[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia[/center][/h2]
[center]Limsa Lominscuttle Town- The Black Bay [/center]
[center]Lvl 6 (71/60) -> Lvl 6 (72/60) [/center]
[center]Word Count: 690 words[/center]
[center][@DracoLunaris][/center]

As Blazermate approached and singled him out for conversation, Geralt nodded. "Blazermate. Still waiting to embark, it seems. Got one hell of a day in front of us, it seems." At her responding question, Geralt frowned a little. "Can't say. Got no idea why they're fighting, or if they even know why themselves. Might slow down into border skirmishes, or this might be the first battle of what becomes an all-out war of annihilation. My bet is the former, though." He wasn't shy about his opinions on where he thought this would go, but they were all just baseless conjecture, so he wouldn't commit to really having a proper clue. 

Two Shipgirls would be joining them, one he was familiar enough with, and one he didn't recognize. Ranger would be staying with the Atomos, though, so there was little need to spend time making friends with the other Shipgirl, with whom he'd likely not interact much. 

They were underway in short order, and Geralt had to admit that the view itself was pretty damn nice. Had the circumstances been different, it could have been a nice day to just enjoy the scenery before them. Alas, the circumstances were as they were, and soon the ocean was filled with the sounds and sights of battle. Sakura and Rika found it difficult to watch. He couldn't blame them, he felt similarly, albeit for different reasons. It reminded him of the fight against the Wild hunt, of the corpse-ridden battlefields left behind by the victors when the Nilfgaardians invaded the North. 

Shaking off the memory, Geralt grunted at Sakura's heartfelt admission that she was glad to have met them all. Geralt...had more complicated feelings on the manner. He wished he hadn't [i]had[/i] to meet them, and while he was sure some of the others held some sort of wish that things hadn't gotten this bad, he also expected that they were at least somewhat enjoying the adventure, or making new friends, or some other such nonsense. 

Geralt, on the other hand, would have much preferred to return to the relatively simple life of a Witcher, as he'd been planning to once the Wild Hunt and the White Frost were dealt with. Instead, he found himself dragged into yet another war for the survival of all mankind. 

How tiring. 

It wasn't long before the combat reached them, however, and those aboard the ship sprung into action. Bowser and Kamek worked together to turn the Koopa King massive, and he devastated the Abyssals that hadn't closed in on the two Seeker ships yet. However, that left a horde of monsters for the others on board the ship to deal with. The four Shipgirls (Sakura included) were doing their best to both help Shippy, which was taking heavy damage, and protect the Atomos, but still plenty managed to put fire on both vessels. Geralt stood atop the Atomos, firing his plasma pistol, calling his Abyssal Strikers, and slinging Signs at the hostile Abyssals that grew too close for comfort, but it was the screeching of the massive birdlike monster that got his attention. 

His eyes narrowed as the creature approached, and Geralt had an idea. A terrible, borderline suicidal idea, but an idea nonetheless. Stowing his pistol, he ran over to bowser and jumped, latching onto his shell and starting to climb. "Sorry, boss. Got a plan to put down that bird, but I might need some help!" As he ascended towards the titan's shoulders, he started explaining. "Get that bird over here, no matter what! Then grab it once it gets close, and hold on till I can get on it! We can't let it fly around and do whatever it wants, so I'll take it out from the air, right where it is!" 

He neared Bowser's shoulder, and gave the last part of his plan out. "And make [i]damn sure[/i] Kamek's got one of his doubles to pluck me outta the air of this goes ass up!" 

This plan was, without a doubt, one of the many plans Geralt had come up with. And frankly? It probably wasn't his dumbest to date.