[center][h3][color=tan]Courier 6[/color] and [color=sandybrown]Jak &[/color] [color=darkorange]Daxter[/color] and [color=red]Cuphead![/color][/h3]
[b]Level7[/b] - (33/70) EXP (+3), [b]Level 5[/b] - (2/50) (+3), [b]Level 2[/b] - (16/20) (+3)
[b]Location:[/b] Canyon outside Subspace
[b]Word Count:[/b]2050
[b]Jak level up:[/b] [color=sandybrown][i]”It’s a dark power, Dax. Some kind of… Invisibility.”[/i][/color] - When Jak comes into contact with a Dark Idol, it interfaces with his dark eco powers to make him completely invisible for about 15 seconds, even machinery and sentries are unable to detect him. He is still able to move around and perform all his acrobatic maneuvers, but if he tries to operate machinery or perform complex tasks or fight, the ability is immediately broken. As the World of Light doesn’t have dark idols scattered about strategically, Jak must create his own in a process that takes about 15 seconds uninterrupted.[/center]

With the battle complete, there was much rejoicing and celebration, but the war was not over by a longshot. The Courier beamed with pride at his newly acquired striker, the floow, but there were plenty of resources to go around still. [color=tan]”GT, grab me some spirits to crush.”[/color]

“Got it, boss! Weeee!” the robot went rolling around, grabbing what it could, while the Courier made a stop with Blazermate to ensure he and his pokemon were fully healed. The rest of the group had definitely grabbed the lion’s share of the little spirits, and that was alright as far as the Courier was concerned. He may have been greedy, but the biggest prize still lay on the horizon. GT returned with 2 primid spirits, a sword primid spirit, a trowlon, and a boraboras. He crushed them all and waited for what he’d get.

[color=tan]”Reckon I could use a better weapon,”[/color] he mumbled to himself. [color=tan]”Damn Galeem took me into this world with my weakest gear an’ I don’ much care fer that.”[/color] Just then a thought occurred to him. The other two normal humans (or at least for a given value of normal when he counted himself among the group), the criminals, were still hanging back in the big truck. Michael hadn’t been making use of that anti-material rifle much and the Courier remembered his own back home. The kick was mighty invigorating. Something told him that they’d be in need of that kind of firepower soon. Luckily, despite their checkered relationship, Michael agreed to lend the Courier the powerful weapon. The Courier tipped his hat in thanks and headed on out.

Meanwhile, Cuphead was zipping around the battlefield dashing to and fro. He had seen the use of spirits and it excited him! The powerups he always got were tonics and potions he bought from Porkrind’s Emporium, but this was so neat and different! He snagged himself a ticken and a couple bytans, then crushed them to see what would happen!

[color=darkorange]”Booyah! And that’s how it’s done Jak and Daxter style!”[/color] Daxter cheered, pumping his right hand into the air then crossing both his arms. [color=darkorange]”Well, mostly Daxter, but Jak helped too. A smidge.”[/color] 

Jak, of course, could only snort a small bit of laughter and roll his eyes. He put away the morph gun and gestured for Daxter to come with. His ottsel friend eagerly hopped back onto his shoulder and the two began walking alongside the rest of the group.

[color=darkorange]”Wait, so we’re not gonna grab any of those spirits? Try out a new gun mode? Get a striker?”[/color] Daxter asked.

[color=sandybrown]”Naw,”[/color] Jak shrugged. [color=sandybrown]”The bigger and badder the spirit, the bigger and badder the power up. I don’t wanna waste our time with small fries anymore.”[/color]

[color=darkorange]”Oooh, I getcha! Only the best for the best! And that’s us!”[/color] Daxter offered a high-five, which Jak reciprocated. 

[hr]

Traveling through the maze-like canyons and ravines took quite a while. The likes of Jak and the Courier were used to long treks through wastelands and so they weren’t bothered much by this. The Courier even turned on his radio for entertainment, letting everyone get an ear full of classic music from his world. Daxter, despite being just as experienced and used to traveling as Jak, was far more impatient and immature about it. He let out a bunch of loud sighs intended to bother those around him. Cuphead… His juvenile and impulsive nature was the worst of the bunch. He couldn’t stop complaining the whole way, remarking that his feet were sore (and pulling off his shoe to prove it, showing off a swollen foot about 3 times the size of his shoe, visibly throbbing, which somehow fit right back in his shoe with no problem). 

Something did happen eventually though. The landscape became familiar to a duo in the group, Banjo and Kazooie, who remarked on how home was in better shape than they left it. A curious statement, but the abilities of Galeem seemed to transcend time and space, so the Courier didn’t put much thought into it. Then it happened. The Mater Hand reappeared. The Courier, having seen the danger the giant glove posed firsthand, immediately pulled out Michael’s anti-material rifle, but the hand put up a forcefield before engaging with them. Grumbling, he knew better than to waste the shot.

The hand issued its challenge. With its powerful magical abilities a huge tower rose up from the ground and six challengers appeared atop it: every one of them a marksman. At Peach’s urgency everyone scattered, not that they needed to be told twice. Unfortunately their ally, the dragon man Euden, was struck by a black arrow and became a… Statue? Trophy? It was peculiar for sure.

[color=tan]”So that’s what the hand meant by ‘binary,’”[/color] the Courier remarked. [color=tan]”Ya get hit, or ya don’t. Armor, defenses, they don’ matter.”[/color]

Then the elf boy’s arrow came crashing down in a large explosion. Luckily nobody was taken by it. Jak and Daxter had hidden themselves behind a large rock.[color=darkorange]”WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO, JAK?!”[/color]

Jak narrowed his eyes, peeking out from the side, then pulling back into cover. [color=sandybrown]”We can jet board between cover,”[/color] he said simply.

Daxter shook his head. [color=darkorange]”Then the kid with the bow will blow our cover apart, and us with it!”[/color] Jak thought pensively about their options.

Meanwhile, the Courier was aiming down his sights with the anti-material rifle, scoping out their enemies. Linkle mentioned that one of them was “her,” so he assumed the elf bow was who she was talking about, just like the similar elf boys back in Lumbridge. His explosion making bow definitely proved to be a huge advantage to the enemy. Then again, that giant looked formidable by sheet bulk if nothing else. Wait, was it… [i]Blind?[/i] That handicap proved to be a moot point as it launched a behemoth sized arrow with pinpoint accuracy. So it had some other method of detecting them… One of the enemies was an ancient old man, barely alive, but his aim was as true as the others if not moreso. This was quite the challenging pickle for sure.

[color=red]”Run and gun!”[/color] shouted Cuphead. He took off, well, running and gunning. The little cup dodged and dipped and dashed right up the path, firing his peashooter power wildly up at the tower. With as weak as the shots were, he might as well have been throwing sand at the damned thing, but if one could throw enough sand, it would eventually have an effect, right? Still, this approach completely threw caution to the wind in favor of a quick, bold approach and certainly couldn’t last long… Aaaand it didn’t. The snipers had their work cut out for them and their attention divided among many foes, but Cuphead made himself far too easy a target. A shot from The End turned him into a trophy.

Explanations were given by those who had experience with this sort of thing, and everyone went off in their own strategies to overcome their foes. Some ran between cover. Some flew. Some made use of distractions. Jak was still contemplating the best move, when inspiration hit courtesy of his best friend.

[color=darkorange]”Boy, sure would be nice if we had one of those dark idols right about now. It’s a crazy madhouse out there!”[/color]

[color=sandybrown]”Wait, what’s you say, Dax?”[/color] Jak gasped.

[color=darkorange]”I said our people are gettin’ massacred!”[/color]

[color=sandybrown]”Not that, the other-nevermind. Dark idol. Dark idol.”[/color] Jak closed his eyes and focused. His hands began to pulsate with dark eco while Daxter bugged out and jumped aside. Amazingly, something began to form between Jak’s hands, and after several seconds it was complete! A dark idol!

[color=darkorange]”Wow. How’d ya know that was gonna work?”[/color] Daxter asked, hopping back on Jak’s shoulder.

[color=sandybrown]”I didn’t,”[/color] he answered, and with that both of them went completely silent. The idol glowed for a brief second, and then the eco warriors completely vanished from sight. Jak made the most of the situation and darted out from cover, performing roll jump and roll jump for the maximum distance. He had to get closer, much closer, then take cover again.

The Courier had barely moved from his original cover. He had taken the opportunity to cross ground in bits here and there when he was certain they couldn’t fire at him, but he intended to be cautious about this, an unusual tactic from the crazy mailman. But the more he thought about it, the more his patented “so crazy it might work” insanity crept into his mind. Those black arrows didn’t actually cause physical harm, as explained by Bowser and proven by Euden, and they could be recovered, again proven by Euden. However those snipers still had to be dealt with and as long as his posse was on the defensive, there was no way they could gain ground. 

[color=tan]”Alright ya brahmin brained ingrates!”[/color] he called out to everyone in earshot. [color=tan]”Whatever’s about ta happen, ya damn well better bring me back!”[/color]

With that he grabbed one of his two pokeballs and released Bugfoot the heracross. “Hera?” it asked inquisitively. 

[color=tan]”Git down!”[/color] the Courier ordered. [color=tan]”Yer gonna use that horn o’yers ta toss me as high up in the air as ya can, no holdin’ back! Don’t worry about hurtin’ me one bit, put every last bit o’strength inta it! Got it?”[/color]

“Hera?” he asked again, puzzled. Upon seeing the steely determination in his trainer’s eyes, Bugfoot matched the expression. “Cross!” It pounded its fists together in excitement, then lowered its head enough for the Courier to climb on. 

[color=tan]”Stay here an’ don’t come out until I say so,”[/color] 6 ordered not just to his pokemon, but to his chocobo as well. He quickly popped some mentats and coyote tobacco chew to maximize his mental processing and perception, then inhaled some jet to put his energy into overdrive. [color=tan]”No matter what. Now then, throw me!”[/color]

“HERAAAAAA! CROOOOOSSSSSSS!” Bugfoot used Megahorn, throwing the Courier way up, [url=https://media1.tenor.com/images/5a1c87785ffce1b41836bd84d2f6585a/tenor.gif?itemid=5141373]blasting off[/url] into the sky!

At the apex of his journey, Courier 6 activated VATS and time stood still. There before him were the 6 foes causing such a ruckus, at the top of this tower. They were still a long way away, and a bit higher than him, but he managed to close a ton of distance to countersnipe them and now he had the perfect weapon for the job. [i]Target: The End, head. Trajectory, distance, current unstable movement, probability of hit: 8%.[/i] Not good enough. What was the point of the tobacco and mentats if a headshot was only a measly 8%?! [i]Target: The End, torso. Probability of hit: 19%[/i] That wasn’t fantastic, but it was significantly better. He repeated the process with all 6 targets, getting similar numbers for them all (except the giant for obvious reasons, which was a far more impressive 36%). It would take all his stamina to queue up 1 shot for each one, but that’s what he did. And then… [i]Fire![/i]