A smirk formed on the teenager's face as he let go of the torches keeping him airborne, landing on the ground safely. If Heavy's maniacal cries were anything to go off of, they had won. It was obvious that he wasn't entirely defeated judging by his words and the fact that he was a freaking ghost, but that didn't matter. They did what they came here to do and that was that. Heavy's positive and endearing words made the raven haired boy grin, giving the other a pleased thumbs up as he approached the rest of the group. However, before anyone had the chance to say anything else, their attention was moved to the color coordinated flames that were left behind. None of them were blue so Akira could only assume they were safe. Instead of dwelling on it though, the boy's attention was brought to the red flame, reaching into it with no hesitation. He didn't imagine there to be another dagger in the red flame, he honestly didn't know what he expected, but the slightly cool feeling that came from the blade made him immediately pocket the item before looking back to the others, feeling the bond that they shared making him stronger.

He first looked to the leader of the mission, Slayer, who had received a hidden weapon of sorts. He managed to guide them through this little adventure despite none of them even knowing each other. It was commendable the amount of maturity and calmness he exhibited to them as a sort of mentor to the groups.



Then there was Six, the little one Akira didn't really expect to be so helpful if he had to be completely honest but had grown to want to protect her.



And lastly there was the chivalrous Heavy, now clad in new armor and attempting to get the him and the others to dance along with him back to the train. He's probably the only one out of the three he'd see getting to know outside of missions and all.



Despite having his own style of dance, it being nothing like what the larger man was currently doing, Akira tried following along, mentally reminding himself that he needed to go to Velvet Room once they returned.

The entire campaign up to this point had been little shy of disastrous. The System lost its greatest, most iconic, longest-lived hero, who was subsequently grave robbed at his own funeral, forcing them to align (albeit temporarily) with a villain in order to recover his stolen soul, and the one place in which they sought to seek brief respite in healthy competition brought only chaos and extensive, unnecessary civilian casualties… all just within the first two days. This all weighed heavily on Fox’s mind for the next few hours following the latest incident, flooding him with an array of emotions that he still managed to keep mostly well hidden, as he tended to do. These included some degree of guilt for having unwittingly encouraged the team’s participation in the night’s events with his own (having been tasked with keeping them conditioned), regret for those he couldn’t save, doubts about the heroes’ cause and his part in it, anger enough to compel him to leave a faint impression with the outermost of his fist in the elevator wall when he was alone to do so, and the sense of melancholic grief that came with all of it. At the moment, there was little else to be felt about it, and the meeting that was called did no favors on that front.

Fox hadn’t spoken to or even made direct eye contact with anyone since leaving the tunnels, not even at the meeting (which he failed to notice that Slayer was absent from, despite being the last one present to have seen him), during which they were admonished for taking part in underground sport with nonsensical talks of “punishment”, which were thankfully reconsidered, but simultaneously thanked for having coincidentally put themselves there in a position where they could act to prevent a potentially greater disaster from sneaking up on them. That was certainly more than could be said for the incompetent containment force over-eager to act prematurely on kill orders, who should have been held accountable for their actions, but instead got off seemingly uncensured with some of their own still working the case, despite doing arguably more harm than the actual enemy. Fox might have had the mind to protest as much, had his mind not been somewhere else wondering what he could have done better or differently or why the hell he even still bothered doing what he did by continually re-assuming his “hero” mantle. With a little time, he would be able to answer that question for himself. For the time being, there were more urgent matters that demanded his attention with only one person around who could answer the questions that needed to be asked. Having said that, he wasn’t exactly interested in asking them right now--not while his wits weren’t about him.

It had occurred to him that he was going on two full days with almost no rest, so any interrogation from him would have to wait until that changed. Besides, Moneybags was safely within the Council’s custody with forty-eight floors of heroes and armed forces between him and escape, should it cross his mind; he wasn’t going anywhere. Implicitly assured of that, he retired to his personal quarters to turn in for what he expected would be the remainder of the morning. Having brought virtually nothing with him besides what he had equipped, the room was short on personal belongings. However, it came sufficiently pre-furnished well enough to keep it from being too sparse while leaving room for any requested additions. It was even designed with a space-age aesthetic to give it a comfortable sense of familiarity for the spacefarer. It was likely that all of the heroes’ rooms were similarly tailored to their occupants. Needless to say, they were all reasonably well accommodated for.

For now, the weary pilot would only be making use of a few square feet of the space he was provided. Immediately after the door shut itself behind him, he removed his belt with all of the adjoining effects (his blaster and reflector) and hung them from a spare loop on the wall next to the newly furnished flight jacket that was waiting for him. (Apparently, some kleptomaniac made off with his previous replacement during the ensuing chaos back at the arena.) Motioning a few inputs on a touch-based atmospheric control panel, he dimmed the accent lighting and replaced the outside view through the window with a simulation of space to obscure the encroaching daylight that would otherwise disturb his sleep before gently positioning himself on the semi-firm mattress without so much as untucking the blanket or removing his boots. With some light shifting in place to adjust for comfort and a deep, heavy sigh, he let his eyes relax themselves shut, allowing no further thoughts of the previous days--or those due to come--to pass through his mind as he drifted off effortlessly into peaceful unconsciousness.

---

Sadly, he wouldn’t even enter his first REM cycle before being alerted awake by the alarm system. The vulpine sprang to his feet, grabbed his effects, and made a dead run out the door, throwing on his belt and jacket on the move. He would arrive on-scene a few steps (or hops, in her case) behind Naija, but not before drawing his sidearm and getting off a few pot shots at the invaders at the end of the hall, which he now recognized as denizens of Dream Land through their peculiar getup. He had to take special care to not hit the wounded Major or Ambassador Rosalina, and at that distance, his accuracy suffered as a result. His shots found no purchase against any of the minions before they could make off with Moneybags, nor against the one leading them. Fox angled down his weapon when Kirby called out to the familiar figure, an expression of curious sobriety coming over him at the realization that gave him pause.

Though it probably shouldn't have, Meta Knight's apparent involvement in this came as something of a surprise for the mercenary. Thus, he was reluctant to take any shots at the spherical warrior; not only because he understood what he was capable of, but because he only ever knew him as an ally from during the Subspace Incident. He sent himself off with a challenge to Kirby (and, by extension, everyone else present) to seek him out just before disappearing into the translucent teleportation ray. Fox began to assess the situation more closely as he took in the scene that transpired around him. In his contemplative daze, he neglected to answer Varrock's call. He was thinking that there had to be some greater reason for everything that was happening--for why a known ally of the System would suddenly make himself an enemy of it. They were short on much needed answers to be found, and with the efforts of the healers faltering, he concluded that he could do no good were he was.

Fox sprinted off back in the opposite direction he came from towards the warp elevator, giving a firm pound on the control panel upon entering so that it may take him down to the hangar bay as quickly and expediently as it was capable of doing. There, his old aircraft would be waiting for him. He had put in the request to have it brought in shortly after the first mission, which was little trouble for them considering that they could reach across the universe for recruitment, and he spent most of that night into the late morning hours before the funeral assisting the resident engineers as he could just to keep himself busy while getting it back into working shape. While it wouldn't come fully loaded out or upgraded, all of it's basic functionality would be restored to have it flight-ready again. As soon as it came into view for him, Fox beelined for his Arwing with alarming haste, entering the cockpit with more of a leaping step and a somersault than a climb. The windshield lowered around him and the propulsion systems whirred to life as he hurried through all the preparatory steps to readying for takeoff, skimming through the diagnostic prompts that showed up in his HUD.

Although he was going alone, he thought the better of relaying as much to no one, and apropos of that, he could at the very least inform the gracious celestial that represented his corner of existence. He opened up a comms line to Rosalina, unsure of how she would hear it, but knowing she would regardless. “Ambassador! This is Fox. Do you read me?” He would await her confirming response if she had one, and wouldn't if she didn’t. “I'm going after him,” he declared calmly. He knew what he was getting himself into acting on bold impulse like he did, but they weren't soon going to have another chance like this to get a better look at their real enemy. He wasn't going to argue with anyone about it, wait for orders, or ask permission, nor would he be daunted or deterred by the frankly suicidal odds against him if it meant doing what needed to be done. If she knew anything about him at all, he trusted that she would understand that. Regardless, he would be well on his way by the time anyone would find out that he had left.

With his piece said, and without further delay, Fox gradually engaged the throttle until it was a full. The docking rail did the rest, carrying him to the bay exit at speeds that could make most faint and slingshotting the spacecraft into a spiraling ascent. The jet's momentum briefly slowed upon unfurling its wings before suddenly quadrupling with an energetic burst to send it into escape velocity. A violet, radial flash of boosterlight and the bright report of overdriven g-diffusers signalled the start of the spacefarer's likely perilous pursuit of the Halberd as the Arwing vanished into the sky.

---

Return from one mission, and then he’s pegged with another. The ex-SOLDIER was exhausted from the Dream Land ordeal. They had brought back Naija’s lost flight contraption, and they had also brought back the fat penguin. There was no way Cloud was about to leave an infected villain alone in a still stable universe. It was amazing that King Dedede was even still alive and hadn’t morphed into some grotesque code abomination. Cloud was lying in a hospital bed with an IV of Ether in his arm. He was resting comfortably beneath the covers with an arm crossed behind his head. He was going to get a few hours in of sleep before he went running off into another dimension.

Meanwhile, Kirby was in the lab with Dr. Light and a recovered Dr. Solus. The two doctors were surrounding King Dedede as he lay strapped down to a steel table. The pink marshmallow had fluttered up to the table and released a breath of air with a pop!. He landed next to King Dedede who glared at his nemesis with red venous eyes. “You! Get away from me!” King Dedede growled.

Dr. Light stood with his arms crossed behind his back as he observed the penguin. “What do you make of this? How is he still alive?”

Dr. Solus narrowed his glossy black eyes. “Hmm…peculiar adaptation possible.”

Dr. Light blinked in amazement. “He is adapting to it?”

Kirby hopped onto King Dedede’s stomach and the penguin snapped at him, “I said-”

The penguin’s eyes bulged when a black tentacle suddenly burst from his mouth and whipped around nearly striking the doctors and Kirby. The doctors immediately ducked and Kirby jumped over it like a rope with a cry before he dove underneath the table. The tentacle continued to lash about until King Dedede sucked it back into his mouth on a vacuum-like breath. He continued to blink his panicked eyes.

Dr. Solus straightened. “Ah,” he said. “Vacuum; void; stolen sack. Our Spheniscidae contains a gastrointestinal space devoid of matter.”

“So…” Dr. Light grasped his chin through his fluffy beard. “That may explain why he’s still alive, but the virus is still inside him. It’s in his bloodstream right?”

“Possible and not possible. Drawn to vacuum. Developed antibodies to neutralize residual virus strands.”

Dr. Light’s eyes shined in awe. “Great Gizmos, we could possibly extract the virus and save him. We can possibly collect the immunoglobulins from his serum and develop a new virus!”

Dr. Solus replied, “Correct. Need reinforced containment for extraction.”

“I have developed just the place.”



Dr. Light sat before a console and was setting the locks and containment energy. His hands were pushing forward levers and twisting dials. Dr. Solus stood behind him, watching Kirby and King Dedede through the observation window. They were in an octagon chamber with a grey floor. No other furniture or items were in it. When Dr. Light finished preparations he informed, “I designed this chamber to contain Mavericks if we ever encountered any. I’m sure it can hold some black goop.” He then spoke through the mic. “Are you two ready?”

King Dedede peered down at his stomach and rubbed it uncomfortably with his flippers. “I guess…”

Kirby hopped into the air with a raised arm nub. “Ey!”

“All right; Dedede, use all of your strength to force out the virus.”

King Dedede narrowed his eyes irritably. “That’s King Dedede,” he grumbled. Parting his beak, the penguin started to inhale. A powerful vacuum began sucking air into his belly in which he held for a full minute. When he reached a minute, he attempted to reverse the suction. A black spade, which looked like it belonged to a polygonal shape plugged his mouth. The penguin’s eyes widened and his wings began to flap frantically.

“It looks like something is jamming his beak,” Dr. Light said in surprise. He turned on the mic. “Don’t stop exhaling Dedede! You have to force it out.”

Force it out. That was exactly what it felt like. Like trying to force out a huge turd through his mouth. The penguin’s face turned blue and his eyes started to roll into the back of his head. As much as he tried to cough it up, the giant black star was too enormous! Kirby flapped his arms as he attempted to cheer King Dedede on, but it didn’t seem like it was working. The penguin looked ready to faint. Taking a desperate risk, Kirby charged around in front of King Dedede and then leapt toward him with a pointed red shoe.

“Ha!” Kirby exclaimed.

Kirby’s kick sank into King Dedede’s puffed up belly and gave him the blast of air he needed to spew out the giant black star. The penguin deflated like a balloon and collapsed across the floor on his back. The black star bounced around the interior of the extraction chamber and Dr. Light exclaimed, “Kirby! Get Dedede and get out of there now!”

Kirby’s feet made a red blur as he raced over to the penguin, grabbed his flipper and quickly dragged him out. As the chamber door sealed tightly closed behind them, the star popped dumping a black mass in the center of the container. The virus resembled brambles. Black tendrils of mucus-like ichor quivered and slithered about like worms. Dr. Light paled at the sight of it.

“That enormous thing was inside King Dedede?” he questioned in disbelief.

Dr. Solus smiled. “Excellent. Many experiments to conduct. Space contains planets; universes; endless possibilities. Sack contained similar properties.”

“If that stolen sack is its own space, then the enemy will be able to use it to disperse the virus on multiple universes without ever needing to physically be there. They can even use it for instant travel. But those people were infected when they came out of that sack,” Dr. Light mused.

“Infected yes. Alternate infected universe parallel to our own.”

Dr. Light looked at Dr. Solus in shock. “What? You knew about this? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“No time. Learned at last second. Received concussion. Bag stolen by miniature vandals.”

Dr. Light stood from his chair. “We have to get that bag back immediately!”

Dr. Solus’s attention went to the odd virus creature. “You do that. Must run experiments.”

---

Rosalina was sitting next to Guile’s rejuvenation tank, cradling her sleeping Lumas in her arms. She held them like plushies as she tried not to worry. They were going to save Guile.

Ambassador! This is Fox. Do you read me?

Rosalina’s head rose in a start as she gazed up at the ceiling as though Fox was floating there. “Fox?” she gasped in surprise. She then rose from her chair careful not to drop her star children. “Yes Fox. I hear you. Where are you?”

I’m going after him.

Rosalina’s eyes widened. “You can’t go by yourself! It’s not safe! Send us your coordinates!” She then frowned as tears tumbled from her eyes. “I’m not going to lose someone else! You send us your coordinates and you standby right now!”

---

Rosalina had been quick to spread the word about Fox having gone solo in pursuit of the pirate ship. Vault Boy had the engineers ready the Ragnarok, and he had the next team ready for movement. Dr. Light met with Rosalina and Vault Boy to quickly share with them the gravity of the situation.

Vault Boy’s bottom lip turned up sternly and his brows fell into a hard line over his beady eyes. “Great Roid Roaches, we’re in such a pile of Deathclaw shit!”

He looked to the gathered group of heroes: Cloud, Naija, Slayer, Alicia, Akira, King Dedede, and Kirby. It might have been boastful that Alicia was selected over James on the mission, but fueling egos hadn’t been the intention. Kirby had volunteered to go with the group and King Dedede decided as well insisting that he was the only one who knew the face of the guy who had taken Mario’s Hat and Soul.

“All right everyone. Here’s the mission. You are to stop that pirate ship at all cost. We don’t know if Mario’s Hat and Soul is on it, but we do know that a mysterious bag with the ability to spread the Mugen Virus across the entire multidimensional universe is on that ship. If you can bring it back in one piece, great. If you can’t bring it back, then make sure no one else can steal it. It is too risky to lose to the enemy. Also, the villain who injured Guile is on that ship. You saw what he did to him. He possesses a very powerful weapon. If you guys are injured by it, then unless you have some powerful spells and pray to the virtual gods, then you may not make it back. We won’t even be able to revive you if your code is deleted. So please be careful. Lastly…” Vault Boy added coolly, “Destroy that ship.”







Interior

Inside the ship, there are multiple long corridors with special trolleys to make travel faster. There are many rooms inside to include a kitchen, jail, training room, and a massive engine room. The ship employs over a hundred crewmen under the command of Meta Knight and his first and second in command: Sword Knight and Blade Knight. Other notable bridge commanders are Captain Vul, Sailor Waddle Dee, Axe Knight, and Mace Knight. The ship also contains a hangar that holds 100 bat-winged fighter jets prepared to be released from the vessel like bees from a bee hive.

Armament

The Halberd contains a massive cannon beneath its bow with a Combo Cannon on top. The Combo Cannon is a double-barreled turret covering the top side of the Halberd. It fires a devastating laser, cannonballs, and has a mechanical arm used to attack enemy ships. All other cannons are smaller and cover most arcs of the ship. The cannons fire flak shells, beams, and pulsed energy projectiles. It also contains a single mecha known as the Heavy Lobster.

Weakness

The ship contains a reactor at its heart, but it won’t be easy to get to. There are several crew members to get through as well as Meta Knight and his commanders. The reactor itself is known to be a deadly weapon capable of attacking saboteurs.

Mission: Our heroes must fight through various fighter pilots and clear a path to the Halberd. Once aboard, they are to locate the dimensional sack and learn what they can about the weapon that harmed Guile and any whereabouts about Mario’s Hat and Soul. Once they believe they have acquired what they needed, they are to destroy the Halberd and return to base.

Special Weapons/Abilities Available: Yes

XP Event: Yes

Special Items Available: Yes

Starter Items Offered: None



Naija, Akira, Slayer, Cloud, Alicia, and Fox (NPCs: Kirby and King Dedede)

GM Note: I don’t need to write any rules. You guys know the drill. Understand though that this is a Delta mission. It will be difficult. It won’t be impossible, but it may get frustrating. There are higher rewards in Delta mission, however so enjoy those. Remember to have fun. Post every 3 days and if you don’t think you’ll be able to post in time, then remember to let the GM know. Do not keep it a secret because it holds up the game. I’m already lenient enough when it comes to activity.

I was thinking that you guys can have a pre-mission moment on the Ragnarok. Because on my next GM post, the XP will be initiated and the mission will kick off in a blaze of glory.

In the early morning after the attack, as part of the decision had been underway in the lab where Guile had been healing, Dr light had offhandedly mentioned that Mario could be resurrected during an explanation of how pixels worked. Naija, who had not known of this possibility, had more or less assaulted the good doctor while demanding answers, answers she had received once she had been subsequently calmed and detached from the poor man’s lab coat. It seemed that there existed certain items in some of the universe beyond her own that could bring back the dead, including one that she had on her person: the Phoenix Down. The short lived bubble of hope this gave her that she would soon be able to undo her failure burst shortly afterwards when she met up with the returning Kirby and found out they had not been able to retrieve the hero’s soul. Her wings were returned to her as had been asked, but the infected king Dedede had apparently given Mario’s hat to a shadowy figure who had spirited it away long before the team would even have had a chance to intervene and neither they nor Dedede knew not where the receiver of the soul had gone off to after claiming their prize.

Finding herself emotionally stuck in wanting to both cry her heart out while simultaneously murdering the King she had quickly remove herself from the castle to avoid such a disastrous outburst. The rest of the day had been spent as productively as she could manage. She had wandered the gardens outside Tetris castle to try and clear her head and in the process and rediscovered her nature form. She then spent some time in mama’s kitchen helping out during the busy lunch period while doing a bit of solo cooking on the side to replace the magical dishes she had used the previous day to fight in the smash arena and prevent Guile from dying to the annihilation sword wound. She finally visited the Wikia library during the afternoon proper and there, with the help of the friendly wizened scholar who ran the place named Deckard Cain, had learned a little more about this strange world she had found herself in. As evening was approaching duty called however and so the fish lady bid farewell to the storyteller and returned to the castle, her mental and emotional state perhaps the most stable they had been since she escaped her mother’s clutches using the Lakitu’s letter.

After returning to the castle Naija was lead through its halls to the Ragnarok’s hanger by a lemming, and then joined the others to receive their briefing, sitting on the floor to do so while conspicuously wearing Fox’s old jacket over her usual swimwear and stolen belt. As per usual a lot of it went right over her head, particularly the rundown of the ships specs. A scant few hours of study had not been enough it seemed, but they did help a little, particularly because the ship’s attack on the castle was all anyone could talk about out in the city and as a result she had picked up some of the basic nomenclature surrounding such things. Naija subsequently trimmed the briefing down in her mind into a simplified priority list:

1. Get Mario’s soul
2. Don’t get stabbed by the annihilator sword
3. Get/destroy the annihilator sword
4. Get/destroy the corruption bag
5. Capture/Kill everyone inside
6. Loot ship for souvenirs
7. Get ship?
8. Destroy core

The hows where not exactly something Naija focused very much on as she had more or less abstracted the ship into a dungeon with puzzles, enemies and bosses that could be dealt with when they were come across. This was primarily because she was, thankfully, not assigned a leadership role this time. Once the briefing was over the hero's headed for the ship dragon shaped ship. As she traveled towards its boarding ramp, her hip wings hovering her upright just a few cm from the floor, the fish girl took a few moments to take stock of the team, both present and absent.

Fox she knew best, they had fought side by side in the squad she had lead on the first mission, the one in which they, in which she, had lost Mario. Their squad leader was absent however, but she hoped for all their sakes that he would do a better at the job than she had. She recognized Slayer, he’d been on that first mission in a different squad and the two had spoken during Mario’s funeral but that was about the limit of their interactions. The pink blobby Kirby she knew from the events of this morning, though saying she had spoken with the fellow would be a sketch with their inability/refusal to speak English. Cloud and Alicia she had seen before and after the dreamland mission but that was all. King Dedede she did not trust one bit, even if he was now corruption free. Their last teammate she had not seen before however. A dark haired human with dark clothes colored only by a few splashes of red.

After thinking for a few moments she decided it would be wise to get introductions in order. The woman fluttered to the head of the group and then turned to face them, meaning that she ended up flying backwards. Making sure she was kept herself at head height, as per some previous advice she had gotten from Slayer, she attempted to inject some conversation into the proceedings.

“So...” she began, stumbled at the starting block momentarily before continuing “If we’re going to be fighting together we should get to know each other a bit, right?” before anyone could respond to her accidental seeking of validation she soldiered on “I’m Naija. I’m going to make sure you all get in and out in one piece this time. I’ve got a few healing items for light injuries and if your get really hurt I’ll try to get you back to the ship as fast as possible. I’ll probably also be one of the people making sure we get in past the bats.” Naija explained before continuing “Now I’ve met most of you, briefly at least, and I’ve been on a team with Fox. He’ll make a good leader, I think. But I don't think we’ve met before?” She directed this last part at Akira, turning to face him specifically and smiling politely at the teen before asking him.

“What’s your name?”

Just as she did so the spikes of her winged heels clicked against the boarding ramp itself, which the woman took as her que to stop heading up the group. She moved off a little to one side to fly up the ramp beside those ascending it, keeping her focus on Akira as she pulled off this little maneuver in an attempt to avoid coming across as rude.

Akira and the rest of his team returned to Platform City, only to be informed that he and Slayer were to get ready for another mission later in the day. To say he was a bit overwhelmed was an understatement. Now that he was off his first mission, Akira returned back to his normal school clothing in a flicker of blue flames, which only made him look even more tired than he actually was. Regardless, he needed to get ready. Needed to head to the Velvet Room to collect what belonged now belonged to him. And with the first chance he had to sit down since coming back, that’s exactly what he did. Taking off his glasses and slowly closing his eyes, the raven haired wild card’s subconscious began to wane until suddenly fading out completely…

When he eventually came to, his eyes filled with velvet blue and he was wearing the oh so familiar black and white striped prisoner clothing. He was far too use to his arms and legs being restrained by chains as well, seeing as he simply shuffled over to his jail cell bars and grabbed onto them, glaring at the lone mahogany desk in the center of the room.

”Welcome, to the Velvet Room.” The abnormally long nosed man greeted for the millionth time, staring back at Akira with large veiny eyes. Ah, it seems you’ve made new bonds, and thus, new power.” Akira nodded quickly with a faint smile. ”Good, good… Caroline, Justine, if you may.” The teen looked over at the small twins guarding either side of his jail cell, watching as they turned to him like a mirror-like image. Taking a seat on the ground, Akira awaited as the girls got to work with unlocking his new Personas. Well, time to get this over with…

---

Akira sat up with a start, steel eyes blinking quickly to rid the bleariness. He didn’t exactly feel much stronger, but it was always like that. When he needed them most, they’d be there for sure. With that done and over with, Akira proceed on with his day, mostly focusing on recharging and getting himself prepared for yet another mission. He grabbed lunch and ate by himself in his room, taking his sweet time indulging himself for a job well done by watching some miscellaneous online videos on his phone as well. And before he knew it, the lemming in charge of taking care of him had let him know it was time for him to go and join the others, said butler now leading him down the castle to one of the hangers.

By the time Akira got there himself, there were already a few other people there, some human and others… not so much. He of course recognized Slayer, but unfortunately wasn’t given the chance to even greet him properly as it was time was of the essence. Shoving his hands into his plaid pants pockets, the high school student listened diligently to the mission that would be shared amongst the eight seven of them.

The main objective looked to be destroying the pirate ship, but there was so many other things they had to worry about and look out for in the process before doing so. It was a lot more stressful than the previous Alpha mission, that’s for sure, but what could he expect? Nodding his head slowly to show that he was listening, Akira watched as the other began boarding the ship that would take them to their destination, only following once most of them had their backs turned to him. His eyes quickly found their way to what looked like a fish girl with wings sprouting from her lower back… or maybe it was her hips? He couldn’t tell from where he was currently at, but what mattered most was that she was trying to introduce herself to everyone. Naija was her name… she seemed reliable enough. Everyone did since they were all Delta, but hearing her say that she’d make sure they come out of this alive was extremely reassuring. Then suddenly her attention was focused on him. Of course, all these guys probably had some idea of who was who on this team, but Akira himself was new. He only knew Slayer enough to make small talk with him; that is, if he ever bothered to speak himself.

As everyone approached the ramp to enter the Ragnarok, Akira curiously watched as Naija hovered off the side of the ramp so that her heels wouldn’t bump into it and that her attention was solely on him. It was pretty cool, she could even pass off as a Persona… not that he’d mention something like to her. When he was asked his name, Akira pushed up his glasses a bit and smiled.
“Akira Kurusu, but I usually go by Joker on missions. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Naija, and the rest of you.” The normally silent boy spoke up loud enough for the others to hear as well, taking a hand out of his pocket and reaching out towards Naija for a handshake.

After a leisurely romp through a haunted mansion, where the most complicated thing to be encountered was jumping between platforms, Slayer could admit himself a little overwhelmed by this briefing. So much seemed to have happened during his other allies' outings, to which he remained essentially ignorant, try as he might to glean details from Vault Boy's explanation. Still, where there was a will there was a way, and Slayer harbored no intention of being anything less than the perfect gentleman and accomplish on this mission too. He made sure to internalize the squad's various objectives, wondering with idle amusement if he could bring down the ship merely by punching it once on board.

When Vault Boy left the team to their own devices -a brief moment of peace and companionship before things really got into gear- Naija wasted no time in addressing everyone. Sadly, Slayer could not boast a friendly acquaintance with her, but he knew her at the very least. In the few days she wore the mantle of hero, she exposed few compunctions about keeping her old self intact. The wings that dangled at her hips originated from the heroes' first mission, grafted to her body on the fly by a controlled dose of the Mugen Virus if he remembered correctly, and now she wore the clothes of another world's hero as well. In comparison, Slayer himself changed not one bit, only having recently gained the cane he leaned on even now. In light of all that happened, known and unknown to him, introductions seemed like a good idea.

Naija said hello to Akira, who returned the greeting. Though a couple present already knew the vampire, a couple didn't, so he resolved to make the acquaintance of everyone at once. “Good evening, esteemed compatriots. You may or may not know me as Slayer. I hope I shall prove myself a dependable ally to you all.” He stroked his whiskers, giving a helpless smile. “I'm afraid that I must sully our new fellowship with a request, however. I've been somewhat in the dark as of late. If any of you didn't mind terribly, I'd be more than grateful for a brief retelling of events I missed.” Hopefully, one of his comrades would be willing to get him up to speed.

Cloud was used to jumping from one plot to the next. His mission to find and stop Sephiroth had taken years, and even after he thought he had stopped him for good in The Crater, he still managed to somehow survive. The swordsman walked up the ramp of the ship, carrying a sack over his shoulder. He found a nice empty spot along the wall and set his sack down, opening it to remove a hammock. The ether had restored his mana, but his body still needed to rest. As he hooked the hammock up, he turned and sat within the cloth bed before turning comfortably into it. Every minute he had to rest, he was going to take advantage. His arms crossed behind his head and he closed his eyes to rest them. While he relaxed, he listened to Naija, cracking open a single eye to peek at her briefly before his eye closed once more. She sounded…emotional. Something bad must have happened. As introductions went around, Cloud calmly began: “Cloud. I’m a mercenary. That’s all you need to know.”

He heard Slayer’s request. Cloud didn’t know the entire story himself, but he knew who knew what happened on Dream Land. “Ask the penguin,” he muttered insensitively. He didn’t care that he had put King Dedede on blast. He was the reason why they were even on a ship chasing after pirates.

Alicia made it a point to ignore Frisk's jab and refused to leave before he did, but was not far behind after he finally gave up trying to seem nice about his reasoning. After returning to the castle, she spent time getting in contact with the Vanguard to pass along a report of how things had gone thus far. Afterwards, she'd gone to her jumpship to rest up, as there hadn't yet been any link established to the vault space to exchange her Bolt-Caster for the Gjallerhorn, so until that time, she was stuck with what she had.

She had just woken up and was conversing with Iron on a good location to go when the mission was called. James had met her outside her ship to congratulate her on making Delta squad before he and Crimson headed into the city to familiarize themselves with it's layout and see what the shops sold. Upon reaching the Ragnarok, she paid close attention to the briefing, making special note to not cross blades with the ship's captain if it could be helped. They were to aid a Fox, someone who was already off to give chase to the pirate ship, and the secure the ship, dimensional bag, and take or destroy the sword. Once all of that was done, they were to destroy the ship. "Seems like a waste of a good ship."

Alicia shrugged and turned to follow the others up the ramp. While she didn't understand why they wanted this Halberd destroyed, she did trust there was good reason, perhaps pertaining to a high chance of the ship carrying the infection. She listened as everyone introduced themselves, with the one calling himself Slayer asking for a clarification of events. Which events specifically weren't clear to her, but she was inclined to agree with Cloud, who she knew. "Asking Dedede is a good place to start, since he's the one who handed off Mario's soul and hat to the bad guys. Other than that, I am just as unsure as to the events that lead to us chasing down this ship as you are."

Having been preoccupied with the Major's safety and all other matters that ran concurrent to it, Rosalina's telepathic response (or whatever intrinsic means she had by which to communicate) hadn't registered Fox's departing transmission until some time after he had sent it, which meant he was already well out of reach by the time she voiced her objections that would go unheard and unheeded by him. In his haste, he hadn't time or the presence of mind to clarify his intentions--not that they were all that extensive or well-planned, as they seldom were. He meant simply to follow the Halberd to its destination, not intercept it. Though, he wasn't shy about engaging it, he would only do so when (not if) it became necessary. It wouldn't be the first time he's had to--or the second--so save for maybe a few additions, upgrades or surprises, he had a fair grasp of what to expect in the event of combat. For now, his interests lay in postponing the inevitable and ill-advised rematch, so he would try to keep a manageable pace and distance behind the battleship, hoping to stay off its sensors and exploit its limited field of view as well as their size disparity to go undetected for as long as those factors would allow.

Of course, Fox had a bad habit of not thinking things through before acting on such bold impulse, and this time was no different. He had no clue where his pursuit would take him, how long it would take, what he hoped to find there when he arrived, or what he would do afterwards. If he was being honest with himself, past experience told him that he stood little to no chance in Hell of successfully facing down that level of opposition on his own; it just wouldn’t stop him from trying if it came down to it. On that note, whatever reinforcements were being sent would have some serious catching up to do if they were to be of much help while it still mattered. Fox made sure to leave his communication channel open to HQ while live transmitting his coordinates so as to make himself easier for them to find. Hopefully, that wouldn’t somehow, conversely, tip the enemy off to him giving chase, but he wasn’t exactly expecting he would be able to keep them blind to him forever anyways, even if it would be preferable. As was the order of things for him, he anticipated that they would eventually catch on to him sooner or later, and battle would shortly follow. Whatever may be the case, he would be ready for it.

---

Vault Boy boarded the ship after the others had. While he believed that Artanis would have made for a better pilot, he wasn’t with them right now and hadn’t been for some time. What was he up to? He plopped down into the pilot seat and started warming up the ship, preparing it for takeoff. Meanwhile, King Dedede jerked back in shock at Cloud’s and Alicia’s offhanded declarations. Glancing about at the heroes who surrounded him, the penguin frowned and crossed his flippers.

“I see how it is. You guys want to blame all of this on me. I wasn’t the one who stabbed broom-head with a sword or stole some bag that could spread the virus throughout every dimension. I just traded a hat and soul for unlimited power,” he said it as though it was no big deal. “I know you guys would have done the same.”

Kirby frowned up at King Dedede and angrily shook his head.

King Dedede peered down at Kirby and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Good guys always think their crap don’t stink, but it all smells the same no matter what butt it comes out of. I was looking out for my kingdom.”

Kirby inhaled a breath, swelling like a balloon, and fluttered over to land in the co-pilot chair. Vault Boy glanced over at the pink marshmallow. “You know how to fly this thing?”

Kirby threw up his arm nubs and cheered: “Ey!”

Vault Boy just stared at the pink blob, unsure what his response meant. He then shouted over his shoulder to the group: “Prepare for liftoff. If you’re not strapped in or holding onto something, then you’ll wish you were!”

The Ragnarok’s hatch whirred as it slowly closed and locked tight. The jets ignited, and the ship started rolling out of the hangar. Gradually, it increased acceleration until its wheels retracted from the runway. The Ragarok left the hangar and ascended like a rocket into the blue sky. Platform City shrank beneath it, and Vault Boy alerted: “Leaving atmosphere!”

“Ey!” Kirby echoed.

“Lightspeed in sixty seconds!”

“Ey!”

King Dedede continued to defend himself as he sat within a chair along the wall of the ship with seatbelt secured around himself. “How was I supposed to know that Tac had actually brought me Mario’s Hat and Soul? They could have been fakes! I thought I had actually managed to get away with an easy deal.”

Fox’s last coordinates were plugged into the ship’s navigation. After sixty-seconds, the ship stretched and shot like a beam of light into the black cosmos. Light flashed every five seconds as the ship passed from one dimension into another. Vault Boy stood from his chair and informed the crew:

“All right boys and girls; as soon as we exit lightspeed, we’ll only have a few minutes to connect with Fox. The Ragnarok will more than likely trip the Halberd’s radar. Normally, I would like for a fast and silent approach but seeing as we have to expend so much energy just to catch up to it that won’t happen. We have some empty shells that each and every one of you will enter. I will ensure that you are launched into the ship, but each of you may get separated. I want to try and fire each of you into the same location, but depending on how crazy things get, I may not have that chance. So please be careful once you’re inside. Make it your priority to rally.”

King Dedede moaned: “No one said anything about being shot like a bullet into a ship full of baddies. Can’t I just stay here? I thought I was just going with you guys to point out the bad guy. You can just send the ship a photo or something and I’ll radio down whether it’s him or not.”

---

The ship exited light-speed right behind Fox. As predicted, the ship’s presence registered on the Halberd’s radar. Sailor Waddle Dee reported, “Captain! An unknown ship has appeared!”

A pelican wearing a fisherman’s hat was seated in the captain’s seat on the bridge. He frowned suspiciously and ordered, “Bring up the radar on screen.”

A circular screen appeared before the bridge and one large electromagnetic signature was pulsing next to a much smaller one that for some reason hadn’t been detected as easily. Captain Vul’s frown hardened. “There are two ships you idiot! We’re being followed.”

“What should we do Sir?”

“Get rid of them. Release the fighters and raise shields!”

“Yes Sir!”

---

Vault Boy could see the ships starting to release from the Halberd like hornets. The Halberd itself slowed as all of its energy went into a blue orb that suddenly flashed about it. Vault Boy’s fist struck the console. “Darn! They raised their shields!” He quickly patched into Fox and shared: “This is Ragnarok to Fox; I have the squad with me now. The Ragnarok can provide cover but we’re going to need an opening. I can’t launch the team with that shield up.”

Kirby frowned with determination and hopped out of his co-pilot seat. He marched to the back of the ship and entered the airlock. Vault Boy did a double-take. “Wait; where is he going? What is he doing!?”

Kirby while in the air lock, opened the vacuum door, which shot the pink ball into space. He didn’t seem phased by the eternal vacuum. Shining in the distance, a shooting star swiftly appeared headed straight for the pink puff. When the star met with Kirby, there was a bright golden light before Kirby emerged, riding his own starship. Kirby flew over to hover above Fox’s ship and gave him a salute. Vault Boy just stared in disbelief. “He has a starship? (Literally)”

---

Naija, Akira, Slayer, Cloud, Alicia, and Fox (NPCs: Kirby and King Dedede)

GM Note: Halberd's shield must be overwhelmed with firepower. Once the shield is weakened, then the Halberd can be boarded. Players are able to have their characters support if they have magical or energy-based attacks that grant them the ability to provide firepower. Otherwise, if the character cannot do so without leaving the ship (and thus potentially dying in space (unless their character isn't affected by it like Kirby), then don't worry about it at this time. The group will not be penalized for it. Remember to add your word count at the bottom of your tag.

“It’s lovely to meet you too Joker”

She told the young human after he introduced himself. He was followed in this by the rest of the squad's as they all made their way inside the Ragnarok. She didn't really get the understanding of what they could do from said introductions like she had wanted unfortunately. Alica and Cloud where straightforward enough to guess however, the former used guns and the latter their immense sword. Joker she was less sure of, but perhaps he was a brawler like slayer, or perhaps a magic wielding person like her? Basically she had no idea.

At any rate, there were slightly more important things to focus on, like the rather vague explanation King Dedede gave when questions about what had happened to bring them to this stage where directed at him. Naija, very familiar with the feeling of being left in the dark, decided she should to try and shed some additional light on the situation.

“Just to, uh, add to that a bit. Meta Knight's ship attacked the castle. Then he came in and stole this bag one of the virus monsters from the attack on the smash arena(which is a place in the city) had, as well kidnapping this guy who was part of organizing the fight at the arena. The bag has.. Other worlds in it? Or… um. Can go to other worlds? And is also infected by the virus, but the worlds in it aren't.”

Naija struggled trying to remember what little Dr Solus had told her when she had been hanging around the lab yesterday evening. Then she glued that together with the briefing information.“but I guess the bag can infect the worlds now? Something like that anyway. Basically it’s bad. Also Guile got stabbed by meta knight by a sword that destroys pixels. Which we’re all made of. Which is bad because they can heal him. So they froze him to stop him from dying.” there was definitely something to be said for how succinct king Dedede’s explanation had been when compared to Naija's rambling“then meta knight ran away in the ship and fox chased him. That's... Basically all you’ve missed I think?”

By the time she was done her exposition they were preparing for take off. Copying the rotund penguin she got herself strapped into one of the chairs after a only a few failed attempts. Then they were off into the sky. If she hadn’t seen the halberd disappearing into the night she would never have believed the hunk of metal they where in could fly, but fly it did. Naija did her best to enjoy the strange experience as they raced towards their destination. She still got a bit plane sick though but she did her best to pay attention to the subsequent addendum to the briefing regardless. Despite thinking that vault boy was talking about turtle shells instead of cannon shells she mostly got the gist of it.

Then they arrived and had about 10 seconds of peace before they came under attack. Kirby went out to confront them and, Ignorant about how space worked, Naija was ready and willing to follow him out of the airlock but was stalled by the fact that she struggled to get the seat-belt undone. This gave her enough time to register Vault boy’s disbelief at Kirby’s actions and intuit that going outside was probably not a good idea.

“So uh. If we shouldn't go out there is there any way to help form in here? Or should we just go get into those shells?” she asked instead of venting herself out into the void.

The corners of the raven haired teen's mouth quirked up for a second at Naija before his attention was brought to Slayer, the smile only growing. They had been allies mere hours ago and now they were both on the same platform; not veteran and newbie, but comrades in arms. The question he proposed was also something he himself needed a little freshening up on. He'd only been in Platform City for a few days, and that was him being generous. The blond that went by Cloud as well as a girl he didn't catch the name of both targeted the giant penguin that had been following them into the ship. The penguin only got heated up in response, but what he had to say wasn't all that wrong even if Akira didn't want to admit it. Claiming yourself to be a good guy doesn't mean your actions are just as positive, he knew that all too well...

With a slight quirk of the eyebrow, Arika's attention was brought back to Naija as she elaborated to the best of her ability what the hell's been going on to get them to where they were now. He didn't want to say that her explanation only made him more confused, so instead, he gave her a slow, slightly dumbfounded nod as he took a seat that happened to be right next to her's. Managing to buckle himself in on the first try, the phantom thief removed his glasses. A spark of blue flames covering his body followed by the sound of a chain link snapping under tension, and Akira had changed to more suitable attire, his black and white mask resting atop his head like sunglasses would. He then busied himself with anything but the feeling of his stomach dropping. It honestly made him want to laugh, but this was an important mission, one he didn't plan on messing up.

Much sooner than he expected, they had managed to catch up with the Halberd, but not without a run down from Vault Boy and some bitching and moaning from the penguin. Honestly, could they just leave him here? Akira could already feel in the back of his head that he was going to be annoying. Of course, the thief didn't say any of this out loud and simply took off his seat belt when the former mentioned his concern over the shields covering the target ship as well as the pink marshmallow yeeting himself into the void of space.

Being just a normal human, he couldn't possibly go out into space without dying (okay, he did it once in a Palace, but a Palace is different from the real thing) so he was pretty useless here.
“Unless you can help pilot this ship, probably not.” He answered the girl as he stood from his seat, only holding onto the back of it now. “It'd be best to stay out of anyone's way, going to the shells would probably be the best option.”
He hummed afterwards, already heading in the direction of the shells but not getting in one in case there was a change of plans.

While some of the exposition offered to him seemed about as standard fair as one could expect from the bizarre circumstances Slayer now found himself facing, Naija stopped making sense as soon as she mentioned a bag and it only went downhill from there. ”Pixels?” Bemused, the gentleman removed his monocle and glanced for a moment at his own reflection in its surface. Austere, dignified, suave, stylish—just the same as ever. How preposterous. He managed a chuckle, and joked, ”What a twist!” More or less satisfied in terms of briefing, Slayer settled in for the ride.

His iron constitution could take a lot of punishment, but the unfamiliar sensation of moving at high speed while in place left him queasy in a way Slayer couldn't describe. As ever, though, he powered through, and focused on the task at hand. Rather, since there wasn't anything he could do in terms of space flight and operating the Ragnarok's weapons best suited those actually trained for it, he focused on remaining alert for any change in the situation. ”My, my,” he mused, amused. ”Here I was, thinking I'd seen all the world had to offer, and a day like this comes along. Boggles the imagination, just about.” Despite his genial, casual tone, the vampire spoke from the heart; never in a million years would he have anticipated being stuffed into a metal box and fired, a living bullet, from a weapon the side of a fishing skiff.

As King Dedede complained, Cloud couldn’t help the irritated frown that was on his face. He didn’t know who he thought was more annoying: him or Wario. If he had to choose between either, then that alone would have been the most difficult decision of his life. The penguin barely explained what he had done, and instead denied it all, and had some nerve acting like he was the victim or that any of the choices he had made were the most morally sound. The swordsman sat up with an exasperated sigh and pushed down on the edge of the hammock to dump himself onto his feet. He sat within one of the seats along the walls and started to buckle himself in as Vault Boy warned about light speed. Naija’s explanation about what all had happened, had brought the entire story into full circle. Cloud didn’t know much about pixels or a sword that could destroy them…or bags that could open dimensions to other worlds—he recalled the Egg Stealer’s bag—but regardless, it all sounded like bad news. And they were supposed to fix all of this?

It’s not like I haven’t been in this position before, Cloud mused.

Vault Boy told everyone the battle strategy. Cloud didn’t know how he felt climbing into a shell to be shot into an enemy ship, but they didn’t have much of a choice. Upon hearing the penguin complain again, Cloud glared over at him. He was growing tired of King Dedede always trying to flee from his problems. “You’re coming with us. I’m not letting you out of my sight. This is your fault, and it’s about time you learn to take responsibility for your screw ups.”

Once the ship exited light-speed, Cloud unbuckled himself and rose from his chair. He marched over to the cockpit to briefly assess the situation. The Halberd was releasing its ships, having immediately picked up on their presence as Vault Boy predicted. His attention shifted over to Kirby, watching the marshmallow head over to the airlock. When he emerged outside the ship with his own little starship, Cloud’s blonde brows rose in surprise. “Now I’ve seen everything,” he muttered. The puffball was a melee fighter and now an intergalactic pilot. Resting a hand upon his blonde, spiky head, Cloud closed his eyes momentarily as he muttered, “I’m gonna go load up.”

At Naija’s questions, Cloud shared, “I think we’ll do more damage hitting this thing from the inside.”

Instead of going directly to the shells, Cloud went straight for King Dedede grabbing the penguin by the shoulder and dragging him over to the launcher. He was going to stuff the whiny penguin into one. There was no way that he was going to get into one of the shells before he learned if King Dedede came with them or not.

As the Penguin spoke his protests, the Titan almost channeled her inner Hunter and put a round in him right then and there. She was almost positive that James would have, though the more she thought about it, she was pretty sure that he would have told Frisk in some not so kind words what his pacifism was doing for the group in Dreamland. Still, she shook her head and opted instead to try and prepare mentally. Shortly after she closed her eyes and quietly started humming to herself, the ship jumped, and then shortly after that, klaxons were going off indicated they had been engaged.

Dedede continued making excuses and a plan of action was laid out by Vault Boy, which Alicia mentally kicked herself for not thinking of her jumpship back at Platform City. It was too late for it though and instead, she stood and headed towards the shells marked for the boarding squad. At least until Dedede protested going with them, at which point she turned towards him, but Cloud beat her to it. Still, he persisted in fighting the motion and so she walked over to him, pulled her 4th Horseman free from her back and parked the four barrels against his back. "One twitch of my finger is all it takes, penguin. Get in the shell."

---

“Help! Someone help! You can’t make me go! No!” King Dedede cried as Cloud dragged him across the floor and began stuffing him into a shell. The penguin was a little fat, which made fitting into the shell a tight squeeze. King Dedede continued to flail his flippers until Alicia put a gun to the back of his head and threatened him. His purple face immediately paled to lavender as he stopped resisting. Soon enough, he was surrounded by darkness as the shell was closed and fed into the chamber. Pathetically, the penguin began crying, “I don’t wanna die! Why? Why couldn’t I stay in the ship?”

Vault Boy watched the rest of the heroes climb into their shells. He helped them close their shell hatch and fed them into the chambers. Running back over to the pilot seat, he jumped into it and pushed a button to radio to Kirby: “All right Kirby; do your thing!”

“Ey!”

“Time for some fireworks,” Vault Boy said as he pushed some buttons that caused the red ship to release a flurry of yellow lasers. The lasers passed through the enemy ships like a thread through beads, causing them to explode in a chain. Kirby riding his “star”ship soared through the air, firing small star rounds at each ship he passed. Grasping the controls, the Ragnarok dove and took evasive action, spinning as it passed under the Halberd causing enemy ships to explode spectacularly around it.

As Kirby neared the blue force field, his body glowed a gold color before he once again separated from his starship and started riding the giant star like a surfboard. He and the star then became one. Transforming into a shooting star, it passed through the Halberd’s shield, causing it to flicker before it began breaking down in a series of crumbling pixel squares.

“Captain! We lost our force field!” Sailor Waddle Dee reported.

Captain Vul nearly lost his corn pipe as he exclaimed in disbelief, “WHAT!? How is that possible!”

“Firing rockets!” Vault Boy shouted. Dropping his fist onto a big red button, the Ragnarok fired the hero-filled shells into the ship.

GM Note: The Halberd has three floors. Each floor has a task:
Flr 1: Find the ship’s map, so the heroes will know the layout and locate the brig to free Moneybags and any other “captives.” Characters: Cloud and Naija
Flr 2: Locate the reactor and destroy it. Characters: Slayer and Alicia
Flr 3: Activate self-destruct sequence. Characters: Akira, Kirby, and King Dedede
You have landed on these floors. Good luck!

Inside the ship, a klaxon was ringing and whirling warning lamps bathed the interior in red. Dreamland crew members comprised of Waddle Dees and Doos were running about, trying to locate the damage to the ship and repair it. Captain Vul’s pirate-like voice could be heard blaring over the comms:

“Find the intruders and destroy them! Take no prisoners!”

Weighted footsteps shook the metallic floor of the ship as a machine marched through the corridors of the first floor, scanning for signs of intrusion. The machine was brass in color and had claws like a crustacean. The Heavy Lobster as slow as it seemed was faster than it appeared and was capable of chasing intruders throughout the entirety of the ship. As long as the heroes remained undetected, it wouldn’t be able to target their location.

On the second floor, a sophisticated security system guarded the reactor. The device was apart of the Combo Cannon. The sophisticated AI had an arm that could lock onto an enemies location and restrain them if not careful. What was even deadlier was its different cannons. The machine was sturdy and its sole purpose was to protect the reactor at all costs.

On the third floor was the bridge, and all sorts of enemies from Sailor Waddle Dee to the ominous Meta Knight were there. The bat-winged knight was patient and unnerved as he watched the Ragnarok fly away from the Halberd. He knew the heroes would eventually come to face him. After all, he was the one who they needed to converse with. He had the answers they sought, and he was also the final boss in the way of them succeeding with their mission.

---

Naija, Akira, Slayer, Cloud, and Alicia. (NPCs: Kirby and King Dedede)



GM Note: Be mindful of the decisions you make. The final boss doesn't have to be immediately engaged. Be wise and take the best plan of action. Be warned, this is a Delta mission. The GM may be unforgiving.

Naija flopped out of her shell and into a room on the Halberd‘s first floor. Not that she knew that was where she was. She panted as she pushed herself up right, the trip having left her short of breath, and then hoisted herself into the air with her wings.

“Never again” she swore before trying to get a grasp of her situation.

Looking around she realised she had no idea where on the ship she was, or where anyone else was for that matter. What she did know was that she was currently in a supply closet, as various cleaning supplies like mops, brooms, soap and buckets littered its various shelves and also, as a result of her violent arrival, the floor. It’s walls made of cold uncaring steel lit by a low red light. Poking her head out of the closet door she discovered that this was the aesthetic of the corridors outside as well, which consisted of a fairly long tunnel with doors at each end and number of rooms or corridors branching off of it on either side. There was no-one around. Her only company was the mess of cleaning supplies behind her and endless blaring siren that heralded the hero’s arrival. Naija, unaware that any that the red light and noisy alarm where not the usual state of affairs however and thought instead that this was the ship’s natural state. She notched its intact capture down several pegs on her internal priority chart as a result. She would not like to live here that was for sure. Once she got use to the alarm her ears could pick up other sounds around her and from them it seemed that those that did live on the ship did seem to be around, even if they were not in view at the moment.

The heavy cleaning of metal on metal that would turn out to be the Heavy Lobster’s footsteps echoed fro somewhere out there in the spiderweb of corridors. Those sounds weren't coming straight for her fortunately. What did seem to be coming towards her, at least gradually, was the rapid fire footsteps of what sounded like dozens of chatty individuals, their nattering only faintly detectable and impossible to comprehend with all the other sound blaring through the metal halls.

Naija had little interest in engaging whatever was out there alone and was far more concerned about the wellbeing of the rest of the team regardless. As a result Naija flapped her way up to the ceiling of the corridor she was in in a token attempt at staying out of sight and then set about traveling along it perpendicular to the wall the shell’s had hit in search of any other shells that had hit it while doing her best to avoid the loud clanking sound or smaller crew members. If she had them get close she would avoid them by taking detours around them or ducking into vents, closets or rooms if that would take her away from her intended search path.

If/whens eh found someone she’d greet them with a friendly, if quiet “Hello! Good to see you are ok.”

The young phantom thief found himself gritting his teeth to avoid biting his tongue as the shell he claimed as his own came crashing down into one of the floors of the Halberd ship. While the capsule tried it's best to slow down to a stop, Akira didn't wait for it and instead hopped out and proceeded to press himself against one of the walls of the corridor he found himself in, also waiting for the shell to come to a complete stop. He took a moment to catch his breath, muscles tense and fingers gripping tightly around the Prisdagger he received upon the mission he completed earlier today, while also trying to listen past the alarms that had gone off because of their arrival. Although his vision was still swimming from the planned launch onto the Halberd, Akira could tell the ship was bustling with crew mates trying to make amends of their ambush, not that he was all too surprised. The floor he happened to find himself in felt pretty high up; not to mention the concentration of frantic footsteps to his right. There's a lot of commotion going on in general...

Deciding to keep his chances up, Akira looked to his left and sprinted down the small corridor, heels clicking faintly under him..

Going there by himself would essentially be a death wish. He needed to find someone, anyone, and thin out the enemies in order to make everyone's lives more easy. Then talk to their captain.

The raven haired boy continued down the path set out for him, occasionally clinging onto the shadows when oddly cute orange and cream colored blobs raced past with varying weapons and even their fists, ready to take down anyone in their way. Were these really the 'enemies' they had to watch out for? It was a hard thing to think about. They were just protecting their ship, much like any other person would. It was a shame that they found found themselves on opposite sides this time around, but it was all the more reason for their team to finish this as quickly as possible; much like any other Palace he's stumbled to, better things were to come after they were destroyed.

Akira wished he could have taken a look outside to see if he could spot the others, but as he turned the corner, a spot of pink and blotch of red suddenly invaded his vision as he immediately pulled off his mask in response.
“Arsene, Ei- wait...” A sigh escaped the human's lips as Arsene also relaxed behind him, blue flames and black chains extinguished and crumbled respectively behind him. Turns out the the raven haired teen was a bit jumpy, seeing as he almost blasted his allies into oblivion... well more like ally seeing at the penguin wasn't really apart of the team just yet. “Kirby and Dedede, right? Good. I'll need all the help I can get. We need to thin out the enemies wandering around on this floor and try to get into contact with the others before we do anything to rash. Have you seen anyone else by any chance?”

Though he couldn't see outside his little metal container, Slayer realized it for the best very quickly. It launched at breakneck speed, eliciting a brief, strangled cry from the gentleman vampire, who fought to keep himself steady as the shell rocketed through open space. A split second later it hit home with an incredible impact, burying itself in the Halberd's side. Slayer stood up from the resulting mess after a moment or two, not much worse for wear physically, though his head span something fierce. After rubbing his temples and shaking out the stars, he looking up just in time for a second shell to strike the ship not far away from where his own came to rest. This time he didn't jump in alarm, instead removing his monocle to polish it as Alicia extracted herself from the remnants of her transportation. He'd seen her before now, of course, but only now did he really look.

”Ah, hello there. Forgive me for any staring, I implore you; you rather resemble the somewhat irksome fellow who 'beat' me in the arena back at the castle.” With that observation and its nebulous intent made, he turned his attention to his surroundings. He'd been less-than-formally introduced to the Halberd's second floor, where a certain machine resided that needed be rent asunder. While he anticipated some sort of defense mechanism, perhaps on par in terms of 'threatening' appearance with the ship's harmless-looking crew members, he did not anticipate a problem. While he could tell he hadn't yet regained his true strength, he felt might fine; beneath his noble veneer lay a tremendous amount of power, and where terrific might and cunning wit walked hand in hand, few could bar the way. ”No time to waste, I suppose. Let us find that pesky reactor.”

He made tracks down the second floor's central walkways en route to the reactor chamber, giving no consideration to stealth. Any Waddle Dees or Doos that got in his way demanded little more than a light slap or shove with the foot to tumble away, dissuaded or dizzied. To be frank, Slayer felt bad pushing the little critters around, but given that they were enemies, they still got off pretty easy. That conclusion made Slayer think about how this whole heroism business had affected his mindset; before, he didn't have any enemies. He never involved himself in the world's affairs, merely watching and learning, so never did anyone really don that mantle. Fools, curmudgeons, and vagabonds there were plenty, but being misguided, or overly proud, or desperate did not make one a 'foe'.

Slayer's musing trailed off as he neared his destination. Between him and the reactor chamber lay a complex and dangerous-looking weapon system, more sophisticated than anything Slayer might have attributed to the work of a Waddle Dee's stubby hand. ”Well now. It would seem they've prepared an energetic reception for us.” No cover, nothing to use as a shield, too far to teleport, too strong to block or tank given that claw-arm. What to do, what to do. He glanced out a nearby porthole, and an idea struck him. Could he just...go outside? With his strength, he could make hand and footholds out of the Halberd's exterior, blink back up if he happened to slip, and then punch his way back inside once he got past the Combo Cannon. Things would be easier if the shell launchers just put us right in the reactor chamber, he reflected, though surely there must have been some obstacle that prevented such an easy solution. If Alicia didn't some up with something better, he'd be giving it a try.

The landing had been rough. Cloud felt like beans in a can and someone was shaking them vigorously. After the shell had embedded it into the ship, the ex-SOLDIER remained inside it as he took a moment to collect his breath and wits. If he had died in space, he would have preferred it be in one big explosion. But he made it. His hands touched his arms, chest, and then face. He was still alive.

“This is the last time I’m riding this,” Cloud muttered. He pressed his gloved hand against the hatch and felt resistance. Drawing back his fist, he used his enhanced strength to deliver a solid punch to it, but it had taken a strong kick to send the hatch swinging open. It wasn’t his most stealthy approach, but he couldn’t imagine who would be interested in seeing where a missile shell landed. There were sparking wires, warped metal scrap, and through a gap in the deformed wall, Cloud saw an eyeball staring back at him. He had spoken too soon.

“Hey guys!” the Waddle Doo exclaimed.

As Waddle Dee sailors raced over to the eyeball, as soon as they reached him, a sheet of ice hissed across the floor and in a flash freeze, the three Waddles were trapped in a curled wave of ice. Reaching through the gap, Cloud turned sideways and attempted to squeeze through it. It was tight, even for his lean figure. It didn’t help that the sword equipped on his back was getting caught. Grasping the opening, Cloud bore his teeth as he tried to pull himself through.

Thunk…thunk…

The ex-SOLDIER froze as he listened to the weighted steps. Whatever it was, it sounded enormous, and he couldn’t tell how close it was from his trapped position. Huge; mechanical; this was the worst time to be caught in such a predicament. “Fuck!” Cloud hissed. He had to move quick! He didn’t want that thing to find him!