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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/d1m9cwtC/Kid-s-Hat-3.png[/img] [img]https://i.postimg.cc/G2xPk9Gk/Jiggy-2.png[/img] [img]https://i.postimg.cc/vTD8rQzY/Star-Fox-Faded.png[/img]

[b]Level:[/b] [color=8258fa]5 (35 -> 37/50)[/color] | [color=fed428]4 (27 -> 29/40)[/color] | [color=darkgray]2 (7 -> 9/20)[/color]
[b]Location:[/b] Land of Adventure - Spiral Mountain
[b]Word Count:[/b] 860 (+2 EXP)

Power: [color=darkgray]Illusion[/color]

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Banjo and Kazooie’s gambit fell [i]just[/i] short of success, but their move was not a complete bust. They survived long enough to get closer, more than once cutting it [i]too[/i] close to manage it, and that was the first necessary step to achieving victory in this engagement. As per their fallback plan, they dove for the moat to save themselves rather than committing to a hit that otherwise may have not been worth the price. An Ancient Arrow, hot on the breegull’s tail feathers, was stayed only by a combination of physics and luck as it broke against the water’s surface, its detonation permeating them with a refracted, vibrant hue.

Being submerged in a natural sound dampener did not deprive them notice of the destructive activity going on around them--specifically the rupture of Grunty’s Lair. Banjo walked the moat floor with his hands for two pushes to duck into the cove as rubble fell crashing from the sundered monument, tremoring the earth above them with impact. They waited out for a moment to survey what they could of the action from where they were for long enough to be potentially (if only temporarily) forgotten about by the hunters. They came up under the bridge connecting the mainland to the mountain islet, where they could remain momentarily concealed/covered, to spot something most peculiar to them: a moped, seemingly unmanned, gently coasting downhill in neutral toward the same said bridge--almost as if it was being guided there…

Because it was.

During the chaos of the tower’s sustained bombardment, the Lair being part way leveled, and everything else going on in general, Hat Kid realized she had gone unnoticed, and saw it as her opportunity to get under the tower while hopefully keeping free of notice. She crawled slowly to the edge of the grass next to her scooter, just outside of arm’s reach of it, and as soon as she could confirm that no eyes were on her, she rolled out from the patch to the vehicle’s left side, facing AWAY from the tower. She stayed low to the ground, hanging from the vehicle’s off side with her Skull Cap on to condense her already small profile, attempting to stay out of sight while she softly nudged her scooter into motion by pushing against the ground with her foot (much like taking off on a skateboard). The idea was to provide herself with mobile cover to make her advance whilst ideally dissuading any hostile onlookers from firing on her. This, of course, counted on her movements being careful and calculated enough to give the convincing impression of accidental motion so as to remain inconspicuous.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the valley, Fox took the first opening made available to him by the shooters’ divided attention to pivot out of cover in a low, dead sprint for the mountain. With the first step he took past the outermost of the giant stumps that could shield him, he went from zero to Mach faster than most could blink in a straight, blurry line of translucent blue afterimages with a sudden burst of speed that would get him behind the nearest (normal-sized) tree to the mountain. He took two running steps up the tree, into its canopy, and sped out through it in the exact same manner toward the islet to put himself at the halfway point leading up. He kicked off of the mountain wall at speed, sending himself into a twisting layout for the hanging bridge. He aimed to grab a hold by one of the closer planks, carrying his momentum through to swing under, launch himself overhead, and zoom once more to hit the tower’s entrance at the mountain’s peak where the corkscrew ramp ended.

Undoubtedly, Fox’s approach was characteristically bolder, thus incurring greater risk, but if he made it, he stood to beat everyone else to the tower, as many corners as he cut to get there. Hat Kid wouldn’t be too far behind him. She stepped from her scooter, letting it continue to roll on without her as she deftly bounded over the moat crossing, foot scaling the wall upon contact. With another wall run she would be at the top, so long as she was careful to hug the walls and stay under the line of fire. The duo opted to pace themselves more diligently, in the sense that they wouldn’t be skipping most of the path unless they had to. Banjo pulled them up onto the wooden platform and broke into a hiking jog up the spiral path, keeping as close as he could to the inside as they made their ascent. Circling the mountain by its natural trail allowed them to look outward and get a read on the activity surrounding them as well as above them. And of course, despite their exercise in care, they wouldn’t be slogging their way to the top, and both would take care to keep an eye up and their legs and wings ready for anything they might have to evade--whether it be a shot from on high, or even another ally bombardment (in whatever form that may take).