There was a time where Luigi might have cowered in fear at the abomination of a woman in front of him and the animistic manner in which she presented herself in her twisted form, hissing and howling like the creature of nightmares that she had become; However, right now Luigi was to busy seeing red to let a small thing like fear bother him as he glanced down at the red hat that was resting between the two of them. He also suspected that there was something in the fruit that was helping out because he felt great!

He didn't say anything or make any kind of boosting action like his bird like opponent; Instead all he did was get a firm grasp of the shaft of his hammer just under the head with one hand with the other was placed on the back of the hammer head itself while he waited. He didn't have to wait long for the harpy to respond to his earlier taunt, lunging at him with intent to drive her spear into his gut.

He waited until she was within range, having committed to the strike before he made his move; As her spear came upwards, he swung the wooden shaft of his hammer to smack into her spear so that it went right by hitting it just under the pointed head while taking a step to the left to ensure that he was out of the way... and in the perfect position to push the head of his hammer towards the winged vulture's face. There wasn't a lot of power behind the blow in and of itself, but he was presenting an unmovable object for her to slam into head first while using her own momentum against her.

Letting go of the back of the hammer head, Luigi 'threw' the hammer upwards so that he could take a hold of the shaft near the bottom so that he could swing it down properly in order to take advantage of the opening created when the winged woman had ran face first into an unyielding hunk of metal to bring his hammer down on something important with a small roar of rage escaping his throat.

If it wasn't enough to finish the cow wasn't important; Noticing Odin's fire attack, Luigi turned to ran in order to avoid getting caught up in the attack itself, bending down long enough to scoop up the red hat as he attempted to dodge out of the way of the fireballs... If the harpy that had stolen his brother's hat hadn't been killed by his hammer, he would throw that napple core that had been left behind by the fruit he had eaten back at her in an attempt to stun her long enough to get caught up in her master's attack. It didn't matter if she died by his own hand or not, just as long as she was dealt with.

Shoving his brother's cap into his pocket for safe keeping, Luigi looked around the battlefield to try and get an idea of the current situation and how many hostiles were left standing.

@Holy Soldier

This was certainly going better, with their greater numbers the heros were making short work of most of the corrupt Valkyries, Naija had succeeded in healing team two’s wounded, delivered a blow to the surprisingly durable hat thief and thus giving Luigi an advantage and fox had cleared out the chasers with an impressive set of kicks. Actively looking behind her to avoid the valkyries attacks it was the first time she had actually gotten to see another hero fight and it showed her a world of combat techniques beyond projectile spam and ramming part of your body into a foe. Fox’s quick and deadly combos were incredibly impressive, everything in the ocean paled in comparison and that made Naija slightly worried that she wasn’t going to be able to fight in melee as effectively as her allies when she eventually remembered the relevant transformation tune.

”nice one Fox! You have got to teach me to fight like that some time”

She stopped now that there was no longer a need to escape or outpace someone, impressed by her stolen wings ability to keep flying without tiring all the way from the castle in the north and during the hot pursuit. She observed the battlefield once more, there were only 5 Valkyries left over from the 30 that had originally escorted the demon king. The battle was 11 vs 6. They could do this, they just had to find a way to hurt Odin and creatures that big always had some kind of weakness. Even if they could resist normal attacks there was always something in the environment or their attack patterns that left them vulnerable, exposing some kind of weak spot. So Naija hung back, watching their foe for any openings when the sapphire Valkyrie arrived demanding her identity and explanation for her armor at spear point.

Having not expected the threatening from someone she thought was with them she was totally unprepared for the spear jabbed in her face and didn’t really have anything she could do without being skewered, here CQC skills rather pathetic in her default form. At least she was asking questions first rather than skipping straight to stabbing, so naija raised her hands in surrender and tried to explain herself.

”uh hay. I'm Naija. I’m with them”

She carefully indicated to Luigi and the others.

”As for the wings I got them from an infected crow lady. The scientists of the council gave me this pre-infection medicine thing called a vaccine which stops you catching the virus. Or automatically cures you when you get it. I’m not entirely clear on the concept. I mean I threw up earlier but apart from that I’m pretty sure I’m fine. I hope. Actually speaking of I am not sure how contagious it is, maybe you should stay away from the plague birds”

Naija rambled before noticing two things about her interrogator. First the crown/tiara she was wearing and second the ring on her finger. Now there was nothing to say that it was The Ring but it would be good to find out if it was.

”Are you the princess we were sent here to help? The one with the ring for the cauldron?”

It was at this point, after he had been glaring at the fair Valkyries back as Naija yabbered on, that the generals chronic backstabbing disorder engaged and he made a grab for the woman he had just sworn fealty to.

”look out miss!”

Naijas defensive reflexes of ‘there is a giant dangerous thing trying to hit us: get away from it!’ kicked in and she reached past the spear and grabbed the princesses arm then furiously flapping her wings tried to drag herself and the princess up and out of the way of the reach of the big ugly brute. She would actively try and toss the princess out of Brigands reach if his arm got too close, trying to get her out the way at the expense of her own escape.

If they managed to get away she would yell down at him, her face red with rage.

”What the heck are you doing Brigan! You were with and talking to her just a moment ago, you even asked us all here to help protect her, what are you trying to punch her out of the sky for?”

Whether or not her pulling the princess up was successful it was going to be difficult for anyone to ignore Odin's new attack as he pulled off his helmet and devouring the life force of is fallen warriors. Here was the most obvious physical of the virus yet, the man's face twisted by foul magics, and the deformities only grew as he devoured his minions, his musculature swelling grossly underneath his armor. At least she assumed he was deformed, seeing as his daughter, the regal valkyrie she had tried to save, was quite beautiful.

In a way that was almost certainly coincidental he reminded her of Mithalas, god of the Mithalan, who had devoured his own children/worshipers and grown corrupt and monstrous as a result. A cursed being whom Naija had killed by dropping poison bloated mutates into his mouth when he tried to suck her into his ravenous maw to devour her whole. She wondered if this king had also been forced into his corruption by vile underlings as Mithalan’s priests had done, inducing their gods madness while seeking immortality. At any rate, the death of Mithalas might be the same as Odin, throw something dangerous into his vacuumous mouth. Hopefully either her allies had something like that or they could use one of the Valkyrie's magical flasks. Of course they could always just shoot the demon in the face now that he had foolishly removed his helmet but they might only have a short opportunity to do so, as now that he had devoured all the phozons he might don the helm once more.

She was going to communicate this, but then the world caught fire as Odin fired streams of fireballs out his eyes, that seemed to home in on the unfortunate heroes, burning their way towards them and the ground, igniting the battle field. The once calm forest was engulfed in flames of destruction, swirling and devouring the vegetation, consuming the wood as Odin had consumed his minions souls. For an aquatic lifeform fire was still new and terrifying, an untouchable wraith that destroyed all it’s lapping tendrils could reach. No matter where Naija had ended up, she was going to feel extremely threatened by the billowing soul birthed flames that threatened to consume the world and would try to get up and away from the fire into the relative safety of the open sky.

James nodded to Hapu as she asked for further aid in dealing with the Valkyries attacking her before the third one reached her, and as he drew a bead on the one attempting to skewer her, he noticed the other two charging him. Charger did as well and after a quick scan, cursed lightly. "Guardian, don't let the one in the back drop the vial she has, or at least don't let it hit the ground!" Following the advice of his Ghost and saving questions, he shifted his aim and fired into the first Valkyrie, who would take the round in her chest ideally. Following up his second shot, he fired into the head of the second one and, should the round connect, sprint towards the falling vial and dive for it, catching it before it hit the ground, if only barely, and letting out a sigh. All he could see in it was some kind of glowing substance.

"Any real reason this thing is dangerous? Don't see anything obvious about it." Charger sighed as James stored the vial in a pouch on his belt and turned his attention to the Valkyrie attacking Hapu and firing on it, aiming center mass for an immediate finish to the fight so that Hapu and Mudsdale might not end up skewered on the end of a spear in some strange game world that wasn't their own.

"There's an unstable compound inside it, likely some form of magic. Figured it would be better we didn't risk it hitting the ground with unpredictable results". With a shake of his head, James would turn his attention to a sudden shout of look out from Fishgirl, who was pulling Gwendolyn out of the reach of the ever predictable General Brigan's grasp. James holstered the Imago Loop, reaching to draw his Sniper Rifle again, when the sound of vast amounts of air being sucked in caught his attention, as did the phozons flying passed his face in the same direction.

Following the flow, he grimaced as Odin sucked in all the phozons to himself, watching with a grim determination etched on his face beneath his helmet. "Alright, so if I had to guess, we're looking at the big baddy powering himself up, along with Brigan being unable to think beyond that big ass nose of his. Got any ideas?" Charger was furiously trying to adjust his scan and find a weakness that was truly something they could take advantage of. Meanwhile, as the Demon Lord finishes his absorption of the phozons, James tenses up, knowing something was coming.

And the Guardian wasn't disappointed, as the Demon Lord grew in size, strength and power, the final of the three the most prominent as there seemed to be an oily quality to the air. The Nightstalker didn't have much time to think on it, however, as fireballs were flung at the heroes and he was once more forced to dive for cover. The sensation was familiar as he recalled fighting against Crota in his Throne World, hiding from the Hive God's gaze while dealing with his minions. Here's hoping this doesn't end up like that fight did...

With one of the Valkyries down, Samus drops down and prepares for the next contestant to face her. She looked briefly at the yellow phozons that were fading away into the air, but within the few seconds she was back on being high alert. Alas she was responded by another incoming Valkyrie from behind her, descending with her weapon ready to strike. Sensing her wings flapping furiously towards her, the bounty hunter rolls out of the incoming attack. She then fires her pellets at the human-bird creature as it zips and zooms ever closer to her location. This one however was a tougher target to hit compared to the other one she just eliminated. But just before the valkyrie could issue a direct swipe in decapitating Samus, a direct hit to the face from one of her pellets stunned the creature just long enough for the bounty hunter to counter-attack. Using her cannon, she swipes it towards its face, perhaps near-fracturing its face, before throwing another punch and finally an uppercut with her cannon, knocking it dead as can be.

But as she observes the phozons ascending from the dissolving valkyrie, she observes it to see it heading towards Odin himself. This made her both curious, if slightly concerned. "He isn't doing anything..." she thinks to herself while observing the Demon King, "Yet the phozons are heading towards him. He must be absorbing those little particles but for what purpose?"

Indeed was Odin absorbing them. And once he sucked the last of the phozons, the his armor shifted as muscle expanded beneath it, growing in size and strength as the whole atmosphere of the battlefield changed ominously. Black flames rose over his body, lingering on the battlefield in a sickly hue. Once again, Samus' helmet prevents her from inhaling this possible toxin, but all she hopes is that the others can handle it themselves. But just before the armored warrior could look to see Brigan attempting to grab Gwendolyn, Odin began charging up his crimson eye beams...

"Oh fuckin' goody..." the bounty hunter mumbles to herself.

But instead of laser beams like Samus though, his eyes fired a long, rapid-fire beam of fireballs, which rose and fell like a whip, lashing at the heroes as they were engrossed in their own struggles. As multiple domes of fire exploded onto the ground like small meteors, she barely avoids an incoming blast as she was pushed back by the shockwave, sending her rolling on the ground. Fire now engulfed the forest as the battle began to literally heat up. Quickly she gets to cover as the remaining fireballs crashed into the earth. She can see Varrock and the other teammates nearby as they too began to dive for cover against the hellfire that rained down upon them. Now with Odin being the threat at large, with Brigan betraying them again (unsurprisingly), they were literally between a seemingly unstoppable force and an immovable object in the form of Brigan's savage and barbaric mentality. What the hell can they possibly do now at this point? And how will they be able to hit two birds with one big stone?

Fox’s ears perked up as the air audibly parted behind him. The vulpine turned sharply in alerted response to see a dark-armored unfamiliar appear from the void. ”Oswald,” he introduced himself as, declaring himself to be a conditional ally. Fox recalled the name being within the mission dossier; one of the teams were tasked with fighting him, yet here he was offering to lend his sword to their combative effort against Odin. The fact that they were sent after the wrong guy by the traitor to their cause (Brigan) is one that Fox wished he could say in earnest that he was surprised by. Seeing as the Shadow Knight wasn’t fighting Fox’s comrades, nor did he attempt to kill him just now while he had the chance, he made the reasonable assumption that the warrior spoke true. Besides, given their current situation, they could use all the help they could get, and if there was any chance of him having any insight on how to defeat the Demon Lord, they would do well to take him up on it. Fox eased up from his half-guard upon this realization, turning fully to offer his attention to the swordsman as he casually took a pot shot to his left at the valkyrie behind Samus.

“I guess you’re with us then,” Fox stated in agreement before returning his sights to Odin. “Any chance you would know how to beat him?”

The corrupted king removed his mask, which was presumably designed to intimidate, to reveal something indisputably worse - what could aptly be described as a picture of death. The face beneath the helm was easily that of a man well past his final days, brought back into being by means most unholy. So this is what the virus did to those unfortunate enough to be claimed by it. To think that there were others in The System who willingly surrendered themselves as hosts to it; all just to become more powerful at the cost of what little sanity and good they had left in them. Then there were those unwilling, which Odin could very well be for all they knew. Fox dreaded the thought as he recalled his hauntingly similar experience with the Aparoid Incursion. Whether the Demon Lord electively submitted to the virus or not, it did unfortunately little to change the fact that they would have to put him down to stop him, and appearances would suggest that said task would suddenly become that much more difficult.

Odin swelled monstrously as he inhaled the excess energy particles left over by the felled valkyries, and umbra fire shot out through the gaps in his armor as if through overworked exhaust vents. Fox let out two light coughs, burying his muzzle into his left arm as the atmosphere became disgustingly thick to the touch with the polluting essence that Odin emanated. His eyes shone the familiar yellow from earlier, telegraphing his incoming attack to Fox.

“Everyone, get to cover,” he preemptively commanded aloud to anyone who could hear him. Based on the previous display, he wasn’t certain that the attack would be particularly devastating, but it was no reason not to take reasonable action to avoid it. Where everyone else would likely be moving out of the way, Fox swiftly brought forth his reflector, activating it in the same motion as he held it suspended before him in a guarded stance. He was confident that Oswald could find cover on his own, but the anthro stood his ground in front of him anyways. Hopefully, however much of the fireball stream that came down on them would find its way faster back to Odin.

---

To no one’s surprise, General Brigan once again turned upon the heroes. The brute’s cravenness seemed to know no bounds, didn’t it? But that wasn’t Hapu’s primary concern at the moment.

She had managed to knock out two of the Valkyries by throwing a horse at one, but at the same time, she also managed to piss of the third, who was now soaring towards her, spear in hand and ready to turn her into a shish kebab. Hapu scrambled back, sweating as the Valkyrie hacked and slashed in her general direction. Her short stature was doing her no favors as the Valkyrie was quickly catching up. She dove off to the side and tucked and rolled when she caught James responding to her request for help. Hapu rolled back, stood up, and whistled for her horse.

Mudsdale galloped over, but stopped, snorted, and whinnied, rearing as the Phozons from the fallen Valkyries began to gravitate towards the Demon Lord Odin. Hapu turned, and with a twitch of slight frustration watched Odin double, triple in mass. Hapu coughed; the air was getting thicker, and the subsequent deluge of fireballs from Odin’s attack.

Hapu looked up just in time to see the fireball barrage homing in on her. “Mudsdale, return!” she ordered, whipping out her Poké Ball and scrambling out of the way as the fire the ground where she was.

It was a rock and a hard place for our heroes. Hapu looked around at the flaming scene; she wouldn’t dare be so bold as to make an attempt on the Demon Lord in her state. However, she could try to stave off some of the fire in the areas that it hasn’t yet reached.

But urgent as that was, that would have to wait, for Fox McCloud, readying his reflector, told everyone to get to cover. She dashed behind Fox as he attempted to deflect the deluge of flame. Meanwhile, she looked behind her at the burning brush and wood that resulted from the fiery potshots that Odin had made. She glanced at a particularly wide swath of brush that would soon catch fire.

“Mudsdale. Level the bushes and tear into the ground. Throw soil onto the incoming flames,” Hapu ordered, opening her Poké Ball once more. “We need to do what we can to keep the fire from spreading too quickly.

Mudsdale emerged with a whinny, and began pawing at the ground with its powerful back hooves, digging into the dirt and throwing it onto the incoming flames in swaths. Mudsdale turned and snorted, stomping on the stray fires, unbothered by the embers thanks to its mud-caked legs.

Hapu threw a glance towards Naija, who had attempted to talk down Brigan; the amphibious girl would likely be threatened the most by the flames due to the prospect of dehydration.

“Naija, come over here if you can,” Hapu called. “There are fewer flames. I do not wish for you to dry out.” Hapu looked grimly towards Odin, then towards Brigan threatening Gwendolyn. “Hopefully Oswald or his beloved will have time to realize Brigan’s latest act of treachery.”

After sending the last valkyrie on her way, Slayer found that he'd finished his assignment, as it were, early. Around him, the battle still raged, but the all-out brawl with the small fry no longer concerned him. His cultured gaze lay on the twisted behemoth that towered over the posse of heroes, catastrophic and inescapable as a landslide, and sight of Odin approaching made the vampire furrow his brows. He did not know what to do. That conclusion, simple as it was irritating, did not sprout up for him often. In terrible situations, he had always been the knowledgeable one on the sidelines, but in a brand new world that worked on irksome rules like invincibility shields his advantages and airs of superiority availed him little. Slayer thrived on building rapport and connections with people, sharing his wisdom and gaining acquaintances in return, not skimming a mission briefing and then marching out like some hired thug to risk his neck. This scenario bothered him, to say the least.

Another point of annoyance needled him as he observed the phozons floating toward the Demon Lord once he removed his mask. One by one the little orbs, which the gentleman knew would be helpful for him, vanished into the gullet of the tyrant's hideous face. ”How...bothersome,” he muttered in an inconsolable tone, even before Odin's flesh began to swell with newfound power. As best Slayer could remember, the phozons could be saved and collected for the use of heroes using certain grown plants, but in the heat of a fight over the fate of the world there was precious little time for agriculture. Of course, the seeds had unceremoniously disappeared along with the majority of Slayer's comrades, so it made little difference.

The sunken, hateful eyes of the tyrant began to smolder with a cruel, hellish light. Slayer predicted some kind of attack, but not a barrage of fireballs. Thinking quickly, he dashed backward before throwing up his priceless cape. While the flames licked it, they did not consume it and the vampire was able to brush out the fire. Had Odin's attack been more targeted, he might have been in quite the pickle, but for the stroke of luck allowed him an opportunity. Once his enemy's attack concluded, Slayer began to move. He walked purposefully, chuckling to himself. ”Now, this is a quandary. My foe wields brutal power and overwhelming strength, and yet...unless I get closer, I cannot teach him some manners.” None of the other heroes stood at his side, but Slayer continued on at his characteristic dignified pace. He spread his hands apart, palms up, and shook his head with a smile on his face—a gentleman's taunt. ”All those phozons bulking you up and you go with a flurry of fireballs? Honestly! And not a single hero harmed.”

When he opened his eyes, they were fearless. They stared up at the giant. ”I'm beginning to think you're all bluster, my good man. Did the virus perhaps affect your faculties? Ah, how pitiable. In fact, I'm certain you couldn't even hit me now.”

Slayer wanted his foe to rage. He begged for a wrathful response to his good-natured mockery, and moreover, he begged that Odin's wrath would open up for his allies an opportunity to strike. Oswald, at the very least, should be able to teleport in and deal a crippling blow. However, he did not plan to make this ploy into a sacrifice. Light on his feet, Slayer made a wager: the Demon Lord's speed and power versus his invincibility frames. One split-second was all it would take; either his Dandy Step would allow him to evade the conquer of the world's blow, or he would be forced into early retirement from heroism. Slayer waited, muscles tense, to see what it would be.

As far as mounts go, there were worse choices than Quina that Velvet could have made, but not many. It wasn't the weight of the girl that slowed Quina down, nor his (or her) lack of speed, but Quina's endless capacity to be surprised, intrigued or curious about anything that resembled food. The forest provided plenty of opportunities to stop and smell the roses, and then eat them. No amount of cheek pulling, tongue tugging, kicks to the side or impassioned pleas to get on with things would speed Quina up. So the mount, and her (or his) rider, were late to the fight.

In the confusion of the fight, the fire and the smoke, Quina began searching for his (or her) team, and tried very hard indeed not to get in the way of the action until she'd found the rest of her team-mates. Quina's capacity to simply ignore things that didn't fit in with her (or his) view of the world proved useful, as rather than worrying about a man calling himself Oswald (who, Quina dimly remembered, she was supposed to be distracting, or something along those lines) or the raging fires, Quina focused on the sounds of voices, listening out for the sounds of particular voices over the din of battle. Finally, Quina heard it - the elegant, dramatic voice of Slayer, the last remaining member of Quina's team. It didn't really matter now what Velvet wanted, Quina was going to help their team, and so ran towards Slayer.

Then Quina saw him, and his opponent, and the way in which the former approached the latter. From Quina's perspective, it looked very much like Slayer needed help. Raising her fork towards the heavens, Quina waved it around in a way that looked less like the weird chef was trying to cast a spell, and more like a strange little dance that would, if successful, summon a very large pumpkin above the head of the equally large Odin. Perhaps it'd give Slayer an opening. Perhaps it'd somehow injure the giant. Either way, as far as Quina was concerned as she (or he) danced about a little ways behind Slayer, there'd be a pumpkin at the end of it all, and pumpkins are delicious.

---

The former Valkyrie Mario’s spear was knocked aside by the enraged green brother and the Valkyrie’s face connected with his mallet with a gruesome crack. The momentum of her charge had thrown her face first into the assault, the shock passing through her body and causing her legs to swing forward out from under her. As the Valkyrie dropped back-first toward the grass, her dazed eyes gazed up at the hammer that hovered like a tower above her. Her red eyes widened in fright, her jagged teeth parting in a vicious screech before her feral noise was silenced by Luigi’s hammer. The hammer crushed the Valkyrie’s skull, causing her body to join the phozons that started to collect on the battlefield like fireflies.

Luigi obtains Mario’s Hat – a cherished item and memory of a perished kin (Add this item to character “Inventory” along with Napple Seed).

Gwendolyn was frowning at Naija suspiciously as she explained her story. She didn’t quite understand anything she said about viruses and councils. Her grip tightened on her spear when she identified her as the princess. So the blue girl knew who she was, but Gwendolyn didn’t know who she was. She also recognized the ring on her finger.

“I have never seen you before. How do you know me or the ring?” Gwendolyn asked.

Gwendolyn felt the air shift violently behind her and she turned an amethyst eye over her shoulder in growing surprise. She screamed a little in startle when Naija snagged her arm and carried her out of Brigan’s reach.

What the heck are you doing Brigan! You were with and talking to her just a moment ago, you even asked us all here to help protect her, what are you trying to punch her out of the sky for?

General Brigan’s red eyes gleamed with anger as he gnashed his teeth. The hired team had been more trouble than he expected them to be.

“That ring on her finger could end all of this!” General Brigan exclaimed. “If we take the ring to the Cauldron, then we could defeat Odin and save Erion!”

Gwendolyn yanked her arm free from Naija, infuriated by Brigan’s persistent betrayal. “Does your treachery have no end? If the Cauldron was such a savior, then my father might have used it in such a way, but even he fell to greed. I have the ring to protect Erion from conceited bastards like you!”

Gwendolyn’s attention was immediately drawn to her father’s transformation. General Brigan watched Demon Lord Odin grow, and with a nervous hiss, again he abandoned them. The general charged off into the night as Gwendolyn returned kindness to Naija, taking her by her arm and taking her into the sky as Demon Lord Odin whipped the earth with fire.

General Brigan escapes.

James obtains “Volcano” – when smashed on the ground, the magic detonates in a series of explosions in a straight line. Those afflicted by the explosions will take damage over time. (Add to character “Inventory.”)

James’s aid to Hapu had been successful in killing the Valkyrie that had been trying desperately to harm the girl, but he and Hapu had a more troubling foe to deal with.

The Valkyrie that had been trying to take Samus from behind, stabbed the earth where the bounty hunter had once stood. She had promptly rolled in evasion and the pellet fire that peppered the Valkyrie stripped away at her body, the plasma burning holes in her. The Valkyrie once again leapt into the air to avoid the barrage the bounty hunter laid on her and erratically flew closer to her, darting chaotically about. Inevitably the Valkyrie would have to fly closer to Samus, and the bounty hunter anticipated it. Her cannon met the Valkyrie’s face before her spear could reach her throat. The plasma melted the Valkyrie’s dark face into a cauterized blob of flesh, blood, and smoke. The Valkyrie’s mouth was the only thing that could be made out through the globs of melted tissue, screaming in horrified agony before Samus silenced the creature with a series of punches, and then finally, an overkill uppercut. The Valkyrie was sent flipping into the air before it popped into purple sparkles (Any other shots to this Valkyrie I’m ignoring because it’s already overkill).

Oswald frowned uncomfortably, watching with Fox, the demon lord remove his mask. He knew he wouldn’t have much time to entertain Fox’s question and so decided to explain as quickly as he could: “He’s big, but he’s also slow. He uses his strength for speed. You do not want to take him from the front. He is best taken from behind. Unlike General Brigan, he has no magic protecting him, but he’s still going to be difficult.”

Oswald paused to watch warily the demon lord grow in size. “If you see him use his weapon, Balor; run.”

After those words, Oswald stepped backwards into a shadow as Demon Lord Odin brought his hand to his face and unleashed his inferno upon the team and the forest.

Fox’s reflector barely survived the initial wave. It managed to reflect the initial damage, but inevitably imploded from the fiery assault. The flames by then hadn’t been directly on him, but the indirect inferno would be enough to scorch him and his fur. Fox had no m-e defense, and therefore, his reflector wouldn’t do him much good as he would have liked.

Slayer, with no points invested in dexterity, managed to dodge Odin’s assault if only by using his Dandy Step. Otherwise, the vampire would have been incinerated.

Demon Lord Odin lowered his hand from his dark face. His lips rolled back as he bore his teeth at the one warrior who cockily approached him. Rearing back, the same hand went behind his back and the blue character-slaying orb of destruction was removed: Balor. The very weapon Oswald had warned Fox about. Before the demon lord could even twitch a muscle to use it, the air between his shoulder blades rippled, darkened, and emerging from a black hole was a wispy warrior. With the hilt of Belderiver gripped in both of Oswald’s hands, he held it high above his head, blade pointed forward at Odin’s spine as he drove its crimson, Valentinian psypher into the god’s back.

Demon Lord Odin staggered forward, his faltering steps causing the ground to quake beneath his feet. The god bellowed a pained and angered cry, and the ground shook once more as Balor struck the earth. The massive, blue meteor hammer impregnated with the souls of countless warriors was grounded as the god twisted about, trying to reach his own back. Oswald clung to his blade, baring his teeth in his effort to hang on and mentally praying that his new allies would take advantage of the diversion.

Velvet and Quina had arrived on the scene then. Quina’s chef hat had been stomped in from the countless times Velvet had stomped his/her head to keep her/him focused on the original plan. While Quina rushed to Slayer’s side, Velvet swiftly dismounted from his/her head to sprint toward Odin’s feet. Spreading her chained blades, she released one to whip it in a spiral above her head. She then swung the blade in an arc about the god’s ankles. The weapon with a similar red crystal to Oswald’s turned about Odin’s legs on its own. She threw the other end about the arm that Odin tried to swing behind his back to swat Oswald, and again, the blade wrapped about his limb.

Feeling the sudden resistance on his arm, Demon Lord Odin absently jerked it, which drew his feet together. The Demon Lord collapsed, striking the ground just as hard as Balor had. Growling and snarling with the same ferocity the Valkyries had, he continued to try and tug his bound arm and reached for Balor with his unbound hand. While he howled and struggled on the ground, a giant pumpkin seemed to tumble from nowhere and break like a boulder over the head of the Demon Lord, sending pumpkin fragments and guts almost comically splattering everywhere.

Velvet ran over to once again hop on top of Quina’s head and stared at the god. “My chains won’t hold him for long.”

Injured Teammates: Fox.

Phozons Present for the Group: None.

Phozons stolen by Odin: None.

Total Phozons stolen by Odin: 36

---

Total Enemies: 2
Minions: 1 – Black Valkyrie
Location: Grounded in another map...or is she?
Outlier: 1 - grounded in another map

Boss: Demon Lord Odin
Location: Grounded

Lost Teammate: Mario

This GM post reveals the results of team decisions/consequences.


Keep track of your word count XP. Overall XP will be awarded at the end of every battle. This does not include Battle XP. That will be totaled at the end of the mission and gifted out.



Try to write your posts without quoting other characters. When I put people's posts in the word counter, I erase the quotes of other characters, and that seems to lower the word count depriving players of XP. So try to write without it. When XP isn't initiated, then using other character quotes doesn't matter.

Use your CSes to keep track of your XP points!


If a player is inactive for more than 3 days, then the player can be skipped over on the 4th day.

Team One Order: Slayer, Quina

Team Two Order: Luigi, James, Samus, Hapu

Team Three Order: Naija, Fox

Be sure to re-read the scenario rules found here. Good luck!

Having successfully pulled the princess from Brigan’s grasp the two of them had a brief argument about the use of the cauldron before Brigan decided to bail on them. Apparently he did not appreciate the whole end of the world thing meant running away was kind of pointless, if the hero's failed here there would be nowhere left to run too.

”What a jerk”

Naija was then pulled skywards by Gwendolyn and the two of them watched from above as the heros were bombarded with fire, Fox’s reflecting device not entirely saving him from the oncoming rush of flames. It was fortunate he was not killed, but unfortunately they had no more healing items and as far as she could tell no way to get any more till they returned to the tetris castle with all the pozons being sucked up by odin. Though of course if they did kill odin then he would presumably pop into phozons that could be used to make plants to heal fox.

”We can talk about how I know about you later, right now we gotta stop Odin”

At this moment Quina, who had been absent from the proceedings up till this point and whom Naija was very relieved to see was alive, arrived on the scene along with a chain wielding warrior. They all worked with the shadowy knight and together brought the mighty odin crashing to the ground, leaving an opening for the rest to strike him with impunity. While she appreciated Hapu’s concern for her well being they had to act now, though the existence of a safe zone from the ravenous flames was definitely going to come in handy.

Naija was without weapon, she needed something to hit him with and the desecrated forest held little that could harm odin except...

Balor.

The massive blue glowing sphere lay on the ground before its master, slack on the chain that bound it too him. With the jugonoaghts arms bound or distracted he would not be able to stop her ‘borrowing’ his hideous weapon. Even if he did that was one less arm trying to swat at those who had constrained him.

She flew to the sapphire soul eater, a spiked orb about as big as she was and sung the bind song, the verse, the essence of life itself, wrapped around the orb of death and allowed her to carry it effortlessly. She would fly skyward, rising straight up till the chain was at its maximum length and for a moment Balor would hang above the demon king like the sword of damocles.

”Look out below!” she would yell at the shadowknight currently on the kings back and to any others who had come in to strike a close ranged blow, warning them to get out of the way.

Then Naija would let out her song once more, deliver a swift kick to the top of the ball to send it on it’s way and then let gravity do the rest. It would almost be like all of the demon king's victims getting a chance to strike back at their killer, their vengeful voices raised as one as Balor screamed through the air downwards towards it’s corrupted master. With the setup time this would require it was likely the others could get in a few attacks before the massive sphere smashed into Odin.

Her blow struck she would continue to hover above the king and some way behind where he would be facing if he got up again, ready to try and strike him once more or to act as a rescuer that would swoop in and try and pull her allies out of the way of his retaliatory strikes using the high dexterity provided by her wings.

Luigi felt his heart thunder inside of his chest as he greedily gulped down air in a poor attempt to help calm it down. He prided himself on being a physically healthy man but after being forced to trog through such a long, grueling day of boss battles, environmental hazards and the various emotionally draining trails of leadership he was quickly finding himself feeling tired and sore as the world itself seemed to weigh him down.

He tried not to think of the red cap that he had shoved into his pocket and the cold, harsh realty that it promised; To think to hard about the possibility that Mario wasn't alive to give it back to would have caused him to sink to his knees, so instead he put it aside to try and focus on the here and now.

The situation... wasn't as dire as it had been mere moments ago, wait the now united groups managing to take out the various winged minions of Odin and leaving the poor infected giant alone to fight against greater numbers; They even had Oswald and whom could only possible be Gwendolyn (Wasn't going to lie, if Oswald had married her then he was a very lucky man) fighting alongside them. For the first time in a while, he felt his spirits rise; They could do this!

Glancing towards Fox, Luigi couldn't hide the wince of his features as he saw that the fox had almost terminally become a fire fox due to his overconfidence in his equipment. That looked like it hurt a lot and he began to regret the fact that he had eaten up all of the healing fruit that Naija had given him to help with his shoulder earlier. Patting his pockets absentmindedly in order to see if he could find some kind of healing item on his person (in much the same manner as someone looking for their car keys) Luigi was about to stop searching when he found something.

Reaching into his pocket, he removed a napple seed that he hadn't remembered having before. Not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, he quickly kicked aside a small amount of dirt and dropped the seed into it before burying it again before stamping it down underfoot; Maybe Odin would drop enough of the 'Phozons' needed to grow it on defeat that it would grow more fruit? One could only hope.

Seed planted, Luigi turned back to the fight to see that Odin was face first on the ground, Oswald on his back with his sword buried deeply while the giant mace that the giant had wielded was being lifted up into the air by Naija as if it was nothing! As the others no doubt acted to get their attacks in on the downed Odin, Luigi raised his hammer high as he prepared to charge forward with a loud battle cry to bring it down... when suddenly he felt as if he had been struck by lightning itself.

All of his hair frizzled and stood up on end as he felt his muscles seize painfully, his grip on his hammer tightening forcefully as everything locked up for one long, terrifying moment. The only time he had ever felt even close to this was when...

He remembered the large orb that had been resting in the middle of the old, abandoned palace. He remembered the feeling of having the air stolen from his lungs as he cried out in pain and alarm... only for it to pass mere seconds later. He remembered the guardian of the orb appearing, teaching him how to use the new found power that he had stumbled across in his search for a way forward with Mario...

The hammer dropped to the ground as he let it go, the seizures disappearing as quickly as they had come. Taking a deep breath in order to replace the air that had been forced out as his lungs had squeezed painfully in his chest, Luigi felt... great. Better then he had felt for a long time.

For a moment, he gazed at his hand as if he was seeing it for the first time... Before he glanced up at the downed Odin with a burning hatred that could have fueled the furnace of the Mushroom Kingdom for years. As he charged forward, lightning started to form around his gloved hand, letting off odd, small sparks that disappeared into nothingness while the rest of it started to form into a ball in his palm. It was only when he was at close range, close enough that it would have been impossible to miss, that he thrust his palm forward to unleash the charged up Thunderhand right for Odin's head! "FOR MY BROTHER YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He roared with accented fury.

In a state of heightened focus, time seemed to slow down. The words told to the group by Oswald echoed through Slayer's mind. If you see his weapon, Balor, run. No fiber in Slayer's body told him that he need obey that command. Even if his Dandy Step failed, after all, he knew in the back of his mind that no matter how mighty the blow, he couldn't be felled—that at worst, he ought to throw in the towel and lay down, entrusting the fight to his allies. He stood firm, a smirk on his face, as Odin retrieved his weapon.

Then, everything went quiet for Slayer. His insightful mind kicked into overdrive, and despite himself, he swallowed. Within the ethereal glow of the boss's weapon, something screamed at him. Perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed strangely terrible. The demon king's monstrous, nightmarish form, the tension of his muscles ready to swing that immense weapon...the corners of the gentleman's mouth and eye twitched. He went to give his pipe a nonchalant puff, but found himself unable to move. He glanced at the offending fingers, and discovered no unexpected paralysis spell, but instead his hands shaking too. What...is this!? He stared at the weapon, poised to smite him like a heel that crushes an ant. This can't be fear!? Is this some kind of sign!? Chips flew from his stalwart mental fortress, and confidence gushed between the gaps. Balor was too large; Odin wielded it too quickly. What kind of magical properties did it have? Slayer didn't know why, but the image of cracking his hand against the wall inside the castle flashed into his mind. His eyes widened for the first time. I can't confirm it, but I have the horrible feeling...I can't survive this! Slayer, leader of the reformed assassin's guild, ageless vampire and peerless man of quality, flinched.

Odin's blow never came. Instead, a growl of pain hurtled through the air toward him, and Slayer redirected his gaze toward the dark shape perched upon his neck while trying to keep his footing in the ensuing tremor. In no position to attack at the moment, particularly with the turbulence, he could only watch as Quina and and unknown woman turned up out of the blue to lend their aid. The sight of the bizarre cuisinier brought a reassured smile to the gentleman's face, and after the stranger restrained Odin, Quina conjured a gargantuan gourd from the heavens to crash down upon the god from above. Guts rained everywhere, and in their midst Slayer couldn't see Oswald, but he felt sure the knight had saved him. ”How...foolish of me. This world doesn't play by my rules. It seems I cannot rely on myself alone.” He tapped a finger against his cheek as he breezily retreated a dozen paces, the shudder stabilizing bit by bit. ”Good fellow. I shall have to repay him when I am able.”

Slayer did not, however, spare that tangent any more of his attention. A gentleman's affectations could wait; there was a boss that needed beating. He spotted Naija enact a magic spell to lift Odin's weapon up, presumably to let it fall from on high. As much as he would have liked to perform a two-handed overhead slam to send it careening into the demon king faster than gravity would, there was no way to get him up there. Above, if not behind, did seem to be the optimal angles of attack given Oswald's advice, however. Luigi opted to tackle his enemy dead-on, surrounded in an aura of crackling lightning, and Slayer did not doubt it would do some damage. He also, while not knowing the exact story behind his tortured, mad shout, wished Luigi the very best luck in doing so. To really put these critical seconds to use, however, the team needed more. Slayer could follow in the plumber's footsteps to charge in and punch, but he thought of something different.

His eyes turned toward the woman in the brightly-colored armor, and the wheels turned in his head. ”Pardon me!” he called, stooping forward and putting his hands together, palms up. ”I believe I spotted you charging up some sort of...er, charge shot earlier? I don't remember you using it. Perhaps I can interest you in a quick trip over Odin's head, to introduce it to the back of his skull?” His enhanced strength, wasted in an attack on the demon king's shins, could instead be used to fling a teammate into a position to blast away at a potential weak point. If Samus's efforts didn't annihilate the helmet and its contents, it could at the least soften him up for a flail to the noggin. Time was, however, of the essence. Any moment Odin could break free, and this ploy would be better used before Naija's own came to fruition.

The hellish fire that the Demon King Odin produces was almost immeasurable in Samus' instance. The closest characters she can consider this abomination to be is having a much large Kraid combined with a much more powerful Mother Brain... the second Mother Brain that is, definitely. As long as he doesn't fire some rainbow laser beam that can almost literally strip her of her armor, she should be ok. Well, that or basically any other attack for that matter. She was relieved to hear that this giant didn't have any special magical powers protecting him, so at least they have a slightly better shot at taking him down, but of course that's just putting in bluntly. He may be slow, but obviously still extremely powerful. The news wouldn't be better as she also overhears that if the giant used his weapon Balor, than basically run straight the hell away. And indeed, the monstrous giant prepared his attack, unleashing a harassing aura of fear and terror coursing through her body. It almost made her unable While she was doing her hardest to let it not affect her, there was still some ripples in its affect. A terrifying sight to behold, it's times like this when the bounty hunter would love to have her space jump equipped just so she can basically "fly" to him and target his head and other weak points, let alone using her screw attack which she also didn't have.

"Just how the literal hell are we going to take this giant son-ova-bitch down?" she asks to virtually anyone near her as she tries to think of some plan to take him down, if she survives the initial blast.

Yet Samus wouldn't need to. Coming towards the battlefield, Quina and a woman she'll later find out to be Velvet came onto the scene. While Quina would rush to Slayer’s side, Velvet swiftly dismounted from its head to sprint toward the giant's feet. Launching into the air, she would use her chained blades to wrap around his head and ankles. It was an impressive array of incredible agility and quick-thinking as it would force the giant to lose balance and fall to the ground with a tremendous thud.

She did it! The Demon Lord was down and now vulnerable to attack!

Just before Samus can do anything however, she would get hit by several splats of pumpkin that exploded across the entire battlefield. Her visor cleans off any debris as she remembers the food fight back at home base for a brief second before setting her mind back to Earth. As she prepares to fire upon the downed giant however, she would suddenly hear a call behind her coming from Slayer. The bounty hunter cocks her head back for a brief second.

"Waddya need sir?" she responds as she begins firing pellets at the giant's eyes and face.

He then proceeds to explain about how she was charging up her charged shot, how it never fired, and how he interested her in a collaborate effort in aiming for the back of his skull. The plan? Have her charge it up and get launched by Slayer's strength. Samus was quite interested in the plan. Frankly, it sounds a little crazy, considering how Samus was fairly heavy in her armor, but hey, if giant demons exist in the realm and how characters can lift heavy masses, why not give this guy a chance. She looks back and smirks.

"You know," she says frankly, "That's the best plan I've heard all day. Sign me up and pick me up."

The bounty hunter heads towards Slayer to be picked up, quickly charging her charged shot as she prepares for launch.

"On my mark, throw me as far as your strength can muster." Samus orders as she continues charging.

After roughly 5 seconds, a little ting, followed by a looping vurm, can be heard coming from her cannon. Samus smiles as she gives out the signal.

"NOW!"

It would be then when Slayer would launch her up into the air, virtually being launched into the sky like a literal rocket. After another couple seconds, she can see Luigi using his own attack against the creature's face from below, his fist surging with blue electricity. She also sees everyone down below preparing to finish the giant off. But enough sightseeing the battle. It was time for her to unleash her move properly. And unlike General Brigan, it won't fail this time. As soon as Samus got high enough for a clear shot at his skull, she aims her cannon down at him.

"DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" the bounty hunter roars as she unleashes a slightly more powerful charged shot at the back of Odin's skull, which would produce a large explosion upon impact.

Fox drew forth his shield just in time to ward off the incendiary bombardment, but not quite to the effect he had hoped for. Each returned blast only made it as far as the next one behind it as the chain of projectiles rapidly collided with one another in overwhelming succession, detonating right in front of the barrier that narrowly separated him from it. With a muted flash and a bright, piercing blare, Fox’s reflector burst violently under the pressure of the explosive impact it had just sustained. The resulting concussive shock from the combined two forces blew him off his feet and sent him soaring over Hapu, a trail of grey smoke lining his features and following him in a gentle arc as he flew from the fiery cloud. He bounced once as he hit the ground sideways into an uncontrolled roll that so happened to put out the wicks of flame that lit the ends of his tail, ears, and jacket like the corners of a burning letter, coming to a rough stop in the form of a face down skid.

Fox let out a single panged, ragged breath as he slowly, weakly pushed himself back onto his feet, reeling from slight disorientation that would soon pass. He reached down to pick up his reflector that he had dropped during his tumble, but his hand soon jolted back from it after finding out the hard way that it was hot to the touch. He hadn’t noticed initially that its vents were open and active, so he waited a few more seconds for them to die down and close as the device finished cooling off before picking it back up again and looping it back to his belt. How his trusted tool for defense had failed him here after having previously combated Rayquaza with it in the past probably would have confused him a little had he any time or attention to spare to the thought. Perhaps it was in need of a tune-up, or he simply overestimated its capacity, or some degree of both. Either way, it was going to be of no further use to him for the duration of the battle while it was recharging, and he was lucky enough to have survived with it as is.

His clothing and fur were singed and smeared black - mostly on his left side - patterning his form in a way that resembled the defined shadows on a well drawn model, but as far as he could tell nothing was broken or missing save for the left sleeve on his now tattered flight jacket. He held his side with his right hand and observed the fight while taking a moment to let the pain subside. He hadn’t realized in the literal heat of the moment that Hapu had taken cover behind him during the last wave, but it was good to know that she remained unharmed, thankfully. The rotund connoisseur whose name Fox couldn’t remember arrived with unexpected backup just in time to make a conjoined effort with Oswald to topple the Demon Lord. Oswald struck Odin in the back, as per his own advice, while the scarlet clad stranger tethered down the titanic king using his own strength against him. The chef acted to capitalize on this by... summoning a giant pumpkin... and dropping it on his head? The ludicrously oversized crop was large enough to cast a shadow over its intended target, Odin, so as farfetched as the idea was, it may have actually been able to damage him. Regardless, they now had an opening, and now was the time to make good use of it.

After regaining himself, Fox took off into a progressively hastening sprint as the gargantuan vegetable was mid-fall. The battlefield was littered with fragmented squash meat and rind as it crashed against Odin’s crowned helm. This should suffice to keep attention off of Fox long enough for him to move to Odin’s right flank. Naija had begun raising the fearsome morningstar above its wielder, her intentions being clear, but an assist would be welcomed. The overlapping noise of two sharp swipes and starry ringing raced past Oswald’s ears as Fox rushed through the king’s dark wings that surrounded the Shadow Knight. Fox slung himself back around by Balor’s chain to plant his feet on it while it was still taught at a right angle and began an ascending run up the steepening improvised tightrope. As he approached the spherical end, he attempted to disconnect it from its metal bonds by shooting the last link that held it. Assuming it would work, this would ensure that Odin wouldn’t yank the weapon back down in the likely event that he desperately attempted to do so.

Fox leaped from the chain up to the massive cerulean mace as it reached the apex of its carry, which would be conceivably greater should he prove successful in severing it. He placed a hand flat against the glowing orb for leverage, using his upward momentum to twist and forcefully throw himself over it feet first. Fox briefly rolled through the air above Naija whilst sailing around the mighty flail until he unfolded at the height of his jump. He remained suspended overhead for two seconds before fast falling backwards into an adjusting flip to deliver a straight kick downward in unison with Naija’s. With a whipping smack, the flat of his right foot met the top of Balor to help send it crashing down onto its accursed user.

Comparing Fox’s strength to others, it wasn’t much, but it was obviously better than what Naija would have gotten on her own. Fox had kicked off of the weapon with enough force to send him into a retreating back tuck to place some margin of distance between him and the Demon Lord in case he got back up. He snappily raised his blaster to the ready the instant he hit the ground in vigilant preparation for whatever came next, which he hoped would be nothing.

---

The Demon Lord continued to struggle and squirm on the ground. He closed one eye as Samus pelted him with shots from her cannon and the hand of his one, free arm slapped at the earth as he glanced over to see Balor levitating into the air. His red eye darted up to see Naija hefting it with some sort of magic and Odin bellowed in rage. He grasped its chain to prevent her from taking it further into the air. As Fox would run passed Oswald, he would find the Shadow Knight still stubbornly keeping his sword embedded into the Demon Lord’s back. His armor was covered in orange pulp and pumpkin seed, and he just so happened to briefly glance the pilot’s way before he watched him acrobatically ascend Balor’s chain.

As soon as the chain was severed and the heavy links collapsed on the earth, Oswald glanced up again at Balor, hovering like a moon over Odin and ripped his blade from the Demon Lord’s back. The Shadow Knight jumped onto the ground and got clear of the god. Samus went flying over the Demon Lord’s head having been lobbed by Slayer and released a charged shot at the back of his skull. His brittle corrupt bone and flesh seemed to incinerate like paper. Demon Lord Odin’s head disappeared in the plasma brought by Samus’s blast leaving a dark, smoking hole about his neck. As Fox and Naija sent Balor descending like a comet upon Odin’s upper back, the black, oily corruption that sloshed about in the gorge of Odin’s neck seemed to surge forth once Balor landed. The weight of the psypher weapon caused the evil to gush like a tube of paste at the charging Luigi.

Four, insect-like segments branched from the black slug’s face, splaying as it flew toward Luigi, the white, human-like rows of teeth at its center parting with a horrific scream. Behind it, Odin’s body had deflated as though all the energy, nutrients and life had been sucked from it. The parasite crashed against Luigi’s electrifying fist, arching backwards on its serpentine body as chains of electricity caused its slimy flesh to smoke and convulse.

Lowering from the sky with her hand held in the worm’s direction was the Valkyrie Princess. Floating above her was her spear, having grown ten times its normal size.

“This is it!” Gwendolyn shouted.

She thrusted her spear toward the worm and it was intercepted by two other staffs to form a six-armed cross. The blinding and purifying light that emanated from the super weapon known as Gungnir engulfed Luigi and the worm. The worm squealed as its grotesque body crumbled into nothingness, and as the light faded, the group would find Luigi to be unharmed and the fires that had once torched the forest extinguished. Purple phozons covered the scorched, black field where the Demon Lord had once laid. They lingered like fireflies in the night and calm.

Slowly, a batch of the phozons rushed toward the castle where Luigi had first planted a Napple Seed. From the crack in the castle floor unfurled a sprout that swelled into a succulent, red tear-drop fruit. Some ways behind Luigi, more phozons rushed to the seed he had planted before the battle’s end, causing a second fruit to emerge.

Gwendolyn’s spear returned to her hand as she swiftly flapped down to Luigi to ensure he wasn’t harmed.

“Forgive me,” she pleaded. She landed behind the plumber. “I took a risk. I wasn’t sure if Gungnir would harm you or not. I couldn’t risk the evil escaping or finding another to corrupt. I thank the gods that you are well.”

The blue psypher, Balor, cracked and burst into the phozons it had consumed. The phozons rushed out, spreading across the forest open as a red batch approached Luigi. Gwendolyn stared strangely at the red phozons.

“Those phozons are unusual,” she said. She removed an empty vial from her inventory and stepped forward to herd the red phozons into it. Corking it, she continued to inspect the phozons in the vial, noticing their strange behavior as they seemed to gravitate toward Luigi. She looked to the green plumber and offered the bottle to him. “Here; the spirit is not from here.”

As Gwendolyn gave Luigi the vial, Oswald walked over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

Luigi received Mario's spirit.

“Are you all right? It’s over,” he told her.

Gwendolyn weakly collapsed into her lover’s arms, tears streaming down her cheeks. “No; as long as The Cauldron exists, it’ll never be over and as long as people like General Brigan exist who desire it, the war will never end. Erion will never be safe.”

Oswald held her close and rested his hand on the back of her head. “Speak no more. We will savor this peace. I am sorry about your father. I should have seen Brigan’s treachery sooner.”

Wiping her eyes, Gwendolyn shook her head and turned away from her lover. She looked around at all the foreigners to Erion.

“I am sorry that you all were drawn into this. This was not your battle, but I thank you. Because of your efforts, Erion is saved for now. If there is anything that I can do, please ask. I will do what is in my power to help you, but know that this battle is not over. But today, we will be grateful for our victory and rest.”

Oswald then chimed in, “Though our fight isn’t over, I thank you all for coming here to help us. If you so need me, you have my blade.”

“And my spear,” Gwendolyn said.

The Pooka, Myris, rushed over to Gwendolyn to take her princess’s hands. Gwendolyn crouched and hugged her caretaker, easing her worries.

Velvet hopped off Quina's head to quickly rush over to Gwendolyn and Oswald. "Now that Odin's dead, I fear the other kingdoms will contest for the Cauldron. And...Queen Odette..."

Gwendolyn turned from Myris's embrace, surprised at first to see her half-sister Velvet. Hearing the Queen of the Underworld's name mentioned gave her goosebumps, but she frowned sternly, "They will have to come for this ring."

Gwendolyn held up her hand with the ring and raised her chin bravely. "Let them come."

Injured Teammates: Fox.

Napple Seeds needing Harvest: 2

Lost Teammate: Mario

This GM post reveals the results of team decisions/consequences.



Keep track of your word count XP. Overall XP will be awarded at the end of every battle. This does not include Battle XP. That will be totaled at the end of the mission and gifted out.



Use your CSes to keep track of your XP points!

Even as he was dashing towards the fallen Odin, Luigi quickly found that no matter how fast he ran he wouldn't be fast enough to land a blow. Watching as Samus, Naija and Fox worked in concert to explode the corrupted tyrant's head before they dropped his own weapon on his back... and squeezed out a disgusting, oily black substance like toothpaste out of a tube that quickly developed a life of its own as it shoot straight at him!

While he attempted to skid to a halt, poor traction continued to carry Luigi forward towards what could only be described as something out of a nightmare. While such a thing would normally have made him cower with fear, Luigi's cowardly instincts quickly came to the conclusion that fighting was more likely to result in survival then fleeing; His heart pumping Luigi drove his fist forwards towards the dark creature's vile face. The lightning that he had gathered around his fist proved vital as his fist connected with... whatever it was made out of, knocking the foul creature backwards in a great deal of pain as lightning pulsed through its body.

Luigi couldn't actually describe what happened next. There had been a shout from above that he didn't quite make out through he managed to resist the urge to look up because his attention was focused solely on the beast before him to ensure that it didn't recover quicker then he believed it would to take him unawares, but the next moment both of them were bathed in a bright, blinding light. Words didn't do the sensation of the feeling of that light on his skin justice, forcing him to have to call it a 'tingling sensation' because it was the best available.

As the light abated, Luigi found himself standing alone; The corrupt creature of darkness had clearly been destroyed completely. He couldn't help but indulge himself with a deep breath of air in order to try and catch his breath after the sheer panic that had gripped him moments before. As his heart started to beat at a more normal level, Luigi took the time to look around... and watched as the surge of phozons escaped from Odin's fallen body, flowing out into the world around them. Some of the strange things entered the ground around where he had planted the seed moments before, causing a fruit linden plant to burst out of the ground! A napple tree, if he remembered the name correctly.

Remembering that Fox had been injured during his engagement with Odin Luigi jogged over to the newly grown tree rather quickly, reaching up and plucking the napple fruit off of it. Darting over to Fox's side with healing fruit in hand, he offered it to the pilot that he had fought many a brawl with in the past as he simply explained "Eat this. It'll help with the burns."

With the healing item offered freely, Luigi turned with the intention of gathering the rest of his team (and those who weren't strictly on his team, but whom he still considered his team mates) together in order to see if anyone else required healing and what everyone's status was... before his gaze landed on the collection of red phozons that seemed to be drifting towards him. He didn't quite understand what they meant, but there was a part of him that felt... a great sense of loss as he gazed at them. He couldn't look away from them through... not even when Gwendolyn bottled them up and offered the vial to him.

Accepting it without fuss, he gazed down at it thoughtfully with a lost look in his eyes. Mario had always been there... even when he wasn't because he had been abducted by ghosts or some other nasty, he was only gone until Luigi could rescue him. This... this didn't feel like the kind of thing that he could rescue Mario from...

His grip tightened on the vial as he pressed it against his chest, his eyes closing as he started to shake lightly. All Luigi wanted to do was fall to his knees and cry, but something stopped him; He wasn't quite sure what it was, but a part of him refused to allow himself to break down in front of his team and the allies that they had made. There would be a time to mourn his poor, departed brother but this wasn't it.

Taking a deep breath, the shaking lessened as he opened his eyes, looking at Gwendolyn for a moment before softly muttering "T-Thank you." to her before reaching into the pocket where he had shoved Mario's hat before to pull it out. With care, he wrapped the vial in the hat to give it some protection as he pocketed both items once more.

Turning around in order to face the others, Luigi took but a moment to stead his shaky voice before crying out loudly enough to ensure that everyone heard him, regardless of their current location. "Is everyone alright?!"

Character: Steve
Level: 1
Day/Time: Day One; Evening
Location: Streets, Save Point
Tag: [Whoever finds him, I guess?]
Mention: [Not thinking about any PCs]

Steve wandered the streets, looking around. It had been a long day and he was still no closer to getting home. "It's getting dark," he said, looking up. "Maybe I should build a bed. Thing is, I haven't seen any sheep..." Continuing his walk, he spotted what looked like an inn. "Better than nothing, I guess," he sighed.

Upon entering the building, he saw many types of beings. His blocky figure could barely squeeze past some of the patrons and he had to apologize multiple times before he made it to the front desk. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I have no currency and I'm extremely tired. Would you allow me to rest here for the night?" He ignored a few of the jabs behind him.

Her plan worked thanks to fox’s assistance in severing the chain, Balor sailing down and crushing the demon lord in a Delicious bit of karmic justice. Yet something hideous managed to escape their and Samus’s sky strikes, a vile slug bug thing rushed Luigi and the two clashed for a moment before the princess engulfed to the two in a blinding blast. For a moment Naija was terrified that they had lost both the plumbers in the battle, yet to her relief he was unharmed by the attack. Perhaps it only harmed evil. If Fox required it she would catch and them carry him to the ground rather than letting him land atop the shattered remains of Balor and Odin. She was a little disappointed she the weapon had been destroyed, but perhaps it was for the best she did not use such a soul devouring weapon. This was particularly apparent when the weapon started leaking its victims life force across the land, the red of Mario's soul she had seen absorbed upon his death found it’s way to Luigi and was promptly bottled and put in his care.

Right. The battle was over and now Naija was forced to think about their losses rather than focusing on survival and revenge. She joined the others, hovering just above the ground on her purple wings, as Oswald and Gwendolyn offered their support in future.

”Thank you both for your offers of assistance, I imagine we will need all the help we can get if we are to save all our worlds.”

She heard Luigi’s call, the grief he was trying to hold inside obvious to all. She arrived first to the call. Due to her small stature, even with her hovering above the ground she was still only just matching his height. She was doing a much worse job at hiding her emotions, in fact she was barely trying, not bound by social conventions due to her previously lonely existence meant that her emotions were raw on her face, her sadness and guilt clear as she gave the plumber a hug.

”I am so sorry.”

She pulled away as the others approached. She understood why Luigi was doing so, trying to give a strong front as their leader, a battle already lost for Naija when Fox first found her after Mario’s death. All the threats were dealt with, he was allowed to feel sad damn it. Well apart from the general. Plus that one Valkyrie she had stolen the armor form. Also did the dead king still have more soldiers who were infected with the Virus back at his castle? Maybe it was not quite the time to let their guard down just yet.

---

The funeral was held in the gardens of Tetris Castle. Several chairs were gathered before a monument that had been erected in the legendary plumber’s honor. There was no casket for a body was never recovered. Instead, Luigi had been kind enough to offer Mario’s hat and his spirit particles so that heroes from around The System could pay their respects. The Mushroom Kingdom princesses stood to the left of the monument: Daisy, Peach, and Rosalina.

The Council sat in the front row, all except for Guile who had decided to sit somewhere off to the back and the side. His seat was left empty. Visiting royalty from Nintendo, Princess Zelda from Hyrule, approached the monument and spread her white ornate skirts as she lowered to her knees and brought her hands together in a silent prayer. Koopas, Toads, Yoshis, and other refugees from the Mushroom Kingdom were weeping. Rosalina and her Lumas were comforting each other and Princess Daisy. Princess Peach, on the other hand, did not cry. Her pink parasol was low over her face, hiding the hard scowl that had warped her doe-like features. The expression would have been unbecoming of a lady to be seen by others. She was absolutely angry that Mario had been killed and that the funeral was happening at Tetris Castle and not the Mushroom Kingdom, and that Luigi…she hadn’t spoken to him even though she knew it wasn’t his fault. She just wasn’t ready to speak to him or anyone.

Toadsworth had led the sermon, and after, people lingered. They lingered to talk and pay their respects. There was cake and refreshments, but seeing as the Fat Princesses were devouring it, it didn’t seem safe to eat. The cake is a lie!

There was music and tearful speeches of how great and how silly Mario was. Cherry blossom petals drifting on a cool summer breeze completed the enchanting ambience. It was a beautiful funeral and the amount of attendees were more than enough to honor the fallen hero. And yet, Princess Peach was still unhappy. In fact, she couldn’t stand to be there any longer. With her umbrella still low over her face, her white-gloved hand grasped her pink skirts, and she silently and briskly took her leave. She left down the aisle and several heads turned to watch her go. Many were aware of the hardly secret relationship between Princess Peach and Mario. It was difficult to determine who was affected more. Luigi or her.

Guile, wearing a black dress suit like most of the heroes who could fit in one, had sat next to a hero who had worn a similar suit and was hiding behind a pair of sunglasses. The young man had spiky blonde hair and pretended to take no notice of the All-American Hero as he continued to gaze up front at all the performances and drunken stories.

Guile crossed a leg over his other and crossed his arms before his chest as he frowned over several heads at Luigi. He just so happened to be looking at him, but when the hero had returned, he recalled how harsh he had been with him. Guile was the first to blame Luigi for Mario’s death because he had been the leader. It was a horrible thing to do, seeing as the brother was already devastated by the loss, but he had been so angry. He regretted sending the heroes right-off-the-bat into combat. He had been convinced that because they had all been heroes from their games that the situation would have went better than expected. At least better than if he had sent rookies. But all he saw was chaos. He should had put them through boot camp first. He didn’t think he would have had to teach them what team work meant but some of them hadn’t been accustomed to it. While he had blamed Luigi, Guile had also blamed himself and still continued to.

“We need your help,” Guile said to the spiky-haired individual next to him. He didn’t once look his way though.

The young man peered up at the face of the Mario statue. Once upon a time, he would have immediately offered his sword, but Edge City hadn’t been affected by the virus yet. It might have been selfish to want to cling to the peace and quiet he still had, but who could blame him during these times?

“It’s not going to last forever. I hope you know that,” Guile added.

It was as though the fighter was reading his mind. Cloud inhaled deeply and exhaled just as deep through his nostrils in a big sigh. He thought about Aerith…and feared Tifa would take up arms if he didn’t. He didn’t want Tifa and the others to worry about the menace. Heh; like he could fool her. She would find out eventually where he went running off to.

“I’ll do it on one condition,” said Cloud.

Guile turned his head slightly to regard the swordsman with a raised brow. “And that is?”

“If Tifa or anyone comes looking for me, you tell them I’m doing something else. Anything but fighting again. I don’t want them to get involved.”

“I’ll think of something,” said Guile. He then smirked. “I knew you couldn’t resist.”

“It’s been awhile since I’ve swung that sword.”

Samus' charged shot hit its mark, completely decapitating the fallen god as it was left with nothing more but a smoking hole around his neck. As she descends back down to the ground, she can see the rest of her allies also unleash their ultimate attacks at Odin as well, with black oily corruption burst from the neck like a fountain in the form of a bug. As Gwendolyn finishes off the corrupted god with her own ultimate attack, the bounty hunter glimpses at Luigi eradicating the black bug with his electrified fist, vaporizing it completely. But at the end of the day, one thing was clear...

The Demon God King Odin was finally done for.

But this battle wasn't a perfect run. Many of them took damage, some serious, some less for. Yet this mission did take the life of Mario's. As much as how that bastard was a womanizer and not really attractive, he was still one of the greatest fighters that she ever seen. A shame that his talent was to be cut short by the Demon King, but there was nothing that can be done. Samus takes off her helmet as she walks towards Luigi, who received a red viral from Gwendolyn. No doubt that it must be the spirit of his brother, locked tight within it. Could he be revived? Hard to say. It was certainly unlikely that it could be so. But either way his soul survived, awaiting to be revitalized down the line. Regardless, the lost of your brother would be an extremely painful lost, one that can be heard from Luigi's voice, as it cracks agonizingly into tears.

After Najia payed her respects to the deceased red plumber and green stache', the green-haired woman plants a firm, yet comforting, grasp on Luigi's shoulder.

"His sacrifice will not be forgotten..." Samus says with sadness in her eyes.

She pats him on the shoulder twice before pulling away to face the inhabitants; Oswald, Gwendolyn, and even the Pooka. They thanked them for their support and that they will be in their service for future conflicts. The bounty hunter issues a small smile at this response.

"And thank you for assisting us. We apologize for our first impressions, but again, I personally thank you all for your corporation. We'll be sure to let you all know when we need your help and if you still need ours."

She then issues a small salute as she turns to Slayer nearby.

"You had quite the arm Slayer," she says with a chuckle as she makes a friendly jab at him, "I wouldn't mind teaming up with you once in awhile."

---

Samus stood near Princess Zelda of Hyrule as they watched Toadsworth lead the sermon in Tetris Castle. She didn't shed a single tear, but even she had to admit one thing. It stung to recognize how much of an impact the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom had on the individuals around them. He was a hero, no matter his flaws, and that was that. How unfortunate of them to live through the days where their beloved hero is gone. No doubt that Luigi will have to fill in his shoes. Especially to keep the Princess safe from the likes of King Bowser Koopa, that wretched mutant turtle.

Samus also recognized the odd-ish behavior coming from Princess Peach, who had a very somber and aggressive expression, only to be mostly covered by her parasol. She must be one of the strongest, on par if not more than Luigi, to have been severely affected by this event. It was almost heartbreaking to watch.

This is exactly the reason why Samus never had a husband, let alone a boyfriend. Because even she feared the thought of losing them too. She isn't made of stone.

Soon. the bounty hunter took her leave, saying nothing as she passes by Guile and the new individual, who she'll later know as Cloud. But as she leaves the room, another individual stepped into the room.

This individual revealed itself to be a tall female character, sporting a white dress, a white hat, black long gloves, heels and leggings, along with a grew shall (or whatever they're called). Her appearance was caucasian, with gleaming silver eyes, cherry-red lips, a birthmark on her right lower-cheek, and sported short-cut hair. She was an impressive, almost-flauntingly figure, with a set of curves that would've made Mario go insane provided he was still alive.

It was time for the wicked Umbran Witch, Bayonetta, to dance into the fray.

"Oh? Party's over already?" she speaks towards Guile in a heavy British accent, chewing on a red lolipop as she approaches him and Cloud, "Looks like I've worn this outfit for nothing. Then again, we're talking about someone who might simply have his balls twisted in a knot the moment he'll set eyes on me. Looks like the Princess didn't give him enough princess pussy lately, let alone the other two."