Author's Note:
Oh my! Another Saturday afternoon update, this one much later than usual. In Japanese standard time, it would be six in the morning. Thirteen-hour time difference from where I live.
So as you all expected, this is a chapter about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I didn't know what to do in regards to the side stories in this chapter, hence the delay. It was perhaps the most frustrating part of writing this chapter. But at the end of the day, I got it done. This is probably the latest I've ever published a new chapter - who knows if it'll happen again. Guest review time:
"Another great Bowser antics chapter! I also have a good idea for a chapter. Bowser Jr trying to nurse a Crimson Glow Valstrax back to health. And Sonic colors ultimate is almost here! Let's start a chain. Take off at the speed of sound...
...bright lights, colors all around...man I love that game. But yeah, we could use a Bowser Jr. antics chapter. Don't think there would be any chapter involving a Grimson Glow Valstrax, though. Another anonymous review:
"This might sound random, but could you have Susie (from Kirby) make an appearance? I don't know, I just feel like waking up and choose violence today."
Susie, the lovely robot assistant! I could make some room for her. Another anonymous review:
"Wait a minute...where's Nah? Is she safe? Is she alright?"
Nah is doing just fine! She hasn't been around for a good while, so I was surprised that no one had asked about her until now. One last anonymous review:
"Ori: The Collection is coming to the Switch at October 12. Will there be a full-fledged Ori chapter?"
Hopefully I can squeeze that one in. A JRPG Enjoyer (again, not videogamedunkey) has returned:
"I would love to see SS Link and SS Zelda knowing about TP Link and TP Zelda's wedding, and they could act as the TP's parents for the ceremony; since they are technically the first incarnation of Link and Zelda. Got it? While for P5S, I think we should've another field trip in an RV, but this time for the Phantom Thieves. They may have a meeting with Zenkichi or Ms. Ichinose (and Sophie, of course)."
I love Skyward Sword, so SS Link and SS Zelda will be at the wedding one way or another. Wouldn't mind them acting as parents since they're like the first Link and Zelda incarnations. As for an RV trip with the Phantom Thieves, I can do that as well. Should be lots of fun. Moving on:
"This is a random question, but will you do a chapter that includes characters from Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure? Mainly the Special Support Section (Lloyd B., Randy, Elie, and Tio)."
I'll have to see about that one. There's plenty of time until Trails from Zero is released. Next is David:
"Will Lucina apologize to Chrom for worrying and lying to him? Is Aerith wearing her outfit from Kingdom Hearts II? (Call me slow for asking). A reference to YouTuber Phelan 'Phelous' Porteous? (He reviews Ninja Turtles stuff). Does anyone in the mansion secretly have a collection of Marvel Legends figures? (Dumb question I know). Will Blue Mary show up in the Link and Zelda wedding chapter? And finally, will you have one of the Smash Mansion residents secretly buy a Steam Deck when the console launches? (Just to see how they'll react to it)."
She will. Aerith is indeed fearing her KHII outfit. No Phelous reference, I'm afraid. Corrin might be the only person I could think of. Blue Mary may or may not show up. And I'll have a resident buy a Steam Deck, probably in one of the upcoming chapters. Ending things off with The Reader, who has multiple Fire Emblem ideas:
1. Corrin and Felicia and Kamui and Silas having a double date. It's been teased for a while, now. I want to see it actually happen.
2. Roy and Lilina being lovely as a younger couple, while that makes Marth jealous and trying to be romantic to Caeda.
3. The Byleths teaching the Koopalings some interesting times, and making them leaving Bowser, would sound interesting.
4. A family reunion, just like someone suggested in the past chapter.
1. Yes, I have been teasing it for some time now. It will happen later this year.
2. Marth being jealous of Roy is a very interesting plotline. I might give it a try.
3. If the Byleths made the Koopalings leave Bowser, Bowser would despise them forever...yeah, I'm totally doing this one.
4. I did mention something about doing a family reunion, didn't I? Might as well take a crack at it.
Episode 294: Scrimmage
The Summer Olympics. The biggest international display of strength, willpower, glory, and a whole bunch of other attributes. It was the biggest sporting event of the year, with hundreds of athletes all around the world competing in different events vying for the gold. Or silver. Or bronze. Although no one really wants to win those two.
As promised, Master Hand would take everyone to Tokyo for the Olympics once he returned from his honeymoon with Goldie, the Gold Mario statue he became infatuated with. And in case you were asking...no, he didn't get to marry Goldie. Thankfully. However, there was one hurdle that Master Hand had to cross...
...just how would he even be able to bring everyone to Tokyo? The mansion had grown a lot since the last Summer Olympics, so bringing everyone with the teleportation device would obviously require a lot of trips. Not to mention that the tower denizens couldn't afford to be left out. The same went for Mario and his neighbors.
Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Master Hand thought of a brilliant way to bring the mansion residents, the tower denizens, and the neighbors to Tokyo in just one trip. Not a single soul knew what the giant hand was up to. Not even Mario, who was sleeping peacefully in his bed with Peach when Master Hand quietly appeared in his room...
"Wakey wakey, sleepyheads!" boomed Master Hand, loud enough to wake up both Mario and Peach. Mario screamed as he jumped out of his bed, landing on the floor while covered in his bedsheets.
"Good morning, Master Hand," Peach greeted the giant hand, having a much more chill reaction than her husband as she rubbed her eyes. "Is it morning? Have we overslept?"
"I dunno - why don't you look at your alarm clock and see?" So Mario took a glance at his alarm clock and he gasped...it was eight o'clock, PM! No person would ever sleep in that late.
"Mama mia, we've practically slept-a in!" panicked Mario as he checked his alarm clock, seeing that his alarm was turned off. The plumber thought he had it turned on when he went to bed around midnight. "How could-a this be?!"
"Haha, at last, my sleeping pills finally worked!" rejoiced Master Hand, who had fed Mario and the others sleeping pills before they went to sleep. "All that experimentation I did has paid off."
"Master Hand, this isn't funny. We pretty much missed a full-a day because of you!" As Mario snapped on Master Hand, Peach opened up the curtains to one of the bedroom windows and looked extremely surprised.
"That's weird, there's still light outside," the princess remarked as she saw the sun shining up in the clear blue sky. Mario joined Peach at the window and saw things for himself. The disbelief on his face was palpable.
"Okay, what's-a going on?" Mario questioned Master Hand as he closed the curtains, fearing that he and Peach must be stuck in some kind of simulation. "Are we stuck-a in some kind of dream? How did you find a way inside-a our dreams in the first place? Why am I asking so many questions? I'm so frustrated!"
"Take it easy, Mario, please calm down," Peach soothed her husband, who was keeping his cool as he looked down at his trembling hands. Mario so wanted to wrangle Master Hand's neck, if such a neck ever existed.
"Do you hear that?" Master Hand asked Mario and Peach, who both heard some commotion from downstairs. Some voices from down below that didn't sound like Spyro and Hunter's. "I think you got some company!"
So Mario and Peach put on their housecoats and ran downstairs to see what kind of company they had over. They arrived at the kitchen were shocked to see Spyro and Hunter...along with two Olympians that they befriended in the past. Fred, the prolific swimmer, and Wayne, Master Hand's favorite athlete in the whole wide world, were both chilling in Mario's house.
"Mario, Peach! Long time no see!" Fred greeted the married couple as he washed off an apple over the kitchen sink. The swimmer hadn't seen Mario and Peach since their wedding day four years ago.
"Sup," Wayne greeted Mario and Peach as he was chilling in the living room, noodling around on his phone. It was a thing he liked to do when he wasn't balling out on the court.
Wayne: Yeah, in case you can't tell by the look on my face, I'm kind of ticked off right now. You probably know why. I'm starting to think that Master Hand has some serious issues, but that's been obvious for a long time now.
"Hello, old-a friend!" Mario greeted Fred, amazed by the fact that the former Olympic swimmer was standing in his kitchen. He knew that Master Hand had something to do with it. "I thought you were supposed-a to be in Tokyo."
"I am in Tokyo," confirmed Fred as he eyed around for a brief moment as if Mario was insane. Mario himself thought that Fred was insane, as he laughed.
"Oh, you're so funny...this is Seattle. You're in-a my home, silly! I literally just saw you in Japan, on-a my television screen..."
"He's telling the truth, Mario," Spyro called out to the plumber from the living room, and Mario refused to believe the purple dragon. "Take a look outside, and see for yourself."
"Or better yet, take a look at your phone," suggested Wayne, and Mario would do just that as he ran upstairs to retrieve his phone. When the plumber came back down, he was staring at his phone with a bug-eyed look.
"It says-a that my current location is Tokyo..." stated Mario, as he and Peach looked at the phone together. Fred smirked, as Mario was slowly coming to grips with the truth. "...even the time-a has changed! It's the afternoon!"
"You can still go outside, you know..." Spyro said to Mario, who was almost at a loss for words. So Mario and Peach ran to the front door, and Mario opened the door ran out...
...and once he was outside, standing on his doorstep with Peach, Mario fell to his knees when he saw the mansion, and the tower, and Impa's shrine, all in his view. But what was behind the mansion and tower left Mario at a loss for words...behind both buildings was the Olympic village, in all its glory. Mario and Peach were really in Tokyo, and they had no idea how.
"Good afternoon, Mario and Peach!" Villager waved to the married couple, as he was seen growing some cherry blossom trees. Mario fainted, as he couldn't take it anymore.
"Oh my, they even have Japanese temples!" marveled Peach, not caring that her husband lost his consciousness, as she saw a few Japanese temples. Steve was seen building one of them, as he turned to Peach and gave her a wave.
Master Hand: I knew that bringing the whole gang to Tokyo would be a hassle with the teleportation device, so I did something out of the ordinary. I hired Talon's Sigma to move the entire mansion landmass from Seattle to Tokyo while everyone was asleep from those sleeping pills I gave them. The process was absolutely swift! Fortunately, there was more than enough water near the Olympic Village for us to pull it off. Sigma ended up giving himself a brain aneurysm in the end, but I truly think that it was worth it.
Villager: Since we're in Tokyo, Master Hand asked me and Steve to make the mansion's surrounding area look "authentic". Hence all the Japanese temples and cherry blossom trees. I think Steve even built a maid cafe for everyone to use. Rodin's request, apparently.
"The madman actually did it," remarked Marth as he joined Peach at her doorstep, oblivious to the fact that Mario was unconscious as he stepped on the plumber's arm. "Master Hand said he would bring everyone to Tokyo...and he did it. Literally!"
"I'm quite amazed myself," said Peach, before finally looking down and seeing her husband lying face-first on the ground. "Aw, I don't think Mario got nearly enough sleep!" The princess grabbed Mario and dragged the plumber back inside his house, before closing the door.
Mario was obviously shocked by the mansion being in Tokyo, but how did the Olympic athletes feel themselves? One athlete ventured unto the mansion grounds, looking like he found himself in Bizzaro Land. It was Jamal; you might remember him as one of Wayne's teammates from the previous men's basketball team. He was back in familiar territory.
"Nah..." uttered Jamal as he shook his head; his response was a mix of disbelief, surprise, and straight-up annoyance. The basketball player looked to his right and saw two familiar faces exit the tower in Zero and Knuckles.
"Hey, what's up man!" Knuckles greeted Jamal after he saw the basketball player, as he and Zero ran over to him. "Welcome back to Seattle!"
"We're in Tokyo, Knuckles," Zero corrected the echidna, who fired back with a mean look. Knuckles hardly appreciated being corrected. "That sleeping pill messing with your head?"
"I knew that...stop making me look bad," Knuckles quietly said to Zero, before turning his attention back to Jamal. "So, what's new? How are you liking Tokyo? Lots of fun, huh?"
"I mean, it's kinda nice..." Jamal shrugged, as he didn't have much to share about his limited experience. "...mostly just stay in my hotel, but I guess I'm having a good time."
"WAAAAH, NOT MY ANKLES!" someone cried from the distance, and it sounded an awful lot like Waluigi. Some loud, painful screaming could be heard, and it was affirmed that it was indeed Waluigi. "Why'd you have to break my ankles?"
"Breaking ankles? Someone playing basketball?" Jamal looked towards where Waluigi's screaming came from, as he saw the mansion's concrete basketball court in the distance. As well as some familiar faces.
"The entire men's basketball team is over there," Zero said to Jamal, who had spent most of his time searching for his teammate's whereabouts. "One of them must be dominating Waluigi...which isn't that hard to do.
So Jamal, Knuckles, and Zero ran over to the basketball court, where they saw the rest of the US men's basketball team gathered along with a slew of residents. How about we give the players some names, shall we? Edrice, Armani, Houston, Randall, Wilder, Tom, Lamonte, Lindy, Khash, and Christopher - that's they shall go by.
One of the players, Lamonte, was standing over his opponent, Waluigi. Waluigi was down on the count, holding his ankles seemingly in a lot of pain. A few of the residents laughed at Waluigi's expense.
"My precious ankles, wah!" Waluigi cried out as he rolled on the concrete, holding onto one of his ankles and wishing for the pain to go away. "It hurts!"
"Fool, I barely even did a move on you," stated Lamonte, bouncing the ball as he waited for Waluigi to pick himself back up. Provided that he could even bear to stand on his own feet. "You did it to yourself."
Lamonte: Waluigi was easy pickings; all I did was step up to him with the ball, and he just flinched and fell back on the ground. Thought that he might've injured his back, but instead he only hurt his ankles...both of them. The man's an even bigger loser than I imagined.
"Waluigi, you really need to stop embarrassing yourself around the guests," Leia said to Waluigi, as she came over to the court and dragged the lanky man away. Waluigi screamed as his face rubbed against the concrete, and Lamonte and the others couldn't help but laugh.
"Who wants next?" Lamonte asked the residents as he held up the basketball, looking for a worthy opponent. Preferably one that didn't break their ankles on their own accord. Sonic stepped onto the court, as the crowd got riled up.
"Alright, Sonic!" cheered Knuckles as he supported his best friend; Sonic stared down at Lamonte, seeing the basketball player as easy pickings. "Show him what you're made of!"
"This should be a piece of cake," Sonic smiled confidently as he flexed his fingers, looking to run circles around Lamonte on the basketball court. "Bet you can handle my speed!"
"Yeah...I'm not gonna take any chances," remarked Lamonte, making the wise decision of forfeiting his one-on-one game against Sonic. He walked off the court and handed the ball to one of his teammates, Armani. "Your move."
"Wait, why do I have to go against Sonic?" frowned Armani, sighing as he held the basketball in his hands. Going up against Sonic in basketball - let alone any sport - was no easy task. "Man, come on..."
"Yo, spiky! Over here!" someone called out to Sonic, as everyone turned their head and saw Popo standing alone by himself on the mansion patio. "It's time to make some dough!"
"Seriously? I thought you said today would be our off day!" Sonic responded to Popo with a frown; delighted by the prospect of not playing ball against Sonic, Armani sighed in relief.
"Well...I changed my mind. Like three seconds ago. We gotta sell some ice cream at the Olympic Village if we wanna reach our monetary goal!"
"Isn't the Olympic Village supposed to be off-limits?" inquired Knuckles, as he heard how heavily restricted the Olympic Village was compared to the last Summer Olympics.
"I mean, one of the exits was bust open," replied Jamal, before letting out a very carefree shrug. "Not that I'm complaining. That's how I even got here!"
"Time's-a ticking, Sonic! Tick, tock!" Popo shouted at the blue hedgehog as he pointed at his imaginary watch. Seeing how impatient Popo was becoming, Sonic had no choice but to walk off the basketball court.
"Excuse me, everyone..." Sonic said to the basketball team members and the residents as he brushed through the crowd. "...Mr. Ice Cream Man is turning into a tightwad."
"Anyone here wanna hop in?" asked Armani as he held up the basketball, looking around at the residents for a worthy challenger. Cortex stepped up to the plate as he walked onto the court, and Armani was not amused. "I want actual competition, thank you very much..."
"Meh...it was worth a shot," grumbled Cortex as he walked off the court - a blessing in disguise for him, since he'd embarrass himself far worse than Waluigi ever could do.
Mario was still fainted, as he was lying on his couch in his living room. Peach, Cappy, Spyro, Hunter, Fred, and Wayne were all gathered around Mario, waiting for the plumber to wake up soon.
"His cheeks are so pudgy," giggled Cappy as he pulled on Mario's cheeks; Mario's phone was suddenly heard ringing, and Fred went to go look for it. "It's like pulling on clay!"
"Pull his cheeks out as far as you can," Peach enticed Cappy, who did as he was told as he stretched Mario's cheeks out wide. Peach took out her phone and snapped a picture of Mario, feeling amused.
"You've been waiting a long time to do that, haven't you?" Spyro asked Peach, who was giggling as she got a look at the picture she just took. Soon Fred came back to the scene, on Mario's phone.
"Mario, I think this is for you," Fred alerted the plumber, hoping that he could perhaps wake him up from his unconsciousness. "I think that your attorney is calling...?"
"Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario as he finally woke up; Fred's plan had miraculously worked. The plumber snatched his phone out of Fred's hand, holding the device close to his ears. "Hello, Phoenix Wright? Are-a you there?"
"Yep, it's me!" Phoenix replied over the phone, as Mario sat up properly on his couch. "Where are you, man? There's a giant freaking hole where the mansion should be! I don't see your house anywhere!"
"Master Hand moved-a the entire mansion to Tokyo while we were put asleep." Such a thing sounded inconceivable to Phoenix at first, until he realized that only Master Hand was responsible. "Just so we could-a see the Olympics."
"Even though there are no spectators?" Either Master Hand didn't think things through, or he believed that he was above the rules. We all know that it was definitely the latter. "Has he gone mad?!"
"When does-a Master Hand not go mad?" Mario asked this rhetorical question, as Wayne was nodding his head in agreement. Wayne was no stranger to how Master Hand operated. "Sorry that we can't-a meet, Phoenix."
"No, it's fine. You and Tom Nook got this. Since Master Hand's back in town...sort of, you two can ask him if he ever funded any terrorists. Or you can ask him if he ever planned on destroying the manor. Either method works."
Tom Nook: Sadly, with the mansion in Tokyo, we won't be able to meet up with Phoenix this week...but we are making some very decent progress. Yes, yes! Master Hand's back, too, so you can be sure that Mario and I have a lot to ask him. He's got an answer for every little thing, it seems...let's see if he's got answers for his illegal activity.
"Okay, I'll see what-a I can do," Mario said to Phoenix, as he now knew what he and Tom Nook must do. "I'll contact-a you later. Bye, for now." The plumber ended his call with Phoenix, as he put his phone away.
"So was that guy really your attorney?" Fred asked Mario, who hopped off his couch as he hustled his way to his room. "Because he sounded very professional there on the phone."
"No - he's a former attorney," Mario half-answered Fred's question, leaving the former swimmer confused as he made his way up the stairs. "You guys hold down-a the fort for me - Tom Nook and I got some-a business to take care of!"
"Tom Nook? Isn't that the perpetually drunk raccoon guy?" Wayne asked Peach, who was amused by the basketball player's description of Tom Nook. "I could never really trust that man."
While Armani was off schooling residents on the mansion's basketball court, two of his teammates - Christopher and Wilder - ventured into a maid cafe that Raiden apparently asked to have built. Neither one of them had any idea what to expect.
"This is a real thing?" questioned Christopher as he and Wilder looked around the cafe, unnerved by how cutesy everything looked. Even more unnerving was how a few residents were in the cafe enjoying themselves and not caring about the cutesy atmosphere. But that wasn't the tipping point...
"Welcome home, masters!" Ruby greeted Christopher and Wilder, as she and the rest of the RWBY gang were dressed up as French maids. All four ladies looked like they were completely dead inside.
"Uh, aren't they from that online show? RWBY?" Wilder asked Christopher, who honestly had no idea what to even think anymore. "What if it's actually them...?"
"Nah, they're probably just cosplayers," responded Christopher, who was only just saying that to help himself cope with the reality that he was in.
"Cosplayers?!" frowned Weiss, easily triggered by Christopher's remark as she clenched her fists. Her behavior was not the kind to be expected from any maid working at a maid cafe.
"Relax, Weiss," Ruby calmly said to the huntress, before directing her attention back to Christopher and Wilder. "How many of you are there?"
"Just us two," replied Wilder, and so Ruby and friends led Christopher and Wilder to their table. As he followed the RWBY gang, Wilder leaned in close to Christopher and whispered, "This is so freaky..."
Elsewhere in the maid cafe, Tom Nook was enjoying an omurice - a common staple at most maid cafes. Sitting a few chairs away from the tanuki was Fox, who appeared to be down in the dumps.
"You look pretty saddened, Mr. McCloud," Tom Nook said to Fox, who acknowledged just how sad he was as he let out a depressed sigh. "Krystal kicked you out of the house?"
"Not this time," replied Tom Nook, implying that he's been kicked out many times before. Krystal must be quite the handful. "I just needed some time away. You know what it's like to be betrayed?"
"Can't say that I have." Tom Nook had always maintained a very healthy relationship with many of his friends, so he didn't know the feeling too well. "Who betrayed you?"
"Gex...my former personal hero." Fox put a lot of extra emphasis on the "former" part, stressing how much it stung when Gex's secret plan to take over Star Records came to light. "All that goodwill we shared, gone down the drain..."
Fox: Learning that one of your personal heroes was a secret schemer really sucks, in a way. It's kinda like idolizing a dude like Chris Benoit, only to find out later that he was a murderer. Except that you and Benoit were slowly becoming close friends. Unlike those weirdo wrestling fans online who think that any wrestler they happen to like is their BFF.
"I did hear that Gex was unceremoniously kicked out of the mansion," recalled Tom Nook, who had heard the gist of the story from one of the Star Records idol singers. "Was he trying to take over Star Records?"
"He was going to until Phoenix exposed him," replied Fox as he looked down at his omurice - not even the poorly drawn smiley face on his omelet was enough to cheer up him. "Falco and I, we didn't even know..."
"Well, this could be a learning lesson for you both." Tom Nook took a seat next to Fox, ready to throw down some knowledge on the pilot. "I think that you two should..."
"Tom Nook!" Mario called out to the tanuki, standing at the maid cafe entrance adorned in his usual plumber garb. Christopher and Wilder took sight of Mario, who beckoned to Tom Nook.
"Looks like duty calls..." Tom Nook hopped out of his chair, knowing exactly what Mario called him for. "...we'll have this conversation later, Fox." The tanuki walked to the maid cafe exit, as Christopher and Wilder looked on.
"Lucky guy he is..." Christopher said to Wilder while shaking his head, as Tom Nook followed Mario out of the maid cafe. Christopher and Wilder might be sticking around for a while.
Since one of the exits to the Olympic Village was apparently open (most definitely Master Hand's doing), Popo felt the sudden urge to sell his ice cream to some of the Olympians inside the village. The Ice Climber brought Nana, Sonic, and Dante to one of the apartments in the village, as he knocked on one of the doors.
"Popo, we shouldn't even be here," Nana discussed quietly with the Ice Climber, amazed at how she and the others sneaked their way inside the apartment without being caught. "We might get in trouble!"
"Can't get in trouble if you don't get caught," responded Popo, confident that whoever was behind the door would buy his ice cream without question. "That ideology has helped me in the past...somewhat."
"Shh, everyone quiet..." Sonic shushed the others as he heard the doorknob turning. Sonic and the Ice Climbers took a few feet away, and Dante remained where he was as the door was opened.
"Hello? Is this room service?" asked the person who opened the door - it was a white basketball player who appeared to be of Slovenian descent. We shall call him Don.
"Hey kid, you like ice cream?" Dante asked Don as he pointed his gun at the basketball player's forehead. "Better pay up..." Instead of feeling scared or intimidated, Don was...kind of geeking out.
"Oh, cool, you must be Dante! From the Devil May Cry series!" Don was all smiles, excited to meet an actual demon-hunting vigilante. Predictably, Dante was left confused. "Is that a real gun?"
"Crap, I think this guy recognizes me..." Not knowing what course of action he should take, Dante turned to the side at Sonic and the Ice Climbers and whispered, "...what should I do?"
"Do you know if Hanzo and Genji are around?" Don poked his head out of the door and looked down the hallway, expecting someone from the Shimada Clan to randomly show up. "This is Japan, after all."
"Does it look like I have anything to do with that Overwatch crap? I mean, what kind of..."
As he turned his head, Dante gasped when he saw a group of individuals heading down the hallway. The vigilante grabbed Don and pushed him inside his room, hiding near the door.
"Hey, what's going on...mmph!" Don tried to ask Dante, only for the vigilante to cover his mouth with his hand. Dante discreetly took a peek outside the door, as he saw three individuals in suits walk past by - Reno, Rude, and Elena. The Turks.
"Master Hand thought he was slick, huh?" snarled Reno, leading his comrades down the hallway as he smacked his nightstick in the open palm of his hand. "Moving a whole freaking mansion to Tokyo...talk about a power move!"
"If it weren't for our alien caddie, we never would've detected the mansion's whereabouts," added Rude; Don tried to speak up, but Dante still had a firm hold on the basketball player's mouth.
"Yeah, he sure came in handy, huh? Glad that we got him while we did. We'll see how useful he can be down the road..." A few seconds later, Dante took a peek down the hall and saw the Turks making a turn at the end of the hallway.
"They're gone...finally," muttered Dante as he released his hold on Don; Don exhaled in relief, as he and Dante stood up. "Them being here is very suspect..."
"Woah, did you see that?!" Sonic asked Dante as he and the Ice Climbers ran inside Don's room. Don almost had his eyes bulge out when he saw Sonic. "What the heck..."
"Sonic? The Hedgehog?" asked an amazed Don, as he put his hands on his head. It was almost like he was living in some fantasy land. "But...how?"
Don: First Dante, now Sonic the Hedgehog. Hanzo next, maybe Genji? One can only hope...
"Yeah, I saw it clear as day...the Turks are here," replied Dante, figuring that the Turks' presence meant some funny business was afoot. "Kinda peculiar of them to show up in Tokyo."
"The Turks? Yes, we have a few Turkish athletes left in the Olympics," stated Don, perfectly oblivious and out of the loop as to what was going on. "Why is that such a big deal?"
"I think they're on to you, Dante," Popo warned the vigilante, as Don was left wondering what the whole country of Turkey would want with Dante. In Don's mind, he imagined that Dante had committed some war crimes on Turkish soil.
"Wouldn't say that they're on to me...but they seem like they're planning something," said Dante, calling it as he saw it while he rubbed his chin in thought. "Hate to say this, but we might have to put our ice cream charade on hold. See what the Turks are plotting."
"Good call," said Nana as she nodded her head, a hundred percent supportive of Dante's idea. Popo looked at the Ice Climber feeling some type of way.
"You're only just saying that because you're getting tired of seeing the grind," Popo said Nana, who rolled her eyes in response. Popo had yet to sell any ice cream today, so it was unknown as to what "grind" he was referring to. "But let it be known, that the grind never, ever stops."
"Uh, you mind if I tag along with you guys?" Don asked Popo and company, hoping that he wouldn't interfere with their business. "Feel bored inside my room...could use a little bit of action."
"Sure, buddy, hop on aboard!" Popo happily welcomed Don with open arms, before muttering under his breath. "You better buy our ice cream at the end of this ordeal..."
Mario brought Tom Nook to the mansion, discussing private matters with the tanuki in the corner of the living room. It was perhaps the best spot Mario could find since it was literally impossible to hide from Master Hand.
"I'll investigate Master Hand, you create a distraction," Tom Nook gave out his game plan to Mario, who was willing to carry it out. "We don't need anyone sticking their nose in our business."
"I'll create-a the biggest distraction possible," Mario assured Tom Nook, letting the tanuki know that he had nothing to worry about. His thumbs-up was all Tom Nook needed to see. "I got it covered!"
"Good. We'll meet once I'm through with Mr. Terrorist Hand." So Tom Nook walked away from the corner of the living room, as Mario looked to enact his course of action. He would find the perfect catalysts when Link and Cloud walked into the living room.
"Seen any Olympians sneak their way inside the mansion?" Cloud asked Link, who was doing some mansion surveillance. "Aside from the basketball players of course." An imaginary lightbulb suddenly dinged over Mario's head.
"Might've seen a skateboarder in the arcade room," replied Link, as Mario hastily came over to the Hylian and Cloud. "Or maybe it was just Champion Link, forgoing to shave his head. I've told him a million times..."
"Hey, are-a you ready?" Mario asked Link and Cloud, who were both understandably confused as they exchanged worried looks with one another. "Ready for our basketball-a game, you silly geese!"
"Basketball game? Against who?" questioned Cloud, before worry washed over his face as he knew who the opponents would be. "Oh no..."
"Yep! We'll be playing against-a Team USA. They think they're the best-a team in the world? We'll show-a them!"
Mario: A basketball scrimmage with Team-a USA should be enough to keep some eyes-a away from Tom Nook. A great-a idea, if I do say so myself. Last-a time I played basketball, I noticed they'd put up a couple of hoops some-a where in town, and I play basketball every weekend. So I thought, "This might be kinda fun." And so I started messing around and...I'm sinking a few, you know. Swish, swish, swish. Nothing but-a net. And those kids' jaws just dropped-a to the floor! So...you know, it's really just a good friendly game, a reason to get-a together. And to give Tom Nook some-a room to snoop around.
Back at the basketball court, Armani was crossing up residents as he showed off a flurry of his basketball moves. His most recent victim was Captain Falcon, who had overestimated his basketball skill.
"Had you the first time," Captain Falcon said to Armani, pointing at the basketball player as he walked off the court. The racer believed that his performance would've been much better if his love, Nowi, was in the crowd.
"You never had me any time, my guy," Armani clapped back, aware that Captain Falcon was letting his ego do the talking for him. "So who wants next?"
"Timeout!" bellowed Mario as he stormed onto the court, with Link and Cloud begrudgingly following the plumber's lead. Mario looked at the men's basketball team, pointing at them. "I challenge you all...to a basketball-a game!"
"Aaaaand this is the part where I leave," Jamal said to Knuckles and Zero, having stood around long enough as he walked towards the mansion. "See you guys later, I guess."
"A basketball game against these guys?" Red the Pokemon Trainer questioned Mario, knowing that Mario was completely out of his league compared to anyone on the basketball team. "Are you serious, Mario?"
"Basketball game?!" Corrin perked up, as the prince shuffled his way past the crowd en route to Mario. "Put me on your team, Mario."
"I don't think he wants any scrubs on his squad..." said Lamonte, but Corrin didn't care as he ran onto the court like an excitable jackrabbit. He had crazed eyes as he looked at Mario excitably.
"No," Mario simply responded to Corrin's request, as Corrin hunched over in sadness. "And that's not me being mean, Corrin. That is based-a on your past behavior. When you carried-a me in that one game..."
"I apologized for that."
"You embarrassed-a me, Corrin."
"Mario, I...I can explain."
"You embarrassed-a in front of Peach, Corrin. Alright, here's-a what I'm going to do. The hand strikes-a and gives a flower. You are not going to play basketball. But I need somebody to recruit-a some guys and gals to my team."
"I can handle that." Recruiting sounded easy to Corrin - just find the right peeps for Mario's team. But if Corrin had anything to do with the basketball scrimmage, Lamonte wanted no part of it.
"You know what, I'm out y'all. Peace," the basketball player made his deuces to everyone, as he walked away from the basketball court. "Y'all let that barefoot man mess around, see what happens..."
While Sonic, Dante, and Popo were off selling ice cream indoors, Banjo and the Inklings were outside in the village selling ice cream to anyone that passed by. No one knew how the group got inside the village or why they were even here, but they were happy to buy some ice cream.
"Some French vanilla ice cream, please," a French Olympian requested to Banjo and the Inklings, as he offered them some cash. We shall call this French Olympian Bourgarel.
"French vanilla, really?" the male Inkling furrowed his brow in disgust, not at all a fan of Bourgarel's ice cream selection. "I know that you're French and all, but come on, show a little style."
"What does me being French have to do with anything?" Bourgarel questioned the male Inkling, towering over him with his height. The male Inkling cowered in fear, only for Bourgarel. "Ha, I was just messing with you. I'll take some chocolate ice cream instead."
Banjo: Being in Tokyo during the Games is kinda fun. This whole Olympics has been a whole learning experience. I mean, who knew that there was an actual country called the Russian Olympic Committee.
Kazooie: *smacks her forehead*
After buying his chocolate ice cream, Bourgarel walked away as he delighted himself with his dessert. Soon Sonic, Dante, and the Ice Climbers showed up, along with Don.
"We saw the Turks inside the Village," Sonic informed Banjo and the Inklings, who were too busy taking notice of Don's presence. Don looked terribly out of place standing with Sonic and the others. "Did you guys see them?"
"No we haven't - just the Olympians and the village employees," replied the female Inkling, surprised that she and the others hadn't been booted from the village yet. "Is Popo trying to sell them some ice cream?"
"Not yet," replied Popo, hoping to make some big money from a few secret agents; Nana backhanded the Ice Climber. "I mean...at a later time."
"Those Turks look like they're up to no good," Dante said to Banjo and the Inklings, as he looked around to see if the Turks were nearby. "What business do they have at the Olympic Village?"
"Guys, why are we dissing on the Turkish athletes?" Don asked the others, acting as if he was the beacon for world peace. "Is Turkey planning to declare war? What's with all the hubbub?"
"Um...why is he here?" the male Inkling asked as he pointed at Don, who was beginning to wonder if Turkey was now some kind of new global threat. "Is he new to the gang?"
"He's our plus one...for today," replied Dante as he patted Don on his back. Don, feeling somewhat appreciated, gave the goofiest smile possible. "He'll be our mascot! Olympic mascot."
"Cool. So we are still selling ice cream? Or are we just gonna spend our time in Tokyo spying on the Turks?"
"Dante thinks they're a threat, so it looks like the Turks are our priority," replied Sonic, as the ice cream gang now had to put selling ice cream on hold until further notice. "Let's see if they're still in the village."
Mario returned to his home, where Peach was preparing a small little brunch. Everyone looked towards Mario, sensing that the plumber had a big announcement to make. Which he did.
"We'll be having a basketball scrimmage outside," announced Mario as both Spyro and Wayne feared for the worst, both for different reasons. "I expect-a some participation..."
"I'm out," said Wayne, making sure to skedaddle out of Mario's house before Mario would ask him if he would be playing in the scrimmage. Mario snapped his fingers in disgust as he watched Wayne exit his house.
"You're not playing, are you?" Fred asked Mario, getting a good look at how short the plumber was while also considering the average basketball player's height. "Aren't you a little short to play?"
"Well, if David killed-a Goliath..." replied Mario, trying to make a point - only to somehow lose his train of thought along the way. "...yes, I will-a be playing."
"Do you need your pair of goggles when you're out there playing?" Peach asked Mario, who gasped in shock as he believed his own wife was throwing shade. "Since you kept missing shots when you played on that cruise ship."
"Like I told-a you, Peach, the wind was messing up-a my shot. Under normal conditions, I could've went-a off like Pistol Pete."
"Nice to know that you have an excuse for everything," smirked Hunter, as Mario wanted to fire back at the cheetah but didn't know what to say. "Oh, oh. You can dish it out, but you can't take it." Hunter started acting like a chicken, as he clucked and danced around.
"Getting dissed by Hunter of all people...how sad," remarked Spyro, as he noticed how red Mario's face was getting. "You're just gonna take that, Mario?"
"Princess-a Peach...get my goggles," Mario commanded his wife, who ran upstairs to retrieve her husband's eyewear. Fred was suddenly intrigued by Mario's newfound demeanor.
Spyro: I know it's basketball, but...Mario's gonna die out there. He'll find a way.
Since it was the Olympics, Master Hand had a few athletes he had his eyes on. Many of the athletes, after they were done with their events, had to return home due to the protocols in place. But Master Hand felt that it was wrong, only because the athletes never really had a taste of the Tokyo lifestyle.
So, to make some "amends", Master Hand asked Mega Man to bring two athletes to the mansion via the teleportation device. He was with the blue robot in the teleportation room, as Tom Nook took a peek inside.
"You want the female swimmer too, Master Hand?" Mega Man asked the giant hand, as Tom Nook looked around inside the room and saw one guy sitting against the wall just chilling. He was on his phone, keeping to himself.
"Yes - you know the one that I'm referring to," replied Master Hand, before turning his attention to the guy that was noodling around on his phone. "Happy to be back in Tokyo, friend?" Master Hand asked.
"...I guess," answered the guy on his phone - an Olympic swimmer whom we will call Remel. He had some rather magnificent tattoos down his left arm. "Didn't expect to return this soon...if at all."
"What is that Master Hand plotting...?" Tom Nook whispered to himself, as Mega Man plugged in the coordinates and revved up the teleportation device. The tanuki kept his eyes peeled, until...
"Hey, Tom Nook!" Pit loudly greeted the tanuki, waving to him as he came down the hallway with Joker. Tom Nook gave Pit a bug-eyed look, worried that Pit might be blowing his cover. "You wanna try out my newest curry?"
"Shh!" Tom Nook shushed Pit, who came over to the tanuki along with Joker. Just what Tom Nook needed, some unnecessary company. "Aren't you two supposed to be working at the cafe?"
"We were working there a while ago," replied Joker, who was sounding a little defeated. "But Rodin's maid cafe took many of our customers." Who knew that maids were such a huge draw?
Joker: It's quite a shame that maid cafes are such a big thing in Japan. Kinda shows how perverted the Japanese men are. Thankfully, I like to think of myself as an exception.
The teleportation device was done doing its thing, and there was a female swimmer was standing on the teleportation pad, understandably looking confused. Master Hand was doing his darndest to hold in his excitement.
"Um...what?" the female swimmer questioned, having a very understandable reaction to be teleported to a mansion against her will. We will call this female swimmer Genevieve.
"Hello there, my name is Master Hand," Master Hand introduced himself to Geveviene, getting a little too close for comfort. "I like you."
"Okay...nice to meet you, Master Hand." Genevieve would look past Master Hand, feeling relieved to spot a familiar face in Remel. "Where am I?"
"Glad you asked! You're back in Tokyo, Japan. This is my mansion, which I moved close to the village just for the Olympics."
"Sounds like a big, fat lie," snarked Remel; if he wasn't such a prized guest, Master Hand would've badmouthed him for sure.
"...anyway, have you and your friend ever experienced Tokyo? Did you ever go into the city, taking in all the sights and sounds? Ever wanted to know what's it like to visit a traditional Japanese temple, to shop inside an anime store, to..."
"No thanks - I'm good," replied Geveniene, as Master Hand gasped out of complete shock. "We've had enough fun in Tokyo during the Olympics as it is."
"BLASPHEMY! Sure you had fun, but you deserve much more. How would you like to go on a tour around Tokyo?"
"Do you had a tour guide for some tour?" asked Remel, hoping that Master Hand would answer no just so he could go back home quicker.
"Do I?" Master Hand knew just the right person to ask, as he looked down at Mega Man. "Mega Man, how would you like to do the honors?"
"Hold that thought, Master Hand!" shouted Pit, as he pushed Joker inside the teleportation room and presented him to Master Hand. "Why not ask the guy who used to live in Tokyo?"
"Of course! Joker knows all the ins and outs of Tokyo, and the in-betweens as well. So, Joker, how would you like to lead these gold medalists on a tour around Japan? And you better say yes, or else..."
"Never signed up for this...but I'll take a crack at it," replied Joker, only agreeing to be a tour guide just to save himself some trouble. "Hope we won't get busted or anything."
"Now if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to," addressed Master Hand, as the still peeking Tom Nook was ready to make his move. "Have fun, you all! Ta-ta!" And with that, Master Hand vanished, as Tom Nook left the premises.
Corrin came through for Mario, as he recruited enough people to play for his team. But rather than asking anyone if they were actually interested, Corrin just gathered a bunch of people and expected Mario to pick out his teammates. Aside from Link and Cloud, Mario was in the living room with the folks Corrin had brought in.
"Are-a we ready for the game?" Mario asked those in his living room, as everyone gave a half-hearted response. "I...yeah, yeah. I know, grumble, grumble. But you would follow me to the ends-a of the earth, grumbling all the way. Like that, uh, dwarf-a from Lord of the Rings."
"Gimli," Corrin informed Mario, as he felt the need to educate the plumber - as well as exhibit his Lord of the Rings knowledge.
"Nerd. That is why you're not-a on the team."
"Just trying to be helpful."
"'I'll help, Elwyn Dragonslayer, uh, ten points, power sword,'" Mario mocked Corrin as he spoke in a nerdy tone while swinging an imaginary sword around. Many of the others laughed at Mario's nerd impersonation.
"That's him, that's totally him," giggled Link, as everyone was laughing at Corrin's expense. Corrin could do nothing but look down at the floor.
"Okay, so, let's put together a starting line-a up, shall we?" said Mario as he looked around at the folks in the living room before his eyes fell upon Rodin. "Rodin, of course."
"I'm sorry?" Rodin frowned at Mario as he angrily tossed his cigar onto the floor. Wasn't a wise move to tick off Rodin. "Whaddaya mean, 'of course'?"
"Um, what do you play? Center?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Uh, I don't know. I don't remember saying that."
"Uh, I heard it," Link spoke up, not wishing to throw Mario under the bus but willing to hold the plumber accountable.
"Well, people hear a lot-a of things, man. Um...other starters. Me, of course. I heard it that-a time."
"I'd like to play if it's just for fun," volunteered Aerith as she raised her hand. "I always wanted to play basketball." Not sure of why Aerith was even here, Mario straight-up ignored the flower girl.
"Um...Yeah. Who else? We have Link. We have Cloud. Never played-a basketball, right? Untested. Willing to prove-a himself now. A lot of passion, a lot of heart."
"But, I'm getting paid for doing this?" inquired Cloud, wanting some kind of compensation for following up on Mario's shenanigans. If Cloud had a dollar for every time he had to follow up Mario, he'd be a millionaire by now.
"Yes, this is business. The, uh, the business of team-a building and morale-boosting. Uh, who else?"
"I can help out if you need me," volunteered Shulk, always willing to lend a helping hand no matter the occasion.
"I will use your talents come base-a ball season, my friend. Or if we box."
"I have a sports bra," Aerith said to Mario, who refused to believe the flower girl. Mario wouldn't accept lying as a means to get on his team.
"No, no, ridiculous. Let me guess, you practice on the hoop-a in the driveway, too."
"Mario, look!" Corrin called out to the plumber, as he balled up a piece of paper and tossed it into the trash can. The prince wanted to impress Mario, but instead, he missed the trash can by a few inches. Should've shouted "KOBE!" before making his shot.
"Close. Alright, uh...me, Rodin, Jim, Cloud, and Corrin. Sorry, Aerith."
"Yes!" Corrin celebrated finally being on Mario's team as he pumped his fist. But the prince wasn't satisfied just yet. "Can I be team captain?"
"No, I'm the team-a captain."
"Can I be the team manager?"
"No, I am the team-a manager. You can be the assistant-a to the team manager."
"Assistant team manager?" Having enough of Corrin's nonsense, Mario left the prince's question unanswered as he left the living room. Corrin followed after the plumber. "I can be the best assistant team manager ever! Give me a chance..."
Not wanting to be anywhere near Master Hand, Wayne opted to stay as far away from the mansion as he possibly could. He would run into one of his teammates in Jamal near the tower, who was having a standoff with Team Rocket.
"I'm telling guys right now, you need to leave," Jamal warned Team Rocket, remembering the trouble that the trio caused during the Christmas party back in episode 53. "Nobody wants you here!"
"Jokes on you, mister - everyone respects us now!" Meowth fired back at Jamal, who was holding in his laughter. "Heck, we even live at the mansion now!"
"If by 'everyone' you mean some imaginary people, then yeah, I could see it. Y'all should stop being so delusional." Having seen enough, Wayne decided to step in and intervene.
"Lay off of them, bro, they're telling the truth," Wayne said to Jamal, as he stepped in between his teammate and Team Rocket. Wayne never expected to be defending Team Rocket, but he has done stranger things. "Master Hand really let them live at the mansion."
"He did? Seriously?" Jamal was baffled, as he looked at Team Rocket with a perplexed look. "Was Master Hand on drugs or something?"
"No, but those weirdoes managed to win him over somehow. Guess you could say that it was a huge personal achievement for them..."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Jessie frowned at Wayne as she shook her fist at the basketball player; James had to restrain the redhead. "Who are you to call us weirdoes?!"
"Settle down Jessie, you wouldn't want to get on his bad side..." James did his best to soothe Jessie, carrying her away as he and Meowth retreated. Jessie was still angry at Wayne, yelling and shaking her fists.
Meowth: *whispering* Jessie is the queen of taking things personally. Just the smallest insult or name-calling is enough to send her into a raging fit. I have to keep my voice low because if Jessie overhears me, it will be my end...
"Sup fellas?" Pit greeted Wayne and Jamal as he showed up along with Joker and two swimmers, Genevieve and Remel. "Man, that Team Rocket is something else, aren't they?"
"You two back in Tokyo?" Wayne asked Genevieve and Remel, who both nodded their heads. Wayne could tell by the swimmers' faces that Master Hand brought them over against their will.
"I'm taking these two on a tour throughout Tokyo," Joker explained to Wayne and Jamal, not expecting either basketball player to be fully interested. "You two interested?"
"A tour throughout Tokyo, huh?" asked Jamal, finding himself slightly intrigued as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Is this tour even authorized?"
"Authorized by Master Hand!" exclaimed Pit, as the thought of Master Hand authorizing the tour gave Wayne a whole lot of pause. "That has to be good for something, right?"
"Hold on, what's this I hear about some tour?" asked someone from the men's basketball team, Lindy, as he came over with his camera. "All of y'all going into the city?"
"Yep! You can hop on board. Feel free to bring that camera, too." That was all Lindy wanted to hear, as he was instantly sold on the tour "We could use some video footage."
"My man!" And just like that, Lindy was now a part of the tour "You two coming or what?" Lindy asked Wayne and Jamal, who were both weighing their options.
"This would keep me far away from Master Hand..." replied Wayne as he thought over his decision for a few seconds, before finally making his mind up. "...yeah, sure, we'll go."
Mario was already in the mood for his basketball game against Team USA, exhibiting a few basketball moves in the comfort of his living room - despite having no basketball. Zelda, who came over to Mario's house, saw Mario doing his thing and tried her hardest not to judge him.
"Off the back-a board!" exclaimed Mario as he shot a balled-up piece of paper at Zelda; it bounced off of Zelda's head.
"Please don't throw garbage at me," Zelda warned Mario, as she was trying to have a conversation with Peach.
"Oh, Zelda with a zinger. Hey, Zelda, how would-a you like to be our cheerleader today? You know, some, ah, pigtails? A little, ah, halter top, you could-a tie that up. And you know, something a little, just, youthful, for a change. Just-a this once?"
"I don't think so, Mario. Besides, I can't really cheer for you guys knowing you're going to lose."
"I'll do it," volunteered Link, fancying himself as a male cheerleader. He didn't have that much pride on the line to sacrifice. "Wear a little flouncy skirt if you want, and..."
"Yeah, I bet you would," responded Mario; having one cheerleader was better than none. "Just try not to be too gay on-a the court. And by gay, I mean, um, you know, not in a homosexual way at all. I mean the uh, you know, like the bad-at-sports-a way. I think that goes without saying."
"Maybe Viridi would cheerlead," suggested Zelda, believing that Viridi had the right amount of spunk to be an effective cheerleader. Mario snorted at the thought.
"I'll do it," volunteered Aerith, as the thought of the flower girl being a cheerleader unnerved Mario for some strange reason.
"Yikes, that's worse-a than you playing..." Mario voiced his displeasure, only to realize that he couldn't say no to Aerith. Not when Cloud was around. "...because we need you as an alternate in case some-a body gets hurt. That's where we need you. Blessed-a be those who sit and wait. You made it. Suit-a up, you're on the team! Alright, cool! Very good."
There was a knock at the back screen door, and Mario ran over to see who it was. The plumber opened the screen door and saw someone from the men's basketball team, Edrice.
"Oh-oh. Oh-oh! A spy from-a the basketball team," Mario said when he saw Edrice, who looked like he wanted absolutely no trouble. "Trying to figure out our plays, huh, man?"
"Just looking to see if you had a phone charger," Edrice innocently replied as he held up his phone. His battery was running low. "But since you wanna act that way, I'll be going..."
"Oh ho, oh, he's-a running." Mario watched as Edrice ran away in retreat when in actuality the big guy was just walking away peacefully. "He's running. He's running, but he can't hide-a because you know what? Two o'clock, you better bring your 'A' game. Because me and my, uh, posse guys are gonna be in your face. Right-a in your face!"
"Why don't we make it more interesting?" Edrice stopped and turned around at Mario, looking to make a deal. "Loser buys dinner at that cafe."
"Whoa-ho! I like the way you think. You know what, I'm gonna take that one step-a further. Loser has to work-a as a maid at the cafe."
"No, that's not as much fun. But you know what? You're on."
"Okay. Cool, you're on." With the challenge now in place, Edrice walked off of Mario's patio and left the premises. Mario saw Corrin standing next to him, eating a slice of bread, and knocked the bread out of the prince's hand. "Don't screw-a this up, Corrin..."
Mario: Classic beginner's mistake, eating before a game.
The ice cream gang was snooping around the Olympic village, on the search for the Turks. With them was Don, who was feeling very uncomfortable with the task at hand.
"Why are we chasing after the Turkish athletes? " the Slovenian basketball player questioned, as he was now regretting his decision to leave his room. "What have they did wrong?"
"It's not the Turkish people we're after, you bozo," replied Dante, looking out the window as he kept his eyes peeled for the Turks. The group entered the shopping complex of the village, where they were stopped by one of the workers.
"Hello, are you all volunteers?" the worker asked everyone except for Don, as Popo looked around to see if he brought any ice cream with him. Now would be a great time to sell ice cream just to get out of dodge.
"Uh, yeah, we signed up just a few minutes ago," replied Sonic as he looked around inside the shopping complex, for any signs of the Turks. "We just came here to shop."
"Well, in that case, I'll be out of your way. Enjoy yourselves!" So the worker walked away, but the ice cream gang was done with her just yet.
"Wait, ma'am, before you go...have you seen three government agents in black suits?" the female Inkling asked the worker, who stopped in place as she jogged her memory.
"I might've spoken with them before you came; I think they left the village after our conversation. They were doing an investigation, they said."
"That's all we needed to know, thanks," Dante thanked the worker, allowing her to leave the premises. "Let's move, people!" Dante and the others left the shopping complex, as Don just stood there befuddled.
"Wait, are we looking for Turkish athletes or government agents?" asked Don, before he followed the ice cream gang out of the complex. "Do you even know who you're looking for?"
One would expect the game between Team Mario and Team USA to be taken place at the mansion's basketball court...but apparently, that wasn't the case. To make sure that Tom Nook conducted his business without interruption, Mario asked Toad to take his team, the willing members on the men's basketball team, and the spectating residents to a random basketball court in Tokyo.
As expected, Team USA was loaded. Tom and Armani were the guards, Khash and Houston were the forwards, and Edrice held it down at the center position. Randall was the only Team USA player serving as a spectator. Team Mario, on the other hand, had Mario, Link, Cloud, Rodin, and Corrin - with Aerith as the sixth man. Talk about positionless basketball.
Armani: We were supposed to play on that basketball court outside the mansion, but Mario had the game moved to this random court in downtown Tokyo. Said he wanted to eliminate "home court advantage". Either way, we're going to be in so much trouble.
"Hey, there he is! Secret-a weapon!" Mario cheered when Rodin joined Team Mario on the court after he was through with his smoke break. "Alright, guys, come on, let's bring-a it in! Here we go! Okay, listen, this is just going to be a friendly game, right? We are all on the same-a team here, the Mario team. Of course, if you lose, you're banned-a forever. That's a joke. Okay, let's do it!"
"Have a good game man," Link said to Tom, who was getting himself prepared for the basketball game. Nothing wrong with a little friendly banter.
"Yeah, you too," replied Tom, startled to see Link not playing in his tunic. Seeing the Hylian out of his tunic was a strange sight of its own. "Should be fun."
"Alright, everyone stretch-a out a little bit," Mario advised his team, as he started stretching; the others followed suit. "Stretch it. Full stretch. Cloud, you wanna stretch?" Mario looked over at Cloud, who was the only person not stretching.
"I stretched before I came," replied Cloud, although he hadn't done a single lick of stretching at all. Just didn't have the willpower to do it.
"Okay, Cloud, you have the big man," Mario discussed the game plan with his team, as he brought Cloud's attention to Edrice. He believed that Cloud had enough size to handle Edrice, despite how lean he was. "I have-a Khash."
"Really? I thought I'd take one of the forwards," said Link, seeing that Mario didn't have enough height to handle either Khash or Houston.
"Actually, I think Khash is their best-a player. Presumably. So, Corrin, you uh, have the light-skinned guy. Uh, who else we got...um...okay, alright, you guys."
"Okay, we'll be skins!" exclaimed Corrin as he tried to take off his top armor. It was a lot harder than he imagined.
"Aw, come on Corrin."
"What? Shirts on or off?"
"On. Just leave-a it on."
"You sure?"
"Yes. Uh, Zelda?" Mario looked over at Zelda, who was sitting among the residents in the stands. "You kind of have your foot-a in both camps, why don't you do the uh, jump ball?"
"Foot in both camps? Is it because I doubted that you guys would win?" Zelda questioned Mario, who took the basketball and tossed it to the princess. Zelda caught the ball, before letting out a sigh. "Let's get this over with..."
So Zelda stood front-and-center in the middle of the court, as the teams on both sides. Cloud and Edrice were both ready for the jump ball. Zelda tossed the ball up in the air, and Cloud won the jump ball as he miraculously beat out Edrice. Cloud then tossed the ball to Rodin, who was showing off some...very interesting dribbling form.
"Rodin! What?!" frowned Mario, extremely beside himself as he watched Rodin struggling to dribble the ball down the court. "You gotta be kidding me!" Taking advantage of Rodin's basketball ineptitude, Khash stole the ball from the demon went in for a lay-up.
"Oh...here we go!" exclaimed Ike, with the crowd cheering after Team USA scored the first points in the game. When Cloud tried to inbound the pass, Tom stole the ball and passed it to Houston, who shot the ball and mailed it in.
"Who's on him? Somebody get-a him!" Mario was getting real shouty as he pointing at Houston, while his team got back on offense. After Link missed a shot, Armani grabbed the rebound and ran down the court on a fast break that led to an easy lay-up.
"Yeah!" the crowd cheered, as Mario stared at them in heavy disbelief wondering whose side they were on.
"That's what I'm talking about!" exclaimed Khash as he and Armani exchanged a high-five. Team USA was on a roll.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Over here," Mario called out, as he was standing behind the three-point line. Link saved the ball from going out of bounds and passed it to Mario, who shot the ball. "Here we go. Three!" Sadly, Mario missed his shot, and Edrice grabbed the rebound. "Let's-a go to the zone! We're going to zone!"
"De-fense!" chanted Corrin, before he clapped his hands together to get his team in the mood. "De-fense!" Mario eventually joined in on the chant as Team Mario got back on defense, as Armani scored at the basket a few seconds later.
"Well done, team," Randall commended his Team USA teammates, as he held out his hand for some high fives.
"Who's got Khash?" asked Mario, as Link did a behind-the-back move around Kash for the basket. The crowd cheered in response.
While his teammates were either playing basketball or touring Japan, Lamonte went inside the maid cafe that Rodin asked to be built. Even with Rodin being away, the cafe was still being run effectively thanks to the maids - Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang.
"Welcome home, master!" Weiss greeted Lamonte, who was bugged out by the prospect of being addressed as "master" by a blue-haired girl wearing a French maid outfit. "Just a party of one?"
"Girl, I know you did not just refer to me as master," Lamonte frowned at Weiss, as he was staring some trouble in the maid cafe. Christopher and Wilder, who were estill in the cafe, looked towards the entrance and spotted their teammate.
"W-Would you still like to be s-served?" Weiss found herself intimidated by Lamonte, who judging by the mean look on his face wasn't down with the Japanese maid cafe hospitality. "We have fried rice..."
"No thanks, I'm not hungry." Turning down Weiss' offer, Lamonte walked away as he looked for a place to chill in the cafe. He suddenly bumped into Falco.
"Whoops, my bad," Falco apologized to Lamonte, as he seemed like he was in a bit of a rush. "I was busy looking for the restroom. If they even have one..."
Falco: Can you imagine building a maid cafe, and not having a stinking restroom? Guess it kinda makes sense. The kind of dudes that fetishize this Japanese maid culture probably don't use the bathroom, to begin with.
"Wait...aren't you from the men's basketball team?" asked Falco as he pointed at Lamonte, who smiled in appreciation. "You like to rap, is that right?"
"Yes sir," replied Lamonte, only for Falco to give him a business card. Lamonte looked at the business card and saw Star Records' name on it. "What's this?"
"Star Records. Best record label in the world, baby. Give us a holler when you feel like it." Falco walked away, as Lamonte looked at the business card in his hand with some intrigue.
Falco: Yeah, I'm still not over about Gex. Fox has taken it a lot more personally than I have, probably because he threw his wife and kid on the side. I wouldn't know since Katt likes to be difficult about the future. But even despite what went down with Gex, we still have a void at Star Records to fill. You know what they say...you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Still can't forgive Wayne Gretzky for stealing that quote from me.
Team Mario was keeping things close with Team USA, and it was despite their faithful leader, Mario, being a negative asset on the court. Not only was Mario being a ball hog, but he also refused to play defense. To add further insult to injury, the plumber also had a highly suspect shot selection, as he missed a completely unnecessary half-court shot.
"Aw, come on!" growled Mario, who thought for sure that his shot was going in. "What is wrong-a with me today!? Usually hit those." Luckily for Mario, Corrin grabbed the rebound and scored, although Mario now had some bad memories of episode 10. "Corrin, I was open. Alright, let's-a go."
Team Mario hustled back on defense, as Team USA got the ball back. Houston was driving down the lane with the ball, and he bumped into Mario to get around him.
"Okay, foul," shouted Mario, calling the foul as he momentarily paused the game. Houston looked confused, not knowing what the foul was or if he even committed one in the first place. "Charging. Charging. That's a foul."
"That wasn't a charging foul, but okay," responded Houston, as he shrugged his imaginary foul off. Not the worse foul he'd been called for.
"Okay, I'll take-a the free throws." Mario stood behind the free-throw line, bouncing the ball as he got himself in the groove. The plumber missed the first free throw as the ball sailed over the net, much to his chagrin.
Mario: When I am playing hoops all of the stress-a and responsibility of my life-a just melts away. It's gone, I'm in the zone.
Even though he had missed the first free throw, Mario could always redeem himself on the second. So the plumber shot the second free throw...but he missed that one as well.
"What is wrong-a with me today?!" wondered Mario, as Team USA got the ball back and scored. Even on a different court, Mario still had no game.
Mario: Who am I? Am I Mario I don't know…I might just be a basketball machine. Do I have a nickname-a on the court? Well, The Answer would be nice, but it's taken. So, uh, probably The Question. The Answer dishes-a to The Question. The Question back to The Answer. Answer over to The Question. The Answer, whew. *makes shooting motion* Three-a points. The Question, whew, whew. *makes shooting motion* Six-a points. Nothing but net. Question, who's the best-a player in the league? Answer, The Question. Or the Drunkmeister.
"Link! Link! Link, right-a here, Link!" Mario called out to the Hylian, standing behind the three-point line with Khash guarding him. "Give me the ball! Cloud, cut!" Mario looked away for a brief moment, as he missed Link's pass.
"My bad," apologized Link, as the ball flew into the stands and smacked R.O.B. in the face. Edrice grabbed the ball and dribbled it down the court, before scoring in the paint.
"Here we go!" exclaimed Edrice, as he started celebrating with Houston. Edrice and Houston were doing some kind of celebratory dance that caught Mario's attention.
"Where you at? Where you at?" Houston asked Edrice, dancing his tail off as Mario was looking on with heavy contempt. "You over there? I'm over there."
"That is cool," Mario complimented Edrice and Houston's dance moves, trying to get on the basketball players' good side. Some kind of mind game the plumber believed that he was playing. "Is that like-a the Robot?"
With Mario struggling to keep up, everyone else on Team Mario had to step up and do the heavy lifting. Cloud shot the ball from behind the arc and was amazed that his shot went in.
"Nice! Come-a here!" exclaimed Mario as he gave Cloud a chest bump, only to hit the swordsman in his pelvis. Cloud brushed it off easily.
"Can we just do one?" Cloud asked Mario, fearing that another failed "chest bump" was coming his way. Mario instead started to dance, or at least try to. "That's cool, that's fine..."
Joker was doing his tour around Tokyo, as he led the group of Olympians around the city. Would've been easier for the young man if he didn't do the tour entirely on foot, but he wasn't complaining.
"Joker, why are the Japanese people giving us strange looks?" Pit whispered to the young man, as he saw the city folk staring at him everywhere he went. "Do they plan on killing us?"
"I think they know that our tourists aren't supposed to be out here..." Joker whispered back, as Lindy was happily taking pictures of every attraction that he set his eyes upon. "...that's why you'll take the fall for me."
"I'm kinda hungry, can we get some sushi?" Remel asked Joker, as he felt his stomach grumbling loudly. Should be a sushi shop nearby.
"Uh, in a minute or two." The constant staring from the Japanese people was starting to get to Joker, who felt like ending the tour prematurely. Master Hand wouldn't know about it...would he?
"Isn't that a sushi shop right there?" asked Lindy as he pointed at a shop just up ahead. Joker began to wonder if the Olympians would be allowed inside. "Looks pretty innocent."
"Yes, it does...but looks can kill. Let's head this way, might be a more trustworthy sushi shop over here." Joker tried to lead his group down a road, but he turned around and saw that they weren't following him.
"Everything alright?" Wayne asked Joker, who felt sweat running down his face; Joker hadn't felt this nervous in a minute. "You look kinda wonky."
"I'm fine, it's just...the heat's getting to me, that's all." Joker fanned himself with his hand, as Pit ran over and fanned the young man with both of his hands. "I don't need your assistance, Pit, thank you very much..."
"Just doing my job!" Pit happily replied as he backed away from Joker. Joker, needing to take a breather, sat down in a chair...and saw a man with glasses sitting right next to him. It was Rude, speaking on the phone.
"No, we couldn't find him anywhere," Rude spoke into the phone, and Joker was startled by the Turk's presence. "Doesn't seem like he was anywhere in Tokyo. So you'll have to pick us up, Crypto."
"Crypto? You guys still have him?!" Pit excitedly came over to ask Rude, catching the Turk's attention. Rude looked up at Pit, as he raised his eyebrows.
"Hold that thought, Crypto...I think they're on to us." Rude would put his call on hold, putting his phone away as he got up from his chair and retreated.
"No, Rude, where are you going?!" Pit chased after the Turk, as he was hot on his heels. "I got a million questions to ask about Crypto! Don't ignore me!"
"Pit, seriously?" Joker deeply sighed, as his Olympic tourists came over as they watched Pit run after Rude. "Sorry, you guys - this is very typical Pit behavior."
"Ain't that the truth..." muttered Wayne, having been at the mansion enough times to know how much of a silly goofball Pit was. "...so we still doing the tour, or what?"
"Yo!" someone called out to Wayne and company, as a van suddenly pulled up to the group. It was Nico's van, and the male Inkling was sticking his head out of the passenger window. "You guys need a lift?"
"Can we all even fit inside?" Genevieve asked the others, as Dante opened the van door. Wayne and Jamal saw Don inside the van, wondering how he even ended up there.
"Probably not, but that van would lead us to Pit," replied Joker, as he didn't feel like chasing after Pit on foot. "If you guys do feel cramped, then I apologize in advance..."
"Lemme guess - Pit ran away?" Dante asked Joker and company; Joker nodded his head, as Dante sighed. "Why am I not surprised..."
As you might recall from episode 10, Corrin had a very effective basketball performance, profiting mostly from Mario's poor shot selection. The prince was doing well again today, and he was doing more than just grabbing easy rebounds and scoring.
"Watch your back, Khash," Randall called out to his teammate, who was guarding Corrin...or so it seemed. Corrin was trying to steal the ball from Khash.
"Hey! Come on man!" Khash shouted at Corrin, growing tired of how rough Corrin was with the ball. Corrin took the ball right out of Khash's hands and sprung free as he ran to the basket and he scored the lay-up.
"Yes!" cheered Corrin, as he pointed at Khash, before getting up in the basketball player's grill. "In your face!"
"Yeah, like that counts!" Khash and Corrin looked like they were about to exchange some words, but Mario broke up the two in the nick of time.
Mario: Football is like rock-a and roll, it's just bam-bam-boo. And basketball is like jazz, you know? You're kind of, dupee-doo, dupee-do. It's all down-a beat, it's in the pocket, it's like... *singing* ...dupee-do, dupee-do, dapee-dah.
"Du-du-du-du-dupee-do, de-do-do-do," Mario sang as he dribbled the ball down the court, showing off some very interesting handles along the way. "Du-du-du-du-dupee-do, de-do-do-do. Harlem Globetrotter..." Tom eventually got tired of Mario's singing, as he stole the ball from the plumber and scored.
"Du-du-du-du-dupee-do," Tom mimicked Mario's singing, before handing the ball back to the plumber. "Your ball."
"Alright, time-a out. Bring it in! Come on!" After calling the timeout, Mario converged with his team. "What's going on? You're playing like a bunch-a of girls." Way to be sexist, Mario. Just because you're frustrated doesn't mean anything.
"You know what? Let me take Khash," Link said to Mario, bravely stepping up to the plate. Mario guarding Khash wasn't working out that well.
"Alright, switch. Take it up a notch, come-a on."
The timeout didn't last that long, as play immediately resumed. With Link now guarding Khash, Mario was hoping for a comeback of epic proportions.
"Shoot, shoot it," Mario called out to Link, who was being guarded by Khash. Khash would hit Link in the mouth with his elbow, and Link held his mouth as Mario ran over to the Hylian. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Foul! Naked aggression! Oh, that is...You alright Link? Suck-a it up."
Despite having a busted lip, Link was still playing. He had to be on his A-game if Team Mario wanted any decent chance of keeping the game close.
"Block, block, block!" Edrice shouted to his teammates, as Link found himself in scoring position. Link could turn the tide if he made his shot.
"He's afraid of you now," Armani said to Khash, who was putting down the clamps on Link. Link pushed off of Khash, before making his shot.
"Ouch! Oh, how much-a does it hurt?" Mario taunted Team USA, as he was jeering in their faces. So much for some sportsmanship. "How much does it hurt? Team USA got back on offense, with Armani dribbling the ball, only for Link to push Armani down to the court and steal the ball as he made another shot.
"What the heck, man?" Armani frowned at Link, as Mario was celebrating with Corrin. Cloud and Rodin wanted no part of the celebrations.
"Take it easy," Link responded to Armani, quickly hustling back on defense to avoid any trouble. Tom made a long pass to Edrice, who then made an easy basket.
"Watch the long passes, you guys!" Mario warned his team, as Cloud got the ball. Cloud wouldn't get that far down the court when Corrin strangely stole the ball from him.
"Same team, Corrin," Cloud reminded the prince, who was too much in the groove as he ran to the basket and scored. Corrin cheered, while Mario shook his head in humiliation.
Banjo was driving the van through Tokyo, as he was on the search for Pit. The bear kept his eyes peeled, as he saw the Turks gathered together in an open field near the outskirts of the city.
"Guh-huh!" exclaimed Banjo as he slammed on the gas pedal, driving the van into the field before coming to a stop. The bear parked the van and turned off the ignition, as Dante exited the van in style.
"Jackpot..." the vigilante said as he saw his eyes on the prize - Reno, Rude, and Elena. Everyone else exited the van, whereas Popo fell out onto the ground.
"So cramped in there..." said the Ice Climber, inhaling and exhaling repeatedly - which should be quite impossible for him given that he had no nose. "...it sucks to be so short."
"There they are - the Turks," said Joker, as he saw Reno, Rude, and Elena waiting around for their ride to show up. "But no sign of Pit..."
"Wait...those are the Turks you guys were referring to?" Don asked the ice cream gang, now feeling like the dumbest person in his home country of Slovenia. "Not the Turkish athletes?"
"Thought that was pretty obvious from the jump..." replied Sonic, before looking up in the sky and seeing a spaceship descend to the ground. "...Woah, look at that! A spaceship."
"Now this is some next-level stuff right here," marveled Lindy, as he recorded the spaceship descending on his camera. Just imagine the YouTube views he would get. "Probably ain't part of the tour, but I'll take it..."
"Weird crap like this always happens when I'm with these fools..." lamented Wayne, as he was speaking about the mansion residents. Jamal sympathized with Wayne, fortunate that Master Hand didn't have a man-crush on him.
"No way! Is that Crypto?!" a certain angel exclaimed, as everyone turned around and saw Pit. Pit had shown up at the scene, looking giddy as he saw the spaceship positioning itself above the Turks.
"Pit? Where have you been?" Joker asked the angel, who was wearing some weird-looking Pikachu onesie. "And what on earth are you wearing?"
"Yeah, so I was chasing after Rude, but then I saw this clothing store and they had a bunch of stuff on layaway. I got this Pikachu onesie for free, even though it feels kinda short. Could be a women's size."
"Don't tell me you just..." Joker was about to reprimand Pit, only to stop himself as he pinched the crown of his nose. "...we are so screwed."
Pit: An item on layaway means that it's free for the public to take, right? Is that not what layaway means?
"You must be one easily distracted dude..." Remel said to Pit as she shook his head...before turning back around and noticed that something was amiss. "...wait, did that spaceship just leave?"
"And it took the Turks, too," frowned Dante, who felt like he had some unfinished business with the Turks. "Now we'll never know what those three are up to. If only you hadn't distracted us, Pit..."
"Aw man, I wanted to see Crypto again!" whined Pit, salty that the spaceship had left too soon as he fell on his knees. "Why am I always late to the party?"
"You know what...let's just head back," said Joker, as he went back inside the van, while Pit continued to lament. "We can't be out here like this..."
"Got video footage of the UFO on my camera..." said Lindy as he held up his camera, while everyone else was entering the van. "...anyone wanna see?"
Don: Good to know that no one had a problem with Turkish athletes. Still wish I could've met Hanzo or Genji, though. Maybe another time...
Aerith finally entered the game, as she was subbing in for Cloud. (Who didn't see that coming.) Despite not wearing the right gear for basketball - or even the right shoes - Aerith was still holding her own as she scored a basket.
"Yeah! In, your, face!" Mario cheered as he taunted Team USA, before heading over to Alex who was keeping score. "Alex, what's the score?"
"You are ahead," stated Alex, as Mario excitedly pumped his fist and got back into the game. Link had the ball, and Khash was guarding him.
"Link! Link! Right-a here!" Mario tried to get himself open, only to run into the knee of the guy guarding him, Armani. "Ow! Hold it! Foul, foul!"
"I'm sorry," Armani apologized to Mario, who was holding his face in pain. Maybe if Mario was a bit taller, that incident wouldn't have occurred. "You alright? Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."
"Ow, that hurts." Once the pain subsided, Mario gave Armani an angry look. "What's-a your problem man? Gah, just clocking me for no reason?
"Take your shot man!" Edrice shouted at Mario, expecting the plumber to shoot his free throws. But Mario was in no mood for shooting now.
"No, no, no, no. That was a flagrant, personal, intentional foul. Right-a there."
"No, it wasn't," stated Armani, mystified by all the phantom fouls that Mario was calling on the spot.
"Yes, it was," Mario responded in a mocking tone, as Armani shook his head. "You know what, I'm just being fair."
"Oh, really? No, I just put my knee up..."
"Game over. Game-a over. That is it! I'm sorry, you know? I hate-a to do it this way but, you know, that's just...we're having a friendly game. Just a scrimmage. It's a shame. This is a darn-a shame, but we're like a family here and that just, that won't fly."
"This is a cold pack," Wii Fit Trainer said to Mario as she ran onto the court with a cold pack. The personal trainer had one just in case.
"Here, give me that," Corrin snatched the cold pack away from Wii Fit, showing no manners whatsoever. "You have to break the interior bag." Corrin squeezed the bag, causing it to explode and get ice all over Mario.
"Thanks, Corrin," Mario sardonically thanked the prince, as he wiped the bits of ice off of his chest.
"Wait, what does that mean?" questioned Randall, wondering if Mario had called the game off for good. "What is it, a tie? What's going on?"
"Well, let's just-a say whoever was ahead won."
"That was you," stated Houston, as he caught Mario by surprise; Link really must've put in the work if Team Mario was ahead of Team USA.
"It was us? Really? I didn't, I didn't know. Great, I mean, I guess you guys are working at the maid-a cafe. Suckers!"
"No, no, no, I'm not working in some maid costume," said Tom as he shook his head; if he was dressed as a butler, he would be fine with that.
"Yeah, this isn't happening," stated Edrice, speaking on behalf of himself and his teammates. A bunch of basketball players dressed up as maids would be a very bad look.
"Um...well, you guys, I'm technically the boss around-a here so..." responded Mario as Team USA leaned in close to what Mario had to say...only for Mario to burst out laughing. "...you guys believed-a me? Come on. Dogs, you know, you should know me better than that. Do you think-a that would've been good for your morale? No. Exactly, no. I'm embarrassed it was even that close-a though. For you guys, that is. So...yeah. Good-a game. Word."
Mario: The great thing about sports-a is that it is all about character. And you can learn lessons about life-a even if you don't win. But we did because-a we were ahead.
Tom Nook was in the foyer, having returned from Master Hand's room. The tanuki was supposed to investigate Master Hand, but he couldn't find the giant hand anywhere inside the mansion. It was almost like he disappeared for good!
"Tom Nook!" Dante greeted as he opened the front door, having returned from downtown Tokyo. He saw Tom Nook alone in the foyer. "You look pretty troubled. Something on your mind?"
"No, I'm just perplexed, that's all," replied Tom Nook, as Dante strutted his way inside the mansion. "Master Hand is absolutely nowhere to be found!"
"Nowhere to be found?" Wayne perked up, knocking Dante over as he ran inside the mansion. "Master Hand's not here?!"
"I'm afraid not." Relieved that he could enjoy his time at the mansion in peace, Wayne excitedly ran up the stairs. "Well, someone's excited..."
"Master Hand's gone, huh?" said Dante as he closed the front odor, not sure what to make of Master Hand's absence. "He went out on another honeymoon?"
"I don't think so," replied Tom Nook, as he looked down at the floor. "He brought these Olympic swimmers to the mansion and had Joker take them on a tour around Japan...and then he just left. To take care of some 'business'..."
"Had some business to take care of myself - saw the Turks lurking around at the village. I think they were looking for someone...and they sure looked suspicious doing it."
"What if...they were looking for Master Hand? That would explain why Master Hand might've disappeared. He must know the Turks are aware that he funded some terrorists, possibly..."
"Okay, that's just silly talk. As if Master Hand would wanna avoid the Turks." To be fair, Master Hand was scared of the Turks one time...scared that they were coming for his collection of Fully Clothed Women magazines. "But...I wouldn't put it past him for being involved in terrorist activity."
"Yes, yes! That is a hunch and Mario and I have. You don't think that the Turks picked up Master Hand's scent, do you?"
"Sure would explain why they were in Tokyo...and near the mansion, no less. How about we keep just keep our eyes peeled, for now?"
It was still up in the air as to whether Master Hand funded a bunch of terrorists...and it seemed like Mario and Tom Nook now had a new ally to help them crack the case.
