[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] Nadia (14/40)
[b]Location:[/b] Bottomless Sea
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] 1328[/center]

If anything united the assorted odd assortment of heroes and hero adjacents split between the airship and the living ship, it was a unilateral dislike for sharks. Even though they were just animals and couldn’t possibly pose a threat to anyone from down in the water, or even to the vessel’s metallic outer hull, Nadia loathed the overgrown fish. After finally escaping the pitched battle in Black Bay the last thing they needed was another run-in with bloodthirsty, vicious, fang-toothed sea monsters that had no right to be as fast as they were.

Out of all of them, the newcomer without so much as a taste of Abyssal gunsmoke spoke up in favor of shark annihilation first. His bravado lasted just a moment though, replaced by worry for Shippy’s wellbeing if subjected to his doohickey’s electrical discharge. While only able to boast a few hours more experience with the vessel than Mirage, Nadia did her best to picture how the ship would react. “Before I give my ‘boat’ of confidence, how big a zap are we talkin’? Must be a heck of a jolt if it could take ‘em all out.” Her attention then got distracted by Rika’s seaplanes flying out from the belly of Atomos, zipping overhead to survey the ocean that lay before them. Another batch of ships, rounder and redder, deployed from Bella’s tail, but rather than sally forth they flanked the Atomos. Since those in the airship did their compatriots the courtesy of keeping pace with Shippy, the Water Princess’s bombers encountered no trouble. It made sense to Nadia; as good as the same sort of bombers used by the Midway Princess had been at finding things, their tendency to blow themselves up on them afterward prevented the retrieval of intel.

The cool air brought on by the storm made Nadia shiver, and for the first time since arriving in the Edge of the Blue she regretted her pragmatically minimal choice of attire. She was glad for the distraction provided be the others, which for the moment entailed using the cannons to dispatch the sharks. With one of the emplacements healed over but not restored, rather like a lost finger, Shippy featured only three cannon batteries, but Nadia figured it would be more than enough to fillet some fish. Why Link felt the need to make her imagine them with mounted guns, she couldn’t say. The hero changed the subject, asking about the storm. “I’m purr-etty sure,” she told him, pointing up at the clouds with a clawlike nail. “Check out that mew-vement. They’re not blowin’ in one direction, they’re swirlin’ around a central point. I’d be shocked if it suddenly shifted our way.”

Peach ruminated on the possibility of retreat, as disappointing as that might be, but waited until the vessel herself could think over the proposed course of action. “I can get there,” Shippy told the crew. “These waves are manageable, as is this wind. If things don’t intensify drastically, I won’t have an issue. If we run into an emergency, I can seal you all inside me and dive underwater for as long as you have air.”

After another moment of thinking, Peach spoke up. “We must tread carefully to prevent further loss of life, and I’m open to the option of retreating when faced with extreme danger. Although taking risks is part of our job, the ocean itself is a totally different foe, and can easily do more damage to our team than either of the Guardians we’ve faced. That said, we can’t run at the first sight of danger. We need to get an idea of what we’re facing out here. Then we can think about alternatives.”

Sakura’s short-range receiver picked up Peach’s loud and clear, relaying what she thought to those aboard the Atomos. Down on Shippy, Nadia felt that the princess point of view was justified. “Yeah, we can make it. We’ll check out that rig or whatever, and see how things pan out.” She started stretching, trying to both limber and warm herself up. That also meant extending her muscles between her segments.elongating her limbs to disproportionate levels as she tried to loosen up. At about that time, Mirage opted to take Link’s advice and accept one of his collected spirits. Nadia snuck a glance as the two made the exchange and saw that the colorful mote held the image of an Abyssal, specifically those nasty, three-in-one pests, the imps. As Mirage took the spirit in and the lightshow began, Nadia could only hope that he didn’t end up growing extra heads.

[center][hider=For Mirage]Fading spirit absorbed:
[b][url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/kancolle/images/4/4b/PT_Imp_Pack_Full.png]PT Imp Pack[/url][/b]
The host has gotten a little smaller and more pale. His goggles have become a black armored plate with a built-in zoom feature, but less visibility, and are lined with teeth on the top and bottom. His torso harness has been added to, with oblong  black shoulderplates in the shape of the Imps’ heads, including decorative curled horns, and teeth on the straps. There are two tubes like scuba tanks attached to the back of the harness, vertical along his back. This spirit confers the Power [b]Abyss Toddle[/b], which provides a moderate increase to swimming speed and underwater visibility, as well as repelling water to stay on the surface, albeit without any movement bonus on the surface. It also confers the Weakness [b]Stubbier[/b], making normal activity a little weird thanks to his slightly shorter limbs.[/hider][/center]

No extra heads it would appear, but Mirage did shrink a little. Other than that it seemed mostly equipment-based, as if the spirit he’d picked didn’t have a lot of power. Nadia took note that taking in spirits of a different size always seemed to have an impact on one’s own stature. She herself wouldn’t mind being a little taller, since longer reach and more meat to work with would be fine advantages, but scraping the clouds like Geralt? Psh, no way. Not even a little jealous. 

Since nobody elected to pulverize the sharks just yet, Shippy retained her hungry escort, but continued onward without issue. When the odd shark drew too close to her prow her giant maw spat a cannonball or two to hurry it on its way. Once she left the shore behind the waves got rougher, moving the whole vessel up and down with each pass. Nadia grabbed hold of the railing, hoping she wouldn’t have any trouble keeping her early lunch down. When she noticed tall crags of rock rising from the ocean ahead, she furrowed her eyebrows. “Wait, I thought this was bottomless? How’s that stuff pokin’ up?”

“Well, when we come across bottomless pits, the sides of the pit extend all the way down, don’t they?” Peach remarked.

Nadia looked confused. “Wait, there’s no such thing as a bottomless pit. Just really, really deep pits.” She flicked a bead of seaspray from her ear. “Then again, this ocean’s probably the same way. Just deeper than anyone’s ever gone.”

The ships were almost halfway to the source of the beacon when Rika’s seaplanes picked something up ahead near where the crags of rock loomed like misshapen monoliths. They discovered the movement of large shapes, then the large shapes themselves. In good time they reported back and allowed the information to circulate, giving the ships a chance to steer around if they so chose, and Peach definitely chose. In due course the Seekers got a good look as the gargantuan territorial dispute unfolding before them. A [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda_gamepedia_en/images/e/e3/SS_Tentalus_Render.png]purple sea monster[/url] bigger than both ships combined with just its visible part, sporting a single hateful eye and a head of writhing tentacles, had risen from the depths to challenge the ruler of the precipice. Though much smaller, the [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2IFcZ5XgAMHpvM.jpg]monstrosity[/url] that lurked upon the crags was far more vicious, lashing out with the hideous deep sea eels that stretched like nightmarish limbs from beneath her dress of fins. No matter how the tentacled one roared and pounded, the nimble horror twisted out of the way and wrenched out another couple chunks of flabby flesh. It had a lot to work through though, and its opponent seemed quite intent on toppling its stony dominion.

As the titans clashed, Nadia watched with wide eyes. Only after a few moments had gone by did she find her words. “Guys. Do you see that thing? The big one. It....it has moobs…” She broke down, unable to hold a straight face any longer, into a giggle fit. Still, for her lack of seriousness she was quite content to not get involved in the awesome struggle, and spectate from a distance instead. Even the sharks took note of it, drawn away from Shippy by the scent of monster blood, but for the most part Nadia missed of the traffic of dark shapes beneath the salty swells. 

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

Just the sight of someone interested in his wares seemed to put Sal in a good mood, so when Linkle requested permission to get hands-on, the salamander gave her the universal [i]go nuts[/i] gesture with a nod and waved hand. With only a moment spent glancing at the other items she went straight for the crossbows, savoring every square inch of their elegant, lavish craft. She handled them as if she’d held them all her life, revealing their alternate-fire motion with a casualness that suggested it was quite familiar. It seemed tough to put them back down.

He could tell immediately that she didn’t have enough money, but she launched into negotiations straightaway. If this girl was trying to curb her enthusiasm for the sake of a deal, she was doing a terrible job. Any salesman worth his salt could put her through the wringer, but her genuine appreciation put a toothy smile on Sal’s face, and he laced his scaly fingers together. “Hmm. Well, it’sss not exactly a bargain on my end, given both sssets’ craft and level of wear. I won’t sssay no to ssseeing what else you have, but...I’ll tell you what. It’sss not like they’re doing any good sssitting in my bag. Ssso I’ll make the trade, ssso long as you owe me...a favor.”

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

Without so much as changing his facial expression the poolside snail attendant at the base of the stairs stamped Sephiroth’s card, filling out all four squares in no particular hurry. He handed the card back, then as the red-haired philanderer from earlier splashed down from the big slide, lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth. “Clear.” Though he spoke to his opposite number at the top of the slide, Sephiroth took the word to heart, and cleared out before that infuriatingly handsome ginger could make eyes at her again.

Next up on her whirlwind tour of Atlantis Temple was Making Waves, which took place in a circular pool by one wall. This one, it gladdened her to see, had a visible bottom, with neither frogs nor jellyfish obscuring her vision of a spotless floor. She arrived a few moments after a game wrapped up and thus didn’t manage to sneak a peek at what lay in store, but instead needed to wait a minute or two for more guests to gather. She did not raise her hackles when the white-haired surfer man reappeared, nor the bespectacled, maroon-braided woman in her black and orange two-piece, but another familiar face warranted at least an inward groan. Syndra, it seemed, hadn’t had her fill of opposing her. [color=hotpink]”Making Waves, huh? You might by two for two so far, but your lucky streak’s finished the moment you’re on the water!”[/color]

The snail attendant glanced between the two riled-up women with her eyestalks, nonplussed. “Ahem? May I have your attention?” Once all four were looking her way, she laid out the groundwork. “As you appear to be aware, this is Making Waves. Our most competitive game, a three-on-one slugfest. Take a look.” She pointed at the pool. A shallow bowl a few feet in diameter floated in the center, and three colorful rubber floats surrounded it in a triangle formation. “It’s three against one. The three stay at the edges of the pool, working together to make waves from different angles to try and knock the one off, and the one must stay out of the water for thirty seconds. One stamp for playing, one stamp for winning as the three, one stamp for winning as the one, and one…” she pointed upward, to where a fishing net dangled above the pool. Sand Dollars hung on rubber hooks. “For grabbing a Sand Dollar from up above. Will you risk dunking yourself for the bonus? Who knows…” Sounding less than enthusiastic, the snail held up straws, and Syndra drew the short one. “Alright Miss Lavendar, you’re in the middle. The rest of you, grab a float and get ready to make some waves!”

At that time, the doors of the Temple of Atlantis slid open to admit a small group. The snail receptionist turned their way, saying, “Welcome to the…!”

He was cut off as the frontrunner, a [url=https://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/as/character/costume/brd/def/001.png?h=e2021d2694c0fd2858bc6472e8f51816]huge, fat man[/url] with a blonde mohawk, expelled a loud sigh of relief. “Ahhhhhhhh!” He proceeded to stretch his sweaty arms and air out his pits. “That’s more bloody like it! Air conditionin’, at last. Got a bit dodgy crossin’ that jungle, believe you me! A packet’a crisps’n I can die ‘appy.” Rounding on the snail receptionist, he smacked both hands down on the counter. “Oi, got any food? ‘Ow ‘bout yer bog? I’ve gotta take a real...!” 

The young lady behind him gave him and his pits a wide berth, her disdain evident on her features. “Can’t you have even a [i]little[/i] decorum?” the [url=https://www.fightersgeneration.com/nf8/char/karin-kanzuki-granblue-artwork.jpg]elegant girl[/url] reproached him, bouncing her blonde curls. “We’re not here to ‘faff about’ as you so often put it, you know. This is a serious matter, Birdie.”

“I know, I know!” Birdie protested. “But I weren’t lyin’, I’ve really gotta…!”

Karin averted her eyes as she held up a hand. “I don’t want to know! If you must, then be quick about it!”

All the while the snail looked dumbfounded, and a little intimidated. “Uh, excuse me…? If you’re not here for the water park...?”

“Afraid not,” another girl added to the reel of interruptions, shaking her giant purple ponytail from side to side. Although already [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/shantae/images/9/92/Shantae_and_the_Seven_Sirens_Official_Artwork.png]dressed well enough[/url] for a day of fun in the pools, her pretty face bore a solemn expression.

The snail glanced at the fourth member of the group hanging back from the other to see a [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a014d7bf-b6a9-4d44-86f8-736a90c04e89/ddo5ugh-1877e304-2683-4b8c-9e41-432cd043b035.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYTAxNGQ3YmYtYjZhOS00ZDQ0LTg2ZjgtNzM2YTkwYzA0ZTg5XC9kZG81dWdoLTE4NzdlMzA0LTI2ODMtNGI4Yy05ZTQxLTQzMmNkMDQzYjAzNS5wbmcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.0RIDDn_f0bbNrcy__T9W-RSSFbuNu_ufAfrPBFNZ8d8]sunken-eyed police officer[/url] scanning the water park, then back at Shantae. Anyone who was anyone who lived within a stone’s throw of the Blue knew Limsa Lominscuttle Town’s Half-Genie Hero, so when she came knocking about serious matters, it paid to pay attention. “What is it?”

“We’re looking for an escaped criminal Potentially dangerous,” Shantae told her. “A woman, a little above average height. Long, lilac-white hair. Eyepatch, dark clothing, potentially carrying a longsword. Her trail led near here.”

Shantae could tell by the snail’s fearful expression that she was barking up the right tree. “Oh my gosh, she’s here! She came in about an hour ago. Didn’t come through here or use the emergency exit in the back.” He twiddled his thumbs nervously. “Her clothes were filthy, so she probably changed into a swimsuit. Be careful!”

“Oh?” Shantae crossed her arms, putting on a brave face. Birdie stomped back over, looking more even relieved than before, fixing up his hair with a switchblade comb. One nod from Shantae, however, and he cracked a leering grin. Karin was doing some warm-up stretches, and Officer Nanu looked as grim as he was ready. “You don’t need to worry about us.”

The snail remained quiet for a moment. "Um, okay, but I'm going to notify the fish guards anyway. A few extra eyes won't hurt, right?" The newcomers agreed, and after a quick conversation dispersed in pairs to begin their search of the premises.