[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3]
[b]Level 8[/b] Tora (60/80) and [b]Level 8[/b] Poppi (33/80)
[b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky
Primrose's [@Yankee], Fox's [@Dawnrider], Sectonia's [@Archmage MC] Midna's [@DracoLunaris], Heavy's [@ONL], Medic's [@Dr Lovecraft], Yoshitsune's [@Rockin Strings]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1835[/center]

No stranger to jogging across long distances, Tora started after the Phantom Thieves and got up to speed in a few moments, and of course Poppi had no trouble matching his pace. The whole group got underway shortly, and using the tracks Joker indicated as a guide, proceeded into the desert. Although the trek before them remained vast, the mountain seemed notably bigger than it did even at entrance to the Crown of Sand. As the sun sank down behind it, throwing splendid shades of yellow, orange, red, and finally purple across the sky, the desert heat subsided, and in relative comfort the heroes could make their way across the great, flat expanse.

Nightfall in the Sunset Sky meant journeying onward in darkness, but Tora found it wasn't so bad. The very workable light of the moon and stars illuminated the desert just fine, and he didn't have very much trouble seeing. As he bounced along Tora spent a while looking skyward, peering in wonderment at the vaults of a sky awash with stars. “Think those stars have own worlds?” he asked Poppi, who followed his gaze to the cosmos. “All worlds of light, made by Galeem? Or is just illusion, and this all it made?” He gave a long sigh. “Meeeeeeh. Tora hope it last one. Otherwise, maybe friends on whole other world, far away, and never see again. And...” He redirected his gaze to the Lord of Light, floating above the center of the continent, visible even from this great distance. “And it fall to us to save it all.”

Only a little nighttime passed by, however, before the heavens raged with light—not sunlight, nor even the multicolored luster of spirits, but a stark, soulless white. Tora gaped and Poppi stopped in their tracks and gaped as the rippling dome of death rose above the western mountains. A front of air kicked up sand across the desert and buffeted Yellow Team for a few moments, displaced by the titanic explosion. After what seemed like ages it receded, and the night resumed its dominion over the world, but the experience left the group rattled. Everyone shared the stricken wonderment that Primrose expressed, but nobody could offer any answers. Although not for the same reasons, Tora loathed the blast nearly as much as Midna did, and it left him shivering. He felt sure it had been some kind of weapon, and even in a world where habitable land didn't come at a premium, such wanton destruction disturbed him immensely. The Nopon could only hope, with more than a little unease, that it hadn't claimed the lives of any friends. As best he could judge it lay much, much too far north to imperil Alcamoth or even Lumbridge, but just the thought that something like that could happen worried him enough. In the span of only a few moments, the world had gotten a lot less safe.

In the end, the heroes couldn't do much  but continue onward. Before they got underway again Joker called down Necronomicon for a quick consultation. “Nothing yet on my scanners,” she reported. “But from up high I saw something strange. Up ahead, it looks like the sand is moving a little. At first I didn't notice, but there's no mistaking it.”

Joker scratched his head. “Like there's a monster underneath?”

The spaceship rotated back and forth in a crude approximation of a shaken head. “Not in one spot. [i]All[/i] the sand, and in one direction. Almost like it's flowing. I don't know why, either. I'll fly ahead and see if I can find anything. Just be careful, 'kay?”

With no further details available, Yellow Team started moving again. After a while, the frontrunners -Tora among them- started experiencing a change in the ground beneath them. As he jogged through the sand the Nopon found it getting slowly harder, his feet sinking further in with each step, and the sand itself getting stickier. Another couple minutes and to his displeasure the desert surface seemed to be mud in all but appearance. “Meeeeh!” he grumbled. “Little legs of Tora giving tough time!”

Poppi tapped his shoulder and pointed at the tracks, along the top of which the Scout was already running. With a noise of approval her Masterpon waddled through the muck over to the train tracks and climbed on. He ran along the ties for a few steps, found his stride sufficient enough to cover the short distance between them, and went to give his companion a thumbs-up. When he looked her way from atop the stationary tracks, however, the change in perspective allowed him to see the truth in Necrnomicon's words. “Ground [i]is[/i] sliding!” he announced as he reached a wing down into the sand. Its flow caused it to gather into a globule in his wing-palm, which he flung the away after a moment. “Tora confused, but would also get on tracks if Tora was you!” he advised. Whatever the reason for this phenomenon might be, it couldn't be good. Not for the first time he found himself envious of Midna and Sectonia, able to float wherever they pleased without having to worry about the ground. 

Still, he was pleased to see the Phantom Thieves heed his suggestion and climb onto the tracks. Braum bravely tried forging onward another couple dozen steps, but suddenly found himself sinking too quickly to ignore. “Big guy!” Blue Poison called out in warning, but he'd already swerved to clamber up onto the tracks. She lent him as much as hand as she could given her tiny stature. “It's pretty much just quicksand at this point,” she remarked.

While Braum caught his breath and his friends got sand out of their boots, Joker watched Necronomicon approach in a hurry. “What's up?”

“You won't believe it!” the Persona replied in earnest. “Up ahead the sand keeps getting gooier, turning brown, then suddenly smoothing out. Just like syrup. Then there's this giant dessert!”

Panther raised an eyebrow. “...You mean 'desert'?”

“No, 'dessert',” Necronomicon confirmed. “Waffle cone islands, donuts, taffy roads, a giant cake mountain. A whole bunch of islands, and the tracks lead right to it.”

As the ship relayed the unusual news, there came a rumbling sound that grew steadily stronger. Although distracted by the mental image of a literal mountain of sweets, Tora became aware of the tracks vibrating, then the accompanying noise. He patted Poppi's shoulder to get her attention and confirm he wasn't hearing things. “Poppi? Tora hear noise getting louder...”

Necronomicon turned his way. “Oh right, that's the other thing. On the way over I scanned multiple creatures headed this way. You guys should get ready.”

In a flash, the Thieves' weapons appeared. “You didn't think you shoulda led with that?” Mona shouted. He looked frantically into the night. “Where are they coming from?”

The sound had intensified until Tora could feel it in his bones, but still he saw nothing. His eyes went wide, and he cried, “Underground!”

From the mucky ground burst a pair of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/deeprockgalactic_gamepedia_en/images/1/16/Trawler.png]spiky red slugs[/url] that leaped at the tracks. One grabbed the Medic, and the other the Scout, who bellowed in anger. “NAYAKA TRAWLER! I hate these damn things!” Seeing his friend abducted, the Heavy bellowed as well, albeit in wordless rage. He span up his minigun and unleashed a hailstorm of bullets toward the Trawlers, heedless of the [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/nier/images/2/27/Small_Flyer_Desert.png]flying machines[/url] that descended from the night sky. Panther summoned Carmen, and hurled fire at them, but they dodged out of the way and returned fire. As their purple orbs rained down on Yellow Team, Panther bared her fangs and pulled out her submachine gun, with Mona and Skull joining in to blast a few of the robots to scrap. 

Meanwhile Joker switched to Leena to join Blue Poison in trying to shoot the Trawlers, who'd exited Heavy's effective range. One-hit Kill and a well-aimed crossbow bolt killed the Trawlers in sprays of green blood, but that left their captives floundering a couple hundred feet away from solid ground. Necronomicon zoomed their way. “I got 'em!”

To make matters even worse, an explosion of sand the next moment heralded the arrival of a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda_gamepedia_en/images/a/a1/BotW_Molduga_Model.png]hideous behemoth[/url], which charged at the tracks. It bulled over the tracks like a runaway plow, knocking the Heavy and Braum into the quicksand, and clipping Joker's leg as he tried to evade. Tora gave the Molduga a parting slash as it dove below again, but it didn't even slow down. Joker pulled himself up onto the platform with gritted teeth, and shouted, “We're getting attacked from all angles! Someone help the fallen!”

Skull narrowly avoided getting grabbed by another Trawler, and plugged it with his last shell. A projectile from one of the machines hit him in the back, almost knocking him into the sand. As he struggled Tora zipped upward with a swooshing slash, carving it in half twice with as many slashes, but the others weren't flying above the tracks. He glanced out across the sand and to his relief spotted the Medic hovering above the surface thanks to his new ability, as well as the Scout dangling from the grappling hook he'd attached to Necronomicon. The Heavy and Braum still needed help, but before Tora could act the Molduga came around again, forcing the Nopon to take a running leap out of the way, only to land face-first in the sand himself. Poppi plucked him out a moment later, carrying him with her as she flew up into the air. His Variable Saber's bright blue blade carved through the darkness, destroying machine after machine, but more kept coming. Joker summoned Arsene to kick away a Trawler as it leaped for him, and shouted, “We can't fight this! We have to make a break for the islands!”

Nearby, the Molduga surfaced once more, and Poppi's sensors locked on. “Poppi will give friends chance to get away!” the artificial blade called out, her voice determined. Taking the Variable Saber in hand she chucked her protesting Masterpon down for someone to catch before diving down. She switched to her Ice core, placed herself directly in front of the onrushing behemoth, and leveled the her weapon at it. The blade vanished as its housing opened up and energy welled within.

“Noponic Axiom!”

[i]VWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE![/i] With a crystal-clear note a beam of absolute cold blew forth. It spread over the Molduga in a wave, slowing it down until the ice could catch hold of the sand below and freeze it in place. Even if it broke free in a few seconds, the heroes had their chance to make a break for it, even if that meant fighting other enemies the whole way. Not imagining that an ally would seek to capitalize on the frozen Molduga, Poppi boosted after the others. The team had about a mile to go until they reached the first of the dessert islands, with the syrupy muck to either side of the tracks growing only stickier and sweeter as they went.

[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Level 2[/b] Nadia (20/20)
[b]Location:[/b] Limsa Lominscuttle Town – The Drowning Wench
Blazermate's [@Archmage MC], Bowser's [@DracoLunaris], Ace Cadet's [@Yankee], Hat Kid's [@Dawnrider], Frog's [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1022[/center]

A hearty [url=https://en.ff14housing.com/images/pic/27a3c4947fa_img1.jpg]finger sandwich[/url] left Nadia feeling satiated, and while she enjoyed her present company, a restlessness had entered her bones. Ace encouraged her, Link asked her to let him know if she encountered the Medicis, and while she smiled appreciatively, she had no such intentions. [i]When the time comes, they're all mine.[/i]

With the stories of her past told, both recent and distant, the spotlight moved to Blazermate. Nadia, meanwhile, felt like stretching her limbs. Leaving whoever was in charge to handle her tab, and feeling a little sorry for whoever it ultimately was who bore responsibility for this gaggle of miscreants, she turned her eyes through the door and to the night-draped city beyond. “I'm feline a trip 'round town to see the nightlife of the place,” she announced once the others finished talking to Blazermate, to avoid interruption. Come with if ya like, can always use the company. Or don't, won't take it purr-sonal.” So saying, she bowed out and made for the outdoors. For the second time she took a long, deep breath of the flowing seaside air. Its essence reached into the open-air tavern, of course, but feeling the breeze on her skin and playing with her hair was something altogether different. “Aaaalrighty...first, let's get a good view. To the top!”

Rather than use the lift she just left behind, she made for the nearest rigging. Ever since she saw Sephiroth take a shortcut to the Bismarck, she wanted to try these ropes for herself. Meshes of rope hung all throughout Limsa, connecting levels and buildings. Together with the copious bridges, catwalks, and posts, they really did make the city smack of a gigantic ship's upper reaches. An enterprising individual could save a lot of time and navigational headache by using them, and Nadia Fortune was nothing if not enterprising. She took a running jump from the wooden walkway ringing the Drowning Wench's stack, sailed across open air with a manic grin on her face, and latched onto a mesh like a kitten on a pant leg. One rung at a time she climbed, higher and higher, until she could haul herself up. 

Compared to the castle of a structure situated on that grand central stack, of which the Drowning Wench formed only a middling part, this one reached a little less high. Its top combined both the roof of the building built into it and the natural summit of the formation itself, grass, shrubs, and all. Immediately after climbing up she noticed a couple laying on a blanket, stargazing, but they didn't seem to see her. [i]How cute.[/i] With a grin she made her way to the opposite side, grabbed hold of one of the roof spires, and hung off it to get a view of the city. And what a view she got.

From here, with the central stack in all its enormity blocking about half the city, she couldn't quite see everything, but she could see a great deal. Although the hour wasn't particularly late yet, Nadia got the feeling that this city never quite slept. Even now she could see dozens of people crossing the bridges between the stacks, filtering into Hawkers' Alley, and loitering around the Aetheryte Plaza. A lifetime spent in New Meridian meant she knew both bustling markets and fashionable hang-out spots when she saw them. Of course, she could see that Limsa Lominscuttle Town was more than just the white seastone towers. Radiating outward in a rough circle from the central stack extended a the spokes connecting smaller stacks, and between them lay the wharftowns. Great platforms of wood and stone supported by columns rising from the water below occupied what would otherwise be empty space, lined with building of all kinds from businesses to homes to warehouses. Even more impressive, nothing stuck out to Nadia as a slum. Though they lacked the grandiosity of the stacks, the wharf districts had their own charm and wholesomeness, and calling them shantytowns would be to grossly undervalue them. Here and there Nadia spotted superstructures situated in the wharftowns, including what she could only assume to be the main harbor. It made her heart ache for Little Innsmouth, with its clashing colors and corals. Was there really no trace of it in this seafaring city?

Out of everything her eyes fell on the [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6d/39/e0/6d39e0bc6704993037cb95fcb9a6cec1.jpg]most unusual building[/url]. Roughly circular, and tiered like a ziggurat, it featured a massive orb of what appeared to be water in its center that reached higher than many of the city's buildings. Strategically placed at the edge of the city, it glowed with the strident beams of stadium lights, and Nadia's eyes lit up too. “What is [i]that[/i]?” she whispered. Some local sport? She had to see. Just as she prepared to leap off, however, an even greater light shown to her right, flooding the night sky far to the east. For a moment Nadia watched in intimidated wonderment, which the startled couple behind her echoed to an even greater degree, but things clicked after a few moments. “Must be the bomb,” she told [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/monkeyisland/images/b/b3/Amor-en-los-videojuegos-elaine-guybrush-se.jpg]them[/url] matter-of-factly. Their faces displayed no comprehension, so she elaborated. “This guy was planning to leave some kind of bomb somewhere in this rotten, zombie-infested demon hellscape called the Dead Zone. Boom. All good now.”

“...I see,” the young man said. “Er...when did you get up here?”

Nadia laughed. “Don'tcha worry 'bout that! I was just goin'. Stars won't gaze themselves, huh?” She pointed back at their blanket, then gave them a cheeky salute by way of farewell. Without an ounce of hesitation she launched herself from the tower. She slowed her fall with jets of blood, carefully aimed to avoid splattering innocent bystanders who might not take kindle to a faceful of loose viscera, and landed -as all cats do- on her feet. From there she made her way to the stadium, slinking through the crowds with a smile on her face as she took in the general energy. More than a few times she stopped at various stalls, sights, or live performances, looking and listening to the culture of a Lominsan night.

[center][h3]Edge of the Blue – Limsa Lominscuttle Town (After the Explosion)[/h3]
[@Zoey Boey][@DracoLunaris][/center]

Peach turned to Bowser. “Give me a boost, will you? No direction, just up. I've been meaning to use this.” When he obliged, she flew up in a high arc and then landed right by Sakura. On impact she let out a green wave that expanded a set distance, washing over the street fighter and healing her wounds. “Learned this while fighting the rabbids,” she explained. A few more repetitions and Sakura's injuries were no more.

Tenderly, Bella accepted some of the food offered by Bowser. She still didn't know what to make of the far-off yet still imposing explosion, but if these people resolved to pay it no mind, neither would she. “Merci.” She bit into the burger, and her eyes widened. Flavors never before conceived of circulated through her mouth. Taken aback, she dug in with a hunger she didn't know she had, disposing of the whole sandwich in just a few short moments. And just like that, it was gone. With a sheepish smile she wiped at her mouth.

Brineybeard stifled a chuckle. Looking at this woman now, full of awkwardness and wonderment, it was almost difficult to imagine her as a killing machine. The tail helped, though. “So how was it?”

Bella ran through her lexicon, thinking. How could she describe an experience like that, without any point of reference? She could only describe the flavor in objective terms, knowing that taste from many a day on the briny blue. “Salty...”

As everyone enjoyed their food, her eyes kept drifting to Sakura. Even after taking the vulnerary and the healing provided by Peach's Team Jump, she had yet to stir. It worried her to know end, but Bella couldn't just assume that being healed was like flipping a switch, and she was good again. There were surely other factors. Being unable to heal herself, Bella could only trust in those who could, or at least . She sat in solemn silence, wishing that she possessed some power to make people better, and not just to make them dead.

She tried to distract herself by thinking about some of the suggestions given earlier. “I would not mind using spirits,” she ventured suddenly. “Even though Sakura didn't want me to and I hate to go against her, there's so much about me I would like to change. To leave this hideous, stained me behind...” Her eyes lay on the monstrous head of her tail. No matter where she went, that horror would follow her, right at her heels. Unless she could wipe it away. “Yet spirits come only from the dead, and I want no more death on my hands.”

[center][h3]Edge of the Blue – Limsa Lominscuttle Town (After the Explosion)[/h3]
[@Zavazggg][/center]

By the time the denizens of the neighboring houses reached the alley they found only ash and a scratched bottle of unopened wine. One shook her head and ducked back inside, but the other, a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/shantae/images/5/5d/Bolo_Seven_Sirens_Portrait_1.png]blue-haired guy[/url] with a yellow headband, knelt to get a better look. He squinted, rubbed the gray powder with his fingers. No burn marks on the wood below, no light in the windows. With a deepened frown he laid his hand over the bite mark on his shoulder, given to him on the day an Abyssal squad reached Limsa and wrecked havoc. The townsfolk who died in the attack turned to ash, and if not for Shantae he would have joined them. Somehow, someone died here, leaving just one clue. But where could he go from here?

[i]Shantae...[/i]

Bolo took the bottle stood to his full height. He might not be able to figure this out, but of course Shantae could. With a spring in his step he set out for her house, not so much as remembering to lock his own shack's door. She could get to the bottom of this.

[hr]

Sephiroth made haste from the crime scene, putting as much distance as he could between it and himself in the span of a few minutes. Limsa Lominscuttle Town's highly unique layout meant he couldn't just continue in one direction, but after a short while spent running up and down stairs and across catwalks he reached a bridge that led all the way to the mainland. On the other side he could see rows of neat houses heading up the hillside. Considering the seastack city's sheer naval power, making a terrestrial escape stuck out as a far better bet. The people he passed suspected nothing, and any guards he came across spared the silver-haired stranger only a fleeting glance as they kept their eyes trained on the murky sea. In a way, the ongoing war gave Sephiroth an advantage—with such a vicious external enemy, nobody paid an excess of heed to the possibility of treachery from within. The bridge took him all the way to the well-to-do Housing District without issue, and the swordsman inserted himself into its darkest, densest sector.

There he considered his treasure, the essence of the girl prized from her disintegrating corpse. While he saw no weaponry on her in life, her spirit housed an image armed with an array of cannons and even a vicious-looking metal fish. After thinking about his options Sephiroth decided to throw caution to the wind, and took the spirit into his heart. Instantly he erupted into dazzling light, and if it had been brilliant in the day, it shone spectacularly in the night.

[hider=For Sephiroth][center]Notable Spirit Consumed:
[url=https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/w/images/0/02/Scharnhorst.png][b]Scharnhorst[/b][/url]
Fusion with this spirit has made the majority of the host's spirits, and thus the host, female. The host has gotten shorter again, reaching 5'6”, and lost some more muscle mass. Her voluminous hair has gotten long again, reaching her knees, and is streaked with violet. On her left side her longcoat (now a dark purple with yellow-striped red on the inside) shortens to the length of a skirt, and the pant-leg turned shorts-leg is now completely gone, although the boot on that leg now reaches to mid-thigh. One eye is covered by an eyepatch, and the other is an opalescent mix of sapphire blue, cruel red, and Mako green. She also has a beret cap with two earlike protrusions on either side. In terms of personality, she's gotten somewhat more dutiful, but also aggressive and brave, with a profound dislike for retreating. This spirit confers the Power [b]Ship Shape[/b], giving her rigging that extends from her back. Scharnhorst's rigging includes three cannon batteries that can launch explosive shells, although ammunition is limited and aiming can be difficult. Also included is a fearsome mechanical shark, although it's part of the rigging and not deployable. The rigging functions as an extension of her body, and while it can be taken off, she can't truly discard it and damage to it is shared with her. As long as its active, rigging allows her to skate across any water surface. It also confers the Weakness [b]Monocular[/b], limiting the host's field of vision, giving her a blind spot to her left, and increasing the difficulty of tracking moving objects, judging distances, and perceiving depth.
[/center][/hider]

The radiance took only a few moments to die down, but for someone trying to remain inconspicuous, even a second of such a lightshow was beyond compromising. Yet Sephiroth exited the fusion in more of a daze than a panic. This absorption manifested psychological changes that directly clashed with her previous desire for stealth and retreat, as well as physiological changes so profound as to be disorienting, everything from hair length to weight distribution to center of balance. Yet she would need to come to terms with the alterations with dizzying speed, for the prismatic display had bought faces to the windows of every house within a five hundred foot radius. A chorus of curious and/or angry voices arose as a handful of doors swung open. Into view appeared a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/mrfz/images/0/0f/Ethan.png]young man with a long tail[/url], up late on some project, a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/4/45/FFXIV_Dulia-Chai.png]wealthy-looking woman[/url] on an evening stroll, and a pair of ordinary businessmen -[url=https://octodad.com/files/Octodad_Character.png]one[/url] in a blue suit and the [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/a/ae/Tim_Braid.png]other[/url] in a red tie- from an impromptu meeting nearby.

“My word, what was that?” the aristocrat exclaimed, looking for the source of the disturbance. Her eyes fell on Sephiroth. “Why, what's the navy doing here, at this time of night?”

[center][h3]Frozen Highlands – Ice Fields Outside Snowdin[/h3]
[@Gentlemanvaultboy][@darkred][/center]

Knowing that the invincible Stranger needed to be stopped, the Skullgirl knelt on the precipice of the yawning but far from bottomless chasm, and tapped into her power. Her ice magic surged forth with a terrifying speed and strength, flooding outward across and then into the crevasse, not just sealing it over but filling it in. Incredible quantities of ice billowed out from her fingertips with only a manageable strain, and no signs of stopping. Shutting out her opponent's sneering memory and the goading voice within, she poured forth all her anger and frustration, until at last she opened her eyes. Then she found herself half-enncased in the summit of an icy new peak, and saw in her reflection off its freezing crystal what she really was.

The shock of that deathly vision brought her back to reality, but when she listened for any trace of resistance against her glacial bulwark she could hear only the whisper of the wind. In however much time it might take for her to be satisfied, she would hear no indication that her enemy was breaking free, despite his strength. For how long her efforts would hold him, if indeed they held him, it could not be guessed, but he was out of her hair for now. That left the Skullgirl alone atop her spire, unperturbed by the chilling wind, surrounded by a landscape dominated by the tranquil but callous grip of perennial winter.

After a bit, the movement of a dark shape against the snow, from the direction of Snowdin, caught her eye. She could see a boy in a long white coat, with curls of ash-blonde hair, who she glimpsed momentarily by the window in Grillby's with a short-legged dog by his feet and a sketchbook in his hands. Judging by his rate of movement he couldn't have come in response to her breathtaking feat, instead perhaps having followed her and the Stranger at a safe distance. For a moment he stood at the base of her ice mountain, performing some unidentifiable art before he raised his hand. When he brought it down, a flower with sky-blue petals sprang from the snow, and when he stepped on it, a golden energy crystallized beneath his feet into a small, circular platform. The disc rose, with the young man standing atop it, up and up until he reached the Skullgirl's altitude.

When he grew close the girl could make out his features better. Beneath the sunset-red glaze of Galeem his eyes shone bright teal like tropical waters. Each contained three dots within the iris, but more than that they held both a certain boundless curiosity and a pointed intrigue. And his handsome face was kind as he regarded the Skullgirl, one hand raised. “You may not need my help to break out of there, but I feel as though you might need...a friend.” His other hand he laid on his chest. “Pardon me, this must be a bad time. But I prefer to get straight to the point. I am Albedo, an alchemist. My chief occupation is the truth of this world, which had led me to study base elements. That aura of death you carry might turn others away, but I am most interested. You have no trace of the light elements that seem to permeate all existence. I believe we can help one another.” He clasped his hands. “I would like to study you, if you don't mind. In exchange I would offer anything that is within my power to grant.” He extended his hand to the Skullgirl. “I can tell you everything in the library, where it's not freezing. If you're so inclined.”