Dawnrider

World of Light

Level: 6 (7 -> 8/60)
Location: Dead Zone - Argent Tower -> Sundered Avenue -> Hell-bent City
Word Count: 701 (+1 EXP)

Power: Pending…
Blue Eggs: 100 -> 62 -> 39/100
Red Feathers: 50 -> 44/50

The going away from the tower was hardly the fastest, but at least now they were making their getaway. With a vehicularly inexperienced mechanoid at the wheel, however, coupled with the resistance they would no doubt meet along the way, the diminished pace didn’t the going any easier. The duo maintaining their balance atop an armored vehicle with a mounted weapon meant having to hang onto it with every other turn (even the most shallow) while making sure to avoid it every time it fired, on top of repelling the share of Flood that got past it between charges. For what it was worth, they were decently suited to the task in one way that no one else was. While they were unaware of the specific threat posed by the smaller, skittering Flood forms, their perpetual back-to-back positioning conveniently ensured that none of them would find purchase on the back of either of their necks.

By sheer quantity there was no stopping a small, but appreciable number of the Flood jumping or crawling aboard the dozer in waves, those that managed to not be splattered under its tires or against its front bumper. It fell to the duo (and whoever else) to fix that from the roof. They began by spitting off a few repelling shots at the bounding combat forms until too many were aboard to keep shooting at, whereupon they resorted to Beak Bayonet for close range, then Breegull Bash shortly thereafter before stowing Kazooie to cover Banjo’s back. They didn’t have too much difficulty fighting them aside from their numbers, the first of which were cleared by the turret, manned by an inexperienced driver who couldn’t see them. After that close call enemies began piling on again, but sharp beak and heavy paw seemed to suffice for another round more, with a wing stomp to clear the crawler buildup.

Soon, Banjo found himself having to hold his face shut after getting his first whiff of poisonous gas sourced from a flock of flying creatures that, while not allied with the Flood, still saw fit to harass them. Upon spotting them himself, and dodging a swooping bite from one of them, Banjo threw the turret arm at the nearest of them to swat them down. The weapon happened to be discharged at that moment to take out more mid-swing, and those that were still up and on them, the duo took care of with some parting egg fire.

While they managed to eventually break through and leave behind the greater mass of the Flood, they had not yet freed themselves of peril. For one obstacle, they traded another, as the terrain became their new enemy. Thankfully, by the time the path fractured, dropped, and made traversal and balance maintenance harder for those to whom it mattered, Jak and Daxter, the best drivers in the party, booted the Medabot from the driver’s seat and took the wheel from her, straightening out the difficulty curve somewhat. It didn’t entirely solve the problem of the Flood bomber dropping organic mines on the road ahead of them, however, boding near ill when the dozer finally hit one close to the upcoming gap. Suddenly, before anyone else had a chance to see to it themselves, a cloaked, phantasmal figure flew in unexpectedly, and from out of nowhere, to cleave the bomber down, clearing the jump for them.

Banjo hunkered down in preparation for the ramp. Whether the dozer cleared the gap or not, him and Kazooie decided to get off here. Just as the tires left the pavement, Kazooie sprang forward from a green platform, landing back atop the dozer at its apex in tandem arcs. Where she had left a green platform, she landed back on a blue and red one. Once they took to the air, they planned to stay there, at least for as long as they could or had to. They were silently thanking themselves for their good decision when the ground on the other side showed the first signs of giving way. In suit with the rest, the pair climbed in altitude and continued making their way for the remaining Qliphoth root, whether it meant following the group or leading them.

---

Level: 4 (32 -> 33/40)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Shadow of Vah Naboris
Word Count: 392 (+1 EXP)

To say the least, the party didn’t disperse their forces in quite the way he had hoped they would. When prompting the flyers to fan out and issuing the command to target the Beast’s feet, he didn’t expect or intend for them to fly straight to its interior while leaving the feet to them. In fact, he had counted on Poppi, boasting the heaviest artillery among them, to chip in on that front, and as for the Courier, it was impossible to tell where he was at on his end without being able to see or hear from him. There was no telling for him if this resulted from an error in communication or just everyone having their own ideas how they could best contribute, but there was no means of or sense in arguing it now. Besides, this was more his area than anyone else’s, even if he was presently under-equipped for it individually, and he wasn’t one to command anything of others that he wouldn’t do himself if he could.

“Be ready,” he called out after knocking on the van’s interior wall to alert both the van and the driver, “I’ll need you to pick me up.” It was hard to tell between Skull and Morgana who was really in control, so he made his request out loud nonspecifically to whichever one of them could better fulfill it. With the back wide open, while Primrose bolted one foot, Fox was free to take the other opposite. He took a calculated, deliberate fall out of the opening to line up with his target, and before hitting the sand, he dashed straight for its foot, stopping dead on top of it with an explosive report.

He found out quickly as the foot lifted up just how poor a foothold it made for. He slid down from the ankle of the rising hoof, kicking off of it, air dashing in reverse to hit it with another explosion before it got too far away from him, and caught himself against the ground in a recovery roll. He couldn’t afford to linger in the open for long, so he made haste in moving to intercept the van on its return trip. If he could manage, he would try to get off one more Burst to hit one of the other feet on his way back.

World of Light

Level: 4 (30 -> 32/40)
Location: Sandswept Sky
Word Count: 859 (+2 EXP)

The enigmatic woman’s words to Fox were short and vague, sparing in details, but helpful enough in that there were elements of danger in her listing that he genuinely wouldn’t have guessed on his own. Particularly, her mention of cold and radiation stood out to him in that regard, as well as her offer to assist them prior to her abrupt takeoff. Everything else seemed obvious enough that he or anyone else could have predicted or figured it out. Even her given directive fell firmly in line with the party’s initial surprise assessment; that their goal in fact lay at the peak in plain view. One of them, perhaps.

Something about that still seemed wrong, however. It was too easy, he thought. Not in the sense that he expected the path there to be smooth, easy, non-violent or direct, despite appearances of the latter. The problem he saw lay in not only the fact that it appeared that way to begin with, but also that they already met a willing guide and participant to their cause… in the war effort against Galeem. The burning crimson in her eyes made it hard to tell if she meant to lead or lure them, intentionally or not. Fox, fresh off of the influence as of earlier in the day, could speak to the more than likely absence of awareness in her. It was entirely possible that she had every intention of aiding them in the coming conflict, but equally likely that things could go wrong beyond her control by the time they got there. Thus, her insistence on seeing them there personally was to be heeded with cautious scrutiny.

With the woman’s summary departure, Fox paced back over to the van where the others were gathered, contemplating their next move while they deliberated on it. While Fox was a fan of getting the job done, he couldn’t help getting the same impression that they might be in some way ill-prepared, and a side venture or two along the way might do them some good. To the Twili imp's query, he answered, “What we already knew. We’re on the right track...” He paused for a moment, glancing back toward the mountaintop, then to the Divine Beast, and beyond. “But if we have anything else to take care of here, let’s do that first,” he said in agreement with the consensus (prior to knowing of it) to explore ahead of the main fight. “Just be sure to watch our heading, and our footing closely as we go. I doubt we’ll be alone out here,” he finished, echoing the woman’s warning as he made to enter the van.

For the following stretch of the drive, Fox kept a constant eye looking out for any otherwise unseen dangers that might be upon them at a moment’s notice. As they soon found out, however, the first threat they would face lay in plain view. As the gang started to get a better look at the great camel, so too did they fall within its notice. Whether the red of its eyes was natural to it or by the light of Galeem, one could scarcely tell, but they bore an unmistakably unwelcoming intent. Even from a fair distance, the swelling of energy could be audibly discerned over the heavy sandstorm that they were passing through, and at the first sign of it, Fox threw open the van’s rear doors to get a full visual on the Beast, aided in small part by the targeting system in his eyepiece.

He didn’t get a long glimpse of it before slamming the doors shut a second before the lightning strike, but it was enough time to see what he needed to. Anyone else who was looking for it might find it as well. What he found was that it drew in electrical energy upward through its feet--from the ground and/or movement--to power itself and smite oncomers with… so someone smarter or more familiar with it might hypothesize seeing the same. To him, they were just big, glowing weak points screaming to be shot at by any other like it he had seen in his lifetime. The only problem was he wasn’t sufficiently armed to considerably damage it himself--not without provoking some risk for a single hit (which wouldn’t discourage him from trying it if he saw the need to). While the question was going around about engaging the machine or not, he already had an idea about how to do that.

“Double back!” He directed to Joker and gang. “If we can get under it, and stay there, that may put us out of its targeting range. Six! This is Fox,” he called to the Courier over comms, knowing better than to prompt a response. “You and the other fliers fan out. Keep its attention divided. And if you have something heavy to hit it with, aim for its feet.” At the end of his call, he turned his attention back to the rest of Morgana’s occupants, looking for confirmation--that they had heard his command and of their ability to somehow help see it through. “The rest of you copy?”

World of Light

Level: 4 (29 -> 30/40)
Location: Eryth Sea - Smash City Alcamoth -> Sandswept Sky - Desert Landing
Word Count: 730 (+1 EXP)

Even for those among Yellow Team who couldn’t fly (which made most of them), the adjacency of the Eryth Sea to their destination made for a painless, largely quiet trip there. It wasn’t as convenient as, say, teleporting, as the other teams had done, but not everyone had the luxury of being so close to their target region’s border that they could simply cross over it on foot. Fox kept a pace or two ahead of the grounded share of the squad--those that were officially part of it anyway. The masked teens and their cat moved and worked at their own pace, seemingly uninterested in uniting their efforts with the collective beyond what was incidental to the conditions of their travel.

The downhill trail through the tight mountain pass bled into the hot, sparkling dunes under blistering, sedimentary air exacerbated by the sun made somehow brighter with the transition--all previously obscured by the range of peaks leading there. It was enough to prompt Fox to mask himself with his collar bandana for the first time in… well, perhaps ever. His eyepiece--not terribly useful under the current conditions--picked up just as much detail as his squinted eyes hand-shielded from whistling dust winds, which was of course very little, but enough to faintly discern a great silhouette snaking around the distant summit. The question (one of several anyway) was whether or not they would actually be able to cross the vast desert on their own power to make it there, or be in fighting shape by then should they manage. For lack of a better way, Fox was just about to hazard it until the youth gang’s feline transmuted itself into a passenger friendly vehicle and, at Tora’s plea, graciously allowed the grounded number of them aboard with a friendly disclaimer of possible discomfort.

Fox, for one, was quietly grateful for being lent a ride, none too bothered by the occupancy shortage or lack of cooling. In line with the others, he slipped off his flight jacket to expose his bare, now sleeveless fur to what cool air there was to take in while they were sheltered, and would make a point to don it again after stepping out into the buffeting sands. In the meantime, while everyone else was getting familiar, Fox zoned out into the HUD of his headset trying to find any viable line of communication he could between him and any of his comrades. Alas, all that showed up was a shortwave, one-way radio receiver on the Courier. Still, mixed results were better than none. At least Fox could potentially talk to him, if not vice versa.

After a minute the car came to a stop, bringing Fox’s attention back to his surroundings. He stepped out of the van and donned his bandana and jacket once more, and he began to survey his surroundings while Morgana rested. It seemed they could use an adjustment to their heading, seeing as they had made no visible progress. The teenage gang and a couple of others deliberated on which direction to take. Toward the mountain following the sun lay their apparent destination, but the gang seemed to have other plans first. Peering into the distance where the sandstorm worsened they could see a great mechanical ungulate slowly treading a circle in the sands, and while it showed no immediate signs of aggression or hostility, one look at it made it difficult to believe that it wasn’t potentially dangerous.

“Wherever we go from here,” Fox began aloud to no one in particular/anyone who was listening, “my guess is we’ll have to get past that to get there,” he said alluding to the giant clockwork camel. As well as that, the roiling movement beneath the sands some short ways off didn’t escape him either. “And maybe more…” he uttered more softly this time. Already he was running through a headful of scenarios for the most likely inevitable series of engagements they were in for. As no one had yet approached the lone woman posted up at the totem-lined path, Fox decided to be the first, hoping she might have (and offer) some insights. “Anything you can tell us about this place? What we can expect to run into?” In his inquiry, Fox opted to dispense with the introductions and salutations, taking the woman from her bearing to not be much for them.

World of Light

Level: 6 (6 -> 7/60)
Location: Eryth Sea - Smash City Alcamoth -> Dead Zone - Argent Tower
Word Count: 651 (+1 EXP)

Power: Pending…

When Red Team arrived back at Argent Tower, those who were there before would find that it wasn’t as they left it, and as such, they would not be afforded a slow, easy start that some of them had hoped for. That was to say the pace would be hard set for them to one of immediate urgency right out of the gate. Before Banjo’s bare feet could hit flat against the cold metal floor the squad were instantly beset upon by a parasitic horde of mutant monstrosities that had more than enough time to build up in their absence with the doors forced wide open for (and likely by) them. As soon as they registered this, Banjo hastily drew Kazooie, ‘charged’ her and began returning fire.

Weighed against a couple of choice members in their party, the duo were sporting decidedly meager firepower, but still proved more useful than not to just the right extent. While a torrential rain of crossbow bolts, a sweeping volley of blue eco rounds and a roaring cloud of dragon fire tore through the front line, Banjo and Kazooie were able to individually take out any strays that managed to clear the onslaught, at one point shooting down a leaping Flood with its tentacle arm reared back ready to swat to first one of them it came into contact with. The duo found themselves suddenly more thankful than ever for the experience afforded to them through the tacked on ‘Shooter’ element in their sequel, as well as starting with full Blue ammo to make use of it. Though, the practical necessity for it meant that their supply was already noticeably dwindling while they and the rest of the squad were getting nowhere fast. They soon adjusted their strategy to saving shots for the smaller, skittering parasites that would splatter with one round apiece while switching to melee for average mid-sized enemies. This was made much easier by Linkle’s ice wall as the enemies’ advance slowed significantly, but it served as little more than a holding pattern for the Team.

Said pattern was forced to a destructive end when the crystalline barrier was battered to shards from the impact of a heavily armored vehicle against it, followed by a stream of lightning from its top-mounted arm that struck out the teleporter, ensuring them no way back. Banjo dove aside and rolled out of the turret’s line of fire, stabbing Kazooie’s beak through a former human Flood, through which the reanimated creature persisted. In a light panic Banjo fired Kazooie in an attempt to knock it loose, only to end up shooting behind it, which happened to be useful in its own for the moment it lasted before Banjo withdrew his Kazooie’s head from its torso and swatted its head away with a hefty swipe. When he disgustedly shook the iccor from his foot after stomping a crawler flat, he got a good look outside at the remaining root that the duo remembered they were bound for. It was then that Bowser made the timely call to move, to which they promptly complied.

Banjo put Kazooie away and switched to the Accept-Lance as he made a run for the retreating vehicle. He took two heavy, wide-sweeping swings around him with the lance while advancing, and topped it with a third arcing strike to set himself into a sidelong semi-vault by its grounded tip. Kazooie popped out mid-flight to stick a running landing to give herself a brief start on bounding after the dozer. Banjo pocketed the lance and twisted mid-jump to transition from talon to foot and catch them in a reckless, rolling landing atop the vehicle. The duo managed to overshoot their jump slightly, forcing him to grab a hold of the shocking turret arm for lack of anything better to hang on by, fully aware now of its function, but desperate for an expeditious escape.

World of Light

Level: 6 (51 -> 53/60)
Location: Eryth Sea - Smash City Alcamoth -> Edge of the Blue - Inkwell Isle Three
Word Count: 1040 (+2 EXP)

Through the panoramic portals, down the hole in the Guild Hall in Lumbridge, through the Casino’s front doors, and out of the cave that housed it--supposedly representing Hell itself--Blue Team took their first steps into the Edge of the Blue. For some of them, including Hat Kid, this technically wasn’t their first trip, but it was their first time entering the region proper since the initial incident that brought them effectively to the other side of the continent. Maybe they should be thanking Gneidxick for making it so convenient for them. Not only did they get to skip over the Dark forest to get there (even if it meant having to backtrack through it later), but once they were done they would have their pick of where to enter it from when they got back around to it. The fogged town beyond the treeline under creepy moon-gaze just screamed, “You’ll definitely be going here later.”

She eye-traced the picturesque coastline starting from the Forest in question to the other end of the horizon as far as she could see. Over the cartoon landscape she could spot the sea-borne city in the distance, but could make nothing of it from where she stood beyond the simple fact that it exists. She had to admit, when she signed up to travel to the world’s shore, she was a little surprised to have not seen (yet, at least) some element of a familiar locale she had expected to find. Though the idea fell in line with what she knew about the world, for the same reason, there was no telling what to expect from it.

Speaking of the unexpected, another black coat, hitherto unnoticed, made her address to Peach, laying out instructions for the next leg of their journey a tad too conveniently. As if it wasn’t hard enough trusting any of the faceless exposition machines that were these “Organization” agents (or just anyone who wouldn’t show their face to a supposed ally), she flat out handed them a set daunting and unscrupulous directives with some… interesting word choices: Gather a near dozen victims “guests”, lure them aboard “The Maw” for a proverbial ‘Bermuda’ cruise, survive the voyage to the “black” Bottomless Sea, and escape there. Yeah… that sounded like a plan; nothing sketch about it at all.

Of course, she claimed mutual interest in their quest with a desire to help, and in contrast to the last guy (Gneidxick), who had made a game of jerking them around “qualifying” them for the hunt, she was offering them a fairly direct route to their objective. That being said, if she really wanted to help that badly, couldn’t she have already had the necessary ten “guests” lined up for them to take aboard? Especially if she had been there for apparently “months”, as she said. Moreover, she clearly knew an awful lot about how this process worked and what it entailed to be so dry on helpful key details, yet heavy on poeticism. It sounded like something she could have possibly done herself, or volunteered to help with, for one allegedly so interested in seeing it through. Here, her similarity to Gneidxick showed in a patent lack of candor regarding her motives. What was really her ploy here?

Between her last adventure and the current one, as many times as she had been duped and cheated by people she worked for, it was little wonder that Hat Kid harbored acquired trust issues, and the hooded woman leading them on was setting off her scumbag radar. Was this woman going to somehow betray them at (or close to) the end of all this, regardless of what road they took there? Most likely, the child thought. Was that going to stop her from considering the way given and acting on it? As always, of course not, because she didn’t exactly have a better idea at the moment, and it wasn’t as if she would find one where they stood if she thought really hard about it for long enough.

Naturally, the given plan incited a moral quandary among some of the others, who proceeded to debate over the possibility of a better solution, or lack thereof. It didn’t seem to occur to some, as it did to the child, that they were perhaps jumping to conclusions in their assumption that the prospect sacrifices were necessarily worth saving, or as Ace suggested, that they had to be sacrificed at all, rather than additions to the hunting party, perfectly capable of handling it, that could more than help. The only way they would find out for sure is if they started looking, so instead of competing philosophy, Kid decided to get a head start on their search, consulting her top Hat for a heading toward her next objective as she looked back out over the island. For good measure, she would also be checking her Compass for anything of value she could pick up along the way before taking off.

Just as she was about to take her first steps away, the black coat spoke up once more, elaborating slightly more one what would await them aboard the monstrous vessel, and incorporating a degree of flexibility in the plan. As far as taking control of the ship, THAT was something the child could do. As it so happened, she actually had some experience with exactly that before. Well… wrecking it, anyways, but from what they could infer about it so far, this one probably deserved to be wrecked. If it came down to it, and none opposed for any good reason, the gang could count on her for that much. Though she still wasn’t feeling that great about the plan, it was certainly starting to sound better already.

At the black coat’s direction, Hat Kid sauntered aboard the afforded pirate ship, heading straight for the bow to scope out their destination whilst checking her Hat and Badge once more. Once the captain showed himself again, Hat Kid turned her attention to him with a salute in an enthusiastic show of eagerness to set sail… or just as part of her playful nature. She figured it would PROBABLY be better to let him man the wheel on this one.

World of Light

Level: 6 (48 -> 51/60) | 6 (3 -> 6/60) | 4 (26 -> 29/40)
Location: Eryth Sea - Smash City Alcamoth -> Peach’s Castle; Hat Kid’s Ship
Word Count: 3100 (+3 EXP)

Power: Pending…
Item: 100 Blue Eggs, 50 Red Feathers, -2 Jiggies

For what was essentially a mass conference on the end of the world, the overall reception to it was certainly more positive than expected. Not that there was much to expect, but among such things wasn’t boisterous, cheerful applause of enthusiastic consent. Peach’s eloquence in conveying the matter may have been in part to thank for that, along with the seemingly natural, foolhardy inclination to fight back against tyrannical divinity to reclaim dominion over their own lives, or perhaps to prove they had it all along. Whatever reason they went with, no one already fighting for it could blame them. They never needed a better reason to save the world; why should anyone else?

Aside from the ‘Alcamoth Mercenaries’ being spoken for by their apparent leader, other volunteers promptly set to signing up for any one of the four available missions. Well… locations, rather. With the shortage of information, there wasn’t much in the way of mission parameters or a plan; just destinations. Regardless of what they needed to do they simply knew that it needed to be done, and that any were so eager to act in the face of the unknown was, in its own way, admirable. Such came with the territory of heroism after all.

Soon after the meeting’s end, Banjo and Diddy managed to find each other within the crowd for a joyous, long overdue reunion. He knew Diddy for almost as long as he’d known Kazooie, whom he reminded in a whisper to be mindful of her manners. The two (Banjo and Diddy) went as far back as either of them could remember, all the way back to the start of a proverbial “Golden Age” where they both got their starts. Some may not remember it, but Banjo in fact got started by joining Diddy to aid a friend in need on a vehicular adventure. Ironic, considering his and Kazooie’s last known exploit marked something of a soft stop to their career. In a way, his known life began and ended (or paused) in the driver’s seat--a fact that came up in conversation some shorts ways into it.

Conversation largely consisted of catching up, with subjects including how they had been before the end of the world, what they had been up to then and now, and even the making of an atypically reserved, almost shy introduction of Kazooie to Diddy, and vise versa. Hers was a reservation borne of Banjo’s request to be more polite this time--a request she genuinely wanted to honor, even if it meant overcorrecting a bit. It didn’t take her long after to perk back up and level out her demeanor, as the discussion soon segued into the good news: they were officially part of the Smash circuit now. Diddy, of course, was ecstatic when Banjo presented him the letter as confirmation, and quickly followed it with a request to the overjoyed Kong that he temper his excitement before he could erupt into raucous cheer and draw undue attention their way. Now, Banjo thought, wasn’t the time for ceremony, or the unfulfilling lack thereof. Not that it kept him and Kazooie from imagining it in their future, daydreaming of it in the moment.

An extended second of silence passed with the duo staring musingly, reminiscently at the letter in Banjo’s hand. Their attention was brought back to the present when Diddy caught them spacing out, reminded them where they were, and asked if they wanted to make use of their new status with an exhibition match or two, volunteering himself as a 2v2 partner for them. As tempting as it was, they both had to respectfully decline for the time being, but tabling the standing offer for later. Their celebratory initiation and any accompanying parties would have to wait for a better time, when the world didn’t need saving… or at least when they had nothing better or more important to do. For one who previously held a premature endgame party/cookout for their first adventure, and even tried to lazily, irresponsibly duck out of the final showdown on the second, this sense of priority was a new showing from Banjo.

On the subject of saving the world, Banjo thought to ask Diddy about the part he planned on playing in that, and returned an offer in kind to join them on their crusade--be it to return a favor from the past, or just for its own sake. He similarly declined, however, clarifying an ordered need to keep a ‘reserve’ force filled out, and that he’d already been selected for it. They took this to simply meant that he would go wherever he was needed, whenever he was needed there, so it didn’t entirely rule out the possibility that they would/could run into each other in the field at some point. This marked a decisive stopping point in conversation as both parties made their friendly, parting salutations. At which point Banjo and Kazooie left to make their preparations, which mostly just involved taking the newly established path of graffiti portals to Lumbridge and back to resupply themselves by sneaking into the Cucco pens to pilfer a full stock of Eggs and Feathers, not knowing in their prior absence that they could have probably just asked for it at no charge to them, as per the quest reward.

After finishing their supply run of unnecessary criminal misconduct (hopefully unnoticed/-acknowledged by anyone) they returned to the main atrium to select a mission for themselves. The Dead Zone was among the three options, and they meant to return there eventually, given what they knew about it, they both had to admit that either one of the other two sounded more appealing--especially if they stood a respective chance of containing a beach or exotic oasis. The thought of it had them considering what they would be missing out on versus what they would be getting for their troubles...

“Hmmm. Sooo… I’m sure they don’t need our help in the Dead Zone, right?” And like that, Banjo was back to old habits, trying to find an out for a task he quietly promised to undertake for lack of wanting to return to the region.

“The people who’re already there fighting for their lives?” Kazooie emphatically exaggerated. “Probably not… but what can you live with?” Kazooie dryly tacked on a false line of guilt to poke at her partner and influence his decision making, signifying an obvious motive on her part.

“Nice try, Kazooie, but I don’t think they’re gonna bite it because we’re not there.”

“You’re probably right, but what about that ‘Skull Heart’ the hairballing pun machine mentioned?” She reminded Banjo of Nadia’s declared intent from when they initially left the Dead Zone, which they just happened to pick up on. “Weren’t we going to help find that? That’s kind of our thing, after all, and it sounds like something we’d probably rather not leave alone.”

“*sigh* I was afraid you might say that,” Banjo conceded as he begrudgingly approached the reception area to sign the respective roster.

“Don’t worry, Banjo,” she started as she leaned forward out of Banjo’s backpack and over his shoulder to sign them on. “I’m sure there’s something good in it for us,” she continued, more or less admitting a degree of underlyingly self-serving intent.

“I should’ve guessed as much.”

---

While everyone else was figuring out their headings and preparations, Hat Kid snuck off back to the castle through Jr’s portal to take care of some things of her own at ‘home’, but not before signing her name to a mission roster--ALL of them. She gave no thought or respect to procedure or protocol. She would go wherever she felt like whenever she made an honest decision to. It was in writing now, so no one could dispute it, she (incorrectly) figured, even if they could read or at least decipher said writing (in which case they definitely couldn’t dispute it ;p). Any way Administration took it, she wouldn’t be getting left out, so she needn’t concern herself with it further until the time came… maybe. In the meantime, she had a separate, long-term affair to attend to.

The child rematerialized at the bridge just outside of the castle’s front door, conveniently within reach of her water-bound ship, and made a direct path for it. She was slightly surprised at first to find a number of Toad servants within upon entering, one of whom apologized for the intrusion and explained that they simply came out to help tidy up the home of a recognized ally to the royal house as a courtesy. He clarified further that she needn’t worry about compensating them, since they were “used to it,” which the child took as good news, even if it did lend some unintentional insight on how the Princess regards her subjects. Even aside from any of that it was of little concern to her. If you leave your house parked outside of someone else’s unattended with the front door wide open for an extended period, you didn’t exactly get to complain if and when someone found their way in, but truth be told she didn’t care who made themselves at home if they were helping out in some way, as they were. She’s certainly had worse intruders aboard before, and even he sold her a map to help her on her adventure. Come to think of it, she should probably look into installing security some time.

Back to her business, she approached the command console and began running some quick diagnostics. As it turned out, the ship was definitely busted, and probably wouldn’t move any time soon without extensive repairs. After being blasted down by a dragon, crashing into a castle and nosediving into a watery moat, who would have guessed that? She had a lot of work to do, and virtually no time to get any of it done before heading out. In the absence of competent, knowledgeable helping hands, going around repairing every little mechanical and cosmetic flaw in the ship by hand between outings was going to take an eternity and a half. The idea hit her that she still had a Time Piece on her person, and three more in the vault that she could use to systematically rewind the damages a little at a time. Sure, it would dramatically reduce repair time and monetary costs, likely affording her completion in under an hour, would she potentially burn out a Time Piece to accomplish it, or inadvertently affect more than that doing it? While the former was a significantly more likely consequence, that was the problem with harnessing raw, unrefined Time power. If you weren’t careful with how you directed it, things went wrong everywhere--and everywhen--in a hurry.

She sat for a moment in intensive thought, trying to figure out a way to make this, or something, work. Then, it occurred to her: the ship. She already had a means of refining the temporal energy that she used regularly. She had never used it in this way, of course, but if she just cyclically rerouted the energy already available to her and ran it in reverse, it might keep the outputted energy from escaping past the ship and make a full correction to the damages in one move with next to no consumption. It was a bit of a stretch, but who ever accomplished anything by taking zero risks. She thought no further of it and decided to put her hypothesis to the test, punching in the according command sequences and engaging the ship’s main drive.

The vessel rumbled and whirred to life as if readying for takeoff, and with a forward push on the throttle, it ‘boomed’ into motion, but not. The ship itself could be best described as running in place, but everything that happened to it ran backwards… visibly. To any possible onlookers within or around the castle, only a swelling flare of blinding white could be seen emanating from the source, followed by an implosive flash of bright blue to signal the ship’s disappearance. From Hat Kid’s perspective, events quickly replayed themselves before her in rewind; from Toads entering, to watching herself get thrashed around by turbulence and hit with Rumbi, all the way back to when she initially came under fire by MegaDragonBowser, a moment she couldn’t previously recall. Brightness slowly encompassed her vision, obscuring (or perhaps representing) everything up to that.

After a moment, her view cleared up, and the next thing she knew, her ship sat inert, fully repaired as hoped. She perked up at the realization, but before she could get too excited about being right, she glanced back at the vault to be sure everything was still in place. The display read ‘x3’ just as before, and further inspection within the vault confirmed the same. She sighed with relief at the reassurance before exiting the vault and shutting it behind her. With her work here done, she began to make her leave, but not before stopping at one of the restored, empty relic displays, examining it thoughtfully, and pulling out the two golden jigsaw pieces she found back at Spiral Mountain to place within the display’s magnetic field to float aimlessly. It would have made more sense to put them on display in the art room, but that was something to address later.

It was when she turned back to leave that she got her first good look outside, noticing an immediate, if not terribly dramatic change in scenery. She swung the door open and peered down over the side to see that she wasn’t over water anymore. In fact, she was actually behind the castle now. That much became clear to her as she hopped out of her ship (shutting the door behind her this time). She turned back around to gaze proudly up at her good work with smug satisfaction. She not only undid all of the damage dealt to it previously, but also managed to park in a better spot without even having to try. What’s more was that it took pretty much nothing on her end. And to think she almost acquiesced to a more conventional approach to repairs and relocation. Completing simple, necessary tasks the right way was for chumps!

…

…

So what did that say about her? What did it speak of her that she would so soon suspend her own standard--to never abuse such power to meet her own ends as she saw fit--the second it became the slightest bit convenient for her? Her bright smile gradually descended into a discouraged frown as the realization began to set in for her. Did this one time infraction on her own morals doom her to a future of lapses, or could such an action be re-promised against and forgiven; reconciled as a necessity for the future in service to the greater good? Or was that just proof of fallacy; a handwave of conduct as the genesis to justified ends? Would they do the same? Was she really no better than those she distrusted, and for the same reason? Did it stand to reason that she could truly be just another… “bad guy”?

She shut her eyes and clapped both sides of her head to snap herself out of her stupor of internalized dread. All this low-hanging ethical existentialism was making her head hurt. She was too young to be having these sort of thoughts anyway. Figure out what you can now, and take care of what you can today! Learn from the past; look to the future; ACT in the present! And on that, she remembered she had something more present to figure out: her mission destination. Before she could let her young, curious mind dangerously wander again, she refocused on the matter at hand and started going over the destination list in her head as she made the portal trek back to Alcamoth so that by the time she got back, she could decide where she wanted to go… for real this time.

---

“You sure I can’t count on you for this one?” Fox asked of his wingman. Him and Falco spent the better part of the period following the conference conversing pier-side, overlooking the bustling city proper as they went over what was discussed earlier. The initial apocalypse, what they remembered between then and ‘awakening’, the implication of ‘Spirits’, what it all meant, with an assurance from Fox that it wouldn’t be getting any easier, and an unexpected declaration from Falco that he wouldn’t be joining him or any of the main force on their mission.

“Sorry, Fox, but I’ve got places of my own to be,” Falco replied as he faced about to head off. “I’ve got people counting on me here, and between you and me, those guys look like they could use a ‘fearless leader’,” he said somewhat mockingly, gesturing headways to what he could see of the main force. “You should go be that for them. I’m sure you can handle it.” Though low-key backhanded the complementary endorsement was, it was evident in his tone that he meant it. Even his occasionally rivalrous attitude toward Fox didn’t detract from or diminish the genuine respect he held for him.

“So what will you do?” Fox asked in regards to Falco’s preoccupying affairs, expecting he wouldn’t remain idle.

“Probably cover the skies wherever I’m needed,” he answered with a shrug and a head shake. “But if you ever need a bail-out, I’ll be there.” Fox lightly smirked at the remark, delighted at how some things just never changed.

“Good luck out there… wherever you go.”

“Keep some of that for yourself,” Falco replied casually as he started taking his first steps away. “You might need it.”

“Take care, Falco,” said Fox in parting, responded to by Falco with a simple blind wave back. With that, Fox made his way over to reception and started looking over the available options, weighing them to the best of his ability. Knowing (or in the case of one, remembering) as little as he did about any of them made it difficult to make a valid assessment as far as where his talents were best suited. The most he could do was hazard his most educated guess based purely on name, location, the current lineup for each mission, and his assumptions about all of them. After a brief minute of consideration, he came to a decision, approached the respective mission roster, and signed on for it...

World of Light

feat.

GM

@Lugubrious

Level: 6 (25 -> 45 -> 48/60) | 5 (30 -> 50/50) LEVEL UP! ---> 6 (0 -> 3/60) | 4 (3 -> 23 -> 26/40)
Location: Land of Adventure - The End -> Eryth Sea
Word Count: 3383 (+3 EXP)

Power: Pending…

Dragon bone cracked with sickening report under Koopa might, a ripple of shadow fanned out over The End in its death throes, sunlight broke the abyssal atmosphere, dissolving it away like photo-soluble cloud cover, and with the return of spacial ‘normalcy’, the island gave way to gravity underfoot. For Banjo and Kazooie evacuation was as simple as launching back into Flight, but could do nothing from there to help anyone else leave the doomed earthberg. Uncertain of their ability to support passengers in Flight, and unable to catch up to the plummeting landmass even in a terminal dive, it was too late for them to consider it now. They were left in the aftermath of their impulse to watch the island fall with their teammates still on it, and they could only hope now that everyone else found their own ways to safety.

Hat Kid and Fox sprinted for the nearest edge to them, neither having an exit strategy in mind, but knowing they couldn’t afford to stick around long enough to think about it. A solution for the child flew over her head as Jr took off in his hastily repaired Clown Car, to which she lept after and threw out her Hookshot at it, latching on and sailing clear of the End Stone just a yard shy of the edge. Fox, seeing no immediate alternatives and no reason to look back for one, bounded from the island into open air, opting to figure it out as he went. Even at their relatively generous height to the isles below, however, he wouldn’t have much time to do that at his current rate.

He scanned the array of still floating islands for the nearest one to him according to altitude and distance, calling in his lifetime of experience airborne to make quick, intuitive mental calculations for how best to approach it. Reaching any one of them safely (or at all) would require a well-timed boost and shield stop in the right order to allow for drift and cancellation, but that was only if a better, less risky way didn’t present itself to him in a timely manner. That looked to be the case until he noticed his flight path intersecting with that of… a flying chicken? Nevermind where it came from, or why it was there. He thought that it surely couldn’t be the better solution he was hoping for, but then saw it working for Cuphead and Linkle (whom he tried not to look too hard at when hit with a discouraging chill of negative energy). As absurd as it seemed, if it really worked that well, then there was little reason not to try it now.

Fox boosted after the fowl in a trail of white jetstream smoke, catching a hold of it with one hand for an initially unsteady descent. The sudden addition of his own weight made for a somewhat startling drop for the Cucco and Fox alike, which he rectified in a rush by getting both hands on the flying flightless bird. He tried to be as gentle with the unfamiliar creature as he could, considering the predicament, and after a second the two of them stabilized. To his surprise, it actually made for easy going from there, coasting the rest of the way down to make landfall on a nearby island.

A little at a time, the party regrouped on solid ground, amidst a hybridized biome of terrestrial and aquatic. Fox gently released the Cucco to return to its master, which turned out to be Linkle, meaning its arrival to his aid wasn’t just random coincidence. Again, he refrained from lingering his gaze on her, glossing over her and Geralt as he conducted a head count. His assessment wasn’t the best informed, however, as he hadn’t made himself aware of who and how many their group were up to that point.

“Is that everyone?” he asked aloud to anyone who could or would acknowledge him. Though he would prefer an actual answer--be it verbal or gesture--he could take contented silence for its own confirmation. Better that than for questions to be raised of one’s whereabouts following an incident.

Hat Kid took to the Courier with a curious eye, inspecting his new draconic form with a sense of wonderment. From the front she could see his new claws, and perhaps for the first time since meeting him, his eyes beneath the shade of his hat, aglow with amethyst. She still couldn’t make out a full face though. From there she circled around to his back and tugged lightly on the tails of his scaled dragon-leather duster, then mounted his actual tail (that he now had). She then crawled up onto his wings, giving them a once-over before moving to stand on his shoulders to get hands and eyes on his horns. She made a quick climb up the scaled cowboy’s form, excitedly, but impertinently, stealing a feel of his newly added dragon parts to see if they felt as they looked.

“COOL!” she gushed admiringly, doing little to hold back her exuberance in the face of such a development. Sure, she had seen Spirit fusion before, but found the prospect and results largely unappealing (with a few exceptions) up until now. While she had a certain respect for the idea to begin with regarding its potential, she saw it similarly as something that could easily be overdone or done wrong altogether. Perhaps seeing a nigh exemplary high-level fusion was what it took to excite her about the possibilities, but not so much that she would willingly rush it. This was the kind of thing you wanted to be picky about, that you wanted to be patient with. In the meantime, she thought it would be worth reexamining everyone else’s Spirit transformations to get a better grasp of its effects on others, now that she was paying closer attention to it. She dismounted 6’s head (at a rate dependent on his tolerance) and joined the Koopa Troop (and whoever else) in taking a seat by the campfire, joining in the round of marshmallow roasting and quietly relishing the opportunity for a moment of downtime.

Fox tuned in to the brief commentary between Peach and Poppi about the distinctively man-made features of the island, speculating with educated guesses as to their purpose. “I’ll go check it out,” he added, volunteering himself for lookout and setting off accordingly. He proceeded at a leisurely pace, seeing as the matter didn’t demand his immediate attention… but would soon nonetheless have it. A few minutes passed in uneventful quietude in his search for one of the platforms in question, and as he neared one on the island, he spotted movement in the distance of another around the same time; the figures’ shapes unclear, but their action confirming. They stepped onto their resident platform and blinked away to another island, while Fox moved to make sure he kept them in visual registry. They reappeared on a closer island, their visages made clearer to him as familiar to him; one especially so.

“Falco?” he questioned aloud with eyes narrowed on the distant subjects. Upon closer inspection, he could see his old ally traveling with two other fellow Smash veterans: Ness and a Jigglypuff. In anticipation of their arrival, he moved to the platform to meet them on the path leading from it, approaching at a matched pace to theirs. “Good to see you too,” he smirked in reply to Falco, taking a light verbal jab at him for skipping the friendly salutations.

“What? D’ya miss me that badly?” The two anthro pilots lifted a hand in preparation as they neared each other and met them with a firm, brotherly clasp. “I figured you could handle yourself without me for a change.”

“Better than you,” Fox teased.

“Ey, don’t get cute! Last I checked we’re even,” he retorted assertively.

They referred, of course, to all the times they had bailed each other out of trouble. Fox could vividly recount a handful of saves he’d received from his fellow wingman. The inverse of the same he’d long since lost count of. In other words, they were never even, but it didn’t truly matter to either of them. What mattered was that they were always there to help when they most needed it. That’s what it meant to have a loyal friend at your back: that you could be entire star systems apart, and you’d still never be too far away.

“I’m glad to see you’re okay… all of you,” he directed to the entire party of three. It was then that he noticed, in the bigger eyes of the child and Pokemon, that there was something missing. No corrupting red adorned them, and grateful as he was for that to be the case, it made him wonder how. In his musings he was caught staring after a moment.

“Uh… are you okay, Fox?”

“Huh…?” he responded with a head shake as he broke from his contemplative stupor. “Y-yeah… I’m fine.”

“You sure? Because you looked like you were tuning out for a second.”

“It’s nothing… nothing I can explain...” he clarified, prompting a subtle, but curious look from Falco. Admittedly, this was all still new to him, so he could hardly begin to explain something he didn’t yet fully understand himself. Though there were a few waiting back at camp who could fill in the gaps for them, and he was due to have that conversation himself. “Come on,” he instructed, gesturing headways up the path. “There are more of us up ahead. They can catch you up better than I can.”

In the middle of their reunion the two pilots received extra company in the form of Peach. Like Fox, the princess recognized the familiar faces of all three newcomers, though more as acquaintances than friends. In the period of rest prior, she also spotted an all-too-memorable emblem adorning the floating palace from which the three ventured forth. Circular with an off-center cross, it was a symbol of remarkable simplicity that stood for something of uncommon importance. Seeing it loosened some of the memories lodged in her backbrain, and battles fought of campaigns concluded, sequestered away in her mind from her daily life of sports, parties, and getting rescued. She wanted to get down to business immediately, but she didn’t mind her comrades getting a moment to reunite. This world made for a lot of people robbed of their friends and family, after all. Something like this was not to be taken lightly. Peach approached, but only waved for now. Not for one moment did she consider that her appearance had changed drastically.

Unfortunately Falco only got her appearance, and though he couldn’t shake a sense that he’d seen this woman before, he didn’t recognize her. “Hey,” he greeted. “So you’re one of Fox’s new pals, huh?”

“You’ve... met, actually,” Fox corrected, considering not the tact with which to approach such a revelation until after hinting at it.

“Oh, yeah?” Falco looked at Peach in a new light, but couldn’t quite see it. “...Where?”

Peach blinked. “I’m surprised you don’t remember. We worked together to defeat Tabuu. Princess Peach?” She grimaced, realizing. “Oh, right. I forgot that my looks changed.”

As a befuddled Falco looked on, she held her arms wide to give the newcomers a good look and help them realize. A mix of pink and black, her sporty longcoat, undershirt, and jeans suggested more ‘biker’ than ‘princess.’ Her crown of thin, blonde-streaked black dreadlocks roughly resembled her old hairdo, but her rougher features and dark skin were a far cry from her origin appearance. “I absorbed the spirit of a man named Mr. Grimm. I got both some of his looks, and his power to manipulate souls.”

Falco scratched his head with his feathers. “Well, I’m sure it’ll make sense sooner or later.” He watched as Jigglypuff walked out of the conversation, going for the group of people at the center of the reef. When Peach turned to head that direction, he and Ness followed suit. “So, what’re y’all doin’? Last thing I expected after seein’ that big sphere pop was a whole bunch of people flyin’ around.”

“We just kicked the ass of this huge black dragon,” Peach told him, her smug smile not at all hidden. “Two down, eleven to go. Not just dragons, either. We’re fighting the boss of every region.”

Falco whistled, which was a real accomplishment with a beak. “Whoa. You guys are nuts.” Though given his usual company over the years, that hardly surprised him. “What’re you doin’ all that for? Fun? I know it ain’t for your health.”

Peach gave a dry chuckle, thinking of those hurt badly during this mission, and of those who’d already given their lives. Was this fun? The new part of her soul didn’t seem to relish bloodshed, and the old part certainly didn’t. “Nope. To save the world. Well, all worlds.”

The pilot looked taken aback. “What, that’s it? No more details or nothin’?”

Peach shook her head. “So that I don’t have to explain a million times, I’m going to wait to give the full story to whoever’s in charge, since you three strike me as a scouting deployment.”

“Oh. Makes sense, I guess.” The Princess proposed a curious, but plausible theory that Falco and the other two were a splinter of a larger party, much like their own, prompting silent speculation from Fox. After taking a deep breath, Falco got a little more serious. “Something tells me you ain’t jokin’. Well, if the world’s on the line, the time for smashin’s over. Count me in.”

Ness nodded his agreement, the young boy’s face solemn. Fox echoed this, happy to have his wingman back. Jigglypuff couldn’t answer on account of being amid the other heroes already, preparing to introduce herself with a song.

---

Meanwhile, Banjo and Kazooie broke away early into the respite period to look around, more out of habit than necessity. After a minute or so, they crested one of the hilled ‘starfins’ of the island and gazed out at the tower; the emblem emblazoned on it familiar, and fresh in their memory. Banjo pulled out the invitation letter they received from L.O.G. (of all people) and inspected the seal on it, comparing it to the one adorning the tower. It went without saying that they were the same, but the question remained as to what lay within the monolithic structure.

“Hm. You think any of them might know this place?” ask Banjo.

“I don’t know, but let’s go ask them anyways,” replied Kazooie before they backtracked back to camp, where they would happen upon a brief exchange of slightly heated dialogue.

“I’m sorry, YOUR ‘army’?” Falco responded defensively to Bowser, none too keen on his conscription attempt. “Well, I hate to turn you down ’Your Highness,” he emphasized mockingly, “but I’ve seen your armies; what they’re worth. Not interested.”

“At ease, Falco,” Fox calmly interjected. “He’s on our side this time.”

“What if he is?!” he replied rhetorically. “If he really wants to help, that’s fine,” he turned his attention back to Bowser, “but I don't work for you! I ain’t one of your flimsy goons, and I ain’t gonna be! So you can forget talkin’ at me like it. That goes for the rest of us. ‘Got it?’” He ended his declarative rant by repeating the Koopa King back to himself, letting the last word hang for a second before backing off to allow the tension to deflate. The following accosting of Bowser by a cleanup/makeover crew was sure to see to that. In response to the awkwardly timed silliness, Falco just hung his head with a resigned sigh and withdrew from the scene. Just as well, his piece was said, his point made (maybe), and caring little either way if the Koopa communicated an understanding or not (fully expecting ‘not’), or for whatever he otherwise might have had to say about it in response. To him, the “biggest, baddest villain” was little more than a big, delusional pushover with a bloated ego and sense of entitlement to match, and Falco was just one among a shocking many who wasn’t afraid to challenge him.

“What was that about us being ‘free’ anyway?” he turned to ask Peach and Fox; whoever could best answer that for him. Fox opened his mouth to try, but was cut off just ahead of his attempt.

“Forget whatever you’re all arguing about,” chimed Kazooie, loudly. “Banjo and I just found something, of course.” The snarking Breegull had the attention of the space animals, as well as an open ear from Hat Kid, with surely more.

"Let’s hear it,” said Fox.

“Erm, well… you know that place we saw on the way down?” Banjo started. “Would any of you *ahem*... fellow ‘Smash’ guys happen to recognize it?” Besides the new arrivals, that qualified only four of their troop to potentially answer their question: Fox, Peach, Bowser and Jr.

“I saw the symbol,” Peach mentioned. “Don’t recognize the building.”

“Weeell, allow me to enlighten ya,” Falco said. “That tower’s the place where the Super Smash Brothers fighting games have been happenin’. We’ve been runnin’ tournaments, brawls, Smash Run, you name it. And thanks to the sim rooms, we’ve been doin’ it on stages from all sorts of worlds. The joint’s got livin’ quarters, gym, cafeteria, hospital, you name it.”

Peach put a hand on her hip, her face questioning. “You said ‘we’. Who else is there?”

“Fighters, admins, and some randos. All us fighters are from past tournaments, and the admins keep things runnin’. Then there’s just some people who hang around, not doing much.” Falco broke down the inhabitants of the tower, which only gave a real idea of some of their identities to those who also participated in these ‘past tournaments’.

"And… you’re out here?” Fox asked, implying a ‘why’.

Falco crossed his wings. “Just to see what’s goin’ on. When the bubble popped, the lookout spotted a bunch of people flyin’ around. There’s enemies around here sometimes, and refugees other times, so we pay attention.”

Hearing all of this struck with Fox for more reasons than one. Described seemed to be a city built around a colosseum, with the local culture centered around it, and one apparently providing asylum for those in need of it. By the sounds of it, Falco and co. had been here for some time, with cited memory of their exploits dating back presumably farther than a day--several, perhaps. Fox had only ‘woken up’ a little less than an hour ago himself, so he could assume they’ve been up for longer than him at least. Yet, somehow, his wingman was distinctly less aware of the situation at large for the outside world than he was, which was saying something. For that reason, he couldn’t help thinking something might be amiss. As much as he’d like not to shirk the duties of his new mission, whilst finding the prospect opportunity to ‘play’ again dangerously tempting, it was clear to him that there was a better reason to go. They needed only agree to. He looked to Peach, his perceived peer among the adventuring party, believing her to share his (or similar) thoughts on the matter, and silently expecting joint approval on venturing there.

Peach already had a plan in mind. “We’ll go with you back to this facility of yours shortly,” she told Falco. “We’ve got a lot to discuss with the people there.”

Fox nodded his concurrence in kind, then looked back at those gathered around the fire resting, disrelishing the idea of asking them to break camp so soon after setting up. It wasn’t as if they could settle in regardless (and would be impractical to try, considering where they were going), but he did try to empathize a little for those who didn’t share his stamina or propensity for seeing a mission straight through with little to no pause.

“We’ll gather everyone on your call,” he said to Peach, entrusting the order to her. Having been with this party for longer and better acquinting herself with them, it stood that she would better know when they would be ready to set off.

World of Light

Level: 6 (19 -> 25/60) | 5 (24 -> 30/50) | 3 (27 -> 33/30) LEVEL UP! ---> 4 (3/40)
Location: Land of Adventure - The End
Word Count: 1016 (+6 EXP | Overdrive!)

Power: Burst
Items: -2 Red Feathers

Chaos was the word here. One could hardly be blamed for getting lost amid the action, as much of it as there was to keep up with. Since the moment the last of the Ender Dragon’s healing stones were shattered she was harried relentlessly by the party, allowed not a second untouched. From all sides, brutal pummellings, focused fire, heavy bombardment and all other manner of devastation was brought down on the black drake one successive move at a time, yet she persisted still in spite of the apparent damage sustained over a short period. It seemed that any time the heroes got on top of the Ender, she would manage to shake them off, and her sheer enormity (to rival Bowser) made it near impossible to keep her pinned down.

The final hit in Poppi’s assault threw the Dragon’s head back, catapulting Hat Kid off with it. Between the mere fact that she was fighting a dragon (and, from the looks of it, winning), to standing atop it amidst the explosion from Linkle’s cast mega bomb, inexplicably unharmed, to now following Ace’s earlier example by grappling onto the beast’s tail, she had to admit to finding a thrill in the conflict. This was just the kind of thing adventures were made of, she thought. Nothing like seeing a teammate get maimed and being subsequently flung away with a batting tail spin to remind her of the reality of the situation. Of the several others affected, be it by direct bludgeon or the accompanying wind buffet, Peach and Banjo and Kazooie stood the best chance of immediate recovery; the pair already being airborne, and the Princess uniquely air capable.

The duo went no farther than the spires before Kazooie beat her wings back to halt their trajectory, righting themselves and regaining control, with Banjo politely waving off the Toadies. As a veteran Smasher and daring career fighter pilot, Fox had a considerable degree of aerial awareness not afforded to most. Certainly enough to get his feet behind and under him in preparation for an impending landing, one that halfway surprised him by coming sooner than expected when he hit feet first squarely into the palm of a giant royal bee. Though unacquainted, he recognized her from his initial cursory inspection to be an allied member of the adventuring party. He cocked an appreciative, affirming smirk at the relative stranger just as she caught the small, purple clad child in her other hand like a baseball mitt, and seeing as her hands were now full, reached out one of his own to clasp arms with the incoming Cadet. Catching the hunter in flight jerked him over by the arm a bit, but he was otherwise able to maintain his balance and footing in the Queen’s daintily gloved, disembodied hand.

“Think you can get us close to it… without stopping?” he requested, with due respect to Her Highness (and as an unfamiliar comrade), that they be brought to the Dragon at speed rather than simply dropped off. To the Cadet, still hanging on by Fox’s and his own grip, he instructed, “Hang on, and be ready!” For what, he didn’t specify, but trusted the hunter to understand by the time they completed their approach. Hat Kid tipped her cap out of her eyes to get a good look at the regal insect carrying her before takeoff, her expression shifting in stages from curiosity, to her joyous default, to excitement when they picked up speed. Meanwhile, Banjo and Kazooie were closing in as well from the other side, conserving their limited Feather supply until coming within their attack range.

Air rushed harshly past the heroes in flight like road noise as they made a beeline for the Dragon--incidentally by the power of a bee no less. Fox knelt down in her palm for stability, still dragging the Cadet on one side, and Kid sat up herself in similar preparation for whatever the daring vulpine had in mind. Whatever it was, she was eager to get in on it. In any case, she swapped hats and kept a vial swirling until then. On the last rapidly approaching stretch of their advance, Fox let out a forceful groan with the strain of exertion as he brought his shoulder back to underhandedly throw Ace toward the Dragon with as much might as he could muster for the maneuver, and whether assisted by Sectonia or by his own strength, he would go soaring in behind him.

Fox followed through on the toss with such force that it entered him into a long distance gainer, having used the entirety of his bodily strength for the stunt. While he was at it, he thought to whip out his sidearm to pepper the Dragon’s face to cover Ace’s approach. By then Banjo and Kazooie were close enough to blindside her in the temple with another Beak Bomb before having to disengage while they increased their altitude and realigned themselves for the next round. This was shortly followed by Fox zipping through the air at the beast’s head, stopping just shy of arm’s reach. This differed from his usual dash technique in that his trail was of starkly darker coloration, and wicks of flame emitted from him softly ahead of a brief glint to signal a sudden heavy explosion generated from it. He leaned into his fall as he went into Jet flight around the Dragon for a quick burst of evasive mobility, mounting her wing if possible.

Finally, Hat Kid, who launched at a much steeper angle, came down chasing the two vials she could get off before descending, switching to the Power Cap and charging her umbrella in freefall. Like before, she landed forcefully on top of the drake’s skull, this time jabbing the tip of her parasol into the hole left in it as she let loose a fully charged, Power-imbued Geyser Beam directly into it. In the best case that this yielded a satisfyingly conclusive result, the Cadet would hopefully be out of the blast zone, lest the result be decidedly less satisfying.

World of Light

Level: 6 (15 -> 19/60) | 5 (20 -> 24/50) | 3 (23 -> 27/30)
Location: Land of Adventure - The End
Word Count: 620 (+4 EXP | Overdrive!)

Items: -1 Red Feather

Having been rejuvenated by osmosis, Kazooie woke with two quick headshakes to dispel her daze, then gave Banjo an affirmative nod before they took off to join the others in swarming the Dragon. The great drake bore down on the fortified, gigantified Koopa King, who held mostly even ground with the leviathan thanks to the enhancements provided by their allies. The clench between them was broken after a moment, with some significant damage on both sides to follow, and just no sooner than they left cover, the duo would have to seek it once more to clear themselves of the caustic bombardment. The ever nimble Hat Kid was able to dodge the corrosive clusters with relatively little issue, and Fox had his Reflector handy as always to deal with it in the usual manner most convenient to him, allowing him to continue his advance unimpeded.

The rebounded bomb missed the Dragon, however, as she entered into a sweeping loop to generate another forceful windwall aimed at scattering the fighters yet again. The Ender’s repeat strategy would yield little of anything for her this time against the centered fighters who were ready for it. Kid simply hooked onto one of Bowser’s tail spikes to anchor herself to the nearest, heaviest thing she could find on a second’s notice. Fox Jet boosted off to the side at a low, rising angle--parallel to the gale--to exploit the wind’s force so that it might expedite his ascent to one of the taller spires on his flight path. His landing was slightly unsteady on account of his method, but nonetheless manageable, successfully perching him atop the obsidian column.

The Dragon then centered herself over the island’s shallow peak and began spilling forth physically impossible quantities of acid from her maw like an open valve, threatening to flood the land’s surface and presenting a new hazard for everyone on the ground. Hat Kid immediately sought higher ground on the giant shelled back of Bowser, who likely wouldn’t feel or otherwise notice her due to their insurmountable size disparity. On the other end, Banjo and Kazooie were making their way to the top of the highest pillar they could reach, irrespective of the acid flow, using a series of extended jumps and Shock Springs to reach a suitable vantage point from which to take off in Flight. Just as soon as they went airborne the duo lined themselves up with the Dragon and burned a Red Feather to charge forward with another Beak Bomb aimed at the side of its head. Should the impact prove heavy enough, the Dragon would (hopefully) be concussed out of sustaining the acidic downpour, ‘shutting off the faucet’, so to speak. In any case, the bear and bird would use the divebomb’s recoil to disengage so they could be ready to move, evade or attack once more.

After traversing enough spires to close in while staying off the ground, Fox moved to capitalize in short order, dashing onto its head, planting the muzzle of his blaster flush against its skull, and opening fire. Weak as the individual shots were, they came out in rapid succession to pile on damage in a hurry, so he would see if he couldn’t bore a small hole into the drake’s head this way before inevitably being forced to dismount, using one of its horns as a handhold to maintain his ground for as long as he could before then. To follow, an explosive vial came soaring over Bowser’s head at the Ender, with Hat Kid coming up behind it in stride. She swapped out her hats mid-run, leapt from Bowser’s head, and crashed down onto that of the Dragon with a tiny, flaming, Power wreathed fist...

World of Light

Level: 6 (11 -> 15/60) | 5 (16 -> 20/50) | 3 (19 -> 23/30)
Location: Land of Adventure - The End
Word Count: 523 (+4 EXP | Overdrive!)

Items: Red Feather* (addendum; -1*), Chicken Thigh, Honeycomb

Banjo and Kazooie’s rebounding midair tumble wasn’t the usual result of Beak Bomb impact. With zero delay between contact and detonation the crystal exploded quicker than they could bounce off of it. Given a moment’s pause of confusion as to why they were going end over end in freefall, Banjo reflexively reached out for the obsidian spire. He had missed the ledge by this point, but managed to jam a claw’s worth of digits into the pillar’s side for a loosening handhold. Before he lost his grip, he looked over his shoulder to see Kazooie hanging limply out of his pack, unconscious. When his hold gave out, he made sure to direct his fall to hit face down so as to spare his partner the throe of gravity. The impact was reduced from the stalled height Banjo bought them, but still enough to bounce him once against the ground. Getting back to his feet, he took the Chicken Thigh from his inventory and stripped it of meat in one pulling bite, expecting the health gain to transfer to Kazooie as it normally did (while also trying not to think about the technically cannibalistic implication of directly feeding chicken to his avian friend, had he done that instead). He waited a moment to see if she returned to consciousness before doing anything else.

The duo’s proximity and position relative to the tower saved them dealing with the turbulent gale force that wrapped around the Dragon on its return. Fox and Hat Kid didn’t share their luck. Fox, having landed in the middle of the field inside the spires, made a run for cover the second he picked his head up to see the Dragon rushing headlong downlane. He missed its form this time, but the winds carried him from his feet for a couple hundred yards, past the island’s edge. He managed to slow his arc to a near stop with the inexplicable ‘stalling’ effect generated by pulsing his Reflector before he could be sent too far to recover, and followed by shooting himself back toward land in a blanket of powerful, propulsive flame.

Hat Kid, still in tow with Jr, was left at the mercy of disorienting inertia, equal parts unable and unwilling to detach from the tumbling kart for fear of which way (and how fast) it might send her. She paid for it by face planting against the same black stone as Jr when she was swung directly over him by the length of her line. She was brought to the ground almost as quickly when the kart fell and dragged her down with it. She sat up, rubbing her head with a grumble of pain and annoyance alike, and proceeded to pop a Honeycomb in her mouth like a butterscotch candy for a quick pick me up. Slightly reinvigorated, she stood up, detaching her Hookshot to let it reel back in, and scanned the field to look out for any remaining crystals before heading into the thick of the action. Though a good distance behind her, Fox would be quick to catch up, as would the duo (depending on Kazooie).