Fandom Super Smash Brothers: The Ten Pillars

[GrumpySwallow]

Story:​

Another tournament finished; another crisis resolved. The Super Smash Brothers prepared to return to their home realms and, at Princess Peach's eager suggestion, they agreed to reunite at the Super Smash Brothers Stadium in one year's time. Some of the Smashers, disturbed by how close to doom they came during the events of Subspace Emissary and World of Light, thought it would be wise to keep in contact. Others were simply happy at the idea of reuniting with friends new and old. After good-byes (and one or two vows of vengeance) were made, the fighters of the Super Smash Brothers returned to their home lands.

A year has passed, and the Smash Bros. start making their way back to the Smash Realm only to find that it has changed for the worse. It feels as though the Realm is slowly breaking apart. The land is wracked with spontaneous natural (and unnatural!) disasters, and monsters seem to roam unchecked. Even more shocking, the Hands are nowhere to be seen and the Super Smash Brothers have been made into outlaws with a fine reward promised for proof of a Smasher's capture or demise!

Unbenownst to the Super Smash Brothers, a mysterious sorcerer named Lunaris has stolen the powers of Master Hand and Crazy Hand and used them to take over the World of Trophies. But his dominion over Creation and Destruction is not complete! In order to gain full mastery over the Hands, Lunaris seeks the Pillars of Creation and the Pillars of Destruction: ten crystal shards that contain portions of the Hands' powers. The Pillars have been hidden, scattered throughout the realm. Should the sorcerer obtain all ten Pillars, his control over the once happy-go-lucky world of Nintendo will be absolute!

 

[GrumpySwallow]

Gulliver had sailed many a rough sea, but this had to be his roughest yet! The seagull was locked in a rusted old cage while a fat Kremling kook placed a cauldron onto a large fire. He had fallen overboard yet again, and when he came to the sailor found himself on the southern coast of the Smash Realm. He couldn't find any of the locals but he did find a large cave and found consolation in that, at least, he didn't have to sit out in the hot sun while he waited for his crew to retrieve him. The cave lead to an underground ruin, a ruin that happened to be the hideout of a krew of Kremling pirates!

The pirates, led by a mean-looking reptile known as Kap'n Klay, had just returned from a night of raiding. Ever since the fools of Smashville had decided to expand to the islands, pickings had been very good for roving seascum. Their night only got better upon discovering the washed up seagull in their hidden lair. Loot AND food; what a rewarding night it had been!

Gulliver tried to appeal to the krocodiles. "Ahoy, mates, we're all sons of the sea here! Why don't we settle this over a couple of pints of root beer and a few sea shanties? Ma Gull always used to say--"

"Shaddup!" the Kremling kook snarled.

Gulliver sat miserably in his prison. Well, this is it! He shall sail the seas no more. There were so many places he still had yet to visit, adventures yet to be had, and pretty damsels to woo! Oh, the tragedy of it! A movement caught the corner of his eye. Behind a broken column, staring straight at him, was a lad in green. Guilliver was about to express his joy when the youth put a finger to his mouth and shushed him. The boy's large cat eyes darted this way and that, checking to make sure the coast was clear, before tip-toeing his way to the cage. He took hold of the cage's lock and inspected it. A simple, old-fashioned lock; should be easy enough!

Toon Link took out a lockpick and got to work. His time spent sailing with Tetra and her crew had taught him a thing or two about picking locks, though the boy would admit to himself that he'd probably have a much easier time if he had actually stayed awake for the whole lesson... and that the seagull he was trying to rescue would keep quiet! Toon Link ground his teeth in irritation as the seagull babbled in a loud whisper.

"There I was, lad, sailing the seas, not a cloud in the sky! I had spotted a flock of seagulls flying about, and, well, I had to stop by and say ahoy. It's my own people, you know! Well, it turned out they were just a bunch of bilge rats with wings, for when my ship approached, the sky suddenly got dark and an enormous squid burst out of the water! Huge! Bigger than any ship I've seen! It had eight, no, ten eyes, and two tentacles so long they could snatch the stars out of the sky! A trap! We were caught in a whirlpool, spinning, spinning! I was sure I was going to be seasick! And then--"

The story was interrupted by a soft click. Toon Link grinned triumphantly as the lock opened and the cage door swung open. Gulliver, unable to contain himself, let out a loud whoop that alerted every Kremling in the lair. Toon Link managed to face palm before a large claw grabbed him by the back of his tunic and lifted him into the air. Kap'n Klay glared at the boy through one jaundiced eye, the other hidden behind an eyepatch. "'Oy! What're ya think yer doin', brat?!"

"Put him down, Kremling scum," a bold voice shouted from above, "Your nights of terrorizing the seas are over!"

The shout distracted the Kremling kaptain enough that Toon Link was able to grab his eyepatch, pull it, then release it. The patch slammed back into his eye (The eyepatch was just for show!) and the Hylian was dropped as Klay clapped his hands to his face, howling. There were cries of pain and confusion as Pit suddenly dropped from above, running toward Toon Link and Gulliver while using the pirates's heads as stepping stones. He landed on the ground inbetween Klay and Toon Link, wings spread, chest out, and cherubic features stern.

Klay lowered his hand from his eye. Drawing his cutlass, he snarled at the angel, "I don't know who ye are, bird boy, but I'll be retirin' in komfort once I pluck that gold off yer karcass! We'll be eatin' well tonight, me boys! Charge!"

The Kremlings drew their weapons and charged with a yell. Pit winked at Toon Link and Gulliver then straightened into attention before shouting in a loud commanding voice.

"Kompanyyyyy HALT!"

The pirates immediately froze, shocked by the authority in the angel's voice. Toon Link and Gulliver could not contain their snickers as Pit shouted his next command.

"Abooooout FACE!"

The crocodiles turned neatly on their their heels in a perfect about-face. Pit's stern features broke into a grin as he issued his last command.

"Forwarrrrrd MARCH!"

Kap'n Klay watched dumbfounded as the Kremlings marched away from their intended victims in perfect military formation. One particularly dull-witted pirate laughed aloud as he marched. "Lookit this, mateys! We're marchin' in a real army! Huh, an' me father told me I'd never amount to nothin'! Well, lookit me now, pa!"

Klay finally regained his wits. His body trembled with rage as he shouted, "Idiots! I'M the kap'n! You obey MY orders!"

The marching slowly came to a stop as realization sank in. The pirates looked from Klay to Toon Link, Pit, and Gulliver, the three laughing uncontrollably. They shuffled their feet as they mumbled sheepish apologies to their kaptain.

"Er, er, sorry, Kap'n..."

"He just had such a kommandin' voice, Kap'n..."

"Won't happen again, Kap'n'!"

Klay's voice was shrill, veins popping in his neck. "HURT THEM!!"

Once again the pirates charged at the three, their roars filling the cave. Pit and Toon Link drew their weapons and went into a stance. Gulliver stood behind them. This was going to be a tale to tell... if they can make it out in one piece!

 

[SheepKing]

Inkling
(when you see a squid click on it for a surprise!)

Good old Octo Valley, land of floating hunks of junk and, by Captain Cuttlefish’s own words, the Octarian menace. But with Dj Octavio locked up in that snow globe for what seemed like the billionth time, there hadn’t been a single peep from the Octarians for quite a while. Even then, while Agents Four and Eight got to have all the fun Turf Battling back at Inkopolis Square, she was stuck here surveying the area in case any other funny business was going on. After all, it hadn’t been all that long ago since the world nearly got ended by a crazy talking telephone and she got mind controlled by a hunk of sanitization goop. Just thinking about it gave them a killer headache.

So, even if all seemed to be at peace, here they were, scoping the area for even the slightest scent of trouble. It was a dangerous job but who else would answer the call? For she was the beacon of hope in all of Inkadia. The hero from the shadows. The one, the only-

“Agent Three! Yer aren’t slacking off are ya?” Captain Cuttlefish shouted as he prodded them with his cane.

The inkling in question shot up from the broken recliner to salute the old coot, having totally not been daydreaming for the past hour. With Cuttlefish’s voice she’d quickly remember her actual duties, packing her items. A big duffel bag lied against the sewer grate that connected to Inkopolis Plaza, the bag sloppily half filled with supplies one would expect for a long trip away, which very well was the case for Three. After all the work she’d done to protect the land, it was only fitting that she’d cash in on her vacation while things were calm and Agent Three knew exactly where they were going to be spending it.

Cuttlefish handed Three a white envelope, crisp and clean save for the blood read seal pressed on to it. Right, the invitation. Three took the item into their hands, holding it up as they stared at the symbol pressed onto the wax. As they squinted at the seal, Three could easily recall the big flaming ball of fire that’d been first their introduction to the Super Smash Brothers tournament exactly one year ago. But imagine Three’s surprise when right after getting invited they had to deal with getting the entire universe being thrown into chaos by the embodiments of light and darkness, joining together with all the other smashers in order to save the entire world from utter extinction.

Yet against the odds they did it and still had the time to hold the tournament to boot! Sure, it was some of the most horrifying stuff to happen in their lives but look on the bright side! They’ve gotten to meet some ink-credibly fresh people because of it. Man they couldn’t wait to see everyone again-

Another bonk from Cuttlefish’s cane knocked Three from their train of thought for the second time.

“Don’t make me go get the Hypno Shades from Agent Two!” Seemingly done with the agent’s shenanigans, the captain went ahead and grabbed the duffel bag himself, using all of his old man strength to plop it into her arms.

“Now I went ahead and grabbed all your hero gear just in case. Who knows what kind of trouble could happen over there after all! But don’t worry about me, Agent’s One n’ Two will help me hold down the fort while you're gone. Just remember to have fun and that we’re rooting for ya!”

Three could feel a warm smile form on their cheeks as they went ahead and opened the bag. True to his word the inkling found all of their gear neatly packed away, quite the contrast to the things that Three themself had lazily shaved in. Well, looks like it was time for the inkling to head on out. Well, there was one last thing.

Shuffling through the bag Three pulled out a white shirt and a pink pair of sneakers as they made their way behind a corner. After a quick change out of their hero gear and into their casual clothes they were officially ready to rock and roll. Heading atop the sewer grate, Three gave a final salute over to the captain before entering squid form. They’d let the ink in them pressurize beneath, it’d only take a second before they’d shoot up into the sky and off towards the sunset. Only the echo of a long “Boooooyah!” and a trail of ink would remain.
——-


Exiting their squid form, Three could feel the wind whipping through their tentacles as they soared through the sky. Squid jumps were the best, the closest thing a squid could get to flight itself. Three loved nothing more. They’d let gravity take the wheel as they glided through the air, the only thing on their being being the absolute joy of finally meeting all of her friends once she finally landed. She’d wonder how the others were doing, it’d been so long since she’d last since any of the other smashers and a lot could change in a year.

Was Toon Link as big headed as ever? Was Bowser still trying to nab Princess Peach for the billionth time? If things have been as eventful for the others as they were for Agent Three then surely there was a whole heck of a lot of tea to spill! Well it would be long before they would land at the stadium so Three didn’t have much to worry about. At least, they should be pretty close to the stadium by now if their math was right.
The key word was “should” as when Three took the time to look down they’d quickly realize that this was WAY off course. Like, ‘how the heck did this even happen in the first place’ type of off course. Rather than the stadium, all Three could see was miles upon miles of towering trees and foliage. There wasn’t a doubt in the agent’s mind that they’d put in the right coordinates into the map, how could they have gotten so off course? With the ground coming closer and closer Three didn’t have much time to ponder as it became clear it was time for an emergency landing. The problem was with all of these trees they were having trouble finding a place to-

*Crash*

…Land.

In that moment Agent Three was so incredibly thankful that the inkling race had been blessed with no bones for if they did have any then they all would undoubtedly be broken into tiny little pieces.
Three had landed right between two trees, her bags, clothing, and tentacles all caught within various vines and branches. In fact the only thing that wasn’t stuck was her right arm, somehow being spared from the entrapment the rest of her limbs were subjected to. With their arm they’d frantically try to free themself, breaking away the rest of their limbs one by one until they’d plop onto the ground with a loud thump.
That certainly could have gone better but at least they were free. Taking a very long moment to catch their breath Three took in the local area. Yep, definitely not the stadium. Sunlight barely reached the wet forest floor as towering trees and vines created a roof of flora above. A chorus of jungle wildlife could be heard between the trees as all sorts of creatures went about their day undisturbed by the forest’s new guest. In the back of Three’s mind they wondered if it would have been better to stay in the tree as then they’d be at high enough ground to get a good idea of the surroundings. Now though, there wasn’t much the agent could do about that. First order of business: seeing if anyone else was out here.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Three summoned up all of her might to call out for someone, anyone.

“WOOOOOMMMMMY!!??”

No response.

Agent Three rolled their eyes as they took to checking their map instead. Of course there wasn’t any signal, meaning Agent Three couldn’t even super jump back to Octo Valley. Great, just wonderful really. They're stuck in the middle of who knows where with no easy chance of heading back home or to the stadium. Well if the inkling was anything, they were stubborn. They weren’t going to just lie down and give up. No! There had to be a way out of this mess, Three was sure of it.

Hoisting up the duffel bag, Agent Three pulled out their Splattershot and ink canister. With a quick check that the gear was all in working order, they slid the straps of the canister on and connected it to the weapon. For now they’d be able to keep track of their path by shooting ink at the floor. With a quick pull of the trigger bright orange ink shot out and coated the earth in the substance. She’d shoot out a long path of ink before slipping into squid form and swimming away. Hopefully they’d be able to run into something if that swam for a long enough time.

It’d take about an hour of nothing but swimming until those hopes would come to fruition. Their mindless swimming came to a halt as something blocked the way. Or rather, multiple moving somethings.

Exiting from their squid form the inkling was greeted by the sight of a line of weird brown blobs walking in an orderly fashion. Their expression of confusion would quickly morph into that of recollection. These were that Bowser guy’s troops weren’t they? What did he call them…Goombas? Maybe the big turtle is somewhere around too!

Addressing the group of goombas, Three gave them a friendly wave and cheerful “Yebby!” yet the goombas didn’t give a single response back.

Three tried again, this time a little louder.

“Yebby! Mee-kyu!”

And again, no reply.

Agent Three lowered their hand and frowned, tilting their head slightly. They go up to one of the goombas and lightly tap the top of their noggin in one last attempt which seemed to do the job. The goomba stopped dead in its tracks as its large oval eyes took in the sight of the inkling above it.

“…Yebby?”

Suddenly the goomba rammed its body into them, knocking the wind right out of their lungs. Three wouldn’t have any time to respond before another goomba quickly followed suit. Very soon she was being pushed around by the entire herd like a rag doll, each one doing their best to hit the inkling as hard as it could, Agent Three tried to reason with them but it seemed the troops wouldn’t listen. Without any choice Three was forced to pull out their splat roller, launching the goombas into the air with a heavy sweeping of ink.

Finally, Three was free. With a sigh of relief, they were just about to return the roller bag into the bag when they heard a rumbling from further in the forest. They would likely have chalked it up to being an earthquake if it weren’t for a stray hammer hitting the inkling right on her noggin.

“Haoh!”

Rubbing her head she’d look for the source, only for her jaw to drop in utter horror.
An entire horde of goombas- No not just them. A horde of goombas, koopa troopas, and hammer bros flooded through the trees like a violent river, all headed right towards the single inkling.

…She should start running, shouldn’t she?

With that, the poor inkling began swimming for dear life.
—————

-The Jungle-
Interactions: Open!​

 

[Ploegy]

Ｊｏｋｅｒ
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Location: The Jungle | Interactions: SheepKing
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"Ren! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" The insistent cries of Morgana rang out as he bounced around on the bed next to the sleeping teenager. Ren hardly wanted to pay him much mind, and instead gave a stifled huff before he turned onto his other side. Whatever he wanted could wait at least five more minutes, besides, it wasn't as if he had important matters that he needed to immediately tend to. Vacation was upon him, allowing him to finally relax from his hectic school life, even if it was only for a month.

"Urgh! Ren stop lazing around and STOP IGNORING ME!" the cat hissed, while ramming his head into the teenager's shoulder. It seemed no matter how much he wished to ignore him, he couldn't. Whatever Morgana found so urgent was to be put at the top of Ren's to do list, even if he rather put it off in exchange for a few more minutes of sleep. Sighing in defeat, the thief flopped onto his back, causing Morgana to jump up in shock. "WATCH IT! YOU ALMOST CRUSHED ME!" Chuckling at those words, Ren lifted a hand to rub the feline's head, quieting him almost instantly until he began to purr. "Good morning to you too, Morgana."

Removing his hand from the cat's head, Ren watched as he proceeded to climb onto his chest and take a seat, blue eyes staring down at him with a certain kind of seriousness the teen hadn't expected to come from his companion. Quirking a brow, the boy couldn't place why the cat seemed so worked up, but before he could ask, Morgana spoke up again. "You forgot what today is, didn't you? Ugh! You're lucky you have me around to keep you straight!" Those words hardly helped Ren understand, but as he began to rack his mind for some kind of answer, it came to him, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wait, that can't be today, right?" Ren questioned, a sense of panic rising in his voice. For someone usually cool, calm and collected, he sure did get worked up over something so simple. Picking Morgana up off his chest, he set the feline aside and quickly sat up and grabbed his phone which rested nearby. Tapping away at his screen, the teen rapidly scrolled through his calendar, soon confirming his own thoughts. He had misremembered the date. His reunion with the other Smash Brothers was today, not next week. He wasn't even prepared for the trip in the slightest.

Groaning, Ren tossed his phone aside and hurried to his feet. "I can't believe I got the date wrong," he grumbled under his breath as he began tearing through his wardrobe, plucking random pieces of clothing out to bring with. He doubted he needed much given much of his time he would be in his thieves attire, but it didn't hurt to pack something more casual if they did for some reason laze about in their free time at the stadium.

As he tore through his room, Morgana watched, swaying his tail back and forth in amusement. "You're going to be late," he interjected, causing Ren to stop what he was doing and turn to face him immediately. "I'll finish up your packing and bring it by later. I know the way after all. Besides, you were late last time, remember." The memory caused Ren to wrinkle his nose in annoyance, but it was true. He had shown up late last time, and when he had arrived, the world had already been put in chaos. It admittedly wasn't a good first impression for him, but his assistance had given the others a good impression of him, which was good. The whole thief motif did have its own stigma after all, not that he had ever cared how it was viewed. The public's impression of him had always flip flopped as is. "Right, that would be great. Thanks Morgana."

Giving a smug laugh, Morgana pranced forward and rubbed against the teen's legs affectionately. "Like I said, you're lucky to have me!" Rolling his eyes at the statement, Ren waved off his companions words before he moved to quickly change from his pajamas and into his school uniform. As much as he would have preferred to wear something different as his average clothes, it was what the others had seen him in before. Again, it wasn't as if it mattered anyways. As soon as he set foot in the Smashverse, he's thief form would take shape, much like it did in the Metaverse. Moving to get his phone, Ren gave one last look at Morgana and smiled. "I'll see you later." With those words, the thief opened the app on his phone he had used to traverse into the Metaverse and found the settings for his location saved away in it. With a press of a button, his world instantly turned to a blur, and soon began to form a new one.

A moment passed before Joker appeared in his destination. The school uniform he had left in now fully replaced by his sleek phantom thieves gear, and two weapons resting at his hip, ready to be used if need be. While his change seemed to go smoothly, his current destination hadn't form to be the one he expected. Instead of arriving at the Smash Stadium, like he had inputted, he found himself standing in a jungle. Double checking his phone to make sure he had gotten everything right, he was left with no answer as to why things had gone wrong. Even if he wanted to figure it out, he was left with little time to do so.

The roaring sound of feet against the ground was enough to pull Joker from any kind of thought. Was a stampede nearby? If so, he needed to get to safety before he was claimed victim to it. Glancing up to the trees, the thief moved swiftly, pulling himself up into the lower branches as he awaited the supposed mob to arrive. Much to his surprise, his gaze settled upon a familiar flash of color darting along the jungle floor. A bright orange, and oddly squid shaped. "Is that...?" he began to mutter to himself, but the arrival of the horde of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Hammer Bros was enough to cut him short. Whether it was Inkling or not, it was clear they were in trouble. A perfect time for him to make a flash entrance, although not entirely on hiss own.

Moving a hand up to his mask, a smirk crossed Joker's lips as he gripped its edge. "ARSENE!" he bellowed out. Tearing the mask from his face in a dramatic manner, it flashed into blue flames, forming Arsene's large figure. "Ravage them!" It was a simple order, and one that was enough cause for the persona to make its grand entrance on the jungle floor. Swooping into the mob of enemies, Arsene attacked them with no remorse, lashing his long clawed fingers out and swatting them aside as if it was mere child's play. As more tried to jump the persona, it quickly turned, swinging its bladed, heels at them and knocking them back with ease. It was clear, lowly minions like this, even in such large numbers were no challenge for the likes of the thief's companion. The boy was grateful to have such a powerful ally, although he couldn't let him steal the entire show. That would be boring, and anyone that knew him understood he wasn't one to sit back and let other's take the spotlight, even if that said someone was technically tied to him. He needed the spotlight for himself. The thirst for dramatics becoming his main motivation to show up his own persona.

Launching himself from his perch, Joker glided through the air, while reaching for his weapon, deciding to pick his dagger rather than gun. It was a brief display of the thief's own flare, but still a moment, nonetheless. Landing in the small clearing his persona had created, Joker pointed his weapon towards the enemies, whom had now come to a momentary halt thanks to Arsene, and he turned his head to look in the agent's direction. "I could use your help in this fight? You up for it?" If this was who he thought it was, he knew she would be more than capable of holding her own in a fight, and even if they were severely outnumbered, he was sure they'd find a way through it all. If not, they could always run like she already was, as much as he hated the thought of it. Besides, Arsene was itching for a fight, and admittedly, Joker had no problem partaking in one either.

Ｐｙｒａ / Ｍｙｔｈｒａ
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Location: Kremlin Hideout | Tagged: GrumpySwallow
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Pyra had awoken early in the day, and begun preparing herself to leave for her reunion with the other Smash Brothers. Waking early would hopefully mean Rex wasn't awake, nor would be disappointed that he wasn't coming along. It had always been hard to deal with her and Mythra being the ones chosen over him, but after he had found out, he seemed to take it relatively well, though she could still hear the pang of disappointment in his voice whenever it was brought up. It had become evident of recent when she mentioned she would be returning to meet with the others. While he had tagged along last time and helped, this time around Pyra had insisted her stay in Alrest and take it easy. Such words hardly suited her driver, but he really needed to learn how to, though, she assumed it would be impossible for him to rest while she was off fighting, that was if he could still feel her pain from an entirely different universe. That was something she was entirely unsure of, yet she was willing to find out. Hopefully, he would be fine. It wasn't as if she planned on taking any major injuries as is.

Brushing the thought off, Pyra continued on, deciding to make a small breakfast and some tea to enjoy before her departure. Luckily, both Rex and Corrine were still asleep, and she could see the house's small kitchen in peace. She could only hope the smell of her cooking wouldn't be enough to get either of them to rise, though she supposed if Corrine were to wake, it would be less of an issue. She had always been kind to both her and Mythra, openly accepting them into her home much like she had done with Rex when he was a child. Her kindness was something Pyra had grown grateful of. She knew they were always welcome in her home any time they visited Fonsett. It was a nice feeling after all.

Allowing the good feelings to warm her, a soft smile crossed Pyra's lips as she quietly began to grab a few things out from the cupboards. It wasn't long before she had everything she needed to make a simple breakfast along with a cup of tea, though as she was about to begin, her thoughts were interrupted by Mythra's voice cutting in. Let me do the cooking! It'll be great, I promise! Giggling at the other's words, Pyra showed no signs of letting Mythra take control. She was well aware of how horrible the other's cooking was after all, and she did not wish to subjugate herself to that. She also didn't have the heart to tell her other half that her cooking skills were, well... lacking. Instead, she refrained from speaking, letting the silence speak for her instead. Clearly her silence was enough to annoy Mythra. You are no fun, Pyra. Have it your way.

Finding herself in silence again, Pyra continued with her cooking, soon enough humming quietly to herself as she did. It was relaxing being able to cook by herself with little to no distractions, but for awhile now, they had separated from their other companions, but in doing so, she cooked less due to Corrine insisting she let her handle it. That was fine by her. Sometimes, it was nice to have someone else cook for her for a change, as long as it wasn't Mythra.

Finishing her cooking, Pyra grabbed the small plate of food and cup of tea and moved to the small wooden table in the middle of the room. It was then that the sound of a door opening caught her attention, and she shifted her gaze to see who it was. Luckily for her, it was Corrine and not Rex. Offering the woman a kind smile, the aegis moved her attention back to the food in front of her and began eating.

"You're up early, I see," the woman mused, moving to clean the dishes Pyra had used. The blade was prepared to object, but before the words could escape her lips, she noticed Corrine shaking her head. "Don't worry about me, darling. You have a big day ahead of you, right? You can't be wasting time on cleaning the dishes." It was sweet of her to say, but Pyra couldn't help feeling bad. She had been the one to make the mess after all. She truly did not deserve the kindness the woman showed her. "Thank you Corrine. You are too kind." A soft laugh came from the other woman, and again she shook her head. "You've taken good care of my boy, so it's the least I can do. Now eat up and be on your way before he wakes. If you don't, you know he'll beg you to take him with." Truer words couldn't be said. Doing as the woman said, Pyra finished her meal and rose to her feet, handing the few dishes to Corrine before she turned to leave. "Have fun out there."

Nodding, the aegis quickly took off. The portal thankfully wasn't too far from Fonsett, but she didn't want to be late again like last time. Showing up and seeing a world in distress hadn't exactly been her idea of a fun time, but she had kept her head high and pushed on, ultimately allowing herself to be helpful in the end. That was what mattered most and she was sure Mythra could agree.

Arriving at the portal after a few moments, Pyra showed no hesitation to enter it. Normally, it lead directly to the stadium, or at least last time it had taken her to Final Destination. She could only hope the same would occur. Unfortunately, things could never go as planned. As she popped out of the other side, she was immediately falling from the sky. "WAH! WHAT THE?!" she shouted. Her gaze quickly moved beneath herself, noticing she was plummeting towards an open ocean. What a nightmare. Even if she wanted to, there was little she could do, thus she had to accept her fate.

SPLASH!

Disappearing beneath the waves, Pyra struggled to fight her way afloat again. The salt stung her lips causing her to quickly attempt to wipe it from her lips, though that did little good. Groaning in dismay, the aegis gave a small shake of her head, causing droplets of water to fly from her hair. "Now where am I?" It was a rhetorical question, but Mythra decided to chip in almost immediately. In some ocean of course! How the hell did we end up here?! Sighing, Pyra wasn't sure she could answer that question. The only explanation she had was that the portal had redirected them to another place in the Smash universe. That alone provided very little information though. She supposed even if they knew what had caused it, it wouldn't fix the problem, nor would they easily be able to reach the portal to return to Alrest, if that was even a possibility. All she could do was try and figure out where she was, and how she could get to the stadium from here. Easier said than done, she assumed.

Looking around as she tread water, the aegis instantly noticed a small ship approaching her. From the looks of it they appeared to be coming to save her, which in turn caused her to wave her hands in the air to ensure they didn't miss her. "Over here!" she called out. As the group drew nearer, her hope for rescue decayed. Almost instantly she recognized what had come to save her- Kremlins. While she had had little interaction with them before, she knew well enough they were associated with K. Rool in some manner, and he wasn't necessarily a kindhearted soul. Sure, he had helped in the fight against Galeem, but that didn't mean his underlings would act kindly towards her. If anything, they'd act business as usual, and that was exactly what they did.

Feeling herself pulled from the water, her captor laughed menacingly. "This is a real good find boys! We ought to bring her back to the boss!" Scowling at those words, Pyra was prepared to fight back, but the Kremlin gave her no chance to. Even with her strength, she was unable to do anything, or rather, she found it safer to go with them. Being on land was better than floating at sea.

The journey to the Kremlin's lair wasn't long, but their arrival seemed to be the worst timing, or at least for the crew it was. In Pyra's eyes it was perfect. Instantly noticing Pit and Toon Link's presence, the blade knew now was her time to rise against her captors. Mind taking control Mythra? Those words seemed to please her other half as a chuckle came from her. I thought you'd never ask!

In a quick flash, Pyra vanished from sight and was quickly replaced by Mythra. Her features were fierce, and the look in her eyes clearly showed she was ready to fight. "Sorry boys, but this is where we depart!" Elbowing the Kremlin next to her and giving herself freedom from their poor attempt to shackle her, Mythra quickly allowed her sword to manifest in her hand, using it to clear a path off the ship. Darting forward, she launched herself from its desk and landed near the other two Smash Brothers. "Hope you boys don't mind me jumping in. Looks like you could use the manpower."

 

[SirPrompto15]

Noctis Lucis Caelum and Prompto Argentum
Location: jungle
" Alright Noct,ready to go kick some butt on this new adventure?" Prompto asked his royal best friend. " You bet I am Prompto!" Noctis replied while summoning his Engine blade. " I'm surpised the power of the crystal works here!"
" Me too Dude!" Prompto replied,summoning his trusty gun. " It's not everyday you get summoned in a world where you can meet all your favorite video game characters!" he added with a smile.
" You're too hyped up about this,do you?" Noctis asked.
" You bet I am!" Prompto added. The two best friends walked in the jungle
" I wonder who we'll meet." said Prompto. " Maybe it's Mario or Sonic,maybe even Bayonetta! I hope it's her!"

 

[Samevi]

Sonic stood at the edge of the floating island known only to its common visitors as Angel Island. Tapping his foot with arms crossed, he waited impatiently. It was only a few days ago they got the letter -- the invitation to reunite with the rest of the Smash Bros. at the Smash Stadium, which was sent by Peach herself. Yes, that Princess who was as kind as she was beautiful. Of course, Sonic being Sonic, he'd been ahead of everyone else in getting here, using Tails' help to get to Angel Island and... Gently persuade Knuckles to use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to send the island back to where it was during the Subspace incident for nostalgia's sake, of course, meaning the Emeralds had been scattered again. Since then, he'd been waiting here for the exact time, and it was getting very close.

Suddenly, the sound of a biplane propeller approaching Sonic's location caused his ears to flick and his mouth to become a sharp smirk. "Right on time, buddy." He said, entering a quick stretch. A few more seconds passed, and then Sonic leaped from the island, wind racing through his quills as he approached the pure blue water below. Despite that, he didn't fear the fall. That iconic blue plane, the Tornado, swooped underneath and caught Sonic on its wing.

"Sorry for the wait, Sonic!" The young fox shouted from the cockpit. "The Tornado needed some extra touch-ups, but now we're ready to go!"
"Hey, no problem!" Sonic replied, giving Tails a thumbs up. "C'mon, let's blast off!"
"Okay!" Tails nodded, pressing a button on the plane's control panel, making the plane's wings and propellers start shifting and retracting -- transforming into an X-Shape, jets igniting to push the plane forward at super-speed! Sonic crouched down, holding onto a spot designed specifically for this sort of thing. "Woo-hoo! Now that's fast!" Sonic remarked, making Tails smile as he focused on flying the Tornado on the scenic route -- why not? They had time, and the sky was perfectly blue. Well, except for--

Peww!
BOOM!

That.

Suddenly, a laser clipped the left wings of the Tornado, causing its flight to get thrown way off course and drop altitude, fast! Sonic's feet lifted from the plane as he grabbed on to a wing on the right side, but he didn't even have time to let out a grunt before being flung off violently, separating Sonic and Tails with a "WOAAAAAH!"

And from there, they both entered freefall, Tails going down with his plane, and Sonic going for an impromptu skydive. The blue hedgehog let out a sigh of frustration.
"Seriously? Here we go again..."

---

LOCATION: JUNGLE
INTERACTIONS: SheepKing (Agent 3), Ploegy (Joker)

"Mayday, Mayday!" Tails shouted desperately into the Tornado's onboard radio. Even if he wasn't sure anyone was listening, it's better than not trying at a time like this. "This is the Tornado 2, we are going down, repeat, we are going down!" Well, that was good enough. Especially since the plane was about to crash. He quickly undid his seatbelt and jumped out, his two tails spinning into action, lifting him into the air as the blue metal plane fell through the tree line of the jungle beneath him, a loud thud being heard shortly thereafter as it hit the ground. Tails sighed as he drifted down gently to the ground, next to the wreck. Fortunately, nothing was on fire, so all of the damage could probably be repaired, given time.

Tails brushed some of the dirt off his proud creation, the Tornado 2, and let out another sigh of disappointment. He just wished he could've flown it longer before something like this happened. Anyways, it was time to gather his bearings. He grabbed a small bag and a few gizmos from the cockpit, strapping them on and walking off.

"Hey! Anyone here?!" He shouted, waiting for someone, anyone to respond. He could probably find his way out on his own, since he could, you know, fly. But, hey, the more the merrier.

---

LOCATION: ICE CAP
INTERACTIONS: NONE

Sonic had been falling with some of the debris from the Tornado 2 for some time now, somehow having been flung all the way east 'til he was above the snowy ice cap... Wait a second, an ice cap? This felt familiar, and Sonic knew just what to do. His frown turned into yet another confident smirk as he grabbed the nearest piece of plane -- bingo! An almost fully-intact wing! This'd do perfectly. He slid it under his feet and gripped it like a snowboard, spinning around and around, letting out a whoop as he reached the slope of the mountain!

"Alright! Now this is what I call fun!" He shouted, snowboarding down the mountain like a pro. It never gets any less exhilarating for him! That sense of speed and control can't be beat. Well, except by running, of course, but this was a very close second for him. He let out another "Woo!" as he spun around the side of the mountain, approaching its base at incredible speeds! He didn't even fully notice when he hit water and kept going, going, and going...

Sadly, the fun ended only shortly after, with Sonic having to leap off before hitting the side of an island. As his feet touched solid ground once more, he struck a dramatic finishing pose and turned around, bowing to judges that didn't exist. "Thank you, thank you. Perfect ten, I know." He said. And then he looked up. "...Huh-WHAT?!" Sonic's eyes widened as he realized he was on a very small island out a very far distance from the main continent. And what should divide him from it but water? Welp, nothing else for him to do, he sat down and folded his arms, waiting for a better way back than risking a sprint over wavy, terrifying liquid.

Hm? Is that a ship in the distance? It's slowly coming this way... Maybe he can hop on-board when it gets closer...

---

 

[Develius]

---

Location:
Jungle

Spoiler: Charge!

​

As unlucky Agent Three was desperately swimming away from the onslaught of Mushroom Kingdom's finest minions, only one particular individual happened to oversee the operation that had unfolded before them. Coming out of the thick forest brush as several goombas squeaked feverishly in mad pursuit, one particular brown fungi stood out amiss all the others. At first glance, he seemed to look like he had just gotten out of bed, wearing what looked to be blue pajamas - held up by a single white button - with a matching night cap. He also sported a rather nervous expression, as if this just so happened to be his first time out in combat. Or rather, it looked to be permanently plastered on his face; his insecurities laying bare regarding his current circumstances as a proud goomba warrior.

However, given that he was the only one of his kind properly clothed, it seemed evident that this was no ordinary goomba. And indeed, this was certainly the case.

Pedestaled upon a rock, Private Goomp glared at the retreating squid and jumped in glee. "Oh Boy oh boy! We got 'er on the run fellas! After her!" he cheered confidently as he leaped off the boulder-sized rock and began running with a small goomba squad, "I sure better be given a raise by the Boss after I nab that sorry calamari-gal!"

As the horde continued to charge at their given quarry, they would certainly make their presence through the many pattering of feet and rallying calls echoing across the jungle floor. They were steadily gaining on her. Those near the front of the assault would try to slow the poor inkling down using everything at their disposal. Goombas leapt as far as they could for a head-butt, only to miss and tumble onto the ground. Several Koopas attempted to gain more ground by tucking into their shells and sprinting forward at top speed, only to spin out after losing steam. And an onslaught of hammers would hit close, but not quite hit, their target as they disappeared in a cloud of smoke shortly after landing in the dirt; barely causing an inconvenience against the Hammer Bros' seemingly bottomless supply.

The stakes were certainly high. If they could only reach a few more meters closer, they would they be in proper range to dogpile the poor inkling!

Yet being so entranced on capturing Agent Three, they would notice a certain thief hiding in the shadows like a true phantom. Once the horde was right under the very tree Joker was waiting for them, they wouldn't be prepared to face what came next. Private Goomp's eyes bolted out of their sockets in horror as he witnessed a large glowing-blue clawed hand rip through the very front of the horde, swiping away a significant chunk of the screaming minions to the side as if they were mushrooms in a field. "W-W-WHAT IN THE~?!" Instantly, the intimidated goomba screeched to a halt before attempting to remobilize his forces.

"Uh... um... ah~! Minions!" he stammered desperately before getting the word out, "We need to~!"

But he would soon find that his voice would be drowned out in the sudden chaos of the action; with everyone unable to hear him! Instinctually, they faced their attention upon Arsane and tried to dog pile IT instead! Yet their efforts would be in unceremonious vain, as yet again the persona easily took care of the lowly minions with a swipe at its deadly bladed heels. This was bad! Very bad! They may very well outnumber the two by a very significant number, but they weren't trained to deal with someone of the likes of this guy! Private Goomp was already regretting in offering to lead this battalion into such dangerous and unknown territory, his eyes darting around the battlefield in a nervous sweat.

He had to act quickly. If he was to stay now, he, alongside the others, would surely be whomped and sliced into thinly-cut goomba strips! As much as he hated to call for assistance from his Boss in the midst of battle, there was no other easy choice. They needed reinforcements, spat! He whistled at the nearest Koopa Troopa and swiftly called him over.

"You there! Head back to camp and call for reinforcements!" Private Goomp ordered desperately, "Fast!"

The green-shelled turtle gave two confirming clicks before proceeding to mad-dash back to their boss.

---

Spoiler: Theme - Rising Tempers

Location:
Jungle
Mentions:
| SheepKing | Ploegy |
​

---

Bowser was furious. Absolutely livid even.

"WHA~~? WADDYA MEAN YER GETTIN' DUNKED BY A SINGLE GUY?!" the Koopa King roared at the Koopa runner furiously as fire trailed from his scorching maw.

This day just keeps getting worse and worse by the hour. One moment he was plotting to take over the Smash Realm through what he thought was a totally fool-proof plan of attack, only to now find that the whole realm was already funked as it was! In most cases, that seemed like a very good thing. Taking advantage of an already screwed-up situation amiss the chaos was totally a Bowser thing of him to do. Most, if not all, of the heavy lifting would've been taken care by someone else, allowing him to sneakily step in and proceeded with the dastardly plan he had cooking up.

What he didn't expect, surprisingly, was for EVERYTHING to be topsy-turvy of this caliber to be present at the start! Not only did his airship fleet not happen to teleport right by the Stadium, but it turned out that the whole realm was falling apart by the literal seams. What's worse? A freak rift in space and time caused half of his fleet to be instantly destroyed by freak CHANCE, forcing them to take shelter by landing in this cursed jungle.

This was absolutely awful! Horrendous! And this was coming from an esteemed veteran of the Smash Tournaments, who hadn't not missed a single event since his introduction at the second MELEE tournament. Bowser had been witness to plenty of instances of the realm(s) nearing total annihilation, whether at the hands of two literal hands or through entities of unfathomable multidimensional concepts that claimed to be pulling all of the strings around here. You had this one blue guy with wings turning everyone into trophies; you had a sentient core that could shape shift into whatever it wanted; even the embodiments of light and darkness trying to screw everything up with their own visions of a utopia! There was a pretty obvious pattern that was going on here; one that he thought he had on lock and would figure out how to take advantage for his own gains. He thought he had predicted everything that he believed was going to be present. And now it's all up in literal smoke; as have most of his local plans have recently been.

There goes his bombastic entrance he had planned for all to bear witness to. There goes his chance at kidnapping Princess Peach for the nth time. And there goes his completely original and not reused speech about taking over the multiverse and everything beyond.

No stadium. No Peach. No leads.

Nothing.

Now here he is, listening to a Koopa Scout now telling him that Private Goomp (of the Elite Trio)'s forces have now taken on a SINGLE foe they had no chance in beating. All while trying to capture ANOTHER, supposedly weaker, fighter to bring to him. All of this happening to what was a scout regiment surveying the immediate vicinity. An annoyed groan emitted from Bowser's snout as he buried his horned reptilian face into his meaty clawed hand.

"Oh who am I kidding; why should I even be surprised with you bumbling lot~" he muttered with lowly fuming.

He's mildly surprised he hadn't gained another splitting migraine from all this noise.

Flanking the Koopa King, were two other particular figures that had been talking to their highness just prior. On the right was a red-shelled Koopa Paratroopa wearing a bright red sand-pail on his head, with the one on the left being a bright green-robed, masked Shy Guy holding a golden scepter and carrying a backpack full of various gadgets and supplies. They watched nervously as they looked at each other with growing concern, before Bowser quickly pointed at their directions with a sneer.

"Corporal Paraplonk! Sergeant Guy!" he barked at the two present members of the Elite Trio, "Ready another division of troops on the double! Get me some Fire Bros while yer at it."

"Yes Sir!" saluted the duo as they began assembling the rest of the forces in haste.

Bowser then turned his attention to the green-shelled Koopa. "And you! Green-shell! Take me to Private Goomp's forces. I'm gonna have Kamek hold the fort while I beat this sorry joker to a pulp! Jeez, why do I gotta do everything around here~?"

 

[SheepKing]

(when you see a squid or a puppy click on it for a surprise!)

Inkling

In their mad dash for safety Agent Three nearly didn’t even notice a certain Phantom Thief swoop in to save the day. But thankfully she did just in time. Exiting squid form, she’d slide against the ground, head zipping up to see what was going on. And, oh great Zapfish what a sight it was. Blue magical flames danced across the arena as a looming figure with wings as black as coal stood above the enemy forces, its long claw extended out rearing to rip and tear into every Koopa and Goomba that came too close. And that it did. Three stood there with their jaw to the floor as Arsene wiped through the horde with its devastating power. In fact, they’d been so focused on gaping at the persona that they nearly jumped out of their skin when a voice directly addressed her. Through the shimmering flames Agent Three could make out the shape of a lone figure.

The Phantom Thief of Hearts, Joker.

Oh! They should stop staring now. Picking her jaw off the ground, the inkling quickly slapped her cheeks. Focus! Sure, dealing with the horde all by herself would’ve been suicide for the squid, but now? With the extra hands on deck trying to fight the army wasn’t such a lost cause after all! Especially with an ally like Joker by her side. Come on Agent Three! It’s about time they pulled their weight!

It was time for a Turf Battle!

Looking back up at Joker, Agent Three finally gave their answer.

“Woomy!”

And with that, they whipped out their splattershot, took aim, and fired off a jet stream of ink at the horde, coating a good chunk of them in the slippery substance. If a stray Koopa or Goomba laughed at the ink, it’d surely be a sore misjudgment. As the more and more they got coated in the bright orange substance, the more they just seemed to soak up damage like a name brand sponge, leaving them as easy picking for Joker or Arsene to deal the finishing blow. But Agent Three wasn’t useless at a close range either as when a couple of Koopas got too close for her likely, she’d swap out her weapon for an Inkbrush, using the bristles to slide over to the group and deliver a painful smack of in, sending them flying into the air. With a twirl of the brush she’d pop back into squid form, hiding herself amongst the ink before suddenly popping out again to smack away even more Goombas with the brush.

Popping in and out of the ink, it quickly became the world’s hardest game of whack-a-mole for the troops as Agent Three weaved about the ravenous Arsene, picking off any stray enemies they could get their hands on. With all eyes on the persona, it left them all the more easy to wipe away with the brush. But she couldn’t help but be a little offended that they’d nearly forgotten about her. Agent Three could be just as dangerous as Arsene even if she wasn’t as flashy. For payback, the agent launched a splatbomb into a crowd of hammer bros, the ensuing explosion causing a decent chunk of them to be launched into the heavens. That’s what they got for not paying attention!

It wouldn’t take long for the entire arena to soon be absolutely drenched in the Inkling’s ink. What could she say? The battle field is her canvas and she’s one heck of a painter!

As good as a painter she was, it awfully seemed that there were a lot more enemies than there initially were. Like, a very concerning amount. Like a ‘wow that’s a lot’ kind of more, and coming from someone who dealt with hordes of Octarians on the regular, that meant a lot. Electing for a partial retreat, Three would swim through the ink, weaving her way between the Goomba and Koopa forces in order to get closer to Arsene. With their back nearly up against the persona, Three once more swapped out their weapon for the splattershot, returning to their prior tactic of coating the horde with ink.

“Kyens squiview…”

It wasn’t like they could back down now, but maybe they should rethink their strategy. But what else could they do? Swallowing down the lump in her throat she elected to continue on with splatting the horde with ink. Maybe if she shot at them enough they’d eventually get the idea to scram? As unlikely as it was, Three still could hold out hope. Or…they turned their head to see how Joker was holding up on his end. Maybe the card themed thief had an extra ace up his sleeve?

Meanwhile, it seemed her battling had gotten a little too messy. A good distance away from the action one could still find artifacts of her attack, namely it’d be easy to come across stray splotches of ink littered across the trees and ground. In fact, a certain yellow fox may find that a stray shot of ink would land by his feet, splashing unceremoniously onto the ground nearby.
—————
Location: The Jungle
Interactions: Ploegy Develius Samevi
————-



Isabelle

“Hey hey hey! Welcome to your one and only gateway to the skies, the Island Airport. Ready for your trip to the stadium, Isabelle?”

The Shih Tzu in question rose up her head, seemingly pulled right out from her thoughts. Still, as polite as ever, she’d quickly respond to Orville with an ever cheerful “Yep! All set!”

So much could happen in a year, and for Isabelle the past one had indeed been plenty eventful. Not long after her time at the tournament, Isabelle actually ended up leaving her job as secretary for the small town, as she’d gotten hired up by Tom Nook to work at Nook Inc. At first, she’d been hesitant, especially as it meant having to pack up all her things and live at what at the time was pretty much nothing more than an abandoned island. But with Tom’s reassurance and the fact that the former mayor of the town was now the Island’s Representative, how could she think to refuse? After some packing and promises to write back to her dear brother Digby, she packed up her things and got on the next flight over. And all in all, Isabelle didn’t regret that decision even the slightest.

While her job still held the same sort of work she’d come to be used to during her days as the village’s secretary, it was far more relaxed on the island, especially with Tom Nook right by her side. She found the days to be far more relaxing, a broadcast in the morning, a meeting with the representative on occasion, and plenty of paperwork to keep her mind sharp. What more could she ask for? Well…there was one thing.

Now, Isabelle was as non confrontational as anyone could get. Sure, she would be happy to politely inform a villager to change into more appropriate clothing or to stop saying a rude phrase but that was usually the extent of it! It wasn’t like she was rearing to throw herself at the nearest scuffle, paws up and ready for action. But…she did awfully miss her time at the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. Who knew it could be so refreshing to let all that work related stress out by whacking someone with a toy hammer?

Not that she only wanted to go just for the sake of violence, of course not! Just having the chance to meet up with all of her newly made friends was reason enough to yearn for a return to the tournament. She’d met so many nice people there who she would’ve never met had she been stuck in the little village. Isabelle couldn’t wait to catch up on her tea time with the princesses, help out the hands with sorting through Smasher applications, and yes maybe a little more of whacking people with her squeaky hammer but that was besides the point! Anyways, she’d been so eager for the day she could finally return back and sure enough that day had finally arrived.

Needless to say, she was rather excited to finally head back, something the dodo would easily be able to pick up on.

“Alrighty! But…I thought the Island Rep was joining you?”

Isabelle’s smile faltered.

“- Oh! Something popped up so they're going to have to stay here for a little while longer. They mentioned something about Scorpion hunting for the museum. I tried to offer to help with whatever it was but they just kept on insisting that I go on ahead…”

Isabelle really wouldn’t have minded assisting them but the Island Rep had been so adamant that Isabelle go ahead that she just couldn’t refuse. Plus, those scorpions weren’t something to be taken lightly! Blathers may be terrified of even the smallest bugs but he certainly had the right idea of be wary of those stinging arachnids. Still, she hoped the Island Rep would be alright on their own…

Thankfully Orville would help soothe her nerves with a friendly laugh. “Alrighty, I’ll make sure to send them on over as soon as they’re done bug hunting. I can set you up right now, but are you ready? All packed and stuff?”

Looking over her items, she seemed quite ready to go. Thankfully she didn’t have all that much. Just a suitcase with all her personal items neatly packed away and most importantly, her invitation to the tournament.

“Alright let’s get you airborne!”
——-



A few hours later Isabelle was on her flight, piloted by the somewhat eccentric yet very skilled Wilbur. With plenty of time before she’d reach her destination she’d taken the time to do some light reading to pass the time. It was a novel one of the villagers had lended her, something about how to be a better hostess. A strange topic to dedicate a book to, but a fascinating read nonetheless. She’d just gotten halfway through the book when the plane suddenly jerked, causing the book to fall out from her paws.

Normal turbulence, nothing to fret over. Hoping out from her seat, she’d go to grab the book before returning back, fastening her seatbelt tight. The flight would continue with minimal turbulence after that little incident. In fact, it probably was one of the smoother flights Isabelle has had, quite the testament to Wilbur’s skill. Still, maybe it was just her nerves but why did she get the feeling something was off. Maybe it was the lack of the Island Representative’s presence in the plane, their silence quiet yet comforting all the same.

Isabelle gave a small sigh as she looked down at her paws. Maybe she should do something to make it up to them, maybe get them a nice gift? What would they like though? It’d need to be something thoughtful but not extravagant. Maybe she could hand make it? Oh! Maybe one of the other Smashers would be willing to help if she asked. Princess Peach was the best baker Isabelle knew, maybe she’d be willing to help make a cake for th-

The plane jerked HARD, causing her book to be flung to the opposite side of the plane. Isabelle had nearly been about to unbuckle herself when she heard Wilbur’s voice shouting out from the cockpit.

“BANDIT SPOTTED!! FANGS OUT, I REPEAT, FANGS OUT!!”

The plane made a sharp turn, causing Isabelle’s head to slam against the window, earning a yelp of surprise.

“Wha-what’s going on?!”

Just as those words left her mouth the Air Masks fell from the ceiling, to which Isabelle would hurriedly strap her’s on. Besides that there wasn’t much she could do but sit in sheer fear as Wilbur did his best to avoid whatever it was that was attacking them.

“FEET DRY AND IN A FURBALL, NOT LOOKING GOOD-”

The shrill scream of metal being torn apart overwhelmed whatever else Wilbur might have said as the plane was torn apart. In the chaos Isabelle couldn’t even tell what was attacking the plane, only that a bright flash of light simply eat through the aircraft like it was nothing.

Isabelle felt the wind violently flow through her fur-wait a minute!

Unlike where a plane seat should be, it seemed that her’s was currently falling through the air, along with hunks of fiery wreckage that’d been blasted off from the attack. In complete utter shock, Isabelle thought not of the burning plane or the fact she was falling to certain doom, only that she’d just been getting to the good part of her book.

It didn’t take long for her to snap out of it and realize the real peril she was in. Like any other normal person would, Isabelle responded accordingly.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH”

Well, this was the end. Sure, there were plenty of thing Isabelle had wanted to do before her demise but in the heat of it all, she could say she had a rather nice life. She’d made friends, had a fulfilling job and loving brother, what more could she ask for?

Oh, but Digby would be so upset once he heard the news, hopefully Lyle and Lottie would be there to comfort him. Unfortunately most of her stuff had been in that suitcase so there wouldn’t be much to pass on to him, but Isabelle had been wise and gotten a will written which would handle all of the financial issues. All there was left was hopping Digby would make sure to get a good therapist and continue to live on despite the loss. That’s all an older sister could ask for.
Well, this is it, may death be swift and merciful.

……

Now hold on a second.

Isabelle frantically undid her seatbelt, detaching herself from the seat and lightening her load. Newly freed, she’d pull out a swing with two bunny shaped balloons attached on top. Swinging her little body on, she quickly took her seat. Now, instead of a horrifying fall to her demise, Isabelle gently floated downward ever so slowly.

She was in the clear. Letting out the biggest sigh of relief, Isabelle looked up and saw that despite it all Wilbur had managed to keep the plane up in the air, even if the aircraft was just barely hanging on. Whatever it was that attacked them had done quite the number, she could barely recognize the wreck for what was once the pristine dodo airline branded plane. Just what had hit them in the first place? Isabelle glanced at the local area but found no sign of their attacker anywhere.

Well, as long as she had these balloons there wasn’t much else to fret over.

*POP*

A-as long as she had this one balloon there wasn’t much else to fret over.

*POP*

…Now about that will-

“WAHHHHHH”

Isabelle returned to falling towards her certain doom.

—————


Paws deep in sand, Isabelle found that death felt awfully grainy. Who knew that there was so much sand in the afterlife? Well, she’d eventually realize that she was in fact not dead yet as apparently the fall had been just short enough and the sand just soft enough to prevent her from meeting her demise. Not that she was unhappy! No, just quite surprised she’d managed to survive despite everything. After she got to the stadium, Isabelle certainly would have a very interesting story to tell the others. First things first, she needed to get up.

With a little “Hup!” She’d pulled herself up from the ground and shook her body, shaking off the stray grains of sand and dirt from herself as she took in her surroundings. Based on appearances she seemed to be on some manner of Island. Not her Island of course, but a far less inhabited one. Well, it did have one inhabitant.

“It’s awfully nice to see you again, Sonic!”

Perhaps it was just the shock from the terrifying set of events that took place but Isabelle seemed surprisingly cheerful. Or, maybe she really was just that happy to see an old friend again.
——-
Location: Small Island
Interactions: Samevi

​

 

[SirPrompto15]

SheepKing Develius Ploegy Samevi
" Goombas?!" Noctis said surprised. "Alright! This fight should be a piece of cake!" Prompto cheered. Both of them summoned their respective weapons and ran to the battle.
" Does that mean we'll have to face the koopa king himself too?" Noctis asked. " That is If he's here." Prompto replied.
" Besides,should these guys over here?" he mentioned Agent 3,Joker and Tails.
Noctis readied his blade. " Let's go help Tails!" Noctis threw his Engine blade toward a Goomba and teleported to the location of his blade,slashing the Goomba.
Prompto ran to Tails's location and then readied his gun,aiming at another Goomba.

"Oh hi there opening!" He attenpted to shoot the Goomba. He then turned to Tails. " You're alright Little guy? Don't worry! My buddy Noct and I are here to help!" he said,cheerfully.
" Prompto's the name and photography's my game!"

 

[GrumpySwallow]

As the two young Smash Brothers held the Kremlings back, they noticed a ship sailing into the cave. It looks like enemy reinforcements are on their way! The two tried to keep their cool; after all, they've been in much stickier situations! Great was their surprise when, instead of a whole crew of pirates, Mythra disembarked from the ship and landed right beside them ready and eager to fight!

"Ha! We've got all the manpower we need right here, Mythra! Have you seen these guns?" Pit managed to free an arm long enough to flex the bicep, reminiscent of how he'd do so in the best ending of the first Kid Icarus. He winked roguishly. "But we'll be sure to leave a few for you! Oh, by the way, hello, Pyra!"

Pit was happy to see Mythra, but this was an action scene where a pair of friends were in a scrap, and then another hero jumped in to lend their aid. It just wouldn't be complete without some banter! Even though Link, any Link, was a great battle buddy, they usually weren't the best conversationalists. The angel, deciding it was time to do some crowd control, put his blades together and shot the completed bow forward, spinning it rapidly in the infamous Angel Ring attack, and sending Kremlings flying. "HIYAYAYAYAYAAA!" He then re-separated the blades to twirl them and cross them over his head. "The fight is on!"

Wow, how long has it been since he had done that!

The path ahead clear, the two Smash Brothers split off and charged in their chosen direction. Toon Link found himself facing the fat Kremling kook. The kroc laughed wickedly and raised a massive cleaver. Toon Link, seeing the opening, dropped to his left, rolling behind the kook and jumping upward in a vertical slash. The sword sliced through the Kremling's belt and caused his breeches to drop. The Kremling let out a high-pitched scream and clapped his hands downward to cover his shame. Toon Link looked behind him to see three more of the krooked krocodiles heading his way. Chancing a glance upward, the Hylian spotted a large, rusted old chandelier hanging from an underground treeroot. Before the pirates could descend on him, Toon Link used his trusty hookshot to pull himself to the root and slice through the rope holding the chandelier. The pirates only had time to scream before it fell upon their heads with a crash!

Gulliver hid behind a crate as he watched Pit do battle with his own group of pirates. The sailor, caught up in the thrill, kept calling out praise and advice to the angel. "Two to yer starboard! Another to port! Now, parry! Parry! Thrust! Ha-harr! That's how you do it! Uh-oh! DUCK! Phew, that was close! BEHIND YO-- Oh, you got him! Great! Now kick him again! That'll teach 'em, the bullies! Don't worry, shipmate! I got yer back!"

Pit, blades locked with a pirate, shot the seagull a look that could split solid stone.

"Uh, right!" Gulliver said with a sheepish smile. "I'll wait outside!"

Kap'n Klay cried out in rage and frustration then shouted orders in hopes of regaining control of the situation. "Fall back to me 'n' regroup! We can still get 'em! Don't let two snot-nosed brats 'n' a wench make fools of ye!"

There was no response.

Klay looked behind him and saw a group of battered pirates kneeling on the ground, heads bowed and hands clasped in prayer. "What is the meaning of this?! Shift yerselves NOW!!"

One Kremling raised his bruised head. "We just got our tails beat by an angel, kap'n! We're repentin'!"

Another stood up and took out a small idol of the goddess Palutena. "I'm quittin' the krew, kap'n! I'm joinin' the priesthood, aye, as me ol' mother wanted me to! I'm sorry, mama! I'm gonna make somethin' of meself! I'll make ye proud!"

Murmuring to themselves, the pirates stood up and headed for the cave exit, dropping weapons, fake eyepatches, and other paraphernalia. Klay could only watch helplessly, his drawn cutlass trembling. He then let out other dismayed cry as Pit and Toon Link grabbed bags of his ill-gotten loot.

"AHH! NO! My loot! Stop 'em! STOP 'EM!"

But no one moved to stop them. The two Smash Brothers laughed and waved cheerfully at Klay as they ran from the cave, bags of loot slung over their shoulders. Defeated and dejected, the Kremling walked over to where the piles of loot used to be. His eyes widened as he spotted a lone Nook furniture leaf on the ground, and not just any Nook leaf, but the Golden Seat! They must have missed it in the scramble! Klay sighed and picked it up. At least all wasn't lost!

Toon Link's grappling hook snatched the Golden Seat right out of Klay's claws!

Klay slumped back against a ruined column. He let out a miserable sigh, grabbed a mug from a nearby table, and turned to where he knew a barrel of rum rested--

THEY TOOK THE RUM!

 

[Ploegy]

Ｊｏｋｅｒ
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Location: The Jungle | Interactions: SheepKing Develius
Samevi SirPrompto15
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The smirk on Joker's face grew when he saw the Inkling fired up and ready to join him. He had never taken her for a coward, so that was a good sign. Seeing her jump into action was more than enough to return his attention to the halted horde of enemies before them. Lowering his weapon, his eyes momentarily followed his squid companion's movements before moving to scan the field in its entirety. None of the enemies immediately stood out, but his gaze soon enough settle upon one that was unlike the others- a Goomba dressed in blue. What a shame it was that it had made itself stand out from the rest. That was enough to make them his primary target. Perhaps they'd have answers as to why they had been chasing the poor Inkling girl.

By the time his target had been decided, the field had already been painted in orange. How long had he been hard focused? Too long apparently. If the other thieves were here, they'd likely scold him for drifting off into hard thought. Maybe he needed that. Either way, there had been no harm done. Agent 3 clearly was fine holding the line, and if anything had launched itself in his general direction, Arsene still lingered nearby to intercept it. Joker had nothing to worry about.

His head turned to check on his persona, watching it fly around oddly in sync with the squid girl's movements. Any enemies she missed, Arsene quickly cleaned up. It was funny to see him fighting in such a manner, rather than with him, but he was hardly bothered. One call, and he'd return to his aid in seconds. That was exactly the approach the thief took.

"Arsene!" Joker's voice rang out, drawing the persona's attention in immediately. Seconds passed before the large, demonic-looking figure lingered behind Ren. "I need you to make a diversion for me." Pausing, he lifted a hand and pointed towards the mob of enemies just in front of Private Goomba. "Eigaon there to block them off, or hit them. Either works as long as I can reach that specific Goomba."

A hearty laugh came from Arsene before he gave a nod of his head. Joker's commands were definitive after all. If pillar of pure curse energy was what he wanted, then who was he to deny him. Allowing a dark mass to form in his clawed hand, it built up for a few seconds before the persona launched it forward, hitting the group of unsuspecting Koopas. A light chuckle escaped Joker's lips as his persona's decision came to fruition. He should have expected as much. Arsene was the one that encouraged him to use his power in any way he desired, especially when it came to defeating enemies. The words "kill them however you please" had long remained in the thief's head, despite them being from when he first awakened Arsene. Things like that stuck with a person.

"Thanks," the teen uttered, preparing to push himself forward. "Now return to me!" Yet another simple command that was followed immediately. The persona burst into a flurry of blue flames, darting after the thief that had taken off towards the pillar that had been created. The masked formed upon his face as he pushed himself off the ground and bounced onto a Goomba in front of the eigaon. "Thanks for the boost!"

Launching himself upwards, he was able the pillar, but as he glided over it the sound of a nearby crash caught his attention. More enemies? he thought, but that was all the time he had to think, and that brief moment of distraction was enough to cause Joker to miss his landing. Reality quickly snapped back to him when he felt his shoulder collide with the ground, the rest of his body soon following. A brief cry of pain escaped his throat, but luckily he was able to recover quickly. However, he couldn't be spared the embarrassment his failed dramatics brought. "Dammit, that was horrible," he muttered under his breath. Brushing dirt and other debris off his shoulder as he stood up, Joker stepped towards the unique Goomba with a cocky smirk forming on his lips.

"Well, well, well. You look like the important one here," the thief remarked. Crouching down, he moved his dagger forward making sure Private Goomba could see it. "Now, I'm a reasonable person, so I'll give you a chance to tell me why you're chasing that poor girl and where your boss is?" A hum of amusement escaped his lips along with those words, and Joker slowly spun the dagger in his hand. It was a clear threat despite the lighthearted nature the teen himself seemed to take on. That was the exact approach he always loved to do. "But if you don't wanna talk, that's fine. I have ways of getting the answers I want."

Ｐｙｒａ / Ｍｙｔｈｒａ
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Location: Kremlin Hideout | Interactions: GrumpySwallow
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Pit's words, followed by his brief flex was enough to make Mythra roll her eyes and scoff. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," she retorted, clearly not taking well to his more lighthearted nature. She was as serious as always. As his next statement reached her, she couldn't help but shake her head. Everyone always wanted to say hi to Pyra. That must be the benefit of being the naturally kindhearted one between the two of them. Mythra herself was hardly met with such things, and while she always acted as if it didn't bother her, it secretly did. "You can tell her that once we're finished here!" She refused to be the messenger just this once.

With those words though, Mythra readied herself for battle, holding her sword out in front of her pointed at the enemies. However, she did not move from her place, holding her ground firmly until Pit took the lead. Normally, she would have been against idly standing back until someone else took charge, but for just this once she didn't allow her reckless nature to get the best of her.

Once a clear opening was formed, and both the other Smash Brothers took off, Mythra followed suit, finding herself diving right into the middle of a mob of Kremlins. Their attempts to swat at her were easily evaded thanks to her foresight allowing her to slow movements down in battle. Seeing things move in half the speed always came as a welcome aid while engaged in a fight. In return, her sword swings were quick, easily handling the crocs that dared to approach her. Dancing around the fight with ease, the aegis had no troubles. The defeated cries of the fallen Kremlins she had slayed only brought a smug smile to her lips.

"Come on! How hard is it to hit one girl?!" one Kremlin exclaimed, causing Mythra's attention to immediately shift towards him. Was he underestimating her power? It sounded like it. There was no way she was going to let that fly. In a burst of speed and light, the blade flashed in and out of view as she performed her signature Photon Edge. Along her way to her designated target, a few more Kremlins fell, unable to keep up with the sudden outburst of sheer speed. It was then that the one had realized he had messed up. Scrambling backwards, he tried to run from the blur of light that was Mythra, but found no success. She easily caught him and soon enough had her blade pressed against his neck. "What did you say about me?"

Her words were like venom, bringing immediate fear. The Kremlin cowered, mumbling silent prayers in hopes of keeping his life. Oh look what you've done, Mythra. He's scared beyond belief. Huffing at those words, Mythra was prepared to ignore Pyra, but the other was persistent. Let him go, Mythra. It's not worth it. Groaning, the blonde pulled her weapon back and lowered it. "You get to keep your life today." She wouldn't let him off with only that though. As soon as he seemed to ease up, the aegis swung a leg at him, knocking him into the water with ease. "Don't underestimate me next time."

Listening to him flail around in the water, Mythra snickered to herself and placed a hand on her hip as she looked down at him. "Please help me out!" he shouted. Rolling her eyes, the blade shook her head. This was the least she could do to punish him for his earlier words. If he wanted help, he would get it from his crewmates, though from the sounds of it, they wouldn't be coming to his aid any time soon. He was on his own. Surely, he was more than capable of swimming. If not, then it wasn't her problem.

You really had to do that to him? You couldn't just let him go? Pyra scolded. There she was always being so soft. Surprise, surprise. Mythra was more than used to it by now. Letting an exaggerated sigh escape her lips, she threw her head back slightly to try and sell her annoyance. Oh lookie me! Goodie two shoes Pyra! she playfully mocked, knowing her other half would immediately catch on and know she was being lighthearted this time around. Aw come on, Mythra! That's a low blow! A laugh erupted from Mythra throat, and to anyone that didn't know her, she likely appeared to be crazy, yet to those aware of her second "self" it was normal behavior. Sorry, you make yourself an easy target. I couldn't help myself. Now, let me focus back on what's happening and get us out of here.

Turning her attention towards the others, she noted that the fight was coming to an end. Now was the time to return to the others. Allowing her sword to dissipate, Mythra moved quickly after her comrades, not bothering to grab anything on her way. She only had escape in mind.

It wasn't long before she caught up to the likes of Toon Link and Pit, and flashed a smug smile in their direction. "Did those guys really think they could win against us?" she laughed, confidence oozing from her words. "Gee, I feel bad for them." It was a feeling of pity towards them, though admittedly, it had been their own stupidity that led them to believing they could handle the three of them. In that sense, she hardly felt bad.

 

[Ploegy]

Ｓｏｒａ
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Location: The Research Facility | Interactions: Open
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A year ago Sora had found himself summoned to the World of Smash. It was an unexpected endeavor, especially given how soon it took place after his victory against Ansem. It even had forced him to temporarily part with the likes of Donald and Goofy. It wasn't as if any of them had had a choice in the manner anyways. He had been summoned. Nonetheless, Sora was grateful that he had been called upon. Hearing that Mario had used his keyblade, even if for a mere few seconds, was unbelievable. The plumber's willingness to do such had allowed Sora to enter the realm with no issues, and luckily for the other Smash Brothers, in time to help them in their time of need. Fighting Galeem had been odd, but Dharkon had been right up his alley. Fighting the darkness was what he always did. He also had come in useful in dealing with Sephiroth's antic's as well.

While he had been happy to be part of everything, he also had been relieved to return home as well, and continue his search for the King and Riku. His arrival back reunited him with Donald and Goofy, and the trio had been able to continue their journey, which had led them to Castle Oblivion. That had filled a month of the past year. The rest of the year had been spent sleeping. Eleven months of sleep- nobody could have expected as much, and yet there was nothing he could have done. His memories were being re-chained together after all.

That was where he found himself now. After so many months it was time for him to awaken to the world again."Sora!" "Sora, wake up!" The voices were faint, but they were able to reach Sora's ears. Groaning, the teen's eyes slowly cracked open, finding it hard to leave his sleep behind. How much time had passed was beyond him, and in the moment his memory was slightly foggy. W-where am I? he asked himself, finding it hard for himself to focus. Everything was a blur and when his pod opened, the sudden change in lighting caused him to wince. Squinting immediately, he took this moment to stretch an arm up into the air before rolling back his shoulders in an effort to loosen them up. Standing there, yawning lazily, Sora had yet to take notice of his two companions awaiting him. Both stood with wide smiles upon their faces, hardly containing their excitement at the sight of him, their stifled laughs echoing throughout the room. Blinking a few times, his vision finally adjusted and his eyes settled upon his friends.

Immediately, his face lit up. "Donald! Goofy!" he called out, hardly able to hold back his own enthusiasm. Nearly tripping over his own feet as he rushed to them, Sora was quick to grab hold of their hands and begin jumping up in down in place. Eventually, the three of them were all holding hands and jumping around in a circular motion, clearly happy to be reunited with one another. Their laughs filled the chamber for a few moments before finally dying down just in time for Jiminy Cricket to emerge and climb his way onto Sora's shoulder.

"That was some nap," the cricket yawned out, stretching out his own arms before jumping down from the boy's shoulder. His words caused immediate confusion to cross Sora's face and slowly the keyblade wielder cocked his head. "You mean, we were asleep?" The confusion seemed to be a common sentiment shared among all of them. Even Jiminy had no definitive answer. "We musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy..."

This left the four of them confused. "When do you think we went to sleep?" Goofy questioned. Humming softly in thought, Sora crossed his arms over his chest and tapped a foot against the floor as he pondered what could have gone on. "Let's see... We defeated Ansem... brought peace to the world... found Kairi..." the keyblade wielder rambled, trying to recall all the events that had previously taken place. "Oh yeah, and then we went to search for Riku, but during that time I was summoned to be a Smash Brother!" His face lit up as he mentioned such a thing, taking great pride in his inclusion among such legendary heroes.

"That's right!" Donald squawked out, as Goofy nodded in agreement. "But how'd we end up here then? Where is here?" The group exchanged confused looks. None of them could recall exactly where here was no matter how hard they racked their own brains. "What does your journal say, Jiminy?" The question caused the cricket to dig into his pockets and retrieve the small book, quickly flipping through its pages for an answer. "It has no answers, but there is something important written here for Sora."

Blinking in surprise, Sora scratched at his cheek, unsure of what the cricket could be referring to. Was there something important he should be remembering? Returning to his "thinking stance," the boy once again began to rack his own brain. "Something important, huh? I don't recall anything of the kind." Shaking his head Jiminy began to jump up and down, clearly disappointed in the boy. "It says right here that you're supposed to remember returning to Smash Stadium!"

"Return to Smash Stadium..." he repeated, trying to recall why he would need to do such a thing. For a moment, he stood staring at the floor with no immediate answer, but as the thought settled in his mind, the reason became clear. "The princess! That's it!" His outburst seemed to come out of nowhere, and without warning he pulled himself away from the group. "What about a princess, Sora?" Goofy questioned, but the boy was already too far ahead to hear him.

Running down the castle's long staircase, stumbling on occasion, Sora's mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only- he needed to make it back to the Smash Stadium and fulfill the promise he had made with Princess Peach a year ago. The Gummi Ship couldn't be too far, right? All he had to do was get outside. However, thoughts of such were immediately thrown to the side when a glowing door at the stairs bottom caught his attention. Coming to an abrupt stop, his focus immediately shifted towards it. The door seemed to oddly beckon him forth, and without a second thought, the teen allowed that feeling to take him over. Any logical thoughts were thrown completely out the window. His mind was solely focused on the door. Everything about Princess Peach had flown coup. His hand reached out for the door when he was close, twisting the knob open. That was all he could remember before everything around him changed.

Stumbling forward in a daze, Sora caught himself on the wall before he could go crashing to the floor. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, but his worries did not immediately dissipate. As he regained his composure, he was finally able to look around the room he now found himself in. Unlike the castle he had previously been in, whose walls were pure white and were the floors, the place he found himself in was dark. The walls and floors both dull gray in color, but flashed occasionally from the blue lights that lined them. Turning, he faced an entire wall of monitors, many of them lit up with various locations around the facility.

Curious, Sora walked towards them. His eyes quickly scanned across the screens, briefly taking in all he could. "Where am I? A lab or something?" he mumbled to himself. That was how it appeared at least, though he had no finite answer to such a question. As his eyes continued to watch what was before him, he caught glimpses of odd looking beings that appeared to be roaming the area. In a way, they resembled heartless, though not the standard ones, but rather the soldiers. "Heartless? But I thought-" he began, but was immediately cut off by the doors behind him sliding open.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" The booming voice was enough to force Sora to whip around, keyblade manifesting in hand. The enemies before him were much like those he had seen on the screens, though upon closer inspection, the lacked the heartless usual symbol. He had no time to question what they were though. The two Primid lurched forward towards him, fists held high in preparation to attack. Sidestepping their attacks, Sora swung his keyblade at them, causing them to stumble to the side far enough to create an opening for him to escape. Showing no hesitation, he took his chance.

Bolting into the hallway, Sora's eyes grew wide in panic. Where was he? What was going on? And mostly importantly, how could he escape? He knew none of the answers, and his panic over them only rose as the sounds of alarms began blaring through the facility's halls. Red lights began to flash, causing his heart to begin racing. "This isn't good," he breathed out, continuing on his trek forward down the hall. "I need to find a way out of here." His goal was clear, yet with no clue of where he was, all he could do was run and hope that luck would be on his side.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

"Pirates pulverized!" Pit responded. He'd fist pump, but one hand was carrying a bag of loot while the other held the rum keg. Toon Link hopped from one foot to the other in a little victory dance. The angel's face then became serious, his voice holding a touch of sympathy for the Kremlings. "Mythra, did you have to kill them?"

Pit was a veteran warrior with a body count that was probably in the thousands. He was no stranger to taking lives and will not hesitate to do so should he have to, but the Kremlings were simply bullies and were very badly outmatched by the three Smash Brothers. Pit didn't feel slaying them was justified. Toon Link apparently felt the same as he didn't take a single pirate's life as well.

Outside of the cave, the two Smash Brothers spotted a group of the Kremlings digging in the sand. Before they could drop their cargo and draw their weapons, Gulliver spoke up on their behalf. "Avast there, my friends! These scallywags have turned over a new leaf and they're helping me find my lost communicator parts! It got broken while I was tossed at sea, you see. They even said they'll come with me to return everything they've stolen! All's well that ends well, eh? Thank you so much for your help!"

That's convenient! Toon Link and Pit placed the bags near the seagull. Gulliver was clumsy and prone to rambling, but he had a good heart. They believed him.

"Consider it part of our penance," one of the former pirates said. "I must warn ye, though: these coasts are under the control of Kap'n Krook, a vicious 'n' merciless rapscallion. All seascum that travel these waters answer to him; Klay's one of 'em! I heard rumor he's even workin' with the Zola. I'd keep low if I were ye. If he finds out about yer, he'll be after ye, I've no doubt about it.! He'll see yer interference as an attack on him."

The two Smash Brothers looked to Mythra and each other. Pirates taking over the seas of the Smash Realm? Surely Master Hand and Crazy Hand wouldn't allow such a thing to happen! The Kremling's eyes widened upon seeing the confusion on their faces.

"Ye mean ye don't know? The Hands're no longer the ones in charge, so is the rumor! Can't say I know the details. Just a lowly deck scrubber, y'see, spent most o' my time on the ship."

Pit and Toon Link would have heavily doubted the rumor had such a thing not already happened twice before. Then there was Pit's arrival into the Smash Realm. Toon Link's arrival was normal enough for the Hylian: he used his wind baton to conduct the "Ballad of Gales" to warp himself there. Pit, deciding that he wanted to arrive at the Stadium in style, took Phos and traveled by chariot. The only thing the angel could recall before waking up sopping wet in Toon Link's boat was a loud KA-BOOM and a horse's distressed neigh. The two had barely been able to talk to each other before loud yells alerted them of the pirates and the distressed Gulliver. There was only one thing for it then: they must head for the Stadium! If the other Super Smash Brothers didn't already know about the Hands' disappearance, then they needed to be informed!

"We should travel through the Sea of Clouds," Pit suggested immediately, pointing to the clouds above. Even if his flying ability was... lacking... he can still walk on the clouds. The high vantage point will let them see the Stadium from a distance and traveling by clouds will give them a straightforward path. Besides, it was his element!

Toon Link looked doubtful. Pit had only recently fallen from the sky. There was a danger there that they do not understand, and Toon Link wasn't the most fond of traveling through high places. He wasn't afraid of heights, but he can recall numurous instances of being sent flying only to crash painfully into something solid, usually a wall. He also did not want to leave the King of Red Lions behind. Toon Link would rather sail to the Stadium. It was his element!

Pit was not in the mood for debate. He scowled at Toon Link and looked back to the sky. "Go your own way, then! I have to find Phos!"

Toon Link was taken aback by the sudden hostility from the normally amiable angel, but only briefly. He walked over to Pit's side and gently took his hand, nodding firmly. He knew very well what his friend was feeling; he had been through something similar. Pit was immediately softened by Toon Link's compassion. "... I'm sorry, T'ink."

The two looked to Mythra. What were she and Pyra going to do? Of course, they were welcome to travel with either Pit or Toon Link, and the other will not be bitter about it.

***​

Meanwhile in a forest, Pikachu was running for her life! The Electric Mouse Pokemon dodged trees and leaped over stones in her path in a desperate attempt to escape the fury of a pursuing Ursaring, its enraged roars filling her ears.

Food had been getting scarcer and scarcer, many of the berry trees and bushes having rotted away over the course of the year. Pikachu had been searching for two days before finally finding an unspoiled berry bush. Before she could even sigh in relief, Ursaring suddenly appeared and swatted her away with a powerful swipe of its claw. The Hibernator Pokemon then sat by the bush and guarded it fiercely while two little Teddiursa ran out from behind some ferns and dug into the berries.

Pikachu whined softly. She couldn't entirely blame the Ursaring as it was only trying to provide for its babies, but her growling stomach wasn't as forgiving. Slowly pushing herself to her paws, Pikachu forced herself to move on. It was then that black arrow fell from the sky and struck the Ursaring in the chest. A dark aura burst from the Pokemon! It's fur turned grey and its eyes glowed purple. It let out a roar that echoed through the trees before charging at the first living thing its eyes laid upon: Pikachu!

Pikachu began to falter as her hunger took its toll. Ursaring was rapidly descending on her. Sparks flew from her cheeks as Pikachu used the last of her energy to summon dark clouds and call forth Thunder.

"PIKAAAAACHUUUUUUUU!!!"

The massive lighting bolt struck Ursaring. The huge Pokemon let out an agonized roar before it fell over, smoke rising from charred fur. Pikachu's chest heaved as she watched the downed Ursaring. Just when she was finally about to let her guard down, Ursaring's eyes snapped open and it pushed itself to all fours, snarling.

Pikachu fell over to her side. She had nothing left; she was completely at the Ursaring's mercy!

 

[Develius]

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Location:
Jungle
Mentions:
| SheepKing (Inkling) | Ploegy (Joker) | SirPrompto15 (Noctis/Prompto) |
​

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Spoiler: Theme - Pandamonium

Private Goomp shakily tried standing his ground while desperately trying to take ahold of the situation. It was already a difficult enough for the minions to fight against Inkling's weaponized ink weaponry, alongside Joker's Phantom providing the slashing brawn to bat away 10s of minions in a single strike, but it seemed to be working TOO well in their favor. Worse still, the arrival of two more enemies - one wielding a large sword and the other a gun - was also beginning to complicate the matters far more than expected. And what was that? Another "Tails" character was also nearby? This might as well be an ambush for all the poor goomba in command knew!

He began breaking under the pressure.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Private Goomp begged loudly, tears beginning to form underneath his face, as he began running the way they came from. He passed through several late arriving goombas, oblivious to their incoming demise, before they too would be disposed of with ease. Before long, the rest of the forces began to run for the hills, with a few already putting their hands up in surrender. Whether or not they would be spared, through their intangible chirping and mumbling, was up to the heroes. Goomp took a glancing look to see all of this unfolding, before he felt his face smack against a tree.

*PLUNK!*

The poor Goomba fell onto his back in a cry of pain, his entire body throbbing in confused pain. He was going to feel that in the morning for sure. Slowly gaining back his footing, he'd turn to find himself looking up at the point of a shiny dagger pointed straight at his outfit's little white button. "EEK! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Private Goomp' gasped, scuttling back as far as he could against the tree he now was corned in. This was the end for him, he knew it! Looking up with quivering lips, he felt the Phantom Thief's piercing eyes pin him down from behind his pristine mask, asking where his boss was.

"I-I-I-I I d-don't know where he is!" Private Goomp stuttered uncontrollably, his teeth chattering in place while cold sweat raced down his head. Even with Joker's more lighthearted tone, the goomba knew better then to trust this deceitful-looking man, "I-I swear!"

With an ominous threat coming from the thief's mouth, Private Goomp couldn't help but make himself look smaller in comparison. This was it; he was going to die here! What were his friends going to say once they found his slashed corpse face down in the muck? Oh who cared, look at him now! A goomba about to be pummeled like the rest of his kind! No one would remember him; not even Bowser would miss him! He will just be a simple footnote within the numerous casualties sustained over the 20 years in service to him. Oh it killed him! It killed him to think of his legacy as nothing but a failure. His mouth opened in anticipation for a blood-curdling scream of pent of anguish~

Before a fireball whizzed past and struck the ground close to them.

Spoiler: Theme - Fiery Reinforcements

Goomp paused as he suddenly watched more fireballs coming from his side of the tree, lobbed towards the enemy in unrelenting fury! One would even skim right next to his tree, threatening to set Joker's outfit on fire if he didn't move in time. From there, a great many pattering of feet would shake the ground before an onslaught of large multi-segmented beasts emerged from the brush! A cavalry of eight Wigglers charged at the enemy with surprising speed. Each would carry a full squad of Fire Bros - fiery cousins of the Hammer Bros - upon each of the caterpillar's segmented bodies, each shouting as they launched each fireball towards the heroes with strategic precision. At the very back of each wiggler, a fire bro managed a Bullet Bill Blaster that acted both as a deterrence to any surprise attack coming from behind and as additional firepower. Whilesome of the Fire Bros lobbed their flames at the enemy heroes, others intentionally set fire to the ground, with the wiggler trains attempting to surround the heroes in a ring of concentrated fire.

It wouldn't help that any fireballs missing their target continued bouncing forth until fizzling out or setting fire to the trees they've struck. In a matter of moments, a small-scale wildfire would erupt around the battlefield, throwing up smoke and ash into the air. Concentrated chaos would ensure. Private Goomp, still terrified at the situation, was relieved to see reinforcements come to his aid. As a smile began nervously creeping up on him, a heavy blast of flame erupted from straight above him - threatening once again to scorch Joker if he wasn't still in the way already. Private Goomp screamed as he forced his body to go comically as flat as he could manage before the stream subsided. Then it toppled over as a heavy strike struck its trunk - leaving only a thick burnt stump in its wake. The Goomba whimpered as he looked directly above him to see the unmistakable visage of his boss. A wave of sudden relief turned into tears of joy; for his prayers have been answered.

King Bowser had finally arrived.

Spoiler: Theme - Raising Tempers II

Putting his foot upon the still scorching tree trunk, the malevolent Koopa King surveyed the fiery battlefield before him, eying the mischievous quarry with a livid scowl. The units surrounding the heroes would cease their attack momentarily while surrounding them, each itching to continue blasting the living mushrooms out of each combatant. There were two faces Bowser recognized and two that were brand new to him. Yet all were testing his ever mounting wrath as he bellowed:

"LISTEN UP, YOU MISERABLE BUGS! YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS TO EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON BEFORE I GRILL YOUR SORRY-BUTTS TO NEXT WEEK! CHOP-CHOP!"

Right to the chase. Bowser had no time for nonsense.

Underfoot, Private Goomp would see a Shy Guy wearing the unmistakable green robes turning the corner to meet him.

"Sergeant Guy!" he whispered excitedly, "W-Where's Corporal-?"

"On yer feet, Private!" the expressionless Shy Guy said urgently with a loose drill-instructor tone to him, as he rushed to grab the goomba by the button and drag him back behind friendly lines, "Paraplonk's overseeing the operation from the sky. Lord Bowser's gonna take it from here, while we reorganize the rest of your forces. I reckon the battle's not over just yet!"

​

---

 

[SheepKing]

Pichu


"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Pichu looked up as he heard the alarms blare across the facility, a moment of brief distraction before he continued on with his escape. Across the metal floor his little paws quickly scampered, just barely dodging the Primids that littered every inch of the hall. Each one upon seeing the little creature would lunge out to try and capture him only to instead grab ahold of nothing but air, as Pichu zoomed about like lightning itself. He had places to be, namely outside of this horrid place.

Despite his speed, based on the labored breaths which wrecked the young Pokémon’s body, it was clear he wasn’t running on full energy. Pichu had been in the facility for a long while, and in that time he’d been used as nothing more than a living breathing battery for the facility. Every watt of electricity inside the creature had been sucked straight out time and time again, leaving the Pokémon with so little left he probably couldn’t give you a static shock. Yet despite the weariness Pichu knew that slowing down for even a half second would result in him being caught and thrown back into that awful generator. Thus, he elected to ignore the oncoming exhaustion and continued to sprint down the halls.

“Pi…pichu…pi”

Pichu repeated to himself. It was like a mantra, a promise to himself that he’d get out of this horrid place no matter what. He needed to find Pikachu, to know that she was okay! It’d been so long since he’d seen her or even any of the other Pokémon that Pichu could only assume the worst. But no matter, he was busting out of this place no matter what was thrown his way.

A Primid suddenly appeared before him, giving Pichu no time at all to brake or turn. Rather, Pichu shut his eyes and prayed as he slid through it’s legs, just barely evading capture by a hair. Pichu sighed with relief as he looked back at the monster, only for him to end up ramming into the legs of another one of those creatures. Too late to flee, Pichu wasn’t going to back down without a fight. Mustering up the little electricity left, Pichu was nearly about to pounce before he realized it was no monster he’d run into.

Spiky hair, red jumpsuit, and the kindest eyes he’d ever seen, Pichu quickly recognized who the figure was.

“Pi!”

Without a moment to lose Pichu hopped onto Sora’s leg and crawled up his body, only settling down once he reached the boy’s shoulder. That still didn’t mean Pichu wasn’t panicked, as evidenced by the way he grabbed Sora’s ear and screamed straight into it,

“Pichu-Pi! Pi-Pi Chu!!”

Pichu couldn’t spare time for introductions, as he’d let go of the ear only to then bite onto a strand of Sora’s hair and pull it as hard as he could. Using the strand he’d forcibly crane Sora’s head towards another hall, one that wasn’t currently filled to the brim with enemies. Pichu could only hope that Sora got a clue of what he was implying as Pichu was far too exhausted to do much of anything now, the adrenaline that’d kept him running just moments prior now gone completely dry.

——
Location: Research Facility (map to be added)
Interactions: Ploegy ​

 

[Develius]

---

Location:
Forest
Mentions:
| GrumpySwallow (Pikachu) |
​

---

Before the ravenous Ursaring would get a chance to maul the defenseless Pikachu, a large ball of plasma energy suddenly popped out from the dark forest with an intense hum. It shrieked through the air, radiating with a swirling array of colors at incredible speeds, aiming straight at the bear's side. If to collide, the beast would find itself having to tank an incredible explosion of energy threatening to scorch her fur and send mama bear reeling onto her backside.

Spoiler: The Return of the Space Warrior

The culprit wouldn't immediately reveal itself, with the forest going almost deafly silent over the sudden interference of nature taking place under its dark canopy. Yet eventually, it would emerge. An armored figure - slenderly built in primarily white and blue armor - silently strutted forth into the clearing, its arm cannon aiming straight the beast's direction. The gun barrel emanated a trail of faint smoke amiss the light orange patterned glow that adorned the weapon's elegant curves, confirming the blast's point of origin clear as the daylight among them. The figure's visor produced an eminent green light that pierced through the darkness, faintly revealing a pair of feminine eyes underneath its aggressive design.

While her armor's visage had changed significantly since last stepping in this realm, the figure's legendary identity had otherwise endured its iconic design through the many years of veteran combat.

It was the return... of Samus Aran.

And it was not the first time she found herself in this exact scenario...

 

[SheepKing]

Inkling

While Agent Three continued her onslaught against the Koopa menace, she’d catch sight of two new figures joining the fray. They were just far enough away where she couldn’t make out specific details, only that one was blonde and another had black hair. Though as they got closer and close she’d seem to somehow recognize the former.

Who was a blonde spiky haired pretty boy that wore lots of dark clothing? That had to be none other than Cloud! Though it was rather strange, he seemed quite a bit different then the last time she’d seen him. To name a few things he seemed kind of sickly looking, his hair was far less spiky, and the majority of his muscles were totally gone. Heck, by the looks of it he wouldn’t even be able to carry his buster sword anymore! Agent Three couldn’t help but frown with concern, concluding that Cloud must have had a really awful year to turn out like that. But, as she saw just how well he got along with the black haired man, she could at least be reassured that he had people to support him in this time of crisis.

Seeing as it’d be really rude to bring up his sickness especially in the middle of battle, Agent Three elected to greet him like usual, a simple wave and a “Woomy!” being sent his way while he and his new friend ran in the other direction, seemingly having spotted something else of interest.

In this moment of distraction a Goomba would see its chance to attack, ramming itself right into her gut. Knocked down, she’d submerge herself in ink before rising up to shoot the minion with her Blaster, sending it flying away.

“Weoh…” They’d sigh with relief. Too close for comfort. Thankfully the battle seemed to be reaching its climax. She could see Joker in the process of interrogation with the only goomba that wasn’t naked, a sure sign of him being the leader of this bunch. Furthermore it seemed like most of the others had finally gotten the hint and started to scram, overwhelmed by the glorious might of the Smashers.

As Agent Three walked about the area scanning for any stragglers they’d eventually spot a few Koopas and Hammer Bros with their hands in the air, a clear sign of surrender. Acknowledging this, Three would do a shooing motion with their hands, allowing the minions a genuine chance to flee if they so pleased. If they were clearly scared enough to not want to fight then what would be the point in actually doing them in? Who knows, maybe they’d even see the error of their ways in the process. If the Octolings could realize DJ Octavio was nothing but trouble then surely these guys had the capacity to do so with Bowser.

Well, as thoughtful of a gesture as it was, it'd quickly bite her in the tush not a minute later. Turned away from Joker and the sleepy Goomba, Agent Three wouldn’t notice the oncoming fireball until it was too late. They’d barely be able to dodge out of its path, a tentacle being hit in the process.

“Squee!”

She’d yelp in pain, quickly dropping down to slap the limb against the ground to put the flames out. With some effort the fire became extinguished, but not without a nasty burn wound on the tentacle to show for it.

“W-weemi mau…” They’d groan out, tying the burned tentacle with the one that hadn't to form a makeshift bun. It’d be the least she could do to prevent that from happening again.

Agent Three forced herself to calm down and get a grip on the situation. Looks like reinforcements had finally arrived. Wrigglers, Fire Bros, and Bullet Bills littered the week arena, causing utter anarchy. Fire continued to be flung everywhere, Three having to pop in and out of squid form just to avoid becoming calamari. Even worse, it all seemed too calculated to just be random. No, they were closing in on everyone, the Wrigglers and Fire Bros forming a barrier of fire and worm, preventing any manner of escape.

Swimming through the ink, Three nearly hit one of these barriers, popping out of squid form just in time to roll away. Down on the ground, Agent Three strangled out a cough, smoke filling up her lungs. How was it in such little time the battle had swung in the royal opposite direction? Despite it all, Agent Three wasn’t going to go down with a fight. If this was the end then so be it.

She’d grip onto her Splattershot with fury in her eyes. Aiming right for a Wriggler she’d sprint towards it, a battle cry tearing through her mouth. And yet moments before they fired, Agent Three would find themselves enveloped by a huge looming shadow. Looking up, she’d soon find out just who its owner was. Well, she had wondered if he’d be close by his minions, looks like that was now the case.

Standing mighty upon a tree stump was the King of the Koopas and menace to all, Bowser, and he looked pissed.

A voice louder than a Killer Wail, Agent Three covered their ears as Bowser demanded an explanation of what was going on. They supposed that was actually quite merciful for him to do, even if he was undoubtedly going to set them all on fire no matter what sort of explanation they provided. Still, this gave them a chance, as slim as it might be. Maybe if they told their side of the story, how the goombas had unfairly ganged up on her when she was just trying to ask for some directions then he’d see how unreasonable their troops were acting and let them off with a warning. Was that a lot to ask for? Yes, it was. But maybe with a skilled negotiator doing the talking they’d somehow find a way to get the upper hand on the situation in whatever form that may take.

Looking over to Joker, Agent Three gave him a thumbs up, whispering a confident “Woomy!” of encouragement.

———
Interactions: Ploegy Develius SirPrompto15
Location: The Jungle
​

 

[GrumpySwallow]

Location: The Forest
With: Samus Aran ( Develius )

Pikachu shut her eyes in acceptance of her fate.

Yet doom never came.

The familiar sound of a plasma blast reached the Pokemon's ears and she opened her eyes to see Ursaring being blast away in an explosion of energy. The force of the blast was so strong that Ursaring was sent flying, smashing into a tree and reducing it to splinters. Pikachu's vision was then filled by a very familiar silhouette. As the smoke cleared and the light faded, Pikachu could see that, while the colors were different, there was no mistaking who her savior was.

"Chachu..." Pikachu squeaked, her voice weak yet awed. Hope filled the little Pikachu's tired body, giving her the energy to rise to her paws. She looked to the fallen Ursaring. It was alive, she could tell, but had the fight knocked out of it. A dark aura still radiated from its body though it was much weaker now that the Ursaring was subdued. Pikachu cautiously approached the other Pokemon. With great effort, she jumped onto its stomach, took the shaft into her teeth, and tugged in an attempt to pull it out. Pikachu was determined to help it; she understood that the strange object was the reason for Ursaring's rage.

Pikachu let out a startled squeak as she was zapped by a spark of darkness, and she instinctively released her hold on the arrow. She shook her head to try and rid herself of the sensation, then looked to Samus and pointed to the arrow.

"Chachu! Pikachupi!"

Should Samus extract the arrow and scan it, she may be able to find that the shaft was made from a dark-red wood of unknown origin, and the arrowhead... was shaped from the congealed blood of Dharkon!

 

[Develius]

---

Location:
Forest
Mentions:
| GrumpySwallow (Pikachu) |
​

---

Indeed, Samus would find that charged shot struck true. For as her visor inspected the Ursaring's fallen body through the smoke, she could tell that she was certainly downed. Not dead, but rather incapacitated. Good enough for the bounty hunter. With the immediate threat taken care of, she lowered her arm cannon and glanced down at the familiar face of yet another first generation veteran with an acknowledging nod. That was the second time she got poor Pikachu out of a tight situation, with memories of their first proper encounter quickly slide-showing through her sub-conscious. Lightning certainly struck twice in this instance; though not that she minded of course.

As the armored warrior began approaching the fallen body to inspect it, she quickly noticed the faint dark aura that emanated from the bear's body. This phenomena wasn't new to Samus; in fact there was something oddly familiar about it. She had fought against numerous dark clones of other fighters and false doppelgangers throughout her time in each tournament, whether as corrupted units acting a masquerade for their dark gods to as simple as training entities to hone in on her skills. In this instance, she noticed an arrow lodged in the creature's belly. How curious.

But before Samus could get a better look at the entity, Pikachu proceeded to approach the Ursaring and attempted to dislodge the arrow herself. However, the projectile wouldn't budge and emitted a spark of curious darkness-like energy that caused the Pokemon to let go. She pointed at the arrow, beckoning the bounty hunter to take a closer look. Kneeling onto one knee, Samus' grabbed onto the exposed shaft, as dark energy cackled within her grip, and proceeded to rip it out herself. Her armor was more than durable enough to take the shock, but nonetheless she could feel the dark energy tickling through her skin. Whatever this was, was certainly not good. Activating her scan visor, it produced a steady stream of green light amiss a low hum as it gathered everything that it could about the target entity.

Within seconds, Samus gained a full 3D-model of the arrow in a full turntable motion before several bits of information popped up to the bottom right of her visor. There wasn't too much that she could pick up on it, other then the fact that the shaft was made from a dark-red wood of unknown energy. That wasn't surprising. But as her eyes squinted at the text that read what composed the arrowhead, her expression dowered. Another slideshow of images pulsated through her head, each showing memories of a dark entity with writhing magenta tendrils and most prominently a cold soulless eye staring deep into her. No wonder this felt familiar.

"Dharkon..." Samus muttered to herself aloud, enough for Pikachu to pick up. Her grip on the arrow tightened feverishly before attempting to snap the shaft into half and shoot the arrow tip with a blast from her arm cannon. A moment of dread trickled down her spine as she stood processing the information. Why is it back? She thought they killed both it and it's light-side counterpart, Galeem, in the last tournament. Did it resurrect itself? Or if not, something must be using its remains to corrupt these entities for its own nefarious deeds.

She needed to find out more... and alert the other combatants.

Looking back at Pikachu, the bounty hunter waved her arm for her to follow, as she proceeded to head back to her gunship that she parked roughly a mile from where they were.

 

[SirPrompto15]

Develius Ploegy SheepKing Samevi
Prompto Argentum.
Prompto just noticed Agent 3. Having played Spatoon before,he knew what inklings were.
" Oh hi! Nice to meet you!" he cried to her sheeply." I can't speak inkling! Sorry about that!My name is Prompto. Nice to meet you! Noct and I are friends,we're here to help!! " he asked being a total geek. He then watched Agent 3 fight.
He was in total awe!
" Whoa...That was so cool!"
He then remembered about Tails. " You're doing okay buddy? Is Sonic nearby?"

Noctis Lucis Caelum.

Noctis dodged thr fireball by warping. The prince noticed the reinforcements getting closer.
" They're just as worse as the Nifls!" he muttered. He summoned a fladked containing a thunder spell." If that dosen't stop them I don't know what will." he faced Joker. " You better keep your distance this spell might be dangerous if you're too close!"
He threw the thunder flask toward the army. If it succeds the flask would break on the ground and unleash a dosen lightning bolts.

 

[Kaiju Cat]

Paula didn’t know how she got here in the jungle to begin with. One moment she was helping her mother run the at home daycare today; it was a quiet day nothing strange; then next she’s alone in this new world. There’s no time to worry herself sick over this she sensed trouble brewing from afar. She sprinted forward wishing to help those in need on the battlefield. It was nice to put her psychic powers to use once again. After all, it had been nearly six months since Giygas was taken down once and for all. She kept close contact with her friends at least Ness was a stone’s throw away often visiting him.

She kept on going, eventually making her way to the new group. It was time to put her powers to use again. “ PSI SHIELD GAMMA!” She created a psychic shield around the group blocking those fireballs from hurting her new friends. She clicked her tongue making the shield stronger as a bonus effect for everyone. It would protect them for the remainder of the battle. “ My PSI shield gamma helps protect everyone from anything like those fireballs and other magic.” Paula explains, forming a hand signal indicating she going to cast PSI Freeze Omega. Her psychic shield should protect everyone against Noctis’s magic too. She cast her PSI Freeze Omega on one of the reinforcements.

Paula’s psychic abilities are deadly. Maybe someone can negotiate with Bowser to save their skins, she can only hope it would clear the tense air. Bowser reminds her of dragons from her story books back home, a wingless dragon. To be fair, there’s different interpretations of those mythical creatures perhaps he’s anther variant. Upon a closer look, Bowser seemed like a turtle to her, a fire-breathing turtle who has a spiked shell.

Develius Ploegy SheepKing Samevi
SirPrompto15

 

[Ploegy]

Ｊｏｋｅｒ
───────────────────────────────────────────

Location: The Jungle | Interactions: SheepKing Develius
SirPrompto15 Kaiju Cat
───────────────────────────────────────────​

The cowering Goomba was more than enough to cause Joker's smirk to grow. For someone who played the "hero," he surely did thrive off making his enemies quiver in fear. Chuckling softly, the thief momentarily pulled his knife back. "You don't know, huh? Well isn't that a shame." Shaking his head, Ren turned the dagger in his hand once again. Given Goomp's reaction, he had no reason to distrust him. He was clearly scared for his life after all. Shadows often acted in a similar manner, saying whatever they needed to save their own asses from meeting their own end. Some even had the nerve to back talk him when he and his fellow thieves had guns pointed in their direction. Where Bowser's minions that smart though? The thief figured the majority of them weren't, and acted like a hive mind, but this one, it was clearly different. Deceit didn't seem out of the question, though his body language told Joker all he needed to know. This Goomba didn't dare try and trick him. Still, its words left the thief unsatisfied, and a faint scowl formed upon his lips. However, his dissatisfaction would never come to fruition.

A ball of fire whizzed over Ren's shoulder, barely missing him. That alone was enough to alert him that he was now on the defensive. His ideal position of having his target corner no longer mattered- backup had arrived. Growling in a brief display of annoyance, Joker quickly rose to his full height and created space between him and Private Goomp. He had no time to question the Goomba, but rather protect himself for the onslaught of fireballs. His eyes darted around, rapidly taking in the situation; four Wigglers on his right, four on his left, and upon their backs the Fire Bros. Unfortunately, they were surrounded quickly and fireballs sprayed across the established battlefield. "Not good," Joker huffed under his breath, though his posture remained cool and collected.

Nimbly avoiding the fire that had been casted in his direction, the thief knew the situation was far beyond his control. A fight that had been looking like an easy victory now was forcing them into a precarious situation. It irritated him. Glancing in Agent Three's direction, through all the smoke he could see she was beginning to struggle too. It was only a matter of time before they'd be overwhelmed.

His focus on her was quickly drawn away from her when Noctis spoke to him. When had the other even gotten to his side? Had it been during all the commotion, or were his senses dulled that much in the moment? Either way it didn't matter. The male's words hardly put Joker at ease though. Even the words that came from the girl who had suddenly appeared did little to relax him. Still, the thief had no choice, but to follow Noctis's suggestion and to believe Paula's words.

Creating space between himself and Noctis, Ren found himself close to where he had began. He could see Goomp still cowering against the tree, but his focus on him hardly lingered. He needed to do something to help the others. While he doubted Arsene's sheer power could carry the day, he had to try and create space. It was his only option.

Moving his free hand up to his mask, Joker's fingers curled around its edges and he tore it off, allowing his voice to echo out as he did, "PERSONA!" That word alone caused an array of blue flames to dance around the teenage phantom thief, and once again Arsene took form amidst them. Looming over Joker, the persona idly scanned the battlefield, awaiting its orders from the thief. Pointing to the Wigglers in rapid succession, Joker looked his companion dead in the face and gave his orders, "Eigaons at them all. We need to have some form of damage control." Nodding, Arsene moved quickly into action, casting pillars of curse energy upon the Wigglers that hadn't already been targeted.

Despite the persona's attempts, a new looming threat had entered. As flames rained down upon him, Joker was hardly able to dodge, finding his coattails catching fire in the process. Growling, he quickly discarded the coat, having no means to quickly cease the flames that had begun eating away at it. Even if he did, he wouldn't have time to. The large shadow cast over him was enough to tell him someone else had arrived, and someone big at that.

In that moment everything seemed to freeze, even Ren himself found himself not daring to move. His persona was no different. Halting itself mid-attack, Arsene's attention had shifted to meet Bowser's arrival as well.

As Bowser's voice roared out, Joker finally dared to raise his head. Finally, the Koopa King himself had arrived. Oddly, a smirk began to form upon the teen's lips, hinting at a sense of satisfaction of some sort. The way the king spoke was more than enough to amuse him. However, his focus was briefly drawn from Bowser's rage and pulled over his shoulder towards Inkling. From her encouraging woomy and thumbs up, he already knew what she was expecting of him. He supposed it came as no surprise. She couldn't do it herself after all, and he had experience in talking enemies down, albeit not ones of Bowser's status.

Turning his head back in the Koopa King's direction, Joker lowered his dagger to his side, eventually sheathing it at his hip beside his pistol. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the good ol' King of Koopa's himself," he began, his voice lacking any sense of urgency. Clearly his usual cockiness still lingered. "Should I bow and beg for mercy, oh Koopa King?" A laugh erupted from the thief's throat as he bowed his head entirely in a joking manner. Seconds after, he waved a gloved hand in the air to dismiss his own playfulness. He was sure his antics were entirely unnecessary, but he couldn't keep himself from poking some fun at Bowser before getting down to actual business, though surely thirty seconds had passed by then.

"I kid, I kid," Ren mused, allowing his smug expression to shape into a more serious one. "What's happening here is your army attacked poor Inkling. I simply stepped in to aid her. Your underlings clearly can't handle Arsene's power." There it was again, that confidence that oozed from Joker's entire being. Even in the presence of someone as mighty as Bowser, he had no fear. Perhaps he should though, especially with others around. Deciding to dial it back, the thief pressed on, "But now that you're here, I'm sure we can put this little misunderstanding behind us. It could be like old times, eh ol' Bowser? I'll even forgive you for burning my coat."

Ｐｙｒａ / Ｍｙｔｈｒａ
───────────────────────────────────────────

Location: Outside Kremlin Hideout | Interactions: GrumpySwallow
───────────────────────────────────────────​

Hearing Pit speak to her, Mythra's smug expression dropped immediately and all the cockiness that she usually held herself with faded. "I-" she hardly managed to spit out. The realization of her actions were settling in, causing her to quickly become flustered with herself. "Dammit! I did it again!" she hissed under her breath, feeling a sense of immediate frustration building up within her. It wasn't rare for her to lose herself amidst a battle and forget that even a portion of her normal strength was dangerous, and that was exactly what had happened again. She hadn't made herself aware of the fact that they were not killing, and she had gone and done just that. Taking the lives of innocents only reminded her of her past with Torna, and all the lives she had taken because of her inability to keep her power in check. Such a memory was enough to cause her to snarl under her breath before she vanished in a quick flash of light. In her place appeared Pyra.

"Aw, that's not fair," the blade sighed, her facial futures sinking in disappointment. It was to be expected though. Mythra often fled in moments like this, finding it hard to accept the mistakes she made. Pyra unfortunately was always on the receiving end of it all. Shaking her head, the redhead accepted her fate. Besides, she knew all too well the burdens Mythra held onto, and fully understood her reasons, whether they were good or not.

Casting aside her negative feelings towards the situation, Pyra shifted her attention to the former pirate that was aiding Gulliver in his search for communicator part. What he brought up was concerning and only caused the aegis's lips to remain frowned. Pirates taking over the seas of this land was only a minor issue compared to the next he brought up. The Hands disappearing certainly was problematic. She could only assume that their disappearance opened the doors for villains to rise and cause mayhem across the realm. It could even allow the likes of the existing villains in their cast a chance to gain control, rather than help find the hands. The thought of such was enough to make Pyra sigh. After everything they had done a year ago, they found themselves back in a less than ideal situation. At least this time her and Mythra weren't late to come to the heroes aid.

While the rumor did seem out there, Pyra had no reason to discredit the pirate's words. Besides, it explained why her journey here had taken such a bad turn. Whoever was behind this all had likely wanted her here, yet not near the Stadium. That only made their destination clear. The other two seemed to think the same, though upon watching them, she couldn't help frowning at their disagreement. It was disheartening to see the two heroes have a minor dispute, though she could understand it. Everyone had their favorite form of travel after all. Unfortunately for her, walking wasn't an option from their current location, but needing to decide which Smash Brother to go with left her in an awkward situation.

Allowing her expression to shift to a sheepish one, the blade let an awkward laugh escape her lips. "I guess I gotta decide how I'll be traveling, huh?" she began, rubbing at her cheek. What was the better option for her? She had traveled by both at this point in time, though the seas of Alrest were made of clouds rather than actual water. Still, her and Rex had often traveled across the Cloud Sea by a titan-powered ship, so perhaps sea was the way to go. "As much as I'd love to take to the skies, I do think sticking to the sea would be best for me."

Ｓｏｒａ
───────────────────────────────────────────

Location: Research Facility | Interactions: SheepKing
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During his own panic, Sora hardly felt Pichu run into his legs. His mind was too busy trying to figure out the situation in front of him, though as soon as he felt the rodent moving up his body, he froze and quickly threw his free hand over his mouth to hold back a laugh that tried to escape it. His gaze turned to his shoulder almost immediately after, and his face lit up not only in surprise, but in joy as well. It was nice to see a familiar face after all, especially in a place like this. His elation would only last a few seconds before he felt Pichu grab his ear and begin screaming into it.

"AH!" Sora yelped, finding himself completely unprepared for such. For a little guy, he sure had a set of lungs on him. The keyblade wielder was quick to rebound though, and once more a smile returned to his face. "It's nice to se-" His kind words were immediately cut off as he felt the rodent pull at his hair, forcing his head to turn towards the adjacent hall. Did he know the way out of this place? As much as he wanted to question the young Pokemon, he hardly had a chance to. A ray shot flew past the two of them, coming from the Primid Pichu had narrowly escaped from before.

Gasping in momentary surprise, Sora put moving forward on halt for a moment in order to deal with the assailant. Without much thought, the teen swung his keyblade out in front of him, expecting a burst of fiery magic to come from it, but instead found an icy spray instead. "Huh, that's something," he mumbled under his breath, unsure of why things hadn't gone as he planned. Perhaps his sleep had forced him more out of practice than he anticipated. What a pain. Nonetheless, his blizzard was enough to get the job done. Seeing the gunner frozen in place, Sora snickered, before turning back towards the path Pichu had originally guided him towards. "Alright, let's go!"

His enthusiasm carried him forward and once again, he proceeded down the facility's halls. Unlike before, his panic had dwindled, and he found comfort in having Pichu with him, though something did feel off about him. He knew the rodent was more than capable of fighting after all, yet he had immediately clung to the keyblade wielder for support. Glancing at the small, electric mouse, Sora could tell he was exhausted, although from what was beyond him. Getting the two of them out of here, and finding a place for Pichu to rest was the least he could do in this situation. "Don't worry, I'll get us out of here in no time," he promised, offering a gentle smile with those words. Hopefully, that would be enough to lift his companions spirits for the time being.

As he turned his attention back forward, his eyes were met by a horde of oncoming Primids- some held no weapons, while others held laser swords at the ready. Sora showed no panic. Swinging his arm forward, his keyblade flew from his hand and spun through the air until it broke through the mobs formation and disappeared into thin air. The attack quickly disoriented the group, causing a path to form among the numbers. Thankfully it was just large enough for Sora to slip through and continue on, though it didn't come freely. The Primids recovered only a moment after the pair passed, and followed in hot pursuit. Hearing their footsteps behind them, the teen gave a sigh. "Persistent as ever."

He couldn't be bothered with them though. The more energy he spent on fighting off the hordes of enemies, the less he would have for running. In a way it was a cowardly act, yet he had to be practical. It wasn't only his life on the line now after all.

Thinking on the fly, Sora noticed a hall coming up on his left, and as he neared it, he took a sharp turn, though that was nearly to his own demise. A few steps down the hall and he felt his foot slip against the edge of a pit. Managing to catch himself before he fell into the dark abyss that waited, Sora let out a soft cry. Steadying himself on solid group, he took a moment to catch his breath, before assessing his situation.

"A gap in the floor, huh? Who built this place?" he huffed, giving a small shake of his head. No matter how poorly designed the building was, the two of them were still being chased and he needed a plan, a quick one at that. Staring at the darkness that beckoned below, Sora wondered if his other magic was still in place. Could he still fly like he previously had been? If so, he could easily reach the other side, but if not they'd go plummeting into the darkness. His train of thought was brought to an immediate halt as the mob of Primid's finally turned the corner, forcing Sora to snap back to reality and make his decision. "Hold on tight, little guy!" Without a second thought, or even a second's worth of hesitation, the keyblade wielder closed his eyes and launched himself out of the Primid's oncoming attacks and into the air over the gap in the floor. Had he made the right decision?

Seconds passed, and finally Sora dared to open his eyes again. An immediate sense of relief overcame him at the sight he was greeted up- he was floating. A cheerful laugh escaped the teen's lips as he quickly spun upwards, doing his best to be mindful of Pichu. "Better luck next time!" he taunted the few Primid who had managed to remain on solid ground. Turning from them, Sora glided through the air towards the other side of the gap that awaited them.

Landing, he turned his head to look at Pichu and offer a cheeky grin in his direction. "Looks like we lost 'em," he said. Taking a few steps forward, he looked around, noticing two possible paths they could take. Maybe Pichu knew which would lead them out. "So, do you have any idea which way leads out of here?"

 

[SirPrompto15]

Kaiju Cat Ploegy Develius
Prompto Argentum
Prompto looked at the shield cast by Paula. " This so cool!" Thanks for the help!" He then proceeds in doing a selfie in front of the battlefield.Prompto being Prompto of course. He then summoned back his gun and stood ready for any nearby ennemies.
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Noctis Lucis Caelum
" And I thought the Astrals were cooler." Noctis replied as he saw Joker summon Arsene. Noctis noticed Bowser as well. " What are you up to?" he asked.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

Toon Link & Pit
Location: The southeastern coasts (World of Light map)
With: Pyra/Mythra ( Ploegy )

Pit and Toon Link were both taken aback by Mythra's reaction, the angel immediately becoming remorseful despite not understanding why Mythra reacted as she had. "Mythra, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--" Before he could finish, there was a flash of light and Pyra stood in Mythra's place. Pit winced and rubbed the back of his head, staring helplessly at the redhead afterward. "... I messed up, didn't I?"

There was an awkward silence that was soon broken by the rumbling of Pit's stomach, which caused the cherub's face to turn red with embarrassment and Toon Link to sweatdrop. What a time for that to happen! He had skipped breakfast, having anticipated a grand picnic lunch when everyone got to the Stadium, and he wanted to have plenty of room for it all. Princess Peach was an excellent cook; he had really been looking forward to it!

Toon Link clapped his hands together and beamed at the other Smashers. Why not have their own picnic lunch here on the beach? Food was often the perfect remedy for bad moods and low spirits. Pit eagerly agreed. While he was worried about Phos, he felt it important to leave his friends on good terms, though anyone who was familiar with the angel knew he never needed a reason to stop for a snack.

Toon Link and Pit sat on a massive piece of driftwood, and the Hylian took out a bottle of golden soup he had made prior to coming to the Smash Realm. Willing to share, he held it out to the others.

"Ah, you don't need to do that," Pit said cheerfully. "Don't worry about me. Lady Palutena insisted she pack a lunch for me before I left."

Toon Link noticed Pit's smile becoming strained as he spoke. What was wrong? It was quite sweet of the goddess to send her angel away with a meal she personally prepared, even if food was expected at the Stadium. Pit took a lovingly wrapped box out of his exomis and undid the ribbon. He lifted the lid. Ever expressive, Toon Link was visibly disturbed by the box's contents. Inside was a bag of what the Hylian could only guess were cookies (they looked more like lumpy hockey pucks) and an unholy abomination that was an eggsalad sandwich with peanut butter and jelly. There were even eggshells in it! The only appetizing thing in the lunch box was a plump orange carrot... which sprang to life, shook its little fist at the Smash Brothers, and ran off while chittering to itself.

Pit was not perturbed in the least. "Huh, I thought we caught all of those."

Toon Link couldn't hide his disgust as Pit opened the bag of cookies. He wasn't seriously going to eat those, right? They looked hard enough to break teeth!

Pit caught Toon Link's look. "To be honest, Lady Palutena's cooking gets better each time..."

Toon Link stared pleadingly at Pyra.

***
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Pikachu
Location: The Forest
With: Samus Aran ( Develius )

The dark aura vanished from Ursaring the moment the arrow was removed. It stirred and slowly rose, battered and very confused. Its confusion turned into distress as it called out desperately for its babies. There was a rustle in some nearby bushes and the two Teddiursa emerged in response to their mother's calls. Ursaring's injuries were ignored as it happily nuzzled the cubs. It stared at Samus and Pikachu briefly before turning away and walking deeper into the woods, the Teddiursa following behind.

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu called, waving good-bye to the bears. Her ears stood up in alarm as Samus spoke the name of the Entity of Darkness. She cowered, clearly recalling the events that took place a year prior. She bounded for the bounty hunter, climbing onto her shoulder and seeking security in her presence. Pikachu rubbed her cheek against Samus's helmet affectionately, grateful for the rescue and very happy to see her friend again. She then sighed and slumped. The electric mouse was almost certain Samus could feel her stomach rumbling through that armor!

Hidden behind a tree not too far away, a woman watched the two companions as they walked off. She was a young woman, human, dressed in a white peplos paired with a purple himation. Her eyes were dark brown, and braided ribbons held her curly brown hair in a messy bun. One hand gripped a bow while the other was clapped over her mouth, too terrified to even breathe. The dark arrow had proven to be a success, but she had not anticipated the interference of one who she considered to be among the most dangerous members of the Super Smash Brothers. Once she thought Samus and Pikachu were far away enough to not be able to detect her, she let herself sigh in relief and took out a gossip stone. Something had to be done!

Upon reaching her gunship, Samus would find it swarmed by Pluton Flies! The thieving winged ogres were trying to take it apart and make off with the pieces. They weren't at all bothered when the ship's owner arrived. Instead they cackled and made rude gestures, then flew straight at her. Their target: Samus's upgrades!

 

[Develius]

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Location:
Jungle
Mentions:
| SheepKing (Inkling) | Ploegy (Joker) | SirPrompto15 (Noctis/Prompto) | Kaiju Cat (Paula) |
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The first to speak from the rabble was one of the familiar fighters to the Koopa King, who quickly recoiling his aggression into a relaxed suave tone to address his majesty. Bowser's crimson eyes honed in on the clown's position, his nostrils letting out a huff a smoke in recognition. "And if it isn't the Phantom Thief of last-minute additions..." he gruffly countered as his form rose back to full height, "Glad to see SOMEBODY knows who he's talking to!"

He only roughly knew who this "Joker" character was, having only making his first appearance in the last tournament as the first one of the so-called "surprise fighters". Pretty big deal apparently, according to the fans that cheered for his inclusion, but Bowser simply didn't get why. Sure, he's got a decently dapper suit, carries a few weapons, and can even call upon a fancy "persona spirit" to help him in battle, but nothing that the Koopa King deems as super impressive. Why settle with a ghost to do your dirty work when you could just bulk up at the gym and call yourself a REAL fighter? That's what Bowser deems as peak fighter performance; not this whimpy-dimpy kid who's 10 hours late to his next class.

Joker's cockiness continued to run into his next statement, ending with a laugh, causing an unamused glower to emit mental venom from Bowser's scaly face. He certainly wanted him to bow and beg for mercy that's for sure, but add more whimpering and way less sarcasm offending prime Koopa Royalty. "You wanna try me, NERD?" he growled, before looking back at his troops and consider giving the signal to obliterate these fools on the spot. Thirsty seconds had just past them anyways. Thankfully, Joker's dismissal of his act was enough to keep his group from being flambeed on the spot. Bowser listened intently at the negotiator's claim of events; that he stepped in to protect the Inkling against his aggressing army. He even dared to claimed that his underlings were no match for his persona "Arsene".

Another flare of anger seemed to cackle within Bowser's eyes, that or a simple reflection of the fires raging around them. Just because he was right, at least when dealing with your standard Goomba and Koopa divisions, didn't mean the boy had to state it so matter-of-factly. The Koopa King bared his teeth at that remark, leaning in towards Joker's direction. "And YOU certainly can't help but put your stinkin' nose into other people's business!" he barked back, raising a fist with a subtle shake. Taking a moment, he glanced at the other individuals that were also here and pointed at them with a similar expression. "That goes for the rest of you lot!" he bellowed once more at Noctis, Prompto and Paula respectively, just as the blonde kid took a selfie with his phone.

Yet the masked fellow finished off his little speech by offering to put this disagreement aside to be like "old-times"; even allowing to forgive him in burning his coat. Bowser couldn't help but scoff mockingly at his offer. "Misunderstanding?" he asked Joker in a raised offended tone, "You come barging at my minions to defend ONE squid-girl and you expect ME to think this is a MISUNDERSTANDING?" He paused for a brief moment, catching his breath before gaining a faint smirk across his bulbous mouth. "How can I trust a slimy thief like you? Or trust that slimy squid telling you the TRUTH? You've told your side of the story... so it's only fair that I get the OTHER SIDE of this story."

With that, the King of the Koopas looks back at his minions and calls out for one, "PRIVATE GOOMP! C'MERE!"

The goomba in question stood nervously to attention, being disturbed from his conversation with the other two Elites. With a nervous gulp, Private Goomp scuttled his way towards Lord Bowser's side - where he'd be given the stump as his pedestal. "Y-Y-Yes sir??" he asked nervously, still sweating a bit as he tried to gain his gatherings together. Bowser chuckled as he presented the contestant to the rest of the so-called "heroes". "You were in charge of this regiment, correct?" Goomp nodded without making a sound. "So why don't we share to the class what your side was in all this," Bowser said as he leaned closer towards the goomba's face, "What was the reason for chasing that inkling in the first place?"

It took the poor goomba a moment to fully collect himself from being put directly on the spotlight. But by then, it seemed like he was ready to respond, shying a very brief confident smirk of his own, before reverting back to his timid act. "L-Lord Bowser." Private Goomp replied with a lowly tone, almost as if he was contemplating on whether or not to say it, "We... we encountered the inkling as we were doing our patrols around the perimeter, as... as you ordered us to do." Bowser seemed to nod in confirmation. "Yet when we encountered her randomly walking up to us she... she said something... really offensive! Like the most offensive thing you could ever call a goomba!"

A bushy red eyebrow rose curiously as the Koopa King gave a passive glance at Agent Three before returning his intention to Private Goomp. The rest of the goombas whispered amiss their ranks in hushed chirps. "She said something offensive to you?" he asked while crossing his arms. Now this is something he had to hear. "What did she say?" Goomp paused, nervously glancing at both he and his fellow Goomba allies. He shook his head. "I-I'm sorry... but I can't. I can't! It's... it's too vulgar! Too offensive! I can't possibly~" Bowser rolled his eyes before cutting him off, "Look, it's FINE to say it so long as I say it's FINE." When it seemed like Private Goomp still didn't want to state the phrase, Bowser groaned frustratingly and offered another suggestion. "Fiiiiine, if you don't wanna share it to the class, just whisper it to me." He proceeds to lean down to Goomp's level and lend him his ear. This was enough for the Goomba to regain his confidence and tell his king what he supposedly heard.

Upon finishing a few seconds later, Bowser gave an audible gasp; raising his hand to cover his mouth while he glanced at the crowd with a stunned look. Whether or not this was a real or fake gasp couldn't quite be determined; but whatever theatrics it was or wasn't was enough to sell the scene. "Noooo," the King of the Koopas gasped with visible disbelief, "She didn't! She really said THAT to you?!" The poor Private nodded solemnly. Bowser gasped again while glaring at the audience with an unsure, if not slightly ominous, expression. It really would seem as if he was about to loose his marbles and go into a rage against the heroes. After all, it was pretty on brand with how he typically acted anyways, especially in these situations.

There was a deafening silence that spanned for a few long uneasy seconds;with time almost grinding to a halt.

And then... A long exasperated wheeze, followed by uproarious uncontrollable laughter.

"GAAAAAAAHAWHAWHAHAHAHAA!"

Deep belly laughs resonated from Bowser's stomach as he tried to regain his composure from whatever hilarity his private told him. Goomp simply stood there in confusion, as did everyone else. Everyone but the goombas, who glared puzzlingly sour at the whole thing. They didn't know what was said, but if what Goomp said was true, they couldn't help but act a little uncomfortable, if not downright offended that their leader would laugh at their continual suffering. Not that they would dare voice their opinions to King Bowser, that is.

Speaking of which, the reptilian king slowly got back his composed self still chuckling to himself. "Ha Heh... heh... Oh man. Did I really need that. Hoo, that was HYSTERICAL!" He glanced back at Joker while pointing at Agent Three. "You hear that!" he called out, "That kid's a better joker then you!... Joker!" And he gave out another long wheeze. One last quick laughing spree later and Bowser began to fully revert back to his Kingly duties; returning to his unamused scowl as if nothing happened. "*Ahem* Anyways," he stated, clearing his throat, "As I'm now feeling in a good mood, allow YOUR'S TRULY to give you a deal. Firstly, if you think you can just invite yourself into MY ranks, after trying to kill MY minions for the sake of ONE girl, then NUH-UH! Aint gonna happen. Premium membership or honorary recommendation only! Buuuuut, if you can just hand over the inkling to me right now, I'll let the rest of you off, scott-free. As far as anyone's concerned, we didn't see you."

"Heck! Want me to sweetin' the deal?" Bowser snapped his fingers at his minions, before Corporal Paraplonk arrived to drop a sack into his hand with a metallic rustling. "I'll give the each of ya - yes all of you EACH - 250 gold coins of CERTIFIED TOURNAMENT CURRENCY when you trade in your inkling for your personal freedom!" He dangled the bag of coins out for everyone to see and hear in a tantalizing manner like a show-person. "Sounds like a pretty good deal, huh?"

The offer seemed genuine enough; but was it worth it enough for the heroes to go through with?