A lot of people seemed to be following Bowsers lead, after all he was the one taking affirmative action and was probably the most familiar with this area from what she could tell. Taking a look as to who was following the group, right now it looked like it was her, Bowser of course, the cowboy, Geno, Michael as he'd call himself, Linkle, Toba, and... a new cat person? Blazermate didn't see him before, was he just hidden and got up recently like that Din lady? Well, he seemed friendly enough. "Sorry buddy, Geno, Zer0, and I are the only robots I've seen so far. Stick around, I'm sure you'll find him soon enough." Blazermate said.

Around this time Bowser offered her a ride on his back, which Blazermate accepted. Hopping up on his shell she rested herself in between the spikes, keeping her healing beam on Kirby. Thankfully for Bowser her robotic frame was very lightweight yet durable, so she didn't add much weight for him to carry. On her new perch, she could see the rest following the group more clearly and noticed the onion bird man Toba walking behind Linkle. Blazermate, having been preoccupied healing Kirby and talking with Bowser, wasn't really able to talk to him much, especially considering all the questions he seemed to have. Although she had a very hard time making out what he was saying sometimes, she had heard his question he asked her while she was chatting with Bowser.

Pointing at him with her free hand, she said. "Hey Toba, you had some questions about me?" Remembering the question Geno had as well, she said. "I'm a medabot, a highly advanced combat robot. I'm a -mate model, which means I'm a support medabot. But that doesn't mean I can't fight, just that I prefer to heal and support." she said, putting her hand into a fist and moving one of her robotic pigtails to make a punching motion before going back to a more relaxed position. "The rest, I might tell you later~." She said, in a teasing cutesy tone.

The Submachine gun man, then made his name known to the group as he joined. Considering he didn't look nearly as athletic as the other, cowboy human or Linkle, Blazermate gestured to him to sit on Bowser's shell with her. After all, considering the hike they had to go before they made their way to the castle in the distance, she figured he'd probably get tired really fast carrying around a big rifle like that. Bowser meanwhile was figuring out a way to pay this cowboy man, turning one of his suit buttons into a golden disc using his... fire breath? This gave Blazermate some ideas, considering she had worked with a few fire spitting Medabots back in the day.

The group walked along until they reached a strange crossroads. One which lead to an ominous looking canyon, one that Bowser wanted to go to that looked like something out of a book, and one that she figured was the most dangerous, considering how inconspicuous it looked. Blazermate was glad that Bowser was going down the path she would've gone, the book route with the weird creatures that Bowser seemed to know, considering he called them out as his 'minions'. Geno at this point decided to just fly up in the sky and over everything, something Blazermate could also probably do for a bit with her design, but decided against it considering there were allies down here to heal. She was really curious as to why the courier was deciding to go down the canyon route however, yelling at him. "Oii. Why are you going that way? Rock slides are a real problem there! If you want heals, stick with me!" she said, but the man made up his mind and was out of sight soon after.

Letting out a robotic sigh, she watched as Bowser used his fire breath to torch some nearby grass in an attempt to scare his minions into cooperation. Blazermate figured this wouldn't work, considering how alert all the creatures became with all that noise, and said to Bowser "Pretty sure mind control means mind control~." She got in a more riding combat position on bowser's shell, as the guy looked like he was ready to rumble. At least being so close to the guy she could easily heal him or anyone nearby if they got injured. She really couldn't do much other than maybe telling someone where to attack these enemies from her perch, for some reason her blaster wasn't inside her frame like it usually was. But these enemies didn't look like they'd be much trouble, they were littered with weak points.

@Lmpkio@LemonZest1337@thedman@ProPro@DracoLunaris@Lugubrious

Ratchet turned to face Linkle as she directed him towards the giant reptile, she seemed pleasant enough but her saying something about them just waking up to only made Ratchet more curious about what had happened. Then the robot woman listed out all the robots she'd seen, and unfortunately Clank wasn't among them."Thanks." He said to them giving them both a slight nod before he sped up to be walking alongside Bowser, he was a too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice the wave from Tora. Bowser was a little more intimidating up close if Ratchet were to be honest, but not because of the height difference (He was used to being half peoples height) but more so due to the mystery of what he was. After Bowser started talking though it became clear he wasn't just a big stupid monster like some of the other similar races that Ratchet had come across, though he did seem pretty presumptuous declaring Ratchet as part of his army. But hey if he knew what was going on it'd be better to stick with him for a while anyway, if he was going to find Clank he was going to need more than just his wrench.

Ratchet took a moment to look at the second sun, so that was the cause of all this? And it was the one who had Clank, and apparently almost everyone else too? So that was the end game then, get rid of it and fix everything. It's not like Ratchet was new to saving the Galaxy. "Well if taking down whatever that is will save everyone, it looks like we've got a star to destroy." He said as he continued to follow after Bowser. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to put up with all the yelling though, this guy was almost as bad as Nefarious...

Ratchet simply watched as Bowser yelled at all the blackened shapes, a bunch of armless fodder and some big turtles. Then Bowser shot out a torrent of fire why is it the giant monsters always breath fire? he shook his head slowly and pulled out his wrench. Getting ready for what he felt like might turn into a fight. He couldn't help but feel a little bit naked without his guns, not to say he wasn't capable without them, many arenas had already seen what he can do with it alone. But just not having a blaster at all, it was uncomfortable to say the least.

---

word count: 423 Location: Mario path

In normal circumstances, Michael would have let out a sarcastic remark in response to Bowser welcoming him into his "army". However, these were not normal circumstances. For one, Bowser looked like he could rip him to shreds in seconds. Two, they were the only allies he had in this new world, and he didn't want to get on their bad side. In Michael's criminal career, he learned early on that sometimes, you had to know when to suck up to people. So, he didn't say anything, and only gave a nod when Bowser acknowledged him. Let's just hope he doesn't screw me over like Devin Weston and the FIB did.

Looking ahead, he could see that there were three paths going forward, and took in the details on each of them. Hm...if I had to guess, I'd say that the middle one looks the safest...don't know what all those creatures are, but they don't look too healthy. As he listened in to Bowser talking to a newcomer that he hadn't noticed before, some sort of...weird mutant cat thing, he looked back to the creatures that lined the road. So, that's what they look like when they're brainwashed? Good to know. Apparently, these things were once Bowser's minions, and he was yelling at them to shake off the mind control. No idea what Kirby did to free us, but I don't think that's gonna cut it...

Meanwhile, the schizophrenic cowboy from earlier decided to go off on the most intimidating looking path, to nobody's surprise. Yeah, have fun, pal. Watch out for deathclaws. Something that he did find interesting was that when he asked for payment, Bowser offered him a lump of gold. I wouldn't mind some of that...but, I mean, do I really need it? Turning his attention away from him, he noticed that the anime-looking robot- Blazermate...weird name- seemed to be beckoning to him to join her on Bowser's shoulders. The idea of riding around on someone else sounded a bit off to him, but at the same time, he really didn't want to go hiking in dress shoes and while carrying around a .50 cal. So, with a shrug, he walked up to Bowser.

"Excuse me. Gonna climb up, if you don't mind." With that, he climbed up his shell, until he was near to where Blazermate was. Looking over his shoulder, he scanned the terrain. "I could probably get a good shot from up here, but you might want to cover your ears first. Although, it'll probably be overkill for these things." He said towards Bowser.

---

The Centurion saw the hooded figure and made his way over to them. They were sleeping on a hammock of some kind. The armored man approached and picked up an item, examining it carefully. Looked like some kind of potion for sale? He gently placed the object back onto the wooden table.

"Greetings! I am-" The Centurion began, before he was interrupted by the dragon turtle beasts roar. It seemed his new bestial ally was preparing forb battle against the strange creatures ahead. But before this could concur, it was the Centurion's responsibility to keep all innocent bystanders away from the conflict.

He turned around to watch Bowser finish his roar, after which he once again faced the hooded being. Micheal De Santa and Blasermate had mounted the alleged King, which was an interesting tactic.

"Greetings!" As if nothing had happened, "I am Centurion Agoston. Merchant, I suggest you clear the area, for there will be conflict here soon. My compatriots and I intend to free this land of tyranny, and fully intend on using violence to do so. I am hereby warning you that if you remain this close to the combat zone, you or your goods may end up being collateral damage. I'll not force you to leave, of course, but I'd certainly recommend it."

Squinting over at the path before him, Centurion considered his chances. Some of the enemies didn't even have arms. Truly, they were pathetic creatures. Short work would be made of them. In the meantime he waited for the hooded figure to give some kind of response before continuing onto the battle he was very much interested in beginning or participating in.

"An incarnation of the legendary hero?" Din asked Linkle in puzzled amusement. She had never heard of a female incarnation before, but then again, the land of Hyrule had a pretty short historic memory. "Yes, I met another Link," Din said, glad to have struck common ground, and following Linkle as she headed towards the fat lizalfos who called himself 'King Bowser", "He saved my life, and the fate of my homeland, but I guess that's what heroes do."

Then Bowser spoke up again, explaining his hypothesis of recent events. The mention of mind control made Din cringe, she had heard that her fellow Oracle, Nayru of Ages, was mind-controlled by Veran, General Onox's ally, and fellow servant of the evil Ganon. Of course, Link had saved Nayru as well, but having one's will subjugated was something that made Din uncomfortable, and just the suggestion that she was being controlled to attack this 'Kirby' made her shudder. As the group of misfits began to gather around Bowser, Din felt a strange affinity for them. They reminded her of her traveling performance troupe, a group of clowns, meant in the most endearing way possible. But a twinge of guilt haunted her. Last time, despite being the Oracle of Seasons, she had been powerless to stop Onox from kidnapping her, and the land of Holodrum was plunged into chaos. She could do nothing for her friends, and using her rod, Link was able to save everyone. Now the Rod of Seasons was in her hands, yet she had promised herself not to abuse its power. But looking out over the patchwork landscape, the world, or worlds, were already plunged into chaos, much like Holodrum was. So if Link was justified to use the rod to right the chaos, perhaps Din could as well? With everything so messed up, surely a little change in seasons would be of little concern. She looked over at a bush, that seemed to be smiling at her, and waved the rod at it weakly, trying not to draw attention to herself. Nothing happened. The frost of winter that she had attempted to summon did not come. Din looked at the rod, noticing that the gems of the four seasons were indeed embedded in the head of the rod, yet they were dull. Great. Even if she wanted to use it, she couldn't.

As they arrived at the head of the path to the castle, a few members trailed off the the side to explore the other path, but Din decided to stay with Bowser and the main group, mostly so she could remain with Linkle. She clutched her rod in apprehension, wondering if she could even contribute should combat ensue.

The world was an odd place. Cut haphazardly and sewn back together while the blood was still warm and wanting, the rocks themselves left gaping. This was, without a doubt, almost as bad as Pandora. But almost only counted in horseshoes and hand-grenades. Or any other explosive, really. Idly Zer0 missed the ol' Norfleet as he looked upon the three obvious options. A single blast from that would've probably cleared the entire area.

No matter. There was nothing he couldn't do. Like shutting that one guy up. He'd been told it was impossible and he had done the impossible.

He would do so again. He had killed the Warrior, the Leviathan, the Invincibles, and countless others. This ball of light? It would fall beneath his onslaught just as everything else did.

His walk was quiet, listening to the babble around him a he continued ever on without a hint of emotion. While the others might not be used to killing things, and he did mean things, by the hundreds... Well, he was. Psychos and bandits and Hyperion soldiers and mechs and bullymongs and varkids.... They were all things. They were all dead.

They were challenges meant to be broken.

As the Koopa King roared his challenge, as the centurion approached the stranger, and the Merc...

Wait, there was a Merc.

Zer0 moved forward quickly, matching pace with the Courier, and he spoke:

"Two leaves from the same
Tree, falling, drifting slowly
Harbingers of death."

His sniper at the ready and his fingers itching for his sword, Zer0 accompanied the mystery merc into the valley of death.

Yeah, that had a nice ring to it.

"The valley of death
Will run a river of blood
No foe will remain."

---

296

The motley group gathered together for the descent, a few jumping aboard their self-appointed commander for an easy ride as the team advanced. Tora took note of how unreservedly Bowser allowed both Michael and Blazermate to climb him, and he watched as the King Koopa sacrificed one of his fancy suit's buttons for the sake of a down payment on the Courier's services. Closing his eyes for a moment, the Nopon chuckled to himself; though he blustered an awful lot, Bowser clearly possessed a caring heart. Tora found himself distracted from the wholesome thoughts, however, when Blazermate turned 'round to answer him. Her response, informative and then alluring, kicked his heart and mind into overdrive. “Ahh! Healybot who can also fight, with twintails that are fists? Blazeymate is incredible! Will look forward to this later time for sure.” His joy put a spring in his step, but with assurance of a later meeting given, he put that energy toward focusing on the task at hand.

Before the team lay a choice. Three paths confronted those without the power of flight, and a number of Tora's allies made up their minds quickly. Recognizing the creatures that stood in his way, Bowser opted for the middle route, and he took his riders with him. The Courier, meanwhile, headed left, strolling down a dusty incline into a rock-lined canyon, and Zer0 followed suit. Nobody seemed interested in taking the rightmost way, which constituted more of a scenic nature walk than a real path, but Tora did spy something else more interesting than any of the roads in front of him.

Breaking away from Bowser's squad for a moment, Tora hurried over to a nearby mushroom to join the armored Centurion. He arrived just in time to hear Agoston's first boisterous greeting, which appeared to jolt the robed figure awake. For a moment the stranger struggled with his hammock, which coincided well with his visitor's distraction by Bowser. Tora glanced over as well to see the reptile bellowing at some local fauna, then promptly returned his gaze to the more thought-provoking matter at hand. If everything the Nopon had seen and heard up to this point was to be taken at face value, the light of the being responsible for the state of this world was all-consuming. Therefore, nothing from the mightiest beast to the puniest bug should have been able to escape its fate, which the haunting look of the wildlife substantiated. Yet, despite this man's dark robe, he bore neither red eyes nor wanton aggression. Curious.

The stranger in question extricated himself from his hammock and stood up to his full height long before Agoston finished speaking. He rolled his neck to get a crick out and even made a spinning motion with his hand in exasperation, gesturing for the Centurion to wrap it up. When given the slightest opportunity, he seized the chance to talk, speaking in a firm but playful voice. “'Kay, lot to unpack here, but first things first: merchant?! You think I look like some poor widdle peddler wandering around trying to make ends meet? I mean, sure, there's a bunch of gizmos and things around, “ he made one sweeping motion to his left side in a theatrical manner, then another to his right. “But think about it. All homes, gone. All customers, gone. Materials, suppliers, everything we know and love? All gone. And now we've got this.”

He spread his arms wide, taking in the scenery. “...A hostile paradise. Full of wonder! And terrible danger, since aside from you dorks, the only one who's not gone coo-coo is me.” His gaze returned to Agoston, then flitted between all those nearby, though nobody could make out anything beneath his hood. “Oh, I see. You're the bunch that find my eye, huh? You look different...some of you seriously different, I'm talkin' WAY different. Guess that's to be expected. And if you're gonna get my eye, I guess I've got a thing or two to tell ya.”

He gave an exaggerated bow before straightening up with a hop and clasping his hands behind his back. “I am the Master of Masters! You don't know me, but even though this is my first time meetin' you, I know you preeeeeetty well. If I do say so myself, I've pulled together a nice, solid understanding of this world, its Spirits, and what you lot need to do to set things right. If you've got questions, I'll give 'em the ol' listen. With me so far?”

---

Bowser's roar and flaming breath shook and scorched the ground, respectively, but if the goombas and koopas before him recognized their King at all, they gave no sign. Instead, the entire force turned its collective eyes on him, then moved to attack together.

A horde of the grimacing mushrooms charged Bowser's way, running at a full-on sprint, but a couple broke off in the direction of nearby blocks. With surprising strength they kicked the bricks they came across, sending heavy chunks of brick flying at not just Bowser, but also those upon him. The assault goombas, meanwhile, proved tougher than their reputation might let on; though just as vulnerable from above as ever, their body slams packed a wallop, enough to make the King Koopa stagger or even topple over if a sufficient number hit him. Once the more tactical goombas finished with their makeshift projectiles, they hurried to stack themselves, and the sheer number of goombas present made for a tower as high as Bowser himself. Once made, the goomba stack stampeded Bowser's way after the rest of its brethren.

The koopas, meanwhile, remained away from the front lines. Some of them retreated into their shells to be kicked by their kindred, essentially becoming curling stones capable of cracking ankles and armor alike. After a hit of any kind, the koopa within the shell would burst out to join the melee. These koopas, together with the goombas, made for a potent swarm attack. While none proved particularly strong, their numbers and all-out offense demanded a great deal from Bowser, Blazermate, Din, Michael, and Ratchet.

---

An unnatural silence permeated the canyon, broken only by the muffled noises of conflict from afar. As the Courier and Zer0 proceeded deeper, the walls rose higher and higher around them. Those irregular, uneven walls harbored all sorts of dark nooks and crannies, ledges and even natural bridges, and anything could be hidden atop the giant mushrooms that sprouted from the great crevasse's floor, the undersides of which any intruders could only peer at with narrowed optics.

Still, no enemies greeted them for a minute or two as the heroes advanced. Only after jumping down a small lip did a sound echo through the canyon—the sound of shifting stone. A moment later, a boulder rolled over the edge of the crack, plummeting downward to smash into the ground at the top of the lip. Though unlikely to crush anyone, it did block their path backward, and the reason why soon became clear.

Ugly, charred faces, once pink and purple and green, appeared over the edges of the rock ledges and giant mushrooms, gibbering in excitement and derision. A number hurled themselves over the edges to land on the canyon floor in waves, but others remained behind with bows or javelins. Taking stock of the situation meant arriving at a single, potentially worrisome conclusion: though unintelligent and weak, the three mook races seemed to possess a fair share of cunning, and together enacted a troublesome ambush. The mob of physical attackers required the heroes' focus, lest their clubs, axes, and crude spears inflict nasty blows, and in doing so they made their ranged counterparts' jobs -already quite safe thanks to their higher ground- even easier. Moreover, this section of canyon bore few outcroppings and boulders on the ground level to hide behind; clearly, the location of the ambush had been carefully planned.

Bearing brutish features twisted by expression of malice, the goblins, kobolds, and bokoblins rushed forward to attack, and a steady rain of projectiles from above ensued. A dead-on headshot would do the trick, but a single shot to the body, unless delivered from a heavier rifle to the heart or aimed at a joint, would not. However, some of the ranged attackers' arrows and javelins found themselves stuck in the heads and backs of their own allies, though none of them seemed to care.

---

Geno sailed above his allies and their troubles, skipping clean past the first area on the way to Peach's castle. From above, he could see how the terrain changed as one drew closer to the citadel. After the branching path, the road ahead appeared more plain, though somewhat winding. A dirt path led the way through the area, its grassy fields of various elevation divided by water, small cliffs, and trees. Much larger brick blocks appeared scattered around. A number of these battlefields littered the path, and as Geno passed over, he could see a small army of enemies. Some lounged about, but others, closer to the castle, were engaged in furious battle against a few different kinds of machines. Beyond the grassy warzone, which seemed to be the territory of the former faction, lay the stronghold of the robot faction, a great scrapyard. Once a racetrack, it now bore piles and piles of broken-down racing karts, clown cars, and robots. Oversized toy blocks also contributed to its clutter, some stacked together into a sizable tower. Beyond the scrapyard, more grass extended for a way before reaching the edge of the enormous moat the surrounded the castle.

However, Geno would not be a spectator for long. Even as he passed over the first zone, the long-eared creatures took note of him. A peppering of energy blasts flew up at him from below, inaccurate but strong, and as he drew closer to the place of battle, some of the robots joined in. Their shots, though less damaging, proved far more accurate. At the same time, danger manifested in the air itself. Small groups of tenacious birds flew up from below, moving with remarkable speed, to attack Geno with fierce beaks and wicked claws.

Speaking with:
@thedmanMichael
@LemonZest1337 Rachet
@Stern Algorithm Din
@Archmage MC Blazermate

Location: 1-1, Central Road

"Pretty sure mind control means mind control~." Blazermate predicted, and sure enough she turned out to be right as the various minions turned to look at him with malice.

“WORTH A SHOT” the king replied before taking a moment to check over his current forces.

Cowboy had seemingly taken his payment and run off with Zer0 and Death down a different road which made the king suspicious that he had been bamboozled out of a button.

Din and Rachet where the only ones that had managed/wanted to keep up with his stomping down the road, though he had no real idea of how the two where useful. Their armaments consisted of a wrench and the other with some kind of decorated wand which did not fill the King with confidence. Then again sometimes all Mario seemed to need to beat him and his many armies was a pair of good boots so perhaps they would surprise him.

There were of course his two hitchhikers, the invited Blazermate and her plus one Michel, as well as his sleeping cargo Kirby. All of them presented an unfortunate problem that became evident when the first brick left the ground, namely that he could not cover both sides of himself to adequately protect the passengers found there from the incoming projectiles. Not really wanting to risk lose anyone to this first taste of combat the king reacted as quickly as he was able to to protect his assets. “RIDES OVER” he announced while grabbing Blazermate with his free hand as he spun round to present his shell to the attacking mob, depositing both her and the hat held Kirby in front of him so that he could act as a shelter from the initial shelling. Michael was sadly on his own when it came to taking cover, while the two that had been flowing behind could, if they wanted, also take shelter behind the king. Bowser raised his hands above his head as masonry rained down, preventing any of it from doing any significant harm other than a few bruised knuckles and shoulders, though the king let out a few “OW“s and “OOF”s at the blows regardless. Unfortunately all this tanking left him exposed to the vanguard of the Goomba charge, who promptly rammed into his legs, un-steadying the king while also sealing their doom as the titanic turtle, sensing his impending topple and unwilling to squish his new minions after taking a beating to protect them, promptly fell back on his ass, squishing the poor Goombas in the process.

This left bowser as a much more stable barricade but also left his butt exposed to further waves of enemies. This but was not entirely defenseless however and the King’s spiked tail flailed around like that of an excited puppy in a valiant defense of his royal posterior, batting attackers aside and taking the brunt of the koopa shell barrage. Even when the avalanche of blocks subsided, the king was unable to raise himself back up to fight due to the angry mob now dogging at his heels and literal kicking his literal butt. This left the king staring down at the cause of his predicament, namely his squishy passengers.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE GAWKING! DO SOMETHING!”

The king shouted at the them in hopes that he would clear some space for him to rise up and get stuck in, either by going round him or using a pre-offered hand to get back on his back to regain a height advantage.

Wordcount 592

Level 1 - (5/10) EXP
Location: 1-1, Starting Line
Word Count: 388

The Centurion was briefly entranced by the hooded man's words. But the sound of battle quickly came to his ears. "Forgive me, merchant," He said, despite the fact that the hooded being did not identify as such. It was not malicious, but it was probably inconsiderate.

"There is battle afoot. I will ask you my pressing questions later. Right now, there is a more immediate concern! Stay safe, brave peddler." The Centurion quickled scanned the developing skirmish. Bowser was in trouble, in danger of being overwhelmed. Blazermate and Micheal had yet to counter attack, but then again, the Centurion had only just turned around. By the time he will get there, they will most likely have begun fighting if they were worth their salt. However, he saw in the back, turtlemen were using teamwork to launch themselves into battle. That was where he would strike. Directly into their flank, he would churn his way through the ranged attackers like a knife through butter. Then, he would join his comrades in the fight against the assault mushroom creatures. First, however, he needed to eliminate the enemies who were staying away from the frontline. Truly, there were few things more satisfying than eliminating an enemies reinforcements before they had a chance to enter battle.

He looked down at Tora. "Tora! Our allies need our help! Quickly! I say we attack those infernal ranged turtlemen!" The Centurion than began sprinting forth, making good time towards the Koopas. His boots pounded across the dirt, his arms and legs pumping with fervor. Yes, he felt it in his bones, down to his core. This fight was righteous!

Once within range, the Centurion leapt high into the hair, his Gladius raised for a powerful forward thrust. "InFIRmus!" He cried out, slamming the Gladius as hard as he could into the nearest Koopa's neck. He removed his Gladius by crouching and uppercutting the Koopa in the race, removing his Gladius from it. Using the momentum of the punch, he span around, gripped his Gladius by the blade with his free hand and precisely guided the tip of the sword into the forehead of the next Koopa.

The Centurion was attempting to cut a bloody swathe through the enemys back line, allowing his allies to deal with their opponents without interruption.

---

As Geno pasted the first area with ease, he would soon find himself in the next part of the dirt path. The terrain below him had changed from a simple flat road with long grasses and abrupt pipes and blocks, to a path that's far more windy and sported a more lush environment. Cliff-sides seemed to have erupted out of nowhere, with water becoming all the more plenty alongside jungle-esque vegetation and giant toy-blocks forming a massive tower in the distance. Beyond the green battlefield, he can even see a race track in the distance amongst a plenty of other places to explore. There were just so many things for him to take in! The flying doll stopped just by the edge of a curvy bridge as he took in the sight ahead. This still felt like the mushroom kingdom - with the random brick blocks and goombas all scattered about - but at the same time it felt significantly different. It was an environment that Geno had never encountered before in this Kingdom.

The most blatant factor were the additional enemy types in the area. The doll glanced his eyes over to his right as he sees a multitude of strange anthropomorphic rabbits. These rabbits however weren't the cute and adorable kinds that required you to chase them around in order to pick-pocket their coins, items, and/or stars. Rather they were derpy and chaotic creatures, whose language was almost exclusively limited to "blahs", "bwahs", and most notably "BAAAAAAAHS". These abominations came in all assortments of different shapes - with these guys in particular mostly sporting yellow mohawks - and they were indeed causing all manners of mischief wherever they went.

Most of the rabbits were messing around with themselves or with the local wildlife, especially regarding the goombas. Most of them were shooting at them with their wooden paint-guns for fun or, when they caught them, they carelessly fiddled around with them and smeared them with paint from a giant paint tube. Why Geno saw two of these goombas forcedly becoming stuck together by their feet after the rabbits applied paint to their feet, before being rolled away by their laughing aggressors. It was a disheartening sight to be sure. The star warrior already knew how much abuse these little guys had to go through when working for Bowser against Mario during their usual antics, but this was just mindless cruelty, without any meaningful purpose other then to humor themselves. And regarding the other inhabitants, he can see how the koopas were being kicked around by the rabbits as if they were mere soccer balls, the swimming cheep-cheeps being fished out of the water and forced to kiss each other, the piranha plants having their mouths shut with paint, and even the few toad stragglers were continuously pelted by their paint shots.

Geno was absolutely furious by their frantic behavior! However, as he glanced over ahead, he realized he found himself already very close to Peach's castle. The warrior also saw several new forms of enemy opponents, this time much more mechanical and humanoid-looking in proportion. The rabbit creatures were also by the castle, but surprisingly they were fighting these robots. Yet the bots were also not all created equal either. Geno could point out two major "species" of these mechanical monsters - one who's grey and blue in color while sporting human-like proportions and the other being purple and black while resembling more on the lines of mechs of some sort. The grey ones were made up of nine different body-types, each having different proportions, weapons, and even voices. The purple ones, on the other hand, had at least three or more types - small but fast bots wielding twin-shot blasters, taller bots wielding either small or large arm-cannons, and the largest bots sporting thick armor and more powerful cannons.

It was clear that the flying wooden doll - alone and armed with only his hand cannon - is going to have to disperse these line-up of opponents all on his lonesome somehow. If he's not able to completely disperse them, he should at least cause enough damage to weaken them significantly before the rest of the group arrives. The more opponents he can take down the better.



But just as Geno was about to come up with a strategy to divide and conquer them off-guard, one of the rabbits was suddenly alerted to his presence. He issued a warning call as several of his companions as they took aim towards the flying puppet in the sky. Now thrusted into the battle, the star warrior took evasive maneuvers as he began to avoid the shots being fired at him. This time, he noticed how the shots weren't mere paint-blasters, but actually energy based lasers! Now he had to really be careful of their arsenal. He flies around in a large arc shape as he prepared to fire upon the rabbit creatures below. Their shots were mostly inaccurate, however they seemed to pack a punch behind them - something which Geno had no interest in finding out. Once he got close to a small group of them, the warrior readies his arm cannon as he fires two beam bursts at them. The first shot skidded across the middle, disorienting the enemy, as the second beam knocked away two of the rabbits. The rest of the survivors screamed as they fled for cover.

Now more of the rabbits began to take notice about their newfound enemy as they too began to fire upon the dashing star warrior. Most of their shots also failed to miss their fast-moving target, however one got lucky and struck Geno's belly! However, this wasn't a laser that was shot at Geno - rather it was a toilet plunger of all things! And the rabbit holding onto the plunger gun was hanging on for dear life as it was pulled higher into the skies, with his cheeks flapping in the wind in absolute terror! The flying doll quickly grasped onto the plunger's wooden handle as he attempted to pull it's mighty suction off him. As he did so, he would dive down near the enemy rabbits, with several bystanders being completely obliterated by the flying rabbit like a wrecking ball towards concrete bricks! Only after some mighty heaves was Geno finally able to pull the plunger off him, as he dropped it and the poor screaming rabbit down into the river below.

Yet free as he may be, Geno would soon encounter resistance in the air. Several small flocks of strange birds began to swoop down on him with their mighty talons at speeds even faster than his! The flying wooden doll had to struggle in avoiding them all, despite one being successful in tapping his beanie-covered head with it's powerful beak. Despite the minor disorientation, he quickly dispatched it with a beam to it's face. But the flock continued to keep on coming! With every bird that Geno dispatched, two would come out of nowhere to take it's place. He attempts to fly as fast as he could to disorient the birds that were quickly gaining on him, but they were just far too fixated on him to give up.

And even they weren't the least of his problems as he heard a mechanical bellow coming from below.



"HERE I COOOOOOME!"

One of the grey robots - a giant of a bot - took aim at Geno as he revved up his massive mini-gun. Quickly realizing the situation, Geno attempted to full throttle as it fired his huge gun at him. This robot was way more accurate in his shots, almost clipping through the wooden puppet as it struggled to keep away from his line of sight. He would zip up and down in an attempt to loose his sense of concentration, one much easier said then done due to the fact that he faced a robot who knew nothing of the concept of tiredness. Even the birds continued their pursuit, although several were caught within the spray of bullets and were immediately killed upon impact. If Geno continued flying at this rate, he'll run out of fuel and energy long before the battle can end.

He had to continue flying low before hiding behind a large brick block, while being just inches away from being ripped apart by the giant bot's rapid-fire bullets. Geno quickly caught his breath as he hears the firing ceasing, followed by a bellowing laugh from the robo-heavy.

"YOU CANNOT HIDE COWARD! FIGHT LIKE BIG BOT!"

Geno had to do something quickly if he wanted to get out of this sticky situation. He can attempt to fire at the massive bot with his hand-cannon, but compared to the star-gun he had prior before the flash this cannon would be worth little to pierce through its thick steel-exterior. And what's worse, it's heavy mechanical footsteps seemed to be getting slowly closer to where he is. He needs something with a bigger punch to even stand a chance against it. That's when he suddenly noticed one of the rabbits mindlessly playing with a yo-yo as if he had no idea of what's happening around him!

The earphones he wore were probably the major culprit as well.

And below him was an unusually large black and orange sniper-rifle like weapon just laying there. That weapon looked as if it sported a great amount of power behind it - maybe enough to take down that huge robot. Aiming his hand cannon, Geno blasted away the distracted rabbit as he grabbed the rifle. He quickly made sure to see if it was loaded (it was) and popped out of the brick cover to aim it straight at it's head. Before the Heavy could fire his minigun, he found himself getting headshot by the sniper rifle before exploding into a fireball of steel shrapnel falling everywhere. Geno would pause momentarily before looking down at the rifle.

"Not bad..." he thought to himself, "This should help tremendously."

Yet as the star warrior attempted to aim it at another group of bots, he noticed that the weapon wasn't firing. Upon further inspection, it appeared that the weapon was out of ammo. Geno must've used the last shot in it's arsenal. Lucky for him. Tossing it aside, Geno attempts to further scout the surrounding area while avoiding enemy fire. How long will he be able to last in these stressful conditions?

@Stekkmen@DracoLunaris@thedman

Blazermate knew a fight was inevitable, and she was ready for it. What she wasn't ready for however, was Bowser taking her off his shoulders as she got into a combat stance and protected her and kirby from the blocks that were flying towards them. "Oooh, so chivalrous~." Blazermate said after Bowser used his shell to block the projectiles coming for her and kirby. She noticed fairly quickly however that Michael wasn't with her and Kirby in Bowser's arms. As Bowser took a relatively unrefined defensive stance, Blazermate got back into her combat stance and started to fight what was near Bowser, swapping her healing beam onto either Bowser or Michael, depending who was injured at the time. And while that did occupy her left arm, she had her pigtails and right hand to fight with, and these enemies were fairly... weak if she was honest.

There were lots and lots of weak points on these things she could see with her scan ability, most of them being on the head. Add in how slow these things were, so slow that even a newbi medabot could read and react to their movements, and the only thing that actually made them a threat was the sheer amount of them. Jumping and using her pigtails like swinging maces, she smacked the approaching goombas right on their head, squishing them flat from the force much to her... bewilderment. It was like these things acted more on TV show logic than actual physics, this world sure was strange!

It probably helped that a lot of these creatures had an exceptionally hard time dealing with any attack from above, what with their weak points being their heads and whatnot. You'd think these things would wear hard hats or something to make up for this weakness, but nope. What was even sadder was just how little damage these things seemed to do when they impacted Bowser, just a little bit of a healing beam on him and he was good as new. Especially with Blazermate smacking the occasional shell back through the enemy ranks. Sure when she hit one a naked turtle in boxer shorts came out and tried to attack her, but their lack of mobility or ability to attack airborne targets was pretty bad. And what was even worse, was that these shells, when smacked back, would devastate the enemy lines until they hit a wall or the very occasional minion that could smack them back. If these were Bowser's minions, it was no wonder why he seemed to hold herself and the others in such high regard if all he had was simple cannon fodder like these things.

Although she did muse if she didn't know about or inferred about how these things were weak in the head and had no way to fight an airborne opponent, these things could maybe pose a threat. But then again, most medabots, even the new ones, wouldn't really have much difficulty with enemies of this level. "Bowser, buddy, you should probably get up. These things aren't even a threat." She said, casually smacking a koopa shell back with one pigtail while smacking the koopa that came out of the shell with her other pigtail. And apparently the Centurion, sensing battle, didn't find these things all that much of a problem either. Although he seemed to have a little more difficulty than Blazermate with them, what with him attacking them from below instead of above.

While the creatures that were apparently Bowser's minions didn't look very threatening to Michael, he had to admit that there was a lot of them. Bowser's speech had gotten their attention, but it seems the attempt to shake off their brainwashing hadn't worked, as the horde of creatures was now massing to attack them. As soon as the bricks had started flying, he had ducked behind Bowser's shell, using it as cover. Unfortunately for him, Bowser had a different idea, and turned around. This helped the others protect themselves from the barrage of projectiles, but it also left him completely exposed.

Before he could voice his displeasure, a brick promptly slammed into him, letting out a cry of pain. He lost his grip on Bowser, and fell to the ground. Catching himself before he landed, he sprinted to get behind the big guy, being pelted with a few more bricks for his trouble. When he got into cover, he let out a grunt of pain, and took a moment to rub his new bruises. Fortunately, Blazermate's healing powers seemed to fix his injuries, at least to the point that he wasn't in as much pain as before. Looking up, he could see that a good number of the minions were ramming themselves into Bowser, preventing him from getting up.

"Alright, I got you covered." He said in response to Bowser's order. Taking out his Mini Uzi, he moved to the side, getting a clear view of the enemies currently swarming the Koopa King. He fired a targeted spray of bullets at the enemies, hopefully killing enough of them to allow Bowser to stand back up.

---

Death followed along with everybody else as they began to move. He was planning on staying with the group that were going down the middle path but that was when he noticed the Courier taking a path to the left which looked rather treacherous. Originally, Death didn’t have any interest in following the man into the canyon, well, until Zer0 entered as well. Having some interest in finding out more about this metallic creature, Death followed after them.

He walked through the canyon, noticing the height of the walls rose higher and higher the deeper he moved through. After a short while, he encountered a large boulder blocking the path. Death searched the boulder for a way past and could only find one, up and over. He gripped onto the surface of the boulder, traversing it with little difficulty and dropping down on the other side. That was when he noticed Zer0 and the Courier a little further down the canyon, facing off against a group of monsters rushing at the pair. Death quickly moved to aid them in this battle, grasping his two scythes in each hand, he prepared to swing them at the first enemy that got close enough.

Bowser's attempt to pacify the weird mushrooms and turtles proved to be unsuccessful, the horde instantly charging their position though some members stood back and started hurling bricks. Ratchet didn't take cover behind Bowser like the others, instead rolling and jumping out of he way avoiding the initial onslaught of bricks. But avoiding the bricks left him open to a full body tackle from one of the goombas, the force of the blow sending Ratchet rolling onto the ground. He let out a grunt as he picked himself and a smacked the goomba dead in the face with his wrench knocking it away.

Ratchet went wide eyed as s turtle shell was hurtling at him, he narrowly avoided it by rolling to the side letting it continue to slide on past him. Looking back to when the shell had come from he saw more of them careening towards him, he struck one of them hoping to send it back towards the goomba horde but the moment his wrench hit the hard green shell the turtle hiding inside popped out and tried to grab him. "Gah!" Even though the koopa was still knocked away Ratchet was still caught off guard. "Ok so don't touch the shells." He said to himself as he continued to roll and jump out of the way of the shell barrage. Though it seemed most of the attackers were focused on Bowser the bigger more threatening target.

Looking past Bowser Ratchet saw a stack of goombas all piled onto one another making a tower. Swinging his wrench and swatting away Goombas and koopas as he slowly made his way closer to the approaching goomba tower. Taking a second to aim Ratchet threw his wrench at the second lowest goomba hoping to topple the tower and hopefully disrupt the flow of enemies for a brief moment. There were too many enemies around Ratchet for him to be able to safely wait for his wrench to boomerang back to him, so he'd put a lot of hope into that shot, but now he was forced to back away and dodge as more goombas and koopas hurled themselves at him.

As combat commenced, Din hid behind the shadow of Bowser's shell to avoid getting hit by the flying bricks and shells. Cowering, Din merely watched as the other started fighting back. Even Blazermate, who was occupied with healing Kirby, contributed by hitting the goombas and koopas that made it around Bowser. In fact, Din noticed Blazermate hitting the creatures on the tops of their heads, which seemed unusually effective. Overcome with a sense of guilt and powerlessness, Din didn't want to be a damsel in distress any longer. Summoning up her courage, she tried striking a goomba on the top of its head with her rod, and the same thing happened: the creature flattened instantly. Realizing that she could contribute in a meaningful way, she continued helping by striking the encroaching creatures.

Suddenly, Din felt a strange, warm, inspiring glow deep in her chest, reminding her of her artistic craft. Despite the idea seeming absurd, Din put her arms over her head and arched her back. Suddenly, she stamped her feet and clapped her hands, causing the golden rings she wore on her limbs to jingle. She began dancing behind Bowser, making sure to dodge any incoming shells and bricks. A golden-red energy emanated from her, filling her allies with strength and vigor, and providing some minor healing. This was what she was meant for.

As they approached the crossroads Linkle saw the courier, Zer0, and Death break away and head down the most dangerous looking path. That worried her a little, but then again those three managed to look right at home in the middle of dusty danger. She was sure she'd see them again. Besides, they would find more people if they went down more than one path.

That being said, she was glad no one in the group had decided to brave the forest. Nothing good had ever happened to her in a forest, and there was no way they wouldn't somehow get turned around.

As they headed down the main road Linkle slowly let herself fall behind the others, distracted by the man in black that only the Centurion and Tora had seen fit to engage with. That wasn't right, leaving the first person they met just swinging there. Besides, it was the solemn duty of every hero to talk with every random stranger they happened to meet on their journey. Everyone would be safe for a few minutes without her so long as Bowser was there, especially since he seemed so confident he could talk those monsters around. She broke off and followed after Tora.

The Master of Masters wasn't what she expected. You expected a person called the Master of Masters to be some old, wizened sage sort of guy not...this. On the other hand him just being around gave a lot of weight to what he had to say, and a few key words of his had stirred up questions deep in her heart.

But what most intrigued her was the quest he was sending them on.

She leaned down to try and see into that hood of his, but all she got was darkness. Poor guy, she didn't blame him for the hood with that kind of injury. "Who took your eye? Was it the Light? I'll keep a look out for it, but it would really help if I knew where to look."

Suddenly the sounds of battle began to echo down from the path ahead. Linkle looked over, seeing how obviously diplomacy had failed. Bowser was now on the warpath, Kirby was still hurt, and Din hadn't stopped. She kept looking nervously between the fight and the Master of Masters. The Centurion sprinted off and she started speaking very quickly. "I'm also worried about my cuckoos and the Master Sword and any hints you have about where secret caves are and I'm sorry I have to go we can talk later guys we're coming!

With that she pulled the crossbows out of her boots and set off after the Centurion at top speed, hoping that The Master wasn't one of the cryptic mysterious types that disappeared suddenly when you weren't looking.

As they reached the battle up the Centurion and her split up. He charged deep into the enemy lines to put an end to that shell assault, and after getting a feel of the situation Linkle headed for the isolated Ratchet. Sure Bowser was toppled, but he also had the support of Blazemate, Din, and Michel, who was firing away with the same sort of weapon the Courier had shot Bowser with to much greater effect (she would have to ask about those because they made a really satisfying bang like a miniature bomb). Ratchet, though, was not only by himself but had just thrown away his only weapon.

As she ran she held out one crossbow in front of her and held down the trigger. A rapid fire thiwp thiwp thiwp thiwp thiwp thiwp thiwp filled the air as bolts poured from the end of her crossbow like a water jug to clear those that had survived Ratchet's path or managed to her behind him. What monsters she hit were knocked up into the air, juggled forward on a perpetual stream of bolts until a large black and gold cloud of monsters had formed in front of her, dropping to the ground in a heap as she reached Ratchet and leaped into the air. She flipped over his head, spinning to fire all around them as she sailed over his head, before landing in front of him and sweeping the area in front of her with her bows to hopefully take the pressure off the lombax.

As the Courier descended down his chosen pathway, he couldn’t help but notice that another was following not too far behind. Someone had taken up his invitation to clear out the most dangerous area. To his muted surprise, it was the bizarre and mysterious Zer0, who previously had paid him no mind. Well, if this sword wielding weird-talking… Person? Wanted to tag along, the Courier was all too happy to have a pardner. It reminded him of the good ol’ days, blazin’ the trails of the Mojave with a posse of friends at his side. Wistfully, memory drifted back to those he was happy to join him in his mission to track down the guy who shot him in the head and return the favor.

Cass was the most like him. Fiery temper to match her fiery hair. Caravan owner, so she knew the trails as well as he did. Hard drinker. Hard partier. One hell of a mean right hook. Once he made the mistake of taking her whiskey when he thought she wasn’t looking. Never made that mistake again.

Boone was as good a pardner as you could ever ask for. If you needed someone to have your back, Boone was there before you even brought up the notion. Too bad about his wife. The sullen bastard wasn’t exactly a great conversationalist either. 6 was happy when he managed to talk Boone out of his insane deathwish. It wasn’t like they never fought, though. Damn Boone was always stealing his kills! Too good a sniper.

Veronica was probably the most unusual companion 6 ever found. Damn, that was saying something! A member of the Brotherhood of Steel that wanted to help people? To share their technology? 6 always figured he’d sooner meet a deathclaw that wanted to give out hugs and cookies. Plus, she was a bundle of sunshine and joy in a bleak death-filled world. Did she ever find a good girlfriend?

Raul. Man, what could you say about that old cuss? Not many ghouls around who were alive before the war, and then there was Raul in all his Mexican glory. Bastard always talked to 6 like he was an idiot, practically oozing with sarcasm. But it was never with bad intention. Raul was a lot like a father to the group. Well, maybe a grandfather. The cool grandfather who didn’t give any fucks anymore. Yeah, that was Raul.

Then there was Arcade. The Courier had to admit, it wasn’t easy to convince Arcade to come along. While Boone said very little but made every word meaningful, Arcade spoke a lot while saying absolutely nothing. 6 couldn’t blame the guy. It was natural to try to avoid talking about himself when he came from the Enclave. Most folks, they wouldn’t take too kindly to that… Yet still Arcade was the most giving, altruistic man 6 had met. Kept him patched up whenever the Courier got in over his head, too.

Lily, there was a sad one. Old super mutant, driven crazy and senile from too much use of stealth boys. 6 never did have the heart to tell her that he wasn’t actually her grandson. Right up until the very end… Poor Lily.

Rex, there was a good boy if there ever was one. 6 had met many dogs in his travels, but Rex was his very first cyberdog. Old World technology was pretty amazing, keeping a police dog alive for over two-hundred years like that. It was heartbreaking when he left Rex back at the Big Empty to live a new life with his puppies.

ED-E, there was a story. Too much story, in fact. The growing canyon walls brought that adorable little robot to mind more than any other of his old travelling pardners, thanks in no big part to the Lonesome Road. ED-E was his only companion through it all. Dammit, no robot would ever make him feel as much as ED-E did.

So the question arose from the depths of the Courier’s mind, if he was to be traveling with these people now, would they be anything like his old posse? Would Zer0 remind him of Boone, or ED-E, or Lily? No, not very likely. All his companions before were so vastly different from one another, and so was this… Guy? This was likely the birth of an entirely new dynamic. The Courier welcomed it. Since liberating Vegas, things had grown too lonely again. Everyone parted ways to do their own thing and he was left wandering the dusty trails again… Alone.

A loud sound jerked the Courier out of his own mind and back into reality. A large boulder had rolled down from behind, coming to a stop and blocking off the duo’s entry. Ambush! Immediately afterward a plethora of unfamiliar, alien creatures emerged in droves to attack with crude weapons. The whole scene, the whole situation, reminded him of the Marked Men in the Divide. He;d show them exactly what he showed the Marked Men: never fuck with a Wasteland mailman!

There was just one itsy bitsy little problem. 6 could feel how weak he was, still drained from his control of that shining torchlight in the sky. The only skills he could properly process that were helpful in the situation were his guns! Not only that, all his cybernetic implants were still offline, so those weren’t going to be of any help. Damn. Well, it’d have to be enough. He made due with less before.

”I reckon it’s time to start killin’ things. Just gotta set the mood!” As the horde approached, the Courier casually lifted up his Pip-Boy and twisted a knob, activating the radio setting and turning it to a familiar station. To his genuine surprise, music began to blare. ”Is Radio New Vegas in range? Huh.”

Shrugging off the massive coincidence, the Courier held up his shotgun, ready to pepper into the incoming crowd, only to be surprised as Death rushed past him, dual scythes in hand, and began to carve a bloody swathe into the crowd of green creatures. ”Awright! We got ourselves a good ol’ posse going on here! YEEHAW!” 6 charged forward, blasting with his shotgun to the stragglers around Death. BOOM! BOOM! Two shots of eight used, and two of the goblins fell from being peppered in the gut, a few more nearby bloodied from the stray pellets.

“GRAAAAK!” A particularly large kobold charged the Courier with a crude spear. 6 narrowly dodged to the side, the spear tearing into the coattail of his duster. With his off hand, the Wastelander brought up his magnum to the kobold’s face, mere inches away, and pulled the trigger. Bits and skull and brain matter splattered back, marking another goblin-like creature attacking with knives. Not bothering to mourn its fellow, it charged in to stab the Courier, who backpeddled quick as he could to avoid the blade.
”I got spurrrrs that jingle jangle jingle!” he sang with each step. BANG! His magnum fired into the bokoblin’s face, punctuated by the song’s backup singers. ”As I go ridin’ merrily aloooong!” BOOM! Another shotgun blast fired off, this one barely aimed at any particular monstrous humanoid, and more of a general crowd control shot. Pellets peppered into the swarming monsters as they advanced on him. None of them dropped, but a large number of them received injuries and drew their attention away from Death, and onto the Courier.

”Uh-oh,” he muttered. ”Might’ve gotten a bit carried aw-OW! JESUS FUCK!” A spear, thrown from one of the goblins high up, had caught 6 unawares, slicing into his left shoulder. The creature’s aim was off, but it was a deep enough wound that he couldn’t reliably use that arm to shoot. At least, not without a little extra focus.

V.A.T.S. activated.

Time slowed to a crawl, the marching horde becoming more akin to an army of snails. Even the flurry that was Death moved at a rate only barely noticeable. The Courier focused his attention on the goblin that had speared him. It was unarmed now, no longer a threat until it got another spear. The more pressing concern was the incoming horde. How many shots could he queue up? Five shells left in his shotgun, four in his magnum, but only enough focus to get off three or four, then he’d need to take cover and catch his breath. That’d be no good.

Refocusing, the Courier took note of the upper canyon walls. The creatures had to move that boulder behind them somehow, meaning there was likely more loose boulders. There, a large slab in the wall near some spear chuckers, cracked. Shotgun chance to hit, 92%. Practically guaranteed, but the pellets would be too spread out, not effective. Magnum chance to hit. 49%. Practically a coin toss, but all the force would be in one spot. The Courier queued up 4 shots.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The first struck true, deepening the cracks.The second struck a bit off the side, while the third hit a goblin in the arm instead of the intended target. Well, at least he wouldn’t be throwing spears anymore. BANG! The final bullet hit its target. The Courier’s perceptions slowed down, catching time with the rest of the world around him. Adrenaline pumped through his heart at an alarming rate, his limbs ached and his breath was short. He didn’t even notice how the crack spread wider and wider… But the rock refused to fall.

“GRAKHAK!” A bokoblin up above laughed at the Courier, amused at his apparent failure to hit any of them. The creature armed itself with a spear, took a step forward, and… Its newly added weight was enough. “AAAAACK?!” Stone crumbled, rock split, and a small piece of the canyon wall fell with a mighty BOOM! Nearly a dozen kobolds, goblins, and bokoblins were crushed by falling debris. Others went tumbling aside, or fell over from the shaking ground. The Courier, praising his luck, ducked behind his new cover and fumbled with an inhaler from his pack.

The chemical inside filled his lungs, creating an instant effect. The Courier’s heart eased up, he gained control over his limbs once again, and his pupils shrank down to small pinpricks as the high hit him. Jet was one hell of a drug. After a few seconds, he jumped back out, ready to continue the fight.

”YEEHAW!” he shouted, no longer feeling the pain in his arm, at least for now. ”Though I may have done some foolin’, this is why I never fell!” he sang, in tune with the music.

---

Walking through the canyon reminded Zer0 of fighting through Hero's Pass. Big old rock wall filled with holes. The only difference, really, was that he wasn't having to fight through elite Hyperion soldiers and bots. And there was no Jack, no Warrior, waiting for him at the end.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Zer0 didn't flinch as the boulder fell behind them, blocking off the easy escape route.

As if he would run. Ha! And it looked like the merc agreed! Perfect. It would be just like old times.

It was then that a figure rushed past directly at the incoming horde. The one called Death. Zer0 was reminded briefly of Kreig, that Psycho. If Death was anything like his name implied, though, it would be helpful. While he and the merc engaged in close contact, however, Zer0 wouldn't just sit and wait.

Pulling out the Sniper he started moving, aiming, zeroing in. He moved erratically, fully aware that other long range fighters would be targeting him. Hyperion Hawks always had. But they were just a sample of himself, in the end, with their crappy ass cloaking tech that couldn't even hide their movements.

Pathetic.

Just like all of these... What were they anyways?

Oh, right. They were dead.

With a mighty bang, click, bang, click Zero began firing, headshots and headshots being his target. All the time moving, his movements overly sure.

This was his element. Ambush? Please. You don't ambush Zer0, he ambushes you.

They did, however, get to attack back. They always did. A stray spear clipped his side, throwing off his aim for just a moment. That wouldn't do. Carefully planting a shot at the offender's head he continued his onslaught until there were no more enemies above.

And if anything was dumb enough to get closer... Well, there was a reason he was called the Assassin.

Though the Master of Masters did not go into much detail at the outset, a number of the odd things he did say caused Tora to perk up in fascination. Exactly how did this stranger know of the newcomers already? Why did he use the future tense? And how much did he really know about this world? The Nopon itched to start asking questions, and his new friend Linkle did in fact get a few out after she approached, but before the cloaked one could respond the battle in the area ahead reached a fever pitch. After belting out a few parting words that made Tora wonder if Agoston listened at all, the Centurion hurtled off to join the assault. He even called to Tora in particular as he took off, which struck the oval mechanic with indecision. How could he just leave this clearly important person, who seemed to have the answers that the team so woefully lacked, behind? Yet he could not abandon his new friends. Linkle following suit turned out to be the last straw, and saying, “Sorry mister Master, must help allies. Will be back right after!” he ran after her as fast as his short legs could carry him.

He arrived to the action just as Agoston walloped an impaled koopa with his gauntlet and Ratchet chucked his wrench into the goomba stack. While the struck goomba in question fell out of the tower, dazed by the blow, the one atop it simply jumped up and then landed on the bottom one. The stack, one goomba shorter but otherwise not much worse for wear, loomed over the now-unarmed Lombax, ready to smash him flat. Linkle came to the rescue, vaulting over her comrade and peppering all nearby foes with her bolts. Their tips bounced off koopa shells but pierced goombas with ease, and her wide-ranging assault swept up a great many of the mooks on the left side of the fight.

To the right, meanwhile, the tides appeared to have turned. Though forced on the defensive initially, Bowser's team came out blazing once those the king koopa defended kicked it into gear. Wherever possible Blazermate attempted to use the enemies' own shells against them, and while a portion of the incoming foes merely sidestepped them, her efforts bore more than a little fruit. Michael's bursts of uzi fire, meanwhile, managed to deal a smattering of lethal damage to the approaching waves, with one notable side effect: whenever his rounds his a koopa's shell, they cracked it like an egg, crippling both the target's defense and offense.

Tora watched the battle unfold, nerves afire and full of panic. His role, to protect his allies, was the same as ever, but how would he even approach this fight? Never in his life had he gone into a scrap without Poppi by his side; without her or her channeled ether, he was no Driver at all, just a Nopon with an inert shield. However, as he stood by, he felt a strange feeling coming over him. Warm, comforting, invigorating, it flowed from the red-haired lady as she engaged in a beautiful dance. The masterful spectacle, infused with wonderful magic, made him feel stronger. He didn't exactly understand it, but he wasn't complaining. “Mehmeh? What is nice feeling? Doing of friend Din-Din?” Though his heart still pounded, he felt more at peace, and paradoxically, ready to fight. “Many thanks!” he cried, and the Nopon charged forward.

He ran into the action, grabbing his shield off his back as he did, and with his first action rammed it into a goomba's face. The creature, already wounded by a few of Michael's bullets, fell over dead, and the sight filled Tora with confidence. “Bowser can go on offensive,” he declared proudly. “Leave defense to Tora!” He moved forward again, hunkering down to block goomba charges or incoming koopa shells when needed, until he reached the spot where Ratchet's wrench landed. “Here!” he called, scooping it up with his free wing and tossing it the Lombax's way.

The next instant, a hammer landed smack-dab on Tora's head, cracking a lens in his goggles but otherwise bouncing off near-harmlessly. “Ow, meh!” He turned back around to see two koopas, slightly larger and far more armored, atop a row of floating bricks two levels above the ground. Their eyes shone a more vivid scarlet, and as Tora watched, one pulled another hammer from thin air. “Oh? Helmet turtles look little stronger than others. Not saying much though, meh.” He refocused on a goomba in front of him, staggered as it charged his shield full-force, then bashed it with a sideswipe to send it rolling into the path of the Centurion. If the warrior had by now realized that a jump on one of them could net him extra height, he could use it to get up to the plateau that the remaining koopas stood atop and complete his destruction of the foe's backlines.

The fighting, brief but fierce, appeared to have depleted the enemy force. A good amount of koopas and goombas remained, but not nearly the horde that first assaulted Bowser and his crew. With their minions out of the way, however, the Hammer Brothers began their attack in earnest, tossing hammer after hammer after hammer at the intruders below them.

As he defended, Tora noticed for the first time a great number of little sprites floating around. They drifted about, occasionally making turns, like bugs, but inside the small clouds of rainbow energy Tora could see images of the very goombas and koopas his allies slew, free from the red eyes and burnt body that signified the true enemy's influence. Spirits, Tora remembered, the word uttered by the Master of Masters. These things carried some significance, but until this fight concluded, Tora needed to focus on the job at hand, even if it seemed close to completion.

---

“W-w-wait!” the stranger cried as Tora scrambled off. “I was supposed to blow your mind with the splendor of my knowledge! Don't tell me my wisdom's not worth it to you!?” He watched the Nopon join the battle and heaved a sigh. “Ah, well.”

He held out a hand, and in a burst of golden light a weapon appeared. Walking around the mushroom toward the back, he turned it over in his hands. “Hey, not bad. Guy's a little gearhead.” As he reached the rear of his mushroom, he could hear labored breathing full of malice. He stared into the malevolent crimson eyes of the source, a young woman chained to the oversized fungus by manacles of ice. “Aw, why the long face?” asked he. “Big things are afoot. I don't know if you can hear me, missy, but if this doesn't work, I apologize in advance. 'Course, I'm darn sure it will, but I thought I'd say so anyway, y'know? Heheheh...here goes.”

After stopping in front of her, he couched his brand-new weapon, then drove its point into her heart. The tip did not sink in, catching instead on something before it could pierce her chest, and from the point of impact a radiant, searing light issued. As the cloaked man applied more pressure, it built up steadily, until the char began to melt away. An unnatural cry tore itself from the captive, as much from the wound as her throat. The Master of Masters could not restrain a guttural shout of his own, and with all his strength, he veered the weapon to the side. A wave purest white exploded outward, striking both of them blind.

“Geez louise, what a lightshow!” joked the Master a moment later, picking himself up off the ground where he'd fallen. When his vision cleared, he discovered the young lady before him slumped over against the mushroom, stunned but unbound and free of Galeem's control. He pumped both fists in elation. “Hell yeah, just as planned! Another point for the Master. Ahem.” Holding the weapon behind his back, he leaned down to offer Minako his other hand, as she seemed to be waking up. “Y'alright there? No red eyes, no creepy trance, no urge to kill me? Well I mean, no more than most people's? I really don't wanna fight you again.”

---

For a moment it appeared, despite the initiative of 6 and Zer0, that they would be overrun by the unwashed horde. Then the Horseman appeared, hurdling over the boulder that trapped his allies to join the fight. His wicked bladed cleaved through the enemy, gristly flesh and and primitive weapons alike. While his lack of defense forced him to dodge or intercept incoming strikes with his own, these actions slowed him down only marginally, and Death served as an effective front line. Zer0 and 6 put their marksmanship to use, downing stray foes that managed to get past Death and then turning their attention to the ranged fighters above.

With each kill, the dead goblin, kobold, or bokoblin faded away. Bodies and weapons turned to ash as the glares of their eyes went out, but they did leave something behind. Bright little motes of light, shining all the colors of the rainbow, flew from where the corpses fell to meander through the air. If spared a moment, any of the fighters could see the faces of their slain prey contained within.

The Courier's gambit proved to be a turning point in the battle. When he caused the mighty hunk of rock tumbled from high up, he not only removed a ledge from which the enemy might attack but also splattered a platoon of hapless mooks beneath it, scattering their ash and spirits in every direction. Following the boulder's earth-shaking impact, there came a brief moment of silence. Then, with cries of fear, most of the kobolds turned tail. The goblins and bokoblins did not appear so inclined to flee, but the pink-tinged creatures hastened to stuff themselves into the little holes and tunnels that pockmarked the canyon walls, pausing only to make that the candlelights atop their heads would not be snuffed out. Their former allies bore an air of uncertainty, evidently realizing that these intruders were more than they could chew.

Nevertheless, they continued their onslaught. The left-over ranged attackers resumed firing, without a change in tactics, and the melee fighters rushed forward to face Death. With the crowd cleared out, the winding canyon path could be seen, starting to go upward once again as it hooked back toward the right. However, the lack of enemies also allowed the heroes to hear a devious giggle echoing through the fissure. From the very top of the cliff, on the left, side, a spiked ball was thrown over. It dropped like a rock until it smacked into the ground between Zer0 and 6, where it it lay beeping for a second and a half before it exploded.

---

The sparking, flaming lower half of the robo-heavy teetered over and collapsed as pieces of its torso rolled in all directions. Geno's lucky discover had netted him a definitive victory, but he found himself denied even a moment's respite. His sudden descent moments ago managed to shake his pursuing kargarocs, but the keen-eyed raptors did not stay shook for long. Their shadows slid across the landscape, forcing the possessed toy to hunker down lest he be mobbed where his aerial mobility wouldn't save him.

As he hid, he caught a glimpse of odd, multicolored motes floating around. They darted around like fireflies at dusk, localized around the spots where enemies fell. Within the shimmering prismatic sprites, Geno could see the faces of ziggies, kargarocs, and even the heavy robot. Before he could get a particularly good look, however, the ground began to rumble. From over a nearby heap of metal and mangled machines a sturdy-looking vehicle emerged, chugging its way into the pit stop that was home to the blocks Geno used for cover. It proceeded up a stunt ramp onto higher ground, headed back toward the Ancient Garden. Before it could roll onto the grass, however, two great brutes burst through a wall of junk. One after another, the smashers leaped at the tank and slammed it with their enormous blocks, creating deep dents in the exterior. It continued to soldier onward, but the smashers were far from over. The hammered away in turn, pounding the tank again and again until flames burst from its ruined chassis. With a final 'BWUH' they shoulder-charged the thing, pushing it off the high ground to tumble down into the pit stop, where it came to a rest on its side.

The smashers beat their chests in triumph, their cries echoed by the smaller rabbids whose charge they led. Together the invading squad ran off to fight more robots, narrowly missing Geno in the process. They took cover behind scrap blocks -compressed karts, on closer inspection- in the area just beyond, the scrap-piled raceway. However, both types of robots lay in wait to shoot at them, and a drawn-out firefight ensued. Rather than run through the mayhem, the Smashers waited behind cover, advancing steadily. However, one took a stray shot and, overcome with sudden rage, charged into the open to get at the perpetrator. The machines' fire fixated on it immediately, but each hit enraged the smasher further; after pulverizing the first omnic, he thundered over to a soldier robot and beat it to bits, then made for a group of scout robots while crushing smaller omnics underfoot. He went down a few seconds later, though having taken a number of the enemies with him.

Omnic reinforcements approached from the other end of the pit stop behind Geno, using the side route to flank the troupe of rabbids. At the same time another bunch of ziggies crossed the bridge from Ancient Gardens to the high ground overlooking the pit stop, poised to put a wrench in the flankers' plans. If Geno meant to escape, seconds awaited for him to do so before the factions converged on his location. The kargarocs seemed to have moved on for the moment, a couple headed toward Peach's castle.