Author's Note:

Oddly enough, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter...the main part of this chapter, I mean. It was a lot of fun. Guest reviews!

"So you won't make a Nick life...but will you do a crossover?"

A very slim chance, but who knows what will happen. David has more questions for me:

"Will you do any Metroid related chapters during the month Metroid Dread comes out? A scene of Ridley reacting to his parasite counterpart from Metroid Fusion? Will Miu from Danganronpa have her foul mouth toned down when the Danganronpa chapter happens in December? (Her swearing is part of her character so keeping it may bump the fic to an M rating). Is Female Robin using her Wendee Lee or Lauren Landa voice? And finally, what are your thoughts on the Switch passing the PS3 in terms of lifetime sales?"

Just one chapter for Metroid Dread. I could have Ridley react to his parasite counterpart. Miu will have her foul moth toned down...I will try. Female Robin is using her Lauren Landa voice. And the Switch passing the PS3 in lifetime sales was bound to happen soon. A very good chance it will beat out the PS2 as the highest-selling console of all time. The Reader has a question about the Olympics episode (which will be next week!):

"Would you do the chapter near the end of the Olympics (like usual), or would you have multiple episodes of some Olympics shenanigans?"

Won't' be multiple chapters, but I may do a follow-up episode. Romance enjoyer has a question about episode 67:

"This makes me flashback to Episode 67. Yoshi did have some weird couples concept, but why didn't I see some same-sex couple? I thought Yoshi is part of THAT fandom. You know, the one that ships characters that didn't even share screentime. I never thought that Yoshi has some lines that he didn't cross."

Most shippers these days are part of that random you speak of...but maybe Yoshi is one of the few exceptions. Last up is Prometheus:

"Have you played Omori yet. If you haven't, you have to check it out man. It's a really good game. And I love most of the characters in that game as well. I was wondering if you could let the main protagonists Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Hero, and Kel make an appearance in this story though."

Never played, but the concept and characters look pretty cool. Would the main characters appear? I'd say there's a fairly decent chance.

Episode 293: Retreat

Chrom loved his daughter, Lucina, and he also loved his grandkids, Morgan and Marc. But the prince really loved Lucina. Like, A LOT.

How much did he love her? Every night before he went to bed, he would call Lucina to see if she was okay...even though she was already in the same room with him at the very moment. Every so often, Chrom would text Lucina a new dad joke he learned from Terry - eventually reaching the point where Lucina had to block him for the time being. While he didn't know much about his phone (even after owning one for five years), it was one of the best ways to show his love to Lucina.

Given how much Chrom loved Lucina, one would have to think that the prince would go insane if his daughter had gone missing. Sure, he'd still feel devastated if either one of Robin, Raven, Morgan, or Marc suddenly vanished, but Lucina's disappearance would arguably devastate Chrom the most.

"Weird, Lucina hasn't been responding to my texts," Chrom furrowed his brow as he checked his phone, leaving the dining room after enjoying his breakfast. The prince stopped in front of the dining room entrance, causing Snake to bump into him.

"She won't respond to your texts?" inquired Dunban as he came over to the prince, wanting to lend a helping hand. "Have you at least tried calling her?"

"I have called her during breakfast - several times, in fact. But she keeps hanging up! Every time I call her, she says that she can't answer the phone...yet she insists on answering. She has the same response, every time!"

"Chrom, do you not know how voicemail works?" Apparently, Chrom did not, as he stared at Dunban as if voicemail was a foreign alien concept. Losing whatever hope he had in Chrom, Dunban sighed and walked away. "Forget it..."

"Are you trying to contact Lucina?" Min Min asked Chrom, as she approached the prince from behind. She could see how visibly distressed the prince was. "She won't answer her phone?"

"She'll answer my calls, but not respond to my text messages. I haven't seen her at all this morning, so I hope she hasn't run away or anything."

"Would be a blessing in disguise for her..." Min Min muttered under her breath, knowing that she would do the same thing if she had an embarrassing dad like Chrom. If Lucina did run away, Min Min would support her decision one-hundred percent.

"I should try calling her again." Giving it another go, Chrom dialed Lucina's phone number, because he had absolutely no clue how to access his contact list. After the dial tone sounded a few times, a miracle happened...

"...hello?" Lucina's voice was heard from the phone, as Chrom felt like doing some kind of happy dance. It was hard for him to contain his excitement.

"Oh my goodness! You didn't repeat that same message about answering the phone, despite actually answering the phone!" Even though Lucina's current location was unknown, you could literally feel the confusion from the princess.

"Uh, nice to speak with you, Father. I see that you called me multiple times...didn't even bother leaving behind a voicemail. What do you want?"

"What even is a voicemail...anyway, I just wanted to see what you were up to. I missed you at breakfast this morning."

"Sorry, Father, I couldn't show up...I left the mansion early to go shopping at the mall." Shopping at the mall this early sounded very unlike Lucina.

"You went shopping at the MALL? And you didn't even invite ME?!" Chrom felt personally hurt by Lucina leaving him behind, as he was missing out on some good ol' father-daughter bonding time.

"I mean I would've, but you don't like shopping like that..." Lucina tried to get Chrom somewhat interested in shopping, but she failed every time. "...do you even like shopping?"

"Not until today, I didn't! That's it, I'm going to find whichever mall you're at, and we're going to shop till we drop. We could do some window shopping since I'm low on funds..."

"Chrom, I don't think that such's a good idea," Min Min suggested to Chrom, who ended his call with Lucina and marched away. Chrom was too determined right now to even wish his daughter goodbye.

Min Min: I happen to know where Lucina is...but I'm not allowed to tell. Because then one of you guys will tell Chrom, and it'll just snowball completely from there...Wait, you know where Lucina is?

No, Lucina wasn't shopping at the mall. Rather, the princess was at the beach, getting a much-needed reprieve from the mansion - and most importantly, Chrom. Of course, she shouldn't be enjoying her beach day alone, for she had a couple of her friends over. Owain, Inigo, Brady, Kjelle, Cynthia, Severa, Gerome, Yarne, Laurent, and Noire...they were all at the beach, having a fun time.

"And he ended the call without saying goodbye...again," sighed Lucina, frowning at her phone before putting it away. The princess was resting on a beach chair, in her swimwear, while she watched a dodgeball match between Owain and Cynthia.

"Dodgeball...SERVE!" shouted Owain, being as theatrical as ever, as he served the ball over the net and to Cynthia's side. Cynthia was so amazed by Owain's serve, that she didn't even bother sending the ball back.

"Wow, Owain, that was another awesome serve!" Cynthia complimented the myrmidon, who greatly appreciated the kind remark as he gave a cocky grin. Judging by how the volleyball game was going, Owain must be up ten to zero.

"I think we went to the wrong beach," remarked Inigo as he and Severa came over to Lucina. If you must know, Inigo's belly was fully exposed - just in case he wanted to entertain with some belly-dancing. "There's hardly any women for me to romance!"

"Nobody cares, you lousy pervert," Severa said to Inigo as she ruthlessly backhanded the mercenary. Inigo winced as he rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"Say, Lucina, who was that calling on that funny contraption of yours? I bet it was your father!" Inigo had a cheeky grin on his face, and Lucina's sigh told the mercenary all he needed to know.

"Unfortunately; he called me multiple times," replied Lucina, as she heard Cynthia squealing over yet another "awesome" dodgeball serve from Owain. Was Cynthia even gonna try and play the game? "I only picked up just so he would leave me alone."

"You must feel really bad about sneaking out this morning," Severa said to Lucina as if she was trying to make the princess feel some type of way. If that was her intent, then she ultimately failed.

"Eh, I just feel bad about leaving Robin and the kids behind. Had I brought them, I wouldn't be able to throw Father off my scent...so I appreciate you guys for coming along."

Krystal was having a wonderful breakfast with Fox and Anna when her infant son Marcus started crying all of a sudden. Inferring that her son needed a change, Krystal took Marcus away from the dining room so she could change her diaper. When the vixen returned with Marcus in her arms, she saw that someone was missing from the breakfast table.

"Where on earth is Fox?" inquired Krystal, seeing that Fox had left his half-eaten Belgian waffle unattended. The vixen had already thrown out a Belgian waffle one time, no need for another.

"He...totally didn't leave with Falco or anything!" replied Anna, smiling as hard as she could to make Krystal's simmering anger go away.

"Let me guess...he left the house with Falco to have more 'negotiations' with that dreck Gex."

"If I said that he was having negotiations with someone other than Gex...would that make you feel better?" Sadly, for Anna, it would not, as Krystal was more incensed than ever before.

"Ooh...once I get my filthy hands on Gex, it will be the very end of him." Gex inherently ticked off the wrong vixen...

Speaking with Ayaha Oribe last week, Tom Nook learned quite the bombshell about Master Hand - the giant hand's bank account was frozen! Desiring some answers, Tom Nook spoke with Mario about the frozen bank account the next day. He was at the plumber's house right now, hoping to crack the case.

"Since you used to be the man of the mansion, you must know some of Master Hand's login credentials," Tom Nook said to Mario, who was sitting in front of his computer with a login page on the screen. "Do you remember his email and password?"

"Some-a what," replied Mario, as he clicked on the "forgot password" prompt. Mario typed in "masterhandrules" in the text box, clicked the button, and sent an email. "Seems like his email-a still works."

Tom Nook: Master Hand still uses AOL email? In the year 2021? Good gravy, he is ancient...

"And the password is...'sakuraiisbae,'" added Mario after checking the sent email in Master Hand's email account. The plumber let out a very heavy sigh as he ruefully entered the password. "I've been meaning to change-a that password for years now." Mario clicked on the log-in button, as an error screen loaded up seconds later.

"'The User's bank account is currently frozen, inactive, or dormant,'" Tom Nook read the error message, or at least the gist of it. "So now we can see that Miss Oribe was telling the truth."

"Aw what, my bank account is inactive?" whined Hunter as he and Spyro emerged from his room, stunned to learn that banks could freeze accounts at will. "What a way to go, man..."

"You don't have a bank account, Hunter," Spyro said to his cheetah friend; Hunter having a bank account would be awfully tragic. "You can barely keep spare change on you! How many pennies have you lost?"

"Haha, I knew that I didn't have a bank account...I was just testing you guys." Hunter sheepishly ran into the kitchen to avoid any judging looks, while Spyro went over to Mario and Tom Nook.

"Sheesh, whoever has that account must've done some messed up stuff." Spyro saw the error message on Mario's computer screen, before shaking his head. "I can only imagine..."

"This-a is Master Hand's bank account," Mario explained to Spyro, who found it very hard to find himself remotely surprised. "It's been-a frozen since 2015, according to Ayaha."

"Frozen since 2015? That's a...long time. But wait, if Master Hand's bank account is frozen...then where does he get his money from?!"

"That's what we're trying to figure out ourselves," replied Tom Nook, as Peach curiously came over to Tom Nook and company eavesdropping. "I can't imagine Master Hand just using some random person's credit card..."

"Hm, I do remember Master Hand having a credit card with his name on it..." said Peach, interjecting herself into the conversation as Mario, Tom Nook, and Spyro all looked at the princess.

"Master Hand has a credit card...?" marveled Mario, wondering what other stuff Master Hand had that he refused to tell him about. The card was seen in episode 260, and yet Master Hand's account was frozen...

"Oh yes. Allegedly, that is. Nakoruru told me about it after she went shopping for Christmas decorations with Captain Falcon."

"That would explain that whole extravagant light show outside," remarked Spyro, as Mario and Tom Nook started thinking to themselves. "That was the reason I had to buy sunglasses!"

"What if...we spoke-a with Nakoruru?" Mario asked Tom Nook, who was also considering the same thought. "Would that lead-a us somewhere?"

"It's worth a shot," replied Tom Nook, hoping that speaking with Nakororu could potentially lead to a breakthrough of sorts. "We might have to 'verify' this credit card, just to be safe."

Popo had started his ice cream delivery service last week, and he started it the day when the Smash Life documentary crew wasn't filming (which was a huge no-no in Master Hand's eyes). For the past two weeks, the Ice Climber raised nearly four thousand dollars delivering ice cream around Seattle, even though the cameras weren't around to capture his success. Master Hand must be in shambles, during his Tokyo "honeymoon".

Now you might be thinking...with Popo's business up and running, did Nana agree to drive the van around? Quite frankly, the Ice Climber had yet to make her decision. But Banjo, having plenty of driving experience, offered to drive the van. As for Nana, well...Popo forced her to tag along.

"Watch carefully, Nana...these are pros at work," Popo whispered to Nana, sitting inside the van as he watched Dante and the Inklings walk to a front door of some house. Dante was holding several bags of ice cream in his hands.

"Can't we just, I dunno, turn this van into an ice cream truck?" Nana asked Popo, as Dante rang the doorbell. Also knocked, for good measure. "Delivering the ice cream just feels...wrong."

"You know what else feels wrong? You holding out on your decision for two weeks. Two weeks. Now sit back, and watch these pros go to work."

"Remember guys, just like we rehearsed," Dante whispered to the Inklings, who both nodded their heads as the front door was opened. It was opened a manly man, who looked like he could win any streetfight with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, what's up?" the man asked Dante and the Inklings, meaning no trouble with his hands in his pockets. So far, so good...

"This is a stickup!" the female Inkling shouted at the man as she and the male Inkling took out their Splattershots, looking all threatening. The man looked visibly afraid. "Either you buy all our ice cream, or we'll paint your entire house pink!"

"Nooooo, not pink! Guys' night here with the bros would be canceled!" Panicking, the man pulled out his wallet as if his life depended on it. "How much ice cream are y'all selling?"

"Got six boxes of ice cream bars - sixty bucks total," replied Dante; hyperventilating in extreme fear, the man dug into his wallet and pulled out sixty bucks, handing it to Dante.

"H-Have a good day!" The man took the ice cream from Dante, before slamming the door. The Inklings exchanged a high five, Dante smirked at the dollar bills in his hand, and Popo smiled while Nana shook her head.

Popo: Hey, what can I say? *shrugs* Fear sells. *pulls out the $60* Ca-CHING!

"Really, Popo? You have those three instilling fear in your customers?" Nana frowned at the fellow Ice Climber, as she found herself shaking her head at how Popo conducted his business. Popo thought that there was nothing wrong, and neither did his driver Banjo.

"If I was held at gunpoint and I had to buy ice cream to save my life, I'd do it in a heartbeat" Banjo confessed to Nana, who furrowed her brow as she looked over at Kazooie. Much like Nana, Kazooie had a lot of pent-up cynicism building inside of her.

"Cash rules everything around Popo, apparently," remarked Kazooie, as Dante and the Inklings returned to the van with the $60 in their possession. Dante gave the $60 to Popo. "Threatening to paint an entire house in pink, really?"

"We could've gone with the old 'holding your entire family hostage' trick," replied Dante, as Kazooie facepalmed wondering how much she could take. "If that guy had a family, which I highly doubt. Where's Sonic and Crash?"

"Guess who made a whole bunch of sales selling ice cream?" Sonic asked Dante and company, as he and Crash showed up at the van with cash in their hands. Aku was with them. "We did!"

"I see you're covering a lot of bases," Nana said to Popo, as Sonic and Crash handed their money to Popo before exchanging a high five with Dante. "I hope that those two didn't do anything to..."

"You were right, Popo - daring to step on someone's sneakers if they didn't buy your ice cream is a great way to raise profits!" Sonic gave a thumbs up to Popo, who was being frowned at by Nana.

Sonic: Unfortunately, we had to step on one guy's shoes, because he didn't want to buy any ice cream. Had Crash do the honors. It was so funny though because the guy was throwing a hissy fit about his precious Air Jordans being "ruined"; all Crash did was just lightly tap with his foot. Some sneakerheads really treat their shoes as their favorite side chicks! Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it...

"By the way, we got some customers who want more ice cream," informed Aku as he brought everyone's attention to a group of four individuals who soon approached the van. All of them were eating ice cream bars. "You might've seen them at Crash's surprise birthday party."

"These jokers again?" groaned Kazooie as she recognized the group - the Wicked Twisters, consisting of Rindo, Fret, Nagi, and Sho. "Are they gonna 'reap' Popo of his entire ice cream stash?"

"Pipe down, you Zetta bird!" Sho pointed at Kazooie, as his mastery of math jargon flew right over the redbird's head. "We just wanted a snack, that's all. This Reapers' Game has got us exhausted!"

"We want your ice cream because...well, we're hungry," Rindo stated to Popo, even though he knew deep down that ice cream wasn't that filling. Unless it was late at night, perhaps. "And because your ice cream was cheap."

"Don't tell me you were charging three dollars per ice cream!" Popo scolded Sonic and Crash, with the former whistling innocently and the latter grinning while shrugging his shoulders. "How many times do I have to tell you guys - twenty-five dollars is the lowest you can go for each unit!"

"Would ya look at that...the silly little Wicked Twisters are buying all my ice cream! Bunch of lousy discs are!"

The Wicked Twisters looked annoyed, as they were soon joined by some familiar company. Showing up at the van was a big, muscular guy wearing a gold chain accompanied by a pretty emotionless young girl.

"Crap...here come the Ruinbringers," groaned Fret as he rolled his eyes, wishing that he was somewhere else right now. Preferably back in Japan.

"That's right, you better recognize - the best team in the Reapers' Game!" the big guy exclaimed, with a voice so nasally high that Dante almost laughed. "Susukichi and Tsugumi, coming to ya from Shibuya!"

"..." said Tsugumi, the emotionless girl, as she barely uttered a single word; her being silent wasn't that big of a surprise, given the emotionless aura that she was giving off.

"Wow, your friend really has a way with words," Banjo said to Susukichi, thinking that Tsugumi had told a whole story without even opening her mouth. Kazooie found Tsugumi's quietness super unnerving.

"She's not really much of a talker," stated Susukichi as he flexed his fingers, with a giant grin on his face. "But having her around is pretty nice when you're putting discs in their place!'

"'Discs'?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, as he looked around in confusion. "We inventing new racial slurs now? How offended should we be?" Disgusted by Sonic's ignorance, Susukichi groaned at the hedgehog.

"It's not a racial slur...if discs like you took part in the Reapers' Game, you would know. It's an inside thing."

"Okay, well, calling me a disc isn't gonna make me understand the term better. I think you need a dictionary."

"Leave him alone, Sonic - this guy's our problem," Rindo said to the hedgehog, brushing him to the side as he and the Wicked Twisters confronted Susukichi. "How about you take your emo sidekick and buzz off already?"

"Buzz off? I'm sorry, we are your manners?" questioned Susukichi, as he looked like he was about to pummel Rindo to oblivion. But he would save his energy, for now. "Since I'm in such a good mood, I'll leave you off with a warning. I better not see you discs starting any funny business!"

"And we expect the same from you," Nagi said to Susukichi, who led Tsugumi away from the van as the Ruinbringers took their business elsewhere. Once the Ruinbringers left, Nagi sighed in relief. "Man, he is so annoying sometimes."

"Out of the decillion Players I've dealt with, I resent that yoctogram the most," admitted Sho, as he had absolutely no love lost for Susukichi. "I see why Tsugumi is so silent...she's always depressed from dealing with that weirdo."

"His gold chains look nice though," the male Inkling had this to say about Susukichi's drip, as the Wicked Twisters gave him angry stares. "I mean, they would look nice on...someone else."

"So...can we buy some ice cream?" Fret asked the ice cream delivery crew, as he took out his wallet to see how much money he had on him. "This heat's killing me right now..."

"We ought to stick around with this group," Sho whispered into Rindo's ear, as Fret approached Popo with his wallet. Fret better have some big bucks, or else Popo would turn him down. "If it means keeping away from the other Players..."

Link and Cloud were at Cafe Leblanc, where Cloud gave his best friend an item to hold unto until the wedding. It was a green stress ball, and Link was squeezing it while he and Cloud waited on their curry.

"If you ever feel stressed about your wedding, just squeeze that ball and all your worries will go away," Cloud explained to Link, who held the stress ball in the palm of his hand. Link had squeezed the ball multiple times, yet he felt nothing.

"You really came off as a TV salesman there," Link commented on Cloud's delivery, while also fearing that the stress ball might not be for him. "You have a very boring personality to make a fit as one."

"I heard that Macy's was looking for a spokesman for their exotic fashion line." Cloud took a sip from his coffee, as Link was starting to feel some type of way about Cloud's potential punchline. "You still like wearing that tunic, so you'd fit right in."

Link: I can't just stop wearing this tunic. It's kind of interwoven into my personality. This tunic is almost like a personality trait of mine... *pauses* ...wow, that really made me realize how basic I am. Maybe Cloud might be on to something...

Cloud: Every day, that tunic irks me more and more. But if there is one saving grace, it's that Link has the decency to wear pants. Young Link to my knowledge has never worn pants, even as a buddy cop. If he was an actual police officer, his fashion choice would get him fired.

As Pit gave Link and Cloud their curry, an unexpected guest entered Cafe Leblanc, wearing a blue suit and a tie. Pit gasped when he saw this guest, nearly wasting the bowls of curry on Link and Cloud's laps.

"Good afternoon, fellas," the man in the blue suit greeted those inside the cafe; it was Phoenix Wright, and the former attorney was looking downtrodden as he sat on a barstool. So downtrodden, that the fanfare around him was almost nonexistent.

"Phoenix Wright! You came to the right place!" Pit greeted the former attorney, doing his best not to geek out since he had seen Phoenix enough times in the past. "Care for some awesome curry?"

"No thanks, Pit...I'm not in the mood." Phoenix looked mad depressed, as he rested his elbows on the counter and buried his face in his hands. Not a single person in the cafe had seen the former attorney in such a bad mood.

"What's the matter with you?" Joker asked Phoenix, as he was cleaning out the inside of a tall glass with a white tablecloth. "Being disbarred has really got you feeling down, huh?"

"No, it's not that - I got over it. Somewhat." Phoenix took his face away from his hands, ready to tell Joker and company what's gotten him so troubled today. "I made a bet a few weeks ago with B.D. Joe, on this year's NBA finals...and I lost."

"You lost a bet?" Wario asked Phoenix, as he sympathized with the former attorney the most. Wario equated losing any lost bet to losing a child. "You might as well give up on life, buddy."

"Who were you betting on?" Cuphead asked Phoenix, who heaved a heavy sigh as he did not wish to relive any bad memories. But he had to do it for the sake of telling his story.

"The Phoenix Suns," admitted Phoenix, as he now hated Phoenix's up-and-coming basketball team with a bitter passion. "'Suns will sweep the Milwaukee Bucks', they said...'Suns in four,' they said...and I believed all of them like the moron that I am."

"you would've made a quick buck if you bet on milwaukee," joked Sans, trying to lighten up the mood, as Phoenix turned his head and glared at the skeleton. "thought that going with phoenix would get you feeling all sunny, huh?"

"Even worse, the media won't stop talking about the guy who won the chip - Giannis Antetokounmpo." Phoenix impressed the others by pronouncing Giannis' last name so fluently. "Took me months to pronounce that name right. I just can't relate to that guy, you know?"

"I know how you feel," Guile said to Phoenix, exuding manliness as he took a sip from his curry. "As an American, I would find it very hard to relate to an international basketball superstar."

"It shouldn't be that hard..." Link muttered under his breath, as Chrom came running inside the cafe to speak with Link and Cloud. "...oh bother. What do you want, Chrom?"

"Link, Cloud, you have to go with me to the mall," Chrom stressed to the two swordsmen, being as serious as he possibly could be. "It's an emergency. Lucina is over there shopping."

"No offense, Chrom, Link and I wouldn't go with you anywhere in town," Cloud said to the prince, who was itching to go shopping with Lucina. His bonding time with his daughter was a pressing issue.

"Well, Robin and the others refused to go, so you guys are my last hope. I need to be with my daughter!" Chrom looked like he was ready to burst if he was turned down, leaving Link and Cloud with no choice but to say yes.

"Fine, I'll take you to the mall in my truck," Link said to Chrom, who smiled as he led the Hylian and Cloud out of the cafe. Link looked down at his green stress ball as he left. "Might be needing you a lot today, green ball friend..."

Robin: Yeah, the kids and I know that Lucina's at the beach. So does Raven. I don't have enough in me to lie, so when Chrom asked me about Lucina's whereabouts, I just walked away without a response. Now Chrom thinks that I'm deaf...thanks for nothing, Lucina.

"I lost a thousand dollars, and now I'm essentially broke," Phoenix continued telling his story, wondering how he could care for his adopted daughter in the financial pitfall that he was in. "I'm hopeless..."

"Cheer up, Phoenix - I know a guy who's got some cash to spare!" Pit said to the former attorney, who looked up at the angel with optimism in his eyes. Phoenix, figuring out who Pit was referring to, turned his head towards Wario.

"Wah, why are you looking at me for?!" Wario frowned at Phoenix as he turned his head away from the former attorney. "I wouldn't even give you a stinking penny...not that I abstain from using coins, or anything."

"My pal Lloyd Irving raised a lot of money delivering food around town. He might have some cash leftover, so you can ask him for some spare change."

"Personally, I would suggest beating the crap out of B.D. Joe and getting your money back, but I suppose Pit's idea is fine as well." Weighing his options, Phoenix mulled over Pit and Wario's suggestions before making his decision.

"You know what, I'm gonna go with Pit on this one," Phoenix made his decision, as Pit pumped his fist while Wario angrily slammed his on the counter. "Lloyd seems charitable enough to lend me a thousand dollars."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" exclaimed Pit, seeing that Phoenix's frown was finally turned upside down. Phoenix felt reinvigorated again. "I just know that Lloyd will come through for you, Phoenix."

"I hope so, Pit...I hope so." Now in a jovial mood, Phoenix looked to his left - and saw two empty barstool chairs. "Hold on - where Link and Cloud here like a few seconds ago? They just disappeared?!"

No, Link and Cloud didn't disappear - they were dragged into going to the mall by Chrom, who desperately wanted to spend some quality time with his daughter. Except Lucina wasn't at the mall, but rather at the beach with her friends.

"You can do it Yarne; the water's not going to kill you," Kjelle encouraged the Taugel, who was looking petrified as he stood a few feet away from the ocean.

"I can't do it, the waves will just wash me away!" Yarne shouted at the top of this lungs, as his shouts caught the attention of several beachgoers. "You can't force me to do it! I refuse!"

"All you have to do is simply let the water touch your feet...is that too much for you?" Kjelle and friends originally dared Yarne to jump in the water, but apparently that was too much for the Taugel to handle. "You are such a coward..."

"What else is new," remarked Lucina, before she heard her phone ringing. It was either a spam caller or Chrom...and Lucina was bummed out that it had to be the latter. "Hello, Father?"

"Hi, Lucina, some good news - Link, Cloud, and I are going to the mall, and shop with you," Chrom said to Lucina, who felt so bad for Link and Cloud that they were forced to accompany her dad. "Which mall are you at?"

"Uh...Northgate Station, over on Northgate Way. You can't miss it." Lucina partially wished that Northgate Station was closed, just to add some insult to injury.

"Northgate Station, huh? We're on our way. Link, step on it!" As Chrom yelled at Link, Lucina ended the phone call before putting her phone away.

"You think that your dad will ever catch on?" Cynthia asked Lucina, as she heard most of the phone call - or at least all of it. Literally had her ear pressed against Lucina's phone.

"I'll give him seven hours," replied Lucina, returning to her beach chair for some more relaxation. "Nine if we're being generous."

Riku had quite the bone to pick with Gex. Sora and Kairi went on their date last week, and it took place at Canlis...which wasn't open at the time. Gex, who originally helped with Sora asking out Kairi, took it upon himself to "open" up Canlis for the date, after giving Mario a suggestion. While Mario was asleep. Mario did not appreciate that, and the Canlis manager and chef didn't appreciate Gex for using their restaurant without their permission.

Because of how everything went down, Sora had a bad taste in his mouth in regards to his date with Kairi. Riku believed that the only way to make Sora feel better was to avenge him and make Gex pay. The only thing was, however, the silverette had no idea how to go about his business.

"I should break those stupid sunglasses of his; that oughta break him," Riku said to himself as he paced back and forth in the foyer, thinking of ways of psychologically destroying Gex. He would bump into Krystal, who had just entered the mansion.

"Oh, sorry Riku, I wasn't looking," Krystal apologized to the silverette, as she was super focused on eliminating Gex. "I was on my way to see if Fox was still fiddling around with that rotten Gex."

"Gex, huh? Funny you should mention that - I got a score to settle with him. Let's just say it's got something to do with Sora and Kairi's date."

"Oh, so you wish to get rid of Gex forever too? How would you like to work together?" The idea sounded enticing to Riku, who personally didn't mind having a partner. It would mean more hands thrown, that's for sure.

"I wouldn't mind." Riku was really looking forward to getting his hands on Gex, smiling as he stretched his arms. "We're gonna make him regret ever showing his face around here."

"Excuse me? How are you two gonna start scheming stuff, and not invite me?" questioned a highly offended King Dedede as he showed up at the foyer along with Steve...who, oddly enough, was sharply dressed. "I despise Gex, too!"

"Um...why is Steve wearing a tuxedo?" asked Krystal as she noticed how fly Steve was looking. Admit it, Krystal - you're just jealous that Steve has more style than your own husband.

"King Dedede is training me to be a model boyfriend," explained Steve, as Riku laughed to himself; making Riku laugh like that was a very rare feat to pull off.

"He's training you to be a model boyfriend?" asked Riku, as King Dedede did not appreciate the disrespect the silverette was putting on his name. "That guy should start training himself first!"

King Dedede: I know how important it is for Steve to have Impa as a girlfriend. Heck, he needs to have a girlfriend in general. Being single for so long can chip away at your reputation; that's why Bowser has spent so many years chasing after babes like Peach. Me, personally, my reputation never took a hit until Gex stole my romancing powers. Up until then, I had a fairly solid record.

"What are your reasons for disliking Gex?" Krystal asked King Dedede; the vixen was afraid of the fat penguin's answer, but it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway.

"That man Gex stole my ability to flirt with hot women," replied King Dedede, looking serious as ever as he solemnly stared down at the floor. Krystal and Riku exchanged weird looks with one another, as King Dedede lifted his head. "He must pay for what he has done."

"...sounds like a strange reason to dislike someone, but any reason is a good reason in my book." That was honestly the nicest thing that Krystal could say about King Dedede's personal vendetta.

"We could use a bit of muscle, to teach Gex a lesson," analyzed Riku, as he fantasized King Dedede bashing Gex into oblivion with his hammer. Would be an amusing sight to see. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but...King Dedede, you're on board."

"YIPPEE!" cheered King Dedede as he grabbed Steve and twirled him around, doing his happy dance. "I'm gonna get my flirting abilities back, Steve!"

"Hip hip, hooray," exclaimed Steve, his computerized voice drowning out the immense joy that he was feeling with King Dedede. Krystal and Riku privately convened, while King Dedede continued to celebrate.

"He's not getting his 'powers' back, is he?" Riku whispered to Krystal as he looked back at King Dedede who was dancing around.

"Clearly it's all in his head," Krystal whispered back, while King Dedede gave Steve the biggest bearhug known to man. "He is extremely delusional."

In case you have forgotten, there was a room for birds like Kazooie to freely roam around, called the bird room. The most frequent (and perhaps only) person to use this room was Nakoruru, who brought her hawk companion Mamahaha with her every time.

"Glad that you like your new birdseed, Mamahaha," Nakoruru said to the hawk, who voiced her approval as she squawked and raised her wings out wide. Mario and Tom Nook were standing by in the bird room, as Nakoruru turned her attention to them. "You two wanted to speak with me, yes?"

"We recently learned that you were the one who bought those extravagant Christmas lights for Master Hand," said Tom Nook, as Nakoruru suddenly had memories of being stuck at Times Square. At least she never got arrested. "You used Master Hand's credit card, yes?"

"Yes - do you wish to use this card? I would give it to you, but Master Hand said that it was only for holiday purchases..."

"Master Hand's bank-a account is currently frozen," Mario stated to Nakoruru, who looked generally surprised - and almost confused. Mario acted as if Nakoruru knew how bank accounts worked. "So that being said..."

"Oh dear, did I do something to freeze his account?" Nakoruru became increasingly afraid, worried about drawing the great ire of Master Hand. "Oh, why did I give that card to Dr. Cortex..."

"Wait, you said that the card was only for holiday purchases," Tom Nook furrowed his brow, as he couldn't help but feel slightly concerned. "Is Cortex doing early holiday shopping?"

"Well, goose friend, we made a lot of shrewd purchases!" Cortex said to his pet goose, holding him as he entered the bird room. Uka accompanied the evil genius, forced to hear him gloat. "Lots of property under my name!"

"I personally can't wait to see you waste it all," Uka said to Cortex, as he expected the evil genius to completely waste his resources. Cortex frowned in response, before seeing Nakoruru.

"Miss Nakoruru! Thanks for letting me borrow this credit card." Cortex dug into his pocket, and Mario and Tom Nook's eyes went wide when they saw Cortex pulling out a credit card. "Never knew that you were such a big money grip!"

"The card's not really mine, but I guess you're welcome," responded Nakoruru, as Cortex went to hand the card over to the shrine maiden. Mario and Tom Nook had their eyes locked on the card.

Cortex: Had to make a payment to my realtor, for some property that I secured the last time Master Hand was gone away. It's better to secure the property now than last year since there won't be any Dr. Brio meddling with my plans. What is this property for, you say? I will keep a secret, for now...pester me about it and I will vaporize you! *pauses* Provided I have my ray gun on the right setting...

Nakoruru: I know that credit card has only one specific use, but Cortex gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. An unlimited supply of birdseed for Mamahama, if I let him use the card! Still waiting for the birdseed, though; Cortex claimed that the delivery truck broke down in Omaha the last time I asked him.

"Hold it!" shouted Mario as he snatched the credit card away from Cortex. The plumber and Tom Nook looked at the card together and saw Master Hand's name inscribed in very faint letters.

"There it is, I can see his name," confirmed Tom Nook, having to squint his eyes just so he could make out Master Hand's name. Cortex looked on with a frown, not appreciating Mario for snatching from him like that.

"Wait, so that card isn't yours?" Cortex looked at Nakoruru, as his belief that Nakoruru was the richest shrine maiden in all of Japan was destroyed in seconds. "How long did you have it?"

"Since the holidays," replied Nakoruru, who didn't fear being vaporized by Cortex as much as she feared Master Hand's fury. Though that was mostly because Cortex had horrible luck with his ray gun. "Master Hand never really asked for it back."

"Must be because-a he knows about his frozen bank-a account," theorized Mario, as Cortex found himself overwhelmed with fear. A whole lot of regret was running through Cortex's mind.

"Does this mean I purchased the property with a faulty credit card?!" panicked Cortex, assuming that the transaction he made regarding the property he had his eyes on was never finalized. "How will I ever own this mansion now?"

"Trying to own the mansion, really?" Tom Nook gave Cortex a skeptical look, as he recalled the evil genius attempting to take ownership of the mansion back in episode 233. "Just let it go already."

"Maybe that credit card isn't exactly his?" Uka asked Mario and Tom Nook, as he gave the duo something very interesting to ponder over. "That could be someone else's card, and Master Hand just plastered his name on it."

"That would be...very much-a like Master Hand," replied Mario as he stroked his chin, feeling bad for whoever had their credit card taken by Master Hand. "But who would be insane-a enough to even give him their card?"

"There's plenty of idiots in this mansion - it could be anyone." Uka would say Wario, but that would be too obvious. "Might even have a secret millionaire walking among us..."

Lucina felt like she was in bliss - enjoying her beach day with her second-generation friends, with no sign of Chrom anywhere. The princess wished that today would never end, even if the rest of her family couldn't be around.

"Stop it, stop it I say!" shouted Brady as he was being chased by Cynthia and Inigo, who were both wielding water guns that they found. "You know how much I despise getting wet..."

"I'm surrounded by wimps..." facepalmed Kjelle as Cynthia and Inigo managed to corner Brady; the mercenary and pegasus knight both shot water at Brady, who was squealing like a little girl.

Cynthia: No, this water gun isn't mine. *holds up water gun* But I did see my name on it, right here. *holds up ray gun to the camera, with the name "CYNTHIA" inscribed on it* It was destiny for me to find this!
Severa: Why do I hear some little girl crying... *looks around, as she walks into frame* ...Cynthia, were you stealing candy again?
Cynthia: Wh-What makes you think that? *smiles innocently, with bits of candy in her teeth*

"I've never seen Brady cry so much before," Laurent said to Lucina as he stood at the princess' side, watching Brady being doused by water. The mage was holding a book in his hand, which he handed over to Lucina. "Wait right here - I'll save him."

"Take your time," Lucina said to Laurent, holding onto the book as Laurent came over to Cynthia, Inigo, and Brady. Gerome came over to Lucina, bringing the princess' phone with him.

"Your device is ringing again," the wyvern rider informed Lucina, as he handed the princess her phone. "Wouldn't be much of a spoiler if I told you who was calling, would it?"

"How nice of you to see the caller ID..." mumbled Lucina, looking bummed out once more as she saw that Chrom was calling yet again. Lucina promptly answered the call. "Yes, Father?"

"Hi, Lucina, some bad news - we couldn't find you at the mall," explained Chrom, leading Lucina to wonder how seriously her dad searched for her. "I even asked the intercom lady to call out your name, but that didn't work."

"Why did you have to do that for...?" Lucina frowned as she pinched the crown of her nose. What Chrom did would've been acceptable if Lucina was a young girl - not a fully grown adult.

"Cloud said that you might've left the mall already, and after a couple of minutes, I took his word for it. So, Lucina, where are you now?"

"I'm, uh...at the park! Orchard Park." Orchard Park was the very first thing that came to Lucina's mind. "You know, where Luigi and Daisy got married."

"Orchard Park? Well, I hope we can meet you there. Maybe you can show us what items you've purchased during your shopping trip!"

"I would...if I had actually purchased something." Lucina could already envision the amount of disappointment on Chrom's face. "Just try not to embarrass yourself on your way there, okay father?"

"With Link and Cloud around, that won't be possible," assured Chrom, as he was standing near the mall exit with Link and Cloud. The prince gave the two swordsmen a thumbs up. "I'll see you soon!"

"Hylia, give me all the strength..." muttered Link, holding his stress ball real tight as Chrom ended his call with Lucina. It was only his first stop, and Link had already grown tired of Chrom.

"Lucina went to Orchard Park," Chrom informed Link and Cloud as he put his cellphone away. "She must've gone there to relive some wedding memories!"

"Awesome theory," Cloud grumbled sarcastically, as he too was growing tired of Chrom. He found the prince at his most annoying when it came to Lucina.

"I know, right?! Glad you agreed with me, Cloud. Up top!" Chrom held up his hand for a high-five, and Cloud frowned as he left the prince hanging. Chrom awkwardly coughed as he lowered his hand.

"Let's just head over to the park," said Link as he, Chrom, and Cloud exited the mall. The Hylian was about to catch on to Lucina's charade...

Popo's ice cream delivery service was making rounds in a Seattle neighborhood, using fear to make some sales. Dante, Sonic, Crash, and the Inklings used a variety of methods to instill fear - threatening to dig up an entire garden, plotting to kidnap a family dog, or even conspiring to burn an American flag on someone's porch. (Only worked on the most patriotic of customers.) While these tactics helped rake in the dough, Nana was NOT a fan.

"Do you have to use fear to sell ice cream every time?" Nana asked Popo and company, as Banjo was driving the van to the next stop in the neighborhood. "What if you guys get in trouble?"

"We don't exactly use fear all of the time," replied the female Inkling, as she gave Nana a brief moment of relief.

"Yeah, Popo said it would lower our chances of getting a lawsuit!" added the male Inkling, as Nana's relief was momentarily short-lived.

"Don't have any sense of dignity in you, do you?" Nana asked Popo, who was acting as if there was nothing wrong with how he did business. Nana's chances of ever driving the van were looking slimmer.

Popo: I'm personally not that opposed to going to jail. It's a sign of making it big. Look at Martha Stewart - not only did her empire grow after doing time in jail, but she also became good friends with Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg! Imagine being friends with a rapper after you make it big.

Banjo pulled up to a house, and from the looks of it, it was mostly unattended. Not a single car in the driveway or anything. There wasn't even a satellite on the roof, for crying out loud! Yet Banjo thought there was nothing wrong afoot.

"This house looks pretty ominous..." said Popo as he got a good look at the house, before turning his attention to a certain vigilante. "...Dante, Sonic, I think you two should take this one."

"Gonna go with the Texas Chainsaw route for this one," said Dante, as he grabbed a chainsaw and exited the van along with Sonic. Seeing the chainsaw, Nana gasped and frowned at Popo.

"I'll be honest with you...I didn't even know this van had a chainsaw," Popo confessed to Nana with a shrug, as Dante and Sonic approached the front door. Sonic rang the doorbell while holding a bag of ice cream.

"Hello, it's your friendly neighborhood yardmen!" Sonic called out to whoever was inside the house, as Dante revved up the chainsaw. The door was opened by some creepy-looking grandma. "We just wanted to stop by and..."

"Hi, there! I wasn't expecting any visitors," the grandma greeted Sonic and Dante, and it was evidenced by the looks on their faces that they were both creeped out by the grandma. "What's that you got there in the bag?"

"Uh...are those?" questioned Dante, staring at the grandma's teeth as he and Sonic took a few steps back. Sonic managed to step off the porch, but the grandma grabbed Dante's hand to prevent the vigilante from escaping.

"You know, I haven't seen that many handsome men lately." The grandma began to flirt with Dante, making him feel uncomfortable. "I'm not really into taller men...but you'll do for now."

"'For now'? What do you mean, for now?" Dante would see his question go unanswered, as the grandma dragged the vigilante inside the house and closed the door. Dante dropped the chainsaw in the process. "Sonic, HELP!"

"Uh, sure man!" Sonic nervously replied, practically scared out of his mind as he ran back to the van. Popo and company exited the van, as they were all wondering what had just transpired.

"Sonic, where is Dante?" Popo asked the blue hedgehog, who was looking around as if he was suffering from some Vietnam War flashbacks. "And you didn't even sell the ice cream!"

"There's a creepy old lady, and she took Dante inside her house!" Sonic alerted Popo and the others, as some of them looked concerned. Popo, however, wasn't buying the hedgehog's claims.

"Were you playing that game Diddy got from the mall?" Popo shook his head at Sonic, as the Inklings ran over to the house that the grandma was staying in. "You need to play real computer games, man! Like Ice Cream Tycoon Deluxe. A true classic."

"Uh, Popo...I think Sonic's telling the truth," the male Inkling informed the Ice Climber, as he and the female Inkling returned to the van to make their report. "We can hear that old lady trying to make out with Dante right now!"

"So the old lady is real? And she took one of my best workers?!" Popo was now taking things personally, putting his hands on his head as he gritted his teeth. "Ooh, once I get my hands on that..."

"...is he gonna be alright?" asked Fret, showing up along with the Wicked Twisters as they watched Popo having his raging fit. The Wicked Twisters were following closely behind the ice cream gang, just to keep away from Susukichi.

"He's just...in his feelings a lot," replied Nana, watching as Popo's face was turning red with anger. "Stop it Popo, you're embarrassing yourself!"

Wolf: Everyone keeps talking about how creepy old ladies are so "scary", and I just couldn't help but laugh every time. Could you even imagine being so frightened by anyone over the age of seventy? Ladies over seventy years old are perfect wife material if you ask me.

"Do any of you have experience with elderly people?" Aku asked the Wicked Twisters, who all assumed that the floating mask was just pulling their tail. "If it's not your area of expertise..."

"No, we only kill Noise," replied Nagi, as Aku raised an eyebrow in confusion. Nagi saw it coming from a mile away, as she groaned. "Sho, would you care to explain it to them?"

"I would - if it didn't take me a decillion hours to do it," responded Sho, although that wasn't his real reason - the guy was just lazy. "Still, I'm down for some elderly abuse...non-physical, that is."

"Alright then, faithful leader - what's our plan of action?" Rindo asked Sho, who was planning extensively in his mind as he stroked his chin. A mastermind like Sho was meant for moments like these.

"Two wrongs usually make a right," Sho spoke as if he was some kind of philosopher; he was tapping his temple, his brain juices were working in overdrive. "And the enemy of your enemy is your friend..."

"We'd appreciate it if you stop speaking in riddles," Fret frowned at Sho as he had his arms folded, only for his face to sink. "Please don't tell me..."

"Yes! If we wish to subtract this yoctogram, we must work with the Ruinbringers. Sounds flawed in theory, yes, but Susukichi can rough this lady up."

"Susukichi, that fake tough guy?" snorted Sonic, who learned not to take Susukichi seriously the moment that he heard his voice. "Can't be so tough when you got toothpick legs."

"He may not look much at first, but he can still get the job done. Hopefully, he and his friend didn't get too far from here..."

Phoenix was in happier spirits, as the curry from Cafe Leblanc put him in a better mood. After doing a little catching up with a few select residents, the former attorney was ready to speak with Lloyd, who he found near the beauty salon with Colette. Pit accompanied him along the way.

"So this is where I'm gonna build my sauna," Lloyd explained to Colette, using his arms expressively to show how big his sauna would be. "I got the funds; all I need next is Master Hand's permission."

"What was your inspiration?" Colette asked Lloyd, who was prepared to ask the question since day one. Quite frankly, no one has ever asked Lloyd that question until now.

"Well, the ladies got their beauty salon, right? Since I believe in equal rights, I thought that the guys deserved similar perks. Because I'm obviously a thoughtful person like that."

"Wow, Lloyd, that really is thoughtful!" Colette felt super proud of her boyfriend, who had his ego stroked as he smiled confidently. "This place should've had a sauna years ago."

"I'll say. Now men like me will have the freedom to be naked around each other! It'll be a dream come true..." A weird dream to have, but a dream nonetheless. Do you, Lloyd.

Samus: Does Lloyd think that the sauna is meant for the men only? Sounds kinda sexist, if you ask me. I should show up there one day, and sit in there all day long; it would break Lloyd's feeble little brain.

"Lloyd Irving!" Phoenix called out to the swordsman, who turned around and saw the former attorney standing with Pit. Phoenix and Pit were waiting to speak with Lloyd for about a minute or two.

"Mr. Wright!" exclaimed Lloyd, looking around not knowing what to do, before he grabbed Colette and held her in front of him. "Have you met my new girlfriend, Collete? Say hi, Collette!"

"Hello," Colette smiled and waved to Phoenix, who smiled in response. Seconds passed, and Colette was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Lloyd, I think he already got the point..."

"Do a little small talk; I'm not a great conversation starter." Lloyd was shielding himself behind Colette, trying to make up for his lack of social skills. Phoenix sneaked his way over to Lloyd, causing the swordsman to shriek.

"I heard that you were planning on building a sauna," Phoenix said to Lloyd, who unshielded himself from Colette. "Must have a lot of money on ya!"

"You don't plan on stealing it, do you?" Ever since he got the $10,000 from Dingodile, Lloyd was super overprotective about his money ever since. "I've yet to spend a single dollar!"

"No, not steal...borrow." That made Lloyd feel a little better, but he was still hesitant as ever. "I lost an NBA finals bet to B.D. Joe, and I gave up a thousand dollars. So I was wondering if..."

"Yeah, the NBA Finals! The one those Bucks won." Just hearing the Bucks mentioned caused Phoenix's blood to boil. "Giannis was such a bro, winning the chip after sticking through the thick and thin." Hearing Giannis' name made Phoenix even angrier.

"GRRRAAAAAH! Why is everyone so infatuated with Giannis?" Phoenix was letting out his frustrations as he pulled on his hair, screaming out loud. "Is it because he's 'wholesome'? Is he the basketball Keanu Reeves now?!"

"Unless he killed like three people on the court with a pencil, then no." Killing other players with a pencil doesn't sound incredibly wholesome. "Why do you have a problem with Giannis?"

"I don't have a problem, okay? I just...can't stand the guy, as of late." Sounded like you really have a problem, Phoenix. The first step to solving a problem was by admitting that you had one.

"I think he might be a xenophobe," assumed Pit, as Phoenix did not appreciate the accusation that the angel was throwing around. It was almost as if Pit was throwing Phoenix under the bus. "Phoenix wouldn't be as angry if Giannis came from the States."

"A xenophobe, I am not..." Shaking off Pit's baseless xenophobe accusation, Phoenix brought his attention back to Lloyd. "...you don't think that I'm a xenophobe, do you, Lloyd?"

"I dunno, Pit might have a point here," Lloyd sided with Pit, as Phoenix faceplanted unto the floor. "You might be the only person I know that hates Giannis!"

"Whoever said that I hated Giannis?!" Phoenix rose back up on his feet, salty that the xenophobe accusation was now attached to his name. "I just can't stand him, okay?! That's it!"

"Sounds like a tame way of saying that you hate him." Not wishing to be infected by Phoenix's xenophobia, Lloyd grabbed Colette's hand and walked away. "How about we head off to the arcade room, Colette?"

"Lloyd, wait, what about the thousand dollars?" Phoenix called out to Lloyd, who stopped and turned around at the former attorney.

"I would give some of my money...but not to xenophobes like you." Lloyd would leave Phoenix in the dust, as he walked away hand-in-hand with Colette. Phoenix felt defeated as he fell to his knees, while Pit came over to comfort him.

"It's okay, Phoenix," Pit assured the former attorney, placing his hand on his shoulder. "You can still beat up B.D. Joe and get your money back."

"Like any of Wario's insane ideas will net a positive result..." muttered Phoenix, feeling defeated as he got down on all fours and stared at the floor in agony. "...there's no hope. I'm ruined."

"Ah, just the man we needed to see!" exclaimed a certain tanuki, as Phoenix turned around and saw Tom Nook coming down the hallway with Mario and Cortex. Now acting professionally, Phoenix quickly stood up and adjusted his tie.

"Phoenix Wright, at your service," Phoenix formally addressed Tom Nook and company, putting his worries to the side for now. "How may I be of service?"

"Master Hand's bank-a account is frozen," Mario explained to Phoenix, who wasn't surprised about Master Hand's bank account in the slightest. "We were wondering if you could-a help us...crack the code, in a sense."

"I have his credit card right here," Cortex said to Phoenix as he held up the credit card that had Master Hand's name inscribed on it. "Not exactly sure if it's even his, but...I can still claim it anyway!"

"Frozen bank account, huh?" Phoenix smirked as he scratched his chin, wondering what kinds of trouble Master Hand got himself into. "I doubt that Master Hand has any unpaid debts, so..."

"I personally believe that Master Hand might've funded a terrorist group," theorized Tom Nook, as Phoenix raised his eyebrows in intrigue. It was a very interesting topic for Phoenix to look into.

Tom Nook: It's still very plausible that Master Hand got his bank account locked from some possible terrorist funding. Phoenix is the right person to help us see if Master Hand gave his money to causes that he shouldn't.

"You're saying that Master Hand wanted the All-Star manor blown to smithereens?" asked Phoenix, aware of how much Master Hand disliked the manor and everyone living in it. "I see where you're going with this..."

"How would-a we even know if he did fund a bunch-a of terrorists?" Mario asked Tom Nook, thinking of whatever terrorist group Master Hand would give money to. Perhaps it was a group headed by Revolver Ocelot or something.

"The only way we could find out is if we got our hands on some legal documents. That would be our first route to go."

Noire, easily the timidest out of the second-generation kids, was relaxing in a beach chair, basking under the shade. Little did she know that she was sitting in Lucina's beach chair, as Lucina and Severa showed up.

"Um, Noire? You're sitting in my chair," Lucina said to the archer, who realized her mistake as she gasped apologetically. Noire looked afraid like she was accused of killing someone's dog.

"I'm so sorry!" Noire apologized to Lucina as she got up out of the chair and ran off, feeling bad about herself. Severa watched as Noire ran away, sighing.

"She is aware that she has her own beach chair, right?" Severa asked Lucina, bringing the princess' attention to the beach chair that was literally right next to hers. It was even a green beach chair, for crying out loud.

"Give her a couple of minutes, she'll find out soon," replied Lucina, as she looked down at her phone resting on her beach chair. To her surprise, Chrom hadn't called her phone...yet.

That was because Chrom was still looking for Lucina at Orchard Park, hoping to find his daughter soon. The prince was going around, asking random people about Lucina's whereabouts. Link and Cloud didn't want to be associated with Chrom, so they stayed as far away from him as possible.

"HAVE ANYONE OF YOU SEEN MY DAUGHTER LUCINA?!" Chrom called out to everyone at Orchard Park, as they all ignored the prince and kept doing what they were doing. "She has blue eyes, long blue hair..."

"This guy is such an embarrassment," Link discussed with Cloud, squeezing his stress ball while Chrom described Lucina to the uncaring crowd. "You think I should throw this stress ball at him?"

"Would be funny to see, but no," replied Cloud, much to Link's chagrin; a stress ball to the head simply wouldn't be enough. "Don't need to make Chrom's screws any looser."

"Either one of you seen my daughter anywhere?" Chrom asked a random married couple, who both frowned at the prince as they escorted their children away. "No? I take it that's a no?"

"You just love to see it, don't ya Tsugumi?" a nasal voice was heard nearby, as Chrom saw Susukichi and Tsugumi draw near. "This lousy disc is acting like such a dweeb!"

"Like you're the one to talk, mister...tough guy with gold chains." Chrom knew that his comeback sucked, as he mentally slapped himself. It sucked so much that Susukichi just had to laugh.

"Man, that comeback was weaksauce! If I was your kid, I would run away. Heck, I'd even want to stop existing!"

"I know that Lucina would never share such sentiments." That's what you think, Chrom. "She loves me too much to ever leave my side!"

"Oh really? Then why are you searching for her in the first place? Sounds to me like she's trying to get away from you!"

"That's not true; she just went out into the city, and forgot to invite me. She can be forgetful like that, sometimes."

"Forgetful?! HA! Admit it, she's just embarrassed to be your daughter. And from what I've seen, I can't blame her!"

"Hey, leave Chrom alone," Cloud said to Susukichi as he and Link ran over to confront the big guy. They couldn't stand to see Chrom being talked down to by a random stranger.

"Well, well, well...the blonde edgelord and the funny elf guy wants to stand up for this disc! Didn't know you guys stood up for trash."

"Eh...I think mediocrity better describes him," remarked Link, keeping it real with Susukichi as Chrom was feeling defeated. "Stand back, Chrom, we got this."

"No...you two don't have to fight my battles," Chrom said to Link and Cloud, walking away defeated as he pulled out his phone. "Give me a moment..."

"Better know your place, disc!" Susukichi shouted at Chrom, laughing as the prince left the premises likely so he could call Lucina. Link and Cloud both frowned at Susukichi for putting Chrom in such a bad mood.

"Not cool, man..." Cloud scolded Susukichi, as he and Link chased after Chrom to see if the prince was okay. Susukichi continued to laugh, while Tsugumi stood there emotionless.

"Aw man, you shoulda seen the look on that disc's face! Think I got him good. You should've laid into him yourself, Tsugumi."

"Well please excuse my dear Aunt Sally..." remarked Sho as he and the rest of the Wicked Twisters showed up, much to Susukichi's surprise. "...looks like someone's having a riot."

"Shucks, you guys again?" Susukichi questioned the Wicked Twisters, as he had better things to do than waste his time with a bunch of other players in the Reapers' Game. "Don't know when to leave us alone, huh?"

"Like anyone would even want your company in the first place," responded Rindo, as Susukichi tried to restrain himself from smacking Rindo in the face. "Anyway, we want you to do a favor for us."

"Not for us...for them," added Fret, as he pointed behind him; Susukichi and Tsugumi looked ahead, and saw the ice cream crew gathered around at the van. "Notice anyone missing?"

"Let's see..." Susukichi held his hand over his eyes and squinted, as he made out the individuals. "...I see Sonic, Crash, Banjo, the two Eskimos, and those kids with the weird eyes. Nope, I think that's the whole squad!"

"Oh my goodness..." sighed Nagi as she facepalmed at Susukichi, who was left wondering what the big deal was. Apparently, someone had to explain everything to him.

"Not sure how you didn't notice, but Dante is gone," Sho explained to Susukichi, who took a second glance at the ice cream gang and saw that Dante really was absent. "Some grandma kidnapped him."

"Why do I feel like you guys are making this story up?" asked Susukichi, as he couldn't imagine a guy like Dante letting himself be kidnapped. Let alone by a senior citizen. "You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"The grandma also kidnapped Shoka," grinned Fret, making up this falsified story on the fly as he wrapped his arm around Rindo. Rindo glared at his best friend, as Susukichi smiled.

"Uh oh...so Rindo's girlfriend got kidnapped too, huh?" Susukichi had a slight suspicion that Rindo liked Shoka, and his suspicions were confirmed as Rindo began to blush. "Can't let a disc be without their boo thang! Show me where this woman lives, I'll see what I can do."

"Just in advance...you're welcome, Rindude," Fret said to his now blushing friend, patting him on his back before taking his arm away. Susukichi was now on board...and Tsugumi too.

"But before we go, there's something that we gotta take care of first..." Susukichi was rubbing his hands together, as he eyed the van...

Lucina was elsewhere on the beach with her friends, as her phone was ringing on her beach chair. Owain came over and saw the phone ringing, and his curiosity led him to pick up the device and answer the call.

"Uh, hello?" the myrmidon spoke into the phone, looking confused as he wondered what happened with the ringtone. "Is this thing even on...?"

"Owain!" Chrom happily exclaimed, so loudly that he almost frightened Owain. "It's been so long since I last heard your voice."

"Yeah...I mean, yes, it has been a long time, Chrom! A very, very long time indeed!" Owain would sport a more bombastic personality, just to leave a good impression on Chrom. "Every day, every hour, every second I've longed to hear your voice again."

"Right on! But I didn't intend to call you, though. Meant to call Lucina. Did I call your number by accident?"

"For your sake, I would say no. But frankly, you called on Lucina's device. That much I can confirm."

Owain: How? How does she do it? How does Lucina keep her sanity when her father is the biggest dork around? Some claim that I'm the biggest dork, but they never take the time to get to know me.

"In that case, do you know where Lucina is?" Chrom asked Owain, who knew better than to give away Lucina's current location. If he gave Chrom the slightest bit of info, Lucina would kick off him off the beach. "She said she was at Orchard park, but she wasn't there."

"I do believe that she went to another country," replied Owain, coming up with a kind of response that would keep Chrom at bay. Chrom gasped in shock.

"Another country?! Where?" Chrom sounded extremely panicked, as the thought of Lucina flying in an airplane without her parents was enough to make the prince lightheaded. "Did she fly to Tokyo for the Olympics?"

"I...I guess?" Owain was startled that Chrom even bought into his fib, and it further validated his belief about Chrom being a huge dork. "But don't worry! She has truly magnificent company, in yours truly!"

"Flew to Tokyo, Japan, and she didn't invite me..." The disappointment in Chrom's voice was apparent, and Owain felt that he might've goofed up. "...the audacity! But the day's still young; Link can take me to the airport."

"I'm not taking you to the airport," Link's angry voice was heard from Lucina's phone, as regret was resting heavily on Owain's shoulders. "And we're not going to Japan."

"You're going to take me to Tokyo, Japan, and you're going to like it!" Chrom was now shouting at Link, with the idea of Lucina being in another country concerning him immensely. "My daughter needs me! Tell him, Cloud."

"Hope you enjoy your trip!" Owain said to Chrom before ending the call so he wouldn't deal any further damage. The myrmidon sighed in relief as he placed the phone back on Lucina's beach chair.

"Owain, was that Father who just called?" Lucina asked the Myrmidon as she approached him from behind. Owain tensed up, too scared to tell Lucina what he had told Chrom.

"It was him...he called to see if you were okay," replied Owain, nervously holding onto his arm as Lucina grabbed her phone. She checked her phone log and saw that Chrom had called her multiple times.

"That's good, but did he ask where I was? Better not have told him that I was at the beach."

"No, but I told him that you were...in another country! Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Eh...that's fine with me." Lucina would put her phone back on her beach chair as she walked away. Owain sighed in relief once more.

Krystal, Riku, and King Dedede were ready to pounce and not only give Gex a piece of their mind but rid the mansion of the lizard forever. But first, they had to right until the right time to strike. Their time to strike was right now, as they gathered outside the Star Records room.

"I have dynamite in my pocket, ready to go," Steve said to Krystal and company, ready to pull out the dynamite when called upon. Krystal and the others exchanged looks with one another.

"That...won't be necessary, Steve," Krystal responded with a kind smile, as Steve lowered his head in sadness. How dare Krystal prevent such a classy man from using destruction. "We got it covered."

"Alright, King Dedede, you knock the door down on the count of three," Riku gave instructions to the fat penguin, who got his Jet Hammer ready. "Got it? On the count of three..."

"Screw you, man, I'm not that patient," responded King Dedede, as he had no time for Riku to start a countdown. "THREE!"

King Dedede jumped the gun as he used his Jet Hammer to blow the Star Records door down. Once the smoke cleared - and there was only a little bit of it -King Dedede and company saw Fox, Falco, and Itsuki inside the room, sitting at the desk with Gex. All of the Star Records talent was present, including Doc Louis.

"Krystal! Glad that you could make it, babe," Fox said to his wife, who entered the room along with Riku, King Dedede, and Steve. "Same to the rest of you."

"You guys are about to experience history," said Falco, as Krystal and company came closer to the desk. On the desk was a contract - a Star Records contract.

"That's right - I'm gonna be Star Records' newest addition! Me!" exclaimed Gex as he proudly pointed his thumb at himself; Krystal couldn't be any more disgusted with Fox than now.

"You can't be serious..." Riku shook his head, before taking the time to notice all the idol singers and other Star Records talents present. "...let me guess, these singers are here to witness history, too?"

"And to end our contracts with Star Records," stated Kiria, who had been mulling leaving Star Records ever since Fox and Falco started entertaining Gex. The other idol singers had done the same.

Yashiro: I don't want to leave Star Records, after all the magnificent work I've done, but Kiria and the others pressured me into it. Left with no other choice but to be on their side. *sighs* I have no backbone...

"Fox, don't you see what's going on?" Krystal asked her husband, bringing his attention to how the idol singers felt about Gex. "You are about to lose talent because of this...'historical' signing!"

"Now you look here, I won't appreciate any Gex slander," Fox snapped on Krystal, as Falco and the others were surprised by the pilot's lack of tact. "Gex will make Star Records even bigger than ever before."

"Personally, I've tried talking the pilots out of signing Gex, but they just wouldn't..." Itsuki tried to inform Krystal, only to be silenced when Fox put his hand on his mouth. Fox wanted to fight his battle with no interruption.

"Why wouldn't we sign Gex? He's got everything you want in a star signing. He's charming, he's charismatic, he's talented..."

"...and he stole my ability to flirt with hot women!" King Dedede interjected, and no one took the fat penguin seriously - for his ability was nonexistent. "Gex needs to vamoose!"

"Face the facts, Fox and Falco...no one at the mansion likes Gex," Riku said to the pilots, who both thought of the silverette as a hater and a liar. "Well, except Pit, but he's a weirdo so..."

"I like Gex, too!" shouted Touma as he raised his hand so Riku could recognize him. Everyone gathered around Touma glared at the redhead.

"Get out..." Kiria commanded Touma with a death glare, as Touma meekly backed away from the idol singer. Kiria knew how to stare deep into a man's soul.

"Fox, as your wife, I demand that you remove Gex from the mansion immediately," Krystal demanded her husband, letting him know how serious she was as he put her hands down on her table. How would Fox respond?

"Krystal, you don't understand," Fox told his wife, who rolled her eyes in disbelief. "This is a shrewd business decision!"

"The granddaddy of shrewd business decisions," added Falco, as Krystal almost felt like slapping the avian pilot in the face.

"Really? So a lizard wearing glasses is going to take Star Records to new heights," said Krystal, before she threw her arms up in defeat. "Okay then..."

"Not just any lizard wearing glasses - a talented lizard wearing glasses," corrected Fox, taking out a black pen and handing it to Gex. "Gex, how about you sign the dotted line already?"

"With pleasure..." grinned Gex as he took the ink pen on Fox, staring delicately at the contract laid out in front of him. It was a signing that would change Star Records forever...and potentially for the worse.

But right before the ink pen could even meet paper, the contract suddenly caught ablaze and went up in flames. Gex and the others gasped, as everyone looked towards the culprit...Steve, who was holding a lava bucket.

"Whoops...must've spilled something," Steve spoke up, laughing off what he just did. Fox, Falco, and Touma were all disappointed, as everyone else in the Star Records room felt relief.

"I see...you punks really don't want me here," remarked Gex, nodding his head as he rose from his seat and walked to the Star Records door. "I'm not as loved as I thought I would be."

"We still love you, Gex!" Falco said to the lizard on behalf of himself, Fox, and Touma. But Gex didn't want love from just three individuals (and Pit), he was looking for universal love.

"That you do, Mr. Lombardi, that you do...but your love isn't enough. And since you couldn't get everyone else to fall in line..."

Gex would surprise everyone, as he turned around and pulled out a gun. His gun was pointed at everyone, and King Dedede fainted from the sight.

"Let's make a deal, shall we?" Gex asked Fox and company, although he was mostly referring to Fox, Falco, and Itsuki. "Either you give me another contract for me to sign...or I'm gonna be like Curly Howard at the Stooges' house."

"That analogy made no sense..." Itsuki whispered to Fox and Falco, who were both too shocked to say a word. Never did Fox and Falco expect Gex to be carrying a gun.

With Link off fiddling around with Chrom, Zelda had to be the one to help with Mario and his gang getting their hands on some legal documents concerning Master Hand. Phoenix found a box full of documents and brought it to the living room where Mario and company waited.

"Might not have what you're looking for, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look," said Zelda as he dropped the box on the living room floor. Mario, Tom Nook, Cortex, and Phoenix immediately got to searching.

"Aha! Found it!" exclaimed Cortex, as it appeared the evil genius had made a grand discovery...when he was only holding a piece of notebook paper. "I finally found that love letter I wrote for Tiki."

"No-a one cares," stated Mario as he snatched the letter from Cortex, balled it up, and tossed it away. Cortex gasped and clutched his pearls. "Get-a to searching."

"Hmm, what's this?" inquired Tom Nook as he pulled out a credit card statement; Mario, Phoenix, and Cortex convened around the tanuki to get a closer look. "It's an old credit card statement!"

"Mind if I see that card?" Phoenix asked Cortex, who handed the credit card to the former attorney. Phoenix looked at the card number on the card, and on the document...and his eyes widened.

"Well, Phoenix? You see something?" Mario asked the former attorney, who kept looking between the card and the document. Mario eyed around, wondering if Phoenix was going to say anything.

"The card number...and the number on this paper...they're both the same!" Phoenix was taken aback by this profound discovery, standing up from the couch. "The name on file...it's Little Mac's!"

"So that card really belongs to Little Mac," inferred Tom Nook, as Phoenix read the rest of the credit card document. "Master Hand must've claimed it to be his. He's not the one to ask nicely..."

"This statement is from 2015. And the last purchase was made in December 2015...a plane ticket to Versailles!"

"Versailles is where Master Hand went-a to on his 'indefinite vacation,'" stated Mario, recalling the time when Master Hand was away during the first twelve episodes of Smash Life. "But why would he need a plane-a ticket?"

"To fly someone out, perhaps?" assumed Tom Nook, as Cortex glanced at the credit card statement to see how much the Versailles plane ticket cost. "Someone like...a terrorist!"

Cortex: Versailles is the perfect vacation spot for me and Tiki. A place so beautiful, so magnificent...I would see why Master Hand wanted to have his infinite vacation there. Tiki and I should have an infinite vacation of our own, away from the naysayers! Though I fear that one naysayer would still follow me around, just to make me miserable...

"You ought to speak with Little Mac about this matter," Zelda suggested to Tom Nook and company, as Tom Nook placed the credit card away "He might have no idea about how his credit card is used."

"Wouldn't surprise-a us if he did," replied Mario, as Phoenix placed the credit card statement and other papers back in the box. Only one step closer to finding out the truth...

Owain and Cynthia were playing another round of volleyball, and this time they were playing on teams. Owain had Brady as his partner, and Cynthia had Noire. Two scaredy cats, playing against each other...

"Aah!" shrieked Brady as he jumped away after the ball was sent in his direction. "You could've given me a heads up, you know..."

"Yay, a score for Team Cynthia!" cheered Cynthia, as Noire was amazed that she was able to serve the ball back. Meanwhile, Owain had a major bone to pick with Brady.

"You were supposed to serve the ball back, Brady!" Owain shouted at the cowering priest, as Lucina showed up with her phone. "That's the point of volleyball! To serve the ball..."

"Just got off the phone with Father," Lucina addressed those on the volleyball field, as Owain started feeling guilty as Lucina had his eyes on him. "Owain, did you tell Father that I was in Japan?"

"...not in particular," replied Owain as he was feeling the heat, slowly drawing some ire from Lucina. "I just said that you were in another country."

Chrom was at the airport, and he was causing a scene. The prince wanted to board a flight to Japan, even though none of the planes were flying over there. The officials tried to explain, yet Chrom refused to listen.

"There won't be any flights to Japan until September!" an airport official tried to inform Chrom, who was being restrained by security. Those ready to board their flight were looking on, watching Chrom causing a scene.

"How can that be, when my daughter's in Japan?" questioned Chrom, trying to break free from the security but to no avail. "Explain that!"

"You're just delusional! Please go!" But go Chrom refused to do, as he desperately wanted to board one of the planes and fly to Tokyo himself. Link and Cloud stood a fair distance from Chrom, for obvious reasons.

"He's totally gonna get himself banned from this airport," remarked Cloud, before he noticed that Link was squeezing his stress ball really hard. Link was clearly angry. "Link, are you alright?"

"Chrom wasted our day...for this crap..." seethed Link, as he squeezed his stress ball tight; Cloud inched away, fearing what Link might do. "Our valuable time...gone down the drain..."

"Well, it's not exactly the end of the world. We did give Chrom some much-needed company while his daughter decided to ghost him."

"He's getting away!" shouted one of the security guards, after Chrom managed to break free from security. Chrom ran through a line of people, knocking everyone down along the way, and Link watched as he squeezed his stress ball as tight as he possibly could.

"GRAAAAH!" Link shouted with rage, letting out his inner fury as he threw his stress ball far away. The ball traveled through the air and miraculously struck Chrom in the head, sending the prince down to the floor.

"Nice shot," Cloud commended Link, who was amazed by what he just pulled off as he began to calm down. Link wasn't feeling so stressed anymore.

Cloud: Knew that stress ball would come in handy. But just not for the reason that I wanted it to.

"Thought that you could get away, huh?" the airport official asked Chrom, as she and the security guards stood over Chrom. Chrom slowly got up on one knee, with the back of his head slightly aching.

"Please pardon my behavior," apologized Chrom, before two security guards lifted the prince by his arms and carried him away. "No, wait, you must take to one of those planes! My daughter's still in Japan!"

"Yeah, yeah, likely story. Keep it moving!" As Chrom was escorted away by security, Link went over to grab his stress ball.

"You were right, Cloud - this ball does come in handy," Link said to the swordsman, as he looked at his stress ball with a different perspective. "Thanks!"

"No problem," replied Cloud, wondering how he was going to explain Chrom's shenanigans to Raven...and Robin...and his grandkids as well.

With the credit card statement, and Little Mac's - not Master Hand's - credit card, Mario and company had their sights set on speaking with Little Mac. While Phoenix went to use the bathroom, Mario, Tom Nook, and Cortex went to the Star Records room...where Gex was still holding Fox and the others at gunpoint. The three had no idea what they just walked into.

"This gun must not be working..." frowned Gex as he checked his gun for bullets, only to see that it was loaded. The audacity of him to bring a loaded gun to the mansion. "...why aren't you all afraid?"

"Trust me, sonny, this isn't my first time being held at gunpoint," Doc Louis told Gex, as he earned dubious looks from the others. "I've been down some very mean streets...accidentally and on purpose."

"Yeah, you don't look that threatening," Riku said to Gex, as he feared no living being. Unless it was a giant, ugly Heartless. "We wouldn't fear you even if you had a machine gun."

"Guess I have to up the ante, huh?" Gex smirked as he looked around the Star Records room...only for his eyes to fall upon Mario. Gex grabbed Mario and pulled him away, pointing the gun at his head.

"Mama mia!" shrieked Mario as Gex had his arm wrapped around the plumber's neck. Mario was in too much shock to fight back. "Can some-a one explain why Gex has a gun?!"

"No time for explaining, Mario," Gex said to the plumber, before turning his attention to Fox, Falco, and Itsuki. "Let me sign with Star Records, or Jumpman gets it!"

"Falco, Itsuki, you guys know what to do," Fox said to the avian pilot and young man, as the latter wished to stay put. "Go out there and print up another contract. And hurry!"

"Fox, you mustn't," Krystal told her stressed-out husband, in a feeble yet earnest attempt to calm him down. "Do you see what Gex is doing?"

"Yes, I see what Gex is doing - he's threatening to kill Mario! Does it look like I want to sign a potential killer to our record label?!"

"Potential killer? Signing with a record label? Is Star Records really gonna go out of business like that?"

Help was seemingly on the way, as Phoenix finally arrived at the Star Records room. Gex saw the former attorney in all his splendor and gasped.

"This is going to be good..." Tom Nook whispered to Cortex, seeing how shook Gex was when he saw Phoenix. Phoenix was quick to spot Gex, whose hand (with the gun) was shaking.

"Wait a minute...I know you!" Phoenix pointed at Gex as he walked closer to the lizard, who released his hold on Mario as he backed away. "Gex the Gecko!"

"Ah, yes, how do you know my name?" asked Gex, pretending as if he didn't know Phoenix as beads of sweat ran down his face. "Have we met before?"

"I'll do you one better...how did your magazine shoot turn out?" Gex did have a magazine shoot a few weeks ago...and there was no mention of it.

"M-My magazine shoot? Yes, it was wonderful, it was spectacular! Couldn't have gone any better!"

"Couldn't have gone any better, eh? What was the name of this magazine you did this shoot for?"

"Yeah, Gex, you never told us about your magazine shoot," Falco said to the lizard, as he felt terribly left out. Phoenix was putting on the pressure, and Gex was starting to crack.

"Go ahead, Gex, tell them all about it! Or maybe you can tell them how you operated a private basketball court without anyone's permission!"

"Wait, so that basketball court in Olympia...wasn't even yours?" a baffled Fox asked Gex, as his view of the lizard was shattered. Krystal couldn't be any more pleased.

"Gex broke into that court and made it seem like he owned the place. My buddy in town told me; he's friends with the actual owner."

"Don't believe him, he's lying!" Gex warned everyone as he pointed at Phoenix, who had the lizard cornered against the wall. "He's making up stuff just to make me look bad."

"Oh, and speaking of my buddy...he found this video while going down the YouTube rabbit hole one day." Phoenix pulled out his phone and pulled up the video in question, as Gex looked on in fear. "Just listen to the audio."

"Salutations! If you were watching this...please don't let anyone from Star Records know," said the voice from the video, and it sounded an awful lot like Gex. "This video is only confidential."

"Confidential?" Mario furrowed his brow, as Gex's nervousness had reached an all-time high. That video was about to expose Gex for good.

"Those nitwits, Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, legitimately believed that I was doing a magazine shoot. But hey, it's no biggie. I just have more time to make this video."

"Least he never called me a nitwit..." Touma muttered under his breath, as the respect that Fox and Falco had for Gex was now gone forever.

"Mark my words...one day, I'll be in charge of Star Records. I'll start small, and appear on Microwave Idol Mamorin. Then I'll show up in a couple of music videos or two. And once I have Fox, Falco, and Itsuki's respect...I'll throw 'em out and take over their record label! Who knows? Maybe I'll even take over the Smash Mansion!"

"Hey, that's my idea!" shouted Cortex, before quieting down as he realized he was disrupting the mood. "...you all heard nothing."

"All you lucky viewers out there, watching this at home...you are about to see Star Records become Gex Records very soon. I'm going to make it happen, one step at a time!"

"Guilty as charged," smirked Phoenix as he ended the video, seeing that the damage was now dealt. Gex didn't know what to say. "My buddy was a real bro keeping tabs on you, Gex."

Phoenix: My buddy is a really nice fellow. He comes through for me when I need it the most, and tells me stuff I would like to hear. Gex knows who I am because of my buddy. Also, my buddy won't do stupid sports bets, unlike B.D. Joe...Why do I partake in these stupid sports bets? Uh...

"As I said, he's making stuff up," Gex tried to tell everyone, as Fox and Falco were angrily marching towards the lizard. Gex backed away towards a window, which Riku ran over to open. "Don't believe him!"

"I thought we could trust you, man..." Fox shook his head at Gex as he felt betrayed, before turning his attention to King Dedede. "...Dedede, do you wanna do the honors?"

"If it means getting my romancing powers back...sure!" replied King Dedede as he charged up his Jet Hammer. The fat penguin walked over to Gex, who was being held down by Fox and Falco.

"Not the face, not the face, not the face!" Gex pleaded to King Dedede, who struck the lizard in the face anyway with his hammer. Gex screamed as he was sent flying out through the window.

"Good riddance," remarked Riku as he closed the window, happy that Gex was gone forever. Though there was a slither of a chance that the lizard could return for some revenge.

"How do you feel, King Dedede?" Steve asked the fat penguin, who felt a cathartic relief from getting rid of Gex by himself. "Did you get your romancing powers back?"

"I'll be honest...I feel the same as I did before," King Dedede replied with a shrug, not feeling any different as he did at the start of today. "Guess I never lost my powers after all!"

"Your powers never existed, to begin with..." muttered Tom Nook, pulling out the credit card as he made his way over to Little Mac. "...Little Mac, do you recognize this card?"

"Yeah - that's my card!" exclaimed Little Mac, acting like a little kid who got a new pet dog for Christmas. "Got the same design and number and...wait, why is Master Hand's name on it, and not mine?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out ourselves. Do you remember anything happening to your credit card?"

"I remember one day I was telling Master Hand how much money I got winning fights on the World Circuit...and the next day, my credit card went missing! Guess I now know what happened to it."

"I searched high and low for that card," Doc Louis said to Tom Nook, knowing that his search took him blood and tears. Literally. "Master Hand better have a good reason for stealing from my boy!"

"We hope so, too. You mind if we take this conversation elsewhere?"

Why don't we see how Dante is doing? The vigilante was still being held captive by that creepy grandma, and who knows what that woman was doing to her demon-hunting prey. Someone rang the doorbell at the grandma's house...and the grandma was in for a surprise.

"Has the man of my dreams finally arrived?" the creepy grandma asked as she opened her front door...and saw Susukichi on her doorstep. The grandma screamed as Susukichi intimated her with his sharp-toothed smile.

"Sup granny? Never seen some gold chains before?" Susukichi asked the grandma, with his arms out wide, as the grandma fainted on the floor. A few seconds later Dante popped up, his face smothered in kiss marks.

"Is she dead?" Dante asked as he looked down at the fainted grandma, before looking up at Susukichi. Feeling very thankful, the vigilante shook Susukichi's hand. "You sir, are a good man...thank you."

"Nice work, Susukichi!" Sho came over to the doorstep along with Popo, as Dante hurried out of the house. "A slight percentage of you failing, but I never doubted you nonetheless."

"Yeah, too bad that you had to eat up our entire supply of ice cream..." mumbled Popo as he pickpocketed the grandma, taking out her wallet and checking what was inside. "...aw, what? Only one-dollar bills?!"

Popo: We would've rescued Dante sooner, but Susukichi wanted to eat whatever ice cream we had left. Took him a very long time, since he kept getting brain freeze. It was the only way to get him on board. Regrettably, I conceded...but no ice cream went to waste, so it was for the greater good.
Nana: That's good! But did you charge Susukichi for eating all that ice cream?
Popo: *frowns, then buries face in his hands* I LET HIM EAT ALL THAT ICE CREAM FOR FREE! *moans* Meant to guilt-trip him while I still had the chance...

"That's weird, I don't see Rindo's girlfriend anywhere," said Susukichi as he looked around the grandma's house for any sign of Shoka. "Did she run away, 'cause she knew her boo was in town?"

"That...is a question for another day," replied Sho as he closed the front door, before leading Susukichi away from the creepy grandma's house. "Just pretend that we were never here.

Mario, Tom Nook, and Phoenix had a brief conversation with Little Mac about his credit card, and it led to more questions than answers. Said questions could only be answered when Master Hand returned, so Mario and company had to wait things out.

"It was nice handling business with you fellas," Phoenix said to Mario and Tom Nook at the porch, as he was ready to leave. "Just give me a call when Master Hand returns, and we'll burst his bubble for good!"

"Will-a do!" replied Mario as he gave a thumbs up. Phoenix smiled in response as he went down the porch steps. "I'd bet a thousand-a bucks that Master Hand will conveniently forget-a stealing Little Mac's card."

"A thousand...bucks?" Phoenix suddenly stopped in place after he got off the last porch step before he fell to his knees and screamed. "Curse you Giannis! Making me lose my bet..."

"Is he going to be okay...?" Tom Nook asked Mario out of concern, watching as Phoenix was pulling on his hair with both of his hands. The tanuki had never seen the former attorney so angry before.

"He'll be alright...it's a sports-a thing," replied Mario as he gently pushed Tom Nook back inside the mansion. "Go back inside, he's being a bad-a influence..."

"May I have permission to use this card? Just for the time being?" Cortex asked Mario as he stepped out of the mansion, just after Tom Nook went inside. Mario frowned at Cortex, who lowered his head as he went back in. "It was worth a shot..."

Lucina's day at the beach was winding down, as the princess was inching to head back home. Before she could pack up her things, she got a call...and it wasn't from Chrom this time!

"Cloud?" Lucina answered her phone, just as she was about to fold up her beach chair. Cloud calling her could only mean one thing. "Did my father embarrass himself?"

"No...well, kinda," replied Cloud; that "kinda" was a definitive yes in Lucina's book. "Your dad caused a scene at the airport, and got himself arrested."

"He did? That's great! I mean..." Lucina had to switch up her response, sensing that Chrom was nearby eavesdropping on the call. "...that's terrible."

"Yeah, they're holding him at a jail, but they're gonna release him soon. I'm sure you'll have plenty of stories to tell your dad about your trip to Japan."

"Right...got plenty of those," Lucina nervously chuckled, knowing that Owain inadvertently set her up. "Hopefully, he won't be too mad that I spent a day at the beach without him."

"I wouldn't blame you for doing it; you deserved a break from that man. Have a safe trip back home, okay?"

Link and Cloud were at a jailhouse, and Cloud had just ended his call with Lucina when a few prison guards appeared. Chrom was with them.

"Alright, Chrom...you're free to go," one of the prison guards said to the prince after he was released. "Don't go around causing another scene, okay?"

"Can you at least take me to Japan, so I can see my daughter?" Chrom asked the prison guards, who all laughed at the prince as they walked away. "This is no laughing matter - my daughter might be in trouble!"

"Chrom, relax - don't stress yourself out, man," Link said to the prince as he put an assuring hand on his shoulder. "Lucina will be just fine."

"How can I not stress myself out, knowing that..." Chrom would stop speaking, as Link gave him his stress ball. Chrom looked at it funny "...is this for me?"

"If you ever feel stressed out, just give that ball a good squeeze." So Chrom gave it a try, as he squeezed the stress ball. And just like that, he didn't feel so tense anymore!

"Wow, this ball actually works!" Chrom kept on squeezing the ball, as his concerns about Lucina were washed away. "This is the best mood I've been in all day. Thank you, Link!"

"You're welcome...but you're gonna have to give that back, though." This made Chrom bummed out, but Link gave a reassuring smile. "But only when you're done with it."

A very good gesture by Link - stressing out constantly is very unhealthy.