Author's Note:

Man am I glad I split this episode into two...finishing everything up last week would've been a killer. I would've quit written this story, out of spite. But thankfully it never came to that. Let's see what reviews we have in store today...

"Have any of the ghosts or King Boo from Luigi's Mansion shown up yet? Since Dark Pit and Flora are broken up will Lilith from Darkstalkers be his new girlfriend? Will Rose from Tales of Zestiria be less of a jerk when she shows up? (Since she acted like a big jerk in Alisha's DLC story) and finally, will Palutena ever stop being a bad cook?"

Not yet. Won't be making any comments on Dark Pit's relationship status. Rose may or may not act like a jerk. And Palutena sadly won't improve her cooking skills...being a bad cook is just in her nature. One other guest review:

"hi tell me what you think this is an idea based on the serial killer of the past jack the ripper. sonic is in a time that seems a mixture of the Victorian era with the future people have clothes and residences 19th century but they use the technology 25th century and he is a tycoon but secretly helps the police smash ahroa with the most disturbing case of all hunt criminal jack the ripper"

So you wanna see time travel, in this story? Uh...it sounds like a reach, at least to me. Last up is Derick Lindsey:

"Since the Inklings are basically all but confirmed to be in Smash 5 is there going to be another chapter about them in the future?"

Yes, there will be another chapter about them - don't think the Inklings ever really get their chance to shine in the limelight. They've had more opportunities to shine than some other characters, I will admit...


Episode 118: Goodbye Part 2

Princess Peach and her five-woman planning committee (six, if you think Greninja is a female) would encounter a roadblock.

The party - Lara Croft's going away party - in which the ladies were planning for, could very well be in danger of being cancelled. The party was slated to begin at five o' clock sharp, with Master Hand refusing to change the start time. Only problem was, Lara's flight for London was supposed to take off at around the same time, and while she appreciated Master Hand and company for wanting to throw her a party before she left Seattle, it was nigh important that the tomb raider returned to Britain as soon as possible.

Having seen Lara's planet ticket herself - seeing the time in which the plane was supposed to leave - Peach would find herself at a crossroads. Should the party go on as planned, without Lara? Or should it be cancelled? Deep down Peach knew Master Hand would easily oppose either option, as he wished to make the most of Lara's departure. He desired to have the tomb raider leave Mario and company on a high note, giving her a lasting memory she would remember forever.

"You know, we could always have a doppelganger take your place, so the party can go on as scheduled..." suggested Peach with a nervous smile, still speaking with Lara. Lara looked like she instantly regretted showing Peach her ticket. "We'll just find some lady in this city, have her dress up as you, and pay her when..."

"I'm sorry, Princess Peach, but I don't think that would work - Master Hand will easily see through the disguise," Lara offered her two cents on Peach's plan, and that made Peach even more nervous. "Can't you just go to Master Hand and tell him that I won't make it to the party?" Peach wished to avoid Master Hand at all costs; speaking with him was the last option on her list.

"He won't take it too well, which is why I'm trying to avoid him at whatever cost. He'll likely crying to sleep knowing that you couldn't attend a party he prepared so well for. Or at least I prepared so well for...anyways, I'd hate to break Master Hand's precious little heart."

"I think he'll handle it well, just don't have to be discreet about it. It'll only depend on how you deliver the information to him, that's all."

"And you're extremely sure about it?" Peach asked Lara, who nodded her head with a smile, though Peach still had her doubts. "Okay then...but just so you know, I won't be speaking with Master Hand alone..."

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Cilan: Of course, whenever there's a party at the Smash Mansion, the most obvious choice is to ask me, yours truly, to prepare the party food! Since Lara will be the lady of the hour, I've designed a British cuisine consisting of many British treats that I'm sure the residents will love and adore. *walks over to a table lined up with food, ready to explain each food item* You have fish and chips, which is just battered fish and hot potato chips; bangers and mash, consisting of sausage and mashed potatoes; and my personal favorite, steak and kidney pie, which might sound disgusting to some, but is actually a pastry of joy filled with beef, kidney, onion, and brown gravy! *grimaces* Hmm, know that I think of it, it does sound disgusting, based off that description...man, I have some very lousy personal favorites, don't I?

Cilan was in the ballroom with Mario, who was taste-tasting the Pokemon connoisseur's party food. Sure none of the party food looked like actual party food at first glance, but Cilan just wanted to incorporate a British theme to the food selection. It was only fitting.

"The recipe called for lamb kidney but I couldn't find that anywhere, so I settled with some bear kidneys instead," Cilan explained to Mario, as the mustached plumber tried out Cilan's steak and kidney pie. Mario couldn't help but grimace the more he chewed. "So what do you think? Is it the greatest pie your taste buds have ever tasted? Be honest...my integrity as a chef depends on your honesty!"

"This steak-a and kidney pie...is simply the greatest food-a creation to have ever entered my mouth!" proclaimed Mario, after mustering the courage to swallow the pie without throwing up. He would be honest with Cilan, but not at the risk of damaging the connoisseur's confidence levels. "I'm extremely positive that-a everyone will love-a that pie as much as I did. Say, where's the punch-a bowl?"

"Right over there, in the far corner of the ballroom." Cilan would point over to the punch bowl, as Mario hurried over there in a jiffy. Once Mario reached the punch bowl, and Cilan had his back turned, the plumber would vomit into the punch bowl, letting out as much as he could. Samus was standing near the punch bowl, witnessing what Mario was doing.

"I made that punch by myself, as ordered by Peach, but yeah, just go ahead and completely bastardize my hard work, like I care," said the bounty hunter, as Mario continued to vomit with no end in sight. "One of the most tedious things I was forced to do, and thanks to you, it has all gone to waste..."

"You made-a this bowl of punch, by your-a self?" Mario would ask Samus, after he was done unloading unto the punch bowl; Samus, slightly seething at Mario, nodded her head. "Well look-a at you, moving on up-a in the world! Doing things after than-a upgrading your Power Suit and-a weapons and whatnot! Dare I say it, you could have-a all the potential to be as great as-a Cilan, if not greater!"

"Okay Mario, I just made a punch of bowl...it's not that hard. Just take a bunch of Kool-Aid packets, add some water and sugar, and boom, you're done. Literally anyone in the world can do it. And, since you've single-handedly ruined the punch...you're gonna help me make another bowl, whether you like it or not!"

"Do I get-a breaks while making this punch?" This question garnered an intense glare from Samus, which made Mario chuckle in fear. "Or maybe not, hehe..."


After she was done speaking with Peach, Lara would return to the living room, where Link, Cloud, and Sora were curious as to what the tomb raider discussed with the princess. Sora also had more questions about college and universities, but didn't want to ask them at the fear of being judged by Link and Cloud.

"So I showed my plane ticket to Princess Peach, which had the time of departure written on it..." said Lara, looking down at her hands. "...and now, I've left her with a dire decision. Either cancel the party altogether, or start the party without me. While that was hard enough for Peach, coming to terms with a decision and telling said decision to Master Hand might be even harder, at least for her..."

Sora: I'm sure we could do the party without Lara - it'll be a time in which we celebrate Lara's legacy at the mansion...although she was living over at Mario's place much of the time. Only came over to the mansion when it was necessary.
Cloud: My thing is, why have a party for a chick who never even done anything during her stay? All she ever did was stay with Mario and Peach until she could find a way back home. Not like she saved the city of Seattle from an apocalypse or something.
Sora: Yeah, Lara could never mount up to anything like that...but I certainly can! Just like that one time when I stopped Organization XIII from taking over the world!
Cloud: You didn't stop the Organization, it was more of Dr. Wily's work than anything. You were just there at the right place, and at the right time. Just a lousy chess piece that served a somewhat meaningful purpose...

"What time are you supposed to leave anyways?" asked Cloud. The swordsman didn't care that much for the party; as he stated in his testimony, he thought the party was unnecessary for a gal who all she ever did was stay with Mario and Peach. To Cloud, the party was just a tactic from Master Hand show how much of a "good guy" he was, or at least he wanted others to think of him.

"Plane leaves at 5:05 - directly five minutes after the party's supposed to begin," answered Lara, taking her plane ticket out of her pocket and glancing at it. "Mario agreed to drive me to the airport, so I can catch my flight in time. I just hope that he has a full tank..."

"How about you leave for your flight, and we'll inform Master Hand that you have been kidnapped?" suggested Link, leading Lara and Cloud to give the Hylian weird looks. "We'll just say that the syndicate who screwed over your best friend kidnapped you, and there was nothing we could do to stop them in time."

"Yeah, and then Master Hand's gonna have Mario go around the world to search for Lara's whereabouts, while he puts the blame squarely on us for not stopping the syndicate," stated Cloud, providing a blemish into Link's plan. "Nice thinking you got there, Link..."

"Well it's not like you could can up with anything better..." murmured Link as he folded his arms, looking the other way.


The planning committee was still planning things for the party in the dining room, with their unofficial leader Peach not having returned yet. The lack of Peach didn't stop the ladies (...and Greninja) from making suggestions, however.

"We can do pretty much whatever we want with the cake selection, as Lara has literally no preference whatsoever," stated Zelda, who was in charge of the suggestion list. How she garnered the honors of writing the list, nobody will ever know. "What kind of cake do you ladies want to be served at the party?"

"Let's go with something titillating - something extremely pleasing and easy on the eyes!" suggested Yuffie, with a cheeky smile. As you would believe, none of the ladies were having it with Yuffie's suggestions. "I'm pretty sure erotic food is right up Cilan's alley!...He's going to make the cake, right?"

"See, Zelda, this is why we shouldn't have invited your ninja friends to the meeting, they keep making questionable suggestions," frowned Pasadena, although Yuffie saw nothing wrong with her zany ideas. "Even though it's Yuffie, who's doing most of the suggesting. Please tell me you have a better suggestion, Asuka..."

"I dunno, an erotic cake sounds different, compared to the other cakes we've eaten in the past," mused Rosalina, as he stroked her chin in thought. "I would like to hear more about these erotic cakes, maybe even see what it looks like so we could gauge our options." Both Zelda and Palutena felt more uncomfortable by the second.

"My friends from Hanzo Academy are awesome chefs, they could get together and bake a cake for the party," said Asuka; none of the ladies were down with that. Rosalina even preferred to go with the erotic cake route, over having Asuka's friends bake things. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Palutena: The last person I would want to bake a cake is a girl who claims to be fifteen or sixteen years old, and have a larger bust than most grown women. That right there is a red flag for me. I've seen those girls, when Fox and Falco were holding auditions for Mamori's web show. Still couldn't believe it when Master Hand said that Mamori's show needed "fanservice"...

Asuka: My friends baked a cake before...a sushi cake, to be exact, hehe. Wasn't an actual cake, with icing and baking powder and everything else...recipe only called for chives, sushi rice, nori, and crabmeat. So not an actual cake, per se, but hey, it counts as experience, amirite?

"No offense Asuka, but I think Master Hand wants a regular cake at the party, and not a cake entirely made out of sushi," said Palutena, looking at the dining room entrance wondering where the heck Peach was. Only she could bring some stability and sense back to the meeting. Zelda could do the same; she was just slacking off, at the moment.

"They can make an actual cake, I really mean it!" stressed Asuka, while at the same time knowing that was not true. "You just have to give them a chance, that's all. I know some of you are against taking chances for the party, but what other option do we have?"

"Maybe the option of baking an erotic cake, perhaps?" replied Yuffie, acting like she was suddenly left out of the conversation. "Luckily I know a cake shop that specializes in such cakes. It's a bunch of Mexican chicks who run the shop. And trust me, they can do a lot more than just baking erotic cakes. These women really know their craft, and they hone their craft daily so they can stay at the top of their game. These women are the kind of ladies who are strong and independent, who don't need some man to boss them around and tell them what to do - they're like a breath of fresh air, and we all need a breath of fresh air every now and then in our lives."

"Alright now Yuffie, let's settle down, don't need you to turn this into a feminist issue," Zelda soothed her friend, before the ninja girl's rant went off the rails. Zelda couldn't afford to have the meeting go down the political route. Anything that took a political route would always be destined for disaster.

"I say we have an erotic cake served at the party, as long as it isn't anything inappropriate," Rosalina offered her take, on board with Yuffie's idea much to the chagrin of the other ladies. "We have to remember that there will be little ones at the party. The cake would have to be PG, that's all."

"A PG-rated erotic cake still doesn't sound safe to me. We should take some suggestions from some of the others, see if their input carries some value."

This soon led to some all-out bickering between Rosalina, Zelda, and the other ladies, as they argued over what cake should be served at Lara's party. Greninja, the chill ninja Pokemon, just chilled in his seat, waiting for the arguing to come to an end. The bickering was loud enough to garner Samus' attention, as the bounty hunter angrily entered the dining room to give the planning committee a piece of her mind.

"Must you girls be so freaking loud and argumentative about selecting a stupid cake?!" Samus snapped on Zelda and company, putting their needless bickering to an end in a snap. "I mean, selecting a cake isn't that hard, and it doesn't even require that much thought - just pick the kind of cake you want, and stick to it. Here's a great suggestion - why not make some cupcakes? They're small, easy to make, and everyone gets their fair share. Everyone wins!"

"That's...that's not a bad suggestion at all," said Rosalina, completely down with the idea. So were the other ladies. "I think the six of us can work together and bake some cupcakes. Or we can save some trouble and buy them from a grocery store."

"I don't mind making cupcakes, just as long as I don't have to clean up any uneaten cupcake bottoms," asserted Palutena, the type of person who resented against anyone who only ate cupcakes just to lick the icing. A fun yet wasteful way to consume a cupcake, despite little to no consuming being done. "Still have nightmares from that last birthday party we had..." Just thinking about that experience gave Palutena shivers.


Once she put an end to the arguing in the dining room, Samus would return to the kitchen to check on Mario's progress. Thanks to Mario, the bounty hunter had to make another bowl of punch, and she put Mario up to the task of assisting her in making the punch.

But when Samus returned to the kitchen...she saw that her mustached assistant was nowhere to be found!

"Mario, where on earth did you run off to?" Samus called out, feeling both angered and panicky at the same time. It was definitely the former. "Have I not told you that you're forbidden to go on...breaks?" Samus would stare in confusion when she saw a large spoon stir a bowl of punch, with said spoon "wearing" a Mario hat. "Oh, how cute...Mario used Cappy to capture that spoon, so his arm wouldn't grow tired from stirring. What a showoff..."


You may have forgotten about it already, but if it weren't for Captain Falcon, then Lara would've never been in Seattle for a prolonged period of time. It was thanks to Captain Falcon that Lara missed her flight back to London, all because Falcon was roped into a street race with demon hunter Dante that ended with Falcon getting arrested, and Dante getting away. And so, over twenty episodes later, it was time for Captain Falcon to say goodbye to...

"Captain Falcon, where are you going?" Nowi called out to her boyfriend, as she caught her boyfriend trying to sneak out of the front door of the mansion from the staircase. "It's almost time for our special cuddling session! I've even asked Wario if we could use his massaging chair to cuddle on! It'll be worth it..."

"Master Hand wants me to get some party supplies for the party later today," replied Captain Falcon, holding a sticky note with his index finger. "Apparently there was little to no planning done for the party, so I have to make up for some lost time."

"Okay then...you'll be back in time for the party so you can say your goodbyes to Lara, right?" Captain Falcon made a confused face upon hearing Lara's name, and that's when it hit the racer.

"Oh yeah, Lara Croft, the hot British chick that I inadvertently kept in Seattle!" Nowi frowned at Captain Falcon when he called Lara a hot British chick. "...you weren't supposed to hear that part about Lara being hot, Nowi...I was just lying to your face. Should've known better than to do that with you. But I'll be back in a jiffy, barring any traffic jams or large-scale fights at the party store."

Captain Falcon: Crazy to think that if I hadn't got back with Nowi, I would have had Lara freaking Croft as my girlfriend...but I still loved Nowi regardless. She was always lingering in the back of my head. Though I still don't understand why I couldn't work any magic with ladies in the past. Either I have terrible luck with women, or women just have terrible luck with me. Maybe they just can't handle me!

"Drive safely!" Nowi said to Captain Falcon, who gave a comforting thumbs up as he left the mansion.


Dark Pit found himself in a rock and a hard place. Not only was the doppelganger still brooding over his breakup with Flora, he also had to deal with a very suspicious Sonic, with the hedgehog certain that Dark Pit was working with Berkut and Balthier to assassinate Alm and take over Valentia's throne. Sonic claimed that Flora broke up with Dark Pit because she knew beforehand about the doppelganger's evil intentions, but Dark Pit knew that Sonic was overly paranoid.

Standing near a wall with his brooding self, Dark Pit had his arms folded as he gave off an aura of being cool and collected, while doing his best to recover from his romantic woes. The doppelganger, who had his eyes closed, heard some footsteps as he opened the corner of his eye; those footsteps came from Flora, as the maid entered the nearby beauty salon. Dark Pit couldn't just let his ex walk around like nothing was wrong - he knew that he and Flora had to get back together again. So the doppelganger wished to take matters into his own hands...

Waiting for the perfect moment, Dark Pit entered the beauty salon, like a hungry lion desiring to devour its prey. His presence was demanding enough to grab the attention of Kohaku and Jigglypuff, who were both minding their own business.

"Um, Dark Pit...did you come here looking for something?" Kohaku asked the doppelganger, taking note of how determined he looked. Dark Pit was a man on a mission - a mission to reclaim his former love.

"Flora, where is she?" questioned Dark Pit, aggressively turning his head to Kohaku and Jigglypuff. The determination on his face was intense, almost scary even. "I demand to know where she is!"

"She's getting her face done at the cosmetics station. That area of the beauty salon is mostly off-limits for men." Dark Pit did not care, as he marched over to the cosmetics station. There he would find Flora, seated in a chair next to Mamori, with R.O.B. prepared to apply some cosmetics to the two ladies. R.O.B. had no gender, so being in the cosmetics station was fair game for him...erm, it.

"Dark Pit?" Flora looked up and saw her ex-boyfriend head towards her and Mamori, still wearing determination on his face. R.O.B. was about to do his...its cosmetic duties until Dark Pit showed up.

"Flora, we seriously need to talk!" said Dark Pit, stressing the importance of having a conversation with the maid. "Your little cosmetics thing will just have to wait!"

"Can we please do this later, at a more convenient time?" pleaded Flora, starting to feel a bit embarrassed. At least Mamori never suffered a breakup so she wouldn't know the pains of reconciling with your ex. "Besides, you can't even be in this part of the beauty salon!"

"I don't care if I'm allowed here or not, I will not stop until we get back together again. That is my MO, my ongoing quest. You and I, we were perfect for each other, and you decided to throw it all away!"

Just then, Snake would walk by, and the former spy was looking awfully...awfully pretty today. Had face powder applied to his face, eye shadow on his eyelids, and was wearing eyeliner like he was emo Pete Wentz. Dark Pit took a glance at Snake, nearly doing a double take. Flora, Mamori, and R.O.B. tried to pay little to no mind whatsoever, with R.O.B. unable to resist the urge to look.

"You've got some serious problems, you desperate fool..." Snake shook his head at an unnerved Dark Pit as he walked away. Go on with your bad self, Snake.

Snake: Thought that some facial cosmetics could help me pick up some hot ladies, so I've personally asked Tsubasa to "sexify" my face and make me look more attractive and good-looking. No lady can resist a man with eyeliner, or so I've been told by Wolf. It'll be enough to increase my chances of picking up a girl, I'm sure. As for Meryl, she'll just have to wait...for now.

"You need to leave right now, Dark Pit, now is not the place or the time," Flora told her ex-boyfriend, who remained put as his determination refused to wear off. "I have things to do, and I'm sure you have things to do as well."

"Someday, one day, our children are gonna hear the story the story of how their father managed to win you back in a beauty salon," vowed Dark Pit; that would be a story worth telling from generation to generation. It did make Mamori cringe, though.

"How would that work, a human and an angel having kids together?" the idol singer asked, unsure if Dark Pit even wanted kids to begin with. Perhaps he was guilt-tripping Flora into resuming her relationship with the doppelganger. "I see you and Lady Palutena have some extremely different philosophies when it comes to human biology..."

"Don't follow up Dark Pit, you'll only make him angrier," Flora advised Mamori, before returning her attention to Dark Pit. "Let's just have our little conversation at a later time today. My cosmetics isn't going to apply itself, you know..."

"Fine then, have it your way, we'll talk later." Dark Pit, admitting defeat, would walk away and leave Flora alone...before stopping and turning around, having something to get off his chest. "I've placed a letter on your pillow, it details everything you need to know and then some. Extremely important that you read it, in its entirety..."

"I will read your letter, Dark Pit, I promise. Just leave me alone for now, okay?" Dark Pit would walk away, leaving the beauty salon, with Flora exhaling a sigh once her ex had left.

"DON'T KNOW WHO'S MORE DESPERATE...DARK PIT...OR SNAKE..." remarked R.O.B., the robot finally able to apply some cosmetics.


Cilan: So excited that Mario enjoyed my steak and kidney pie! Was afraid that he wouldn't like it. Mario loved my pie so much, that he left the ballroom after getting his cup of punch so he could tell the others about how tasty it is! Can't go around spreading great news about something if you don't have a cup of fruit punch in your hand. But, just to make sure my pie really is good, I've asked a fellow Pokemon trainer to do some taste-testing...

That fellow Pokemon trainer would be none other than Red, in the ballroom with Cilan and holding a sample of the steak and kidney pie in his hand. He would look at the pie wearily, nervous as ever.

"Mario absolutely loved the pie, which means that everyone else will love it just as much!" gleamed Cilan, apparently using Mario as a gauge for how the others would critique his culinary creation. "As I've told Mario, the recipe called for lamb kidney, but since we didn't have that ingredient, I used bear kidney as a substitute."

"And where exactly did you get this bear kidney from?" questioned Red, even more nervous than before. "You didn't have someone kill an Ursaring and steal their kidneys, did you?!"

"No, no, not by any means! Who do you think I am?! I just bought some bear kidneys online, from an online flea market. Fifty cents per kidney was too much of a bargain to pass up. So, are you gonna try out my pie, or not?"

"Yeah I'll give it a try, what could go wrong..." Red chuckled nervously, holding his pie sample up to his mouth. Cilan looked on with a smile of optimism, as Red reluctantly devoured the pie in one gulp. The Pokemon trainer chewed and swallowed, mustering all the courage and willpower in his body to do so. "Mm, mm, mm, so tasty! Yum yum!" Red smiled and rubbed his stomach, making it seem like the pie was an edible delight when he thought otherwise.

"Ha ha ha, yet another person enjoys my wonderful steak and kidney pie! At first, I had my doubts about the pie, but now my confidence has reached levels of..." Cilan was too busy celebrating over his pie, that he did not know Red had deserted the ballroom. The connoisseur noticed this as he stopped posturing. "Ah, so Red went off to tell the others about how excellent by pie is! What a good man he is, and Mario too! The world needs more men like those two! Wonder if Red brought with him a cup of fruit punch, to power his thirst of spreading good news..."

Red did not leave the ballroom to tell others about Cilan's steak and kidney pie...in fact, he was outside the ballroom entrance, getting the taste of the pie out of his mouth. Mewtwo would pass and see the Pokemon Trainer down on one knee, coughing and gagging.

"Let me guess...Cilan forced you to try out his awful steak and kidney pie," assumed Mewtwo, with Red acting like he was saved from drowning what with the way he was gagging. Was Cilan's pie that bad?!

"How...did you know...that I tasted the pie?" Red asked Mewtwo, as he continued to cough and gag. Poor dude needed something sweet, to ease his taste buds.

"I'm a psychic, obviously...I can look into your mind and see you thinking that the pie you just tasted was horrible. If you want me to, I can use a wicked Confusion on Cilan that will wrack his brain, and make him numb to any form of criticism. That way, everyone can rightfully roast Cilan's pie, and he won't have his confidence impacted because he'll be laughing like a deranged idiot."

"No thanks, I'll just have to burst Cilan's bubble about his pie...need something to drink first..."


To Donkey Kong, and the entire Kong clan, bananas was nothing but serious business. The Kongs greatly valued this yellow fruit, but nobody valued bananas more than Donkey Kong. The gorilla would constantly count the bananas he had, making sure to count every morning, every afternoon, and every night. Sometimes, he would even stay up past midnight to count bananas, provided he was awake enough. DK would put bananas over anything...except for his family.

Donkey Kong: The banana is the most important fruit to have ever existed. Think about it. When a devastating apocalypse strikes the earth and tears human civilization apart, what will humans depend on for nutrition and survival? Bananas, of course - the very bananas that Diddy Kong and I have been storing up constantly. Human survival upon bananas will be living proof that the monkey is the smartest animal in the animal kingdom. There's a reason why most scientists claim that humans evolved from monkeys...not that I believe in that kind of stuff.

"Fourteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety eight...fourteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine...fifteen thousand!" counted Donkey Kong, in the storage room, as he counted his bananas. "Heh heh heh, this banana collection is getting bigger and bigger by the day! The collection of the greatest food for mankind will soon be completed..." As Donkey Kong placed the bananas back where they belonged, a certain tomb raider entered the storage room.

"Here is your sack back - Master Hand told me to return it," Lara said to Donkey Kong, who turned around and accepted the sack from the tomb raider. "Now you can put your bananas back in the sack again..."

"Oh ho ho ho, I don't store my bananas in sacks anymore...did that once, and I never did it again. My bananas kept disappearing, and apparently nobody knew why. So! Are you well rested for the...uh..." Donkey Kong suddenly remembered that the go away party for Lara was supposed to be a surprise party; he overheard that information from Peach. "...what I meant to say was, are you ready to return to London?"

"Well I've been ready for weeks now - I have all my belongings backed up in my suitcase, and I haven't even opened up my suitcase ever since. I'm just itching to return to London, and if I have to encounter yet another setback..."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You're going on a plane ride to London, you'll be just fine! Unless your plane crashes, that is..." This overwhelmed Lara with fear, with the possibility of her plane crashing into the ocean. She had already been through one plane airline incident, no need for another. "...sorry, should've kept that to myself. But that wasn't anything worth keeping, or saying at all. Please forgive me!"


While Donkey Kong was done counting his bananas, his nephew Diddy Kong was eating a banana himself, as he strolled through the hallway. He was in the same hallway as Mario and Samus, with the former holding a new bowl of punch in his hands. If he were to spill the punch, Samus would have his head for sure...

"Mario, I never got the chance to tell you this up front..." Samus said to the plumber, looking away like she was ready to reveal some earth-shattering secret. "...but if you waste that bowl of punch on the floor, either on purpose or by accident, then I'm going to kill you. So please don't make Princess Peach a widow, okay? That should be enough motivation for you, right?"

"I won't need-a any motivation at all," replied Mario, as Diddy Kong finished his banana and tossed his banana peel unto the floor. The spidermonkey had a strong habit of doing that. Mario did not see the banana as he walked, and so he slipped and fell unto the floor, throwing the bowl of punch up in the air as it came falling back down, spilling all over poor Mario.

"Drat, did I leave yet another banana peel on the floor?" frowned Diddy Kong, seeing Mario on the floor with the bowl on his head and his overalls soaking wet. "I didn't mean to leave that banana peel there Mario, please forgive me. I'll go throw it away..." Diddy Kong picked up the banana peel and was going to throw it away...

...before bumping into a now deeply seething Samus.


Falco was ready to pursue his quest of love - to ask out the girl of his dreams, Katt Monroe - with the helpful assistance of Balthier. The sky pirate asked Falco if he could ride his Landmaster, and the avian pilot was more than quick to oblige.

"Okay, Falco, what is your approach, what are you going to say when you're face-to-face with Katt Monroe?" asked Balthier, as Falco got his Landmaster booted up. It was filled to the brim with fuel, and was ready to go. "How are you going to greet her?"

"Well, uh, first, I would obviously say hello and ask her how her day is going," replied Falco. Heaven help the avian pilot if he were to somehow screw that part up. "Ask her about her space escapades even, if she wants to answer."

"Yes, yes, I'm liking the approach so far, nice strategy...and, after you greet Katt, what will you say next?" That was when Falco got severely stumped.

"I would, um...er...ask what the weather is like today?" Disgusted by Falco's response, Balthier facepalmed and shook his head. Clearly Falco had a long way to go before he could woo Katt.

"You know what, we'll work on the approach while we're riding in the Landmaster. That would be a great time to do some necessary rehearsing, so you'll feel comfortable on the spot."

Balthier: Have I ever been in love? *grins* Why on earth would you think that a charming, dashing man like myself would be without a woman? Ashe, a princess - or a former princess - is the love of my life. I can tell that she loves me - she can't resist my cunning nature, and my rule-breaking prowess. Does that mean that we're a rumored couple, not an official item? Trust me, there are many interpretations one make when it comes to romance. I myself am guilty of doing that, from time to time.

Watching Falco and Balthier from afar was Sonic, and the hedgehog wasn't alone - he was joined by his friend Crash, as the two friends were spying.

"You see that, Crash my man, you see that crook Balthier trying to rope Falco into his Alm assassination plot?" Sonic pointed at Balthier, as Crash nodded his head. He was fully understanding why Sonic was so suspicious about Balthier...or so he believed he was. "For all we know, Balthier could've asked Falco to take him to some weapons place in town, so he could buy weapons necessary to kill Alm! Sickening, I tell you, absolutely sickening...quick, let's make our move, they're heading inside!"

Falco would power on his Landmaster, and he and Balthier went through the opened door. Sonic grabbed Crash's hand and speed inside the Landmaster, doing so without being seen, as the Landmaster closed the door. The Landmaster would lift up into the air, as Coco and Aku just exited the mansion.

"Now where did Sonic take Crash to?" wondered Coco, once she arrived outside. She and Aku looked around, before they looked up and saw the Landmaster up in the sky, before taking off.

"Oh my goodness, Sonic and Crash must be up there in the Landmaster!" panicked Aku, after the Landmaster had left the premises of the mansion. "You said that Sonic was unto Balthier, and Balthier was seen with Falco, right? He must've taken Crash to join him in following Balthier, and hitched a ride on the Landmaster so they could..."

"That's just ridiculous, why would Sonic even waste his time following Balthier around in the first place? Like I've told him before, Balthier is a great guy who has never done anything wrong. It's bad enough that he practically took Crash from me so he could help him 'expose' Balthier...how do we even reach the Landmaster?"

Coco and Aku suddenly heard some drilling from nearby, and so they went to the source of the sound and found Wolf, working tirelessly on his Landmaster. He was using a variety of tools and such to make his Landmaster better than Fox's and Falco's.

"My Landmaster's gonna look so awesome, it'll make Fox and Falco cry their stupid eyes out, hehe..." grinned Wolf as he worked hard on his ride, before looking over and seeing Coco and Aku. "What do you blokes possibly want? Want me to use my matchmaking skills to find a girlfriend for Crash? He's dead meat, as far as I know..."

"Actually, Crash doesn't need a girlfriend...he had one already, in Tawna Bandicoot," replied Coco, as Wolf did a double take. Was left wondering what Tawna even saw in Crash, that lovable oaf. "Then Tawna broke up with Crash so she could be with someone else. Long story. But we're not here for any matchmaking. We were both wondering if we could hitch a ride on your Landmaster, so we can track down Falco who's riding in his Landmaster with Sonic and Crash on board."

"Unfortunately I can't do rides at the moment, too busy making my Landmaster the sweetest aircraft in the universe." Wolf then looked around, before pulling out a radar out of his pocket, tossing it to Coco. "But I can let you use that radar, so you can track Falco's whereabouts. Used that bad boy to take out Fox and Falco during our space wars. Just key in Falco's name, and he'll pop up on the radar, in a snap."

"Let's see..." Coco would key in Falco's name in the radar device, and a blinking dot would appear on the radar map. "Haha, there he is, moving at a steady pace! Thanks a bunch, Wolf! Though with your Landmaster out of operation, how will we reach Falco?"

"You know I'm not the only person at the mansion who owns a Landmaster, right?" Wolf would resume working on his Landmaster, as Coco knew the guy the ask.

Wolf: Felt pretty honored when Coco asked if I could take her and Aku on a ride through town. Nobody has ever asked me that before, not even my Star Wolf buddies. Screw those guys anyways, they weren't there to support me when I hosted my tea party. Wonder why they didn't come...


With Diddy Kong tied to a refrigerator door with his mouth duct taped, Samus and Mario were able to finish the third bowl of punch without interruption. When it came to walking the bowl of punch to the ballroom, Samus did not wish to take any chances...

"I'll carry the bowl to the ballroom myself, while you can stay put and keep Diddy company - he'll need all the company he can get," Samus told Mario, as the bounty hunter took the bowl of punch with her and left the kitchen. Mario, feeling like he would be bored beyond relief, would depart from the kitchen when the coast was clear...only to run into Flora.

"May I...speak with you for a minute or two?" Flora asked Mario, the maid nervously twiddling her fingers. Mario knew that whatever Flora wished to discuss, it had much to do with her and Dark Pit.


Falco's Landmaster was parked at a park, with townsfolk having picnics and playing fetch with their dog and all that good stuff. Falco and Balthier were seated at a bench, chilling like the two chill dudes they were.

"Alright, so I sent that text to Katt asking her to meet me at this park, just like you said," Falco said to Balthier, now checking his phone. "Katt responded, saying that she'll be there soon. Given how Katt is, I don't know if she's telling the truth, or if she's just lying to get my attention..."

"You have Katt's number on your phone already...already making progress before any progress was even started," remarked Balthier, giving Falco a nudge on the shoulder. "Are you sure that you don't need my help, Mr. Lombardi?"

"In all honesty, I've never been in a relationship before, let alone on a date...it's like a brand new experience for me. It's like being an eleven-year old kid on the first day of middle school - you just don't know what to do, or what to expect. You need a guidance consular to show you the ropes so you won't look like a fool. And you, Balthier, are my guidance consular."

"That...sounded a bit too personal, but I fully understand what you're trying to say. As long as you have me at your side, Mr. Lombardi, wooing Katt Monroe will be a breeze, almost effortless even!"

A far distance from Falco and Balthier, a Landmaster would slowly land at the park, carefully descending, as nearby folk moved out of the way. Once the Landmaster landed, the door would open, and Fox and Coco would hop out of the aircraft with Aku just floating out on his own. Fox was looking pretty annoyed...

"Have I told you about how exquisite those cup holders look, Fox?" Aku said to the pilot, who looked prepared to shoot Aku to a million pieces with his Blaster. "Truly one of a kind! You have some great taste, my friend!"

"They're just regular cup holders, the ones you would find in any vehicle..." replied Fox, wondering how Crash and Coco could put up with Aku on a constant basis. "You telling me that you've never seen a cup holder in your life before? Something tells me that you guys must've been pretty sheltered over at N. Sanity Island..."

"I suppose you're right, I shouldn't be fawning over your cup holders...instead I should be giving praise to your dashboard! So beautiful with all its many colorful buttons! I could push them all if I had hands to do it!" This left Fox even more annoyed than ever.

Fox: I think the garbage can outside the mansion is a perfect place for Aku to spend the rest of his life, if you ask me...

Fox, Coco, and Aku wouldn't get that far when they saw Falco and Balthier seated at the bench, expecting Katt to arrive. They weren't here for either the pilot or the sky pirate - they were supposed to search for Crash and Sonic's whereabouts. So they all scoured the park for the two buddies, as the hedgehog and bandicoot in question were hiding behind a tree.

"Crap, your sister and Aku just arrived at the park, looking for us..." frowned Sonic, as he saw Fox and company searching for his and Crash's whereabouts. "Hopefully this tree will keep us hidden until we find out what Falco and Balthier are up to." Sonic would turn his attention to Falco and Balthier, seated far from where he and Crash were. "So my theory of Falco taking Balthier to a weapons place in Seattle was wrong...those two must be recruiting someone to join their assassination plot. It makes sense now. But whoever this new recruit is, we'll just have to wait and see..."


Mario was having a conversation with Flora in the mansion foyer, where Flora was letting some things off her chest about her relationship with Dark Pit. Mario cautiously listened to every word the maid was saying, and was willing to give some guidance if necessary.

"I know that Dark Pit has become desperate to get back together with me again, and he's doing everything he can to resume our relationship..." Flora spoke with Mario, the only person other than Felicia she could trust to provide this information. "...maybe we weren't meant for each other. Maybe I was destined to be the lover of someone else..."

"Some-a one like Ness?" guessed Mario, as Flora made a funny face. Ness was in his teenage years, so Mario's guess couldn't possibly be that far off. "What, Ness is-a single...or so I think. He could be your one-a true love!"

"I was never attracted to Ness...never have, never will. If only I had my mother here to tell me what to do...but, I never knew my mother. My father was the only parent Felicia and I had to..."

"Flora, you don't need-a your mother OR your father to make-a the decisions for you. You can't come-a to a rash decision and expect-a rainbows and butterflies-a in the end. Wanna know why? Because you're pretty. And thoughtful. And-a intelligent." All those things Mario said maid Flora, the maid of low self-esteem, smile. "Perhaps Dark Pit is the right-a guy for you, or there might be some-a one more deserving out there. And you won't even need-a your mother or father for guidance. Why? Because you have-a me. And us. Well, save-a for a few people, of course."

"You're right, Mario. I can always rely on you and the others for any needs or wants that I have. The support system I need is at this very mansion...thank you for the kind words, Mario." Flora would leave the foyer with a smile on her face, and Mario would smile in return.


With the party fastly approaching, and the takeoff for Lara's plane fastly approaching as well, Lara was at Mario's place, double checking her suitcase to ensure she had all her belongings packed. Just as the tomb raider was done, a knock was at the front door. She would answer the front door, and look down to see Kirby.

"Congratulations, Lara Croft, you have been chosen..." said Kirby, all dramatic, as he handed Lara an envelope. Lara would accept the envelope from the pink puffball, looking at it with much curiosity.

"What is this for, and who is this from?" Lara would ask Kirby, glancing at the envelope one more time. Already she was having increasing doubts. "I don't even see anyone's name written on this..."

"Just open up that envelope and follow the instructions very carefully. The way, it shall find you..." Kirby would take two steps away from Lara, as Lara closed the front door. What was this "way" Kirby spoke of?

Pit: Oh yeah baby, it's gonna be fun, it's about to be absolutely lit...obviously staying at Mario's place has restricted Lara from all the fun things going over at the mansion, so to make up for everything Lara missed out on. Master Hand once said he wanted Lara to leave Seattle on a high note...the high note Kirby and I have prepared will be so high, it'll break every window in the city...and destroy many eardrums here and there. I've decided to wear some ear muffs, just to be safe.

Wanting to see what this was all about, Lara opened the envelope and took what was inside, a letter. The handwriting on the letter was so bad, it would make a first-grader or even a kindergartner blush.

"'Dear Lara...to whom it may concern...head outside,'" Lara read the letter, having to squint her eyes so she could make out the poorly written words. "'Love, sincerely, and duly noted, Pit.' Yeah, this definitely looks like something Pit would write..."

Following the directions on Pit's letter, Lara would exit Mario's home, looking around as she closed the door behind her. She would walk around Mario's home, but nothing happened. She then headed next door to Luigi's house and looked around, and yet still nothing happened. The tomb raider then headed over to the mansion...

"MUNITY!" shouted Pit, as he popped out of a tree, along with the Inklings, Villager, Toon Link, and Young Link. Lara looked up and saw Pit and company, all armed with water balloons. "Now everyone, fire at will!" On command, the youngsters would all hurl their water balloons at Lara, who shielded their attacks as she had her arms held up to her face.

"Stop it, stop it, I beg of you stop it!" pleaded Lara, as Pit and company continued to pelt the tomb raider with water balloons. It was almost like every one of them had an unlimited supply of water balloons.

"Hold your fire everyone!" ordered Pit, as the angel's squad stopped throwing water balloons. Pit took a closer look at Lara...and saw that she was giggling. A pretty rare sight for the angel. Pit would climb down the tree and confront Lara, who was still giggling. "Ain't it fun being wet? Being pelted by water balloons nonstop?"

"I suppose you can say that again..." smiled Lara, as she fixed her hair with a smile on her face. "Did you plan all of that, Pit? Honestly I had no idea what to expect. You really caught me by surprise, you really did..."

"Well this is the most I've ever seen you smile, Lara...which means that my mission was a success!" Pit looked around, and saw Kirby, conspicuously hidden among the bushes near Mario's home. "Hey Kirby, did you get all of that on camera?"

Lara: Not sure why, but I feel like I deserved that water balloon barrage...


Falco and Balthier remained at the park, still chilling out like the cool dudes they were, when an Arwing would soon land in their presence. Falco took notice of the Arwing's color, and tried to play it cool.

"That must be Katt Monroe...must say, her ride looks pretty great," remarked Balthier, analyzing the Arwing. "Though it's not better than your Landmaster. I'll stand from a fair distance from you and Katt, and act natural. Remember what I've taught you!" Balthier got up from the bench and left, as Falco looked at the Arwing.

"Alright, Falco, you got this...if you can kill it at a wedding reception, then asking some feline chick out should be a walk in the park for you..." Falco said to himself, taking a deep breath, as a feline pilot exited from the Arwing. It was Katt, Katt Monroe. It has been a long time since Falco and Katt saw each other in person, and it made Falco feel slightly nervous, as Katt approached him with a smile on her face.

"Hi Falco, long time no see," Katt said to the fellow mercenary and long-time friend. Falco took another deep breath, though he did it in secret so Katt wouldn't see.

"Hey Katt, you look the same as you did last time I saw you. How long has that been? Gah, I don't even know. How about you take a seat next to me? Saved a spot on this bench just for you!"

"Gah, you're so sweet. Glad you took some time out of your day so you could chat with me! Means a lot!" Katt would take a seat on the bench next to Falco, and made a funny face as she sat down, as she looked at Falco with a skeptical face. "Why is this seat so warm...you weren't talking to a girl before I arrived, did you?"

"Pfft, what girl would I even be talking about? I ain't got no female friends, aside from you. All those chicks living at the mansion, they're just nothing but walking bodies to me." Ema Skye must be offended by that. "So how's life treatin' ya, up in space?"

"Same old, same old...just chasing Arwings around, as usual. The only fun I ever get is chasing down Pigma and Leon, whenever they show up on my radar. It's hilarious because they absolutely have no idea what to do..."

"Yeah that really must be fun, I can already visualize Pigma squealing like a little pig as he's mashing the buttons on his dashboard trying to fly away. Granted he's already a pig, but you know what I mean...

"You've never told me about how things are coming along with Star Records...you just told me that you, Fox, and some other guy own the company. Got any new releases worth checking out? Anything I would be interested in?"

As Falco told Katt about Star Records, Sonic and Crash were spying on the two space pilots, albeit from a different tree after Sonic saw Fox and company draw near. Sonic was certain that Falco was recruiting Katt to join the Alm assassination plot, and he was waiting for the moment to strike, the moment Falco would reel Katt in...


Link and Midna went over to Mario's house, figuring that Lara was there. When Link knocked on the front door, Lara would answer, her hair and clothes drenched in water. Like she secretly went on an outdoors adventure, and accidentally fell down a river.

"Yeesh, whatever happened to you?" Midna had to ask Lara, who laughed a little in response. "Getting wet on your last day in Seattle, what's wrong with you?!"

"I think Pit here can answer your question," replied Lara, as the angel in question appeared from behind Lara. The angel would give Link and Midna a thumbs up, while holding a water balloon, before going away.

"Wow, first Dark Pit lets Sonic bully him, and you just allowed Pit to throw water balloons at you..you didn't have to stoop down to Pit's level, you know," Link said to Lara, who didn't seem to mind. "Midna and I just wanted to ask you a question...when is your plane leaving?"

"Five minutes after five." This made Link and Midna concerned. "Sadly I won't be in attendance for the going away party Master Hand prepared for me." This made Link and Midna even more concerned than before.

"Oh crap, someone must've already spilled the beans to Lara about the party..." Link muttered under his breath; he could thank Asuka for that. The Hylian would then return his attention to Lara. "Well if your plane has to leave five minutes after the party begins, then we can't do anything to stop ya. But we'll be back, to bid you farewell..."

Zelda: *sighs* The party Master Hand - or us - planned for Lara is in danger of cancellation...Peach informed me that Lara's plane takes off just minutes after the party begins, and apparently Peach is too afraid to tell Master Hand about it. I understand that Master Hand is very intimidating, but as I've told Peach before, it's better out than in...


Mario was left very intrigued by his conversation with Flora. Getting to hear the maid's side of the story was very enlightening to the plumber's ears. It left Mario so intrigued, that he desired to say what Dark Pit had to say about the romantic situation at hand. And so, the plumber would have a word with the doppelganger in his room, seated on Pit's bed.

"Are you sure-a you can't move on from Flora?" Mario asked Dark Pit, seated on his own bed, as he looked down at his clasped hands. "You got Phosphora and Pandora and...Medusa, if she's-a your type..."

"I'm going to fight my way back to regaining Flora's love, whatever it takes," Dark Pit replied, as he looked up at Mario. The determination on his face was still present. "Even if I have to put myself in harm's way just to reach my goal..."

"No Dark Pit, you don't have-a to do that! For Pete's sake-a man, you're acting like-a it's the end of the world. We've been through that-a crap before years ago. And last year, with-a the eclipse. Everyone gets-a dumped, Dark Pit, so stop acting like you're so-a special from everyone else. Maybe if you weren't-a such a Pit clone, Flora wouldn't have dumped-a you in the first place. You should change-a up your look, look less-a edgy. Now if you excuse-a me, I must speak with-a Lara..." Mario would get up and leave the room, with Dark Pit glaring at the plumber.


Now back to Falco and Katt, where the two space pilots were deep in conversation. They were already catching up on things, and were close to being at square one. The more they conversed, the more Sonic and Crash spied on the two, to see what tricks Falco was bound to pull. The two buddies also kept a close eye on Balthier, just in case.

After much time spent talking, it was time for Falco to go in for the kill. Time for the avian pilot to ask out Katt, the girl of his dreams.

"Based off of what you've been telling me, it seems like you're a pretty busy cat," Falco started thigns off, as Katt smiled and giggled. "And with me being a head of a record label, I'm pretty busy too. Which leads me to ask the following..."

"What are you trying to get at, Falco Lombardi?" Katt purred, as she leaned in closer to the avian pilot. It was like she preconceived what Falco was about to say. That made things somewhat easier for Falco.

"I was thinking that maybe we could, I don't know...go on a date together?" Balthier would overhear this from where he was, as he turned his eye to Falco and smiled. Sonic noticed this, realizing the opportune moment to strike.

"Balthier's trying to give Falco a cue!" the blue hedgehog said to Crash, pointing at the sky pirate. "Attack him!" Sonic and Crash would appear from their hiding spot and jump Balthier, tackling him to the ground and beating him up, right before Katt could answer Falco's question.

"Why are they beating up that poor man?" Katt asked Falco, who shrugged, while Balthier pleaded to Sonic and Crash to stop their senseless beating.

Falco: Leave it up to Sonic and Crash to try and ruin my special moment...typical Sonic behavior. And Crash behavior.

While Sonic and Crash laid the beatdown on Balthier, Fox, Coco, and Aku were still on the hunt for the two, and with all hope lost, the trio had to resort to asking the people at the park about Sonic and Crash's whereabouts. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well..."

"For the last time, I haven't seen a blue hedgehog anywhere - the only blue hedgehog I've ever seen is in those Sonic video games my son play," a middle-aged man would say to Fox and company. "And quite frankly I don't even know what a bandicoot is. Sounds like the name of a lousy Japanese demon. How about you just leave me alone, will ya?" The man would walk away, leaving Fox and company exasperated.

"Apparently not a single person in this park has seen Sonic and/or Crash," frowned Fox, with his hands on his hips. "What, did those two magically disappear into thin air or something?!" That would not be the case, as Aku saw Sonic and Crash beat up Balthier from afar.

"Crash and Sonic spotted at three o'clock!" the floating mask alerted Fox and Coco, before guiding them over to Balthier. The poor sky pirate was still getting beat up, as Falco and Katt just watched, not doing anything.

"Crash, Sonic, you two leave Balthier alone this instant!" ordered Coco, but Crash and Sonic did not stop. Or perhaps they just couldn't hear over Balthier's cries for help. Fox and Coco would have to take measures into their own hands, as they came over and restrained Sonic and Crash, respectively, and pulled them away. "We're terribly sorry, Balthier!" Coco would apologize to the sky pirate, who slowly rose back up to his feet.

"It's fine, those two didn't beat me up that bad," smiled Balthier, playing off the beatdown he suffered. "I'll just...lie under a tree and recuperate from my bruises." Balthier would look for a tree to lie under, while Fox and Coco dragged Sonic and Crash to the Landmaster.

"Okay...that was weird and random," remarked Falco, before returning his attention to Katt. "So as I was saying...you wanna go on a date?"

Balthier would eventually find a tree to lie under, as he sat at the base of the tree with his back against the trunk. He would sit there and relax, though it wouldn't be long before Falco approached him.

"So, Mr. Lomardi, how did it turn out?" Balthier asked the avian pilot, unable to discern the emotion on his face. He was either ready to explode with joy, or cry with utter embarrassment and humiliation.

"IT'S A DATE!" Falco leaped into the air with joy, as Balthier smiled. He knew Falco could do it. "...well technically, she said we will go on a date once we can figure out a time and place, but still...IT'S A DATE! Hug me brother!" Balthier would get up and hug Falco, and Falco would hug him back, albeit very tight.

"Not too much, not too much..." a pained Balthier said, as Falco eased his grip.


It was now 4:00 P.M., meaning that it was an hour away before Lara left Seattle for her London hometown. The tomb raider would remain at Mario's home, with a prepared Mario and a concerned Peach...and a visiting Meta Knight.

"Before you leave, I wanted to give you this compass - a useful object that will direct you in your travels," Meta Knight said to Lara as he gave her a compass. "I would give it to you at the party, but I was afraid I might forget."

"Thank you Meta Knight...I already have a compass, but I can always throw out the old one," replied Lara, accepting the compass. Meta Knight was very pleased.

Meta Knight: If I could, I would give Lara a naked portrait of herself, so she can look at it and admire her natural beauty. Nakedness, not beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. And in all honesty, I would pay all my life savings just to see Lara fully naked, in person.

A knock was at the front door, and Meta Knight was the closest individual to it. Although the Star Warrior did not want to open the front door, he was left with no other choice...

"Ill go answer it," Meta Knight volunteered, as he headed to the front door and opened it. There, standing at the doorway, was Link, Midna, and...

"BOWSER!" shouted Mario, when he saw the koopa king standing at the doorway with Link and Midna. "Stay away from-a Lara or else!"

"At ease Mario, at ease...Bowser is not here to flirt with Lara," advised Link, as Mario slowly began to cool down. "He just has some things to get off his chest. Just him us inside, and he'll get it over with."

"Fine then...you're all welcome to come-a inside." Link and company would enter Mario's home, though Mario couldn't help but give Bowser the stink eye. "Better not try some-a thing silly Bowser..."

"Trust me Mario, I've already tried..." replied Bowser, leaving Mario momentarily speechless as he headed over to speak with Lara. "Hey Lara, nice seeing you again, as always...how are things going?"

"Everything is...going well, actually," responded Lara, as Mario monitored the conversation at hand. Everyone else just paid an open mind, not feeling concerned in the slightest. "About to head to the airport in an hour."

"In an hour? Whaddaya mean, in an hour?! What about the party? Master Hand wanted to throw you a party before you go! I know we've been told to keep it a secret from you..."

"No, no, it's okay, I already knew, someone told me about the party by accident. You are not in the wrong, I already knew beforehand."

"Phew, that's a relief...too bad Master Hand won't like you leaving so close to the party. He really to throw a fling before you head back and all."

"Still don't think I deserve a party, but I will give Master Hand an A for effort. He'll never fail in his attempts to make me feel content..."

"Hard to believe that you're gonna leave in an hour...at five o'clock, you're gone for good, out of Seattle..." Lara noticed that Bowser's voice had a different tone to it, like the mighty koopa king was sad to see Lara go.

"Just get to the point Bowser, what did you want to speak with me about? Say it now, or forever hold your piece...get it over with!"

"I wanted to come here and say...thank you. Thank you for taking a chance with me. For having that date with me in this very house, and for hearing me out in that song I sang at Berkut's wedding last week. And for any other moments that I may not have mentioned. It helped me realize that you were the one for me. It is why I burnt that plane ticket Pit originally bought you for Secret Santa. It is why I destroyed that teleportation device, so you could stay in Seattle...and stay with me."

"You were the one who did those things? Wow, I had no idea you were that dedicated to me..." Mario, having learnt these things, suddenly felt a very strong anger towards Bowser.

Bowser: Yeah, so what if I wrecked that teleportation device? Was pretty overrated in my eyes anyways. Had to wait for Sonic and friends to return from North Korea before I could destroy the machine...that man Sonic owed my son Larry a haircut.

Larry: *stroking through his hair, done Sonic-style* Not gonna lie, this hairstyle looks pretty good on me...

"Point of the matter is, the things I did with you, I tried to do with Peach, but either she'll push me away, or that bum Mario will get in my way," continued Bowser, angering Mario even more by calling him a bum. "For you to actually give me a chance, and not dismiss me...I just have to say...what I want to say is..."

"Say, Lara, you wanna say good-a bye to Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, and-a everyone in the mansion?" Mario asked the tomb raider, interrupting Bowser and making the koopa king frown. "Now would be the perfect-a time to say goodbye before you leave!" Mario would head to the front door, smiling to himself, as Bowser glared at the plumber. Link and even Midna, too.


After saying her goodbyes to Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, Rotom, and everyone in the Smash Mansion (save for Master Hand; Toon Link and Young Link were entrusted with keeping the giant hand busy so he wouldn't be enticed to leave his room) it was time for Lara to go. She would bid her farewells to Link, Peach, Meta Knight and Bowser, who were all standing outside, although Bowser was hugging Lara a bit too much.

"Okay Bowser, you can let go of me," said Lara, her voice muffled; Bowser would apologize as he let go. "It has been a pleasure getting to spend time with you. Well, some more than others. But again, it was a pleasure. Now, I must return home...hope to see you all again. Goodbye..."

Lara would wave to Peach and company, as she hopped inside Mario's car. Once she closed the car door, Mario would turn the car on and drive off to the airport, as a teary-eyed Bowser took out a tissue and blew out his nose. Midna would hover over to Link, seeing Bowser all misty-eyed, and thought the koopa king was crazy.

"Has Captain Falcon ever returned from his shopping trip?" Link asked Midna, who thought over the question and shook her head no. "Peach, mind if I borrow your phone, for a hot minute?"


Mario would arrive at the airport, just in time before Lara's plane could leave. Before entering the airport, Lara would have a last word with Mario, and Cappy as well.

"I can't thank you enough-a for the wonderful time we had-a together, Lara," Mario said to the tomb raider at the airport entrance, with Cappy floating next to him. "I expect to see you again-a in town sometime in the future."

"Sometime," confirmed Lara with a nod of her head. "Who knows - I might even bring my best friend Samantha with me, provided she's back to being a hundred percent again. She sure loves to travel...well, I must go now. London's calling my name. Goodbye Mario! And you two, Cappy!"

"Take care!" Cappy waved to Lara, and Mario would wave too. Lara would wave right back as she entered the airport, rolling her suitcase inside. Moments after Lara entered, a certain racer would arrive at the scene, skidding to a halt...Captain Falcon.

"Mario, Cappy, was I too late?!" Falcon would frantically ask the two. "Link called me on Peach's phone and told me that Lara's plane was about to depart, and he also mentioned that Lara already said goodbye to the others..."

"Lara hasn't left yet, she's in the airport as we speak." Captain Falcon would run inside the airport, and Mario and Cappy would look through the glass as they witnessed Falcon speed past everyone, knocking random folks to the floor, on his way to Lara. Once he reached Lara, Falcon gave the tomb raider a hug, before sparking a conversation with the Brit. "Why was Captain Falcon in such a hurry to say goodbye to Lara, before she leaves?" Mario smiled, for he knew the answer...

"Let's-a just say that Captain Falcon was the reason-a why Lara was in Seattle nad stayed-a with us...after his street-a race fiasco," the plumber replied, watching the Lara-Falcon conversation from a distance and wanting to know what the two were discussing. The street race detail left Cappy with more questions than answers...

Captain Falcon: I was the last person to speak with Lara Croft, before she returned to London... *proudly points thumb at himself, grinning* ...that's one for the record books!


While Mario, Cappy, and Captain Falcon were at the airport, everyone else was at the ballroom for the party...only problem was, Lara was not there. Peach had not told Master Hand, and that left the giant hand impatient as he had Gil search for Lara's whereabouts. Everyone knew that Lara had left, but were too afraid to pass that information to Master Hand.

"Do you think Master Hand is aware that Lara probably left for her plane?" Popo asked Nana, glancing up at the clock. Nana could only shrug, as Gil returned from his search.

"Well?" Master Hand would ask Gil, after the de facto librarian returned to the ballroom. He looked afraid to break the news.

"Lara Croft...is nowhere to be found," Gil answered meekly, as Master Hand seethed very deeply. "Searched the entire mansion, and Mario's home, but..."

"WELL THAT DOES IT! How dare Lara not show up to the party we've worked so hard preparing for! If she doesn't want to spend her last time with everyone, or even enjoy the wonderful food Cilan prepared...then I'll do it myself!" Master Hand spotted Cilan's steak and kidney pie, took it and held it in the palm of his hand, and "ate" it with his fist closed...before throwing it unto the floor. "Bleh, this pie is the worst thing I've ever tasted! Straight up bleh!"

"But I thought both Mario and Red loved it..." moaned Cilan, holding his head down in sadness as his confidence levels took a major hit. As Master Hand threw a fit of epic proportions, Lucario would head to the back of the ballroom, seeing something that caught his eye. It was a large present, which was meant for Lara. Aerith saw Lucario head to the back, and would head over to the aura Pokemon.

"Got any idea what's inside that gift box?" Lucario would ask Aerith when he saw the flower girl draw near. "Was this present meant for Lara?"

"Yes it certainly was, it was a present prepared by Master Hand," replied Aerith, as Lucario curiously looked at the present. "Master Hand told me not to tell anyone what's inside, but I'll tell you anyways..." Aerith leaned in close to Lucario, whispering into his ear. "It's supposed to a giant ring. One Master Hand claimed he received from a group of rabbits."

A group of rabbits, Aerith said...a group of rabbits...