---

Guile noticed a tall shadow tumble over his shoulder and he turned his head to the right to see an older woman wearing white—of all colors. She was dressed like she had stepped out of a fashion magazine for middle-aged rich women. Did she have no respect? Her inquiry about the party had answered that question. Cloud said nothing. Instead, he rose from his seat and headed toward the front of the congregation to pay Luigi his respects. Guile looked away from the witch after her vain and vulgar declarations. He instead looked ahead at Luigi—the one who would continue to suffer after everyone would sweep his brother’s death under the rug.

“You should learn some respect,” Guile told Bayonetta without looking at her. He wasn’t Mario’s brother, but he knew what it felt like to lose soldiers and Mario was that to him—one of his soldiers. Since Luigi was in command, he had blamed him. It was always the leader’s fault and he felt that Luigi needed to learn to take responsibility for anyone who dies whether he was directly or indirectly responsible for them. Deep down, Guile wondered if Mario had been the leader would there have been any causalities. Guile always thought Mario was a buffoon, but he surprised him every time by demonstrating why he was the champion of not just the Mushroom Kingdom, but Nintendo. Luigi had some big shoes—or more like, suspenders to fill. “Mario was a brother, and one of my soldiers. You will not disrespect him or anyone from the Mushroom Kingdom in my presence if you wish to continue working for me.”

Amidst all the weeping and merry-going, it came swift and it came sudden. It was a black and green streak, speeding toward Luigi from his right. As soon as it passed before the altar, time slowed momentarily to allow Luigi and maybe even Hapu to see a limbless hand fire out to grasp the vial of Mario particles and the red cap that had been on top of it before retracting. The stolen item disappeared into its green circular sack and the black cat thief was gone, having morphed into a black streak that was darting through the gardens toward the castle walls.




Guile abruptly rose from his seat, staring in shock at the altar where Mario’s remains had once been. Rosalina had jumped from the passing breeze caused by the swift thief as it had dashed by and looked over at the altar to see that Mario was missing. Her hands went to her face as she gasped:

“Oh no! Mario!” She then looked at Luigi. “I’ll have my Lumas follow it!”

“Lumas!” she summoned.

Three stars winked into existence: one white, one yellow, and one red. They hovered before the cosmic Nintendo princess like loyal guards.

“Follow that thief! He’s trying to escape the Castle!”

The Lumas snapped a salute with their pointy hands and launched into the air like sparkling comets flying in an invert V formation.

“You can follow my Lumas to see where the thief is going.”

Cloud raced over to Luigi (if he was still standing there), Hapu, and Rosalina. “I’m gonna see if I can intercept him outside the castle!”

Cloud wasn’t sure the thief was going to get that far, but if it managed to, he planned to be waiting to give chase. The creature was too fast for him to follow on foot and it seemed hopeless to chase the thing through the gardens.

Guile shouted next, “Follow the thief! Don’t try to stop it! It must have a master!”

What did a thief want with Mario’s hat and particles? Guile could only suspect that the creature wasn’t doing it for free. What thief ever stole objects that had no monetary gain?

”And I would be Taric, Aspect of the Protector and the Shield of Valoran. It is pleasure to meet you both.”

They were informed that all currency was taken, though it would be easier to take gold than find out how much Jack’s currency was worth. Gold is a relatively straightforward if inflexible currency, being worth however much gold the coin contained, whereas Jacks was either exchangeable for an amount of gold in his nation or had an entirely abstract worth. Any way Taric had offered and gotten the info he asked for, so it would be rude to rescind his offer. He paid for whatever people wanted, took his drink and settled down at the one remaining empty table opposite the bar, the chair he sat in creaking under the weight of his jewel encrusted armor, imaging the others might join him.

They were joined at the bar by a young woman who had just arrived who was wearing a belly dancer ensemble and gold jewelry. It was a quite the eye-catching ensemble but what was even more striking was her incredibly long purple ponytail. While his hair was, in his opinion, quite splendid, it paled in comparison to the newcomers mystical locks.

Once the others orders and questions mostly taken care off Moxi turns her attention Shantae, her manner of talking is probably incredibly inappropriate when directed at a the girl, and she asked how she could help the half-genie hero. The blocky Steve turned to greet her as well while Taric spoke more with Jack.

Jack himself had what might be called a rugged aesthetic, a man who had seen may battles and survived what looked to be a number of varied injuries in the line of duty. It spoke of very dangerous city and a stalwart officer who could not be dissuaded from putting himself in the line of fire again and again till the town was safe. There was a beauty in such fierce determination, if Taric was correct in his assessment this was a man to be admired. The man himself spoke of a call from a cloud to come to the city to help deal with a crises, a virus of some sort.

” My world and this one contain some very strange things, so i don’t think it sounds mad. I would have thought a virus would be a thing for healers not warriors, so I wonder what kind of infection needs force of arms to contain.”

Perhaps this is what the protector had guided him to the city for, summoning heroes from other worlds certainly seemed like it was something of a last resort, something that threatened them all. Also if there was a funeral where said heros were staying then it seemed like it was a dangerous task as well. The city itself and the rest of the arcade had seemed relatively peaceful so either this was a hidden threat or it was some kind of plague that needed to be contained before it spread from one world to the others? Somebody certainly needed protecting, be it the heroes themselves or entire worlds and so Taric decided that he would see if he could find out more. After breakfast.

”As for why I am here, well, I think you have just given me my answer. Or part of it at least. Sometimes I wish the Protector was less cryptic in what a problem is before I arrived where i have been sent but I assume I was sent here by them to help deal with this virus you spoke of.”

Food was then brought by Susanne the waitress shortly after: 5 dozen eggs scrambled eggs, fried mushrooms and some toast for Taric.

”If that is why I am here I look forward to fighting alongside another defender of the innocent”

For what it was worth, Luigi was quietly thankful to have Fox standing beside him without saying a word. Talking was... difficult right now. Truth be told if he could he would be curled up somewhere nice and quiet without having to deal with people offering him condolences or judging him because he had been put in charge of the whole mission without his knowledge; When Buck had failed to appear and he had stepped up to take over his team, he had believed he had only been taking over the team and nothing else... he had only found out otherwise when Guile took it upon himself to berate him after the mission was over... and Peach wanted nothing to do with him ever again.

Quietly he watched as various people came up to the memorial to leave offers or pay their last respects. It was interesting to see what some people had left behind... but one of the strangest and oddly endearing was a small child in a tutu leaving some ordinary, every day mushrooms. He didn't know why... but the sight of it actually made him smile a little for the first time all day.

It was only when the well wishers and mourners started to thin out a little that it happened; One moment everything was fine, the next he was watching in slow motion as a ball dressed like some kind of ninja was rushing his brother's grave, snatching up both the jar that contained Mario's soul and his hat! Even as it was shoving the items into its sack on the move, Luigi felt himself started to rush forward, all that sorrow and agony within him igniting in pure rage as he gave chase without stopping and waiting for something as silly as orders.

As three different colored Lumas appeared and joined him in the chase, for a split second Luigi allowed himself to feel affection towards Princess Rosalina for aiding him in recovering his brother; The moment passed quickly through as he doubled down in order to speed up his pursuit, intent on catching the thief as quickly as possible. He didn't care about discovering who it's master was... not at the risk of losing what little remained of Mario.

Naija listened as Slayer gave his rather eloquent explanation of why he was not a hero and it was not what she had expected. It was in a way very cryptic, avoiding specifics and leaving things up to her interpretation. Others might find it suspicious but Naijas odd life had lead her to a conclusion that such a manner of speech only reinforced. That Slayer was a god, who offered wisdom, guidance and power to others who then did what needed to be done while not getting directly involved in events themselves. More specifically it reminded her of how the dead civilizations had spoke of their gods in legends, grand tales recorded on walls and in archives of a people's great deeds done in the name of their god, rather than the sorry things she had put down and taken her powers from, mad shadows of their former selves barely living in the mausoleum of their children. At any rate she was now a little in awe of Slayer, even if he was small for a god.

At this moment their and all other conversations were interrupted by the thief. It was probably fortunate for them both, slayer would not have to lie to satisfy the whirlpool of curiosity that was Naija and she might have time to broaden her world view before their next conversation and avoid embarrassment. Naija just barely caught sight of the black streak as it sped away with Mario's Phozons and hat in its bag, alerted by Rosalina's call and the flying starfish she sent after the thief. She was struck with bemusement for a moment and then sprung to action when Luigi took off into the garden. She flapped into the air away Slayer to whom she offered a hasty goodbye, his earlier comment about all present being allies now quite ironic, as Guile shouted not to stop the soul snatcher, only to follow it. It was a shame, she was really looking forward to blasting things again and now she would have a nice target in her sights and with a flick of the wrist she could just… She resisted the urge, after all she might hit those friendly starfish while also disobeying orders. Part of her bemoaned the existence of friendlies and their getting in the way of some carnage. The rest of her was appalled at that part.

”I’ll shadow it from above then, see if I can spot where it’s headed”

Naija takes off into the air, flying high above the gardens and trying to keep an eye on where the Lumas and thief were, while also being high enough to easily pass over the wall if the chase lasted that long. She made an effort to point at the streak and Lumas whenever they where in sight in order to act as a second tracing component for the ground based pursuers while also shouting to the others any new developments to those below, essentially giving a running commentary to the chase.

---

Naija collects that other Napple before heading back to the castle.

Once there she spends the rest of the night after the debriefing being poked, prodded, questioned and examined by the science staff after she mentioned the incident with the wings. Somebody also told them about the slug thing and there was much running around, loud discussion and drawing on whiteboards, none of which Naija understood. The beds were nice though and someone was kind enough to give her sound protectors to block out the enthusiastic late night caffeine fueled theorizing while they kept her under observation to check if she was going to develop megalomania or start mutating/rotting.

Even as James waited on the red creature's response, Charger went from his usual passive "waiting to bail James out" hovering to alert as the atmosphere changed. "Guardian!" James' hand flew to his hand cannon as his Ghost called out, only to just barely catch sight of the thief as it snatched up Mario's remains and made a dash back the way in came. His helmet reappear on his head, he turned to Alicia, who had also donned her helmet and pulled the Doctrine of Passing free of it's place on her back. "Stay here, keep anyone else from desecrating that grave. I may not understand what death is, but even I know to let them have their peace." Alicia nodded and headed for where the remains had previously rested, calling back over her shoulder.

"Just don't break anything important looking around here!" James could only flash her a smile behind his helm as Charger disappeared before turning back to his red acquaintance and apologizing.

"Looks like introductions will have to wait. Laters!" And with that, the Hunter took off after the thief, using his newly reclaimed Double Jump to jump a second time in mid air and run along the wall behind the curious black streak. He could see the fish girl Naija and the late Mario's brother Luigi giving chase to the wily bastard. Don't slow down, cat head, otherwise you might die at Luigi's hands..

Frisk had their classic face of stoicism as they watched and waited patiently for the person in front of them to ask. They remained silent and watched as Bartz tried to assuage any surprise or negative reactions from Frisk and anyone else who may have overheard, until he fell out of his seat. Frisk remained stoic and silent as Bartz got himself back up and blatantly lied about why he fell over. Watching Bartz kind of reminded Frisk of their friends. He was weird, but in a good way! And this was kinda funny to watch.

Frisk's stoicism was broken by their own snickers that soon turned into innocent laughter. After Frisk calmed down a bit, (knowing that laughter might not be appropriate at a funeral), they wiped away a tear and said to Bartz, "Wow, that was funny Mister. Don't worry, it's okay. I don't really know Mario personally myself," They then continued once any sign of their laughter was gone, "I've heard Mario was a legendary hero. He always came to others' rescue and was..." Frisk looked to Luigi and finished, with a heavy weight on their words, "And was a wonderful brother. Someone you could really depend on," They couldn't help but remember the nightmares showing how Frisk killed Papyrus and they couldn't help but think of how Sans might have felt in that case.

Frisk gasped loudly at the sight of a black streak. A cat like ninja had appeared and just stole the hat and the jar of lights! The child watched and listened carefully, taking what was happening into account before deciding a course of action. A lady just sent three stars after the lights, so that'll help with them finding the thief. The brother had just chased after the thief...with a scary bloodlust in his eyes. Cloud was going to intercept, the flying girl was going to shadow it.

So, the best course of action would be to give chase...and make sure that Luigi didn't do anything he'd regret.

Unfortunately, there was one problem: Frisk may be a fast runner when certain monsters (*coughUndynecough*) tried to kill them, but they doubted that they could keep up that kind of pace long enough to catch up to the thief. They looked at the stranger and remembered seeing them interact with the large yellow bird. With that in mind, Frisk spoke to Bartz,

"Woah! Did you see that?! We've gotta do something! But I don't think I can run that fast,"

They then trotted up to Boko and they asked Bartz as they did, "Maybe he can help?"

Bartz let out a sigh of relief as the kid started laughing. 'Oh, yeah. Lovely. Won't do it next time, sure.' He thought and his mouth curved upwards and laughed along with Frisk at least for a little while. The laughter died down in respects for the dead legendary hero- as the kid said it. 'I wonder if every each one of us is a legend. If they're heroes, maybe they are. If not.. maybe a legendary citizen?' He said to himself with a chuckle.

He turned to face Frisk. "Man. You made me nervous a while back there, kid. Your face frozen in disbelief or something. Thought I'll get my butt kicked today." He grinned as he sat in silence.

That was until he caught something at the corner of his good brown eyes. A running cat with all eyes in the garden trained at the thief, grasping a red hat of sorts and Bartz was sure it has a gigantic 'M' in it. The thief stuffed it in its bag as the critter dashed away. That must be Mario's. Different colored stars followed the thief which made a smirk slowly crawl at Bartz' lips. What followed was someone who looked like a green plumber that was probably Mario's brother (he can tell because of the hat), Cloud- 'The hair was really still a distraction.. maybe I would suggest a cu- no.' He shook his head and found some people he really didn't know who but went after the cat, the one at the shadows kind of made him remember the Cloud Of Darkness. Nah. That was rude.

'Whoa, some guys don't really hold things back!' Bartz yanked his hand away- like a pull - and tried to materialize Firion's axe.. but nothing happened. 'Curses!' His eyes caught Frisk approaching his chocobo and the child asked if they could ride Boko to go after the thief. Bartz jumped on the chair he was sitting, made a front-flip, then landed in front of Frisk as he glanced at them. Bartz called his chocobo that instantly was beside him. '[color=slateblue]Good boy..[/colot] Bartz patted the chocobo's head and moved his hands to the part where the end of the bird's neck would be; to where the neck and the body should connect then Bartz leaped with his hands staying on Boko's body. The bird supported his master's weight and handled it easy. Bartz riding Boko again was nostalgic, he smiled at the thought.

"Kid! Wanna chase a cat?Bartz asked the kid, offering his hand towards Frisk, the few colored stones at his wrist dangling. "And anyway! My name is Bartz Klauser! Nice to meet 'cha!" He added with a huge smile.

As the funeral died down, Samus began to walk indoors, around the same time Bayonetta did. Yet a few short seconds later, the bounty hunter hears several cries of distress coming from behind her. She turns around quickly, glancing as a small black and green creature zipped out of the Funeral room, carrying a bag behind it. She had no idea what was inside that bag, but regardless it must be of crucial importance. As soon as she spots Luigi running after it, she realizes the possibility that it was carrying. If it's what she thinks it is, then there's a good damn reason to chase it down. Without saying a word, she attempts to intercept the thief from going outside the castle. Perhaps she can capture it before it can escape.

Yet as she runs towards the outside, it appears that the bounty hunter wasn't the only one to have the same idea. Catching up to her, she sees a new face come from behind...

"Cloud huh?" she thinks to herself with a hint of surprise, "Never thought he'd join this chase."

Samus doesn't have a full mind-set of who Cloud is other than some basics, but during her time in the Smash Bros arena, she remembers his initial debut. He was a heavy hitter, with his massive sword that stretches over his entire height. How does he even wield it with such elegance and properness without getting to the point that its unwieldy? Regardless, its good that he's helping. They need all the help they can get to take back what the thief stole... whatever it may be.

---

The Umbran Witch chuckled at Guile's statement as she swirls the lollipop in her mouth before gingerly taking it out.

"Hmm hmm, looks like I touched a thick nerve," she replies to the Soldier nonchalantly, "I thought you'd have a thicker conscious, Guile. I know how important that Italian Plumber is, but that doesn't mean I have to worship him. After all, I have my own fair share with one back home."

Just as she finishes, the thief had stolen Mario's remains and runs off. After a thick command from the Soldier; Luigi, Najia, Cloud, and Varrock chase after the thief with great hast. Yet as they all run out the door, the Witch simply stood in place as she places the lollipop back in her mouth.

"Well, looks like they all have it under control." she expresses boringly as she walks to the entrance, "If you need me I'll be in the main lobby."

Lawman LV.1

---

While Jack was relieved his banknotes were actually worth something, he was still thankful he didn’t have to pay for anything. Placing an order the buxom waitress soon returned with a large dark bottle of whiskey, an iced glass, a fat B.L.T sandwich, and a round ceramic bowl with several fresh cuts of beef in it still wet with bovine blood.

Walking over to the table Taric had chosen Jack placed his food and drink down before dropping the bowl of beef onto the floor beside his chair. In the seconds it took Jack to seat himself Shadow had crossed the room and thrown himself as the bowl. With gnashing teeth and jowls slapping loudly together, the hulking dog began to devour the raw flesh with an unnerving degree of satisfaction.

“I thought the same thing to be honest. Whatever this virus is it seems like the only cure for it is fists, steel, and lead, given the people who were brought here to fight it. That or the letters really were sent to the wrong people…”

Popping the top of the whiskey bottle with his finger Jack poured himself a glass of whiskey and rose it to his lips. Drinking deeply he drained the glass in seconds, knocking the bottom of the glass against the hard wood table with a satisfying gasp.

“The Protector, huh? Well at least you have a boss who actually gives you some kind of direction. I’d settle for cryptic orders over the screaming the station chief gives me for actually doing something. Opposed to sitting around with my thumb up my asshole like regulations tends to demand.”

Jack poured another glass and raised it in a sort of one-sided toast.

“Well I look forward to fighting alongside you too. It’ll be nice having actual backup for a change besides Shadow.”

The grizzled cop was ready to down another glass of whiskey when-

Wait was that a prostitute?

Small revealing top.



Exposed midriff and navel.



Baggy pants that still somehow showed off her figure.


Jack finally took notice of the new comer to the bar and the first thing that came to mind was the prostitutes of Grant City. He immediately caught himself and shook the judgemental thought from his mind.

“Things are different here, Jack” He thought to himself as he looked at Shantae. “Besides she’s actually very beautiful while the prostitutes from the red light of Grant City...aren't."

Banjo could bear-ly barely fit the dress suit he had been provided with, but as far as he was concerned, decorum took precedence over his own comfort. This wasn’t the time or place to be shirtless (but the avoided complication of shoes was a different story). Him and Kazooie had come to honor the memory of a fellow icon with whom they stood side-by-side in the same spotlight during the bygone “Golden Age”, so the very least they could do was be manageably dignified in manner, as hard as that tended to be for the humble ursine’s partner. Even if she wanted to (and she usually did), Kazooie couldn’t make a snarky remark like she did with Bottles about how “he wasn’t the favorite character, anyways,” because… well, quite simply, that just wasn’t the case. Everyone loved him… even if they didn’t. Donkey Kong; whose grandfather (Cranky) he had a brief adversarial history with, Wario; his arch-rival, even Bowser; his arch-nemesis - they would all show up as friends and favors at sporting events, races, and parties carried out in his name for the sake of bringing joy to others in the Mushroom Kingdom and the world over. Now… he was gone, and in his place would be left an unfillable void in the hearts and minds of all.

After the rounds of eulogies and prayer had concluded, Banjo left his seat on queue to take his place in line behind everyone else to pay their respects. Kazooie emerged from Banjo’s backpack to hand him a trophy of his likeness to place at the base of Mario’s own; an ‘Extra Life’ they used to call it. Though, they haven’t functioned as such - or as anything for that matter - since the duo’s first game. Needless to say it wouldn’t be doing Mario any favors, regardless, but the idea wouldn’t be lost on anyone. Having said their last goodbyes, the two retired to the reception along with the rest of the crowd.

---

Banjo took it upon himself to play the classic File Select theme in the background while the main band was setting up. Among them just happened to be included Diddy Kong, an old friend of Banjo’s from before his adventures with Kazooie, as their lead guitarist. He called out to Banjo to get his attention, and the two met each other halfway with a brotherly hug in greeting. They had roughly twenty years worth of catching up to do between that simply wasn’t feasible with what little time they would have to spare, but they would spare however much of it they could to cover some lost ground, which didn’t go without a sarcastic quip from Kazooie to interject - as good an introduction as any for her. It didn’t show, but those with a little bit of context and keener intuition would be able to tell that Diddy lamented the fate that had befallen the friends that he had to leave behind. While reminiscing on his history with Rare, the feeling set in that they deserved much better than they got considering the lasting contributions they had made to The System, and it didn’t help knowing that they were largely responsible for who him and the Kong family are today. It all felt so wrong to him.

Diddy didn’t wish to rudely sour the friendly conversation by dwelling on such regrets he couldn’t change, lest they begin to show, so he enthusiastically propositioned Banjo (and Kazooie) to join him in song, for old time’s sake, to enliven a scene much in need of something to feel good about. Given they were all capable musicians in their own rights, it made sense that they put these long unused skills to use again. Of course, Banjo was slightly hesitant at first having been out of honest practice for so long, but a little encouraging prodding from Kazooie persuaded him to follow through. Without further delay, they took to the stage; Diddy with his red, star-shaped guitar, and Banjo and Kazooie donning the very instruments after which they were named. The congregation went silent as Diddy briefly spoke in Mario’s honor before dedicating the performance to him (as obvious as that might have been). With that, Banjo started them off with a slower introduction to ease into the session. As the last note faded, there came a four second pause before the tempo began to pick up.



With a drum roll to signal, the monkey and bear syncopated the intro with their seemingly incompatible instruments that would have otherwise had no business trying to play the same tune, had it not somehow worked as well as it did for them. From there, Banjo primarily played a more subdued part as a backing lead, closely matching the rhythm guitarist via tremelo to balance it out while Diddy took front. All three, plus the keyboardist, took turns with some of the chorus segments and interludes, with Kazooie chiming in every now and then to break up the instrumental roles. Diddy, of course, laid down a solo, followed shortly with an acoustic acoustic transition by Banjo into the final chorus and outro, which they all took part in. After the last notes rang out, Banjo excitedly let out his trademark “Duh-huh!” and flashed a delighted thumb up to the audience. A second of quietude passed before a familiar voice sample was played back to sound off.

“See you next time.”

A few tears fell at the last part, but an overwhelming applause was granted to the impromptu performers who had lifted the spirits of most all in attendance. High fives were exchanged between the three, Banjo took a bow to both sides, and they all returned thanking waves to the spectators.

“See, Banjo? I told you they would love us.”

“Feels like it was yesterday, eh, Kazooie?”

Unfortunately, the halcyon revelry wouldn’t last, as the otherwise peaceful celebration of a hero’s life abruptly took a turn for the unexpected mere moments later. From the direction of Mario’s memorial site, faintly registered orders from council members were shouted to… someone, but it wasn’t immediately apparent as to what was happening or who was involved. All that was certain is that, whatever it was, it must have been important if so many heroes at a time were leaving to deal with it - the legendary bounty hunter Samus being recognizable among them.

“Uh… maybe we should go see what’s going on,” Kazooie suggested.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Banjo concurred. ”It couldn’t hurt to see if anyone needs our help.”

Being the closest by witness to the disturbance, they made their way over to the tall, dark, stylish gentleman suspended in a cloth chair just as the winged fishwoman next to him took off.

“Excuse me, sir,” he directed, without meaning to be too forward. “What’s all the commotion about?”

---

Fox’s eyes went wide as he gasped and recoiled in surprise at the sudden disappearance of the two most important adornments to the memorial. Before the order to give chase had been given, Luigi was already furiously tailing the indiscernible culprit. For whatever reason, it thought this would be the best time to make off with the last remaining vestiges of Mario’s presence on the mortal plane, and Luigi was having none of it. For its own sake, it would do well to hope everyone else got to it before he did. With the help of Ambassador Rosalina’s Lumas as guidance, they would hopefully be able to catch who- or what-ever was responsible. Rosalina issued her command…

“I’m on it,” Fox affirmed as he soared through the air with a quick burst of energy and onto the wall opposite the one James was occupying. He landed atop the structure in a dead run, wasting no time trying to put as little distance between this thing and the rest of them as possible. The pilot pulled a conspicuous device from his jacket - similar in shape to his reflector, but more triangular. He placed the contraption onto the back of his head, and out of it extended the top and sides of his headset that slid forth like a telescope before self-adjusting to fit. The microphone popped out from the right once everything had finished fastening itself together. He then called out to anyone with remote communications that could pick him up.

“This is Fox. Does anyone read me?”

Frisk watched as Bartz jumped out of his seat and front flipped to Frisk's side. They watched as the chocobo was called to their side, and Bartz easily jumped onto the bird's back. Frisk smiled at the offered hand and listened to Bartz as they asked and introduced himself. The child accepted his hand and answered "Yeah! It's nice to meet you, Bartz. I'm Frisk Dreemurr," Frisk managed to clamber onto the chocobo's back with Bartz's help. Their short stature made it harder for them to jump onto the chocobo. But once they were on, Frisk grinned at Bartz, before pointing towards where the thief and Lumas zoomed off, and called with an excited energy, "CHAAAARGE!" After saying that though, they grinned at Bartz hesitantly and apologized, realizing that they might have come off as rude by shouting that, "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that," Could anyone blame them? This was their first time riding a chocobo and it filled them with determination.

---

Shantae looked to the blocky man as he seemed to approach her and start talking to her, while the other two he had been speaking with seemed to stare at her. The guy with the gemstones seemed to be looking at her hair while the other was staring at her body. Suffice to say, it was kind of uncomfortable. She answered the blocky guy first since he spoke first and was polite about it, trying to not let her discomfort show, "I'm actually new in town. My name is Shantae. Nice to meet you,"

She looked to Moxxi when she asked what she wanted in an inappropriate manner, and she raised an eyebrow. What was with this bartender? She answered politely, "I don't need anything to eat right now, thanks. I'm actually investigating a disappearance and I was wondering if you or anyone else saw the person I'm looking for?" After Moxxi asked what the person looked like, Shantae proceeded to give a description of what Risky Boots' appearance. Shantae figured that saying that Risky Boots is a pirate captain would not be a wise idea. The answer she got back from Moxxi was a shake of her head and a no. But Moxxi did suggest trying the Smash Arena.

It may be a long shot, but maybe Risky would crash the fighting arena if there were prizes offered. But without Tinkerbats? Hmmm....

Character: Steve
Level: 1
Day/Time: Day Two; Noon
Location: Barrel Roll Pub
Tag: @Crosswire@DracoLunaris@Guardian Angel Haruki
Mention: NPCs

Steve thought for a second on the description given. "Never seen anyone like that. Then again, I only got here last night." He then heard Moxxi say something about an arena. "There's an arena? That'll help me get money. I just need some wood and leather to make me some armor and weapons..." He sat at the table, motioning Shantae over, as he began eating his pork chop. "These taste different than home." He looked at the other guys, smiling. "Have either of y'all seen her friend?"

Frisk assisted Frisk as they climb on Boko, he grinned as the child shouted charge. Bartz rubbed Boko's neck gently, the feathers slipping past his fingers "Okay! Boko! The wind is with us! Bartz yelled as Boko started walking fast, his grin seemed permanently plastered on his face.

"Frisk, hold on your chocobos! Last time we did something extreme is cliff-hopping during an earthquake!" Bartz yelled as Boko started running after the ninja-cat, one hand of Bartz are behind to hold Frisk.. some precautionary measures. Boko didn't really go at full speed and only tailed the chasers at last place. With these much chasers, the cat was sure panicking. Why would someone even steal an iconic character's last items? Whatever. Chasing the cat to feel the wind is really the reason- but taking the items back is the main priority. Bartz leaned to his right a bit and can tell at Boko's beak that he was smiling. Bartz smiled too. He remembered Frisk behind him and Bartz checked on him. "You alright? Feel free to take a hold of me." Bartz said before taking his eyes back on the road and chasers in front of him.

---

As if suffering the loss itself weren't cruel enough, a cat-thief holding a green bag thrust out a palm and swiped Mario's essence, before bolting. Luigi immediately sprinted after. Reacting quickly, Hapu started running as well, throwing her Poké Ball and jumping in the air as Mudsdale materialized beneath her. "Hyah!" she goaded, and Mudsdale snorted as it galloped after the thief.

Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Mudsdale's mud-caked hooves shook the halls as Hapu gave chase to TAC. She looked around at the angry star children, and the passing folks on the Chocobo - Frisk and Bartz. Samus and Cloud, too, moved to capture the copy-ability--and apparently, soul and headgear--thief.

As Guile said, surely the TAC must have a master. Mudsdale tirelessly ran after the thief, its eyes peering straight forward, glaring at the cat.

Involved as he was with Naija, Slayer did not notice the intruder until too late. Silent and swift, the cat burglar gave no indication of its presence until its theft sent an uproar among the funeral attendees. The vampire failed to turn in time to see what was stolen, but the tail end of the fleeing streak clued him into where it had committed the act and a simple glance took care of the rest. In an instant, the robber vanished, a speedy blur threatening to escape with its ill-gotten goods. While any do-gooder worth his salt would have leaped at the chance to return a pilfered object of importance, particularly something so important, the only muscle Slayer moved was to raise an eyebrow. He knew without having to look that a great many of those present would throw themselves after the thief, so he needn't concern himself with how to manage a speedwalk without losing his composure, and instead the gentleman cast his thoughts elsewhere.

”A barbaric act—and one as insipid as barbarity. Putting aside how it shouldn't have been able to infiltrate such a crucial establishment as this place, it must have been awfully sure of itself to try and snatch a soul from a place so dense with heroes.” Mischievous little beasts relieved of the burden of intelligence were not by any means unheard of, but if such a creature could get inside the grand hub of heroism known as Tetris Castle, it was either more than met the eye or aided by some other entity. Guile echoed those thoughts as he barked out an order to the posse, but it seemed like he hadn't thought of -or at least put much credit in- the thief being some kind of shapeshifter. One after another, the others took off after the Tac, and fast thought it was Slayer suspected the chase wouldn't last long unless it fled into some portal, protective barrier, or the like, probably established by a hitherto-unknown accomplice. As he thought, Slayer hummed the tune of the song performed by the odd but talented troupe of animals in memory of Mario. He did not expect one of those very musicians to plod over and, now that Slayer's chair had descended following Naija's departure, ask him what the problem was.

Slayer uncrossed his legs and stood up to his full height, causing his chair to morph back into his cape. With a droll expression he removed his monocle, produced a hankerchief from his suit jacket with which to clean it, and replied, “A yellow creature shaped like the head of a cat rushed in and made off with Mario's essence and cap. The more exuberant among us have, it seemed, all sprinted off to accost the rogue and return its plunder, possibly flushing out an accomplice in the act. The sight of them all running off, a great mad gang after one rotund robber...wouldn't you say it's almost comical? Overkill, I'm sure, but given the stolen items, I shouldn't wonder that so many would be so eager to get them back.” He finished with his monocle and held it up. It glinted in the morning sun, revealing it to be spotless, and with a satisfied look Slayer replaced the eyepiece before holding out his hand. “Goodness, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Slayer. Your performance just now was exceptional, considering the...'unconventional' choice of instruments.” He eyed the bird in the bear's backpack, noting her vivid red plumage and sharp eyes. These two, it seemed, were a package deal. A partnership far less contortion-prone than poor Zappa's.

Jack seemed to agree with Taric’s thoughts about the nature of this virus. Perhaps it is some kind of very potent form of rabies? All in all very worrying that a disease needed violence to stop, what did that mean for the victim's odds of being cured? Taric sympathized with Jack’s plight of uncooperative superiors, his home of Demacia had not approved of his taking time away from martial training to become more cultured despite it not impacting his performance. Well apart from that one time.

”Don’t seem like the most well thought through regulations if they stop you from doing your duty. I am fortunate that the Protector and I are very much in sync when it comes down to what's important and when to take action so I suppose a bit of vagueness is acceptable in comparison to your situation”

Taric then matched the cops toast, making it seem a little less lonely, when they spoke of working together.

”I work well alongside marksman, I’ll be sure to keep the enemies away from you so you can get your shots of.”

Jack's attention was then drawn away to the scantily clad newcomer. He couldn't blame him, as he noted earlier, she had quite the stunning appearance. Apparently she was here looking for a friend of hers in the city, the description she gave was of a person who was probably as eye catching as herself. The description of her outfit reminded Taric somewhat of the bounty hunter Miss Fortune of Bilgewater, whom Taric knew from the League. They apparently shared the same taste in large hats, small tops, those decorative cuff things and tight pants. In addition to that eye catching outfit where her purple skin and hair which all added up to what Taric imaging was quite the impressive appearance.

Steve, who had introduced himself to Shantae, suggested she might have gone to an arena and then asked the two of them if either of them had seen her.

”It is nice to meet you Shantae, I am Taric. I am afraid I have not seen your friend, though I imagine she will be hard to miss based on that description. If I do meet her I’ll be sure to mention you're looking for her. If she has come to town today she might be here for the funeral taking place in the castle or have received a summons like Jack here, to battle something called the Mugen Virus.”

He turned back to Jack, who hopefully had stopped staring at this point.

”You said you were staying at the castle as a result of your summons, correct? Perhaps you can get us inside so miss Shantae can look for her friend and I can find out if this mission to stop the virus is accepting volunteers.”

---

A sweat-bead descended the back of the cat ninja/thief’s head when he turned mid-sprint to peer passed his bulbous bag at the amount of heroes chasing him. He wasn’t too surprised for he was warned that his thieving would bring about such a result. Not just any thief was selected for the job. No! Tac, who would claim to be the best, was selected for the job. Tac’s feet were a blur beneath him. He dashed through hedges, flowerbeds, and peered up at the heroes running along the walls encasing the garden, hoping to intercept him. Tac frowned in determination as he neared the wall Fox was on and removed from his back a small explosive that he quickly lobbed at it. The explosive erupted into a thick smokescreen that didn’t just draw the attention of everyone searching for him (if they weren’t following the Lumas), but it allowed him to disappear. Acrobatically, he ascended the wall, the pungent smell of the smoke not bothering him (for his face was covered up anyway). Tac landed on the other side of the wall and emerged from the smokescreen, darting down the Platform City streets. Those who were riding after him, if their mount couldn’t jump the 30 foot wall, then detouring was going to cost a turn to catch up.

The ninja-thief was extraordinarily fast. Tac was designed to steal and run, which was what he always did. He was born to do nothing else. He surveyed those who were still chasing him and glanced up to see the three Lumas and Naija. He wasn’t ever going to escape if they kept chasing him. Tac frowned and as he ran through the streets, he hopped from the roof of a car, onto an overhang, and then from the overhang ran up a store wall to the roof. The cat ninja suddenly sprang from the roof toward Naija. His hand shot out like an arrow to snag her Valkyrie armor, and with zero effort, the armor was stripped from her, disappearing into his green sack.

The cat ninja reached for the neck of a street lamp, grasping it as he pulled himself to its perch. The fish was now without wings and at gravity’s mercy. The Lumas immediately braked, noticing the sudden danger and instead of pursuing the cat, they flew to Naija’s aid, sweeping under her to catch her. Tac had crossed to the next building parallel to the one he had jumped from and was running across the roof.

The loud growl of a motorcycle was heard in the street beneath the street lamp where Tac had once been. Cloud pulled up to the curb on his Hardy Daytona. He was still wearing his black suit and shades, and he glanced over at Naija noticing that the Lumas were lowering her down to the street.

“Are you all right?” he shouted over the purr of his bike.

He quickly stole a glance at the buildings around him and frowned. If there were others who just so happened to still be on the cat’s trail, then good on them. Unless he rode around the city, the trail had gone cold for him, especially since the Lumas had lost Tac.



The restaurant was empty. It had been privately rented out by a villainous duo who sat before a banquet table long enough for eight to sit on either side. A feast occupied the head of the table where a large man sat, his massive bottom situated in two wooden chairs that groaned and creaked beneath his immense weight. Adjacent to him was a thinner man, resembling a familiar hero…actually…they both resembled two very familiar legendary heroes.

There were plates stacked in threes, the little chef known by all as Mama darted in and out of the kitchen, carrying food in exchange for dirty dishware. Her latest customer had been a filthy rich one who managed to rent the place out so that he and his associate could dine in silence. The fat one’s appetite alone was trying to eat her restaurant out of business, but it would take more than one glutton to do such a thing.

The fat man was none other than Wario. His fat behind was on its way to needing a third seat as he sank his teeth into a large ham hock and dipped a bread roll into some mashed potatoes and gravy. Standing against the wall, a Koopa Troopa waiter was sweating bullets as he watched Wario ravenously gobble down every single one of Mama’s dishes. Mama seemed to be determined to put the man in a food coma, but Koopa Troopa was fearing that something else would happen. The man would either explode or…he didn’t know. The whole thing felt wrong.

Wario eased his head back. His jaws were divided by a massive chunk of ham that his powerful jaws ground away at. His throat was as thick as a tire, hanging over a white bib that read “Mama’s.” His yellow shirt had become a training bra for his man boobs. His purple suspender straps had popped long ago and his pants dipped beneath the protruding round, hairy girth of an overstuffed gut. The man had consumed so much food that his navel popped out, appearing like a button with an X on the front. Clutching the roll in his left hand and the bone of the once-ham hock in his right, Wario frowned in determination as he continued to chew away at the tough meat. Waluigi stood from his chair and bent over the table, resting a hand on the tabletop while his other hand was clenched and waving.

“Go Wario! If you beat Mama’s challenge, then we’ll get free food for a full year, wah! Thatsa’ steal!” Waluigi cheered.

The door to Mama’s restaurant burst open as a black cat ninja darted inside. Waluigi glanced over to Tac as he raced over to the banquet table and hopped on top of it. Wario managed to close his mouth about the ham, his cheeks bulging like balloons as streams of drool ran from his lips. He lowered his head to gaze at Tac as the ninja ran toward him and hopped onto his belly. Tac danced in a frantic circle, waving his Rayman-like hands about in panic. Wario raised his chin, a heavy and loud GULP was heard as he swallowed down the ham.

“You were followed?” Wario interpreted peering down at Tac. A large, dastardly grin expanded from beneath his jagged mustache. “Good. Go deliver the stuff to King DD. I’ll handle these chumps.”

Tac raised his paw in salute and sprang off Wario’s gut to the floor. Throwing down a smoke bomb, the ninja disappeared.

“They won’t know what they’ve gotten themselves into, wah,” Waluigi chuckled.

Wario popped the roll into his mouth and lowered his eyelids in a cool manner as he replied cockily (and with his mouth full): “They gotta let me join. They won’t hava’ choice.”

[In the case a hero actually managed to follow Tac to Mama’s, this is the dialog they’ll walk in on. Heroes who experienced the one turn delay will have to arrive on the second round. Not this one, the next GM post.]

Wario expelled a long, loud and disgusting belch that made the whole table and its dishware tremble. It was the most suitable welcome for the hero(es). He raised his meaty, white-gloved fists and laughed his most iconic, wicked laugh:



“Well, well, well, if it isn’t da heroes? I bet your lookin’ for somethin’…and I might know where it is.”

Wario pinched the rightmost end of his stache and rolled it between his fingers.

“I wanna strike a deal with you guys. You let me join the team, and I’ll help ya save Mario.” He then frowned. “And don’t try anythin’ stupid. I got this whole block rigged to explode.”

Waluigi frowned at Wario, his eyes growing wide to hint at something more…Wario looked at him and then he remembered. “Oh, right, and Waluigi has to be allowed ta’ join too (he said that nonchalantly).”

Waluigi grinned wickedly at the heroes.

Wario rested his hands on the table and attempted to push back in his chairs. The chairs instead gave beneath his weight and the entire restaurant shook when the tub of lard struck the floor. A sweat-drop descended the side of Koopa Troopa’s head as he stared at Wario, wiggling around pathetically on the floor. He knew how that felt when he was stuck on his back, but this was a different story. The villain could only blame himself for being such a pig.

Waving his fists around, Wario roared in frustration, “Help me up!”

Waluigi quickly rushed over to Wario, stepped behind him, and hooked his hands beneath his smelly armpits.

“Lift…w-with…y-your…l-legs, wah…” Waluigi rasped, his twig-legs shaking. He looked over at Koopa Troopa. “Help me you fool, wah!”

Koopa Troopa jumped and ran over to help the fat man up. Wario kicked his feet until he was upright and all three gasped in relief. Waluigi and Koopa Troopa slumped to the floor panting, resting back against Wario’s love handles. The villain grasped the table and the table near lifted off the floor when he attempted to use it as support. Both Waluigi and Koopa Troopa sprang to their feet and sprawled across it to keep it down as Wario rose to his feet. Dragging a hand across his brow to clear it from sweat, Wario sighed in relief: “Whew!”

His wicked grin then confidently returned to his face. “Did you think I was here, eating this little Mama’s food because it was delicious and not concoctin’ a plan?…” Mama darted out of the kitchen with a sub sandwich that was about as long and wide as Cloud’s Buster Sword. Wario held out his hands, palms up in mid-speech as Mama set the sandwich into them and swiftly disappeared back into the kitchen. The most unbelievable show of gluttony at its finest then happened before the heroes’ eyes. The sub sandwich was turned long-ways and Wario opened his mouth wide to receive it. The sandwich was passed into his mouth, sliding in with no resistance (did he even chew?!). The whole sandwich disappeared by the time Wario closed his mouth. His cheeks were inflated again, the crunching sound of vegetables being crushed between molars was heard along with the smacking of lips as Wario grunted, “…oh yeah, she put extra garlic on this one….”

Swallowing, Wario wiped his mouth with the back of a gloved hand before resting them both upon his large belly. “This right here is a weapon. I’ve just been fuelin’ it. You guys better accept me on your team or I will have Platform City and all of its inhabitants smellin’ of garlic and shit for months! Smell it scrubs!”

Waluigi rose off the table and grinned as he revealed a lighter. “That’s one big napalm waitin’ to happen, wah!”

Lawman LV.1

---

Ceasing his gaze at the ill-dressed half-genie Jack knocked back his glass of whiskey in appreciate of Taric participating in his hasty toast. It was tempting for the cop to explain or outright ramble that a lot of things in Grant City weren't the most well thought out. If it wasn't the police regulations then it was the behavior of the gangs and if it wasn't the gangs it was the subway layout, or the traffic flow, or some other god forsaken aspect of the urban that made him and everyone else wonder why they put up with the nightmare of a city.

Instead Jack simply refilled his glass with a another helping of whiskey and picked up his BLT sandwich to get something besides hard liquor in his stomach.

"Hey I'm good at a distance or up close, Taric. I think I've used my fists more then I have guns to be honest. But if you can somehow keep me from having to take anymore punches to the face or groin then I already have then I'd appreciate it." Biting into the thick, almost bloated sandwich of meat and vegetables Jack began to chew his food just as Shantae and Steve called his attention. Taking a moment to swallow the cop shook his head and Shadow turned his head backwards to look at the half-genie, the white fur around his mouth stained red from the bloody meat he'd been gorging on.

"I'm Jack Slate, and I can't say I've ever met anyone named Boots before much less someone who matched that description." Jack simply gave a shrug of his shoulders and raised his sandwich to get back to his meal when Taric turned to him.

"Well it's not like I'm a VIP or anything. Hell I showed up to the castle late and drunk, and from what I understand ended up missing the first mission related to the virus. So I doubt anyone is going to do us any favors if I lead you all there, but I won't say no. Just let me finish me food and I'll take you up there. Just don't do anything crazy, I heard they were having a funeral."

Jack grimaced slightly at the idea of going back up to the castle. If they were lucky the funeral was wrapped up already. Even if it was though just being there would likely remind him of his father's own funeral and everything that had come before it...

She followed the cat thief, or more specifically the Lumas who were doing much better at sticking close despite the tricks the ninja was pulling off, throwing smoke bombs and climbing the wall in a flash. To Naija with her wings this caused no issue as she continued to track him, shouting to tell the others where he was going. She was probably being quite annoying, giving away their position like that, which resulted in his reaction. The thief began parcouring all over the place and then launching himself at the Mithalan, snatching her winged armor off of her like she had done to the Valkyrie in some kind of possibly ironic but definitely very literal karma.

For a moment it was if Naija was suspended in the air, floating there while she failed to comprehend what happened. Then she and the universe realized her predicament and the girl began to plummet towards the ground screaming with rage and fear. Her hands were engulfed in flames as she hurled a stream of energy shots at the cat, but the slow moving projectiles just ended up leaving scorch marks on the wall of the building the thief was running across. Her plumet came to a slow halt as the Lumas caught her, slowing her fall from a death spiral to a gentle descent and then plopped her to the ground. They had lost the thief. They had lost mario because of her. Again.

The turned and snarled at whatever growling thing had tried to sneak up on her, her hands flaring with energy again as she sat crouched on the ground, ready to incinerate whatever it was. Fortunately she recognised it as the spiky haired human who had been with Guile at the funeral. He was sitting on some kind of weird metal purring thing, mounting it like a seahorse. He called to her:

“Are you alright?”

”I. Yes, yes, I’m ok.” She turns to the Lumas briefly ”Thank You, for saving me.”

She then wall jumps up the building to continue the pursuit, but the thief is long gone as she looks across the bustling city. It’s quite the sight for the little fish girl, so many different kinds of people going about their day. She stares for a moment, then shakes her head and hops back down to the street to where cloud is.

”We lost him and I lost my wings… I don't suppose I can have a lift while we search for the theif?” she indicates to the metal mount, hoping for a ride on the strange contraption.

As he raced after the cat like ninja, Luigi was blind to all else that was going on around him. He didn't take notice of the other heroes that were joining in on the chase or whom where attempting to catch the thief, of bystanders or innocent people that were confused and just trying to get out of the way; All that mattered to him was making up lost ground and reclaiming his brothers hat and soul.

As the feline thief headed towards one of the walls and deployed what appeared to be a smoke bomb, Luigi altered his path just a little so that he was aiming for a part of the wall that was choked in smoke. Launching himself high into the air with a single bound, he was more then willing to demonstrate his own acrobatic ability by quickly scaling the rest of the wall and running down the other side, jumping off when he was at a height where it was safe to do so, roll along the ground to avoid injury and start picking up speed once again once he had regained his footing!

As the chase continued, leaving the castle behind and entering the city streets proper, he witnessed the thief leap up and intercept the flying Naija and doing... something in order to steal all of her equipment in a moment before continuing to flee, the ocean dweller plunging towards the ground because of it. Seeing the Lumas break of their pursuit of the thief in order to try and save her, Luigi continued to chase after the cat without even slowing down for Naija, trusting that the trio of stars would be able to save her without his interference. If he lost the cat now, he would not be getting his brother back at all...

Watching as the thieving little rat ducked into what appeared to be a restaurant of all buildings, Luigi skidded several meters along the ground in order to bring himself to a complete stop in front of the door of Mama's restaurant before pushing the door open and stepping inside to... witness a scene that simply defied all sense and logic. Watching as the disgusting blob that was Wario make a complete pig out of himself to the point that he wasn't even able to physically stand upright under his own weight without the support of both Waluigi and a member of the restaurant staff was... disturbing to say the least, but the sheer amount of effort and planning that had apparently gone into what could only be the stupidest plan he had ever heard off actually caused Luigi to just stand there, blinking as his brain tried to process what he had just heard.

Was this what it was like to suffer an aneurysm?

Thoughts of murdering both of them aside, Luigi just couldn't but ask just to clarify that he had actually heard them correctly and wasn't actually going insane "Just to be sure I heard you both right... You went to the effort of hiring a thief to steal my brothers remains from his funeral in front of a number of heroes... some of whom had actually been there when he died... solely so that could be join the effort to save worlds?"

Taking a deep breath (and trying to ignore the insanely powerful stench of Wario's bad breath), Luigi was quick to ask an important follow up question. "Why?"