[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3] Level 7 Tora (70/70) and Level 7 Poppi (9/70) [b]Location:[/b] Above the Eryth Sea [b]Word Count:[/b] 1463[/center] [center][hider=For Poppi]New Power acquired: [b]Emergency Mode[/b] Increase the block rate of Poppi's ether shielding by 60% when her partner's HP is 30% or lower [/hider] [hider=For Courier 6]Premier Spirit Devoured: [b]Ender Dragon[/b] Rectangular light gray horns sit atop the host's head like crests, the host's irises are bright purple, the host's jaw bears large black fangs, the host's hair is replaced by sculpted black scales, the host's clothes turn a mixture of black and grey, and the host's size is increased by 40%. The host's lower legs and forearms/hands are enlarged with black scales and claws, and the host has a long, heavy black-scaled tail. Confers the Power [b]Ender Wings[/b], which give the host black dragon wings that can be used for highly-maneuverable if not fast flight despite any other bodily limitations; the wings move strongly enough to create airblasts. Also confers the Power [b]Ender Dragonbreath[/b], which allows the host to expel impossible amounts of sizzling purple acid that deals constant damage to enemies but none to structures. Confers the Power/Weakness [b]Anathematic Presence[/b], which causes the host to delete non-special overworld matter, like dirt, stone, and wood, that the host touches.[/hider][/center] A few at a time, the heroes started managing their falls and lofting upward off the ill-fated island. Linkle's cuccos spread their wings to catch the wind and float to safety, one of them held onto for dear life by the long, spindly arms of her owner. Easily able to take to the skies himself, Kamek hurried to assist his young master with his clown car's emergency repairs. While the rush job ended a few moments after the flying machine parted ways with the ground, the vehicle begrudgingly coughed itself awake and hauled Junior upward long before there was any danger. Once flying on its own power, the clown car made for a halfway-decent target for nearby lightweight tether-users, so Hat Kid did just that and joined her fellow child on his ride. It was Bowser, however, who took a precious moment before saving his skin to lend a panicked Tora the literal hack job he needed. Blurting out, “Thanky-thanky!” he got to work winding wires and welding metal. Relatively unconcerned, Poppi looked around to make sure her allies were alright as Tora labored to shut them out and focus on repairs. She spotted her masterpon's helper simply jump off the falling island with all his strength, then summon that new Trowlon striker of his to surf the breeze far above the water's surface. It looked like a lot of fun, actually, and Poppi made a mental note to bring it up to Tora later. Halfway through a fall to one's death was no time to chat about skyboarding. Instead she watched Cuphead flounder through the air to try and grab a cuccoo of his own, and the Jak-Daxter duo soar on angelic wings. Were she able to breath, Poppi would have breathed a sigh of relief; for a moment there, it had looked as if the two died in the blast that annihilated Link and Euden. The memory, lost for a short time in all the chaos, tugged at her heart strings. Worse still, she expected that it would hit Tora a lot harder once he realized. She could only hope that he didn't beat himself up for laughing and feeling jolly while the realization escaped him. Of course, neither had gotten good look at the aftermath of the gyrocopter's explosion, so neither could use context clues to piece together that the Cadet's terminology meant their friends escaped. Now more than a little unhappy, Poppi watched her other allies escape, floating up like balloons all around her. Sectonia, having never touched the ground to begin with, busied herself collecting a couple woefully inelegant subjects while Peach sailed away on her parasol. She could see the vibrant red of Kazooie's wings framed against the sky behind Banjo far above, making the bear into a funny-looking angel. Fox joined Cuphead and Linkle's cucco crew, and with his injuries partially tended to Donnie could breath ease while descending atop that flying disc of his. The Toadies took care of both the Ace Cadet and the dragon's severed tail, though it took all of them to accomplish that feat. Most stunning of all was the Courier, who threw his prior caution about accepting spirits -as well as himself- to the wind after volunteering to host the unbreakable Ender Dragon spirit. He transformed in a dazzling display of dancing light and sheer power, and when it faded, a changed gunslinger of black scales and vicious claws soared on black wings. Seeing her allies safe filled Poppi with relief, but it also made her look down at Tora. Large beads of sweat dotted his face as he fumbled with her circuitry. She glanced to either side, noting that he gorgeous aquamarine of the inland sea appeared to be fast approaching. “Um, masterpon?” she said tentatively. “Not want to alarm, but...” The Nopon's nerves failed him, and he made a snap decision. He wanted to say something like 'hope that good enough, let's go!' but what he cried in a shrill scream was, “Gonownownownowgonowgogogo!” Tora threw himself into Poppi's lap, still holding his tools, and the artificial blade fired her thrusters. She shot backward, sliding across the end stone, until she could gather her legs beneath her and push off. The pair hit the open air with not a moment to lose, flying clear just a handful of seconds before the island hit the water with a tremendous crash, sending a miniature tidal wave rolling across the pristine lake. Tora deflated in relief, sighing happily as he held Poppi close. Smiling, she gave the sinking island one last glance before she started to gain altitude. Bowser led the way atop his Trowlon to a different [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xenoblade/images/e/ec/Hovering_Reef_4_DE_Hovering_Reef_3.png/revision/latest?cb=20200720222227]sky island[/url], one that hovered on its own above the surface. Once the heroes got close enough, they could see that the reef not only sort of resembled a curly-up starfish, but also that it featured a bunch of rather aquatic-looking flora. Landing one at a time, they made their way to the [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xenoblade/images/9/91/Hovering_Reef_3_DE.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20200718033341]reef center[/url], where they could group up in peace. Once back on terra firma, or at least terra as-firm-as-could-be-asked, Tora practically kissed the ground as he rolled about. His tools, released from his wings' deathgrip at last, lay on the grass beside him. “Ahh, thank Architect! Tora never want see floating island again!” Poppi was standing on one leg, inspecting her repaired leg. While certainly not pretty, it worked well enough. “Masterpon should try to not open eyes, then,” she remarked. Once satisfactory with her inspection, she raised a tentative hand and looked around at the others. “Did friends see platforms on edges of reefs? Looked like teleporters to Poppi.” “Mhm,” Peach replied. She sat against a tree in the grass without any regard for the dirtiness of her pink long coat's hems. “Maybe they link the islands together.” She tried not to look at either Linkle or Geralt while addressing them at the same time, which was difficult. “Hey, do you -Linkle- and you -Mr. Geralt- want me to remove the spirits of those tall creatures? Now that we're out of that place, the cons probably outweight the pros, yeah?” Should they accept her offer, she planned to help them as quickly as possible. Tora rolled into a sitting position, his expression serious. “Tora agree, meh! Useful as warp is, Tora want be able to look at friend Linky-Linky again!” Poppi rolled her eyes. “Masterpon not see anything wrong with that statement?” He scratched his head with one wing and laughed nervously. “W-well, Tora also want see friend Geralt again. Just known Linkle for longer, is all. Thought of first...meh” The spotlight moved on, but his and Poppi's conversation continued. “It seem like Masterpon often think of Linkle first,” she admonished. “Poppi have logic error if Poppi think Tora not care about you, meh,” the Nopon assured her. “Poppi mean world to Tora. But am not thinking of Poppi and Linky same way. Friend Linky is super cool, super cute, great at fighting but always very nice, very wholesome. Definitely best girl 'til we find Pyra again!” His companion frowned. “If Linkle knew Masterpon talked about her like this, would be very weirded-out. Probably not hang out with Masterpon anymore.” “But...” The egg-shaped engineer looked crestfallen, but he ended up shaking his head. “Meh meh. Rex-Rex and old friends never have problem with Tora. Even when Morag and Brighid get cross, nothing bad happen.” Poppi found herself unable to respond. Logic dictated that unusual, obsessive behavior could bring about negative repercussions, hence her frequent scolding of her Masterpon, but if the others tolerated Tora then she couldn't conclude that it was an issue. If he went over the line, she reasoned, she would have to insist, but until then she couldn't pull together a case against him. A couple minutes later, anyone on scout duty would spot movement across the sea. A couple figures, their details difficult to discern from this distance, crossed a reef near the floating tower and stepped into the center of one of its outside platforms. They disappeared in a flash, and soonafter the movement of similar figures could be spotted on a closer reef, almost hidden behind a [url=https://www.ssbwiki.com/images/thumb/8/86/SSBU-Battlefield.png/1200px-SSBU-Battlefield.png]small island[/url] that happened to float in the way. The process then repeated once more, except this time the strangers emerged onto the reef the heroes stood upon. They could be clearly seen the moment they began down the path toward the center where the lion's share of the heroes rested: a [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/Ness_%28EarthBound%29.png]boy[/url], a [url=https://www.smashbros.com/assets_v2/img/fighter/jigglypuff/main.png]balloon[/url], and a [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Falco_Lombardi_%28character%29.png]bird[/url]. To some of the heroes, however, these newcomers were no strangers. The third, who led the way for the other two, zeroed in on Fox. His beak hung open, and he grunted. “Huhh. Well, look who we have here.” [center][h3]Lumbridge[/h3] [@Gentlemanvaultboy][/center] As Mym receded into the distance and Link snapped a photo, Ren merely watched with his hands in his pockets. While the sight of the dragon, her prince, and that Sakura girl flying off to adventure made for a striking image, he couldn't afford to use his own phone's batteries when he didn't have a place to charge it. Still, he felt as though he'd gained a lot from these last few minutes. A lot of useful information leaked his way from the exchange between that Michael guy and his seifuku-wearing acquaintance concerning the nature of this world. [i]An idle but self-appointed supreme entity who changed the very nature of reality to keep the masses in unthinking, ignorant complacence, eh?[/i] Put like that, he couldn't help but feel a duty to destroy it. Ren's mind was running a mile a minute. Not only did he know his objective, but the method of doing so seemed clear. Defeat its champions, then challenge it directly, and the metaverse -the hidden world formed of cognition- would recede from reality, leaving everything as it had been before. Reality was, after all, defined by cognition—either that of the one, or that of the many. If he could steal Galeem, the glorious treasure that formed the heart of this fused world, the cognition of the people would change. He'd done it before, and he could do it again, so long as he had his friends. No longer would the Phantom Thieves float around in this world, lost and adrift. The way forward was clear. [i]Mission start.[/i] Of course, step one was to reunite his team. Hopefully one of the others got a lead on where to get vehicles. Now that Ren knew the people in this world would fight back relentlessly if attacked, he needed to be careful. At least they weren't all purely aggressive like Shadows. A thought hit Ren, and he looked around. He spotted villagers, adventurers, pigs, people of all shapes and sizes, equipped with wildly different equipment and more than likely hosting unique abilities. Were these people Shadows, or just cognitive beings? If they were Shadows, the psychological beings shaped by the consciousness of the people, then... He paused his train of thought as he thought he heard a call for attention, but the target in question seemed to be another teenage boy nearby. Ren meant to turn away once he realized he wasn't involved, but for some reason the faces of both the caller and the target stuck out to him. Was this deja vu? He could swear he saw them somewhere before. Moving closer, he listened in. One confirmed the other's name before introducing himself, which was convenient. [i]Shulk and Link. I know those names. But from where?[/i] The guy named Shulk replied. “Oh hey, it's good to see you too. After Smash, right? We didn't get to know one another that well, but...” he trailed off, since Link did have another question. “Ah, yes. This is Lumbridge. The starter town, if you will. It's the hub of the whole Land of Adventure, and pretty much the only place that stays the same every week. Everything else regenerates, you see. Did Euden find you on the way to the big hunt?” Shulk crossed his arms, curious. Evidently he hadn't seen Link before. After a moment he went wide-eyed. “Oh, wait, I just now realized! You said you got carted? The palicos only rescue folks who get hurt real bad, so you musta been fightin' the thing! Glad you're okay, mate. But what was it? Do you need to get back out there again?” It took some serious self-control for Ren to keep himself from jumping in right there. Well, wasn't this just his lucky day! First he overheard Mr. Santa talking about how a group went out that morning to take on one of the angel's 'champions' that prevented it being challenged, then someone who actually fought it appears right in front of him! Well, he didn't know for sure yet that this Link got 'carted' during a fight with the region boss Michael mentioned; it could have been any other fight an adventurer might encounter on a quest. But if this 'big hunt' [i]was[/i] what he was looking for, he'd have just about every card he needed to start playing for real. [center][h3]Dead Zone[/h3] [@EvilEdd1984][/center] To Nadia's amusement, some sort of computer system in the scary man's possession answered for him. The smooth electronic voice divulged his name, birthday, military history, and even some choice exploits. While she couldn't fathom what it looked like, 'Icon of Sin' sounded pretty serious. In her world that could probably be spun into a grandiose title for Lorenzo Medici, the old bastard, or more likely his son Vitale. From the looks of this guy, however, Nadia guessed that moniker represented something a lot more demonic. She snickered as the Slayer did something to the voice to make it go quiet. “Well, if it's any consolation I figured nya were a jarhead anyway. I mean, your gear makes the Canopy guys look like chumps, but that look of yours screams 'built to kill.' Which makes the sight of you on a skateboard even funnier, heheheh.” “We really are from different worlds,” Pandemonica remarked flatly. While V seemed content to continue musing, the demoness seemed amenable to some conversation. “Do either of you know what's going on?” She got straight to the point, uninterested in quibbling. Nadia leaned back, stretching luxuriously. “Nuh-uh,” she replied. “I don't really remember how I got here...like, 'this world' here. But wherever I am, the mission's the same: to do right by the Fishbone Gang. My family.” She collapsed onto her side, propping her head up on her arm. “So, Mr. Splatterhouse got his story spoiled, more or less. What's up with you, Pandy? You can be purr-sonal with us.” Wiping wearily at her eyes, the horned woman didn't bother to correct her. “I work in Hell. Customer Service. That's it.” Nadia went for a sympathetic smile, although she didn't really know what that entailed. “I hear ya. How anyone can lock 'emselves up in one of those skyscrapers pushin' papers and dealin' with jerks all day, I'll never know. Ain't the life for me!” She split off one of her hands and watched it walk around in a circle on two fingers for a moment before a bump in the road knocked it over. Reaching down to reattach it, she asked, “This place you work got a name?” “Hell.” “Really rubs ya the wrong way, huh?” Nadia concluded. “What, bad boss?” “I cannot complain about Ms. Lucifer,” Pandemonica admitted. “If I must point a finger, it would have to be at the clientele.” Nadia pursued her lips, eyebrows furrowed. “I'm startin' to think you're bein' more literal than I first thought.” Up in the front, Nero listened without chipping in. Whichever hell Pandemonica hailed from was a far cry from the one that reared its ugly head from time to time where he came from. The demons he fought could be very cunning, but barely any could be considered intelligent, and those that could speak rarer still. Just trying to picture Riots and Baphomers in suits lining up at a desk to give Pandemonica complaints made him chuckle under his breath. By keeping his eyes on the road, however, he spotted a new obstacle at the same time Nico did. A few moments more and she put her foot on the breaks to bring the vehicle to a stop in front of a disaster zone. An entire city block had been torn apart by seismic and volcanic activity, and from the wounds rose grotesque mounds of flesh. They formed a hideous sprawling nest, and at the center rose a torso-like column of the stuff fringed with giant teeth. Nodule-profuse tendrils draped across the buildings along with the Qliphoth roots, and from them sprouted orange veins to infest sheer surfaces like fungus. The [url=https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_5CosM3eTtzxbyerxPbYykTk6Zw=/0x0:1920x964/1200x800/filters:focal(877x148:1183x454)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66518941/Doom_Eternal___Mission_5___Super_Gore_Nest_secret_item_locations_and_maps.0.png]whole place[/url] was crawling with demons. “What a mess. Is this a breeding ground?” Nico pointed at something, and the devil hunter peered in that direction. After a moment he spotted a metallic flash, which allowed him to identify someone fighting in the destroyed remains of an apartment building. A [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/9/99/Smtds-raidou-kuzunoha4.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100517134047]young man with sharp sideburns[/url] appeared to be wielding a katana and a revolver against [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/shadowwarrior/images/2/25/Crawler_promo_01_copy_1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160621125204]clawed demons[/url] and a menacing [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/shadowwarrior/images/8/81/Shadow_Warrior_Artwork_6.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160621151137]warlord demon[/url] armed with a sturdy blade. However, another much less imposing [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/0/08/Mokoi.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20190328215338]demon[/url] fought alongside him, a smooth, green, doll-like creature that used a boomerang. Nadia and Pandemonica arrived behind the front seats, peering out through the windshield at the remarkable scene. “Faster to go around,” Nico tempted him, trying to keep a straight face. “Or do ya wanna get down in the muck?” Nero weighed his options, then with a groan pushed open the passenger door. A nearby imp rounded on him, only for the devil hunter to plug it with his revolver. “No use cleaning up here,” he told her, “Since if that delivery man makes his drop, this entire city goes bye-bye. That guy can handle himself, but we ought to let him know. The sound of footsteps signaled V's arrival up front. “I can dispatch Griffon to warn him. If you like, he can even extend an invitation to join us.” “Oh, sure. Beats climbing over myself.” Nero relaxed back into his chair and swung the door shot. Back in the rear, however, the Slayer's map was pinging. Down in the Super Gore Nest it indicated not just one but two Sentinel Crystals, ripe for the taking.