Author's Note:

Today is my dog's birthday! (He will be turning four years old.) As such, Mario's subplot in this chapter will be mostly dedicated to my dog. I even finished the Mario subplot before everything else, ha. Guest reviews:

"Random question, but I've reread some of the chapters of this fanfic, and you said that you worked for ScreenRant. You know who else worked on ScreenRant? Ryan George! The guy who did those Pitch Meeting videos. What do you think about only having a 1 degree of separation between yourself and a popular guy like Ryan? Do you watch Ryan's videos on his channel?"

I guess it's pretty cool to have something in common with Ryan George. I do watch Ryan's videos on his channel, as well as his Pitch Perfect videos (the Space Jam one is my favorite). Another anonymous review:

"are you going to do a Mario movie chapter?"

Yes, I will! It will be next week when the movie will hit theaters. Another anonymous review:

"Do you have any plans for this fanfic's Grand Finale?"

I do have plans for the grand finale - no lie, I've started planning ever since I first watched "Avengers: Endgame". But I won't share my plans with you all, for then I would be spoiling stuff. Next is BaseballQuestion:

"I just watched a video about World Baseball Classic (basically the World Cup equivalent of baseball). Just wondering, what's your opinion on it? You always cover NFL and sometimes NBA. I don't know your thoughts on baseball (or hockey)."

I never watched any of the World Baseball Classic, so I have no strong opinion on it. But I'm happy that baseball is back baby, woo! Go Mets! On to The Reader:

"Well, Magolor's out of the bad guys' squad. Wonder what he got in store to redeem himself? I kinda entertained the idea of him teaming up with Eggman. Magolor's shaped like an egg, Eggman's name had "egg" in it. Sounds cool, don't you think?"

Ha, that does sound cool. Funny coincidence. The Reader also has a question about Tears of the Kingdom, after watching the presentation:

"Does the game bear any importance to this story? Like, does the Link from that game the same Champion Link we got in the story? Or are you considering TOTK as an alternate sequel for Champion Link, different from the one he got here? Yeah, man. Just the appearance of some characters really feels confusing if we're considering canon stuff. Like Sora should've been in "limbo" right now (no thanks to Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer), but here he is, alive and well (and even in his KH1 appearance)."

Only some. The Link from that game is the same Champion Link in this story. And as you said, Sora's current situation does complicate some things. David has questions:

"Will the other Fire Emblem Engage characters appear later on? Do you plan to do a chapter for Xenoblade 3's post-story season pass? Will Leon and Ada return next chapter? (Since the Resident Evil 4 Remake was released on the same day as Atelier Ryza 3). A Mario movie chapter when the film comes out? And finally, do you think Tony Khan wanting to sign Goldberg and Nia Jax could be the straw that breaks AEW's back? (The roster is too bloated and a lot of people want out. Lest we forget Keith Lee is putting on too much weight and Jon Moxley has a blading obsession that he may need mental help. Rusev also quit and left the USA)."

Other Engage characters will appear next week. Might do a chapter for XC3's post-story. Leon and Ada won't return just yet. The Mario movie chapter will be next week. And Tony Khan signing Goldberg and Nia make the roster even more bloated. Best to hold off on signing more people until you trim down the roster. Last is Some Smash News:

"So, Beyond the Summit just recently closed their business, and they went out one final time with Smash Ultimate Summit 6, their final tournament (which is won by the Steve player Acola from Japan). BTS has been very good to the Smash community. Gonna miss them so much. With VGBootCamp trying to come back after their SWT cancellation, Panda ceased activity due to the Panda Cup controversy, and now BTS closing their business due to economic problems, what's your opinion on the future of competitive Smash? Will they still thrive after all of the current problems?"

I hope that competitive Smash will thrive. It's good to have an alternative to the usual casual style of Smash. The competitive Smash community has seen a lot of roadblocks in the past few years, but I still have optimism for them.

Episode 380: FriendlyFace

Omnis Adest had grown considerably since the latest episode of Smash Life. Since last week, the community had added former league champion Lance, Morag, Brighid, the Nohrian royal family, the Hoshidian royal family, and Spyro's pals from the Forgotten Realms.

Wait a minute. The Nohrian and Hoshidian royal families, both living in Omnis Adest?! The mansion is gonna have a full-blown custody battle on its hands.

Royal families aside, Omnis Adest has seen an influx of new occupants. Yet amazingly, the community has yet to reach full capacity. There were only so many apartments and townhouses that could be filled up, and Master Hand wanted all of the homes to be occupied soon.

To ensure that Omnis Adest was chock full of people, Master Hand depended on Link and Zelda to reach out to folks, with Mario also given the responsibility. But Mario couldn't fulfill that responsibility today, for he had something important to do on his agenda. He had to take his pet dog, Poochy, to the veterinarian.

"Hold him down, hold-a him down!" Mario commanded Spyro and Hunter, washing Poochy in the bathtub of the master bathroom to ensure that his dog was clean for his appointment. Poochy was covered in suds as Mario scrubbed him, and the dog shook all the suds off of him.

"AUGH, IT GOT IN MY EYE!" Hunter shrieked in pain, down for the count as he got down on one knee while holding his hand over his eyes. Nonetheless, Mario kept pressing on with the scrubbing while Spyro did his best to keep Poochy contained.

"Bold of you to wash Poochy in the bathtub of the master bathroom," Spyro said to Mario, whose entire face was now covered in suds; the purple dragon felt fortunate that he didn't end up like Hunter.

"I've done-a this many times before; I just never told-a Peach," admitted Mario, unaware that Peach was standing at the bathroom doorway. Peach's eye was twitching as she did her best to process this information.

"Just going to pretend that I never heard that..." muttered Peach, her eye still twitching as she walked away from the bathroom. Safe to say that she would never use that bathtub again - or at least until it was disinfected.

Peach: Today marks the first time that Poochy will get a checkup from the veterinarian since we owned him. Mario claims that never wanted to take Poochy to the vet because of how expensive it was. But we all know the real reason - he's just scared that the veterinarian will ask what breed Poochy is. Mario is never ready for that conversation.

"And now, for the big-a rinse!" exclaimed Mario as he took the shower sprayer and used it to wash the suds off of Poochy. Poochy seemed to enjoy it too, as evidenced by the big smile on his face.

"Missed a spot," Spyro alerted Mario, bringing attention to a spot on Poochy's belly that the plumber had missed. Once that spot was taken care of, Poochy was finally free of suds.

"Is it safe now?" asked Hunter as he uncovered his eyes, only for Poochy to shake himself off a second time. Poochy got some water in Hunter's eyes, causing the cheetah to shriek in pain yet again.

"Hand-a me the towel," Mario, who didn't care about the pain that Hunter was in, commanded Spyro, who was just as uncaring. Spyro did as he was told as he grabbed a pink bath towel.

"Whoops! Grabbed Peach's bath towel by mistake," Spyro admitted his mistake, but that didn't stop Mario from snatching the pink towel from Spyro and using it to dry off Poochy after taking his dog out of the bathtub. "Guess that's Poochy's bath towel now!"

"Eh, he and Peach can share-a it together - it's all in the family." Mario dried Poochy off from head to toe, and Poochy shook himself off a third time although there were little to no water droplets. Poochy was now a clean boy.

"Whatever you say." As Mario tossed the pink bath towel unto the floor, Spyro looked towards Hunter who was lying on the floor with his hands over his eyes. "Stop being such a drama queen, Hunter."

"Someone call 9-1-1!" pleaded Hunter, who was rolling around on the bathroom floor acting as if he got shot. Spyro rolled his eyes at his cheetah friend's behavior.

"Now you're all fresh-a and clean for your vet visit!" Mario said proudly to Poochy, who was just as fresh and clean as the two members of Outkast. Maybe even more so. "Let's go down-a stairs so I can give you a doggy treat."

Struggling to accept the reality that Mario bathed Poochy in the master bathroom bathtub, Peach was in the kitchen brewing some tea. Instead of the questionable ingredients that she had used in the previous episode, Peach was trying to experiment with new stuff.

"Not so sure that using Slime as an ingredient is such a good idea," the Luminary kindly stated to Peach, as he was asked by the princess to bring as many Slimes as possible. A huge pile of Slimes was next to the Luminary.

"But it'll give my tea a unique kind of flavor," argued Peach, as Mario and Spyro came down the stairs while bringing Poochy with them. Hunter remained upstairs, demanding that someone called the paramedics. "You think that I'll spark a Slime genocide?"

"Well, probably, but there's more to it than that. Would you ever eat a Slime?" In all honesty, the Luminary could not believe that he let those very words escape out of his mouth.

"Whoever said anything about eating Slimes...we would be drinking them instead! Sort of." That simply wasn't enough to win over the Luminary, who kept his mouth for his own sake - and Peach's sake as well.

"Can't be any worse than using Pokemon eggs from the dragon Pokemon," Spyro argued to the Luminary, who furrowed his brow and looked at Peach as if she was a heartless monster. The most appropriate response that Peach could give was a cheerful smile.

"It's not like it's against the law." Peach might have a point, but Professor Elm - a true expert on all things Pokemon breeding - would take heavy offense to what Peach had done. Soon the doorbell rang.

"Luminary, I'm gonna give-a Poochy a treat; you go and answer the door," Mario told the mage as he reached inside a closet to grab a box of dog treats. Poochy began drooling when he saw the box, as his tail was wagging.

"I got my eye on you," the Luminary warned Peach, who was sizing up the pile of Slimes as the Luminary went to the front door. The Luminary kept his eye on Peach even as he had his hand on the doorknob.

When the Luminary opened the door, he saw a brunette standing at the doorstep, who had her hair tied up in a ponytail. If it weren't for Mario and Peach being distracted, they'd recognize the woman in a heartbeat.

"Good afternoon" the brunette greeted the Luminary, speaking with a British accent. A brunette with a ponytail and a British accent, does that sound familiar to you? "I was not expecting Mario and Peach to have guests over at this time of day."

"I was just stopping by for a minute," the Luminary explained, as Peach saw the brunette at the front door as her eyes widened. Peach kept her mouth shut so that she wouldn't give the woman's identity away. "So how do you know Mario and Peach?"

"They were kind enough to let me stay at their home for a while. Very lovely couple, if I do say so myself." Unable to contain her excitement, Peach looked towards Mario, who had just fed Poochy a few treats.

"That voice...I recognize-a it from anywhere..." uttered Mario, the brunette's voice having registered in his mind, as the plumber turned his head towards the front door and gasped. "...could-a it be?"

"Lara Croft - famous archeologist and tomb raider," the brunette introduced herself to the Luminary, revealing herself as none other than Lara Croft as she shook the Luminary's hand. "It is a pleasure."

"You can call Eleven...I-I mean, the Luminary," the Luminary would return the favor as he introduced himself to Lara, while Mario was waiting for his opportunity to speak with Lara. But he couldn't wait no more.

"Quit hogging the lady!" Mario shouted at the Luminary as he ran over to the mage and tossed him to the side. Mario was face-to-face with Lara, greeting her like an uncle greeting a niece he hadn't seen in a while. "Lara! Look at how much you've grown."

"It is good to see you, Mario," Lara smiled at the plumber, before looking past the plumber and seeing Peach as she waved to her. "And nice seeing you as well, Princess Peach."

Lara: If my memory serves me correctly, it has been five years since I left Seattle and went back across the pond. So today, I wanted to pay a visit to the couple who kindly took me in. Would spend time with someone else, but I can't seem to think of anyone...

Bowser: I may not mention her name as much, but I miss Lara. Even though we never had a chance to tie the knot, she was still a supportive friend. She was the only person who knew just how handsome I was, despite what the other naysayers thought. Got a slight hunch that she's in town... *pauses for a moment, then laughs it off* ...ah, who am I kidding.

"Come inside, I insist," Mario said to Lara as he led her inside his house, as he had so many things to show her and so many things to tell her about. "You must see our kids."

"Your...kids?" Lara seemingly must've forgotten that Peach was pregnant around the time she was in Seattle - showed you how much Mario and Peach kept in touch with the tomb raider. As Mario went to go retrieve his children, Hunter came down the stairs.

"Your boy is fully recovered!" announced Hunter, who could see again as the water was now out of his eyes. The cheetah felt like a new man.

"Don't look now, but we have a visitor," Spyro informed Hunter, whose attention was brought to Lara in the living room. Hunter began to tense up, much to Spyro's concern. "Hunter...?"

"It's alright, Hunter, you can do it..." Hunter's eyes were closed shut and his fists were held tight, as the cheetah was shaking uncontrollably. A concerned Spyro backed off for good measure. "You buried the hatchet with Ruby and her friends..."

"She is just coming to visit; she's not taking our room for us." Spyro's heads-up provided much comfort and relief to Hunter, who opened his eyes and stopped shaking. Spyro looked away and shook his head.

"This is Jennifer, and this-a is Lou," Mario introduced his two kids to Lara, as he brought the little rascals to the living room for Lara to see. Lara was rather delighted to see Mario and Peach's offspring.

"Aw, they look just like you," smiled Lara, as Mario proudly held onto Jennifer and Lou; not wanting to be left out, Poochy ran up to Mario and stood at his master's side. "I see you still have your dog."

"The oldest one, Jennifer, will be starting kindergarten this fall. No more home-a schooling. She's also doing ballet! Lemme get-a out my phone and..."

"Hey Mario, don't you have a veterinarian to get to?" the Luminary called out to the plumber, who was reminded of Poochy's vet visit. Mario looked down at Poochy, who was wagging his tail in excitement.

"Mama mia! You're right." Mario's time with Lara was cut short, as the plumber scooped up Poochy and held his pet dog in his arms. "Sorry Lara, but I gotta bounce - Poochy needs-a his doctor's visit."

"Then I'll see you off - hope to speak with you soon," Lara said to Mario, who hoped to catch Lara later in the day as he exited his house. Soon after Mario left, the Luminary pulled himself up on his feet.

"So, have you been to the mansion before?" the Luminary asked Lara, who gave away the answer when her face brightened up a bit. "I can take you there if you want me to."

"I'll let you lead the way," responded Lara as she followed the Luminary out of Mario's house, but not before turning around to face Peach. "I'll be back with you soon, princess."

Link and Zelda were in the mansion's foyer, having a word with Slippy Toad. If you might recall, Slippy was on a quest to receive his booster shot for the coronavirus. It was a shot that he had been meaning to receive for about over a year now.

"Here's my vaccination card," Slippy said to Link and Zelda, handing the Hylian couple his outdated vaccination card. Link and Zelda took a gander at the vaccination card together, and saw that it was legit.

"Do frogs even catch coronavirus?" Link asked Zelda, asking the most pressing question that was on his mind. It was a question that Zelda wasn't informed enough about to have an answer for.

"Most frog species probably do," assumed Zelda as she handed the vaccination card back to Slippy, not having a viable solution for the frog. "Not much that we can do on our end, Slippy."

"I've tried calling all the pharmacies in town, but they wouldn't take me in," explained Slippy, who had called every single pharmacy phone number in the phonebook and then some. "I think I was kicked out of their system."

Slippy: It's stuff like this that makes me wish that Dr. Mario was a real licensed doctor. No one has yet to see his doctorate. Bet you he got it from Syracuse or the University of North Carolina - if he even has one. Imagine going to study medicine at a basketball school.

"Not all pharmacies share the same system, you know," Link stated to Slippy, as the front door was opened by the Luminary. The Luminary quietly let Lara inside the mansion, certain to knock Link and Zelda's socks off.

"Link, Zelda, guess who came to town to visit?" the Luminary called out to the Hylian couple, bringing their attention to Lara. While Link and Zelda were both happy to see Lara, Slippy was more excited than the two of them combined.

"OMG, IT'S LARA CROFT!" Slippy squealed as he dropped his vaccination card to the floor; his vaccination status was old news now. "I'M LIKE YOUR BIGGEST NUMBER ONE FAN!"

"Hello Link, hello princess Zelda," Lara greeted the Hylians, as she completely ignored Slippy's fangirling moment. Lara went over to Link and Zelda, while the Luminary stood at the front door.

"Long time, no see," Link said to Lara, as Bowser Jr. came down the hallway and suddenly froze in place when he took sight of Lara. "How's life treating you across the pond?"

"Life's been treating me well, I suppose. Don't really have much to complain." After taking a few steps closer, Bowser Jr. was able to confirm that it was indeed Lara Croft, in the flesh.

"I must tell papa!" Bowser Jr. quietly said as he darted off down the hallway, most excited about telling Bowser the good news. He knew how much Bowser adored Lara - even if things didn't work out in the end as he intended.

"Originally, I came to town to visit Mario and Peach, but Mario had to take his dog to the vet. And Peach was preoccupied with whatever she was doing. Knew I should've come yesterday..."

"At least you have us," Zelda assured Lara, letting her know that she had another home at the mansion. Despite not being in there all that much. "The others will be happy to see you."

"I'm sure that they will. I assume this place has grown considerably since my last visit." Lara honestly had no idea how right she was, as Sephiroth came running into the foyer.

"For the last time, I do not want your noodles," Sephiroth shouted at Min Min, who had chased the one-winged angel into the foyer holding a bowl of freshly-prepared noodles. "It is the food of unprepared simpletons."

"Aw, but you never gave my noodles a..." Min Min was about to say to Sephiroth, only for Lara to suddenly catch her attention. Min Min looked sure to win over Lara with ner noodles. "...Link and Zelda, who's your friend?"

"What?! Are you telling me that you don't know Lara Croft?" a deeply insulted Slippy asked Min Min, now having serious doubts about how cultured the martial artist was. "The most famous tomb raider to have ever existed?!"

"That's enough, Slippy," Zelda said to the frog, who was glaring at Min Min as he backed down. Upon further inspection, Min Min saw that it was indeed Lara Croft.

"Didn't recognize her face at first...cut me some slack," Min Min said to Slippy, before making her move as she approached Lara with the noodles. "Say, Lara, do you care for noodles?"

"Miss Croft will not be having any noodles today," Sephiroth informed Min Min as he got in between the martial artist and Lara. Sephiroth looked at Lara menacingly, slightly intimidating the tomb raider. "Instead, she will be having a brief taste of...despair."

"I don't need anyone speaking for me," Lara spoke up for herself as she repelled Min Min and Sephiroth away from her, giving herself some personal space. "I'll find my own lunch."

"What's with all this commotion I'm hearing?" wondered Master Hand as he floated inside the foyer, seeing everyone gathered around. As expected, Master Hand let out a gasp of joy when he saw Lara.

"Oh dear..." fretted Lara, who knew what was coming next as Master Hand quickly floated over to her. Master Hand even knocked a few folks out of his way just so he and Lara could have some room.

"If it isn't my favorite tomb raider in the whole wide world...Lara Croft!" Master Hand was feeling oddly emotional - like a parent being happily reunited with their long-lost child. "I've missed you..."

"...I can tell." Lara personally wanted to get away from Master Hand - just to avoid the overbearing excitement that the giant hand was exuding - but she knew that the room for escape was nil.

"You must tell everything you have done since your last visit. Did you find a boyfriend? Have you gotten married yet? Please tell me you've started a family!"

"Think I can hear my stomach grumbling." Lara pretended that she was hungry, as she held her stomach. The trick worked like a charm on Master Hand, who was disappointed thinking that Lara came to Seattle on an empty stomach.

"Say no more, my friend! Min Min, take Lara here to Cafe Leblanc. Link, Zelda, I want to speak with you in private."

"But what about my noodles?" Min Min asked Master Hand about her noodles, as she held the bowl up for Master Hand to see. She would hate to throw away food; for her, it was the worst feeling in the world.

"That is an order, Min Min. If you care so much, give the noodles to Slippy!" Heaving a sigh, Min Min handed the noodles to Slippy, who looked confused for he had no chopsticks to at the noodles with.

"Follow me..." Min Min instructed Lara, as she led the tomb raider out of the foyer. Lara looked back at Link and Zelda, rueing the fact that her conversation with them had to be cut short.

"We'll resume our conversation later," Lara quietly said to Link and Zelda as she and Min Min made their leave. As Slippy searched around for some chopsticks, Link and Zelda were led to a corner of the foyer by Master Hand.

"Alright, Master Hand, what's up?" Zelda whispered to the giant hand, as she and Link were already dreading what Master Hand was cooking up. Whatever Master Hand had up his sleeve undoubtedly had something to do with Lara.

"I want you to make an offer to Lara that she cannot refuse," whispered Master Hand, who from the looks of it was acting rather greedy. "See if you can lure her to Omnis Adest."

"But she's only in town to visit," stated Link, who had a sinking feeling that Master Hand would propose something like making Lara an Omnis Adest resident. "Not like she brought her belongings with her."

"All that belongings stuff, we can worry about later. What I want you to do, is inquire about Lara's interest. If she says no, then go at her even harder."

Zelda: Master Hand will not rest until all the apartments and townhouses in Omnis Adest are filled. It's mainly the Carpenters' fault for overexerting themselves and building too many homes.

"That sounds very haphazard to do," Link offered his two cents on Master Hand's proposal, as the Luminary did his best not to eavesdrop on the conversation. But given where he was standing, it was hard not to.

"It does, in theory, but it will be worth it," responded Master Hand, fully confident that Link and Zelda could make Lara interested in staying at Omnis Adest. One way or another. "Please don't let me down!"

"Master Hand, wait..." said Zelda, as she had something she wanted to say, but her window of opportunity was closed as Master Hand vanished away. Zelda sighed, as she and Zelda were left with no other choice.

Ever since the events of episode 269, Bowser has made a vow to not pursue love, and commit to his role as a single father. All he wanted was for his kids (and favorite child) to have a mother figure in their lives, but the Koopa King came to accept that just being there for his kids mattered the most.

As Bowser was cleaning out his room, he came across several pictures of him and Peach together, which he found in his closet. Many of which showed Peach being reluctant around Bowser. Bowser was going through the pictures, cracking a smile.

"Boy, Peach must be happy to be with that loser Mario," remarked Bowser, looking through the pictures while sitting on his bed full of junk. "But I'm happy for her. Just like how I'm happy for me. Haha!"

"Papa! You're not gonna believe who came over to visit," exclaimed Bowser Jr. as he scurried inside Bowser's room, while his father was the most subdued that he has ever seen him. "It's your former crush, Lara Croft!"

"Not now, Junior, can't you see that I'm..." Bowser suddenly stopped speaking, as he looked up from his pictures of him and Peach and turned his head towards Bowser Jr. "...did you just say, Lara Croft?"

Cafe Leblanc was jumping more than usual, as Joker and the baristas had one of their biggest crowds in recent memory. Min Min guided Lara inside the cafe, still salty over her bowl of noodles. Wouldn't be nearly as salty had she given them to someone other than Slippy.

"This is Cafe Leblanc, where the magic happens...most of it," Min Min explained to Lara, who soaked in everything that Cafe Leblanc had to offer. The atmosphere, the aesthetics...anything else that started with the letter A.

"Mansion has grown considerably," commented Lara, as she saw a mixture of old and new faces. She had a hard time telling who was a mansion resident and who wasn't, so Min Min had to clear up the air.

"Most of these peeps live outside of the mansion. The baristas can explain everything to you later." Min Min brought Lara to the counter and had her take a seat on a stool. "Why don't you have a seat?"

"Don't mind if I do." As Lara took a seat on the stool, she was soon greeted by regular Cafe Leblanc customer Sans. Unlike Min Min, Sans didn't take long to recognize Lara.

"You must be lara croft," Sans said to the tomb raider, as Min Min retreated from the counter to save herself. Too bad Lara couldn't do the same. "the name is Sans. would tell you a joke, but i have tomb many to share."

"I am positive that you do," Lara responded with a fake smile, duping Sans into believing that he made an awesome first impression on the tomb raider. Sans would take whatever personal victory he could get.

"And don't ask me for another refill again," Joker said to Sans as he handed the skeleton a refilled cup of coffee. After handing the coffee to Sans, Joker saw Lara and locked eyes with her.

"Why, hello there." Lara only said those three words, giving Joker the floor to speak. But Joker was too dumbstruck to utter a single thing.

"Have we...met before? Christmas 2018, right?" Christmas 2018 was the last time Lara had been to the mansion, and it was also around that time that Joker and his Phantom Thief friends had joined the mansion as residents.

"I believe so. We had that little chat after that Christmas Ball was over. Told me how you did a bloody good job with that Christmas concert."

"Yes, it's all coming back to me! My concert was a thing of beauty, all things considered. And to think that Master Hand wanted to screw me over..."

Joker: It was a treat getting to speak with Lara Croft following the Christmas concert. One that I did not expect, but still appreciated nonetheless. The highlight of our conversation was hearing Lara tell how hard Bowser had simped for her. I thought she was pulling my tail at first. *pauses* I still like to think that she was pulling my tail.

"Hey, Joker, who's that pretty..." asked Pit as he joined Joker at the counter, only to gasp when he saw Lara. Quite frankly, Pit was the other individual that Lara slightly rued seeing, and for a different reason other than Master Hand.

"Greetings, Pit - I didn't know you worked at this cafe," Lara greeted the angel, who was shell-shocked to see Lara with his mouth agape and his hands on the side of his face. "This place must not be FDA-approved, then..."

"Kirby, Viridi, Incineroar! Come quick! It's Lara!" Pit's friends would join the angel at the counter, and they were all happy to see Lara. Incineroar, who wasn't that familiar with Lara, wasn't nearly as happy.

"Hello, Lara!" Kirby greeted the tomb raider, having to pull himself up on a stool hidden underneath the counter to get a better look at Lara. "Nice seeing you."

"It's been so long! Can I hug you?" Viridi asked Lara, before running from behind the counter and running around to hug Lara. Lara was caught off-guard by the hug, given how xenophobic Viridi was the last time she saw her.

"Well, this is unexpected," remarked Lara, with a blank look on her face as Viridi continued to hug her. Viridi, realizing what she was doing, ended the hug for Lara's sake.

"...sorry, I don't know where that came from. Maybe I was just stoked to see you again." Viridi returned to her post behind the counter, unsure of what had gotten into her. She had nothing to say about her actions.

"Everybody look, it's Lara Croft!" Pit shouted at all the cafe patrons, bringing unwanted attention to Lara as she pointed at the tomb raider. The crowd cheered, as Lara was forced to awkwardly smile and wave.

"Welcome back, Lara!" Captain Falcon called out to the tomb raider before looking at Chun-li who was beside him, and said to her in a bragging manner, "I had given Lara a ride in my taxi once."

"Amazing that she even made it out of that taxi alive and in one peace," remarked Chun-li, as a highly insulted Captain Falcon looked at the martial artist with a dumbfounded look on his face. The audacity of Chun-li to downplay Falcon's taxi skills.

"May I interest you with some orange curry?" Joker offered to Lara, who pretended to be hungry just to get out of her conversation with Master Hand - and now she was hungry all of a sudden. "Since you're a very special guest, your bowl will be free."

"I would most appreciate it," replied Lara, and soon Joker got to work as he gathered all the ingredients he needed to perfect his orange curry. A curious question soon entered Lara's mind. "Wait, do the people who live in this mansion have to pay for the curry?"

Mario was at the vet, waiting in the lobby area with all the other pet owners and their fellow canine companions. The plumber watched Poochy go around, sniffing other dogs' butts.

"Stop it Poochy, you're embarrassing me..." Mario whispered to his dog, who was sniffing canine posteriors like there was no tomorrow. Mario feared that Poochy's current activity was damaging his reputation.

"He's trying to learn info about the other dogs," a dog owner informed Mario, assuming that the plumber didn't know much about dogs. Which would deeply offend Mario, if that were the case.

"So you're saying that my dog wants-a to be a grade-A instigator." Done sniffing butts, Poochy moved on to sniffing something else...a person's crotch! The dog had his nose all up in a man's crotch, much to the man's chagrin.

"Woah!" exclaimed the man, who was reading a men's health magazine only to look down and see Poochy sticking his nose in his privates. Mario shrieked as he grabbed Poochy and pulled him away.

"I'm so sorry, sir, Poochy is just-a super hyper today! I can assure-a you that he's not into men." Mario took Poochy with him as he sat back down in his seat, as Poochy proceeded to lick his face. "Don't lick-a me after you did all that sniffing..."

"Mr. Mario? Mr. Mario!" a technician called out to Mario, poking her head inside the lobby area, as Mario instantly perked up while Poochy kept licking his face. "It's time for Poochy's appointment."

"About-a time. Here-a we go, Poochy!" Mario placed Poochy back on the floor and walked his dog out of the lobby area as he followed after the technician.

"First, I will need to weigh your dog." The technician brought Mario to a scale and motioned the plumber to place his pet dog on the scale. "Can you put your dog on the scale, please?"

"I cannot, for Poochy's weight-a is confidential information." A stare from the technician got Mario to change his tune real quick, as the plumber brought Poochy up to the scale. Poochy panted with his tongue out as the technician recorded Poochy's weight.

"Good, good! Follow me, I'll take you to the exam room." After recording Poochy's weight, the technician led Mario down the hallway to the exam room and brought Mario and Poochy inside.

"This looks-a just like my old hospital room - but only less-a comfy." Mario took a gander at the exam room, as the technician did her best to dismiss Mario's comments. Mario was easily entranced by what he saw.

"Go and have a seat - the vet will be with you shortly." The technician would leave the exam room, closing the door behind her as she left Mario and Poochy all alone. Once the technician was gone, Poochy lifted his hind leg as he was about to pee...on a medical stool.

"Ack!" Acting out of pure instinct, Mario scooped up Poochy and held him over a sink, as he allowed his dog to pee in it. The regret that Mario had built inside of him was palpable. "We will never speak-a of this moment again."

Fox and Falco had been to MC Ballyhoo's place at Omnis Adest, speaking with the emcee about some of the ideas he had in mind for getting Star Records out of the red. It was a fruitful conversation, and Fox and Falco took all of Ballyhoo's ideas to heart.

"We will chat again tomorrow, after my spa day," Ballyhoo said to Fox and Falco as he saw the pilots out of his house, walking them down the walkway. "Shantae's gonna give me a back massage, free as charged!"

"Wish that someone could give us a back massage," muttered Fox, who along with Falco believed that Tifa and Aerith owed them one from episode 270. Both pilots were still waiting.

Tifa: Yes, I'm aware that Aerith and I still "owe" the pilots a back massage for their troubles. Long as Aerith doesn't mention anything about that around Fox and Falco, we should remain in the clear.

"Maybe you'll get one soon," Ballyhoo said to Fox as he smacked the pilot on his butt with his hand. A greatly unsettled Fox looked at Ballyhoo. "That was a sign of companionship."

"Please do not do that to me ever again," Fox warned Ballyhoo, making sure that the emcee learned his lesson. The pilot felt violated.

"What he said," Falco followed up on Fox, as Ballyhoo sheepishly returned to the front door once Fox and Falco had gotten far enough.

"I was in the groove, that's all it was," Ballyhoo stated apologetically, with his hand on the doorknob of the front door. "Talk to you tomorrow!" Ballyhoo closed the front door as he went inside his townhouse, bringing any humiliation he had with him.

"He smacked my butt harder than Krystal...that's a major red flag," stated Fox while rubbing his butt, as the red flag could mean two different things. (Or both things at the same time.) Falco would voice his agreement with Falco, but he was too busy staring at someone in the distance.

"Bruh, check that out..." Falco said to Fox as he pointed at an individual strolling through Omnis Adest...a hooded Organization XIII member. Fox took sight of the Organization member and was on high alert.

"He must be looking for a butt-kicking. I'd say we go give him one!"

Mario and Poochy waited inside the exam room, as they waited for the veterinarian to arrive. Finally, their wait was over as a woman wearing a doctor's coat entered the room while holding a clipboard.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mario!" the vet greeted Mario, as she sat on the medical stool that Poochy (fortunately) didn't get a chance to pee on. "My name is Ms. Ramos, and I will be handling Poochy's doctor's appointment."

"Thank-a goodness you came, he was about to defecate on-a the floor," Mario offered his thanks to Ms. Ramos, who looked at the plumber with a look of great concern. Mario showed instant regret afterward. "Forget that I said anything..."

"Looks like someone forgot to take their dog to the bathroom before making the trip to the vet! But no worries, it's all good. So, can you tell me what breed Poochy is?"

"He is...he is a dog," Mario answered the question the best way that he could, and Mr. Ramos assumed that the plumber was hiding something from her.

"But what kind of dog is he? A pug? A beagle? Is he some kind of inbred dog?"

"None of the above." Mario shook his head no, as Ms. Ramos was forced to write "N/A" on her clipboard.

"Alright then...we'll just move right along! Can I get your dog's temperature?"

"I dunno, can you?" Mario wasn't trying to be rude or funny or anything - he just didn't expect the vet to take Poochy's temperature. Nonetheless, Ms. Ramos took out a veterinary thermometer.

"Of course, I can! Hold still, Poochy." Ms. Ramos held Poochy, as she placed the thermometer close to the dog's anus. Mario was understandably confused.

"That's not where his forehead is." Mario looked ready to call the vet's office and let them know that they saddled him with a sham veterinarian.

"I know what I'm doing, Mr. Mario," Ms. Ramos assured Mario, as she got a reading on the thermometer. The vet smiled at the result she got. "Your dog has a temperature of 101 degrees."

"Are you saying that Poochy has a fever?!" Any human body temperature that was over 99 degrees signaled a fever, and Mario believed that the same also applied to dogs.

"No, not at all! 101 degrees is a normal body temperature for cats and dogs. But if it goes over 104 degrees, then it becomes a problem."

Peach: I'm worried about Mario at the vet's office. Not that Mario would do anything to humiliate himself, but I fear that he might have a lack of knowledge about dogs, and it would be exposed. We all know how inept he is when it comes to basic Pokemon material.

"Now to check Poochy's pulse," said Ms. Ramos, moving things right along as she took out her stethoscope. Poochy was moving about, unable to keep still. "Mario, I'll need your dog to remain still."

"Easy peasy, nothin' sleazy," said Mario, flexing his fingers and bracing himself for the task. The plumber stood in front of Poochy and held his hand out to his dog in a commanding manner. "Poochy, I command-a thee to stay still!"

"It's not working." Ms. Ramos watched as Poochy kept moving around in place, exhibiting some form of doggy ADHD. Left with no other choice, Mario let out a sigh as he resorted to his plan B.

"Got a treat-a for ya..." A reluctant Mario dug into his pocket and pulled out a dog treat, holding it up for Poochy to see. Poochy stopped moving and got all excited, as he was hyperfocused on the dog treat.

"His heartbeat must be going crazy! Put the treat away." So Mario put the treat back in his pocket, as Poochy began to calm down. Ms. Ramos placed her stethoscope on Poochy's chest to get an accurate reading.

"What's his heart-a rate looking like?" Mario hoped to hear a good number, as Ms. Ramos took her stethoscope away from Poochy's chest and recorded the results on her clipboard.

"His heart rate is normal for a dog his size. His respiratory rate doesn't seem suspect either!" After she was done writing on her clipboard, Ms. Ramos got off of her medical stool and stood up. "Once I put these numbers in our records, we will begin Poochy's physical exam."

"Cool-a beans." So Ms. Ramos left the room, as Mario looked over at Poochy and saw his dog - in a squatting position. "NO, POOCHY, NOT ON THE DESK!"

Link and Zelda were tasked with luring Lara to Omnis Adest, and neither Hylian wanted to do it. So they spoke with Cloud in the middle of the hallway, seeing if the swordsman knew of something that would help the couple get out of their enforced mission.

"Lara seems perfectly fine in England," Zelda stressed to Cloud, as she and Link were gathered with the swordsman. The Luminary was peeking around the corner eavesdropping on the conversation.

"I would imagine so," responded Cloud as he folded his arms, not at all surprised that Master Hand desired to keep Lara in Seattle at any cost. "Master Hand must think otherwise."

"Luminary, are you snooping on people?" Veronica asked the Luminary, coming around the corner as she caught the mage red-handed. The Luminary turned to shush Veronica, before looking back at Cloud and company.

"Master Hand's not going to make us entice Lara," stated Link as he put his foot down - but would he put his foot down if he and Zelda were to tell Master Hand how they felt? "Sadly, he might not hear us out."

"You won't know unless you try," stated Cloud, unsure of what Link and Zelda had to fear. The Hylian couple was the top authority of the mansion; it wasn't like they were some unspectacular plebs.

"Heh, I guess you're right...we could work some magic on Master Hand." Satisfied that Link took up on his advice, Cloud unfolded his arms. "But you'll have to be there."

"As a witness? If that's what you want me to do, then so be it." As Cloud, Link, and Zelda remained congregating in the hallway, Veronica tapped the Luminary on his leg.

"Yes, Veronica, can I help you?" the Luminary whispered to his Keeper, wondering why she was bothering him at a time like this. The Luminary was one shout away from giving away his cover.

"It's not very nice to spy on someone in private," Veronica informed the Luminary, who didn't want to hear her crap as he retreated from his hiding spot. Veronica watched as the Luminary left, thinking that she got him good.

Lara was at the cafe, eating from her bowl of orange curry. As the tomb raider ate, Pit placed a cup of coffee near her bowl.

"Brewed it just for you," Pit smiled at Lara, before waiting patiently for Lara to take a sip of the coffee and give her honest thoughts on it. But it didn't appear that Lara would be drinking any coffee anytime soon.

"Thank you, Pit," Lara thanked the angel anyway as she moved her coffee to the side, before resuming eating her curry. Pit stood where he was, anticipating Lara's first sip of the coffee.

"Pit, she's not going to drink it - get back to work," Joker commanded the angel, who was met with disappointment as he left Lara alone and resumed working. Pit kept a close eye on Lara, just in case the tomb raider was to touch her coffee.

"I'll happily take that coffee off your hands if you don't want it," a certain butler said to Lara, extending his hand out as he grabbed the coffee. Lara looked at the butler who grabbed her coffee and recognized him as Jakob.

"Oh! You must be that butler from a couple of years ago," Lara said to Jakob, under the heavy impression that Jakob had atoned for his wrongdoings. Which he had done last year. "Did you get the job?"

"I will honestly say that being the mansion's butler is not the right fit for me." Jakob took the cup of coffee with him as he returned to his seat, at a table where Sonic, Conker, and Orson were seated at.

"Doctor says I can't drink any caffeine," Conker informed Sonic, as Jakob sat down in his seat and placed his coffee on the table. Conker's latte was staring right at him, begging to be drunk.

"Drinking that latte will repress your thoughts about Berri," Sonic enticed Conker, who took the blue hedgehog's word for it as he sipped the latte. Conker got frantic in a hurry, smiling wide.

"Manipulating others, that is so beneath you," Jakob said to Sonic in a disapproving manner, as Conker drank the rest of his latte. Having slurped down his entire drink, Conker let out a caffeine-fueled holler.

"You played Rouge like a fiddle, don't you remember?" Sonic effectively put Jakob in his place, and Jakob knew it too as he had no comeback for Sonic.

Sonic: Samus and Mercy were no help, but I can't say that I wasn't surprised. Samus is, well, Samus, and Mercy was probably too busy weighing the pros and cons of reviving a dead girlfriend. She just has the look of a moral policeman. But Moira, I can trust her to get the job done. And unlike Cloud's project, there won't be any life or death consequences...I hope.

Jakob: Sonic told me earlier that the Nohrian royal family is at Omnis Adest. This can be my one big chance to appeal to the family and be welcomed back into the kingdom. But if they won't hear me out, then I suppose that I can always defect to the Hoshidian side. I am no stranger to playing sides, after all.

"Found her, papa!" Bowser Jr. called out to Bowser, standing in the cafe doorway as he spotted Lara. Bowser came over to his son and saw Lara at the counter, ripe for the taking.

"Jackpot..." Bowser said quietly, smiling as he entered the cafe; the Koopa King was making his move, albeit slowly, as he shushed the others to keep them from giving him away.

Lara was in the kind of position that Bowser wanted her in, with her back turned. That meant the element of surprise was high, as Bowser went to an available stool at the counter.

"Excuse me miss, but is this seat taken?" Bowser asked Lara as he sat down on the empty stool, next to Lara. Lara looked to her right and saw Bowser, a face that she had been used to seeing several years ago.

"Why, hello Bowser..." Lara greeted the Koopa King, who was acting normal so far - nothing of the usual Bowser fare. "...had a feeling that I would run into you sooner or later."

"Better sooner than later. But before you ask, I'm not here to ask you out on a date. We've already put that whole romantic thing to bed.

"That I am aware of." Lara was interested in knowing why Bowser was dying to speak with her, as she was all ears for what the Koopa King wished to share with her.

"Instead, I wanted to do a little catch-up. Tell you all the stuff that's been going on in my life. And you can do the same. We'll take turns."

"This might be interesting..." Joker said quietly to the other baristas, as Bowser chatting with Lara was not something he expected to see today. It was the young man's first time seeing Bowser and Lara together - and it was a sight that he struggled to accept was real.

Fox and Falco were on the prowl for the anonymous Organization XIII member, looking to find them and kick their butt. They would find this Organization member in a backyard, speaking with another Organization member in Demyx.

"Aw shucks, we can't find this Lara Croft lady anywhere!" whined Demyx, while Fox and Falco were peeking over the fence. Fox and Falco exchanged looks, wondering what the Organization wanted to do with Lara.

"Do not be alarmed - this mission is only as a result of Dimentio's curiosity," the anonymous Organization member informed Demyx, who was dreading the thought of being punished for failing another mission. Should be noted that this anonymous member spoke with a British accent.

"Yeah, well, why can't Dimentio do this stuff himself? Why does he always have to rely on us to do his dirty work?! It's not fair..."

"All is fair in the name of love and war. Endless bickering will not provide a remedy - best to keep your head low and carry on."

"These Organization dudes sure have a way with words," Falco quietly discussed with Fox, finding Organization XIII to be dignified villains - with Demyx perhaps as the lone exception.

"They must study a dictionary or something in their spare time," responded Fox, unaware that a monkey with a laser blaster was spying on him and Falco from afar while hiding behind a tree. "Either that or..."

"Haha! I found you!" exclaimed the monkey with the laser blaster who was Agent 9 - one of Spyro's pals from the Forgotten Realms. Agent 9 was firing shots at Fox and Falco, who dodged the lasers like absolute G's.

"Oh no, it's the galactic police!" shrieked Falco, who was unable to see Agent 9 for he was too busy dodging the lasers that were fired at him. The way that Fox and Falco were dodging the lasers looked as if they were dancing.

"Dance, monkey, dance!" Agent 9 was properly entertained as he fired away with his ray gun, as Fox and Falco suddenly stopped. Agent 9 consequently stopped, as Fox and Falco were giving him a crazy look.

"Aren't you a monkey yourself?" Fox questioned Agent 9, who was ready to refer to the pilot as Captain Obvious if only the term hadn't escaped him at that very moment. "Also, why do I feel like I remember you...?"

"You should remember me! I'm Agent 9 - the greatest space monkey in all of the Forgotten Realms!" As Agent 9 made his claim, a dragon scale fell out of his pocket and landed on the ground. "Whoops!"

"You wretched monkey...give me back my dragon scale!" a man called out to Agent 9 from afar, and it sounded like Lance. Agent 9 tried to scoop up the dragon scale, but it was too late as Lance soon arrived with his Dragonite. Well, one of his Dragonites.

"No, it's not what you think! Please don't eat me!" Agent 9 fell on his back, overwhelmed with fear as Dragonite towered over him. Lance stood next to Dragonite, pleased with how frightened Agent 9 was.

"I think that Dragonite here ought to teach you a lesson. Dragonite, use Dragon Breath!" So Dragonite charged up a Dragon Breath in his mouth, as Agent 9 closed his eyes and looked away with his hand over his face.

"Can you please keep it down? We're trying to enjoy our tea," shouted Morag, as she and her Driver Brighid exited from their townhouse to speak with Lance and the others. All the attention was on Morag, as Dragonite stopped charging up his Dragon Breath.

"My apologies, ladies, this monkey here stole one of my dragon scales." Lance pointed at Agent 9, who hopped back on his feet as he half-expected Morag and Brighid to take Lance to the cleaners.

"Zippity zoppity, your precious dragon scale is now my property!" Agent 9 proclaimed to Lance as he picked up the Dragon Scale, only for Lance to take it out of his hands. Agent 9 snapped his fingers in disgust.

Lance: Princess Peach is using the dragon scales of Pokemon...to brew her homemade tea? And she uses dragon eggs as well? Mario needs to get a hold of his wife before she resorts to using the blood of dragon Pokemon as an ingredient. I'm amazed that she hasn't considered that already. Best not to give her any ideas.

"Can you keep it down, we're trying to catch some bad guys," Fox said to Morag and Brighid, before flinching with anticipation as he feared that the former lady would smack him. Falco looked over the fence and was suddenly met with disappointment.

"Bruh, they're gone!" Falco alerted Fox, who looked over the fence and saw that Demyx and the other Organization member were no longer in the backyard. "You guys must've scared them off."

"They ran off because they knew that I was coming for 'em!" shouted Agent 9 as he shook his fist, overestimating how much people feared him. The only person that would fear Agent 9 would perhaps be a certain tuxedo-wearing bear.

"We just wanted you to keep it down," Brighid expressed to Fox and Falco, apologetic for messing up the pilots' plans. Morag wasn't nearly as apologetic.

"Pardon me if I ask, but what guys are you looking for?" Lance approached Fox and Falco, as he couldn't help but be curious about what the pilots were up to. "Surely it's not some Team Rocket grunts."

"Who we're dealing with is far worse than Team Rocket...it's Organization XIII," answered Fox, and to his surprise that rang a bell for Lance as the former champion's eyes widened.

"Organization XIII! Anna mentioned them briefly in the postscript of the invite she sent me. Along with asking for donations. But that part is irrelevant."

"Ooh, I'd love to blast this Organization XIII to bits exclaimed Agent 9 as he pretended to wield his laser blaster, pointing his weapon in all sorts of directions. Fortunately, he wasn't pulling the trigger.

"Well, we got two of its members at Omnis Adest today, so this can be your big chance," Fox informed Agent 9, who let out his excitement by squealing and doing a backflip. Meanwhile, Brighid was whispering something into Morag's ear.

"Brighid and I will be of assistance," Morag offered to Fox and Falco, as she and her Driver were entering themselves into the fray. "But only if it means ensuring that our tea party will carry on in peace."

"I will be at your side as well," offered Lance, the next person to side with the pilots in stopping Organization XIII. With Lance, Agent 9, Morag, and Brighid in tow, Fox and Falco could not be stopped.

"Awesome, awesome! This is what I like to see," remarked Fox as he nodded his head, hoping to see some solid cooperation from his and Falco's allies. Lance and the others were going to prove their worth on their first day at Omnis Adest.

Ms. Ramos was back in the exam room, for it was time to start Poochy's physical exam. The vet kicked things off by petting Poochy, to get a good feel for the dog, before inspecting his face and his eyes.

"Poochy's nose seems to be missing," observed Mr. Ramos, perturbed by the lack of nose on Poochy; she was feeling all over Poochy's face, looking to find a hidden lump somewhere. "Did something happen to it?"

"He was born-a without a nose - and ears," stated Mario, as Ms. Ramos took this information to heart while she carried on with her inspection of Poochy. Ms. Ramos opened Poochy's mouth wide, and was startled by what she saw...or did not see.

"And I take it that he was born without any teeth either?" The lack of teeth in Poochy's mouth let Ms. Ramos know that Poochy was no ordinary dog. She had never seen a canine quite like Poochy before.

"Or a set-a of genitals." These facts from Mario continued to fascinate Ms. Ramos, although the latest factoid made Ms. Ramos feel bad for Poochy and his inability to procreate.

"Your pet dog is truly an enigma, Mr. Mario...now let's see how he walks." Mr. Ramos picked up Poochy and placed him on the floor, giving him the freedom to walk around as he pleased. Poochy ventured around the exam room, sniffing every inch.

"He loves-a to sniff a lot." Mario was standing out of the way as Poochy was sniffing around until he went over to Ms. Ramos's medical stool and peed on it. Fortunately, Ms. Ramos was standing. "That was unintentional."

"That's fine, we have enough disinfectant in the back." Ms. Ramos gave an understanding smile as she brought Poochy away from the medical stool after he was done peeing. "Now let's see how alert Poochy is. Follow my finger, Poochy..."

Taking up on Cloud's advice, Link and Zelda banded together to speak with Master Hand and let them know that Lara wasn't interested in staying at Omnis Adest. The Hylian couple spoke with Master Hand in his room, while Cloud watched outside from the doorway.

"So in short, Lara has no desire to stay at Omnis Adest," Link explained to Master Hand, hoping that the giant hand would hear him out. "She plans on returning home this evening, or the next morning."

"I don't believe you," Master Hand said curtly to Link, as things weren't going as Link and Zelda exactly had planned. Which was a given, when Master Hand was involved. "I need proof of Lara saying this."

"We heard it out from her mouth," Zelda stressed to Master Hand, but that wasn't enough to sway the giant hand's mind. Master Hand needed more.

"Where's the audio evidence?" Master Hand was looking for solid evidence, and neither Link nor Zelda had any piece of evidence to spare.

"Why do you even need...we heard her say it ourselves!" Zelda would bring Lara to Master Hand's room and ask her to play along, but there would be too much work involved in that.

"Sorry, but I need evidence. Otherwise, Lara Croft will be staying at Omnis Adest. Unless she injures someone with ill intent, then perhaps I may reconsider..."

"We did our best to tell you," Link said to Master Hand, as the eavesdropping Cloud had a crazy idea develop in his head after hearing the last part of what Master Hand had said. "Can't just add someone to Omnis Adest against their will."

"Just trying to reach max capacity, that's all." Master Hand believed that he was operating with the best intentions in mind, but Link and Zelda both thought otherwise as they exited the giant hand's room.

Master Hand: Lara would be a very welcome addition to Omnis Adest. Word has it that she knows how to use a gun well. Who at Omnis Adest knows how to use a gun? And we're talking about real guns here. You bring up the newly added Agent 9, you lose your argument.

"I have an idea," Cloud spoke with Link and Zelda, literally one second after the Hylian couple had exited from Master Hand's room. "What if we frame Lara, and have Master Hand reconsider her residency status?"

"Sounds mean-spirited," Zelda offered her two cents, imagining that it would be wrong to frame a person like Lara for any sort of wrongdoing. "But if that is what we must do, then so be it..."

"Just so you know, I want no part of it. I was only making a suggestion." Cloud held his hands up as he backed away, letting Link and Zelda know that he was not to be relied upon.

"But if you don't want to play victim, then who will..." Link was about to ask, only for a certain mage to whistle from down the hallway. The Luminary appeared, and he looked like he meant business.

"Need someone to help keep Lara out of Seattle?" the Luminary asked Link and Zelda while holding some black mascara in his hand. Which he suddenly felt the need to address. "This isn't my mascara, by the way."

Bowser was chatting with Lara at Cafe Leblanc, doing some catching up with the tomb raider. Bowser, with his arms resting on the countertop, was taking up much of the counter space.

"That right there is the real Dante," Bowser said to Lara he pointed at Dante, who entered the cafe while giving an awkward smile and wave. "Not the dollar store Dante with black hair."

"Good to know," responded Lara, who didn't remember much about the Dante that Captain Falcon raced with back in episode 91. Also seemed as if that "Dollar Store Dante" was now a thing at the mansion.

"Bowser can you move your hands, you're taking up too much space," Joker kindly made his request known to the Koopa King, who was too engrossed in his conversation with Lara to listen. Joker had no room to place Makoto's bowl of curry.

"This is the happiest that I've ever seen Bowser..." Makoto leaned in close to whisper to Joker, while she kept a close eye on Bowser. Bowser was indeed happy, and getting to speak with Lara made him feel as such.

"Hope you don't have any regrets about not romancing me," Lara said to Bowser, almost positive that the Koopa King had moved on. Bowser wasn't expecting that question, but he did have a suitable answer.

"To tell you the truth, Lara, I have moved on from finding love," confessed Bowser, prompting Lara to give Bowser a shocked look. Yet at the same time, Lara was happy for Bowser and the choice he made. "I'm committed to being the best single father ever!"

"Oh, you have?" Lara saw Bowser pull a mug out of his imaginary pocket, and it was a "Best Dad Ever" mug. The word "Single" was written in between "Best" and "Single" in Sharpie, and all caps.

"For the record, I didn't buy this myself." Bowser didn't have to buy his own "Best Dad Ever" mug, that was a positive sign. "I had Proto Man do it instead after I gave him the money."

"Getting it straight out of the Amazon warehouse was worth it," Proto Man called out from the table he was sitting at, which was close to the counter. Bowser was beaming with joy as he placed the "Best Single Dad Ever" mug on the counter.

"Want some coffee? You got it!" exclaimed Pit, grabbing a vat of coffee and pouring his contents into Bowser's mug. Bowser looked distraught as Pit filled the mug up to the very top.

"Dang it, Pit, that mug was just for show! Eh, it's too late anyway. Mind putting some creamer in?" So Pit poured some creamer into Bowser's coffee and added some sugar just for good measure.

Poochy's day at the vet was not done yet, for there was one more thing that the dog had to do - get his vaccinations, which were done in a separate room. Regarding vaccinations, Poochy was very much behind schedule, so he needed a lot of shots to be up to date.

"Promise you this won't hurt a bit..." Ms. Ramos assured Poochy as she gave the dog his first vaccine dosage. Poochy began to tense up, and once he felt the needle prick him, Poochy yelped in pain.

"Finally know what it's like to be pricked-a by needles yourself, huh?" a grinning Mario asked Poochy with his arms folded, as Ms. Ramos looked at the plumber while the dosage was applied. "It's...it's a long-a story."

"Oh, wow! Your dog is getting the booster as well?" a certain frog asked Mario, who did a double take when he saw Slippy enter the vaccination room. Slippy sat on a chair, waiting patiently for the doctor.

"Slippy Toad?! This is the vet's office..." Didn't matter much to Slippy, who was humming a happy tune as he swung his legs. Ms. Ramos was too busy vaccinating Poochy to deal with Slippy.

"Doctor's office, vet's office, witch doctor's office...it's all the same to me!" Soon a vet entered the room and come over to Slippy, whose body was fully ready. "I am here to receive my booster shot, good sir," Slippy said to the vet.

"Sir, this is the veterinarian's office...we only offer booster shots to dogs and cats only," the vet informed Slippy, who had just taken his vaccination card out of his pocket to use as evidence. And now, Slippy was devastated.

"But you serve frogs as well, don't you?" A firm shake of the vet's head ultimately crushed Slippy, who sighed as he got up and walked out of the room. That booster shot of his was gonna have to wait for a long time...a very long time.

Slippy: People like to think that the coronavirus is over with, but it's not. It's far from over. It'll be over once I finally get that booster shot. I'll be the one that'll bring the pandemic to an end. Joe Biden, you better have that Presidential Medal of Freedom ready for me. Although a Nobel Peace Prize would work just as fine.

"All done!" announced Mr. Ramos, after administering the last vaccine to Poochy; following the first needle prick, Poochy took the rest of the other shots like a true champ. "Poochy is up to date with his vaccinations."

"Which means that he's-a Superdog now," joked Mario, earning a laugh out of Ms. Ramos as he grabbed Poochy and placed him on the floor. Poochy was in high spirits, running around in place.

"Not quite! Follow me to the waiting room, and we'll be right with you with your paperwork."

Bowser chatting with Lara at the cafe attracted a few onlookers, Makoto being one of them. Makoto was unable to eat her curry much, for she was too focused on Bowser and Lara interacting with each other.

"I never got to ask, how's your friend doing? Samantha Nishimura, right?" Bowser asked Lara before taking a sip from his mug, which he now considered tainted. Time for him to ask Proto Man to buy him another mug.

"You remembered her name," smiled Lara, who was impressed by Bowser's memory; Bowser was a lot sharper than his grotesque monster appearance let on. "Sam is handling herself just fine."

"So it's Sam, not Samantha...isn't she a photographer?" Bowser was interested in knowing about Lara's best friend, and it was of the utmost intrigue to Makoto. And to the baristas as well.

"Close enough - she's a filmmaker. She's in Bali right now." Taking this information to heart, Bowser nodded his head while sipping from his mug.

"What kind of country is Bali?" Pit whispered to Kirby, amazed that Sam would live in a seemingly desolate country. "Is it close to Madagascar or something?"

"Indonesia," Kirby corrected Pit, showing how much of a geography whiz he was compared to his best friend. Although there wasn't that much comparison.

"Bowser has never been this interested in one's personal life," Makoto whispered to Joker, slightly alarmed by Bowser inquiring about Lara's friend. "Not even his own kids!"

"Yet he claims to have put that 'romantic thing' to bed," Joker smiled in amusement, making a joke out of what Bowser had told to Lara earlier. "Guess he has that much chemistry with Lara."

Mario was in the waiting room of the vet's office, doing some paperwork before he and Poochy could head back home. Once he was done filling out the paperwork, Mario turned in the documentation to the front desk.

"I would-a like a lollipop, please," Mario said to the receptionist, who furrowed his brow as he looked down at the happily-panting-with-his-tongue-out Poochy. "Not for my dog...for me."

"Some frog took all the candy," the receptionist informed Mario, who snapped his fingers in disgust for he knew what frog was responsible. "Claimed that he did it as payback for..."

"Say no more, I know why he did it..." Now having a bone to pick with Slippy, Mario took Poochy's leash as he walked his dog away from the front desk. "...you all have a nice-a day."

"Woof, woof!" barked Poochy, likely saying his own parting words as he and Mario exited the vet's office. A lollipop for Mario would've been the perfect way to end the trip to the vet's office, but Slippy sadly ruined it.

Demyx and the anonymous Organization XIII member were walking through Omnis Adest, looking for Lara Croft. But no matter where they went, they were unable to locate the tomb raider.

"It's no use, Luxord! This Croft lady is unsearchable," complained Demyx, who was ready to call it quits - extremely on-brand for a Nobody of his caliber.

"Yet we can pick up her scent..." said the anonymous Organization XIII member, who took off his hood to reveal himself as...well, Luxord. A Nobody with a prominent blond goatee. You may have heard of him.

"How can you pick up a person's scent?" Demyx was revealing how sucky he was compared to his peers, and it made Luxord pinch the crown of his nose. "That sounds creepy, don't you think?"

"...and this, Demyx, is why you're a reserve member of the Organization. Had the other two members been able to cross into this universe, you would've deservedly been left behind. Sitting on the bench."

"Freeze, posers!" shouted Agent 9, confronting Demyx and Luxord with his laser blaster pointed at them. Fox and Falco stood at his side while holding out their Blasters.

"Oh no, they've caught us!" panicked Demyx as he held his hands up, afraid of the lasers that Agent 9 and the pilots would fire at them. But Luxord, the cool, calm, and collected one, eschewed no fear.

"I insist that you boys lower your fire, for we come in peace," Luxord said to Agent 9 and the pilots, coming off as peaceful - but neither Fox, Falco, nor Agent 9 fell for the Nobody's act.

"Yeah, right - we know what you punks are up to," Fox said to Luxord, resisting the urge to pull the trigger and firing a laser to prove his authority. "You're looking for Lara Croft!"

"Right you are, my fox friend - we are looking for her, per the orders of Dimentio. Lara, Dimentio believes, has a unique quality about her that has easily captured his intrigue.

"Sorry fam, but we can't let you have her," stated Falco, "Better scram if you know what's good for you."

"We will not be withdrawing from this place anytime soon." Maybe Luxord wouldn't, but a guy like Demyx would leave at the earliest opportunity. "Not until we have what we came for."

"Then you've left us with no choice. Now, Lance!" Soon a mythical creature flew overhead, as Demyx and Luxord looked up and saw Dragonite fly overhead. Dragonite was up in the air, with Lance riding on top of him.

"Dragonite, use Thunder!" commanded Lance, as Dragonite sent down a wicked thunderbolt towards Demyx and Luxord. The two Nobodies moved out of harm's way, as Demyx was stricken with fear.

"That's it, man, I'm leaving!" shrieked Demyx, choosing to leave Luxord behind as he ran away...only to run into Morag and Brighid. Demyx backed away as Morag and Brighid drew closer.

"You dare step up to the most powerful Blade in the Empire?" Morag questioned Demyx as she was speaking about Brighid, who was wielding a pair of Whipswords. Those Whipswords sent chills down Demyx's spine.

"It appears that we have been surrounded..." Luxord analyzed the situation - Agent 9 and the pilots in front of him, Morag and Brighid behind him, and Lance on his Dragonite above him.

"Yeah, watcha gonna do? Summon that portal of darkness and go running to your mommy?" Fox asked Luxord, sharing a laugh with Falco as Luxord made an angry scowl. "Just like the other guys?"

"How about we buck the trend..." Luxord summoned his weapon - a deck of cards - and looked to do battle with Fox, Falco, and their allies. "...you can stay out of this if you like, Demyx."

"Don't have to tell me that twice!" responded Demyx, running for cover as he hid behind a trash can. Demyx peeked from behind the trash can, silently rooting for Luxord to come out victorious.

"Your primary weapon is...a deck of cards?" Agent 9 furrowed his brow at Luxord, seeing how serious the Nobody was with his cards. "Weird flex, but okay..."

Master Hand was not aware of Star Records' current financial standing - Fox and Falco were too afraid to tell the giant hand themselves, and they also forbade Itsuki from spilling the beans as well. But they never forbade their secretary, Ayaha Oribe, and Ayaha took advantage of that.

"I promised that I would stop stealing money from them!" Master Hand spoke with Ayaha in his room, while Ayaha was showing him the latest financial report from Star Records. "Though I did take a couple of dollars to buy me a personal chocolate fountain."

"I see..." muttered Ayaha as she saw the chocolate fountain in question, in the corner of Master Hand's room. Many precious dollars were wasted. "...but if you must know, you have nothing to do with this."

"Oh thank goodness...because I had also taken some more money from Star Records to pay Polygon Man back. Something about some light bill."

"Most of it is Fox and Falco's fault - they're worried about not adhering to 'mainstream' practices, and straying away from the status quo. They refuse to get with the times."

"Master Hand, we have a problem!" Link alerted Master Hand, as he and Zelda brought the Luminary into Master Hand's room. The Luminary looked as if he was in pain, holding his hand over his face.

"What is it?" Showing Master Hand what the problem was, the Luminary took away his hand from his eye to reveal a black eye. One that seemed very legit. "Ayaha, inspect his eye!"

"I got it," said Ayaha as she went over to the Luminary, tapping the mage's black eye. The Luminary winced in faux pain, as he let out a "painful" scream. "Black eye is legit."

Ayaha: That black eye was fake. So obviously fake. But I played along anyway since I knew what the consequences would be otherwise.

"That British lady, Lara Croft...she did this to me!" the Luminary said to Master Hand, selling how much pain he was in. He had his teeth clenched, doing his best to convince Master Hand.

"Link, Zelda, is this true?" Master Hand asked the Hylian, as a word of confirmation from them would confirm the truth. The Luminary's black eye was the kind of evidence that Master Hand would want to see.

"I'm afraid that it is true," confirmed Zelda, fingers crossed that Master Hand would hear her out. "The Luminary said that Lara hit him out of strife."

"Out of strife, hm? Then I'd say that the only solution to this situation...is to keep Lara at Omnis Adest until she can make amends with the Luminary."

"What?" Link and the Luminary both said in unison, as they were stunned by Master Hand's decision. The worst-case scenario was now a reality.

"But Master Hand, you said that you would reconsider Lara's residency status if she injured someone with ill intent," Zelda stated to the giant hand, wondering what caused him to change his tune. She'd hate to relay the bad news to Lara.

"I said I may reconsider. May. Context, woman, context. Ayaha, see if you can get in touch with Isabelle, and inform her about Lara Croft."

"Where did I leave my phone..." wondered Ayaha as she looked around for her phone, finding her cellular device nowhere in her pockets. Feeling defeated, the threesome of Link, Zelda, and the Luminary exited Master Hand's room and were greeted by Cloud.

"How did it go?" Cloud asked Link and company, although the looks on their faces made it super obvious how their grand scheme turned out.

"It didn't work," the Luminary replied, using his sleeve to wipe away the black mascara from his eye. He got plenty of makeup on his sleeve, as a big spot was left on there.

"Ahem!" Veronica called out to the Luminary, standing at the end of the hallway with her hands on her hips. She was looking right at the Luminary.

"Well, I did my best. I'll try and figure something out soon." Vowing to get Lara back home, the Luminary headed down the hallway to where Veronica was. He would pass by Champion Link, who was looking back at the Luminary en route to Link and company.

"So...what did I miss?" Champion Link asked Link and the others out of curiosity, before looking inside Master Hand's room and seeing Ayaha finally locating her phone.

"A good example of why you should never get too involved," replied Cloud, as he dispersed from the scene; Link and Zelda would do the same, as Champion Link was left with very few answers.

Isabelle was so busy around the mansion, that she never had the opportunity to speak with Lara. She would have that opportunity when she stopped by the cafe and spoke with Lara at the counter.

"Not going on any adventures, at the moment," Lara said to Isabelle, after being asked if she was going on a tomb-raiding adventure in a foreign country. "Been taking it easy as of late.

"So you're just resting?" asked Isabelle, as Bowser was growing impatient and angrily waiting for Isabelle to end her conversation with Lara. "I'm sure that must be hard for you to do."

"It's not, once you get the hang of it. I've even done a lot more reading in my spare time! May I recommend to you this book that I read the other day..."

"No book recommendations. Shoo, Isabelle, shoo!" yelled Bowser, repelling Isabelle away from Lara; Isabelle was forced to retreat and give Lara some space.

"You're acting very possessive...sure you still don't have a crush on me?" Lara playfully asked Bowser, whose eyes darted left and right after being called out. While Bowser tried to come up with a response, Isabelle took her phone.

"Whoops! I missed a call from Ayaha," said Isabelle after seeing her missed call notification, as returned Ayaha's call. The Shih Tzu had a habit of missing people's calls. "Hello, Ayaha?"

"Well, Bowser? What do you have to say?" Lara asked Bowser, who was twiddling his fingers as he didn't know the right words to say. Eventually, the right response came to him.

"As I've said before, I'm done with finding love," reaffirmed Bowser, while Isabelle was conducting her phone call with Ayaha. "I like you...but only as a friend. A very close friend."

"What's this? Lara has to stay at Omnis Adest?" Isabelle spoke into the phone after Ayaha relayed the news to her. Bowser and Lara both looked at Isabelle. "All because she gave the Luminary a black eye?"

"I did what now?" Lara crinkled her nose, as all the focus in the cafe was on her (due to how loudly Isabelle was speaking). Everyone was looking at Lara with stunned faces.

"Lara, how could you give the Luminary a black eye?!" a disappointed Pit questioned the tomb raider, never imagining Lara to be so violent. "I was gonna give him one first!"

"And for what reason?" Viridi questioned Pit, who apparently didn't know himself as he shrugged his shoulders. Maybe Pit just wanted some smoke.

"Um, yes, I'll go find a spot for her," Isabelle carried on her phone conversation with Ayaha, as she scurried out of the cafe to start pulling some strings. Lara didn't intend to stay in Seattle for more than a day or two, but it seemed that she had no choice.

"What is this, Omnis Adest?" Lara asked Bowser, desiring to know about the community that she would have to stay at. At least until she made some "amends" with the Luminary.

Roxas was walking about at Omnis Adest, doing a nice little stroll around the community. As he walked down the sidewalk, he saw a dark corridor summoned in the far distance.

"What the..." uttered Roxas, he saw Demyx running across the street and into the dark corridor. Of course, Demyx was running like a bona fide coward. "...was that Demyx?"

"Finish him off with a Dragon Breath, Dragonite!" Lance was heard shouting from afar, followed by the sound of Dragonite unleashing his Dragon Breath. Roxas ran to where all the noise was, and saw another familiar face in Luxord, down on one knee.

"Had enough?" Fox asked Luxord, Blaster pointed at the Nobody as Falco, Agent 9, Lance, Dragonite, Morag, and Brighid were all standing with him. Luxord, although he had his butt kicked, cracked a smile.

"Bravo, everyone...bravo," commended Luxord, struggling to stand up on his two feet before applauding Fox and company for their efforts. Roxas kept himself hidden by a fence so that Luxord wouldn't see him.

"Why is he clapping, why is that guy clapping?" Agent 9 asked the others, as Luxord's clapping was bothering him. And it wasn't even the mocking kind of clapping; it was a genuine one.

"I must say, you all are capable fighters." A dark corridor was summoned behind Luxord, who was about to make a far less cowardly escape than Demyx's. "But mark my words, we will be back to claim Lara Croft."

"Can't claim her if she's not in the city," stated Fox, before furrowing his brow and looking at Falco as he asked the avian pilot, "She's not visiting, is she?"

"Oh, how ignorant you are..." Smirking, Luxord backed into the dark corridor, albeit slower than he wanted to due to the injuries he sustained. The dark corridor was gone after Luxord made his exit.

Roxas: Honestly, this is my first time seeing Organization XIII since I've been here. And they're already picking fights with everyone. Those guys would pick with a little kid if it meant reaching their goals. I know this from experience.

"Oh snap! I just got this text from Diddy Kong," Falco alerted Fox, as he had taken his phone out to read a text message that Diddy had sent him. "Turns out that Lara is in town. And she's gonna be at Omnis Adest!"

"Then that's why Organization XIII was sticking their noses around in the city today," assumed Fox, as Lance walked over to the pilot and placed his hand on his shoulder. "What's up, Lance?"

"We'll keep Lara protected from the Organization for you," Lance assured Fox - way for the former champion to take initiative and prove his worth. As if he hadn't done enough today. "If they want her, they'll have to go through us."

"Should be Overwatch's duty, since dealing with Organization XIII is their job...but, you know what, if you wanna be special then be my guest."

Mario had returned home from the vet, with his pet dog Poochy fully vaccinated from his appointment. Once he was back home, Mario had out his infrared thermometer and was holding it at an interesting part of his body...

"Mario, why are you holding that thermometer near your butt?" Spyro questioned the plumber, whom he caught in the living room with the infrared thermometer close to his buttocks. Mario looked up at Spyro after being caught out in the open.

"The veterinarian did-a this with Poochy," defended Mario, before going back to looking at the reading on the thermometer like what he was doing was perfectly normal. Letting Mario be great, Spyro walked away as the doorbell rang.

"I'm on it!" volunteered Hunter, dashing through the living room en route to the front door. The cheetah opened the front door and was greeted by Lara.

"Hello, it's me again," Lara greeted Hunter, who gasped upon seeing the tomb raider - mostly gasping out of horror rather than shock. "You've already seen me, so there's no point in fangirling."

"Mario, I think this woman wants to take our room!" Realizing what he said, Hunter frowned as he smacked the top of his head with his fist while a concerned Lara looked on. "Stupid Hunter, get over yourself..."

"What woman?" inquired Mario as he took the infrared thermometer away from his butt - only because it would be a bad look for him. "Oh, hello Lara!" Mario saw Lara at the front door, and Hunter moved out of the way so that Lara could step inside.

"I see that you made it back from your pet's doctor visit," Lara said to Mario, as Hunter closed the front door; Peach showed up, just as Lara intended. "I have some news to share with you all..."

"And what news would that be?" Peach asked Lara, while she was holding Lou; judging from how Lara looked down at the floor and sighed, Mario and Peach assumed that the news was bad.

"Due to some...incident in which I was framed, I've been forced to stay at Omnis Adest. For the time being." Lara being a temporary resident was the lone positive but clearly, Larawanted to go back home.

Luminary: The male residents have been showing their sexism, and making fun of me because of this fake black eye. Picking on me because Lara punched me in the face. Wario has been the biggest mocker among them. I'd hate to find out what he expects in a woman.

"I am very sorry to hear that," Peach sympathized with Lara, who wondered if she would have to get her belongings from Britain to Seattle. Little did Lara know that Master Hand would have that covered.

"At least it will only be temporary!" remarked Spyro, doing his best to shed some light on the situation. Temporary or not, Lara only intended to be in Seattle for one day. Not several.

"As of now, I don't know how to prove my innocence," said Lara, not knowing who to turn to since Link and Zelda were out of the question. "Maybe I can get some help from Bowser."

"Why would-a you rely on that loser for..." Mario was about to question Lara, only for Peach to whisper something in his ear that reminded him of events that happened a few years back. "...oh, that is right."

"Bowser may be a dubious choice, but he may know a thing or two about coming up with a good alibi. Glad that I had the chance to speak with him today."

The thought of Lara Croft being on friendly terms with Bowser sounded strange on paper...and yet somehow, Bowser was able to make it work.