[center][h3]The Dawn of the Second Day[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Peach's Castle, Out Front
[@Archmage MC][@DracoLunaris][@Stekkmen][@ProPro][@Stern Algorithm][@Lmpkio][@Simple Unicycle][@Genon][@Dawnrider][@Gentlemanvaultboy][@thedman][/center]

For a world only recently stitched together, the night passed with remarkable peace.

Of course, not all was perfect. Outside, once the last of the sunlight faded away, certain [url=https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/minecraft_gamepedia/thumb/2/27/Overworld_Mobs.png/300px-Overworld_Mobs.png?version=5a03bf57218448470a9c0d2cd1225d78]monsters[/url] started to appear in especially dark, lonely places, wandering the opens and filling the air with loathsome squeaks, titters, and moans. But within the safety of Peach's castle, its many different denizens could sleep soundly. The Princess opened up every room for whoever wished it, barring the treasury; a number of lounges, small bedrooms, and various other chambers provided secure and even comfortable rest following dinner and whatever other business her guests wished to attend to. It was late indeed when the Scrapyard crew trudged in, dirty and tired but happy and triumphant, to plop down and snooze the night away.

No formal call went out in the morning to awaken everyone, but communal effort and the reminder of important duty bore the heroes out from their various beds to greet their second day in this bizarre new world. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit -with some particularly ripe specimens set aside just for Gene, after he'd demonstrated his love for them last night- awaited them in the kitchen, but after a while toads began to circulate to ask that everyone head out to the small lawn that lay between the castle's front and the moat, where Peach waited to address them.

Those who arrived earlier could take a gander at the fleet of karts parked on the eastern lawn. Racing machines of all shapes and sizes stood ready for action, repaired -and in some cases, enhanced- the night before. Of special note was the huge and imposing Bowsermobile, refurbished with painstaking effort by the king's little tyke as a special present to the best dad a little koopa could ask for. There was also Tora's latest project, a Landship kart decked out with functional cannons in the sides and a chain-attached speargun on the prow. The Nopon, having woken up early to glut himself on breakfest and then head out to put the finishing touches on the karts, could be found among the earliest to arrive on the scene, checking out his Landship and proudly showing it off to whoever got too close. The collective direction of the karts seemed to imply that the suggestion last night to take the castle's eastern bridge and head toward the Land of Adventure had won out.

Some of the rabbids that worked with Bowser Jr, and in general hung around the group before, could be seen out and about among the karts. They appeared to mean no harm, despite the lingering sunset-red in their eyes; if anything, they appeared remarkably genial. Among them was the Buckler who made a truce with the heroes in the scrapyard the day before when faced with a horde of robot engineers, along with his surviving troops. They acted cautiously around the heroes, but remained their amicable, goofy, scatterbrained selves for the most part.

When everyone arrived, Peach stood up from her dainty wrought-iron bench to address them. “Good morning!” she began, smiling warmly. “I hope you all enjoyed your visit to my castle. I'm sorry to see you go, since it's so dangerous out there, but...that's just what has to happen.” She blinked twice and cleared her throat. “A-anyway! There are some things everyone should know. First, not everyone is going with you.” She held up some fingers, and began closing them one by one. “Luigi, the little kid who won't tell us his name, Spyro, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, the rabbids, Wario, Henry, Minako, Junpei, and the man called 'Master of Masters'. However, you'll be able to welcome a few new faces to the active team, like Banjo and Kazooie,” she pointed out the bear and bird. “And Donnie and Gene, who joined us last evening. Plus, if you didn't already meet Franklin, Poppi, Henry, Clank, the little miss with the hat, and Junpei, please do. I hear they joined just before the big fight, thrown right into the thick of it.”

She then raised a hand, giving a signal, and from by the door stepped an unfamiliar young [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/pokemon/images/3/3f/Omega_Ruby_Alpha_Sapphire_Steven.png/revision/latest?cb=20140715100635]man[/url] with steely blue hair. As he walked forward to stand beside Peach, wearing a courteous smile, Peach said, “I would also like you to meet Mr. Steven Stone. He arrived very early this morning, and was unbound by Master of Masters. He wanted to give a few words about 'Pokemon.' Steven?”

“Thank you, Princess,” he said, and raised his voice. “Good morning to you all. Like many of you, I harbor a lot of confusion about this world, but I may be able to help you with a part of it. By now, I'm sure you've seen all sorts of creatures. Among them are Pokemon. It is possible for anyone to recruit these creatures, like pets, without any sort of spirit meddling, using pokeballs like this one.” He produced a spherical object from a pocket, half white and half red separated by a black band. With a flick of his wrist he tossed it onto the ground, and in a burst of light a little [url=https://static.pokemonpets.com/images/monsters-images-300-300/304-Aron.png]aron[/url] appeared. “Throw a pokeball at a Pokemon like this, capture it, and you'll be able to train it. If striking them down and taking their power into yourself puts you ill at ease, this is a good way to increase your fighting power. As a representative of Devon Corporation, I plan to set up a sort of shop here at Peach's Castle to sell items like this for training and raising Pokemon. However, I'll give away three pokeballs for free to whoever wants them. I look forward to working with you to help save the world.” With that, he stepped back again.

Peach took the spotlight again. “On the matter of 'spirit meddling'. Master of Masters told me all about it, and said I should probably let you all know, in case someone had no idea. Everyone has a 'spirit' inside them. If you...um, I mean, anyone duh..dah...er, stops...being alive, then the spirit will be let loose. You can connect with spirits to make Strikers who'll assist you when you call on them, break them to get some kind of gear, or absorb them into your heart or mind for new powers or skills. Those last ones have side effects, though. But he said that if you want to be able to defeat Galeem, you'll need all the power you can get, so...yeah.” Clearly, Peach didn't quite know what she was talking about, but the effort she made was laudable nonetheless.

Something occurred to her, and she perked up again. “Oh! Master of Masters also made another discovery. These things.” She reached down behind the bench and picked up a strange [url=https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/006/563/558/large/diego-lopez-owlootbox-iray-diegolopez.jpg?1499549284]box[/url]. “They're supposedly scattered around the world. They have equipment inside, like the kind you'd get from...crushing spirits, I think? But you have to put money in. Look.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a green bill with a number of fives on it and inserted it a slot on the box's front. A moment later the box reacted, and began to open up with a series of clicks. Four streaks of light shot out of the top, arced through the air, and hit the ground in front of her. There was a [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/nintendo/images/4/41/Lon_Lon_Milk_%28The_Legend_of_Zelda_Majora%27s_Mask%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20121109030052&path-prefix=en]bottle of milk[/url], a [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/warframe/images/2/29/RifleAmmo.png/revision/latest?cb=20140826143319&path-prefix=fr]box[/url] of rifle ammunition, a little [url=https://www.halopedia.org/images/thumb/3/3a/HReach-PlasmaPistolSide.png/300px-HReach-PlasmaPistolSide.png]gun[/url] of unknown origin, and a cool-looking [url=https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71TV0O8IX%2BL._UX679_.jpg]hat[/url]. Peach didn't know whether to be impressed or let down, so she just continued. “So if you're rich, you'll probably be able to win do out there. But let's move on. I should let you all should know: I'm going with you!”

A beaming smile radiated from her for all to see. “It's the least I can do to help. Toadsworth can handle things around here, not that there's much to handle. And I know how to fight. Been to every Smash tournament but the first, after all.” She tossed the empty box down, which popped out of existence, and punched the air a few times. “This time, I'm not just standing around waiting for the save. I'm going to get as powerful as I can, and save the world too!”

Settling down, she took a deep breath, then clapped her hands together. “So! The plan was to go to this 'Land of Adventure', right? According to the map, which is now rolled up inside the Bowsermobile's trunk, just follow the road going east until you hit the branch, and go south until we reach the village. It sounds easy, but we should be careful out there! Once we leave the Mushroom Kingdom, anything could happen.” 

With that, it seemed that nothing remained to be said. Everyone could go make their final preparations. From his perch atop his Landship, Tora called out, “Okay then, meh! Big adventure just about to kick off. If friends not drive before, there no need for worry. These karts so simple in design that actual idiot could drive, no problem.” Poppi cast a sidelong glance at him, knowing that with his teeny tiny legs he couldn't reach the pedals to drive himself, and that she'd be piloting their Landship. Regardless, she went ahead and demonstrated by pushing the 'on' button, then pressing down on the pedal while turning the wheel to drive around in a little circle. 

It wouldn't take much to get going, it seemed, but not everyone was quite ready to rumble. Some needed to fix their gear, or talk to someone like Steven Stone, or get a feeling for the karts. Of course, some would be using their own transportation, like Geno and Donnie, who'd be flying, or Hat Kid with the little motor scooter stowed in her ship, or Bowser Jr if he recovered his Clown Car from wherever it might have ended up.