[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3]
[b]Level 8[/b] Tora (3/80) and [b]Level 8[/b] Poppi (56/80)
[b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky - Hollow Heights
Primrose's [@Yankee], Fox's [@Dawnrider], Sectonia's [@Archmage MC] Midna's [@DracoLunaris], Yoshitsune's [@Rockin Strings], Red’s [@TheDemonHound], Laharl’s [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1673[/center]

Gnorbu seemed more terrified by Yoshitsune’s prostration than anything, totally unprepared for the passion the man attached to his broken blade. “O-oh, uh…” Suddenly put on the spot, he racked his brains trying to remember if the desert city featured a foundry that might suit the pleading man’s needs. The residents of Parnasse, after all, never needed weapons or armor, but even if he didn’t frequent such an establishment Gnorbu felt he knew the lay of the land well enough to say. When Midna opened up the subject of money she and those that chimed in bought Gnorbu a little time to think, and in that period he did manage to recollect a pertinent location. “Yes, I think there was a place. On the thoroughfare, by the guardhouse. Open-air, with lots of weapons lying around. Can’t miss it!” He certainly hoped that Yoshitsune would be able to deal with whatever left him so distraught.

While his comrades talked about money and shopping, Tora had more of a mind for machines. Until today he had never seen a train, but after arriving in this station the Nopon just about found himself overwhelmed by choice. There were trains of all sorts arrayed between the platforms, from [url=https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/816PZs2uAZL.png]boxy green[/url] to [url=https://www.models-resource.com/resources/big_icons/33/32171.png]brightly lit[/url] to [url=https://i2.wp.com/www.thexboxhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tracks-1.png?fit=640%2C360]actually just wood[/url], but he quickly fixated on just one--one that made the rest look like toys. “Mehmehmeh!?” With wide eyes he waddled toward the central platform, alongside which rested an utter monstrosity of a locomotive. Though housed snugly within the bright, glass-domed atrium of the station, it boasted a height greater than most buildings, and its raw metal made for a sharp contrast against the checkered tile and intricately-carved sandstone around it. The hulking central chassis, from which a massive cannon protruded with singular menace, lay behind not one but two locomotives on two different tracks and spanned the gap between them. Suddenly, the tracks running in parallel across the desert took on a new meaning in Tora’s mind; he’d assumed that they merely facilitated traffic in both directions simultaneously. Of course, the tracks interested him far less than the gun. As rusted and disused as the behemoth engine seemed to be, he could think of no better weapon to put to use against the equally massive boss of the Sandswept Sky.

[center][img]http://cdn.capcom-unity.com/capcom-unity.com/user/snow_infernus/lp2_tgs_visit/1283b5412ea3cecf12e5202b1033b22a.jpg?v=202200[/img][/center]

As such, he pitter-pattered over to an officious-looking person with palpable excitement. At first the stranger seemed to be a sort of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/a-hat-in-time/images/1/16/AHiT_Conductor.png]yellow bird in a black uniform[/url] and hat, but when he spoke into his handheld radio and revealed a wide, jagged mouth in the process, Tora was less certain, and the not-bird spoke with a thick accent to boot that almost reminded him of Nia’s. Nevertheless he waited for his soon-to-be friend to finish his conversation, bouncing with energy all the while. “Hello, hello!” Tora called as soon as the Conductor looked his way. “Tora new here. What is super wow-wow amazing machine!?”

“Oh, this?” The Conductor waved his hand at the locomotive. “Sure this Railway Gun might look impressive, but it’s nothin’ but a bloody eyesore. Just a mountain of ugly metal, ‘eavier than the palace itself most like. Can’t run it, can’t even move it. ‘Ad to put a cork in just to make the wee babies happy.”

Sure enough, the aptly-named Railway Gun’s main cannon featured a comically large cork wedged in its barrel, which Tora guessed came from one of the milk-jug towers. Though the sight made him giggle, it was the least of his concerns. “Why?” he asked.

Shrugging, the Conductor told him, “It’s just peckin’ broken, is why. Not a soul in the city who can make ’eads or tails of the bleedin’ thing, with all its doohickies ‘n thingamabobs, let alone fix it. Like somethin’ straight outta science fiction.” 

Tora’s eyes shone as he spoke without the slightest hesitation. “If Tora can fix it, can Tora take it?”

The Conductor released a noise of utter shock, somewhere between a laugh and a cough. “W-wot!?” he hacked out after a moment. “Ya just...you...ya serious?”

“Yes, yes!” The Nopon confirmed. “Tora submit as evidence: this unflinching eye contact!”

Several seconds of unflinching eye contact passed before the Conductor wilted, convinced that the round furry thing before him spoke the truth. “Bloody peck, you sure don’t beat aroun’ the bush, do ya lad? Well, uh...” As ridiculous as an offer it was to come out of the blue, he attempted to think it over. “Weeeell...I’m sure the city wants it gone, obstructin’ the tracks ‘n bein’ scary ‘n all. But it ain’t mine or anything, it’s crown property. Ya’d ‘ave to ask Her Moojesty, and I bet she ain’t gonna let people she doesn’t trust ‘ave a weapon like that.”

Still quite serious-looking, Tora ran over his options in his mind, then gave a sagacious nod. “Okay, meh. In that case, Tora start fixing while friends go get Cowlipha trust.” He turned back over to the group. “Thanks!”

“Yer...welcome?” the Conductor muttered as he waved Tora off, not entirely sure he hadn’t made some kind of serious mistake.

Tora skidded to a stop a moment later among the others. He couldn’t see Red and Midna anywhere, but that wasn’t about to stop him. “Okay, Tora have plan! Tora ask funnytalkypon Conductor man about giant gun train, meh! It belong to big queenypon, but she not want it, so Tora going to try to fix it up. If friends can convince queenypon to give it, we have both way across rest of desert and huuuuge weapon for boss fight!” He danced around like a Nopon possessed, so jazzed about the marvel of engineering that he couldn’t contain himself.

Poppi tempered her expectations. Gesturing to Primrose, Panther, and Sectonia, she told him, “That seem like good plan, but Poppi not think we just waltz in and ask permission. Plus, it probably take long time to fix train.” She said this while looking at the Railway Gun herself, noting its size. Hopefully whatever made it inoperative was small-scale, otherwise ‘long time’ was probably too generous. “Rest of us going to explore city and do shopping for now. Maybe we get more familiar with Al Mamoon during trip, figure out way to earn Cowlipha favor.” It was a simple suggestion, and not at all definitive, but she thought it sound. Tora wasted no time agreeing.

For her part Panther, currently decked out in her normal-looking but somewhat ill-fitting ‘civilian disguise’, was both happy to be going on a shopping trip and glad that it would serve another purpose toward the overall campaign. “Sa-weet!” She walked between Primrose and Poppi and put an arm around their shoulders. “Alright girls, let’s get it on!”

[center][hider=Tora’s Level Upgrade]New Strength attained:
[b]Super Tinkerpon[/b]
After working on so many devices of completely different styles and technological levels, Tora’s gotten a lot more experience with how things tick. As a result, his ability to understand and (with the right parts) repair technology using his toolbox is much higher than before, and it takes him less time to do so[/hider][/center]

[hr]

Finding the marketplace was easy, for it very much wanted to be found. Its clamor could be heard even over the hammers and furnaces of the [url=https://pyre-media-2.s3.sa-east-1.amazonaws.com/8438c7d1-fdd0-463d-88c2-134df4449003maxresdefault.jpg]foundry[/url]. The entire [url=https://i.imgur.com/HQC6MCG.png]eastern section[/url] of Al Mamoon was an open-air forum, walled into six courts with the far-middle one dominated by a statue-topped temple. Inside its confines the most prestigious and well-to-do shops did their business in shady luxuriance, but most of the trade occurred in the rows of stalls, carts, and shops set up both within and along the sides of the courts. Poppi’s sensors observed such a profundity of color, noise, and movement in the first court alone that she struggled to take it all in, so rather than try she digested the sight one bit at a time.

If the first court was anything to go by, Al Mamoon’s marketplace was truly matchless in variety. Poppi noticed an aged [url=https://i.imgur.com/AsAxVxc.png]adventurer’s shop[/url] along the right front wall, positioned so favorably possibly due to age. Its bearded keeper sold cloudy [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/crawl/images/7/7d/SpiderVenom-0.png]Spider Venom[/url], ruby-red [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/crawl/images/1/1e/RodentBlood.png]Rodent Blood[/url], murky [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/crawl/images/4/4f/GolemTears.png]Golem Tears[/url], a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/crawl/images/e/e6/BookoftheSun.png]Book of the Sun[/url], the enigmatic [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/crawl/images/3/34/FeatherofSquintingShrimp.png]Feather of the Squinting Shrimp[/url], a lopped-off [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/crawl/images/4/44/MonsterToe.png]Monster Toe[/url], a paired set of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/soulcalibur/images/f/fb/Manas_and_Ayus_.jpg]katars[/url], a slingshot, and a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/darksouls/images/1/16/Estoc_%28DSIII%29.png]rapier[/url] of fine craft. Opposite him sat a humble [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda_gamepedia_en/images/a/ae/Goron_shop.jpg]Goron Shop[/url], offering arrows, lamp oil, shields, and hot springwater. Close by, [url=https://i.imgur.com/ONWX2KB.png]Rhon Ron’s Eatery[/url] offered a number of exotic foods, including jars of honey-glazed worms, loaves of mushbread, spicy sides of lizard meat, and skewers of chewy, mixed morsels. Its fluffy-tailed, beady-eyes keeper waved at the prospective shoppers, eager for their custom. Naturally the other stores in the first court wanted it just as badly, none more than [url=https://i.imgur.com/jjDpfC4.png]Raj’s Curry Pot[/url], a cart offering less exotic but still more than flavorful fare. Poppi also spotted an assorted [url=https://i.imgur.com/PR3rzpP.png]items stand[/url] for conventional goods, the storefront for [url=https://i.imgur.com/fJyWaNo.png]Hee Ho Mart[/url] with its fried food on display, and a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/assassinscreed/images/b/b3/ACO_-_Forging_Siwa_2.png]curious stall[/url] with all sorts of commodities right by a pawn shop run by a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/yakuza/images/6/62/Gomi.jpg]hat-wearing man[/url].

“Oh...my...goodness!” Panther practically squealed. Her attention flew all over the place, spinning her around enough that her pigtails and new snake tail whipped back and forth. Unfortunately, reality eventually caught up with her, and her elation faded. “Oh man, it sucks having no money. We totally should have stopped at those ruins to find some treasure or something.” Her eyes landed on the pawn shop. “If we do have anything to sell, we could try that place though.”

Following that line of logic, Poppi tried to think of something to sell. Everyone left most of their random junk lying in the ruins where they sheltered yesterday evening, and the artificial blade had nothing of her own to offer. Then again… “Maybe Poppi can use elemental core to make ice. Must be valuable in desert, since climbing up Freezeezy Peak dangerous.” She tapped a finger to the side of her chin. “Or...maybe Poppi earn money cleaning away sand with wind core.” The sort of methods that Primrose might favor hadn’t so much as crossed her innocent mind, despite being more than well equipped in QT Pi form, as the stares that followed her throughout Al Mamoon could attest. There were many establishments the shoppers could visit, and after the journey they’d experienced so far, a shocking amount of people around as well.

[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] Nadia (11/40)
[b]Location:[/b] Luma Pools
Blazermate's [@Archmage MC], Bowser's [@DracoLunaris], Ace Cadet's [@Yankee], Hat Kid's [@Dawnrider], Sakura's [@Zoey Boey], Frog's [@Dark Cloud], Mirage’s [@Potemking], Mr. L’s [@ModeGone]
[b]Word Count:[/b][/center]

Fish, watermelon, pineapple, and now bananas--in these circumstances, Nadia couldn’t have asked for a better feast. A full-bodied laugh after Link hurled away his Boomerangfish had done her more good than he might have guessed, but she wasn’t about to follow his example with her own portion. Still, he seemed to have a plan in mind for the fruit, so she focused on the seafood first. She took a good look at the specimen on her skewer, the kind that sported a single giant eye that dominated its body. With only a little trepidation she sampled its roasted flesh, and as she chewed found herself unable to form a clear impression. It wasn’t bad, and it was certainly fish, but quite unlike any she’d ever tasted before. Without any preparation other than cooking it didn’t offer much in the way of flavor, but it seemed okay. Only when she sampled the protein-rich eye did she come away surprised. Turned to a flan-like consistency by the fire and given a crispy skin, it was both tasty in a meaty sort of way and surprisingly dense. In only a few more moments the Peeper was just scaly niblets on bone, and Nadia tossed the scraps into the fire.

At about that time Link finished his simmered fruit, and Nadia helped herself. True to her pronouncement, the act of cooking unlocked the fruity flavors, making each bite that much tangier and sweeter. “Ah, that’s nice,” she remarked between bites. With Sakura, Cadet, and even Peach sharing her relish, the gathering around the campfire was a jovial one full of camaraderie and good cheer, although the mood did not go uncontested. Bowser and the new guy -of the short and masked variety- seemed to know one another, and quarreled with a difficult-to-ignore viciousness. Nadia also tried to shut out the grotesque antics of Blazermate’s abominations to the best of her ability, but the medabot -no doubt bored and excluded due to her inability to eat- quickly cut in to talk business.

At the moment those enjoying the meal together were not quite done, however, so Peach answered for all of them. “We’ll sail to the Bottomless Sea naturally, but there’s no need to rush. For now, let’s enjoy this moment of peace.”

Nadia tapped her finger against her nose. “Couldn’t’ve said it better myself. Right now I’m not fin-ished, so the plan’s to try another fish.” And so she did. While she worked her way through it, pulling the meat from the bones with her teeth, the Cadet extended banana-man an invitation to join the crew. Nodding excitedly, the feral gulped down her fish and added, “Yeah, if you’re willin’ to hike for like twenty minutes to grab total strangers some grub, you’re alright! They call me Ms. Fortune.” To both her and Cadet’s delight the stranger accepted, introducing himself as Mirage. It was a mysterious nickname for a guy who seemed like a goof through and through, but no doubt even the most normal-looking fellow had some tricks up his sleeve to make it this far. Nadia wondered how he’d react when she played a card or two of her own.

Toward the end of the meal, Kamek reappeared to punctuate the shared meal with something a lot sweeter than dessert. Nadia’s face lit up when she learned that Brineybeard survived. “Hell yeah! Guess that means our crews didn’t lose a soul!” On purpose she made her sentiment as paw-sitive as could be. The others didn’t need a refresher from her about the shipgirls whose lives the battles claimed. Luckily, the positivity train didn’t end there either, because Sakura had something to say. After shooting Bowser and L a well-deserved suggestion the martial artist gave the best motivational speech she could muster, and it fit her perfectly. Straightforward, whole-hearted, and a little shortsighted--after all, Nadia noted with a wry chuckle, she spoke as if the day was over. There was a lot that could still happen today, given their ominous destination. But Sakura was right in that this was a good bunch. If anyone could do it after escaping that awful battle, it was them.

She joined the toast with a roasted banana in place of a cup. “To the good guys! Whoever the bad guys are, they’re gonna be sorry they screwed with us.”

Over the next few minutes the last portions got divided up, and everyone who felt like it got a few more moments to chat and relax. Bella in particular exhibited a radiant joy, endlessly eager to hear about the others and their lives, absorbing all these things she’d never known and happy to prompt the others for more. Nadia ended up describing her home of Little Innsmouth, that quaint port city built around the changing tides, its coral chimneys and jellyfish lanterns, and the culture of the Dagonian people who’d accepted a feral into their midst. It was a lovely time. All the same, this communal tranquility could not last forever, however much those present might want it to. Nadia knew she wasn’t alone in wishing that this moment could last just a little longer, but they’d had all the rest and food they needed, and it was time to go.

Everyone made their way back to the ships in due course. Nadia stopped to grab and re-fasten the harness-belt she’d left by the lakeside, and once she’d climbed back aboard Shippy, she reattached her rigging as well. Once back in place the mechanical arms sprang to life, extensions of her body once more, and she bade them fold back up into compact, shield-like formations along her hips. The only leftovers from the meal took the form of bananas, stowed for the journey ahead in Shippy’s hold. They would travel easily and keep well, provided that their foray into the Bottomless Sea didn’t compare to actual sailing trips in terms of time. Without Brineybeard to steer the ship, Peach took the helm. “All aboard!” she called, despite that being something said for trains. “Okay Shippy, let’s go!”

“Yes, ma’am!” The vessel said, and she heaved into motion. Shippy cut through the lake, giving both the Ukazeer and the geyser both a suitably wide berth, and made for the opposite river. The moment that Shippy hit it she began to accelerate, since the river flowed downhill. With a wild grin Nadia tightened her grip on the forward railing, and like a log in a flume Shippy sped downward through the Luma pools. As the fantastical scenery sped by, Nadia did her best to etch it into her memory. When this was all over, she’d have to come back here someday.

[hr]

The cruise through the Luma Pools passed without incident. Though plenty of animals appeared throughout water, tree, land, and sky, none troubled the vessel that so fleetingly traversed their domain. All too soon, the paradise started to give way. As Shippy forged onward the vivid aquamarine blue that suffused the place started to turn darker and darker, and overhead the sparse altocumuluses visible through the pink-palm canopy turned into a moody cloud cover. When at last the forest came to an end and the river turned into a delta of black sand, the heroes drifted across a beach strewn with the carcasses of sea creatures from crabs to whales, and those of things they couldn’t identify. When they looked ahead, they saw a dark sky over a stormy sea.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Ws1RjS1.jpg[/img][/center]

Thunder rolled across the ocean as the heavens swirled in a monumental vortex. Nadia swinted, trying to make out the pivotal point of the incomprehensible storm, but it lay too far to the north. Even from this distance, she could tell that the sea tossed and turned every bit as feverishly as the sky. Though details were difficult to make out in the general atmospheric haze, she imagined horrifying waves, walls of water many times higher than Shippy herself. Suddenly she doubted that the shrunken craft could make the trip, but everyone couldn’t exactly cram aboard the Atomos, either. Minute one in the Bottomless Sea, and they already had a problem.

Rather than get too distracted by that Nadia gazed out over the water again, and this time she could also make out some sort of greenish structure rising from the sea a few miles out, from which a yellow beacon emanated to light up the surrounding clouds. “Hey, maybe we should sail for that thing? We can probably reach it before the storm!” she called. A moment later the ship passed the end of the beach, and the ocean floor abruptly ended. Taken aback, Nadia ran to the back of the boat and peered into the water. “No way…” A sheer face of rock stared back at her from below the surface. As best she could tell, the land just [i]ended[/i], whether as beach or cliff, and infinite water began. While looking into the sea she also happened to see and audibly scoff at the sight of [url=https://i.redd.it/7sns5rikmqz01.jpg]sharks[/url] forming up around the ship already. “Come on, already!?” She shook her head and warned the others, pointing down. “We’ve already made some new chums. Wouldn’t go for a swim right about now if I were you.” As choppy waves began to rock the boat she retreated from the railing and moved back to the front. In just a few moments it felt like all the inner peace and serenity gained during the Luma Pools had already been squandered, and Nadia wore a grim smile as the Seekers entered the Bottomless Sea.

[center][h3]Snowdin[/h3]
[@Gentlemanvaultboy][/center]

As Linkle drew near, the ‘lizalfos’ sized her up from where she lay. Though those red irises with skull halves and her overall paleness gave her a somewhat disquieting aura, her behavior in Morshu’s store thus far had been that of a regular, earnest girl. Even before he examined her Sal had pretty much decided she was a good egg, and her choice to approach the hooded reptile before her without a second thought solidified it. Between the two of them, neither would be judging by appearances.

“That’sss right,” he confirmed, although his exchange with Morshu already said as much. He was a peddler without a roof to call his own, relying on the generosity of the Snowdin townsfolk to avoid freezing his cold blood out in the winter wonderland. “I’m from the desert, but sssomehow ended up here. Trapped in this awful climate.” Sal wasn’t shy about expressing his dissatisfaction. “I’d be dead long before I reached warmer weather, even if I sssold everything for firewood, ssso here I am. A place where nobody needs what I’ve got.” To satiate his visitor’s curiosity he opened his sack and produced a few items from within. “I’m an arms dealer. Weapons are my trade, but monsters sssteer clear of Sssnowdin.” He licked his teeth with a long, forked tongue, and added a clarifying distinction. “Real monsters, I mean.” At his feet he laid down a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/metro2033/images/8/8c/Exodus_Bastard.png]scrap gun[/url], some kind of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/kidicarus/images/4/45/Electroshock_Arm.png]machine gauntlet[/url], a set of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/8/80/Hyrule_Warriors_Legends_Crossbows_Hylian_Crossbows_%28Render%29.png]lovely paired crossbows[/url], and a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/c/c7/Blasting_Wand_item_old.png]blasting wand[/url].

“My products are the best, trust me,” Sal told her. “For the right price, their power is yoursss.”

[center][h3]Edge of the Blue - Atlantis Temple[/h3]
[@Zavazggg][/center]

The end of the game of Jump Club left everyone soaked, but not everyone a loser. With everyone who’d already fallen off taken care of, the snail waved over the last couple of participants. “Hey, over here! My arms are only so long!” He handed back the card he’d taken from Syndra for safekeeping, then Sephiroth’s. “One for playing, one for lasting two minutes, one for winning! Good job out there,” he told her.

By omission, however, he revealed something that the one-eyed swordswoman had forgotten: the Sand Dollar. Had she not been so absorbed in her rivalry she might have remembered, but as it was the little tokens remained attached to the end of the green club, with the only one missing in the palm of her diminutive competitor. He’d nabbed it as he tumbled off the platform, his level head allowed him to snatch a little victory from the jaws of defeat. Or...had that been his objective the whole time? His positioning near the edge and relatively early exit may not have been coincidence. “Hah!” he exclaimed. “Finally, my last one! No more stinkin’ Jump Club for me!” He waved his stamp card around proudly for the others to see, showing off a fully completed row under Jump Club, although only one of the stamps was new. If Sephiroth wanted to fill out her own card, she would need to try again.

Once she finished with Jump Club, however many attempts that took her, she set her sights on yet another attraction. The tangle of enormous, [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a3/70/74/a3707498cf3ce0a3356848b0e02ecd62.jpg]multicolored plastic tubes[/url] over the central pool formed one of Atlantis Temple’s most iconic features, and it was as good a time as ever to try her luck. She made her way over, narrowly dodging a pack of [url=https://play.nintendo.com/images/inklings-masthead.17345b15.9afde10b.png]squids[/url] having a whale of a time with elaborate water guns, and past where a large, teal-furred [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/4/49/XC2-Bana-artwork.png]fuzzball[/url] lounged in an appropriately-sized inner tube. A [url=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clair_ehrgeiz.jpg]girl in a baseball hat[/url] about to dive in paused to give Sephiroth a strange look, but shook her head after a moment and jumped. A good climb stood between the swordswoman and the top of the slides, either via stairs or the rock wall over water, but either way it took only a few moments. At the hub on high where all the slides originated, a very tired and bored-looking snail waited to tell the guests when to go. A sign attached to the railing gave the safety rules including minimum height, as well as the scoring criteria. [i]Try every slide, score high enough, complete at least three of the five slides under par time, and find the Sand Dollar.[/i] Evidently every slide featured a number of holographic arrows that could be passed through with a little maneuvering, each of which contributed to both score and speed. Simple and without interpersonal competition, the attraction nevertheless promised to be an enjoyable one.