[center][h3]Team Mao[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Mao’s [@Potemking], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Laharl’s [@Dark Cloud], Joker, Mona, Fox, Necronomicon, Braum[/center]

Though an excellent distraction, the flame atronach turned out to be not quite as good a fighter. It did its best to pepper Mao with fireballs, but it was no great shakes in the evasive department. The bespectacled overlord’s simple strategy to cut off its escape worked wonders and he landed a solid hit across its chest that it didn’t even try to block. Realizing this left Mao both wondering if this summoned sprite even possessed a defensive instinct, and left him with nearly free reign to dispatch the construct without breaking a sweat.

Still, the flame atronach did its job in buying its conjurer enough time. The Dragonborn managed to get his Homeward Bone in hand and was just about to squeeze it to dust when a piece of the floor itself erupted out of the ground to attack him. Its weight dealt a crushing blow to his ribs as it tumbled the man across the floor on its way to Jesse. The journey relieved him of his axe, and as he came to a stop at the redhead’s feet he found the modified barrel of his enemy’s Service Weapon leveled at his chest. His eyes went wide and his mouth gaped in fear--even a medieval warrior such as he must have come to know the lethality of firearms with the other Resistance members for company. But still he clutched his last resort in his hand. Panic galvanized his nerves into action, shattering his Homeward Bone as the deafening Shatter blast sounded out. A vortex of magic bone dust swirled around him, but a spray of blood exploded from the armored impact point, and before the man disappeared Jesse saw him jolt in shock. Then he faded away, leaving behind a big stain of blood and that marvelous green-bladed axe.

Once Mao dealt with the flame atronach, he and Jesse could reconvene. Although they couldn’t be absolutely certain that the Dragonborn had died, the wound the FBC director put in him had been a gristly one even with his armor. It fell to whoever might be around wherever the warrior would show up, either to heal him as quickly as possible or clean up the newly-arrived mess.

[hr]

Even in the chaos of a burning trash storm giant rings of light stood out quite prominently, and normally Shadow would have been able to dodge them all without issue. Thanks to Necronomicon’s scanning, however, Sectonia could not just shoot at where her spiky-headed opponent was, but where he was going to be. His ego, meanwhile, couldn’t conceive of such slow and obvious attacks hitting him, and Shadow quickly wrote off what looked like haphazardly-aimed spells as ignorable. As such it came as an exceptional surprise when he suddenly found himself cornered in the sky of all places, and Shadow soon found that even a glancing blow from the rings was no joke.

“Gah!” he spat, clenching his teeth in rage. This was starting to get annoying. His LMG put out a lot of damage, as Sectonia’s wounds attested, but with just another second spent holding down the trigger his weapon exhausted the last of its ammo. Any moment now the gradual dispersal of the trash cloud would render it useless as cover or distraction, too. “It’s about time I ditched these worthless toys,” he growled. If these peons wanted to bother him with magic, he could return the favor with Chaos. As Shadow held his hand aloft a pillar of energy formed over it, ready to cast. “Chaos Spear!”

He hurled the energy javelin at Sectonia, then teleported to another angle to throw another. As she moved he planned to follow, trying to bring the battle closer to the roof of the building. After a couple tosses he started rolling out Spin Attacks, curling up to throw himself at Sectonia in an effort to smash and shred her as a high-speed ball of spikes. If he bounced off her defense or body at close range, he could uncurl to follow up with a string of close-quarters-combat moves, mostly kicks punctuated with burning exhaust from his Air Shoes. Sectonia had the stats and the tools to keep up with him before, but soon she would realize just how deep his bag of tricks really went.

After another session of traded blows, the battle reached its climax as Shadow pulled out a trump card. Until now he’d only used his most potent power defensively, saving his energy for later. He’d been saving it for this. “Chaos Control!” he yelled, and as time slowed down he summoned a Chaos Spear to hang in the air once thrown. Far enough away from Sectonia, it wouldn’t break the stasis, so in quick succession Shadow planted spear after spear. After that, he dusted his hands with a smirk. “Time to end this.” He closed his fist. “Now.”

As spears converged on Sectonia, Necronomicon’s sensors went wild. Somehow Shadow had launched an absurdly powerful attack, one against which escape and defense were nigh impossible. But the Persona knew a way. “No!”

A barrier sprang to life around Sectonia, protecting her. Necronomicon’s ultimate ability, Final Guard, prevented her destruction. When the miracle faded, the two could see Shadow taken by total surprise and fit to be tied. “What!? How!?”

[hr]

The look of surprise on Amara’s face told Joker exactly how much she expected the new arrivals to actually accede to her request, but the Siren wasn’t about to object. Forced to assume that Ciella’s allies wouldn’t go back on their word, she turned her full attention back to the statuesque rabbit lady, and just like that the fight was back on.

As bullets, arrows, and astral projections started flying once more, Joker considered Midna’s reminder. Maybe he hadn’t been listening earlier, but when was it decided they needed to spare these people? What distinguished these Shadows from any other enemies? Sure, they were unique, but given those already defeated without that much trouble, they did not possess enough ability to be of particular notice. This World of Light surely contained countless unique Shadows, and however optimistic the Seekers might be they couldn’t save them all. Besides, as the presence of a living and breathing Shadow the Hedgehog so helpfully confirmed, these were not real people. Just cognitive entities, figments of the collective human heart. Their ‘lives’ were nothing to bat an eye over. Joker found himself wondering if all these Shadows came from games, which would definitely explain a lot. Of course, with Midna being a Shadow herself, he couldn’t tell her any of this. “Of course we won’t let our ally die,” he told her instead, before narrowing his eyes at Amara. “As for her..Galeem doesn’t change personality. She and her friends tried to slaughter us back there, and you want to play nice with her?” Joker didn’t put any scorn or derision into his voice, hoping Midna would reconsider. 

She started dancing, and Joker left her to it. Fox watched for a moment, intrigued by the artistry at work, but once he recognized repeat performances as well as the power that accumulated around her each time, the act lost its savor for him. He did, however, glance over at Joker when Midna questioned what exactly he did with Jinx. “Negotiation,” he replied simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “We had a chat, came to understand one another, and I recruited her. She’ll be helping us from here on out.” His curiosity and amusement shone in his eyes. “That’s the sort of thing you’d prefer, right?”

He fell silent as the duel in the conference chamber came to a head. After exhausting the last of her ammunition, Amara had no choice but to close the distance and engage her foe head-on. She ran out of cover with her arms summoned, hurling boulders of ice across the room. Ciella sneered, turned her back as she drew her bow, and allowed the projectiles of her own element to shatter against her to almost no effect. Counting on such a reaction, Amara unleashed her energy projectiles, two in quick succession. A neon blue facsimile of the brawler burst up from the ground with an uppercut, and Ciella took it on the chin. The force spun her around to receive a projected sucker punch, haymaker, and finally hammer fist in quick succession, followed by Amara herself.

The Siren let loose a ferocious battlecry and lay into Ciella with every arm at her disposal. She unleashed a withering barrage of punches to smash the taller woman into submission, her summoned limbs a blur of magic as she brought the pain. 

Joker and Midna both tensed up, ready to jump into action, but Fox held up a cautionary hand. “Wait! Look closer.” Joker followed his friend’s advice and noticed after another second the fog beginning to accumulate around the two. With every strike another swath fell from Ciella’s body, filling the air. “I’m well-acquainted with the utility that some icy mist can provide,” Fox told them. “If she can survive bullets, she can survive this. Her attacker is blinded by the light of her own arms and can only see straight ahead. Even though it looks bad, this ally of ours…” He narrowed his eyes as the mist filled the room. “Is right where she wants to be!”

With a final cry Amara dealt a brutal knockout blow, and as Ciella staggered backward, she smirked and faded away. Joker blinked, confirming what his eyes were telling him: that Ciella had turned invisible. The mist wasn’t thick enough to actually obscure her from sight, but she’s vanished nonetheless. As Amara’s chest heaved from the exertion she looked around in confusion at all the mist. The sound of a bowstring drew her attention, but a projectile in that direction as she dodged turned up nothing. A moment later a blue glow of gathered water started to build up behind her, prompting a bemused shake of the head. “That’s your best strategy? Sneak around and start charging?”

As she prepared to conjure another fist, Fox tapped Joker’s shoulder and nodded at the floor. A dark purple circle had appeared directly beneath Amara right after the bowstring noise, and within a purple circle was growing toward the outer edges. As Amara unleashed her astral fist, the circle finally reached its outer limits. In an instant a rain of pressurized water arrows dropped on her position, dealing immense damage as the deluge continued to fall. Joker realized that Ciella must have employed a delayed and easily dodgeable but highly lethal attack, then kept Amara from noticing via both her mist and herself as a decoy.

There was no final moment, no witty one-liner or derisive dismissal. The arrowfall lasted only a handful of seconds, but Amara died well before it concluded. Through sheer bad luck, the style of attack meant Midna’s couldn’t throw a friend heart in either, as the arrows would wash it away. Amara’s ashes diffused into the water as Ciella approached, her expression and stride imperious. “Foolish brute. Deceive yourself no longer.” She stooped to snatch up Amara’s spirit from the muck and peered at the confident grin of the woman within through the slits of her mask. “Your power will aid me in dispelling the delusions of your comrades.”

Joker watched, surprised and intrigued, as the Grimleal lieutenant placed the spirit in her chest. After the ensuing lightshow, a shorter but more toned Ciella stood before him. Her odd garment had separated at the midriff to a white top beneath a big-collared purple leather jacket, its shoulderpads spiked. Her purple dress now came up to a tie at her waist, rather like a sarong, over black shorts. Even at half length her hair still reached below her waist, though the inside appeared to be black rather than blue. Blue tattoos could be seen across the left hand side of her body. She sniffed as she rolled her shoulders, coolly getting a feel for her new build and height. “Acceptable. Let’s proceed.” Without protest Joker and Fox turned to leave the conference chamber behind, and head for where the others were grouping up.

[center][h3]Big Band[/h3]
Level 3 Big Band (21/30)
[b]Location:[/b] Al Mamoon Northwest - Obelisk Temple
Primrose’s [@Yankee]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 457[/center]

Without much in the way of brains inside those skulls of theirs, the skeletons couldn’t appreciate art if it smacked them in the face. That said, with Band playing his bagpipes and Primrose powering him up with a dance, nothing was actually hitting the bony rabble, or otherwise stopping them from clattering forward to attack. Band’s melodious taunt came to an abrupt end as the three leftover skeletons attacked in sequence, each landing a free sword swipe or club bash. Band winced. “This blows.”

At least the detective did manage to defend himself against the Stalmaster’s far more dangerous quadruple-slash. He deflected the blades using a cymbal shield and stepped back for a little extra space, but the four-armed marauder sensed weakness and pressed forward. It was the wrong move; since Band felt the power of Primrose’s Lion Dance strengthening him, all he needed was the assurance that his enemies wouldn’t be dodging before he put his own best foot forward. And there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than a reckless lunging attack.

“Supersonic!” Band called, deploying sound rockets from his front that arced around above and below him to resemble a french horn. He burst forward and slammed into the whole gaggle of skeletons to throw them back. After driving them a short distance he pulled in the horns, but carried the momentum forward as both Brass Knuckle arms deployed from beneath his coat. A [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ab/1e/d8/ab1ed873231350b50e5094083f88f0c1.gif]gratiuitous flurry of punches[/url] that splinter, shattered, and finally powdered the truculent bones.”Tubatubatubatubatubatubatubatubatuba--TUBA!” With a final punch Band sent the only survivor sailing backward, but what little the Stalmaster had left of its vitality got mopped by an explosive grand finale from Primrose. Her dark magic scattered the remains of the duo’s assailants to the winds, never to reconstitute. Thankfully their spirits drifted down to the bridge, though.

Band had watched the brutalized bones disperse with a look of satisfaction. “Even the sky ain’t the limit,” he smiled. The little joy lasted only a moment, though, as neither he nor Primrose could afford to wait so long as their allies were in jeopardy. They made their way down the rest of the bridge to where it overlooked the lower promontory. Though solid stone, it featured no extra supports to keep it up, and Band eyed it dubiously. “What’re the odds I bust right through? I mean, I can’t fly right now, can’t airdash, nothin’. If it doesn’t hold, it’s goodbye pork pie hat.” Through the doorway he could hear the sounds of melee combat, metal against metal, as well as tones he could only describe as magical. With no time to waste, he stepped aside to let Primrose pass. “I’ll follow your lead. No sense crackin’ it before you get across.”

[center][h3]Yoshitsune[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Al Mamoon Northwest - Obelisk Temple
Yoshitsune’s [@Rockin Strings], Skull, Panther[/center]

The taste of victory on their tongues, Skull and Panther pursued their targets at top speed, with a recovered Yoshitsune not far behind. They sprinted down the hieroglyphic-lined corridor after the retreating forms of Charnok and Beast, eager to seal the deal but mutually aware that, given the nature of Galeem’s influence, these two weren’t fleeing so much as relocating to a more advantageous position. Still, neither Skull nor Panther planned to back down. If everyone else was pulling their weight, as the sounds and cries of battle from both behind and below would imply, so would the Phantom Thieves.

A few moments after Yoshitsune caught up to the Thieves thanks to his fleet-footedness, the hallway opened up on the right side into a giant square chamber. Directly beyond the edge of where the corridor’s floor continued lay the edge of an enormous pool of water. It covered the entire room, except for where an incredible display of carved stone arose from the water on the far side. A handful of waterfalls poured down the tiers of the fountain between amazing statues, and behind them even the wall itself had been hewn into pillars, statue-filled recesses, and false windows.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3CS4piZ.png[/img][/center]

The sight certainly took Skull and Panther off guard, but not their enemies, nor Yoshitsune for that matter. Without a second’s hesitation that samurai dashed off in pursuit of Charnok, who’d used his magic to rocket-propel himself up over the water and onto the fountain to gain the high ground. The water reached his knees and impaired his movement, forcing to dodge and splash around to avoid a flurry of fireballs. Even if they would sputter out with a hiss when they met the water, they would rack up the damage if they hit him. He couldn’t avoid them all, but when he finally reached Charnok he attacked as a cyclone of fiery steel. The dragon sorcerer summoned a storm of Hot Hail above him to deal constant damage in an area, to which he was immune, then after taking a few slices from Yoshitsune’s katanas unleashed a stream of flame from his staff to try cooking the man alive.

That left the dwarf for Skull and Panther. Hammer in hand, Beast stood on top of a floating [url=https://www.models-resource.com/resources/big_icons/36/35065.png]snakeboard[/url] with a stolid glower, waiting for his foes to attack. Skull sighed. “Man, can’t believe we have to fight here. This place is totally sweet! Perfect date spot, huh, Panth?”

His friend raised an eyebrow at him. “What? How about we save goofing off ‘til after we beat this guy?” She jumped down into the water, followed shortly by Skull.

Immediately Beast began to move, releasing his hammer with one hand to bring forth a locus of sorcery. Panther’s eyes widened. She and Skull were sitting ducks. “This guy’s a mage! Persona!” Carmen appeared behind her with an elegant spin, flinging trails of water in a spiral. “Toast ‘em!”

The much faster spellcasting forced Beast on the defensive. As he leaned sideways the snakeboard beneath him shifted alongside him, allowing him to avoid the fireball. Skull produced his shotgun and started firing to keep up the pressure, while Panther waded in front of him. “Here’s a boost!”

“Got it!” Skull planted a foot in his friend’s cupped hands and kicked off as Panther threw him. He soared out of the water and into the air, his new club upheld. “Head’s up!”

Beast blocked the kanabo with his hammer, though not by much. Though lighter than him the teenager got better leverage from his height and started pushing Beast backward. He let go of his weapon again and grabbed Skull’s arm, casting Petrifying Touch. “What the fu-!” With a cut-off shout of surprise the boy got covered in stone and fell backward, off the snakeboard and into the water, face down.

“Skull!” Fangs bared, Panther moved in to help.

[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] Nadia (74/40)
[b]Location:[/b] The Maw - the Depths
Blazermate's [@Archmage MC], Bowser's [@DracoLunaris], Ace Cadet's [@Yankee], Sakura's [@Zoey Boey], Frog's [@Dark Cloud], Mirage’s [@Potemking], Link’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 759[/center]

[center][hider=For Link]Items scrounged from boxes:
[b]Suspicious Text Data[/b] x 815 - [i]Pages of sensitive information transmitted unknowingly across insecure communications channels[/i]
[b][url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZOAcEEXRSNU/maxresdefault.jpg]Defunct Mind Control Helmet[/url][/b] - [i]A durable device capable of sending the wearer’s brainwaves to whoever might be unfortunate enough to be implanted with a receiver. This one doesn’t work[/i]
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/xIYrJc4.png]Structure Gel Vial[/url][/b] x2 - [i]Highly proteinated, cross-linked lubricant, and a conductor, and a signal medium, with aligned graphene in a petroleum monosubstrate, polysaturated matrix, containing fuel oils. The gel is encodable and can be calibrated with instructions to accomplish a specific function[/i]
[b][url=https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/warehouse/v1.0/publiccontent/acedba79-141f-41a3-b23e-a103fc7fa20c]Metal Scrap[/url][/b] x8 - [i]Bits and bobs of low quality. Can be melted down and fused together to increase quality, somehow[/i]
[b]Miscellaneous Cords and Cables[/b] - [i]Boy, there’s a lot of them. All shapes and sizes. And they’re really entangled[/i]
[b][url=https://gamewith-en.akamaized.net/article/thumbnail/rectangle/28765.jpg]Metal Mold[/url][/b] x 3 - [i]Blocks of metal meant for use at a forge. One liquid metal is poured in, it will cool into whatever shape the mold had. There is one for a sawblade, one for a key, and one for a half-pair of scissors[/i]
[/hider][/center]

Although Nadia and Ace couldn’t hear it since Link went inside the adjunct room, he spoke the truth: if they wanted to keep the pain train rolling, they needed a new strategy. Unfortunately, the pair up in the airborne labyrinth couldn’t exactly sit on their hands and ponder the matter. Just as Ace said, they needed to keep Moreau off their teammates’ backs. The damage to the starting platform made the idea of anyone getting back up to the catwalks from there look pretty much impossible, so Nadia and Cadet started making their way back toward the Command Center in scorched-earth fashion. Even as their little muscles grew sore the two bent to the task of dropping distraction after distraction to keep the infuriated fish focused on their side of the room.

That task, however, came to a sudden and premature end. As Ace and Nadia worked together to cut through a tougher-than-usual chain, the tool slipped and slipped right out of the kids’ numbed, weary hands. “Shoot!” Its weight and their finger strength meant they couldn’t get a hold on it before the bolt cutters dropped out of reach, and a moment later the final distraction plopped unceremoniously to the water. Scowling, Nadia smacked her fist against her leg. “Come. On! Can’t we catch a break?”

Wildly she looked around for something, anything she could use. Almost instantly the feral spotted Bowser down on the platform in front of the Command Center-adjacent hallway. He was yelling something about a jar, and as Nadia looked closer, incredulous, she realized he was [i]fishing.[/i] The pint-sized King Koopa dangled bait of some kind down into the water using the rod he swiped from Moreau’s meager possessions, seeking to attract the mutated monster’s attention with that tasty(?) morsel.

Now, Nadia knew she wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to clever schemes, but even she saw the flaws in this plan. For one, she and Ace would need to get all the way through the dangling maze for a third time in order to get into position, and unless her monster-hunting buddy felt a whole lot less tired and sore than she did, that wasn’t going to be fast. Second, the Command Center was where the divers would be going once they finished their mission (her lack of realization that the lowering of the water would definitely prevent that notwithstanding), and Moreau would be right in their way. Third, and most poignantly, it wasn’t like Moreau was just going to snap up the bait.

Right on cue the monster surfaced again, plowing through the water once more on a collision course with Bowser’s platform. Nadia tightened the grip on her bridge’s railing as she clenched her teeth in worry. He was going to get smashed!

He did not. Just before Moreau rammed the platform Bowser leaped out of the way, putting his impressive jumping ability to excellent use. In fact he went high enough that the could grab the ladder that linked the platform and the catwalks without issue, making Nadia feel stupid for doubting him. The next second the abomination bulled underneath him, annihilating the wall-mounted metal grate Bowser once stood on and smashing into the wall itself a moment later. The second impact sent a shockwave through the whole Depths, enough to rock the suspended bridges above dangerously. Disquietingly close by, a loose section of bridge came loose of its own accord and plummeted down into the water.

Nadia gulped and slightly relaxed her deathgrip on the railing to run her nails through her hair. “Eheh, this whole thing might be a lot less stable than I thought…” It was agonizingly easy to imagine this very catwalk dropping right out from under her feet. Every sway needled her with anxiety. But her mission hadn’t changed. That monster needed to be attended to.

Maybe inspired by Bowser, Ace surprised her with a suggestion that they pursue an even more extreme fishing plan. When he asked about a net, she defaulted to an uncertain expression. “Sorry, I don’t remember seeing anything like that. If it didn’t seem useful at the time, I probably wouldn't commit it to memory.” Her eyes fell on the long section of broken-up bridge over the middle of the room. “But maybe we can use the grates? We can pull them out and drop them without the cutters. But whatever we do, we gotta hurry!” Before she could change her mind she detached herself from the railing and prepared to retrace her steps.

[hr]

Unknown to those who remained in the Command Center, and all the more tragic for it, the cruel horror of the Depths had claimed its first victim. Paralyzed and rendered catatonic  by mind-wrenching dissonance, the Mockingbird of Elliot Witt collapsed to the floor to drown in darkness of its pitiable mind’s own devisement. It lived only briefly, a copied existence, fleeting, fragile, and doomed. It fidgeted there on what might as well be the ocean floor, wires forever crossed, the suit of circuitry, structure gel, and necrotic human remains never to rise once more.

But a way off shone a twinfold light of hope, if not for the broken Mockingbird, then for its mission. Junior and Mirage’s BULL reunited not far from the entrance to their destination, joining forces both to hunt for Flow Control and to keep the long-haired swimmer at bay. The koopa in particular worked his controls erratically, fueled by the adrenaline of panic, and more than once his submarine lights swept over the sign by the doorway ahead without giving him the chance to read it. Still, it wasn’t long before, with a little extra direction from the Universal Helper, Junior came to the realization that his goal lay right before him. Through the open doorway he could direct his light to a large cluster of machines and pipes on the far side, about a hundred feet away. A flashing red light brought his attention to a wheel marked by big if faded letters as ‘Emergency Drain’. All that remained was a little maneuvering through the rather tight entrance and he could putter right up to it. While the submarine lacked the BULL unit’s manipulator claws, Junior had in Mimi a set of arms already proven able to reach through glass and affect the watery world beyond.

Of course, just as victory lay within reach, the faceless girl made her move. At high speed she swam down from above, her angle of attack almost unreachable for either craft’s spotlights. While Junior made his way into Flow Control, Mirage had only a brief moment in which to somehow keep the marine monster from reaching his friend.

[hr]

Sakura’s search through Moreau’s knickknacks came up essentially empty-handed. Uncorking and otherwise opening the bottles invariably assaulted her with a potent chemical smell, as unrecognizable as it was unpleasant and singing her nose more often than not. The labels were neither English nor Japanese, but Eastern European if she had to guess, and thus useless.

Pressed up against the Command Center’s glass window and peering out at the situation unfolding with Moreau across the proverbial pond with every fiber of her being, Bella jumped a good foot off the ground when a sudden metallic slam rang out from the top of the room. She whirled around fast enough to smack her little leviathan tail into the window and elicit a grunt of annoyance, but her focus did not deviate from the ceiling.

For a moment she had thought that something went wrong with the machine arms anchored there, which would be bad considering the group probably needed those to get the divers out of the water. A thorough examination of the weighty contraptions, however, revealed no apparent fault. She wasn’t an engineer of course, but Bella felt pretty sure that if the machinery made a noise like that, she’d be able to see something wrong. So, at least that wasn’t a problem.

Any relief that she might have felt about that got buried beneath the weight of a follow-up realization. If that frighteningly abrupt noise came from the ceiling but not the machines...where did it come from?

Another smack resounded through the room, less intense than the first. Already looking upward, Bella was able to zero in on the sound. It didn’t come from the submarine-hoisting mechanism at all, but from a boxy structure that extended down out of the ceiling. Now a series of bumps and smacks issued from the vent, and while the rest of her was frozen Bella’s eyes followed the source of the noise as it moved down the length of the structure, turned a corner over the racks of diving suits, and continued over both the racks and the pilot seat until it reached the wall with the door everyone came through. Then the sound grew quiet and disappeared.

Bella released her breath, feeling a lot colder all of a sudden. Goosebumps formed on the pale skin that even the deep waters she once called home never managed to chill. She held onto her arms and shivered as she ran over to where Sakura, Peach, Geralt, and Rika stood together near Mirage’s pilot seat. “What was that? Something crawling around? I thought we were safe here. If something comes out, what are we going to do?”

The discussion didn’t last long. There came a terrible ruckus from the hallway between Maintenance and the Command Center as a [url=https://auluftwaffles.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/image28.jpg]vent[/url] burst open, and in a nightmarish parody of birth a swollen, malformed something pushed through to slump to the ground in a moist, heaving heap. On shaking legs it picked itself up to a full height of over six feet, a pustule-ridden amalgam of mutant flesh crowned with a ghastly face locked mid-scream, and with a wet, [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulaHAFeflvQ]gurgled vocalization[/url] the [url=https://i.imgur.com/UP8nA9B.png]eyeless Proxy[/url] began to hobble toward the nearest source of noise.

[center][h3]Cold Monastery[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Frozen Highlands - Alpine Skyline
Linkle’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy][/center]

To Albedo’s chagrin Skadi looked quite happy to concern herself with her animal and nothing else, but when Linkle approached and knelt down next to her, the strange goddess purposefully kept her gaze trained on the doge. Though that initially prompted a needle of frustration, Albedo quickly realized that meant something else--that Skadi still recognized something she wanted to avoid, and hadn’t retreated all the way back to her new persona. And either Linkle saw it too, or in typical compassionate heroine fashion wasn’t going to give up on Skadi either way, because she reached out once more.

If the alchemist wondered what the Skullgirl could possibly say to fix this situation, his doubts were soon laid to rest. Both clever and empathetic despite the deathly hollowness that surely must be eating away at her insides, she questioned not Skadi’s intentions but what her course of action would actually accomplish. Then, with the goddess’s newfound uncertainty written on her face, Linkle offered the solution once more. It wasn’t so strange, she reasoned, for even a divinity to rely upon a hero in times of need. [i]Smart moves.[/i] Albedo perceived an unanchored desperation that clung to Skadi, provoking her to cling to whatever gave her support. By the way she now wavered, he realized her grip wasn’t so strong that she would refuse a better option. She just needed a little extra push.

Albedo raised a hand, drawing elemental power from his Geo vision. An arcane sprout pushed through the floorboards, ice, and drawings to reach the open air, and as Skadi looked on with wide eyes the sudden growth bloomed into a Solar Isotoma. “These are not empty promises. We may look young, but it would not be inaccurate to say that the two of us have power over life and death itself. We [i]can[/i] do this.”

He could sense an immediate change in Skadi. The dam had been broken. “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I believe you want to help. I believe you can help. That...that man...he’s insatiable. Unless he’s stopped, none of us...are safe.” She looked Linkle in the eyes, and did not shrink away from the scarlet skull halves within. “My step-daughter’s name...is Freya. She dwells in an autumn glenn in the midst of a misty wood. Please, keep her safe.” For the first time, the eyes of the bizarre goddess turned hard. “And make that man pay.”

She went back to her doge and buried her face in his fur. Satisfied at last, Albedo turned away to reconvene with Father Guerra and Linkle a safe distance away, once his new friend finished her farewells. The priest looked impressed. “That was well handled. Oftentimes the other residents and I visit her to keep her company, but we’ve never managed to get her to open up like that.” He took a sip of his coffee, shrugging. “Then again, we never had a reason to.” Somewhere between curious and amused, he looked between the Monastery’s young guests. “Is true, what you said. That life and death stuff?”

It was Albedo’s turn to shrug. “Does it matter?”

“I suppose not.”

The small group headed back through the basement and up to the third tower’s first floor. So evident was the question of where to go next that Albedo scarcely felt the need to ask. Luck continued to be on their side. “Would the misty wood in question be down at the base of these mountains, do you think?” he prompted Linkle.

Guerra scratched his chin. “While it’s impossible for someone like me, if you two are all you say, there might be a way to the bottom.” He led the way to a window overlooking the Alpine Skyline. “See those little mountain villages? Those ropes hanging between ‘em all are stronger than they look. This tower’s got at least one tied to it. Might be able to zip between ‘em until you reach the bottom.”

Albedo thought about it. Sliding beneath a rope through freezing air over a ridiculous drop sounded neither safe nor fun, but it would be fast, and should the worst come to pass he could pull out his glider. He glanced at Linkle to gauge her reaction, both to the potential destination and the journey.