Author's Note:

Was going to do a World's End Club chapter, but I had no idea how to go about it. So after a brief "emergency precaution" from being strapped of ideas, this chapter will be a throwaway chapter (or something like that). But not with the buddy cops - it's more of the "Twilight Zone" variety. You probably know already. Or maybe not. Guest reviews!

"Scott the Woz must be proud if he saw this chapter. Speaking of Scott, are you planning on watching his 200th episode? I really like his videos, it's like gaming reviews meets comedy skits. The last time someone can combine those two elements perfectly is The Angry Video Game Nerd. And he's like the pioneer of video game reviews. A question for you, who do you think is better, Scott Wozniak or James Rolfe? And will there be more references to Scott's videos and also AVGN's videos?"

I'm subscribed to Scott, so yes, yes I will. I'm not that familiar with James Rolfe, believe it or not. Expect a few more references to Scott soon. Another guest review:

"Uh, if you played Xenoblade, you know that Fiora can also cook, remember that sandwich she gave to Shulk? Maybe she can help with the cooking after Cilan's departure?"

Fiora could pair up with Dunban since he's good at cooking as well. Would be quite the cooking duo. Next is The Reader:

"You know what? Hunter needs a talk, eye-to-eye, to the RWBY gang. Just like Michael had a "counseling" with Toby. Maybe Ruby (and her friends) can find out how Hunter is actually like after that much-needed talk."

Would be a great resolution for both parties. I could definitely see Hunter acting out. Moving on:

"Interesting that you had Iris appear in this episode. This is kind of a random suggestion, but can you please bring back Avery and Klara from the Isle of Armor episode? Those 2 characters can cause trouble in the mansion, maybe as an act of revenge on Mario."

Avery and Klara! They do have some unfinished business with Mario (and maybe Luigi). Maybe they'll stop by and visit the mansion one day. On to A JRPG enjoyer:

"...for a chapter titled "Nocturne", there are so few things that felt "Nocturne"-y in this chapter. Where is Raidou? Where is Matador? Where is Jack Frost? Where the frick is Dante?! I'm not saying this chapter is bad, far from it. It's just, I feel like the chapter's title is inaccurate. I suggest naming it something like "Antsy" or "Job Hunt", that made more sense than "Nocturne"."

You know what? I'll rename the previous chapter to Antsy. I only named the chapter "Nocturne" because of, well, the Demi-Fiend. It was a struggle trying to include the other SMT characters.

"Also, Iris, huh? Speaking of Iris, do you think that you can have Hilbert made an appearance too? Last time we got Dawn and Barry, maybe this time we could have Hilbert and Iris. Also, can we have an appearance from Calem or Serena, or Victor or Gloria in the future?"

I remember a few years back, I promised to feature more Pokemon trainers...time for me to make things right. All those trainers you listed and then some will appear in a future chapter. TIME TO GO is back:

"Cilan is now out (at least in October). Next up? Maybe Akuma, or Leia."

Akuma hasn't done much lately, so he might be next on the chopping block. Derick Lindsey is back, too:

"Quick question: How long does Cloud have to stay at the mental Ward until he's deemed "fit" to return?"

Next month in June, either before or after...I'll just stop right there. An NFL fan has a random question:

"Well, this is kinda random, but if the guys from Tampa return for Christmas, can you have Mr. Big Chest sing a rap song titled "Whole Lotta Money"?"

"Whole Lotta Money"...yuck. Not sure which is worse, that song or Jake Paul's...song. But yeah, if Mr. Big Chest does return, he might rap. A little. And last is Bowser327:

"How about for an episode, the Buddy Cops start a massive game amongst the younger smashers in order to get some people to arrest. And it causes all sorts of mayhem. It can be called "Cops and Mobsters"!"

This kinda reminds me of that one game mode, from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I might use this one. Now I feel like playing MK8D again...

Episode 284: Spicy

Ashley: It is the middle ground between light and darkness - between man's grasp and his reach; between science and superstition; between the pit of his fears and the lifelight of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area that might be called... *looks around * ...The Subspace Zone.
Skull Kid: Are we seriously doing this again?
Ashley: Yes, we're doing this again. Now play the theme song, or I'll toss you into a giant fire.
Skull Kid: *sighs, takes out flute as he plays the Twilight Zone theme song*

As confirmed in the previous episode, Cilan would be heading back home to Unova after Link and Zelda's wedding was over. This decision was mostly influenced after some heavy convincing by Iris, who reconnected with the connoisseur in a happy embrace. Although Cilan's desire to go back to his roots was understandable in the eyes of his fellow residents, Master Hand was in a dour mood.

And no, it just wasn't because of Cilan's imminent departure. Who will take over as the head chef of the mansion? One might say Dunban, but Master Hand had zero faith in the Homs. Palutena was another choice, but everyone knew how lousy of a chef she was. Min Min only cooked noodles, so she might be a one-trick pony; going with her would be a huge risk.

But there was one person that Master Hand overlooked, one that could potentially carry the mantle...Pyra. The Blade, along with Mythra, had made dinner for the residents in episode 270, as a "reward" for joining Smash. Whereas Mythra was underwhelmed with her food, Pyra far surpassed everyone's expectations. Pyra had some potential to prove herself, and she had a strong opportunity to do just that.

Until the day of the wedding, Cilan was asked by Master Hand to train up the next potential chef in the mansion. The connoisseur, being very thorough with his selection process, picked out four individuals - Pyra, Champion Link, Fuuka, Chrom. Whoever impressed Cilan the most would replace the connoisseur in the mansion's chef rotation. Whoever was second-best...could replace Palutena permanently. One can only hope.

"Master Hand, why am I a part of this?" Dunban asked Master Hand, as he, Cilan, and the four pupils were all gathered in the kitchen. "I thought you said that I was a lousy chef!"

"You can be the Mike Pence to Cilan's Donald Trump," replied Master Hand, as Dunban did not appreciate the analogy. "Just stand around and do practically nothing, while Cilan does all the work!"

Dunban: It's not so much that Master Hand thinks I'm that lousy at cooking - it's just that he believes I don't have what it takes to be the head chef of the mansion. His reasoning? The fact that I have one working arm, even though it's never bothered me before when cooking. Got a sneaky suspicion that Master Hand might be an ableist, which wouldn't surprise me one bit.

"Whatever, Master Hand..." groaned Dunban, as Master Hand vanished away from the kitchen for good. With Master Hand gone, it was now time for Cilan to begin with the activities.

"First off, I would like to thank everyone for coming out today," Cilan addressed his four pupils, smiling as he clapped his hands together. "I'll have you know that putting together this group was no easy task."

"Um, Cilan, I think we have some company," Fuuka alerted the connoisseur, as she heard someone enter the mansion through the backdoor. Coming inside the kitchen was Chef Kawasaki, much to the great chagrin of Cilan.

"Howdy everyone, sorry I was late," Chef Kawasaki apologized to Cilan and company, as an incensed Cilan felt a nerve popping in his forehead. "I totally forgot about..."

"Chef Kawasaki, you weren't even invited," stated Cilan, seeing that Chef Kawasaki was holding a few frying pans in his hands. "This training is for mansion residents only."

"That may be true, but I can pull off double duty! I can cook at the mansion just as well as I can cook at the tower!" And you're the only person in the universe that actually believes that, Kawasaki.

"Leave the kitchen...now." Cilan pointed out of the kitchen, frowning at Chef Kawasaki. But Kawasaki stood his ground, refusing to leave. "I said leave the kitchen, now!"

"No Cilan, you can't make me!" Chef Kawasaki tried to stay still, but it was no use as Cilan aggressively pushed the chef out of the kitchen. "I will be the one to follow in your footsteps. Just you wait and SEEEEEE!"

"Good riddance," remarked Champion Link, hearing Chef Kawasaki scream as Cilan tossed the chef out through the backdoor. With Chef Kawasaki taken care of, Cilan returned to the kitchen and dusted his hands off.

"Ahem...sorry for that interruption everyone," Cilan apologized to Dunban and the others, hoping that he wasn't acting too out of character. "Now that's taken care of, it's time to begin our training!"

"Can I bake some rhubarb pie?" Chrom asked Cilan, as the others were either facepalming or sighing at the prince. "Because I can bake a mean rhubarb pie! Sadly only Corrin thinks that."

"Not like Corrin ever had any standards," Pyra muttered under her breath, as Chrom was anxiously anticipating Cilan's response.

"We are here to cook, Chrom, not bake," stated Cilan, with Chrom lowering his head in sadness while the others felt relieved. "I'll be assigning each of you something to cook, and you have until four P.M. to have it done."

"Will my dish have rhubarb in it?" Chrom perked up at Cilan, who just responded with a dubious stare. Chrom lowered his head in sadness once more.

"Let me pull out my list..." Cilan dug into his pocket, pulling out a small list with several dishes written on it. "...Pyra, you'll be making some chicken tikka masala. Chrom, you got the Chiles Rellenos covered. Champion Link will be cooking Memphis-style ribs, and Fuuka's dish shall be sourdough crumpets."

"So we have assigned dishes...shouldn't be a hassle," said Champion Link, confident in his abilities as he flexed his fingers. "Hopefully with the ribs, I won't have to use the oven as much..."

Champion Link: The last time I used the oven was to make some dressing for Thanksgiving. And the final product was...very hard to look at. In fact, the dressing was literally pixelated when I took it out of the oven! It was that bad!

"Wait, so are we all going to be cooking at the same time?" Pyra asked Cilan, fearing that the others would be in her way of cooking. "Also, aren't you going to provide us the recipes for our dishes?"

"You'll have the find the recipes yourselves online," stated Cilan - it was a good thing Pyra and company already knew how to use the Internet. "Whoever can make the best dish wins! If any one of you have concerns, just throw them on Dunban."

"Really, Cilan?" Dunban shook his head at the connoisseur; at least the Homs could be a part of the activities, sort of. "What will you be doing while everyone is busting their tail in the kitchen?"

"Watching them do their thing, of course! Though it won't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes, with you of course." Not liking these terms, Dunban threw his arms up in defeat as he resisted the urge to storm out of the kitchen.

Although she could use the internet to find the recipe for sourdough crumpets, Fuuka believed that she needed a few pointers from one of her friends. Like Joker, for instance. Speaking of Joker, the young man was running Cafe Leblanc, and he wasn't running the cafe alone...

...for he now had a fellow barista in Pit. Wearing a cafe apron over his toga, Pit was serving coffee and curry to the mansion residents. The angel was doing a fine job so far; many had assumed that he would've been fired, or even dragged Cafe Leblanc down. But Pit hadn't missed a beat, as he was doing his thing at Cafe Leblanc.

"must be rad that joker gave you a job at the cafe," Sans, a frequent visitor at Cafe Leblanc, said to Pit as he watched the angel brew some coffee for Captain Falcon at the counter. "that's cool beans."

"Yeah, Pit, you're alright at this whole coffee-making gig!" Captain Falcon said to the angel, who handed the racer his cup of frappuccino. "Almost like you've been in the coffee business for years."

"What can I say, I'm a natural," Pit smirked, doing his best to stay humble as he was preparing a bowl of curry for Sans. "Taking this job has really lifted a lot of pressure off of Joker's shoulders."

"we can already tell..." said Sans, as he looked over at the far end of the counter and saw Joker...flirting with Makoto. Pit and Captain Falcon looked over as well, as they soon caught the attention of both Joker and Makoto.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer..." Makoto frowned at Sans and company; who knows, she might've started kissing Joker before the others noticed.

"We're very sorry, it's just that your flirting is super distracting to us patrons," said Captain Falcon, who was mentally taking notes on flirting on his head. Imagine being Falcon, and taking romantic pointers from a young couple.

"Right on, brother..." said Snake, who was seated near Joker and Makoto with a giant smirk on his face. Joker and Makoto stared down at Snake, who quietly sipped his coffee and left the cafe just as Fuuka entered.

"I see that you're taking some liberties with Pit working at the cafe now," Fuuka said to Joker with a wry smile, when she saw the young man with Makoto. "How many breaks have you taken since last Friday? Twenty?"

"At least once per day," Joker honestly replied as he pulled himself away from Makoto, making it seem like he was never flirting at all. "I've given Pit the same privilege, to make things fair."

"Joker lets me go to the nearest Gamestop whenever I'm on break!" Pit shouted to Fuuka, overhearing the conversation; Joker sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Granted, I have wings, but..."

"The Gamestop isn't that far from the mansion." Despite Joker saying this, Fuuka was still skeptical about how Joker managed Pit - or if the young man even managed the angel at all.

"Right...so anyway, I'm a part of some chef training done by Cilan," Fuuka said to Joker, as he pulled out her phone and pulled up an image of some sourdough crumpets. "I'm supposed to bake some sourdough crumpets."

"Sourdough crumpets, hmm?" Joker stared at the image Fuuka pulled up, scratching his chin in thought. "You think I know have to make crumpets myself?"

"You did make those butterscotch pancakes for breakfast that one time...is that not like making crumpets?" The desperation was palpable in Fuuka's voice; she obviously didn't want to let Cilan down.

"It's...very much different, but I can show you a trick I've learned." Joker looked around discreetly, before leaning in close to Fuuka and whispering. "It's a trick that I've learned from Cilan himself."

"Oh, do tell!" Fuuka clasped her hands together, dying to hear this cooking tip; if she used it well, she'll have Cilan's grace (and the top chef role) in no time.

"Yikes, this curry is piping hot!" shrieked Pit, as he had accidentally overcooked Captain Falcon's curry. The angel carried the bowl of curry to Captain Falcon, before accidentally splashing it all over the racer. "Whoops!"

"No, no, you're fine, Pit!" Captain Falcon assured the angel, sitting in his chair with a grin as hot curry ran down his racing suit. "This here racing suit is heat-proof enough." Seconds later, Falcon ran out of the cafe, screaming in pain.

"Hope this isn't the first of many..." sighed Joker, reaching for a mop so he could clean up Pit's mess. And maybe clean off Captain Falcon, too. "...I'm afraid you will have to wait, Fuuka."

"It's okay, take your time," smiled Fuuka, as Joker took the mop and got down to business. Fuuka imagined that her dish was the easiest to make, so she was in no rush to get started.

While Fuuka was mostly tranquil about making her dish, Chrom was feeling the exact opposite. You see, Chrom had rarely made anything other than pie, so making some Chiles Rellenos was obviously a totally new experience for the prince. Because Chiles Rellenos was a Spanish dish, Chrom knew there was one person to ask before he started his preparations.

"Chiles Rellenos is Spanish for stuffed peppers," Meta Knight explained to Chrom in the gaming room, expecting Chrom to fail spectacularly in making the dish given what he had seen from the prince. You mainly use chile peppers."

"Okay, but why not jalapeno peppers?" questioned Chrom, as he instantly confirmed Meta Knight's doubts concerning the prince. "What do I stuff the peppers with? The stuffing that we have for Thanksgiving?"

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Refusing to subject himself to Chrom's ignorance, Meta Knight hopped off the couch and walked away. "Putting stuffing inside a jalapeno pepper..."

"I mean, it sounds like it could work, in theory." Chrom chased after Meta Knight, refusing to leave the Star Warrior alone until he told him how Chiles Rellenos were to be done. "A chile pepper would just make things more complicated!"

"That's what you think, Chrom." Meta Knight tried to hide from Chrom underneath a pool table, but it was no use. Chrom joined Meta Knight underneath the table, nearly banging his head against the table in the process.

"Meta Knight, just tell me what I need to do." Chrom was speaking to Meta Knight with pleading hands, and Meta Knight found the display to be pathetic. "Cilan is counting on me to follow in his steps!"

Meta Knight: It's probably for the best that Cilan will be leaving us soon. Choosing Chrom to be one of the folks that will replace him shows how much his decision-making skills have eroded over time. Sometimes, I don't think that he was all there...so again, it's for the best.

"We must be in grave danger, then..." grumbled Meta Knight, realizing that Chrom was refusing to leave from underneath the pool table. Meta Knight sighed. "Why don't you just find the recipe online, and go with it?"

"That's what Cilan suggested," stated Chrom, as Meta Knight was literally several seconds away from punching Chrom in the mouth. "But that sounds too easy. I want to hear an authentic opinion."

"Is it because I'm Hispanic?!" Meta Knight definitely felt like socking Chrom now. But the Star Warrior composed himself, as he inhaled and then exhaled. "How about you try finding a recipe online, and then get back to me."

"Sounds counter-productive, but I'll do what you say. Thanks!" So Chrom finally left from underneath the pool table, as Meta Knight sighed once more. This time out of strong relief.

Acting fast, Chrom went to the computer room and googled a recipe for Chiles Rellenos. While the prince managed to right a recipe on the Food Network website, he found himself perplexed by the ingredients...or rather, how many of each ingredient was required.

"Only one tablespoon of oregano?" Chrom frowned when he read the list of ingredients, as he was jotting down notes on a notepad. "Five tablespoons of oregano sounds more like it!" Taking a peek at Chrom was Coco, who was seated in the back of the computer room with Crash and Sonic.

"Are you guys hearing Chrom right now?" the blonde bandicoot whispered to Sonic and Crash, who were both too busy playing an online game to listen. "Are you even listening to me?"

"I dunno, ask us later," replied Sonic, his eyes glued to the computer screen; he was playing Friday Night Funkin, and his fingers were jumping on the keypad. But since Friday Night Funkin was a one-player game, Crash wasn't even playing...he'd suck at the game anyway.

"Don't really need extra-virgin olive oil - I'm not even a virgin anymore!" stated Chrom, and Sonic definitely heard that as he paused his game. The blue hedgehog and Crash gave Chrom the same look that Coco gave.

"What is he even talking about? Does he even know how to cook?" Given that Chrom's culinary expertise was strongly limited to pies, the answer to that second question was kinda obvious.

"And why do I need Kosher salt? I thought this was supposed to be a Spanish dish, not a Jewish one!" The more Chrom spoke, the more alarmed Sonic and the bandicoots felt by the prince's profound ignorance.

"Crash, go and get your mans..." Sonic said to the bandicoot, who shook his head - even Crash himself couldn't believe the words that came out of Chrom's ignorant mouth.

"If this is what the recipe calls for, then so be it." Chrom finally accepted every ingredient listed on the recipe - good for him. "But, it wouldn't hurt to increase the amount of each ingredient to enhance the stuffed peppers!"

"Excuse me, Chrom," Coco said to Chrom, smiling as she went over to the prince - likely to talk some sense into him. "Um, what exactly are you making?"

"Oh, just some Chiles Rellenos - basically stuffed peppers. Cilan challenged me to make some! He picked me to be one of the chefs that would replace him when he leaves." When Coco learned that Cilan picked Chrom of all people to potentially follow in his footsteps...that's when the blonde bandicoot felt beside herself.

"So he picked you, huh? Good to know...good to know..." Coco backed away and nodded her head, still smiling. Once Chrom turned back around, Coco darted back to Sonic and Crash.

"Aw man, please don't tell me Cilan picked Palutena too..." Sonic whispered to Coco after the blonde bandicoot returned, having heard the brief conversation between Chrom and Coco.

"If Cilan had any sense, he didn't, hopefully," Coco whispered back, seeing Chrom write his revised recipe for the stuffed peppers on his notepad. "I think Palutena already being a bad chef disqualifies her some."

"You know what we should do? Make Chrom mess up his stuffed peppers...on purpose." It sounded cruel in theory, but Sonic believed that it was for the best. "Get him to add nonsensical crap to the stuff peppers. Then Cilan will try out the peppers, and see the mistake he made handpicking Chrom!"

"Sounds very mean-spirited...but I can't imagine Chrom baking pies for everyone." A scary thought that entered Coco's head was Chrom making eating rhubarb pie mandatory. "It's for the best."

"Exactly. So let's get to convincing!" So Sonic, Crash, and Coco went over to Chrom, who was busy finalizing his recipe. "Sup Chrom! Heard you were making some stuffed peppers."

"Why yes, yes I am," Chrom responded with a proud smile, hoping that Coco was sharing some good news about his stuffed peppers. Which would be considered lying if she did. "Would you like to be the first ones to try them?"

"No, but believe it or not, the three of us made some stuffed peppers ourselves. Though I reckon you wouldn't want any pointers..." Sonic looked around the computer room, trying to lead Chrom on, and Chrom fell for the bait.

"Tell me everything that I must know!" Chrom grabbed his notepad and pencil, looking at Sonic and company with a crazed smile. He was really into it.

"Well, stuffed peppers are a Mexican dish, so obviously the stuffing needs some chives," stated Coco, as Chrom was aggressively writing down on his notepad. "Two tablespoons, at least."

"And you also need some hot sauce, for added flavor," added Sonic, as Crash nodded his head; Chrom was writing everything down, taking in every pointer like an obedient guinea pig. "Not to mention Worcestershire sauce..."

"Father, are you done looking up your recipe online?" Lucina asked Chrom, poking her head inside the computer room only to see Sonic and Coco misleading Chrom. One good look was all Lucina need to sigh and retract her head.

Lucina: Ever had a parent who was so terrible at preparing food, that you often question why you have ever done to deserve being their offspring? Asking for a friend here...

"One more thing - lots and lots of wumpa fruit," Sonic said to Chrom, providing the prince his last pointer of the day. "But not too much."

"Alright, sounds good," said Chrom, as he was done sprucing up his recipe. "Thank you for your input, everyone! My stuffed peppers should be stupendous." Chrom logged out of the computer, before leaving the computer room with his notepad.

"What we did felt so messed up..." remarked Coco, as Sonic and Crash returned to their computer. The blonde bandicoot smirked a few seconds later. "...but it was still fun, though."

Being that he had plenty of cooking experience while adventuring throughout Hyrule, Champion Link faced little to no problems in regards to preparing his meal. Making Memphis-style ribs sounded pretty easy - just find some ribs, cook 'em, and just like that, he was done. The only problem was finding some ribs, which Champion Link couldn't find in the freezer. Or the mansion's pantry.

"I would be more than happy to slaughter some pigs for you," Steve said to Champion Link, who was standing around outside looking around at a bunch of Minecraft pigs. One even walked up to Champion Link, trying to embrace the Hylian.

"No thanks...I'd rather not have any blocky ribs," responded Champion Link as he gently picked the pig away from him. "If you know what I mean."

"Link has really entertained having our wedding out of town..." Zelda explained to Impa, as she and the Sheikah came over to the shrine where Champion Link and Steve were gathered. Impa eventually came to a stop. "...something wrong, Impa?"

"What is that...?" Impa asked out of concern as she pointed at a sand sculpture that Steve was building next to the shrine...in her likeness. Steve was putting on the finishing touches, very proud of his masterpiece.

"A sand sculpture, befitting for a queen," Steve said proudly, before leaping down from his ladder so he could get a better look at his sand sculpture. Impa was disgusted out of her mind, as she saw Ruby and Yang exit the shrine.

"Ruby, Yang, destroy this sand sculpture at once," Impa commanded the two ladies, as she pointed at the sand sculpture in question. Ruby and Yang both looked at the sculpture, both having some doubts.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," stated Yang, before seeing the look on Steve's face. Although it was hardly apparent, Steve looked like he was on the verge of devastation if his sand sculpture was ruined.

"That was not a suggestion, it was a command. Do as I say!" Deciding against arguing with Impa, Ruby and Yang did as they were told and went ahead with destroying the sand sculpture. Yang was punching away at the sculpture, and Ruby...attempted to do the same.

"I am beyond devastated," stated Steve, forced to watch in despair as his sand sculpture of Impa was succumbing at the hands of Ruby and Yang. Literally. Fortunately, Steve was already manly enough to not shed a tear.

"Um, princess...you know where I can find some ribs?" Champion Lin asked Zelda, as Impa watched the sand sculpture met its end. "Cilan wants me to make some Memphis-style ribs."

"Pac-Man has plenty in his fridge, ask him," responded Zelda, as Champion Link nodded his head and went to Pac-Man's house. As she turned her head around, Zelda saw Chrom sneaking to the tower. "What is he up to...?" the princess wondered.

Chef Kawasaki was in a bitter mood, weeping quietly alone in the kitchen. No, it wasn't because he wasted the unsaturated fat that he was going to use for his burgers on the kitchen floor. Or that virtually everyone in the tower disliked his homemade potato salad. Anyone else that had working taste buds and was of a sound mind would've done the same.

The real reason why Chef Kawasaki was crying was that Cilan refused to let him be one of the chefs to follow in his steps after he left the mansion. The chef wished to redeem himself, and show that he could be a good - or at least average - chef, but Cilan denied him of the opportunity. The more Chef Kawasaki dwelled upon the thought of rejection, the more depressed he felt.

"Chef Kawasaki, can you please stop being such a crybaby and move out of my way?" Alucard asked the chef in an annoyed tone, as Kawasaki's crying was getting on his nerves. "I need to reach the cabinet."

"Forget you, man..." responded Chef Kawasaki, sniffling as he moved out of Alucard's way. Alucard opened the cabinet door, grabbing a small glass. "...Alucard, do you think I can be a good chef one day?"

"You're asking the wrong person - I'm not accustomed to telling lies." Alucard's comments only made Chef Kawasaki even sadder, as the chef was crying even harder. Alucard sighed as he walked over to the fridge.

"Oh, what's the use, I'll never be a good chef anytime soon..." Major props to Chef Kawasaki for self-awareness, and for keeping it real. "...might as well retire and pursue a career in exotic painting or something."

"Thank you, Ashley, for letting me borrow your spices," Chrom was heard speaking with Ashley, as Chef Kawasaki suddenly perked up. Chrom and Ashley came inside the kitchen, with Chrom bringing several ingredients needed for his Chiles Rellenos.

"Meh, it was the least I could do," shrugged Ashley, who gave Chrom her spices before the prince could start annoying her about them. "Just remember to sprinkle the spices on the stuffed peppers after they're done frying."

"But Sonic and the bandicoots said that I should bake the peppers...well, either method works." As Chrom weighed his options, Ashley looked up at the heavens wondering what she had gotten herself into.

Ashley: Compared to my potions, my spices really aren't that bad. The worst they've done was give someone non-transmitted herpes.

Chrom: Sonic and the others claimed that they used some of Ashley's spices in their stuffed peppers. Said that it would give my own peppers a little "kick" to them. But I don't believe that will do the trick. What about a knockout punch instead? You know, to the stomach... *pauses* ...I'll stop.

"Y-You're making stuffed peppers?" Chef Kawasaki asked Chrom as he giddily went over to the prince. If Cilan couldn't let him prove himself, the least he could do was help out one of the four prospective chefs.

"Chiles Rellenos, to be exact," confirmed Chrom, making extra sure to roll his tongue on the L sound. Always super important to roll the tongue when speaking in Spanish terms. "You mind if I cook here in this kitchen?"

"I'd be more than happy to let you!" Chef Kawasaki rushed into action, grabbing as many frying pans that Chrom needed. "I'll give you as much space as you need and then some, Chrom."

"Just make sure he stays out of your way," Alucard advised Chrom, standing at the fridge with his glass of wine as he acknowledged Chef Kawasaki.

"No worries, Alucard - this is a one-man job," stated Chrom, dashing Chef Kawasaki's intentions of serving as the prince's cooking aide. "Cilan will be floored once he gets a taste of my peppers!"

Pyra's dish, the chicken tikka masala, came in mostly two parts - the chicken, the chicken marinade, and the sauce. The Blade had already fried the chicken in the skillet and was now working on the sauce. The sauce required a lot of ingredients, such as cumin and chili powder, but the pantry, fortunately, had everything that Pyra needed.

"Need some help with the sauce?" Mythra asked Pyra, standing at the kitchen entrance as she watched her fellow Blade do her thing. "Just give me a holler!"

"No thanks - I want the sauce to taste somewhat decent," replied Pyra, not trusting Mthra enough to assist her in the making of the sauce. She would much rather have Palutena's help, than Mythra's.

"Here's the brown sugar," Dunban said to Pyra as he gave the Blade a bag of brown sugar. Pyra added a teaspoon of brown sugar to her sauce mixture, as Mythra frowned and looked the other way.

"Oh...we don't have any cilantro, do we?" Pyra glanced at the recipe that she printed, seeing that it called for some fresh cilantro. Or coriander. It was mainly for the garnish. "What about some coriander?"

"I think we're running extremely low on those spices. You might want to go ask someone at the tower if there are any available spices you can use to substitute."

"Does that mean I have to put up with Chef Kawasaki?" Pyra initially frowned...before perking up and smiling as she turned her attention to Mythra. Mythra, knowing what Pyra wanted, groaned deeply.

"I'll force myself to this torture, just this once..." the Blade sighed as she left the kitchen, en route to the tower. Pyra returned to her sauce, doing as much as she possibly could until Mythra returned.

Chrom had prepared the chile peppers for his Chile Rellenos and was now working on the sauce. He had to deal with a few obstacles in the kitchen of the tower - those obstacles being the oven heat and Chef Kawasaki.

"Psst...I think you're doing it wrong," Chef Kawasaki whispered to Chrom, who was pureeing tomatoes, onion, and garlic together in a blender. "Allow me to show you how a professional does it!"

"There's only one way to use this blender, Kawasaki," responded the unfettered Chrom, as Mythra came inside the kitchen and took a peek. Sitting on the kitchen counter next to Chrom were Ashley's spices.

"Hey, you mind if I borrow one of these?" Mythra asked Chrom, as she grabbed one of the spices from the counter. The Blade stared at the bottle inquisitively, seeing if it was trustworthy enough.

"That spice bottle belongs to Ashley. You're going to have to ask her for permission to use it." Asking for permission required too much work for Mythra - for the moment being.

"Eh, I'll just take it anyway..." Mythra took the bottle of spice with her as she left the kitchen, not even bothering to ask Ashley. "...oh, and tell Ashley that I appreciate it."

"Now you get back here!" Chrom stepped away from the blender as he chased after Mythra, only to slip and fall on the kitchen floor. The poor prince landed on his butt, writhing in slight pain.

"That's what you get for using the blender wrong," Chef Kawasaki sneered at Chrom, who quickly got up off the floor just to confront the chef. "Please, don't hurt me, it was just a harmless joke!"

Once he was done handling some business, Joker returned to Cafe Leblanc where he assisted Fuuka in making her sourdough crumpets. The young man was even kind enough to let Fuuka use the cafe's griddle.

"Those pancakes are looking real nice," remarked Pit, as he watched Fuuka make her crumpets on the griddle. The angel reached his hand out for one, only for Fuuka to swat it away.

"Crumpets...they're called crumpets," Fuuka corrected Pit, who was willing to die on the hill that the bluenette was making pancakes. "There's a big difference between the two."

"Lemme guess...one's British, and the other isn't." Pit sighed and shook his head, as he continued to brew some coffee. "Silly British people trying to make themselves look original..."

Pit: What normal person outside of Britain calls pancakes "crumpets"? This just reinforces what I've always believed about British people. Whereas Americans have swag, the poor British people are only stuck with royalty. The British folk who pretend to have swag are nothing but a bunch of posers.

"How do they look, Joker?" Fuuka asked the young man after she flipped over the crumpets. Joker came over to check on Fuuka's progress, and he was thoroughly impressed.

"Give it three more minutes, and they should be done," replied Joker, as he went back to fixing some curry for Fox and Falco. From the looks of it, Fuuka had the top chef job in the bag...so far.

"Yo, Fuuka, how about you throw some crumpets our way when you're done?" Fox called out to the bluenette, as he and Falco were seated at the counter. The smell of the crumpets brought a welcoming aroma to the pilots' nostrils.

"They're meant for Cilan only," stated Fuuka, much to the chagrin of both Fox and Falco. "If I impress him enough, I'll beat out the others and become the top chef in the mansion!"

"Bruh, I just thought of a brilliant plan," Falco discussed with Fox as a plan was suddenly sparked in his mind. "What if we ask Cilan to make us food critics? We could form some kind of judge panel..."

"Sounds like it has some promise," replied Fox as he was nodding his head in some agreement. Not yet fully convinced. "Doubt that Cilan would hear us out, though."

"Okay then, what about this - we mug Cilan, hide him somewhere outside, and designate ourselves as emergency food critics. Then we'll have all the crumpets to ourselves!"

"I can hear you two, you know," Fuuka called out to the pilots, as she kept an attentive ear. Make no mistake about it - Fox and Falco were going to get their hands on some crumpets.

Pac-Man would come through for Champion Link, giving the Hylian some ribs that he kept in his freezer. (Had to thaw them out, though.) The eater of ghosts also gave Champion Link the necessary ingredients to make his Memphis-style ribs spectacular - brown sugar, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and dry mustard, among others.

"Sure hope you can carry all of that!" Pac-Man said to Champion Link, who was standing in the eater of ghosts' living room struggling to hold all the ingredients in his hands. If Champion Link let one item slip out of his hands, it was all over.

"I think I'm missing something," said Champion Link as he scanned the items, fearing that he was missing one very important ingredient. "Do you have any barbecue sauce?"

"Silly Champion Link, you don't need barbecue sauce to perfect Memphis-style ribs!" No barbecue sauce for the ribs? Champion Link didn't agree with that. To him, that was like an incarnation of Link not wielding the Triforce of Courage.

"But...they're ribs. Why would I not put barbecue sauce on them?" Champion Link feared that his ribs would look naked if they weren't smothered in sauce.

"Come with me outside, I'll show ya how it's done!" Pac-Man led Champion Link out to his patio, with Champion Link reluctantly following along. "But first, we're gonna need a substitute for the cayenne..."

Having fended off the heat of the stove...and Chef Kawasaki's endless requests to help out, Chrom was finally done making his Chiles Rellenos. The prince had eight stuffed chile peppers sitting on a plate, steaming hot.

"Can't believe I got this done before four o'clock," remarked Chrom as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, hoping that he hasn't rushed the cooking process. A great chef never paces himself too fast. "I've really outdone myself!"

"Could've been done a lot sooner if you asked me for help," Chef Kawasaki said to Chrom, who took one of the stuffed peppers off the plate. "Aw, you're gonna give one to me? How sweet!"

"No, I'm giving one of these to Lucina." Chrom placed the stuffed pepper on a paper towel and wrapped it real tight. "Want to know what she thinks of them."

"Forget your stupid daughter, she's not a qualified..." Chef Kawasaki would shut up real quick when Chrom unleashed his inner dad and gave Kawasaki a wicked death glare. "...I mean, go ahead! Do you, man!"

"Make sure nobody touches those peppers when I get back." So Chrom left the kitchen, about to hunt Lucina down whether she liked it or not. Shortly after Chrom left, a loud growling sound was heard.

"Huh? Was that my stomach?" Chef Kawasaki looked down at his stomach and held it, although no growling sound was coming from it. "Guess that entire pot of chili I ate for breakfast this morning wasn't that filling."

The growling sound was heard once more, and it sounded it like came from the kitchen counter. Puzzled and confused, Chef Kawasaki looked towards the plate of Chiles Rellenos...and saw that the peppers were shaking, and growing in size.

"...Chrom, I don't feel so good!" Chef Kawasaki turned around and called out to the prince, who was already gone from the tower. The peppers continued to grow in size until they were the size of a fridge, and Chef Kawasaki was shaking in fear as the peppers eventually grew sharp teeth.

"Chef Kawasaki, do you have any spices?" Pac-Man asked the chef as he showed up at the kitchen, oblivious to the stuffed peppers that were now towering over Chef Kawasaki.

"Pac-Man, save me!" Chef Kawasaki ran for his life...or at least to the other side of the kitchen, as the stuffed peppers grew miniature legs and chased Kawasaki down. But Pac-Man did no such saving, as his eyes became fixated on a bottle of spice before him.

"Aha! Found one!" Pac-Man casually walked over to the kitchen counter, grabbed the bottle of spice, and walked away as he paid no mind to Chef Kawasaki. "Thanks for the spice, Chef Kawasaki!"

"I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW, PAC-MAN!" Chef Kawasaki shouted at the eater of ghosts, finding himself cornered as he used his frying pan to repel the monstrous chili peppers. "Back, I say, back!"

Pyra was now done with her own dish, having cooked the chicken through the sauce she made. And with the spice that Mythra had given her, Pyra garnished her chicken tikka masala as a delightful cherry on top.

"This is some good-looking curry, I'll say," critiqued Dunban as he previewed Pyra's chicken tikka masala. "Better not let Joker see - he might get jealous!"

"Wouldn't hurt to have a little competition around here," smirked Mythra, having an air of confidence surrounding her as she rested her elbow on Pyra. "Isn't that right, Pyra?"

"If it's a friendly competition we're talking about..." Pyra meekly responded as Mythra shook her head at the fellow Blade's lack of a go-getter attitude. "...what's so wrong with that?"

"I'll go let Cilan know that you're done," Dunban notified Pyra as he left the kitchen to go search for Cilan's current whereabouts. "To think that he would've remained in the kitchen..."

Dunban: Ironic, isn't it? Master Hand said that I would be the "Mike Pence" to Cilan's "Donald Trump"...yet I've been more involved than Cilan has! Heck, Cilan has been MIA ever since the four sought out their recipes online. So tell me, who's the "lousy chef" now?

"Er, Pyra, you might wanna turn that stove eye off," Mythra alerted the Blade, as she saw the chicken tikka masala bubbling. Can't afford to let the masala overcook before Cilan got to see it.

"Oh!" said Pyra, rushing to action as she turned off the stove eye, before taking the chicken tikka masala off the stove eye and placing it on another. Despite being on a stove eye that wasn't even on, the masala was bubbling even more.

"Don't think that's supposed to happen..." Mythra and Pyra looked on with caution, as the masala started boiling over on the stove. Then something strange happened...the masala started to take form, as it was forming some kind of curry creature. One that had chicken bits in its curry flesh.

"Hey, ladies, what smells good in here?" Min Min asked Pyra and Mythra as she entered the kitchen, coming to a stop when she saw the curry beast intimidating the Blades. The beast now had a giant mouth, as it roared in Pyra and Mythra's faces.

"Min Min...you might wanna run," Pyra advised the martial artist, who was too frozen in fear and amazement to make a single move. The curry beast turned its attention towards Min Min, roaring in her face.

Elsewhere in the mansion, away from the kitchen, Lucina was about to head out. But before she could, she had a word with Link in the foyer.

"Make sure you give him this," Link said to Lucina as he handed the princess a few dollar bills. It was a rarity for Link to have that many bills on him, considering his luck with money. "Don't tell him it came from me, though."

"You sure this will hold him over?" Lucina asked Link as she stuffed the dollar bills in her pocket. The princess expected Link to give out some change, but Link appeared slightly hesitant.

"I mean, he'll only need them for the vending machines. He could get some useful change that way." As the old saying goes, a penny saved is a penny earned...or maybe a nickel or a dime.

"Alright then, I'll take your word for it." With the cash in her pocket, Lucina went to the front door. Standing next to the front door was Chrom, holding a stuffed pepper in a paper towel. "Father, seriously?! How long were you standing there?"

"Why hello, sweet daughter of mine!" gleamed Chrom, holding his hands behind his back as he walked over to the ever annoyed Lucina. "I take it that you're going somewhere?"

"Yes, I'm going to the psych ward. Going to visit our disgraced leader." Lucina hoped that providing the location of where she was going would deter her father from tagging along. But little did she know...

"Ah, me too! Why don't we go see Cloud together? He must be dying to see us." If it wasn't for the fact that he was Lucina's parent, Chrom would've been punched in the face right about now.

"Don't know why he would be dying to see you, but...I suppose you can be my plus-one." So Lucina and Chrom exited the mansion together, as Lucina turned around at Link and gave him a pitiful look.

"Kind of wish that I had an embarrassing father," Link remarked shortly after Lucina and Chrom, as he headed to the kitchen. The Hylian soon ran into Pyra and Mythra, who were both covered from head to toe in curry.

"Hi, Link..." Pyra greeted the Hylian, who understandably had a lot of questions racing in his head. "...I, uh, made some curry. And it, uh...it came alive and turned into some kind of monster..."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" questioned Link, before he heard a roar coming from where the dining room and kitchen were. "That was the monster you were talking about, right?"

"Yes...and it ate Min Min," replied Mythra, as the Blades' story took a very surprising turn. And an unfortunate one, at least for Min Min. "We tried to save her, but...yeah."

"My first ever situation...just exactly what the doctor ordered." Now was the time for Link to flex his authority powers, and save the day before the masala monster could gobble up more residents. "You two stand by, I'll see what I can do."

Champion Link was outside on Pac-Man's patio, grilling his Memphis-style ribs on Pac-Man's grill. Pac-Man helped make the dry rub and even showed Champion Link how to grill the ribs. Now applying what he had learned from Pac-Man, Champion Link was grilling the ribs himself, hoping to make Cilan proud.

"You boys are having a cookout, and you didn't even invite-a us?" Mario (fully healed from his bullet ant wounds) said to Champion Link and Pac-Man as he, Spyro, and Hunter came over to the grill. The plumber sounded offended - playfully offended. "Some-a friends you are!"

"I was just showing Champ here how to cook some ribs," explained Pac-Man, feeling like a proud father as he watched Champion Link use the grill effortlessly. "Champ was rocky at first, but he's got the hang of it now!"

"Ribs smells good, but where's the barbecue sauce?" asked Hunter as he took a gander at the ribs, believing that they looked too plain.

"These are Memphis-style ribs, Hunter. They don't need any kind of sauce. Just add some dry rub to 'em, and they're all good to go!"

"That's good, but that doesn't explain the lack of barbecue sauce. I mean, who doesn't put that on their ribs?"

"I know a guy..." replied Spyro as he looked up at Mario, who was eyeing around suspiciously while whistling an innocent tune. Mario, you should know better.

Mario: I rarely put barbecue sauce-a on my ribs. Thankfully, Princess-a Peach is mostly oblivious to the fact. Every time she eats-a ribs, and she wonders why there's-a no barbecue sauce on them, I just tell her that the smoke from-a the grill caused the sauce to evaporate. She believes it every time! Think it's gonna keep-a on happening until she actually uses a grill for the first-a time.

"Mm! What is that delicious smell?" someone asked, as a certain lizard with sunglasses wandered his way to Pac-Man's patio. It was Gex, the same guy who made a surprise appearance in last week's episode. He was back...again...apparently.

"Gex?!" Mario and Pac-Man shouted the lizard's name in unison, both of them very startled. Gex crept around the grill, smelling the ribs, before noticing that he had caught Mario and Pac-Man's attention.

"Well, would you look at this...two original gangsters, standing together in the flesh!" Gex felt honored to be standing in Mario and Pac-Man's presence, resting his elbow on the grill. "This is like meeting Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan at a Baltimore nightclub."

"Yep, this is definitely Rex, alright..." confirmed Mario, being in the game long enough to recognize Gex's use of wacky one-liners. "...this is more-a than a welcome surprise."

"I could say the same thing myself, Jumpman! It's great to see the world as Keith Richards does. You ought to do the same."

"This guy sounds incredibly lucid," Spyro whispered to Hunter about Gex, as Hunter nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Champion Link looked at the ribs cooking on the grill...and had a worried look on his face.

"Um, Pac-Man?" the Hylian alerted the eater of ghosts, as his Memphis-style ribs started shaking on the grill. Pac-Man saw the ribs and had the same amount of worry that Champion Link did. "That's not supposed to happen...is it?"

"Heck no!" responded Pac-Man, brushing Champion Link to the side; the eater of ghosts watched in horror as the ribs grew dramatically in size, before developing a set of teeth - just like the Chile Rellenos at the tower.

"Great Scott!" exclaimed Gex, as he and the others took a few cautionary steps away from the grill. "Those ribs look bigger than Chris Farley's tab! I could just eat them if they didn't look so deadly..."

"You're darn right they look deadly!" screamed Pac-Man, intimidated by the sharp teeth that were formed on the ribs. The eater of ghosts screamed once more as the ribs opened their mouth...and swallowed Pac-Man whole!

"Mama mia!" shrieked Mario, as the monstrous ribs were looking around for its next victim to devour. That unfortunate soul was Hunter, who was the closest.

"TELL MY STORY!" Hunter shouted to Spyro before the ribs swallowed the poor cheetah. Spyro just stood there dumbfounded, wondering if there was anything about Hunter that was even worth telling.

"Let's skedaddle, boys!" shouted Gex, leading the way as he, Mario, Spyro, and Champion Link quickly ran away from Pac-Man's patio to avoid being eaten by the ribs.

Dunban finally found out Cilan's whereabouts, as he heard the connoisseur's voice from inside Iris's tent outside the mansion. The Homs stood outside the tent, as he heard Cilan and Iris discussing with one another.

"Yes, I do think that the pink and gold blend in perfectly," Cilan was heard speaking, as he was most likely critiquing something. Dunban was waiting impatiently with his arms folded, wishing for Cilan to find a stopping point.

"I was gonna add some green, but I'm not so sure," Iris discussed with Cilan, with Dunban growing increasingly bored as he let out a yawn. "Would that mesh well with the other colors?"

"Cilan, I've been standing outside this tent for some time now..." Dunban called out to the connoisseur, having grown tired of waiting. Hearing his name called, Cilan poked his head out of Iris's tent.

"Oh! Hello Dunban! I've been very busy," Cilan said to Dunban, unaware of how ticked off the Homs was. Iris also poked her head out from the tent

"I asked Cilan if he could check out this wedding dress for Princess Zelda!" Iris explained to Dunban as she showed him the wedding dress - as if Dunban had it in him to care. "Looks pretty doesn't it?"

"Iris would let Zelda see the dress for herself, but then she would be 'spoiling' her," added Cilan, as Dunban did not wish to hear another word from the connoisseur. The trust he had for Cilan - if it ever existed - was already gone.

Cilan: I'll be super honest with you...half of the reason I started those cooking trails was to see who will be following my steps. The other half? Iris wanted someone to critique the wedding dress she's working on, and she asked me. Couldn't say no to her! I pretty much started up those trails just to bid me some time.

"Pyra is done making her chicken tikka masala," Dunban informed Cilan, believing that the connoisseur didn't care enough to learn the news. But Cilan did care, as his eyes went wide with excitement.

"Oh, that is great news!" Cilan gleamed as he walked out of the tent with his hands clasped together in excitement. "Pyra just might be the one. Is there anyone else who is done cooking?"

"Cilan...the ribs..." Champion Link said to Cilan as he and the others showed up at the tent. Everyone nearly out of breath. "...something very bad happened to the ribs."

"Did you put barbecue sauce on them by accident?" gasped Cilan, worried that Champion Link might've made a fatal culinary mistake. "Those are Memphis-style ribs! Come on now, Champion Link!"

"What do the ribs being 'Memphis-style' have to do with anything?" questioned Spyro, thinking that everyone around him was borderline insane. "You guys and your stupid rules..."

Suddenly a roar was heard, as the monstrous ribs made their presence at the vicinity of Iris's tent. Cilan looked on with much horror, as the ribs roared in everyone's faces.

"Champion Link, what have you done?!" Cilan questioned the Hylian, so frightened that he felt like retreating to Iris's tent for safety. "Turning the ribs into some kind of monster wasn't part of the recipe, I hope!"

"It just...happened out of nowhere," Champion Link explained to the best of his ability, knowing how much Cilan was going to chew him out later. "The ribs turned into this...thing, and ate Pac-Man and Hunter."

"Um, what is it doing?" fretted Dunban, as the ribs started shaking violently; seconds later, two bodies popped out from the "backside" of the giant ribs, completely covered in dry rub.

"D-Did those ribs just poop?!" questioned Iris, asking a question that she never imagined she would've asked ever. The two bodies that were covered in dry rub were Pac-Man and Hunter, as they both arose from the ground.

"Oh boy...this isn't good," remarked Spyro, seeing that both Pac-Man and Hunter looked like they were hypnotized. Almost like they were under the control of the ribs, as they followed after the culinary monster en route to Spyro and company.

"Everybody to the treehouse!" shouted Mario, as he led everyone to the nearby treehouse. The group ran up to the ladder to the treehouse and hid inside as the ribs, Pac-Man, and Hunter surveyed the area for the others' whereabouts.

"Is everybody okay?" asked Dunban as he looked around the treehouse, seeing that everyone made it in safe and sound. "This is not what I signed up for..."

"Not that everyone's here..." said Gex, before turning his attention to Iris as he had something to say to the former champion. "...girl, your so-called 'elixir' made my mouth cry for mother. Absolutely disgusting stuff."

"You're...welcome?" Iris responded as she eyed around the treehouse, hoping that Gex hadn't touched any of her other belongings.

Cloud was still at the psych ward, just chilling in his room. Master Hand kept on incentivizing the psych ward staff to keep Cloud around, and nobody knew when the giant hand would stop. On a positive note, Cloud felt like he was at peace since he didn't have to deal with the mansion's craziness.

"You have two more visitors from the mansion, Mr. Strife!" a nurse informed Cloud as she opened the door. Cloud was initially hesitant at first, before finding relief as the nurse let Lucina and Chrom inside the room.

"Ah, some normal visitors," said Cloud when he saw Lucina and Chrom enter his room, assured in knowing that he wouldn't be annoyed to death or even stalked. "Talk about a breath of fresh air."

"Good afternoon, Cloud," Lucina greeted the swordsman as she and Chrom took a seat. Chrom was still holding the stuffed pepper in his paper towel. "You look like a changed man."

"Using that time machine must've really messed you up!" quipped Chrom, before keeping his mouth shut fearing that he might've offended Cloud. Cloud had a blank look on his face at first, before softening up a bit.

"Yeah, I've learned my lesson from that whole incident," admitted Cloud, who had spent much of his time reflecting upon his actions ever since the Phantom Thieves stole his heart. "Never going through that again."

"Got something that I wanted to give you," Lucina said to Cloud, as she got up from her chair and offered the swordsman the dollar bills she got from Link. "Just for, you know...vending machine snacks and whatnot."

"The snacks around here for kinda crap, but thanks anyway." Appreciating the kind gesture, Cloud accepted the money from Lucina. The swordsman would be surprised to know who gave Lucina that money in the first place.

"I have something to give you as well," Chrom said to Cloud as he too got up from his seat, holding the wrapped stuffed pepper in his hand. "Do you like stuffed peppers - or should I say, Chiles Rellenos?"

"Not in particular..." Cloud was left wondering why Chrom asked this question, and once he realized he was suddenly fearing for his well-being. "...please don't tell me you made some."

"Yes, I did make some!" Chrom was acting all proud, as Lucina was now sharing in Cloud's distress. "Thanks to some pointers I got from Sonic, Crash, and Coco, I made some Chiles Rellenos by myself."

"Let me guess - the stuffed peppers have Wumpa Fruit in them." A nod of confirmation from Chrom only made Cloud even more worried. "Well, it looks like my stomach will be begging for mercy..."

"Oh, I think it'll be the exact opposite. You will be the first person to try out this stuffed pepper. Was going to offer it to Lucina, but I think that you deserve it a bit more."

"Thank goodness..." Lucina sighed in relief, before noticing something weird happening as Chrom began to unwrap the stuffed pepper. "...Father, why is the stuffed pepper shaking like that?"

"Hm?" Chrom looked down and saw the stuffed pepper shaking - shaking just like the other ones back at the tower. Out of fear, Chrom dropped the stuffed pepper onto the floor, watching as it continued to violently shake.

Then the real horror began, as the stuffed pepper grew in size and formed sharp teeth as it completely tore the paper towel it was cased in. The stuffed pepper became so large, that it nearly took up much of the space in Cloud's room.

"Okay...this is getting weird," commented Cloud, as the bed he was sitting on was pushed back to the wall due to the stuffed pepper expanding. Now having formed a full set of teeth, the stuffed pepper was staring down Lucina, ready to devour the princess whole.

"Back away from my daughter!" Chrom shouted at the large stuffed pepper, his dad instinct kicking in as he took out his sword. The prince sliced the giant stuffed pepper in half, as its upper half came sliding off its body and onto the floor.

"Whew...talk about a close call," remarked Lucina, with Chrom putting away his sword as the stuffed pepper began disintegrating. Just like how any typical video game monster would. Interesting...

Lucina: Can't say that I was surprised by Father saving me from being eaten by a giant stuffed pepper. The only time that he acts cool is when he gets to act all heroic. That's why those women flocked to him during the war, thinking that he was some kind of casanova. If only they knew the truth...

"That stuffing looked very questionable," remarked Cloud, who got a good look at the filling as the stuffed pepper disintegrated. "What else did you use aside from the Wumpa Fruit?"

"Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, some cottage cheese, and egg yolk, just to name a few," Chrom ratted off some ingredients at the top of his head, as Cloud and Lucina found themselves cringing. "Also use one of Ashley's spices."

"Wait, you did WHAT?" Lucina asked Chrom, extremely baffled by the poor culinary choice that her father had made. "Why on earth did you think that using anything from Ashley for your dish was a bad idea?"

"That's what Sonic and his friends suggested...I was following their advice!" Chrom was starting to see that trusting Sonic and company was a colossal mistake, especially after seeing what just happened.

"Wait, what if that spice of Ashley is what caused that stuffed pepper to turn into a monster?" theorized Cloud, as a giant wave of fear suddenly washed over poor Chrom. Chrom was starting to feel guilty.

"Oh, dear...I've made seven other stuffed peppers back at the tower!" Chrom had his hands on his head, knowing that he was totally in for it now. "Every single one of them has Ashley's spice..."

"Which means that the stuffed peppers you made are probably terrorizing everyone now," assumed Lucina, as she envisioned the likes of Waluigi and Bomberman being chased down by a horde of killer stuffed peppers. "Nice going, Father..."

"Maybe I know how to stop them! That paper towel kept the stuffed pepper from turning into a monster, right?" Neither Cloud nor Lucina chose to answer, deciding to let Chrom carry on with his rambling. "What if we gathered all the paper towels, and..."

"Whatever you're getting at, Father, it's not going to work." For a moment, Chrom thought he had a genius idea, but Lucina shut it down real quick. "Why not just use your sword instead, as any sensible person would?"

"You two better head to the tower," Cloud suggested to Chrom and Lucina, feeling like a man of authority again as he handed out this command. "Who knows what kind of chaos is going on there."

"You're right, Cloud - I started this mess, and I should be the one to end it," said Chrom, ready to right his wrongs as he took out his sword. "Ready to go when you are, sweet daughter of mine."

"Please do not call me that ever again..." Lucina pleaded to Chrom, as she and her father left the room to go handle some business at the tower. Cloud rested on his bed, grateful for the company while it lasted.

Shadow: Yes, I saw the stuffed peppers eating people...Yes, I also think that Chef Kawasaki was eaten alive by one of them. Or so I hope. Why do you expect me to care about that sorry failure of a... *pauses* ...what is Chef Kawasaki supposed to be, even?

The stuffed peppers were taking over the tower, gobbling up any resident in their line of sight. With Crazy Hand not present at the time, it was up to the man of the tower, Waluigi, to keep the others safe. The lanky man rounded up every tower denizen that wasn't eaten and kept them inside the tower's lounge.

"Waluigi, Knuckles is peeing in the corner of the lounge again," Serena, Crazy Hand's assistant, informed the lanky man. Knuckles glared at Serena, insulted that the Keeper would rat him out like that.

"If he has to pee, then let him pee..." responded Waluigi, like he was some kind of motivatinoal patriot, as he was peeking outside the lounge door. "...it's just not safe to go use the bathroom."

"Glad that you could understand, Waluigi," said Knuckles, showing his appreciation towards the lanky man as he walked away from the corner once he was done with his business. Serena frowned at the stench of Knuckles's urine reached her nostrils.

"Couldn't you have just peed out the window?" Nikki asked Knuckles, who waved off the doodler as he returned to the couch. "Just throwing that out there..."

"Yes, that would've been genius!" exclaimed Waluigi as he pointed at Nikki, leaving her mildly confused. "Knuckles peeing out the window would've been a distress signal. Someone could've inferred that we were in trouble, and..."

Waluigi would be interrupted, as a stuffed pepper grabbed the lanky man with its mouth. Waluigi was screaming for his life, holding unto the door hinges, until he was pulled away. Shadow immediately closed the door afterward.

"...and absolutely nothing of value was lost," the black hedgehog remarked, free from Waluigi as he dusted his hands off. "Surviving until this crap is over just became more bearable."

"Question is, who started this crap in the first place?" questioned Alucard, looking around the lounge for any possible suspects. His eyes soon fell upon Ashley, who was keeping to herself while reading a spellbook.

"What are you looking at?" Ashley asked Alucard, looking up from her spellbook as she saw the dhampir staring at her. Soon enough, everyone had their eyes on the young witch. "Do any one of you mind? I don't take being stared at too kindly..."

"Ashley, you gave Chrom the spices that he needed for his stuffed peppers." Alucard would know since he was present in the kitchen at the time. "Could the spices have caused the stuffed peppers to...eat the others?"

"That's a strong possibility." Ashley didn't seem too unfettered by what was going on, as she wanted to return to her spellbook. "If anything, this was Chrom's fault - should've gotten spice from a grocery store or something."

"Typical Ashley, never taking accountability for her actions..." Takamaru muttered under his breath, as Ashley went back to reading her spellbook.

"But, I guess Chrom could slice the stuffed peppers with his sword, or something. That would be the only way to take care of them."

Sonic had just beat Friday Night Funkin and was interested in seeing if anyone else had what it takes to master the rhythm game. The hedgehog asked Dark Pit to give the game a try, to which the doppelganger obliged.

"This is the game everyone's been talking about?" snorted Dark Pit, a smirk on his face as he was playing Friday Night Funkin'. Sonic and Crash were watching while holding in some laughter. "It's so easy..."

"If that's what you think..." snickered Sonic, as he and Crash exchanged knowing looks. Dark Pit was mashing away on the keypad, not breaking a sweat.

"Ha! This game is too easy for words. No wonder all the dumb kids these days like stupid games like this. It's so simple..."

Dark Pit would soon eat his own words, as the pattern of notes became more complicated. Dark Pit was struggling to keep up, as his fingers were trying to press every arrow key at the right time. Soon enough, Dark Pit lost the game.

"Oof...least you had a good run, Dark Pit," Sonic said to the doppelganger, who felt like ripping the keyboard out and smashing it in rage.

Dark Pit: The game was probably on the highest difficulty setting - Sonic and Crash must've set me up on purpose. And the "Girlfriend" character looks like she's extremely high. Or extremely drunk. That's all I'm gonna say about Friday Night Funkin'.

"Boys, do you know anything about some curry monster in the mansion?" Coco asked Sonic and company as she came inside the computer. "The one that's been gobbling up people, apparently?"

"Curry monster? You mean like, some kind of basketball player?" questioned Sonic, not exactly sure of what Coco was even referring to. "I doubt that he can eat people. Unless he wanted to, which would be weird."

"No, it's a literal curry that turned into a monster." No matter what Coco said, it didn't eliminate the confusion on Sonic, Crash, and Dark Pit's faces. "I know there's too much to get into..."

"Whatever this 'curry monster' is, I hope that it ate Pit," said Dark Pit, as Coco looked outside the computer room and gasped before hiding somewhere.

"It's coming this way..." Coco whispered to Dark Pit and company, who took a peek outside the computer room. Moving slowly through the hallway was Pyra's chicken tikka masala, which was now some kind of culinary monster. A few residents were following after the monster, which had grown a lot in size since it first came to life.

"Why do those peeps look hypnotized?" wondered Sonic, as he recognized Red the Pokemon Trainer, Lucas, and Little Mac, among others. All of them looked like they were stuck in some sort of trance, as they followed the masala creature.

"The monster ate them and, um...pooped them out," explained Coco, not knowing of any other verb to use. Using the word poop just didn't feel right. "And then they started looking like that. Saw it firsthand myself."

"Heh, I bet someone used one of Ashley's spices that we recommended to Chrom. That would explain a lot!" Sonic laughed, and Crash as well...but Coco, she was mortified.

"Oh no...what if the person who made the curry used one of Ashley's spices? And it caused that...thing to come to life?" Coco was now having a lot of regret about messing with Chrom. "This is all our fault..."

"Look on the bright side! If the same stuff happened with Chrom, he'll never be considered being a head chef again." That didn't make the situation any better - it only made it worse. But Coco was determined to make things right.

"You guys stay right here...I'll be right back," the blonde bandicoot informed Sonic and company as she left the computer room, knowing of a way to fix this whole mess.

Fuuka was now a pro at making sourdough crumpets, having made more than a dozen with Cafe Leblance's griddle. While Cilan had an opportunity to eat a few crumpets, Fuuka made enough for anyone else to have.

"Looking good, Fuuka, looking good," Fox said to the bluenette, who was tidying the plate that had the crumpets on it. Fox and Falco lingered around at the cafe, for only one thing. "So, which one of us gets first dibs?"

"Only Cilan gets first dibs," stated Fuuka, amazed yet bothered by the pilots' persistence to have their hands on some sourdough crumpets. "You can have some once he's..."

"Uh, I just got a text from Cilan - said that he had to run by the dry cleaners to pick up his bowtie," Falco said to Fuuka as he pointed his phone, expecting Fuuka to believe him like a gullible pig. "We deserve dibs on the pancakes until he shows up."

"Care to show me this text message of Cilan's?" As expected, Fuuka did not fall for Falco's trap; Falco smacked himself on the forehead in response. "As I thought. Also, they're called crumpets - not pancakes."

"you dun flapped the wrong jack, lombardi," Sans sneered at Falco as he sat at the counter, having the urge to clown the avian pilot. The skeleton laughed to himself, as Falco waved him off.

Sans: funny how everyone in the cafe thought that fuuka was making pancakes when she kinda wasn't. it was flipping hilarious.

"Joker, there's some curry monster running amok," Coco informed the young man as she ran inside the cafe. Joker was busy cleaning the counter off when Coco got his attention. "You know anything about it?"

"Must be one of Pit's curry creations turned mad," assumed Joker as he looked over at Pit; Pit was apparently experimenting with making curry with some potato chips and pretzel sticks, which bewildered Coco.

"As I told you, my marshmallow curry creation wasn't that bad," Pit defended himself to Joker, as Coco was left even more bewildered. And disgusted.

"No, this curry monster has some large chicken bits in it," stated Coco, trying hard not to focus on the curry that Pit was making. "Couldn't have been anything Pit made."

"Doesn't sound like anything that I made either," said Joker as he held his finger underneath his chin. The young man only knew one way for this monster to come into existence. "You think Ashley made some curry, and it...took form?"

"Well, no, but I did recommend some of Ashley's spices to Chrom. Whoever was making chicken curry might've gotten their hand on some."

"I see...and now the curry has seemingly taken a mind of its own." Joker was now scratching his chin in thought. "If only there was a way to stop it..."

"Hey, guys, I know of a genius way to stop this curry monster," Fox spoke up, as Coco and Joker directed their attention to the pilot. "Why not just try to, I don't know...eat it?!"

"Good thinking, Fox...maybe you and Falco should do the eating for us." And it was in this very moment that Fox regretted every life decision he ever made. Ninety percent of them, at least.

"Just had to say something, didn't you?" Falco frowned at Fox, who was displeased with himself as he pinched the crown of his nose.

Chrom and Lucina made it to the tower and were lurking around the hallway. The goal was to make as little noise as possible...

"Think I feel a burp coming on," said Chrom, before he let out a giant belch that he had no idea he was capable of. Lucina looked at her father, disgusted. "Whoops, must've been that energy drink."

"Had to get that drink before we left the psych ward..." Lucina shook her head, as she and Chrom continued down the hallway. Both of them were armed with their swords. "...you have no self-control."

"Shh...I see a shadow coming this way." Chrom stopped in place, and Lucina followed suit, as several large shadows came around the corner of the hallway. "Or multiple shadows, rather."

Chrom and Lucina immediately got on guard, as six of the giant stuffed peppers appeared around the corner. As they made their way down the hallway, they were joined by several tower denizens...and every single one of them was in a trance.

"Father, what do you think happened to them?" Lucina asked Chrom after she saw the entranced tower denizens. The way that they looked, the tower denizens were almost like zombies.

"My stuffed peppers must've got to them, somehow..." replied Chrom as he and Lucina were backing away from the horde of stuffed peppers. "Maybe a few folks took a bite out of..."

Chrom stopped speaking, as he and Lucina backed up into something. Very slowly, the father and daughter turned around...and saw a stuffed pepper behind them, smiling with its sharp teeth. Standing next to the stuffed pepper was an entranced Waluigi.

"Get back!" Chrom shouted at Lucina, as he and his daughter jumped away and got into a fighting stance. Chrom then saw Waluigi. "Looks like Waluigi has fallen under its spell."

"Looks like we're cornered," said Lucina as she turned around, seeing the horde of stuffed peppers creeping closer. "Could you imagine if this was our end? Being potentially eaten alive by your crappy food-turned-monsters?"

"First off, Lucina, my Chiles Rellenos are not crappy. You would know if you tasted them yourself. Granted I haven't tasted the peppers yet, but..."

Chrom would stop speaking once more, as he and Lucina saw the lone stuffed pepper in front of them being sliced to oblivion by a butcher's knife. The wielder of the knife turned out to be Chef Kawaski, who was revealed to be standing behind the stuffed pepper that was now collapsing to the floor.

"If you can't handle the heat...stay out of the kitchen..." Chef Kawasaki announced to Chrom and Lucina, huffing and puffing as the stuffed pepper disintegrated. "...yes, I know we're not in the kitchen. Just wanted to sound cool for once."

Chef Kawasaki: There I was, hiding in the kitchen cabinet away from the stuffed peppers like a baby. But then, through the crack in the cabinet door, I saw Chrom and Lucina. That's when I believed...that's when my hope was renewed...

"Ugh, what happened?" wondered Waluigi, rubbing his head as he had his mind back. The lanky man saw the horde of the stuffed peppers behind Chrom and Lucina and screamed. "Waaaah! They're gonna eat me!"

"Not on our watch," said a confident Chrom, as he and Lucina faced the stuffed peppers with their swords. Refusing to be left out, Chef Kawasaki sided with Chrom and Lucina as he wielded his butcher's knife.

"Oh, we're fighting against them? In that case..." Waluigi whipped out his tennis racket and aligned himself with the others. "...bring it on!"

Mario, Champion Link, Spyro, Gex, Cilan, Iris, and Dunban remained in the treehouse, still hiding from the giant ribs. The ribs roamed around outside, moving like a snake, as an entranced Pac-Man and Hunter followed.

"Any one of you know what Champion Link used to season the ribs?" Cilan asked Mario and Spyro, wanting to diagnose the situation. He wanted as many answers as possible.

"I did see a bottle of spice-a on Pac-Man's grill," replied Mario, as Cilan leaned in close wanting to know more; a bugged-out Mario backed away. "Uh, it was red, and had Ashley's name-a on it."

"That spice bottle belonged to Ashley?" Cilan was in shambles, as he looked up and groaned with his hands buried in his face. "Why, Champion Link, why did you borrow that spice from Ashley..."

"Is it bad?" asked Dunban, and the amount of distress that Cilan was made it nigh apparent what the answer was. "Are these spices just like the potions?"

"Somewhat - I know, from experience. I asked Ashley for one of her spices, and gave it a good taste...and I got oral herpes."

"No wonder I saw you walking around with a bag over your head that one week," remarked Spyro, as Cilan refused to ever speak of that experience again.

"I asked Ashley for another one of her spices, for a pie that I was baking. And after I added the spice, the pie came to life! And it grew inside the oven! I literally had to eat it whole to prevent any further trouble, it was terrible."

"This Ashley chick...how can I reach her?" Gex asked Cilan as he rubbed his hands together, apparently having some fascination with Ashley. "I've been meaning to reach out to her...and her friends."

"Slow your roll, buddy," Spyro said to Gex - if the mention of Ashley's "friends" was any indication, it was quite obvious as to what Gex wanted.

"Wait, so the only possible way to stop those ribs is to...eat them?" Iris asked Cilan, who was fearful that the former champion might have the wrong idea.

"Yes - cutting also works, as I've learned myself," replied Cilan, only for Iris to stand up and head to the treehouse door. "Iris...?" Iris was standing in the treehouse doorway, seeing the giant ribs down below.

"Hey! Up here!" Iris called out to the ribs; the ribs stopped and turned around, as Pac-Man and Hunter looked up at Iris. "Now that I got your attention..."

"She is so dead..." Spyro shook his head at Iris, pleased to have known the former champion for about a week. But little did he know that Iris had a plan up her sleeve, as she took out a Poke Ball.

"Haxorus, come on out!" Iris threw her Poke Ball at the ground as she summoned her ace Pokemon, Haxorus. "Alright, Haxorus, you see those giant ribs? Take 'em out with Outrage!"

"Haxorus!" Haxorus cried out, her body surrounded in a red aura as she attacked the ribs. Also attacked Pac-Man and Hunter, for good measure. The axe jaw Pokemon became confused afterward.

"Good job!" Iris tossed a Lum Berry to Haxorus, and Haxorus ate it as she was cured of her confusion. "Now, Haxorus, eat those giant ribs! Eat, eat to your heart's content!"

Coincidentally in a hungry mood, Haxorus lunged at the giant ribs and started eating away. The axe jaw Pokemon tore the meat off the ribs, eating every morsel she got her hands on. Iris stood confidently with a smirk, watching her Haxorus go as Mario and Cilan joined her.

"Cilan, do you think that Haxorus will have-a herpes?" Mario asked the connoisseur, amazed by how much appetite Haxorus had. "Considering that the ribs-a still have spice on them..."

"Pokemon can't catch herpes, so Haxorus should be fine," assured Cilan, as Haxorus had the ribs pinned to the ground and kept eating away. "I mean, I didn't catch herpes again when I ate that pie..."

Link was stuck in a rock and a hard place. He went around recruited the toughest men he could find (Ryu, Donkey Kong, Crunch Bandicoot, etc.), and asked them to stop the masala monster. But they were no match for the beast, who swallowed them alive and added them to its army of entranced residents. The only tough guy that remained was Ken Masters, who was hiding in the hallway with Link on the fourth floor of the mansion.

"I see Yoshi...and Samus...and Master Mummy," Ken alerted Link, who peeked around the corner of the hallway and saw the three individuals in question. Yoshi looked like he was about to start a conversation with Master Mummy until the extremely slow-moving masala monster appeared, with its entranced army...and swallowed Master Mummy whole.

"A giant food monster eating people alive?!" Yoshi gasped, startled by what he had witnessed, as Samus briefly looked up noodling on her cellphone. "I had a dream about this once!"

"You would, Yoshi..." remarked Samus, and soon enough, Yoshi was swallowed by the masala creature. "...good riddance." Samus turned around and walked away, as the masala creature chased after her.

"Samus, look out!" Link called out to the bounty hunter, before realizing how terribly slow the masala creature moved. Moved slower than a half-dead snail. "Eh, what am I kidding..."

"Again, had you kept your mouth shut, we wouldn't be in this predicament," Falco said to Fox, as the pilots stepped out of an elevator that had just opened. Both pilots were carrying eating utensils, as they caught Link's attention.

"Fox? Falco? You're not going to...eat that monster, are you?" Link asked the pilots, who saw the masala monster ahead of them. Fox and Falco stared down the monster, with no regrets. Well, some.

"Somebody's gotta do it..." replied Fox, hating himself more than ever before as he and Falco advanced to the masala monster. "...hey, ugly! Bow down to your masters!"

"Who are you talking to?" Samus frowned at Fox as she looked up from her phone, only to see the pilot and Falco confronting the masala monster. "Oh, I see." Samus went back to her phone, walking away as both Link and Ken were flabbergasted by the bounty hunter's apathy.

Samus: I'm aware of that dumb curry beast in the mansion. I think it's sentient enough to know better than to mess with me.

"Fox and Falco...AWAY!" shouted Falco, before letting out a battle cry as he and Fox ran to the masala creature. With their eating utensils, the pilots ate away at the creature, as Link and Ken looked on.

"Master Hand is never gonna believe this..." remarked Link, as Fox and Falco pushed away any entranced resident that tried to stop them from their devouring.

Master Hand and Crazy Hand were gone away from the mansion and tower, respectively. That being said, they had no idea about the culinary shenanigans that took place today. When the giant hands appeared outside the mansion, they looked around and saw Iris's Haxorus eating the rest of the giant ribs.

"Were those...giant ribs that the Haxorus was eating?" questioned Master Hand, as Haxorus had eaten the last morsel of the ribs. The only thing that was left was the giant rib bones.

"How PECULIAR..." remarked Crazy Hand, as Mario and company came down from the treehouse. At that time, Pac-Man and Hunter both woke up from their trance, now that the rib monster was donezo.

"Uh, what happened?" wondered Pac-Man, as he and Hunter were both lying on the ground rubbing their aching heads. Mario came over to help them up to their feet. "What happened to those ribs?"

"Iris had her Haxorus eat-a them," explained Mario, as Pac-Man saw Haxorus licking off each one of the bones. Iris was petting her. "It was no biggie."

"Did you tell anyone my story?" Hunter asked Spyro, only to be met with silence from the purple dragon. "Some friend that you are..."

"Mario, what was with those giant ribs?" Master Hand the plumber, worried that he might've missed a shot at being in the Guinness Book of World Records. "Had a barbecue just for Haxorus?"

"No, Master Hand, it's a long-a story," replied Mario, as he led the giant hand to the mansion. "You've had a long-a day...go and get-a some rest."

"Feel like you're hiding something...but hey, you're right. Charming multiple women can really take its toll on ya."

"Did someone say, 'charming multiple women'?" asked a suddenly excited Gex, as Master Hand was bemused to see the lizard again. "Come to papa!"

"Alright, I'm heading in now. Peace out, everyone!" Master Hand vanished away, hoping that Gex wouldn't somehow follow him inside the mansion.

Following Master Hand's suit, Crazy Hand went to the tower, expecting the tower denizens to have a five-course meal ready for him upon arrival. Instead, the giant hand saw Chrom, Lucina, Chef Kawasaki, and Waluigi in the lobby, covered in the filling from the stuffed peppers.

"Welcome back, Crazy Hand," Waluigi greeted the giant hand, as he wiped the filling off his clothes. "There is, uh, a reason why we're covered in this, erm..."

"Leave it alone, Waluigi - let me do the explaining," Chrom said to the lanky man, as he was ready to hold himself accountable. "I've started this mess, so I'll tell Crazy Hand what he needs to know."

When Master Hand returned to the mansion, the first person he saw was Isabelle. Isabelle told Master Hand about the masala monster, and how she avoided being swallowed by it.

"As you can see, the monster left a lot of curry behind," Isabelle said to Master Hand as she led him through the mansion. There was curry splattered on the walls and even the ceiling. "It was quite a mess."

"Nothing that Mr. Game and Watch and Dark Pit can handle," replied Master Hand, expecting the two to have the entire mansion clean lickety-split. Soon Master Hand and Isabelle reached the fifth floor of the mansion...and saw several residents in the hallway, having snapped out of their trance.

"My aching head..." moaned Min Min as she rubbed his head, having no memory of what transpired the past half hour or so. At the end of the hallway was Link, who was with Ken.

"About time you made it back," Link called out to Master Hand, who floated over to the Hylian. Lying on the floor near Link and Ken were Fox and Falco, who were both moaning - their enlarged stomachs full of chicken tikka masala.

"My stomach...it's ready to explode," Falco moaned in pain as he held his stomach, looking up at the ceiling with a dazed look in his eyes. "Feel like I could pop it...like a balloon."

Fox: Eating that curry monster was one of the worst things I've ever done. Almost makes me not want to eat curry ever again. You won't be seeing me at Cafe Leblanc anytime soon.

"There was a curry monster, and these two ate it...by themselves!" Ken said to Master Hand, thinking what Fox and Falco had done was completely metal. If not a tad foolish. "Might have serious heartburn, though."

"Isabelle...I want you to gather up everyone that was responsible for this ordeal," Master Hand commanded the Shih Tzu, ready to dole out some punishments. "Tell them to see me in the kitchen..."

Cilan and Dunban met with the four junior chefs - Chrom, Pyra, Champion Link, and Fuuka - in the kitchen, where Master Hand and Isabelle were present. Fuuka was holding her plate of sourdough crumpets...while the three others had nothing to show.

"So let me get this straight..." Master Hand said to Cilan and company, trying to piece everything that happened today together. "...Cilan wanted to have a chef competition, is that right? Just a friendly competition, nothing more, nothing less...THEN HOW DID THE FOOD COME TO LIFE?!"

"It was my fault, Master Hand," admitted Chrom as he raised his finger, holding himself accountable as he had done with Crazy Hand. "I used one of Ashley's spices for my Chilles Rellenos...and it brought my creation to life."

"I used one of Ashley's spices too," admitted Pyra, being the second person to hold herself accountable. "Mythra was the one who got it for me. She didn't tell me until later."

"Turns out, the spice Pac-Man got from the tower was also one of Ashley's spices," stated Champion Link, as he was taking the fall for Pac-Man. "But I'll still take the blame, for not double-checking."

"I was the only chef to not use any of the spices...and look!" exclaimed Fuuka as she held up her plate of sourdough crumpets for Master Hand and company to see. "My sourdough crumpets look so..."

"It's not about you right now, Yamagishi," Master Hand cut off Fuuka, shutting the bluenette down as he returned to the discussion at hand. "Now, which one of you geniuses thought of using the spice in the first place?"

"Master Hand..." Coco called out to the giant hand, as she brought Sonic inside the kitchen. Sonic was looking guilty, even fidgeting a little. "...I know a guy who was responsible."

"Oh, do tell!" Master Hand had all his attention on Sonic, dying to know the role the blue hedgehog played in today's events.

"Alright, Sonic, out with it." Coco nudged the blue hedgehog, getting him to say something. But not a single word came out of his lips. "Say it!"

"Say what?" questioned Sonic, only for Coco to nudge him once more. The hedgehog eventually sighed, before admitting, "It was me who told Chrom to use those spices..."

"It's true - it was him specifically," confirmed Chrom as he pointed at Sonic, singling the blue hedgehog in front of everyone. "He was the one!"

"Sonic, Crash, and I tried to sabotage Chrom," Coco explained to Master Hand, willing to take any punishment if necessary. "Told him to add random ingredients for his recipe, so he could screw up his stuffed peppers and remove any consideration of him following in Cilan's footsteps. I was trying to be sensible with the suggestions, whereas Sonic was...out there."

"YOU were trying to sabotage me?" a deeply hurt Chrom asked Coco, distraught as he was clutching his pearls. "You think that I'm a lousy chef?"

"Everyone thinks so." The other chefs seemed to agree with Coco, as Champion Link was even nodding his head. Chrom was even more distraught, as Dunban was now feeling vindicated.

Dunban: Hmph! Master Hand wants to call me a "lousy chef", yet a certain prince has flown under his radar...Yes, I'll stop letting Master Hand's comments live rent-free in my mind. After today.

"I have a confession to make of my own," said Cilan, after seeing the direction the discussion had took. "This chef competition...I only did it just so that the 'winner' would handle dinner for today. That's all it was."

"Cilan wanted to get out of cooking today so he could spend his time overanalyzing the wedding dress Iris was working on," added Dunban, feeling even more vindication since he was more involved than Cilan was.

"All this could've been avoided...had Cilan chose not to fawn over a silly dress," inferred Master Hand, as he hoped for Cilan to get his priorities in check. "So I guess since Fuuka 'won' this fake competition, everyone is going to have crumpets for dinner. Great!"

"I can cook the dinner," volunteered Dunban, stepping up to the plate as he raised his hand. "Unless you still think that I'm lousy..."

"No, no, I take back what I said. You're actually a fine cook, Dunban. Since Cilan lost my trust, for today, I'll let you handle dinner."

"Much obliged, Master Hand." Dunban went over to Fuuka and ate one of her crumpets, and was delighted. "Hm, not bad Fuuka! How would you like to be my...chef apprentice?"

"Ooh! That would be delightful!" gleamed Fuuka, amused by the prospect of cooking under Dunban's wing. Cilan was devasted, as he fell down to his knees.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Cilan...never simp over a wedding dress," Master Hand said to the connoisseur before he and Isabelle left the kitchen. "Got a lot to learn before you leave. Come along now, Sonic."

"Look, Master Hand, it was an honest mistake," Sonic told the giant hand, trying to absolve as Coco dragged the blue hedgehog out of the kitchen. "How was I supposed to know what those spices did?"

Sonic: Totally knew what those spices did. Would've been kinda funny to see Chrom rocking some cold sores all over his mouth. *snorts*
Isabelle: *from afar* Sonic, I think you missed a spot! This curry isn't going to clean itself, you know!
Sonic: Uh oh! Better get back to work, or Master Hand will have my butt for sure. And I mean it literally, too! *grabs cleaning materials, and zips away*

Ashley: It's so great. Everybody else got in trouble...except me. I was the one who originally gave my spices to Chrom, yet amazingly I got out of dodge. Certainly pays to be the lonely, quiet one. Now, Skull Kid...theme song.
Skull Kid: You're gonna get yours one of these days, Ashley *takes out flute, plays the Twilight Zone theme song*