Author's Note:
2021 was a very hectic year for this story...and as such, I have made a survey! Why? I don't know. But here it is - forms. gle/G17yo73FcEaAnWj86. Put it all together, you know what to do. Also, this is the last of the Christmas episodes this year, and I had to put a lot more "oomph" in this one. Might consider it one of TWO year-end chapters, even. Really shows how much stuff went down in 2021. Guest reviews:
"Interesting that even though the party is for the Melee cast, Kirby is not attending the party, and there are no mentions of Popo and Nana. Can you explain that?"
The Ice Climbers were at the party, though they had no lines. Kirby was either an oversight - or maybe Joker just refused to let him leave his job. Just pick one. Another anonymous review:
"The Smash World Tour Championship is happening this weekend. Will there be some sort of a celebration in the mansion for the character that wins the entire tournament (both Melee and Ultimate)?"
If Joker gets a celebration, when whoever wins the championship will get one, too. But wait...we have a review from Some Smash News:
"Just to add, it's Byleth who won SWT."
Well, then...congrats to Byleth, I guess. Hope they're ready for a barrage of Nerf guns. Our last review comes from David:
"Is the wrestling feud gonna reach its end by the Christmas or New Year's chapter? Will Pauline finally make peace with Cranky Kong and his family for the Christmas chapter? (Maybe also make peace with the Diddy Kong Racing characters too, and invite them to her city as an apology). Asuka meeting the Neptunia characters? (Senran Kagura and Neptunia got a crossover game recently and is coming to Switch next year). Does Pit have Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt merch in his room? Nods or references to Wrestling With Wregret or Wrestlelamia? And finally, what are your thoughts on Bray Wyatt possibly wanting to do movies instead of returning to wrestling?"
The feud may end in the next chapter. Pauline won't make any peace, since I had no room for her. Asuka might meet the Neptunia characters one day. Pit has Roman Reigns merch in his room. No nods or references to either YouTube Channel. And I'm perfectly fine with Bray Wyatt doing movies, he has a creative mind. Especially if his wrestling gimmicks are any indication. The dude sure could cut a promo.
One, and one more thing...Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...or day...or evening...or whatever!
Episode 314: Raffle
It was Christmas Eve, which meant that Christmas was around the corner. It was the day for drinking egg nog, trying on your favorite ugly Christmas sweater, or even doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Which was always stressful - but nothing compared to Black Friday.
Since it was the time of Christmas, a lot of public institutions were closed. Public schools were closed until the next year. Libraries were closed for a couple of days. Also closed were the museums...including the new one that Blathers established in Seattle.
Blathers apparently went into a frenzy when the museum closed down, as he apparently had nowhere to stay. But fortunately for him, Mario and Peach were kind enough to welcome the towel into their home, along with his sister Celeste and his good friend Brewster. Brewster was sleeping away peacefully in the living room, sitting on the couch as Hunter crept upon him.
"Nobody gets into our house...without paying the price," Hunter said quietly as he stared intently at Blathers while wielding an ax. Where on earth did he even get that ax from?! "Not here...not ever."
"Silly Hunter! This isn't your house," Peach said to Hunter from the kitchen, only to be shushed by the cheetah. Hunter was in the zone - one major distraction could throw him off his game.
"You guys made a huge mistake letting this guy in our home...and I'm gonna help you realize the error of your ways." Soon Hunter got close enough to Blathers, as he held his ax up high. Just when he was about to come down with the ax...
"Ah! You found my ax!" gleamed Celeste, snatching the ax out of Hunter's hands. Hunter looked puzzled for a brief moment as the ax was no longer in his hands. "Thank you so much, Hunter."
"Dang it, Celeste! I was just about to maim your brother." Hunter quickly realized he shouldn't have said that, covering his mouth as Celeste looked at him with much concern. "Maim him out of love, I mean..."
Celeste: Now you might think this is weird, but Blathers lives inside his museum. Has his own bedroom and everything, and so does Brewster. He wanted to stay in his bedroom while the museum was closed, but the state officials wouldn't let him. So much for him getting some peace and quiet.
Ruby: Dr. Wily said that the girls and I will be heading back home to our universe after New Year's - after all that new year celebration jazz. Weiss has Hunter's Secret Santa gift, and that gift will be used to get on the right terms with Hunter. Yang and I helped Weiss pick out the gift; Blake didn't do too much. *smiles*
"No, Mario, I insist...put some pigeon milk in your coffee," Brewster said to the plumber while holding a bottle of pigeon milk; Mario was trying to get away from the pigeon. "Give it a try...you might like it."
"You sound-a just like Ryuji trying to convince-a someone to watch his precious little wrestling show," Mario said to Brewster, guarding the cup of coffee in his hands. The plumber slipped on the living room floor and poured some coffee on Blathers by accident.
"Who...HOOOOOO!" Blathers suddenly awoke, his eyes bulging out as the hot steam from the coffee woke him up. "Is the museum open? Please tell me they reopened the museum!"
"Are you not at all worried that Mario spilled coffee on you?" Celeste asked Blathers, who was more concerned about his museum than his own well-being. Seeing how distressed Blathers was, Brewster ran to his friend and comforted him.
"Happy thoughts...think of happy thoughts," the pigeon said to Blathers, gently stroking his wing down the owl. Spyro showed up in the living room, seeing Blathers and Brewster together on the couch.
"Not gonna lie, this is kinda funny to see out of context," the purple dragon smiled, as the doorbell rang. That meant a guest was stopping by, as Hunter tried to grab Celeste's ax.
"Relax, Hunter," Mario said to the cheetah as he went to the front door. The plumber opened the front door, expecting to find a friendly face or two.
Turns out, the plumber was right, as he saw Peony standing by with his daughter Peonia. Peony sure was excited to see Mario again, as if the cheesy grin on his face wasn't a good enough indicator.
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL!" Peony greeted Mario as he picked up the plumber and hugged him real tight. He squeezed Mario real hard to let him know how much he missed him. "So good to be back..."
"It's Merry Christmas, dad," Peonia corrected her father - Peony still knew how to embarrass his daughter, even unintended. "Get it right the next time..."
"You know what they say, Nia - practice makes perfect!" Done hugging Mario, Peony placed the aching plumber back on his feet. "How ya feelin' Mario?"
"I was feeling just-a fine until you hugged me..." replied Mario, spending the next few seconds snapping his spine and other bones back in place. As Mario did that, Peony looked up and saw Peach, Spyro, and Hunter.
"Happy holidays, everyone!" Peony and Peonia entered the house, and the former was especially overjoyed to see Mario's temporary housemates. "I see you got some company for the holidays, Mario."
"Do do you think he likes pigeon milk in his coffee?" Brewster asked Blathers, who was in a much calmer mood. So calm, that he fell asleep seconds after Blathers spoke to him.
"Celeste...I need to see your ax," Hunter whispered to the owl as he stared down at Peony, who went over to check out the Christmas tree in the living room. Peony was enchanted by the ornaments hanging up.
"You like our Christmas tree?" Peach approached Peony, who was looking at the tree from top to bottom deep in thought. "Mario put a lot of effort into it."
"Could use some more gifts under the tree, but I like what I see. That reminds me!" Peony turned around at Mario, who was dreading another squeezing hug from the explorer. "Mario, I gotta speak with you in private."
"Sure-a thing, Peony," responded Mario as he followed Peony into the kitchen. Peonia kept a relatively close eye on her dad. "What's up?"
"I'm in a bit of a pickle..." Peony whispered to Mario, as he brought the plumber in closer to him. "...I can't find the perfect Christmas gift for Nia! All the Poke Dolls back at home are sold out."
"A Poke Doll sounds-a basic, don't you think?" Apparently, Peony didn't think so at first, as the explorer looked up in realization. "I think you should-a do some Christmas shopping...at a real store."
"Dad, are you and Mario talking about me?" Peonia called out to Peony, who brought Mario out of the kitchen and to the stairwell. Such a maneuver only confirmed what Peonia had suspected.
"Tell ya what - how about we go and find a Christmas gift, on an adven-tour?" suggested Peony, as he would greatly appreciate Mario's help. "Just for old time's sake."
"An adven-tour, just to find a gift?" questioned Mario, mulling his options before shrugging his shoulders. He figured that Peony wouldn't let him say no. "Eh, I'm down."
"Superb! But before we go, we'll need a crew just in case. Someone to take out the crazy shoppers those annoyin' store employees that ask you for help. Where can we find one?"
As is tradition, Master Hand brought a plethora of guests to the mansion for the holidays. This year, the giant hand delegated such duties to Anna, who had already invited some folks in the prior episodes. But Anna's work was far from done, for she planned to invite even more guests via the teleportation device. The merchant was at the teleportation room with Mega Man, who was working the teleportation device.
"This should be the last one from the team," confirmed Mega Man, as the teleportation device was doing its thing. After the device was done, a man was standing on the pad, listening to some tunes before pausing his music when he recognized his new surroundings.
"Hold up, this place looks familiar..." the man observed as he stepped off the pad, taking off his Beats headphones. that man was Lamonte, and he was suddenly greeted by Master Hand, Anna, and Mega Man. "Oh boy..."
"Congratulations...you made it," a young man said to Lamonte, in an almost sarcastic tone; that young man was Remel, one of the Olympic swimmers from the Tokyo Olympics. Sitting next to him was fellow swimmer Geneviene, who simply smiled and waved.
"Merry Christmas!" Anna greeted Lamonte, with a welcoming smile. "Welcome back to the Smash Mansion!" Those six words were all Lamonte needed to hear, as he hopped back on the teleportation pad real quick.
"Take me back home," Lamonte demanded to Mega Man, wanting to head back before Master Hand showed up and greeted him. "I said, take me back!"
"I can't take you back - because you have been formally invited," Mega Man said to Lamonte, as he handed the basketball player a program. "Invited to our Christmas party. Hosted by Star Records!"
"Star Records? Fox and Falco running the show? Word." As long as he didn't have to perform a rap gig at the party, Lamonte was somewhat interested.
Fox: The goal was to have a Christmas concert with the idol singers, but that ship already sailed four years ago. Not to mention that hosting a concert involves us spending money on extravagant costumes and junk. With the contract situation with some of our talent, we had to save money the best way we could. That's when Falco suggested hosting a party and adding in a few attractions where our guests would have to give their money. Their selflessness will keep our idol singers on the hook come spring!
"Aw man, they got you too?" a certain basketball player asked Lamonte, as Armani stepped inside the teleportation room. "Guess we got all the fellas reunited."
"As in like, the Olympic team?" asked Lamonte, before looking over at Anna and pointing at the merchant. "Was this your doing?" Anna lowkey gave the answer away, smiling as she looked to the side.
"I might've had a final say," admitted Master Hand; knowing him, he probably requested Wayne to be the first player to be warped to the mansion.
"Apparently, there's even more than just the team," Armani informed Lamonte, who was deeply worried about who else Anna brought over under Master Hand's discretion. "Check this out."
So Lamonte followed Armani out into the hallway, and Armani pointed down the hallway at Pyra and Mythra...who were speaking with Kermit. A lot of big names under the mansion roof.
"Brought some steak with ketchup on it," Kermit showed off his corrupted steak to Pyra and Mythra, who were clearly not huge fans. "I came prepared."
"Nice way to ruin a good steak," Mythra scolded Kermit, who held his head in shame; if Sephiroth thought you were crazy for putting ketchup on a steak, you know you've messed up in life.
"Mythra's horrible as a cook, and even she criticizes your food choices," Pyra said to Kermit, as Mythra slowly turned her head and glared at the Blade. Seems like she couldn't handle the truth. "Hey, you'll get better it, Mythra! One day..."
"Wait, what, how..." said Lamonte, who was at a loss of words, as Armani was amused by his Olympic teammate's reaction to seeing Kermit. "...people living at the mansion now?!"
Perhaps people weren't living at the mansion, but they were staying on the mansion grounds. Last year, Master Hand asked Steve and Alex to build hotels for the guests in town. And this year, the craftsmen came through yet again.
The guest list Anna put together was loaded - Rean Schwarzer Class VII, the Wicked Twisters, Ryza Stout and her friends, Rex's friends from Alrest, the Overwatch peeps, the Talon peeps, Ryu Hayabusa and his lady friends, Team Skull, Team Yell, Pokemon professors, Pokemon Elite Four members, and Pokemon champions were among those living in the hotels. As such, the craftsmen had to make a bit more hotels than usual, but they enjoyed the work regardless.
These hostels were situated on the right side of the mansion - and were even gated off for good measure. Two members of the men's basketball team - Edrice and Christopher - wandered over to the hotels to get a good look at them.
"I see someone took inspiration from the Olympic Village back in Japan," remarked Christopher, as two gentlemen stepped out from one of the hotels. It was Dr. N. Tropy and Dr. N. Gin, who both came outside to get some fresh air.
"Ah, feels great to away from those miscreants," N. Tropy sighed in relief after he inhaled and exhaled. N. Gin was looking at Edrice and Christopher creepily. "N. Gin, what's with that psychotic grin of yours?"
"Look, N. Tropy...big sweaty men!" gleamed N. Gin as he pointed at Edrice and Christopher, who both had every right to feel creeped out. And that was just from how N. Gin looked. "Big men slapping meat!"
"...and this is the part where we leave," said Edrice as he and Christopher made a run for it. However, the two basketball players wouldn't get that far, as they ran into two members of the Reapers game - Susukichi and Tsugumi Matsunae.
"Check it, Tsugumi! These discs crossed over on our home turf," Susukichi said to the teenage girl, who as always was quiet as ever. Who invited these two to the hotels?!
"Who are you calling discs?" Edrice frowned at Susukichi, as he didn't expect to throw some hands this soon. "Is that like a new racial slur or something?"
"He calls everyone he sees a disc," informed N. Tropy, who had been called a disc on more than one occasion. "Still don't know what it means...and I've never bothered to care."
N. Gin: These hotels are so much better compared to last year's! Everything is less blocky than before, and you can actually sleep on the beds! But there's only one teensy-weensy problem with our hotel, in particular...
N. Tropy: Our hotel is overrun by degenerates. And I'm not just talking about those Team Skull scum.
"Not sure if you discs know, but this is our yard!" Susukichi said to Christopher and Edrice, acting as if he and Tsugumi owned the very grounds that the hotels were built on. "We lay the rules around these parts."
"Cool - I'll just see what Master Hand thinks about that," said Christopher, scaring Susukichi as he took out his cellphone. Susukichi was biting his nails as Christopher was dialing a number.
"Okay, okay! You guys win! Let's scram, Tsugumi..." Fearing Master Hand's wrath, Susukichi grabbed Tsugumi's hand and ran away. Satisfied that his plan worked, Christopher put his phone away.
"Can't believe he fell for it...everyone really must be scared of Master Hand." Soon Mario and Peony showed up, seeing N. Tropy, N. Gin, Edrice, and Christopher gathered outside.
"Now this...this is a crew," exclaimed Peony, apparently under the guise that two scientists and two basketball players would be perfect for going on an adven-tour with. "Who's ready to have some fun?!"
"Not us," replied Edrice as he and Christopher hurried back to the mansion; Peony's overexuberance must've scared the two athletes away.
"Ooh, Dr. N. Tropy, can I go on an adven-tour with Mario?" N. Gin asked the master of time, treating him as if he was his dad. He oftentimes did the same with Cortex. "I can bring Dr. Cortex along, and we can..."
"You ruined your opportunity just by mentioning that wretched name," replied N. Tropy as he went back inside the hotel; N. Gin moaned in sadness, as he followed N. Tropy back inside.
"Darn! We'll never find a crew at this rate," grunted Peony, as he was itching to go Christmas shopping right away. Peony's worries would soon go away, as he saw Pit, Kirby, and Incineroar pass by.
"Wonder if anyone would take this shirt," wondered Pit, looking down at the green shirt he was holding in his hands. Peony perked up when he saw Pit and friends, running over to the three.
"Howdy, fellas!" the explorer greeted, wrapping his arms around Pit and Incineroar. Poor Kirby was left out, due to his height. "How would you three like to go on an adven-tour?"
"Don't know what an 'adven-tour' is, but I've always wanted to go on one!" Pit's excitement was a huge positive in the eyes of Peony. "Where are we going?"
"The one place where all of your dreams can come true...most of the time. The shopping mall!"
"The shopping mall? Perfect! I need to buy Ryuji's Christmas gift since he rejected the last one I got him."
Pit: I Felt kinda bad after I had Professor Kukui beat up Ryuji, so I made it up by giving Ryuji this shirt as a Christmas gift. But he turned it down in a hurry. *holds up John Cena t-shirt* Something about this shirt made him irrationally angry.
"What do you think of this crew, Mario?" Peony asked the plumber, who took into consideration the dangers of being around Pit in public. Kirby and Incineroar were present, so it wouldn't be too bad.
"Works-a for me," Mario replied with a shrug, as Peony was elated to hear the plumber's voice of affirmation. The adven-tour was now on the roll.
Since Kermit was at the mansion, you best believe that his rival Thomas was there as well. Thomas was indeed present, and he was speaking with two pirates in the foyer - Captain Syrup, and the charming sky pirate Balthier.
"I'm a pirate too, but only when I'm on the job," Thomas said to Captain Syrup and Balthier, in a measly attempt at impressing the two. "As you can see, I'm not really much of a swashbuckler."
"Could already tell, just by how you look..." commented Captain Syrup, before hearing someone coming down the stairs. The pirate smiled, as she saw King Dedede arriving at the foyer. "...and here comes my love."
"Hope I wasn't late..." King Dedede said lovingly to Captain Syrup as he pulled out an item that brought much disgust to Thomas...a mistletoe. "...late for some lovin'."
"Um...can you please get a room?" Balthier asked King Dedede and Captain Syrup while backing away before he saw the two...yeah. Almost on the verge of throwing up, Thomas and Balthier both covered their mouths as they exited the foyer in a hurry.
Thomas: Got to meet some actual pirates today... *sighs deeply* ...and I got to see who that pirate chick's boyfriend was. Some people are taking that whole "love who you wanna love" mantra way too seriously.
"Phew, that was a close one," Thomas remarked once away from King Dedede and Captain Syrup, feeling relief as his nausea vanished away.
"That was one of the worst sights I've ever seen - and I have seen plenty!" remarked Balthier, hoping that there was some eye bleach somewhere. Coming down the hallway was Lloyd, who Balthier and Thomas recognized. "Oh, hi there, Mr. Irving."
"Hey, Balthier!" Lloyd happily returned the favor, as he was also happy to see Thomas. "Hey, Thomas! Thanks for giving us some of your food products. Really helped out my food delivery service a lot."
"Oh yeah! I forgot you were running one in town. How did that go?" It pleased Thomas to know that he helped contribute to a great cause.
"Not so bad - we raised $10,000. Used the money to build a sauna in this mansion. Wanna check it out?"
"Sure, bud. I can go see if my two pals are interested." Who were Thomas' two pals, you ask? Broski, and...Mr. Big Chest. Oh boy.
Mutoh and the Carpenters were done building the new house, and now was a perfect time for the Wayfinder trio to move into their house. They couldn't move in just yet, as the Happy Home Designers had to move in the trio's furniture. Until then, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua were free to unwind at the mansion for the time being.
"Who's up for some table tennis?" Terra asked Ventus and Aqua, as he and his friends wandered inside the table tennis room. A table tennis match was already taking place...Crash and Juna Crawford, versus Sonic and Altina Orion on the other. A rematch from episode 277.
"Try and not to hit me in the face, Altina..." Juna said to her classmate, as she and Crash kept sending the ball back with their paddles. The ball bounced back and forth across the table.
"Yeah, we don't want a repeat of last time," stated Sonic, as he kept his eye on the ball. Aku, who was either a referee or spectator of the match (or both), saw the Wayfinder trio standing at the doorway.
"Terra, Ventus, Aqua! Welcome!" the floating mask greeted the Wayfinder trio, distracting Sonic and causing the hedgehog to hit Juna in the face with the tennis ball.
"Ow! Seriously?!" Juna winced in pain, thinking of herself as a bad luck magnet when it came to playing table tennis. Or maybe she was just out of position.
"Got any room for us?" asked Ventus, wanting in on the next match; he wanted a partner, one good enough at table tennis to carry him to victory. "We just wanna play for a bit before we move into our new home."
"New home, you say?" Sonic asked Ventus, approaching the Wayfinder trio as if he was about to make a deal the three wouldn't refuse. "How committed are you to this home of yours?"
Sonic: This is the bandicoots' last Christmas in town, as full-time residents. Oh, and I guess it's Cortex's last Christmas as well. I wanna keep my pals in town...but how?
"Well, the Happy Home Designers are moving in our stuff," stated Aqua, expecting to hear from Lottie real soon. "Would be too late to turn the house down."
"But it's never too late," stated Sonic, trying to change the Wayfinder trio's mind. Aqua saw the blue hedgehog's scheme from a mile away. "You can always go back home, you know!"
"Sonic, we have a table tennis match to get back to," Juna said to the blue hedgehog, holding the part of the face where she was struck. Just above the crown of her nose.
"Give me a sec!" Sonic called ut to Juna, before returning his attention to the Wayfinder trio. "If you guys ever change your mind about the house...then let me know." Sonic backed away from the Wayfinder trio, clicking his fingers at them.
"Sure..." responded Terra, albeit without much confidence, for he was aware that Sonic had a plan up his sleeve. "...you guys ready for some table tennis?"
"SANS! WE MUST PLAY TABLE TENNIS TOGETHER!" shouted Papyrus, ambushing the Wayfinder trio as he barged inside the table tennis room. He had brought Sans along, running to the other available table. "IT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!"
"then i hope you're ready for my tennis puns...and backhanded compliments," Sans said to Papyrus, who hissed at his skeleton - nobody hated the puns that Sans would say more than his own brother.
"We'll just wait until a table opens up, I guess..." sighed Ventus, as Sonic and company resumed their table tennis match while Sans and Papyrus got theirs started.
Jin Kazuma was in town with his friend Ling Xiaoyu, and Kazuya apparently wanted to see his son. Kazuya invited Jin, Ling, and Heihachi to his room, as he had something to share with the three.
"You wanted to see us?" Ling asked Kazuya, who was looking at the three with an almost heartfelt smile. It was kind of uncanny seeing Kazuya smiling without any evil intent.
"Bought you all some gifts," the businessman said to the three, as he handed them an individual present. "I highly recommend not opening them until later."
"A gift for each one of us..." Heihachi furrowed his brow, wary about what diabolical trick his son might be pulling. "...you shouldn't have, my son."
"You're right, I really shouldn't have," agreed Kazuya, acknowledging how rare it was for him to find a Christmas gift. "But it's the thought that counts. A gift from me is better than no gift at all."
"Well, we appreciate it, father," Jin said to Kazuya as he patted the businessman on the back in an embrace. Kazuya was smirking deviously at Heihachi, who was frowning away.
Kazuya: Heihachi seems aware that I hadn't turned over a new leaf, yet my son and his precious Ling are still clueless as ever. I've kept them wrapped around my finger, but today is the day that everything will come together...
Peeking through the room was Dante, who like Heihachi had his doubts about Kazuya. He would be joined by the Ice Climbers, Popo and Nana, who came down the hallway eating some cake.
"Dante, you HAVE to try Pyra's Christmas cake!" Popo said to the vigilante; he seldom ate anyone else's treats prior to starting his ice cream delivery service, so this was nice growth from him. "Sure would've tasted different if Mythra had any input."
"Popo, Nana...I'm afraid we might have to work together again," Dante said to the Ice Climbers as he pulled away from Kazuya's bedroom door. He had been wanting to get his hands on Kazuya for a long time.
"Why? Zant is trying to ruin Christmas?" asked Nana, fearing that a Twilight portal might open up somewhere. Twilight portals were always a bad omen.
"No, just a grinch who needs to be put in his place. He's been needing his just desserts...I think it's about time we give it to him."
The mansion was joined by three friends from Haven Springs - Alex, Steph, and Ryan - and Steph was happy to be back in Seattle for the holidays. She was even happier to play some Dungeons and Dragons, which she was doing with Link, Zelda, and Cloud in the living room.
"No, Link, you can't give yourself a thousand hit points right off the bat," Steph explained to the Hylian, who had shown the young woman his character sheet. "You have to roll the dice to determine your HP."
"But what if I end up with a bad roll, and end up with low hit points?" asked Link - for a very medieval guy, Link was acting like quite the noob when it came to Dungeons and Dragons. "I would die on my first turn!"
"You won't know unless you roll the dice," said Cloud, as Link grumbled and grabbed the dice on the table. Meanwhile, Cortex and Uka entered the living room, as Cortex approached the Christmas tree and knelt down.
"If this is truly my last Christmas at the mansion...I must give Tiki this," Cortex said quietly, pulling out a gift from under the Christmas tree. Alex observed Cortex from where she was seated, as Link rolled the dice.
"I wanna roll again..." Link said to Steph in a salty mood, as he had rolled a one. Steph wouldn't grant Link's request, as she scooped up the dice.
"Sorry, but that's how the cookie crumbles," replied Steph, as she put the dice away. Alex was looking at Cortex, who stood up with the present in his hands.
"I will laugh in your face if Tiki turns your gift away," Uka said to Cortex, who made sure the present had the right name tag on it. "I might as well start rehearsing since I'll know she'll do it anyway."
"Go ahead and waste your time, Uka - I won't bother," responded Cortex, as Alex detected the aura surrounding the evil genius. The color of the aura was purple - meaning that Cortex was nervous.
Cortex: Tiki and I have had a history together. Rode on her back when Rathalos attacked, asked her out on a date during Layton's going-away party, and even attempted to propose to her. Multiple times. Only one instance was captured on camera. But if at first, you don't succeed...
"Everything alright, Alex?" Ryan asked the young woman, who was suddenly brought back to the Dungeons and Dragons game. "Sure are interested with that hideous-looking N head over there."
"I heard that!" Cortex snapped at Ryan, as Uka was chuckling at the mad genius' expense. Uka just might consider Ryan a new friend. "Don't make me get ugly on you!"
"I'm guessing you've done that to plenty of people already." Dissed by Ryan yet again, Cortex gritted his teeth as he stormed out of the living room with his Christmas gift for Tiki. Uka followed behind.
"Sorry guys, it...it was nothing," apologized Alex, trying to play it off with a smile. She could still feel Cortex's aura, even when she was looking away. "Is it my turn to roll the dice?"
Peony and his crew were going on an adven-tour, and it apparently took place at a shopping mall where Peony intended to find his gift. The purpose of the adven-tour was to stick together, but Pit had other ideas in mind as Mario and Peony were at an apparel store.
"We'll meet back with you guys up front," Pit informed Mario as he and his friends left the store. Mario was about to speak up before realizing it was too late, while Peony was snooping around for a gift.
"You think Nia would like this?" Peony asked Mario, showing the plumber a unicorn-themed coloring set. Complete with coloring pens, stickers, and even an activity book.
"She's an adolescent-a girl..." stated Mario, hoping that Peony wasn't being serious...but the explorer was being as serious as ever.
"Yes, I know, thanks for the reminder...but do you think she'll like this coloring set?" The pained lack of response from Mario told Peony all he needed to know. "No? Welp, back to square one!" Now would be a good time for Mario to actually offer some assistance.
To drum up some last-minute interest in the Christmas party later tonight - which was about to start soon - Fox and Falco went around the mansion passing out flyers. The flyers were mostly meant for mansion guests such as Tracer, who had just got one from Fox.
"That's very kind of you, love, but I already got one of these," Tracer said to Fox, handing her flyer back to the pilot. "Falco gave me one a minute ago." Fox snapped his fingers in disgust, his own friend beating him to the punch.
"Oh, he did, did he?" frowned Fox as he turned around at Falco...who was forcing a flyer down Zeke's mouth, while Pandoria looking on. Tracer couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, while Fox felt embarrassed.
"Talk that crap again, I dare you!" Falco shouted at Zeke, putting the Crown Prince in a chokehold as he stuffed his mouth. Zeke eventually broke free from Falco, spitting the flyer out.
"I just said that I don't care for parties!" Zeke shouted at Falco, wiping his mouth off as Falco tossed the saliva-covered flyer in the nearby trash can. "Not unless I, the Zekenator, am the main attraction."
"Someone really thinks very highly of themselves," smiled Tracer with her hands on her hips, as Zeke was posing and posturing for the crowd. A crowd that for the most part was nonexistent.
"What did I tell you about being aggressive with others?" Fox scolded Falco, who didn't think he did anything wrong; he was just putting Zeke in his place. "You gotta act more professional."
"Fox, you know me better than anyone," Falco said to the pilot, as a Hylian couple came down the hallway - and it wasn't Link or Zelda. "'Falco' and 'professional' don't go hand-in-hand."
"Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi!" one of the two Hylians called out to the pilots, who both saw Skyward Link speaking to them. Standing next to the Hylian was Skyward Zelda. "We heard that you were hosting the Christmas party tonight."
"We would like to help if it's not too much trouble," added Skyward Zelda, wishing to prove her worth to Fox and Falco. "A party with so many people sounds like a huge undertaking!"
"Well, it's gonna be the mansion's biggest Christmas party yet," stated Fox, thinking that he and Falco would need all hands on deck for the Christmas party to be on point. "You're both free to hop aboard!"
"Make me the main star, I beg of you!" Zeke pleaded to Skyward Link and Skyward Zelda; if Fox and Falco wouldn't give Zeke the green light, then maybe the Hylian couple from Skyloft will. "The party deserves a maestro, a curator of events!"
"No offense, but we want the party to be enjoyable," Skyward Link said to Zeke, hurting the Crown Prince's feelings and making him clutch his pearls. "Nice try though, Zeke."
"So when do we get started?" Skyward Zelda asked Fox and Falco, as Zeke hunched over and walked away in sadness. Pandoria comforted him along the way.
Zeke: How could they not make me the life of the party? My partying skills may be extremely subpar, but I have everything they need and then some! The charisma! The bravado! And even the appeal with the audience! It is foolish of them to think that my mighty presence would drag the party down.
Rather than wait on Fox and Falco, Itsuki wanted to get the Christmas party rolling. The young man stood at the ballroom entrance, where there was a crowd of residents and guests alike.
"Greetings, everyone," Itsuki addressed the first wave of partygoers, anxious to get the party started. "First off, happy holidays to our residents, basketball players...dnd creepy old man."
"That's me, that's totally me," the men's Olympic basketball head coach, Pop, said to Dr. Wily and Professor Rowan, as he embraced his title. If the team was in town, their coach had to be there as well.
"A little heads up before we head in. Our Star Records talent will be running the party attractions. Dingo's Diner brought us some catering. Pyra and Mythra have some Christmas cookies for everyone, and the Ice Climbers will be bringing some ice cream soon.
"Will there be booze?" asked Gerudo Ganon, who had consumed an unhealthy amount of alcohol at last week's party. It was a miracle that his liver was still functioning properly.
"No, Gerudo Ganon, there will be no booze...just soft drinks. Also, K.K. Slider will be in charge of the Christams music, so don't get crazy, Piers."
"Your loss," Piers said to Itsuki, standing with Marnie with Team Yell behind him. Team Yell was surely bound to cause some mayhem.
"Remember - the goal of this party is to have fun. Let loose and enjoy yourselves, and don't destroy anything. Looking at you, Team Yell..."
After saying his piece, Itsuki opened the ballroom door, allowing access inside the ballroom where a bunch of party attractions awaited. Plenty of Yuletide fun was to be had.
"It's party time!" shouted King K. Rool as he as everyone knocked over Itsuki just to get into the ballroom. Poor Itsuki even got stepped on.
"TIME TO GET NAKED!" shouted Banjo as he pulled down his yellow pants and underwear before joining the party. A naked Banjo was truly a sight to behold.
"Let's get groovy, people!" exclaimed Jimmy T, as he danced his way into the ballroom. He was at least considerate enough to not step on Itsuki, who was lying on the floor in pain.
"Didn't even let me announce the start of the party," grunted Itsuki, as a certain bandicoot helped the young man up to his feet. That bandicoot was Tawna.
"Starting the party without your boys?" Tawna asked Itsuki, as she used off the young man's shoulders. "Kinda daring, I'll say."
"I couldn't wait around with their pointless promoting," stated Itsuki, while he fixed his hair. Tom Nook's alleged sons, Timmy and Tommy, brought a stand and placed it near the ballroom entrance.
Timmy: Fox and Falco made us the "ballroom bodyguards". Basically, we only let in those who are on this guest list. *holds up guest list*
Tommy: According to them, almost everyone is invited "except one". What does that even mean?
"Perfect timing, you two," Itsuki said to Timmy and Tommy, who both got themselves situated behind the stand. "No one out of the ordinary is in the ballroom, so you're both good to go."
"We'll take it from here!" Timmy said to Itsuki, who along with Tawna entered the ballroom. The question was...who was this one guest that Fox and Falco forbade from joining the party?
As if Pit, Kirby, and Incineroar's presence outside didn't make it obvious, Cafe Leblanc was closed for the holidays. Enjoying his time away from making coffee and curry, Joker decided to relax in the sauna, and ease his cares away. The young man wanted some peace and quiet, but that was hard to come by with Team Skull and Lucina's second-gen friends sharing the sauna with him.
"Stop twirling those towels, you might hurt somebody!" Bowser shouted at the Team Skull grunts, who were twirling small white towels in the air like madmen. One grunt nailed Bowser in the eye. "OUCH!"
"Fools! This is how it's really done!" Owain said to the Team Skull grunts, twirling his towel like there was no tomorrow. The myrmidon exerted so much energy that he fell to the floor in exhaustion.
"He's down! Get him!" a Team Skull grunt shouted, as he and his mates gave Owain a good ol' street gang beatdown. Perhaps Owain's lowest moment in recent memory.
"Has anyone seen my hairbrush?" asked Severa, unaware that two Team Skull grunts were tossing her brush back and forth behind her. "Once I find out who stole it, you'll be very sorry..."
"You know, I feel kind of bad for contributing to this bedlam," Lucina said to Joker, watching as her friend Yarne was being bullied by a few Team Skull grunts. Yarne wasn't fighting back, adding insult to injury.
"Heh, speak for yourself!" grinned Team Skull leader Guzma, overseeing his cronies with his Team Skull admin Plumeria. "My peeps are acting just how they usually do in their natural habitat."
"I'd hate to see what their natural habitat looks like, in that case," remarked Joker, as Lloyd entered the sauna looking around to see how packed it was. "Oh, great...more company."
"Alright, you guys, you can come on in!" Lloyd shouted down the hallway, beckoning to a group of individuals. Joker feared for the worst, as Thomas entered the sauna.
But since Lloyd said "guys", Thomas obviously didn't come alone. Joining him were his two pals from Tampa...Broski and Mr. Big Chest. One was easily more controversial than the other.
"That's the man who got into it with Cloud," Bowser whispered to Tom Nook, holding his eye as he pointed at Mr. Big Chest. Tom Nook remembered Mr. Big Chest more as the man who farted on Cortex.
"Nice sauna," critiqued Thomas, nodding his head in approval as he liked what he saw. "A little crowded, but...I think we can manage."
"There's a spot over here..." said one of Lucina's friends, Brady, bringing attention to the open spot next to him. Thomas, Broski, and Mr. Big Chest took a seat next to Brady, who was alarmed to be sitting next to such remarkable company.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but is there some kind of bath in this sauna?" Broski asked Samus, who happened to walk by; Samus saw that Broski had his hands over his crotch.
"I wish," replied Samus as she walked away; a creature with a glowing red eye was peering in through the sauna window from outside, staring at Samus...
Samus: He was totally about to pee in the sauna...given who the operator of the sauna is, I doubt there'd be any punishment.
"This place needs some music," suggested Mr. Big Chest, wishing to liven up the mood as he took out his cellphone and Bluetooth speaker. "I got y'all covered..."
"Is it relaxing spa music?" asked K.K. Slider, who was playing his guitar in the sauna. Mr. Big Chest sneered at the hippie dog, ready to blow his expectations out of the water.
"You'll see..." Once Mr. Big Chest found the song that he wanted, he pressed the play button. "...this right here's my signature rap song. It's a banger."
Sadly for Mr. Big Chest, many of those in the lounge would think otherwise. Many folks were cringing through the song, as the words "whole lotta money" were constantly repeated. The only ones that liked the song were Team Skull, as the grunts were vibing to the beat.
"...so what's the name of this song?" Lucario asked Mr. Big Chest, mentally slapping himself for asking a question in which the answer was kinda obvious.
"I call it 'Whole Lotta Money,'" Mr. Big Chest replied with a smile as if he was proud of the musical masterpiece he had crafted. And no, the song wasn't some kind of twisted parody...it was the real deal.
"I kinda like the part where he says 'whole lotta money,'" Guzma said to Plumeria, who rolled her eyes as she found Guzma's words insincere. "Really speaks to my soul."
"Stop lying to yourself," Plumeria told Guzma, as she couldn't stomach any more of Mr. Big Chest's rap song. Joker couldn't stomach it anymore either, as he left the sauna...only to bump into Makoto.
"Oh, Joker! I just saw your text," Makoto said to her boyfriend as she pointed at her phone. She noticed that Joker still had his towel around his waist. "You're not leaving the sauna yet...are you?"
"Not quite," replied Joker, and soon Makoto heard the music blaring out from the sauna. Mr. Big Chest apparently had his song on repeat, and the lyrics were enough to make Makoto cringe.
"What on earth is that awful music?!" Fortunately, unlike everyone in Team Skull (save for Plumeria), Makoto had a refined taste in music. "Is that why you had to leave?"
"That's part of the reason. The other reason is the man playing that song." Joker was fully aware of the kind of troublemaker that Mr. Big Chest was. "I have to find a way to get him out."
Fox and Falco had done enough promotion for their Christmas party, as they took Skyward Link and Skyward Zelda to the ballroom where the party was. To their surprise, the party had already started as there was some commotion in the ballroom.
"What in the world..." Fox crinkled his nose as he ran to the stand at the ballroom entrance operated by Timmy and Tommy. "...when did the party start?"
"Itsuki started the party a couple of minutes ago," Timmy explained to Fox, who should've known that Ituski would do stuff behind his back.
"He thought that you and Falco were taking too long," added Tommy, as he pulled out a guest list with a long list of numbers. "But we've remained faithful to your guest list! Only those who were invited got in."
"Awesome, awesome. Is Itsuki inside?" asked Fox, taking a look for himself as he entered the ballroom. There were plenty of folks in the ballroom, and in the center was Itsuki, speaking with Master Hand's favorite quarterback, Carrington.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking this, or perhaps I'm being too logical," Carrington discussed with Itsuki, as Fox hustled his way over to the quarterback and young man. "But how can this one ballroom hold so many people?"
"Sometimes I wonder that myself," replied Itsuki, as Falco, Skyward Link, and Skyward Zelda caught up to Fox. Itsuki looked over and saw the company that he and Carrington had. "Hey, guys!"
"Very cool of you to start the party without us," Fox said to Itsuki, who was smirking to himself - almost proud of what he had done. "We had a snazzy introduction to give and everything."
"Praising yourselves and roasting Master Hand is a 'snazzy' introduction?" Itsuki shook his head, as Fox and Falco looked to the side. "I read your scripts..."
Itsuki: I don't have high expectations for the Christmas party - or even low expectations! I just expect everything to go as planned, without any trouble. *pauses* Hm, with a comment like that, it sounds like I do have high expectations. Let's just say that I expect nothing. *pauses* Now I'm making it seem as if I have low expectations. I'm contradicting myself!
"THE STAR DOESN'T GO THERE, YOU NITWIT!" Spitz shouted at Dribble, who was standing on a ladder next to a tall Christmas tree in the ballroom. In Dribble's hand was a star, and the cab driver wasn't even at the top.
"Forget you, Spitz - I wanna put my own original spin on this tree!" Dribble barked at his cab buddy, before placing the star in the middle of the Christmas tree. Dribble somehow missed and fell down the ladder landing on his butt.
"See what happens when you try and break tradition?" Spitz scolded Dribble, who was rubbing his buns as he slowly pulled himself up to his feet. "You end up hurting yourself? Talk about karma!"
"Oh yeah, how about you decorate this Christmas tree by yourself smart guy?!" Dribble and Spitz got up in each other's grill, as the cab drivers were feuding with one another. "Since you wanna boss me around..."
"Give someone else a chance to decorate that tree, you two," Itsuki called out to Dribble and Spitz, who both immediately stood up straight as if they were never arguing. "You're making too much of a racket."
"Our sincerest apologies, Mr. Aoi!" Spitz apologized to Itsuki, smiling as he saluted the young man; Dribble followed suit. Itsuki brought Fox, Falco, and the Skyward couple away, leaving Carrington behind, as Dribble and Spitz quickly resumed their beef looking angry at each other.
"Why isn't that Christmas tree fully decorated yet?" Skyward Zelda asked as she pointed at the tree. Geno picked up the stare off of the floor and climbed up the ladder to put the star where it belonged.
"That's the point - it's one of our main attractions," explained Falco, as Geno reached the top of the Christmas tree and placed the star on top. "Decorating the Christmas tree."
"Look around - we got plenty of attractions for everyone, operated by our talent," Fox said to the Skyward couple, who looked around and saw many things in the ballroom that caught their eye. A Christmas karaoke booth, manned by Knuckles. A hot chocolate bar, operated by Mamori. And a Christmas photo booth that Little Mac and was in charge of.
"Is that a mistletoe I spy?" Barbara asked Rayman in front of the photo booth, holding a mistletoe above her and Rayman's head. Rayman feared for the worst, as Barbara tossed the limbless hero inside the photo booth before entering in herself.
"Globox wants to make this a threesome!" exclaimed Globox as he hopped inside the photo booth. Rayman could be heard screaming, though his cries for help were muffled.
"Don't forget to pay after you're done, Globox!" Falco called out to the amphibian, as the Skyward couple gave the pilot inquisitive looks. "Yeah, you gotta pay to use any of the attractions. Save for decorating the Christmas tree."
"Okay, in that case...how about Skyward Zelda and I host a Christmas raffle?" Skyward Link proposed to Fox, Falco, and Itsuki, who were all ears. "Link did say that Christmas was about giving back."
"That is a genius idea!" exclaimed Fox, exceedingly happy that he and Falco brought the Skyward couple on board. "Great thinking! If I could kiss you both, I would, but then my wife would hurt me."
"I can kiss you both," Falco said to the Skyward couple; if Fox couldn't bring himself to do it, his best friend would. "Which one of you wants to go first?"
"We can't have a Christmas raffle without a Santa," stated Itsuki, and fortunately the mansion had a Santa Claus readily available. "Can we trust you two to lure Donkey Kong to the ballroom?"
"I can do it," volunteered Skyward Zelda as she raised her hand, showing how much of a team player she was. "Skyward Link can get some raffle tickets and gather the prizes."
"What she said," said Skyward Link, having absolutely no idea what he agreed to. He was too much of a team player. "Wait, what am I doing now?"
Skyward Link: This might sound awkward, but...can you guys show me how to use the printer? Where do I even print off these tickets?
Aside from Carrington, there were other noteworthy guests in the ballroom, such as B.D. Joe, Kamek, Dawn, Barry, Harvey, and even Excillant's Heroes of Light - Seth, Gloria, Elvis, and Adelle. Adelle was stuffing her mouth with some of Pyra and Mythra's Christmas cookies, which she found left unattended on a table.
"Louie might have himself some competition..." remarked Olimar, marveling at how vigorously Adelle was eating the cookies. Like it was her last meal ever. Meanwhile, Elvis was looking through a book that Sinnoh Elite Four member Lucian would often read.
"Splendid book you have," Elvis said to Lucian as he happily returned the novel to the bookroom. "What other novels do you read?"
"None - that's the only book I read in my spare time," admitted Lucian, as he left Elvis completely shocked. Elsewhere, Seth and Gloria came across a prize crane that had lots of stuffed animals inside.
"Never seen a mechanism like this before," remarked Gloria; the person in charge of and sitting next to the prize crane, Kiria, was too bored out of her mind to explain how the prize crane worked. "How do you use it?"
"You have to insert coins to operate it first," Dark Pit informed Gloria and Seth as he walked past by, basically doing Kiria's job for her. "Got any cash on ya?"
"We have pg," replied Seth as he dug into his pocket and showed Dark Pit a couple of gold coins. That pg came in clutch. "Should cover for all four of us."
"Never heard of this 'pig' currency before, but...at least you got some coins." Dark Pit walked away, as Seth inserted the pg into the prize crane's coin slot one by one. As Dark Pit walked away, he would soon run into Ryuji.
"Dark Pit, my man!" Ryuji greeted the doppelganger, as he was holding something behind his back. Which made Dark Pit pretty skeptical. "You must be tired of Pit talking about wrestling."
"Tell me about it..." Dark Pit was grateful that Joker gave Pit a barista job, only because it gave him a reprieve from nonstop wrestling talk. "...it irks me hearing Pit running his mouth about WWE."
"I know, right?! At least I support a superior wrestling product in AEW. Speaking of AEW, I went to their online shop and found some potential Secret Santa gifts for Daisy! I just need your honest opinion."
"Alright then, show me what you got." So Ryuji pulled out the two items he held behind his back, and both of them were wrestling t-shirts. Each had a different design.
"What do you think of these shirts?" Judging by the look on Dark Pit's face, the t-shirts didn't seem to be that spectacular. "I take it you're not a big fan of either one?"
"One has a woman's bloodied face on it...and the other has a dude being kissed by two other dudes at the same time. You seriously think either one of those shirts will get Daisy into AEW?"
"C'mon Dark Pit, the second shirt is funny! Maybe if you watched AEW, you would understand."
"Yeah, I can't see Daisy wearing either shirt out in public. But if I had to choose, I'd go with the one that has the woman's face on it."
"Ha, I was thinking the same thing! Much appreciated, Dark Pit." So Ryuji walked away, allowing Dark Pit to enjoy the party. On his way out of the ballroom, Ryuji encountered Dr. Eggman.
"Like my ugly Christmas sweater?" Eggman asked Ryuji while wearing his ugly Christmas sweater, which was adorned with Christmas lights. "Acknowledge the drip, from Dr. Drip!"
"Ew, gross..." Ryuji brushed past Eggman, who was left in disappointment as he had yet to hear a positive remark about his Christmas sweater. That was until Carrington came over.
"Alright, Dr. Eggman, I see you!" Carrington gave props to the mad scientist, whose confidence was lifted. "Got your sweater dripped out and everything!"
Ryuji: There's something about an older middle-aged man talking about having drip that's very weird. Leave that stuff to the younger generation, dang it!
Finding no luck with finding a Christmas gift for Peonia, Peony took Mario to the store that Pit, Kirby, and Incineroar were at. It was a sports store, and Pit had found the gift that he wanted.
"Sir, you can't take that wrestling title belt, it's on layaway," the cashier explained to Pit, who had snatched a replica WWE title belt from the layaway section. Sadly, Pit hadn't learned his lesson from Japan.
"It's Christmas Eve; whoever wanted this belt should've gotten it already," responded Pit, as he saw Mario standing by looking disappointed in him. "Do you think this belt would fit around Ryuji's waist, Mario?"
"Oh, Pit..." Mario facepalmed and shook his head at Pit, who wondered what he did that was so wrong. Peony came over to Mario, with a gift that he was sure Peonia would love.
"Ta-da! It's a basketball!" Peony presented an autographed basketball to Mario and company; that autograph may or may be fake. It was probably fake. "This can really get Peonia into sports."
"Playing basketball in Freezington doesn't sound very ideal," Kirby said to Peony, who attempted to dribble the basketball - never mind the fact that it was still in its packaging. "Why not a hockey stick instead?"
"No way! Hockey is too manly of a sport for Nia. And too aggressive!" A hockey stick would make a ton of sense, but much like the basketball Peonia would simply turn it down.
"Peony, it's-a clear that you're terrible at finding Christmas gifts," Mario said to the explorer, who acknowledged that the plumber was speaking the truth as he nodded his head. "How about I lead this 'adven-tour' instead?"
"Well, I led the last one we had...guess I can hand you the reins." Peony passed on his adven-touring duties to Mario, confident that the plumber would lead him to the right path. "Take it away, Mario!"
"Let's go!" cheered Pit as he and his friends and Peony followed after Mario. The angel exited the store with the title belt, but the store alarms did not ring.
"Totally forgot that alarm hasn't been fixed yet..." the cashier grumbled, as she pulled out the store phone and dialed a number. "...hello, security?"
The Wayfinder trio finally got to play a table tennis match...or at least Ventus and Terra did. They were playing a doubles match against Sans and Papyrus, as Aqua stood by and watched as a spectator.
"did you know that tennis players only marry for the money?" Sans said to Papyrus, who was trying to focus as he held his own against Terra and Ventus. "love means nothing to them."
"STOP IT WITH THE PUNS, I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!" Papyrus snapped on Sans, finding himself distracted as Ventus sent the ball flying past the skeleton. Papyrus would squeal with terror.
"Haha, we finally won!" celebrated Ventus, as he and Terra exchanged a celebratory high-five. "Great work, Terra." Aqua applauded her friends' victory, while Papyrus fell down to the floor in bitter defeat.
"one more thing, papyrus...you should just call yourself ace since you keep getting served," Sans said to his brother, who slammed his fist on the floor in frustration. Poor Papyrus got dissed while having to bear another tennis pun. Oof.
"After this game, we should totally switch sides," Juna suggested to Sonic, as she was still playing table tennis with the hedgehog, Crash, and Altina. She now had Altina as her doubles partner.
"If it makes you think you can win easier, then sure," responded a cocky Sonic, tossing the ball in his hand as he was about to start another match. "Don't go crying to your teacher when I cream ya!"
"Why yes, Ansem the Wise, food can in fact attack you! I should know myself, this place was overrun by man-eating stuffed peppers once!"
Before they could start the match, Sonic and Crash were suddenly greeted by this familiar voice. Entering the table tennis room was Cilan, along with an also returning Iris. Accompanying Cilan and Iris were three scientist dudes from Radiant Garden - Ansem the Wise, Ienzo, and Even.
"And these 'man-eating stuffed peppers weren't Heartless, correct?" Ansem asked Cilan, as his regal presence caught the attention of the Wayfinder trio. Especially Aqua's.
"None of them had the Heartless symbol, so no," replied Cilan, before looking inside the table tennis room and seeing his friends. "Sonic, Crash, Aku, and Sans! Hello and Merry Christmas!"
"Cilan! You and Iris actually made it! Awesome!" exclaimed Sonic; the blue hedgehog's attention soon drifted to Ansem, as he pointed at the scientist. "Hey! It's the guy who isn't Ansem but really is Ansem!"
"...apt analysis and observation, Sonic," Terra said to the blue hedgehog, as Aqua slowly approached Ansem. The last time Aqua got to see Ansem was in the Realm of Darkness.
"My, if it isn't Aqua," Ansem smiled at Aqua, happy to be reconnected with the king of Radiant Garden. "Didn't expect to see you and your friends here."
"Same here," Aqua smiled back, as Even was looking rather skeptically at Sans and Papyrus. "I take it someone dragged you out of Radiant Garden?"
"Wouldn't say we were dragged, but a scientist lured us away. With the sea salt ice cream he had, I'd say he got the job done. That Dr. Wily is an eccentric fellow - even more so than Even."
Even: I'm more eccentric than Dr. Wily? Blasphemy, absolute blasphemy! At least I carry myself with dignity; Dr. Wily on the other hand wears baggy jeans! Where is the class?
"Those skeletons look suspicious..." Even whispered to Ienzo, who saw Sans and Papyrus doing nothing out of the sort. Yet apparently, they unnerved Even.
"Why can't you just be nice?" Ienzo whispered back, having repeated this to Even multiple times in different variations since arriving in Seattle.
"So I must ask you, Aqua, who lured you to this city?" Ansem asked the Keyblade Master, wondering if Aqua too was lured by sea salt ice cream. Sure was all the rage in Sora's universe.
"It was Sora's doing," admitted Aqua, as Ansem made a mental note in his mind to speak with Sora later today. "Wanted me and my friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. We've been here ever since."
"About a month," Aku informed Ansem, letting the scientist know how long the Wayfinder trio's stay was. "They stop by every now and then."
"You've been away for that long?" Ansem asked Aqua, wondering what it was that had the Wayfinder trio sticking around. "Who is there to guard the Land of Departure?"
"That's a good question," Aqua giggled nervously while looking down at the floor; Ansem could tell that Aqua was hiding something.
"Perhaps we should discuss some more. Follow me." So Aqua followed after Ansem, as Ansem and the scientists left the room. Sonic appeared suddenly intrigued.
"Sooooo when do we hop in?" Iris asked those who were playing table tennis, anxious to show off her table tennis skills with Cilan. Sonic ran out of the room, without warning. "Yay, an open spot!"
"Sonic!" Juna called out to the blue hedgehog, who showed no signs of coming back. Juna sighed, forced to start a new match with Iris replacing Sonic.
Before he could give Daisy her Secret Santa gift, Ryuji needed another second opinion. So he went to the living room, where he spotted Kermit hanging with his bros - Michael, Cheetah, and the Landlord.
"Personally, I'd throw both of those shirts in the trash," the Landlord offered his opinion on the t-shirts that Ryuji presented, as Ryuji was alarmed.
"You spent your money on that?!" Kermit asked Ryuji as he, Michael, and Cheetah were laughing at and mocking the delinquent. "Man, you're crazy!"
"Says the man who puts ketchup on his steak..." Ryuji muttered under his breath, walking away while Kermit and his boys mocked him. The delinquent went over to Link, Zelda, and Cloud, who were still playing Dungeons and Dragons with the friends from Haven Springs.
"Wait, how did I die already?!" frowned Link, running out of hit points as he was the first among the DD group to have his character die. Today just wasn't the Hylian's day...
"That's what happens when you name your character Earthwind Butkus," replied Cloud, as the others laughed; as always when he got owned by Cloud, Link kept his mouth shut.
"You're not dead just yet, Link," Steph said to the Hylian, giving him a false sense of hope that he might come back and win. "You have to roll the dice as part of a Death Save. But with your luck..."
"Don't mean to interrupt, but which shirt do you guys prefer?" Ryuji asked Steph and company, as he held up the two wrestling t-shirts. Some dubious faces all around.
"Is 'neither' an option?" Alex asked Ryuji, who grumbled to himself as he walked away, sulking. Maybe Ryuji should just consult edgy dudes; he had no trouble with Dark Pit.
"Link, I need your compliance!" shouted Purah as she ran to the table, nearly knocking over the Dungeons and Dragons stuff to the floor. "I need you to run a treadmill to power my machine. Already asked Champion Link."
"Sorry, Purah, but Link is playing a game right now," Zelda said to the Sheikah, as Link rolled the dice as part of his Death Save. Much to his chagrin, Link had rolled a one. "You'll just have to ask someone else."
Purah: Getting a Link to run the treadmill is a win-win, at least for me. Because even if my machine doesn't power on, I get the satisfaction and amusement of seeing a Link tuckering himself out! Many Links have poor stamina, I've noticed.
"Ask him, he's really fast," Michael suggested to Purah as he pointed at Cheetah, who looked at Michael shaking his head no. "They don't call him Cheetah for nothin'!"
"No one calls me that, he's lying," Cheetah tried to dissuade Purah, but it didn't work as Purah grabbed the speedster's hand and took him away.
"Hope you can live up to your name!" Purah took Cheetah away, as Kermit and Michael waved mockingly to their glaring friend.
As the mansion's resident Santa Claus, it was Donkey Kong's duty to entertain anyone in the gaming room willing to sit on his lap. Unlike Doc Louis' method, Donkey Kong idly sat around, patiently waiting for someone to approach him. Wasn't the most exciting way to do it, but it saved the gorilla from speaking in his awfully hoarse Santa Claus accent.
"Tora would also like a personal maid for Christmas!" Tora said to Donkey Kong as he sat on the gorilla's lap, with Poppi standing by. "And a new maid outfit for my Blade, Poppi."
"Santa Claus isn't morally obligated to fulfill your perverted fetishes, little one," Donkey Kong said to Tora, speaking in his Santa Claus voice. One of the basketball players, Wayne, approached Donkey Kong.
"I'm guessing you lost a bet somehow," Wayne smirked at Donkey Kong, who felt humiliated by the basketball player staring at him.
"It's...it's complicated." Soon Cortex and Uka came over to Donkey Kong and company, with Cortex holding his Christmas gift for Tiki.
"Pardon me, but have any of you seen Tiki anywhere?" asked Cortex, who was eager to give Tiki his gift...although Alex's aura readings suggested otherwise. Uka was eager to see Cortex rejected by his crush.
"Tora has seen Tiki...Tiki is very hot!" Tora shouted out of the blue, as Cortex side-eyed the Nopon fearing that he might have some competition.
"Bruh, she is never gonna be with you," Wayne informed Cortex, as he saw Captain Falcon and Nowi as a much more believable item. Cortex stood around for an answer, as Wayne sighed. "I saw her outside..."
"That's all I needed to know, thanks!" thanked Cortex, taking his gift as he and Uka left the gaming room. Wayne walked away, shaking his head, as Skyward Zelda approached Donkey Kong.
"Not now, young lady, one at a time," Donkey Kong said to Skyward Zelda, under the guise that the Hylian wanted to sit on his lap. Skyward Zelda was carrying a large bag in her hands. "Santa Claus likes those who wait their turn!"
"There's a Christmas party going on, Santa," Skyward Zelda informed Donkey Kong, who was already aware of the party. He was avoiding it for his own personal reasons. "And we want you to run a Christmas raffle there."
"Christmas raffle? Yeah, I'm not interested." That's when Zelda poured bananas out of the bag onto the floor, right in front of Donkey Kong. "You can't entice me that easily."
"Master Kohga was crying when I got these bananas from his lair. Probably because he knows, deep down, Santa Claus would reject them only because he's too scared to give back to the little boys and girls he claims to love so much..."
"Santa Claus doesn't like little boys and girls?" a shocked Tora asked Donkey Kong, who was being guilt-tripped by Skyward Zelda. And it was working.
"...aight, you got me," Donkey Kong conceded, grabbing Tora and tossing him away as he rose up from his hair. That wasn't a very Santa thing for him to do. "Just tell me how this raffle is supposed to work."
Aqua met with Ansem in the lounge, where she had told the scientist about her exploits in Seattle and around the world. Sonic crept around the corner, peeking inside the lounge and eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Who will be around to protect the Land of Departure from falling into darkness?" Ansem asked Aqua, knowing how traumatic of an outcome that would be. "Both of your masters are gone."
"I know," Aqua agreed with Ansem, memories of her late mentor Master Eraqus flooding her mind. "So what you're saying is, my friends and I can't stay in this city?"
"Visiting every now and then is fine. As for staying permanently...I wouldn't advise it." Having heard enough, Sonic sped away from the lounge to deliver some news.
The arcade room was jam-packed today, as many folks stopped by to get their arcade game fix in. For instance, Big the Cat was playing on the Dance Dance Revolution dance machine, showing off his (albeit terrible) dance moves.
"Woohoo, I've yet to miss a single move!" exclaimed Big, and there was a reason why he hadn't missed a single move...because Dance Dance Revolution still was out of order. The Arcade Bunny watched Big dance, along with two members of the Wicked Twisters - Sho and Shoka.
"When do we tell him?" Shoka asked the Arcade Bunny, as Big was sweating buckets. It was amazing that Big had yet to run out of breath.
"Let him have this," replied the Arcade Bunny, who was horrible at his job; you'd think he had Dance Dance Revolution fixed by now. "He's been waiting for this very moment."
"Yeah, we'll let this factoring hectopascal be, who gives a digit," said Sho as he and Shoka walked away, looking for an arcade game to try out. "His rhythm is zetta slow, though."
Arcade Bunny: "Factoring hectopascal?" "Zetta slow?" What kind of language was he speaking in?!
Meanwhile, Coco was playing an arcade game with Larry Koopa. It was the Jojo's Bizzare Adventure game, and Larry was kicking Coco's butt...which would've been the case if Coco wasn't good at video games.
"And that's how it's done!" exclaimed Coco, capping off a victory over Larry. Larry was shocked, his character Jotaro Kujo lying on the ground while Coco's character Muhammad Avdol stood reigning supreme.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures..." said Larry, glancing at the side of the arcade machine for the imprinted code. The Koopaling inputted the code while Coco was celebrating, as Sonic sped inside the arcade room.
"Got some good news, Coco!" Sonic told the blonde bandicoot, as Larry stopped inputting the code to avoid any unnecessary suspicion. "Heard that the Wayfinder trio might not be living in Seattle."
"You say that like you secretly despise them," responded Coco, hoping that Sonic wouldn't try to spark some bandicoot-Wayfinder trio feud. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because it means that new house the Carpenters built might be available. With you and your brothers getting the boot real soon..."
"Wanna start another match, Coco?" Larry asked the blonde bandicoot, taking out the code he inputted. He was going to play fair in his rematch - fighting just like how a man should.
"Yeah, I'm game," replied Coco, as Larry inserted two tokens into the coin slot and selected the two-player option. "We'll talk later, Sonic."
"Whatever..." said Sonic, waving off Coco as he left the arcade room. Ienzo was creeping around the corner, likely hearing every word that was said.
"Ienzo, we must leave at once..." said the scientist accompanying Ienzo, Even, as he was disturbed by everyone in the arcade room. "...this place is an absolute freakshow!"
"Would it hurt for you to stop being so judgemental?" Ienzo asked Even, as he had his eyes fixated on Coco while the bandicoot started a new game.
As a father, Corrin felt that was important to teach his daughter Kana the meaning of Christmas. Spreading Christmas joy while having the spirit of Christmas inside of you. The prince would accomplish this goal by having Kana give a gift to Ryza Stout, outside the mansion.
"Merry Christmas!" Kana cheerfully said to Ryza as she handed a gift to the alchemist. Ryza unwrapped the present, which was apparently a toy lightsaber. "That's called a lightsaber."
"This is the strangest sword I've ever seen," remarked Ryza, as she wielded the toy lightsaber to the best of her ability. She was like a sith lord in training. "Feels awfully cheap, too!"
"Press the button...it lights up!" Corrin said to Ryza, who pressed the button on the hilt; the toy lightsaber lit up with a bright red, and Ryza was enthralled. "Only cost eighty dollars. A real bargain!"
Corrin: I had Kana pick from three potential Christmas gifts to give someone. Had her choose between a toy lightsaber, a Harry Potter scarf, and that totally legit Tom Brady jersey I found on the black market. The name was misspelled on the back, but the jersey still felt authentic.
While Ryza was pretty amazed by the toy lightsaber, she would be even more amazed when a flying UFO slowly made his descent to the mansion. The alchemist, Corrin, and Kana moved out of the way as the UFO landed, and the hatch opened. Any guess as to who the pilot was?
"Note to self: never watch American Pie with the blinds open," said a certain lizard, as Gex emerged from the UFO. He was wearing his trademark sunglasses and black suit jacket.
"What's an American Pie, papa?" Kana asked Corrin, who kept to himself as Gex stepped out of the spaceship...only to slip and fall and land facefirst on the ground. A very embarrassing moment for Gex, as he pulled himself up.
"...totally meant to do that. One hundred percent choreographed." Gex spat out some dirt, as he readjusted his sunglasses and suit. "Tell me some good news, my party peeps."
"There's a Christmas party this evening," Ryza informed Gex, who slowly pulled down his sunglasses as his eyes were full of intrigue. "Some 'record label' called Star Records is hosting."
"A Christmas party! Boy, oh boy! It'll be so much fun. It'll be like drinking from a chocolate fountain at Leonardo DiCaprio's..." Gex stopped speaking, as something was registered in his mind. "...did you say, Star Records?"
"Fox and Falco are in charge of the party," explained Corrin, and now Gex found himself in a pickle. Gex knew that Star Records would forbid him from attending the party, given how his negotiations with them turned out.
"In that case, I'll have to conceal my identity just to get in. If only I had brought my masquerade mask...could've had everyone fooled!"
The latest stop during the adven-tour - which was now led by Mario - was a women's apparel store. Which, as the name applied, had stuff for women. Peony had no excuses now.
"Try looking around-a here," suggested Mario as he brought Peony to one of the sections in the store. It was a section consisting of jackets, cardigans, coats, and parkas. Basically, winter clothes.
"How about this?" asked Peony, as he pulled out a black wrap coat from one of the display racks. "You think Peonia would wear this coat?"
"Considering where you guys-a live...I'd say it's very practical. I think you found the perfect-a gift for your daughter!"
"Excellent job, Peony!" commended Pit, as he applauded Peony; Kirby and Incineroar applauded as well, though they didn't have the slightest clue as to why.
"Let's go check-a out," said Mario, as he led his crew to one of the available counters. "I'll pay for the coat." Peony handed the wrap coat to the cashier at the counter, who then scanned the coat.
"Your total will be...$134.45," the cashier told Peony as he looked at the number displayed on the cash register. Mario dug into his pocket, only to encounter a problem as he grew panicked in a hurry.
"Mama mia...I left-a my wallet at home!" the plumber fretted, frantically checking both of his pockets. Mario looked back at Pit, hoping for the angel to bail him out.
"Don't look at me, I ain't got no money," Pit said to Mario, pulling out his pockets to show how broke he was. Yet the angel thought it was fine to take someone's WWE title belt out of layaway.
"Quick, Mario! Use that big-headed Pokemon of yours!" shouted Peony; thinking fast, Mario took out his Poke Ball and sent out Calyrex. The cashier was understandably afraid.
"Wh-What is that?!" the cashier questioned as he took a few steps back in fear. Calyrex was perched upon his steed Spectrier while exuding majesty.
"Calyrex, possess-a that cashier!" Mario commended the high king Pokemon, who possessed the cashier's body. The cashier was now floating in the air with a blue aura surrounding his body. "Now see if you can void-a the price of that wrap coat so that we won't pay for it."
"The things that you make me do, Mario..." seethed Calyrex, as he moved the cashier closer to the cash register. "...how do I operate this device?"
"Found you!" shouted the cashier from the sports store, showing up along with some mall security. She then pointed at Pit, who had the WWE title belt over his shoulder. "That's the shoplifter. The winged boy with the title belt."
"Just come with us kid, we won't bite," one of the security guards said to Pit, giving the angel a chance to turn himself in peacefully. Pit was frozen in fear, too timid to make a move.
"Mario, save me!" Pit pleaded to the plumber, who sighed as he took off Cappy and tossed him at the sports store cashier, capturing her. Mario was now inside a woman's body.
"Change of plans...let him go free," Mario instructed the mall security; humorously enough, the sports store cashier's face sported Mario's mustache. The mall security was bewildered by what had transpired, being left speechless.
"Yes sir...I mean, ma'am!" one of the security guards nodded, as he frantically led his men out of the store. Pit sighed in relief, as his butt was saved.
"...Mario?!" a young woman uttered, as four ladies had approached the counter. Those four ladies? Researcher Zelda, Champion Zelda, Urbosa, and Mipha.
"Oh, Hylia..." Urbosa said in response to the scene that she and her friends had witnessed, as Champion Zelda fainted to the floor.
Researcher Zelda: Ultimately had to pay for the wrap coat Peony picked out. And as for the title belt that Pit apparently stole from layaway, well, I just bought him his very own belt. Only cost me a lot of my rupees. Pit and Peony owe me big time.
The Christmas raffle was about to begin, which meant that it was time for people to pay for their raffle tickets. In order for anyone to get into the party, they had to get a raffle ticket first. Moreover, anyone who was at the party already had to buy a raffle ticket to avoid getting the boot. In a sense, a raffle ticket was basically an admission fee.
With that in mind, Timmy and Tommy turned their regular stand into a ticket stand, while the Velvet Room twins Caroline and Justine stood at the ballroom door to "keep the peace". Zagreus, son of Hades, approached the ticket stand as he wished to be part of the party.
"Back in the Underworld, we never celebrate holidays such as Christmas," Zagreus said to Timmy and Tommy, dropping a bag of cold on the ticket stand. Wasn't hard to see why the Underworld wouldn't celebrate Christmas, given who was in charge down there. "I am very interested to see how this Christmas party turns out."
"Enjoy the show!" Timmy said to Zagreus as he accepted the bag of gold, while Tommy handed Zagreus a raffle ticket. Zagreus headed inside the ballroom showing his ticket to Caroline and Justine at the door.
"I hope someone tries to get in without showing their ticket," Caroline said to Justine after the twins allowed Zagreus to enter. The way she was smacking her nightstick in the palm of her hand showed how much she wanted to get her hands dirty.
"So much for spreading Christmas joy," responded Justine, keeping her calm demeanor, as Cubot and Orbot both approached the ticket stand.
"I do believe that Dr. Eggman already paid for our tickets," Orbot said to Timmy and Tommy, as he and Cubot had no cash on them. "Our names should be on the list, under his."
"Your names are on the list?" wondered Tommy, as he and Timmy took a gander at the guest list to see if Cubot and Orbot's names were checked off. With the tanuki twins occupied, Cubot and Orbot tried to sneak past the ticket stand...only to run into the Velvet Room twins.
"Going somewhere, you two?" Caroline asked the robot lackeys, looking intimidating with her nightstick. Cubot and Orbot were both afraid, hugging each other for comfort.
"Sorry, but we don't see your names on the list." Tommy and Timmy looked up, only to see Cubot and Orbot absent from the ticket stand. Instead, they saw the two robots getting their butts handed to them by Caroline and Justine. But mostly Caroline.
"Ow! Harder, HARDER!" encouraged Cubot, who apparently enjoyed Caroline smacking him repeatedly with her nightstick. Done with the beating, the Velvet Room twins tossed Cubot and Orbot against the wall. "Ouch..."
"Got my fix in!" rejoiced Caroline, as Cubot and Orbot were both writhing in pain. The pair of Olympian swimmers, Rene and Geneviene, were standing on the side having witnessed the beatdown.
"Yeah...I don't know about this party, man," Rene admitted to Geneviene, frightened by how hard Caroline and Justine kicked Cubot and Orbot's butts. "Those twins are creeping me out."
"You and me both," responded Geneviene, feeling the same way Rene did as he patted his teammate on the back. Kazuya brought Heihachi, Jin, and Ling to the ticket stand, and paid for everyone's raffle tickets.
"Go ahead, I insist," the businessman said to Heihachi and company with a smile, allowing them to enter the ballroom first. Heihachi had a scowl on his face as he went inside.
"One ticket, please," Lamonte said to Timmy and Tommy, handing them some cash at the ticket stand. He saw Kazuya in the corner of his eye, smiling as he went on inside the ballroom.
Lamonte: Snakes in the grass... *shakes his head* ...snakes in the grass.
"I suppose it's fine to go on in," Rene said to Geneviene after seeing that his Olympic teammate Lamonte had no trouble getting past Caroline and Justine. As Rene and Geneviene took a step forward, they were bumped out of the way by King Dedede, who had brought Captain Syrup.
"Two tickets for the raffle!" King Dedede said to Timmy and Tommy, as Rene and Geneviene were both frowning at the fat penguin. Before Dedede could pull out some moolah, he was stopped by Captain Syrup.
"How about I pay for our tickets," said Captian Syrup, as she took out some moolah herself. She gave Timmy and Tommy some gold pirate coins, who in turn gave Captain Syrup and King Dedede a ticket each.
"Would you look at that, someone hung a mistletoe above the door!" King Dedede pointed a mistletoe hanging above the ballroom entrance, as Rene and Geneviene both feared what the fat penguin was about to do with Captain Syrup. "Wanna make out again?"
"Make out again...?" grimaced Geneviene, who just like Thomas and Balthier from earlier was about to throw up. She and Rene watched in horror as King Dedede brought Captain Syrup to the mistletoe.
"Pucker up, King Dedede..." Captain Syrup said to the fat penguin, who puckered up his lips. Rene and Geneviene both shielded their eyes with their hands, as Captain Syrup leaned in close to King Dedede for a kiss...
...only to knee the penguin in the gut. Rene and Genevienel took their hands away from their face, as King Dedede wheezed in pain and collapsed to the floor.
"But...why?" King Dedede questioned Captain Syrup, who took out a large brown sack and knelt down at the fat penguin. "I thought you loved me!"
"I do love you, King Dedede," replied Captain Syrup, proving otherwise as she looted the treasure out of King Dedede's imaginary pockets. "I love the fact that you're rich! As most kings are."
"Then how is that love?!" Feeling betrayed, King Dedede would receive a kiss on the cheek from Captain Syrup, who kicked the fat penguin away. Satisfied with her loot, Captain Syrup stood up hoisting the sack over her shoulders.
"Want some free tickets?" Captain Syrup saw Rene and Geneviene, walking over to them and giving them tickets for the raffle. "Have fun, you two! Merry Christmas!"
"Uh, Merry Christmas to you," replied Geneviene, as she and Rene accepted the tickets from Captain Syrup. Captain Syrup ran away as Steve showed up, seeing King Dedede on the floor and seeing Syrup making her grand escape.
"Love hurts, doesn't it?" Steve asked King Dedede, who moaned in response to his former protege's question. Yusuke and Haru went to the ticket stand, paying for their tickets.
"I might not be Santa Claus, but 'Mister Claus' has a nice ring to it," remarked Yusuke, as he and Haru wore their Yuletide outfits from two episodes ago. Yusuke brought Haru to the ballroom door, before coming to a stop.
"Why did you stop?" Haru asked Yusuke who pointed upwards at the mistletoe hanging up above. Haru blushed when she saw it. "Oh..."
"There was a reason why I asked you to be my Miss Claus..." The reason came in the form of a kiss, which Yusuke had given to Haru. That got Haru blushing even harder. "...hopefully, that cleared the air for you."
"Get moving!" Caroline shouted at Yusuke and Haru, pushing the two inside the ballroom Haru's face was beet red. Geneviene, not knowing what to think after seeing the kiss, looked at Rene with a smile.
"You know what, I could live with that," said Rene, not despite not knowing either Yusuke or Haru personally. "That one seems natural."
Inside the ballroom, many folks were enjoying themselves, despite having to pay money for certain stuff. Some folks were carrying around their raffle tickets, not knowing what to do with them.
"Excuse me," Ryza said to a sleeping Waluigi, who was asleep under the Christmas tree as Ryza gently poked him. Waluigi woke up and saw Ryza, who was accompanied by her three friends - Lent, Tao, and Klaudia. "Do you have any exact idea what these tickets are for?"
"I dunno, ask me again in five minutes," Waluigi grumpily replied, putting on his sleeping mask before going back to sleep. Ryza looked at her friends, giving them a shrug.
"Sorry Ryu, but that seat's already taken," Toon Link said to the fighter, who saw a chair next to the Hylian. Ryu was confused, for the chair appeared unoccupied to him. "The Picori are sitting there."
"Picori?" Ryu furrowed his brow as he peered down at the seat...and was stunned to see Jotari and the Minish, waving at him.
"Happy holiday greetings!" Jotari greeted Ryu, who couldn't believe what he was seeing. Ryu had to rub his eyes multiple times.
"I keep telling you, they do exist," a vindicated Toon Link said to Ryu; he had spent many years convincing Ryu, and now Ryu had to eat some crow.
"Well, I'm glad to have been proven wrong." After Ryu acknowledged the existence of the Minish...he would proceed to take his seat. The Minish screamed in peril, only to be relieved as the buddy cops prevented Ryu from sitting down.
Ryu: Had a potential seat taken because of an army of tiny little people...how is that even possible?!
"Over here, boys!" a man called out to two members of the men's basketball team - Khash and Randall - who were walking around the ballroom. "You have to try out these Christmas cookies." Calling out to them was their Olympic coach, Pop, as the rest of the men's basketball team - Wayne, Lamonte, Christopher, Armani, Jamal, Tom, Edrice, Houston, Wilder, and Lindy - were at the party.
"Oh snap, they got Christmas cookies?" inquired Randall, as he and Khash headed over to where Pop was. There was a plate of Christmas cookies present. "Why do they look like they were designed by a two-year-old?"
"I was saying the same exact thing," Richter said to Randall, eating some Christmas cookies himself as Fox was peeking inside the ballroom. "Mythra slapped me hard when I said that."
Satisfied with how the turnout for the party was so far, Fox retracted his head and headed back into the hallway where Falco, Itsuki, Skyward Link, Skyward Zelda, and Donkey Kong were present. Things were about to get really exciting.
"Alright people, we're minutes away from showtime," announced Fox as he rubbed his hands together, anxious to get the Christmas raffle on the road. "Skyward peeps, have you brought the Santa Claus?"
"We have brought the Santa Claus!" confirmed Skyward Link, who was standing next to Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong was nervous, for he was about to do stuff as Santa Claus in front of a large crowd.
"Please tell me I'm just there for show," Donkey Kong pleaded to Fox and Falco, wanting to be on stage just for a hot minute before making his retreat.
"You're not just for show, DK...you're also the host," Falco informed Donkey Kong, who was more upset than ever as he ran his hand down his face. Hosting something was the LAST thing Donkey Kong wanted to do as Santa Claus.
"I think you'll do great," Skyward Zelda assured Donkey Knog, patting the gorilla on his back. Donkey Kong thought otherwise, knowing for a fact that he might let everyone down.
"Since you're not feeling it, Donkey Kong, we bought in someone to encourage you," said Itsuki, before beckoning to someone. Coming down the hallway was the charming sky pirate Balthier, who knew a thing or two about hosting a Christmas event.
"Cheer up, old chap!" Blather encouraged Donkey Kong, patting the gorilla on his face a few times. "Santa Claus wouldn't doubt himself, would he? Put a smile on that face of yours."
"But I don't wanna put a smile on my face. I just want to take this costume off, the beard is very itchy. I hate being Santa!" Donkey Kong was about to throw a fit, but he calmed down as Blather placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Remember your grandpa...best not to let him down. That cane of his is nothing to be trifled with!" Incidentally, Cranky Kong was one of the reasons why Donkey Kong ended up being Santa in the first place - and DK didn't wish to disappoint his gramps.
"Good talk, Balthier, I think I got it now." Just like that, Donkey Kong was motivated to host the Christmas raffle - but only because he feared Cranky smacking him with his cane. "I can do this...I can do this."
"We're gonna start the show in a few minutes few minutes," announced Fox, giving Donkey Kong and everyone else ample time to make any necessary preparations. Such as gathering the raffle prizes, instances. "This has to be big. Let's make it happen, people!"
Cortex was on the hunt for Tiki, whom he was told was outside. The evil genius and Uka searched around the mansion premises, but couldn't find Tiki anywhere. So Cortex had to ask for her whereabouts, again.
"She has green hair, pointy ears, and has on a red dress," Cortex described Tiki to Purah, who the evil genius encountered while sniffing around the hotels. He was walking along with her. "Have you seen her?"
"Oh yeah! She left no so long ago," replied Purah, as Cortex groaned in frustration. So close, yet so far. "I can let her know that you're looking for her."
"Don't bother...I'll just go to the tower. That's where she lives." Cortex and Purah would arrive at a giant Christmas tree, which was smothered with Christmas lights. The lights were charged by a generator, which was charged by a treadmill...which Cheetah was running on.
"When do I get to take a break?" Cheetah asked Purah, running shirtless with sweat running down his body. He had many water bottles at his disposal, lying next to the treadmill.
"I plan on having the lights on until midnight," replied Purah; Cheetah couldn't afford to run that long, it would be impossible for him. "So you'll get your break until then!"
"I hate you so much right now..." Cheetah kept up the pace, running as far as his legs could carry him.
Purah: The hotel site was looking a bit blah, so I brought in a Christmas tree to spruce things up! Where I got it from is a secret. Fingers crossed my name doesn't end up in this city's crime blotter.
Uka: Can't you see, Dr. Cortex? Tiki is trying to run away from you.
Cortex: You're right, Uka...maybe she is! She's running away because she can't handle deep down how much she loves me.
Uka: Was gonna see she's running away from your ugly face, but sure - go ahead and be delusional.
"Impressive tree," marveled Sephiroth, stopping by as he wanted to check out how grand Purah's Christams tree was. Cortex heard his phone ring as he answered the call.
"Yes? Hello, Joker," Cortex spoke into the phone, hoping for his phone call to be short. He had a Manakete to find. "Yes, Sephiroth is here."
"Good, because I need to see him for a minute," responded Joker, as Sephiroth looked over when Cortex mentioned his name.
"Give me that..." Sephiroth said to Cortex, rudely snatching the phone out of the evil genius' hand. Bad guys like Sephiroth rarely ask politely. "...greetings, Joker. You want me to do you a favor?"
"Correct! There's a nuisance in the sauna that must be taken care of. Tried contacting everyone else, but they're either busy or at the party. So you're pretty much my last hope."
"I'm your last hope, hm? I feel...honored." Sephiroth was open to doing another solid for Joker - provided that he got to bring forth some despair.
"So that means you'll come over? Great!" Joker spoke into the phone, as he was standing outside the sauna. Mr. Big Chest's signature rap song was still playing, as Master Kohga marched out of the sauna a very unhappy camper.
"That man has his 'music' stuck on repeat for what seems like an eternity!" Master Kohga complained to Joker, wearing a towel around his waist despite still being in his bodysuit. "If I could just destroy his phone..."
"Who's the man? You're the man!" Raihan said to himself, taking a few selfies on his Rotom Phone as he exited the sauna. Master Kohga snatched the Rotom Phone, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it repeatedly in frustration. "Hey, that's my phone!"
"We'll need you as soon as we can..." Joker spoke into the phone, as Master Kohga grabbed the Rotom Phone and ran away like a madman. Raihan made chase after the clan leader.
Whenever there was a big Christmas get-together at the mansion, Master Hand had to be in the know. The giant hand was told that a Christmas raffle would be taking place, and so he stopped by the ballroom to see if it had already started.
"Move aside, people - Master Hand and his harem coming through!" shouted Master Hand as he entered the ballroom with his "harem" - Isabelle, Ayaha Oribe, and Anna. A few months ago, one of those ladies wouldn't have belonged.
"Master Hand, you can't have a harem like that," Travis informed the giant hand, chilling at the punch bowl with his wife Sylvia. "Two human girls and a female dog make it impractical."
"Shut up with your anime gatekeeping, Travis! I make my own rules." Master Hand looked over and saw a stage, which was being prepared by Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and the Skyward couple. "Ooh, is that where the raffle will happen?"
"They're still setting everything up," K.K. Slider said to Master Hand, away from the stage while the Christmas music played from his laptop. "This raffle is gonna be far out."
"Did I really have to buy a ticket just to enjoy the party?" questioned Isabelle, looking down at the ticket in her hand. Master Hand, the majestic being that he was, was free to join the party without needing a ticket at all!
Master Hand: The raffle prizes, believe it or not, came mostly from our storage. We sadly have instances of residents rejecting their Christmas gifts; unfortunately, we toss those gifts in the storage room for safekeeping. Imagine turning down a rare copy of "Threat Level Twilight: Remastered, Collector's Edition". The nerve.
"I have no clue what I'm going to say," Donkey Kong admitted to Itsuki, who was hooking a mic to the gorilla. Itsuki had already hooked up Skyward Link and Skyward Zelda with mics of their own.
"Fox and Falco will give you cue cards to read off of," explained Itsuki, after he was done testing out the mic. "You just do your hosting gig, and our Hylian friends will handle the prizes."
"All set?" Fox asked Itsuki, as he and Falco gathered their cue cards for Donkey Kong. Itsuki gave a thumbs up. "We'll help you out, DK. You can count on us!"
"Can I get a new Santa beard?" requested Donkey Kong, as Fox and Falco both ignored the gorilla's question hopping down from the stage with their cue cards. Donkey Kong moaned, his beard itchier by the second.
"You got this, Donkey Kong," Skyward Link said to the gorilla, as he and Skyward Zelda lent him their support. "We believe in you!"
"Eh, not like I have anything to lose." Now that everything was set, Itsuki went ahead and paused the Christmas music, before adjusting the loudspeakers.
Once the Christmas music stopped, the chatter in the ballroom slowly died down. The host with the most, Donkey Kong, was standing onstage in his Santa Claus garb. As he said earlier, he had no idea what to say, which was why Fox and Falco were giving him cue cards...at the back of the ballroom.
"Good evening, everyone!" Donkey Kong greeted the crowd, his voice blaring through the loudspeakers. Apparently, he had to read that off of the cue cards. "It's your good jolly ol' friend, Santa Claus."
"Are you secretly a pedophile, Santa Claus?" Slippy asked Donkey Kong, as he had a certain Christmas tune on his mind. Peppy stood next to Slippy, shaking his head in dismay.
"Santa Claus is not morally obligated to answer such questions." Donkey Kong's refusal to answer the question only affirmed Slippy's suspicions. "Now, who's ready to have some fun?"
"I'm ready to have some fun!" cheered Waluigi, who was up and awake, as many others were cheering as well. Hearing the cheers gave Donkey Kong some confidence.
"Not a bad start," remarked Itsuki, standing at the side of the stage observing Donkey Kong. Little did he know that there was a giant robot behind him with a glowing red eye, peering at Samus as it crawled up the ballroom wall unseen...
"First, let's give a round of applause to..." said Donkey Kong, squinting eyes as he made out the words on Fox and Falco's cue cards from far away. "...a round of applause to Fox and Falco, for making this totally rad Christmas party possible!"
"Had to throw that one in there," Fox admitted to Falco, as he gave the avian pilot a fist bump. King K. Kool walked past Fox and Falco, walking in front of their cue cards.
"Move it, K. Rool, I can't see! Uh, I mean...let's also give a big shoutout to..." Donkey Kong really had to squint his eyes for this one. "A big shoutout to Cynthia..."
"Yay, I got a shoutout from Santa Claus!" exclaimed one of Lucina's second-gen friends, Cynthia, as she literally jumped for joy. "Hooray for me!"
"...Cynthia, of the Sinnoh region. Let's applaud all the other former Pokemon champions that made it out here tonight. And the Elite Four members, too."
"Better luck next time," Owain comforted Cynthia, who refused to let her slightly humiliating moment deter her from enjoying the party.
"How about we give it up for another set of champions in the house? The 2020 Summer Olympic men's basketball team! Woo!"
"Smile and wave, boys...smile and wave," Pop said to some of his nearby players, as he smiled and waved to the applauding crowd. The basketball players followed suit, as many of them felt uncomfortable. "Lots of weirdoes out here tonight."
"Someone tell me when this ends..." Tom said through a forced smile, wondering how much longer he could smile and wave. His jaw was hurting from smiling. "...too many people staring at me."
"That's enough, gentlemen! Can't hog all the glory," Donkey Kong said to Pop and the basketball team; Tom was relieved, as the nonstop smiling and waving came to an end. "Now where is our March madness champion, Mewtwo? He better not teleport away!"
"Why are we bringing up something that happened nine months ago?" questioned Mewtwo, who would've teleported already had Donkey Kong not called him out on it. Mewtwo tried to slink to the back of the ballroom, only to bump into Rean who pushed him forward.
"Three cheers for Mewtwo!" shouted Rean, as folks were cheering on for Mewtwo. Mewtwo did not enjoy the attention, grumbling as he looked away.
"Thanks for the extra boost, Mr. Schwarzer!" Donkey Kong thanked the instructor, as he gave him a thumbs up. Both DK and Rean were bound to find themselves in a world of hurt later. "Do we have any more champions?"
"Did somebody say...champions?" someone asked, as Thomas entered the ballroom along with Broski. Where was Mr. Big Chest? "Don't know about you guys, but we won a Super Bowl."
"And we won a Super Bowl, too..." stated Kermit, causing some slight tension as he entered the ballroom with Michael and the Landlord. "...won it last year, but it still counts."
Broski: We had to leave the sauna; that rap song was getting on our nerves. Hits different after the second listen, but not in a good way. But hey, those Team Skull guys seem to like it!
"I would acknowledge our World Smash Heavyweight Champion Pit, but he's not here tonight," said Donkey Kong, as Pit had yet to return to the mansion. "Not that the World Smash Heavyweight Championship is that relevant..."
"You shut your mouth, you stupid gorilla!" Master Hand snapped on Donkey Kong, caring about Pit's title belt a bit too much. Sensing how much he was acting out, Master Hand cooled off. "Sorry about that. Carry on..."
"Now it's time to get to the exciting stuff." Donkey Kong checked to see if the Skyward couple was ready to hand out prizes, and they were. "Who's ready for the Christmas Waffle?!"
"'Christmas Waffle'?" Luigi crinkled his nose, as everyone else looked around in confusion. Falco saw that he had misspelled a word on his cue card, crossing out the W in waffle and writing an R over it.
"What I meant to say was...who's ready for the Christmas Raffle?!" The crowd got excited again, as there were cheers in the ballroom. "For anyone out of the loop, this raffle is like the lottery - you got the winning ticket, you get the winning prize! Prizes for everyone!"
"Can we burn our tickets?" Reaper asked Donkey Kong as he held his raffle ticket up in the air. "Only bought mine just to join this stupid party."
"A 'stupid' party that you're willingly attending," Morag said to Reaper, as she ruffled the mercenary's feathers. Reaper wasn't the kind of person you would want to tick off.
"I had no choice, okay?! Sombra made me come to this party!" Reaper grumpy folded his arms, seething. "I hate being someone's plus-one..."
"Simmer down everyone, the raffle hasn't started yet!" Donkey Kong addressed the crowd, wanting the raffle to go off without a hitch. "How about we start with the first drawing?"
So Donkey Kong walked over to a ticket box, reaching in to grab the ticket. As he did that, Skyward Link went through the prizes and pulled out the first prize, which was...a ninja sword.
"Have either one of you seen my Dragon Sword?" Ryu Hayabusa asked Ridley and Hoenn Elite Four's Drake, as Donkey Kong pulled a ticket out of the box. "Might've left it somewhere by accident."
"Our first raffle prize is this cool ninja sword, which we totally didn't see lying around at the arcade," announced Donkey Kong, as Skyward Link showed off the sword to everyone. Hayabusa recognized the blade as his Dragon Sword. "And the winning ticket is...421!"
"That's me!" cheered Harvey, as he happily ran onto the stage to receive his Dragon Sword from Skyward Link. Hayabusa was beside himself. "Never knew how much I wanted a ninja sword until now."
"Give me back my sword!" Hayabusa shouted at Harvey, ambushing the hippie dog as he made his way down the stage. Hayabusa brought Harvey down to the floor and repeatedly punched him in the head as one of his lady friends, Kasumi, rushed in to save Harvey.
"Can you not start a scene?" Kasumi frowned at Hayabusa, prying the ninja off of Harvey. Hayabusa was holding unto his Dragon Sword for dear life, only to let go when Kasumi pulled him away.
"Remember, no fighting over the raffle prizes!" Donkey Kong reminded the party guests, as Hayabusa hoped to get his sword back from Harvey soon. "Let's move on to the next prize..."
Gex wished to be at the Christmas party, but he had to keep his identity concealed so that he could infiltrate the ballroom without any trouble. The lizard was going through one of the closets in the mansion, pulling all sorts of clothes out.
"There's gotta be something in here that I can use..." said Gex, only to hit the jackpot when he pulled out a certain black cloak. "...bingo! Now to find a pair of stilts..."
The Christmas raffle was still ongoing at the party, as a few more party guests won a raffle prize. The most recent winner was Carrington, who won a Porygon doll with his ticket.
"I thought this kind of stuffed animal was banned forever," remarked Carrington as he held up his Porygon doll in a measly attempt at cracking a Pokemon-related joke. "Thanks for the prize, Donkey Kong...I mean, Santa Claus."
"No fair, I wanted that Porygon doll!" Barry frowned at Carrington, pointing at Master Hand's favorite quarterback with heavy contempt. "I'm gonna have to fine you later!"
"You can't fine someone for having a winning ticket, Barry," Dawn informed her friend, as Donkey Kong pulled out another ticket. Barry will find a way.
"This winning ticket number is...86," announced Donkey Kong; Barry looked at his raffle ticket and squealed with glee, as his number was 86. The Pokemon trainer was about to win his very own Porygon doll, as he ran onto the stage.
"Give me my Porygon doll!" an eager Barry demanded to Skyward Zelda as he held his hands out. He would be met with disappointment, as Skyward Zelda handed him an expensive-looking corkscrew.
"Merry Christmas!" Skyward Zelda smiled at Barry, who begrudgingly accepted his raffle gift as he returned to his spot next to Dawn. At least Barry could say that he didn't up empty-handed.
"Wonder how long it'll take for someone to win that Threat Level Twilight DVD," Master Hand whispered to Anna, as Lottie entered the ballroom looking for a certain trio. So many people were present, so looking for them was hard.
"Got my eyes on that water cooler," Bowser discussed with Spring Man, Kermit, and B.D. Joe near the punch bowl, while Donkey Kong carried on with the raffle. "Would look great in my room."
"I just hope that I win something good," remarked Kermit, hoping to bring home a nifty souvenir. Lottie went over to the four men, and Kermit saw that the otter was empty-handed. "How did you get in without a ticket?"
"Ticket? I'm only looking for the Wayfinder trio," stated Lottie, who apparently was on the same level as Master Hand when it came to bypassing stuff. "Have any of you seen them?"
"Our next winning ticket is...71!" announced Donkey Kong, as he held the winning ticket up in the air. "Whoever has this ticket will receive...Scarlett Johannson's bathwater?!"
"Apparently that's what it says," affirmed Skyward Link, holding a vat of water with a label on it that read "Scarlett Johannson's bathwater". Wayne instantly perked up when Donkey Kong announced the gift.
Master Hand: That was a Christmas gift I got for Mario one year. Was meant to be a funny prank, but Mario didn't see it that way.
"That's you, Ventus," Terra said to his friend, as he shoved his friend forward. Ventus felt awkward as he went onto the stage to receive his bathwater gift.
"I'm sorry, but who the heck is Scarlett Johannson?" Ventus asked Skyward Link, who handed the Keyblade wielder the vat of water. The water was awfully dirty, a testament to how long it was kept in storage.
"If I knew who she was myself, I would tell you," answered Skyward Link, as Ventus took his "prize" and walked down the stage. Lottie had his eye on Ventus, tracking his every move, and Wayne had his eye on Ventus as well.
"Bro, I'll pay you $200 for that bathwater," Wayne offered to Ventus, not caring if some of his Olympic teammates were laughing at him. Before Ventus could answer, he and his friends were suddenly encountered by Lottie.
"Got some great news, you three!" Lottie said to the Wayfinder trio, keeping her voice low so that she wouldn't interrupt the raffle. "Us Happy Home Designers are done moving in your furniture. Which means you can move into your new house!"
"About that, Lottie..." Aqua said to the otter, who had just pulled a house key out of her pocket. "...erm, do you mind if we discuss this house of ours outside the ballroom?"
"Of course! We can talk about it in the hallway." So Lottie hustled her way to the ballroom exit, as Terra and Aqua followed after the otter.
"Here, man, you can keep the bathwater," Ventus said to Wayne as he handed the basketball player the vat of water. Wayne felt like he had won the lottery.
"Thanks, bro," thanked Wayne after accepting the water, only to see Ventus run after his friends. Can't be left behind. "Hey, do you want your $200?"
"This isn't right, my winning ticket number is 23! 23!" Knuckles shouted at Donkey Kong, the first winner to complain about his prize. Which was a toaster. "Where are my new Air Jordans?"
Thanks to his rap song, Mr. Big Chest successfully prompted many folks to leave the sauna - even including his own friends, Thomas and Broski. The only folks that stuck around were Team Skull, who unironically enjoyed the rap music.
"'Whole Lotta Money' is such a perfect song," remarked Guzma, nodding his head to the beat along with his Team Skull grunts, as Plumeria found herself in disbelief. "It's such a vibe!"
"That's what I've been trying to tell people," Mr. Big Chest said to Guzma, appreciating the Bug-type whiz for appreciating good music. "They just don't get it."
"So, you're this 'Mr. Big Chest' fellow I've heard about...such a pathetic name for such a pathetic little man."
Everyone in the sauna was scared, as Sephiroth slowly marched his way inside taking small, menacing steps. Like how anyone else with a functioning brain would, Mr. Big Chest was scared out of his mind when Sephiroth was marching toward him while wielding his Masamune.
"W-What do you want?" Mr. Big Chest asked Sephiroth, his voice quivering a bit as he paused his music. "Is it my rap song?"
"I was told that your music has driven nearly everyone away," replied Sephiroth, as he looked down at Mr. Big Chest and intimidated him. "It's about time you put an end to your miscreancy..."
"Don't worry pal, I got you!" Guzma called out to Mr. Big Chest, pulling out his Poke Ball. "Go, Golisopod!" Guzma sent out his ace, Golisopod, who stood in between Sephiroth and Mr. Big Chest. "Golisopod, use First..."
Golisopod wouldn't get a chance to do anything, as Sephiroth sent the hard scale Pokemon flying with his Masamune. Sephiroth then grabbed Mr. Big Chest by the neck and held him up in the air.
"You have been a very naughty boy today, haven't you?" the one-winged angel asked Mr. Big Chest, who felt a tight grip on his neck as he grimaced in pain. "Someone needs to take you off the nice list..."
Sephiroth: A man who deems himself a hero in his own mind...is oftentimes a villain to everyone he sees.
Sephiroth carried his prey out of the sauna, as he held Mr. Big Chest up high. Tiki reached the sauna, looking confused at the scene that was playing out in front of her.
"We can take our business elsewhere..." Sephiroth said to Mr. Big Chest, taking him down the hallway. Still confused, Tiki was about to enter the sauna, until a voice called out to her.
"Tiki? Tiki!" Cortex called out to the Manakete as he and Uka raced down the hallway, eventually reaching her crush at the sauna. "I have looked everywhere for you..."
"Hello, doctor - I see you have a present for me," Tiki said to Cortex, observing the Christmas present in his hands. "May I open it?"
"Of course, you may!" Cortex handed the present to Tiki, and Uka was disappointed that Tiki didn't simply turn the gift down. "I put a lot of thought and care into it. It will..."
Cortex stopped speaking as Tiki unwrapped her gift and pulled out...a sweater. But not just any sweater, mind you. A "best friends" sweater. Cortex was gobsmacked, while Uka tried to stifle his laughter.
"Oh my...a sweater!" exclaimed Tiki, holding up the sweater as she read the message inscribed on the front. "Not that I would ever wear this...but thank you, Cortex. I was expecting a gift like this from you."
"You have?!" Cortex and Uka both asked Tiki in unison, as Tiki threw her sweater over her shoulder.
"Well, are we not friends? I've always thought of you as a friend, Cortex - you've always been so kind to me. More so than anyone from this mansion, I'll say. This is nice of you to signify how strong our friendship has been."
"I suppose so..." remarked Cortex, content that Tiki liked her Christmas gift - even if it wasn't the intended one. "...stupid Slippy Toad."
Slippy: Cortex entrusted me to wrap his gift for Tiki. Isabelle also entrusted me to wrap her Secret Santa gift for Doomslayer. I might've gotten the name tags for both gifts mixed up since the wrapping and packaging were both similar.
Doomslayer: *unwraps gift meant for Tiki, and pulls out a box with a ring inside, before tossing said box over his shoulder*
"Dr. Cortex has harbored a crush on you for over three years," Uka spilled the beans to Tiki, as Cortex tried to shush the floating mask but to no avail. "He sees you as more than a friend - he wants you to be his lover!"
"I only wished to tie the knot with you if it meant staying in town..." Cortex said to Tiki with a heavy sigh. "...I guess all that work I did to win your heart was all in vain." Tiki, seeing how Cortex felt, looked up...and saw a mistletoe hanging above.
"Well, I don't think our love was meant to be. But since it's Christmas...and considering everything that you've done for me...perhaps I can grant you this one wish."
At that moment, Cortex was suddenly a made man as Tiki picked up the evil genius and kissed him, under the mistletoe. Cortex was shocked out of his mind, and Uka was as well as he fainted to the floor.
"Told you to stop leaving your water bottle in the sauna," Lucario said to Diddy Kong as he brought the spidermonkey to the sauna...only for him and Diddy to stop when they saw Tiki kissing Cortex. Lucario looked disturbed, while Diddy took out his phone to record the action.
Diddy Kong: *stares straight into the camera, before bursting into a laughing fit*
Lucario: *pukes onto the floor*
Cortex: Finally got to kiss the woman of my dreams... *sighs happily* ...best Christmas ever.
Uka: That wasn't real. Nope. Don't wanna believe it.
The game of Dungeons and Dragons was still happening in the living room, as things were getting intense. Not only that, but Link was starting to turn his fortunes around.
"Yes, I finally destroyed the amulet!" cheered Link, after he had a few successful rolls. Zelda was clapping sarcastically for her husband. "Took me long enough, but I got it done."
"We're literally missing the Christmas party because of your ineptitude at this game," Steph said to Link, as she wanted to get the game over with. "I want you to realize that, Link."
"Link, Cloud, Zelda...I have a minor update about the Wayfinder trio and their new home," Impa said to the three as she stopped by the living room. "Our three friends are speaking with Lottie at the moment."
"What did they say?" Cloud asked Impa, who believed that she might've exaggerated a bit when she said that the update was minor.
"It has been brought to my attention...that the Wayfinder trio does not wish to occupy the new house." The "minor" update was in fact a major one.
"So they're not moving in?" asked Zelda, fearful that all the work done with the Wayfinder trio was for naught. "Wonder what made them change their mind..."
Cilan was elated to be back in town, and he was even more elated to be a part of the Christmas party. As well as the Christmas raffle. Speaking of the raffle, the connoisseur had won a nose trimmer and tested it out in the bathroom.
"A little rough around the edges, but it will do!" Cilan commented on his nose trimmer, leaving the bathroom as he returned to the ballroom. On his way there, however, he spotted Lottie speaking with the Wayfinder trio in the hallway.
"Sure you don't wanna stay in town?" Lottie asked Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, as Cilan curiously came over to eavesdrop a bit. "This is your last chance!"
"My friend Ansem the Wise argued that we should just stay in our homeworld," Aqua explained to Lottie, knowing that the Land of Departure would need three valiant warriors to keep it safe. "That would be in our best intentions."
"We appreciate all your help, though," said Terra, as Impa returned to the scene after speaking with Zelda and company. "But our home is somewhere else."
"What about the house? It still needs a homeowner," stated Ventus, and that's when Cilan realized that it was his time to shine.
"Ahem..." Cilan spoke up, commanding everyone's attention as he fastened his bowtie. "...if I may, I can make a rousing argument for some old friends of mine who would be a perfect fit!"
"I would like to make an argument as well," someone said, as Ansem's brightest assistant appeared at the scene...Ienzo.
The Christmas Raffle was chugging right along, as party guests were winning gifts left and right. The most recent winners were Little Mac, Tora, Tracer...and Sonic, who had won a guitar.
"Free love on the free love freeway...the love is free and the freeway's long..." Sonic sang, playing the guitar as he walked down the stage. Many folks were covering their ears. "I got..."
"Put a sock in it, Sonic," Donkey Kong commanded the blue hedgehog, who stopped performing as he returned to his spot. "Who will our next winner be?"
"Psst, can you come here?" Iris approached Crash, whispering to the bandicoot; Sonic watched as Iris grabbed Crash and took him away, finding himself in a curious mood.
"Our last winning number is...108!" That was the winning number for Daisy, as the princess cheered and ran onto the stage. Nearly knocked people down on her way there, as Sonic conspicuously left the ballroom.
"Congratulations, princess!" Skyward Zelda congratulated Daisy, who was dying to know what raffle prize she had won. "The prize you will get is..."
"HOLD IT! I have something even better!" shouted a certain delinquent, as Ryuji crawled onto the stage. His Phantom Thief friends must be so embarrassed. "Better than whatever crappy gift Daisy's gonna get."
"Ryuji, the Secret Santa thing isn't until later!" Master Hand reminded Ryuji, who pulled out the two wrestling t-shirts he had in mind for Daisy.
"Alright, Daisy, which shirt do you prefer...the vicious one, or the more wholesome one?" Judging from the look on her face, Daisy preferred neither.
"Why would you spend your money on that, Ryuji?" Daisy scolded the delinquent, showing how disappointed she was in him. "You know that I don't..."
"Back off, you ruffian!" Zeke shouted at Ryuji, running onto the stage as he shoved Ryuji down. Oh, and Pandoria was there too, can't forget her. "If anyone is going to steal the show during the party...it's me!"
Rex: *sighs* Saw Zeke doing that from a mile away.
"Hey, what's the big deal?!" Ryuji snapped on Zeke, angrily standing up and confronting the Crown Prince. "I was in the middle of something!"
"Yes, you were in the middle of something...in the middle stealing my shine!" Zeke shouted in Ryuji's face, confidently pointing his thumb at himself. "No one does business on the Zekenator's time! I was supposed to be the star of the party!"
"He really does call himself the Zekenator, unironically," Wayne said to Kamek, having some prior experience dealing with Zeke. "Some grown man calls himself that..."
"Can you two please get off the stage?" Skyward Link kindly asked Ryuji and Zeke, not wanting to deal with either man. The Christmas Raffle had to be done.
"I'll get him off the stage, alright..." Ryuji said to Skyward Link, growling his teeth as he tackled Zeke down to the stage and wrangled with him.
"This is the opposite of what we want to happen!" Donkey Kong shouted at the guys brawling on the stage, as Ryuji now had Zeke in some awkward-looking octopus hold. "Master Hand..."
"Yeah, you like that, don't you?!" Ryuji shouted at Zeke, who was screaming in pain. Some might say that he was doing it to the point of hamming it up.
"What kind of wrestling move is that?" Ike curiously asked Ryuji, who was applying the pressure to Zeke's limbs.
"It's called...Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness! It's...you wouldn't understand if you watched Japanese wrestling, like me."
"All we wanted was a name, and yet you told us a whole story..." As Ike grumbled to himself, a menacing robot came crawling down from the ceiling. Broski was among the first to notice, as he pointed at the robotic abomination.
"Um, giant robot coming down!" the man shouted, as the robot dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the stage. Those onstage quickly got off, including Ryuji and Zeke, as many in the ballroom screamed in fear.
"Is that...an E.M.M.I.?" wondered Samus...indeed it was an E.M.M.I. as everyone was running to the back of the ballroom for their own safety. "Must've followed my scent...stay tight, everyone."
"Stay tight?!" Professor Kukui asked Samus, only to throw his arms up in defeat when Samus ran out of the ballroom. "Oh, of course she would leave us here to die, because why wouldn't she?!"
"If this robot eats us alive, I'm never coming back to this mansion again..." remarked Jamal, who never would've imagined having his livelihood endangered by a deadly robot. Should've known better.
"Can't go back to the mansion if you're already dead," remarked Geno, as Jamal was ready to backhand the star for his comment...only to him and everyone else to be caught off-guard when the E.M.M.I. stormed out of the ballroom.
"Looks like we're safe, for now," stated Master Hand, only for Isabelle to whisper something into his nonexistent ear. "The robot is going after Samus?! Dearest me..where are Link and Zelda when you need them?"
"Still playing Dungeons and Dragons, I bet," answered Kermit, as Master Hand groaned. "You can throw in a rescue team together if you want..."
Peach wanted to attend the party, but she didn't want to do it while her man was out. Fortunately for her, Mario returned from his adven-tour along with his crew, meeting with Peach, Peonia, Spyro, and Hunter in the mansion foyer. There, Peony gave Peonia her grift, the wrap coat.
"How do you like your gift, Nia?" asked Peony, as Peonia was trying out her new wrap coat. "Findin' you a Christmas gift was awfully hard!"
"It's not a great gift, dad..." Peonia gave her honest thoughts, as a devasted Peony lowered his head in shame. "...it's PERFECT!" ...only to quickly lift his head back up with joy.
"Haha, that's my girl!" Peony was so overjoyed, that he hugged Peonia and lifted her in the air. Such a wholesome family moment.
"Awesome, now can we get to the party?" asked Spyro, showing how insensitive he was as he played down Peony's moment of embrace. He and Hunter would've been at the party already, if not for Peach holding them up.
"Wait, you guys-a hear that?" asked Mario, as he heard some loud footsteps coming down the stairs. Peony placed Peonia back on his feet, as everyone was wary about whatever threat was coming their way. And the threat that came down the stairs...
...was Sonic, who appeared to be out of breath when he arrived at the foyer. Mario and company eased up.
"Oh, it's just Sonic," Kirby sighed in relief, as Sonic took a breather. Rarely did Sonic catch his breath. "Sonic, why are you so out of breath?"
"I left the ballroom looking for Crash when some robot started chasing me," explained Sonic, before turning around to see if the coast was clear. "It was hot on my heels!"
"Is that the robot up there?" asked Peach as she pointed up at the ceiling...and saw the E.M.M.I. crawling. Sonic jumped back, as the E.M.M.I. leaped down to the floor.
"Yep, that's the one!" Sonic took many steps back, and everyone else did the same as the E.M.M.I. stood up. Out of everyone, only Mario and Pit were familiar with the killer robot.
"Hey, that must be the E.M.M.I.!" stated Pit, believing that the E.M.M.I. had returned to the mansion for some revenge. "The one that took Proto Man away. I scared it off into the ocean before Samus had a chance to kill it."
"Seriously, Pit?" Mario frowned at the angel, who shrugged innocently as the E.M.M.I. walked closer to the group. Peony heroically stood in front of everyone, with his arms at his side.
"No giant robot's laying a finger on my daughter!" the explorer shouted at the E.M.M.I., who interestingly came to a stop. Was the E.M.M.I. intimidated by Peony? Or unless...
"Psst, Mario...Peony's wearing red!" Cappy whispered to the plumber, as he remembered .EXE's experiment from episode 303. "Maybe that's why the E.M.M.I. came to a stop."
"I see," Mario whispered back taking note of his stationary the E.M.M.I. had suddenly become. "Peony, stand-a your ground!"
"Trust me, Mario, I ain't goin' anywhere!" responded Peony; if he was gonna die at the hands of a robot, he would do it while protecting his daughter and friends. "Show me what you got, robot!"
"Save me!" pleaded Mr. Big Chest, as he slid underneath the E.M.M.I.; the man was hiding underneath the robot, cowering in fear as he looked up at Peony. "Is he coming?"
"Is who comin'? Don't tell me there's another robot on the loose! How many deadly robots can one mansion..."
Suddenly, Mr. Big Chest shrieked, as a sword was pierced through the E.M.M.I.'s chest. Mr. Big Chest looked up and found relief as the blade was inches away from his face. And the blade that struck the E.M.M.I...was the Masamune.
"...Sephiroth?" a voice uttered coming down the stairs - and would you know it, was Sephiroth who had stabbed the E.M.M.I. from behind trying to get to Mr. Big Chest. Speaking of Mr. Big Chest, the man ran off in fear.
"Someone called my name?" asked Sephiroth, turning around as he saw Ike at the foot of the stairs with the group of Little Mac, Guile, and Broski - the rag-tag rescue team sent to look for Samus.
"Bro, it's him, it's Sephiroth!" Broski excitedly said to Little Mac, geeking out as if he had seen Sephiroth in person for the very first time.
"Yes, I have eyes as well..." responded Little Mac as Sephiroth pulled his Masamune out of the E.M.M.I., who collapsed into the floor.
.EXE: What's that? The E.M.M.I. stopped dead in its tracks when it saw red? So my experiment was a success!
"Not even this robot could withstand my blade," remarked Sephiroth, analyzing the gash that was through the E.M.M.I.'s chest. "At least I put it out of its misery..."
"That robot was looking for Samus," Ike explained to Sephiroth, who was pretty content that he did a solid for a fellow smasher. "We were trying to find Samus before she got killed."
"Who took out that E.M.M.I.?" asked a certain bounty hunter, as Samus entered the foyer in her Power Suit. She was stunned to see the E.M.M.I. defeated, as everyone pointed at Sephiroth. "Should've known..."
"These four men were out to find you, Sephiroth said to Samus as he pointed at Ike and company. "They must've been worried sick..."
"Don't know why they wasted their time...I could've handled everything by myself." Samus knelt down at the defeated E.M.M.I., using her arm cannon to absorb the robot. "Now the Christmas party can go on without a hitch."
"The Christmas party! How could-a we forget?" said Mario, after the E.M.M.I. had everyone held up. "Everyone to the ballroom!"
"You all go have your fun...while I have fun with my prey," Sephiroth said to Mario and company, as he headed down the hallway to look for Mr. Big Chest. He had some unfinished business.
"Sure hope they're continuing the raffle," said Guile, as he and the others went to the ballroom. The only ones that didn't go were Samus, who went to the workshop, and Sonic, who had heard the doorbell ring.
When Sonic answered the door, he was greeted by four ladies...Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, of the RWBY gang. Weiss was holding a Christmas present.
"Hi, Sonic, is Hunter here?" asked Ruby as Hunter, who was following after Mario, stopped and turned around when he heard his name called. Spyro had stopped as well. "Weiss wants to give him his Secret Santa present."
"This early? Yeah, he just went up the stairs," replied Sonic, as Hunter had no choice but to return to the foyer. Spyro followed after him. "And there he is!"
Ruby: We had meant to give Hunter his gift earlier. Weiss and Yang wouldn't stop arguing over which wrapping paper to use.
"It's about that time," Spyro smiled at Hunter, as Sonic let the RWBY gang inside the foyer. Hunter warily walked over to Ruby and friends, as Weiss handed the cheetah his gift.
"Merry Christmas," Weiss said to Hunter as she gave the cheetah her present. "This present isn't just from me...but from all of us."
Glaring at the RWBY gang, Hunter unwrapped his present expecting his gift to be something that would kill him on the spot. But instead, he got...a pair of running shoes. Hunter felt like the happiest cat on earth.
"Some new running shoes?! Sweet!" exclaimed Hunter as he took the shoes out of the box and tried them on. The cheetah tried out the shoes as he ran laps around the foyer. "Haven't worn these kinds of shoes in forever!"
"We're glad you liked them," smiled Ruby, as Hunter ran to the RWBY gang and did the unthinkable...giving each girl a hug. Spyro and even Sonic were amazed at how friendly Hunter was.
"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Hunter thanked the RWBY gang, acting as if he had just won the Boston Marathon. Must be the running shoes. "I lost my last pair of running shoes a long time ago. How did you know?"
"Blake gave us a tip," said Yang as she wrapped her arm around Blake, who was looking to the side. Blake didn't appreciate being outed like that. "She led us in the right direction."
"Impa mentioned to me that you told her about your missing running shoes..." Blake explained to Hunter, who recalled the conversation he had with Impa the week after his counseling session. "...she had a hand in it too, I guess."
"Don't care, I'm a running man again! WOOO!" exclaimed Hunter as he was running in place, feeling like a new man. "Thanks again, ladies."
"So does this mean you finally let bygones be bygones?" Spyro asked Hunter, as he couldn't bear to see his friend beefing with the RWBY gang anymore.
"Know what...this is the best Christmas gift I ever got! And it came from these four...sorry for everything, ladies."
"Apology accepted!" smiled Ruby, as she and her friends were now on equal terms with Hunter. Thanks to some running shoes. Sonic would tap Ruby on the shoulder, grabbing her attention.
"Do you know where Sonic is?" asked Sonic, believing that Iris might've taken his bandicoot friend out of the mansion. "Iris took him away, and..."
"Iris? Yeah, I saw her outside, with the bandicoots and Link and Zelda and some otter. I think I heard the otter mention something about a new house."
"New house? Did you say...new...house?!" The excitement that was building up inside of Sonic was hard to contain. "Where is it?!"
Thanks to some directions from Ruby, Sonic ran to the new house at the speed of sound. The new house, which was next to Rayman's house, was finally occupied as the lights were on and everything. Outside the house was Lottie, speaking with Link, Zelda, Cloud, and Impa.
"My boys got all the furniture moved in," Lottie informed Link, Zelda, and Cloud, as Sonic came over with a few questions to ask. "Everything in that house will go to the new..."
"This is the new house, right?" Sonic asked Lottie and company, as he heard some commotion from the open front door. "The one that was meant for the Wayfinder trio?"
"You're right, it was meant for the Wayfinder trio," Impa said to Sonic, the first person she expected to see. "But they preferred to stay in their original home. Luckily, we found another trio who was interested."
So the Happy Home Designers brought Sonic inside the new house, and where he saw his best friend Crash in the living room. He wasn't the only bandicoot present, mind you...Coco and Crunch were in the house too. So were the Wayfinder trio, Cilan, Iris, Ansem, Ienzo, and Even. Link, Cloud, and Zelda were present as well.
"How do you like your new house?" Terra asked Crash, who was happily bouncing on the living room couch. "I'll take that as a yes..."
"This is the...bandicoot's house now?" Sonic asked Lottie, who nodded her head smiling as Coco, Crunch, and Aku came over. "But I haven't even..."
"Let's just say that we had someone vouch for your friends," Lottie said to Sonic as she looked over at Cilan and Ienzo; Cilan gave Sonic a thumbs up, while Ienzo nodded his head.
"Ienzo said that we felt...important," Coco said to Sonic, as Crunch couldn't help but grin. "And Cilan just talked about what awesome company we were."
Crunch: The edgy nerd with the labcoat said that I was important...yes! *pumps fists* I'm finally going places.
Ienzo: I overheard the blonde, erm, "bandicoot" mention something about leaving his town at the arcade. So I simply asked for her and her family to stay. There's a good chance that in the future that she might need my intellect...or the other way around!
"You were a big help with that revival project, Sonic," Ansem said to the blue hedgehog, giving him some props. "And so were your bandicoot friends! I'd say this house is a reward for their efforts."
"I'll take credit for helping out," said Crunch as he held up his hand so that he could get some recognition...only to put his arm down. "Or maybe not..."
"Looks like your bandicoot buddies will be staying put," Cloud said to Sonic, who no longer had to worry about his friends potentially being gone forever. "Just only far away from where you live."
"Thanks, Cilan!" Sonic thanked the connoisseur, as he ran over to give him a hug. Cilan felt almost happy inside, with Sonic hugging him. "You too, emo lab assistant!"
"I have a name, you know..." frowned Ienzo, who was the next to be hugged by Sonic. "...stop tugging on my lab coat!"
"Funny how everything still worked out in the end," Zelda said to Link, as Even had to help pry Sonic off of Ienzo. The new house finally got its homeowners.
"I'll say," responded Link, before remembering a big holiday get-together that he and Zelda had to get to. "Especially after I held you guys up...sorry that I apparently suck so much at tabletop games."
"Leaving so soon?" Aku asked Link and Zelda, who were just about to sneak out through the front door. So much for being secretive.
"There's a party going on in the ballroom, you know...just be happy that you don't have to say your goodbyes."
"Eh, no one would probably miss me anyway...but I suppose you have a point."
Everyone at the new house returned to the party, which was still taking place in the ballroom. As fun as the party was, it was missing someone...
"Good evening, my Samaritans!" a man wearing an Organization XIII cloak approached Timmy and Tommy at the ticket stand, having some trouble walking toward the tanuki twins. "Is the party still hopping?"
"Silly N. Brio! You can't fool us!" Timmy said to the cloaked man, believing that it was Brio under the hood as Caroline and Justine came over.
"Failed the first time around," said Caroline as she tore off the Organization XIII cloak, revealing not Brio...but Gex, who was standing on stilts.
"I'm sure there's a good explanation for this..." said Gex after his identity was revealed to the two sets of twins, only to cower in fear when he saw Fox and Falco exit the ballroom. "...uh oh."
"Gex?!" shouted Fox, as he and Falco took out their Blasters; Gex ran down the hallway, running on his stilts. "Get back here, you!"
"Remember, kids - never touch a heated stove eye while wearing a plastic glove!" Gex gave these words of advice to the twins, as Fox and Falco chased after him. "Gex, away!"
The ballroom had reached max capacity; Mario, Link, and many others were now at the Christmas party. Some folks were enjoying the raffle gifts they won, while others gave them away.
"Here's your sword back," Harvey said to Hayabusa as he returned the ninja his Dragon Sword. Harvey had a few bruises on his head. "Turns out that a hippie wielding a sword is super weird."
"You bought us all...a scarf?" Heihachi asked Kazuya after he, Jin, and Ling opened the Christmas presents they had received. Each person had a scarf. "This is...unexpected."
"The thought that counts," Kazuya smiled proudly, with his arms folded; Dante gave Kazuya a side-eye, as he went over to the Ice Climbers who were giving away their ice cream.
"Let's lay off of Kazuya..." Dante whispered to Popo and Nana, while he had his eye on Kazuya. "...but just for tonight."
"So what do you use that giant key for?" Pop asked Ventus, who had his Keyblade out; Ventus wasn't exactly sure why.
"It's for...sealing keyholes and beating up monsters," answered Ventus, only for Pop to walk away while sipping from his drink. "What did I even say..."
"I'll see you all next week for the new year festivities, correct?" Anna asked the men's basketball team, with Master Hand hovering next to her.
"Don't count on it," replied Wayne, leading Master Hand and Anna to both laugh. "What's so funny?"
"See, Anna? I told you that he was the funny one!" Master Hand said to the merchant, wheezing as the basketball players looked puzzled.
Wayne: That wasn't Scarlett Johannson's bathwater. *shakes his head* I don't wanna talk about it.
Khash: It's kinda funny - the one day Master Hand wills us back to the mansion, is one of the few days of the basketball season that we take the day off.
Randall: Wait until he finds out that we're also off on Thanksgiving...
"What? You saw Sephiroth harassing him at the laundry room?" Joker was speaking with Makoto on the phone, as he walked away from Ryuji. "Told him not to take it to the extreme..." With Ryuji out in the open, Pit approached the delinquent.
"Since you didn't like your last apology gift...I got you a new one!" Pit said to Ryuji, as he presented Ryuji with a replica WWE title belt. Ryuji grimaced at the belt like it was hot trash. "You don't like it?"
"You think I would accept that trash?" snorted Ryuji, taking the title belt and throwing it onto the floor with disrespect. "As if!" The delinquent walked away, as Pit picked up the belt.
Pit: Yup...this means war.
"Stop-a running, Hunter, you'll get yourself-a hurt!" Mario shouted at the cheetah, who was running laps around the ballroom in his new running shoes. "I'm not paying for your hospital bill..."
"Missed a great raffle, Mario," Donkey Kong said to the plumber, approaching him along with the Skyward couple. "I'd say it was a big success."
"Yes, I've heard. So does this mean-a you'll do a New Year's-a raffle?" That question was left up to Skyward Link and Skyward Zelda, as Donkey Kong glanced at the couple.
"The Christmas raffle was enough work as it is," replied Skyward Zelda, as she and Skyward Link were both laughing sheepishly. Soon Donkey Kong was met by Cranky Kong, who might have a lot to say about his grandson's performance.
"How did I do, Cranky?" Donkey Kong asked the elderly gorilla, expecting some positive comments...only to receive a few smacks on the head, courtesy of Cranky's cane. "Ow, ow! What did I do wrong?"
"Everything!" replied Cranky, giving Donkey Kong perhaps the worst kind of criticism his grandson could get. "How come I didn't win a raffle prize?"
"The raffle was based on luck," stated Skyward Link, as Cranky smacked him on the head with his cane. Skyward Zelda giggled. "What, it's the truth!"
"Forget luck! Since when was luck a theme of Christmas? Who's making these new rules, the author?"
"If you know so much about this 'author', then why don't you tell us his name?" Donkey Kong challenged Cranky, who hit his grandson with his cane so hard he left behind a lump on his head. A pretty big one at that.
"Glad to have you staying in town, buddy," Sonic said to Crash, as the two friends walked past by with Aku accompanying them. Mario had crinkled his nose, for he assumed that the Crash clan would be leaving soon.
"Staying in town?" the plumber asked Sonic and Crash, who both came to a stop as they gave Mario their attention. "Master Hand changed-a his mind of the bandicoots?"
"No, but the bandicoots got a free house, courtesy of the Wayfinder trio! The best Christmas gift they could get." Sonic was in happy spirits, as Mario was beside himself - only because of one reason.
"They got the house? And Link, Zelda, Cloud, and Impa left-a me out of the loop?!" That's what happens when you go on an adven-tour to a shopping mall. A shopping mall, of all places. "IMPA!"
"A part of me is glad that he won't be our neighbor," remarked Aku, watching as Mario was on the hunt for Impa. Weird how Mario singled her out first.
