DracoLunaris

World of Light

wordcount: 998 (+2)
Midna: level 6 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (16/60)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.

While the battle came to final destructive end, Midna finished her retrieval operation, finding and slapping awake Fuse (”rise and shine and get moving before you get swept into a pit”), and also retrieving Mordecai’s (currently comically bloated thanks to Jessie) bird Bloodwing. While she was at it, she indulged her dragon hoarding tendencies and plucked up the spirits of the vandal warriors, who no one had considered worth saving apparently, and the fallen firearms of Mordecai and Fuse.

Once everyone who was still alive and things of worth that still remained were all collected and spared from being ditched into the pit there remained only two issues. That issue of them all being dumped into the pit along with the arena and the issue of Ciella, who sat listless and broken at their mercy, her fate debated over by the thieves and one of the resistance members who had managed/been allowed to stay up after being freed and who had helped end the battle.

”I tried explaining that people where mind-controlled when I freed her, but she didn’t even seem to register what I was saying either time, even after I stopped her from killing one of them” Minda interjected into this while administering friend hearts to Reinhardt (said person she had saved) and Bloodwing, finally explaining why she had acted how she had, but ended up agreeing that ”But yes, we don't have time to argue about this” because everything was at risk of crashing down and tipping them into the void, which would have been a rotten way for the hard fought battle to end, so all she requested was ”Just keep her away from me and the ones who were controlled.” before swiftly correcting that too ”The others who were controlled”

It turned out she didn't have to worry. After she’d helped transfer everyone inside the van and assisted Necronomicon in hauling it back to solid ground Ciella had been convinced to buy the mind control argument, possibly only because she was too injured to actually act on her insane convictions.

While her vengeful spirit wanted her dead dead dead, as a practical solution/situation lying to the murderer’s face worked fine for Midna who was running on empty as much as the mad march hare woman. So instead of trying to pick a fight or end her life she returned Reinhardt’s hammer to him as a way of introduction and then quickly talked the futuristic knight round into carrying her royal form up and out of the rocket HQ so she could recover from her wounds. It let her rest without any magic whatsoever, not even the concentration needed to stay in a shadow and gave her a convenient excuse to hang back with the former resistance members and fill them in on the situation.

She also covertly gave the rest of them their weapons back, just in case things got hairy with the Grimleal up top. Fortunately, the main force that welcomed them out wasn't the acolytes (who Midna now 100% understood why they had not tried to fight at Ciella’s side) or another of their leaders, but the cheerful figure of Tora at the head of most of the rest of Yellow team. She had to wince at the ‘everyone okay’ comment because of the fallen resistance members who were missing from the group, blood of which was on the hands of basically every member (or group in the thieves case) bar two.

The only other person to have not killed sought her out not long after they emerged into the sweltering sunlight. While the Theives’ gushed/complained about Shadow (in a way that matched Sectonia’s description of how Necronomicon had talked about him as if he was some kind of legendary figure, though there where twinges of weirdness about the language used she couldn't put her finger on) the Demon Lord and Twilight Princess spoke of mercy.

She received the healing candy gratefully and once its effect began to take hold, and after thanking Reinhardt for his chivalrous aid, floated down to stand on her own to feet as her wounds slowly stitched together.

”Goddesses, I needed that. Thank you Mao” she told him, stretching a little before focusing on what he had to say. His concern for two of the resistance members was touching, though his sharp turn to insisting they were merely minions and then shifting back to almost calling them family had her confused for a moment, before she thought it over and believed she managed to get a good read on his motives. Royals had masks they put on to make it seem they were something greater than what they were, so that people would have confidence in them, this she knew and this too she assumed Mao was doing. Or at least something similar.

”An admirable concern for the people,” she said first, putting on light diplomatic airs in an attempt to assure him that she (thought) got what his deal was, before speaking more informally for the rest of the conversation ”And don't worry, I’ll do everything I can to find a way to get them out of this mess.” before glancing back at the surviving resistance ”All of them if I can. There’s been too many deaths already as a result of this.”

There was a snag with her help however, and that was that ”My fight with Ceilla trying to stop her from shredding everyone might have shot my reputation with the Grimleal though. Or maybe not. The other leaders didn't seem to like her very much. Either way, the lie she’s been told about me is truth for your ‘minions’ and we have a way to prove it” With that she turned, motioning for him to follow, and then moved towards where Braum was still holding Shadow captive.

”Hey Braum” she said conversationally to the titan of muscle as she got close before asking ”How are you holding up after the resistance’s number two hijacked your mind in the middle of the fight?”

World of Light

wordcount: 763(+2)
Midna: level 6 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (22/60)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.

Chaos and calamity echoed through the arena as Shadow and Ciella went at it. A little part of Midna debated itself as to whether having the two powerhouses go at it front he start would have been a better or worse way to handle the madwoman (while another vicious part of her simply found Ciella’s screams of pain very cathartic), but after sending sand their way she stuck to her self given task of preventing ring-outs.

Using her own magic to hold her wounded form aloft, she relied on the concentrated magics of the outsiders to do all the heavy lifting work that she herself could not do. Her shadowhand hauled up the battered but not broken bodies of those of the the resistance (and Braum) she could fine down to the safest and most stable part of the arena. Considering two of the three were absolute beefcakes, this was easier said than done. She could at least relieve them of some of their heavier possessions for the duration of the trip, hammer and shield both were sent to the twilight realm, but that still left their bulk and the knight’s armor (of which was not going to try and strip the man of, easier as that may have made carrying him), which made Reinhardt take up most of her time transporting. The far leanly built Mordecai weighed as much as a feather by comparison.

The spirits of the fallen had their own burden on her conscience, though that weight was quickly banished when she summoned a spare jar from among the rebel’s stolen goods and repurposed it as a spirit holding container. She would not let their deaths be for nothing at the very least.

She was just in the process of dropping off Mordecai when the battle of bird and hedgehog came crashing down to the ground in a cacophonous finale.

”Goddesses” she swore as they smashed down, turning her shadowhand from man carrier to guardian arm just in time for it to guard against the deluge of water to slosh over the entire arena, threatening to sweep all of them into the cracks and down into the barrier. No, not the barrier, Midna realized as she hunkered among her rescuers and weathered the storm. Into the now exposed void below.

”Is she-?” Midna began to ask herself, only to see that Ciella had not in fact died, but she had been de powered and her arms and face where in ruin. It was unclear if she could still fight. If she couldn't, then it looked like she would survive for much longer, as Shadow lined up another energy spear to finish the job.

Midna could have tried tossing something, or using a stolen gun to shoot at him, to intervene but neither of those had good odds of hitting home due to distance, inexperience and her wounded state. Also frankly, at this point Midna didn't really care what happened to Ciella. Indeed, her dying here would make things so much simpler in the short term.

She didn't take action to try and ensure that occurred either however. Focusing on Ciella had already cost lives, and there were still rebels unaccounted for as either spirits or bodies. So once she was sure the 3 she had found were secure she set out, seeking the gunner, the warrior and the sniper’s avian companion to ensure they too were not at risk of falling or being caught in the crossfire.

She paused then, thinking of those she sought, and then turned to the sniper himself, tapping her chest and drawing out a friend heart. There was risk to reviving one of the rebels, she thought, but there was also a risk of leaving them behind undefended as well.

But she had leverage over this one, or so she hoped.

”You were controlled, now you are free. Now do me a favor and keep them safe ” she rapidly explained and then nodded to the two heavyweights ”from anyone with glowing red eyes while I go find your bird. Deal? Also try not to kill anyone, this nightmare has cost enough lives already”

If he agreed to act as guardian, and she believed him to be speaking honestly, then she’d use her shadow hand to toss him the Prowler (which she had taken from among the ruins of the entry office) for his troubles, after which the princess would do as she had said, and seek out his companion, as well as anyone else who who was out of it and was thus unable to protect themselves or keep themselves on level ground.

World of Light

The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 979 (+2)
Bowser: Level 9 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (152/90) (-7)
Bowser Jr: Level 8 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (84/80)
Kamek: Level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (81/80)
Location: Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Kitchens
Feat: Rika

”They don't remember, remember Sire” Kamek reminded the king when the koopa’s rejected his rallying cry out of hand, far too scared of the abusive chefs to do anything for these nobody kids.

Bowser grunted disappointingly, before shoving the proffered pan aside (jr doing much the same with his dish rag) and then told the koopa that ”Yeah no. See these horns? See these spikes? These mean I’m Roy-al-ty, so I ain't doing no scrubbing work ya hear. And you're scared of those chefs? Ha! Just one look at us sent em running!” he gloated, even if it had been one look at Blazermate rather than him that had sent them scampering.

”We’ve dealt with a giant fish monsters and a weird floaty hand cyclops jerk already, a bunch of humans, freaky as some of them might be, will be no trouble once we get our hands on em. The big cowards had to barricade themselves inside one of the kitchens to stop us getting them! But we will, oh we will.” Bowser insisted, entirely sure they could take the chefs in a stand up fight.

”Yeah, we will. But come on dad we gotta hurry before they try and make soup out of Sakura and the ship girls” Jr said, already moving towards the exit Ace and Nadia had taken, now even more concerned about how the lives of his friends, and Bella, where at stake.

”But we could use a guide to get us round to another entrance swiftly, rather than bumbling around any which way” Kamek pointed out, before tapping his chest above his heart covertly.

”Yeah. We could. here” The koopa reached up and laid a hand on the shoulder of the closest koopa, who was only a cm taller than him and told him ”let me remind you of who I am” before using his leverage on his shoulder to pull him closer byjusnt and inch and headbutt him square in the face, before slapping a friend heart into him with a flick of the wrist from his chest to the koopa’s.

---

“I mean, it would have been nice to know what the plan was,”was Rika’s initial addition to Sakura and Bella’s conversation about the streetfighter blaming herself for the situation they were in, before realising that this was not helpful in the slightest and quickly adding “but there being more than one big baddy up here took us all by surprise right. Would have worked if there had just been him, I’m sure”

It was at this point that Bella’s increase in size was pointed out, and the (former?) princess started theorizing about how the food worked. Fattening the kids up so they could be turned into food was both terrifying and confusing to Rika, who couldn’t see the point of it all. Why use this rapid aging food to rapidly grow something like fish instead, other than to be intentionally terrible.

The evil/stupidity of the whole plan was something of an aside. What was important/ interesting, and possibly dangerous, was the aging or enlarging them. Bella had all sorts of fears about this possibly over aging them or causing trouble for if/when they undid the curse, but from Rika’s perspective there was one key factor that needed to be addressed right away, and that the woman’s tail, by which she was bound, had grown significantly even in comparison to the rest of her body. Which was a good and bad thing.

“So, uh, your tails got very big. Which I mean is good, because even if the food doesn't bring Sakura’s training back and just makes her, like, older but with Peach muscles, it will give us our big big guns back! So we can shoot these jerks! But, uh, a bit more of a current problem is that, and don't freak out about this, but it's kiiiiinda straining the rope. Holding you over the fire”

She really hoped Bella would not freak out, because Rika herself kind of was. As she frantically tried to look on the bright side “But its ok! Maybe you can, uh, toss yourself loose with the big long thing when it does break? Maybe? Or, um, lift yourself up to the hook? Is it strong enough to do that?”

While the girls dangled and worried about dropping in the fire, Mimi was left leaderless and without instruction inside the kitchen. There were a whole number of things she could do but after deciding trying to solo the massive man with his horrible metal clever was not good for her health, she was a little lost without direction in this artificial environment. So she went to get said instruction, which involved trying to creep up to the fire itself and hiding in/behind the pole of pots stacked up in front of the fire, and then waving up again, distracting Rika from her rambling as she herself spotted the little mon for the first time.

“oh, hey look. It’s Mimi! Can you get us down?” she shout whispered down at the little mon

The mon looked over the hooks, then down at the fire and shook its head. There was no way she was going to be able to lift them off even if she could get up there safely. She simply wasn't strong enough.

“Turn off the fire? Cut us down? Or get me something to eat?” the mon shrugged at the first (she didn't really know how fire or ovens worked), but she did nod the second (she could sneak her shadow up and hack at the bonds) and third (there was plenty of food, though she would have to throw it up for them to catch with her legs or mouth which would be awkward)

The question that she had to ask the others was “do you think any of those are good ideas?”

Our Dying Wish

Angela Degrasse

Someone in her family had to have known what the deal with this little mission was, Angela assessed as she listened to the others being offered incentives to come onboard, as if protecting the city (and being able to brag about killing a rex) wasn't enough of a reward in and of itself. The fallen paladin being won over by booze was a touch appalling to Angela’s sensibilities (a somewhat hypocritical assessment given last night’s exessess, yes, but she did at least have the decency to keep the drinking to night time) but the fact that he too was on good terms with the director was very interesting.

As was the fact that Elpidio was capable of manipulating the brass to get more acclimation for the participants of the mission, something he used to try and convince the final member of this little meeting. Gold, accolades, dinner with important people. All fine, and apparently slightly undeserved, rewards.

Angela found herself nodding along to his comments about how good marbled steak was, and then briefly wondered how he knew that she knew what i was like. It could have been a guess made by him based on her demeanor, but Elpidio was showing himself to be quite a bit more cunning than her skin deep impressions/analysis of him would have given him credit. She had to wonder if the fame Frederica (or Rika as she mentioned preferring to be called) had acquired was built upon this man’s machinations, at least in part. She felt a brief moment of sourness and jealousy at that, before recognizing that she was being hypocritical. She had her ins after all, one that had gotten her here to this very opportunity.

Before she could start thinking about how to use this to her advantage however, there was the small matter of taking down a legendary beast standing in the way of the rewards and so once Elpidio had left them to their planning she focused her mind on that. It would be useful to at the very least know the parts the others could play, lest they run the risk of fatally tripping over one-another’s acts, so she was all for going over at least that rather than rushing in.

Rika began, and immediately gave them another dose of her personality and a basic rundown of her talents, before being cutely embarrassed by her own words and/or the memory of others praise and passing the torch to Angela while mistakenly (though understandably) identifying her as a Warlock.

”Valkyrie actually, though unlike many of my profession, I am more than capable of handling myself, so there will be no need to nanny me like the more conflict adverse among my kind’s ranks” she’d had to do a fair amount of babysitting herself so she knew exactly how much of a pain it was to keep a medium who’s wish had been entirely supportive alive in the heat of battle. It was imperative to her that they did not worry about such a thing when it came to her. Rika especially. It wouldn’t do to have the city’s leading lady leap to her defense when she was fully capable of handling a situation and for the former Vanguard to get hurt as a consequence. That would not be a good look.

Not that there wasn't some charm in having a shining knight leap to your aid but, as sad as it was, sometimes practicality had to trump style.

Sometimes.

”Indeed, being first class, I can give even the best warlocks a run for their money when it comes to magical destruction, though my talents lay a tad more in the desolation of hordes than singular targets I’ll admit. Show me a legion of goblins and I’ll show you a burning desert full of naught but magic stones” she said as she cocked her head to one side as she thought over what exactly in her somewhat die toolkit could help out in this specific encounter.

”As for how I can help, I can fix you all up on the fly, though it will burn a little more than the usual brand of magical resuscitation, and I can't keep stitching you back together forever like some of the more specialized Valkyries. Fortunately I also have a few tricks to help make sure we don't get hit in the first place, either by giving our foes a lightshow they won't forget or giving you a second chance through a little time manipulation.” Something she’d need to give them a chance to try out before using it in a life or death situation. The first (and sometimes second, third, fourth or more) reshoot could be rather disorientating, or so she had found.

”I also have an attention getting little number that might come in handy for baiting this dragon down into a confrontation, if we can spot him and then make him spot me in turn” she offered, giving them the beginnings of a possible plan before glancing over at Ink and passing the baton to him by asking ”How about yourself, Mr Lysander? You are, if I recall correctly, a sorcerer, yes? What can you bring to the table?”

World of Light

wordcount: 612 (+1)
Midna: level 6 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (24/60)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.

Where was she? Where was she, where was she, where was she? Went Midna’s thoughts as she strained to try and detect Ciella in the swirling sand her (now departed) Vibrava had helped her fan out, only for the woman to announce herself high above where she’d been expecting her to go there!- wait fu- the princess’ thoughts and lined up vending machine throw where interrupted as Ciella blasted a massive, fast and basically undodgeable arrow spray that lanced through, well everything.

Including her.

Midna screamed with fury and pain as her partially healed body was once again hammered by the siren’s incredibly powerful magics which ripped through basically everyone and, worse, the arena itself, parts of which started teetering and tumbling into Ciella all encompassing vail.

Once it passed the princess hauled her once again practically broken body off of the ground with sheer magic and willpower and found that what she had been trying to prevent had come to pass. Ciella, through incompetence, callousness or malice, had torn through the remaining fighters, wounding ‘friend’ and foe alike and, worse, murdering the knocked out teenager in cold blood.

”nonono goddesses no!” she swore at seeing the girl’s spirit amidst the useless sand she’d failed to use to prevent her death. There wasn't time for grief or self loathing however. Everything was falling apart, and there were still intact bodies on the floor who were at risk of falling, Mao’s now among them.

In the distance, the unstoppable Shadow (who she knew had killed Sven but not why due to having her eyes shut while trying and failing to stop Ciella) and Ciella were the only two remaining threats, both wreaking havoc on either side and basically unstoppable in their onslaught/defensive void.

Three things to deal with then.

Well, four. She also did not want to die, and trying to confront anyone in her ruined state was bound to cause that.

So, with weak and bleeding arms, she pointed towards the two powerhouses, and sent the here so far worthless sand wrathfully screaming over the heads of the Thieves and towards the two titans of the arena. There the racing sand stream split in twain, one racing for Shadow as he emerged from his black-hole cocoon, and the other for Ciella, wrapping them both in their own personal densely swirling sand-tomb that would follow them wherever they went. This could probably prevent Shadow from teleporting away with his boss in tow if Ciella was taken out, and would definitely make hitting targets harder for both of them as the swirling sand obscured their vision and its mass of coarse grains lashed at their senses.


Rather than go to try and pick any direct flights in her weakened state (not only caused by the crippling her physical form, but also from her lack of aggression had resulting in the dragon dance boosted power fading away), after dropping her strength-less arms to her side the princess instead floated around the arena, using a large shadowhand to collect the bodies of the fallen, attempting to prevent them (and if she had too/could, anyone else) from plummeting into the void due to the ongoing structural collapse.

She also tried to prevent them from getting caught in more AOE by moving them, and herself, away from the remaining threats. If danger still came their way, then they were all getting hurled/a giant wolf ride away while she acted as a distraction. But hopefully the two remaining threats had their hands full at the moment.

Doing all this would also create a central medical emergency spot if a certain thief was able to be spared to help her and Mao out.

Our Dying Wish

Angela Degrasse

”Yes, I suppose I do” she replied to Rika’s ‘introduction’, scrunching her nose for just a tick at the use of her fame in place of exchanging names as would be polite.

While her response was entirely accurate, because obviously anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention to the movers and shakers in the city knew who she was, it came off as bragging just as much as Rika thought the redundant act of actually giving her name would. More perhaps, in Angela’s opinion.

Said opinion of Rika had certainly gotten dropped by her first impression, but it then got rapidly confused by the rest of her behavior during the briefing, which reflects a lot more on her vague understanding/memory of an awkward pre-void Rika than it did the mental picture she had of the person who had come out and claimed glory and fame in spades.

The immediate leaps from her introduction to looking awkward right after saying it and then finally shouting about aliens in the span of a few moments threw the noble posturing lady for an absolute loop, that was for sure. Several loops. An entire roller-coaster of loops. She could not make heads or tails of it.

She quickly resolved that she had to figure this woman out, and if doing so hadn’t sold her on going along on a monster hunt with her, then the target certainly did.

”A Rex Caelestis?” she echoed upon hearing its name, before clicking her fingers a few times, which sparked like a flint and tinder as she tried to call up a memory and then with a final snap that ignited a brief and tiny flame on the end of her finger when she recalled that ”I remember that one! I think it was Reed Shelley and his Arch Wardens that slew the last one to be seen, yes? That was quite the deed.”

It had been a rather riveting the tale when she found records of it while doing her 'historical research', or a story of it (likely highly embellished but that was in some ways part of the fun) to be more accurate. You had to be a real legend to take one of the three kings on.

Or, apparently, a pair of rednecks.

”Good grief, how... Stupidly brave of them” she commented upon hearing about them burning out it’s nest with a mix of horror, amusement and genuine approval of their absurd deed. How that all went down was a story she’d want to hear from the mouths of the actors if she ever found the time, that was for sure.

Still despite their daring, the evicted dragon was still out there somewhere, hiding against the sky, and Elpidio wanted it hunted down. She only put together Rika’s words and the man’s attitude together into seeing this mission was being done/requested like this (rather than by, say, an actual member of the military chain of command) so Elpidio had first dibs on the corpse and combat data later down the line for his vr training, but that wasn't particularly important/detrimental to her desire to go even when she eventually got it.

Right now she had the script of a tale featuring a legendary beast (young and wounded yes, but you could embellish these things a little) at the side of a very important Medium that she could try and get her hooks into, or at least an understanding of, laid out in front of her.

There was little question as to whether she’d play a part in it or not.

”Well I certainly can't let Agartha’s darling risk her neck on her lonesome can I? So of course I will come and help finish the job” she added a few moments after Rika had stood up, elegantly rising to join her, a wisp of fire flashing around flourished fingers when she mentioned finishing the job, silently promising that if the dragon thought the farmer’s fire had hurt, then it was in no way prepared for the Lady Firestarter.

Our Dying Wish

Angela Degrasse

Angela rolled over in bed, smacked her alarm clock to cease its impertinent ringing and then, upon hearing some groaning coming from the rest of the bed, flicked a hand and made it so that last night’s company had never even heard the alarm in the first place.

She could deal with them later.

Instead, as she slipped out from under the covers of her queen sized bed, out of the room and headed down stairs where she encountered the other half of last night’s consequences. No, not the half tidied remains of the party she’d hosted, which consisted mostly of cocktail glasses and various lovely little things on sticks (and if she was being honest, there ha been far more consumption of cocktails than there had been of things on sticks, as delightful as those where), strewn across the main room of her lovely mansion. Nor was it the disheveled pair of young gentlemen currently being ushered out the door. It was instead the person who had done the tidying and the ushering who was going to be full of consequences.

“Ah, I see you're awake. Good. I was about to come up and stab you with a broom handle, but I am glad I wont have to deal with any more of your company quite yet” the woman, who shared Angela’s fiery red hair that on her contrasted marvelously with her black and white uniform, said as she used said broom to eject the last of last night’s party attendants who hadn’t headed home last on their own accord (or found their way to her room).

“And a good morning to you, Celia” Angela greeted her maid and (second)cousin and then asked “To what do I owe the pleasure of your ire?” the answer to which she received via an eye roll before the maid returned to the task of tidying up after her medium.

Angela had the good graces to look a little guilty for all of half a second. But only half a second. Tidying up was her maid's job after all, so the only ‘help’ she provided was picking up and nibbling on a nearby cheese on a stick, cringing a little at how it tasted after being out all night, and then asking “So where is breakfast”

“Went cold half an hour ago” Celia replied, before glancing over and seeing the confusion/dismay on Angela’s face and reminding her “Grandma wanted you to look into Executive Elpidio’s call, remember?”

“Urrrgh. That weirdo?” she groaned

“That important weirdo” Celia replied pointedly, not looking away from her cleaning duties as she spoke with her.

“Yes yes. I know.” Angela sighed, and then took a deep breath in the last of the dreariness from just having woken up finally cleared itself. She had quite forgotten the note she’d covertly received from grandma via Celia about this very thing last night during her party up right up until this very moment. Or more accurately she had shoved it aside in her mind and indulged herself as much as possible yesterday after finding out about it. Enjoying the finer things in life as much as she could in the limited opportunity that she could.

Theoretically she could have ignored the call and gone back to bed, the consequences of which would be getting an earful from grandma at some point down the line (which was by no means a minor thing, but still) however her maid had very straightforwardly already struck at the heart of the matter.

The Executive was important. He was changing things. Making history.

She couldn't not be there for whatever secretive request he had.

She let out the breath she’d taken and then clapped her hands “Right then. Let’s get to work” (to which Celia reliped by pointing she’d already been at it for an hour thank you very much.)

---

What followed was the fastest and most efficient morning routine the pair of Degrasses could muster (assisted by micro rewinds of time reversing any mistakes) as they transformed the bed head and slightly hungover Angela into the prim and presentable Lady Firestarter. A light, quick but nutritious breakfast was served up after she apologized for squandering the first. Then every inch scrubbed and moisturized, makeup was carefully applied, hair and eyelashes lightly trimmed just so, nails painted, lipstick applied.

15 minutes before 6, the young woman stepped out the door of her lovely abode, adorned in a lovely flowing orange and pink highlighted dress, which covered the form fitting fire retardant combat gear and the angel bone corset that Celia had tightly secured (perhaps just a little tighter than was necessary today) around her waist. Leaving her stately home in the ever capable hands of her maid (whom she had promised she would return as she always did, because there was a close bond there, even if today they had grated a bit on each other. Last night's company got no such farewell) the Medium set off through the beautiful styled streets of the upper district, heels clacking against the smooth brick road, trading nods or sometimes even brief warm words with the ever present soldiery.

She was in her element up here. The same could not be said of any of the others she found had also answered the call. Outsiders each and every one of them. Not that was necessarily a bad thing.

The Frederica Simonova, was someone she knew. Of course, who did not know of the people’s hero these days, she was a rising star after all, but Angela remembered the reserved and quiet girl she’d shared a year group with before the cave. She’d been among those who she had assumed wouldn't go anywhere, but my, what a transformation she’d undergone. It wasn't exactly hard to guess what she’d wished for, but Angela was still impressed by the will it must have taken to enact the change that had overcome her. Also a touch of jealousy/disdainful for her effortlessly acquiring what Angela had worked for, all the while snubbing the lifestyle of most Mediums by living in the lower city, as if she was morally superior to them.

She didn't recognized the tattooed punk who came next, and that, coming from someone who made it her mission to know everyone who was anyone, was saying something. A pioneer perhaps, or maybe even that secret class she’d heard whispers about through her information network (and by information network, she meant her family. But “information network” sounded more suave so that’s what she thought of it as). Someone to keep an eye on. She didn't particularly care for her fashion sense however.

Finally, arriving after her, was Incurro II Lysander who she recalled for two reasons. First, because her extended family had experienced a great deal of schadenfreude from the fall of one of the other great Medium lines their last hair being a black sheep had/would inevitably cause, and second, because his arrival brought up a memory of seeing the man simply stride through one of her burning battlefields as if it was nothing.

A very mixed bag over all. She let none of her thoughts get out however, simply greeting them with “I am Angela Degrasse, it is delightful to meet you all” before turning her attention to the toy collecting executive and saying “and yourself as well Executive Elpidio. To what event do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?”

World of Light

The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 1,535 (+3)
Bowser: Level 9 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (157/90)
Bowser Jr: Level 8 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (82/80)
Kamek: Level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (79/80)
Location: Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Kitchens
Feat: Rika

The royal koopas and their mighty robot companion hammered on the door again and again and again with all their might. They making good progress right up until a scraping sound accompanied by yelling came from behind the door and something was slammed in place behind, barricading them out.

”GAAAH!” ”Owwwww” came a pair of cries as the first and final blow against the cupboard barred door jarred the arms of the father and son team, causing both to drop their hammer based bartering ram to shake of the pain.

”Well… this isn't going to work now.” Jr was forced to admit after rapping at the door and finding it completely unbudgeable now ”Did they at least get in ok?”

”They better!” Bowser replied, before stomping over and checking, only to find the troop of heroes turning to go the exact opposite direction they needed ”Hey. Where are you going! That’s the wrong way!” He roared after them.

When informed about the other way being blocked, he’d inform his son, who was instantly worried about his minion being all alone in her assault

”Aw shoot. Mimi! Mimi? Get to safety they aren't coming fast enough! He shouted, hammering on the door again, trying to get her attention.

---

On the other side of the door, the mon had figured this out on her own, though only after having to squeeze her way through the cupboard, and its contents as well as the door she’d originally tried to get through. Sneaking through solid matter wasn't exactly fast for the half ghost, who poked her ‘chest’ out through the front door of the cupboard to take a peek at what was going on. What she found was Sakura, Rika and a growing Bella all strung up over a fire. Which was not a good place to be, in her basic assessment. Plus, help didn't look like it was on the way, so even though there was just one big guy left, Mimi decided to be sneaky about this rather than try and fight the very very large man armed with a nasty nasty metal cleaver.

So the little cloth doll of a pokemon squeezed herself out of the cupboard and then started to slink and sneak her way around the kitchen, avoiding the chopping Larry’s gaze as she headed for the hanging girls, one of whom was just waking up from her shaking.

“Hmmmm. Wha. hmmm…. Oh hey Sakura. You ok? Why do I feel so... Toast?” Rika mumbled as consciousness returned and she looked around, and then down and found why she was feeling so warm. She did not take it well, crying out in alarm and struggling for a moment, only for the knot tied around her hands (and gauntlets) to shift a little and threaten to lose and drop her into the fire just as Larry had warned while she was out, causing her to freeze up.

After staring down for a few moments, she tried to breathe deeply to calm herself and then coughed as the smoke from the fire caught in her lungs.

“Urgh, bleh, awful”

She shook her head and wondered how they were going to get out of this. She could wiggle loose. And fall in the fire. She could shoot her guns at the hook holding her up. And fall in the fire. Even if she could swing herself and free herself at just the right moment to drop past the fire, that was still a long, long way to fall even with her gauntlets lowering her weight. Plus, even if she didn’t go splat, she’d just be leaving the others behind, and that wouldn’t do.

A more controlled cut to free their hands while still letting them hold onto the rope might give them options, and if that was something they went for, she did have an option for that. Kind of.

“I, uh, have half a pair of scissors in my pocket?” she offered, now thankful that no one had taken it off her, but there was a snag in that plan, which was “But I can't reach them. Sorry. Maybe that’s a stupid idea”

She really really hoped one of the others had an idea, or that help was on the way.

And help was indeed on the way, coming from above, around and, closest to them, slinking around the kitchen the long way, was Mimi, who, if/when spotted by the trio, would give a little wave before getting back to sneaking closer to them to help out however she could, be it scissor retrieval or distraction causing or simple moral support.

---

”I’m sure she’s laying low. Pretty sure we’d have heard if she wasn't, that little minion’s can be a real trouble maker” Bowser told his son, clapping the boy on the shoulder encouragingly when there was no response from Mimi, who was well out of hearing range of the door.

”I... Yeah I guess” jr replied uncertainty, before saying ”She’ll be fine. They’ll all” more confidently, entirely to convince himself that that was the case.

”Yeah, they will. Now, let's catch up to old Kamek. There’s gotta be another way around here somewhere, and I’ll bet he’s already got a lead on it” Bowser told Jr (and Blazermate if she wasn't already gone). He got a nod and the two set off at once, diverting their path only briefly so that Bowser could pick up Rika’s dropped doll

---

Kamek and Nadia had made good time working as a team to get the door open, and by that Kamek would have to admit it was mostly the fed Nadia, who magnet grappled the key down for him to catch, who did most of the work. Still, the koopa was there to be a receiver and so dutifully caught and slammed the passed key home into the lock, before spinning it with his dangling body-weight, opening the way and then dropping down into an awaiting Nadia’s arms

”ah. Thank you Miss-” he was in the middle of thanking her for catching him when the feral slipped and fell, tossing him aside just in time to avoid crushing him ”eek!”

The tossed turtle landed on his shell’s stomach on the soapy ground and, as koopa shells were wont to do, started sliding along the ground uncontrollably by. Normally he would have tried to stop this undignified skid at once by digging in his boots, but, unfortunately, the ground was slippery with the same soap that had tripped Nadia, there was nothing he could do but slide by the busy koopas, bounce off the far wall (ducking inside his shell to avoid bashing his brains out), and then come spinning all the way back, whisking by Nadia’s jet skiing traversal and sliding all the way back and then out through the door they’d unlocked and entered through, sailing right towards ”Sire look out!”

”Oh no you don't. Jr, get behind me and catch!” Bowser commanded his son, stepping right in the path of the out of control mini koopa shell. He stabbed the horns of his hammer into the ground and ducked under the head, forming it into a ramp that caused Kamek to launch up and over the king’s head, and right into a jumping catch by his son

”Gotcha!” jr cheered as he snatched the koopa out of the air like a basketball and then landed back on the ground, before dusting some of the suds off himself and the koopa before putting the old made young koopa down on his own two feet again.

”What are you doing, messing around? We have ladies to rescue!” Bowser demanded to know, to which the dizzy Kamek could only reply by pointing through the door and informing them that it was ”Slippery”

Forewarned, the king, the prince and his trusty swine all poked their heads into the washroom without slipping, and found the line of washers inside.

”Hey, are those our minions? What are they doing working for this place’s ghoul of a lady?” Jr asked as they spotted the troopas. Both he and his dad had zero interest in the fork like Volbonan (jr had never seen them anyway, and while Bowser did remember them from when he stole their stew to use it as the main course at his wedding , he certainly did not remember that that was what they were called) other than a brief thought of using them as weapons/climbing gear.

”Yeah they are!” Bowser agreed, handing over the porcelain doll to jr for a moment (who tried and failed to hand if of to Kamek because it was a girl’s toy) and then, despite the fact that the last set of his minions they’d encountered had attacked on sight, carefully stepped out onto the soap floor, puffed himself up as much as he could and then shouted at the turtley dishwashers commandingly ”HEY, KOOPA TROOPAS! GREAT NEWS, YOUR KING IS HERE TO LIBERATE YOU FROM DISH CLEANING DUTY. NOW QUIT SCRUBBING AND FORM UP! WE HAVE A SHIP TO CONQUER! Also I mean you’re really bad at it look at this mess there is soap everywhere, yeesh.”

World of Light

The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 975 (+2)
Bowser: Level 9 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (154/90)
Bowser Jr: Level 8 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (79/80)
Kamek: Level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (76/80)
Location: Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Kitchens
Feat: Rika

There was a crash of glass and then a scream of anger from the monstrous butcher that almost made Rika pop her shot there and then, but Sakura’s distraction didn't get anyone caught in and of itself. Unfortunately it instead drew in the ire of another butcher, this one human but for his size and, perhaps, temperament/ethics if the concept of ‘humanity’ still stood for anything in a world with a million other sentient species. Either way, in the end it was the fight between him and the twisted meat-prepper that doomed them. What Rika had prepared for came to pass as the ugly one hurled a pile of bowls at the other, inadvertently unveiling Sakura in the process.

There was no question as to what needed to be done in either her or Bella’s mind as both let their shots fly to try and save their shared friend, with Bealla’s stumbling the newly arrived one, while Rika followed through on Mirage’s plan, blasting one of the hooks and dropping a parcel of (what they learned a few moments later to be people) meat on top of the one that had caught Sakura. In hindsight, maybe she should have tried to hit the same one as Bella, because the mean drop failed to free her friend and, worse, the bald one rushed both of the ship girls, giving Rika only a moment to shrike before she was grabbed up by the gauntlets, hauled into the sky and then shaken about, rattling her brain enough to cause her to back out. The last thing she saw being the porcelain doll she’d been giving a piggyback tumbling down to the ground.

If the three ladies' capture did not go unanswered, not with the gang of heroic children with more bravado that sense around. Also, while they were not heroes, the two royal koopas certainly had the same level of sense as the good guys and so both cried out in alarm for their captured friends/allies and rushed to their aid without a thought along with the others.

Bowser leapt up onto the counter and proceed to hurl the goo can, the hammer-head and then a barrage of fireballs at their foe, while Jr gladly took the nail offered by Geralt and, after instructing Mimi to start shadow sneaking them as well, hurled it at the bald guy with superhuman strength and the (self proclaimed) skill of an Olympian javelin thrower. When it came to getting it back however, there was a problem.

”pff. Ffff. tffff how do you- pvvvvvv” jr asked/complied with growing panic and frustration, having not taken the time to learn how to whistle in his scant few years of existence.

”Like this young master” Kamek called from where he was hiding, before putting two fingers in his mouth and performing an excellently shrill whistle despite having a beak for a mouth, causing the nail to sore back to him. The mage stumbled backwards as it smacked into his shell, before recovering and relaying it back to the prince to throw, a process they’d repeat as much as they were able, right up until the two cooks fled.

And despite their collective efforts, took the three girls with them.

”GET BACK HER AND FIGHT YOU! YOU! GAAAAAH!” Browser roared. He ran after them and then shoulder charged the door like a chargin chuck. It cracked, just a little, but as he proceeded to beat on the door it was clear that he wouldn't be getting through it fast enough, even when jr (who diverted himself to grab the hammer head) joined in and formed a two koopa battering ram crew smashing at the door.

The others had saner, or maybe just faster ideas, which involved sneaking in through a vent, though for some reason it was only going to fit a small portion of the crew, namely a quadrette of heroic gentleman. Mirage lead the way, followed by Geralt and there wasn't that much doubt in the troops that the other two would be following soon after

”Here, Geralt, don’t forget this” Kamek called after the Witcher as he moved to sneak in through the pipe, the koop holding up the nail he’d just barley managed to whistle back before it got brought through. The slow turtle was a bit of a way’s off, but the weapon could easily be whistled over should Geralt take the moment to command its return.

”Mimi, go with them and help distract the big jerks!” Jr instructed his little mon ”We’ll uh...” he took a moment to recognize how futile he and his blindly enraged father’s efforts were going to be in the short term ”Keep them distracted? Drown out your approach!” he concluded, shouting over the hammering.

“Mi-mi!” the mon replied with a little salute and proceeded to, instead of following the others through the pipe, phased straight through the door to go be an even tinier nuisance than the others were going to be, one who had the distinct advantage of being able to, well, phase through solid matter.

You couldn't exactly grab or slap a ghost after all, which was a district disadvantage when it was trying to slash at your ankles or climb up your body to try and poke out your eyes.

”Oh. I forgot she could do that” jr noted, the last time she had done so having been back just after he’d caught her during the monster truck capturing fight, before going back to door hammering with his dad.

Kamek meanwhile turned right around after offering the nail and moved to head for the locked door. Assuming someone more limber would go to get the key he wanted to be on hand to lend his mind and eyes to figuring out what, if anything, on the other side might help them out.

World of Light

wordcount: 816 (+2)
Midna: level 6 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (23/60)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.

Midna managed to get Ciella’s attention alright. Though her reply to Minda’s taunting, decrying the crimes of the resistance, made her feel like she was being gaslit into believing she hadn't actually told her what was at stake. Yet Midna knew she’d acknowledge Braum’s mind control, so in the princess mind she was sure she got it, and yet she did not seem to acknowledge that their foes were not acting of their own accord. It was maddening.

Still, there was little time to debate the issue as after giving her retort Ciella went on the offensive, drawing five of her great glowing arrows and letting them lose to banish the darkness Midna was hiding in. The initial draw took long enough for Midna to find and then skip to another shadow before their glow banished the darkness she was lurking within.

Unfortunately the arrows were not content to imbed themselves in stone and sand, and instead ricochet, scattering across the area. It was a cunning ploy, and even though the Princess took to (fakely) laughing at the avian archer with regal haughtiness, the sheer chaos of pinging shots had her heart racing in her throat for even one shot grazing close to a hiding spot would strike her down.

In the end it became to much, and the laughter fell silent as the princess instead skipped across the arena’s shadows, pinging under Mona to whisper ”On your right” to him, before appearing behind a pillar to his right, blocked from Ciella’s view. The princess, still battered and bruised and bleeding, gave the feline a pained grin. If he was still willing to help, she’d take it.

She also took a moment to help herself, retrieving a spin-plate from the twilight realm.

A few moments later she was back to dance with Ciella once more, but the woman had clearly had enough and moved to disengage, assuming that the princess’s taunting and posturing had been all bark and all bite. This was true but, of course, that was part of the plan. Though she would have liked to hold her foe in place with words longer now, as the harpy was distracted by the hedgehog and bee’s seeming endless brawl, was the time to strike.

She could not end her, and the amount she would have needed to wind up a punch to even hurt would have left her vulnerable, so the spine tile was the best option. It also left the princess laughing with genuine impish delight at the Ciella as she gracelessly pirouetted across the arena and into a wall. It might not have hurt, but it prevented retaliation and, more importantly, put her on the opposite side of the arena from where the action was. Pus it had all been worth it to see her spin now after the archer had managed to avoid doing so in the maze earlier.

Ciella’s exasperated snarling about her friends being in danger in response to this indignity made Midna glance back at the brawl she’d mostly been missing. A quick assessment of it (made after the polymorphs had ended, it should be noted) left her inclined to disagree.

”They look fine, so maybe just sit the rest of this one out? Or maybe dance with me some-” she was saying when the mist filled the arena and the giant bird-woman promptly vanished ”-fuck”

The dark filling the arena helped her a little at least, the princess immediately dropping into the now all encompassing hazy dark on instinct lest she have her head ripped off by the stalking titan.

”Think think think. Stop her. How do you hit something you can't see?” she asked herself, and then snapped her fingers as she had an idea.

The princess appeared to the side of the arena, between where Ciella started and where she would have to go to strike the remaining fighters. There, she summoned up her Vibrava, maxed out in size. The giant dragon bug gripped the stone and started beating its wings hard as it could without ripping itself from the ground, fanning the shallow scattered sand of the arena up into the misty air. Then, standing behind the wind blasting monster, Midna added her own sand to the mix, opening portals to the twilight realm and feeding the sunless deserts of her home into the current, blasting sand into the air and flooding the part of the arena where Ciella would have to pass through and go too with twilight realm’s ethereal white grains.

Maybe the mix of native and exotic sand could soak up moisture in the air and/or simply overwhelmed the foggy weather effect with her own sandstorm, Midna thought, but that wasn't what she was relying on. No, what she was relying on was an interesting quirk of twilight sand, and that was that it sang as it flew with the sweet sound of a siren. Right up until the point that it hit the other siren slinking through the sky.

Or so Midna hoped.

So she closed her eyes, perked her long pointed impish ears and, when she thought she heard the gap in the song of sand where the harpy crept, she used her shadowhand to hurl the last and most impactful of her office furniture, the busted vending machine from the elevator room, at the place she thought Ciella was.