[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220729/023912a75a8a9b16c801799640a60148.png[/img]

[b]Word Count:[/b] 667
[b]Level 8 Roxas:[/b] 60/80
[b]Exp Gained:[/b] +1
[b]NEW EXP Balance---[/b] 61/80

[h3]Ballyhoo’s Big Top[/h3][/center]

Given the number of people who were trying to get their turn at the Orb Machine, needless to say that Roxas had to wait a bit for his turn to come up. So instead of immediately lining up for the Orb Machine, Roxas instead decided to spend a couple of his tokens elsewhere. They mentioned cosmetic prizes before the games started so maybe Roxas could get something interesting there. He’d been mostly changing back and forth between his now-modified Organization coat and his Twilight Town outfit, so maybe he could use some other clothes to wear once and awhile too?

And there didn’t seem to be any lack of options for clothing pieces and even full suited costumes! Roxas ended up spending 3 of his 6 rift tokens on these prizes. In the end, he walked away with a school uniform for some place called Naranja Academy, a set of sporty-looking clothes were described as being used for challenging Pokemon Gyms, and finally a simple tropical outfit that contained a comfy light blue tank top with black shorts and a pair of sandals - oh and also sunglasses. Apparently the last outfit was supposedly from Alola, where Roxas remembered Professor Koa’s parents originating from. As for the first two outfits, Roxas had never heard of Naranja Academy but according to the costume’s description it was apparently a school for Pokemon Trainers. He’d also never heard of Galar, but the name of that region was familiar to him since his Pokedex mentioned it being the home region of Yampers like Scamp.

Well, with half of his tokens now used up, Roxas figured it would be smart to hold onto the last 3 for the Orb Machine. Speaking of which, by now Roxas was finally able to get a turn at it. [color=gold]”Let’s see, so I just put in the tokens and pull, right?”[/color] He asked as he inserted all three of his remaining tokens. Then reached for the crank and gave it a pull. Like it had done for others, the Orb Machine proceeded to spit out a trio of spirits that Roxas then examined more closely.

The first one was a pale woman that looked like she was covered in spots by these strange paper tags. He didn’t understand the symbols written on them, but they did look remarkably like some of the language used in the signs all over Seiran back in Midgar. The second one appeared to be a girl or woman who was literally just dressed like a bedsheet ghost. What kind of power could a spirit like this have? The only way to know would be to use it and find out. But for now there was still the third spirit to look at.

This one was a bit different. It was a boy around his own age. He also wore what looked like a mix of chainmail and plate armor. The armored plates looked like a teal green color, while the mail sections looked to be a darker hue, possibly black or a dark gray. Roxas also had a weird feeling that he’d seen this boy before. But, wait, no, that couldn’t be. He was sure this was the first time he was seeing someone like this, but then… Why the weird feeling of familiarity? He shrugged and wrote it off as his imagination.

And that was all of Roxas’ tokens now spent. While waiting for his turn at the Orb Machine, Roxas overheard Dawn coming in and speaking with Sandalphon. It sounded like that Consul Z guy was on the hunt for them again and they were gonna have to get out of Carnival Town pretty quick to avoid him catching up to them. That was a shame, since Roxas was kinda hoping to give the kart racing a try. But avoiding that Consult was more important so Roxas would just have to hope he’d get a chance to come back and try out more games and attractions later.

[hr]
[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/221005/7d7c778891f3387ab231a2bbd26f2d1e.png[/img]

[b]Word Count:[/b] 688
[b]Level 6 Ganondorf:[/b] 41/60
[b]Exp Gained:[/b] +1
[b]NEW EXP Balance---[/b] 42/60

[h3]Ballyhoo’s Big Top[/h3][/center]

Finally, the farcical games were over. And Ganondorf had managed to walk away with a decent bounty of rift tokens to boot. Now the only thing to do was claim the [i]real[/i] prize. The only reason he’d even bothered to suffer through those games was so that he could claim some spirits from the Orb Machine and further expand his power. And so to that end he went straight to the Orb Machine and remained there in order to get his chance to use it. He cared nothing at all about clothes and costumes, and instead intended to spend every last token on more spirits.

When he eventually did get his turn, Ganondorf wasted no time. He’d seen how others had used the machine so he had a decent idea of how this thing worked. And so the warlord inserted all eight of his rift tokens and then reached up to give the crank a pull. Then he just smirked and waited for the machine to do its thing. One after another, the Orb Machine spewed out spirits until Ganondorf had a total of no less than eight in his possession. Now he would have to actually examine them to try and get an idea of what power they might possess.

Three of them were modern soldiers wielding technological weapons that Ganondorf wasn’t overly familiar with. He’d seen guns and blasters before thanks to his experience with the original Smashers, but never bothered to familiarize himself with them. Still, spirits like these could prove to be useful strikers so he certainly wouldn’t be throwing them away. One of the spirits was a strange one, appearing to be a woman in a red coat wielding some kind of black and white cutting device. He couldn’t imagine what kind of power this spirit had, or if it would even interest him. But still, a spirit was a spirit so leaving it behind was not something he was about to do. If nothing else he could potentially trade this spirit for another that one of the others had? Two of the other spirits appeared to be men in armor wielding some kind of blade weapons that didn’t look immediately familiar. Ah, these spirits certainly looked like the sort that would interest him. He’d have to consider what to do with them, since they could be useful as strikers or fusion material.

But the last two were what truly caught his eye. One was an armored warrior in red wielding a spear. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar to Ganondorf in some way and yet he could not put his finger on why. It gave him a feeling of deja vu similar to what he felt when he found his twin greatswords in Castle Holograd. Could this man have been from the same world of Hyrule as himself, perhaps? And the other spirit simply looked like a fierce creature in general, with its ghostly blue armor and apparent blades that replaced its hands. He recognized it as a Pokemon, having seen plenty in his time with other original Smashers. But he did not know which specific Pokemon this was. There were so many of them, Ganondorf couldn’t possibly be expected to be able to recall them all at any given time.

[color=797979]”Hmm, excellent.”[/color] Ganondorf said at the conclusion of his examination. Yes, these spirits were quite the bounty, he concluded. But then a strange woman entered the tent and told everyone that Consul Z was apparently on his way there and that the Seekers needed to depart as soon as possible to evade his wrath.

[color=797979]”Run? Why?”[/color] Ganondorf questioned, [color=797979]”We hath felled four of their number already. Why should we fear one more?”[/color] It was clear he preferred to fight instead of run. Even Bowser appeared to also agree that they should just simply fight. But it was also clear they were likely going to be outvoted on this matter.

[color=797979]”Bah, fine!”[/color] Ganondorf relented in the end. [color=797979]”Have it thy way. But know this: Thou cannot evade the Consuls forever. We shall inevitably have to fight them sooner or later.”[/color]