[center][h3]Tora[/h3]
[b]Level 2[/b] – (6/20) EXP
[b]Location:[/b] 1-1, Master's Mushroom
[b]Word Count:[/b] 912[/center]

Leaning back against his mushroom, the Master of Masters crossed his arms and replied to Linkle's question with a shrug. “Maybe?” he ventured. “Don't think they're able to speak. I guess you could try. But since talking is a function of the body, and bonding is of the heart, it might be something more to do with empathy. Opening your mind or opening your heart should be enough for taking a spirit's power or skill, but if you want to keep one as a Striker, you'll need to earn its respect or affection, or otherwise come to some understanding so it'll stick around.” He held his palms up as if to say '[i]don't blame me'[/i]. “'Course, it's all conjecture on my part, but without tootin' my own horn I'm pretty much the authority on spirits and hearts. Wrote the book—literally! Shame it's not here to show ya.”

With Linkle's inquiry hopefully answered, he turned his attention to Blazermate next. The topic brooked no small amount of discussion from her, apparently sharing similarities to some kind of system from her own world. He nodded along absent-mindedly as she ran through the comparison, only getting serious when she considered what he meant by 'consequences'. “Well, I've done some experimenting, though not on myself of course, and yeah, there seem to be some changes that occur as a result of taking in a spirit. But there's a reason why I haven't used the term 'fusion', which is that it's not an even split. The ramifications are, as best I can tell, pretty small. Bonding is almost certainly not gonna change the core of who you are, physically or mentally.” Having been looking at his hands, he straightened up as another thought occurred to him. “Plus, I'm sure it can be undone if necessary, but you'll need to find some sort of exorcist or person with sealing magic.” 

During this time, Tora maintained his silence, rummaging through his thoughts. In the lull that followed the Master of Masters' latest pronouncement, however, he spoke up in a small, tremulous voice. “Mehmehmeh...so...group of friends is really alone. Whole world out there, but only enemies. Even if find good friends Poppi and Nia, Rex-Rex, Pyra...Zeke-Zeke, Pandy, Morag and Brighid, Dromarch...they will not remember Tora. All adventures, all achievements...as if never existed. And if cannot defeat Galeem, is all that is, forever...”

Following that statement, less of a question than a coming to terms with reality, the Nopon looked mightily crestfallen. His wings, usually rested about his neck, drooped down by the tiny arms that hung at his side. Tora's eyes lay on the Master of Master's black boots, prompting the cloaked man to shift uncomfortably. The dark cloud that hung over him extended to a few of the others as well, filling them with despair, anguish, and dread. It persisted for a while, the seconds seeming like minutes. In that time, a loud noise and a slight vibration in the ground passed through, prompting a few curious peeks in the direction of the canyon.

Eventually, Tora took in a deep breath, then another. He cracked his imperceptible neck, picked up his wings, and slapped himself in the face. “Hmph!” he cried, opening his eyes to look the Master of Masters in the face. “Is not problem, meh. Even if friends not here right now, thought of friends being out there is enough to keep going. Tora will find them and make them remember. Friends [i]will[/i] be united again!” He climbed up onto the man's table and spun around, looking at each of the others in turn. “That go for all, meh! Even if members of new team sad because old friends gone, still have each other. This team has right stuff to go on adventure, free all friends, and make things right again!” So saying, Tora leaped down from the table and took off running in the direction of Bowser. This time, the Nopon was determined that he would not falter. 

Once again the Master of Masters watched him go. After a moment he remarked, “Well, little guy's got heart. No wonder I could spawn a decent keyblade from it.” He placed his hands on the table again and leaned forward. “Ya know, it makes me think. I might be able to find my apprentices somewhere, too.” Without much in the way of ceremony he reached back, grabbed the handle of a strange-looking [url=https://slm-assets2.secondlife.com/assets/7090156/view_large/needle_tail_006.jpg?1359871599]weapon[/url] leaning against the mushroom, then tensed his muscles and vaulted over the table. “Maybe I oughta come with you bunch for the time being,” he declared. “'Fraid I'm not much of a fighter, but with you all it should be safe to take a look around. Get a lay of the land, y'know? Plus, if y'need any more help, I'll be on hand to dish it out.” 

He glanced back at Minako, laying in his hammock. “Stay as long as you like, missie. If I see any of those friends of yours...” Subtly, he nodded toward the blade clutched in his hand. “...I'll send 'em your way, eh?”

With that he faced back around to join the others as he started walking. “Aaaalrighty!” he said. “My goodness, I'm practically sopping with excitement! Been sending my apprentices into the field for so long that I've just about forgotten what it's like to hit the road myself!” Not too far off, Tora danced around Bowser, explaining to him as best he could about spirits, the world, and Galeem.

[hr]
[center][b]Location:[/b] Ancient Gardens[/center]

The trek of Din and Ratchet through Ancient Gardens ran into surprisingly little resistance. Those rabbids absent from the ongoing war effort in the next area proved singularly unmotivated to attack intruders; that said, their flippant obliviousness to their surroundings and clear lack of human-level intelligence likely contributed to their ambivalence as well. However, certain elements in the surroundings suggested some other factor. Scorch marks could be found on the ground in certain places, some close to plants or blocks burned through as though by a beam, and wherever one lay a rabbid spirit invariably drifted about nearby. Steadily the pair made progress across the zone, drawing nearer to the rattle of gunfire and war-cries of rabbids. 

As the two approached the end of the second battlefield, Kirby began to turn over in Bowser's hat. He seemed to be coming to, and after a moment or so of restless wiggling, opened his eyes. Though they continued to bear weariness and muted pain, the little puff looked to be in a better shape than before, and even managed to give his new friends a smile. At that moment, a noise prompted him to glance over in the direction of a patch of high grass, and from the thicket bounced a round object that looked like a cactus, but sported an unmistakable hissing flare that could only be a fuse.

With a [i]bang[/i] the grenade exploded, the force throwing the hat in the air. Stunned and confused, the pink puff did not react as a hook sailed his way and snagged his abode in its curve. Like a fisherman reeling in his catch, the hook retracted on its chain, yanking Kirby along with it. Its return cut a swath through the grass, and amid the whirling blades Ratchet and Din could see the culprits. On the other side of the grass lay a cliff overlooking a river, standing on the ground across the river were a huge, masked man and a [url=https://pm1.narvii.com/6699/06976eb67b24ed1b2dbaae9c253b502595ba895a_hq.jpg]rabbid[/url] with a distinctive pack. As they watched the giant man grabbed the hat, stuffed Kirby inside, and placed it on his head. Beside him, the rabbid gave a gleeful laugh and readied another grenade.

[hr]
[center][b]Location:[/b] Canyon[/center]

Any goons who might have imagined themselves safe, having reached the canyon ascent, found swift disillusionment as 6 assaulted them from behind. Those still able to fight turned to face him, their strength and speed heightened by desperation, but with augmented defense and an invisible ninja as backup the Courier powered through their meager ranks. Zer0 left the slaughter to his ally after a little while, proceeding onward up the exit path in hopes of catching a glimpse of the mine-lobber. As he cleared the mob of mooks, however, he entered the visibility range of a new type of [url=https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/dota2_gamepedia/thumb/2/2e/Techies_Remote_Mine_model.png/250px-Techies_Remote_Mine_model.png?version=b684614db245b532572449f3ca581313]mine[/url]. This type harbored a visible mechanism on its exterior, but did not react in any way to Zer0's presence. As he kept moving he passed by a [i]lot[/i] of them, at least a dozen, just sitting there menacingly. They disappeared from view again as he exited their range, having betrayed no sign of exploding.

A little more elevation and Zer0 could turn around with confidence that he could make out his much-anticipated Badass atop the edge of the canyon he now left behind. In fact, the ninja did spy the bomber: a [url=https://dqrt72khb0whk.cloudfront.net/uploads/image/file/3628/cropped_bg_02.jpg?ts=1435526265]trio[/url] of goblins surrounding an explosive-laden cart. The largest of the three pushed it from behind, the medium sat in front with a crude rocket launcher, and the smallest was tucked away in a barrel on the pusher's back. At the same time as Zer0 discovered the Techies, though, the goblins laid eyes on him. With a devilish smirk the big one held up a dinky-looking device and jammed his thumb into its big red button.

For a split second nothing happened, but the next instant the world itself seemed to shudder. A tremendous, deafening [i]KRAKOOM[/i] rolled across the land as every green barrel bomb exploded at once, the blasts joining together into one large enough to annihilate the remaining goons and knock both Zer0 and Courier to the ground with its shockwave even if they avoided the fire and shrapnel. As the noise died down and the ringing faded, the Techies' uproarious laughter took center stage. Without waiting for Zer0 to regain his feet, or indeed bothering to confirm that he still lived, the foremost goblin launched a rocket his way.

[hr]
[center][b]Location:[/b] Moat[/center]

The dopey-looking toads, very busy with doing nothing, suspected nothing until the moment a blast went off a short distance away from a pair of them. While the bombfish's initial explosion lacked strength, the pressure wave unleashed by the burst knocked the nearest toads clean out, leaving them to float to the surface with spirals in their eyes. Without delay the remainder of the guards went into panic, and not just because they realized they were under attack from some unknown assailant. Instead, one of the fearsome-looking lakelurks, disturbed by the explosion, went into a frenzy. It lunged at the nearest toad, sunk its teeth in, and slammed it against the lakebed, sending up a murky cloud of silt, and the rest of the amphibians rushed to deal with it lest they be made into lunch as well. Geno, meanwhile, now had a clear method of entry into the Castle foundations, so long as the pipe's grate did not hinder him.

Inside, a bit of pitch-black, claustrophobia-inducing swimming awaited him. A short ways in, however, some light filtered in from above, and surfacing would reveal him to in a sort of sewer-dungeon. Its moldy passages, lined with stone brick and lit fitfully by sputtering torches and iridescent fungus, appeared to be a few times larger than necessary to accommodate human traffic. They branched off regularly, the halls creating a grid of musty corridors. A number of heavy wooden doors lay throughout the place, some open, some destroyed, and some locked shut. The whole time a number of eerie, unidentifiable noises reverberated throughout the dungeon, with closer inspection suggesting a few of the locked cells to be their origin. More seeking would eventually turn up a barred gate that protected upward-leading stairs and, across from it, a more open area that preceded a door practically blanketed with chains and fancy padlocks. A keyring hung on the wall near the entry gate; it held one ordinary key, most likely for the normal cells, and a larger one with the snarling face of Bowser emblazoned upon it.