[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3]
[b]Level 8[/b] Tora (29/80) and [b]Level 8[/b] Poppi (5/80)
[b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky – Vah Naboris at Lakeside
Primrose's [@Yankee], Fox's [@Dawnrider], Sectonia's [@Archmage MC] Midna's [@DracoLunaris], Heavy's [@ONL]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 248[/center]

As the battle went on, Vah Naboris edged closer and closer. Tora took the time to take another look at the machinery Sectonia presented him, and found it just as inscrutable as last time. “This stuff must run on magic, meh,” he muttered, which made Poppi look at him for a moment before turning her attention back to the battlefield growing closer. Her zoom feature allowed her to pick up the specifics of the fight, and she saw the fighters on the glowing red circle all start running toward the blue-coded side of the area.

“Hmm. Maybe fight winding down? Seem like blue side all but gone, red side probably go to finish off. Poppi vote not smash straight through. Since other friends in pyramid, no need rush, and it possible that in making so many angry at once we hit unexpected landmine.”

Tora nodded his head, pleased with his companion's reasoning. “Yes, yes! Poppi smarty circuits fully optimal! Who knows what powers people have, after all. As friends just see, meh, giant walkypon far from impregnable.” Hands on his 'hips', he nodded officiously. “Tora nominate Poppi go say hi! See if find anything useful. If Poppi judge small risk, Midna can just zap anyway, and we get spirits.”

Springing on her heels, Poppi test-fired her boosters, then summoned her Variable Sabre. The sleek red weapon caught the desert sunlight. “Masterpon wish is Poppi command.” After a few more moments, the advance party set out to explore Lakeside.

[hr]

The giant man's bellow gave the Dwarf second thoughts. A moments' time passed as a lull in the battle, RED team having to choose between fortifying their holdings or pressing their advantage, and BLU faced with the decision of recuperating their losses or making another push. The lull came to an abrupt end when the Infiltrator's sniper rifle popped the head of the Assassin as she raced up the stairs behind the Medic to send him off to join the Spartan. Cursing, the Poison took aim at her opposite number with her crossbow, only for the Inkling to plow into her from the side. Just like that, an already bad situation for BLU left the remaining fighters severely outnumbered. “Bloody hell!” the Dwarf exclaimed, turning tail. “I'm not dyin' first game!” He pulled out a grappling hook and zipped away. The Vanguard lacked such movement abilities, however, leaving him at the Heavy's mercy now that the Shield was out of the picture. 

No matter how one sliced it, the round was RED's for the taking. Although the Poison ended up getting the better of the Inkling, who toppled over from her toxins after fleeing for a health kit, BLU lacked the manpower to stage a comeback. It wasn't long before the timer ticked down and the announcer's voice rang out across Lakeside. “RED victory!” The sounds of cheers rang out from the loudspeakers on RED's side of the map, while booing echoed from BLU's. Red sparks flew from the REDs' weapons, giving them infinite critical hits to mop up whatever leftover competition they could find. After a short time the noises and crits stopped, and the announcer declared. “Teams scrambling in three minutes! Mission begins in six!”

As if on queue both teams' missing members sprang back into existence. With both gates open, as well as those to the rec center in the back, all could wander the map and get together to their content.

The Dwarf waddled by in a hurry, no doubt headed for the rec center's bar. Team scrambling and the accompanied break happened only a few times a day, so he clearly planned to make the most of it. He ignored the general gathering in the cool ruins, where members of both teams met to exchange friendly banter or angry glares, as the case might be.

The Assassin's steely blue gaze lingered on the Infiltrator, whose helmet hid his reaction. “Lucky shot,” she told him after a moment, which he only chuckled at.

“Hey, shouldn't have tried to style on Heavy same as you did me,” the Spartan told her. “Although, I was kinda worried he'd just let it happen twice.”

Waving his hand, the Infiltrator replied, “Aw, shut up. Everyone knows you need to take out the healer first.” He glanced at the Totem. “Uh, no offense.”

“No, no, it's to be expected. Really, the fact your Medic came late and Poison ended up focusing elsewhere instead pretty much won you the the point,” the Totem reasoned.

The Soldier, sitting alone by the doorway, leaned forward. He pointed to an oddly-shaped building standing rather close to the battlefield. “Hey, what's that camel-shaped thing? That wasn't there before.”

[center][h3]Edge of the Blue – Limsa Lominscuttle Town[/h3]
Ace Cadet's [@Yankee], Sakura's [@Zoey Boey], Junior and Kamek's [@DracoLunaris], Hat Kid's [@Dawnrider], Geralt's [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN], Isabelle's [@Eviledd1984][/center]

In Sky's Hatchery, Hat Kid found the titular [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/shantae/images/4/48/Sky_with_wrench_hgh.jpg]lady[/url] herself, grooming her prized warbird Wrench, and all too happy to offer the newly-arrived child a greeting. “Hey there, little missie! Here to take a look at all the critters?” She waved a hand at the hatchery's various denizens. “Help yourself! Even if they look fierce, they're all friendly and hardworking, the best guys 'n gals a humble trainer could ask for.”

As Hat Kid searched, she found a [url=https://www.warcraftmounts.com/images/skins/parrot_green-saddle_brown-img3.jpg]giant parrot named Squawks[/url], a [url=https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/mediawiki/images/0/02/Citrine_Carbuncle_Image.png]Citrine Carbuncle[/url], a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/terraria_gamepedia/images/9/9f/Cute_Fishron_Mount.gif]Cute Fishron[/url], a [url=https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/d/dd/357Tropius.png]Tropius[/url], a couple more warbirds, several [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/bugsnax/images/a/af/Cheepoof_emoji.png]Cheepoofs[/url] in a pen, [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/temtem_gamepedia_en/images/8/8a/Granpah_full_render.png]Grandpah[/url], [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/temtem_gamepedia_en/images/e/ed/Wiplump_full_render.png]Wiplump[/url], and a [url=https://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Dark-Souls/crow_demon_concept_art_header_full.jpg?v=1527882925286]crow demon.[/url]. That last one did not seem quite as friendly as the others, despite Sky's testimony; its beady eyes fixed the kid with a rather intelligent stare.

[hr]

Geralt's trip to the infirmary quickly gave him a good idea of the sort of damage the mysterious Abyssal Fleet could do to Limsa's navy, and he didn't need to ask a thing. Ordinary wounds really only constituted the tip of the iceberg; some of the heavily-treated wounds endured by these shipgirls could only have come from explosive ordinance, and a savvy Witcher knew teeth marks when he saw them. Some of the bite wounds he witnesses were massive, the best logical guess for the source being a shark of some kind. Just what was the navy -and now his team- up against? He intended to find out.

He identified a target who appeared to be close to good health, likely soon to be discharged. The relative lack of severity of the bite wound on her leg meant she hadn't needed to change out of what could only be her [url=https://static.zerochan.net/Minneapolis.%28Azur.Lane%29.full.2881409.jpg]typical attire[/url], eye-catching and atypical as it was. “Yeah, I can tell you. Some kind of stranger, are you? Well, I'm Minneapolis. Pretty near the top when it comes to hunting those Abyssals, so I should know.” She sat up in her bed, sliding to put her back against the wall. “They arere monsters, plain and simple. Many are weak, unworthy prey that sail, relying on numbers. The weak ones look like machines, but the stronger they get, the more they look like us. Pale skin and black metal, more armaments and armor, some skating across the surface like we do. Worst of all are the demons, princesses, and fortresses.”

She crossed her arms. “Er, in terms of fighting, all have guns or cannons, some launch torpedoes, some deploy smaller Abyssals. Most of them have horrible jaws, either on themselves or their rigging, so they love rushing in and ripping us up. They will sink if we damage them enough. Die, like anything else.” She then narrowed her eyes, remembering what Geralt asked earlier. “i do not know know what you mean by spirits, though. They don't leave anything behind. When we kill them they dissolve. All the dust falls in the water and drifts away. No trophies. Just a pretty light show in the waves when it is all over.” She sounded mournful, but her face soon turned to frustration. “No matter how many I hunt, they always come back. The little ones I understand, since they could be mass-produced. But the bosses? So much effort, so many casualties to put them down, and then there they are again. Enough to drive one mad.”

[hr]

After navigating the bounty through rather crowded thoroughfares and past a great many intrigued eyes, the money retrieval team met with Peach once more. Link had yet to return, but those assembled could scarcely afford to wait for him before getting down to business. Ever dependable, Kamek relayed his findings. “Oh, we actually found one? Good thing we didn't trust that fool telling us nobody would play dice,” the princess remarked. Even if the ship couldn't be expected to brave the Bottomless Sea, prospects looked good. Peach didn't want to admit she didn't think of buying an inferior craft and then upgrading it to serve the team's purposes. [i]Darned princess ditziness. The sooner I get more mature and well-traveled spirits in me the better.[/i] The fact that she didn't reflexively feel comfortable swearing in her own internal dialogue yet did not escape her. 

“Little Hatty went to take a look at the hatchery,” she explained after Kamek mentioned it. She doubted that her team would be better off going with a flying creature. Even with fusion on the table, it would take a lot to get an animal in the shape they needed, unless the hatchery had the Lord of Lightning up there. Geralt would no doubt be back soon, and hopefully whatever info he managed to pick up could serve them on the field trip that would be under way in short order. “Well, let's hurry up pay Mr. Balthier and his partner. We can't afford to miss the chance to collect on this sortie, so the sooner the better.” 

She lent her own strength to that of the money-fetchers, and in no time at all the sky pirate found himself burdened with literal wagons of money. “Holy moly! You guys weren't kidding! I guess I should have asked for more,” he joked, nudging Fran. The rabbit-eared warrioress said nothing, her eyes stuck to the gold. “We'll be living large now, that's for sure! Am I ever glad I met you guys. Good luck out there!”

As the heroes left, Fran nudged him back. “Scoundrel. You overvalued that Atomos by a ridiculous degree.”

Balthier laughed her off. “Oh, come on, they had plenty! Besides, with no set value for that coin of theirs, it was gonna be arbitrary anyway!” He watched the last members of Blue Team head off. “Still, those were some interesting folks. Maybe we oughta keep an eye out for 'em once we get some new wings.” He looked over at his companion, who after a moment gave a stiff nod.

Meanwhile, Peach and her crew stood in front of the Atomos. Junior had free reign to climb all over it as he pleased. The princess, meanwhile, clapped a shoulder on Sakura's shoulder. As spirited as the girl seemed, and no doubt was, a hint of insecurity wafted from her that Peach would have liked to see discarded. They faced a daunting mission, to be sure, and maybe Peach ought to be more doubting than she was, but in her mind she held no real qualms about going forward. When the Mario Bros had a job to do, they went for it without hesitation, going and going and going in the right way until it was done. What made her so sure of herself compared to Sakura? Only the road traveled thus far, she realized. “We're already making progress,” she declared, smiling. “It seems like no matter where we go, the path eventually opens up ahead of us. Although I can't say what comes next, I can trust that the way is there for us. Back at the start, when I was the old me, I decided I'd join the heroes on their path, even though I wasn't a fighter or a hero myself. When we got into trouble, they helped me out, and before I even knew it I was standing on my on two feet.”

She looked down at her hand. Where once a dainty white glove covered slender fingers devoid of blemish, she now sported fingerless gloves and calluses. She hadn't made them, but she'd thickened them. She placed the hand on her chest. “Of course, I had this too. This spirit I took. We couldn't have been more different. Most of my competence comes from him, I expect. So that probably shocked me into action. But still. Its okay if we're not flawless.” She watched the others attending to the ship. It wouldn't surprise her one bit if Junior figured out how to pilot it in mere minutes. “As long as we're together, we can be each others' strength. And if the going gets tough, we can change. Become better.” She clapped Sakura again. “So let's do this, huh? If you haven't flown before, this should be interesting.”

From the airship landing the Blue Team members could see a number of figures in the distance, speeding away from the city, leaving white foam in their wake. They could still catch the Sortie. With a short time until departure, Peach considered her options. “Hmm. We probably don't all need to go, since if by some freak accident the ship does go down, we'd all be out with it. We still have lots of gold. Might as well not have it burn a hole in the treasury. We could try to buy Shippy too, give us more options. And Link's still not back either.” She looked around at the assembled members. “Who's staying and going? I think I'd be more inclined to stay, myself.”

[center][h3]Dead Zone – Hell-bent City[/h3]
Blazermate's [@Archmage MC], Banjo & Kazooie's [@Dawnrider], Bowser's [@DracoLunaris] Doom Slayer's [@Eviledd1984][/center]

Bowser's question provoked no response from Marie, but her eyes told their own story. Even putting aside her deathly power, she looked weary and miserable, haunted even, as though some trauma robbed her of both inner peace and the ability to sleep and left her hollow. His insistence that the group not kill her, which elicited a dubious look from a few of them, did seem to make her clasp her hands. “It should be obvious, but I am a mere child no longer. Every day my humanity falls further and further into the past, but before it fades completely, I will at least have my revenge...” As the Koopa King rambled she turned and fixed a baleful glare on the darkness behind her. A few hundred feet away stood the base of the Qliphoth root, heavily scared but by no means compromised. More surprising were the ranks and ranks of skeletons surrounding it, attacking its flesh with unrelenting furor. They swung weapons if they wielded them, scratched with fingers and teeth if they did not, and if those broke they bashed their skulls and shoulders until they too shattered to dust. Yet for all their savagery they had a long way to go.

When Bowser winded down, she released a rattling sigh before turning back to confirm his and Blazermate's question about her intentions. “Although this cursed tree has trapped me here for months, I [i]will[/i] be free. I will destroy the Medicis, whether it takes me days to get out of here, or weeks...”

Nero's eyebrows went up. A certain matter still sticking to his mind made the prospect of waiting this miniboss out something of an issue. “We don't even have one day, let alone weeks,” he told the group. Realizing not everyone here knew about his surprise encounter, he quickly relayed what he'd learned from the daredevil porter. “There's a man making some sort of delivery. Or maybe he's already done. But it's got a timer, and only hours on it. When time runs out, the entire city's gonna disappear. At least, that's what he told me.”

Nadia, however, was busy hissing urgent at Bowser. “Shut! Shut up about the Skull Heart!”

The new information coming to Marie bade her face harden. “So, I'm on borrowed time? That is troublesome news. As for the Skull Heart, need I remind you, I will not be parting with it. Like it or not, I need its power.” She took a deep, hollow breath. The dead air whistled through her ribs. The ground began to shake. The heroes readied themselves. But not for what happened next.

“And evidently, I'll need yours.”

With a monumental crack the catacombs themselves ripped apart. Rumbling strong enough to throw the average hero to the floor permeated the entire structure as rubble rained down from above and light welled up from below. The floor started to fall away.

“Fall, and accept a peaceful end,” Marie warned them as she floated upward. “Or rise, and meet death face to face. Either way, your hour has come.”

Veins wove through the air in droves, forcing the heroes to either climb upward and brave the deadly deluge or plummet into the unknown below. Nadia wasted no time in beginning the ascent, determined to beat everyone else to the punch and secure what she came for. Her catlike nimbleness and reflexes sped her on her way, gaining distance even on the likes of Nero and Dante. Even as she raced to her goal, however, doubts ate at her. Everything that Marie said -and didn't say- about her situation made wishing on the Skull Heart seem more and more like a bad idea, all of a sudden. It seemed obvious that she'd used it herself to wish for the power to take revenge on people who'd wronged her. While she no doubt gained just that, Nadia couldn't help but wonder—just what did she lose in the bargain?

After narrowly avoiding a falling chunk of rock that must have weighed a couple tons, Nadia spotted the dark sky, and soon reached the 'floor', a near-solid platform of interwoven veins that pulsed with the unnerving power. Around them floated the ruins of the library. She pushed herself through and stood alone before the Skullgirl.

[center][img]https://giantbomb1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/11/112981/2469716-9439377127-tumbl.jpg[/img][/center]

Marie stared down at her from where she floated. “You're a feral from my world. And you know a thing or two about the Skull Heart. Yet still you're here. What could drive you so badly that you'd still seek a wish from it, after seeing what has become of me?”

Snarling, Nadia hoped nobody heard. “My family. We were butchered together, but I live. They were good people, and their deaths unjust. I'm gonna bring them back.”

Marie tilted her head. She watched as other heroes appeared, pushing up through the floor. “Take my place, and I'm certain you'll be able to. But I will spare you such a fate.” Myriad skulls floated around her, and bony vacuum cleaner materialized in her hands. “You all dare challenge me? You'll see how weak you are...” Holding out a hand, her eyes flashed open, flaring crimson. “Go forth!”

Skulls shot through the air, with gnashing teeth and gouging hours, to smash the heroes. A great many undead rose from the floor, mostly skeletons but others as well, some sticking around to fight, some appearing for just a moment to attack. They wielded all sorts of weapons, from cutlasses and [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/fortnite/images/b/b7/Pickaxe_%28Chapter_2%29_-_Pickaxe_-_Fortnite.png]pickaxes[/url] to tommy guns and [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/arksurvivalevolved_gamepedia/images/e/e0/Assault_Rifle.png]assault rifles[/url]. The heroes found themselves surrounded by the skeletons of humans, [url=https://runescape.wiki/images/8/87/Skeleton_%28Ape_Atoll%29.png?9da73]animals[/url],  [url=https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/003/276/531/large/avery-coleman-2-7-11.jpg?1471902193]giants[/url], and [url=https://external-preview.redd.it/9hT6zfJSssxGHWd_8NRXEdghUhOZVRWRZCfY3O1VVaI.png?auto=webp&s=7b1950ace1a8b00e5b3a38495f3b80abb709af97]more[/url]. In the middle of it all loomed the Skullgirl, ready and waiting.