The unexpected lightning attack that Cloud launched did exactly as Alicia had needed and not only brought the black hole creating puffball to a halt, but also forced him to begin closing off the hole in order to maintain control. The call from Frisk to not attack Marx was unneeded, the Striker was no fool. Similar patterns had opened up during the battles with Aksis and Oryx, where they couldn't be harmed or else risk harming yourself. However, this particular battle of epic proportions was more of a threat to the existence of this universe itself, since they were talking about a black hole.

Still, the Titan knew she needed to plan things out and began to do so. Once he was whole again, Marx would likely try a different avenue of attack, probably close range. The prospect made her grin behind her helmet like it would James; Titans and Hunters were as good in a hand to hand situation as they were at range, some even better. Of course, Alicia had her shotgun with her as well, making dealing with him in that situation fairly easy. However, it would be better for everyone if he didn't get that chance and so hitting him with the Disc of Thunder was still a priority. But she'd still need an opening. And there was only one person who she knew could help her in a decent way, since their leader didn't seem to be armed and the bear wasn't particularly fast.

"Cloud, I need you to hit him again as SOON as he's done becoming one again. Just a quick stun, that's it." As she spoke to her team mate, Alicia was already pulling the Bolt Caster free of the floor, holding the blade up and at a slight angle in front of her. Her stance indicated she was familiar with sword fighting and had no issues applying the blade liberally when needed.

Phoenix Wright carefully observed the others during his sprint. He watched them all in action and wondered why he was chosen to participate in this madness. The bundle of characters were all different; Wright had the right mind to assume he stepped in a new cartoon. The attorney at law had doubts that the walking bear would begin stealing picnic baskets.

Phoenix briefly stopped running due to shock. The black hole pulled him closer during his stun. Realizing what happened, he pushed his body forward again. Hearing and seeing a bird pop out of the bear’s backpack was bizarre and uncanny. Does this mean the bear can talk too? There were a lot of questions yet so many answers.

Phoenix held onto his charm in his hand. He kept glancing back to see if any chains had formed. Nothing appeared as of now which did discourage the ace attorney. Everybody else seemed to their best at defending themselves. Phoenix witnessed a blonde man with a gigantic sword leap toward the danger. He spawned some impressive lightning at the enemy.

“I mean, I could probably do that too if I had a sword,” Wright moaned. He watched the floor in a panic. Each leg caught the floor in hopes of bringing him further away from the black hole. His tie was flying over his left shoulder and flapping along with the force. Phoenix Wright continued to glance as he couldn’t fully give his attention to the others. His mind focused on sprinting at the moment.

It was then that Wright’s eyes opened wide. He heard a familiar sound behind. The sound of chains rustling by cracked in the air. It was followed by the noise of a lock closing shut. The ace attorney turned around and found his Magatama had done the work. Whatever was producing the black hole had a secret that was worth telling. There was only one red lock which showcased he didn’t know much.

Phoenix Wright turned back to the wall and decreased his speed. The force of the black hole was becoming too much for his body to bear. He was grateful the blonde swordsman managed to have the monster shift back to its regular non-black hole self. Phoenix hoped that he could last until the enemy put himself back together.

His ears perked up when he listened to the other characters. He heard the young kid mention not to attack. He then heard the sci-fi woman suggest attacking when the enemy fully rejoined his body. Wright was not sure what he was intending to do. Everything was a bit complicated for him to understand, and he graduated with a Master’s. Phoenix thought it over and expected the enemy might have heard the plan out loud. The ace attorney chose the best option was to distract its’ mind.

Twisting himself back to get a good view of the monster, Phoenix Wright threw his right arm and pointed his index finger firmly at the hexagonal enemy. He spat out his famous tagline, “Objection!” He felt power and calmness take over his body. A huge comic book speech bubble appeared from his mouth and popped out. It was directed to give the gem knight a hit, but also to trip him out.

“Now then. I do believe you have some explaining to do, Mr.-” Wright paused himself. “I apologize, what’s your name? I would like to be on a first name basis before you reveal your intentions.”

The bolt had struck true and startled the bat creature. It looked like for a moment that he was about to lose control of the black hole, which seemed to disturb his teammates. Frisk shouted for him not to attack, and Cloud began to notice a trend with their leader. If they couldn’t attack the enemy, then how were they supposed to win with Marx trying to kill them? Alicia shouted for him to strike Marx again, and it may or may not have been against their leader’s wishes. Cloud waited, watching closely for the chance to summon his bolt magic again. He felt the pull of the black hole growing weaker and weaker, and as soon as the swordsman was able to settle his booted feet on the ground, Cloud straightened.

We need to take this guy out before he tries to attack us again, Cloud mused. He wasn’t one to disobey orders but for the safety of his team, he had to agree with Alicia’s plan. The swordsman bent his knees in a stance. He thrust out his fists before him, arms parallel to the floor, as a fiery aura erupted beneath his feet, causing his spiky hair to ripple. His brows furrowed over his mako-green eyes as he focused on the bat just as the seam that separated his body would disappear.

“Aaah!” Cloud uttered a rising shout until his concentration was broken by a balloon or something appearing behind him with a loud OBJECTION! The scare made Cloud stagger forward. He swore he nearly leapt out of his skin! Gazing wide-eyed back at the new guy, Cloud thought what the fuck? Was that an attack? He was just as weird as Frisk. The ex-SOLDIER slunk away from Phoenix as he engaged the enemy, leaving his sword with him in the case he needed it. He needed to find a new battle position from which to cast his magic assault. His cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. To think he would have been startled by such a ridiculous ability. In his shame, he avoided eye-contact with the rest of his team.

---

Marx hadn’t been expecting the heroes to allow him to reunite himself. The bat had overheard the plan shouted between them and was frowning at Cloud as he charged another one of those painful lightning bolts—jerk! As soon as he came together, he was prepared to attack when out of nowhere a giant bubble appeared, thrusting into the bat’s face with OBJECTION depicted on it in large font. The bubbly attack sent Marx flying back into the castle wall with a crash before he flopped over on his face. A few dizzy swirls appeared in his eyes before he angrily gazed up at Phoenix.

“What kind of stupid attack was that?” he exclaimed, trying to sound like a tough guy who had just shrugged it off. As Phoenix called him out on a secret he was keeping, Marx put on the most adorably pathetic poker face the lawyer probably had ever seen. He scowled, cheeks puffed out with what was supposed to be a face where he reeled in his emotions, but instead he was pouting quite visibly. “I don’t gotta explain anything to you, and it’s Marx you idiot! The one who will kill you all!”

Marx drew his wings into his body, his bottom lip turning upward with determination as his body began to flicker and shake. For those who could sense energy escalations, the little bat was charging for what would feel like a devastating attack. His eyes started to roll back into his head.

---

GM Note: From here on out, all players will be required to keep track of their word count. XP will be awarded every GM post. Be sure to check the XP hider to see how much XP your character earned. Remember to keep your CSes updated. I have seen players slack in keeping their XP up-to-date and they have lost XP points because of it. I didn't take the XP away from them, they just didn't keep track of the XP on their own. It is YOUR responsibility if you want your character to level.




If a player is inactive for more than 3 days without letting the GMs know of any delays, then the player can be skipped over on the 4th day. If a player does not wish to post, they can Mention the GM and let the GM know he or she "Passes" on his or her turn.

P.O.: Frisk, Alicia Harnick, Phoenix Wright, Banjo & Kazooie, and Cloud.

Frisk noticed Alicia's command, and they were a little worried that a second lightning bolt from Cloud might kill Marx. Now that Frisk thought about it, Alicia didn't seem like the type who was in the environment that would allow her to spare the people she met. There was also Cloud...and the reality of how things went in his stories came crashing down on the child. This wasn't a heroic tale. This was reality, and he might not be willing to spare either. Maybe their being here and a leader was a mistake...? Maybe....

However, before that train of thought could continue, they too were caught by surprise by the sudden appearance of a speech bubble, and the loud booming voice shouting "OBJECTION!" They didn't even notice how Cloud seemed to be embarrassed by the man's attack, as they snapped out of their self-deprecating thoughts. The attack seemed to be super effective and non-lethal! Maybe everyone can get out unscathed after all. Plus, if Frisk remembered the definition of Objection correctly, then this could be their chance to ACT.

After Marx made his response, Frisk called back to the figure, hoping to make him pause and rethink his actions, "We already know! You're fighting to protect Ki-er, World Emperor Dedede, right? But haven't you noticed that something about him isn't right?! Don't you care about his well being?" Maybe getting him to pause was a little optimistic, but Frisk did note that this might also give the guy in the blue suit another reason to shout Objection and try that attack again.

Frisk noticed how the creature seemed to be gaining more energy, most likely for a powerful attack and they called to their teammates, "Guys! Take cover or get ready to dodge!" They took their own advice and took cover behind a pillar. While using said pillar as a (hopefully effective) barrier, they focused on Marx's SOUL, and pressed the ACT and CHECK buttons. This time, they hoped to get a good glimpse at the HP. Nobody was going to crumble to dust or as a corpse today.

The Striker had no idea what to make of what had just happened. As Cloud had been about to execute the plan, although she admitted to hoping that Marx would act to counter them instead, a rather large and unexpected speech bubble appeared emblazoned with the word "objection" in rather large font, causing her teammate to stumble in surprise. For the first time, Alicia wondered what kind of mess her fireteam mate had signed up for, but decided to instead take advantage of the distraction. However, before she could send off the disc of Arc energy, their child leader began to speak as well. Alicia took the chance, while their bejeweled winged enemy was otherwise distracted, to really appraise the person that Guile had made their leader.

Besides the obvious appearance that this was indeed little more than a child, there was an innocence about them that spoke to an unfamiliarity with death, or at least being the cause of that death. To some degree, Alicia envied that about Frisk, wishing to not know what it felt like to kill another being in order to survive or ensure the survival of those she cared about or of a City who praised her as a hero. But then she remembered the horrors she had faced, Sword Logic-driven Hive, militaristic Cabal, and scavenging Fallen, all who hadn't hesitated for a moment to take the lives of those unable to fight back, and the jealousy vanished, instead replaced with resolve. Innocence was precious, but so were the lives of those she was charged to protect and she wasn't about to let the optimism of a child change the harsh truth she'd come to terms with from the moment she'd been reborn. And if the Speaker was to be believed, even before that.

As Marx made his retort, and began to charge up for his attack, the Titan moved in, blade at the ready and then spun with the blade held horizontally and unleashed a blue disc of crackling, blue lightning. It closed the distance with Marx and, upon impact with either the puffball or the ground, turned into a small electrical storm with no clouds, zapping anything within it's confines several times before disappearing. Still moving forwards, Alicia stored the Bolt Caster and swapped it out for the 4th Horseman, firing three of it's five shots as she took cover near their puffball opponent.

Phoenix Wright noticed his attack did extremely well against Marx. He did not expect his vocal cords to send the creature flying into a wall. This gave the ace attorney a slight confidence boost. All throughout, the other individuals seemed exceptionally skilled at fighting. Now Wright successfully hit Marx and his worries began to lessen.

"Okay, so I may be able to survive this," Wright reassured himself. He noticed everyone around him became astonished by his means of attack. The ace attorney did not believe it was weird compared to everyone else. He was just a simple lawyer trying to survive.

Wright focused on the enemy before him. The blonde swordsman helped Wright fend off the black hole by placing it in front. A sword managed to cover the ace attorney's entire height. "How in the world does he swing that thing?" He speculated.

Wright observed Marx and noticed his Magatama chains were still in effect. If he could break the chain, Marx would become stunned long enough for one of these stronger individuals to inflict a serious move. Wright wondered if he should try to break the chain.

The individual that appeared to be a kid stated that everyone should hide behind a pillar. Obviously, a bigger attack was incoming. Wright clenched his fists. He acknowledged people or himself were going to get seriously hurt. He had conflictions whether to try to stun him or hide from his attack.

"Hold it!" Wright pointed his index finger at Marx. He slapped his hands as he pretended to have invisible papers."Mr. Marx, you stated numerous threats before that haven't held up. May the court of peers please reflect on Mr. Marx's previous statement, "You'll all get sucked up!" Might I say, we are still outside the black hole." Wright continued to badger. He believes he made a rather convincing impression of Marx by making his voice high-pitched.

"If my client is correct, then you are serving King "Dedede." I believe this is why you are causing such malicious intent." He overheard the boy speak and wondered if this knowledge could help him break this case. "I believe you're scared of disappointing King "Dedede," Marx. I mean, it would explain your recklessness; leaving yourself open to unleash a black hole while there are many pillars to hold onto? I wonder what King "Dedede" will feel if he knows Marx lost to a group of people. Didn't you state that you have an energy of the entire galaxy? I can only imagine you expressed this to your king as a means of boasting." Wright spoke more and found the names to be utterly ridiculous.

"Marx, you are scared to confront King Dedede if you were to lose this battle! And it doesn't help that you boasted to your king either! Tell me I'm wrong!" Wright slammed his fist on an imaginary table. He was having flashbacks to actually being in a courtroom. The ace attorney kept his eyes fixated on the Magatama lock, waiting for it to break.

Banjo’s feet gently lowered back to the floor once Marx began to fade out the singularity. The swordsman stood ready as he charged up to throw some power the jester’s way, but he was unexpectedly interrupted just before he could act by the sudden ‘OBJECTION’ from the man in the blue suit, taking him and everyone else in the room by utter surprise. A speech bubble with the same spoken word imprinted on it erupted forth with enough energy and presence to somehow physically affect Marx, and quite substantially at that. The fact that the sheer power of the man’s authoritative voice alone was able to generate dangerously potent toon force was impressive indeed, but It was hard to tell if it was actually intended as an attack or if it was purely by accident. All the same, the swordsman needn’t feel embarrassed at being taken by surprise, for with a command so powerful that it can literally cause concussions being issued in uncomfortable proximity, it would be hard to blame him for being caught off-guard by it.

The man then promptly began bombarding the jester with a series of prying questions and call-outs, interrogating him as to his true motives. Judging by his applied terminology, method, manner of speaking, and ever-so-slightly dishonest stratagem and wordplay (the way he attempted to pass off Marx’s failed attempt as a broken promise or a lie), it was obvious that the man was a lawyer; a likely professional. He soon called for the attention of the “court” as if to get all others in attendance on the case, going so far as to refer to the child--their leader--as his “client.”

“Did he just… put the boss on trial? And are we his ‘peers’?” Banjo inquired at the very mention of such, scratching his head in confusion at the whole affair. He was unsure what any of this meant or how to conduct himself in such a scenario. He had never actually been in an active courtroom setting before (improvised, in this case), let alone served jury duty.

“I say we throw the book at him,” added Kazooie. Being the ‘fair and impartial’ judge that she was, she had already mentally jotted down a maximum sentence that left open the possibility for the death penalty. Neither Banjo nor Frisk would approve if they knew.

It was strange to think that the council decided that what they needed on their team was a lawyer, but stranger yet was the fact that he would take his work with him and be so bold as to put a floor boss on the stand in the middle of battle. Even by the bear and bird’s standards, this was most irregular. Sure, they faced their nemesis in a game show setting prior to their actual battle… TWICE, but it was at least appropriately set aside as pre-showdown material. (Though, Grunty did bring flashcards to the fight the second time around.) The lawyer’s gambit was, in fact, much riskier. Marx didn’t seem to care too much for being put on the spot like he was, nor was he all too willing to abide by proper courtroom etiquette. It was at the point when he pleaded the fifth, declared murderous intent, and prepared for his next attack that the duo safely assumed that they were to treat the witness as hostile.

The two made their way upstairs and around the scene, heading to the balcony directly above Marx while he was occupied with gunfire, legal proceedings, and a child’s plea to understanding. They had to be in position to act in case he didn’t budge to any of it. They would be ready to hit the jester with a Beak Buster from up top in the event that he showed no signs of letting up, and ONLY then would they do so lest they compromise their chance at the peaceful, preferable resolution that the lawyer and child seemed to have in mind. If it came to that, hopefully the surprise attack would be able to knock Marx out of the air as well as interrupt his attack and stun (or incapacitate) him long enough for those two to get through to him. Maybe, he would see to reason, but it would certainly be a shame if he didn’t. Banjo had no more intention of harming anyone than… well, ANYONE, so Marx’s surrender would come as somewhat of a favor to him as well. That being said, he had little compunction about fighting back when forced to, for he understands that reason can only take one so far with some. Fortunately, neither him nor his partner have ever had to claim a life to save their own (it’s a cartoonish, E-rated game, after all), and hopefully that would remain to be the case in future boss battles to come. In the worst case, Kazooie would probably just write it off as “self-defense” anyways.

Cloud could see how they were all divided. Frisk and the Lawyer were mostly pacifists and the rest of the team were more accustomed to just beating the bad guy. The swordsman was convinced that the bat had made his intentions very clear from the beginning. Marx wanted to destroy them all. What was there to talk about? And then the cartoony powers of the strange newcomer were causing the lawyer to hallucinate and believe that he was in a courtroom. This was no courtroom. This was a battleground. Cloud observed the awkward face the bat made as his body began to threateningly flicker. Whatever the bat was conjuring, words didn’t seem like they were going to work. Frowning, the ex-SOLDIER glanced over at the buster sword he had left with Phoenix, regretting his decision. He needed it to put the shrimp down before he unleashed his powerful assault on them all.

Frisk and Phoenix tried talking to Marx, while Banjo & Kazooie tactfully ascended the stairs to seek out an advantageous position. Cloud turned to face his sword and bolted toward it with an outstretched hand. If no one was going to stop the baddy, then he would. He grasped the hilt of his sword and his arm flexed as he lifted its impaled edge from the slit it had made in the hard marble-like floor. He hesitated when Alicia suddenly acted, carrying out her judgment.

The Titan revealed a blade, a weapon Cloud hadn’t even known she had. The attack she unleashed upon Marx made him briefly reminisce over a certain limit break he used to know…what was it again? A blue disc of some foreign energy that resembled lightning was lobbed at the bat followed by a shotgun that she started to empty on the creature. Alicia had decided what she felt was best, and Cloud wondered what the child leader would think of her actions. Regardless, after Marx was dealt with, they all needed to have a talk. They couldn’t stay divided.

---

Marx was unable to talk for the energy building in his mouth was causing his pink cheeks to inflate, but everything everyone was saying was making him mad. A frown creased his brow and the bat started batting his wings in his struggle to not talk through his attack.






Alicia went in for the kill, lobbing an electric disc at Marx that trapped the bat in a nest of electricity. The bat screamed in agony and exploding from his mouth was a rainbow beam of destruction. The beam began to dangerously expand, burning into the sides of the columns that held the building’s ceiling aloft. Three shotgun blasts from the Titan’s 4th Horseman weapon caused the beam to wink out as Marx suffered a mini explosion. The bat’s body crumpled, his ultimate form vanishing and leaving behind his weakened first form. He was comically missing teeth, his left eye was black and swollen as though he had been punched, and his body was flashing like a bomb.

Lying on his side, Marx scowled weakly at the group, and then stared at a piece of concrete that had fallen to the floor from the ceiling. His eyes rose to the ceiling, watching as massive cracks started to bleed across it from the pillars that had been damaged in his last attack. They were all going to be crushed!

“You losers thought you had me, but it is I who have you!” Marx continued to boast even in his inevitable defeat. “My epic battle with you is bringing down the house! AH HA HA HA HA!”

The bat had his last laugh, and his body harmlessly exploded in cartoony stars and smoke. With the first boss of the Butter Building defeated, a mysterious door appeared in a loud explosion along the west wall, revealing a stairwell down.

Floor collapses on next GM post.

---

GM Note: From here on out, all players will be required to keep track of their word count. XP will be awarded every GM post. Be sure to check the XP hider to see how much XP your character earned. Remember to keep your CSes updated. I have seen players slack in keeping their XP up-to-date and they have lost XP points because of it. I didn't take the XP away from them, they just didn't keep track of the XP on their own. It is YOUR responsibility if you want your character to level.




If a player is inactive for more than 3 days without letting the GMs know of any delays, then the player can be skipped over on the 4th day. If a player does not wish to post, they can Mention the GM and let the GM know he or she "Passes" on his or her turn.

P.O.: Frisk, Alicia Harnick, Phoenix Wright, Banjo & Kazooie, and Cloud.

Frisk noticed how the man in the blue suit seemed to get into the swing of the battle in his own way. He did what Mettaton did! He made the battle his own environment by playing his role as a lawyer. Frisk grinned a bit at the mention that they were the lawyer's 'client'. Then the results of the CHECK came. Marx was weakened! Good, this meant that the battle would be over soon and they could offer a peaceful resolution after the next attack. They just had to let everyone know about Marx's condition. However, before they could, Alicia had sent her attacks at Marx. They widened their eyes at the explosive defeat. Marx was now on the ground and looking quite beaten up.

They heard the cracking and the explosion to the side (when they looked they saw that it was a door!). The building was collapsing from Marx's attack! After Marx spoke his bitter final words, he exploded into what seemed to be his death. He was gone...
Frisk's eyes were wide. The party just killed someone. Was Alicia another Flowey? No...No, there had to be a reason behind her actions in ignoring their earlier request. They definitely needed to talk. But now wasn't exactly the best time. They gotta make sure that nobody got flattened into a pancake or fell through the floor. Frisk may have been lucky enough to survive two long falls during their time underground, and had Wario to land on earlier, but they're not going to count on their luck this time.

There was no time to ponder though. Frisk looked to the rest of the party and they called "Guys! Over here! Let's get out of here!" They then noticed the lawyer, and they ran up to him. They grabbed the sleeve of his pristine blue suit, and encouraged "Come on! Hurry!"
They then ran, trying to pull him along, to the door that appeared on the west side. They let go of the blue sleeve before opening the door, and grabbed the lawyer's sleeve again and attempted pulling both him and themselves through the door. They were sure that Cloud, Alicia, and Banjo-Kazooie were going to follow them through. Frisk left the door open for them.

When the rainbow beam of destruction fired, it's outermost edge barely missed the Titan's shielding, which crackled and fizzled from the heat, but otherwise did not deplete. The launching of the attack had Alicia rounding the corner, her shotgun ready, to continue the fight, but instead she found their opponent weakened and on the verge of defeat. Still, he didn't go quietly as he pointed out, through a pun no less, that the ceiling's integrity had been compromised. The second explosion, which revealed to be their door out and to the next room, followed shortly after Marx disappeared in a rather...silly manner.

Still, as Frisk called for them to move out, Alicia paid it no mind. After all, when you popped of the head of a Fallen Vandel, it just became smoke, so who was she to judge a general for his chosen death vanish? Making sure that the lawyer was well on his way towards the door, she looked around for the bear with the bird in it's backpack. During her own attack on the puffball that had formerly been their opponent, she had lost track of Banjo and Kazooie and after spending several seconds looking, she called out for them.

"Banjo, Kazooie, let's move! Door's near my location!" As she waited, a familiar Ghost appeared, his shell one earned through hard battle in the Iron Banner and his presence a stress reliever for her. "Good to see you could make it, Iron." The Ghost simply nods before vanishing back to his place inside her armor.

"I am as well. I presume you've already made it past your first challenge then?" After calling out for the bird and bear once more to ensure the heard her, Alicia retreated through the door herself before answering her partner.

"We did, but there is a slight problem. Our team leader is something of a pacifist. While I initially didn't believe it would be a problem, it might prove to be in the upcoming engagements." Iron made a humming sound, but did not reply, and she soon found where Frisk had stopped on the other side of the door. Once she found their leader, Iron remanifested himself to run a scan for a means to communicate with him.

"I am Iron, Alicia's Ghost companion. I take it you are the leader of this team?" The three beams that indicated he was scanning soon vanished and instead he appraised the young child while he waited for a response. A child leader was an interesting tactic, since that spoke a lot of the confidence of this Council that Iron had helped establish communication with for the Vanguard, but it also spoke to just how different other universes were from his own, which provided a rather interesting train of thought as well, that he could discuss with his Guardian once this mission was complete.

The ace attorney remained stunned regarding the previous events. He did become too focus in his attempt to crack truth from within Marx. Phoenix Wright did not pay attention to the armored woman. Her appearance certainly did not give any false impressions. The woman gave off an authoritative vibe with her sheer firepower. Most likely, she would give Von Karma a run for her money. He hoped the woman was not prone to hit people with a whip.

Phoenix Wright frantically stepped to the side. It looked like the grown man began dancing, but he attempted to dodge the rainbow beam emitting from the enemy's mouth. At first, the multi-color ray looked safe enough to touch; however, Wright witness the beam destroy the concrete and pillars in a matter of seconds. He continued to frantically dance despite the beam aiming nowhere near him. Stopping, he took a brief moment to eye the defeated Marx.

"What is up with that look!?" Wright furiously pointed his index finger at Marx. The broken tooth and black eye confused the ace attorney. Even a law degree couldn't help him explain how an electrical device created those injuries. Stepping back, Wright stayed cautious and concerned about Marx's glowing body. "You're obnoxious!"

The ace attorney covered his mouth. The little guy just wouldn't allow anyone see him defeated despite his appearance. Wright felt bad for the monster. "I think you're just misunderstoo-" Wright paused mid-sentence; his jaw dropped and his entire body froze.

"He just exploded!" The ace attorney held both of his hands to his head. He could not comprehend the madness and inconsistency of what occurred. He covered his face with his sleeve to protect his face. The explosion let out a bunch of wind and force which made his suit flutter. Wright proceeded to question if Marx truly died.

An ace attorney meant seeing plenty of murder victims. It never got easier for his job- especially when the victims were his closest friends. Even so, Wright rarely saw the moment of death in his eyes. He once witnessed a woman burn alive in a cage. Watching a creature explode might not have been as traumatic, but it was still troubling.

The ace attorney came back to his senses when he noticed the kid before pulling on his suit. "Oh, I-" Phoenix Wright found himself dragged by the child wearing the turtleneck. He truly did not know how he got in this situation. The idea of following a kid was careless, but he seemed to know what to do. Even then, a sour expression stayed on his face. The thought of a grown man with a law degree relying on a child was elementary. Wright looked back at the others with much concern. "You know, I think I should have called in sick today." Pheonix Wright was then pulled into the door by prolonged pulling.

Banjo made it unnoticed to the top of the balcony with no time to react before Marx shouted forth a sizable beam of blinding polychromatic destruction that rocked the halls at their very foundations, forcing the ursine to take cover behind the guardrails; moreso to maintain his bearings than to avoid damage that was aimed directly away from him. It was probably better that he didn’t rise from it to assail Marx, else him and Kazooie would have unwittingly run the risk of taking friendly fire. With the report of three gunshots followed the beam’s disappearance and Marx’s weakened reversion. They looked down over the railing at the defeated floor boss before exchanging looks of curious surprise to one another. The feeling couldn’t help but set in that this encounter was a tad short-lived. They weren’t complaining or anything. They just didn’t expect it would be so… easy. It begged to question what factors, if any, contributed to the jester’s expedited downfall. Whatever it was, none of it stopped him from bragging about his disappointingly overwhelming defeat and prematurely trying to somehow claim a victory from it. He was right about one thing, however: they weren’t clear just yet.

The effects of the collateral damage wrought by Marx mere seconds prior were starting to show. The entire room was about to collapse on itself, burying anyone under its roof that didn’t quickly take their leave of it. Their teammates’ attention to the only functioning door in the room as it spontaneously appeared, ordering them towards it. They needn’t be (but were) told twice, and with the rate at which their surroundings were coming down, Kazooie perhaps couldn’t have picked a better time to remember how much faster a runner she was than her partner. She sprung forth her talons from the bottom of Banjo’s backpack, practically yanking him off his feet and onto her back as she took the lead in a dead sprint for the exit. Fractures ran across the room like veins spreading along every surface to chase after the breegull as the floor gave way. She made a single lengthy bound over a freshly formed gap where a larger chunk of the ceiling fell through right in front of her and sailed gracefully through the open doorway to safety. Chances were that the duo, having been the farthest from it to start, would be the last ones through just before everything fell in on the other side. Afterwards, Kazooie would recede into her backpack space while her and Banjo waited for everyone to fully regroup.

---

Cloud stabbed his blade once more into the floor and ducked behind it as the rainbow beam fired from Marx’s mouth and expanded into the pillars that held the ceiling aloft. The SOLDIER peaked from behind his smoking sword at the bat as he laughed in his evident defeat. The creature was a sore loser. Even in death, he refused to admit his failure. At the mention of bringing down the house, Cloud glanced about at the pillars and cursed under his breath: #$%@!

Rising, he grasped the hilt of his sword and gave it a fancy twirl before sliding it into the blade mount on his back. He saw Frisk dragging Phoenix toward the door and Alicia calling for Banjo & Kazooie to come down from their perch. Cloud followed behind Frisk and Phoenix, wanting to make sure the lost lawyer got through and didn’t crowd the door when the rest of the team poured in. The stairwell down reminded Cloud of Guile’s brief. King Dedede was supposed to be at the top, but the successful/failed surprise attack and Marx’s stalling may had allowed the bird to escape to the bottom. Marx was only the first Elite General. There were more.

Crouching as the ceiling of the sixth floor came down with a crash, a bear and bird gliding to safety, and a plume of dust billowing into the stairwell, Cloud fanned the dust and debris from his face before he straightened and wandered further down the steps to get away from the smell and dust screen. He reminded the group, “If some of you are thinkin’ that Marx was too easy, he was only our first battle. Guile said the Butter Building had six floors with Elite Generals protecting King Dedede. If we’re gonna be fightin’ more, then we need to discuss our strategy.”

Cloud paused on the steps and turned to face Frisk as he asked, “Are you afraid of seein’ someone killed? Or do you have a fear of death? We could have ended that fight a lot quicker if you weren’t giving us orders to keep Marx alive. What’s going on?”

---

GM Note: From here on out, all players will be required to keep track of their word count. XP will be awarded every GM post. Be sure to check the XP hider to see how much XP your character earned. Remember to keep your CSes updated. I have seen players slack in keeping their XP up-to-date and they have lost XP points because of it. I didn't take the XP away from them, they just didn't keep track of the XP on their own. It is YOUR responsibility if you want your character to level.




If a player is inactive for more than 3 days without letting the GMs know of any delays, then the player can be skipped over on the 4th day. If a player does not wish to post, they can Mention the GM and let the GM know he or she "Passes" on his or her turn.

P.O.: Frisk, Alicia Harnick, Phoenix Wright, Banjo & Kazooie, and Cloud.

Frisk could see how startled the lawyer was at how Marx died, but they weren't exactly in an amused mood to be laughing at anything right now. Thankfully, the lawyer seemed to get the hint from their incessant tugging at his suit sleeve, and he followed them to the staircase, with Cloud behind them. During the time of the escape, Frisk was not even aware that Cloud swore under his breath. Soon after, Alicia and Banjo Kazooie made it into the staircase respectively. Frisk waved away the dust and debris from their face as well.

The child leader looked to everyone, making sure that they were all unharmed. Before they could say anything though, a metal device appeared from Alicia's armor and hovered in front of them. They weren't really surprised (they figured that this was a ghost in a metallic body, like Mettaton). After the ghost introduced itself as Iron, and asked if Frisk was the leader, they nodded and answered politely, "That's right. My name is Frisk. It's nice to meet you, Iron," They figured it was best to introduce themselves as well. Especially since there was a confused lawyer who didn't seem to know who anyone is or what's going on.

Frisk looked to Cloud when he spoke up about how the first battle with Marx was only the first battle out of many. After the reminder, Frisk answered, "I agree. We also need to talk to our new team member and let him know about what's going on as well,"

After Frisk answered, Cloud turned on them and asked his questions. The questions did strike a chord. There was a fear that Frisk had, but it wasn't just death. They've died plenty of times in the Underground and always came back through sheer DETERMINATION. No...it was the permanence of death towards the people they met, and the death of their friends and family. Most of all, they were terrified of who they would become if they decided to murder every single person on their path. What if their nightmares were a premonition?

Instead of letting that fear show and give off the appearance of a frightened child, Frisk remained stoic, shoved the fear to the back of their mind, and gave the appearance of an Ambassador of Humans and Monsters of Mt. Ebbott. They knew that if their fear took over, then they would probably be sent back to the airship to wait, and they weren't willing to do that! They were here to help! As they shoved the fear away, they thought about how Toriel or Asgore would handle this situation. Toriel and Asgore were the wisest choice to emulate out of all of their friends, because Frisk themselves needed to be a leader for this group, and their adoptive parents were the King and Queen of Monsters after all. Their demeanor was calm and professional. It was different than the cheerful and energetic child from before on the airship,

"Mr. Strife, Ms. Harnick, I can assure you that my decisions are not based on fear, it's based on my previous experiences. Killing someone never helps with anything. Especially since we're trying to recover Mario's soul, not assassinate someone. I was hoping we could end the fight peacefully and not attract too much attention to our group. But now that we murdered Marx, I think we just made ourselves more of a target, and lowered chances of finding someone who might be willing to point us in the right direction to Mario's soul."

They had addressed Alicia as well, since she was the one who dealt the killing blow to Marx.

They sighed through the nose and started "As for the strategy, and as I have mentioned before, I can keep CHECKing on the people we encounter, and keep my eyes peeled for Mario's soul. I'll also be able to let you know about their conditions. I'll admit that I am accustomed to finding non-violent ways to end the battle, but I can fight as well if need be,"

They then looked to Phoenix Wright, and they recalled how he was searching for the truth and interrogated Marx. Frisk had a feeling that might be of great help in their search.

They then asked Alicia and Cloud, "For the fights, can't you two just knock our opponents unconscious?"

Knocking the opponents seemed like a fair compromise. Cloud and Alicia wouldn't be held back, and everyone would still get out alive if the opponent was just knocked out cold.

Alicia and Iron glance at each other as Cloud asked questions that she herself wondered about, and then the opportunity to attempt to explain things from their perspective presented itself when Frisk asked why they couldn't just knock out their opponents. After a moment of communication between the pair, Iron projects an image of a Hive Thrall, the creature running around before kneeling at an unseen pile of bones to gnaw on them. After a moment, something seems to disturb it and the creature rushes off, joining a swarm of it's brethren before they converge on some unfortunate Guardian, who falls to their swarm tactics and who's Ghost is carried into the dark pit that was the moon. "This creature is called a Thrall, the most commonly fielded Hive monster we see in our battles back home. Tell me Frisk, does this creature look like it can be reasoned with? Knocked out?"

Next, as the image faded, a new one appeared, this one a Fallen Vandal who was in the process of pulling a Ghost apart as it's Guardian was trapped nearby, helpless to save their companion, just before another Guardian arrives and shoves the Vandal away, clearly shouting something at it. The Guardian frees the Ghost, damaged though it was, before the Vandal fires a shot from it's Shock Rifle. A battle erupts as a result. "The Fallen are relentless scavengers who we've tried many times to reason with, but they have no desire. They would much sooner tear the Last City apart and kill any human inside it than have peace."

The image changed again as this time a Vex Hezen Collective Goblin appears, marching alongside several other Goblins with Minotaurs and Hobgoblins following behind as they raze an attempt to begin recolonization on Venus by Dead Orbit followers, taking out the guards and killing the colonists before anyone can truly flee. "The Vex are an interesting foe, having traveled through time and space to convert planets into machines. This poses a problem for those who aren't machines who fight back, as if you are an obstacle, you are removed. There are no alternatives for the Vex Collective."

There was another switch, this time showing a Cabal Centurion, unloading round after round onto a pinned Guardian before another draws his attention. In the background can be seen many different Cabal forces, ranging from Centurions to Psions, all waging war against someone, be it Guardian, House of Wolves Fallen, or Vex. "The Cabal are relentless conquerors who will only stop when they only survivors within the solar system are themselves, which means there is no one they will spare."

The images vanish and Iron scans Cloud to link up with any communications device he might have while Alicia continues speaking. "We Guardians are soldiers who fight a war against the Servants of Darkness, entire races who's only desire is the death of all humanity and the destruction of both the Last City. When James and I came here to help with the Mugen Virus, we knew that we were leaving one battlefield and walking onto another. Knocking an opponent out isn't what I do. These Elite Generals won't hesitate to take our lives, and I will not allow that so long as I still draw breath. I won't ask you to fight as I do, but I will ask that you let me do what I am here to do and trust that it's the right decision. I will not deliver a killing blow before you confirm Mario's soul isn't absorbed, but once we can confirm it, I will not hold back."

Phoenix Wright calmly pulled his hand away from the small child; he performed the task slowly and discreetly as not to offend the boy. Rubbing the back of his neck, the lawyer tried to connect the dots. Everything he witnessed back then did not have any reasonable explanations. A moth creature attempted to kill a child, a bear with a backpack, and himself. The gang of characters only complicated things.

Looking at the entry of access, Wright waited for the others to enter through. The blonde swordsman followed closely behind them. A few minutes later and the others joined-- the anthropomorphic bear and the woman in the suit. The ace attorney speculated the group must have worked before the previous battle; however, the sudden conversation conflicted with his hypothesis.

Wright found himself in the middle of a troublesome matter. A creature just exploded in a burst of fire which appeared to have caused the argument. The more aggressive looking characters found themselves wanting to destroy the enemy while the young child wished for a passive route. This dispute seemed a lot similar to one of Wright's discussions back in law school.

Back then, Wright took some time and effort into research for the death penalty. In the present, the death penalty stands as a major social issue. The conflict rises if criminals should die as a consequence for their actions. This usually split people up in the field of law. The ace attorney did not much of his situation. He took a moment to listen to everyone talk before putting his own two cents.

Everything being said made him reflect on the past. The statements were similar and so were the emotions that were presented. Wright sighed and tapped his chin. His mouth opened slightly in shock. Listening to everyone helped him learn more about the entire ordeal. Apparently, Wright needed to face 5 or more monsters in order to save someone's soul. The mere thought of having to fight more strange creatures baffled Phoenix. The soul concept did not confuse the attorney but did raise some questions.

Phoenix acknowledged ghosts and the afterlife did exist due to previous cases. He knew souls could possess other bodies, but people taking possession of other souls seemed bizarre. Even then, the most surprising news happened to be the leadership position. Wright expected the character resembling the adult to have more capability to lead a group. Everybody pointed to the kid as he fit the leader role at this point.

Wright scratched his head even more. He witnessed the woman in armor pull out several holograms of alien lifeforms. She utilized them as a form of her argument that sometimes killing or destroying is the better option. Wright looked up at the ceiling. He wished he could summon Mia for help. She definitely knew what to do in this situation. Coughing as a means of clearing his throat and gathering everyone's attention, he began to speak. "Hi, my name is Phoenix Wright. You guys can call me Nick," the ace attorney chuckled nervously. "I haven't the faintest idea on what's going on, but I believe killing isn't always the only option. There are far more better options."

Cloud was mostly quiet as Frisk addressed the group. The lawyer was definitely out of the loop and trying to ensure he didn’t get himself killed was a pain. The ex-SOLDIER glanced over at Phoenix as he introduced himself.

“You can call me Cloud,” he greeted. He then explained, “We’re on a mission to retrieve the soul of a comrade. It was stolen by one of King Dedede’s goons. King Dedede is the ruler of Dream Land and our enemy. If you were sent here with us, then that too is your mission whether you like it or not.”

Cloud didn’t comment on the killing. Instead, his attention returned to Frisk to hear her thoughts. He crossed his arms before his chest and bowed his head in thought.

“We may not always get the opportunity to deal with enemies in such a peaceful manner. The M-Virus is not peaceful and from my experience, deserves no mercy. Once someone’s taken by it, they’re already dead. If I can knock them unconscious, then I will. If I can’t, then I’ll apologize now.”

Alicia was next to speak. She and her Ghost’s reasons for killing seemed more personal and ingrained. At the same time, Cloud sided with Frisk a little.

“We’re in a different land. This is not the Last City. This is not your home world and this isn’t mine. I don’t know how this world functions or what its rules are, but I think you should try to learn what they are rather than using senseless bloodshed as the sole solution. I agree with Frisk and the lawyer that there are alternatives, but I only agree that there are alternatives when the opportunity presents itself. If this opportunity presents itself in our next fight…” Cloud uncrossed his arms and frowned at Alicia, “Then I will personally stop you.”

---

When the group concluded their discussion and were ready to continue their descent through the Butter Building, the next room could be reached through a wooden door with a bronze handle. Upon opening the door, the next chamber was dark, but the light pouring in from their location in the stairwell revealed that it was a mostly circular chamber with no stairwells or columns. The room was like the inside of the drum and there were two shadows hopping left and right. Upon seeing the door open, the two shadows started to playfully giggle.

“Oh look, Bro, dey’ made it,” the first shadow said.

“They beat Marx. No big deal. He was a loser any way,” said the second shadow.

“Yeah, easy peasy!”

“It’s dark. Let’s get some lights in here.”

The chamber lit up revealing what appeared to be a circus interior with red, blue, and white triangle wallpaper. The floor was white marble, and the light was pouring in from lamps built into the circular ceiling above. The room was spacious and empty except for the two large Poppy Bro Sr.s dancing about.

“You guys were lucky making it down here, but this is your last stop,” said the second Poppy Bro.

“Yeah, you guys t’aint goin’ further. I hope your ready ta’ hava’ blast!” the first Poppy Bro laughed.

“I don’t think these guys are bomb proof. We’re gonna have a mess to clean up.”

The second Poppy Bro stopped dancing to stare blankly at his brother. “I dun wanna clean dat up. Dat’s disgustin’!”

"I don’t want to neither. We’ll get some other schmuck to do it.”

“Yeah!”

---

GM Note: From here on out, all players will be required to keep track of their word count. XP will be awarded every GM post. Be sure to check the XP hider to see how much XP your character earned. Remember to keep your CSes updated. I have seen players slack in keeping their XP up-to-date and they have lost XP points because of it. I didn't take the XP away from them, they just didn't keep track of the XP on their own. It is YOUR responsibility if you want your character to level.




If a player is inactive for more than 3 days without letting the GMs know of any delays, then the player can be skipped over on the 4th day. If a player does not wish to post, they can Mention the GM and let the GM know he or she "Passes" on his or her turn.

P.O.: Frisk, Alicia Harnick, Phoenix Wright, Banjo & Kazooie, and Cloud.