[center][h3]Tora[/h3] [b]Level 1[/b] - (9/10) EXP [b]Location:[/b] 1-1, Starting Line / Central Route [b]Word Count:[/b] 976[/center] Though the Master of Masters did not go into much detail at the outset, a number of the odd things he did say caused Tora to perk up in fascination. Exactly how did this stranger know of the newcomers already? Why did he use the future tense? And how much did he really know about this world? The Nopon itched to start asking questions, and his new friend Linkle did in fact get a few out after she approached, but before the cloaked one could respond the battle in the area ahead reached a fever pitch. After belting out a few parting words that made Tora wonder if Agoston listened at all, the Centurion hurtled off to join the assault. He even called to Tora in particular as he took off, which struck the oval mechanic with indecision. How could he just leave this clearly important person, who seemed to have the answers that the team so woefully lacked, behind? Yet he could not abandon his new friends. Linkle following suit turned out to be the last straw, and saying, “Sorry mister Master, must help allies. Will be back right after!” he ran after her as fast as his short legs could carry him. He arrived to the action just as Agoston walloped an impaled koopa with his gauntlet and Ratchet chucked his wrench into the goomba stack. While the struck goomba in question fell out of the tower, dazed by the blow, the one atop it simply jumped up and then landed on the bottom one. The stack, one goomba shorter but otherwise not much worse for wear, loomed over the now-unarmed Lombax, ready to smash him flat. Linkle came to the rescue, vaulting over her comrade and peppering all nearby foes with her bolts. Their tips bounced off koopa shells but pierced goombas with ease, and her wide-ranging assault swept up a great many of the mooks on the left side of the fight. To the right, meanwhile, the tides appeared to have turned. Though forced on the defensive initially, Bowser's team came out blazing once those the king koopa defended kicked it into gear. Wherever possible Blazermate attempted to use the enemies' own shells against them, and while a portion of the incoming foes merely sidestepped them, her efforts bore more than a little fruit. Michael's bursts of uzi fire, meanwhile, managed to deal a smattering of lethal damage to the approaching waves, with one notable side effect: whenever his rounds his a koopa's shell, they cracked it like an egg, crippling both the target's defense and offense. Tora watched the battle unfold, nerves afire and full of panic. His role, to protect his allies, was the same as ever, but how would he even approach this fight? Never in his life had he gone into a scrap without Poppi by his side; without her or her channeled ether, he was no Driver at all, just a Nopon with an inert shield. However, as he stood by, he felt a strange feeling coming over him. Warm, comforting, invigorating, it flowed from the red-haired lady as she engaged in a beautiful dance. The masterful spectacle, infused with wonderful magic, made him feel stronger. He didn't exactly understand it, but he wasn't complaining. “Mehmeh? What is nice feeling? Doing of friend Din-Din?” Though his heart still pounded, he felt more at peace, and paradoxically, ready to fight. “Many thanks!” he cried, and the Nopon charged forward. He ran into the action, grabbing his shield off his back as he did, and with his first action rammed it into a goomba's face. The creature, already wounded by a few of Michael's bullets, fell over dead, and the sight filled Tora with confidence. “Bowser can go on offensive,” he declared proudly. “Leave defense to Tora!” He moved forward again, hunkering down to block goomba charges or incoming koopa shells when needed, until he reached the spot where Ratchet's wrench landed. “Here!” he called, scooping it up with his free wing and tossing it the Lombax's way. The next instant, a hammer landed smack-dab on Tora's head, cracking a lens in his goggles but otherwise bouncing off near-harmlessly. “Ow, meh!” He turned back around to see two [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mario/images/1/1f/Hammer_Bro.%2C_Super_Mario_3D_Land.png/revision/latest?cb=20121106023700]koopas[/url], slightly larger and far more armored, atop a row of floating bricks two levels above the ground. Their eyes shone a more vivid scarlet, and as Tora watched, one pulled another hammer from thin air. “Oh? Helmet turtles look little stronger than others. Not saying much though, meh.” He refocused on a goomba in front of him, staggered as it charged his shield full-force, then bashed it with a sideswipe to send it rolling into the path of the Centurion. If the warrior had by now realized that a jump on one of them could net him extra height, he could use it to get up to the plateau that the remaining koopas stood atop and complete his destruction of the foe's backlines. The fighting, brief but fierce, appeared to have depleted the enemy force. A good amount of koopas and goombas remained, but not nearly the horde that first assaulted Bowser and his crew. With their minions out of the way, however, the Hammer Brothers began their attack in earnest, tossing hammer after hammer after hammer at the intruders below them. As he defended, Tora noticed for the first time a great number of little sprites floating around. They drifted about, occasionally making turns, like bugs, but inside the small clouds of rainbow energy Tora could see images of the very goombas and koopas his allies slew, free from the red eyes and burnt body that signified the true enemy's influence. [i]Spirits,[/i] Tora remembered, the word uttered by the Master of Masters. These things carried some significance, but until this fight concluded, Tora needed to focus on the job at hand, even if it seemed close to completion. [hr] [center][b]Location:[/b] Master of Master's Mushroom[/center] “W-w-wait!” the stranger cried as Tora scrambled off. “I was supposed to blow your mind with the splendor of my knowledge! Don't tell me my wisdom's not worth it to you!?” He watched the Nopon join the battle and heaved a sigh. “Ah, well.” He held out a hand, and in a burst of golden light a [url=https://slm-assets2.secondlife.com/assets/7090156/view_large/needle_tail_006.jpg?1359871599]weapon[/url] appeared. Walking around the mushroom toward the back, he turned it over in his hands. “Hey, not bad. Guy's a little gearhead.” As he reached the rear of his mushroom, he could hear labored breathing full of malice. He stared into the malevolent crimson eyes of the source, a young woman chained to the oversized fungus by manacles of ice. “Aw, why the long face?” asked he. “Big things are afoot. I don't know if you can hear me, missy, but if this doesn't work, I apologize in advance. 'Course, I'm darn sure it will, but I thought I'd say so anyway, y'know? Heheheh...here goes.” After stopping in front of her, he couched his brand-new weapon, then drove its point into her heart. The tip did not sink in, catching instead on something before it could pierce her chest, and from the point of impact a radiant, searing light issued. As the cloaked man applied more pressure, it built up steadily, until the char began to melt away. An unnatural cry tore itself from the captive, as much from the wound as her throat. The Master of Masters could not restrain a guttural shout of his own, and with all his strength, he veered the weapon to the side. A wave purest white exploded outward, striking both of them blind. “Geez louise, what a lightshow!” joked the Master a moment later, picking himself up off the ground where he'd fallen. When his vision cleared, he discovered the young lady before him slumped over against the mushroom, stunned but unbound and free of Galeem's control. He pumped both fists in elation. “Hell yeah, just as planned! Another point for the Master. Ahem.” Holding the weapon behind his back, he leaned down to offer Minako his other hand, as she seemed to be waking up. “Y'alright there? No red eyes, no creepy trance, no urge to kill me? Well I mean, no more than most people's? I [i]really[/i] don't wanna fight you again.” [hr] [center][b]Location:[/b] Lower Canyon[/center] For a moment it appeared, despite the initiative of 6 and Zer0, that they would be overrun by the unwashed horde. Then the Horseman appeared, hurdling over the boulder that trapped his allies to join the fight. His wicked bladed cleaved through the enemy, gristly flesh and and primitive weapons alike. While his lack of defense forced him to dodge or intercept incoming strikes with his own, these actions slowed him down only marginally, and Death served as an effective front line. Zer0 and 6 put their marksmanship to use, downing stray foes that managed to get past Death and then turning their attention to the ranged fighters above. With each kill, the dead goblin, kobold, or bokoblin faded away. Bodies and weapons turned to ash as the glares of their eyes went out, but they did leave something behind. Bright little motes of light, shining all the colors of the rainbow, flew from where the corpses fell to meander through the air. If spared a moment, any of the fighters could see the faces of their slain prey contained within. The Courier's gambit proved to be a turning point in the battle. When he caused the mighty hunk of rock tumbled from high up, he not only removed a ledge from which the enemy might attack but also splattered a platoon of hapless mooks beneath it, scattering their ash and spirits in every direction. Following the boulder's earth-shaking impact, there came a brief moment of silence. Then, with cries of fear, most of the kobolds turned tail. The goblins and bokoblins did not appear so inclined to flee, but the pink-tinged creatures hastened to stuff themselves into the little holes and tunnels that pockmarked the canyon walls, pausing only to make that the candlelights atop their heads would not be snuffed out. Their former allies bore an air of uncertainty, evidently realizing that these intruders were more than they could chew. Nevertheless, they continued their onslaught. The left-over ranged attackers resumed firing, without a change in tactics, and the melee fighters rushed forward to face Death. With the crowd cleared out, the winding canyon path could be seen, starting to go upward once again as it hooked back toward the right. However, the lack of enemies also allowed the heroes to hear a devious giggle echoing through the fissure. From the very top of the cliff, on the left, side, a spiked ball was thrown over. It dropped like a rock until it smacked into the ground between Zer0 and 6, where [url=https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/dota2_gamepedia/thumb/8/8b/Techies_Proximity_Mine_model.png/250px-Techies_Proximity_Mine_model.png?version=f45ec66854424fab5b9d6ed9fd8808a8]it[/url] it lay beeping for a second and a half before it exploded. [hr] [center][b]Location:[/b] Scrapyard[/center] The sparking, flaming lower half of the robo-heavy teetered over and collapsed as pieces of its torso rolled in all directions. Geno's lucky discover had netted him a definitive victory, but he found himself denied even a moment's respite. His sudden descent moments ago managed to shake his pursuing kargarocs, but the keen-eyed raptors did not stay shook for long. Their shadows slid across the landscape, forcing the possessed toy to hunker down lest he be mobbed where his aerial mobility wouldn't save him. As he hid, he caught a glimpse of odd, multicolored motes floating around. They darted around like fireflies at dusk, localized around the spots where enemies fell. Within the shimmering prismatic sprites, Geno could see the faces of ziggies, kargarocs, and even the heavy robot. Before he could get a particularly good look, however, the ground began to rumble. From over a nearby heap of metal and mangled machines a sturdy-looking [url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tmpkRVn__fc/maxresdefault.jpg]vehicle[/url] emerged, chugging its way into the pit stop that was home to the blocks Geno used for cover. It proceeded up a stunt ramp onto higher ground, headed back toward the Ancient Garden. Before it could roll onto the grass, however, two great [url=https://ubistatic2-a.akamaihd.net/emea/gamesites/rabbids/mrkb/manual/img/art_enemies_hugger.png]brutes[/url] burst through a wall of junk. One after another, the smashers leaped at the tank and slammed it with their enormous blocks, creating deep dents in the exterior. It continued to soldier onward, but the smashers were far from over. The hammered away in turn, pounding the tank again and again until flames burst from its ruined chassis. With a final [b]'BWUH'[/b] they shoulder-charged the thing, pushing it off the high ground to tumble down into the pit stop, where it came to a rest on its side. The smashers beat their chests in triumph, their cries echoed by the smaller rabbids whose charge they led. Together the invading squad ran off to fight more robots, narrowly missing Geno in the process. They took cover behind scrap blocks -compressed karts, on closer inspection- in the area just beyond, the scrap-piled raceway. However, both types of robots lay in wait to shoot at them, and a drawn-out firefight ensued. Rather than run through the mayhem, the Smashers waited behind cover, advancing steadily. However, one took a stray shot and, overcome with sudden rage, charged into the open to get at the perpetrator. The machines' fire fixated on it immediately, but each hit enraged the smasher further; after pulverizing the first omnic, he thundered over to a soldier robot and beat it to bits, then made for a group of scout robots while crushing smaller omnics underfoot. He went down a few seconds later, though having taken a number of the enemies with him. Omnic reinforcements approached from the other end of the pit stop behind Geno, using the side route to flank the troupe of rabbids. At the same time another bunch of ziggies crossed the bridge from Ancient Gardens to the high ground overlooking the pit stop, poised to put a wrench in the flankers' plans. If Geno meant to escape, seconds awaited for him to do so before the factions converged on his location. The kargarocs seemed to have moved on for the moment, a couple headed toward Peach's castle.