Author's Note:
This is one of the longest chapters I've written. This chapter had to be HEAVILY streamlined, as many scenes were either cut or saved (and repurposed) for future chapters. No answering reviews this week, as that would increase the word total for this...erm, document. I try to keep the word count for each entry on the doc manager under 20,000+ words unless it's a year-end chapter. But I do have a new pool on my profile page! Just make sure you cast your vote AFTER reading this chapter, though. Enjoy!
Episode 389: Apex Part 2
Max Caulfield and Chloe Price were given a choice by Master Hand at the Cinco de Mayo party - stay at Omnis Adest, or move out of the community and stay somewhere in Seattle. It was a compelling offer to Max, whose parents lived in Seattle already.
With it being Cut Day today, Max ultimately decided...she was moving out. Chloe was also moving out by proxy, since wherever Max went, she followed. Max and Chloe had already packed up their things, and had their stuff in their suitcases outside as they chatted with Cloud outside the townhouse they stayed in.
"You two moving out?" Cloud asked Max and Chloe, wanting to speak with them before they left Omnis Adest for good. Mind you, Max and Chloe had to speak with Master Hand first before making their departure.
"I'm gonna be staying with my parents," replied Max, as she was looking forward to moving in with her mom and dad. Cloud happily recalled Max's parents from last Thanksgiving. "Don't know about Chloe, though."
"I'm moving in with her," Chloe informed Max as she wrapped her arm around her friend, letting her know that she wouldn't be leaving her anytime soon. "Wherever she goes, I go."
Chloe: Yeah, right, I'm not moving back to Arcadia Bay. Not least until my mom and Step-Dork separated or something. I'd be amazed if my mom was still putting up with that guy; maybe she's depressed. Or maybe Step-Dork caused her depression. Yeah, that sounds more likely.
"What a shame, we really needed you on the battlefield," Cloud said to Chloe, as some suspiciously loud clatter was approaching near. "Especially after how you handled Dimentio. Really sent him crying to his mom."
"Which actually happened for the record," attested Chloe, as the loud clatter got closer and closer with Cloud and the two ladies failing to notice. "You sadly weren't there to see it."
"As if anyone would believe..." Max was about to say, only to look over and gasp at what she saw approaching. "Um, guys...?" Cloud and Chloe soon heard the loud clatter, just as Max did...and saw a bunch of Dusk and Creeper Nobodies in sight. And they all had their targets in sight.
"Heartless..." Cloud muttered under his breath soon as he saw the Nobody insignia, knowing full and well that Organization XIII was responsible. Max and Chloe, who weren't used to seeing Nobodies, huddled close together.
"You have your Buster Sword with you...right?" Max asked Cloud, only to later see that Cloud came to Omnis Adest empty-handed; now Cloud wish that he had his trusty blade with him.
"Pfft, he can just fight off the monsters with his fists, easy peasy," snorted Chloe, as Max looked at her friend as if she was crazy. Cloud fighting the Heartless with his fists would be a sight to see, though.
"Just stay back, you don't want to mess with them," Cloud advised Max and Chloe, as he was backing away himself due to the fact that he was defenseless. As Cloud, Max, and Chloe backed away, the Heartless steadily drew closer.
"You three hold your ground! Don't make a single move! We got this!"
Fortunately for Cloud and company, help was on the way as a volley of Helix Rockets was fired at the Nobodies, dispatching some of them. Then a biotic grenade was thrown at the Nobodies, and more of them were defeated as well.
"MOLTEN CORE!" someone shouted, as molten slag was fired at the remaining Nobodies burning them to a crisp until they were defeated. Just like that, the Nobodies that were about to attack Cloud and company were all gone.
"That was surprisingly helpful," remarked Cloud as he, Max, and Chloe saw where their help came from...from a trio of former Overwatch operatives who showed up at the scene, locked and loaded. Soldier: 76, Ana, and Torbjörn.
"Just doing our jobs," Soldier: 76 selflessly remarked while holding his pulse gun, smoke coming out of its nuzzle as the former Overwatch agent blew it out. "Are you all okay?"
"Yeah, we're just fine. Are you..." Cloud took a closer look at Soldier: 76's face, as 76's facemask looked awfully familiar to him in a way. "...are you with Overwatch, by any chance?"
"Was with Overwatch - now I'm just a man working behind the scenes to do what's right. But that isn't to say that I'm not entirely out of Overwatch's affairs."
"We received a message telling us that the Overwatch watchpoint along the coastline was in grave danger," Ana explained to Cloud, referring to the message that Winston had sent in the previous episode. "So we came this way to hopefully get there in time."
"Ana and I both got the message while were doing some catching up outside this city. As for Torbjörn here, who knows how he got the message..."
"I was having lunch with my daughter Brigette when the message was delivered to me," Torbjörn explained to Cloud and company, as something about that detail apparently made Soldier: 76 want to facepalm. "Conveniently I ran into these two along the...Jack, why are you facepalming?"
"Told you not to call me Jack..." Soldier: 76 seethed at Torbjörn, who showed regret over addressing 76 by his real name as he covered his mouth with his robotic hand. "...Jack Morrison is no more."
"Jack Morrison? You're Jack Morrison?" Cloud asked Soldier: 76 with slight astonishment, as 76 stopped facepalming and looked up at the swordsman in almost disbelief. "Heard that name from Reaper once."
"Reaper? Bet you don't know what his name is." Soldier: 76 had doubts that Cloud was telling the truth, and so decided to test the swordsman's knowledge.
"Gabriel Reyes - learned that at a birthday party once." Just like that, Soldier: 76 was amazed, while also wondering how Cloud learned Reaper's identity at a birthday party, of all places.
"You have a history with Reaper?" Ana asked Cloud, who proceeded to nod his head; Max stood raised her hand, as Ana looked in her direction. "You as well?"
"Ran into him a couple of times at Arcadia Bay," stated Max, who wished that she had a few photos of Reaper on her camera as evidence. "With his lady friend...I think they're secretly dating."
Max: Yeah, I still have those photos of Cloud and Aerith from Arcadia Bay. The first thing that Fox and Falco did when they saw me here at Omnis Adest was looking at the photos I took. They saw me separately, I might add. Now they're putting together a memory scrapbook for Cloud and Aerith's future wedding, as I speak.
"Reaper gave me some good advice a while back," stated Cloud, before looking at the ground and recounting this word of advice as if Reaper was telling it to him right now. "To never make a mistake that I can't run away from..."
"I find that incredibly hard to believe," said a cynical Soldier: 76, as Reaper was the last person that he would ever seek advice from. Frowning at Soldier: 76's cynicism, Ana slapped 76 at his bottom leg.
"Um, guys, we have more company!" alerted Chloe as she saw a second horde of Nobodies approaching. Fortunately, Torbjörn knew just what to do to keep the Nobodies in check.
"Not a problem!" Torbjörn exclaimed, pulling out a turret and dropping it unto the ground. The turret was firing rounds at the Nobodies, keeping the monsters at bay. "Look at you go..."
"If you must know, he treats his contraptions as if they were his children," Ana explained to Max and Chloe, with Torbjörn smiling like a proud papa as his turret was shooting at every single Nobody in sight.
"You're Cloud Strife, right?" Soldier: 76 asked Cloud, before quickly shaking the swordsman's hand. Wanted to do ti before he forgot. "I'm Soldier: 76."
"I already know who you are," responded Cloud - if Cloud didn't know, then he wouldn't have recognized Soldier: 76 as being a part of Overwatch so easily.
"Good to know. I would head off to the watchpoint, but I ought to take care of these monsters first before the hurt somebody. I want you to do me a favor, and take those two ladies to safety."
"Don't have to tell me twice. Come on Max, Chloe, let me get you somewhere safe." So Max and Chloe grabbed their belongings and followed after Cloud, while the former operatives of Overwatch faced off against the Nobodies.
"You want some? Come get some!" Soldier: 76 had his pulse rifle locked and loaded, as he activated his Tactical Visor. When he fired with Tactical Visor on, Soldier: 76 never missed.
Elsewhere, trouble aplenty was brewing at the Overwatch watchpoint - Master Xehanort infiltrated the base and was in a standoff with Link, Zelda, and multiple Overwatch operatives on the top deck. With him was the powerful foe known as Infinite, as the jackal was hovering above everyone else.
"So many worlds that I have yet to conquer..." said Master Xehanort, the thought of plunging an entire world into darkness bringing a creepily pleasant smile to his face. "...and this will be one that I'll add to the list!"
"Conquering worlds? He's an alien, not an elf!" exclaimed Tracer, who had previously thought that Master Xehanort was an evil elf. "Now it's all starting to make sense."
"He does have the bald head and pointy ears for it," Baptiste offered his two cents, with Link and Zelda exchanging worried looks hoping that the Overwatch operatives weren't ticking off Master Xehanort. But Xehanort didn't seem to mind.
"I appreciate the humor made at my expense," Master Xehanort gave his honest remarks on the comments made, taking the comments in stride. "But once I...no, we, plunge the world of Seattle into darkness, there won't be much humor left!"
"Hate to burst your bubble, but Seattle is actually a..." Link was about to educate Master Xehanort, only for Zelda to cover his mouth with her hand. Zelda didn't want Link to put himself in a position of getting hurt.
"Mind if I ask who your friend is?" Zelda asked Master Xehanort, gesturing to Infinite who was floating up above with his arms folded. Infinite was likely waiting to make an introduction.
"I don't believe that we have met before, princess," Infinite said to Zelda as he floated close to the princess, with Link instinctively readying his Master Sword. "You may call me Infinite - I was one of, if not, the greatest creation Dr. Eggman has ever made."
"A mere creation of Dr. Eggman...is working with Dimentio?" said an astonished Winston as he had to adjust his glasses (mostly for effect). Now would probably be a good time for Winston to test out that gun of his.
"Dr. Eggman turned down Dimentio's invite to join the coalition," explained Master Xehanort, although his explanation was more for the Overwatch operatives as they were out of the loop. "It would only make sense that his most valued creation would join us, and fill the void."
"Eggman refused because of a grudge he holds towards Dimentio, or so I've been told," added Infinite - kudos if you know why Eggman held this grudge towards Dimentio in the first place. "His feelings simply got in the way."
"Or maybe he made the right decision," asserted Link, causing Master Xehanort to scowl; Xehanort was wriggling with his fingers as if he was about to whip out his Keyblade. Winston kept a close eye on those fingers.
"On the contrary, Dr. Eggman made the worst possible decision to make," said Master Xehanort as he finally whipped out his Keyblade - the legendary χ-blade. Most powerful Keyblade in the Kingdom Hearts universe. "He will forever be on the wrong side of history..."
"Alright, Winston, now!" Tracer commanded the gorilla, wanting him to take action before Master Xehanort could pull something off with his χ-blade. Winston nodded toward Tracer as he placed his giant gun on the ground.
"Here goes nothing..." said Winston as he readied his gun, before pointing it at Master Xehanort and pulling the trigger. A beam was fired at Master Xehanort, who deflected it with his χ-blade and sent it back to Winston.
"Thought you could get rid of me that easily?" Master Xehanort snorted at Winston, who looked distraught as the beam struck his giant gun and partially destroyed it in the process. "It was a noble attempt, I will admit."
"My gun...you destroyed my gun!" Winston shouted at Master Xehanort, feeling the urge to go into Primal Rage mode as he was about to take off his glasses. "I worked so hard on it..."
"Take it easy, big guy..." Sojourn advised Winston, as she and Tracer did their best to soothe the gorilla before he went ape. Pun absolutely intended. Master Xehanort used it as an opening to show off what he was made of.
"Since you tried to attack me, allow me to return the favor," the leader of Organization XIII said as he readied his χ-blade, looking to strike. Nobody could stop Xehanort, not Link, not any of the Overwatch operatives, not even...
"Dragonite, use Draco Meteor!" Lance shouted from up above, as everyone looked up in the sky and saw Lance and Mario riding on Dragonite. Dragonite unleashed a Draco Meteo on Master Xehanort and Infinite, as it sent a bunch of purple meteors down on the top deck.
"Everyone duck!" shouted Cassidy as he and the others ran for cover. Master Xehanort was blindsided by the meteors as he was knocked down by one, dropping his χ-blade in the process. Infinite, meanwhile, ducked the meteors with ease.
"Here-a we go!" exclaimed Mario as he leaped down from the Dragonite and landed on the top deck, almost twisting an ankle in the process. The plumber knew it too, as he flinched in slight pain. "Landing could've gone-a much better."
Mario: No lie, I sometimes practice doing heroic jumps from the roof-a of my house. Always try to stick-a the landing on the patio. Peach gets so concerned when I practice my jumps, insisting that I land-a in the pool instead, but that defeats-a the possible. Also don't see her jumping down-a from buildings - not that she necessarily has-a to. But that's one thing I'm better than her at. One day I'll be better than-a her at crocheting. One-a day.
"It has been a while, Mario..." Infinite said to the plumber, meeting him for the first time since episode 99. Mario quickly recognized Infinite as he gasped.
"You! You're the fiend-a who helped Dr. Eggman ruin-a my big wedding day," Mario pointed at Infinite, as those who had run for cover soon emerged after seeing that the Draco Meteor was over with.
"Glad that your memory is serving you well. But to tell you the truth, I have moved on from ruining very special moments. I have much bigger priorities than ruining sham weddings, such as the one you had."
"YOU TAKE-A THAT BACK!" Taking great offense to Infinite's remark, Mario balled up his fist as he charged at Infinite. But as the plumber threw his fist, Infinite moved out of harm's way in a flash.
"Try again." So Mario tried to go for another punch, only for Infinite to move in less than a blink of an eye. "Missed me." Mario went for a third punch, and once again Infinite used his seemingly blazing speed to avoid the attack. "You're too slow."
"No fair, only Sonic gets to tell-a me that! If only I were as fast-a as him." Feeling bad for how Infinite embarrassed Mario, Lance looked to redeem Mario with his Dragonite.
"Dragonite, use Extreme Speed!" Lance commanded his Dragonite, who zoomed at Infinite with blazing speed. To Lance and Dragonite's surprise, Infinite dodged the Extreme Speed. A move with one hundred percent accuracy!
"Anybody else wish to take a chance at stopping me?" asked Infinite, as Tracer was one individual brave enough to step up to the plate. Tracer blinked her way over to Infinite, who zipped away from the pilot in less than a second.
"Crikey! He's too fast for me," frowned Tracer, only for Infinite to fire a ball of energy at her. Tracer blinked out of harm's way as she continued to be amazed at Infinite's blazing speed.
"I am even faster than Sonic if that is to be believed," Infinite said in an almost bragging manner, looking all arrogant as he folded his arms. "The power of the Phantom Ruby allows it."
"The Phantom Ruby?" Mario crinkled his nose, as he recalled seeing a similar item inside Eggman's death egg in episode 99. Recovering from Dragonite's Draco Meteor, Master Xehanort got up to his feet.
"Rufus Shinra had the Phantom Ruby's power revived so that Infinite could live again," Master Xehanort explained to Mario, who saw the leader of Organization XIII and took a jump back as he got in a fighting stance.
"Master Xehanort! I've been expecting you." Mario looked to throw hands at Master Xehanort, wanting to pummel him with his fists. After seeing the stance that Mario was in, Master Xehanort laughed.
"You think that you can stop me and my χ-blade?" Master Xehanort questioned Mario as he picked up his χ-blade, looking to skewer Mario with it. Or possibly something even worse than that. "I'd rather see you try..."
"Pardon the interruption!" exclaimed a certain jester, as Dimentio magically appeared at the top deck; everyone turned their attention to Dimentio, who was floating above the others. "I don't intend to interrupt such a lovely meeting."
"It's Dimentio!" frowned Winston, as he and the Overwatch operatives pointed their weapons at the jester. Dimentio held up his hand, asking that the operatives held their fire.
"Greetings, Mario! I see that you have already rekindled with Master Xehanort and Infinite," Dimentio addressed the plumber, who now wanted to throw hands with him. He'd jump up in the air to do it.
"Been wanting to throw down-a with you for a while," Mario said to Dimentio as he put up his dukes, waiting for Dimentio to make his first move. "Let's-a go!"
"Sorry, Mr. Mario, but I am simply not in the mood for fighting." Dimentio hovered over to Master Xehanort, as a disappointed Mario put down his fists. Dimentio was whispering something into Xehanor'ts ear.
"Hm?" Master Xehanort's eyes widened, and the old man was nodding his head as Dimentio was feeding him information. "You want me to wreck the mansion's teleportation device?"
"Correct!" confirmed Dimentio, as Mario, Link, and Zelda all gasped in shock; if the teleportation device was gone for good, the mansion would be in trouble. "Leave Infinite with these peons - he can handle them himself."
"You rotten..." Link frowned at Dimentio as he charged forward at the jester, who summoned an invisible wall that Link ran into. The invisible wall separated Link and everyone else from the bad guys...although Lance and his Dragonite were unaffected.
"Dragonite, stop Xehanort before he...gets away," Lance commanded his Dragonite, only for his dragon Pokemon to be encased in a glass box before he could make a move. Now nobody could stop the bad guys now.
"You're free to leave, Master Xehanort!" Dimentio gave permission to the old man, who summoned a dark corridor and went through it. "I'll be seeing you all later. Have fun with Infinite!"
"You won't be getting away with this, Dimentio!" Cassidy vowed to the jester, who vanished away seconds after Master Xehanort made his leave. Once Dimentio was gone, the invisible wall and glass box were no more.
"My, my...so many pawns to play with," cackled Infinite as he focused on the Overwatch operatives, seeing what he got to work with. "...I am going to entertain myself messing with the likes of you."
"Probably not as powerful as you look," Tracer said to Infinite as she readied her pistols, only to receive a call on her earpiece. Tracer pushed the earpiece into her ear with her finger. "Hello, this is Tracer coming in!"
"Tracer, you're not going to believe this but...I just spotted the Junkers inside the watchpoint," Mei spoke over the earpiece, as Tracer gasped with her eyes going wide in shock. Sounded like the Junkers snuck their way inside while everyone was occupied.
"Blimey, not the Junkers! We'll be there, Mei. Tracer, away!" Tracer blinked away from the top deck, as she looked to teach the Junkers a lesson. Left without giving any sort of warning.
"Tracer, wait up for us!" shouted Sojourn as she and the other operatives were forced to leave. Link and Zelda stayed behind, while Mario followed after the operatives.
"I'll go with-a the Overwatch peeps - you two try and get-a to the mansion in time!" Mario stopped and relayed this message to Link and Zelda before he resumed running. Infinite was hard laughing evilly, as Link and Zelda looked up at the jackal.
"Don't even bother - with how Master Xehanort gets around, he's probably at the mansion already," Infinite did his best to warn Link and Zelda, believing that any efforts they made would be futile. "Best to say goodbye to your precious machine."
"That's what you think," Link said confidently as he pointed at Infinite, who chose to let Link and Zelda be great as he vanished away. Needing a lift, Link and Zelda went over to Lance.
"Got any room on your Dragonite for the both of us?" Zelda asked Lance, who looked over at his Dragonite; Dragonite was a big enough Pokemon to carry at least three people.
"I've heard stories of dragons kidnapping the princess, but never a princess riding on a dragon!" responded Lance as he went over to his Dragonite, who looked game to make a flight to the Smash Mansion. "Hop on aboard."
Master Hand and Champion Link were huddled with Hal, Leon, Hop, and Squid Sisters at the entrance gate to Omnis Adest, bracing themselves for the army of Heartless that was drawing near. Save for Hal, everyone was looking for a fight.
"They're getting closer," confirmed Hal, no longer needing to look through his binoculars due to how close the Heartless were getting. The ship that was flying above the Heartless was getting close as well.
"Everyone stay on your A-game!" shouted Leon as he held his Poke Ball, ready to send out his Charizard when the time was right. Hop was also armed with a Poke Ball - who knows what Pokemon he would be bringing into battle.
"Here they are," said Master Hand, as the Heartless army reached Omnis Adest and came to a stop. Master Hand then saw who was on the flying ship, as he crinkled his nonexistent nose. "Is that..."
"Is it just me, or do they look familiar?" Champion Link asked Master Hand, as he saw four rabbits on the ship; one was short, one was tall, one was fat, and one was a token female. And they all wore colorful clothing.
"How ya do, Master Hand?" greeted the lead rabbit, the short one, as he tipped his green top hat to Master Hand. It was Topper...and with him were the Broodals. Harriet, Spewart, and Rango were all back.
"The Broodals! Should've known you palookas were piloting the ship..." The Broodals all took great offense to Master Hand calling them palookas, with Topper even throwing a temper tantrum.
"Who are ya calling a palooka? If anything, the real palooka around here is you!" Topper pointed accusingly at Master Hand, who was left wondering what he could've possibly done to earn such a moniker.
"Thanks to your Smasher scum, Bowser and Lara Croft's wedding never happened," explained Harriet, as Spewart and Rango were busy dwelling their minds on what could have been. "We went out of business because our reputations were soiled!"
"You went out of business because a wedding that never should happen didn't happen?" questioned Master Hand, who to this day never figured out why the Broodals went so far to satisfy Bowser's demands. "It's your guys' fault for not understanding basic biology."
Bowser: What's that? The Broodals went out of business? Yeah, I'm not surprised, they weren't the best wedding planners anyway looking back on it. I'd give any wedding planning group that has a guy spewing poison a side-eye. And he's supposed to be the entertainer!
Hop: Palooka, that sounds like such a funny name! I should nickname one of my Pokemon that. "Palooka, I choose you!" It just rolls off the tongue in a way.
"SILENCE!" shouted Topper, who had grown so angry that his face was turning red. No steam coming out of his ears...yet. "It's because we went out of business that we joined forces with da big boss Dimentio just to get our revenge!"
"And look - that Xehanort gave us control over these baddies to give us a head start!" added Harriet as she gestured to the Heartless army below, which consisted of Armored Knight Heartless - and robot-themed Watcher Heartless. "Dimentio told us to start here first. The mansion will be later..."
"But that's not all. Look behind you!" The only person that looked behind themselves was Hop, who turned around and saw a Dusk Nobody looking to attack.
"Lee!" Hop called out to Leon as he jumped back from the Nobody, who tried to swipe at the Pokemon trainer. Leon saw the Nobody as he threw out his Poke Ball, sending out Charizard.
"Charizard, Flamethrower!" commanded Leon, as his Charizard blew his fire breath on the Nobody to take it out. But after the Dusk Nobody was defeated...more of its kind appeared, slithering through the entrance gate.
"You see that? We got da best of both worlds!" exclaimed Topper, with Champion Link gripping his Master Sword as he and the others were surrounded. "Not a thing that you can..."
Topper would later eat his words, as an explosion was set off killing several Nobodies in the process. The gate to Omnis Adest was also destroyed, as standing in the opening was Tiny Tina.
"Pop goes the bandit!" sang Tina, who undoubtedly set off an explosive to take out the Nobodies. Behind Tina was the Orange Star tank, as commander-in-chief Nell appeared out from the hatch.
"We had nothing to do with that," Nell clarified to Master Hand and company, as one Dusk Nobody who survived the blast stood up...only for Brick to run in and punch it in the face.
"Yeah, what?!" Brick taunted the fallen Nobody as he stood over it, while also standing on its leg to prevent it from getting up again. Master Hand and the others were impressed.
"This is exactly why they're on the 'do not bring back under certain circumstances' list," Master Hand said to Champion Link, as he was appreciative of Brick, yet disappointed in Tina. A Nobody was seen trying to retreat, only to later be slain by a boomerang thrown from afar.
"Those jumpsuit monsters started attacking us," a certain Tasmanian tiger told Master Hand and company, as Ty showed up at the scene with his boomerang. "So we're bringing the fight to 'em!"
"Nooooo, they're fighting back!" wailed Topper, as if he expected the denizens of Omnis Adest to cower in fear at the sight of Nobodies. Some of them honestly would, though. "That's it...Heartless, CHARGE!"
"Bring it on!" shouted Champion Link, as the Heartless charged at the destroyed gate of Omnis Adest. Champion Link got down to business, slicing left and right with Master Sword while Marie and Callie were firing away with their ink weapons. Hal...was doing nothing, caught in the fracas.
"Excuse me, pardon me..." Hal said to the Armored Knight as he shuffled his way past the monsters, looking for safety. Master Hand saw Hal leave, and sighed in disappointment.
"He's going to make me reconsider keeping him around," the giant hand this to say about Hal, only for a Watcher Heartless to bump into him unprovoked and tick him off. "Alright, who did that?! No more Mr. Nice Guy..."
Situated a fair distance away from the watchpoint was Dimentio, who was likely waiting on someone to arrive. The jester's wait ended, as a Twilight portal appeared and six individuals exited from it - Zant, Astor, Andross, Pandora, Gnasty Gnorc, and Nitros Oxide.
"We have delivered the goods," Pandora confirmed to Dimentio, who was delighted by the news as he smiled. Then again, Dimentio was always smiling save for a few rare moments. "The Paradox Pokemon are at the hideout!"
"They'll be ready for use whenever the time comes," added Zant - imagine an army of Heartless, Nobodies, Twilight monsters, AND Paradox Pokemon. Dimentio tickled himself at the mere thought.
"That time will be coming sooner or later," gleamed Dimentio, as he couldn't wait to finally put his revenge tour into motion. He clearly had been waiting for months on end.
"Glad that we got out of that Twilight Realm," remarked Gnasty, the only person to come out of the Twilight Realm bruised and battered as he had several scars all over his body. "Those Twilight monsters tried to eat me!"
"It's not your fault that you look like a snack," Andross said to Oxide, who proceeded to give the alien a judgemental look. "Oh, don't give me that look, that's obviously not what I meant!"
"Yeah, you're not really easy on the eyes, to be honest," Pandora critiqued Gnasty's looks, grimacing as she looked at the Gnorc from head to toe. "Not even anyone of your own kind would find you attractive!"
"Someone definitely would...if a female Gnorc ever existed," sighed Gnasty as he lowered his head in shame; so many Gnorcs in the Dragon Realm, and yet not a single one of them was female (as far as he knew).
Gnasty: There are not that many women to be found in the Dragon Realms. Other than fairies, we have what are called Fat Ladies. Yes, that's what they're actually called. Fat Ladies. That's the name of their species, for crying out loud. If you ask me, those Fat Ladies belong in San Antonio, which I found out the other day was an actual city in the state of Texas. A state, apparently, and not some lousy country stuck between North and South America.
"May I speak with you in private?" Dimentio asked Oxide, who happily obliged as the jester pulled him to the side. Once far away enough from the others, Dimetnio asked Oxide, "How's the ultimate weapon coming along?"
"It has reached max completion!" replied Oxide, who couldn't wait to bust out this ultimate weapon one day, whatever this ultimate weapon was. "Infinite was right about those Broodals being useful."
"And he was right to go back in time and give you that task! Building such a destructive weapon would surely take a few years to complete."
"Eh, wouldn't say that I built it from the ground up - the Broodals and I just repurposed a weapon that had been used before. So when can I put this ultimate weapon into action?"
"Patience, Oxide, patience is key! The ultimate weapon will be our ace in the hole if our original plan is thwarted. Just keep it nice and tidy for us, will you?"
With Pit and Joker both absent from Cafe Leblanc, the trio of Kirby, Incineroar, and Viridi had to hold it down until the two baristas came back. The trio was secretly wishing for Pit and Joker to come back soon, for Sans was annoying them to death with his lousy puns.
"in the spirit of the upcoming memorial day, you should sell liberty to the customers," Sans suggested to the baristas, hoping that they understood his joke as he cracked a smile. Viriid looked at Sans as if she wanted to punch him in the face.
"Wish we could sell you a ticket to an all-expense vacation for an entire year," responded Kirby, preferring Sans's vacation spot to be a place of no return. A place like Siberia, for instance. "If it meant getting you away from us."
"I would slap you if it wasn't deemed unprofessional," Viriid said to Sans, as she had her left hand primed for slapping Sans silly. Sans's face was always begging to be slapped every day.
"Joker's not here, I would condone it. Heck, he'd slap Sans himself." Taking up on what Kirby said, Viridi took out her left hand and looked to smack Sans s hard as she could. The goddess of nature pulled her hand back, as Sans braced for impact...
"...meh, it's not worth it." Viriid later changed her mind, as she put her hand back down and resumed her barista work. Sans was spared, and the skeleton relished in the fact as he ate his curry.
"I know why you didn't go for the slap - you just can't resist me," Sans snickered at Viridi, as he successfully got underneath the goddess of nature's skin. Viridi slapped Sans for good, causing the patrons to gasp collectively.
"Waited so long to see that..." remarked Red the Pokemon Trainer, while Tsubasa was happily taking pictures of Sans's reaction on her phone. Sans took the slap in stride, rubbing the side of his face where Viridi hit him.
"didn't hurt, ha," grinned Sans as he brushed off Viridi's slap, going back to eating his curry as if nothing ever happened. Viriid was even more incensed as she wanted to leap at Sans, only for Incineroar to hold her back.
Sans: viridi slapped me - something that joker could never bring himself to do. viridi is more of a man than joker could ever hope to be.
"Let me try and get in touch with Pit," said Kirby, as Incineroar was doing his best in keeping Viriid from jumping over the counter to attack Sans. Kirby went to the phone mounted on the wall and dialed Pit's number.
Pit was in no condition to return to Cafe Leblanc anytime soon, as the angel was rendered unconscious and taken away by Sho Minazuki. Sho had the unconscious Pit over his shoulder, following after Giovanni.
"Can you turn your ringer off, it sounds too happy for my liking," Giovanni said to Sho, as he heard a ringtone with some happy vibes to it. The Team Rocket leader and Sho were going through a shady street in Seattle.
"That's not my phone," stated Sho, figuring that it was Pit's phone that was ringing; his suspicions were confirmed as he took Pit's phone out of the angel's pocket, and saw Cafe Leblanc calling. "Should I answer?"
"Do your best Pit impersonation." Giovanni came to an eventual stop, as he allowed Sho to answer the call. Still holding Pit over his shoulder, Sho answered the call on Pit's cell phone.
"Durr, this is Pit, who's this?" Sho spoke into the phone, doing his best impersonation of Pit by sounding like Patrick Star. In his mind, it was fitting for a person of Pit's caliber. Giovanni stifled his laughter by keeping his lips pursed.
"Seriously Pit? That awful Donald Trump impersonation lost its charm weeks ago," Kirby spoke to Sho over the phone, leaving Sho satisfied that the pink puffball hadn't suspected a thing. "Anyway, are you still out bringing people to justice?"
"Bringing who to justice? The average joes at the rec center?" Sho was playing dumb with Kirby, which worked in his favor considering that Pit did the same thing - both on purpose, and not on purpose.
"Joker said something about some kids riding around on their bicycles. You're not pushing them off their bicycles and getting their parents angry, are you?"
"Nope - me and the bicycle-riding kids teamed up to stop a bank robber! It was awesome, you should've been there." On the surface, that story sounded unlikely to Kirby, but since it was "Pit", there was some plausibility to it.
"That's good, I guess. Please hurry back to the cafe when you're done; Joker is watching over E. Gadd's mansion and Viriid is about to strangle...no, Viridi, let go of his neck!"
"Durr, I'll be back soon! Bye!" Sho brought his Pit impersonation to an end, as he ended the phone call with Kirby with a click. The delinquent put Pit's phone in his pocket, unaware of a shadowy figure darting past him and Giovanni.
"You nailed the Pit impersonation - five stars," Giovanni critiqued Sho, as the shadowy figure who ran past by hid behind a trash can and kept its eyes on its targets - Giovanni and Sho.
"Not gonna lie, it was kinda fun. But I have to ask...what is this ransom thing for? May have missed a couple of details at the last meeting."
"Dimentio wants eight individuals - eight Smashers that he deems 'essential' to his master plan. Our first order of action is to lure 'them' to us..."
After Dimentio had whispered something in his ear, MC Ballyhoo was scared to the bone. Fox and Falco brought the distraught emcee to the mansion, for Ballyhoo was literally petrified by fear; he was lying on the floor in the foyer, with the same scared face he had before.
"Have either of you two seen Sakura anywhere?" Ryoma asked Fox and Falco, who were too busy thinking of a way to bring Ballyhoo back to his senses.
"I don't know, maybe she ran away," replied Fox as he was looking far down the hallway as if he magically expected someone to show up and save the day. Ryoma could tell that Fox and Falco were barely paying him any attention.
"You two are no help...evidently, you care about that buffoon lying on the floor more than my own siblings." Ryoma was looking down at Ballyhoo with contempt, wishing that he could give the emcee a good kick to his head.
"That buffoon is probably richer than your entire family," Falco said to Ryoma, who felt deeply insulted as he grabbed the avian pilot by his collar and pulled him close to his face. "B-But not by that much, though!"
"Go ahead and entertain yourself with your silly lies...I'll ask someone far more helpful." Ryoma dropped Falco to the floor, forced to take his search elsewhere as he left from the foyer. Fortunate to be spared, Falco was clutching his neck.
Ryoma: Sakura would never run away from the family, not in a million years. I know that very well in my heart. My best theory is that Sakura is extremely committed to poisoning the Nohrians, and is on the precipe of finding success. In fact, I am sure of it! If for any reason I return to Omnis Adest and the Nohrians are alive and well, then Sakura will be very, very sorry.
"Nurse? We need a nurse!" Falco shouted as he hoped for a random nurse to show up, and tend to Ballyhoo's needs. Luigi showed up in the foyer much to Falco's chagrin, with a large bag of potato chips.
"Leia Rolando left a few years ago," Luigi informed Falco as if the avian pilot didn't know, as he took a handful of chips out of his bag and ate it. Fox and Falco were watching the green plumber snack away. "Don't let-a my wife know about this."
"We know Leia left - that's why we're trying to speak a nurse into existence. Isn't your wife a registered nurse?" Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't - but Luigi wasn't keen on delving into Daisy's personal matters.
"What would-a you even need a nurse for?" Luigi would soon find his answer, as he saw Ballyhoo lying on the floor in a fetal position sucking on his thumb. "You need a nurse-a for this?" Luigi asked the pilots, as he pointed at Ballyhoo.
"Look at him, he's clearly distraught," Fox said to Luigi, trying to get the plumber to show a little sympathy as he knelt down at Ballyhoo's side. "Nothing we can do or say will bring him back to his senses."
"Daisy did the same-a thing when I told her that I used her trimmer to cut-a off my armpit hair. Sadly Nair was a no-go. MC Ballyhoo, he will-a be fine."
"But did you have to snap Daisy out of her funk?" Falco asked Luigi, who thought about it for a brief moment or two before ultimately nodding his head. "Surely you can do the same for our friend."
"Perhaps I can work-a some magic on him...bring-a him to my house." So Fox gingerly picked up Ballyhoo, cradling him in his arms as he and Falco followed Luigi out of the mansion.
Mario had caught up with Tracer and her Overwatch peeps, who were inside the watchpoint face-to-face with the Junkers. Junkrat, Roadhog, and Junker Queen were all present, armed with their weapons.
"It's the end of the line, you filthy Junkers!" Tracer said to the trio of destructive Aussies; Mei, who had spotted the Junkers causing trouble, was standing next to Tracer with her endothermic blaster.
"Come on - hit us with your best shot!" Junkrat dared the Overwatch operatives...as Tracer did what she was told as she blinked over to Junkrat and placed a Pulse Bomb square on his chest. "Aw, poop..."
"Hope you like your present!" Tracer blinked back to Mei and waved to Junkrat, who flinched with anticipation as the Pulse Bomb exploded in his face. Junkrat collapsed to the floor, as several live grenades fell out of his pocket.
"I don't think he liked that present too much," commented Mei, as the grenades exploded around the Junkers after falling to the floor. Then something bizarre happened...the Junkers started to glitch out.
"Are you guys alright?" Baptiste asked the Junkers, who continued to glitch out like crazy...until they vanished out of sight. A weird sound was made as the Junkers faded away. "That was freaky!"
"I'll say," remarked Mario, as Winston went over to where the Junkers stood and inspected the floor for anything that looked out of the ordinary. "Maybe those Junkers were figments-a of our imagination..."
"..or maybe those were digital distortions," surmised Echo, as everyone looked towards the robot believing that she might have a valid point. "This was possibly a setup."
"Oh, how right you are...I led you to my trap," Infinite said to Echo and company, although the jackal was unseen. But Infinite soon appeared as he was floating above the others.
"Alright, Infinite, what was that all about?" questioned Mario, desiring to know what kind of twisted games Infinite was pulling. The plumber was not yet fully aware of Infinite's true power.
"You may not know this about me, but I am a master of illusions. Long as the Phantom Ruby is powered, I can create illusions at will."
"May have fooled us the first time, but we won't let you get away with it again," vowed Zarya, only to look past Infinite and squint her eyes when she saw a woman in the far distance. "Katya Volskaya, is that you...?"
"Zarya, no!" shouted Winston, but it was too late as Zarya had already walked off to follow who she believed was Katya. Winston clenched his teeth, as the other Overwatch operatives began to move.
"D. Cuerva, what are you doing here? I thought that you were dead!" said Baptiste, who like his fellow operatives saw a familiar face that he knew. The operatives had wandered off, while Mario and Winston were left alone with Infinite.
"The Phantom Ruby allows me to make the false presence of individuals, simply by manipulating the victim's visual and depth perception," Infinite explained his powers to Mario and Winston, who were the only folks mostly left unaffected. "I'll keep it up for as long as needed."
"Not unless-a we stop you!" said Mario as he jumped up towards Infinite...only to remember how fast Infinite was, as Infinite moved out of the way. Mario landed back on his feet as he looked up at Infinite.
"I did promise myself that I would be entertainment...and your friends will provide me all the entertainment I need." And with that, Infinite vanished, leaving Mario and Winston to figure out how they could possibly stop him.
"Come with me...we can figure something out," Winston said to Mario, as he left the premises; Mario looked up at where Infinite once floated, before following after Winston. Winston took out his earpiece, sand said into it, "Backup, we need backup!"
Mario: A master of illusions is one-a bad guy you don't want to deal with. Learned that from-a watching the Riddler in the animated Batman series. Perhaps my favorite-a villain from the show. But Infinite seems leagues above-a what the Riddler is capable of doing. If he works his magic on-a the mansion...Mama Mia.
Sonic and his friends, Crash and Conker, were one of the folks entrusted to watch over E. Gadd's mansion. Mainly since Cortex's minions weren't trusted enough. It was soothing so far, with no problems arising while Sonic was checking out the kind of grub E. Gadd had in his kitchen.
"Let's see what E. Gadd has in the fridge!" said an optimistic Sonic as he opened up E. Gadd's fridge, expecting to see some goodies inside. The first thing he saw when he opened the fridge was a container of some strange liquid, next to some juice cartons.
"See anything in there that tickles your fancy?" Komodo Joe came over to ask Sonic, who was furrowing his brow at the container of liquid he saw. Komodo Joe saw Sonic's face and gave an amused reaction.
"What is that supposed to be?" Sonic asked Komodo Joe as he pointed at the container he couldn't keep his eyes off on. Komodo Joe was silently debating whether he should answer or not.
"It's E. Gadd's urine; he said he's saving it for an 'experiment.'" Just like that, Sonic was now fully disgusted, as Tiny Tiger came over to the fridge and pushed Sonic to the side.
"Tiny Tiger found his bottle of Gatorade!" rejoiced Tiny as he accidentally grabbed E. Gadd's pee jar, and took a sip out of it. Sonic was even more disgusted as Tiny placed the container back where it was, not suspecting a thing as he left.
"...yeah, I think I'm gonna see what's in the cabinet." Sonic slowly closed the fridge door, as Komodo Joe extended his deepest sympathies to Sonic, who looked to his left...and saw Conker standing by.
"Hello, Sonic..." Conker greeted the blue hedgehog, the most serious he ever looked or sounded while his hand was resting on the countertop. The squirrel looked like he was going to interrogate Sonic about what he was doing out late at night past 3 A.M.
"Hello...Conker." Sonic nervously returned the favor as he took a few steps back, only for Conker to get closer to him. "Want a glass of water or something?"
"The professor dude mentioned how you wanted to revive a dead...something. What did you want to revive that I didn't deserve to know about?"
"I wanted to revive your dead...your dead, um..." Sonic's mind was drawing a blank, failing Sonic at the worst possible time. Sonic had to spit out an answer, and fast. "...your dead pet fish!"
"Really? My dead pet fish?" Conker softened in a hurry, laughing to himself as a still-nervous Sonic laughed along with him. "Jokes on you, Sonic - I never even owned a pet fish."
"Got 'em." Sonic was playing along as he fired his finger guns at Conker, as he and his buddy were laughing together. So busy laughing, that they failed to notice a dark corridor appearing in the kitchen.
"Did someone call upon the dark forces?" Komodo Joe asked Sonic and Conker, bringing their attention to the dark corridor that Xigbar was now walking out of. Sonic soon became vigilant.
"Xigbar!" Sonic uttered the Nobody's name, as Xigbar was grinding from ear to ear. As expected from arguably the most affable member of Organization XIII.
"Well, if it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog! Raiding the old man's kitchen," remarked Xigbar, who was surprised that Sonic didn't have a chili dog in his hand. Or at least mustard and ketchup wasted on the counter and kitchen floor.
"I wasn't raiding E. Gadd's kitchen...not yet, at least. But that's none of your business. What is it that you want?"
"So, you want to know what I'm after?" Xigbar cracked his head to the side, as his voice dripped with sinister amusement. "Well, let me enlighten you. Organization XIII's got its sights set on something big: Professor E. Gadd's time machine!"
"What do they want with a time machine?" Conker asked Xigbar out of concern, as he was now learning of Organization XIII's existence for the first time. "That doesn't sound good."
"We know E. Gadd has one - saw him talking about one in that old documentary footage. The fellas and I are willing to bet that E. Gadd has his time machine in his lab, nice and cozy enough for us to destroy! Mansion might need it one day."
"And how do you plan on getting your grubby hands on that time machine?" questioned Komodo Joe, letting Xigbar know that getting to E. Gadd's lab wouldn't be as easy as it seemed. "Not like we'll just hand it over."
"Yeah, you think you can just waltz in and take whatever you want?" asked Sonic, as Pinstripe overheard the conversation going on in the kitchen and peeked inside to take a gander. "Doesn't work that way, buddy."
"Oh, how amusing! But I wouldn't get your hopes up, boys," Xigbar smirked evilly at Sonic and company, as Pinstripe quickly recognized the Nobody as an intruder and a threat.
"No intruders in the mansion!" Pinstripe called out to Xigbar as he wielded his Tommy gun, showing it off a bit. "Why don't you say hello to my little friend?"
"And why don't you say hello to my little...friends?" With the snap of his fingers, Xigbar summoned his own signature Nobody, the Sniper, as multiple Snipers appeared in the kitchen.
"Crap..." Pinstripe muttered as he saw what he was going up against, before looking towards Sonic and company apologetically. "...well, boys, you could say that this was my fault."
Up in E. Gadd's living room, Joker and Greninja were both watching some television. Aqua was taking a gander around the living room, marveling at the many trinkets that E. Gadd had on display. And Crash...he was licking the living room walls, in a futile effort at tasting the paint.
"I've been told that you enjoy watching this show," Joker said to the person sitting next to him, Ripper Roo, as a montage of police chases was shown on the television screen. "I can honestly see why."
"Poor E. Gadd, he must be so incredibly lonely," remarked Aqua as she picked up a family photo frame of E. Gadd and...well, just E. Gadd, standing alone by himself. It was the most depressing thing Aqua had seen all week.
Joker: E. Gadd's loneliness has been known around these parts. He'll do anything to have any semblance of a family. I fear that is why we were asked to watch over his mansion for him so that we can prove our "worth" to him. Sincerely hoping that's not the case.
Greninja: *looks at E. Gadd's "family" photo in his hands, before shaking his head and tossing the frame over his shoulder*
"Wait a minute, do you guys hear that?" asked Komodo Joe's brother, Komodo Moe, as he came inside the living room. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they heard gunshots and laser shots coming from the kitchen.
"Moe! We're in big trouble!" Komodo Joe said to Komodo Moe as he ran into the living room with Sonic and Conker. "Some guy in a hooded cloak just came inside the kitchen and..."
"You don't mean Organization XIII, do you?" Aqua interjected after hearing the description Komodo Joe gave, as Joker, Greninja, and Crash all perked up. "Who was it?"
"It was the guy with the eyepatch, Xigbar!" exclaimed Sonic, as Aqua knew how lethal Xigbar was; she and Xigbar go way back, back when Xigbar used to go by Braig and worked under Ansem the Wise.
"Yeah, he summoned a bunch of monsters, and they started shooting up the place," Komodo Joe kept on explaining, as Aqua cautiously looked around for any possible Organization members popping up. "Then Pinstripe started shooting up the place! He's gonna owe E. Gadd a newly refurnished kitchen later."
"And you left him behind?" Komodo Moe asked Joe as he shook his brother silly, making Komodo Joe feel bad in the process. Evil laughing was heard, as Xigbar crept around the corner holding an unconscious Pinstripe by the collar.
"The dude was no match for me," said Xigbar as he tossed Pinstripe onto the floor, causing him to land near the living room sofa. "Turns out that I have the quicker draw!"
"Xigbar!" Aqua frowned, as everyone had their eyes on the Nobody in question. Happy to see a familiar face in Aqua, Xigbar smiled.
"Aqua! Been a while. Nice seeing you too. Would stick around for a chat, but I gotta jet. Later!" Finished with Pinstripe, Xigbar teleported away just as Aqua took out her Keyblade.
"Where did he go?" Aqua gripped her Keyblade hard, as she and the others looked around for Xigbar. Then a dark corridor appeared, and walking out from it was another person that Aqua was familiar with...Vanitas.
"Xigbar is the very last of your worries," Vanitas said to Aqua, who turned around and frowned when she saw the masked boy with his Keyblade. "He's not the only Organization member under this roof..."
"There's more of them?" panicked Joker, fearing that the entire Organization was inside E. Gadd's mansion. He and the others would've been outnumbered if that were the case.
"I'll take care of Vanitas; the rest of you try and stop the Organization," Aqua said to everyone in the living room, facing off against Vanitas as the living room was quickly cleared. "Let everyone else know."
"I've been wanting to do this for a while..." said Vanitas as he held up his Keyblade, as he and Aqua were about to do battle. It was going to be one heck of a Keyblade duel.
It was absolute pandemonium at Omnis Adest, as Heartless and Nobodies had invaded the community. Those who were staying at Omnis Adest were certainly proving their worth, as they fought against the Heartless forces.
"Die, vermin!" shouted Soldier: 76 as he was firing shots at the Heartless and Nobodies alike, while Agent 9 was doing the same with his laser gun. One of Agent 9's Forgotten Realm buddies, Sgt. Byrd, was up in the sky dropping bombs.
"Bombs voyage!" shouted Sgt. Byrd as he dropped a bomb on a group of unsuspecting Heartless, killing them all in the process. Soldier:76 and Agent 9 were only a few yards removed from the blast.
"Where did he get those bombs from?" Soldier: 76 asked Agent 9, who was going stir-crazy from seeing the blast. Anytime he saw a wicked explosion, Agent 9 was always acting up.
"Sorry, were you saying something? That explosion REALLY got me in a mood!" replied Agent 9, who didn't hear a single word that Soldier: 76 had said. Soldier: 76 sighed as he resumed firing his rounds at the Heartless.
"Mabostiff, use Crunch!" Arven commanded his Mabostiff, who went to town on a Dusk Nobody as he sank his teeth into the monster. Nemona wasn't that far removed from Arven, as she had her Lycanroc in battle.
"Use Stone Edge!" commanded Nemona, as her Lycanroc summoned a bunch of sharpened stones to attack the Watcher Heartless with. Defeated them all in the process. "Hey, where's Penny? Did she run off and hide?"
"THUNDER!" someone shouted, as a wicked thunderbolt came from the sky and took out several Heartless. Arven and Nemona looked shocked at first, only to look back and saw Penny standing by with her Jolteon.
"Nice one, Penny!" Nemona gave her props to the bespectacled Pokemon trainer, who meekly adjusted her glasses as she attempted to remain humble.
Penny: I didn't mean to make a big show, but...those stupid monsters interrupted my anime binge. Sometimes push comes to shove.
Meanwhile, house leaders Claude and Dimitri had their backs turned towards each other, as they were facing off the Heartless. They were armed with their weapons - Claude, his Failnaught, and Dimitri, his Areadbhar.
"Think you can handle this many?" Claude asked Dimitri while cracking a smirk, thinking that the Heartless might be too much for his friend to handle.
"Well...might be tough if one more shows up," replied Dimitri, not backing down from any challenge as he eyed the Heartless he was about to slay.
"Then that'll have to be the one that I'll take care of."
"What, you're fighting too?"
"Can you boys stop talking and get a move on?" Edelgard called out to Dimitri and Claude, vanquishing Heartless left and right with Aymr. Saving their talk for later, Dimitri and Claude got down to business as they slayed the Heartless in sight.
"Stay in that cardboard box, canine friend - let a pro handle this," Ryu Hayabusa said to Harvey, slicing up Heartless with his Dragon Sword while Harvey was hiding underneath a cardboard box. Harvey put his makeshift sword to use against the Heartless, only to later find out the hard way how worthless it was.
"Ryu Hayabusa, watch out!" Cloud called out to the ninja as he was running down the street; Hayabusa turned around and saw a Watcher Heartless behind him, as he defeated it with his blade.
"Thanks for the heads up," Hayabusa thanked Cloud, who nodded his head as he ran right by; Hayabusa continued to slice up the Heartless, as Cloud hurried on down the street.
"Cloud Strife! Get a load of this!" Zeke called out to the swordsman, before defeating a bunch of Nobodies with just the swing of his mighty sword. Cloud was hardly paying attention, much to Zeke's chagrin.
"That's cool, Zeke, very cool." Cloud kept pressing on, and soon he reached an intersection, coincidentally coming to a halt at a stop sign. Taking a breather, Cloud looked around and saw the carnage.
"Taste the wrath of my fury!" Urbosa exclaimed in the middle of the intersection, snapping her fingers as she summoned some wicked electricity on the Heartless surrounding her. The electricity electrocuted the Heartless until they were defeated.
"Heads up," Ana shouted at Urbosa, firing a tranquilizing dart at a Watcher Heartless just above the Gerudo's head. The Watcher Heartless fell to the ground after being struck, and Urbosa finished it off with her scimitar.
"Should've known better than to sneak up on a Champion." Urbosa put her scimitar away, as she looked up and saw Cloud running over to her. "Hope you enjoyed that wonderful display, Cloud."
"I can definitely see why they named you a champion of your people," Cloud said to Urbosa, only for him and the Gerudo to hear some suspicious laughter. Suspicious yet terribly joyful laughter.
"Twas a wonderful display indeed - like watching perfectly coordinated two ice skaters on an ice-skating rink!" said a mysterious voice, one that was befitting of a twisted, maniacal jester. Cloud and Urbosa looked around, as Ana joined them.
"I know that voice...Dimentio, where are you?" Hearing his name called, Dimentio magically appeared at the scene as Ana quickly had her rifle pointed at the jester. Ana had another tranquilizing dart waiting to be fired.
"Ah, so you're Dimentio," Ana said to the jester, who was gleefully delighted at how much name recognition he was getting. "My daughter Pharah has told me about you. You're nothing but trouble..."
"Au contraire! I'm not really a troublemaker; my actions are simply misunderstood." Not believing Dimentio for a second, Ana had her finger on the trigger while Urbosa unsheathed her scimitar.
"Like you expect us to believe you?" Urbosa asked Dimentio, able to see at first glance how manipulative the jester was. She wasn't going to let Dimentio's manipulative ways get the best of her.
"I am telling the honest truth! My actions might seem evil, but it's all just a matter of perspective Really, I only have the best intentions in..."
Dimentio didn't get to finish speaking, for a giant fireball was fired at him. Dimentio moved out of harm's way, as he saw that the fireball was fired by - guess who? - Master Hand, who was in a finger gun position.
"Well, if it isn't the little troublemaker..." Master Hand said to Dimentio, seeing the jester in person for the first time since episode 34. Dimentio was understandably shaken.
"Would you look at the time!" said Dimenito as he looked at the imaginary watch on his wrist. "Chaos is calling my name. But before I go, an FYI - Master Xehanort is going to destroy your beloved teleportation device."
"Master Xehanort?! Is he at the mansion? I'm gonna give that bald head of his a new shining!" Master Xehanort's bald head was never that shiny, to begin with, but you do you Master Hand.
"That is all. Ta-ta!" Dimentio vanished away, as Ana missed her opportunity to stun the jester with a tranquilizing dart. Ana looked at the ground in disappointment, as Soldier: 76 ran over to Cloud and company.
"Those monsters keep on coming and coming," stated Soldier: 76, who had yet to break a sweat while shooting up Heartless and Nobodies alike. "Good thing that I have enough ammo."
"Soldier: 76, I need you to come with me to the mansion," Cloud said to Soldier: 76 as he placed his hand on the vigilante's shoulder. "Got to prevent something bad from happening over there."
"But the watchpoint..." Soldier: 76 looked to the side as he mulled his options - help Cloud, or get to the watchpoint ASAP. Eventually, he made up his mind. "...eh, I'll just go with you. Ana, you and Torbjörn can go on without me."
"As you wish," Ana acknowledged Soldier: 76's command as she gave the vigilante a two-finger salute. Cloud looked up at Master Hand, who was worried about the teleportation device's fate.
"I'll make sure that the device is safe and sound," Cloud assured Master Hand, hoping that Master Xehanort hadn't already reached the mansion by this point.
"Go on - no dilly-dallying! I'm counting on you," Master Hand said to Cloud, who along with Soldier: 76 ran off. A group of Armored Knight Heartless drew near, and Master Hand fired a beam from his fingertips to kill them. "Yup...still got it."
Winston returned to the workshop at the watchpoint, repairing his giant gun after Master Xehanort had damaged it. Once he was done with the repairs, he and Mario rolled out.
"Hopefully the illusions have-a stopped by now," Mario said to Winston as the duo return to the spot where they saw the Junker illusions. There they saw Tracer, who was scoping the area to ensure that she was still in reality.
"Thought I saw Maximilien, but turns out it was just a decoy," Tracer said to Winston, before frowning as she slammed her fist in the palm of her hand. "Had to be the work of that Infinite, I'm sure!"
"Most definitely so," responded Winston, relieved to know that one of his fellow operatives found their way out of the illusion. "The others might be caught up with those fake copies."
"A Phantom copy, to be exact," a certain jackal clarified, as Tracer and company heard Infinite's voice. Infinite soon appeared, as everyone got on the offensive.
"Infinite! You think you can manipulate-a the Overwatch peeps and get away with it?" Mario asked Infinite, who laughed with his arms folded as if he was asked a rhetorical question.
"Of course, I can - I have the power of illusions on my side. Visual perception is simply a tool at my disposal." A large flying object was seen outside, and Winston saw it coming towards the watchpoint.
"Bet you don't have eyes at the back of your head," Winston said to Infinite, who wondered what the gorilla was talking about. Infinite turned around...
...and saw a pink mech flying in his direction. The pink mech crashed through the window and into Infinite as it landed, pinning Infinite underneath.
"I've been bested...by a flying vehicle?" questioned Infinite, as the hatch of the pink mech opened; D. Va leaped out from the pink mech and brushed back her ponytail in style.
"Operative D. VA has arrived!" confirmed D. Va, as a second person crawled out of the pink mech in Brigette. Brigette stepped on Infinite by accident as she got out.
Tracer: D. Va won't be reprimanded for breaking the windows. It has become somewhat of a weekly occurrence for her; we've all gotten used to it by now.
"Ah, I see you've brought some company," Winston said to D. Va after seeing Brigette, who brought with her her trusty rocket flail and shield. Wouldn't be seen anywhere without those items.
"Dad played for me the message about the watchpoint being in trouble," explained Brigette, referring to the message that Winston left behind for Soldier:76, Ana, and Torbjörn in the last episode. "Had to be here soon."
"GRRRAAAAH!" Infinite shouted angrily, mustering the strength to pull himself from underneath D. Va's pink mech. The jackal rose up in the air, looking down at everyone. "This isn't other...not by a long shot." Seconds later, Infinite vanished - likely for good.
"I'm guessing that's the new bad guy that's with Dimentio. I love a good challenge." Brigette was totally prepared to take on Infinite, looking to strike the jackal multiple times with her rocket flail.
"Oops! Forgot my energy drink," said D. Va as she was about to hop back inside her pink mech...only for someone to grab her lower leg. The pilot looked back and saw that it was Mario.
"Can you take-a me to the mansion?" Mario asked D. Va, who happily obliged after assuming that the mansion was in trouble.
A dark corridor appeared at the front of the mansion, as Master Xehanort exited from it. For the leader of Organization XIII, it was his first time ever seeing the Smash Mansion in person.
"So, this is the Smash Mansion..." Master Xehanort cracked an evil smile as he admired the mansion, envisioning it being reduced to rubble one day. He looked around and saw Lucas playing outside with who else, Ness.
"Whoops! My bad," Ness apologized to Lucas, after throwing a football and sending it flying over his head. The football landed near Master Xehanort's feet.
"That's what you said the last time you overthrew it," Ness said to Ness as he went to go retrieve the ball...and as he picked it up, he looked up and saw Master Xehanort staring at him. Lucas gasped out of fear as he fell backward.
"Ah, if it isn't Lucas! How is your mother doing?" Master Xehanort asked the PSI whiz, embracing him as if he was a grandpa meeting his son after five long years. Lucas, becoming fearful for his life, was backing away for his own good.
"What's wrong, Lucas, you promised to not be scared by strangers anymore," said Ness as he came over to Lucas, only to stop in place when he saw Master Xehanort trying to intimidate his best friend. "Just gonna let that old geezer scare you?"
"Old geezer?! That is no way to treat the elderly, young man." Master Xehanort frowned at Ness, who immediately recognized who the man was after seeing his distinguishable yellow eyes. Now Ness was just as scared as Lucas was.
"I know who you are! You're Master Xehanort!" Ness pointed at Master Xehanort, who was happy to be recognized as he took out his Keyblade, the χ-blade. Although the Keyblade was "incomplete", it still had both Ness and Lucas scared to the bone.
"Do not be alarmed - this χ-blade is not at its full power. However, it is enough to make mincemeat out of the both of you." Master Xehanort was stepping closer toward Ness and Lucas, who were huddled close to each other in fear. Just as Master Xehanort was about to strike...
"NOT A SINGLE MOVE, XEHANORT!" a voice shouted from up above, as Master Xehanort looked up and saw Link riding on Dragonite with Zelda and Lance. Once Dragonite was close enough to the ground, Link leaped down and charged at Master Xehanort with his Master Sword.
"You boys okay?" Lance asked Ness and Lucas after his Dragonite landed on the ground, as he and Zelda checked on the two friends. Meanwhile, Link and Master Xehanort were dueling it out as their blades clashed.
"Yeah, we're good," replied Ness, appreciative of Lance for coming in at the right time. Suddenly, Link flew backward and landed on his back, as Master Xehanort prevailed over the Hylian.
"You're good...but simply not good enough," Master Xehanort critiqued Link, as he summoned a dark corridor and backed up into it. By the time Link recovered and got up, the dark corridor was gone.
"He got away," Link grunted as he was fully standing on his feet, fearing that Master Xehanort was inside the mansion by now. But help was on the way.
"Link!" Cloud called out to the Hylian, as he and Soldier: 76 arrived at the mansion. Cloud was out of breath compared to Soldier: 76, who had the ability to Sprint on his side. "Got some bad news. Dimentio wants..."
"...the teleportation device destroyed? Yeah, I know - he sent Master Xehanort to do his bidding. He'll do anything to stymie us."
"Mario sent me a text - he and D. Va are on our way to the mansion right now. Master Xehanort has another thing coming to him..."
Pigs were flying in the air, as E. Gadd and Dr. Wily were speaking with one another at Rayman's house. There was a slight worry that fireworks might fly between the two geniuses, which was why Rayman, Globox, and Barbara were hiding behind an overturned living room table for their own safety.
"No fists thrown so far..." said a cautious Rayman, surprised at how tranquil the conversation between E. Gadd and Wily was. "...and neither man has yet to pull out their ray gun and blast each other to bits."
"Bold of you to assume that either one of them is man enough to even own a ray gun," responded Barbara, who was armed with her battle axe just in case. Why don't we see how the conversation in the living room is turning out?
"I know I've told you this many times before, but...you are the worst," Wily admitted to E. Gadd, who was used to the robot inventor calling him as such. It no longer got under his skin. "You and your obsession with time travel."
"Is that the only reason why you 'hate' me so? Because I have dabbled in time travel?" questioned E. Gadd, disgruntled as to why Wily hated him with almost every fiber of his being. "I'm not even obsessed, mind you."
"But you are! Don't you know? Meddling with time is a grave risk. Time travel disrupts the natural order of things, and the consequences of altering the past or future could be catastrophic!"
"Could be, Dr. Wily. It could be catastrophic. But with careful control and responsible use..." E. Gadd was unable to make his point, as Wily was growling angrily and pulling on his hair.
"Responsible use? Ha! Tampering time creates more problems than they solve. The ripple effects are devastating. Did you not watch Avengers Endgame? Did you fall asleep when the Avengers pulled the Time Heist?"
"Globox fell asleep during the Time Heist!" Globox exclaimed as if he was proud of the very fact, as Rayman and Globox both shushed the amphibian. "On a related note, where was Black Widow during the final battle?"
"She couldn't get over her love for Hawkeye, so she no-showed," answered Rayman, as Globox nodded and took the limbless hero's response as a fact. Rayman later sighed in relief, while Barbara pinched the crown of her nose.
Rayman: Been four years since Endgame, but I think that Globox can handle the spoilers at this point. Since he fell asleep during the bulk of the film, he missed pretty much everything - and I had to make things up for his own sake. When Globox asked how Thanos was alive when he attacked the Avengers compound, I just told him that Thanos was a revived zombie and that he had an army of zombie soldiers with him. Still works, to this day.
"I won't deny that there are risks involved, but every scientific endeavor carries risks," E. Gadd expressed to Wily, trying to get him to see things from his own personal perspective. "You take a risk when you build a new Robot Master, do you not?"
"That is beside the point," replied Wily, who refused to take E. Gadd's side no matter how many strong points the professor made. "Time is a delicate fabric, intricately woven. It's a Pandora's box best left unopened."
"One of you should say 'time machine', just to see what happens," a giggling Barbara suggested to Rayman and Globox, desiring to see what Wily's reaction was. A frown from Rayman got Barbara to stop giggling in a heartbeat.
"Tampering with time is not the answer. It's dangerous. I have tried arguing that to you many years ago, and yet you have failed to listen!"
"I know...I probably should have listened to you then." E. Gadd lowered his head as he said this, as Wily looked at him astonished.
"I-I beg your pardon? Are you...agreeing with me?" Wily leaned in close to E. Gadd, wanting to verify that he wasn't hearing things.
"Dimentio, he traveled back in time with a friend of his. Samus showed me the footage on a laptop one day, and I was in disbelief."
"Dimentio traveling back in time? That sounds more dangerous than it rightfully should. And where did he even find a time machine?"
"Didn't need to find one - Giovanni had Team Rocket build one for him. I could tell that time machine was Team Rocket's by the red R on the front."
"Well, Team Rocket is good at branding, I will admit...perhaps the only thing they're good at. But if Dimentio is going back in time, then we're in big trouble!"
"Indeed - which is why I asked for this meeting, to come up with a solution. I was thinking, maybe...that we can work together again as before?"
"Me? Work with the likes of you?" Wily was looking at E. Gadd with slight contempt, grimacing as E. Gadd was extending his hand out to him. Wily looked reluctant to shake E. Gadd's hand as he folded his arms.
"We can make it right...I promise you that we can make things right." At first, Wily was defiant as he had his eyes closed, but then he opened one eye as he looked at E. Gadd's offering hand...
Sho was tired of carrying Pit around, having complained to Giovanni on several instances about just how tired he was. Fortunately, the delinquent would find relief as he and Giovanni saw a familiar face just up ahead.
"Took you long enough..." Rufus Shinra said to Giovanni and Sho as he waited for the duo at the end of the street near an abandoned building. The Shinra president was tapping his foot impatiently, for who knows how long.
"We have brought the goods," Sho confirmed to Rufus as he dropped the unconscious Pit onto the ground, lying the angel against Rufus's feet. Rufus looked at Pit as if he was hot garbage.
"Really? Pit, of all people? Is this the best that you could do?" Had it been Dark Pit instead, Rufus would have been more way enthralled about Giovanni and Sho's catch.
"Hey now, Dimentio never specified who should serve as ransom," replied Giovanni; all he was told to do was find someone from the mansion, and that's it.
"At least we didn't come empty-handed," added Sho, slightly kicking Pit's head away from him. Pit remained out cold as he laid stomach-first on the ground.
"I suppose that it's better than nothing," grumbled Rufus, as he was forced to accept Pit as the ransom, the Shinra president then looked up, and saw Giovanni smiling to himself. "Why are you smiling, Giovanni?"
"Every time you see me smile, you always assume that I'm up to something," replied Giovanni, left wondering why Rufus was so much on his case. "I wonder, why is that?"
"Because you are up to something, I just know it. Care to enlighten me on whatever you're plotting in your head?"
"What I have going on in my head is none of your concern. Or Sho's concern, for that matter. I can assure you that I have no ulterior motives to speak of."
"Ah, denial is a common tactic when trying to hide one's true intentions. You just unknowingly made yourself look even more suspicious, Giovanni. Tell us your secrets, I demand you!"
"Rufus, Rufus, Rufus..so eager to dig into the secrets of others. Allow me to clarify. I might be ambitious, but my goals are driven by a desire for strength and control, not mere 'evil' intentions. I seek to reshape the world, yes, but only in an orderly fashion."
"Through dominance and control, perhaps. And you want to know something? Your intentions bear a striking resemblance to my own company's pursuit of power and control. Are you and Team Rocket truly so different from Shinra?"
"Oh, Rufus, you see connections where there are none. Team Rocket's operations may involve power struggles, but we are not driven by corporate greed like you are. We harness the potential of Pokémon to advance our cause, not for the exploitation you suggest."
"Exploitation takes many forms, Giovanni. The end result is the same: the pursuit of power at the expense of others. I may not agree with Shinra's methods, but at least I am transparent about our objectives."
"Well, unlike you, Team Rocket operates in the shadows. Our methods may be controversial, but they are driven by a vision for a better world. A better world is what I strive for."
"What better world? Giovanni, do you honestly believe that? I truly see that your ambitions are blinding you from the truth..."
"The world is not so simple. Power is the currency of progress, and I understand that. It is how one uses this power that can shape the future."
"I know deep down that you have a diabolical plan up your sleeve, Giovanni...it's a dangerous path you're treading. The consequences will catch up with you."
"So, like...do we wait on someone from the mansion to come and rescue Pit, or what?" Sho asked Giovanni and Rufus as he interrupted their conversation. Giovanni and Rufus looked down at Pit, who was more asleep than a newborn baby in its cradle.
"We'll wait and see if anyone values Pit enough to come and rescue him," replied Giovanni, as he grabbed Pit by the hand and lifted the angel up, carrying him in his arms. The Team Rocket saw Rufus frowning. "You don't like that plan, Rufus?"
"All I can say is, you should've gotten someone better," Rufus said to Giovanni, as he led him and Sho inside the abandoned building. Rufus kept a close eye on Giovanni, who was once again smiling. "I got my eye on you..."
Before E. Gadd left, the inventor asked those watching over his mansion that they safeguard the time machine in his lab. Corrin and Sakura were down in the lab right now bonding with each other - despite belonging to different families.
"Wish we could hang out here forever," Corrin said to Sakura, as the only thing that would make this moment even more perfect was having Kana and Felicia with him. "Away from our crazy family members..."
"Your folks aren't that crazy," responded Sakura, who in her humble opinion believed that her siblings had more eccentricities than the Nohrians. "Unless I haven't been paying any attention."
"My family has their quirks; Xander can be super bossy sometimes. Elise gets very clingy whenever she sees me. Leo is strangely into the occult and Camilla...I can't depend on her to dress modestly."
"Who knows when she last wore any hosiery." Sakura was giggling, and she got Corrin to giggle along with her. It made her feel happy inside. "By the way, what do you think the others are up to?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Why don't we take a break from Corrin and Sakura, and see how the others were handling themselves?
Sonic, Crash, and Conker were working together, looking for any Organization baddies and hoping to round them up. The trio of friends was in E. Gadd's bedroom when they saw a dark corridor appear.
"Who could it be?" questioned Conker as he and the boys braced themselves who was walking out of the corridor. Out of the corridor came Xemnas, who was wielding his ethereal blades.
"I strongly recommend getting out of my way, if you truly value your existence," Xemans advised Sonic and company, letting them know that he wasn't playing any games. But Sonic and company weren't getting the message.
"No way...it's Mansex!" exclaimed Sonic, as Crash laughed in response; Conker, despite being out of the loop, was laughing as well. "Get it? 'Cause his name is Xemnas, and if you switch the letters around..."
"Enough fun and games..." Too man enough to admit that Sonic got under his skin, Xemans pointed one of his blades at Sonic to shut him up. "...since none of you refuse to leave, I am afraid that I must end you."
"Won't end us that easily! C'mon guys, let's get him!" It was on - Sonic, Crash, and Conker charged towards Xemnas, looking to do battle in E. Gadd's bedroom, of all places.
While the fight raged on in E. Gadd's bedroom, Joker and Greninja were in the hallway keeping an eye out for Organization XIII. During their trek, N. Gin ran into them.
"N. Gin? What has gotten into you?" Joker asked the cyborg, able to see the fear that was visible on his face. N. Gin was scared out of his wits.
"It's horrible - some evil British man turned Ripper Roo and the Komodo Bros into playing cards!" N. Gin explained to Joker and Greninja, who couldn't tell if the cyborg was making up stories. "Tiny and I managed to get away..."
N. Gin: Why is it that British people are so evil? N. Tropy's British, and even he's evil. I blame the royal family, they're a bad influence!
"Would you look at that - I forgot one," someone said from the opposite side of the hallway, as Joker and company saw Luxord heading down. In Luxord's hand was a card that had Tiny on it.
"Oh no, he got Tiny!" fretted N. Gin, who later went from panicky to incensed in a hurry. The cyborg bravely stepped up, standing in front of Joker and Greninja with his chest out. "I won't let you take me!"
"A cyborg with a rocket stuck in his head, whatever shall I do? This is it, my swan song...oh dear, is that Dr. Cortex I spy posing for a camera shoot?"
"SAY IT AIN'T SO! Wait for me, Master Cortex!" Taking the bait, N. Gin ran off in the hopes of finding Cortex, leaving Joker and Greninja alone to deal with Luxord themselves.
"I'll let him run free...for now." With N. Gin out of the equation, Luxord faced Joker and Greninja as he wielded a deck of cards. He was interested in seeing Joker the most. "A Joker! A perfect fit for my card game."
"I've been meaning to ask you, are you still doing healing training?" Corrin asked Sakura, as his conversation with the young Hoshidan girl carried on in E. Gadd's lab. "I remember how skilled you were with staves."
"Yes, I've been honing my healing skills," replied Sakura, while she and Corrin remained blissfully unaware of the chaos and mayhem that was taking place outside their hangout spot. "It's fulfilling to know I can make a difference in people's lives, even if it's just in a small way."
"That's wonderful, Sakura. Your compassion and kindness have always been an inspiration to me. I simply cannot thank you enough for giving me those gifts for Kana."
"Oh, stop Corrin, you're making me blush! But you have inspired me yourself, with your determination to be such a good parent."
"Those kind words mean a lot to me. It's reassuring to know that we both are on the same page. I truly believe that together, we can one day bridge the gap between our kingdoms and bring about a lasting peace."
"I believe in that too, Corrin. And I'm here to support you every step of the way. And remember, no matter what, you can always count on me."
The wholesome moment between Corrin and Sakura was interrupted, as a dark corridor appeared in their midst. Exiting from it was Saïx, and Sakura was scared as he hugged Corrin tightly.
"Sorry to intrude upon your happy moment," Saïx apologized to Corrin and Sakura, despite having very little remorse for ending their conversation. "But I'm afraid that there is something that must be done here."
"And what is that?" Corrin asked as he held on to Sakura; Saïx summonsed a group of Nobodies to keep Corrin and Sakura at bay, as the latter was even more frightened.
"It is about time that this time machine...is history." Saïx looked towards E. Gadd's time machine, concerning Corrin about what he planned to do. "...but for now, I'll bid my time until all possible distractions are eliminated."
Marie and Callie had to make a quick pit stop at the Assist Tower, as their ink-based weaponry had run out of ammo. The Squid Sisters were in their room recharging their weapons and grabbing some extra equipment.
"Grenades, check, paint balloons, check, dentures..." said Marie as she was doing an inventory in her closet, only to stop when she grabbed what appeared to be some old, crusty dentures. "...aren't these Gramps's dentures?"
"He said he's been looking for them for months," replied Callie, curious as to how the dentures ended up in the bedroom closet as she grabbed the object from her sister. "We can use these as a small decoy."
Now fully equipped, the Squid Sisters left their room and headed downstairs about to leave the tower. When they walked into the lobby, they saw an unlikely duo enter the tower...E. Gadd and Dr. Wily.
"For the record, the machine is still in the prototype phase," Wily explained to E. Gadd as he led the professor to the basement, while the Squid Sisters were shocked to see Wily and E. Gadd together. "So whatever you do, do not press the 'party mode' button. I added it on there as an inside joke."
E. Gadd: It's now official...Dr. Wily and I are working together again! Ah, brings me back to the good ol' days...
Wily: E. Gadd better not talk up a huge storm about our revived partnership. It was bad enough that he hugged me excessively on our way to the tower. Granted he only hugged me three times, but that's a lot in my book. I'm just not a lovey-dovey person; Dr. Light ruined me. He probably thinks that he's better than I am...
"You boys need some help?" Callie asked E. Gadd and Wily, right when the duo was about to enter the basement. Wily had his hand on the doorknob.
"No thanks, I'm just showing E. Gadd here what I've been working on," replied Wily, as he didn't want any Squid Sisters getting in his way. Not that he didn't care for them.
"Okay then, suit yourself," responded Marie, allowing E. Gadd and Wily to access the basement. Marie exchanged a look with Callie, as both Squid Sisters smiled.
Because he wasn't a capable fighter, Hal spent most of his time during the bedlam at Omnis Adest in hiding. Whenever an explosion went off, the hacker ran to a new hiding spot. Whenever another explosion was set off, he ran to another place to hide at.
"I should be safe behind here," assumed Hal as he hid behind a car - one that Lloyd Bannings planned on driving in one day as part of a driving test. Hal was crouched behind the car, only to look back and cower in fear when he saw a Watcher Heartless creep up on him.
"No worries, friend, I got you!" someone shouted to Hal, as a certain detective threw a metal pipe at the Watcher Heartless to send it down to the ground. With the Heartless gone, Hal looked up...and was joined by Layton.
"Look out Layton, here comes another one!" alerted the apprentice accompanying Layton, Luke, as he saw a Dusk Nobody drawing near. Layton grabbed the metal pipe and beat the Nobody's head in with it, stunning the monster.
"Let's get you somewhere safe," Layton said to Hal as he took the hacker's hand before he and Luke led him to safety. Layton held his hat as he led Hal down the street, past the Omnis Adest residents fighting the Heartless and Nobodies.
"Doing a great job, you guys!" Rean Schwarzer commended his Class VII students, who were fending off the Heartless in the front yard of their townhouse. Layton and Luke guided Hal to the back of the townhouse, where the coast was clear.
"Thanks for saving me," Hal thanked Layton as he shook the detective's hand; the hacker got a good look at Layton's face as he crinkled his nose. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Professor Herschel Layton," Layton formally introduced himself to Hal, as he tipped his hat to the hacker. "I believe we have seen each other's faces before."
"You're right - just never got around to actually meeting each other. So I have to ask, what's a guy like you doing here during all this mayhem?"
"FLASH KICK!" shouted Guile, as he was seen delivering a flash kick to a Heartless and sending it flying. Right behind Guile was Little Mac, who was throwing punches at the Nobodies.
"Show 'em what you got, Mac!" Doc Louis encouraged Little Mac, watching his protege go; Doc would throw an occasional punch or two whenever a Heartless or Nobody got too close to him.
"Mario sent out a mass text about reinforcements in Omnis Adest," Layton explained to Hal as he held up his phone - a flip phone and one which honestly matched his style. "Apparently, I was included in the text!"
Lucario: My peers wanted me out on the battlefield, battling the monsters...but I'm going to sit this one out. I'd hate to exert all my energy as Mega Lucario and die at the end of the battle. And then needing Lopounny to give me a kiss to revive me. It sounds so cliche.
"Broodals! This has to end now," Master Hand was heard speaking from afar, as Hal, Layton, and Luke ran over to where Master Hand was. Master Hand was confronting the Broodals, who looked exasperated as the Heartless and Nobodies were decreasing in numbers due to the reinforcements.
"It ain't ending until da big boss says so!" proclaimed Topper, holding out hope that his army would rally together and turn the tide. "We can take this all the way to midnight if we have to!"
"Won't have much Heartless by then," guaranteed an overhearing Spring Man, putting his ARMS to good use as he was punching the Heartless. "Just give up while you still can!"
"The Broodals! Never would've guessed that they were behind this," remarked Layton, as he had a funny feeling seeing the Broodals again. Brought back some memories.
The teleportation room was currently unoccupied, meaning that anyone could waltz in there and destroy the teleportation device if they really wanted to. Master Xehanort was one individual who had his eyes set on destroying the device, as he stepped out of the dark corridor and to the teleportation room after some time searching.
"What the..." Master Xehanort crinkled his nose as he looked to his left, seeing a Twilight portal appear. The foursome of Andross, Pandora, Oxide, and Gnasty exited the portal, while Zant and Astor were seen staying behind.
"Hi, Xehanort!" Pandora greeted Master Xehanort as she smiled and wiggled her fingers; Master Xehanort frowned as if he did not appreciate the goddess of calamity's presence.
"Zant, Astor, explain!" Master Xehanort looked towards Zant and Astor, who remained inside the Twilight portal showing no signs of stepping out from it.
"Dimentio believed that you might need some help...so here you go," Zant explained to Master Xehanort, who preferred to go about destroying the teleportation device by himself. He did have the χ-blade, after all - even if it wasn't fully powered.
"Is this because the χ-blade is incomplete? I don't need any assistance!" Assistance or not, Master Xehanort had to go with the flow - Dimentio's flow, that is.
"Doesn't hurt to have some extra hands on deck," said Astor, understanding that Master Xehanort was a little angry about having some allies. "Best of luck, Master Xehanort." On that note, the Twilight portal vanished, as Master Xehanort gritted his teeth.
"Tell us what we need to do, and we'll do it," Gnasty said to Master Xehanort, as he and the other bad guys followed Mster Xehanort into the teleportation room. Xehanort had grown tired of Gnasty already.
"It's simple, really - just stay out of my way," responded Master Xehanort as he faced the teleportation device with his χ-blade, looking for where to start first. "Destroying this device should be a one-man job."
"I can easily do that! I promise not to be a hindrance to you, Master Xehanort. Don't want to make you..." A volley of helix rockets was suddenly fired at Gnasty, knocking the Gnorc to the floor in an instant.
"PK FIRE!" someone shouted, as a fiery projectile was fired at Andross. Andross moved to the side to dodge the attack, which came from outside the teleportation room.
"It appears we have company," surmised Master Xehanort, lowering his χ-blade as he took a peek outside the room. Xehanort's face sank as he saw who was gathered outside...
...Link, Zelda, Lance, Dragonite, Cloud, Soldier: 76, Ness, and Lucas. The sight of the eight was enough to make Master Xehanort clench his teeth angrily.
"Are we too late?" Mario shouted from afar, as he and D. Va came running down the hallway. Two more folks for Master Xehanort to worry about.
"You're right on time," replied Cloud, back in the saddle as he was armed with his Buster Sword. The swordsman wasn't feeling so powerless anymore.
"Andross, Pandora, Gnasty, Oxide! Make yourself useful and deal with these peons," Master Xehanort commanded the four, as Andross helped Gnasty up to his feet and dusted him off. "Keep them away from me."
"You got it," responded Oxide, as he and the other bad guys left the teleportation room, while Master Xehanort focused his attention on the teleportation device χ-blade in hand.
While the teleportation device found itself in peril, another machine was on the verge of being potentially destroyed - E. Gadd's time machine. Several members of Organization XIII had infiltrated E. Gadd's lab looking to put E. Gadd's time machine out of commission for good.
One Organization member who was close to destroying the time machine was Saïx, who encountered Corrin and Sakura in the lab. The Nobody held the two hostage, while he waited for his fellow Organization men to show up.
"Distractions must have been taken care of," assumed Saïx, as three different dark corridors appeared in the lab. Xemnas came out of the first one, holding onto a defeated Sonic, Crash, and Conker. Luxord came out of the second holding unto a defeated Joker and Greninja. Vanitas exited the third with a defeated Aqua over his shoulder.
"Where do we drop off the scum?" Xemnas asked Saïx, who pointed over at where Corrin and Sakura sat at. Xemnas, Luxord, and Vanitas all tossed their defeated opponents over to Corrin and Sakura, where the Nobodies were.
"This is not good..." remarked Joker, as the presence of the Nobodies kept him from making a single move. Aqua, who was lying on the floor, lifted up her head and saw several black cloaks near E. Gadd's time machine.
"Looks like...we've failed," the Keyblade Master said, as Xigbar entered the lab and saw his peers gathered around. Smirking, Xigbar cracked his knuckles.
"Nice - everybody's accounted for!" Xigbar exclaimed when he saw the hostages, as he took out his arrowguns. "Now you all can get a front-row seat to see this time machine destroyed."
"Sonic, if we were to die here, I just wanted to say..." Conker said to Sonic as he hugged the blue hedgehog, thinking that this could be his last moment alive. "...I never really liked your chili dogs!"
"Conker, if I could get something off my chest right now..." Sonic said to Conker, as he too had something he wanted to say. "...it's that I'm sorry for wanting to revive your girlfriend, Berri!"
"You what?" Conker looked at Sonic in pure disbelief, and Sonic believed that his nervous smile could offset how Conker was feeling.
"I...I'm sorry, Conker. I didn't think about how you might feel. I was just trying to help, but I see now that it was a mistake."
"Berri's death was something I had to come to terms with. But eventually, I found a way to live without her."
"Yeah, I just wanted to make you happy. But if there's anything I can do to help you heal or find peace...I'm your man."
"You two done?" Vanitas asked Sonic and Conker, who kept their lips shut so as to not risk actually being killed by the Organization. "Good. We have a time machine to get to."
"Move aside, I'll take the first crack at it," Xemnas said to Xigbar, making him move out of the way. Xigbar scowled, as Xemnas took out his ethereal blades and looked to strike the time machine. "No one can stop us now..."
"PEE WATER ATTACK!" shouted N. Gin as he came running inside the lab, holding E. Gadd's container of urine, dashing its contents over Xemnas's head. Some of those held hostage were giggling, while Xemnas...was unaffected by N. Gin's "attack".
"Saïx..." uttered Xemnas, as Saïx grabbed N. Gin by the head and flung him over to the hostages. N. Gin collided against the wall as he slid down.
"Corrin, no!" Sakura whispered to Corrin, who looked to one-up N. Gin as he took out the package that Sakura gave him earlier. Eyeing Xemnas, Corrin threw the package at the Nobody's head, angering him even more.
"Uh oh..." Corrin panicked, as he saw Xemans angrily looking in his direction. The prince was in for it now as Xemnas stepped away from the time machine.
"The rest of you can destroy the time machine without me," Xemnas said to his Organization brethren as he marched over to Corrin, grabbing the prince by the hair as Sakura helplessly looked on. "I'll deal with this insignificant speck..."
"As you wish," said Vanitas, donning his Keybalde as he and the other Organization baddies faced the time machine. Xemnas dragged Corrin away, with Corrin pleading for mercy.
Knuckle Joe: I hear Wily in the basement, and I hear him speaking with...Professor E. Gadd. Maybe I'm just hearing things.
No, Knuckle Joe wasn't hearing things - E. Gadd was with Wily in the basement. There, Wily was telling E. Gadd about his goal of rescuing Raiden from the Twilight Realm, and how he planned on doing it once he upgraded his universal transport device. Or machine. Either or.
"Hate to say it, but you would have to build an entirely new machine from scratch," E. Gadd said to Wily; that was the one thing Wily did not wish to hear, as he rubbed his hand down his face.
"Please don't say that...we were getting along so well," muttered Wily, as a Twilight portal opened in the basement. E. Gadd and Wily both gasped, as Zant and Astor exited from the portal.
"Attempting to free Raiden from the realm of Twilight, I assume?" asked Zant, as he sent chills down E. Gadd and Wily's spine. He and Astor likely eavesdropped on the geniuses before making their entrance.
"Absolutely not, not at all!" E. Gadd replied with a nervous smile, while Wily was nodding his head convincingly. "Wily here was just sharing with me his welfare check."
"Liar!" boomed Astor, as he charged up some Malice in the orb that he was holding. E. Gadd was looking petrified as Astor fired some Malice at him.
"E. Gadd, look out!" shouted Wily as he tackled E. Gadd to the floor, causing him to dodge the small bit of Malice. Astor grunted as E. Gadd looked up at Wily, astonished.
"You...you saved me," E. Gadd said to Wily, who tried to play it off as he held E. Gadd up to his feet. Wily slightly hoping that no one had seen that...
"Heads up!" a certain Hylian shouted to Zant and Astor, who looked up and saw Champion Link at the top of the staircase with his Ancient Bow. Champion Link fired an Ancient Arrow at Zant and Astor, which exploded upon impact.
"Gah!" grunted Zant after he was almost blinded by the blast, as he and Astor were forced to retreat due to some unwanted company. "We'll deal with you later, Dr. Wily," Zant vowed to the robot inventor, as he and Astor left through the portal.
"Don't even bother," responded Wily, as the Twilight portal vanished once Zant and Astor were gone. Champion Link came down the stairs. "Why did you come and save us, Champ?"
"Squid Sisters mentioned to me that you needed some help," smirked Champion Link, glad that he came in at the right time. Who knows what Zant and Astor would have done?
"Thanks for saving me, Wily!" E. Gadd thanked the robot inventor as he hugged him. Thinking that E. Gadd was overstepping his boundaries, Wily tried to push him away while Champion Link looked on laughing.
Giovanni, Rufus, and Sho remained at the abandoned building, waiting for someone to come in and demand they hand over Pit. The three were getting bored, with Sho even yawning while laying back in his chair.
"Told you that kidnapping Pit was a mistake," a slowly vindicated Rufus said to Giovanni, thinking that Giovanni and Sho should've nabbed a person of a higher caliber like Corrin or Kazuya. "No one really cares about him."
"The day is still young, it's still too early to...ooh, a visitor," responded Giovanni, only for his face to light up when there was a knock at the back door. Rufus widened his eyes with intrigue. "Sho, mind getting the door?"
"Sure," replied Sho, letting out a second yawn and stretching his arms as he arose from his seat. Scratching his butt, Sho walked to the back door and opened it, expecting to see someone from the mansion...
...only to get kicked in the face and sent to the floor. Giovanni and Rufus both stood up, as they saw a blonde bandicoot enter the abandoned building.
"Hey, boys," greeted the blonde bandicoot, who was in fact Tawna Bandicoot. Alternate universe Tawna Bandicoot, to be exact.
Master Hand: Oh, that is right, alternate Tawna never returned to her universe...maybe she and Nathan Drake teamed up for a treasure-hunting expedition. Wonder how she's doing - much obliged for asking me about her.
Tawna: Kept tabs on Rufus Shinra, mainly through following the Turks. I dunno, there's something about guys wearing suits that makes me feel suspicious about them. A small quirk of mine.
"Your Turks kind of led me to you," Tawna said to Rufus, who suddenly remembered the black van he rode to Seattle. Reno left it parked downtown. "So you have them to thank."
"Told Reno to hide the van...Sho, attack!" commanded Rufus, as Sho got up and charged toward Tawna. But then Tawna kneed Sho in the face, sending him down for the count.
"This is not good!" fretted Giovanni as he reached into his pocket, fumbling for a Poke Ball. That's when Tawna ran up to Giovanni and delivered a roundhouse kick, almost knocking his head off.
"Want some too?" Tawna asked Rufus as she turned to face the Shinra VP. Clearly not wanting the smoke, Rufus held his hands up in innocence, backing off.
"You can have Pit; we didn't want him anyway," replied Rufus as he gestured to Pit, who was still unconscious and lying on the floor. Then he made a run for it, as he ran out of the same back door that Tawna went through.
"Rufus, where are you going?" questioned Giovanni as he got up, grabbed Sho, and ran out of the building cradling Sho in his arms. "What about those eight Smashers that Dimentio wanted?"
"Better not run into me again!" Tawna called out to the villains, before smiling as she felt proud of what she did. The blonde bandicoot then turned her attention to Pit, as she knelt down and shook the angel. "Pit, can you hear me?"
"..." responded Pit, as a very slight noise was heard out from his mouth. Very gently, Tawna grabbed Pit's hand and laid it flat on the floor, before stomping on it and causing Pit to wake up in pain. "OWIE, OWIE, OWIE!"
"The ol' stomp-on-hand method - works every time." Tawna watched as Pit was jumping around in pain, holding his afflicted hand. After shaking his hand off, Pit saw Tawna.
"I know you! You're Tawna Bandicoot. You're Crash's girlfriend!" Rarely has anyone ever called Tawna "Crash's girlfriend", and the thought alone made Tawna laugh her butt off.
"Not quite...we're just friends. But anyway, you're welcome. I saw that you were kidnapped, so I wanted to rescue you from the bad guys."
"Awesome! Really appreciate it! Though I wish that someone like Mario or Link or Cloud rescued me instead." Pit heaved a sigh, only to be worried about how Tawna perceived his comments. "Not that I'm sexist or anything, it's just..."
"Just be glad that somebody cared enough to save you." Tawna wrapped her arm around Pit, making the angel feel a little better. "How about I take you home, kiddo?"
Paralyzed with fear, MC Ballyhoo was brought to Luigi's home after Fox and Falco asked Luigi that he "restored" their emcee friend. Whatever Luigi did worked wonders, as Ballyhoo walked out of Luigi's house fully refreshed.
"I feel good!" exclaimed Ballyhoo, feeling like bursting out into song and singing some soul. Fox, Falco, Luigi, Spyro, and Hunter all followed Ballyhoo outside, happy to see the emcee back to his normal self.
"You were right, Luigi - that spa treatment really does work," Fox said to the green plumber, as he gave him a fist bump. Falco followed up Fox as he held out his fist for a fist bump, only for Luigi to ignore him much to his chagrin.
Luigi: When Daisy started acting weird-a after I told her about the hair trimmer, guess what I did? Treated her to an all-day spa...at my house, free as charged! Had relaxing music playing in the background while I eased-a Daisy's cares away with these-a bad boys. *holds up his hands, wiggling his fingers* I pretty much recreated my magic with-a Ballyhoo, only difference was that I had stand-ins to make it look-a more authentic.
Spyro: Luigi asked me and Hunter to be at his spa, and look like we were spa workers. All we had to do was dress the part and just stand around. Easiest job on the planet.
As Luigi and company ventured farther outside, a window from the mansion broke. Andross was seen flying out of the window, landing on the ground where Luigi and company stood.
"Guy Swanson!" exclaimed Hunter as he pointed at Andross, who was triggered by the moniker. Andross got up on his feet in almost record fashion.
"You stupid cat, I am not..." Andross confronted Hunter, only for Gnasty to be flung out of the window and land on top of Andross, almost crushing him. Then Oxide landed on top of Gnasty, followed by Pandora.
"I'm just glad that I'm the one on top..." remarked Pandora, who was lying on her back as she was atop the three other villains. Some familiar foes that Luigi and company saw.
"Hurry everyone, back inside..." Luigi said to the others as he, Hunter, and the pilots hurried back inside his house. Spyro, on the other hand, stayed behind as he looked up at the broken window.
"Wonder what's going on," the purple dragon wondered, his curiosity causing him to fly up to the broken window. Infinite appeared seconds later, looking disappointed at the four defeated villains.
"We have a lot of work to do..." Infinite facepalmed, knowing that there was nowhere to go but up. Then a dark corridor appeared, and Xemnas exited from it.
"E. Gadd's time machine...is officially destroyed," confirmed Xemnas, who missed most of the time machine's destruction as he was teaching Corrin a lesson. "Be sure to let Master Xehanort know when you see him."
"Somebody said my name?" someone asked, as a second dark corridor appeared with Master Xehanort stepping out. Xehanort was smiling...
Spyro flew inside the mansion and saw that the hallway was quite a mess. Clearly, a lot of fighting took place. The purple dragon then visited the teleportation room, where to his shock the teleportation device was severely damaged.
"My friend Torbjörn can fix this up for you," Soldier: 76 offered to Mario, who along with Cloud, Link, and Zelda was inspecting the damages. D. Va was looking around for spare parts.
"Nah, Mega Man and his-a boys got it covered," assured Mario, picking up several broken parts of the teleportation device and putting them to the side. "Nothing that they can't-a fix."
Ness: We were so preoccupied with those four goons, that we never had a chance to stop Master Xehanort. By the time we were done fighting, Xehanort was gone and the device was in shambles! Feels like a declaration of war, sort of.
"Master Xehanort wrecked that teleportation device," Lance explained to Spyro as he joined the purple dragon, standing with his arms folded. "Put it out of commission with his blade."
"Never met Master Xehanort, but I've heard stories," remarked Spyro, as he and Lance watched Mario and the others doing their inspections. "Funny how the leader of the Organization found success, while his underlings never did."
"You would look good on my pink mech!" D. Va said to a broken part of the teleportation device, as she gave it a good kiss. Soldier: 76 frowned and took the part out of D. Va's hands.
"Now isn't the time..." Soldier: 76 said to D. Va, speaking to her as if he was her stern grandpa as he handed the broken part to Mario. What for, Mario didn't even know.
Done speaking with Wily, E. Gadd returned to his mansion hoping that his time machine was still intact. When he entered his mansion, the first person he saw was Tiny, who was back to being regular Tiny.
"Tiny head hurts..." Tiny said to E. Gadd before walking away, as E. Gadd went to the living room. There E. Gadd found Sonic and everyone else entrusted to watch over his mansion...oh, and Sakura there, too.
"Missed a spot," said Sakura, putting her healing wherewithal to good use as she applied ointment to Corrin. Corrin was bruised from head to toe after Xemnas was through with him.
"Greetings, everyone - I'm back!" announced E. Gadd as he commanded everyone's attention, so happy that he wanted to tell everyone about his day regardless of their interest. "So how was it, did you all have fun? Did you protect my time machine?"
"...sure," replied Joker, as E. Gadd looked around wondering why he saw so many nervous-looking faces. Who was going to tell him?
Fortunately, there was one major victory today - when Dimentio returned to Omnis Adest, he saw that the Heartless and Nobodies...were gone! Not a single monster in sight.
"...did we run out of Heartless?" pondered Dimentio as he scanned the entire battlefield, triggered by how peaceful the community seemed. Not a single person was fighting. Then he came across the Broodals on their ship, with Master Hand confronting them.
"Reinforcements sure came in handy!" said Master Hand, with the Broodals disgruntled as they had no trump card up their sleeve. "Your army was no match for Omins Adest and their mansion and tower allies."
"Since we won, does this mean we can stay?" Harvey asked Master Hand on behalf of him and everyone else that was asked to leave Omins Adest. A snort from Master Hand made Harvey moan in sadness.
"You may have won da battle, Master Hand, but we're gonna win da war!" Topper guaranteed Master Hand, as he looked to cross paths with the giant hand in the near future. "Just wait and see!"
"Cool story," responded Master Hand as he sent the Broodals' ship flying Team Rocket style with the flick of his fingers. "Hmph - should've done that earlier." The crowd cheered in elation, as the Broodals and their army of monsters were gone from Omnis Adest.
"Bravo, bravo...bravo," applauded Dimentio, as the crowd stopped cheering and turned their attention to the jester. "Well done. But be warned...today was merely an appetizer."
"If that was the appetizer, then I think we're ready for the main course." Master Hand's words resonated with the crowd, who responded with a cheer. Nonetheless, Dimentio was hardly impressed.
"We'll see about that. All I can say is, don't count your chickens before they hatch! Ciao!" Offering these parting words, Dimentio vanished as he let his words marinate in everyone's minds.
If today was the appetizer...what was in store for the Smash Mansion when the main course is delivered?
Dimentio: I will admit, there are a few ups and downs about today. Each side has something to pat themselves on the back for. But once we kick things into full gear...oh ho, that's when we'll really start winning! I can't wait...
