Author's Note:
It's about that time...for another two-parter! Also time to answer some reviews. First is Random question has a random question:
"Just asking, is DK still Cranky's grandson here like in the game, or is he now Cranky's son like in the movie?"
Donkey Kong is still Cranky's grandson. The Reader has some news:
"Just found out that they're releasing Mortal Kombat 1 on the Switch... WHAT?! Yes! On September 19, Mortal Kombat 1, a soft reboot of the original Mortal Kombat (not unlike Mortal Kombat 2011 which is also a soft reboot of the original MK), is coming to the Switch, as well as other consoles! How is that possible? Street Fighter and Tekken won't port their newest game to the Switch, but Mortal Kombat will?! How is that gonna work? What do you think of this news?"
Crazy to think that MK1 makes it onto the Switch, but Tekken 8 and SF6 won't. Something about that just feels...off. A JRPG enjoyer has something they want to say:
"Well, well, well. Patricia Summersett (Zelda's VO from TOTK) just said in an interview with TheGamer that Link and Zelda are "in a relationship with each other". But, she also said that she "personally loved the ambiguity" of their relationship. Well. What do you think about their relationship? Do you think they're in love, good friends, or it's just a knight protecting his princess? Like Patricia, I liked the ambiguity, because there are some other ladies that are close to Link, like Midna in TP or Mipha in BOTW (and AOC). But, I also kinda always shipped Link and Zelda, so..."
I think that Link and Zelda are in a relationship, and they're too shy to admit it. But you could make a resounding argument that Link is just fulfilling his obligations and protecting the princess. Last is David, with some questions:
"Is Infinite gonna finally appear? (Best make him more like how they portrayed him in the IDW comic). Will Rex fix his relationship with Pyra, Mythra, and Nia? Are Mario and Luigi's kids names a reference to past and current VAs in Mario media? Any references to Matt McMuscles? Do you consider Ignis or Gladio from Final Fantasy XV to be the Seth 'Freakin' Rollins of Final Fantasy? (Weird question I know, since some see Noctis as the Roman Reigns of the series). A reference to Pac-Man 99 shutting down? And finally, what are your thoughts on the new Mortal Kombat game and the rumored DLC characters? (Omni-Man, Peacemaker, and Homelander are rumored to be in it)."
Perhaps. Rex will fix his relationship with those ladies soon. Mario and Luigi's kids' names are indeed references to voice actors from the Mario series. No Matt McMuscles references. Never saw Ignis or Gladio as such (where did that even come from?). No reference to... *sniff* ...Pac-Man 99 shutting down. *wipes away tear* And I find the rumored DLC characters for MK to be very amusing. Who's next? She-Hulk?
Episode 388: Apex Part 1
As the man and woman of the mansion, respectively, it was Link and Zelda's to keep the Smash Mansion safe from harm. Their priorities didn't extend to the mansion only, as the couple also had to look out for the folks at Omnis Adest. A lot on the Hylians' plate.
In fact, they had a lot of stuff on their plate, safe to stay, as they had to be on the lookout for Dimentio. Not only that, but they also had to stave off any potential threat of Organization XIII, who was brought back into the universe. Organization XIII has tried many times to be a thorn in the mansion's side over the past few months, only to them to be fended off.
Link and Zelda weren't entirely helpless, for they had allies in the Overwatch crew to take care of the Organization whenever necessary. More often than not, the couple would stop by Overwatch's watchpoint to discuss potential strategies for dealing with the Organization promptly. They were at the watchpoint right now, speaking with Tracer.
"Winston's been working on something that I think you two would like," Tracer said to Link and Zelda, as she led the Hylians down the stairs and to the laboratory. There they found Winston, working on what appeared to be some giant gun.
"A few more turns will do the trick," said Winston as he was using a screwdriver to screw in a few screws. Wanting to give Winston a good scare, Tracer shushed Link and Zelda before tiptoeing her way over to the desk where Winston was working at.
"Tracer, I don't believe that's such a good idea..." Link quietly tried to warn the pilot, who stopped tiptoeing once she got close enough to Winston. Wearing a whimsical smile on her face, Tracer tapped Winston on his shoulder and got him to turn around.
"BOO!" Tracer screamed, causing Winston to shriek and fall out of his chair; Winston fell on the floor as he threw his screwdriver up in the air, only for it to smack him in the face. "Oh, my goodness...Winston, are you okay?"
"I am...but I don't think that my glasses are," replied Winston, after the screwdriver landed on his glasses and broke them in the process. But Winston didn't sweat it as he got up. "Better be glad that these glasses are easily replaceable."
Winston: Due to my...erm, "rage fits", I was recommended to have a collection of glasses on me in case I lose my bananas. Pun both intended and unintended. It was a recommendation made not only by my doctor...but by my friends as well. My friends cared so much, in fact, that they were kind enough to buy a bunch of glasses for me. Less than five dollars each! *pauses* That would explain why they break so easily...
"Tracer said that you have been working on something," Link said to Winston, who went to a trash can to throw away his broken glasses. Winston then went to a glass display cabinet in the corner of the lab, opening it as a bunch of glasses were inside.
"It was meant to be a secret project - guess Tracer didn't get the memo," responded Winston, as he selected a pair of glasses from the glasses stand and cleaned it off with a cloth. Tracer, meanwhile, eyed around suspiciously.
"Never saw a note that said 'secret project' on it," Tracer smiled sheepishly, as Winston put on his new glasses and returned to his seat. Winston grabbed the giant gun so that he could show it off to Link and Zelda.
"It doesn't have an official name yet, but it's a weapon that can send any Organization XIII member back to their universe. One shot is all it takes!"
"Ooh, ooh! Show us how it works." Tracer was jumping up and down like a little kid, as she wanted Winston to show her and the Hylians a demonstration. Winston instead crinkled his nose in response.
"A demonstration?! Tracer, this only works on folks not in our universe. What do you want me to do, waste precious ammo on the training bots outside?"
"I personally wouldn't mind seeing that," admitted Zelda, as Tracer smiled and pointed her fingers at the princess to change Winston's mind. Heaving a heavy sigh, Winston was left with no choice.
"Follow me..." So Winston took his gun and led Tracer, Link, and Zelda out of the lab and outside to the practice range. Many training bots were present, some stationary while others were moving back and forth.
"I should come out here for sword training," remarked Link, fantasying about slaying multiple training bots with his Master Sword. The tantalizing thought of it was enough to make him lick his lips, even.
"Don't count on it. Now stand back, and watch." So Tracer and the Hylians stood back, while Winston positioned himself in front of a row of training bots with his giant gun. Eyeing his targets, Winston pulled a trigger as an energy blast was fired at the training bots.
"Oh...unacceptable," one of the training bots uttered after being hit by the blast, as he and the other bots were unaffected. They did move back some, but that was about it.
"Boo! What a lame demonstration!" Tracer jeered at Winston, calling out the gorilla with her hands close to her mouth. Winston turned to face Tracer, who ceased the jeering in a heartbeat.
"As I said, this only works on out-of-universe targets," explained Winston, as Link furrowed his brow when he saw a shadow creeping past by. Link was about to say something only for Mei to show up.
"Hello, Winston," Mei greeted the gorilla while eating from a bowl of ice cream; for what it's worth, Mei made that ice cream by herself. "I take it that you're finished working on that gun?"
"Not quite - I was forced to use it for a demonstration," replied Winston, before checking to see how much ammo he had left. "Long as the ammo isn't any lower than thirteen, I should be fine."
"The demonstration kind of sucked, though," admitted Tracer, causing Winston to frown at her; Tracer shrugged in response, for she was just offering her honest opinion.
"Guys, we have unwanted company!" Baptiste shouted from the other side of the practice range, sounding as if he was in trouble. Wanting to see what the hubbub was, Tracer and the others ran over to where Baptiste was...
...and saw him and Zarya confronted by a horde of Shadow and Soldier Heartless. Those kinds of Heartless were on the weaker side, but it was the first instance that anyone from Overwatch had ever seen a Heartless.
"Heartless!" shouted Link, joining at Baptiste and Zarya's side as he whipped out his Master Sword. Baptiste, who was armed with his gun, looked at Link and saw how battle-ready the Hylian was.
"These monsters, you have seen them before?" Baptiste asked Link, only to be caught off-guard when the Heartless were later joined by the Dusk Nobodies. Baptiste kept his mouth shut as he went back to aiming with his gun.
"And the jumpsuit monsters as well - the Nobodies. They're pretty easy to kill. Zarya, see if you can group them together!" Heeding Link's command, Zarya charged up the energy in her Particle Cannon.
"One Gravitation Surge, coming right up!" yelled Zarya, before firing a gravity well that sucked in the Heartless and Nobodies. Link and Baptiste went to work, as they worked together to slay the monsters.
"That should be the last of them," said Baptiste after vanquishing the last Heartless foe, and with perfect timing too as the Gravitation Surge had ended. Link was inhaling and exhaling, putting his Master Sword away once the deed was done.
"The Heartless...and Nobodies," remarked Mei, who along with Tracer was mostly in awe of what she had witnessed. "Must be goons sent from Organization XIII themselves!"
"Which must mean that they're trying to infiltrate this watchpoint," inferred Winston, who refused to let Organization XIII have their way. The Heartless and Nobody intrusion might be a sign of things to come. "Echo, where are you?"
"Right here, Winston," replied Echo, as the robot swooped down from the sky as if she was waiting to be called upon. Like she was waiting for an opportunity. "How can I be of assistance?"
"I need you to scan the surrounding area for any signs of Organization XIII. Should you see anyone wearing a black cloak, do not hesitate to let us know."
"Understood. Scan of the entire watchpoint vicinity, starting right now." Taking a mental note of her current mission, Echo flew up into the sky as she started her surveillance. She was so high up, that she could see everything from down below.
"Was wondering if the Organization would ever take the fight to us." As Winston inspected the area for any possible damage, Tracer looked up at a screen and gasped at what she saw.
"Uh, you guys might want to see this..." alerted Tracer, as everyone gathered around the pilot and looked up at the screen. On the screen was a local television broadcast...and it showed multiple Emblem Heartless marching down the street.
"More Heartless..." groaned Link, as he recognized the Heartless insignia on what appeared to be an armored knight of sorts. Armored Knight Heartless. "...they are all heading somewhere, it seems."
"Let's hope it's not the mansion," remarked Zelda, feeling helpless as she and Link were temporarily gone from the mansion. Surely Master Hand would have it covered until Link and Zelda got back.
But the only problem with that, though, was that Master Hand wasn't at the mansion either! Instead, he was at Omnis Adest for the dreaded day known as "Cut Day", as many people staying at Omnis Adest were bound to be removed from the community.
Champion Link was a huge boon for Master Hand, as he told the giant hand who should stay and who shouldn't. It was for that reason that Master Hand brought the Hylian with him today so that he could help deliver the bad news to select folks. Mario was also brought along, but not for the same task that Champion Link had...Mario figured that those leaving would need a shoulder to cry on.
"WHAT?! Whaddaya mean, we have to leave?" an astonished Brick asked Master Hand, as he and the Vault Hunters were told to leave. Tiny Tina and Mordecai were both disappointed, while Lilith wasn't surprised by this news.
"It's because you're all menaces to society," Master Hand plainly replied, although the Vault Hunters (except for Lilith) found that claim to be totally bogus. "And menaces to this community, even more so."
"Well, we can't help the fact that the society we came from is crap," stated Mordecai, who had to hold an incensed Brick back from punching Master Hand in his nonexistent face. "It's hard for us to vibe with the normal crowd."
"I learned how to vibe with the normal crowd," smirked Lilith, trying her hardest not to flex on her peers as she folded her arms. The other Vault Hunters eyed around as if they had nothing else to say.
Lilith: No joke, Master Hand only let us in Omnis Adest because we helped a black woman fight white supremacy. No wait, actually, it is a joke - because we literally did nothing other than aligning ourselves with that Daisy Fitzroy chick. The fact that Master Hand shook our hands because of our "contributions" was embarrassing enough. If fighting "white supremacy" meant getting to stay at Omnis Adest, Master Hand should do himself a favor and let every human rights leader live here.
Anna: I feel bad for the Vault Hunters that they have to leave. Thye's like a nice little breath of fresh air from the other folks that apparently get along with each other just fine. Big credit to the Vault Hunters for wanting to break the status quo.
"You guys have until six o'clock to pack-a up your things and leave," Mario gave this decree to the Vault Hunters, with Brick showing his frustration as he punched a nearby streetlight. Unlike her friends, Lilith wanted to start moving out right now.
"Can't tell us what to do, Pringles Guy With a Hat!" Tina shouted at Mario as she was about to leap at the plumber, only for Mordecai to grab her in the nick of time and hold her back. "You'll be hearing from my lawyer soon!"
"I'd feel extremely bad for the lawyer..." remarked Master Hand, as Tina tried to break free from Mordecai by repeatedly biting his arm. Mordecai kept his lips pursed, trying not to scream out in pain.
"If it makes you feel any better, you guys will be on the 'only bring back under certain circumstances' list," Champion Link told the Vault Hunters, meaning that they could come back in the future. None of the Vault Hunters, save for Lilith, felt good about that.
"What about me, what list am I on?" Harvey approached Champion Link while wielding his new ninja sword, which was homemade just like the first one. The only difference was that the second sword required more glue.
"Harvey...you're on the 'don't bring back at all' list." Learning that the mansion wouldn't be needing him at all, Harvey lowered his head in sadness as he walked away, passing by a trash can.
"Missed the trash can!" Master Hand called out to Harvey, perplexed as to why the hippie dog didn't toss his sword into the trash can he walked past. After Harvey had left, Cloud showed up.
"Before anyone asks, I am not joining you guys," Cloud said to Master Hand and company, getting it out of the way before the trio get the wrong idea. "Wanted to come out here to get some fresh air."
"Came to Omnis Adest to get some fresh air?" chortled Cappy, with Mario, Champion Link, and Master Hand all laughing at Cloud's expense. Cloud frowned at Cappy, as Claptrap appeared and saw the Vault Hunters (sans Lilith) in their feelings.
"Wow! I've never seen Brick that angry," remarked Claptrap, as he witnessed Brick punching a streetlight as if it was a punching bag. The robot then saw Master Hand creeping towards him, as he shuddered.
"I've been meaning to speak with you...Claptrap," Master Hand said to the robot, hovering closer and making Claptrap back away out of fear. If robots could sweat, Claprap would probably have a puddle around him.
"NONONONONONONONO!" Claptrap raised his arms up in the air and rolled down the street away from Master Hand, who was hot on his tail. "He's going to eat me!"
"Master Hand, wait-a up for us!" Mario called out to the giant hand as he ran down the street. Champion Link was about to follow Mario, only to remain in place when Cloud put his hand on his shoulder.
"Can we chat for a quick second?" Cloud asked Champion Link as he pulled the Hylian to the side, desiring to speak with him in private. "How's it coming along with this whole 'Cut Day' thing?"
"Alright, I guess - a few folks are salty, as you can see," replied Champion Link, before gesturing to the Vault Hunters; while Brick was still punching the streetlight, Tina was beating Mordecai's head into the sidewalk with rage.
"They made me so mad...I'm gonna eat their babies!" threatened Tina, vowing to eat Mario's kids and the nonexistent kids of Master Hand and Champion Link. Imagine Master Hand being a parent.
"With them, it's a given," Cloud had this to say about the Vault Hunters' behavior, showing a deal of respect to Lilith for not taking it personally. "Everybody else getting cut may have reacted differently."
"Yeah, without violence," affirmed Champion Link, as the Vault Hunters couldn't leave Omnis Adest soon enough. Would bring a lot of peace to the community. "But yeah, it feels nice to be a part of this. Makes me feel...important, in a way."
"Said you wanted to be useful, and now you got your wish," said Cloud as he patted Champion Link on his back. As weird as it was for him to ever admit out loud, Cloud was proud of Champion Link.
"No, Master Hand, put-a him down!" Mario was heard shouting at Master Hand from afar, accompanied by the sound of Claptrap screaming his head off. Claptrap's fear of being devoured by Master Hand was becoming more real to him.
"I better go - can't leave Mario as Master Hand's only minder," Champion Link said to Cloud, who allowed the Hylian to leave. Cloud looked on, cracking a smirk before walking away.
Pit was temporarily away from Cafe Leblanc but not to run an errand for Joker - the angel was off delivering coffee. One of the folks he had to deliver coffee to was King Dedede, who made his request known when he had a note sent to the cafe. A note delivered by one of Dedede's Waddle Dee servants.
"I need to know where Your Majesty is," Pit said to a Waddle Dee that he encountered in the middle of the hallway, as the Waddle Dee blinked at him. "Sorry, I don't speak Waddle Dee, can you please elaborate?"
"If you're looking for King Dedede, he's in his room chilling," Red the Pokemon Trainer informed Pit as he walked past the angel; making a frown, Pit went down the hallway to King Dedede's room...
...where he saw King Dedede on his bed, being fanned by his Waddle Dees. King Dedede was looking as if he was living the life, as he also had a tower fan blowing air on him. Talk about being greedy.
"Ah, Pit, you finally made it! About time," gleamed King Dedede as he lowered his sunglasses, seeing Pit standing at his bedroom door. Pit was so ticked off with Dedede, that he felt like dropping the fat penguin's latte to the floor.
"Dang it, Dedede!" frowned Pit, amusing King Dedede with how angry he was. King Dedede smiled as he put his sunglasses back over his eyes. "I thought that you were away from the mansion."
"Clearly you thought wrong, my boy. Been sittin' in my room this whole time!" King Dedede was taking it easy, his arms folded behind his head as he rested his noggin on his pillow.
"Can't believe you...you tricked me. Why couldn't you just go to the cafe and get your latte like how a normal person would?" Baffled by Pit's question, King Dedede sat up and lowered his glasses once more.
"Know me much? I'm super lazy," King Dedede said matter-of-factly, before lowering his sunglasses again. "And I'm far removed from normal," King Dedede said the second sentence matter-of-factly as well, as he went back to chilling on his bed.
"Aw, what?! Now we have two things in common. I hate it!" Soon one of the Waddle Dees went over to Pit, took the latte out of Pit's hands, and returned to King Dedede's bed.
"Put it on the dresser," King Dedede commanded the Waddle Dee, who did as he was told as he placed the latte on the dresser. Pit's phone rang, and Pit answered the call.
"Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!" greeted the person speaking over the phone, Iono, as Pit had the call on speakerphone. "Is this Pit?" The moment he heard Iono's voice, King Dedede quickly sat up as his sunglasses fell off his face.
"Beats me - I was about to ask the same question," Pit replied in an attempt at being funny, hoping that his joke landed with Iono somehow. "I'm coming to bring your coffee, Iono, so hold your horses!"
"Tell Iono that I said hello!" King Dedede whispered to Pit, keeping his voice low so that Pit wouldn't hear him. "But don't tell her that it came from me." Looking warily at King Dedede, Pit gave the fat penguin a thumbs up.
King Dedede: Clout. I love clout. It makes you feel like the man, and makes the peons beneath you feel powerless. Iono is the queen of clout, and I absolutely adore her shameless attempts to stay on the throne. If she's the queen of clout, then I'm the undisputed king! I would love to be Iono's friend one day...just so I can steal her tactics and kick her to the curb. There can be only one clout chaser reigning supreme.
"My friend says hello," Pit said into the phone, not mentioning King Dedede by name per King Dedede's request. King Dedede looked on with bated breath as he waited for Iono's response.
"Tell your friend that they're cool in my book!" responded Iono, as King Dedede had the biggest smile on his face. The fat penguin's day was officially made. "Anyway, I'm calling you because I saw some shady stuff down in the Yiga Clan hideout!"
"Like what? Are they holding hands and circling around a pile of bananas while singing a cult song?" If that were the case, Pit hoped that Iono was capturing the raw footage on her Rotom Phone.
"Nope! Well, not yet at least. I saw three weirdos - one of 'em was a blue-haired chick, and the other looks like a gorilla! And the third was an alien, wowzers!"
"Blue-haired chick? All I know is, Pandoria has blue hair." Pit decided that the individual with blue hair was perhaps Pandoria, as he gasped out of shock. "Maybe it is Pandoria!"
"Is she still single?" King Dedede asked out of curiosity, only to mentally and physically slap himself for the foolishness that came out of his mouth. "Dang it, Dedede, stop inquiring about a woman's relationship status!"
"The gorilla guy must be Andross; he and Pandoria worked together." Pit recalled when Pandora and Andross teamed up to antagonize the mansion (and perhaps to a greater extent Shadow), during that whole Seattle Stalker incident.
"Oh snap! You know 'em personally?" asked Iono, jealous of how many connections Pit possibly had despite him not being a streamer or social media star. "Should I have them on my stream?"
"Andross, no...he's kinda ugly. Pandora's actually attractive, so she's a safer bet. But the thing is...you know what, I'll explain once I get there."
"Ask Pandora if she's seeing someone!" King Dedede made his request known to Pit, as the angel left the fat penguin's room. Dedede mentally (and physically) slapped himself once more. "There you go again, Dedede..."
Since Pit was likely to be gone away for a while, he would have to let Joker know about he wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Joker was at the cafe, fixing a bowl of curry for a customer, when he was visited by a certain pigeon.
"Coo...here's that pigeon milk you wanted," Brewster said to Joker, as he stopped by the cafe to deliver to Joker four gallons of pigeon milk. The pigeon held up the paper bags as if he intended for Joker to accept them.
"I said I wanted regular milk," Joker clarified to Brewster, who went ahead and knocked the coffee creamer products off of the counter where the coffee machine was. Brewster then placed the pigeon milk on the counter, much to Joker's dismay.
"Only one kind of milk matters - and that is pigeon milk." Looking to prove how effective pigeon milk was, Brewster looked at those sitting at the counter and saw Sonic, Crash, and Conker all drinking coffee. Well, only two of them were.
"I really shouldn't be drinking this," Conker said to Sonic after taking the first sip of his coffee, pushing his cup away from him as he shook his head. "I'm still a recovering alcoholic."
"C'mon, Conker! A cup of joe will keep you on your A-game," Sonic encouraged the squirrel, who was still hesitant to finish his coffee. Understanding Conker's plight, Brewster came over with a gallon of pigeon milk as he offered a solution.
"Pigeon milk will speed up the recovery process, coo," Brewser said to Conker, as he took the top off of the gallon of pigeon milk and dropped it onto the floor. Conker looked on with worry.
"Is that even scientifically..." Conker was about to ask, only for Brewster to insert the pigeon milk into the squirrel's mouth. Brewster turned Conker's head at a 90-degree angle, forcing the pigeon milk down his throat.
"Brewster, please don't force the pigeon milk on the customers!" Joker pleaded to the pigeon, only to hear his cell phone vibrating. Knowing from the jump who was calling him, Joker grabbed his phone and answered the call. "Yes, Pit?"
"Hey, Joker, I'll be running a little late," Pit told the young man over the phone, while Joker was keeping an eye on Brewster who was force-feeding Conker his beloved pigeon milk. "I have to deliver Iono her coffee in the Yiga Clan hideout."
"Why is Iono at the..." Joker was about to question why Iono was at the Yiga Clan hideout, of all places, but saved himself the headache as he bit his tongue. "...whatever you do, do not further engage with Iono if she's streaming. Just give her the coffee."
"C'mon, Joker! What if I wanted to help Iono increase her viewership numb...I mean, show off our excellent chemistry?" Pit had already been on one of Iono's live streams this year; being on another would be overdoing it.
"Do it another time, when you're not on the clock. And on a similar note, don't engage with Master Kohga if you see him." Knowing Master Kohga, he wouldn't let Pit leave the hideout without a banana or two.
"I'll do my best not to. Later!" So Pit ended the phone call, and Joker put his phone back in his pocket before turning his attention to Brewster and Conker. Brewster had already emptied the gallon of pigeon milk, as the milk was now in Conker's stomach.
"Think I'm gonna be sick..." said a nauseous Conker as he held his chest, on the verge of throwing up...which he did over the counter. The squirrel threw up on Kirby, getting vomit atop the pink puffball's head.
"This is totally fine," Kirby amusingly remarked, as Incineroar grabbed a few paper towels and cleaned up the mess after Conker was done. Joker looked at Sonic and Crash, wondering why the two friends didn't intervene with Brewster.
"Brewster poked me in the eye while I was trying to stop him," Sonic said to Joker, holding a hand over his eye; Crash was met with the same fate, as he had his hand over his eye too. "He poked Crash in the eye just because."
Brewster: I haven't forgotten - the bandicoot let his exceptionally brewed coffee cool off. Not very coo. Even worse, he had the audacity to put ice cubes in it. One customer called it "ice coffee", which doesn't exist in my personal lexicon - I banned that customer from the cafe afterward. Until Crash learns the error of his ways, he is not allowed to have another cup of coffee from me ever again.
"Oh no...not the pigeon!" fretted Cortex as he entered the cafe, seeing Brewster tossing the empty gallon of pigeon milk into the trash can. Brewster looked up at Cortex, as tension filled the atmosphere.
"You're the customer who defended Crash's poor life decisions..." Brewster said to Cortex, speaking as if he wanted to brutally murder the evil genius for what he said down at The Roost. Cortex shivered in fear as Brewster's ice-cold stare left him petrified.
"Somebody's scared of Brewster? This is a first," remarked Lucario, who was eating his curry as everyone in the cafe saw the standoff between Brewster and Cortex. Eventually, Brewster relaxed as he stopped staring into Cortex's soul.
"Still banned from The Roost, by the way." Brewster made sure to deliver this message to Cortex, as he peacefully left Cafe Leblanc. The tension that once filled the air was fully diminished.
"Care for a frappuccino?" Joker offered to Cortex, believing that a cup of coffee could ease the evil genius. With Brewster gone, Cortex relaxed as he joined Joker at the counter.
"I'm afraid not, for I have come to..." replied Cortex, only to be interrupted when Crash gave him a big hug. A hug so big and constricting, that it was nearly crushing Cortex's insides. "...yes, Crash, I missed you too. Even though I saw you yesterday."
"Let go of him, Crash," Joker commanded the bandicoot, who did as he was told as he released his hold on Cortex and dusted the evil genius off. "Now what were you saying, doctor?"
"I've come to deliver some bad news...E. Gadd's mansion is on fire." Cortex delivered this bad news rather casually as if he was announcing that he had first dibs on the last slice of pizza in the dining room. No one nearby knew how to properly react.
"So is this fire, like legit?" asked Sonic, questioning the noticeable lack of urgency in Cortex's voice. Why wasn't E. Gadd letting anyone know about the fire? "Did you call the fire department?"
"I did, but they threatened to call the cops. They believed that I was the one who started it! So that's why I wanted to speak with Joker and his..."
"Got no clue who you're trying to kid, I'm not a firefighter," stated Joker, slowly becoming more convinced that Cortex was telling tall tales for the sake of his own amusement. "Neither are the other baristas."
"I have minimal experience with dealing with fires...mostly thanks in part to Pit," Kirby spoke up, as the pink puffball had to save Pit from his negligence on more than one occasion. "I can handle this fire you speak of."
"No, Kirby, don't even bother," Joker advised the pink puffball, keeping him from leaving the cafe. Couldn't lose his most valuable worker. "Just stay here and work behind the counter, as you usually do."
"Then I take it that you will volunteer to put out the fire at E. Gadd's mansion!" Cortex said to Joker assumingly, as Joker looked afraid and shook his head. Joker lowkey did himself in.
"You got it all wrong, I never said that I would..." Sadly for Joker, it was too late as the young man stopped speaking and facepalmed. Him and his big mouth.
"The three of us will go with Joker," offered Sonic as he wrapped his arms around Crash and Conker, knowing that Joker could use some backup. Crash and Conker were both game as they smiled.
"Great! Who else will be going with you, Joker?" Cortex asked the young man, who looked through his fingers and saw the patrons who were in the cafe. His eyes were drawn to Corrin and Greninja, the latter of whom was with his daughter Kana.
"Corrin and Greninja, I guess," replied Joker, believing that the prince and ninja Pokemon were the only folks capable of putting out this supposed fire at E. Gadd's place. "And, um..."
"...and Aqua," Sonic would answer for Joker; Aqua, who was at a table with her friends Terra and Ventus, looked up when she heard her name called.
"Why did I hear my name called...?" questioned Aqua, as she was looking in Sonic's direction; the Keyblade master furrowed her brow in bewilderment.
"Then it's settled!" replied Cortex, satisfied with the crew that Joker (and Sonic) put together as he was about to leave the cafe. "Meet me in the foyer when it's time for your lunch break, Joker."
"Hold on, is there an actual fire or...and he left," Joker was about to ask Cortex, only for Cortex to leave the cafe. Joker sighed as he went over to where Aqua was sitting at. "I'm sorry in advance, Aqua."
"I'd like to know what's going on," Aqua said to Joker, curious as to why Sonic mentioned her name out of the blue. Joker was less than happy to explain.
Mario, Master Hand, and Champion Link were making their rounds at Omnis Adest, as their next stop was MC Ballyhoo's townhouse. Mario knocked on the door, and it was answered by someone who was NOT MC Ballyhoo.
"Sup," Fox greeted Mario and company at the front door, mildly perplexed about why the trio was staring at him. Had him feeling uncomfortable. "Can I...can I help you guys with something?"
"You can help-a us by relaying this message to Ballyhoo - if he's home," replied Mario, knowing already that Ballyhoo was home; Fox wouldn't be meandering in the townhouse otherwise. "Let him know that he's been removed-a from Omnis Adest..."
"He's been removed? For what?" Ballyhoo getting the boot from Omnis Adest was big news to Fox - and to an eavesdropping Falco as the avian pilot joined Fox at the door.
"I KNEW IT!" shouted Falco as he pointed at Mario and company, knowing the reason for Ballyhoo's exile. "MC Ballyhoo's getting busted for drug paraphernalia."
"What, no...I was thinking more along the lines of human trafficking," countered Fox, as Falco saw where his friend was coming from and nodded his head. "He does come off as an auctioneer, after all."
"MC Ballyhoo is not in trouble for drug paraphernalia...or human trafficking," Master Hand assured Fox and Falco, bringing some relief to the pilots as Ballyhoo finally showed up at the front door. "In fact, he's even not in trouble, to begin with!"
"Huh, why is everyone talking about me?" questioned Ballyhoo as he looked around, hearing his name mentioned. It didn't take long to realize that Master Hand and company were present. "Oh, howdy boys!"
"Hello, Ballyhoo! We just wanted to come by and let you know that you're leaving Omnis Adest soon." Master Hand dropped that news on Ballyhoo like an anvil on Wile E. Coyote's head, and Ballyhoo had to process it for a moment.
"I'm what?" Ballyhoo looked at Master Hand out of pure disbelief, before shaking the dumb look off his face as he turned to laughter. "You must have me mixed up with the wrong guy."
"That's weird - I don't see any other emcee living here. Hate it say it, Ballyhoo, but you have to leave. Nothing personal." Not willing to see Ballyhoo go, Fox and Falco were ready to go to bat for the emcee.
"You can't just make Ballyhoo leave," Fox told Master Hand, who was interested in hearing the pilot's argument only if it was sufficient enough. "He has insider knowledge."
"Bro was literally trapped in Subspace with Dimentio, he might know a thing or two," added Falco, and that got Master Hand to reconsider Ballyhoo for a moment. Mario and Champion Link watched as Master Hand was deep in thought.
"Hmm...you boys make a good point," Master Hand said to Fox and Falco, going from finding Ballyhoo as mostly useless to a potentially valuable asset. "Alright then, Ballyhoo, you're free to stay!"
"WOOHOO!" exclaimed Ballyhoo, only to curb his excitement as he acted in a more professional manner. "I mean, thank you, Master Hand."
Fox: MC Ballyhoo has been a huge help in regards to advising us about running Star Records, despite not really running a record label before. Did he read an instruction manual on running record labels before he got thrown into Subspace? Either way, we can't let him go just yet.
"Better provide us this insider knowledge soon," Champion Link said to Ballyhoo, hoping that Fox and Falco weren't lying on his behalf. The Hylian left along with Mario and Master Hand, looking to continue his duties.
"Thanks for looking out for me!" Ballyhoo thanked Fox and Falco, showing his appreciation to the pilots as he gave them fist bumps. Meanwhile, hovering in the air unseen was Dimentio.
"Anything for a friend," responded Fox, while Dimentio was looking down below with his eyes centered on a certain target.
Echo was surveying the entire watchpoint, looking out for any signs of Organization XIII. While she didn't spot anyone wearing a black cloak, she did see an old man with a hunched back, walking outside the watchpoint with his arms behind his back.
"Dark skin, bald head, pointed ears, and yellow eyes," Echo described the old man that she was seeing, as she got a closer look at him. "That looks like..."
Meanwhile, Winston was running a security check of the watchpoint, doing Echo a favor as he initiated all the security cameras. Link, Zelda, and Tracer were with him as Tracer was getting a call on her codec.
"Tracer, can you hear me?" Echo spoke to the pilot over the codec, as Tracer perked up and pressed her codec into her ear. "I have identified the leader of Organization XIII, Master Xehanort, walking outside the watchpoint."
"Master Xehanort?!" exclaimed Tracer, as Link and Zelda were both on high alert. Winston too, as he was ramping up the security measures. "Keep track of him, don't let him out of your sight!"
"Will do. Target focused on Master Xehanort. Will also be looking out for any other Organization members." So Echo carried on with her current mission, as Winston took out an audio recorder.
"Sending distress signal to Soldier: 76, Ana, and Tjorborn..." said Winston as he held the recorder, hoping that the aforementioned individuals would receive the message he was about to send out. "...we'll need all hands on deck."
Pit was deep in the Yiga Clan hideout, which was apparently Iono's current location. The angel, knowing how the Yiga Clansmen acted whenever anyone trespassed into their territory, hoped that he wouldn't encounter any clansman as he traversed through their tunnels.
"Using a torchlight in a dark cave is so overrated," snorted Pit, using a flashlight from his phone to illuminate his path. Soon he was stopped in his tracks by a bunch of Yiga clansmen who suddenly appeared.
"FREEZE!" shouted the lead Yiga clansman, as Pit held his hands up as if he was held at gunpoint by the police. "State your business!" All the clansmen were armed, and waiting for Pit to say something funny...just so they would have an excuse to carve him up.
"Uh, my business is...Pit's Delivery Service!" Probably not the best answer that Pit could give, as the Yiga clansmen were raring to attack the angel. "We sell free bananas!" But once the bananas were mentioned, the Yiga clansmen lowered their guards.
"Free bananas? We like the sound of that! You can pass." So the Yiga clansmen kindly moved out of the way, providing Pit enough move to advance through the tunnel.
"Cool, thanks! Don't ask me to deliver you any bananas, though." Pit pressed forward down the tunnel, but not before returning to the Yiga clansmen to ask them a question. "Before I go, have you seen a streamer anywhere?"
"Yes we have," a Yiga clansman replied, as Pit perked up expecting the clansmen to show him the way to Iono. "Well, we used to have a streamer for our Cinco De Mayo party."
"After we learned that we weren't really Mexicans, we threw that streamer in the trash," added another Yiga clansman, as Pit smacked his forehead. A rare moment where someone was more foolish than Pit himself.
"Not talking about that kind of streamer! Have you seen Iono?" Pit asked the Yiga clansmen, and before any of the clansmen could respond, Pit heard some laughter coming from down the tunnel.
"Master Kohga, you have been totally awesome sauce for this stream!" a girl said to the Yiga Clan leader, and it sounded like Iono. Pit ran down the tunnel and saw Iono coming down...with Master Kohga. Imagine that pairing.
"Awesome sauce, what an awesome flavor!" exclaimed Master Kohga as he had his arm wrapped around Iono, wishing that he could taste this mythical awesome sauce one day. "Bet those magical subscriber numbers you're always talking about are going through the roof."
"O-M-G! Are you hearing this, folks? Master Kohga is slowly understanding lingo!" Iono had to make this major news announcement to her fans watching at home, making sure that she was front-and-center of the Rotom Phone camera.
Master Kohga: Iono has been surprisingly pleasant in our hideout. She told me what she does for fun, and that's being a streamer. Asked her how she gets her money from this streamer job, and she told me her secret - looking pretty for the camera so that single men give her big money donations! Girl's a whole charity! But what even is her cause?
Yiga Clansman: Our leader was allured by Iono's trick for making money, and apparently he wishes to replicate her success. Wants to get free money by "looking pretty for the masses". I don't know for the very life of me anyone who would pay hard-earned money to see Master Kohga wearing makeup over his mask. But considering the globs of money people donate to Iono, who's to say that the money is even hard-earned?
"So Iono, how did you make it past the Yiga clansmen?" Pit asked the streamer, wondering how she got inside; you could say that Iono used her clout to gain access, but the Yiga Clan likely had no idea who she was.
"Make it past the who-what-now?" asked Iono, as she was clearly confused, due to Iono's state of confusion, Pit looked towards Master Kohga for an answer.
"She looked like a giant banana from afar," Master Kohga explained to Pit, referencing the large yellow coat that Iono was best known for. "I ran up to take a bite, and...the rest his history."
"Master Kohga, the ugly green goblin was spotted in our hideout again," a Yiga Blademaster came by to inform Kohga, leading Pit under the assumption that the ugly green goblin was Gnasty Gnorc. "He didn't ask any of us for directions this time."
"Didn't ask for directions?!" boomed Master Kohga, and Pit came to the conclusion that the green goblin was indeed Gnasty Gnorc based on that factoid alone. "Sounds suspicious. Show me where he ran off to!"
So the Yiga Blademaster led Master Kohga down the lair, with Pit and Iono tagging along - Pit to see if his suspicions were correct, and Iono for the sake of the live stream. Soon the group arrived at an opening, and the Blademaster turned around and shushed everyone.
"Not a single sound..." the Yiga Blademaster whispered, as he led the group further down the tunnel. Once they reached the opening, the group saw four baddies gathered in Gnasty Gnorc, Pandora, Andross, and a fourth individual...Nitros Oxide.
"Pandora! Andross!" Pit exclaimed quietly, before making out Oxide as the alien that was riding in his green spaceship. "Is that...Nitros Oxide?"
"Know him from somewhere?" Master Kohga asked Pit, as Gnasty dropped a pile of Master Balls in front of Oxide and company. It was the most Master Balls that Pit had seen in one sitting.
"Got all the Paradox Pokemon...out of the sanctuary," Gnasty said to his fellow villains, sounding tuckered out as he collapsed to the ground out of breath. "That Zoroark really came in handy."
"Great work, Gnasty!" exclaimed Pandora, commending the Gnorc for a job well done as she patted him on his head. Gnasty preferred a kiss on the cheek, but with Pandora, that was awfully hard to come by.
"A shame that we were forced to do someone else's dirty work," remarked Andross, as Pandora went ahead and counted up all the Master Balls. "Since they couldn't get the job done..."
"Don't be such a miser, Andross! Once we give him these Poke Balls, we'll prove to Dimentio that he made a great decision in adding us to his coalition!"
"I'm more worthy than all of you," Oxide said to the other villains as he pointed at them, feeling vastly superior in the process. "So worthy, in fact, that Dimentio's closest confidant went back in time and personally asked me to..."
"Yeah, yeah, says the alien who wasn't allowed to report to Dimentio until he was done with his 'project'. Now help me count the Poke Balls." Doing as he was told, Oxide assisted Pandora with counting up the Master Balls, while Pit and the others watched from the corner.
"Are you seein' this, folks?!" Iono asked the live audience back home as she was streaming the four villains in action on her Rotom Phone. "Those bad guys captured the Paradox Pokemon! Me thinks they're planning something big!"
"I gotta let Mario know about this," said Pit as he snapped a quick photo of the four bad guys, before sending the image to the one person he could trust the most. Especially in regard to situations like these.
"All that running made me hungry..." moaned Gnasty, only to turn his head to the left and see a lone banana close to him. "...ah, a banana." The Gnorc sat up as he grabbed the banana, and started to peel it...
"NOBODY PEELS A BANANA ON THESE GROUNDS WITHOUT MY CONSENT!" Master Kohga pointed and shouted at Gnasty, giving himself and the others away. "Or without the banana's consent, either!"
"I have to ask the banana if it wants to be peeled?" Gnasty asked Kohga, as the Yiga Blademaster was left facepalming at Kohga's embarrassing behavior. "Hello, Mr. Banana, may I have your permission to peel you?" Gnasty asked the banana in his hand, feeling foolish.
"Pit! Did you come to see me?" Pandora asked the angel as she and Oxide stopped counting the Master Balls. The goddess of calamity was smiling. "I would ask you to feast your eyes, but...now isn't the right occasion."
"Intruder alert, intruder alert!" screamed Oxide as he pointed at Pit and the others, deciding that now was the perfect time to escape. "Quickly, put the Master Balls in my ship!"
"Who are you calling an intruder, this is my property!" yelled Master Kohga as he shook his fist, while Oxide and Pandora placed the Master Balls within Oxide's spaceship. Once the balls were inside, Oxide was ready to take off.
"They're about to get away!" shouted Pit, watching as Oxide took off in his spaceship and flew out of the opening. Gnasty unpeeled the banana and ate it whole, feeling recharged as he ran off.
"NOT THE BANANA!" Master Kohga screeched, left in shambles as he fell down to his knees. Everyone watched Kohga in his despair for a few seconds, before Pandora looked up at Pit.
"See you on the other side, Pit!" Pandora said her parting words to the angel, blowing him a kiss before firing a bomb that resulted in a cloud of smoke. Pit and the others were left coughing, and once the smoke cleared, Pandora and Andross were gone.
"The bad guys have made their grand escape!" Iono addressed the viewers watching her live stream, making sure that they saw the villains' getaway escape - while also making sure that she was positioned right in front of her camera. "I never got the chance to interview 'em..."
"They can run, but they can't hide. They're all mine!" said a determined Pit, as he ran out of the opening looking to round up the villainous quartet and teach them a lesson. Iono suddenly felt someone nibbling on her arm and saw that it was...the Yiga Blademaster.
"Sorry, it's just that your coat makes you look like a giant banana," the Yiga Blademaster sheepishly apologized to Iono before reassuming his usual stoic visage, as Iono rolled her eyes.
Aside from Iono, there was another live stream taking place - an Anarchy Splatcast live stream, hosted by Deep Cut. Shiver, Frye, and Big Man were in the tower's lounge where they would welcome their guests, the Squid Sisters.
"Listen up! It's going down..." said Shiver, who was sitting next to Frye while Big Man was positioned behind a television screen in the lounge. "...repping the Splatlands, we are DEEP CUT!"
"Anarchy Splatcast! We're live!" announced Frye, expressing her excitement as she raised her fists while Lakitu was serving as the cameraman. Hal passed by the lounge when he looked inside and saw Deep Cut.
"Ay! Ay!" exclaimed Big Man, as Hal conspicuously entered the lounge looking for someone. Shiver and Frye couldn't help but notice the hacker, who had already captured the Octoling and Inklings' attention.
"Look, Shiver! It's Snake's nerdy friend!" exclaimed Frye as she pointed at Hal; Lakitu turned his camera to Hal, who was frozen in place as his cover was perfectly blown.
"I am not a nerd...I'm a man who appreciates culture," Hal said defensively to Frye, leading to some amused reactions from the Deep Cut trio. And even Lakitu himself, as he stifled his laughter. "It's not funny, it's the truth!"
"Anime fans...they're always so defensive," smirked Shiver, fanning herself with her fan as Hal's face was turning red. Big Man was stoking the fire as he kept saying "Ay! Ay!" over and over again.
"AND YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH THIS INSTANT!" Hal pointed and yelled at Big Man, as he had just about enough of the manta ray's carping. The hacker's outburst made for a tense moment, as everyone's eyes went wide looking at Hal.
"Relax! All Big Man said was that Cowboy Bebop is the best anime," Frye explained to Hal, who went from being angry with Big Man to appreciating the manta ray on a highly intellectual level. "But if you ask me, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is far more superior!"
"Only those with an acquired taste prefer Yu Yu Hakusho," stated Shiver, flexing slightly on her co-hosts as she shared what her favorite anime was. "Fortunately for me, I have an acquired taste."
"Guess we all have a nerdy side to us," smiled Hal as he looked proudly at the members of Deep Cut, feeling proud - and maybe even vindicated - as he heard the treasure hunters talk about anime. He couldn't wait to tell Snake.
Hal: Deep Cut, they're alright in my book. I ought to buy one of their posters and hang it on the wall next to the Squid Sisters one. Just a poster of Shiver and Frye, though.
"Anyway, have you seen Marie and Callie?" Hal asked Deep Cut and Lakitu, as he failed to locate the Squid Sisters in their bedroom. "It is urgent that I speak with them."
"Somebody called?" asked Marie, showing up at the lounge along with Callie. Hal was ecstatic to see the Squid Sisters as he was about to speak with them...only for Lakitu to intervene as he floated over on his cloud.
"Marie and Callie are guests on today's Anarchy Spalfcast," Laiktu informed Hal, who recognized that he was interrupting a live broadcast. He figured that Deep Cut was waiting for him to vamoose. "So you're gonna have to wait."
"Yeah, quit interrupting our show!" Frye shouted at Hal, as Lakitu gently took Hal and guided him away from the Squid Sisters. But Hal later refused as he slapped Lakitu's hand away.
"The show will have to wait," stated Hal as he took out his phone, before pulling up a video. It was a video of a local news broadcast. "Check this out."
"What is that?" asked Callie as she and Marie looked at the video together, seeing the army of Heartless making their way through Seattle. Lakitu was looking at the video too, his eyes widening with worry.
"Those are the Heartless!" exclaimed the bespectacled Koopa, as Hal paused the video once the Squid Sisters had seen enough. Both Marie and Callie recognized the seriousness of the situation as they looked warily at Hal.
"Yeah, the same monsters that tried to attack the tower!" recalled Marie, as she remembered seeing the Heartless running amok back in episode 256.
"It appears that Organization XIII have brought them back," Hal said to the Squid Sisters, while the members of Deep Cut were looking on feeling left out. "Gave Snake a call, and he said that the Organization can control the Heartless."
"What's a 'Heartless'? Can someone explain what's going on?" asked Shiver, with Big Man sharing the Octoling's sentiments as he said "Ay! Ay!" repeatedly.
"This episode of Anarchy Splatcast will have to wait, I'm afraid," Hal turned to speak with Deep Cut, disappointing them in the process. "I'm going to need to borrow the Squid Sisters if you don't mind."
"Please tell me we have a backup guest..." Frye asked Shiver and Big Man, with Shiver nervously biting her bottom lip. Should've come extra prepared.
Master Hand gave Jin Kisaragi and Ragna the Bloodege an ultimatum in the last episode - if they couldn't learn how to get along until next Friday, they would both be forced to leave Omnis Adest. The giant hand, Mario, and Champion Link stopped at the brothers' apartment to see if Jin and Ragna were finally on the same page.
"Very idiotic of you to put-a them in the same apartment," Mario said to Master Hand, as Ragna and Jin were standing outside while Noel and Mai looked on. Master Hand flicked Mario's nose, almost breaking it in the process.
"Alright boys, I trust that you have learned to tolerate each other's existence since I last spoke with you," Master Hand said to Ragna and Jin, who were staring at each other as there was hardly any animosity brewing between them. Surprisingly enough.
"So, have you two made any progress?" Champion Link asked Ragna and Jin, not counting on them to answer yes. The confidence he had in them repairing their relationship was super low.
"To tell you the truth, Champion Link..." replied Ragna as he looked at the Hylian, letting the moment settle in before looking back at Jin. "...we have finally put our differences to the side."
"Indeed, no more fighting," confirmed Jin, wanting to show that he and Ragna were on the same page as he extended his hand. "I am truly sorry for everything I've done to you, Ragna." Jin shook Ragna's hand, as Noel noticed something amiss.
"They're both crossing their fingers behind their backs!" Noel called out Jin and Ragna, as Mario checked to see that the brothers indeed had their fingers held behind their backs, crossed. Mario frowned at the brothers, who both looked ticked as their plan was foiled.
"Liars! Both of you, liars!" Master Hand pointed accusingly at both Ragna and Jin, ashamed that he ever believed the two brothers would actually get along. "Ragna, Jin...I ask that both of you leave Omnis Adest immediately!"
"Good riddance..." Mai muttered under her breath, as she and Noel were happy to see the brotherly duo get the boot. Noel, who was terribly disliked by Jin, was most pleased.
"Fine then, we'll start moving out," said Jin, accepting his fate as he and Ragna turned to their apartment. Jin was glaring at Ragna. "This is all your fault."
"No, this was your fault!" countered Ragna, threatening to punch Jin in the face as he and his brother went back inside their apartment. Someone ought to check in on those two and make sure that a fight wouldn't break out.
"Told you they wouldn't last," a vindicated Champion Link said to Master Hand, as Ryoma arrived at the scene. The eldest sibling of the Hoshidan family had a concerned look on his face.
"Pardon the interruption," Ryoma said to everyone gathered outside, as he had a pressing question to ask. "But have any of you seen my little sister?"
Ryoma: Sakura has had a strong habit of leaving the townhouse without saying a word these past few weeks. It has become more and more frequent, and it has me and my siblings worried. If Sakura was running off to try and poison the Nohrians and potentially kill them off, then I wouldn't mind her constant absences. If it was for any other reason, she will be severely punished.
"I have seen her out and about today," Noel said to Ryoma, as she had seen a glimpse of Sakura outside while she was at the community pool. "As for where she ran off to, I can't tell you."
"She might-a be at the mansion, to visit Corrin," said Mario, recalling the instances of Sakura passing by his house en route to the mansion. Visiting Corrin was one thing that Ryoma would let Sakura do other than poisoning the Nohrian royal family.
"Makes sense - thank you for the tip," Ryoma thanked Mario as he left the premises, heading to the mansion and hoping that Sakura was there with Corrin. Let him find his little sister with anyone else, and heads might roll.
In the previous episode, MC Ballyhoo told Fox and Falco that if they chose to live in the present and follow the business practices of other successful record labels, Star Records would be financially sound. The pilots had a whole week to dwell over the emcee's point.
"You know, you made a great point Ballyhoo," Fox said to the emcee as he and Falco followed him out of his townhouse, after spending most of their morning with him. "Doing what other record labels are doing might not be so bad after all."
"We shunned their ways because they felt too mainstream," added Falco, getting a couple of things off of his chest which Ballyhoo appreciated on a deep level. "Did things differently because we thought it'd make us look cool."
"Doing things differently works most of the time...not all of the time," Ballyhoo offered this moral to the pilots, believing this moral to be superior to the other ones he gave out in the past. A moral that Fox and Falco should've learned years ago.
"Seems like we learned that lesson the hard way," remarked Fox as he reached into his pocket, only to feel nothing inside. The pilot then checked his other pocket, nothing in there either. "Shoot, I left my phone inside!"
"That's not good," said Falco, who followed Fox to the front door; Fox stopped right at the front door as he turned his head to Falco and furrowed his brow. "I'm following you because...reasons."
"...and this is why you need a more present girlfriend." Forced to take Falco with him, Fox went inside the townhouse and searched for his phone. Ballyhoo remained outside, as he looked up at the sky.
"Thank goodness I'm out of Subspace!" the emcee remarked as he was looking at the sun, appreciating how lovely it was outside. Suddenly some evil giggling was heard, making Ballyhoo turn his head in multiple directions.
"If it isn't my former Subspace buddy - MC Ballyhoo!" said a sinister voice, sending chills down Ballyhoo's spine as Ballyhoo knew who was speaking to him. "Once again we meet, like two mythical dragons at a war-torn medieval castle!"
"D-Dimentio?! Show yourself!" Heeding Ballyhoo's command, Dimentio descended down from the sky, positioning himself in front of Ballyhoo. It has been a rather long time since Ballyhoo and Dimentio last saw each other.
"What a funny coincidence! I'm relieved to be out of Subspace too. Would not even wish Tabuu on my worst enemy - let alone my best."
"Get away from me! I have nothing to do with you..." Refusing to listen to Ballyhoo, Dimentio floated closer to the emcee and was close enough to make him want to cower in fear.
"Please don't be like that! Nothing wrong with doing a little catching up with the one person in Subspace who would speak to me. Tabuu really wasn't much of a conversationalist - it was like talking to paint drying on a wall!"
"Isn't that the truth..." Realizing that he agreed with Dimentio, Ballyhoo gasped and covered his mouth, while Dimentio responded with a light-hearted giggle.
"See? Our chemistry remains intact! Even if we hadn't seen each other's lovely faces in two years. Say, when did you get out of Subspace?"
"In February, of this year. February 10th." Episode 373 had taken place on February 10th, and conveniently enough, Dimentio was in town that day.
"I was in Seattle on February 10th! How on earth did I miss you? But no matter - that is a discussion for another day. Who freed you from Subspace?"
"Dr. Eggman did." The mention of Eggman made Dimentio take himself momentarily out of the conversation, as he was thinking about what could have been.
"He could've been a welcome addition to my coalition...that Dr. Eggman. As for me, well, I learned Cloud Strife was responsible for freeing me! Granted, Dr. Nefarious Tropy was more directly involved, but I will always credit Cloud for freeing me from my prison."
"Cloud got you out of Subspace?" Ballyhoo found that hard to believe, but based on the past events that have happened, Dimentio was speaking the truth.
"More or less. His quest of finding love through means of resurrection was what contributed to my escape. One day I will give him my flowers - and Dr. N. Tropy too, for building that Rift Generator!"
"A Rift Generator that can resurrect people was what got you out of Subspace? Sounds peculiar." Ballyhoo did his best to piece together all the details, as Dimentio giggled at the emcee's noble attempt.
"Wouldn't say that it resurrects...you know what, how about I skip along to what I really wanted to talk about." Dimentio floated away from Ballyhoo, as he had his back turned to the emcee. "Want to guess how long I've been trapped in Subspace?"
"I'm gonna guess...six years. Or maybe it was ten. Heck, I've been stuck in Subspace so long myself, that I've lost track of my sense of time!"
"You were close the first time...I was stuck for five years, or close to it. Five years is too long of a time to not have your mind set on revenge."
"Oh, I bet! Always talking about how you wanted revenge on the mansion, and this and that. And for what? Because they threw you into Subspace?"
"Which is exactly my point!" Dimentio turned to face Ballyhoo, as he came off as uncharacteristically angry. His iconic smile even faded a bit. "Master Hand, Mario, the lot of them...they threw me in there and left me to waste."
"With the kind of person that you are, I wouldn't blame them! Also, that sounds like a personal problem." Ballyhoo struck a nerve with Dimentio, who got up in the emcee's grill likely even angrier than before.
"I'm quite amazed that you harbor no ill will towards the mansion after you have suffered the same fate. You were in Subspace longer than I have!"
"True, but I didn't come out of there wanting to take my frustration out on anyone. I got over it - something that you're not man enough to do!"
"Oh, how could I just slap a man..." Dimentio floated away from Ballyhoo, doing so to keep his emotions in check. "...but just you wait and see. My revenge tour on the Smash Mansion will be swift and without fail! The establishment, and everyone in it, will be reduced to rubble."
"So all that talk you did in Subspace about destroying stuff...you were really referring to the mansion! Why, I should have known!"
"How lovely of you to finally get the clue. But that's not all - once I finish destroying the mansion, I will destroy this universe next!"
"Imagine doing all of that just because you were...whuzzat? W-What did you say about the universe being destroyed?"
"My ultimate goal is forever unchanged; I plan on bringing this entire universe to oblivion, and rebuilding it in my image! The mansion kept me from fulfilling this goal, which is why they must suffer the dire consequences."
"Woah, woah, woah! Don't get me wrong, I love a good show, but destroying the universe seems a bit extreme, don't you think?"
"Think of the chaos, the ultimate spectacle! Imagine the thrill as everything crumbles into oblivion. It will be the grandest performance the cosmos has ever witnessed! And I will have a front-row seat to the action."
"Is there not anything in this universe that is worth preserving? Like life, or joy? Or even existence? No way you can be that close-minded."
"Those virtues you value are but trivialities compared to the sheer ecstasy of annihilation! The universe is a stage, my friend, and I am the director. It is time for a finale of epic proportions. Sacrifices will be made for the greater good."
"Great googly moogly, you're insane! To say that this is simply too much would be a massive understatement! Dimentio, please reconsider, I beg of you!"
"Reconsider?!" Dimentio had to laugh maniacally, tickling himself over the thought of Ballyhoo trying to change his mind. "Oh, dear Ballyhoo, you misunderstand. My mind is set, and no pleas of yours can change that. Mark my words, this universe shall be undone, and I shall revel in the chaos that ensues!"
"No mistake about it...you sir, are a monster!" For some people, it was almost an insult to be called a monster. But for Dimentio, it was a compliment.
"Thank you, I do my best! But before I go, I ask that you do yourself a favor." Dimentio wanted to make this favor personal, as he floated back to Ballyhoo.
"What kind of favor is it?" Ballyhoo backed off of Dimentio, who was close to the emcee's ear. Ballyhoo could feel the nonexistent hairs on his body raising.
"Master Hand says you have to leave Omins Adest, yes?" Dimentio whispered into Ballyhoo's ear, as he had Ballyhoo wrapped around his finger. "Then leave. Save yourself from the inevitable. Because if you don't...I'll be coming for you."
"Wha..." Taking Dimentio's favor as both a warning and a threat, Ballyhoo looked afraid as Dimentio smiled and floated away from the emcee. The scared look on Ballyhoo's face let Dimentio know that what he said did the trick.
"My work here is done, for now. Ciao!" Done speaking with Ballyhoo, Dimentio teleported away, likely to cause some mayhem or something. Ballyhoo, meanwhile, still had that scared look on his face.
Dimentio: Meant every single word I said to Ballyhoo. Any universe that I'm in is always primed for eradication. Chaos is my middle name, and I proudly wear it well.
"Leaving your phone in the back pocket of your pants," Falco shook his head at Fox, as he and the pilot exited Ballyhoo's townhouse after Fox's phone was found in the unlikeliest of places. "Absolutely shameful."
"Sometimes I forget that my pants even have a..." responded Fox, only to encounter Ballyhoo lying on the ground in a fetal position. Both he and Falco wondered what had gotten into Ballyhoo.
"H-He's coming to get me..." stuttered Ballyhoo, who was clearly scared out of his mind; Falco knelt down at Ballyhoo as he checked on him.
"Ballyhoo, you good?" Falco asked the emcee, only to get no response; Falco looked up at Fox, who was pinching his chin as he figured something out.
Pit had left the Yiga Clan hideout, as he was on the hunt for the fearsome foursome of Pandora, Andross, Gnasty Gnorc, and Oxide. But before he could resume his hunt, he had to let Joker know about his whereabouts.
"You better hurry up with this 'bringing people to justice' nonsense," Joker said to Pit over the phone, as Pit gave the young man a call while he was standing outside near the Yiga Clan hideout entrance. "By people, I hope you're not referring to..."
"...no, it's not the little kids riding past the mansion on their bikes," affirmed Pit, who tensed up a bit as he heard a bike bell ringing in the distance. "Do they not have a neighborhood to ride around in?"
"Just leave them alone. We don't want to hear a parent complaining to us because you pushed their kid off their bike and made them crash into the pavement."
"Oh, so it's my fault their kid somehow scrapped their knee! Their body must be soft. Charmin soft." Pit suddenly gasped, as he made out a sharply-dressed man in the distance walking towards him. "I have to go now, Joker."
"Okay then, just hurry up with your...task, or whatever. Remember not to..." Joker didn't get to tell Pit his warning, for Pit hung up his phone and placed it back in his pocket. Soon as he did, the sharply-dressed man arrived.
"Good afternoon, Pit," greeted the sharply-dressed man, who was none other than Giovanni; Pit was ready to fight, as he donned his bow. "Lower your guard - I am not here to fight."
"Not falling for that easily. I know what you want...a Pokemon battle! Pikachu, I choose..." Pit was about to point his finger, but then he realized that Pikachu was not outside. So he had to call an audible... "...Duck Hunt Dog, I choose you!"
"..." said Duck Hunt Dog, fast asleep as he was sleeping away in his doghouse. Pit was looking back at Duck Hunt Dog, expecting the mutt to wake up and heed his command.
"I'm not interested in a Pokemon battle," stated Giovanni, who was coming off as more tranquil than usual. Perhaps a little too tranquil. "Rather, I just wanted to speak with you, mono e mono. Just you and me, Pit."
"Mono e mono, as in like mononucleosis?" questioned Pit - amazing that the angel even knew what mononucleosis was. "Are you gonna kiss me and try to make me sick?!"
"Entertain me, Pit, what have you truly accomplished? I have learned from Magolor that all you do, day in and day out, is serve coffee. Does that make you feel like you achieved something?"
"Pfft! I've done way more important stuff than serving coffee. I ran two food trucks, solved a conspiracy involving a stalker, and even pulled out Lemmy Koopa's overdue baby teeth. How about that!"
"Those are notable achievements, I suppose...but in the grand scheme of things, what have you really achieved? You made no mention of saving the mansion from harm."
"I rid the mansion of termites once - but only because Dark Pit forced me to do the dirty work for him. Does that count?" Not in Giovanni's book, it didn't.
"I'm talking about something major - something similar to a Calamity Ganon threat. I imagine that you were sitting on the sidelines, while Mario and the more important folk did the heavy lifting."
"I mean, I could be more involved, but maybe Mario didn't want me." Pit seemed to know why that might be the cause, as he lowered his head. "Because I might get in his way..."
"And who could blame him? A hapless fool like you would be a distraction, prancing around and pretending to be a contributor. To Mario, Cloud, Link, and anybody else...you're nothing more than a minor inconvenience."
"Joker wouldn't think that - he sees me as a valuable employee. He even implied that he would never replace me behind the counter!"
"Did he really mean that? Or was he saving face? Admit it, Pit - you haven't accomplished anything, and will never accomplish anything. You have been, and will always be...an idiot boy."
"Idiot...boy?" Giovanni's words cut in deep into Pit, who was reflecting upon what Young Xehanort said in the last episode about his self-worth. Pit looked up and saw Giovanni extending his hand to him.
"There is nothing for you to fear. Take my hand, and I'll help you realize your true worth..." Taking Giovanni's word for it, Pit was slowly marched towards the Team Rocket leader, slightly trusting him.
Then all of a sudden, Sho Minazuki leaped from out of nowhere and grabbed Pit from behind, putting the angel in a sleeper hold. The delinquent kept applying the sleeper hold unto Pit was rendered unconscious, as he gently placed Pit on the ground.
"Nicely done, Mr. Minazuki," Giovanni commended the delinquent, who checked to see if Pit was truly unconscious. Once he was done inspecting, Sho hoisted Pit over his shoulder.
"Got him hook, line, and sinker," snarled Sho, giving his props to Giovanni as he held out his fist to the mob boss for a fist bump. Giovanni awkwardly shook Sho's fist with his hand. "We'll work on that one later."
Giovanni: Dimentio explored the possibility of using one of the residents as a potential ransom. Pit happened to fall right into our laps...
"Now that we got our ransom, what's our next move?" Sho asked Giovanni, finding Pit to be less heavy than usual. Almost like holding a pillow to him.
"Wait for Dimentio to give us further instructions. Let's go," replied Giovanni, as he started walking away with Sho following after him. As Sho and Giovanni left, a head of blonde hair was sticking out of the nearby shrubbery, spying on the villains.
One of the hardest parts about "Cut Day" was making tough decisions - asking people who are virtually no problem to anyone to leave. Hop was one person who no one had any issues with, and yet he was asked to leave.
"You can't just send me back to Galar!" Hop said to Mario and company, wanting to stay put so that he wouldn't be far away from his older brother Leon. "Wherever Lee goes, I follow!"
"You sound like a groupie," Master Hand said to Hop, not caring how distressed the Pokemon trainer felt - even if it made him feel bad inside. "New flash, Hop - you're not a woman."
"He is his brother's biggest fan," Mario quietly stated, unable to think of a single person that went to bat for Leon more than Hop did. Former Galar Pokemon League chairman Rose might be the only other person that comes to mind.
"If you wish to stay, give us a reason why. In fact, tell us of your finest accomplishments." A question like that left Hop in a rock and a hard place, for he had very few accomplishments to his name compared to Leon.
"Well, I did finish in the second round of the Champions Cup." The Champion Cup was a prestigious cup, the biggest tournament in Galar. "The semifinals of the Champions Cup, I should say." ...and Hop potentially shot himself in the foot.
"Who did you beat in the first round?" asked Champion Link, hoping that Hop defeated a Pokemon trainer that was of the highest caliber. Someone who was on Marnie or Bede's level. However, Hop's mind was drawing a blank.
"Beats me...but I'm sure that it was an up-and-coming Pokemon trainer, like me!" Hop played off his brain fart with a smile, as Champion Link facepalmed. Soon Leon and Lance arrived.
"What's up, little bro?" Leon greeted Hop with a smile, before rubbing his hand in Hop's hair. Typical older brother behavior. "What's up, Master Hand? What are you and Hop talking about?"
"We were...uh, joking around," Master Hand nervously replied, apparently not man enough to tell Leon that Hop was forced to leave Omnis Adest. "Totally not like we were asking Hop to go back home. Amirite, boys?"
"Right, yeah," Mario smiled nervously, he and Champion Link were forced to play along with Master Hand's shenanigans. But the shenanigans worked, as Leon let out a hearty laugh.
"Making Hop leave, that is a good joke!" laughed Leon, as Master Hand and his boys were laughing with the champion of Galar. "Everyone knows that Hop doesn't leave unless I say so."
"Good luck breaking the bad news to him..." Champion Link muttered to Master Hand, pointing his thumb at Leon. Lance, the only person not laughing his butt off, looked up at the sky and saw an unidentified flying object crashing toward the ground.
"A green spaceship is coming this way!" alerted Lance, as everyone looked up and saw Oxide's spaceship crashing towards them. Everyone jumped out of the way as Oxide crashed his spaceship into the street.
"Blast it! Should've gotten the diesel at the gas station instead," Oxide remarked seconds after the crash, fearing that he had some engine trouble. Gnasty showed up, almost out of breath.
"I literally followed you to this spot from the convenience store," Gnasty said to Oxide, almost startling the alien with his sudden appearance. "Did you get me any grub, by any chance?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Oxide would hide the evidence, as he grabbed an empty soda can and tossed it out of his spaceship. Lying on the ground, Mario and the others looked up and saw Gnasty and Oxide.
"Hey, I know you!" exclaimed Master Hand as he pointed at Oxide, amazed that the alien was showing his face years after his defeat. "You're the alien who lost in that race 'for the fate of the world', or whatever."
"And he's one of us now," said a certain gorilla, as everyone looked up in the sky and saw Andross making his descent on a small platform. Pandora was with Andross on the platform, smiling and waving to everyone.
"Andross, Pandora, and Nitros Oxide?!" said Mario, not knowing what to think when he saw the three aforementioned villains aligned with Gnasty. "Mama Mia, don't tell me..."
"Yup...we're all working for Dimentio!" confirmed Pandora, as Mario's newest worst fears were now realized at that very moment. "Working with Dimentio. Yeah, that sounds better..."
"How the heck did they recruit you?" Champion Link asked Oxide, fearing that Dimentio was going into outer space to add galactic goons to his squad.
"Let's just say that I made a lasting impression with that message I delivered to the bandicoots," replied Oxide, "Via hologram, mind you. Don't know how they saw the message, but it was enough for them to go back in time and ask me to join."
"They went back in time?!" questioned Hop, as the thought of Dimentio and his goons utilizing time travel was scarier to Champion Link than them going into outer space and beyond.
"If they pulled Organization XIII from an alternate universe, then time travel is frankly a walk in the park for them," replied Lance, gripping his Poke Ball as he wanted to send his Dragonite on the bad guys. But before Lance could summon Dragonite...a Twilight portal appeared near Oxide's ship.
"Looks like we got more company..." groaned Master Hand, as Zant and Astor appeared out from the Twilight portal. Mario, Master Hand, and Champion Link were on edge.
"Greetings," Zant greeted Master Hand and company, before turning his attention to the bad guys as Astor held out a sack. "The Paradox Pokemon, please."
"Paradox Pokemon? What even are..." wondered Leon, for his eyes to grow big when he saw Oxide take out a pile of Master Balls. "...woah! That's a lot of Master Balls."
Leon: So, Paradox Pokemon are like ancient or futuristic versions of modern-day Pokemon? And they can't evolve, breed, or have a gender? Then they must be legendaries!...They're not legendaries? You're confusing me, man.
"Here are the Master Balls, good sir," Oxide said to Astor, who had a sack out; Oxide dumped the Master Balls into the sack, which Astor tied up once the deed was done.
"Much obliged, Mr. Oxide! Astor thanked Oxide as he hoisted the sack over his shoulders. "The rest of you, follow us." Zant and Astor went through the portal, as Master Hand growled silently.
"We'll be seeing you!" Pandora said to Master Hand and company, blowing a kiss to them as she and the other villains followed Zant and Astor through the Twilight portal. Champion Link refused to let them get away as he stood up.
"Get back here!" shouted Champion Link, taking out his Master Sword as he charged at the Twilight portal. The portal vanished right when Champion Link attacked, as Champion Link's efforts were for naught.
"They really kidnapped the Paradox Pokemon..." lamented Master Hand, beating on himself for not intervening while he had the chance. "...could things possibly get any worse?"
"Master Hand, some bad news!" alerted Hal, as he returned to Omnis Adest along with the Squid Sisters. Marie and Callie were warmed with some of the finest ink-based weaponry. "An army of Heartless is believed to be headed our way."
"Of all days, why Cut Day?!" Master Hand was now fully beside himself, as he floated away from the group so that he could brood in peace. The hits kept on coming today.
"...do you think that Link and-a Zelda should know about this?" Mario asked Hal, willing to go to the watchpoint to inform Link and Zelda. Provided that the Hylian couple was still there.
Link and Zelda were still at the watchpoint, and they were pretty much sticking with Tracer and Winston the entire time. Winston was glossing through the security footage on a large computer screen, as he pulled up one of the security cameras and saw Master Xehanort.
"There's Master Xehanort," confirmed Winston, as he and the others were watching Master Xehanort walking around outside the watchpoint. For what reason, nobody knew.
"Otherwise known as the Hunchback of Hollow Bastion," quipped Tracer, only to frown as she believed she got the name wrong. "Or is it Radiant Garden?"
"I thought that Xehanort was from the Land of Departure," said Link, making Tracer even more confused and leaving the pilot scratching her head. "That's where he trained the Keyblade Masters."
"No, Sora said that he's from Scala ad Caelum," stated Zelda, who once had to ask Riku for confirmation of Master Xehanort's homeworld. "Which, I found out, is Latin for..."
"Nobody cares!" boomed Winston as he angrily slammed his fist on the desk; everyone looked awkwardly at the gorilla, who calmed down and regained his usual composure. "Sorry about that. Fortunately, my glasses didn't fall off..."
Now on his lunch break, Joker accompanied Cortex to E. Gadd's mansion with a group of men (and a woman) committed to dispatching the fire - Sonic, Crash, Conker, Aqua, Corrin, and Greninja. But when Joker and company arrived at the mansion...there was no fire!
"Uh, did we miss the fire?" inquired Sonic, who couldn't help but notice that the mansion looked the same as he last saw it. No fire damage or anything. That's when Cortex broke out into a laughing fit.
"Haha! I tricked all of you!" Cortex pointed and laughed at Joker and company, laughing even more when he saw their blank faces. Done laughing, Cortex wiped a tear from his eye. "Ah, that felt great."
"Must be considering how often your sucky evil plans fail," quipped Joker, throwing shade at Cortex as he got the evil genius gritting his teeth angrily. "I saw your personal list."
"Walking around the city in just my underwear is not an evil plan! It's...it's a weird fantasy I have." Cortex felt embarrassed admitting that out loud, as he looked down and scratched the back of his head.
Cortex: *sighs* Since curious minds want to know (because of a stupidly nosy camera crew), I suppose I can tell you the other items on this list of mine. *takes out list* Stealing candy from a convenience store. Writing "hammer time" on a stop sign. Peeing in a public pool full of little children...wait, I already did that one! *takes out a pen, and crosses an item off of his list* Next objective for me is defecating in a public pool full of little children.
"Those chips ought to hold me over," said E. Gadd as he stepped out through the front door, tidying himself as he was carrying a parcel. "Though Rayman might have some baguettes at his house."
"Professor E. Gadd! I have brought for you the men...and woman, who will watch over your mansion," Cortex said to the inventor, who was delighted to see the group that was assembled. E. Gadd smiled with joy.
"Wait, we've been set up!" frowned Sonic, as he and the others were played like a fiddle. "Dr. Cortex!" Sonic and Crash turned their ire to Cortex, who clenched his teeth nervously.
"I was told that there was a fire..." said Aqua, feeling like turning back and rejoining her friends at the mansion. Leaving now might upset E. Gadd.
"Why not ask Cortex's minions to watch over your mansion for you?" Corrin asked E. Gadd, who made an inquisitive face that Corrin understood immediately. "Ah, right. Understandable."
"They're not the most trustworthy bunch, so I need more hands on deck," explained E. Gadd, who preferred the overseers of his estate to be on the more competent side. "Would be fine if Cortex was staying behind, but..."
"I have an appointment with the endocrinologist, to treat my man boobs," Cortex would finish for E. Gadd, as he heard Sonic and his friends snickering at him. "Shut up, it's not funny!"
"As for what I'll be doing, I'll be off speaking with an old ally of mine. You can surmise who that is." If you yourself know who this old ally was, then give yourself a pat on the back.
"Sucks that I'll miss out being at the cafe over this," remarked Joker, not knowing what was worse - having to deal with Sans, or putting up with Cortex's minions (minus Dingodile). "Your mansion will be in good hands, E. Gadd."
"Good! One more thing before I go - I have a time machine that's down in my lab. I ask that you safeguard it at whatever cost."
"Time machine will be in good hands!" Conker assured E. Gadd as he gave a salute; not that familiar with Conker, E. Gadd crinkled his nose at the squirrel.
"Oh, this is Conker - he's a friend of mine," Sonic introduced Conker to E. Gadd, pulling the squirrel close to him and wrapping his arm around him. E. Gadd smiled in understanding.
"Conker, I've heard that name from somewhere! Moira told me about Conker once, and how you, Sonic, planned on reviving his dead..."
"My dead what now?" Conker furrowed his brow, just as Sonic sped over to E. Gadd and covered his mouth. Conker was looking inquisitively at Sonic.
"That's old, senile E. Gadd for ya!" replied Sonic, with Conker furrowing his brow even more at the blue hedgehog and making him sweat a bit. "Saying stuff, making up stories. Better get going, professor!"
"Uh, okay," E. Gadd responded after Sonic pushed him forward, with Conker still staring at Sonic as E. Gadd went on his merry way. "I'm off - don't touch the pizza rolls while I'm gone! Let the minions know, too!"
Hal had returned to Omnis Adest with the Squid Sisters, where he informed Mario and company about the presence of Heartless in Seattle. Just a moment before, Mario and company were greeted by the four bad guys who were at the Yiga Clan hideout, who had left with Zant and Astor.
"I'll go to the watchpoint and warn-a Link and Zelda," Mario said to Master Hand and Champion Link, hoping to reach the watchpoint before the villainous quartet did. "You two develop a game-a plan with Hal and the Squid-a Sisters."
"But you're too fat, you'll never reach the watchpoint in time," an overhearing Marie said to Mario, causing Callie to gasp; Callie angrily smacked Callie on her arm, as Mario smiled in appreciation.
"I was going to say that to him, no fair!" whined Callie, as the appreciation Mario harbored towards the Inkling was frankly short-lived. But there was no time for feeling salty - Mario had a watchpoint to get to.
"Ready for liftoff, Mario?" Lance asked the plumber, standing near the entrance gate with his Dragonite. Mario nodded his head as he went over to Dragonite and hopped on. "We'll be back, everyone."
"Be safe," said Leon, who along with Hop was sticking with Master Hand and the others. Lance hopped on, and he and Mario were off as Dragonite took off into the skies.
"Where's Mario going?" asked Cloud as he showed up, watching as Mario was riding on Dragonite with Lance en route to the watchpoint. "Didn't know that Cut Day was already over."
"He's going to deliver Link and Zelda a message," replied Champion Link, as Cloud was reminded that Link and Zelda were speaking with the Overwatch operatives today. "The Heartless are afoot."
"This is exactly why Link needs a cellphone..." Sharing his disappointment with Link, Cloud turned and walked away as he went back inside Omnis Adest. Marie, meanwhile, was looking through her telescope when she recognized something in the distance.
"Heartless spotted at 3 o'clock!" shouted Marie, before looking up and seeing a large object flying above Heartless. "I can also see a flying ship..."
"Check the security cameras for Master Xehanort," Tracer said to Winston while she, Link, and Zelda stood behind him. Winston pulled up several images of Master Xehanort, finding the Organization leader at many different places at the watchpoint.
"He's all over the place!" stated Winston as he pushed up on his glasses with his finger, zooming in on certain camera footage as he clicked away. "Xehanort must be very unpredictable."
"Why does he keep going into those dark portals?" wondered Tracer, as she witnessed Master Xehanort going inside a dark corridor. Xehanort's behavior left Tracer perplexed.
"Maybe he's trying to throw Echo off his scent," assumed Link, thinking that Xehanort sensed Echo; if so, then his sense of awareness was that strong.
"Tracer, Winston, do you read me?" Sojourn was heard speaking over Tracer and Winston's codecs, with a sense of urgency in her voice. "A dark void just appeared on the top deck. I see someone stepping out..."
"That must be Master Xehanort! Let's move!" shouted Winston, closing down the computer as he grabbed the giant gun that he was working on. He and the others made their move, hustling to the top deck where Sojourn was.
As stated earlier, E. Gadd left his mansion in the care of Joker and friends, for he had an important meeting with an "old ally". That meeting was to take place at Rayman's house, and why Rayman's house, no one knew. Not even Rayman himself.
"Your dental hygiene is worse than mine!" Barbara said to E. Gadd, who was idly sitting on a couch in the living room minding his own business. Barbara was disturbed by the single tooth in E. Gadd's mouth.
"It's worse than Globox's, and Globox doesn't even have any teeth!" stated Globox before opening his mouth, revealing to E. Gadd his lack of teeth. E. Gadd got a whiff of Globox's bad breath, as he held his nose and fanned away the fumes.
"C'mon guys, leave E. Gadd alone," Rayman said to Barbara and Globox, as the former was poking the white tuft of hair that was on E. Gadd's head. "It's not nice to pick on the elderly."
"But it's fun to pick on his hair," smiled Barbara, playing with E. Gadd's hair as if it were a toy. E. Gadd apparently didn't seem to mind, as he remained sitting on the couch without a care in the world.
"Hehe, that tickles," giggled E. Gadd, as Rayman shook his head in dismay; the doorbell rang, and E. Gadd tidied his hair as his "old ally" was likely here.
"Professor E. Gadd, it's me, Dr. Wily!" Wily called out from behind the door, as Rayman exchanged shocked faces with each other. Rayman eventually answered the door, and let Wily inside.
"Fancy seeing you..." Rayman said to Wily, who angrily pushed the limbless hero to the side as he went to the living room. Wily saw that E. Gadd was smiling at him, as he let out a deep sigh.
Rayman: E. Gadd and Wily, together in the same house...my house. I'm gonna call the local authorities and leave them on standby.
"Why did I even agree to speak with you..." Wily muttered to E. Gadd, as seeing the inventor made him sick to his stomach. Just even thinking about E. Gadd was enough to make Wily want to vomit.
"Dr. Wily! Please have a seat," encouraged E. Gadd, patting an empty spot on the couch for Wily to sit. "We have plenty to discuss." Begrudgingly, Wily sat on the couch, keeping his distance from E. Gadd - a man he once deemed an ally.
Meanwhile, at E. Gadd's mansion, it was mainly tranquil for the most part. No bad guys had shown up yet, so in the meantime, Joker and friends were kicking it with Cortex's minions.
"Let's talk about who the most handsome man in the world is!" N. Gin suggested to the group of Sonic, Crash, Conker, and Joker, who was playing cards in the middle of the foyer. "I nominate Dr. Cortex..."
"Mention Cortex's name again, and we're throwing you in the closet," Joker threatened N. Gin...although N. Gin personally wouldn't mind being kept inside a closet. Long as Cortex was with him.
"Okay...let's talk about something else then. Ooh, I know - who do you consider to be your role model? The funny thing is, my role model and I both went to the same school! We were in the same grade..."
"Any reference of him is forbidden." Joker had N. Gin stumped, as N. Gin looked sad and sat on the floor in despair. A single tear even ran down N. Gin's face.
"Y'know, you're the exact reason why Dingodile would rather live at the diner, than here," Pinstripe said to N. Gin as he was sitting on a chair, brandishing his Tommy gun with a white cloth. The doorbell rang, and Pinstripe, the closest to the door, was in no mood for moving a muscle.
"Hope E. Gadd or Cortex didn't forget something," said Aqua as she was the one to open the door; when she opened it, she was greeted by a member of the Hoshidan royal family, Sakura.
"Hello, is Corrin here?" asked Sakura, as everyone looked surprised to see her of all people standing on the doorstep. "I was been told that Corrin was at E. Gadd's mansion."
"He is here. Come inside." So Aqua let Sakura inside, and once Sakura was inside, Crash got up and randomly gave the girl a hug. "Corrin, somebody came to see you!" Aqua called out to the prince.
"Who is it?" inquired Corrin as he soon entered the foyer, gasping with joy when he saw Sakura. The prince ran over to Sakura, shoving Crash to the side. "Sakura! Why are you..."
"Wanted to give you this," interjected Sakura, pulling out a package that she had kept hidden until now and revealing it to Corrin. "I believe that it's another gift for Kana."
"This must be that Chewbacca toy I ordered." Corrin accepted the package from Sakura, carefully inspecting it to see if it was truly what he wanted. "I hear they had that toy on clearance because it was selling out by the dozens."
"Sure, buddy, sure..." Pinstripe snorted at Corrin as he cleaned his Tommy gun - only to accidentally pull the trigger with the muzzle near his head. A shot was fired, and Pinstripe had smoke all over his face.
"Do you mind if I stay with you?" Sakura asked Corrin, unsure if the prince would answer yes given that she wasn't a Nohrian family member. "I'm too scared to head back if Ryoma's lurking around, looking for me..."
"Stay for as long as you like," replied Corrin, hoping that he wasn't breaking any sort of protocol by keeping company with Sakura. "You can go back whenever you feel like it."
"Anybody else got a feeling that this will end poorly?" Sonic asked the others, as he saw nothing but bad things resulting from Corrin and Sakura together.
Meanwhile, a short distance away from E. Gadd's mansion was a dark corridor. Three Organization XIII members exited from his dark corridor - Xemnas, Xigbar, Saïx, Luxord, and Vanitas.
"Does everyone remember what we have been asked to do?" Xemnas asked his fellow Organization members, as he saw that E. Gadd's mansion was in view.
"Yup...infiltrate E. Gadd's joint, and destroy the time machine!" Xigbar replied with an evil smirk, cracking his knuckles as he and his accomplices looked to get down to business. "Nullify the opposition as much as we can..."
"Shall we get down to business?" asked Saïx, and although his face wasn't expressing it, he couldn't wait to obliterate that time machine and put it out of operation forever. The five Organization XIII members only came to destroy.
Wily: Why do I have a funny feeling in my tummy? Maybe it's because I'm around E. Gadd. Or maybe it's something else...
It was quite amusing that Organization XIII was near E. Gadd's place, for there had been a growing fear that the group was actually at the watchpoint. But only Master Xehanort was there. Wasting no time, Link, Zelda, Tracer, and Winston hurried to the top deck of the watchpoint, where they saw Sojourn, Zarya, and Baptiste standing off with the man in front of them...Master Xehanort.
"Not a single move!" Sojourn shouted at Master Xehanort, as Tracer and Winston donned their weapons as the other operatives were doing. Echo soared down to Tracer and company, aligning with her fellow operatives.
"Link! Zelda! So good to see you," Master Xehanort greeted the Hylian couple, acting cordial with them. "It has been a while." Link took out his Master Sword, as Xehanort snarled.
"Don't act cordial with us," shouted Link as he pointed his sword at Master Xehanort, who to the Hylian's surprise was unarmed. No Keyblade in sight.
"You were the one who summoned that army of Heartless, weren't you?" Tracer asked Master Xehanort, as she kept her Pulse Pistols pointed at the old man. Xehanort didn't look like he was confrontational.
"It may or may not have been my doing," replied Master Xehanort, as if he expected the others to believe that it was someone else's responsibility. "But I was hoping that the army would've been a secret."
"We saw you meandering around this watchpoint on the security footage," said Winston, as he was armed with his giant gun and ready to fire. "You were looking awfully suspicious..."
"Oh, you did? I was just buying some time. For you see, I didn't come alone..." Master Xehanort directed everyone's attention to up above, as they saw a dark figure floating up above.
"Just what the doctor ordered," Sojourn said sarcastically, as the Overwatch operatives directed their weapons to the floating dark figure. The floating dark figure slowly made its descent, as Link and Zelda's faces both sank.
"Waite a minute...I think I know him from somewhere," Link whispered to Zelda, as he recognized the figure. The figure, which had positioned itself just above Xehanort once it got close enough. The figure turned out to be a jackal with black fur, wearing a silver mask over his face.
"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" the jackal asked as he made out his potential prey. The Overwatch operatives, and even Zelda, weren't as familiar with him...
...but as for Link, well, he knew the jackal as one of Dr. Eggman's creations. Infinite.
"So many ants to crush...and so little time," remarked Infinite as he tapped his hand on his temple, as he and Master Xehanort shared an evil laugh together.