MARIO BOARDS MEGA BRAWL 2

Exciting news!! With our work soon wrapping up, we'll be set and ready to launch the MBMB2 on Saturday, December 14th! We'll be setting the stage with initial posts in the morning, while the main event will begin at 5 PM EST/2 PM PST. Who will come out as this year's victor? Only one way to know!

Live commentary will be happening in the designated channel in the Awards Discord server. If you need an invite, let me know! Hope to see you there!
 
IIIIIIIIIIIIIT'S TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!


IT'S TIME TO PLAY THE MUSIC!

IT'S TIME TO LIGHT THE LIGHTS!

IT'S TIME TO MEET THE BRAWLERS IN THE MEGA BRAWL TONIGHT!

HAAHOHAAHO! Welcome one and all to the second running of the Mario Boards Mega Brawl! Thanks to our generous sponsors, we've whipped up a show that's bigger and better than even last year's spectacle!

Thirty-five entrants will enter, and only one will claim victory in this great battle of limited canonicity! But hold your horses, dead, large, and otherwise! Thirty-five is only the number for the judges. Let's pull back the curtain on our team entrants and find out how many individual competitors will clash in tonight's arena!

Fifty-three competitors are duking it out in Brawlopolis, the only city you'll find on this side of the timestream in which no one has ever lived! And that's not even counting those Office Workers I saw pouring in earlier. You might think you remember the stars of our show, but for our opening act, you're in for a refresher!

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I've allowed our Brawlers the freedom to explore southern Brawlopolis to get to know the city, and it's time for you viewers at home to do the same! To set the stage for our main event, we're visiting all of our Brawlers to see where they've settled down, who they've met, and what they're planning!

Handcuff your hats and nail down your socks! Your whirlwind tour of Brawlopolis starts now! First stop! There's a mystery afoot in the construction lot! Just who is our enigmatic Mystery Brawler?


"Gee, they sure left a mess behind here. Good thing we're here to get it cleaned up. Maybe they'll hire us for the next event!"

In the shadow of a tower of exposed steel girders and scaffolding, Green Bin hums a jaunty tune as he vacuums up scattered nails, wood dust, concrete debris, and a whole host of small metal scraps littering the fenced-in lot.

Blue Bin, hoovering alongside him, casts a wary gaze up at the top of that skyscraper-to-be. "You don't think that guy's the one who made the mess, do you? He looks pretty tough, but if he did this…"

Green Bin ponders the question briefly, turning his gaze up to the same point - to the figure seated cross-legged upon the girders above, his eyes fixed upon the book in his hands. Hey! Red guy! Did you make this mess?"

Metal Knuckles, the Mystery Brawler, doesn't so much as peel his eyes off of his tome. "I only just got into the arena. I do not have time to make messes because I only want to read."

"I think it would take way more people to make a mess this big," Blue Bin muses, a bit relieved to not have to pick a fight with the stranger right away.

"Quick! Come here! I knew I saw something sneaking around!" A call from Red Bin, the final member of the Bin Brothers, spurs the other two to set aside their vacuuming and rush over to the base of the tower. As Red Bin points, the trio peer into the darkness of the foundations, finding…

…nothing. Red Bin grumbles as his brothers regard him quizzically, but deep in the darkness, shrouded by shadow, Scaran lays quiet and flat against the ground as it peers back out at the Bins. This place was filled with scrap metals; had they not shown up, it could have snacked freely.

Yet the Bins are here, and that being the case, Scaran sizes them up from its hiding spot. They look to be a pretty good snack themselves, individually small and rounded and easy to take down, but they have an advantage of numbers. The blue one looks weaker, glancing warily, sticking close to the others… Perhaps if that one can be isolated and snatched away…

Unable to see anything and having much more to clean up, the Bin Bros. give up on their search, returning to their vacuuming. The sounds of their work disguise the rattling of the covered chain-link fence enclosing the lot, preventing them from noticing the figure slipping through a small hole…

Meldspar's racing heart shifts to a lower gear as they make it beyond the boundary of the construction site once again. It had seemed all but certain that the Bin had spotted them, but perhaps they had made it out unscathed… Breathing again, they take their bottle of pilfered sand and gravel and step into the nearby street, pouring the materials into their hands.

Free to work at their own pace, Meldspar incorporates the material into the magical circle of sand sprawling across the asphalt. For whatever reason, this construction lot was rich in Telluric power, so much so that it practically radiated from the earth within the fence. If they could get exclusive access to this cache of power, they could perhaps control this whole Brawl…

But gaining exclusive control over such power will not come easily. Dislodging the Bin Brothers, the well-read interloper, and the beast which had taken residence, that is a tall order. The Treasurer had recognized that much, and, so, they had struck a grand bargain. So long as that duo of clowns came through, they would have the site to themself!

And if the clowns were to renege on their word, or to fail in their mission? Why, then, it would only be a matter of warping somewhere else with this magic circle already completed! Oh, yes, whatever the outcome of the battle for the construction lot, Meldspar would come out on top!

Assured of success, Meldspar takes a glance at their pouch, briefly considering rendering themself invisible. Deciding to save the materials required for the actual battle, they tuck it away, tiptoeing back to the fenceline…


Across town, amidst the greenery of the sprawling city park, a cat sits high in a tree branch.

"Well, chum? Are you able to see any portent of its arrival?" From down below, Boo1268 hollers up at his ally.

"Nope. Nothing," Cosmo Neko replies, a bit glumly. It had been worth a try, but not finding anything was still disappointing.

"Unfortunate, but these things happen from time to time. I shall retrieve you. Specture, please continue to guard Pyrokles until I return."

While the top-hatted Boo floats up to bring Cosmo down, his Dry Bones companion Specture Striker keeps a watchful eye on Pyrokles' 6 o'clock. With his own skeletal companion, Kroop, held in the palm of his hand to guard against a surprise frontal assault Pyro freely plucks leaves and berries from the trees, tucking them under his hat for later use in his anti-logical spells.

The group had gathered to-

"Ahem. If you don't mind, I'll pick it up from here," chimes in the disembodied voice of the Explainer. "You see, Cosmo Neko and Boo1268 are well-acquainted, having even traveled to Autumn Heights together. Their familiarity brought them together as allies. With Boo1268's magical expertise and Cosmo Neko's psychic abilities, they sought out Pyro as an ally who could add a complementary but distinct power to their team."

Yes, yes, thank you, Explainer. Once gathered, the alliance had made their way to the park in search of one particular foe which ignited their interest - The Stallion. Antilogician, magician, and travel guide writer, they had each seen their fair share of extraordinary, logic-defying creatures, and the prospect of battling against the mysterious beast which struck fear in others had enticed them to seek it out in the (relatively) dense foliage of the park.

Unbeknownst to them, below their feet, The Stallion lurks in the earth, gliding through the dirt with all the grace of a 3D model with no animations yet implemented as its hidden masters assess the opposition.

And the anomalous horse isn't even the only slippery opponent lurking within the greenery! Leaves rustle as a man crawls through the bushes, Shia LeBeouf setting down his signature bear traps and licking his lips as he steals glances at the blue cat and the robed Magikoopa, his restless mind at ease…

…but definitely not normal.


A ways to the east, an alliance treks through the dim hallways of a grand museum, carefully stepping over debris and damaged artifacts. This once-opulent building had been ravaged and plunged into darkness by something, that much is clear, but why they've followed that something here, well…

"Just a question, doc. Why are we here again?" Taking in the damage of the hallway, Satoru Fujinuma breaks the silence, pitching his question to the man leading the way - Dr. Alexander Wexlyn.

An answer comes not from the psychologist, however, but from the plush rabbit on his own shoulder, Enby addressing not just him, but the whole group. "When we entered this arena, powerful magical forces emanated from this museum. Their signatures have fallen off rapidly, overwhelmed by a chaotic force. And a familiar one, at that."

"I originally brought us here so we could scavenge whatever enchanted artifacts were here, haha," Wexlyn chimes in, realizing he had neglected to explain his path to the rest of the alliance. "When Enby warned me the signatures were shifting, though, I decided we should scout this place out. I thought someone might be neutralizing the magic here, but considering the damage, this looks more like a siphoning job to me. Whoever's here, they're dangerous, and it's to our benefit to figure out exactly how they operate before they can get the drop on us."

Walking alongside Satoru, Michele nods in agreement with the plan. Paces behind the cat, Hekki offers a half-hearted nod, shuddering some as her eyes flash cyan. "Eeesh… Whatever's lurking around here, I'd hate to be caught by it. It sure has made this place oppressive…"

"Nothing's getting the jump on us," Vector chimes in from the rear, offering a reassuring pat on the back as he stands tall, a mighty protector of his teammates.

Undeterred by the darkness or the hostile magicks lingering in the air, the group presses on, but high above, on the uppermost floor, a snaking coil of cubes wrapped around an orrery finishes draining the model of its protective power. Uncurling itself from the depleted device, MBKube finds peace for but a moment, distortions in the Astral Plane somewhere below it rippling outwards, growing louder as they approach…


Elsewhere, just south of the bridge, a hairy creature and five businessmen trapped in the body of a single teeneager stare each other down in a tense confrontation.

"We'll agree to your terms with two conditions in place. One, you must recognize our exclusive broadcast rights over this event and any others which our alliance may produce, and, two, you must never use your abilities to rig, alter, or otherwise interfere with the outcomes of the wheel," Bhigwhig puts forward.

Internally, the members of The Quantum Five hold a conference to reach a decision. On the one hand, to not use their abilities to force the wheel to consistently produce beneficial outcomes seems like such a waste of a useful tool. On the other hand, to gain an ally as powerful and unpredictable as Teller Vision, removing him as an opponent while surrendering so little… Why, that's a steal that can't be passed up!

Speaking with Gansley's voice, The Quantum Five reach out Tristan's hand, "We'll accept those terms, gentlemen, so long as you reaffirm your commitment to not expose the contents of our associate's box."

"Deal," Bhigwhig responds, taking Tristan's hand as the negotiators shake on their settlement.

With Box Guy taking a hand off his box to flash a thumbs-up at his partner, Teller Vision gives the newly-united group a grin and snaps his fingers. GREAT, WE'VE GOT A PRODUCTION CREW. OH BOY, THE SHOWS WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PUT ON. NOW FOLLOW ME, WHIGGY! THOSE OFFICE WORKERS SHOULD JUST ABOUT BE IN THE AREA."

A new alliance secured, Teller Vision and Bhigwhig march off to meet up with the Office Workers hauling the wheel, leaving Box Guy and The Quantum Five to their own devices for now.

Peering over the edge of an overpass to watch the scene, but not near enough to hear what had happened, Monokuma cackles with delight. Puhuhuhu! They're already breaking off! Ohhh, egoists like that tv-headed wannabe and those future-bound businessmen can't even cooperate to save their lives! It just warms my fuzzy little heart to see them going their separate ways!

"If they can't maintain their alliances, what challenge is there for us?" Rolling his eyes, Izuru Kamukaru sits with his back to the scene, sitting and leaning back on the overpass guardrail.

There'll be challenge. They can't compare to me, the smartest, cutest, toughest bear to ever exist, but fights against them aren't going to be a bore. Check out the money men down here! They've got quantum powers you've never faced before! Go after them and you'll be battling across timelines! Won't it be great when despair fills that hair-gel-shortage-causing teenage face when they realize we've got them beat in every timeline!"
"Hmm… You say they can manipulate probabilities, then?" At that thought, Izuru takes notice, rising up onto his feet and turning around, taking a peek over the railing…


A ways east, on the edge of the public square at the center of a large commercial district, another alliance has…

…stopped for lunch?

"Stew's almost ready, everyone!" Kneeling down over a pot and burner scavenged from a nearby camping store, Brock stirs up a steaming meal, various granola bars, a marshmallow bag, and other camper-friendly treats scattered around him.

"Goodness me! Why, should I ever find myself engaged in temporal misconduct, I shall have to ensure I can evade you as a baseline! Dorohohohackough!"

"Verily! You may possess fortune enough to evade agents of less renown, but raise hand or wisp of mist against the temporal order, and you shall be apprehended by Donna Quiñones invariably!"

Sharing a glass of tea as they wait for lunch, Donna Quiñones and Wheezlie S. Puff swap stories of their occupations, joined in their spot of tea by a quiet Tuxedo Mask. Between tales, the masked hero occasionally stares off to the west, something out that way causing him consternation enough for him to scrunch his face behind his mask.

Offering fewer words than even Tuxedo Mask and looking forward to a meal, Timothy crawls to Brock with serving bowls balanced precariously on his shell. The chef takes the dishes gratefully, lunch preparations proceeding quite smoothly up until a flash of light captures the group's attention.

The flash fading, all eyes fall upon the new rift opened just behind Brock, eyes darting to Donna as out of the portal emerges another Donna! Compared to the Donna sipping on tea, this Donna looks rather more banged-up, having some noticeably fresh wounds raked across her face, as if someone has clawed her across the nose. "Do not be concerned over my intrusion. I will depart in a moment," she says cheerfully as she waves at her allies, quickly grabbing up the group's only bag of marshmallows and leaping back into the rift behind her.

With the closure of the rift, the group return to their tea, and Brock distributes the stew, the alliance building their strength before the battle to come.


A fine thing they're gathering their energy it is, too, for across the square, another alliance puts them in their sights.

"Right, those two are just who you thought. She's accused of exceeding her authority as a temporal agent and violating the operation of legitimate experiments, and he's got a trail of complaints behind him a mile wide," Kooshigo confirms, tapping away on a cheap tablet.

"Then we'll make it our first priority to take them down." Koohitsu narrows her eyes as she looks upon the alliance, no love lost for the wealthy Puff or the well-off agent. "If we're drawn into another fight or lose their trail, they can go, but they're at the top of our list until then."

"Count me in!" Kay Faraday, steps up with a sweeping thumbs-up, grinning. "Exposing corruption, revealing the truth, in these ways the Great Thief Yatagarasu pierces the world's blight! And today, the Yatagarasu stands on three legs. So, what's the plan for the ambush?"

"Well…" Kooshigo lowers his tablet to look across the square, noting out of the corner of his eye an odd form on the periphery. He immediately curls his beak as he looks at the figure, before straightening his face so as not to alarm Koohitsu. Looming nearby, laid out on the ground and attracting buzzing flies, the Grande Cavalli watches both of the alliances in the commercial district.

"...let's take the streets around the square and ambush them from behind," the Koopa says after a moment, deciding his alliance ought to give the revolting horse a wide berth, especially for Koohitsu's sake.


Far to the south, south even of the museum, a small alliance gathers in the alleyways embedded in a sea of residential buildings and small businesses.

"It's even worse than I thought!" Fearless Fosdick exclaims as he observes a distant alliance through binoculars. "The chief was right to be concerned about this getting out of hand. They're forming a citizen's militia over there!"

Seated next to him with Huepow resting on his head, Klonoa pounds his fist into his palm. "We'll help you however we can, officer Fosdick!"

"If you need the help, I can access that robotic cat's memory to check for video recordings you can submit as evidence," Tails chimes in, standing on Fosdick's other side.

"Oooor, we could puppet the brooding guy who's with the cat and use his body to bring their group down from the inside out," Fearless Fosdick ventures, standing behind Fearless Fosdick. Tails and Klonoa turn to the disguised Bunny Ditto, staring at her blankly as she shrugs her shoulders and crosses her arms, rolling her eyes at the lack of enthusiasm.

"An infiltration, hmm?" The real Fearless Fosdick gives the proposal consideration, at least. "Not a bad idea, but we'll need to tail them first to see if they remain a unit."


But just what group is this alliance watching?

Well, "militia" might be stretching it, but with its headcount and the number of guns it has, the alliance Zhen has forged is a force to be reckoned with.

Standing guard at the rear is a PI in a trenchcoat and Dexter Hexley - though underneath their disguises, they're truly Agent 47 and Agent 30, respectively. Neither agent had really committed to this alliance; rather, this was an alliance of convenience for them. Zhen possessed good intel, Agent 30 had an in through Shmaisy, and in their line of work, a mission rarely got underway without a thorough briefing. So it is that the duo stands here in the south awaiting Zhen's orders and watching the backstreets for dangers, both itching to break away and start their competition in earnest.

Milling about around the agents, Arle and Shmaisy chat up Cayde Shilen and Polly Geist. While the rambunctious agent of chaos shows off her flight to Cayde, Cayde in turn shows off one of her powerful kicks. Meanwhile, Shmaisy gets a long look at DeMorge's cane courtesy of Polly, a rapport already established..

All the while, at the head of the group, a strategy meeting ensues. Dexter Hexley, Spooks the Magical Cat (™), and Zhen huddle around a map scraped out on the pavement with a rock, Mizzlebip soon quietly sliding up to them.

what's the word from the bridge?

Mizzlebip shakes her head with sorrowful eyes, miming a crescent shape with her hands before splaying out her fingers and exposing both palms. 😞 🍌 👐 ⛔

damn. that's fine we didn't want the bridge anyway. too many groups will go for it right away. Picking up a rock, Zhen scratches out a big X over the line representing the bridge in her map, making for a sixth such X on the map, joining one in the museum, one in the harbor, one in the construction site, one in the park, and one in the commercial district.

going west has us squeezed between three of the big threats and we'll have to fight through the bridge. we're going east to the construction site then swing north to the harbor.

"Hey, clown, you have paint in your eyes or something?" At that assertion, Dexter jumps into the conversation. "There's a huge "X" right in the construction site. We go there and we gotta do two huge fights to get a boat. Why don't we take the wide open stretch of road between the museum and construction site?"

At that suggestion, Mizzlebip rolls her eyes. 🙄

i see what you're seeing but that won't work, Zhen fires back, dragging her foot across the map to demonstrate her point. we go up that route and we're squeezed on both sides by three of the big threats. the cubes could come rushing out at our left flank while we're marching. or the big robot could dart out and pick us off on our right flank. there's no path we can avoid these guys, so we're best off meeting the robot head-on.

"...I guess that adds up," Dexter relents, rubbing the back of his head as he stares at the map, "but this plan's not off the hook yet. Say we clear the construction site, how do we know someone doesn't come up on our rear as we're marching out exhausted? And for that matter, how are we taking on another one of these so-called big threats if we're exhausted from battle one?"

covered. i struck a deal with some sand wizard. we leave the construction site to them and they'll protect our rear. harbor guy should be a pushover for this crew. then we're the first ones in the north and we can dig in a defensive encampment.

[Agent Designation - Dexter], [Ally Designation - Zhen] is accurate in her assessment. The anomaly in the harbor, [BPI-TEMP-9: Mad Doctor's Abomination], is a blue class anomaly, a lower threat level than many anomalies we have confronted in the past. Even so, as the designated safety officer of this alliance, I must recommend proper precautions and a rest between confrontations. Even a blue class anomaly can be dangerous if proper protocols are not followed.

Dexter ponders the map further, but despite his efforts to look contemplative, Zhen can tell he's out of objections. A firm strategy in mind, she surveys her troops, thinking up a speech to spur them to action soon. With all the massive technological and magical threats in this fight, the little guys like them hardly seemed to have a chance, but they'd prove conventional wisdom wrong. By joining forces under her banner, they'd topple all of those big threats and mop up any little ones, too.


Yes indeed, Zhen's group is aiming for the north side of the city early, but there are only two immediately apparent ways to get across that wide river without burning through a lot of stamina - and neither crossing the bridge nor taking a boat from the harbor will be easy.

Positioned on the bridge, Banana Man shimmies and boogies as he waits for his Mechanical Hands to charge. With his hands just barely better than completely drained, all he can do to amuse himself is scry, peeking around the battlefield and watching all of his opponents prepare themselves.

Over at the harbor, a furious Big Eeelser Generboom V2 knocks away a full shipping container with its ever-flailing arms. Letting out a pained roar, it crunches its maw around a forklift, munching on its metal frame in vain hope of relieving its tooth pain.



HAAHOHAAHO! That's everyone! The stage is set, the techs are at the curtain's rope, the lights are ready, but there's one more piece to this show, and we can't start without it!

What is it, you ask? Why, it's you! You have your refresher on who is duking it out for ever-lasting fame and fortune, so pop the corn and pack those stands! Soon, the Mario Boards Mega Brawl 2 begins!
 
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As Dark Forces Shower the land friends and foes join hand and hand will they all fight as a merry band? Or will they all eventually disband with their hopes high and spirits bright our contestants come together for a Fearsome fight! Will they join Together or embrace the fall? LETS FIND OUT IN THE MARIO BOARDS MEGABRAWL!
 
Meanwhile, somewhere nearby, a duo settles in to watch... from the irresponsible vantage point of a rooftop very close to the battlefield.

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"Did we make it on time?"
"Don't know. Does it matter?"
"Maybe. I heard them say something about popcorn!"
"At least that's something worth coming here for!"
"DOHOHOHO!"

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"So, who do you think is going to win?"
"Why should I know? I don't even remember who's competing!"
"DOHOHOHO!"
 
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Part 1

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MEGA BRAWLERS, BEGIN!​

Corey's command resounds throughout the city, and scuffles long-delayed immediately get underway. Sensing the most hesitation and weakness in Blue Bin, Scaran lifts a nearby cement mixer as the Bin Bros. form up around it. As it swishes the mixer with the ease of a bucket of water, globs of wet cement fly out towards Blue Bin, the cautious canister leaping back and retracting his vacuum to prevent cement from gumming it up. Even as Blue Bin falters, Green and Red give Scaran no room to maneuver. Green pelts him with vacuumed sand, figuring any machine can have its lubrication worn down, while Red expels a barrage of nails, not even managing to scrape Scaran's amorphous form with them.

Perched on the scaffolding looming large over the construction site, Metal Knuckles turns another page of his blue-bound book, allowing neither the battle of the Bin Bros. nor Meldspar's slinking around and gathering sand into their pack to draw his attention away from reading.

To the northwest, Wexlyn's alliance hits the ground at Vector's call. While Hekki dissolves into the shadows and Enby leaps up high,Wexlyn and Satoru, feel a gust blow right overtop of them as a giant fist composed of cubes zooms down the hallway. Up to their feet they spring, rejoined by Hekki as they pursue Enby, already hopping in pursuit of MBKube as Michele fades back into view atop the giant fist.

Further north, bathed in the light of towering billboards, one alliance splits already as Tuxedo Mask and Brock run off to the west, leaving Donna, Wheezlie, and Timothy to venture forward alone. The Puff and the Temporal Agent stroll into the wide open square with breeziness usually reserved for a mid-weekend walk. They show little concern as they pass by an array of storefronts and posters proclaiming great deals, but Timothy shares not in their relaxed attitude, growing increasingly concerned and lagging behind his allies as he peers into the storefronts and finds them devoid of any products…

"Ack!" Donna reels as a thrown mannequin head konks her in the face, Wheezlie turning in concern to search for her assailant and gasping in shock as the storefronts around them fade away. Behind the fading storefronts, an alternate set comes into view, this time properly showcasing products in their display windows, and Kay Faraday, laughs from atop a flagpole as she shuts down her Little Thief. Looking to make the most out of their ambush, Kooshigo and Koohitsu emerge from a department store, Koohitsu already hopping atop her brother's shoulders. Blowing out a toxic fog, Wheezlie quickly conceals his alliance, forcing the Koopa twins to stumble as they quickly abort a maneuver that would send Koohitsu right into a poison..

Kooshigo shoots a glance to Kay, working out that she should be able to guide them with her better vantage point, only to find his arm in Koohitsu's grasp as she forcibly whirls him around. A curled-up Timothy, rolling around at less-than-the-speed-of-sound as he blasts out of the cloud, sharply bounces off of Kooshigo's shell.

This time, it's Koohitsu who looks up to Kay for a signal, only to instead find Kay leaping down at her, lashing out with a backhand. Koohitsu ducks her head into her shell and Kay's strike passes harmlessly overhead while the Koopa sweeps Kay's legs out from under her with a swift kick. Down Kay drops, prevented from crumbling only by each of the Koopa twins grabbing her by an arm. Realizing something is amiss, they beat a retreat and drag her back towards the eastern edge of the commercial district, the toxic cloud clearing out to reveal the Grande Cavalli, its influence over Kay fading as the alliance retreats.

All the while, far to the south, Zhen's army marches onwards towards the construction site. Zhen and Mizzlebip take point, Polly Geist behind them alongside Agent 47, currently clad in a trench coat in the style of Shmaisy. In the center of the group sits Spooks, the rear of the most analytical and least-physically capable of the lot guarded by Cayde, Shmaisy, and Chaos Arle. A second Zhen at the back of the group, accompanied by Dexter Hexley, glances over her shoulder as she and the paranormal investigator keep an eye out for threats from the rear…

The disguised Agent 30's eyes dart towards an alley, and his finger comes to roost on the trigger of his gun. He pauses for but a moment, falling back in line as the group marches forward, but not without giving the side streets and alleyways extra glances as they move past.

In the shadows of those alleyways, watching the targets they're tailing march away, Klonoa gates Fearless Fodsick's path forward, the officer eager to make an arrest, but Klonoa and Huepow silently urging waiting until they have the element of surprise. Shrugging her shoulders and rolling her eyes, Bunny Ditto, stuck behind the two of them, transforms herself into Zhen for amusement.

Further yet to the west, Pyro's alliance wanders through bushes and flutters through rows of trees. Cosmo Neko ventures the furthest out, burrowing underneath a dense tangle of wild grasses, ears twitching as he listens for spectral stomping. Pyro, hoping to reduce the cover behind which their enemy can hide, takes the liberty of turning a trunk transparent in a magnificent demonstration of skill… only for Pyro and the Explainer to point out that it would take hours to repeat the trick on all the trees, and just fanning out would be more efficient.

While Specture Striker cuts through some bushes with his scythe, Boo1268 floats upwards for an aerial view, hovering and revolving to get a 360° view of the park. Thinking he's seeing everything, he's taken aback when an echoing neigh roars out from the one place he isn't looking - above him. The Stallion brings its hoof crashing down on the Boo, knocking his top hat off and shoving him down to the earth, where he bounces right through Specture Striker, reducing him to a pile of bones. Hearing the commotion, Pyro and Cosmo turn to respond, but by the time they look upon the dazed Boo and reforming Dry Bones, the slippery equine has already vanished.

Sighing, Cosmo presses onwards through the grasses until a sharp schwing forces him to jump, fur bristling and tail waving in the air as he yelps! Backing away from the sprung bear trap, he whirls around as he hears Kroop's fire crackling, the old skull shooting a fireball as an axe-wielding Shia Labeouf leaps out from the hollow of a tree, running on all fours with his tongue hanging from his mouth.

North of the park, over the river splitting Brawlopolis in two, Banana Man, growing tired of watching Big Eelser Generboom V2 gnawing on shipping containers and wailing in pain, turns his scrying elsewhere. Hearing gunshots at the end of the bridge, he decides to tune to a certain bear's unofficial show, the battle already unfolding there far more interesting than the abomination in the harbor…

"But you don't care about them, do you? Alliances! Comrades-in-arms! Pah! It's a bunch of boo-hoo glurge selling tickets to Saving Private Mizzle sentimental crap! Puhuhu, why don't you swing further north to where the road meets the bridge and see an alliance crumble in the face of ultimate despair! Puhuhuhuhu!!"

In the shadow of the bridge, the Quantum Five and Box Guy struggle, backed to the water's edge by an unrelenting hail of gunfire from Monokuma. Box Guy cowers behind the engine block of a disabled automobile. His telekinetically-thrown summoned boxes immediately fall as Monokuma's sweeping spray riddles them with bullets.

Pinned down, the Quantum Five conference behind one of the bridge's supporting pillars.

"Gentlemen," Gansley announces, a dialogue occurring within Tristan's body, "we must enact a plan quickly, or our chances of succeeding will continue to grow vanishingly unlikely."

"I've run the numbers again, and only in seventy-two percent of our possible paths do we go without taking a gunshot wound within the next twenty seconds," Nesbitt adds. "We cannot delay."

"But can't we? The odds still favor our survival in that span of time, and only in under five percent of the timelines available to us are we assaulted in this position. Every second of planning ensures we take the best approach."

"A good point. Crump, your thoughts?"

"You old men rely too heavily on probabilities," comes a reply, Tristan jolting back as Izuru Kamukura rounds the corner and throws a right hook that pounds his face. Taking advantage of the group's shock, Izuru puts his proficiency in Neo-Aikido martial arts to good use, striking Tristan's chest with his foot and kicking the businessmen within out into the open. Such a predictable bunch. As long as the probability of danger was low enough, they'd never take proper precautions. Still…

…as Tristan groans and rolls onto his side, the Quantum Five narrowly avoid taking a bullet, one falling just short of striking them and the other grazing their sleeve. Even the slightest movement in either direction, and they would have been hit, Izuru notes. At least Monokuma had chosen targets who made this an actual challenge…

"Puhuhuhu! Dance, dance, dance! So many stuffy hours in the boardroom. Capitalism poured out of the mouths of old men, dollars spewed like the blood of workers ground in the cogs of the great machines! Now it's your blood dropping to the ground like lost pennies!" With the Quantum Five springing back up and running about exposed on the beach, Monokuma titters with glee as he changes out his machine gun's magazine, grinning devilishly as he sets his sights on his target, raises the weapon, and…

…feels some kind of… flower… hit the back of his head? He whirls around, his gaze running up a bronze sculpture of an open palm as he finds his assailant posing dramatically.

"You wield your power only to bring despair, Monokuma. Big mistake," Tuxedo Mask announces with his cape flowing in the breeze. Even Izuru steps out from behind the bridge support and onto the beach to see the scene, curious as to what caused Monokuma to stop firing. As the Quantum Five catch their collective breath and Box Guy peers out from his shelter, an onigiri flies across the beach.

"Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut!" Brock cries out, running down the beach and watching his onigiri fly towards Izuru, on a trajectory to plow into the high schooler's face as everyone looks on in confusion.

Izuru's hand shoots up, plucking the treat right out of the air, sticky rice falling between his fingers as he crushes the onigiri. The mud of the shoreline gains new tracks as Brock skids to a stop, suddenly shrinking back as Izuru hits him with an unamused glare. "Everything beats it," Izuru responds flatly, nobody in the confrontation quite sure of the next move to make after such an awkward display…

…until gunfire echoes over the river again, all eyes falling on Monokuma as the bear unhesitatingly pumps a boatload of lead into Tuxedo Mask. The masked hero crumples as bullets rip through his body, legs faltering on him as he slips off the statue and lands in a heap on the ground.

"My… my work here…" Battling unconsciousness, he struggles to lift his head and Monokuma approaches, the bear lowering his gun as he pulls back his arm…

TUXEDO MASK, KO!​

"Was nothing but a waste," Monokuma finishes, fist glowing as with spiraling blue and white steaks as he rushes forward and delivers a megapunch that sends the injured Tuxedo Mask flying off into the sky, disappearing as a twinkle on the horizon.

"He blasted off!" Brock looks on in shock before turning and making a break for it, fleeing the scene as he realizes he's-.

"-definitely outmatched here. yadda yadda, yeah yeah! Point is, while the spiky-haired simp runs, Izuru backs off from his fight while I open fire again on those Quantum Five guys burger and fries! Ohhh, you should see them running to and fro on the beach in that borrowed body, watching the futures where they can avoid my gunfire shrinking and shrinking. Of course I'm dragging it out. It's no fun if they're blown to bits right away! They need the realization that the timelines are closing in arou-"

"AROUND THE WANNABE THIEF WHO'S TRYING TO STEAL MY HOSTING GIG, WHO STOPS HIS FIRING AGAIN AS HE REALIZES THERE'S ANOTHER NEW VOICE ON THE SCENE BEHIND HIM."

His hijacked hosting in turn hijacked, an irate Monokuma whirls around and casts his gaze down the street, chuckling as he comes face-to-face again with a pair of old foes - Teller Vision and Bhigwhig.

"You will note that the terms of this competition grant exclusive broadcast rights to Teller," Bhigwhig says dryly, stepping aside as Monokuma charges at him with another send-'em-flying blow, letting the irritated bear crash into the wall of anonymous Office Workers standing behind him. The Office Workers collapse like a row of dominoes, but Monokuma pays no heed to the falling transport crew, leaving them to push themselves back up as he turns on his heels to find Bhigwhig bearing down upon him. The executive thrusts his arms out, seizing the bear as the distinctive clicking of a mini-wheel whirs to life, a constrained Monokuma eyeing Teller nervously.

The wheel lands on a panel depicting high winds, and a vortex collapses in front of Teller as Monokuma deploys his claws, giving Bhigwhig an impromptu shave as he slashes through the executive's suit and forces him to stagger back. Trying to seize on the momentum, he drops to the ground, sliding beneath Teller's vortex and slashing at the cables that lash out of Teller. His cords cut, Teller also finds himself staggering back, grimacing as the bear gains an upper hand.

While Bhigwhig busts out a mini-wheel of his own to help Teller, Izuru mulls over his stake in the fight on the beach. An overturned box falls on his head, plunging Izuru into darkness, but he merely responds by launching into a backflip, all at once letting the box slide off his head and dodging the Quantum Five's sweeping kick. While the Quantum Five stumble, he reverses his momentum, switching from a backflip right into a side-rolling cartwheel to knock Tristan's head back with a kick to the chin. Deciding that these opponents are far more interesting, he leaves Monokuma to deal with Teller and Bhigwhig alone as he doubles down on his offensive against the Quantum Five.

The Quantum Five brace for the impact, and as Izuru's foot crashes down, Crump is the first to cry out. The businessmen all collect themselves, finding Izuru stumbling mid-stomp, actually falling backwards as a can rolls off of his head.

The confused Ultimate Everything picks up the can, noting the warmth of its contents. Unable to fathom how something unanticipated could have interrupted him, he brushes away the mud and reads the logo: Squirt.

Crushing the Warmn Squirt in his hand, its sticky contents spilling between his fingers, the pieces connect in his mind. That banana was interfering from the bridge… Spaghetti splatters against his head as he tries to rise back up to his feet, sauce splattering against his eyes. Taking advantage of Izuru's distraction, the Quantum Five spring up and knock him back into the mud with a shoulder check, leaving Izuru stuck in a quagmire.

Over with Monokuma, though, the Ultimate Analyst fares better than his teenaged ally! Knowing the tricks of their mini-wheels and hair and wires, he keeps bearing down upon Teller and Bhigwhig with his claws, practically daring them to break out the unreliable mini-wheels. A scratch marring his screen as he lingers on Monokuma's periphery, Teller sneers as he retreats out of sight, leaving the bear facing off against only Bhigwig.

"TV traitors turn tail to tread truer trails. I've seen enough of you two since your pitiful game to know he'd abandon you the moment things looked grim," Monokuma laughs, gleefully rubbing his hands together as a hard-pressed Bhigwhig finally brings out another mini-wheel. Reaching into a hidden compartment on his body, the bear procures a pistol, taking aim as Bhigwhig spins the mini-wheel, spinning round and round and round…

But it's the sound of a much larger wheel spinning round which forces Monokuma to pause. Tearing his vision from Bhigwhig, Monokuma looks into the distance to find Teller standing next to his wheel with a grin on his face. Before the bear can react, the wheel slows, and its unpredictable chaotic powers open up a yawning antlion pit underneath Monokuma.

Actually caught by surprise, the bear claws at the collapsing sides of the pit, trying desperately to find some purchase to drag himself out, but the mud and sand rush downwards in a slurry, Monokuma slipping further and further down. The coup de grace comes from behind, as a muddy Izuru, slammed by a banana cream pie to the face and tripping over a box at his feet, finds himself tackled into the pit by the Quantum Five.

Over the edge of the pit Izuru tumbles, slamming into the struggling Monokuma and dragging the bear down with him. Into the hole at the bottom do the Ultimate Analyst and Ultimate Everything fall, disappearing from view altogether, thoroughly eliminated by the randomness and chaos of Teller's wheel.

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"THAT'S A WRAP", Teller announces, fixing up his tie as his alliance regroups and recuperates. "THE ACTION IS SLOWING DOWN HERE, AND WE CAN'T BORE THE FANS, SO OVER TO YOU TO TAKE US SOMEWHERE MORE EXCITING, COREY."

Far to the southeast, fate has already intervened to prove that the best-laid plans of mice and Jubilites often go awry. A gunshot ricochets off an alleyway dumpster as Fearless Fosdick turns a corner, the police officer adopting a policy of shooting first and looking later. Finding nobody down the alleyway, Fosdick wanders into the darkness, finding himself at a dead-end as he comes upon a chain-link fence erected across the length of the path. "By lady justice herself! A classic crook's trick! Slipping into a building and letting the officer of the law step into the alleway so you can come out and corner him! Unfortunately for you, criminal, I'm wise to your games!" Flipping around, Fosdick fires off another shot down the alley, his bullet flying into the street and squarely hitting exactly nobody. As Fosdick looks on in disbelief, the dented dumpster in the alley rumbles, Zhen - truly Agent 30 in disguise - throwing open the lid and leaping at Fosdick. He quickly disables the officer by smacking his gun out of his hand and locks Fosdick into a chokehold.

As the officer's face goes red and tinges with violet, Zhen's backup steps into view at the end of the alley, with Shmaisy, Cayde, and Chaos Arle all blocking Fosdick's one route of escape while protecting Agent 30 from getting boxed-in himself. Upon realizing that they were being pursued, the real Zhen had dispatched this contingent of her army to mop up a potential threat, and as Fosdick's vision fades, they sure seem poised to do that!

"Fosdiiiiick!" The officer's hand shoots up at the sound of a voice, Fosdick using what little breath he has left to grab Tails' hand as the flying fox swoops in and wrests Fosdick from Agent 30's slackening grasp. While Tails struggles to carry the heavy officer to a nearby rooftop, Chaos Arle wreaths herself in chaotic energies and rockets into the air, zooming towards Tails but finding herself intercepted by a whirlwind sent out from the rooftop. As the winds batter Arle, she spots Klonoa at the roof's edge, inflating an empty planter plot and hucking it at her disoriented foe, Arle plummeting to the ground and left pinned under the pot as she begins to corrupt it.

While Tails lands safely, giving Fosdick a chance to recuperate, Shmaisy breaks formation to run over to Arle, leaving Cayde guarding the alley alone. The blonde-haired woman breathes a sigh of relief as Zhen sidles up to her from the street… and almost immediately doubletakes as she looks over her shoulder at the Zhen in the alley. Before she can react to the deception, the street Zhen reshapes herself into Shmaisy, cigarette included, and blows a puff of smoke into Cayde's face to distract her.

Tails and Fosdick beat a hasty retreat as Agent 30 begins climbing a gutter pipe, while Shmaisy helps Arle to her feet as the duo toss away a corrupted planter now crackling with chaos energy. Bunny Ditto, leaving Cayde behind to hack and rub her stinging eyes, rushes the pair, now in Chaos Arle's body and hucking corrupted wadded-up newspapers. The chaotic projectiles don't do much to the real Arle, but they sure do sting as they batter Shmaisy, chaos beginning to cloud the detective's mind. Her impulsiveness coming in handy for once, Chaos Arle concentrates her chaotic energies in front of her, ripping open a chaos portal to who-knows-where, Bunny Ditto's projectiles sailing harmlessly into the clashing void.

"Not a bad move," Shmaisy says, nodding approvingly. Chaos Arle proudly puts her hands on her hips and puffs out her chest as her maneuver frustrates Bunny Ditto's efforts. "We're losing the advantage here. Our best course of action is a ret-"

Over Shmaisy's attempts at strategizing, a proud Arle soars into the air once again, this time streaking towards the roof-bound Klonoa with an outstretched fist. The hero of Pi'illo Island leaps right off the rooftop, his ears flapping as he glides above Arle's trajectory, the young agent of chaos' eyes widening as she misses her opponent. Flying fast, she has no chance to stop and reverse course, but the slow-gliding Klonoa sure does, making an aerial u-turn. Seeing what's happening from the ground, Shmaisy tries to intervene by blowing a big puff of smoke at Klonoa, but Klonoa raises his wind ring to blow it right back.

Below, Cayde grapples with Bunny Ditto and Shmaisy struggles to dispel the choking smoke, and above, Klonoa gets a lock on Arle just as the chaos-infused girl manages to bring herself to a stop. As Klonoa raises his ring, Huepow shoots out and slams into Chaos Arle. She drops to the rooftop, and Huepow descends upon her like a falling meteorite, knocking her out with a full-force body-blow.

ARLE, KO!​

"Arle!" Shmaisy's stoic demeanor slips as she fans away the last of the lingering smoke, the detective crying out as she watches Huepow return to Klonoa's wind ring for his own safety. She quickly takes stock of the situation. Fosdick, Tails, and Agent 30 are nowhere to be seen, she notes, and Bunny Ditto has Cayde pushed up against a townhouse stoop. With Klonoa and Huepow gliding overhead, things look grim…

…but she still has to try something, doesn't she? Wisely or not, Arle wouldn't have retreated, and if she broke away now, who could say she would have another chance to avenge her ally? No, she needs to stand and fight, she decides, but she needs a way to even the odds a bit…

"Cayde," she calls out, an unnatural cadence to her voice. "We can't let this shapeshifter get to the real Arle's body! She could be a horrific danger with Arle's special chaos generator at her disposal!"

Bunny Ditto, already in Arle's form, stops pummeling Cayde and lifts her head for a moment. A smile spreading across her face, she slinks away, taking off towards the roof. Seeing her opponent fall for Shmaisy's deception, Cayde breaks into a sprint, ready to pursue, but Shmaisy runs over and puts a hand on her shoulder. "We can't stop her, but we can bring them down," she advises Cayde, pointing to Klonoa as he settles to the ground to take them on.

The pair are immediately met with a whirlwind carving up the street and coming at them, Shmaisy wisely - if reluctantly - tossing her cig to the ground and stomping upon it before she and Cayde leap out of the way. Klonoa follows-up by grabbing a corrupted newspaper, ignoring its stinging as he inflates it and throws it towards Shmaisy, the detective rolling along the asphalt to avoid the oversized projectile. Cayde takes advantage of the opening to launch into a flying kick, but Klonoa intercepts her efforts, raising his ring and once again sending Huepow out to intercept an opponent. Blasted back, Cayde lands in a heap on another townhouse stoop, but not as frail as Arle, she bats the little sprite-like being away before he can set-up for a combo.

Deflected and bouncing off the corner of a building, Huepow gathers his wits and swiftly flees, doubling back to return to Klonoa - only to stop as someone blocks his path! Shmaisy steps between the duo, arms spread wide as she blocks Huepow from returning, eyeing Klonoa's wind ring. Huepow darts around Shmaisy, but that inspires no shock in the detective, Shmaisy actually feeling some excitement as she launches into a spinning kick of her own, her foot smashing through Klonoa's wind ring as he lifts it high to allow Huepow to return.

With the wind ring shattered, Huepow crashes into Klonoa, unable to stop himself, and the two land in a tangled pile at the mercy of Shmaisy and a recovered Cayde. The detective and the blonde shoot each other a satisfied, knowing glance, and together they each lift a leg and bring it down, Cayde's foot smashing down upon Huepow while Shmaisy rattles Klonoa's skull. The duo of wind-users slump, no energy left to fight within them, and Shmaisy and Cayde back off to celebrate a job well-done.

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Cayde goes for a high-five, Shmaisy goes for a handshake, and they awkwardly meet somewhere in the middle as they brush fingers. The celebration doesn't last long, however, as they look to the rooftop and find no sign of Bunny Ditto. Regrouping, they walk off slowly, deciding to rest a bit before trekking to the construction site.

Their decision may be a wise one, too, for there, a chaotic battle is already unfolding…
 
Part 2

Escape. Escape. Escape somewhere. Hide and lie in wait for an ambush. Find a route in which to scurry away. Crawling along the ground in an anxious circle, Scaran glances to its right, glances up, glances to its left, carving ever-deepening tracks as it coils and darts in one direction, only to turn back as a hail of gunfire erupts. On its left stands Dexter with a pistol. On its right stands Zhen, peering out from behind her makeshift shelter of upright 2x4s. She stands between it and the towering scaffolding atop which Metal Knuckles still sits, cutting Scaran off from both its shadowy hideout and the crane it had considered clambering up. It turns to her again, sensors locking upon her flimsy shelter as it reforges one of its limbs, reshaping its arm into a wiry and loose tentacle-esque appendance adorned with its usual three claws. It whips out its reformed arm, its claws digging into the wood as the tall clown ducks behind the boards. It squeezes and takes some satisfaction in the cracking and ripping as the wood fractures and splinters in its grip.

As it pierces the wood and exposes Zhen, a bullet tears through its thin limb, kinetic energy overcoming magnetic bonds and splattering nano-machines onto piles of steel beams and discarded bags of nails. As Scaran rears up, reeling from the shock, Zhen flashes a thumbs up to Mizzlebip, the silent clown returning the gesture with a beaming smile from behind the drywall stacks across the battlefield.

Immediately Scaran lunges for the intact portion of its now-severed limb, batting away the dented-and-dinged Red Bin as his suction pulls the tentacle through the dust and sand. A potshot from Dexter does nothing to deter it, but the bullet does dislodge and scatter more nano-machines. While Red Bin flies off and slams into the fencing around the site, Blue Bin and Green Bin combine their vacuuming power and draw the loose, scattered nano-machines into a vortex. Preoccupied with reintegrating its limb and keeping an eye on Zhen, Scaran pays the Bin Brothers no heed… nor does it think to look directly overhead, where a gunshot severs the wires of a crane.

Leaning out of the operator's cabin, Agent 47, donning a discarded construction worker's vest and hard hat, watches with satisfaction as the cables snap and the suspended load of iron bars plummets. He had spotted the opportunity back when the group had first arrived and encircled the construction site, and now that Zhen, Dexter, and Mizzlebip have the beast cornered, his plan unfolds. The load plummets, a distracted Scaran having time only to reattach its limb and turn its head upwards as shadow swallows it.

Dust and sand rise up in a cloud as Scaran collapses, squishing like moist molding clay stuck into a hydraulic press. Within seconds, the bot ceases to be seen, nano-machines splatting all over the construction site in an uncomfortably gooey and shiny burst. To further cement 47's assassination, peering into the site from a hole cut through a hole cut in the fencing, Meldspar waves their staff. A soft glow emanates from the magic circle constructed out of sand just outside of the construction site, pulsing in time with the stone at the end of the Treasurer's staff, and from that staff emerges a stream of dust, gathering over the dropped load and converging there. Gathering dust accretes into stones, growing larger still as Meldspar compels more dust out of their staff, the stones growing into boulders before dropping like hail cast from the skies.

As the boulders fall, the dropped load presses down even further, a little more nano-goo squeezing curling up around its edges as it's forced to lie flush with the ground..

"Is that it? All that hyping this thing up, and it goes splat and dies?" Dexter steps forward first, the paranormal investigator hardly a rookie at investigating the remains of dangerous creatures. He bends down and runs a finger through some of the scattered nano-goo, the Bin Brothers cheering as they scour the site, sucking nano-machines off the fencing and walls. Outside of Dexter's peripheral vision, Agent 47 hops out of the cabin and slinks off right under the nose of a regrouping Mizzlebip and Zhen, pleased with his results and ready to head off on his own. A smear of nano-machines on his fingertip, Dexter brings the sample up to his mouth, instantly recoiling and puckering his lips. While Dexter curses and spits upon the ground, Meldspar clasps their hands together on the other side of the fencing. Oh, what useful allies this bunch had been! Now they needed only to clear out to their next target, and all of the powerful Telluric energy at this site would be left unguarded…

[Agent Designation - Dexter Hexley], I must advise you against consuming any substances or residue which remains after the temporary incapacitating of a threat. Furthermore, I request that you and [Ally Designation - Garbage Bins] withdraw to a position a minimum of five meters away from the incapacitated threat. Please allow me time to assess the potential threat of an ambush before we advance to the harbor region. Out from underneath the shadow of the tower of scaffolding, Spooks wheels into view cautiously, pushed along by a jubilant Polly Geist. As Dexter brushes the nano-paste against his jacket, Zhen shoots a skeptical glance at the robo-cat.

what do you think you're going on about, cat?

[Ally Designation - Zhen], extrapolating from previous efforts to combat similar beings, there is approximately a 28% chance that [BPI-TEMP-8: Malleable Metal] survived this offensive and is preparing to launch an ambush when we depart.

Zhen opens her mouth to protest the point, only to cut herself off as Mizzlebip taps on her shoulder and points her in the direction of the dropped load. Her eyes widen as it trembles, iron and steel rattling as the nano-machines left curled up on its edges are slurped back underneath.

okay i've seen enough
open fire

At her command, Mizzlebip and Dexter fire off their pistols, bullets pinging off metal beams and boring through stray boards, fire concentrated around the dropped load as the alliance tries to cut off any route of escape Scaran might have. Even Polly Geist joins in, arming herself with a flimsy sidearm pistol with a wave of DeMorge's cane. Already tired from keeping Scaran at bay for so long, the Bin Brothers back off, aiming their vacuum arms at the ground and hopping the fencing with a burst of air, passing by a stunned Meldspar retreating to the safety of their sand circle to teleport away if things take a turn for the worse.

Yet despite all the gunfire, Scaran's head emerges, and the robotic beast lunges out from its hiding place, very much resembling a flattened snake. It no longer crawls but instead slithers, its claws attached to scrawny, vestigial-looking limbs and dragging against the ground, leaving three parallel furrows in their wake. Bullets either flying too high for its new flattened look or hitting empty space as it zig-zags across the ground, it flicks its tail at Spooks, brushing both the cat and Polly into the scaffolding. Their impact rattles the structure, drawing the attention of Metal Knuckles, who looks down upon the battlefield with disdain.

Now desperate and angry, Scaran bursts forward, sweeping its tail over the other side of the battlefield and smacking away its enemies. Zhen and company slam into the fencing, left picking themselves up off the ground. Finally regaining the upper hand and beginning to charge itself in the sun, Scaran whips its tail forward and curls it around Dexter, drawing the paranormal investigator in close as his pistol drops to the ground.

He struggles to free himself, scratching at the robot, flailing, and even biting, but Scaran's grip only tightens. His tail coiled around Dexter from toe to neck, Scaran squeezes, He tries to draw a breath and spits at the robot in defiance as his legs go limp, Mizzlebip and Zhen just scrambling to their feet, and then…

…he slips out of Scaran's slackened grip and he hits the ground. As an battered Spooks nearly short-circuits from stress and relief, Dexter gasps, air filling his lungs as the looming Scaran comes back into focus. On the robot's head, a red savior stands, Metal Knuckles battering the robot's head with a flurry of weak punches. While Dexter scrambles to retreat, Metal Knuckles leaps off the robot's head before Scaran can shake him off.

Taking advantage of the sun, Scaran spares some energy to reabsorb part of its trailing tail and rebuild its arms, immediately trying to grab Metal Knuckles in its claws. The reading robot calmly ducks beneath the strike, then tilts to the right to avoid a follow-up from Scaran's other hand. With Scaran left wide open, Metal Knuckles scrapes his spiked knuckles against Scaran's body as he sidesteps, putting himself to its flank while Scaran draws away.

They repeat their little dance, Metal Knuckles copying all the steps verbatim, flinging away nano-machines from an increasingly diminished Scaran as he rakes his robotic foe. With swift, smooth motions channeling the Thalassic arts contained within his blue book, Metal Knuckles breaks into a baserunner's slide as Scaran dispenses with the clawing and tries to headbutt him, missing by only inches. Growing increasingly worried about its chances against this foe, Scaran takes stock of its surroundings, just about ready to abandon the construction site altogether, but a fresh spread of gunfire once again cuts off its escape route, Zhen and her crew making darn sure this time that it can't juke Metal Knuckles to slink off anywhere.

Increasingly battered by Metal Knuckle's glancing blows, Scaran makes a last ditch attempt to turn the tide of battle, expending what stored energy it has left in reshaping its body once more, stretching out its body and forging thick, pillar like legs as it rises up to a towering height in a threat display. Its head out of reach, it extends an arm, lashing a claw at Metal Knuckles which the red robot easily sidesteps… in the process missing Scaran's spare claw lashing out and grabbing a steel beam. The beastly robot sweeps its arm out, wielding the beam like a club as it smacks into Metal Knuckles, denting the slippery foe as it sends him crashing through gunfire and into scaffolding. Metal Knuckles peels himself away from the damaged scaffolding pretty easily, dinged but hardly worse for wear, and Scaran grabs another metal beam, dual-wielding its new weapons and giving its enemies pause.

Save for Meldspar.

Observing the battle from the safety of their sand circle beyond the fence, the Treasurer of enigmatic alignment raises their staff high, the sands beginning to swirl around them, spreading outwards as a whirlwind. The incredible Telluric power here… It would have been nice to wait to tap into it later in the battle, after fully securing the site, but if it could finally dispense of this meddlesome robotic beast, then perhaps it would be worth it to explore its nature now…

While Metal Knuckles keeps at a distance and hurriedly scans the pages of a red Pugilist's tome, Scaran bats away Mizzlebip, sending the clown flying over the fencing as it ignores the spreading sands passing over it. It slams down the second beam over Dexter's head, the investigator narrowly avoiding getting crushed by way of Polly giving his jacket a sharp yank and pulling him out of harm's way. Against a backdrop of swirling sand, now enveloping the construction site in its entirety, Scaran raises the bar back up, preparing for another overhand blow…

…only for it and its enemies alike to stop and look around as the very ground beneath them flashes and wavers. The tower of scaffolding collapses as the earth begins to violently quake, sending up a massive cloud of dust and debris that obscures the scene as the equipment - crane, barrels, beams, fencing, everything related to construction - blinks out of existence. Rising out of the ground that was until moments ago the construction site, the floor of an ancient ruin ascends, toppled pillars littering the area, Scaran - suddenly devoid of weapons - finding itself atop the very one which Sholmes had claimed for his alliance in last year's Brawl.

While almost everyone stops to assess what happened, Scaran, its towering form suddenly stuck on the crest of a fallen pillar, whirls around to find Metal Knuckles flying at it with a fist extended and rockets flaring from his feet. The robot immediately flings its arms across its body in an x-shape, pushing back and trying to hold sturdy as Metal Knuckles slams its fist into it, spikes piercing Scaran's shiny metal hide once more. Scaran holds firm, leaning back like a tree caught in a hurricane but managing to resist, keeping a sputtering Metal Knuckles from toppling or blasting through it. For a moment, the robots remain at a stalemate, the the rockets in Metal Knuckles' soles flare up, their jetting flames shifting from orange to blue as he cranks up the power and blasts right through a depleted and diminished Scaran. The maneuver flings nano-machine material all across the newly-restored ruins as Scaran finally falls, landing on the ground in two distinct pieces, completely and utterly drained of its own power and unable to repair itself.

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Meldspar looks on at the ruins in awe, feeling the power of the ruins flowing into their body in earnest now, Corey's alterations dispelled and the latent Telluric power here truly uncorked…

…but a heaping helping of nano-paste smacks them in the back of their head as they bask in victory, the distinctive sound of suctioned air forcing them to turn and confront the Bin Bros. While garbage cans and Treasure begin pelting each other with vacuumed paste and levitated stones, over on the other side of the ruins, Metal Knuckle's eyes fall upon Zhen's group.

"I only wanted to read," he says, rocketing forward at Zhen, only sent off-course as Polly rushes forward and smacks him with DeMorge's cane.

But while the briefest of allies embroil themselves in a new conflict, elsewhere, near the edge of the commercial district… love blossoms on the battlefield!?


"DONNA! My sweet, across every point in time, no matter where you travel, I'll be there to be your steady rock of stability!" Standing atop his Onix, Brock makes his pronouncement as he hucks a meat bun at Box Guy's signature box, knocking it right out of his hands. As Box Guy scrambles to pick up his box before anyone can think to peek inside, Onix's tail crashes down on him in a well-timed Slam, only Box Guy's immense strength keeping him from being squashed as the trembling man grits his teeth and arrests the Rock-type's tail mid-swing.

An assist comes in the form of a spritz of flame, Onix pulling its tail back as Teller Vision's wheel provides a poorly-matched makeshift Ember attack. Despite the type disadvantage, Teller's intervention gives Box Guy the opportunity to slip away and retrieve his box - better than can be said for Bhigwhig, more of his hair getting torn off and blown away as Wheezlie blows a rolling Timothy right across his front.

The Quantum Five narrowly dodge a pickaxe blow from Donna Quiñones, instead getting battered from behind as Onix turns up a chunk of the street and bats it into their back in a makeshift Rock Throw. Staggering forward, they fall right into Donna's hands, the Temporal Agent swiping her chainsaw across their body and leaving them with a considerable wound to deal with later. A cable lashing into the back of Donna's head briefly distracts her, Teller coming in with the assist and giving the Quantum Five the chance to shove her away, but as they turn around and break into a sprint, they run straight into…

…Donna?

"Verily, 'tis I, Donna Quiñones," this Donna announces proudly as she sees the confusion writ large over Tristan's face. Before the Quantum Five can process things, she proceeds to give them another gash with her own chainsaw, the Donna behind them smacking Teller away with a glancing pickaxe swing.

"I possessed full confidence I should receive aid from myself," says the Donna fending off Teller as she glances at this new Donna.

The new Donna - Future Donna - smiles at Present Donna warmly and speaks. "Shall we together see justice delivered to these ne'er-do-wells who defy time's linearity through their visions?"

On cue, the Donna-Donna duo come at the Quantum Five in a cross-strike attack, each Donna lifting her pickaxe and crossing over one another's paths as they rush in to swing at their enemy. Present's Donna's strike, the Quantum Five respond accordingly, seeing the possibility space in advance, but Future Donna, displaced in time, escapes their predictive powers, scoring a direct hit right as they dodge into her attack.

Knocked back onto the defensive, the Quantum Five look towards Teller for another assist, only to find the TV host being backed into Bhigwhig by yet another Donna wielding a chainsaw! A fully-charged Wheezlie rams into the pair, Bhigwhig doubling over and clutching at his stomach as poison courses into his system.

In a bind, he spares a glance over at Box Guy, only to find Box Guy in a literal Bind, clutching his box tightly to his chest as Onix holds him in place in its coils and tries to squeeze the fight out of him! At Onix's base, yet another Temporal Agent stands ready to slice through Box Guy even if he does manage to escape!

To nearly everyone, the constituent members of this sudden influx of Donnas are indistinguishable. Brock alone, perched on his Onix, notices the subtle differences which set them apart. He exclusively notes the slightly messier hair of Future Donna, the slightest of pink tinges in the skin of the Donna harassing Teller, and the fact that the Temporal Agent below him isn't a Donna at all!

But the false Donnas - really Bunny Ditto and Agent 30, both lured by the opportunity to pose as the one person here who could be in multiple times and places at once - maintain their charade, leaving a distressed Quantum Five to crunch the numbers as Future Donna and Present Donna corner them. Searching the quantum probability space for a solution, Liechter quickly reports that most attempts to kill one of the nearby Donnas result in death at the hands of the other. Crump chimes in that an attempt on Donna typically involves getting poisoned by the cloud before the Donnas close in to finish them off. Nesbitt adds that attacking the Temporal Agent near Onix does nothing to prevent Box Guy's death, and Johsnon makes a motion to consider that the least unfavorable outcome and to pursue it.

Before he can get anyone to second it, one more path - a path of one-in-a-hundred chance - appears to Gansley, who quickly takes charge and forces Tristan to give the Donnas a runaround, racing to Onix's flank. Along the way, the Quantum Five take a leap of faith between Teller and his Donna, nearly getting slashed with a chainsaw as they swipe one of Teller's mini-wheels.

Getting to the side of Onix, they don't spin the mini-wheel, but instead chuck it, the handheld wheel beaning Brock in the back of the head. As his trusty drying pan clatters against Onix's head, a disoriented Brock staggers forward and slips off… right into Onix's coils. Suddenly squeezing its own trainer, the startled Pokémon hurriedly unwraps itself, accidentally smacking into Agent 30 with its tail and sending him flying into Wheezlie. The much heavier Temporal Agent 30 knocks the cloud away with ease, freeing a sickened Bhigwhig to stumble away and giving Teller the room to back off from Ditto Quiñones. As Onix unwinds itself, Box Guy drops to the ground, getting a breath of air before Brock lands upon him.

Box Guy reacts on instinct, shoving the Pewter Gym Leader right off of himself, and as Brock rolls along the ground, his shrunken Pokéball dislodges from his pocket, spilling out, rolling away, and tapping against Onix. The device shoots out a red beam of light that consumes Onix, the Pokémon near-instantly recalled, leaving a defenseless Brock left in a heap on the ground as his drying pan lands with a thud nearby. An unlikely future this certainly was, but the Quantum Five had the foresight to seize it!

And oh do they ever continue to seize it, rushing in and delivering a kick to the downed Brock that shakes even the rock-hard Gym Leader to his core. With one final call of Donna's name, Brock's head slumps as he slips into unconsciousness, left unable to battle.

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Brock's defeat, however, does not instantly move the Quantum Five and their allies out of the woods. Wheezlie, back in action, rushes at them, smacking into Tristan's head while Timothy crawls underfoot of a disoriented Bhigwhig.

Present Donna and Future Donna exchange a glance, and from within her armor, Future Donna produces a bag of marshmallows. "To you I bequeath these confectionery treats" she tells her past self of the Present. "In return I request only a blunt instrument of wood."

"A stick is what you request?" Present Donna tilts her head quizzically but quickly realizes she has no reason to doubt her own self. Producing a stick she had procured while passing by the edge of the park earlier, Present Donna swaps her stick for the marshmallows, and watches her future self disappear in a flash of light…

…which fades to reveal Box Guy glowering at her, accompanied by… Donna and another Temporal Agent. The false Donnas and Box Guy descend upon her, and she beats a hasty retreat, one temporally and probabilistically confusing battle ending as a much simpler fight ensues back near those uncovered ancient ruins…
 
Part 3

Awoooooooooo! Shia LeBeouf whoops and howls as he chomps down on Meldspar's arm, the Treasurer in turn yelping in pain and tightening their grip on their staff as Shia continues to try and wrest it away in a tug-of-war. A sharpened pillar of stone bursts forth from ruins, piercing Shia and lifting him, giving Meldspar time enough to grab a dagger. When the implacable superstar leaps right down, oblivious to his new wound, Meldspar counters with a diagonal slash, forcing Shia back.

Before the superstar can launch himself at Meldspar again, someone seizes him from behind, Shmaisy grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back. A pair of voices in his head join a frustrated bear in drowning out the cheers of a fallen young woman, and he slams his elbow into Shmaisy's chest with sudden rage. The detective staggers back before Cayde slams into her side, her tenacious ally blown back by a punch from a still-active Metal Knuckles.

Meldspar, their robes even more tattered than usual, huffs and puffs as they watch Metal Knuckles hit the toppled duo with a spinning, spike-led megapunch. Zhen's army had left as soon as they could get away from the fighting, but that had forced them to do battle with Metal Knuckles and the Bin Brothers, and they had already eaten through a considerable chunk of the area's ambient Telluric energy as a result… The living garbage cans had at least finally disengaged, but then this monstrosity had arrived, and then these two wandering women had been dragged into the fight…

Feeling no obligation to protect the pair and catching sight of Shia slipping behind some ancient pillars, Meldspar pours some refractive crystals out of their pouch, waving their hands over them and letting the distorting light around them cloak them in invisibility.

With Shia and Meldspar hiding, Shmaisy and Cayde look to be in dire straits as Metal Knuckles pummels them, but their fortunes change as a bullet pings against the reading robot and a voice cries out from above!

"There's the robot! Let's shut it down!" Tails swoops in from above, his rotating tails brushing against Metal Knuckles' face and disrupting the robot's concentration. Spotting her opening, Cayde kicks out her leg and slams her foot into Metal Knuckles' chin, forcing the robot back even as she grabs at her throbbing foot. Another bullet from Fearless Fosdick ricochets off the robot without doing much damage as the officer rushes onto the scene, but it does keep the robot busy enough for an invisible Meldspar to cause a Stonehenge-like wall of boulders to burst out of the ground and trap the persistent nuisance of a robot within.

Inside the circle of stone, Metal Knuckles takes a seat, pulling out a book with green bindings and beginning to read. No sign of Shia or Meldspar around, Tails descends, Fosdick joining him as the fox extends a hand to the two very weary women on the ground.

"You're helping us?" Cayde questions as she takes Tails' hand. "Even though we fought earlier?"

"Our other ally went off somewhere, and you were powerful competition," Tails explains, cheerfully. "If we all team up, we have a better chance of defeating that robot!"

But while Cayde and Tails shake on it, their partners look unconvinced and unenthused.

"Yeah, like you won't put us on the frontlines and then knock us out when we're exhausted," Shmaisy says, crossing her arms.

With Shmaisy spelling out her concerns, all eyes turn to…

FEARLESS FOSDICK
GUARDIAN OF THE PEOPLE
FEARLESS FOSDICK
HERO OF EVERY RED-BLOODED AMERICAN BOY
FEARLESS FOSDICK
DEFENDER OF THE HOME, PROTECTOR OF FAIR WOMANHOOD
FEARLESS FOSDICK
KEEN, OBSERVANT, ALERT
FEARLESS FOSDICK
SCOURGE OF THE UNDERWORLD
IS ON THE CASE!

"Well it's as the woman says," Fosdick begins, raising one hand and lowering the other as if feeling out the weight of the two options. "There is no cause for us to trust one another. Although… that robot concerns me greatly. I can't recall his name being listed anywhere on the case files… and he possesses the spirit of a brute bare-knuckled fighter… My word, that must be it! I've solved the case! The robot which mysteriously appeared, this entire underground fighting ring, this must be a training ground in which the first of an entire series of fighting robots is being pitted against the finest fighters across this city to test and improve its capabilities! Devious! I need to phone the chief right away!"

"The chief?" An intrigued Shmaisy lowers her arms, stepping forward cautiously. "You work in law enforcement then? Shmaisy, P.I.," she introduces herself. "Maybe working together isn't out of the question."

"A detective, eh?" Fosdick rubs his chin, mulling over the new information. If she was a detective, perhaps they did have some reason to trust one another. Well, there was one way he could be sure… "Maybe you're right. I'll just need to see some identification from the both of you and if all checks out, we can shake on this."

Without hesitation, Cayde and Shmaisy pull their IDs out of their pockets and hand them to the officer, who brings them up to his eyes as he scrutinizes them. Cayde Shilen… Mhm. Mhm. Proper New Wikisburg address… Mhm. Mhm. Age checks out. Picture matches. She's good.

After handing back Cayde's ID, he looks at the other card in his hand. Shmaisy… Picture looks right… Age is as expected… Address………

"...excuse me, miss," Fosdick pipes up as his expression drops and he places a hand on his holstered gun, "but you must be aware it is a serious crime to assume a false identity and impersonate a detective."

"What." Shmaisy stares blankly.

"Please don't play games with me, ma'am. I know a forged identification card when I see one, and yours must be the most obvious I have ever seen! 'Port Montague' does not even remotely resemble any real locale!"

Oh crap. It hits Shmaisy all at once. She pulled out the wrong ID card. Stammering as she frantically searches her pockets, she tries to explain herself. "It's a long story of traveling between worlds, but I have my updated ID right he-"

BLAMMO!

Smoke rises from the barrel of Fosdick's gun, the officer looking on triumphantly as Shmaisy, shot at point-blank range, crumples in front of him. "Tell your wild stories at the precinct, criminal. Impersonating a detective… Criminals have grown treacherous, but never fear, citizens, for Fearless Fosdick will protect you!"

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Before a stunned Tails or Cayde can react, boulders and pillars alike explode as a shockwave tears through the ruins, bursting forth from the shattering circle of stones which had contained Metal Knuckles. The shockwave and shrapnel throw Fosdick right into a bear trap laid at the edge of the ruins, a clang ringing out as the trap slams shut on his clothes. Tails and Cayde fare only slightly better, both sent rolling along the rough ground as pebbles and gravel batter them. Not even Meldspar is spared, invisible but completely tangible and thus blasted back by the sudden shockwave. The Treasurer lands on their pack, nearly turtling before they decide simply to teleport their treasures away to safety. Their pack warps elsewhere, but with their invisibility disrupted, the distorted light around them returns to its usual configuration, revealing them as they plant their staff and haul themself back up to their feet.

Amidst all the rubble, sitting crossed-leg with arms extended out in a meditative pose, Metal Knuckles levitates in the air, a green aura flaring up around him.

As Fosdick struggles to free himself, Tails and Cayde rise on wobbling legs just in time to see a smearing silhouette dart out from behind a now-cracked pillar, Shia LeBeouf back on all fours as he leaps at Metal Knuckles. The practitioner of the Energuu-jitsu Style slams his fists together, a startlingly loud pillar of light bursting forth from their collision and rushing at LeBeouf. The light explodes out like a firework as it collides with the superstar, flinging LeBeouf away and nearly putting him in one of his own bear traps.

Metal Knuckles turns and locks Meldspar in his view, opening his palms and firing off a Hadoken. A conjured boulder, thrust forward with a magical push, crashes into the projectile, shattering to pieces but successfully holding it back. A surge of sand follows behind the boulder, rough granules scraping paint from Metal Knuckles' chassis and wedging in the robot's joints. Metal Knuckles, not keen to wait around in the midst of a sandstorm, activates his thrusters, maintaining his meditative posture as he rockets forward, slipping through the sandstream. He zigs and zags, avoiding tossed rocks as he races towards Meldspar, energy gathering into a sphere in his hands, but before his very eyes a wall of metal erupts from the ground! He throws his incomplete ball of energy forward, but it leaves only a scratch on the wall of iron, and unable to arrest his momentum, he crashes into it at full-speed, metal ringing as it collides with metal.

The stunned robot falls to the ground, and Meldspar wastes no time in trapping him again, a tap of their staff causing the air to shimmer as a crystalline prison materializes their foe. Another attempt at a shockwave on Metal Knuckles' part falls flat, the crystal simply absorbing the pulse of energy and strengthening itself, forcing Metal Knuckles to shift stance and style once again as the robot returns to the Pugilist's teachings.

As Metal Knuckles punches his prison and cracks spread through the crystal, Shia LeBeouf rushes at Meldspar with axe held high and swings, Meldspar forced to abandon their focus on Metal Knuckles as they're left with a gash across their robes and abdomen. A shot from the still-struggling Fosdick grazes LeBeouf, giving him pause for just long enough for Meldspar to summon a gigantic, cavernous geode, its interior sparkling with amethyst. The Treasurer attempts to whack LeBeouf into the geode, only to whiff their staff swing when Tails shoulder-checks the superstar.

Stumbling forward a bit, they whirl around as they hear a crystal shattering, finding Metal Knuckles freed and activating his thrusters. Before the robot can rocket forward, Cayde grabs his legs, digging her heels in and trying to keep him from taking off as Meldspar pitches one final massive boulder, but the robot's rocket's prove superior. Cayde feels her feet leave the ground, and she finds herself dangling from Metal Knuckles as he zooms towards the incoming boulder, rocket exhaust scorching her wrists and forearms. To make matters worse for her, Metal Knuckles soon begins to rotate, Cayde holding on for dear life as the earth and sky rapidly alternate in filling her field of vision.

Spiked fists extended in a Superman pose, empowered by the knowledge of the Pugilist tome, and spinning like a drill, Metal Knuckles hits that boulder head-on, sending fragments flying as his fists collide with stone. The boulder carries on in its arc, but not without damage, Metal Knuckles tunneling right through its center and bursting out the other side, Cayde still in tow. Through the boulder, Metal Knuckles' momentum carries him right towards…

…nothing?

The robot frantically scans the area, finding Meldspar just off to the side, slumping and panting but having had the good sense to step out of the way while using the boulder as a decoy. A hanging Cayde shifts her weight, causing an already-pitching Metal Knuckles to roll to the side, the robot overcorrecting by veering hard and trying to buck his unwanted passenger with a kick. As Cayde flies off, warning signals flash on his LCD eyes and Metal Knuckles crashes right into the giant geode that had been set up for LeBeouf. Suddenly wedged in the geode's interior, Metal Knuckles has no answer when Meldspar commands spiked stones to jut from the earth at an angle, piercing the robot right through his head and putting him down for good.

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An exhausted Meldspar breathes a sigh of relief, sparing a glance towards Cayde… and wincing as the woman falls right into one of Shia's bear traps now littering the area. It snaps down upon her instantly, its jaws catching her in such a way that, for all her strength, she simply can't keep going, slipping into unconsciousness… An unceremonious end, perhaps, but she falls out of the competition with her head held high, knowing she took out Huepow and helped in trapping Metal Knuckles for the finishing blow.

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Ignoring Fosdick as he finally gets to his feet and rushes to deck LeBeouf, Meldspar quietly shambles off, deciding it's finally time to abandon these depleted ruins, especially now that their treasure must be picked up elsewhere…

Not far off, a recovering Tails eyes the defeated Scaran and Metal Knuckles, but we have dwelled long around these ruins, so let us turn our attention elsewhere…

Across the arena, Zhen's alliance is currently in discussion... with that of Wheezlie. "Dorohoho! Timothy, what say you? Do you think this is actually the best option?"

"..."

Timothy's quiet response doesn't say much, but his nudging of Wheezlie makes it clear that he thinks the two of them and Donna should join Zhen's already-impressive team of herself, Mizzlebip, Dexter, Spooks, and Polly Geist.

Of course, part of that's because Zhen is more likely than their current companion to lead Wheezlie into some kind of failed plot. And if it blows up on Wheezlie, Timothy will always take that. Donna just nods and taps her time pickaxe on the ground. "Forsooth, I await orders with great haste!"

Looking around at her new group, Zhen nods, a plan already formulating in her mind. A plan to take out one of the biggest threats in the entire Mega Brawl, and solidify her hold on the entire group in the process. Big Eelser Generboom V2 is moving around the harbor, having yet to actually leave the area. Too busy rolling around in pain and anger over his ever-rotting teeth and his top heavy body, he's been trying to push himself up but unable to get anywhere. An obvious sitting duck, yet if he could ever get going, he'd be able to run wild over the battlefield.

Which is why Zhen is going to prevent that from happening! Already set, she begins to plot out the direction of her team. At the chokepoint between two of the warehouses, she stations herself and Mizzlebip. From the left, Polly Geist waits, whistling a bit as she prepares to help divert Generboom. Donna waits next to her, time gear at the ready - especially the chainsaw, Donna revving it on occasion to practice her usage as they wait, careful not to swing it as long as she's next to an ally. And at Generboom itself, she's sending the main voice. Dexter, Spooks, Wheezlie, and Timothy, to drive Generboom away from its current location and into the waiting arms of Zhen and her devious schemes. Oh, this is going to go great.

"I can't believe I have to walk up to this thing." Dexter sighs. "Do not worry!" Spooks says to him. "There's a 98.9% chance from my evaluations that this plan will not result in severe injury or death for you and I!"

"What about the rest of us?" Wheezlie asks.

"I have not yet calculated those odds, and it would take me too long to do so."

"Dorohohoho! What's life without a little risk, then. Nothing to do but to try it!"

With that all made up, the four of them advance towards Generboom, still rolling around and kicking at the air. Spooks is the first one to engage, zapping Generboom with his taser. Zhen's plan relies on provoking him and forcing him towards the rest of the team, but as Generboom takes the hit, he just continues to flail around, now actually rolling away from Zhen's group and back towards Dexter's. Wheezlie begins to charge some of his toxic gas, but Timothy curls up and spins right at Generboom first, trying to get the credit for the future. Not that it matters, as that spinning arm deflects the Spiky Egg, sending it right back towards Wheezlie, who promptly spins on his axis. Dexter and Spooks are forced to retreat, and seeing all this, Zhen's irritated.

"what are they doing over here? fine, we'll take care of this ourselves!"

Leading her other half of the team to take care of the issue properly like some people failed to do, Zhen, Mizzlebip, Donna, and Polly approach Generboom. Zhen quickly sets up outside of his apparent reach, watching him spin around wildly in place as he's still stuck on his back and starting to open fire - only for his constantly spinning arms to actually deflect bullets, the rage apparent on Generboom's face but not really looking any different from his default levels of rage. As she does that, Donna charges forward, the second one to engage at Generboom's close range!

She promptly gets kicked hard by one of those long legs. Donna yelps as she flies through the air, but before she can crash land, she quickly rips open a time portal in mid-air and vanishes to the future. Zhen curses as she loses another ally, but Mizzlebip steps up, taking carefully aimed shots at Generboom. Angling just right lets her actually pepper his body instead of getting her bullets bounced off. However, with him already being in pain all the time, he barely even cares, trying to roll slightly closer to Zhen and company. This gets intercepted quickly by Polly, DeMorge's cane giving her a rifle as well. The guns fire together as Generboom slides towards them...

And then it all starts to go wrong. A massive flail from Generboom sends storage containers flying everywhere, the huge boxes lethal if they land directly on anyone. Polly's forced to spend one of her summons, using the Substitution to move her out of range and letting an MB-K (who is not to be pitied, we here at the MBMB remind you) be crushed underneath the box. Mizzlebip isn't squashed, but a few boxes cut her off from Zhen, Mizzlebip unable to figure out the right away around them. On the other side of the fight, one of the storage containers lands empty side down, temporarily boxing in Dexter and Spooks, while Timothy takes the chance to start dropping back, trying to leave Wheezlie up there to take the hits.

That leaves... largely just Zhen and Wheezlie there to face off against the massive Generboom, who's gathering speed as he starts to slide towards the containers. "oh, that is it! fine, i don't need an army!" Zhen says, still angry at seeing how her plans were dashed. "i can do this myself! watch me!" She runs towards Generboom, still opening fire. He's taking quite a lot of shots, but he's able to kick a couple more containers at her. Zhen's too fast for them to matter, though, swerving and sliding underneath them... and realizing right as she got close that the big axe is too close for her to avoid now.

ZHEN, KO!​

With Zhen out of the picture, Wheezlie slowly starts to fall back, deciding that Generboom is too much to handle right now. However, the storage container with Dexter and Spooks begins to fall, slowly toppling over to reveal the two of them unharmed, Dexter staring at Generboom.

"It appears that the leader of our alliance has been defeated by [BPI-TEMP-9: Mad Doctor's Abomination]." Spooks observes, Dexter blinking. "...No. That thing? That's stupid. This is one of the shittiest Anomalies I've ever seen. The thing can't even get up, how weaksauce is THAT?

You know what, I'm going to take care of this myself. Come on, Spooks! Let's come up with a plan! What's the situation?"

"It appears that all other members of the alliance have retreated, as [Ally Designation - Zhen] was holding it together."

"Fine by me! Let's prove we don't need anyone else to take this out!"

Charging forward through the harbor, Dexter stays firmly out of range and behind a shipping container. Time for some Dexter Analysis. Generboom is mostly capable of flailing around wildly, and of kicking with the incredibly long legs. Getting close is a great way to lose, but from long range, people didn't seem to have the firepower to put down a big, angry monster. He thinks for a minute, before in a flash, the solution comes to him.

"Spooks! I need you to help me start up this crane!"

"Affirmative." Spooks and Dexter head for one of the cranes used to move the cargo containers, Spooks staying on the ground as Dexter begins to climb up and into it. With Spooks calling out controls from the ground, it's not too hard for Dexter to start up the crane properly, and he uses it to pick up the empty storage container that they were just boxed in. Swinging it towards Generboom, Dexter lets out a yell of victory... that gets cut off as Generboom kicks the container, sending it flying towards the ones Mizzlebip has been lost in. The containers blockade her, falling around her and leaving the unfortunate clown trapped within a maze that'll take some time to escape.

Undeterred, Dexter picks up another container. This one, while not empty, is still pretty lightweight, and the swing he goes gets deflected by the wildly spinning arms. Generboom launches it into a nearby building, several Brawlers looking up at the loud crash and the resulting damage that it's created. Dexter slams his fist on the control panel. "I'm not done yet! I'm going to prove this thing is a chump, or my name isn't Dexter Hexley!"

Third time's the charm, or so Dexter says. Grabbing another storage container, Dexter notices the crane is struggling desperately to hold it, smoke pouring out from the strain placed on the massive machine. "Jesus, what does this container have? Bricks?" he mutters, but refuses to let go of this chance. Dragging the container to the side, Dexter starts it up, and begins to swing it right towards Generboom. Generboom launches another kick, but this container is FAR too heavy to be deflected, and it slams right into Generboom and sends him spiralling out to sea!

Turns out, all of his problems in design means... he's also terrible at swimming and sinks like a stone. He won't be coming back up.

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The storage container breaks open on impact, several pallets of bricks spilling out. Dexter looks at them. "Huh."

He climbs out of the crane, sliding down to land next to Spooks. "Thanks for the help, cat." "I am always here to assist!"

But as Generboom is out of the picture, the alliance he broke up is still going places…
 
Part 4

And in the case of Wheezlie and Tim, the destination they've reached is the park area. The alliance of Pyro, Kroop, Explainer, Boo1268, Spectre, and Cosmo Neko had been pinned down by the Stallion, unable to leave the park at first for the massive horse's might and mystery. However, the Stallion had been distracted by other prey, and departed to chase after a different group. Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, the team had regrouped and started to make plans.

Those plans are rudely interrupted by Wheezlie and Tim showing up in the middle of the park. "I say! I say, let's not fight here, shall we?" Wheezlie says, before any of the alliance members can start to pick a fight with them.

"And you got a good reason we shouldn't?" asks Cosmo Neko, before Kroop speaks up. "We could make use of someone with their abilities!"

Pyro looks at the skull. "Yeah, but we gotta start making a real push."

"We can do it alongside a large alliance. A large alliance can't fail, now can it?"

"I believe these two are actually retreating from a large alliance that did fail, if I read their situation correctly." adds the Explainer. "It seems they were working with a team that fell apart once the leader was taken down."

"Oho, yes. I freely admit that our previous alliance was in over its head. But! You see, we have no intention of making the same mistake twice. This alliance, I am certain, will go very far!"

"...I agree." Timothy says. This one's legitimate. As far as he can tell, the cornerstones here are dangerous contenders, and even for his desired solo win, this is the best option for him.

"Hmmmm. I think we've got a good option here..." Cosmo Neko says, looking at the rest of the team.

"Ho ho!" Boo1268 says as he looks at Wheezlie. "I do declare. I think this chap will be quite wonderful to work with."

"Well, it seems we are all in agreement, then! I..."

Wheezlie trails off. Pyro looks at him in confusion, before also trailing off. The entire group, really, is stuck in alignment.

For behind them has approached... The Grande Cavalli. When nobody was looking, the being of unfathomable terror had appeared to the group. Wheezlie gulps, trying to muster up the ability to summon his poison. Timothy, on the other hand, can't help but crawl forward, inclining his head in order to better revere The Grande Cavalli. Pyro is lost in thought, his antithetical nature letting him dissociate from his instinctive reactions, but still viewing The Grande Cavalli as a being of great power.

Cosmo Neko has joined Timothy, already praising The Grande Cavalli as the future leader of their team and inevitable winner of the MBMB. Boo1268, however, is trying to reason with it. "Let's not fight! We can get along! There's no need to use your almighty power on us!"

Specture Striker just shakes his head. "There really isn't. This is the right guy to lead us!"

In short, The Grande Cavalli has put the entire group under its sway by showing up.

With one exception. As a voice from beyond, a being that exists independent of the physical plane, the Explainer looks at The Grande Cavalli, and feels the need to explain what it is.

"Though it may terrify or awe you, it's really just a dead horse. That's it. Created by an extradimensional being called by many fearsome titles, it's only a dead horse with a hat that exudes some kind of aura."

For a second, The Grande Cavalli is Explained. The aura fades, and everyone realizes they're staring at, well, a dead horse. It's just lying there, dead. Pyro looks at it, confused, only to realize the Explainer's effect is temporary. Timothy and Cosmo Neko are already beginning to revere The Grande Cavalli again, and Boo1268 has started to make a couple offers to calm it.

"Also, I believe The Grand Cavalli is very weak to fire."

That's enough for Pyro, and he launches a huge fire spell at the dead horse. As the Grand Cavalli begins to burn up, its aura fades, leaving the group standing around and watching a burning dead horse with no little amount of confusion.

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"...Dorohohoho. Well, if there's one way for a group to bond, I suppose this is it!"

Elsewhere, a different group member has found a team to work with. "Hey!" Polly says, waving to Kay Faraday, Koohitsu, and Kooshigo. "Hey, you want to team up?" she says, straightforwardly. Kay looks at the two Koopas and shrugs - she's letting them take the lead on this one. Koohitsu confers with Kooshigo, the two of them carefully discussing the potential pros and cons... before waving back.

"Come over here, and we'll let you in. But no sudden movements!" says Koohitsu, Kooshigo nodding.

Polly walks over, and instantly throws her arm around Kay, excited to be part of the team. "Alright, let's do this! I've got a bunch of tricks that can help you, and I'm thinking we can put them all to good use!"

"I like you already." Kay says, enjoying Polly's chipper attitude. Koohitsu, meanwhile, points forwards, towards where another group is beginning to confer - Tails and Fearless Fosdick appear to have grown their alliance as well, this time with Agent 47. The two sides begin to approach each other... only for a loud truck horn to sound, everyone throwing themselves aside as Dexter attempts to sideswipe them with a pickup truck. "Did we get anyone?" he shouts to the back.

"Negative. It appears your attempt to ambush them with a truck was not successful." Spooks replies

"Well, then we'll just have to do this right!" Dexter says, pulling out the taser and firing towards Fearless Fosdick for the crime of being the closest one to him at the moment. A hero like Fosdick won't let himself be taken down so easily, though, and he dramatically... takes the taser on the chest, shrugging it off with his mighty muscles.

By which I mean he falls over, Agent 47 staring emotionlessly before dragging Fosdick behind the truck. Dexter and Spooks don't get to follow up on this, as Kooshigo starts to chow down on some dried fire flower, spitting a bunch of flames at the truck. It starts to melt on the side, as from behind it emerges... Fearless Fosdick! This Fosdick does not have a gun, however, instead stabbing the fuel tank of the truck with a screwdriver and running away.

The fuel tank goes off in a big blast, and as it does, the exploding pickup truck sends shrapnel in every direction! The two paratroopas turtle up, and with them to hide behind, Kay and Polly are largely fine. Tails avoided it by flying up, but Dexter and Spooks have taken the worst of it, a few pieces nailing Dexter and causing him to drop to his knees. Spooks has a cracked screen and a damaged chest, but he's still operating. "[AGENT DESIGNATION: DEXTER], are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little scratch..."

Behind the burning pickup truck, Fearless Fosdick wakes up, to come face to face with... Fearless Fosdick. "AND WHO ARE YOU?" he shouts.

"You fell to the tazer, and you got back up. The fallen get back up in unexpected ways. Sometimes the 'you' that died and the 'you' that revived aren't the same."

Fosdick nods. That makes sense to him. The two Fosdicks turn towards the two Paratroopas, and Kooshigo and Koohitsu immediately begin to go for a Bros. Attack, their shells starting to rebound off each other while Fosdick grabs Fosdick and begins to spin him around like in a hammer throw. With a powerful launch, Fosdick hurls Fosdick, only for both shells to slam into Fosdick, launching him back at Fosdick. Thankfully for him, Fosdick catches him and sets him down, Fosdick and Fosdick catching both shells and hurling them into the air before they can follow up with their strikes. Kooshigo and Koohitsu pop back out of their shells, Kooshigo waving to Polly.

While this is going on, Dexter gears up his taser again, ready to zap someone just to ensure SOMEONE goes down - only to look around behind him as he hears some mechanical tinkering. Looking around, he sees that Tails is fiddling inside Spooks' damaged body, Dexter immediately firing off the taser and blasting Tails hard. The mechanic falls to the ground. while Dexter walks over to Spooks... who lunges towards him.

"Hey, hey, what the fuck?"

"My apologies, [ENEMY DESIGNATION: DEXTER]. [LEADER DESIGNATION: TAILS] requires my assistance." Spooks says, having been hacked and reprogrammed to work for Tails. Dexter prepares to take him on... only to see something coming towards him, barreling at top speed.

"Oh, COME ON! This is NOT fair!" Dexter says, as a powerful robot charges headlong at him. Built from the wreckage of Scaran and Metal Knuckles, the sharp fists of the machine make it clear what intention it has, Dexter barely dodging in time to avoid the massive blow. Before he can follow up, though, Spooks charges forward, slamming headlong into Dexter. He stumbles backwards, Scaran Knuckles swinging again and catching him across the chest. Firing the taser, Dexter is able to shock the robot... only to find that it's actually pretty shockproof.

The next punch from those spiky knuckles is straight for center mass. Dexter slumps.

"Dammit... I really thought... we had something here."

Scaran Knuckles turns away from Dexter as he collapses, marching back over to Tails alongside Spooks.

DEXTER HEXLEY, KO!​

"Wow..." Tails mutters to himself, looking over at the Fosdicks as they hold off the Paratroopas. Scaran Knuckles heads towards the group to intercept Polly Geist as she moves in with a mighty baseball bat of pure magic, Tails trying to keep track of all three opponents-

Wait.

Three?

Tails turns around, trying to track where Kay Faraday went, only to find her sitting on top of Spooks. He's trying to flail at her, but she's just agile enough to keep out of the way, constantly shifting her weight as her hands dive deep into the open panels Tails had reprogrammed him through. "Allllright! Let's see, there's a red wire, a blue wire, a yellow wire...

But a true Great Thief knows to take them all!"

Grabbing up as much of Spooks's circuitry as she can, Kay holds tight, but before she can move, Spooks grabs her around the waist. He begins to tug, along with Tails, trying to pull her free. Spooks lets go as he feels the internal pulling start to strain his wiring, but Tails realizes it's happening a second too late. He pulls Kay free and tosses her towards the battle, watching her get caught in the crossfire as Scaran Knuckles elbows her, but she's already ripped a bunch of wiring out, Spooks shutting down for good.

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Tails sighs, and then begins to look Spooks over. Maybe something here would be useful for Scaran Knuckles to even the odds... Looking across the field, Tails notices three figures moving swiftly. He can't quite make out who everyone is here, though.

Far across the field, the Bin Brothers look at the chaotic battle in the park. "You think we should go over there? I'm sure there's some litter to collect!" Green Bin comments, before Blue Bin looks at him, worried. "I don't know... it looks pretty dangerous over there."

"What kinda wimp talk is that? Any big battle means litter. You wanna just let the place get torn to shreds?"

Meanwhile, as Meldspar sets down their backpack, beginning to pick through it to find some useful materials, they hear a terrifying sound.

"hey"

The mighty Banana Man, with his incredible Mechanical Hands, approaches leisurely. Like, really leisurely, he's just sort of strolling over that way. Meldspar knows better than to take someone this mighty at anything other than their best, the mysterious traveler picking up their pack and turning around to face off. Making the first move, Banana Man reaches forward with his hands, which he has not yet charged up to anywhere near full power. Still, it's more than enough to rip a large chunk out of the ground, and hurl it straight towards Meldspar, Banana Man opening big.

Of course, aiming a large section of rock at a Telluric master is the definition of a bad idea, and with a swift swing of their staff, Meldspar presents a rune of light upon the large boulder the size of a small boulder. With the power of that rune, the rock hurls back at Banana Man, who can only say "wuh oh" before getting smashed in the face. Reeling back from the impact, Banana Man is stuck trying to recover, as Meldspar begins to trace lines on the bridge itself with the quartz dust. Though the bridge is a bad location for them, the runes activate, bringing some of the rocks back to serve as a platform.

Stepping along the platform, Meldspar is able to transport it backwards, landing the rocks on the more stable ground at the far end of the bridge. While they begin to set up another series of runes, Banana Man simply reaches forward with one of those hands, grabs the air, and pulls. Yanking himself forward through space, Banana Man is now right up in Meldspar's personal bubble, and he brings those hands together, ready to simply clap Meldspar between them. However, a huge pair of rock pillars erupt from the ground, and Banana Man finds his hands bouncing backwards, before the staff points right at his face.

Before Meldspar can finish the job, though, Banana Man slaps the ground a few times with the hands. The ground begins to shake, rattle, and roll, cracking and uplifting as Banana Man tries to counter Telluric with Telluric. Though Meldspar is able to quickly calm the ground with a strike of their staff, their Telluric runes have been disrupted and broken by the quake, Banana Man exploiting the advantage with a wave of his hand that sends balls of garbage raining across the area.

The Bin Brothers still at a distance, but rapidly approaching the area, one of them hits Green Bin on the head.

"Brothers... did someone just litter?"

"They... they did."

"Well. We know exactly what we have to do."

Blue Bin grabs up the ball of garbage and shoves it in his bin, Red Bin leading the way as the three of them start to follow the litter to its source... Banana Man.

But speaking of! As the garbage pelts Meldspar, they look at the hands, and try to figure out a way to sabotage them. They can recognize the material with ease - Mysterium, the metal of mystery. The mechanical hands would easily weaken and crumble if Meldspar began to reveal secrets and answer questions. Taking a deep breath, Meldspar reaches for their hood as another slab of rock springs up to block Banana Man, and starts to pull...

Only to let go. They can't do it. To reveal their true face... to share what brought them here... to speak of the many, many secrets they had learned. It would destroy the Mechanical Hands, yes, all those mysteries being solved more than enough to make the Mysterium rust into nothing. But it would also destroy Meldspar in the process, and no fight was worth that. Instead, Meldspar begins to carve some more Telluric runes in the ground, and with a powerful cast, the ground begins to rumble and shake, summoning up chunks of the arena from last year. Waving their staff, Meldspar unleashes another spell... only for Banana Man's hands to slap the runes.

Meldspar looks down, concerned at how much different those runes look. Banana Man shrugs. "hey uh. bad news for you. i think i know how these work now.

seeya"

With the Telluric runes activating, the remains of the MBMB1 arena begin to come together on their new target instead of their original one. Despite trying to deflect the rocks, Meldspar's unable to cancel them in time, and Banana Man successfully crafts a burial of Meldspar.

At least when he piled more rocks on top it formed a really cool pyramid.

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With the battle between Banana Man and Meldspar over, the Bin Brothers prepare to move towards Banana Man, to punish him for his great sin of leaving a whole lot of litter from the battle around. Before they can, though, he gestures. His mechanical hands, the rulers of everything, glow.

"yeah, I made a mess
my bad
lemme get that."

All of the leftovers of the battle, with the exception of Meldspar themself, are picked up and clumped together into three large cubes. The Bin Brothers, daring to dream, open wide... and Banana Man plunks each cube in a Bin.

"there we go."

"He... he gets it." Blue Bin says in awe. "I can believe. I can believe in you!" Green Bin says. "At last! Someone who actually CLEANS UP after himself!" Red Bin says.

"We're in agreement, then." "We are!" "We'll follow you!"

"oh. sweet."

The Bin Brothers crowd around Banana Man, cheering the new savior of cleanliness, a title Banana Man appears to be fine with. Together, the group begins to advance, noticing but ignoring a certain team they can just barely make out.

As Teller Vision discusses with Box Guy their next move, a glowing rip appears... right in front of them! Hurled backwards, Donna Quinones lands with a skid, turning around to see Teller Vision, Box Guy, Bhigwhig, and the Quantum Five. "Box Guy! My great ally-"

"What?"

"No, no, pray forgive, it slipped my mind that such has yet to happen. But the others..."

Donna looks at Teller Vision and nods. This was the moment! This was what she had the stick for! She pats herself down... and gulps. "Ahaha. It appears my weapon hast been left behind at a different moment. Allow me but a moment-"

As she rips open a portal in time, though, Crump decides now's the time to run the numbers! The Quantum Five impose their will of possibilities upon the world, and a hundred potential different time spots open up. Some of them lead further into the past, while others jump to the future. There's even one where Donna ends up portaling to the final battle.

But through the power of quantum mechanics, the Quantum Five can override even Donna's abilities, and as she leaps through time, she comes back right where she started, as the time portal she created led itself to one second ahead of where she leapt through. That's disorientating enough to most time travelers, but with Donna's own power over time, for a split second, she had felt like she was traveling in a hundred directions at once. Clutching her head, the time traveler staggers around, Teller and Bhigwhig looking at each other.

"WELL, THIS LOOKS LIKE IT WAS SET UP JUST FOR US!"

Unable to resist the urge to show off, Teller spins THE WHEEL, watching it spin and spin. Spinning to win. The wheel slows to a stop... and suddenly, Teller Vision is clad in metal! The Metal Cap result means that as Donna recovers and brings down her chainsaw, it grinds against his metal skin, teeth flying off the tool before Teller swings forward and slams his fist right into her Temporal Pickaxe.

With both tools damaged, Donna can't travel through time anymore, but she's clearly not down and out yet. As she swings forward towards the Quantum Five, turning away from Teller, they quickly bring up their hundred possibilities a second time. Sorting through them, Gansley reports that none of them are truly clean - they waited a bit too long, and no matter what, Donna is going to score one heck of a hit on them.

However, if this one possibility goes the right one... The other members of the Quantum Five sign off on it, and just as Donna smashes them across the chest with the broken chainsaw, sending them staggering back, Box Guy... hits her with the cardboard box. It doesn't do much.

Except for distract Donna, who was writing him off subconsciously thanks to her future team-up with Box Guy. That's what results in her looking at him in confusion, right before the mini-wheel of Bhigwhig spins, launching a huge gust of wind that picks Donna up and hurls her high into the sky! She comes crashing down, her armor fracturing hard on impact, and as she gets up... she looks up to see Teller Vision leap into the air, coming down to belly flop directly on her. While still clad in metal. There's a loud smash as Donna is crushed under his weight, putting her out of the MBMB once and for all.

And even though she might show up in the future... this is where she fell, and thus 24th place is where she stays!

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"WELL, THAT WAS EXCITING!"

"Speak for yourself." mutters Johnson, as he fronts the Quantum Five. "I could do without the injuries. Next time, we'll be staying off the front lines."

But we can turn away from them... and back to another group we touched on recently.
 
Tuxedo Mask (Monokuma)
35th: Monokuma and Izuru Kamukura (Teller Vision)
Arle Nadja (Huepow)
34th: Klonoa and Huepow (Shmaisy and Cayde)
33rd: Scaran (Metal Knuckles)
Brock (Quantum Five)
32nd: Brock and Tuxedo Mask (Teller Vision and Quantum Five)
Shmaisy (Fearless Fosdick)
31st: Arle Nadja and Shmaisy (Huepow and Fearless Fosdick)
30th: Metal Knuckles (Meldspar)
29th: Cayde (Shia LeBeouf)
Zhen Big Eelser Generboom V2)
28th: Big Eelser Generboom V2 (Dexter Hexley and Spooks)
27th: The Grande Cavalli (Pyrokles and the Explainer)
Dexter Hexley (Tails and Scaran Knuckles)
Spooks (Kay Faraday)
26th: Dexter Hexley and Spooks (Tails, Scaran Knuckles, and Kay Faraday)
25th: Meldspar the Treasurer (Banana Man)
24th: Donna Quiñones (Teller Vision)

Still Brawling:

Agent 30 & Agent 47; Banana Man; Boo1268 & Specture Striker; Box Guy; Bunny Ditto; Cosmo Neko; Fearless Fosdick; Hekki; Kay Faraday; Kooshigo & Koohitsu; MBKube; Tails & Scaran Knuckles; Mizzlebip; Polly Geist; Pyrokles, Kroop, & Explainer; Quantum Five; Satoru Fujinuma & Enby; Shia LeBeouf; Teller Vision & Bhigwhig; Red Bin, Blue Bin, & Green Bin; The Stallion; Wexlyn, Vector, & Michele; Wheezlie S. Puff & Timothy
 
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"The horse is still burning."
"So it is! Maybe the rest of the show will burn down alongside it!"
"DOHOHOHO!"

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"That's funny."
"What's funny? How boring this is?"
"DOHOHOHO!"

"No, that one girl just died!"
"Right, what's so funny about that?"
"Well then, why is she right there?"
"What, behind us? What are you talking-"
"Oh, am I interrupting something? Sorry. Just one moment, let me..."

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SHING

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"Where the heck are we?"
 
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Part 5

"Yeah-hah! Show them what you can do!" Spinning his tails and lifting off to avoid a chucked hockey stick from Enby, Tails hollers with gusto as a wave of meandering clay critters closes in on his robotic amalgamation. "Technique Shift, go!"

Bits flip in the adaptive processors taken from Metal Knuckles, and the remoldable nanomachines of Scaran lengthen the amalgamation's limbs, spikes modeled after Metal Knuckles' fists emerging where once Scaran had its claws. Motors whir as the spikes spin like drills. Borrowing Metal Knuckles' knowledge, and striking its leg upon the ground, the amalgamation charges forward.

Like an explosive bowling ball through pins, the robot plows through the little clay creations, its spinning drills and sheer size allowing it to shatter them and trample right over the fragments into which they collapse. As the robot steps over the mess of clay, its feet pass over a playing card, tearing it in half, but the shopping basket that emerges proves too small to trip it up and gets batted away, Hekki forced to slink into the shadows as Scaran Knuckles barrels towards her in a bid to open a path to Satoru and Wexlyn.

With the Magiblot out of the way, the robot picks up speed, its drilling spikes sparking as it pushes its nanomachines to their limits. It closes the gap rapidly, Satoru even clenching his eyes shut as he braces for Revival to activate so he can get them both out of dodge. But Wexlyn keeps his eyes locked on the robot, his gaze steely as he faces potential death with dignity…

A thundering crash forces Satoru to fling open his eyes, the young man spotting Scaran Knuckles just feet away… face slamming into the ground as it completes its fall. A woozy Michele lands beside him after being kicked away, with Enby going down with the robot, caught by its leg and pinned underneath it.

"Not perfect, but it worked," Wexlyn comments, pleased to see that the combo of Michele materializing underfoot and Enby leaping in to kick a leg had indeed successfully tripped the robot. Vector, having circled around, now leaps into action, hurling himself towards Scaran-Knuckles. He wraps his hands around the leg pinning down Enby, grunting as he wrests the leg's connecting plugs free of their sockets against the resistance of nanomachines. With one mighty heave, he rips the whole appendage off and hurls it away.

While Enby flips into a handstand and chucks the ground to launch himself away, Hekki reemerges and shoves Vector down flat on the ground. The crocodile looks at her with some mixture of confusion and annoyance… until the guns sound off, two bullets whizzing over Vector's head as he realizes he's caught in crossfire. To 4 o'clock, Fearless Fosdick, and to 10 o'clock… also Fearless Fosdick?

Before he can puzzle out the mystery of Fearless Fosdick and Fearlesser Fosdick, a resurgent Metal Scaran propels itself using its remaining leg, crashing into the crocodile as he tries to stand up. Hekki moves to intervene, slamming a fist into the robot and completely crushing its metal-nanomachine-blended arm with her metal punching powers, but before she can whale on the robot, a gust of wind blows her away, picking up her beret with it.

"Gadzooks! My old ally, you've returned?" The Fosdick at 4 o'clock looks pleased as Klonoa walks up beside him, pausing his shooting for a moment even as a bullet whizzes past his ear. Klonoa lowers his outstretched arm as Fosdick inspects him, the whirlwind pouring out from his wind ring dying down. Fosdick strokes his chin, mulling over this turn of events. Klonoa had fallen long ago… but who was to say the young lad hadn't simply sprung back up? After all, he often did! "You should consider joining the force, young… animal… thing… Tenacity goes a long way!"

Across the battlefield, though, the other Fosdick looks none too pleased by this new development, glowering at the newly-arrived Klonoa. Instinct tells him that it isn't the real Klonoa, too-long out of the fight to have returned. There are only two people in this fight with that kind of mastery of disguises, he reasons out…and only one of those two could have possibly realized his method here. That fake Klonoa must be…

Klonoa joins Fosdick in repositioning, the pieces all falling into place as he watches the other Fosdick perfectly mirror their movements across the battlefield. The two Fosdicks take a shot at Enby as the rabbit tries to leap up and kick Tails, but their bullets go long, and Agent 47's bullet cuts right between Fosdick and Agent 30.

So that's why 47 had joined up with these two, 30 reasons to himself as he blows Enby away with a whirlwind. Setting up Fosdick for death in "accidental" friendly crossfire, huh? He was always quite skilled at arranging accidents. But if he thinks he was going to pull ahead in their competition so easily, he has another thing coming…

As Vector pins Metal Scaran to the ground, a returning Hekki resumes her punching, joined by Satoru while an exhausted Michele recovers beside Wexlyn. Enby manages to ground Tails, the inventor suddenly finding himself having to twirl out of the way of a flurry of chucked golf balls. Spotting an opportunity to fire away at Wexlyn, the Fosdick and Fosdick both take aim, but Wexlyn drops to the ground, having anticipated the attack. No wind follows these shots, Agent 30 slipping away as both Fosdicks take the time to reload.

A new set of bullets in his gun, Fosdick raises it and takes aim at Enby, a bullet tearing through the rabbit's ears - but only one. The other bullet, from the opposite direction, instead soars past Enby, continuing on until…

"Return fire!?" Fosdick looks over his shoulder as 47's bullet passes through his chest, putting another hole into his body. Despite the direct hit, 47 doesn't lower his gun.

He can tell that the unusually-hardy Fosdick isn't dead. He curls his finger around the trigger, waiting for Fosdick to train his gun on someone again… until the remains of an utterly scrapped Metal Scaran are hucked into the path of his shot by Vector, forcing 47 to reposition.

As he does, Fosdick begins take aim once again, ready to continue with the case. He feels someone tap his shoulder, whipping his head around in anticipation of Klonoa coming to his aid, but when he sees the figure that is actually behind him, he can't mask his shock.

"Ch-CHIEF!?"

Extending a hand to help Fosdick up, Agent 30, disguised as the chief of police, walks around to put himself in front of Fosdick. Across the way, 47 grumbles as 30 gets in the way of his shot.

"Chief, what are you doing here? This is the most dangerous mission I have ever faced. With all due respect, sir, if I am to continue to protect civilians l cannot guarantee your safety."

"Never you mind that, Fosdick," Agent 30 answers. "We've discovered that this entire operation is a feint. As this fight distracts the best officer in the precinct, the masterminds are preparing to launch an assault on their real target."

"A feint? What crime could possibly be more vile and far-reaching in its consequences than organizing an underground fighting ring of this scale, chief?"

"They're knocking over a library, Fosdick, and we need you on the case!"

"A library?" Fosdick sounds skeptical at first, but he muses on the thought, speaking aloud to himself. "Hmm… Yes, they say knowledge is power… and I did find it suspect that the mysterious robot whose participation hadn't been announced had such unusual books on his person… Wait! That's it, chief! They're preparing an army of book-powered robots! This tournament was the testing grounds for the prototype and a diversion so the dastardly ne'er-do-wells could abscond with the books from the library!"

"My god, Fosdick, you've broken the case wide open! We need you to depart for the library right this minute! I'm reassigning you to preventing the theft."

"Yes, chief, you can count on me! I'll make sure those villains don't make off with the property purchased with the tax dollars of our upstanding citiz...ens… But, hold it. Chief, what about protecting citizens here?"

"That's what I'm here for, Fosdick, to free you up for your new mission."

"Chief, this is dangerous. I cannot abandon you here!"

"Fosdick, only you have the skills to apprehend those thieves! Now go, I say! I'm reassigning you and issuing you the pay raise you requested, so move out!"

"A R-R-R-R-Raise, sir?" Fosdick stammers out.

"That's right, Fosdick, a whole 50 cents an hour raise if you complete this assignment," Agent 30 responds with feigned urgency.

A bit shocked, trying to hide his joy and keep a straight face, Fearless Fosdick salutes the disguised Agent 30 and raises his voice to the sky. "I, Officer Fearless Fosdick, resign from battle!"

A snap resounds through the sky as Corey accepts the resignation, and a glow descends upon Fosdick as magic protects him from causing or receiving any further harm. With a skip in his step as he finally, finally gets that coveted raise, Fosdick walks off a happy man, heading in the direction of the library without taking into account that he'll need help getting out of the arena.

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As Fosdick walks away, Agent 30 shoots a look across the battlefield - where Wexlyn's alliance has circled a defenseless Tails - and nods at the Fosdick across the way. Rivalry sparks between the two agents as they regard each other with a begrudging respect. "Good try," 30 mutters, earnest though knowing he can't be heard.

"You always did excel at tricking them," 47 concedes in much the same way, frustrated at having his opportunity to kill thwarted. He bows his head, collecting his thoughts…

Thoughts on how he'll still pull ahead in their competition.

With a turn on the balls of his feet, he whirls around from facing Agent 30 to facing the surrounded Tails. Every route of the fox's escape has been cut off by Wexlyn's team, he observes, looking over the entire group as he searches for the weakest link.

A gunshot rings out as 47 presses the trigger, his bullet flying true now that he's not intentionally throwing his aim. It finds his mark, and Tails drops to the ground as 47 dashes away, putting a point on the board in his contest. It wasn't personal, merely strategic. Had he shot at anyone in Wexlyn's group, he would have had the rest of the alliance converge on him.

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As is, with Tails down and Agent 30 retreating too, Wexlyn's group takes the moment to regroup, Satoru even grabbing the torn-off remains of Enby's ears.

While they regroup, elsewhere, an unholy neigh echoes…

"Cover your ears!" Koohitsu shouts at her allies as she grabs Kooshigo and leaps out from under the shadow of the looming Stallion. Kay Faraday and Polly Geist comply without hesitation, both of them backing away and slapping their hands over their ears as a chorus of a thousand damned equines cries out.

As the Stallion rears, its forelegs kicking wildly, its rot and wretched tentacles lash out, deflecting many of the cubes flung at it. A few manage to slip through and find their mark, smacking into the creature's head, but it endures the blows unfazed even as its ribs fracture. A great shadow falls over the pinned-down anomalous horse, Koohitsu looking up to see MBKube in a compact, rectangular form.

Thwomp-ing this thing won't work, she thinks to herself even as MBKube comes crashing down. The Stallion whinnies as it gazes skywards, its mighty opponent completely filling its vision, and when MBKube collides with the ground, rattling nearby buildings and causing crashes to resound down the street as water mains burst and traffic lights fall, the horse vanishes beneath the assemblage of cubes.

Koohitsu thrusts a hand out to the side, her silent signal stopping her allies from approaching as
MBKube soaks up the warm and gooey ectoplasmic ooze splattered beneath it. She scans the area, her allies getting the memo and following suit, but not a soul in the area can see the Stallion.

Which is precisely what lets it materialize behind Kooshigo, charging through the air at a full gallop, its hooves clomping against the asphalt despite tit floating meters above the road. Picking up on the disparity of sight and sound, Kooshigo retreats into his shell as the Stallion runs over him, even his sturdy shell laboring beneath the creature's hooves with worrisome cracking. A glancing blow from the Stallion's hindlegs sends the withdrawn Koopa careening away, Koohitsu instinctively leaping to try and intercept but only succeeding in crashing into the ground as he spins off. Kay glances down at her tracking watch, working out Kooshigo's trajectory, and the Stallion, not even slightly slowed, barrels forward. It brings its hooves down on top of a bewildered Polly Geist, sending her crashing into the ground. Upon impact, she simply poofs away, exploding and leaving meager ghostly vapors rising up from where she falls, and so too does the Stallion.

Their ally and their opponent vanished, Koohitsu and Kay exchange a glance, Kay pointing to her watch and then to the spot Polly had landed. The Koopa nods, and the thief then points her down a sidestreet. An understanding reached, the pair break apart, Koohitsu chasing after Kooshigo, and Kay going off to find Polly, the ghost still showing up as a blip on her watch despite her apparent demise…

Down in the subsoil, two things are apparent to Polly Geist. One, the darkness. It's all-consuming, the earth above filtering out even the tiniest scraps of light. Two, the crushing weight of the Stallion, dragging her through the earth underfoot, easily bypassing her intangibility. Maybe this was how the Stallion escaped from MBKube, going under the earth - or maybe not. In her position, it's even harder than usual to tell whether or not the equine is truly there.

As the stench of a leaking sewer begins to tickle her nose, suddenly and mercifully she feels herself shooting up, grabbing onto her opponent and getting yanked up into a disorienting display of dazzling lights and signs.

"There it is, Pyro!" Before she can get her bearings, a voice calls out, and she spins around just in time to see another alliance descending upon the ethereal beast. A peppering of fireballs from the source of the voice - a flaming Dry Bones skull - seemingly pins the Stallion in place. From one side, a shot of pacifying energy from Boo1282's Darkmoon Sceptre strikes the horse, and from the other, a poison-coated Timothy crashes into it.

"I say! Unhand me, rapscallion!" The Stallion, uncowed by the joint attack, simply launches its tendrils at the Fancy Phantom and the Spiny alike, trying to pry open the curled-up Timothy and holding the slippery Boo in place.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaah!" Cosmo Neko leaps right into the tendril holding Timothy, swiping his claws at it but only managing to slice the tail of the implacable entity. His surprise attack faltering, he tries to send a surge of electricity through the tendril that wraps around him, but if it even enters the Stallion, it does nothing to keep it from putting the squeeze on the cat.

With three of his allies caught in the grasp of the Stallion, Wheezlie springs into action, rushing over to… the recently-emergent Polly Geist, striking up a conversation with the ghost. "My oh my! Not since the Kremlington Katalogue ceased publication have I laid my eyes upon so exquisite a cane!"

While they converse, Specture Striker makes an actual move to save his allies, hurling a bone at Cosmo. The femur conks the feline square on the head, leaving Cosmo with a nasty bruise - but also imparting enough force to push him through the tendril's grasp.

As Cosmo lands in a befuddled heap, Pyro burns through ingredients plucked from his cap, reversing the horse's ability to ignore gravity and sending it crashing to the earth. A creature whose true nature they do not know, they cannot know that the horse is truly unaffected by gravity, which necessarily means that they do not not know it is affected by gravity, and thus now it is.

"Bear witness to the power of antilogic in action!" Pyro exclaims as the horse hits the ground, but the Stallion seems none too bothered by its change of state, power surging through its hooves as they make contact with the earth.

"Explainer, now would be a good time to get explaining," Pyro calls out as the Stallion begins to charge their way, still holding two of their allies hostage!

"Oh, yes, of course!" The disembodied voice cuts in over the striking of hooves on asphalt. "Let me explain. The truth about the Stallion is that, despite what it may appear to be, it isn't really-" A horrified whinny drowns out the Explainer, and the Stallion releases its captive opponents as six horses spring out of the ground, encircling the entire group.

Specture Striker takes a concerned step back, summoning his scythe and glancing between the newly-arisen equines and the Stallion in their midst, equally wary of both. His allies, on the other hand…

"Fancy seeing you here, Fancy Phantom," one of the horses says to Boo1268 as he recovers. "Do tell, have you had any adventures recently?"

"Indeed I have, my good sir. Not so long ago, I paid call to the Dark Bloo Inn, and…" Boo1268 begins, launching into a tale.

"Excuse me," another horse interjects, appearing between Wheezlie and Polly as a disgruntled Timothy glowers at it, "but I overheard your discussion of that gorgeous cane. You must tell me where you obtained it."

"It's a long story, boo. How much time do you have, and what does the name DeMorge mean to you?" Polly responds jovially, unaware that on a nearby rooftop, Kay Faraday has just arrived to check on her.

"What's going on here? What are these things?" Kroop demands, watching with utter confusion as Cosmo jumps atop one of the new horses - or tries, anyway, the horse backing away and leaving him to fall on his face.

"Let me explain," chimes in the Explainer. "This is a distraction. If you examine these six horses more closely, you'll find that they lack a backside. I believe the Stallion did this to preven-"

Again the Stallion interrupts the Explainer, but not by way of a vocalization, this time. No, this time, the horse's tendrils converge above Pyro, one grabbing his hat while the others reach into empty space, tugging and pulling across the boundaries of logic and space-time as they wrest free the Explainer. Now cottoned on to the trick of the horses, as glitches in reality reveal a screaming mouth, the others leap into action.

Wheezlie rushes through the mass of tendrils, only to pass through them entirely harmlessly. Boo1268 slings a magic spell that slams into the side of the Stallion, managing to singe its head in the process, and Specture Striker slashes at its neck with his scythe, severing one of the beast's legs. Polly, deciding she knows who to cast her lot with, whips up a knuckleduster for herself and charges in with a punch. Cosmo Neko concentrates and murmurs, quite successfully ripping bones out of the horse with his telekinesis.

It's Cosmo's addition that makes the horse buck, something finally properly rattling the unflappable entity. It desperately tries to kick away its assailants, nailing Cosmo and sending the cat flying into a tree. Polly ducks into a combat roll and slips underneath its leg, the three-legged Stallion nearly stumbling as it fails to remember it's under the effects of gravity. Specture Striker keeps slashing at it, riddling it with gashes, but he fails to silence the scream of the Explainer, his physical presence in this world ripped apart by the tendrils of the panicked Stallion.

Explainer, KO!​

"Nooooo!" Kroop cries out as Pyro backs away, giving up on getting his hat back in favor of dropping back out of range of the horse's kicks. "How can we reveal its true nature now!?"

"You need someone to give you an answer? Got you covered, boo!" Polly waves her hand to grab Kroop's attention (unwittingly getting Boo1268's, as well). With a flick of DeMorge's cane, a light shoots out from its tip, but it spreads outwards and fades away rather than condensing and materializing, Polly tapping into another one of her summons and calling forth the Narrator.

"Investigate the Stallion," she commands.

"'sup?"

"i'm not doing that," comes the reply, Polly's eyes opening wide as the light of her summon reappears in the sky, flying back into her cane as if someone had set the VHS tape of reality to rewind.

"i'm not letting you do that either, lol" Banana Man says, his voice reaching across the battlefield as he snaps his now-fully charged Mechanical Hands and takes control of the six decoy horses surrounding the group. "see, 'cause i waited forever for these things to charge, i'm not letting anyone solve any mysteries and weaken them"

"whoops. i shouldn't have told you how to weaken them."
"oh well"
"go my horses."

At Banana Man's command, the six decoy horses, resisting all attempts at de-summoning, charge the surrounded group. One crashes into Timothy, knocking the Spiny right through Specture Striker and causing the Dry Bones to collapse. Another tackles Wheezlie, with a third bodying Pyro and knocking Kroop right out of his hands. The fourth takes on Polly, the ghost actually managing to knock it over with a shoulder-check. A fifth gets blasted apart by Boo1268, while the final decoy horse charges right into the Stallion, forcing it back a few steps before the much larger horse brings a hoof down upon it and breaks it apart.

All throughout the battlefield, Banana Man's voice reaches the remaining fighters, and the funky fruit turns the tide of battles…

Kooshigo and Koohitsu, currently trying to fend off a seemingly-traitorous Kay Faraday while keeping an eye out for a skulking and increasingly erratic Shia LeBeouf, find their battle interrupted by the sudden descent of dancing red numbers from the sky. A three falls and begins grooving as it delivers a roundhouse kick to Koohitsu's chin, the pouring numbers mobbing Kooshigo and Bunny Ditto to keep them from aiding her.

In the park, Wexlyn, locked in combat with MBKube once again, watches with concern as a giant hand construct squeezes a writhing Vector. With Michele dazed on the ground, he tells Satoru to try punching a dusty Enby, scattering a cloud of dust that manages to wedge its way in-between MBKube's gaps… to no effect. Hekki manages to land a thrown card right in a gap in the wrist, but before movement can grind the card and break it, a false Grande Cavalli drops down, scattering Wexlyn's alliance. Sensing the Chaotic Apparition and the wealth of energy within, MBKube drops the hard-to-squish Vector in favor of snatching up the summoned copy of a fallen foe.

Over by the harbor, Box Guy covers up Mizzlebip's vision by setting her up with a new fashion statement - a cardboard box hat! She had managed to find a way out of the maze of shipping containers she had been trapped in, but discovering Zhen had been eliminated had completely robbed her of morale. Not until Box Guy and his allies had approached had she tried to get back into the fight, the alliance trying to dislodge her from the docks as she struggled in a four-on-one fight.

While the Quantum Five and Bhigwhig work to prepare a boat, Teller keeps Brock at bay, having cottoned on that there was something suspicious about the Pokémon Trainer packing heat. Bhigwhig calls for his allies to get in the boat while the getting is good, and into the boat they hop…

…just in time for the entire harbor to be immobilized, the water stilling completely and the defeated Big Eelser Generboom V2 even visible through it. Bhigwhig tries to launch the boat, and its motor strains, but even at full power its engine can't push through the stasis-locked water.

Only a few entrants escape Banana Man's meddling - the four Bin Brothers guarding the bridge that he's on. Hidden among them as a second Red Bin, Agent 30 keeps a low profile as he searches for other weaknesses of Banana Man, not exactly seeing any mysteries to solve around here. Kay Faraday, the real one, also escapes by virtue of staying in the shadows around the commercial district and watching Polly and company struggle.

"this ultimate power stuff's real cool" Banana Man's boast reaches everywhere at once, every fighter coming to the same horrifying realization that they're at Banana Man's mercy.
 
Part 6

Then, as if Banana Man's alterations to the arena aren't enough, Brawlopolis goes dark. A total eclipse plunges the world into darkness, a scarce few automatic lights and giant electronic billboards providing some light, but too little to benefit most fighters.

Around the battlefield, fighters curse Banana Man's name, but even the banana looks up in shock, his Mechanical Hands adding an eclipse filter to his sunglasses. No, unbeknownst to nearly everyone, this is not the work of Banana Man, but an outside force, the Dubious Creature asserting its presence from beyond the battlefield to override Banana Man's control and get a skittish horse out of a bad situation.

Down in the commercial district, with all of its enemies dealing with decoy horses or blinded by billboards flashing in near-complete darkness, the rattled Stallion tries to get away from anyone who can reveal its true identity. Unseen, it disappears.

Its surroundings do not change.

…unseen, it disappears. Again, its surroundings do not change.

Nervously, the Stallion scans the area, still in the commercial district. The entity which inspires fear learns for the first time what it means to feel fear as its gaze is met by a gleaming pair of eyes peering through the darkness.

Cosmo Neko, traveler extraordinaire, keeps his eyes trained on the Stallion even as it charges him, his natural night-vision allowing him to see through the eclipse with ease. His heart races as the Stallion's footfalls grow louder, quicker, the startled horse picking up the pace. It's a game of chicken as the Stallion gets moving faster than Cosmo is prepared for, the horse descending upon the quaking cat and lifting a hoof…

…only for a burst of telekinetic power to rip its leg from its body, leaving it on an unbalanced two legs and causing it to jerk to the right. The Stallion passes right through a tree, still able to pass through objects even if now bound by gravity, but a mighty leap from Cosmo puts the cat on its back. Screaming as it bucks and bucks, Cosmo flies off the furious creature, but as he arcs away, thrown to parts unknown, he trains his gaze on the Stallion's head, crushing it with his psychic powers.

Cosmo blasts off into the distance as the headless horse crashes into the ground, the Dubious Creature and Large Horse severing themselves from their weakened creation. The horse leaves skid marks as it tumbles across the earth, flopping around as a lifeless corpse.

15_k3zt4p.png

Cats always land on their feet. Horses, Cosmo has shown, do not.

As Cosmo lands elsewhere, the apparition of the Dubious Creature blocking the sun disappears, and light returns to the battlefield, but the same cannot be said for joy, not as skyscrapers turn into giant bananas…

At the southern end of the bridge, Italian curses stream out of Michele's mouth as he digs his claws into concrete in a desperate attempt to resist Blue Bin's vortex. A playing card hits the ground nearby, but Red Bin swoops in to vacuum up the distracting litter and sets his eyes on the source - Hekki. Gulping as the card fails to tear in the vacuuming process, she slips into the shadows as Red Bin ejects the card right back at her. Slamming into a bridge cable, it's ripped in twain, turning back into an empty flower plot which drops right off the side of the bridge and lands atop the stilled waters below with a kerplunk.

"Tsk!" Wexlyn winces as Michele finally succumbs to Blue Bin, the living garbage can sealing the cat within. Some relief comes from the too-heavy-to-suction Vector managing to put a dent in Green Bin by whacking him with a sign plucked from the park, quickly followed by Satoru swinging a pilfered golf club to send the Bin Brother rolling down the bridge. The second Red Bin intercepts his rolling "brother", planting a foot in Green Bin's path as if he's a soccer ball to be stopped at the goal. He stops Green Bin sure enough, but even as he extends an arm to help the bin up, a subtle kick sends Green Bin rolling in another direction - right through a gap in the bridge's guards.

Green Bin screams as he rolls off the bridge, but the whirring to life of his vacuum arms tell Wexlyn and the disguised Agent 30 alike that he's found a way to save himself from a calamitous fall. Before he can even think to break through the defensive gap created by Green Bin's fall, Wexlyn ducks down as a screaming cat rockets through the air, looking back over his shoulder to catch Michele slamming into Satoru from behind and toppling him.

Red Bin and Blue Bin set their vacuums to blow and team up, pointing their arms at Vector and forcing the crocodile to squat down and lean into the wind to avoid being blown away. Hekki pops up behind Blue Bin, catching him by surprise with a walloping that punches right through his steel frame, but Blue Bin's vacuums sputter only for a moment, metal crunching and creaking as he glows and Banana Man repairs him to good-as-new-shape. The refreshed Blue Bin whips around, his backhand whiffing Hekki as the false Red Bin catches her in his vortex and pulls her away. Agent 30 sucks up the Magiblot, spewing her back out in the direction of her allies in a high arc.

Grimacing as he sees his enemy so casually healed, Wexlyn turns to Enby as the rabbit jumps on his shoulder, stony-faced with his reconnaissance complete. "What type of magic are we dealing with here? It's not Lazarin behind that healing, that's for certain."

"Nearly limitless control over raw chaotic energies," Enby replies, grave in demeanor. "The hands he possesses are made out of Mysterium. It's a sturdy material which only weakens when mysteries are solved in its vicinity. Neither extreme heat nor corrosive acids will affect it. Believe me, we had to resort to extraordinary methods to remove a lode of it when a wish to save trapped miners arrived."

"Chaotic energies, huh? Should I take that as code for 'he can do anything'?"

"More or less," Enby replies before jumping away as a person-sized trumpet bursts out of the ground. Despite his efforts, the horn catches him in its sonic attack, a thundering toot on the instrument flinging him away and knocking Wexlyn to the ground. A recovering Satoru, pushing up to his feet, is greeted by the surprise appearance of two film projectors. They blast their lights into his face and unwind their film rolls to bind him, leaving him stunned and held in place as Vector finally slips up and hurtles back into him.

Blue Bin and Red Bin press their advantage, descending upon Enby and a still-dazed Michele to suck them up and get them off the field. As the disoriented duo slide across the concrete, Agent 30 intervenes, the false Red Bin tackling his real counterpart from behind, knocking him into Blue Bin as all three garbage cans fall like dominoes. The troubles don't end there, however. As Enby springs up, a giant conch shell materializes around him, its opening down on the bridge to cut off his route of escape. Quickly ascertaining that he can't budge the trap, he contemplates shifting into his true, intangible form, only to realize there is nothing else nearby for him to possess.

Vector shakes himself off and pushes himself up with a groan, hardly even noticing as Satoru staggers to his feet and stumbles forward, right into a portal opened up in the bridge itself. Satoru's scream grabs Vector's attention, and the crocodile jumps back in shock as Satoru falls plummets right past him, falling out of a portal in the sky and down into the portal below in an endless loop.

Vector grabs him and pulls him out of the loop, in the process missing Blue Bin scooping up Michele again and the two Red Bins tangling with each other in a battle of blowing, but a dizzied and nauseous Satoru simply slumps to the ground, needing a minute to get his bearings.

"Vector, behind you!" Wexlyn's call gets the croc to whirl around just in time to spot a returning Green Bin aiming his vacuum arms. Vector raises his wrists in front of his face as Green Bin shoots a barrage of shredded cardboard and assorted shoreline litter at him, shielding himself with his wrist weights as he hunkers down through the barrage.

Wexlyn rushes in, pounding a fist into Green Bin's back as he pries off his lid, slapping it away over to Vector. The crocodile wastes no time in picking it up and draws power from his hips as he twists and hurls the thing, sending it over the heads of Blue Bin and Red Bin like a deadly frisbee flying right at Banana Man!

A cheer rises in the hearts of Vector and Wexlyn alike as the weapon flies, promptly faltering as a giant labrador retriever appears on the bridge and leaps for it, intercepting it and catching the lid in its mouth. With a shake of its head, it sends the lid right back, Vector grunting as it slams into him and sends him flying into Green Bin, the both of them landing in an exhausted heap.

Two of his allies trapped and two incapacitated, Wexlyn looks mighty isolated, but he doesn't let his concern show as he slips past the preoccupied Red Bins and peers down the bridge. Not keen to give up the element of surprise, he keeps quiet as Hekki pops up from Banana Man's shadow, appearing right behind the fruit.

She reaches out for one of the Mechanical Hands, curling around the left hand and breathing a sigh of relief as a chocolate coating begins spreading out from the point of contact, the whole device converting from Mysterium to chocolate. Banana Man whirls around, his perpetual grin faltering, and Hekki goes white.

No, not metaphorically - Hekki literally goes white as her colors invert, her hands even shifting to black, Against her own will, she finds herself releasing the chocolate hand and slipping back into the shadows, time running in reverse for her as Banana Man forces her away with his remaining Mechanical Hand. And with her actions being undone… so too does the transformation of the chocolate hand begin to reverse itself.

Banana Man turns back around, flashing a thumbs up at Wexlyn as the alliance leader runs down the bridge, splitting his legs as he jumps to let a shot Michele pass beneath him. The direct approach failed, the sneak attack failed, what else was left?

The banana sics his new labrador on Wexlyn, the dog stopping him in his tracks by bowling him over. Feeling the weight of the massive dog bearing down upon him with each playful pounce on his chest, a pinned Wexlyn turns to the oldest tool in his arsenal - psychology.

Through a hoarse, croaking voice, he sighs. "You can't say we didn't try. Say, before you knock me out, can you satisfy my curiosity? How did someone like you obtain technology like this?"

"psssh, like i'm gonna tell you that"
"last time i explained that they found a way to de-power these"

"Fair," Wexlyn responds, feigning sheepishness in hopes of lowering Banana Man's guard. "I suppose you caught me searching for a mystery. Let me ask a related question, then. Why do you have this technology?"

"it was part of a sweet revenge plot"
"i took control of a skyscraper and everything"

A skyscraper? A whole skyscraper, hm? Surely he couldn't have sought revenge on everyone inside… Perhaps he's the type to use his powers indiscriminately, Wexlyn reasons to himself. If so, then could the others be dealing with his interference? He did interrupt their battle with MBKube, though his intervention there was the distraction that allowed them to escape once the eclipse appeared…

Regardless, maybe this crowded battle royale could be persuaded to agree on this one point…

"Proposal," Wexlyn ekes out, clearing his throat, repeating himself to achieve the proper effect.

Proposal #1: Without delay or exception, Banana Man's Mechanical Hands will be rendered powerless and unable to recharge for the remainder of the battle.

Please vote "YES" or "NO" to this proposal. If this proposal passes, the law is enacted upon this world.

Straining what the Mechanical Hands can do all at once with so many chaotic apparitions around and Hekki set to reverse and the waters stilled, a panicked Banana Man summons a cloud of bees over Wexlyn as the votes begin to roll in.

With thirty-one separate individuals left fighting around the arena (not counting Teller's Office Workers, counting the Quantum Five all as one voter, and not including Donna in her own askew timeline), sixteen votes will pass it. Immediately as the bees descend and Wexlyn yelps with pain, seven votes in favor and four votes against roll in from Wexlyn's alliance (plus Agent 30) and Banana Man's alliance, respectively.

A weary Vector rises back up on his feet and shoulder checks the conch trapping Enby, overturning the thing and allowing the rabbit to leap out and nail Blue Bin with a kick. Nays come in from Teller, Bhigwhig, and the Quantum Five, all scheming to use the chaos to their advantage, while ayes stream in from Mizzlebip, Box Guy, and Agent 47, putting the vote at 10-7.

While the dog jumps playfully on top of Wexlyn, a resurgent Green Bin slams Hekki with his lid as she reappears amidst her allies, and votes pour in from Pyro's alliance. Pyro votes against, seeing opportunity in the madness, while Kroop votes in favor. Boo1268 and Specture Striker vote together in favor. Cosmo goes against the proposal, strange occurrences like the eclipse having directly benefited him. Wheezlie votes against, enamored by the excitement and thrills, while Timothy votes aye, taking the proposal to 14-10.

Six votes left up for grabs, MBKube casts no vote and is counted only for quorum purposes, while Kay Faraday votes against, nimble even amidst the chaos and not so concerned by it, especially as it slows her current target. Shia LeBeouf refrains from voting, paralyzed as over a dozen voices quarrel, vying to influence his vote. Bunny Ditto votes against the proposal, a bit amused by all the oddities and having it in mind to benefit from confusion with her shapeshifting.

With his vote at 14-12-2, Wexlyn grimaces as his power wavers, the weight upon him and the stinging too much. In so grim a situation, all he can do is mutter one last wish for his allies to go the distance and to benefit from his final act…

The light fading, Wexlyn focuses all of his remaining energy on maintaining his proposal. Kooshigo, Koohitsu, and Polly all come in at once, three ayes pushing the vote to 17-12-2. A faint voice sounds in Wexlyn's mind.

17-12

The law has been enacted upon this world. It has been written.

Proposal Passed

All at once, Wexlyn sharply gasps, gulping down air as the chaotic apparitions - labrador, bee, the squids now harassing Box Guy, and others throughout the city - disappear. Hekki reverts to her original colors, the waters below the bridge begin to move once again, and the crystals in Banana Man's Mechanical Hands dim to gray. Banana Man's once-floating devices plummet, crashing into the bridge with such force that they crack right through concrete and steel alike, dropping straight into the river below.

Banana Man bemoans his misfortune as a stung-to-hell-and-back Wexlyn pushes up to his feet. The false Red Bin shouts out a call to retreat now that Banana Man's power has waned, and a nervous Blue Bin immediately breaks to follow as Agent 30 rushes by the diminished fruit. Seeing his brothers fleeing, Green Bin joins them in pushing their way past Banana Man and making for the untouched north portion of the city, leaving the bewildered genuine Red Bin to pursue.

"hey man, no hard feelings amirite?"
"i'm just joking around"

Banana Man sheepishly poses the question as Wexlyn steps up to him, the normally-calm psychologist wearing his displeasure plainly through his scowl.

"Is that so? Actually, I have a joke for you, too," Wexlyn says, fury behind his flat affect.

"oh cool"
"what is it"

"What do you call the technique that knocks out a banana?"

"idk
"what?"

"The banana splitter!" With that exclamation, Wexlyn slams his fist right through the near-defenseless Banana Man, plowing through peel and soft fruit alike as he splits Banana Man in two, knocking the chaotic menace out of the competition.

16_ben0nn.png

As he shakes banana goo and strings off his hands, he and his exhausted allies rest up, now having free access to the north via the bridge… but needing some time to recover before they can take advantage of it.

Around the city, battles that had been interrupted by Banana Man's meddling resume or reignite, but in the southern streets, in the shadows of brick houses, an entirely fresh battle unfolds…

Ignoring the stench of stale water still draining from nearby streets, Polly Geist makes her way through the seemingly-abandoned southernmost stretch of the arena. After the defeat of The Stallion, as Banana Man had started to change the world to suit his whims, she had broken off from Pyro's alliance to search for her old allies, but she had seen neither hide nor hair of Kooshigo, Koohitsu, or even Kay. Now, with her knuckledusters loosely held in one hand and DeMorge's cane in the other, she ambles her way down the streets in hopes of encountering anyone at all.

Hearing no movement in the area whatsoever, she sighs and takes a seat on a townhouse stoop, setting her things aside as she kicks up her feet to ponder her next move. If she can't find her allies, maybe she can go off and prank someone…?

"Even in the depths of night, when no other bird dares to take flight… ...one alone soars to shine the light of righteousness on the world's blight! And that one is me!" A declaration suddenly breaks through the silence of the street, and Polly jumps up, putting a hand over her eyes and she searches high and low.

"Kay, you there?" She calls out, beaming at the thought of a reunion.

"No, member of The Order of the Fallen Lotus, I am the Great Thief, Yatagarasu!" Polly jumps back with a start as Kay lands just behind her in a three-point stance, yoinking DeMorge's cane right off the ground.

"Fallen Lotus? I don't know who told you that, but they told you wrong," Polly retorts, only for Kay to shake her head.

"It'd be a blemish on my reputation as a Great Thief if I said I had missed the marking on your cane, so I won't say that," Kay replies, chipper yet deadly serious. "Let's say I was luring you in close so I could observe where your allegiances really are! I know not to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially not when that horse calls attention to a cane with the mark of the Fallen Lotus!"

Before Polly can so much as open her mouth to protest, Kay is off, leaping back and pushing off a wall, bounding her way up a gap between two buildings to jump to reach the rooftops. Shaking off the shock, Polly grabs her knuckleduster and flies up to give chase.

Unfortunately for her, the advantage of flight doesn't do her much good with the headstart Kay has snatched for herself. The self-proclaimed Great Thief jumps, leaps, and bounds her way across rooftops with such speed and grace she could make a plumber on a tropical island jealous, shingles rattling under her feet as she leads Polly on a chase across a whole neighborhood of modern townhomes.

The manicured lawns and city-managed trees and asphalt streets and cracked sidewalks and cut-and-paste homes all go by in a blur as Polly pursues the thief, everything blending together until in the distance appears an old-style boarding house with a prominent chimney. Polly's eyes naturally dart from the monotonous landscape to the old home (she can only conclude it's maintained as some historic site, given how much it clashes with its surroundings), and when she returns her focus to her target, she pouts.

Kay Faraday has slipped away.

Overshooting the old building by a considerable margin as she brings herself to a stop, Polly looks every which way in hopes of catching sight of Kay - but no dice. North, east, south, west, as nimble as Kay is, she could have taken off in any direction… But which way would she have gone…? Let's see, if she were trying to hide from someone to prank them, and she had been chased this way, where would she have gone…….?

Pounding her fist into her palm, Polly doubles back, zooming over to that chimney and poking her head through the shaft, sure that Kay had dropped down here to hide out.

Sure enough, peering down the chimney, she finds…a roaring fire in the fireplace, crackling with such intensity that anyone who might have tried to drop down the chimney would have certainly been burnt. Oh. Crestfallen, Polly slowly withdraws her head, disappearing and leaving the empty house alone.

The fire continues to crackle, and the house's interior remains still for a good thirty seconds before a device clicks off. Poking her head out a creaking closet door, Kay Faraday rubs her finger under her nose and puffs out her chest as the Little Thief's generated scene - an exact recreation of the room, save for the added fire - disappears. Now with plenty of time to figure out how this Fallen Lotus cane works, Kay struts out of the closet and opens up the front door, hopping down the porch steps as she makes her getaway.

Off the last step she hops, and she lets out a yelp, flailing her arms as she suddenly finds herself toppling forward, tripped up by something. She catches herself, splaying her hands out on the ground as DeMorge's cane rattles on the sidewalk, but as she looks back over her shoulder, her blood runs cold.

"BOO!" Suddenly looming over Kay as she emerges from under the steps, Polly Geist knocks the thief out with a swift blow to the back of the head - not even with her knuckleduster, sparing her that pain, at least.

Kay slumps to the ground, the thief not exactly the sturdiest thing in the world, and Polly grabs her cane. "Sorry, boo. I never was with the Fallen Lotus, but an old job did teach me how to hide myself. Let's grab a bite when the fighting's done and I'll fill you in." She pats Kay on the back, harboring no resentment towards the fallen thief with an idea that a misunderstanding had ensued, sensing a difference between her and a certain other duplicitous thief she had once encountered…

17_uiq8yn.png

As Polly leaves Kay behind, she turns northwards, figuring there isn't much less on this far southern end of the city… and, indeed, with the bridge cleared and the waters of the harbor restored, the northern portion of the city beckons…
 
Part 7

From 35 initial entrants to 18, the field has dwindled down by half. As the city opens wide, what awaits the remaining fighters in the second half of the second Mario Boards Mega Brawl?

The northern side of Brawlopolis towers over the remaining Brawlers as they near it. Clearly the most developed area of the sprawling battlefield, its highrise skyscrapers and furbished buildings practically beckon the remaining fighters for exploration.

It's the Bin Bros. that reach the northern side first, navigating their head start after Banana Man's defeat. At the earliest opportunity, Agent 30 ducks away from the group, his Red Bin disguise still firmly planted over his torso. In a blink, the fake Red Bin vanishes, leaving the genuine Red Bin to question his brothers on who he had seen.

Agent 30 leans against a nearby wall – before he startles at a sudden rummaging in a nearby alleyway. It's almost too quick to be seen, but he swears a humanoid figure on all fours goes tearing down the shadowed backstreets. Were they… not the very first ones to arrive in the northern portion? Who had managed to slip by them? Lifting his gun to his side, the agent begins a slow, methodical pursuit.

Next is the alliance in the boat, Box Guy pulling himself out of the vessel, alongside the Quantum Five. With some rocking, Teller Vision and Bhigwhig also step onto the shore, before Teller turns back to the miscellaneous Office Workers, grunting as they hoist up his beloved wheel. "HURRY IT UP!" he calls towards them. "I DON'T NOT PAY YOU TO TAKE FOREVER!" With the wheel secured on the ground, the group trudge their way along a graveled shoreline to approach the impending city.

The six person alliance gathers their bearings together on the bridge. Vector gives Wexlyn a hearty slap on the back for a job well done eliminating the banana, while Michele attaches himself to Hekki's shoulders. Satoru and Enby are soon to their feet, keeping the rear as the Brawlers are careful to avoid the holes in the bridge, formed by the falling Mechanical Hands.

At this moment of crossing, they are not alone, however. Farther back from the group is Mizzlebip, slinking forward and tailing them at a distance. The clown had experienced no luck in securing her safety since Zhen's defeat by the river, and found herself aimless in her strategy at the docks. But given the tired state of the crew in front of her, she figured this moment was her best to get into uncharted territory. An unknown area of the city with height to exploit? That, she might be able to work with.

Further inland from the bridge, another alliance assesses their next act. Cosmo Neko watches as the procession across the waters moves on, turning to those beside him – Pyrokles, Kroop, Boo1268, Specture Striker, Wheezlie, and Timothy. "We should probably cross the bridge too, huh?" Cosmo suggests.

"Hmm…" Pyro postulates. "Yes, the bridge would certainly be the safest, most convenient way to cross the water." Behind his glasses, his eyes begin to gleam. "Which is why we OUGHT NOT to take it!"

"Wait–" Before any future objections can occur, Pyro whisks up his wand. Rapidly materializing around the crew is an oversized cannon, positioned at a spontaneous angle towards the northern area of Brawlopolis. Despite the insistent "no's" and "stop's", Pyro scrapes the tip of his wand across Kroop to ignite it, and then launches a fireball at the large wick. The spark shoots up into the cannon's body, the cannon performs a dramatic spin, and then– the alliance is barreling through the air! Distant screams can be heard from the bridge as they all arch past, Timothy with the least amused expression on his face.

With the antilogian flying overhead, and with other esoteric combatants finding themselves on the opposite side of the river, those on the bridge suddenly experience a great roaring behind them, the concrete beneath them rumbling and quaking. "DUCK!" Vector yells as they all crouch to the edges of the railing. In hot pursuit of those astral registers, an enormous serpent careens by – a blocky one at that. MBKube surges along the surface of the bridge, coiling in a fluid spiral, a few stray blocks swiping at Enby as they pass. It continues on at a deafening pace, intent on securing its kills.

"No good going that way," Koohitsu confirms, lowering herself back down to her brother from her aerial view. "Everyone's crowding around, it'll be chaos once the fighting starts back up. Even flying across the river might get us shot down."

Kooshigo takes a glance at their surroundings. There, further down the road, he spots it: the indicator of an underground subway system that would assuredly take them to the other side of the city. He pulls on his sister's arm as they jog towards the staircase descending down. Neither catch it as further down the street, Polly calls through her panting breaths, "Wait for me, boos!"

The last of the remaining Brawlers to not make it across, a figure cloaked in a scarf and a done-up hairdo drops from the rooftops. It's… Kay Faraday? The girl puffs out her chest as she starts along the path to the bridge, before stopping in her tracks at the man who appears before her: Dexter Hexley.

Wait. No. Dexter Hexley was ko'd ages ago. Kay squints her eyes. Likewise, Dexter's eyes narrow as she takes in the figure of the girl he saw knocked out just moments ago, when he was returning from retrieving this costume.

Dexter lifts his handgun – a purple sludge immediately coating the end and jamming it. The purple sludge, of course, shot out from the fingertips of the supposed Kay Faraday. The two disguises failing, the fake Kay – really Bunny Ditto – laughs a little. The usually cold Agent 47, disguised as Dexter, can't help the slight smile on his lips as he acknowledges a stealthy equal.

The two continue along side-by-side, eyeing each other from the corners of their vision to see who would make the first callous move…

In the "downtown" area, Specture Striker yanks himself up from the ground, through which he's left a cartoonish imprint from the impact of the cannon ride. He reassembles his skeleton, glancing over to check on his coffin. Still in mint enough condition. Around him, his colleagues groan and lift themselves from where they all made impact. The only one enthused by their ride is Pyro, who cackles and shouts, "AGAIN! AGAIN!"

Rounding the corner of a nearby skyscraper, the other large alliance slows and parses their tracks, Vector leading the way. Glances are exchanged between the groups – seven vs. six, a pretty fair fight, all things considered. The alliances take their moments to brace themselves, gripping their weapons…

It's Boo1268, hoisting his Darkmoon Scepter in the air, who makes the first proclamation.

"I say, my dear chaps, that it is time for a delightful duel!"

And just like that, it's an all-out match in the square! A dark magic blast flies out of Boo1268's scepter, singeing the edge of Wexlyn's hair as it whizzes past. Vector hoists up a trash can lid and charges forward, bashing it against Timothy's hardened shell as the two exert full physical force against each other. Sensing the need for some extra support, Specture turns to the coffin beside him and begins to lift the lid – before Michele materializes on it, keeping the lid securely shut. With a sigh, Specture reaches out his hand and summons his Spirit Striker scythe – but by the time he's prepared his follow-through slash, Michele has begun to vanish out of existence again, the blade gliding through nothing but air. Satoru, meanwhile, bats in the air as Wheezlie circles around him, Cosmo Neko rushing up under his feet and tripping him up.

It's Enby and Hekki that linger near the perimeter of the fight, watching intently at the other set of two who have not actively engaged yet: Pyro and Kroop, arguably the greatest threat amongst the opposing faction.

"I remember his wish," Enby quips. "It was utter nonsense. Unanswerable."

Taking the antilogian out would be vital to any chance of victory here. Enby and Hekki give each other a short nod, before Enby rounds the ongoing conflict, Hekki following close behind. Spotting them approaching, Pyro swiftly surges the magic through his wand, summoning up a mighty sheet of metal – which Hekki effortlessly punches through before continuing on, before turning back and placing her palm against it…

Enby, meanwhile, hops through and continues his charge towards the fiery duo. Kroop unleashes a fireball from his mouth, which licks just the bottom of Enby's foot. The next step stamps it out, but Enby curses under his breath for having such a flammable body. Still, completely persistent, Enby leaps this way and that, creating the perfect diversion for Hekki to get nearer. With Pyro and Kroop's attention focused on the bunny, Hekki slinks up closer, closer, and then…

"GOT IT!" Hekki calls out as she snatches up Pyro's hat. It and the spell components within are converted into a playing card, which Hekki slips behind her back as Pyro twirls around. With a shout, Pyro launches another metal attack her way – but with just a tap of Hekki's finger, it collapses into a wall of delicious chocolate, scattering across the floor beneath her.

"I'm going to need that!" Pyro shouts, almost with a hint of pout in his voice. He can immediately feel his magical ability depleting without the spell components he stored on his head.

"Oh, this?" Hekki responds, pulling the card around to her other hand: a beautiful four of spades. She seems to ponder her options for a moment… before she shrugs, and holds it out in her hand. "Here you go. Sorry for taking it."

Pyro snatches up the card, giving Hekki a glare. He lifts it up above his head, shutting his eyes in anticipation of feeling his hat settle back on. As he rips the card, however, he's suddenly aware of a full shadow covering him. His eyes bolt open, and what he sees can only make him cackle. The metal sheet he had thrown at Hekki, of course! She had converted it, changed the card in her hand behind her back, and now he would be crushed by a weapon that never stood a chance against her! Truly, THIS was the power of antilogic!

The members of Pyro's alliance pause as he lets out one last exclamation of glee, and then a massive thudding sound echoes as Pyro is crushed by the sheer supply of metal. Kroop shouts in shock – when a roundhouse kick from Enby sends Kroop careening away, right in the direction of the river. Surely, a dip in the water would not be so fun for a permanently-flaming skull.

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While the large conflict wears on, things are much quieter in the subway station on the city's southern side. Koohitsu and Kooshigo trot through the abandoned boarding platform, Polly close behind. The trio keep their eyes peeled for a subway train they could ride over. At last, Kooshigo points towards the dark maw of the tunnel, and the very edge of a train poking out from it. They hustle over, forcing open the door. It's clear that the subway car is in disrepair as Kooshigo inspects the control panel. Not unworkable, though.

"I'll have it running in a few," he confirms to the two lingering behind him in the doorway. Koohitsu nods, before heading over to one of the available seats and plopping down. The rest this ride could afford would be critical in the intensive fights to come. Polly kicks back across from her, starting up some of what she does best: excitable chatter!

In the back alleyways of northern Brawlopolis, Agent 30 creeps along, still in pursuit of the enigmatic figure scuttering about. Here and there, an odd clattering of a trash can lid, a thump against a wall, are the only indicators he's got. Still, his work on the field has trained him for this hunt. In the shroud of darkness, Agent 30 allows his head to peek up slightly from the Red Bin disguise he continues to don. If he needed to shrink back and disguise among the scattered trash cans, he could.

He rounds one corner and… at last, he encounters a dead end. And there, near the wall, is his mark.

Shia LeBeouf thrashes back and forth against the brick wall, at moments attempting to claw his way up it, at others spinning on his heels, as though looking for another way to proceed. Agent 30's eyebrows furrow as he nears, unaware of the several voices demanding control over Shia's head. Opinions fly and fallen Brawlers bicker, as they all want something from the deranged killer. It's almost too much to process – but his head instinctively swivels as he catches a whiff of someone else in the air.

Agent 30 immediately shrinks back against the wall as Shia's bloodlust overrides the other voices beckoning him away. He crawls forward with attentive eyes, scanning through the shadowed street for any indications of motion. Agent 30 clenches his jaw as he preps the handgun in his hand as subtly as possible. A single shot to the temple would likely do him in…

Shia crouches onto all fours as he approaches, closer, closer to the trash cans in alignment along the building wall. The human smell is gradually getting stronger. Agent 30 lifts the handgun right as Shia knocks over the first trash can, and–

BANG!

Agent 30 staggers against the wall, eyes wide as a searing pain overwhelms his head. He hadn't pulled the trigger, what had–

Another bang echoes through the alley as Shia scrambles away, a bullet whizzing past his legs and denting a separate trash can. Two more shots unload from somewhere on-high while Shia books it in the direction he came from, every voice in his head in agreement that now was the time to move. Up at the rooftop overlooking the alley, a girl with a painted face hoists the rifle back up over her shoulder, giving only a passing glance back at Agent 30 slumping to the floor, his hand on the side of his head.

Agent 30, KO!​

Mizzlebip hadn't struck down Shia, but it wasn't all bad. At least she got the shot on Agent 30's temple. Finally finding her vantage point would make tracking him much simpler. Mizzlebip revels in the feeling of figuring out her own strategy as she starts up her pursuit along the rooftops.

Meanwhile, back at the bridge, the unlikely duo of Agent 47 and Bunny Ditto continue on tensely. Their disguises maintained, but their fists white-knuckled as they become more and more acutely aware of the other. At any time, the tension would break. The wordless pressure would result in an all-out battle of some kind.

It's Bunny Ditto that finally speaks first. "Something pretty gnarly happened here, huh?" she asks nonchalantly, looking towards the large craters in the bridge.

Agent 47 gives his attention their way. "Yes, I suppose they're–"

There's the break. Agent 47 flings his arm back, deploying his knife and slashing through Bunny Ditto's extending arm. Purple sludge slops onto the bridge, the rest of Bunny Ditto's arm retracting back to her body. She keeps to the offensive, though, her other arm surging forward. Agent 47 ducks under it Matrix style, slicing this chunk away as well and wincing as more goop covers his front.

Bunny Ditto launches herself towards the railing of the bridge, becoming fully oozy now and spiraling up its crest. Agent 47 retreats back, producing his guns from his pockets and taking bold shots up towards the bridge's arch. A few fractures appear where his bullets dent the metal, but none of them graze Bunny Ditto as she positions herself above him and drops down – Agent 47 responding by swinging a slab of crumbled concrete, sending the Bunny Ditto glob ricocheting across the bridge.

Deciding that now's the best time, Agent 47 begins to book it for the northern half of Brawlopolis, hurrying along with an assassin's trained speed. Bunny Ditto takes a moment to reorient herself, before propelling herself after him. With each bound she pushes herself further, her extendable legs practically acting as boosters. Agent 47 reaches into Dexter's suit jacket for anything else to utilize, discovering… just another handgun. He groans and runs on, infuriated at how this agent had nothing of actual use on him.

Then, Agent 47 suddenly slips on something slick. He looks down to discover more purple slime beneath him, sending him tractionless across the ground! He curses and takes a shot at the slime, but it parts around where the bullet would land – before starting to climb up his legs. He continues his charge as best he can – there's the other side of the city, just a few feet away now – but he cannot adequately fend off the climbing slime, only really succeeding in scratching at his legs with his knife.

He feels it climb up his torso, his neck, and then… his vision is overtaken.

Bunny Ditto pulls a satisfied smile as she completely assimilates over Agent 47's body, acting as some bizarre symbiote. With his muscles under her control, she confidently struts over to the edge of the bridge. Below them, the river is back to its full movement, rapid waves trailing off to unseeable places in this sub-area. Bunny Ditto climbs up to the edge of the railing, lifts a leg, turns around cartoonishly – and lets Agent 47's body tip effortlessly over the ledge.

Just as he passes the leg of the bridge, Bunny Ditto yanks herself away, attaching to the side and watching as he tumbles. His bodily sensations returning to him, Agent 47 opens his eyes, just in time to observe the rapids feet away from his face.

Agent 47 curses to himself, praying that Agent 30 didn't get more ko's than him.

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In the next instant, he's gone, swept away by the tides.

Following along his body, the river rounds the edge of the city, where a villainous alliance continues to scout out their approach into north Brawlopolis. Box Guy floats in front of the group, twirling his beloved box on his fingertip. Teller, Bhigwhig, and the Office Workers follow closely behind, Teller rubbing the side of the large wheel almost reassuringly. The Quantum Five take up the rear, calculating anticipated futures and timelines in their collective consciousness.

"So we're aware, gentlemen," Leichter comments through Tristan's mouth, "there's a very significant likelihood we'll be attacked in a short amount of time."

"OH GOOD! ANOTHER CHANCE TO BOOST OUR RATINGS!" Teller responds, his projected grin in stark contrast to the full eye roll Bhigwhig gives him.

Just then, the ground beneath their feet begins to shake, growing more intense by the moment. The alliance all pause, taking inventory of what might be approaching.

"Ah," Leichter scoffs."Right on cue."

Smashing their way through a distant alley and pouring out towards the city's edge, the mass of MBKube comes billowing towards them, cubes raking against the sides of the building and leaving imprints in their wake. With Pyrokles defeated, the source of the greatest energy came from this group: the infinite possibilities of the wheels, the unknowable power of Box Guy – but most alluringly, the energy that radiates off of the Quantum Five. An energy that feels oddly… familiar, to the unfeeling cube helming the mass. Easily identifiable. Necessary to smother.

As they stream forth, although the others brace themselves, Box Guy watches MBKube with a certain twinkle in his eye. So many magnificent boxes… It's only when an errant chaotic energy blast nearly sears his own box that his demeanor changes, and he begins summoning several other cardboard boxes around him.

Like a large wave, MBKube curves up over top of the group! As it comes crashing down, Box Guy unleashes his barrage. Boxes collide with boxes, keeping the full onslaught at bay while Teller Vision allows his extra cable-limbs to come bursting out. Hoisting himself high, he ushers for the Office Workers to start hustling away, keeping the large wheel safe from the large influx of cubes.

The Quantum Five stay behind Box Guy. With their hand held forward, they assist unseen: every time Box Guy's defense starts to falter, they adjust the reality of the moment so that more boxes, more durable boxes, keep with the push. Each time they do so, only MBKube can register what is akin to a flare being ignited, again and again, a pulse of burning transplanal energy that only riles up the commanding cube more and more.

Finally decided to alter its attack, the cubes arch up ever-higher into the air, taking a shape similar to a massive sandbird. With its wings outstretched and heating with chaotic essence, they divebomb directly into the ground, sending Bhigwhig tumbling back into Teller and the wheel, the Quantum Five into Box Guy's back. With the dust settling, the cubes begin rotating at high velocity around the group, the central cube burying itself into the ground. Teller shoots forward an extra limb and snags onto the cube – before one of the marked cubes fires off a magic beam, slicing the limb clean in two.

Box Guy summons his box power to raise himself directly up into the air… Puzzling as none of the cubes attempt to follow him. Likewise, Bhigwhig slips himself out of the spinning radius with no effort – but when either person tries to plow back in, a wall of cubes suddenly stops them, completely blocking off any chance of reentering. As Teller Vision slides out and ensures the safety of the wheel, those outside watch as the cubes start to enclose closer, closer to the Quantum Five, this target their only focus.

The Quantum Five are able to sidestep one cube which flies at them, then adjust the timeline to dodge another. But they're unable to change into a reality where they don't get hit by the next one, which barrels directly into their chest and knocks them prone to the ground. As they lift up again, the vortex of cubes only gets more violent, more jabs at their arms, head, legs. Chaotic magic beams ricochet and rotate around them, leaving little space to go anywhere. And the commanding cube? Inaccessible without sustaining several injuries to the body, almost certainly resulting in death.

As the area around the Quantum Five gets smaller and smaller, the wind from the rapidly-rotating cubes blowing around their clothes… They close their eyes for a business meeting.

"Well, gentlemen," Gansley begins, "I believe it is time we assess our potential routes out of this conundrum. Crump?"

"Attempting to flee in any direction is fruitless," Crump responds. "According to my analysis, there isn't any path we can take without substantial injury."

Johnson continues from there. "Our only hope would be to counteract the cube that commands them all, which is just as impossible."

"Every reality I run," Nesbitt says, "seems to result in our untimely demise. The magic and calculations that these cubes are using are entirely on-par with our own. They know they have succeeded."

Leichter's sharp tongue is, per usual, the last to pipe up. "It seems to me then, gentlemen, that there is only one possible answer to this situation: our failsafe measure."

The board is in agreement. The Quantum Five bow their head.

MBKube's entire mass of crushing cubes converges directly at its center, crushing… nothing. Nothing at all. The only reality where the Quantum Five don't die? The 101st reality, at the furthest reaches of possibility: the reality where they were never competing to begin with.

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MBKube shifts around in pure confusion and distress, knowing that they did not succeed in destroying any registers, but having no idea where it had gone. The remaining alliance members back up and shield their faces at the mass's tantrum. It thrashes tendril-like cube arms this way and that, before eventually deciding that it must've gone somewhere completely inaccessible to it: down, somewhere deep, a depth much further than the astral plane's upward suspension.

The cubes begin to rotate again at extreme velocity, shaping into a pointed cylindrical construct. The drill transformation complete, MBKube carves and digs, down into the earth.
 
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"Where are we?"
"I think we're on the battlefield!"
"Bah! If I wanted to get killed, I would've signed up like all of these morons did!"
"DOHOHOHO!"

"Oh, great, I brought you two with me. Can you at least be quiet while I-"
"Help! Help! Somebody's kidnapped us!"
"Yes! Help us!"
"No no no! Ugh, now I'm going to need to go further into the future before someone comes to investigate!"

"What do you mean-"

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SHING

"Oh, not again!"
 
Part 8

In the center of northern Brawlopolis, the battle between the two larger alliances continues on, neither side relenting even as they begin to grow weary. The loss of Pyro and Kroop, though felt, does not deter their allies from pushing forward at a heavy pace. Boo1268 twirls his Darkmoon Scepter in the air, casting an upgrade spell onto Specture's scythe, lengthening and strengthening its blade. With remarkable dexterity, Specture takes a long swipe at Vector and Wexlyn – Michele materializing right in front of them as he senses the incoming attack. Michele's tanky body is able to sustain the damage, knocking Specture backward while he also blows back. Wexlyn dashes back to check on the cat, while Vector finds himself holding his wrist-weights in front of his face to protect himself from a rolled-up Timothy, barreling through the air.

Cosmo Neko lunges towards Enby, claws outstretched. Enby sidesteps the attack, but feels a knick of Cosmo's cat scratch against his fur. Next to them, Hekki unleashes a fire hydrant from one of her playing cards, launching it straight towards Wheezlie – who slips by it with ease, evasive as he is in the air.

With all of this waging on, it's Satoru that finds himself on the outskirts, uncertain of how to best involve himself. He could move to–

Something darting past him catches the corner of his eye, and he spins on his feet, attempting to see what it was. Under the cover of one of the slim nearby alleyways, was that… a person?

BANG!

Before Satoru can adequately respond, a terrible pain goes tearing through his chest. He instinctively brings his hand to his chest – immediately warm and coated. A gunshot wound. As he slumps down, his eyes cast up to the sky. Up at the edge of the rooftop, he sees the figure of a clown, cocking her rifle for another shot. His consciousness fades as he hears someone's yell of terror – Wexlyn, maybe? – nearby. Whoever, or whatever, had moved into the alley must've gotten him too… Another gunshot rings out… All of his allies were, beginning to, fall…

…

… Satoru opens his eyes.

He looks around in momentary confusion, watching the alliance fight unfolding in front of him. Then, the memory connects back into place. He had gone through Revival.

Knowing the direness of the situation, Satoru takes quick stock of where he's settled in the timeline. On the distant rooftop, Mizzlebip is moving closer, her eyes clearly cast towards the ground at something moving their direction. Speed was of the essence.

"Enby!" he shouts, the rabbit turning their attention towards their ally. Cosmo lands a gash at their ear as a result, but Enby is able to beat him away to listen closer. "Up there!" Satoru points up vaguely towards the rooftop, where Enby is able to spot Mizzlebip dashing along with a trained rifle. Understanding enough, Enby slips by Hekki as she unleashes the ineffective fire hydrant attack – before he springs up to it with his rabbit agility, snags onto it, and with all the force of a chuckster, lobs the hydrant into the path of the incoming Mizzlebip.

Mizzlebip, for all of her regained self-confidence, is unable to endure the brutal blow of a fire hydrant to the face.

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But that's only half the puzzle complete. Satoru inhales sharply as Shia LeBeouf tears by, slipping into the side alley next to Wexlyn and Michele. "BEHIND!" Satoru calls, Wexlyn spinning around just as Shia lifts a mighty axe above his head! He chops it straight down, which manages to snag Wexlyn's sweater. With no other available weapon, Wexlyn grabs onto the scruff behind Michele's neck and swings him like a punching glove, delivering a heavy blow to Shia's face. The celebrity staggers backwards, voices already fighting for dominance on how to respond to this attack.

Satoru breathes a sigh of relief – one that's short-lived as a blade narrowly misses his face. He ducks as Specture swipes again, then fully jumps back when Specture swings his coffin overhead like a massive mace, sending debris scattering through the air. Enby spots the danger Satoru's in, and without any fanfare, picks up Cosmo Neko and chucks him through a distant window, the cat letting out a surprised scream as he goes. Enby hustles over, spot-dodging a hex from Boo1268's scepter.

When he arrives, Enby hooks onto Satoru's arm, and Satoru swings him around to connect a fierce kick to Specture's skull. Specture grunts as a few vertebrae shift, though he's otherwise unaffected. While he's distracted, Enby eyes Boo1268's scepter, the Darkmoon energy pulsing and undulating at its end. He knows this kind of magic; it's built primarily on electric wavelengths, and affects musculature more than anything else – something that does not concern him. Enby vaults past Specture, landing on his hands, and "throwing" the ground to propel himself into the path of Boo1268's next spell.

The Darkmoon energy catapults from the scepter's tip, hitting Enby square-on. Enby doesn't feel it as one should internally, though – and the electromagnetism that his bunny body emits, which at this point had only collected some small amounts of trash, keeps the spell active against his fur. Boo1268 gasps as Enby rams into him, exerting all of that magical prowess back into the person who cast it. The Fancy Phantom sputters back to the floor, feeling woozy from the arcane impact.

Specture looks over his shoulder to his dear friend, a hellish rage starting to course through his undead body. With literal fire in his pupils, he takes another dramatic swing at Satoru, then another, then another. He's unrelenting, practically dancing with his blade, and Satoru can hardly keep up, a few stray strikes marking his chest and shoulder. Enby yet again leaps back to defend his teammate – as Specture anticipated. With a subtle lift of the coffin's lid, spirits from the Lich Yard come streaming out – will o' the wisps. Enby yelps as they collide with his flammable fur, igniting his physical form into purple flames. With the rabbit stumbling away, Specture takes a decisive swing with his scythe. It catches Satoru straight-on, and he slumps to the ground, defeated.

With his attuned eyes, Specture spots it above Satoru's body: his spirit, preparing yet again for another Revival. With a roar, Specture swings his coffin up through the air, its lid open – and snags Satoru's spirit, sending it careening into his Lich Yard.

Satoru, KO!​

With the coffin perched beside him, he hazards a glance back to Boo1268. In that instance, with the last strength of a burning body, Enby snags onto Specture's body and chucks him directly into the coffin, following behind Satoru. Specture calls out in shock as the spectral gate remains open, sucking him right back to his beloved Lich Yard and entirely out of this competition.

Specture Striker, KO!​

As Enby staggers away, their body finally completely shrivels to ash. Now ♡♪!?, they begin to float off, intent on finding any new physical form to connect onto.

Wexlyn, now with Vector by his side, lands another blow on Shia. The bloodthirsty killer finally staggers away for a retreat, hopping down onto all fours and sprinting away into the continuous shadows of the backstreets. It's Hekki who appears behind the group, putting her hands on their shoulders and slipping in front of them. "I'll follow him," she declares, vanishing down into the shadows.

With that moment of quiet, and with the other members of their alliance temporarily or permanently out of commission, Wheezlie motions for Timothy to drag Boo1268 along. The three set off in search of a place to recover. Wexlyn, Vector, and Michele watch them go.

"Well, what now?" Wexlyn asks, worse-for-wear after the intensive fight and lingering bee stings from earlier on the bridge. His gaze drifts to the ashes of Enby's body and the felled Satoru, a little crestfallen at seeing his close allies take defeat.

Vector gives a pat on the back that's much too enthusiastic. "What now? We've cleared out the path to the most important place of all!" He turns and points to a huge sign perched on top of a concrete entryway: "PARKING GARAGE".

Vector whistles casually as Michele sits on his shoulder, and Wexlyn follows in. There, conveniently parked on the first floor, is a sight that brings a tear to the crocodile's eye.

It's a Winnebago.

Vector twirls his keys as he nears, before unlocking the front and slipping into the driver's seat. Wexlyn and Michele load into the back of the Winnebago, Wexlyn pulling open the minifridge and lowering his eyebrows.

Who stocked this entirely full of ginger ale?

Vector floors the Winnebago out of the parking garage, racing through the streets of Brawlopolis.

Into an abandoned building does Timothy yank Boo1268, Wheezlie letting out a joyed guffaw at what he witnesses. Why, this seems to be some kind of tonic center! Herbs and vials line the shelving, with plenty of materials to brew with. "My gentlesir," Wheezlie offers to the still-downed Boo, "I shall concoct your medicinal remedy posthaste!"

With that, Wheezlie zips across the room, yanking down seemingly random assortments of goods from each area. Timothy watches incredulously, feeling that rare urge to speak bubbling in his stomach but knowing it better to bite his tongue. He tosses Boo1268 up to the table, not minding the equipment they've knocked aside. Wheezlie works quickly, creating a sickening viscous liquid that glows purple and green. Somehow, at the same time.

"Here you are, compatriot!" he declares, putting the vial to Boo1268's mouth. "Drink up!"

Boo1268 hardly has the strength to fight against this, the entire contents of the vial pouring into him. He lets out a nauseous breath, multicolored fumes trailing up into the air. He looks at his stubby ghost arms – and discovers them turning bright green!

"Wh-Wheezlie, you… Cad, you… tricked me…" Weakly, Boo1268 lifts his Darkmoon Scepter, firing off a blow towards Wheezlie. The Poison Puff dodges it in surprise, witnessing more and more of Boo1268 turn toxic green. With a groan, Boo1268 slumps back again, tongue lolling out onto the tabletop.

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Wheezlie glances to Timothy with a nervous chuckle. "Now really, Timothy, this was quite the unfortunate accident!"

Timothy simply grunts and starts for the door, while Wheezlie snags up the now-ownerless Darkmoon Scepter for himself…

Down below the city, Koohitsu, Kooshigo, and Polly Geist all await their arrival to the boarding platform on the northern side. After getting the console up and running, the subway ride over was rather uneventful – perhaps for the better, as they all received some much-needed rest.

Reclined back in the driver's seat, Kooshigo's attention is drawn upwards by a sudden grinding sound that seems to be getting louder. He barks over his shoulder towards the other two, "Are you guys hearing tha–"

He's completely cut off by a massive crashing noise, and the three swiftly turn back to the tunnel in front of them. All of them shrink back with shock as debris settles onto the tracks – and several cubes begin pouring into the tunnel! The MBKube mass begins to conglomerate–

Right before the train smashes straight through it, sending cubes scattering to all sides of the tunnel. The central cube clatters underneath the subway, snagging on its central car as it continues on.

The group backs away from the windows, the connective "tissue" of the cubes causing them to hook onto the sides of the subway train. The source cube gives a command to combine, and all the cubes respond, pushing in at the sides of the train and causing the strong metal to dent in. Kooshigo rushes up to the front console – right as a cube smashes through the front windshield glass and goes soaring over his head. Koohitsu and Polly also dodge it, noticing how it comes to a pause at a specific point on the floor. Another window shatters, this one over Polly's shoulder, and though she tries to swipe it away with her cane, it continues on, jostling along the floor until it joins next to the other cube.

The source cube gives another command, and the cubes on the outside push again, causing more denting and compression in the car. Kooshigo looks back towards his sister in panic. "What do we do?!"

Koohitsu propels up to him with a flap of her wings, batting away an errant cube with her oar-stick. Somewhere behind them, there's the sound of sizzling metal – some of the cubes have begun to slice through the train cart with their chaotic energy beams. Polly gives a worried look up to the front, the denting becoming more and more pronounced as the cubes nearly force their way in. In a matter of moments, they would be crushed.

Assessing all of this, Koohitsu looks to the control panel, at Kooshigo's hard work in repurposing it, then up to the incoming tunnel… where she could just make out the corner of the incoming boarding platform. With a short breath to settle herself, she grabs up the controls – and completely tears them off the console. Ignoring Kooshigo's sound of dismay, she soars back to where Polly is at, and takes her hands… before tossing her out the window.

Polly's alarmed "BOO!" is drowned out by the screeching and shifting of metal. She goes tumbling into the tunnel wall, clutching the cane close to her chest as she makes herself semi-intangible, softening the impact of the bricks. She comes to a stop, head spinning, several feet back.

Koohitsu looks to the front again, at the forthcoming boarding platform, and its flat wall on the other side. She yanks her brother to her side, gives him a reaffirming stare, and then ducks into her shell. Kooshigo does the same, doing his best to trust their safety even with the subway car getting crushed smaller, smaller…

A jolt rocks through both of them as the subway crashes into the wall.

They go tumbling backwards through the length of the subway, the collision forcible enough to cause the length to crush inwards. And then, the front ignites, explosions rocketing through the contraption. The cubes outside and inside are swallowed in bursts of flames, a heat so intense that it rivals the sensation of the quantum reality changing. If the source cube could scream, it would.

With a final boom, the entire subway train detonates, sending the two shelled Koopas careening back in the direction of Polly. Polly covers her face with her arms, the heat singeing across her, the smoke filling her vision. When at last it starts to settle, Polly shakily lifts herself to her feet, looking to the mess left behind.

The cubes are durable, that's for certain. Covered in scorch marks and dented, but most of them survived the explosion. This includes the source cube, which flops weakly across the tracks, its permanently-fixed toothy grin almost a taunt. Although the cubes had survived, the energy connecting them was dispelled, and there was nothing for the commander to latch onto anymore.

Desperate for anything, it lurches on, on. Its desire for silence is answered when it falls in front of Polly, and at its weakest point, she skewers it with the end of the cane.


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She kicks the cube off the cane, then looks to her right. There, Kooshigo and Koohitsu finally pop out of their shells, coughing and caked in soot. They brace on one another as they start walking towards the boarding platform, Polly providing a guiding arm.

Elsewhere in the city, a sparking gleam of light moves around... as the being known as ♡♪!? flies around, looking for a new vessel. While still in the match, if it came down to the finale with no body, it'd be a lot harder to win, after all. They flit from location to location, before finally seeing something that looks appealing through a building window.

A small cat plush - reasonably sized, well proportioned, definitely easy to walk around as. ♡♪!? backs up, and flies through the window, aiming right for the cat plush! With a flash of light, they enter it, and Enby stretches their new limbs, beginning to walk a round the room. "This will suffice." Enby says to themself, ready to continue pursuing the championship. Studying the room they're in, they realize it's a bedroom, so heading for the door, they step out into the living room of an apartment... and see another cat!

This one, on the other hand, looks at the plush with newfound interest. "I didn't know a second cat had entered!" comments Cosmo Neko. The cat had been chucked into the apartment earlier, and now he'd taken the chance to curl up and rest for a while, rather than engage in the hustle and bustle of the Mega Brawl. Enby paces by, looking at Cosmo Neko waringly - with only a handful of placements left, everyone left was someone to watch out for. "Yes, well... I received a makeover." Enby says.

"Neat. Well... I don't really want to keep up the fight. I'm very comfortable here. You can go, if you want." Enby watches Cosmo Neko closely, but the other cat seems to be telling the truth, having chosen to sit out the rest of the Mega Brawl, apparently. As Enby heads towards the exit, a sudden blast of water hurls them into the wall!

Cosmo Neko gasps dramatically. "Oh no! Are you okay?" However, Enby springs up quickly, glaring at him. "Elemental manipulation. I'm impressed that someone so unassuming has such raw psychic power on their side." Now that they're looking closely at Cosmo Neko, it's clear to Enby that the small cat is actually a psychic powerhouse, the telltale presence of ESP making it obvious that there's a full-blown fight going on. Cosmo Neko just kind of smiles awkwardly. "Well… if you've noticed, you've noticed!" No longer trying to lure Enby into a false sense of security, Cosmo Neko launches a huge burst of fire towards Enby, who drops and rolls. Singed on the side by some of the flame, the plush lunges forward, grabbing onto Cosmo Neko.

"I'M A CHUCKSTER!"

Though the old plush may have been destroyed, the power of Chucking carries over, and Cosmo Neko finds himself hurled across the room. It's only a dose of psychic power that limits his impact, keeping him from slamming hard into the wall and even then still banging up the cat. Cosmo Neko drops, landing on his feet like any good cat, and notices the plush has vanished. Enby is lurking somewhere, but where? Where?

Reaching out with his ESP, Cosmo Neko begins to triangulate where. The plush charges back in from the side, but with Cosmo Neko knowing where it is, he unleashes a searing cone of fire that lands on the plush directly, incinerating Enby in an instant - though his original body might have survived this better, this one is relatively vulnerable. As it drops in a pile of ashes, the Star Spirit known as ♡♪!? emerges.

Looking at Cosmo Neko, they quickly zip around, trying to figure out a good way to keep picking a fight with the battered cat. However, ESP still being in play means that Cosmo Neko is able to pick up on them, and as they move in, a sudden pulse of psychic energy grabs the star spirit. Cosmo Neko waits there for a second, thinking. It's not like he can actually interface with ♡♪!? right now, the Star Spirit unable to be attacked normally as well as unable to attack normally.

That's when it hits. Putting as much of his psychic power into a single move, Cosmo Neko… launches ♡♪!? into the sky! Passing through everything on the way, the Star Spirit is on a one-way trip towards outer space. Sure, once the momentum ends it'll be easy for ♡♪!? to fly back, but there's no way they're getting back in time to participate in the Mega Brawl, Corey considering this a defeat by ring out.

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"OKAY, BHIGWHIG!" The loud, ringing voice of Teller Vision says. "IT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL NEED TO MAKE A BIG PLAY HERE! IF WE WANT TO WIN, THE WHEEL WILL BE OUR BEST BET!"

"Hmmm." Bhigwhig looks at the legendary Wheel, decider of fates and fortunes. It had helped them quite a lot throughout their time in the MBMB… but on the other hand, it was always possible it wouldn't go their way.

Box Guy nods at the wheel. "Not the biggest fan of wheels. They're too round, and don't make good boxes."

Before they can get into an in-depth discussion of the relative merits of boxes and wheels, a loud car horn breaks through the conversation, and the trio yelp as the Winnebago carrying Vector, Wexlyn, and Michele drives straight towards them! Box Guy hurls himself to the side, choosing running away as the best part of valor as he takes off, leaving Teller and Bhigwhig against the incoming car... which slams right into the wheel! It cracks and breaks under the impact, its carriers scattering as the wheel collapses, unable to spin.

"OH. THAT'S NOT GOOD!" Teller says, before producing his mini-wheel. He gives it a spin, and a frog appears in his hand as Vector turns the car again, spinning it to the right direction. As he drives in again with the Winnebago, Bhigwhig also spins a mini-wheel, trying to get something good out of it... only for it to land on the "fall asleep" slot. Bhigwhig promptly starts snoring, totally out of it, Teller looking at him in shock as the frog leaps onto Wexlyn's head and begins to smack at him, not interfering with Vector at all.

Looking at Bhigwhig, the ruined wheel, and the nearby building, Teller decides that Box Guy had the right area. He starts to run for the building, as Vector drives in once more... slamming right into Bhigwhig with some impressive road rage.

Bhigwhig, KO!​

With Bhigwhig out, and the wheel out, Teller's grumbling quite a bit as he walks through the building... only to realize what exactly he's stumbled into. "...NOW THIS IS SOMETHING I CAN WORK WITH!"
 
Tuxedo Mask (Monokuma)
35th: Monokuma and Izuru Kamukura (Teller Vision)
Arle Nadja (Huepow)
34th: Klonoa and Huepow (Shmaisy and Cayde)
33rd: Scaran (Metal Knuckles)
Brock (Quantum Five)
32nd: Brock and Tuxedo Mask (Teller Vision and Quantum Five)
Shmaisy (Fearless Fosdick)
31st: Arle Nadja and Shmaisy (Huepow and Fearless Fosdick)
30th: Metal Knuckles (Meldspar)
29th: Cayde (Shia LeBeouf)
Zhen Big Eelser Generboom V2)
28th: Big Eelser Generboom V2 (Dexter Hexley and Spooks)
27th: The Grande Cavalli (Pyrokles and the Explainer)
Dexter Hexley (Tails and Scaran Knuckles)
Spooks (Kay Faraday)
26th: Dexter Hexley and Spooks (Tails, Scaran Knuckles, and Kay Farday)
25th: Meldspar the Treasurer (Banana Man)
24th: Donna Quiñones (Teller Vision)
Scaran Knuckles (Vector and Hekki)
23rd: Fearless Fosdick (Agent 30)
22nd: Tails (Agent 47)
Explainer (The Stallion)
21st: The Stallion (Cosmo Neko)
20th: Banana Man (Wexlyn)
19th: Kay Faraday (Polly Geist)
Pyrokles (Hekki)
Kroop (Enby)
18th: Pyrokles, Kroop, and the Explainer (Hekki, Enby, and The Stallion)
Agent 30 (Mizzlebip)
Agent 47 (Bunny Ditto)
17th: Agent 30 and Agent 47 (Mizzlebip and Bunny Ditto)
16th: Quantum Five (MBKube)
Mizzlebip (Enby)
15th: Zhen and Mizzlebip (Big Eelser Generboom V2 and Enby)
Satoru Fujinuma (Specture Striker)
Specture Striker (Enby)
Boo1268 (Wheezlie S. Puff)
14th: Boo1268 and Specture Striker (Wheezlie S. Puff and Enby)
13th: MBKube (Koohitsu, Kooshigo, and Polly Geist)
Enby (Cosmo Neko)
12th: Satoru Fujinuma and Enby (Specture Striker and Cosmo Neko)
Bhigwhig (Vector)

Still Brawling:

Box Guy; Bunny Ditto; Cosmo Neko; Hekki; Kooshigo & Koohitsu; Polly Geist; Shia LeBeouf; Teller Vision; Red Bin, Blue Bin, & Green Bin; Wexlyn, Vector, & Michele; Wheezlie S. Puff & Timothy
 
Part 9

Outside, the building Teller Vision had walked into slowly begins to light up. Shining spotlights start to draw the eye, bringing one or another over from the arena to see what's going on inside. Polly Geist wanders towards the building, Hekki stepping in as well. On the other side of the building, as the Bin Brothers gather to discuss, Shia Lebeouf leaps towards them under the commands of the spirits, slamming into Red Bin and sending the two of them rolling into the building. And within, there's a rip in time itself, Donna Quinones emerging from the temporal cut and landing in the... set?

Yes, as the lights go on, the five drawn into the building find that they're in a tv studio. Set up with five booths, a new wheel... and of course, their host, Teller Vision. "HELLO, LOVELY CONTESTANTS!

WELCOME TO THE NEWEST EDITION OF WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE! I'VE FOUND AND GAINED CONTROL OVER THIS TV STUDIO, AND THANKS TO THAT, YOU'RE ALL MY DELIGHTFUL PARTICIPANTS!"

"Can we say no?" Polly asks.

"OF COURSE NOT! I TOLD YOU, I HAVE CONTROL, AND THAT INCLUDES OVER THE STUDIO'S AUTOMATED DEFENSE SYSTEMS!" To punctuate this, a couple machine guns start firing off around Teller Vision, the group dodging around them and slowly forced towards the stage. Polly quickly leaps behind one of the booths, followed shortly by Donna, who looks over at Hekki in the booth over. "Take this." she says, handing the stick to Hekki, who takes it with a look of confusion, Donna only nodding knowingly. Shia is the last one to enter a booth, still juddering a bit, but cooperating as Teller begins to speak.

"WELCOME, ONE AND ALL! TO WHEEL OF BRAWL! WE'RE HERE WITH FIVE FANTASTIC CONTESTANTS, EACH OF WHOM WILL SPIN THE WHEEL TO SEE WHAT THEY END RECEIVING AS A PRIZE. WHO'D LIKE TO GO FIRST!?"

"I shalt be the first in line!" Donna says, looking at that new wheel. Unlike the classic wheel, this one is just a bunch of results scrawled on a board, Teller clearly ready to implement them as necessary. With a spin, Donna watches it circle around with all sorts of results, knowing that due to certain knowledge she had from seeing it later, she had the upper hand...

That is, until the wheel stops. Teller looks at it.

"YOU'VE WON… A ONE-WAY TICKET TO 24TH PLACE!"

"Wait, what-"

Leaping forward with his extra arms, Teller activates Donna's suit, drawing on his previous encounter with her. A time portal rips open, and Teller shoves Donna forward, sending her into the past... right into a certain encounter with Teller that puts an end to Donna's temporally disjointed run in the MBMB.

But while one contestant is now eliminated, the next is up to spin. As Teller indicates Polly to go next, Shia forces his way past, and spins the wheel. Teller watches it carefully, eyes fixed on the wheel... and the ghosts, deciding to give some advice, tell Shia now is the best chance to get out of the way, Teller not paying attention to the studio. Shia quickly runs off, Teller watching the wheel land on... "OOOH, A MACHINE GUN SHOWPIECE!" The guns activate, Teller turning around, and seeing just his three remaining contestants, who shrug.

"WELL, DANG. OKAY, NEXT!"

Polly Geist is the next one to take a spin, watching the wheel turn and whirl. It doesn't take long for it to land, Teller Vision looking disappointed as it stops on the "A NEW CAR" slot. "WELL, FINE. IF YOU WIN, YOU WIN. HERE YOU GO! YOU'LL FIND YOUR NEW HOT ROD AFTER THE BRAWL!" he says, chucking a pair of keys to Polly.

She catches them with a smile, before Red Bin takes a spin. They watch the wheel together, Teller tracking it as it stops.

"TELL 'EM WHAT HE'S WON, TELLER!

NOTHING!" the host says to himself, before gesturing to Hekki. "ALRIGHT, ONCE HEKKI'S GONE, YOU'LL ALL TAKE NEW TURNS AGAIN! AND WE'LL REPEAT! OVER AND OVER, UNTIL WE'VE GOT A PROPER WINNER!

ME!"

Hekki steps up to the wheel, and gives it a spin... but she's been taking the chance to watch. No friend of Teller Vision's - still standing against him for the Killing Game he forced her into, even - her purple eyes shift to red as he watches the wheel in excitement. She knew him well... well enough to know that her hunch was right after confirming it by watching the others. He was always too focused on the wheel to pay attention to anyone else.

The next thing Teller knows is a sudden slam of clay against his side, Hekki tossing down another few playing cards. A group of about five clay creations march towards Teller, Polly and Red Bin taking the chance to leave the studio and get out of the way of all of Teller's tricks and traps. As they go their separate ways outside, Teller Vision laughs a bit. "OH, WHAT A TWIST! YOU KNOW, ACTORS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO GO OFF SCRIPT AS OFTEN AS YOU DO! BUT WE DID GET GREAT RATINGS LAST TIME. LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

As the small clay soldiers charge Teller Vision, his arms start reaching forward, Teller beginning to punch at each and every one of them. They're relentless, in the way that only objects made of inanimate material can be, but Teller's still doing a great job of keeping them off his back. One clay soldier gets picked up and hurled away, shattering on impact, while another gets smashed into the third. All of this is a precursor, however, to Hekki vanishing into the shadows during all of Teller's chaos with the clay.

As the last couple clay soldiers decide to turn tail and run rather than fight this losing battle, Teller looks around his empty studio. Everyone had already left the event… what's a guy to do? Teller sighs as he begins to start cleanup... and behind him, a magical blob appears.

With one powerful punch aimed right to the back of Teller's metal TV head, Hekki is able to use her Metal Punching (™) to smash right through him! The back of his TV head shatters, and Teller spins around to vaguely look at her, before lunging forward, still going. Before he can go for her, though, she brings up... the stick that Donna had dropped earlier. Hekki's able to deflect a couple of his strikes, before vanishing into the darkness once more.

Teller's still trying to track her, only for a sudden flash of light near him to catch his whole attention. As it does, Hekki pops up behind Teller, jamming the stick forward. She slams it into the hole, through his head, and breaks his screen. Teller freezes up, before speaking.

"YOU'VE BEEN...

A WONDERFUL AUDIENCE!!!"

With that final declaration, he keels over.

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With Teller Vision down and out, Hekki sighs in relief, before beginning to move out of the studio. She looks over at what the light was, only to see Donna, though a Donna from earlier in her own timeline. Holding a bag of marshmallows, Donna had jumped out just in time to see Hekki spear Teller with the stick and put him down for the count.

"So that would be why my future self asked for mine stick... but where did she go?

Hmm. I will just have to explore and find her!"

Donna leaves the studio in the other direction from Hekki, who shifts back into the shadows, slowly working her way out of the area. As Donna patrols, she comes across Box Guy, who blinks in surprise for a second, before realizing that this must be a Donna from earlier along her personal timeline than the one he saw defeated by Teller Vision. And if that's the case... then to avoid a paradox, she'll have to survive until then, no matter what.

"Halt, brave wielder of the boxes!" Donna says, pointing her time pickaxe at Box Guy. "Do you perhaps know whenabouts I am, and whenabouts is my future self?"

Quickly, Box Guy nods. "Yes, I've got all the information in a couple boxes! So let's team up - help me out for a bit and I'll tell you when you can find her!"

"...Very well!"

With that, Box Guy departs with his new ally/meatshield in tow.

But as for Hekki, she pops up outside the studio, taking a deep breath. Now's a good chance to recover and regroup. Polly and Red Bin have both run into the distance to find what allies they still have, which means it's time for her to track down who could be left in the arena. As Hekki begins to move forward, there's a sudden loud yell from above.

Looking up, Hekki hurls herself aside as Shia LeBeouf comes crashing down but does not hurt inside. With the mad desire of the actor to claim victory by any means necessary only amplified when in the top ten, Shia is ready to conquer whoever's nearby - and in this case, that's Hekki. Her yellow eyes make it clear that she was NOT prepared for this, and she hurls down her playing cards. Three more clay soldiers pop out and charge Shia, but he brutally rips them apart with his axe, the clay soldiers not even having the chance to run this time.

However, what this has done is buy Hekki time. She's already identified the shadows in the area, and with the chance to pop up from one, she throws a playing card towards him, which bounces and releases a wheel from Teller's stash. The wheel explodes, throwing Shia to the ground, before he swiftly turns around and hurls a knife towards the source - only for Hekki to already be gone. The knife sails through empty air, clattering to the ground and disappearing as Hekki brings up a playing card to hold it.

Moving again, Hekki this time throws the card with the knife, watching the knife manifest and stab into Shia's thigh. He rips it out, not throwing it this time, but charging blindly towards Hekki. A couple of playing cards to the face keep him from watching Hekki as she moves again, teleporting through the shadows in order to stay away from Shia. As she materializes behind him, he's lashing out madly in front with his axe. Hekki ducks back into the shadows, aiming for the studio. She knows she'll have to deal with him here, but the hard part is having the right material to finish the job.

However, within the studio, there are a couple of very useful items that Teller had set up as prizes for his ill-fated game show. Hekki turns a couple of them into cards, and vanishes back into the shadows. She slides back outside, and pops up - only for a bear trap to snap shut on her! Hekki flails desperately as Shia comes in swinging with the axe, only for Hekki to bring up a card, Shia caught off guard as a steel box for prize holding appears in front of her. The axe slams into it, rattling Shia, but Hekki finds she can't morph back into the shadows while the bear trap is holding onto her.

As she tries to pry it off, Shia's moving in quickly... but he's shaking. He almost seems to be resisting, the ghosts inside his mind wanting to spare Hekki. She had been a friend to several of the ghosts currently making decisions for Shia, and the natural urge of Shia to win the battle was fighting their goal of letting Hekki take the chance. She can tell she only has seconds, and she hurls her last card at Shia LeBeouf. It's a bomb, one of the prizes Teller was most excited to roll on the wheel, and it goes off! Shia is consumed in the blast, and as the dust continues to float around, Hekki begins to pry off the bear trap.

That's when the form lunges out of the dust. The distraction of the bomb blast had rattled the ghosts, and Teller Vision had led a revote, that now came out to "eliminate Hekki". With nothing holding him back, Shia grabs Hekki, and punches her into the ground as hard as possible, enough that the Magiblot becomes... well, a blot. He pumps his arms in success, before scuttling off to find another target…

26_ys3ise.png

While Shia scuttles off, elsewhere, Box Guy and his new shield have found a battle worthy of their attention.

"Hyup!" As Donna's pickaxe pierces asphalt, Cosmo Neko leaps at the temporal agent, bounding off of her head and batting away a box arcing over her head. As it flies off-course, a landing Cosmo narrows his eyes and focuses his telekinetic power on propelling it back towards its sender. Box Guy, already fleeing the scene, bangs a u-turn as Donna calls out to him, catching sight of the box rocketing towards him and arresting it with his own telekinetic power.

As the neutralized box flops down to the ground uselessly, Box Guy darts to Donna's side, zig-zagging his path and successfully avoiding a scratching from a pouncing Cosmo. The cat skids down the street as a result of his botched offensive, acquiring a painful rugburn and picking up some loose gravel in his pelt while Donna wrests her pickaxe from the ground.

Fragments of asphalt scatter and clatter when finally she pulls the weapon out with a mighty heave, Cosmo pulling himself together and making a fresh beeline for his foes. Those fractured chunks of road rise into the air at the feline's behest, punted by a power unseen in the direction of Donna and Box Guy.

This time around, Box Guy makes no move to respond in kind, seeing no reason to expend the effort as he simply ducks behind an unprepared Donna, letting the projectiles pummel her, scraping her cheeks and denting her armor.

Pressing his advantage as he sees Donna struggling to defend herself, Cosmo Neko launches himself at the duo. Thinking quickly, Box Guy checks Donna with his shoulder, sending her stumbling forward, intercepting Cosmo by crashing into him. While the two of them crack their skulls on one another, Box Guy glances up and down the street, taking advantage of the reprieve Donna had provided by getting a sense of his surroundings.

Knowing that she cannot die now because she has not yet reached the point in her own future where she will die, Box Guy runs off and leaves Donna to her own devices as Cosmo relentlessly claws at her, slipping underneath her legs as she makes a sweeping cut with her chainsaw. Plucking a bag of marshmallows from the armor of his meatshield, he makes his break for an abandoned building. "Don't be afraid of the cat. I have a plan," he calls out during his retreat, having not even a semblance of a plan as he rips open Donna's bag of marshmallows.

The sounds of the clash between the temporal agent and the cat fade away as he ducks inside the building, catching his breath as he takes stock of the scene. And what a scene it is! With shelves and racks lining the walls, the place looks like some kind of store, but loose bottles and empty plastic packages litter the floor around the shelves, evidently knocked off in some kind of rushed ransacking of the establishment. Popping a marshmallow into his mouth, he wrinkles his face - not on account of the taste of the treat, but on account of a putrid odor hitting his nostrils.

Cautiously, he follows the scent deeper into the establishment, his eyes adjusting to the dim lighting as he puts a light foot forward with each step, on the lookout for traps. When he comes upon the sight, his pupils dilate for the shock of finding an unconscious Boo1268 on the floor amidst some sort of neon green ectoplasmic ooze. He pauses his approach, briefly wondering if this might be some sort of spectral trick, but the complete lack of activity on the Fancy Phantom's part puts him at ease. Curious, Box Guy sets his usual box aside on a nearby service counter and kneels down, running a finger through the ooze. It sizzles against his skin, and as he glances at the bag of marshmallows in his other hand, an idea takes shape…

"Halt forthwith! I shalt not impugn my honor by surrendering to a feline!" A few minutes later, more shelved items shatter and spill as Cosmo hops from the doorway onto the shelves of the establishment, pursued by Donna. Having supreme confidence in Box Guy's professed plan, Donna swings her chainsaw through shelves with abandon, shaving the fur off of Cosmo's back as he scurries amidst the merchandise. Running in a panic, he scans the rest of the dim establishment in search of some way of turning the tide of battle. His eyes pass over his fallen comrade and he feels his heart sink, it dawning upon him that all of his original alliance's hopes now rest on him.

As Donna's pickaxe crashes through a display of powdered herbs, putting a notch in his tail, his eyes finally settle upon something he can use - an empty box upon the counter, filled with delicious marshmallows, no less! A note within catches his eye, scrawled out hastily and obscured from other eyes by the darkness.

My good man Cosmo, my time is short. It falls to you. Please accept this final gift of mine to boost your strength - Boo.

With a yelp of pain and resolve, Cosmo raises his ears and arcs his back as he unleashes an explosion of psychic force. Shelves turn into dominoes as the blast topples them, and Donna finds herself hurled back into the wall, her pickaxe dislodging from Cosmo's tail. Freed and knowing he has only a precious few seconds to escape Donna's sight, Cosmo leaps for the box on the counter, rolling into it with enough force for the whole apparatus to spill over the counter.

As the box lands rightside-up, grounded by his weight, Cosmo moves to pull the flaps shut so he can hide out, only to gasp in shock as a shadow descends upon him. Casting the shadow? It's Box Guy, hunched down and hidden behind the counter, and now peering down at the cat in his box. While Cosmo scarfs down a marshmallow, hoping for a power-up, Box Guy slips a vial of toxic ectoplasmic sweat into the box and hefts it up, wrapping his arms around it and using his considerable strength to keep the flaps sealed.

The box rattles and shakes for a few moments, Box Guy tightening his grip to keep its occupant from forcing his way out, but finally it falls still. A recovering Donna limps her way over, looking at Box Guy expectantly. "Did our enemy perish?"

"There's a cat in a box with a fragile bottle of poison," Box Guy responds flatly. "Until we open the box to observe the cat, it exists in a superposition of both not KO'd and KO'd."

"Tsk! We must observe the feline with haste before its status causes a split in the temporal stream!"

"Right. Here goes." Bracing himself, Box Guy, turns his head to protect his eyes in case Cosmo should launch himself out of the box claws-first. Fighting his instincts to keep boxes sealed, he glances at his usual box, tucked behind the counter where he had hidden himself, and peels back the flaps of Cosmo's box.

Donna leans in for a better view, and as his eyes return to the parting flaps, he spots Cosmo within, unmoving and bearing fur coated in sickly green. Sighing with relief, he sets down Schrodinger's Cosmo and picks his usual box back up.

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"A masterful deception!" Donna exclaims, elated by the result. "I must depart to retrieve the confections which compelled the cat. Fare thee well!" The gears on her pickaxe and in her armor whir to life as Box Guy rests, light briefly spilling into the building as she rips open a hole in time and jumps through it.

With victory over Cosmo, but the loss of his meatshield, Box Guy takes advantage of the safety offered by the thoroughly-ruined pharmacy to prepare himself for the next battle, but out on the streets, the next battle is already here for another group…
 
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