daybreakacademy | Fourth Wall: We Gather Here to Face the Dusk

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Fourth Wall: We Gather Here to Face the Dusk

Fourth Wall: We Gather Here to Face the Dusk
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With the call for aid for the advent of the Suneater, the Academy has become one of the many operational centers around the world. The school while never having been quiet by any measure is now buzzing with extra traffic as those from all walks of life and not-quite-life gathered, preparing to literally fight for the sake of the world.

Whether the added souls were new to the supernatural, old faculty and students returning to the fold, or even legends whispered of in hush voices by those in the know, all are welcomed with open arms, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere despite the grim purpose of their visit.

A. Team-Build Exercises
To help with coordinating for the massive undertaking, team-building measures have been enacted, from trust falls to tag-team spars and even trivia bowls. Everything is designed to bring the disparate groups together to build trust and understanding...with varying results.

B. Breaking Bread
With the increase number of people needing to eat, the kitchen under the helm of Chef Hendersen aka Professor Bigfoot has been bringing out food from all corners of the world and the outlands - to make people feel at home - and for the daring to try the far more exotic fare such as Baatzou Surprise or Cumulus Puff from Celestia. And as it turns out - a speciality for the adults, they found some Ambrosia - drink and be merry.

C. Shop Talk
With the experience and wisdom of all sorts of trades and specialities being brought together, it’s only natural to want to exchange information and see what new innovations or experiments has been underway, or to get into impromptu competitions over whose ideas, spells or artifice will work better, especially if there’s money or bragging rights to be had.

Wild Card
If none of these appeal, make up a prompt of your own.

((ooc: This is the first fourth-wall log before the 5th Herald and opened for ALL characters current, past and not yet here. Feel free to throw any and all characters in to get a feel or get them established before the big battle.

If you'd like to make further plans oocly, we invite you to make use of the CR meme and AU planning meme!))

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[Every time a new Herald rose, it fell thanks to the efforts of Daybreak Academy. But even though their souls might have perished, their machinations could be felt even now. For some, the damage had been done and it was a time for healing. For others, there would be obstacles to come. Works of evil left behind to haunt humanity and its allies even after the bringers of Night fell. One such work lay in a former professor. Although Bowser returned to his kingdom to take care of business, he promised to return one day. And while Bowser wasn't exactly a good guy, he was pretty reliable when it came to keep promises. So what happened?

Well, it seems we finally know.

For several days, reports of various outlands coming under attack by a mysterious force had come in. However, most were not very helpful. Finally, though, a transmission got through that served to be more informative. A massive turtle-like beast was rampaging throughout various lands, laying waste to anything in its path. And whatever wasn't destroyed was being corrupted by this sticky, inklike liquid. The beast was also drenched in the stuff, yet this liquid never seemed to slide off or decrease in mass. Finally, it seems like magical light, such as radiance, is effective on it, and that the creature is almost subconsciously making its way toward the Mushroom Kingdom.

Should anyone wish to investigate, the Mushroom Kingdom is very much still there, but there are signs of trouble brewing. For starters, it hasn't stopped raining in several days. Earthquakes plague the region and the water has slowly started to be corrupted by the inky goo. Despite the state of affairs, Princess Peach warmly welcomes any to her kingdom and plays the role of an excellent host, though it's clear the troubles are worrying her and she very much appreciates the help.

Various power-ups have been collected in preparation for the big fight, including Mega Mushrooms, which will no doubt be helpful against what they can only assume is Bowser or someone copying him. A day later, the storm and the ooze have only begun to spread further and strike harder, with some of the mushroom citizens becoming corrupted by it. The source seems to be a new mountain range that has formed.

A mountain range that begins to spin.

Said mountain range, which now is quite clearly a massive shell with spikes, jumps in the air and shatters, revealing an all-too-familiar figure who seems to have gotten a makeover. "Bowser" lets loose a mighty, earth-shaking roar and begins to charge with Peach's Castle in his sights.]

((OOC: OKAY SO, here's a boss fight against Fury Bowser! Seems like the coach has undergone a bit of trouble during his time away. I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle. Feel free to go as crazy as you want. Mega Mushrooms are especially helpful in this fight, as they can even the playing field a bit. They won't make you quite as a big as Bowser, but they'll allow you to actually do damage to him no matter what. Likewise, magic and especially radiance will still be effective, so it's a matter of working with what you have. Feel free to get creative! If you ever wanted to use a power-up in the Marioverse, now's as good a time as any!))

This is not what we needed right now!

[Kokoro's already got Stavros and Trigon equipped, and she takes off into the air, firing sunlight lasers at the... giant mountain man.]

[The sunlight lasers are indeed effective! If Kokoro focuses on one spot for long enough, eventually a spot will be cleared up, free of the ooze. Not for long, though. Puddles nearby pull themselves toward Bowser, covering up the spot. That seems to be a problem in and of itself, but another problem is that Bowser seems to have stopped his charge and is instead focusing his attention at Kokoro. As she flies around him, he attempts to swipe at her with his claws.]

[The shields work okay, but she's still hit and jostled around. She strikes back with her laser whip and tries to shoot regular and sunlight rounds at the moving ooze.]

Everyone, continue on!

[Cutting off the ooze seems to be working. Though a few puddles do manage to help reform on Bowsers, it seems like some are fleeing toward the bigger body of ooze. Of course, Bowser himself is far from finished. Kokoro attacking the ooze seems to really tick him off for some reason, as he lets out a massive roar before retreating into his shell. He begins spinning, faster and faster, launching out huge spikes from his shell that seem to regrew, only to be shot out once more. They reach high into the sky before falling back down, as if to try and limit her aerial movement.]

[It's working, forcing her to focus on dodging, but he can't do this forever. She starts to shoot them out of the sky or knock them away instead, building up her power as the others attack too.]

[It's true, he can't. While she's unable to attack him or the ooze directly, the others are able to get some good hits on him and the ooze. In response he stops his launching of the spikes and instead lunges forward, still in his shell, before he lands on his side and begins spinning. He shoots himself off like a bullet, plowing through anyone that gets in his way as it seems like he's aiming for the castle itself.]

Oh, no, you don't!

[She positions herself in between and glows. You know, there might be a reason her Grand Cross goes sideways. So she can shoot forward -- which she very much does, pouring holy energy into it.]

[With his focus being shifted to Peach's Castle, he has no time to react. Though his shell absorbs a good portion of the damage, her Grand Cross flings him off course and sends Bowser flying into the air. He soars over the castle, eventually landing a good distance away from it on the other side. Naturally, his body leaves a crater in the landing site, but it doesn't take him long to crawl out of there. He slams his feet on solid ground once more, letting out a massive roar to call more of the black ooze towards him to help replace what was lost.]

[Kokoro follows up, flying towards him shooting regular laser rounds.]

That substance is corrupting you! Do you not see?

[Getting to the Mushroom Kingdom was easy enough, and the warm welcome from Princess Peach and her retainers was indeed pleasant. When the news reached Gunvolt that the rampaging creature was probably, in fact, Bowser, he didn't take the news well. He didn't act out, but rather, he was immediately worried and saddened. When asked why by Princess Peach, he revealed that Bowser was his coach, and someone he deeply respected, even if he didn't agree with the whole "princess-kidnapping-villainy thing" Bowser enjoyed so much. But he held his resolve that he had to help his professor, no matter what. And by now... he believed he was strong enough to do just that, with the help of a little Mushroom Kingdom magic.

As the lumbering mountain stomped closer, Gunvolt decided to try the gambit at hand. He quickly used the Mega Mushroom, growing to many times his normal size, yet he still felt as nimble as ever, drawing his Dart Leader and sparking with enough lightning that he threatened to darken the clouds overhead himself.]

Coach, I know you're in there. I've followed the training regimens you set out all that time ago. You taught me to be stronger, tougher. And I pushed myself even further than that!

Using what you taught me, I'll burn away whatever's taken hold of you! Oversurge!

[He took the shot, a massive dart flying toward the monster, Dart Leader cracking like thunder. Blue, radiant lightning erupted from Gunvolt's hand and lashed out at Bowser, mostly to signal to him he's got something more to worry about than Peach's Castle for the moment.]

[His distraction attempt works beautifully, Bowser seems to be pulled from his trancelike charge and turns around once he notices the attack. He inhales deeply, his lungs filling with air, threatening to suck in some of his nearest surroundings, before he lets loose a massive spiraling inferno. Normally his fire breath was kind of like a flamethrower, but this was something else entirely. Gunvolt had gotten a taste of Bowser's strength from the memory he saw, but this was likely something else entirely.

When the fire connects with the dart, there's noticeable resistance before it powers through and continues on toward Gunvolt himself. Luckily, there's ample time to dodge.]

Edited 2021-02-20 17:21 (UTC)

[Oh, that's news indeed. He'd seen some of the things Coach Bowser was capable of in training, though he had long suspected he hadn't seen everything the Koopa King could do. So for now, he wasn't sure if that was a wild card or something to do with this transformation, but at the end of the day that didn't matter. Dodging it did.

A burst of wind and roll of thunder sounded as Gunvolt dashed away from the spiraling inferno, running laterally and keeping Bowser in his sights. Gunvolt's running speed was faster than it used to be; he'd never been particularly slow, even without the aid of his powers. But now there was finely honed, hardened, peak athleticism backing that, and he left a wake of arcing lightning behind. Fleet of foot and sure of aim, he snapped off several more darts at Bowser while on the move. They'll probably do little more than annoy him if they hit, but they will act like lightning rods soon enough.]

I don't really want to do this to you, Coach. But I don't think you'd ever forgive me if I went soft on you either.

[Now with the fight beginning in earnest, Gunvolt activated his flashfield, the size of the lightning sphere around him matching his Mega Mushroom-enduced growth. The sky filled with dark stormclouds as his powers destabilized the barometric pressure around them, bringing thunder from the heavens as radiant azure lightning leapt from the boy toward his brainwashed professor.]

[Despite his size, Bowser is surprisingly agile. Although, one can only move so fast when there's lightning involved. He manages to avoid some of the lightning heading towards him from all sides by taking a massive jump to the side, but most of the concentrated electricity does find its mark. Considerably sizes holes have been made in the dark goop covering him, revealing the flesh that Gunvolt is familiar with. But as he has been no doubt made aware, Bowser, even possessed, is stubborn. And the ooze controlling him, like pools of Night itself, aren't willing to part with their host just yet.

When Bowser lands, it's in pond sized collection of the stuff. The ooze climbs up Bowser's legs, recovering the spots that Gunvolt had managed to uncover. Tucking himself into his shell as he springs upwards, Bowser spins on his side before taking off like a bullet towards the student. Should he miss, though, Bowser will attempt it once more by stopping and then changing direction. Seems that, at the very least, Gunvolt has successfully registered himself as a massive thread to whatever is controlling Bowser.]

[It's like he guessed... that black, almost inky goop covering his professor was probably the source of all of this. And whatever it was looked particularly allergic to Radiance. He watched it reform all over his instructor despite his powers shaving it off. Damn. He'd either need to dump everything he had into freeing Bowser... or more likely, find a way to cut off the corruption first.

Bowser rolling into a shelled-up missile was not something he wanted to see. Gunvolt rolled out of the way, but didn't have time to evade the sudden shift back on the first attack. The second attack sent Gunvolt flying a good distance away, landing in a field many meters away from where he previously stood. Saved from any real horrific injury from the Mega Mushroom and the warding runes on his armor, the student staggered to his feet quickly.]

No way I can take him directly yet. At least... not by myself.

[Gunvolt reached into a pouch and pulled out a power-up, which he quickly consumed, splitting himself into two Mega Gunvolts.]

Who says lightning can't strike twice in the same place?!

[For now, Gunvolt went more defensive, on the lookout for any more of the goop that was infecting his professor. First, if there was any more pooling around, he'd need to clean it up by dashing through it with his Flashfield active... and then he'd have to figure out how to split apart from his clone to hit Bowser from both sides at once to purge it all away in one fell swoop...]

[Splitting up is an excellent strategy. Though normally Bowser would be confused by this and probably say something quippy or state how annoyed he is, the king of koopas merely stands there, as if processing his next course of action. Going after one means leaving the other alone. But if he can cut them off or limit their movement, he has a chance. So Bowser retreats into his shell, which begins spinning rapidly like a top on the smoothest coffee table in the world. As he spins, Bowser launches his massive spikes into the air, which rain down from above and plant themselves firmly into the ground. Whether they act as a roadblock, a deterrent, or actually manage to hit one of the two Gunvolts, is good news for Bowser.

Although...perhaps they could also be used to Gunvolt's advantage.]

[Reira's not UNFAMILIAR with boss fights, but she's not exactly canny to what makes one, unfortunately. Everything's terrible??? That seems like a normal problem, for normal outland places (though Princess Peach seems to vaguely recognize her for a moment, which is very nice indeed).

In any case, the mountains are moving, and things are flying, and Reira is... ...well.

Reira is eating a cool mushroom and wOA-AAH-]

Ah....

[There is an enormous child on the battlefield.]

[A giant person sprouting out of nowhere is definitely enough to catch Bowser's attention. Even while possessed, it seems things never change. As he stares at Reira, it doesn't seem like there's any recognition in his glowing white eyes. Just an opponent in his way. He lets loose a loud, almost demonic like roar unlike his normal one, and charges once more, this time at Reira. He readies a fist, clearly intending to PUNCH.]

...Mister Bowser? [Hey, the gym teacher looks just a little weirdly differ-eeeNNNAAAAAAAAH-]

AH-

[Windy is on call, immediately- a fist goes through, and a fist hits...air. Chilly, misty air.

Hm.]

[One of the biggest signs that this isn't quite the Bowser she knows is that, upon the fist connecting with nothing but air, Bowser does not actually stop and look confused or even comment on it at all. He simply returns his fist to his side and scouts out the area, looking for Reira once more.]

[Well, that's awkward Bowser. That's awkward. Especially since Reira's right behind the big guy.

She stares for a minute- something's clearly wrong here- but ultimately determines that maybe, it has to do with the fact that he looks like he's on fire. That's probably bad.] ...mhn....he probably has to cool down...

[Alright, she'll blow Lots of cold air at him then! Perfect!]

[Normally, Bowser is pretty resilient against cold, though not immune. But the cold seems to have an interesting an effect on the big lug. While it does take a concentrated effort, eventually he begins to slow as the cold builds on him. Layers of the black ooze begin to chip away and crack, some of it even falling off of him, revealing either thinner layers or his genuine skin. His trance-like focus shifts from Peace's castle to whatever is causing it. Spotting Reira, Bowser inhales deeply and unleashes a massive and concentrated spiral of flame at her direction.]

[Not! More!!!

It's that same wind trick- disappearing on the spot, misting around and away from the fire. Fire kind of evaporates and steams things though, and Reira's coughing a little bit when she reforms again. But she definitely saw something chip and crack away there- and with more determination, she throws a hand forward at the koopa king.]

I said...you have to cool down..!

[That one was a biiiiig angry mountain....no wait, that was one of their teachers! How this happen?]

[Puella was watching on as Bowser began his rampage. Thankfully it was not one of the heralds, but with a size like that it may as well be. It won't be easy to stop...]

[Which is why she looked down at her umbrella for a second and thought, before looking back up again.]

...I could try freezing him for awhile, before he does too much.

[It will be hard though, even with the magical upgrades. Room wide time stops were one thing, but stopping a whole giant?]

[Bowser, at the moment, does not seem to notice Puella. On the one hand, it means he's still charging straight for Peach's castle. On the other, it means Puella has time to devise a plan to stop his planned assault. Or, well, "planned" assault. It doesn't really seem like he's himself at the moment.]

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Fourth Wall: We Gather Here to Face the Dusk

Anybody up for a semi-final boss?

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BOSSU....yes, (dw abt hittin her btw, thats what windy's around for :U BOWSER CAN TRY ALL HE LIKES))

HE WILL TRY

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OTA

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