Author's Note:

A new poll is up on my profile page. Because I'm a fair guy, I'm letting everyone to vote two times. So vote away...or something. Let's answer some reviews:

"Will Elizabeth from Persona 4 show up alongside Caroline and Justine? (Have the Velvet Room be part of the mansion). Will there be a Skullgirls chapter? A Namco themed chapter? (Since Pac-Man hasn't been in any chapters lately and Namco characters need more love). Is Ashe from Overwatch gonna mistake Chrom or Yusuke for McCree? (Same voice actor after all). And finally, what are your thoughts on the recent trailer for Paper Mario: The Origami King?"

Perhaps. A Skull Girls chapter is highly unlikely. There will be a Namco-themed chapter soon. Ashe probably won't mistake Chrom or Yusuke for McCree. And I love the vibe from the Paper Mario trailer - made the game feel like The Thousand Year Door, almost. Next is Derick Lindsey:

"Also did you know about the Paper Mario game on the switch being revealed?"

Judging from my response to the first review...yes I did. I think the game's story will be like the second and third games in the series, dark and serious. Hopefully the RPG gameplay won't be anything like Sticker Star. last is Gamergalaxy689:

"Could you make more scenes that include Kirby sucking people up?"

Kirby hasn't been doing a lot of sucking lately...and sucking is kinda his thing. I should have Kirby sucking up things - and people - in the future.

Episode 231: QualityTime

In spite of being named as one of the candidates for man of the mansion, Itsuki was still very much in charge of Star Records. But with Fox moving out of the mansion, and moving in with his wife Krystal, Mr. Aoi has had a bit more responsibility than ever before. Not that he minded, of course.

Not only that, but Master Hand was away on his "extended" vacation, which meant that Itsuki could do all things Star Records in peace. No Master Hand begging him to do random concerts, or forcing him to make cringeworthy music videos for social media purposes - Itsuki could do whatever he wanted, without Master Hand breathing over his neck.

"Our most recent bank statement just came in," Itsuki informed Ayaha, as he was checking Star Record's bank account on his personal laptop. With Itsuki and Ayaha were Tsubasa, Eleonora, and Yashiro, all doing their own thing. "Should be nothing out of the ordinary."

"Yes, especially with Master Hand gone away," replied Ayaha, wishing that she could add a "forever" to the end of her sentence. "He can't possibly bother with our business, from where he's at."

Ayaha: One of the best things about Master Hand being away from the mansion is not having to do chores for him that can't even be performed. Like his foot massages, which are impossible since Master Hand obviously has no feet. I now owe Master Hand a year's worth in foot massages, all because of my so-called "negligence".

"After you're done handling your business...mind if we spent some quality time together?" Tsubasa approached Ituski, with a smile on her face; she wouldn't give up any quality time spent with Itsuki for anything else.-

"Of course, Tsubasa, I'd love to," replied Itsuki, as he made Tsubasa smile even harder. "We can go to anywhere in town that isn't..." Itsuki suddenly stopped speaking, as he stared at his laptop screen bug-eyed.

"Itsuki, what's wrong? Why do you look like that?" Tsubasa would wave her hand over Itsuki's eyes, as her boyfriend looked like he was stuck in a trance. Then slowly, Itsuki took deep breaths as his fists were trembling.

"Wow Itsuki, we've never seen you that shook before," remarked Eleonora, who could tell that Itsuki was trying to hold in some pent-up anger. "What's the problem? Something to do with the online bank statement?"

"Do you want us to back away?" Yashiro asked Itsuki, backing away cautiously as Itsuki slowly began tightening his fists. That dude sure was angry...and he was ready to let it all out.

"HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!" Itsuki uncharacteristically screamed, before grabbing his laptop ready to throw it against the wall. He put it back anyway, since he realized how dumb breaking his laptop would be, but he was still angry as ever.

"He can't keep getting away with what?" questioned Ayaha, as he approached the angered Itsuki with caution. Hard to tell what move Itsuki would do next. 'Who are we talking about?"

"This is an utter travesty...I won't let this linger anymore." Quelling his anger, Itsuki closed his laptop as he headed out of the Star Records room. "Time to nip this in the bud once and for all!"

"Itsuki, come back!" Eleonora called out to the young man, but it was no use as Itsuki stormed out of the room. It really was something, seeing Itsuki that angry. "Tsubasa, I think you need to get to the bottom of this."

"Don't have to tell me that twice..." said Tsubasa, as she left the Star Records room to see what was up with her man.

This might be common knowledge to some, but Fox was practically in love with his house. More specifically, how high-tech his house was. From the living room, to the kitchen, to the laundry room, everything about Fox and Krystal's room was high-tech. And Fox was no stranger to showing off all the features.

"May I introduce to you...the nutritional reader," Fox introduced this gizmo to Mario and Falco, which was just a long black rectangle on a kitchen counter. "It can read the nutritional value and freshness of any food."

"Is this the latest attempt-a to make everything go paperless?" asked Mario, as both Fox and Falco gave the plumber weird looks. "What? I love-a reading nutritional labels! One of my favorite hobbies."

"You seriously need some new hobbies...continuing on, watch closely as this reader does its thing." Fox took out some raw cabbage, and placed it gently on the nutritional reader. A moment after the reader scanned the cabbage, a bunch of numbers were projected from the reader.

"Twenty-two calories, two grams of fiber, fifteen milligrams of Omega-6 fatty acids..." Falco read off some of the projected numbers, stroking his beak as he nodded his head in an impressed manner. "...not bad, not bad!"

Fox: That nutritional reader sure works like a charm! Really wish I could bring it with me when I go out shopping, though. I personally hate looking at the nutritional facts of groceries out in public - makes me look like an idiot in front of the other shoppers.

Fox would demonstrate yet again, as he placed a slew of carrots on the nutritional reader. As he did so, the doorbell rang.

"Mario go answer the door," Fox told the plumber, who didn't move a single inch as he remained in place. "You deaf, man? I said, go answer the door!"

"I don't own-a this house, I'm not answering any door for-a you," retorted Mario, who might've learned a thing or two from Falco in the previous episode. Groaning, Fox walked from the kitchen to the front door.

"Friends like these..." As Fox continued to groan, he opened the front door, and saw Itsuki armed with his laptop. "...Itsuki? Why are you here? I thought our meeting doesn't start until three!"

"I've had it!" shouted Itsuki, as he stormed inside Fox's house and slammed the door. Fox, taken back by Itsuki's wrath, quickly backed up. "Can't take it no more!"

"You can't take what more, our business meetings?" inquired Falco, as Itsuki slammed his laptop on a nearby living room table and logged himself back in. "Bruh, I feel you, I hate 'em too, but hear me out..."

"That Master Hand is seriously on my last nerve." Itsuki made sure he had Star Records' bank statement pulled up, before showing to Fox. "Read it and weep..."

"Lemme see..." Fox took the laptop from Itsuki, as Falco came over to look at the bank statement with Fox together. "...aw snap! $450,000?!"

"And guess what it was for? Master Hand's Lamborghini. It was supposed to be some kind of upgrade." Both Fox and Falco took a closer look, and saw that Itsuki was correct - 450 grand spent out of Star Records' pocket, just so Master Hand could upgrade a car he can't even drive.

"Who even spends that much money on a turbo kit?" questioned Falco, looking in pure disbelief as he held his hand on his forehead. "Master Hand out here thinking he could build the best Lamborghini ever!"

"Come-a on you guys, $450,000 can't be that-a bad," said Mario, looking on the bright side of things, as Fox and Falco gave the plumber questionable looks once more. Even Itsuki joined in. "Considering how much-a money you make..."

"You don't understand, Mario, Master Hand's been stealing money from us for years," Fox said to Mario, as if the plumber was born yesterday. "All of it just to constantly upgrade his stupid Lamborghini."

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware-a of that, but what makes this one-a particular instance so different from the others? Why now?"

"Because Master Hand is supposed to be on his so-called vacation," replied Itsuki, feeling defeated as he saw down on one of the couches in the living room. "He shouldn't even be thinking about his car."

"What do you plan-a on doing about it? At this point, Master Hand will keep-a on looting money out of your account, and he won't-a be around for you to stop him."

"There is one thing we can do..." said Fox, as a rather brilliant idea was spurred in his mind. "...we could get back at Master Hand by selling his Lamborghini."

"Fox, that is a GREAT idea!" exclaimed Itsuki, showing some positivity as he pointed his fingers at Fox. "That way, we won't have to worry about Master Hand stealing our money ever again."

"I don't know, Master Hand would-a be very angry about his Lamborghini being sold..." said a slightly nervous Mario, knowing how much Master Hand loved and cared for his Lamborghini. "...he might-a know about it being sold."

"Well that's good for him - but we're sick and tired of his crap," responded Falco, as Fox and Itsuki nodded their heads in agreement. "It's about time we stick it to Master Hand, for good!"

"Itsuki, are you here?" someone asked from outside, as there was a knock at the front door. Itsuki was quick to recognize that the voice belonged to Tsubasa.

"One moment, fellas," the young man said to Mario and company, getting up from the couch and answering the door. As expected, he saw Tsubasa standing by.

"Hey, you're not angry anymore, are you?" Tsubasa asked Itsuki; she could see how calm her boyfriend was, but she just wanted to make sure.

"Not really; guess you could say I came here to cool off," replied Itsuki, as Tsubasa secretly let out a small sigh of relief. "I want to ask you - how would you like to go with me and the boys to sell Master Hand's Lamborghini?"

"We're going to do what now?" Tsubasa suddenly perked up, as Mario, Fox, and Falco looked like they were on edge for whatever reason. "Sell the Lamborghini? You're joking, right?"

"This isn't a joke - this is the real deal. Master Hand won't stop taking our money to finance his car, so we're going to make him pay..."

"Woah, woah, woah - no girls allowed!" frowned Falco, as he angrily waved his hands in front of him. Itsuki and Tsubasa both looked at the avian pilot, with the latter frowning enough to make Falco change his tune. "Because, uh...optics!"

"Uh, Falco's right, nobody would want to see a woman riding around with four men in a Lamborghini," Fox agreed with Falco, having his own reasons for why Tsubasa shouldn't tag along. Reasons he would never say out loud. "We would be seen as gang bangers...a bang gang."

"With two human men, a fox, and a bird...yeah, right," Mario scoffed at Fox, before turning his attention to Tsubasa. "...you're welcome to come-a along, Tsubasa."

"Really? Thanks!" thanked Tsubasa, not expecting to receive the green light from Mario. Fox and Falco were both grunting in frustration.

Itsuki: Tsubasa said she wanted to spend some time with me...so here's the perfect chance. Riding in Master Hand's Lamborghini with other passengers wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I guess having your girlfriend around makes up for everything...

Fox: I can see it already...Itsuki and Tsubasa are gonna be smooching in the back of the Lamborghini, while we actually do the hard work. I elect Mario to sit in the back with 'em, since he's such a huge fan of lollygagging.

If you might recall, Lucario offered to help Anna set up a makeshift shop at the front of the mansion. Thanks to some support from the other candidates, Lucario had a shop set up for Anna, allowing the merchant to sell her goods without having to worry about Master Hand. Business was nothing compared to the shop at the food market, but any business was better than no business!

"Thank you, come again!" Anna waved to a customer, after making a recent sale. Lucario showed up, seeing the customer walk away satisfied.

"I see business today has been moving along nicely," Lucario said to Anna, who upon seeing the aura Pokemon, took out a care basket from underneath her shop stand and placed it on the stand. "What is that?"

"Oh, you know...just a care basket, for my customers." Lucario looked inside the care basket, and saw nothing but sweets and junk food. "It's all about giving back to the community!"

"How is that a care basket? There's literally nothing but candy and buttered popcorn in that thing. That's not going to make people healthy!"

"Well the government never really tell the people in this city to be healthy and exercise, did they? I'm just abiding by the government's whim."

"Excuse me ma'am, but do you have a care basket that comes with potato skins?" a woman approached Anna, appearing to be a mother. "My little one really loves potato skins..."

"One care basket with potato skins, coming right up!" Anna pulled out a care basket that came with potato skins, and handed it to the woman. Lucario looked on, shaking his head as the woman gave Anna a few bucks. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you - this care basket will hold my little one over, while he's playing video games in the attic. Thank you, and take care!" The woman would leave with her care basket, as Anna sniffed the dollar bills in her hands.

"Hope that 'little one' isn't living off his parents' income too much..." remarked Lucario, as Anna happily exhaled after getting a good whiff of her money. "...playing video games in the attic is very worrisome."

"And who are you to judge, Lucario?" questioned Anna, as she placed the money she received in her cash register. Which was provided by Lucario. "You sound bitter." Lucario looked over, and saw Villager and Ness arguing with one another in the front yard.

"I have to go - got some quarreling to resolve," Lucario informed Anna as he walked away, leaving the merchant alone to handle her business. As Anna patiently waited for her next customer, Link and Cloud came outside to greet her.

"Hi Anna, just checking in to see how you're handling yourself," Cloud said to the merchant, who was all smiles when she saw the swordsman and Link. "How much money did you raise so far today?"

"At least well over two hundred bucks...which is pretty modest," replied Anna, before placing another care basket on her stand. "Especially given where I am. I could use some more customers."

"Cloud and I can help spread the word, if you want," Link proposed to Anna, before the sound of an alarm clock ringing was heard. There was an alarm clock on Anna's stand, ringing away. "What is that clock for?"

"Aw phooey! My current shift is over." Anna quickly turned off the alarm clock, as Link and Cloud looked confused. "My doppelganger should be arriving soon."

"What do you mean, your shift is over, aren't you the only one working here? Also, what doppelganger?"

"Here I am, Anna - sorry I was so late. Had to get my hair right...but I still think there's some resemblance."

Showing up at Anna's shop stand from around the corner was Kasumi, who looked like Anna from head to toe. Her attire and ponytail was identical to Anna herself, which caught Link and Cloud by surprise.

"Link, Cloud, say hello to my doppelganger!" Anna said to the swordsmen, as Kasumi came over; Anna wrapped her arm around Kasumi, smiling. "She would make for a great twin, don't you think?"

Anna: Obviously I can't be manning the shop all by myself, which is why I sought for someone in the mansion willing enough to run the shop when I, you know, take a break. An overextended break, if you will. And the perfect gal fell into my lap, in Kasumi. At first, I was unsure about her, but after she told me about her backstory... *gasps, then covers her mouth* ...I probably shouldn't have said that. I didn't say anything!

"Hold on, so if Kasumi is your 'doppelganger'..." said Cloud as he pointed at Kasumi, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. "...then that would mean..."

"That's right...Kasumi is basically me! Anna 2.0!" Anna happily replied, thinking that she was some kind of genius for getting Kasumi to be her "doppelganger". "Kasumi will run the shop for me, as my doppelganger, and not a single customer will notice the difference!"

"Are you sure about that?" questioned Link, who like Cloud was very skeptical about the stunt Anna was trying to pull. "Because the differences between you two are quite clear."

"I'm just glad to be doing something productive and worthwhile," replied Kasumi, grateful that Anna extended her opportunity to her. Even if it meant that Anna would get a free pass from working 24/7. "Better than being cooped up in the mansion all day..."

"What do you think about this?" Link asked Cloud, asking for his best friend's honest opinion. Kasumi believed she had a great idea on her hands, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

"Only an idiot wouldn't tell the difference between those two," replied Cloud, as King Dedede showed up. The fat penguin stopped and did a double take, when he saw Anna and Kasumi standing together.

"Oh my goodness! Which one of you is the real Anna?!" questioned King Dedede, his eyes focus quickly shifting from Anna to Kasumi multiple times. "My brain hurts!"

"My point has just been proven...c'mon, let's head back inside." So Link and Cloud went back inside the mansion, as King Dedede's brain continued to melt. Figuratively, of course.

Upon entering the mansion, the first person Link and Cloud saw in the foyer was Silas. The cavalier happened to walk by when he spotted Link and Cloud.

"Oh! You must be Link, and Cloud Strife," Silas said to the swordsman duo, as he walked up to them and shook both of their hands. "I don't think we've met before. Silas is the name."

"Silas, huh?" responded Cloud, after he and Link were done shaking Silas' hand. Silas gave the swordsmen firm handshakes - a great first impression. "You must be Kamui's boyfriend, then. She's been telling us stuff about you."

"Great things, I assume...speaking of Kamui, I have a special surprise for her. It's a painting of her - got a Pokemon from the sanctuary named Smeargle to do it."

"A painting of Kamui? That's pretty cool," said Link, who was digging how great of a boyfriend Silas was. He should take a few pointers, from the cavalier. "I take it this was your idea?"

"Not quite - Wolf kind of recommended it to me." Just like that, whatever goodwill Link and Cloud had towards the painting vanished away. "Sonic said to seek him for romantic advice."

"Oh, Wolf...Wolf O'Donnell...the guy who gives advice...on romance..." Still more of a romantic expert than Chrom will ever be. "...do you actually trust the guy?"

"Sonic recommended Wolf to me, and I trust Sonic a bit more. It was mostly thanks to Wolf that Kamui and I had our first kiss!"

"This isn't good, Wolf might be on an ego trip right now," Cloud whispered to Link, who nodded his head; Wolf must be laughing it up.

Wolf: *laughs* That Silas is an absolute sucker! I can literally tell him what to do, and he'll actually do it! If I told him that he would have to jump off a cliff and plummet to his death just to show his love for Kamui, he'd jump off any cliff in a heartbeat. At least someone like Corrin would actually show some restraint.

"By my calculations, that Smeargle should be close to done with the painting," said Silas as he looked at the clock in the foyer. "Want to see how the painting looks? You'll be the first ones..."

"We should go see the painting for ourselves...and then burn it to the ground," Cloud whispered to Link, as he pulled the Hylian close to him. "Anything that has to do with Wolf, it can't be trusted."

"I don't know man - it's not like the painting will hurt anyone," Link whispered back, as Silas was curious as to what the swordsmen were discussing. "What good would ruining it do?"

"I just don't think a painting is really the best approach. But that's just me. Silas should be using his own ideas, rather than anyone else's."

"You two sure are whispering a lot over there," Silas said to Link and Cloud, who broke away from their silent conversation and looked at the cavalier. "So, have you two made up your minds?"

"Yes - we want to be the first to see that painting," replied Link, leaving Silas in a pretty delighted mood. "We're not gonna critique it or anything...just look."

"Just gonna look at it, huh? Have it your way..." Silas walked away, expecting Link and Cloud to follow after him. "...the painting's in the ballroom. Let's go."

Now that he helped Silas win Kamui's heart, Sonic felt that he didn't need to help out the cavalier as much. Which meant that he could have more time hanging out with his friends. Namely Tails and Crash. But what about Knuckles?

"Help, somebody HELP!" Knuckles called out for help, hanging from the tower balcony with his feet connected to an elastic cord. The echidna looked up, and saw Sonic, Tails, and Crash looking down at him. "Guys, this isn't funny!"

"It's not funny, for you at least," Sonic said to Knuckles, who couldn't help but laugh as Knuckles was desperately trying to unhook himself. Even if it came at the risk of serious injury. "But it's sure funny for us!"

"I didn't know that bungee jumping off the balcony would be so much fun," Tails said to Sonic, not at one bit concerned if the bungee cord Knuckles was hanging from was stuck. "This is such a great idea!"

"Yeah, I'll say! Super glad that I found the bungee jumping kit lying around outside." Tails looked concerned, as Sonic picked up some bungee jumping equipment off the balcony floor. "So who's next?"

"Wait, so this bungee jumping equipment...isn't yours?" Tails was now scared - scared of being injured due to equipment malfunction, and scared of being accused for stealing one's stuff.

"Heck no! You think that because I'm an 'extreme' hedgehog, I go out and do stuff like bungee jumping? Get out of your mind, Tails!"

"What's that? This bungee jumping stuff doesn't even belong to Sonic?" asked Knuckles, looking up after overhearing much of Sonic and Tails' conversation. "Why...?"

Sonic: Legit found this bungee jumping equipment just lying around on the balcony. Didn't see anyone's name on it, so...finder's keepers. Their loss, my gain!

Tails: ...and this is why I have to put my name on almost every single one of my belongings. Sonic...

"Hey, you whippersnappers!" someone called out to Sonic and company, and judging by the use of the word "whippersnappers", it was obvious that an old man was speaking to them. That old man was actually an elderly gorilla, Cranky Kong, who came over to Sonic and company with his cane.

"He wasn't also referring to me, was he?" asked Knuckles, still dangling from the bungee cord with his physical health and well-being hanging by a thread. "I'm too old to be called a whippersnapper!"

"Of course I was referring to you! I call it like I see it. I just wanted to come over and drop some knowledge, on you young folks."

"The sooner we make Cranky go away, the better," Sonic said quietly to Tails, before looking down at Cranky Kong over the balcony fencing. "Spit your facts already, you old ape!"

"Did you know that this story we're stuck in has over three million words? Started over four years ago, and it's still ongoing! That author doesn't know when to quit!"

"We're all stuck inside a story?" a bewildered Tails asked Sonic and Crash, who had no idea what Cranky Kong was talking about. Cranky felt like the smartest intellectual in the universe compared to Sonic and friends.

"Uh, mind telling us exactly what the name of this story is?" Sonic asked Cranky Kong, who couldn't help but shake his head at the hedgehog's ignorance. Sonic had so much to learn...

"The story is called 'Smash Life', you nitwit!" barked Cranky Kong, aggressively shaking his cane at Sonic. "Have you been living under a rock or something? Am I the only one privy to this information?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure 'Smash Life' is the name of the documentary that those producers are filming, LeVar and Brad. Not a story, as far as I know."

"It's more than just a documentary, you wouldn't understand..." Cranky Kong shook his head at Sonic once more, before wanting to change the subject. "...anyways, I'm not sure if you know, but the author of the story hates me."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Tails asked Cranky Kong, wondering what this so-called author had against the elderly gorilla.

"You fellas get to be in a whole bunch of chapters - or episodes, as you call them - and I barely get to appear! Except for special occasions! It's elderly discrimination, at its finest."

"Is it really elderly discrimination? Because it sure sounds like you just want to complain for no reason."

"It is elderly discrimination, you ignorant child! Which is why I'm set out to show that dumb author what I'm really all about. Show him that I too can have fun, like you youngins."

"I am NOT a whippersnapper, or a youngin..." clarified Knuckles, folding his arms as he hung upside down from the balcony. Cranky Kong looked at the echidna, scratching his chin in thought.

"Aha, I got it...I can show the author what I'm made of by doing something extreme! Like blowing myself out of a cannon!"

"That doesn't sound like such a great idea..." Tails offered his two cents, not wanting to put Cranky Kong's livelihood in danger. But Sonic, on the other hand...

"That sounds like an awesome idea!" the blue blur exclaimed, as Tails looked at him like he was out of his mind. "Cranky Kong can be the first daredevil gorilla to make it big!"

"But he's too old, it just sounds risky. What if something goes wrong, and Cranky Kong ends up seriously injured, or worse?"

"Tails, you're never gonna go far in life if you keeping acting pessimistic like that." sonic placed his hand on Tails' shoulder, giving the yellow fox a pep talk. "That kind of pessimism will never get you a job, or even a girlfriend."

"I'm ready to rock and roll!" shouted Cranky Kong, lifting his cane up in the air and shaking it wildly. "Gonna show that author how extreme I can be!"

"If we do go through with this...where are we even gonna find a cannon?" Tails asked Sonic, as finding a cannon to shoot Cranky Kong out of was the only hurdle.

"You act like nobody has a spare cannon lying around somewhere..." replied Sonic, before heading back inside the tower. "...let's go ask someone!" So Tails and Crash followed after Sonic, leaving Knuckles alone hanging from the balcony.

"Um, guys, aren't you gonna pull me up first?" Knuckles asked his friends, only to realize that they had already left. "If I end up like Lloyd, you guys are toast!"

Cortex's campaign was coming along nicely, firing on all cylinders. Cortex produced all sorts of merchandise for his campaign, from hats to t-shirts, and had a great campaign slogan to boot. With Brio as his VP, and Pit as his campaign manager, Cortex firmly believed that the man of the mansion role would be his.

One objective of the campaign that Cortex wanted to get done was a speech, to really get the residents behind his candidacy. The evil genius could tell that a huge majority of the residents had little faith in him, thinking that he didn't deserve to be in the running. But with a rousing speech, Cortex could make all the doubt quickly vanish away.

"Pit, I want you to write my speech for me," Cortex said to the angel outside the printing room, handing him a list containing a lot of vocabulary words. "Had a Pokemon from the sanctuary wrote some words down for me..."

"What kind of Pokemon was it?" inquired Pit, before glancing at the list as his went wide with intrigue. "Woah Nelly - these are some fancy words!"

"You really think so? The Pokemon I had asked to look through the dictionary picked out the best words he could find. Words that make me look powerful, and commanding, and an excellent leader!"

"Oh yeah, this speech is gonna be the greatest speech in human history! Heck, I barely even know what half of these words mean!"

"Dr. Cortex, perhaps maybe I should write out the speech myself..." Brio spoke quietly to Cortex, approaching the mad genius from behind and speaking into his ear. "...I did invent all those words on that list, after all."

"No need, Brio - this is Pit's chance to show us how much worth he has," responded Cortex, who might be putting a bit too much trust in Pit. "We can replace him if my speech is terrible. Not that I want to replace him..."

Pit: So I looked up a lot of these words on my cellphone, and man, I am mind-blown by what most of them actually mean! Angst? A feeling of anxiety, not some kind of horror genre. Malaise? A feeling of discomfort, not some kind of disease. Ubiquitous? Being present everywhere at once, not an element on the periodic table. Yup, I still have a lot to learn...

"How long do you want the speech to be?" Pit curiously asked Cortex, who thought to himself; Cortex never gave much thought about length.

"I can't hold everyone's attention for too long..." replied Cortex, being aware of the fact that most people - if not all - would routinely tune him out. "...I'd like for my speech to be eight to ten minutes long."

"So basically two pages, front and back, got it!" Pit gave Cortex a thumbs up, before running down the hallway with the list of words. "I won't let you down, Cortex!"

"It's never too late to have a backup speech," Brio said to Cortex, not wanting Cortex's campaign to be derailed by some crappy speech written by Pit. "I'll write it for you - I'll even give you all the credit!"

"If you must, then I'll let you write this...backup speech. And it better have a lot of big words, too. My intelligence must be well-represented!"

Mario was driving Master Hand's Lamborghini, looking for someone to sell the car to. In the passenger seat was Falco, who was bothered by how much the wind was blowing in his face. And seated in the back of the Lamborghini was Falco...with Itsuki and Tsubasa.

"So when are you two gonna start kissin'?" Falco asked Itsuki and Tsubasa, staring at the couple with his arms folded. The avian pilot expected to bothered by the sound of interlocking lips, but so far his sanity was still intact.

"Do you...want us to kiss each other?" asked Itsuki as he eyed around, wondering why Falco was so concerned about him kissing Tsubasa. "We don't kiss all the time, you know..."

"Well if you do get any lip-lock action in, make sure to keep that junk away from me." Falco looked away from Itsuki and Tsubasa, now staring at the side of the road. "Don't wanna get myself infected..."

"I wonder what he's all bent out of shape for," Tsubasa said to Itsuki about Falco, making sure to keep her voice relatively low. "Not like anyone forced him to sit in the back with us!"

"This is Falco we're talking about here...he gets upset over the smallest things. Like whenever I use my AXE spray! Maybe he has a very sensitive nose."

"Heard that..." grumbled Falco, becoming more annoyed as the car ride lingered on. Tsubasa let out a giggle, before realizing that she had something to say to Itsuki.

"Oh, Itsuki, I've been wanting to ask you something," the idol singer said to her boyfriend, garnering his attention. "It's about your candidacy, as man of the mansion."

"Yes, what about it?" asked Itsuki, giving Tsubasa his full attention as he sat up in his car seat. "You don't want me to pull my name out of the race, do you?"

"Of course not! I'm just worried that...that if you do win the job, you won't be running Star Records as much. Or at all."

"You know, that's a pretty valid concern to have...but you can't say that it's impossible to juggle between two different roles. I'll be fine."

"I'm just worried that if you have to step down, then Fox and Falco will have bigger roles. And you know those two well. Falco is a hothead, and Fox is...well..."

"Hey, I just met you...and this is crazy...but here's my number...so call me maybe!" Fox sang along with the song playing on the radio, as everyone in the Lamborghini cringed at his terrible singing. "C'mon Mario, sing along man!"

"No can-a do, I'm driving..." responded Mario, trying to keep his mind of the road despite Fox distracting him.

Fox: Mainstream radio can be wonky sometimes. For every pop song you get, you get another pop song from a wack band, like the Chainsmokers. One song is an actual classic...the other is so simple, even a five-year old can produce it! It's almost like radio wants their people to be smart, but dumb, at the same time. Pretty weird agenda they got going on.

"Aside from that, I'm worried that you won't be able to spend much time with me anymore," Tsubasa continued on, worried about her relationship with Itsuki. "You'll be more busy handling stuff..."

"Being the mansion's head honcho didn't stop Mario from proposing to Peach," Itsuki replied with a smile, wanting Tsubasa to be a bit more optimistic. "You act like I'll be busy all the time!"

"I know...it just seems that you would have far too much on your plate. There's always trouble going down in the mansion..."

"...yes, Tsubasa, yes. I'm well aware of the fact. Don't think for a second I wouldn't be able to handle it. Again, I'll be fine..."

"We're-a here!" announced Mario, as he pulled the Lamborghini up to a car dealership. There were plenty of shiny, sparkling cars all lined up outside.

"So this is where we're gonna sell the Lamborghini?" asked Fox, after Mario turned off the car as all the passengers got out. "Better hope we get a fortune in return..."

"With how much crap Master Hand done with that car...we should get like a million dollars in return," remarked Falco, thinking of how much stuff he could spend with a million dollars. Knowing him, he wouldn't share that money with anyone.

"Someone in that shop-a should be able to take-a the car off our hands," said Mario, before he saw a Japanese woman walk out of the car dealership. "Ah, there goes some-a one right now!"

The Japanese woman that exited the shop was Reiko Nagase - the same woman who had brought Master Hand's Lamborghini to the mansion. She saw Mario and company outside, and saw the Lamborghini.

"Oh! You must be Mario, from the Mushroom Kingdom," Reiko said to the plumber as she ran up to greet him. "I didn't think I would ever see you here!"

"Honestly I didn't expect-a to be here myself, but, you know..." replied Mario, before Reiko looked over ans saw the Lamborghini, quickly recognizing it.

"Wait a minute...is that...Master Hand's Lamborghini?" Reiko got a closer look at the Lamborghini, putting her hand on it and feeling it just to make sure. "Huh, I was the one who brought it to him..."

"Yup - Mario drove it here from the mansion without breaking a sweat!" confirmed Falco, like he expected Reiko to be impressed or something.

"And we're here to sell it," Fox said to Reiko, who imagined that selling the Lamborghini was a very risky idea. "So if you wanna start some negotiations right now..."

"Okay guys, just a disclaimer...I don't work at this car dealership," stated Reiko, wanting to clear some things up. "Also, I don't think that selling Master Hand's car is such a good idea."

"Why not? I think he deserves it," said Fox; the pilot wouldn't love anything more than giving Master Hand some just desserts. "Dude's been stealing money from our company, to pay for his car."

"Not only that, but he's been using said money for needless upgrades, too," added Itsuki, stressing the importance of selling the Lamborghini. "It's about time we taught that Master Hand a lesson."

"Look, I just don't think you should just sell the Lamborghini like that," said Reiko, who was just looking out for the livelihoods of Mario and company. "I mean, did he even give you permission to sell his car?"

"Master Hand's on his-a 'vacation', we don't need-a his permission," replied Mario, his response only making Reiko even more nervous. "Now's the perfect time-a to sell the Lamborghini!"

"Well I won't allow it. I know you are aware, but Master Hand loves that Lamborghini very much. And when he returns, and finds out it's gone...let's just say it won't end well for you guys."

"Man, who cares how Master Hand would feel!" interjected Falco, before taking out his Blaster and pointed it at Reiko. "Either you convince someone in that car dealership to take our Lamborghini, or I'll...I'll fade you!"

"Can't fade someone with a gun, Falco," Fox told the avian pilot, who grumbled as he lowered his Blaster. "That's pretty common knowledge..."

"Fine then...if you don't get someone to take the Lamborghini...I'll just shoot myself!" Falco then pointed his Blaster at the side of his head. "I'll pull the trigger!"

"...and you're not real enough to kill yourself, either. Stop acting foolish, Falco." Falco snapped his fingers, as he put his Blaster away for good.

"Look, I think you should just keep the Lamborghini until Master Hand returns," suggested Reiko, believing that she was looking out for Mario and company. "Let him decide what to do with it."

"Will the fellas in the car-a shop accept the Lamborghini?" Mario asked Reiko, who bit her bottom lip as she looked back at the car dealership. Mario wouldn't stop until the Lamborghini was off his hands.

"It would get them a good investment...but that dealership isn't taking used cars. At least not for the time being."

"So they're a bunch of scared car salesmen...got it," remarked Falco - he should've known that from seeing the cars all lined up outside in the parking lot. "Guess we'll have to look somewhere else..."

"Yeah...sorry about that. Whatever decision you make with that car, it's up to you. See ya." Reiko walked away from Mario and company, leaving the group back at square one.

"If that car dealership won't accept the Lamborghini...then who will?" wondered Itsuki, rubbing his head while thinking to himself. Just then, Tsubasa looked out into the distance, and saw a thief rummaging around with a sack bag.

"Why don't we ask him?" Tsubasa asked Itsuki and the others, as she pointed at the thief in question. Mario saw the thief, recognizing who he was.

"Is that...who I think-a it is?" the plumber questioned, as he walked over to the thief. The others followed after Mario, who seemed to know the thief from a previous adventure or two.

"These mushrooms should hold me over..." the thief said to himself, as he dug into his sack bag and puled out a few Mario mushrooms. He then looked up, and screamed when he saw Mario and company...Mario frightening him the most.

"Popple!" Mario called out the thief's name, as Popple nearly dropped his mushrooms to the ground. He then tried to run away, with Mario picking up the pace. "Wait, get back-a here!"

"Cripes! Of all the people I had to deal with today, and it had to be you! Boo! Boo, I say!"

"Fox, Falco, corner him!" Fox and Falco did just that, running ahead of Popple and jumping in front of the thief to bring him to a stop.

"What do you Palookas want? Don't tell me you're working with that bum, Mario! I got things to do, see?"

"We're not here to hurt you, aight?" Fox informed Popple, who refused to trust the pilot as he slowly backed away. Fox and Falco walked towards Popple, making the thief back away even more.

"That's what you want me to think! Anyone affiliated with Mario can't be trusted. Not his stupid brother Luigi, not Starlow, and not even..."

Popple suddenly backed up into someone, causing him to gulp nervously. Slowly, Popple turned around, and saw Mario behind him with his arms folded.

"It's been a while, Popple..." Mario said to the thief, who screamed and jumped back out of fright. "...still doing your usual thief-a thing?"

"Yeah, I'm still thievin', why do you care?!" Popple angrily responded, gritting his teeth at Mario. He still held some ill will towards the plumber. "Not like you've been doing anything important, while I'm out here on the streets!"

"Oh, I've been-a pretty busy myself...especially with-a my wife, Princess Peach." Hearing Mario refer to Peach as his wife instantly made Popple do a double take.

"You mean that the prettiest woman in the Mushroom Kingdom...married a bum like you?! How much did you pay her?"

"Only paid her with-a my love. And that's not all - Luigi is married too, to Princess-a Daisy!" This was even harder for Popple to comprehend, for he always thought of Luigi as the inferior Mario Bro.

"Your loser twin brother settled down with a woman, and I couldn't?! Is this universe out of whack or what?!"

"Maybe you're just not desirable enough for a woman," quipped Itsuki, triggering Popple greatly as he angrily shook his fist at the young man.

"You...you...I don't know who you are, but I'ma smack you if you don't shut your trap, see?"

Popple: What a world...Mario got married, Luigi somehow got married, and I'm still a single loser whose only life purpose is stealing stuff. If I ever find out that Bowser is married too, then I'll just give up on life. I'll live off the grid somewhere, in a comfy cabin, and craft daruma dolls. No one will care that I'm gone.

"What is it that you Palookas even want?" asked Popple, as Fox and Falco came over. Doing stuff with Mario was certainly not on the thief's to-do list. "You wanna help me rob someone's house, or what?"

"We're looking for someone to take that Lamborghini off our hands," Tsubasa said to Popple, before pointing at the Lamborghini parked in the far distance. Popple's eyes grew wide, when he saw the Lamborghini.

"You want to SELL that Lamborghini?" Popple had the biggest grin on his face, as he stared at the Lamborghini while rubbing his hands together. "How much do you want in return?"

"Thing is, we're looking for someone to sell it to," replied Itsuki, noticing how hard it was for Popple to contain his excitement. "We've been told that the guys who run that car dealership over there won't take it."

"Why wouldn't they? IT'S A FLIPPING LAMBORGHINI! Who wouldn't want to take a care like that from someone? I'd steal it in a heartbeat!"

"Someone discouraged us from selling the Lamborghini, since it belongs to Master Hand. And knowing how Master Hand can be..."

"What are you all so scared of some giant floating hand for? I stole crap from Master Hand before, and look at me! Still alive!"

"You stole from Master Hand?" asked Fox, astounded that Popple was able to pull off such an amazing feat. "How did you even do it?"

"Well I am a thief...so it comes naturally for me." Popple looked behind at the car dealership, thinking of a plan. "Think I know of a way to get rid of that that Lamborghini, and get you guys some sweet cash in return!"

"Promise you won't turn-a on us after the car gets sold?" Mario warily asked Popple, pretty much aware of how the thief operated. Popple could betray literally anyone at the drop of a hat.

"Yeah, sure...I'll let you guys keep the money. Not that I need it, anyways. So here's what we're gonna do..."

Smeargle was in the ballroom, putting on the finishing touches of a portrait of Kamui he was painting. Overseeing the painter Pokemon's work with Silas were Link and Cloud, the former looking slightly more interested than the latter.

"Didn't know a Pokemon could have so much artistic skill," remarked Silas, acting as if he was watching Bob Ross in the flesh painting the portrait. "But I guess that's why they call him a Smeargle..."

"So what are you gonna do with this painting, after it's done?" Cloud asked Silas, as Smeargle continued to paint away. "Just show it to Kamui, and then call it a day?"

"Of course not! I'm planning on letting Kamui keep the painting for herself. I'd say it would look nice in her bedroom."

"And are you going to give Smeargle here all the credit?" Link asked Silas, who had his lips pursed. Hinting that Smeargle might not get all his due.

"Wolf said that I should tell Kamui that I painted the portrait myself...he thinks that would make a very good impression on her."

"So you're gonna lie to Kamui, to make a good impression on her?" Silas apparently didn't think this one out.

"Well, I would hate to lie to Kamui...but perhaps if I could stretch the truth a bit..." Neither Link nor Cloud were keen to the idea.

"You know what, we'll just let you figure it out," Cloud said to Silas, as he patted the cavalier on his shoulder. "Just don't come crying to us if you ever find yourself in a heap of trouble."

"I promise I won't." Silas looked at the portrait, seeing that Smeargle was finally done. "I'll be right back - going to see what Kamui is up to." Silas would leave the ballroom, as he went to go look for his girlfriend.

"I honestly think we should keep the Smeargle around, just in case," Link suggested to Cloud, as Champion Link entered the ballroom seeing the portrait of Kamui.

"Wow, that's a pretty nice painting of Kamui," Champion Link had this to say about the portrait, as Cloud thought that the Hylian was being to nice. Almost like the swordsman was incapable of offering high praise. "What's it for?"

"It was commissioned by Kamui's new boyfriend, Silas," replied Link, as Champion Link got a closer look at the portrait. "Smeargle did it all by himself."

"I have to say, it looks pretty nice. Pretty detailed, too. The kind of painting you would see at an art exhibit...

Suddenly Champion Link slipped, falling down to the floor. As he did so, his hand fell against the portrait, sliding down the canvas. And since most of the paint had yet to dry...there was now a large smear on the portrait.

"Argh...stupid wet spot," growled Champion Link, standing back up and looking at Link and Cloud who both looked at edge. "Why are you guys looking like that?"

"You really goofed up, buddy..." replied Link, and Champion Link furrowed his brow in confusion...before looking down and seeing some paint on his right hand. The Hylian then looked at the portrait, and gasped when he saw the giant smear he left behind.

"Oh man...oh man oh man oh man..." Champion Link was worried, staring at the smear with his hands on his head. The portrait was now ruined, and it was all thanks to Champion Link.

"This obviously isn't good..." remarked Cloud, looking distressed as he scratched his head. "...we can't let Kamui or Silas this, or we're screwed."

"You barely cared about the portrait beforehand," Link said to Cloud, wanting to know the reason behind the swordsman's change of heart. "So why are you so worried about it now?"

"Because Silas would be ticked off about it being ruined? Also, think of how bad of a look it would be for us if we didn't fix this situation."

"Guys, I'm so sorry I messed up the painting like that," Champion Link apologized to Link and Cloud, after he put them in a perilous situation. "I'll make sure that whoever left behind that wet spot on the floor will pay!"

"No, Champion Link, that should be the least of our worries right now..." Cloud looked towards Smeargle, who saw the ruined portrait and shook his head.

"I guess there's nothing Smeargle can do to make the smear go away," assumed Link, looking at the smear while sharing some of Champion Link's guilt. "We could make an attempt to hide it, somehow..."

Dark Pit stood outside his room, looking annoyed. Why was he annoyed? It was because Pit had locked him out, and no matter how many times Dark Pit knocked on the door, Pit wouldn't let him in. Dark Pit would get Palutena to make Pit open the door, but that was too much work for the doppelganger.

"I don't have all day, Pit, just let me in already!" shouted Dark Pit, aggressively banging his fists on his bedroom door. A few seconds later, and Pit would finally oblige, as he opened the bedroom door.

"Oh, sorry for keeping you waiting, Pittoo," Pit apologized to Dark Pit, while holding a piece of paper in his hands. "I've been working hard on a speech, for Dr. Cortex!"

"You're writing a speech for Cortex? What, has he really gotten that desperate? He does know that Brio is his right-hand man, right?"

Dark Pit: Pit just might be the most illiterate person that I have the pleasure - or displeasure - of knowing. I wouldn't put it past the guy if he couldn't even spell his own name! Cortex depending on Pit so much should tell you about his chances of being man of the mansion...as if he had much of a chance to begin with.

"Cortex gave me a list of vocabulary words that I should use, for his speech," Pit explained to Dark Pit, as he let the doppelganger inside the room. "It's gonna make him sound well-spoken and intelligent and all sorts of things!"

"Okay then, list off all the vocabulary words you used," commanded Dark Pit, who was ready to laugh. Gotta get his laughing muscles up to speed.

"Alright, starting from the top...I got Cortex addressing the crowd as constituents. Constituents are individual parts that make up an entity." Dark Pit was impressed, not expecting Pit to provide a definition. "Then I got Cortex using this word called promulgate, which is another word for announce." Dark Pit was impressed once again, as Pit was on a tear. "Then he uses the word pulchritude, which means the physical beauty of a woman..."

"Um, okay...let's just pause right there." Pit ratted off three pretty big words, which Dark Pit considered a personal achievement for the angel. "What does 'pulchritude' have to do with Cortex?"

"I dunno...I just thought it would be a cool word to use. I can always change the context." Dark Pit looked past Pit, seeing the desk where the angel was writing the speech at, and saw a closed up dictionary.

"Why is the dictionary closed?" Dark Pit walked over to the dictionary, picking it up and showing it to Pit. "Shouldn't you, I don't know...be using it as a reference?"

"Meh, I would, but looking up definitions of words is boring. I'd figured it would be more fun to challenge myself, and use words I've never heard of before."

"Pit you doofus, if you do that then Cortex's speech will..." Dark Pit suddenly stopped speaking, realizing what the end result of Cortex reading Pit's written-out speech would be. "...you know what, just do you. Keep doing your thing!"

"Wow, thanks Dark Pit! You barely encourage me to do great." Pit ran back to his desk, sitting down in his chair as Dark Pit had the biggest smirk on his face. "I'm gonna make you proud with this speech, Pittoo!"

"Keep up the good work..." Still smirking, Dark Pit placed the dictionary back on Pit's desk. "...I wanna be there when that speech gets recited." Dark Pit would then leave the room, chuckling slightly to himself as he made his exit.

Kasumi was still operating Anna's shop, running things while working as Anna's stunt double. The young woman was selling care baskets to anyone who approached the shop stand, no matter how few the numbers were.

"Thank you for your service!" Kasumi said to her most recent customer, waving to them after she handed them their care basket. Zelda approached the shop stand, having to do a double take when she saw Kasumi.

"Kasumi, why on earth are you manning Anna's shop?" the princess questioned the young woman, before getting a good look at her hair and attire. "More importantly, why do you look like Anna?"

"I'm running the shop while Anna is on her lunch break. Or so I've been told to do so." Anna had been gone for a pretty long time; her lunch break was longer than most American workers have!

"Uh huh...and how do you know that Anna isn't using this an an excuse to get out of work?" Not only was Anna greedy, but she might also be lazy too...Master Hand could despise her even more, for that.

"Anna means well...so I'm sure that she's just itching to get back to work. I'll just keep working until my shift ends...whenever that is."

Anna: Kasumi's shifts pretty much ends whenever I return to the stand. So theoretically, I could just lounge around outside on the hammock for three hours, and Kasumi will still be working at the shop! Kasumi is a very hard worker, so I don't feel too bad...

"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you Anna, the merchant lady?" a random teenager asked Kasumi, as he eagerly approached the shop stand. The way he was acting, it was like he was Anna's number one fan.

"Yes...yes I am," replied Kasumi, as she cautiously looked towards Zelda. Zelda took a step back, letting Kasumi handle the exchange herself.

"Aw, sweet! I heard about how you would give care baskets, with candy inside. That's awesome! Mind if I take a picture with you?"

"I'd love to take a picture or two." The teenager excitedly took his cellphone out from his pocket, as he opened up his camera app.

"Guys, that cool merchant lady is here, she wants to take a picture!" the teenager turned around and called out to his friends, which made Kasumi wary. Obviously that teenager didn't come alone.

"Oh...you brought friends?" Indeed the teenager did, as a few of his friends came over to the shop stand. Zelda stood close by at the porch, as the teen and his friends gathered around behind Kasumi.

"Alright, group selfie!" The teen held out his phone horizontally, and snapped a picture as everyone in the frame was smiling. Who knew that Anna had so much outreach, from selling care baskets?

"Good thing Anna isn't around to see this..." remarked Zelda, just as a certain merchant came down the porch steps. Zelda looked over, startled to see Anna. "...oh!"

"Scared ya, didn't I?" Anna smiled at Zelda, before she saw Kasumi taking group selfies with the teenagers. "Wow, what's going on over there?"

"Those teens are apparently convinced that Kasumi is you, essentially. And now they're taking photos with her...with no signs of stopping."

"Is that so? I oughta get in on this, too!" Anna walked over to the shop stand, waving her arms to grab the teenagers' attention. "Yoo hoo, over here!"

"Somebody said something?" one of the teens perked up, before all the teens looked over and saw Anna.

"Forget that chick - I'm the real Anna! Me! I'm the real deal!" Sadly none of the teens were convinced, just looking at Anna like she was crazy.

"Ha ha, what a poser..." The teens immediately went back to snapping pictures with Kasumi, leaving Anna looking sad as she lowered her head.

"Why won't they believe me..." Anna heaved a depressed sigh, as Zelda walked over to the merchant and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Sometimes you reap what you sow..." Zelda offered these words of wisdom to Anna, who went back inside the mansion. Kasumi was still some of Anna's shine, and Anna didn't appreciate it one bit.

Silas was now ready to show Kamui the portrait of her, expecting to knock the princess's socks completely off. Provided that Kamui ever wore socks, to begin with. But little did Silas know that the portrait was ruined, thanks to Champion Link. Thankfully he didn't know...yet.

"I have a surprise waiting for you, in the ballroom," Silas said to Kamui, guiding the princess to the ballroom in question. "I've been preparing it since this morning."

"I would have to assume it's something special," said Kamui, with the entrance to the ballroom just down the hallway. Link, Cloud, and Champion Link better be prepared.

"Only special for you, I'll say. You'll love it a lot." Silas and Kamui reached the ballroom entrance, and Silas, being the kind-hearted gentleman that he was, allowed Kamui to go in first. "After you, my lady..."

Kamui stepped inside the ballroom, with Silas following after her, and the first thing the lovebirds saw were Link, Cloud, and Champion Link, all standing together. All three swordsmen looked proper, holding their hands in front of them.

"Are those three in on the surprise?" Kamui asked Silas, who guided the princess over to where the three swordsmen were standing.

"Link and Cloud kinda are...Champion Link is debatable," replied Silas, before bringing Kamui to a stop and looking at the swordsmen. "Link, Champion Link, Cloud...may I ask you three to kindly move out of the way?"

"You have to tell Kamui to close her eyes first," Cloud told Silas - Unwritten Rule #4: always tell someone to close their eyes, when it comes to big surprises. Rookie mistake by Silas.

"Ah, of course! Close your eyes, Kamui." Kamui would do as she was told, closing her eyes shut. "Now will you three move out of the way, please?"

"Let's just get this over with..." Champion Link murmured to Link and Cloud, being the first to move as he stepped out of the way. Link and Cloud shifted around a bit to make up for the lost space.

"Now can either one of you two move aside?" Next to move was Link, as he took a few steps to the right. Cloud now placed himself in the center. "I believe you're next, Cloud."

"I'm afraid I can't move...both of my legs are asleep," Cloud made up this excuse on the fly, not wanting to move a single inch. He was that committed.

"Both of your legs are asleep, at the same time? As if! I'm not going to ask this again, Cloud...move out of the way!"

"Or else what? What are you going to do to me, punch me in the jaw?" Cloud was really testing Silas - anything to hold the cavalier over.

"I would, if it ever has to come to that. Now just move already, I want Kamui to see this!"

"I can already see the surprise in my head..." smiled Kamui, who still had her eyes close. Easily the least tense person in the ballroom.

"Fine - tell Kamui to open her eyes, and I'll move," Cloud said to Silas, seeing how adamant and persistent the cavalier was.

"About time..." responded a relieved Silas, before he looked at Kamui. "...okay Kamui, you can open your eyes now!"

So Kamui opened her eyes, and Cloud, a man of his word, moved out of the way and allowed Kamui to see the portrait of herself. Link, Champion Link, and Cloud all looked nervous, as Kamui looked at the portrait.

"What do you think?" Silas asked Kamui, who didn't respond as the princess had her eyes fixated on the portrait's smear...or at least where the smear was. There was now a white space where the smear was, and it had words written on it.

"Is this meant for me to read?" Kamui asked Silas as she pointed at the words inscribed on the portrait; Silas looked confused, as Kamui walked closer to the portrait.

"I...don't know...where that came from," Silas quietly confessed, as Kamui inspected the words written out on the portrait.

"'To the love of my life...the blossoming flower that gives me joy...Princess Kamui. From Silas.'" Kamui read the words out loud, smiling to herself as she looked at the portrait in full. "Silas, did you really write that for me?"

"I...I guess?" Silas would join Kamui at the portrait, and Kamui would give the cavalier a hug. That made Silas' bewilderment go away, in a hurry. "Yeah, I totally wrote that..."

"Aw, that is so sweet!" Kamui continued to embrace Silas in the hug, and after she was done hugging, she looked at the portrait once more. "This portrait of me is such a sweet gesture. Don't tell me you're secretly an artist!"

"To tell you the truth..." Silas looked towards Link and Cloud, both men motioning the cavalier to tell Kamui what she wanted to hear. "...I had a Pokemon named Smeargle paint the portrait, by himself. He's quite a talented Pokemon!"

Link: The note was me and Cloud's idea...we had Smeargle spread some white paint over the smear, and just wrote a bunch of words over it. Even did it in cursive, just to make it look fancy. And now I see why they had to stop teaching cursive in public schools...

Cloud: I'll be the first to admit, that note we wrote on the portrait was cheesy as heck. But, it still got the job done. And that's what matters.

"He certainly did an excellent job with this portrait," said Kamui, as she kept looking at the portrait. She was already in love. "You think it would look nice hanging up in my room?"

"You know, I was thinking the same thing..." grinned Silas, as he held his hand underneath his chin. "...it's true what they say, great minds think alike!"

"Guess that happens a lot, when you're in love...it's almost like perfect harmony. We know each other so well..."

"Let's get outta here, before they start doing some romantic crap..." Cloud said quietly to Link and Champion Link, hightailing out of the ballroom with his two Hylian buddies following after him. Cloud clearly wasn't going to stick around for any romantic fluff.

Inside the car dealership, where Mario and company were hanging around at, two mechanics were working on cars, while a car salesman was monitoring them. Everything was peaceful so far, until...

"This is a stick-up!' shouted Popple, storming inside the car dealership with a Blaster in his hand and his sack over his shoulder. "Hands up where I can see 'em!"

"Crap, we're being robbed!" the car salesman panicked, holding his hands up as the two mechanics stopped what they were doing and held up their hands too. "Why did it have to be today..."

"Now I ain't asking for much, see? Just looking for a little cash, to help make ends meet. Something like, I don't know...a million bucks?"

"A million bucks?! For what? Why do you need a million bucks for?"

"I'm a thief, you dolt! I ask for how much I want. Now pony up, or else!"

"Uh, sir, there's someone trying to park some Lamborghini in the back..." one of the mechanics looked outside one of the large windows, seeing Mario driving the Lamborghini past by with Fox and Falco directing him.

"Did I say that you could look outside?!" Popple pointed his Blaster at the mechanic, having the man all shook. "Why don't you keep your eyes on me! ME!"

"You never said that...I could look outside..." The mechanic gulped nervously, as Popple continued to stare him down. He was not prepared, for moments like these.

"Oh so you're calling me stupid now? Is that what it is? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you in the face!"

"I just wanna go home, man..." Popple found that reason to be the most pathetic thing ever, but the thief was willing to let it slide.

"I'll let you and your pals go home, alright...if you give me what I want. Show me the millions!"

"We can't let you have our money," the car salesman calmly said to Popple, standing his ground. "Either you scram, or we'll call the police!"

"Call the police? Ha! What are you, a bunch of snitches? Ain't nobody snitchin' on my watch! Backup, where's my backup?"

Itsuki and Tsubasa came running in, humorously dressed up as burglars. They were both wearing face bandannas, to conceal their identities, and holding Blasters.

"Not a single move!" shouted Itsuki, him and Tsubasa having their Blasters pointed at the car salesmen and company. "We will fire!"

Itsuki: We had to drive back in the Lamborghini to get some "essentials" for our robbery. Namely some knit hats, face bandannas, some sweats, and Peppy and Slippy's Blasters. Sure we wasted some gas to and from the dealership, but the Lamborghini is finally going away for good so it's not like we lost much to begin with.

"Just got back from my lunch break...what is going on?" one of the workers at the car dealership questioned, unknowingly walking into a robbery scene. Since the worker was close to Popple, Popple grabbed the man by his neck, and held the Blaster to his head.

"Give up the money, or else I'll cap this Palooka right here and now!" Popple couldn't hurt the worker as much with the Blaster, but the weapon sure was a great tool for intimidation!

"Actually, my name is Paul. Not 'Palooka'." The worker had his neck further constricted by Popple, who let the worker know that he meant business.

"Tick tick tick...I better see a pile of money at my feet in the next minute, or someone's gonna get it!"

"Sir, someone is trying to park a Lamborghini at the back of our..." a third mechanic showed up from the back of the dealership to alert the car salesman, only to be stopped in his tracks when Popple took out a second Blaster and pointed it at him.

"I'm not playing these games anymore, see? Hand over the moolah, and I'll leave you bums alone. Capiche?"

"I've had just about enough of this..." the car salesman grumbled, as he dug into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Itsuki and Tsubasa knew they had to stop the salesman, before he could make the call.

Running in came Itsuki and Tsubasa, humorously dressed up as burglars. They were both wearing face bandannas, to conceal their identities.

"Put the cellphone down now!" Tsubasa shouted at the car salesman, as she and Itsuki pointed their Blasters at the car salesman. ""Get down on the ground!" The salesman quickly dropped his phone to the floor, and cowered.

"Better play nice with that chick, see?" Popple warned the car salesman and the mechanics, easily impressed by how much Tsubasa was into her role. "One bad move and she'll cap your behind with that Glock!"

"That 'Glock' looks more like a space gun to me," one of the mechanics spoke up, only for Popple to point his Blaster at him. The mechanic held his arms up, slowly backing away. "Just saying, just saying..."

"Someone just parked their Lamborghini at the back parking lot of the dealership..." a fourth mechanic showed up from the back, coming to a stop when Itsuki and Tsubasa pointed their Blasters at him. "...man, I sure picked the wrong day to come to work."

"How about we make a compromise?" Popple proposed to the car salesman, after he hearkened to what the fourth mechanic had just said. "We'll vamoose and leave you Palookas alone...but only if you give me fifty thousand bucks!"

"Only fifty thousand?" the car salesman inquired, not expecting Popple to scale down his original offer. Fifty grand was somewhat manageable. "You sure you don't want a million dollars?"

"Fifty thousand bucks, take it or leave it!" Popple pointed at his Blaster at the car salesman, while making sure that he had his second Blaster still pointed at the worker in his grasp. "I ain't gonna say it again..."

Popple was now standing outside the car dealership, with Mario and company. The thief got what he wanted, smiling as he was stroking a cool fifty thousand bucks in his hands. For thieves like him, it was a struggle to contain your excitement with that much money in your hands.

"I have to admit, that was a pretty thrilling experience," Itsuki had this to say to Tsubasa, about helping Popple stage the robbery. Although you could say it wasn't staged, especially if Popple got money in return.

"So much fun being a robber, rather than the one being robbed," remarked Tsubasa, as she took off her face bandanna and knit hat. "But I do feel bad, for taking that car dealership's money..."

"The one positive thing I can take away from that robbery is, we kinda had fun together. Even if it all felt morally wrong."

"Yeah, you're right. Wish we could do more stuff like that together, in the future...having fun together, I mean. Not robbing people."

"Personally I wouldn't mind going on a robbing spree...we could be this generation's Bonnie and Clyde! We would be universally loved!"

"And you would lose your man of the mansion job by being a criminal...implying that you would even get the job to begin with."

"Wow, what a very supportive girlfriend you're supposed to be..." A second later, Tsubasa laughed, and Itsuki would laugh along with her.

"Ha ha, very funny you two..." Mario said sardonically to Itsuki and Tsubasa, sounding like he was salty. "...why don't you two just find a room some-a where and start kissing already?"

Mario: Itsuki now thinks he's hot-a stuff, after Master Hand named him as one of the eight-a candidates. First Meta Knight acting like he runs-a things around the mansion, then Dr. Cortex with-a his campaign, and now Itsuki has-a fallen. That's why I have a lot of trust-a in Link and Cloud - they're too bland to change-a for the worst. *pauses* ...bland in a very good-a way.

"Thanks for providing us with that distraction, Popple," Fox thanked the thief, who was too busy stroking the wads of cash to listen as much. "We never would've gotten that Lamborghini parked at the dealership if it wasn't for you."

"Shut up, you bozo, can't you see that I'm busy?" Popple snapped on Fox, stroking the dollar bills as if he were stroking a cat. Cash clearly ruled everything around Popple, and then some.

"You said you wouldn't turn on us, after we returned the Lamborghini." Fox held out his hand to Popple, who hissed as he held the money from Fox. "So hand over the cash, Popple!"

"Okay then, how about we split it equally? I'll give you guys a couple hundred bucks...while I take the rest. Does that sound good? Great!"

"That's not-a equal," frowned Mario, as he and Falco joined Fox as they approached Popple. "Give us the money NOW!" Soon a skirmish began, as Mario, Fox, and Falco were all tangling with Popple over the $50,000.

"Why did I feel like this would go down sooner or later...?" asked Itsuki, as the skirmish resulted in a cloud of dust. Something you would see on a cartoon. Eventually Popple hopped out from the cloud of dust, smiling as he was still holding on to the cash.

"He's getting away!" shouted Tsubasa, watching as Popple ran towards the dealership. Seconds later, Mario and the Star Fox pilots stopped fighting among themselves, and soon they saw someone driving away in the returned Lamborghini...it was Popple!

"After him!" shouted Mario, as he and the others chased after the Lamborghini.

Back at the tower, Sonic and friends had found a cannon to shoot Cranky Kong out from. The cannon was provided by the infantry residing in the tower, and they had their cannon lined up and ready to fire.

"I'm gonna show you, you stupid author, just you wait and see!" vowed Cranky Kong, wearing a daredevil helmet, as the infantry men stuffing the elderly gorilla down the cannon thought he was crazy.

"This guy is really bugging me out, man..." one of the infantry men whispered to his comrades, who all nodded in agreement.

"So with this cannon, we're gonna fire Cranky Kong as far as we possibly can," the lead infantryman explained to Sonic and friends, giving them the 411. "If for any reason he ends up seriously injured, or worse...that's on you."

"Knuckles, you're our fall guy," Sonic informed the echidna, who was rescued from hanging down from the balcony. By the infantry. "You're the one liable for anything that happens to Cranky Kong."

"Why me, is it because I'm the black guy around here?" frowned Knuckles, bringing up race in a scenario that really didn't require race to begin with. "Why can't Tails be the fall guy, he's innocent enough!"

"Nobody asked me to be the fall guy," replied Tails, as Knuckles growled his teeth; even if Tails was a fall guy, no one would ever believe that the yellow fox could do anything wrong.

"Oh yeah, well nobody asked ME to be the fall guy either! We all can't have it both ways, can we?!"

"...is he done?" the lead infantryman asked Sonic, Tails, and Crash concerning Knuckles, seeing that the echidna was about to blow a gasket.

"I think you should just fire Cranky Kong out of the cannon already..." replied Sonic, wanting to get the daredevil stunt over with before Knuckles punched someone. The lead infantryman nodded, as he looked towards his fellow men.

"Alright boys, on the count of three, we fire Cranky Kong out from the cannon. You boys ready?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the infantry members all shouted in perfect military unison, as they saluted their captain.

"Cranky Kong, are you ready?" the lead infantryman asked the gorilla, who gave a thumbs up.

"Today, I'm going to make that lousy author eat his words!" proclaimed Cranky Kong, who wanted nothing more than to send a message to the author himself.

"Not sure what this imaginary 'author' has to do with this whole thing, but okay..." The lead infantryman held up his hand, ready to fire. "On the count of three...one...two...THREE!"

The infantry fired Cranky Kong out of the cannon, sending the elderly gorilla flying through the sky. Sonic and friend watched as Cranky soared through the air, laughing manically as he flew like a bird in the sky.

"Sooooo...how are we gonna get Cranky Kong back?" Tails asked his pals, watching as Cranky continued to soar. Sure was getting a lot of hang time.

"Honestly I haven't really thought that far ahead yet," confessed Sonic, as the smile on his face went from a plain smile to one reeking of nervousness. "We are so screwed..."

Mario and company were chasing after Popple, who was driving away in Master Hand's Lamborghini with $50,000. The same $50,000 that Popple promised to let Mario and company keep.

"You never learn, do you Mario?" Popple rolled down his window and snickered at the plumber, whom he expected to run out of breath right about now. "Never do business with me!"

"We're not going to chase-a you around forever, Popple!" Mario shouted at the thief, as he and the others were keeping up the pace. "Hand-a over the money!"

"No way! This money is mine, all for me, see? Nothing can stop me, for I am the mighty..."

Popple would be proven wrong, as the Lamborghini came to a sudden stop. Popple looked at the gas meter, and saw that he was out of gas.

"Cripes! I'm all out of gas!" panicked Popple, who knew that driving the Lamborghini back to the mansion was a bad idea. The thief got out of the car, and ran away from Mario and company on foot.

"Keep up the pace!" Falco shouted to the others, as the chase was still ongoing. As Popple said, nothing could stop him...

...unless it was any flying object, one which came flying down from the sky and collided against Popple and sent him to the ground. That flying object was in fact Cranky Kong, who was now sitting atop a downed Popple.

"Take that, you dumb author!" Cranky Kong called out to...erm, up in the sky, as Mario and company soon came to a halt. "I can have fun, too! One small step for respect...and one big step for the universe!"

"Where did he come from?" wondered Itsuki, turning around and looking at the direction that Cranky Kong flew from. Pigs may not fly, but Cranky Kong proved today that gorillas can...well, most gorillas.

"Who cares, just take the money..." replied Fox, as he and the others collected the dollar bills that were lying all over the ground. Popple couldn't do a thing, with Cranky Kong sitting on top of him.

"Criminy! I've been attacked by some stupid ape!" the thief gritted his teeth, as he angrily banged his fists on the ground. "Boo, boo I say! BOO!"

"Watch who you're calling stupid!" Cranky Kong scolded Popple, whacking the thief on his head with his cane. "Has anyone ever taught you to respect your elders?"

Cranky Kong: Hopefully that author saw that amazing stunt I pulled off. And hopefully I won't have to do this thing anymore, with the bold text and the colons...does that author think he's fancy or what?

All the money was gathered up, and Mario was the one holding the $50,000 in his hands. A few seconds later, there was a man running to Mario and company.

"Hey, you!" the man called out to Mario, before he eventually reached the plumber; it was the car salesman, from the dealership. "Are you Mario?"

"That would-a be me!" exclaimed Mario, feeling appreciated to have been recognized. Hard for him to go anywhere, and not be recognized.

"Yeah, one of the guys at my dealership said they saw you outside while we were being robbed. It was the same old crook too, who's always to trying to steal one of our cars..." The car salesman suddenly saw the $50,000 in Mario's grasp, and then saw Popple still pinned to the ground by Popple.

"So close, to making a fortune..." griped Popple, as the car salesman directed his attention from Popple to the Lamborghini that was nearby.

"Is that a Lamborghini?" the salesman asked Mario and company, staring at the car as he scratched his chin. "One of the boys said that someone tried to park that bad boy in our back parking lot..."

"We were-a responsible," Mario confessed to the car salesman, letting him know how guilty he and the others felt. "We heard that you currently weren't accepting new-a cars, so I secretly drove that car into your-a parking lot, while we let that thief robbed-a you. He...helped us."

"That's how he got away with the fifty grand," added Tsubasa, as Mario held up the $50,00 for the car dealer to see. "We're very sorry."

"It's true that we aren't accepting used cars now..." stated the car salesman, before looking at the Lamborghini one more time. "...but that car? That is a thing of beauty. I'll gladly take it off your hands."

"Really? You'll accept Master Hand's Lamborghini?" asked Fox, as the mere mention of Master Hand made the car salesman raised his eyebrows.

"Master Hand? Master Hand?! Hoo boy, do I hate him! He's always bothering us, talking down to us and saying that his car is better than any care we have on sale! It's annoying!"

"You think that's bad, Master Hand practically steals our hard-earned money to pay for his Lamborghini and upgrade it constantly. That's why we wanted to sell it, so we wouldn't have to deal with that anymore."

"Tell ya what I'm gonna do...I'll turn in that thief to the authorities, and I'll take that Lamborghini back to the dealership. You return the stolen money...and I'll pay you back the amount of money Master Hand stole from y'all. And I can take y'all back home in my SUV. Put this all behind us. Sounds good?"

"That sounds excellent!" replied Itsuki, grateful for the huge solid that the car dealer was doing for him and Star Records. "Much appreciated!"

"Give me some of that money, too!" Cranky Kong randomly shouted out, as if he would get any piece of the pie. "One day I'll be richer than the author himself..."

Anna sat alone in the foyer, down in the dumps. Kasumi was running her shop, and the teenagers flanking around her were convinced that she was the real Anna. There was nothing Anna could do to convince those teenagers otherwise.

"This is an in-progress first draft of your speech," Pit handed Cortex his draft, as the angel and evil genius made their way down the stairs to the foyer. Uka was accompanying them. "Looks good so far?"

"It looks like something a college student would write, to trick people into thinking he's intelligent," Uka offered his two cents, after reading the first few sentences. "You sure about this, Dr. Cortex?"

"We need to give Pit a chance, as our campaign manager," Cortex told Uka, before he and the others came across Anna, sitting lonely in the windowsill. Anna looked up at Cortex and company, with a very sad visage.

"Anna? Shouldn't you be running your shop?" Pit asked the merchant, who looked down at the floor. "Don't tell me you had to close shop!"

"No, the shop isn't closed...it's still up and running," replied Anna, finding the strength to stand up. "It's just that Kasumi is running it, and a bunch of teens think she's me because she looks like...well, me."

"Kasumi stole your likeness AND your shop?! Who knew that Kasumi could be so smooth like that?"

"I was the one who gave Kasumi my likeness...and now it's bitten me in the back. Silly me..."

"How about I teach those lousy teens a lesson..." said Cortex, taking out his ray gun and making sure it was fully charged. "...take me to them!"

"Um, I don't think any violence will be necessary...the last thing I want is angry parents! If you just talk to them..."

"Screw talking, violence is always the answer! I'll show you!" Cortex charged towards the front door, armed with his ray gun...

...only to be stopped when the door was opened, by Kasumi. The evil genius held his ray gun pointed at the young woman.

"Those teenagers outside, where are they?" Cortex asked Kasumi, wanting to give the teens a piece of his mind. "Tell me they're still around!"

"No...they've already left," replied Kasumi, stepping inside the mansion as Cortex lowered his gun. "They figured me out..."

"Figured you out how?" questioned Pit, as Kasumi closed the front door behind her. "Did they find out about your evil plan to take over Anna's shop?"

"One of the teens asked me which incarnation of Anna I was. I didn't know how to answer the question...and that's when they found out the truth. And then they just left, as if they had wasted their time..."

"I never knew you had that kind of special lineage." Pit looked towards Anna, who had a cheesy grin on her face. "Are you a descendant of some kind of merchant goddess?"

"...it's complicated," smiled Anna, not wanting to get into any complicated details.

Anna: You could say that there are a dozen or so incarnations of me..or you could also say that I like to get around quite a lot. It's up to your own interpretation anyways...

"I'm very sorry, for putting you through that," Anna apologized to Kasumi, exhibiting a change of heart in her response. "The teens and all...the more I thought about it, I wouldn't want that to happen to me."

"No, it's fine," responded Kasumi, as she undid her ponytail and redid it in her own fashion, the way it was before. "At least you enjoyed your lunch break."

"About that...I asked you to take my spot, just so I could take a break from running the shop for however long I wanted to. But no more! From now on, I'll only let you work at the shop for an hour, or two."

"Two hours is fine with me. I want to be a little productive...so two hours is a pretty fair compromise."

"Glad those two got that settled," remarked Pit after witnessing the exchange between Anna and Kasumi, before turning to Cortex. "So about the draft..."

"Need more pages..." Cortex quickly responded, handing the draft for his speech back to Pit. "...and fix your grammar, while you're at it."

"You got it!" Pit saluted Cortex as he ran away, with Uka looking down at the floor and shaking his head.

"...good fit?" Link asked Kamui, after he and Cloud hung up the portrait of the princess in her room. Just above her bed.

"It's a perfect fit," smiled Kamui, who could look at her portrait all day. She should get Smeargle to make a sculpture of her, if he was even capable of that. "Thanks for hanging it up for me."

"Portrait isn't so bad after all," Cloud quietly spoke with Link, as he and the Hylian left the room. "Could use some more saturation, sure, but I'm not artist..."

Link and Cloud would walk past Itsuki and Tsubasa, who were sharing a conversation in the middle of the hallway. The lovebirds were no longer wearing knit hats or sweats, back in their own threads.

"We got to spend quality time together today," Itsuki said to Tsubasa, relishing any moment he got to spend with the idol singer. "And we somehow got away without getting arrested. So...mission accomplished?"

"Mission accomplished," confirmed Tsubasa, with a smile and a nod. Just then, Falco approached Itsuki and Tsubasa, before looking at the latter.

"Fox and I are glad you came along with us," the avian pilot said to Tsubasa; turns out letting Tsubasa tag along wasn't so bad after all. "I bet you looked good out there, holding my Glock and looking all dangerous."

"Looked more like a space gun to me," Itsuki said to Falco, who waved off the young man before heading down the hallway. "How about we spend more quality time together, tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure, just the two of us," Tsubasa happily replied, wanting no one else to be a part of her and Itsuki's fun. "Fingers crossed that Cranky Kong doesn't drop in..."

At least Itsuki and Tsubasa won't be staging robberies at car dealerships, or the like.