Author's Note:

This chapter sadly didn't turn out as intended - I wanted it to focus on both the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day, but alas, one theme won out in the end while the other ended up as a tensy-wensy subplot. Why do the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day have to share the same week, why? Meh...guest reviews:

"So...is Hunter already punished for what he did last week?"

Hunter got punished off-screen. I'll share a brief glimpse of what his punishment is in the next chapter. Another anonymous review:

"Link's priority is skewed when he chose to spread his Eagles fandom at the mansion over attending the meeting with Zelda and the Overwatch. Does his skewed priority due to his crazy fandom for Eagles makes him a weirdo or was it an obsession with the Eagles that went too far?"

Mostly the latter - most Eagles fans are crazy loons, so Link is no different from them. Then again, every NFL fanbase has its fair share of crazies. Speaking of the NFL, here's An NFL fan:

"Well, he said it himself. Tom Brady is retiring from football. For good. That's what he said anyway. Don't blame me if he came back for some Godforsaken reason. The blame only lies on him. What do you think? And I guess Corrin is back to supporting the Patriots, since Belichick is still around."

Corrin is definitely back to supporting the Patriots. As for Brady's retirement, I hope for his sake that he stays retired. I won't believe his retirement announcement until I see the man up in the FOX broadcast booth for Week 1 of next season. Next is Guy w the Jokes:

"Speaking of True Colors, will we see Alex, Ryan, and Steph again? Would be cool to see Steph meet Chloe again, since they've met in Before the Storm. Sounds cool, no?"

Alex, Ryan, and Steph will be appearing later this year. Steph does have some history with Chloe in Before the Storm, so she'll meet her again soon. Now for the joke:

"I've heard about the three Mexicans who tried to cross the border, but only one of them has the correct papers. I guess only Juan crossed. Haha!"

Ha, nice one. Very clever. Now for Some Smash news:

"Mexico, huh? Fun fact: Some of the best Smash Ultimate competitive players are from Mexico. There's MkLeo (who plays Byleth and Joker), Sparg0 (who plays Cloud and Pyra/Mythra), Maister (who plays Mr. Game and Watch), Chag (who plays Palutena), and MkBigBoss (who plays R.O.B.) Yeah, those are all Top 30-caliber players. Mexico is legit the best country in competitive Smash! Crazy, don't you think?"

I'm only familiar with MkLeo out of those names, but I didn't know that Mexico had that many top players. They must be representing their country well. Last is The Reader:

"So apparently, Tears of the Kingdom will be priced at $70 on the eShop. What do you think about this? Do you think a Nintendo game deserves that $70 price tag?"

I mean, if Tears of the Kingdom is just that good, then sure. I do think that they'll reduce the price tag to $60 when the game is released, though.

Episode 373: Freedom

Super Bowl 57 was rearing around the corner, and it was a highly anticipated affair - as most Super bowls were. The teams playing for the grand prize were the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles - two teams with high-octane offenses. That meant that the big game was destined to be a legendary shootout...at least most of the football experts predicted that it would be as such.

With the return of Kansas City in the Super Bowl, two athletes would be returning to the mansion the Friday before the game - Kermit and Michael. While Michael was no stranger to the mansion, his main man Kermit was more involved; he starred in an episode of Microwave Idol Mamorin, participated in a test run for Lloyd's food delivery service, and told everyone how awesome it was to put ketchup on your steak. What a maniac.

For this visit to the mansion, Kermit and Michael brought along one of their teammates, whom we shall call Sherman. It was Sherman's first time at the Smash Mansion, so familiar guests Kermit and Michael had to get their teammate up to speed.

"First and most important thing to remember is, don't geek out so much when you meet someone," Kermit offered some tips to Sherman as he and his fellas were chilling outside the teleportation room. Zero was trying to bring in more guests.

"Treat others how you would want to be treated," added Michael, offering some godly wisdom to Sherman that he would hopefully adhere to for his own good. "The golden rule!"

"Sounds simple enough," responded Sherman as he nodded his head, taking his teammates' advice into account. The man saw Ganondorf walk past, wanting to make a good first impression. "Yo, Ganon, what's good?"

"Hm?" Ganondorf perked up as he came to a stop, only to turn his head at a smiling Sherman and frown. "Leave me alone, you lowlife..." The demon lord kept on walking, as Sherman's smile slowly faded.

"So how did I do?" Sherman turned to Kermit and Michael, wondering how well he did with his first interaction. It was a miracle he didn't get Warlock Punched.

"Great job! Two thumbs up!" Kermit and Michael said to Sherman, instilling in him enough confidence to be able to make it through the entire day.

Pit: Eagles have wings, I have wings...so I'm rooting for the Eagles. Also rooting against the Chiefs since they beat Incinerar's favorite NFL team. Who is also my favorite NFL team, by proxy.

Mr. Resetti: Smart money says to go with the Chiefs, but they let me down when they lost in the last Super Bowl they were in. Once a loser, always a loser. Fly, Eagles, Fly!

Marth: A few Chiefs players helped me achieve second place in that fantasy football league a few years back, so I'm pulling for Kansas City. *pauses* There were also a few Eagles players on my squad as well...

Shulk: Me personally, I'm pulling for the Chiefs. But you shouldn't be asking me for my opinion - you should ask the guys and gals at Omnis Adest instead. I'm interested in hearing their take.

Silver: Does Patrick Mahomes still put ketchup on his steak?...He still does? *sighs deeply* Eagles it is, then...

Cranky Kong: What? Why do I have to give a Super Bowl prediction? Does the author think that I can predict the future or something? Eh, I'm just going to wing it and say that the Chiefs will win.

Roxas: A bald eagle can defeat a chief in battle when you think about it. So that's why the Eagles are my pick. That's the logic that I'm rolling with. Please don't laugh at me, Axel already did enough of that...

Arven: I have no clue who's gonna win the Super Bowl, since I'm not that into sports, so I'm gonna go with Mabosstiff's expert analysis on this one. *kneels down at Mabosstiff* So, Mabosstiff, who's gonna win - Chies or Eagles?
Mabosstiff: *blinks at the camera, before yawning*
Arven: The Chiefs?! Me too, I was thinking the same thing! *pets Mabosstiff* Such a good boy! Great minds do think alike!

Some commotion was heard from the teleportation room, as Zero successfully reeled in the second batch of guests. Kermit and company stood by, anticipating who was coming out of the room.

"Can't wait to see who it is," Michael grinned from ear to ear, bracing himself for who Zero brought forth. A man wearing an Eagles hoodie exited from the teleportation, having a beard just like Michael - and even looking similar to Michael as well, physically speaking.

"...brother?" the man, whom we shall name Daniel, uttered when he saw Michael. Michael and Daniel were looking at each other, as a brotherly embrace was about to spur.

"Right on, brotha!" exclaimed Michael, as he was all smiles; Daniel was all smiles as well, as he and Michael hugged each other. Kermit and Sherman both looked on.

"This is awkward..." commented Sherman, finding it amusing how Michael and Daniel acted considering that they came from the same place - Phoenix, Arizona. Zero exited from the teleportation room, with three men decked in Eagles gear.

"So this is the Smash Mansion," Zero explained to the three men - two of whom we shall name Alexander and Juan. The third, Man Dog, had already visited the mansion back in episode 111.

"Yeah, I've been to this place before," remarked Man Dog as he took a look around, while Zero and the two guests looked at him funny. "Got to beat up Bowser for all my troubles."

"You got to beat up who?" inquired Alexander, as Man Dog looked at the young man; Alexander needed some answers right at this moment. "Uh, context?"

"It was because Bowser set us up so that he could go on a date with Lara Croft. You wouldn't understand." Alexander and Juan sure didn't understand, as the thought of Bowser dating Lara Croft disgusted them.

"Someone's been taking too many hits to the head," Juan said to Alexander, joking with his teammate, while Zero - fully aware of the romantic saga involving Bowser and Lara - looked down at the floor, shuddering.

"There you boys are," said Walter, Kermit's coach, as he came over to Kermit and company while holding something suspicious in his pocket. "Word has it that a mysterious man is drawing fake mustaches."

"What makes you think that?" asked Kermit, only for Falco to appear a moment later; everyone except for Kermit had to stifle their laughter, for Falco had a black mustache drawn on his beak.

"This mustache wasn't here before I took my nap..." frowned Falco, storming off as the laughter grew louder the further he walked away. Walter smiled as he revealed a black Sharpie, as Kermit looked at the utensil with worry.

Falco: Drawing fake mustaches on people is so childish and juvenile. It's on the same level as ding-dong ditching. The last time I ding-dong ditched, a man chased me and gunned me down - while walking on crutches. Never again, I say.

"Until I have permission to bring you back to Arizona, this mansion's your oyster," Zero said to the athletes in the hallway, as well as Walter - or may or may not need to be monitored. "Make the most of it."

"We'll try," assured Alexander, and Zero had Alexander's word as he returned to the teleportation room. Alexander rubbed his hands as he approached Kermit. "So what do you plan on doing?"

"I dunno, I've done almost about everything here," replied Kermit, who was chummy with almost every person underneath the mansion's roof. "Might as well kick back and relax."

"So you got a history here too, huh...guess it's my turn then to make an impact."

Isabelle was hurrying down the hallway, for she had something important to tell Master Hand. When the Shih Tzu arrived at Master Hand's room, she saw Master Hand and Mario gathered with Dr. Eggman, who was showing off his newest machine.

"Well, I'll be...a machine-a that can create a portal directly to Subspace!" marveled Mario, as Eggman grinned from ear to ear proud of his latest achievement. Isabelle entered the room. "How is this possible?"

"To be fair, I did perfect a portal to Subpsace before," replied Eggman, bringing to mind the events that had occurred in episodes 33 and 34. "With that statue, if you recall..."

"Can this machinery create a gateway to the Twilight Realm?" Master Hand asked Eggman, stressing the importance of reaching the Twilight Realm soon. Raiden was literally dying to be rescued.

"Perhaps, but only if I have the right configurations. Though I may need some..." Unable to wait around any longer, Isabelle ran in front of Master Hand, cutting off Eggman in the process.

"Master Hand, I have some bad news!" Isabelle informed the giant hand, who couldn't be bothered to listen to the Shih Tzu - Eggman's machine was the main focus right now.

"Unless it has to do with the Super Bowl being canceled, I don't want to hear it," responded Master Hand, only willing to hear Isabelle out if an emergency situation was afoot. But the way Isabelle was acting indicated that an emergency was already taking place.

"This is potentially worse than the Super Bowl. Organization XIII...they've been spotted!" Surely the mention of Organization XIII would grab Master Hand's attention - but sadly for Isabelle, it didn't.

"Mario, go see if Cloud's busy," Master Hand commanded the plumber, making Isabelle distressed for not taking the issue seriously. "Want him to be the first to see this machine in action!"

"Cloud this, Cloud-a that...you gotta lay off-a of the man," said Mario as he walked out of Master Hand's room, off to look for Cloud. Isabelle lowered her head in sadness as she walked away from Master Hand.

Omnis Adest had grown a lot over the past couple of weeks. Businesses were popping up in the community, such as a restaurant, tailor shop, and even a movie theater. Said movie theater was commissioned by Twintelle.

In addition, there were a slew of new residents joining the mansion. Lightning Farron, Serah Farron, the Wicked Twisters, and the Vault Haunters from episode 232 - Lilac, Brick, Mordecai, and Tiny Tina. How the Vault Hunters passed the vibe check was anyone's guess.

"All I want to see in the Super Bowl is someone getting punched," Brick discussed with Lightning outside the yet-to-be-opened movie theater. "Like this!" Brick saw Sho Minamimoto of the Wicked Twisters walk by, and punched him in the arm.

"That would call for a penalty and an ejection," stated Lightning as Sho fell to the ground holding his left arm in pain. Sho growled angrily as he stood up to confront Brick.

"Stupid factoring hectopascal!" Sho shouted angrily at Brick while still holding onto his arm, with a major bone to pick with the Vault Hunter. "You're gonna rue the day that you messed with the Wicked Twisters!"

"It'd be funny if a player punched a referee," smiled Brick, as Sho was even angrier after he was ignored. Sho jumped on Brick and wrapped his arms around his neck, as Brick giggled like a little kid. "Haha, that tickles!"

"I will never understand how the Vault Hunters of all people were free to stay at Omnis Adest," Zelda discussed with Link, watching as Sho tried to put Brick in a headlock. Brick's neck was putting up a lot of resistance, thanks to its girth.

"Anna convinced Master Hand right," stated Link, before furrowing his brow slightly as he noticed a shady-looking figure in the distance. "Master Hand still is pretty foreign to...the Vault Hunters..."

"I just hope that Tiny Tina will be on her best behavior." As Zelda continued to watch Sho struggle to overpower Brick, Link made out the shady person that he saw from afar. But it wasn't just any shady person...

...it was an Organization XIII member, with his hood over his head and everything. And he was walking in broad daylight, too. Link was about to tap Zelda on her arm to let her know about the evildoer afoot.

"Link! Princess Zelda!" a voice called out to the Hylian couple, as Michael showed up with his brother Daniel. Link was forced to hold his tongue. "Say hello to my older bro, who's less cool than me."

"He's obviously kidding about the cool part," stated Daniel, in a teasing manner, as the two brothers were cheering it up for Link and Zelda. "Everyone knows that I'm the cooler bro."

"Debatable," Michael muttered under his breath, unable to hide his smile; Daniel playfully smacked his younger brother on his back.

Michael: I've seen enough there is to see at the mansion, so I went out to do some sightseeing while my brother tagged along. And look where I am! *holds out arms in front of Omnis Adest*
Raihan: Aha, a visitor! *runs into frame, and takes a selfie with Michael posing with him* Thank you, good sir.
Michael: It's no problem. *gives a fist bump to Raihan, who later runs off* Best decision I've made so far today.

"Anyway, my older bro has a bone to pick with you, Link," Michael informed Link, who was curious as to what sort of beef Daniel had with him. Daniel stood over Link, intimidating the Hylian.

"When Philly went to the Super Bowl in 2018, you never invited me," Daniel said to Link, who was the man responsible for bringing the Gang Green crew to the mansion. "I was left out of the traveling party!"

"I, um, uh...I had a limit," Link gave his excuse to Daniel, and it was an excuse that wasn't worth buying. Twintelle exited the movie theater, wanting to speak with Link and Zelda.

"The movie theater is almost ready for Super Bowl Sunday," Twintelle announced to Link and Zelda, having done plenty of preparations in the movie theater. "Last thing to do is wait on Fox for the movie snacks."

"The Super Bowl, in a movie theater?" questioned Michael, finding it daring that the Super Bowl would be watched in a movie theater during its grand opening. "On the big screen?"

"It has happened before," replied Zelda, while Link was keeping his eyes peeled for the Organization XIII member that he saw walking about. "We're just five years late to the trend..."

Man Dog was a member of the Gang Green faction that was ordered by Mario to beat up Sonic. Turned out that it was just a big misunderstanding and that Bowser had set up both Mario and Gang Green. Man Dog encountered Bowser in the lounge, hoping that the Koopa King was on his best behavior.

"I'm a changed man, honest!" Bowser said to Man Dog, who was taking the Koopa King's words as genuine and heartfelt. "In fact, I've decided to dedicate my life to being a single father."

Bowser: Studies have shown that nearly 24 million kids live with a single parent. Moreover, Black and American Indian kids make up sixty-four percent of single-parent families. Wonder what the percentage is for Koopa kids...do they even count in the demographic?

"That's what you should have done from the beginning," responded Man Dog, as a dark corridor opened up behind Bowser. Cloud, who was in the lounge reading a magazine, looked up and noticed the corridor.

"Uh, guys...?" the swordsman spoke up, being the only person to notice the dark corridor - nevertheless, Bowser and Man Dog were carrying on with their conversation.

"Can't recall the last time I ever thought about Lara," admitted Bowser as a second dark corridor opened up, this one behind Man Dog. Bowser saw the corridor and tried to keep his cool.

"You never stood a chance with her anyway," Man Dog responded to Bowser, as an Organization XIII member exited from the dark corridor. The member walked up to Man Dog and put him in a headlock.

"Gotcha!" the Organization member exclaimed, maintaining a tight grip on Man Dog. Cloud put his magazine down and got up, as he and Bowser were on the offensive.

"Show yourself!" shouted Cloud, ordering the Organization member to take off his hood. The Organization member would do just that, revealing himself to be a member that Cloud and Bowser knew from before - Xigbar.

"Cloud Strife and King Bowser! It's been a minute." Soon a second Organization member exited from the first dark corridor that appeared, walking over to Xigbar and Man Dog. "So, Saïx, whaddaya think?"

"I suppose he'll do for now," replied the second Organization member, who took off his hood to reveal himself as, well, Saïx. Saïx turned to face Cloud and Bowser, staring at them.

"What are you standing around for, do something!" Man Dog yelled at Cloud and Bowser, fearing what was going to happen to him. The Organization was unlike anything that he had ever seen before.

"We'll return him later...when we feel like it," Saïx said to Cloud and Bowser, before leading Xigbar into the dark corridor ahead of him. "Let's go, Xigbar." Xigbar dragged Man Dog into the dark corridor, and soon both corridors in the lounge vanished.

"There you are, Cloud!" exclaimed Mario, who showed up in the lounge at the last minute; Cloud could've really used Mario's help in stopping the Organization. "You don't seem-a so busy."

"Mario, the strangest thing just happened!" Bowser said to the plumber, before looking around the lounge for any possible traces of the Organization. "Organization XIII came up in here and..."

"Very likely story, Bowser...come-a with me, Cloud." Mario grabbed Cloud by the hand and led him out of the lounge. Bowser looked exasperated watching as Mario and Cloud left.

"We'll tell him later!" Cloud called out to Bowser, not expecting Mario to hold him up for too long. With Cloud gone, Bowser grabbed the magazine Cloud was reading, before skimming through it and stuffing it into his imaginary pocket.

Shantae was a very cheery individual. So whenever the half-genie was super angry or shedding tears, you know that something was going down. Shantae was in fact crying right now, as Researcher Zelda was comforting her in the foyer.

"It's going to be okay, Shantae," Researcher Zelda reassured the half-genie, who believed otherwise as she cried her eyes out. Akihiko walked into the foyer as he encountered Shantae.

"Shantae, what's the matter?" asked Akihiko, as Shantae had her face buried in her hands. Even without hearing Akihiko's voice, Shantae could still detect her crush's presence.

"Oh, Akihiko...I'm so sorry," Shantae apologized to her crush, who found the half-genie's words to be relieving; Akihiko was smiling even.

"Sorry for what? For thinking that you and I would ever be an item? I must thank you for your self-awareness if that's the case."

"Look at me...I'm ugly!" Shantae finally stopped crying as she took away her hands and revealed her face...which had a mustache scribbled on it. Researcher Zelda gasped in horror.

"Ack!" Akihiko was just as frightened as Researcher Zelda was, as he took a jump back. Shantae resumed her crying, while Walter sneaked past Akihiko while holding his trusty Sharpie pen.

"Real Gs move in silence," snickered Walter, who was behind Akihiko as he ran off to claim his next victim. "Or at least that's what my players say."

Shantae: Please tell me that this mustache will wash off...It was done in permanent ink? That mean's it's gonna be stuck unto my face forever! Why me?! *cries with her face buried in her hands*
Wolf: *stares at Shantae, before shaking his head in dismay and walking off* What a drama queen...

Compared to his previous visits to the Smash Mansion, Kermit elected to take it easy for today. The young man was chilling outside on a hammock, resting his cares away as King Dedede approached him.

"Excuse me, kind sir, but that hammock has my name on it!" King Dedede confronted Kermit, who was lying on the hammock with his eyes closed. Kermit would open his eyes and look at Dedede, before looking underneath the hammock.

"Weird, I don't see your name on here," stated Kermit as he searched for King Dedede's name, only for a baseball to soar towards his direction. The baseball struck King Dedede in the head, knocking him out in the process. "King Dedede...?"

"Sheesh, Nemona! You've really lost your touch," Junpei was heard shouting from the distance, as King Dedede's unconscious body was lying on the ground. Curious, Kermit got out of the hammock as he saw the baseball near King Dedede's head.

"Been trying to tell you that," Nemona was heard, as Kermit picked up the baseball and walked to an area close to the backyard. There he saw Junpei, holding baseball practice with Nemona, Sheldon, and Birdo. Nemona was pitching, and Birdo was batting.

"Let's try a curveball." Junpei put his hands on his knees, expecting Nemona to throw a wicked curveball. Nemona, with a baseball mitt in hand, threw the baseball at Sheldon...only for it to sail into Birdo's mouth.

"At last, my CPR training finally pays off!" squealed Sheldon, as Birdo began to choke; Sheldon applied the Heimlich maneuver to Birdo, making her spit out the baseball in a jiffy.

"Thanks so much, sweetie," Birdo thanked Sheldon as she patted the horseshoe crab on his head, causing him to beam in appreciation. "You have no idea how many times that has happened to me."

"News flash, kid - the Heimlich maneuver isn't the same as CPR," Kermit informed Sheldon, as Junpei saw the young man standing in his midst. Junpei gasped as his eyes went wide instantly.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see!" gleamed Junpei as he walked up to Kermit and embraced him in a bro hug. Kermit eyed around the surrounding area until the hug ended.

"You guys missed me that much or something?" Kermit knew that he was a popular guest, given his frequent trips to the mansion, but he never would've imagined that he would be that popular.

"Eh, not really. I just need you to help my pitcher - her arm has been out of whack." Junpei brought to Kermit's attention Nemona, who was winding up her throwing arm.

"Junpei, I'm starting to believe that I have the yips," Nemona said to the man, struggling to understand what was wrong with her arm when she was doing so well pitching a few weeks ago. "Is there like, a cure for it? Like a medicine that I can take?"

Junpei: Nemona is my million-dollar arm. If her arm goes down, the rest of the team goes down! Shouldn't be that way, but the pitcher usually has to carry the squad when their teammates are bona fide scrubs. That'll be our own little secret...

Nemona: Junpei esteems me as his million-dollar arm, but he has yet to give me those million dollars. I guess he'll give them to me after we win a championship somewhere.

"The only cure you'll need is this man right here," Junpei said to Nemoan as he put his hands on Kermit; Kermit was forced to play along. "Dude's got a wicked arm, I tell you what!"

"It's true - I also used to play baseball before pursuing a football career," Kermit told Nemona, doing his best to endear himself to the Pokemon trainer and gain some of her trust. "Threw a no-hitter in my senior year of high school."

"BINGO! And that's why he's the perfect baseball coach for you, Nemona. Follow his instruction, and there will be no doubt!"

"Hopefully, he'll be a better pitching coach than you are," responded Nemona, causing Junpei's smile to turn upside down. Way to throw shade at your own coach, Nemona. Not cool.

Sonic thought he did a good deed in the last episode when he brought the Diaz brothers - Sean and Daniel - from Mexico. The Diaz brothers, who were on the run from the police and crossed over into the Mexican border, had joined Omnis Adest after Master Hand wiped out their criminal records. How Master Hand managed to do that, no one knows - it was a confidential method of his.

Sonic was inspired to bring the Diaz brothers to their hometown of Seattle after hearing an account from Sean's old friend, Lyra Park. He figured that Sean and Lyra would make for a lovely couple, and so his goal was to reunite Sean with Lyra with a surprise blind date. But first, the hedgehog needed to handle a few objectives first.

"Crash and I will find a spot at Omnis Adest for the date," discussed Sonic, speaking with his close buddies Crash and Conker in the middle of the hallway. "Conker, I want you to find out where Lyra lives."

"I will skim through every phone book in the state of Washington if I have to!" said Conker as he saluted Sonic, understanding what his mission was. The squirrel turned around and walked down the hallway...albeit tipsy.

"He better not be relapsing..." Sonic watched Conker, who eventually made it down the hallway walking normally. Sonic's concerns were gone for now. "...better not scare Lyra, too. So, Crash, you ready to..."

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" a voice called out to Sonic, who saw Alexander and Juan heading in his direction. Alexander and Juan chose to stick together, as they soon neared Sonic. "What's up, man?"

"What's good, fellas? Happy to have ya!" Sonic bumped fists with Alexander and Juan, as Crash held out his fist for a fist bump. Unfortunately, the bandicoot was left hanging.

"Would challenge you to a race, but it's obvious who would win," Juan said to Sonic, the mischievous look on his face implying something. He was even biting his bottom lip.

"Gonna have to spare you today; I got some business to handle. Maybe I can cream ya later when I got time. Catch you later!" Sonic sped off, as Crash was forced to keep up by running as far as he could.

"Please don't tell me that you were about to guarantee a win against Sonic," Alexander said to Juan, as he would be worried if his friend was delusional. Soon the gig was up, with Juan bursting into a small laughing fit.

"I could've made him run in Crocs, make it a bit fair," argued Juan, although Alexander smirked in disbelief; suddenly Alexander heard some loud noises, coming from Master Hand's room which was nearby.

"You hear that?" Alexander asked Juan, who soon heard the loud noises that his friend was hearing. Alexander and Juan neared Master Hand's room, poking their heads through the open doorway.

Inside Master Hand's room, the two men saw Master Hand, Mario, Isabelle, Cloud, and Eggman all watching Eggman's machine in action. The machine was generating a portal of sorts.

"In a matter of seconds, a portal to Subpsace will open up," Eggman explained to those gathered in Master Hand's room, as he properly adjusted his glasses. "Might want to wear sunglasses, in case of flashing lights."

"Now you tell us..." muttered Cloud, who was forced to be among the first to see Eggman's machine in action. Juan dug into his pockets for his sunglasses - only to late realize that he didn't have any.

Eggman: The Subspace machine is for the mansion's use only. I figured that they could use it as a way to perhaps counter Dimentio...I have my own personal reasons for wanting to see that jester fail.

"It's opening!" cheered Eggman, as the portal being generated grew bigger and bigger. Once the portal grew big enough, the machine came to a stop as the portal existed in the middle of Master Hand's room.

"...so now what?" asked Mario, standing around anxiously waiting for something to happen. The anticipation was starting to kill him.

"Guess we just wait for someone to exit the portal," assumed Isabelle, taking the wait-and-see approach while the portal to Subspace remained open. "It's too dangerous to go in."

"Well, I'm not in the mood for waiting," stated Cloud, as he was about to return to the lounge and read his magazine - or more importantly, speak with Bowser about Organization XIII. "Count me out."

"Mama mia! I see a hand," exclaimed Mario, as a hand appeared out from the portal. Cloud, who was about to walk away, came to a stop as he looked at the hand that was outstretched from the portal.

Seconds later, a humanoid person with teal skin and giant lips exited the portal. As far as attire went, he wore a magenta suit with a red bowtie. White gloves were on his hands.

"Where am I?" wondered this person, after realizing that he was no longer in Subspace. He was now in the Smash Mansion, inside Master Hand's room.

"Hello there," Master Hand greeted the person, who at the sight of Master Hand shrieked and turned away in fear. The person of interest was cowering in fear, his body shaking.

"Oh no, I walked right into Master Hand! Please don't hurt me..." The more Mario looked at the person of interest, the more he couldn't shake off the fact that it was a person that he once crossed paths with.

"Master Hand, do you not recognize-a this person?" Mario asked the giant hand, who judging by his lack of response needed a brief reminder. "It's...it's MC Ballyhoo!"

"MC Ballyhoo? You mean the same man I banished to Subspace?" asked Master Hand, as everything was coming back to him now. "He was still in there the whole time?!"

"He banished him to Subspace because he threatened to kill Mario," Cloud explained to Eggman, as Isabelle came over to Ballyhoo and tried to comfort him. "And also because of a massaging chair..."

"I don't blame him, massaging chairs are the worst," responded Eggman, who had some very uncomfortable experiences while sitting on a massaging chair. "Very hit-or-miss to me."

"There, there, MC Ballyhoo," Isabelle comforted the emcee, who slowly looked up at the Shih Tzu and screamed. Ballyhoo backed into a wall, keeping himself away from everyone.

"Stay back! Stay back, all of you!" shouted Ballyhoo as he pointed at everyone in Master Hand's room, imagining every single person to be an enemy. "Not a single move..."

"The man clearly has seen some stuff," Alexander whispered to Juan, watching Ballyhoo's behavior from a distance. To him, Ballyhoo was acting like a soldier who saw his men die on the battlefield. "Wanna go cheer him up?"

"But he's a complete stranger..." replied Juan, but that didn't stop Alexander from entering Master Hand's room. Juan sighed as he followed after Alexander, who captured Master Hand's attention.

"Ah, if it isn't one of the guests!" Master Hand gleamed when he saw Alexander and Juan, while Eggman pressed a button on the machine to close the portal. "Sorry I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Master Hand..."

"NOOOO I HATE THAT NAME!" shouted Ballyhoo, turning away from Master Hand as he put his hands over his ears. All those years stuck in Subspace have really done him in.

"It's an honor to meet you, Master Hand," Alexander said to the giant hand, acting like a polite gentleman. Young kids could learn from his example. "But we were just curious as to why that guy over there is acting like that."

"Is Master Hand gone? I won't turn around unless he's gone away..." Ballyhoo was shuddering in fear, as he held his hands over his head. Mario came over to speak with Ballyhoo, as Alexander followed after the plumber.

"MC Ballyhoo? It's-a me, Mario!" Mario greeted the emcee, with Alexander standing over him; Ballyhoo slowly turned his head and looked up at Mario, his fear subsiding a bit. "Remember? From the Star Carnival?"

"Yeah, I remember...you were there along with Peach, Bowser, and Yoshi! Was that guy there too?" The guy that Ballyhoo was referring to was Alexander, who Mario didn't notice was behind him till now.

"No, but he was probably there in-a spirit. So how have-a you been?" Mario successfully got Ballyhoo to ease up, as Ballyhoo sat up against the wall.

"Terrible, man...I have been trapped in Subspace, with nowhere to go! Monsters everywhere I go! After Dimentio dipped, it got even worse."

"But you're free now," said Alexander, letting Ballyhoo know that he no longer has to deal with monsters or anything else of the kind. "You got any idea where you are?"

"Do I?" Ballyhoo looked out the window and saw Bowser Jr. playing a game of catch with Larry Koopa. For the first time since exiting Subspace, Ballyhoo was smiling.

"Well?" Mario asked Ballyhoo, as he and Alexander were waiting for an answer from the emcee. Ballyhoo turned to face Mario, before screaming while reaching his arms out to the heavens.

"Freedom...I'm finally free!" Cherishing his newfound freedom, with tears running down his face, Ballyhoo got down on his knees and kissed the floor profusely. Seeing Ballyhoo happy inherently made Mario happy.

"I don't think that floor is clean..." Juan said to Ballyhoo, but he was only speaking quietly; the man wouldn't dare to diminish Ballyhoo's happy moment.

Lucina: MC Ballyhoo? I remember him. Wonder how he's doing. He's still stuck in Subpsace, right? Ha.

"It seems that MC Ballyhoo has been reduced to a broken shell," stated Master Hand, as Ballyhoo went from kissing the floor to hugging Mario. "Mario, I ask that you and our two guests get him back to his normal self."

"So you have no ill will towards him anymore?" Isabelle asked Master Hand concerning Ballyhoo, as Ballyhoo went from hugging Mario to hugging Alexander. Alexander gently pushed Ballyhoo away.

"Can't focus on the past, Isabelle - that's your ego talking. Amirite, Cloud?" Master Hand held up his...hand to Cloud for a high five, only for Cloud to leave him hanging.

"...I mean, I guess," Cloud replied with a shrug, while Master Hand still had his hand out. Cloud walked out of Master Hand's room, now owing Master Hand a high five later.

Upon exiting Master Hand's room, however, Cloud soon encountered trouble. An Organization XIII member stood in the hallway, as Cloud was on guard.

"Not again..." Cloud clenched his teeth, as an Organization XIII member was clapping his hands. Moments like these were why Cloud wished he brought his Buster Sword more often.

"Bravo - MC Ballyhoo has been freed from Subpsace," said the anonymous Organization member - how did they know about MC Ballyhoo, who told them? "May he enjoy his time back in the universe!"

"Who are you? Show yourself!" shouted Cloud, demanding that the anonymous Organization member revealed their identity. The Organization would do just that, taking off his hood to reveal himself as Young Xehanort - yet another familiar member.

"Remember me, Cloud?" Cloud did in fact remember Young Xehanort - from episode 75 when the young man hijacked the Street Fighter party in the ballroom.

"Yeah, I remember you...you're nothing but trouble. So why don't you just show yourself out?" Not the one to be told what to do, Young Xehanort snickered evilly as Cloud frowned.

"I'll show myself out...only just this once." Young Xehanort summoned a dark corridor behind him, before slowly backing into it. "But I will be back soon."

"I dare you to show your face again." Cloud stood his ground, as a still smirking Young Xehanort backed into the dark corridor. The corridor soon vanished seconds later.

"You good, man?" Alexander asked Cloud as he, Mario, and Juan exited Master Hand's room with MC Ballyhoo. Cloud, who was still frowning, softened his face after seeing that he had company.

"I'm good." Cloud tried to appear friendly, although Alexander and company could easily tell that something was off with the swordsman. "So where are you guys off to?"

"Me and the boys-a are gonna have a boys' day out," replied Mario as he wrapped his arm around Ballyhoo who was slowly showing signs of joy. "Gonna make MC Ballyhoo one-a hundred percent happy."

"I'm at thirty-five percent right now," stated Ballyhoo, who needed a lot of things to go his way for him to reach full happiness. But getting out of Subspace was obviously a good start.

"Well then, you four have fun," Cloud said to Mario and his pals, as Mario led Ballyhoo, Alexander, and Juan away from the premises. Cloud soon went back to frowning, as he had a third Organization XIII member to keep an eye out for.

The ninja pals were relentless in their quest to recruit Ninjara into their special club, even more so when Zelda was out handling business. To abstain from entertaining the ninja pals, Ninjara would chill out on the mansion's roof, which was where he was at the moment.

"Thankfully, those ninja pals never find me here," said Ninjara perched on the roof as he looked down below. A dark corridor was opened on the roof, as Xigbar and Saïx exited from it with Man Dog.

"Went from a makeshift police station...to the rooftop of the mansion," Saïx said to Xigbar, who maintained possession of Man Dog with a handcuff on his wrist. Man Dog tried to break out of the handcuff but to no avail.

"Cut me some slack!" shouted Xigbar, speaking much louder than the typically soft-spoken Saïx as Ninjara heard his voice. "Hard to control the dark corridors in this universe. It's been a while."

Toon Link: Breaking out of handcuffs is a crime in itself, but stealing handcuffs? The only justifiable punishment for that is up to a year spent behind bars. We'll be looking at the security tapes later.

"I'd strongly appreciate it if you could let me go already," Man Dog said to Xigbar and Saïx, tired of how the Organization members were shuttling him around like cattle. Ninjara stood up as he saw the unwanted company on the roof.

"You two must be from Organization XIII..." Ninjara said to Xigbar and Saïx, ready for some action as both of his ARMS were ready to go. "...I've been warned about you punks."

"Heard of us before?" Xigbar grinned at Ninjara, hands on his hips as he leaned his head in closer to Ninjara. "We are so flattered..." The Nobody was later caught off-guard, as Ninjara fired an ARM in his direction.

"Hey now, watch it!" shouted Man Dog, as the ARM almost nailed him in the face. Not wanting to risk injury, Xigbar ran into the dark corridor while it remained open as he dragged Man Dog in with him.

"If we end up in the bathroom again..." muttered Saïx, entering the dark corridor before it closed. Ninjara remained perched on the roof, not in the mood for alerting someone about Organization XIII's presence.

Fox came through for Link and Zelda, as he arrived at the movie theater with the movie snacks. The pilot carried the snacks out of his Arwing and brought them out for Link and Zelda to see.

"We got regular popcorn, buttered popcorn, Milk Duds, and Sour Patch Kids," Fox said to Link, Zelda, and Twintelle as he showed off the movie snacks that he purchased. Who in their right mind would eat regular popcorn at a movie theater? "As well as Nestle Sno-Caps."

"Sno-Caps are unhealthy, so I'll be confiscating those," stated Link as he grabbed the Sno-Caps from Fox before discreetly stuffing the treats in his pockets. Zelda and Twintelle easily caught the Hylian in the act.

"Okay...good luck with that. Anywho, I'll be taking these snacks inside." So Fox closed up the bag of movie snacks, before hoisting the bag over his shoulder and going inside the movie theater. Link, looking around suspiciously, opened up a box of Sno-Caps and began eating.

"Super Bowl's gonna be super awesome," Brick discussed with Ventus and Ephriam outside the movie theater, making both men fearful about the possibility of being punched. "I'm gonna punch someone every time a touchdown is scored!"

"Highly advise you not to do that," Ephriam warned Brick, who didn't heed the lord's warning as he was practicing throwing a punch. "The last thing you'd want is a ban from the..."

"Aaaaaah!" Fox screamed as he was suddenly flung out of the movie theater and landed hard on the ground. Everyone outside ran over to Fox, who was on the ground writhing in pain.

"Fox, I know this is a rhetorical question, but...are you okay?!" asked Terry, who was among the first to reach Fox. Fox was laying on the ground in pain for a brief moment, before struggling to stand up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I've been through worse," replied Fox, as Terry offered to help the pilot up to his feet. Terry then dusted off Fox's jacket, as everyone wondered what powerful force knocked Fox out of the movie theater.

"Woah, what happened?" inquired Michael as he and Daniel showed up at the scene, curious as to what happened with Fox. "We just got back from a diner, by the way."

"Got an actual shrimp on the barbie," said Daniel as he held up a Barbie doll that had several pieces of shrimp attached to it. A very amusing sight to behold. "Guess I was too literal with my order."

Dingodile: I've opened up a second Dingo's Diner, this one at Omnis Adest. I'll be the manager there, and Ty will be my assistant. Who's going to manage the original diner? I've had the employees decide on that one.

New Dingo's Diner Employee: We played a game of pong (the one with the red cups, not the video game) to decide who the new manager would be. Somehow I won. Even worse, I got my pay docked because Dingodile had to "scale back" due to the new diner. Pretty unexpected for someone who's supposed to get a raise when becoming a manager. I hate that guy oh so much...

"Some punk knocked me out of the movie theater," Fox explained the situation, stretching out his back to crack a few bones back in place. "A dude in a black-and-red bodysuit."

"A dude in a black-and-red bodysuit?" Ventus furrowed his brow, as the description provided reminded him of a former adversary. "You must mean Vanitas!"

"What's that? Is that my brother speaking? How did I have a feeling that I would run into you sooner than later!"

A boy wearing a black-and-red bodysuit exited from the movie theater, commanding everyone's attention as Link and company backed away. Not only that, but the bodysuit man also wore a silver helmet over his face.

"That's him, that's the punk in the bodysuit!" shouted Fox as he pointed at the man, whom Ventus was glaring at. It was definitely an individual that Ventus had a lot of history with.

"He looks more like a jabroni," chuckled Michael, nudging Daniel in the arm with his elbow. Daniel was laughing along with his younger brother.

"A jabroni I am not!" the awfully offended boy in the jumpsuit shouted at Michael, who along with Daniel stopped laughing in a hurry. "You may call me Vanitas; I was born out of Ventus."

"You gave birth to HIM?!" Brick asked Ventus, comically missing the point as he found it hard to imagine Ventus being pregnant. Ventus was too incensed at the moment to answer Brick.

"You have no business here, Vanitas - get lost!" Ventus commanded the masked boy, who chose to stay put as he let out an evil laugh. You knew Vanitas had to laugh evilly at least once.

"Sorry brother, but I don't plan on doing so," responded Vanitas, before looking up at the movie theater that he had come out from. "I have big plans in mind - like destroying this movie theater, for instance."

"Not on my watch..." Twintelle said sternly to Vanitas, giving the masked boy the chance to leave while he had the chance. Twintelle wasn't going to let any movie theater of hers be burned to the ground.

"Gonna have to stop me from reducing this place to ashes. Catch me if you can!" Vanitas ran inside the movie theater, as Link chased after the masked boy. When Link stepped inside the theater, Vanitas was nowhere in sight.

"He's gone..." uttered Link, as he found no signs of Vanitas in the lobby area. The Hylian turned back at everyone gathered outside. "...we're gonna have to hunt Vanitas down."

"Don't have to tell me twice," said Ventus, looking to get his hands on his "brother" - and put him in his rightful place.

Given that he was trapped in Subpsace, MC Ballyhoo likely didn't eat that much - or at all! That was why Mario, Alexander, and Juan took the emcee to the dining room to treat him to some lunch. Alexander requested a Philly Cheesesteak for Ballyhoo, and Pyra came through.

"One Philly cheesesteak, on the house!" exclaimed Pyra as she presented a Philly Cheesesteak to Ballyhoo, placing it on the table. Ballyhoo took the cheesesteak and took a bite, filled with joy.

"Been so long since I lasted tasted real food..." remarked Ballyhoo as he shed a tear, while Mario and Alexander patted him on his back. Mythra, refusing to be outdone by Pyra, had her own Philly Cheesesteak.

"Here's my own special Philly Cheesesteak," said Mythra as she presented her original Philly Cheesesteak, placing it on the table next to Pyra's. "Made it with a whole lot of love." Alexander and Juan, who were both cheesesteak connoisseurs, looked at Mythra's sandwich with judging looks.

"A whole lot of love is missing from that sandwich," critiqued Alexander, insulting Mythra's culinary skill; Mythra left with a huff as she exited the dining room, just as Geno had entered.

"Something sure smells good in the kitchen," remarked Geno, only to come to a stop when he saw Ballyhoo chilling with Mario. The sight of Ballyhoo caught him off-guard. "MC Ballyhoo? Is that really you?"

"The one and only," replied Ballyhoo, but only with a slight hint of enthusiasm; he wouldn't be back to his usual cheery self until he was 100% again.

"Dr. Eggman freed-a him from Subspace with his machine," Mario explained to Geno, while Ballyhoo continued to eat the rest of his Philly Cheesesteak. "He is not exactly back to his old-a self..."

"I can tell - spending almost an eternity in Subspace must really do you in." Spending almost an entirety in Subspace could also make you hungry, as demonstrated when Ballyhoo ate the rest of his cheesesteak in near-record fashion.

"Dang! Never seen anyone at a cheesesteak that quickly," an astonished Juan remarked, as Ballyhoo wiped off his mouth. Alexander could tell that Ballyhoo had yet to be satisfied.

"Another Philly Cheesesteak, if you don't mind," Alexander requested to Pyra, willing to feed Ballyhoo as many cheesesteaks as possible until he was content. "And don't let your friend fix it."

"I'll do my best to deter her," assured Pyra, before taking the empty plate and returning to the kitchen to fix Ballyhoo another cheesesteak. "Mythra, hands off the provolone!"

"I miss my best friend..." Ballyhoo randomly stated, as the joy he had from devouring the cheesesteak whole was replaced by sadness. Mario wrapped an embracing arm around Ballyhoo.

"We'll find your friend-a real soon," Mario assured Ballyhoo, open to doing whatever possible to make Ballyhoo the MC Ballyhoo of old.

While Magolor, Gnasty Gnorc, and two Organization members had been to Omnis Adest, Dimentio had yet to pay the community a visit ever since it first opened. The jester decided to make his grand appearance today, appearing at Omnis Adest in the middle of the street.

Dimentio: I've detected a sense of growth from Omnis Adest. More and more people are moving in, like hordes of college students moving into their dorms. Is all this part of Master Hand's plan to stop me? Ha! His peons are no match for me.

"Seems quiet," observed Dimentio, who showed up on an empty street that was devoid of people. "Perhaps a little too quiet..." At least there was a car parked on the side of the road so that it didn't make Dimentio feel too lonely.

"Watch out, watch out!" Junpei shouted from afar, as Dimentio looked up and saw a baseball flying overhead. The baseball flew towards Dimentio, who teleported out of harm's way.

"Ooh, someone's holding baseball practice? How delightful! I shall serve as a spectator." So Dimentio teleported away, strangely interested in seeing this baseball practice up close.

The baseball practice at Omnis Adest was more like pitching practice, as Kermit was helping Nemona with her pitching skills. Pit, the part-time Cafe Leblanc barista, was the lone spectator in the bleachers...until Dimentio appeared, unseen by anyone.

"You can do it, Nemona!" Pit cheered on for the Pokemon trainer, who was dying down the baseball mitt that was held by Sheldon. Nemona got in a pitching stance, as she eyed down her target.

"Try not to open up your shoulders too early," Kermit offered this tip to Nemona, who took a deep breath as a drop of sweat ran down her face. Nemona threw the baseball at Sheldon...only to miss the horseshoe crab entirely.

"Don't think she got all of it," said Sheldon as the baseball sailed to his right, landing near the grass. The only saving grace was that Birdo didn't have a chance to hit the ball with her bat.

"El hombre..." muttered Nemona as she hunched over in failure, with her hands on her knees. "...Junpei, I think we should remove Birdo. She's throwing me off my game."

"No, we can make it work," assured Junpei, hopeful that Kermit could get Nemona back on the right track. "Birdo is here for the...the simulation aspect."

"'The simulation aspect'?" Kermit furrowed his brow at Junpei, folding his arms as he chuckled. "We'd be better off with a pitcher's pocket."

"I don't have money for that. Also not having a batter and catcher involved will take away from the game-day experience! It'll keep Nemona off her game."

"This is muy terrible..." lamented Nemona as he fell down to her knees, burying her face in her hands with shame. "...I can't even throw Poke Balls properly, and my luck has transferred to my pitching!"

"She can't throw a stinking Poke Ball?" Kermit questioned Junpei, questioning the man for his team-building skills as Junpei eyed around. "And yet you made her the lone pitcher on your team?"

"Well, uh...she has good moxie!" was Junpei's reply, as Kermit sighed and shook his head. Kermit was forced to fix Nemona - and he was gonna make it work somehow.

"Good moxie? Good to know," Dimentio said quietly, likely using this baseball practice as a way to take notes of the Omnis Adest residents. Would be worth it for him if Junpei's entire squad was practicing.

After finishing off his second Philly Cheesesteak, MC Ballyhoo declared that he didn't want a third one. The emcee then claimed that he wanted to do something fun, so Mario and company took the emcee to the gaming room where plenty of fun could be had.

"Hurrah! Beat Samus yet again at darts," rejoiced Donkey Kong, celebrating his victory over Samus as he shook his clasped fists together. Samus likely phoned it in but regardless, a win was a win.

"No clue why you're celebrating" mumbled Samus as she walked away from Donkey Kong, allowing the gorilla to keep on celebrating. "It's not like I was...giving it my all."

Samus came to a stop, as she encountered Ballyhoo playing with Mario, Alexander, and Juan on the golf simulator. It was Ballyhoo's turn to golf, as the emcee swung heartily with his golf club.

"He's gonna get a birdie, calling it right now," guaranteed Juan, watching on the screen as the golf ball sailed across the sky. The ball landed on the ground and rolled into the hole.

"Got a birdie! Woo hoo!" cheered Ballyhoo as he triumphantly raised his golf club, getting some of his excitement back. Mario and company applauded Ballyhoo's stroke, as Samus was left dumbfounded.

"You got a sec, Mario?" Samus asked the plumber as he grabbed his arm, before leading him away. Alexander and Juan watched as Samus took Mario away, and Samus saw them. "You can carry on without Mario."

"I'll just take his turn then," volunteered Mario, as Ballyhoo moved to the side so that Alexander could take his turn at the golf simulator. "Watch this ambidextrous go to work..."

"Being ambidextrous doesn't mean that you're good," quipped Juan, as Alexander looked at his friend with a smile before shaking his head.

"Yes, Samus, is there a problem?" Mario asked Samus, who brought the plumber to a far corner of the gaming room. Samus looked back at Ballyhoo, before turning her attention back to Mario.

"What is he doing here?" Samus whispered to Mario as she pointed at Ballyhoo, treating the emcee as if he was the newest member of Dimentio's faction. "Wasn't he stuck in Subspace?"

"He was stuck in Subspace, but Dr. Eggman freed-a him. Now he's trying to get back to his old-a self." Mario watched Ballyhoo do a slight gig with his golf club, as Ballyhoo was slowly but surely progressing.

Eggman: My machine, I love it already...I love it like my favorite child. (I love it more than I love Cubot and Orbot, that's for sure.) Samus is into making machines, is she not? I reckon that she would be a fan of my newest creation - might be jealous, even!

"Well, Eggman is stupid, just like all his other inventions," remarked Samus, who never really had a high opinion of Eggman. Her opinion would only improve if Eggman had a better track record fighting Sonic. "Sure you wanna hang out with Ballyhoo, after...you know?"

"I dunno - what do I know?" asked Mario, as Samus facepalmed for she was not in the right mood for explaining stuff. "You tell-a me."

"Did Isabelle not say that Ballyhoo was going to blast you to bits, with a Bill Blaster? I wouldn't associate myself with Ballyhoo after an incident like that."

"But that was a long-a time ago; Ballyhoo may have forgotten about it. Can't focus on the past - that's your ego talking!"

"Mario, you still playing or what?" Juan called out to the plumber, as he totally didn't mind skipping the plumber's turn. Mario rushed back to the golf simulator, bringing his golf club with him.

"What does having an ego have to do with...?" Samus crinkled her nose, reflecting on the final words that Mario spoke to her. Still good words of advice, though.

Waluigi took great pride in his iconic mustache; every day the lanky man was applying new beard products to keep his facial hair on point. But while using beard products was key, keeping the mustache trimmed was just as important. Waluigi was heading to the bathroom, holding a pair of scissors as he looked to keep his mustache in tip-top shape.

"Best mustache in the game! Who betta?!" exclaimed Waluigi, strutting his stuff as he walked down the hallways of the tower. He would cross paths with Walter, who conspicuously exited from a bedroom closing the door behind him.

"Huge fan of your mustache," Walter gave props to Waluigi, who showed the coach his appreciation as he clicked his fingers at him. Nothing like a good ego stroke to keep Waluigi's spirits up.

"Right back at you pal! Digging your 'stache!" Following this moment of real recognizing real, Waluigi entered the bathroom. Inside, he saw Kapp'n standing on a stool, in front of a mirror.

"Waluigi's mustache cream is finally working," gleamed Kapp'n, who was checking out the mustache that was scribbled on his face. Waluigi was looking at the turtle, distraught.

Kapp'n: Isabelle's mustache has me so envious. She plays it off by denying that her mustache is a real mustache, but I don't buy it. Very soon I'll have a mustache better than hers.

"So YOU'RE the bozo who's been using my stuff without permission!" Waluigi pointed accusingly at Kapp'n, who saw the lanky man and immediately panicked. Kapp'n hurriedly climbed down the stool so that he could clear his reputation.

"Let me explain! We must've gotten the same product..." Kapp'n desperately pleaded his case, only for Waluigi to wrangle with him. Walugi put Kapp'n in a headlock, as Saki Amamiya exited his nearby bedroom after having woken up from his nap.

"Any of you know if this will wipe off with soap and water?" Saki asked Waluigi and Kapp'n while pointing at his face...which had a mustache scribbled on it. Left with no response, Saki walked away from the bathroom. "I'll ask the Squid Sisters instead..."

Link, Zelda, and several members of Omnis Adest were inside the movie theater, looking around for any signs of Vanitas. Michael and Daniel were also aiding in the search, wanting to prove their usefulness.

"Show yourself, you jabroni!" Michael called out to Vanitas, as everyone was searching through every nook and cranny of the theater. Link was looking inside the men's restroom before exiting, only to run into Taion.

"Found this in the lobby area," Taion presented an Organization XIII cloak to Link, before handing it to the Hylian. Link threw the cloak over his shoulder. "Could belong to that Vanitas guy."

"A definitive sign that he's part of the Organization," responded Link, who was familiar with Vanitas' Organization affiliation after Sora briefed him on it. Sora also confused Link with Vanitas' origin story in the process.

"What if I punch this door down?" pondered Brick, standing in front of a door that led to an auditorium. The mercenary punched the door down, and with great success as the door came flying off the hinges. "Booyah!"

"Great work, Brick," Zelda commended the mercenary, who wanted to celebrate his achievement by hugging Zelda. Zelda ducked out of the way when Brick's arms came near. "Your punching was finally useful for...something."

Zelda entered the auditorium and walked down the aisle, as she saw Vanitas damaging the big screen with his Keyblade. Vanitas didn't come to a stop until he saw Zelda, who was later joined by Ventus and a few others.

"Don't mind me, I'm just doing a little de-construction," Vanitas said to Zelda and company, proud of the damage that he was doing. He was no doubt smiling behind his mask.

"Is it possible to call the cops on him?" Daniel asked Zelda, taking his phone out just in case the princess wished to contact the local authorities. Zelda gently put Daniel's hand down.

"Won't work - most of the police force is scared of the Organization," replied Zelda, as Vanitas ran to the emergency door and broke it open with his Keyblade. "Where do you think you're going, Vanitas?"

"Know what, screw the movie theater..." replied Venitas, as he concocted a new evil plan in his mind. "...I'll just burn this whole community down!" Letting out an evil laugh, the masked boy ran out through the emergency exit.

"Why'd he leave so soon, I wanted to punch him in the face!" whined Brick, as Zelda ran out of the auditorium and to Link. Link was speaking with Ventus, who was just the person that Zelda wanted to see.

"Vanitas just escaped; he's going to burn down Omnis Adest," Zelda gave the 4-1-1 to Link and Ventus, as Link was alarmed by the news. Ventus, who knew Vanitas better than anyone, was not surprised.

"He would, wouldn't he?" Ventus furrowed his brow, as Daniel came over to Zelda with his phone still out. Zelda snatched the phone out of Daniel's hands, catching Daniel off-guard.

"Forgive me...that was not very princess-like." After apologizing to Daniel, Zelda handed the man back his phone. "...can you call someone for me?"

MC Ballyhoo enjoyed some Philly cheesesteaks and got to play on the golf simulator, but the emcee could use a breath of fresh air. Who knows if Subspace even had any fresh air? That was why Mario, Alexander, and Juan took Ballyhoo to the mansion gardens.

"Oh, grass, I missed you so, so much!" rejoiced Ballyhoo, who had his face against the ground as he was rolling his head on the grass. Mario and the fellas were observing Ballyhoo from a small distance.

"Talk about giving a new meaning to the phrase 'touch some grass,'" remarked Alexander, as Ballyhoo went from rubbing his face against the grass to straight-up licking it. But little did Ballyhoo know that he wasn't alone.

"Touching grass is one of my favorite hobbies!" chirped Slippy, feeling like a kid as he was rolling on the grass. The frog giggled as he got down on his knees, feeling the grass with his fingers and even rubbing some on his face.

"Must not have that many hobbies then..." Didn't take Alexander that long to find out why Slippy Toad was the least popular member of Star Fox.

Viridi: Slippy's behavior in the gardens is nothing new; he dedicates a small chunk of his daily routine to playing in the grass. In his mind, the grass is like snow to him. The only difference is that he routinely ends up with bug bites.

Slippy: *points at his right cheek* This is where I got my first bee sting. *points at his nose* This is where I got bit by those fire ants. *points under his chin* And this is where I got bit by an earthworm. Fox and Falco claim that I was lying, but I know what I saw. Even if I never saw it in the first place.

"Your friend is ruining my flower beds," Aerith informed Mario and the fellas, as Ballyhoo's rolling on the grass was damaging the flowers. "Do you mind telling him to stop?"

"I'll tell him," volunteered Juan as he walked over to Ballyhoo, who rolled in the other direction much to Juan's chagrin. "Hey, get back here!" Ballyhoo rolled past Lucina, who stepped foot into the gardens.

"MC Ballyhoo?" Lucina uttered the name of the emcee, who was rolling around in a different part of the gardens. Lucina went over to speak with Mario. "Didn't we send him to Subspace years ago?"

"Yup, and now he's a free man," replied Mario, as Juan struggled to keep up with Ballyhoo. Ballyhoo finally stopped, lying on his back as he laughed. Sounded almost like a genuine laugh.

"That's legit the first time we've heard him laugh today," Alexander said to Lucina, as he and Mario found Ballyhoo laughing to be a milestone achievement. "He's still far removed from being a hundred percent, though."

"All those years in Subpsace made him a broken shell of his former self..." said Lucina, with Juan grabbing the laughing Ballyhoo and cradling him like a baby. "...I almost feel bad for getting him sent there in the first place."

Nothing worked so far for Nemona at baseball practice - the Pokemon trainer was simply off her game. That's when Kermit chose to be more hands-on with Nemona, showing her the tricks of the trade in regard to pitching.

"Keep your direction towards home plate," Kermit instructed Nemona, standing behind the Pokemon trainer as he showed her the right stance. Nemona emulated Kermit's every moment.

"Yes, yes, this is good..." Junpei nodded his head thoughtfully, with a finger underneath his chin, soaking in everything that Kermit was teaching.

"The underside of your front foot should be pointed towards the target. Try landing fully on your front foot when you throw."

"Got it!" replied Nemona, looking to redeem herself as she got into a pitching position. Nemona pitched the ball to Sheldon, hoping for a strike...

"Strike!" exclaimed Birdo as she struck the baseball with her bat, sending it flying over the fence as Nemona's confidence was shattered. "Whoops, I probably shouldn't have hit that. My bad."

"Boooo, you suck!" Pit cheered at Nemona, shattering her confidence even more; Pit kept booing until Kermit and Junpei both frowned at him.

"Totally unnecessary, Pit!" Junpei scolded the angel; Dimentio, who was sitting on the bleachers mostly unseen, was disappointed that the booing ended.

"I strongly disagree," Dimentio said quietly, unironically hoping for Nemona to keep on struggling - her pitching struggles put a smile on his face.

"It'd be best if we ditched the batter - just do one-on-one training," Kermit suggested to Junpei, believing that shaking things up would be a boon for Nemona. A change of scenery might be required.

"Are you goading me into using a pitcher's net?" Junpei asked Kermit, who judging by the look on his face was suggesting as such. Junpei sighed as he took out his phone. "Let me call NME Enterprises, they got fast delivery..."

Olimar was taking a nap at his house, catching some Z's while on his living room couch. When the astronaut woke up, the first thing he saw was his children giggling at him, while his wife stood by.

"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead," greeted Olimar's wife, who was very mindful of how hard her kids were giggling. Olimar slowly sat up on his couch, only to notice something amiss.

"What the...who drew this mustache on my helmet?" wondered Olimar, as a mustache similar to Mario's was drawn on his helmet. Olimar's kids were laughing even harder at their dad.

Pac-Man: A strange predicament is afoot...random people at the mansion and towers are waking up with mustaches on their faces! Not even my neighbors are safe! I'm only upset because it has yet to happen to me. Maybe this second nap will do the trick. *sits on his sofa and quickly falls asleep*

X: Mystery person drawing mustaches on people who are asleep? I'll look into it.

"Thank you for fixing me the cheeseburger, ma'am," Walter thanked Olimar's wife, casually walking out of the kitchen after finishing off his meal. Cheeseburgers were Walter's cheat meal.

"Take care, come again," Olimar said to Walter, who nodded his head toward the astronaut while on his way to the front door. Just as Walter was about to leave, Olimar asked, "Who let that man in my house?!"

Sherman was making his rounds throughout the mansion, endearing himself to as many mansion residents as possible. His latest stop was the Star Records room, where he and Little Mac had a very intense debate...over Dragon Ball Z.

"Personally, I think that Perfect Cell would clear Beerus easily," Sherman discussed with Little Mac, who was doing some sparring practice as he punched away at a Sandbag. That Sandbag deserved better.

"Perfect Cell? Winning versus a literal god of destruction?" snorted Little Mac, before delivering a wicked uppercut that sent the Sandbag flying up in the air. "You make me laugh."

"I mean, he has Saiyan, Namekian, and Freiza Race blood in him! He's unstoppable." Little Mac could only snort in response no matter what argument Sherman presented.

"If you ask me, Majin Buu would free up both Perfect Cell and Beerus!" guaranteed Touma, interjecting himself into the conversation as he was being half-serious. Sherman and Little Mac both stared at Touma, who walked away seconds later. "I'll show myself out."

"Men can be so insufferable when they show their nerdy side..." muttered Kiria, as Touma returned to the spot of the room where Kiria, Eleonora, and Tsubasa were gathered. "...can you please stay focused on the meeting please, Touma?"

"Yeah, Touma, stay focused!" Big Top shouted at the redhead, sitting atop the Star Records desk as he usually did. Touma got angry with Big Top, placing the hat out of his sight as he put him on the desk chair.

"Here we are!" announced Mario as he, Alexader, and Juan led MC Ballyhoo inside the Star Records room. "This is where Star Records does their business."

"Star Records?" Ballyhoo perked up, the sound of his voice bringing much joy to Big Top who gasped with joy. The same record label that I started? Has it been a success?

"Well, I've never heard of it before, so who knows," Juan replied with a shrug, as Alexander frowned at his friend and nudged him in his side. Little Mac stopped sparring as he saw Ballyhoo.

"MC Ballyhoo?" uttered Little Mac, staring at the emcee in question as if he were a phantom in plain sight. The boxer inched over to MC Ballyhoo to make sure that he was real.

"Little Mac! My first-ever client!" There was no bad blood between Ballyhoo and Little Mac, as Ballyhoo gave Little Mac a hug. "Oh, how I've missed you..."

"Missed you too, man." Little Mac felt uncomfortable by the hug as he looked at Mario, who gave the boxer a thumbs up. Doc Louis entered the room, feeling some type of way about Ballyhoo hugging his protege.

"I'll let it slide, for now..." muttered Doc Louis, taking out his chocolate bar and taking a bite as he went to go find a seat.

Mario: MC Ballyhoo is inherently the reason-a why Star Records even exists. I thought-a that would be a good thing to show how the record-a label he conceived has been doing during his absence.

"So you're still a rapper, right?" Ballyhoo asked Little Mac after he was done hugging the boxer. "How's the rap career coming along? Making platinum sales?"

"Um...not quite, but I'm doing my best," Little Mac sheepishly replied, not wanting to risk disappointing Ballyhoo in any sort of fashion. Big Top was heard moaning from the desk chair.

"Do you guys hear that?" Tsubasa asked her fellow Force Five co-stars, being the first to hear Big Top's moaning. The idol singer pulled out the desk chair and saw Big Top, sporting a rare sad face.

"I miss MC Ballyhoo..." Big Top quietly said as he shed a tear - a huge cause of concern since Big Top seldom cried. Tsubasa looked up and saw Ballyhoo, still chatting with Little Mac.

"Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi are running the record label," Little Mac explained to Ballyhoo, as Knuckles entered the room and was shocked to see Ballyhoo in the flesh. "Under their leadership, we got idol singers, a cooking show, some Power Rangers knock-off show..."

"What in the heck?" frowned Knuckles, who was less than ecstatic about seeing Ballyhoo; the echidna hadn't forgotten being snubbed in favor of Little Mac. "Who let that crook out of Subspace?"

"Watch who you're calling a crook, pal!" Ballyhoo shouted at Knuckles, as tension was brewing between the emcee and the echidna. Ballyhoo was showing off his fiery side, which in a way was a plus.

"Okay now, take it easy!" yelled Alexander as he got in-between Ballyhoo and Knuckles before any punches could be thrown. "How about we go outside and get some fresh air?"

"Count me out...I don't wanna deal with him." Knuckles walked to a far corner of the Star Records room and sat down, folding his arms and looking in the other direction.

"Let's just go outside-a anyway...a lot of bad blood going on," suggested Mario, and Alexander would follow the plumber's lead as he and Juan led Ballyhoo out of the Star Records room. Knuckles watched as Ballyhoo left, before looking away.

"He wanted to give Little Mac a record deal over me? The nerve of him." Knuckles continued to pout and wallow in his anger until he was later approached by Tsubasa.

"I want you to do a quick favor," Tsubasa said to Knuckles, holding Big Top in her hands; Knuckles tried not to look Tusbasa in the eye, but it was no use.

"What's in it for me?" Knuckles was resistant at first, but the moment that he saw Big Top's sad face, Knuckles had a gradual change of heart.

Sonic and Crash secured a spot at Omnis Adest for Sean and Lyra, as they reserved a table at the new Dingo's Diner. All that was left to do is wait on Conker to bring forth Lyra Park, and Conker came through.

"A couple more steps to the left..." Sonic said to the blindfolded Lyra, as he and Crash escorted her to a table in the diner. Conker and Aku were in front of Lyra to ensure that the young woman was moving in the right direction.

"Alright, you can take off your blindfold now!" exclaimed Conker, and Lyra did what she was told as she took off their blindfold. The first thing that Lyra saw? Sean Diaz, sitting at a table by himself with a chair out for Lyra to sit in.

"Hi Lyra," Sean greeted his friend with a warm smile, causing Lyra to gasp and cup her hands over her mouth. It was the only justifiable reaction. "Guess who made it back from Mexico..."

Master Hand: Won't tell anyone how I was able to clear the Diaz brother's criminal records. Be aware that it took a lot of bribes to get it done. It got to the point where I had to ask Wario and Kazuya for donations.

"This has got to be some kind of prank..." remarked Lyra, doubting that the Sean in her midst was the real Sean. Nonetheless, the young woman took her seat as she tried to make it work. "...is it really you, Sean?"

"Got a bit of facial hair, but yeah, it's still me," confirmed Sean, bringing attention to the small beard on his chin as he rubbed his face. "So how have you been? I really missed this town."

"And I really missed you! I'm just glad that you're safe now. Your little brother, how is he?" Lyra and Sean were doing a bit of catching up, as Sonic and his friends watched proudly.

"Let's give 'em some space," Sonic said to Crash and Conker, who both agreed with the blue hedgehog as they followed their spiky friend out of Dingo's Diner. "Kinda wish Dingodile would've let us..."

Upon exiting Dingo's Diner, Sonic and company ran into some trouble...specifically Organization XIII's Young Xehanort. Sonic bumped into Young Xehanort, who slowly turned around and saw the hedgehog.

"Well, look who it is - Sonic the Hedgehog," smirked Young Xehanort, whom Sonic recalled from the Street Fighter party in episode 75. The memory remained fresh in Sonic's mind.

"And look who it is..." countered Sonic, only to have a brain fart as he didn't know what Young Xehanort's name was. The brain fart was killing the mood. "...what's your name?"

"Young Xehanort; I'm Master Xehanort's time-traveling younger self." That was quite the brain twister, as Sonic and company stared at the young man plainly. "I acquired the ability to time travel from my future self's Heartless."

"The Heartless who attempted identity theft on Ansem the Wise?" Aku asked Young Xehanort for affirmation, only for Young Xehanort to look to the side - as if he detected a major development in close vicinity.

"I would entertain you, but I have somewhere I must be." Young Xehanort summoned a dark corridor behind him, about to make his leave. "Perhaps we can chat at a later time." Young Xehanort went inside the dark corridor, and Sonic refused to let him get away.

"C'mon, guys! After him!" shouted Sonic, knowing from experience that Young Xehanort must be stopped at once. The blue hedgehog led his pals through the dark corridor, making it through right before it closed.

MC Ballyhoo's time spent at the Star Records room was short-lived, as Knuckes having an attitude drove him out. Now the emcee was sitting on the roof with Mario, Alexander, and Juan, observing the scene down below.

"Subspace was the WORST!" stated Ballyhoo, telling Mario and the fellas about the horrors of Subpsace while the Koopalings were playing tackle football down below in the front yard. "I had no friends, no bed to sleep in, and no Big Top!"

"So you're saying that it was a fate-a worse than death," Mario said to Ballyhoo, marveling at how the emcee was able to stay mentally solid despite spending up to seven years in Subpsace. Seven years too many.

"It was pretty darn close to it. It was the biggest taste of adversity I've ever had, and I hated it!" Ballyhoo lowered his head in shame as he reflected upon his experiences, only for Alexander to put his hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me, I know what it's like to deal with adversity," Alexander said to Ballyhoo, who slowly lifted his head up as he gave Alexander an attentive ear. "Dealt with it when I was in college."

"It's true - you oughta listen to this man's story," Juan encouraged Ballyhoo, thinking that Alexander's life story could perhaps put the emcee in even better spirits. Ballyhoo was remarkably close to a hundred percent.

"Check this - I was the top dog at my school, the starting QB of one of the best college football teams in the nation. Even though we had lost the title game, w came back stronger than ever the next year."

"And then what happened? You suffered a career-ending injury in next year's title and were forced to retire. Had to sell fine china to make a living?"

"Um, no...I got benched. Lost my starting job. We did win the game, but the new guy got the starting gig going forward. I was forced to ride the bench."

"So you're saying...you went unemployed while in college?!" The same could be said about a handful of college students.

"Not quite - I kept my head low, transferred to a new college, and picked up right where I left off. And now I'm gonna play in the big game on Sunday."

"Wow, so even though you got knocked down you got right back up...now that's some good words to live by! Went from unemployed college student to big-time real quick."

"And here's the best part - my story's far from over. Same can be said about you." Alexander's story inspired Ballyhoo, enough to make the emcee feel confident going forward. But Ballyhoo wasn't a hundred percent content just yet...

"Sorry if I'm interrupting a touching moment," said a certain echidna, as Knuckles joined Mario and company at the edge of the roof. Knuckles was holding an object behind his back. "Got something for you, MC Ballyhoo."

"Yes?" inquired Ballyhoo, bracing himself for whatever Knuckles had in store...the emcee was the happiest man on earth when Knuckles revealed to him Big Top, his long-lost buddy.

"MC Ballyhoo! I've missed you so much!" exclaimed Big Top, happy to be reunited with his old friend. The talking hat wasn't looking so sad anymore.

"Big Top! I missed you too! Come to papa!" Ballyhoo reached out his hands to Big Top, as Mario and the fellas allowed the emcee to have his moment.

Knuckles: I'll be the first person on record to say this...I can't stand Big Top. Every time I see the disposition on his ugly face, I just wanna throw up. But on the other hand, I was being mean and salty with MC Ballyhoo and I wanted to make up with him. Making Ballyhoo happy AND getting rid of Big Top was like killing two birds with one stone.

"I'll be taking him off your hands..." said someone who appeared behind Knuckles - that someone being Young Xehanort. Young Xehanort put his hands on Big Top, wrangling with Knuckles.

"Help, help me!" Big Top cried out for help, as Young Xehanort was successfully able to pry the talking hat out of Knuckles' hands. Big Top was now in Young Xehanort's possession.

"Give the man his hat!" Juan shouted at Young Xehanort, as he attempted to tackle him; Young Xehanort ducked, and Juan missed the angle as he crashed face-first onto the roof.

"You...you're the punk-a who sabotaged Ryu's party!" Mario pointed at Young Xehanort, as Juan was lying on the roof in defeat. Juan should be elated that only a few folks witnessed his embarrassing moment.

"Glad that you remembered me, Mario," Young Xehanort responded in a condescending tone, before turning around as he was about to enter the dark corridor on the roof. "Now if you excuse me, I have to..."

Before Young Xehanort had a chance to move, a blue blur came out of the dark corridor and delivered a spin dash to Young Xehanort. That blue blur was none other than Sonic, who knocked Young Xehanort to his feet.

"Hooray, I'm saved!" cheered Big Top, after Young Xehanort had dropped him; soon Crash, Aku, and Conker exited the dark corridor, with Crash leaping at Young Xehanort and gnawing on his leg.

"Get...off...of me!" Young Xehanort shouted at Crash, using his Keyblade to send the bandicoot flying away. The young man then stood up and picked up Big Top, rushing to the dark corridor.

"Not so fast, partner!" shouted Conker, jumping in front of Young Xehanort to stop his progress. Young Xehanort simply knocked Conker to the side, before looking back at MC Ballyhoo.

"If you want to see your precious hat friend, meet me at Omnis Adest," Young Xehanort instructed Ballyhoo, before going through the dark corridor. The corridor closed in an instant.

Sonic: I'm the only known person who has both been inside Kirby's mouth, and inside that darkness that Organization XIII travels through. Which one is more massive? You'll have to get back to me on that one, this is one answer I need to think long and hard about.

"Trouble had to rear its head at the last minute..." remarked Juan as he pulled himself up to his feet, dusting off himself before turning to Mario. "...who even was that dude?"

"I'll explain-a later," replied Mario, looking for a way to get down from the roof. Fortunately, there was that secret ladder that was revealed in episode 350. "We gotta get to Omnis Adest."

"We'll ride in my car," offered Sonic as he held up his car keys - only problem was that Sonic's corvette couldn't hold too many people. "Conker, Crash...you're gonna have to ride in the trunk."

"Aw shucks..." muttered Conker as he lowered his head, as Crash would do the same. Crash shouldn't feel too downtrodden since he was used to riding in the trunk many times before.

Birdo and Sheldon were both removed from baseball practice, as the practice now only involved Nemona - as it should have been from the start. Nemona had a pitching net to work with, and all she had to do was pitch perfectly into the net. Simple, right?

"Keep it up, Nemona, you're starting to get the hang of it!" Junpei cheered on the Pokemon trainer, who was tossing balls into the pitching net...with several thrown balls lying on the ground.

"Call me crazy, but her arm might be shot," Kermit said to Junpei, offering his honest take on why Nemona's pitching had yet to improve today. "Or maybe she just never had it at all. Flash in the pan."

"You take that back about my star pitcher..." Junpei got all up in Kermit's grill, standing up for Nemona. Then Junpei saw Nemona drop her baseball mitt to the ground in defeat, from the corner of his eye.

"It's no use...I'll never get my mojo back," lamented Nemona, her confidence fully shattered as she kicked her baseball mitt away. "I don't deserve to be on your team anymore, Junpei."

"No, Nemona, wait!" Junpei watched as Nemona ran off the field, with Dimentio making his cue to teleport from the premises. Dimentio did his best to avoid being seen by anyone - especially by the other person sitting on the bleachers.

"Good riddance, the team will be better off without you!" Pit jeered at the retreating Nemona, as Kermit and Junpei frowned at the angel a second time. Pit was forced to give an explanation. "I'm using trash talk to build Nemona up."

"I'll go get her," Junpei said to Kermit, making it his priority to reassure Nemona as he ran in the direction that Nemona went. Kermit remained where he was, before picking up Nemona's baseball mitt.

Pit: Reverse psychology. You've heard of that before, haven't you? Apparently, Nemona's baseball coaches haven't.

Junpei didn't have to get that far to find Nemona, for he located the Pokemon trainer sitting on the ground behind the bleachers. Nemona was looking at the ground clearly feeling despondent.

"C'mon Nemona, you can't quit on the team that easily!" Junpei said to Nemona, taking a couple of steps closer to the Pokemon trainer. Nemona looked up at Junpei after hearing his voice.

"Junpei?" uttered Nemona, as Junpei took a few steps closer...only for a glass box to suddenly appear and entrap the young man inside. "Junpei!"

"Hey, what gives?!" Junpei banged on the walls of the glass box, his fists unable to break him out of his newfound prison. Once Dimentio floated down from up above, everything became more clear.

"And so I appear, like a last-minute guest at a bridal shower!" exclaimed Dimentio, coming off as charming as he knew how. The jester knew how to make a good introduction.

"You again?!" Nemona shouted at Dimentio, digging into her pocket for a Poke Ball. Dimentio sensed Nemona's move coming from a mile away, as he snapped his fingers to encase the Pokemon trainer in a glass box.

"I hear a lot of commotion, is everything good?" asked Kermit as he arrived at the scene, encountering Dimentio for the first time as his eyes were fixated on the jester floating above. "Woah..."

"Not a single move, Kermit..." Dimentio commanded the young man, who furrowed his brow in confusion as he held his arms up in innocence. "...yes, I know your nickname. I've seen some footage."

"It's not an official nickname..." Kermit eyed around the premises, wondering what kind of footage Dimentio saw. "...anyway, can you let my friends go?"

"No can do, frog-sounding fellow. That is, unless, you can give me something in return. I will give you Nemona and Junpei Iori, in exchange for..."

Dimentio was unable to finish going over the rest of the details, for a rocket was fired in his direction and struck him in the face. Dimentio was blindsided by the blast, as the clear boxes entrapping Junpei and Nemona both vanished.

"What is the meaning off..." seethed Dimentio as he wiped off his face, only to look up and see Overwatch's Pharah flying above armed with her rocket launcher. Dimentio was in Pharah's scope.

"I have detected an enemy!" Pharah shouted to someone from afar, making Dimentio realize that he couldn't stick around for much longer. "Dimentio is at the baseball field!"

"Not at the baseball field, false alarm. Ciao!" Dimentio teleported away from behind the bleachers, making his escape right when Link, Zelda, Michael, and Daniel arrived.

Zelda: Had to call Overwatch and let them know about Vanitas. Pharah was the best agent for the job since she can survey this entire area.

"You just missed him," Pharah informed Link and Zelda as she landed on the ground, taking off her helmet and holding it in one hand for a brief moment. "Vanished like a coward."

"Teleporting is a cowardly move," replied Link, as the folks who were helping him and Zelda locate Vanitas showed up at the scene. Michael and Daniel were one of those folks.

"What up, dude?!" Michael greeted Kermit, grinning as he gave his main man a fist bump. The secret handshake was saved for another time. "What you've been up to?"

"Doing baseball practice, 'cause I got quite the arm," replied Kermit, as he pretended to throw a baseball to impress Michael. "Had a minor interruption, but we should be good now."

"That's pretty cool! My older bro and I are hunting down jabronis - specifically a kid in an edgy bodysuit. He even sounds edgy, too!"

"I take it that you haven't seen him," Daniel said to Kermit, who shook his head for he had not seen anyone in an edgy bodysuit all day. Kermit hadn't left the baseball field save for an occasional pee break.

"You may want to check out the baseball field..." Pharah called out to Daniel and company, who did as they were told and ran to the baseball field to see what Pharah saw. Everyone arrived at the center of the field...

...where they saw Vanitas, holding Pit by the neck. Vanitas had Pit in a slight chokehold, his Keybalde held towards the angel's jugular.

"So uncool..." moaned Pit, who had his neck squeezed by Vanitas simply for speaking. Pit had his hands on Vanitas's arm, trying to free himself.

"Know what, big change of plans...I'm just going to kill this angel boy here," threatened Vanitas, before pointing his Keyblade at the group that was about to apprehend him. "Not a single move."

Sonic rolled his corvette up into Omnis Adest, arriving at the baseball field. The blue hedgehog and others got out of the corvette, with Sonic opening up the trunk to let Crash and Conker out.

"Sure that this is the spot-a where Young Xehanort is?" Mario asked Sonic, as Crash and Conker both spilled out of the trunk; they had a small fight over who would exit the trunk first.

"I dunno, I just guessed," replied Sonic, with Crash and Conker brawling on the concrete; Juan had to break up the fight. "Let's move, people!"

So Sonic, Mario, Alexander, Juan, Crash, and Conker ran to the baseball field, where they saw the scene that was playing out - Vanitas holding Pit captive. The other members of Link and Zelda's search party were present on the field.

"You can't kill him, he's an angel!" Brick shouted at Vanitas, wanting so badly to punch the masked boy in his face and break his helmet. "He can't die! Technically speaking."

"Give it up, Vanitas - you don't have to do this!" Ventus said to his "brother", wanting Vanitas to reconsider and surrender Pit. Or at least find a better hostage.

"Oh, but I do, brother!" snarled Vanitas, maintaining a tight grip on Pit as he strengthened his hold on the angel's neck. "How about you do me a favor, and join your heart with mine? Feel my heart!"

"That's kinda sus bro," remarked Michael, who wouldn't be saying such things if he knew the history between Vanitas and Ventus. Even then he'd still stand by what he said. "Stupid jabroni..."

"I AM NOT A JABRONI!" Realizing that he was getting too loud, Vanitas took a deep breath as he kept his focus on the situation at hand. "Whatever, you can wait another time, Ventus. I have a different favor to ask of you...also applies to your friends."

"I believe that this favor is the same as mine?" someone asked Vanitas, as a dark corridor appeared next to Vanitas. Young Xeanort exited from the corridor, still holding Big Top.

"There he is!" exclaimed Sonic as he pointed at Young Xehanort, before excitedly clapping his hands as he felt vindicated. "Knew for a fact that Young Xehanort was waiting for us at this baseball field."

"Actually, I was waiting for you at the post office. But I was willing to make a slight accommodation..." Young Xehanort twirled Big Top around on his index finger, making the talking hat slightly nauseous.

"Hand over Big Top!" Ballyhoo commanded Young Xehanort, who did no such thing as he stopped twirling Big Top. Young Xehanort would never surrender his captive that easily.

"Whatever you do, please don't hurt Ballyhoo!" Big Top pleaded to Young Xehanort, valuing Ballyhoo's livelihood more than he valued his own existence. "He is like my only friend..."

"And what would a talking hat like you know about friendship?" Young Xehanort questioned Big Top, as his comments struck a chord in Daniel. Daniel frowned as he took a brave step forward to give Young Xehanort a piece of his mind.

"Pretty rich from a guy who probably doesn't know how friendship works," Daniel put Young Xehanort on blast, stepping closer and closer to the young man. "How many friends do you have?"

"He's a jabroni, he doesn't even have any friends!" quipped Michael, as he and his old brother tried to get under Young Xehanort's skin. For the most part, it didn't seem to be working as Young Xehanort hardly even flinched.

"Two meatheads talking about friendship...how amusing," smirked Young Xehanort, as the verbal jabs fired at him didn't do much to get under his skin. Someone else would have to step up.

"At least they know what it's like to be loved!" shouted Alexander, as Young Xehanort glared intensely at the young man. "I can tell at first glance that you have never been loved before."

"Yeah, you're just an empty vessel, and you don't even realize it," Juan followed up with Alexander, throwing his name into the Young Xehanort diss party. "The despair from Ballyhoo, and his hat...it doesn't even mean anything to you."

"Psst, Nemona..." Kermit whispered to the Pokemon trainer, who looked over and saw Kermit holding her baseball mitt. Kermit held up the mitt, and Nemona got the clue right away as she smiled.

"Young Xehanort is no empty vessel!" Vanitas defended his fellow Organization member as he shouted at Alexander and Juan while keeping his grip on Pit. "How can you insult someone you don't know?"

"Happiness is always fleeting - it comes and goes," Young Xehanort stated matter-of-factly, in response to the football players putting him on blast. "Big Top's joy will only be..."

"HEADS UP!" shouted Nemona, as a baseball was thrown in Vanitas's face and smacked him on the face. The baseball ricocheted off of Vanitas and struck Young Xehanort in his nose.

"My mask!" wailed Vanitas, as a piece of his helmet was chipped off. The masked boy held his hand over the gaping hole, as he would let go of Pit.

"Thanks for the save, Nemona!" Pit thanked the Pokemon trainer, who had her hand in her baseball mitt and was looking pretty confident. "Hey guys, let's throw baseballs at those dorks!"

"I prefer to punch 'em instead, but this will work!" exclaimed Brick, as he and the others grabbed the baseballs lying on the ground near the pitcher's net. Brick, Kermit, Mario, and everyone else were throwing baseballs at Young Xehanort and Vanitas,

"Argh!" growled Young Xehanort, who had to shield himself with his arms in front of his face. In the process, he dropped Big Top to the ground as he and Vanitas backed away from the flurry of baseballs.

"This isn't over, not by a longshot!" vowed Vanitas as he and Young Xehanort were forced to leave the baseball field. With the two Organization members gone, everyone cheered and exchanged high-fives and whatnot.

Link: Organization XIII keeps on jobbing to Junpei's baseball team... *shrugs nonchalantly* ...not that I'm complaining.

"Big Top!" exclaimed Ballyhoo, shedding tears of joy as he ran to his hat companion and hugged him tightly. "I'm so happy to be reunited with you!"

"Same here, MC Ballyhoo!" cheered Big Top, as Ballyhoo did something that he wanted to do for almost seven years - put Big Top on his head. Big Top still fitted like a glove.

"Guess he's a hundred percent again," remarked Alexander, sharing celebratory fist bumps with Mario and Juan. "Looks like our work here is done." But there was still unfinished business, as Mario walked up to Ballyhoo.

"Oh, Mario, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Ballyhoo gave another hug, this one to Mario, and this hug was more heartfelt that the previous one he gave. "Also, sorry for threatening to blast you to bits."

"It's a distant-a memory now," responded Mario, before gently pushing Ballyhoo away so that he could make a once-in-a-lifetime offer to the emcee. "So we have town-a house that needs to be occupied..."

"First I get out of Subpsace and get reunited with Big Top, and now I have new digs?! Say no more!" With how long Ballyhoo was in Subpsace, his original home was most definitely foreclosed.

"I'll take that-a as a yes, then." Mario would shake hands with Ballyhoo, as it was now a done deal. MC Ballyhoo was the newest member of Omnis Adest.

"Still wanna be on the team?" Junpei asked Nemona, as he and Kermit awaited the Pokemon trainer's decision. It wasn't too late to reconsider.

"Sure, I'll try my hardest," replied Nemona, as Junpei rejoiced by smiling and pumping his fist. "Long as I get my own pitching coach." The joy that Junpei had was sadly short-lived.

"You just want to drain my wallet, don't you?" Junpei knew that affording a pitching coach would be expensive, and who knows if he even had a budget.

"Oh snap! I gotta see how Sean and Lyra are doing," said Sonic, remembering the date that he set up for Sean Diaz. Leaving Crash, Aku, and Conker behind, Sonic sped away from the baseball field...

...and arrived at Dingo's Diner, where he saw to his surprise Sean and Lyra exiting the restaurant. Sean and Lyra clearly enjoyed each other's time, as they were giggling and chatting with each other.

"Well, that was a short date," remarked Sonic as he approached Sean and Lyra, slightly disappointed that the two weren't holding hands to signify their love. "You two hooked up that quickly?"

"Not exactly," replied Lyra, who enjoyed the time spent with Sean and was open to dining out again. "We just reaffirmed our friendship, that's all."

"And then you realized that you can be more than just friends." Sonic desperately wanted Sean and Lyra to answer yes, but neither friend was budging.

"News flash, Sonic - Lyra and I, we're just friends," Sean informed Sonic, disappointing the blue hedgehog greatly and making him feel like his planning was all for moot. "Besides, I already have a girlfriend in California."

"B-But...what?" Never being fully aware of who Sean's beau was, Sonic felt like the most stupid hedgehog on planet earth.

Sonic: My friends and I put in all that work for Sean's date...and he doesn't even romance Lyra ONCE?! I bet you that his girlfriend in California isn't that attractive.

"Thanks anyway for letting us catch up," Sean thanked Sonic, who was in shambles as he sat on the sidewalk with a thousand-mile stare. Sean and Lyra both walked away, but as friends and not lovers.

Walter was carrying on with his reign of terror, doodling mustaches on unsuspecting sleeping people. His latest stop was the Yiga clan hideout, an area that he was unfamiliar with.

"I've never gone this far from the mansion," remarked Walter, who was snooping around at the hideout entrance. He gasped when he saw Xigbar and Saïx, who still had Man Dog held hostage with the man handcuffed to a tree.

"Remember that time you got into a staring contest with that grumpy old man?" a reminiscing Xigbar asked Saïx, bringing to his mind the showdown that he had with Grumps in episode 59. "I saw you blink!"

"Told you not to speak of that matter again," replied Saïx, only to look up when he detected human presence. Walter hid behind some shrubbery. "We have some company..."

"I'll hold it down; you go on ahead and investigate." So Xigbar remained at his spot, as Saïx inched closer to the shrubbery where he heard the rustling from. When Saïx got close enough...an arm reached out and grabbed him by the neck before pulling him in.

"Woah!" exclaimed Man Dog, as he and Xigbar witnessed plenty of tussling coming from the shrubbery. No point in Xigbar standing around any longer.

"Stay right there, I'll be back..." Xigbar said to Man Dog, whipping out his twin arrow guns as he neared the shrubbery. A sharpie was fired from the shrubbery and struck Xigbar's eye.

"Haha, bullseye!" Man Dog was entertained by the Organization members getting their butts handed to them, grinning as Xigbar was holding his eye in pain. Saïx emerged from the shrubbery - now with a mustache on his face.

"I must say, that mustache suits you well!" Walter said to Saïx as he emerged from the shrubbery, with Saïx desperately trying to wipe the mustache off with his hands. It didn't work.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing that thing!" Xigbar shouted at Walter, quickly recovering from his being struck in the eye. "This is my only working eye!"

"I'll make you have no working eyes if you don't scram..." Walter took out a second Sharpie from his pocket, letting Xigbar and Saïx know that he wasn't the kind of guy to mess with.

"The guests are fighting back...we might as well leave," said Saïx, showing a rare sign of surrender as he summoned a dark corridor. Imagine the funny looks of his fellow members when they see his mustache.

"Looks like our plan of sabotaging the Super Bowl has been compromised," frowned Xigbar, as he and Saïx went through the dark corridor. Walter put his sharpie back in his pocket as the dark corridor went away.

"Can't show you enough appreciation for saving my behind," Man Dog said to Walter, who broke off a tree branch when he was unable to unlock the handcuffs. Man Dog was a free man.

"Anything for one of my former players," smiled Walter as he put his hand on Man Dog's shoulder, making Man Dog feel valued. "How about we head back to the mansion and eat some cheeseburgers with the guys?"

"What is it with you and cheeseburgers..." Man Dog followed Walter back to the mansion, fortunate that he was saved from peril.

Man Dog: Used to play under Coach for one season back when I was a rookie. He's the man who played a part in making my football dreams come true. For him to save me from those bad guys, really meant a lot to me.

Young Xehanort and Vanitas convened with Dimentio at an undisclosed location in Seattle, sharing with the jester about their failures today. The meeting would receive two more members, as Xigbar and Saïx arrived via the dark corridor.

"Nice mustache," Vanitas snickered at Saïx, being among the first to notice the mustache drawn on the Nobody's face. An intense glare from Saïx made Vanitas back down.

"Our plan of disrupting the big game is sadly a failure," Saïx informed Dimentio, who was trying not to laugh at the Nobody's mustache. "It would've been our big chance to land Master Hand and the mansion in terribly hot water."

"There's always another chance to create a crisis and put the blame squarely on Master Hand's shoulders," assured Young Xehanort, as Organization XIIi was now forced to regroup. If at first, you don't succeed.

"Disrupting the Super Bowl was actually second on my priority list," admitted Dimentio, not willing to fault Xigbar and Saïx for their failures. Those two never failed often, so they got a pass. "Our biggest priority would assuredly put our plan into maximum overdrive!"

"We'll have those lovebirds in our hands soon." Lovebirds? Dimentio required a couple for his master plan? What couple did he prefer the most?

After eating a litany of cheeseburgers (most of which were consumed en masse by Walter), it was time for Kermit and the other visitors to return to Phoenix. While Zero got the teleportation device booted up, several folks stopped by to say their goodbyes.

"Thank you for everything, fellas!" MC Ballyhoo thanked Alexander and Juan, as he gave them a group hug. Mario was included in the hug, but not that much due to how short Ballyhoo's arms were.

"Remember those tips I told you," Kermit said to Nemona, hoping that the pointers that he offered today would be adhered to by Nemona from here on out. "Follow them and you'll get your groove back in no time!"

"What happens at the mansion, stays at the mansion," Walter said to Michael and Sherman, bringing their attention to the Sharpie that he was holding out of his pocket. X arrived at the teleportation room and saw Walter.

"Found him!" X shouted down the hallway, beckoning to someone as an angry horde appeared - Shantae, Saki, Olimar, and anyone else who had a mustache drawn on them. "There's the culprit!"

"Look everyone, I can't explain!" But Walter wouldn't get much time to explain, as the angry folks barged inside the teleportation room to shout their displeasure at Walter.

"Coach..." Sherman shook his head in dismay, watching as Walter was being ganged up by the angry mob. Serves Walter right.

Pac-Man: So X found out who the person drawing mustaches on people was? Superb! Tell X to bring the man over here so I can get my own mustache. My wife thinks that I would look goofy with facial hair, but I'm gonna show her!