---

The metal legs of the winged greaves made a loud marching clack noise as they turned around to have the fat penguin face the group. His flipper was still on his stomach and his beak was opening and closing with his labored breaths. His red circular eyes glowed in the blackness of the chamber as he stared at the heroes. He answered Frisk as though out of breath, “Mario’s soul?...and hat? You mean to tell me…you came all the way here…for that?”

The bird guffawed once and his laugh turned into a harsh cough and hack until spilling from his mouth was a black gunk. He vomited twice. Black ooze slapped all over the floor before his metal feet. His flipper rose from his belly to his mouth to wipe away a stray black strand of drool. “I don’t have long…” he muttered, thinking aloud. “You must have bested many of my men to get here…I suppose that’s good…it means you can kill whatever’s inside of me.”

His stomach groaned loudly, and then billowed and sank as though something were moving within it. Dedede dropped his flipper and began to sweat, it returning to his moving gut. “I…I made a mistake…He was…he was supposed to give me power…I traded Mario’s things for power…so I could beat Kirby…”

“A man…or…maybe it was a monster…he was wearing a black cloak, so I couldn’t tell. I gave those things to him.”

King Dedede’s body suddenly expanded into a large round sphere. His eyes grew to the size of saucers before the metal greaves tipped over, dumping the massive penguin ball onto his back. The king went rolling backwards across the floor until his back struck the wall. Flapping his flippers in a panic, King Dedede exclaimed, “What did he do to me!? HELP! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! I DON’T-URK!”

King Dedede’s head snapped back and mouth stretched wide as a black tower rose from his throat. His mouth stretched wider than normal as the black gunk rose into the air before it bent over in an arch. As the blackness started to plunge toward the floor, it sprouted two arm-like limbs. Its limbs rested on the floor and between its arms opened a large eye. The eye widened, and its body shook, as the darkness that filled the room was soon swallowed in a radiate white light that might have temporarily blinded the heroes if they stared. As the light faded in brightness, the dark energy continued to rise like purple and white flames in the chamber. The boss had revealed itself and beneath it lay Naija’s lost greaves. The boss’s eye darted between the five heroes before it starburst-eye shrank threateningly.

A black surge of magic began to rise beneath Dedede’s hijacked body, and beneath the feet of Banjo, the floor began to crater. A great gravity pulled on the bear and bird, threatening to crush them into the very floor (Gravitonne).





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.

Frisk looked to Cloud first when he made his comment about the gnorcs' condition and how they couldn't be cured. ...Wait, what were gnorcs? Wait, now wasn't a good time to wonder about that! Cloud had drawn his sword, and Dedede was answering Frisk. Why did Dedede seem surprised that they came here for the hat and soul? They felt sorry for the bird when he threw up the black goo. Ewww...

Frisk blinked at Dedede's words, about how he didn't have long. They could feel their SOUL become heavier when Dedede mentioned that they could kill the thing inside him. The child remained silent as he spoke, remaining unmoving (but clearly disturbed) when Dedede's stomach began moving on its own, like there was something alive. So...Dedede gave away the soul and hat to a man...or a monster in a dark cloak. And Frisk easily could tell that Dedede didn't mean a Mt. Ebott monster when he said the word.

They didn't look away as Dedede's body suddenly expanded into a ball. Frisk's hands covered their mouth as they watched Dedede practically scream for help. It didn't take long for the black gunk to escape, while making it look like they just broke Dedede's neck. This gunk formed into something with only one eye before a bright light appeared. They covered their eyes as the bright flash of white light appeared. They were used to almost being blinded in such a manner. When the light was gone, they lowered their hand and saw that the room was now darker.

Of course, it made a move to attack Banjo and Kazooie somehow. Noting how the creature only had one eye, Frisk decided to give the commands to their friend,

"Someone help Banjo Kazooie if you can! Everyone else, aim for the eye! I'm going to CHECK on something,"

They wanted to check on Dedede's SOUL. The culmination of their very being...

Their hand hovered over the ACT button, pressed it, and Frisk pressed the CHECK button. They were going to CHECK on the boss.

The Doctrine of Passing came up as the bloated form of King Dedede turned to face them and didn't waver, the barrel of the auto rifle ready to unleash the entirety of it's clip on the penguin the moment he turned hostile. However, he instead choose to engage the group in conversation. Or something like it at least, as it was basically just the fat bastard talking before he collapsed. As he screamed for help, Alicia lined up her shot with his head, beginning to squeeze the trigger. However, before the first bullet could be fired, the shadow consumed the penguin. "Sonova-" Leaping back, she peppers the boss with auto rifle fire even as it sets its gaze upon the bear and bird.

Reloading after expending the magazine on the creature, she swaps out for her 4th Horseman shotgun as Frisk calls out for someone to help Banjo-Kazooie and the rest to engage the monster in front of them and attack the eye. "Iron!" The Ghost materializes and zooms over towards where the edge of the gravity enhancing effect is before scanning it. The effect took several seconds, with the Iron Companion shelled ghost looking over the data as it came in. It seemed to be some kind of elemental attack, which, as far as he could tell, had no way to cut the energy other than waiting it out and hoping it didn't kill the bear and bird duo or putting down the caster, which in this case was the evil monster in front of him and his Guardian.

"I can find no way to stop this short of putting that beast down." Grunting, the Striker Titan obliges the information, unloading all five shots from the heavy caliber shotgun into the monster's eye. She wasn't about to let anyone get killed on her watch.

The look of devious contemplation that came over Wario said everything they needed to know even before sliding every square inch of his fat ass oversized posterior down the high-stacked mound of bullion to give them his answer--they had him convinced. Despite the doubts everyone seemed to have earlier on, the amount of trouble the team had been saved versus how much they’d been in up to that point spoke volumes of Frisk’s overtly diplomatic approach to every situation--no matter how hopeless--and that they were able to persuade a likely adversary to ally with them in to coming battle (especially after what they pulled with him at the start of the mission) only further testified to that. Even amongst heroes, it doesn’t seem to occur to most just how beneficial it is--for all--to have a charismatic, rational, and DETERMINED pacifist around to do greater good where it can be done. It’s not as if Banjo had never attempted diplomacy himself, but on account of his mouthy companion and a myriad of contrivedly absurd misunderstandings, it never quite did pan out that way for the two. To say the least, it was nice to see that change for once.

While Wario was eager to lend his talents and abilities, even if it was motivated solely by the prospect of personal gain, his brother(?) didn’t appear to share his enthusiasm. One would think Waluigi had a little more fighting spirit than he was showing here, considering it was no secret to anyone that he would routinely and obstinately re-submit his candidacy for Smash numerous time a year in light of repeated rejections. Given the cartoonish, embarrassing, and arguably uncharacteristic show of stubborn cowardice on display, it was hard to believe that this was the same guy… unless, of course, the new Dedede truly was that frightening. With the farcical antics concluded, the party began their march down the last flight of stairs to the final boss.

A familiar theme queued as they took their first steps into the deep, winding well of pitch vapor that gradually thickened on the way down until it all but replaced the oxygen in the air. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to actually present itself as a prevalent environmental hazard. However, they did all still have their gas masks (a spare for Alicia) from mission start that they could re-equip on a moment's notice should that change and the need arise for “Hey, Banjo, you hear that? The music's changed again,” Kazooie remarked to the non-diegetic sound that seemingly only they were aware of.

“Yep, I recognize it,” Banjo acknowledged. “Usually, something bad happens when it does. I have a particularly bad feeling about it this time.” He wasn't the only one. Everyone in attendance seemed visibly and understandably nervous or on edge--especially Wario, who seemed like he was already starting to regret his decision to accompany the party. This inspired a justifiable concern in Frisk about the fat man’s willingness to participate that forced a call for change in their formation that would ensure it.

“Relax, Gas Bag. You're immortal, remember?” Kazooie casually reminded in an almost mocking manner just how little the villain had in the way of excuses. Banjo simply smiled and gave him a firm, prodding, but non-aggressive pat on the back with to urge him forward. They eventually arrived at a vacuous, unlit chamber (at which point the music would stop) to find the King himself brought low with sickness, supported only by a set of stolen armor.

“Hmmm… I don’t know about this, guys,” expressed Banjo with misgivings about fighting one with potentially terminal illness. “He doesn't look so good. We should probably get him a doctor.” After having made her own observations, Alicia whispered her thoughts to the duo.

“I'm not sure which one is ‘Fatso’ anymore,” Kazooie replied to the stalwart, whose stoicism made it difficult to tell if she was joking. “This guy can't even stand up on his own.”

“Come to think of it, aren't those the boots that fish lady asked us to bring back for her?”

“You thinking what I'm thinking?”

“Beating a helpless sick patient while he's weak so we can steal back from him and try them on?”

“Something like that.”

“Then no.”

“Just asking”

Unconvinced that the penguin's condition could be reversed, he had his weapon readily brandished in anticipation of a battle, but respectfully waited for Frisk to attempt a peaceful resolution before acting. It took the child practically nothing to get Dedede to confess to everything. If anything, he seemed ready to talk; he was desperate. His compliance did him sadly little good, however, for it was apparent by then that no one there could help him. His agonized cries for mercy from a nightmarish episode of impending body horror were cut short by the sound of snapping vertebrae as his mouth was forcibly stretched open to proportions unfathomable even for him. Kazooie recoiled at the sight with slightly puffed cheeks and a wing covering her mouth, choking back the urge to vomit, while Banjo simply squinted his eyes shut and averted his gaze as he sucked air through gritted teeth.

A blinding flash--from which the bear and bird shielded their eyes (and each other’s)--accompanied the emergence of a dark, oily, cycloptic ectoplasm from the king’s gruesomely contorted form. It promptly began sizing up the group before training its sight on the duo and picking them as its first target. The boss’s eye constricted, and the unseen force of threefold gravity bore down on them, forcing Banjo onto all four points and leaving a concave dent in the floor where he stood. In a prime position to do little else until they regained full mobility, they opted to fire two sets of three-round egg volleys at the creature’s in the hopes that stunning, blinding, or distracting it would do the trick, but this assumed that the magic was concentration based. Either way, if this proved successful, Banjo would begin rushing to close the gap to get within melee range, where him and Kazooie where more effective. Talon Trot could theoretically get them there faster, but the start-up and end lag on it was too great to risk standing still in front of and enemy whose pattern they had yet to discern for. For now, standard mobility would suffice while they took care to look out for any attacks they could actually dodge, in the event they had to.

Cloud’s mako-green eyes widened in fright when he watched King Dedede suddenly expand like a balloon. His mouth fell open when bursting out of the penguin was the black gunk that had been spewed from his beak moments before. It took on an animate form and blinded the room with its light. Cloud released his sword to raise the back of his hand in a fist to veil his eyes from the light. As the light started to fade, the entire chamber that was once black with darkness was gleaming in a purple and white aura. Cloud gazed over his shoulder to check the door. The entire room was encased in the boss’s aura.

“Shit,” Cloud hissed under his breath. Frisk was doing their CHECK thing, Alicia was already attacking, and the creature’s eye passed over them all to target Banjo and Kazooie. The floor caved beneath them, forcing Banjo to his paws. He then overheard Frisk scream for them to aim for the eye. Of course. The eyes were always the most vulnerable organ. Cloud’s grip tightened on his sword and he took a single step to prepare for an attack when he felt a stream of adrenaline passing through his veins.

The swordsman stopped and lowered his sword. He turned one of his hands palm-up and stared at his hand curiously. This was it. The final boss. They were at the end of their journey. The mystery of Mario’s hat and soul was solved—it wasn’t there. Naija’s missing greaves were right before them being guarded by the very infection that had been possessing King Dedede all this time. Cloud clenched his fist and it shook as the blonde blades of his hair started to rise. He could feel the power starting to rise, and rather than attack, he decided to Defend. He lifted the hilt of his sword, aiming the tip of the blade at the floor, and guarded. It seemed like a wasted opportunity, but he could feel a great power rising within him and he wanted to conserve his energy on allowing it to build.

Level: Two
Day/Time: Day Three, Morning
Location: Boo's Castle
Akira @Tenma Tendo, Heavy @ONL, Slayer @Lugubrious
Word Count: 267
EXP: ////////// (3/20)

---

---

'WOAH.'

Six's eyes widened behind her bangs once her attack managed to blow off a chunk of King Boo's body. That was way different from what she expected to do, thinking she'd only make the ghostly monarch vulnerable to physical attacks. Boy, she was far off, but that was way better. The child took a few steps back to charge up another wave of dark magic, watching the others get their share of attacks. While they were able to fight faster than her, she was focusing on dealing a good bit of damage to make things easier for the rest.

Seeing Akira use a torch to roast King Boo over a black fire made Six think of the ghost as a marshmallow, earning a short chuckle. Actually, roasted marshmallows sounded good right then- the child quickly shook the thought out of her head. It wasn't the time to start getting hungry, and she wasnt sure if she could eat a spirit. Either way, Six had to supress her hunger till after the mission, so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt someone. Or worse...

Curiously watching Heavy fire his minigun where her attack had hit King Boo, Six was quickly approached by Slayer, who explained that her powers can defeat the spectre in a single blow in the right moment. Understanding the vampire's plan, she nodded in reply, turning her focus on only building up her magic. Things seemed to be going well for the team, yet Six felt the need to keep her guard up in case of a surprise attack, which she hoped wasnt the case.

---

Wario and Waluigi had been cowering in the stairwell that when the boss fog took over the room, they weren’t inside of it. Wario blinked when he saw a wall of purple and white flames barring their path. Shrugging his shoulders, he grinned extra big beneath his jagged mustache. “Oh well! ‘Guess he’s not out problem anymore,” he said in relief. He then turned, clenching his hands into fists as his out-of-shape ass started jogging up the stairs. Grinning greedily, he panted, “Now to get that loot!” Waluigi quickly followed behind him.

Meanwhile, in the boss room, Frisks’s check returned the results:






While the white upside-down monster heart was the most prominent, beneath it was a much smaller heart. It was red and growing faint.

The silent boss’s eye squinted through the barrage the team hailed on it. Although it made no sound, even with its single eye, its anger was seen. Its eye began to gleam and energy could be seen visibly rushing into it on a white halo. DevilThunda…Suddenly firing from its eye was a white and blue beam. When it struck the floor, it melted the very stone that comprised it, reducing it to magma. The cyclops turned its head, directing the beam in a horizontal path that swept the room from left to right. The team would have to evade or be liquefied in its heat.




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.

Frisk had noticed that Wario and Waluigi had still been in the staircase despite the marching order, but they weren't too worried about those two for now. They focused on their check, and they let out a gasp at the sight of the SOULs. Dedede was still in there, but he was fading! It didn't take long for Frisk to figure that since the monster SOUL was prominent, it meant that it was in control, which means that Dedede could potentially take back control provided he stayed DETERMINED.

Frisk easily recalled their battle against Omega Flowey, and Asriel while he was in his God Form, and Frisk knew what to do.

They needed to call out to Dedede, they needed to help Dedede's SOUL fight back against the Monster SOUL. Maybe they can save Dedede that way!

Of course there were their allies to consider as well...

Maybe if they called too, then Dedede will feel that support and fight back as well. Of course, there was Alicia's and Cloud's words regarding the virus as well. Would they even listen to Frisk and try their method? The child doubted it, but it still couldn't hurt to communicate with them, right?

After the scan was complete, the monster proceeded to attack. Frisk's eyes widened and they let out a "WOAH!" as they immediately moved backwards to avoid the beam of light that moved horizontally across the floor.

They then called to everyone, "Guys! The Monster SOUL is in control, but Dedede's is still in there! Try calling to him! Don't let his SOUL fade!"

They then demonstrated. They looked to the monster and they called "King Dedede! I know you're still in there! You can fight back against the monster, I know you can! STAY DETERMINED!"

Frisk really hoped the others would listen and try. The chance of ending this peacefully and with Dedede saved seems like a long shot, but it's still worth trying in the child's eyes.

---

Slayer's overhead heel attack was devastating to the Ghostly Monarch of the Boos, shattering his form where it connected and once more decreasing the flow of power and undoing some of it, though not as much as before. Before King Boo could attempt a counter attack though, Akira caused a flame of some form of magic to engulf him, causing the spirit to wail in pain and keeping him from moving and faltering his focus as a result, slowing the build of power significantly. Heavy, however, carried the most bang as his attack blasted into his new weakpoint, causing the monarch to fade slightly. "What?! Already?! NO! I won't be bested!"

However, based on how haggard the monarch looked, he wouldn't have much choice if the next series of attacks landed with enough focus and power.

---

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


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

P.O.: Slayer, Akira, Heavy, and Six.

The beam attack caught the Titan offguard, but she dodged it skillfully, rolling forwards and under it to avoid being vaporized on the spot before swapping from the Doctrine of Passing to the Fourth Horseman and pumping three rounds into the eye from a decent range for the shotgun. She resumed strafing it, pumping the last two rounds into it's right arm to try and unbalance it before moving back some to reload. As she was sliding the third shell in, Frisk called for them to try and encourage the former penguin. He just doesn't get it, does he?

Finishing her reloading, Alicia swaps back to the Doctrine and opens fire again. "Frisk, this isn't something you can beat out like that. It's an infection, a medical condition that, at this time, we just don't have a cure for. You're putting yourself and us at risk with this." This time she wouldn't stand down and give into his pacifism. Not with the lives of her teammates on the line and an infection of this magnitude on the loose. They had to contain it and destroy it or risk all of Kirby's home falling to the infection.

"Alicia is right, Frisk. This is an unnecessary risk, especially with Banjo and Kazooie already under attack. Please, don't add to the danger." The Striker pulled her grenade from the air once more and tossed it right in front of the monster, hoping the flash would free the bear and bird up some to move around and no longer be such an easy target.

"Are you willing to risk an entire world to save one corrupt ruler, Frisk? Are you willing to put the denizens of Dreamland at risk of all being infected by this virus and subjecting them all to a loss of identity and whatever else will happen to them?"

One after another, the heroes' attacks devastated King Boo, leaving the specter scarcely able to maintain cohesion. The sight invoked subdued laughter from Slayer. ”Hohoho! Serves you right for fighting with a gimmick rather than your strength and wits! Where I come from, every warrior of renown is able to instantly kill an enemy under the right circumstances, but the impracticality makes those moves terribly rare.” Once again, the vampire began to approach King Boo. “This ridiculous fight will end without you having landed a single blow on any one of us! Now, my friends, let us see this charlatan off. Hrrah!”

Having entered his effective range, Slayer lashed out with a volley of simple blows, nothing more spectacular than punches thrown with such speed and power as to be enveloped in purple flame. He rained the burning punches upon his adversary, striking again and again in quick succession, fast enough that the strikes ran together into a single continuous attack. He ended the fierce barrage with a hammerfist from above, and stepped back to allow King Boo's next assailant room to work.

As the torch's flame died out from excessive use, Akira rolled out from under King Boo's form, mostly to ensure that he wouldn't get hit by Six or Heavy's attack. And while he did want to see what the others had in store for the ghostly being, the phantom thief couldn't spend time gawked and needed to instead prepare for what would likely be the lead up final blow. With his persona, the gentleman thief Arsene, perched behind him with his arms crossed, Arika sprinted to the closest wall. Since his little torch idea had been coming along pretty well, a lot better than he thought it would, he wasn't going to stop there. Keeping King Boo from moving around would be key to finishing this as quickly as possible.

Much like the first time, the teen grabbed two torches, one in each hand. His gaze then moved back to his Persona, who hadn't said a word since the mission began.
"You ready? We're going full blast to finish this." The gentleman thief let out a low chuckle at Akira's comment, the closest thing to a smile adorning to demonic being's face.
"But of course, I told you from day one that our power is fueled by your anger and commitment. It's a shame you expected me to go soft on you. Now enough talk, tear that excuse for a shadow piece by piece!" The raven haired boy could only roll his eyes as his gruesome companion, especially when the later had a deeper version of his own voice. It wasn't even their job this time to end it after all, they were the support, so no tearing needed.
"Let's go." Akira didn't feel the need to correct him though as he was already off, running back towards King Boo with a purpose. His eyes slowly shifted to Slayer as he released a series punches followed by an attack from above.

As the dandy man took a step back, the phantom thief along with his persona were quick to take his place, using the momentum from his sprint to push himself up into the air. With little wasted time, the masked boy pulled his mask off his face and let it rest on the top of his head before pointing both torches down on the ghost king and let out the spell.
"Eiha!" He shouted, the blue flame shifting to black and expanding down almost like a lampshade, hoping to keep King Boo still for his comrades. The force had been so strong that it managed to keep Akira airborne as he balanced on the torches in his hands.

They were winning. They were actually winning the fight! There wasn't any Announcer yelling through speakers to comment on each team's progress in the match, but Heavy was certain that his team was on the winning side. It looked like it for sure, with the various members of the team excecuting their attacks with such beauty Heavy had only seen in the finest of dirty mercenaries before. And if they were on the winning side, that meant victory would be within their grasp!

Heavy let up his volley of bullets to let Slayer first commence his attacks after what the big Russian would call a good old fashion taunting, then watched Akira fly up in the air and cast his magic with the torches, a wide grin planted on his face. "Hahaha! Ghost King is weak! You are no match for us, King Boo!" Heavy shouted with great confidence and an even greater Russian accent, taking that as his cue to enter the fray once more. And so Heavy spun up his beloved Sasha again and advanced on their weakened foe.

Heavy fired his minigun into the gaping hole in the Ghost King, advancing with heavy steps as he smiled with a morbid happiness to be killing their enemy. With the first volley gone, Heavy looked up at the spectral despot and taunted him. "Cry some more!" The Russian juggernaut shouted at the top of his lungs, opening another volley into the ghost's wound and finishing his attack with another pair of taunt and fire. "Cry like the baby ghost you are!" before he mimicked the cry of a baby "Weeeeeeeeeeeh! Waaaaaaaaaaah!" and of course, a maniacal laughter "Hahahahaha!"

With the encumbering effect of the gravity spell relieved, Banjo set off in a dead run towards the creature, both to continue providing a distraction and to get him and Kazooie closer. Banjo may have been slower on his own feet than Kazooie’s, but no farther than they were away from the boss, they should still be able get in the monster's face in time to make an honest move against it. Ideally, they would have been able to scoop up (and possibly use) the now hostless winged greaves, but with the boss readying its next attack, evasive action demanded their focus. With a choice between retrieving the armor and defeating the boss, the former could stand to wait a little longer.

Originally, they intended to simply pummel away at the creature as they were able until it went down--as they usually do--but the results of Frisk’s mysterious analysis method opened up a few possibilities. All the talk abouts SOULS was a tad morbid and confusing, but what mattered was that the king could still be saved, which by itself was worth hazarding. Of course, that didn’t stop the Pacifist and the Titan from picking a bad time to debate their morals, par for the course. Alicia exclaimed that it was a problem that couldn’t simply be dealt with by force (exactly what she was doing, ironically, but in a different sense), but if Dedede really was still alive, it was worth entertaining the possibility that she was wrong. However, the duo wouldn’t do that by TALKING the virus out of him. They had what they considered a slightly better idea.

While Alicia shot at the boss on one side, the bear and breegull would take to the other, taking care to dodge the sweeping laser as they made their approach. However, if the Titan succeeded in throwing it off-balance, that could cause it fall one way or another and alter the beam’s angle, so Banjo would (have to) attempt to dive over or under it accordingly. In the same motion, the duo would land into a roll towards the monster’s other free arm in an effort to barrel into it and knock out its other point of balance. If it worked, Banjo would try to grab the creature by that arm at the “wrist”, wrapping his own around it as tightly as he could manage as he began to pull backwards in the hopes of physically extracting the parasitic amorphea. If the other arm was knocked out as well, he would attempt the same with both, clenching one under each armpit. Kazooie started to vigorously flap her wings to assist with the likely strenuous effort. As long of a shot as it seemed, it was probably the best idea any of them had at the moment, given the circumstances, so they would (and possibly could) do it on their own if they had to… but wouldn’t mind a little help.

Damn it Frisk! Cloud thought. He could hear their passionate shouting. They wanted them to save King Dedede. He was still alive according to their weird scanning power. The ex-SOLDIER tanked the beam that passed across the ground, his Butterfly Edge turning red briefly before it started to cool. It had been just enough to push him over the edge. His blonde hair rose on a blazing energy that erupted under his feet. His mako-green eyes gleamed with power as he felt it rushing through his every vein and invigorated his soul. Cloud closed his eyes, baring his teeth, as his blonde blades continued to wave about. He only had one shot. He had been pushed to his limit and he had only one fucking shot! Frisk had to complicate the situation and tell them that King Dedede was still alive, but could they afford it? If he only attacked the black ooze would it be enough? How do they know that it just wouldn’t come back? They had to kill him. It was going to be hard for the kid to understand but they had to! The worst part was he had told the kid that he had had their back. Cloud felt so dirty going back on everything he had told them, but he had to agree with Alicia. For the safety of the others, this had to end!

Turning his blade until it was held aloft before him, clutched in a two-hand grip, Cloud opened his eyes and his brows rose when he saw Banjo and Kazooie putting themselves in danger. They had the beast by the wrist and was trying to pull it? Were they trying to extract it from Dedede?

This is crazy, Cloud thought. They were all crazy and he was crazy for changing his mind.

“Frisk!” Cloud shouted, his eyes shrinking fiercely as his grip tightened on his blade. “You better not make me regret this!”

Resting his sword upon his shoulder, Cloud vigorously swung his free arm as his sprinted. He ran in a half-circle around the creature. He would have to attack the thing at an angle so as to not cut down King Dedede.

“Everyone out of my way!” Cloud beastly exclaimed. It was the rush that he was getting from his limit break that was begging to be unleashed. He approached the slime’s head from the side as Alicia continued to provide suppressive fire. Lowering his sword from his shoulder, the edge sparked across the floor as it dragged. With all of his strength, Cloud swung it upwards in an arc, which carried his body off the floor. He ascended several feet above the creature before he then brought the blade down. Cloud descended over the blob’s head, his blade gleaming with power [Braver]. He couldn’t help but scream angrily. This was their only chance!

---

The creature’s head shook as it was pummeled by Alicia’s fire. The flash bomb dropped before its massive eye had gone off before it, causing its head to rear back and pupil to shrink as tears dripped from its stinging retina. When the bear latched onto its arm, it would feel like jello within his paws, giving and squishing. It was slippery and difficult to get a firm grip on, but their attempted tugging had been enough to draw its attention. As it blinked the white glare from its eye, its ocular rolled over to Banjo and Kazooie, capturing their reflection within its pupil. Magic surged from beneath the creature once more and before its eye, a gargantuan spherical rock the size of a boulder materialized as though emerging from its socket. The boulder was aimed at the bird, fire churning behind it as it was ready to be unleashed like a cannonball. The gleam above the creature’s head went unseen and Cloud’s attack passed cleanly through. The warrior had landed and there hadn’t been much of a result. It looked as though the limit break had had no affect on the creature until the boulder started to crack. A bright light caused the rock to shatter as it erupted from the cyclop’s eye. Light continued to shoot out of it like a geyser, causing its head to turn upward before the whole creature collapsed and went limp. Its body melted like liquid, turning into a pool that gradually cracked into pixels as it dissolved into the airspace.

King Dedede coughed and spat up a few black globs of gunk, and although he was no longer possessed by the virus, his sickly condition remained unchanged. He was back to his normal size. Dream Land residents were more resilient than average creatures being able to expand and deflate with their flexible exoskeletons. The penguin was lying on his back, a flipper resting upon his aching tummy as he panted in exhaustion.

“I’m…I’m alive,” he gasped in shock. He then sat up, peering over his belly at the heroes. “I thought you all would have killed me for sure.” He raised a flipper to his mouth as he still continued to cough black stuff. Flopping back in exhaustion, his tired eyes gazed back at the wall. “It appears that I’m still sick though.”

The purple battle aura faded into darkness, returning the room back into the circular chamber they had originally entered. The only thing that was different was that it was no longer filled to the brim with darkness. The entrance was no longer blocked, but the Butter Building still seemed impossible to escape with some of the floors above it having collapsed.

“You guys really roughed up my castle. I felt it shaking as you all made your way down here,” the penguin said with an irritable frown. “There’s another way out. I wouldn’t be able to call this place a castle (it was the Butter Building) if there wasn’t multiple secret exits.”

King Dedede extended a flipper toward the wall and just like every weird thing in Dream Land, the door exploded into existence, revealing a dark corridor with a light at the end. The light being the outside. “Go on get before I have you all thrown in the dungeon.”






















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.

After the child called to Dedede, the next words they heard were from Alicia and Iron. As they spoke they fired at the creature. Frisk was scared that the hail of bullets were going to kill Dedede, but it seems as though they were only suppressing it. But the words from Alicia seemed to stab them like an actual knife.

Alicia's words about the 'corrupt' ruler brought back a question posed to them in a nightmare...

"Do you think even the worst of people can change if they just tried?"

Frisk thought so. People are capable of changing for the better.

But...why did they feel a sudden sense of doubt crawl its way to their SOUL? Were they doing the right thing? Can Dedede be saved...?

Before Frisk could say anything in response though, their attention was drawn back to Banjo Kazooie as they grabbed the other side of the creature and started to pull. Frisk realized what they were doing. They were trying to pull the monster off of Dedede! They were trying to help!

They then someone call their name, and they turned their attention to Cloud. He was radiating light and he asked the child to make sure that he didn't come to regret this. They nodded in response. Of course, they hoped they wouldn't come to regret this either.

They watched as Cloud unleashed his...ultimate attack on the creature!

At first it was silent...but then the darkness of the monster as shattered and Dedede was left alive and in one piece!

He was still sick...but he was alive! The group had done it! They got rid of the monster of the virus without needing to kill Dedede!

With a more hopeful outlook, they listened as Dedede spoke while the dark aura faded and allowed the room to return to normal with the door appearing once more. After Dedede mentioned that he was still sick, Frisk spoke up, "Well, we can have someone give you medical attention. You can either come with us to meet with the doctors and see if they can help, or we can send medical help here later,"

They then looked to the group (pointedly, Alicia) and they mentioned "I'm sure with Dedede alive, whoever is working on the cure for the virus will have an easier time doing so with Dedede's help,"

When Dedede complained about how they roughed up the butter building, Frisk rubbed the back of their head somewhat sheepishly. They blinked at the mention of multiple secret exits. Just like with the Senior Bros, Dedede seemed willing to help them out and on their way.

It didn't take long for the penguin to shoo them out and threaten to throw them in the dungeon. Frisk nodded to the penguin. The child then stared at Alicia pointedly and with a look of mistrust. They then gestured towards the doorway and stated, "Ladies' first,"

Frisk didn't trust Alicia at this point. They had a feeling that if Alicia wanted to, she could easily shoot to kill Dedede despite the fact that they had won without the needless bloodshed.

---

Despite the ghastly Monarch's boasting and bragging, he was simply no match for the heroes and their onslaught while refusing to take any kind of offensive. As Slayer's blows connected, one after the other, the energy that he'd been storing for his strongest attack rapidly dissipated as he grew weaker, disappearing after the Gentleman Vampire's. Growling in anger, the specter's fist becomes enveloped in royal blue flame and he moves to deliver a powerful blow to the offender. "You'll pay for that, fang face!"

Before he can move, however, Akira's black flames envelope him again, searing him even as they immobilize the giant Boo. This allowed Heavy the opening he needed to deliver the heavy damage needed and as his final volley, as the monarch, even loosing, wasn't impressed by the Russian's taunts, did it's damage, he began to slowly fade, small bursts of royal blue flame appearing as each part of him became less clear.

"Guess I lose this year after all! Ah well, it was fun while it lasted! I'll get you next time, Mario wannabes!" and in a giant goute of royal blue flame, he was gone, defeated and sent back to whatever realm he'd come from. In his place hovered four flames, colored grey, red, orange, and yellow, instead, with an item for each hero inside. In the grey flame, to pair with the refined gentleman vampire Slayer, a seemingly innocuous cane, but upon pulling on the top, it revealed itself to be a sword disguised as a cane. Inside the red, meant for the mask wearing thief of hearts Akira, a dagger he would recognize from home, the Prisdagger. In the orange flame, meant for the Russian, minigun toting brute Heavy, a set of ballistic armor that he would find himself wearing as soon as he touched. And last, though certainly not least, the yellow flame that matched the raincoat of young Six, which contained a rod that, once in her hand, she found pulsed with both Dark Magic and a comforting presence, as if it was meant for her. Now all that was left, as the group claimed their prizes, was to exit the castle.

Upon doing so, they would find the train, their ride here in the first place, waiting for them to return them to Platform City.

---

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


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

P.O.: Slayer, Akira, Heavy, and Six.

And like that, with the enemy admitting defeat in the face of overwhelming odds and Soviet Firepower, their enemy had been defeated! Heavy released the trigger of his beloved Sasha as their victory dawned on him, watching as King Boo vanished into thin air. "Ahahaha! We have won! We crush enemy team...ghosts! We make good team!" Heavy cheered joyfully to his fellow comrades: Slayer, Akira and Six. They were not what he had expected, but they more than made him a very happy man. A victorious man!



But then he noticed the four remaining flames that floated up in the air. Were they more ghosts to for him crush? It didn't seem like it when they simply floated gently above the ground, each in their own colour. Heavy noticed that one of the flames was orange, his colour, and stepped forward to it. "What is this? Is it a hat?" Heavy questioned, reaching out to the flame seeing there was something in there. And as soon as he touched it, he braced himself for the warm touch of burning fire, but instead felt something completely differnt enveloping him. It wasn't flames, but instead clothes dressing into him. Ballistic armour, fitting for a man of his line of work. "Yes. I like this new armour."

With the fight over, it felt appropriate to return to the train they had arrived in. But Heavy was not done celebrating, as he smiled widely to his comrades of different worlds and strapped his Sasha on his back. "I think victory deserves a dance, no? Please join me, comrades!" As soon as Heavy had asked that, he started dancing an old-fashioned Russian folk dance that he had danced many times before, even with his foreign teammates in his own world. He continued to dance that way, singing the song to himself as he danced all the to the train.