Well… that’s disappointing, but it was to be expected. After all of her hard work to recollect them, Hat Kid found only two of her Time Pieces left on the vault floor where there should be an entire hoard of them. It was almost insulting; as if she was being mocked by her own bad luck. It might have felt that way, anyways, if not for her being lucky enough to find more than zero, in pleasant defiance of her expectations. The fact that they didn’t all fly out during the crash--despite the vault door being cracked ajar when she found it--was in itself miraculous, but it also invited an alarming new possibility that she couldn’t safely rule out. Come to think of it, if they did fly out during her descent, wouldn’t she have noticed? Wouldn’t someone have? She wouldn’t have made it this far otherwise! It was entirely likely (moreso even) that someone broke onto her ship during all the fighting and stole what they could carry before the conflict ended, exploiting the ship’s condition and the telltale nature of its arrival in the hopes of their theft being ruled out as incidental. Yes, she really is paranoid enough to suspect that, and for good reason. Assuming her suspicions were correct, this wouldn’t make the first time this has happened under her watch, minus the surmised attempt towards subtlety.

Regardless of how it happened, the result was all the same to Kid. It appeared that she would have another long adventure ahead of her, with the difficulty substantially dialed up. Taking into account that she wouldn’t be able to navigate the world near as easily without her ship in working order, nor would it be as easy to return to it if and when needed, she would have to carefully consider whatever options she had--like whether or not to take either of the Time Pieces with her on her journey. On one hand, it would be undeniably advantageous to have such a powerful insurance policy in her back pocket. On the other, it was also a dangerous amount of power to carry around, and could horrendously backfire in the absolute worst case if she wasn’t careful. She held one of the two leftover hourglasses in her hand and gazed at it pensively for several minutes while she silently deliberated on her course of action. It was a lot for the child to mull over for the no doubt little amount of time she would have to do so. Being spontaneously dropped headlong into a new world where many other worlds incompatibly ran together in spatial and existential disarray was already its own brand of profoundly frustrating--and even upsetting, for some--without being burdened with a repeat of her previous incident on top of it, which effectively made her indirectly responsible for exacerbating the dangers of the New World by inviting another to it. In a world like this, pseudo-magical trinkets with time altering capabilities were just asking to have their power abused if picked up by anyone else, so the onus fell on her to see to it that it would never come to that. The only question that remained for her at the moment was how she intended to go about doing that.

After coming to her decision, she walked out of the vault, making doubly sure to secure it shut behind her, and made her way into the only other room she could get into on minimal/auxiliary power; the kitchen. It was in even worse shape than the living room after the wreck. Almost none of what she left in the cabinets and drawers or on the countertops was still there. Various condiments, cookware, utensils, cutlery, (mostly) broken dishes, and one appliance (the microwave) littered just about every square foot of the kitchen floor, as well as a portion of the walls and ceiling--to which a few of the sharper objects and the splattered remains of unidentifiable fruits and vegetables were stuck. The fridge hung wide open with all of its visible contents ejected, a series of smears and stains betraying signs of steak, eggs, a partially eaten hock of what was probably ham, and a miniature cosmic horror on a bun making a round trip around the room before coming to a stop in pieces wherever they ended up.

Kid picked up a condensating carton of milk extracted from abducted cows, half empty from spilling, and downed what was left of it as she made her way over to the fridge. It was a little on the warmer side, but thankfully unspoiled (somehow). She tossed aside the now empty carton and pulled the fridge drawer fully open, stashing away the only unbroken bottle of what looked like (and very well could be) wine--a drink she DEFINITELY wasn’t old enough to have--and honed in on what she was actually in there for. She felt equal parts mild satisfaction and disappointment at finding but a single remaining day-old chocolate chip cookie sitting lonely on a plate where a small batch of them would otherwise be. She would take what she could get for now, but was grateful to get anything at all since she hadn’t had one in a long minute. Having now found everything she came back for (for the time being anyways), she shut the fridge behind her and jauntily made for the exit.

She climbed out onto the top of her ship (again, shutting the door behind her) when her attention went to the ranger girl--looking slightly shorter and… ‘ear-ier’ than before--at the edge of the ruined bridge calling to her. “Oh, hi there!” she returned, waving back at her. The girl complimented Kid on her diving skills (having apparently witnessed them) before inquiring as to the success of her search, to which she simply nodded in affirmation. Kid placed the cookie in her mouth to free both her hands, sprinted to the edge of the ship closest to the bridge, jumped to it in a long arc, dove, jumped again to correct her momentum, and ran up onto the ledge to take a seat next to the green clad huntress. She withdrew the cookie from her mouth and stared out into the distance of the Mushroom Kingdom sky in the midst of its transition into twilight and took a moment to savor this one period of respite she’d been granted since first she arrived.

After a few quiet seconds had passed, she prepared to bite into her well-earned treat, but hesitated as her eyes darted over to the ranger, who was the first person Hat Kid had met in this world, as well as the first to help her out in any way. Maybe it was the few too many wrongful (if understandable) accusations of selfishness subconsciously poking at her, or just the realization that some were simply more deserving of favor than others--specifically on account of their moral fiber. Either way, it felt more befitting of her to share what little she could than having it all to herself, so she snapped the slightly aged confection almost perfectly down the middle and handed one of the two halves to her new comrade.

Linkle was surprised that the girl had gone as far as to dive off the castle for the single cookie she was now content to give up half of. The absurdity of her acrobatic prowess she'd displayed to get it mixed together with the willingness to give half the prize away mixed together and elicited a giggle from the farm girls lips. Then again, a dive like that might not have been such a big deal for someone who could leap off of bare air like the Kid seemingly could. Linkle opened her mouth to tell her that she'd earned that, to go ahead and enjoy the whole thing, but before any words could come out a deep rumble from her gut cut her off completely. She hadn't had anything to eat all day, the only sustenance in her belly being the moat water that she'd swallowed when she'd been soaked, and her stomach strongly protested any more deprivation than it was already being put through.

With a hint of embarrassment she reached out and took half of the cookie. "Thanks. Cheers!" She tapped her half against the Kids and eagerly tossed it whole into her own mouth. It was a little stale, but still good and sweet and Linkle had always appreciated a little extra crunch in her food. She signed contently and leaned back against the railing. "That sure hit the spot. I hadn't even realized I was hungry. It's been a busy day, huh?" She said, staring out at the setting sun. "Oh." She said, quickly turning back. "I'm Linkle, Hero of Hyrule. Nice to meet ya for real. We didn't really have the time earlier, what with the dragon and everything."

The child was utterly oblivious to the idea of how strange her spent efforts must have looked from Linkle’s perspective, along with the fact that she was having milk and cookie in the sinfully wrong order, or that dinner was being served in the castle (which she had forgotten all about) where dessert (that might include better versions of those things) would likely follow the main courses. Though, unlike her treat, she didn’t feel at all obliged or compelled to share with the Hylian the actual nature of her investigation--one that was technically ongoing, as of now. It wasn’t as if she thought her untrustworthy; quite the opposite, really. In her mind, it was merely a case of ‘the fewer who know, the better,’ and in the case of Linkle, it was probably best to spare her any burden. Being a “Hero” is hard enough as is.

Her default expression of joyous contentment betrayed no such musings as she joined in a cookie toast (hehe) and bit halfway into her portion. Per usual, she didn’t bother divulging her real name (or any name, for that matter) when Linkle introduced herself proper. She simply returned the greeting with a nodding tip of her hat after she finished chewing her first bite. Just as she was about to take her next, she paused when Bowser Jr. excitedly burst through the castle doors issuing orders to the two girls and a gaggle of inattentive, over-equipped rabbit creatures to assist him with a task undoubtedly better suited for a qualified mechanic (no less than two of which he could find inside) than anyone he was attempting to commandeer. He clearly suffered some delusions regarding the chain of command, because last Kid had checked, she didn’t “work for” anyone; not since Subcon anyways. Besides, what would she know about automotive mechanics or engineering? She’s only ever built her own comfortably livable spaceship.

Linkle also watched with interest as Bowser in miniature sprinted past them. “Junior.” The word Bowser had asked in confusion at the appearance of his giant doppelganger. There was no mistake about who that kids dad was. “Cuter than I expected. I was thinking more spikes and fire.” She said to the Kid, pushing herself off the wall and starting to amble on after him. She would have even if he hadn’t demanded it. Stopping someone from going out there had been the whole reason she’d come out of the castle in the first place. “Head on back inside, I smelled dinner cooking. I’m gonna go make sure he doesn't get creamed out there. The rabbits are pretty safe, but there was this spooky robot.”

Linkle hadn’t even taken two steps before her rabbit ears perked up and she stopped short. “Wait.” she said, closing her eyes. That was weird. Was that...clangs of metal...smashing stone? Was someone in a fight? She cupped her hands around her real ears, leaning them toward the junkyard to listen intently, but rather than come in sharper they became more muffled. Was that not a battle happening out there? But then the only explanation was...

Her fears were confirmed as an unearthly wail rolled up over her, causing her to clamp her hands down over her ears in a vain attempt to keep the noise out. Hat Kid, while being similarly disoriented, was significantly less affected by the sudden sensory overload. Linkle didn’t even think to clamp the rabbit ears, the real source of her trouble that was absorbing every decibel. In so noticing this, Kid attempted to improvise by materializing her top hat and stuffing it on the ranger’s head to surround her bunny ears for use as a sound dampener. They then spun around to face back toward the moat. Something like that was impossible not to pinpoint.

There was another bridge over that way, poking up just behind the Kids ship. You could see it if you were trying to look over the ship, and upon it she could just vaughly make out two black figures locked in mortal combat. This is what Linkle’d been afraid of, what if Poppi had taken her walk right into that? She looked at them, then spun back to watch Junior moving further into the junk yard. She stomped her foot in frustration.

No, calm down. Think about what to do. What would Minako say if you ran around without thinking again. This was simple. You had someone marching, and a fighter in need of rescue. Those two might be shadows, but that just meant they were a heart away from being allies. Junior wasn’t likely to meet resistance soon and he had his own troops??? with him to support his march. So the answer was…

“We need to break up that fight.” She said urgently, turning back to the Kid. She might have been a Kid, but this Kid had fought dragon Bowser. “Who knows, the loser could be a ally waiting to happen and we’d never know ‘cause they’d be gone.” She quickly tapped her chest with her hands, cradling her heart, and from it pulled a bight pink heart to make her intentions clear.

As obvious as it already was, the vibrant heart Linkle summoned clued Kid in on what she was about to do. She recognized this power from earlier when the Courier used it to restore Ratchet, and prior to that when Tora did the same for her. Without further delay or protest, she nodded in agreement, threw the last bite of her cookie in her mouth, and took off posthaste alongside Linkle toward the Eastern bridge, utilizing her Sprint when/if necessary to keep pace with her. Even at top speed, it would take the larger part of a full minute to arrive at the scene; by which time the more feral, monstrous combatant will have taken his leave of the affair, disappearing over the side of the bridge. Kid peered over the side just to be sure, confirming the gangly ghoul’s retreat.

Linkle skidded to a halt right beside her, looking down into the clear water for any sign of the monster. But there was nothing, not even a splash or a ripple. “You think it’s under the bridge?” she asked, suddenly feeling very vulnerable with just the heart to defend herself. That needed to be gotten rid of. “Shout if you see something.” She said to the Kid as she made her way to the fallen warrior. The water’s visibility level made it readily apparent that he wasn’t hiding in it, so the child dove in and resurfaced under the bridge for further inspection to rule out their only blind spot.

The fallen warrior reminded Linkle of Agoston slightly with his heavy armor, but his was much more elaborate and glowed with magical energy. She threw the heart right at his exposed chin, hoping that the thing had at least some of the healing properties of the ones she was familiar with, before quickly drawing both bows and standing protectively over the man in case the monster came back. She could hear the Kid splashing around down there, but there hadn’t been a scream or a gnashing of teeth. At least not yet, so that had to be a good sign. ”All clear!” the child confirmed seconds later with conclusively negative findings.

Linkle let herself relax at that, but only a little. If it wasn’t clinging under the bridge then where in the world had it gone? “Okay, come on back up.” She said, letting out a relieved little laugh. “I can’t believe you went looking for it.” Not that she had much of an idea of what she was looking for at the risk of leaving herself helplessly waterborne against, but considering what she had dealt with today, coupled with her general demeanor, she was hardly afraid of it.

Donnie’s vision swam after that hit. His armor was, while powerful, still weakened, and his skull could only take so much trauma even with his chi to mitigate the damage. He was knocked flat on his rear from that attack, clutching his head. He had barely enough time to get to his feet when he was taken off-guard by a fast-moving purple object hitting him straight in the jaw.
He immediately got into a fighting stance before he noticed that the object didn’t seem to have done any damage. He couldn’t detect any obvious magical effect from it, but...come to think of it, where the hell was he? And why on Azeroth wasn’t he still on the Vindicaar? The last thing he remembered from before all this was Sargeras stabbing the planet with a humongous sword (the effects on the planet would probably keep him awake at night for several years) and the Vindicaar rapidly descending to Azeroth with Sargeras hauled off by the other Titans. Via some kind of magical tractor beam. And then some kind of bright light...

Dear gods, things had really escalated lately, hadn’t they?

In any event, he took stock of his surroundings and sheathed his handblades, only to see a young girl standing protectively next to him. He also heard a child shouting from under the bridge. “Hello there. You wouldn’t happen to know where I am, would you?” he asked.

“Hey.” Linkle said, lowering her weapons even more to placate someone that was obviously out of their depth for now. She’d never had to explain this before. That could be fun. “I’m Linkle. My friend down there is...huh, kid never gave me her name… well, that’s not important right now. Welcome to the war effort, brave hero!”

She pointed over to the light shining like a sun in the sky. “If you’re anything like us, the last thing you remember should be a bright light. That light came from the thing I’m pointing at, a monster called Galeem that tore up all our homes and stuck them together like this. He brainwashed you, me, everybody into working for him except for one small pink guy named Kirby. He used his power to free a bunch of us, and we’ve been moving forward all day fighting and freeing other people Galeem got his light in.”

Hat Kid returned dripping wet to the conversation just in time to hear Linkle’s abridged explanation of events, wringing out the sleeves and corners of her sweater while she listened. It was obvious that her comprehension and recollection might have been slightly short of complete, but all of the essential aspects of the story came through. It was the only explanation she had received since the beginning, and as concise of one as she could have asked for. Still, it did little to make the whole situation any less perplexing in its utterly divine randomness. She would have to inquire further amongst the others later if she cared to know more.

Linkle waved her arm out toward the big castle. “Long story short, we ended up freeing this entire castle and taking the opportunity to rest. Me and the Kid were outside and heard your fight, so we came over to free you with one of these.” Linkle pounded her and pulled out another friend heart to demonstrate the process. “But the guy you were fighting got away, so we weren't able to help him. Did I miss anything that happened inside?” she asked, turning back to the Kid.

The question prompted the child to search her memory for clarification as to what she meant. It suddenly occurred to her that Linkle wasn’t actually present for the boss battle, but the reason for the huntress’s preoccupation eluded her. Regardless, Kid filled her in on what took place, recapping in larger steps the same way Linkle had with the story of their abduction into the world. She explained that the team had fought a hard, somewhat lengthy battle with MegaDragonBowser, and in the process, freeing several captives, losing two of their comrades (who she didn’t know), and seizing the draconic tyrant’s spirit, which went to the Centurion. Beyond that, there wasn’t much more she could add, as she had incidentally made herself scarce during the final round (a fact she was sure to conveniently omit).

...Well then. It seemed Donnie had his work cut out for him this time. First Garrosh Hellscream, then Argus, and now this? It just kept escalating every ten minutes these days!

This Galeem had the power to stitch together different realities to form some kind of bizarre patchwork, and end entire universes in an instant. None of the gods that Azeroth had known had this kind of power. Oh, sure, they could create and destroy worlds, but manufacturing an entire reality out of the broken scraps of the multiverse--which they had just torn apart? This was something else.

“...I see.” Donnie said, after he had internalized all of this information. “At least our worlds are intact, somewhat. That means we might be able to put it back together. I suppose we should head back to the castle now.”

“I would, but I’ve got to make sure a little kid doesn't get himself hurt digging through piles of scrap metal over thataway.” Linkle said, indicating the farther bridge they had come from. “I don’t think I could face his dad if I let him get eaten by that weird monster you were fighting. I was gonna run back over there, but you two could head in. There’s a feast.”

“Sure thing,” the monk responded. Donnie snapped his fingers, and a strange carry-on backpack appeared out of nowhere. He stuck his entire arm into it and pulled out some kind of strange, clearly magical object...and with a poof of smoke, Donnie was now inside...a weird steampunk flying machine parked on the bridge? It was some sort of cross between a two-engined biplane and a helicopter.

“Hop in and we’ll head straight there!” Donnie said to Hat Kid. The engine wasn’t running yet, so he didn’t have to yell. How he managed to spontaneously materialize an airborne vehicle as he did was beyond her. Though with the right equipment, she can do (and has done) the exact same with a moped, so it wasn’t really for her to question. Although it did seem hilariously unnecessary to summon such a contraption to expedite what was, at most, a five minute walk (or a demonstrably shorter run) to the castle’s front door. Still, she couldn’t complain; it was still a free ride, and she was glad to take it. She hopped up into the passenger’s seat, gently lifted her hat from Linkle’s head, placed it back on her own, and lightly tapped on the side of the chassis to signal the pilot that he was clear for take-off.

Donnie ascended with the rotor and then pushed the throttle forward. The vehicle spun up and took off near-instantly, making its way to the castle in a matter of seconds. In hindsight, busting out the Dwarven Flying Machine was probably unnecessary when he could’ve just walked, but walking was for people who hadn’t just gotten back from liberating the entire universe from a demonic Titan’s grip only to find out that said universe had been made part of some cosmic asshat’s multiversal quilt. Yes, that technically put Hat Kid in the same category, but shut up.

The craft landed outside Peach’s Castle as Donnie unsummoned it and placed its orb back in the luggage, before dismissing the luggage itself. “Right, here we are. Now that everyone in the castle heard the noise, let’s go crash the feast,” Donnie said, striding towards the front door. He was always down for feasting. Living with Pandaren for ten years will do that to you. Hopefully they had some choice wines from the royal cellar too.

The kitchen was lively, but even with the addition of another half-dozen faces and the best efforts of a few copycat rabbids, the situation never devolved into chaos. Tora appreciated that; it allowed the whole affair to retain the comfortable, familiar air of a big community dinner instead of a mess-hall madhouse. Even with the typical Nopon appetite, he felt full after a while, and settled back on his chair to watch and listen. Poppi, content with the aromas she'd sample, busied herself collecting plates and debris to pile in the sink or toss in the trash—or to Kirby, as the case might be. No matter what came before him, the little guy seemed content to vacuum it down.

In the course of her efforts the Artificial Blade passed close to practically everyone present, and she committed each face to memory. These were her allies, her teammates. From the searing visage of the Centurion to the startling normality of Franklin to the effortless elegance of Din, each one left an impression. A normal blade knew from birth the tragedy of his or her existence; that when his or her driver perished, the inert nothingness of existence as a Core Crystal would persist until a new would-be driver came along, and awakened the blade anew, all memories swept away. Some, like Bridgid, knew such privilege that they could jot down their lifetimes into journals that would last the generations, but most would never have the slightest hint of the loves, hatreds, excitements, and sorrows that came before. Poppi did not envy them. Her memories of her Masterpon were precious, and if it came down to dying forever or living again with all thought of her friends erased, erasure seemed preferable. Fortunately, as a Blade of machinery and software, she need never know such a fate as what awaited Dromarch, Bridgid, Aegeon, Pandoria, Obrona, and so many others.

She came to Gene in due course, making sure to study his features especially since he was so knew. The situation might have been awkward if the young man didn't preoccupy himself with an introduction. Putting her new knowledge to good use, Poppi assured him, “Do not worry, mister Gene. Everyone vulnerable, and actions under baddypon influence not friends' fault. Now that Gene has come to senses, he can be Poppi's friend. That what matter.”

In a corner of the kitchen, a young man with a bad squint sat with a rather sardonic grin on his face. The meager dish of food he'd made for himself lay close by, barely picked at. Meals alone would not sustain him, and did not interest him. His eyes fell upon an approaching toad, an aged, sharply-dressed specimen. Toadsworth came to a stop in front of Henry, planted his cane, and said, “Pardon me sonny, but you look like you know your way 'round a tome or two. What do you say you lend a hand in the library, helping me sort out all these books from different worlds? Luigi left a couple spooks behind when he left, so it could be pretty exciting. Well? Coming?” He extended the mage a hand.

Meanwhile, Tora threw a dubious look at Centurion. Sure, the guy got a bit bigger and more incendiary, but already he seemed to be a little full of himself. Maybe it was for the better Tora didn't get that Megadragonbowser spirit; few Nopon could avoid giving in to temptation. Din spoke more sense. Even with the whole group, including a couple of the sturdiest tanks and deadliest fighters in the business, their foe had wiped a couple of them out with terrifying ease. Tora took a look around, taking in everyone present. Then again, with a group as big as this, they could split into two groups and neither team would be much smaller than the one that invaded Peach's Castle. “Meh, meh,” he piped up, not sure what to do. Coming up with a plan and setting it into motion was Rex's shtick, or perhaps Nia's, or Morag's. Leadership wasn't the inventor's responsibility.

Speaking of, that pipsqueak Bowser Jr was leading the way out of the kitchen, no doubt embarking on that repair mission his dad mentioned. With Ratchet and Blazermate busy teleporting bread and sorting out one facet of the transportation issue, the mite-sized miscreant would need someone who knew his way around a wrench. Plus, as nice as going to bed sounded, he didn't want to conk out right after a meal. Leaping to his stubby legs, Tora called, “Hold on, littlepon! Tora will help do it!” As he made tracks, his faithful companion plonked down her stack of plates into the sink and rushed after him, her metal legs clanging against the stone floor.

It was a beautiful evening outside. The sun's descent sent streaks of yellow and orange up from the horizon; it wouldn't be too long before it set. Still muddled by dinner, Tora made it to the bridge over the castle moat before he ran out of breath; Bowser Jr and his rabbid entourage would have to wait for the moment. Given what he'd seen, the Nopon didn't exactly trust the critters when it came to safety, but somehow they did seem to have a knack for cobbling contraptions together. Speak of the devil: an unusual noise seized his attention, and from the heavens came a bizarre flying machine, landing itself in front of the castle door before divulging Hat Kid and a stranger that seemed free from Galeem's influence. Tora would have said hello, but Linkle jogged up a second later, only marginally slower than Donnie's whole process of summoning, boarding, flying, de-boarding, and de-summoning. She looked as though she would continue after Junior, as opposed to joining the others inside, but Tora could not stop himself from accosting her.

From the vantage point of a Nopon, the changes made manifest on Linkle were particularly clear. “Meh meh mehmehmeh!?” he exclaimed, intrigued and delighted. “Linky-Linky got smaller, and sprouted long ears! Friend as cute as bunnit!” Still standing beside him, Poppi rolled her eyes. Seldom did her masterpon wear his idealization of cutesy appearances and behavior on his sleeve.

She crossed her arms. “For while there, Poppi almost forgot about major flaw. A shame Tora had to go and remind.”

Tora looked hurt. “Meh! Poppi so mean to Tora...” He averted his gaze and, spurred on by his invention's disapproval, continued after Junior in a hurry. In doing so, he totally forgot Donnie, who Poppi acknowledged with a bow. “Hello, new person. Poppi bid welcome to ragtag misfit force. Make proper introduction later. Goodbye!” With that, she went after Tora.

The two rendezvoused with Bowser's kid and his cohorts in the Scrapyard. Wreckage from various machines lay everywhere, much of it too comically large to be anything other than the cast-aside parts of some colossal clockwork, but a great many karts and bikes in various conditions could be found. None of them seemed broken up into too many little pieces, so with some scrounging, replacement, and retrofitting, repairs would be a good sight easier than a typical feat of engineering. Were racing machines really that easy to make in the Mushroom Kingdom?

An idea came to the Nopon as he looked among the available chassis: an innovative kart resembling a miniature boat on wheels. It could be a lot of fun. That said, there needed to be at least twenty karts in working order, and with daylight fading fast the mechanic team needed to put its collective pedal to the metal.

---

@Lugubrious @Dawnrider@Genon@DracoLunaris

---

Linkle leaned in curiously as the man ruffled through the rucksack he had conjured from this air, wondering where it was she could get one of those. After all, all the legends mentioned the hero carrying tons of different gear and specialized equipment, but never made any mention of where he stored it all save for the verses and verses dedicated to glass bottles. She was even more taken aback as the thing he pulled from it manged to conjure some sort of large machine on the bridge, almost as big as that robot that had been guarding the bridge. She leaned in again to admire the thing and ponder as to what it did, and the Kid took this opportunity to lift the top hat back from Linkle's head, letting her rabbit ears flop freely. The Kid at least seemed to know what this thing could do, and Linkle got a taste of it as the engine kicked into high gear and the machine was lifted off the ground by the rotating blades!

Linkle would have waved as they went off in their amazing flying machine if her hands weren't occupied holding her ears flat to the top of her head to drown out the noise the thing made. Those rabbit ears seemed to be the real problem. They were sharp of hearing. A little too sharp, maybe. A loud noise like that machine or the roar of that monster could be debilitating if it happened in the middle of the fight. Maybe Shadow Junpei had been doing her favor when he'd cut them down to size. Still, even that pain didn't manage to quell the wonder of seeing that thing lift off and shoot through the air toward the entrance of the castle like the majestic Cucco tossed from a roof.

She wondered if it was as fast as a falling Cucco too.

Grinning and dropped down into a sprinters position, whistled a loud sharp starting whistle, and took off at full speed after it.

---

"HA!" Linkle said, skidding to a stop just in view of the Kid and strange warrior on the path to the castle entrance. She bounced from one leg to the other in pride. The man had already had time to put away his flying machine by the time she had run up, but he hadn't made it inside yet. That, at least, counted for something in Linkle's eyes. She waved to the pair as they walked inside then, not even pausing to catch her breath, spun around and started making her way over to where Bowser Junior had gone. It wasn't a moment later that she spotted Tora and Poppi waiting on the bridge. Tora called out to her, complimenting her on her new ears. She rubbed one in unconscious pride and beamed at him. "They're actually a bit of a pain, but I'm coming into them. They were a friends, after all. Besides, it's more common than you'd think for the hero to end up turned into a rabbit when traveling another world. Of course that time it was a curse instead of a gift..."

If given the chance she would have regaled the two with the entire Legend of A Link to the Past, but unfortunately (or fortunately) the bridge crossing was way too short for even an abridged version of the story even when they had to slow down to navigate the holes and debris. "I wonder if we should fix it or finish knocking it down. The rabbits seem alright, but who knows what sort of ideas those robots might get when they come back to see a castle full of non-shadow people."

As they made it across Linkle could see Junior ordering around the rabbits as though they had always worked for him. It made her laugh. That kid seemed like a chip off the old block in more ways than one, but it didn't seem as though the rabbits were putting in as much hustle as they could as the daylight continued to wail. She looked around, cautiously searching for any scary red-eyed stalfos bot or freakish long armed monsters. The thought of being out here in the dark, where those things could be lurking around, made her nervous. She had a sudden vision of that robot suddenly bursting from one of the scrap piles as the last rays of light faded, then another, the another, the skeletal things shambling in an ever tightening circle around their small group as still more emerged from the scarp each bearing one of those guns that put clean holes in their fellows metal skin. The thought made her shudder.

She thought about just going ham on friend hearts and freeing all the rabbits, but thought better of that. After two times she could tell that the process of freeing someone with a heart left her slightly drained. Not in a tired way, but it was definitely something diminishing like using up her momentum to perform a big attack. It wasn't something you could just do whenever you wanted, so she decided on a different approach and stepped up beside Junior. "Here, let me try something. I've got some experience motivating unruly little guys."

Back home on the Cucco farm Linkle had discovered long ago that you had to think like a creature if you wanted to make it do what you wanted. It wasn't like goats, where you could scare them and throw them around and they'd be all docile in their corral. You could only push a Cucco so far before it reached its breaking point and when that happened it would kick, peck, and holler so loud you could swear the world was ending. In most cases it might as well have been, because then you'd hear the chorus of clucks and the beating of many wings. The sky would go black at the approach of the swarm and the perpetrator would be engulfed in a sea of white feathers. In most cases that would be the last you ever saw of that person. You couldn't order a Cucco. You had to get into its head.

Luckily a rabbit had already gotten into her head and in Linkle's estimation that was about the same.

She took off her white rabbid fur cloak and draped it over Junior, showing off the blazing green of her cloak. The same green that had adorned the previous leader of these rabbids. With a concentrated force of will she made her white ears stand all the way up and looked around for exactly what Junior had wanted to scavenge from this rubble. She couldn't see any of the carts she was familiar with laying around, but she did see a few things with wheels that had already been ripped from the rubble by them. They were strange, reminding her more of that flying machine the warrior had pulled from nowhere than a horse drawn cart, just without the spinning bits. It dawned on her that this might be the same sort of machine, just for land travel instead of air. That was actually really smart. They'd be able to get anywhere in no time if these things moved as fast as that. So she set her sights on a set of wheels sticking out of a large scarp pile and let out a loud yell as she took off for it. She grabbed hold of the tires and with a strained grunt dragged the cart free from the pile, lifting it up to her chest and displaying it with the satisfied smile of someone that had just landed a prize winning fish. Then she set it on the ground and took off running for a new cart, dragging it out to. This one she very visibly rolled over near Tora, figuring if he were able to create something as amazing as Poppi fixing this would be easy for him.

She stood up proudly, looking over all the rabbits in the area, and grinned. "Come on, that's two points for me already! Are we rabbits or rodents? We don't want the robots to get them, do we? Let's go!" she raised her arms in the air, let out a whoop, and then took off toward the next cart in her sights hoping to set an example that the rabbits would follow.

Now back together, the Mario brothers made their way back into the light of the others. And not a moment too soon. They would be greeted by a number of enriching smells, each filling their bulbous noses that placed them in a daze. Their stomachs rumbled furiously. Both hadn't eaten anything proper since they arrived in the "World of Light" and they were starving. A grand buffet from their beloved Princess was just the thing they needed. And they wouldn't hesitate to get their mouthes full with such delicacies.

As they grabbed their plates, they overheard the plethora of conversations that spilled onto the table whilst talking to themselves. Most of the audience were having a great time with one another, mentioning about their own worlds as well as the current situation at hand. Of course, they made sure to sit closest to Peach and as far away from the Koopa Clan that was busy plotting their next schemes. However, their abhorrence of he and his gang had somewhat subsided for the time being. They were once again working together. And while it wouldn't surprise Mario if the Koopa King ever turned their backs on the group sometime in the future, his track record in these situations were surprisingly clean.

And they shouldn't get started with the Centurion person holding the spirit of Megadragonbowser in his body. But for now, their recent troubles were behind them and they should enjoy this moment for as long as they could.

Just before the brothers were about to eat however, Geno came behind Mario and sat down next to him. But before he could speak, Mario quickly proceeded to introduce Luigi to him.

"And uh, oh, Luigi," Mario nudged his green chad plumber as he looked over at him, "Have-a-you met Geno yet?"

Luigi looked over at the wooden doll curiously before a lightbulb would pop out from his head.

"Oh," he answered aloud before shaking Geno's hand, "No not-a-in person. You've told-a-me that you went on a little adventure with-a-him a long while ago right?"

"We had." Geno replied statically, "We along with our cloud friend Mallow, Princess Peach, and Bowser went out to collect the seven star pieces in order to beat the vile Smithy who wanted to take control of the Mushroom Kingdom. As far as what your brother said, he believes it was the first time that he even teamed up with the Koopa King himself."

"Really?" green stache replied as he brushed his mustache, "So that's-a-where the whole 'anti-hero' persona seemed to kick off from-a-him. Or, well, sometimes anyways."

The doll simply nodded before asking him a question

"But if I may ask, Luigi," he began, "Where were you when that took place? I would've thought you would help your brother as you would usually do?"

Luigi went momentarily silent at that question. He stuttered briefly before nervously chuckling.

"O-Oh, ha, well," he began to answer bashfully, "You see... I uh... I had some things to do-a. I was outta town when all-a-this happened - in... eh... Sarasaland actually. Princess-a Daisy invited me over to do some-a sports - mostly tennis and-a... soccer. I didn't-a-know this happened until I returned, where Mario told-a-me everything that happened."

Mario's eyes locked onto his brother's as he silently judged his brother. Luigi looked at him with a nervous expression, before he found his brother simply shaking his head in disappointment. Luigi still tried to keep up his class-act for awhile, but eventually he sighed in defeat and conceded to tell the truth.

"Oh-a-alright," Luigi replied, "I-a-overslept. I apparently slept through the entire thing-a. I-I don't know why I would-a-do that, but I did. But I will admit-a, I did go to bed a little later than I-a-usually do..."

Geno cracked a faint smile at Luigi.

"That's alright." the doll calmly replied, "It happens to the best of us. Although you did partake in other adventures with your brother, right?"

"Yeah-yeah," Luigi replied as he sipped on a glass of water, "I often do otherwise-a. Mario can tell you this right-a-now."

His older brother nodded, confirming Luigi's explanation.

"Good." the puppet answered, "It always helps to strengthen healthy brotherly bond. You've both done well to serve your kingdom well. I imagine Princess Peach is proud of your efforts."

The two brothers nodded before they clinged glasses with Geno and each other before finally eating their delicious meals placed in front of them. As they did, they took a few glances at the map that was placed on the table. They all knew that it was going to be a long day tomorrow...

And a very, very long day at that.

Courier Six listened and observed after making his own declarations, suggestions, and an offer to make some chems for the others, but sadly his presence as a whole seemed to have gone completely ignored. Even the creatures that had followed him from the outside garden were too preoccupied with their own meals to pay him any mind. ”Fine then. More for me,” he muttered under his breath, honestly a little disappointed. Just like the good old Dr. Mobius had taught back at the Big Empty, he was well versed in the science of sharing! Oh well. Sometimes people just sucked. The Courier took another bite of his turkey leg, then wandered off on his own. Big groups weren’t exactly his thing anyway, so it worked out.

Meanwhile, Ratchet was hard at work with the teleportation device that Blazermate had constructed. Together they worked on bits and pieces, moving odds and ends around. He had studied both ends pretty thoroughly and now had a good idea of what parts did what, which ones could be spared and replicated, which ones were superfluous, and so forth. It took him a good long time, but as far as his little mechanic’s brain could tell both ends of the teleporter were now perfect (albeit a bit Frankenstein in appearance) copies of one another. Now each one could serve as both an entrance, and as an exit. Of course, they couldn’t serve as both at once, so they’d need to have a way to switch the settings.

”I think we can test it again, Blaze,” he commented. Ratchet threw his omniwrench at the nearest table like a boomerang. A steamed mushroom got caught up in the wrench, which pulled back to his hand thanks to the magnet glove. The lombax placed the fungus in one end, the one that used to exclusively be the end point, and hit the switch to startup the machine.

Nothing.

Whack! The teleporter roared back to life with a good smack from the wrench and Ratchet gave Blazermate a cheesy thumbs up. The rest of the testing was on her.

---

The Ghost of the Mojave wandered around the castle halls idly, snacking on the turkey leg he had grabbed, keeping an eye out for anything useful. This place felt so… Anachronistic. It was clearly medieval in design, yet seemed to have modern amenities. Plumbing was clearly established, as apparently were gas stoves if that kitchen was any evidence, but electronics were conspicuously absent. And, most telling of all, there was absolutely no sign of any atomic technology.

Good.

Coming to some stairs, the Courier opted to climb up as he explored. He still needed some plastic to go with that fertilizer if he was going to cook up some jet (and he’d need a lot of jet since it was a base ingredient in more useful chems on top of that). From what he had seen around the place he wasn’t worried, confident that some plastic would show up eventually.

His confidence was rewarded as he came to two open rooms on the upper floor. Both were bedrooms, though they clearly housed two very different owners. One looked like a child’s playroom or nursery, while the other was… Very pink. Very. Very. Pink. First he explored the child’s room, figuring it belonged to Bowser’s son (though why his son had a room in the castle of their sworn enemy he couldn’t possibly fathom, unless it was designed that way by the other Bowser). Jackpot, plastic galore! All these toy blocks, actions figures and the like, he immediately went to swiping as much as he could stuff into the vine basket Din had made for him. He was even lucky enough to find some turpentine! Why the kid would need industrial paint thinner he had no idea, but then if Junior were as bright a bulb as his dad, well, who knows what could be going through those heads?

Content with his findings in Bowser Jr.’s room, Six moved on to the second, which he assumed to belong to the princess. Immediately it became apparent that it had been ransacked recently, what with all the clothes and belongings just strewn all about the floor. Who could have done this? That was the thought that he didn’t care enough to have, instead joining in on that action. He spied some fascinating little figures of the Mushroom Kingdom residents and, recognizing them as a valuable resource, swiped them up. He then descended upon the study desk, covered with parchment (they could produce high quality plastic figures but still wrote on parchment with quills?!) and snagged up a number of the princess’s writings. He didn’t bother reading any of them or checking their content, not yet. That would be saved for when he had more time. For now, he was simply grabbing whatever wasn’t nailed down. Whether he could sell it for some caps or use the information to become more familiar with these strange lands, the documents could prove valuable.

That’s when something struck him. No, not the constant headache of withdraw, though that was still a pounding pain in the ass, but information. He needed more, and someone in their group didn’t fit. Someone who had brushed him off earlier. Someone with an overly grandoise title and inflated sense of ego: the Master of Masters. Stuffing the parchment into his travel pack, the Courier vowed to look for that man and continue his line of questioning from earlier. Something about him simply felt… Wrong.

---

A smidgen of indolence - a tuft of brattiness - a sprig of curiosity - a heart of light - a pang of love - and plenty of soft, short fur.

“Voila!” exclaimed a deep, yet cheerful voice from within the library, the door to which lay ajar. “Looks like the Master’s still got it!” Within, the black-robed eccentric bent over a table, strewn haphazardly with all manner of vaguely sciency and magical balderdash, much of it collected from Kamek’s dungeon laboratory. Multicolored smoke drifted about him, and a pungent, animalistic smell haunted the air. When the Master of Masters straightened up, he held a globe-bottomed flask with a tiny catlike creature inside, barely bigger than a hamster and much sillier in proportion. It rubbed its eyes sleepily and tried to get up, only to stumble over all roly-poly. Its creator set its container down on the table in the middle of the strange assortment, took up a tiny hammer, and prepared to break the cat-thing free.
A thick aroma of tobacco and whiskey wafted through the stacks as the Master of Masters prepared to free his experimentation, signaling the arrival of someone new. Several books, all of which were in far better condition than any come across in the wasteland, found themselves stuffed into a travel bag as the Courier finally laid eyes on his target.

”Evening pardner. We got unfinished business.” Six spat to the side, no doubt staining the otherwise lovely carpeting, and adjusted his hat with one hand. The other rested on his pistol holster.

For a split second, the Master of Masters was still, his expression inscrutable even if his back wasn’t turned. What did the Courier’s voice send through his mind? Surprise? Alarm? Amusement? Disgust? “Hm?” He turned halfway around, still holding the bottled kitten-thing in one gloved hand and the little tapper in the other. “And what might that be? I don’t remember asking for any help throwing up. Got that handled all on my own, thanks.”

”Cute as a pygmy mole rat, ain’t ya?” he chuckled, but never blinked. ”I’m just takin ya up on yer offer to talk later, Mom. Ya never did answer me as to why you weren’t crazier than a starved cazadore. While we’re at it, let’s add on just what in tarnation that thing is, eh?”

For a moment the stranger seemed puzzled, but at its end he let out a chuckle. “Hey, that’s not half bad! Surprised nobody came up with it before, really. Then again, none of my apprentices would’ve dared say something like that, eh?” He went ahead and bopped the bottle with the hammer, setting the wee beast free. “So, ascending order. This cutie little tootie here’s a Chirithy. A special kind of Dream Eater. Back when I first made them, I gave one each to my apprentices for companionship, and because they’re super sensitive to hearts. If their masters fall to the darkness, they’ll become Nightmares. But I don’t suppose my jargon’s making much of an impression on you, huh?” With a careful hand he swept the glass into a neat little pile.

Once he finished, his hands -seemingly unable to hold still- went to work gathering and messing with other things on the once-immaculate library table, but the Master of Masters spoke as he worked. “Anyhoo, as for the crazy business, the answer’s pretty simple, though I’m not exactly happy about it. Galeem’s big ol’ lightshow took out everything in existence, but our puffy friend’s Warp Star let him...how do I put this in layman’s terms? Phase out of existence?” He shrugged. “As for me, I didn’t exist at all.”

Six cocked his head a bit, processing the words this man was saying. It didn’t make a ton of sense, he had to admit. Many strange things had happened since these worlds had been smushed together and many of their aspects, he imagined, couldn’t be compatible. Different histories, rules, laws of physics, Magic seemed to be commonplace to most of his compatriots to boot. Still, he was a quick study. It wouldn’t take long to get acclimated.

”Dream Eater? Darkness? Nightmares? You’re not making a lick of sense… if I take you literally. I reckon they bond with people, mind or soul. Is that what you’re getting at?” he frowned, adjusting his hat. Damn thing wasn’t fitting right since the Bowser fight. ”Then they change to reflect their master’s corruption or somethin’. Fine. So explain what you mean by not existing, because I can’t rightly put that one together to save my life.”

“Well, I used to live in a place called Daybreak Town. And one day I disappeared.”

…

…

”And?”

The Master of Masters’ shoulders shook in silent laughter. “And what? What do you do after you vanish? Dim? Fade...? Nothing. Nothing at all. I guess it was kinda like sleeping without dreaming.” He looked over his shoulder at 6. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what I mean?”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned back and continued. “Bah, I dunno how to explain it. Then I existed again, in this world. The whole shebang, already over with. No idea why.” A heavy sigh filled the room. “And it could happen again. Not hypothetical anymore. Any day now I could disappear again, vanished, dimmed, faded, at the drop of a hat. Here today, gone tomorrow. Heheh. The knowledge is kinda heavy, but in a way, also light. Nothing weighs me down.”

Now this was an incredible development. Bizarre, unbelievable, and incredible. If true, that is. ”And you have no idea how that happened? How or when it could happen again? You seem awfully well adjusted for a man just suddenly someplace else. Least I have foggy memories and a notion of how I got here.” How the man responded to this would be very crucial.

“Right on the money,” the hooded one replied, casual as ever. “Though you’re forgetting, I think, that my world was full of magic. Amazing stuff every day, yours truly no small contributor. That about get everything ironed out for you?”

That wasn’t nearly as helpful as Six had hoped it would be. Still, there was more he could draw out from this encounter. ”Not quite, Mom,” he said, speaking the Master of Masters’ acronym phonetically the second time. ”You said something before about being able to see everything your eye has seen, even through time. That means you’d be experiencing your entire lifetime all at once, constantly. Hell, the way I see it, that means you could see outside your lifetime too. That means you already knew I’d be coming to you, so tell me… What am I going to say next?”

The Master if Masters shrugged with a helpless shake of his head at first, clearly disinclined to try and explain it to 6. His final question, however, evoked a both palms slapped against the side of his head. Then, pretending to get serious, he admonished, “Sounds like someone's been skipping classes. First, my eye's not here. It's in a keyblade on the other end of the world. Second, it's a gazing eye, not a gazing ear. No sound.” He tapped the side of his head with an index finger. “Got that down?””

”Don’t talk to me like I’m some punk kid under your mastership,” the Courier spat back, unable to contain the vitriol of being talked down to. ”Coming from a completely different world, this being my first experience with your brand of brahmin shit, I’m thinkin’ I’m doing pretty well acclimating and piecing together. Besides, I’ve seen under yer hood, mystery man. Yer already just one giant eye.” He let that delusion hang in the air for a second, as though he just revealed some horrifying, masterful revolation, unaware of his own hallucination. ”So it’s like a camera you got linked right into yer brain, totally separate from yer body. ‘Cept it works across time. Good to know. But somethin’ still don’t sit right with me, oh great and powerful Mom. That eye of yours. Was it able to see the events of what happened while you were ‘disappeared?’ What I’m getting at is, now and before it happened, were you aware of the time period yer body was missing?”

The Master crossed his arms. “You're asking for an awful lot of explanation for someone who doesn't want to be taught now, aren'tcha? Make up your mind! Unless all those chemicals fried it.” He sighed, then in a bored, resigned tone replied, “I disappeared a long, long time ago. My apprentice passed my keyblade, and the eye in it, down to his, then he to his, and on and on and on. I know everything my eye ever sees, up until Galeem wiped everything out, then brought the keyblade and my eye back for whatever purpose. From what I saw of that map the squirt found, its at The City Without a Name.” All the while he persisted with his characteristic gesticulations, only settling down at the end. Shaking his head, he sat on the table and planted his hands. Onto his lap clambered the Chirithy, which he duly patted. “Aaaalrighty! That's all I've got for a nutjob who dissed my Foreteller. Run along now, 'kay?” He made a shooing motion.

Jesus, this guy had as inflated an ego as Mr. House did, didn’t he? As if to press the point, the Courier took another couple steps forward, not so much that he closed the gap between them, but enough to have a more noticeable, impactful presence. He wasn’t going to be ignored. ”Y’know there’s a happy medium to talking to folks without puttin’ yourself on a pedestal right? I don’t object to learnin’, it’s what I’m here for. I object to bein’ treated like a child. Got a real problem with that attitude, but all is forgiven if you can treat me like a colleague.”

He spoke with the most even, calm tone he had in some time. His anger had completely subsided, thanks to the prolific mood swings he was known for. ”What I’m getting at here is that before you ever vanished, from the moment you made that eye, you had to have known shit was hittin’ the fan. I can’t imagine you didn’t prepare before you disappeared. Plans. They work best when you let your posse in on them. Secrets are nasty things. Fester, like a disease. Lies beget more lies. So I’m askin’ ya now, politely, to come clean and let us all know what you’ve known. What you’ve put in place to help get us out of this mess. You come off as a real chessmaster type, but me? I ain’t nobody’s pawn. I want in. Plain and simple. But if yer still holding onto yer reservations, then how about a drinking contest?”

Gingerly, the Master of Masters withdrew his hand, rested one arm across his torso, and the other’s elbow on his wrist. This guy just didn’t respect him one bit. “Hate to say it bud, but you got me all wrong. Sure, I left behind some instructions for my Foretellers, but that concerned their future. Galeem unmade everything, remember? Nothing that I ever did exists anymore, unless he brought it here on purpose. Nothing I could have planned up would have made a lick of difference anyway. Do you really think someone -anyone- can change the future? No, no, no. We have to focus on what comes after.”

Leaning back, he exhaled deeply. “I don’t have any plans, or pawns, or anything. Galeem’s destruction is my goal, and hey, we know how that turns out. I’m not even going with you when you leave here--adventuring just ain’t my shtick.” A chuckle. “As for drinking, nooooo thank you! Water’s all I need.”

The Courier shrugged. ”More for me, then. Speaking of which, I’ve got a lot of alcohol to distill and chems to cook up, so I best be moseying on.” He turned to leave, but stopped short as something popped into his head. ”Those, what’d ya call it? Chirithy varmints? And that impractical looking sword you made for Din. Keyblade, was it? What’s stopping ya from helping out everyone with them? Final question, I swear.”

When he looked, the Master had already gotten up and starting tinkering again. “Keyblades are picky about their wielders. Only a pure heart can wield one. Plus, they take a super long time to master. As for Chirithies…” he paused to think for a second. “Nothing I guess, but they’re just pets. You know...a liability on the battlefield? The more you love, the more you have to lose. Eh?”

”Pure heart? No matter the world, nothing is so black and white.” He didn’t scoff, nor chide. Rather, he seemed wistful, hopeful, as though he desperately believes otherwise but years of personal experience had beat the opposite into his head. ”Well, I better get going. Staying in one place for too long feels wrong to a Courier like me. Sorry fer bothering ya fer so long.” With that he tipped his hat and made his way down the stacks, and ultimately out of the library.

Once the doors closed shut behind him, the Courier made his way down to the dungeons of the castle, navigating the dark stone corridors and noting that instead of being cold it felt rather warm. Hot, even. Eventually he came across Kamek’s lab, already pilfered by that hooded man in the library.

Finding a good place to setup, he placed down the vine basket full of produce and emptied his travel bag of all the ingredients he had collected thus far. He gave pause, letting a heavy sigh hang in the air like a cloud of cigarette smoke. His hand drifted to the keypad on his pip-boy, pressing a few buttons. A small speaker jumped to life.

”Evening pardner. We got unfinished business.”
“Hm? And what might that be? I don’t remember asking for any help throwing up. Got that handled all on my own, thanks.”

With another press of a button the playback ended. ”No gods. No masters.” The Courier grit his teeth and spat. ”And definitely no Master of Masters. I’ll find out what yer planning.” But he’d need to be at his best, and he couldn’t be his best without first crafting up some chems.

---

Items Acquired: Desk Parchment - Various scrolls and parchments from Princess Peach’s writing desk. Who knows what could be on them?
4 library books - Stolen from the Mushroom Castle library, each one taken from a different section.
3 servings black coffee - Temporarily increases alertness and intelligence by minor amount. Suitable substitute for sleep.
2 swigs moonshine - Temporarily increases strength and charisma at the cost of intelligence, all three by minor amount. Minorly addictive.
2 large wasteland tequila - Temporarily increases strength, damage resistance, and poison resistance by moderate amount, increases charisma minor amount, moderate decrease to intelligence. Minorly addictive.
3 bottles rushing water - By mixing jet with purified water you get a chem that increases attack speed by 50%, while nullifying jet’s addictive properties.
6 stimpacks - Injection that stimulates fast healing.
5 vials of Inferno - A new chem made with the ashes of Megadragonbowser, water, and a bit of broc flower, it temporarily gives incredible resistance to heat while increasing internal body temperature to burning highs, but become highly irritable and violent. Minorly addictive.
4 jet inhalers - A drug manufactured in the New California Republic to grant heightened senses and increased stamina. Highly addictive.
3 packs coyote tobacco chew - Increases perception and agility, minorly addictive.
2 tins of Mentats - Pills that stimulate brain activity to heighten intelligence, perception, and charisma. Addiction insignificant.
4 beers - Yup. It’s beer.
Leftover crafting material - The leftovers of chem crafting that weren’t enough to make more, mostly including fungus and turpentine.

Blazermate wasn't so super great at this tech thing, even though she aquired the Engineer spirit, but Ratchet was here so that helped a lot. As Blazermate and Ratchet were fixing and tinkering with this teleporter, Ratchet hitting it with his wrench form time to time while Blazermate punched it, Magikoopa came in with a map showing nearby areas. After giving some directions to the others nearby and requesting Blazermate's teleporter, she said. "Thats what we're doin' partner. These'll be far more useful if they're two way, but w don't know how long that'll take." She missed Clank poking fun at his friend as she explained what they were doing to Magikoopa, so she missed his temporary nervousness at her presence.

A few took up Magikoopa's call to action and headed out after eating as Blazermate, Ratchet, and a few others were standing behind. They would end up, with a final whack of Ratchet's wrench, able to get the teleporters to be two-way. But of course they needed to test this, so using that loaf of bread from before, Blazermate used it to test the teleporter, and it worked both forward and back! Seeing it was safe, she also tested the teleporters, and they worked just fine. Satisfied, Blazermate said "Alright, we got working two way teleporters fellas!" Done with the work, she casually threw the bread on the teleporter, since she had no use for it. When it went through the teleporter again, green slime looking tumors appeared on it, and after a few moments, it grew a bit, developed boney extrusions, and let off a cute high pitched roar as it jumped at Blazermate, angry at being born.

Of course being a robot, the poor Bread Monster's teeth couldn't injure her. Looking at this creature, she put her hand under it to examine it. Something about seeing this thing jogged a memory that wasn't hers, or more a suggestion, "don't teleport bread". Apparently according to this feeling of hers, teleporting bread too much caused bread to turn into monsters. Although this one wasn't all that threatening, and after it realized it couldn't do anything, it gave up and dropped into the hand Blazermate was using to examine it as she remembered. Seeing it as a non threat, Blazermate started to pet the bread monster, much to everyone's horror. It let off a bit of a chittering purr as it relaxed, not looking aggressive at all.

"So uh... I just 'remembered' or somethin'. Don't teleport bread. This is what happens to it, and it gets worse and worse the more it teleports. This wont happen to us." Blazermate said, explaining what happened as she gently petted the bread monster as it fell asleep. "So... Does anyone want a bread pet? Its kind of adorable, in a mutated monster kind of way~." She continued, offering the sleeping bread monster to Ratchet.

As the monk entered the castle, he noticed how posh it was. To be honest, he figured whoever owned it must have a massive ego of some kind. Who else would stick a giant stained-glass portrait of their face right above the front door for all to see, and coordinate the roof color to match their dress? He’d been inside castles before, particularly Stormwind’s, and the Wrynn family usually didn’t go nearly that far with decoration.

Then again, that could be because the Wrynn family usually put functionality and defense above looking pretty, and perhaps if times were more peaceful (read: With all of humanity not confined to a mere two kingdoms or so), he would have seen the same amount of excess from his own king.

Speaking of which, he really hoped that Anduin was still alive. Though even if he was still around, he’d be under Galeem’s control. The boy didn’t deserve a fate like what Donnie had endured not five minutes ago. And if he was brainwashed, Donnie was going to free the poor kid, no matter what.

He opened the double doors and entered, seeing a rather grand-looking entrance hall--as expected given the rich decoration and massive lawn outside (seriously, where were the defenses? Either the queen of the castle was a terrible leader or her kingdom must’ve been incredibly peaceful before all this), he was greeted by a strange furry creature and a mechanical-looking girl (some kind of robot? He’d never really seen one as human-looking as that before), who greeted him in broken Common (or whatever language these people spoke. For all he knew, Galeem could have shoved a translator spell in everyone’s heads so that his troops could understand one another), and ran off with the furry creature before he even managed to get out a greeting.

Well, they were in a rush, he thought to himself as the two fled. With that, he found himself alone in the entrance hall.

There were a few guards around, of course. Some kind of gnome-like species with mushrooms growing on top of their heads. He walked up to one of them and asked, “Excuse me, do you know where the feast is happening?”

The Toad cheerfully gave him directions, but laughed when Donnie asked his next question.

“Thanks, but...are those mushrooms hats of some kind or…?”

“No, it’s real. We’re all Toads. As in, ‘Toadstool.’ The princess is the only one who doesn’t look like us!”

“I see. Thank you for your time.”

With that, he went on his way, wondering if this “Princess” was adopted or something. He wasn’t concerned about the lack of a queen though. He just assumed she hadn’t gotten married yet so she hadn’t officially ascended to the throne. Some kingdoms had saved the coronation for after marriage historically, with the eldest son or daughter serving taking on the responsibilities of the monarch, but without the title. Politics were weird like that.

In any event, onto the feast! He began to make his way towards the kitchens, following the Toad’s advice to the best of his ability, though this castle was still pretty huge and almost maze-like with the amount of doors it had.

With a resounding *THUD!* the door to the kitchen opened, Gene walking through the doorway with a half eaten apple in hand. He'd finished his dinner, if one could call a fruit bowl dinner, and figured he'd look around a bit before heading back to the kitchen for desert. For the most part, the hallways were populated by those weird mushroom things who were all standing at attention. They would have surprised him, but after his latest misadventure, nothing could surprise him. In the course of two days, he fought a fat Mexican demon, a gorilla luchador, a midget Sentai team, a giant fly monster, and, oh yeah, the actual Devil. And then he wound up in a strange new land and met a bunch of strange new people.

Apparently, they all had been sucked right out of their worlds by some dude named Galeem, and now it was either band together and fight back or die. To be honest, he was kinda sorta a little irked that he was dragged into another quest to save to the world. Only this time, the stakes were much, much higher. Like, universe higher, nay, multiverse higher. He was starting to miss the days when all he had to worry about was getting dinner and a place to sleep for the night. Of course, that all went out the window when he met Olivia...

Oh crap, Olivia! He had almost forgotten about her! That psycho chick was probably here too, maybe even under Galeem's control like he was. He was really hoping he could find her and save her. Maybe once they set out tomorrow they'd run into her, much as she was a pain in the ass he wanted to make sure she was alright at least. Hopefully, she wouldn't be under Angra's control... Oh no, Angra was probably out there too! Crap, he wouldn't be able to fight Angra without the other God Hand!

"Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths..." Why'd he have to remember all this crap when he was supposed to just unwind and relax? Just... This was stuff for future Gene to worry about, right now he was just gonna chill out and take a look around. He looked at the apple in his hand, laughing slightly when he noticed that in his stress he had started eating the core. He tossed it behind him, the remains of the fruit bouncing off a toad's head and onto the floor.

He turned the corner, and almost bumped right into another guy. His reflexes kicked in, making him sidestep out of the way with a quiet "nice" escaping his lips at the smooth dodge. Taking the guy in, Gene noted the armor he wore, raising an eyebrow at the gaudy wolf - or is that a tiger? - helmet he was wearing. But the thing that caught his eye the most were the blades at his side. They didn't look like daggers or something like that, more like weapons someone would use to make their punches stronger... Maybe he should look into getting something like that.

"Well, you're late to the party. Just show up or something?" he asked the stranger, though his eyes never left the weapons at his side.

Donnie would have dodged himself had the muscular man not sidestepped. “Why thank you,” Donnie said in response to the compliment (what else could “Nice!” mean?) as he turned to Gene.

He noted that the man was staring at the Fists. “I was just freed myself. I’m looking for the feast. Don’t tell me it’s already over?”

Gene tore his eyes from the blades at the man's words, looking up at his face. With a grin, he shook head and responded, "Nah, it's still happening. Just down the hall, second door on your right. Bunch of people in there, so I hope you aren't the socially awkward type." He paused, looking at the handblades again, before looking back up at the guy. "I was gonna take a look around the castle, but I figure it'd be best if I stick around with you. Y'know, help the newbie out a bit." He conveniently left out the fact that before this guy came along, he himself was the newest member of this motley crew.

Donnie looked at him flatly, the eyes under his helmet clearly showing he had sensed Gene’s bullshit. “I know you’re just here for the handblades, I can see it in your body language.”

His expression lightened up soon after though. “Fortunately, I’m an enthusiast of all kinds of monster-slaying implements, so I can give you the rundown if you want.”

Gene's eyes widened, and he gave a nervous grin in response to the man's accusation. Shit, he'd figured him out!

"Uh, n-no I'm not, I'm just... Admiring..." He sighed, his nervous grin morphing into a slightly less nervous smile at the other man's words. "... Well, they are pretty cool. Think you could give me that rundown while I show you the way to the kitchen? I'd love to hear about those beautiful blades... And maybe find out how I can get my own." He added the last part without even thinking about it.

With that, the two began walking towards the kitchen. Donnie began his explanation. “Okay, so to make a long story short, these handblades, called the Fists of the Heavens, are kinda legendary. They’re powered by magic taken directly from the Elemental Plane of Air, and the spirit that it was stolen from poured way too much power into these things to be safely handled by most people. The guy who made them accidentally killed himself and leveled his entire city when he tried to pick them up, and when an actual air spirit tried to use them, it slowly drove him insane. I am the only person in history to safely wield these things, and that’s because my warrior-monk training gave me enough spiritual discipline to keep them under control.” he said as he took them out, the blades glinting and the internal vortex on full display.

“Unfortunately, Galeem sealed them when he dumped us in this weird place, so you...well, you might not accidentally summon a hurricane and level the castle if you wield them, but I’d rather not risk it. And they’re one-of-a-kind. You’re not gonna find them anywhere else, but if my world shows up here you’ll probably find something even better anyway. There’s at least a dozen equal weapons i could name, and I’m sure there’s some even better stuff on Azeroth that wasn’t found yet.” With that, he put them away.

Gene's normal grin widened even more at Donnie's words. Even better weapons out there? Oh man, he almost wanted to leave the castle now to go looking. Still, he kept his composure... Mostly.

"Well, I'll be sure to keep on the lookout then! Still, I'd be willing to try those out sometime... I'm sure I could handle 'em. After all, this bad boy right here..." He patted his right bicep, the Deistic Brace shaking slightly with a metallic *clank* as he did so. "... Is packing the power of a God! That's why they call me the God Hand!"

Donnie looked at the man’s arm with interest. “Interesting. What can it do? And what kind of God does it get its power from?” His world was polytheistic to say the very least, so its power really depended on what kind of god the God Hand was deriving its abilities from. It could be something like a Wild God, which were powerful but not very high on the totem pole, or it could be something more like a Titan, which could create and destroy worlds. Which got him very interested in its origin.

Gene looked at the other man curiously. What kind of God? Isn't there only the one? "Uh, it just takes power from... The God. Like, the one above all? Created the universe and all that? I dunno how it draws that power. All I know is that I lost my arm, got this sweet new one, and once I rip this off," he patted the Deistic Brace, "I can attack harder and faster, and I'm completely immune to damage... For a short amount of time that is. It can get a bit overwhelming if I don't clap this brace back on in time."

“Ah, we don’t really have one of those over in my world. Instead, we’ve got several different pantheons stacked on top of each other and all myths are true. You’ve got Wild Gods--manifestations of nature for a given area--you’ve got Titans, which are the souls of planets and tend to create machine worlds, you’ve got the Old Gods, which are basically pure evil and should be driven off at all costs, and then there are the Four Elemental Lords, and so on and so forth. I actually had just killed a mad Titan not ten minutes before Galeem ruined it all, and I had to die several times to pull it off. Long story, I can tell you later over a drink.”

As he was saying this, he opened the door to the kitchen, seeing...well, the machine-girl from earlier hadn’t lied. This place really was a ragtag bunch of misfits. He was sure these people were all capable, and probably famous in their own worlds, but they were as varied as they come.

Still though, he had spent time with everyone from undead to fish-people, this was nothing new. So he casually sat down at an empty seat at the table and piled his plate high with food t before he started chowing down. It seemed kinda like standard Stormwind fare, albeit the kind of fare at Stormwind Castle. Royal chefs knew how to make food. For that matter, he looked around at any Toads who were working the nearby cooking implements, if they still were. He was a bit curious how it was made, but he also felt like this would jog his memory for some strange reason….

Gene had fallen silent as they walked through the door and into the kitchen, and he followed the other man to his seat. Taking a seat next to the man not long after he had sat down, Gene grabbed the nearest dessert, a banana split sundae, and looked around. He noticed that the midget mushrooms were still cooking regular food for those who had arrived late, which was good because the guy next to him looked like he needed a good meal.

With a grin, Gene turned back to his fruity ice cream treat, and began to chow down. The bowl was empty in fifteen seconds flat, and Gene leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh of satisfaction. He turned to the monk next to him and, as if realizing something, smacked himself on the forehead. "Huh, man, I was so caught up talking to you I nearly forgot. What's your name? I'm Gene."

The monk grinned. “Call me Donnie.” With that, he went back to practically inhaling a lobster bisque soup before systematically demolishing a giant turkey leg. An observer that didn’t know any better might think that Donnie hadn’t eaten for days.

Gene nodded at the man, Donnie, and smiled. Much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't exactly getting to know the others, so it was good to have a friend among them all. After a moment more, he remembered Donnie's words, about how he'd explain his final fight before Galeem brought them all here over drinks. Hell, maybe they could swap stories; Gene probably didn't have as many as Donnie, but in the last two days he had gotten enough to last him a whole lifetime.

So, with a clap of his hands, he waved to the mushroom guys. "Hey, get us some drinks over here! My throat's parched!" The Toads moved fast, bringing the two of them mugs of what looked like... Fruit juice? Nevertheless, Gene chugged it down, and looked at the now empty mug in curiosity. "... Uh, you got anything stronger?"

Initially Jr’s call to action had mixed results. On the one hand the Rabbid’s did gather around their former master but without the presence of Spawny (the Rabbid who had accidentally combined the locals with various mushroom kingdom objects using a pair of scientificly astounding goggles to give them their current theme in the first place) it was predominantly out of curiosity rather than from any form of loyalty or faith in his abilities that brought them to him. The demands for hard labor and the lateness hour ment they had little enthusiasm for his task, much to the boy’s chagrin. This poor mood resulted in the prince dismounting and entering the crowd to individually berate them into working for him but fortunately he was prevented from entirely destroying the moral of his little army by the arrival of Linkle. The hero draped her Mad Mantle over him like a royal cloak and then, while Jr struggled with being suddenly accosted by the fabric, tried to turn the salvaging mission into a game. Jr, having properly adjusted his newly acquired symbol of leadership, then watched the girl getting really into her work. At least someone knew how to follow instructions around here, he thought to himself.

”Now that's the kind of enthusiasm I like to see! Come on get to it minions, you going to let her have all the fun?” he yelled at the Rabbids before approaching the first cart with his Necro smasher. He gave the vehicle (a classic pipe cart) a few practice thwacks with the wooden engineering tool and was pleased to watch as bent and buckled pipes snapped back into regimented place, tiers re-inflated and even the paintwork reapplied itself wherever he hammered away.
”aw yeah, am I great or what!” he boasted, before hopping in and flicking on the ignition. There was no response. After hammering his foot against the peddle a few times it became clear that they’d need fuel.

Fortunately, after summoning a bunch of Goombas and making them go look for petrol Jr discovered the pit-stop the team had passed through earlier, which was quickly turned into the heart of Kart repair. Rabbids, Koopas, and Goomas all tore through the scrapheap, digging up everything and anything that might meet the princes’ standards of being cool enough to be worthy of his time repairing with his mighty mallet. The Koopa King was one of the first approved, and the six wheeler which was quickly re-purposed as a tow truck to pull any of the beefier karts out of the junk.

As the evening wore all sorts of machines were pulled from the wreckage and pieced together, generally with bigger wheels and engines added where possible because A. that made them cooler in both jr and the Rabbids opinion and B. To make them a bit better at off-roading.

There was a kart shaped like a cake, a motorized vacuum cleaner, a tiny tank, a pair of robotic legs, one with a massive drill on the front, the rocking FlameFlyer, a golden parade kart and many others.

There were also bikes like wario’s one, a speedy scooter and the legendary Master Cycle Zero.

All these and more where rolled or dragged to the pit-stop where a bit of hammering got them working again in no time. After which they were often broken again by Jr or the Rabbid’s “tinkering” and had to be fixed for a second or third time. Particularly when someone managed to get a hold of the Slice Cutter and went to town on a poor racing machine.

It was while he was attempting to construct a tripod for the minigun on the back of the Parade Kart that the pièce de résistance of the whole endeavor was found.

“Ey boss! Your tiny terror-ness! We found something you should see!” yelled a Goomba from one of the junk piles.

”Then bring it down here so I can... Gack!” jr cursed as the unattended contraption of pipes and axles collapsed and he barely avoided having his toes squished by the bulky rotary cannon. ”so I can fix it” he finished yelling at the goomba as if nothing had happened.

“Well we would but it’s a bit big” responded the squat minion, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

”how big?” Jr asked, now curios.

“His majesty big” came the reply that caused Jr to abandon what he was up to to go scramble up the junk pile. ”you lot! Bring fuel!” he yelled at some minions.

Once he had met up with the Goomba he, and a number of canteen carrying goons, where led down into the scrap pile via a very unsafe tunnel, at the end of which they were presented with a steering wheel three times the size of any of the pint sized creatures. Jr grinned ear to ear. His father would be so proud.

---

The sun had set, the moon was rising and the roar of a colossal engine filled the scrapyard. It was accompanied by the screaming metal junk as one of the skrap piles began to move and then collapsed as the royal purple and gold spiked Bowser Mobile blindly tore its way free, having been repaired and refueled while still buried in its former grave. Wheels the height of a human tore across the dull dirty ground of the junkyard as jr hung out of one side of the massive vehicle, shouting orders at a crew of Rabbids, Goombas and Koopas blindly working the pedals with their weight and the steering wheel with ropes.

”Right! Right! No left!” he shouted before there was a horrendous crunch as the car clipped a stack of carts before it crose corrected back towards peach’s castle. ”Break! break!” Jr yelled, causing the minions down by the foot pedals to throw themselves off of the gas and onto the brake pedal. ”Oh nononono. Stop!” came the cries of the prince as he threw himself down onto the handbrake, wrapping his body around the massive stick and hammering a fist against the button on the end to force it down.

The vehicle came to a screeching halt mere centimeters away from plunging into the moat next to Hat-Kid’s ship. A few moments later the door popped open and was followed by an avalanche of car sick critters. The striker minions poofed themselves back to the safety of being ethereal beings while the Rabbids took simple pleasure in being able to touch the ground again. One even made out with the grass.

”That. Was. Awesome!” declared the seemingly entirely nonplussed Jr as he stepped out and beheld his work: Over a dozen karts fit for riding and a regal motorized throne for his father. Then Jr stretched and yawned. It had been a long day. Even if he’d missed the middle of it mentally, his body still felt the fatigue of being up at such an hour.

It was well past bedtime, and so the prince and his entourage retired to peach’s castle to get some well deserved rest.

For a world only recently stitched together, the night passed with remarkable peace.

Of course, not all was perfect. Outside, once the last of the sunlight faded away, certain monsters started to appear in especially dark, lonely places, wandering the opens and filling the air with loathsome squeaks, titters, and moans. But within the safety of Peach's castle, its many different denizens could sleep soundly. The Princess opened up every room for whoever wished it, barring the treasury; a number of lounges, small bedrooms, and various other chambers provided secure and even comfortable rest following dinner and whatever other business her guests wished to attend to. It was late indeed when the Scrapyard crew trudged in, dirty and tired but happy and triumphant, to plop down and snooze the night away.

No formal call went out in the morning to awaken everyone, but communal effort and the reminder of important duty bore the heroes out from their various beds to greet their second day in this bizarre new world. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit -with some particularly ripe specimens set aside just for Gene, after he'd demonstrated his love for them last night- awaited them in the kitchen, but after a while toads began to circulate to ask that everyone head out to the small lawn that lay between the castle's front and the moat, where Peach waited to address them.

Those who arrived earlier could take a gander at the fleet of karts parked on the eastern lawn. Racing machines of all shapes and sizes stood ready for action, repaired -and in some cases, enhanced- the night before. Of special note was the huge and imposing Bowsermobile, refurbished with painstaking effort by the king's little tyke as a special present to the best dad a little koopa could ask for. There was also Tora's latest project, a Landship kart decked out with functional cannons in the sides and a chain-attached speargun on the prow. The Nopon, having woken up early to glut himself on breakfest and then head out to put the finishing touches on the karts, could be found among the earliest to arrive on the scene, checking out his Landship and proudly showing it off to whoever got too close. The collective direction of the karts seemed to imply that the suggestion last night to take the castle's eastern bridge and head toward the Land of Adventure had won out.

Some of the rabbids that worked with Bowser Jr, and in general hung around the group before, could be seen out and about among the karts. They appeared to mean no harm, despite the lingering sunset-red in their eyes; if anything, they appeared remarkably genial. Among them was the Buckler who made a truce with the heroes in the scrapyard the day before when faced with a horde of robot engineers, along with his surviving troops. They acted cautiously around the heroes, but remained their amicable, goofy, scatterbrained selves for the most part.

When everyone arrived, Peach stood up from her dainty wrought-iron bench to address them. “Good morning!” she began, smiling warmly. “I hope you all enjoyed your visit to my castle. I'm sorry to see you go, since it's so dangerous out there, but...that's just what has to happen.” She blinked twice and cleared her throat. “A-anyway! There are some things everyone should know. First, not everyone is going with you.” She held up some fingers, and began closing them one by one. “Luigi, the little kid who won't tell us his name, Spyro, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, the rabbids, Wario, Henry, Minako, Junpei, and the man called 'Master of Masters'. However, you'll be able to welcome a few new faces to the active team, like Banjo and Kazooie,” she pointed out the bear and bird. “And Donnie and Gene, who joined us last evening. Plus, if you didn't already meet Franklin, Poppi, Henry, Clank, the little miss with the hat, and Junpei, please do. I hear they joined just before the big fight, thrown right into the thick of it.”

She then raised a hand, giving a signal, and from by the door stepped an unfamiliar young man with steely blue hair. As he walked forward to stand beside Peach, wearing a courteous smile, Peach said, “I would also like you to meet Mr. Steven Stone. He arrived very early this morning, and was unbound by Master of Masters. He wanted to give a few words about 'Pokemon.' Steven?”

“Thank you, Princess,” he said, and raised his voice. “Good morning to you all. Like many of you, I harbor a lot of confusion about this world, but I may be able to help you with a part of it. By now, I'm sure you've seen all sorts of creatures. Among them are Pokemon. It is possible for anyone to recruit these creatures, like pets, without any sort of spirit meddling, using pokeballs like this one.” He produced a spherical object from a pocket, half white and half red separated by a black band. With a flick of his wrist he tossed it onto the ground, and in a burst of light a little aron appeared. “Throw a pokeball at a Pokemon like this, capture it, and you'll be able to train it. If striking them down and taking their power into yourself puts you ill at ease, this is a good way to increase your fighting power. As a representative of Devon Corporation, I plan to set up a sort of shop here at Peach's Castle to sell items like this for training and raising Pokemon. However, I'll give away three pokeballs for free to whoever wants them. I look forward to working with you to help save the world.” With that, he stepped back again.

Peach took the spotlight again. “On the matter of 'spirit meddling'. Master of Masters told me all about it, and said I should probably let you all know, in case someone had no idea. Everyone has a 'spirit' inside them. If you...um, I mean, anyone duh..dah...er, stops...being alive, then the spirit will be let loose. You can connect with spirits to make Strikers who'll assist you when you call on them, break them to get some kind of gear, or absorb them into your heart or mind for new powers or skills. Those last ones have side effects, though. But he said that if you want to be able to defeat Galeem, you'll need all the power you can get, so...yeah.” Clearly, Peach didn't quite know what she was talking about, but the effort she made was laudable nonetheless.

Something occurred to her, and she perked up again. “Oh! Master of Masters also made another discovery. These things.” She reached down behind the bench and picked up a strange box. “They're supposedly scattered around the world. They have equipment inside, like the kind you'd get from...crushing spirits, I think? But you have to put money in. Look.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a green bill with a number of fives on it and inserted it a slot on the box's front. A moment later the box reacted, and began to open up with a series of clicks. Four streaks of light shot out of the top, arced through the air, and hit the ground in front of her. There was a bottle of milk, a box of rifle ammunition, a little gun of unknown origin, and a cool-looking hat. Peach didn't know whether to be impressed or let down, so she just continued. “So if you're rich, you'll probably be able to win do out there. But let's move on. I should let you all should know: I'm going with you!”

A beaming smile radiated from her for all to see. “It's the least I can do to help. Toadsworth can handle things around here, not that there's much to handle. And I know how to fight. Been to every Smash tournament but the first, after all.” She tossed the empty box down, which popped out of existence, and punched the air a few times. “This time, I'm not just standing around waiting for the save. I'm going to get as powerful as I can, and save the world too!”

Settling down, she took a deep breath, then clapped her hands together. “So! The plan was to go to this 'Land of Adventure', right? According to the map, which is now rolled up inside the Bowsermobile's trunk, just follow the road going east until you hit the branch, and go south until we reach the village. It sounds easy, but we should be careful out there! Once we leave the Mushroom Kingdom, anything could happen.”

With that, it seemed that nothing remained to be said. Everyone could go make their final preparations. From his perch atop his Landship, Tora called out, “Okay then, meh! Big adventure just about to kick off. If friends not drive before, there no need for worry. These karts so simple in design that actual idiot could drive, no problem.” Poppi cast a sidelong glance at him, knowing that with his teeny tiny legs he couldn't reach the pedals to drive himself, and that she'd be piloting their Landship. Regardless, she went ahead and demonstrated by pushing the 'on' button, then pressing down on the pedal while turning the wheel to drive around in a little circle.

It wouldn't take much to get going, it seemed, but not everyone was quite ready to rumble. Some needed to fix their gear, or talk to someone like Steven Stone, or get a feeling for the karts. Of course, some would be using their own transportation, like Geno and Donnie, who'd be flying, or Hat Kid with the little motor scooter stowed in her ship, or Bowser Jr if he recovered his Clown Car from wherever it might have ended up.

@Lugubrious@DracoLunaris

---

Linkle actually managed to work up a good sweat digging through garbage and dragging around big metal contraptions, but as the moon rose and the skitters and moans of the creatures of darkness began to resound around them she switched from pulling carts to shooting arrows. She set herself up on a patrol rout around their worksite, climbing on the more stable looking piles of scrap to spot the enemies that came close and feather them before they could disrupt the work.

It felt good, honestly. When she'd first heard the noises she'd feared that her premonition earlier had come true, especially seeing the silhouettes of what looked like robots, but was pleasantly surprised to see these monsters where much more classic if a little blockier than she was used to. Stalfos, Gibdos, spiders the size of Skulltulas and...well, she had to admit she had no clue what she could compare the last ones to but that wasn't important because they died all the same. No plinks and plonks of arrows bouncing off. These guys weren't even as tough as what she was used too, no paralyzing screams or hordes of numbers and save for the couple of suprising arrows from the stalphos she had to narrowly dodge she felt like she could almost take these guys out without stopping. She was in her element; running around, identifying problems, and then eliminating them while her comrades accomplished their mission. After the day she'd had it was something Linkle had desperately needed.

She even managed to grab a few spirits while on the run, just like the monster parts she'd grabbed on the battlefields back home. She didn't found how many she pocketed, but regardless she was planning to smash them before bed just because she was curious.

Of course this fun couldn't last forever. With a roar Linkle felt the earth shift under her and Junior, who had earlier disappeared deep into a scrap pile, exploded outward along with his rabbit minion in a cart that was bigger than any she had ever seem. The awe at the thing was enough to make her overlook the fact that he had exploded from out from under her, causing the pile she was perched on to collapse and Linked to end up looking at the behemoth upside down. Luckily the roar of the engine seemed to put the fear into the monsters, at least for now, allowing them to get the carts over the bridge without major incident.

That was for the best, as Junior announced they were done for the night with a yawn and stated leading the group back inside the castle. Linkle wanted to thank the prince for holding her rabbit cloak for her, but as she saw the tired boy trudging along all snuggled up in it she decided that getting it back wasn't that big a deal.

---

By the time they got in the feast was over and it looked like mostly everyone had gone to bed. Still, the leftover scent of the cooking that had gone on was still hanging in the air and elicited a loud growl from Linkle's stomach. She wandered over to the kitchen, where a few of the mushroom men were still cleaning up the leftovers. As one of them busied herself carrying a platter of what looked like some sort of mushroom saute that had been barely touched Linkle reached down and took it off her hands. The toad looked up as Linkle plopped one of the mushrooms into her mouth and eagerly chewed. "I got this one." Linkle said, waving her off. The toad bowed slightly and started making her way down the hall when Linkle thought of something and called out to her again. "Hey, sorry, do you know where I could get some pajamas?"

---

Linkle stood there in a long frilly pink nightgown and matching cap staring at the weird machine the toad had fed her dirty, sweat soaked, moat water and grass stained clothes into. Presumably everyone else's was in there too, at least the ones that had cloths they cared about. She watched it intently as it shook and rumbled, and almost got lost in the hypnotic sound it was making while she waited on the toads judgement.

Beside her the toad that had brought her here was conversing quietly with an elder one over the scrap of green they held between them. Linkle, afraid that what was left of her cloak wouldn't survive whatever washing process went on in there, had urgently fished it out and explained that this wasn't just some cloak, but a symbol of heroism.

Seeing how important this was, the toad girl had called over the Elder and the two were now looking it over. Linkle saw the elder carefully running over the rough edges of the burned patches with her fingers. "Can you fix it?" Linkle asked, but the elder toad held up a finger to silence her. Then, with a moment of consideration, nodded her head as though accepting a challenge and made her way out of the room with the garment. Linkle was about to follow her, but the other one tossed a pair of blankets and a big fluffy pillow into her hands and hurried her out the door.

Unfortunately the scrap crews late arrival meant the rooms were already taken so she bedded down on one of the couches in the entrance hall. That was all well and good to her though. It meant she would be able to watch the door, which she wasn't even sure locked. She got comfortable, slipped off her compass and placed it safety under the couch, made sure her crossbows were well within reach, and crushed the spirits she'd picked up earlier to put a capstone on the night. Then she finally allowed the tiredness everywhere else in her body to reach her eyes and slipped into a deep sleep.

---

Linkle closed her eyes tighter as the rays of the sun shone in through the windows, but couldn't shut out the hustle and bustle of the castle nor the scent of frying eggs that wafted out of the kitchen. Sitting up she yawned loudly, stretched, then hopped off the couch as though the light had refilled all her energy. "Yosh! Brand new day!" She said' rolling her shoulders and wiping the sleep out of her eyes with a determined look on her face. "And today, I refuse to fall behind."

She fished her compass out from under the couch and slipped it back around her neck before heading to breakfast. It was delicious, and as if to make up for yesterday she dug like a woman possessed, slurping up whole eggs and using so much syrup on her pancakes that it was more like she was drinking them. It was also her first time getting a good look at some of her new comrades, including a man fascinatingly clad in green that reminded her of the rabbit she'd bonded with. There were more rabbits too, white ones. Maybe those were what the hero rabbit had been trying to reach?

She didn't have to long to ponder that before the toads made the rounds, telling them all the the princess required their presence on the field. Linkle stood up from her chair and looked around, wondering if she should head back to the washing machine to get her clothing, but as she walked back to her couch to collect her gear she found that the bedding had been collected during breakfast and her clothes were laying folded in its place. She rushed over, pulling her green cloak out from under the pile and eagerly unfurling it.

She stared at it in awe, then hugged the good as new garment to her chest. That old lady was a miracle worker. Linkle swore, right then and there, that on their next adventure she'd find some present to repay her with. Finding a room to get dressed and make herself presentable for meeting a princess, she rushed out the door onto the lawn after gathering all her gear.

Linkle smiled with not a little bit of pride at the lineup of carts she'd helped get, but not as widely as when she actually saw the princess for the first time. Wow! Just like the monsters last night had been classic this was a classical princess. Pink dress, beautiful eyes, shining crown, the complete package! She felt a bit of yeaterday's funk slipping in at having not contributed to rescuing her.

It wasn't any less of a bummer that not everyone was coming with them. Minako and the Master were especially hard blows, though she could understand why. Mina and the Master had to regain their strength, after all. At least with all these heroes staying behind they didn't have to worry about the castle all that much. The black rabbits might not be especially dangerous, but those robots still had that base on the hill.

The new face of Mr. Steven Stone was also spirit lifting, although she had to wonder what the Master had been doing up so early in the morning. It got much better once the man explained that you could capture monsters without destroying them. She also looked on with interest as the princess pulled out what turned out to be a treasure box, opening it with some weird paper key. A number of treasures popped out, but Linkle's eyes were instantly drawn to one in particular. A glass bottle, filled with milk. She knew it was milk, because it had the famous logo of Lon Lon Ranch plastered right on the side. She almost started for it before the Princess dropped the bombshell that she was going to be accompanying them. The statement that she intended to fight earned her a cheer from Linkle, who had met two warrior princesses in her life and adored both of them.

The conversation then shifted to the adventure ahead in the aptly named Land of Adventure, a name that almost had Linkle vibrating with excitement. With the shift came a new speaker, Tora, who took the time to explain how each of these carts actually worked. The demonstration did make it seem simple and Linkle let her eyes wander to the strange horse headed motorcart she'd pulled out of the scrap last night. She could almost hear it neighing becomingly at her.

She had never had a horse of her own before. A hero needed a noble steed.

She put a pin in that though. She turned around, back ton the princess and Steven Stone. "Hey, I'll take three balls! Monster taming sounds fun." She shouted, running up. She glanced to the side to meet the eyes of the princess, and after a moment quickly gave a bow to her. "Greeting Princess. My name is Linkle, it's a pleasure to meet you." She hadn't stood on ceremony with Zelda or Midna, but they had been in the middle of a fight at the time. "I have a request. Can I have that bottle please? Pretty please?" She pointed to the milk bottle sitting on the grass. "I know what that stuff is, it's premium Lon Lon Milk. I've only ever had it once, and that bottle had gone bad." Lon Lon Ranch wasn't anywhere near her out of the way village, and the one time she'd gotten a chance to try the stuff it had still been delicious even after it had gone slightly chunky. "I'll trade you. You want this rabbit gun?"

---

Franklin stared up at Bowser for a moment, following his hand as he pointed out the door. "Wait...aw, shit." He mentally slapped himself, immediately running out of the kitchen in the direction that Bowser had pointed him to. Bowser Jr. had already ran off to the scrapyard, where Franklin was supposed to be helping him. In his career, he had learned that a first impression can make or break a relationship. While he had no idea what Bowser's kid was like, showing up late to a job was a terrible way to make a first impression. And from what he had seen, he did not want to get on Bowser's bad side. So, he ran, going down the halls as fast as possible. He ran past the battle-damaged throne room, and outside, where he spotted the silhouette of who he assumed to be Bowser Jr.

Slowing down, he came up next to Bowser's son, as he was in the process of yelling at a bunch of weird rabbit creatures. He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of what looked to him like some sort of small lizard...thing. Thought he'd be taller... Catching his breath, he began to speak. "Sorry if I'm late. I'm here to help y'all with the, uh, karts." Looking up, he scanned the scrapyard. He vaguely remembered it from the bridge, but he didn't get a good chance to actually look at it since. It was certainly a chaotic scene, the former racetrack covered with all sorts of scrap, wrecks, and other things he couldn't quite identify. He also noticed a good amount of debris and wrecked robots, seemingly the aftermath of a fight. I'll have to ask Mike what the hell happened here, he thought, turning back to watch Bowser Jr's attempts to recruit the rabbits.

While they seemed to recognize him, they didn't seem very interested in what he was proposing. Franklin watched as he attempted to get them to work, seemingly with no results, until someone else came along- he recognized her, but didn't know her name- and placed a cloak over Bowser Jr., then walked off, shouting at the rabbits. The cloak seemed to get the rabbits to pay attention to him, and he noticed that the girl had rabbit ears, which seemed to also help in getting the rabbits to pay attention. Maybe they saw her as one of their own?

Whatever the reason, it seemed to get their attention, and so they began working on the carts. As the day went on, Franklin helped wherever he could, doing small tasks like helping pull carts out from the rubble. When most of the vehicles were out, he did what he could to fix faults wherever he found them, making use of his knowledge of vehicles. He had spent plenty of time modifying and repairing his own car, and working on the karts wasn't so different. He was more interested in the bikes than the karts, as the karts seemed somewhat impractical to ride around in all the time. Besides, riding a motorcycle was a lot cooler than driving around in a go-kart.

He continued to work throughout the day, fixing up whatever he could and scrapping what he couldn't. As he was working on taking parts from a broken kart, he heard one of Jr's minions calling out. He followed behind, taking a look at what had been found. "Oh my God..."

---

---

After working all evening, Franklin was more than happy to get a good night's sleep. He simply walked to the nearest bedroom and passed out, falling into a dreamless sleep. Michael, after gorging himself at the feast, had spent most of the day exploring the castle, familiarizing himself with the layout. He figured that, if they were going to be staying there for any prolonged period, he might as well get to know his way around. The many mushroom servants- 'Toads', he learned they were called- were greatly helpful in this endeavor, giving him directions and explaining the history and use of the many rooms. By the time he was finished, it was dark out, so he headed up, finding one of the guest rooms and taking up residence there.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting on the bed in his boxers, looking around the room. The toads had been kind enough to take away his dirty, bloody suit to be cleaned, even promising to sew the bullet holes in it. Some spare clothes would be nice to have, but his suit was specifically made to carry his weapons. Lying down, he took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. So...first night here. The castle's nice, but I still wish I was home. But, I guess we're stuck here until we take out Galeem. He took another deep breath, studying the lines and curves on the ceiling. You know...what happens if I die here? What about those spirits? When Galeem goes, do they all just...go back to normal? Will I even remember any of this, when I get back? He continued to study the ceiling, before he turned to his side and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Ah, fuck it, who cares. I bet if I die, that dick in the cowboy hat is gonna turn me into a rifle or something.

Reaching back over to grab his earbuds, he plugged them in before turning the phone on, the screen lighting up. 97%, the battery read. If he used it sparingly, it might last a while. He had a charging cable, but with nothing to plug it into, it was just a useless paperweight. Slipping the earbuds in, he tapped the music app, scrolling through the list for a moment before coming to what he was looking for. Pressing play, he laid back, sighing as a familiar tune began to play.

---

When he woke up, Michael found his suit, washed and repaired, folded neatly at his door. Walking down to the kitchen, he found Franklin, who had also had his clothes cleaned and repaired, and sat down with him. Michael had a much lighter breakfast, with the large amount of food he had yesterday filling him up plenty. The two mostly focused on their food, and soon enough, a Toad came around to tell them that Peach had something to say out on the front lawn.

The two headed out to the lawn, standing with the others. The first thing Michael noticed was the array of karts that had been brought out of the Scrapyard. He cringed as he noticed that some of the rabbit creatures from yesterday were hanging around, still under Galeem's influence by the looks of it, but not hostile. Hope they don't recognize me...that could be awkward. Turning to Franklin, he began to whisper to him. "So that's what you were working on?"

"Yeah. Most of 'em are in good shape, so it should make travelling a bit easier...if you don't mind going in a little kart." He chuckled. "Personally, I got my eye on that one bike there." He pointed towards the Wario bike. "It's the most...normal out of them." Before Michael could respond, Peach began to speak, cutting their conversation short.

The Princess began by announcing who would be staying at the castle, a list of some familiar names and some unfamiliar ones. She also mentioned some newcomers, including a man named Donnie that the two had missed. Reminds me a bit of the Centurion. Another medieval type, I'm guessing. She also pointed out a bear-and-bird duo that they had also missed, Michael raising an eyebrow at the odd sight. Weird as it might have been, it still wasn't the strangest thing he had seen so far. She also listed off the names of the newcomers from the bridge, Franklin raising his hand as his name was mentioned.

Then, another newcomer appeared, Peach introducing him and saying that he wanted to talk about "Pokémon", whatever that was. Despite their total unfamiliarity with the subject, the two listened with interest. Apparently, there were certain creatures that could be tamed with a "pokeball" and made into pets, or allies in combat. It sounded very helpful, but they had no idea of knowing what a "Pokémon" looked like. Michael got a kick out of when he said he'd be setting up a shop for Pokémon related items. Looks like even in the apocalypse, capitalism is alive and well. Still, he'd want to ask the guy about the creatures when he got a chance.

Then, Peach began to talk about something the Master of Masters had apparently found. They watched with curiosity as Peach took out a box, then put- the hell? Where'd she get a five from? into the box. It popped out a few seemingly unrelated items, most interestingly a strange blue pistol. Franklin looked over at Michael. "You got your wallet, right?"

"Yeah. Guess we're in luck. You have yours, right?" Franklin nodded, answering the question. After Peach explained where they would be going, the two walked up to the box. Michael picked up the pistol, looking it over. "Uh...anyone mind if we take this?" He looked around for a moment, before tossing the pistol to Franklin. "Keep it. You need a new gun."

Franklin looked it over, holding the strange weapon in his hands. It felt a bit weird to hold, and he got the feeling that it wasn't designed for human hands. While he didn't know what exactly it was, it was a gun, and he knew how to use a gun. "No idea what this is, but it looks like some alien shit." Shrugging, he placed the gun in his belt. He had a feeling he would have ample opportunity to use it soon.

The lack of any king sized beds in the castle, and the old wizard Kamek’s inability to be awake all night to size up a bed for him, ment that Bowser had to settled for a rather undignified sleeping spot consisting of the throne room floor. After in-elegantly hanging his suit on the beat up remains of the throne he used the carpet as a mattress, a curtain as a blanket and the rather beat up seat cushion of Megadragonbowser’s throne as a pillow. Jr found him there after returning from his junkyard expedition and had promptly curled up beside his father on the seat cushion for some well deserved rest.

A few hours later dawn arrived. Rather than getting up to face it however a barely awoken Bowser Jr merely rolled over and tugged the hood of the mad mantle, which they had used as a blanket, over their eyes and went back to sleep. His father did much the same with the curtain and so the pair were only roused a few minutes later by Kamek banging the butt of his broom against the marble floor. The aging koopa had climbed the stairs up from his laboratory where he had been sleeping in a rocking chair to find the royals sleeping in and resolved to so something about that.

”Awaken my masters! It’s a brand new day in this brand new world and both are ripe for conquest!” Kamek said. He got nothing but a bunch of groaning in response.

Kamek sighed and then tried a different line of approach ”Can’t you hear the bacon and eggs sizzling away in the kitchen? I’d be quick if I were you, if you sleep in for any longer the others will gobbled it all up without you.”

This got a response alright as the royal stomachs, demanding that they be sated, drove the two Koopas to get up and go. Kamek grinned to himself as the pair threw off their blankets, threw on their clothes and then rushed towards the kitchen, before he slowly made his way after them.

One protein filled breakfast and a fulfillment of basic hygiene requirements later and the Koopa troop was finally ready to face the day, just in time to be called outside. Jr eagerly scurried ahead so he could show off his evening's work.

”Ta-da!” he announced along with a sideways hand shimy as they came into view of the fleet of Karts.

”Excellent work young master!” Kamek congratulated Jr, while Bowser immediately took note of the largest member of the fleet of car.

”Oh hay, is that the Bowser Mobile? Man last time I saw that pile of junk it... well it was a pile of junk!” Bowser said as he approached the vehicle to look it over ”Ha ha, its looks as good as new!” he noted before clicking open the door and hopping inside. A click of the keys later and the massive purple muscle car, no worse for wear after its initial bumpy test drive last night, was happily purring along, eager to be let loose on the open road. ”Great stuff Jr!” Bowser congratulated his son after he switched the vehicle back off again to stop it from drowning out whatever announcement peach was going to make.

The young prince was brimming with glee at having done so well, before he hurried round the back of the Bowser car. ”I also found this!” Jr said as he came whizzing back into view riding his tiny clown car, currently in its kart configuration, with 4 small cart wheels and 2 massive tailpipes sticking out the bottom in place of the usual propeller. The machine was so small that it barely increased Jr’s profile whatsoever, making him only about a head higher and a touch wider. Spiking up around jr’s seat where his various weapons, from the splatter shot, paint brush and newly added and supper gross Synapse rifle. Other things like the necro smasher, slicer cutter and blooper hood where all aboard, stuffed down in the place where the unlimited unlimited supplies of bombs, Mechakoopas, etc were normally kept.

”No sign of mine?” Bowser asked, mostly out of curiosity, at the sight of the miniature machine.

”ah... No papa. Sorry” Jr responded, disappointed in himself that he hadn't.

”I suspect that it simply didn't fit the definition of kart for whatever force piled this place together, seeing as, unlike your own, it has no wheels.” Kamek suggested while Bowser directed an upwards held palm to the royal adviser as if to say ‘yeah. That’

”Oh. Ok!” Jr responded, cheering right back up before remembering something. ”And for you Kamek.” he said before whizzing off into the herd of karts and returning a few moments later wheeling the Magicruiser alongside him. ”I got this!”

”Ah. Uh. That's. Very nice of you...” he began, while trying to avoid cringing at the ego it would require to ride a vehicle made in your own image, only to be merciful cut off by the beginning of peach’s speech. There was a lot of it to take in. Kamek ended up grumbling about loot box culture under his breath for the latter half of the talk while Bowser was pleased that peach was coming with them.

Jr showed interest in the possibility of getting a load of pet Pokemon to add to his army, having fought in smash he knew just how powerful some of them could be, and so hopped out of his clown car to go speak with Steven Stone. While on the way they navigated around the koopa king, that had been claimed by the Rabbids and had a cobbled together lorry trailer strapped to the back of it to create an mad max/orky looking transport for them. Whether they were going to be coming with the party to had just got caught up in the moment last night remained to be seen. Occasional waves and fist-bumps where exchanged as he made his way through their ranks until he finally reached the pokemon paraphernalia salesman.

”You” said the boy, who’s age was probably first or second closest to the appropriate one expected of someone beginning their pokemon journey ”Can give me the free Pokeballs now.” An impatient hand was raised, ready to receive the monster catching equipment. The open road called to him and he was eager to set off.

It called to Bowser too, who rolled the Bowser Mobile up to start of the road east. Kamek, who had shoved the magikruiser in the boot of the king’s massive car, hovered on his broomstick above the car while giving directions to Bowser tos top him crushing anything/one with his massive vehicle.

Once there Bowser turned and leaned over the back oh his car to shout ”YOU LOT HURRY UP AND GET YOUR KART’S IN GEAR COZ WE’RE RACING TO THE VILLAGE!” before revving the car’s engine impatiently.

”Sire that doesn't seem like the best idea. What if you run into trouble on the way there” Kamek interjected before Bowser waved off his criticism.

”Then I’ll run over the trouble!” Bowser laughed, before adding ”Besides, you and the other flyers can do the whole Lakitu thing. You know, watch out for trouble, get people back on the road if they fall off it. That sort of thing.”

Kamek sighed as Bowser turned back to the group and shouted at Geno and Donovan ”GENO. NEW GUY. SCOUT AHEAD FOR TROUBLE IF YOUR FAST ENOUGH, BUT ACTUALLY COME WARN US ABOUT THE STUFF YOU FIND THIS TIME! THAT MEAN YOU PUPPET.”

”Then I’m going to make sure you won't immediately hit trouble.” Kamek said, before turning to go ahead a touch ”Please don’t go anywhere till I’m back Sire.” he added before he shot up skywards on his broomstick to get a better view of the road ahead.

Bowser rolled his eyes and then leaned back in his chair to wait for everyone else to be done with their pre-departure activities.

Once they had the teleporters in working order, Ratchet had decided to call it a night. That they turned a piece of bread into a horrid monster didn’t really bother him too much considering he had faced down much worse. It would be easily splattered with a single good thwack of the omniwrench. Graciously, the princess offered up what seemed to be every room in the castle for them to sleep, which wasn’t an issue for most of their crew. For him however, with his newfound height courtesy of Zer0’s spirit bond, it was quite difficult to find a bed that could support his long body. Ultimately the lombax decided to just take the closest mattress and curl up like a cat, befitting his feline physiology.

Down deep in the dungeon the Courier worked and toiled all night long to craft up as many chems as he could, calling upon his two strikers to keep guard while he worked. He immediately took the first dose of jet that he had crafted in order to rid himself of the nasty withdraw effects, then went to work making more. Coyote tobacco, more jet, rushing water, mentats, stimpacks and more. Eventually he had to brew himself some coffee to make up for the lack of sleep (and what a good thing that his coffee actually negated the need for sleep!) but still he pressed on and on until he had no viable combination of ingredients left.

With a heavy sigh of toil, the Courier wiped his brow, packing away all his new chems and drink into his carry bag. No sooner had he latched the pack up did he hear the sound of his lakelurk’s sonic blast along with a small, gravelly, yet somehow high pitched yelp. 6 rounded the corner, pistol drawn, to the sight of Bastion and the lakelurk facing down one of those tiny mushroom head people that populated the castle, one with blue spots on his head instead of the usual red.

Rolling his eyes, the Courier called back his strikers and put his piece away. ”Sorry about that. Shoulda been more specific about standin’ guard over me. Hope yer ok, little buddy.”

The small creature cowered at first, but quickly recovered and trotted along to the Courier, giving him a swift kick in the shins. He yelped in pain, hopping back on one foot, rubbing the injury. It wasn’t going to bruise or anything, and to be honest didn’t actually hurt all that bad (sub-dermal armor and all), but it was a reflexive response to the very angry mushroom man. “The name is Toad! And don’t you forget it, buster!” Toad crossed his arms and glared.

”Don’t worry, I won’t,” 6 assured, putting both feet on the ground again. ”You seem to be made of sterner stuff than the others round these parts.”

“What, you think we’re all tiny cowards? That’s racist, buddy! I’ll have you know that I’ve gone on adventures with Mario and the Princess!” The Toad gave a little “harrumph” and turned his back on the Courier before speaking again. “I’m supposed to wake up any stragglers to go meet in the courtyard, so get moving bucko!”

The Courier nodded, mildly impressed by the small person, and took the verbal abuse in stride. Without another word he headed topside to join the others.

---

Ratchet and the Courier each listened to what Princess Peach had to say, paying attention to her little presentation to the group. It lacked a certain royal regality that Ratchet would have thought would’ve accompanied Peach, and a certain snobbish self-importance that the Courier would have expected. Both were pleased by this turn of events and enjoyed keeping things casual.

As the princess introduced various newcomers to the groups at large, Clank was among the names listed. Almost by reflex the little robot striker was summoned by Ratchet’s side wearing his best “Secret Agent Clank” tuxedo, giving a professional wave to those who turned to look at him. “It is good to be recognized,” he commented before vanishing once again.

As this was happening, the Courier stood by his lonesome, leaning against a tree and enjoying the shade it provided. So the Master of Masters was staying behind, was he? Whatever that fink was planning probably had to do with the castle itself, or how everyone was using it as a base of operations. His train of thought was interrupted as the tree he leaned against was now leaning back toward him, bending at the trunk!

“Cross cross! Hera! Heracross!” joyfully exclaimed the enormous blue beetle creature he had met just yesterday evening. It was trying to get his attention, pushing on the tree from the other side. The thing’s strength was enormous!

”Howdy bug hombre.” The Courier tipped his hat at the beetle, which then sank its teeth into the tree, devouring the nutritious sap from within. ”Well alrighty then.” He turned his attention back to the princess, who had just introduced someone new. He spoke about creatures that he called “Pokemon,” summoning one of these things as an example for his diatribe. The Courier glanced between the little aron that Steven Stone had conjured from thin air to the large blue beetle, then back to Steven. They were obviously completely different creatures, but just as Mario, Peach, and Bowser looked like they “belonged” together, so too did these two animals. The man spoke about how they could be tamed and captured using special made balls and turned into allies. Well, that sounded right as rain! And how lucky for the Courier that he already had endeared himself to one of these Pokemon already?

Then Princess Peach took over again and explained something else that was new and foreign to the group as a whole. She demonstrated some kind of box that, when provided with some strange form of currency, exploded into a bunch of new items and gear! The Courier recognized the green bill she had used, something that was utterly plentiful (and completely worthless) in his own world: pre-war money. The currency used by America before the bombs turned everything to shit. Damn, he never kept that stuff on hand. If the Mojave was stitched into a part of this world then he’d be sure to find boat loads of pre-war money for those boxes, but he didn’t have any of it on hand now.

After the demonstration the princess declared her intention to come with, punctuated by a cute display of boxing that honestly really did not suit her. Smash Tournaments? Not waiting around to be rescued? Ratchet respected her, but felt unsure about it. After all, what would become of the castle if she were taken out? Would the Toads still maintain their new headquarters? The Courier, on the other hand, applauded. His clapping resonated across the courtyard showing off his appreciation and respect for this princess. She was the absolute antithesis to the kinds of people that inspired him to fight against the gods and masters that conspire to determine the fates of honest, hard working regular people.

And finally the presentation ended with Tora giving a small demonstration on how to drive the carts that had been fixed up by some of the group the previous night. The Courier turned his nose at this, always having been someone who preferred to walk his roads. He’d have to ride shotgun to another driver. On the other hand Ratchet was fairly excited to get his hands on something new to pilot! He bound toward the karts to look them over for one that suited his purposes, eventually coming across a blue winged speed demon of a kart that resonated with his spirit.

”What’dya think Clank? Does it match my new look?”

Clank immediately appeared to answer. “It does look rather sleek, but I am more concerned with your ability to keep it from crashing. Hehehehehehe!”

”Hey! That was one time!”

A nearby conversation caught the lombax’s attention. The two human friends, Franklin and Michael, were discussing one of the pieces of gear dropped from the loot box. A gearhead himself familiar with alien technology, he felt the need to jump in. ”It looks different from the designs in my galaxy, but I’d wager what you have right there is a plasma pistol,” he interjected. ”Small power cells so I wouldn’t expect a big blast from it. Probably comparable to the side arms of your chemical based combustion guns, but waaaay cooler because it’s plasma.” Ratchet gave the two a fingergun salute.

Meanwhile, the Courier approached Steven, the large beetle scuttling along the ground behind him. ”I’ll take the free balls, hombre. Already got me a pokemon that wants t’be my pardner. Anything you can tell me about this one would be appreciated.” As soon as Steven handed over the pokeballs, the Courier casually tossed one at the heracross, which immediately went inside. The ball did not struggle, nor budge at all save to fly right back into his hand. The fighting bug did not contest being captured and willfully joined his side.

As the feast wound down, it seemed the team was in agreement to not split up, though the idea of the two groups connected via teleporters was a surprisingly elegant solution that could be tried in future excursions. As it got dark, Din pondered her first night in a strange world, and kept mostly to herself, though she did walk the gardens looking up at the alien stars, and wondering how it could be night when the source of light, Galeem, didn't set. But tomorrow would be a long day, so Din took to one of the rooms and slept.

When morning came, she was woken up by one of the toads and hurriedly ate her breakfast, still having not formed a particularly strong bond with her allies, save maybe for the Courier. In the courtyard, Peach's announcement took Din by surprise. The princess looked more delicate than herself, yet she seemed to be a more capable fighter. Although in a world where short plumbers could regularly defeat giant dragon turtles, perhaps the princesses were made of tougher stuff. The introduction of the carts worried Din, despite Tora showing everyone how to drive them. She still felt more comfortable riding a living, breathing creature, though Din was surprised to see Linkle immediately go for one of the less properly balanced, two-wheel machines. Instead, the idea suggested by Steven Stone seemed more palatable. Din had been averse to collecting the souls of the fallen, but she did feel a need to pull her own weight. Having domesticated animal friends seemed like a good idea, and perhaps she would get a suitable mount instead of having to pilot one of these machines. So she followed the Courier towards the Pokemon trainer, witnessing his capture of the Heracross. "This is amazing, and there are so many of these wonderful creatures in the garden. Mr. Stone, is it possible to ride one of these...er...Pokemon?"

A couple of the up-and-coming adventurers turned out to be interested in Steven's offer. Linkle, 6, Din, and Bowser Jr all stepped up, several of them requesting all three of the pokeballs in the young man's possession. “Er...” Stalling for a moment, he glanced between the bunch of them. He didn't exactly have a bottomless satchel of these things; in fact, only eleven lined his bag. The little dragon creature seemed impertinent and demanding, liable to throw a fit and get his big dad involved if he didn't get his way, but didn't mean he deserved them. Steven held up a placating hand. “Hold on a moment. Sorry, but I didn't expect so much interest. For the sake of fairness, I'll give all of you two. Just throw it at Pokemon to catch it.” With a practiced hand, he dished out the amended portion of balls to each. The rest he kept, meant for whoever else evidenced a desire for training. The rough-looking, suspicious-smelling one asked about the heracross that lurked nearby, and Steven proved happy enough to share what he knew. “That's a heracross. Bug-fighting type. Single Horn Pokemon, high physical attack and special defense, ability...Guts, I think. Or Swarm. When he's under duress, he'll either get stronger or enjoy more powerful bug-type moves.” Clearly Steven knew his stuff, but he thought nothing of it. Instead, considerations about these new trainers occupied his mind. If these folks held such eagerness for Pokemon without even really knowing what one was, he'd need to get busy. Making more currently lay beyond his means, but perhaps he could acquire some in other ways...

Momentarily engrossed in thought, he almost missed Din's question. When he did notice her, his eyes went wide for a moment, and he reddened in embarrassment. “Beg pardon,” he said. “It's absolutely possible to ride a Pokemon, though size and temperament may make things more or less difficult, and safety equipment is recommended. Not that I have any.” He considered the garden the young woman mentioned, which -due to its share of Pokemon- he'd visited earlier in the morning. “That said, I don't know where you'd find large enough for riding. Perhaps a...Linoone...?”

“Poppi does!” came a bright if somewhat monotonous voice, its owner's manner of speech giving away her identity instantly. The artificial blade stood close by. “Little field just east of scrapyard side where Tora not go. Saw last night during break. Very interesting creatures!” Stone-faced, she extended a hand toward Steven, who seemed somewhat taken aback. After a moment, he handed her a ball, which seemed to be what she wanted. With a smile Poppi turned to Din, and fired up her thrusters to loft a couple feet into the air. Her free hand went down for Din to grab. “Here, friend dancer. Poppi fly to location of Pokeypon, be back with time to spare.”

A few moments later, Poppi cut her boosters to land at the edge of a grassy expanse, just over a hill of junk littered with robot husks from yesterday's firefight. It appeared to stretch back through 1-1, connecting to rabbid territory, though the undergrowth grew thicker the farther south it went. More importantly, the lack of Megadragonbowser-mandated warfare since yesterday allowed some of the region's inhabitants to return. Many small things skittered among the grass, but more prominently the two would-be trainers could see drilbur, buneary, diggersby, sunflora, and rhyhorn. Near an apple tree -the only one in sight- grazed a small flock of skiddo, and under that tree dozed their guardian, a huge, majestic stoutland.

Poppi watched them for a few moments, content to observe for a little while despite her allies' imminent departure. She remained engrossed until something bumped into her foot, and when she looked down in alarm she found a plate-sized spider not even an inch away. Her eyebrows shot up, and while she said nothing, she lifted up her foot and stomped it in a panic, instantly killing it. Only when its spirit floated up from beneath her heel did she realize her potential error. “Oh.” Glancing at Din, she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Where Poppi from, wildlife attack all the time.” Gingerly she took the spirit and slipped it into her pocket. Not seeming terribly bothered by the encounter, she cast her gaze about once again, walking away from Din as she did. After a little while, she chanced upon a little croagunk leaning against a stone. It seemed unbothered by the artificial blade, keeping casual until she got too close, at which point it jumped up and released a cloud of poison gas in her face. Frowning, Poppi waved it away. “That not nice.” Baffled as to why the human-looking intruder wouldn't be affected by poison, the croagunk didn't move in time to avoid her pokeball, which snapped it up in a flash of light. Curious, Poppi watched the ball wiggle back and forth three times before it emitting a popping noise and fell still.

After staring a moment longer, Poppi let out a thoughtful noise and tapped her chin with a finger. “Hmm. Poppi wanted a pet, but not really know what to do with one. Maybe should ask Tora.” She grabbed the ball and turned her attention to Din.



Peach, meanwhile, enjoyed her own share of company. After a few words with others, she let Franklin know that he could take the strange pistol, then found herself faced with Linkle. The girl seemed eager to get her hands on the ordinary-looking milk jar that flew from the box she opened, even going so far as to suggest a trade. When Linkle offered her a blaster, which she actually recognized, Peach shook her head. “Oh no, please go on and take it. As for me, I'm already armed.” So saying, the princess reached down and promptly pulled a shotgun from hammerspace. While cartoony in design, the Barracuda packed a fiery wallop thanks to the burn core in its top. With this bizarrely kid-friendly take on a shotgun in hand, Peach meant business.

Tora, who'd finished his demonstration and begun wandering around to say hello to everyone, had found his way over to the remaining loot items just as Peach manifested her weapon of choice. The Barracuda took him aback -never would he have expected such a brutal instrument of war in such dainty hands- but intrigued him as well; now that Poppi could by modified through Poppiswap, he could change her elemental core if he got his hands on the right materials. Ether crystals, the principle component of Poppi upgrades, would be hard to come by, but he'd already been keeping an eye out for substitutes. The rabbid-made cores in their weapons could be just the thing, though he wanted better-quality ones for Poppi. “Meh meh!” he piped up. “If Peachypon have big boomy gun, will be very strong in close quarters. Am looking forward to work with you!” He gave Linkle a smile and a wave before moving on.

Next, he waddled up to his friend Blazermate, still bearing her modifications from her fusion with the Engineer spirit. For his part, Tora didn't know what to think of the whole process, but as worrying as nigh-random alteration of one's self was, it presented a great many interesting possibilities. The sound of breathing coming from a robot, of course, hinted at just how extreme the changes could be; some part of the Medabot, now, appeared to be truly alive. He resolved to only fuse with spirits that either resembled him already, or bore such a weak or generic character that it couldn't possibly misaffect him. Putting those thoughts aside, he greeted her. “Hello, friend! Blaze-Blaze looking very quaint this morning. Did finish project with weird cat man that Tora definitely not forget about?”



When Kamek looked eastward from high above Peach's Castle, he could see a road stretching out for quite a way. The terrain, a mix of badlands and grass known to some as chaparral, forced the highway to wind to and fro around little valleys and infrequent miniature mountains of earth and reddish stone. A few clumps of trees scattered the landscape, but more interesting were the roving gangs of dangerous-looking cars frequenting the whole area. Beyond that stretch of land, the road forked. The north way led to a shadowy city, referred to on the map Kamek saw as the Dead Zone, while southward the country grew progressively more colorful and cheerful—no doubt the Land of Adventure. At the fork, however, there appeared to be a couple buildings, which given his origins and the obscuring distance the Magikoopa couldn't possibly recognize as a gas station and diner.

”Only two!?” Jr said in dismay before stomping his feet angrily. When this mini tantrum failed to produce any more pokeballs he snatched the 2 balls he was getting out of Stone’s hand, telling him: ”Gah, fine whatever.” before turning away and marching back to his kart.

”hmmm. Now which Pokemon to catch and make my new minion?” he asked himself, before hopping into his clown car. The horrid Synapse bio-gun undulate in response to his return, much to jr’s dismay. ”ew. Gross. Quit wiggling!” he told it.

In response the tentacles of the gun drooped a little as if it was upset. Jr did not care. ”The whole spiked throne of weapons thing was cool, but if your going to be like that, then you’re all going down in the bomb box.” he said, before proceeding to shove the larger armaments down into the car’s storage compartment.

---

Over at the Bowser Mobile Kamek had returned from his minor skyward scouting expedition and was quite adamant that there should be no racing. It helped that no one else seemed to be interested in the prospect.

”Sure,” he was saying ”the road going ahead looks pretty smooth going. No obvious course hazards as far as I could see. But there were a large number of vehicles patrolling about the place. They did look like they were made of junk but they still might be dangerous and their drivers are likely as deranged as the Rabbids back there if their building style is any indicator. The road splits some way away after that, north goes to the ‘dead zone’, while the south goes to the ‘land of adventure’. There's some sort of building at the intersection, maybe it’s an out of the way inn or a shop?”

”Then we’ll trash these goons and then take a pit-stop at this shop place. See if there's anything good to loot in there. Money, something for lunch, that kind of thing” he responded before informing the rest of the team ”THERE’S SOME OF GALEEM’S GOONS ROVING ABOUT IN CARS ON THE ROAD UP AHEAD. WE’LL DEAL WITH THEM AND THEN MEET UP AT A SHOP LOOKING BUILDING THAT’S AT A FORK IN THE ROAD”

---

Jr hovered above the convoy to get a bird’s eye view of all the Pokemon scurrying about. There where so many and Jr barely recognised any of them despite the fact that Pokeballs with captured Pokemon in them were a staple of smash. There were bunnies, bugs, goats and more, but most of them looked pretty scrawny to jr.

”It’s just like my luck in smash.” he complained, on elbow leaning on the lip of the car, face in hand, fingers tapping disappointingly at his cheek as he stared down at a fish flopping about by the side of the moat ”Other people get Zapdoses, Mews and Giratina but all I get is Goldeens.” the fish bounced and flailed around for a few more seconds before it finally rolled back into the water. ”I bet they cheat to get the good stuff.”

Then he saw it, a glimpse of a yellow mouse sized Pokemon with long narrow ears in one of the castle windows. ”Wait. Was that pikachu?” Jr perked up instantly at this brief sighting, a nasty grin on his lips as he thought of getting revenge for every KO the lightning rodent had inflicted upon him by shoving the speedy rodent in a tiny ball.

”Dad! I’m going to go beat up and capture pikachu in the castle!” he yelled at his father who yelled back ”Show him who’s boss son!” while Kammek, who had taken a seat in the bowser mobile’s spacious glove compartment, called after him ”Don’t take too long, we’re bound to set off sooner or later once this lot get their act together”

”Yeah yeah don’t worry I’ll be quick” Jr responded, brushing of Kamek’s comment as he parked the flying clown car next to the library window. He briefly ducked his head down to peruse his arsenal for appropriate Pokemon hunting equipment.

”To big. To week. To gross.” he said as he dismissed the paint brush, splatter shot and synapse. ”Ah ha! Perfect” he said, coming up with the Necro Smasher. ”Just the thing for whacking a mouse!” he declared as he gave a few practice swings, before he forced open the library window and hopped into the room beyond, that turned out to be the library. With most of everyone gathered outside in anticipation of the hero’s departure the library had been left dark and abandoned for the moment. Baring Henry anyway, but jr had no time for the sorcerer, who had their nose buried in a book like the massive nerd he was.

Jr crept in between the shelves of the library, mallet in one hand, Pokeball in the other, looking under tables and behind piles of books for their quarry until they felt a tap on their right shoulder.

Jr glanced to his right. No one there. ”Huh?”

A tap on the left. An angry gance. Still no one there. ”Hay. That's not funny!” Jr complained right before they were tapped on their right shoulder again. This time they glanced left instead and swung their hammer at the first thing they saw, a pair of black tipped yellow ears. ”Ha ha! Got... you…?” Jr began to claim victory before his words turned to confusion as a semi transparent Pokemon that looked like a handmade Pikachu plushy phased up through the hammer head and then landed itself atop it.

”Huh?”

The Mimiku used Copycat (a move that let a Pokemon use the last move that was used in the battle, even if the last move was by the user) causing it to produce a comically over-sized mallet (compared to 20 cm tall spook at least) out under its disguise that it held in one of it’s long shadowy clawed limb. It then proceeded to chase jr back to the window while giggling and bopping him on the head with it.

”Ow, stop. Quit it!” jr yelled as he ran, before vaulting out the window and into the clown car. He emerged a few moments later with the Synapse primed and ready for ghost busting. ”Take this!” he shouted as he pushed what passed for a trigger on the bio gun. A beam of electricity shot out of the front and struck the Mimiiku, but it’s disguise served it as a decoy, absorbing the damage. The neck of the disguise snapped, causing the head to droop limply backwards.

”Take that!” Jr shouted, thinking he had won.

”you're actually kinda useful, even if you're disgusting” he told the bio gun, which wiggled about in what might have been happiness ”Ew, no I take it back, quit doing that!” The gun sagged back into a state of being sad and rejected.

He was unable to berate the sad gun any further however, as he was then hit by the (physically) unharmed Mimiku’s retaliatory strike, knocking him back down into the clown car. It was livid that its disguise had been damaged, and had used copycat again, this time to blast a beam of lightning from the fake Pikachu tail that it held in its other tendril.

Rather than follow up on it’s first attack however, the Pikachu wannabe ended up gazing at its tail stick with astonished glee. It had used an electrical attack, just like the real thing! Its anger was forgotten right up until the point that it was hit with a blast of ink from the splattershot. It stood there, stunned for a few moments before it shook itself as clean as it could and then used copycat again, only to find it could shoot ink now, instead of lightning. The Mimiku was dismayed by this turn of events and launched itself into the Clown car to rectify the situation.

”hay no get out of here!” Jr yelled at it while trying to grab the untouchable specter. He received only scratches in return for his effort as the Mimiku madly scrambled around the interior of the car in search of the Synapse. A few rambunctious moments later the clown car touched down on the grassy lawn outside, having been knocked off course from it’s stationary hover by the window by the brawl happening inside it. The victories Mimiku hopped out of it, its long claw wrapped around the stolen living lightning gun. It began happily bouncing back and forth while firing the equally happy infested weapon skywards and letting off its own shots with copycat, until a Pokeball, that jr had finally remembered he had, bonked into it, popped open and pulled both it and the Synapse inside.

The ball wiggled back and forth a few times until it made the pinging sound denoting a successful capture. The frazzled Jr more or less fell out of his car and then walked over to pick up the Pokeball.

”You better be worth the trouble.” he told it.

Blazermate, having completed her teleporter project with Ratchet, spent the rest of her day just observing everyone as they went about exploring the castle. The bread monster she had created, after relaxing in Blazermate's hands, decided to dart off and play in the garden with the pokemon. It was surprising how well the Pokemon were taking to the little cancerous looking bread thing, they'd chase each othr and no pokemon looked like they'd eat the thing, nor did the bread seem to care or degrade due to the elements. It was interesting to say the least. There wasn't much left of the day, so besides overlooking the map Magikoopa had brought and chatting a bit with a few other members she didn't know much about, she spent most of the time reflecting on absorbing this engineer spirit of hers.

While she did enjoy being able to pull and construct buildings out of thin air, while also being able to repair and tweak various objects, she wasn't too keen on this needing to breath thing. Sure she still didn't need food at all, but the occasional breath behind her faceplate out of what was her speaker just felt so unnatural. Plus the whole accent change, making her much less cute, really irked her. Yeah, she could adapt well to the changes that were made, but that didn't mean she didn't like them. If anything, she'd have preferred to keep her old cuter accent and word mannerisms. The breathing thing, while it felt unnatural, was at least automatic, and she didn't need to do it that often. Plus the overalls she was wearing thanks to this spirit just... didn't match her schoolgirl physic at all. Hopefully when she got a new spirit that'd go away, and maybe whatever spirit it was would give her a nice cuter accent than this... cowboy... accent.

While she was pondering all this, everyone else was heading off to sleep, Bowser being too big to sleep in any beds so he just slept on the floor. Blazermate, deciding there wasn't much to do, decided to take a little power down in the throne room as well. While Medabots technically didn't need to sleep it was a nice way to do any repairs, collect your thoughts, and just rejuvinate yourself for the next day. Little did Blazermate know that she actually did require sleep because of this engineer spirit, although the 4-6 hour power down seemed to be enough to mitigate that.

The next morning Peach came out, giving all sorts of announcements and whatnot. The box announcement was interesting, although she wondered how she'd gain Zenny in this universe, or what kind of things were even used as currency. Bowser seemed to know the most about this sort of thing, or at least Blazermate hoped so considering he was a king after all. However, when Steven came out and explained all those weird animals that the Courier seemed to love to mess around with, she had some issues with it.

The whole pokemon thing kind of rubbed her the wrong way, even though it was a similar system to what she was used to. Still, at least Medabots were never put into tiny balls unlike these pokemon animal things, which looked very uncomfortable no matter what Steven said. But having lived in their shoes, even though her situation was far better than theirs, gave Blazermate more insight into what was wrong with the practices than the others. Still, if there was a strong or powerful pokemon that she could capture and control, especially if it would be a threat to everyone if it wasn't under control, she would put her reservations aside and capture it.

While she was deciding her morals on the whole pokemon thing, the Courier seeming to be in absolute love with the whole concept and a few others being alright with it, Tora came up to Blazermate to ask if everything was alright and to inquire about the teleporter thing. "Oh, I guess I'm fine? Not a fan of this here cowboy vernacular and accent, its not cute. Was just thinking to msyelf is all. Oh, and the teleporters are up and running. Speaking of which..." Blazermate said. Thinking to herself, she moved a bit away from Tora and threw down one of the teleporter platforms off in a corner of the throne room. She then spent a minute hitting it with her fist to upgrade it to its maximum potential. With that errand finished, she went back to Tora. "There, if we ever run into trouble, we can just head back here in an instant. Although somethin' tells me that if someone else could teleport us all, I could use these as nasty weapons."

Thankfully the castle seemed like it'd be well defended, with all the characters that called it home such as the pokemon and the toads, especially since they could just send loot through the teleporter to arm the castle. Most notably the master of masters character, who seemed to be more of an advisor anyway. Blazermate still didn't like how the man didn't have any eyes or any facial features of note, but he was super nice and helpful so she figured the guy deserved some rest. He had tons of issues trying to journey with the party as it was, so maybe helping around the castle was just more his thing.

Since she was a bit slow on the uptake of Steven's offer, there weren't many pokeballs left after Jr. 6, Linkle, and Din took theirs so she decided to take only one for the meantime just for emergencies. Someone who was more interested in capturing pokemon could take the remaining two from the man. Thanking Steven, she decided there wasn't much left for her to do besides get ready for their inevitable roadtrip, and thus she made her way outside.

Blazermate gestured to Tora to follow her as she made her way to the vehicles outside where Bowser and most of the gang had gathered. Finding spots for her buildings was tough, as only the Bowsermobile, a car that was sort of in Bowser's likeness, seemed like it could fit one. Bowser was sitting in the driver's seat, while there were a few other smaller carts in the area, although most looked like one or two seat affairs unlike the big monster car that bowser was driving. Hearing Bowser talk about what was ahead due to Kamek coming down from the sky and reporting at what was ahead, Blazermate decided her Sentry was far more important to keep on wheels. So she started to construct one on the trunk-like platform in the back. It didn't take her too long to upgrade it to its max level, and it would give a bit of protection as the team moved through the area, shooting down anything galeem influenced as they got near. Upon finishing her work, she made her way over to Bowser to explain what she had done. "Hey big boy. I put up a sentry in the back of your car there. It'll shoot at any hostiles should they get close like those galeem carts ahead. I don't got room for a Dispenser or Teleporter though, so if we need those I'll need to make them as we move along." Thankfully the Sentry gun was fairly quiet in comparison to the roaring engine of the Bowsermobile, so it didn't make any noise that'd annoy the king koopa or his robed companion until it started firing at things. Deciding she should be near her building to keep it repaired and filled up, Blazermate found a spot on the Bowsermobile to sit securely and waited for the others.

@thedman@Lugubrious

---

Linkle squealed in delight as Peach just gave up the milk, totally for free. She shouln't have expected otherwise, such nobility of spirit was inherent to a true princess. "Thank you your majesty." She said, running over to pick it up. As she ran she felt a quick few pinches on the side of her neck and slowed to a jog. She looked down slightly dishearten at the somehow jagged bowstring that crossed her chest, part of which occasionally scraped across her neck. That was an annoying problem, but not as annoying as what she realized when she reached her destination.

---

Last night, before falling asleep to the noise of the loud synchronized breathing of both of the Bowser's lying in the throne room just beyond her makeshift bed, she had decided to finish out the day with a bang. Or, at least, a pop. One by one she had smashed the spirits of the monsters she had slain, and had accumulated quite a collection of stuff to replace the hood she'd seen Junior using as a blanket.



Everything was odd! She recognized the bow and arrows instantly from the few close calls she'd had with the skeletons, but seeing them up close it was a wonder that they flew at all. Linkle was no expert bowman (she'd stumbled upon a bow she could use during her travels but hadn't been able to do any flashy combos with it) but she was pretty sure arrows needed to be sleek to fly true and bowstrings weren't meant to look like they'd been whittled out of wood. Yet it worked, she'd fired one of the arrows at the far wall that night and the thing flew true and tinked off.

There were a pair of weird looking...at first she'd thought they were burnt cookies but they didn't taste anything like burnt cookies! They tasted like sand. Well, no, not sand exactly, but in her mouth it had felt like some kind of powder. She wasn't sure what they were for, except maybe watching them float in midair when you put them down. They'd come from the spirit of one of the hissing exploding green things, along with what Linkle had just started thinking of ominously as The Organ. It was like a cookie too, except it squished when you squeezed it and felt just like holding cooked meat. It smelled like the black cookies, and when you squeezed it had enough it started to Hissssssss like the monsters had before they detonated. She'd stopped squeezing it quite so hard after that.

The last thing was so weird simply for how normal it was. It was a shield that, unsurprisingly giving the design on the front, had come from one of the spiders. It was regular wood, not flat or jagged at all, and sat on the floor like it was supposed to when you put it down.

A weird haul, but not overall a bad one. The hero was expected to have a bow and shield, after all.

The thought that the hero was also expected to have a sword to go with that shield fluttered through her mind for a moment before being violently purged. She'd blow up that bridge when she came to it.

That morning when getting dressed Linkle slid her black cookies and jagged arrows into her waistband alongside the Bwah Blaster, but was at a loss with what to do with The Organ which she really wasn't keen on accidentally sitting on. She was pretty sure of what would happen if it took a blow, so anywhere she was liable to her hit was out. Finally she decided to stick it behind her ear like a pencil, where it unexpectedly sat snugly and was likely to get knocked loose and away instead of taking a direct attack and violently blowing her to pieces. Plus this way is just kind of looked like a hair clip. A squishy, uncomfortably moist hair clip.

The shield had been easy. Since it was an ordinary shield all she had to do was stick it to her back and it just stayed there, defying gravity in a completely ordinary way and allowing her to quickly retrieve it if the need arose. The bow she placed over that.

She admired her image in the washroom mirror for a moment. With all this equipment she was starting to really resemble the hero of the legend.

---

But now there was more stuff, she realized. Stuff that wasn't flat or just adhered to you. She had already carrying the pokeballs Mr. Stone had given her, and now she had to find a place to put the milk. The balls she shoved into her boots, alongside the crossbows that were hanging there, and the milk she shoved into the rapidly diminishing space of her waistband.

All this figuring out what goes where, how did heroes do this? The legends always said they carried all this different equipment, but all that was ever mentioned for how was bags and bottles and as she'd just learned you had to carry the bottles too. There was never any mention of a magic sack or backpack where they put everything. She shook her head. It was just one more thing she had to learn on her quest.

Speaking of learning, right nearby Michael, Franklin, and Ratchet had been drawn to the estranged looking thing that had popped out of the box, and the cat man was explaining what it was to them. "Wow Michael, you haven't seen that type of gun before?" She said, genuinely surprised. He'd spoken so authoritatively when he'd explained how they worked to her, so this evoked the same semi-uncomfortable feeling of seeing your teacher get schooled.

Before she could say anything else she heard Bowser yell his warning. There were enemies in the road ahead, rising around in cars. She wasn't sure what a car was, but it sounded like it was something like a cart. Did that mean they could keep up with them? She thought maybe she could drive one of those carts, but fighting on one?

She looked over to Franklin. He'd joined them last night, out in the scrapyard, and had worked alongside Tora and Junior while she'd fended off the monster. They hadn't talked back then, mostly on account of being too busy and tired, but actions spoke louder than words and his actions then had been saying "I sure know a lot about carts."

"Excuse me?" She asked him. "Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk. I'm Linkle, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your friend Michale taught me everything I know about guns and I was wondering...well...I've never been on a cart before, but you seem to know your way around them and I was wondering if you could show me how it works?"

She pointed over to where the horse shaped two wheeler sat on the grass. "I mean, I know Tora said it was simple but if we run into enemies on the road I don't want to mess up and fall behind. Please?"

Magnumus Agoston, Centurion.

Level 3 - (2/30) EXP (still thinking of what new power to get)
Location: MegaDragonBowser castle
Word Count: 256

---

"These things are puny." The Centurion complained, picking up one of the karts and examining it. He had hovered toward the kart with the massive drill on the front. "Even for regular sized me. I'd much prefer a mighty steed. Are there any giant flaming horses around?" His eyes fell on the horse shaped kart. That's not right. The Centurion had ridden in horse carts before, but riding a kart horse seemed to be a totally different experince.

These karts were allegedly supposed to take them great distances. Well, he had seen stranger things today. These karts just magically went forward when you stepped on the pedal, so whatever. Hunching over, the Centurion put his hands on the steering wheel and accelerated forward.

As he got the hang of the strange drill kart, he pondered this situation with the Pokemen. "I don't see the value in these tiny war beasts. An elephant could never fit in those tiny little spheres. Even if they are magical, or bigger on the inside, or whatever. I'm going to crush the enemy with my bare hands, I don't need a little worm creature to do it for me."

He stood up, planting one boot on the seat of the kart and the other on the grass, rolling the kart back and forth like a very heavy and very dangerous skateboard. It rolled out from underneath him, and he stumbled backwards, almost tipping over. Regaining his composure he crossed her arm and made a casual but determined pose.

A very very very bored Bowser was sitting still in the bowser mobile waiting for everyone to be ready. He had his feet on the dashboard and his hands folded behind his head as he stared up at the sky and tried to avoid being driven insane from the periodic beeping of Blazermate’s sentry.

After a while however, the beeping turned from annoying to almost hypnotically peaceful. He could almost doze off to the sound of it...

Bowser awoke to the sound of Kamek shouting ”Young master are you alright?!”

The king bolted upright and looked around for his son till he spotted a scratched up jr roll up in his wheeled clown car.

”I’m fine, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it jeez.” jr responded, brushing of the concern.

A relieved bowser snapped his fingers, summoning heel to heal his son. While the rabbid did his thing Bowser asked ”Did you get him?”

”Huh? Oh! Yeah.... Well kinda?” jr responded before showing the king his now filled pokeball with the not pikachu inside.

”Good job.” Bowser with a thumbs up before asking Kamek ”Are they done yet?”

”Ah, well… they’re closer to being done?” the magikoopa responded hesitantly.

”Gahhhh. You know what? I don't care, we are leaving!” a new very frustrated Bowser responded before hammering his fist against the horn of the Bowser mobile a few times to get everyone’s attention. ”MOUNT UP ALREADY YOU MOOKS, OR GET LEFT BEHIND!” he ordered the team, before stomping his foot to the gas. The bowser mobile roared as it lurched into motion, wheels tearing up the earth as its master bade it head east, taking the mage and medic along for the ride.

”Hay wait up!” Jr call after him before his making his own tiny vehicle wizz after the titanic muscle car.

The Centurion looked up and narrowed his eyes as Bowser led his koopa troop forward. Agoston was thinking the same thing. He was just staring blankly at the sky and not really doing anything! Bowser’s initiative reminded Agoston of his own.”Yes!” He shouted, hunching clumsily into his drill kart. He took a moment to prevent himself from sitting on his slightly tattered cape.

“Come forth! Galeem isn’t going to destroy himself!” With that he put his boot down on the pedal sped after the koopa troop. One hand on the steering wheel, he used his free right hand to point dramatically over the horizon.

The kart wobbled uncertainly, and he put his pointing hand down on the ground and pushed off of it to steady it.

”Forward!” He shouted back over his shoulder, pushing the kart like a skateboard every few seconds.

The first shout Tora could dismiss as Bowser being somewhat petulant, but after he rolled out with Kamek and Junior, and the Centurion echoed the call to leave, the Nopon couldn’t dillydally any longer. “Meh!? Are going?” As fast as his tiny legs could carry him, he rushed to his landship. One by one, the vehicles began their engines and started to roll out, but Tora couldn’t reach the pedals without squashing himself against the floor. He needed Poppi--both to drive and for other reasons, but at the moment to drive. “Poppi, where are you!?” he cried out, scanning the fleet of karts and other contraptions for any sign of his mechanical partner but turning up nothing.

However, the sound of jets turned his gaze skyward. The artificial blade cruised in from the direction of the scrapyard, expertly decreasing her boosters’ power until she landed softly on Tora’s landship. “Right here, masterpon!” she said, holding up her new pokeball to show him. Tora peered at it quizzically, unable to see anything interesting about it. “Poppi caught little brog-creature inside. Will make good pet, I think.”

The sound of a motor roaring by caused both to look behind Tora, just in time to see Peach drive by after Bowser and Agoston. An expression of relief could be glimpsed on her face as she got up to speed; perhaps she was grateful Bowser hadn’t offered her a ride in his giant, spike-ridden roadster. To Tora, however, the sight confirmed that every moment not in motion was another moment he was falling behind, and as the team’s tank he needed to be up front. “That nice, but come on! It go time!” Kamek mentioned hostile ‘cars’ in the area ahead, after all, and if those resembled karts in any capacity, the speed and weight of a collision could be terribly injurious. Moving to the back of the landship with his shield, the Nopon swapped places with Poppi, who put her more human proportions to work operating the vehicle. After a false start and its ensuing cloud of smoke, the duo took off after the party’s leaders. Everyone else would surely follow suit.

---

The road ahead started off easy, with a few slow turns over mostly grassy field. Any animals, pokemon, or monsters of low import could hear the convoy coming from a ways off, and made sure to clear the road before Bowser’s enormous rumbler could steamroll them. Before long, the ground began to incline slightly upward, leveling off again after a couple dozen feet of altitude. From there, past the cylindrical pastel-covered ‘hills’ that marked the borders of the new Mushroom Kingdom, the terrain got a bit dicier. The road itself degraded in quality and started evidencing the twists and turns that Kamek spotted before, as well as the rocky ravines and rises that necessitated them. This continued for a good way. Nobody really planned for the dust kicked up by the convoy’s collective wheels across the highway, which the low-profile, minimal-protection karts sported little defense against. As the terrain got rougher, there even appeared a jump that everyone needed to speed up to make, or else fall into a craggy pit. Still, the going never got truly hazardous until the lead vehicle rounded a plateau into an open area and got some unwanted attention.

Instantly, the bowsermobile caught the eyes of the area’s denizens, and a few vehicles turned to speed the convoy’s way. They grew nearer and nearer, their offroading kicking up a whole lot more dust than the highway-bound convoy. Once close enough, their individual features could be made out; two appeared to be ordinary buggies, fairly shoddy in construction, while two more looked similar but sported mounted guns, while the last -much sportier than its fellows- bore both guns and blades. None of them really oozed deadliness or sturdiness, but even the unarmed ones posed a serious threat to the smaller karts thanks to their size alone. Even worse, given the karts’ general lack of protection, those mounted guns would be a problem despite the difficulty of aiming them.

Once in range, music began to blare from the enemy vehicles. Raucous, grating, and overall nasty, it still couldn’t drown out the rattle of gatling fire that followed soon after. Since the guns could only be aimed where their host vehicles pointed, they could only fire in the heroes’ general direction, but sooner or later one or many of those shots would have to hit their marks.

Tora grit his teeth and held his shield steady. So these were cars. Being much bigger than any of their own vehicles save the Bowser Mobile, any sort of impact would be disastrous for a convoy member. His foes knew it, too. Why else would they be gunning straight for them? The Nopon waited as the enemies grew closer, biding his time until the right moment arrived to strike.