[Cielmira]

Having rested and set aside her recent spoils Cynder again set out where the piece of paper told her to go: to find the largest mushroom. And where better to look than a forest of them? With her flight capabilities finding the largest one would be trivial. It was unfortunate that the Starvia hung heavy above the tops of the shrooms, but this only slowed her approach. Eventually the dragoness landed at the base of a monstrously huge red topped mushroom, the growths of which were rather poignant.

Her noise flared proceeding a somewhat unladylike like snort in an attempt to rid her nostrils of the fumes. It kind of worked. "Guess I better start looking for this guy..." she muttered to herself.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The area that Cynder had been summoned to was quite the interesting section of the Mushroom Ruins. It was a mystically magical jungle though the trees were replaced with mushrooms the size of oaks. An odd location for those who haven’t seen mushrooms larger than their regular size. It was quite a place of wonder, though the infected spoiled that innocence that it might have had if not for the tragic events that made the entire planet uninhabitable. The fungus seemed to have grown fairly healthy regardless, although they never really needed a good environment to thrive, which was probably why they had taken over these lands. Who knows, perhaps Li in its entirety will be covered in tree tall mushrooms.

The mighty mushroom that the dragoness had set down at was a fairly logical choice as the note proclaimed that the riddler’s residence was the largest the forest had to offer and to continue with the tree comparisons this mushroom would probably be considered a redwood. Its bloom was also nothing to shrug off either, unless of course you were one to not be impressed by anything. Its shade could possibly hide an entire city underneath it, but unfortunately that was not the case.

As the reptilian began to graze the ground, she would notice the amount of dead plant life underneath the stem of the towering mushroom, the grass was an off colour of yellow and along with the general awful smell that the fungus would give off naturally was the decay of the rest of the rotting plants. None of it really suggested anything about the presence of the one that wrote the riddles, in fact it was just natural survival of the fittest. Although there was a strange metallic shimmer further underneath the shadow of the fungus’ umbrella. Closer to the stem and underneath a patch of the rotting grass was a gunmetal gray square that stood out like a sore thumb among the surroundings, although given how far out and cryptic this place was staying hidden probably wasn’t an issue for this person, whoever or whatever they were. From her distance, Cynder couldn’t make much of the metal besides that it was there. A closer inspection was probably in order.

[Cielmira]

Cynder stood atop the grandest of mushrooms in pause, staring motionless at the shine below. "Of course it had to be down there..." she muttered to herself in the spacious void. Her claws found themselves lightly raking themselves across the strange rubbery surface until finally she flicked her tail, spread her leathery wings, and descended into the vegetation's massive shadow. She hated how wet the air felt, as if the smells were sticking to her. The sooner she got this over with the better.

The dragon took to circling downward over the object of interest, the spiral having the added bonus of allowing her a rather nice visual sweep of the area before she set foot on the ground. Couldn't let a bunch of infected jumping out at her while she searched for treasures alone. In this way she missed her competition.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The area that Cynder had landed upon was quite clear of anything, everything beneath the mega mushroom was dead and there were no places for infected creatures to hide, unless they were well equipped to disguise themselves in such an environment, but creatures with that ability were very few. No, it was completely barren besides the metallic surface at the one section of the ground. It was only that section of the ground as she would know since the ground she landed on was soft and felt like dirt and dead grass.

As the winged beast landed though, the metallic outline left off a rusty creeking noise as it slowly accelerated open. The loose amount of grass that had been disguising the surface fell through the opening, falling into a deep void of blackness. On closer inspection, there wasn’t much to pick up on. It just looked to be an empty black void, though the falling grass was still visible, even to the point where it ceased on some sort of surface. It was very odd since the yellow tint of the grass was still visible, but the surroundings were still black no matter how much light was directed toward it.

As her gaze locked onto the void however, a distinctive purple dragon zoomed through the void. The being was moving too fast to get a good fix on it, but the purple and gold should seem somewhat suspicious to Cynder.

[Cielmira]

Things all seemed to be going well so far, the dragon smirking when she landed. Her eyes snapped down to her feet as the ground beneath her gave way. Had it been a trap? Of course it had, it wasn't like the peculiar shiny object was there for anyone but the naive and curious. Instinctively her body righted itself as she tumbled down and flared her wings to begin working against gravity in the darkness she'd fallen into. Alert, Cynder observed her surroundings as she settled into a bobbing hover. Well, what there was to see besides the insatiable blackness enveloping the subterranean area.

Considering her last landing she was hesitant to settle herself on the 'ground' of this place, so instead she attempted to peer through the dark veil. To her surprise she did see something. Or thought she did. In the moments of color recognition her heart leapt; and not from the shock of finding something so swift fly by. But there was no way it could be. Cynder was at a pause for a few moments as she debated inwardly. Eventually curiosity won, aided by a false hope of course. The dragoness lurched herself forward and began accelerating toward where the figure disappeared from sight.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

As the feminine dragon pursued the ghost of her past, the trap door that she had fallen within sealed shut once more cutting off any clear exit to the surface. Oddly enough the only light source was also taken away but that didn’t make the void any darker. It broke all laws of sensibility since there was no light yet the area remained dark. It seemed almost dreamlike in that sense.

Cynder chased the figment of purple, but it was gone. Above all else as she accelerated toward where she had seen it last, a fleshy white hand walled her off appearing from the darkness without warning. The ‘floor’ began to reveal itself at this time, the white skin of a drum it seemed like. A large circular platform, but it did not cover the entire floor of this dungeon. Whether or not the black void around this bongo top had a bottom to it was undetermined at this point. The dead grass that had fallen first through the metallic door was soon swept away from a disembodied hand that looked exactly the same as the other that stopped the dragoness’s chase.

The white hand began to tap against the surface of the skinned platform, creating a melody of some sort as a low toned humming echoed in the distance. It had no distinctive source, but a red and yellow eye glowed from afar. “Finally, one that is worthy” the voice sounded as though it had a frog in its throat. The hand continued to slam against the drum, the creature’s rhythmic beat started to ramp up into more of an intense score.

[Cielmira]

When the only light disappeared she felt a bit silly, but her mind was too occupied for the usual mental slapping that would occur for such a foolish decision. However this lapse in judgement was soon apparent when a giant disembodied hand came up like a fly swatter. Luckily in the darkness she hadn't been flying at full speed thus was able to dive and spiral around away from it then slow herself to a stop, twisting about to take another look at it. Yup. No arm.

Movement from the corner of her eye below drew her gaze downward to the eerie hand's partner. Cynder began to distance herself from the one that had blocked her way. She took to be more near the middle of the visible flooring, which soon revealed itself to be somewhat of a drum with the interaction of the giant hands. While considering her predicament her thoughts fell on stories of a 'Master Hand' she heard in the Life Sphere. A prickle moved down her spine: she shouldn't have come alone. The buzzing sort of hum that echoed in the circular room broke to speak to the diminutive dragon in comparison to itself. Her attention snapped to the newly revealed eye.

Building up her courage, which often comes in some form of mild rage, she responded to the colossal beast, "You might think that but what I see here doesn't look like a challenge." Expecting a non-verbal rebuttal the dragoness started working her way higher so she had momentum to react.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The eye of the being that hid itself in the void of the dark stage did not show too much change after the words of the tiny lizard. In fact, the creature’s mono-eye was easily three times larger than Cynder’s entire body. “Good, my process wasn’t a waste of time then. So little time” the otherworldly being whispered, which quickly ramped up to an echo in this room. Both hands were now positioned on the animal hided platform, creating a rhythm with each slap of his mighty hands.

The gigantic eye followed his foe until the dragoness was high in the air. Both of the hands folded into fists and slammed against the drum once he observed the height that the reptilian was at. “Do not under estimate me!” the being lashed out in anger. The knuckles of the disconnected hands gripped tighter and tighter until a Phanto mask appeared from the void and rammed itself toward the scaly creature. The hands began to release their tension and returned to a joyous beat by playing the bongo. The humming returned as well. “My power is limitless here, anything I can dream, I can create” the speaker now sounded a bit more at ease, perhaps it had to do with the drum beat. As the being stated this fact, Spyro’s image reappeared on the other end of the drum set from the female. Another Phanto mask appeared and rammed straight through him, the purple dragon reducing to similar coloured smoke until finally disappearing entirely.

“I have been studying you. Your defeat will be a true display of just how powerful I am.” As he finished speaking, a handful of green Pokeys sprouted from the surface of the drum and began to wobble aimlessly.

[Cielmira]

mtbhn|TSp_1d20
Amused that the shadowed being was more offended by her choice to ascend than her words a chuckle escaped the dragoness. The momentary mental distraction gave the phanto plenty of time to approach. Only in the final few moments did Cynder notice. Heart skipping a beat her instincts for aerial maneuvering kicked in without thought. The scaly female flared her wings and twirled, the extra air resistance produced pulling her body swiftly from the charging phantom's course without harm. However it did require some flight correction afterward, requiring a necessary descent for a little ways.

The musical giant's echoing beat was doing quite the opposite for her own nerves. Glaring down at the visible pieces of the thing's body her peripheral picked up the familiar form of her dear companion. With the observation of the little show the creeping fear for her survival was pushed away by more anger. Bongo continued to babble.

"Funny, cause when I defeat you no one will know your name," she retaliated. Cynder adjusted her coasting path to a dive at the 'eye'. It wasn't her fastest approach, the dark dragon keeping her wings oddly spread instead of bringing them inward. She began adjusting the air currents around her as well, often glancing the hands shifting around the drum beneath.1d20

[Mr. Game & Watch]

As the Phanto mask flew by the dragon’s body, missing the creature completely, it was able to regroup with its twin at the center over the bongo and circle around each other. The two parted after a full circulation and flew off in opposite directions, back into the void of darkness, readying their strike yet again. The rest of the creatures that lived within the domain seemed to be acting rather mindless, meandering around the top of the drum and while trying to avoid being squashed by their master’s giant hands.

The beat ceased as Cynder made her come back, a tit for his tat. His fists formed into great boulders (not literally) slammed against his instrument once more. “You won’t, you can’t. When I return to the Life Sphere with your trophy over my head, people will know my name. They will fear it, respect it” the mono-eyed monster spoke in rage once more. His hands eventually crumpled and returned to attempting to make a tune, though this time he seemed to be slipping up missing or skipping a beat.

From the center of the drum’s skin arose yet another familiar enemy, Crocomire, looking no different than he did in their last encounter. The creature roared while his spindly hands searched for the army of pokeys so that he may use them like last time.

The two Phanto masks reappeared once more, the first aiming to ram the dragoness head on from the font, while the other bombarded from the back. This time around though they were not alone, from above descended a small group of Fly Guys, looking to be no more than six. They all chased after the winged reptile, though being inherently slower than her. Each of them wielded a bomb, ready to drop once they became close enough.

As Cynder approached the eye, she would notice something strange, no matter where she moved to the eye would always be the exact distance it was before. It was like the kind of dream where you’d chase something yet never get closer. Nothing else in the realm seemed to have this effect. “There isn’t much time, dragon. It will only be a matter of time before you’re overwhelmed.”

[Cielmira]

This place was really getting on her nerves. The eye remained elusive, things were closing in around her even in the air, the ground was full of crawlies, and the beating of the drum was beginning to echo in her head. Oh if only she could safely get to instrument to tear apart its top and relieve her of at least one annoyance. Instead she should probably deal with those pursuing her; or perhaps the one that just appeared in front of her.

It was too late of a notice. The one rammed her from the front straight back into its double catching her in just the right place to harshly knock the wind out of her; literally. The mild current she had been generating dispersed when she was sandwiched between the masks, the stun of such a hit allowing the dragon to begin plummeting toward Crocomire and the others shuffling along the drum. Soon the Fly Guys' would be over her dropping their little packages... Which may not be so bad.

Cynder managed to regain herself after a couple dozen feet or so, well within range of Crocomire if the beast took a few steps toward the edge. Immediately she began gaining control of her descent and heading back its way, hoping the Shy Guys' would drop those bombs in her direction. Then it would be up to swift dodging and some redirecting. And perhaps those bombs that missed would smack into the drum and damage it. She could only hope.

25%

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The pitter patter of the bongo set continued to fill the air, a soothing melody to the mono eyed creature and his companions though a disturbing beat to their enemy. The swarm of enemies on the drum top continued to grow. More and more enemies continued to spring up. Pokeys of many different varieties and sizes, though all are still green. Crocomire continued to follow its winged distant relative, screeching like a bat as usual.

The Pokeys began to catapult sections of their bodies at the winged lizard relentlessly. Along that line, they weren’t the only ones to barrage the flying beast. The Fly Guys finally caught up with her and each of them dropped a bomb over her head, cackling with the odd noise they tended to make. As for the Phanto masks, they disappeared into their surroundings yet again, leaving no trace of them behind. The odd part this time though, they didn’t re-appear.

A strange smoke began to arise from one of the corners of the seemingly endless room. Instead of the void that it appeared to be, it was like a solid wall of black. It could be assumed that they were all like that, but the Phanto’s and the Spyro phoney seemed to have no issue passing through them earlier. How peculiar. Even the eye was staring at this with an estranged look, it didn’t need the extra bits of face to express what this meant to him.

“Your time is up” the being stated in a very hurried manner. The disembodied hands quit their jam session and began to seek out the dragon in question, using a clapping like technique to try and squash her. Another oddity would be the fact that some of the Pokeys appeared to be blinking in and out of existence. Like when there were too many enemies on the screen of a video game.

[Cielmira]

With her glance upward to spy the robed helicopter dwarves Cynder had a twinge of regret coarse through her for a moment. There were a lot more of them than she remembered. This was a terrible plan. But it was too late to change now with the release of the explosive packages each of the Fly Guy's carried. The first she dodged, the bomb skimming past a vaulting spiny on its way down. In a rushed motion the dragoness veered to the side to avoid the second bomb but this only put her in the trajectory of the little green pest.

Immediately Cynder twisted to deal with the cactus-like body section, which in-turn helped her avoid the third bomb from the enemies above as she slowly lost more altitude. Carefully holding the prickly object with her talons she tossed it up at Crocomire's head when she passed. It wasn't a well thought out idea the giant screeching beast just happened to be nearby. There was a decent chance her throw wouldn't reach far enough.

The next bomb was another near miss as Cynder began ascending, and with the fifth she redirected back downward and caught it gently in the air. Summoning up her wind abilities and circling back around she planned to give the explosive a new target, but her action seemed to cue Bongo's words. She had only just barely caught the odd look the giant eye was giving the apparent darkness surrounding them. For an instant she recalled an odd smokey haze before she had turned around. The dragon was starting to get an uneasy feeling about the boundaries of this place. But that could also still be the silly drumbeat.. oh wait, it stopped?

The silence gave away Bongo's next attack, alerting Cynder enough to catch the swiftly approaching hands in her peripheral view. Hastily she unleashed her burst of prepared wind to fill her wings, vaulting her harshly upward. She released the bomb from her grip as she did so, the soon to expire object getting a minor affect of the upward breeze that kept it in the air for Bongo to sandwich with his hands instead of her.

33%

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The wandering pokeys began to crumble, none of them seeming to be able to keep their spherical body sections balanced atop each other. Some of them exceeded the boundaries of the bongo set, but this time around they didn’t fall like there was a dark void surrounding it. The quill covered circles were still in an unbalanced state of existence.

The cactus ball tossed at Crocomire flew straight through him, the monster seemingly unfazed by the action entirely, but unfortunately he wasn’t immune to the reality phasing either. The reptilian beast still followed Cynder from the ground, though now it didn’t seem to be restricted by its visual flaws. Well, it appeared that it was following the female dragon until it rammed into what looked to be an endless void, but the creature appeared to be continuously walking into a wall, like a bad AI program.

The fly guys u-turned after their bombs had been dropped, another set of explosives growing into the hands once more. They began to chase after the winged lizard, but unfortunately they were unable to cover much ground due to the fact they were being teleported back to their original starting area.

The entire stadium seemed like a series of technical glitches now. All except Bongo Bongo himself. That is until Cynder performed a clever switcheroo and left a bomb for the demonic figure to crush. As the hands clasped together, they quickly flew off in opposite directions, disappearing from sight completely. The gigantic glowing eye remains lifeless, more so than it was before due to the disappearance of the eye’s glow.

More smoke appeared from the corner of the room and finally the black backdrop was banished, alongside Bongo Bongo. What was left was the real battlefield, a large underground cavern, clay and stone making up the walls. The ceiling is visible yet again, the iron gate that Cynder fell through clearly there. While she could choose to escape now, the dangers of before were clearly gone.

One difference in this cave’s natural environment though, some sort of Nightmare Machine is tucked away in one corner of the arena, the source of the whitish grey gas from before. The machine itself is a strange structure, three trumpet like pipes decorating the top of it, while the body of it seems to be a collection of brick blocks native to a place like the Mushroom Kingdom. Directly next to it is an empty throne, a large caped frog figure at the foot of it on his hands and knees.

The large blubbering mouth of the creature expels sickly coughs, a purple aura expelling from his body and then quickly dissipating. It looks as though the two are in sync. Cynder was probably no medical expert, but it should be fairly clear what’s wrong with him.

[Cielmira]

Glancing around after witnessing the success of her plan a few more pieces to this mysterious puzzle began filling in. It was so obvious now she felt silly to have not realized it beforehand, but there was no one else here to say anything against her word in the stories she would tell later on. Cynder twisted her neck around to view her new, or rather real, surroundings. Her body slowly followed suit until her attention focused down on the small figure below.

The dragoness let herself down gently, a good couple dozen feet away from the coughing amphibian.
"So you're the one causing all this trouble," she started. "All that talk of returning with my trophy to gain respect makes a bit more sense now," she teased with a smirk. Cynder began an arced path around the frog being toward the machine of interest.