[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]

Light and dark clashed in a terrific and destructive display of arcane power. And like metal undergoing temperature shock from back-to-back treatments of opposing hot and cold extremes, Shadow did not escape unscathed. He hurtled from the dazzling magic explosion and hit the roof of the office building, where he skidded and rolled for a couple seconds before coming to a stop. Even then, however, the hedgehog did not relent. His eyes snapped open, and with his face a mask of rage he picked himself up to face Sectonia, just in time to hear her taunt. 

“Minion!?” he repeated, his tone dripping venom. After a moment, however, he gave a wry laugh. “At least you recognize my power. You, meanwhile, I wouldn’t bother to scrape off the bottom of my Air Shoes!” He held up one clawed hand in front of his face and took hold of the golden ring around his wrist with the other. “Now that you’ve said your last words, I’ll go ahead and send you straight to hell!”

At that moment a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYpAtS7EO-A]song[/url] rang out from somewhere on his person, carrying through the air. Shadow paused, his expression disgusted, as the moment dragged on. “Ugh, FINE!” If Sectonia approached him he planned to stop her with Chaos Control, but either way he would release his ring to reach down into a shoe. He pulled out a small device, flipped it open, and held it to his ear. “What. Do. You want!? I was RIGHT about to teach this overgrown bug a thing or two!”

He listened for a moment, his expression growing more and more irate. “Like hell I will! If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some business to...yeah? What about it?” From his other shoe he produced a bone, which he stared at as he continued to listen. “Oh, it will, huh?” A devious grin took hold of him. “Fine then. I’ll do it your way.” He crushed the bone in his fist, and promptly disappeared.

Necronomicon lacked a face to react with, but her tone spoke volumes. “...Wooow. [i]That[/i] was anticlimactic.” She buzzed around Sectonia as she grew excited again. “But still, that was Shadow! Shadow the Hedgehog, in the flesh! How crazy is that?” Unfortunately, Sectonia couldn’t tell her how crazy it was, and pretty soon the flying saucer was back down to earth. “Ugh, okay. Guess we gotta head back. But uh, here’s a tip. Let’s try and keep him from taking those rings off if we see him again. Things are gonna get a whole lot crazier if he does!”

So saying, Necronomicon flew back down towards  the office’s front door.

[hr]

Vehement though Midna was, neither Fox nor Joker took her words to heart, even as they heard her out. The much more pressing matter at the moment took the form of Ciella, about whom the Twilight Princess wasn’t wrong. As her assault on the Resistance and her duel with Amara proved, she already commanded inhuman strength and fortitude, with close-quarters combat her only real flaw. If she now possessed the strength and magical abilities of that rough-and-tumble heroine too, she could be a dire threat at any range. Under normal circumstances that might be good, but given the untrustworthy nature of the Grimleal and how quickly allies could become enemies in this world, Joker figured this was pretty bad. Of course, her power-up in itself didn’t hold a candle to what the act implied.

These people knew about fusion. That meant that either they figured it out on their own, or someone in the know leaked it to them. And either way, it meant that the power of spirits was unique to the Seekers no longer.

The four reached the main area of the office’s first floor to find the rest of the battles concluded. Joker took a quick look around but could not make out any trace of Fuse, the Dragonborn, or Shadow. Except for a pretty badly wounded Laharl and a somewhat beat-up Sectonia, everyone on his side looked only a little worse for wear; there had been no casualties. Still paused to catch their breath, the team gathered around where Midna worked her magic on Laharl to renew both body and mind. With the insect queen gradually healing, everyone would be right as rain in no time.

Physically speaking, at least. Tensions were high, both from near misses and clashing viewpoints, and even without casualties the group was technically down one. “Mona is fine,” Joker reassured everyone while Jesse went over to whisper with Midna. “He grabbed something from Jinx and it teleported to another part of the city. Since the other man wasn’t there, chances are good it returns you to a previous ‘checkpoint’.

Necronomicon hovered beside him, turning steadily. “So at least until he drives back, we’re down our main healer, huh?”

“Even so, that was well fought,” Fox put forward, a courteous congratulation to the team.

Ciella tossed her hair and snorted. “We outnumbered that rabble by a factor of two. I would hope that such odds would favor us.” Leaving the others to draw their own conclusions about what happened to her appearance, she headed for a stairwell door about halfway along the back room between the conference room and the corner where the Overlords squared off with the Dragonborn. “The pretenders lie beneath us. Let us make haste, lest they worm through an escape route.”

[hider=Raiding the Resistance][b]Party:[/b] Midna, Sectonia, Mao, Jesse, Laharl
[b]Encounter Reward:[/b] 10 EXP
[b]Additional Rewards:[/b] Frustration, discord & second-guesses[/hider]

With blood spilled there could be little in the way of idle gossip or friendly chatter, so the ten descended the stairs in relative quiet. Ciella had meant to take the lead alongside Braum, but a little trouble adjusting to her new shorter stride on the stairs left the team’s shield out in front, along with whoever might want to make themselves the first to encounter whatever lay ahead.
Only a couple potted plants could be seen in the room at the stairway’s bottom, so after parting ways with the last purple step, the group’s frontrunners spread out across the ocher-colored flooring to see what the Resistance’s basement had to offer. 

Ciella let her head loll back as she rolled her eyes. “This must be a joke.”

[center][img]https://cdn2.bulbagarden.net/upload/4/4d/Rocket_Hideout_B2F_FRLG.png[/img][/center]

Directly ahead there appeared to be some kind of bizarre room. Thick walls of dark blue glass extended floor to ceiling in various shapes, while the floor between them was littered with odd tiles that flashed yellow and green.

Braum crouched over one of the arrow-patterned tiles. “You know these things?”

Crossing her arms, Ciella sighed. “They hail from a project of Validar’s. Their purpose is the expediency of cargo transport in the freight sector. A shipment went missing.” She stared out across the array of stolen goods. “Anything put on one will be spun forward until it hits a wall or a yellow pad.”

Joker cracked his neck. “Sounds like a maze. Shouldn’t be much of an issue.”

Another staircase existed directly to the right, but a quick examination turned up only a [url=https://i.imgur.com/EhhEQlx.png]couple offices[/url] with neither exits nor lurking Resistance members. One featured two locked computers, a laptop and an ancient PC, but being the Persona rather than the person Necronomicon couldn’t hack them. If the Seekers wanted to move forward, they would need to get through the maze.

[center][h3]Tora, Poppi, and Big Band[/h3]
Level 9 Tora (31/90) Level 8 Poppi (101/80) Level 3 Big Band (23/30)
[b]Location:[/b] Al Mamoon Northwest - Obelisk Temple
Primrose’s [@Yankee], Fox’s [@Dawnrider]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1168[/center]

While being healed Band made sure to wear his gratitude on his sleeve. “Aw, you’re too good to me. Don’t need to be wastin’ your magic juice--I can take a lickin’ and still keep tickin’. But thanks all the same.” He waited as she made her move, descending to the lower platform with the effortless grace he expected. Of course, that just left him, with the approximate grace of a drunken elephant. He took a quick but deep breath. “Okay, alrighty, here goes noth-!”

“Hello down there!”

A sudden cry from above both cut him off and brought his attention skyward. When he looked up he saw a couple familiar shapes floating down from the upper reaches of the cavern toward him, descending slowly thanks to a pair of well-tuned jet boosters. Held tight in Poppi QT’s arms like a furry beach ball, Tora waved both wings down at Band. “Hi-hi, meh! Tora and friends be with in second!”

The mention of friends plural prompted Band to look again, and sure enough, he spotted a certain sorcerer above the dynamic duo, rappelling with an extra-long bandage. It took just a moment for Tora, Poppi, and Kan-Ra to reach the bridge, then pass it to land on the promontory where Primrose waited. Excited Tora bounced around the dancer in a circle. “Tora hate bugs!” he announced. “Right after Tora and Poppi get done smushing masky lady’s nasty spideypons and get clean again, Tora locked in hall fully of icky hives!”

Poppi nodded, a traumatized look in her eyes. “Poppi make sure burn every single one with fire core. No survivor.”

Shaking his head, Tora explained further. “Turn out, one hive hide opening into huge cave. See friends Band and Primrose fighting skellypons, meh. Just about to help too, but then...super cool punch explosion!” Wielding his Mech Arms, Tora mimicked Band’s Blockbuster. “Tora need do it too!”

“Maybe after I get down from here!” Band called, bringing back the matter at hand. Everyone looked up to see him still on the bridge, his destination now both dubious [i]and[/i] obscured.

Those already down cleared the way. “If you doubt the integrity of this extension, I can pull you over,” Kan-Ra offered, his look a lot more gleeful than it should be.

Though the guy ticked just about every box Band had for ‘untrustworthy traitorous villain’, he couldn’t help but think it a decent idea, all options considered. “If those wraps of yours’ll hold...fly me to the moon.”

Kan-Ra took a position in the doorway and extended his bandages, ready to grab. After another deep breath Band ran and jumped. He flew through the air into the waiting snare, and with a mighty pull the sorcerer yanked the detective the rest of the way. Band landed hard right in front of the door, and just as he feared there came a loud crack as the platform gave way. He pulled himself up through the doorway with time enough to turn and watch the extension crumble away into the abyss. He shook his head. “Good grief. Let me off uptown next time.”

The ride was far from over. A swell in the sounds of combat prompted the five to hurry up a small flight of stairs and around a corner. They emptied through a doorway into the temple’s third floor, a wide hall around the open middle spice like a giant, square-shaped ring. Pillars both standing and fallen littered the place, and the new arrivals got a good look at the fight in progress.

After being thrown by Azwel toward Fox, Es took the initiative. Rather than attempt a swing she committed to an airdash, arriving a lot sooner than the pilot expected with a headlong tackle rather than a telegraphed sword swing. That solid opener led to a quick and dirty combo to deal Fox some damage and dispatch him before Azwel could get on her case. From there the summoner took center stage, dancing with Es back and forth between the pillars in a whirlwind of weaponry. The reinforcements appeared just in time to see Es lock down Azwel with another delayed crest ring, send his shield flying with a well-aimed sweep, and spear him on a row of crest spikes.

Tora raised his Mech Arms, calling, “Tora and friends to rescue!”

Another six pairs of eyes fell on him, but Band was watching Es. “I got another idea.” He stepped forward, deploying a Brass Knuckle, and swatted the nearest pillar. The swing took out a cylindrical section that he gripped like a hardball and hurled the swordfighter’s way. Shocked by the unexpected attack, Es blocked the projectile but got her guard broken by the effort, and Azwel was quick to capitalize.

“Can you stand the test?!” he cried, lunging forward with an upward swing of both scimitars. As Es flew into the air he controlled the blades like a conductor, striking again and again midair. They finally coalesced into a well of power that held her in place as motes of red and blue surrounded her on all sides. “Accept this from me!” The motes became dozens of crystalline swordblades, ruby and sapphire. “My love!”

All together the blades flew toward the center. They pierced Es from a couple dozen angles and exploded into purple magic. In the chaos there came a flash of gold, like the magic circles the others saw earlier, and the girl disappeared.

It took a moment for both the light and Azwel’s vigor to die down. “Ohohoho…” he laughed, trailing off slowly. “Did you see her expression, right on the brink?” He wiped a tear from his eye. “Oho, goodness…I shall never grow tired of the human race.” As if nothing were amiss he cleared his throat, straightened up, and looked around the gathered heroes. “Well! We’re not all here I see, but I’m sure the others will be along shortly. I can sense where that retrieval magic came from. We’re not far, no, not at all…”

He lead the way toward the central area, where just a short drop from behind the obelisk led to the platform it rested on in the middle of the basin that formed the main temple’s lowest reaches. From there even Big Band could make the jump to the section of floor between nearby pillars. As filled by hieroglyphics and candles as the other floors, the first funneled into a short hallway that ended with another more cavernous room, this one shockingly vacant.

[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/3e/97/883e978f5a67a59a6ef98c6056f55cae.jpg[/img][/center]

Tora and Poppi looked this way and that, examining the pillars, patterns, statues, and symbols. “This place give off classic puzzle vibes,” he announced.

“Traps, too,” Poppi added.

Kan-Ra glanced between them. “Do either you have anything helpful to say about said puzzles and traps?”

The pair shared a look before Tora spoke for both. “Meeeeeh...no. But we not really look around yet! Resistance just ahead, right? Probably healing all friends we beat. So we just need scope out room and open way fast, meh.”

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

Rage lent extra power to Panther’s voice as she unleashed Ominous Words. [i]“You’re going down!”[/i] The air itself seemed to warp before her, bent purple and black, as the spell washed over the battlemage dwarf. His attempt to block did nothing, and for an instant an abyss of despair welled within him, a bleak anguish so inexorable he couldn’t so much as bring himself to move. His hammer slipped from numb fingers to clatter on top of his Snakeboard.

Panther took the opportunity for all it was worth. Her new submachine gun flashed into her hands, and with one arm extended she unleashed havoc. A dozen cognitive rounds drilled into Beast’s beard, robe, and armor, then two dozen, then three, until the damage finally mounted beyond the breaking point. He snapped out his despair with a jolt and a roar of anger, then clapped his hands. He cast Blinding Radiance, smashing everything in thirty feet with a wall of air, and Panther didn’t avert her gaze in time to avoid being blinded. She cried out in pain as she squeezed her eyes shut, but as Beast collected his hammer and charged forward with a Battering Ram, she got herself together. “Carmen! Maragion!”

Her Persona manifested in an azure blaze to conjure scattered plumes of flame. The spell’s inherent wide range covered the entire swath of pool in which Panther battled, and they welled forth with such red-hot intensity that even after they burst from the pool bottom in billows of steam they still blazed skyward. Beast couldn’t avoid them, but neither could he stop his charge, so atop his Snakeboard he bulled straight into the steam cloud. A moment later he emerged from the other side, scorched and furious. He brought the mobile platform around to re-engage with his enemy, but when the steam cleared he found a soaked but otherwise unharmed Panther adding insult to injury with a stuck-out tongue. Worse still, Skull’s petrification had worn off well before he could drown, and now the Phantom Thieves faced him with all the confidence in the world.

Still, one little setback meant nothing to the Beast, especially atop a Snakeboard. One lean forward was all it took to zoom forward into melee range. From up high he swung and the teenagers, back and forth, each strike a skull-shattering blow. Skull could afford to clash with that warhammer thanks to his sturdy kanabo, but Panther could only book it. For a few frantic moments Beast’s pressure and mobility gave him the upper hand, but the Thieves learned quickly. Skull ducked in the same direction as Beast’s swings before launching a counterattack in the Snakeboard, trying to batter and unbalance the dwarf’s ride. Though Panther got rushed down at first and couldn’t get a spell out while on the back foot, she started alternating between calling Carmen for Agilao and using Agilao herself, so that no matter who Beast went for he got a fireball from somewhere.

After an unfortunate trade she took a hammer blow to her arm, breaking it and forcing her to heal immediately. Though bruised black and blue himself, Skull threw caution to the wind for her sake and hurled himself at Beast with an overhead smash. The dwarf readied another Petrifying Touch, but Skull wasn’t aiming for him. Instead he came down on the Snakeboard, striking with enough force to pitch Beast right off it and into the water.

Growling, the stocky battlemage fought to the surface. Knee height to a human teenager was waist height for him, and he could barely move. In a last ditch effort he pulled out his trump card. Sparks arced across his hand before he plunged it into the pool, flooding the area with electricity. As Panther tried to haul herself up onto the Snakeboard, however, Skull powered through. Beast’s expression turned to one of shock as he saw the blonde pushing toward him, treating the volts that coursed through him like a minor inconvenience. “Grah!?”

“Sorry dude, but lightning’s kinda my thing! Get WRECKED!” Skull brought his club down across Beast’s block, forcing the dwarf’s weapon into the water. Captain Kidd manifested behind him as Skull yelled, “Blow ‘em away, Captain!”

[i]”Aye-aye, sir!”[/i] The Persona clutched his ship and executed a backflip, launching Beast out of the water and into the air with a weighty [i]THWACK[/i]. Kidd hit the water with a splash and launched a cannonball in a low arc before disappearing. With a look of utter glee Skull struck the projectile like a baseball and sent it careening into Beast mid-air. It went off with a magnificent explosion, the mushroom cloud of smoke in the shape of a skull and crossbones.

A moment later it cleared, leaving nothing behind, not even ash. “Did we get ‘im?” Skull squinted, but he couldn’t be sure. Rather than check he splashed over to Panther. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” his friend groaned. “Carmen’s healed my arm, but it’s still sore. Damn that guy.” She allowed herself to be helped up, and though she shook off Skull’s attempt to assist her to the edge of the pool, she still gave him a friendly shoulder bump. He bumped back with a smile, and she found herself wearing one too. “That was actually pretty cool.”

“Actually?” Skull repeated, sounding appalled. “I [i]am[/i] cool!”

Panther laughed. “Whatever. Right now I’m cold. We just had to get wet, huh?” Wringing out his ascot, her companion nodded his assent, although his eyes had gone to find the truth of her words for themselves. She gave him a push that nearly sent them both back into the water, but as nice as some goofing around sounded, they knew that they couldn’t afford to waste any more time. With Yoshitsune’s battle done too, they needed to get a move on, and the multi-level staircase down the corridor was just the ticket.

[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] Nadia (76/40)
[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] 942[/center]

Link’s experiments quickly turned up interesting results. Once emptied, the structure gel wasted little time molding itself, but not to the shape carved into the metal block Link poured it in. Instead it coagulated into an almost organic-shaped mass, complete with metallic barnacles and tentacles. Bright blue receiver nodes formed across its surface, blinking with an almost hypnotic rhythm. Clearly, this substance played by its own rules.

[hr]

With the goal so close at hand Junior pushed his submarine into overdrive, full speed ahead. He breezed through the entry to Flow Control with only a minor impact on the right side and made for the main valve, even as the long-haired girl closed the distance. It fell to Mirage to protect his accomplice, and in an effort to give Junior the time he desperately needed, he made the executive decision to use his remote-controlled Universal Helper as a physical obstacle in the door. A mere moment after he inserted the machine into the frame, the drowner arrived. She scrabbled at the opening, pushing the BULL aside with surprising strength, but it could only move a few inches before it came to a stop against the aperture’s opposite edge, and for all her furious kicking the girl couldn’t either push or pull herself through the gap.

Once the realization hit her she paused, frozen except for the hair that swirled and snaked through the water. Then her featureless face locked into the head of the BULL. With both hands she grabbed the machine’s neck, but without claws she couldn’t rip through the wires. Instead she planted her feet against the wall and started to pull, threatening to excise the Universal Helper from its lodging. With the pincers in a bad position to grab hold of anything, only putting the Vortex Motor in reverse would prevent the BULL unit’s extraction, but tightly wired as he was Mirage wasn’t ready for the long-haired girl to suddenly let go. All of a sudden the motor carried him backward, right through the doorway, and then the way was clear.

But it was too late. Mimi had already wrenched the valve, again and again, until with a final [i]THOMM[/i] it locked in place. The Depths filled with the sound of moving water, and in Flow Control in particular there resounded the frenetic noise of big machines hard at work. The drowner surged forward in a last-ditch attempt to reach Junior and punch through the glass of his submarine, but with his job done there was nothing preventing the young Koopa from turning his light on her. Some inner fury pushed her forward, striving to reach her target against the light, but the closer she got the worse it burned. Finally the drowner broke away, clutching her faceless head in pain, to dive through a hole in the floor.

The water drained fast--about a foot per second. But four stories of flooding meant a lot of feet to get through, and the Depths’ other inhabitants weren’t taking the sudden change lightly.

With a kite, a plan, and maybe enough energy to put them to use, Nadia and Ace made their way toward the bridge to drop some grates. [i]Just a little longer,[/i] the kitten told herself through gritted teeth, trying to get her tired body to move faster. Her nonexistent child muscles were screaming in protest. Her head was swimming. Forget hungry--she was [i]so[/i] thirsty. [i]Almost there. Any second now…[/i]

For once, she was right. A low, unfamiliar sound reached her from beneath the water, and not to announce the presence of a new monster for once. With wide, disbelieving eyes Nadia watched the water begin to fall. First the ruined platform by the entrance emerged from the water, revealing the top of a mangled metal stair tower that must reach all the way to the ground floor. Then bits of underwater platform and machines revealed themselves. Then--”Wagh!” Enchanted by the falling water, Nadia jumped when Moreau threw himself from the water once more, but this time he didn’t even come close. His bellow seemed almost frustrated as he fell back down once more, and Nadia’s cackling echoed through the Depths. “Nyahahahaha! Sucks to suck, fish freak!” She turned to Ace, her weary eyes glittering. “They did it! Man, they were really fast, all things considered! They actually did it!” Alternating between laughs and gasps for air, she sank down to the bridge and lay on her stomach, watching the water recede through the grate.

About a minute later, Flow Control had worked its magic. The Flooded Base had been unflooded; the Depths were now the Shallows. Only a foot or so of water remained of the staggering amount of water that filled the place, and its departure revealed all sorts of stuff. Though rusted beyond both repair and recognition, a lot of machinery littered the place, interspersed with the much fresher grates and catwalk sections Ace and Nadia sent down to meet Davy Jones. The entrance to the airtight shaft of the freight elevator could now be seen on the second floor wall directly opposite the Command Center, made particularly visible (and encouraging) to onlookers like Nadia thanks to the flashing green lights. From up high the bedraggled kitten could make out a few oddities flopping around on the ground floor in the junk-littered water, including what looked disturbingly like the monster fish in the photo she saw earlier.

Much easier and disheartening to see, however, was Moreau. Unlike his less mutated brethren he hadn’t been beached by the falling tide, but hauled himself around the bottom floor with the help of giant fish arms. “My water! Nooooo!” he garbled, thrashing around in anger.

Nadia sighed. “Welp, that’s a boss fight waitin’ to happen. Ugggh.” She hauled herself back onto her feet and clapped her hands together, trying to smile for Ace. “About time we got down from here, huh? Meet up with the others, find a way around fishsticks?” She glanced at the Command Center. “At least some of us got a chance to take it easy.”

[hr]

In the span of a few moments the Command Center turned from a place of relative peace to one of utter panic. With a lot more strength than a four-year-old ought to have Rika reflexively chucked her television set at the Proxy. It reacted the instant she shrieked, turning its malformed mockery of a front to face her with near-pinpoint accuracy as it started power-walking her way, only to be stopped by the sudden impact of her makeshift projectile. It stumbled back, struggling for a moment to keep its balance on legs without defined feet, but its mutated carcass swung back like a pendulum the next moment. Despite its reprehensible condition it moved like the wind, booking it down the hall and into the Command Center after Rika.

As it cruised inside it paused for a brief instant, momentarily overwhelmed by the abundance of sound, like a hungry man set before an immense buffet. Then a noise sounded out from the direction of the Command Center window where Geralt, mindful of accidentally drawing the Proxy close to Mirage, hurled his bottle. With stomach-churning gargle-cry the Proxy sprinted toward the noise, but instead of prey crunched down on chemical-coated glass. If it hurt the monstrosity gave no sign, but turned around to track the pattering footsteps of child feet on the run.

It detected Peach first, and went after her with a vengeance. The little princess squealed as panic lent wings to her feet. She threw herself at the chain link fence that she saw Nadia climb earlier and started to haul herself up in a frenzy, making a racket, but she wasn’t nearly the climber her feral friend had been. With a spine-chilling screech the Proxy hurtled right past where Sakura was frozen in fear, totally oblivious to the little girl’s presence, and smashed its bulk against Peach.

If not for the give of the chain link fence she might have died instantly. Instead the fence bent inward, cushioning the blow, and when the Proxy reeled back for another brutal pound Peach got flung clear by the recoil. She flew limply for a couple feet before she hit and rolled to a stop on the floor, not far from where Mirage continued to work the pilot seat. Of course, the Proxy heard her land and span around, eager to finish the job. The only thing that stopped it was the crash from the direction of Moreau’s nook, where Bella had smashed another chemical bottle. With another gut-wrenching wail the Proxy ran over, only to find nothing. Bella had hunkered down against the wall with tears in her eyes, clutching her tail like a pillow, not daring to breathe. Silence reigned in the Command Center for a moment, before the Proxy began its patrol.

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

The Skullgirl’s confirmation of her power and Albedo’s ability, even going as far as to mention super-evil powers, elicited a double take from Guerra, but neither she nor her friend planned to stick around to shed any more light on the subject. Thanks to her compass, the pair knew where they needed to go next, and Linkle was happy to more than make up for any enthusiasm that Albedo lacked. With his new friend rearing to go, the alchemist took just a moment to address the old priest one last time. “We’ll be on our way. Thank you for your help, Father Guerra.”

He gave a smile. “Don’t mention it. Just make sure you give that Stranger pendejo a good beatin’ for me, huh?” With his guests’ reassurance, Guerra waved them off and watched as they made for the third tower’s front door. A moment later the wind slammed the front door behind them, and Guerra heaved a big sigh. “Crazy kids. Good luck out there.”

Once back out in the elements Albedo quickly realized how nice it had been indoors, despite the warmth his new coat afforded him. These winter-locked peaks had a way of chilling people right to the bone, as if they were wearing nothing at all. The winds bit and howled like wolves, assailing the senses as they buffeted loose clothing and hair. Yet, for all the tumult he didn’t feel the need to shoot Linkle an incredulous look, inquiring whether or not she really intended to brave these conditions. The stars in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

It took only a few moments to circumnavigate the perimeter of the third tower, which required a little more precision footwork and a few more firmly-grasped handholds than Albedo might have liked, to reach a point where a banner was anchored. Whipped constantly by the winds, the colorful flags gave off a cacophony of snapping noises that contributed to the overall chaos, but at least the rope looked sturdy. Near the anchor point Albedo found barrels full of coiled lengths of chain, which he took to be the means by which any prospective daredevils would zip down the line. That solved the burning question of how to ride a rope with flags on it, at least. He stepped past to give Linkle access, extended a hand to the barrels with a bowed head. “After you.”

The ride down was every bit as exhilarating as Linkle imagined. With nothing but a rope, a chain, and the strength of her arms between life and death, she could enjoy a descent as blisteringly frigid as it was quick with her heart in her throat the whole time, if only she had one. Even though he knew his friend wouldn’t be able to hear him with the roar of the wind in her ears, Albedo kept himself from screaming. He managed to keep his composure partly because he knew he had no choice, but also in order to appreciate the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity before him. ‘Bird’s-eye view’ truly could not do it justice. Looking out across an immense distance from a sky-high precipice was majestic in its own right, but suspended in the sky like this? Unanchored, with nothing but empty air in every direction? Quite indescribable.

He was glad when it was over.

One after another, the daredevils touched down in the Goat Village to the tune of unseen bells. Neither could say exactly how far out or down they went, but the atmosphere had definitely changed. For the first time in forever, Albedo felt as though he’d escaped in the grip of winter. Though crisp and cool, the air was clear and fresh rather than snowy or scathing. Earthly brown stone lay beneath his feet, rather than the imperious gray rock of the peaks, and from the cracks where soil collected, alpine grasses bloomed. The same grasses and even flowers roofed the houses that dotted the colorful mountain village which lay before them, its quaint domiciles part stacked logs and part wood painted in vivid reds and yellows. Hay bales and rainwater barrels lent the whole place a rustic feel, and the villagers who tottered around the place brought it to life. Though only yellow eyes peered out from the darkness of their hoods, the [url=https://i.imgur.com/tl6Wppu.png]locals[/url] decked themselves out in lovingly patterned, stitched-together garments, and they greeted their visitors with all the warmth the Frozen Highlands lacked. “Hello!” the nearest one pronounced in a moderate accent, her eyes upturned crescents. “Welcome to our village! Even if it is short, we hope you enjoy your stay!”

Another one left the flowerbox she attended to and joined her. “Hello, hello! Mind our goats while you’re here. They’re nice, but if you get in way, a little pushy!” When Albedo glanced where the villager pointed he found a very different goat than the sort he pictures. These heavily-dressed, bright-eyed [url=https://i.imgur.com/S0fJkrI.png]giants[/url] lumbered around with inscrutable intentions, the belts at their waists letting fly the clarion clangs he heard earlier. As he looked around the alchemist spotted several color-coded flaglines leading off in various directions, along with a few flagposts with nothing attached to them. To his surprise he also spotted a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ob0VW0R.png]bizarre individual[/url] who seemed to thrum with dark particles, his body and especially his detached face turning and vibrating unnaturally.

He addressed the first villager, who perked up when approached. “Good morning. We hope to reach the base of the valley.”

“Down below?” she cleared up, sounding surprised. “Long way to bottom, friend! No direct way down in Goat Village, but there is lift at old windmill.” She pointed in the direction of a lone flagpole with a blue banner but no rope, then to the apex of the village. “Blow the horn to call flags!”

Albedo looked up across the array of houses, bales, carts, little windmills, wooden springboards, poles, clotheslines, ladders and ramps. “If I were to guess…” His eyes landed on Linkle. “You would want to race to the top, correct?”