Chapter 26: New York City, USA

The team would all have a picnic in Central Park, right on Sheep’s Meadow. They all decided to have pizza, since that was the cheapest thing they could get from any of the stores, as Lupin III was only able to steal $50,000 dollars from the bank, and he wanted to save that money for emergencies. Homer seemed to be chomping down on a lot until he got full and cried that he can’t eat anymore, everyone ignored him. Ike and Crono were also doing the same thing with the Pizza, almost as if they were having an eating competition. While they were eating, Mega Man X said that they should figure out a plan to infiltrate the Tower of Smash. Then Lupin III states that they should finish eating before they talk, as he noticed some police that seem to look different from those that normally don’t care, wearing the Subspace symbol. Ike agreed, as he preferred to keep eating his pizza. Once they all had their slices and the pizza was gone, they threw out the boxes, to later head off to the cheapest hotel they could find. Then Homer points out a Sheriff Lobo themed hotel, and thought that it was awesome, except nobody wanted to go there since it was too expensive. Then Morrigan came and said that she knew a really good place that she got into for free. Everyone knew that she actually seduced the receptionist every way to get a room to fit everyone, but Homer did not care as he wanted to watch T.V., and neither did Ike who just wants somewhere to plan everything again with the help of Lupin III and Simon. And finally everyone just wants rest. Only Terra objected to this, as she thought that Morrigan used inappropriate matters to take advantage of the situation, but nobody cared, and Lucas said to her that they are beggars, and they can’t really choose at this moment, despite him agreeing with her. Terra still complained, until Lucas told her to calm down, and said that he did not like what the succubus did any more than she did, but they all had to make do. Terra sighed realizing once again Lucas is indeed right, they don’t have a choice especially in these desperate moments.

Later, both Ike and Lupin III are thinking of new ways to get into the Tower of Smash, with the Radiant Hero deciding on the battle tactics, while the Master Thief is deciding on how to sneak in. While discussing the plans, Lupin III joked about the idea that Ike was working with a thief, saying that he never knew that would happen. Ike responded that he did work with two thieves, responding as if Lupin III had ever worked with a swordsman, and the thief said that he indeed worked with one. Upon realizing that both of their respective partners were corrupted by the Shadow Bugs, both felt down, but decided that they should keep on focusing on the plan. One thing they both knew, they can’t come out the same way they come in, so they are hoping that once they defeat Tabuu, they can hopefully reverse Tabuu’s damage and return everything back to normal. This means goodbyes to each other for their long adventure, but they decide that will come later.

Meanwhile, Sailor Venus, Samus, Morrigan and Mario were all playing Mario Kart on the Wii, as apparently there was a game console there owned by the hotel itself. Homer was simply watching as if it’s a program, while Pikachu and Lucas were playing with each other, while Mega Man X was simply relaxing on one of the beds available. Ike and Lupin came out of the sections and suggested that they all should talk about the plan. Ike asked where Link, Crono, Deedlit, and Terra were, as he needed them to hear about the plans. Samus mentions that apparently, Deedlit was at Central Park admiring the nature with Link who was practicing his swordplay, while Crono was apparently in the gym trying to improve his strength and speed. Then Lupin III wondered where Terra was, until Morrigan mentioned that she actually persuaded Terra to try out her kind of life for a change in the City. Of course Ike was upset at Morrigan for even doing such a thing, and even against Link, Crono and Deedlit for going out at night when he thought they were tired, as this could get them. Soon the three came right in just safely, and Crono even said that he was able to get one of the Subspace ships after buying one with the prize money from a sword fighting contest that was held in the Bronx. While Link and Deedlit were simply out there dating each other for a bit in the Reservoir Lake. Sailor Venus was already jealous with the elf shaman over taking her love interest, until Terra came into the room. She thanked Morrigan for opening her mind, and never thought she actually enjoyed the succubus’s way of life. Homer was upset over this, and yelled at Morrigan, and the two got into an argument, and Terra even joined in, as she defended herself, saying that Homer has no right to interject. Ike broke it up, saying that they don't have the time to argue about dumb stuff like this, and they should get right to the plan, and told Link, Deedlit, Crono and Terra that they should of asked him and Lupin III before they went out. Mario asked about where Simon is, as the plumber has not seen him, and was getting concerned about the vampire hunter. Ike replied that they will tell them the plan tomorrow, and he said to Mario that the vampire hunter is in charge of lookout for any Subspace Goons. Both Lupin III and the Radiant Hero explained about their plan to infiltrate and raid the Tower of Smash. Just when they finished explaining, Simon came right into the room, saying they will have to leave, as the employees are now out of Morrigan’s charm and that they reported them all to the Subspace Army who are now outside with the support of the New York Police Department.

In response, Lupin III said they should get out now, while Crono said he should lead, as he talked about his prize, and show them where he found it. So then, everyone had to jump out the window, but fortunately, it was only 2 stories high, and everyone was alright landing except for Homer who as usual landed on his belly. They all ran, as Crono led them telling everyone to fight off any cop or Subspace Goon they saw near them as they could ruin the plan. As they ran across Time Square, they found there to be a lot of people crossing, with all of them acting like zombies as they crossed the streets in what seems to be rush hour. As the police and the Subspace Army were chasing them, Lupin got an idea that they all split up and hid in the crowd. Crono added that they should meet right at 33rd, at the Empire State Building. As the police and the Primids look through the crowds, only to find more people who just look the same. Everyone in the police force is having a hard time to find anyone, despite the fact that all 15 characters stand out from the crowd with their unusual clothing and their cartoonish appearance. All they found were the depressed faces of young folk who felt like their future had been stolen from them. While the police and the Subspace Army were looking for them, everyone managed to meet together at Rockefeller Center in front of where the Christmas Tree normally is, at the stating rink.

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They all talked about how will they will actually make to the Empire State Building, as Crono states that is where exactly the Subspace ship is at, and he misjudged the distance between Time Square and the tall skyscraper, as he took the Subway to head back to the hotel and forgot about the directions as he thought he won’t need to learn. Then Morrigan, who has been to New York many times, suggests that they might go back to take the Subway again, and head down to the 51th street station, where they can take the 6 train. This is since the succubus has mentioned that now that the Subspace Army knows that they are in the city, they are blocking any access that leads them right to the Tower of Smash, which is where the Freedom Tower stood, as she learned about there being a second 9/11 when the Freedom Tower was destroyed once again by two oncoming planes apparently in this reality. The team can’t go to the 49-50th station as that one is blocked off due to repairs. Ike asked how she even knew about this if she spent her time playing video games back at the hotel. She said the story is not important, just that they get there on time, so everyone will have to go into the Subway Station anyway, and hope onto whatever train that's passing by. Just when they were about to do so, more Subspace Army goons appeared, along with the New York Police, so they had to fight against them while trying to get to the station.

Fortunately, they all made it, going down the stairs, and saw that there was a requirement to pay, along with some police guarding the booths, and even the secretary was there. Lupin III told everyone to just screw the system, and to jump the turnstiles reminding everyone not only the situation, but also that the Subspace Army profits, and should boycott them as a result. Crono admitted that is what he did when he was out from the hotel, only for Deedlit to remind him that it’s not the time to tell stories, so they had to continue running. They ran across the station, and just then by luck, the 6 train arrived, pulled by none other than Thomas the Tank Engine. Both the group and Thomas recognized each other from the SCP town back at the Infinite Ikea. Thomas said that he and his driver are now forced to work underground at the dirty subways, doing what they thought were the most repetitive jobs, as the locomotive hates doing it. However, Thomas said that he won’t go more in detail, and told everyone to hop inside his body, and that he will bring them to the 33rd Street station as fast as possible without any delays, as Lupin III explained their situation. So then they all climbed aboard, and Thomas started to work his engines and went really fast, where the people did not have any time to either board the train or get off. The police and the Subspace Army were angry at this, as they all demanded the Tank Engine to stop the subway, but he did not obey those commands, as he carried on with demands of the team instead. Then the Bukots, Auroros, Feyesh, Armights and other floating enemies went after the train. As Thomas was pulling the carts, more people hopped aboard the roof, who were the police and more Primids. Thomas noticed that there were enemies headed on his roof somehow, as he can’t turn his face to look behind, but he felt them. Once Thomas told them the news, they all agreed that four people should go up to the roof and try to beat them off. Mega Man X, Mario, Lupin III and Simon all agreed that they will take care of all the troops that are on the roof of the train.

After the 4 managed to defeat all the monsters and the cops on the passenger cart’s roof, and by then, Thomas stopped off at 33rd station. He told everyone to get off, and head to the Empire State Building quickly. Before getting off, Thomas told them good luck, and he hoped that they would be able to defeat Tabuu and put an end to the Corruption of Reality. They went out of the station to above ground, where they went a few blocks to the Empire State Building. Crono led everyone to the back entrance of the Empire State Building, where they were in a storage room with some crates holding portal balls. There Crono showed that is where he hid his Subspace Ship. Everyone was impressed, especially Ike, who knew that was a great way to sneak into the Tower of Smash at the ship level on the 52nd floor. Then Simon suggested that they should get some rest, until Lupin III is starting to wonder if his plans will not be as great as he pointed out that they could buff up security due to their presence. He said that they should go in now, and delay their rest, as he mentioned that they had only been up for 12 hours straight. Everyone nodded, but then Ike said that from the orders on the screen, they are doing some bureaucracy, so they can rest but they will have to do it next night and spend the day modifying the plans, and they might not be as effective if done right away. Everyone agreed with Ike to wait in the end, and now it’s the turn of both Link and Mario to be on watch out while everyone else sleeps.