Smash Life Chapter 186: Episode 186: Flat-Earth, a super smash brothers fanfic

Author's Note:

The Nintendo Switch Lite got released earlier this week, and it...pretty much killed the 3DS for good. It was only a matter of time...but on to the reviews!

"Is Chie gonna get back at Yosuke for not bringing her to the barbecue? Will the supporting characters from past Dragon Quest games show up? Wouldn't Alisha from Tales of Zestiria be better having her DLC outfit? (Since said outfit is post-game and current) a dance off chapter with Miror B. from the GameCube Pokemon games? Will the F-Zero AX characters like Princia Ramode and Lily Flyer show up soon? And finally, do you plan to add Kasumi from Persona 5R when it comes out in Japan or when it comes out in the west?"

Soon. Maybe. Since it's her current outfit, yes. That would be entertaining. Probably not. And I'll add Kasumi when it comes out in Japan...granted I might spoil myself, but I gotta make sure she's suitable enough to be in the story. On to PinkRose4452:

"1. Will Erdrick and Solo's female counterparts, Female Erdrick and Sofia, make an appearance?
2. Will the Ken from Street Fighter and the Ken from Persona interact with eachother?
3. Did Kawakami went back to Japan, or is she still at the mansion?
4. What happened to the Super Mario Maker 2 chapter?"

1. I could make that happen.
2. They will at some point. Ken from Persona will go by Ken A., to lower any confusion.
3. Kawakami took a flight back to Japan after the events of episode 182.
4. Sadly, that never came to fruition...I didn't think I could do a SMM2 chapter. But this chapter does have a few SMM2 references.

Next up is Use Code Chris:

"Maybe Joker could steal Shovel Knight's heart to get Makoto back"

Joker stealing Shovel Knight's heart...heh, sure why not? Our last review for today comes from Derick Lindsey:

"Since Dr. Mario World is coming out next week do you think we can have a reference to it by doing something like maybe an illness is spreading in the Mansion and the Assist Tower and the playable characters in Dr. Mario World have to treat them until they get better or Bowser wants to become a Doctor so he takes Junior, Wendy, and Ludwig (maybe the other Koopalings too if they're playable) to medical school to get their licenses."

Due to the stuff happening in this chapter, I couldn't make room for anything Dr. Mario World related. Moving on:

"Also when do Fox and Krystal head out to Sauria to visit Krystal's mother?"

That will happen once the current arc is wrapped up.

Episode 186: Flat-Earth

Something new was being added to the mansion...no, something new being built was added to the mansion. And it had nothing to do with Mutoh and the Carpenters.

Thanks to a petition signed by a majority of the residents, Minato's friends - known as the Shadow Operatives - and Yu's friends - known as the Investigation Team - would start living at the mansion. Said petition was paraded around by Yosuke and Junpei, both of whom were feening to live at the mansion; Yosuke had always wanted to be a mansion resident for a pretty long time, whereas Junpei had no aspirations of staying at the mansion until his visit a couple of episodes back.

And with the backing of Mario, Yosuke and Junpei (and the others) finally got their wish! While Master Hand wasn't that keen on adding new residents to the mansion, at least for the time being, Mario proposed to the giant hand that he and Luigi would add a new floor to the mansion, with their building expertise. To which Master Hand complied. And now, the Mario Bros were working away, adding the mansion's new floor.

"So what you're saying is, all our stuff will be moved up to the new sixth floor," Fox asked the Mario Bros, who were both in their builder attire, as the pilot was talking about the Star Records room and the recording studio. Mario and Luigi were halfway done remodeling the fifth floor, adding new bedrooms and whatnot.

"Yes, everything that used-a to be on this floor will be moved-a one floor up," replied Luigi, who was hammering away at some pipes. Gotta make sure the water system was still operating, with a new floor and all. "Moving the attic will be the tough-a part!"

"Thankfully we're saving that-a one for last," stated Mario, sawing away at some wood. Krystal would show up in the fifth floor, having taken the stairs.

"Sorry I was late," the vixen said to her fiance, before kissing him on the cheek. "Forgot we can't use the elevators, since the Mario Bros are building and all."

"Yeah, I know, it really sucks," said Fox, before lightening up with a giant grin on his face. "But look on the bright side! At least everyone else will get a good exercise!"

"By 'everyone else', you mean only a few select individuals, right?"

Wario: *panting as he reaches the top of the staircase, before collapsing* Who knew...that climbing stairs...would be so exhausting...felt like...I was running...a marathon for my life...
Gerudo Ganon: *walking by* You've only climbed the stairs from the first floor to the second. Stop acting like you've never used a staircase before.
Wario: I haven't used the dumb stairs in almost three years, cut me some slack man!

"Only a few select individuals?" Fox furrowed his brow at Krystal, who let out a giggle. "Sheesh, woman, you must think a bunch bums live here, don't ya?"

"Hi Fox, hi Krystal!" greeted Toadette, as she walked out of the recording studio. She was holding boxes full of stuff in her hands. "You're not interrupting Mario and Luigi, are you?"

"Sup Toadette! No, we just came by to see how the Mario Bros were handling themselves. How was tearing down the recording studio?"

"Well I did find some goodies, like a couple of chocolate bars...and some secret 'fantasies' Knuckles had written about Rouge, but other than that, everything went swell! Although it was kinda smelly in there..."

"Must be that egg salad Falco tried to hide in there. Thought that stench would've gone away by now..."

Suddenly a loud bus horn was heard, grabbing everyone's attention. While Mario and Luigi continued to work away, Fox, Falco, and Toadette gathered around one of the windows, looking outside.

"Isn't that...Toad's bus?" asked Krystal, recognizing the vehicle that the known bus thief Toad had stolen.

"Yes, that is Toad's bus!" confirmed Toadette, as the bus was parked close to the mansion's driveway. "The newbies must be here! So early, too!"

"They're here already? Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario, before he stopped working as he took out his cellphone to text someone. "Gotta let K.K. Slider and-a the others know right now!"

The bus was now situated near the driveway, parked in a way that wouldn't obstruct anyone or anything. The bus door opened, as Toad happily hopped down to the ground and stood next to the open bus door.

Coming out of the bus first was Yosuke, Yu's best friend. Next was Chie, Yu's best female friend. Following after Chie was Yukiko, Yu's ex-girlfriend. After her was Rise, Yu's current girlfriend. And after her was Kanji, who dragged Naoto out of the bus albeit without force. These individuals made up the Investigation Team...along with Teddie, who ran out of the bus in his costume as he nearly knocked Kanji and Naoto over.

"Hey, watch it bub!" Kanji snapped on Teddie, having moved Naoto out of the way in the nick of time. "Now's not the time to be hurting people!"

"So sorry Kanji, I just can't contain my excitement!" gleamed Teddie, holding his hands close to his face. "Can't wait to be an actual mansion resident..."

"If that Master Hand puts me in a room with that twit..." For the safety of everyone, Master Hand should wisely keep Kanji away from Teddie, as much as possible.

Next to leave the bus was the Shadow Operatives - stepping out first was Junpei, who helped get the petition signed. Next was Yukari, who supported Junpei throughout much of the last episode. Tagging along was Fuuka, who was looking pretty hesitant. Next in line was Akihiko, donning a light gray suit as he stepped out of the bus. Following after Akihiko was Mitsuru, who didn't look like she wanted to be here. Then it was Aigis, who didn't know how to feel or react since she was a robot. And the last to step out of the bus was Ken Ken A., walking Koromaru out of the vehicle...hopefully people won't get him too mixed up with Ken Masters.

"You are both idiots for doing this," Mitsuru said to Yosuke and Junpei, giving them a frown to let them know how ticked off she was

"Consider yourself welcome, Mitsuru!" Junpei smiled in response, as Toad let the new residents to the front of the mansion.

"Ladies and gentlemen...I'd like to welcome you all to the Smash Mansion!" Toad said to the Shadow Operatives and Investigation Team, standing at the mansion front with his arms out wide. Almost like he was expecting something. "I said...I'd like to welcome you all to the SMASH MANSION!"

Right on cue, fireworks were fired up into the sky behind the mansion - likely the works of Blacephalon, who was being kept away at the sanctuary, or some fireworks leftover from the 4th of July. And as if that wasn't strange enough, "Congratulations" by Post Malone started playing from some large loudspeaker somewhere, as Junpei gracefully rose his arms up in the air.

"Let me guess - this was YOUR idea," Chie said to Junpei, with her hands on her hips. Junpei let out a knowing smirk, as he eyed Chie.

"Had it all laid out in the petition..." replied Junpei, before exchanging a quick high five with Yosuke. Clearly Junpei and Yosuke both had good taste.

Junpei: Lemme list out the provisions from the petition that I can think of at the top of my head...fireworks display, three-course dinner, free back rubs, and also a giant allowance for each and every one of us. Those are some of the few provisions Master Hand approved of.

Yukiko: How do I feel about living at the mansion, from a scale of one to ten? *thinks* Ask me again when Yu gets the boot.

"Look everyone, it's Banjo and Kazooie!" exclaimed Toad, as he pointed at the front door as it was opened. Out came Banjo, standing on the mansion porch with Kazooie looking over his shoulder.

"Guh-huh!" squealed Banjo, hopping down from the porch before walking to the Shadow Operatives and Investigation Team. He gave each and every new resident a handshake, similar to what he had done in his debut episode.

"Did somebody say, banjo?" asked K.K. Slider, popping out from the corner of the mansion as he came over to Banjo and company with his guitar. Banjo would take out his...banjo, ready to play.

"K.K. Slider and Banjo have prepared a special song, just for you guys!" Toad said to the Persona gang, who were ready to cringe. "K.K. Slider, take it away!"

"You got it, my groovy dude!" K.K. Slider started to play a chord on his guitar, and Banjo would do the same on his banjo. "A one, and a two, and a one, two, three, four...OOOOOOHHHH..."

"We will NOT be entertaining any songs," affirmed Mitsuru, putting an end to the musical charades as she placed her hand on Banjo's instrument and lowered it down. "Just take us inside already..."

"Okay, okay...mellow out, we'll get you inside soon. Everyone follow the Toad!"

So the Persona gang was led inside the mansion by Toad, and everyone except for Yosuke and Junpei expected things to be more mundane...but it turns out it was more of the same. Inside the foyer were Ryu, Ken Masters, Akuma, Heihachi, Ike, Crunch, Jacky, Incineroar...basically all the ripped dudes. All of them were kneeling on the floor, literally bowing down to the Persona gang.

"This is...this is too much," remarked Ken A., not sure what to make of the display as he scratched the back of his head.

"Something tells me that I should've proofread the petition," said Naoto as she glared at Yosuke and Junpei, who were both delighted by Ryu and company's display. "Starting to feel scared about how the rest of the day will turn out..."

"It'll be a great first day at the mansion, I guarantee it," assured Junpei, who could never understand why Naoto had to be such a hater. Seemed like the police detective could never have fun.

Suddenly, Master Hand appeared in front of Toad and the Persona gang, hovering in the air and letting his mighty presence be known. For some Persona folk, this was their first encounter with Master Hand.

"Hide me!" an intimidated Kanji hid behind Naoto, who sighed as she lowered the police hat on her head.

"Toad...you did good," Master Hand commended the bus thief, who nodded with a smile. "You are dismissed."

"Told you I wouldn't let you down!" Toad said to Master Hand, putting on his builder cap as he walked away, ready to help the Mario Bros and Toadette with building the new floor and all.

"I detect a very strong gravitational pull from this giant being..." analyzed Aigis, as Master Hand turned his attention to the Persona gang. Kanji was still intimidated, shivering in fear behind Naoto.

"Well now, I didn't expect you all to arrive so early, but...better early than late or never," Master Hand told the Persona gang, proud of the new saying he had made up on the fly. "How are you all?"

"These muscular men are bugging us out..." responded Akihiko, with Junpei and Yosuke inclined to disagree with the boxer. "...but other than that, we're handling ourselves pretty well."

"Nice to know, Mr. Gray Suit Man! Bah, I don't even know half of you guys' names...everyone follow me to my room, I'll lay out the room assignments and everything else that needs to be covered."

Master Hand led the Persona crew away, taking them down the hallway to his room. The coast was now clear, as Ike and the other burly men looked up and saw the Persona gang being led away.

"They're gone!" cheered Ike, as the muscular dudes stopped bowing and let out a sigh of relief. They all stood up on their feet, talking about how relieved they were and how stupid they felt adhering to Yosuke and Junpei's crazy provisions.

Cloud actually had a lot of fun at the 4th of July festivities last week. The swordsman played a game of cornhole with Adeleine, as he and the painter went up against Robin and his son from the future, Marc. Amazingly, the team of Cloud and Adeleine won!

But that wasn't all, Cloud did a whole bunch of other fun activities on the holiday. He played around with some water balloons, getting a few residents soaking wet. He sent a baseball soaring into the sky, in a small home run derby. And he was the only person to break open Rayman's American flag pinata, which inherently made Cortex the most salty person on earth for the time being.

With all those fun things Cloud had done, surely Ken would leave him alone about having fun and how important it was. But as always, there was a time for fun, and a time for rest and relaxation. Cloud would be enjoying the latter, chilling out in the cafe.

Rosalina: In all the time I've known Cloud, I've never seen him so...active recently. The Cloud I used to know a few years back would feel adverse about doing certain hobbies, like arts and crafts. But earlier this week, he came to my little arts and crafts session, and drew this! *holds up a very rough drawing of a Chocobo* I'll admit, it's not the best drawing in the world, but the fact that Cloud of all people drew it has to mean something. He didn't think too highly of this drawing, so he gave it to me as a keepsake. Would look nice in a nursery room.

Cloud sat alone in the cafe, minding his own business, when Kamui came inside. Cloud would usually in moments like these pay no mind, but the swordsman saw that something was up with Kamui. The princess of Nohr looked pained, like she was ready to cry her eyes out.

"Anything wrong?" Cloud asked Kamui, who was taking deep breaths as she was fanning her eyes. To say that Kamui was distressed would be lightly putting it.

"It's...it's Corrin," answered Kamui; Cloud knew that Corrin was always the source of any problem or challenge that Kamui had to face. "He has been very hard to deal with these past few days."

"That's nothing new, kinda expected given how much of a goofball your brother is. But I can tell that this time, his goofiness has taken a toll on you..."

"I wouldn't call it goofiness...I'd say flat-out stupidity and ignorance is a better way to describe it." Hearing Kamui saying that about Corrin's shenanigans really made Cloud raise his eyebrows a bit. "Why don't I show you?"

"I'll see what's up...against my own judgement." So Cloud got up out of his chair, as he followed after Kamui to his room. He and Kamui would pass by Layton, who was being pushed on his wheelchair.

"Kamui appears very discontent," observed Layton, wondering what the problem was as he had his index finger underneath his chin. "What do you think the issue is?"

"Pfft, how am I supposed to know?" asked the person that was pushing Layton around on his wheelchair. No, it was Luke...it was actually Sonic. Surprise, surprise! "I'm not Corrin's keeper!"

"True, but it doesn't hurt to know, without being nosy. Now will you take me to the kitchen? I can feel my stomach growling!"

"Stinking Mario and Luigi picked the wrong day to add some stupid sixth floor..." grumbled sonic, as he pushed Layton away. Oh, how much the hedgehog wished that the elevators were operable.

Sonic: Why am I the one that has to push Layton around on his wheelchair? Eh, beats me. My biggest worry is that pushing Layton around is gonna keep me away from hanging out with Amy. But, I'm sure Layton wouldn't mind learning a thing or two in romance from Amy and I! We all know the man really needs it. Luke, too - gotta start him off right!

Cloud and Kamui stood outside Corrin and Kamui's room, hearing a conversation from inside the room. Kamui had her ear pressed against the bedroom door, listening to what was being discussed.

"Oh dear..." the princess gasped, cupping her mouth with her right hand. "...I think Corrin has officially gone off on the deep end."

"I'll just have to see about that," said Cloud, wondering what Corrin could possibly be discussing about that unnerved Kamui to the bone. "Let's see what's up."

So Kamui opened the door, leading Cloud inside her bedroom. Inside, Cloud and Kamui found Rex, having a bit of a back-and-forth with Corrin. You should never argue with Corrin; people like him would drag you down to their level, and beat you with experience.

"And that, Rex, is why you should do your own research on the matter," Corrin said to the swordsman, after presenting his case. The prince was sorta acting like a snobbish know-it-all.

"What research? I know for a fact that you're making this stuff up," retorted Rex, as Corrin scoffed at the swordsman's ignorance. "You're not fooling anyone!"

"Hey guys, sorry if I interrupt, but what's going on?" Cloud asked Rex and Corrin, bringing the back-and-forth to an immediate halt.

"This man Corrin apparently believes that the world is flat," Rex pointed at Corrin, who did not appreciate being pointed at. "He's been going on about it for two days."

"I'm trying to feed Rex here some knowledge," Corrin defended himself to Cloud, who was now certain that Corrin surpassed Pit as the mansion's biggest moron. Unless Pit was a flat-earther, too. "Since my twin sister, Kamui, wouldn't understand..."

"Woah, timeout," said Cloud, walking over to Rex and Corrin to serve as a mediator. Something the swordsman didn't really like to do. "Corrin, what proof do you have that the world is flat? Give me something credible."

"Think about this, Mr. Strife...if the earth were a globe, then why isn't the surface of standing water convex? Water surfaces are always leveled."

"That might've been somewhat the smartest thing to have ever come out of your mouth...but it still makes no sense. Got any more proof?"

"Why yes I do! Continuing on about levels, the very earthly surface that we walk on is leveled. Obviously the ground wouldn't be leveled if we were walking around on a globe. Am I right, or am I right?"

"Nope...you're wrong." Corrin was taken back by Cloud's answer of defiance, stepping back as he clutched his pearls. "Just because the ground is flat doesn't mean anything, Corrin."

"Oh but it does, Mr. Strife, au contraire! Ever wondered why the horizon is flat? There is no curve in the horizon whatsoever. Not only that, but the earth is stationary - we should be flying around if it were moving around the sun. All those satellite images of the earth NASA provides are all photoshopped. And must I mention that NO ONE has yet to cross the Great Wall of Antarctica?"

"Excuse me..." a deeply worried Kamui told Rex as she left the room to have a moment to herself, while her brother Corrin tried to prove to Cloud that this "great wall" of Antarctica existed. Rex followed Kamui out of the room, to make sure she was alright.

"Funny how nobody has ever seen this wall at Antarctica before," Cloud had this to say, after Corrin's great wall spiel. "I guess the people that go to Antarctica keep missing it, huh?"

"It's just that nobody hasn't discovered the wall yet," explained Corrin, confident that he was correct in his response. "BUT! If the earth was really flat, anyone traveling to Antarctica would fall off the globe, and into the space abyss!"

"Good thing we have both a north pole and a south pole...and also gravity." Not wanting to risk arguing with Corrin any further, Cloud left the room. But Corrin still had some ammo left in the tank.

"No Cloud, don't leave me - I still have more proof!" Corrin pleaded to the swordsman, who looked at Corrin one more time before slamming the bedroom door. Cloud looked over, and saw Rex comforting a deeply saddened Kamui.

"This is probably a phase for him, he'll snap out of it soon," Rex assured Kamui, who was standing near the wall as she tried her hardest not to cry. Corrin being a flat-earther was really upsetting the princess of Nohr.

"Lemme guess - you tried to set Corrin straight too? Ha ha ha...there's no point in getting through that boy. He's a lost cause!"

Cloud turned to his left when he recognized that familiar voice, and saw Ken grinning at him. Not the merry company Cloud was expecting.

Ken: I did it, I actually got Cloud to enjoy a holiday for once! And of course, it had to be the 4th of July. I expect Cloud to be thanking me later, if he hasn't already. A thank you note would be nice.

"How did you fare with Corrin?" Cloud asked Ken, who shook his head as it looked down at the floor. Quite evident that Ken went through a battle with Corrin.

"Managed only five minutes, before the kid started spewing random nonsense," replied Ken, as he looked up at Cloud. "Felt dumber and dumber each time I heard Corrin speak!"

"Thought the same thing was gonna happen to me...good thing I got out in time. Someone should really reason with Corrin."

"You know what, Cloud? I think that YOU would be the right person for the job!" Ken pointed at Cloud, who was looking pretty hesitant. "You seem like the only person that can tolerate Corrin's dumb theories."

"You mean the only person that looks good at faking tolerance..." Cloud stepped away from Ken, thinking to himself for a brief moment. "What, you think I should have 'fun' with Corrin?"

"Wouldn't say that fun is the best way to go about it...but you should take the boy out on a plane ride! Fly him around the world, and show him how wrong he is."

"Got a plane ticket?" Ken was rendered speechless, smiling sheepishly as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, that's what I thought..."

"Just let me know if you need anything," Ken walked past Cloud, patting the swordsman on his shoulder. "With Corrin, you might need all the help you can get!"

As detailed in the provisions listed in the petition, the Persona gang were supposed to be spoiled...with food. After the gang had the room situation all figured out, they were told to head to the dining room, where Cilan and Chef Kawasaki would indulge everyone.

"For a while I thought everything that happened so far today was over the top...but now, I'm starting to dig it," remarked Mitsuru, who was eating a homemade burger with a knife and fork. Cilan, who made the burger, felt insulted by Mitsuru's eating method.

"See, I told you Yosuke and I had the best ideas in mind!" smiled Junpei, as he was treating himself to some baby back ribs, smothered in barbecue sauce. "This is what I like to call first class!"

"I had no idea the mansion cuisine would be so delicious..." gleamed Teddie, who was eating with his bear costume off. Just then, Palutena entered the dining room, holding a plate of cinnamon rolls.

"Who wants some cinnamon rolls?" the goddess of light asked the Persona gang, who all cheered in unison. "Oh, why did I even have to ask...everyone, help yourself!"

"Don't mind if I do!" exclaimed Sonic, speeding inside the dining room as he snatched one of the cinnamon rolls and ate it. Everyone in the dining room gasped, as Sonic happily ate the cinnamon roll.

"Sonic, how could you...?" Chef Kawasaki said to the hedgehog, who was licking his fingers after he finished off his cinnamon roll. Sonic was wondering why everyone was looking at him.

"What are you guys looking at, am I not allowed to eat anything other than chili dogs?" Sonic then looked up at Palutena, who was furious. "You said I could help myself, right Lady Palutena?"

"These cinnamon rolls were for the new residents only..." replied Palutena, as her eye twitched a little. She held unto the tray of cinnamon rolls, to contain her anger.

"New residents? What new residents..." Sonic slowly turned his head to the dining room table...finally recognizing the Persona gang. The hedgehog shrieked, as he fell backwards unto the floor.

"Yo, Sonic the Hedgehog, what up my dude!" Yosuke greeted the hedgehog, who quickly stood back up on his feet with an angry scowl.

"You!" Sonic pointed at the Investigation Team - namely Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Teddie. "You're those bum friends of Yu's that got me in trouble for the whole football deflation thing!"

"For the record, we had nothing to do with this...deflating football thing," stated Rise, on behalf of Kanji, Naoto, and herself. "But we would appreciate if..."

"Shut your mouth, I'm the one speaking here!" Sonic snapped on Rise, before redirecting his attention to the young adults that wronged him in episode 59. "You mean to tell me that I have to share the same living residence as you guys?!"

"Wow, Sonic, we never saw you this upset with us when we watched that Jurassic World movie together," Yukiko said to the hedgehog, putting him in his place.

"Yeah, well, uh...Mario and the others were there, so I had to keep it on the down low, if you know what I mean. But regardless, I'm still salty over what you did!"

"Sonic sure loves holding grudges..." Fuuka whispered to Ken A., observing Sonic during her first encounter with the hedgehog. Sonic took sight of the blunette, and the rest of the Shadow Operatives.

"Hey, you guys are from that Mementos place where we saw Jurassic World, right? Friends of Minato's? Yeah, you're a really cool bunch!" Sonic gave the Shadow Operatives a two thumbs up seal of approval. "Way cooler than those Investigation Team dorks, if you ask me. Now if you excuse me, I got a lanky top hat man to push around on his wheelchair..."

Sonic left the dining room, taking one more cinnamon roll before making his exit. Palutena was irked, while everyone else looked on.

"Sonic sure looks like a handful, doesn't he?" Rise asked her friends, having received a pretty good taste of what Sonic was all about.

Amy: Just got here at the mansion - sure hope I didn't arrive at the wrong time, since it looks like Mario and Luigi are busy adding stuff to the mansion and all. Sonic promised me that he would spend time with me, as part of the contract he signed, so I'll be waiting outside for him. It'll be a little test, to see if he remembered!

Sonic pushed Layton out of the kitchen, after having given the detective the cinnamon roll he had taken. Layton happily ate the cinnamon roll, while Sonic had a pretty pained expression written on his face.

"Say, Professor Layton, how would you like pranking the new guys?" Sonic asked the detective, expecting a no because of how "boring" and practical Layton was.

"Pranking the new residents, what for?" inquired Layton, as he was finishing up his cinnamon roll. He could really go for another cinnamon roll, although Palutena wouldn't be willing enough.

"Oh, you know, getting them used to life at the mansion...totally not like I'm seeking revenge or anything stupid like that, hehe." Sonic chuckled nervously, hoping that Layton wouldn't catch on. "So what do you say?"

"I don't know Sonic, pranking Yu and Minato's friends would be in very bad taste. It could lead us two to trouble." Knowing that Layton would turn him down, Sonic tsked away as he shook his head.

"Good gravy, you're boring as heck...but, I managed to pull Vince away from his purgatory of boredom, so who says I can't do the same for you? Let's get started!"

"I believe we should think this out first..." Sonic didn't want to think, as he pushed Layton away - albeit going a bit too fast. "Not so fast, not so fast!"

Amy sat outside the mansion, sitting at a picnic table. She glanced at her phone, expecting Sonic to show up any time soon. The only instance where the pink hedgehog would excuse Sonic for tardiness was if the blue blur was busy. Legitimately busy.

To pass the time, Amy watched as the Mario Bros - and Toad and Toadette as well - built the new sixth floor to the mansion. Because of the construction work, Mega Man was off on patrol duty. And the blue bomber enjoyed his day off, as he played catch with Rush - something that briefly caught Amy's attention.

"I wonder how Sonic is handling things with Shaymin," Amy uttered this thought out loud, after seeing Mega Man and Rush playing catch with each other. "I bet he's feeding her right now!"

"TAKE THIS, AND THIS, AND SOME OF THIS!" someone shouted, as the sounds of a punching bad being struck were heard. Amy turned around, and to her surprise saw Link, shirtless and all, as he was throwing punches at a poor sandbag hanging from a tree branch.

"Link...?" Amy said in almost pure disbelief, as she moved away from the picnic table and headed over to Link. Link was seemingly in the zone, punching away at the innocent sandbag like his life depended on it.

"Think you're so tough, huh Zant? Think you're all that, with your dumb Twilight?! Well NO, you're not so tough at all! Eat some of this, and that, some of this, and some of that, and some of..."

"Excuse me, Link?" Amy said to the Hylian, grabbing his attention. Link saw Amy, and eventually came to a stop as he took a breather. "Why are you punching that sandbag for?"

"I'm doing some extensive training for my inevitable showdown with Zant," explained Link, leading Amy to believe that he was insane as the Hylian threw out a few punches to demonstrate his fighting skills. "Gonna send him crying to his mother...or whoever."

"I've always thought that the so-called 'heroes of Hyrule' were supposed to defeat their enemies with the Master Sword." Amy searched all over Link for the Master Sword, but did not see the legendary blade anywhere.

"Ah, yes, that's what Zant expects to see, me fighting him with the Master Sword. However, what he will NOT expect to see is this sucker punch across his face!" Link hurled a left hook, before flinching in pain as he grabbed his elbow.

"And you plan on doing hand-to-hand combat, despite not being that physically superior or anything..."

"That's the whole point, it'll be fool's gold at first. First Zant will spend the first few seconds laughing...and then BLAM! Left hook outta nowhere!"

Link threw out another left hook, injuring his arm in recoil once more. LInk once again flinched, as he grabbed and held his arm.

"Yeah...good luck with that," replied Amy as she walked away from Link, allowing the Hylian to continue throwing punches at the poor sandbag. That sandbag never did anything wrong to deserve such treatment.

Link: As I've told Amy, I'll throw Zant off-guard by showing up with my current physique so that when I knock the snot right out of him, he won't know what him him! So I won't be doing any exercising whatsoever - just gonna keep up with this current frame. Maybe I can do a few lunges here and there...provided I don't build any muscle in my legs. Might have to skip leg day, just to be on the safe side.

Amy would return to the picnic table and sat down, hoping for Sonic to show up anytime soon. As Amy sat down, and Link continued throwing punches, and Mega Man played catch with Rush...none of the three noticed a suspicious trio, sneaking their way over to the mansion.

Inside the mansion, Pit was busy petting the Shadow Operatives' team pet, Koromaru, in the foyer. Koromaru wasn't allowed in the dining room, just like all the other mansion pets. As Pit gently petted Koromaru's head, the phone suddenly rang.

"One moment, doggo!" Pit said to Koromaru as he leaped up and ran over to the phone. The angel picked up the phone, clearing his throat. "Hello, Smash Mansion, Pit speaking!"

"Sup man, can you open the door for me?" asked the person on the phone; Pit dared not to ask who this person was, or what he wanted. "The front door?"

"Uh, sure thing dude! But why do you want me to open the door for? Got a special package for me or something?"

"Well no...it's a special package for Wario. Just a very special gift he had ordered. So special, I can't just leave it on the porch, you know?"

"Understandable, understandable...I'll get the door for you, friend!"

"Sweet! Oh, and one more thing...after you open that front door, we...erm, I, want you to run out of that front door, and yell something out loud. Like the biggest confession you've ever made."

"Ooh, I love a good truth-or-dare challenge! Is it truth-or-dare? Sometimes it's hard for me to tell. What do I get if I do the dare?"

"Do it and you'll receive our...I mean my respect. Make me proud, my guy!"

So Pit immediately hang up the phone, and opened the front door before standing in the center of the foyer as he readied himself for a running start. Koromaru watched carefully, as Pit ran out of the mansion and yelled the following...

"I NEVER LEARNED HOW TO READ!"

Pit made this confession known to the world, as he ran out of the mansion as far as his legs could carry him. Suddenly barking, Koromaru chased after Pit, in the hopes of retrieving the goofball angel. Nevertheless, the front door remained open...

...which gave all the more opportunity for the suspicious trio to sneak their way inside the mansion, while everyone outside was distracted by Pit and Koromaru. The trio consisted of three denizens from the mansion...

...Ratchet, Clank, and Colonel Radec. Once inside, Ratchet quickly slammed the front door, before he and the others hid behind a couch so they wouldn't be seen.

"Great thinking, Ratchet!" Clank quietly commended the Lombax, who was looking out for anyone that might be passing by. "Tricking Pit into leaving the front door open, and distracting everyone outside so we could sneak in..."

"Honestly, Clank, my plan would've failed had it been anyone else," stated Ratchet, already aware of just how dumb and gullible Pit was. The Lombax clearly did his homework on the mansion. "Pit just happened to fall into the right place."

"That may be true, but Amy Rose is the real MVP for giving Cole the mansion's contact information. Wish we had access to that messaging site Fox and Falco started up, but we have to make do with what we got..."

"Screw that, when are we gonna destroy the mansion?" questioned Radec, getting his gun locked and loaded and ready for destruction. "I want some carnage!"

"Baby steps, Radec, baby steps..." Ratchet said to the colonel, as he lowered his gun. "We'll get to the 'destroying the mansion' phase at a later time. For now, we should just focus on tearing the mansion apart as much as we can."

"Why can't we just enact that phase right now..." Radec was really feigning to kill somebody, just to satisfy his own bloodlust.

"We're gonna enact it soon, Radec. Trust me. For the time being, let's just wait here until somebody passes by...then we can follow them to wherever."

Ready to do work at the workshop, Samus left from the storage room, after gathering some scrap metal. Upon exiting the storage room, the bounty hunter ran into Cloud, nearly dropping her scrap metal on the floor.

"Samus! Just the woman I needed to see," Cloud said to the bounty hunter, making sure Samus didn't drop anything. "You don't mind having guests flying around in your Gunship, right?"

"What's it to you?" questioned Samus; on a scale from one to ten in regards to riding around in the Gunship with Cloud, the bounty hunter was a solid 5..and a half.

"I might have someone who's interested in riding around the Gunship...Corrin. Don't know if you heard this or not, but apparently he thinks the earth...is flat."

The sound of silence filled up the hallway, as Samus looked at Cloud reacting as if she heard that a close friend of hers had died. Samus would later shake off her shocked expression, doing her best to maintain her typically stoic visage.

Samus: Meh, I can't say that I'm that surprised by Corrin - he sure loves his crazy conspiracy theories and fake intellectual crap. If Corrin reveals himself to be a Scientologist, that's when I start throwing in the red flag...

"This has got to be a joke, right?" asked Samus, holding out some faith that Cloud was harmlessly pulling her tail. "I mean, I heard Ema bring it up to me the other day, but I didn't think that..."

"Had to see it for myself...sadly it's legit," replied Cloud, having some sympathy for Corrin and his lack of intellectual understanding. "There's literally nothing we can do to change Corrin's mind...unless..."

"What are you...hinting at?" Samus cautiously backed away from Cloud, unsure of what the swordsman was about to say yet at the same time very sure of what was being insinuated.

"Look, Samus, Corrin isn't just going to learn that the earth isn't round at this mansion. You gotta show him the truth."

"No, I'm not letting Corrin inside my Gunship, no matter how much you want me to. You can't just force me."

"So you want Kamui to put up with her brother's flat-earth beliefs forever, is that what you want?" Samus continued to back away...before she backed up into Ken.

"Go ahead, do it...it'll be a lot of fun," Ken whispered to Samus, who wondered if the fighter was eavesdropping on her and Cloud. "Just you, Corrin, and maybe..."

"Back off, you creep..." Samus muttered to Ken, pulling herself away from Ken before directing her attention back to Cloud. "...fine, I guess I'll entertain a ride in the Gunship for Corrin. Just to make him change his stance."

"Good, thought it would've taken me forever to get you to come around," responded Cloud, before receiving a thumbs up from Ken that he brushed to the side.

"But just so we're clear...I'm NOT flying Corrin all around the globe. I'll be flying a good distance enough for his supposedly 'woke' brain to explode...man, I hate using that word."

"Let me know when you're ready." Receiving the command from Cloud, Samus nodded at the swordsman as she turned around and walked away. Ken grinned, as he walked over to Cloud and wrapped his arm around him.

"Riding around on the Gunship sounds like a lot of fun, don't you think?" Ken asked Cloud, who threw the fighter's arm off of him.

"If that's what you think..." murmured Cloud, as he walked away; Ken stood there proudly, acting like he did a great deed.

The Mario Bros, along with Toad and Toadette, had just finished refurnishing the fifth floor with new rooms, and were now about to work on the mansion's newest sixth floor. This was where the Star Records room and recording studio would be added - and also refurnished.

"Oh no!" Toad exclaimed in horror, as he and Toadette were building the recording studio. "This isn't good!"

"What seems-a to be the problem?" inquired Mario, as he and Luigi came over to speak with Toad.

"We've gone way over the budget...we can't afford these dual loudspeakers!" Toad showed the Mario Bros the abstract for the new recording studio, pointing at two dual loudspeakers in particular.

"We have a budget...?" This was apparently news to Mario's ears, as the plumber raised an eyebrow.

"It was your-a idea," Luigi said to his twin brother, who was still astonished as he scratched his chin in thought.

Luigi: Mario came up with-a the budget, in order to "limit ourselves" from spending too much. It was a very last-a minute decision, so of course Mario forgot...

"What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do?!" panicked Toadette, as she ran about back and forth. Mario continued to scratch his chin in thought, before coming up with an idea.

"I know - I'll hunt down some gold-a coins somewhere!" the plumber suggested; searching for gold coins was something the plumber hadn't done in quite a while. "Then we can add the coins-a to our budget, and get those loudspeakers."

"But where-a on earth are you going to find-a these gold coins?" Luigi asked her brother, hoping that he would be allowed to tag along. He couldn't be trusted building the sixth floor with only Toad and Toadette.

"Surely there's a green-a pipe somewhere I can use, to go underground and find-a some gold coins." Mario walked away from Luigi and the others, before taking the steps. If only he could use the elevator. "If Master Hand asks, tell-a him I'm...searching for stuff."

"And what if he sees us through?" Toad asked Mario, receiving no response as Mario went down the staircase. It was gonna be a long trip down for Mario...but a really good exercise, too.

Until the Mario Bros were done with their building duties, the Persona gang was instructed by Master Hand to hang out in the lower levels of the mansion, forbidden to go to their rooms. So for the time being, the friends of Yu and Minato took the time to interact with the residents. Aigis, for instance, was having a little chit-chat with the robot friends - R.O.B., Ray, and Chibi-Robo - in the middle of the hallway.

"You said that this small robot mechanism does all the housework duties around the mansion, correct?" Aigis asked Ray and R.O.B., as she was holding Chibi-Robo in the palm of her left hand.

"It's also good at finding stickers and crayons lying about," stated Ray, as Aigis gently petted Chibi-Robo's head with her index and middle fingers. "Most of which is Villager's doing..."

"BUT IT ALSO NEEDS TO BE CHARGED...JUST LIKE WITH ANY OTHER MAINTENANCE ROBOT..." added R.O.B., before lowering its head like a robot needing to be charged was a bad thing.

"Seems redundant to have a Chibi-Robo, since I recall seeing two maids and a housekeeper," said Aigis, speaking about Flora, Felicia, and Mr. Game and Watch. "Unless Chibi-Robo is responsible for backup duty?"

"I guess...that's a good way to put it," shrugged Ray, as Aigis gently placed Chibi-Robo back on the floor. Aigis might've found herself some new friends...

Over at the buddy cops' police station, which was still their bedroom, Naoto was about to receive a "promotion" of sorts from Toon Link and Young Link. Kanji was with his girl to not only celebrate the occasion, but to prove to the buddy cops that he liked women.

"Naoto Shirogane...on behalf of Hutch and I, we cannot thank you enough from saving us from Barbara and La Resistance," Toon Link said to the police detective, thanking her for the deed she had done in the previous episode.

"All I did was untie you guys from the stolen fireworks," Naoto plainly stated, wanting this "promotion" to be over with ASAP. "The Yiga Clan took care of the rest."

"While that may be true, it is YOU who are our real hero," Young Link said to Naoto, who frowned as she lowered her cap. "And for that, Starsky and I have no choice but to name you...our honorary sheriff."

Ready to commemorate Naoto, Young Link took out a sheriff badge, and tried to put it on Naoto's chest. Only problem was, the Hylian was too short, so he had to jump multiple times to reach Naoto's torso. So many failed attempts.

"You're not gonna take this honorary sheriff thing seriously, are you?" Kanji whispered to Naoto, who didn't even bother helping out Young Link.

"I'm only doing this just to be nice..." Naoto whispered back, counting the multiple times Young Link failed to reach Naoto's chest.

After speaking with Fuuka, Futaba showed the bluenette the mansion's computer room, knowing that Fuuka had a strong infinity for technology like she did. Futaba then took Fuuka to the gaming room, to introduce the bluenette to someone who was also very tech-savvy.

"This one's my favorite," smiled King Dedede, showing Coco a picture of the Hounds, of God Eater fame; the fat penguin pointed at a purple-haired chick, whose name was Lulu. Coco was wondering why Dedede was even showing her the picture to begin with.

"Pretty sure's she's underage and way out of your league..." Coco offered her two cents, before looking back at her iPad. She would look up seconds later, when she saw Futaba and Fuuka walking towards her.

"Hi Coco...I'm not interrupting you, am I?" Futaba asked the bandicoot, as King Dedede took sight of Fuuka. Something apparently clicked in the fat penguin's head...

"No, I wasn't doing anything important." Coco closed down her iPad, before placing it next to her on the couch she was sitting on. "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, this is Fuuka Yamagishi...she's someone I befriended about a month ago. After the mansion was set on fire and all."

"The pleasure is all mine," Fuuka meekly waved to Coco, flashing a smile. Looked like she was holding something behind her back.

"Also, Fuuka heard from a friend about how you lost your laptop in the mansion fire. So she took it upon herself, and got you...this!"

Fuuka revealed what she was holding behind her back...a pink laptop, which she was holding out to Coco. Coco looked at the laptop funny, then at Fuuka - almost felt like Fuuka had secretly stalked her, or something.

"H-How did you know that I needed a laptop?" Coco asked Fuuka; she much rather preferred her old laptop, with all her stuff on it, but receiving a new device was always a good gesture. "And it's pink, my favorite color?"

"Heard about it from my friend, Yukari - she heard from a so-called 'evil genius' about your troubles," answered Fuuka, as Coco furrowed her brow. The bandicoot turned around and looked at Cortex, sitting on a barstool when he saw Coco glaring at him.

"You're welcome..." Cortex mouthed to Coco, while sporting a very sly smile.

Cortex: Drat, drat, and double drat! I literally did a huge favor for someone, and it was for the sibling of my arch-nemesis! My villain decay is getting worse, I'm telling you!
Uka: No need to act like such a drama queen...
Cortex: But on the plus side, I remembered what Coco's favorite color was! Which means I have good memory!
Uka: Literally everyone in the planet knows that Coco likes pink, you bozo! Stop acting like you're something special.

"Um...thanks, Fuuka, for the laptop," Coco thanked the bluenette, as she accepted her new laptop. "How very...thoughtful of you."

Fox, Falco, and Itsuki were pretty stoked, for they were about to sign the newest addition to Star Records - Rise Kujikawa. Since the new Star Records room wasn't finished yet, the contract signing had to take place in the living room. Rise was in the living room with Fox, Falco, and Itsuki, along with Ribbon Girl and Knuckles - both of whom had to make their Star Records pitch to Rise.

"So as a client of Star Records, I get to choose my own tour dates, right?" Rise asked the Star Records trio, who were looking nervous as they grabbed their collars.

"We never really thought about letting our talent go on tours or anything like that," confessed Falco - talk about a lot of missed opportunities.

"You mean that you have all this awesome talent under your label, yet you can't afford to let anyone go on tour? What is wrong with you guys?!"

"To be fair, I tried asking Fox and Falco for my own tour, but they never came around," stated Knuckles, leading Ribbon Girl to give the echidna a quick nudge. "Hey!"

"We're trying to entice Rise to sign with Star Records, not steer her away..." Ribbon Girl murmured to Knuckles, who frowned as he folded his arms.

"Tell you what - you sign with Star Records, and we'll let you be our first talent to go on a tour," Falco proposed to Rise, giving the pop singer an opportunity of a lifetime.

"Not only that but we'll also pay for your traveling expenses and hotel fees," added Fox, doing everything he could to bring Rise on board. Rise was starting to look a little bit intrigued.

"Well, in that case..." Rise slowly stood up, as she looked down at the Star Records contract laying on the living room table. "...sign me up!" The pop singer grabbed the pen and signed her name on the contract, as Fox let out a sigh of relief and Falco pumped his fist in celebration.

"Hey, where on earth is Little Mac?" wondered Itsuki, as he expected Little Mac to be present. "He was supposed to give Rise his pitch!"

Little Mac unfortunately couldn't attend the Star Records contract signing, for he was in an amateur wrestling match with Akihiko in the dancing room...wrestling room...whatever. Little Mac and Akihiko were in the boxing ring, with Doc Louis standing ringside.

"Go, Little Mac, go!" Doc Louis cheered on for his protege, shaking his fist and eating a chocolate bar at the same time. "Show that Akihiko who's boss!"

"I may not have boxed in a while, but it looks like I still got it..." grinned Akihiko, moving swiftly on his feet as he donned red boxing gloves. Were those his own boxing gloves, or did he borrow them from someone?

"Have any of you seen my red boxing gloves anywhere?" asked King K. Rool, barging inside the room. The boxing match came to a stop, as Akihiko quickly held his hands behind his back.

"We haven't seen your boxing gloves anywhere, sorry," Akihiko kindly told K. Rool, who groaned as he left the room and closed the door. Akihiko left out a sigh of relief, having no idea how much he saved his own hide.

"Using some crocodile's boxing gloves, eh?" Little Mac said to Akihiko, with a smirk on his face. Doc Louis was also smirking, eating his chocolate bar.

"You would not believe where I found these things," replied Akihiko, as he held up K. Rool's boxing gloves.

Chie, being the kung fu movie aficionado, was obviously overjoyed when she ventured to the movie room and saw all the action movies that the mansion had. The young woman shuffled through the library of movies, ogling at the DVD covers she picked out.

"How is it even possible to have so many action movie in one's film library?!" exclaimed Chie, looking at the DVD covers she was holding in both of her hands. "Almost feels like I'm in..."

"Woah Nelly, who the heck are you?" asked Donkey Kong, as he entered the movie room. Seeing Donkey Kong startled Chie, as she quickly stood up.

"...I'm Chie, I'm one of the new guys here," Chie introduced herself to Donkey Kong, who was suddenly reminded of who she was. "I was just checking out your film library. Sorry if I made a mess..."

"Oh I remember you - you're one of those chicks from the Investigation Team! No need to apologize about your little mess, I can see you're pretty excited."

"Well yeah, this is a pretty neat collection of movies you have...I never seen anyone have so many action films in one's movie collection before!"

"We do have a movie night tonight...it's something we like to do every other Friday or so. I can let you pick out the movie for tonight, if you like..."

"Yes, yes, YES! I'd love to!" Chie excitedly ran over to the movie library, and picked out a movie that she fancied the most and showed it to Donkey Kong. "I think we should watch this!"

"Ah, The Karate Kid...and it's not even the 2010 version! Thank goodness...I'll let Rosalina know. She's usually in charge of movie night."

Josuke and Junpei were enjoying themselves, as they were receiving back massages from Wendy Koopa in the beauty salon. They wouldn't be alone, for Yu and Minato were also receiving back massages as well.

"Thanks for hooking us up, you two," Yu thanked Josuke and Junpei, enjoying a very soothing back massage from Wendy. The female koopa was massaging four backs, at the same time. "Minato and I are seldom allowed here in the salon."

"Nah, you should be thanking our petition," responded Junpei, sighing in delight as Wendy was using a massage gun on his back. "Obviously we couldn't let you and Minato out of our best interests!"

Yosuke: I do think Junpei and I demonstrated to our fellow residents how to leverage power with Master Hand, to get what you want. Just show him a document with signatures and whatnot, and BOOM! All your dreams will come true and then some. Junpei and I, we're just ushering in a new era for the Smash Mansion, one step at a time!

"Alright Yu, you're all done!" Wendy told the young man, who lifted himself off the massage bed. Yu stood up on his feet, feeling relaxed as he outstretched his arms.

"Thanks a lot, Wendy Koopa, I really appreciated that," Yu thanked the koopa, before putting his shirt back on. The young was about to leave the beauty salon, ready to continue the rest of his day...

...until he ran into his ex-girlfriend, Yukiko. Yukiko was walking with Mitsuru and Yukari when she ran into Yu, making for a very awkward situation.

"Yukiko...?" Yu uttered the name of his ex-girlfriend.

"Yu...?" Yukiko uttered the name of her ex-boyfriend.

"Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.." sang Yoshi, garnering weird looks not only from Yu and company but from everyone else in the beauty salon. "...sorry, I was just trying to raise the tension."

"Yoshi, what is a male like yourself doing in our beauty salon?" Palutena questioned the green dinosaur, who instinctively pointed at Yu as an act of defense.

"Well you see..." Realizing that the odds were against him, Yoshi calmly lowered his hand, and walked out of the beauty salon to avoid any trouble.

"Yu, what are you doing here?" Yukiko questioned her ex-boyfriend, trying not to get angry. "This is a place for women only!"

"You don't understand, Yosuke and Junpei got Minato and I hooked up for some back massages," defended Yu, keeping his cool. He was an expert at such. "What are YOU doing here, Yukiko?"

"Um, let's see...using my right to be at this beauty salon?! Did anyone give you the memo that I'm a mansion resident now?"

"I already knew you would be a resident, when that petition went into effect...but what does that have to do with..."

"HE'S GONE!" wailed Ken A., running inside the beauty salon to alert Mitsuru and Yukari. "He's practically gone missing!"

"Who has gone missing?" questioned Mitsuru, before she started to worry when she realized whom Ken A. was referring to. "Don't tell me..."

"Koromaru, he's nowhere to be found! Teddie and I have searched high and low for him...but we can't seem to find him!"

Ken A. and Teddie had learned the truth before everyone else...Koromaru was gone, no longer at the mansion. And it was all because the shiba inu had chased after the insanely moronic Pit. Teddie walked around in the foyer, fully certain that Koromaru was still inside the mansion.

"Koromaru, where are you?" the blonde called out the dog's name, as the trio of Ratchet, Clank, and Radec watched from the couch they were hiding behind. "I know he hasn't gone up to the top floor, the Mario Bros are still at work..."

"Alright, so do we jump him or not?" Radec quietly asked Ratchet and Clank, as he was really dying to deliver the pain to someone before day's end.

"Shush, I hear footsteps..." Ratchet shushed Radec, as he listened closely. The Lombox slowly poked his head from behind the couch, and saw Mario. "Guys, I've spotted the mustache man himself...Mario."

"Good work Ratchet, now let's put him in a world of hurt!" Radec had to be shushed once more by Ratchet, who had to keep a close eye on Mario. Teddie saw Mario, and was delighted.

"Mario, it's you!" the blonde squealed, as he picked up Mario and held the plumber tight in a hug. "Thank goodness you're here, for we have a dilemma on our hands!"

"Put me down..." ordered Mario, as Teddie placed the plumber back on his feet. "...what is this dilemma that you speak-a of?"

"The Shadow Operatives' pet dog, Koromaru, went missing. Ken A. and I are searching for the dog as we speak, and we haven't found him!"

"You might want to speak-a with Midna, at the Assist Tower. She's usually good at keeping track-a of pets." Mario would wink at Teddie, like he knew something that Teddie or anyone else didn't know...

"Thanks, I'll speak with her right away!" Teddie ran out of the front door, and with Teddie taken care of, Mario was about to leave the mansion too...until he saw Samus come by.

"Hey Mario, can you tell Corrin to meet me outside?" Samus asked the plumber, as Ratchet kept a close eye on the bounty hunter. "Gonna ride him around the Gunship to prove to him that the earth isn't flat."

"Corrin thinks the earth-a is what now?" Mario responded in perfectly understandable disbelief, before shaking the disbelief off his face. "Sure, lemme see if he's in his room..." Mario left the foyer, with some disbelief remaining inside of him.

"Guys I think I have a plan..." Ratchet whispered to Clank and Radec, with the latter hoping that some carnage would be involved. "...so it seems like Mario and Samus are gonna do some outside activities. Radec, you go follow after Mario, and see what he's up to. Clank and I will follow after Samus."

"Can I beat up Mario to a pulp, if I catch up to him in time?" Radec asked Ratchet, who facepalmed as he rubbed his hand down his face.

"If you must, then go ahead...but don't beat him up too badly, okay? Save the rest for us..."

Samus waited outside the mansion, as she was tuning up her Gunship. Her wait would soon come to an end, as Corrin finally arrived.

Corrin: A trip around the world in Samus' Gunship, how swell! Together, Samus and I will admire the lush greens and the sacred waters of this earth, and soon Samus will cry...cry in sheer realization of how much of an intellectual genius I really am! After I make her aware of my flat earth beliefs, of course.

"Miss Aran, I'm ready, willing, and able to ride!" Corrin said proudly to the bounty hunter, who groaned as she was ready to make the biggest mistake of her life.

"Just keep your hands to yourself, and maybe I won't end the Gunship ride prematurely..." Samus warned Corrin, who approached the Gunship...along with a cameraman from the documentary crew. "...does the cameraman have to tag along?"

"Maybe he wants a get look at the inside of your Gunship. I wouldn't blame him for his curiosity!"

"I've already let one cameraman inside...fine, both of you hop aboard." So Samus opened the Gunship hatch, allowing Corrin and the cameraman inside before getting inside herself. The hatch closed, and the Gunship slowly hovered into the air.

Seconds later, Mario stepped out of the mansion, armed with a hammer. The plumber was ready to look for some gold coins - the more the merrier.

"Now, where to find-a some gold coins..." said Mario as he stepped off the porch and walked away, as Radec left the mansion and followed closely behind the plumber while keeping his distance.

"Got my eye on you, you freak..." Radec calmly said to Mario, but obviously not loud enough to get the plumber's attention. Ratchet and Clank stepped out of the mansion seconds later, with Ratchet wearing a jetpack that Clank was attached to.

"Looks like we came in the nick of time!" exclaimed Ratchet, standing on the porch as he saw the Gunship fully lifted off the ground and ready for flight. The Gunship turned around, and sped away.

"After that bounty hunter, Ratchet!" Clank told the Lombax, who leaped off the porch and turned on his jetpack as he sped after the Gunship through the sky - having to look down to ensure that Mario didn't see him.

However, one person did see Ratchet flying on his jetpack...and it was Amy, who was still waiting on Sonic. Her impatience couldn't possibly get any bigger.

"Is that...no, it can't be," Amy initially furrowed her brow, before shaking her head. "I must be imagining things. All this boredom is messing with my mind..."

"Now I know my girlfriend didn't say she was bored..." a certain hedgehog remarked, as Amy gasped happily and looked to her left. There she saw Sonic, coming over to the picnic table while pushing Layton on his wheelchair. In Layton's lap was a plethora of water balloons.

"Sonic, you came!" squealed Amy, as she ran over to Sonic and embraced her boyfriend in a very tight hug. "Thought you had me waiting forever!"

"Woah, watch it Amy, you're gonna knock Layton over!" Sonic told the pink hedgehog, who saw Layton; Amy, suddenly being mindful of Layton, stepped away.

"Sorry about that, Professor Latyon - hope I didn't hurt your leg or anything." Amy kept her distance from Layton, who responded with a smile.

"No need to apologize - I'd go crazy too, seeing my significant other," remarked Layton, as Sonic questioned in his head why any woman would fall for Layton. "Your boyfriend has been very considerate to me today."

"I can tell. Sonic is a very nice guy...only whenever he feels like it. So, what's with all those water balloons?"

"Layton and I are gonna prank the new guys at the mansion!" explained Sonic, daring not to tell Amy why he was pranking the Investigation Team. "You know, as a little welcoming gift. Gonna throw some water balloons at 'em!"

"Welcoming the newbies by tossing water balloons at them? That sounds pretty fun! For a second there, Sonic, I thought you were gonna do that because the new residents might've wronged you in the past or something."

"Heh, what possibly made you think of that?" Sonic laughed, trying to hide his nervousness as an amused Layton looked at the hedgehog.

Amy: I finally get to spend some time with Sonic, finally! All that time I've spent waiting has finally paid off!

Mario had found himself near the backyard, still looking for some gold coins. His search would come to an abrupt stop, when he saw a mysterious green pipe sticking out from the ground.

"Why hello..." Mario said to the green pipe, as he neared it and entered therein. Radec observed this from afar, before he too entered the green pipe moments later.

Because Samus' Gunship was a certified spaceship, that meant Samus could drive her flying vehicle across the world at any speed. The bounty hunter demonstrated this to Corrin (and the cameraman), as she across the western hemisphere.

"Notice anything, Corrin?" Samus asked the prince, flying her Gunship over most of Japan. Corrin looked through the Gunship window, marveling at the Japanese cities below.

"Yes, who knew that Japanese architecture is so unique!" gleamed Corrin, as Samus sighed and pinched the crown of her nose.

"...well, yes, the architecture in Japan is unique...but do you notice that it's morning time, here in Japan? Look at the color of the sky."

"I do see that it's morning time in Japan...very fascinating, considering the flat earth that we live in." Time for Samus to crack open that can of worms.

"But how can we be living in a flat earth, when we have time zones? Japan is like sixteen hours ahead of Seattle, and the west coast!"

"Time zones are only a myth, used by greedy men for social and commercial purposes. Only the sun can dictate what time it is."

"Look at the sun, it's practically sunrise Tokyo! How can it be sunrise in one region of earth, and midday in Seattle?"

"Could be that there are multiple suns in our universe...yes, suns for each part of the day! Sunrise, midday, evening, and night!"

"Lord, help me..." Samus facepalmed, as the cameraman was sharing some sympathy for the bounty hunter.

After going through the green pipe, Mario was startled to have found himself inside some kind of underground cave, full of Goombas, Bullet Bills, Monty Moles, and other common Mario enemies. Mario had no idea such a cave existed this whole time!

"It appears we've made quite a discovery," remarked Cappy, as Mario hammered through the cave while being mindful of any approaching enemies. "Had no idea about this cave until...HOLE!"

"Aah!" shrieked Mario, jumping out of the way of a hole in the ground Cappy alerted him about. The plumber caught his breath, relieved. "Thanks for the heads-a up Cappy, thought I was a goner!"

"You're welcome, Mario!" Mario went back to hammering through the cave, smashing rocks left and right. The plumber soon encountered a wall - one that seemed very breakable, with a giant crack.

"I suspect that a lot of coins are behind-a this crack in the wall. Just my gut-a feeling...time to find-a out for ourselves!" Taking his hammer, Mario hammered away at the cracked wall, before the wall crumbled into pieces...

...revealing a small cave full of gold coins. Mario and Cappy looked startled, when they saw a few chumps fiddling with the coins...Hammer Bro, Lakitu, Piranha Plant, and even Petey Piranha. The four were busy counting the gold coins, when they saw Mario staring at them.

"...we can explain," Hammer Bro said to Mario, hoping that the plumber loved long stories.

Now having learned that Corrin was indeed a flat-earther, Samus had to suffer as Corrin was telling the bounty hunter about how the earth was truly flat. The annoyed bounty hunter was now driving her Gunship towards the southern hemisphere, while having to put up with Corrin's crap.

"Believe me Samus, it's hard to be taken seriously when you're a flat-earther," Corrin said to the bounty hunter. Not taken seriously? No wonder. "It's not like you're even a human being anymore! You're being extrapolated for all the information that you know and think."

"Look at you, knowing big vocabulary words..." mumbled Samus, before looking at the destination up ahead. "Any idea where we're heading off to, Corrin?"

"Let me see..." Corrin looked out through the Gunship window, checking out the scenery below. "...we are nearing Antarctica! This is where the Great Wall of Antarctica is located."

"'Great Wall of Antarctica?'" Samus had every right in the world to question Corrin's thinking. "Why don't we try flying over it?" So Samus flew over Antarctica, flying over the entire icy continent (even though it was illegal).

To Corrin's great shock, no such 'great wall' existed in Antarctica! The prince of Nohr was even more shocked, when Samus flew her Gunship past Antarctica, and to the southernmost tip of Africa.

"Well, Corrin, are you convinced?" Samus asked the prince, knowing that Corrin was now completely mind-blown. Time for a certain albino to eat some crow.

"I am convinced, Samus..." replied Corrin, slowly coming to terms in realization. "This Gunship...is a simulation! This whole Gunship ride is a simulation!"

"Easy there, Corrin...I know my Gunship better than anyone. This isn't a simulation - you're just too afraid to admit that you're wrong."

"I won't ever admit that I'm wrong, because I know I'm right! You want to challenge my intellectualism, Samus? Two can play at that game!"

Some knocking was suddenly heard on the Gunship, drawing the attention of everyone inside the vehicle. Curious, Samus opened up the hatch to her Gunship...and saw Ratchet flying next to the Gunship, on his jetpack.

"Oh, hi there," Ratchet waved to Samus, who was grateful to have brought her Blaster for moments like these. "Surprised we catched up to ya, huh?"

"...so after we discovered this cave, we took it upon ourselves to dig up as money coins as we could find," Lakitu explained to Mario, telling the plumber the story of how he and his friends discovered the secret underground cave.

"Piranha Plant usually erects a green pipe from the ground, so we could access this cave when we want," added Hammer Bro, as the Piranha Plant gave a salute. "It must've forgot to hide the evidence this time around..."

Piranha Plant: *smiles sheepishly*

"Why does he tag along?" asked Mario, as he pointed at Petey. Petey for whatever reason got offended, as he got all heated and had to be held back by the Piranha Plant.

"You know how inseparable those two are," replied Lakitu, as the Piranha Plant managed to calm down Petey. "True definition of BFFs!"

Suddenly the sound of a gun loading was heard, alarming Mario. Seeing that Lakitu and company looked frightened, Mario slowly turned around...and screamed when he saw Radec standing behind him.

"Led me right to the jackpot..." snarled Radec, as Mario jumped back inside the small cave. Radec stepped inside the small cave, with his gun ready to go.

"C-Colonel Radec?!" Mario stuttered the colonel's name, as he stood up on his feet. "How did you find-a me here?"

"You simpleton, I just followed you to this very cave! You practically led me to this very spot! How pathetic!"

"No way we're letting you have our gold coins!" Hammer Bro frowned at Radec, as he, Mario, Piranha Plant, and Petey got on the offensive. Lakitu, feeling weak and lowly, backed away meekly.

"I'm not interested in your petty gold coins...I just wanna kill someone! Let me fulfill my bloodlust already!"

"But, if we let you...then you'll kill us!"

"Exactly my point, I want you all dead! And there's nothing that can..."

"WOOF WOOF!" a dog barked loudly, his voice echoing throughout the cave. Radec and the others looked confused, as they lowered their guard.

"Mario! Man, am I glad to see you!" a voice shouted out to the plumber, who easily recognized who it was. Mario turned his head, and saw Pit running down a small tunnel, chasing after Koromaru.

"Pit!" Mario shouted out the angel's name, as Pit caught up to Mario and company. "Where did you run-a off to?"

"Funny story...I ran out of the mansion, confessing to the whole world that I couldn't read, until I got lost. That's when I found an entrance to this cool-looking cave, and I also found this dog that was chasing after me this whole time!"

"You mean him?" Mario pointed at Koromaru, who was angrily growling at Radec. Radec didn't look like he wanted to shoot Koromaru.

"Yeah, that's the one! He has a really good sense of smell...hopefully he didn't notice that I wetted my pants."

"Stupid dog, get away from me!" Radec snapped at the growling Koromaru, who backed the colonel out of the small cave. Radec had to be mindful, as he was nearing the hole Cappy warned Mario about.

"Only one-a more step..." Mario squinted his eyes, seeing how close Radec was to backing himself into the hole. Radec maintained his cool, and his footing.

"Don't think you can make me back into that hole, you dumb dog! This is as far as I can possibly go!"

"I'll have to be the judge-a of that..." Taking off Cappy, Mario threw the hat at Radec, capturing the colonel. Inside Radec's body, Mario backed away, before the bottom of his feet felt nothing. Radec fell through the hole, and Mario decaptured the colonel just in time as Radec was heard screaming and falling.

"He did it, that dog scared him into that hole!" said Pit, unaware of what Mario had done, as he ran over to Koromaru and petted him. "Who's a good boy, who's a good boy..."

"Oh Pit, what are gonna do-a with you..." Mario shook his head at Pit, watching as the angel petted Koromaru who was smiling with his tongue hanging out.

"Well that takes care of that," said Lakitu, as he hovered over to Mario in his cloud. "You really took care of that Colonel Radec guy, Mario!"

"Yep, sure did! Say, what do you plan-a on doing with those gold coins?" Mario peered through the small cave, seeing the gold coins. Lakitu immediately knew what Mario had meant.

"Depends...how many coins are you interested in?" Thinking to himself, Mario started to scratch his chin...

Hammer Bro: What do I plan on doing with the gold coins we've accumulated? Frankly, I don't even know. I just like mining for coins... *pauses, then buries his face in his hands* ...I'm such a shameless hoarder!

Distraught about the disappearance of Koromaru, the foursome of Mitsuru, Yukari, and Ken A. sat on the mansion porch. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find their lovable shiba inu anywhere.

"We should try calling animal services," Yukari suggested to Mitsuru, who was ready to shoot the brunette's suggestion down.

"No, let's not waste their time," responded Mitsuru, looking out across the mansion's front yard. "I bet Koromaru's somewhere outside."

Suddenly, a green pipe rose up from the ground, befuddling Mitsuru and company. All that befuddlement would vanish away, when Pit popped out of the green pipe...along with Koromaru.

"Koromaru!" exclaimed Ken A., as Koromaru excitedly ran up to the porch to greet his pals. "Glad to have you back, buddy!" The three Shadow Operatives were ecstatic to see their favorite shiba inu again, although Pit looked ticked.

"Aw man, don't tell me he's your pet!" Pit frowned at the Shadow Operatives, who were petting Koromaru. "I wanted him as my dog!" The angel was seriously looking into being a pet owner...

"Where did you even find him?" Yukari asked Pit, dying to know the story of how Koromaru came out from a green pipe of all things. "Did Mario take him?"

"No, but he was there! He's at the bank right now, cashing in some gold coins with Lakitu. But anyways, I found your dog around the same time I found this cool-looking cave. But before that, I ran out of the mansion and I..."

"So Koromaru ran out of the mansion...I should've known," remarked Mitsuru, as she interrupted Pit. It was a good thing she did.

"Have you three seen a Mega Man of any kind around?" Cilan opened the front door and asked the Shadow Operatives, who looked at one another before shaking their heads at the connoisseur. "I need someone to operate the teleportation device."

"What for, Cilan?" Pit asked the connoisseur, willing to see if Mega Man was on mansion patrol duty.

"I got a call from Samus...she and Corrin are in Africa, after she crashed her Gunship. Apparently, she got into an aerial fight with somebody from the manor!"

Having cashed in on the gold coins, Mario accrued enough money to buy some spanking new dual loudspeakers for the recording new studio. With Luigi, Toad, and Toadette finishing up the sixth floor without Mario, adding the dual loudspeakers was pretty much the icing on the cake. And since the construction was now done, not only were the elevators operable again...but the Persona gang could finally see their bedrooms!

"What's the person limit for the elevators?" asked Chie, feeling a little claustrophobic as she stood in a elevator with the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives.

"Due to the maximum space of this elevator, I am guessing that it can hold up to twelve people," analyzed Aigis, taking the square area of the elevator into account. "There are fourteen of us in here."

"Fifteen, if you wanna count Koromaru," stated Kanji, who was standing at Teddie's side. "Although he doesn't really count as a person..."

The elevator dinged, and the elevator door opened as everyone stepped out. The Persona gang half-expected Master Hand to greet them, to tell them how awesome their rooms were. You know, to make them feel special and belonged.

However, none of them expected to see Sonic, Amy, and Layton - armed with water balloons.

"Attack!" shouted Sonic, as he, Amy, and Layton hurled their water balloons. Sonic meant for the water balloons to hit the Investigation Team members, but the Shadow Operatives were caught in the fray.

"Wh-What is going on?" questioned Akihiko, finding himself giggling for some strange reason. "Gah, my suit's getting wet!"

"Why does it have to be me?!" whined Yosuke, who was being targeted the most. "Spare me, spare me!"

"This must be some kind of special initiation thing!" assumed Chie, shielding her face from the water balloons with her hands. "Does anyone know?"

"I totally did not mention water balloon fights in the petition!" frowned Junpei, before getting an idea when he saw a water balloon, lying on the floor. The young man picked up the water balloon, throwing it at Layton and knocking off his hat.

"My hat!" panicked Layton, touching the top of his exposed head, before getting his game face on. "Ooh, you're gonna get it now!"

"Everyone take cover!" shouted Rise, as Layton started throwing water balloons at a faster, more frantic pace. There was a lot of chaos going on...a lot of fun chaos.

Sonic: Honestly, I forgot why I wanted to throw water balloons at Yu's friends in the first place. Was it because they did me wrong, or am I just making things up? Eh, I'm sure it was all in the name of fun.

"I'm so glad that I get to hang out with you, Sonic!" Amy told her boyfriend, as she was throwing water balloons.

"I can't hear you, what did you say?" asked Sonic, whose hearing was obstructed by the commotion going on.

"She said she's so glad that she got to hang out with you!" Layton reiterated Amy's words to Sonic, speaking loud enough to hear. "Also I share her sentiments!"

"Really, is that so? Well that's very cool, then! I feel sorta accomplished right now!"

Master Hand and Isabelle entered the fifth floor, ready to ask the Persona gang about their rooms...however, neither were ready to witness the water balloon fight that was taking place. A fight Master Hand wanted no part of...

"...Isabelle, go get some towels," Master Hand told the shih tzu, who scurried down the stairs.

Fox, Falco, and Itsuki felt like kings, as they sat in the new Star Records room on the sixth floor. Fox spun around in the wheelie chair at the Star Records desk, with his arms up in the air, while Falco and Itsuki looked on. Standing outside the room was Cloud, chilling near a wall and looking cool and collected as ever.

"Ah, really had a fine workout today..." remarked Link, approaching Cloud with his shirtless body. Cloud stared at his shirtless friend, grimacing to himself.

"...please go put a shirt on," the swordsman sternly told Link, who walked away to go find his tunic. After Link had left, an elevator dinged, and the elevator door opened as Samus stepped out.

"Hey..." the bounty hunter said to Cloud, looking like she went through a perilous battle.

"So how did it go?" Cloud was interested in Samus' response, knowing how much the bounty hunter had to put up with.

"Dealing with Corrin was brutally insane...nothing I could do or say was able to change his mind. So frustrating..."

"Kamui was right, maybe Corrin really has gone off on the deep end...or maybe it's just a phase."

"I'd be a tad more worried if it wasn't a phase...but with Corrin, you never know."

"You can say that again...so what happened to your Gunship?" Originally looking to the side, Samus looked at Cloud after being asked.

"Why don't I show you the two bozos responsible for crashing my Gunship in the first place?"

Samus took Cloud to the basement, where the Rabbids resided. As he scaled down the staircase, Cloud saw the Rabbids, circled around someone tied up to a chair. No, wait, there were TWO individuals tied up to a chair, with one tied to the chair's back.

The one sitting in the chair? Ratchet. The one tied to the back of the chair? Clank. Both were bound and gagged, as the Rabbids were marveling at the duo.

"Got into a little fight with those two in my Gunship," Samus explained to Cloud, guiding the swordsman down the stairs. "I was firing on all cylinders...literally!"

"Had a feeling you might've ran into some manor dudes..." remarked Cloud, looking into the eyes of Ratchet and Clank. "...how'd you crash your Gunship?"

"Ratchet fired a missile, nearly obliterating the left side. But I got him back, and took off a piece of his jetpack. Frankly, the cameraman inside the Gunship couldn't record any of the action.

"Talk about a missed opportunity...so, are Ratchet and Clank are our prisoners, or what?"

"Master Hand has already fancied them as such...so yeah, I guess they're prisoners. Who knows how long they'll stay..."

Samus and Cloud went back up the stairs, about to leave the basement and leave Ratchet and Clank alone in the dark with the Rabbids. They both could hear Ratchet and Clank, shivering in fear, as the Rabbids crept closer to them.

Probably shouldn't have messed with Samus, and her Gunship.