[WolfEx]

Darkness....intrepid darkness....I saw nothing but a campfire lighting my distilled vision.

I am tied up to something, my wrists bleeding from lacerations, spiked chains cover my body. I hear a distant moaning and a jagged grunting near me, but I can see very little, blinded by a gauged and blackened right eye, with my one good eye being too swollen with tears and toxic air to see much else. I try to mutter something or at least let out a small cry for help, but my voice fails me, I am left too exhausted to speak. I've been through worse than this, yet I am bested by some form of kidnapping, whom I was abducted by I do not remember, but I did not have my Power Suit, and therefore I was powerless. Trapped, contained, and fading fast, my only hope was to try and make out who my captor was, if I could, and persuade any information out of them I can muster. I can see a dark figure, tall, muscular, tense, walking over to me. The closer this figure got the more I could see their features. Long, piercing horns etched out the sides of its head, and a helmet of some kind was bolstered upon their crown. Their skin as black as night. They came closer to the campfire's light, and right up to my face as if to perform some kind of intimidation when even their size alone was enough to startle me. Being defenseless only made me more terrified. I winced hard to at last see who was in my face, my vision cleared up enough to identify the fiend.

It couldn't be. Black Shadow, one of the First Fallen on this planet that was once an ally, turned beast descended into madness. He was so very different, even more different than when I saw him months ago in the Life Sphere foolishly bargaining with him in order to leave the Life Sphere alone. That was a mistake, I should have known he wouldn't keep his word in keeping the Life Sphere out of his psychotic Infected experimentation outings. He continued to be a threat to the only home on this planet keeping sum 4000 people alive. His time in the wastes of Li had taken its toll on him. His prototype concoctions and experimental chemicals haven't been keeping him healthy. He has grown bigger, more disgustingly ugly as if he wasn't ugly enough already, and he smelled of rotting flesh and corrosion. His cape had grown tarnished, and his skin suit had rips along its seams. He wasn't surviving as great as he had thought, this was perhaps good news to some, but in reality, there was nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing else to lose. The stakes can only grow higher. He blew a breath into my face, foul, decrepit air filled my nostrils and I almost vomited from the scent. He spoke words to me, and his voice was far from the deep charm he had bellowed before. I will never forget the sound of that voice....the voice of madness.

"Samus...Aran...." He was struggling to speak, his breath was hoarse and his tone was that of gravel grinding against dirt. "Does this please you...to see me like this..." I tried to hide a smile, it didn't work. "Pleasing me? You couldn't please a woman if you were the last man on this planet you disgusting piece of-" He spit in my face and swiped a hand across my cheek. My head snapped in a ricochet from his blow. Whatever drugs or chemicals he was taking to stay alive made him full of a great strength. He caused me to shed fresh blood as it dripped from my mouth, scarring me up even more than he had when he had found me and knocked me out previously. When exactly I don't remember, I have been fading in and out of consciousness for some time now. "SILENCE! You are nothing but a worm, still alive because I allow it. Take a look around, you think you can escape?" Black Shadow, now postured forever in a crookedness, hunched over like a mutant creature with a disfigurement, spread his arms sweeping the air gesturing to the location he had trapped me in. It was a makeshift base of some sort. High, barbed wire walls made of concrete surrounded the place, steel sheds and miniature tents were filled with scientists and doctors he had forced to work for him no doubt, sleep deprived and nothing but skin and bones, are seen whipping up some kind of salves. Infected slaves, some caged for experimentation, are being prodded and poked with needles and electrical rods.

This was hell, a nightmare, a genocide....gigantic creatures, bigger than I will ever know, guard these concrete walls, caked in black splotches, skin darker than a starless night sky just like Black Shadow was. Mechanical turrets and explosive mines line the entrance which was a single metal door attached to the front most wall. There was no way anybody was getting in or out of here....I was at his mercy now. "The only reason you are still breathing Samus....is you are the only one for some strange, abominable reason, that can resist the deadly amount of Starvia on this planet, and thus, the amount surrounding Tabuu's remains." He draws another long, deep breath struggling to find his voice again. "You will aid me in going there, and we will recover his remains to help finish an antidote to my ailment." I couldn't feel more violated by his very presence as he spoke, it would take alot more than his request for help to break me. "And if I refuse?" Black Shadow laughs in a cackling, scratchy chuckle, coughing here and there as he does so. "Then we remove every ounce of blood you have inside of you and use your genetics to try and come up with a cure on our own, since you seem to be so resistant to this planet's bastard air. However it is much more time consuming, tedious, and headache inducing than going no more than a few miles to the Extraction Point and getting the data we need on Tabuu. Choice is yours, wench." He really wasn't going to give me any other choice, as expected from a demon like him. "You would just kill me regardless...." He laughs again in a forceful grimace. "So? Why not make it fun and go on a little adventure before you die? It's much more painless than that other option...and with that blasted warfare going on back at that cozy bubble of yours there's no way anyone is coming to get you." I had to find a way out of here. Mario...Sonic...E.Gadd....they must not stop until they find me. They had to be smart enough to call for more help and understand that Black Shadow is behind my disappearance, here was clinging to hope that they were not complete idiots....

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"No, I assure you it's this way!"

E. Gadd was walking along the wastes of Li as far as he could go with his diminishing supply of oxygen relying on his SmashDar to track and locate Black Shadow's whereabouts. "The SmashDar will beep when it picks up an electronic signal. That maniac Black Shadow will be hiding in some hunkered down shelter somewhere near the Extraction Point and the moment he uses any electric module we will pick up on it!" Following right behind E. Gadd were the weary Mario and Sonic. Both of them looked tired and unwilling to keep going along with E. Gadd's ventures.

"You best be right professor, there issa bigga war going on back at home, and we are looking for a losta cause. Samus is de-"

Mario opens his mouth without thinking and is immediately cut off by E. Gadd.

"How dare you say such a thing! Samus is a big reason why so many are still alive! And I will not believe she is dead until I have proof! And I think by gonnit I can find proof she's alive! Either way, we are finding her, dead or alive, and bringing her back to the Life Sphere with a Hero's welcome!" E. Gadd shut down Mario right quick with his comment, and Mario looked away, ashamed, but also deep in thought losing all faith in any chance of survival on the planet at all. With a war going on at the Life Sphere, and no clues of Samus's whereabouts being found, Mario was just ready to collapse in his apartment and stay there forever until the world ends. His point of view has took a turn for the worst.

"Suck it up mushroom man, at least we're being productive. I mean look at me, compared to you two I'm a mess! And yet here I am, still givin a darn...somehow. Through all of this, I somehow still find strength. " Sonic spoke out to the two others as they journey on to what could be a dead end, but he still kept going along with the plan, if not to find hope, but to feel useful in some way and keep his mind off the Life Sphere's troubles.

"I may be an old man, I may be physically mediocre...but I have wisdom...and with that kind of gift, you just can't give up on faith in humanity. You build, you advance, you conquer. Your brain can do great things, many things, anything you wish....I just use mine more than most, and right now it says Samus is still alive. Now we keep moving!" Mario and Sonic look at eachother and shake their heads, exchanging a like mindedness of a lost cause, but E. Gadd remains stalwart and trudges onward even though there is nothing but an empty wasteland to be seen. Just as the three of them were reaching a heightened point of both fatigue and impatience, the SmashDar gives off a blip and pings. E. Gadd couldn't believe it. "Fellas, we have made contact!" With a sudden spurt of excitement, E. Gadd rushes across the dirt horizon and races to follow the signal! Mario and Sonic follow suit, also in seemingly disbelief at the sudden tracing.

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Fox had been stomping through the wastelands for what felt like days on end, but he kept his course and after slaughtering a dozen or so Infected, he finally thought he caught onto something. He gazed at the hollow dirt beneath his feet and saw footprints, several different trails of them, leading to the foggy, dusty horizon ahead. Because of the clouds of Starvia and chemicals blocking his far away view, he couldn't entirely depict when the foot prints ended and where they lead to. He would have to take a risk in moving forward, however continuing on the journey alone and on his own made him feel only slightly uneasy. "Perhaps waiting for the others would be the way to go...I hate when I don't know where the hell I'm going dammit. Falco, even Slippy had better perception than me, I was the go getter, they were the planners, ofcourse now is not the time to get cold feet Fox, get it together." Fox shook his head as if to shake off the negative thoughts and decided to continue to follow the prints.

The pockets of Starvia in the air were getting worse, and even the makings of a sand storm started to kick up just a hundred feet or so ahead of Fox, making it harder to press on. "A little dirt tornado isn't gonna hurt me. Those dense clouds of Starvia might be something to worry about though. Damn, I don't have anything except my basic gear and the nook of my elbow to keep me from breathing that crap in...I sure hope I can find some kinda shelter soon...taking on this mission was tougher than I suspected. No...it's nothing Fox...keep going." Fox doesn't let up and puts his snout into the corner of his right elbow pushing through the Starvia clouds and the raging sand storm, but due to the density of it all, he began losing ground making it harder to walk, and he nearly collapsed to his knees from the pressure of it all. "Well...looks like I'm gonna be waiting for help after all....Fox you shoulda been alot smarter cadet!" He rags on himself as he now almost crawls through the dirt trying to stay on track with the foot prints he had found.

He started to hear distant voices in the wind, and began thinking his mind was playing tricks on him. "Don't tell me I've gone skitzo...." He really didn't want to believe the Starvia was already getting to him and he was going crazy with influenza. But the more he sifted through the dirt forcing his way along the path he had followed, the more of a conversation he was hearing between several beings ahead. He had to believe it was all real, or he would let the harshness of the wastes swallow him whole; mentally and physically.

[Deleted]

And so she's here again...The Extraction point...


Paula never thought she would return to this place for quite awhile, well she was right, but she noticed it looked a bit different then when she was trying to fight off the horde and help find the leaders of the Life Sphere before, she soon lands on the ground and looked at the area, waiting for her other partners in this important mission to appear, she also wore the same clothes she wore during the mission that involved Zennon. "I wonder where this distress signal is? If it was Egadd, Mario and Sonic then why did they suddenly decide to go to this dangerous place alone." Paula thought to herself, even she admits that Mario and Sonic cant fight this battle with Black Shadow alone...I mean the state of them before they went missing was shocking.

As Paula started to wait...She soon saw someone nearby, struggling in the clouds of Starvia and sandstorm upon closer inspection Paula was shocked to see the figure slowly weaking to the clouds...She had to do something even if her partners were not here yet...Paula ran closer and called out to the figure. "HEY!" Paula shouts towards the figure, she soon held in her breath and ran into the cloud and more closer to the figure and sandstorm, the figure who turned out to be Fox Mcloud. "Fox? Why was he out here...Did he really try and attempted to look around alone?" Paula thought to herself as she struggled to hold her breath, she grabbed onto Mclouds coat and tried to pull him out from the cloud and near where she landed so he can breath properly again.

"Quick...You have to move!"


LyaAqCwap_1d20+1(Well she was strong in trying to pull an adult Fox out of a poisonous cloud...)


1d20+1

[Coolshaymin]

Tails flew quickly through the air on his Tornado 2, trying to locate the source of the signal so he could find Sonic. He hoped Sonic was okay and did not do anything too reckless while Tails was setting up a way to the Tornado. Tails tended to be the one that actually think things through and figure out traps after all. They did not need another Lost World incident. Tails looked down at the Smashdar he temporarily installed into the Tornado he got from the Mirage Portal. The broadcaster's frequency seemed to be getting stronger so he must be getting close.

All of a sudden however, the Smashdar changed from the tracking part he put in to displaying information on Fox Mcloud. "Fox? Wasn't he one of the major helpers in the Subspace War?" Tails turned the plane into hover mode and looked around. "I do not see anyone... Oh no!" Tails exclaimed as he noticed something faint in a cloud of Starvia. He shifted the plane to land in a safe spot and got out before he seen Paula pulling Fox out. However being inside the toxic cloud could hamper that so Tails had only one idea to get them both out.

Tails pulled out a small suitcase before pressing a button to turn it into the mobile mech that was the Tornado IV. Tails jumped in and the cockpit closed to keep any bad air out. This suit was designed to handle pressures Tails normally would be impossible to handle so any density and pressure should be fine. It could probably travel to the ocean's bottom if he converted it for swimming. Regardless, Tails controlled the suit to run into the cloud of Starvia and lift up Paula and Fox before moving out of the polluted cloud.

kEWTVpZ9p_1d20+4

Upon getting out of that bad idea to enter, Tails opened the cockpit and jumped out. "Who just tries to walk through a dense cloud of Starvia? If you can see it, it is obviously too much to handle without protection... Sorry, I am just happy you two are okay at least," Tails sighed after his tiny outburst. "I take it you and Paula are going after the broadcast too? I already have a Smashdar tracking the location of who sent it so I can get that and we should get there fine..." Tails looked out to the wastes before going to get his Smashdar out of his plane so he could put it into the Tornado IV. Tails was normally more cheery but right now he had concerns making him a bit more irrational than usual.
1d20+4

[Maverick Hunter Zero]

He had come to this unfathomable place again... He was used to traveling alone, but this time he was traveling with a group of people who had been sent to finsd the heroes of the Life Sphere; to wit Sonic and Mario, as well as Samus Aran.  Because he was here last time with a Group, he knew a bit about the area, just not further in as he and his fellow assault group were busy tackling an eldritch abomination while two of their number were forced to rescue Mario and Sonic, so He knew that his fellow missiongoer in Paula was bound to turn up, He wasn't expecting someone like Tails, and maybe even Fox McCloud to partake in this, but he could take what he could get. Just before the Starvia corrupted Sandstorm came in however, he found a cave and waited ahead of the pack, memories of his fight with that god damned Dead Hand still fresh on his mind, he had half a mind to devour the souls of the Bastards who sicced that undead abomination on him and his allies; but he had to master the impulse lest he unknowingly unleash the Black Beast on Li and cause inevitable destruction to the entire planet. But he was here for another reason entirely, Unknown rewards galore and the possibility of earning a little more recognition to one-up Dante and mock Terumi for not having been around more.  But if he had to travel into the facility that he was to head into, should one of his universes 'Cauldrons' be there, he would destroy it and make sure that nobody could use it... EVER. "Man, Terumi would definately be pissed off if he learned that I was still alive and kicking when I see him again." Ragna said as he waited for the others to arrive, he was not alone however as he was with a certain legendary Pokemon by the name of Mewtwo.

Mewtwo was standing alongside Ragna, his mind focusing as he made mental notes to make ransacking Black Shadow and his base of operations a top priority. He was in his Psychic Focus Armor that he had salvaged from Pokemon Cove, and had his helmet installed with the SmashDar that he had gotten from the Mirage Realm, keeping track on those who were in the Sandstorm, Luckily he and Ragna were able to find that cave that they were nestled in while the others were trying to find a cave, he attempted to send a telepathic message to the group at large that they would be waiting. "If anyone of you are in the vicinity, come to this cave, Me and the Bloodscythe Weilder will be waiting for you." Mewtwo said in his tepathic communication, hoping to reach the ears of those who were in the area.

[Cielmira]

It had always been a bit odd, in Falco's opinion, that for every mission the smash brothers of Li traveled alone until they met up in the dangerous area. He was surprised at times that some of the Life Sphere's would-be champions even made it through the starvia crazed lands unscathed and then able to stand in enemy territory while the entire party gathered. It was amazing none of these missions started off with him arriving to the rendezvous point to find it and his allies already under attack. It seemed the infected and hostile terrain was nice in that respect. Some unknown, undefined, honor that kept it waiting until the group was banded and together before unleashing its terrible horde upon them.

These thoughts were never such a focus on Falco's mind until he made to set out to the Extraction Point. The place at the end of Li in its darkest pit. It required traveling past all those horrendous places and bypassing all the dangers of the other areas which were already questionable in their own right how one travels alone and survives. And yet there he stood, at the edge of the Life Sphere staring out into the wastes where his allies had already set off; alone. He enjoyed being a bit of a loner, the freedom of doing whatever you wanted when you wanted for whatever reason or lack thereof. But this was borderline stupidity. What maniac, or plural of such, would set out solo to the Extraction Point? Not even their 'great leaders' did that. There wasn't much that could be done at this point though, so he would just have to be one of those lunatics should no one else come running up to accompany him for the journey across Li.

And so there he was, racing across Li toward the Extraction Point managing to miraculously time his approach so that he was coming up when three others were just meeting. In the distance he saw the Tornado hovering down to land in the thinner edge of a whipping sandstorm. Shortly afterward the figure disembarking, assumed Tails, covered with a suit went deeper into the obscuring sands. Falco wasn't too much a fan of the observation but thankfully a few moments later saw two others being dragged out by the brave bipedal fox. Now being rather near it was hard to mistake one of the all to familiar mammals that had just been saved. A wide smirk stretched across the ace pilot's beak, though hidden behind the red scarf that had been drawn up to protect Falco's face. His collar was popped, scouter replaced by a pair of goggles, all but his hands were covered making the winds mostly a nuisance. Though the taste of starvia was beginning to seep through rather heavily.

"Did I just see you bested by a storm?" he yelled out in a mocking tone, presumably to Starfox though the blue bird made no indication other than familiarity with the statement's intended. Falco hid any weariness of his own, which came easy now that the drive of competition was stirred upon seeing Fox. Just then a faint mental call entered his mind, giving direction of some shelter and the location of two more ballsy smash brothers taking part in this near suicidal mission. It made the avian hesitate momentarily in his approach, mostly just from the sudden invasion, but his attention was quickly returned to the three before him. Falco gave a quick wave to Tails and Paula.
"We better get out of this," he started, turning his attention to Fox in particular before continuing. "Need me to carry you?" came further teasing.

[Deleted]

So this was the place they spoke of...

PAC-MAN started to realize what everyone was up against the farther he made his way down to the point. His happy smile faded to a dull face of blankness. He had no thoughts of anything other than getting to the point. He felt as if he was nothing more than a thin shell of paper, held up some strange force and perhaps a bit of wind. Considering his body was mostly a mouth, he took on the action of breathing through his nose for the time being and not even thinking of opening his mouth. That was a one way ticket to infection right there.

So much traveling, so much pollution, it really made him tired. He couldn't stop now though. It would not be wise to stop in the cloud of poison and rest. However, his body was telling him different. The yellow stands that held him up became weak as Pac began to hunch over. Sluggish walking had took over, a lazy step after lazy step. Blinky appeared behind the Pac and nudged him forward as much as he could, his size being about the same as Pac's hand. It didn't really become noticable to him until all four of the ghosts were pushing him forward. The globe was set back up right and balanced as it resumed its continious path towards it next destination.

The shoving of spirits continued until the sounds of voices came from the toxins. The ghosts vanished, all except Blinky. He was never one for being afraid. He took things on head first, regardless of what was ahead of him. He wasn't entirely vulnerable to the Starvia as some others were, due to being a spirit, but he still took risk in being out in the mess. The red being darted into the cloud while the other three hid out of sight around PAC-MAN, making sure no harm came to him. Quite a bit of animals. Fox, bird, another fox. The bird did look familar. He blipped out of the area and back to Pac with a small wavering sound as he hovered throughout the air. His eyes shifted towards the area of people and Pac took this as a sign to follow. Oh hey, there was Falco. The only creature he recognized here. An orange mitt was waved at them with a lazy smile. Yick, he was starting to get dizzy.

[Deleted]

So this was the extraction point.

The red-clad attorney stood alone, looking around the area. Purple clouds permeated the area, surrounding it in a deep haze. It looked as dangerous as it was.

"Hello?" he called, looking around. "Is anyone here? "

[PolarStarQuote]

Samus wasnt dead, and this was going to prove it. It had too. There was no way it possibly couldn't...

Pathetic Squabbles at li did not interest ridley much, for he didn't care who was leading so long as they didn't bother getting in his way. K.Rool, Eggman or Mario didnt strike him as stupid people, though, Ridley held a minor hope for K. Rool. No real reason, really...Well, except that one time he was stealing medicine for him, along with a child by the name of porky. Speaking of which, where DID porky go? He kinda had a soft spot for that maniac child. 

Regardless, Ridley decided to fly his way into the extraction point, for his own interests. Or rather, A interest. Samus Aran. There was a buzzing about a cave in ridley's ear, but, he refused to give it light of day as he descended onto the cloud's, the first thing he saw was a..child in a red blazer? He needed to get his hair combed, certainly. Ridley approached Apollo, standing behind him. "I am." Ridley said to answer his question, Ridley's traditional dragon-like Zebesian form standing tall over him.

"Come on. I saw the rest of the fools over that way." Ridley said to guide the lost lawyer over to Fox and Friends, coming up to them soon after. "Where do we go, and who do we kill?" Ridley asked bluntly, wanting to know the plan immediately.

[Deleted]

At first, it seemed he was alone. That is, until he heard the loud "woosh"(?) above him. Following this was a loud crash behind him. He whirled around only to look at at a giant purple dragon. After mentioning he was present, which answered his question, he lead him to a group of individuals. To be exact, a strange yellow sphere with limbs, a creature with a purple tail, a swordsman, a girl, two foxes, and a falcon. This world was certainly strange. For the time being, the attorney opted to remain silent. Perhaps this would be for the better.

[WolfEx]

A sand storm had kicked up near the base in which I was captive, blowing through the roofless encampment and swishing around within its walls like a trapped explosion desperately trying to find an exit point. The base was built well enough to keep the brunt of the storm out, but it would surely slow the research process being done within it due to the chill the storm was exuding and the speed at which it was sifting through the area. Some of the seemingly brain washed scientists and disturbing looking lab rats so to speak were already feeling hindered by the storm's capacity. This was my chance, the distraction I needed to get the hell out of here. I didn't have very long to make my getaway, this moment would not come again. The cover of the sand would see me protected from the enemy, and through the camouflage of nature, I would have my redemption. The spiked chains clenching against my breast were far too powerful to release myself from in my weakened state, I've blacked out so many times I've lost track. Sometimes it would feel like hours had gone by, at other times days even, when it's only been seconds or minutes. I would only stay alive by being fed leftovers from a sorrowful meal at the camp of desiccated fruit, hollow nuts, and canned goods. It was a solemn portion that surprisingly still kept me alive, but ever so grotesquely and not without guilt. I still had my doubts that they haven't tried to poison me by now. I went to work at trying to loosen the chains, writhing and wiggling delicately and carefully beneath the metal bearings, my wrists were flushed with bruises and coated with patches of dried blood from struggling previously, I lacked the strength even still, even in this one solid moment of being able to free myself of this place in the support of a storm, I could not find the capacity to breakout. Black Shadow has drained me of my vitality, he was no fool, and exhausted me from occasional beatings and his interrogations just enough to nearly handicap me, but not enough to kill me or cause me to fall supine.

My lips were blistered and bone dry, my face falling frozen from the air, my body, frail and gangling. Willpower....I even lacked that, I was filled with shame. How was the Life Sphere doing? How many have still been surviving? How many has Death taken from this planet? I used to know all those numbers, kept a tab on everything this planet occupies, now I hardly know the time of day anymore. For all I knew E. Gadd and the others haven't found a way to locate me, and if they ever did, I would be long gone. I remember the warm rain as it pattered against my face on Zebes and exploring the ancient caves as I brushed my fingers against their mossy walls along the outskirts of the vast land, and most importantly, the faces of my people, the Chozo, and the loving kindness they have shown me raising me up to be a great warrior and humble in every sense. I would never soon forget their hospitality but that was all long gone, and I would live to survive on my own accord. A raspy yell echoed and pinged across the base's walls and shook me awake before I once more slipped into unconsciousness. "It's JUST a small gust! What are you idiots concerned about!? Get back to work!" Black Shadow's hardly tolerable orders rang through my ears and kept me alert. His minions, if you could call the inhabitants around here that, in a heartbeat ignored the harshness of the storm and continued their research. Some were turtle looking things with human features, while others were abominations that looked to be a mix of several different species, either way, they all did as he said without a fuss and looked to contain traces of Starvia at a glance.

I could hear his feet march and shake the ground as he headed towards me. He shoved his face into mine, and pointed a curled, crooked finger at me with a spittle of drool falling from his mouth and harked. "Don't think that a little dust cloud is going to keep you from your deal with me! You're running out of time Samus. You can keep suffering here chained like a dog and we can take your blood before you die on that pole against your will, or you can cooperate and escort me to the Extraction Point!" If I were to bend to his will now after all this waiting for a rescue, after all I endured, nobody from the Life Sphere would ever find me. There had to be a way I thought to buy more time. If I left for the Extraction Point there was no possible chance any of them would make it there without casualty or injury and I may be dead before they set foot in this base. A bluff, a lie...I had no other options.

"Why settle for just Tabuu's power? I know where Master Hand and Crazy Hand are....we would have to make a stop the opposite direction of the Extraction Point, but I assure you, if they can be found and captured, you would be able to siphon all the power and resources from them for your sick experiments and crazy theories you can ever imagine." Black Shadow's face lit up, and a corrupt, sickening smile flashed my direction. "You're lying." I immediately stood my ground on my bluff, it had to be believable. "I'm not." He retorted. "Prove it." I wasn't going to let up. "Do I look like I have any other choice but to go along with your ploy? Look at me...I'm finished Black Shadow. You're right, nobody is coming for me. But I'd rather someone find a cure for Starvia than nobody at all. Master Hand and Crazy Hand...I could have never reached them, the risk was too high for me or the Life Sphere, but with your army, your power...you could easily find them and wrangle them up for research. You're already so close to their location, it would be a breeze...right?" He bit his lip and gazed upwards in thought, he tapped his gnarled finger against his chin and began considering my pledge. "You...you are convincing, girl. And you are more than right, in your current condition what really can you do to me or my army? Hmm...very well....we leave within the hour." As I suspected, he gave in too quickly, he was indeed desperate, but to leave so soon in this storm, may be a big mistake. "But the storm...it still rages out there." He walks away from my beckoning to prepare his things for our journey assuredly, but turns his head back at me and snaps his words. "Samus Aran, one of the universe's greatest heroes...a legendary Chozo warrior...scared of a little dirt....now that's poetic." He ends that note on a cackling laugh and leaves me still chained as he plans for the trek.

I may have just made a fatal error.

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E. Gadd had excitedly ran to the location of his SmashDar's tracing but saw nothing in the distance. It gave off a loud ringing signal indicating that they have reached their destination but there was not a thing in sight. His skin turned a ghost white and he appeared to look hopeless. "I don't understand....we're here, the electronic pulse of Black Shadow's last nearest location I have pinpointed lead us to here. This is not possible." E. Gadd fiddled furiously with his SmashDar trying to find any miscalculation in his coordinates but he found none, he was bested by his own technology somehow. Mario chimed in. "Excusa me, how can you find our enemya based off of an electronica trace. Black Shadow is notta a robot!" E. Gadd looked at Mario as if the plumber didn't know a single thing about smarts at all and questioned the Mushroom Man's intelligence. "Do you doubt me, Mario? And no, he is not a robot, he is something far, far worse. A monster of meddle, a soulless demon! I planted a miniature tracking device on his boot when he paid us a little visit in the Life Sphere long ago. I knew I couldn't trust him so I took the liberty to spy on him that way. Really Mario, you must learn to have faith in me, your brother Luigi did, you must learn too." Mario didn't like that comment, but he knew better than to question one of the most utmost intelligent people in the Life Sphere again like he did.

E. Gadd scouted the area thoroughly and anxiously, he could only see sand and dirt for miles and the storm blowing over them didn't better their situation any. Sonic suddenly felt himself slowly sinking and looked down in panic. "Guys..." E. Gadd's and Mario's bickering continued. "It's gotta be here somewhere. Instead of foolish concerns, help me look Mario!" Mario was looking along with the Professor and came up just as short. "Looka for what, a miracle? It's just sanda and more sanda Professor. We have reached a deada end!" E. Gadd waved a hand at him writing off his banter and kept scouring the sand for clues or some sign of where Black Shadow might be. Sonic speaks up again. "Uh..GUYS! We're sinking!" E. Gadd and Mario both stop their searching at the same time and look down, their feet were buried in the sand and they were being sucked into a pit of quicksand. "Oh my! It's quicksand! This was a trap! Black Shadow must have found the tracker and dumped it into this pit leaving us on a false trail. That cynical fiend!" The pit was taking all three of them as fast as they could panic. "I needa a Super Mushroom to get us outta hera. Or a Star, a Tanooki Suit, somethinga!" The trio was stranded and were struggling to put their heads together in order to escape the current danger.

"Let's see if I can give this a shot." Sonic began slowly digging away at the dirt with his hands slowly at first, then with what energy he could muster, faster and faster until his hands turned into drills and he started digging himself out, but even then the quick sand was too thick and kept sucking him back down. He Then started to try and kick his feet to turn them into drills and escape, but his feet were too bogged down to work for him. "That's no use Sonic, the chemicals embedded in this planet and in the atmosphere have thickened the sand, it's not something we can easily fight through. I suppose Black Shadow knew this, he is that truly sick kind of cunning..." E. Gadd shuffled around in his pockets for a device that could vaporize any part of the sand, he just had his trusty plasma gun but that wouldn't do, it wouldn't shred such thickness. "We hava to work togethera! Everyone digga all at once and see if we canna free ourselves." Mario began to dig keeping a synchronized motion with Sonic and E. Gadd to get themselves out of this pit before it was too late, the sand had reached the bottom part of their thighs now, and it was going to be minutes before they were consumed entirely. E. Gadd begins to hear some voices to his right flank position, and he twists his very oval shaped head into that direction wiping the pounding sand in the air from his glasses and sees a group of figures just barely in vision some miles away. He explodes in a plea for help and waves his hands in immense distress at them screaming for help. "Over here! Help us! OVER HERE!" Mario and Sonic look that direction as well, and join in on the pleading. "They must have gotten my weak pulse signal from the SmashDar to help. We're saved, and we have backup against Black Shadow! Haha! Blessed be!" E. Gadd waves and jerks and yells uncontrollably now to hopefully have the drifters speed up the process and head over to their location before they became fossils underneath the surface.

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Streaks of lightning began to crack the sky and the whistling of the wind grew louder intensifying the sand storm ten fold. Fox being ill prepared and under dressed for this mission was a bit more than an understatement. He couldn't walk any longer, the gust was so strong with its attack he was to soon be swallowed into its crushing current and whisked away like leaflet paper floating along a skyline. As he knelt down covering himself, protecting his face and sensitive canine eyes, he realized right then just how feeble someone like him really could be. He didn't have the shelter of his Landmaster or Arwing, or the warmth he received from the engines of The Great Fox, he just had the clothes on his back and a few pieces of basic technology to keep him alive. But there was one other thing he had that he had long forgotten about, friends....

"Hey! Quick you have to move!"

He heard the distinct shrill of a girl's voice hitting his ear drums, and felt the tugging of young hands leeching onto his coat trying to pull him from the eye of the storm. Her voice wasn't quite that familiar, but it was welcoming, and to him it felt friendly, he allowed her to aid him. He also heard another voice, it too was young and girly in a sense, but unique, with a bit of a bark in it. He felt a giant tug as if the girl had suddenly quadrupled in strength, and seconds later he was pulled from the cloud. He tumbled backwards into a lesser radius of the storm and looked upwards to see who had rescued him; a little girl as he suspected, but with the support and help of another; a fox like himself, but in some kind of suit, a powerful mechanized suit. He could definitely use armor like that. His ears pained with the pounding sand and chemicals but he managed to say his thanks. "Thank you both. For a little girl you're quite strong, and you, fellow canine, you must make me some armor like that!" His mood quickly changed to that of a heartiness as he was filled with appreciation for the rescue. A voice called out into his head, something about meeting in a cave? But it was faint, and he was in no shape to try and understand the voices in his head again. He thought nothing of it and before he got to his feet to move forward to find those that sent the distress signal, he had heard someone speak to him as if a phantom from the past.

"Did I just see you bested by a storm?"

Fox was in awe. Falco, Falco Lombardi had taken on this mission as well, and in the flesh, made his presence known to McCloud for the first time in many, many years. The space canine lit up and leaped to Falco giving him a heart felt hug. He didn't allow it to be too cheesy though, and let up after a few seconds of contact. "Falco! Have you any idea how long I've been lookin for ya! I mean, I guess it's my fault for being in hiding for so long ever since the big Life Sphere Invasion, but damn it's good to see you!" He nudged his colleague in the elbow and gave a smirk. "As for your offer, hey, if you're feelin spry you can carry me however long you'd like. And before you say anything about my stupidity for comin here all alone and not at all geared for it, save it. Our big issue is that war back at the Life Sphere, and I wasn't gonna keep waiting around a second longer to get E. Gadd and the others back to help stop it." Fox directed his attention to the others, including those who had just joined the conversation which happened to be a giant flying dinosaur of some sort, who was basically a mutated Earthwalker with wings, and a...snazzy dressed man? And shared his reasoning for his lack of involvement with the Life Sphere. "To all of you, I'm sorry I took off after the big attack on the Life Sphere years ago, if some of you were even around the community then, but I had my reasons. I went into a very dark place after the attack....jogging my mind how the Infected could break the Sphere's defenses and attack us so easily like that, we barely recovered, and then I thought...it had to be an inside job." Fox suspected silence from the others, and kept going.

"So I did some espionage, spied on some Infected encampments and even followed some Life Sphere dwellers out on missions as an undetected spectator of sorts. Everything I've gathered, all the data, all the clues, pointed to Black Shadow. Those Life Sphere fighters I followed to the missions were traitors, and soon turned into Infected drones to Black Shadow and his demands. I returned to spread the news to Samus, but she was missing. I sought out to look for her for days after that, but I came up short, Black Shadow covered his trails. I came back a third time to the Life Sphere only to see it riddled by warfare and the three heroes that could hold power there, gone on a wild goose chase after Black Shadow. It was obvious the war was too great to jump into and avert on my own, and many great warriors of the fray had chosen their sides already, I didn't think there was anyone left willing to fight on neutral grounds, so I left to look for E. Gadd and the others, and I picked up a distress beacon after heading back out to the wastes of Li that had to be from them, hearing E. Gadd's faint voice on my headset. And it lead me here....I did what I thought was right, and you guys must think the same for being out here with me don't you deny it."

Fox watched all the faces of those listening fighting the grumbling of the storm speaking up as much as he could. He hoped they picked up all of that as he blabbed on, but it needed to be said. Explaining things was better than keeping everyone in the dark of what he knew. "Also did any of you hear something about meeting in a cave earlier? I've been hearing lots of voices lately I just don't know what's what anymore. This damned planet I tell ya, it does things to-" Fox is interrupted as his animal ears perk upwards and he hears a cry for help not far from their location. At first low, and inaudible almost, but then it grew into several voices. So he wasn't hearing things! "Did ya hear that? Everyone, I think we need to move out! Anyone got a gas mask or something to keep me alive out here? I promise I'm stronger than I look." He wanted to help and push on, but he would need a breathing device or some kind of mechanical aid to keep him alive in such treacherous conditions.

[Deleted]

As Paula tried in vain to drag Fox out of the storm, she almost breathed in the starvia fumes and would of had the same hallucinations fox had...If it weren't for Tails appearing in a suit and getting the two out of the storm. "Phew...Thanks mysterious stranger in a suit...Wait, is that you Tails?" She said to the figure who spoke in a voice like Tails...It was now obviously him and he scolded her and Fox for just walking into a snow storm and almost getting infected, Paula sighed.


"Sorry about that Tails, i would of waited for you and everyone else near a more...Safer place in the extraction point...If there is any, but i saw Fox struggling in that sand storm and had to help him but not even the mask i was wearing could of helped...Which was invisible, who knows what could of happend to Mcloud if you and i didn't do anything...But thank goodness your safe now." Paula said to Fox and Tails, the former amazed at the girl for having great strength. "Well...I did carry a lot of things before." Paula said as Falco, Ridley, Pac-man and a young...Lawyer? Appeared, his name being Apollo Justice.


Fox was excited at seeing Falco again and hugged the avian. "Well that's nice." Paula said to the two as she turned towards Tails. "Hey Tails, i know your worried about Sonic...Dont worry, I'm sure he'll be fine...I mean he had to be in even worse situations before and came out on top, Mario and Egadd too...Hopefully there nearby." Paula said as she looked around the area as the group talked, she soon turned to Ridley, Pac and Apollo. "Hello again Ridley, i see your not wearing a disguise huh? Hey Pac-Man and also hello, it looks like this is the first time we met, I'm Paula Polestar, you?" Paula said to Apollo as Fox told the group about what happend to him...This was new information for Paula since the incident happend before she appeared on Li.

"I heard about what happend to the defence, it happend before i came here...Its almost been a year since i first came to LI actually, but I'm glad you managed to get away from those drones...The Life Sphere is pretty crazy lately and if...Well." Paula said as she turned to Tails before looking back at Fox. "If we do find Egadd, Mario, Sonic...And even Samus in a state in which they might not make it out of here, the Life Sphere could be sent to the dark ages...But lets not think like that!" Paula said happily as she along with everyone else got a message from Mewtwo saying that he and Ragna were in a cave, however due to the fact that he referred to Ragna as a "Bloodsythe Weilder." She was pretty confused. "Oh dont worry that's just Mewtwo, a psychic pocket monster who i saw in the sphere a few times, he's saying that he's in a cave with someone...Hang on i can replie to him." Paula said as she was about to send a telepathic message back to Mewtwo...

When she heard the cry's of Egadd, Mario and Sonic.

Paula turned and listen closely to the voices, she pointed to the direction of where they think they are. "I think its coming from over there...Lets go team! Oh right, Tails do you think you have a mask for Mcloud to wear, and also Fox or Falco i want you to shoot down a nearby tree so Mewtwo and the person who is with him knows that we were here?" Paula said to Tails as she headed toward the direction of the voices, but not before sending a message to Mewtwo and Ragna.

"We cant come to you, however you will soon hear a gunshot, follow it and you will soon come across a tree, you will then hear voices nearby follow it and you will find us!"

Paula soon ran towards where the voices were and was happy to see that they were Mario, Sonic and Egadd...However she stopped when she realised that they were sinking in quicksand. "Stop!" She said to anyone following her as she looked towards the three trapped hero's. "Glad to see there ok...When we get them out of the sand that is." She thought to herself as she turned towards everyone.

"Ok I've got a plan on how we can get the three of them out of that sand...And quick. Ridley...Or Tails, you fly above Egadd and let him grab onto you then start moving upwards so he can be released, then move Egadd over to Mario so he grab onto his leg and so forth...What do you think?"

[Coolshaymin]

Tails walked over to his Tornado 2 as Fox explained to everyone about why he was gone so long and why he came alone. Tails was not exactly innocent of coming alone either though and his reasons were a lot more personal. Even more personal than Paula's suggestion of why he was here was. Tails listened to it in the background as he looked at the Smashdar in his Tornado 2. The signal seemed to be way closer than it was before. In fact, it seemed to be right in their immediate vicinity now that it stopped paying attention to Fox. Tails turned his head to look through the whipping sandstorm as he looked for any signs of them. It was odd though, they did not seem to be anywhere no matter where he looked. Was something bad going on here?

At this thought, Tails felt some psychic message speak to him. He thought it was Paula at first for some reason until he recognized it was completely different from when she did it. Paula explained it to be someone she met known as Mewtwo. Tails was not about to take a hiding place though. If they hid from the storm, they were doing nothing but wasting time and potentially lives.

Tails reached for the Smashdar until he heard shouting that gradually got louder until he recognized one of them as, "Sonic?!" Tails exclaimed as he turned around, only now noticing there was a much wider group of people here than before. Tails did not recognize two of them but the space dragon seemed familiar. Wasn't he one of the Subspace Army's leaders in the ancient island?... Or maybe he was just there because Samus was... Tails never did get the details to that part of the war. Neither of his contacts were involved in that part of the war.

Tails was ready to start running after the voices until Fox asked for something to protect him. The moment was urgent but not worrying about Fox's health may be beneficial. Tails opened a compartment on the Tornado and dug through it for a few seconds to see if he still had something in there. All that was in there was his mask he wore to shield his face while he worked and a bunch of other things... wait, a few tanks too... Tails needed to do this quickly and could not afford to waste time so he was going to give this one attempt.

A6arvDyEp_1d20+4
Tails pieced some spare tubes to the mask, covered it a little better with spare materials, and connected them to the tanks. It was made in a hurry but it seemed functional at least so it should protect Fox from the air for a while at least. If he planned on doing this again though, he would probably need to make a better one since he saw this getting worn fast. He readjusted the mask for a second before deciding it should fit after giving a glance to Fox. "Here," Tails said, tossing the improvised gas mask and tanks to Fox. "That should provide you with fresh air while you wear it. It was short notice but I was able to make it work. Now let's go help," Tails said before running over to his Tornado IV and jumping in and closing the cockpit. Tails activated the flight mode to get to the direction of the cries quickly. It was not useful for combat but quick trips it was fine.

Tails stopped as he saw the four encased in the quicksand. Tails gave a glance to Ridley before looking back at the Leaders and E. Gadd. Tails did not fully trust this guy but if Ridley really was here for a similar reason... "I will pull up Sonic. I imagine you are strong enough to force both Mario and E. Gadd out on your own. If you want to find Samus, we have to help them," Tails informed and suggested to Ridley before hovering over Sonic. "Sonic, grab my hand," Tails suggested. Normally Tails would not be strong enough at the look of this quicksand but this suit was probably more than enough. Should Sonic grab the mech's arm, he pulled with as much strength as the suit could take.

p_1d20+4

It seemed like it was futile but Tails was not going to give up. He just had to force some more out of the suit. "Come on, need to add more power..." Tails said, hitting a few buttons before giving one hard and firm pull.
p_1d20+4
The force of this pull should be enough to pull him out, Tails was sure of it by the readings.
1d20+4·1d20+4·1d20+4

[Mari]

"...Mario?"

The familiar voice floated along the wind like a spectre, perhaps leaving one to wonder if they'd only imagined those barely audible soprano tones.

"...Mario!"

There came the voice again, closer than before. This time, if anyone were to look up, they would discover an alarmed princess rushing as quickly as she could manage to close the distance between herself and the pit of quicksand. As she drew closer she hesitated, however, stopping near Paula and observing the situation. She was, however, undeterred from getting closer. Faced with her hero in dire straits, Peach wasn't about to let some quicksand deter her from repaying the favor done onto her countless times before. Now wasn't the time to hesitate. Now was the time to... laugh.

Peach giggled in an erratic manner, covering her mouth apologetically. A strong wind whipped up around her, seeming to lift her up from below. She would proceed to prance out onto the quicksand, unaffected for she was now defying gravity itself. "...Hello Boys~♪ I'm so glad to see you!~♫" she chirped ever so cheerily at the two, bending down and plucking Mario from the quicksand like a particularly plump vegetable. She giggled again, unable to contain herself, as she quickly shifted to hold Mario to her without regard for the fact that she was getting quicksand on her dress.

It was... kind of questionable whether she even noticed, given her state of euphoria. Peach would then turn and attempt to do the same for E. Gadd--only this time, she was working with only a single arm.

D3fp6iS5p_1d20-3 (Roll to LIFT)

This time, without the help of both arms to get a good grip on him, Peach found herself unable to summon the strength to lift E. Gadd. Ever persistent, however, for she had a bit more time, Peach attempted to get a better hold on him and try again.

p_1d20-3 (Roll to LIFT)

The second time she tried Peach clumsily failed to even grasp E. Gadd. She giggled at her own failure. "Woops!~♪" she apologized light-heartedly.

p_1d20-3 (Roll to LIFT)

One final time she attempted to pull E. Gadd from the quicksand, only to discover that she still could not summon the strength necessary. By this point, her vibe energy was bleeding away. If she didn't step away soon, she and Mario would both fall into the quicksand. If the princess weren't so intoxicated, it probably would've been hard for her. Using the last of her vibe powers, the princess would reluctantly retreat to the safety of the sidelines and set Mario down. "Sorry, Professor! I wasn't strong enough..." Peach lamented. She would just have to hope someone else would pick up her slack, else she would have something to really feel guilty about. 

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...Meanwhile, a gravity-defying ponytail bounced its way onto the scene. But wait, there was a girl attached! Ashe stopped nearby, quietly observing the situation for a moment. Looks like trouble... Model A remarked. Yeah, but I think they might have it under control. Ashe replied thoughtfully, not wishing to get in the way. She did keep an eye out, however, paying close attention to Fox in particular.1d20-3·1d20-3·1d20-3

[Cielmira]

The hug was rather unexpected. Both because the vulpine that had been before him looked a little worse for wear but also because, well, it was Fox. Li did have its way of getting you down down though, something Falco had experience with, so he decided to hold his tongue and let his old friend have this one. After his arms were freed and Fox began his long explanation of past and present the ace pilot gave a light nod and brief wave in reply to Pac-Man's arrival. At first he was taken somewhat aback by Fox's reply to his tease about needing to carry the team leader but then a wide smirk streaked across Falco's face, the avian cross his arms and shifting his weight to one side, due to Fox's foresight into his feathered companion's next comments regarding where they all currently were. Falco continued to keep quiet verbally, partially due to the near storm and the muffling of his scarf making the communication a little difficult, though the arrival of a massive boney dragon thing was a bit alarming. Ridley didn't look particularly 'good'... but he did show up with a rather normal looking kid and wasn't straight up attacking them so it was probably alright. Still, Falco's arms dropped to his sides just in case.

Falco listened quite carefully to the information dump provided by Fox's efforts although his outward appearance fell to his typical bored posture. The number of Life Sphere heroes gathered here made it seem like it would be impossible for them to fail. Heck, they may even be able to deal quite the blow to this Black Shadow when they met up with their fearless leaders. The thought was a bit dashed when Fox's uncertainty about the telepathic communication a few moments ago led him to admit something about 'hearing voices lately'. A twitch of inner thought flicked across Falco's features before quickly being covered up by his bored visage.

The offering of the mask and faint cries in the distance meant the group wasn't going to be taking cover any time soon. Paula conveyed a plan to have this Mewtwo and Bloodscythe meet up with them instead, of which Falco gave a nod and drew his blaster. After a brief moment of inspecting the dried out husk of wood however he got a better idea. Without a word he set off at a run toward the tree. Once at its gnarled roots he raised his gun to the sky and fired, the small beam streaking upward at high speed. Following that he activated his Fire Bird technique, bolting up the tree's side with the flames licking the woody trunk. By the time he reached the nearest branch the fire was catching; and quickly. Falco jumped down and backed away, watching to ensure the flames were going to engulf the lonely tree despite the weather conditions, then turned back around to follow after the others. He would be a little late for the planning stage, but arrived behind the crowd gawking at the three sinking into the ground in time to see a familiar dainty woman in a pink dress pulling up Mario and then attempting to save a second of the Life Sphere leaders.

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(( Posting Order: WolfEx , @sssstariii , Coolshaymin , Mari , Cielmira , @strikr123 , @sans , PolarStarQuote , Maverick Hunter Zero , @thebladedheart

Currently Out of Order (Skipped): No one ))

[Deleted]

Cloud plummeted from the Highwind down toward where the rest of the group, he assumed it was all of them, was. As he plunged down towards the back of the group he noticed the quicksand, nothing he could do to help in that situation, he was mostly brute strength...and he couldn't fly.

In the group, he looked for familiar faces, the ones he recognized were the young ladies, Peach and Paula, along with the purple dragon Ridley, and finally...the ace pilots....StarFox and Falco. The rest were mysteries to him, a...whatever that was in a metal suit, a yellow ball? With a mouth? 'Only on Li' Cloud thought. The next person he spotted was what looked like an attorney, for once something normal, but normal doesn't last long here.

Cloud finally landed as they got Mario out of the quick sand, and he waited for everyone to react, yet another person on this mission, it was getting kinda crowded.

"Sorry I'm late, Highwind needed some gas."