Collectathoning

[Shulk]

Shulk leans back in his chair, anxious as he soars through the Beyond in a small passenger starliner. His eyes are closed. His hair seems a pale platinum blonde in the blue light of the spacecraft, His skin always looks pasty, yet right now, it looks almost ghoulish. He can feel the bags under his eyes; he hasn't slept a wink, since last night. While the seat he'd taken is comfortable enough, it sort of makes his back cramp up a bit, and he never truly feels relaxed when he sits on it.

But really, it isn't about the physical ailments. He just can't get his mind off what had happened recently, and as he attempts to take it easy, he finds his vision begin to blur while thoughts bubble up in his mind. Thoughts of the odd ruins. Thoughts of the red blade. Thoughts of why he was here...

...

"That blade, you got. Does it have a name?"

As soon as Shulk and Reyn got back, they'd split paths to their respective posts- Shulk to the weapon's lab, and Reyn to the barracks for a bit of catch-up on training. At this time of day, the lab might have been locked. Lucky for him, Finley was still there in the evening, though unfortunately due to having working late. It was... disheartening, for the blonde inventor; the only reason his coworker was here was because he was off in the woods, looking for materials at an inopportune time. Yet, when he'd arrived, Finley just greeted him with a smile, and had shown immediate intrigue in the large red sword he'd brought in through their door. It didn't take long for the two of them to get chatting, as Shulk pitched in with the day's development duties.

Shulk stared straight forward, as he answered Finley's question. As if his focus was placed on his mind, digging deep for some unknown knowledge.

"It's called... the Monado. I think."

"Mo-na-do?" Finley raised a brow. "That's a... an interesting name. Come up with it yourself?"

"No... Yes? Maybe? I'm... not sure. It just sort of... came to me."

"It came to you? Right before your eyes, like a vision?" With that light teasing, Finley slapped Shulk on the back with a stout laugh. It ended as soon as he realized Shulk wasn't laughing, but brooding.

"A... vision?"

Shulks' eyes, they drew down slowly, down toward his open palm. His face tensed up.

Was that... what I experienced?

"Hey, Shulk?"

"Huh?" He snapped back into focus. "Oh, sorry. It's been an odd day."

"You act like you actually saw something. What... happened, when you were out at that ruin?"

"It's... a long story..." Shulk clasped his hand onto his shoulder, uncomfortable.

Over the course of a few minutes, they'd gone over everything that had happened at the ruins. How Shulk's intuition came to impossible, yet correct, conclusions. How the blade broke out into a beam of light when he'd activated it. How he'd seen and heard things he'd never had before.

They'd tried studying it for a day or two, between other experiments. However, it was unknown technology; it isn't easy to justify random testing for such a thing. After what it had done to Shulk, he and Finley knew they'd need the proper documentation to approve testing on willing participants. Who knew how long that could take?

In the meantime, the Pilots Union confiscated the weapon. He couldn't even take it out to test on himself, or to show it to someone else for further study. In fact, that exact thing was why they'd put it away in a little glass case in the weapons lab. It could be a powerful artifact. Knowing that, it seemed better to keep it out of the hands of others.

...

He opens his eyes, groggily, before rubbing the sleep out with his fingertips. He must've fallen asleep. How long has it been?

A fair time, it seems. He looks out the window to his left, and sees where his little trip has taken him. Some thousands of miles away, he can see the odd little planet with a large chunk bitten out of it like an apple. Vibrant green grass stretches across its continents, and wispy clouds wrap around its surface like a blanket, or perhaps like the streamers he'd seen at some celebrations he'd had at Cevanti.

Thus, Shulk stares idly at the ceiling as his recollection fades into the crevices in his mind.

He understands why they did it. And of all the civilizations on Cevanti who could keep a hold of it, he figures the Pilot's Union would be the least likely to do evil with it, if it's truly as dangerous as it appears. Yet, that doesn't ease his frustration. He's sat here, in this mediocre chair, constantly wondering about that blade, that "Monado", for the entire duration of the trip. It doesn't help that

The only reason he's out here, cruising through The Beyond in an interstellar passenger ship, was because he really could use something to get his mind off things. It is the weekend, after all, and he'd gone through a rough experience at the ruins. Actually, in general; he'd been putting his all into his work for the past few weeks, and the stress was finally getting to him. Thanks to his affiliation with the Union, he has easy access to transportation between the worlds. He'd never traveled before, outside the trip between Erde Nona and Cevanti; this was the first time he was doing so for a casual outing. A short vacation to a jovial location is perhaps in need of some provocation.

Right on cue, as his thoughts begin to subside, the spacecraft nears its destination. Shulk sat up straight and prepared to disembark on the bizarre, whimsical world of Nos'Talgia.

 

[Gizmo Gear]

And finally, they were back to where they started. The relatively much safer planet of Nos'Talgia. Revived and reunited with friends and their ship. They set off on their next course of action which is finding the items that were stolen from them.

To do that, they need to retrace their steps back to where they first entered and came into the Crossroads: 8-Bitain. As the Celestial Dolphin lands in the pixelated city Gizmo and Gadget exit as they wave their friends off who go off to find a better place to dock or rather park their spaceship. As they are going through the streets a lot of the citizens seem to be recognizing them. Pointing at them, and murmuring as if they saw a couple of celebrities walking down the street.

"Uh, should we be concerned by this?" Gadget asked.

"Well, our likenesses were stolen for merchandise without our consent so that's probably it," Gizmo said.

As they are walking along Gadget pulls out his blueprints of some of the inventions that were stolen. Which includes the Jet Hammer, Momentum Ball, Goo Gun, the Frost Thrower, and more. As he scrolled through the blueprints, Gizmo then noticed something he tapped Gadget's shoulder and pointed toward a large yellow and green helmeted turtle lugging around the Jet Hammer. As Gizmo runs off Gadget lags as Gizmo jumps onto the hammer and tries to yank it out of the big turtle's hand.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" the Sledge Bro. asked.

"Oh don't mind me just taking back something you stole from me?' Gizmo said.

"Stole? I bought this far and square with the coins that I earned in my construction job. Ain't no way I am letting go of such a fine hammer." the Sledge Bro. said.

As Gadget finally caught up, wheezing and heavy of breath. He then shows the Sledge Bro the blueprint he made.

"These are the blueprints I designed for this with my signature, and it should have our family's logo on it right here." Gadget said.

The Sledge Bro looked at the side of the hammer sure enough a gear shaped in the letter g in a green circle was imprinted on the side of it.

"Well tough turtle shells kids, I bought it so it's mine now I don't care if it was yours I purchased it fair and square. If you don't like it we can take it up with the law." the Sledge Bro said.

"Alright, fine you want to play it your way big guy we'll play it your way!" Gizmo said way too energetically.

Instead of going to what they thought to be the local police station they found themselves in a local law firm, though then Gizmo dreaded the name and face he saw on the sign. With his smug grin and yellow skin. It was Lionel Hutz. As the three entered Lionel Hutz was sitting away from them in a revolving chair.

---

"Well well well, look who came crawling back? Cats and dogs crawl instead of walking right? I am not sure if that works for four legged creatures not that you are four legged-oh you forget it you get what I mean?" rambled Hutz

"What are you even doing here? I thought you were Syntech's lawyer." Gizmo asked.

"Kid I am a lot of people's lawyers, Syntech is just where I got my start after signing a contract declaring that I won't sue them on other's behalf, and thus I have clients all over the Crossroads all thanks to this fancy teleporter. By the way Koopopher how are you doing how's the family?" Hutz explained.

"Ah my family's doing well thanks for asking," said Koopopher the Sledge Bro.

"Well Mr. Hutz one of our possessions was stolen and sold to this man and as the rightful owners I think we should have it back," Gadget explained.

"Ah, I am afraid that while true, your item was sold at a Pawn Shop, which my client has the receipt for, which is a legit business. And thus because of the transaction, it's a good ol case of finder keepers losers weepers," said Lionel Hutz before getting out a cigar and starting to smoke synchronized with a smoking monkey toy he has on his desk.

"I might not read contracts but I at least know from watching many crime dramas I am too young to be watching that there are loopholes and fine print to this sort of thing," Gizmo said.

"Touche feline, there is one special rule here in 8-Bitain you can invoke if you want it back but well it will be hard," Hutz said.

"We didn't die on another planet for nothing we're ready for whatever," Gizmo said.

"Oh wait you're those guys from Dante's Abyss! I was rooting for you two, man Jason messed you two up real good," Koopopher said.

"Wait...th-that was televised?" Gadget asked.

Gadget then began convulsing and shaking uncontrollably before bringing a pillow out of one of his pockets and began screaming into it and weeping profusely.

"Yeah, he has terrible stage fright," Gizmo responded.

"Anyway, there's a thing in 8-Bitain that might be foreign to you weird furry space teenagers, it's a concept called trading. Just either give him currency equal to or greater to what he bought your little toy for or find something of greater or equal value that he would want," Hutz said condescendingly.

"We know what trading means, so we're short on cash, but if we find a hammer to replace it can you do that for us?" Gizmo asked Koopopher.

"I mean yeah the whole jet engine thing is a bit unwieldy never could get to swing right with it. If you find me a functional hammer as nice as this one, you can have it." Koopopher responded.

With that, Gizmo nodded and dragged the weeping Gadget outside as Koopopher left alone. Leaving Hutz alone to put his feet on his desk.

"Ah ha ha, I have no idea how I was able to make it this far here," he blurted out before puffing another smoke before his eyes went wide.

"Oh damn it this is marijuana, not tobacco! That's legal here, right? Just in case I better ditch the evidence," Hutz said before hiding the smokes under his desk with tape.

Before clutching his hands together on the desk nervously smiling looking left and right while sitting alone in his office. Hoping that no one bugged his office or that those two boys and Koopopher didn't notice what he was smoking before he did.

---

Back outside Gadget has finally stopped crying. As Gizmo pats his not blood but just as much of a brother brother on the back.

"Come on let's just find that guy a new hammer then we can move on," Gizmo said.

Though of course upon saying that he had no idea where to go to find hammers. Or if they can be able to afford one that's good enough. It's not like a hammer would just randomly pop out of something. Though as he is thinking this he sees a Toad hit a ? Block as a Mushroom pops out making him bigger. That is when Gizmo gets an idea.

 

[Kagami]

Booker never really thought he would be wondering around in the crowds though the fact is that it has been a time since he has left the valley, however, in the midst, several Toads, Koopas and to an extent, Beanish were discussing amongst one another about about some game, namely of what happened in Dante's Abyss.

"Ho boy, I'd tell you that what happened, that was a brutal game this year." said a Koopa as the Beanish replied. "Hehe, atleast it's not on us. Sure, can't have comedy without some form of humiliation and some extent of pain involved."

The Koopa glared at the Beanish. "Yeah, knowing you, you'll find something to poke at."

"Yeah, at every opportunity possible and secondly, that's how I am." the Beanish chuckled with a knowing smile before the Toad was about to ask, moments before Booker flew by the group. "Pardon me, terribly sorry."

"Huh, I thought the Boos resided out in Uncanny Valley." the Toad spoke as the Koopa replied, "Yeah, the place is practically perfect for their haunted houses and well next to all sorts of oddities just there, it's weird and unsettling."

The Koopa trembled a bit before continuing, "Though I did hear rumors of some Beanish child residing out there or something. Something of a little rascal but you know, but sounds to me that they're already got a jumpstart on losing their marbles."

Shaking his head, the Toad sighed before crossing his arms. "I can't imagine how much isolation would do to a person."

In the meanwhile, Booker was in a hurry but it wouldn't be long before he would notice a familiar duo in the distance of the crowds. Is that? It is! Of course, while they were with some new company, the Boo would approach the brothers, waving at them with a smile.

"Gadget, Gizmo?" he asked. "Hello there!"

If circumstances are something, Booker had been hearing whispers about some sort of tournament from the other Boos. Of course, the others would particularly be fans of such a program and he worried in the back of his thoughts of Kagami finding herself in a similar situation given the dangers of the Crossroads.

Just the thought of it brings chills down his nonexistent spine.

 

[Shulk]

Where is that music coming from?

Shulk turns his head about in all directions as he disembarks from the starliner.

There's an invigorating piece of music playing from seemingly nowhere, or perhaps the inside of his very mind? He can't really say, but it isn't bad music at least. It's mainly confusing because... well, besides its omnipresence, the sound was unlike what he was used to. It's sort of like the stuff he'd heard on Cevanti... but no, there wasn't anything nearly as jovial as what he was hearing. The melody itself was catchy, and there was a peppy drum beat in the background, creating a peaceful yet active atmosphere. If he could describe it, it was as if a machine's awkward, digital sound were put into music, and even used to mimic real, tangible instruments.

It's fitting for the city he'd found himself in: one of many societies in 8-Bitain. He walks out of the starport to find that the locale was... well, rigid, in a sense. Large buildings comprised of cubes and patterned in colorful squares across their entire surfaces. In fact, they are so consistently like this that Shulk wonders if the material they were built from just looks like that. It's further complimented by the fascinating architecture of the structures themselves, blockiness not withstanding. They seem to tower over him, stretching around and creating all sorts of strange, surreal, and fascinating shapes from time to time. It was like he'd entered one of the simulations he'd seen once, and that was... something.

Even more "...something"? The locals! He'd seen Nos'Talgian locals and their ilk before, mostly when they were the tourists to Cevanti or Erde Nona, though they were typically more tame. Here, they're all so diverse in a way that exceeds his wildest imagination. Most of them have simple constructions, often humanoid, but sometimes more animal-like or otherwise interesting. As Shulk walks down the street, he passes by a sort of spotted plant in a green, wheeled, pipe-shaped carrier. Coming to the crosswalk, he finds himself next to a large bald man speaking to someone on the phone with a thick Russian accent. Just when the walk signal turns on, Shulk outright gawks as off in the distance, some small blue man flips upside down and shoots off into the sky to catch a late flight.

As he passes by a small girl with horns and a hulking arm made of stone, he can't help but wonder about the physiology of the Nos'Talgians in general. He's no biologist, but it's natural to be curious, right?

And curious he is, as he gets to the downtown and happens to see a familiar sight. Well, "familiar" in that he recognizes the faces down the lane. It was a duo, two contestants of the latest season of Dante's Abyss. "Gizmo" and "Gadget", they were named, though he wasn't sure who was which. Shulk wasn't an avid watcher, but Reyn was, and he'd catch it with him from time to time during lunch at the Union. These two were a hero-inventor pair, with Gadget doing the work on crafting items and what not. Shulk always liked to see what they had to offer, However, they had made it to the very end, but unfortunately died in the sick game.

Yet... they are still alive?

He walks over, eager to reach out and speak with these celebrities, and says:

"Excuse me, are you two Gizmo and Gadget? From Dante's Abyss?"

 

[Gizmo Gear]

Before Booker came along, Gizmo and Gadget were bashing the various scattered strange floating blocks with question marks on them that seemed to contain various items. They contained various things, from weird flowers to Mushrooms, but Gizmo had no idea what to do with any of them, and they were not what they were looking for. So he just tosses them aside while Gadget pockets them. They do however find Coins in some of the blocks. Perhaps they can use them to buy back their hammer as well as selling those weird things that they picked up.

Gizmo and Gadget then turned their head towards Booker.

"Oh good to see a familiar face. Hey Booker." Gadget said.

"Yeah we are trying to find a hammer and I thought maybe one of these weird blocks could have one we could use to trade to get our hammer back. So far no luck, just coins, mushrooms, and flowers." Gizmo said.

"I am still wondering how even these blocks function, like who put them there, how did the items get there, and why they float?" Gadget asked.

"This town runs by videogame logic Gadget usually that sort of stuff is not best to question it," Gizmo said.

As Gizmo sees higher blocks floating up above. He then gets out the Platform Gun and begins making a series of a floating platform to jump up on to be able to reach them. After bashing them with his fists more Coins pop out. Not worthless but still having a cool hammer pop out would make things a lot easier. Testing your luck on one of these things is like gambling at a casino or on a gacha game.

As Gizmo jumps down they are then greeted by a strange human man who asks them if they are from Dante's Abyss.

"Yeah, we're Gizmo and Gadget, who wants to know?" Gizmo said.

"Hey don't be rude Gizmo this man might be a fan of ours." Gadget said.

"Well us and CC did kick a lot of *bleep* if I do say so myself. Aliens, zombies, those weird flying things, that guy made of sand, and we got some good hits in on that Megatron guy." Gizmo said.

The *bleep* would be audible to Shulk and Booker as a sound that usually comes from when a word is censored on television. From context clues, it can be assumed that what he said was ass. Yet how the censor came from his mouth like that is anyone's guess.

 

[Kagami]

Booker looked between the brothers and the Human, curious about them for a bit. They do seem to be a respectable individual in their own right and of course, the mention of the beep did had Booker turning somewhat.

"Well, the Dante's Abyss is a favorite among audiences around the Crossroads. Several of the other Boos I know are fans as well while I prefer a good book." Booker sighed before glaring with narrowed eyes at Gizmo. "To each their own but I hope that you don't bring that sort of language around Kagami should you meet her if you haven't already."

Of course, Booker will not tolerate that sort of language as it is rude and uncalled for, especially for a Boo up to his standards.

 

[Shulk]

An impressed grin makes its way onto Shulk's face as Gizmo fires off platforms that float in the air, before swiftly leaping onto them and knocking a golden coin out of a block with a question mark on it.

What a weird land, he'd come to... it might be a bit much for his tastes! Still, it was very fascinating.

Gizmo's curt response, however, does set his tone back a bit. It made sense; he is a stranger to them, after all. But it's nothing a friendly demeanor can't solve.

"Oh, sorry if I'm bothering you. My name's Shulk, and I wanted to congratulate you both on your performance!"

As Gizmo responds, Shulk jumps a bit when the censor beep comes around. Surreal as this world is, the bleep itself was par for the course; it was just an unexpected loud noise, caught him off guard is all. He can't help but wonder, though... did he make that sound? Like, deliberately? Or was it instinct? How did he even do that?

The lone human in the group scratches his head idly, trying not to think about it too much. Better to move on; it might be rude to bring it up.

The gun is certainly impressive technology. It can conjure blocks and simple contraptions out of seemingly nothing, and he'd seen it used to create spring-powered projectile launchers during the Abyss. Shulk can't even imagine how it worked. He wants to ask them about it, or rather, about tool crafting in general. What could he learn, from such distinct minds? In moments like these, there's one quick way to find out.

Turning to Gadget, he says, "It was especially impressive how fast you managed to reprogram that mechanical man. Are you inventors, by chance?"

 

[Gizmo Gear]

Gizmo noticed Shulk jumped when he heard the censor bleep.

"Oh that, we have universal translators implanted in our ears and mouths that allow us to understand other languages in a basic form and also for others to understand us. Though ours come with an annoying censor mode active in them and it can't be changed once it's set in." Gizmo said.

"It's for the best, he doesn't do it often but when he curses he might as well have a lexicon in profanity." Gadget added.

"Anyway, nice to meet another human Shulk, you look a lot different from the last one we've met. There's just something about you like your aura or something, but I can't quite put my finger on it." Gizmo said.

Gadget blushed at Shulk's compliment and looked away as he nervously tapped his fingers together.

"Well thanks, it was nothing while I did fix it Gizmo is the one who reprogrammed it because he knows more about coding than I do." Gadget explained.

"Yeah, when it comes to inventions I am more of the idea guy if anything. I come up with the invention and he's the one who builds them. He's been figuring out the ins and outs of what makes tech tick since he was six years old." Gizmo added.

"It's called reverse engineering, but yes when growing up our dad would bring ancient tech from left behind by this group of aliens called the Celesteons. Out of curiosity I took it apart and put it back together and I was able to help him find out what it did." Gadget responded.

After they were done explaining they then remembered that Booker was still floating there next to them.

"By the way Shulk this is Booker, a friend of ours. He helped guide us through one of the weirder parts of this planet when we were looking to make extra cash. He's a bit skittish but he knows his stuff," Gizmo said.

 

[Kagami]

With both eyes widened, Booker perked up after Gizmo called him skittish.

"I beg your pardon?" Booker asked before he continued, pointing at Gizmo, "I'm not skittish! Concerned, maybe..but imagine if you had to raise a Beanish child for a couple of years and see if it doesn't test your patience to the point of anxiety give or take, especially when they have powers, interested into learning magic and the sorts as well given their otherwise mischievous, rebellious disposition."

A sigh and before long, he closed his right eye, "Anyways, besides that, Gizmo is somewhat correct and while some Boos may be skittish, most are mischievous, however I don't fall in those categories the ill-mannered ones end up in."

The Boo calmed down as he looked to Shulk directly, "To clarify, the weirder part of the planet is called Uncanny Valley, it is a bit strange but it is my home. Gloomy and dark places are a haven for anything to go bumping around even though it's hard to tell what time it is because the place is quite literally monotoned."

While he straightened his glasses, he continued, "Journeying there will be ill-advised if you value your life but the increase of residents has also gotten to the Valley to the point that the monsters are coming out more often and additionally, it has a profound way with messing with your head if you allow it so you must stay vigilant at all times."

Booker did make a slight scene did get the attention of the Koopa as they were just talking about the Beanish child from earlier so of course, they would be watching in silence from a distance.

 

[Shulk]

"The Uncanny Valley..." Shulk puts a hand to his chin. "By the name alone, it doesn't sound very inviting. But you seem plenty friendly, Booker!" Shulk gives a jovial nod to the spectacled ghost.

"I'm an inventor, myself", he says, to continue the earlier discussion. "I work with the Pilot's Union, over in Cevanti. Most of my work is in weapons, mech functionality, and other equipment to protect Markov from the Wild Zoids in the area."

It doesn't take long for his mood to cool, as he puts a hand on the handle of his Junk Sword. If he'd known before he left that he would meet some other inventors, he'd have thought to bring an invention of his. But all he had was this sword. It gets the job done, but it's not his best work. Certainly not worth showing off to anyone else. Perhaps if he'd brought that custom Ether Rifle that he'd developed back in Colony 9...

No... this is not the time for gloom. If Fiora were here, she'd probably joke that he's made for the Valley, at this rate. Or... something like that, anyway.

Looking desperately for something to change the subject to, he stares up at the block Gizmo had just struck. What was once a bright yellow cube now sits in the air with a dark brown color, indicating use. Then, as he looks down and away, he finds a line of blocks had all been struck. Now, greenhorn as he is to Nos'Talgia, Shulk doesn't need a Master's thesis to guess who was responsible for that. It didn't seem like they were just here to cash out, either, despite what they'd acquired by doing so.

He points awkwardly to the row of looted boxes. "Er... Are you both looking for something, by chance? Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

[Gizmo Gear]

"Well you use, we are trying to get back one of our tools, it's a hammer with a jet engine attached, or Jet Hammer as I named it. Though in retrospect Hyper Hammer sounds cooler and is more alliterative. Anyway, most of the things we built were stolen and we are trying to get them back. Someone bought our hammer from a pawn shop and we are to find a replacement one to trade with him." Gizmo explained.

And as Gadget whacks a ? block over his head with his wrench a large hammer pops out. Gadget jumps up and grabs it but then starts swinging it wildly and uncontrollably while strange music is playing. He is moving through the streets veering away from hitting anyone or anything. Gizmo then notices this as he looks concerned.

"Gadget just let the thing go already!" Gizmo yelled.

"I! Can't! I! Have! Been! Trying! And! It's! Not! Working!" Gadget exclaimed.

Gizmo runs after him and tries using the platform gun to create a wall to stop him in his tracks. Though Gadget busts through the wall and as the hammer closes in on himself Gizmo's life flashes before his eyes as the head of the hammer falls off and all that's left is the handle. And Gizmo is whacked on the head with it repeatedly until he goes unconscious. Finally, the hammer handle falls out of Gadget's hands and the hammer fades away from existence. As Gadget checks in on his brother.

He puts an ear to his chest and realizes he is still breathing thankfully. Gadget then picks Gizmo up and then places him on a nearby bench. Suddenly Gizmo woke up and all the pain he felt went away. They then look at the sign above the bench that says Rest Area. It seems to follow RPG logic.

Getting up from the bench, Gizmo dusts himself off.

"Okay so trying to find hammers from strange blocks was a mistake maybe we should try selling the stuff we got and find a weapon shop instead to buy a new hammer for him," Gizmo suggested.

"Yeah...that sounds like a much better idea let me just rest for a bit my arms hurt," Gadget said gasping for air.

 

[Kagami]

"I could possibly phase through the question mark block and get the object inside if you want." Booker offered to the brothers whom he felt bad for with trying to get said object. "We Boos are capable of such given our ghostly nature after all."

Hey, he's not wrong on that. Boos practically do it all the time, regardless of location, Uncanny Valley or not.

"It's the least I can do." Booker smiled as he looked to the duo, nodding. "However, only if you accept that is."

 

[Shulk]

Shulk flinches back, at the sight of the brutal pummeling Gizmo received. He can't help but wonder how the cat survived that at all, let alone long enough to be restored by merely being sat on a bench. Certainly a resilient character... but that couldn't have been very fun either way.

"Well, I certainly can't recommend we give him one of those," he exclaims, now that the mallet had mysteriously vanished. "He'll need something permanent, and easy enough to wield. Otherwise, he may never make the trade."

With a hand on his chin, he looks up at one of the remaining question mark blocks. The duo had thwacked a bunch of them, but there still remain a couple left untouched. Shulk walks up to one of them, and reaches his hands out. However, the block is perhaps a little too high to simply grab. So, naturally, he attempts to leap up and reach for it... and finds himself right next to the block instead!

"What if... we could use one of these blocks, for the head of a new hammer? Let me see if I can bring this do- woah!!"

Clasping on for dear life, Shulk dangles off the side of this floating item box after having leapt far higher than he'd ever expected. It isn't just that Gizmo and Gadget were really good jumpers, that they were able to strike them so easily- the physics of this area are exaggerated, somehow! He did feel a bit of a pep in his step, earlier, but he wrote that off as just due to the music being so jovial. Gravity is lighter, or it's easier to move in any direction, or... something like that? He doesn't feel any lighter, but he clearly just performed an admirable feat. Surely there's an explanation, but it's beyond his comprehension, to say the least.

All these thoughts rush to his mind as he holds onto the side, not in any real danger yet still baffled by the world and not exactly eager to hit the grass.

In time, he pulls himself on top, looking down at Gizmo, Gadget, and Booker, before turning his gaze to the block. He stomps on it once, twice, three times. No dice. He nearly hops in the air to land on it, but decides against it; he doesn't really want to knock its contents out.

"Now, how do I get this down...?"

Shulk kneels down and looks over the edge, observing its side faces. Each face is identical, with a "?" in the center and nails wedged into each of the four corners. Unfortunately, Shulk didn't have any tools to remove nails or pry the block open with. Best he had was his junk sword, which he'd rather save to protect himself. He felt around the side, for anything he could to do interact with it- and noticed that one of the question marks had a bit of give.

"Ah, what if...?" He mutters to himself, before pushing the symbol in fully.

The block shook a bit, in the air, nearly throwing him off like a bull ride, before suddenly regaining gravity and plummeting toward the ground. It embeds itself into the earth, as Shulk's rear lands fairly hard on the grass.

"Ah- ow..." he moans, rubbing his back tenderly.

 

[Gizmo Gear]

Gizmo and Gadget then flinched and shook their heads upon seeing Shulk fall to the ground.

"We already tried unscrewing those things and trying to pull them down. Whatever those things are made of they seem to let them keep floating." Gadget said.

"Though not a bad idea though, using the material of these blocks to make hammers. They do seem incredibly sturdy." Gizmo said.

Gizmo and Gadget then look towards Booker. Oh that's right he's a ghost. He can be able to find and look for just the item they need. Gizmo then gives him a thumbs up.

"That's a wonderful idea, would things be a lot easier if you could find something useful we could use," Gizmo said.

"Though are there any hammers in this block that don't cause you to instantly swing it like a madman? Maybe there could be something expensive or priceless in one of these blocks that we could trade for the hammer or sell so that we could buy it?" Gadget asked.

"Not a bad alternative, Booker is more experienced and knowledgeable of this planet than we are luckily I am sure he can find just the right thing we need if he looks hard enough," Gizmo replied.

Gizmo then looks to the one Shulk was just standing on and leaps to give it a good whack and finds a strange golden bell with two beady eyes.

"Seriously Booker why do most items we pick up in these blocks have eyes it's seriously creepy," Gizmo asked.

He then wonders what purpose this bell even serves. He then puts it on his scarf and then a poof surrounds him. When the smoke cleared it didn't look like anything changed. Gizmo checked everywhere just to be sure but no nothing. And the bell was gone too.

"And I just lost it great, just great, today is a WONDERFUL day!" Gizmo shouted sarcastically.

Gizmo kicks the dirt and walks off in a huff Gadget then looks to see his brother so upset and tries to think of a solution. He then grabs his toolbox out of his pocket and sees if he has any spare parts or something. He does have his hammer but it's just an ordinary hammer and there's no way that big guy would want it as a replacement for their Jet Hammer. That is unless somehow they can find a way to upgrade this ordinary hammer into something extraordinary. All they have been getting are coins, strange mushrooms, and weird warm flowers though the coins are not much to complain about.

Then Gadget realizes Booker might no what these items do, while Booker is busy searching Gadget walks over to him.

"Hey Mr.Booker, what do these mushrooms and flowers even do?" Gadget asked the ghost.

Depending on what they do he might be able to think of a way to use them in some fashion to make a special hammer.

 

[Kagami]

"It depends on the context of the flower and mushrooms." Booker replied as he looked to Gadget. "There are various kinds that can grant you various powers and if you want a specific sort known, feel free to show me which one and I'll describe right away."

Booker was smiling to the other, awaiting for Gadget's input of questions, comments and other curiosities.

"Besides, it is important for you to know of the rules of the various power-ups that this place has to offer after all, but then again, I can see that this could apply for other planets that power-ups like these do exist but are much more of a rare case."

Afterwards, Booker did straightened himself up somewhat, readjusting his glasses a bit.

 

[Shulk]

"Well... ow... I figured, these blocks are in a pretty open space. So someone's sure to have hit them before, yet they're still active. So then, they must get refilled, somehow. If it's automatic, then there you go: a hammer that, once in a while, holds an item in it. Though, that is a rather tame design, when there are so many blocks around the place..."

In his awkward revelation, Shulk stands up and stretches backward as if that would somehow ease the pain. Soon enough, his mind starts churning. The idea of the block hammer, itself, doesn't seem so bad. However, the location they were in is a poor fit. So perhaps, a better approach would be to focus on the items held within, instead.

"Booker, you say these items can give people powers. Do you figure we could build a tool that could harness that power?"

 

[Kagami]

"I believe it is possible." Booker nodded as he looked to Shulk with a smile before he would cross his small arms. "After all, it isn't that hard to do if you know what you are doing and have the right ingredients, materials and everything else in line for what you are working with. Hmm.."

He was wondering for a bit.

"However, my forte doesn't fall under anything relating to mechanics but perhaps you, Gizmo and Gadget could work together on the project?" the Boo suggested as he would motion to the brothers. "You know, just a Boo's hunch."

 

[Gizmo Gear]

"Well, first, what do the Mushrooms and strange flowers even do?" Gadget asked Booker.

"Well, the Super Mushrooms once eaten allow someone to grow bigger and stronger, though it does wear off after being it. Fire Flowers require you to crush it to absorb its power but they give people the ability to throw fireballs though once hit you also lose the ability for it. Most powerups tend to work that way around here," Booker explained.

And when that, Gadget had an epiphany. First, he started taking the various Super Mushrooms they found and grinding them into a fine powder with his wrench. Before he coats an ordinary hammer from his toolbox in the strange fungal powder. Not getting the proper results he hoped for he then bundled up a bouquet of Fire Flowers together. With the hammer in hand, he squashes the flowers as a massive bright light shines. After it was over the hammer grew bigger and has also gained fire properties. With the head and face of the hammer burning red hot. Gizmo, who has been watching this completely entranced in what Gadget was doing, had his eyes shine bright and had the biggest smile on his face after witnessing his brother make something that in his eyes was really dang cool.

However, there was just one small problem. The handle was also hot. Gadget's eyes began tearing up as he yelped and dropped the handle. As the Fire Hammer lay down on the floor searing.

"Just, need to find a way to coat it in something so it doesn't burn the holder, something flame retardant." Gadget said.

"We can always just get a pair of special gloves to go with it, we do have gold Coins to spend," Gizmo said.

"Well besides the money we already have we found about sixty-four golden coins from those blocks," Gadget said.

"Dang, five away from the funny number," Gizmo noted.

"We also have this blue flower right here, it's cold so I might be willing to guess it's some kind of Ice Flower, but if we cool it off it'd just be a normal but big hammer and I don't think we can make the trade with just that," Gadget said.

The two began trying to come up with a solution to their problem. As the two in unison were beginning to pace back and forth.

 

[Shulk]

Shulk chuckles a bit at the sight of Gizmo and Gadget pace back and forth, crossing paths on occasion. They really do act like brothers. At least, Shulk thinks so; he never had a brother of his own, so he can't really say for sure.
His eyes draw down to the ground, where the Fire Hammer sits, smoldering. He could hear the quiet hissing of the ground beneath it getting burnt.

It's a good thing Gadget let go of it, Shulk thinks. He'd melt his hands off if he held on to it much longer!

…Melt…?

"...Wait, that's it! Gizmo, Gadget, do you need those gold coins?"

The duo, distracted from their pondering, look at each other for a moment.

Gizmo speaks first. "Do we need them?"

"I don't think so," Gadget answers, "we have plenty of gold coins as is."

"Yeah, they aren't that hard to get."

"Don't forget, I can help too!" Booker interjects.

Gizmo turns to Shulk with their answer."Alright, here you go."

With that, Gizmo gives him his spare change, and Gadget follows suit. As they had counted earlier, there are 64 in the pile. While still rather small, they're comically large compared to the tender in the planets Shulk was used to- that should work to his advantage.

Trying not to drop any, he carefully makes his way to the hammer, puts on a pair of gloves he had on hand, and places a single coin on it. After waiting a moment for the gold to warm up, he takes his makeshift claymore off his back, and holds it backwards so that he can hold it near the pommel, sort of like a pestle to the mortar. Sure enough, he goes to press it into the coin, and it gives more than it would have before.

Shulk molds it into a U-like shape, almost like a saddle. Then, he uses the blade of his Junk Sword like a spatula and lifts the softened coin up off the hammer and down onto the ground, to cool. Soon after, he puts 7 more coins down, lets them soften up, and molds them in the same way.

With that, he places two coins on the handle, and waits a little longer this time. As he waits, he ponders about his next move. The main problem with metal working in this case is that, without proper casting equipment, and with such a bizarre shape for a casting surface, the specific place on the hammer where the gold casting occurs leads to its own set of pros and cons. The flat surface makes it easy to meld smaller objects together, or many objects in straight lines or large, flat planes. The handle is generally not great to cast on, but is the only way Shulk has to get a fitting handle is to cast around it; that's made difficult by the need to create the underside of the handle as well.

Over time, the gold melts further, not just soft but able to meld into one another. He uses his sword again, this time to press the coins into one long bar and rotate them to shape them around the handle. What he is left with, is a half-cylinder.

Hold on, that looks like it could work!

Before long, Gadget perks up and says "Oh, are you going to connect those together?"

"Yes, exactly! I'll use these coins to make small cylinders, and then connect them all into a long tube that I can cap off and attach to the hammer. Though... at this rate, we might not have enough."

"Be careful," the young dog says, "you don't want to burn your hands too. I have some clamps, and a set of metal tongs, we can use those instead of your sword."

"Yeah," Gizmo agrees, "and Booker and I can go get some more coins so you can keep working."

Booker gives a confident grin. "Of course! I'd be glad to!"

"Perfect, we'll be done in no time!"

Gadget clamps the two half-cylinders at one end, and uses the metal tongs to hold the unclamped end to the flat side of their discount forge. Once the metal has melted, he lets it cool down, clamps the other side, and melds that to form a full cylinder.

So they go, for a time. Shulk making little half-pipes, Gadget melding them together. As the young inventors occasionally wait for their metal to cool, they see Gizmo and Booker off in the distance, the latter phasing through blocks and letting the former know which ones to reach with the platform gun and strike. After a time, they return to the duo with a handful of gold.

"We managed to get 20 coins," Booker states as his feline friend hands them over.

"Thank you, that should be just enough!" Shulk exclaims, placing them on the ground before passing more half-cylinders to Gadget. "To you!"

Gadget clamps the two halves together, as he says "This is going a bit slow, but at least we don't have to deal with the blocks anymore."

Gizmo slouches forward, tired from all the jumping. "Tell me about it."

The two repeat this whole process, making halves to make wholes, until there are 20 cylinders and 4 coins left.

With that, Shulk takes one coin and squashes it between the far end of the handle and the hammer, welding it on as a cap. The remaining 3 coins, he welds to the top of the handle, using the heat to dig out little holes with his claymore's sharp point to insert some rivets.

"There we go, it's in the right shape, now! But in this state, it's just going to melt if we put it on the mallet. But, if I use this flower..."

Shulk takes the Ice Flower in his hand, bunches it up, and smashes it into the handle. In a glow of icy blue, what is left in the wake is... a really cold handle. It's a dull cyan now, but its shape hasn't really changed. Of course, the hammer only changed size because of the mushroom powder spread on it, so it tracks with what he'd seen so far. Shulk's hand sticks a little as he pulls it off, and he shakes it from both the cold and the light pain.

"O-okay, I'm not r-really feeling anything in my fingers, now... oh, that's cold!" Shulk breathes out all his stress in a single sigh. "Now, let's see if this works..."

Shulk can still feel its bitter frost through the cotton as he grabs one side through the sleeves, and Gadget grabs the other. From the moment they put it on, they hear a loud *HISSSSSSS* and the frigid blue of the handle settles into a refined lemon yellow with a sleek green shine. It's no longer frosty cold or blazing hot; the two temperatures cancel out and leave behind a handle that feels comfortably cool to the touch.

Shulk sits back, takes his claymore, and pulls three rivets out from it. The blade promptly falls apart, leaving the blade, handle, and pommel detached from one another. He then takes the rivets, and uses the detached sword grip to hammer the hammer's new rivets in, securing the handle in place.

With that, he stands up and looks at everyone with a wide grin. What they had, now, was a giant, fiery mallet with an icy handle, the extreme temperatures constantly cancelling each other out to make it comfortable to wield.

"Haha, this is a good result! Good work, everyone!"

 

[Gizmo Gear]

Gizmo held the hammer in his hand. It was a bit heavy but nothing he couldn't manage to lift. He then runs off with Gadget following after. As the two begin to look for Koopopher the Sledge Bro. They then proceed to find him in what appears to be a construction site. Using the Jet Hammer to slam down rivets. Though at a slow pace, as it looks like from some of the dents in the girders that he missed a few times. Gizmo then approaches him.

"Heya Koopopher, we're back with a brand new hammer for you," Gizmo said.

The Sledge Bro turns and then sees the fiery golden-handled hammer as his eyes light up. He grabs it and looks at it admiring it as he then slams it on a rivet causing it perfectly be slammed into the girder.

"Now this is a real hammer, thanks for the free replacement boys, I'll give you your hammer back," Koopopher said.

He then tosses it over to Gizmo and Gadget as the boys grab it and lift it up in the air triumphantly. Before rushing back to show Shulk and Booker.

"This is what we've been working so hard to get back," Gizmo said.

And what was shown was some kind of sleek mechanical hammer with a jet engine instead in the back of its head.

"The jet engine used is leftover technology from the Celesteons, a nomadic ancient alien race from our universe, the engine is surprisingly lightweight and powerful though that's what makes using it tricky," Gadget explained.

"Speaking of which it has been a while we should probably test it out and show them how it works," Gizmo said.

Gadget then looked at Gizmo quizzically.

"Are you sure about that?" Gadget asked.

"It'll be fine, they just need to stand back far enough. Let's show them on that rooftop up there," Gizmo said.

Gizmo then pointed to a small building with a fire escape on the side reaching to the roof. Together they bring the hammer with them and bring it up the fire escape before getting on to the rooftop. They hold the hammer together, nodding to each other. And as they swing the jet engine activates and suddenly they are a black-and-white blurry tornado. And as the tornado jumps off of the roof it begins gently gliding to the ground and begins moving around. Before slowly stopping. Gizmo and Gadget both left a bit dazed and dizzy but soon shake it off.

"If you thought that was impressive you should see what this thing does to bad people," Gizmo said.