"Mmmhmm... If you really ain't scared of the Batter, then why bother with all this secrecy? Now I'm wondering if there's anything else Zach's not telling me about..."
Before Nicole can continue that particular train of thought, Nik taps her on the shoulder, and she looks over to her.
"What, Nik?"
"Meet me back in the Arena, Greed, and I'll gladly tell you the whole story."
Motioning for Greed to follow him, Pietro bids the others farewell before dashing off.
"Tend to- but I can't... heal... if I could, I wouldn't be..."
He looks troubled as he puts his hands on his arms, referring to the state his body is in.
The Masked Man, meanwhile, is getting up as well, spitting out either some blood or oil. It's not really visible which from where he's laying.
"Damnit all, that seriously hurt. I'll have to get a check up, just in case...", he mutters. When Masc notices him wake up, he goes over to him. The Masked Man stares him down.
"... what?", he asks.
"... I... eh... thank you... for saving me."
The Masked Man just scoffs and gets up, not responding to Masc's thanks. Though Masc doesn't look disappointed or hurt, because he can tell that the Masked Man doesn't mind his gratitude.
Greed nods to Pietro, showing the rest of the group a 'see you later' gesture, then leaves.
"Only because he needs us. He will not remain on our side forever, and he is more dangerous than he looks. Mark my words.", Charlotte says to Lucina and Frederick, looking serious. She then looks at Nicole.
"The Queen isn't around Hugo much. Neither is Zacharie, due to his job. When Hugo is all alone, I am the one there for him. And if the Batter caught wind of me, he would come for me. I'm not afraid to fight him, but I know I wouldn't win against him. And then Hugo would be so much more alone."
Speaking of Hugo, he still tries to give Charlotte a hug, only to phase through her again. At this point, he's starting to look upset.
Edited by DevilPsyco on Mar 13th 2019 at 6:47:41 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Nik points north, to the newly opened up area.
"Should we take charge...? Wait for someone else to step in? Just leave without attending to the new thing?"
"Fine, I can." Mata Nui walks over to the Masked Man.
He attempts to place a hand on him and restore the state of his organic parts to 'normal'.
Edited by KiriK on Mar 13th 2019 at 12:47:53 PM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.""Honestly, after what just happened today, I'm not exactly in a dungeon crawling mood," Nicole answers Nik. "Let's check it out later, assuming someone else hasn't already beaten the overlord, monster, or dark wizard waiting in that godforsaken fortress by then."
She looks back to Charlotte, nodding as she gives her explanation.
"That's understandable, I guess... oh, and Hugo's a Spirit, which is why he's just phasing through ya. Once the scumbag responsible's been put down, he should be flesh and blood again."
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Mar 13th 2019 at 11:08:52 AM
X lands his attack with surprising force, snapping the guard's neck on impact.
—-
Red's Soul Burn manages to hit one of the elite guards, and proves devastating. Being what it is, it bypasses the armor entirely to incinerate the pegasus' very soul, causing the guard to scream in agony and the other guards to focus fire on Red once again. The turrets prove sturdy enough to survive a few arrows from BEN, and automatically retaliate upon being shot.
Any Elites that are not busy trying to clear the area of proxies continue stalking the mist, trying to ambush the battling monsters with headshots as they're distracted.
She nods firmly, before lightly tapping her hand against the hilt of a curvy sword on her waist. A sharp ringing echoes from the sword.
'I'm pretty used to getting into some scraps along the way. Most people don't love my style of work so they tend to throw themselves or all sorts of goons in my way. Not that I mind, but if they're all weak, it gets real boring really fast.'
Hi, reading your signature. I'm dad.The Masked Man looks wary, raising his arm cannon when Mata Nui gets close, though doesn't fire when his systems identify that he's just healing his wounds. He lowers his arm again after a while and looks reluctant.
"... that saves me a lot of time... so thanks.", he says.
Flint then begins to stir, and Masc immediately turns to him. He doesn't approach though, and is actually thinking of hiding, not being a fan of the idea of his father seeing him like... 'this'.
"Let's hope.", Charlotte says to Lucina, then turns back to Nicole.
"He has become a spirit!?", she asks, shocked, and turns to Hugo, who's starting to look sadder and sadder by the fact that he can't hug Charlotte. He looks up at Nicole, reaching his arms out to ask her to pick him up, not realizing that she can't, not can anybody right now.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Slenderman thrusts his palms at both his enemies.
—
Herobrine equips a bow and starts firing arrows in the general direction of Pinkamena.
—
The Rake and Smile Dog hide in the nearest corner.
—
GHOST's body seems to be impacted by the bullet... but it doesn't react. It gathers dark energy between its hands and shoots a Shadow Ball at HABIT.
"... Alright." Nik heads off, waving for Nicole to keep up with her.
—
Mata Nui looks down over the scene; then picks up his shield, sword, and projectile weapon, and walks away.
Sacred Land, Gerudo Fortress
The sounds of an organ being played echo from the peak of the fortress down into the rest of the desert.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Thor raises his thumb multiples times over, in great joy.
HAHA ! YES ! EXACTLY ! I SEE THAT YOU ARE A WOMAN OF GREAT WISDOM !
—
Lucina lets out a distressed sigh but nonetheless goes on to the next stage, while Frederick stays near Hugo, a bit at a loss.
...
Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 13th 2019 at 7:45:52 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitter"Hey, don't worry, it's not permanent or anything. Nik and I will try explaining this whole Spirit thing to ya, if you want," Nicole says to Charlotte. "Besides, at least he'll be safe from harm like this, so... it ain't that bad!"
Her gaze flickers to Lucina.
"I'm gonna be heading off with my pal Nik, since today's been kinda... trying for me. Hopefully, we'll see you around later, Lucy."
With that, she hurries after Nik, gesturing for Charlotte to follow her if she so desired.
"Oh... what happened?"
When Flint gets to, he notices the Masked Man first.
"Claus? Claus, it's you! I'm glad you're here. I know you asked me to stay home, but I wanted to surprise you and Lucas, and-"
He then pauses, looking the Masked Man over again. His eyes narrow in suspicion.
"You... Claus, you... don't tell me Porky-"
"Claus isn't here.", the Masked Man replies, to Flint's confusion.
"What?"
"Claus and I have been separated from one another. I am Porky's commander, and I'm the only one currently in this body."
Then, with a somewhat evil grin, he gestures to the half-hidden Masc.
"I'd talk to him if I were you."
Masc freezes up and turns away from Flint, who now looks at him. His gaze is kept steady, and it's unclear if he recognizes him.
The answer comes about a full minute of silence later.
"... Claus?"
Masc flinches, slowly turning around to face him, not saying anything yet, just looking devastated.
Charlotte's worry doesn't look eased. Hugo, meanwhile, watches Nicole leave. He starts to sob a little, holding his arm up to his face, and Charlotte sits down next to him.
"It's alright. You can't touch us, but I'll stay with you. Until you're back to normal."
She looks up at Frederick.
"... you wouldn't happen to know how to calm him down a little, do you?", she asks.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.After another long, tension-filled silence, Masc speaks up.
"... hey... dad...", he softly says. "I... um..."
He sighs sadly.
"I... I never had the guts to say this when I was whole... but... I'm sorry...", he says. "For being rash and reckless, and getting myself killed... and turned into Porky's slave, and... and attacking you... killing Lucas... pulling the final Needle and des... destroying the world... and I'm sorry for having turned into this...", he says, gesturing to his body. "This... this broken version of me that..."
He interrupts himself, starting to cry a little.
"If... if I'd just kept myself in check, then nothing else would've gone wrong... and I just hope you don't hate me for making everything I've done, and for having become a monster..."
Flint wordlessly approaches and crouches down to be at Masc's level.
And then he hugs him, patting his back supportively. Masc flinches.
"W-wha-"
"Claus... you are our son, no matter what you do or what you look like.", Flint says, sounding overjoyed and relieved. "I never gave up on you, not when you disappeared and not when you were fighting Lucas. I know you don't love me as much as you used to for having ignored Lucas during my search for you. You never spoke up about it, but I could see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice. I know I did him wrong... I should be the one apologizing to both him and you. And I will once I've found him too. I just hope the both of you find yourselves able to forgive me."
Masc shudders a bit, then returns his hug.
"O-of course..."
The Masked Man, meanwhile, doesn't really care for the scene unfolding in front of him, but he doesn't intervene in it either, letting them be. It's not really his business. He sits down against a tree, deciding to wait until they're done. He can't leave without Masc after all.
Lesovikk, meanwhile, begins to stir too.
Edited by DevilPsyco on Mar 13th 2019 at 8:16:36 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.The Floating City - Hardlight Bridge
Link's hair flows in a brisk wind. He has arrived at the entrance to the Dark Realm. Curiosity in his eyes, he steps into the Dark Realm. Upon entering, he looks around cautiously... eyeing the left and right. He steps forward, his left hand hovering over the legendary blade he carries upon his back. He looks to the southwest, where the fog is clear. He pulls the Sheikah Slate from his hip pointing it ahead of him a few feet. Thin beams of blue light appear, collapsing to the ground into the shape of a motorcycle. The shape turned solid, and the Master Cycle appeared. Link got on the Master Cycle, and drove towards the southwestern end. It doesn't take him very long to arrive at the swirling blue vortex. He gets off the cycle, and approaches the vortex. He inspects it, but of course equipped with his infinite courage he decides to jump in; landing in....
The Sacred Land
Link arrives, landing in the sand. He stands brushing himself off. He looks around the area, recognizing it. He pulls out his Sheikah Slate, staring down at it. No map, unlucky. He decides to turn to the sound of the organ. He jogs towards it.
Edited by KrampusTheTherapist on Mar 13th 2019 at 1:21:50 PM
As the heroes come up on the fortress, the organ piece becomes more audible, drawing them in.
Eventually, they will go inside and find none other than Ganondorf
◊ playing away at those ivory keys.
As he hears them set foot inside, he continues playing for a bit until he finds a good point in his piece to stop.
"... Well now. Link."
He lowers his hands from the organ and just sits there for a moment, then stands up and turns around to face the fighters.
"We've been outplayed."
He holds up the back of his hand, showing the emblem of the third Triforce piece in it. The Triforce of Power.
"Dharkon has outwitted all of us. I came here to cleanse this area myself, only to find myself unable to leave, bound by my own Triforce to this area. And you cannot defeat the boss to force Dharkon out of hiding without the completed Triforce."
"I shouldn't have to explain, but this means you will have to defeat me. He turned us against each other without so much as mind control." Ganondorf folds his arms, scoffs, and chuckles a little. "Of course, most of you have no idea who I am save for that I am evil by nature, and one of you is Link, so you wouldn't be too bothered... but you'll be losing a potential ally."
Edited by KiriK on Aug 24th 2021 at 10:58:22 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

I AM A DEITY HERE ! THOUGH THE SCOPE OF MY POWERS ARE DIMINISHED, THEY ARE STILL IMMENSE ! LIKE MY TOWERING BEARD !
He bestows a mug of mead upon her hand, appropriately-sized !
I SEE THAT YOU HAVE AN EYE FOR THE SIMPLE AND THE SCIENCE
—
The Batter ? He was bested and should be on our side. says Lucina, turning around.
And he will be sent back to whatever pit he crawled out of. says Frederick. If he makes a move on any of us, you included. You are safe, feline friend.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitter