[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3]
Level 7 Tora (74/60) and Level 6 Poppi (13/60)
[b]Location:[/b] the End
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1384[/center]

Bowser bore down on the Enderman like a freight train, but instead of warping out of the way of the incoming mass, it charged straight at him furiously. The two came together with great force, but what might have been an epic collision went anticlimactic as the Enderman teleported the moment it took it a hit. It reappeared a short distance away, looking rather worse for wear. A slashed crater in its odd, not-quite-solid skin marked the place where the Koopa's clawed palm struck.

A moment later it came under attack from the king's son, having rerouted to follow up Bowser's strike. The gangling Enderman lashed out at Junior with its long arms, inflicting large gashes on the side of the clown car. Junior paid him back the next moment, but after the first boxing glove struck the monster vanished again, preventing further damage. When it appeared, however, it immediately took a shot from the End. The tranquilizer dark buried itself in the Enderman's neck, and after a moment of surprised struggling the eerie thing slumped over, incapacitated.

Its defeat did not mark the end of the fight, however; reinforcements had already appeared. The Cadet clashed with one, forced on the defensive by the Enderman's long-range, surprisingly brutal swings. Tora joined him, trying to take the pressure off, and Blazermate lent a hand by summoning her striker and fixing her medibeam on the Nopon. While he took no real wounds so far this fight, her efforts did mend the scar left by Link during that scrap, so he quickly made apparent his gratitude. “Thanky-thanky, Blaze-Blaze!” Sectonia found herself assaulted by another, but its arrival brought it into the sentry's range. Each landed bullet triggered its reaction, causing a series of rapid blinks that made it practically untargetable, but also unable to land a hit. Unfortunately, with the sentry swiveling every which way to track the monster, it carelessly shot bullets without any regard for allies in the line of fire.

At that point the Courier announced his hypothesis. Everyone who'd already triggered an Enderman attack probably knew by now, but those who hadn't could avoid doing so. He plugged the Cadet's adversary with a revolver round, and while it clearly hurt, the bullet didn't kill it. To the keen observer, it was as if the bizarre creature didn't have vital parts. It made another move, only for its attack to bounce of Geralt's Quen shield, take a slice from his silver blade, and then relocate. Where it went wasn't immediately obvious, but when it came back, Geralt was ready. A vicious thrust forced it to retreat with a shriek. 

After missing a shot he took a moment to plan with the Cadet, only for the monster to reappear just as he finished. Tora jumped at the chance, having prepared himself after missing the last time. “Tora get it!” Preempting the Cadet, he went low by grabbing at the Enderman's legs with his Mech Arms, holding it in place. From there, it took just one well-aimed strike from the Witcher's silver to reduce the marauding warper to a spirit and ash.

Meanwhile, Link heeded 6's advice to strike at the Enderman faced by Sectonia while the sentry was busy encouraging her allies to get out of its way. He landed a heavy slash across its nebulous body, dealing a chunk of damage. The Queen did not hesitate to make up the rest, rapidly slaying the Enderman and leaving only its spirit behind.

Everyone remained on guard for a moment longer, but no further reinforcements appeared. Luckily, the strangeness of the heroes' surroundings kept their eyes from hitting Endermen before the Courier figured out their trigger. Euden approached and finished off the dark being put to sleep by the End, and the group's safety was assured. Of course, that just left the boss. “I agree that that island is likely our boss arena,” Peach said, examining it. “This place presents dangerous terrain to navigate, let alone fight on. This void appears to be bottomless, so it'd be a...a damn shame if anyone fell.” In most embarrassing fashion her original, entirely family-friendly nature hindered her newfound ability to curse, making her sound pretty lame. Peach hurried to move on. “So! We only have a few fliers. Sectonia, Poppi, Blazermate, Kamek, his Toadies, and of course Jak.” She looked at the gunner, already soaring through the cool air. “Even if we stuck them all on catching duty, we wouldn't have the whole place covered. So we should try and take every precaution.”

She lifted up one of the Enderman spirits. “These things can teleport, and it's all we really saw them do. I would advise that three of you fuse with them so that you can teleport too, whether to reposition or to avoid falling. Might not seem appealing, but this place is real perilous, and the boss might be able to knock us off real easily. I can also just take them out of you afterward, if you want.”

Tora shook his head, which without a neck of course meant shaking a whole lot of him. “Poppi have Tora's back. Besides, Tora not be roundypon with super-long noodle limbs. No way, no how!”

Whether or not three of her fellow heroes took her suggestion, Peach then proceeded to the side of the island. She jumped into the air over open space, and with all eyes on her, began to float. She simply stopped moving downward altogether, but appeared to be able to continue moving laterally. “Oh good,” she remarked. “Haven't used this in a while.”

With a sagacious look Poppi tapped her chin. “Ah, Poppi wondered why Peach did not lead by example. She have own way.” With the group now officially crossing, she then took hold of Tora and boosted upward, flying out over the void. Good jumpers might be able to navigate the pretty sparse chain of floating islands spanning the gap, but Poppi could fly the whole way. After watching the first few go, Euden shapeshifted just long enough to beat his dragon wings and sail skyward. Once his flight got underway, he turned back, and his momentum carried him to the main island. It didn't take long for the group to reach the large landmass, though suppressing the impulse to look at Endermen took effort.

The first thing the heroes noticed were the spires. Tall, rounded spires of sleek, gleaming black stone of disparate heights formed a circle on the island, and at the top of each floated some sort of pink power cube encased in dodecahedrons of glass. There were a number of Enderman milling about, enough to make it difficult to really sweep the place. Cautiously, Peach led the team toward the middle of the island, the exact center of the circle formed by the towers. The closer they got, the more the tension seemed to mount. It was as if they walked through a dark forest full of monsters, and every step could be the one to break the twig that brought down hell upon them.

Yet nothing happened. The sky fizzled, the Endermen made startlingly abrupt noises, and the air tingled against the skin. Yet something moved in the confines of the alien sky, another black thing hidden against the backdrop, guised not by slenderness but by distance. When it turned to face the island, however, its glowing purple eyes could be seen—and brimming within, an incredible abyss, the very color of darkness itself. Still it remained almost imperceptible, right up until the very moment it fell upon the island, its great mass coming to a stop perched upon one of the towers. Roiling, effulgent purple acid welled up from within its enormous maw, and its snarl sounded almost like laughter, mocking the very idea of survival.

[center][h1][color=red]Warning! Boss Discovered![/color][/h1]
[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e3/bf/cd/e3bfcd86f8af4f3c4ba5e6daba8961fa.jpg[/img]
[h1][color=black][b]Ender Dragon[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

The dragon launched into the air with a beat of her great wings, and dove. She swooped straight toward the heroes, aiming to scatter them to the four winds. Tora grit his teeth and prepared to block, but Poppi picked him up and jetted out of the way. Not even her masterpon, she reasoned, could defend against that. She deposited him a short distance away, and -simultaneously disappointed and relieved- he took a deep breath before popping open his missile silos. This would be one hell of a brawl.

[hr]

[b]Overdrive![/b]
[i]A boss fight has begun. For those involved in the fight, and for the entirety of the fight, tensions and stakes are high--but so are the rewards. It would be reasonable to expect two GM updates a week, meaning if you get into the thick of it but then aren’t able to keep up, Prompt Failure may result. However, rewards are accelerated.

EXP earned for posting during a boss fight is as follows: <500 words is 2 points, 500-1000 is 4 points, and 1000+ is 6 points.

Objective: Defeat the Leviathan of Black, Ender Dragon, and claim her spirit
Bonus Objectives: Figure out the secret to the Ender Dragon's invincibility[/i]

[center][h3]Lumbridge[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Land of Adventure
[@Zoey Boey][/center]

Sakura's energetic search brought her to a rooftop of an abode directly adjacent to the river Lum, and from that height she could make out the promised hill, and atop it the promised tree. Its leaves shone bright in the afternoon sun, and they shook in the wind, making it tough to see what exactly lay beneath them. After a few moments' watching, however, the girl spotted an unmistakable color combination: white gi, black belt and hair, and a pair of red gloves to go along with his headband. At long last, her painstaking search, with all its hardship and wandering, had come to an end.

A few moments later a momentarily breathless Sakura stood atop the hill, the dust settling in her wake. Recognizing his friend, he gave her a rare hint of a smile. “Hm. In my travels I learned of the Forbidden Kingdom, but never went there, instead seeking challengers not accustomed to the arena. But it would seem that it has found me. I had a feeling you might.” He stood and faced her. “While I must tell you that I remain hesitant to take a student, I am eager to see how much you have improved. Do you wish to face me?” 

[center][h3]Dead Zone[/h3]
[@EvilEdd1984][/center]

Though not quite in the same league of pushovers as zombies, the blue-skinned, lightly-armed demons posed little in the way of threat. When the Slayer's shotgun clicked empty after emptying it into their hides, he resorted to pummeling them to bits. Given the armored man's enthusiasm, Nero, V, and Nadia collectively opted to conserve their energy while letting him run rampant. Shadow carved through several of the hapless demon workers while Nero worked efficiently, kneecapping his enemies with the Blue Rose before cleanly cutting them down with a couple swings from the Red Queen. While Nadia's claws and blows were no joke, she found herself saddled with the hardest time fighting them. Luckily, the skirmish ended in short order.

All the while, Nero noticed the lady up on the scaffolding watching with an impassive...no, resigned expression. Through half-lidded eyes she observed the short-lived carnage, focusing on nobody in particular until the fight ended and the Slayer went to topple the crane. While he got to work, Nadia sauntered over. She waved at the other white-haired young woman. “Heya! Wow, you don't look happy. You okay?”

Looking down at the feral, the woman stretched her mouth into a forced, twitchy smile that by no means reached those dull eyes of hers. “Good after...afternoon. Um, yes, I suppose. I can hardly complain.”

Nadia grinned. “Great! So, we're on a dangerous mission and we weren't really expected to pick up survivors, but you can stay with us if you like!”

With a sigh, the lady heaved herself off the scaffolding. She landed lightly, then adjusted her glasses. “Uh, no. Or rather, no thanks. You did just dispatch my new staff, after all. I'm already horribly late, and now I must find more if I am to make a circle...my boss is going to slaughter me.”

Now that the stranger stood so close, Nadia could get a good look at her unusual features. Putting aside from the smartness of her dress, the [url=https://images.wikia.com/helltaker/images/3/34/Pandemonica.png]businesswoman[/url] clearly sported inhuman eyes, horns, and a tail. In a place like this, that no doubt made her a demon, but she didn't seem to be hostile. [i]Weird![/i] “Oh, sorry! Most demons just attack us the moment they see us, and we couldn't stop that guy killin' 'em anyway. I hope you won't hold it against us...?” 

Though clearly disgruntled, the demoness maintained remarkable composure, responding with professional dryness. “Oh, no. I understand quite well. Plus, it would violate my policies as Hell's Customer Service. I really just need to return to my duties, and as soon as possible.”

“Welp, good luck with that then!” The crane came crashing down, providing a way across the Root-infested canyon. V promptly jumped off, with Griffon lending his assistance to fly his master halfway across. The Mysterious One grabbed hold of the crane arm, rested for a moment, then took flight again to get to the other side. 

Nero, who'd been hanging back by Nadia and the demoness to make sure all was well, looked back at the stranger. [i]In a world like this,[/i] he figured, [i]Anything goes. Even a decent demon.[/i] “Hey,” he said, “So you know, this city's gonna explode in about a day. Make sure you get out before then, alright?”

The demoness stared at him for a moment before easing up slightly and adjusting her glasses. “Hmm. Sweet of you to be concerned.” She looked down at her clipboard for a moment, then sighed. “Well, since I'm off the clock anyway, perhaps I can provide a consultation on this job of yours. Better than slogging through the dead. But I need coffee...I'm just not myself without it.”

The devil hunter almost laughed aloud. When did the parade of bizarre people stop? “Sure, whatever. We see some, we'll grab it. You have a name?” Nero asked.

“Pandemonica,” she introduced herself flatly before reciting what was no doubt her company's Customer Service byline. “I hope I can be of service.”

“Don't worry about it,“ Nero told her. After waving for Pandemonica to follow, Nadia sprinted past her ally and flew by jets of blood, airdashing into the winch hanging from the crane to swing off it and airdash again. Nero walked over to the edge and prepared for a Wire Snatch.

“Um,” came the demon's voice. He looked back to find her right on his heels, staring at the crane. “I cannot jump that. Can you...take me?”

For a brief moment, Nero gathered his thoughts. He breathed deeply, in and out. [i]Kyrie's gonna kill me.[/i] He knew that he shouldn't consider this demon as trustworthy, but he felt obliged to give her a chance. “Okay, hold on.”

He wrapped his arm around her, eliciting a strange multi-emotion look he didn't have the time to decipher, then launched his wire to grab the crane winch for a single great swing across the chasm. They landed on the other side a moment later, separating instantly. Nero started walking immediately while Pandemonica dusted herself off, the tension palpable. 

Nadia laughed awkwardly, trying to defuse the tension. “H-hey, V! How's it feel not being part of the white hair squad?”

“Funny you should say that...”

“Okay, let's move,” Nero interjected. He eyed the Doom Slayer, wondering if he would see Pandemonica as a foe. “Just one block left to the root.” Between them and the mall lay an avenue crowded with crashed cars. While there existed a smattering of zombies, [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/the-evil-within/images/c/c4/Reiko-hirashima-tew2-disciple-02.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20171222114947]some[/url] seemed to be molten, and there were more than a few demons. Nero spotted [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/3/3f/Incubus2.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20190331170439]bedside brutes[/url], a [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/the-evil-within/images/b/b2/Reiko-hirashima-tew2-hysteric-02.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20171222114433]creepy-looking hag[/url], [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/doom/images/0/04/Prowler_concept.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/350?cb=20171218184617]prowlers[/url], and one three-headed, metallic [url=https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbayonetta.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FGreed&psig=AOvVaw1eqgQ_l24J0NnyoUR8wwgK&ust=1591916716743000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCJiEjI-o9-kCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAX]canine monstrosity[/url]. Surely the Slayer would think [i]them[/i] greater targets.