00 - Prologue - New Game Start

[Maelys Arkana]

As the spinning shell made its way closer and closer to the pink haired human, the koopa who had fired it took a moment to keep an eye on the battlefield, seeing that they didn't seem to be doing too well. As he turned his attention back to his projectile comrade, he would watch in surprise as a small explosion had detonated just in front of his comrade, changing the shell trajectory around and back to him. Shaking his fist at the enemies in frustration, he took a running start and kicked his comrade back, aimed at the the three girls in general. Unfortunately, a moment later he would be blindsided by another koopa shell, fired from the other side of the field.

Getting knocked on his back, he had to take a moment to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him before struggling in vain to get to his feet quickly. The koopa that had been launched at him had a much easier time, flying up a short distance upon the impact, and managing to land flat on the ground, but right-side up. No sooner did the patrol leader withdraw into his shell than the attacker from before suddenly appear beside him, delivering a swift electrified kick to his shell, giving the leader a painful shock and sending him flying. But this would not be the most painful thing he would suffer today.

He had been kicked toward another of the humans, and instead of being struck, this human in shades would simply lean back and suddenly slam its hands onto his shell, breaking his armor up and sending him back at his own men. As the leader flew back into the pile of his men, only one had managed to right themselves and evade it, while the other two took the hit, those two and the leader all knocked out. The fourth koopa from the forward squad glanced back towards his fallen brothers, and picked up his spear, turning back to charge at the man with the green powers.

Back on the other side of the field, before things got crazy, the two stunned koopas were trying to right themselves, only to suddenly receive help. One of them was kicked off to the side, aimed toward the other members of the rear squad, while the remaining stunned koopa would find himself up in the air. As he fell back down, a few quick strikes from a yellow blade would put him out to sleep, knocking him out as he landed.

All of a sudden, a horrible crackling noise would ring out for all to hear as a rip in space itself would form, a small sleek silver ship emerging from this rip as it closes a moment later. The ship seemed to make a pass around the sky before turning and drawing near, landing a short distance away from Star Hill. An unexpected visitor, come by ways not normally used by inhabitants of this dimension. There was little chance that this intrusion would go unnoticed...

---

The rain seemed to fall endlessly back in Neo Bowser City, however those in the tower wouldn't feel a thing, thanks to having a roof over their head. Upon the topmost floor stood the king himself, currently attended by a blue robed koopa, hovering atop a broom. The room was massive and populated by very little, but the walls were mostly glass, save support beams in the corners, affording a magnificent view of the empire. "The princess remains in her cell, and I've sen-" The rip in the sky would appear at this moment, causing both king and magikoopa to turn toward the sudden noise, audible even so far away. The silver object that flew out of it appeared rather shiny, catching the koopa king's eye.

"I don't know what that is, but I want it now!" The blue robed koopa jumped in surprise but nodded. "Yes your gnarliness." With that, Kamek, the magikoopa, would descend down the stairs, planning how to locate this shiny object. If King Bowser wanted it, then King Bowser would get it, such was his duty...

---

The top of the tower was as bare as the highest room, save for a solo individual. The rip in space would not go unnoticed to her either, and soon after, two airships would mobilize, lifting up around the tower and preparing to depart. Beside the individual would appear a large figure, draconic in appearance and yellow eyes that glowed even in the gloom. "You rang?" The woman would not respond, only pointing in the direct that the rip had appeared, and the taller figure would immediately move, leaping off the tower and grabbing onto one of the airships, hanging onto the back to avoid detection.

The airships were moving out, heading for Star Hill, the closest area to where the silver object appeared to land. It would take them some time, however...

---

Rear Squad: One downed
One stunned
One attacking Serra, Sunny, and Eliza
One idle

Forward Squad: Three downed, including leader
One attacking Maxi

[Maxi Wesker]

After Demitri teleported them back from what was thought to be a pleasant conversation, he noticed her backpack was soaked in blood after it fell...his scent was correct of course. This strange girl started yelling at the vampire to his slight annoyance as he disregarded anything she even said. The vampire simply looked away and pouted, overlooking the farce ahead, but he returned his attention from his obliviousness to the girl.  "Ha ha, forgive me, it's just that I find you so amusing."

Demitri walked towards the soaked backpack and picked it up as he lifted it high for the blood to start dripping onto the ground. He'd move the backpack above his head and allow the dripping blood to splat onto his tongue, but before he could continue, he smile grew widely as he hand ripped into the bag and tore it open allowing the blood to spill onto his hand. "Exquisite!!" Demitri yelled before he glared at the girl and threw blood onto her face and dashed in front of her as his Noble Aura started to spread around his body, as if he was powered up. The Makai vampire looked down as he gently would place his hand onto her chin as raise so she'd look at him, "It is moments like this that brightly color my life, I most certainly hope you can show me what you're capable of." Demitri would then lift his hand above her letting the dripping blood on his hand enter her lips. "Hehe...now drink up."

Meanwhile Maxi had landed safely back on the ground after his fun little game of...shell soccer? He'd notice everyone but Wesker preoccupied with the shelled knights, so he'd approach the researcher and put his fist out for a pound gesture. "That was pretty sick shades, put ta' there" He said hoping Wesker would acknowledge, but the researcher moved his hand away and said, "Incompetence surrounds me...hmm?" Wesker turned as he noticed a space rift opening as a ship appeared out of it. Wesker simply shook his head and "Poor performance indeed...behind you!" alerting Maxi as he turned but was too late as another knight attacked him by surprise stabbing his leg with a spear. "Grk.....! Maxi exclaimed from the pain, however

[ BGM: An Unwelcome State of Affairs ]

"He....hehehe...HAHAHAHAHA!" The knight, who still had his hands wrapped around the spear, believed that he finished the job...but looked up to see Maxi's face turned to it as his pupils were bright red. The knight shook in fear but was too late to retreat as Maxi quickly kicked his leg high lifting the knight off him and into the air. The superhuman then turned his arm into a green substance arm cannon and charge energy into it before he fired a large laser. If the attack succeeds, the knight will meet his doom and be blasted away into nothingness.

Maxi breathed heavily with a grin on his face full of excitement, but Wesker placed his arm on the superhuman's shoulder to regain his focus. Maxi regained his composure and looked at Wesker, who's shades revealed a red glow as he took off his shades. He used his enhanced vision to notice a threat from coming from afar, two airships. The researcher then looked at Maxi and said, "It is in your best interest to assist me" before he used his speed to vanish from the battle and Star Hill. Maxi couldn't say much of anything else as Wesker disappeared from his sight. "The hell is goin' on....?"

Overhearing the little masked knight with his warning, Maxi only cracked his knuckles wondering what to do next, unaware that he still had the spear impaled on the back lower section of his leg, as if he didn't feel it anymore.

[Koi Koi]

"Huuuh... So it didn't stop the monster. Your spells have lost some of their edge, my child."

Don't give me any of that, professor! I did my best! These guys are just tougher than they look.

"For turtles, I suppose we'll need something that will pierce their shell." She was still moving forwards, despite the oncoming threat of attack. The fairy, meanwhile, seemed preoccupied by something else. She was fluttering several meters above the hill, looking up at what seemed to be a sudden streak of light in the sky.

Professor! Professor! An airship just came close by! I think they're bringing in more units! We should strike them down before they bring too many! I think if we could send a spear through the fuel unit we cou-

"Not aggravate more targets. Now, I need spears here. We'll tackle problems one at a time."

Yes, Professoooor.

The fairy whined, but otherwise was an obedient thing. She probably brought up the airship to please the professor, going on about how to dismantle the ship efficiently, even making her own plan of attack. It was admirable, yes, but she was meant to be an automancy assistant, not a tactician. Maybe in a few more years after more war experience, which was Eliza's intentions for the summoned beast during the kingdom wars back in her home world. Alas, those plans were stalled when something drew here into this world. But perhaps the fairy could learn a thing or two from here as well.

The fairy fluttered down and prepared two volleys once more, this time leading both of them towards Eliza slowly. The automancer raised both her arms, stretching her fingers out to create two automantric seals at once. The volleys would slowly approach the seals, the spellcraft that kept them intact unraveling to the sheer consuming force of the seals. Once again, a crystal core began to form within the seal, this time flattening and stretching out to create a singular thin thread of crystal, which pulsated with energy to become a spear of pure energy. Eliza reached forward and grasped both, causing the residue aether and the seals themselves to vaporize. She gently handled the spears, twirling them like a little girl holding a newly gifted baton. Say what you want about the fairy, she does pull her weight when she's called upon. 

Now, to the actual threat in front of her. She raised one arm up above her head, her body pivoting with her back slightly to the turtle's shell. As she did, her eyes would catch a glimpse of Serra, the pink haired priestess that had happened to tag along. "This will be over momentarily," She said curtly, before stepping forward to throw the spear. She hadn't done this for actual combat ever since she started her anonymous identity as a hunter in the lawless districts. It was coming back to her, the mentor that had taught her how to be self sufficient and how to hunt. The days in the wilderness, fashioning makeshift weapons and enchanting them for this exact purpose. The killing, the endless fights... though she was not proud to say that she had a streak for barbarism, the gleam in her eyes could not hide the bloodlust she felt whenever she brandished a spear. 

And with great momentum, Eliza would hurl the weapon at the monster approaching them. Carrying the momentum again, she would spin a full circle, her feet making a solid foothold in the ground as she lunged her weight forward once more, this time throwing the second spear at the same enemy again. Just in case the first one failed to impale or was bounced off, the second spear would make contact and, if it strikes the first, detonate. Though inefficient, she would rather overkill than have to deal with this persistent foe again.

...is what she wanted to say. But even she knew that one spear may as well be enough to finish off a monster. Or at least the armor. Once the armor is gone, the main threat is eliminated. Even if the shell merely deflected the shot again, it seemed as if it would merely ricochet back to a now felled superior and cause more harm to the enemy ranks. Why did she want to attack twice, then? Eliza shook it off, though she did know the answer herself. This enemy had subtly mocked her abilities, taking a detonated volley as if it was simply a tennis racket hitting a ball. She was insulted, and knew that a partial victory wasn't enough. Her temper to such jests was known among her peers, and with her bloodlust out and swirling within her mind, she had wanted more than just a victory.

She needed to see them impaled.

But her mind was not going to be distracted by a grudge. She needed to survey the field again, looking specifically at the remainder of the enemies. Despite being monsters, these enemies did seem to be rather sophisticated on a second glance. Holding ranks, an obvious system and strategy. Sufficiently reactant and though weak, armored and durable. They were part of a military system, and likely a lower rank if they were out in this area. Then would they enrage a larger army? Another war, perhaps? She was not against a war, but this time she lacked her Crystalline Express as well as her lesser peers to assist in the smaller tasks. Hopefully the rest of the strangers in this makeshift army would do well against the remaining forces, then. She certainly didn't want to stay and watch this mess unfold. 

After all, though she feigned disinterest in the newfound ship, she was more than eager to make her own observations. Airships aren't exactly easy to find in her world, and perhaps researching this one would help her make breakthroughs on the engines within the Crystalline Express. She beckoned her fairy to follow her, who eagerly perched herself on the professor's shoulder and pointed the way she saw the ship land. As they walked, Eliza would pass Serra and with a quick nod conclude "Assist the others. I have a more pressing matter to study."

Fighting is fighting, but who could ignore the chance for a bit of good study?

[Deleted]

Sounds of battle was waging on in the distance, of which Silvia had taken notice. "What's going on there in the distance? I had better go take a look." Her body turned into a bluish glow as it began to change shape and finally returning to color revealing she was now in her battle armor. The green visor slid down from her suit's helmet in preparation of what she may or may not need it for.

She got closer and closer to where the approaching sound was taking place. As she approached Silvia could make out better detail of what was going on where the battle was taking place. Her visor was definitely showing a bunch of life forms all in the same area some of which the readings on were gradually getting weaker. There a big clash going on. Attacks being dished out... people being hurt... But the most noticeable thing she noticed was Koopas attacking unarmed men. Such a despicable tactic would NOT ever be allowed by this heroine. Silvia was one who stood for JUSTICE! One who could never stand idly and let the innocent be harmed. She had no idea if or if attacking the Koopas was going to be the most beneficial thing to helping out the unknown voice crying for help, but at this very point in time Silvia was doing what her heart felt was the right thing to do. 

"You Turtles have assaulted the innocent for the last time!" She said to herself aloud standing tall. She figured it wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear but it was still pretty loud and proud. "I the Heroine Silvia Hoshikawa have come and I will strike you all DOWN!" At this point she was still a fair distance away from the battle field. The metal mouth guard piece securely fastened itself in place right underneath the visor. Now her head was completely protected.  Silvia's face was beaming with rage as she rushed at lightning quick speeds toward the battle field with her hair whipping back with the wind dramatically. In her hand her beam sword materialized. Closer and closer she got until finally she was within the battle field. Her sword was blazing, glowing powerfully even from the level of determination that was coming from Silvia at this moment. It was time to act. It was time to fight! She leaped high into the sky before coming down with a hard slash right on top of a Koopa. She then landed on the ground and made a full 360 degree rotation. As she spun round and around she unleashed a fury of bombs from her blaster harming any Koopa that was close enough. She spun faster and faster as the bombs came flying out in rapid succession. The speed in which she was spinning was almost that similar to a tornado. After a few spins, she drew back and created a few powerful slicing shockwaves at her enemies on after another. This was then followed up by rushing in once more and slicing at some more Koopas with unrelenting rage for their sins. She didn't fully understand what was going on in this world at this time.  All she knew is she was called to this world for help and now she noticed these devilish Koopas hurting the innocent. This was how things were for Silvia. Going world to world, bringer her own style of technology to it perhaps but it usually always ended in her fighting countless battles.  

"You turtles are gonna pay for hurting innocent bystanders!" She yelled out as she unleashed her assault. She wouldn't stop until every last Koopa has fallen in battle. The way she moved with her sword.... you could feel the rage she was feeling for these evil Koopas. But the way she handled the saber with such grace, it was almost like a dance.

[Teki]

Was… was he ignoring her?! Luzia stood in shock for a moment, and yet, her confusion was just growing ever higher. She could understand him ignoring her… she was a nobody, just another homeless on the streets… but ignoring the blood?! That always got attention… even if people knew she could control it, that it was her livelihood, they were uncomfortable with it… why was he so relaxed?! She growled softly under her breath, glaring at him. She earned that blood!

She went wide-eyed as the man approached her, growling and lifting her sleeve, exposing her forearm and revealing a myriad and variety of scars. She opened her mouth wide has she held her wrist up to her mouth, but the man walked past her. She blinked in confusion, carefully following him, then went completely wide-eyed as, to her utter shock, he lifted her bloody backpack and drank from it.

Her red eyes trembled gently she watched the red liquid drip onto his tongue, the first word going through her mind simply being ‘How?’. He wasn’t only drinking it, but enjoying it. She was so taken aback that she barely reacted to the blood in her face, flinching merely by instinct. She stared at him even as he held the bag up; all of the panic and confusion was gone, replaced with just one question, one hope in all of the darkness that was her life.

‘Is… is he like me…?’

One drop hit her tongue, she gasped softly, and her fear, her confusion, her panic, all melted away, little by little one by one, drops hit her tongue. She had forgotten the sweet taste… she tried to make sure she didn’t drink it too much… it was so hard to get… but… the taste was absolutely indescribable… meaty, with a touch of sweetness, but so much more. A shudder went through the girl, her eyes closing slightly as everything just… calmed down, a measure of serenity filling her.

With that serenity, something inside her awoke, and the red in the fabric of her backpack shrank, pulling itself out, saving itself from staining and becoming a part of the backpack. A part of the red stream broke off, continuing to go into her mouth as she savored the most delicious of flavors. She pulled away from the man as she finished her impromptu snack, gulping down the last little bit, and let out a shuddering breath. For a moment, she just stood there, savoring the taste as the blood she didn’t consume just floated around her.

But then, she opened her eyes, and all the confusion that was there before was gone, replaced only with a contentment… one that seemed to go just a bit beyond mere hunger. But that was gone, replaced with a calmer and cooler girl, one that wasn’t on the edge of panic. At least, for a moment; she was happy and content for a moment, but that was gone in almost a flash, quickly whirling back to the much taller man. Was this man really like her, a blood controller?

She couldn’t ask, because the sky ripped open suddenly, forcing her eyes upward. More strange things kept happening, and she couldn’t make any sense of anything! Was she ported somewhere? Why were Knights of the Sun here? Was she finally caught?! Is she dealing with aliens or something now?! What what what what what was going on?!

Luzia looked at the newcomer in legitimate fear as she made her declaration. A heroine?! No! That… that meant she was found out! Her heart froze in her chest as she looked to the man that had shown her his abilities personally.

Safety.

She ran behind him, biting her lip nervously as she looked at him, her eyes pleading the first person she felt a deep connection to. “We… we have to go, n-now! There’ll probably be-AUUUUUGH!” Suddenly explosions, lots of them, and her heart suddenly started pounding in her chest. She didn’t want this, she didn’t like this! She wasn’t good at fighting!

Luzia looked pleadingly up at the brown-haired man. “I-I’m not good at fighting more Knights will come… p-please help me! I’ll give you whatever you want!”

[Captain Pigtails]

Sunny could feel the tight grip on her hand, and her body move along the hill. She felt, as she stuttered for a moment.. a cloud of dust kick up from the ground, as the older girl continued to drag her along. She heard the older pink lady whisper something under her breath, probably hoping that Sunny didn't hear.

But each few moments of this was interrupted by the red smog. Every time she tried to open herself back up.. another would slip in.

She couldn't do it.

This was too much..

And in a moment, she felt something else.

Happiness. Joy. Just a brief moment of it, buried underneath. It was a pure sort of joy she had never experienced before.

That was when she noticed it.

There wasn't just red smoke in this frightening world. There were also stars. Many of them were flying out of reach.. as if trying to escape the smoke.. but there were still many that were simply hiding within.

When she touched another she felt it again, a playful.. earnest sort of joy. It felt warm and inviting. She felt the joy of someone wondering what they might see on the top of this hill.

Gazing out at nothing, for a moment she felt weak again. Although she had stopped for a moment, she felt herself start to panic all over again. Even if that's not all there was here, this place was still.. was so.. scary..

"I don't recall raising a coward, grub."

---

Sunny turned her head, gasping in surprise.

"C-Captain?"

The light was very low in her large, spacious room. The sounds of creaking and clanging could be heard, and occasionally a loud burst of steam. The Captain's silhoutte stood in the doorway.

"Could hear your fussin' and whinin' all the way from my quarters. What in the seven starways is important enough to be distrubing the Captain from her proper rest, now?

She felt her voice start to get weak. "I'm s-sorry I.. I'm sorry.." I'm just.. I'm just so scared." she wailed. "I keep 'membering stuff. Real scary stuff. I.. I don't.. I don't want to--"

"OW!"

Sunny squealed and jumped from her chair, one of the pins that the Captain wore on her vest suddenly smacking her right in the head. "C-Captain?"

"Nu-uh. Zip it. I don't recall raising a coward, grub. Yer a member of this crew. At least until we get ya proper fixed, and that means everything ya do is rep-.. um.. " she stumbled for a bit, Sunny just staring over at her. As the Captain walked over.. Sunny saw a rare sort of expression on the Captain's face. Her features softer than they normally looked.

"Look. Yer one of us and yer gonna act like it! That's that. That's what I'm saying. You have to make the Rats proud, ya hear?"

Sunny sniffled loudly, "H-How do I do that?" Her expression so wide-eyed and vulnerable, looking so "precious". She wondered why her crew thought that stuff was cute. It was their fault she was such a baby still, dammit.

"When ya feel scared, you don't just sit round crying. That's what. You pull yer pants up and you make s%@# better. You do what you gotta do to fix whatever's gone wrong."

Sunny looked unsure. "W-What if I can't fix it?"

The Captain gave a full belly laugh as she came over and pat Sunny on the back, roughly. "Look at this room kid. Full of treasure someone gave up on. Ever yerself." Sunny saw the Captain give her a smile.. something she had never quite seen this way before. It was really.. nice. "Everythin can be fixed grub. Some folks just like to give up on their treasure. Not us though."

---

Sunny shook herself out of her own memories and for the first time.. saw past the smoke. Everything started to come into focus. There wasn't just scary people, scary turtles, and scary.. everything. Even right now there was things that were good. People she thought seemed nice. There was indeed.. stars out here.

She let them guide her.

She came into full focus just in time to notice one of her honorary big sisters once again try to brush off the other, but this time it seemed effective. Serra didn't move an inch from her spot. And didn't say a word. No.. she simply seemed to be standing and staring off at something.

Sunny turned around and took a glance at what she seemed to be looking at. There was nothing she really understood.. but there did seem to be a spaceship now!

A burst of desire filled her chest. A spaceship. It certainly was not her Captain, but maybe they knew how she got here still.

She tried to pull Serra back towards that direction quickly.. but nothing. Instead she seemed to still be staring off into space, while also saying something. Or trying to, but her words kept getting stuck! Eventually she managed to spit it out, however.

"W-What is that? W-Where am I?" Just when one had found their courage, another lost their own? Serra had never seen antyhing like a flying portal and a giant ship in the sky just.. float down.

Loud explosions began to sound, which drew Sunny's attention for a moment.. but when things seemed fine she continued talking to Serra. "We- we should walk away from here!" she nodded, pulling at Serra's hand. Remembering that Serra said she could heal people, Sunny looked around. Rustbucket always cheered up when he had something to do, so Sunny had gotten real good at finding people things to do.

"Look!" she pointed up the stretch of the hill. Back away from the front lines, in the direction they had arrived at.. at first she had mistaken it for just something odd but it actually seemed to be alive. A figure all slumped over? "Don't they look like they need help?"

Serra blinked a few times.. staring at the kid and then back at whatever they were pointing at. To be honest, it was simply yet another strange looking thing.. but it didn't look particularly harmful. "I.. I suppose.." She gripped her staff weakly at first, but then gripped very tight.. like a babe with her security blanket.

Sunny blushed a little, feeling shy. She didn't know what else to say to make her feel better..

"Alright." Serra said, taking a deep breath and trying to regain her composure. The ploy seemed to be working because Serra started walking over towards the hill, holding up her staff and sending a blast of healing energy towards the slumped over figure. Eventually the two would approach and Sunny would lean down.

"A-Are you okay?"

"A.. TL;DR, Captain? What's that? Bluntly, grub? Means some folks don't care about you. Brush it off. Did ya mess with anyone? A.. aw.. *Sniff* N-No.. me and Serra just went up Star Hill and healed the Toad is all.."

[Aphelionquasar]

Ah well, while perhaps not the best display of his prowess with a blade, the heavy thud and the lack of response from the shelled creature had told him enough. Hitting the creature with the flat of the blade had been enough to render the solider unconscious, though it was likely not an easy sleep nor a particularly deep one. Galaxia hummed for a moment, ‘You’ve change, when we first met you would have not have thought much of ending the conflict permanently.’ He doubted that, and if he were to be argumentative, he would have perhaps pointed out that this was a minor skirmish at most rather than a full scale war where the cost of failure on either side resulted in the loss of life. Besides, he only needed one of them alive... to answer the conundrum of when and where he had wound up. That and the solider had been defeated. Robbing it of its life while it was unable to defend itself was not only unnecessary, but ran counter to the whole reason he had even deigned to enter this minor conflict, which was in defense against those unable to adequately protect themselves. It was also simply, too... easy. It would have left a sour taste to have committed this creature to the grave. His eyes tracked the arc of the creature he had kicked, only to realize that one solider remained idle in this bed of chaos... Humming once more, Galaxia, prodded at his mind ‘An unwise decision, to stand idle in this chaos wouldn’t you agree?’ ...Was she chastising him as well? As he set his eyes upon the stunned teetering creature he had sent reeling as his next target, a small yell of triumph rang through the air from behind and a bolt of unknown energy flew forward intent on impaling the idler. Any assault that he might have attempted was halted as another beorc joined the fray, announcing her presence loudly... not because of her fearsome presence, but rather due to the manner in which she generated shockwaves from a plasma blade. This technique was nothing like the sword beam. Nothing at all No, the manner in which she erratically attacked these... turtles... he didn’t recognize the word particularly well, let alone what she was actually referring to, but her proclamation did not speak of a calm heart and mind. It was possible to generate a sword beam from a plasma sword, he had managed to do so himself, but it should have been the first warning. She wasn’t reacting to the transgressions these soldiers had committed against the proclaimed innocent, no, she assailed them in her fury. The state of mushin was achieved by acting upon instinct stripped clean of emotions which allowed one to bid with their blade to interact with it as if it was an extension of themselves. This was a dangerous combination of indignation and unfiltered rage. A slight jolt of electricity warned him before he heard the explosion, felt heat blossom around him as he was caught in the middle of this... tempest, no, it was more akin to a mad dance, though lacking in the clarity needed to remember all the steps correctly. Instinctively, he grabbed the edges of the dimensional cape and wrapped it around himself to prevent the embers from these fire bombs from eating away at the artefact. It had not been the first time he had battled in fire, yet, he had to stop himself from teleporting away immediately. He jumped up and spun his body to create more force, and kicked the unconscious foot solider out of the flames. To leave the creature there was to condemn it to death to let it be consumed by flames. That was not a pleasant death. Eyes glowing a deep green, he recovered his balance in time for another volley of bombs, quickly stepping out of the blast, the roar of another bomb. Flaring out the dimensional cape slightly, he covered himself in full with the cape and ebbed out of physical space to escape the... bombardment. Reappearing near the beorc without the capability to defend himself, he came to a simple conclusion. ‘This beorc is no swordswoman... her blade is nothing more than a tool.’ Yes, he had come to a similar conclusion, even as Galaxia dimmed for a moment only to surge once more with a slight jolt of static electricity. ‘To use fire bombs in the presence of unarmed civilians... does she not realize the danger she presents to them and to herself?’ There, there was the annoyance that had plagued the sentient sword. Quickly he shook his head, no... he doubted she understood the inherent danger she had placed herself and those that she had come to protect. This was unacceptable behavior, the situation did not call for such an overt use of force against these foot soldiers, but the anger, perhaps even hatred had obscured that fact. He knew how difficult it was to overcome anger and hatred, but he was wise to the two emotions for it was in those moments that even the best soldiers had lost themselves permanently. They had lost not only their personality, but their shape as well. She had crossed a line, and to merely watch as she continued her assault would make him complicit in this... unwarranted brutality. To carry on in this manner was to invite the possibility of becoming a demon beast... and in the state that she appeared to be in, self-reflection was not likely an option. It was clear that she had lost sight of reason, as she fervently swung her blade about and presented a danger. He could not in good conscious pursue her and leave these beorc unattended... for their guardian seemed to have left them to their own devices. Raising Galaxia aloft, he silently called, reached for those that served him... the true method of this technique a mystery to him still and she shined brightly, pulling yet another being from Popstar. “Whatcha mean? Yer lost, just ‘mit it and save yewself ta trouble.” The shorter knight shook his head, pointing in the opposite direction, “Noosirrie”. Milling around wasn’t helping either of them, and the teal knight grabbed a hold of the shorter knight to pull him in the opposite direction, “Come’on mate, no need ta be all bully.” The shorter knight allowed it with a shaking clank of his facial mask, but dug in his heels anyway, not agreeing with the taller of the two. Of course, he was surprised when suddenly there wasn’t a dragging force pulling him back across the section, the area that they had just covered a few moments ago. In fact, he fell and there wasn’t a certain body to break his fall like there should have been. As disoriented as he happened to be, it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Lifting himself off the ground the shorter knight brushed off the dirt blemishing his armor and pieced together the pieces. To no one in particular, he whispered a faint, “Oh no.” After all, Sword just disappeared into thin air, up and left him, which meant that their lord was probably in trouble. Mean, he, wasn’t in the habit of wantonly throwing them through space, it was hard enough to get him to give up the ghost about his doings in the first place. The sir happened to be real stubborn about getting other folks involved unless he really had to. Dashing off in the opposite direction that he had been dragged in, the shorter knight figured it was about time to start getting the rest involved. Yeah and the Halberd was this way for sure. A taller teal knight appeared out of the light generated by Galaxia, about three feet tall with a hefty blade already in hand... “Oh bloody –“. He was cut off with a curt commanding use of his name and sharp stare to make the point, “Sword.” Now was not the time. With the way the knave snapped to attention and nodded in silence, he seemed to have gotten the idea that now was not the time. Pointing with his left hand, Meta Knight gestured at the pair of Beorc that had begun to withdraw from the edge of battle, “Protect them, understood?” It was a command that left no room for argument let alone banter on the matter. With a nod, the teal knave tapped his sabatons together and ran off to follow the pair towards the edge of the battlefield, assenting to the task assigned to him, “Yes Sir!” He knew that the young warrior would fulfil his duties admirably, which meant that now he only had to focus on the strange metal beorc woman before him. ‘You’re right, he will fulfill his duty. He has come a long way. You have every right to be proud.’ ... Yes. Though now how to deal with this... savagery? His eyes turned a light green before darkening once more. That would have to do for now. He merely needed to stop this mad dance. Flapping the dimensional cape, he formed it quickly into a pair of wings and rushed the beorc woman. Using his speed, he reached for her hair, intent on grabbing it and pulling her down to stun her in the best of circumstances if not put her off balance for a few precious seconds. He did not expect a favorable response in turn, though perhaps if he had manage to catch her off guard, then perhaps she might be more amenable to listening though he doubted this. It was as always a dangerous proposition, when wasn’t it though? Orders were orders, though it would help if Sword knew exactly what in the world was going on. He’d been rather large in comparison to some of the more sentient species of Dreamland, but these long limbed weirdos he’d been commanded to lend his aid to... well they weren’t like any other the youth had seen. Never seen anything like them if he was being honest, kind of weird, but then again, the whole being pulled from the woods was disorienting. Not like he could really question Meta Knight, not when he was all serious, not when he’d found himself on a battlefield again though he was older this time around. Looking over his shoulder, Sword, stopped before reaching the pair he was supposed to be guarding and raised his voice... “Don’t think either of yew heard, got orders te look ‘fter yah both.” Pausing as he looked over his shoulder, shaking his head, “And ah would ‘preicate it if yew let me know when yah gonna run fer it.” Bloke did look pretty bad, honest, he didn’t know what the strange creatures could do for it, her... him? Bloody hell, how did he and the sir wind up on a battlefield. One that happened to be on fire from the looks of it too. Almost nostalgic, if it wasn’t so disconcerting and disorienting. Didn’t look like any part of Popstar to him which made it all the stranger and all the more strangely that just seemed to make it more nostalgic.

1873 Meta Knight Points: 2 Cooldown: Dimensional Cape (2) I'm sorry, my brain hurts after writing this! Also, that is a legitimate fear for Meta Knight, as in having someone turn into a demon beast. Mean, it is a thing that has happened... let the poor communication begin!

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Maelys Arkana]

As the final forward squad koopa planted his spear into the leg of the man with green powers, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pride. He had reached and wounded the bastard responsible for not only defeating their leader, but also shattering his armor, the pride and joy of many koopa squads. It was this armor that distinguished them from their lesser ranking brethren, giving them more of a designation than simple foot soldiers. They were warriors of the koopa clan, not the best, but they had earned themselves a spot above the lowest. But in an instant, these intruders had taken away that which distinguished their Lieutenant.

Even that pride was soon stripped away as the man merely laughed in his face, seemingly hurt by the spear, but shrugging off the pain. Insult to injury, that his avenging strike be so easily cast aside. What's more, this man seemed to be more than he appeared to be, as he turned to face the koopa, his eyes glowing an ominous crimson. Fear would soon overtake the koopa, wishing for nothing more than to flee, but a small part of him refusing to release his spear. A foolish part, it seemed, as his fate was sealed the moment the man kicked him into the air. Without warning, everything would turn white, as a searing pain would flare up all around him, fading away just as quickly as his vision turned to black. The koopa's body fell to the ground, partially blackened from the searing attack.

The others did not seem to be doing as well, as the projectile koopa aimed at Eliza would soon find its trajectory skewed, a strange energy spear now lodged into his shell. But as the koopa wobbled back and forth, trying to stay his course, another would suddenly connect, instantly detonating, knocking the koopa out before he could yell mercy. As for the final two...

The idle koopa, the one Meta Knight had kicked, managed to get to its feet relatively fast enough, giving the battlefield a quick glance. Things were not looking good indeed. Thankfully these intruders weren't killing them off, unlike a certain plumber was like to do. But as he ran over and grabbed a spear, he heard what sounded like some kind of machine turning on behind him, and he turned quickly to find a laser sword being brought down upon him. The koopa held his spear in a defensive position, managing to deflect the beam sword, but the ensuing volley of detonations would not be stopped by a mere wooden spear. The koopa was blasted away, thrown out of range of the blasts, unconscious. The still stunned koopa from earlier would meet the same fate, the detonations knocking him out and throwing him back.

Thanks to the work of the masked knight, the koopa that already lay unconscious within the blast radius was knocked away, surviving for another day. As this whirling flower of destruction continued, it seemed that the entire patrol had been defeated. Before she could even continue her assault, the koopas all lay defeated.

---

"A-Are you okay?"

A flash of white, and his vision would return. Toad would slowly open his eyes, staring up at the gloomy sky for a few moments before sitting up. He turned to see what appeared to be two... people, not toads, but rather they had the same shape as Mario, kinda. Both of them stood near him, one holding a pole of some sort, the other leaning down close to him. "I... what happened?" No sooner had he spoke up than a small star would suddenly move out from behind the massive star that stood atop the hill, close by to where Toad lay. The tiny star would move closer to the group, slightly wary, given the display the humans had shown up until now, but working up the courage to move closer. Suddenly the star, which appeared to have a rudimentary face, would speak up.

"You made a wish, and the Star Road granted it! You made a pretty big one, though, so I don't think the star spirits were able to handle it well..." It was true, the spirits were not picky about who they grabbed, having grabbed a few good people as well as bad ones on accident. Hopping up and down for a moment, the star seemed to be pretty excited. "My name is Twink, I'm a star kid, a messenger for th-" Suddenly, Toad would leap up in a panic. "The koopas! Waahh!" He had been spotted by a patrol, and they were... They were... Toad turned toward the battlefield to see that the koopas had actually been dealt with, all knocked out and completely harmless. Realization finally struck him just as hard as Twink had, and suddenly Toad would begin hopping up and down, running around the girls in a frenzied romp. "You're here! You're here!"

Toad would grab Sunny's hand if she would let him, hopping up and down with it. "You're here to save us, right? That's why Star Road brought you here! It has to be!" Toad was so overtaken by joy, he could barely keep himself from running crazy. Then again, who could blame him. After the kingdom had suffered for so long under Bowser, there was finally a glimmer of hope, a possible savior to end this nightmare... But is that what they were really here for? Star Road may have brought these people to the Mushroom Kingdom, but the Star Spirits could not control them or dictate what they do. In short, these newcomers were free to do whatever they please, be it save the kingdom, leave it to rot, or aid in its oppression...

[Koi Koi]

The intention had been simple: Find that odd mechanical ship, take a sample of its constitution, and make a rough design sketch of it for further research. If she could find the owner of the ship and negotiate a research grant, great! Otherwise it was no matter to her. She had other subjects to research. That all, however, had been interrupted by what seemed to be the owner of the ship, who seemed to be... floating? It was hard to see, really. Eliza nudged her fairy companion, who quickly flew up to get a better view of this new person.

Professor! It seems she's... some kind of magitek specialist! What's a magitek doing here?

"Magitek? That's unlikely. As far away as she is, I can't detect a single thread of actual magic potential from her. She's using pure machination. But... Hm... this proves to be more interesting than I had expected. It seems everyone in this menagerie of chaos is a potential research subject."

Eliza began to walk down the hill again, back into the fray of the battle.

But Professor! The... airship?

Two seconds too slow as always, young fairy.

"A new threat approaches. I'll need another set of spears."

Yes, professor...

Obediently, the fairy launched another set of volleys, which Eliza quickly manifested as spears once more.  Rather than throw these immediately, she latched them together and holstered them to the back of her coat. She wanted to be prepared for more combat, not engage another enemy. As far as she was concerned, the others had taken care of her problem. The fairy herself, having exceeded the lifespan that her magic core would allow, dispersed into the aether as a bright flash of light.

When she finally could see the others, she found the field had been littered with explosives, the enemy all but decimated under both the previous allies and the newfound... machinator's assault. Now she was close enough to hear what this new person was saying... though part of her wished she hadn't. It was some sort of nonsense about harming innocents and all that junk. Eliza scowled at this newcomer's words. She made it seem like they were all helpless to these monster's assaults. If anything these monsters were the helpless ones, why does this one feel the need to proclaim herself as the savior? She had half a mind to walk over there and split her head open. But she found herself stumbling instead on a new sight.

The pink haired priestess specifically, seemed to have made herself useful and assisted that ... mushroom... monster? A sudden epiphany overcame Eliza. These weren't monsters at all, they were normal residents of this world. This world was inhabited by abnormal creatures that people of her world would label monsters. There were theories that monsters were in fact outerplanar residents of other worlds, and this would certainly prove it so. Then... no, it was almost certain that their actions here had initiated another war between these mushrooms and the turtles, or potentially worsened the war already.  

Though it seemed as if they weren't alone. A... star? A star? Wait, was she seeing things right? Was she hearing things right?! 

"You made a wish, and the Star Road granted it! You made a pretty big one, though, so I don't think the star spirits were able to handle it well..."

That would explain her second question, what magic had brought her into this world in the first place. It was divine magic. This mushroom man must have made a prayer, and by either divine luck or the natural attunement of the area, the gods of this world, represented by stars, brought Eliza here. But why her? Was it that she was considered strong enough to be a representative of the gods? Or perhaps a god herself? The other members of their coalition seemed to all be of supernatural nature. Were they all deities in their own right? That was... oddly satisfying to hear. That her own abilities in automancy would rival that of gods. But also unnerving. What was this threat then, that the stars here deemed people like her necessary? 

She stood betwixt the mushroom's company and the remnants of the battle with the turtles, left to her thoughts about both sides. Who were these people? What was the reason for their arrival? And what was she to do from now? She could approach the priestess and begin asking about these stars, or perhaps go to the battlefield and begin interrogating her fellow fighters. She sat to the ground, looking up to the sky in contemplative meditation. 

She would wait, and listen. Listen to the events going on in this chaotic world, and act when a choice came to her. 

[Maxi Wesker]

Once again, more and more commotions occurred when the newcomer immediately jumped into battle with explosions and her beam sword. This didn't bother the Makai vampire in the slightest, however it did unfortunately startled the girl he's grown an interest with.

“We… we have to go, n-now! There’ll probably be-AUUUUUGH!”

“I-I’m not good at fighting more Knights will come… p-please help me! I’ll give you whatever you want!”

Demitri only made a slightly irritated expression as he placed he hand over his face trying to calm himself, then again it was kinda his fault for his curiosity about her. "What the hell did I get myself into, not even Morrigan shows this much restraint." Thinking back, he always had a hard time with his rival Morrigan Aensland. As equally matched as she was to him, she was very stubborn and free minded, disregarding her duties as the ruler of Makai just to dwell in the human world for her own enjoyment....such disgust. Then Luzia, though she has the mind and instincts of a Darkstalker, her fear would only be a target to even the likes of Baby Bonnie Hood....luckily chances of encounter that crazy Dark Hunter was slim.

Demitri opened his cape so that the girl can hide instead from the dangers ahead as the vampire would dash back and vanish to another part of the hills, away from the battle itself. While he observed, he did notice somebody was missing, the man in shades from earlier. "The zombie....where did he run off to?" Demitri wondered. After minutes had passed from observations, the battle seemed to have seized for them to return to the battleground. Demitri would teleport him and Luzia back with the others to gather more information and then heard,

"You made a wish, and the Star Road granted it! You made a pretty big one, though, so I don't think the star spirits were able to handle it well..."  

"A wish...?"

Demitri couldn't quite grasp what was going on in this world yet, but it could perhaps help if he listened carefully so that he can return to Makai.

"You're here to save us, right? That's why Star Road brought you here! It has to be!"

As soon as the vampire heard those words from the little mushroom-like...thing, Demitri leaned down to get a closer look at him and then he'd immediately grab him by the back of his little blue vest lifting him up abit.

"You're the one who summoned me here...you couldn't have picked a worse time creature, my world is on the brink of war."

Meanwhile Maxi had sat on a pile of unconscious knights a distance away from the group while he listened to the conversation, slightly interested but still wondering about Wesker's offer. He then finally noticed the spear impaled on his leg and sarcastically said, "Boy you knights sure did a number on me....not." He quickly pulled out the spear and threw it away as green blood spilled.

[Deleted]

Emotions were running high as Silvia had been dealing slice after slice with her saber only for Meta Knight to attempt to intervene. The Masked soldier was attempting to take a grab at the mechanized warrior's hair and stop her attack all together. However if war has taught this girl one thing... it was always be prepare for anything that could happen. Upon Meta Knight approaching, the radar in Silvia's visor was showing a strong energy approaching her quickly. Within seconds, the energy was right behind her. Out of instinct, she jerked herself away yelling "Woah! What are you doing?! Back off!" Silvia then putting her speedy suit to good use drew back almost faster than the eye could process. Her long purple locks whipped along with her with every moment fluttering with the gentle wind. 

Having gotten some distance she locked eyes on Meta Knight. But something drew her eyes away. She looked around the battle field to notice every last Koopa was knocked out. On top of that everyone in the area was keeping their distance from her. But why? She pondered the thought of it for a second.

("Hmm, with the way I performed in battle just now. It's kind of for the best all these people are keeping distance from me..") She thought to herself. ("At the very least, I have accomplished the goal I came into this fight to accomplish. But I can't say I have any more understanding why I was brought here in the first place. Or even... who brought me here.") Silvia mulled over this thoughts when suddenly close by she over heard a conversation going on with a mushroom boy and a little happy looking star.

"You made a wish, and the Star Road granted it! You made a pretty big one, though, so I don't think the star spirits were able to handle it well..."

"A.... wish?" Silvia said to her self.

"You're here to save us, right? That's why Star Road brought you here! It has to be!"

Suddenly Silvia's expression lit up in a moment of realization. Her eyes widened as it all made sense now.

"So that's why I'm here... This mushroom boy made a wish for help to come here to save this world... And this Star Road granted the wish bringing me through that Dimensional Portal. So that voice I heard... It was him... " Silvia mulled over this for a little bit almost intrigued by how things work in this world. "I don't think I'm the only one it brought either...I think everyone here was also brought because of that wish... Possibly even more."

It was a breath of fresh air to know at least some of the scientist's questions, but the question still remained of who was the enemy they all were fighting. She wanted to go ask the Toad some questions but remembered there was another matter at hand to worry about. Suddenly her eyes locked back on Meta Knight who didn't appear too happy with how Silvia presented herself. The grip of the beam saber was tightened as the girl took an on guard position. Meta Knight didn't look like he was going to just let Silvia go and figure this situation out on her terms.

"Masked warrior... I'm unsure why you are choosing to attack me but know I have no qualms with you. I have no desire to fight you but will act in self defense if you charge me again. I would prefer to settle this matter peacefully though"

Silvia looked serious. Her saber blazing with the intensity of her determined aura. Her right hand transformed back into a blaster in preparation for a possible fight about to break out. Her blade was raised and ready. She didn't want to have to fight Meta Knight. Fighting pointless battles would never solve any issues this world may have. But Silvia was prepared to defend herself and take the fight to this Masked Knight if he continued to push for a fight. Her eyes were focused. No longer were they distracted on the situation around her. If she hoped to get her answers, she would first need to resolve this conflict. 

 
 
 

[Captain Pigtails]

"Oh?"

Serra glanced back and saw the approaching, small.. Sword creature and her and Sunny both listened to his speech about being tasked to defend them. Hey, at least someone knew that they needed it. 

"Oh? Well.. that's nice." Serra smiled, putting a hand on her hip. There was a slight condescending feel to her, but that came somewhat natural to her. She was a little unsure of how MUCH help this.. person would be. Still, she at least was open to the idea there was more than would meet the eye.

"Uh-huh." she said towards his comment of telling them where they would go. She sure would do that.. if she remembered to. Sure. Yep. "I'm actually capable of healing people, so don't hold back." She winked a little, and then glanced back at the kid. Just making sure she hadn't run off.

Sunny had not and was listening was listening to the Toad and his words.. feeling a little unsure about what he had to say. Not because she didn't want to help.. but because she felt unable to. She didn't have the courage to say..

And then everyone zoomed in. For a moment, when they clustered back around the hill.. she was intimdated and also relieved. These people looked more capable. These people could save them.

Then the tall, scary looking guy just picked up the Toad and..

She felt herself grab a shard and step forward. Indecision slipped.

"When ya feel scared, you don't just sit round crying. That's what. You pull yer pants up and you make s%@# better. You do what you gotta do to fix whatever's gone wrong."

"Hey!" She hissed. "Leave him alone! He only asked for help! You bully! Drop him" Upon saying these words, two things would happen. The power accessed by the shard would create a mass of swirling winds around her hand, one she didn't even notice. It wasn't aimed at Demitri, but it allowed a glance that despite being a short, seemingly normal child.. there was more to her than meets the eye.

Secondly, another person would appear. Another starcrossed adventurer. A dazed young woman with firey red hair and a formal, somewhat dressy outfit appeared. She was wielding a spear, which she clutched defensively, looking around her in confusion. Trying to somehow take in everything going on around them.

(Oh, and a third thing. Serra would freak out. Internally. KID!?! NO!!)

"Are you proud of me Captain? Did you see what I did?" "How yer pickin' fights with someone stronger than yerself? The Rats don't fight losing battles!" "W-What?" "A point for gumption, but you take away 3 for being stupid!" "N-noooo." ;v;

[Teki]

She looked at Demitri, her pink eyes large, subconsciously pulling on years of experience begging, giving the very large brown-haired man an impressive begging face before he offered his cape, smiling wide and ducking in. Finally, safety… and it was warm, too. Luzia didn’t even notice or particularly care about the sudden shift in position; she was happy. She was away from the fighting, away from the Knights, and she felt at least somewhat safe for the first time in a long while.

For a moment, she just hid there, but soon she opened her eyes again, looking up at the one giving her his cape. Who was this man? He was like her… but, how much? He could drink blood, too, but she couldn’t port like him… how did he even know she had blood in the first place? Did he have some sort of animal sense? Despite having so many questions, she asked none; she didn’t want to bother him with stupid questions… she was content with just the safety and warmth he provided. For just a moment, though, she wondered… him making her feel safe and warm… was that what it felt like to have a father?

Then, suddenly, a familiar head rush, and Luzia was back where she was. She went wide-eyed in surprise, more from the return than from the actual teleportation, pulling away from the brown-haired man. Why were they back?! The idea of running away was to run away!

"You made a wish, and the Star Road granted it! You made a pretty big one, though, so I don't think the star spirits were able to handle it well..."

Luzia’s ire, for the moment, faded, as a voice caught her attention, looking over to see a very strange sight… a very small… mushroom boy, and a talking star? The pinkette rubbed her eyes, needing a moment to process the sight. But then the mushroom boy grabbed a little girl’s hand and bounced around, yelling in glee. She stared blankly until he finally explained why he was celebrating – sort of – and her immediate reaction was… a snort. She covered her mouth, turning away as she stifled a couple of derisive giggles. Her, save someone? Her, a hero? She doubted that… she had done things, a lot of bad things, and the very concept of her being someone’s savior was amusing…

…or was it?

Some little voice in the back of her head suddenly wondered if there was a benefit to being a hero. Heroes probably got a lot of food, and had a bed and a home. People tended to like them, too. Was being a hero possible for her…? Her eyes scanned the area, immediately falling on two different… people. Two more Knights of the Sun were around, and by pure instinct, she shrank away, the blood that was levitating near her floating to hide behind her, forming into a small ball.

Before she could continue her thoughts, a ruckus pulled her out of her own head, and she blinked at the sight of her protector – no… just a man that humored her… - picking up the young boy, and a little girl asking him to put him down. She immediately ignored the show; completely interested in whatever they were doing, but something the man had said was making her mind turn. ‘Summon’….

“W-Wait!” her eyes widening, she turned to everyone else. “Summoned? You… you mean we aren’t home? We’ve been ported somewhere else?!”

A soft and strange noise happened, and Luzia turned, seeing someone new, a redhead, looking around, confused like she probably was a few moments ago. The brief upsurge of confusion fell as she got her answer, sighing softly as the orb of blood levitated to her front, hardening into a metallic form as she held it, petting and caressing it as she digested the extremely disconcerting news.

Nowhere close to anything she ever knew, dumped into who knows where, and expected to save someone… why was this happening to her? What was she supposed to do?

[Aphelionquasar]

The beorc had good reflexes, this much he had to concede. She managed to evade his grab, all the more impressive due to the fact that he thought he had managed to blindside her.... With a jerk, she attempted to disengage herself from this... conflict, which on this they were on one mind. Flapping once more his wings, he let the dimensional cape fall lax for a moment and turned himself in midair. It was temporary, as he flared out the cape once more, calling upon it to fly once more. It was more of a combat maneuver, but it was enough for him to quickly change his flight path to gain distance between him and this... beorc for admittedly, he had expected a counter attack. How could he not? He had after all flown at her with Galaxia in hand. That alone warranted a response in kind, and a blast to the face could prove to... be difficult to withstand. While he had no intentions of wielding his companion against this beorc woman, he had accepted such a response as a possible consequence. He released the form of his wings, tapping the ground with his feet before bounding slightly back into a proper fighting stance. It was natural at this point to assume it in combat, but the back step provided balance and an outlet for the slight momentum he had generated in his bid to gain distance. He was not left guessing long at her response for while he had maintained steady eye contact, there was no immediate response to his transgression. No, that wasn’t quite right... her focused waned. Yes, he heard words being spoken in a high pitched voice, but he did not truly hear them... after all he was the aggressor in a conflict. Trained as he was, it was wholly unnecessary for him to focus on the substance in these words... he responded to the sounds of battle rather than meaningless drivel. His eyes lightened up as he watched her momentarily drop eye contact though were still dyed green.... The beorc woman did not heed conventional wisdom, nor was she capable of marshaling enough discipline to overcome innate curiosity. She had allowed herself to be distracted in the middle of conflict... how fortunate that he had not intended true harm to her. How fortunate that his only goal had been to serve as a distraction lest she drown in her professed anger. Raising Galaxia aloft, for a second he considered utilizing this moment... if only to serve as a reminder, a lesson, on the folly of losing focus on the battlefield. It was not, however, worth the trouble. Her arrogance shown in her proclamation as a hero and now as she ignored the threat he could pose to her... soured any such intention. What mockery was this? Ignoring him for a few choice words... she had in essence dismissed him as an opponent. That... irked him. Lowering the blade, Galaxia dimmed slightly as she whispered in the corner of his mind, ‘I have been listening on your stead... these words are neither all that enchanting nor enlightening to risk one’s life. Intriguing, yes... but she has turned her back on an acknowledge foe.’ The sentiment was more or less shared between the two of them, as was unsurprising. If he were of a petty disposition, a lesser man, he would have used the opening that she herself had created which was why he had chosen not to impart a stinging lesson onto the woman for her lackadaisical attitude. It was petty, even if it served a purpose, it would be unprovoked. He had succeeded in his goals, and he was satisfied with that. With that acknowledged, his eyes returned to the bright yellow, their natural color as he waited patiently, staring unintentionally at this... untrained swordswoman... blinking was unnatural and uncomfortable for him. Noticing her grip on the beam saber tightening and as her eyes refocused... and she stopped mumbling to herself as her lips stopped moving... he merely tilted his body slightly in response to her long winded plea. It was about time that she refocused on the priorities at hand. Perhaps he was just a bit petty, but he did not answer her directly. No, as far as he was concerned the fact he hadn’t continued his onslaught while she was unfocused was enough proof that their little spat had already ended. Self-defense though... he was unsure if she truly grasped that concept considering the brutal force she had employed arguably in defense of others... no, he wasn’t about to push that envelope. Still, it was a hypocritical concept... and he was slightly bemused that she’d take the high road, only befitting of a... oh... a self-proclaimed heroine. Her only response was a soft chuckle which he barely made it out before he smothered it with the dimensional cape. A familiar cry of frustration rang out through the air and with a slight tilt of his head, which was more habit than out of respect, he took his leave of the stubborn beorc to come to the aid of his beleaguered retainer. The string of slang was unmistakable, and for now his worries were unfounded, of course, even though he had lowered Galaxia he was still on guard... if anything his grip on her hilt tightened rather than loosened. The matter hadn’t been fully settled and there was still of course... that ship he had seen earlier... it would have been unwise to begin to believe that the whole ordeal was over. Turning around to survey the surrounding area and look for potential threats, Sword, nearly missed the lovely little condescending pause of this here wowser. Which was accompanied, by, course the whole hand on the hip routine, he’d seen it enough with the Lady Memu to know that he was being severely talked down to. Literally and all with the height difference. Yeah, sure, laugh it right up. Least she was being a bit nice about the whole thing, maybe didn’t even realize what she was doing. Condescension wasn’t anything new mind you, after all, he had served their fat bugger of a royal pain for a few years. Kind of came with the territory, the whole being bossed around and looked down on and in comparison the lass was nothing. Hand tightening on his own sword as he noticed his lord fighting someone or something more like , it didn’t really matter how she’d felt about his presence, not one bit. Politely, and a bit steely, the knave responded back with, “ ‘andy I’d wager tat skill be.” Naturally, he much rather be down there, but there was no need to and that meant disobeying orders. Of course about seconds later, he sorely wished he wasn’t right there with the pair and their little buddy. There was a certain level of strange and odd occurrences that he’d gotten used to, had to get used to just hanging around the Sir, but he wasn’t used to about thirty different oddities happening all at once. The little bloke was running around a few seconds later, right as rain and before he got a chance to try to rain in the little bugger, well the first bout of weird started to hit. A talking star, more specifically a star kid... sounded awful like a star warrior, ‘cept there was the whole thing about being a messenger rather than a fighter. Oh and the missing limbs part... real close though. Probably. Wish making roads, ranked up there too... and then there was the whole bit about getting suckered into a done deal. Well, pretty sure, the Sir got suckered into it which was par for the norm... that I’ll be about right. That part where he should have kept his eye on the small fella... well, he really should have kept a closer eye, considering now he was dangling by his straps or whatever it was the little one was wearing. Now he got the whole bit, he got it truly. He’d lived on a war torn world, still not an excuse to go about throwing your weight. Raising the sword, he pointed it at the creature built like a brick shit house, the big one, in blue, with a cape. Except then the little noddle limbed creature gone and done something, he felt it, she screamed and then there was this fierce wind around her hand. So he stepped between them, pushing the little one back with a back step, “Galah bird... er girl? Didn’t need ta give it a burl, yew hear?” He was guessing whether or not it was a girl, but sounded higher pitch than the others not that it mattered in that moment. A clank was more or less the only indication that Sword leapt forward to the side before charging at the larger being holding the small bloke. It was habit, usually Blade would be mimicking the movements on the other side. With the flat of his blade, Sword tried to tap a vital spot to make a point... it was a warning and a blow at the same time. “Let go, ‘e be a charge of mine.” It was really hard to sound threatening or intimidating when your foe was twice your size. Not the largest he’d seen, but ah well. Then of course in this new position was another one of these weird creatures with a pike in her hands. This wasn’t his day was it? ... There were more strangers around the group of... well he supposed civilians, more than there had been before and he could presume absolutely nothing about any of them. He hadn’t seen them after all. Yet, he could understand the inherent frustration of them was displaying, the male beorc specifically, even if it was uncalled for... he had seen worlds tip and tumble into utter chaos before. It was a special delight, a game to Nightmare. ‘A wish was the source of the summons my dear champion, I know you weren’t paying much attention to it at the time. You know as well as I that the road home is often the same as the one traveled to arrive.’ That... wasn’t helpful. ‘I never said it was, only informing you, lest you make a fool out of both of us.’ However, he was forced to act, rushing towards his retainer as he noticed the familiar dance... that the youth had foolishly fallen into. Without Blade, it was clear who would attack... who had the attention of their foe. It was admirable, but the familiarity of the maneuver would put Sword in greater danger even if it was only a warning. He had not considered what would occur if the two of them were separated, they were always together. It had at the time made sense to train them as a pair... it was a failing that he had accidentally created. Sword was already in step, already acting on the orders that he had given the youth. “Sword, stop.” The command died at the use of the youth’s name. After all, Sword was already attempting to follow through, he had noticed a bit too late. Rushing to the left of the larger beorc, he tried to mimic the technique if only to draw attention away from Sword’s folly. Of course, he decided to try to draw the other’s attention more by speaking aloud, “Excuse him.”

1915 Meta Knight Points: 3 Cooldown: Dimensional Cape (1) Goddamnit Sword. Granted this is still Meta Knight's fault by proxy. Miscommunication is already happening, I think I'm keeping it close to canon source as a result. Actually, this is proof.

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Maelys Arkana]

For some time, it appeared that people were settling down, Toad himself as well. A sudden thought popped into his head. These people might not know about Bowser's attack and the Mushroom Kingdom. Many of them looked like they didn't belong here. "You're in th- Waahhh!" But as he spoke up, the large one would suddenly pick him up by his collar, lifting him into the air, feet dangling and arms waving a mile a minute in a panic. The man spoke up about some kind of war, however Toad would not hear all of what the man said, as he was trying his best to escape the bully's grip.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!" Not even comprehending what he was sorry about, Toad simply flailed aimlessly, unable to actually do anything in his current position. Luckily, it seemed that Toad would not be left to suffer, as a couple of the newcomers would come to his aid in an attempt to get the large man to put him down. Whether it would work was entirely up to the man, though...

---

Quiet Afternoon

Out in the yard laid a white figure, a child. His eyes remained closed, a smile gracing his young face as he enjoyed the gentle breeze. It was rare that the wind was this soft, normally it blew rather hard, pushing him around like some kind of bully. But today seemed to be rather different. The sky seemed farther away, the sun seemed brighter, the wind gentler... Was it real, or was this just an illusion? His father could produce illusions, and on occasion would use them to pull pranks on him, but this... felt very real.

There was a strange... essence in the air, as if it was becoming warmer. Despite the bright sun that supposedly was made of fire, the yard was always cold. His clothes were usually enough to stave off the chill, but it almost seemed as if he could shed some of them. Suddenly, "it" appeared. The child looked to the side and saw something, a shadowy figure. Though he could not make out the details, the shape which the shadow took was absolutely unmistakable. "Mommy!" The child in white garb jumped up in a hurry, getting to his feet and dashing after the shadow. But when he came close to the figure, it pulled away, hovering away even. He continued to run, chasing after the shadow as it retreated toward the forest.

The child would chase after it, even as he heard his father calling out for him as he ran into the forest. He had been into the forest many times, and knew his way around it, except for an area deeper within. Sure enough, that's where the shadow fled. Determined now more than ever, Mika continued running, chasing after the shadow of his mother, the shadow that retreated to the dark edge of the forest. Certain that he would be safe with his mother once he caught up to her, Mika did not heed the darkness of the deep forest, and continued on, only to be stopped by... something.

Some kind of barrier blocked his way, preventing him from reaching his mother. "What...?" But refusing to be stopped, he pushed against it, pushing harder and harder until it finally broke, shards of the barrier dissipating as he fell forward...

Into an expansive abyss.

Mika would not have time to react as he fell over the edge of the world, tumbling down into the dark abyss. Moments later, a cry would ring out throughout the world, and a white light would envelop Mika. The next moment, he would vanish...

---

Tempestuous Child

In the midst of the confrontation, as Sword and Sunny came to Toad's rescue, the child would suddenly appear in a small flash of light, appearing a short distance away. Mika looked up, glancing around at his surroundings. He... didn't like them. It was dark and scary, and... Wait.... What happened? He remembered finally walking into the deep part of the forest, and running across a barrier. He shattered the barrier, and fell down... Down? How could he fall down that far? There should have been more forest, not...

A crack of lightning in the distance rang out, spooking Mika, the fur on his tail standing up as he leapt slightly. Glancing around in a panic, he wanted to find... Mother? He had chased her into the forest, but... Was that really her? It moved like her, it looked like her... The reality that he was not at home finally set in as he held his arms close, almost covering his face, ears folding down in growing fear. Mother was not here... Nor was father... Mika didn't even know where here was. Where was he? Eyes would brim with tears as he continued to look around, not knowing what to do... He would spot a few people a couple feet away, gathered around for something... But none of them were his friends or their parents, he didn't recognize... any...

Without warning, he would run. He would race over to the group of people, heading for one in particular, a tallish person that seemed to share some aspects with a certain someone. Mika would run over to Sunny and grab onto her, burying his face into her clothes, tears beginning to fall down his face. "Mommy!" Perhaps he knew that she wasn't who he thought she was, but for the moment, he needed someone to hold onto after what he had just gone through.