Author's Note:

So at this point in the story, after approximately a year has passed, you're all probably wondering the same old question: "CrashGuy01, what possibly motivated you to write Smash Life?" Well let me just say that it kind of started with one man, and one man only...

John Krasinski. Yes, you read that right - John Krasinski.

And now you probably have conjured another question in your head: "CrashGuy01, how could someone like John Krasinski lead to you wanting to write Smash Life?" Well how about I tell you a little story...

It all started during the summer of 2015, when I was watching an episode of Lip Sync Battle online. (I also watch the show on television, if I remember to, that is). The particular episode I was watching pitted Anna Kendrick against John Krasinski. Now I already knew who Anna Kendrick was, for I already knew her from Pitch Perfect, but John Krasinski was quite frankly a name I never heard of, and I felt pretty guilty for not knowing who the man was. (Coincidentally, I had no idea who Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt, was prior to watching Lip Sync Battle, how about that?)

Out of my own intrigue, I looked up John Krasinski on Wikipedia and IMDB (the Internet Movie Database, of course), and was generally surprised to learn that he was a lead character on the hit TV show The Office. Now I knew Steve Carrell was on the show (just from watching a few Office GIFs online) but learning that Krasinski was on the show too was a bit surprising to me. And I guess that's what compelled me to watch The Office.

So for a vast majority of my summer that year, aside from listening to wrestling theme songs and watching old wrestling matches (i.e. the 2003 Royal Rumble, and no I didn't watch the entire thing), I watched a bunch of Office videos, compilations, and deleted scenes, and by the time summer was over, I knew every character by name and also knew some of the more notable episodes of the series. It was also during that time I was working on my first ever Smash story, "Super Random Bros", which as the name implies, is completely random in every sense of the word. Unfortunately it got too random, and I had to cancel the story, so to speak, sometime after the 4th of July.

Soon my first college semester came that fall, and I wasn't all that crazy about The Office then, because I was mostly focusing on my studies and whatnot. When you're transitioning from high school to college, you gotta make some sacrifices. However, it was during the semester that I got the chance to play Super Smash Bros 4 for the first time at the college I'm attending, and made some new friends along the way. I fondly remember my first ever Smash 4 match being a chaotic 8-player match on Gaur Plains, and I was playing as Shulk, perhaps the only newcomer I cared about playing at the time. Although I had lost the match (in actuality, I had to forfeit because I had to get to class on time), I found the match a lot more enjoyable than having to play against level nine CPUs on Brawl.

Once the fall semester ended and Christmas was around the corner, I felt somewhat compelled to start of a major Smash story, one that I could be consistent with. So I decided to combine two of my favorite things - The Office and Super Smash Bros - and viola: "Smash Life" was created. The brawlers all participating in a documentary-style story in the Smash Mansion...I thought it was a pretty great idea. Just the thought of the brawlers doing talking head segments, like the characters from The Office, made the idea all the more appealing to me

The original plan I had for the story was to center it mostly around Cloud, as the documentary (or should I say, mockumentary) would follow him as he dealt with the antics of the mansion, but I felt that Mario, Link, and Sonic simply couldn't be overlooked, so I made them unofficial main characters, along with a few others. Oh, and the characters who have a DLC costume in their likeness? I inserted them into the story, simply because I didn't feel like recycling the same old characters over and over again. More characters to work with meant more options. Also, I didn't intend this story to carry the "romance" genre, but seeing how well I did with many of the story's pairings - Pit/Viridi, Link/Zelda, Mario/Peach, Lucina/Robin, and several others - I just had to make this story a romance fanfic. In the past, I felt very iffy about romantic fanfiction, but as I wrote this story, my stance on romance in fanfiction changed.

And now a year has passed, and I'm fastly closing in on 300 reviews...pretty crazy to think about, huh? Sometimes when I read the reviews, I see how many of you dub "Smash Life" one of the best fanfics ever written, and I feel very thankful for such kind words. I mean, I still consider "World's Conquest" by AuraChannelerChris, "Banana Babe Beach Blast" by SmashKing24 (finally favorited the story today, even though I kept telling myself I was going to), and perhaps "Icarus Chronicle" by Paradigm of Writing to be better stories, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get. Just seeing and reading reviews charms me inside, and makes feel better about my work...which is occasionally ravaged by careless writing errors and grammar mistakes, which I would see when reading over past chapters of "Smash Life". I would go back and revise my work...but sometimes I don't really feel like it. Shame on me for wanting to make every chapter so freakishly long...

Regardless, writing this story on a weekly basis has always kept my head high, and kind of prevented me from ever feeling down or stressed; I just write, and write, and write, until I can't write no more or until it's time to go to bed. (Usually it's the latter.) I always feel content reading reviews, whether they offered critique, suggestions, or anything else, because it shows me that people care about this story, and it's certainly a lot more than I would have ever imagined. The support on the Super Smash Bros archive is pretty neat, I should say.

Before I write off this author's note, I would like to give a few shootouts to a few individuals...

-Paradigm of Writing, for being the first person to review and favorite my story, and giving me a sense of hope and confidence in this story.

-ultimateccc, for usually being the first person to leave a review on every new chapter of Smash Life. Always delights me seeing your name first when looking over the reviews.

-GamerDutchess01 (formerly known as Glamorous Cat), for writing reviews that always put a smile on my face. Same goes for you, a man.

-Kirby 123, for persistently giving me suggestions regarding Kirby and Meta Knight...although I honestly haven't used any of your Meta Knight suggestions. I'll try to use them though,

-Darth Sigma 86, Derick Lindsey, and J300 (or 0300, whichever one you prefer), for supplying me with great ideas as of late for me to use.

-And of course, a huge shootout for the many guest reviewers, and the many authors who have either reviewed, followed, or favorited this story - MetaGiga, SolarEnergy07, robotortoise, Luca the Wolf, sdgeek2003, Red Fiend, Veymorak, MidnightAngelCedric, HyperDiamondSonic, YugiohOriginalFan4Life, SonicFan1991, V.G.B.305, Metroid-Killer, thatoneautisticgamer, Team Wingless, and many more of you, whose names I can't exactly remember at the top of my head. Don't worry if you didn't get mentioned, because the follow/favorites I've accrued from writing this story is what keeps me going.

Since a year has passed and all, and this chapter is the last Christmas-themed installment of 2016, I decided to do a year-end chapter, consisting of many individuals who have stopped by the mansion and/or had some influence in many of the story's shenanigans. Although I had said in a previous author's note that the chapters take place on Thursdays and Fridays, this particular chapter will take place on a Saturday, since there will be a Christmas party and nobody hosts a Christmas party the day before Christmas Eve. It will also be a montage of some of the stuff that transpired in the story this year, including some moments in Smash Life that I particularly enjoyed over others. I have a LOT of favorite moments in this story, as well as a lot of favorite chapters, and I can never settle down on which chapter's my favorite. How dare I write such great chapters...so yeah, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Will I continue working on this story until next year and have another year-end chapter? Only time will tell.

Kinda funny to think that if I had never watched that episode of Lip Sync Battle versus John Krasinski and Anna Kendrick, and if I never did some "research" on Krasinski and learned he was in The Office, I never would have watched and got into The Office, and I never would have gotten the inspiration to write "Smash Life". Sometimes curiosity can lead to great things, at least in my case. And now, I shall conclude this author's note with one more thing...

Thank you very much for sticking around for such a long time (especially for the longtime readers), and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...or day! Also, one more thing before I forget - may the force be with you!...or live long and prosper. Whichever one fancies you the most.


Episode 53: Get-Together

It was the most wonderful time of the year - the time with kids jingle belling, holiday greetings, gay happy meetings, parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, caroling in the snow, scary ghost stories, tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, and a few other things Andy Philips mentioned in the song "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year". In all honesty, who would tell scary ghost stories during Christmas, what ghost stories would anyone tell little kids aside from Krampus? You can't twist A Christmas Carol and make it a horror story, that's not the way Charles Dickens intended it to be.

In case you didn't remember from episode 51, or you decided to forget on purpose, Peach was working on this year's Christmas party, and she did so with the great assistance from Zelda, Rosalina, and Palutena. (Funny how their names end with the letter 'a'...Lucina and Fiora should have also assisted Peach.) Cilan was originally slated to plan for the Christmas party, but he already got started on the wedding cake for the Mario's and Peach's wedding, and Peach was the only option. Peach absoutely adored the holiday season, more than anyone else; she didn't choose Christmas spirit, Christmas spirit chose her.

Peach: Planning the Christmas party has been my first rodeo since the Super Bowl party back in February. Red and his friends had used up all the soda cans, and they had to order a whole batch of new ones, and somehow, someway, Peyton Manning and Mike Tyson were somehow tied in...so I'm hoping we have no high-profile guests at the Christmas party, and I've told Mario specifically not to let any stars in the mansion. He knows more than anyone Manning and Tyson would have been goners had Master Hand been present at the time...

As Peach and company did preparations for the Christmas party in the ballroom, Alph came in, having to do an errand for Peach. The young astronaut approached the princess, who was standing on a chair in high heels hanging up a banner with Zelda as her spotter.

"Please don't fall on the floor Peach, we can't afford to have you stuck on crutches or in a wheelchair during the party," Zelda pleaded to the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, before looking down and seeing a meek Alph, fiddling with his fingers. "Oh hey there Alph, didn't see you there."

"Hello princess Zelda, it's fine if you didn't see me, I certainly get that a lot..." said Alph. Moments like these make the astronaut wish he wasn't so short, sometimes people forget he's even there! "Peach asked me to fulfill a favor of hers, and now that I'm here..."

"Ah, Alph, you're finally here, I was hoping you would show up!" Peach exclaimed as she mindlessly toppled off of the chair, before falling off and landing in the arms of Zelda. "Thank goodness you saved me Zelda, who knows what would have happened to me!" Zelda flashed a smile at Peach as she gently placed the princess on the floor safely. "I have a short little task to ask of you, if you don't mind...can you go up to the fifth floor of the mansion, where the Star Records room is? I've concealed a key underneath the desk in the room, and I want you to retrieve it for me. I'll explain what is for once you get it."

"Why would you want to put the key up in..." Zelda asked before Peach placed her finger on the princess' lips, silencing her. Bet Peach doesn't even know why she put the key up there in the first place; after all, she can be somewhat eccentric from time to time.

"I shall get the key for you in a jiffy Peach, you can count on me!" Alph saluted the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom as he exited the ballroom, on a mission to save the world (in only a figurative sense. Would you trust someone like Alph to save the planet?)


Once he stepped outside the ballroom, Alph saw the Romantic Club members - Marth, Geno, Wario, Chrom, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon - standing together wearing the Marvel costumes Master Hand pretty much forced them to wear back in episode 30. (Geno, who never had his clothes stolen, was never given a superhero costume, and he didn't care either way.) Marth was the Black Panther, Wario was Wolverine, Chrom was War Machine, Ganondorf was Doctor Doom, and Captain Falcon was the Daredevil.

Captain Falcon: Just when I thought either Master Hand or the others threw the superhero costumes away, I looked inside Master Hand's spacious closet out of my own intrigue, and saw all the costumes we wore, looking good as new! I took it upon myself to ask (or in this case, beg and indulge) Marth to wear my Daredevil suit at the Christmas party, and Marth, not wanting me to bask in all the humiliation, forced my fellow Romantic Club comrades to dress up as superheroes too! Though I couldn't help but feel that Wario, Ganon, and Chrom felt somewhat jealous of my Daredevil suit, since at the room we meet at, they were glaring me down, like they wanted to kill me or something...but Samus has always wanted to kill me, so it's no biggie. Now I must ask you this oh so important question... *flexes biceps* ...what would Nowi think of me in this wonderful Daredevil suit?

"As I had stated earlier Falcon, we're only doing this so you wouldn't look like the only fool at the Christmas party," Marth reminded the racer. "Alas when one crew member of the ship goes down, all the crew members go down, and sadly we must all sacrifice our own dignity for the betterment of your own..." Captain Falcon just looked at Marth with a funny facial expression; since when was wearing a superhero costume to a holiday get-together ever accounted for a lack of dignity?

"Enough with all that silly talk Marth, people are gonna think I look awesome dressed up as the Daredevil!" the racer proclaimed, lifting his arms in the air like he was WWE superstar Randy Orton. "They'll be all like, 'Hey, look at that man Captain Falcon, rocking that Daredevil superhero suit, it's no surprise a gal like Nowi would be in love with him!'"

"I'm thoroughly sure Nowi and her daughter would feel embarrassed not only for you, but for themselves, since they would be tied in with you," stated Chrom, who knew Nowi personally while fighting with her during war. He had grown to accept the half-Manakate's childishness over time. "But as long as you don't do or say anything embarrassing, then we have nothing to worry about."

"And how much are you willing to bet that doesn't happen?" Wario asked the prince of Yliesse, as a now offended Captain Falcon glared at Wario with his hands on his hips. Alph walked past the Romance Club members as he continued his way to the Star Records room.


So remember back in episodes 17 and 18, when Wolf shot a horror movie with Donkey Kong, Lucina, Ludwig, and others, after losing a bet with his Star Wolf buddies? As a part of the deal, the mercenary would have to show his beloved movie to everyone in the mansion. Well Wolf indeed showed it to everyone in the mansion...everyone in the Pokemon sanctuary at least. Wolf wasn't confident yet to show the movie to his fellow brawlers, and it would remain that way when he showed the movie to Diddy Kong, Shulk, Fiora, Lucario, and Ryu in the movie room.

"What do you guys think of my horror flick, definitely deserving of an Emmy, huh?" Wolf asked his audience once the movie concluded. Whatever criticism he received, he would try to take it with attentive ears.

"Hold up just a second, that was a horror movie?" exclaimed Diddy Kong, who like the others, spent an hour and a half or so laughing their butts off. "Seemed very low budget to me, but at least you tried!" Wolf probably should have picked a time other than the holidays to have his confidence levels drastically lowered.

Shulk: Don't know what the most cringeworthy aspect of Wolf's "horror" movie was - Lucina acting ghetto, Donkey Kong's poor line delivery, Pit as the Undertaker, or the movie in its entirety. It wasn't exactly the most cringeworthy thing I've seen all year...after all, Little Mac's seminar still exists.

"I didn't need a budget, I just worked with whatever resources I had at my disposal..." Wolf angrily gritted his teeth at Diddy Kong, as Alph poked his head through the movie room door. "And for your information buddy, I worked long and hard on that movie, you wouldn't know how much time and effort I devoted to it!"

Wolf brutally defending his movie made Diddy and company laugh, and it made Wolf even more mad. At this point, showing the entire mansion his horror flick would make the mercenary the laughingstock of the mansion. However, Wolf knew one way to counter such a fate...

"If you guys think that's funny and humiliating, then get a load of this!" Wolf pulled up the caramelldansen video of Samus and Cilan he recorded with the help of Red the Pokemon Trainer and Donkey Kong, the video he worked on back in episode 47, on the big screen. And yes, he had to make this video after losing another bet with his Star Wolf buddies. Didn't have to be that way, but Wolf had to pretty much starve and first for a prolonged period of time, and the man really needed something to eat. Once the video started, everyone started watching, including Alph, who had creaked the door wider so he could see.

"This dance Samus and Cilan are performing, it looks as if they're swinging their hips while giving away the false impression that they're rabbits!" Ryu analyzed the dance; little did he know that he accurately described how the caramelldansen dance worked, all without mentioning the bunny ears aspect. "I'd say this is even more cringeworthy than the movie you showed us!" Not exactly what Wolf wanted to hear, but he'll take what he can get.


Alph resumed his trek to the Star Records room, when he accidentally bumped into Pit in the hallway. The angel slowly turned around, and Alph saw that he was wearing sunglasses, and sporting a somewhat cocky smile. Never before had Pit tried to be/look hard to the nth degree.

"Tell the Pit what your name is, punk!" Pit demanded as he took his sunglasses off in a way that he hoped would make him look cool, although there was no agreeable way on how to take your sunglasses off while looking cool.

"Y-You wish to know what my name is?" Alph spoke up, completing whether or not Pit had amnesia, or if the astronaut really underestimated Pit's profound lack of intelligence. "Since you want to know, my name is..."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Has "The Pit" from episode 4 returned, or was Pit just messing with Alph for the laughs?

Pit: They all want The Pit to raise the People's Eyebrow, they all want The Pit to drop the People's Elbow, layeth the smacketh down with the Pit Bottom, and they want to hear without a shadow of a doubt the most electrifying line in Super Smash Bros, period. And here it is... "To BE the man, WHOOO, you've got to beat the man..." No, that's not it. That's not it, jabroni. This is it: "OOOOhhhhh YEEEAAAAAH DIG..." Ah, dang it, that's not it either. This is it... "Whatcha gonna do, when the TWENTY-FOUR INCH..." That's not it either. Here we go "I am the best there is, the best there was..." No, no that's not it. That's sure as heck not it. *pause* This is it, the most electrifying line in Super Smash Bros, if ya SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL what The Pit is cooking... *takes off sunglasses before whispering* No, I didn't lose my memory again, I just felt like acting the Rock again, for some reason. He has some of the best wrestling quotes ever spoken!

"Yeah you better walk away jabroni, if you know what's good for ya!" Pit taunted Alph as the young astronaut sheepishly walked away, wondering what just happened. "Don't come across The Pit yet again, or The Pit will layeth the smacketh on your candy behind!" Alph ignored Pit and marched his way forward, before running into another interesting character - Link, who was reprising the Joker from the famous movie "The Dark Knight". Perhaps Heath Ledger's finest acting work, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single video of Ledger's acting on YouTube that would make you disagree.

"Let me ask you an honest question: do I really look like a guy with a plan?" Link asked Alph, who opted not to answer and just listen, as long as he got to the Star Records room on time. "You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The brawlers has plans, the Pokemon have plans, Master Hand's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are."

"Link where the heck are you man, these Christmas wreaths aren't going to decorate themselves, you know!" Cloud's voice called out to his best friend. "Why did Sonic buy plain-looking wreaths for..." Someone else probably should have handled that task, Sonic's not really the trustworthy type. Marth learned that the hard way, when he entrusted the blue hedgehog to get wedding rings for Luigi and Daisy and he dropped them by accident at the jewelry store.

"Before you go, just a little something I would want you to do...introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh and you know the thing about chaos, it's fair." Link darted away, and Alph shook his head as he pressed forward.


"Ew, why do you insist on reading printed books, it's all about the tablets!" Akira Yuki discussed with X as the two exited the library. X was holding a book about robot mechanics in his hand, and it slightly bothered Akira very much.

"At least with printed books, you don't have to charge them up until they're full battery," X remarked as Akira nodded his head, the pacifist robot had a valid point there. "And you don't need some silly password to turn it on when the screen goes out - with printed books, you need no screen whatsoever, just flip the page!"

"Silly password, huh? You trying to say that simply using the word 'password' is silly?" Unless you want your personal stuff to be looked at by intruders, then it's not so silly to begin with. Akira suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw a nickel lying on the floor. "Aw sweet, a nickel, a nickel saved is a nickel earned!" The kung fu fighter picked up the nickel and placed it in his pocket.

Akira: *holds up nickel to camera* Imagine all the things I could do with just one nickel! I could buy lemonade from a lemonade stand! Fancy wood plugs! A plastic metal magnetic catch for closet doors! *gasps* I could use this nickel to buy Yuffie something for Secret Santa!...We're exchanging gifts TODAY?! Shoot, I gotta act quick!

"Pretty sure they use that phrase with a penny, not a nickel," stated X. Akira was about to make a retort, saying "Does it really matter?" or something along the lines of that, when he saw Doc Louis, stopped in his tracks. The boxing trainer was holding a chocolate bar in his hands, and the chocolate bar was dropped on the floor with a thud as Doc glared down X.

"Oh so you want to start this up again?!" Doc snapped on X, under the assumption that the robot had used a certain racial slur against him. "Guess you haven't really learned your lesson, huh?!" The boxing trainer chased down X, as the robot ran away from Doc. Doc Louis would ruthlessly chase down X as Alph walked by, glad that he wasn't Doc's victim.


Alph finally made it up to the mansion's fifth floor, where he saw Mario and Luigi speaking with Paper Mario, Paper Luigi, and Goombella, but mostly Goombella and Paper Luigi since Paper Mario was incapable of speaking.

"Sorry you guys, but we can't attend your Christmas party, for we are having a Christmas party of our own back in the storybook!" stated Goombella. Christmas is recognized as a holiday in the Paper Mario universe? Who knew. "Paper Princess Peach is hosting the party at her castle in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Not to mention that-a our Christmas tree is the biggest tree-a in all the kingdom!" added Paper Luigi, seemingly bragging, as the only thing Mario could do was nod his head in agreement. "It's so-a big, Paper Bowser would be jealous!" Like Paper Bowser would ever give a crap about a stinking Christmas tree...

"Well we hope-a that you enjoy your Christmas-a party while we enjoy ours, Peach has been-a planning real hard to make our-a party perfect," said Mario. As the love interest of the princess, Mario should know. And so should Cilan, who watched Peach prepare everything in the kitchen while he worked on the wedding cake.

"Yes, it would greatly dismay-a Peach if the party turns-a out to be a complete blunder," added Luigi, fearing the idea of the Christmas party being ruined and Peach going full psycho. You wouldn't want to see Peach ever going full psycho. "Only way that would-a happen is if Bowser does-a something that would ruin the vibe. He was insufferable enough-a at my Thanksgiving feast, with his so-a called 'List of Bowser'..."

Bowser: Out with the old and in with the new, am I right? With the Christmas party likely having loads of guests, I'm bringing back my list, and calling it The List of Bowser 2.0! Lots of stupid idiots to add to the list! I hope that skinny black guy who broke my original list is present at the Christmas party, so he can be the first person on my list... *strokes his chin* But Peach apparently doesn't want any star-studded folks at the party, like the dudes from the United States basketball team. Unless...

After overhearing the conversation between Mario, Luigi, and their Paper Mario counterparts, as well as Goombella, Alph entered the Star Records room, and saw Knuckles and Big the Cat having a rap battle. Episode 39 saw Knuckles embroiled in a rap beef with some sorry up-and-coming rapper named "G Hunnid the Big Thang", and as it turned out, this "G Hunnid" bum was actually Big, of all people. So when Big came over to the mansion to attend the Christmas party, Knuckles brought the cat up to the Star Records room so he could squash his beef with Big.

"Yo, yo flow is so wack, yo, I got a lot of rhymes for show, yo..." Big attempted to rap against Knuckles, albeit horribly. But it wasn't the worst set of bars ever spat. Just look up "Worst Rap Battle Ever" on YouTube with the two white kids and prepare to be amazed.

"What are we gonna do with this glucose monitoring system we bought for Isabelle, we can't just throw it away," Fox discussed with Falco, both sitting at the desk, while Knuckles was giving Big a lyrical manslaughter of a lifetime. "We pretty much started up Star Records just to buy this system for Isabelle, and now that she's free from having diabetes..."

"Heard that Blaze the Cat might have diabetes, we could always give this device to her," suggested Falco, eating a malasada. Pit and Viridi made more of these Hawaiian treats for the brawlers to consume. Alph, using his short stature to his advantage, sneaked underneath the desk when Fox and Falco weren't looking.

"That's just a lousy rumor going about, think it was started by Sonic. Dude's nothing but trouble." Fox suddenly felt something crawled underneath his legs; the pilot looked down and saw Alph crawl from underneath the desk, with the key Peach asked the astronaut to retrieve. "Alph, what where you doing underneath the desk just now, and why do you have that key in your hand?"

"Oh, uh, you mean this key?" Alph nervously replied, pointing at the key. "I was just using this key to open one of Gil's secret chests! It has a lot of secret stuff in there, that I know..."

"Pfft, secret chests are for losers with insecurity issues, bet Gil has matters with his privacy and junk," remarked Falco. Just then, loud crying could be heard from underneath the Star Records room, crying that was so loud it stopped Knuckles' and Big's rap battle.

"DON'T THINK I DIDN'T HEAR THAT!" Gil, the guy that was crying his eyes out, sobbed as the sound of a door slamming was heard. Maybe The Tower of Druaga protagonist does struggle with insecurity and privacy...

Gil: No, I'm not extremely insecure or worry about privacy, I'm just...I'm just over-observant, and too protective, not that it's a huge problem...And no, I still don't know how Tumblr works, although I have seen a bunch of pictures piled on top of one another so I'm assuming it's some crappy collage website. But that's just my two cents...

"I should be going on my way now, sorry for bothering you," Alph apologized to Fox and Falco as he sheepishly walked away and exited the room, returning to the ballroom where he would give the key to Peach. But what was the key for? That question remained in Alph's mind.


"About time we had our chess match Corrin, I've been waiting since the summer," Meta Knight said to the prince of Nohr as he dueled in a chess match against Corrin in his room. The Star Warrior wanted to do this match back in episode 29, but Bowser had claimed Corrin and made the prince partake in his lessons.

"I've been practicing for this very match, so I came very well prepared," stated Corrin. Suddenly an angry black man, one with a bald head, and a crazy eye look, and a long-sleeved flannel shirt, popped up behind Corrin, staring him down. Meta Knight looked afraid, so afraid he stopped playing chess. "Meta Knight, what seems to be the matter?" Corrin would ask the Star Warrior, before turning around and seeing Deebo standing right behind him. The prince shrieked like a ninny as he jumped on Meta Knight's bed, away from Deebo.

"Gimme your money or else Red, I ain't playing around no more!" Deebo screamed at Corrin, who shuddered while using a pillow on Meta Knight's bed as a shield of sorts. Little did the prince and Meta Knight know that Deebo was actually a hologram, projected from a device MegaMan .EXE found in the movie room. The robot was showing off this device to Alph, as the two stood at the doorway of Meta Knight's room.

"All you have to do is insert a movie in the device, and it will project a hologram of a random character from that movie," .EXE explained to Alph exactly how the device worked, and Alph was left very much impressed. "Surprised that Deebo still recognized Corrin as that Red guy, which must mean he would also recognize Pit as Red since Pit was also in the Friday movie."

"This device is a really cool device, I might even use it in the future," remarked Alph, before remembering he was on a mission. "I should go now, gotta deliver this key to Peach right away!" .EXE nodded to Alph as the astronaut ran away, in a hurry.


Alph was now on the third floor of the mansion, walking towards his destination, the ballroom, when he heard the following...

"What do you call an alligator wearing a vest? An investigator, of course!" This joke permeated in Alph's ears, and left the astronaut just standing there like a stone wall, unable to process the cheesy joke he had heard. How could a joke be so cheesy, and so corny as well? It was nearly criminal for a joke to be uttered! So Alph did some investigating, and went to the place where he heard the joke, the gaming room, and saw Lucina on stage, telling jokes to an audience of Robin, Chrom, Phoenix Wright, and Maya Fey. The latter two, who obviously came for the Christmas party, had no idea what they were getting themselves into...

Chrom: Lucina had a lot of jokes left over from that time she did stand-up comedy, and it was a whole list of them. I had told Lucina to get all of the unused jokes out of her system, and then burn the list so she wouldn't have to deal with the jokes ever again. Aren't I such a great father?

"There was a frog waiting at a bus stop, and he was waiting on the bus...because his car was TOAD!" Lucina said yet another cheesy joke, while Toad, playing ping pong with Mewtwo, looked up thinking the princess had called his name. Nothing but silence from Lucina's crowd.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" The silence would soon come to an end when Robin laughed the most egregiously fake laugh in the history of laughs. Chrom, wanting to show Lucina how much of a great father he was, simply flashed a fake smile, although the smile wasn't seen because of his War Machine getup.

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix stood up and pointed at Lucina, starting a scene. "The frog's car cannot be toad, for as you see my darling Lucina..." Phoenix was about to continue until Maya stood up and whispered in the attorney's ear, explaining the joke. "Oh, never mind, Maya had to explain the joke for me, how embarrassing...carry on with your jokes." Phoenix sheepishly sat back down in his seat, while Alph walked away.


Alph arrived at the second floor, and in the hallway he saw fellow Hocotate Freight employee Olimar, speaking with someone on the phone in private. Not so private when you're standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Oggy oggy oggy, oink oink oink!" the veteran astronaut said into the phone, communicating with his son. "Okay then, I'll see you and the others soon!" Olimar ended the phone call, just when Alph approached him.

"Hey Olimar, I take it your son is coming to the party?" the young astronaut asked the veteran. Olimar was alarmed that Alph had listened to his phone call, and that he still remembered what his son's name was.

"He won't be the only one - my wife and daughter will be coming too," replied Olimar. "It will be a family affair for all of us." Olimar's phone rang, but it wasn't a call from his son, it was a rather foreign number. "Excuse me Alph, gotta make this call...hello, who is this?"

"You know who this is, don't think I'm not angry at you for those English lessons you did with Takamaru, how dare you take away my job!" said the mysterious voice on the phone, angry and ticked. But Olimar was able to recognize this familiar voice.

"First of all, this is the wrong number. Also, is that you Ike?" The phone call ended in a hurry. Evidently Ike still felt somewhat bitter towards Aerith ever since the events of episode 25. He may never let it go...


Meowth: We're gonna try and nab Pikachu (and maybe Pichu, if we have the time) for the second consecutive week! But get this - the trial captains and kahunas from the Alola region are returning to the mansion for the Christmas party, and they might bring their beloved Pokemon!
James: According to the research I've done on the trial captains and kahunas, one of the trial captains, Mina, has a level 61 Granbull, and it knows Earthquake and Stone Edge! Not bad for a fairy-type Pokemon!
Jessie: Not only that, but there's a kahuna named Nanu who happens to own a level 63 Krookodile that knows Earthquake and Swagger! These Pokemon are just dying to be kidnapped!

Alph was getting closer to the ballroom as he was now on the second floor, and on this floor he saw two trial captains, Mallow and Mina (the latter wasn't able to make it to the mansion during the events of episode 48), hanging out with Heihachi Mishima and Shovel Knight. The knight was invited to the Christmas party by Peach, and Mario still felt bitter towards him.

"These are a bunch of sushi rolls I had made at the academy, hope you enjoy them!" Mallow offered Heihachi and Shovel Knight some sushi rolls, while Mina painted a portrait of Shovel Knight, at the knight's demand. Yes, Shovel Knight demanded the trial captain to paint him, and he did so in the most formal way possible.

"My goodness, thy sushi rolls are edible masterpieces, thou hast completely outdone thyself!" complimented Shovel Knight, who was amazingly able to consume the sushi rolls without taking off his helmet. "Perchance thou would give up your title as trial captain and become a full-fledged chef?"

"Mallow is never going to give up being a trial captain, she loves Pokemon as much as she loves cooking," stated Mina, finishing up on her Shovel Knight portrait. She sounded spacey and airy, like she was doing some hippie doing drugs...Toad must be her drug dealer. Toad can't hide his secret for long.

"Watashi wa totemo kimochi ga waruku, totemo memai ga ari keikaidesu..." Heihachi, grabbing his head, moaned after eating a sushi roll, before falling to the floor with a thud, alarming Shovel Knight and the two trial captains. There was a tranquilizer dart on the kung fu fighter's arm with an 'R' on it, meaning the tranquilizer must have been fired from Team Rocket. Mallow and Mina must have been their targets, but clearly the evildoers were a little bit off the mark.

"Oh no, someone must have tranquilized him!" Mallow fretted as she knelt down at Heihachi's side; the kung fu fighter was now unconscious. Wasn't the first time in Smash Life it happened. "I don't think any of my cuisines would bring him back to his senses..."

"Not so fast, my fair lady, I believe I have a remedy!" Shovel Knight dug into the pockets of his armor, if his armor really has pockets, and pulled out some cocaine. Mina suddenly stopped painting and looked at the cocaine in Shovel Knight's hands, somewhat entranced. "I acquired this cocaine from my last visit to the mansion, when that chap Snake was growing coca plants in the gardens. Good thing I had borrowed some of the cocaine for emergencies like these!" Shovel Knight knelt down at Heihachi's side, lifting the cocaine up to the fighter's nose, while Alph walked past the scene without being detected. Heihachi sniffed the cocaine, his nose taking in the strong smell, and quickly got back up like it was nothing.

"Mōichido kokain o kagu yō ni kyōsei shinaide kudasai!" the kung fu fighter angrily pointed at Shovel Knight, and the knight, unable to understand a single Japanese word, just assumed that Heihachi was thanking him. Shovel Knight always felt great doing good deeds for others, it was his civic duty.

Heihachi Mishima: Shaberunaito wa, kokain o suu yō ni watashi ni kyōsei-teki ni ikutsu ka no shinkei o motte ita! Tashika ni watashi wa ishiki shite inai kamo shiremasenga, tashikani kishi wa kusuri ni tayoru yori mo, watashi o mezame saseru hokanohōhō ga arimashita!


Alph neared closer to the ballroom on the first floor, and once he was there, he saw King Dedede, who was fretting because he had missed the special holiday special of his favorite show, America's Got Talent. He had no business worrying, it wasn't like any acts were eliminated; most of them came back to sing classic holiday tunes, or did holiday-related stuff.

"Can you tell me what happened on the AGT holiday special Lloyd, you said you watched it live when it aired on Monday!" King Dedede asked Lloyd of all people at the entrance to the ballroom. "Why do I still entrust my Waddle Dees to record my favorite TV shows for me..."

"Jackie Evancho, the runner-up from season five...her dress mysteriously caught on fire during her performance, and she suffered from first and second-degree burns," Lloyd gave this false information to Dedede. "And you know the act known as Silhouette? One of the performers threw up on the floor, and they had to stop the performance prematurely. Lots of crazy stuff went down on Monday." Lloyd looked behind him at Bowser, who was concealed in a hiding spot giving the swordsman a thumbs up. Since the Koopa King knew whatever information he told King Dedede the penguin would perceive as a lie, why not have someone else relay false information instead? To Bowser, Lloyd was the right choice.

"Not Jackie, anyone but Jackie, I've followed her ever since she first appeared on the show! I even frequent her fan page on a daily basis, just to see what she's up to!" Did King Dedede just out himself as a stalker? He's been following Jackie Evancho for pretty much six or so years...freaky when you think about it.

Alph walked past King Dedede and Lloyd, and entered the ballroom, where he saw Peach, Zelda, Rosalina, and Palutena together standing on a table. Why were the four ladies on a table, you might ask? It was because a giant spider was in the ballroom, a spider even bigger than the one Peach and Zelda found in the living room back in episode 23. It was mainly up to Cloud and Shulk to eradicate the spider; it was supposed to be Link working with Cloud rather than Shulk, but Cloud sternly told the Hylian to drop the Joker act, and now Link was washing the Joker makeup off from his face.

"Don't worry ladies, I'm here to save the day!" said Shulk as he valiantly approached the spider with a broom, only to slip on the ballroom floor and perform a half-split. Cloud sighed as he grabbed the broom from Shulk and viciously whacked the spider with it, before whacking the arachnid again for good measure. The spider was dead in a heartbeat, thanks to the mighty heroics of Cloud.

Peach: *shudders* Why do spiders have to be so creepy, with their eight legs and their hairy bodies and their eyes...UGH! Thank goodness Cloud killed the spider, if I saw that eight-legged thing at the Christmas party, I would have had a heart attack...

"The spider has been vanquished, so you ladies can all come down now," Cloud said to Peach and company as the four women got off from the table, looking at the spider's dead body. The poor arachnid was squashed, its guts spilling out; Rosalina almost felt like throwing up!

"Much appreciated for going in for the save Cloud, I should work on my bug-killing technique more often!" Shulk got up from the floor, dusting himself off. "Thanks for killing the spider for me!" The Homs held out his hand to Cloud, and the blonde swordsman looked at it. He had already put Shulk in a similar precarious situation in episode 16, and he didn't want the Homs to undergo eve more embarrassment, especially with Peach and company around. So he did what he had to do...

"No problem man, glad we got rid of the spider before it would alarm anyone at the Christmas party," Cloud shook Shulk's hand, and just like that, Shulk received instant gratification. The grin on the Homs' face said so.

"Here's the key you wanted Peach, sorry it took me so long to get it," Alph handed the Mushroom Kingdom princess the key, apologizing for how long it took him to complete his duty. "A lot of stuff happened along the way, and my attention span..."

"No Alph, it's fine, you had to take your time and I fully understand," Peach smiled as she headed over to a Legend of Zelda-esque treasure chest. She inserted the key inside the chest and opened it, taking out some Miss Santa Claus outfits from the chest and showing them to her female companions. "Look what I have here ladies, Miss Santa outfits for us to wear at the Christmas party! What do you think?"

"They look nice I suppose, though I fear we would be looked at by the male brawlers, but in a bad way," Rosalina gave her two cents, wondering what Ganondorf would have to say about her in a Miss Santa outfit. Suddenly Sonic's voice was heard as the hedgehog sounded as if he was falling, and seconds later, a thud.

"Was that Sonic just now, did he seriously jump off from the roof of the mansion?" worried Palutena, recollecting Sonic's suicide attempt from episode 15. "Someone must go investigate at once!"


Alph, Cloud, and Shulk would be the ones investigating, as they arrived outside at the front of the mansion and saw Sonic sprawled on the ground, with blood pouring from the side of his head. Isabelle and the Duck Hunt Dog were present at the scene, mourning over the death of Sonic.

"I was just feeding the Duck Hunt Dog, and then I heard a loud thud and when I came here, I saw Sonic DEAD!" Isabelle explained to Alph and company, almost about to cry. Perhaps the first time she ever cared about Sonic on a emotional level, or at all. "Master Hand and the others would be devastated if they find out a fellow resident has died..."

Master Hand: Hmm, good question - what would I do if one of the mansion residents were to die for any reason? It's very simple, really - I'll just take the resident's life insurance stuff, and spend it all on my dream car, the Lamborghini Veneno! Whatever money I get left over will be given to the residents, and have them fight over it in a one-for-all battle. Survival of the fittest!

"HA HA HA, GOT 'EM!" Sonic rose up from the ground, alarming everyone. "Man, and you losers thought I was actually dead! I got you good!" Turns out the blood was fake, and Sonic didn't jump from the roof like everyone had presumed. "With this bad boy, I had everyone thinking I literally jumped off from the mansion!" Sonic pulled out a voice recorder and played it, and it sounded like how Sonic would sound whenever he would be KO'd on Smash, screaming as he faded out from the screen. "Good you good, like Luigi, and Daisy, and Yuffie...and Lucina...and Robin..." Sonic grew nervous when Isabelle and company cornered the hedgehog, glaring him down.

"Guys you gotta check it out, the United States basketball team is here, and they're on the basketball court as I speak!" Dark Pit excitedly came over to alert Isabelle and company, before they could beat Sonic to a pulp. "Seriously you guys, you have to come quick!"


So the group of Sonic, Isabelle, Duck Hunt Dog, Alph, Cloud, and Shulk followed Dark Pit to the basketball court, where the men's basketball team from the Olympics were balling out on the court. The entire team was there - Wayne, Alex, Jamal, Amir, Hyland, Bryce, Andrew, Jim, Trece, Kyam, Darnell, and K-Low - all doing shootarounds and whatnot. But how did they get here was the question.

"Great pleasure seeing you folks again," said Coach, who was idly standing at the side of the basketball court as he waved to Dark Pit and company. Now Coach was present as well, even though he lived on the east coast in North Carolina...so how did he get to Seattle in one piece?

"Sup dudes, you wanna join us or something?" Hyland asked the group of mansion residents, who just stood there starstruck. Cloud, the slightly apathetic one, wasn't so awestruck. "You can do more than just look at us, you know!"

"I have finally returned, Sonic, and I have returned...with a much bigger vengeance!"

The basketball players stopped what they were doing as they and everyone else looked over and saw Mecha Sonic, standing a faraway distance from his nemesis Sonic. The robot marched forwards towards the hedgehog as everyone else watched on.

"Bro who brought this sorry Metal Sonic wannabe over here?" questioned Wayne; Mecha Sonic fired a beam at the basketball player, and Wayne moved his head out of the way in the nick of time.

Mecha Sonic: My last attempt to avenge Sonic was a failure...a failure at the hands of that pink puffball! Once I neutralize that punk, Sonic will be all mine, and no one can stop me! Sonic the Hedgehog, your demise is near...

"I've been waiting for the day I would see you again, and I have been planning ever since our last encounter," Mecha Sonic said to Sonic, who didn't care either way. Everyone else shared the hedgehog's sentiments. "Unlike last time, I shall reign successful as I will be the one left standing, after your demise..."

"Oh Mecha Sonic, where are you, my lovely personal servant?" Candy Kong's voice was heard from afar, and Mecha Sonic felt like blushing. Candy was really hurting the robot's credibility, especially when he called him "personal servant". "I have some Christmas cookies to deliver to Peach, and I would greatly appreciate your assistance!"

"Our business is not finished yet, vermin..." Mecha Sonic pointed at Sonic as he walked away; Coach looked towards Sonic, as the hedgehog shrugged, not even he knew what just went down.


The basketball team would continue doing their thing on the basketball court until it was around 8 o' clock, when the Christmas party was set to begin. Master Hand got in touch with Coach, and told him to bring the team to the ballroom where the party would take place. Coach and the team arrived on time - and were surprised to see how many guests were present - Candy Kong, Professor Kukui and the trial captains/kahunas, Hau, the Nohrian siblings, Nowi, Nah, Raven, Knuckle Joe, Olimar's family, Krystal, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Toadsworth, Bald Bull, Fiora, Shovel Knight, Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, Team Chaotix, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, Cream the Rabbit, Mecha Sonic, Blaze the Cat, Shadow, Silver, Dr. Light, Roll, Geo Stelar, Omega-Xis, Sonia Strumm, Chun-li, Tifa Lockhart, Luka Redgrave, Rodin, and Enzo. (Rodin was formally invited to the Christmas party, so it was more than likely he gave Luka another day off so he could attend the party as well.)

"IS THAT THE UNITED STATES MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM, I ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET..." Slippy Toad squealed at the top of his lungs when the basketball players caught his eye, only for Peppy Hare to keep his mouth shut by placing his hand over the amphibian's mouth. Slippy was fangirling again, like he was back in episode 3.

"Please Slippy, just formally greet them, no need to bring unwanted attention upon yourself!" Peppy scolded the frog, and yes, Slippy is a frog; like Bald Bull once alluded to, Nintendo canon can be rather confusing at times.

"What on-a earth are you guys-a doing here, you're not supposed-a to be here in the first-a place!" Mario approached Coach and the men's basketball team, knowing that someone must have tampered with the teleportation device. And that someone must have been Bowser.

Bowser: Used the teleportation device to warp the men's basketball team and their beloved coach to the mansion, so I can not only have as many names as possible for my List of Bowser, but so more people can receive the Gift of Bowser! I even brought two of the best Olympians from this year's Olympics here as well, the more the merrier! Now if you excuse me, I must prepare my Gift of Bowser... *extends arms to the side, inhales and exhales* Drink it in, man!

"Why you don't want us here, you racist towards black people or something?" inferred Darnell, which prompted him to call out to the party-goers: "MARIO IS RACIST TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE Y'ALL!" Everyone gasped collectively in shock, unable to imagine Mario ever being a racist.

"Knew it was only a matter of time..." Knuckles glared down Mario and shook his head before moving to the back so he wouldn't be seen by the Italian plumber. Doc Louis would follow suit, following the echidna to the back as well.

"No, no, you got it all-a wrong, it's not that I'm-a racist towards black people, it's just that Peach-a doesn't want you here!" This made the basketball team even more hurt; Coach didn't feel a thing, for he felt unaffected by Mario's words.

"CORRECTION Y'ALL: IT'S PRINCESS PEACH WHO'S RACIST TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE!" Darnell shouted yet again, as everyone gasped collectively in shock yet again. "I REPEAT, PRINCESS PEACH IS RACIST TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE!"

"Whoever said I was ever racist to begin with?" questioned Peach, who had just exited from a closet in her Miss Santa attire, before coming to a stop when she saw the men's basketball team and Coach standing at the ballroom entrance. Some of the players wanted to check Peach out, but decided against doing so in the presence of Mario. "Oh, Mario, what did I tell you about inviting high-profile guests to the mansion, we already had a good discussion about this!"

"C'mon Peach, you were fine letting us have dinner with y'all after that bowling match in August, so what's so different now?" questioned Kyam. "I mean, if you invite all of these people to the party, then you could have at least bothered to invite us as well! Ain't that right, you guys?" Kyam's Olympic teammates all nodded their heads in agreement, feeling they were disrespected.

"Hold up, hold up, let me be the voice of reason!" Master Hand appeared, wanting to bring order and peace to the situation. "Peach, did you not say that folks who visited the mansion would be allowed to attend the party? The men's basketball team has obviously visited the mansion, and therefore they are completely allowed to join us for the party, no ands, ifs, or buts about it!" Peach grumpily folded her arms and looked to the side, salty that Master Hand was telling her - the party planner - how to run her Christmas party.

"Well I certainly don't remember them visiting the mansion..." Peach referred to Rayman, Barbara, Globox, Fred, and Rose, who had just entered the ballroom; the latter two were participants of the 2016 Olympics, both having their run-ins with the brawlers.

Rayman: Mario sent the three of us lowkey invitations to the Christmas party at the last minute, though he didn't elaborate what would be happening at the party, so we're in for a surprise...
Globox: *claps hands excitedly* Ooh, how I love surprises! I hope Santa Claus comes to town and makes a surprise appearance at the mansion, and gives us all gifts!
Barbara: *whispering* You did...tell Globox that Santa Claus doesn't exist, right?
Rayman: Are you seriously overlooking Globox's lack of intelligence?

Fred: Could have spent my Christmas Eve with my wife and son...but somehow, someway, I was warped to this "Smash Mansion", at the hands of Bowser. He told me to attend the Christmas party going on, otherwise he would put me on his "List of Bowser", and I would be forever deemed a "stupid idiot". I told him how redundant it was for him to call me stupid and an idiot...and that's when he wrote my name on the list.

Rose: Eh, I don't care either way about attending the Christmas party...just as long as that lousy Pokemon trainer stays in his lane and keeps his distance from me, if he knows what's good for him. Wanna go back home without having to be annoyed...

"Um, just for the record, Barbara, Globox and I were invited to the party by Mario," explained Rayman, as Peach gave Mario a questionable look. "And as for these two..." Rayman then pointed at Fred and Rose. "..let's just say that Bowser invited them to the party."

"Seems fair, I see nothing wrong with it," stated Master Hand, dismaying poor Peach. "These folks won't ruin your beloved party Peach, they're all dignified people and should be trusted to the utmost degree." Master Hand then floated over to the center of the ballroom, making sure everyone was present. However, someone was missing... "Has anyone seen Bowser anywhere? Thought I told him the party would begin at eight, what gives?"

Suddenly the lights went out, resulting in a state of panic within the ballroom. People were screaming, worrying, or even wetting themselves in fright (thankfully only a few select people were doing just that) as the lights remained out.

"Mario please tell me you remembered to pay the light bill!" Zelda asked the plumber, remembering how the blackout in episode 40 occurred. After a few minutes, some red lights were dimmed (yes, the ballroom has lights of different colors), and everyone was in shock by what they were seeing.

No, it wasn't Luigi strangely dancing with Mr. Game and Watch, though the plumber and the 2-D man immediately stopped once the lights dimmed. Rather, what caught everyone's attention was a rising platform at the front of the ballroom, with a mysterious caped figure standing on top. A piano solo was sounded as a spotlight dimmed on the mysterious figure everyone saw before them.

"GLORIOUS! No, I won't give in, I won't give in, till I'm VICTORIOUS, and I will defend, I will defend!" WWE superstar Bobby Roode's theme song sounded as the mysterious figure turned out to be none other than Bowser, who revealed himself and roared mightily as the theme song's guitar solo sounded.

"You have got to be kidding me, how very egotistical of Bowser..." Proto Man shook his head in dismay as the rising platform lowered, and Bowser had his arms raised to the sky. Clearly the Koopa King devoted much of his time into whatever he was doing right now, what with him getting the rising platform in the ballroom and all.

"GLORIOUS, no, I won't give in, I won't give in, 'till i'm VICTORIOUS, and I will defend, I will defend, and I'll do what I must, no, I won't give in, I wont give in, oh, so GLORIOUS, until the end, until the end!" As Roode's theme song continued, Bowser lip synced the lyrics, his arms still raised up high. Everyone just looked on, either cringing at Bowser's profound arrogance or just waiting for the Koopa King to end his shenanigans. Once the rising platform reached the floor, Bowser got off and after another epic guitar solo, the Koopa King raised his arms to the sky one last time. "GLORIOUS, no, I won't give in, I won't give in, 'till i'm VICTORIOUS, and I will defend, I will defend, and I'll do what I must, no, I won't give in, I wont give in, oh, so GLORIOUS, until the end, until the end!"

Wii Fit Trainer: Pranking others? Typical Bowser. Giving us an unneeded "fire safety" lesson and running us through a "fire safety" simulation? Typical Bowser. Getting the entire mansion sick with Toon Link's germs? Typical Bowser. Teaching Shulk, Corrin, and even Link false information? Typical Bowser. Writing down a "List of Bowser" full of "stupid idiots"? Typical Bowser. Posturing on a rising platform in front of a giant crowd while a somewhat arrogant theme song plays in the background? I think we've just seen vintage Bowser at work...

Bowser: Bobby Roode, some wrestler from the WWE, was the inspiration for my epic introduction at the Christmas party - I saw him doing his entrance at some WWE event, and thought it was the most powerful, majestic thing I've ever seen with my two eyes. Awesome does not begin to describe what I had witnessed!

"So what exactly was that all about Bowser, what's with the whole entourage?" Silver would ask the Koopa King after Roode's theme song concluded and Bowser was done posturing. "Wanted to remind every single one of us how awesome you are or something?"

"What you just witnessed, Silver the Hedgehog, was the precious Gift of Bowser!" explained Bowser, as the brawlers rolled their eyes, for Bowser was talking up this "Gift of Bowser" like a storm ever since Thanksgiving. "You were all supposed to drink it in - did you drink it in like I expected you all to do?" Not a single person said a word. "That's it, you're all stupid idiots! You're all going on my list!"

"Worry about your list later Bowser, we have some stuff to accomplish before we can begin the party," said Master Hand. "We shall start things off with the Secret Santa thing, we'll exchange gifts and whatnot, but first, I had Mega Man prepare a little Christmas video for you all to see..." At the snap of Master Hand's fingers, a giant video screen descended from the ceiling. As you might already tell, the ballroom certainly comes with a boatload of features. "Mega Man, would you like to do the honors?"

"Yes sir, Master Hand, let me get out my remote control first!" responded Mega Man as he pulled out a blue TV remote, and used it to turn the video screen on. Instead of the Christmas video that Master Hand asked for, the fire safety video Bowser showed the brawlers back in episode 6 played on the screen, showing the shot of the Duck Hunt Dog wearing a firefighter hat and licking his privates. The shot of Mega Man on fire would have been more tolerable. "Excuse me everyone, having some technical difficulties here..." Mega Man grinned nervously as he pressed an arrow button multiple times, flipping past the movie Friday, the video of Luigi and Marth dancing in the dancing room, Wolf's horror movie, the Super Mario Bros Super Show, the Legend of Zelda cartoon, and the video of Samus and Cilan doing the caramelldansen, before finally reaching the Christmas video. No description for the video was needed; it was basically Doc Louis in a Santa Claus costume, talking about how great the holidays are and stuff before finishing things off by exclaiming Merry Christmas, with the words "FIN" at the very end of the video.

"So what do you guys think of that wonderful video, did it make your eyes tear up, did it fill you up with Christmas spirit?" Master Hand asked the party-goers. To be honest, there wasn't a single non-dry eye in the ballroom, as everyone had mixed feelings on the video they watched.

"Was that video really necessary for us to watch?" asked Coach, who felt the party was now all for naught and also felt like going back home.

"When are we going to start the party?" asked Toad, who wished to forgo the Secret Santa proceedings just to eat some grub.

"Does this mean that Santa Claus is actually black?" asked Lloyd, baffling everyone with his incompetence.

Master Hand: THOSE FOOLS did not enjoy my video, do they not know the hard work I put into it? Do you realize how hard it was to entice Doc Louis to put on a Santa suit, without having to resort to chocolate? On top of that, I had Isabelle write the script for the video, telling her not to make it sound cheesy, and I had her rewrite the script EIGHT TIMES! I repeat, eight times! And not a single person felt emotional or happy from watching the video? Are they robots or something?!

"Apparently none of you enjoyed the video I worked hard on perfecting, so I guess we'll just start the Secret Santa gift exchange," said Master Hand, now holding a grudge against pretty much everyone in the ballroom. "Rosalina, you're up first - someone bring her a fancy chair for her to sit in!"

Rosalina would be the first to receive her gift, courtesy of Shulk, and then it would continue with Falco, Bayonetta, Gil, Yoshi, King Dedede, so forth and so on. Some got extravagant gifts, like Samus receiving a high-tech space rifle gun from Kirby (He and Mr. Game and Watch both got voice translators, expect to see both translators go into work in the next episode or so. Also, how Kirby acquired this gun was a question on everyone's minds). Some got gifts they absolutely hated, such as Link receiving remakes of the Legend of Zelda CD-i games from Little Mac; he promptly threw both games in the garbage can when no one was looking. Some got gifts that Master Hand wasn't very fond of...

"A massaging chair, just for me?" Wario exclaimed when he received a massaging chair from Lucario; the fatso hadn't had one ever since episode 12. "Thank you very much, Lucario, you shouldn't have! I'll place this bad boy in the back of the ballroom, just for now!" Wario would put his gift in the back, while Master Hand looked on, seething. The mighty creator of the Smash universe, having a great disdain for massaging chairs...

The Secret Santa gift exchange would continue, and soon it was Aerith's turn to receive a gift. Lloyd, the man who got a magic eight ball from Isabelle, would be the one to give a gift to Aerith, who sat in the "special chair", as Master Hand had called it, nervous as ever.

"You're gonna love this gift very much, I can already tell," Lloyd smiled as he walked towards Aerith, holding his gift behind him. The flower girl braced herself as Lloyd presented to her a present, accepting it and unwrapping it and opening it and anything you're supposed to do to open a gift that doesn't involve gnawing at the wrapping paper.

"A new necklace, and it looks so pretty and exquisite too!" Aerith took her gift out from the box - a dark blue necklace - and held it up for everyone to see. Mario, Cloud, Pit, Luka, and a few select others closely inspected the necklace, and saw that it was the very necklace from the previous chapter - how did it go from being in Dr. Wily's possession, to Lloyd's possession, and now Aerith's? "Tell me how you were acquire this necklace, it certainly looks expensive!"

"I get around town a lot, no biggie!" That must mean Lloyd must have met with Dr. Wily in the past week, or the week before.

Lloyd: As I was walking home from the comic book store, I saw this old guy in a lab coat, and I saw it was Dr. Wily. I gave him some dap (old people are apparently horrible at doing cool handshakes), and asked him how it was going and stuff. He showed me this dark blue necklace he acquired from "some girl that likes flowers" while involved in a high-speed chase in Luigi's car, and talked about how he used the necklace to strangle this guy from the Organization XIII. Wily then gave me the necklace, and told me to give it to that girl that likes flowers...and so I did just that during the whole Secret Santa shindig.

The Secret Santa proceedings would continue until Yuffie was the last person to receive a gift. Her Secret Santa, Akira, clenched his teeth nervously as he approached Yuffie with his gift...and held out a tiny gemstone in his hand. That very gemstone was Yuffie's gift, and what an underwhelming gift it was.

"Thanks Akira, you shouldn't have..." Yuffie grudgingly accepted the gemstone from Akira, and simply placed it in her pocket, where it would probably remain forever. "No, seriously, you shouldn't have, you could have just saved your money."

"Only had to spend five cents for that gemstone," confessed Akira, as several folks behind the kung fu fighter laughed behind his back. Yuffie should be glad she got something, rather than nothing...

"Good, everyone exchanged gifts, and everyone's happy...well mostly everyone's happy, now let's get this party started!" exclaimed Master Hand, as Kirby placed the "special chair" back where it belonged. "Can't afford to waste the time of our lovely guests!"

"Master Hand, there's a strange brown substance on the floor!" Isabelle alerted the giant hand, pointing at a brown substance lying on the floor. "It smells horrid too!" Isabelle held her nose, and others did the same as they retreated from the strange substance.

"Aerith Gainsborough..." Mario glared at Aerith, who shook her head to downplay the fact that she was the person responsible. Mario may have accused the flower girl of wrongdoing back in episode 28, and Aerith refused to let the plumber accuse her now.


After the brown substance was cleaned up (turned out the Duck Hunt Dog was responsible, for he defecated on the floor), the Christmas party commenced, and everything was going smoothly, with K.K. Slider as the DJ playing Christmas tunes, and Sonia Strumm playing said tunes on her guitar. (Master Hand threatened to charge anyone that wanted to watch Sonia a fee, like he did back in episode 46, and again it would be Zelda who would have to talk the giant hand out of it.) Mario spoke with Xander, Corrin's older brother, his role as an officiant at the plumber's wedding; Rodin was giving Link props for his wrestling skills in the Hylian's one and only wrestling match; Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey went over some legal matters with Snake; Mecha Sonic tried to extract revenge on Sonic, only for his attempts to be stopped in some manner or fashion by Candy Kong; Bowser was adding every party-goer's name to his "List of Bowser"; and the men's basketball team were...well, just being themselves.

But the men's basketball team, Fred, and Rose weren't the only star athletes present at the party - as he was at the appetizer table, Villager looked up and to his left, and saw Abraham, the pitcher from the Seattle Mariners who went off on the young lad in episode 38. Villager cowered in fear at the sight of Abraham, though his fears would be lifted when Abraham flashed a smile at the youngster.

Abraham: First things first, I fully regret my previous actions at the mansion, I shouldn't have unleashed my anger upon Villager and the guy with the white hair, it was very uncharacteristic of me. With that being said, I learned upon arrival at the party that Mario's rival, Bowser, was responsible for Villager being the most wanted criminal in my home country of Venezuela, thanks to a prank call. I shall deal with him later on...

"No worries Villager, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to have a good time, just like everyone else," assured Abraham, as a comforting smile formed on Villager's face. "Someone explained to me the full scope of the situation (I believe it was a Pokemon), and now I would like to apologize to you for the harm I've brought upon you. Do you wish to accept my apology?"

"Apology accepted, it's all now water under the bridge!" Villager responded with a smile. Abraham wasn't the only Seattle sports star in attendance - Kevin and Carrington - two participants from the mansion's prank war - were also at the mansion, and Carrington was at the punch bowl, fixing himself a drink.

"Don't take that guy's nice guy persona for granted, he's actually a lowkey thug!" Bowser said to Shulk, pointing at Carrington, who may or may not have outed himself as a Seattle Seahawks player back in episode 42. "Not to mention that his wife..."

"Nice try Bowser, but that stuff doesn't work on me anymore," Shulk smirked as he walked away from Bowser and went to go hang out with his girlfriend Fiora, who was speaking with Little Mac as Doc Louis looked on, wondering about what could have been...

"Stupid idiot!" Bowser would call out to Shulk, just when his former student Corrin walked by. Bowser grabbed the prince of Nohr and pulled him to the side. "See that guy over there Corrin?" The Koopa King again pointed at Carrington, as he walked away from the punch bowl. "He's a thug and a criminal!"

"Say it isn't so!" exclaimed Corrin, buying into Bowser's lies. Not so far from Bowser and Corrin, Rayman and Barbara were chilling together with Globox, when Fred came over to them, smiling to himself.

"I believe you two are under the mistletoe," the Olympian said to the presumed couple; Rayman nervously looked up, and Barbara would do the same without any nerves, and indeed there was a mistletoe hanging above them. Just what Rayman wanted to see...

"Today's your lucky day, lover boy!" Barbara said to Rayman as he took the limbless hero to the center of the ballroom and kissed him on the lips for everyone to see, with Globox holding the mistletoe over her and Rayman. Everyone cheered on for Rayman and Barbara as the two kissed (against Rayman's will), with Abraham playfully covering Villager's eyes with his hands so he wouldn't see.

"This is the breakthrough I needed!" Yoshi exclaimed as he whipped out a notepad and started writing. "Hoo boy, I can already tell this fanfic is gonna be the BOMB!"

Yoshi: 2016 was a year of failures for me...none of the pairings I came up with seemed to work. Lucina and Shulk didn't work, Samus and Ganondorf didn't work, Wii Fit Trainer and the Flying Man most certainly didn't work either...good thing I had the knitting club to keep my head up.

"Don't know about you guys, but I think it's about time we play some REAL Christmas music!" Pit spoke up, as he marched towards K.K. Slider and Sonia. "Play Carol of the Bells at once!" K.K. and Sonia looked at one another, contemplating what they should do. Pit wasn't that big of a threat, so they didn't have to worry about the angel beating them up if they didn't comply to his command.

"How about we ask the others what they want to hear instead?" offered Sonia, only for Pit to push her aside as he made his way to K.K. Slider. He pressed a button on the hippie dog's synthesiser, and Carol of the Bells by the one and only Trans Siberian Orchestra began playing through the loudspeakers, filling up the ballroom with its majestic sound. Sonia had no other choice but to play this song on her guitar.

"Yeah buddy, now we're talking!" exclaimed Pit, although not a single person was talking. "Real Christmas music is in the building, folks!" Pit would begin playing an imaginary violin, making a complete and utter fool out of himself. "C'mon Kirby what are you waiting for, why don't you join me?"

So Kirby would join Pit, as he played some imaginary drums. The pink puffball wouldn't be the only person to join the angel - Sonic, Diddy Kong, Slippy Toad, and the men's basketball team's own Alex would join Pit, with Sonic playing the imaginary cello, Diddy Kong playing the imaginary guitar, Slippy Toad playing the imaginary keyboard, and Alex...playing the imaginary triangle. The four playing their imaginary instruments was arguably more entertaining and amusing than whatever Pit was doing, didn't even look like he was trying to play a violin.

"Could really kill for a soda right now..." Blaze said as she reached into an ice cooler and grabbed a can of soda...only for the soda to be squirted in her face when she opened the can. "Is this some kind of joke, why did I get a faulty can?!"

"Half of the soda cans are fizzy, while the other half are relatively normal," Ashley had to explain to the cat. Wario sneaked up on Blaze, reaching for her pants pocket hoping there would be money inside, only for Blaze to swipe the fatso's hand away. "The fizzy sodas were from the prank war we had, and Aerith had some left over - all the sodas could have been normal, if not for Red and his silly soda chugging competitions..." Ashley glared at Red the Pokemon Trainer, who sheepishly grinned; you'd think that since he was thirty now, he would have learned his lesson.

"This drink looks awfully nice, bet it tastes pretty good," Jim headed over to the ice cooler and pulled out a drink, which was actually one of Ashley's potions inside the cooler. You know Red dun goofed up when Ashley's potions are a drinking option for the party-goers. Jim would drink the potion in one gulp, much to the chagrin of Ashley, and suddenly Jim found himself doing the infamous pee pee dance. "Bro why is my bladder acting up all of a sudden, I just drank that drink!"

"What you just drunk was a potion, and since you consumed the entire potion...you'll have to deal with some urinary problems," Ashley explained as Jim continued to do the pee pee dance, before running out of the ballroom, stiff arming Professor Kukui on his way to the nearest bathroom as Coach looked on.

Coach: Was I dismayed by Jim's actions at the party? Not in the slightest - sometimes when a man has to go, he has to go. I'm just glad Jim didn't pee in the punch bowl...

Carol of the Bells would reach its climax point, as Pit, Sonic, Diddy Kong, Slippy Toad, and Alex continued to play their imaginary instruments. As the climax went on, Dr. Light, Snake, kahuna Hala, and even Coach joined in, as they played imaginary guitars. This would continue until the last chord of the song was played, when Pit fell to the floor on his knees and did one interesting violin solo.

"CHRISTMAS, YEAH!" the angel did the sign of horns as he shouted like a maniac. Sonic and the others, watching Pit's exuberance, awkwardly walked away, not wanting to associate themselves with the angel anymore.

"You rocked, Santa!" Sonic jokingly said to Dr. Light as the two walked away, only to receive a death glare from the robot genius.

"I feel somewhat bad for being a part of that..." remarked Hala as Coach nodded his head in agreement, both men returning to their respective parties.

"Alright, now that Pit finally got to live out to his favorite Christmas song, I think it's about time we do some karaoke!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, as he and Sonia got ready. "Play me a beat Sonia, and a good one too!"

"You got it!" Sonia gave K.K. a thumbs up, as she played some electric chords on her guitar, while K.K. played some techno music. Nobody bothered to sing along with the beat, until Link, recognizing the music, was getting all pumped up for no reason, as evidenced by the bobbing of his head. The Hylian grabbed a microphone, and got himself ready as Cloud and Zelda wearily looked on.

"Oh yeah, bringing back an old classic, gotta get schwifty..." Link sang in a low voice into the microphone as he danced along. Remember the song from episode 38? "We all getting schwifty in here, gotta take off your pants, and your panties, and poop on the floor, getting schwifty in here..." Just like he did in episode 38, Link got low to the floor, as Cloud, Zelda, and everyone else cringed at the hero of Hyrule.

"Uh, I'm not wearing any panties, so I can't be a participant in this song," said Carrington, raising his finger so he could be recognized.

"I'm not wearing pants nor panties, so I can't participate either!" added Donkey Kong, glad that he was disqualified from getting "schwifty", whatever the heck that was supposed to mean. DK thought it would be best not to figure out the meaning, given Link's strange dancing.

Young Link: Quick question: what does it really mean to "get schwifty" anyways? *makes disgusted face when cameraman tells him the answer* ...Ew, gross, are you serious?! Please tell me Link doesn't do that...So he was just singing a song? Whew...

"Okay Link I think you already had your turn, why don't you let someone else be great at karaoke," Cloud said to his best friend as he grabbed the microphone and gave it to K.K. Slider before pushing Link away. The blonde swordsman felt more embarrassed for Link than he ever has for him the entire year.

"Thank you Link, for your...rather interesting song," K.K. thanked the Hylian, hoping to put Link's karaoke moment behind him. "How about we take some song requests...Captain Falcon, do you have a song you wish to sing to?"

"You bet I do!" the racer, adorned in his Daredevil suit, joined K.K. Slider and Sonia, accepting two microphones from K.K. and whispering his song choice into the hippie dog's ear. "Pac-Man, why don't you join me up here, we'll have an epic duet together!" Falcon called out to the eater of ghosts as K.K. looked for the racer's song selection.

"Guess I have no other choice, might as well make it quick..." Pac-Man sighed as he joined up with Captain Falcon, accepting the microphone from the racer. Pac-Man and Captain Falcon singing karaoke? Now that's a sight for sore eyes!

"This is a tune that might resonate well with Luigi and Daisy, the folk lovebirds who tied the knot back in June," said K.K. Slider, more than ready to hit the play button. "Singing 'Forever', by Chris Brown, here is Captain Falcon and Pac-Man!"

Once the intro finished and stuff, Captain Falcon and Pac-Man started singing the lyrics to the song. It wasn't the greatest singing, or the worst singing either, it was just in-between. The party-goers either paid attention to Falcon and Pac-Man, or did something else, like grabbing more grub or talking with others - the perfect time for Team Rocket to sneak their way inside the ballroom undetected. One of the basketball players, Amir, caught the evildoers stealthily hiding behind a table on his way to the appetizers, and accidentally bumped into Kevin. A little known fact, Kevin is a type of person that you do not want to mess with.

"Bro why did you bump into me for?!" Kevin angrily retaliated as he grabbed Amir by the collar, getting into a bit of a scuffle. Captain Falcon and Pac-Man had to stop singing halfway through the song as Dunban and Chrom sought to restore peace and order to the ballroom, stepping in between Kevin and Amir. The Homs and the prince pushed Kevin away, while X and Mina came over to take Amir away from Kevin.

"Just calm down, no need to get all angry and emotional..." Mina did her best to seethe Amir as she and X sat the basketball player in a chair, the "special chair". "Master Hand wouldn't mind that we used this chair, would he?" Mina asked X, who responded with a dubious shrug.

James: We've done it, we've actually done it - we sneaked our way inside the party without being detected! Or so I hope...
Jessie: Doesn't matter, that Pikachu is as good as ours! Know do us a favor and get away from us, before you bring us unwanted attention!

Captain Falcon and Pac-Man would have continued their karaoke, but there was nigh tension in the ballroom. Although Amir looked like he was relatively calm as he sat in the "special chair", the same couldn't be said for Kevin, who was still angry as Dunban and Chrom did their best to calm him down. To Sonic, Amir didn't look like he was as calm as the others assumed, and the hedgehog wished to make the basketball player fully content again.

"A can of soda oughta cheer the guy up!" Sonic exclaimed as he reached into an ice cooler and pulled out a can of soda, before heading over to Amir and giving him the soda. "Here ya go man, a can of soda just for you!" Keep in mind that Sonic was behind Amir when he gave him the soda. When Amir accepted the can from Sonic and opened said can, he was greeted with a splash of soda to his face, making everyone gasp - yes, Sonic had picked out a fizzy soda, rather than a normal one, and boy did it tick off Amir...

"Bruh why'd you do that to me for, that ain't funny man!" a now enraged Amir hopped up from his chair and jumped over a table, and rather than attacking the person who gave him the soda, Sonic, he instead went after the person whom he assumed gave him the soda, Link, and grabbed him by the neck with both hands. Cloud would step in to push Amir away from Link, and Ike, Wolf, Luka, Zero, and others would join in to break up the fight. Falco, recording the scuffle on his phone, wanted to ante up the stakes, and so he snatched the new baseball bat Lucas received during the Secret Santa exchange from the PSI whiz, in hopes of giving it to Amir and having him whack Link with the bat to no end. Good thing one of Amir's Olympic teammates, Jamal, caught the avian pilot just in time.

"C'mon man, we don't need that baseball bat, get that out of here!" the basketball player reprimanded Falco, taking the baseball bat away from him. "I mean, the fight's already bad enough as it is..."

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Lucas belted out his now-infamous battle cry as he went to get back his baseball bat, running up to Jamal and kicking him in the jewels, making him drop the baseball bat in the process. Considering how Jamal went about kicking others in the NBA playoffs, he certainly had it coming for him... "Oh I'm so sorry, I meant to kick Falco instead but somehow I missed..."

"Nah man, it's all good, I kind of deserved it..." Jamal said as he slowly got back on his feet. Around the time Jamal got up, the scuffle between Link and Amir would end in surprising fashion, when Link, after letting Amir grab his neck for who knew how long, grabbed the basketball player by the waist and body slammed him unto a table. Wasn't as epic, since the table didn't break, but Link flaunting his surprising amount of strength was shocking to everyone.

"We definitely taught Link how to do that," the Flying Man said to Meta Knight, reminiscing Link's wrestling training in episode 42, as he exchanged a high five with the Star Warrior. Meta Knight doing a high five, without having anyone telling him to do so?! Was this a different Meta Knight?!

Meta Knight: Sometimes when I'm all alone, or when nobody is looking, I tend to act..."cool" to a certain extent. Can't let a majority of people see me doing things that are deemed cool, because they would make me do all these other things, like trying out the new dance craze...and frankly enough, I've seen enough dance crazes already this year.

Once Amir got off of the table, and Kevin was calmed down, Team Rocket made their presence known to the party-goers, as they appeared out from a hiding spot with Pikachu in their hands. The fight was just the distraction they needed...

"Thanks to the shenanigans during the party, we were able to complete our mission and come away with Pikachu!" stated Meowth, holding the mouse Pokemon close to him. "You can't possibly stop us now!" Team Rocket ran away, which led Snake to wondering...

"When was Pikachu ever present at the party to begin with?" the former spy questioned. So is he in no way concerned about Pikachu's well-being? Or is it because that Team Rocket is so incompetent, he felt he and the others shouldn't have a thing to worry about?

"Honestly I don't know why he would even be here in the first place, I don't think Pokémon should be allowed at the party," answered Andrew; Lucario, Jigglypuff, Greninja, and Pichu all glared at the basketball player with much disdain.

"Why Pikachu was attending the party should be none of our concern!" said Master Hand. "What should be our concern is getting Pikachu back! And I know what to do...Isabelle, go and get the urn. Knuckle Joe, go and get that tall box you brought over here. As for you two..." Master Hand turned his attention to Red and Rose, only to be interrupted by a certain canine assistant.

"B-B-But Master Hand, we c-can't release the contents of the urn, b-because of..." Isabelle stammered, knowing what was inside the urn - something so powerful, the shih Tzu dare not tamper with by any means.

"You heard me woman, get that urn or else! Everyone else stay here and remain calm, and try not to get all nervous and throw up on the floor, we don't need Mr. Game and Watch to clean up after you...and yes, Kirby, I'm looking right at you, stop acting all innocent! Your smile can't fool me!"


"Man do I feel relieved..." Jim remarked as he exited the bathroom after emptying his bladder. It didn't take the basketball player that long until he was knocked to the floor by Team Rocket, who was making their way out of the mansion with Pikachu in their possession.

"We're so close, I can almost smell the exit!" James gleamed as Team Rocket were nearing the exit, making their way into the foyer. Could they actually fulfill their mission, for once? "Once we're out of the door, we're home free!"

Suddenly the lights went out, and Team Rocket was in a state of panic. Their overall panic would increase by tenfold when the lights came back on...and Cloud's arch-enemy Sephiroth was staring them down, with his Masamune sword. Just the mere sight of the one-winged angel made Jessie, James, and Meowth cower in fear.

Master Hand: Given how immensely powerful Sephiroth is, I'm surprised he didn't have the gall to break out of his urn prison and rage war on the mansion. But hey, all the residents are under Luigi's healthcare plan, so if anyone gets hurt, then it's all on Luigi. So I wouldn't care what Sephiroth does either way, as long as he doesn't do any damage to the mansion.

"I suggest that you all turn around before you die..." Sephiroth threated Team Rocket, pointing his Masamune at the evildoers. The villainous trio nervously turned around and walked away, only to be greeted with Knuckle Joe, standing coolly while resting his hand on a tall box - the box he used to deliver back in episode 7.

"Got a special delivery for ya, hope you enjoy..." the fighter smirked as he took down the front side of the box...revealing a Type: Null. Team Rocket still had vivid memories of the chimera Pokémon attacking them, so understandably they were afraid.

"Ooh, not this wretched Pokémon again!" Jessie gritted her teeth in anger. "Let's turn back around!" So Team Rocket did just that, only to be greeted Sephiroth, who remained in his spot with his Masamune sword. Team Rocket literally had nowhere else to go!

"I'm back and I'm lock and loaded, squeeple!"

This saying belonged to none other than Squirps, who was piloting the robot Samus and Zero had built for him. Fred and Rose were standing at his side, with Fred wielding the Paper Mario storybook. Using his hookshot hand, Squirps snatched Pikachu away from Meowth, and held it in his other hand.

"Pikachu, I think it would be best if you saved your little Thunderbolt, at least for now," Knuckle Joe said to the mouse Pokémon. "How about we let this here Pokémon take care of the job..." Type: Null would walk out from the box, nearing Team Rocket, and then unleashed a wicked Hyper Beam on the evildoers.

"Allow me to get the door for you..." Sephiroth said as he opened the front door, and Jessie, James, and Meowth were blasted away out of the door and out of the mansion. Once they said their famous line, "TEAM ROCKET IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!", Team Rocket vanished into the sky, never to be seen again. "Now that I'm free and all, I should be going..." So Sephiroth exited the mansion...only to be greeted by Gyarados. Evidently Master Hand came pretty well prepared. "You have got to be kidding me..." Gyarados used Hydro Pump on the one-winged angel, and Knuckle Joe got the urn ready as Sephiroth was blasted into the urn at the hands of Gyarados.

"You'd think that given their past failures, they would have given up doing evil stuff by now," Fred had this to say about Team Rocket as Knuckle Joe sealed the urn real tight, returning it to the supply room where it belonged. "You know, since there's a Pokémon here and all...you could challenge that Pokémon trainer to that Pokémon battle he wants with you..." Fred jeered at Rose, who shot back at the Olympic swimmer with a glare.


Master Hand: Sephiroth? Yeah, I knew he would try and sneak out of the mansion, good thing I had Corrin sneak out of the mansion and get Gyarados positioned and ready in time. As for Squirps, I saw Mario carrying the Paper Mario storybook around, and I had those two Olympians summon Squirps and rescue Pikachu, just so they could feel important. And Type: Null, that Pokémon has a habit of sneaking out of the sanctuary and walking all over the mansion for no reason, and conveniently he stopped by the ballroom just when I needed him. Saw it poke its head through the ballroom door...

Many minutes after Pikachu was saved from the clutches of Team Rocket, the Christmas party commenced, and a majority of the guests left the mansion, though some offered to stay behind; for instance, the men's basketball team, including Coach, offered to stay over and clean up everything in the ballroom, with Villager, Greninja, and of course, Mr. Game and Watch offering to help. Rayman and Barbara were asleep together under the mistletoe, as Jigglypuff drew marker on their faces.

"Hey pops, this person on the phone wants to speak with you," Bowser Jr. approached Bowser, who was trying to find a way to get his rising platform out from the ballroom, with a phone in his hand. Bowser snatched the phone from his only biological son, as Bowser Jr. scampered away.

"Hello who is this, and make it snappy!" Bowser said into the phone. When you're a villain, you tend to have terrible manners when it comes to making phone calls.

"Greetings good sir, is Mike there?" said the person on the phone. Who exactly is this Mike person, and what does the person on the phone want with him? "His last name is Crotch, he might be in the ballroom..."

"Hold on, lemme check..." Bowser placed the phone down and said the following to the men's basketball team. "Have any of you guys seen Mike Crotch around here?" The players didn't specify where "Mike Crotch" was - they just laughed at the Koopa King instead. Say "Mike Crotch" out loud and you'll see what the laughing matter was all about. "Guys this is no laughing matter, I'm looking for Mike Crotch! Why can't I find Mike Crotch?" Bowser suddenly heard laughing nearby, and out of intrigue, the Koopa King looked inside a nearby closet...and saw Villager and Abraham inside giggling, with Villager holding Abraham's cellphone. (Abraham did say he would get back at Bowser, and he and Villager didn't disappoint in the slightest.) Bowser would roar at the two and chase them out of the closet and then out of the ballroom, as Peach, down in the dumps, sat in a chair with Mario and Zelda comforting her.

"Another perfect holiday party ruined..." the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom sighed, looking down at the floor. "And it was all Bowser's fault too, he was the one who invited all those athletes, even when I told him not to..."

"It's okay Princess-a Peach, it won't be the only time-a Bowser refuses to listen to instructions," Mario assured his fiancée, as Shovel Knight came over to speak with Peach. Mario, who still felt someone bitter towards the noble knight, allowed the man in blue armor to speak with his woman.

"I refuse to see 'tis fair maiden full of sorrow and despair!" said Shovel Knight, wanting to solve things. "Good thing I know what might cheer such a lovely maiden up..." The knight held out his hand to Peach, and Mario looked at it with some contempt. "Princess Peach, dost thou wish to dance with I? What dost thou have to say, Mario?" In any other instance, Mario would put Shovel Knight on blast and kick him out of the mansion, but seeing that his fiancée was depressed, he thought her dancing with Shovel Knight would be the best thing to do. So he sucked up all of his pride, and gave Shovel Knight a thumbs up.

"Really Mario, you're fine with me dancing with Shovel Knight?" Peach asked the plumber, who nodded his head with a smile. "Well if it's fine with you, then it's fine with me!" Peach took Shovel Knight's hand, and rose up from her seat. "Zelda, why don't you play a Christmas tune for us, just for the mood?"

"Better be glad I've been practicing some Christmas songs in private..." Zelda responded as she turned into Sheik and pulled out her trusty harp (Zelda tends to play the harp better under her Sheik persona). Sheik would play a tune as Peach gracefully danced with Shovel Knight, and Mario looked on. Once Peach got into the groove, the sadness of her face dissipated, as the princess felt more jolly than she felt all day long. Just then, Fred came over to Mario, and saw Peach and Shovel Knight do their thing.

"So I've been told that you're going to marry that woman, is that correct?" the Olympian asked Mario, who nodded his head. "Well let me just say that you got a good one, she's the perfect woman for you...well I should be going now, hopefully someone here other than Bowser knows how to operate that funky teleportation device. Merry Christmas, man."

"Merry Christmas to you-a too," Mario would say to Fred as the Olympian walked away.

Did the Christmas party end exactly as planned? Probably not. But as long as Peach was content, then Mario was content as well.