[center][b]Gallo Tower Depths[/b]
Junior and Kamek’s [@DracoLunaris], Ichiban’s [@Truthhurts22], Iguana Gallo Valetto[/center]

While the main team proceeded ‘up’ toward Gallo Tower’s massive clock face, the other three headed ‘down’, into the tower’s depths. There were fewer creepy Mecha-Porkies in this direction, and the great hallway seemed rather empty on the whole save for the standard fairly nice, old-fashioned furnishings. The farther Gallo, Kamek, Junior, and Ichiban went, however, the more infrequent the sputtering braziers became, and the lower the ambient light. Pretty soon it would be almost completely dark, and with the gathering gloom came a faint though increasing feeling of dread.

Wisely, Gallo stopped for a moment to take a brazier to carry with him on the descent, not knowing about -or perhaps not wanting to rely on- any light sources his new allies might have to offer. Ichiban, taking his cue, pulled out his smartphone and pointed it ahead, its bright flashlight illuminating further than Gallo’s torch. Ichiban’s Galeem-infused eyes still glowed in the dark, a dull red that bathed his face a little too ominously. Gallo also broke the silence at length to shed a little more light, not on the murky corridor, but on his plans. “I will tell you now the exact nature of my strategy,” he announced. “So that we might all cooperate more effectively. My signature weapon, the ace up my sleeve, is the Clock Lancet.” From the ether he conjured what looked like an [url=https://i.imgur.com/qSFMjo8.png]ornamental dagger[/url], silver and blue. “It possesses the power to completely halt the flow of time for any being it strikes. I intend to use this to ensure that P cannot reach the Absolutely Safe Capsule once he arrives. This effect lasts but a fleeting moment, however, and it fires of its own accord in a clockwise manner around my person. As such, to keep the brat under its spell, I must also circle him in a clockwise manner, positioning myself in the opposite direction of the Lancet. Neither of us wants an accidental obstruction to leave one of you frozen in time and the Consul free to escape, yes?”

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Is this one of those, rendered invulnerable while frozen in time effects or not? Because if not, it should be child's play to give him a double dose of sleep magic and darts from range. After that I can summon Sectonia and have her mind control him, which she can apparently do now”[/color] Kamek said, still against the whole child killing thing, and also very interested in what they could learn from a compliant Consul.  

The scholar wrinkled his nose. “Not invulnerable. But be wary. A Consul may not be so easily overcome by trifling gimmicks.”

Ichiban made a noise halfway between an ‘ehhhh’ and an ‘uhhhh’, a mix of hesitation and confusion. [color=BB2F56]”Thing’s still a [i]knife[/i] though, right? And your plan is to like, stab it in P and keep it there?”[/color] Ichiban drew his flashlight around their surroundings, brief glances at the decor, the walls and the ceiling, before landing on Gallo, almost like it was following Ichiban’s gaze.

[color=BB2F56]”Can I ask,”[/color] Ichiban asked, [color=BB2F56]”what is it Consul P did exactly? I get the gist of it all, him bein’ some leader abusin’ his power, but what kinda stuff did he [i]do[/i]? Embezzle funds? Off a guy?”[/color]

“‘Do’?” Gallo sputtered for a moment, as if P’s crimes numbered so many that giving voice to all of them at once might make him explode. “P…is a feckless egomaniac on a power trip of absurd proportions. He is a murderous sadist. Others’ lives mean nothing to him. Less than nothing! He treats all this world’s people as if they were his own personal servants. For any who dare displease him, the consequences are dire.” Gallo paused for a moment to peer into an especially dark shadow in which he thought he saw movement. “...Take for instance his infamous ‘field trips’. Should he happen to be in a mood, he leaves the tower to stroll through the Home of Tears. Everyone in his path must shower him with praise and do whatever he asks of them. If not, something horrible instantly befalls them. Should he be feeling especially unappreciated, he may command his bed to tear the poor soul limb from limb right there.” Gallo clenched his teeth, boiling over with anger. “Oh, how it galls me! The very nerve to reduce the prodigious Iguana Gallo Valetto to a mere sniveling sycophant! Oh, I’ll have that swine’s head!”

[color=BB2F56]”Sounds to me like you’re just not a good subordinate,”[/color] Ichiban said without snark, or the forethought that he might be poking the hornet’s nest. [color=BB2F56]”Look, not sayin’ this P guy is all that great, but most of what’cha said is typical boss stuff. Commanding respect and makin’ it clear what happens when it ain’t given. I’d say that maybe the really nasty stuff P did made ya hate ‘im, but from how you talk, seems like you weren’t a team player from the start.”[/color]

That certainly had the two Koopas glancing at each other, before Kamek offered his own perspective

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”If I might, that sounds like, well, bad boss behavior, and I’m not even speaking in the nebulous terms of good and evil, it is simply poor. Fear is the incompetent leader’s manner of inspiring loyalty, as Gallo rather aptly demonstrates. A true leader has the love and admiration of his minions, such that they would gladly jump through fire or into the deepest ocean, should he command it. If he does right by them and treats them with respect, they will return that respect a thousand fold, where as a bad boss will find himself alone, friendless and washed up on a beach”[/color] he glanced at Jr at the end of his little summary, which resulted in the prince replying [color=SpringGreen]”Yeah yeah I learned that lesson already”[/color] 

Specifically he had learned it on that not so metaphorical beach.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”It does sometimes bear repeating young master”[/color] he replied cattily ([color=SpringGreen]”Hey!”[/color]) before adjusting his spectacles and suggesting that [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I do hate to say it, but I don’t think your boss was a particularly good one either Mr Ichiban. My condolences”[/color] 

[color=BB2F56]”What?”[/color] Ichiban’s flashlight beam flicked from Gallo to Kamek, shining right in the lizard wizard’s face. [color=BB2F56]”No way, my boss, he’s the greatest! Helped me shape up when I was a dumb kid and gave me a place in life. I’d do anything for ‘im.”[/color] Quiet for a moment, Ichiban’s light wandered about the place again, like it was signifying his moment of thinking. After the moment passed he sighed.

[color=BB2F56]”Guess not everyone can be like Arakawa,”[/color] he admitted, mostly to himself than the others. [color=BB2F56]”But this P guy, well, he kinda sounds like that dumb kid I was talkin’ about. Uh, me,”[/color] he clarified. [color=BB2F56]”Some brat throwing around respect he hasn’t earned. Only he’s in charge of things. All I’m sayin’ is, he sounds like a boss who doesn’t know how to be one, not some insane murderer or whatever. And comin’ from you…”[/color] He leveled the flashlight on Gallo yet again. [color=BB2F56]”Sorry if I don’t take everything y’say for the truth. You’ve been at this guy’s throat since we met you.”[/color]

Gallo opened his mouth to respond, but at that very moment the Consul’s first time walk took hold. The near-lethal effects of a hearty meal laced with rat poison struck everyone but Gallo in an instant and without warning, causing massive internal damage. For a moment the alarming change in his allies left Gallo in a state of alarm, but he had the misfortune of knowing what it was. “Damn that brat! This is P’s power!” he exploded. “I don’t know how it’s reaching you here, but oftentimes even completely unrelated people suffer from the fallout of P’s curses!” Believing the three to be lost, he prepared to leave them behind and charge into the darkness toward the Consul’s hideout, the flame lighting his path. Within the span of a few minutes, plastic jabs in the feet and a smorgasbord of bug bites and stings would befall the three as well.

Had Gallo given them more than a moment, he would have found this party far better equipped to handle the time shenanigans than the main group, as was aptly demonstrated when Jr shakily raised up his staff sized paintbrush and cast [color=SpringGreen]”Esuna!”[/color] to cleanse first himself, then Kamek, and finally Ichiban of the poison, before using [color=SpringGreen]”Medica!”[/color] to heal all three of them at once.

[color=SpringGreen]”What the heck was that!”[/color] Jr demanded to know once he was off of (what would turn out to be only the first round of) emergency healing duty.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”I… have no idea”[/color] Kamek replied, as he sent the wisps he had been using as a light source out to check their surroundings for a source of the attack, none could be found. That only left the logic that they were, somehow, collateral damage from the main fight going on upstairs, just as Gallo had said (though it had been quite hard to pay attention to the specifics what with the poisoning).

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Some sort of … sympathetic magic? Or some kind of very wide reaching spell? But why was Gallo not affected”[/color] the mage asked, looking at this from the entirely wrong angle at first. 

[color=SpringGreen]”And why’d he bail on us like that right away. I had that”[/color] Jr asked, pointing after where the man had run off too.

Ichiban, having caught himself just barely from falling flat on his face, groaned in the aftershock of relieved pain. Kinda bittersweet, in a way. [color=BB2F56]”Geez…”[/color] He rubbed his stomach, the main source of the debilitating pain they just experienced. While he didn’t have a direct explanation, Ichiban was closer to the mark than you’d think. [color=BB2F56]”Felt like… urgh, bad food.”[/color] He fished around in his pockets, producing a handful of bite-sized muffins. [color=BB2F56]”I’ve been out on the street before, and sometimes food y’think’s safe been poisoned to deal with rats.”[/color] With a sad sigh Ichiban turned his hand, letting the muffins fall onto the floor.

[color=BB2F56]”It’d explain why he didn’t have anything happen to ‘im,”[/color] Ichiban continued, gesturing to where Gallo disappeared with his flashlight. [color=BB2F56]”You two okay to keep goin’? We should hurry and catch up with him before we get lost.”[/color] Marching on ahead into the darkness, Ichiban continued to dig out the various breakfast foods he stashed that morning, littering the path behind them with poisoned pastries.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Poisoned our food? But ho-”[/color] Kamek asked, before releasing [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Ahhh, time travel”[/color] as if such a thing was merely a thing he had not considered rather than something fantastical, before agreeing [color=DeepSkyBlue]”and yes, best we catch up with Gallo”[/color] before taking to the air again on his broom, having landed when the poisoning stuck. 

[color=SpringGreen]”Yeah, I’m good, and I’ll be good to keep us going if he hits us again”[/color] Jr agreed. Then he had a thought and quickly released both his pokemon from their pokeballs to cure them of their own poisoned breakfast, before rolling forwards at a swiffer pace with both Mimi and Dazzle now along for the ride. 

Though the nasty effects of a couple other time warps befell the Seekers as they continued their descent, they kept up a good pace, and it wasn’t long before the flicker of torchlight could be seen through the gloom up ahead. So too could they hear the telltale sounds of combat. With the same question on everyone’s minds, they hurried the rest of the way, wondering if P had already appeared. When they maneuvered around a stand-alone section of wall, however, they found not the young Consul but a bizarre monstrosity melded together from multiple bodies, with a single scarlet-haired human protruding from the massive wad of organs. While the fleshy mass moved very sluggishly, the torso wielded a blue-glowing Holy Wand with startling aptitude, unleashing a brilliant torrent of magic projectiles that careened toward Gallo like a meteor shower, putting the scholar on the run. “Leda!” Gallo barked. “My patience grows thin. I do not wish do harm you, but if I must…!”

The [url=https://i.imgur.com/olgv3rU.png]monster[/url] made no noise, and its arcane bombardment continued.

[color=SpringGreen]”Well … that’s gross”[/color] Jr said as he peeked his head round the corner to see what was going on

[color=BB2F56]”What even is that thing..?”[/color] Ichiban asked, leaning around the corner above Bowser Jr and Kamek, like a goddamn comedy skit. It might’ve been a genuine question, as Ichiban’s Galeem infused eyes searched the scene for anything familiar to latch onto.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Mmmm”[/color] Kamek had to agree, before noting that [color=DeepSkyBlue]”However it seems like our not so reliable friend does not want to kill this one. I suppose we could indulge him?”[/color] he suggested, glancing at Jr, who took a few moments to take the hint

[color=SpringGreen]”Oh, right”[/color] he said once he got it, before pointing his staff around the corner at the lady part of the meatball and casting  [color=SpringGreen]”Repose!”[/color] 

Jr. began to aid Gallo, and as he did Ichiban straightened up. [color=BB2F56]”Time to get serious.”[/color] He raised his phone and tapped its screen. His fingers were a blur with how fast he was navigating its apps, and after a moment of intense button-pressing, Ichiban slammed his finger down for the final press. [color=BB2F56][i]”There!”[/i][/color]

With a flash of colorful light that engulfed Ichiban, his attire changed to that of his [url=https://i.imgur.com/wbCC1Z7.jpg]Hero job[/url]. He brandished a weapon now too, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/tGW42H8.jpg]rusty metal baseball bat[/url] with barbed wire bunched up near the end. [color=BB2F56]”I may not like the guy much but we can’t jus’ let him get beat up,”[/color] he said, resting his bat on his shoulder. [color=BB2F56]”You two comin’ with or staying back here for support?”[/color]

Right after the sleep spell took effect, Gallo inadvertently ruined it, his Clock Lancet already summoned to pause Leda’s onslaught and slow down his accrual of damage. The small amount of damage it did, however, proved more than enough to rouse the monstrosity. Once back in action, the magical deluge continued, but rather than fly at the newcomers it focused one hundred percent on the closest target, that being Gallo himself, who’d also by now noticed the new arrivals. “Are you well?” he called over, surprised that they’d shrugged off the poison just like that. “Then help me, and be quick about it! We cannot allow this has-been to keep us from our target!” With a final glance at the great vault door on the other side of the area, which seemed to constitute the end of the vertical corridor, he called upon the Ars Gouda tome. Dust Elementals sprang from its pages to attack for him, the possibility of a nonviolent solution thrown to the wind.

[color=BB2F56]”Got it!”[/color] Ichiban rushed to the scrap, twirling his bat around his hand. He didn’t have a plan of attack, but hopefully between the dust sprites, Gallo, and Junior and Kamek, Ichiban whacking away at it would at least distract it.

[color=SpringGreen]”Huh?”[/color] Jr said, confused as to why his spell hadn’t work

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Ah, looks like the blade negates sleep. Inconvenient, but good to know”[/color] Kamek noted, this lesson being one better learned now than with P. Then he swooped out into the fray, chanting out [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Rise rise, undying bones, and draw her fire!”[/color] and summoning a horde of dry bones, and then sending the perpetually reanimating undead koopas forwards to swarm beneath Leda and become the closest thing to her.

Jr followed suit, giving Gallo a practical demonstration as to how they had survived via casting [color=SpringGreen]”Cure!”[/color] on the man, while he commanded Dazzle to serenade the flesh ball with his disarming voice, and for Mimi to mimic him and do the same, the mon’s twin beams of pink soundwaves dealing emotional rather than physical damage. 

While their minions attacked or distracted, both fliers focused on avoiding danger, and moving towards the way forwards.

Luckily for the team, they had just the right tools for the job. While impressive in its sheer quality, Leda’s magic proved unerringly systematic in how it functioned. As long as the Seekers could keep some minions close by their target, they needed only worry about stray projectiles that missed their mark, and with plenty of minions to spare they could keep up the offense even in the dark. Ichiban’s battering proved especially effective, and it wasn’t long before the meat mass crumbled.

“Tidily done,” Gallo admitted, straightening his robe. After a firsthand demonstration of both combative and medical aptitude like that, he felt no further need to doubt them in any capacity save their intentions. “Now, let us proceed.”

The vault at the corridor’s terminus proved to be locked, but as the former master of Gallo Tower, the sorcerer still held all the keys. It took a little grappling with the mechanism, which included mundane mechanism, Agarthan technology, and magic all in one, but soon enough the vault swung open. All around them the pitch-black of the tower’s depths suddenly gave way to a tantalizing golden luster, and when the team set foot inside they could see why.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/uRqwGq7.png[/img][/center]

This wasn’t just Consul P’s hideout, but his glittering hoard. Piles of trinkets and baubles, gold coins, statuettes, heirlooms, artworks, furnishings, and favorite toys just about blanketing the place. It was the opulent secret stash of a feckless plunderer who had never been told ‘no’, at least not twice. At the back of the room, nestled among the valuables, rested the orb-shaped [url=https://i.imgur.com/Q0v2cSd.png]Absolutely Safe Capsule[/url]--already closed.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Is that it? Are we too late?”[/color] Kamek asked, drifting over the piles of treasure to inspect the closed capsule, fearing that its sealed state meant that P had already retreated inside. However, when he peered through the glass porthole, he found the capsule empty.

Ichiban, having to resist the urge to go looting through the piles of stuff Consul P had in here, wandered over to the safety capsule and gave it a couple taps with his bat. [color=BB2F56]”Maybe he just ain’t here yet? We’re early?”[/color]

[color=SpringGreen]”Guess we got time to plan”[/color] Jr noted as he drifted over, before asking [color=SpringGreen]”So is he going to have to open the door then?”[/color] as he examined the pod for the way inside.

Gallo shook his head. “No, as I mentioned he is capable of teleportation. He will most likely attempt to place himself inside the moment he realized his saferoom has been compromised.” The scholar positioned himself with his back to the south wall, the position he judged to be the most likely arrival point at his twelve o’ clock.

[color=SpringGreen]”Oh right. Guess that’s also assuming he doesn't go right into it from wherever”[/color] Jr replied, putting out something of a worst case scenario in the process, before thinking for a moment and then turning to his mentor to ask [color=SpringGreen]”Wait, so Kamek, do you think you can?”[/color] to which the mage replied with a nod.

The mage drifted back a bit, still with a view of the open window, before twirling his wand around in his hand and vanishing in a puff of smoke.

“Wait-” Gallo held out his hand, but it was too late. Kamek reappeared inside the Absolutely Safe Capsule. It was roomy inside, but devoid of any features. Nothing seemed to happen upon his arrival. After a moment, Gallo withdrew his hand. “Oh. I didn’t think that would work.” He rubbed his chin. “It’s supposed to be warded. Perhaps it’s not all the Agarthans cracked it up to be.”

At that very moment, brilliant purple particles began to coalesce from the Ether, and in a flash an entity appeared amongst the Seekers. But it wasn’t P, at least not exactly. This newcomer was much bigger than a man, demonic in aspect, but clearly inorganic, with a lemniscate-marked core whirring in his chest. His only similarities to P were the rough shape of his head and his rotundity, though nobody in the room save Gallo had any basis for comparison anyway, and Gallo nearly had a heart attack upon seeing this guy. “He’s here!” the scholar shrieked.

“Whuh!?” the Moebius gasped, his voice distorted and his mouth hanging open. “You? What’re you doing here!?” He spotted Ichiban and Junior too, then clenched his fists. “This is MY room!” he yelled, stamping his feet hard enough to shake the room and send gold coins skittering down their piles to the floor. “GET OUT!”

Gallo charged toward him, activating his Clock Lancet as he got into range, but P had already jumped into the air. He descended with a gigantic ground pound that sent every last object in the room flying, turning the entire place to chaos in a second.

As the Moebius fell Jr rose up into the air to avoid any kind of shockwave, only for the propelled objects to be launched up into the air after him, forcing the boy to grab the wheel and steer with all his skill to avoid being destabilized and knocked back out of the sky.

[color=SpringGreen]”Mimi, Dazzle, blast that thing!”[/color] he commanded as he did this, prompting his two pokemon to shoot back, Dazzle with a bubble propelled water gun blast, and Mimi with an electro ball a few moments later.

The water gun did little more than splash P, although with the electric follow-up he did get jolted for a brief moment. “Agh!” he grumbled. “I’m too tired for this!” He scooped up a giant mitt of coins, then hurled them in the general direction of Junior and his Pokemon like golden slingstones, forcing them all to duck for cover inside the clown car, which was itself battered back by the multiple small impacts.

Groaning and bruised from the fall, Gallo hauled himself into a sitting position. Thanks to that ground pound his Clock Lancet had missed, and now it was firing off in its uncontrollable rotation around him. He scrabbled to his feet to start circling around to the right, giving the Lancet a better shot at hitting P sooner as it ticked around clockwise. Despite hitting P full-on with his Clock Lancet, it didn’t seem to work, and P decked him with a slobberknocker of a right hook.

[color=BB2F56]”This thing ain’t no kid, man!”[/color] Ichiban shot at Gallo, having been knocked clear under a tidal wave of action figures. Those things were made of hard plastic; in other words, that [i]hurt[/i]. Ichiban fixed Moebius P with a glare that twisted his face in rage, a look that was downright menacing, and way more intense than anyone’d expect from how goofy he was before.

[color=BB2F56]”That means I don’t gotta worry about hurting it!!”[/color] Spurred into fury, Ichiban swung his bat in a low arc, batting a handful of army men and buff wrestler toys towards P, dashing after them with his bat raised, ready to lay the beatdown on this big pig monster. P met him halfway, happily bringing his giant fists and rending claws to bear against ichiban in a vicious one-on-one.

Some, such as Bowser, might have argued about how just because a kid looked like a monster, it did not mean they weren't still a kid. It was an argument Kamek might have echoed, however, he was not in the fight. Nor, in-fact, was he in the pod any more either. No instead he had teleported outside of the room entirely, and there out was working his magics. 

The first result of said magics arrived at just that moment in the form of a giant bee queen whom P had already met, and who had a rather different reason for avoiding resorting to murder than the rest of those present.

Appearing out of the same pink portal with heart shaped runes that she used to summon antlions, Queen Sectonia appeared in front of Kamek, having been summoned by the koopa mage. [color=92278f]”I suppose we had better get started then. Considering his size however, holding him still for the control to take effect will be tricky.”[/color] Sectonia said, a look of tiredness on her face but still determined to show this ‘boy’ some discipline. She was ready to summon her striker who was a master of mind control when the opportunity arose, as was part of her plan. 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Not to worry, I have a plan for that”[/color] Kamek informed her as he followed her in upon the result of the other spell he had been casting, namely a cockatrice mount. As soon as he was back in the room, he used it to blast the monstrous P with its petrifying glare … only for this to have no noticeable effect. 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Huh?”[/color] the mage intoned, confused, only for Jr to see what the plan was, misjudge why it had failed (range) and try his own, swooping in and casting [color=SpringGreen]”Holy!”[/color] to blast the Consul with an explosion of white magic, only for this to not work either.

[color=SpringGreen]”What? Why didn’t that stop him?”[/color] 

P twisted around toward the offending reptiles. “Huh? Was that supposed to hurt?” he taunted them with a leer. When he saw Sectonia again, however, he hung his head with a heavy, groaning sigh. “Uggggh.” Ichiban took the chance to blindside him! Coming up around P’s side, he pulled off another underswing, essentially using his bat like a golf club to whallop the piggish monster in its piggish snout. He stumbled backward, arms flailing as he regained his balance. “Ow, you TURD! You know what? I’m too tired for this. I don’t wanna play with any of you losers any more.” Purple particles began to coalesce around him as he prepared to teleport. “I’ll swat you stupid little gnats for good right after I have a nice long nap!”

Gallo slammed his fist on the ground. “No!”

The Moebius warped into the Absolutely Safe Capsule, and promptly set off every Dark Mine Kamek had laid in there at once. No sound escaped from within the protective sphere, but through the glass the gathered Seekers could see a maelstrom of crushing force, rippling dark magic, and pain. Faced with such brutal punishment, P did the only thing he could do: teleport back out. He reappeared in the vault with a bloodcurdling shriek, made even worse by the inhuman reverb to his voice, and collapsed onto the ground in bad shape.

“Aaaaagh!” he blubbered, beside himself with agony. “Y-you haven’t won! You can’t stop me! I’ll still get away. And then I’ll be back for you once I’m healed up, you hear me!? I’ll drain the lifelight of the whole city if I have to! I’ll kill you, kill you, kill you all!”

He began to teleport again, the same purple particles appearing. By now though, Gallo was back on his feet, and from a little pouch he pulled a [url=https://i.imgur.com/igLGutD.png]shining hourglass[/url]. “Looks like it’s up to you,” he growled through gritted teeth as he hurled the timepiece. “Shmuetax!”

On impact the hourglass did not smash, but it did stop P in his tracks as a pitch-black line seemed to cleave through reality itself, including the Consul. When it burst a second later, the whole room cleanly split in half along the line, and P along with it. “AAAAAAAAAGH!” he howled, cut diagonally in half through the middle, with only half a torso, a quarter of a left arm, and three quarters of a right arm to his name. Yet still he lived, and as he writhed the purple reactor in his chest went into an unstable overdrive. As it whirred, giving off purple sparks, P’s limbs and lower half began to regrow. Once the pain diminished enough to focus, he’d be teleporting again.

Sectonia doubted at this point that her plan of mind controlling Consul P. wouldn’t work, so she went with her backup plan. While Kamek and Jr. were adamant about not killing, there wasn’t anything for it at this point as Sectonia pulled out her remaining sword and blinked next to Consul P. In the same motion of her blink, as Moebius P was recovering, Sectonia stabbed the unstable reactor in his chest with her massive sword before doing a sideways slice at it, and on the backswing, aiming for the Moebius’ head itself.

The head wound ultimately didn’t matter, but the same couldn’t be said for the core. Once Sectonia pierced it through, P’s howls began to turn hollow. He flailed and thrashed and wriggled, but with his core broken he couldn’t regenerate what he’d lost, and from the reactor leaked a flood of bright, blood-red motes. “You can’t, you can’t, you can’t do this to meeeeeeeeee!” he blubbered, his struggle quickly growing weaker. “I’m Moebius…Moebius! I’m s’posed to be…infiniiiiiiiiiiite…” His body began to dissolve, not into ash, but into light. In just a moment he was gone, and not even a spirit remained.

“Hah!” Gallo snorted without delay. After scooping up the hourglass where it had fallen and dusting it off, he sneered at the spot where P had vanished. If he could have, he would have gladly kicked the Consul’s body for a few seconds. Maybe even a few minutes. “Like that, you little snot! I’ll see you in hell!” With that, he turned to the others. “Well done, all of you! This is a blow struck not just for the Home of Tears, not just for the Under, but for me…Iguana Gallo Valetto! I am in your debt, and since I cannot stand to be in anyone’s debt, the contents of this room are yours for the taking. More than equitable compensation, I should think?”

Summoning the sword that Consul P. had ‘given her’ as a mock gesture, Sectonia tossed down the inflatable balloon sword upon what should’ve been his ashes. [color=92278f]”A fitting end for such an ugly being.”[/color] She then relaxed a bit of her tension as the fight had ended, falling very low to the ground before recovering. Taking Gallo’s word about his debt, Sectonia offered an additional condition. [color=92278f]”That is fine. I would also like to annex this kingdom into my own. Considering it will need a new leader, I don’t see why one of the existing leaders of the kingdom shouldn’t take that mantle. And it seems there is only one left in such a position. How curious… ”[/color] Sectonia mused. [color=92278f]”Having this kingdom be under the banner of Floralia, with you as its reagent lord, would benefit us both. I doubt I’ll be around much to manage this kingdom anyway, and the people would prefer someone they know instead of someone they don’t to lead them. What do you say Gallo?”[/color]

Gallo blinked, taken by surprise by her offer. “I am no ruler, and I care not a whit about it in the first place,” he told her frankly. “Instituting a functional form of government in the Home of Tears would be far too much hassle anyway. To continue my research in MY tower, and delve ever deeper into the secrets of magic, is all I want.”

[color=92278f]”Fair enough. I see no reason why that can’t continue.Unraveling the secrets of the universe is quite a goal after all.”[/color] Sectonia said, having the notion of “easy come, easy go” on her face. Still, they’d need to find someone to run this place… Wait, didn’t Kamek mention some sort of exiled ruler when Consul P took over? She would need to ask the koopa mage about that. Although Sectonia hadn’t met the man herself, so she would be taking a shot in the dark with them.

[color=92278f]”Speaking of secrets of the universe… I wonder how Consul P did what he did? IT seems whatever the case, the downside of his power was complete annihilation upon his defeat.”[/color] Sectonia said, looking over the fight they had all just fought. The power to change time without causing a causality problem was quite strong indeed. She then mused. [color=92278f]”Is this going to be a common thing with all Consuls? Power over incredible forces, at the cost of their very being?”[/color] 

There was a lull for a moment after the battle, where Ichiban stood over the spot Moebius P vanished from, shoulders rising and falling as he took sharp, deep breaths. The adrenaline of the fight wore off… at least, that’s how he was justifying it, unaware of the influence that made him jump into the battle. [color=BB2F56]”Huh… ahh, so, we… won?”[/color] He asked, scratching his head. [color=BB2F56]”What happened to P? Did the kid send some lackey in to deal with us?”[/color]

[color=92278f]”Hmm?”[/color] Sectonia said as Itchiban said something odd. She then remembered he was still Galeemed. Considering he wouldn’t be of much help in a state like that and her overall good mood, she pulled out a friend heart, blinked behind Ichiban, and thrust it into him, taking advantage of his confusion. [color=92278f]”Can’t have this be an issue later.”[/color] Sectonia said nonchalantly. 

[color=BB2F56]”Wh–”[/color] Ichiban turned, raising his bat to shield himself, out of instinct really, though it didn’t stop the mystical Friend Heart from reaching him. He stumbled backwards as if it had been a real hit, and the red light faded from his eyes. [color=BB2F56]”...what the hell?”[/color] Ichiban looked around the room again, at Gallo, Jr and Kamek, Sectonia, eyes wide as he visibly processed all the new information rushing to his head.

After a moment that lasted for as long as it would be funny to, Ichiban shouted, [color=BB2F56]”What’s going on here?!”[/color] His hand snapped to the Koopa pair with a point. [color=BB2F56]”Why’s there a freaking turtle in a clown car, a little wizard, and a-”[/color] Ichiban swung his finger to Sectonia now, [color=BB2F56]”a huge-ass [i]bee[/i] floatin’ here?! And that, that thing…”[/color]

He looked down to where P had just been, tapping the floor with the end of his bat, like he was searching for a trapdoor. [color=BB2F56]”What was [i]that?[/i] It looked like a big pig monster, did I really fight that thing? If that was this P kid, then…”[/color] Other bits of information clicked in his head, mostly the robotic doppelgangers of P they had seen up to this point, and a few broken ones strewn around this bratty hoard.

[color=BB2F56]”P? Is that like, part of his name?”[/color] He continued, more confused than angry now, the question aimed at Gallo. [color=BB2F56]”Wait, those Ganondorf and Bowser lookin’ dudes… now this P kid… did I just beat up a [i]video game[/i] character?!”[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Ah, his majesty is not going to like this”[/color] the mage said upon hearing his king’s name, both him and Jr having been too caught off guard by their plan not working to really weigh in one way or the other with how to end the situation. Given that P had threatened to effectively doom the city however, he supposed in the end what had to be done had been done without his input. 

As for the actual question, Kamek’s answer was [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I’ve no idea what you are on about I am afraid. However I am sure you are going through a lot, getting your memories back and all that, so take your time, and we can discuss it as we leave. I think we could all do with a rest after a night like tonight … or a morning I suppose?”[/color] 

[color=SpringGreen]”Mmm,”[/color] jr agreed, his tone not really giving away anything about how he felt about this.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”As for our reward … well, our loot plus Gallo’s share … if your majesty would be so kind as to provide some extra helpers, I can shrink it all down to a more manageable size”[/color] Kamek went on, making a mental note to sit down with the boy and address things once they were out of the tower, before he turned his wand on the treasure and began shrinking it down to a more carryable size. There was nothing better to do with her antillions, so she summoned some to help lug the loot out. It was a fair amount. 

[hider=Results][b]Party:[/b] Bowser, Junior, Kamek, Rika, Nadia, Sectonia, Primrose, Jesse, Therion, Ichiban, Ganondorf
[b]Encounter Reward:[/b] 16 EXP
[b]Additional Reward:[/b] 16,500 Geo (1500 each), random furnishings, artwork, trinkets, and toys
[center][b]A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O [s]P[/s] Q R S T U V W X Y Z[/b][/center][/hider]