[center][h3]Tora[/h3]
[b]Level 2[/b] – (11/20) EXP
[b]Location:[/b] 1-1, Into Ancient Gardens
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1315[/center]

Though they found the way obstructed, Bowser and Blazermate wasted no time in rendering aid to their less-mobile allies. As much as he would have liked to be carried by the Medabot, Tora wagered himself too hefty for her to carry over the gap, or at least to get across fast enough to avoid the thwomp. In a way, Tora thought this better; after all, if Blazermate could pull it off, she'd be doing something accomplished routinely by Poppi in the past, and the Nopon did not want to think of her as Poppi's replacement in any respect. Instead, Tora found himself tucked under the arm of Bowser. After a surprised, “Mehmehmeh!?” he stopped wiggling and allowed King Koopa to bear him upward and onward. In a few moments, the whole team lay on the opposite side of the chasm, not one of them crushed beneath the thwomp's weight. As his little feet hit the ground again, Tora breathed a sigh of relief.

From there, the group made its way through 1-1 at a brisk pace, especially after Blazermate's briefing of what lay ahead. Though clearly affected by the exertion, the Master of Masters did not shy away from Bowser's question. “Actually, I wish I knew myself,” the cloaked stranger conceded. “My eye only ever saw Galeem's name written down. Best guess is, none of you ever find out the names of the enemies you're destined to face.” He vaulted over a green pipe, glancing back as a smoky-black piranha plant popped up from it a moment later. Turning forward again, the Master held up a single index finger. “That said, I do know something. One of them is, I believe, of the legacy of my apprentice Luxu. Whoever he is, he wields the nameless keyblade that contains my eye, and his heart is steeped in darkness. Black...that is the color of Galeem he embodies.” Another pit lay ahead, this one bridged in several places by rows of falling orange blocks. The Master of Masters ran across one, reached the other side, and spun about with fists clenched. “Doesn't that description just fill ya with dread?, or what?”

Evidently it did not, or at least not enough to stymie the group's progress. Before long the team left 1-1 behind, proceeding into a series of much more clearly-defined areas interspersed with cover. Tora marked Bowser's commentary about the inhabitants of Ancient Gardens, giving dubious looks at the rabbids he passed. “So...even under control of Galeem, they just fiddle around, not attack Tora?”

The Master of Masters shook his head. “Oh, nonono. They're not under Galeem's 'control', buddy. More like...they're under his 'influence'. Like if you're drunk, say. You see the world in a different way, and might do terrible things you'd never do normally, but you're not being controlled.” He leveled a finger at the seraphic entity far away. “Y'know, I very much doubt that thing's aware of what's going on at all. If it was...[i]phooo[/i].” A dramatic exhale escaped him. “I'd wanna be as far away as I could get. I betcha anything the thirteen bosses as the 'awake' fragments of its consciousness, protecting it from harm.”

He fell silent as sounds of commotion came from ahead. Everyone rushed over the wooden bridge separating the first and second thirds of Ancient Gardens, and arrived at the second battlefield. There, they arrived just in time to witness a series of small but brilliant explosions sending yowling rabbids soaring, stray shots flying in every direction. In the center of the chaos stood Linkle, bearing some battle damage and bereft of her hood but possessed of victory. With their reflex shots spent and no time to concentrate for more, the rabbids had proved unable to stop her as she lambasted them with her bombs. The three not reduced to ash by the onslaught were lit on fire, and ran screaming for the water. With nary a second's hesitation they dove in, and after quenching their fire floated off downstream. Three ziggy spirits remained behind, free for the taking.

It took a moment for Tora to close his mouth, which had been hanging open in awe. “Mehmeh! Even by self, Link-Link is great fighter!” Spotting a smoldering pile of familiar cloth, he jogged over to where Linkle's mantle had fallen. Just as he'd done for Ratchet in an attempt to endear himself to the owner, he held up the girl's garment with his wings. Looking through the holes in it, he called, “Here, must have dropped!” and wadded it up to hurl her way.

As exciting as the explosive end of Linkle's solo battle turned out to be, more adventure lay in store in the Ancient Gardens. After crossing the second bridge, and pushing through the leaves of a few gigantic ferns, the party happened upon the other scouting team. To the left, on the other side of a small river, Ratchet and Din could be found on either side of an absolute hulk of a man, who lay unconscious on the ground. The state of the heroes, as well as the scarlet emanation from within the stranger's pig-shaped mask, told at a glance what had transpired.

The Master of Masters, privy to a previous scenario somewhat similar, put two and two together lickety-split. “Good-ness me, you two took on -and beat- him alone? I was wondering when he'd show up, actually—I saw him with the team in the future, you see. But hey, great job! That's one discrepancy accounted for.” Reaching back, he hooked onto one of the oversized fronds with his keyblade and pulled it with him as he walked toward the edge. By the time he stood on the precipice, the whole thing was bent enough to provide a bridge to the other side, so long as someone held it down.

However, the Master of Masters did not seem inclined to ask for help. He upended his clockwork keyblade and stabbed it through the leaf and into the ground, then traipsed on over to where Roadhog lay. “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he uttered. “Let's get you back on your feet, huh, pal?” He reached out a hand, but not toward Roadhog. Instead, his fingers extended toward Din. A light gleamed in her chest, and from the glow a mote of light shot out into the Master of Masters' palm. There came a flash, and when it faded he held a new [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/b/b9/Destiny%27s_Embrace_KHII.png/revision/latest?cb=20130114035923]keyblade[/url] in his hand. “And awaaaaay we go!” This weapon he unceremoniously drove into the unconscious man's heart. From the point of contact flared forth a burning, awful light, the same radiance that shone so keenly in the heroes' memories. A few moments of furious struggle passed as the Master of Masters endeavored to keep his keyblade on target, until with a final shove he cleaved Galeem's light away.

A blinding white flash obscured everything, but faded after a moment. Once it could be seen again, Roadhog's skin could be seen regaining its normal hue, and the red light in his eyes ceased. The Master of Masters collapsed, panting, and the keyblade fell to the ground a foot or so away from Din. If she touched it, she'd find that despite not existing just a minute prior, it felt oddly familiar and comfortable. “Guhh...” its crafter gasped. “...I dunno how many more of those I can do, to be honest! At least this guy's heart...is free.”

After the spectacle ceased to capture his interest, Tora ended up looking around. Pretty much everyone had been reunited now, except the doll, Geno, and...someone else. After a moment of contemplation he piped up, “...Maybe Tora misremember, but didn't friends have pinkypon Kirby with them?” Off on the far end of the Ancient Gardens, a squadron of rabbids could be seen making the ascent to the Scrapyard, among them a certain specimen with a pack and a giant white hat.

[hr]
[center][b]Location:[/b] 1-1, Canyon Exit[/center]

The spirit did not seem cognizant of the Courier's approach, not altering its usual, gentle floating even as his fingers closed around it. 6 found the orb more sturdy than he might have expected, but after a couple seconds it gave way beneath his escalating force, and buckled instantaneously with the sound of shattering glass. Its multicolored essence flowed out from his fist, the colors weaving into an entirely new shape. The process accelerated, lines becoming edges and panels turning to matter, until with a final shine a weapon had fully materialized.

[center]You have acquired:
[b]Maniacs' Bombuilder[/b]
A rickety-looking claptrap of a grenade launcher with two large chambers. One can rotate into place behind the barrel and the other hang below using a toggle. The red barrel fires baseball-sized proximity mines; the green barrel fires soda can-sized minibarrels that must be manually detonated using a second trigger. The weapon operates on a strange 'mana' system, visible through a glowing blue bar along the top of the launcher. Proximity mines deplete one eighth of the mana, and manual mines one fourth. The mana replenishes itself at a rate of one fourth per minute, and fully when the wielder rests[/center]

A few moments after the grenade launcher appeared, the main group from which 6 and Zer0 separated themselves prior made its way from the central route into the area directly preceding Ancient Gardens. If the pair wanted to return to the fold, there would be no better chance for them to do so than now.

[hr]
[center][b]Location:[/b] Peach's Castle, Dungeon[/center]

The moment Geno stopped talking, the heavy silence of the place returned. It hung alongside the musky, thick dungeon air. Mario, hanging by wrists bound in manacles of iron, gave no response until Geno began to prepare his weaponry. Squeezing his eyes shut, the plumber craned his head to the side, shying away from the doll's trembling cannon. Even so, while evidencing no sign of hostility, he did not appear to recognize the wooden entity before him. Geno's final plea went unanswered, and with his last ditch attempt fruitless, there occurred to him no recourse other than to pull the trigger.

In the confined space, the weapon's discharge created a tremendous uproar, but no voice could be heard mixed in with the clamor. When the light died down and the dust settled, Mario remained where he had been, albeit scorched and burning. His eyes, however, lay back on Geno. 

He clenched his fists, pulling taut the chains. Raising himself up, he placed the bottoms of his feet against the wall, tensed his muscles, and pulled. The next moment his tremendous strength ripped him free from the wall, though not from the chains. When he hit the ground, two giant chunks of stone fell along with him, shackled to him by his bonds. The scarlet-eyed puppet put his incredible might to work, violently yanking the makeshift flails to slam into his newfound foe.