Frisk looked to Alicia when she spoke and took out her hologram projector. As cool as the device was to Frisk, they were a little more focused on what the hologram projected and on Alicia's argument. After she was done, Frisk asked sadly and with empathy, "You've...been through a lot, huh...?" They couldn't help but feel sorry for Alicia. She must have seen a lot of innocent people die, and Frisk had to admit, those creatures didn't look like they could be reasoned with like the monsters of the Underground could. She had clearly worse horrors than what Frisk had seen in the Underground. But they did realize that, so far, the group hadn't seen a single sign of those creatures being here. Also, Marx clearly wasn't like any of those creatures. He spoke, he reasoned, and he even felt arrogance and pride.

Before Frisk could even bring up that point, the lawyer, Phoenix Wright, spoke up. He showed support for Frisk's ideology. Cloud also spoke up shortly after that, giving his opinions and filling in the lawyer. Frisk listened to Cloud as he voiced his thoughts on pacifism, and how he'll go with it if presented with an opportunity to do so. Frisk mumbled quietly in response to his words about the Mugen Virus, "Surely there must be a way to save those infected by the Virus..." If Frisk was able to save their friends and family from a RESET, then maybe saving people from the Mugen Virus was also possible...?
When Cloud stated that if he could knock the enemy unconscious then he'd do it, and apologized now if he couldn't, Frisk nodded to him and sincerely thanked him, "...Thank you, Cloud. I'll also do my part and keep an eye out for those opportunities,"

They were a little worried about the possible fight that could occur between Cloud and Alicia, but the fact that Frisk had support for Pacifism from both Phoenix and Cloud (even if it was just a little bit), filled them with DETERMINATION! Searching for a pacifist way to end the battle wasn't wrong, but Frisk did recall that gentleman's and Cloud's words. This wasn't the Underground, just as much as this wasn't this "Last City". Frisk's old tricks of ACTing and giving others MERCY alone may not be enough, and the people they face here won't die from just one hit. But, they are still wary of getting carried away in a battle. They didn't want to overdue a hit and accidentally kill someone.

Frisk looked to Alicia and politely requested, "Alicia, I know it may be difficult, but please...if the opportunity does come up, then please give MERCY a chance," They truly did not want a fight to break out amongst themselves. For a fight did start, then it could spell disaster for this group.
Once they got an answer, they turned and told the group, "Okay, let's get going. We can't linger for too long," They led the group down the stairs and soon they reached the fifth floor. They looked around the darkness and looked up when two voices started to speak to each other, first berating Marx and then getting the lights on.

The room did remind Frisk of the circus, a little bit. They listened to the Sr. Bros talk to each other, and for Frisk, the discussion rang a lot of bells. The brothers clearly loved puns, were lazy, they were both blue, and they, well, were brothers!
"My gosh. Two Sanses..." Frisk couldn't help but think to themselves. Maybe they can talk the group's way out of this. But there was also the mention of the bombs. They muttered to themselves quietly, "Bombs...? That's it?" They were not a stranger to having bombs thrown at them. Mettaton did that a lot during their time in the Underground’s Hotland. They may not have the disable bomb function on their phone right now, but they did notice that they have something else that could help with the bombs, even though it may be a bit dangerous.

Before Frisk's SOUL was completely drawn out, Frisk turned to face the group, and they whispered to the group so the Brothers wouldn't hear them, "Hey, guys. I see an opportunity. I know how those kinds of guys think. Maybe I can talk our way through. Let me give it a try. If it doesn't work, feel free to jump in and fight. Also..." Frisk left the statement hanging as they pointed their cell phone at their SOUL. Their teammates would be able to see Frisk's SOUL flip itself upside down and change colors from red to yellow. Frisk hoped that their back would hide that change from the brothers, so they wouldn't suspect anything was amiss. After that switch was complete, they finished, their voice still a whisper, "Leave the bombs to me, but be ready to knock them away or back at the brothers if any are lobbed at you guys,"

They were still giving pacifism a chance, but they were also holding faith in their teammates. Who knows? Maybe Marx isn't actually, permanently dead? This world does seem to have different rules than the Underground and the Last City. It was a hope that they'll hold on to for now.

After turning around and inhaling and exhaling they walked forwards with a casual smile, with their hands in their pants pockets. Now they were emulating Sans, a fellow lazy pun master.
"Hey, now. Marx may have gone out with a bang, but there's no need to get all explosive on us," Frisk couldn't help but give an amused grin at their own puns, but then they continued "You don't wanna do any cleaning or work, right? I can tell you right now that fighting us will just be a nuclear bomb of a mess. Tell you what, why don't you two let us continue on our way, and you two can take a little vacation?"

Frisk hoped that this would work and the brothers would just accept the proposition. That would be nice. Of course, considering how Marx was, it may not be that easy. The brothers might decide to just fight anyways, and the group would have to beat them up anyways. Of course, Frisk was prepared for that possibility. With their SOUL in yellow mode, they were not only prepared to dodge if a bomb was lobbed at them, but they were also ready to fire SOUL bullets at any bombs in midair and cause them to explode before they could reach Frisk or any other target.

---

As the Doom Train sat at the platform, the steam billowing from its smokestack. The lights in the passenger cars flicker ever so slightly, but besides its skeletal face and the flames still running along the track, there was no indicator that it was more than a normal train. Of course, given the time of year, it’s appearance with in the abandoned subway was a rather overt sign. As those who had pursued Gnasty Gnorc stood on the platform, inspecting the outside of the train, Alucard, the Dhampir ruler of Konami, entered the subway with three heroes in tow. He didn’t speak at first, instead opting to look over the train, a thoughtful look upon his face.

It would seem he was debating on what to do and, after several moments, turned to the assembled heroes. “So the Doom Train has returned for it’s yearly game. I should hardly be surprised, and yet, this is hardly a distraction we need. He seemed to stand in thought for several moments longer before he glanced back at the heroes he had brought with him. ”And yet...Slayer,” he turned to the gentleman vampire, his cloak billowing slightly with the motion, revealing the sword he kept sheathed at his side ever so briefly before it settled back into position, “I want you to take these three heroes aboard the train and visit the Lord of Halloween it has chosen to take its passengers to. Best him and return to Platform City. And ensure we have no casualties if it can be helped, Guile doesn’t need additional reasons to hold back any other new arrivals.” He approached the nearest passenger car and knocks on it three times, which causes a door to open allowing people to board it.

”I will remain in radio contact during the course of this assignment, but I cannot leave the City as there are still other matters to attend to. As for the rest of you, return to the castle. I’m sure the blonde soldier has something for you to do by now.” He stepped back after speaking, turned, and headed back up the stairs, leaving Akira, Batter, and The Heavy alone with the veteran heroes to introduce themselves

"Mission begins in 10 seconds!"

The spawn room, a mere second earlier filled with buzzling laughter and the unmistakable sound of shells loaded into various guns, turned dead silent at the Announcer's words. 10 seconds; 10 seconds before all hell break loose for the group of mercenaries of Reliable Excavation Demolition, RED. Amongst the group of different misfits of men, shunned by society for various reasons and earning their daily bread by killing those pesky good-for-nothing mercs of BLU, a rather tall individual stood out.

"5...4...3...2..."

The daunting figure of a man cracked his neck to each side, audibly getting ready for the task lain in front of them. In front of himself. The mission was simple; defend the bomb-cart on its way forward, killing any and all BLU standing in his way. The others would support him with rockets, sentries, back-stabbing knives and dubious healing-tools.

And he?



"ONE!"

He was just the Russian giant with a massive minigun.

The steel shutters flew open, letting in the sunlight as the men of RED poured into the open. The Heavy stampeded forward, now wielding his infamous minigun and heading straight for the bomb-cart. Over the eager shouts of imminent combat, he heard gunshots at the top of the hill in front of them. A BLU Engineer had put up a small sentry-gun, able to lay down heavy fire upon the Heavy's teammates and friends. There was only way to fix this.

"I destroy coward toys!" The Heavy shouted out in the general direction of the sentry, spinning up his minigun and opening fire at it. It wasn't difficult to see the bullets fly through the air and hit the steel plated-sentry. The poor sentry-gun didn't stand a chance against the Heavy's...well, heavy armaments, and soon blew up in the facy of the Engineer desperatly trying to fix it. "Oooooh, run, run! I'm coming for you!" Heavy's heavily accented words bellowed out, letting his finger off the trigger and turning his attention back to the bomb-cart. It was moving. Good.

The Heavy walked slowly beside the cart, still holding his minigun ready to mow down the sorry babies of the enemy team if he so got the chance. The cart drove forward into a tunnel, muffling the sound of vicious fighting outside enough for the Heavy to hear a strange noise behind him. He stopped his pacing, looking over his shoulder while he whispered. "Doktor?" A chuckle came from behind him, followed by the sound of a knife. "Non, mon ami."

Unfortunately the Spy underestimated his brutish target, giving the Heavy the split second enough to turn around and block the blade about to enter his back with his minigun. But at what cost? "...Sasha..." A look of sheer horror forced itself onto the Heavy's face as he saw the scratch on the gun's barrel. That look of horror, however, turned into pure fury. "No one touch my gun!" The Heavy shouted out, putting away his beloved 'Sasha' and raising his fists. It was clear that the Spy too saw the anger, for the blue uniform was starting to become invisible. Heavy was having none of that. With the entire force of his body, he threw a right-fist punch at the Spy, cracking several ribs of the poor Frenchmen as the invisible figure turned blue, and then with spots of red. But the Heavy wasn't done yet.

"Nobody..." The Heavy walked towards the prone Spy, picking him up with his left hand with ease. "...touches..." The massive fist held tightly around the thin arm of the Spy, holding him close to the Heavy's face. "...my Sasha." Heavy's last words were followed by what could only amount to the Punch of the Year straight into the Spy's face. Whatever remained of it, it sure wasn't pretty, and the Spy didn't stand up again when Heavy had dropped him. If the whole BLU team was going to treat him and Sasha like that, they were going to have a bad day.

---

At first Heavy was confused, more so than the Russian giant usually was. The letter he had recived wasn't like anything he had ever read, seen or heard of before. Really, he had thought the strange creature delivering it in fact was a Blue Spy trying to get revenge on him. But the fact that he had never seen a Spy disguised as a turtle on a cloud gave the Koopa enough time to deliver its letter and get away without getting shot at. The letter itself was even stranger.

Dear Hero,

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

Heavy showed it to all of his teammates, even the enigmatic Pyro, but none had heard of the so-called 'Mugen Virus', not even the Medic. But they all agreed on two things; one, it sounded even more dangerous that The Machines. Two, if Heavy was called upon to stop this virus from taking over the world, he should probably go. The Heavy felt so too, knowing fully well how dangerous the metal men were and how close they had come to take his dear Sasha away from him. The Medic too. Tears were shed, a few sandwiches were consumed and goodbyes given before Heavy touched the 'Yes' on the letter. The only thing he remember feeling then, was the feeling of falling.

---

The rest seemed to happen quicker than Heavy was able to react; he found himself inside an massive...something. Sort of a building, but not the ones he had been fighting inside usually. The next thing he'd comprehend, was when he was walking down a corridor with a group of other people. At least he thought they were people, for they looked different than those he usually were around. Very, very different. The lead man, calling himself 'Alucard' or something along those lines, were leading them to what soon looked like a metro-station, or as the Scout, Soldier and Engineer called it, a subway station. The Heavy looked with a mix of awe and sceptisism at all the new sights to behold; the train all decorated like something he had seen for the Halloween battles he'd fought in, and the various other figures that were assembled there.

"World is getting strange every day..." The Heavy whispered to himself. He understood that he was no longer what he surely would call 'Home', but even this was getting strange by his standards. But the philosophical enquiry would have to wait, as the goal of his calling to this strange realm was told.

Apparently the two others he had come in with, the little child and the other in a...different apparel, were to follow the cloaked man called 'Slayer' and best a Lord of Halloween. The Heavy didn't understand what 'to best' meant, but he never argued at a mission before, so why should he now? Alucard promptly left the group of what he had called 'heroes', leaving them alone amongst each other. The Heavy looked at the group, trying to see any familiar faces. A few he recognized, faces of famous heroes of the past, legends so to speak. Others he had no recallection of, though they didn't have any tell-tale signs of being a Spy. For now. Heavy sighed, feeling a need to introduce himself to who he only guessed were his new team-mates in this fight against the Molly-virus...Molden-virus...some very very bad virus!

"Privetstvuyu tovarishchey. I am Heavy Weapons Guy, and I am here to be hero...and save world of course. You are not Spy, are you?"

Even after everything that happened to him only a few weeks ago, Akira found himself back in action, but unfortunately without his teammates by his side. Instead, he was paired up with these strangers, each of them having a different, yet appealing aesthetic to them, unlike his own, which was just his normal school uniform. He could still remember it now, recieving a letter from a strange creature on a cloud, and reading over it, only to press his finger on the golden "yes" with zero hesitation. It was just in his natural to help those who needed it and this was no exception. Fortunately, from what he could tell, none of his friends were put back into another situation like this again; he wouldnt know how his heart would take it if any of them were..

Akira pushed up his glasses slowly and shook his head a little as he focused back on where he and the other newbies were going; he could easily point it out as a subway. His attention was soon brought to the man that had been guiding them up to this point. As the man, Alucard went on about the Doom Train and its return, Akira turned to look at Slayer at the same time that Alucard did, letting his round glasses hid the curious glint in his eyes.

“I want you to take these three heroes aboard the train and visit the Lord of Halloween it has chosen to take its passengers to. Best him and return to Platform City. And ensure we have no casualties if it can be helped, Guile doesn’t need additional reasons to hold back any other new arrivals.” Huh, so that's what they'll be doing. Sounded simple enough to the frizzy haired teen as he watched the man open one of the passenger cars with a few knocks before making his leave.

The atmosphere got a little bit awkward as they were now just staring at each other. Luckily one of the bigger guys in the group spoke up, introducing himself as "Heavy Weapons Guy". He spoke in some language that he didn't understand, but Akira could only hope that was a nice greeting.
"I won't call myself a spy, per se. It's nice to meet you guys though. I'm Akira Kurusu, but on missions, call me Joker." He responded, with a smile smile. The alias Joker always made him feel good on the inside.

---

---

It was quite strange, really.

Having arrived back at the mainland, after being picked up from The Maw, Six was greeted by a yellow turtle riding a smiling cloud. Lakitu's appearance didnt seem to phase the child, however, as she witnessed worse on her adventure.

How long had it been since the defeat of The Lady? A month, maybe? Six thought, as she opened up the letter Lakitu had for her.

"Dear Hero,

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

With the letter explaining the Mugen Virus, it left Six in thought. If this virus was a bigger threat than The Lady, then why did she bother to kill her? Or to escape The Maw?

Or to even leave the briefcase she slept in?

Six immediately knew her decision, and pressed the 'Yes' on the letter with her thumb.

---

---

The child found herself in a subway. It turned out that She wasnt the only one who was new to this adventure. From what Alucard had said, the trio was to board the Doom Train and visit the "Lord of Halloween" to best him, which Six already knew it meant they had to fight him.

With Alucard leaving. One of the new heroes decided to introduce themselves first. The "Heavy Weapons guy", or what Six decided to refer him, The Heavy.

Shaking her head 'no' when asked if she was a spy, her atention was turned over to the other newcomer (who reminded Six of one of the other children from The Maw), Akira, when he took his turn to introduce himself.

Although Six doesn't speak, she tried her best to introduce herself with sign language.

'I'm not a spy, but it's still nice to meet you two. I'm Six.' The child "said", taking a small bow.

Alicia made no rebuke to either the team leader Frisk or to her team mate, Cloud. She would do what she had to to ensure they all made it back to the Tetris Castle in one piece. In fact, it was times like this that, as they continued on their way to the next room, that she wished she had spent more time with the Defenders and strengthened her Void Light into that of a Ward of Dawn. But at the end of the day, as the next room came into view, it didn't matter. Striker's could still do one hell of a job protecting their fireteam.

Walking into it, Alicia had Iron begin scanning for any structural weak points that they could avoid hitting this time around so that they didn't accidentally bring the roof down on their heads again. While she waited, she listened to the banter between the two shadows and could only cringe behind her helmet at some of the bad puns being made. However, as the lights came on and the two Senior Poppy Bros came into view, the puns at least made sense.

As Frisk whispered his idea, and warned of bombs that would need to be dodged or knocked away, Alicia switched over to her Doctrine of Passing once more, the auto rifle feeling more accurate for the situation than a shotgun or a sword, not to mention, as she reloaded the clip and checked the sights, that it needed a brief check up following the encounter with Marx anyways. And then she continued cringing behind her helmet as their child leader joined in on the puns, his somehow being worse than the Poppy Bros. As he attempted to talk them down, Alicia went over the best way to approach combat without a confrontation taking place, which would prove difficult given that most of her weapons, scratch that, all of them, were lethal. Well, I suppose I can just deliver a punch to their faces if need be. They look about as tough as a Knight.

No small amount of curiosity compelled Slayer to examine every detail of the haunting locomotive, but his fascination did not render him ignorant to the approach of four strangers. At the sound of footsteps, he glanced over his shoulder. A well-dressed man with long white locks, whose getup colored his own style of class with a sort of grimness, walked his way at the head of an extraordinary entourage. Though Slayer had not yet had the pleasure of introducing himself to this Alucard fellow, his manner of address indicated that his reputation proceeded him. The momentary sight of the black-clad noble's sword did not warrant so much as a batted eyelash from the gentleman, for the newcomers interested him far more. He could not help but marvel at the sort of phenomenon that could bring such disparate beings together. Around Alucard stood a brawny truck of a man, slender youth with bright spectacled beneath tousled black hair, and a tiny child in a yellow raincoat. A task awaited him, it seemed: guide these new heroes through whatever thrilling seasonal surprise awaited them on the other side of a ride from the Doom Train. All that remained was to stop gawping and start talking.

”Oh! Of course, where are my manners?” He joked, his accented though properly enunciated voice genial. ”My name is Slayer. Most excellent to meet you all!” Holding his right hand over his heart, he gave a polite bow. ”Please forgive my slowness. I shall endeavor to be quicker on the uptake. Heavy Weapons Guy, was it? I assure you, I am no spy of any kind, though now that I consider it, isn't that just what a spy would say? If I might be so bold, could I refer to you as simply 'Heavy' instead?” He gave a chuckle. ”Akira Kurusu...if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that you're Japanese, correct? I am unaware of the situation in other worlds, but in the realm from which I hail, there are precious few such persons remaining in existence. Were you to visit, I can only image you'd be lauded as a national treasure. Either way, you may rely on me in whatever missions we undertake, Joker.” After that, only the most enigmatic member of the trio remained. Quiet and unassuming she seemed the type of be easily missed, and though Slayer could not see her whole face, she bore a harrowed visage. When this little girl 'spoke', she communicated via sign language, and the gentleman furrowed his brows. ”Oh, dear. I'm afraid my signing is very rusty...I should have known better honestly, such a shortcoming is a hairs-breadth away from inexcusable...” While he missed much of what she was trying to say, he got the message of her second sentence, though understanding it was another matter. Six...six years old? While a child might in fact say that, I shall go out on a limb to make this assumption... Kneeling to make himself seem less tall and imposing, Slayer gave the child a bow of her own. ”The pleasure is mine, Six. Welcome to the team!”

He rose to his full height a moment later as he stepped back, but his smile did not diminish. ”Twould seem we have a good lot here.” Stepping to the side, he indicated the Doom Train's nearest door with a flourish of his hand. Your first adventure awaits. Shall we depart?”

Phoenix Wright did not have any answers or responses. The entire ordeal explained by the blonde swordsman and the striped pajama kid amounted to no sense. The lawyer wished he did not have to participate in these challenges nor did he acknowledge why he was chosen. The other combatants seemed more capable of handling such a task while he, Phoenix Wright remained just a noble ace attorney. What they appeared to deal with might have ranged from small to large enemies. All Phoenix Wright deals with is the occasional lawsuit or murder case.

The conversation ended short. Phoenix Wright felt he had more questions, but apparently, someone was in danger. Surprisingly, Marx turned out to be one of many fights the ace attorney was going to have to suffer through. Wright steadily kept his pace along with the others to the next room. He tried not to exert himself too much on the staircase; a suit can make a man incredibly sweaty.

Once he reached the room, he found himself along with two other cute creatures. He frowned and wondered why the enemies of this land were so small and playful. Phoenix Wright looked around at his surroundings. The room itself was odd; it was unlike the previous room he encountered. A drumset best described the area his party occupied. This somehow predicted the enemies' personalities and powers. The duo talked and hinted at several explosives so that was most likely their gimic.

Wright was going to speak, but the kid spoke first. He gulped and swallowed his words. He decided to let the kid speak first before taking any actions. The ace attorney respected Frisk's attempt at convincing the enemy to stand down. The less bloodshed, the better. Marx did not cooperate, but there was hope that these enemies might differ. Then again, this could just lead to another fight.

The duo lingered a few paces behind the group as the two warriors began to interrogate and admonish the child. They seemed to be having a brief, mild-mannered debate about ethics based on their own personal experiences; a discussion stemmed presumably from the child’s aversion to violence or lethality. Kazooie peeked her head out over Banjo’s shoulder as they both listened in, but neither chose to interject, which was strange for the normally outspoken and opinionated breegull. This was mostly due to the fact that the two had nothing particularly helpful to contribute to the conversation, as the fact that they, too, had never actually killed anyone was more nonsensically incidental than anything. Even a fully decomposed (and later dismembered) Gruntilda was able to inexplicably retain sentience and come back to be a problem for them again, and she even continued to hold on to it after being reduced to just a talking skull. (Perhaps she was filled with DETERMINATION.) Come to think of it, what did they do with her head when they were done using it for their end-of-game “kick around”?

Anyways, if there was any takeaway from the exchange between the soldier and the pacifist, it was just how greatly everyone’s experiences can vary and how that can shape their individual behaviors and world views. The two in question were easy to relate to on some level. On one hand, Banjo and Kazooie have had their fair share of run-ins with those who used reason more as a last minute contingency or, in some cases, were unwilling to see to it at all, but in fairness, at least one or two of those instances were due in part to being comically inept at diplomacy. On the other, they also understood and consistently put into practice the way of MERCY, as they never had any reason to put anyone down and never went out of their way to do so, which ultimately proved more helpful in the end. Taking each other’s experiences and methodologies into consideration, the squad managed to come to a passable accord regarding how to go about handling the upcoming floor bosses before pressing on to the next one.

As far as Banjo and Kazooie were concerned, the kid need not worry about them implementing lethal force against their enemies, but it didn’t hurt to reassure them of that, even s/he already understood that about the two. Banjo approached their leader as they proceeded down the stairwell and gently dropped his heavy paw/hand on the child’s left shoulder, stopping them only for a moment a word of solicitude to their sensibilities.

“Don’t worry, Frisk. We’ll do our best to beat them without overdoing it,” he offered with a soft smile.

“Yeah. Pummelling bad guys into submission is kinda our thing,” added Kazooie, about which she wasn’t wrong, if there was anyone around Frisk could count on for simply knocking bosses unconscious, it was them.

With that, they continued onward, eventually finding themselves in a dark, but discernibly circular room inhabited by two bouncing shadows conversing in a slightly hushed register. At least they had some idea of how to set the mood for a boss fight, but it was nothing the duo hadn’t seen before. The two brothers began to banter aimlessly about not wanting to work any harder than they had to after the battle. Murderous intent aside, Banjo could sympathize, as he tended to be more carefree and lackadaisical when not on an adventure (likely to Kazooie’s dissatisfaction). While they rambled on, Frisk called for the team’s attention to go over their plan, who then did something strange with what looked like their heart (which inspired curiosity for later questions) that was somehow supposed to service said plan. Banjo would just have to trust that their leader knew what s/he was doing, and while he was all for them opening with an attempt at nonviolent resolution, it was quickly becoming painful to listen to. His forehead fell into his palm as their leader started playfully bombarding the floor bosses with tortured puns, hoping to relate to the bombers in hopes of defusing the situation. Should s/he fail, Banjo and Kazooie would be ready to intercept any bombs that may (or may not) fall their way.

---

As the last of the group boarded the train, the doors that had slid open upon Alucard's knock slid shut with a final sounding *thud*. Inside, the train was surprisingly well lit for being called the Doom Train and it's occupants, aside from the heroes, revealed to be an amalgamation of various Halloween creatures, from Vampires, like the Slayer, to werewolves and even zombies, though they seemed uninterested in the brains of those around them. As soon as the doors had closed and the Heroes all aboard, the train's whistle sounded and then, with a slight jerk forward, started moving. The group could feel the train gaining momentum before a voice sounded over the PA system, seeming to belong to the Headless Horseman himself. "Welcome, heroes, to the Doom Train! This year we'll be visiting one of your fallen fellow's many rivals, or rather the rival of his green hatted brother! Take this time to prepare, it's something of a trip."

The PA fell silent immediately after, but all the various monsters were now staring at the heroes, waiting to see what they would do.

---

GM Note: In the near future, 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.: Slayer, Akira, Heavy, and Six.

Honored to be the head of his new little band, Slayer stepped aboard the train without delay. He discovered at once, and with some surprise, that not only did the locomotive contained other beings, but they appeared to be all sorts of creatures associated with Halloween. On second thought, he reasoned, he should have expected it. The goofy grins of creepy clowns, the fierce looks of the imps that they hoped would compensate for their diminutive stature, and the vacant stares of wide-eyed fishpeople forced the well-dressed gentleman to smile. ”What a fun little event we have here, hmm?” Having turned down the aisle, he came across a booth empty save for two mummies on one side. After a slight bow he seated himself by the nearest ghoul so that the other three could occupy the booth's other side. Six, of course, wouldn't take up much space, which worked out well given the fact that the Heavy fellow most likely needed all the space he could get.

Meanwhile, the train's intercom had come to life with an announcement that concerned the new boarders. Slayer listened as the Headless Horseman hinted at their adversary, though his lack of subtlety left the vampire with something of an idea. ”He must be referring to Luigi,” he told Joker, Heavy, and Six after the PA went offline. ”Would that I might boast a better knowledge of his past, but I'm sure a prestigious hero must have many nemeses. It's unfortunate that he couldn't be here today...the loss of a loved one must have taken a serious toll on the poor man.” The respectful sorrow laid plain on his face took a few moments to fade. It was a few seconds before he raised his elbows to put on the table between him and his team of newbies, and clasped his hands. ”Alas, we cannot undo what is already done. Since we are to be allies, perhaps we might prepare for a better future by getting to know one another. A synopsis from each of you concerning yourself and your abilities would be grand. If I may, young one, I'd ask that you sign somewhat slowly. My interpretation is rusty, I'm afraid.”

He removed his pipe from his jacket and puffed it. When he exhaled, the smoke took the form of bats flapping their wings, which flitted upward to splash against the ceiling. ”As for me, you know my name already, but I have yet to truly introduce myself. I am an observer of sorts, keeping an eye on the significant goings-on in my world. When I'm not traveling or giving cryptic advice, I preside alongside my wife Sharon over a certain Gentleman's Fight Club, where the aristocratic elite engage in thrilling fisticuffs. A gentleman takes his time, so I must confess my speed is not up to snuff, and I have no ranged capabilities, but I'm sure you'll find my brute force more than satisfactory should violence be necessary.” Slayer replaced his pipe between his teeth and waited for the new heroes to speak.

Akira looked up at Slayer with a neutral gaze. He didn't really know what to think of the other, especially when it came to his personality, which was a lot different then he expected; it reminded him of a certain detective, but he chose to quickly push the thought to the very depths of his mind as it was probably for the best. The teen perked up slightly when said man addressed him after his introduction. Giving a curt not in question to his nationality, Akira gave the vampire a simple smile, not sure of how to react to such a compliment. He already knew he was special, even where he was from, but hearing that other worlds too would treat him even more like a delicacy was rather uncomfortable; Slayer was nice, but he probably wouldn't want to go back to his world and visit.

Then there was the little girl who had yet to introduce herself. Akira had to push up his glasses in order to get a better look at the yellow girl as she moved her hands and smiled softly as her timid introduction. Much like Slayer, he didn't know much sign language, but so long as he started studying it within the week, he'd get it down by then.
"The pleasure is mine, Six." He replied to let her know that he was listening.

Following into the Doom Train right behind Slayer, Akira immediately took a look at his surroundings. Any kind of monster you could think of was there and giving them looks as if they were the monsters. Sure, they did stick out a little bit, but that didn't mean they had to be rude about it... The crumbling golems not to far away were probably the creepiest to Akira, who didn't even spare another glance in that direction as he continued to follow Slayer, taking it upon himself to make sure that Six didn't get lost or anything.

Stopping at a mostly vacant booth, the group of four shuffled in, Akira taking the side closest to the wall and directly across one of the bandaged creatures. Giving a quick nod of recognition, the trickster brought an elbow to the table and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, bringing his attention back to Slayer, who was sitting on the other side with the mummies so that they didn't have to; maybe he really wasn't that bad?

Before he could let his mind wonder more about it, the intercom sprang to life, giving them a message that seemed to rile up the passengers. Akira himself wasn't sure what to make of it, so he waited for Slayer to give his two cents about who they were talking about before thinking about whether he should be worried or not. Getting information on Luigi and his brother left Akira curious as to what happened, but seeing how sensitive the topic was, he kept his mouth shut and let Slayer continue, mentioning that they should all get a feel for each other's powers, something that made Akira unintentionally smirk. It was just like the old days... He could already guess that Slayer would be a physical attacker, and The Heavy could be an offensive wall of sorts... maybe Six used magic?

As Slayer went first to get them started, Akira made mental notes of the important and not so important things the man brought up, keeping in mind that he was slow and not a ranged fighter. Before Slayer could let out another puff of "bat smoke", Akira raised his hand slowly to get the group's attention and sat straight.
"Well, for me, after an unjust accusation forced me to leave my town and start a new life under Sojiro and Futaba Sakura, I created and am the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a close knit group that stole the hearts of those who unjustly tried to get their way through terrible acts. Took their hearts hypothetically of course, as we only took the Treasures that made those people so evil and gave them a reason to come clean to their crimes. Aside from my group and confidants..." Hesitation. "...no one in my world knows of my identity and I plan to keep it that way. After fulfilling my purpose, I was just living as a normal boy until now. He continued before reaching into his blazer pocket and pulling out a black and white birdlike domino mask, taking off his glassed in the process. A smile formed on his face as he looked down at the oh so familiar mask, the same one that he literally had to peel off his face, skin and all. It was pain back then, but now he had the strength to wear it without any issues. "When I put this on..." Akira trailed off as he replaced his glasses with the mask. A blue and black cold fire covered his body for a mere second before disappearing, reveal Akira in a new set of clothing: black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black jogger-style pants, brown-black winkle-pickers, and his red gloves that hadn't come off. The look in his eyes appeared less meek and more determined as he was now looking at Slayer. "I have my Personas, embodiment of my true selves with me, allowing me to preform skills I wouldn't be able to otherwise. Unfortunately, I lost all of my Personas except for one, so I don't have much variety, but just interacting with me is enough to strengthen the Persona I have with me currently. I can perform ranged attacks, close quartered attacks, and I also have a gun, but I still only have the capabilities of an average male high school student. He concluded before turning to look at The Heavy and Six, making sure that his gaze wasn't too piercing for the later by looking directly at The Heavy instead.

The Heavy was not entirely sure what to make of the small group of people - and large people considering the tall man with a funny accent and a pompous, bourgeiosie look about him - as the Russian man listened to each of them greeting and answering him on his important question. The first one, a young boy with a foreign name told him that he was no spy. Heavy looked at him, blinking a little, before deciding it was a good enough answer. He didn't sound like a spy. "Good to meet you, Akira Joker."

The small child too told him she was no spy, and that her name was Six. While Heavy was neither bright not adept at sign language, he had grown accustomed to interpreting cryptic language by the Pyro and…its way of speaking. "It is nice to meet you too, little Six." Heavy's voice was surprisingly soft for what one might have imagined of the Russian brute, but he had a soft heart for children after all, amongst others.

At least it was the man called Slayer, who Heavy understood was meant to be their leader. Which was a surprisingly new notion for him. Sure he had been in countless battles and fought alongside his RED comrades, but he had never really been lead. Everyone just sort of…did whatever they wanted and either won or died. Heavy's suspicion of Slayer wasn't improved by his way of talking about spies. The Heavy's thick, cartoonish brow was raised at his uncanny logic, though he himself didn't understand much of it; he was just confused. But Slayer seemed smart, unlike those BLU spies…so he lowered his brow and gave Slayer a polite smile. "Yes you can, Slayer. But I don't see how you are bald, comrade…"

Yeah, Heavy wasn't the brighest fork in the shelf.

The interiour of the train was just as looming as the outside had been, not least due to the various monsters occupying it. Monster The Heavy had heard his baboosha tell him in fairytales and stories from his youth, almost as scary as Robots. But between the PA giving them more information and the group settling in a booth, Heavy didn't see any, so he still felt safe. The seats might not have felt so safe, as an audible creaking came from underneath the spot he sat down in. He had let Six get a seat before him so that he himself could have his feet halfway under the table, halfway in the corridor due to his size.

Luigi? Brother of Mario, the Legends of Nintendo? Heavy was just as curious as to what had happened to the red plumber, though it wouldn't seem that the time to speak of such was right. Instead Slayer voiced his wish for a syno…synops…something about their abilities and themselves, before promptly speaking far and wide about himself. Just like Heavy thought, he sounded like a bourgieose, but the mention of a 'fight-club' and 'brute force' made him smile. Perhaps the man with a funny accent was a fighter after all?

Akira continued their little presentation with himself. Thieves, treasures, crimes, it made him sound like a detective from a book. Heavy wasn't entirely impressed with what Akira said, but when he took on the mask, he was staring in amazement at the now changed man sitting next to Six as fire changed his appearance. Okay, he was more than just a Spy, which was good. Akira finished talking about him and his abilities, and finally looked at Heavy as if he was to speak.

Oh wait, he was supposed to speak.

Heavy took a deep breath in and out, resting one arm on the table with a loud thud and letting his other arm fall to his side. He had been asked before for his story and abilities actually, but this time he wasn't looking into a camera. "I am Heavy, as you already know my comrades. I come from Soviet Union, as far east as you can get, where my family lives. I work as a mercenary for Reliable Excavation Demolition, paying for my family expenses, but now I am here, like you too are." The Heavy sniffed as a brief sense of home-sickness brushed against his massive heart, before he focused on the little small-talk they where having. "And this…"

Another loud thud could be heard from just beneath the table as Heavy pulled a massive minigun into sight for the others to see. "…this is my weapon. Her name is Sasha, and is enough to stop any man…and Robot. Akira, Six, you two stay behind me and I will protect you." Heavy's words were sincere. They were allies now, and he would protect them as best he could if it meant getting the job done. Slayer looked as if he could take care of himself, so he refrained from including him in that offer. "And also, I have this." Heavy continued, pulling out a large, ham sandwich from his pocket. It was almost as big as his hand, which said a lot, probably big enough to fill both Akira and Six. The Heavy, smilingly began to eat at the sandwich with loud chewing noises coming from the giant, before he continued: "If you are hurt, this will help."

With the sandwich consumed and introduction made, Heavy looked down at Six sitting between him and Akira, waiting for her do her thing as well.

Cloud was definitely pleased to have Banjo and Kazooie along. If he or Alicia couldn’t protect Frisk and keep them safe, then he knew BK would. When they were all ready, he prepared to traverse the fifth floor with his new comrades. The next chamber was unsettling. It was dark and there were figures shuffling about within and talking in strange accents. One sounded inept, while the other sounded like the brains between the two—he took note of that. When the lights flashed on, revealing the circus-like interior, Cloud’s blonde brows rose in surprise at the size of the Poppy Bro Seniors. They were much larger than the Juniors. While they still seemed about average human size 5 foot 5 inches, they were still much larger than the usual habitants of Dreamland. They seemed to constantly hop left to right, maintaining a steady pace like a pendulum. As they made several explosive references, Cloud was able to easily suspect what their specialty was.

The swordsman’s hand was already reaching behind his head when Frisk turned around and started whispering a plan to the team. She wanted to talk her way through. The strategy made Cloud cringe on the inside. She was insane. If they had bombs, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to protect her or even himself. His mako-green eyes darted about the room. There was no form of cover. He would have to rely solely on his sword or maybe he could stop the bombs with an Ice spell.

“I’ll keep an ice spell ready,” Cloud replied.

Frisk did something strange. He watched what might have been their heart flip upside down. He didn’t get it, and it gave him the chills. They were so weird. So Frisk had a trick up their sleeve for the bombs. Cloud only hoped that he was fast enough to be able to catch and quickly lob the bombs back. Could the lawyer even do that? Cloud glanced over to Phoenix, wondering how the man was doing. He still seemed nervous even after his explanation.

This guy better not get anyone killed, Cloud mused. Frisk’s plan was apparently to tell painfully awful jokes. The ex-SOLDIER bore his teeth as though an emotional knife were slashing at his soul. If I were them, I would probably throw bombs at us to make them stop with the jokes.

---

The hopping Poppy Bros frowned at the little human that approached them. They stopped hopping to stand before them, listening to their reasoning.

Hey, now. Marx may have gone out with a bang, but there’s no need to get all explosive on us.

The Bros slowly smiled, the lines that made their smiles stretching with amusement. When Frisk asked them to let their group pass, the first Poppy Bro closed his eyes and stood up straight and stubborn.

“Duh, we can’t do dat. Da boss will be mad!” he stated. “He told us to destroy anyone who tries ta’ pass us.”

The second Poppy Bro leaned over with a smirk. “Yeah, anyone. But…”

The first Poppy Bro gazed over at the second, blinking curiously. The second straightened with his chest puffed out and bottom lip turned up. “I don’t wanna kill this kid. This human makes funny jokes so this human can pass.”

The second then glanced to the others in Frisk’s group. “Only this human. Unless…you guys got some funny jokes too.”

“But, duh, what about da boss?”

“What about him? He was passed out and smelling like a stink bomb. Who knows how long he’ll be out of commission? Besides, like the kid says, we could use a vacation.”

The first Poppy Bro’s brows turned up with uncertainty. “Duh…I dunno…”

The second Poppy Bro leaned over into his face. “Then you clean up the mess since you want to work so bad! If these mooks can make me laugh, then I’m going on vacation after this.”

The first Poppy Bro shuddered. “But I dun wanna clean up da mess!”

“Then laugh stupid! Enjoy a joke and come with me on vacation.”

The Poppy Bros looked to the other members on Frisk’s team.

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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.

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The child seemed to smile as she walked inside the Doom Train behind Akira. Six knew that sign language was hard to understand for most, but it was the only way of communication she had at the time. Either way, it was nice to see the others could decypher her. Mostly.

Once inside, Six looked around curiously as the train had monsters of many kinds, even ones she didnt recognise from stories and such. When the group had found a seat next to some mummies, Slayer had suggested that they'd get to know each other and their abilites better. 'Understood. I will try to communicate more clearly.' She signed to the vampire.

Six kept quiet as she listened to the stories the other three had. Slayer was an observer over a fight club, Akira was the leader of a band of theives, and Heavy was a mercenary.

Then it was her turn to tell her story.

Taking a quick breath, Six started to tell the others about her adventure, signing slow enough for them to understand.

Before I arrived here, I had been taken from my home to an underwater resort called The Maw, where children like me are slaughtered like pigs for food. There, I was determined to escape, one way or another. I had to run from inky slug like creatures, a lanky armed janitor, who was the guard for the children's prison, twin chiefs, and a wave of the residents all trying to devour me.' Six stopped signing, lowering her head.

'And, my hunger turned into a blessing, as it became a curse. Once I finally fought the woman behind The Maw, The lady, I kind of...ate her at the neck once she was defeated, and with that, gained her powers. So far, I only have life absorption however, and even there I have to make sure it's stable.' Six finished her story, an almost silent yet nervous laugh escaping her lips.

Level: 1
Day/Time: Day 3 - Morning
Location: Platform City Subway
Tag: @Majoras End@Tenma Tendo@Lugubrious@ONL
Word Count: 392

Raziel awoke on a train in the spectral plane. Where am I?
What is this place? Why did they send me here? Looking around, he knew he had to find out what was going on. And the best way to do that was to find a way to the material plane. But how?

He began his search from the back of the train, heading towards the front. He did eventually find something, a coffin leaking ethereal gasses. He soaked up the gasses and entered the dead body and, after morphing the body to look like him, began searching for others on the train. It took only a short time to find a small group of... different types of beings, most of them he assumed were human. After hearing the PA system, he stepped closer. I am Raziel. It seems we each have different skill sets allowing for a well balanced team. I'm glad I'm not alone this time. But you mentioned Luigi? I've never heard of him. Would you full me in? Not knowing just how powerful his new allies were, he thought it best to play nice. It was then he noticed the child. Tilting his head, he looked her over. A small girl in a yellow raincoat seemed out of place.

Correct me if I'm wrong but most of you seem to be human. He looked at Slayer. Though I am unsure of you, sir.

Having heard what Slayer, Akira and Heavy could do, he looked at the child. I hope you don't mind if I go next. I can do a few things.
With what remains of my wings, I can glide short distances. I can attack with my claws and my spectral blade. He showed his 3-clawed hand before summoning the Soul Reaver for a few seconds. I can also travel between the spectral and material planes, making traverse across difficult terrains either simpler or impossible. In the spectral plane, I can pass through bars as well as swallow spirits to replenish my health, thus returning them to the wheel of life, death and rebirth. If I were still in the range of the temples, I would have the elemental Reavers, ones that would do much more damage. Would I not be a good addition to your team?

He then turned to Six, nodding. Your turn, young one.

As they proceeded down the stairs, Frisk looked up to the bear and bird when they felt a heavy paw on their shoulder. After hearing what they had to say, Frisk couldn't help but smile happily. They answered with a nod, "Thank you Banjo, Kazooie," Their support also filled Frisk with DETERMINATION. It was relieving that Banjo Kazooie showed their support for their ideology as well. The only one who didn't say anything was Alicia. Even if Alicia didn't show support for their ideology, Frisk could see that she was determined to keep the group safe.

After Frisk told the others their plan, they noticed how Alicia switched weapons. They figured that was her answer to their plans. They gave Cloud a thumbs-up after he informed them that he'll have an Ice spell ready, just in case. After that, they stepped up and put their plan into action.

They kept their eyes on the Poppy Brothers as they stopped hopping. The fact that they were smiling at their joke was a good sign. Frisk could also feel their friends silently groan at their puns. All of Frisk's tension disappeared when the brains of the duo stated that he didn't want to kill Frisk. Yes! This was working! Of course there was the possibility that the second brother could be lying, but they believed he was telling the truth. It was just as Sans had stated before, "Someone who laughs at bad jokes have a sincerity you just can't say no to,". Now, if it was just Frisk, then they would've hit the MERCY and SPARE buttons and continue on their way. But, there was the rest of the team to consider.

Thankfully the second Poppy Brother gave an opportunity for the others to resolve it peacefully. They just have to tell jokes as well!
After the two Poppy Brothers finished talking to each other, Frisk turned to their teammates and waved them over, calling,
"You heard them guys! Blow 'em away with your jokes!" They then stepped aside, as though to let their friends take the proverbial spotlight.

As they looked at their friends, a little bit of anxiety did come back. Banjo, Kazooie, and the lawyer all seem like they could pull off comedy. However, Alicia's baggage from the past may hinder her from telling jokes, and Cloud...well, he was practically well known for being a stoic Tsundere if not for being an awesome fighter.

Hopefully the group will be able to follow their lead and at least tell puns if not give better jokes.

As they looked at Cloud, they couldn't help but think to themselves...
Wasn't there a story about Cloud crossdressing once?

If Frisk could see the deadpan look on Alicia's face behind her helmet, he would realize that the Titan didn't make jokes. Now, it wasn't that she was unfamiliar jokes or puns, as both James and other Hunters made them every chance they got, and even Warlocks were known to do it on occasion. The issue was that Alicia herself was entirely unfunny, despite her best attempts at the thing known as humor. She still remembered how she'd told a joke, the specific joke escaped her, while everyone around her was laughing and it had immediately killed the mood, with the laughter just coming to an abrupt stop as everyone stared at her.

Iron knew this and appeared near Frisk, careful to keep out of the line of sight of the two Bros. "We might have a problem, Frisk. The issue for Alicia isn't that she doesn't know any jokes or how to tell them, it's that she's so unfunny that she can kill the joy with a single joke. But she does have access to her flashbang grenade once more, and since these guys are into explosives, maybe a shared interest of some kind can convince them to let her pass." Meanwhile, Alicia was stepping out of the way and beckoning to the Lawyer to step forwards with his own jokes and puns.

"I, uh, need to think of something good, so I'll go last. The rest of you go ahead." She was really hoping that Frisk would agree to the Flashbang plan, otherwise the entire plan would go south in one bad joke attempt and it would be entirely her fault, since it seemed that the Senior Poppy Bros were only going to let them pass so long as they could maintain a funny flow. Come on girl, think. What would James say here that would make them lose their mind in laughter? Or at least get him past in one piece without putting the rest of the team at risk... And thus the Stalwart began to wrack her brain for a joke she had heard James tell, or a Warlock, that might keep her from ruining the plan.