He hadn't really been expecting a favorable response for his comments, so the Boss's reaction was so surprising that Ruben found himself unable to respond. Apparently speaking his mind was not only permitted but encouraged here. It was all a bit foreign, but then again this was not an XCOM unit. Everyone here was an independent individual from their own land. Back there, things must be different. Hopefully they were not also engaged in a global war against an invading alien force that threatened to destroy humanity. Even if one of the members wasn't human.

This would also mark the first time he was offered a high-five by a figure of authority, but with all the strangeness so far it almost seemed appropriate, though he wouldn't consider his observations to merit such a response. Wordlessly, he raised his hand and returned the five, returning it immediately to his weapon. He suddenly remember the laser rifle on his back and wondered for the first time how he would deliver it to Dr. Vahlen. He doubted the main hub had a radio system that could travel through universes, but who knew? He arrived here by portal. Maybe another could be opened, assuming there was enough down time between operations.

The Boss went ahead and clarified, again, that they would not be investigating the secondary objective. Under his command, at least. He braced himself for the obligatory circle of feedback from the other three, none of whom seemed happy about the decision the boss had already made.

Azura was more tame in her response than he had anticipated, though he sensed the jab at his role in the party. Though he maintained a stoic appearance, internally he shrugged it off. He had questioned her and she had questioned him. Fair enough. It certainly wasn't worth getting into a spat over. Vent was a bit more aggressive, reminding everyone (again) that they knew nothing about the Greybeards. One would think by now that this was a good reason to avoid them entirely, but he took the opposite stance, which was based entirely on...fantasy novels? Was he serious? His entire line of thinking for sending someone away was based on fantasy literature. Whatever world he was from, it was rather lax on what qualified as a good reason.

A large portion of his retort was in regard to the Boss for incorrectly calling him a robot. As a result, Ruben made a mental note to avoid doing so. Direct insults that wouldn't lead to any kind of improvement were pointless. Azura's inability to prove assistance could be changed. The boy's humanness could not. Unfortunately, Vent did not have the same mindset. Sad and pathetic? To follow orders as a soldier is to just do your job, even if the orders get you into what you may consider a bad situation. Piper followed suit with a word of warning, one that he had not heard before. It was a bit sharp, but she seemed to mean well, almost as if it was from experience. He didn't hold it against her and, when the time came for him to speak again, he ultimately chose to refrain from responding to any of them.

Vent and Piper excused themselves and Ruben wondered if he should follow. Rather than making a snap decision, though, he turned his head to the Boss and waited for instructions.

Continuing to walk down the path they didn't necessarily have a choice over, Akira eyed the ever so often candle here and there that they would pass by, almost expecting for something spooky to happen to one of them. But alas, they were just normal candles, illuminating the uncomfortable path they happened to have before them Almost a little bummed out by his thought not coming to life, the mask wearing teen trudged onward, only to freeze when Slayer, who only a step ahead of him, had to catch himself from falling down what was assumed to be a pit? Not sure of what to make of this situation, Akira took another look around the room, curious to see how they would make their way across this problem.

Soon his eyes landed on what seemed like floating white balls with faces on them. Were they...the ghosts of this place? The phantom thief almost couldn't believe it, especially since he's known ghosts to have a much more frightening appearance where he's come from. It was almost fun though, every time he would look at one ghost, it would stop moving and attempt to protect itself from his gaze by covering its face with tiny nubs for arms. It was almost like playing the game, 'red light green light'. Clearly getting a kick out of 'scaring' these ghosts, Akira was soon distracted when Slayer swatted at one of the ghosts in attempts to capture it. This ended in failure however, as the white ball simply disappeared in a flurry of dancing purple flames. Akira had to admit that while it was amusing to see this new leader of his had a little but of a joking manner, it was nice to know that even when it was joking, his reflexes were on point.

What came after messing with the ghosts was Slayer launching himself off of the floor and onto a barely lit platform ahead of them. Ah, so that's how they were going to get across. And while he head Slayer's offer for help, Akira knew his pride wouldn't be able to handle that, so instead he went for something better. Cracking his neck with a slight tilt of his head, Akira looked back at Six who was behind him before a smirk pulled at his lips. In once smooth motion, the leader of the Phantom Thieves crouched down before backing up a little bit, gathering up the small girl onto his back, and proceeded to push himself off the floor and over to the next platform, right next to Slayer. And while his shoes didn't make a resounding "click" like Slayer's did, heck they didn't even make a sound at all, Akira could say he was proud of his feat, despite never jumping so face with a person on his back; luckily she was rather light like her appearance would imply. While the smirk never left the proud teen's face, Akira quickly brought his attention to Heavy, curious to see how he would get across.

The bear and bird hadn’t fully turned back around to face the sun (as bad as that is for one’s eyesight) before their ears were met with his agonized screams before catching sight of the gruesome visual that made the reason for it immediately apparent. They saw Mr. Shine tumble haplessly to the ground with one of Bright’s blades protruding from his eye socket, and as he impacted, nightly darkness overtook the opposite end of the room, splitting it evenly down the middle between day and night. The hate-hate relationship between the two cosmic entities--for which the unnatural contrast in setting seemed to be a suitable metaphor--made it difficult for the duo to tell if the sickle to Shine’s eye was the result of a missed strike against them, a treacherous cheap shot by Mr. Bright, or a freak accident of the blade somehow being sent astray. Regardless of what happened to be the case, a harrowing momentary realization hit them that they were just lucky enough to have narrowly avoided a similar (or worse) fate, as they had failed to notice it happen when it did. The action was brought to a sudden but brief standstill as the moon stared down the sun contemplatively, and Banjo and Kazooie held their flight in place (as much as they could without gradually descending, that is) to carefully observe the scene from on high.

Everyone collectively came to their own internal realizations regarding the events that had just transpired, but Mr. Bright’s was soon made the most evident--and urgent. He began making his way slowly over to his wounded should-be ally under the mistaken presupposition that he was given the opportunity to effortlessly finish him off. Expectedly, Shine wouldn’t let it stand, so he retaliated preemptively with a volatile blast of plasmatic energy that threatened, by his assertion, to claim the entire battlefield and everyone on it. And so, as was all but inevitable, the sun and moon turned against each other. The sun posed a more immediate threat, however, so the duo didn’t bother waiting for Frisk’s call to take action; their own assessment sufficed in deciding that he was too dangerous to be left uninterrupted. With an anticipatory tuck, the two shot forward in Mr. Shine’s direction with a reckless burst of speed, leaving behind them a red energy trail similar to when they took flight and spending two feathers in the process (one for extra distance/good measure). Connecting the attack should prove easy enough with Shine preoccupied, so an unexpected concussive blow as forceful as this would ideally be sufficient in causing him to stop what he’s doing if not knocking him unconscious.

As was typical, a successful impact would send the duo tumbling backwards at an upward angle, which Banjo would attempt to take advantage of by reaching for the embedded lunar blade to pull it from Shine’s head, flinging it behind them and away from everyone else. It would undoubtedly be painfully and damaging for him, but it struck Banjo as cruel and unconscionable to simply leave it there, even if they did, by chance, end up having to dispatch him shortly after. That said, he wouldn’t expect the already angry celestial to be grateful to him for it, so as soon as Banjo’s feet touched the ground, him and Kazooie would stand ready for whatever came next.

The lunar blade had met its mark—better than what he had hoped for. It had struck Mr. Shine in the eye and caused the astral body to plummet to the pseudo-turf. While Cloud initially saw Mr. Shine’s fall as a win, he did not anticipate the Boss chamber suddenly being divided into night and day. The ex-SOLDIER felt the heat rising, and he quickly raced for the left side of the room. The grass began to crunch beneath his boots and his skin began to warm. Cloud dove into the cool darkness, rolling across the grass. He stopped upright and kneeling with his blade at his feet. His once milky-white complexion had been baked into a sandy-brown tan. The blonde swordsman stood and gazed over at Mr. Bright who seemed fixed on his partner’s agony. He marched toward him with a look that Cloud recognized to be blood-lust. He wore that look once. When he saw Sephiroth again after he had murdered Aerith. He knew that look well.

Cloud raised his sword, resting it across the back of his shoulders as he once did his buster sword. Mr. Shine had gone insane—or had he always been insane? Sadistically laughing at the pain and suffering of others was not the sign of a sound conscience. He saw the attack that Mr. Shine began warming in his hands. His grip on his sword hilt increased. Frisk ordered them to attack Mr. Shine. Strange how they didn’t feel an ounce of mercy toward the star.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Cloud said with a frown. He sheathed his sword between his shoulder blades and directed his fists at Mr. Shine. The grass fluttered at his feet as an ethereal breeze spiraled up his body to toss his hair. A fiery aura oscillated about his legs as he began charging a spell. He didn’t rush it. Even as he saw Mr. Shine unleash a devastating attack against Mr. Bright. He wanted to make his attack count. Alicia flanked Mr. Shine and Cloud’s mako-green eyes darted from her to the charging Banjo and Kazooie. He was going to get his Bolt spell in right before the bear and bird connected their attack.

As Alicia’s grenade went off, Cloud released the spell as a spear of lightning shot down from the sky to strike the celestial form. All that was left was for Banjo and Kazooie to finish him off.

---

Mr. Bright didn’t know how long his blade was going to hold up against Mr. Shine’s assault. He bore his teeth. The heat from the solar ray was causing even him to sweat. Mr. Shine was grinning like a devil as he saw Mr. Bright’s blade grow closer and closer to shattering. He had become so engrossed in Mr. Bright’s demise that the two arc waves were missed. The blades collided with his side, causing him to tip over as the beam thinned into a line before winking out of existence.

Mr. Bright fell to his hands and knees panting. He gazed across the field at the heroes who were assaulting his solar opposite. Mr. Shine hissed and his one good eye followed the roll of a strange black egg? Was it an egg?



The grenade exploded sending a spray of fiery light into the air. The ceiling then flashed as a lightning bolt descended from it summoned from nothing. Mr. Bright’s mouth was parted in awe. The final strike came from the bear and bird, charging into him like a red meteor and the bear mercilessly (at least to Mr. Bright) ripping the lunar blade from Mr. Shine’s eye.

“AAAAAAAGGHHH!” Mr. Shine screamed as more of the liquid rays burst from his eye-socket. The star rolled about as his body began to explode in numerous tiny explosions. It was a typical fate for most of Kirby’s boss enemies.

Mr. Bright smiled in relief at seeing his partner’s defeat, but then his eyes widened when he realized what his defeat meant. Rising to his feet, Mr. Bright warned the group, “You must go! If he explodes while you’re here, then you all will be finished.”

The moon's expression softened a little as he knew well his own life was on the line. “I cannot go with you. If I do, then I will surely try to stop you again. Let’s just say we’re even.”

Mr. Bright waved his hand and a black door burst into existence. “Once you go through that door, then there’s no going back. There won’t be a third floor anymore. Goodbye Heroes.”

Once the heroes all entered the black door, it would vanish, and they would once again find themselves in a stairwell leading down to the second floor. The door to the second floor seemed to glow with a golden light, a light they could see shining up the winding staircase.

---

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, Banjo & Kazooie, and Cloud.

---

Ulfric did not pay the visitors any mind while they bickered and fussed over who the Greybeards had summoned. He was certain that if they didn’t choose, then the Greybeards would choose for them. As he and his men were already near the fortress, when the Dwarven bot approached him asking where it was, he merely pointed before the machine. The gates were being raised as his soldiers marched in with their spoils.

“We shall rest tonight and speak of our plans in my tent. The enemy will not attack us for Skyrim is a treacherous thing come nightfall. Even they know to fear the Frost Trolls. Although, the Frost Trolls do not feast on machines,” he explained. He then turned his head, smirking at Piper. “You are a lucky one.”

The fortress interior was mostly mulch, the heat from it keeping the snow melted and mitigating the mud and sludge. The Stormcloaks followed the same path as their lord, heading to his tent where they entered and began setting the looted weapons into a pile. None were dumb enough to attempt to use a technology that they didn’t understand. Brushing aside the skin door drape, Ulfric entered the tent and walked a circle around the fire pit in the center of it. The tinder had been cleared and a map drawn with charcoal, sticks, and stones. Ulfric walked around the map until he was centered with the tent entrance and grasped the pummel of his sword, adjusting it as he lowered to his knees.

“Please, have a seat,” he offered to the heroes. He then leaned forward onto his hands, small braids and strands of his blonde hair falling passed his ears as he gazed over his map. He looked up at the group, glancing to each of them as he explained, “This is our most current map of Markarth. Our scouts will return in the morning to bring us any new information on the enemies’ positions, but this, for now, is reliable.”



“We know three of the Steel Gods already. There is one to the north by The Treasury House. It is a large machine with tusks of ice. Thirty Forsworn serve and fight for him. In the center, between the Temple of Dibella and Shrine of our god Talos, is a fearsome beast. A Steel God that resembles a wolf. The creature is alone and wild. No Forsworn can defend it, and it guards our Lord’s shrine. It is there you can receive a blessing of protection (buff). To the southeast is a small Steel God. It may be the weakest, but it is clever. It is a leader in charge of fifty Forsworn. I can offer you one hundred of my men to split among yourselves. I will lead with your commander. If any of us learn anything as to their purpose in Markarth, we must have an area to rally. Let us meet before the Lumber Mill and Forge.”

Ulfric sat back on his haunches and rested his hands upon his thighs. He gazed upon the group. “What do you propose?”

---

GM Note: The Greybeards call for one. Decide as a team who should go. The mission will be a side mission separate from the main, but the player will return later to participate in the main mission. XP has been initiated. Any actions or decisions your characters decide to make will affect the mission from this point on. Consequences can either be positive or negative. The results are only seen every GM post.


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.: Mr. President, Azura, Vent, Captain Piper, and Ruben.

Boss pointed a finger at Azura when she got mouthy. “And no talking back young lady! Geez, what are you thirteen?”

Her sass had only been the beginning for Robot Boy was next to turn on him over being butt-hurt about being called a robot. Boss brought his hands to his face and slid them up and back through his hair as he groaned. There was so much whining going on. He interjected when Vent had mentioned megamerging:

“Can you stop saying that? It sounds wrong. I don’t care what it really means. It just sounds like something from a bad porn. Just say transform.”

He then frowned, his lips rolling back to reveal his teeth that were irritably grit. Throwing up his hands, Boss exploded, “This isn’t a fantasy novel! What is wrong with you people? Is that really our strategy? We’re gonna compare this place to the fucking Never Ending Story? More like the Never Ending Bitchfest. Spare me. No one is going.”

Boss then walked over to rest his arm on Ruben’s shoulder as he defended him. “Hey, don’t attack my man, Ruben just because your Daddy never tucked you in at night!”

He scowled at Vent’s back when he decided to walk away to follow Ulfric. Piper seemed to follow his lead.

Thank God all the bitching is over, Boss thought as he dropped his arm and reassured the loyal soldier. “Don’t you worry bro, I got your back. You’re a good soldier. The best there is. You tell’em!”

Boss followed behind Vent and Piper for a few steps before he stopped and looked back at Ruben who seemed to be staring at him expectantly. He looked left and then right, and then back at Ruben before he waved him on. “Uh…let’s go.”

If Ruben decided to follow, then he would continue on quickly walking to catch up to the group and in time to overhear Captain Piper ask what was the way to the fortress. Boss raised his voice, pointing at the obvious Stormcloak fortress before them.

[color=AC58FA]“You mean that fortress right there?” he said sarcastically and with an amused grin. These robots are dumb.

“Stop being a dick. You’re supposed to be their leader,” Kinzie spoke.

“Hey, I’m like this with you guys. So what?”

“They aren’t the Saints, Boss.”

“Yeah, you right. You right,” he agreed. He then apologized to Piper, “Sorry if I hurt your feelings…if you feel anything.”

If Kinzie had been there, they would have seen her face palm. Boss only heard a loud clap on the other end.

As Ulfric explained they were going to be staying the night, Boss shot a hand up. “I call top bunk!” He kept his hand raised and grinned at the other heroes. He then dropped his hand and had to ask, “Hey…you guys do co-ed here?” He tried not to smile too perversely.

“I hope nobody has to sleep around you. You snore,” Kinzie said.

“I do not,” said the Boss seemingly to no one.

He followed Ulfric into his tent and followed him around the fire pit to sit to his left. As Ulfric explained the crummy makeshift map, Boss was forcing his brain into overdrive trying to make out what the sticks meant, and the piece of charcoal that looked like it had a human face. He smirked at the thought and continued to frown hard at the Stormcloak’s creation. When Ulfric mentioned following the commander, Boss raised his hands, throwing up some gang signs before returning his hands to his lap. Ulfric then asked for their feedback.

Boss blinked, realizing that he was supposed to probably say some strategy shit. Fuck, my mind’s drawin’ a blank. I don’t even understand what most of this shit is. One of those sticks looks like a burnt turd. Raising a hand to his nose, Boss closed his eyes and sneezed: KINZEHJHRAH!

“…You’re such an idiot,” Kinzie muttered. She then sighed. “How many of there are you? Five? Six? Okay, so there are thirty guys working for the Frost Tusk guy and fifty for the little guy. So we may want to concentrate our fire power on either or. I recommend dividing the team into two groups. Since the princess is more of a support role, she seems the most flexible. She may be able to move between your two groups providing support. One team should take out the fifty guys and the other team should focus on Frost Tusk.”

“What about the wolf creature?”

“I would avoid it for now. If it’s guarding a shrine, then it won’t leave its post. You can kill it later.”

“Got it,” Boss clapped his hands together. “Okay. Here’s the plan.”

He leaned forward to rest his hands upon the soil-covered earth and pointed at the map:

“All right; Spear Babe, Femme Bot, and the Power Ranger will go for the tiny bot dude with the fifty guys. Ruben and Ulfric will be with me, and we’ll take the teeth guy…uh…what about the 100 guys?”

“Divide by 2…”

“…”

Kinzie sighed. “Send fifty per group.”

“Fifty of Ulfric’s dudes will go with each of our groups. I think that’s more than enough firepower to rock this casbah. We’re gonna leave the wolf thing alone since it’s guarding the shrine. If it’s only guarding the shrine, then after we take out the other gods, we can join forces to kill it and get the Talos god’s blessing. Everyone agree?”

Heavy wasn't scared. NO, he wasn't, no matter who told you that or what they told you! He was just looking over his shoulder in-case any blue-bellied Spy came for his muscular and well-built back to arrange a date with a knife. But as Heavy kept looking from over his shoulder to the front, back over the shoulder and back to the front where Slayer and Joker were, the tiny cogs in his mind started turning; the light was changing. He was perhaps not too bright (no pun intended), but even he could notice that the light was by now centralized entirely around the small group of heroes, like someone shinig a stage-light on them. Except for the candles on the sides, that gave Heavy the bumps of geeze.

"Something is not right about this place, me think..."

With his back turned again as they entered the big room, Heavy almost tripped over Slayer and Joker as they had come to a stop, but the Russian brute managed to stay balanced thansk to the massive weight of Sasha alone. Now who said that a heavy weapon is bad? Stupid babies... "Comrade Slayer, why we stop..." Heavy began to ask, but stopped his question as his eyes lay on two things if significance; 1), there were ghosts before them and 2), a massive, endless pit of nothingness opened up before their feet.

The fact that Slayer apparently managed to frighten one of the ghosts with a fancy speech, meaning that the ghosts could be scared and thus probably could be killed...somehow...don't ask Heavy about death, ghosts and the intracat questions of life and death in the afterlife. What he did not enjoy was what the endless pit of nothingess most certainly meant for the group. And most importantly, himself. "...This is bad..."

Heavy looked as Slayer leaped forward onto one of the platforms, somehow suspended in mid-air without any supports, a feat of engineering that Engineer surely would love to see himself. And then Joker jumped the same distance, carrying Six on his back like a Babooska would carry a small child, or very tasty dumplings. That only left Heavy on that side...alone. Heavy looked down the endless hole, swallowing hard as he looked up at Slayer and Joker. "You promise to grab? I don't think Sandwich can fix me falling." Heavy said to Slayer, before taking a few steps back while he slung Sasha across his back. Then he took a few steps more, and a few more. He was going to need a long run-way to make that jump.

"Allright, here we go!" Heavy shouted, starting to run as fast as he could forward, which wasn't as impressive as the others' speed really. One heavy footstep after the other, he increased his speed, hopefully enough that he could live to fight another day. And then he jumped. He jumped like he had never done before, which was rare, slinging his arms forward trying to get as far as possible and to reach Slayer's arms. And just when he thought he was going to the Eternal Heaven of Sandwich, he felt something grab his hand. He was not dead yet!

"Hahaha! Slayer, you are credit to team!"

Though she did expect the more vocal individuals among the troupe to speak out against the iron-handed ruling of the Boss and his new lackey, Azura offered no support should they look to her for any. Instead, yellow eyes dull and listless, she waited in placid silence. Though they delivered their objectives with temerity, perhaps meaning to take Azura's side, they found neither ground to stand on nor any vulnerability to exploit. The Boss would not yield, and if he would not give an inch, neither would his parrot. All Vent and Piper were doing was to stack their stubborn allies' resentment against them, and Azura knew that such a thing would be far more toxic to a team than simple split opinions. No matter how the wind howls, the mountain does not bow to it. That idiom stood for the steadfastness of righteousness against its persecutors, it it applied just as well to pigheadedness standing before reason. Then again, weren't the Boss and Ruben righteous from their perspective. Azura took a deep breath. In usual form, she was overthinking this.

In her overthought, though, she managed to zone out through most of what her would-be defenders had to say. Her reprieve was broken by the scolding of the Boss, and she glanced skyward as though to ask for strength from whatever powers be in this unfamiliar world. It never occurred to him that he could be wrong. No amount of reason will break through that armor. Wordless, she followed along with the group, using her lance as a walking stick. The distance to Ulfric's camp was short, and upon arrival, that commander informed the team that they would be spending the night before making an offensive the next day. She narrowed her eyes at the man's certainty that no assault would come under the cover of night—did powerful entities of metal and energy, like the golems raised by mages in her world, really have anything to fear from nocturnal wildlife? Reasoning that Ulfric would know far better than her, she nodded and followed him across the fort's interior. Her gaze grew baleful when the Boss questioned sleeping arrangements; his unnerving smile was not, she didn't, a product of fascination with a male medic, a sexless artifice, or whatever exactly Vent was, though with a shiver she wondered whether or not such a desire would be past the man. The moment she entered the big tent and glimpsed the markings on the floor, she realized that she was to be part of a strategy meeting. Never before had she participated in one, but as a person of nominal royalty she bore witness to a fair few while in both Hoshido and Nohr. She perked up just a touch as she realized that she might be of good help.

When the map unfurled, her catlike eyes grew bright, and they pored over every detail of the city Markarth. Nonstandard layout, multiple levels of elevation, many angles of approach. Where uniformity fails, opportunity rises. Around her, the others began to talk, but she kept the gears in her head turning. So focused was she on trying to think up a perfect stratagem that she jumped in fright when the Boss sneezed. Suppressing her intense dislike, she listened to his makeshift plan, and noted that it seemed too solid for him to have come up with on his own. The question at the end of his declaration, no doubt rhetorical, almost choked a laugh out of her. As if any criticism of that plan would be heeded.

”I can do that. If this 'Chill Penguin' employs ice magic, or its approximate, I am fairly resistant.” She pointed a gloved index finger toward the map, indicating a squiggle at Markarth's southern edge. ”Additionally, if we can coax his entourage near that river, or into a snowy area, I'll be able to help out a great deal.”

This turn of events of a worse sight of a plan falling apart than when BOTH Sly and Murray got taken by The Countessa and imprisoned, both then and now leaving Bentley all alone on the second floor of that tavern. When Taric had burst out the front door of the establishment, Bentley watched with his jaw dropped as he ran off. Why didn't anyone stay behind to hear the end of a possible formulated plan?

Bentley looked back and forth from the window to the door, back to the window and the door, then to the airship, the castle, and the dimming light of Sparx. "...and once again the Turtle is left for last." Bentley sighed, retracting the Binocucom back into the wheelchair and wheeling himself to the door. Normally he would have gone about this carefully, but clearly time was of scarce, so he was left little choice. Quite quickly - and painfully he had to admit - Bentley rolled down the staircase, each successive step prompting an "Ouch!" or "That hurt!" from someone clearly not enjoying themselves.

Getting down to the main floor, Bentley rolled to the main exit while saying quickly "Thanksforthehospitalitygoodbye!" before exiting the Save Point. And finally on level ground, Bentley sped up. No rockets or fancy gizmos, just a raw, turtle-powered wheelchair wheeling down the dark streets towards what he only presumed was their next destination: The Castle.

Frisk studied the soul and saw that it wasn’t going to take long before he dies. Immediately after reading that bit of information, they felt dread fill their stomach. They honestly thought that Mr. Shine had more HP than that. They honestly thought they could just weaken the sun enough, just to get the sun to stop trying to destroy everything.

But of course, before Frisk could relay the information, the actions were taken as per their order, and the sun was defeated. Mr. Shine’s scream echoed and reverberated, ensuring that its place in Frisk’s memory, while tiny explosions appeared.

Frisk’s attention turned to Mr. Bright when he gave the warning. After doing so, the child asked in concern, “But what about you?”

It wasn’t long before the personified moon gave his answer. The personified moon would be able to see the pain and sadness in Frisk’s eyes at the fact. They looked over to the door when it appeared before looking back to Mr. Bright. After a moment of silence with the child looking at the ground, Frisk nodded to Mr. Bright before answering, “Alright. Thank you….and I’m sorry,”

Frisk called to their friends, “Let’s get out of here!” before leading the way to the door, opening it, and giving one last look to Mr. Bright before going through the door, leaving it open for their friends, and Mr. Bright should he change his mind.

Once they made it through the door and all was silent, Frisk kept their eyes directed at the ground. Their hands were clenched into fists. They felt horrible for what just happened. And yet…they would rather feel this pain than not at all.

After managing to collect themselves in the moment, they asked the group, “Is everyone alright?”
They couldn’t afford to break down under the pain now. Not when they had friends counting on them. They were not going to let anyone remain hurt or get hurt anytime soon if they could help it.

The boss really can't commit to being nice can he. There always just has to be a backhand involved in any apology or compliment he gives

”That's not what I... Ah never mind.”

At least her poor word choice ment nobody realised what she had been planning to do. Planning to do because after arriving at the fortress and hearing the odds they were up against wandering up into the mountains alone at night seemed like a bad idea, as did leaving the already small team alone to face that many laser gun welding deer hat enthusiasts and their animal themed bots commanders. Once she heard the Bosses surprising sane, if simple, plan, she silently kicked her whole solo expedition plan into the dustbin of bad ideas and focused on the task at hand.

”That's actually… yeah that'll work. Sets us up for a pincer move on the wolf too which is nice. We can figure out specific tactics once we actually set eyes on the place, seeing as no plan survives the boarding impact. Only thing I can suggest as far as overall strategy goes is that we try and focus on luring the laser gunner guys into places where our melee fighters can ambush them to get some guns of their own while avoiding places where we’d be advancing across coverless ground. This for example,“ she pointed at the crude depiction of the riverside with its long walkways and bridges ”looks like it might be awful exposed whereas this” she pointed to the varois homes and stairways leading up to the treasury house “looks like it’ll be alot better for gap closing.” She imagined this was rather obvious for everyone, the warriors themselves had certainly learned the advantage of cover, but she believed it worth repeating just incase it prevented the boss form ordering any suicidal charges.

She was pleased to hear that Azura seemed to have more tricks up her sleeve than just her enchanting singing voice and after a few moments of contemplation suggested that: “maybe if we can spot some of them from here” she pointed at what looked like some large rocks or buildings across the river from the penguin's lair “I can get their attention with some fancy marksmanship and maybe pull them down to the riverside where they’ll be in the aforementioned coverless danger zone and in rage of your, uh, magic”

She was still getting used to the idea that magic might be real.

The teams' response following the Flashbang's explosion was unexpectedly quick. Immediately following the blinding blast, Cloud unleashed a lightning bolt from the cloudless facsimile of the sky and the bird and bear duo rammed into the sun at high speed before ripping the lunar blade from his eye. Nice touch, though a bit much I think. Mister Shine screamed in pain, his beam having faded from existence over the course of the battle. Even as he began to disappear as Marx had before him, the Titan had already begun turning on the moon, fully expecting him to do his duty now that the source of his greatest torment was gone.

Instead, he simply allowed them through the next door, informing them that to remain would mean the end of their journey and the failure of their mission, a wave of his hand causing it to appear. At this point, she wasn't sure whether or not to congratulate Frisk for getting one of the two to let them through or berate him for apologizing before they fled through the opening. The Striker didn't even bother commenting on the door them leaving the door open for the moon, who never followed, even as it shut.

Silence reigned as the group gathered themselves and, as she checked the ammo in her weapons except for the Bolt-Caster, Alicia held a silent respect for the moon's reasoning for not coming. He had known that if he came with the group, he would do his job. Honest, even if he were a villain. May he find rest after this. Ahead of them the stairway was filled with a golden glow and she readied her Doctrine of Passing, a click sounding through the stairwell as she racked a new round into the auto rifle's chamber. "Frisk, there can be no hesitation this time. We go in and we move through. What happened back there was nearly fatal, for all of us."

At this point, mincing words was only going to be a waste of the groups time, so the Titan cut straight to her point, deciding to make it clear where she stood. "We all have been told what the Virus does to it's hosts. Deedeedee won't listen to reason, he'll want to see us all eviscerated so that he can move on to conquering whatever his next target is. You need to accept that this next floor will be much the same, though minus the virus. Remember the whale's words, 'the guys after me aren't going to be willing to just let you past, you'll have to fight.' Can you accept that we will have to take another life?" Admittedly, she'd given a paraphrasing of the whale's words, but she wasn't anywhere near about to speak like he did. Besides that, their attempting to reason with Mister Bright had nearly gone south and would have gotten the Poppy Bros hurt had they failed to defeat the sun and moon bosses. Within the depths of her mind, Alicia wondered if Frisk could have lived with that knowledge, which was the only reason she hadn't mentioned it.

Nodding briefly in confirmation, Ruben shouldered his rifle and stepped in line, following the group at the rear to the fortress, which was just as disappointing up close as it had appeared from their point of arrival. Heavy timber and furs were hardly a means of defense against an invading force, especially one wielding the firepower of the previous group. He glanced down at the mulch floor and lifted a boot to examine the imprint. If only Ulfric could be introduced to the wonders of reinforced concrete.

The party regrouped in the largest tent around a large fire pit, which had been repurposed as some form of crude map. The XCOM soldier listened intently to the vague description of the area and scowled slightly. He certainly hadn't been expecting aerial photography, but he was hoping for at least a paper map. He had a good memory but it wasn't photogenic. Fortunately, the XCOM initiative provided extensive training in blind operations, since it was impossible to know where they would be deployed. Being prepared to engage anywhere, at any time, was a core element of his job, and with a good team he knew he could compensate for a lack of information. Unfortunately, he was not sure he had a good team. If nothing else, it was unlikely that any of them had received similar training. They had performed well in their first engagement, but the post-combat discussion suggested there were larger problems than a lack of battle tactics.

Ulfric's description of the Steel Gods was somehow even less specific than Ruben had expected. One had tusks, one resembled a wolf, and one was small. Dr. Vahlen would not approve of such descriptions. He made a mental note to gather as much information on each as possible for a report. Earth was woefully unprepared for the Sectoids. Any information he could supply on otherworldly enemies would be invaluable. To his surprise, and satisfaction, the Boss laid out an actual plan of attack, assigning him to the largest of the enemy targets. Ruben couldn't help but grin. Not only was he going to be working directly with commanding officers, he would be taking on a real challenge. Analyzing a completely new enemy, determining a point of attack, and filling it full of holes sounded like something he might actually enjoy. The prospect of healing and protecting fifty other men was a bit daunting, but Ulfric was on hand. He would hopefully be able to organize tacticians of his own to help protect his men. He gave the boss another nod of consent.

Azura and Piper took the opportunity to offer their feedback, with Piper's being surprisingly well thought out. Aware that the burden of speaking had passed to him one more, he shifted on his feet and crouched down, re-reading the map with Ulfric's commentary in mind.

"This is the only point of entry?" he asked, pointing at the gate. "I do not see us moving 100 men through here into a position of attack without being noticed and attacked first. We will have to move very quickly to get into a safe position to strike before being spotted."

He moved his hand to aim at the guard tower. "I suggest we first move to secure this tower. It should give us a clear view of the entire area, allowing us to coordinate attacks and spot ambushes before engaging. If the enemy is intelligent at all, they will already have someone located there. They will see our force approaching before we can reach the gates. Send in a unit of men to climb and clear the tower first.

"From there, I would have both teams move along the walls as swiftly as possible, with the intent to reach the highest point of the city before engaging. Move the men in groups of perhaps ten at a time rather than the entire force, with a group remaining near the gates to secure our exit and eliminate enemies trying to flee the city."

He paused, then sat back down away from the map and waited for a leader to reply.

Once more, the Genie took off, but this time, he fully agreed with the direction she was going. Pulling his Imago Loop free of it's holster, he chased after her, watching the airship in the sky. "Charger, can you make contact with anyone in the castle?" The Ghost, who had given chase to the Dragonfly to help keep track of him, shook his body no before he realized that his Guardian couldn't see it.

"No, I can't. And that airship hovering over the castle...I'm coming back to you, James. You may need me." James shoot his head no as well.

"No, stay with Sparx. We need to know if the baddies make another play for him." He double jumped to a nearby roof, working his way higher. Charger didn't answer, instead working to keep up with the yellow bug while the Hunter worked to reach someone in Tetris Castle. "Guile, Rosalina? Anyone? Come in, this is James."

---

Rosalina heard Jame’s call and one of her hands released Guile to rest upon the communicator in her ear. “James! Guile is hurt! Naija is here trying to help me keep him stable. We’ve been attacked. The enemy is fleeing!”

Guile bore his bloodied teeth, and then turned his head to spit the blood that had welled in his mouth upon the floor. With his mouth cleared, he attempted to drink Naija’s strange bubble concoction. The healing effects of the soup were working just as hard as the Lumas’s magic to seal Guile’s wound. It didn’t seem to be an ordinary injury that health items from a normal video game could cure. No matter how much the wound tried to heal, it remained open, as though his health continued to plummet. The injury was abnormal in a game verse. It could have been caused by a weapon with bleed affects, but even those affects had a duration. This injury didn’t seem to have one. Cheating?

Rosalina watched as Guile’s wound shrank only to gradually reopen. Tears bubbled in her eyes as she exclaimed to James: “Nothing is working!”

Just then, a pink ball flipped through the air to land before Rosalina, Naija, and Guile. Its beady eyes were narrowed and cheeks puffed in anger.

EY! the pink marshmallow known reputably as Kirby called out to the leaving Meta Knight. He was sporting a blue bandaid on his arm with a yellow star on it. He was freshly vaccinated.

Meta Knight stopped, his cape swaying to a standstill. “Kirby…” the knight muttered on a low and ominous voice.

Kirby said nothing and only continued to scowl at the villain. Meta Knight stood there silently as though conflicted. The Waddle-Doos and Dees gazed back at their boss as they shoved Moneybags into an invisible dematerializing beam.

“HEEE~LP!” Moneybags cried as his voice faded as he was turned into thousands of particles and warped up to the ship.

“Boss! Come on! We gotta go!” a Waddle-Dee cried.

Meta Knight reluctantly took two steps toward the beam before he stopped and spoke without facing Kirby or the other heroes: “If you’re strong, then this won’t be the last time you see me. If not, then your power was nowhere near comparable to my own. When you feel worthy of my blade, come find me.”

The knight strode off.

“Ey!” Kirby angrily shouted after him and raising his nubby arms he charged for the villain. His pink shoes became a blur as he dashed across the castle’s marbled floors. The pirates warped away in the beam just before Kirby could reach them. The pink ball struck the wall, flattening into a disc before he peeled off and dropped upon the floor. His body instantly inflated in a cartoony manner with a pop!, causing him to leap to his feet. Kirby landed and looked about in confusion, multiple question marks sprouting about his head like weeds. They were gone!

Kirby gazed back at Rosalina, Guile, and Naija and raced over to them. There was a saddened frown on the marshmallow’s face as he gazed upon Guile who was looking worse for wear. No matter what anyone did his health was depleting. Rosalina started crying.

“Nothing is working!” she wept. “Don’t die Guile!”

Guile frowned, appearing to be exhausted and worn. “Shit…” he cursed. They had been fearing the virus the entire time, but the enemy had another trick up their sleeve.



The cloaked creature stopped when the Halberd began backing away from Tetris Castle. Rising into a bipedal stance, it watched as the pirate ship began to turn and fly off back into the System. While the cloaked being was distracted, Sparx reared back his abdomen and exclaimed, “HIYAH!”

Clubbing the cloaked figure in the back of its head with his body, the cloaked being released a “ROWR!” of pain before they both collapsed upon the roof. Sparx fell upon the shillings in a daze and the cloaked figure fell forward, the cloak sliding up his back to reveal cat-like legs, bottom, and spots. Sparx slowly levitated back into the air and exclaimed victoriously to the others: “I got him! Quick! While he’s down! I got the bad…” The dragonfly stared at the familiar cat-like backside. “…guy…Hunter?”

Tossing his head back, his cowl tumbled to reveal his lengthy lynx-like ears and sharp-green eyes. The cheetah warrior smiled sheepishly, “Hey there Sparx old pal.”

“Hunter! It is you!” Sparx cheered. He flew a circle around the cat’s head and then yelled to the others, “Guys! It’s Hunter! (as though they knew who he was)” Cheesing happily, his excitement only lasted a moment before he asked, “Wait. What are you doing here?”

The cheetah sighed and rose to his white-pawed feet. “I was trynna’ get aboard that ship, but whoever it was seemed to finish their business. I was hoping that I could stow away upon it in order to return to Dragon Land. I had been tracking Moneybags since the day he snatched you up, and when I saw these guys save you, I…”

Sparx scowled. “You thought you could sneak off without me and leave me here.”

The cheetah’s ears shot up in surprise and he waved dismissively at his assumption. “No; no; no; you got it all wrong. You’re safe here. I figured these guys would protect you.”

“Well, you’re wrong. We were planning to return to Dragon Land and save Spyro.”

Hunter’s eyes widened a little. “You’ll just be falling right into Ripto’s trap. He is hoping you will return looking for Spryo so he can gnab you and use you for his evil plans—whatever those are…”

Sparx narrowed his eyes. “And what were you planning to do?”

If the cat wasn’t covered in yellow fur, then he would have been seen blushing. “Well uh…I was gonna secretly bust him out I guess…”

“You’d just wind up in his trap too! He may even turn you against us.”

Hunter’s ears folded against his head. “It worked out well in my mind at least.”

Shantae saw how the figure had stopped when the ship started moving. But before she could even think on that, Sparx had already acted and took the opportunity to club the figure in the back of the head. She let out a monkey like yelp (even though she tried to say 'Way to go Sparx!'), and she headed over to the both of them. As she leapt from perch to perch to reach the two of them, she could hear the discussion the both of them had. Apparently the cloaked figure was not who they originally thought he was.

She reached the both of them by the time Sparx had shouted to her and the others that the person was named Hunter. She reached the both of them in her monkey form. She gave a tilt of her head, before in a flash of light she dropped the monkey form, and went back to her human/genie form. She asked "I'm guessing he's a friend of yours, Sparx?"

She listened to the two of them speak with each other, bickering about their plans on how to help Spyro. She commented, "Well, I don't think this Ripto is expecting any of us. We can use that to our advantage. But we should really wait for the others to catch up before we start discussing plans..."

She then looked to the ship, and she couldn't help but wonder. If the cloaked figure they were chasing, Hunter, wasn't the bad guy. Then...was he on that ship?

---

Ulfric listened intently to the group’s input. Each member had some valuable strategy to contribute. A smirk cocked on his face. He was impressed by the strangers as weird and odd as they appeared. He decided to summarize their strategies:

“There is one way in, and so there will be one way out. We will leave a group of men. Ten men to keep our exit secured. Perhaps it can be the ten men who will secure the tower? They will be able to open the gates. Which of you will guide my men to secure the tower? You can secure the tower, and after the gates are open, you can meet with us again on the inside. We can then divide into the two units from there.”

He then pointed at Piper. “The Dwarven machine may be best to lead its group through the cover it describes. It can lure the enemy to the Ice Witch (Azura). The small one (Chill Penguin) is safe behind its group. You lure them away, then he is vulnerable. I will lead my men with your commander and the Silent One to fight the behemoth. We will regroup here...”

He pointed at some bark. “The Lumber Mill Forge. We meet here and take back Lord Talos’s shrine from the beast. Do we all agree?”

If the group agreed or made their extra comments, afterwards, Ulfric would offer: “We do not have much food to offer. We have only venison and ale. There may be some fruit, bread, or cheese lying about. You can find them in crates, sacks, or barrels about the camp. This tent is big enough for you all. You can sleep here and start a fire to keep warm. Just before dawn’s light, we will gather.”

---

GM Note: XP has been initiated. Any actions or decisions your characters decide to make will affect the mission from this point on. Consequences can either be positive or negative. The results are only seen every GM post.


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.: Mr. President, Azura, Vent, Captain Piper, and Ruben.

The Boss was listening to everyone’s input, and he was actually surprised that Azura said she was going to be useful this time. Amazing. The Bot Chick wasn’t as dumb as he thought as she talked about cover. But the one person who amazed him the most was his boy, Reuben. The President’s eyes grew at the mouthful Ruben had spouted:

“Woah, where the hell did all that come from? You are just full of surprises dude!” Boss then raised a finger to his eye, pretending to be wiping away tears. “Look how they grow.”

When Ulfric asked who would want to lead the stealth charge on the tower, Boss shot his hand into the air. “Hell yeah. That’s so me. I’ll have the gates open before you know it.”

“Boss…” Kinzie spoke on a sigh.

Frowning, Boss asked, “What now? I do something wrong again?”

“You’re the leader. You should let the others go in case it’s a trap.”

“Psh! I ain’t no bitch! I’ve been stuck in worse situations.”

“And I’ve had to bust you out.”

“Not this one.”

“How do you know?”

“Cuz…”

“Ugh.”

Rolling his eyes, Mr. President looked to the group (as though talking to himself was completely normal). “I’ll clear the towers, secure the gate, and I’ll meet you guys at the rally point by breakfast.”

As Ulfric went on to offer them hospitality, Boss glanced around the spacious tent and pointed to a bed roll in the corner. “Dibs on that bed roll!”

He then quickly stood up and raced over to it as though there were others actually competing with him. If Pierce had been there or even Johnny, they would have probably fought to the near death over it. Once he grabbed it, he looked over at a sack like the one Ulfric described and stepped over to it. Grasping the bag’s mouth, he parted it and gazed inside to see sitting at the bottom completely preserved without any mold on it was some bread. He reached inside and pulled out the bread loaf and gave it an inspecting sniff. “Holy shit. This bread doesn’t mold or go stale guys!”

He then bit into the loaf, feeling the hard chewy pull of it. “It tastes like real bread!”

What else he was expecting it to taste like, who knew? Setting the sack down, he went over to a crate next, now curious to what was in there. He started collecting the rations into a pile. “This is great. I got some cheese to go with the bread. I found some grapes…what? This is like half a rack of deer ribs! Can you believe this shit?”

Boss held up the ribs for the group to see. “It’s not even spoiled. This is crazy but I like it!”

“You’re such a child,” said Kinzie.

So, the strategy was set. For all the tensions that troubled and divided the squad of misfits, Azura did not find the plan all that bad, either. Having returned nothing but a blank face to her 'Ice Witch' misnomer from Ulfric, she nodded when he asked if all was agreed. As things seemed to wrapping up for the night, Azura allowed her fatigue to seep in and suffuse her. In the morning prior to departure on this mission she spent hours practicing, and that combined with the brief but action-packed battle earlier weighed on her. So too did a lingering, subversive pain that she couldn't quite place, though she knew it all too well.

That pain brought back to mind what she said moments ago. During the planmaking she offered without hesitation to perform a special maneuver near the river, and while it promised results, she dreaded the backlash such a task would inflict on her were the rite not executed flawlessly. Why did I jump to, in all likelihood, sacrifice myself? I owe these people no heroics, and their opinions of me won't improve if I perform for them. That was a bothersome impulse, and one that left her both nervous and reflective. Any spontaneous behavior arising from a burst of latent need for approval could be lethal on the battlefield. Besides, it wasn't her job as a supporter to play the daredevil. I just need to survive. My most basic songs won't eat away at me. Once I enact my plan, I'll lay low if I'm able.

With her agenda to control the damage laid out, her thoughts drifted elsewhere. The food Ulfric offered was standard soldier cuisine, ordinary fare for ordinary men, but in the end Azura did not have to think about it very long. Food was food, and she did not have the luxury of choice. After a minute or two of gathering, she returned to the commander's tent with the makings of a crude meal in a bundle of cloth. Before eating anything, she placed a mug, emptied of ale and filled with fresh snow, by the fire. A short time passed while she sat next to it, staring into the flames, and when she retrieved the mug she found it full of cool water. The songstress poured out about half of it in total to wash her hands, after which she finally picked up the food. In silence she chewed on a hunk of venison, then a small, tough slab of hard tack. A drink of clear water washed it all down. For want of anything better to do, Azura then relocated herself to a cluster of barrels on the opposite side of the tent from the Boss's claimed bedroll, and there she took a reclined sitting position on the ground. Thanks to her soft, voluminous winter coat, her chosen spot could very well serve as a makeshift bed, though comfortable or not she felt tired enough to collapse most anywhere. Nestling down in her coat, Azura closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, though she had to shift a few times to get comfortable and ended up lying on her side with her arms crossed in such a way as to elevate her head off the floor.

Though any of the others would be more than hard-pressed to hear it, Azura began to hum herself a sort of lullaby. With its aid, she was able to shut out the stiffness and cold, and drift closer and closer to slumber.