Author's Note:

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that this chapter would have much to do with a Switch game released on February 1st. Any idea what that game is? If you guessed Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection, then you are correct! Well, the game would've been released on February 1st...frankly, it has been delayed until later this year (it's available on the other consoles), but that hasn't stopped me from writing this chapter. Haha! Also won't stop me from answering some reviews:

"Will Captain Falcon help Min Min with the Chinese New Year ramen? Will they learn about the ancient tales of Chinese New Year such as Nian and the Great Race Story of the Chinese Zodiacs?"

Perhaps. Won't be much mentioned about the Chinese New Year in this chapter (I goofed up) but I can give it some attention in the next chapter. A JRPG enjoyer has questions about the upcoming Persona game:

"1. Since in P4AU, the fog from TV World is engulfing the city, does the same thing happen in your P4AU chapter? It would be cool to see some of the residents seeing the fog and seeing their shadow selves.
2. Will we see Margaret and Elizabeth in the chapter? And maybe Marie, too? Sounds nice (and heartwarming) to have Elizabeth meet Minato again.

3. Speaking of Minato, since he...you know...dead in the P3 canon, we're just gonna say that this Minato is from before P3 ending, like how Doc Ock and other villains appear in No Way Home, is that cool?
4. Is Adachi coming back? We haven't seen him since the Boxing Day chapter. And if Adachi is coming back, will we see Dojima and Nanako, too? Would love to see an awkward reunion again.
5. Now I'm gonna talk about Sho Minazuki...will we see him with his Persona or not?
6. And, if Labrys shows up, does that mean she will join the Shadow Operatives and live in the mansion? I don't know, that would probably sound cool. (Don't kill me, TIME TO GO.)"

1. That is one of the plans I have in mind.
2. Yes, and yes.
3. Yeah, let's just go with that...
4. Adachi will make his return. As for an appearance from Dojima and Nanako, that's kinda iffy at the moment.
5. Maybe you will, maybe you won't, we'll see how it goes.
6. It does sound cool, but as of right now, I don't know.

David has questions of his own:

"Is the Persona 4 Arena chapter and St. Patrick's Day chapter gonna be one big one? (The game comes out on March 17). Is Rise dating Teddie and has Yukiko found a new boyfriend? (Call me slow for asking). A Steam Deck related chapter? (February 25 is the release date for the system). And finally, what do you think on Resident Evil 4 rumored to get a remake? (Some concept art may have been leaked)."

I guess. Rise isn't dating Teddie, and Yukiko is still single. No Steam Deck chapter. And I haven't heard about RE4 getting a possible remake, but that game is a classic and I could see why Capcom would want to give it the good ol' remake treatment. BowserFan327 has a Fire Emblem question:

"I just found out something major. Fire Emblem Awakening's 10 year anniversary is coming up on April 12th! Awakening was the game that saved the franchise. It was supposed to be the last one. Will there be an anniversary chapter? Also, question. Can both Robins summon Grima or just one? And if it's the latter, which one shares the body with Grima?"

Been that long since Awakening was released, huh? Time sure flies. Considering that Awakening did save Fire Emblem, it deserves an anniversary chapter of some kind. To answer your second question, both Robins can summon Grima. Last up is An NFL fan with some big news:

"Well, I just got the official announcement from the man himself, Tom Brady is officially retiring from the NFL. What's your opinion on it?"

THE BAD MAN CAN'T HURT US ANYMORE! Honestly, it was only a matter of time until Brady hanged it up for good. I was kinda hoping he would do it last year after winning the Super Bowl...but nope. But the man got himself some rings, crushed some NFL records, and has a model for his wife. So I bet he's one happy man. Fingers crossed that he'll stay retired and not pull a Brett Favre...


Episode 320: ArcadiaBay

Snake and Hal were stuck in a rock and a hard place. In the previous episode, Snake had found out that Bayonetta was going through his personal belongings, and had likely seen the photos hidden in his dresser. Hal was worried when Snake told him the bad news.

What exactly was the content of those photos? Nobody knew for sure, but it was one of the things that Snake and Hal couldn't afford to let anyone put their eyes on. The two friends had already gone through a lot of trouble trying to keep anyone from looking inside their journal - let alone locating it - and they didn't want to go through that same ordeal again with the photos.

Snake, knowing from experience what Bayonetta was all about, wished to address the issue with Master Hand. So the former spy went to Master Hand's room so that he could get anything he had to say about Bayonetta off his chest.

"Hello, Master Hand? You in there?" asked Snake as he knocked on the bedroom door, only to be met with no response. But he heard Master Hand talking, and so he opened the door and saw Master Hand speaking with Villager.

"And this is the photo I took off Guile getting pantsed on New Year's Eve," Villager explained to Master Hand as he showed him a photo of Waluigi pantsing Guile. Master Hand laughed in response, but his laugh sounded fake - but at least he showed Villager that he cared. Somewhat.

"That face on Guile makes the picture even more perfect!" chuckled Master Hand, even though Guile clearly had the same old stoic visage. The giant hand looked up and saw Snake standing at the doorway. "Ah, Snake! Come in."

"Master Hand, we have to talk," Snake said to the giant hand as he stepped inside the room, as Villager placed the photo back in his pocket. "Bayonetta's been going through my stuff."

"...okay? And you're too scared to tell her to stop?" Master Hand was under the guise that Snake was a coward, and that wasn't the kind of image that Snake wanted him to have.

"No, it's...it's complicated. I've gotten on her about it multiple times, but she laughs in response every time. I'm sick and tired of it!"

Snake: There's nothing worse than Bayonetta going through your stuff. She'll either misplace your male grooming tools or empty your trash can just to read a bunch of letters you once sent to your former crush. And when you ask her why she did those things in the first place, she'll blame you for being "secretive". So what if a man wants to value his privacy?

"Amusing seeing you so worked up, Snake," Master Hand said to the former spy, who looked like he wanted to slap Bayonetta viciously. Missed his opportunity two episodes ago. "Especially after how you acted about that journal..."

"Journal? You know about the journal?!" panicked Snake, now fearing that Master Hand looked inside the journal once before. It would be very bad news if that was the case. "But how...?"

"Do I look like an idiot to you? Do you really think that I don't watch the documentary footage, to see what you schlubs are doing on camera? You don't think I go over the security footage, and see you singing Adele in the shower?"

"Alright, alright, you didn't have to go that far..." There was no shame in singing in the shower, but for guys like Snake, it was a truly embarrassing secret. "...so I guess that's why you pride yourself in being 'all-knowing.'"

"I think you deserve a small vacation. Constantly stressing yourself so much is not good for your health. ISABELLE!" Right on cue, Isabelle showed up at Master Hand's doorway in record fashion, startling Snake upon arrival.

"Yes, Master Hand?" asked Isabelle as she held her clipboard, eager in carrying out whatever Master Hand asked of her. No matter how dangerous or outright stupid it was on paper.

"Snake here needs a vacation. He must travel to the hottest vacation spot right now, so he can kick back and relax for once."

"A vacation in early February? Weird..." Snake furrowed his brow, ready to chalk up any excuse to keep himself at the mansion. But he couldn't think of one. "Can I bring Hal along with me, so I won't be alone?"

"You won't be alone, Snake," Isabelle assured the former spy as she patted him in the leg. "Fox and Falco will be your vacation guides!" Fox and Falco, as vacation guides? Snake would much rather be trapped in a vacation home with Bayonetta.

"Yes! Fox and Falco will be taking you to your travel destination," affirmed Master Hand, thinking of Isabelle as a genius; it was no wonder why he adored that Shih Tzu so much. "And there will be no Hal."

"That's good and all, but you can't force to go on vacation," said a defiant Snake as he folded his arms, leading Isabelle to take out a whistle and blow into it. "What's with that whistle...?"

"DOOM SLAYER! GET HIM!" shouted Isabelle, as Snake tried to make a run for it. But he was too late, as the Doom Slayer came running down the hallway to ambush the former spy. Doom Slayer tackled Snake to the floor and was on top of him.

"Really? You let that preppy dog bark orders at you?" Snake scowled at the Doom Slayer, who held the former spy's hands behind his back. Isabelle stood over Snake, sporting the smuggest smile possible.

Isabelle: People often ask me how Doom Slayer and I get along as friends, and I just tell them that opposites attract. Some even wonder if we would ever be an item and make out, which sounds gross. But if King Dedede can get a kiss...

"You'll be enjoying your little vacation, Snake..." Master Hand vowed to the former spy as he suddenly appeared in the hallway, watching the Doom Slayer wrangling with Snake. "...and we will make extra sure of it."

"Why does it sound like you're on to me...?" grumbled Snake, developing a sneaky feeling about Master Hand as the Doom Slayer helped him up to his feet. Or in this case, force aggressively.

"If you must know, you kinda did it to yourself. Take him away, Doom Slayer!" So the Doom Slayer escorted Snake down the hallway, as Isabelle happily followed behind the marine. Once the coast was clear, Villager exited Master Hand's room.

"Master Hand, is it time?" the young lad asked Master Hand, who responded with a charming laugh; Master Hand must've learned a lot about Snake from the documentary footage that he saw.

"Yes, Villager, you know what to do...ask the Luminary to go through Snake's belongings." With a command like that, Master Hand most definitely knew what was going on. And that was bad news for Snake and Hal.


Ryu had caught wind of Chun-li visiting the mansion for Chinese New Year after overhearing a conversation involving Isabelle, Samus, and Mei. And would you know it, Chun-li stopped by the mansion that Tuesday for the spring festival fun. It was worth noting that Ryu was acting awkward around Chun-li, as he wasn't fully prepared yet to be with his woman.

Well, Ryu should give himself an ample amount of time to prepare, for Chun-li had plans to stop by the mansion again. This time, for Valentine's Day. And also the Super Bowl. Ryu had heard about such plans from Ken, who he was speaking to in the living room.

"What? Why would she tell you, and not me?" Ryu asked Ken, as Link and Zelda were passing through the living room when they saw the conversation between the friendly rivals taking place.

"Because it was meant to be a surprise!" Ken replied with a smile, only for his smile to fade when he realized that he might've goofed up. "On that note, maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation..."

"Oh, what's the use...I made a fool of myself during the Chinese New Year. And I'll do it again on Valentine's Day!" Ryu saw that there was no hope for him; he even contemplated running away if it meant avoiding seeing Chun-li's face.

"If it makes you feel any better, I heard that Chun-li found himself another man." This was the line that threw Ryu over the edge, as the fighter let out an uncharacteristically distressed cry.

"Chun-li's two-timing me?! Why didn't I see this coming..." Ryu marched out of the living room, rubbing his fingers through his hair as he was perhaps the most emotional he's ever been. Ken watched as Ryu left, perplexed.

"Dang it...I thought that would've worked." With Ryu gone, Link and Zelda came over to speak with Ken, who grew nervous real quick. "Oh, hey Link and Zelda! You didn't actually believe that..."

"No, we could tell that you were joking," replied Link, as neither he nor Zelda could think of any other man that Chun-li would be remotely interested in. "What was Ryu getting so worked up about?"

"Chun-li is coming back for Super Bowl Weekend. And Valentine's Day. Because you know..." Ken clicked his fingers and smiled at Link and Zelda, expecting them to be in the know. Mainly because of them being authority figures.

"Yes, we know, romantic ball on Valentine's Day..." replied Zelda, as Ken's smile grew even bigger... "...and Valentine's Day part next Friday." ...only for the smile to slowly fade away. "Hope your wife's available."

Ken: Valentine's Day party next week? Why didn't anyone tell me?! Was it meant to be a surprise, like how Chun-li's supposed to surprise Ryu? Will there be a birthday party for me? Does anyone know that my birthday's on Valentine's Day? I don't even know anymore! So many questions...

Link: So the Super Bowl has fallen on an interesting time this year...second Sunday of February, a day before Valentine's Day. And because of such proximity, Master Hand took it upon himself to combine both events. For better and for worse.
Zelda: Anyone who's in town for the party next Friday will not only be forced to attend the ball - but the Super Bowl party as well. It will be one of the best and worst decisions Master Hand will ever make.
Link: Oh, and Anna's in charge of sending out invites. Because who doesn't love a bloated Super Bowl party, amirite?

"Ryu is freaking out because Chun-li will be in town for Valentine's Day," Ken explained to Link and Zelda, who were both aware of Ryu's brief romantic history with Chun-li. "You saw how he was during the Spring Festival."

"The man looked like he was trying to hold in a fart all day," commented Link, who had taken note of Ryu's awkwardness. For him, it was a sight to behold. "He was so sweaty, too...drenched even."

"Saw him hiding in the bathroom during the Yiga Clan's fireworks display," added Zelda; if Ryu was hiding away because the Yiga clansmen were in charge of the fireworks, then that was perfectly understandable. "I was the only person to see him that night..."

"That's where he was this whole time?" questioned Ken, hoping that Ryu wasn't in the bathroom for the wrong reasons. Either way, hearing about Ryu's behavior made Ken sigh and shake his head.

"You won't have to worry about Ryu, Ken...we'll get him all sorted out." If Zelda wished for Ryu to be on his best behavior around Chun-li, then perhaps speaking with the fighter would be the best thing. Let him air out his concerns.

"Cool, cool! Also, whenever you see him, let him know that Chun-li isn't seeing other men...it was just a joke." Ken would hate for a harmless joke to tear apart his friendship with Ryu.

"We'll see if he gets the clue first," replied Link, as having a word with Ryu was his and Zelda's MO. Provided that Ryu didn't take it upon himself to run away.


Mario enjoyed his trip to Hisui, getting to see Pokemon that were native in that region. Even better, the plumber got to bring some of those Pokemon to the mansion, with Professor Rowan allowing the Pokemon to stay at the sanctuary. Rowan saw new Pokemon, and the sanctuary had some new additions - all in all, it was a win-win for both parties.

Reminiscing over his trip back in time, Mario was playing darts by himself in his living room. Dawn and Barry both gave the plumber crap for his accuracy - or the lack thereof - in the previous episode, and Mario wished to prove both Pokemon trainers wrong. He was on his way to doing that, as he threw his dart at the target on the wall.

"Bullseye!" Mario cheered as the dart struck the center of the target. Hunter was recording Mario throwing darts on a digital camera, with Spyro standing at the cheetah's side. "Did-a you get that, Hunter?"

"Whoops! Accidentally had the cover on this whole time," said Hunter as he saw a black cap over the lens. The cheetah sheepishly removed the cap, as Mario smacked his forehead. "Uh, can we do a take two?"

"Mario, this doesn't prove anything," Spyro said to the plumber, who ran his hand down his face as he lamented over the lost footage. "Throwing darts isn't the same as throwing Poke Balls."

"Speak-a for yourself, all you can do is spit-a stuff out of your mouth!" retorted Mario, as Spyro rested his case; arguing against Mario in this scenario wasn't worth losing any part of his sanity. "So how can you..."

"Mario?" Peach called out the plumber's name, as she came into the living room from the kitchen like she had something big she wanted to announce. "There's something that I've been meaning to tell you..."

"Yes, what is that?" Mario gave all of his attention to Peach, seeing how sincere the princess was. Going on on the vibe that Peach gave off, whatever she had to say was potentially groundbreaking, monumental, a whole bunch of adjectives.

"The truth of the matter is..." Peach looked down at the floor, tightening her fists and bracing herself for what she was about to get off her chest. "...I have always loved Bowser, and always will."

"You WHAT?" Spyro said to Peach as his mouth was agape, and so were Mario and Hunter's. Mario was easily the most shocked out of the three men, for very obvious reasons.

"I KNEW IT!" exclaimed Hunter, sounding somewhat excited as he started prancing around the living room. Peach's big announcement made the cheetah feel like Albert Einstein for only a brief moment.

"But why?" Mario asked Peach, as he found any woman who was attracted to Bowser to be extremely blind. To say that he was hurt by Peach's huge confession would be lightly putting it. "We literally had a kid...and another's on the way..."

"I couldn't have a kid with Bowser, silly," smiled Peach, seemingly basking in the delight of how devastated Mario was. Truly sociopathic behavior. "That's why I used you to make my dreams come true."

"Oh wow, that's such a great impersonation of me!" exclaimed Peach as she entered the living room...from the bathroom. Wait, there were two Peaches now? Mario was understandably confused, and so were Spyro and Hunter.

"Okay, this just got weird," remarked Spyro, as Mario quickly exchanged looks between the two Peaches. The Peach that came from the kitchen grunted and stomped on the floor in anger...

...before revealing herself to be a Hisuian Zoroark, as the illusion faded away. His plan foiled, the Hisuian Zoroark peacefully left Mario's house as he casually exited through a window.

"How did the Zoroark get inside-a my house?" questioned Mario as he looked at two possible suspects, Spyro and Hunter. Spyro looked up at Hunter, who was whistling innocently.

"Hey, she asked nicely!" defended Hunter, knowing that Spyro would've done the same if he was in his position. Which couldn't be any further from the truth. "Asked nicely as Peach, I should say..."


Cappy: Those alpha Pokemon that showed up last week were a lot of trouble, but we took care of 'em with those Hisuian Pokemon. Professor Rowan brought those alpha Pokemon with him to his lab, so that he could research them and find out what makes them so ginormous! As for the Hisuian Pokemon, we obviously got to keep them, and they haven't caused too many problems...but I'm just speaking from my own personal experience.

Hearing some commotion outside, Mario stepped out of his house and saw Sonic riding around on a Wyrdeer in the mansion's front yard. The blue hedgehog was cheering wildly, as the Wyrdeer was taking him for a ride. Literally.

"Ride with the wind, Bullseye!" Sonic shouted at Wyrdeer, who was galloping majestically outside as he nearly trampled over Olimar. Sonic was having the time of his life, riding like Wyrdeer as if he was a horse.

"I see someone's taking that whole 'Wyrdeer is a ride Pokemon' to the extremes," remarked Spyro as he joined Mario at the front door. Eventually, Wyrdeer had enough of Sonic, as he came to a stop and threw the hedgehog off his back.

"Woah!" Sonic was screaming as he flew through the air, before colliding against a tree and sliding down to the ground. He didn't appear to be in too much pain, as he slowly got up without any trouble. "That was a sweet ride, Wyrdeer."

"Is Sonic wearing a Rams-a jersey?" wondered Mario as he squinted his eyes, making out the blue jersey that Sonic was wearing. The 3 on the jersey was the dead giveaway to the plumber. "Mama mia..."

"Fox and Falco should have taken off by now," said Master Hand as he magically appeared outside, about to do some surveying. Upon seeing Master Hand, Sonic ran up to the giant hand.

"Hey, Master Hand! Guess what team I'm rooting for to win the Super Bowl," said Sonic as he showed off his jersey, expecting Master Hand to give some kind of reaction. However, he would be disappointed when Master Hand just floated there, doing nothing.

"Seriously, Sonic? I thought we've already been over this. If you want to support the Rams, then that's your choice. Just accept the consequences of being a traitor to this great city."

"Heh, as if anyone has ever considered Seattle 'great'..." snorted Sonic, before shuddering in fear as he anticipated Master Hand growling angrily at him. Again, Master Hand did nothing.

"A strange opinion to have, but you're free to feel that way. If you really want to know how much of a traitor you are...then why don't you present yourself as a Rams fan to the Seattlites?"

"What is this, some kind of bet? What do I get for doing this?" To Sonic, meandering around the city as a fan of the Los Angeles Rams sounds pointless. But if there was a reward for his troubles - and a chance to make Master Hand look silly - he'd do it in a heartbeat.

"Nothing, nothing much really...except the ability to choose the menu for the Super Bowl party." That would be bad news for the residents - nobody would want to eat just chili dogs for the big game. "Only if you return to this mansion unscathed."

"You're on!" Sonic, feeling confident in himself, shook hands with Master Hand, while Mario and Spyro had doubts about the hedgehog's success. "I can't wait to prove you wrong, Master Hand!"

"Looking forward to it...not!" Master Hand watched as Sonic hopped back on Wyrdeer; Wyrdeer looked like he was tired of Sonic, but he had no other choice but to accept his fate.

"Alright, Wyrdeer! To the nearest sports bar we go!" Sonic gave Wyrdeer a good kick, and Wyrdeer let out a cry as he ran through the street - nearly causing a car to spin out and crash in the process.

"What exactly is Sonic trying to prove to Master Hand?" Cappy asked Mario, who shrugged his shoulders as he hoped for Sonic to make it back in one peace. The sports fans in Seattle might give Sonic a hard time - the crazy ones, at least.

Master Hand: The Cincinnati Bengals versus the Los Angeles Rams has got to be one of the freshest matchups in recent memory. Now be honest - how many of you predicted many months ago that the Bengals would be Super Bowl-bound? No need to say yes, it isn't okay to lie. As always, a division rival of the Seahawks in the Super Bowl is serious business. I would enforce a mandate to keep everyone from rooting for the Rams...but I've come to realize that this is a free country. Now let me stop my spiel right there before Guile butts in and starts crying his eyes out about how much he adores freedom...


As an order from Isabelle, through Master Hand, Fox and Falco were supposed to take Snake on a vacation. The choice of the vacation spot was totally up to the pilots, and they had a place in mind. Flying in their Arwings, Fox, Falco, and Snake arrived in Oregon, which was perhaps the last state that Snake would go to for a vacation - forced to or not.

"Arcadia Bay, Oregon?" Snake furrowed his brow as he read the city sign that the Arwings were parked near. The former spy looked around and saw an ocean on the horizon, seeing that Arcadia Bay was a seaside town. "Is this even a real place?"

"You tell me," replied Fox, standing on top of a large rock as he stretched out his arms. Falco, not wishing to be outdone by his own friend, stretched out his own arms, and his legs as well.

"So you're openly admitting that you don't even know yourself. What's so wrong with going to Portland, the more popular city? Too boring for you?"

"That, and it's also too mainstream," replied Falco, as Snake failed to comprehend the avian pilot's logic. As anyone else probably would. "At least here we can go surfing and junk."

"I would say that I hate you guys, but I've said that too many times at this point to make it even more obvious..." Forced to accept his travel destination, Snake sighed. He was hoping that some locales in Arcadia Bay had plenty to offer.

"Excuse me?" a voice called out to Snake and company, as a young woman came over to the three. In her hands was a camera. "I see your spaceship parked near the sign. Are you three from outer space?"

"We are, but he's not," replied Fox as he pointed at Snake, who was making a horrible first impression as he scratched his butt profusely. It sure made him relieved, though. "I'd like to think that he was born and raised inside a lab."

"How awfully flattering of you, Mr. McCloud..." Snake sneered at Fox, as he had to put up with many made-up stories about his origin. Being born in a lab was one of his favorite ones.

"You're probably wondering who I am...I'm Max Caulfield," the young woman introduced herself to Fox and company; she would shake their hands, if not for the camera that she was holding. "I'm an aspiring photographer."

"An aspiring photographer, huh?" Falco asked Max, getting the wrong idea as he started. Like he was posing for a women's magazine. "Looking for some male models? 'Cause you found the right ones..."

"Stop being weird," Fox scolded Falco as he smacked the avian pilot; Falco grumbled as he finally put an end to the posing. However, the posing that he did would plant a small seed in Max's head.

"I've never encountered a talking fox before...or a talking bird," stated Max, who was thinking of herself as one of the luckiest gals on earth. "...or a man born and raised in a lab. I guess you three would make for very interesting subjects."

"SCORE!" cheered Falco, believing that he steered Max in the right direction as he pumped his fist. Fox stared at his friend in dismay, shaking his head.

"How about I show you about town? We can pick out the places where we can take your pictures. It'll be fun!" Eager to take some pictures of Arcadia Bay's visitors, Max led the trio of Fox, Falco, and Snake to places unknown. Well, places unknown to them.

"Not exactly how I planned on spending my 'vacation'..." Snake muttered under his breath, as Fox took out a pair of car keys and clicked a button to lock his Arwing. Would really suck if someone took that Arwing out on a joyride.


With Snake out of the mansion, the Luminary would have free reign to search Snake's room at will. The Luminary, who was on to Snake since episode 308, would be happy to hear that Master Hand was too on to Snake. So when Villager found the mage in the gaming room and told him about his mission, the Luminary was quite amused.

"Basically, Master Hand wants you to do a search of Snake's room," Villager gave the details of the mission to the Luminary, who was scratching his chin as he considered the task. "You know, like how the feds would."

"I don't believe that would be enough..." responded the Luminary, thinking of another measure that would get him one step closer to unlocking the truth. "...has Hal Emmerich showed up yet?"

"Nope, but I have a hunch that he'll be here soon." The look on Hal's face when he finds out that Snake was "vacationing" would be a sight to behold. "Want me to give you a heads up?"

"That would be nice, yes. Because if there's anyone that we would have to speak with...it's him." Hal might as well skip out on his visit, for his own sake.


As an ultimatum from Joker, Pit was not to return to his job at Cafe Leblanc until he and Ryuji made up. Well, Pit and Ryuji still hadn't sorted out their differences yet, which meant that Pit hadn't been working behind the counter for two weeks straight. And the longer Pit's absence remained, the more restless Joker and the other baristas grew.

"you guys heard about the tiger that ran away from the zoo?" Sans asked the baristas, as he was sitting at the counter. The skeleton came off as serious, so the baristas took his word for it.

"A tiger ran away from the zoo? Like, today?" Viridi asked Sans, who nodded his head; Sans was barely even smiling, proving that the tiger's escape from the zoo was the real deal.

"heard about it on the news today. apparently, he ran from the other tigers because he didn't want to be caught up in a catfight." Just like that, Sans saw his trademark smile return, as the skeleton laughed and slapped his knee.

"Not funny, Sans..." Joker frowned at the laughing skeleton, as he prepared a bowl of curry for King Dedede. Sans was laughing away, nearly crying his eyes out as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"you guys know the song 'eye of the tiger', right? so weird that nobody ever talks about the other four letters." Sans was laughing even harder, as even those sitting close to the skeleton had grown tired of him. Now they knew what the baristas constantly had to put up with.

King Dedede: Ever since those Bengals made it to the Super Bowl, Sans has been doing nothing but cracking lame tiger-related puns, nonstop. It's almost like the guy has a list of puns ready to go for every team. I for one hope that the Cleveland Browns reach the Super Bowl one day - the puns that Sans will try to make about them will be just as uncreative as their team name!

"Joker, Joker, I finally did it!" announced Pit as he ran inside the Cafe Leblanc; it has been a while since the last time Joker saw the angel in the cafe. "Ryuji and I finally made up."

"About time," responded a relieved Joker, happy to bring Pit back on board, as Pit ran up to the counter with his phone out. "I take it that you have video evidence?"

"Yup! Ryuji took it upon himself to issue a video apology since he figured you would want something tangible. I gotta say, he was very honest and frank with the apology he made."

So Pit pulled up the video and showed it to Joker as Kirby, Viridi, and Incineroar gathered around. To their surprise, the man in the video was not Ryuji, but rather someone dressed up as him.

"Pit, I am very, very sorry for all the things that I've done to you..." said the Ryuji impersonator, as he read from a script; he sounded bored, like the person behind the camera was holding him at gunpoint and he didn't care. "...do I have read the rest, Pit?"

"Hurry up, the camera's battery is about to die!" replied the videographer, Pit, as his voice was heard in the video. Viridi slowly looked up and frowned at Pit, who was enthralled by how the "apology video" turned out.

"I am very, very sorry for all the things that I've done to you, and the things that I planned on doing. Also, wrestling is real, WWE is the best, and AEW is nothing more than blazing hot trash manure doggy poop. The end."

"Pit, that's clearly Cloud dressed up as Ryuji," stated Kirby, as the video ended with the Ryuji impersonator, Cloud, tearing his script in half before taking off his black jacket.

"Yeah I know; I tried to give Cloud a more fitting hairstyle, but he was too chicken," stated Pit, seeing nothing wrong with the apology video - to him, it was a masterpiece of the highest order.

"You really think that we would've fallen for that?" Joker asked Pit, who now saw that Joker was a lot smarter than he looked. Thought that those glasses Joker was wearing were fake. "Way to insult our intelligence, Pit."

"I see that Ryuji's line of thinking has corrupted your mind," Pit said to Joker, shaking his head in dismay as he took great pity on the young man. "Has Ryuji made you a fan of AEW?"

"Ryuji hasn't done such a thing...and I don't think I'll ever let him do it." Despite his response, Pit was still convinced that Ryuji had successfully swayed Joker, and it bough much dismay to the angel.

"You know what they say...the friend of your enemy, is your enemy." Making up this inspirational quote on the fly, Pit made his assumptions about Joker as he left the cafe. Joker won't be seeing that angel at Cafe Leblanc - and perhaps in general - anytime soon.

"I'm so sorry that he chooses to act like this," Kirby apologized to Joker, who let out a defeated sigh after Pit left the cafe. Cloud came inside the cafe, taking a seat at the counter.

"One cup of joe, please," requested Cloud, as Joker and the other baristas were staring at the swordsman with smiles. Cloud got the clue right away, seeing who was absent. "Does whatever you have in mind involve Pit...?"


Sonic was riding through Seattle on Wyrdeer, on a quest to prove to Master Hand that being a Rams fan in the emerald city was acceptable. The hedgehog rode Wyrdeer through the Seattle traffic, only to be pulled over when he accrued the police's attention.

"Not sure if you're aware, but riding on a moose through afternoon traffic violates the law," a police officer told Sonic, as he had no choice but to write up a ticket. Sonic better heed that ticket as a warning.

"He's not a moose...he's a Wyrdeer," Sonic corrected the police officer, who ignored the hedgehog as he handed him his ticket. "Also, I couldn't have caused that much trouble..."

"You and your 'Wyrdeer' nearly caused multiple accidents on the road." The police officer brought Sonic's attention to a few cars that were off the road, only because they were trying to avoid Wyrdeer at all costs.

"Oh, you mean that? Hate to break it to ya, officer, but I'm not at fault for that." Sonic knew the perfect route to go in just to get himself out of trouble. "Because I know a guy..."

"...if you're gonna use Dr. Cortex as a scapegoat, don't even try it." Seemed like Cortex was a popular commodity among the Seattle police. Nonetheless, Sonic snapped his fingers in disgust as his plan was a failure.

Police Officer: I'm fully aware of the whole "use Cortex as a fall guy" schtick. Dudes from the mansion use it as a go-to move to avoid getting a traffic ticket. Heck, it's already gotten to the point where my own men are doing the same thing! Although playing that card doesn't have nearly the same effect when it comes to pulling pranks at the police station.

"Besides, Cortex's still in jail so if he got out, I'd be among the first to know," the police officer added, finished handling his business as he returned to his police car. "I better not see you out here again."

"Same here, buddy - hopefully, I'll get pulled over by a different cop!" responded Sonic, as the police officer groaned and got back inside his car, and drove off. Sonic turned around and saw his destination...the Australian-themed bar, Kangaroo and Kiwi.

Keeping Wyrdeer outside, Sonic stepped inside Kangaroo and Kiwi and saw several guys inside, eating and drinking and just having a good time. Sonic rubbed his hands together when he saw how many occupants were wearing Seattle Seahawks gear.

"I personally can't stand the Rams being in the Super Bowl," one Seahawks fan said to the bartender, shaking his head as he was overwhelmed by the bitterness inside of him. "Should've been us, man..."

"It was those injuries, I'm telling you," responded the bartender, after fixing someone a glass; Sonic dear near, ready to make his presence known. "Once Rusell Wilson went down, that's when I knew that the Seahawks' season was over."

"THE SEAHAWKS? MORE LIKE THE SHE-HAWKS, AMIRITE?" Sonic belted out, creating an extremely tense silence in Kangaroo and Kiwi. Everyone turned around and stared at Sonic, with some looking ready to throw hands.

"What did you just say about our team?" one ticked off Seahawks fan angrily asked Sonic, staring down at the hedgehog as he rose up from his chair. Sonic, sensing the vibe inside the bar, was about to turn up the ante.

"And Russell Wilson, what's the deal with him? The dude looks like a love child of Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson!" That comment struck a chord with the Seahawks fans, as they grew even angrier.

"You dare talk crap about Wilson?" someone asked sonic, hoping that the hedgehog knew what he was getting himself into - a world of hurt. "The same guy that led us to our first Super Bowl win?"

"Yeah, your first AND ONLY Super Bowl win! One-year dynasty, baby!" Now all the Seahawks fans were over the edge at this point, as Sonic began taunting them while flaunting his Rams jersey.

"Get him!" a Seahawks fan shouted, as he and his Seahawks brethren charged forward at Sonic. Sonic sped out of harm's way, watching as the Seahawks fans were fighting among themselves.

"Keep it up with the fighting - and enjoy being a bottom-feeder for the next five years!" Sonic called out to the Seahawks, taunting their hometown team one more time before vamoosing out of Kangaroo and Kiwi. The damage was already done, as Sonic left on his Wyrdeer. One joint down, more to go...


Max was showing Fox, Falco, and Snake around the seaside town of Arcadia Bay, and now the aspiring photographer was ready to take some pictures of the three gentlemen. Falco was more than prepared for the occasion, posing as he was lying on a bridge.

"Paint me like one of your French girls..." Falco said to Max, getting himself comfortable and in the right position so that he wouldn't fall off and plummet to his doom. "...after you're done snapping the picture, that is."

"I'd be more comfortable if you were sitting up," Max admitted to Falco, who sighed as he sat on the bridge. But Falco was still playing himself up as a glamorous bird, staring seductively into the camera.

"Told you to stop acting weird," Fox frowned at Falco, and Max took a picture of Falco as Snake heard his codec ringing in his pocket. "People are looking at us, you know!"

"That's good...I want them to look." As Falco struck another pose for Max, Snake walked away without saying a word and pulled out his codec, placing the device in his ear. Hal was giving him a call.

"Howdy, Snake!" Hal's voice was heard from the codec, and he sounded chipper to be speaking with the former spy. "On my way to the mansion. Had to grab a quick bite to eat."

"On your way, huh? Cool, cool..." responded Snake, too reluctant to disclose his current whereabouts to Hal. It was perhaps best for Hal to figure out himself as the call carried on.

"Why do I hear seagulls? And is that Fox's yapping that I hear in the background? Hope no one's doing some kind of indoor beach!"

"There's no indoor beach, Hal...but I can confirm that Fox yapping away is legit. Not sure how you'll react to this, but...I'm on vacation."

"On vacation? And you didn't think about inviting me?!" Hal sounded hurt, and Snake almost even felt bad for the hacker. But whatever bad feelings Snake had faded away, as Hal chuckled. "Ha! I was just messin' with ya."

"Yeah, Master Hand randomly forced me to go on vacation; Fox and Falco took me to some make-believe town in Oregon. Getting a sense that Master Hand might be on to us."

"Well, if one thing, I'd much rather have Bayonetta on our tails than Master Hand. Master Hand could've been secretly spying on us, for all we know."

"Snake? It's your turn to take some pictures," Max called out to the former spy after she was done taking photos of Fox. Unlike Falco, Fox chose to be on his best behavior - which Falco found to be a very boring tactic.

"Sorry, Hal, but I gotta go - some dumb photographer chick apparently wants to take some photos of me. Must be for her stupid photo catalog."


"A photographer, hm?" Hal scratched his chin in thought, sounding intrigued as he made his way to the mansion. Had to maneuver past some Hisuian Voltorbs that were trying to befriend the hacker. "Could you perhaps bring her to Seattle?"

"I mean, I can try..." replied Snake, as Hal was held up by the Hisuian Voltorbs - the sphere Pokemon blocking his path to the mansion's porch. "...why exactly am I doing this?"

"Erm, no reason! I'll explain everything later. Nice Hisuian Voltorbs..." Hal gently stepped over the Hisuian Voltorbs, who out of friendly ambition discharged their electricity. Hal was electrocuted before he fell to the ground, covered in soot.

"Hal, are you alright?" Snake sounded concerned for Hal, who got back up on his feet without a hitch as he dusted off the soot. The Hisuian Voltorbs, having already expressed their friendship towards Hal, wandered away from the hacker.

"Yes, Snake, I'm fine...just got electrocuted, that's all." Hal seemed very casual about being electrocuted, which only brought more concern to Snake. Hal was acting like electrocution was a normal occurrence for him.

Hal: The Hisuian Pokemon gave me a hard time after they were brought to the mansion. Kleavor almost cut my head off. Wyrdeer trampled me while I was outside, getting some fresh air. And that Hisuian Zoroark impersonated me with one of his illusions, and said something to Samus that prompted Samus to slap me later. I'd rather not say explicitly what that Zoroark told her.

"I'll see you soon," Hal said to Snake, finishing his call with the former spy as he ended the call and put his phone away. The hacker went up the porch and arrived at the front door, encountering the guard dogs Copper and Booker.

"Right this way, good sir!" Copper said to Hal, as he and Booker moved out of the way. Hal went to the front door and rang the doorbell, before knocking on the door for good measure.

"Hello, it's me! Hal Emmerich!" shouted Hal, and seconds later the door was opened by Villager. Just the kind of friendly face that Hal was delighted to see. "Good afternoon, Villager."

"Good afternoon, Hal...come on inside," Villager said to the hacker, as he welcomed him inside the mansion. Hal stepped inside into the foyer, paying close attention to how hard Villager was staring at him.

"Pardon my ignorance, but do your eyes always look like that?" As Hal asked Villager this question, he saw Copper and Booker quickly slam the front door shut, which brought some trouble to the hacker. "Ummm..."

"HIYAAAAH!" shouted Toon Link, letting out a battle cry as he and Young Link ambushed Hal. The buddy cops brought Hal down to the floor, wrangling with him as Villager looked on.

"Why are you arresting me?!" Hal felt Young Link putting handcuffs on him, as he looked up and saw Villager smiling away. "Villager, stop these miscreants!"

"No can do - I'm a former employee of theirs," responded Villager, keeping his hands to himself as he folded his arms. Hal felt helpless, as Young Link successfully got handcuffs on the hacker.

"Hal Emmerich, you are under arrest for aligning yourself with Solid Snake," Young Link told the hacker, as he and Toon Link pulled him up to his feet. Hal was now getting the idea that it was more than just Bayonetta who was onto him and Snake.

"I can assure that what we're up to has no wrongdoing of any sort," Hal pleaded his innocence to the buddy cops, as he felt Toon Link digging into his pockets. "Hey, you! Stop that at once!"

"Nice journal you got here," Toon Link said to Hal, as he glanced at the cover; the Hylian didn't bother to look inside the journal, which brought some small amount of relief to Hal. "We'll be holding on to this, for now."

"Come with us to our police station," Young Link said to Hal, as the buddy cops took the handcuffed hacker away. Hal definitely didn't like how things were going so far.

"Did you set me up on purpose, Villager?" Hal asked the young lad, who was still smiling as he saw the hacker being taken away. "This isn't right!" Villager was still all smiles, that devious little one.

Villager: Heard Snake having those weird conversations with Hal a few months ago. Thought that now was a good time to get on their case.


To keep his mind off of Chun-li, Ryu went to the fitness center to get some acupuncture done. The acupuncture was conducted by Wii Fit Trainer, who claimed to be a pro at this form of alternative medicine - even though she didn't have a license for it.

"Take deep breaths, and you'll be fine," Wii Fit said in a soothing manner to Ryu, who was lying stomach-first on a bed. Ryu had his eyes closed, feeling relaxed as his mind was somewhere else.

"I am the cumulus cloud...the cumulus cloud is me," said Ryu, finding himself in the groove, and Wii Fit smiled in amusement as she stuck several needles in certain spots of Ryu's body.

"Tell me, Ryu, in which spots do you feel the most pain?" Wii Fit was sticking in the needles all willy-nilly, and she felt extremely guilty for doing it.

"Pain...I feel it everywhere." Ryu, who was once at peace, suddenly had reoccurring thoughts about Chun-li when Wii Fit asked him her question. His eyes became open in a snap.

"Um, can you be a bit more specific? I can't just stick these needles everywhere." Wii Fit watched as Ryu quickly sat up, before hopping off the bed to go rinse his face in a nearby sink.

"What's the point...this isn't even working." Done rinsing his face, Ryu had both of his hands on the sink as he lowered his head. Wii Fit looked on, wondering what had gotten into Ryu. "It's no use!"

"Are we still doing this acupuncture thing, or...?" Wii Fit had a few more needles that she could stick into Ryu, but it appeared that Ryu was done with acupuncture for now.

Wii Fit Trainer: Acupuncture, as a practice, is meant to reduce stress. But I've done the complete opposite with Ryu, and made him even more stressed than he originally was! Perhaps naming myself as an acupuncturist in name wasn't the best intention.

"Wow, Ryu, that's a lot of needles stuck in your back!" Link said to the fighter, as he and Zelda showed up at the room where the acupuncture was being done. "Getting some acupuncture done?"

"No, Chun-li, I'm not ready yet!" Ryu shouted in response as he turned around, only to cool off when he saw Link and Zelda. "Oh, it's just you two..."

"Ken told us that you've been acting funny," Zelda said to Ryu, who was sure to give Ken a piece of his mind for being a tattle-tale. Ryu admitted that what Zelda said was the truth, as he sighed.

"It's Chun-li...she's planning to be back for Valentine's Day, and the Super Bowl. I'm worried that I'd make a fool out of myself again!"

"I don't think you were acting that foolish," Link said to Ryu, trying to cheer the fighter up - but Ryu could tell that Link was lying just to make him happy. "Like when you were sweating around Chun-li - I bet that was because of a lack of air conditioning."

"Then why weren't you and Zelda sweating?" Ryu questioned Link, who had nothing to say as he nervously bit his bottom lip. "Does being a Hylian make you both immune to sweat?"

"Uh, sure, let's go with that! Us Hylians are advanced humans, right Zelda?" Link nudged Zelda, hoping that the princess would help his case, but all Zelda did was stare at her husband inquisitively.

"And why wasn't anyone else sweating? It's winter in the pacific northwest, for goodness sake!" Ryu was about to go into a raging fit, only for Wii Fit to come over and calm him down.

"Settle down, Ryu...take a deep breath," Wii Fit soothed the fighter, who did as he was told as he inhaled and then exhaled. Ryu was back to his normal yet frantic self. "I think we should return to our acupuncture session."

"No...I think that Ryu should face his fears," said Zelda, as Ryu's eyes grew big with worry. Did Zelda mean what Ryu thought she mean? "Is there any way that we could contact Chun-li, Wii Fit?"

"Chun-li doesn't own a phone, that much I am certain of," Ryu quickly responded, in a desperate attempt to shut down whatever Zelda had planned. He was confident that Wii Fit didn't have an answer for Zelda.

"Mario might have her number," assumed Wii Fit, and Ryu was hoping that the fitness trainer was wrong. "She works as an Interpol officer, does she not? And Mario knows how to get around."

"They don't call Mario the everyman for nothing," remarked Link, as the plan was to speak with Mario - whether Ryu chose to or not. Link and Zelda wouldn't give Ryu any room for escape.


Still rocking his Rams jersey, Sonic was riding around on Wyrdeer - spreading the word about how good the Rams were, and how the Seahawks were on a downward spiral. The hedgehog's latest stop was an ice cream parlor, as he was inside sitting at the counter.

"The Rams will win the Super Bowl," Sonic guaranteed to the person sitting next to him, who was noodling around on their phone. "And that's not a guarantee, mind you - it's a spoiler!"

"Keep telling yourself that..." the person grumbled, leaving their seat as they walked away from the counter. One of the workers walked up to Sonic, identifying the jersey that the hedgehog was wearing.

"Funny-looking jersey you're wearing, hon," the worker said to Sonic as she gave him a slight stink eye. Sonic could tell that his kind wasn't appreciated.

"One ice cream sundae please, on the house!" requested Sonic, expecting a sundae with cherries, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, the works. But as he found out the hard way, the worker wouldn't budge.

"I would give you a sundae...if not for that jersey you're wearing." It didn't take Sonic long enough to realize that because of his Rams jersey, he was being denied service. And he saw it coming from a mile away.

"What is this, discrimination? And here I thought that Seattle was supposed to be a 'progressive' city..." Sonic's guilt trip worked, as the worker shifted her eyes nervously.

"I'll be right back with your sundae...give me one moment." The worker went ahead and fixed an ice cream sundae for Sonic, who worked his magic on her as he smiled in victory. A man took a seat next to Sonic, conveniently wearing a Seahawks hoodie.

"The Rams are gonna destroy the Bengals, come February 13th," Sonic told the man, hoping to elicit a reaction out of him. The man stared at Sonic, saw his jersey, and found himself laughing.

"Is that seriously an Odell Beckham jersey?" the man wheezed as he pointed and laughed at Sonic, who didn't know what was so funny. "You must be one of those bandwagon fans. Who else do you like, the Lakers?"

"And how long have you been a fan of the Seahawks? Since 2014?" Sonic retorted, as the man kept quiet and kept to himself. After owning the Seahawks fan, Sonic received his ice cream sundae.

"Here's your vanilla sundae," the worker said to Sonic as she returned with an ice cream sundae, placing it on the counter near the hedgehog. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Nope, that'll be all for today," replied Sonic, ready to pay as he took out his debit card and placed it on the counter. "You got something where I can swipe that card, right?"

Sonic: Been out and about in Seattle, and I have yet to get beat up for wearing a Rams jersey. I'm on my way to proving Master Hand wrong! Would definitely be something worth bragging about for the weeks to come.


Fox and Falco were in the downtown area of Arcadia Bay, still taking some pictures with Falco. While Fox didn't mind the photo-taking as much, Falco on the other hand was relishing in the fun.

"I didn't want to be in this picture, thank you very much..." a young woman said to Falco, as she was trying to hang out with her lady friends. That proved to be impossible, however, as Falco sat at the table the woman was sitting at.

"We have very little choice in the things that we don't want to do," replied Falco, coming off as a fake philosopher as he wrapped his arm around the young woman. The woman felt all sorts of uncomfortable. "Take the picture, Max!"

"This one will probably get removed from the camera film roll," said Max as she snapped a photo of Falco and the young women. Satisfied, Falco left the table and left the women alone.

"That's like, the fourth instance you've bugged out one of the townsfolk," Fox said to Falco, who was looking around for a good spot to take a photo at. "Guess a picture just of yourself is too much for you."

"What can I say, I'm a man of the people," Falco responded with a shrug, only to see a man ride past the avian pilot on his bicycle. Falco chased after him. "Hey, mister! Stop right there!"

"There he goes again..." Fox sighed in defeat as he watched Falco chase after the biker, who was pedaling faster just to escape. Once Falco was gone, Max noticed that a certain former spy was missing.

"That's weird; it almost feels like Snake had vanished!" the photographer remarked, only to be greeted by a cardboard box that shuffled its way to her feet. "Snake, is that you under that box?"

"This box is my happy place," replied the voice from under the box, as Snake threw the box off of him to reveal himself. The former spy stood up, making his presence known to Fox and Max.

"Perfect timing, Snake - Falco apparently ran off to chase after some biker dude," explained Fox, as if he expected Snake to hunt down Falco. Snake wasn't in the mood for that kind of stuff, at least for today. "So I was wondering..."

"Alright, Max, I got the perfect picture for you!" Falco shouted to the photographer, as the biker that the avian pilot chased after was riding back down the street. However, Falco was riding on the back of the man's bicycle, having the time of his life.

"Get off of me!" the biker shouted at Falco, as he felt the avian pilot's arms wrapped around his stomach. The biker tried to shake off Falco by moving around a bit, but it was no use.

"Not yet, dude, Max hasn't taken the picture yet." Falco held on real tight, as the biker rode around in circles desperately trying to throw Falco off of him. "Now's your chance, Max!"

"I can't, he's moving around too much!" shouted Max, as she struggled to capture the perfect moment of Falco. And that's when desperate times called for desperate measures. "Can't believe that I'm actually doing this..."

"Can't believe that you're actually doing what?" inquired Fox as he raised an eyebrow, as Snake was too in an inquiring mood. Focusing her attention on the biker, Max held her hand out...

...and instantly froze the biker in time. Fox and Snake were both amazed, as Max quickly snapped a photo of Falco and the biker before unfreezing time.

"And that...should do it," said Max, looking at her camera as she was satisfied with the result. The biker finally threw Falco off of him, before riding away.

"Not cool, man!" the biker yelled at Falco, delivering his parting words to the avian pilot as he rode off. Falco was definitely going to have a bad rep at Arcadia Bay if he kept up with his shenanigans.

Max: Um, yeah, I can freeze time...I can also rewind time as well since that doesn't take too much of a toll on my body. And it's also much easier. I do disappear sometimes when I do it, but I've always wanted to disappear for the longest time, so it's no biggie...

"Hey Max, lemme see that awesome photo of me," Falco requested to the photographer, who was being pointed at by Fox. Fox had shock written on his face, and so did Snake.

"A-Are you some kind of witch?!" Fox asked Max, his arm shaking as he was prepared to make a run for it if the opportunity called. "How were you able to pull that off?"

"Oh, you mean the whole freezing time thing I did?" asked Max, as Fox nodded his head wanting some answers right away. Max felt somewhat flattered that Fox saw her manipulating time. "How did you notice?"

"This isn't our first rodeo with this time manipulation junk. I'd tell you all the details, but I don't think you wanna hear any of it..." His initial shock eroding, Snake scratched his chin as he found himself suddenly intrigued with Max.

"Hey, Max...how would you like to come with us to Seattle?" Snake proposed to the photographer, who looked like she was ready to answer yes in a heartbeat. "That's where the three of us live."

"Funny you should mention that - I've lived in Seattle once," stated Max, who would love nothing more than to go back to her hometown. Even if it was just for a temporary visit. "I moved here to Arcadia Bay for college."

"I see...well, how would you like a free trip to the emerald city? It will be our courtesy." No one among Fox, Falco, or Max was sure as to why Snake was making this offer, but it was an awfully nice one by the former spy.

"Sure, we can go there after I'm done taking some more photos. Let's head over to the fountain." So Max and Falco walked away, while Fox stayed behind so that he could speak with Snake in private.

"What was that all about?" Fox whispered to Snake, finding the former spy's offer to be completely out of the blue. "Trying to make a good impression on her or something?"

"Nah...just doing someone a favor," replied Snake, keeping his answer as ambiguous as possible. Giving Snake a suspicious side-eye, Fox walked away as he went over to wherever Max and Falco headed.


So what was Hal was up to, at this current time? The hacker was arrested by the buddy cops and was brought to their police station, where he was tied up and bound to a chair. Hal sat at a table, alone by himself.

"Sure feels lonely in here," the hacker remarked, turning to his right and seeing photos on the buddy cops' board of suspects - R.O.B. as "Diet Soda WALL-E", Red the Pokemon Trainer as "Age Regression", and even Lyn as "Roy's Alleged Mom". Hal began to wonder if his picture would end up on the board.

"He's all yours," Toon Link said to someone, as he and Young Link led the Luminary inside their police station. Hal kept his lips pursed as the Luminary took a seat at the table, with the buddy cops standing behind him.

"So you must be Hal Emmerich..." the Luminary said to Hal, coming off as friendly and easygoing as he got himself comfortable. "...pleased to meet you."

"Erm, same here!" responded Hal, who was wondering what the Luminary wanted to speak with him about. He felt like he was about to be interrogated, which made him wary. "And you the Luminary, correct?"

"He asks the questions, bub!" Young Link frowned at Hal, leading the Luminary to turn around at the Hylian and shush him. Young Link shut his mouth, letting the Luminary do the talking.

"You might not be aware of this, but I've been meaning to speak with you," the Luminary told Hal, who widened his eyes with interest as he saw the Luminary dig into his pocket. "Now that we've finally met..."

"Take your time," Hal said to the Luminary, who took out an object from his pocket - several objects, that is. The Luminary took out some photos and placed them on the table.

"You know what any of these photos mean?" The photos looked vaguely familiar to Hal, whose eye grew bigger...but this time with much fear. "Got no clue what to make of them."

"M-Might I ask where you got these photos from?" Hal watched nervously as the Luminary spread the photos out on the table so that even the buddy cops could see each one clearly.

"Got 'em from the printing room. I do believe that someone was making copies." Copies being made of the photos was a worst-case scenario for Hal, who was on the verge of fainting.

Bayonetta: It was I who gave the duplicate photos to the Luminary. Thought that it wouldn't hurt to spread the word. *smiles*

"And who exactly made these copies?" asked Hal - if he found out that Bayonetta was the guilty culprit, then he would be even more of a nervous wreck.

"He's starting to crack - check his pockets, Hutch!" Toon Link commanded Young Link, who immediately got to work as he took some of the rope off of Hal. Once he gained access to Hal's pockets, Young Link started pickpocketing.

"Thought you two promised to stay out of it," the Luminary said to the buddy cops, as Young Link pulled Hal's phone out of the hacker's pocket. Hal could only watch in horror as Young Link turned on the phone...and saw the lock screen wallpaper.

"The heck?" frowned Young Link, as he saw an unidentifiable anime woman on Hal's screen. The fact that this anime woman was at a beach in a swimsuit raised some questions. "Are you proud of owning this image, good sir?"

"Some days more than others," Hal sheepishly replied, smiling out of pure shame as Young Link took a glance at the notifications that Hal had. And there were plenty of them, too.

"'Alpha Kricketune has escaped from the lab - need some help right away,'" Young Link read one of the notifications on Hal's phone, before seeing similar messages down below. "It's from Professor Rowan..."

"Yes, it's part of a group chat that I'm in. Professor Burnet had sent me an invite." Hal watched as Young Link scrolled down through the list of chat notifications, before recognizing a familiar name.

"Oh snap - Moira O'Deorian is in this group chat!" Young Link recognized Moira from her past involvement in the Aerith Revival Project and started developing some bad vibes. "Uh oh..."

"Uh oh? What do you mean by 'uh oh'?" Hal was confused as to why Young Link was acting so afraid, as Toon Link ended up sharing the fellow Hylian's feelings. Even the Luminary himself was puzzled.

"Let me guess - you're attempting to revive a dead girlfriend of yours from the dead!" Toon Link pointed accusingly as Hal, already making assumptions about the hacker's evil plans. Provided that whatever Hal was up to was deemed evil, to begin with.

"What dead girlfriend? I've never had a girlfriend a day in my life!" Hal's plea of innocence was enough for Toon Link, as the Hylian slowly lowered his hand.

"After seeing your lock screen, I can see why..." muttered Young Link, throwing some shade at Hal as he gave the hacker back his phone. "...I think we're done here. Time to lock him up."

"You're putting me in jail because I'm in the same chatroom as Moira O'Deorian?" questioned Hal, as Toon Link went over to open the jail cell door in the police station. "That doesn't sound fair."

"Yeah, I wasn't even done speaking with Hal yet," stated the Luminary, but the buddy cops didn't care as they took Hal and guided him to the jail cell while his arms were still tied up.

"In you go!" exclaimed Toon Link as he tossed Hal inside the jail cell, before slamming the cell door shut. Hal sat up on the floor, resting his back against the wall as Toon Link locked the cell door with his key.

"We'll keep you in here, for now," Young Link said to Hal as he and Toon Link were about to leave, only to see the Luminary remaining at the table. "Let's go, Luminary."

"I suppose I'll keep holding on to these," said the Luminary as he put the photos away, before getting up from the table. The mage looked at Hal for a brief moment as he stood at the exit. "Hope to speak with you soon, Hal."

"Um, same here," responded Hal, as the Luminary nodded his head and left the police station. Hal let out a sigh afterward. "If only were was a way to get my hands on those photos..."


Convinced that Joker had crossed over to the "dark side", Pit spent his time in the arcade room playing some arcade games. He was playing some Dig Dug when Cloud approached the angel from behind.

Cloud: In a way, I feel like I'm doing Joker's dirty work trying to steer Pit in the right direction. But then again, I had him do some dirty work of mine in the past, in my days as the man of the mansion...so I guess what comes around goes around.

"Shouldn't you be, I don't know, working at the cafe?" Cloud asked Pit, who paused his game so that he could give Cloud his full attention.

"I would, but I have to end my feud with Ryuji first," explained Pit, who was certain that he had put his beef with Ryuji to bed two weeks ago. "And it turns out that Joker likes AEW as much as Ryuji does...so yeah. Double whammy."

"Is that even confirmed, or..." Deciding against asking a question that he would instantly regret, Cloud shook his head. "...anyway, speaking of Ryuji, he sent me this video. I think that you should see it."

"Is it like that video of you acting like a donkey?" Every time that video was mentioned, Cloud felt like punching a hole through a wall - and also punching Pit, just for sending that video in the first place.

"...not quite, but let's just say that Ryuji might've sent it to me by mistake. Check it out." So Cloud took out his phone, as he played a video for Pit to see. In this video was Ryuji - although it looked more like a Ryuji impersonator.

"Hi, I'm Ryuji Sakamoto and I like AEW," said the Ryuji impersonator, coming off as frank and sincere - was Cloud the impersonator in this video? "And today, I have a huge confession to make...I love WWE."

"Say what?!" said an astonished Banjo, overhearing the video as he came over to Cloud and Pit. Kazooie poked her head out of Banjo's backpack so that she could see the video for herself.

"I secretly love WWE - all those snide comments I made about them, I was only joking. Also, wrestling is one hundred percent, and anyone who says otherwise is fooling themselves. That is all."

"Great job, Cloud, way to..." Aerith's voice was heard at the end of the video, as Cloud hastily closed out of the camera app. Banjo looked up and stared into the distance profoundly, in disbelief of what he saw.

"Woah...none of us saw this coming!" the bear remarked, as Kazaooie facepalmed; Pit on the other hand knew better, as he laughed at Cloud.

"Silly Cloud, that was totally you trying to imitate Ryuji!" Pit said to the swordsman, happy to know that he was a good influence. Or so he believed. "Way to insult my..."

All of a sudden, Pit stopped as he had a thousand-mile stare going on. The angel had a blank stare, as Cloud waved his hand in front of his eyes a few times.

"You okay, Pit?" Cloud asked the angel, who appeared frozen in time - almost as if Max had frozen him from Arcadia Bay. "Having some kind of epiphany?"

"Yes, I got it now!" exclaimed Pit, his thousand-mile stare coming to an end as he had some kind of eureka moment. "Thanks for showing me the way, Cloud."

"You're welcome." Cloud was caught off-guard when Pit hugged him, before running out of the arcade room. "Well, that went a lot better than expected..."

"That video was quite the eye-opener," Banjo had this to say about the video, while Kazooie was still facepalming.


Once he was available, Mario invited Link, Zelda, and the begrudging Ryu to his house. The plumber was tasked with calling Chun-li since he apparently had her phone number. How this phone number was acquired, nobody knew, but there was no denying that Mario does get around quite a lot.

"...went straight to voice-a mail again," said Mario, as he had called Chun-li multiple times in the living room. Link, Zelda, and Ryu stood around, with Ryu relieved that Chun-li had yet to answer.

"Good, that means that she's probably busy," assumed Ryu, as he was ready to head back to the mansion. He felt as if his time was being wasted. "Therefore, we should stop..."

"Do you have Cammy's number?" Link curiously asked Mario, with Ryu hoping that Mario didn't have Cammy's number on his phone. "She and Chun-li are pretty close. Try calling her."

"Worth a shot," Mario shrugged in response, as he pulled up Cammy's name on his contact list - much to Ryu's great chagrin. Ryu could only scowl as Mario clicked the call button, giving Cammy a call.

"Hello?" Cammy answered the call, as Mario, Link, and Zelda were headed in the right direction. Although to Ryu, however, it was far from it. "Who is this?"

"It's-a me, Mario!" Mario greeted Cammy with his trademark friendly greeting, as Ryu turned his head away expecting Cammy to end the call. But Cammy wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

"Good afternoon, Mario - I totally forgot that I gave you my number. All that time you spent at the 4th of July cookout, hounding me for it..."

"Yeah, we won't talk-a about that...but um, is Chun-li around? I tried calling her earlier." To Ryu, the chances of Chun-li being around Cammy were slim. Or at least he hoped they were slim.

"Yes, she is! We just got through with training." If Ryu could literally disappear into thin air, then he would. "You want to speak with her?"

"Well, I don't...but Ryu sure-a does." Mario looked over at Ryu, and he could tell how nervous the fighter was. The most nervous he had seen him in a while.

"Alright, give me one second." So Mario waited around, as Link stood close to Ryu to ensure that the fighter wouldn't try to sneak out of the house. After a few seconds had passed...

"Hi, Mario," Chun-li greeted the plumber, as she was now on the call. The tone of her voice indicated that she wasn't in a particularly pleasant mood. "I heard that Ryu wanted to speak with me..."

"Yes, here-a he is," responded Mario as he handed his phone to Ryu, who reluctantly accepted the phone with his hand moving in slow motion. His hand moved even slower as he held the phone up to his ear.

"Chun-li! Long time, no talk!" Ryu spoke into the phone, coming off as super friendly so that he could trick Chun-li into thinking that he wasn't okay. "Even though we last saw each other at..."

"Are you trying to get on my good side, because it's not going to work." Right from the get-go, Chun-li put down Ryu and left the fighter in shambles. "Don't think I forgot how you acted during the Spring Festival."

"It...it was the air conditioning! The poor air conditioning wracked my brain, causing me to act the way that I did." Ryu used Link's excuse from earlier on Chun-li, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Then I guess it was also the reason why you randomly blurted out your intentions to go to the bathroom. What is that to shout out loud?"

"Can a man not make his plans known to everyone? Granted, that is something I should disclose to you, but...forgive me."

"Not only that, but you were hiding away in the bathroom for what felt like forever. Never even got to tell you goodbye."

"That was a test to see if you would find me. But unfortunately, you did not, and...I...I got nothing." Ryu's mind drew a blank, as Zelda smacked her forehead.

"Well, I can tell you one thing...when I come back to the mansion next Friday for that party, you better not act the way that you did on Tuesday. Got it?"

"Yes, understood! I fully understand! You won't have to worry about a thing!" Ryu was left nodding his head repeatedly, as he was overwhelmed by a kind of nervousness he never felt before. "Nice speaking with you, Chun-li - I'll see you next week!"

"Wish that I could say the same...see you soon." Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Ryu gave Mario back his phone as he walked away.

"Hey, Chun-li, it's-a me, Mario," Mario said into his phone, as Link and Zelda saw Ryu retreat to the back of Mario's house where the screendoor was. "You know, now would be a good time-a to tell you about my dart throwing skills...

Link: Been thinking of a backup plan just in case Chun-li was to turn Ryu away. One idea I had in mind was to invite Sakura Kasugano to the Valentine's Day party, since she idolizes Ryu, and have her take Chun-li's place. However, I don't think that Ryu reciprocates Sakura's feelings. No offense, but...what does Sakura even see in Ryu in the first place?

"It's no use...I'm done for," said Ryu as he arrived on Mario's patio, needing some time by himself. The fighter saw Ness run by, being chased by Lucas, and found himself confused by the sight as Lucas was looking all intimidating.

"C'mon, man, this is not cool!" Ness shouted at Lucas, who had his friend cornered at a tree; Lucas revealed himself to be Hisuian Zoroark, who was doing his Illusion shenanigans. "I just wanted to play outside in peace."

"Hmm..." Ryu scratched his chin in thought, as the Hisuian Zoroark left Ness alone and walked away looking for another prey to mess with.


The buddy cops encountered Master Hand in the foyer and were telling the giant hand about Hal's supposed partnership with Moira. They stressed this partnership as bad news, but Master Hand wasn't buying it.

"Hal is a literal necromancer," Toon Link explained to Master Hand, wishing that he had Hal's phone with him so he could show some evidence. "Him being in the same chatroom as Moira, the same lady who worked on Cloud's..."

"Oh, so if he Hal was in the same chatroom as, I don't know, M. Bison - does that make him a terrorist?" Master Hand posed this question to the buddy cops, who had no response as they twiddled with their fingers.

"Well, Hal was involved with a time machine in the basement," stated Young Link; he saw a peek of Hal in the basement with the Pokemon professors. "And you know what happened the last time there was a time machine in the..."

"I've heard enough, you two are reaching too hard right now. Why don't you leave me alone?" Choosing to leave Master Hand alone, the buddy cops left the foyer as they resumed their duties.

"Master Hand, it's for you," Isabelle called out to the giant hand, bringing him his phone from the room. "Fox's on the other line." Isabelle held the phone up to Master Hand's nonexistent ear, as Master Hand leaned in close.

"Yes, Mr. McCloud? This is Master Hand speaking!" Master Hand hoped that Fox had a good report about Snake - only if such a report was necessary.

"Sup Master Hand, everything's going well with Snake," Fox informed Master Hand, telling the giant hand what he would like to hear. Master Hand was pleased so far. "We've been taking photos with some chick named Max; Falco's being a photo hog."

"WHEN I SAY WE JUMP IN UNISON, WE FLIPPING JUMP IN UNISON!" Falco was heard shouting in the background, sounding incensed; Fox could be heard groaning, his embarrassment running high.

"...other than how Falco's acting, the vacation has been two thumbs up! And now Snake wants to go back home." That was something Master Hand wasn't willing to cosign on yet, as he wanted Snake back much later.

"One moment, Fox..." Master Hand turned his attention to Isabelle, as his call with Fox was put on hold. A very short hold at that. "...Isabelle, can you go see if the Luminary is done inspecting Snake's room?"

"After the call is over, yes," whispered Isabelle, believing that the Luminary was done with his search by now. Master Hand returned to the phone call.

"When Snake is allowed to return, I'll let you know. But for now, just make sure he doesn't do anything too...dastardly."


"I'll do our best to monitor him...and Falco," Fox spoke into the phone, standing where the Arcadia Bay sign was. The pilot turned around and saw Max taking a photo of Falco and a group of teens Falco found.

"This should be the one," said Max as she checked out the result on her camera, delighted that the photo turned out to be picture perfect. "It is! Good job, everyone."

"Yeah, good job," Falco followed up on Max, as he gave some dap to the teens. Some of the teens were more ticked off with the avian pilot than others.

Male Teen: That funny bird guy reminded me of my ROTC teacher. Kept barking orders at me and snapped if I did something wrong. Dude was going insane over a dumb photo being taken...

"My camera film roll is full," announced Max, as the teens walked away; no doubt that Falco made very frequent appearances on the roll. "I can't thank you three enough for helping me out."

"It's nothing," responded Falco, only to see that Snake was nowhere to be found. Fox was around, as he went over to where Max and Falco were. "Has anyone seen Snake anywhere?"

"Somebody called my name?" asked Snake, as the former spy rejoined the group; he had his codec out, and he put his device away. "Been trying to call Hal, but he won't pick up..."

"Um, Falco...where's your Arwing?" Fox asked his friend, as he saw only one Arwing parked near the town sign - and that was his Arwing. "Did you remember to lock your doors?"

"Is that what this thing is for?" asked Falco as he took out his pair of car keys, analyzing the buttons on it. Fox facepalmed at Falco, while Max looked up at the sky and saw a ship fly overhead.

"That must be the Arwing," said Max as she pointed up at the sky - and would you know it, the Arwing was flying through the sky. "Let me see if I can get it back down to the ground..."

Using her time powers, Max held her hand towards the Arwing to rewind time. She went back in time to the point where the Arwing was still grounded. By the time Max was done going back through time, there was a young man who was about to enter the Arwing.

"What do you know, this cool-looking spaceship's available..." the young man said, rubbing his hands together as he saw the Arwming door open. The young man looked around to see if anyone was looking, before stepping inside...

"Hold it right there!" Falco shouted at the young man as he held his Blaster out. The young man looked at Falco, before looking around cautiously.

"Are you...talking to me?" The young man stepped away from the Arwing, and little did he know that it was a wise decision to make. "Is this ship yours?"

"You're dang right it's my ship, now scram, you poser!" Falco had his finger on the trigger, as the young man ran off for his own safety. Falco put his Blaster away once the young man vamoosed.

"Nice one," Snake commended Max as he placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder; Max smiled in response. "Can't wait to have you over in Seattle..."


Before Snake could return to Seattle, the Luminary had to be done inspecting the former spy's room. So Isabelle stopped by Snake's room, where she encountered Snake's roommate, Bayonetta.

"The Luminary is all done inspecting the room," Bayonetta informed Isabelle, as she was standing in the doorway with a glass of wine in her hand. "I was present during the inspection."

"Okay, that's all I needed to know!" responded Isabelle, daring not to question whether or not Bayonetta was telling the truth. "Thanks, Bayo." The Shih Tzu headed down the hallway, as the Luminary showed up only a few moments later.

"I'm here to inspect this room - kinda got sidetracked," the Luminary said to Bayonetta, before noticing that the Umbra Witch wouldn't budge. "Do you want to let me inside, or...?"

"No inspection required. You go run along now." Shrugging his shoulders, the Luminary walked away as he knew better than to argue with Bayonetta. Saved himself a fistful of Madame Butterfly.

Bayonetta: Other than those mysterious photos, I saw nothing else out of the ordinary in the room that belonged to Snake. Any secret that is meant to be uncovered belies in Snake himself...


Sonic was wrapping up his trek through Seattle, repping his Rams jersey everywhere he went while riding on Wyrdeer. The hedgehog's latest stop was a convenience store, where he stood near the entrance while showing off his jersey.

"Los Angeles Rams, 2022 Super Bowl champs!" Sonic said to some folks that entered the store, who all gave the hedgehog the stink-eye. "You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen! Rams will win the Super Bowl!"

"I believe you meant to say the Bengals, son," one man said, approaching Sonic while wearing orange and black colors with tiger stripes. Sonic saw that this man was a Cincinnati Bengals superfan, as he licked his chops.

"Look what we have here, a Bengals fan in Seattle! Never thought I'd see the day." Sonic didn't think that any Bengals fans existed outside of Ohio so in a way, he was mind blown.

"Who Dey?! Who Dey?! Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals? Noooooobody!" The Bengals fan got all up in Sonic's grill as he said this, and Sonic did nothing but laugh in response.

"I'm sorry, but 'Who Dey' sounds so lame." Those were fighting words to the Bengals fan, who was aghast feeling as if some of his pride was afflicted. "Who do you think you're intimidating with that?"

"At least the Bengals have a chant...what do the Rams have?" The Bengals fan was interested in hearing Sonic's response, smirking as he folded his arms.

"The one thing that the Bengals can never hope to obtain in a million years...a Vince Lombardi trophy." Some more fighting words for the Bengals fan, as he took off some of his gear ready to throw some hands. "But hey, congratulations for making it...?"


Ryuji was in the gaming room, looking at a video on his phone. Dante saw peeked over Ryuji's shoulder on the couch that the delinquent was sitting on, and was smirking to himself.

"Looks an awful lot like WWE, doesn't it?" Dante asked Ryuji, who turned around and screamed when he saw the vigilante spying on him. Ryuji was so scared that he jumped away in fear. "Thought you were 'done' with that company."

"I-I'm done with them now!" admitted Ryuji as he sheepishly put his phone back in his pocket. "This will finally be the year that I'll stop caring about WWE. Mark my words!"

Ann: Every so often, Ryuji will vow that he will be done with WWE; he's done that about three or four times since the start of the new year. He's the most vocal about it after WWE has one of their big shows.

"I'll believe it when I see it..." said Dante, leaving Ryuji alone as he walked away. Ryuji was about to return to the couch, only to be approached by Pit.

"Leave me alone Pit, I'm not in the mood..." Ryuji frowned at the angel, fearing that he would be subjected to some long spiel about how John Cena was the best wrestler of all time. However, he got something different instead.

"Gotta say, Ryuji...AEW is actually pretty rad!" Pit admitted to the delinquent, who couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Pit's mouth. "Gave it another chance, and I was impressed."

"Y-You were?" Ryuji had to blink twice, for he believed that he was in some kind of simulation. Was Pit, the hardcore WWE fan, giving praise to AEW?

"Yup! Loved everything about it, from the wrestling in the ring, to the wrestlers themselves. Might even watch AEW tonight - we can watch it together."

"Aw, stop it, Pit, you're gonna make me cry!" Ryuji felt like a proud papa, appreciating Pit for liking the same wrestling promotion that he did. "Anything else you wanna share with me?"

"Just one thing...watching those AEW highlights on YouTube made me realize something. Wrestling is in fact fake! Or is it scripted? Which one is it?"

"Doesn't matter, it's all the same!" Ryuji gave Pit a big, fat hug, happy to know that the angel saw the light. "We'll watch AEW together in the living room, at ten o'clock. How does that sound?"

"I'll give it a try, friend...I just might like it." Once the hug ended, Pit happily shook hands with Ryuji as his differences with the delinquent were settled. "Looking forward to it!"

"Same here, man, same here! See ya then!" Ryuji was beaming proudly, as Pit left the gaming room - was Pit being sincere? "Finally got a new fan..."

"That...should do it," remarked Ken, as he walked forward while tapping away on his phone. Ryuji saw Ken on his phone and grew suspicious.

"You weren't recording me just now, were you?" Ryuji furrowed his brow at Ken, who was finished with whatever he was doing.

"Me, recording you? Ha! I was checking the weather, that's all." Ken tried to present himself as innocent to Ryuji, but Ryuji wasn't buying it.

"Oh, really? Took you that many taps with your finger to check the weather? Were you recording me or not?"

"I could've been recording my handsome face!" Ken smiled as he showed off his pearly whites, but it was no use - Ryuji was now completely irate.

"Grraaaah! I'm gonna waste that Pit so hard..." Knowing that Pit didn't mean a single word he said, Ryuji marched out of the gaming room with a bone to pick with Pit. Things were back to square one.

"I goofed up real bad, coming this way..." remarked Ken, putting his phone away as Ryu came over to his friendly rival. Ryu, who was at unease for most of the day, appeared more pleasant now.

"I've finally gotten over Chun-li," Ryu announced to Ken, who was happy to hear the news as he instantly forgot about Pit and Ryuji. "I think I'll be fine when she comes to visit."

"Good to hear, Ryu! Glad you finally came to your senses. Now I won't be embarrassed for you!" Ken had plans to bring his wife to the mansion, and if she saw how Ryu was acting around Chun-li...

"Indeed. Just wanted to share that with you." On that note, Ryu left the gaming room as the concern that he once had was no more.


As Ryu went through the hallway, he passed by Link and Zelda and gave them a thumbs up - signifying that he had gotten over Chun-li. Link gave a thumbs up in return, as Ryu went on his way. Ryu then entered a room, which was occupied by...Ryu?

"Did you tell him?" the Ryu in the room asked the Ryu that had just entered, as the latter Ryu nodded his head and closed the door...before revealing himself to be Hisuian Zoroark. "Good work...the party shall go on without any trouble!"


Turns out that Ken recorded Pit "making up" with Ryuji on his phone, and had sent the video to Pit. Pit returned to Cafe Leblanc, where he showed the video to Joker and the others.

"See? Ryuji and I are on the same page now," Pit said to Joker, who thought that the video was convincing enough. Kirby, on the other hand, was skeptical. "Does this mean I can return to working behind the counter?"

"Seems legit...alright, I suppose I can let you return," replied Joker, as Pit pumped his fist in victory. His video won over Joker, and he was free to resume his barista duties. "Oh, and for the record Pit, Ryuji has never..."

"I know, I know, he didn't make you an AEW fan." Pit put on his cafe apron, proud to be wearing it once again, and joined his friends at the counter. "I was only pulling your tail earlier."

However, little did Pit know that Ryuji saw through his plan, thanks to Ken noodling on his phone. Ryuji ran inside the cafe and pointed accusingly at Pit, as he was gonna let the angel have it.

"That was absolute crap," Ryuji said to Pit, as the vitriol from his voice could be felt by everyone in the cafe. "I didn't want to be in this position. I didn't want to be here. You faked out your gentleman's agreement, you made progress to me. You said you were going to give AEW a try. That was B.S. I'm gonna tell you right now. Nine days from tonight, you have time to get ready, Pit, you have to fight me before the Super Bowl. You forced me to do this!"

"Uh...you're welcome," responded Pit, and Ryuji, having said his piece, departed from the cafe. Pit nervously looked at Joker and asked, "Am I gonna get in trouble for this?"

"Leave it alone...just leave it be," answered Joker, as the best that Pit could do was to ignore Ryuji - and for Ryuji to ignore Pit.


Master Hand: Just spoke with Isabelle, and it turns out that nothing suspicious was found in Snake's room. Also confirmed this with the Luminary, although he wasn't as confident with his response. Nonetheless, Snake is off the hook...for now, and Fox and Falco can freely return him to Seattle. Now tell me, did the buddy cops throw Hal in jail?...They did? Totally uncalled for, but I'll have him be released.

Hal felt helpless and alone in the buddy cops jail cell, his arms tied up as he could barely move. His sentence would come to an end, however, when the buddy cops returned to their police station along with Isabelle.

"Let him free, boys!" Isabelle commanded the buddy cops, as Toon Link unlocked the cell door and slid it open. "Alright, Hal, you're free to go!"

"About time," Hal smiled in relief, Young Link entered the cell so he could untie the ropes. Once the ropes were off, Hal stood up and stretched his arms. "Almost fell asleep!"

"Before you go, may I see your phone?" Obliging Isabelle's request, Hal took out his phone and entered the passcode, before handing it to Isabelle.

"Please don't check my photo gallery...some of the images there aren't meant for innocent eyes." Hal had a sheepish smile, as Isabelle glossed through his phone for a brief moment. "Might I ask what you're looking at?"

"Oh, nothing - just this chatroom thingy I heard Dr. Wily mention once." Knowing Wily, he was probably complaining to the other tower denizens about how slighted he was being let out of the chat. "Wanted to see if you were in it."

"Professor Burnet did say that it was only for smart individuals...and I'm one smart cookie!" Hal got his phone back from Isabelle after the Shih Tzu was done looking through the member list. "That's why she gave me that invite."

Master Hand: Wouldn't hurt to find out who's who in this apparently exclusive chat that Hal's a part of. Not to say that Hal would team up with any of the chat members and do something on the scale of the Aerith Revival project, but you never know...

"Enjoy your freedom," Toon Link said to Hal, letting the hacker freely leave the police station. The Hylian looked forward to arresting Hal a second time, in the near future.


Master Hand went down to the foyer, where he saw that a resident had made his return. No, it was Snake...rather, it was Sonic, who had a black eye. His Rams jersey was also slightly damaged.

"Well, well, well...got roughed up pretty bad, did you?" Master Hand asked Sonic, who was too chicken to admit the truth. The black eye was all the truth Master Hand needed. "Tried to warn you that being a traitor has its drawbacks!"

"For what it's worth, a Bengals fan did this to me," stated Sonic, as Master Hand did not expect such a twist. Nor did he expect a Bengals fan to be living in Seattle, let out outside of Ohio.

"He did? I wouldn't blame him. Either way, we won't be eating chili dogs at our Super Bowl party, woohoo!" Master Hand feared that he dug himself in a hole with his bet with Sonic, but a crisis was averted.

"Suit yourself..." Sonic went to the fitness center to nurse his black eye, and soon there was another return; Fox, Falco, and Snake entered the mansion, bringing Max along with them.

"Solid Snake! Did you enjoy your vacation?" Master Hand asked the former spy, before noticing Max and her pretty face. "Also, who's that young lady?"

"This is Max; she's from a town in Oregon that the boys and I vacationed at," Snake introduced Max to Master Hand, as Max smiled - albeit uneasily, as she had no idea what to make of a giant floating hand. "Born and raised there.

"Superb! Well, Max, I hope you make yourself home at the mansion. Enjoy yourself!" Master Hand floated away, giddy to have a guest - and one that was from a neighboring state.

"We gotta go - got some finances to handle," Falco said to Snake, as he and Fox departed from the foyer. That left Snake all alone with Max until Hal excitedly came down the stairs.

"Snake! How was your vacation?" Hal asked his friend after he reached the end of the stairs, hoping that Snake had a good story or two to tell. Despite that Snake wasn't the one to tell good stories, most of the time.

"It was decent," replied Snake, summarizing his short vacation in Arcadia Bay with just three words. That's when he brought Hal's attention to Max. "Oh, this is the chick I was telling you about. Max Caulfield."

"I'm Hal Emmerich; I'm a friend of Snake's," Hal introduced himself to Max as he shook the photographer's hand, coming off as slightly geeky. "Welcome!"

"Hi, um...is there any reason why you wanted to speak with me?" Max asked Hal, getting the vibe that the hacker wished to do some stuff with her. It felt too obvious at this point.

"Yes, of course! It was my intention to have you at this mansion after Snake told me that you were a photographer. I was wondering if you could..."

"...rewind time," interjected Snake, followed by a cough, as Hal gave the former spy a funny look. "Like, you know...a time machine, but only different."

"So you just want to use me for my powers?" questioned Max, as Snake's interjection gave the photographer some very mixed feelings. "I just wanted to visit my parents. That's why I wanted to come to Seattle."

Max: I like Seattle, it's great for taking photos, but this city used to make me feel lonely. Now, I don't feel that same way anymore...

"Do you know where I can find a taxi?" Max asked Snake, as there was some awkward tension brewing between the two friends. Both Snake and Hal were reluctant to answer the question.

"Ask the turtle at the tower next door, he'll give you a ride," answered Snake, as Max promptly left the mansion through the front door. "You might have to pay money!" Snake called out to Max - as if paying for a taxi ride wasn't ordinary.

"What was that all about?" Hal frowned at Snake, getting into an argument with the former spy. "I wanted to see if she had any extra camera film - and you had to ruin it!"

"Screw that, I wanted her to rewind back in time before Master Hand stuck his nose in our business," Snake fired back, as his intentions were clashing with Hal's. Not a particularly good sign. "Could've stopped him from being so nosy."

"Well, from now on, we're going to do things my way. You have to follow my lead. Got it?" Hal was standing his ground and taking the lead, and Snake wasn't a huge fan as evidenced by his scowl. The friction was settling in.

"Pardon me, gentlemen, but did I hear somebody mention a time machine?" Wily asked Snake and Hal, popping up in the foyer after one of his so-called "trigger phases" was uttered. How fast did he move?!

"One sec..." replied Snake, as he ran through the front door shouting, "Max, where are you?! We need your rewind time for us!" After Snake left, Wily inched closer to Hal.

"Heard that you got an invite to a particular chatroom." Wily was smiling sneakily at Hal, who was wearing a frown on his face. "One full of intellectuals! Since I am an intellectual myself..."

"Sorry, doc, but you're asking the wrong person," replied Hal, who frankly had forgotten the invite code that Burnet gave him. Wily stomped his foot in anger.

Already, the cracks were starting to form between Snake and Hal...would it be enough to hamper their friendship?