[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia & [color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi Hasegawa[/color][/center][/h2]
[center]Midgar- Quarantine Valley[/center]
[center]Lvl 10 (210/100) -> Lvl 10 (213/100) [/center]
[center]Lvl 4 Zenkichi - (78/40) -> Lvl 5 (41/50)[/center]
[center]Word Count: 1,454 words[/center]
[center]New Power for Zenkichi: Megidola- A powerful spell which deals Heavy unresistable Almighty magic damage to a wide area.[/center]

Geralt was somewhat pleasantly surprised, in that Goldlewis didn't dismiss his apology and explanation as an excuse. He offered his own perspective as to a way to deal with the issue, that being a more serious version of his sarcastic response: fusing with someone or something. They'd met plenty of people with strange abilities in the World of Light, so perhaps someone would possess a way to calm or shield his mind from the Orphan's influence. In a city filled with actual psychics, they may yet find a way. Roland also offered a few words of encouragement, to which Geralt gave an appreciative nod, but for now, the issue remained unsolved. 

They didn't have far to go before finding another Gate out of this strange dimension, as well as their target, collapsed on the ground. As they approached, though, the Seekers found themselves greeted by a titanic Chimera that dropped from the sky behind them. Geralt and Zenkichi wasted no time in running, as Hal's scooped up their quarry and charged with them through the Gate. 

Once on the other side, Hal let Iron down gently, and the woman began mumbling about things going wrong. Zenkichi couldn't hold back a distasteful look, but when she mentioned that she'd lost her briefcase, his eyes widened. That could be bad if somebody found it.

Of course, somebody else did find it. The Hermits. Sighing, Zenkichi watched them warily, though he was glad to at least see a rational human being and not an Other, a ghost lady, or murder robot. At least they could be reasoned with. 

Scratch that, they couldn't be reasoned with. "Gotta be kidding me..." Geralt muttered, and Zenkichi couldn't help but agree. He wasn't naive enough to assume that both groups having beef with the Administration would make them friends, but they'd literally just made contact with these guys and they were already turning on them? What was this, some video game speedrun to betray your allies?

They knew the Hermits knew that you didn't just "hand over" Spirits. Sure, Zenkichi had a few on hand, but he got the feeling it wouldn't be enough. It never was. The Hermits all took a dose of Blue Evolve, which was sure to make even the weakest among them somewhat of a threat. Unfortunately for the Hermits, however, things didn't pan out quite the way they'd expected. Rather than making them stronger, the Blue Evolve caused them to double over in pain. Upon seeing that, a pit opened in Zenkichi's gut, and he imagined the other Midgarians felt the same. 

The only way to fight a Chimera was to be exposed to red matter, a dose close enough to near abberration, or have a Legion. Maybe part of him had foolishly believed that this drug had something to do with the secretive chained monsters that Neuron employed, but no...no, that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

As the Hermits began transforming into Abberrations, Iron panicked and started to run for it. Geralt wasted no time in breaking from the group and beckoning Hal's drone after him, needing to rely on the machine to keep him away from pockets of red matter. Zenkichi, on the other hand, stayed with the group and sighed. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Hey, Kyle. You know everything about this city, right? That means you know what us Turks are capable of. I wanna be mad, but...man, you really must've been desperate. And look what it earned you. Power's not some shortcut to getting your goals, you idiot. It takes cultivation, effort. Even Shinra knows that. Did you not expect this stuff to have side effects?!"[/color] His piece said, Zenkichi drew his sword, the simple greatsword he'd started out with. 

[color=BFBFBF]"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. Valjean...Megidola."[/color] As he spoke the command, Valjean summoned a series of balls of energy, even more than Megido created, among the Abberrated Hermits. The spheres seemed to glow and vibrate with magical energy, and from them erupted a series of beams of light, striking the Hermits around them before vanishing with the balls of energy. 

With the Abberrations off guard from the powerful magical attack, Zenkichi leapt in and howled as he activated his Fury, swinging his sword at the closest weakened mutant and cleaving through them, the wave of energy that burst forth from his blade striking the one behind the deceased Abberration. It didn't stumble or stop, charging to swing its weapon at Zenkichi, who stood there and took the blow, bringing his sword down in a brutal overhead swing that crushed the Hermit beneath it. He followed up with a wide horizontal swing to catch a couple more Hermits with the energy beam before he cancelled the Fury and drew his revolvers, his sword disappearing. 

Backpedaling, Zenkichi squeezed off a dozen shots in rapid succession, gunning down another pair of mutated Hermits that had been weakened by his opening attack and recovering most of his lost vitality in the process. It was bittersweet, to see the red, glitchy Spirits they left behind as they died. It meant there was nothing that could be done for those poor folks. They were already dead, for all intents and purposes. He was just...making sure their bodies realized it. 

What a dreadful day this had been, Zenkichi thought idly as he shoved his revolvers into their holsters and drew his sword again, blocking the blow from an Abberrated Hermit, before he pushed them off with his sword and started slashing away at them, dodging out of the way of a clumsily thrown attack. So much death, so much pain. 

[i]Damn this city,[/i] Zenkichi thought as he cut down yet another Hermit, his breaths starting to come heavier from the effort.

[hr]

[i]Damn this city.[/i] Geralt thought as he burst through the doorway into the apartment complex Iron had run into. Somebody turned to look at him, but seemed to think better of saying anything as he ran through the hallway and out the back door, catching a glimpse of the woman they'd been looking for running along the rooftop. "Dammit, woman, we're trying to help you!" He called out after her, not really expecting it to convince her, but more to say that he'd tried. Not particularly hard, mind you, but he'd tried. 

She kept running, and Geralt gave chase, even as a people gave him wary looks as he ran by, one person even drawing a weapon and backing away a bit, but the Witcher paid them no mind. Iron had the advantage of knowing the area, and she used that advantage well, keeping ahead of the much faster Geralt by squeezing into a small thruway between two buildings that cost Geralt precious time to work his way around, his massive frame far too large, especially in armor, to squeeze through. Hal didn't have too much trouble keeping up, simply having his drone float around or over obstacles, though he did have to warn Geralt away from a building Iron tried to trick him into entering. From his vantage point, the drone saw her duck inside the entrance and climb out a window, while Geralt didn't have the luxury to wait and sniff out her path. 

Drawn out by the commotion, Geralt turned a corner and found himself face-to-face with a trio of Abberrations, each with their arms terminating into a sword-like appendage, which they tried to swarm him with. Geralt simply snarled as he pulled the Hateful Flesh from his body, not in the mood for nonsense. He caught a sword swing with the cleaver, the two weapons sliding along one another, and kicked out the monster's knee before decapitating it violently. He whirled the eldritch weapon over his head and launched it at one of the remaining Abberrations, which dodged out of the way as its fellow charged in. 

Pulling the weapon back, Geralt sidestepped a stab from the mutated monster and returned the favor with a punch to the face. It managed to daze the creature, giving him enough time to heft the Hateful Flesh and bring it from the side and into the thing's torso, butchering it quickly. As the final one landed a slash along his armor, Geralt turned and cast the Sign of Igni, bathing it in flames and stunning the Abberration. As a finishing blow, he took the Hateful Flesh and slammed it into the Abberration, knocking it back with enough force that the landing, rather than the attack itself, finished it off. 

Stowing the Orphan's weapon back inside him, Geralt looked around quickly before taking off in the direction of Hal's drone, conveniently hovering right outside yet another building. They wouldn't let Iron get away that easily.