Author's Note:

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...the 400th episode of Smash Life! (With a hint of Red Dead Redemption.) If you're still reading this story, then as always thank you for the continued support. For the sake of word count, I won't say much else, but I plan on doing a longer author's note in the Thanksgiving chapter. So look out for that chapter - hopefully, I won't have to write any of it on the day of Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed...anyways, enjoy!


Episode 400: Liberate

The Smash Life documentary had reached yet another historic milestone - its 400th episode. No one expected the documentary to run for that long, not even the residents, the producers themselves, or Master Hand. Yet many years after the first episode, the whole shebang was still churning along.

Despite all the euphoria, however, there was no overlooking the great evil that was cast over the Smash Mansion. That great evil was none other than the coalition led by the malevolent jester, Dimentio. Dimentio had many baddies under his thumb - Giovanni, the enigmatic leader of Team Rocket, and Master Xehanort, the manipulative wielder of the Keyblade, just to name a few. They had one goal in mind, which was to destroy the Smash Mansion...and then the entire universe afterward.

Dimentio, Giovanni, and Master Xehanort met somewhere in Seattle, discussing their big plans for today. They knew that today was a big day for the mansion, 400th episode and all, and they were thinking of a diabolical plot that could derail whatever the mansion was planning. All hands were on deck.

"Where is he?" wondered Giovanni as he glanced at his watch, before looking around the surrounding area with his hand over his eyes "He is never this late!"

"Perhaps he is off handling some business," assumed Dimentio, willing to wait it out as long as possible for the fourth individual to show up. He'd happily wait until the evening hours if necessary.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Master Xehanort asked the other evildoers, as he heard some loud footsteps accompanied by the sound of someone nearly out of breath. Much to Giovanni's chagrin, he and the other baddies were visited...by Gnasty Gnorc.

"Oh great, it's the ugly green orc..." Giovanni muttered under his breath before Dimentio gave him a look that got him acting all cordial and smiley. "...uh, I mean, greetings Mr. Gnorc! Glad that you could attend this meeting!"

"Thanks - we didn't get the memo until later," responded Gnasty as he took the time to catch his breath, while Giovanni's fake smile began to face. "Man, I should really look into doing some cardio..."

"What do you mean by 'we'?" Giovanni soon saw what Gnasty met, as Gnasty was later joined by Nitros Oxide and Pandora. They arrived via spaceship, as Pandora climbed out and struck a pose.

"Feast your eyes, boys!" exclaimed Pandora as she posed for Dimentio and company, being met with disappointment when not a single man gave a reaction.

"You are such a difficult person to keep up with," Gnasty said to Gnasty, who was down on one knee as he continued to catch his breath. Perplexed by the other villains joining, Giovanni and Xehanort looked to Dimentio for answers.

"Might have mentioned our meeting to them at the last minute, before I left," Dimentio explained to Giovanni and Xehanort as he held himself accountable. "Didn't expect them to attend."

Gnasty: Dimentio's having a super important meeting with the big whigs, so of course, we had to be there. I had to be there! I'm Gnasty Gnorc, for crying out loud!
Oxide: Oh please, what good are you for anyway? Running away from Spyro, perhaps...

Gnasty: You don't know that! You never saw me run from that dragon, so that makes you unqualified to speak.
Oxide: Aha, so you admit to being scared of that teensy, wensy dragon. You are a disgrace to your kind.
Gnasty:
Am not! And I'm not the only Gnorc who's scared of Spyro - most of my men are as well.
Oxide: Leading by a very bad example, I see...
Gnasty:
*screaming in Oxide's face* YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
Oxide: *fans around his mouth* My word...I don't even have a nose and yet I could still smell your horrid breath! Brush your teeth much?
Gnasty: A Gnorc, brushing his teeth...you make me laugh, Oxide.

"Dimentio...here I am," announced a certain jackal, as Infinite appeared before all the villains. Gnasty was spooked upon Infinite's arrival, as he shrieked and leaped into the arms of Oxide.

"Too...heavy..." Oxide wheezed, as Gnasty's weight caused Oxide's spaceship to collapse and crash onto the ground. Pandora giggled with her hand over her mouth, as Infinite took note of the unwanted company.

"So much for this meeting being confidential," Infinite muttered under his breath, as Oxide struggled to lift Gnasty off of him. Oxide could feel his spine - if he had one - breaking in two.

"They just wanted to be included," smiled Dimentio, while understanding Infinite's visible frustration; the jester almost saw a facepalm from Infinite coming from a mile away. "So, care to share that 'pressing info' with us?"

"Gladly. I'm afraid it has to do with one of our men." Infinite took a brief look around, making sure that everyone was comfortable enough to hear the big shocking news. "We have a turncoat in our midst..."

"Pandora is betraying us?!" Gnasty wildly assumed as he jumped back on his feet; Oxide could be heard letting out a sigh of relief while still in pain. Pandora snorted in response to Gnasty's baseless accusation.

"He clearly said 'one of our men,'" Pandora informed Gnasty, before brushing her hair back with her hand. Even after being corrected, Gnasty was still certain that Pandora was the traitor.

"I know who it is - it's Rufus Shinra!" exclaimed Giovanni, finally getting his opportunity to rat out Rufus. He had been waiting for this moment for so long. "He's been giving off a very sneaky vibe."

"You won't believe it, but I saw Rufus speaking cordially with Cloud," Infinite revealed to Dimentio, as he recalled Rufus speaking with Cloud and Team Rocket in the previous episode. "The Turks were there with him...not a good sign."

"Drat, that means I'll have to find a viable replacement..." said Dimentio, forced to back to the recruiting trail once it was confirmed that Rufus was the traitor. "...good thing I always keep my options open!"

"I have something I would like to say," Master Xehanort spoke up, as everyone's attention was focused on the leader of Organization XIII. "On the matter of traitors and such."

"Got a traitor within your Organization?" inquired Gnasty, interested in knowing which one of Master Xehanort's men was backstabbing the group. "Or are you about to out Pandora as a traitor?"

"Someone is obsessed with me..." Pandora said as she frowned at Gnasty, before striking a sultry pose that would make any man holler. "...not that I'm complaining, of course."

"I indeed have a traitor in the Organization...two of them," confirmed Master Xehanort, leading to gasps from the other villains. The news was so shocking that Pandora even stopped her posing. (Totally not because no one was giving her any attention.)

"Two traitors are worse than one," remarked Dimentio, who was no stranger to betrayal - he betrayed someone himself! Read about it. "And just who are these men?"

"Vexen and Demyx," replied Master Xehanort, as the shock from the news died down. No one thought much about Vexen and Demyx, it seemed. "Zant saw them leaving from E. Gadd's mansion. He's in cohorts with..."

"...the scientists trying to bring Raiden back," a certain Twili would finish for Master Xehanort, as a Twilight portal appeared and Zant and Astor exited from it. "Saw those two with my own eyes."

"Had it not been for one of Cortex's minions, we never would've known about that machine," explained Astor, as the dark orb in his possession was floating in the palm of his hand. "I threatened him until he told us everything that we wanted to hear..."

N. Gin: It's tough being single these days, it's tough. Every day you wish for a pretty lady to enter your life, yet life keeps throwing lemons at you! The women out there, they're cowards - too scared to approach me. But there was one woman who had the guts to acknowledge my existence. She had pale skin, a very masculine voice, and eyeliner! She wanted to know about E. Gadd's machine and I didn't want to dispel any juicy info...but I had to shoot my shot. So I told her everything, about the people working on it and Raiden and...wait, you're saying that WASN'T a woman? You weren't even there when it happened, what would you know?! *defiantly crosses arms and looks away*

"So alas, Vexen and Demyx are now on the other side," lamented Astor, finding it disgraceful that Vexen and Demyx were a part of the good guys. Surprisingly, Master Xehanort wasn't that bothered!

"Those two are the reserve members, we can do without them," Master Xehanort assured with a smirk, knowing that Organization XIII could handle the loss of two of its members. "I can easily make do with eleven."

"Quite a shame those other two members couldn't pass through into this universe," said Dimentio - kudos if you know who those two members were. "But at least we still have a lot of firepower on our side!"

"Indeed. Though I can't say that I'm surprised by Vexen and Demyx's decision. I always knew from the start that their hearts were in the wrong place..."

"So what's the game plan for today?" inquired Oxide, curious as to what big plans Dimentio had for today.

"We'll keep the gameplan simple," replied Dimentio as he turned to Zant. "Since they're going to rescue Raiden from Twilight, we'll have Zant and Astor stop them."

"We shall meet them halfway," confirmed Zant, as Astor nodded his head; with the powers of Twilight and Malice combined, Zant and Astor would be unstoppable.

"I'll go see what our friend Rufus is up to," Giovanni said to his fellow villains as he was about to make his leave. "Rest assured, his time in the coalition might come to an end today."

"If needed be, we'll let you do the honors," Infinite said to Giovanni, who cracked a smirk as he departed from the group. Infinite then turned to Dimentio, and asked, "Are those...copies coming?"

"Should be on the way!" Dimentio confidently replied as he wanted to mess up the scientists in any way possible.


Whenever there was a milestone episode, it was customary to bake a cake as part of the celebration. The Smash Life producers didn't enforce any cake being baked, but Master Hand forced whoever the head chef was to do it anyway.

With Cilan no longer part of the mansion, Pyra and Mythra were entrusted with being the celebratory cake. Pyra could be trusted with the task, while Mythra on the other hand, not so much. Master Hand knew how inept Mythra was in the kitchen, and so he asked Dunban to assist Pyra in the baking process, just to "even things out". As an equalizer.

"One layer down...only 140 more to go," announced Dunban as he placed a layer of cake atop another, as the steadily growing cake was getting too tall to fit in the kitchen. "Another layer, and we'll break the official record."

"Save the talk about breaking records until after the cake's finished," Pyra said to Dunban, before looking over and appearing distraught when she caught Mythra eating up the icing. "Mythra, that icing is for the cake!"

"Now you tell me," Mythra playfully smirked as she placed the canister of cake icing on the kitchen counter. Pyra inspected the canister and saw that it was almost empty.

"This icing is meant to go on the cake - not in your mouth!" Pyra was scolding Mythra like a mother scolding her daughter, and Mythra was smirking throughout the whole ordeal.

"Take it easy, it's just one big cake. Not like I screwed you guys over or anything." Mythra's smirk would soon fade in an instant when Pigma entered the kitchen licking his fingers...while holding an empty canister of cake icing.

"Thanks for the snack, Mythra!" Pigma thanked the Blade, who smiled nervously as she slowly turned her head to a frowning Mythra. "I better go now..." Sensing the tension in the air, Pigma threw away his empty canister and hightailed out of the kitchen.

Pyra: *holds up book* This is the Guinness Book of World Records. Many of our friends have different names for it - Samus called it "the most pointless book in the world", while Ike refers to it as "Soren's diary".
Mythra: According to this book, the world record for the greatest number of layers in a cake is 260. Master Hand wants us to bake a 400-layer cake, so we're gonna crush the record easily.
Pyra: Regardless, Master Hand is truly demented. *puts Guinness book down*

Chef Kawasaki: For some strange reason, Lady Palutena and I couldn't be trusted with baking the cake, so we're on icing duty. It's a complete waste of our talents. *pauses* Correction: it's a complete waste of my talent.

"Dunban, make sure that Mythra doesn't bother any more of the icing," Pyra instructed the Homs, who nodded his head while ensuring that the cake layers were leveled. Pyra went back to work, mixing the cake batter as Mario entered the kitchen.

"Looking good, you guys," Mario commended the work of the bakers, stopping by to see the progress being made in the kitchen. Some cake batter was splattered in Mario's face, as Pyra was stirring a little too aggressively.

"Oh, Mario! I'm so sorry!" Pyra stopped what she was doing and ran over to Mario, who was temporarily blinded. Mario was walking with his arms out, grabbing the air with his hands while trying to make sense of where he was going.

"I think you should lick the batter off his face," Mythra suggested to Pyra, who decided against it as Mario walked into a wall. Mario walked away...and then walked into another wall.

"Your idea - you should do it," Pyra fired right back at Mythra, as Mario was holding onto the kitchen counter to get a sense of his surroundings. Dunban opened the oven door to inspect the cake batter in the oven, and Mario almost fell right in after tripping.

"I got you!" Dunban said to Mario, saving the day as he extended his working arm to break Mario's fall. The Homs stood Mario back up, before grabbing a paper towel and handing it to Mario. "Here's a paper towel."

"Hmph?" mumbled Mario, sensing the paper towel in his hands; with the paper towel, Mario wiped his face off so that he could see again. "Ah, much better!"

"You missed a spot, down there," Mythra alerted Mario as she pointed underneath the plumber's chin. Mario looked down for a brief moment, only for Mythra to flick his nose. "Ha! Always wanted to do that."

"Not cool, you almost broke-a my nose!" Mario rubbed his index finger over his nose, checking for any signs of nerve damage while his phone was ringing in his pocket. "Tracer broke it the last time."

"Phone's ringing," Cappy informed Mario, reaching down to Mario's pocket and pulling out his phone. Cappy handed the phone to Mario, who didn't recognize the number.

"Must be another spam-a caller." Frowning, Mario answered the call as he looked to give the potential spam caller a piece of his mind. "Look-a here, mister - my canned-a pork is off limits! Bother some-a one else for a change!"

"Mario, relax, it's me! Link!" said the caller on the other line...who, believe it or not, was Link! Mario himself couldn't believe it, as he did a double take at his phone as if he was hoodwinked.

"Link? You're calling me on some-a stranger's phone?" Mario had expected better from his Hylian friend. "That is so unlike-a you. Leave that to Master Hand!"

"No, this is my phone, I kid you not. This is my very own cellphone!" Link waited until the 400th episode of Smash Life to finally get a phone? Better late than never, as they always say.

"Your first cellphone...Mama Mia." Not only was this a huge shock to Mario, but it was also a shock to everyone in the kitchen as well.

"Link finally got a cellphone?" asked Pyra, as Dunban felt the need to applaud Link for keeping up with the times. "Took him long enough."

"Tell him that we said congratulations," Mythra requested to Link, as the mansion residents were sure to celebrate Link for his big personal achievement.

"Why do I hear clapping in the background?" Link angrily asked Mario as he heard Dunban's clapping, with Dunban putting a stop to his clapping in a hurry. "Finding it very patronizing!"

"They mean-a no harm," assured Mario, as Dunban took a peek inside the oven and slightly panicked when he saw the cake batter in the pan rising. "So, I take it that you and-a Zelda are at E. Gadd's?"


"Yes we are - the Raiden rescue mission should begin soon," replied Link, who was conducting his phone call at E. Gadd's mansion a short distance from.E. Gadd's lab. "Waiting on Polygon Man to send over the manor guys."

"Superb! I'll-a be there as soon as possible," confirmed Mario, not wanting to miss out on a rescue mission of a lifetime. He had been wanting to see Raiden ever since their fateful encounter on the day of the fake treaty signing.

"Good to hear. See you soon." Link ended the phone call, placing his phone in his pocket as he couldn't help but smile. Zelda came across Link in the hallway.

"Must be great to not use someone else's phone," Zelda smiled at Link, thinking of her husband as a changed man. It was arguably a long time coming for Link, all things considered.

"Glad I listened to my wife," responded Link, feeling even more responsible than he already did with his new phone. "Unlike some guys that I know..."

Caeda: Zelda must be one fortunate lady. All her years of convincing finally paid off, and her husband finally has a phone! Meanwhile, I've been begging Marth to buy himself a phone ever since we moved in, yet he won't listen to me. He thinks the house phone is enough. What if he gets stranded somewhere, and has to call someone to pick him up? Does he not ever think about that? But I can't say that I'm surprised - the time he freaked out over having an already installed air conditioning in our house was the day that I sadly knew.

Speaking of washing machines, Rayman delivered his time-washing machine to E. Gadd in the previous episode. Mainly to hold him over until the time machine that got wrecked by Organization XIII was repaired. Link and Zelda caught E. Gadd walking by, time-washing machine in hand.

"Do I want a knight from the medieval ages? Or a robot from the very distant future?" asked E. Gadd, imagining the many possible scenarios as he came to a stop and put the time-washing machine down. "Oh ho ho, the possibilities are endless!"

"Someone's having fun with their new time machine," said Link as he and Zelda came over to E. Gadd, who was tinkering with the dials and whatnot. "Have you used it yet?"

"Not yet - I promised Wily that we'd use it together. He wants to see firsthand how truly powerful this machine is."

"I'd better watch out; you know how Wily can be with time travel," advised Zelda, only for a knowing E. Gadd to chortle in response to Zelda's warning.

"No need to worry! Wily and I had a discussion and came to a joint understanding." E. Gadd rested his elbow on the time-washing machine, unaware that he inadvertently pressed a button. "Time travel is dangerous. But! If left in the right hands..."

"Um, E. Gadd..." Zelda alerted the inventor, who gasped when he saw the time-washing machine was accidentally activated. E. Gadd immediately panicked, desperately trying to shut the machine off.

"Oh dear! Not good, not good, not good!" No matter how many times or how hard E. Gadd pushed the start/stop button, it simply wasn't enough to turn the time-washing machine off. E. Gadd was screaming his head off as his futile attempts failed.

Fearing for the worst, E. Gadd ultimately gave up as he backed away and let the time-washing machine do its thing. Soon a bright light shone, and emerging from the machine was a dashing cowboy, who looked like he came straight out of the Old West.

"Well, now...this ain't something you see every day," the rugged cowboy muttered to himself, standing in the presence of Link, Zelda, and E. Gadd. Viewing the cowboy as a possible threat, Link took out his Master Sword.

"Link? Really?" Zelda whispered to her husband, wondering what good the Master Sword could do. The cowboy seemed like he was quick on the draw.

"No swordsman has ever lost in a gunfight," replied Link as he clutched his sword, waiting for the cowboy to make his first move. Instead, the cowboy looked around, getting used to his new surroundings.

"Guess I ended up in someplace mighty strange," the cowboy remarked, scratching his head and adjusting his hat as the time-washing machine powered down. The cowboy looked at Link, Zelda, and E. Gadd, making an amused face. "I've seen my fair share of peculiarities, but you three take the cake!"

"Who are you?" Link asked the cowboy in a demanding tone, keeping his distance while holding his sword defensively. Zelda, not a fan of Link's approach, took a more diplomatic route.

"I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and this is Link," Zelda introduced herself and Link to the cowboy, extending her hand gracefully. "And this is a good friend of ours, Professor E. Gadd."

"Name's John Marston," the cowboy introduced himself with a chuckle, coming off as a good-natured soul who meant no harm. "I reckon that some magical higher being brought me to his place."

"You would be right, for you were..." E. Gadd was about to spill the beans to Marston, only for Link to cover the inventor's mouth with his hands.

"You sir are right on the money," Link nervously smiled at Marston, before looking up at Zelda; for whatever reason, Zelda was lost in thought.

"John Marston...where have I heard that name before?" pondered Zelda, who recalled seeing Marston's name from many years ago. The princess's trace of thought was momentarily interrupted when a certain pilot blinked into the scene.

"Oi, I heard some screaming, is everything all..." Tracer was about to ask as she suddenly appeared, only for her focus to be squarely centered on Marston. "...ooh, a cowboy!"

"What kind of sorcery is this?" questioned Marston, as Tracer blinked over the cowboy and got a good look at him from head to toe. "How did she get over here like that?"

"Funny you should ask," E. Gadd spoke, about to take his second crack at spilling the beans; Link instinctively covered the inventor's mouth yet again.

"Don't think I've ever met a cowboy as rugged as you," Tracer said to Marston, who was unsure whether to take the pilot's comments as a compliment or a mere slight against him. "Do you know Cole Cassidy, by any chance?"

"Can't say that I have." That answer didn't do much to quell Tracer's excitement, as it only made the pilot motivated to have Cassidy and Marston meet.

"Then, in that case, a special meeting is in order! Come with me, chum!" So Tracer took Marston's hand and led the cowboy away, guiding him away from E. Gadd and the Hylians. Link and Zelda were beside themselves.

"Tracer..." an exasperated Link called out to the pilot, before sighing as he turned to E. Gadd. "...how long until the time-washing machine can be used again?" Link asked E. Gadd out of slight desperation.

"I've yet to determine the duration of the cool-down period," replied E. Gadd, as he had much more to learn about the time-washing machine and just how strong and capable it was. "But Marston is free to stay with us...unless Tracer sneaks him to the watchpoint."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," assured Zelda, before being alarmed when a gunshot was heard. Everyone flinched, fearing that Marston might have shot Tracer out of annoyance or something.

"Sorry, I was trying to hold his gun!" Tracer shouted from afar as she made her apology, leaving Link and Zelda no choice but to monitor the pilot.


Back at the mansion, Mario had already left the kitchen and the chefs were continuing the process of baking their world-record cake. However, Pyra ran into a big problem, and it was one that she believed Mythra was responsible for.

"The cake icing, it's all gone," Pyra announced in a panicky mood after checking the pantry, seeing not a single canister of icing in sight. "Mythra, what on earth did you do?"

"Don't look at me, I only ate one," Mythra pleaded her innocence to Pyra, who was strongly doubting the Blade as she folded her arms. "Or maybe two. Could've been three."

"I hear the cake icing's gone missing," said an eavesdropping Snake as he entered the kitchen, looking to offer his two cents on the situation. "What a shame."

"What is that around your mouth...?" Pyra asked Snake with a frown, paying especially close attention to the white substance around Snake's mouth. Snake backed away for good measure.

"Oh, this?" Using his index finger, Snake wiped some of the white substance and held it up for Pyra and the others to see. "I was snorting some acne cream. Since Master Hand won't let me do drugs..."

"Should be under your nose, then," Dunban pointed out, and Snake was not a fan of Dunban's smart-alecky ways as he frowned intensely at the Homs.

"I was snorting and eating the acne cream, okay?! Not my fault that the icing was that..." Snake's eyes widened, as Pyra was even more ticked off with him than ever before. "...I mean, acne cream...yeah, I screwed up."

"Guilty as charged," Mythra snickered smugly, before looking over and seeing Pyra giving her the same glare that she gave Snake. "What? It wasn't me!"

Chef Kawasaki: Snake said he wanted a light snack, so I gave him what he wanted and gave him cake icing. What else was I supposed to do, fix him a sandwich? I'm not a woman.
Palutena: Not a woman, huh? *enters the frame with her arms folded* Sounds pretty sexist if you ask me.
Chef Kawasaki: I'm not a sexist, I love women! I love you, Lady Palutena!
Palutena: Don't try and flatter me. *walks out of frame*
Chef Kawasaki: Oh man...I'm so done for now.

"Snake! Snake, do you copy?" Hal's voice was heard over Snake's codec, as Snake excused himself out of the kitchen. Perfect timing given that Pyra was about to rip him to shreds.

"Hey, Hal. What is it?" Snake spoke into the codec, pressing the device against his ear while looking over his shoulder. Pyra, despite being angry, remained in the kitchen much to Snake's delight.

"Got a very important mission mission for you. How would you like to go on a rescue mission...to rescue Raiden?" That allured Snake, as the former spy was grinning and scratching his chin in thought.

"Master Hand did say that he would be a vital asset...yeah, I'm down." It had been a minute since Snake got his hands dirty, and now his appetite for danger was satisfied. "What's in it for me?"

"I'll need you to find at least two or three individuals who can be a part of the rescue team. We need someone capable; you are going into the Twilight Realm, after all."

"So no Jigglypuff...got it." Snake happened to see the balloon Pokemon in question, singing to her heart's content while the Duck Hunt Dog was next to her falling fast asleep. "Let me see who's available first."


LeVar: Here we are, the 400th episode of Smash Life. Another big milestone. Very big episode. And it's gonna be our last episode...at least for the time being.
Brad: We got some stuff to take care of in our personal lives, family and all, so we're gonna take a much-needed vacation. Gonna take the next few months off and be back on the grind for the holidays. Preferably around Thanksgiving. As I said, it'll be much needed.
LeVar: Master Hand was given the heads-up in advance, and he reacted to the news...pretty nicely! Was expecting him to cry his eyes out. He has really come a long way.
Bowser:
Come on, you guys! *enters frame* Why are you two being such lumps on a log?
LeVar: Who said that we were being lumps of a log? We were just talking about how we were gonna stop filming because...
Bowser: Exactly! Who wants to hear about such bleak stuff on a day like this? People want to be happy, man!
Brad: Never said that we wanted anyone to not be happy.
Bowser: Also, not to throw any shade, but you two stink at your jobs. I can easily do a better job than you both!
Brad:
Is that so? Heh, I know so! Lemme show you how it's done!
LeVar: *frowns* Are we doing this?
Brad:
*shrugs* Seems that we have no choice...

As soon as the talking head segment ended, Bowser led the producers LeVar and Brad down the hallway as he was taking charge around the mansion. Being the kind of guy that he was, Bowser was sure to make a rousing first impression.

"One thing you guys suck at is not showcasing your subjects in their natural habitats," Bowser said to LeVar and Brad as he stood outside someone's bedroom. "Viewers deserve to see the full picture!"

"Bowser, I don't think this is such a good...idea," LeVar tried to warn Bowser, only to trail off when Bowser punched the bedroom door down. Inside the room was Dante...who was acting all flirty with his lady friend, Trish.

"Oh my..." Brad facepalmed as Dante and Trish were sitting on Dante's bed, with Trish leaning in for a romantic kiss. Trish stopped, however, upon seeing Bowser and company standing at the door.

"How disgusting! Get a room, you two!" Bowser yelled at Dante and Trish, who both exchanged confused glances with one another. The second-hand embarrassment felt by the producers couldn't be understated.

"This is my room," Dante stated to Bowser, who was hardly convinced as he continued to look disgusted. Like he just walked in one of his children about to make out in their room.

"Do you have any respect for your fellow man, Dante? What if someone barges in, telling you to call emergency services, and they see THIS?! Do you not ever think about such things?"

"Like I said...this is my room." Dante's focus was shifted from Bowser to Trish, as Trish kissed the vigilante on his lips catching him by surprise. Bowser found it to be a disgusting act.

"Gonna let that big mean turtle spoil our fun?" Trish asked Dante, as it got all romantic in the room again. The only things missing were some romantic music and a bunch of candles.

"Sorry you boys had to witness that," Bowser apologized to LeVar and Brad, leading the two away from what he believed was a ghastly sight. "Invited Trish just to make out with her all day..."

Isabelle: Master Hand allowed the residents to invite a guest to the mansion today. No more than one. And the criteria is that they can't be staying at Omnis Adest. No former inhabitants either. That should save us from the Vault Hunters...

"Another thing you guys suck at - interviewing people," Bowser said to LeVar and Brad, as Byleth saw the Koopa King coming down the hallway and tried to change course. "You never ask them about current events!"

"We only do it whenever it's relevant," stated LeVar, leading Bowser to wave off the producer. Bowser looked up and saw a potential target, in Byleth.

"Byleth!" Bowser shouted the professor's name, as Byleth stopped in place and tensed up a bit. "Bring your keester over here!" Reluctantly, Byleth turned around and approached Bowser while fearing for the worst.

"Yes, Bowser?" Byleth asked the Koopa King, trying to remain cordial; Bowser was one of the few residents who often had her gears grinding.

"You're a pretty smart cookie, aren't ya? Working as a professor and all. Riddle me this - what do you make of Joe Biden's approval rating?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't looked into these approval ratings lately." Byleth was about to leave, but Bowser quickly grabbed her arm to prevent her getaway escape.

"You telling me that you have no interest in politics? Are you not interested in the political affairs of your home country of Fodlan? Have you no shame?!"

"News flash, Bowser - I am not from Fodlan. Now if you excuse me..." Again Byleth tried to leave, but Bowser wouldn't let her as he had a vice grip on her arm.

"Can't go till you answer my question..." Bowser turned to LeVar and Brad, as Byleth was resisting Bowser as much as she possibly could. "...one of you guys hand me your gun!"

"A gun?! We don't own a gun!" stated LeVar, causing Bowser to view him and Brad as cowards. Bowser detested working with cowards, usually. "What do you need one for?"

"To scare Byleth straight, of course. I need..." Seeing that the producers refused to oblige, Bowser heaved a sigh as he went back to Dante's room. "...stay with Byleth, I'll be right back."

"Okay," responded Brad, as Bowser was marching down the hallway very much in a mood. Once the coast was clear, Brad turned to Byleth and said, "You are free to go."

"Don't have to tell me that twice," said Byleth as she took off, boarding the nearest elevator as she hopped inside. The elevator doors closed as Bowser returned, dragging Dante by the hand.

"You're kinda interrupting my quality time with Trish," Dante said angrily to Bowser, who didn't care as he wanted Dante to scare Byleth straight. But Byleth was nowhere to be found!

"Byleth? Where did you go?" Bowser asked as he looked around for the professor's whereabouts, before turning to LeVar and Brad. "Where's Byleth? Bowser asked the producers, who both shrugged.

"She vanished into thin air," replied LeVar, knowing deep down that Bowser wouldn't believe him - but Bowser frankly did and for one reason.

"Trying to be like her friend Sothis, eh? She can hide from me forever. She'll tell me what she thinks about Joe Biden real soon!"

"Is that why you wanted my gun?" Dante frowned at Bowser, wise enough to not hand his gun over to the Koopa King under any circumstance. "Over some dumb politics? You're no worse than...ah, screw it, I'm out."

"Yeah, well, I didn't need you anyways!" Bowser clapped back at the retreating Dante, who waved off the Koopa King. Later, Dante's phone rang as the "Devil Trigger" ringtone filled up the vicinity.

"People trying to keep me from Trish," Dante sighed as he took out his phone, seeing that Snake was calling him. Keeping a relatively open mind, Dante answered Snake's call. "What's up, Dante speaking."

"Hey Dante, you down for rescuing Raiden from Twilight?" Snake proposed to the vigilante, who couldn't help but crack a smirk. Beating up baddies in the Twilight Realm was right up Dante's alley.

"I'm listening..." For now, Dante's quality time with Trish had to wait; far more important things had to be done.


Mario arrived at E. Gadd's mansion - but he didn't come alone. Peach, who had heard stories about E. Gadd's machine from Mario. desired to see the machine in action and decided to accompany her husband. Also coming along was Geno.

"So nice of you to come with us, Geno," Peach said to the star, who was holding onto a weapon that Mario received from Ratchet a couple of episodes ago. "What is that you're holding?"

"Something called the Glove of Doom," replied Geno as he did his best not to pull the trigger; the ensuing mess would be hard to clean up. "Mario claimed that it might come in handy."

"Get it? Handy? 'Cause it's a glove-a and..." Mario said; the only person laughing as Peach and Geno remained silent. "...oh, I crack myself up sometimes."

"Yet you're the only one laughing," remarked Peach, before looking up and seeing a large spaceship making its slow descent to E. Gadd's mansion. "Look at that!"

Peach pointed at the spaceship, and Mario and Geno watched as the spaceship landed. Steam poured out from the spaceship engines as Mario and company took a step back.

"Here-a they come," remarked Mario, standing by as the hatch of the spaceship opened and a long ramp extended to the ground. Exiting the spaceship were Ratchet and Clank, leading a group of All-Stars...all the All-Stars.

"The whole gang is here!" exclaimed Mario, as all the All-Stars had exited the ship; the All-Stars' presence made the rescue mission feel like even more of a big deal.

"Mario, Peach, hello!" Ratchet waved to the married couple as he reached the end of the ramp, relieved to be walking on solid ground. "Hope that we made it in time for..."

"Move aside, mortal!" Kratos shouted at Ratchet as he brushed the Lombax to the side, before angrily approaching Mario. Mario shuddered in fear as Kratos looked down at him.

"I would offer you as a sacrifice, but I love-a you too much to do that," Mario quietly said to Peach, and Kratos cleared his throat to regain the plumber's attention. Mario nervously gulped.

"Should Raiden be saved from Twilight..." Kratos started, now appearing more calm and demure as he placed his hand on Mario's shoulder. "...then I will no longer have any resentment towards you or your kind."

"My kind?" Mario was about to question Kratos, but with how serene Kratos was Mario just decided to roll with the punches. "Uh, yeah, I hear you, man!"

Cole MacGrath: *sighs* This is it, the big day in which Raiden comes back home. Might be selfish to say, but I hope that whoever gets sent to rescue that guy doesn't find him. The manor has been just fine without...
Big Daddy: *confronts Cole, with Little Sister accompanying him*
Little Sister: Mr. Bubbles doesn't appreciate you besmirching his playmate...
Cole MacGrath: Ha, playmate. That's cute.
Big Daddy; *puts Cole in a chokehold*
Cole MacGrath: I take it back, I take it back!

"Is the professor inside?" Sweet Tooth asked Mario, as the killer clown took his wallet out of his pocket for some particular reason. "He owes me some gas money from last week."

"Uh...yeah, he's inside," replied Mario, as standing in the presence of Sweet Tooth and Kratos made him feel rather uncomfortable. Didn't help that the two were also rivals. "I think he's waiting on you guys."

"Then let's head on in." So Sweet Tooth and the other All-Stars headed on inside the mansion. Kratos backed off from Mario, who heaved a heavy sigh when the demigod left.


Down in his lab, E. Gadd was more than ready to commence the start of the rescue mission. All the individuals who helped him work on the machine were present, although the observers who watched the machine being built were missing.

"How odd, Sada and Turo are both missing!" remarked Uka, as he had planned on asking the Pokemon professors if they were still interested in having a mask companion. While Uka was concerned about Sada and Turo, the others had questions about a certain Hylian couple.

"I imagined that Link and Zelda would want to see the machine in action," said Vexen as he looked around the lab for Link and Zelda - not much he could do searching if he's just standing in place. "Where could they possibly be?"

"Leave them alone - if they wish to miss out, then so be it!" replied Eggman, who made the pitiful decision of bringing Orbot and Cubot along with him. The mad scientist feared that his robot lackeys would somehow screw things up.

"So unlike them to not be here," said Moira, before looking towards E. Gadd since E. Gadd was the last person to interact with the Hylian couple. "Where could they have gone, E. Gadd?"

"Um..." E. Gadd replied nervously as he twiddled with his fingers, causing Moira to furrow her brow with much suspicion.


Link and Zelda were unable to be at the lab, for they had their hands tied up with Tracer and a guest from the distant past, John Marston. Tracer wanted Marston to meet with Cole Cassidy, and she was able to make that happen as she successfully lured Cassidy to E. Gadd's mansion.

"Tracer, you said that there was an emergency," an annoyed Cassidy said to the pilot, now standing face-to-face with Marston in the middle of the hallway. Link, Zelda, and Tracer were all looking on.

"This is an emergency," Tracer stressed to Cassidy, unable to contain her excitement as Cassidy and Marston breathing the same air was enough to make her swoon. "It's just like looking in the mirror, isn't it?"

"I hear that you're the one they call Cole Cassidy," Marston said to Cassidy, looking and acting all cowboy-like with his hands in his pockets. "That Tracer lady told me a great deal about you."

"Probably shared too much about me," said Cassidy as he frowned at Tracer, who was smiling from ear to ear as she gave Cassidy two thumbs up. "Let me ask you this one question - how quick are ya with the draw?"

"I'd say that I have quite the hot hand." Marston had his hand reaching down towards his gun, and Cassidy anticipated that move as he did the same. "I do love me a good old-fashioned shootout."

"Nope, nope, not doing it here, not today," Link spoke up as he stepped in between the two gunslingers, waving his hands in front of him as a tumbleweed bounced past. "We're not doing this."

"Where did that tumbleweed come from?" Zelda asked Tracer, perhaps the only person to notice the tumbleweed that randomly appeared when Cassidy reached for his gun. Tracer was barely listening, for she thought of something grander than a Wild West shootout.

"You gents would bond well over a campfire," Tracer said to Cassidy and Marston as she blinked over to the two gunslingers, wrapping her arms around them. "What do you say?"

"Appreciate the gesture, Tracer, but it's too early in the day for that," replied Cassidy, in no mood for waiting around until it was dark outside. Tracer laughed, which befuddled Cassidy greatly.

"It's never too early for a campfire sesh! Link, come with me! We have to gather the firewood!"

"But E. Gadd probably doesn't have any...woah!" Link was about to say, only for Tracer to grab his hand and race down the hallway.

"She seems more than excitable today," Zelda said to Cassidy concerning Tracer, and Cassidy was almost inclined to agree.


Against his better judgment, Falco decided to invite his girlfriend Katt Monroe to today's festivities. However, there was only one teensy-weensy problem that Katt ran into - she hadn't seen her boyfriend all day! Where on earth could Falco be?

"Here it comes...BOOM!" exclaimed Fox, replaying Falco's StarBeats recall video to Asuka in the Star Records room. The pilot laughed as the StarBeats headphones exploded. "Gets me every time."

"This just shows me how lousy of a CEO you are," Asuka said to Fox, greatly questioning the pilot's executive skills, as Fox looked offended. "How did he know about it before you did?"

"I will not accept any slander about my best friend..." Speaking of Fox's best friend, Falco, Falco's girlfriend Katt entered the Star Records room wanting to ask a pressing question.

"Hi, Fox, have you seen Falco anywhere?" Katt asked the pilot, hoping to receive a reliable answer from him; the face that Fox was making suggested otherwise.

"Probably at E. Gadd's, or something." Fox replayed the video for Asuka, as Katt groaned and walked out of the Star Records room. "Now let's watch again, but in slow-motion!"

"Your reaction to this controversy is a little appalling," a disappointed Asuka said to Fox, as Yukari was peeking around the corner through the door to see if Fox was busy.


As a suggestion from Sonic, Pit committed to a subscription at Planet Fitness and started working out at the gym. Given how much he frequented Planet Fitness, one would expect Pit to show his gains. And he was more than happy to showcase it.

"Check out these big guns!" Pit said to the patrons at Cafe Leblanc as he flexed his arms for them. Nobody was impressed, not even Sans or the brother that he invited, Papyrus.

"BOO, BOO I SAY!" Papyrus jeered at Pit, expressing his utter disappointment with the angel as he was also giving a thumbs down. "STOP SKIPPING ARM DAY, YOU BUM!"

"Jokes on you, buddy - I never skip arm day! Every day at the gym is arm day!" All that work Pit (supposedly) put in, and yet his arms still looked the same - talk about underwhelming.

"So when is leg day?" Kirby asked Pit, as curious minds wanted to know. The pink puffball inspected Pit's calves, yet so no muscle definition of any kind.

"That is also every day. Along with abs day. And glutes day. Gotta get those buns nice and firm, you know what I'm saying?" Based on the weird looks on the patrons, none of them didn't want to know what Pit was saying.

"Pit, do you not have a rest day?" Viridi asked out of caution, amazed yet concerned with how hard Pit was going in at Planet Fitness. Provided that he was going hard in the first place.

"Rest day? What's that good for? Real men don't take no stinking rest day!" For Viridi, the answer to her question was no - much to her chagrin.

"Why look at Pit..." Teddie asked the baristas as he came over to the counter, hands at the bottom of his shirt. "When you can feast our eyes...on THIS!" Teddie lifted his shirt, revealing to everyone a six-pack. It was still in the works, but it was impressive nonetheless.

"Wow, I'm impressed!" commended Kirby, as Teddie was beaming with pride while flashing his abs to the customers. "I didn't think that you'd be capable of adding muscle definition."

"YOU, MY FRIEND, ARE BODY GOALS!" Papyrus said to Sans, one day desiring to have a body like Teddie's. Sans was about to say something to Papyrus but saved his breath for another day.

"Proved many naysayers wrong ever since I started going to the gym," said Teddie as he pulled his shirt back down, planning on turning more heads throughout the day. "Soon I'll be strong enough to beat up Kanji!"

"Wanna say that again?!" an incensed Kanji shouted at Teddie, who failed to notice the delinquent sitting in the cafe with Naoto. Teddie gulped nervously as he left the cafe, with Kanji giving him a mean look.

Kanji: Teddie thinks he can beat me up? *snorts as he cracks his knuckles* I'd like to see him try. He's got another thing coming for him. But why does he want to beat me up so?...It's because I allegedly called him a slur? *eyes dart around* Uh, I didn't mean it in a bad way! It was in good taste. Yeah, that's all it was.

"Hey Rufus," Cloud quietly spoke into the phone, as he just answered a call from Rufus Shinra. The baristas were listening to Cloud's every word, at least until Cloud got up and left. "Want me to bring Team Rocket? I got you."

"Pit, get back to work," Joker told the angel, who was grossly invested in Cloud's phone call as he followed after the swordsman. Cloud, standing in the corner, saw Pit as he looked over his shoulder and tried to ignore him.

"Got a bombshell you want to share about Giovani? Can't wait to hear it. We'll be there soon." After saying his goodbyes to Rufus, Cloud left the corner only to run into Pit.

"Because of who you're speaking to, I must be your chaperone," Pit said to Cloud, who maneuvered past the angel as he raced to the cafe door.

"Get lost, Pit." But get lost, Pit did not do as he followed Cloud out of the cafe. Joker looked on, hoping for Pit to be back soon - while also wondering why Pit wanted to go with Cloud so badly.


Tracer was so geeked out about Cassidy and Marston meeting each other, that she forced the two gunslingers to have a campfire session outside. Link and Zelda were also forced against their will to attend.

"Isn't it too early to have a campfire?" asked Zelda as it was still light outside, with the campfire burning bright as ever. Everyone was sitting around the campfire, as it was mostly a chill vibe.

"Shh...you're interrupting their conversation," Tracer shushed Zelda, before going back to watching Cassidy and Marston with absolute glee. Let it be known that neither Cassidy nor Marston spoke that much while the campfire raged on.

"So, uh, I see that you're a big fan of guns," Cassidy awkwardly said to Marston, not having much to share with the fellow gunslinger. Link was left facepalming, wishing that he was inside.

"Guess you could say that," responded Marston as he brandished the gun that he held in his pocket, which was slightly sticking out. "Say, have you ever been a wanted man?"

"I do say that I'm wanted by a lady named Ashe." Just the mere thought of Ashe made Cassidy smile wide. "Despite how much she doesn't want to admit it. Me and her go way back..."

"Ahem..." a certain geneticist cleared her throat, as everyone turned and saw Moira standing by. Moira saw Marston and had to point him out at once. "...might I ask who this is?"

"Pleasure's all mine, ma'am," John warmly greeted Moira as he tipped his hat to the geneticist, who was already cynical. "I'm John Marston. I reckon you ain't from around here."

"Not quite...however, I can tell that you don't belong here." Gasping in response to what Moira said, Tracer blinked her way over to the geneticist.

"That is no way to treat the guest of honor!" stated Tracer, not a huge fan of how Moira was receiving Marston thus far. "Mr. Marston, why don't you tell Moira about your life as a cowboy?" Moira was far from interested, pinching the crown of her nose.

"I suppose I could share a little somethin' about the Wild West," Marston replied with a chuckle, happy to share about his many experiences. "It has everything a cowboy would want and then some - rustling cattle, gunfights, and riding through the plains."

"Would you mind playing us a song, Mr. Marston?" Tracer zipped over to a guitar that she had sitting on a log and handed it to Marston. Marston took the guitar, humbled by Tracer's request.

"I'll happily oblige." So Marston strummed a melancholic tune, filling E. Gadd's backyard with the twang of the guitar. Zelda found the music somewhat enchanting, swaying gently to the rhythm with her eyes closed, while the others just had blank faces.

"Dare ya to challenge him to a music battle," Cassidy dared Link as he nudged the Hylian in his side, while Marston strummed the guitar to his heart's content. "Play that ocarina of yours."

"I have never owned an ocarina in my life," stated Link, and Cassidy took that as a sign of Link being a filthy coward. Cassidy was trying his hardest not to view a hero of legend as such.

Link: Believe me, if I had a woodwind instrument like a grass whistle, I'd easily smoke John Marston any day of the week. What good is some lousy guitar compared to a... *sighs* ...a piece of horse grass. But it's good for horse-calling, I tell you what!

"We must go; everyone is waiting on you," Moira said to Tracer and company, as Tracer moaned and got up from the log she was sitting on. Link and Zelda, both relieved, stood up as they were free from sitting at the campfire.

"You coming with us?" Link asked Marston, believing that the gunslinger wished to stick around for a bit and chat for a bit with Cassidy. Much to everyone's surprise, Marston stood up on his feet.

"Gotta use the little boys' room; I'm above handlin' business outdoors," replied Marston as he adjusted his belt - good on him for showing class. He must be one classy cowboy.

"Then follow us," said Zelda, as Marston followed after the princess and the others back to E. Gadd's mansion. Cassidy was all alone, slightly bummed out that he didn't get to know Marston any better.

"It was great getting to know you," Cassidy said to Marston, who looked back and gave Cassidy a nod before pressing on. Cassidy hunched over as he gazed into the campfire. "Looks like I'm the last man standing...or sitting, rather."


When Fox told Katt that Falco was probably at E. Gadd's place, he wasn't being serious. But little did the pilot know that he was right - Falco was back at E. Gadd's mansion and he was in the bathroom, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"You fear no one," Falco said to...well, himself, as he pointed at his reflection, speaking in a motivated tone. "The only thing you have to fear...is fear itself."

"Reciting a presidential speech in the bathroom, are we?" a certain hedgehog asked Falco, who realized that he had left the bathroom door open. Sheepish, Falco turned and saw Sonic standing by while tapping his foot.

"Nuh-uh, I was getting himself mentally prepared. For a speech. Not presidential. It's, uh...it's more of an apology."

"Lemme guess, Yukari?" Sonic caught wind of Falco's newfound fear of Yukari from Mega Man, and the mere mention of Yukari made Falco tense up. "I hear that she's coming over here to speak with you."

"She is?! Bruh..." Falco was all worked up, as he ran to the toilet and stuck his head inside...for whatever reason. Sonic came inside the bathroom just to pat Falco comfortingly on his back.

"The only thing you have to fear is fear itself." Using the wise words of Franklin D. Roosevelt against Falco, Sonic departed from the bathroom as his work was done.

Sonic: Totally made that up. *snorts* Now if you excuse me, I'm just gonna crash Falco's home away from home. E. Gadd better have some grub in the kitchen...and not that pee jar he has in the fridge.


Everything was set for the Raiden rescue mission - a rescue team, one that was led by Snake, was ready to venture into the Twilight Realm. E. Gadd, who was working tirelessly on his machine with the help of his comrades, was in the process of opening up the portal.

"Nathan Drake, Ratchet, Big Daddy, Sly Cooper, Sir Dan, and Kratos...you six are a part of the team," E. Gadd said to the six All-Stars, adding them to the rescue team of Snake, Dante, and Kazuya. Quite the eclectic group.

"An excellent choice you have made," responded Kratos as he gripped his Leviathan Axe, looking to slay as many monsters in the Twilight Realm as possible. The demigod then turned to Dante and Kazuya and scowled.

"Yeah, keep on looking, big guy," Dante smirked at Kratos as he and Kazuya were unfazed by Kratos's menacing glare. Kratos might be a handful to deal with - could potentially make or break the rescue mission.

Dante: Crazy to think that a few years ago, Kazuya and I were butting heads over some ice cream...and now we're working together to save Raiden. You think the two of us will get along? They do say that time heals old wounds...not that I have any, of course.

"Now opening the portal," announced Wily as he pressed a button on the machine, causing a portal to open. Meanwhile, Dimentio appeared in the lab undetected, watching the machine going to work.

"I'm counting on you, Zant..." Dimentio quietly said before teleporting, as Eggman - the person perhaps closest to Dimentio - crinkled his nose after hearing the jester's voice.

"My zipper's stuck - I'll be right back," Eggman said to Vexen and Demyx, before leaving the lab; Vexen and Demyx exchanged looks with one another, with the latter shrugging his shoulders.

"The portal is now fully open!" announced Hal, as the portal to the Twilight Realm was now accessible. "It's now safe to go in."

"And don't come back until you find who you're looking for," Professor Burnet said to Snake and the rest of the rescue team, and Snake nodded his head in understanding.

"We'll try not to take too long," said Snake, before leading his men through the portal. But then he stopped, for he had one thing he wanted to say. "And should I not make it back alive...Hal, you can have those Lady Swimwear magazines I keep in my room."

"Your what now?" questioned Hal as he readjusted his glasses, only for Snake to enter through the portal with his men following after him. Entering the Twilight Realm turned out swimmingly, but it wouldn't be a mission success until Raiden was back home.

"I just hope that they can all get along," Zelda said to Link, taking individuals such as Kazuya and Kratos into account. Midna flew into the lab and saw the machine in action.

"So that's a gateway to Twilight, eh?" Midna asked Link and Zelda as she saw the open portal, as she was reminded of the Mirror of Twilight. That mirror served as the only connection between Hyrule and Twilight.

"You hail from Twilight...those boys could use an extra hand," Link said to Midna, enticing the imp to join the rescue team. Midna curled her lip as she considered Link's offer.

"Dr. Eggman? Where'd you go?" Orbot called out to the mad scientist, as he and Cubot left the lab in search of their boss. Magolor saw the robot lackeys leave, scratching his head.


Snake and the rest of his rescue team, after stepping through the portal, ended up in the eerie and mysterious Twilight Realm. Everything was in twilight, predictably.

"Hal, can you hear me?" Snake spoke into his codec, only to be met with no response. The former spy grunted in frustration. "Communication devices don't seem to work here."

"Had a funny feeling that would happen," said Sly as he took a look around, a little unnerved by how dark and dreary the twilight was. "Best to stay on guard."

"Hope they have good pizza in this realm," Dante remarked as he twirled his pistol in his hand, as the others gave him quizzical looks. "Or at least some grub."

"How can you worry about food at a time like..." Kratos was about to ask Dante, only to look up and see a Twilight portal open up. "...we have company!"

Kratos and the others stood their ground, as Shadow Beasts fell from the Twilight portal. The Shadow Beasts landed on the ground and confronted the rescue team, looking for a fight.

"Denizens of Twilight are looking to challenge us!" shouted Kratos, the blood rushing through his veins with vigor as he was amping to kill and destroy. "Prepare to face my wrath, vermin!"

"Can't believe we're fighting already," sighed Nathan, as the Twilight portal closed off after it was done releasing the Shadow Beasts. "Time to get this other with."

The rescue team immediately got down to business, as they were fighting the Shadow Beasts and making it look easy out there. Once there was one Shadow beast left, Kratos was angling to deliver the final blow.

"Hold it! " a voice shouted from afar, as a ball of energy was fired at the Shadow Beast sending it flying. Snake and company turned around, and saw that they were joined by Midna.

"Oh, it's just Midna," remarked Snake, with Kratos salty that he didn't get the final blow as he wanted. However, Kratos was willing to put his feelings aside for the sake of the mission.

"Link said you gents could use an extra hand, so I obliged." As Midna spoke, the portal to Twilight closed. "I know this place like the back of my hand."

"You're from this Twilight Realm, right?" Ratchet asked Midna, seeing the imp as a big help in a major way. "Maybe you could show us where Raiden is!"

"Like I know where they're keeping the guy...look, I haven't been here in Twilight in who knows how long. Zant is more than enough of a reason to keep away.

"But you said that you know this place like the back of your hand," Clank stated to Midna, using the imp's words against her - nine out of ten times not a very wise move. "You could be our guide."

"Be our Navi!" Sir Dan encouraged Midna as he raised his fist, and Big Daddy sided with Sir Dan by nodding his head. Midna sighed.

"I just had to say yes, didn't I..." muttered Midna, wishing that somebody else could've gone in her place. "...fine, I'll show you guys where Raiden might be. He could be at the Palace of Twilight. Follow me."

"Keep your eyes peeled for Zant," Kazuya advised his fellow rescue team members, as he and the others followed Midna's lead.


Falco, who at first was rehearsing his apology to Yukari, was now faced with a dilemma. Yukari was (allegedly) on her way, and Falco had no time to prepare his full apology. But he had another woman to worry about...Katt.

"Here is the address to E. Gadd's mansion," Cloud said to Katt outside the mansion, handing her a small slip of paper that had the address to E. Gadd's mansion on it. "But to be honest, it's not that far from..."

"Are you and E. Gadd like, close friends?" Katt interrupted Cloud, who bit his tongue as he was a bit reluctant to elaborate on his bond with E. Gadd. "Falco described you two as such."

"Not that close; he's the last person I'd want to go out for lunch with. Watching him eat with his one tooth irks me."

"So that one tooth is all he has...huh, thought he had more. But thanks for the tip."

Katt: Falco thinks he can invite me to Seattle and run off and hide at some geriatric's estate? That's cool, fine with me. Two can play that game.

Shortly after Katt left, Cloud was joined by the Team Rocket trio. James was once again injured, as he had a cast over his hand.

"A Hypno tried to bite my hand off," James explained to Cloud as he nursed his hand, as Infinite appeared up in the sky looking down below. "Long story..."

"Don't want to hear it, let's go," replied Cloud, as he led Team Rocket to Omnis Adest; sensing where Cloud and company were heading off to, Infinite vanished.

"Sorry Cloud, I had to use the bathroom!" Pit called out to the swordsman as he ran out of the mansion, tissue on his left leg. "I'm coming!" Pit then flew up into the skies, trailing behind Cloud.


Eggman momentarily left E. Gadd's lab, for he had heard a voice...Dimentio's voice. His robot lackeys Orbot and Cubot left the lab in search of their boss - although they were looking in the wrong places.

"Hello! Eggman?" Cubot shouted into the inside of a drying machine, as he and Orbot were in E. Gadd's laundry room searching for Eggman's whereabouts. "You in there?"

"He is not in there..." Orbot said to Cubot as he pulled his accomplice away from the drying machine, before slamming the door shut. "...the man can barely even fit inside his bathtub!"

"I know he wasn't - I just wanted to see if my voice had an echo effect." Fully confident that he succeeded in his mission, Cubot giggled as Orbot facepalmed and sighed. With how they were searching, Orbot and Cubot would never locate Eggman soon. Unless...

"Hey! You're looking for Eggman?" Magolor asked Orbot and Cubot as he showed up in the laundry area, aware of what the robots' current task was. "I saw him go outside."

"Outside? What on earth is he doing..." Perhaps it was best for Orbot to simply see for himself. "...take us to him at once!"


While Peach knew about the machine being built thanks to Mario, she didn't know who was working on it. That was why she was acting vigilant when she first saw Vexen and Demyx, due to their (former) affiliation with Organization XIII.

"It's okay, Peach, they're good-a guys now," Mario assured the princess, who was reluctant to believe her husband as she kept looking warily at Vexen and Demyx. Meanwhile, Sonic sped inside the lab.

"Um, guys, there's a cowboy in the kitchen and he's..." Sonic tried to explain to everyone, before being interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. Sonic flinched in response. "...yeah, he's not easy to get along with."

"Told you he'd be a problem..." Zelda muttered to Link, who insisted that Marston didn't have to be monitored. The gunshot got Link to think twice about that decision.

"You stay right-a here - Geno and I will check-a things out," Mario said to Peach, as he and Geno (who was still holding onto the Glove of Doom) left the lab to see what was going down.


Since he ended up in 2023, it was a gradual process for Marston in regards to getting used to modern times. The gunslinger was in the kitchen, marveling at every kitchen appliance that he laid his eyes upon.

"Certainly they got a cold one 'round here," said Marston as he was looking through E. Gadd's fridge, with the hopes of finding some beer. After closing the fridge, Marston saw a granola bar lying on the counter, and as he was about to reach it...a rat snatched the bar and scurried away. "Get back here, you varmint!"

"Mama Mia!" exclaimed Mario as he and Geno arrived at the kitchen, just as Marston fired a bullet at the toaster. Marston looked behind the toaster, seeing no signs of the rat.

"Be cool," Geno whispered to Mario, who remained as cool as the other side of the pillow as Marston turned his head. Not accustomed to cheerful Italian plumbers, Marston eyed Mario with suspicion as he held his gun.

"You some kind of mushroom dealer, plumber?" John questioned Mario, dangerously close to pointing his revolver at Mario's head. Mario had to play it cool, or else.

"No, I'm not! I'm just a guy who loves-a spaghetti and crispy tofu salad," replied Mario, not doing much to quell Marston's growing suspicions with his spaghetti comment. "What are you doing in-a Professor E. Gadd's kitchen?"

"Nothing much, really - tryin' to make sense of this crazy place I ended up in. Ain't no Wild West I've ever seen." As Marston spoke, Geno saw the rat behind the gunslinger, unwrapping the granola bar and taking a bite out of it.

"Ah, I know how it feels to end up in strange places. Happens to me all the time. Some-a times on purpose."

"Mario, are you okay?" Peach asked her husband out of concern upon arrival, before she saw Marston; Peach took a very keen liking to him. "Oh! That must be the cowboy Tracer was telling me about."

"Tracer? You don't mean..." Marston was about to blow a gasket, but he kept his emotions in check as he stormed out of the kitchen. "...I oughta speak with that lady."

"It was nice meeting you, Cassidy's new friend!" Peach waved to the departing Marston, who looked to give Tracer a piece of his mind. Peach then turned to Mario and said, "He seems friendly."

Tracer: I couldn't help it, I texted all my Overwatch buddies about the new friend Cassidy made. Cassidy's never had a friend, a real cowboy friend, so we'll keep Marston here so we can get a good thing going. And if Marston wants to go back home...oh well.

"And maybe too trigger-happy," remarked Mario, inspecting the area around the toaster for any gunshot holes in the wall. Sonic entered the kitchen, cautiously analyzing the area.

"Is the coast clear?" Sonic asked Mario and company, and after Mario nodded his head, Sonic sighed in relief as he took out his chili dog. "Cowboy dude wanted to shoot me for being a talking varmint! Is that a slur?"


Snake and his crew traversed through the Twilight Realm, marching through the Twilight depths en route to the Palace of Twilight. Kratos, now more demure, surveyed the surroundings with a gruff expression.

"This doesn't look like any underworld realm I've ever been in," the demigod remarked, waiting for some action to happen; he was on the lookout for any Twilight monster leaping from out of nowhere.

"Yeah man, I'm feigning to slay some demons," grinned Dante, before looking towards Midna as he had to ask the imp for some clarification. "The Twilight monsters are demons, aren't they?"

"Eh...tomato, tomahto," Midna replied with a shrug, serving as the group's lookout as she hovered above them. If she ever spotted Zant, she wouldn't hesitate to sound the alarm.

"This place absolutely reeks of dark energy...interesting," Kazuya analyzed, stoic as ever as he eyed the swirling twilight with a hint of curiosity. Sly smirked and shook his head at the businessman.

"Of course, the guy with the Devil gene makes an observation such as that," Sly said in a joking tone, drawing Kazuya's ire as the businessman shot an eye laser at him. "Hey! Watch the hat!"

"Hey, hey! No fighting amongst ourselves," Snake reprimanded Kazuya and Sly, who were both glaring each other down as Sly's hat was almost shot off his head. "Save that fighting for..."

"...Zant," Midna would finish for Snake, as she stopped right where she was. Snake and company came to a stop after realizing that Midna was no longer moving.

"Yes, thank you, Midna. Save for fighting for the man with the hideous fish helmet."

"No, he's literally here. Zant is staring right at us. Look, up there, on that structure!"

Snake and company looked ahead, seeing the Palace of Twilight before them. Standing on one of the structures was Zant, as Astor emerged next to him.

"Who's that man the the black robe?" Clank inquired about Astor, as Dante took a few steps forward recognizing Astor from somewhere.

"Some crook who tried to sabotage Link and Zelda's wedding," replied Dante, as Sir Dan meekly raised his hand so that Dante would acknowledge him. Dante acknowledged him, all right. "And no, Sir Dan, you never received an invite."

"Aw..." Sir Dan moaned in sadness as he hunched over, with Big Daddy giving the skeletal knight an encouraging pat on his back.

Zelda: Link and I were mostly against inviting anyone from the manor to the wedding. Even if it was just one person. Because if we invited one guest, everyone else at the manor would feel left out and want to come, too. Leaving anyone out would not be ideal. Imagine Kratos, for instance - it would be a lose-lose situation all around.

"Look alive people...we have company!" alerted Ratchet, as the group was met by the eerie glow of twilight portals appearing in the sky. Shadow Beasts fell from the portal, looking to scrap with the outsiders.

"It's time to party," smirked Dante as he stared the monsters down, twirling his sword Rebellion before wielding it effortlessly. Carnage was about to be had.

"YOU WRETCHED TWILIGHT MONSTERS SHALL DIE!" bellowed Kratos, leading things off with a battle cry before he and the others went down to business. A battle of epic proportions was taking place on the battlefield.

"More are coming, watch out!" notified Midna, as the twilight portals kept spilling out Shadow Beasts left and right. Even with reinforcements, the forces of Twilight were unable to stand a chance.

Soon enough, all the Shadow Beasts were handily dispatched. Nathan, who defeated the last Shadow Beasts by shooting it with his gun, was huffing and puffing as he had a few body scars to show for his valor.

"Think that's the last of them..." Nathan said as he caught his breath, looking over his shoulder just to make sure. When the treasure hunter turned back around...he was met by Zant. "Woah!"

"Many greetings," Zant cordially greeted Nathan and the others, with Nathan cautiously taking a step back. Zant was later joined by Astor, who stood at the Twili's side.

"It's you!" Kratos shouted at Zant as he recalled seeing him at the peace treaty. The demigod had a major bone to pick with Zant, as did the other All-Stars.

"Indeed, it is I." Zant floated up into the sky, asserting dominance by looking down at everyone. "Welcome to my realm. The darkness reigns, and your fates are sealed."

"Oh, Zant, I do believe you have an old friend in your midst!" Astor said to the Twili, gesturing to Midna; Zant and Midna were looking at each other face-to-face, with Midna scowling.

"Can you not...do that face?" Snake made his request known to Midna, not liking how the imp was giving Zant a mean look. "it's giving the heebie-jeebies..."

"What grown man uses the word 'heebie-jeebies'?" pondered Ratchet, bringing much shame to Snake and causing him to be embarrassed. "Do people still use that term anymore?"

"Imagine how scarier Midna's face would be without her headwear!" remarked Clank, who would later regret what he said as the image he proposed frightened him after it was formed in his mind. "My apologies if I gave anyone any unsettling thoughts."

"SILENCE!" boomed Zant as he brought all the focus back to himself and Astor, looking to settle the score with his intruders. "Clearly you all do not belong here."

"What's the matter? You want a fight?" Sly smirked at Zant as he wielded his trusty cane, still having plenty of fight left in him. "We'll give you and your friend one if that's what you want."

"We'll gladly oblige," Zant accepted Sly's challenge, channeling the dark energy inside of him, knowing not to leave any survivors behind. "Anything to dispose of you."

"It will be your death wish," Astor vowed before letting out a subdued evil laugh, looking to make good use of his calamity orb. Which would surely be effective in the confides of Twilight.

"Let it be known...you're in for a rude awakening," Kazuya said to Zant and Astor before getting into a fighting stance, as the others did the same. "Bring it on!"


The doorbell was ringing at E. Gadd's front door, and as tradition, none of Cortex's minions bothered to answer. Not even Sonic or Falco was around to answer. Somebody had to step up to the plate, and that somebody was Marston. When he opened the door, he was greeted by Sada and Turo.

"About time that plumber left the..." Sada was whispering to Turo in secret, before looking all perky and upbeat when she saw Marston. "...oh, hello there! And you are...?"

"Call me John - John Marston," Marston introduced himself to Sada and Turo as he tipped his hat to the professors. "A pleasure." As Marston placed his hat back on his head, Sada and Turo did their best to lose all suspicion.

"Likewise. Is E. Gadd home, by any chance?" Turo asked Marston, before hearing some slight sounds of commotion coming from the lab. The professor peeked past Marston, who examined what Turo was doing as he turned back.

"You mean that short old fella with the glasses? I reckon he's still down in the lab." Failing to see whatever Turo noticed, Marston turned back around and saw Sada whispering something in Turo's ear. "What are you whisperin' about?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all!" Sada quickly replied after she was done whispering, the swiftness of her response making her suspicious yet again. Marston was left furrowing his brow. "Mind letting us in?"

"I'll happily oblige." Marston kept a very close eye on Sada and Turo, whose eyes were both flashing discreetly as they were let inside. And with the front door left open, Katt sneaked her way inside.

"Alright, Falco...where are you?" asked Katt as she had a score to settle with her boyfriend. Falco was in for it now.


Cloud and Team Rocket were at Omnis Adest, congregated behind the Dingo's Diner building. It was a destination that Rufus handpicked.

"Rufus has a bombshell announcement he wants to share with us," Cloud explained to Team Rocket, while on the lookout for a black government vehicle that belonged to the Turks. "He thinks that only you guys can handle it."

"Is Giovanni stepping down from Team Rocket due to his allegiance to Dimentio, and is letting us take his place?" Meowth asked Cloud with stars in his eyes, as Cloud gave a blank stare that pretty much ended Meowth's excitement. "Hey, a Pokemon can dream!"

"Team Rocket as a whole would honestly be in dire if you three were..." Cloud stopped speaking, as he felt a large shadow fly overhead. Having a bad idea about...or who...it was, Cloud sighed. "...don't tell me."

"Hi, Cloud! I made it!" Pit said loudly to the swordsman, speaking so loud that he might blow the swordsman's cover. "So this is where you're meeting Rufus? A heads up would've been nice!"

"Ssh..." Cloud shushed Pit, fortunate that the backdoor to Dingo's Diner didn't open. It would be the end of it if Dingodile barged out of that door, flamethrower and all.

Dingodile: Rarely do I see what's going on in the back of my diner. All sorts of crap have gone on - people selling drugs, people getting beat up, people throwing dice with the city youth. And that's just what the people who live in this community do. Yet for some reason, I seldom bat an eye...

"Had to bring the twerp along..." groaned Jessie, as Pit did not take too kindly to Jessie's name-calling. Pit wouldn't stand for it.

"Cloud, Jessie just called me a bad word," Pit said to the swordsman as he pointed accusingly at Jessie, expecting Cloud to reprimand Jessie for her potty mouth.

"Fight your own battles, man," responded Cloud as he kept his distance from PIt, hating the fact that the angel was even here. Cloud felt fine up until Pit's arrival.


Even after showing Asuka that video, Fox was still watching the video over and over again and laughing at it. He was watching it coming down the hallway mansion, as he passed by a downtrodden King Dedede.

"Fox...why does I-No love me so?" King Dedede solemnly asked the pilot, who was trying to give the fat pengeuin a piece of his mind. Hard to do so, what with the video he was watching and the question that was being asked.

"Ha! In your wildest dreams, pal," replied Fox as he pressed forward, leaving King Dedede to sulk alone in peace. Soon Fox ran into someone, and when he looked up he was face-to-face with Yukari.

"Take me to Falco," Yukari demanded from Fox, who didn't know whether that was a good idea or not. Fox saw no happy ending in sight...


The epic clash between Snake's rescue team and the enigmatic duo of Zant and Astor raged on, as Snake and company put up a good fight. So far, however, neither side had the upper hand.

"You are no match for the Dark Sorcerer!" Astor hissed at Sly, firing Malice from his orb at the raccoon. Sly, as agile as he was, was able to effortlessly dodge Astor's attacks.

"Uh oh! Missed me! Try again!" Sly would say after every dodge he made, irritating Astor with his acrobatic skill. Dante and Nathan, meanwhile, were trying to shoot at Zant, but there was one problem...

"Stop teleporting already, man!" shouted Dante, as Zant would teleport every time he was shot at. Dante and Nathan were quickly running out of ammo, with Nathan having to whip out another Glock from his pocket.

"Gonna have an empty clip at this rate," muttered Nathan, as he kept on shooting hoping to strike Zant at least once. But as soon as Zant appeared on the ground, Kazuya and Big Daddy came running straight towards him.

"Hiyah!" shouted Kazuya as he threw a Demon God Fist at Zant, who ducked; Big Daddy tried to strike with his drill arm, but Zant dodged that as well.

"Stay still, you little runt!" Astor shouted at Ratchet, who was flying around on his hoverboots, as he had him to deal with along with Sly. The sorcerer was unaware of a cardboard box sneaking up on him from behind...seriously, where did Snake get those cardboard boxes from?

"Pop goes the weasel," said Snake (albeit in a sadly deadpan tone) as he emerged from the box and put Astor in a rear-naked chokehold. Astor was trying to fight out. "Quick, someone grab the orb!"

"Yes sir!" yelled Sir Dan as he ran up to Astor and snatched the orb right out of his hand. The skeletal knight tried to break the orb by spiking it unto the ground, only for the orb to ricochet and strike Sir Dan in the nether regions.

"...not what I originally intended, but okay." Snake gave Sir Dan an A for effort, as Astor was finally able to fight out of the former spy's grasp. But how did Sir Dan react to being hit in the groin area?

"I'm a skeleton, I shouldn't feel anything." The confident Sir Dan would later be proven wrong, as he doubled over in pain and collapsed to the ground. "Or maybe not..."

"You shall know the wrath of the gods!" Kratos bellowed to Astor, sensing an opening as he lunged at his foe with his Levatiahn Axe. Astor quickly grabbed the orb and summoned a wave of Malice to counter Kratos.

"They are slowly taking advantage," Astor called out to Zant, who was caught in a struggle with Kazuya and Big Daddy. "Send in the reinforcements!"

"Reinforcements are on the way," confirmed Zant, as several Twilight portals opened up in the sky filling with Shadow Beasts. The Beasts descended to the battlefield, making things even more complicated for the rescue team.

"There's so many of them!" fretted Clank, not thinking that Ratchet and the others were able to withstand the hordes of Shadow Beasts. Midna watched from the sidelines, silently rooting for the good guys to win.

Then suddenly, as Midna turned her head, she saw a humanoid figure in the distance. It was like any other individual Midna had seen in Twilight, and it made her crinkle her nose.

"Is that...?" Midna squinted her eyes, leaving the battlefield momentarily just to get a closer look at the faraway figure.


Magolor, Orbot, and Cubot were unable to locate Eggman inside E. Gadd's mansion, so they went outside in the hopes of finding their boss. Things were looking bleak as they searched the area around the mansion, until...

"I think I see him!" announced Cubot as he pointed in the distance, making out a rotund man wearing glasses. At first, he thought he saw a large tomato. Or the Kool-Aid Man.

"This had better not be a false alarm," remarked Orbot, fully aware of Cubot's incompetence as he and Magolor followed after Cubot. The three lackeys reached an open area...

...where they saw Eggman speaking with Dimentio in private. Orbot told Cubot and Magolor to shush, as Eggman and Dimentio's conversation carried on.

"You...I hate you and your guts!" a furious Eggman said to Dimentio, as just looking at the jester made him feel irate. Dimentio knew it too as he cackled.

"Dr. Eggman! Hate is such a strong word," Dimentio said to the mad scientist, who wanted nothing more than to blast the jester to bits and then some. "Where is the love?

"Screw love! Hate is the only thing I have towards you and your pathetic existence. You are undeserving of being loved by anyone!"

"Why do you hate me so? Was it because I ruined your evil plan in 2016, and started a domino effect that led to your downfall? Such a petty reason..."

"You caused a downward spiral in my life, and I'm here to get my revenge!" Eggman turned to his left and saw Magolor, Orbot, and Cubot. "But just so you know, I'm not alone..."

"He's talking about us..." an overjoyed Cubot smiled at Orbot as he elbowed the robot in his side, making Orbot wince in pain. Dimentio took sight of Magolor and laughed.

"Ah, Magolor, the also-ran!" Dimentio greeted the alien, as he delivered a two-finger salute to his former subordinate. "Funny that you and Eggman are aligned. Did Eggman's egg-shaped body resonate with you?"

"I AM NOT EGG-SHAPED!" Eggman growled at Dimentio, his face turning so red it was a surprise that steam didn't erupt from his ears. "Magolor Orbot, Cubot - I command you three to end Dimentio at once!"

"But he's out of our league..." stated Orbot, who along with Cubot was attacked by a ball of energy fired from Dimentio. Both lackeys were struck down, as Magolor moved in the nick of time. "...my point exactly."

"Seems that I missed one," said Dimentio as he focused entirely on Magolor, charging up another energy ball in his hand. Magolor shuddered as he looked away, expecting the worst.

But fortunately for Magolor, he was saved as a gunshot was fired at Dimentio's hand. That gunshot came from a gunslinger, but it wasn't Marston...it was Cassidy.

"City ain't big enough for the both of us," Cassidy said to Dimentio, looking to fire another shot at the jester if necessary. But Dimentio wouldn't allow that to happen.

"Right you are, my friend," responded Dimentio, using his other hand to charge up a ball of energy and fire it at Cassidy. Cassidy was struck as he flew back into a tree, dropping his gun in the process.

"How did you go down that easily?" Eggman questioned Cassidy, only to be met face-to-face by Dimentio. Dimentio was up close and personal, smiling gleefully in Eggman's face.

"Never would I have known that I was the impetus for you siding against us," Dimentio said to Eggman, as Magolor saw Cassidy's gun, the Peacekeeper, lying on the ground. "I believe it's about time we make you pay for your error..."

"Go ahead...do your worst. I dare you." Do his worst Dimentio did, as he charged up as much energy as he could in his only working hand. But then Dimentio stopped, as he heard a gun click.

"Hmm?" Dimentio looked back, and to his amusement, and surprise...Magolor was holding a gun! "What the..."

Dimentio didn't have much time to react, for Magolor pulled the trigger and accidentally unloaded the entire cylinder at the jester. Dimentio was struck multiple times.

"Ack, I've been hit!" wailed Dimentio as he held his body, very certain that he had multiple bullet holes through his paper body. It was the most pain he had ever experienced.

Magolor: I shot Dimentio! I shot Dimentio! Never thought that would be an actual sentence I would say...but I shot Dimentio! Also-ran, my butt!

"This isn't over...this is far from over..." Dimentio vowed to everyone, especially Eggman, holding his wounds as he teleported away to avoid further harm. Eggman sighed in relief as he went over to Magolor.

"Thanks for saving my hide," Eggman thanked Magolor, whose heroic act vindicated Eggman's decision to bring him along. "Did more than Orbot or Cubot ever could."

"Much appreciated, boss!" Cubot said to Eggman, showing him his appreciation as Orbot groaned. Eggman and Magolor were later joined by Cassidy, who seemed to want his gun back.

"Sorry for using up your entire clip," Magolor apologized to Cassidy as he handed him back his Peacemaker. Cassidy was taking it all in stride.

"All good, partner - I usually do that on purpose sometimes," responded Cassidy as he patted Magolor on his head, making him feel awkward in the process. "But you got a good shot, though."

"Now that Dimentio is gone, where was I..." pondered Eggman, remembering what he was doing before - and then it hit him. "...the rescue mission, of course!" Eggman led his lackeys back to E. Gadd's, as Cassidy looked on.

"Wonder how that Marston fella is handling himself," said Cassidy, putting his Peacemaker back in his pocket as he walked off. Why don't we see what Marston was up to?


E. Gadd and his crew never made a toast to celebrate the machine's completion. As well as its overall success. But now that Sada and Turo were here, it was now time.

"A toast, to innovation!" exclaimed E. Gadd, as he and the other scientists and inventors had a wine glass in their hands. Mario, Link, Zelda, and Tracer were indubitably left out.

"Yes, a toast to the machine that I invented!" said Brio, as he got everyone to either groan or roll his eyes. Cortex was rolling his eyes the most. "I was just kidding."

"Shoot! We have made the forgetful mistake of not including Dr. Eggman," stated Fawful, the first to realize that Eggman was not in the lab. "I shall offer him my glass..."

"Hope you can excuse our tardiness, professor," Sada said to E. Gadd, as she and Turo were chatting it up with the inventor. Marston remained suspicious of Sada and Turo, keeping a close eye on them.

"At least you both made it," E. Gadd remarked after taking a sip from his wine - while wondering why Sada and Turo have yet to take a sip from theirs. Turo looked at the machine, which remained up and running for as long as the rescue team was in the Twilight Realm.

"The machine might run into a potential overheating problem," Turo said to E. Gadd as he put his glass of wine down, looking to get his hands a little dirty. "Mind if I take a look at it?"

"We've had Torbjörn remedy the issue, but you may take a look." Having E. Gadd's word, Turo went over to inspect the machine, as an equally curious Sada tagged along.

"Don't know about you, but those two raise some big red flags..." Marston quietly discussed with Geno, as he was unable to shake off the funny feeling he had about Sada and Turo since meeting them.


Yukari asked Fox to take her to Falco, and Fox didn't know where exactly to look. His mind told him to stop by E. Gadd's mansion, and so that's where he and Yukari went.

"I kid you not, he made this place his second home," Fox explained to Yukari as he took her through the mansion, on the lookout for his avian pilot friend. "It was so strange."

"All that to hide from me, huh?" asked Yukari, who along with Fox saw a bathroom near the end of the hallway with a light coming out of the creaked-opened door.

"Maybe he's hiding from you in that bathroom. Let's go see." So Fox and Yukari raced to the bathroom, taking a peek inside hoping to see Falco. They indeed found Falco in the bathroom...

...and they also found his girlfriend Katt sitting next to him on the side of the bathtub. Fox and Yukari were now curiously hearkening to every word that was spoken.

"No, Falco - you have to be joking," Katt said to her boyfriend out of sheer disbelief; whatever Falco said to Katt must've been the most unspeakable thing to ever exit his mouth.

"It's sadly true...I have an irrational fear of women," Falco admitted, so ashamed that he was looking down at the rug on the bathroom floor. Fox and Yukari looked at each other, with Yukari highly amused.

"You? Fear of women?" Katt burst into laughter, although for Falco it was no laughing matter. "That's the best joke I've heard all day. What's there to be afraid of?"

"I dunno! Ladies are just hard to read. Always hard to understand. You are kind of a benefactor in this, so..."

"Oh, so I'm the reason why you're so scared of women. Perfect." Katt was in even more disbelief, throwing her arms up in defeat."

"It sounds ridiculous...but to be fair, you do scare me a lot. The littlest infraction, and you'd do or say something to make me feel bad."

"Not like I'm doing it on purpose! I just want the best out of you. I can't do that if I'm not holding you accountable."

"I guess that's why I was deadset on placating Yukari. Fear of the unknown, or something like that. I was scared of her retaliating, just like with you, so I wanted to make her happy."

"You never should've done that." Katt placed a comforting hand on Falco, easing her boyfriend's cares and burdens away. "It's okay to tell the truth, even if it stings."

"You're right, I shouldn't have enticed Yukari like that." Falco felt motivated after his pep talk with Katt, as he stood up confidently. "I should speak with her and make things right!"

"I'm right here, Falco," said Yukari as she stepped inside the bathroom, causing Falco to tense up a bit. "Heard every single word."

"Even the part where I mentioned my irrational fear of women?" Falco asked Yukari, who giggled as she nodded her head. That giggle didn't make Falco feel any less uneasy.

"Yup! I heard everything. And really, I was in the wrong. I was just extremely salty about Force Five getting the boot after I had just joined the show. I never should've thrown a temper tantrum.

Itsuki: Force Five is now officially canceled, as confirmed per word of mouth by Touma. It took him a while to come to terms with the reality of the situation. Touma is worried that with the show's cancellation, his standing with Star Records will be negatively affected, but he can always find a new niche. It's not too late for him to follow his friends' footsteps and become an idol singer. *smiles*

"Then I guess you'll accept my apology," Falco said to Yukari, as he was bravely facing the young woman for the first time in a while. "Sorry for leading you on about that spin-off idea."

"Apology accepted!" replied Yukari, taking a huge load off of Falco's shoulders. Falco wanted to faint to the floor in sudden relief.

"Good, good! Now between us ladies, let's keep this little confession of mine a secret...don't want Fox to know."

"Don't want me to know what, that you're secretly afraid of women?" Fox spoke from behind the bathroom door, causing Falco to faint; Katt and Yukari both shared a laugh.


Zant and Astor looked to even the score with the rescue team, as Zant summoned a bunch of Shadow Beasts to keep Snake and company at bay. So far, the strategy has been working.

"I grow tired of these pests!" shouted as he swung his Blades of Chaos at the Shadow Beasts, perplexed by how great the number of them was. Seemed like when one beast went down, another took its place.

"Just keep on fighting!" shouted Kazuya, delivering kicks and blows to the Shadow Beasts only for them to gang up on him. The Shadow Beasts held Kazuya in place, holding onto his limbs.

"It's no use! There are too many of them..." said Sly, as he and the others were overwhelmed by the Shadow Beasts. No one was able to fight back, and that was most ideal for Zant and Astor.

"Told you that you don't belong here," Zant said to the rescue team as he hovered above them, in almost a taunting way. Every movement from Zant felt mocking. "Astor, time to finish them off."

"One strike of Malice will do the trick," snarled Astor, who was standing afar off as he charged the Malice in his orb. The Malice was sure to strike everything in sight...but as long as the rescue team was dispatched, then the job would be done.

"This is it...we're done for," said Clank, doubting that anything could save them in this given moment. The odds were against the rescue team's favor.

"Done we are not!" shouted Kratos as he tried to fight out of the Shadow Beasts' grasp, but to no avail. "Victory is in our midst!"

"Face it, big guy, they got us," Snake said to Kratos, not wanting to be a defeatist but having no choice but to accept reality. "Haven't found Raiden, and now we're gonna die...we failed."

But just when it seemed Snake and company were about to meet their end, a burst of electricity crackled through the Twilight Realm. The air hummed with a different energy, a positive energy, as a figure clad in a cybernetic suit materialized. Who was it, though?

"Raiden!" all the members of the rescue team shouted simultaneously, as Raiden landed on the ground with his ninja sword. Raiden rose to his feet and faced the rescue team, who were happy to see his face again.

"Long time no see," Raiden greeted his manor brethren with a two-finger salute, as he was later joined by Midna. "I was told that you all could use a hand."

"Lousy little whelp..." Zant hissed at Midna, as he did not expect Raiden at all to join the fray. Oh, how the turntables.

Midna: *sighs happily, arms folded* Where would those boys be without me?

"Raiden...how happy am I to see you," Snake smiled at the mercenary, providing one of the most genuine smiles that he had ever given. It was the biggest smile that Raiden - or anyone else present - had ever seen from him.

"You know I can't let you have all the fun," responded Raiden, before facing his opposition in Zant and Astor as he readied his blade. "How about we take these two down to size?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth." With Raiden now on their side, Snake and company were more determined than ever to take out Zant and Astor. No amount of Shadow Beasts could slow them down.

"Was hoping that you were lost in Twilight forever..." Zant seethed at Raiden, as it irked him greatly to see the mercenary's face again. "...but no matter. I shall start what I should've finished. Prepare to die..."


Cloud, Team Rocket, and Pit were waiting around for Rufus, and the wait was taking longer than they intended. But Pit, who was on lookout duty - although no one told him to do that - saw a black car coming down.

"They're here, they're here!" Pit announced to Cloud and company, as he flew back to the ground to deliver the news. Cloud shushed Pit as he looked to make sure the backdoor to Dingo's Dinger hadn't opened.

"Keep it down," Cloud quietly said to Pit, watching as a black government vehicle pulled up to the back of the diner. The vehicle parked, and then Rufus and the Turks all got out.

"Hi, Rufus! Hi, Turks!" Pit waved to Rufus and the Turks, before making a bunch of turkey sounds. The Turks cringed as Cloud instinctively covered Pit's mouth.

"Greetings, Cloud, Team Rocket," Rufus greeted the swordsman and Team Rocket trio, as Cloud was putting Pit in a headlock. "Nice of you to bring unwanted company."

"He's on his lunch break," Cloud explained to Rufus, maintaining a strong grip on Pit's mouth since the angel wouldn't stop trying to speak. "So what's up?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked, because I have quite a bit of info to share about Giovanni. For you see, Giovanni is..."

As Rufus took his first steps towards Cloud, a boulder was fired at the Turks' vehicle causing a big explosion. The Turks dodged the boulder as they saw it, but Rufus wasn't as fortunate as the boulder struck his head.

"Rufus! You okay?" Tseng asked the fallen VP as he rushed over to his side, checking to see if he was okay. While Tseng tried to wake up the unconscious Rufus, the others looked to see where that large boulder came from.

"We got company..." Reno said as he took out his nightstick, and he would be right on the money as he heard some evil laughter. Giovanni showed up at the scene, with his Rhyperior.

"Caught you all by surprise, didn't I?" snarled Giovanni, watching as the Turks' government vehicle went up into flames. The mere sight brought a smile to Giovanni's face.

"Giovanni!" Team Rocket uttered the name of the Team Rainbow Rocket leader, who saw Jessie, James, and Meowth and barely thought much about them.

"You three are all dead to me." Giovanni effectively killed the trio with that line, and then soon he turned his head to Pit who was pointing straight at him.

"You...you're the man who called me worthless!" Pit shouted at Giovanni, who recalled what he shared with Pit as he smirked deviously. Cloud raised his eyebrows at Pit.

"He did what now?" Cloud asked Pit, as the explosion that occurred prompted Dingodile to run outside to investigate. He saw the Turks' vehicle on fire and was left scratching his head.

"Crikey..." remarked Dingodile as he witnessed the car fire, very fortunate that it wasn't close to the diner.

Dingodile: Working on getting an insurance policy for my establishment. The insurance brokers in this state are stingier than a bug!

"Caught red-handed..." a voice echoed from up above, as Infinite appeared in the sky. The jackal was hovering above everyone, menacingly.

"Infinite..." Rude hissed, as Tseng struggled to wake up Rufus; not even some smelling salts could do the trick.

"I have been aware of your boss's conversations with Cloud, and have reported them to Dimentio. That is why we have come to a decision..."

"What decision? That Rufus being kicked out of the coalition?" asked Elena, knowing from the jump what Infinite truly wanted. "He was already planning on leaving anyway."

"He was?" Infinite was stunned by Elena's revelation, along with Giovanni, for that made the outsing of Shinra much easier.

"He was mulling it for a while now. Especially after learning what that man over there is cooking up in secret..." The man that Elena was referring to was Giovanni, as she locked eyes with the villainous team leader. Suspecting that Elena knew too much, Giovanni growled.

"Rhyperior, crush them!" commanded Giovanni, as his Rhyperior put his hands together to form a boulder. But when Rhyperior fired the boulder in the Turks' direction, guess who came in to save the day?

"Nope!" shouted Pit, rushing in with his Upperdash Arm as he used the maneuver to knock the boulder away. The boulder flew right back at Rhyperior, sending the drill Pokemon on his back.

"Ack!" panicked Giovanni, as a large part of the boulder broke off and fell on him. Giovanni jumped out of the way, falling to the ground as Pit taunted him.

"Still think I'm useless now?" Pit blew a raspberry at Giovanni, who grunted as he pulled himself up to his feet while taking out his Poke Ball.

"Rhyperior, return..." Giovanni sent his Rhyperior back inside his Poke Ball, as he looked at the Turks. "...tell your boss that it was a pleasure working with him. If he ever wakes up."

"Giovanni, our work here is done," said Infinite, who honestly didn't have to do much thanks in part to Elena's revelation. "Let's go."

"Although we didn't do much together, our partnership was fun while it lasted," Giovanni said his parting words to the Turks, as Infinite teleported away. "Sorry about your boss...actually not sorry."

"Scram," Tseng commanded Giovanni, and Giovanni scrammed as he left the scene with an evil smirk. Dingodile, who had momentarily returned to his diner, came back out with a water hose.

"For the record, I do not use this as often," confessed Dingodile, dousing water on the fire that engulfed the Turks' vehicle. Cloud and Team Rocket ran over to Rufus, who was being tended to by the Turks.

"Man, he's knocked out cold," observed Cloud, as Tseng was unable to wake up Rufus at all. A large bruise was on Rufus's head.

"He's still breathing, at least," confirmed Tseng, amazed that Rufus had survived the blunt force. "Rude, call the paramedics!" Rude nodded his head as he took out his phone.

"And the fire department!" Dingodile called out to Rude, as his fire hose was unable to temper the flames. Cloud saw Pit looking in the direction that Giovanni ran off, as he joined the angel.

"I sure showed him, didn't I Cloud?" Pit asked the swordsman as he looked up at him as if he was looking for approval.

"Sure did, Pit...you sure did," replied Cloud, giving Pit an "atta boy" pat on his back. Pit smiled as he felt good all over.


Sada and Turo were conducting their inspection on the machine, looking to eliminate any signs of overheating. Torbjörn came over to speak with E. Gadd while the professors from Paldea kept working.

"I pegged Sonic to reel in the All-Stars," Torbjörn confirmed to E. Gadd, having successfully secured Sonic to do his dirty work for him. "Also, might I ask what those professors are doing?"

"They're checking to see if the machine will have any overheating problems," replied E. Gadd, and that got Torbjörn to make a funny face. Something about what E. Gadd said didn't sit well with him.

"But I already said that the machine's incapable of overheating. I ran the diagnostics on it - twice!" Suddenly realizing the fact, E. Gadd's eyes widened behind his glasses.

"Sada, Turo, I was wrong." E. Gadd rushed over to the professors, as Torbjörn came along. "This machine does not overheat." But Sada and Turo kept on working, regardless of what E. Gadd said.

"Thank you for the information," replied Sada, dutifully focused on her task as she and Turo were disconnecting cables on the machine...for some reason.

"Indeed, now you two can stop what you're doing," said Torbjörn, but Sada and Turo didn't stop as they kept on trucking along. "Excuse me, you two..."

"She said, thank you!" boomed Turo, in an uncharacteristic fashion, as he angrily stood up. Sada stood up as well, as her and Turo's eyes began flashing.

"Something bothering your eyes?" Torbjörn asked Sada and Turo, who both reached into their pocket and pulled out a Poke Ball. Torbjörn and E. Gadd were left at unease.

"Go, Roaring Moon!" shouted Sada as she sent out a Salamence, but one that looked like it was permanently Mega Evolved. It was a Roaring Moon. "Keep the oppressors at bay."

"Um, guys...?" Link, who was in a conversation with Mario and Zelda, said as he saw Roaring Moon fly up to the ceiling. Roaring Moon roared, intimidating everyone in sight.

"I HAVE TERROR!" a fear-stricken Fawful shouted, running out of the lab while an equally afraid Cortex wetted his pants. The remaining were cornered by Roaring Moon, who used its might to keep everyone stationary.

"Iron Valiant, come out!" shouted Turo as he sent out his own Pokemon, an Iron Valiant - a weird futuristic fusion of Gardevoir and Gallade. "Destroy that machine."

"The professors...they've turned evil!" panicked Mario, startled by this sudden twist of events as Iron Valiant faced the machine. "And they're gonna wreck-a that machine! Geno, do something!"

"I'll do my best," said Geno, bravely stepping up to the plate with the Gloves of Doom...but a Night Slash from Roaring Moon cut the weaponry in half. "Welp, so much for that."

"This is no good...Snake and his men have yet to make it back!" fretted E. Gadd, as Iron Valiant looked to slice up the machine with its double-edged blade. Iron Valiant held up its blade, looking to make its first mark.

But then, a gunshot was heard...no, two gunshots. But they weren't fired at Iron Valiant...they were fired at Sada and Turo, who were both struck in the chest.

"Had a funny feeling those goobers were up to no good," said the gunslinger who fired the bullets, before blowing the smoke from his gun nozzle. That gunslinger was none other than John Marston, who was bidding his time to make his mark.

Marston: No matter where I end up, one constant stays the same...my sixth sense. *grins as he puts his gun back in his holster* Every cowboy's gotta have one.

"We are NEVER stopping for ice cream ever again," Eggman vowed to Cubot, Orbot, and Magolor as he and his lackeys were eating ice cream as they returned to the lab. Eggman almost dropped his ice cream cone when he saw Sada and Turo on the floor, with a piercing gunshot wound through their chest.

"Oh my! What did we miss?" wondered Magolor, as Iron Valiant was checking on Sada and Turo; Eggman came over and he brushed Iron Valiant to the side.

"Move aside, you bum!" After shoving Iron Valiant, Eggman looked at Sada and Turo, seeing them powering off like most robots do after being defeated. Upon further inspection, Eggman saw something in the professor's chest wounds.

"What is that?" inquired Wily, as Eggman seemingly pulled out something from the professors' chests.

"Not only were these professors robots..." Eggman slowly turned around and revealed in the palm of his hands two green plants. "...but they were controlled by THIS! Floro Spouts!"

"Mama Mia..." uttered Mario, who was aware of Dimentio using Floro Sprouts for mind control purposes. It was all outlined in the Paper Mario storybook.

"Yes, Dimentio tried to plant one in me in my sleep when I turned down his offer to join the coalition. Nice try by him, I'll admit. He must've sent the professors to sabotage us!"

"Good thing our cowboy guest came through," remarked Hal, with Marston acknowledging Hal with the tip of his hat. As Eggman grabbed Sada and Turo's Poke Balls to return the professors' respective Pokemon...Hal got a call.

"Is that him?" Cortex asked Hal out of excitement, as Hal was fumbling for his cell phone. Hal pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered the call.

"Hello, is this Snake?" Hal spoke into the phone, not even bothering to check the caller ID. All he needed to hear was the person on the other line.

"It's me, alright," confirmed the person on the other line...who was Snake, as Hal smiled and pumped his fist. "Finally got this codec to work in this dump. Oh, and we found Raiden."

"You found Raiden? Incredible! We'll open up a portal real soon!" News of Raiden being found brought much euphoria to the lab, as the rescue mission could now be deemed a success.


Dimentio regrouped with Master Xehanort and the other members of his coalition, as he discovered a few bullet holes in his body. Pandora offered to patch up Dimentio's wounds with some glue. and colored paper.

"Ow, the glue, it burns!" Dimentio winced in pain as Pandora applied the glue to the jester using a hot glue gun.

"Relax, it's just an adhesive!" Pandora said to Dimentio, who was later joined by Infinite as the jackal appeared at the scene.

"Rufus Shinra has been removed from the coalition," Infinite delivered the news to Dimentio, as he folded his arms. "Or rather, he removed himself..."

"He voluntarily left the coalition? What a twist!" reacted Dimentio, before yelping in pain when Pandora applied some hot glue to his arm. "My word, that glue stings. Did you at least make Rufus suffer?"

"Giovanni's Rhyperior got the job done. Rufus was rendered unconscious...let's hope that he doesn't ever wake up."

"...he has escaped," said Zant as a Twilight portal appeared, with Zant and Astor exiting from it looking braised and battered. "He got out of Twilight."

"What?! You don't mean..." Dimentio said to Zant as he knew just who Zant was referring to.


The big party for the 400th episode was underway in the ballroom, which was jam-packed with residents and visitors alike. The main attraction of the party was the 400-layer cake; how did Pyra, Mythra, and Dunban do?

"This cake looks pathetic," Master Hand commented on the 400-layer cake, not a huge can of how tall and long the pastry was. "It looks too much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa!"

"Better take what you get," mumbled Dunban, as Master Hand floated over to the Homs and angrily flicked his nose. Hand over his face, Dunban walked off fearing that his nose was now bleeding.

"Hate to bother you, Master Hand," LeVar approached the giant hand along with Brad, as he was unable to find a certain plumber or his wife. "But have you seen Mario anywhere?"

"No, haven't spoken to him all day. But I see him leave his house...maybe he went to the store to get some milk. Starting his career as a deadbeat father!"


Sonic rounded up all the All-Star peeps and brought them to the lab so that they could greet Raiden. A portal was already opened, and Dante was the first to exit from it.

"Now introducing...the man of the hour!" announced Dante, holding his hand towards the portal...as Raiden stepped out a second later. Raiden was greeted by applause and cheers from the All-Stars, with a few exceptions in the crowd.

"Well...this is unexpected," remarked Raiden, seeing that his fellow All-Stars were happy to see face again. Not everyone was happy...case in point, Cole MacGrath.

Cole MacGrath: Why couldn't they leave him for dead in Twilight? Why?

"Mission success," Wily smiled at E. Gadd as he held up his fist...and bumped fists with the man he once greatly abhorred. What a sight. Could anything possibly top that?

"Raiden! Yoo hoo!" Mario called out to the mercenary, who was walking down the steps of the portal. Mario approached Raiden, holding out his hand.

"How happy I am to see you..." Raiden said to Mario, who didn't fully expect Raiden to take up on his handshake offer...but was left surprised when Raiden firmly shook his hand. "...I could use some catching up right now."

"Welcome back, my friend..." Mario officially welcomed Raiden back home, and that resulted in a second wave of cheers and applause. Thanks to the efforts of E. Gadd and others, Raiden was out of the Twilight Realm for good.

And for Mario, the Smash Mansion, and their many allies...their X-factor has arrived.