Nancy Weaver—Velvet Gauntlet
"I don't understand," Nancy said, just loud enough for everyone to hear, with a slight polite smile on her face. "Please, pardon the impertinence and let this dimwitted girl explain before we continue."
"I don't understand why you're holding someone who is possibly the biggest and strongest of us back here, especially if there's an enemy we know is also big, strong, and could take up more of our physical resources than is necessary to hold down and mind-probe," she said, voice as soft as chloroform on a handkerchief and words laced with sugary cyanide. "Especially since she's shown herself to care for some of the party that's going on the mission. One would think that this would lead to greater group cohesion, but I am a mere child, and as such, unskilled in such matters."
"Speaking of being a mere child, why are you not holding me back here instead of someone who could potentially be one of our strongest assets? I am fifteen, good sir, and I did not sign up for this war, and neither did Setsuna-san. I can scarcely understand your reasoning for choosing the people sent in to fight it, nor the logic to send I, a child out to die, whilst withholding an important ally from the main group."
"Perhaps I am too naive to the ways of the world, if I cannot understand what you were saying, sir," Nancy continued, remaining calm and collected even as the Doctor was surely bearing down upon her with a displeased gaze by now. "But was it just my overactive, childish imagination, or were you treating Setsuna as if that were the case? I must say that it would have been a huge mistake on your part to select heroes who are too naive to do their jobs, or recruit them and then treat them as such when you send them out to do what my feeble mind believes should be your job, my dear respected sir."
"If you would be so kind as to lower your royal self onto the same level as the rest of us, please explain to your faithful and loyal servant girl why she is mistaken. If she is indeed mistaken. I would be very careful to avoid such misunderstandings in the future. I do not wish to make trouble. So please, explain so that I can understand," were the closing statements that Nancy made, delivered with a further nod and a smile, while Seamstress tittered behind a delicate porcelain hand. "So that all these powerful paragons and champions can understand. You wouldn't want us to misinterpret your intentions, would you?" She covered her mouth in mock shock. "That would be a disaster!"
Edited by JumpingFruit on Oct 24th 2020 at 10:35:08 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.Adam
Adam stepped forward.
Reginleif knew what he was planning. She didn't know if it was the best idea, but she chose to trust her partner's instincts.
There wasn't a lot that could truly threaten him in any case.
Adam stopped in front of the oni girl, fidgeting thanks to the foreign feeling of fabric on his skin, and said.
"You look like you can take care of yourself. And not much else. Which means you're like me."
He cracked his knuckes, and continued.
"Which means both of us are hardly necessary, so how about a little contest of strength to see who gets to go? If this mission is really so important, it only makes sense that the strongest one gets to go, right?"
Roon
"I'd say he's holding her back because the situation doesn't currently need her to be there, and if it gets worse and suddenly does need her she can quickly join us through the corridor." Roon says when Nancy questions the Doctor on his reason for holding Setsuna back. "I'd feel reassured that if we were in trouble that someone would be able to jump in and help us win or at the very least retreat to fight another day"
Once she had said her piece she went to stand by the circle of light waiting for the group to join her. Seeing Adam (who had put on some pants by that point) challenging Setsuna to a fight to determine who would have to stay, which drew her attention as she was unsure which was the stronger of the two.
"...? I mean, okay? If that's the term I should use, then that's what I'll go with, thanks for the clarification." Lee nodded at Crash...and grinning a little at the nickname Kanami had given him, but kept quiet to finish listening to the explanation they were given as they looked a bit perplexed at who the figures being talked about were.
"...Yeah, I can understand how that'll be a problem. Can kind of speak from seeing it that enough magic power and the locations and environments can get...surreal, to say the least." Lee mused, frowning a little at the Doctor doing a 360 and...well, how they responded to Setsuna.
"If I can take your place, I will. ...Don't exactly agree with how he put it, but he's not wrong about if things go bad, we'll need some backup at best or an evac out of there at worst."
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.TARDIS
The Doctor glared at Nancy, a stone cold gaze boring into her with the fury of a frozen sun. But just as he was about to speak, Setsuna spoke out first.
"It's okay, guys. Maybe... maybe he's right. Besides, I'm not really that smart or anything. I'd just be holding all of you back. And Lee's got a point too. But hey! I'll still be there if you need me, yeah?"
The Doctor relaxed his gaze, though he stood his ground. "There you have it. Of course, I don't endorse Setsuna's lack of confidence. She's really quite bright, and she'd do well to remember it. But if things go south, we need an ace up our sleeve. And we also need someone down there with your particular talents. Regardless of your youth. Believe it or not, brute force and unchecked aggression is not always the answer. In fact, it often causes more problems than it solves."
He shuffled his feet, taking a step back as she relented. "But I do apologize if I was coming off somewhat... crass. I've been traveling alone for so long that occasionally, I forget myself. In the future, I'll make sure to remember who I'm dealing with."
Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 25th 2020 at 9:12:14 AM
Adam
Adam slumped his shoulders.
He was looking forward to a little friendly brawl, see if he still had it, but that could wait until next time.
Reginleif, meanwhile, felt something was fishy: onis aren't known for being agreeable creatures, and yet this one in particular was convinced quite easily.
This wasn't the time to bring this up, though. Not when it was still at the level of a mere hypothesis, and they had a job to do.
"Hmm..." Nancy hummed, staring back at the Doctor with a reconciliatory expression on her face, though she merely tilted her head at the Doctor’s prior angry stare. "All right. Apology accepted. Just so we all know it."
Seamstress turned with a flare of its petticoats to follow Nancy, who, despite her claims of concern about her own well-being, was surprisingly the first into the Time Corridor.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Oct 25th 2020 at 2:17:22 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.Crash Bandicoot-Splitting the Party so Soon? Awwwww
Crash watched the scene play out between Setsuna and the Doctor with concern. Their first big mission, and Setsuna wasn't even coming? He guessed he could see the Doctor's reasoning, but still...
Turning to Setsuna with concern written all over his face, Crash gave a little whine. Are you gonna be okay? The look Crash gave her seemed to ask.
Edited by Dezmo on Oct 25th 2020 at 11:50:14 AM
TARDIS
"Daaaw!" Setsuna gave Crash a big heartfelt hug before letting him go. "Don't worry! I'll be okay! Soon as things get tough, I'll be over there before you know it! You just do what you gotta do! Okay?"
Star Haven
On the other side of the Corridor lay a long, wide purple road. It stretched on forever, littered with star-shaped patterns fading in and out across its entire surface. It floated over a massive, starry sea. Only the vast, starlit sky above dwarfed it in magnificence.
At the end of the road stood a quaint but charming little temple. Two thin pillars stood beside it, jutting out of the ocean and each with a little star on top. The temple itself was covered with an open blue dome, connected to the floor and flight of stairs beneath it with several straight purple beams. At the top of the stairs was the entrance, shining with a bright radiance that beckoned anyone to bask in its' majesty.
Unfortunately, that bright shining moment would soon be tainted. In a flash of light, two figures suddenly appeared at the foot of the temple. One of them was a small orange witch, floating on a broomstick. A pair of sharp-rimmed glasses sat above a wrinkled orange beak. Her long purple robes complimented her pointed hat, and she held her yellow sceptre with grace.
"Well, well! Quite a sight! Wouldn't you say, King Bowser?"
Bowser soon stood in front of the stairs. He was just as ferocious and voluminous as he appeared on the scanner. Perhaps more so. He surveyed the temple, sneering at it and grunting with nothing but contempt.
"Nothin' special. Doesn't even have a lava pit! Seriously, who doesn't build their castle with a lava pit?! You don't have a lava pit, every plumber and their brother's gonna jump on your tuckus faster than you can say Game Over! I mean, they did anyway. Maybe should have shored things up a bit. BUT STILL!"
:...of course, your majesty." If Kammy was flustered, she didn't show it. Bowser had always been a tough customer, but lately, he seemed just a touch harder. A smidgen more intelligent. And all the more difficult to please. If she didn't know better...
No. Best to keep such suspicions to herself. Besides. It wasn't as if she had any proof.
And besides. Having a ruler with more than two brain cells was a refreshing change of pace.
She floated to the ground, landing in front of him and bowing down in respect. "Shall we begin, your grace?"
"Course! I've waited my whole darn life for this moment! Or at least the last few years. Once I get that Rod, Peach is finally gonna be mine! The whole world's gonna be mine! And Mario's gonna PAY."
"Of course, your grace! Of course!" With that, Kammy floated back on her broomstick. Only to glance at the corridor. "Hm?"
"Somethin' up, Kammy?" After a moment, he turned towards the corridor. "...huh. That wasn't there before."
"Careful, your majesty. I sense something amiss. That beam of light is... unnatural. I know no other way to describe it. It is something that shouldn't be."
"You don't say." Bowser took a step towards the corridor, though no more than that. He stood his ground, flexing his muscles without taking his eyes off it for a second. "Kammy, get ready to bring in the kids. As soon as something twitches,, bring em in."
Kammy was impressed. Her lord wasn't a complete imbecile, but he wasn't always this proactive. "Are you certain, my liege?"
"I don't care if it's Mario or Wario! This is my chance to show everyone who's boss! I ain't taking any chances with this one."
"Understood, my lord."
And with that, the stage was set.
Whether it was Bowser or the heroes that came out on top was anyone's guess.
Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 25th 2020 at 8:32:47 AM
Crash Bandicoot-A Friend 'Til the End
Crash gladly returned Setsuna's, happy his friend wasn't too down about the situation. With a final salute in response to Setsuna orders, Crash made a dash for the portal, entering right after Nancy.
Let's-A Woah!
Crash would exit the other side of the corridor first at a full run. Seeing Bowser and Kammy right before him, Crash made to stop his dash-and ended up tripping over his feet instead, landing flat on his face right before the King and Witch. Crash laid there for a moment, letting out a low, pained moan, before peeling himself off of the floor.
Looking up to the towering Bowser and hovering Kammy, Crash gave a sheepish grin and wave in greeting. "Hi?"
Wolfgang - TARDIS
Setsuna apparently wouldn't be going with them. Wolfgang supposed it made sense to leave someone here just in case, though he was bummed it had to be her. The others got more upset about it - the Doctor did sound... menacing. But Wolfgang could tell that the Doctor meant well. He was just old and bitter. Like Wolfgang's Grandpa.
"Don't worry, Suna." Wolfgang gave her a gentle hug after she was done with crash. "We'll be back before you know it."
And then he was off.
Star Haven
He emerged from the Corridor on all fours, sniffing the air. Almost immediately he caught Bowser's scent. He knew it was Bowser's, because it was like someone had set a turtle on fire. Kammy's scent was much more subtle, but he noted it all the same.
As Crash faceplanted, Little Wolf leapt past him, moving much faster than a human could. In three quick bounds, he launched himself towards the villains. Not at Bowser, because Bowser was probably too strong for him, but at Kammy. Always take out the support mage first.
Wolfgang jumped directly at her in a flying claw-pounce, though it was actually a feint; he was actually aiming for her wand. He was pretty sure she couldn't do magic without it.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Adam
Adam whistled at the siggt in front of him before helping the furry creature to his feet.
Reginleif turned herself back into a knuckle duster, in case there was urgent need to turn someone's face into a smear on the ground.
...which turned out to be quite earlier than expected as the final boss decided to grace the party with an early appearance.
Wasting no time, Adam activated his eyes and rushed towards the overgrown novelty pet while the wolf took care of the help.
Edited by HailMuffins on Oct 25th 2020 at 11:11:33 AM
Star Haven
Tibalt was quiet during the uproar. It was concerning to be sure but he knew better than to get involved when others were doing a better job of it... Instead, he turned his attention to heading towards the mission, and on arrival he figured out two things:
A) The party spawned in basically within brawling distance of Bowser himself and
1) His team was already fighting.
"Alright I guess we'll dispense with the pleasantries."
And with that, Tibalt drew the gold sword from his back which immediately sparked to flame and charged in. He had a goal here; if he could get close enough to do the probe then fine but the big thing was to feint around and interpose himself between the king and the Star Rod.
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.Roon
Roon exits the portal right behind Crash, her gun barrels rotating around as she figured out a firing solution for them to do the maximum amount of damage to pull their foe's attention to her. Her calculations stuttered to a halt at the same time as Crash slid across the ground. "You should be more careful, who knows how close our target is to where we are now" Roon said as she leant down and grabs Crash by his collar and with no effort picked him up and placed him back on his feet. "Seems we have the enemy right before us" Roon says with a feral grin upon her face as soon as her eyes catch sight of the big lizard and his crony, her voice taking on a far different tone to what the group had heard from her every other time she'd spoken. Once her hands were free the barrels once more continued their movement to put their target right in front of them, once lined up the shells flew and flew over Adam's shoulders and hopefully exploding on Bowser's hide.
Seeing as some people were attacking Kammy the witch advisor, Nancy decided to get in on that by directing Seamstress to ready some thread in order to weave a large blanket, which the Stand used in an attempt to cover the Koopa witch after it flitted over to her, as fast as a bullet. This would at least disorient the spellcaster and prevent her from working whatever magic could harm the party, as Nancy was plenty sure that she had to be able to see in order to direct her casting.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Oct 25th 2020 at 7:29:25 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.TARDIS
"Hmmmmm..." Kanami stood with hand to chin at the developments that followed after she'd spoken, but ultimately shrugged. She stepped over to the Doctor and leaned in to whisper, "I'm sure you have another reason for keeping her here. If you feel like sharing after we get back, I wouldn't mind listening." Leaving him with an encouraging pat on the shoulder, she moved on to the red-skinned subject of Nancy's objections.
"He's right, you know," she added to Setsuna, reaching up to ruffle the half-oni's hair, "You're smarter than you think you are, Horn-chan! Maybe you think you're not big on books or learnin', but that just means you haven't found the right kinda books or the right kinda teacher yet! See you soon! Let's get something to celebrate when everybody gets back! Some good food, maybe..."
Humming a little ditty to herself, she stepped into the tunnel of light...
Star Haven
...and had her breath taken away by the incredible vista. "Oh, wooooow... Ahhhh, I so should have asked if he had a camera! Dina, Mama wants to show you this place so bad!"
Only then did she notice the sight and sounds of battle. "Huh? Whaaaaaaat? You guys are fighting already?!" she complained, "I was hoping we could at least talk to them first! How am I supposed to get Bowser's autograph now?!"
"Geez!" Kanami stood with her hands on her hips, pouting like a child — and also waiting to see how the battle developed so she could jump in where needed.
Edited by darksidevoid on Oct 26th 2020 at 4:18:58 AM
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.Star Haven
As soon as the group emerged from the Corridor, they jumped out with guns blazing. Bowser roared, tossing Crash towards the edge of the road and leaping at the others as he pulled himself into his shell. He spun around like a top, blasts of flame erupting from the shell, burning anyone who wasn't shredded by the spikes on his back. Roon's shells barely made a tent, though they did scratch the tip of his big fat tail. He'd tried to pull it in with the rest of him, but some of it was sticking out like a blanket haphazardly shoved in a drawer.
And perhaps that was the key.
As for Kammy, she quickly waved the wand, the red orb on top flashing before Wolfgang pulled it out of her hand and Nancy covered her in a big warm blanket. She crawled around, trying to find her way out. But without the wand, she was powerless.
But she'd done her job.
Another flash of light crackled in the sky above. Three more koopas landed at the foot of the temple, each smaller than Bowser, but cut from the same cloth. One wore a pointed blue wig, his face alit with manic glee. Another was brown and brawny, almost like a bulldog. And the third wore a slick pair of shades, complementing his hot pink moptop.
The one in the wig stepped forth, putting out his hand and puffing his chest in a grand gesture. "Attention, foul miscreants! I am Ludwig, proud leader of the Koopa Kids! I know not who you are, but you would be fools to—"
Before Ludwig could finish his speech, the one with the pink moptop stepped forward, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Uh, sorry Ludwig, but the fight's kinda started already. Think maybe you could speed it up a bit?"
"Speed it up? SPEED IT UP? Remember who you're speaking to, Roy! I am not one to be—"
"Ah, hell with this!" Suddenly the brown one leapt forward, tucking himself into his shell and launching at Adam like a loaded missile.
"MORTON! GET BACK HERE, MORTON! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE—"
Roy shook his head, stepping towards the heroes as he adjusted his shades. "No good, boss. Let's just try and make this quick, huh?" He leapt up high before landing in front of Kanami and coming down hard, letting loose a shockwave that would sweep her off her feet.
"...oh for God's sake. I'm feeding all of you to the piranha plants when we get home!" With that, Ludwig opened his mouth, letting loose a mighty blast of flame at Tibalt that threatened to scorch him to the bone. Assuming he couldn't dodge it.
Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 26th 2020 at 3:25:18 AM
Star Haven
"Ack!" Kanami exclaimed, blurring as she rather easily jumped out of the way of the spiky, flamethrowing, spinny meatgrinder that was Bowser-in-shell. She watched the entrance of the Koopalings with a huge grin, even laughing at their antics. Then—
"Ack, I said!" she cried as she was thrown off her feet and tumbled expertly into a handstand facing the pink-shelled Koopa. "Dang, that was a nice landing! You're one cool customer!" she complimented as if he hadn't just attacked her and there wasn't a battle raging around them, even picking one hand up to wave merrily at him while flawlessly balancing on the other, "Good ta meetcha, Roy! I'm Kanami! Just to clear it up, I'm not actually here to stop you or the big guy. In fact, I'd love to get you and your family's autographs when we're done with this whole 'fight first, ask questions later' thing we've got goin' on! Think you can swing that?"
Edited by darksidevoid on Oct 26th 2020 at 5:58:04 AM
GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.Crash Bandicoot-For Real This Time
From where Bowser had tossed him, Crash got a good view of Bowser on the rampage-and his tail sticking out of his shell haphazardly. Crash's eyebrows quirked as a mischievous grin formed. Now that had to be something, didn't it? Bad guys like this always had some weak point to exploit, and Crash would bet that Bowser's tail was it. Now the question was, how to exploit this tell. No way he could get close to Bowser's tail while he was attacking like he was right now...but maybe something more long range would work? Oh, if only he had his bazooka...
Well, if he couldn't do anything there, Crash figured it be best to get rid of the minions to declutter the playing field. His eyes landed upon the pink haired one attacking Kanami. Crash dashed towards Roy, jumping over the shockwave with a flip-and landed right on Roy's head, using it as a springboard to land right next to Kanami.
Edited by Dezmo on Oct 27th 2020 at 3:22:35 AM
Wolfgang
He was able to get Kammy's wand away, but not before she summoned three of the koopalings. Keeping the wand in his mouth, so as to keep his hands free, he turned to observe the enemies for a moment.
Taking stock of who was attacking who, Wolfgang picked a target, and leapt at Ludwig from behind, intending to stomp on the koopa's head as hard as he could. Hopefully that would force Ludwig's mouth closed, keeping him from breathing more fire.
Also, if Wolfgang remembered correctly, stomping on their heads three times was usually enough to knock them out. It worked for Mario, anyway.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Yuan
They were getting right into things, huh? Looks like she didn't really have much time to think or strategize. Oh well! Sometimes jumping into danger headfirst was the right move.
Speaking of which, it looked like Morton was heading straight for Adam. Dragons like herself were usually pretty resistant to fire, and judging by Ludwig's flame breath, they were... dragon-turtles? Point is, she tries to incercept the flying koopaling and punch him right in the face.
"Hope you don't mind if I butt in!"
Roon
Roon gritted her teeth as she saw her shells barely scratched the giant's shell, but was less so when she saw that she had hit his tail and hurt it, and he was coming right for her leaving her little time to shield herself with her arms and the front limbs of her rigging. Roon was pushed back by the sheer momentum of the Koopa King's spin and the rigging's plates were bent. Sweeping her hand through the air in front of her Roon summoned up translucent shields that swiftly split into four groups, which began orbiting around those that were about to be attacked by the Koopa Kids' attacks leaving her with the last group of shields. Roon was waiting for her shells to be loaded, and finally, a subtle click was heard from each of her turrets as they finished the loading process. As soon as the last shell was loaded into its breech she aimed for a few seconds to ensure she had enough lead on the spinning appendage and fired at Bowser's tail saying, "You dare hurt me, you will pay!" .
"Guess you'll have to ask for it after the fight." Lee remarked with a sigh to Kanami, somewhat surprised at how things had escalated.
With the fight turning into more of a melee Lee decided to focus on support and move around the fight to prepare to intercept if any other newcomers showed up as he channeled a spell.
Drawing a circular seal in front of him and getting somewhat confused and wincing a tiny bit from the unexpected pain as he added more of his energy to a circular seal in front of him before raising Misericorde, causing a small flash of light as it turned into a sort barrier that shielded his allies to increase their resilience to any incoming spells or magic.
Assuming stuff like fire breath and the like still counted as 'magic' here.
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.Star Haven - Vs Ludwig Von Koopa
Tibalt tried to defend himself from the flames, though dodging wasn't really one of his strengths. Instead he tried to guard behind his own source of flames and let the golden blade take the brunt of the attack. Of course, such a move might have saved him but it didn't mean he wasn't taking a fair bit of pain from it.
"Apologies, I did wish to challenge this fellow king in a grand duel of honor but my companions had other ideas."
As the flames passed, Tibalt withdrew the (now very close to entirely melted) sword from it's protective groundstab and flourished it, trailing molten gold and flame in the wake.
"If you would, indulge me a question: Is your lord a good King, especially now in his desperate ambition?"
Edited by Pentigan on Oct 27th 2020 at 11:21:29 PM
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

TARDIS
The Doctor brought the mind-probe back out, holding it between his fingers like an honest to God cigar.
"It's quite simple. Merely hold the small end to their heads and press the button on the top for precisely five seconds. That should be enough to drive out the infection. Any longer and you risk reducing them to a husk. And make sure not to use it on anyone else. With the way it's set up, there's a chance it could give anyone else amesia. Including yourselves. It'd be all too easy to trip and use it on yourself by accident."
With there being no more questions, the Doctor pressed another button. A bright glowing circle appeared in the corner, almost as if welcoming them in.
"That is what's called a Time Corridor. With the power of the Axis, I was able to rig one up. Step in, and it will take you to your destination. There should be another corridor on the other side. Once you're done or need to make a retreat, step back in and you'll be safe and sound. Though I'm afraid not all of you will be going." He turned to Setsuna. "Our big red friend is staying here."
Setsuna had only been half-listening to the Doctor's briefing. Most of it had gone over her head. All she knew was that there was some bad people doing bad shit and they needed smashing.
Except now she wasn't gonna get to smash.
Like, she didn't want to smash. Not all of her. Part of her did. As different as she was from some of the other oni, she was still an oni at heart. And that meant there was a part of her that enjoyed pounding things into paste.
But she didn't have to.
No. What she really didn't enjoy was getting left behind and not able to help her friends and Wolfgang for no good reason.
...huh.
Funny how she made that distinction.
"Seriously?! I'm not just gonna get left behind!"
"You can and you will. Someone needs to stay here in case things go wrong. If things start going south, they'll need someone to go down there and bail them out. Besides. You can still communicate and see everything that's happening with the TARDIS. You'll still be there. You just won't be there. Understand?"
"No! I don't understand! If they're all gonna beat the shit out of some lizards, then I wanna help 'em! I'm not gonna stand back and let Wolfie and the others get them... selves... killed..."
The Doctor took a slow couple steps towards Setsuna, glaring at her and leveling his gaze all the while. "Do. You. Understand?"
"I..." She blinked, rubbing her temples. She wasn't sure how, but it was getting harder to think.
Then again, she was never much of a thinker. Or at least that's what her dad told her.
Of course, it was her... dad... that... godfuck...
"...understand..."
"Good." In that moment, the Doctor's voice was cold. Commanding. With barely a trace of subtety.
And a second later, he was turning back to the others with a spring in his step. "So! Everyone ready to go?"
Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 25th 2020 at 7:24:59 AM