Platform City is the majestic capital of the video game universe known as Arcade. It is a hub where dimensions meet and can be accessed from every realm by portals that link one intergalactic highway to the next. It is here where characters will be allowed to mingle and weave stories with other characters within or outside of their squads. There is a plethora of establishments that can be visited and explored as well as more that can be created by you, the role player.

If a player ever wants to design or contribute an idea for a new place, all he or she has to do is submit his or her own personal design to the GM. Understand that when choosing NPCs to run the place, you must use game characters that you feel are least likely to be played by other players. You can never know for certain, but if a player wants to join the game and use the character that you made as a NPC, they have every right to. We do not character assassinate here.

There is one exception to the place-building policy. You cannot build your own apartment for your character. Your character can either live in the Skyhold Apartment complex or they can live within the luxurious comforts of the castle walls. Tetris Castle is the primary residence of the summoned heroes -- at least until the virus is purged from The System. At the castle, they are treated like lords and ladies and are waited on hand and foot (by Lemmings!)


Below, you will find several locations and their descriptions.


Note: These are not the only kingdoms in which players can choose characters to play from. This is just a small list of the top gaming companies, and those selected to represent the seven major kingdoms in this game.

GM note: Players have dibs on characters regardless if they are being used as NPCs. If you see a NPC being used by the GM (and they're not engaged in a story line) that you want to make your playable character, simply PM the GM. However, if the character is currently being used in a story line, then you will not be able to claim them.

• Rosalina - Nintendo
• Guile - Capcom
• The Prince - Ubisoft
• Artanis - Blizzard
• Alucard - Konami
• Vault Boy - Bethesda
• Headmaster Cid -Square Enix

The castle is comprised of 100 floors. Twenty-five of those floors are underground. Tetris Castle is guarded by Black Knights, Berenike Knights, Silver Knights, and more (Dark Souls). The castle has defense systems from dragons to deployable weapon systems. Several A.I. make their home in the Tetris network living in a reality similar to our own except that their sole purpose in life is to protect it.

The interior and exterior of the castle have been professionally rendered by famous artists such as The Redeemed Royce Bracket (Transistor). The skies over the castle and city are designed by Farrah Yon-Dale (Transistor). The vegetation and gardens about the castle are taken care of and tended to by dryads and Sadidas (Wakfu).

The castle interior is spacious with architecture as intricate as the Hagia Sophia. Sculptures, portraits, murals and landscapes; it is the castle of dreams. One second a character could find him or herself walking through a fantasy castle, and then suddenly, they’re in a futuristic laboratory. The genres are as diverse as the beings that inhabit it.

As large as this castle is, there are floors of note. Players can also design floors to add to the castle. Below is a list of noteworthy floors:

• 26th Floor - Reception Hall/Council Room - this floor is where all characters will enter and exit. They pass through a slightly lengthy foyer into a circular Reception Hall. From the hall, they have the option to use a spiraling staircase that winds from the 26th floor to the 90th floor. The floors 1-25 and 91-100 can only be accessed by the Warp Elevator, an elevator that literally warps you to wherever you need to go. The Council Room is where The Seven convene about an immoderate round table akin to the one of legend. The chamber is so large and spacious that it is said a pin can be heard.
• 13th Floor - There isn't much known about it. It has restricted access. Dr. Thomas Light (Mega Man), the Director of Science and Research would know more about it, but will he tell you?
• 49th Floor - Science and Research/Training Simulator - the greatest minds in video game history can be found on this floor: Dr. Light, Professor Oak (Pokemon), Dr. Bosconovitch (Tekken), Mordin Solus (Mass Effect), Hal “Otacon” Emmerich (Metal Gear Solid), Shion Uzuki (Xenosaga), and more reputable characters. Repairs, designs whether it be weapon or armor, special potions, energy reserves, genetic engineering, robotics, whatever you need, these guys not only have it, they can make it. The Kill Simulator can be found on this floor. The Kill Simulator can be used for training such as setting up realistic scenarios to help a character hone his or her skills. There may be some GM information to put out about this in the future, concerning earning XP in the simulator, but I’ll get back to you on that.
• 75th Floor - Quarters - the floor is co-ed, but not the living space. Every hero will have his or her own individual room. The rooms have everything your character needs along with a Lemming maid or butler who will tend to his or her every need. Although these rooms are equivalent to a fancy condo, other facilities such as the spa and gym can be found on other floors.
• 50th Floor - Gym/Rec Center - Whether your character likes to workout or play sports, this floor has everything! Courts, parkour room, weights electronically designed for all strength levels, etc. It is an athletic wonderland. It is situated right above the Science and Research floor because sometimes the scientists like performing studies on the heroes’ athletic abilities.
• 70th Floor - Spa - Sometimes a character just wants to relax and loosen up. Heroes can find all sorts of therapy here. There are even treatments that some characters may not have even heard of. They can be quite alien, but the spa guarantees that heroes will walk out feeling better than they did going in.
• 30th Floor - Banquet Hall - whether you’re the type to dine with friends or take food back to your room, the cooks in the kitchen will purvey. What you choose to do with your appetite is up to you. The cooks are supposedly the best in the video game universe, however, local rumors claim that a certain Mama is truly the Queen of Culinary.

• Barrel Roll Pub
• Kawaii Cafe
• The Save Point Inn
• Club OST
• Mama's All You Can Eat Restaurant
• Skyhold Apartments
• Smash Arena (Underground Battleground)

1. Tagging. Because this is a massive world, you will be using a tagging system that basically requires to answer these questions: Who are you role playing? Who is your character directly/indirectly interacting with? and Where the heck are you currently?
2. Activity. This is a sandbox area. The GM will introduce missions as they come up. You can RP whatever you want but you will ONLY GET EXPERIENCE DURING MISSIONS. So yeah, you can almost do whatever you want but you won't get any XP. This is to control level gains. I understand some of us are more active than others and I'm giving everyone a chance to level up together.
3. Behind. Do not worry about falling behind if you are new to this game. I can always give newberts XP boosts to have them catch up with the veteran players.
4. Etiquette. Show some etiquette do not control my characters and do not control other player's characters. I do not tolerate it.
5. Pics. If it's enormous, link it or hide it.



Use this tag from now on. It sits above your post.

Character: Your character's name. Self-explanatory.
Level: Eh, just to show off your level.
Day/Time: Day One; Time (TBD - GM will let you know the time of GM plots and events)
Location: Be specific.
Tag: Mention, like, literally use the mention button when you are talking or interacting with another character directly. Mention: Indirect interaction, such as your character is thinking about them or talking to another character about them. You need to use the mention button again.

This tag is mandatory. You must use it or else read my bitching angry objections.

On a white smiling cloud, Lakitu set out on a journey with a cloud-full of letters, requesting the aid of every hero the Koopa could find in the Arcade universe. He passed from one dimension to the next, finding heroes that they might have thought to have been too elusive to be found. Popping out of his cloud, he handed each hero that he found a letter with golden ink intricately written with curls and dips, and bearing the wax seal of a cluster of shapes on the back representing Tetris Castle and the Platform Kingdom. When the heroes would crack the seal on the letter and open it, the Koopa would quickly launch back into the sky, resuming his sworn duties. The letter read:

Dear Hero,

You are receiving this letter because you were chosen to undertake a most challenging task. Your life will be endangered if you so choose to selflessly take up arms in defense of your world as well as others…

The letter went on to explain the Mugen Virus, and how it had so far corrupted the seven kingdoms. It spoke of the villains who had submitted to the virus and who now threaten to expand their infectious armies into other universes. If nothing was done, then The System would crash. At the end of the message, the heroes were given the option to circle “yes” if they would undertake the mission to save The System or “no” if they wouldn’t. They could easily make their decision by writing utensil or touching either answer with their finger. When “yes” was chosen, the letter folded closed on its own and vanished in a puff of smoke. A white magic circle burst into existence on the ground before the hero, acting as a summoning circle to pull them from their dimension into the Platform Kingdom.

Upon arriving, they would manifest within the vast foyer of a castle that didn’t have a lord, guard, or servant in sight. It was so empty that even the softest of footsteps resonated off the walls, and in this case, the footsteps of an orange, bipedal creature were heard shuffling over to the heroes. The small creature stared at them expectantly with its glimmering eyes as though he was stricken with admiration by the sight of so many heroes. Still it hadn’t been enough. When you were planning to go to war against an army well…you expected to have an army, but it would do.

@!#?@! said Qbert. A robotic gibberish left his massive siphon that not many would understand, but whatever he said, he started to walk away and then stopped to peer over his nonexistent shoulder. @!#?@!

Whatever he was saying, by this point, it was probably something like “follow me.” The little guy would lead them to an elevator and with his beak, he jumped up and pecked the button for the upper levels and afterwards pecked in the numbers 2-6. The warp elevator resounded with a loud hum as it began to glow with a blue luminescence. Qbert stepped closer to the elevator and jumped into it, his orange feet flipping over his head into a front flip before he winked out of existence. The heroes would have to pad in the correct floor and proceed similarly if they wished to follow, however, the warp elevator was capable of warping more than one person.

Upon exiting the warp elevator, the heroes would be hit by a warm aroma of spices, roasted meats, baked buttered bread, and more! Before them was a grand reception hall and parallel to each other were massive tables filled with steaming food that green-haired waiters and waitresses tended to. Wine was carried to the table, fluffy dinner rolls, and fancy cheesecakes. It was a feast fit for a king’s ball, and while there were no kings or queens present, Qbert motioned with his beak for the heroes to help themselves.

!@$#@

The Hunter awoke with a start, finding himself lying a a filthy alleyway. His mouth tasted of blood, but that wasn't entirely surprising. Everything in Yharnam tasted of blood. As he stood up, the Hunter took stock of his surroundings. No signs of activity. No traces of local beasts or crazies. No sparkling auras that hinted at eldritch interference. He was safe for the moment. Finally looking up, the Hunter finally found something that surprised him. It was morning.

Morning. The Long Hunt was finally over.

The Hunter tried to remember what had happened before he woke up. He had learned the truth about Gehrman. He had slain the Moon Presence that bound him to the Dream. And then.... The Hunter suddenly recoiled at a whirlwind of memories. Knowledge and power that his human mind couldn't take. Shaking off the effects, the Hunter found that he could at least remember the important parts. Something about a Mugen Virus. Evidently there were other realms far from this one that required the skills of a hunter. Taking stock of his equipment, the Hunter found he only had his threaded cane and pistol. Annoyed at his lack of bigger armaments, the Hunter consigned himself to retrieving what was left from the Dream. Whatever was left of it.

Suddenly, the Hunter caught something out of the corner of his eye. A strange looking cloud floated down from the sky towards him. While his instincts screamed at him to prepare for combat, his strange memories told him that this thing was expected, and had more information for him. Sure enough, his memories were right. The cloud approached him, and out popped a strange turtle looking creature that the Hunter could only assume was some new form of Messenger. It handed him a note, and flew off as he opened it.

Inside, the Hunter found information he strangely already knew, mixed with details that helped explain it to him more fully. Pulling out a pencil, the Hunter encircled the YES option. With the end of the Long Hunt, he needed a new purpose. Suddenly, a strange portal opened beneath him, and he felt himself sucked into another land.

Opening his eyes, the Hunter wasn't initially certain he had gone too far. The architecture was distinctly similar to the large, ornate, and empty Castle Cainhurst. The big difference, of course, was this castle was much brighter and didn't smell of blood. Turning towards the sound of footsteps, the Hunter was surprised by the strange orange creature that approached him. It looked like some strange, deformed Celestial Emissary. Noting its apparent desire to direct him somewhere, the Hunter followed behind. Interfacing with the strange portal device, the Hunter found himself in an open reception hall filled with banquet tables of food. Thinking to himself, the Hunter couldn't remember the last time he ate something that didn't taste of blood. Oddly enough, he wasn't sure he'd appreciate the change. Deciding on waiting for someone else to meet him, the Hunter sat down, pulled down the cloth over his mouth, and took a few bites from a dinner roll.

Located inside a bustling space diner on the edge of federation space, the bounty hunter looks outside the widow lazily and sips on a smooth glass of water, running down her rough, parched throat. It was the end of a long day for Samus Aran. For four days straight, she was tracking another bounty hunter going by the name of Sylux, a mortal enemy of the Federation force. She has fought him before previously in the Alimbic Cluster, where he escaped the territory. Since then, he has been harassing the Federation, and alas her assistance was needed once again. They provided her good money to get him captured and turned into prison, but once again Sylux managed to slip out of Samus' hands once again.

Thankfully for the bounty hunter, she was able to put a secret tracking device on the bottom of his ship. She would try to follow in pursuit as fast as she could, but exhaustion was taking a price on her. 4 days with little sleep... and a whole day without eating or drinking a single thing. She needs to rest and replenish her nutrition. She also already delivered the tracking coordinates to the Federation, in which they'd take most of the work from there. They then gave her half of the credit offer and will repay her the rest once Sylux was captured. It was a bit of a low blow, sure, but Samus was forced to accept. She didn't feel like knocking a tooth from the captain... not yet anyways.

Oh... and there's her meal.

It was a basic, high calorie, meal, a large burger with a salad on the side. This will surely fill her up for a long while, possibly for the entire day. As Samus eats, she initially fails to see a small cloud coming in from the doorway. It wasn't until she turns her head, not having finished even 1/4ths of the burder, seeing the cloud hover just a few feet away from her. She swallows her bite and stares.

"Can I help you?" she asks almost rudely, her eyes slightly drooping.

Out from the cloud, a strange turtle appears and gives Samus a seal, which once broken, reveals a letter. It explains that of the rampaging Mugen Virus that's running around, which the bounty hunter has already been ordered by the Federation to eliminate any signs of this virus anyhow, but reveals how it's also spreading through other universes. It invits Samus to help stop this infectious disease. At the bottom, two circles is seen, one saying yes to undertake the mission, or no to deny it.

Taking a pen that was so conveniently placed by the salt and pepper shakers, Ms. Aran raises it above the two dots. She pauses for a second, as if she were deciding and making last second thoughts, shrugs lightly, and fills in the "yes" dot. The letter closes on its own and poofs into thin air. Suddenly, a portal opens up from underneath her as she gets sucked into a new universe.

---

Some time passes after getting sucked into the portal and strangely Samus finds herself in her own gunship. She barely remember s what happened during this time and how long was she unconscious. Groaning, she heads to the dressing room, and applies her Varia Armor. After, she than heads to the ramp leading outside. She has no idea what to expect outside. But when she gets out, she quickly realizes that she isn't at the Diner anymore. No... she's looking at a magnificent structure, an old fashioned castle to be the looks of it. Apparently this is where the portal teleported Samus to. And how was it able to transport her ship anyways, when she wasn't even in it? Not like it was a problem though. She feels she'll need her ship anyways.

She's then greeted by a strange orange creature of sorts. It looked unlike anything Samus has seen before in her universe. She looks down at it, preparing her arm cannon on stand by incase it happens to attack.

"Who are you?" she says in an orderly tone towards it.

Though the creature doesn't look so threatening. It speaks some sort of gibberish as it walks towards the castle. Samus doesn't know what it says, but judging by its behavior, it appears it wants her to follow. The bounty hunter sighs as she follows the harmless creature slowly behind. She wasn't sure where exactly it was taking her, but there was only one way to find out. The two step on the elevator and are taken to a floor. Upon exiting the floor, Samus finds herself in a rather friendly environment, filled with bustling guests and food dishes on every table. It looked like a mess hall of sorts. Samus than proceeds to take off her helmet, immediately getting bombarded with a warm aroma of spices, roasted meats, fresh bread, and other delightful choices. It was a pleasant feeling to say the least.

She looks around to see any person that stands out of the crowd. While it didn't say specifically on the letter, Samus expects that she won't be the only person being called here to this castle, most certainly from some other universe or so. She manages to find one person, with dark gothic-like clothes lined with medieval-looking designs, eating a dinner roll nearby. Was he invited here as well? Alas, the Bounty Hunter knew little. She may talk to him later, but for now, it was time to simply sit back, relax, and wait for further instructions.

Alyx was still pretty torn up about the death of her father at the hands of alien grubs called Advisors. They were apparently the leaders of the Combine, or 'Our Benefactors', a massive multiversal empire that had conquered entire universes. They had found Earth after the Resonance Cascade and subsequent demise of the alien Nihilanth in the dimension of Xen, the only thing keeping the Combine away. The Combine used the resulting portal storm to invade Earth and defeat all of its military within seven hours. Earth surrendered and humanity was spared from complete extinction because of Dr. Wallace Breen, the former head of Black Mesa. He was installed as a puppet leader, and the Combine had complete domination of Earth. Only a ragtag group of rebels stood together and secretly opposed the Combine. But with scavenged weapons and few numbers, they were simply not enough to stop the Combine from draining Earth of its resources and perfecting teleportation to become the Universal Union the empire dreamt off.

But then came Gordon Freeman, one of the only survivors of the Black Mesa Incident, a legendary hero amongst the Resistance. An unsuspecting theoretical physicist that was the one who saw both the start and the end of Black Mesa. He was the one who had pushed the Xen crystal into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer and caused the Resonance Cascade, and he had put a stop to it by defeating Nihilanth. Following this, he was offered a 'job' by the mysterious G-Man, an offer in which he clearly had no choice. He was put into stasis and only awoken twenty years later to a world where the Combine ruled all of Earth. After fighting his way through City 17 and meeting up with fellow survivors, he became one of the most prominent Resistance leaders. He would eventually destroy the Citadel, a massive Combine building that more or less was the administrative office of Earth.

However, as he would find out later, it was the Combine themselves who had overloaded the structure's Dark Energy reactor in an attempt to send out a distress call. When the reactor exploded, it destroyed the Citadel, but also opened up a superportal right above it to the Combine Overworld since the teleport core had been destroyed. Combine troops flooded through the portal in order to reclaim territory that was lost to the human resistance. Gordon and his companion Alyx managed to escape the destruction of City 17 when the Citadel exploded via train.

The pair eventually made their way to White Forest, a Resistance base and old Cold War-era facility. After fighting through waves of Combine, the rebels would eventually launch a rocket into the superportal, closing it and thus stranding Combine troops on Earth. They were supposed to head out to find the wreck of the Borealis, an old Aperture Science research vessel that had gone missing decades ago when it was performing a teleportation by portals. It could be the key to stopping the Combine for good, and Mossman, a Resistance agent, was stranded there after scouting for information when Combine forces attacked. Unfortunately, when they reached the hangar that held the helicopter needed for transportation, several Combine Advisors attacked. They killed Alyx's father Eli, a survivor from Black Mesa and the one who created the Resistance teleporter, and probed his brain for information. Thankfully, Gordon and Alyx are saved by DOG, Alyx's pet robot, who defeated the Advisors. However, morale dropped for the both of them, as Alyx lost her father, and Gordon lost an old friend. The Resistance also lost a prominent leader.

And so, Gordon sat on an old sofa in the base, next to the still-crying Alyx. He didn't know what to say to her; he was never really a talker, and even Alyx described him as a man of few words. Awkwardly putting his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, he was only met with more sobs and sniffles. The cool metal of his orange HEV suit didn't help much, either. No one else had decided to talk to them, too busy repairing damages the base had sustained in the previous battle, some busy encrypting messages, and most were just too afraid to talk to the two Resistance heroes. Gordon sat there for a while longer, his arm still around Alyx.

That is, of course, until he caught sight of a strange cloud hovering in the area. It appeared to react to his presence, flying up to Gordon. A strange yellow turtle wearing glasses popped out and handed him a letter with elegant golden ink, before shooting off and disappearing. Curious, Gordon broke open the seal and began to read through its contents.

Dear Hero,

You are receiving this letter because you were chosen to undertake a most challenging task. Your life will be endangered if you so choose to selflessly take up arms in defense of your world as well as others…

The letter then went on to explain what the Mugen Virus was, and how it had already corrupted the Seven Kingdoms. With increasing dread, Gordon continued reading until he reached the part when it said that if nothing was done, the System would crash, ending all of existence forever. He shot to his feet, startling his companion.

"Gordon, what's going on?" Alyx asked, her eyes still red from crying. Freeman responded by waving his arms in the air and pointing at the letter. Alyx somehow understood that, and her eyes widened. "You... have been chosen to undertake a most challenging task? And you have to leave?"

Gordon nodded.

"But... what about Earth and the Combine?"

Gordon shook his head and gestured to the letter.

"An even bigger threat than the Combine? How?"

Gordon nodded and signed something.

"An end to all of existence?"

Gordon nodded and circled the 'yes' option with a pencil. Instantly, the letter folded close and vanished in a puff of smoke, and a circle appeared in front of him. As he stepped into it, he gave Alyx a final look and gave her a thumbs up. His companion seemed to understand, and gave a halfhearted wave. "Promise you'll come back. I don't want to lose you, too." Gordon sighed and nodded, before he vanished in similar cloud of smoke.



Gordon wasn’t a stranger to teleportation; he had done so many times before, from the Black Mesa Incident to the Uprising, he had used teleporters to get from one place to the next. Still, he wasn't sure what to expect when he stepped into the circle, and the inside of a massive castle was the last thing he imagined. His mouth dropped open as he walked forwards, his footsteps resonating throughout the building. So impressed he was that he missed an round orange creature shuffle into view, and he didn't notice until he walked into it. The two of them collided and fell onto the floor. Gordon rubbed the back of his head and stared at the thing.

@!#?@! It said in a strange robotic gibberish, sounding fairly annoyed.

"..." Gordon apologised, getting to his feet and helping it up.

@!#?@! It huffed, turning away and making its way to an elevator. Gordon nodded and followed it in. The thing pecked the numbers 2-6 into the floor panel, before flipping over its head and disappearing. The elevator glowed blue and hummed. When the doors opened, Gordon was immediately assaulted by an array of spices and aromas, something he hadn't experienced since Black Mesa. He walked out and came to see a massive table with an equally massive spread of foods of all kinds. He grabbed a small bun and bit into it, taking in the flavours. He looked around and saw that there were only two people inside: a man in gothic attire and the armoured form of Samus Aran, another gaming legend. The Vortigaunts spoke of her as they did with Freeman, but mostly in hushed tones. Finishing his food and walking up to her, he waved and he opened up in conversation.

"..." He greeted with a smile, offering his hand.

Lakitu was having problems. A messenger typically encountered many problems in the fulfillment of their duties from horrible weather to hostile natives, but those weren't the problems in this case. The weather was fine. Better than fine. The sun shone brightly in the lovingly painted skies of Nippon, a gentle breeze carrying the sweet cherry blossoms from the nearby tree in a twirling dance across the field. The native wasn't hostile either, from what he could tell. It was just young and stupid. It was young, stupid, and it had the letter.

Lakitu floated hastily after the little white ball of fur that bounded across the field, letter flapping in its mouth. Occasionally it would stop and look back to make sure the messenger was still following and that the game was still on, slowing down to keep his interest if its lead had gotten too great, then dart off quickly in a new direction. This wasn't Lakitu's fault. Lakitu's job had been to delver the letter to the white wolf with the red markings. The little guy was a white wolf with red markings. It was the only one he had seen. This was the fault, he decided, of the one who hadn't considered whether or not the wolf would be able to read.

The little wolf came to a stop near the big cherry blossom tree in the middle of the field, bouncing back and forth as Lakitu closed in before sprinting out of his reach around the back. Then there was a sudden thud, and a short, high-pitched yelp. Lakitu's eyes widened as panic flooded into his brain, and he reached into his cloud and hefted a red spiky ball over his head. Having problems with the recipient was one thing, but there was no way he was going to ruin his reputation by a letting some monster get hold of that letter! His professional pride at stake he charged valiantly around the tree, throwing arm primed to dispense spiny justice.

What he found, though, wasn't a monster. A wolf sat there, much lie the one he had been chasing for the better part of thirty minutes, its paw planted firmly on the back of its small counterpart. The little one wriggled furiously as the big one stared down at the open latter in front of it. It looked up after a moment at the messenger, turning its head quizzically. Lakitu cleared his throat and let the spiny drop from his hand back into the cloud as casually as possible. The big wolf made a contented little sound before looking back down and continuing to read amid the whines of the little one. When it finished it stepped back from the letter, letting the little one up in the process. It wriggled, leaped back up, and ran over beside the big one.

There was as odd moment, some strange sensation of lost time, and when Lakitu next looked at the letter in the moment before it arranged itself into a portal the YES had been circled in dark ink. The big wolf knelt down, lovingly nuzzled the little one, then stepped forward into the light...

---

Amaterasu appeared in the foyer of a vast western style castle amid many strangers from many lands, and was immediately hit with the stink. The foulness bored itself into her nose, blood and death and spiritual decay, and deep under all that something unnatural. The closest thing she could compare it to was the miasma given off by Yami and his despicable spawn. At first she thought this had been some sort of trap, the whole letter a ruse to bring her to some fetid place where she could be finished off, but as she tensely looked around the room she realized that the smell wasn't seeping out of walls. She laid her eyes upon a single black garbed man mixed in with the others. Had some sort of monster disguised itself and hidden among them? It wouldn't be the first time.

When the strange little creature had appeared, making its strange little sounds, she followed after it through the teleporter to a room laden with food. The scent here was almost enough to mask the smell of the man in black, and despite her worry she felt her mouth begin to water. She was never one to turn down food, and even though that guy was potentially dangerous and it was her duty since none of the others had noticed to look into it, she was also unexpectedly hungry. It was lucky for her then that the man in black had good taste so that she could do both. Ammy trotted up beside him to the table, ducking underneath and rising up on the other side. Placing her forepaws on table opposite him she started digging into a whole roasted ham while watching him warily.

Throwing the last messenger pigeon into the air, Ezio watched it go, silently sending his well-wishes along with it to Tessa Varzi. She was the last of this batch of apprentices who had yet to attain enough experience to become a full-fledged Assassin. Hopefully after this contract mission, he would be able to welcome yet another into the ranks of the Brotherhood. The escort mission in England he had assigned her wasn't all too difficult. A three-star rank, he had confidence in her abilities to see it through without too much mishap. Tearing his gaze away from the sky, Ezio passed a glancing sweep at the streets below, quietly pleased to see the unhindered bustle of civilians at work and shops flourishing now that Borgia's hold over the city was no more. It had taken days of methodical planning and execution to bring down each Borgia Tower littering the area, but it was well worth it.

This, he thought, is why the Assassins' Order exists. To fight the tyranny of the Templars. And the Brotherhood will survive in the shadows for centuries to come.

Turning his back, the Mentor headed south, intending on staying at Tiber Island for the rest of the day. With Lorenzo here, he highly doubted the man would appreciate Ezio wandering off on less important errands when Medici took the time to come all the way out here. Across sturdy rooftops and stone walls he ran, neatly avoiding the few archers patrolling the area as he sprinted. They wouldn't shoot him upon first sight like the Borgia men, but it was good practice in times when he didn't get many chances to. If it were up to Michelangelo and if it wouldn't be viewed as an insult, Ezio would be cooped up in the Headquarters and shadowed every time he set foot outside Rome. There were a great many things Ezio could grumble about, like the twinge in his back - he's not old, dammit - but he wasn't going to spoil his day before it even started.

Landing lightly on the edge of a roof, he straightened, preparing to make a leap of faith into the pile of hay below when he caught a movement of an object that seemed to be heading directly for him. The Assassin paused, peering more intently into the distance as he tried to make out the approaching white...cloud. If seeing such a low-hanging cloud around these parts wasn't strange enough, this one had a face, which proceeded to drop a turtle of some sort as soon as it got close enough. The yellow-coloured being ignored Ezio's tensed frame, walking up unhesitantly to the man and held out a white envelope. Upon its visible surface was an elegant script not dissimilar to that of his mother's handwriting inked in gold. Ezio eyed the letter and its messenger for a second longer before accepting it with caution. Its task done, the little creature left together with its unusual stead, leaving him turning the envelope over to reveal a neat, unbroken seal.

Letter tucked securely in his medicine pouch, he leaped into the pile of hay down below and scrambled up another building, sprinting across the bridge as soon as his feet touched solid ground. It took him only a couple more minutes before he was walking through the doors of his designated office. As expected, Lorenzo was seated on the couch, traveling cloak tossed carelessly on the back of another chair. Acknowledging Medici's presence with a polite nod, Ezio didn't bother pushing down his cowl as he leaned against the desk and withdrew the mysterious envelope once more.

"Who is that letter from?" Lorenzo asked, a slight smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Is it Caterina?"

"No, my friend. A rather unusual messenger gave it to me, but he left before I could question him." Ezio replied, breaking the seal. "Or at least, I think it was a 'he'. I can't tell with animals."

The look Lorenzo gave him for that statement was incredulous, but he shrugged it off, pulling the letter out to read instead of giving a verbal answer. The letter was short and to the point, but the implications within made his brows furrow in concern. Well, wasn't it fortunate that Lorenzo decided to pay a visit today, else he would have left and everyone else would be notified a day or so later. Although his face was not visible, Lorenzo knew him long enough to know if he was troubled. Unceremoniously, the statesman took the piece of paper from his grasp and scanned it through.

"It seems Minerva's prophecy came true. She warned me that the time will come for me to decide if I should help in protecting not just the world fro the Templars, but the universe from a greater force than I - we - have ever encountered. If it is as big a threat as the letter says...I think my path is clear." Ezio took the letter back, reaching over the desk to grope around the drawer for a pen he knew was there.

"But, Ezio, attendere prego! If you leave, who is to lead the Brotherhood? Not to mention there is still Altair's Piece of Eden to find!"

"My friend, you worry too much. There are many others who are up to the task. Michelangelo, for one. He is a better strategist than I am and one who has quite a lot of experience in planning operations. The Brotherhood will thrive under his command. As for the Piece of Eden, Leonardo is around to decipher the Codex, and my former apprentices are skilled enough if I do say so myself." Ezio smiled, pulling the man into a tight hug for a fullsecond before letting go. "Do me a favour. Tell the others I shall be unavailable for an uncertain period of time. And don't forget to give Tessa her new robes when she gets back from England."

"I shall fulfil your requests, fatello mio. Go and serve the worthy cause."

Without another second's hesitation, he circled 'Yes'. The moment the tip left the paper, it folded in on itself, vanishing in a puff of smoke. A portal opened before Ezio, shining brightly as white light seemed to spill endlessly from it.

"Until we meet again. Vittoria agli Assassini." Ezio said over his shoulder, then stepped into the portal.

---

For someone who had never used a portal before, the method of transportation was highly disorientating. Still, the discomfort rapidly faded away as Ezio took in his new surroundings. Smooth stone arches, large decorated pillars, and completely devoid of anything else. It reminded him of the Vatican's outer hall and he inwardly grimaced. His memories of that place weren't his most pleasant ones. He half-expected priests in dark robes to walk in anytime now. Or the heavily armoured figures of Brutes. Deciding not to linger too long, Ezio paced forward slowly, eyes shadowed by his cowl darting around the place in search for threats.

He hadn't gone more than a few meters when footsteps that wasn't his echoed down the empty hall. It didn't sound like four-legged walk, nor was it heavy enough to be larger than the size of an average human male. When the mysterious figure appeared in his line of sight, Ezio couldn't stop his eyebrows lifting in surprise. This dimension sure had lots of strange little beings. Or was it just his world that did not contain creatures like these? Once again, he quickly derailed his mind from that train of thought. The fact that there were so many dimensions in the universe besides the world he grew up in was mind-boggling, and not something he wanted to lose himself in now. Not when he was in unknown territory. Sometime in the future, maybe he could spare a day or two to mull it over pray his brain did not turn to mush. Leonardo was the genius who could take in all this strangeness and still keep his cool, but not Ezio. He was a man of practicality, not science and invention and otherworldly creativity.

The orange creature halted a few steps away, staring up at him as it spewed gibberish. "@!#?@!"

"Would you care to repeat that? Preferably in a language I understand?"

"@!#?@!" It repeated once more, completely ignoring Ezio's request as it turned and walked away. It stopped again, gibbered irritably as Ezio didn't move from his position.

"Okay, okay. I get it, no need to get worked up. Please, lead on."

Although he was now a little leery about getting into any more strange devices, the need to know what was going to happen now that he was here overrode his wariness. So he stepped in after the little creature, getting out quickly as soon as the door opened. The moment he stepped out, the smell of baked goods and assorted spices assaulted his nose. It smelled so much like the feasts held in Headquarters that his mouth watered. That and he had yet to eat lunch. The reception hall leading into the dining area was as grand as the foyer below. Ezio admired the interior as he walked through it, absently wondering if the exterior would looked grander than the Sforza Castle. Most probably, but he wasn't going to admit it aloud. Caterina would castrate him for debasing the home of her ancestors.

Upon entering the dining area, Ezio took in the green-haired men and women roaming around, the several uniquely dressed individuals - and is he actually seeing a white wolf? - already occupying a place within, and the long tables ladened with food. Silently, he made his way towards the table on the furtherest end, claiming the seat right at the edge, where he was able to keep an eye others and most importantly, the main entrance. There was also no other exits at his back, so unless one could turn invisible, he shouldn't be snuck up on so easily. Shifting the sheath of his sword so it did not clip on either the table or seat, he reached out to snag a plate of fruit and a slice of cake. Probably not the healthiest lunch, but...cheesecake.

Quina watched the fish intently. They were fat, well-fed things, lazily drifting through the clear water and blissfully unaware that the strange-looking figure which loomed over the waters would be their downfall. The only thing holding Quina back was wondering which type of fish should be eaten - the gold and black scaled ones were certainly the largest and easiest to catch, but the smaller, silver ones would no doubt have their own charms in terms of flavour. This conundrum consumed Quina for nearly two full minutes, before the obvious solution presented itself.

"Both!"

A few moments later, Quina was up to his/her waist in water, desperately trying to snatch up the fish. The fish, now startled by the presence of their would-be predator, gracefully darted about, avoiding the rather clumsy attempts to drag them out of the water and into Quina's mouth. The battle betwen predator and prey had never looked quite so uncoordinated as Quina flailed about in the once still, calm water. By chance rather than by design, Quina had managed to seperate out of one the fatter, slower fish from the group and, cornering it, lunged down to snatch it.

The fish squirmed and fought with all it had, but once it was held out of the water, the fight was clearly over. It wriggled around in Quina's hands, desperate to return to the safety of the water, rather than face the stomach of the strange creature that so rudely invaded it's territory.

"Hey! You! Get out of the pond!"

Quina turned to look at the three armed men who fought their way through the crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion. In this quiet little town, it was a relatively rare sight to see somebody clamber into the decorative pond in the middle of the marketplace. The captured fish, perhaps sensing that this was the moment to escaped, wriggled and squimed with renewed vigour, slipping free of Quina's grasp and returning to it's brothers and sisters in the pond with a loud splash. By the time the three guards reached the edge of the pond, they were faced with a conundrum - while they all agreed that Quina should get out of the pond, none of them seemed particularly willing to clamber into the pond to get him, or her, or whatever Quina was out of it.

The little cloud appeared above Quina, dragging his/her attention away from the three guards and to the equally little creature that emerged from the happy looking cloud. Lakitu gingerly held the letter out, trying his best to strike a balance between his responsibility for seeing the message delivered and his desire not to be eaten. The unluckiest of the three guards, having been singled out for the duty of trying to drag Quina out of the pond, was busily unfastening his breastplate, removing his shoes and desperately hoping that some miracle would mean he didn't have to get into the pond. Quina, meanwhile, looked at the letter.

"Dear..."

Quina began to read the letter aloud.

"...Hero..."

There were a lot of words to read and, already, Quina was quite bored of the thing after the first two words. However, Quina did agree that Quina was indeed a hero, and seeing the word "yes" at the bottom of the letter, Quina touched it. The letter disappeared with a puff of smoke, causing the gathered crowd to gasp and, before they could catch their breath, Quina vanished as well.



Dripping wet, Quina followed along behind the strange little orange thing, curious as to why it wanted to be followed in the first place until, finally, it arrived at the elevator, punshed in two numbers, did a little flip and seemed to disappear entirely. Quina waited patiently for a second, then decided to follow the example of the orange creature - punching in the same numbers and stepping through int-

"All of this for me! How kind!"

In that moment, there was nothing else - nobody in the room, no little orange thing that had to get out of the way, nothing else but the tables upon tables of food laid out and the desire to try it all. Quina almost knocked aside the little orange creature that had once held their attention so thoroughly in his/her desire to sit at the nearest table and,having grabbed a couple of the foodstuffs within easy reach, proceeded to eat. Bread rolls, fruit buns, roasted parsnips, handfuls of dried fruits, slices of cheese, steamed leeks, half a chicken and a handful of rice pudding quickly fell victim to Quina's hands and mouth.

Reaching out to take a piece of roasted ham, Quina paused and stared blankly at the large - to Quina's eyes, at least - white wolf that was eating the aforementioned ham. With one hand resting on the ham (and another busily scooping up more rice pudding from a nearby bowl), Quina very slowly wrapped their fingers around the ham.

"All this," Quina spoke quietly towards the wolf, "for me?"

The Hunter quietly observed as more of these "heroes" came in. He found it odd to be counted among there number, as he never considered himself much of a hero. He just had a job, and did it well. That job just happened to be monster slaying. Still, the Hunter couldn't help but be intrigued by the variations in equipment. Various examples of strange armor and weaponry caught his attention, though to the Hunter most appeared too bulky for proper beast hunting. Occasionally, he heard whispers in his head of names and deeds, such as "Samus Aran" and "The One Free Man". The Hunter gently shook his head, annoyed at the mixed blessing of his insight. Sniffing the air for a few moments, the Hunter noticed a rather large white wolf slip under the table next to him. It seemed wary of him, which he understood. The Hunter had once been told in his earlier nights by his friend, Eileen, that hunters had a rather... distinct scent to them. They both assumed it was from constantly being drenched in blood.

Still, it was odd. None of the people in the reception hall seemed the type to bring along a companion such as this. Noticing the wolf come up from the other side, the Hunter was about to get a closer look. Suddenly, the Hunter was bombarded by the strange whispers that often accompanied his insight noticing something hidden. Quietly recoiling from the sudden and intense shift in his focus, the Hunter looked back up and was immediately surprised. In the place where the wolf once sat was now a beautiful woman wearing a white dress with strange red markings.

No, that wasn't quite right. The woman WAS the wolf. This was just the form she hid from everyone. Cocking his head in curiosity, the Hunter spoke quietly, so no one but the woman could hear. If this thing hid her true form, he wasn't sure how she would react if he gave it away.

"Strange. Most of the things I've seen that hid their true forms did so because human minds couldn't handle the truth. And yet that's clearly not the case with you. Quite interesting." The Hunter was now quite convinced that she was no one's companion. The question was, what was she? No Great One the Hunter knew off had a naturally human looking form.

The Hunter quietly carved himself some steak. After the unrecordable amount of time of the Long Hunt, he was starting to feel more hungry. Something that at least had a small taste of blood would hopefully satiate him. As he started eating, the Hunter suddenly turned in reaction to the appearance of a strange, round looking.....thing that was consuming all food within its reach. It suddenly stopped as it put a hand on the strange woman's ham, before pausing and blankly staring at her. This....this couldn't be one of the heroes. Could it?

"By the blood, what have I gotten myself into?" he muttered to himself.

Samus Aran looks upon the endless platers of food that are presented in front of her. This was indeed a lot of food. Hell, for all she knows, this might as well be Kraid's feeding hall. They might make the giant reptilian bastard full for days if not weeks. And he is BIG. She soon recalls that she hadn't finished the burger of her's from her universe. What shame... but fuck it, look at all the delightful and exotic choices here! She had to force herself to keep her from gobbling the food and stuffing it into her mouth like a pig. Then again, considering how many calories she burns off while at "work", mostly due to her high metabolism, she can have quite the appetite. Samus glances at a warm and fluffy dinner roll, puts some butter on top of it, and takes a big bite. It was delicious! Perhaps it's the best dinner roll she ever tasted, compared to the Federation rations they provide, which includes a self-growable bun as well. It tasted very bland and hard, though it did do its job mediocrely.

As Samus turns to view the other choices, a man just so happens to be standing right in front of her. She pauses, looking down at him with a curious look. He looks like one of those hipster nerds, with those big glasses and that a scruffy beard. He also seems to be wearing some kind of uniform, almost armor-like, with the middle orange chest-piece displaying some sort of insignia. He looks rather familiar, though. The man simply smiles as he waves his hand, not saying a word at all. It looks a little strange to Samus... then again, she "communicated" with a baby metroid that also doesn't speak, but with him there was absolutely no sounds coming from him. Not even a peep. He seems to have heard of her however.

"Oh uh... greetings sir." the bounty hunter stammered for a second, "I believe you also happen to be here for the whole Mugen Virus "hero" thing, yeah? Who might you be?"

Just as she says so, she turns her head to see several other interesting-looking figures come in as well. You had some kind of wolf prowl into view, a hooded man with a white robe and fancy Renaissance-looking clothing, and a...

"Who the hideous fuck is that?" Samus thinks to herself with a rather repulsed-face of disgust.

She has seen some weird and monstrous aliens back in her universe. Yes, metroids were weird looking on its own, as well as other notable specimens like the Metroid Queen, Draygon, hell even the SA-X was extremely creepy on its own - not to mention being highly dangerous - but that... thing, with the long tongue, the pink-clothing, the hat... and those eyes. Yuck. It's utterly hideous. It can't be part of the whole team expedition right? She hopes not, but in case it is, she just hopes to stay far away from it as possible...

Ammy's attention was diverted from the man in black by the pale corpulent creature beside her. At first she was led, mostly by the exposed and gently swaying tongue, that some sort of monster had waylaid that poor cloud creature who had delivered the message and had slipped in that way but one quick sniff dispelled that notion. Such a creature would stink of corruption and this one didn't even register a whiff of the stuff, especially when compared to the veritable walking miasma sitting opposite her across the table. At most there was vague hint of swamp water and, camouflaged almost completely by the surrounding spreads of lavish food, the scent of meals prepared in times long past.

Still, no matter how harmless it seemed, it wasn't getting this ham. She was all for feeding the hungry of the world, but that thing didn't seem as though it had gone hungry a day in its life. Besides which, you didn't just take offerings to the gods for yourself especially if those offerings were already in the gods mouth. In response she slowly sank her teeth deeper and deeper into the ham. Until the man in black spoke, causing her jaw to pop open in and forsake any claim on the ham.

She stared across the way at the man in black, narrowing her eyes. The mans senses were obviously very sharp. No one else had commented on the red markings running across her body, though she had no way of knowing whether that meant they just saw a normal wolf when they looked at her or if they had simply been inundated by so much strangeness over the course of some far-flung adventure that they had become numb to it. It was safe to assume that any random mortal wouldn't be able to see her as she was, or even any random legendary hero, but then she had already sensed that this one wasn't any random mortal. She gave him a knowing look, leaning in and giving the air in front of him a few sniffs before barking at him questioningly, as though asking why his form was so thoroughly hidden.

"By the blood, what have I gotten myself into?" he muttered to himself.

She followed his eyes over to the pale thing, looked back at him, and shook her head in silent solidarity. It was slightly comforting to know that, no matter what the two of them truly were, neither of them were quite...that.

"Yes! For me then," Quina exclaimed happily, leaning forward to extract the ham after Amaterasu relinquished her claim to it. Or, at the very least, she'd stopped biting into it, which was quite clearly a signal that it was now available for anyone else to have. After giving it a cursory lick, Quina stuffed it into his/her mouth, leaned back a little and let out a contented sigh. With the immediate need to eat sated for the time being, the rest of the world - the lavish surroundings, the other guests, the little green haired creatures that were busy hauling food and drink around - began to push it's way into Quina's perception. Of all the things, it was the presence of other guests that puzzled Quina the most.

Wasn't this a feast to celebrate Quina's position as a hero?

Slowly turning his/her head to look around, Quina considered the other guests. A slightly more thoughtful mind might have also considered what the rest of the letter that the little cloud-thing handed over said, but Quina had put two and two together and come up with the idea that this was clearly a feast laid out in Quina's honour. There was a man, dressed in a pleasing shade of orange. Not food, Quina considered, but could taste like orange. Then there was the armoured figure of Samus, who seemed to be pulling some sort of funny face. Not food, Quina noted, and maybe has just eaten something unpleasant. There was the wolf, and the muttering man with the nice hat. Not food, Quina thought, before mentally adding, nice wolf, let me have ham. Finally, there was the mysteriously hooded figure of Ezio, who sat alone with a plate of food.

It broke Quina's heart to see this. The wolf and the man-with-the-nice-hat were clearly friends, and the two armoured figures of Samus and Gordon seemed to be exchanging pleasantries, even if the orange-man didn't seem to say much of anything. Quina gathered up a selection of sliced meats and stuffed them into one pocket, then filled his/her other pocket with a handful of bread-sticks. After giving a little apologetic wave goodbye to the wolf, Quina waddled over towards Ezio and, without really waiting to be invited, sat down alongside him. Fishing one of the breadsticks out of his/her pocket, Quina offered it towards Ezio, with a big smile.

"Here. Try this too."

Why, it simply wasn't right that somebody who was here to celebrate Quina's recognition as a hero would have to eat alone.

Gordon's arm got tired after a while holding it up, and he eventually let it fall back to his side when it was clear that Samus wasn't going to shake it. However, she asked if he was here for the Mugen Virus, and he nodded in response, then pointed to his lambda symbol on his HEV suit and signed the words 'free' and 'man' when she asked who he was. He took a moment to look around, noticing that several more of these heroes had arrived, namely a man in a white cloak and matching hood, and a strange white wolf with red markings who was currently chomping down on a rather large piece of ham.

Then of course he was interrupted, this time by a weird short and fat creature wearing a chef's hat. It barged into the room and had begun to stuff random foodstuffs into its mouth. Within the span of a few seconds, it had already grabbed several pieces of bread, dried fruit, rice pudding, some cheese, and an entire half chicken, and stuffed it down its throat within an equally short period of time.

Well, that was something Freeman hadn't seen before.

However, he noticed that the man in gothic attire had stopped in front of the wolf and muttered something, causing it to stop eating and stare at him the ham dropping out of its mouth. "By the blood, what have I gotten myself into?" He heard him mutter when the short... thing that started eating everything arrive.

Similarly, the wolf was distracted by the thing. It observed the thing, then looked back and shook its head. The two of them stared at each other for a while, until-

Wait.

The wolf shook its head.

That probably meant that she could understand him and was probably capable of intelligent thought, and that it was not just some random castle pet. Hurridly, Gordon made his way over to the pair, nodding in greeting to the gothic man, then focusing his attention on the wolf. He folded his arms and gave the wolf a curious look.

"..." He said, almost asking what it was, because it was anything but a normal wolf.

As expected of a cake with such elaborate decoration and delicious aroma, it was scrumptious and - pray that Claudia did not hear this - tasted a whole lot better than what his sister could ever dream of making. He made quick work of it before moving on to the platter of fruits, propping a hand upon the table's surface and resting a cheek on a closed fist. Nibbling a slice of orange - he assumed it was orange even if it was red - he slowly took the time to scan each individual. The urge to activate his Eagle Vision was nagging him ever since he walked into the room, but he manfully refrained, mainly because the telltale glow of his eyes during activation might cause the others to label him a hostile. That, and he highly doubted a Messenger sent to ensure each hero received a letter would be completely defenseless against would-be-hostiles. If the strange turtle was incapable of defending the letters it carried, then it may be time to reconsider receiving orders from their incompetent host. For now, he will allow them the benefit of doubt.

His gaze skimmed over the large white wolf, having already seen all he needed to see. Intelligent animals were rare and cherished, and this one had a gleam of knowledge, responding to human conversation with ease and carried itself with a posture of confidence despite its friendly disposition. It wasn't just any ordinary beast, that's for sure. Someone's companion, maybe? Next were the twin Legends standing together. Gordon Freeman and Samus Aran. Probably everyone across the dimensions did if even someone like him knew them by deeds and reputation. And there was another reason for him to relax, for if they couldn't even trust their legends to be on the good side, who could they trust? Moving on from the duo, he eyed the man clad in black. Now there was an enigma. He dressed like an Assassin, with a battered trihorn hat which shadowed the top half of his face and a mask that obscured the lower. At first glance, Ezio would have pegged him a mercernary, a hired killer. But who was he to judge? Bartolomeo looked like he could slaughter your whole family just to see you cry but in reality, he was a loving husband and loyal soldier.

Dropping his gaze back to the table, Ezio tapped a finger idly on the edge of the plate, absently wondering when the other heroes would arrive. Were they meant to sit here until the day ended? Any further questions died when a sudden ruckus occurred. Jerking his head up, Ezio watched in part amazement, part resignation and part confusion as a stocky little being with a chef's hat and pink apron zipped in and proceeded to enthusiastically dig in. The Assassin allowed himself to stare for a few heartbeat longer until the amount of food it was packing away began to make him nauseous. It figured that taking his attention off the situation was a mistake on his part. He was pretty sure he zoned out for only a couple of minutes, but that few minutes was all it took for the newest arrival to sidle up to his table.

Turning his head, Ezio tracked its movement as it came closer. Even at this distance, he couldn't read it - he? She? From chalk-white face, long tongue and chef's attire, s/he didn't give off a threatening vibe, nor did s/he seem to radiate righteousness and justice and whatever else it was supposed heroes gave off. S/he sat down beside him without invitation, and Ezio used that time to activate his Eagle Vision for a second. A mere blink of an eye that the being could have missed, he managed to see that the being was grey. Well, blue would have been more comforting, but at least s/he did not come up red. That would have been worst. And he didn't wish to disregard his hosts' courtesy by drawing blood in their halls.

A breadstick was held up before him, and Ezio accepted it with a slight smile, a mere upwards curl at the corner of his lips. "Thank you, mio amico. For going out of your way to give this to me. I'm Ezio. Ezio Auditore." It didn't hurt to be polite, although he was a little apprehensive in whether they would understand each other.

He paused for a moment, musing over how he could frame the question politely before deciding to be direct. "Forgive my ignorance, but what manner of being are you? And how should I address you?"

"Oh. Ezio, Ezio, Ezio..." Quina looked up towards the ceiling as s/he repeated the name over and over, as if trying to recall something or other to do with the name. It seemed slightly suspicious that somebody who would be invited to a party celebrating Quina's heroic status wouldn't know of them, and only slightly less unusual that nobody Quina knew was invited either. Fortunately for Quina, and unfortunately for the forces of reason and logic, this train of thought came to a crashing halt as the chair Quina sat on began to teeter backwards. After an ungainly moment spent grabbing hold of the table to regain some semblance of balance, Quina readjusted his/her hat, checked the breadstick pocket for damage, and then went back to looking over Ezio.

He seemed nice. Like the sort of person Quina would invite to a party. Probably just forgot about sending him an invite, that's all. He probably forgot what this whole party was about too. A man like him probably had a lot of names to remember.

"Quina, remember? It fine to forget too," Quina added quickly, not wanting to offend this new-or-maybe-old friend, "Quina forget sometimes too, maybe? Hard to tell. Funny. Is Qu. See? Yes?"

Quina attempted to indicate his, or her, species by pointing at, of all things, the chef's hat resting on top of his, or her, head. Realising that perhaps this wasn't going to shed much light on the matter of what Quina was, or where Quina was from, or any of the other questions that'd follow, Quina looked up and down the table full of food for something that would aid in the explanation. Having spotted just the right tool for the job, Quina slid down from the chair and began gathering up armfuls of food, putting them down in front of his/her place at the table before going to fetch some more. Only when s/he was, presumably, satisfied did Quina return to the spot next to Ezio and, quietly humming a tuneless sort of tune, Quina set to work.

It was not exactly a tidy process. A bowl of clear soup served as the basis for this culinary miracle, though once various sauces were added to it, it was a murky and rather unappealing mix of green and brown. Bread rolls filled most of the bowl, poking up like little hills through the soup. Broccoli was drafted in to serve as rudimentary trees under which little peas sat, masquerading as frogs. Or at least some sort of amphibian, it was honestly quite difficult to tell. A pair of dumplings, wrapped with bacon and wearing hats made out of torn up bits of bread moulded to look sort-of-like-hats, stood half-submerged in the soup-swamp. There were even a few rudimentary buildings constructed on the bread-roll hills, though the soggy foundations rapidly caused the carrot sticks that made the building to subside. More and more food was drafted into the creation of a scale model of a swamp, despite Quina occasionally eating some unsatisfactory piece or other.

"See? Qu, from swamp."

Quina gently pushed the bowl over in front of Ezio, sloshing the soup inside the bowl around and causing yet more damage to the carrot stick buildings. One of the dumpling people was face down in the swamp-soup and slowly sinking. It was quite a depressing sight, really, but the huge smile on Quina's face and the air of expectancy around him/her suggested that Quina really didn't see it that way. It didn't smell that bad either.

The Hunter was somewhat relieved when the strange creature with a long tongue took its leave. He had nothing particularly against it, but the tongue uncomfortably reminded him of the bloodlicker beasts of Cainhurst. Come to think of it, a lot of things here reminded him of Cainhurst. The castle architecture and the strange creatures roaming the halls were similar features. The only way it could be even more similar was if the castle was guarded by heavily armored warriors.

Shaking himself from his memories, he observed as the strange creature wandered its way over to the figure with the white hood. His equipment looked moderately similar to that of a hunter, but he saw no adequately sized weapons for beast hunting. The hunter figured it might be likely that the man was a hunter of men of some kind. Not an unnecessary profession. After all, Eileen had dedicated herself to hunting hunters who had lost themselves to the beast within.

The Hunter's attention was reclaimed by the wolf-woman when she barked questioningly at him, sniffing the air in front of him as she did. It looked particularly strange to him, as to his perception it was a woman barking at him. Still, he somehow found himself able to piece together the meaning of what she said. She was asking about his scent.

"What, my scent?" he replied. "Hunters have a strange aroma to them, so I'm told. We naturally smell like fresh blood. We aren't sure if its because we're covered in the stuff half the time, or because our blood has been altered." Still, he wasn't sure that that was exactly what she was asking about. His first thought was that she sensed the beast within. But that couldn't be possible. The pale blood had cured him of that.

The strange memories from before were starting to return when the "Free Man" came over to them. The whispers returned to him, and the Hunter suddenly had a good idea who this man was and what he did. Curious, that this man was both a thinker and a warrior. He returned a nod to Freeman, before focusing back on the wolf-woman. He too was quite curious about what she was.

Samus would've probably shake hands with the bearded man if she knew who he really is. Regardless, he then points to the symbol on his suit with the words 'free' and 'man'. His name is Freeman. Interesting name, but sounds rather familiar. Her eyebrow perks up, acknowledging his name.

"Well then," the bounty hunter replied with one hand on her hip, "Welcome to the team, Freeman."

Despite Gordom being one of the legendary characters, there were still other more higher ranking legends that were out there. Mario, Megaman, Ryu, are just to name a few of the most famous and who definitely get all the intention. They are mostly the grand stars that get aired on inter-dimensional TV. Freeman however... wasn't too popular in the world of Metroid, despite there being the similarity of aliens being involved, though his world was much more technologically primitive compared to Samus' universe.

Though she does recall hearing or seeing "Freeman" somewhere once before...

She perks her head around and sees the other heroes coming into the room, with disgust coming from Quina. She wasn't in the mood in "talking" with the creepy blob. Those eyes alone give her the creeps anyways. As she approaches the others, with Freeman taking his leave to interact with the other characters, Samus over hears a conversation between the white wolf and the gothic-looking man. He can hear him say the following statement.

"What, my scent? Hunters have a strange aroma to them, so I'm told. We naturally smell like fresh blood. We aren't sure if its because we're covered in the stuff half the time, or because our blood has been altered."

"Have you considered being a vampire of some sort?" the bounty hunter replies to his answer as she approaches the man slowly, her metal armor clunking on the smooth ground, "Wouldn't be surprising if you so happen to be out hunting and drinking it all the time."

Ammy's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward and gave the man another sniff. His explanation held up at least a little. Blood was inherently filthy on a spiritual level. Men were crazed by blood. Swords were given their own malevolent will by blood. To work with blood was to stain your very soul, but he'd have to have waded through gallons of the stuff to get even a tenth of this smell and there was still that horrid scent buried underneath. She supposed he might actually be telling the truth, that he wasn't something wearing human skin waiting for the most opportune moment to play its hand, but the last time she'd assumed that a good women had died. There had been no other way, but that didn't mean it had ever sat right with her. If she'd seen through the damned foxes disguise sooner she might have found another way. She wouldn't be driven into a corner like that again. She would be watching this man.

It was then that Freeman wandered over. He wasn't hard to recognize, the gods shared stories among themselves of daring heroics and the adventures of mortals. Ammy had half listened to most of these stories while dozing, but the tale of the One Free Man had seeped into her head simply through simple repetition. It was a particularly attractive tale because it did not, as of yet, have an ending and the story of the Free Man was continually retold and analysed in anticipation of the glorious conclusion which everyone felt sure was just over the horizon.

He inquired as to her nature in that language shared by silent protagonists everywhere, and that set her tail to wagging. There was nothing quite as nice as meeting someone that spoke your language in a strange land. "...," she nodded her head and replied, introducing herself as Amaterasu, God of the Sun, and indicating her surprise that he could see her. She'd heard tell that his home was more on the technological side of the spectrum, and didn't expect anyone from such a world to be able to view her as she was.

She took a quick glance over at the man and black and found that the other legend in the room had struck up a conversation with him. She decided that it was probably safe for now. No one would be foolish enough to try anything with Samus Aran right there, not to mention the others in the room. If he was in some sort of disguise then it was because he needed it.

Mushroom Kingdom
Forest of Illusion

The trees in the forest were its most noticeable characteristic. They grew tall to towering heights, their fresh leafy branches blotting out the crisp blue sky. Was it day? Was it night? No traveler knew for certain once they had chosen to traverse the treacherous woods. Overhead, riding on a smiling cloud, Lakitu sailed over the treetops like a plane flying low over an ocean of green. The arbors were smiling, which to most first-time visitors to the Mushroom Kingdom found creepy rather than cheerful. There was nothing cheerful about being in a mysterious forest full of feral Wigglers, Galoombas, Winged Koopas, and Chargin’ Chucks that wanted to harm you. Lakitu was on a quest, and as much as he didn’t wish to dive into the depths of illusion, he ducked back inside his cloud as it began to sink like a submarine beneath the boughs.

The forest was dim, but strangely not dark. It must have been pitch-black at night. Lakitu poked his head out of his cloud again and began turning about, looking this way and that, searching for the hero that his letter sensed. The letter was like a radar, the magic it was infused with causing it to tremble the closer he came to a hero and by the looks of it, he was close!

Out of all the letters that he had delivered so far, this was the one hero who he was most familiar with. In a clearing a few yards ahead, Lakitu saw a kneeling figure draped in a brown tattered cloak. His hand was clutching the handle of a massive hammer and his back was rising and falling with what could only be labored breaths. As he closed the distance, the man’s grip on the mallet tensed, and it was only sheer luck that the weapon that had been swung around with every intention to knock him from his cloud had missed him. The breeze from the swing blew Lakitu back and with a frightened cry, he dropped the letter on the ground and took off like a rocket back into the sky.

The man’s mouth fell open as he continued to pant. Drops of hot sweat rolled down the sides of his face and dripped from his chin. His barreled chest swelled and sank beneath a pair of blue overalls as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. From beneath dark, thick brows, he first peered down at the letter and then up at the tree canopy where the Lakitu had disappeared.

“Well, shit, he was deliverin’ a letter?” he thought aloud to himself. He was used to those creatures trying to lob spiked balls at him. The Forest of Illusion was no walk in the park. It was a dangerous place and so far every creature within it had tried to kill him. Mario had been using it as a training ground. The reason as to why he had vanished was in his muscular physique. Setting down the hammer with a wooden thud, he crouched before the note and picked it up. Eying the seal with zero recognition, he broke the wax and began to read over the summons. Midway through, Mario sighed in exasperation and bowed his head.

“I was really hopin’ that I was finally done with adventurin’,” he grumbled. Wiping away some salty sweat and dirt that nearly rolled into his eyes, he stood and stared for a few seconds at the two responses: “Yes” or “No.”

Glancing at his current surroundings, he silently contemplated if he still wanted to be here. The adventure was tempting and who knows, there might be some more princesses to save? The corner of his mouth quirked at the thought and with his index finger, he touched the answer: “Yes.”



Platform Kingdom
Tetris Castle

The cloaked warrior crossed the threshold of the warp elevator to come before the intoxicating odors that filled the grand space with its delectable heat. Garment still concealing his appearance, Mario’s chest expanded with a deep and appreciative breathd. His lips curled pleasantly and his hands clenched into excited fists.

Aaah~! he exhaled. His blue eyes opened with a feral glimmer as drool welled in his mouth.

I forgot that castles not only mean princess babes, but feasts! How long has it been since I started this crummy diet? he wondered, his teeth clenched into a wide and shameless grin. This is probably a once in a life time opportunity (doubt it). I can cheat this once. Oh man, I’m goin’ in!

The cloaked figure ran with hasty excitement over to the table and without grabbing a plate or eating utensils, he dove right in much like the tongue-creature @Hylozoist. He grabbed a turkey leg and tore it from its base before cramming it between his jaws. His teeth sank into the brown, crispy meat and skin as he turned his head to tear it right from the bone. His other hand had grabbed a roll that he dragged through a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy and attempted to stuff it into his mouth along with the still, partially digested turkey. With both cheeks packed round and full of food, it only took a moment before it struck the back of his throat. Mario’s gag-reflex immediately kicked in. The food was stuck!

A fist went to his mouth as he bent over, choking while trying not to send missiles of sticky food flying every which way. His eyes watered, and as he bent over hammering a fist against his chest, he happened to notice a familiar armored heroine in the room.

Shit, Samus is here? It was then that Mario noticed that not only the bounty hunter was in the castle, but other characters—some from video game lands he had never heard of…they were weird-looking. But besides them, he couldn’t be seen looking so weak in front of the space babe Smash rival. He was a man after all!

With tears in his eyes, Mario grasped the table and with one big gulp! managed to get the food down. He panted as though he had just ran a marathon, hanging his head in relief. And here I thought the Forest of Illusion was gonna be my grave. What an embarrassing way for a legendary hero to go. And he had just signed up for this business!

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Mario continued to eye Samus until a fox-like smile stretched on his face. He couldn’t believe that she was still hiding beneath all of that metal. Why, he remembered the first day they met. They had met in the first Smash Arena and he had thought she was a man. Boy was he wrong (and he was so happy to be wrong!) There was a serious babe beneath all of that metal, and it was about time someone showed her how to relax and let the hair down every once and awhile.

Hmm… His blue eyes rolled down to the banquet table to the casserole of hot potatoes. She was going to hate him. Grinning mischievously, Mario grasped a spoon and scooped out a big wad of the potatoes. Grasping it like a snowball, he patted it into a sphere within his hands before he cranked it back.

Back to my major league days!

“Hey, Samus!” he called, hoping to get her to turn around—turn around right into it!

Mario lobbed the potato ball right for the back of her head; however, if his trickery worked, then she would turn into the potato ball as expected. Potato balls tended to splatter so anyone in her vicinity could risk getting splashed by flying starch.

• Practice text combat with a good old-fashioned food fight.
• Every successful hit on another character is 2 XP.
• Have fun!

1. Word Count. Word Count now applies. Just remember, if you write a post for the sake of writing one and it serves absolutely no purpose but to act as a XP farm, then the GM will take back your XP. So please do not abuse this system. Just write as you normally would.
2. Combat. If the players can’t determine if the attack is a hit or miss, then the GM will. Basically, if you can’t think of a logical way to avoid the attack, then your character will take the hit. If there is a wall behind your character because you last wrote them standing by one, and someone throws food at him or her, and your response is to back-flip…I’m going to wonder if your character just back-flipped into a wall. See what I mean by logic?
3. RP Etiquette. IF YOU POST DIRECTLY TO SOMEONE, THEN YOU MUST LET THAT PERSON RESPOND. I do not care if someone comes up to your character to attack him or her, while your character was engaged in fighting someone else. You wait for the first person you attacked to respond. Then in your next post, you can post responding to both individuals. Too easy.
4. Calculation. While you are free to keep track of the XP your character collects, the GM will dish out the total XP points at the end of the event. That way if your calculations are off, then you know how much XP you should have and THEN you can add it to your XP bar.
5. Eating. Eating the food thrown at you does not count as a hit!
@Gentlemanvaultboy@Lmpkio@SuddenSardines@Bornlucky@Aether Spawn@Hostile@Loki Odinson@Bright_Ops@Fabricant451@Chaotic Chao@LowKey123@Etherean Fire@knighthawk@Spinosaurus