Private/Closed Bootleg Bros. Ultimate - The Muspell Campaign

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

—North Semperviren Forest, Day 2 Afternoon—​

He nearly ran into some woman, he fell while freaking out, trying to scramble away. Anakin came to his own stop to watch as she fell, then scurried. “Calm down,” Anakin told her, though his tone seemed a little humored as, before she could fully get away from him, he raised a hand aimed for her skull and swished his fingers calmly through the air.

Force Stasis. The force aimed to totally immobilize her, trapping the woman on the spot, caught in her current position. Quickly after, Anakin narrowed his eyes at her, tilting his head slightly as he called upon Force Persuasion, willing her mind to render itself unconscious.

He wasn’t missing out on capturing somebody this time.

Exerting his will over her mind, his gaze turned to soak in what was going on behind her.

It wasn’t any CIS droid, that was clear now - though he could easily see its design being employed by them. The shell and body of a crustacean, he was reminded of more than a few droids he’d fought. It was focused on its conflict with Akira and... somebody new. A fur-coated alien with a long snout, darting himself around, seemingly producing the smoke that was coating the battlefield.

Bennett was closest to the jedi, having been focused on the merc before Anakin had appeared. Kid didn’t seem as put-out as the last fight they’d all been in, just yesterday. ​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett

The flip-flopping bandit made it clear they weren't sticking around after the mecha went into battle formation, making a break for it. Thankfully Anakin stopped them before they could get too far. His appearance was very much welcome, Bennett lighting up at his appearance before he shook his head, needing to focus on the battle about to unfold right in front of him.

A pair of red slimes scrambled forth. Slimes? Bennett had a long history with these guys, though they didn't look 100% like the ones he was used to. He stood his ground as they bounded forward, gripping tightly to his blade, and in one move, he stabbed into the red slime, fire pouring out of his blade and into the creature, filling it with swirling heat.

Fire wasn't effective against fire, pyro slimes were essentially immune to the stuff, that much he knew. Gripping the blade with both hands, he steadied himself, the slime still at the end of the sword.

"We are still at the start of this adventure..." He started.

Another pulse of flame erupted from his sword, blasting heat into the slime, which kept it contained inside, although bloating the creature grotesquely. Bennett held on, though wincing a bit as it became harder to hold.

"...and I don't know about everyone else but..."

Another burst of flame came from him, the slime bloating and gurgling further as flames shot into it, fire had started to leak out the wound towards Bennett, burning his flesh, though his own field healed him right back from it all the while to counteract it. The pressure was getting intense, Bennett holding his ground firm despite a normal human surely being unable to stand up to that pressure.

"...I'm not even close for it to be over yet!!"

One final burst of flame was all it took, was followed next was a fantastical overload of an inferno, an intense ray of flames from the gods scorched through the air to engulf the Heavy Lobster. The fire gained hue of gold as it seemed hard to even look at as the passionate flames took flight!

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“Hyah! We make a pretty good team, don’t we, Miss Fjorm?” Nikki seemed proud of her snowballing, folding her arms with pride- but they weren’t out of the trenches yet, far from it. She grit her teeth in frustration at Keith’s mockery, jabbing a pointed finger out toward him.

“Eh!? Your piles of metal could only dream of having the heart that my Pierogi has, you human deep-fryer! He’s going to light you up like a Sundra City firework party!”

Her commentary on Keith’s monsters lacking heart and soul was quickly challenged by the summoning of the Blowback Dragon- it had an appearance that reminded her a lot of the Pokemon called Braxlash, but unfortunately for Nikki, this one was boasting a gun for a face. Not only that, but it seemed a lot more… complex? It was talking and responding to Keith- frankly, it didn’t even really seem like it wanted to be there. Was it an unwilling component of Keith’s arsenal??

“Pierogi, show that rust-bucket why it’ll never beat ya! Let me hear your spirit- Discharge!” Nikki ordered to her Rupther- the atmosphere and the air around the crackling whale seemed to shift in the wake of that last barrage of missiles, and a bright yellow static enveloped the sniffling scaled dragon. The gentle sobs gradually became more and more deep, the Pokemon pulling from the intensity of its hurt and sorrow to unleash a much more potent series of rapid lightning strikes in the direction of Launcher Spider and the incoming explosives, tail rapidly beating against the snow as his screeches went up several octaves.

Keith still seemed to have a lot of cards at his disposal.. she had six Pokemon, in comparison, and if she assumed that deck of cards was MOSTLY creatures, each member of her team would be outnumbered about... five to one? Four to one?

Fortunately, she had an idea- she was confident for a second, and then the Blowback Dragon sent Fjorm flying into a tree, causing Nikki to look like a frantic raccoon as she scurried backward from the mechanical beast.

“I’ll tell you where you’re at, buddy, you’re in my friend’s world, and it’s time for an eviction!” She clenched her fists, looking at the monster. “You’ve got all these tough critters, Keith, but you’re a real slow learner, ain’cha!?- now, go for it, Skyr!”

“No good! That thing’s gonna be a lot harder to crack open… destroying it like last time isn’t going to be so easy- not while he’s using that busted tool on his arm to keep stacking the field…!”

Her words from moments ago- it had been a redundant narration, sure, but not outside of the usual for a fired-up Nikki- however, she hadn’t just been yapping for the sake of it this time. Rather, she was clueing a Pokemon into position, and now was the time to hopefully pull off a second sneaky strike, spooky style.

“Go, Shadow Punch!”

A murmuring Skyr manifested by Bandit Keith, eyes as big, round, and empty as ever. Her wispy hair appendages flew upward as her arm flew downward through the cold air- aiming to bust apart the duel disk attached to the man’s arm with a punch saturated in spectral aura. The level and path of destruction would depend on the reaction, if Keith managed one at all, but the intent was clear… putting an end to the abundance of machine monsters!

 

[Gamingfan]

Shovel Knight
Seiyaryu dived after Shovel Knight, just as he landed on the earth. The knight jumped back as the dragon slammed into the earth, unbothered by the shift in weight. It roared fiercely enough that Shovel Knight was almost blown away, only standing his ground thanks to the rod hooked around Seiyaru's horn remaining taut.
...hmm, that could work.
The dragon pulled its head back, generating flames within its throat. Shovel Knight, already familiar with that particularly motion, charged at it, leaving his anchor and pulling out a locket. Brilliant flames of shifting hues spread towards the blue burrower, and he reeled in his fishing rod, using it as a makeshift grappling hook to pull himself towards the dragon and directly through its fire breath! The phantom locket activated, allowing Shovel Knight to pass through most of Seiyaru's flames unharmed. Shovel Knight pocketed the locket for his shovel, and just as it's effect ran out, and the knight felt the burn of Seiyaryu's flames, he closed the distance and stabbed his shovel into the dragon's eye!

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

The esper's blow stung, but did not stun - Naturally, it seemed this machine had a resistance to such debuffs. Akira leaned back as he landed on the ground, quickly forcing himself to leap up to avoid the small shockwaves. The bandit he had spoken to had rebuffed what Akira had said, which admitidly was perhaps not said in the best way, before fleeing once the charm wore off - Only to get caught off by Anakin, who Akira could narrowly see at this distance.

Well, this is a little embarrassing, after saying it wouldn't take more than 1 or 2 of us...

Unfortunately, the big metal lobster wasn't done yet, launching minions to attack... And both sets of minions seemed to have it in for Akira, at least a little. Very fortunately, the new guy (seriously, Akira would need to take the time to get this guy's name out of his mind the second they were done here - the guy was certainly putting in work) handled the robotic minions, and that meant he only had to handle one slime thing while Bennett was preparing...something. With a speech, at that.

"...Eh, sure, fuck it - We aren't even close to finishing, so let's make it count!" He relented, psychic energy charging while the esper let the slime batter into him - He just had to hold focus for a moment, while Bennett's previous moves held off pain, before...

Cold Day in Hell

As Bennett's flames engulfed the enemy, glowing rather beautifully with it's passionate power, Akira's copies appeared and spread, before turning into massive icicles spiking out from the ground, to impale both the slime ahead of the esper and the Heavy Lobster - ensuring there would be no escape for the larger foe.

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Shay

Clang! Shay barely caught the Bandit's sword slash with his own. The Templar counter-struck the aggressive bandit, using their overextension from the lunge to attempt to hit his opponent in the chest! If this did not work, the Templar would attempt to block the inevitable next attack with his dagger, before once again counter-attacking.

If that works, Shay turns his focus to the mercenary. The Templar would move towards his final opponent, though would avoid lunging like the Thief- instead, approaching with guards up, waiting for the Mercenary to make the first move!

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Akira, Forsburn, Bennet, Anakin​

“Ghh!” The bandit woman gasped as Anakin used the force on her, paralyzing her. Her eyes looked around frantically, and Anakin would be able to see her muscles flexing, trying to break free of the Force Stasis. A resistance that quickly faded as Anakin used the force once more.
“Gh… Hh…” The woman’s eyes fluttered shut, and she fell unconscious in the snow.

Akira and Bennett attacked with fire and ice, their attacks slamming into Heavy Lobster and its minions. For a moment, Heavy Lobster seemed to vanish.

Loud metallic clanging rang out, and the cracking and shattering of ice! Heavy Lobster charged out of the flame, running with its legs instead of sliding on its wheels! It attempted to charge through Bennett and Akira before coming to a stop behind the pair and jumping into the air. It turned to face Bennett and Akira mid-air, before slamming into the ground with another powerful shockwave that threatened Akira, Bennett, Anakin, and the unconscious mercenary!

Hitting the ground, Heavy Lobster opened its claws and unleashed a jet of flames at Akira and Bennett!

Nikki, Shovel Knight, Shay, Fjorm​

Nikki attempted her bold ploy! Next to Keith, Skyr emerged from the ether. Keith glanced at the monster. The ghost Pokemon swung its fist at the duel disk-

Something suddenly appeared, interposing itself between the Pokemon and the duel disk! A red sphere with metal claws attached to it. The sphere blocked Skyr's punch, and its metal claws locked onto the ghost Pokemon! A small jet activated on the back of the device, sending Skyr flying back to next to Nikki. Bandit Keith laughed again.

“Kya ha ha! That trick won't work a second time, dweeb!” The duelist said. “My Blast Sphere monster was hidden away to protect me! And soon, your little monster is going to be blown to smithereens!”
As he said this, the red Blast Sphere began to tick loudly!

Looking around, Bandit Keith finally seemed to notice his gang of bandits had been nearly all eliminated. But the duelist just scoffed and shook his head.
“Losers! Who needs them, while I have my machine army!” Bandit Keith said, drawing a card. Blowback Dragon audibly groaned at that. The metal dragon looked back towards Nikki.
“‘Your friend's world?’ Look kid, you have any idea how little that narrows it down?” He asked Nikki. He looked around. "Huh. I know this isn't the spirit realm. But is this earth-?"

Meanwhile, Shovel Knight punched through Seiyaryu's flames and struck the dragon in the eye! The pink monster recoiled, screeching in pain! Its screeches quickly turned warped and digitized as it exploded into pixels, succumbing to the wounds it obtained in battle. Some of the blast from Perogi's discharge attack struck Launcher Spider, but the machine seemed mostly unaffected by the bit of electricity it was hit by.

“Hey, stop consorting with the enemy!” Bandit Keith snapped at Blowback Dragon. He placed another card on his duel disk, and yet another monster appeared. It was another massive machine, humanoid and 12 feet tall, plated with gold. Its most prominent feature was on its chest, which had three wheels on it decorated with question marks. Its right arm was a massive cannon, while it's left arm had a hand that firmly gripped a lever on the left side of its chest. Overall, the robot resembled a massive, walking, slot machine!

With monsters on his field again, Bandit Keith issued his orders!
"Slot Machine, crush that blue knight! Launcher Spider, keep up the barrage on that whale! Blowback Dragon, blow those kids to smithereens!" Bandit Keith ordered. The Slot Machine marched forward, and it pulled the lever on its side. The wheels spun, before all three stopped in succession! Three skulls decorated the front of the machine, all in a row! Slot Machine leveled its cannon at Shovel Knight, firing a powerful energy blast at the knight! Launcher Spider in the mean time, continued to attack Perogi with its missiles!

By Nikki and Fjorm, the sounds of coins jingling rang out again. Above the head of Blowback Dragon, three coins appeared once more. A head, a tails... and a head. Blowback Dragon glanced up at the last coin, before looking away and clearing his throat. He stomped his foot, and the last coin flipped to a tails.
"Oh, darn." Blowback Dragon said dryly. "Guess I can't use my special attack."
Princess Fjorm pushed herself back to her feet, and Blowback Dragon walked over towards Nikki.

"But even without it, sorry kid. Looks like your number is up- Whoa!" Blowback Dragon had raised a foot to stomp at Nikki, but Fjorm had rushed in! She jabbed her lance into the base of Blowback Dragon's foot, pushing the metal beast of balance for a moment! Just a moment, that might be long enough for Nikki to dodge away!

Against Shay, the bandit went down, leaving just the final mercenary. He let out a low growl, keeping his blade at the ready and watching Shay carefully. He walked carefully around the Templar... before suddenly jumping forward with a lunge attack with his sword!

...

......

.......................

Explosions and the clash of metal rang out through Semperviren forest as the Mashers fought the bandits. Some distance away, another small group came to a stop.
"... Loki's prediction was correct." Laevatein said. The general of the Muspell armies slowly scanned the nearby forest. The sounds of combat was coming from two directions. Their current group was a small one. Eirika, L'Arachel, and a Pegasus Knight named Ahma. And Dark Meta Knight. Eirika glanced down at Dark Meta Knight, then to Laevatein.
"Your orders, general?" The blue haired Mage Knight asked.

"Ahma. Retrieve the rest of the battalion." Laevatein ordered. With a nod, the Pegasus Knight flew off. Laevatein addressed the rest of her group. "Numbers are our strength. We will observe from a distance, and not make the mistake of Captain Kohle. However, if they begin to retreat, we shall stall them until our main forces arrive."
Laevatein nodded towards the direction of one of the battles.
"Let's move."

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

—North Semperviren Forest, Day 2 Afternoon—​

Feeling rather pleased with himself, Anakin scooped the woman up into his arms to move her a safe distance away, glancing back in time to notice the stomp attack from the droid. A shockwave released, threatening the jedi and his captive. He leapt up, propelling himself suddenly through the air to land a decent distance away. That thing seemed to be giving the others a bit of trouble...

Laying down the woman, Anakin ensured his force persuasion would persist for some time before he turned and dashed back in the direction of battle.

The droid unleashed a torrent of flames toward Akira and Bennett. Anakin quickened his pace as he thrust a hand out. A centralized Force Push barreled out to catch the Heavy Lobster at an angle, to force it either to topple onto its side, or at least lift it up as a blue lightsaber burst to life in his other hand, and he struck.

Aiming to slash through any legs in his way, and before the droid could right itself, Anakin aimed to plunge his saber into the center of the droid’s belly, driving the blade to the hilt if he could. He expected a cascade effect of fried internals messing it up, so even if this didn’t outright take it out, it could be a catalyst to capitalize on.

​

 

[Mokko]

Nikki Prez
“Eh!?”
Nikki watched in dissatisfaction as Skyr’s attempt to break through the duel disk was intercepted by another mechanical creature- latching onto the spirit’s arm and forcing her back with its propulsion, driving Skyr all the way back over to her trainer. If what Bandit Keith said was true, this monster was about to explode, and… usually, Ghost-type Pokemon didn’t have to worry about explosive attacks. But Nikki didn’t feel it was wise to take chances in an unfamiliar world, fighting unfamiliar opponents. She had to make a call, and that call was that she was going to have to get that sphere off of Skyr, pronto!

“Skyr, to the Slot Machine!” she ordered, prompting the ghostly Pokemon to quickly float for the opposition, but without an attack lined up. Nikki had another idea- maybe a two-birds-with-one-stone situation. Or, two-buckets-with-one-blast. As the Ghost-type neared the new machine, Nikki raised the Pokemon’s ball and, in a ray of red light, recalled her in order to leave the explosive behind. Meanwhile, Pierogi was continuing to exchange projectiles with Launcher Spider, electric bolts colliding with missiles, one after another, a wall of explosions between the two heavy units. It was after one more Discharge, however, that the whale Pokemon opted for another, more direct attack in the spider’s direction, spitting out a mighty, crackling Dragon Pulse.

“You’re smarter than I thought, but you’ve still got the personality of a turd in a punch bowl…” Nikki noted to Keith, a fresh Pokeball in her hand as she took note of the battle’s positioning- Shovel Knight had defeated Seiyaryu, but it felt like every time they were getting the upper hand, more enemies appeared. In this case, it was the Blast Sphere and the Slot Machine, joining the two existing mechanical monstrosities already on the field… she really wasn’t sure how to place this Blowback Dragon, though. Was it some kind of unwilling prisoner? Just a reluctant enemy? Or maybe just an apathetic one… regardless, she wasn’t looking to get stomped out by it!

She leapt backward as Miss Fjorm successfully knocked the machine off balance, keeping the both of them from becoming pancakes for the moment. A fire burned in Nikki’s eyes, with a resolve to scrap these monsters- it was time to bring out the heavy artillery, and make Keith triple-think about sending something to attack them again. Staring at the Blowback Dragon, she raised a new Pokeball in the air, and with explosive momentum, something emerged.

“No special attack, eh? Just as well. I like ‘em physical.”

The Darmanitan known as Carbon came out swinging, a heaving fist at the end of an arm about as big as the Pokemon’s trainer- smoke poured from the mighty creature’s low jaw and rose into the air as heat spilled in all directions. The most concentrated point of temperature was within the monstrous, dump-truck-destroying Fire Punch itself, fresh out of the Pokeball and aimed directly at the Blowback Dragon.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Bennett

Bennett held fast, hoisting his blade up to block some of the flames. But alongside Anakin's force push and the healing field, he stood firm, the archon's flames healing off what the hostile's fire was doing to him. The metal creature charged forward, still hiding his defensive position, he took the impact with the blunt edge of the sword, slid off it's hull back towards the ground, the field helping so he was more firm footed on the ground.

When the slam came into play, Bennett stabbed his blade into the ground, having a firm grip as to not be flung back. This field really seemed to help in any sort of knockback situation. The stab of the sword into the ground seemed to do something funky though, it's purple energy pulsing into the crack it made in the ground, its ramifications not yet known.

The team came together to fight this giant lobster machine, using their unique talents to turn the tables on this fight. Power of teamwork. Was it a little corny? Yes. Was it a lot? Most definitely. But Bennett didn't mind that. In fact, when Anakin went to raise his lightsaber to plunge into the lobster, Bennett pumped his fist in the air, his Pyro vision burning bright.

"Let's take him down guys!!"

The lightsaber would be imbued with a superheated charge of flame, so when he would plunge the lightsaber though, flames would shoot out from it into the hole he'd create, burning it up from the inside!

 

[Captain Cardboard]

A fire burned in Nikki’s eyes, with a resolve to scrap these monsters- it was time to bring out the heavy artillery, and make Keith triple-think about sending something to attack them again. Staring at the Blowback Dragon, she raised a new Pokeball in the air, and with explosive momentum, something emerged.

“No special attack, eh? Just as well. I like ‘em physical.”

The Darmanitan known as Carbon came out swinging, a heaving fist at the end of an arm about as big as the Pokemon’s trainer- smoke poured from the mighty creature’s low jaw and rose into the air as heat spilled in all directions.

Bandit Keith​

"Trying to bring out another monster, huh? Not on my watch!" The duelist exclaimed. He gestured in front of him, and a face-down card flipped up out of the snow. It was a purple card, depicting an old man with a long grey beard in white robes, with hand outstretched. A pair of women with halos stood behind him, looking remorseful. "Another rare trap card, Solemn Judgement!"

Nikki's Darmanitan entered the field, and at the same time the massive form of the old man on the card appeared before Bandit Keith. The powerful deity gestured towards Carbon, letting out a low howl. Winds whipped across the battlefield, and the Pokemon instantly returned to its red energy. It shot back into the Pokeball, and a strange energy coated it, preventing it from being able to open again! Bandit Keith laughed.
"This card is busted! It negates any summon or special effect, and all I have to do is pay half my life points. And what the hell are life points in this world, any..."

Bandit Keith's mocking voice trailed off, and he visible paled. The duelist suddenly doubled over, and vomited violently into the snow.
"G... gah... Holy shit..." He muttered, pale and shaking. Solemn Judgement faded away, its effect resolved...

 

[Gamingfan]

Shovel Knight
The beast screeched as the Shovel Blade penetrated its eye socket! Shovel Knight kept a firm grip even as it thrashed about in pain, driving his weapon deeper and deeper. Evidently he had hit a critical point, as the dragon succumbed to its injuries and vanished into light. Shovel knight fell through the dissipating Seiyaryu, dramatically spinning his blade. With his monster finished, Shovel knight shifted his focus to the now defenseless Keith-
"Slot Machine, crush that blue knight!"
Ughh...
A machine appeared in place of the recently defeated Seiyaryu. It faintly resembled Tinker Knight's battle mechs, with its top-heavy design and prominent cannon, the latter of which it wasted no time firing at the knight. Shovel Knight dug his blade into the earth, quickly gouging out a huge chunk of snow and dirt to intercept it's shot. The chunk was blasted apart, sending bits of dirty snow flying everywhere, covering Shovel Knight. The cover of snow blanketed the Knight, and he vanished completely...until jumping up from the earth like a mole, right behind Slot Machine! Equipped with the Dust Knuckles, Shovel Knight aimed to deliver an earth-shattering punch into it's legs, before vanishing into the snow again. Until he was intercepted, the Knight would strike again from different angles in an attempt to bring the machine down!

 

[Psymallard]

Semperviren Forest
(Auto perms granted by Frase)
What was he doing? It was evident that the other two were doing more damage to this machine than he was. His skillset wasn't cut out for confronting siege weapons, anyway. What he did have was evasiveness to spare. Before he inhaled a third consumption charge, the ice on the Heavy Lobster began to crack, and its engine revved.

In another puff of smoke, Forsburn appeared beside Akira. He had seen how lead-footed the psychic could be, and quickly decided to go on the defensive for the sake of the team. The Exiled Flame grabbed Akira by the upper arm and swung the punk out of the metal beast's path, just as it raced from the screen of fog and steam. He quickly followed suit.

The shiny crustacean plowed through the snow and drifted to a halt on the other side of the group. Forsburn saw already that Akira was some level of a prideful person, so he held his tongue regarding the save. Not that he was usually one to gloat or banter, anyways. He took off after the robot. The Dagger of the Smoke Clan leapt over a shockwave and bounded off the crab's claw, which would ideally throw it off its aim in its attempt to spew flame at Akira.

It was at that moment when a new person joined the fray- the man Forsburn had seen in his peripheral. As the hyena sailed through the air, through some form of magic, the back of the machine was made an uneven landing spot. Though it was originally the planned destination, there was an equally viable option. A small puff of smoke appeared beneath Forsburn- gas made solid. He stepped off of it, giving the assassin the added boost he needed to sail over the lobster, and into the cloud of smog behind it.

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Not Muspell

And now, interrupting the reveal, we return to this guy. Don't feel bad if you forgot him.

The mercenary lunged towards Shay, who was ready for the sudden assault. Deftly parrying, The Templar countered by striking towards the chest of the mercenary. Whether or not this works, the Templar then moves back, then once again attacks with a slash to his opponent's neck! The Templar would keep up the pressure for a while, preventing his opponent from being able to rest!

 

[Fraseandchico]

Akira Tadokoro

Before Akira could relax, the metal lobster was charging right at him and Bennett once more!
"Cra-" He almost said, before suddenly feeling someone - Forsburn - grab his arm and yank him out of the way of the charge.

Akira huffed, but before he could respond to his savior, it was right back into the fight. He pushed his back foot into the ground, using it to jump to shockwave and stumbling as he hit the ground, stamping his feet into the ground to regain his footing.
"Stay down..." He muttered, raising his hands and preparing his energy as Forsburn had moved to try and throw off the aim of the big guy's fire, while Anakin's attack was empowered by Bennett.

Six Feet Under

Once more, the esper created 4 copies of himself that transformed into ghastly skulls and spread out in a wide motion, aiming to strike with medium damage and weakening effects, showing the Metal Lobster it's impending doom in visions.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Lobster Rockers - Anakin, Akira, Bennett, and Forsburn​

Anakin's powerful force shove caught Heavy Lobster off guard, knocking the massive robot back. The Jedi slashed at Heavy Lobster with his lightsaber, the attack sending sparks flying as the blade clashed with the robot's legs. Typically, the lightsaber could easily cut through the metal of even heavy battle tanks. But against Heavy Lobster, Anakin's lightsaber only inflicted a shallow cut.

The Jedi Knight lunged forward with a jab, his lightsaber empowered with Bennett's magical flames! In that moment, Heavy Lobster's right claw shot forward, clamping over Anakin's lightsaber blade and catching it, preventing it from stabbing into the metal monstrosity. Heavy Lobster's claw began to glow red from the heat of the blade. In just a moment of grabbing onto the weapon, Heavy Lobster's right claw exploded violently! The blast even knocked Heavy Lobster itself back. Energy skulls from Akira's attack slammed into Heavy Lobster, further denting its armor. If its stats were affected, it showed no signs of it.

The machine looked at the smoldering stump where it's claw once was. It jumped up and down repeatedly again, sending out shockwaves towards the all the mashers. It hopped towards Anakin and Bennett, slamming down in one especially powerful shockwave. Heavy Lobster's left claw opened, and the robot began firing large energy beams in rapid succession at the sword-wielding pair!

Mecha Mashers - Nikki, Shay, Shovel Knight, and Fjorm​

Pierogi's unleashed a Dragon Pulse attack! The electro-dragon whale's energy beam attack struck Launcher Spider in its front right left. Bandit Keith ducked away, still retching from the effect of his trap card. The powerful attack sheared the leg clean off at the joint, causing the entire machine to slump forwards. The massive, reinforced machine hadn't been that fast to begin with, but now its movement severely hampered.

Meanwhile, Nikki returned Skyr to its Pokeball. With its target gone, the Blast Sphere hurtled towards Slot Machine before dissipating into pixels.

Shovel Knight went toe-to-toe with the Slot Machine. The massive robot found itself playing a different game, no longer running slots, but trying its hand at whack-a-mole. Shovel Knight was just too fast, and the damage to Slot Machine and its armored hide was quickly becoming apparent as the machine tried and failed to stomp and blast the blue knight!

Against the final bandit, Shay quickly countered the mercenary's attack with a slash across their chest and neck. The quick one-two attack did the job, and the mercenary sank to the ground, gurgling and clutching their bleeding neck.

"You dweebs... I'll kill you for this." Bandit Keith growled, regaining his breath. He was getting tired of playing around with these kids, so he'd end this quickly. No need to risk drawing from his deck. Keith knew just how to get the card he needed. The duelist reached to his disc to draw. But if a Masher with sharper vision was watching Keith, they might be able to see him pull the card from up his sleeve, instead of from his deck...
"Hey, there we go! Just the card I need!" Bandit Keith said with a grin. "The spell card I'll equip to my Slot Machine, 7 Completed!"

A green card appeared in the air next to Bandit Keith, depicting three spell cards decorated with a number 7. The Slot Machine pulled the lever on its side, and one of its slot wheels spun. It stopped suddenly, landing on 7! A change washed over Slot Machine. The damage to its armor repaired itself, becoming tougher looking and shiny. Its defense had greatly increased!
"Now, machines, keep up the attacks!" Bandit Keith ordered.

Despite its damaged state, Launcher Spider's weapon systems were still active. It fired another barrage of missiles towards Pierogi!

Blowback Dragon let out a relieved breath at Carbon being repelled (or as much of a relieved breath as a robot dragon could give).
"Jeez kid, you scared the oil out of me there." Blowback Dragon said to Nikki. "Anyway."
The sounds of coins rang out, and above Blowback Dragon's head, three coins appeared. All three coins displayed head.
"Aw man, that's not good. Uhhh...." Blowback Dragon quickly looked around. Its gun-head began to glow with energy, and high-pitched whine grew louder and louder as the energy built. Fjorm moved between Nikki and the Dragon, holding up her lance defensively.
"Aaaah.... Gah!" Blowback Dragon fired a powerful laser blast. Fjorm tried to dodge, moving Nikki with her, but it failed. The blast struck Fjorm head on!

When the light faded... Fjorm was still standing. Completely unharmed, in fact. The only thing that was different was her lance, which had now been reduced to ash.
"There. Destroyed your weapon." Blowback Dragon said, straightening up. The machine almost seemed... proud? Puffing out its chest. "Special ability, how about that?"

Slot Machine looked down towards the ground. If Shovel Knight would hide in the ground. Easiest option. Remove the ground. The Slot Machine aimed its cannon arm at the ground and fired a powerful energy beam into the ground! The attack would cause a major underground explosion, threatening to collapse any tunnels Shovel Knight was digging in and burying the knight alive!

Shay had finished off the last of the bandits, and it was something that hadn't escaped Keith's notice. His monsters were attacking, but now, so was Keith. The duelist reached into his wasteband behind his back and drew his pistol. He opened fire at Shay, firing off two shots at the Templar!

 

[comic]

ANAKIN SKYWALKER​

—North Semperviren Forest, Day 2 Afternoon—​

Anakin said nothing, but his face registered clear shock as the blade caught in the droid’s claw. More than that, his saber was surging with power. He didn’t have time to sense the source of it, though he had his suspicions. The jedi’s eyes widened, seeing the obvious cascade effect. He retracted the saber’s blade, the energy vanishing but not before its final insult was dealt on the lobster’s claw.

That moment of free movement was enough for Anakin to angle himself, though ultimately he was still taken by the explosion, relying on the force to soften the direct blast. He twisted through the air with a wince, noticing his robes were smoldering, his shoulder on fire. That was the entire reason he’d ditched his cloak already.

Fire wasn’t an issue for long, as Anakin impacted a bank of snow between a couple trees, the powder flying, the flames put out in an instant. The jedi laid there on his back for a moment, confusion still evident on his face. He craned his head up to look over at the lobster, brows furrowing tightly together. “Okay...” he murmured.

Sitting up, the jedi brushed some of the snow off of himself before he inspected the handle of his lightsaber. Not damaged, thankfully. His eyes returned to the Heavy Lobster just as it started stomping about in something like anger. If that was a thing droid’s could feel. Grievous didn’t count. Anakin rose back to his feet, rotating his arm. The top of it would be the most heavily armored portion, so it would be difficult to cut through.

But...

Why not try anyway? (This is what Obi-Wan was always complaining about)

Out of range of the stomp shockwaves, Anakin started to move when the remaining claw opened up to start blasting. The blue lightsaber ignited into being, no longer empowered. Anakin wasn’t sure he’d liked the augmentation earlier, even if it was helpful. It almost felt wrong, having someone mess with his lightsaber.

His blade moved quicker than his legs, Anakin ignoring sustained damage to hone in catching each energy beam, twisting the lightsaber to send each and every blast shot at him right back to the lobster. Once close enough, Anakin would force jump high, sure to position himself on the lobster’s bad side (meaning no claw) to prevent the chance of effective retaliation. He’d attempt to land on the droid’s back and, after regaining his balance, start slashing and stabbing to test its top armor.
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