were joined by Fox, Falco, and X...as well as the Phantom Thieves from episode 95, and the TV World investigators from episode 59.
While computer prodigy Futaba Oribe typed away on X's laptop, Knuckles, Fox, Falco, and X were getting used to seeing Ema again. Mario explained to the fellas that she was again sorry for her actions - this time being more heartfelt - and also told them to forgive Ema if she proved instrumental in solving the missing case of Joanne.
"Sorry for teasing you about your Falcons after they lost in the Super Bowl this year," Ema would apologize to Falco, who felt less salty about the loss as the year went on. "No hard feelings, right?"
"Water under the bridge," replied Falco, giving Ema the OK hand sign. "You were always the least annoying person to tease me about that, although that 28-3 lead still gives me PTSD." Same could be said for all the other Falcons fans out there.
"Have you found anything yet, Futaba?" X would ask the prodigy. Futaba was using a software program that came with the mansion security system X installed. It had camera angles of all the security cameras within the mansion, all on one screen.
"Nothing yet, still looking," replied Futaba, as she was opening and closing multiple windows. One window she opened displayed security footage of the back of the mansion, where the garbage bin was located...and it showed the mysterious hooded fellow, throwing his sack inside the garbage bin.
"He just threw the sack in there, all willy nilly?" questioned Fox, as the hooded fellow closed the garbage bin and walked away. "Not gonna lie, that's pretty savage!" Cortex might disagree with that.
Knuckles: Now that I think of it, Cortex was inside a sack when Jakob threw him inside the garbage bin...that's what Cortex told me, anyways. Starting to get a hitch for who the hooded guy might be...
"I think we need some kind of drone to look for the hooded man," said Yu; a drone following the crook around would give Yu and company more flexibility in solving the case. "Anyone in the mansion owns a drone?"
"Pit used to have one, back when he was 'broken'," replied Layton, almost smiling at how dedicated Pit was to his 'broken' persona. "He might still have the drone with him, or he could've thrown it away."
"How about we have Knuckles and Layton ask Pit for this drone, while Mario and Yosuke investigate the garbage bin?" suggested Ema; everyone was pretty much down with this idea. "That Joanne chick might be in that garbage bin, for all we know."
"Good-a thinking Ema - really like the way-a you're thinking!" said Mario, as Ema was one step closer to regaining Mario and everyone's trust.
Nowi and her crew were in the Pokemon sanctuary, where Red and Blue were having a Pokemon battle - Red's Charizard vs Blue's Alakazam. Blue's grandpa, Professor Oak, was officiating the match.
"Now Charizard, use Flare Blitz!" commanded Red, as Charizard cloaked himself in flames and dashed towards Alakazam. But Red would have another thing coming for him...
"Alakazam, dodge and use Psychic!" ordered Blue, as Alakazam dodged out of the way of Charizard's Flame Blitz and honed his psychic powers to lift up Charizard up in the air, and then send him flinging towards the wall. "Finish him off with Focus Blast!" With Charizard still down, Alakazam formed a light blue ball of energy and fired it at the flame Pokemon, resulting in a big explosion. Once the smoke cleared, Charizard was unconscious.
"Charizard is out of the battle!" announced Professor Oak, as Red went over to check on Charizard. "Therefore the winner of this match is Blue, of Pallet Town!"
"Even though you may be Indigo League champion Red, I'm still the better trainer!" bragged Blue, with Red currently oblivious to his rival's bragging ways. "How do you like those apples?"
"Settle down Blue, Red did a stupendous job. No need to talk down to him like that." Like Blue rejoiced in his victory, Professor Oak went over to speak with Nowi. "You wish to speak with me, is that correct?"
"Yes sir - I was just wondering if you knew where Captain Falcon was," asked Nowi, needing a clear answer right away. "I've been told that he might be here. Was he here already, did he leave and went somewhere else?"
"Well I did hear him speak with someone on the phone...said he was going to the movie room. You have heard of the movie room, right? It's where people go and watch movies, and also watch television shows as well. That's what Red tells me. It's also a room where...
"Yeah yeah yeah, we know what it is," said Caeda, as she grabbed Nowi and Nah and walked away. "Thanks for your help, professor."
Caeda: So once Nowi finds her stupid ex-boyfriend, I can finally leave that childish half-Manakete and spend some time with Marth. Wonder what Marth is up to...bet he's having more fun than I am.
Marth was having more fun than Caeda...sort of. The hero-king was playing a game of Cards Against Humanity, in teams, while some Christmas music played in the background. Marth's teammate? Robin, the mage he feuded against for much of 2017. Their opponents were Sonic and Tails, and Sora and Cloud.
"Isn't it great when we put our differences aside for the greater good, and have fun together?" said Sora, who always had an optimistic outlook on life, even in the face of danger. "That's what builds relationships, and makes us closer!"
"Quit being so over-positive Sora, we've had about enough of that crap," Cloud told the Keyblade wielder, as he shuffled through his cards. "Don't think that I'm trying to be your friend because I'm your partner - everyone turned you down, so I had to do what I had to do...great, now I'm making myself sound like a great friend. Bleh..."
"Hey Marth, remember when we had that big feud of ours earlier in the year because of the romance between Corrin and Felicia?" asked Robin, stirring the hero-king's memory. "You set off those fireworks from Corrin and Felicia, had Splash Woman singing that song, and I got all salty and then we had that throwdown."
"All because you accused me of 'stealing your idea', and I managed to beat you to the punch," replied Marth, placing his card on the deck. Sonic would scoop up the cards, and glance at them. "What about the time I had Birdo infatuated with you, by using Ashley's love potions?"
"Ugh, don't even get me started on Birdo...she was far worse than advertised, I quickly understood the pains Yoshi has to go through. What about the time I got you in trouble, and you had to play in that Finding Nemo musical at Disney World?"
"Donkey Kong being a stupid idiot thankfully saved me from that...what about that time I had Rouge infatuated with you?"
"Knuckles sure was ticked about that, angriest I've ever seen him...what about that time I had a Waddle Dee leave behind a dent in Master Hand's Lamborghini, and MH put you on blast when he saw it?"
"My goodness, driving that Lamborghini was actually one of the most harrowing experiences of my...wait, what?!" Now there was something Marth never heard before.
Just then, Ryuji of the Phantom Thieves entered the lounge, startled at first by the Christmas music playing. He would shrug it off, and make his way over to Marth and company. Cloud was the first to notice Ryuji.
"Mr. Sakamoto, welcome back to the mansion," greeted Cloud, trying to be friendly. Gotta keep the friendly facade going. "I'm assuming your buddies are here too?"
"That's right, and we're cracking a case - a case involving a missing singer!" replied Ryuji, igniting the curiosity in the others. "Anyone know where Marth is? You know, the girly man with the tiara and the blue hair."
"That...that would be me," Marth spoke up, as Sonic, Tails, Robin, and Sora laughed at Ryuji's description of the hero-king. Cloud just smirked. "What do you need me for?"
Nowi and her gals would enter the movie room, and inside they would see Itsuki, standing with Coco who was seated on the floor noodling away on her laptop. The laptop was connected to the large TV, and Coco looked like she was working on something, like she was editing a display of some sort.
Itsuki: Master Hand finally got over Joanne's disappearance, and now that I'm done comforting him, I can do that huge favor for Captain Falcon...You seriously don't think Falcon's in love with Olivia, do you? *chuckles* They've only known each other for almost a month now, which if you ask me, is a very short sample size before someone makes a move. So please, don't incite any rumors - last thing we would need is a gossip bug spreading around the mansion.
"Do you two know where Captain Falcon is?" Nowi would ask Itsuki and Coco, hoping they knew the answer. Good thing Coco already had an answer for the half-Manakate.
"Captain Falcon went to go do some late Christmas shopping, he should be back shortly," answered the bandicoot, providing an answer that should keep Nowi at bay. But Nowi wasn't ready to give up.
"Oh goodie! Do you know what store Falcon went to?" Itsuki and Coco exchanged nervous looks with one another; Nowi was suddenly becoming very persistent!
"He never said which store he was going, to be honest. I'd stay put if I were you, no need to go on a wild goose chase for Captain Falcon."
"Then stay put we shall," said Caeda, as she took Nowi and walked towards the exit, with Nah following after them. "Sorry for wasting your time." With Caeda and company gone, Coco resumed her work. Was she working on Captain Falcon's "big surprise"?
A now calm Master Hand ventured to the ballroom, where this year's Christmas party was held. Pac-Man, for most of the week, was mulling over doing a Christmas party, unsure if throwing a party would keep the attention and focus away from the Christmas concert.
But Master Hand gave the eater of ghosts the approval, and now the giant hand was checking to see how Pac-Man's first Christmas party was coming along. Inside the ballroom, he would see many folks, and many guests as well - Milla Maxwell, Jude Mathis, Rouge, Silver, BOTW Zelda, and even Maxie and Archie - leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua, respectively, who were enjoying a great conversation with one another.
"Can you believe that bozo Lysandre from Team Flare tried to take over the world with Dr. Eggman, and didn't get his grunts involved in the grand scheme of things?" Maxie said to Archie - who said villains shouldn't discuss things like world domination all the time? "I bet you he didn't even use ANY of his Pokemon!"
"Lysandre made a horrible mistake anyways, agreeing to work with Dr. Eggman..." remarked Archie, scratching his beard. "I wouldn't work with that walking tomato, even for all the legendary Pokemon in the world." Elsewhere in the ballroom, Hisui was speaking with Milla and Jude, his "friends".
"So Hisui - or should I say, 'ilikehotgirls86'..." grinned Jude, as Hisui growled. He hated that pen name so much now. "...did you meet any new online friends? Did you follow them around incessantly until they agreed to be your friend?"
"For your information Jude, I wouldn't know because I haven't touched a single computer in two weeks!" bragged Hisui, acting like a guy his age not using technology suddenly made him cool and hip. "I have learned my lesson..."
"Haven't touched a computer, huh?" smirked Milla, her hands on her hips. "Easy for you to say...I don't even know how to turn a computer on!" The price of being sheltered and ignorant to human society...
Milla: I did find a calculator lying in the hallway, and played around with it...does that account for using a computer?
"You ladies have no idea what it's like being bald...it's like feeling nothing," Chrom discussed with BOTW Zelda and Midna, rubbing his bald head. The prince's bald head shone in the ballroom light. "It makes me feel...naked."
"No worries Chrom, I understand what it's like to have your hair shaven off," said BOTW Zelda, resting a reassuring arm on Chrom's shoulder. "I once had my eyebrows shaved off by Marth!" That was not true, however, and Midna felt the need to break the ice...
"Actually, it wasn't Marth who shaved off your eyebrows..." the imp said to BOTW Zelda, bracing herself before saying the following: "...it was your Zelda pal who had done the deed." Having learned this, BOTW Zelda looked on in shock, her mouth agape, as Midna went over to Chrom. "As for you, Chrom, I saw the culprits who shaved your head off - I just didn't want to say anything."
"Well I'm glad you told me now!" frowned Chrom, desiring to bring the culprits to justice. Said culprits (Rex and Pyra) might not even be here, unless Midna was also referring to Akuma. "Show me where they are!"
As Midna led Chrom out of the ballroom, Silver was speaking with Rouge near the punch bowl. Rouge was telling Silver the drama that went down last week, and how Knuckles pretty much broke up with her.
"Yikes Rouge, that was pretty low, even for a gal like yourself," remarked Silver, thankful that he wasn't caught up in last week's love triangle. He had his eyes set on Blaze the Cat anyways. "Why'd you buy both Knuckles and Shadow diamonds?"
"It was supposed to a dare, someone put me up to it," replied Rouge, as Silver widened his eyes. A new dimension was now added to the love triangle hullabaloo. "That same person told me to go on a date with Shadow, when Shadow asked me out. Didn't want to do it, but..."
"Rouge the Bat?" a voice called out; Rouge would look to her right, and see Makoto of the Phantom Thieves advancing towards her. "Makoto Niijima, member of the Phantom Thieves, it's a pleasure to meet you. Do you have a minute?"
Up in the Star Records room, Futaba was still looking at the security cameras on X's laptop, with everyone else looking. Just then, a cellphone was ringing on the Star Records desk; Ema picked it up.
"Hello, who is this?" asked the forensics expert, as security footage of Wario scratching his butt appeared, making Ema look away.
"It's me, Makoto - I just found Rouge in the ballroom, at some Christmas party," responded the caller, Makoto. "Had Jigglypuff do the honors and put Rouge to sleep, just like you asked. What do you want me to do with her?"
"Bring her to the room where Ryuji is, and wait for Dr. Wily to show up. X said he should be coming soon. I'll let you and Ryuji know what to do next." Ema would end the call, when another phone call was made...this one from Knuckles. Ema quickly answered. "How's it coming along with Pit?"
"Awful, just awful - apparently Pit is undergoing some 'woken' phase, much like when he was 'broken'," answered Knuckles. Sounds like Senor Kirby and King Charles have returned. "He's in this room, and he won't let us in...but the piano playing from inside sounds nice though!"
"Keep on trying - we need that drone so we can hurry up the investigation. Who knows where our hooded man might be!"
Ema: Knuckles told me about how he broke up with Rouge, how Rouge played him and Shadow for keeps. But if you ask me, Rouge would never think of something crazy like that...which makes me believe there's some foul play going on. What if our hooded suspect put Rouge up to it? Sounds like a strange theory, I know, but it deserves some inquiry.
A knock was made at a door, and opening that door was Kirby, as the sound of lovely piano playing exited through the door. With Viriid in the room, playing the piano, Kirby looked down, and saw Cortex lying on the floor.
"Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" cried out Cortex, his voice muffled by the floor. Would Kirby help him up?
"What a life..." the pink puffball instead shook his head, as he closed the door. Cortex would rise up to his feet and dusted himself off, as Knuckles and Luke approached him.
"So, Dr. Cortex, how'd it go?" Luke would ask the mad scientist, who was recently released from the Links' police office. If you want to call it that.
"It was a failed attempt, unfortunately...though it lasted a lot longer than I expected," replied Cortex, digging into his pocket and taking out a ticket handed to him from the buddy cops. "Now if you excuse me, I must dispose of this ticket. 'Practicing jaywalking indoors'...bah!"
"I don't understand, we've tried every method in the book, and Pit still won't answer us," said Knuckles, as Cortex walked away. "What are we possibly doing wrong?"
"Maybe you need a lure to bring Pit out of that room," someone suggested, as Knuckles and Luke turned around and saw Nana, along with Popo. "Pit's mind is lost enough as it is, so you need something to bring him out of that little phase of his."
"Oh yeah, so what lure do you think would be effective?" The Ice Climbers knew what would be the perfect lure, as they glanced at one another with smiling faces.
"Our lovely ice cream creations should do the trick..." smiled Popo, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "You boys stay right where you are!"
Outside the mansion, Mario and Yosuke were trying to open the garbage bin, but to no avail. They wouldn't lift up the top, for it was jammed shut.
"That hooded Organization guy...really did a good job...jamming this thing..." said a sweaty Yosuke, who was taking a breather after so many failed attempts. "You can go on without me Mario...do the best you can!"
"Lemme see if capturing the garbage-a bin will do the trick," said Mario, as he took Cappy and threw him at the garbage bin. Yosuke was shocked when Mario possessed the garbage bin, and tried to open it. But the bin wouldn't budge, leading Mario to "uncapture" it.
"Man, that hooded creep really jammed that garbage bin shut!" remarked Cappy, as Yosuke was still shocked. Either by Cappy, or Mario capturing the garbage bin. Or possibly both. "If only there was a way..."
"We might be able to help..." said a familiar voice, a voice Mario knew too well. Sounded like it came from a cat. There the plumber saw standing across from him and Yosuke was Team Rocket - namely, Jessie, James, and Meowth. Were they looking for more trouble?
Jessie: Giovanni totally disprected the three of us, when he wouldn't allow us to come to Seattle and partake in the Heartless invasion. If he had invited us to his little party, maybe Organization XIII would have been successful in their plan!
James: But he didn't, and as a result, he and Organization XIII failed and now the Organization can't ever return to this universe! Our presence would have greatly helped, but alas, Giovanni continues to doubt us and overlook our talents!
Mewoth: We're tired of Giovanni treating us three like second-rate employees, and disallowing us from participating in the big league stuff! If we can't get respect from our own boss...then maybe we can get respect from Mario! Hopefully a guy like Mario will listen to our plea.
"Team-a Rocket, back at it again!" exclaimed Mario, getting into a fighting stance. Yosuke was still too exhausted to do anything. "Back for-a more?"
"No, Mario, we're not here to fight, please hear us out!" pleaded James, as Mario backed down. What was the point of him fighting, if he had no Pokemon? Team Rocket wasn't known for using fists. "We came here, looking for respect...since our boss Giovanni doesn't respect us (or so we think he doesn't) we were hoping that maybe YOU would..."
"All we're asking for is just a little respect, that's all," added Jessie, as Mario mulled over whether he should respect Team Rocket or not. "Any bad things we've done to you or the others in the past, it can be put to bed. We were just doing Giovanni's dirty work anyways, not like Giovanni ever gets his butt out of his chair and do something. Perhaps we can earn your respect, if we...do you a solid?"
"If you wish-a to do me a solid..." Mario started, as Team Rocket, with their smiling faces, pulled closer towards Mario. "...then see if you can-a open that garbage bin. It's jammed-a shut, and if you can some-a how open it..."
"Leave it up to me - Wobbuffet, I choose you!" Jessie took out her Poke Ball, and sent forth Wobbuffet, the patient Pokemon making its signature cry. "Now Wobbuffet, use your Psychic abilities to open the garbage bin you see before you!"
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet would obey Jessie's command, as he used Psychic to lift the garbage bin up in the air. The patient Pokemon then honed his mind, as the garbage bin began to shake...before the top was finally opened, and garbage bags fell out. Mario was shocked; his facial expression suggested that he did not expect Team Rocket to fulfill the deed.
"Excellent work, Wobbufffet! About time you were useful for something, other than trying to blow our cover...I suppose we deserve our respect now, Mario, so snap out of that surprised look of yours and show us our respect!" Mario would shake the surprise off his face, as a now rested Yosuke rummaged through the garbage bags, looking for the sack.
"This must be the sack that Joanne chick must be in," he remarked when he pulled out a large, brown sack. Easily discernible from the garbage bin's contents. "Now how about we head back inside?"
With the sack now in their possession, Mario and Yosuke, along with Team Rocket, entered the mansion through the back door, arriving in the dining room. In the dining room, they would find one-half of the Squid Sisters, Marie, crying her eyes out, with Cilan comforting her with food.
"Don't cry Marie, for I know the one thing that will cheer you up...Christmas cookies!" exclaimed Cilan, showing the Inkling a plate of Christmas cookies. Marie would slap the plate away, before crying some more.
"Cilan, what's-a wrong, why is Marie crying so?" Mario asked the connoisseur, as Team Rocket, not wanting to be detected by Cilan, cautiously tiptoed away. Better not start up any trouble.
"I have no idea - I just returned to the dining room, and here I saw Marie, crying her eyes out. I would assume that it has much to do with Callie still being missing..."
"Callie is in fine hands now...she has been saved from the clutches of DJ Octavio months ago," stated Marie, wiping away her tears. Mario and Cilan were alarmed to learn this; Yosuke straight up didn't care. "We were both invited to the mansion for the concert, and not long after we arrived...Marie was gone! Gone for the second time, and I fear that she might be gone forever..." And right on cue, Marie burst into tears.
Marie: Callie and I, we spent the last couple of months catching up, and getting back to hosting Inkopolis News again...and now she's gone again. First time around was fine, but I can't deal with a second incident...
"...Marie, is that you, why are you sobbing?" a voice came out from the sack, as Marie immediately stopped crying. "You never sob that much, if ever!" Either Joanne was in the sack, or maybe it was someone else...
"Callie?" Marie uttered her cousin's name, expecting another response. Yosuke would untie the sack...and out popped Callie, bright and lively as she ever was.
"Ta-da!" the Inkling exclaimed, her arms raised in the air. "Missed me?" Marie obviously missed Callie, as she got out of her seat and ran to hug her dear cousin. All while Mario and Yosuke were slightly fearing for the worse.
"Of course I missed you! Don't you ever leave me like that again! Do you have any idea how hard it would be to host Inkopolis News by myself? That's why I went on hiatus when you were brainwashed!"
"Whoever said I left you? Some guy in a black cloak kidnapped me, and stuffed me in a sack and threw me in a garbage bin. I assume the people who saved me was Mario here, and his...more human-like friend..."
"Hold up, so if YOU were in the sack, and NOT Joanne, then that would mean..." said Yosuke, before putting his hands on his head when realization got to him. "Oh man oh man oh man..."
Back to Pit's "lair", where the sound of Viridi's piano playing could still be heard from behind the door. Popo would knock on the door, and Pit would open it, the 'woken' angel delighted to see ice cream sundaes lined up, in a trial.
"Ah, sundaes of ice cream, all lined up in a trial, just for me!" exclaimed Pit, in his 'woken' accent. Dude was super woke. "How WONDERFUL! And a spoon of silver in the first sundae, great for sampling! I must delight myself in this treat of sweets..."
So Pit took the first sundae, grabbed the spoon, and ate a spoonful of the sundae, before moving on to the next one. Pit would sample each and every sundae with his spoon, all containing different flavors, as he continued down the hallway.
Showing up immediately afterwards would be Emil and Marta - the two best friends invited to the mansion by Master Hand. As you might have already known, Emil was always craving for ice cream ever since his first visit to the mansion, so when the young lad saw the trail of sundaes before him...
"YES WE FINALLY HAVE ICE CREAM!" he shouted excitedly at the top of his lungs, as he grabbed the first sundae and ate it to his heart's delight. Marta just looked on while shaking her head, not knowing what to do with her best friend.
Elsewhere in the mansion, Rouge suddenly woke up, finding herself in a darkened room whilst tied up to a chair. She tried to get out, but to no avail. While Rouge was squirming, a bright light was shone on her, from a flashlight. Rouge would look ahead, and see Marth, perched on a giant ray gun - the same one used on him in episode 69 - with Makoto and Ryuji standing in the background.
Marth: So apparently the giant ray gun that paralyzed me was up in the attic. It was there that I also found a gun lying on the floor, with the name "Agent 0" written on it. Who knew the attic contained so many deadly weapons?
"Ahahahaha...oh how the turn tables," cackled Marth, followed by a brief moment of silence that allowed the hero-king to realize that he messed up the saying. The turn has really tabled on him. "Not nice being on the receiving end of things, isn't it?"
"Marth what on earth are you doing, why are you trying to paralyze me for?" asked Rouge, still trying to break free. "Did Knuckles put you up to this, does he want to get back at me for what I did last week? Tell him that I'm sorry!"
"I will tell Knuckles how sorry you are...but first, you must give me - or us, rather - an answer. It has much to do with your ex-boyfriend and Shadow. Just give us an answer, and we'll let you free!"
"Or else what, you're gonna paralyze me with that thing? You're a medieval prince, what would you know about using giant ray guns?"
"I know plenty...but I know a guy who knows even more." Suddenly the ray gun would in a clockwise manner, the nozzle lowering and pointing towards Rouge, as the operator of the ray gun revealed himself...
...Dr. Albert Wily, who greeted Rouge with a wave and his trademark smile. Him and Marth still must be pretty tight, even after the whole Heartless conundrum.
"Surprised to see me, Rouge the Bat?" Dr. Wily asked the bat, who was struggling more than ever to escape. "Well don't be - I just arrived a mere while ago, when Marth asked me for my presence. And, since I know how to operate devices like this better than he can..."
"Okay, Dr. Wily, cut to the chase - just tell me what I gotta do so I can leave," said Rouge, no longer fighting her way out. "I have a Christmas party to attend to! Silver's probably wondering where I am..."
"Answer this one question, Rouge, and we shall let you go in peace. Did you, Rouge the Bat...spark that love triangle involving you, Knuckles, and Shadow because someone put you up to it?" Dr. Wily began charging up the ray gun, believing that doing so would force an answer out of Rouge. And it worked...
"Fine, I fess up, someone did put me up to it." Dr. Wily would power down the ray gun, as Makoto got out her clipboard, ready to write stuff down. "The guy told me what to do, and how to do it...and I listened. He was very threatening, and I didn't want to take any chances..."
"What was this guy's name?" asked Makoto, her pen ready. If the guy Rouge mentioned was the same guy in the Organization cloak, then things would be heading in the right direction...minus Joanne's current whereabouts.
The trail of ice cream sundaes would come to an end near Ness' room, where Knuckles and Luke were standing with Donkey Kong. The three were quietly waiting for Pit to show up.
"C'mon you guys, do I really have to do this?" asked Donkey Kong, as the sound of Pit's 'woken' laughter drew near. Sounded like the angel was super high. "One time was already enough, and I got in trouble for it..."
"But this time you won't get in trouble at all - nobody gets implicated," encouraged Knuckles, able to sway Donkey Kong's mind. "Do it DK, do it...for Harambe!" You could probably assume what Knuckles and Luke were putting Donkey Kong up to.
Knuckles: Man, I wish I could go out like Harambe...being shot for protecting someone, and then having people praise my name and talk about how much of a hero I was. But it isn't worth dying, let alone having dudes show their junk to pay tribute to me.
So Donkey Kong would enter Ness' room, just when Pit arrived at the end of the sundae trail. He had sampled every sundae he laid his eyes upon, but the angel craved for more.
"The MAGNIFICENT trail of sundaes comes to an end, and yet I yearn to taste more GLORIOUS sundaes, until my satisfaction is achieved!" Pit shouted out to nobody in particular. "I demand that more sundaes of ice cream are made, otherwise there will be...DELETION!"
As Pit did the delete arm signal and shouted "DELETE!" over and over again, the door to Ness' room opened, and Donkey Kong would drag Lucas out of the room, just like he did back in Disney World. Lucas kept pleading DK to stop, but the gorilla had tuned the teen out.
"Get back here with my Lucas, you stupid monkey!" Kumatora would exit the room and chase after Donkey Kong, as the gorilla walked even faster. Pit would watch this scene go down, feeling his hand trembling.
"Must...resist...the urge...must...resist..." the angel said, starting to break character, as he saw Donkey Kong drag Lucas down the hallway, with Kumatora high on his heels. The way DK dragged Lucas, it reminded Pit of a fallen gorilla...
Everyone in the Star Records room was unfortunate to witness, on X's laptop screen, on one of the security cameras, Pit unzipping his pants and...you know the rest. Not a single person in that room had a facial expression that wasn't full of disgust and cringe.
"D-D-Did he just...?" stammered Futaba, who sadly had a better view of Pit's..thing than everyone else, considering she was using the laptop.
"I think it would be best if we don't question it and delete that moment out of our minds," suggested Espio. Did he say delete? "Broken" Pit would be proud.
But Pit would no longer be broken, after his act of "tribute" broke character. Pit was back to being the Pit we all knew and love, as he zipped up his pants.
"Ahh, that felt good..." the angel smiled, no longer speaking with a faux British accent. He would turn around, and see Knuckles and Luke standing by, fortunate to not have seen Pit's extremities. "Sup guys?"
"Nothing much, nothing much," replied Knuckles, keeping his distance from Pit just to be safe. "Do you still have that drone, the one you named Vanguard 1? We need it for some scoping...there's this guy in an Organization XIII cloak, who happened to kidnap someone, and we gotta find him and bring him to justice!"
"Say no more, my echidna pal - I got the drone in my room. Had to replace its batteries the other day. Follow me!"
So Pit would lead Knuckles and Luke to his room, having the two stand outside his room so he could change his clothes. After Knuckles and Luke waited, Pit would exit his room, back in his usual clothes, and gave Knuckles and Luke his drone, installed with a built-in camera, and the remote controller that came with it.
"Thanks for the drone Pit," Knuckles thanked the angel, as he and Luke left. Who's willing to bet the drone might be infected with germs.
Luke: Do you think...Pit washed his hands? After he was holding his...
Knuckles: Pfft, capturing that cloaked guy trumps everything else at his point. Pit seldom washes his hands, so I'm not concerned...heck, I never washed my hands either!
Just as Pit was about to start down the hallway to look for Kirby, the pink puffball would show up. Talk about being right on time.
"Well Luigi came by and asked for Charles back," Kirby informed Pit. "Not only that, but Viridi got tired of playing the piano, so she quit. And you're back in your usual attire, which means that our 'woken brilliance' has come to an end. So Pit, what else do you wanna do?"
"I did hear from Knuckles that he and Luke are hunting down some cloaked dude in the mansion," replied Pit, scratching his chin. "Why don't we head over to the movie room?" Pit wasn't going to involve himself in the matter, was he?
"You're not thinking about doing what I think you're doing...got a bad feeling about this..."
Mario and Yosuke were currently stuck; the person that was in the sack in the garbage bin was not the person they were looking for, Joanne, but rather one-half of the Squid Sisters, Callie. Mario, in a state of distress, kept pacing back and forth in the living room, as Yosuke, Marie, and Callie all looked on.
"Is he going to be okay?" Callie asked Yosuke, as Mario grew more and more distressed. Might as well cancel the whole concert if Joanne wasn't found in due time.
"He'll be alright, he gets over things pretty quickly," replied Yosuke, sampling the Christmas candy on a table in front of him. "He was once accused of deflating footballs, and he was all panicky and stuff...but eventually, he kinda cooled off. Same thing will happen here."
"Who is this Joanne chick you're looking for, why is she so special?" asked Marie; Joanne was treated like a big deal, apparently.
"Master Hand needs her to perform at some silly concert of his, as a special guest. So we have to find Joanne, otherwise heads are gonna roll...and my head won't be rolling anytime soon!"
"Joanne? Did you just say, Joanne?" asked Doc Louis, who was already in the living room, quietly eating a chocolate bar. "You mean that singer who sang for us and made Viridi all happy? Think I saw her sneak out of the mansion..."
"Joanne left-a the mansion?!" exclaimed Mario, snapping out of his distressed mode. "Why would she do-a that for?! Mama mia!" Mario would grab Yosuke's hand, leaving the living room in a hurry. Doc Louis could only chuckle.
"Heh heh heh...good thing you'll never leave me, Shareece..." Doc Louis was about to take a bite out of his chocolate bar, aptly named Shareece, when Dark Pit ran by and snatched the bar out of Doc's hands, devouring it in the process. "BOY YOU GONNA BE A HOMICIDAL MANIAC IF YOU KEEP DOING THAT, GET BACK HERE!" And the chase was on...
Back to the movie room, where Coco continued working on...well, whatever she was working on, with Itsuki watching her progress. Eventually, the blonde bandicoot was finished with her unknown project.
"Aha, we're finally done!" exclaimed Coco, as she saved the project to her hard drive. She closed her laptop, and stood up to face Itsuki. "I'll show this bad boy to Captain Falcon, so he can give it his seal of approval."
"Excellent, and I will ask Master Hand if we can display the graphic after his concert is over with," said Itsuki. So Coco was working on a display - a dispaly meant for Olivia, perhaps. "That is, if he's in the right mind frame..."
Itsuki: The display has NOTHING to do with Olivia, nothing at all...but go ahead, be my guest, keep on inciting rumors that have little evidence. You will only make yourself look silly in the end.
"Eh, I bet he's over Joanne right now," shrugged Coco. Unless Master Hand returned to his moping ways. "I'll go look for Captain Falcon right now." So Coco would leave the movie room, nearly trampled by Pit and Kirby who both ran inside.
"Whoops, sorry about that Coco!" Pit would apologize to the bandicoot, who looked back and shook her head before walking away. The moment Itsuki saw Pit and Kirby (but mainly Pit) he feared for the worst. "Hey Itsuki, can we use that VCR thingy?"
"The one connected to the television?" asked Itsuki, pointing at the VCR in question, from episode 67. "Of course you can, it's a free country and...what do you need to use it for?" The concern in Itsuki's voice was almost palpable.
"You know exactly what we need...we need...the big dog."
With the drone in their possession, Knuckles and Luke returned to the Star Records, where they would find Ema and company, now joined by a special guest...a tall white male with brown hair, sticking out the most given his height. To be frank, he had no business being here, but here he was...
"What's up, fellas?" the tall white dude would greet Knuckles and Luke, who were understandably confused. "The name's Thomas, but that's not my real name - just a moniker I go by. Would give you my real name, but I don't wanna blow my cover, you know?"
"Who the heck is this guy?" Knuckles asked the others; he didn't know why, but he felt like he saw Thomas before. Thomas' face looked oddly familiar.
"Just some dude who ventured to this room not long ago," replied Ema. "Claimed he came to the mansion with two other guests...said their names were 'Broski' and 'Grumps'. Codenames, he said." Very nifty codenames at that. "Master Hand invited the three over, for whatever reason. So you guys finally got the drone?"
"We had to lure Pit and snap him out of his senses just to retrieve it from him," replied Luke, as he handed the drone and the remote controller to Ema. "Thought we might give you the honors of turning it on." So Ema took the remote, and pressed a button, and just like that, the drone was up and running, turning on and hovering into the air.
"Awesome! Now we can find the hooded fellow, and track him down. We just have to corner him somehow, and go from there."
"Does this whole tracking thing involve spying?" asked Thomas, with a curious smile. "Because I was involved in some spying in the past...not that I really did any spying myself, but I got in trouble anyways, so there's that. Just wanna take things out on a spin...
"Well then...go ahead and be my guest." Ema, feeling she would regret this decision, handed the remote controller to Thomas, giving him full control of the drone. "Lemme show you a picture of the guy we're looking for. Should still be in this mansion..."
While many of today's guests were formally (and forcibly) invited to the mansion by Master Hand, there were some guests who came on their own. Corrin and Kamui's siblings - Xander, Leo, Camille, and Elise - were one of those guests. Corrin sure was delighted to see Elise happy and well again, after the wedding day explosion...and the prince was also delighted to show her and the rest of his siblings his Star Wars merchandise.
"...and this is my Grand Admiral Thrawn costume, I devoted my valuable time mastering Thrawn's character by learning more about the arts and philosophies," Corrin would show his Thrawn costume to Xander and company in his room, boring them out of their minds. "And this is my Sphero BB-8 toy, which Kamui bought for me when we attended a Star Wars convention in Florida. And this is..."
"I thought Corrin liking Star Wars would be a step in the right direction for him, but I was wrong..." Xander said to Camille, who patted him on the back. "His fandom of the franchise has made him extremely annoying..."
Xander: Not all hope is lost for Corrin. If he loves Star Wars that much, then the more power to him. But if he dares to replace his sword with a lightsaber, then we're going to have some problems...
Leo: Corrin has THREE Darth Vader costumes hanging in his closet. Three. If that doesn't scream "obsessed", I don't know what does.
"Corrin do you have a minute?" Pit poked his head inside Corrin's room, stopping the prince from reaching into his closet for more Star Wars crap. "Would you mind coming with me? Bring your Darth Vader costume!"
"Which costume do you want?" asked Corrin, like that actually mattered. Pit was in quite a hurry, so he didn't feel like entertaining Corrin.
"Grab the best one you got and come with me!" So Corrin grabbed a random Darth Vader costume from his closet, and quickly exited his room. Once the coast was clear, Xander let out a relieved sigh, for the torture was over...for now, at least.
Corrin, with his Darth Vader costume, would join Pit, Kirby, Crash, and King Dedede in the hallway. It would also be at this very spot that Corrin would be joined by a familiar face he met in episode 59.
"Ay, that's a nice Darth Vader costume you got there, man!" this fellow complimented Corrin's costume; it was Broski, Thomas' strong and muscular pal who was always showing off his biceps. "Looks real nice!"
"Thank you, and I know that Emperor Palpatine would be proud of me," answered Corrin, unnerving Broski with his Palpatine obsession. "Speaking of Palpatine, is he here? I demand to know at once!"
"What's this about Emperor Palpatine?" asked a very grumpy voice, as a grumpy hoodie-wearing man showed up, eating a banana. His name was Grumps, and Corrin, easily mistaking him for Palpatine, smiled as he ran up to hug him. "Oh, not this again..."
"Emperor Palpatine, you're back!" Corrin was hugging Grumps real tight, tight enough to hurt his insides. "Deep down I always knew you would come back for me! Please don't leave me ever again!"
"Dude that's not Emperor Palpatine, that's..." Broski tried to explain to Corrin, but the prince was too caught up in the moment to listen. "Eh, what's the point..." Kirby would hand Broski a football - better hope it was properly inflated.
"We want you to throw this ball to Crash when we give you the cue, capiche?" Kirby asked Broski, who nodded his head. The pink puffball would then take out a cassette player, and gave it to King Dedede. "Don't play this cassette until we tell you too. And don't fast-forward or rewind either!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say..." said King Dedede, taking the cassette player from Kirby before forgetting one crucial thing. "Uh, do you have any headphones?"
"No headphones necessary...just so as we say."
Team Rocket - still looking for some respect - ventured to Master Hand's room, surprised and relieved to not see the giant hand. On Master Hand's useless dresser, they would find a sparkling, green orb, known as the Jade Orb.
"Would you look at that, Master Hand has the Jade Orb in his room!" exclaimed Mewoth, as he went over to pick up the Jade Orb. He, Jessie, and James looked at the orb with smiling faces. "Giovanni would definitely have our respect if we showed him this!"
"But why would Master Hand have this orb in the first place?" questioned James, before his eyes grew wide. "What if the legendary Pokemon Rayquaza is within the vicinity of the mansion?!" Just the thought of that made Team Rocket somewhat gleeful.
Pac-Man: So, my first Christmas party, it's going pretty well...Master Hand has yet to criticize the party, so until then, the party is a rousing success! Glad Master Hand is giving me more opportunities at this party planning gig.
Master Hand remained at the Christmas party, surveying the entire thing. He believed that if he remained in the ballroom, he would keep himself calm, and not fret over his concert or Joanne. It was best to stay put where he was.
"Hey Malva, do you remember me?" Mr. Game and Watch approached Malva, one of the party guests. Malva looked down at Mr. GW, before walking away. "Where are you going girl, don't you want to continue where we last left off?!"
"Our love is never meant to be - I'm a human being, and you're just some lousy 2-D man," replied Malva, as Mr. Game and Watch chased after her. "How about you spark a romance with one of your own kind, and leave me alone!" Mr. Game and Watch would fall to his knees, as he watched Malva walk away from him. Why would he even bother messing around with Malva in the first place - look where it got Captain Falcon!
"So close, yet so far..." As Mr. Game and Watch began to lament, he saw Ashley walk by, and conjured an idea in his head. "Ashley, do you have any love potions on ya?" he would ask the young witch, who stopped in place.
"I threw all my love potions away, so sorry," Ashley answered, as Mr. Game and Watch fell to the floor, defeated. "Learned my lessons in the past, from Pit and Snake, so I'm never making another love potion ever again. Causes too much trouble anyways..."
As Ashley went over to the punch bowl, our hooded fellow would conspicuously enter the ballroom, in his Organization XIII garb. He would stir up some trouble, but seeing that Master Hand was present, it would not be the best intention. So the man left the premises...
...and upon exiting the mansion, he would come face-to-face with the drone. The flying device was hovering in the air, and its camera was focused on the hooded fellow, recording his every moment.
"Gah, I've been spotted...maybe I can outrun it!" said the fellow, as he ran away. But when he looked back, he saw that the drone was hot on his heels; even if the fellow were to hide, the drone still would spot him. The fellow would approach an intersection in the hallway - no matter which way he went, he still wouldn't be able to lose the drone.
"GET BACK HERE WITH MY FUTURE WIFE, YOU HOMICIDAL MANIAC!" shouted Doc Louis, still chasing Dark Pit. The boxing trainer and the doppelganger ran down the hallway, making the hooded fellow come to a stop, before the fellow kept running. He kept running, before skidding to a halt when he saw Cloud and Alm, walking together.
"Organization XIII?" Cloud raised an eyebrow, ready to get on the offensive. Just as he was about to reach for his sword, gunfire was heard, as a bullet was fired at Cloud and struck him in the leg. The swordsman yelped in pain and fell to the floor, as the hooded fellow ran away.
"Cloud!" Alm yelled as he knelt down at Cloud's side to stop the bleeding. "Who could have done this?!" The very perpatrator was hanging from the ceiling, holding a gun with someone's name written on it...it was Greninja.
Berkut: Found a gun up in the attic and handed it to Greninja, and ordered him to shoot Alm for me. But I saw Alm walking an injured Cloud to the fitness center, so I assume Greninja failed in his deed...
Greninja: *shrugs*
The hooded fellow was getting closer and closer to the foyer; he could feel escape with the very tip of his tongue. He would encounter a roadblock, however, when he saw Broski standing in his way, with a football.
"Crash Bandicoot, go long!" the guy shouted, as he threw the football over the head of the hooded fellow, with Crash running past him and catching the football. With the ball in his hands, Crash turned around and ran towards the hooded fellow, who ran away, only to be knocked down by Crash. Broski would move out of the way, as the fellow came crashing down the stairs, before reaching the base of the stairs lying on the floor in pain. King Dedede would come over and help the fellow up to his feet...before grabbing his hands as he played the cassette in his cassette player.
"Hello, ma baby, hello, my darling, hello, my ragtime gal..." the fat penguin sang, dancing with the hooded fellow and twirling him around and whatnot. "Send me a kiss by wire, baby, my heart's on fire..." King Dededee would twirl the hooded fellow to Corrin...who was now dressed up as Darth Vader.
"Am I...supposed to be afraid of you?" the hooded fellow asked Corrin, who would use the Force as he held up his hand and clenched it into a fist. You would think this had virtually no effect...but Zero installed a Force mechanism into Corrin's Darth Vader costume. Why he did it, who honestly knows.
The hooded fellow would rise up in the air, clutching his neck as he gasped for air. While in the chokehold, the fellow would be lowered towards the floor, near the front door. You might assume that something bad was about to happen to him. And you have know idea how right you were...
Seemingly out of nowhere, a pixelated wrestler in black garb would spear the hoded fellow, tackling him viciously and sending him through the front door, breaking the door in the process. The spear was so strong, that the hooded fellow landed outside, on his back and writhing in pain. Only one wrestler was capable of delivering such a vicious maneuver, and his name...was Roman Reigns.
"URRAAAAAAH!" the pixelated Reigns roared, striking a pose as Pit and the others joined him outside. The drone would also appear, filming the downed hooded fellow. "This the guy you wanted me to take care of? Got him good, didn't I?"
"Yup, you sure did!" exclaimed Pit, getting all pumped up. "You're so awesome, Reigns!" Don't be such a kiss-up, Pit...
Meanwhile, Team Rocket sneaked out of the mansion, with the Jade Orb still in Meowth's possession. The trio reached the lake, and Meowth looked down and saw the Jade Orb glowing once near the lakeside.
"Time to see who this crook really is..." said Reigns, as he was about to take the hood off the hooded fellow, when a giant roar was heard. Everyone looked up and saw Rayquaza descend from the sky, flying around the mansion. "A giant flying green dragon that flew down from the sky! Now that's something you don't see everyday!"
With Reigns momentarily distracted, the hooded fellow punched Reigns, escaping from his grasp. He then tried to run away...only to be run over by a Lamborghini. The driver of this Lamborghini, you might ask? Marth, who stopped the Lamborghini in a jiffy. The hero-king got out of the car, along with his passengers - Dr. Wily, Rouge, Makoto, and Ryuji - as they went over to check on the hooded fellow, officially down for the count.
"Ha ha, I think we got him!" exclaimed Vector, as Ema and the rest of her crew exited the mansion. They followed every movement of the hooded fellow on the drone's camera, with the remote having a camera lens, and now they found their crook right where they wanted him. "All that extra stuff was pretty necessary, better than cornerning the guy!"
"That was all me - I'll gladly take any credit," said Pit, hoping to get his due, as Team Rocket came over to join the others. The hooded fellow, now in more pain than before, slowly began to rise up, before Reigns grabbed him and pulled him up to his feet.
"As I was saying before...time to see who this crook really is!" the pixelated wrestler said, as he lifted the hood off the hooded fellow...
...revealing a man with a white ponytail. Corrin knew who it was, Pit and Kirby knew who it was, the Phantom Thieves knew who it was...in fact, everyone who saw this dude knew who it was.
"Jakob?!" those certain individuals exclaimed the butler's name. Yes, Jakob was back, somehow escaping out of jail, and was wearing an Organization XIII cloak this whole time.
"Yes that's him alright..." said Makoto, as she held up her clipboard...which had Jakob's name on it. "He was our suspect this whole time!"
Rouge: Jakob was the one who put me up to that whole love triangle thing last week. Escaped out of jail, found me chilling at a beach, and deliberately threatened me to buy some diamonds and give them Knuckles and Shadow. When Shadow asked me out on a date, I told Jakob what happened, and ordered me to accept the date...otherwise I would've been subjected to "something grave". I'm known for taking chances, but I wasn't willing to take a chance with Jakob - or any runaway inmate, for that matter.
Pit: I'm still getting credit for bringing Jakob down...right?
"DID I TELL YOU BLOKES NOT TO TOUCH MY LAMBORGHINI?!" boomed Master Hand, when he appeared outside. Ever since Robin left the dent in the Lamborghini Master Hand would always reprimand anyone who dared to touch his dream car, instantly. "IF I SEE THE LITTLEST SCRATCH ON MY BABY, I'M GONNA...Jakob, why are you wearing an Organization XIII cloak?" Master Hand cooled off when he looked down and saw Jakob, still in Reign's grasp.
"I found it lying around near the mansion," the butler spoke, still in a world of pain. Marth really got him good. "Someone must've left it behind. Probably a spare."
"Uh huh...also, what business do you have being at my mansion? I thought we banished you for your jerkbag ways, and for secretly working with Dr. Eggman! You should be doing time in jail with that mustached fool and his accomplices!"
"I just had...some unfinished business, to take care of...that's why I returned. Tried to sabotage the concert's everyone is talking about. Wanted to have...a last laugh." What a very laughable excuse.
"Guys did you hear that? Jakob wanted a last laugh! He came all the way back here, and screwed stuff up, just so he could have a last laugh. Well how about we give him a last laugh he will never forget?!"
So everyone would laugh in unison - some more monotone than others - and Jakob, albeit nervously, would laugh along too. Master Hand was laughing the most out of everyone, when he looked up and saw Rayquaza, having been summoned by Team Rocket. A wicked idea conjured in Master Hand's mind...
"Rayquaza, please do us all a favor and Dragon Pulse this fool named Jakob," ordered Master Hand, as Reigns dropped Jakob to the ground and everyone backed away.
Captain Falcon, looking outside through the window in the foyer, was speaking on the phone, and was astonished to see a giant beam strike poor Jakob. Such a fate couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.
"Wow, that's one giant beam!" Captain Falcon said in amazement, before returning to his call. "You should have seen it Olivia, it was the stuff of legends!" Jakob might be inclined to disagree.
"Pretty sure it wasn't that great..." remarked Olivia, as the smoke outside began to clear. "Apparently we're having some trouble with the bus, so it looks like we'll have to turn around and head back to Alola. So I won't be able to see your 'big surprise'."
"Dang it, I was hoping you would be there, your presence would have greatly helped...ah well. Maybe you'll get to see it one day. One day. Okay then, goodbye!"
After Olivia said goodbye, Captain Falcon ended the call, and placed his phone back in his holster. Coco had already shown him the display, which received a thumbs up for approval, and the only thing left to do was...hold that thought. Caeda walked by, with Nah accompanying her, and Captain Falcon was quick to notice.
"Caeda!" the racer called out Caeda's name, reaching the Pegasus knight in breakneck speed. "Nowi, is she here? Tell me she's here!"
"Heh, I kinda forget you and Nowi were a thing..." chuckled Caeda, before making a very questionable face. "...why do you wish to know about her whereabouts?"
Zelda: It's almost time for the concert to begin, and everyone is here except for Joanne...honestly we could do without Joanne, but Master Hand has held her in such a high regard, that the concert is almost contingent on her performing.
Mario and Yosuke, having scoped the entire city for Joanne, would return to the mansion, surprised to see not only Rayquaza, but Jakob as well, as everyone was gathered around the downed-yet-again butler. Thomas was checking to see if Jakob had a pulse, in the event Rayquaza might've killed him...
"He's still alive everyone!" Thomas alerted the others after checking Jakob's pulse. Any other time you'd be relieved if someone was still alive...but this time, the feeling was very neutral. "Knocked out, but still alive somehow."
"Mama mia, what happened-a here?" asked Mario, as everyone's focus was shifted to the plumber. Poor Yosuke, he can never get any love.
"About time you made it back, Mario!" exclaimed Master Hand, as he picked up the unconscious Jakob and dropped him at Mario's feet. "This fool Jakob, who rummaged around the mansion posing as an Organization XIII, tried to come back and stir up more trouble, only to fall to justice! I'm certain he was the one who kidnapped Joanne...so did you do it, did you rescue her?"
"Actually, Master Hand, I think Jakob only kidnapped Callie, from the Squid Sisters," explained Yosuke, disheartening Master Hand greatly. "We were told that Joanne wasn't kidnapped, but rather left the mansion altogether. Meaning that she isn't in harm's way, but rather in a different location."
"What if...this Joanne girlie was in one of those two houses over there?" theorized Dr. Wily, pointing at Mario and Luigi's houses. Curious, Mario would head over to his house, unlocking the front door with his house key...
...and would you know it, sitting in the living room this whole time, THIS WHOLE TIME, was Joanne, speaking with Peach. She was wearing the same attire as before, with her Islamic scarf and all.
"Then they told me that they had planned to kidnap someone else, so they could bring her to their lair or something," Joanne was telling Peach the story about how she was kidnapped in episode 59. "My kidnapping happened in the dark, so I couldn't...blame them...for getting the wrong person..." Joanne's face sank when she turned towards the front door, and saw Mario, his mouth agape.
"Mario, look who came over to visit Lara and I while you were away!" gleamed Peach, as she pointed at Joanne. "This is Joanne, and she is a very, very talented singer! She told me that she didn't really want to do Master Hand's concert, and so she came over and...Mario?" Peach and Joanne watched as Mario felt light-headed, before fainting to the floor. Master Hand came over, seeing Mario on the floor with Poochy licking his face, and Joanne in the living room.
"Whaddaya know, Joanne was hiding out with Peach this whole time!" the giant hand exclaimed, as Joanne's face sank even more. Nobody could save her now. "Which means my concert as go on as planned!"
Zelda: We're a few minutes past the concert's start time, so to keep everyone entertained, I asked one of our guests to do a little stand-up comedy...regrettably I asked the wrong person.
The person Zelda asked to do stand-up comedy? Sazh Katzroy. The man agreed to entertain the crowd, not only to redeem himself, but to prove to Lightning and company that he was quite a comedian.
"Understandably, I couldn't stop the strawberry from crying...'cause his mom was in quite a jam!" Sazh, standing onstage, would tell this joke to Lightning, Serah, and many others in the crowd - all of whom were bored out of their minds. "But did you hear about that cook who got arrested? He was arrested for...get this...BEATING AN EGG!"
"His first performance was so much better," Akuma, who was in attendance, told Jin Kazama and Ling Xiayou, who were sitting next to him. "The jokes were still crappy, but less mind-numbing than the jokes he's telling now."
"FINALLY FOUND YOU AKUMA!" Chrom's voice boomed, as the prince entered the lecture hall, accompanied by Midna. Chrom angrily marched down the aisle to Akuma, putting Sazh's gig on hold. Chrom couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time. "Midna told me about how you had these two friends shave off my head when I was sleeping...was it these two?!" Chrom pointed at Rex and Pyra.
"No, Chrom, you got it all wrong..." replied Akuma, standing up to confront Chrom. "...it wasn't Jin and Ling who did it, it was Rex and Pyra. But you'll never see them, since they're up in Elysium, the 'ultimate paradise for humanity'. So ha, in your face!"
"How dare you accuse my grandson of wrongdoing!" Heihachi got on on Chrom, standing up angrily. "Jin would never shave anyone's head...unless it was my son, Kazuya Mishima. Still hate that man!"
"Stop it grandfather, you're starting a scene..." Jin tried to soothe Heihachi, sitting him back in his seat. "You're gonna cut into the comedy act onstage!"
"I think the whole quality of this 'stand-up gig' is the real comedy act..." Ling murmured to herself. Why did she have to be here...
"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" boomed Master Hand, suddenly appearing onstage. He saw Sazh, and flicked him away, making him drop his microphone. "Some good news - all the performers for the concert are in attendance, and now the concert can finally begin as planned. I hope every single one of you enjoy what I have in store!"
The show was now on, as Master Hand vanished away. There was some applause in the crowd, some in attendance waiting for a good show, making Master Hand feel great inside.
Layton: What a night, what a night...Joanne is found, Jakob has been dealt with even more justice, and the concert can carry on as planned. After a hard night's work, Yu's investigation crew, the Phantom Thieves, Team Chaotix, and Luke and I, as well as Thomas and his friends, are going to see what this concert has to offer. Should be a show-stealer!
Backstage, the performers were bustling to get prepared, from the idol singers to those participating in the play. One of the play's participants, Snake, was dressed up as Ebeneezer Scrooge, dressed like a British pimp.
"Kiria I have a question for you..." the former spy asked Kiria, who walked by in her Christmas attire before coming to a stop. "Do you...like me? Just wanted to make sure..." Kiria turned around, and gave Snake a disgusted look.
"Why would I ever like an old fart like you?" the idol singer questioned, before continuing on her way. Snake did a silently fist pump once the coast was clear. Samus would also walk by, pushing a cart with some props, and caught Snake making a move on her with the corner of her eye.
"Don't...even..think about it," the bounty hunter said, leading Snake to snap his fingers in disgust and failure. Next year, in 2018, Samus will be his for the taking...
Elsewhere backstage, Master Hand was speaking with Ema. It was the first time the giant hand spoke with Ema since the forensics expert sold out to Organization XIII, and Ema wanted Master Hand to forgive her.
"Mario and some of the others already forgave me for what I did, after I helped them take down Jakob," Ema would tell the giant hand, pleading her case. "And maybe you could do the same for me?"
"Well you did spearhead the whole 'take down Jakob' thing...and you got everyone involved as well," stated Master Hand, mulling over Ema's request. "Are you sure you no longer have any ties to Organization XIII?"
"All ties have been severed. They promised me they'd bring back Mia Fey if I worked with them...but it turns out I was being manipulated this whole time. So again, I sorry for what I did, and I'm hoping you can forgive me..."
"In that case...all is forgiven. Your misdeeds are now in the past, they're nothing more." Upon hearing this, Ema got all excited; she felt like hugging someone. "You're free to return to the mansion if you like, what with the possibility of Professor Layton and Luke leaving us soon."
"I wouldn't rule out a return to the mansion - as long as the others are cool with it. Phoenix Wright would be pretty jealous of me if I was a resident again. Thank you very much, Master Hand!
"Consider yourself welcome!" responded Master Hand, shaking hands with Ema as the forensics expert left backstage. The giant hand would then turn his attention to Team Rocket, still looking for respect. "So you three want respect, is that correct?"
"Correct - we're tired of being overlooked, and being treated like trash!" replied Jessie, expressing her inner fury. "Giovanni constantly looks down upon us, and never includes us in his big schemes! We're just looking for respect, and we would greatly appreciate it if it came from you."
"Hmm, seeing how you summoned Rayquaza...I can at least respect you for wielding such a powerful legendary Pokemon. Didn't look afraid, you three looked like pros out there. And if not for you summoning Rayquaza in the first place, I would have never smoked Jakob! So I guess I can give you my respect, if that's fine with..."
"That's fine with us!" James blurted out, as Team Rocket's quest for respect came to an end. "Group hug!" James, Jessie, Meowth, and even Wobbuffet - who came out of his Poke Ball - would engage in a group hug...Master Hand included.
"Can't...feel...anything...fingers...becoming...numb..." Safe to say that Master Hand did NOT appreciate group hugs, or hugs in general.
Caeda: So Captain Falcon had his "good friend" Coco show me a display, one in which he wanted not only Nowi to see, but for everyone else to see as well. He claimed that if the display was viewed as a group, everyone would come to a clear understanding. I think Nowi should see the display just for herself, but that's just me...
"You sure you still wanna go through this, Captain Falcon?" Itsuki asked the racer, who was standing with Caeda and Coco near the gaming room. "There's no turning back at this point..."
"Of course I know that, Itsuki my man!" replied an eager Falcon, ready to Falcon Punch somebody into oblivion. "I'm ready, I was born ready! Ready is my middle name! Douglas Ready Falcon!"
"Your middle name's Jay, not 'Ready'..." That just sounded super tacky. "...but who cares. Go in there, and do your thing!"
So Captain Falcon strutted his stuff as he entered the gaming room, with Coco following closely behind with her pink laptop. With the concert going on in the lecture hall, those in the gaming room where getting some special entertainment of their own...
"Head bent over...raised up posterior..." Link was singing on the gaming room stage with his BOTW counterpart, with K.K. Slider on the turntables and the three Champions playing electrical instruments. "Head bent over, oh yeah, raised up posterior..." And yes, Link and BOTW were doing what the song entailed. What was worse - the Links' performance, or Sazh doing stand-up comedy? You decide.
Captain Falcon would see Nowi, sitting on a couch with Nah, forcing herself to watch the Links perform. There was an available seat next to Nowi, and Falcon sat in it, before tapping Nowi on the shoulder and grabbing her attention.
"Captain Falcon!" shouted a startled Nowi, clutching her pearls. Falcon almost scared the life out of the poor half-Manakete.
"Missed me?" grinned Captain Falcon, as Nowi slowly regained her composure. "Didn't mean to startle you like that, glad you weren't screaming all over the place. Anyways, let me cut to the chase...about that incident where I was dancing at the club with Malva..." Nowi would put her finger on Falcon's lips, silencing him.
"Say no more, Falcon...Meta Knight told me the entire story. It was a trap set up by Jakob, and you kinda fell for it. I didn't know at the time, and I lashed out at you filled up with emotions. So sorry about taking out my frustration on you and ending our relationship afterwards."
"Phew, you made my job easier...and I would like to apologize that I even got myself involved in that incident in the first place. Shouldn't even have went to the club...bad enough that Rayman's friend Globox spotted me there."
"Good to see that you've learned from your mistakes, good for you! Anything else you wish to share with me?" Captain Falcon creaked a smile, as Coco handed him her laptop, keying in her password.
"Well there is ONE thing I wanted you to see..." responded Captain Falcon, and once Coco was done, Falcon turned the laptop screen towards Nowi...and whatever was on the screen made Nowi tear up with joy.
"Oh, Falcon, this is perfect!" exclaimed the half-Manakete, tears rolling down her face. Nah looked at what was on the screen, and was...a little impressed. "This is absolutely lovely! It's...it's...it's..."
"How about you save the waterworks for later, while we picked up from where we left off?" Captain Falcon would say, as he leaned in close towards Nowi and...
...well, there wasn't any kissing, but whatever Captain Falcon and Nowi did was enough to make Nah turn away in disgust. Mewtwo would walk by, wondering what Falcon and Nowi were doing, before he took a glance at Coco's laptop, observing the graphic on the screen.
"Did you...make that by yourself?" Mewtwo would ask Coco concerning the graphic, as Coco nodded her head. "Well then...I must say that I'm fairly impressed. Way to go, bandicoot."
Coco: *cracks a smile as she holds up her laptop, which has a graphic of Captain Falcon and Nowi together, with hearts and sparkles and whatnot, and the text "Nowi, will you still be mine?" at the bottom* Captain Falcon and Itsuki had me work on this thing for weeks, after Jakob was disposed of. With everyone speculating that Falcon was moving on to Olivia, Falcon wanted everyone to see this graphic, to decrease such speculation. However, only Nowi...and Nah...and Mewtwo...and some very nosy people...got to see it, and the results were just as Falcon intended it to be...
Captain Falcon hooking back up with Nowi, Ema regaining her trust from Mario and Master Hand, Team Rocket finally being respected, finding Joanne, and Jakob being put in his place for the last time...all those things could be summed up in two special words...
...mission accomplished.