[center][h3]Search Mission - Dead Zone Desolation[/h3]
[i]Starring [@Gentlemanvaultboy] as Yuri Kozukata, [@Dawnrider] as Banjo/Kazooie, [@Yankee] as Pit, and [@Lugubrious] as Nero[/i]
Word Count: 7,374 (+8 exp)[/center]

As the small scout party gathered under the early morning sun in the grand atrium of Smash City Alcamoth it’s least adventurous looking member raised her voice to speak. She still wasn’t that loud, mind you. There were precious few circumstances where Yuri Kozukata ever became truly loud, but it was enough for Alcamoth’s unofficial lost and found officer to gather their attention. “Before we go,” She started. Her tone, as always, carried a trace of halting uncertainty. “Does anyone have any token of the people we’re searching for?” She stared at Nero and Banjo in particular, those that had actually spent time with the missing. “Something they owned, something they loved, any part of them. It would help me find them.”

[color=f60000]“Aren’t there actual dogs in this army that could do that?”[/color] Kazooie thought out loud to no one specifically, considering not who might have heard it. She neglected also to consider the importance of one’s individual abilities and experience when it came to finding things lost or hidden, in her impulsive dismissal of another. Being essentially an example of a glorified scavenger hunter (albeit a proven one) with not but her wits to rely on for the task, she would prefer not to be right in it, lest Caesar or the like be chosen for the scouting party over her and Banjo. Either way, Banjo briefly interrupted his morning stretch for one motion for a chiding, backhanded tap on the back of Kazooie’s head to remind her of her manners.

The fourth member of the party came around to blink at Yuri. Admittedly he hadn't gotten to know the ins and outs of many of the people staying at the Alcamoth beyond friendly surface level chatter, instead pulling patrols around the area, but did they really have some kind of seer here this whole time?

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You can find people with an item of theirs? Then...!"[/color] Pit's eyes shot down to the gold and lapis bow in his hand. That would make finding Lady Palutena easy! He looked back up, face eager, but the more somber expressions of the others just drove home that they were currently on another important mission. He didn't want to make light of said mission, either. Well... Lady Palutena was strong, she was probably safe out there somewhere. She could wait just a little while - and afterward he'd have to ask to borrow Yuri's ability.

Pit coughed into his hand, clearing his throat. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"...that would be super handy."[/color]

“It’s not as easy as just knowing.” Yuri replied, trying to temper his expectations. The boy...the angel...had that same look of hope in his eyes that plenty of Hisoka’s clients did when they first came to see her. There was no doubt plenty of people in this new world in search of lost loved ones. Yuri herself was among them. “But it gives me a trail that I can follow. At the end of it...they’re always waiting.” It might have been a reassuring thing to say if not for the way her features tightened at the end.

After absorbing what the two had to say, Nero stepped forward. He extended his left forearm palm-up, a prosthetic of [url=https://i1.wp.com/royalflushmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Img_devil-breaker_garbera.jpg?ssl=1]green and black metal[/url] and plates in a rough spiral. “We’re looking for Linkle, the girl who was kidnapped, and Nico, my friend. She decided to drive out of the Dead Zone to save her van. I mean, crazy, right? But if it helps you find her, she made this arm for me. Put a whole lot of blood, sweat, ‘n tears in, too.” His face was cloudy, hiding his feelings, but it was difficult to disguise his concern for the daredevil inventor.

Yuri stared uncomfortable at what had been offered to her. Of all the things a Token could be, she had never expected a prosthetic arm to be among them. She supposed that showed the limits of her imagination, but she wondered if that would even work. In the worst case taking his hand might result in a Glance instead of what she wanted. Nevertheless, she took a step closer and extended her arms, wrapping her fingers around his palm. She focused on the name, calling out to the parts of herself that the woman had left in the arm when she had built it. Nico. Nico. Nico.

Then, suddenly, she felt a chill as she saw white hands right near hers. They hovered above the arm, moving with confident skill right above the arm as though she were holding tools. After a last few turns of a phantom screwdriver she saw the body come into being as it stepped away, indistinct and white. Less of a person and more of a human shaped blob only she could see. The memory the arm would have of the one that made it. Quickly the Trace turned and began walking across the floor of the atrium toward the main gate. It covered ground far more quickly than the movements of its legs would indicate, sliding forward more than it should with every step. As it went it mindlessly passed through one of the wing headed people that made this place their home, causing the man to come to a dead stop and look about for the phantom presence he had momentarily felt but couldn't place.

Yuri had turned to watch the thing as it strolled off and moments after the Trace had passed the High Entia she let go of Nero’s hand and the Trace faded away into nothing. She nodded to him. “It works. We’ll need to reach the area, but I should be able to find her once we do.”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"All right! This might turn out to be a pretty quick mission."[/color] Pit had been swiveling his head back and forth between Yuri's face and the direction she was looking in, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was she was seeing, but he gave up pretty quickly after she spoke again. Now the angel fixed an expectant smile at Banjo and Kazooie, propping one hand on his hip. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"And what about the other girl? Got anything of hers?"[/color]

Banjo brought down his hands from a yawning overhead stretch (he wasn’t one for early mornings), placing one on his hip and cupping his chin with the other. [color=0aaaff]“Hmmm… ”[/color] he began, tapping his foot thoughtfully. [color=0aaaff]“You could try the repair shop in the middle of nowhere?”[/color] He looked to Nero expectantly, having remembered first encountering him there, and expecting him to remember the same. [color=0aaaff]“We dropped her motorcycle off there after she wrecked it. Though, I’m not sure if it was actually hers...”[/color] he said suspectingly.

[color=f60000]“She probably won’t need it anymore, either way.”[/color]

Banjo shook his head at Kazooie’s cynical interjection and continued. [color=0aaaff]“Anyway, It’s a bit of a ways from anywhere we’ve been, so it’ll be slow going getting there on foot… unless we have something else?”[/color] He probed the group for better ideas for transportation, hoping little that any of them might have one in mind. He and the rest of them would otherwise be preparing themselves for a long walk.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]"Ooh,[/i] maybe that Eddie guy's got something?"[/color] Pit crossed his arms behind his head. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But how would we get a car through those paintings...?"[/color]

Nero also crossed his arms, although over his chest, and his face was one of recollection. “Might not have to.” His eyes landed on Banjo and Kazooie. “In Lumbridge I saw a huge monster truck and this...well, I don’t know what to call it. It looked like a sports car, but much bigger and covered in gold spikes. Remembered thinkin’, man, that’s garish as all hell…” For the second time, after trying to follow Yuri’s gaze earlier, he looked through the main doors of the Alcamoth Atrium. “Peach and her crew took them out across the plains yesterday morning. Then they came here without them.”

[color=f60000]“Uh… yeah! That was us!”[/color] Kazooie stated the fact as if it was supposed to be obvious to Nero, gesturing to herself and Banjo, to which Banjo nodded in corroboration. [color=f60000]“We went with them while you had somewhere better to be?”[/color] She added in a tone of mocking reminder.

Unlike Pit and Yuri, Nero hadn’t been around to see the Seekers arrive, but the Eryth Sea made Alcamoth totally inaccessible to land vehicles. Across the great distance he could sea the mountainside with a perfectly smooth cut across their faces, and it wasn’t a stretch to picture the great orb of subspace that once hung there. “They must have left the vehicles up there, before fighting the dragon. We could use the teleporters to get across, then a little mountain climbing, and we’ve got our wheels.”

[color=f60000]“Fat chance, Devil Boy,”[/color] Kazooie began, shaking her head at the suggestion. [color=f60000]“We jumped ‘em over a ravine to get there, [i]going down[/i],”[/color] she emphasized, taking the problem with the current plan to now be obvious to them.

Nero gave her a look. “What, our little field trip in the Dead Zone not convince you I’m up to it?” He flexed the fingers of his prosthetic arm. “Might cost me a Punch Line, but I think I could send at least one hunk-a-junk flying.”

[color=f60000]“Be my guest, then! I’d be up for seeing that. Just know that Banjo and I will be there in case you need help with another van,”[/color] Kazooie snarked in half-agreement, citing relevant precedent for the challenge he might have with accomplishing such a task. Call it a ‘vote of [i]lacking[/i] confidence’ on her part. It was as good a vote as most could hope for from her.

[color=0aaaff]“How’d you know we fought a dragon?”[/color] Banjo pondered out loud, unrelated to the current line of discussion, genuinely curious as to how the Devil Hunter picked up on any specifics of yesterday morning’s venture that he was absent for.

He gave the bear a shrug. “I’ve just been sittin’ around since I got back from the hellhole. Gave me a chance to get up to speed. And now that we’re clear to go back, I don’t want to waste any more time.” The devil hunter quickly looked over the group. A teenage boy, a teenage girl, and the familiar two-for-one deal. It looked like it fell to him to lead once again. Doing it once already for a bunch of strangers did not ease the burden of responsibility on his shoulders, since they might not be so lucky this time, but at least the Dead Zone would be less dangerous and the group was smaller. “Even if we have to drive across the plains, bein’ able to drive at all will make all the difference, so let’s go with my plan. We’ll go past Lumbridge and head for the repair shop, where I first met some of you. With any luck we’ll find Nico there, but I’m not gonna hold out hope.”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Soooo let me get this straight, [i]your[/i] plan is to climb a mountain then punch a car across a canyon?"[/color] Pit's voice was incredulous, but Nero seemed pretty confident and if it worked it would make things a lot easier for them all. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Well, I guess a plan's a plan. Lemme go see if we have anything to help getting over the mountain. Be right back!"[/color] 

The angel turned on his heel and ran from their gathering point, making a beeline to the city's various item storage rooms.

At hearing that supply caches were freely available there in Alcamoth, Banjo couldn’t help but think, [color=0aaaff]“Wait! You mean they just [i]have[/i] whatever we need here? I feel kinda bad taking from that chicken farmer now. N-not that I didn’t already,”[/color] he said, rubbing the back of his head.

[color=f60000]“I don’t,”[/color] admitted Kazooie, and was met with a disapproving head shake from Banjo. [color=f60000]“He didn’t know what he had anyway.”[/color] She paused before asking the obvious question. [color=f60000]“So, you wanna see what else we can collect here?”[/color] Her suggestion to raid the store rooms while they waited for Pit was met with initial ethical protest.

[color=0aaaff]“I don’t know, Kazooie… Wouldn’t that be a bit greedy of us?”[/color]

[color=f60000]“I hate to argue with you, Banjo,”[/color] as she wouldn’t normally, [color=f60000]“but we’re the only ones on the roster who can run out of ammo and whatnot. The only ones who have to honor it at least.”[/color] Though not entirely fair in her assessment, she wasn’t wrong in her reasoning. That they were subject to attrition was even listed as a weakness for them in their character sheet--a fact they were both no doubt aware of.

[color=0aaaff]“I guess,”[/color] Banjo half-heartedly conceded. [color=0aaaff]“I just don’t want to push my luck with the GM is all. He already does enough for us, and I’d rather not take that for granted.”[/color]

[color=f60000]“Eh, I’m sure he’ll be fine with it,”[/color] she argued. [color=f60000]“Worst that happens is he tells us we don’t find anything. Now, come on!”[/color] With a surrendering sigh from Banjo, they left for the store rooms to see what they could find themselves.

As the three of them left Yuri cast a side-along glance at Nero. Hearing the plan laid out so plainly as Pit had forced a reevaluation of the man. Besides the shock of white hair and the futuristic prosthetic he didn’t look particularly different from the sort of person you would see walking down the street back home. Compared to most of the others here he was positively normal. Despite this he seemed confident in his ability to do exactly what he said. Was he also something inhuman?

With everyone just about ready to set out, they waited a few moments for their last member to come back, but luckily didn’t need to stick around for long. A rhythmic [i]tap tap[/i]ing of sandals on the floor signaled Pit's return. In one arm he held a couple of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/7/7f/Bunnyhood.png/revision/latest?cb=20140325233908]yellow cloth hoods with distinctive ears[/url], and in the other what looked and smelled to be this morning's leftovers. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Can you believe they wouldn't let me take the rocket belts? Guess they only have a couple of them or something.”[/color] Behind him, the dynamic bear-and-bird duo followed along with one item apiece of their own: a [url=https://ssb.wiki.gallery/images/thumb/c/cf/Spring.jpg/250px-Spring.jpg]spring[/url] and a [url=https://cdn.staticneo.com/w/smashbros/Boomerang.png]boomerang[/url].

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow] "Anyway, these should help! They make you jump really high."[/color] Proudly, Pit presented the bunny hoods - as well as the various kinds of [url=https://ssb.wiki.gallery/images/thumb/7/72/UltimateFood.png/1200px-UltimateFood.png]food[/url] he had in his other arm. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"And look! More breakfast."[/color]

Yuri took the hood, giving a quick and appreciative bow to the angel, and held it at her side. She had seen these used in the fight she had been summoned into. No need to go quite that fast yet. She also, rather gingerly, took the teacup balanced precariously atop a piece of cheese in his other arm mostly so it wouldn't tip over and shatter. She brought the cup up to her lips, sipping of the now lukewarm tea.

Banjo took one of the four hoods to share between him and Kazooie and beheld it quizzically with the question of, [color=0aaaff]“So, which one of us is supposed to wear this?”[/color]

[color=f60000]“[url=https://preview.redd.it/vtvmdbuohvl31.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=853a2264bad7603079804fd3ea59e3ded7057b41]You[/url], I think,”[/color] Kazooie conjectured, correctly. They decided to quickly experiment with this, with Banjo adorning the hood while they each ran quick lines and pivots (or “dash dancing”, as they learned it to be called) on both sets of feet to find its ability transferred perfectly between them, [url=https://cdn.dashfight.com/6dc085bf9ba876fe83854f653661f33f4c798750.png]gesturing approval to one another[/url] with their success.

Though he elected not to take any food, Nero glanced over the selection of food that Pit offered. Seeing the daisy flower mixed among the others made him raise an eyebrow. “Nice of you, but the food’s not super travel friendly. If you can get some of that stuff packed we can take it along, but otherwise I’d put it back where you found it.” He shoved the rabbit hood he’d been given into a coat pocket. “Let’s get a move on.”

[hr]
Far above the crystal-blue surface of the Eryth Sea the array of floating islands made traversal easy thanks to their built-in teleporter network. It was pretty despite the long fall, but since Nero had a job to do and his phone was dead anyway, the devil hunter didn’t stop to see the sights. It took just a handful of minutes to cross the whole lake and arrive at an island floating just off the far cliffs, below where the End bubble once resided. Nero had to his neck upward to see where the high crags terminated. It was a lot of mountain. He pulled out the long-eared hat he’d been given and turned it over in his hands, less than confident in the odd headwear. “Why don’t...you go first?” he asked Pit. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but that didn’t mean he was going to just hurl himself off the edge, either. “Seeing as you’ve used it before.”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Heh, nervous?"[/color]

Nero shrugged, unbothered, and Pit strode over the island's edge. He glanced up at the rock face, then down at the drop. It was a long way up but even longer down. He was fairly sure that with the bunny hoods they'd be able to make the leap. Probably. Without further ado he donned the hood, which was really more of a headband, yellow rabbit ears sticking up tall from between his laurels. Standing at the ledge, he bounced on the balls of his feet a few times before looking over his shoulder at the others.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Okay, watch and learn! Especially you, rookies,"[/color] Pit said, with a cheeky grin directed not at the humans (or human and part-human) with them, but at Banjo and Kazooie. He recalled their invitation had been lost in the mail or something, but they'd made it eventually.

Pit crouched down low and then sprung up, the power of the bunny hood extending his jump significantly. Without a running start he didn't sail quite as far up as he would have liked to, but a couple flaps of his wings saw him landing high on the mountain side - with plenty more to go.

[color=f60000]“Joke’s on him. This is nothing new for us,”[/color] said Kazooie, remarking on their renown platforming ability, experiences with which just so happened to include springing to great heights.

[color=0aaaff]“I guess he’s never played our game before,”[/color] Banjo replied with a glancing shrug to Kazooie.

[color=f60000]“Figures,”[/color] she said, disappointedly shaking her head.

Yuri saw the angel boy go, nervous and wide eyed until he made a jump that there was no way she could even with the power of the rabbit hood in her hand. That didn’t even take in account how approaching the edge of a cliff and jumping off into the empty air was just...she had ambiguous feelings about that that she in no way wanted to confirm. She was as scared of it still being easy just as much as she was scared of it being hard.

She looked between the cartoon bear and the white haired man she stood between. “One of you will have to carry me.” She said shamefully. “I can’t do that.”

[color=f60000]“Not it.”[/color] Kazooie declared as an announcement of the duo’s takeoff, telegraphically winding her wings back to signal Banjo for an enhanced Flap Flip to carry them skyward much higher than usual. Kazooie managed two more midair jumps out of her wings before bringing out the Shock Spring board to launch them above Pit, who would then get a good look at their launch pad tumbling down the mountainside. Upon looking up, he would see Banjo flashing him a smile and a thumbs up, and Kazooie side-eyeing him with a derisive feather-finger wave. As for Pit, he looked up at the both of them and laughed, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Alright, not bad."[/color]

For the first time Nero got a real sense of where on the spectrum Yuri was, and he couldn’t help but feel bad about it. Practically everyone he ran into, particularly at Alcamoth, commanded a good bit more strength than the average person, and he’d assumed this one was the same. Instead, Yuri -spiritual powers notwithstanding- seemed to be an ordinary girl, dragged into something way over her head, and the fact no doubt weighed down on her a lot more than it did him. “No problem,” he told her lightly, as he tugged on his own rabbit hood. The accessory that didn’t look too out-of-place on Pit made for a ridiculous spectacle on him, in sharp contrast to his punkish attire, chiseled features, and stern expression. He hoped that the hilarity of it might lighten the mood a little. Now that he knew the score, her well-being was priority number one. Nero approached, towered over her for a brief moment, then crouched down. “Jump on my back and hold on tight.

Yuri pulled on her own hood in both a show of solidarity and in the hopes it would make her easier to carry. As she went around to his back she hesitated, taking in a deep breath and steadying her mind before wrapping her arms around his neck. As she did she flinched like she was expecting something to happen, as though something had been coiled and ready to bite as soon as she touched him, but when nothing did she sighed in confused relief and tightened her grip. “Thank you. I’m ready.” she said.

Standing up, Nero placed his right hand on Yuri’s wrist, just to be sure, and took a tentative jog forward. By nearly zipping clean off the island he quickly and definitively determined that the headwear allowed him to accelerate far past his normal threshold. He stepped back from his the edge with a deep breath and an exasperated shake of his head, then tense up to leap. Even he was taken aback by the speed with which he hurtled upward. With narrowed brows and grit teeth he waited til his deceleration marked the apex of the jump, then thrust his left arm upward. The wire launched from the base of his prosthetic in a burst of compressed air, flew with great speed to its limit, and latched onto a crag of rock. Its powered retraction drew Nero and his cargo upward, and the extra boost plus his naturally greater jumping ability afforded him a highly respectable distance.

Of course, the devil hunter took no note of his standing compared to the others, since the altitude and precariousness of his position demanded his full attention. As the wind pulled at his back he clung tight to the outcrop. “You okay?” he asked Yuri, waiting for her affirmation before he clambered higher, seeking a flat space wide enough for another launch.

“Yes. I’m fine. You don’t have to worry. ” The girl replied. Her rapid breathing seemed to only be a case of adrenaline jitters, because if she was afraid her tone didn’t betray it. She hadn’t even closed her eyes, though she preferred to keep them pointed upwards. “It looks like there’s another handhold to your left.”

“Huh, looks like there is.” Nero didn’t know if his muttering could be heard above the wind, but he seized the indicated outcrop and used it to push himself up. One more hop and he stood on a sloped but workable section of stone, big enough for the rabbit hood to work its magic. With Yuri’s assurance he jumped again, a bit harder this time, and he decided to double up for good measure. At the apex of his leap he used Air Hike, causing a demonic circle of blue energy appeared beneath his feet that gave him a second jump as high as the first. He spotted a flat top of stone and pulled himself over. The speed of his ascent sucked the air from his lungs, so he stopped there to take a moment to breath. Even with a demon’s toughness it wouldn’t do to go light-headed. He turned and crouched at the edge to take a look down and gauge the progress of the others. 

When he scoped them out, however, he found not two other climbers, but three. He squinted to get a better look at the unknown jumper, who appeared to be climbing remarkably fast. Though without a hood of its own it couldn’t leap quite as high, floating green platforms were drawn from the ether wherever it went, allowing it to make constant easy progress. As it grew closer, Nero made out a [url=https://d14nx13ylsx7x8.cloudfront.net/lesson_images/images/000/001/428/original/temp1406587188.png]strange, bullet-shaped creature[/url] with yellow skin, a tube nose, a green garment of some sort, and four spindly legs. “Weird,” he muttered, but his interest in the thing was more practical than scientific. “Wonder if we can hitch a ride on that thing’s platforms.”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Well, only one way to find out."[/color] Pit watched the creature ascend passed him, then shimmied up to an area on the rock face that would be easy enough to get back to if he took an unexpected fall. After all, maybe those things' platforms were some kind of psychic energy only it could use. Pit counted the number of platforms up from his area, picked one of the higher ones and jumped, aiming to land on top and see if it was solid.

Second guesses went out the window as he threw himself to the strange jumper’s mercy, but as his sandal touched down he found the surface not just solid, but bouncy. It boosted him up the height of a decent jump and reinvigorated his wings just as if he’d landed, allowing more flaps. He easily bounced his way to the next platform. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Hey, it's springy!"[/color] he said. He bounced up again and overshot the creature's progress, floundering midair before flapping his way back to a perch on the mountainside.

With the angel’s rather risky experiment a success, Nero shrugged, unable to argue with the results. [i]Not bad.[/i] All the same, he lacked the air control that Pit did, so he chose to stick to his own method rather than rely upon the odd creature. Moving more or less independently despite the danger of scaling such a perilous mountainside, the group climbed higher and higher, until they reached a large cave mouth in the rock face. Rather than present an ominous, yawning aperture into some tenebrous underworld, however, the cave turned out to be little more than a short tunnel floored with stone bricks. Nero helped Yuri down, then led the way forward at a brisk jog. Just a few hundred feet away it opened right back up again, and the sunlight shown down on a picturesque green vale nestled inside the mountain range.

[center][img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/i/2a152e3c-fc2f-47d8-85a8-049fd02c8bde/ddg4tyq-e4616a9a-6baa-4300-a8d4-564ff603e17e.jpg/v1/fill/w_1192,h_670,q_70,strp/_mmd_stage__spiral_mountain_download_by_sab64_ddg4tyq-pre.jpg[/img][/center]

Since the group wasn’t here to sightsee, the Devil Hunter neither paused nor deviated from his course. He followed the path around the spiral mountain in the valley’s center toward the only other notable path through the mountains, which carved a fortuitous northwest. To certain members of his crew, however, this place represented something special: home.

To them, this was yet another instance of simply passing through on their way off to somewhere else more dangerous, like any other before it. Often at the start of any of their adventures was home the starting point to which they scarcely (if at all) returned until their journey’s end. This felt little different, aside from the stakes. Coupled with melancholic nostalgia was a distinct, underlying dread of the possibility that they may not return for one reason or another, and that they should appreciate, if nothing else, the sight of it. Silently, the pair understood this, and remained hopeful for the better.

Yuri's attention was easily drawn to the visage they had emerged from as they crossed the rickety wooden bridge and started down the mountain. A cackling witch in crumbling stonework overlooked the whole valley, completely at odds with the local scenery. “I wonder what that was for?” She asked aloud to the group.

[color=0aaaff]”We were neighbors with our villain,”[/color] Banjo remarked casually, as if such a case could be considered common.

[color=f60000]”Take it from us, [i]that’s[/i] the prettier face,”[/color] Kazooie added, referring disparagingly to the broken edifice of the witch as the preferable visage to the real one that it was based on. Banjo nodded affirmatively to Kazooie’s pointed addition to his statement about their nemesis, rather than scold her for it as he would for most. Gruntilda marked a particular exception to his attitude regarding others in a number of ways, but that was to be expected when it came to one who, among other things, abducted your little sister with intentions of forcibly swapping genes with her.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Must've been tough."[/color] Pit could hardly imagine living right next door to Medusa. He shuddered at the mere thought. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"So is the canyon just past here?"[/color]

Nero had wondered if the bear and bird might have a thing or two to say about their place of residence, but if they didn’t want to poke around or reminisce, so much the better. Only one narrow path led out from Spiral Mountain between the cliffs and crags to the northwest, and the devil hunter headed that way. The others followed behind, matching his brisk pace in the single file that the walls to either side allowed, and only the pounding of their feet against the dusty ground and their collective breath challenged the reigning silence. 

After about twenty minutes the team turned a corner to see the narrow path open into a sizable area up ahead. Sure enough, Nero spotted the very monster truck he’d heard about, although one look at it was all he needed to second guess his earlier plan. Brother Grimm was a [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/70/94/8a/70948ac94620ff0427c2ab7289decce7.jpg]beast of a machine[/url], at least three stories high, with tires big enough to squash pickups like they were bugs. It featured mounted machine guns, fangs bigger than most men were tall, an excessive amount of exhaust pipes, and even barbed wire around its mammoth tires, as if whoever tricked this puppy out was told to ‘go’ and just never stopped. It left one hell of an impression.

Nero stepped out into the open space, highly impressed by the ludicrous machine despite himself. “Wonder what Nico’d make of that,” he wondered aloud as his gaze settled on a [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/4620fbec-57f2-471e-9649-1bbb4d400367/deds9ab-5c586a2d-5cd2-4580-8d7b-fbe7733fab24.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNDYyMGZiZWMtNTdmMi00NzFlLTk2NDktMWJiYjRkNDAwMzY3XC9kZWRzOWFiLTVjNTg2YTJkLTVjZDItNDU4MC04ZDdiLWZiZTc3MzNmYWIyNC5wbmcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.2cOIsIW5FSOxtYl14O0uykoN1VC5SQMVSxad3GQxIvU]second vehicle[/url], a cartoonishly villanous-looking sports car decked out in yellow spikes and a silver miniature of Bowser’s head. No doubt made with the Koopa King in mind, it stood a lot taller than the average bougiemobile, but it still barely reached Brother Grimm’s undercarriage. Luckily, with only four separate units to transport, that was all Nero needed.

There appeared to be only one problem, and it wasn’t the act of flipping the car over the gorge that lay behind it. A gang of [url=https://ssb.wiki.gallery/images/f/f6/SSBU_spirit_Primid.png]strange humanoids[/url] in green uniforms lurked around the place, seemingly idle until the mercenaries appeared on the scene. Then the creatures put up their fists and raised their weapons, ready to defend the machines they evidently assumed to be theirs.

The other three emerged just after Nero. The angel among them balked at the sight of the Primids at first. All that Subspace stuff should have been taken care of already during his first foray into Smash Bros! Pit shook off the initial surprise quickly enough, reminding himself that pretty much anything was possible now. They could encounter anything or any[i]one[/i] from any point in time. [i]Defeated enemies getting revived definitely doesn't get old fast or anything,[/i] he sighed to himself.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Those guys guarding the ugly cars are small fry. Shouldn't take any time at all to deal with them and move on!"[/color] Banjo and Kazooie remembered taking on no small number of them on their way through the first time, and agreed with their cherubic comrade. Nodding, Banjo punched his palm and cracked his neck in anticipation, while Kazooie flared and beat her wings aggressively, posturing threat. The Primid's blank expression didn't change despite the insult, and to prove his point Pit went on the attack with his bow split into the double blades, unafraid even in his 'weakened' state. His slices raked across the pugnacious creatures’ bodies, dealing a series of solid blows.

As Pit charged in Yuri brought up the rear of their quintet, sight fixed on the enemies huddled around two of the most outlandish cars she had ever seen in her life. Those things were the enemy? They looked like toys. Then again, so did a lot of people around here and that didn’t make them any less dangerous. She took a deep breath, and reached for the camera hanging at her waist. She brought it up to her eye, observing Pit’s fight through the special lens she had been provided by the tournament organizers. She tried to get as many of the monsters in the viewfinder as possible and captured her photo. 

The moment she pressed down on the camera’s button, a wave of darkness emanated from the device at light speed. Its touch stopped Primids in their tracks, leaving them paralyzed even after shadow faded. Though totally unexpected, the assistance made Pit’s easy pickings even easier, and with a nod of approval Nero stepped forward. From his coat’s right inner pocket he withdrew a rather large revolver with his left hand, and with a squeeze of his finger the Blue Rose let loose. With each trigger pull two bullets hurtled forth to blow through the head of one nebulous mook at a time.

In a dead run, Kazooie bounded herself and Banjo into the crowd of Primids, turning at the drop in their arc for Banjo to come down onto the first one with a heavy, crashing, half-open fist to drive its head into the rocky ground. Banjo bowled forward, coming off of his maneuver into another, and dove Kazooie beak-first at the next Primid. Following through, Banjo scooped it up overhead for Kazooie to spike it into the air. Banjo caught the hapless minion by its ankle and slammed it down at its own brethren as an improvised blunt weapon, before reaching into his pack to do the same with Kazooie, to her inevitable surprise (no matter how much or often they did this) and displeasure. Banjo continued steadily forward, savagely clubbing his way through the mob with alternating swings of partner and Primid in a hand each for every step, eliciting a whimpering caw of pain from Kazooie with every hit. He soon felt his off hand empty with the weaponized Primid’s demise, while Kazooie remained strangely unharmed. Banjo then threw out a raw uppercut to swat away an oncoming attack, seamlessly raring him back onto one foot in a preparatory stance for a wind-up pitch before letting fly, sending her sailing, whirling forward with her wings out like a bladed disc. She trilled with effort as she spun on the point of her talon like a ballet top, banking in an arc to catch a number of Primids in a row, sawing into them with passing contact.

A few moments of free damage later the Primids escaped the magic of Yuri’s camera and charged their foes in force. Their efforts were for naught. Three ran the devil hunter’s way, with one falling before it even reached him, and in a flash Nero drew the Red Queen from his back to catch the others in a whirling slash. He zeroed in on one to send skyward with a launching High Roller, revving the weapon like a motorcycle as he did, then flew at the other in a fiery Streak. “FLASH!” The wide cut nearly bifurcated the Primid, and when it fell Nero quickly finished the job with an inelegant overhead pound of his blade. Behind him the second Primid was falling, and as he turned he stowed the Red Queen. A Wire Snatch flew out to grab hold of the unfortunate thing and yank it right toward him, straight into the barrel of his revolver. One last [i]BANG[/i] and the thing slumped to the ground as ashes.

The Primids that chose to take the angel on rather than rushing away towards the others again found themselves on the wrong end of his swords. Just shaking off Yuri's ability, they couldn't keep up with the speed of Pit's attacks, and he kited and cut them down one by one. There were no shadow bugs in sight, only the shining little spirits.

In record time the Primids were being defeated, and when only one remained it looked around helplessly at the mercenaries. Pit approached it with an unapologetic grin and raised one half of the bow up high, bringing the hilt down heavy to bonk the Primid square in the center of it's head. It spun around dizzy for a moment before collapsing. Pit twirled the duo of blades and brought them together with a [i]click[/i], forming them into one again and turned back to the others.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"See? Easy peasy."[/color] 

“Seems like it,” Nero told him, breezing past. Spirit collection he left to the others. “Let’s get a move on.” He went around and grabbed hold of the Bowsermobile’s bumper, then started to pull. With whoever chose to lend a hand speeding up the process, the mercenaries maneuvered the vehicle toward the canyon that separated them from the Land of Adventure. One it was as close to the edge as gravity would allow, Nero got into position. With a look of utmost seriousness he removed his currently-equipped prosthetic and replaced it with a sleek red and black one. Since nobody stepped in with a better idea, he stepped forward to enact his plan from earlier.

He crouched down and started to charge, electricity crackling from the Punch Line arm. Flame blazed forth from the rockets in its lower section, kept in check only by Nero’s clenched-jaw strength. The whole affair shook violently as its power grew, until finally the devil hunter let loose. He swung forward with a full-bodied uppercut and struck the vehicle hard enough to twist and crumple the rear bumper, and at the end of his punch the rocket-fueled prosthetic detached to jet into the air and carry the Bowsermobile with it. The effect was instantaneous: the machine sailed away as if it were a plastic prop, flipping end over end as it cleared the chasm and proceeded another couple hundred feet before slamming down right on its tires. A perfect launch.

Nero pumped his other fist, none too showily, but good accompaniment nonetheless to the smirk he couldn’t keep off his face. Hiding his satisfaction as best he could, he preoccupied himself with switching in his leftover Gerbera arm in preparation for the trip across. Once fully composed he glanced at the others, motioning toward the gorge. “Shall we?”

Yuri wandered up next to him, wide eyed from seeing something that would normally take an entire Hollywood special effects team to pull off done right in front of her. It wasn’t just that either, the way Nero had jumped on air, the repeated pounding of Kazooie to no negative effect, Pit's entire shonen hero aura, it all led to one conclusion. “It’s like all of you stepped right out of a cartoon. No one where I’m from can fight like that.” She said, ignorant as she was on the matter of shinobi. Nonetheless, she placed her ears back on and hesitantly motioned for Nero’s assistance again. 

[color=f60000]“Good thing [i]we’re[/i] not from there then,”[/color] Kazooie snarked before unceremoniously lifting off with Banjo into full flight for the freshly relocated Bowsermobile, in a feat of movement the camerawoman might further find impressive.

“Cartoon?” Nero looked a little affronted. Then he put two and two together, realizing where Yuri must be from. “Oh. I guess. I’m not so much into that stuff.” He glanced at the young woman’s rabbit hood as she hesitated. Maybe she felt like she needed his help again but didn’t necessarily want it. “You can probably make it with just that. Go for distance, rather than height.” Rather than forge ahead he waited to see if she’d give it a shot.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Yeah, if you fall one of us will catch you!"[/color] Pit was quite pleased with her cartoon comment, it brought up thoughts of dashing protagonists and tough superheroes to his mind and he ended up subconsciously power posing - fists on either hip and his wings outstretched. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Humans can be pretty impressive when they try!"[/color] 

Yuri looked back, uncomfortably, at the jump. At the edge. She walked up to it, feeling her hands tighten in anxious fists as she started down over the edge across the span. The rude bird had carried her partner across it so easily. She walked backwards, getting some distance between her and the edge. This wasn’t like Mt. Hikami. The mountain had been developed as a tourist spot before the disastrous landslide shut that all down. It was mostly old roads, overgrown paths, and old decrepit structures. Humans had made the mountain their own long ago, and so it was a simple walk to the summit if only you could avoid the ghosts.

She couldn't depend on that out here. She couldn't rely on everything being made for people if she didn’t want to get left behind by birds and angels. She turned to give a small smile to Pit and Nero for their encouragement. “Okay.” She said, nodding. She took a running start, wind blowing past her ears as the hood pushed her to run faster than she ever had before. She kept her eyes on the opposite edge, very pointedly not looking down. This wasn’t like that time. There wasn’t just empty air out there, there was somewhere for her to land. She focused on it and jumped as she reached the edge.

She immediately regretted it. It felt like she had imagined it would, the wind rushing past her as she jumped into nothing and the stomach churning sensation as she felt herself start to drop. Unlike in her imagination, though, it ended with her boots hitting the ground. She stumbled forward as she landed on the opposite side, her knees jittering from the impact. She wasn’t even a little prepared to take that landing and after a few clumsy steps tumbled forward and landed in the dust. She pushed herself up, turning over and sitting on the ground for a moment to catch her breath. Then she waved over to the other side. “I’m all right.” She called out, still trying to process that she had made it.

Across the canyon Pit cheered, raising his hands up high. Rather than keep those already on the other side waiting he prepared to jump himself, but before that he looked over at the other human (or sort of human? Kazooie said something about 'devil boy' and Pit [i]did[/i] get a weird feeling from him).

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Kinda can't believe the punch a car plan actually worked,"[/color] he laughed. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"C'mon, I can't wait to try riding in Bowser's car!"[/color] Moments later the angel alighted on the other side, still talking as the bunny hood's ears bounced up and down. He trotted over to the car to get a closer look. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Y'know they never invite me to those go-kart races. They invited [url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eqYIHeLwsGg/maxresdefault.jpg]Link[/url] and I'm just as old as he is! Give or take a few months. Even that [url=https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/thumb/c/ca/MK8-Villager.jpg/1200px-MK8-Villager.jpg]villager[/url] and their [url=https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/3/38/MK8_Isabelle.png]dog[/url] too..."[/color] 

Nero jumped a moment later. Having exhausted his own rabbit hood, he fired the Gerbera arm repeatedly instead, launching him a few yards at a time over the gap. After he touched down he landed in a roll. “Good jump, miss,” he told Yuri as he made his way for the Bowsermobile. Since Banjo had already parked himself behind the wheel Nero climbed into the second row of seats, wondering how qualified a driver the bear might be but willing to give him a chance. Without a close friend behind the wheel he didn’t feel compelled to ride shotgun, so he left that to the others. The land of adventure stretched out before them, vast in its rolling green fields, hills, and woods. They had a lot of ground to cover in just this region alone, so it paid to get comfortable. Just a few moments later the mercenaries’ grand offroad trip was underway.