[IC] World of Light

[Old Amsterdam]

Zer0

Level 3: 6/30
Location Scrapyard – End
Word Count: 1,286

---

Zer0 watched with satisfaction as his bullets pierced through the mech. That satisfaction quickly turned into irritation as the bullets apparently didn't strike the weakpoint because the damn thing just kept going. He would've made a snarky comment at the one who had given out the intel for not updating it, but it wasn't worth the effort. He still had a badass to kill, after all.

But before he could open fire again, he saw that his bullets had ripped into his new friend / fellow Vault Hunter, who was now struggling as the tank's turret had plowed into him. Disappointment at himself and the Courier welled up within him as he started running forward as the tank flew up into the sky with a solid rocket jump. With a simple push of his limbs, Zer0 sent himself over the moat while the others continued the attack. They would do fine, he decided, because that jump was a last ditch effort if Zer0 had ever seen one.

Even Jack had had one, right before Zer0 and his friends had kicked the fucking face in of the Destroyer and Lilith had melted the bastard like the skag-sucker that he was. Even now Zer0 could only wish for the most painful of deaths for that maniac. Worse than any of the psychos on Pandora, worse than even the failures of the Badass Arena of Badassitude. He had been a plague on the galaxy, abusing his own kin for gain, and everwhere was better with him gone. Zer0 just hoped that he stayed dead. The only one he knew of who had tried to bring the deadman back, Professor Nakyama, had died when he'd fell down his holo-stairs like the pathetic little man that he had been. Destroying his samples of DNA should have been enough, but with this Galeem...Zer0 hoped that he didn't take the dead, too.

Zer0 stealthed as Death himself launched onto the offensive. He landed running, unstealthing moments later, before hearing more than seeing the demise of the tank bot while the engineer and his turret went down like a grubby Bullymong popped in the head. Unfortunately, the Courier wasn't much better off at this point. B0re was a highly useful skill, but Zer0 was used to allies who didn't get behind an enemy when there was a sniper who's bullets penetrated everything on the other side. He was also used to Maya and her ability to just shoot them back to full health whenever she felt like it, or using her Siren abilities to just instantly revive them from the brink of death. Sure they could all pick each other back up, but she could do it immediately and at a distance.

He really missed his team. They worked so well together. Idly he wondered where they might be. If they would be found in this world as a puppet like everyone else had been so far. The thought was a little disheartening and a little exciting, if he was being honest. That would be a real challenge, fighting his fellow Vault Hunters. The badasses of all badasses.

He stepped up towards the Courier, who had made a mad dash to grab the spirit left from Bastion while Zer0 had still been in the air. A shake of his head, and Zer0 crouched beside his comrade. So many of their rather large team had gotten injured, he couldn't imagine that it had to do with the size of the team. They didn't work together like how he and the Courier had in the canyon. Zer0 didn't even mind that he didn't know the name of the drifter. A little mystery was healthy, something that he knew tenfold more than anyone else.

Blazermate had done the brunt of the stabilizing of his friend, consuming the spirit of the Engineer before continue her work to heal the Courier back to full health. With a nod towards the robot, he held out a hand for the Courier to take.

“I apologise.
Miscalculation, but you
Should learn how to dodge.”

The apology wasn't the greatest, but Zer0 also wasn't the only one at fault in this kind of situation. He'd just need to keep better track of his new allies so that they didn't get in the way of his bullets. A simple enough personal challenge for him to beat.

Pulling the Courier to his feet once Blazermate was done with her administrations, regardless of if the man had accepted his hand, Zer0 continued speaking.

“Badass you may be
But even badasses can
Fall victim to death.”

With that said, he went to collect one of the souls (the Biri Spirit) from the moat now that Bowser had decided to blow them up. Might as well take advantage of the situation, if no one else was going to. Holding the random soul in his hand for a moment before he crushed it to collect its loot, Zer0 considered what it would give him. Maybe he'd get lucky and get a better sniper, though b0re really made even the worst of snipers more then capable of destroying even the Bunker.

Whatever the weapon was going to turn out to be, however, it would be useful. If not for him, then maybe for an ally. And hell, maybe duping worked in this world, too. He'd need to ask Michael if he would be willing to test that out with his big ass sniper. Zer0 could feel his fingers itching to get his hands on that thing. He crushed the soul, a brief thought of what that meant for the souls themselves before he decided that he could think about those thoughts later.

Glancing up at the castle, he was reminded of the time that they had stormed the deserts to take on Captain Scarlet. Her mighty sandskid was, arguably, almost like a fortress. Add in that Hyperious the Invincible had taken refuge in a giant rig...

Would there be a Hyperious hiding within? A new target, a new Raid Boss? He couldn't help but feel that the bright light falling was a signal of a real challenge waiting for him. He'd find it one way or another, defeat whatever beast the orb of light had summoned for them, and collect the loot that it dropped.

Or he wasn't a Vault Hunter. Falling back into step beside the Courier, Zer0 tried to track where the light landed. He'd remember where it landed if he could make out any of its surroundings, and he'd make sure he came across it eventually.

“Follow the light, de-
feat the raid boss that follows
Burn it all to dust.”

He spoke softly, likely softly enough that only those closest to him would hear, but his voice carried a hint of emotion to it for the first time since they had all awoken. It was a flavoring of anger, perhaps, or maybe excitement. No one but him would know for sure, but each thought of what he was feeling was about as correct as the rest.

This was his obsession. He flourished in violence and challenges, and having something as powerful as a Raid Boss to look forward to, for that was what he assumed it to be, was like giving an alcoholic the most expensive bottle of liquor on the planet.

And the fact that this Galeem was not unlike one of the Eridian weapons like the Warrior had been? That only added more to the fire burning within him. The greatest challenge of all just sat there in the sky, waiting for him.

Waiting for him to destroy it.

“A million stars
A bright light turns red with blood
As the light is snuffed.”

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Linkle

Level up! LEVEL 3 - (5/30) +3 EXP
Location: Scrapyard – Endzone
Word Count:1698

---

"Hrgk!" Linkle grunted as the robots gun suddenly spun round and hit her right in the same side the engineer had already shot. She thanked The healing Blazermate had sent her way earlier, even though she wasn't sure whether this would have hurt less without it. She was hurled off the robot along with Blazermate and the gunman, falling on her back onto the bridge.

Not a moment later she felt something round and hard hit her square in the face with enough force to bounce. She opened her eyes into narrow slits and could just barely something round and angry red descending back down on her. Her eyes went wide in sudden panic as she realized that her bomb hand was now empty. Having lost her grip on the explosive when the the robots big gun had knocked the sense out of her she now only had seconds to act before her entire plan literally blew up in her face. A normal person with a functioning sense of their own mortality might cover themselves as best they could, or try to somehow roll away to avoid most of the blast.

Linkle instead thrust herself up and slammed her forehead into the bomb as it came down. It flew away from her, bouncing once down the bridge before detonating with Linkle just out of the blast zone. She sighed with relief. Just a moment later and it would have exploded right on her, but as it was she'd managed to get away with just a bloody nose.

Then a tank shell landed nearby her, the force of the explosion throwing her roughly into the bridges stone safety rail and knocking the breath out of her. Dazed and confused she glanced up to see the robot performing of wildly spinning dance of firey death, blasting away in all directions, and the only thought that managed to float to the top of her mind as she struggled to regain her breath was "You can't kill me with one of my own moves, that's illegal."

Luckily for everyone involved the robots wild attack ceased after a few seconds later. Linkle thought maybe it had run out of ammo again, and as it fell and began to shift into an humanoid form she struggled to stand, pulling herself woozily to her feet using the guardrail. She could see the gunman was in an bad way, and with Blazermate nowhere to be seen on the bridge she was the only thing standing between him and whatever trick this transforming robot had left.

Then she heard the roar, and smiled. She assumed that meant Bowser had finally made it over to the bridges, so you could imagine how confused she was when a strange blue wind formed around the still falling robot and crystallized into ice around him. Then all became clear as Minako's monster bounded over the archway behind it and laied into it with its blade. It's strikes were slow, deliberate, and devastatingly powerful. Linkle could do nothing but watch in awe as it did with seeming ease what Linkle, Blazermate, the gunman, and Zer0 together had failed to do; completely dismantle that robot. That had seemed to be the extent of the terrifying power of the creature, as no sooner had its assault yielded its terrifying result the creature itself began to fade away.

As the robot whined and crumbled into black dust a shutter ran through the archway and it tumbled over onto to engineer, with Tora standing there proudly behind it. He beamed with energy, but Linkle saw his face with from happiness to worry as he saw the state they were in. She didn't blame him. She and the gunman were somehow still moving, but she got the feeling neither of them should be. There was still a throbbing pain in her side from where the gun had slammed her and she only just now noticed that the arm on the side that had taken the explosion was not only charred black like the skin of those taken by Gallem but completely limp, her cloaks on the side hanging around it in simalerly scorched tatters. On the bright side it wasn't in any pain, because she couldn't feel it.

Suddenly a white rabbit landed in their midst, letting out a green pulse of healing energy. Linkle could feel wounds closing up, ribs re-setting, and feeling come back into her arm. She responded by sucking in a long stream of air through clenched teeth and lifted her head skyward, but luckily the following thoroughly unheroic cry of pain was masked by the massive underwater explosion Bowser set off.

Spitting the water from that impromptu rainfall out of her mouth, she gingerly touched her arm and let out small yelp as she got used to it. "Ow ow ow ow." She whispered.

Luckily for her wherever there was injury Blazermate wasn't too far behind. After patching up the incredibly hurt gunman she turned her healing powers on Linkle, finishing up the job that the white rabbit had started and flushing the last of the pain from her arm. Linkle rolled it, making sure that everything was still in working order then pointed both fingers at Blazermate and grinning. "Lifesaver!" She declared as the metabot made her way off to her next patient. "Miracle worker!"

With the cowboy and herself okay Linkle started to walk toward the bridge entrance, to chat with Tora and see if everyone else was all right, when suddenly Minako appeared from behind the side of the bridge. She was messed up too, and Linkle was about to call out to Blazermate that she'd missed somebody when suddenly the girl grabbed her around the collar and pulled Linkle down so they could talk fave to face. It wasn't a strong tug, but the eyes behind it gave it more power than it would have otherwise.

When Tora had seen them all injured and made that worried face it had been a punch in the gut, but the glare Minako was giving her was like being stabbed. It was positively withering.

As Minako launched right into her reprimanded Linkle really couldn't do anything but stand there and take it like a child who'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She could have responded, but she didn't think telling Minako that not only had she charged into a legion of archers before, multiple times, but that it had always worked spectacularly up til now would do anything to improve the girls mood.

Minako's gaze softens, though, as she let Linkle go but what came next was arguably a worse punishment than if the girl had decided to hit her. "No, don't, please stop. Hero's aren't supposed to make people feel like this. I'm the one that's supposed to be worrying over you."

She reached out to put her hands on her shoulders or steady her or something, but she couldn't grab her by that arm. So she awkwardly held her arms out, unsure of what to do or how to help. "I..." She stammered. What kind or hero froze up like this?

Well, the answer was simple wasn't it? One that still had a long way to go.

"I..." She started slowly, struggling to come to terms with it. "I'm sorry. I'm just so used to being the only one on the battlefield that can...do things. The only one that can cut through and make progress. It's the only way I've ever fought. I overestimate myself. And," she said' reaching out to gently life Minako's head so she could look her in the eye. "I underestimated you. That robot wasn't just one army. Trust me on this, I've beat whole armies before. That thing was three or four armies." She suddenly smiled, getting a little energy back into her voice. "Which makes you, like, six armies from what I can count. You were incredible!" Her cheer done with, she let her energy fall a bit while still keeping a small smile on her face. "I promise I'll be more careful."

It was weird, but she was starting to calm down and get her confidence back. Linkle took Minako's good arm and threw it over her shoulder, supporting the girl as best she could. "You know, I'm not that good at picking my own battles. Every fight I've been in has always gone better when there was someone around to point me in the right direction. Otherwise I just wind up brute forcing everything. So, would it be all right if I asked for your support? 'Cause you seem a lot smarter than me."

With that she set off, helping Minako walk in the direction that Blazermate had left. On the way she stopped by Tora. "Thanks for coming to my rescue." She said. The image of the little guy covered in wounds flashed in her mind again, and her face hardened briefly before going back to her normal, chipper self. "Sorry. I'll pay you back a hundred times!"

She half carried Minako over to Blazermate, nodding a "good job" to Ratchet and Agoston as she navigated the rubble of the fallen arch to where Blazermate was talking with Geno and the crew gathered round the weird blackened man. What had that little god been up to while he was away? Before she could ask that, though, she spotted the black crater on the shore where the heroic rabbit had been blown up and grimaced.

"Blazer?" She shouted as they approched. "Forgetting somebody?" She let the girl down as they reached the group, laying her down if needed. "I'll be right back." She said. "There's something important I've got to do." Leaving the girl in Blazermate expert care she set off toward the spot where the rabbit had met his end.

She looked around, kneeling on the ground, running her hand through what grass was left or shoving it under the water to feel around. "Come on, rabbit. I know you're around here somewhere. There's no way a hero could have given up and left that quickly. Not when there's still work to do."

[Stern Algorithm]

Din

Level 2 - (16/20) EXP
Location - Scrapyard
Word Count: 430

@Star Lord @Lmpkio @DracoLunaris

Din leaves Geno to discuss with Bowser and locate Kirby to save his friend Mario, while turning her attention to the increasingly unstable Roadhog. Putting her Rod and keyblade in the ground in a show of peace, and upon rising, placed her hands forward in a calming gesture Din says slowly, "Look, I know you're confused, but we're all grateful you helped us in the previous battle. Most of us are confused. Only a few of us have any idea what's going on, Kirby, who Geno is looking for, and the Master of Masters, the man in the hood. Oh, but Kirby doesn't speak. I woke up here, with no memory of recent events, remembering only a powerful light back in my own world. That thing in the sky," Din points at the winged ball of light hovering over the landscape, "That's Galeem, according to the Master. It's supposedly taking different worlds and mixing them up as it pleases, and we're all victims. Not only that, it mind controls us, and makes us fight. Everything we've fought so far has this smokey complexion and red glow in the eyes. I think that's a sign of its influence. This here is 'Mario', I think Geno and Bowser know him. But apparently him and Geno have been fighting, even though they're supposed to be friends. You can see taht right now, Mario still shows the signs. When Ratchet and I encountered you, you were hostile and working with one of the rabbit creatures to try to kidnap Kirby. Ratchet and I got lucky and were able to subdue you, but you showed the signs as well. The fact that you don't remember this encounter is further proof that you were being mind controlled. Right now, we're all really pissed at Galeem and we're all trying to find answers, rescue our friends, and possibly return home. We're all lost, confused, hurt, and feel violated. But we've decided to stick together. Nobody's trying to hurt you or make you do anything you don't want."

She gives Roadhog a few moments to process what she said, before deciding to introduce herself, "My name's Din. I'm...a dancer. From the island of Holodrum, though that probably doesn't mean anything to you." She wondered if it was still prudent to hide the fact that she was the Oracle of Seasons, not that anyone here would know what that meant, or even care. The forces that sought her for her power were probably scattered and disorganized thanks to the cataclysm, so there was really nothing to be hiding from.

[Lugubrious]

Tora & the Master of Masters

Level 3 – (5/20) EXP
Location: Scrapyard – Endzone
Word Count: 1817

Breathless, Tora watched as the Courier staggered his way over to the bright spirit left behind by Bastion. An awful lot of blood was pouring out of the guy for him to be moving so determinedly, but move he did. How was he withstanding those injuries? The Nopon's morbid fascination held him until the gunslinger released his hold on the pickaxe he'd tried to deck Bastion with, which released over him a flood of agony The noise that tore itself from the man's throat made Tora jump in surprise, crying out himself, but a few seconds later 6 seemed to get enough of a hold of himself to gasp out a few words to the spirits in his possession. However, his ensuing collapse prevented the bond from taking hold, leaving him at the mercy of his allies—though anyone interested in those particular spirits would need to pry them from his rigid, balled fists.

Fortunately, nobody else seemed quite so injured. Blazermate and Zer0 found their way toward the fallen Courier, one to offer him health and the other rather dubious condolences, though the former took a brief break from her patient to nab the other major spirit left behind by their battle. With her mind more fixated on her duties than what happened with Zer0 before, the Medabot did not prepare herself for the incredible surge of sensation that blasted through her systems the moment the Engineer spirit was internalized. Her metal body, gleaming with prismatic light, lost its texture and definition, the matter becoming clay for molding by ideas. No faint mote of a mindless machine, the culmination of unique being that was Dell Conagher, the Engineer, sculpted her essence anew. When the light faded and Blazermate regained form, a greater entity stood ready to work.

For Blazermate

Rare Spirit Devoured:
The Engineer
Into Blazermate's chassis is integrated a durable yellow-orange hard hat, with room for her pigtails, as well as a pair of dark brown overalls. She also bears an unmistakable southern accent, and altered systems. This spirit confers the Power Sentry Maker, which allows her to spawn a toolbox that, when deployed, builds a stationary Sentry turret that automatically targets and shoots enemies. The turret is upgrade-able by two degrees, increasing its firepower and fire rate, including a quad-rocket launcher at level three. Only one can exist at a time, but it can be debuilt into a toolbox for moving, and if one is destroyed Blazermate can spawn a new toolbox after a minute. This spirit also inflicts the Weakness Technoorganism, which -thanks to having both technological and organic internal systems- removes her immunity to poison and requires her to both breathe and sleep, though not as much as a fully living being.

All the while, the Master of Masters hung not far away from Geno and Bowser's reunion. He watched with some curiosity as Din, prompted by Geno's willingness to explore her options, mentioned using a keyblade to free the mustache-bearing new arrival from Galeem's taint. When she mentioned him a moment later, he gave the behatted doll a cheery wave. “What's good?” An amused chuckle came not long after when the Dancer attempted to emulate Kirby's gesture from earlier. The young woman's forthright nature was a heartwarming thing to behold; it rather reminded him of Ava. To nobody in particular, he pontificated, “I'm sure it's gotta do with inner srength. Living, feeling, experiencing, forming bonds..all of these build up the heart, and if yours is big enough, it'll shine on those around you ...like a warm fireplace.”

He silenced himself to watch as Bowser made a spectacle of himself, pilfering Ratchet's weapon to set off some explosives in the moat. How exactly Bowser knew how to operate the thing, especially with such huge, inarticulate hands, baffled even the Master of Masters, but one could hardly argue with his results. The spirits of a few different kinds of fish floated to the surface, some of which Bowser seemed eager to grab. The rest, however, he left. The Master of Masters could only glance at Geno and Din, shrugging with his hands held up in amused befuddlement. Zer0, however, hurried to cash in on the Koopa King's catch.

For Zer0

You have Acquired:
Synapse
An organic rifle whose internal organs generate potent charges of bioelectricity to accurately fry enemies at close or medium range. It unleashes 12 jolts per second in a continuous stream, with 72 jolts per charge and 6 seconds to fully recharge, though it won't fire while recharging. The weapon does not need to feed, but it should be cleaned.

Meanwhile, Tora had at last stopped staring at Blazermate in awe and found his way back to Linkle and Minako. Though still somewhat wounded, he seemed upbeat enough now that 6 was being cared for and Linkle's own injuries were alleviated. Poised to congratulate the girls on a job well done, he stopped short when Minako offered her ally not support but a stern reprimand. The distinct feeling that he was unwelcome came over Tora, but he swallowed and stood by to listen to what the redhead had to say. To be honest, everything she told Linkle made sense. Rushing out into the action without a plan, when one didn't have Tora's remarkable durability, was pretty much asking for a bad time. Her explanation confused him a touch, since entire armies being outclassed by one individual made no sense, but if true that did explain her rationale. When he looked back at Minako's face, Tora found less anger and more sadness than he expected. Was everyone hurting...?

Linkle seemed to regain some of her usual luster, and after promising to be more careful, moved to help Minako. The next moment, Tora pushed himself up under her other arm, his roundness perfect for leaning on. His wing fell across her other shoulder, where it lay on Linkle's arm. After a deep breath, he said, “Sorry you were hurt, friends. Tora is terrible, terrible tank without Poppi. Will be better next time.” Closing his eyes, he gave his most heartwarming smile. “But in mean time, am happy that friends still around! Even if have troubles, will get better together. That is Tora promise!” Together, the three marched toward their changed healer.

After helping Minako get help, however, Linkle broke away for a moment to head to the water's edge. There, she sifted through the currents with a certain spirit in mind. While it would have taken a massive amount of luck for the right mote to drift into her fingertips, luck wasn't the only thing at play. After only a couple seconds, a spirit popped out of the water to float before her. Within the rainbow light was the visage of Rabbid Luigi, downcast -no doubt due to his death- but clearly glad to see a familiar face. “Wahbwabwa?” came a whisper from it, far more cheerful than a newly-dead murmur should rightfully be.

Not everyone looked to be taking the situation well. Though he'd helped -arguably- in the battle moments ago, the portly masked man was now raising a ruckus. The Master of Masters fully understood confusion and anger given the situation, but continuing to threaten others, particularly when everyone else had been so obliging, was starting to grate on his nerves. Planting the tip of his keyblade in the ground, the Master of Masters leaned on it like a cane and told Roadhog, “Look, buddy. I know you want answers. Everyone does. And I get that you're a real tough guy and all, but are ya really gonna rattle the saber with more than a dozen heroes around ready to smack some sense into ya? I'll tell you what you wanna know, but if you don't pipe down, you'll be put down.” Perhaps intentionally, the ultimatum heavily contrasted his casual tone.

Din, however, stepped up to spare him the effort of an explanation, so he watched her attempt at pacification before she pointed at the seraphic entity far away, surrounded by a shimmering whirlpool of color in the sky, to begin her explanation. While looking at Galeem, the Master of Masters' eyes wandered to something else of interest in the heavens. “Huh. That's new.” As he watched, the two things began to grow closer and closer, until he came to the realization that they were headed his way. “Oh! Uh, everyone?” He picked up his voice. “Might wanna look out...?”

A moment later, the first of the two shapes became visible. Careening downward, leaving behind a thick trail of smoke, was some sort of spacecraft, but one would be off the mark in calling it a ship. More of an irregular, flying house than any sort of sensible vehicle, it barely avoided falling like a sack of potatoes as it dove toward Peach's Castle. Tora yelled out in alarm for his allies to get to cover as the ship drew closer and closer, until after a few more seconds the ship kissed one of the Castle's towers and hit the great moat with a gigantic splash. A miniature tsunami rolled across the shore and bridge, soaking anyone in the way, as the heavily-damaged spacecraft slowed to a halt. It bobbed up in the water, its glass front revealing a large room made a mess of by the descent. A door in the glass, just above the water line, swung open, and out fell an exhausted, battered little girl in a top hat, bearing an umbrella and bleary sunset-red eyes. She slumped over the edge, too hurt and tired to move.

Barely could anyone respond to the very sudden arrival before the fallen ship's tormentor appeared. From above, in a blaze of awesome orange, a familiar shape swooped down. His rock-hard muscles shone in the sunlight; his brutal fangs and horns gleamed with wickedness. Behind him, great crimson wings unfurled, and digital power flowed across his scales. The ground shook as he crashed down in front of he castle doors across the moat bridge from the heroes, and with baleful yellow eyes, he examined them.

Warning! Boss Discovered!

Megadragonbowser

After a second or two, his maw broke into a crooked grin, and his bellow echoed through the landscape.

”SO, THESE ARE THE 'INTRUDERS' KAMEK TOLD ME ABOUT.” His voice reverberated with an otherworldly power, shaking the bodies of those present. The heroes, however strong, could not find it in themselves to step forward, or to raise a weapon. Their undoubted enemy smirked, then continued ”HE MADE IT SOUND LIKE THERE WAS A PROBLEM. ALL I SEE IS A BUNCH OF RUNTS. WEAKLINGS. LOSERS! NO WAY YA SHRIMPS CAME HERE TO MAKE TROUBLE. OH, I KNOW: YOU MUSTA COME TO PAY TRIBUTE. WELL, SPIT IT OUT! WHATCHA GOT FOR THE KING?”

In a small voice and with an angry look, Tora muttered, “Have spiky drill for biggiepon stupid face when legs stop shaking.”

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Linkle

Level 3 - (8/30) +1

Location: Scrapyard – Endzone
Word Count:478

---

Linkle nearly squealed with delight when, against all odds, the heroic rabbits spirit floated to the surface. She clutched at the tiny mote of light, cupping both hands around it like she had with the Goomba earlier. "Hey, little buddy." She said, putting her face right up close so she could see him better. "Sorry you ended up like this. But the way you went out? That's was true heroism. I know you want to continue your journey, so what do you say? Want to be heroes together?"

Before Linkle could imbibe or fuse or however it went when you took in a spirit, however, she heard the Master and Tora shout their warnings. She looked around for some kind of enemy attack, but it was only when she heard something clip the tower that she was alerted to look up.

An airship!?!

It would have been the most amazing thing she'd ever seen if it hadn't been careening right toward her. Luckily it pitched downward at the last second and slammed into the most, pitching a gigantic wave right at her. She only had time to turn away and hold the rabbit close so it wouldn't float away as the wave bowled her over.

She opened her eyes to the soggy grass and quickly pulled herself up, wrenching the crossbow from one of her boots while holding the spirit in the other. She pointed the bow at the fallen ship, waiting for something to come out and pay for getting her soaked for the third time today.

But what came out wasn't some monster, or villain, or pirate from space, but a single girl. Younger than her and Minako even. The tired form crawled out from the glass door, slumped forward, and fell face first into the water.

Linkle jumped into action! She couldn't swim well, of course, and she'd just made a promise to be more careful so she stopped herself from just jumping into the water to get too her. The girl was close enough, though, that if Linkle laid on the ground she could just reach out and hook the girl around the scarf with her crossbow, pulling her closer and dragging her up on shore like the catch of the day.

She turned the girl over. "Are you okay?" She asked' before turning to the larger group. "Blazer! Master! It's just a kid!"

That was interrupted by the appearance of a whole new Bowser, that suddenly swooped down from the sky and blocked their way across the bridge. He was loud. Louder than bower even, and he gave off an aura five times worse than what they'd felt from the robot and engineer. Like ten armies worse.

But there was something else that stood out more. Something that she could focus on other than the fear.

"Bowser, you didn't tell us you had a brother." She said, slightly shakily. "Why is he naked?"

[Archmage MC]

Blazermate

Level 3 - (9/30) EXP - Learned Teleporter Toolbox
Location: Scrapyard - Aftermath
Word Count: 506

"What in tarna... I wasn't expecting this sort of... change." Blazermate said when her change was complete, making sure to finish up healing the last of her party with one hand as she felt over her body with the other. the construction hat that now adorned her head wasn't too bad, although she did find it annoying that it was wielded to her frame. The overalls she was now clad in also felt really weird, yet somehow not so.

Blazermate was expecting a bit of change after absorbing that engineer soul, after all all medabots experience changes to their bodies and minds after swapping in a new part or changing their medals. However this was a bit more... explosive than what she was used to. She figured it'd be roughly the same as changing out one of her arm parts, but no, this came with a lot of knowledge, and a few downsides she didn't anticipate. For one, she gained an insane amount of intelligence. Sure, she was fairly smart before, but now she knew all sorts of interesting things, not limited to but including how to build that automated gun and all its ins and outs, how to build teleporters and all the quantum physical knowledge that came with basically warping space-time, and lots of other mechanical and scientific knowledge that came from the engineer's 11 PhDs. And even with all that, she felt there was still more this spirit could teach her, if she got more familiar with it.

But those downsides, were a doozy. For one, she needed to breath! Not much, thankfully, but the sensation of pulling air through her face plate was very weird. She'd need to figure out some way to fix this in the future, breathing just didn't feel natural to her, even if the engineer was very much used to it. Trying to keep her mind off this new sensation, she continued to make sure everyone was all patched up. Linkle carried over Minako, making sure that Blazermate noticed she needed healing. Minako seemed to be the last one to heal, and Blazermate got a good amount of healing in her before a few ships, one small, one large, dropped down from the sky.

Linkle was the first to examine the first smaller ship, and found a small girl inside. Blazermate wasn't too sure this person would be an ally or a foe, but she started to give a bit of healing either way as she didn't look too dangerous. But she didn't do much before a giant... dragon bowser? decended from the sky and demanded worship and tribute from the group. Echoing Linkle, Blazermate said. "What Linkle said." Either way, this one unlike that girl didn't look too friendly, so Blazermate started to use her new ability gained from the engineer soul she had absorbed and pulled a large blue toolbox from her backpack and sat it down. She'd start to construct the building should this new foe turn out hostile, which was highly likely.

[DracoLunaris]

wordcount: 1,003 (+2)
Level 3 EXP: ////////////////////////////// (16/30)
Location: Scrapyard - Endzone/Bridge to peach’s castle

before leaving to blow up a moat

Din decided to be a far more helpful and informative person than Bowser had been, telling Geno about the master of masters, the keyblade and kirby’s heart creation skill. This last bit was new to bowser and he actually took it in even as he responded with her suggestion to try it after she failed with: “NO WAY I’M DOING SOMETHING THAT SILLY LOOKING”

The Master of Masters added to this discussion a lot more mushy stuff that mostly went in one ear and out the other. The king was however quite certain he had a great deal of inner strength, certainly enough to to match his outer might and that he would, if necessary, be able to make a heart.

some claw tip based trigger pushing later

Bowser was unsurprisingly rather displeased that he only got two minion souls out of his explosive outburst. He was sure he had seen more when he got close to the moat after rescuing the master of masters, but it seemed they had all fled in the interim. Or just been smart and escaped the mines before they went of. Nonetheless the king berated them as cowards under his breath as he popped the two souls in the jar that had once held the hammer bros and stuffed them in the pocket of his now rather battered jacket.

That plan might have not gone well, but it seemed that Geno had actually done some scouting while he was off on his own. Apparently, despite the exterior looking like it had the last time he had seen it, the castle had not escaped the twisted remaking of the world, and the fairy tail palace now featured wicked dungeons within which vile experiments were conducted. Definitely an improvement in Bowser’s opinion and he made a note to add just such a set of dungeons when he finally took over the mushroom kingdom. He was less enthused to hear about the presence of the mighty Donkey Kong. The king had replaced the rambunctious ape’s father and grandfather as Mario’s nemesis when the youngest kong had shown more interest in bananas than continuing the family feud. The two had met occasionally over the years, mainly in sporting events and also during that one time when he and Kamek traveled back in time to kidnap a bunch of babies, including his young self and baby dk, in an attempt to steal the stars of seven star children to become ruler of the universe. Speaking of Kamek, and ignoring the possibility of his kidnaping obsession being the result of a self inflicted stable time loop, he was very disappointed and a little hurt to find out that the koopa who had raised him was serving some new king. Sure, his minions got turned against him all the time but this was a new low.

“WHOEVER THIS WANNABE KING IS, THEY'RE IN FOR A WORLD OF HURT” the one true koopa king guaranteed.

All in all everyone looked like they were almost ready to get going into the castle to show the boss who was boss when its master decided to meet them prematurely. The herald of his arrival was rather impressive, their antagonist had wrecked some poor girl’s flying house and sent it carrening down towards them to announce his imminent arrival. Fortunately it did not crush anyone as it landed in the moat, but it did make an almighty splash that drenched those on the bridge. The people on the bridge mainly consisted of bowser, who was utterly soaked. It was somewhat deserved considering his bombing of said moat moments earlier. Then the cause of the calamity arrived, slamming down in between the castle’s front door and Bowser. Bowser recognised the winged beast as himself, while his Megabug possessed self showed no indication that the feeling was mutual and instead emanate an intimidating aura that stunned all before it.

Bowser was not a hero, but he was nonetheless unable to move forwards on account of a monetary headache resulting from confusion as to why there were two of him. Or rather that would have been his excuses if he could have read then narration. In truth he was briefly stunned by a combination of the same fear others felt in combined with the vietnam flashback memory of the time when he had looked just like the Bowser before them as a result of another mind control fiasco, namely that time he had come home from vacation early only to be possessed by a massive data bird thing that had been a result/cause of the rabbids rampage across the mushroom kingdom. Meanwhile his minions, who were already rather overworked as it was, where so spooked by megadragonbowser that they desummoned themselves, their items (the Necro Smasher, Slicer Cutter and Blazermate’s minigun) clattering to the ground around Bowser as they retreated inside his shell to cower.

The True King was brought back to his senses by the mutterings of the heros. Tora quiet defiance was one, driving him to push out of his dazed state for the sake of appearances. The other’s where direct questions at him. Bowser could not muster the courage/energy to explain that the suit was for a special occasion and question what was wrong with being naked anyway, but the first part about whether he had a brother did merit an answer.

“I don’t” the king’s voice was quieter than it had been all day and, even though it was normal speaking volume for others, it was clear that he was trying to whisper “No idea where the Bug on my back got another me from.” It was baffling. Sure he had had doppelgangers like dark bowser, but he there were none truly like the Koopa king. He had no brothers, no sisters, no mother, no father, no uncles, no aunts, no other members of species that sported those regal horns except for…

“JR?”

Bowser finished his train of thought out loud and at his normal volume, directing the question at the imposing possessed mirror image of himself. It something of a leap when it came to explanations, Galeem having power over time as well as space was more likely than the idea that Bowser Jr had suddenly grown up, yet this did not occurred to him mainly as a result of him mentally burying the consequences of such time shenanigans only moments earlier. The thought that Megadragonbowser was his beloved son stalled the True King’s hand far longer than the fear did as he awaited a response to his question.

[ProPro]

Courier 6

Level 3 - (24/30) EXP (+3 post length -1 friend heart)
Location: Scrapyard - End
Word Count: 1925

The Courier lay motionless, save for his pained breathing. It had seemed that reaching out to the spirits held clutched in his hands was to no avail. Either they did not connect and felt no need to heed his call in the same manner as King Bowser’s had chosen to do, or he simply lacked the strength to command them in his current state. While neither option was particularly ideal, the latter could at least be assuaged as soon as he was back standing on his own two feet. The former, however… Maybe it just took more effort? Required building an actual rapport? Perhaps it came so easily to the king of all koopas because those spirits he had taken were his subjects, already loyal in their natural, non-Galeem’d-in-the-head state? Lakelurks were just beastly creatures, they held no loyalty or even sapience. And the Bastion, that robot had actual feelings, a real personality. Could it be harboring a grudge from their battle, just outwardly refusing to help in any way? The Courier grunted, partly in pain but mostly in frustration. Perhaps it would be better to just crush the spirits into loot and be done with it.

"That is... bad. Gotta fix that!" Six couldn’t help but smile as he heard the synthesized voice of Blazermate approaching fast. That robot had definitely earned her keep around these parts, that was for damn sure. He’d have to think of some upgrades to her chassis, once the action had died down and they all had a bit of down time. Was that now? Naw, probably not. There was still a castle to take, after all. Ooh yeah, that’s the good stuff, that beam of healing energy really hit the spot. Wait, ouch, why was his gut hurting like that? With a small groan, he sat up through the pain and fingered the hole in his abdomen that refused to close. Poking around, wincing slightly, the Courier found why the injury wasn’t closing up properly: a loose bottlecap had lodged itself in there.

”Heh. Abuelo liked to say my greed would cause me heartache,” he muttered. ”Who knew it’d cause me stomach cramps too? Hey wait, where are you going, Blazer?” Six reached out with his bloodied hand, now holding the bottlecap between two fingers. It seemed the medabot had become distracted with the spirit of that mechanic fellow. Well, the Courier certainly understood the desire to prioritize loot. He was a prospector himself, after all, and it seemed that these spirits did have a time limit if not properly nabbed up. Still, didn’t doctors have some sort of oath or something? The Hippopotamus some such? Of course, then the Courier got to bare witness to something truly remarkable.

Blazermate absorbed the spirit into her chassis, which turned into some sort of clay like goop and remolded itself. Once it was finished, Blazer had a hard hat and overalls… Just like that mechanic hombre. Was that what had happened to Zer0’s legs? Wait… Zer0.

Blazermate had returned to fixing the Courier’s wounds just as he caught sight of the assassin approaching, and Six couldn’t help but glare the Devil’s eye at his faceless “friend.” With a nod to the medabot, Zer0 turned his attention to the Courier himself and offered a hand. If that were the end of it, Six would have spat on the assassin’s gesture, but he had the gall to offer up the most piss poor apology the wastelander had ever heard. Learn to dodge? Learn to dodge?! Dodge invincible penetrating sniper rounds you have no way of knowing about, shot by someone who declared their friendship and loyalty?!

”Fuck off,” he spat, smacking Zer0’s hand away. It’s not like he could have taken it regardless, seeing as both his hands were still full of the little motes belonging to the lakelurk and Bastion, but it was the idea that counted in that situation. That, plus the pure venom in his voice. He stood up on his own power. ”You knew I was there and you took those shots anyway. I’ll freely admit I put myself in danger, but it’s never been a problem before now. Friendly fire? It’s never actually hurt before. Guess that’s just one more of my abilities that’s been suppressed since the giant lightbulb fucked us, but it never should’ve been a problem in the first place.”

He punctuated himself with two large middle fingers, still holding onto the spirits. He turned away, thoughts drifting back to the glowing orbs he possessed. Would it perhaps be better to simply try connecting with them again? He could merge with them the same way that Blazermate did, but… He disliked the notion. It was one thing to stuff a bunch of metal and cybernetic wiring into his body, it was a whole other thing to take in a soul. What came out of the process surely wouldn’t be the same person that went into it… Right? He shook his head, dismissing the idea. Gear and additions to the posse. That’s what he would focus on. Anything else would feel too much like an incursion on his own free will, and that was unacceptable.

”You have my gratitude,” he called back to Blazermate. ”When things die down, I’ll work on some upgrades for ya. Maybe some interchangeable parts. We’ll see.” With that, the Courier took a survey of the scene. All of his allies were still about, in various positions and circles, almost all having differing conversations. Only one truly caught his attention, that being between the dancer, Din, the Master, and the puppet, Geno-Wait.

”Geno you son of a radscorpion!” the Courier cried out, anger clearing reddening his skin. He approached the wooden puppet with heavy footsteps. ”What the fuck ever happened to scouting ahead, huh? You know that doesn’t mean a god damn thing when the scout doesn’t fucking come back right?!” He gesticulated in a variety of elaborate and energetic mannerisms, cleary beyond anything resembling reason. ”I can’t imagine how it would’ve been helpful if you had actually, I don’t know, reported that there was a fucking war up ahead! Or what was guarding the bridge! I’d rather deal with an army of tunnelers and marked men with five minutes to plan strategy than one mole rat in an ambush, and you could’ve provided that, but noooooo you had to go inside the castle without backup?! For what, to bring back some fat midget?”

The Courier was about to nudge the unconscious Mario with his foot just to emphasize his point, but at that moment his attention was demanded elsewhere as what appeared to be an unfinished house fell from the sky and into the moat, creating a small tidal wave that soaked all nearby. A small girl revealed herself, clearly the worse for wear, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

Following shortly behind the house came… King Bowser? The Courier had to do a double take between this massive winged behemoth and their own much smaller, and much better dressed, koopa king. When he compared the two, the biggest difference wasn’t the size or the clothes or the wings. Oh no, it was the sheer aura of menace. Their own Bowser wasn’t a good guy it seemed, but he seemed to more play up being a bad guy than actually being any sort of true malevolent. But this monster? Well, monster was an apt descriptor. And so the giant winged Bowser addressed the lot of them, and nobody could make a movement before the sheer size and power of this mighty being. ”SO, THESE ARE THE 'INTRUDERS' KAMEK TOLD ME ABOUT.”

The Courier, having felt fear similar to this before and always rising up against it, breathed in deeply… Then turned to look at Geno once again. ”Is this your fault?” he asked, plain and simply, but rhetorically. He did not expect, nor care to receive, and answer.

The giant Bowser went about calling them all runts and weaklings, which, the Courier had to admit that when compared to this behemoth, was a pretty justified view. Of course, that didn’t stop the Courier from shaking in his boots from the sheer anger of such a comment. He had been underestimated before, called weak or insignificant, and it didn’t bother him none. But this guy, this guy was doing so from his lofty laurels. He held himself above everyone else. King or not, that royally pissed the mailman off. No gods. No masters.

A few of the others had their own things to add to the situation. Linkle wondered about the difference in their attire (a thoroughly pointless and idiotic line of questioning, in the Courier’s mind. What did dress matter if they were all crushed underfoot?), while Bowser (his Bowser) struggled to comprehend the existence of this copycat. Er, copyturtle? He even wondered if this was his own son (that’d be one hell of a family resemblance).

The Courier’s reaction to the situation was much more active. Working through the aura of dread this thing was making, he took a few steps forward. Finding his bottle of whiskey he’d dropped a minute or two ago, he picked it back up then took a few deep swigs, downing the whole bottle, blood and all. Then, after wiping his mouth on his sleeve, tossed the bottle aside haphazardly. Next he pulled out one of his jet inhalers and inhaled deeply, the drug permeating his lungs and working through his whole bloodstream. Then the inhaler too was tossed aside like so much trash. That got his spirits up. Nothing like some booze and chems to really fight through the fear and grant the courage to do pretty much whatever the hell you wanted to do. Like (proverbially) flipping off a giant turtle dragon.

”OH MIGHTY KING!” he called out, clearly high and drunk as balls, yet his coordination didn’t suffer a bit. ”FOR TRIBUTE I HAVE BROUGHT YOU AN ARMY!” He swept his arms around, gesturing to all of their allies. ”I HAVE BROUGHT YOU WEAPONS!” He pulled out his .44 magnum, presenting it high for all to see. ”AND I HAVE BROUGHT YOU A DEMONSTRATION!”

The Courier turned to the nearby unconscious Mario, then snapped his fingers together to create a friendship heart. The heart slowly drifted down until it latched onto the portly plumber, then seeped into his body. If they were going to take this monster down, then they’d need all the help that could be mustered. If that meant pretending to be his minions until his guard dropped, and this pressurizing aura was released, then so be it. The Ghost of the Mojave did the same thing to three armies at once before, and he could do it again to this giant winged ego with claws.

”Alright hombres, seriously this time. Don’t embarrass me in front of the giant dragon turtle king. Time to join my posse for real, now.” The Courier produced the two spirits once more, the lakelurk and the Bastion, and spoke to them in earnest. Hopefully softly enough that he wouldn’t offend the giant Bowser.

[Lmpkio]

---

Level 3 - (18/30) EXP (+3 from Mario's Post)
Location: Scrapyard (Boss)
Word Count: 1,264

Boost Cool-down Time: (T-6 Posts)

_{Direct Mentions: @DracoLunaris, @ProPro}

---

Geno's news regarding Kamek's "betrayal" definitely didn't sit well with the Koopa King as he guaranteed vengeance over this new king that his advisor worshipped. Indeed, the fact that a rival leader figure was in the area made the puppet a bit more concerned than he'd like. Who was this new king of his? Surely it couldn't have been Bowser, right? He's right here with them - freed from possession by Kirby's magic. Of course, Kamek could possibly be referring to Galeem, but even then that's a very hard stretch. If anything, that floating seraphim ought to be called a god. And it wouldn't bow down to an insignificant magikoopa or even care at this point about the growing resistance. So it couldn't have been it either.

Either way, something didn't sit well with him. Geno should've made sure that he was dead in the first place before escaping with the purple dragon, but alas he got away and called for reinforcements. The star warrior could only groan at what stronger forces they'd be up against - let alone who their king is. All he could do now was pray that they'll have enough time to gather their stuff and prepare for what lurked in the castle.

But before he could focus back his attention in finding Kirby, the gruff-looking cowboy came stomping towards him with a snarl of rage planted into his face.

”What the fuck ever happened to scouting ahead, huh? You know that doesn’t mean a god damn thing when the scout doesn’t fucking come back right?!”

Geno was taken aback by his initial bellowing and froze to look up at the rambling Courier 6 flailing his arms around in a spastic gesture. Yet other than his eyes slightly widening in surprise, his calm attitude didn't interfere with his rationality. He'd then try to explain himself to him.

"But I~"

But Courier 6 interrupted him as he continued going on a long and roaring tangent.

”I can’t imagine how it would’ve been helpful if you had actually, I don’t know, reported that there was a fucking war up ahead!”

Geno tried to explain himself, but every time he'd find himself ignored by this enraged ball of testosterone.

"Can you plea~"

"Or what was guarding the bridge! I’d rather deal with an army of tunnelers and marked men with five minutes to plan strategy than one mole rat in an ambush, and you could’ve provided that, but noooooo you had to go inside the castle without backup?!"

"If you can just~"

"For what, to bring back some fat midget?"

Geno's own anger spiked within his wooden frame as he became tired of this guy rambling him down. Then again, the Star Warrior did admit to himself that he could've reported back to them when he had the chance. In fact, he initially engaged the enemy forces to provide the rest of the group less opponents to battle. Only when the Engineer and his turrets showed up was Geno forced to bail into the castle stream and try to find his way out. And he had no idea how fast or slow the group would take to get to the battlefield. Was he really in the castle for that long? Even then, if this loud-mouth knew what he had to go through, perhaps it would've spared the puppet from this long rambling. And his remark on Mario? He clearly had no idea how powerful the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom really was.

But as Geno finally found a chance to try and explain to Courier 6 everything that happened, he suddenly heard the Master of Masters alert to them regarding something falling out of the sky. In fact, there were two things that were up there. The first - as well as the most blatantly obvious one - was a damaged spaceship of some kind making its descent towards a crash landing. In fact, this spaceship looked more like a space-house rather than an actual ship, which perplexed the wooden puppet. Regardless, he instinctually made for cover as the giant ship crashed down into the moat, only to get soaked by an incoming mini-tsunami that came from the impact. Several of the group mates rushed to see who was piloting the ship, revealing a young girl in a large hat.

What was a child doing driving a space-house like that?

But the question of the hour would be replaced by another more perplexing figure. When it finally appeared.

"The Arrival Of Megadragonbowser!"

Descending from the blazing skies, a giant winged creature descended to meet the hobbling group mates. But this was no ordinary figure... for it sported the unmistakable image of Bowser himself!

With wings!

And glowing yellow eyes!

And he sounded just like him!

”SO, THESE ARE THE 'INTRUDERS' KAMEK TOLD ME ABOUT.”

Geno's wooden stomach turned a full 180 in light of his relationship with Kamek. His dread had come to pass and before him stood what Kamek declared for him to be his "King". In fact, being in such awe and intimidation of this giant intimidating monstrosity, he dared not to begin firing upon him. Perhaps what he told Bowser who Kamek referred to was... half-true perhaps. But how the hell could he have known?

This is what Courier 6 asked of him, wondering if this was indeed Geno's fault for bringing him in. The puppet said nothing, fixating his eyes on this alternate Bowser life form in a terrified glance. While he continued standing there, several others began to issue their own comments on the matter. Linkle and Blazer's asked why this Bowser was naked (clearly they didn't see their Bowser on the regular), whilst Bowser tried to comprehend why there were two of him - even asking if he was Junior as an adult. Yet Geno just gazed upon this newfound figure with wonder. He too had questions to why there's another Bowser in the vicinity, as well as wondering if there's even more Bowsers in this world? Will they meet these alternate doppelgangers? And if there are alternate versions of him, are there any for Geno or virtually anyone else for that matter?

These are answers that he'll have to think about later. His hypnotic gaze quickly snapped back to reality as he panically searched for the one he'd been told who can revive the "anti-Bowser" from his possessed slumber.

"Kirby!" he called out frantically as he searched around for his friend whilst ignoring the speech that Courier 6 had been making in the background, "I need you right now!"

Of course, before he went off running towards him, Geno went back to retrieve Mario's body and once again dragged him towards the pink puffball. But after taking just a few steps back, he suddenly saw the cowboy figure snap his fingers to reveal a measly heart. He'd pause as he looked up at the red object with wonder, seemingly confused as to how he could've done such a thing. But as the heart drew closer to his location, that's when it finally snapped to him.

Perhaps Din wasn't being completely ridiculous when she suggested that he - a gun-wielding and gritty cowboy figure - out of all people could erect such an object.

He watched as the heart landed on Mario's torso and quickly absorb into the plumber's frame. Geno's eyes widened as he looked down at his unconscious friend in intense anticipation. And after several seconds had passed, his eyes finally opened...

And revealed two aqua-blue eyes with not a shine of crimson to them.

---

---

Level 1 - (4/10) EXP
Location: Scrapyard (Boss)
Word Count: 671 (Main post) + 2,671 (Collab with @DracoLunaris = 3,372

"Before the Smashening" Collab

COLLAB BY LMPKIO & DRACOLUNARIS

Word Count: 2,699

Peach’s Castle - A Few Hours Earlier

As was so often the case it was a beautiful day in the Mushroom Kingdom. Above the sun and moon both hung in a bright blue sky dotted with only a few wispy skies, down below a light breeze whispered through the carefully kept gardens surrounding the caste which were filled with toads, all currently sporting a variety of colorful hats, celebrating the return of princess Peach from her second, and this time voluntary, trip around the globe. Having arrived via taxi, princess traveled up the path to her castle a wheeled suitcase bouncing along behind her that was stuffed with souvenirs and plastered with stickers from all the kingdoms she had visited. As she climbed the gentle hill heading for home she was slowed by the questions and conversation of several toads and one balloon toting Luigi who wanted to know how she was doing and how her trip had been. Peach responded with cheerful grace, more than happy to see familiar faces after her pst kidnaping vacation and was eager to ragale those she met with tales of the places she had been and the people she had met.

Eventually however she made it to the bridge to her castle and, after making promises about cake and holiday snaps she left most of the crowd behind her. She headed across the bridge with the skip in her step accompanied by the “clack clack clack” of her heels against the marble archway. The cheerful tapping was halted about stop half way across the bridge at hearing the all to familiar sound of vast propellers and moments later the sky darkened as the sun was blocked out by the arrival of Bowser’s airships. Dark storm clouds followed in the wake of the Koopa King’s fleet of ships, rolling in and blotting out the cheerful blue skies.

“Oh no...” peach gasped as they descended on her kingdom.

Along with Bowser’s usual ship there where 8 others. Seven of these had styled bows made in the image of the seven Koopalings who captained them and these spread out around the castle, dropping off bowser's minions who proceeded to terrify the local toads while they formed an "Anti-Mario" perimeter. The 9th ship was a miniaturized affair that bore Bowser Jr which accompanied Bowser's flagship as it descended down to the moat, the bow of the ship coming to rest just beside the bridge to the castle that Peach was on while Bowser jr’s smaller ship descended down to the other side behind her. The tiny koopa, who was smartly dressed in a ring bearer’s attire and carrying a newly acquired golden staff featuring a lightning bolt atop it, clearly visible commanding his mini vessel and poised ready to intercept peach if she attempted to flee in either direction. Bowser, who had clearly had not taken the time changed since he their last encounter, then appeared on the bow of his ship, accompanied by a flash of lightning conducted by his son.

“HAHAHA! YOU DIDN’T THINK YOU COULD DITCH ME THAT EASILY, DID YA PRINCESS?”

"Airship Armada"

Of course, whenever Bowser made his grand appearance within the immediate vicinity of Peach’s castle, his archrival would surely not be far behind. Looking up at the events from down in Toad Town, the unmistakable mustached man angrily twittled with his facial hair as he observed the Koopa’s Armada storm towards the royal castle. Their last confrontation was just weeks prior - after enduring a odyssey across the globe and onto the moon of all things - and yet Bowser was already back up on his feet, ready to kidnap Princess Peach for the millionth time in a row! How many more times can that overgrown turtle take? To say that Mario was caught off guard by his sudden arrival would simply be unprofessional.

For he was always well prepared to foil any of Bowser’s schemes, no matter how big or small they were.

"Let's-a-go..." he simply muttered.

Without further delay, Mario flipped up his cap as he immediately dashed towards Peach’s Castle. Already he can see that the Koopa King’s minions were being deployed on the streets to disperse the toad populous. They were mostly comprised of the traditional goombas and koopas - spiced up with their para-units and shy guys. Overall, it seemed nothing out of the ordinary just yet. When the first goombas recognized the plumber’s intrusion however, they would be too late to run as a mighty brown boot squashed them into pancakes. The koopa troopas would immediately deploy multiple portable bullet bill launchers as they launched at the plumber with great speed. Mario would dodge and weave at the incoming bullets, even stomping on several to get more height in his strive, until he reached the green shells and punched them away with ferocious force. And to those farther away, he’d launch a volley of fireballs to deal with them

He would continue running the gauntlet to Peach’s castle, ruthlessly eliminating every opposition in his way as they attempted to stall Mario for as long as they could. But at the speed that the plumber was going, he’d surely be unable to reach Bowser before he could kidnap the Princess. He needed a way to get there faster - way faster in fact.

But one look up at the closest koopaling airship - Larry’s to be exact - told him that there was indeed a faster way towards his quarry. Seeing a squad red-shelled para-troopas approach from the deck, Mario took a running stride to one of the Toad houses and leaped onto the head of the closest troopa, knocking it into its shell as soon as his boot connect. There he would leap onto the next koopa and then towards the next - and the next - before he found himself on the miniature airship.

Once on deck, the troops on deck immediately were alerted to his presence and they proceeded to fire homing red bullet bills from the ship’s own cannons. Again, the resourceful plumber made use of these projectiles by leading one towards the main rudder that kept the ship mobile. Once the first bullet hit the main mast, the airship was unable to hold itself up as it slowly began to sink back towards the ground. But by that time, Mario utilized the rest of the bullet bills to get towards the next koopaling airship. He would jump from ship to ship before finally reaching Bowser’s own airship. And by the time he got up there, four koopaling airships had been immobilized by his own hand.

Once landing on the hard wooden deck, Mario faced his shell-clad nemesis and rose his fists to combat. He didn’t announce any introductory greetings or words of battle. In fact, he didn’t need to say anything. For he knew exactly how it was going to go down.

The koopa king roared at the sight of the mustached hero while behind him Peach, who was had only just been corralled by the Beast and his son, cried out for help, only to be snatched up by Bowser Jr and taken to his miniature airship. The ship, baring the princess and staff wielding boy then hovered up and around the site of the arch-enemies' showdown, freeing the two up to duke it out with no holds barred. Bowser took the initiative, launching himself at Mario one fist reaching back to wind up a titanic strike.

Mario figured Bowser’s son would take the chance to nab Peach while he was distracted, but at this point all that mattered was beating the Great Koopa King himself. He’ll deal with his son later. So once Bowser initiated the first strike, that’s when the battle finally began. However with the Koopa King’s slower speed and massive body language blatantly telegraphing his move, Mario would easily utilize his speed and agility to dodge his opponent’s massive, meaty fist, He ducked just below it before jumping up to issue a powerful uppercut to his opponent’s jaw, with coins dinging just above his head.

Bowser took the bow on the chin for even as his head was forced up by the strike he was inhaling deeply, flames wisping at the edges of his mouth. A moment later the king launched himself backwards, letting out a gout of flame as he made space for himself, before landing a little distance away from Mario. Above him, well out of reach Bowser Jr, and still keeping a tight grip on Peach, he waved the lightning staff at the rumbling sky. Sparks danced along its zig-zag head as the magic weapon began charging up.

As the large fireball approached him, Mario leapt straight over it as he sprinted towards the Koopa King. Yet as he approached him, he suddenly took a better look at the lightning staff that junior had in his possession. He had no idea what it is or where he even got it - although Mario would guess that he might’ve made a trip to Star Road or some other sacred place - but he knew that whatever Bowser had in his hands was assuredly going to cause major trouble. He’ll have to take it out of his hands quickly for it already seemed to be charging up.

That said, Mario launched a volley of fireballs to keep the giant koopa busy as he once again jumped at a specific angle in order to try and grasp the lightning staff from his son. He’ll not allow him to use anymore dirty tricks in an honest brawl. Not this time.

The young prince had no interest in cooperating however, or to be more exact his helmsman unseen did not as the ship lurched up and away from the incoming Mario. Escaping had thrown off Bowser Jr’s aim however and the charged up sparks lepet towards a random part of the ship rather than at the plumber himself. Where they struck they seemed to have no effect, up until a moment alter a mighty lightning bolt arced down from the sky and struck the deck. The boy began charging another blast as soon as the ship re-stabilized up in the sky while the king charged towards the landing zone of the now descending plumber, attempting to careen into him as soon as he hit the deck.

His mark was off by just a few feet, leaving Mario to descend back onto the deck. The lightning bolt that descended from the sky nearly hit the plumber, as his ‘stache felt the tingling sparks brushing off it. The staff seemed true to its looks - a lightning staff which had the power to summon lightning from the sky. It was not the worse thing he had seen Bowser holding - and god forbid the time he had a damn star rod in his possession - but he must still be extremely wary of its usage.

Meanwhile, Mario could see Bowser running towards him from below, just waiting to cream him once he landed. While normally he would be subjected to his ever increasing might, in this case Mario had earned a few new tricks up his sleeve over the years. Once he was just at the right height, he suddenly turned rapidly around into a living cyclone - producing the infamous “Mario Tornado” maneuver in order to counter his approach.

Having failed to hit the plumber Bowser’s charge continued forwards as the king was borne by his momentum. To right this he slammed a claw into the ship’s deck. His bulk dredged a wretched scrape through the wood but it did quickly bring him to halt. As Mario landed he breathed in once more, this time launching a flurry of fireballs, far greater than the plumber’s own in size if not speed, at Mario while his son finished charged up another lightning strike.

Mario quickly realized the giant fireballs coming in his direction and immediately attempted to bolt away from their massive size. He can feel the heat radiating off of each one, threatening to cook him alive if he wasn’t careful. However, when one particular fireball was heading straight for him, he had an idea spring into mind. Standing in place, he grasped his hand onto a yellow fabric behind him and spun it towards the giant flaming ball with all of his strength and speed to redirect it back at the Koopa King.

Following this, Mario began charging up his own fireball that brewed within his hands. Before he could launch it however, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the staff that Junior held began to glow. It was as if it was charged and ready to go. He knew what he must do. Once his fireball was charged, instead of launching it at Bowser, he launched it at Junior’s miniature airship. He knew it was a risky maneuver - especially with Junior holding his love hostage within - but he was confident that he will be quick enough to save her just in the nick of time.

The fireball struck true, blowing a hole in the tiny ship that began to leak smoke. The helmsman attempted to keep her steady, but it was no use. The ship rocked too and for, causing junior to lose his footing and stumble off of the failing craft. The princess, prince and staff all dropped like stones.

With Junior’s influence being utterly immobilized, Mario sprinted towards the side of the ship. Once he leapt off the deck, he immediately tied the yellow cape to his neck, causing him to earn the power of flight. He swooped as fast as he could towards the falling Princess first, clutching her with his mighty arms. Once she was out of immediate danger, Mario used his other hand to grasp the lighting staff and - being how he was a rather respectful person - used it to pluck Junior’s bib, locking it between both the cloth and the kid’s neck. Having the burden to carry this assortment of cargo, Mario would then make his way back to the castle balcony. He hovered in between the castle and Bowser’s airship, carefully placing Peach back on the marbled floor before turning his attention back to the Koopa King himself.

"It’s-a-over Bowser." the plumber finally spoke in his iconic italian accent as he tossed junior back onto the airship using the staff, "I have the high ground as-a-usual. How many more times are we-a-gonna keep-a doing this? Like it’s-a-been only a week or so since we fought on the Moon for mushroom’s sake! And you still failed!"

Bowser, had been left in the dust by the plumber’s flight and scrambled now to catch his son, a great claw reaching out and softening the boy’s landing. Bowser sighed in relief Jr picked himself up and then replied to Mario.

“DON’T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE ME MARIO. YOU MIGHT HAVE WON LAST TIME BUT WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS OVER, AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL I FINALLY BEAT YOU FOR ONCE!”

He roared and launched himself up at the plumber, taking his son along with him as together they tried to strike down their eternal foe. As they approached the mustached plumber, Mario raised the lightning staff - with electricity cackling through the tip - and pointed it towards both father and son, ready to smite them both.

But before the two would clash against one another~

”SPECIAL DELIVERY FOR MARIO MARIO, LUIGI MARIO, PRINCESS PEACH TOADSTOOL, KING BOWSER KOOPA, AND BOWSER KOOPA JUNIOR!”

It was then when the two parties ceased their hostile advance upon each other’s throats and looked over to who had called their names. A lone lakitu could be seen carrying a duffle bag upon its humble little cloud as it floated towards the two fighters. Mario dropped the staff onto the balcony as he was handed over a simple letter. At first, it seemed like only your average envelope - but upon looking at the red imprinted sticker - a sphere marked by a cross - he knew exactly where it was from.

It was that time of the year again.

In a flash of blinding light, Mario opened his eyes as he gasped for air. His mind regarding all that happened was in a heavy blur, with random memories and thoughts being jambled all over the place. He remembered his climatic battle with Bowser, followed by his invitation to the 5th Annual Smash tournament by a random lakitu messenger. Then he recalls being upon the edge of a cliff amongst all the other fighters, staring up into the warm golden sun-kissed skies to witness an army of hands orchestrated by a glowing ball with wings.

Then everything went blank.

Mario vaguely remembered himself floating in a dark room aimlessly as he calmly looked over the sea of utter void. There was no one else in the room but him. Not a single one. And there was no sound either - nothing but natural white noise ringing in his ears. It felt like he was in there for hours, days even, before he found himself violently sucked down into a white hole below him. And now he's awoken here - wherever he is.

"W-Where am-a-I?" the plumber groaned groggily as he cleared his vision.

He was surrounded by multiple different characters - each sporting different body types and figures. Mario figured he was still in the Smash tournament, yet there were some here that he didn't recognize at all. And his body... oh how it ached upon the soft grassy bed. Was he fighting something before then? Surely he had to be. And that's, he saw a familiar wooden figure look down upon him.

"Mario?" the voice echoed as the plumber still tried to get himself in focus, "Are you awake?"

Was he hallucinating? He blinked several times just to make sure to what he was seeing was indeed true.

"G-Geno?" he asked curiously, "Is that-a-you? Where am-a-I?"

His vision finally adjusted to its normal phase as he took a good look at the surrounding environment. He noticed how the environment was strangely familiar to him - perhaps way too familiar in fact. He could even see a castle looking suspsiously like Peach's Castle the distance behind...

Was that Bowser flying with wings?

"Is that-a Bowser?"

His eyes widened as he looked around at all the other fighters lined up to fight him. That's when he noticed yet another Bowser - one who wore the same suit that he had last fought Bowser in - within their ranks. Was he the same Bowser he knew? In fact, he had a more important question as he began to slowly rise up.

"Why are there-a-two Bowsers?!" he yelled as he quickly got to his feet, ready for a fight, "What is-a-going on here?!"

He would only be calmed by Geno's influence as he tried to hold him back from fighting the regular Bowser.

"Control yourself!" Geno yelled as he began to slap sense into his bewildered friend, "I'll tell you everything about what happened later, but that Bowser is one of us. He's not the enemy!"

The Star Warrior would then point towards the ominous flying Koopa King in the sky.

"That's the Bowser who we're fighting." he mentioned softly, "I'm also just as confused as you are, but we must remain focused right now. We're all in this together, Mario. Trust me."

The mustached man glared into his friend's eyes, seemingly distrustful at first, before he closed his eyes and regained his composure. He'd simply nod at his old-friend's response.

"Very well." Mario answered softly as he patted Geno on the back, "Let's-a-go then."

As he departed from Geno's side, his sights would then be placed directly into the eyes of his now flying nemesis, as his face contorted into a purposeful grimace. He proceeded to roll up his sleeves while his fists began to spark flames while Courier 6 proceeded to let everyone get their A-games on and not to embarrass him in front of this monster. The plumber smirked at that request before cracking his knuckles.

"Don't-a-worry." he responded with absolute confidence, "Beating folks like him are my specialty."

And so...

[thedman]

Michael

Level 2- (17/20) EXP
Location: Scrapyard - Bridge
Wordcount: 613

---

Still holding the rifle in his hands, Michael walked slowly, surveying the aftermath of the battle around him. A few members of the groups had taken injuries, with the Courier being the worst among them. While he didn't exactly feel bad for him, he winced as he saw the severity of the man's wounds. Fortunately, Blazermate and Bowser's Supporter striker were able to get him healed up decently. Nearby, the new member, seemingly frustrated by not knowing what was going on, demanded answers, brandishing his gun. While Michael could understand the man's confusion, he didn't like how he was acting. Fortunately, the others were able to calm him down somewhat, as they explained the nature of the situation to the newcomer. Michael knew little about him, but from what he had seen so far, he wasn't half bad in a fight.

Continuing to walk at a slow pace, Michael stopped for a moment to brush dust off his suit. He frowned as he looked down at his outfit, noticing that several dirt stains were visible. While he could live with getting a bit dirty, the fact that he only had one outfit bothered him. Given the lack of dry cleaners or clothing stores, he would have to make do for now. It was something that they'd have to consider once they got a break. That, and food. While he had seen some wildlife, they would likely have to hold off on going hunting until later. Wonder if any fast food places got sucked up by the whole light thing. I'd kill for a burger right about now.

Still looking over the battlefield, he watched as Blazermate went to the Engineer soul, and absorbed it. He was told that you could take a soul into your body, but this was the first time he had seen it happen. It was strange to him, as he watched Blazermate emerge, somewhat changed but still mostly the same. The sight of it was rather unnerving to him. While he understood the benefit, the idea of taking in someone else's soul disturbed him. It raised a number of moral and philosophical questions in Michael's mind, questions that he wasn't sure he wanted to think about. Disturbing as he found it, it might prove necessary in the future. He was one of the least physically fit members of the group, and binding to a spirit could enhance his abilities. But was that a step he was willing to take?

Before he could continue his train of thought, he was interrupted as he saw what looked like a flying house come crashing down into the moat. While the occupant of the vessel seemed to be alright, that wasn't what he was concerned with. The cause of the ship's crash soon arrived, and it was...Bowser? It looked nearly identical, minus the giant wings. He, along with the rest of the group, was stunned in confusion and fear. It seemed even Bowser was confused by the situation, trying to make sense of the existence of his doppelganger. Soon, the Courier began to speak, apparently trying to appease the clone Bowser. Soon after, he used his newfound ability to revive the man that Geno had dragged back with him. Michael listened in to the conversation between Geno and the newcomer, leaning that the man's name was Mario. Keeping his finger close to his rifle's trigger, he could only hope that the newcomer was telling the truth when he said that "beating folks like him are my specialty". While he didn't seem very intimidating, looks could be deceiving. If they had any chance of beating this enemy, they'd need whatever help they could get.

[Dawnrider]

Level 1 - (0 -> 2/10) EXP
Location: Scrapyard - Endzone
Word Count: 1193 (+2 EXP)

How did she ever arrive at this? What happened leading up to the present moment for this cute, stylishly behatted adolescent to find herself being chased down by a digitally corrupted semi-chelonian dragon king who had sent her space-worthy glorified clubhouse (which one could technically refer to as a “mobile home”) on a downward collision course towards an already wreckage littered knoll outside of what looked to be an apparent house of royalty? Had she any recollection of her previous exploits, this might not have sounded like such a strange start to a new adventure; just a more dramatic one. She wasn't exactly sure what she did to make herself an enemy to the terrifyingly powerful aberration that was the MegaDragon, but given her circumstance and the creature's obviously malevolent nature, it probably didn't make much difference to either of them.

The hasty pressing of buttons on the console and clumsy attempts to steer from the seat of a swivelling chair in a ship on an uncontrolled descent, unsurprisingly, yielded no favorable results. The force of the vessel’s impact against the castle tower closest to it caused the child to be violently flung from her seat and left at the mercy of the careening spacecraft to tumble haplessly about its interior. As she fell forward from the back wall of the cabin, Rumbi, her trusty, overworked vacuum bot/unwilling mobile pedestal, was helpless to stop himself sailing through the air and striking his master in the forehead like a projectiled hockey puck, knocking her end over end. She bounced face-up against the ceiling then off the floor before finally planting cheek-first into the glass as the ship crash landed straight into the waters below. Fortunately, its wooden build kept it from remaining submerged, and the windshield, while cracked, managed to somehow stay intact well enough to keep most of the water out and prevent further interior damage. For the window to have survived everything it had just went through, it would make one wonder about the strength of the last guy who broke it.

The battered child peeled herself off the window as she reached for the handle to its door and swung it wide open, collapsing to the floor from dizziness with her motion. She then pulled herself up over the lip of the open glass and out of the cabin, unable to do much more than daintily fall forward into moat with naught the energy to so much as doggy paddle her way to shore. For all of her outstanding traversal ability, she already wasn’t the most proficient or long-lasting swimmer to begin with. Thankfully, a young, kindly ranger who just happened to be nearby rushed to lend her aid, towing the child from the blue onto land and tending to her as best she could before summoning help. To answer her question, no, she wasn’t okay; not really. She lay just outside of her now wrecked ship soaked and concussed on her side coughing up a faceful of water, all the while not even being present within her own mind to give her volunteer caregiver anything resembling an answer. Appearances would suggest as much about the latter part, for if the scarlet shine in her eyes and desaturated colors everywhere else were any indication, she was still under Galeem’s influence… whatever that may entail.

All things considered, though, she was still alive and healthy, even if she didn't quite feel like it. Her condition, however manageable, was relieved somewhat when a medical/repair droid showed up to administer some minor healing, which rejuvenated her at least enough to help her senses readjust more quickly, if nothing else. She sat up and began to survey her surroundings, but she could scarcely get a half decent look at anything before being alerted by the sudden, thunderous appearance of her draconic aggressor making good on his declaration of dominance. It was made abundantly clear in no time at all that he didn't see anyone in attendance as an honest threat, but if that was the case, why did he bother taking her ship down? Was that simply his idea of a demonstration, or just added flair for his grand entrance? Talk about demeaning! To make matters doubly confusing, it turns out there was two of him, only he was (slightly) less imposing and dressed more sharply (or at all)--adorned with a nice hat not much unlike her own. Of course, he seemed no less shaken by the occurrence than any of the others, and who could blame them.

Needless to say, Kid wanted nothing to do with any of it. For all she knew, one of them may very well have made ready to offer her up as tribute in accordance with his demands for possible lack of having any better ideas for appeasing or subverting him. Had she retained her sense of rational thought, she would have outright dismissed the notion as unlikely. However, her mind wasn't her own here, nor was her body, soul, “heart”, nor any other aspect of her being. In essence, the foundations of her very existence were utterly compromised, leaving her hopelessly at the dominating whims of blind instinct with no reliable sense of guidance in an unfamiliar and seemingly unforgiving world, where she was now but a hollow, lesser facsimile of her true self.

Understandably frightened by the prospect of all but certain doom that the encounter looked to promise, Kid started to back away from the scene, crawling in reverse on the flats of her palms as however fast (or slow) her her tiny limbs would move her in her seated position before righting herself to her feet to take off in a proper run. She barely made it three steps intp her retreat before stopping herself mid-sprint from almost bumping into a short, portly, red and overall clad Italian man (also with a nice hat) to observe him curiously as he passed by, heading in the opposite direction towards the threat. He bore a countenance and demeanor of bold intent that betrayed no sign of fear or intimidation, and chances were that he was the only one among them who actually meant it (initially, that is). If there was anything that might compel the rest of them to try something heroic, it would probably be whatever he decided to do first.

Normally, Kid would look at this and second guess if it was something she really wanted to bail on, but normally, she was still herself. She had no clear objectives or priorities at present beyond self-preservation, and was conflicted with the possibilities presented to her. Fight, or flee? Band together with the ragtag group of heroes to take down a tyrant, or leave them to their devices and escape with her life while none would notice? Both options hosted fairly equal odds of success or failure, so there really was no “better” option in here eyes; it was just a matter of which chance she'd rather take. Either way, she would have to come to a decision now. Into the fray, or out of it…

Which way would her hat lead her?

[Stern Algorithm]

Din

Level 2 - (17/20) EXP
Location - Scrapyard - Endzone
Word Count: 400

“I'm sure it's gotta do with inner strength. Living, feeling, experiencing, forming bonds..all of these build up the heart, and if yours is big enough, it'll shine on those around you ...like a warm fireplace.”

@Lugubrious

Din listened to the Master of Master's explanation with befuddlement, but she didn't judge the incomprehensibility of it; besides, as a fellow magic user, she knew that magic was just like that sometimes, difficult to explain. The gist that she got was she needed to be a bit stronger before she could do what she saw Kirby do.

“NO WAY I’M DOING SOMETHING THAT SILLY LOOKING”

@DracoLunaris

Din gave Bowser a coquettish wink to let him know she was just teasing. Still, she would have liked to see Bowser attempt summoning the Friendship Heart, if only for the spectacle. However, their little exchange was interrupted when Courier 6 arrived and began berating Geno for leaving them all behind. On the one hand, she agreed with the desert man, since Geno's absence had made her worry quite a bit as well, on the other hand, anger was not a good way to express that worry. But Din had to draw the line when 6 insulted Geno's downed friend. After all, they were all displaced individuals from their various worlds, with no friends in sight, so finally being able to see a friend must have meant a lot to Geno (even though Geno and Bowser already knew each other, it didn't seem as if they were on the best terms). But before Din could say anything, a massive house crashed into the moat, followed by a giant, winged incarnation of...Bowser? Like the others, Din gaped in awe at the terrible beast that hovered over them, but the silence was broken by 6:

”OH MIGHTY KING!” he called out, clearly high and drunk as balls, yet his coordination didn’t suffer a bit. ”FOR TRIBUTE I HAVE BROUGHT YOU AN ARMY!” He swept his arms around, gesturing to all of their allies. ”I HAVE BROUGHT YOU WEAPONS!” He pulled out his .44 magnum, presenting it high for all to see. ”AND I HAVE BROUGHT YOU A DEMONSTRATION!”

The Courier turned to the nearby unconscious Mario, then snapped his fingers together to create a friendship heart. The heart slowly drifted down until it latched onto the portly plumber, then seeped into his body.

@ProPro

Din's previous anger at Courier 6 subsided as she saw him manifest a Friendship Heart to revive Geno's friend, proving that he really did care, and his earlier chiding was just part of his tough-guy approach. She also admired the ruse he was attempting to set up, and decided to help him. "Oh great and terrible awfulness!" Din addressed Megadragonbowser using terms she had heard the real Bowser refer to himself as, assuming they had the same campy tastes, "We are here but as your humble servants. Please allow me to entertain you with a dance." Din began performing an exotic Gerudo dance, flitting from one end of the party to the other, strengthening and invigorating her allies for the eventual surprise attack, and healing whatever Blazermate and Bowser's Rabbid failed to address. She continued to dance, weaving among her allies, making sure everyone had received her magical aura.

[Mao Mao]

---

𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗴

_{level two // scrapyard - end // 286 words}

---

Roadhog looked at the hooded man and laughed at his threat. He was easily able to take a few people down before being put down. He wasn’t sure about the others, but it won’t be different than fighting Overwatch’s strange members like their talking monkey. But, the girl from earlier approached him with answers. And he just listened. For the most part, things made sense, but there were still more answers that the hooded man needed to answer. Roadhog didn’t care if he had to fight them. He was going to make sure that the hooded man answered since it seemed like he knew about this mess.

But nobody was prepared for what was coming. Some sort of airship appeared out of nowhere that created a massive wave of air. Roadhog immediately ran for cover as he was nearly taken away by the winds. Someone pointed out that they saw a child in the airship while Roadhog left cover. Then, a giant version of the talking lizard landed in front of the bridge. It looked like it wanted a fight. However, it seemed like the cowboy managed to wake up the unconscious man. He got his shotgun and hook ready for the incoming battle. Then, he looked at the group and saw that the girl was dancing while the cowboy was trying to distract the giant monster. Roadhog turned towards the group and saw a child with the hat with them.

For some reason, she looked like she had no color besides her glowing red eyes. But he knew that she was an enemy. He just felt it in his huge gut. Roadhog pointed at the child and said in a cold demanding tone, “Kill her now.”

---

[Lugubrious]

Tora, the Master of Masters, and Megadragonbowser

Level 3 – (5/20) EXP
Location: Peach's Castle - Bridge
Word Count: 409 (Only Tora portions counted)

A few moments passed in stunned quiet as the heroes looked on, which the King's ego gladly took as affirmation of his terrifying presence. Some of them, Linkle in particular, seemed eager to find whatever they could to distract them from the blazing behemoth before them. What happened to the puny thing that fell out of the mobile home didn't concern him; he only cared so long as the unidentified flying object in his airspace made for good sport. One by one, however, the interlopers began to rouse themselves. Their individual chatter, directed at one another, surely constituted nothing important, but Megadragonbowser did end up fixing his attention on his more ordinary counterpart. As odd as having two Bowsers might be, the King seemed to understand immediately, and when the smaller of the pair voiced a bewildered question, his superior cracked an ugly smile.

”NO, IDIOT. I'M YOU...THOUGH IT'S NOT SURPRISING YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE ME. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW VICTORY IF IT NAILED YOU IN THE FACE!”. Megadragonbowser pointed a claw at him, laughing in thunderous derision. ”HAHAHAHAH! THAT'S WHAT I AM, AFTER ALL! ALL YOUR LIFE YOU'VE PRETENDED AT BEING A KING, A VILLAIN. A FATHER.” With a snort, the King lowered his arms. ”AND NOW A HUSBAND? YOU DIDN'T EARN THAT RING OR THAT CROWN. ONLY THE MOCKERY AND PITY OF EVERYONE YOU KNOW! IN THE OLD WORLD, OUR VERY NAME STANDS FOR ENDLESS, POINTLESS FAILURE.”

A great thump rang out as he beat his fist against his chest. ”BUT HERE...I AM THE KING! I RULE THIS PLACE WITH AN IRON CLAW, WITH SUBJECTS SO LOYAL THEY FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR MY AMUSEMENT! A LOVING SON, AN OBEDIENT WIFE, EVERYTHING I WANT...MINE! AND MY OLD RIVALS? ETERNAL SUFFERING IN MY DUNGEONS. YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A REMINDER OF OUR SHAME.”

Looking very pleased with himself, Megadragonbowser crossed his arms before turning his attention to the Courier, staggering out in a crazed stupor. His words were honey in the King's ears, and received immediate reinforcement in the form of additional fighters supposedly offered to him as tribute. As the King watched, Bastion and the savage Lakelurk materialized behind 6, provoked by his offering to exist once again, even as transient Strikers.

For Courier 6

New Striker Gained:
Bastion
An Omnic built as a mindless battle-drone but somehow possessed of sentience and feeling. Curious, inquisitive, and usually cheerful, Bastion still suffers from a PTSD-like affliction, prompted by certain warlike stimulus to flicker to the soulless killing machine he used to be. As a Striker, he can manifest to lay down covering fire on the move in Configuration:Recon or shift to Configuration:Sentry to lay down a brief but devastating barrage of chaingun fire. If not used for enough time, he can also manifest in Configuration:Tank to unleash explosive shells on the move

and:
Lakelurk
A territorial and highly aggressive mutant snapping turtle. It is nothing more than an animal, but can still be commanded in battle as a Striker. Its vicious claws can rip into unarmored flesh in a series of rushing slashes or after a pounce. It is more maneuverable in water, which is also where it can belt out a sonic pulse to stun enemies

However, Megadragonbowser was no fool, and a perceptive monster to boot. He recognized in an instant the third 'ally' the Courier awoke, and gnashed his teeth. ”HOW DID HE GET OUT...? he murmured, though even a whisper from the giant shook the air. While 6 made a convincing performance, the newly-awakened Mario did not beat about the bush, instead cracking his knuckles before starting to move forward. His voice Megadragonbowser heard quite keenly. Yet, this came only as confirmation to what the King suspected from the first.

That said, he decided to play along a little longer. A young woman engaged in a thrilling dance, weaving eye-catching magic as she span and swung around. After a few moments of this Megadragonbowser raised his hand. ”ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. I DO LIKE THE DANCE, AND I'M ALWAYS DOWN FOR SOME MORE PAWNS, BUT I FEEL LIKE THAT WALKING BLUNDER THERE GAVE YOU THE WRONG IMPRESSION OF ME.” He chuckled, then tapped a claw against his temple. ”I'M NOT STUPID. I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BUT EVEN BETTER, I SEE THOSE EYES OF YOURS. WINDOWS TO THE SOUL, THEY SAY...AND YOURS ARE DARK. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, LET'S CUT THE ACT AND GET TO THE PART WHERE I MAKE YOU INTO PASTE!”

Orange energy surged through MDB's body as he reared back, preparing to unleash a mighty roar. Before he could, however, the air shimmered, and from the disturbance appeared something new, appearing for all intents and purposes to be floating, limbless, gloved hand.

The bizarre entity floated beside the King, making him jump. ”...WHADDYA YOU WANT?” he snarled. In reply, the entity closed into a fist, upended itself, and spread its fingers again. In its palm was an ordinary toad, sporting the usual sunset-colored eyes, but clearly agitated. He ran down one of the entity's fingers and leaned over to say something to Megadragonbowser, who listened with an annoyed look. ”HUH. OKAY.”. He relaxed, straightening his posture, and addressed the heroes once again. ”SOUNDS LIKE I HAVE SOME PESTS RUNNING AROUND IN MY CASTLE. ONCE I'M DONE EXTERMINATING, MEET ME IN THE THRONE ROOM. IN THE MEAN TIME, MY BUDDY HERE'S GONNA ENTERTAIN YOU.” With a sneer, he turned around and pushed through the castle doors. Still panicking, the toad jumped down off the hand and ran after him, leaving just the entity behind.

While bearing none of the outward aggression or grandeur of Megadragonbowser, the snow-white entity harbored its own, more subtle menace. It gave a nonchalant wave. After that, a strange sort of voice could be heard, coming not from someone's lungs but from manipulated vibrations of the air itself. ”Seekers of restoration, you have demonstrated strength. But you do not yet understand the scope of your mission. It will leave you hollow. It will take all you have to give, and then more. And in the end, you will give your lives.” The entity snapped its fingers, and around it seven objects appeared in flashes of colored light. They floated down onto the bridge and tapped, gently, against the stone. ”It is never too late to give in. The light waits patiently for your embrace; you need only turn away. In this paradise, you can live with your friends and families once more. But if you continue, your hearts will be broken before you even reach that King. Behold.”

One after another, the objects popped in bursts of color and shattering sound. In their place appeared seven figures: a diminutive robot, different from those that came before; a pistol-toting man in blue; a young man in caster's clothes with squinted eyes; a somewhat unremarkable dude in a cap; a shirtless maniac with a grenade launcher; a scrappy-looking teenager flanked by a scary machine; and...

“Poppi!” Tora almost fell forward in shock, his dark eyes wide and his mouth agape. Among the red-eyed arrivals stood someone he recognized, a machine with a human face. He expected -and in fact hoped more than anything- to see her again, but not so soon, and to witness her under Galeem's influence left the Nopon shaken. When he looked into her eyes, even at this distance, he could see no trace of his dearest creation and companion.

The entity remained as dispassionate as always. Another snap of his fingers, and an unnerving red-and-black aura surrounded the seven. ”These spirits will not attack unless you do, but they will not move from this spot. If they do fight, they will do so with three times their usual resilience and power. If you do not embrace the light, you will die here, or be forced to kill them. This is the first toll to pay.”

Falling silent, the entity allowed its words to sink into the heroes and be struggled with.

Not far away, Ratchet echoed Tora's despair, perhaps even worse. The Lombax understood the situation, the choice that lay before him, and found himself unable to make it. How could he take the life of his partner and best friend? Compared to that, letting Clank kill him seemed like the better option. But his choice wasn't the one that mattered here, and the others couldn't be trusted. Sure, his party pulled out a couple wins against mindless enemies, but this...? Even if Clank could be freed, what guarantee was there that the others would do so? Images of Zer0 gunning Clank down, or the fat guy blasting him apart with his shotgun, or Bowser crushing his little body underfoot flew through Ratchet's head. The group's survival meant Clank's death.

But Ratchet couldn't accept that.

Nearby, the Master of Masters remained distracted, prevented from pondering the dire situation thanks to the goings-on with Roadhog and Hat Kid. The cloaked man placed himself between the Australian and the girl, saying, “Hey, lighten up, would ya. That was you half an hour ago. I'll just free her the same way I did you.” His hidden face turned toward the entity and its summons, with their dangerous aura. “...If I get the chance.” So split was his focus that he didn't notice what was going on with Ratchet until a golden gleam surrounded him. When it faded, the Lombax's eyes shone with the same off-putting luster as his friend's. The Master of Masters practically toppled over in surprise. “It's that easy!?” he cried. He watched, speechless, as Ratchet ran forward toward the seven guardians. One of them, the short robot, leaped into his arms, and the two shared a hug while the others looked on, deadpan.

Remembering Tora's dismay, the Master of Masters cast a wary look his way. The Nopon looked downright distraught; one could tell just be looking at him how tempted he was. An overwhelming urge to do something filled the Master, but for all his wisdom he didn't know what he needed to do. After a few seconds he drummed something up; no matter how tempting the bondage, these people needed to be free. He spun around and pointed his keyblade at Hat Kid, who shook in fear at the weapon's jagged edge. The Master of Masters, however, shook just as badly. He was tired and confused, and while he knew that the girl should be friend, he hesitated. “I have to do it,” he whispered, his voice startlingly unsure. “Even if I disappear again...I have to.” Taking a deep breath, he prepared to strike at her bound heart.

Before he could, a bright pink heart flew over in an arc and splashed against Hat Kid. In in instant, the influence of Galeem melted away, like snow in springtime. When she blinked in surprise, her eyes were bright and blue, no longer the scared red of a cornered animal. The Master of Masters looked toward the source and found Tora, breathing heavily, but still one hundred percent himself. “Hah! Tora have strong heart, can same thing that drunky druggipon did.” Forcing a smile, the Nopon turned back toward the entity and its minions, and cried, “There is answer, stupid hand. You give hard choice, but being hero means making hard choice. Even if seem impossible, Rex-Rex would find way to save friends, not give up for fake paradise.” He pointed a wing finger at his Blade. “Just a little longer, Poppi! Masterpon coming to save you.”

Whatever conclusions the others came to, either before or after Tora, the entity appeared unmoved. Without another word it snapped its hand and disappeared in a flicker, leaving the heroes with their dilemma—fourteen versus eight times three.

[Delta44]

---

Level 2 - (14/20) EXP
Location: Scrapyard, End
Word Count: 2,145

_Revolver

---

'This girl... She's so weird...'
As fate would have it, Minako, in spite of herself, started to laugh. Not as hearty or geeky as she used to, but it was laughter nonetheless, something even she herself never expected of herself. Maybe it was the blood loss, but something about Linkle's compliments just felt funny. No way she accounted for six armies worth of opponents, defeating Bastion alone was hard enough!
She'd calmed down enough as her newfound 'friend' came to her aid, helping her walk. Having learned to take help when needed already after a rather painful Tartarus expedition, Minako was more than welcome to accept the help. Though she was cautious of Tora helping out, his rounded, furry body helped cushion the pain her bloodied arm might otherwise feel, however staining him in the process. Two friends in one day? Must've been her lucky day.

"Sorry, I just thought it was funny how you considered me so strong. I'm nothing without help." She kept her explanation brief, knowing full well that the blonde had something on her mind and didn't want to keep her waiting. Essentially she sounded like she needed a strategist or a tactician, a role Minako could certainly fill. She wasn't shy of experiences back in Tartarus where she had to think in place of her allies, particularly her senior Mitsuru, who kept thinking charm spells were more important than healing for the longest time. If it meant she could help guide Linkle through a battle, carving a path of destruction, all the better. "Unfortunately as I am, my smarts are all I have. I'll do my best to get back to strength as fast as I can. Being this physically weak is horrible."

As always, Tora was a comforting bundle of support, giving an apology for his lack of help in the fight. To be honest, she was just thankful he wasn't dead, all things considered. "Worry about yourself, Tora, that was a lot of bullets... I know it wasn't your fault or anything so there's no need to apologise. You did well enough just keeping alive." As he smiled at her it warmed her heart, with the redhead offering her own in return. Despite the strain she was obviously a victim of, the radiant smile she returned him was strong enough, as though acting in place of her own constitution. Arriving at Blazermate, she couldn't help but wince as she was set down. That one shot near her hip was aching quite spectacularly, as evidenced by her gritted teeth sharing a choice word or two. Yet it didn't take long at all before that familiar sensation of otherworldly healing overtook her, helping her relax. Blazermate's beam was quick to act, patching up anything and everything, including her stamina. Before long she was sitting upright beside her and Tora, and shortly thereafter was able to get on her feet.

Although, of course, the Courier would begin getting really upset with Geno shortly after, making her want to move. However her lazy bones stuck with Tora, opting on not to listen as she got out her MP3 and headphones and started looking through her songs, playing one track early. She was so immersed in her MP3, in fact, that she completely missed the house crashing into Peach's moat as well the tsunami which came rolling as a result, somewhat drenching her. Turning to see what was going on lead to surprise, for not only had a kid with a top hat under Galeem's influence appeared, but so had... a giant Bowser? It felt weird to look at him, however his aura wasn't exactly something she hadn't felt before. She was used to oppressive auras, so there was no fear as she looked up at him. However, that fear manifested itself in another such way: the Courier.

As he began his speech she thought it to be entertaining at the very least, and admittedly was going well. But that changed quickly as the Courier raised his 44. Magnum into a demonstration pose, like an offering to the great and terrible overlord. It had Minako frozen immediately. She just stared at him, eyes wide, unable to think or react to anything properly. That type of gun was the absolute biggest thing she feared most: revolvers. And to any standing nearby, it wouldn't exactly be hard to tell, either - her body seemingly rooted to the ground. Her body shook almost violently, clearly giving away the fact that she was not, by any means, OK.

The only thing that could pry her gaze from the Courier was the blinding lights coming from the Master Hand. He looked like a weird Persona, but then again just about everything in this world did. The light was so blinding that she had to look away for a moment, covering her eyes...

... But as she turned back to face the figures, the Fool dropped to her knees...
"Jun... pei..."
A choked gasp escaped her throat, eyes immediately beginning to water. She had to cover her mouth to stop herself from crying. He was... alive! It felt rather unreal after waking up in this Hell, that she would meet the person she cared about so much so soon. And yet, that ominous dark aura, his unflinching stance... It was obvious, by this point, that he wasn't himself. The Junpei that she cared for, who she... loved; he wasn't there, looking back at her. No smiles or funny jokes or handshakes or dumb questions or food or curses or even a wink. Not a single sign that he was Junpei, other than his body. Not one.

She listened to the hand's words very carefully, paying absolute attention to him. The choice was murdering the one you loved, Paradise, or death? Of the three, death actually sounded the most promising. Sure, Paradise sounded lovely if it weren't for the apparent destruction that it would cause, and killing Junpei was out of the question. Her naginata slipped from her hands and clattered uselessly to the ground.
There was absolutely no way she could ever kill her friends. Fighting them was just asking too much...

She noted that Ratchet had made his choice, running forward into an embrace that allowed Clank and himself to be happy. The two of them looked so overjoyed, it made the temptation of Paradise clearer in Minako's mind. After all, she didn't ask for this, right...? If she was given this opportunity to relive her life with the person she loved, then nothing else mattered. These people she were with she didn't even know, didn't even particularly like - some scared her and others annoyed her, so what was the point in not giving in to the light?

'There's always a point.'

Of course that kid would come back to haunt her. A ghost of her past she didn't know nor care to know. Why did he have to show up in a situation such as this? Life was tormenting her enough as-is, what was the point in added-
'You really don't remember anything, do you...? You're completely ignoring what I just told you, as well... Are you really so forgetful that you aren't aware this is a mere trick? An illusion? A farce? You know what it was like to be like him, don't you?'

"And you're expecting me to kill him?!" Her sudden outburst might be a surprise to some, but it wasn't exactly uncalled for given the situation. "I can't! I can't, I can't, I just can not!"
She was in tears now, unable to keep a hold on her own emotions. Stupid things. They never acted up in the past. Why her? Why now? Why?

'You don't have to kill anyone if you don't want to. And even if you do, this world is an illusion anyway.'
Those words caught her attention.
'You already know it's not your world. And everyone you know here knows it, as well. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you could see those people again, from different types of the same world. There's more than one Junpei here if there's more than one Bowser.'
He made a surprising amount of sense. But even so, how could she be OK with killing-
'And nobody has to die, either.

Tora was close by when he summoned the heart-shaped object. Her gaze was transfixed on it, watching the heart glide in the air, finding a place inside the child's body. Her red eyes... they disappeared. Those red eyes... she remembered how she felt being under it's influence. Horrible. Painful. Whatever mental torture she was suffering at the time would no doubt occur again, if she accepted Paradise. And in death, there was no way of knowing if death would even be the end of it, because for all she knew, death was how she arrived here. Without notice, the shaking and the crying stopped, as the teen's fingers crawled around her naginata with a newfound sense of self. Minako knew that her willpower was hardly that of her former self, and that she had no idea what she was doing. But for some reason, likely entirely due to luck, she had found a new sense of resolve within herself. It was tiny. A small spark of a fire, which she huddled around to keep herself alive against the unrelenting cold, but that was what hope was for. Those were the basic ingredients for triumph.

But there was also something else. A feeling which hung over her like a heavy weight, filling her body with pain. Not physical pain, mind, but a raw, emotional type of pain. The kind of weight that drives people to do stupid things in spite of themselves and others; a kind of weight that is almost entirely destructive. It was hard to describe accurately with many words, but you could sum it up with just one:
Rage. Minako was feeling the effects of boiling rage that she had only ever felt once in her life. The kind of rage that makes you go out into the night, on the Day of Apocalypse, and hunt down the very thing that is about to end all of humanity. While the Master Hand was no Nyx, his lies and deceit pissed her off to no end. She had been through more than enough bullshit to have to deal with this tease of a hand.

The encouraging words from Tora didn't quite lessen the impact of her emotional state, but it helped clear her mind a little. With the Master Hand's disappearance, they would have to focus on their opponents now, those that mattered most to many of those present. If she had to fight Junpei to get through to him, so what? The puppet had brought back a midget through knocking him out, and Minako was sure she could do the same. Not that Junpei was anything less than capable, of course, but he bore a lot of similarities to Thanatos' brute strength: slower, deliberate attacks of high power, swinging his longsword around like a baseball bat. With that in mind, she was certain that there was a way to do this. She would prove to him, once and for all, just why she was the leader of the Special Extracurricular Execution Squad, and would rub it in his stupid face when he was back...

"That hand is a liar." Obviously jaded, the redhead's voice was course and determined. She was staring directly at Junpei, gripping the polearm in her hand so tightly one would worry it might splinter. "That 'Paradise' of his is in no way a guarantee you'll end up ever seeing those you care about again! And don't any of you think for a second that dying is an option, either! The only thing we know we can do is win, and use whatever means we can to keep the people we love alive." In all honesty, she was mostly speaking to herself, to reaffirm her own action and ideals. Was it the right action? Maybe. All she knew was that this way, there was at least a chance of things going their way. Giving up, no matter how tempting, meant a definitive loss, for all they knew. Trust the words of an enemy, or use the powers they knew they had?

Minako chose the second option, but even then, giving in was extremely tempting. Either way, she had picked her battle. The outcome of which would come down to her, and Junpei.

"I'm sorry, Junpei..." Minako got into a defensive stance with her naginata, hoping he would take a battle of blades over Personas. "But I need to do this. I think. I hope it's the right choice... I hope I can save you, like Chidori could..."

She shoved her MP3 into her blazer pocket, and pressed play.

[Mao Mao]

---

𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗴

_{level two // scrapyard - end // 566 words}

---

Roadhog was distracted by the fluffy creature’s despair and saw seven people standing including… Jamison. His eyes widen in surprise and only to realize that he had been captured and turned into one of them. The silence coming from the usual loud Junker was a clear sign that something was wrong with him. Then, he opened his eyes and revealed them to be glowing red like the small child. Roadhog didn’t want to believe it, but he was gone. If it wasn’t for that mask, then people would have noticed that the fat pig man was clearly mourning. He haven’t felt like this since… the explosion. The explosion that turned the entire Outback into an irradiated hellhole for the millions that the Australian government left behind.

Mako Rutledge was a strong leader that planned on restoring the Outback back from the machines. It meant the destruction of the Omnium and dozens of dead omnics. Of course, he and the others didn’t expect things to go south that quickly. After the explosion, Rutledge was left to die in the ruins of the Omnum by his former comrades. It was when that he became Roadhog and left Rutledge behind in the ruins of the past. From that day forward, Roadhog was a cold-hearted bastard that lacked humanity and compassion for others. His hands were covered in blood. His dreams reminded him of the deaths that he made. Roadhog was surviving his personal hell every single day.

Then, he met Junkrat. The walking target that everyone in the Outback was trying to kill because he found an Omnium fusion core. It was the most valuable thing that someone could find in the world. Originally, Roadhog was supposed to capture Junkrat and give him to the Queen until she betrayed him for money. And ever since that betrayal, Roadhog was Junkrat’s bodyguard. He was annoying and an idiot, but Roadhog stood by his side until… all of this happened.

Roadhog looked at the unemotional Junkrat and realized that this was another reminder of the past. He caused millions to suffer painful lives and deaths in the Outback. Now, he had lost his only friend. It was payback for causing the explosion and sending millions to live disturbed lives until their painful deaths. That was when he felt the sting of tears in her eyes that nobody realized besides him. The white entity said how they will not attack unless provoked. But, if someone within the group embraced the “light,” then they will be in paradise with their friends and families. Roadhog knew that it was a lie. Paradise wasn’t awaiting him. Hell was.

He took a single step towards Junkrat and quietly whispered, “Goodbye… friend.”

Then, Roadhog turned towards the white entity and fired several shots from his shotgun. He had made up his mind. He was going to fight even if it meant his friend’s death.

Suddenly, Junkrat awakened with a roaring laugh that caught Roadhog off guard. Before he could even react, Junkrat already fired several rounds from his grenade launcher and all of them hit Roadhog. Then, he placed his ironic concussion mine below Roadhog and detonated it. It sent Roadhog flying backwards to the ground and realized that he was no match. So, he got up from the ground and started running away while firing back. Junkrat gave chase while avoiding the rest of the group.

---

[DracoLunaris]

wordcount: 772 (+2)
Level 3 EXP: ////////////////////////////// (21/30)
Location: Scrapyard - Endzone/Bridge to peach’s castle

In response to his confused question Bowser received an avalanche of abuse. He was utterly stunned by his double’s cutting character assassination and it left him standing in shock. Bug eyed, with his mouth standing agape, Bowser’s jaw hinging up and down slightly as he tried and failed to work out a retort while the Megadragon move onto fresh pray.. By the time he had managed to figure out any kind of response his doppelganger had left them in the company of the… of a Master Hand. Along with it where more Galleem controlled puppets, ones supposedly familiar to some of the others, that they would need to face to proceed. Ratchet running over and hugged one made him quite sure they where a non issue however. Instead of getting involved he focused his attention on the hand and proceeded to yell at it. Most of what h shouted was what he wanted to shout at Megadragonbowser, but hadn’t been smart enough to come up with while his double was still around to hear it.

“SCREW YOU OVER-SIZED MITTEN. UNLIKE YOU AND THAT LOSER COPY OF ME IN THERE, I WON’T BEND A KNEE TO SOME DIME A DOZEN JUMPED UP ONE-OFF VILLAIN LIKE GALEEM FOR A CHEAP POWER BOOST. THE LIKES OF THEM ALWAYS SHOW UP ACTING ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY WHILE WANTING TO DESTROY THE WORLD OR UNIVERSE OR WHATEVER. THEN THEY GET THEIR BUTT’S KICKED JUST ONCE AND THEN THEY NEVER COME BACK. ME THOUGH? I’M STILL RIGHT HERE, WHILE EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM HAS RUN OFF WITH THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS AFTER THEIR FIRST BEATING! YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE THEY’RE QUITTERS WITH ZERO GUTS WHILE I’M THE TOUGHEST, MOST TENACIOUS, MOST AWESOME BAD GUY OF THEM ALL. SO BUZZ OFF BACK TO YOUR STUPID LIGHT BEFORE I CRUSH YOU MYSELF!”

Bowser sucked in air into his lungs, flames licking at his lips before he spat a roaring fireball at the Master Hand. Sadly (or perhaps fortunately because provoking the titanic glove would likely have made the situation ten times worse) the hand took its leave of them before the king could pull off his attack. The flaming bolt ended up soaring harmlessly over the heads of the stationary figures it had left behind and splashed harmlessly against the castle wall.

“YEAH THAT’S RIGHT, RUN YOU COWARD!” the dragon turtle yelled, shaking his fist at thin air.

After a few moments of continued shaking he dropped his hand back down with a frustrated sigh and then turned away from the castle and the arrayed frenemies guarding it. “ALRIGHT TROOPS, GET ON WITH THE LOVING REUNIONS OR POWER OF FRIENDSHIP NONSENSE OR WHATEVER IT IS RATCHET’S DOING SO WE CAN GET A MOVE ON. GALEEM’S GOING TO REGRET GETTING A FAKE ME FROM SOMEWHERE WHEN WE BEAT HIM, TAKE ALL MY STUFF BACK AND TURN IT AGAINST THEM.“ he ordered his minions as he stomped towards Mario. It was only then that he noticed that the pig mask wearing man had apparently picked a fight with some scrawny bomb lobber. As the two rushed away from the group trading fire Bowser summoned Heel from his shell. “KEEP THE FAT MAN ALIVE” he ordered the Striker that had formed in his un-clawed palm, before lobbing the Rabbid after the retreating roadhog.

Heel soared through the air noisily. After barely avoided being impaled on the spiked tire Roadhog wore over one shoulder he ended up instead clinging to the back of his shoulder straps. From there he pulsed his healing ability to help the junker recover from the grenades that had pounded him, before chucking one of his own far weaker bombs back at Junkrat. Concerningly ducky grenade only managed to slow down their pursuer for a brief moment, its explosion having barely harmed the triple powered grenadier. Heel, deciding that his mount was doomed, proceeded to lob his remaining grenades as fast as possible before bailed on the situation, the Striker de-materializing and returning to the safety of Bowser’s shell.

Bowser meanwhile continued onward to where Mario was, fairly certain everything was under control even though it most certainly wasn’t. Once the pair met up there was a brief moment of tension before the king laughed dryly.

“IT’S FUNNY, NORMALLY THIS WORKS OUT THE OTHER WAY ROUND.” he commented, ”WELL ANYWAY, WELCOME TO MY ARMY MARIO. TRY NOT TO GET IN MY WAY.” Then he looked over his shoulder and yelling at the small child the master of masters had just freed from Galeem “THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO TINY HAT WEARING PERSON. YOU’RE ONE OF BOWSER’S BADDIES NOW.”

[Archmage MC]

Blazermate

Level 3 - (10/30) EXP
Location: Scrapyard - Big Brawl
Word Count: 506

Well, even with the attempts for a peaceful resolution from many of the group members, things ended up in a fight. It was a good thing Blazermate was preparing herself for a fight, unlike a few of the other members. Dragon Bowser, much like the real thing, was a bit of an idiot all things considered, although without the charm of the original. Instead of just roasting everyone here, he decided to summon minions to do the work for him while he was going to clear out Peach's Castle for some reason. Didn't he already claim that area as is? Well, either way, he left his little minions behind, and they didn't look nearly as tough.

While Blazermate didn't recognize any of the figures that this dragon bowser summoned, the others of her party seemed to recognize them. Ratchet was overjoyed at seeing a tiny robot, and went to embrace him only to become... corrupted? Apparently this meant you had to be careful, a heartfelt embrace would only hurt you, not help you, in this world. Only that thing that the Master of Masters, Cowboy, and Tora did was what would work, and according to the MoM things had to be weakened before it would even work. And considering the looks some people were giving, that might need to happen to some of these minions here.

"Well fellas, best get ready for a fight." Blazermate said, pushing a button on her toolbox. Right away, the toolbox opened up, and a level 1 sentry began to slowly build. It was around this time that Roadhog was fighting the weird scrappy guy with explosives and burnt hair. Using her healing arm, she focused her beam on the giant pig guy to make sure he could work his fight, while using her other one to rapidly beat up the sentry as it built to make it build faster and level it up. Once it was fully built, it targeted the closest enemy with a beep and started to fire. Thankfully this gun provided Blazermate with some cover against the enemies that were engaging the rest of the party, so she could heal and upgrade this gun at the same time.

Thankfully, considering her strength was far superior to the engineer's original strength, she could very easily move her sentry if needed, and she figured if she was going to weaken everyone that would be a necessary thing.

[Old Amsterdam]

Zer0

Level 3: 9/30
Location Moat – Various
Word Count: 1,275

---

Zer0 watched on in mild disinterest as everyone settled in, listening as he always did to the conversations within earshot. He was mildly intrigued by his companions, even if not enough to really care about any of them outside of the Courier. They weren't Vault Hunters. They weren't his team. They weren't his friends.

His visor continued to track the moving shapes, even as the Master of Masters pointed them out. He didn't move as the first showed itself to be a spaceship of some kind, though very low tech at a glance, before it crashed. A mighty crash, really. It almost reminded him of the train back when he first started his adventure with the other Vault Hunters. As it crashed into the moat, he raised a single arm to protect his visor as the water crashed over him, watching the figure pull themselves out.

A puppet of the being of light, it seemed. Red eyes, discolored. It was a simple realization, and he drew his sword slowly in preparation of killing them before the second shape, all but forgotten in his mind, crashed down in front of them.

It – no, he – was gigantic. Bowser, but without the clothing, and all the menace that their little ally lacked but tried to exhibit. Zer0 found that he couldn't pull out his weapon the rest of the way, opting instead to let it sheath fully, as he was caught within the aura the beast displayed. So, with nothing that he could do in this case, as some invisible force cowed him, he listened.

:/

He shook his head at the inane comment about the lack of clothes, wondering why that was what the young girl focused on. Really, with everyone locked down with nothing they could do in the face of a gigantic, fire-breathing beast and that was what she decided to comment on?

He kinda liked her style.

The Courier, however, was more alarming in his reaction. Offering up himself and his weapons? And a demonstration....Zer0 watched him sharply, crossing his arms, shocked as he created some kind of thing that he put into the man that Geno had brought with him. Giving him life, it seemed, freeing him – Ah, that was how Kirby had saved them, hadn't it? That was why the little pink guy had paid so much attention to the Courier once he had gained his wits back. He had recognized that the Courier had that ability himself, something that Zer0 wondered if he couldn't do himself. Emulating the Courier's actions, pulling from deep within himself, he mimicked the man. Doing the opposite of what he had done when he had absorbed that spirit that had changed his body, he was pleased when he discovered that he could replicate the Courier's actions and create one of these things himself.

Watching it disappear, he realized he had missed something as the giant tore a figurative hole through their Bowser. He could almost see the big guy crumple, dumbfounded, as his ego took the blow head on. If he wasn't such a egomaniac, Zer0 might have just felt a little bad for the guy. Instead, he couldn't help but be slightly amused at the interaction before the monster headed off to....clear his territory? Maybe. If this was all his, then why did he need to clear it? Something didn't seem right with that thing, besides the fact that he was a duplicate. Given the cloning that Nakyama had been working on, however, Zer0 couldn't simply dismiss this as impossible. All too possible, and it brought a metaphorical pit to his stomach. If he had been cloned, as Zer0 suspected, then it was entirely possible that Jack had been brought back and was lurking somewhere on this busted world.

And that was simply something he could not stand to leave alone. The moment he found evidence of Handsome Jack being back, he was going to put the bastard down again. Permanently.

Things took a turn for the worse at that point, however, as a giant, floating, talking, and apparently fully sentient white glove appeared. Summoning, with a strange light, many figures. Zer0 found himself taking a step forward before he stopped himself, Ratchet running past to reunite with the little robot. He couldn't find it in himself to care that the little guy had been taken again by the Light in the process, for he had eyes for only two figures.

Gaige and Deathtrap.

The girl, however, was not his friend. This was a puppet, stolen from him by the Light. Her burning red eyes were enough to know the difference, and it sparked something deep within him.

“An ally no more,
Shining with enemy light,
Badasses combat!”

Zer0 drew his sword, running across the gap while the others spoke and the Hand disappeared. He paid them no heed, for there was no one here but Gaige, Deathtrap, and himself.

His friend.

His ally.

He swung his sword, just two thoughts rattling around in his head.

He could save her. He just needed to beat the girl into submission.

And...

He finally had a challenge worth his time. A worthy challenge for a badass like himself.

A mighty clang of metal upon metal rang out as Deathtrap intercepted his swing, sparks flying from the impact as Zer0 slid backwards from the force of the brutish contraption.

>:]

“This could be the beginning of something AWESOME!” Gaige called out excitedly.

With a push of his legs, Zer0 launched himself upwards, flipping and spinning as he slashed and stabbed with his sword at the floating robot. With seemingly no effort the robot met his attacks head on, spinning to follow him and keep him in its line of sight. It's eye glowed brighter than he remembered, more of a burning red than the blood light of before. Looking at it, actually, Zer0 felt like it was missing some of the upgrades that Gaige had given it over the course of their adventures. Had it, too, been reset like Zer0 had been? A forced Respec.

Zer0 landed, bringing up his sword to parry the incomming attack from Deathtrap. Again sparks flew, and as he forced the giant arm slightly off-course to spin around it for a crucial blow, he felt a bullet pierce his side. Several gunshots rang out, and he glanced behind him to see Gaige pointing a shitty little pistol at him with her robotic arm. How the hell had it hurt so much? That thing packed more firepower than it should have.

That arm of hers was strong enough to compensate for the minimal recoil of the gun, and she quickly fired off more shots before Zer0 felt the giant fist of Deathtrap collide with his injured side, throwing him bodily into the moat. As he swam for the opposite shore, he watched as Gaige slid down the hill after him, launching herself to sit along Deathtrap's broad shoulder as he hovered his way across in pursuit.

He ran his way up the other side, launching himself up, and then up a second time, before landing and turning with his blade raised as Gaige dismounted Deathtrap, pointing the pistol at him. Deathtrap circled wide, and Zer0 couldn't help but emote again.

>:]

“A greater challenge
I have never expected
Now come forth, my friend.”

He raised his sword, dashing for Gaige as quickly as his new legs would let him.

“Kick 'em right in the Pistons, DT!”

[CAWs For Alarm]

Henry

Level 1 (1/10)
Location: Bridge to Peach's Castle
Word Count: 465

“I know the darkness is warm and delicious... But too much of a good thing is just bad!” These were Henry’s last words before the light had taken him from his world. As one of his closest comrades Robin was succumbing to the darkness of the Fell Dragon Grima, his army was trying to pull her back from the brink. What a cruel twist of fate, it would seem, that the very light they tried to bring her back to would end up being the enemy itself…

The young dark mage had been in this World of Light for awhile before he had encountered the group of those freed from the odd force that held him captive. This gave him plenty of time to ponder the matters at hand. Where was he? How did he get here? How was the light involved? All of these questions and more plagued his twisted mind but unlike the ones who awakened from the control no answers were revealed to Henry. He had thought it almost hopeless and was prepared to resign himself to his fate of being lost, never finding his friends again. But then…

CRASH

In the sound of glass shattering and a flash of colors Henry was in another place entirely. A bridge, with a plethora of new and interesting characters around him. A few of which were particularly interesting to the white haired mage, namely the spikey turtle that he saw a little ways away from him. It combined two of Henry’s interests, sharp objects and animals! The only other character to really catch his attention was the dancer of their group. She reminded Henry slightly of a fellow member of Chrom’s army, even if just because they were both dancers. Despite his interest in finally encountering other living beings, assuming this wasn’t some weird after life like he originally thought, he was more than cautious about trying to interact with them. Henry knew why he was summoned here because of the large floating hand, he was here to fight. Even though he tried to just get this fight over with the dark mage couldn’t start initiate anything and instead he stayed put. He was not only ordered to only fight in self defense exclusively but he was being forced to comply. This was more than annoying to Henry. “These orders are so dumb.” He muttered to himself. But he couldn’t just refuse and turn on his master like he normally would. It seems his loyalty was forced.

So instead Henry waited, watching the group that he knew to be his enemies with red, squinted eyes. Holding his purple tome in hand he prepared himself for one of his foes to strike him and he could get to the only enjoyable part of this whole situation.