[center][h3]Tora, Poppi, and Big Band[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky
Level 9 Tora (213/90) Level 9 Poppi (213/90) Level 7 Big Band (41/70)
Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Raz’s [@TruthHurts22], Raiden’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX], the Phantom Thieves, Braum, the Scout, Peacock, Mao, Tharja, Ciella
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2194[/center]

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZNbabKjKpA&ab_channel=Knuxfan24%27sSongGallery[/youtube][/center]

With everything that life had thrown at the intrepid heroes today, it made a weird sort of sense that even the simple act of falling would present a challenge. The moment that the Seekers made the conscious decision to descend was the moment they realized that everything was working against them. From within the bowels of the manmade abyss known as Hollow Heights welled a powerful updraft, streaming upward alongside the warm thermal currents that poured from Red Eye’s fiery innards. Together they provided so much air resistance that Tora didn’t think he’d take a lick of damage no matter how far he fell, but what at first seemed like saving grace turned out to be a curse in disguise. For those winds also allowed the hordes of Trilid that wormed their way out of Red Eye’s flesh to seethe upward in angry clouds, like the tephra of a terrific volcanic eruption. The same currents that bore them upward also conspired to keep the Seekers sky-high, forcing them to endure the Akrid onslaught until they too were nothing but dust on the wind.

Of course, nobody was about to let that happen, not after the sacrifice made by Robin that allowed them to snatch the hope of victory from the literal jaws of defeat. By switching to more aerodynamic positions and employing whatever powers of flight they had at their disposal, the Seekers of Light turned the tables, and faced the Trilid swarm head on. It quickly became chaos, but each skydiver had a method to his or her madness. Jesse called upon Sven to supply a flask that she could supersize and ride down like a giant, flammable snowboard. Midna drew her blades and equipped her faithful insect once more, relying on its vigorous wings to usher her through the tempest. Far, far below, Raiden raced across the desert sands full of bloodlust, eager to take full advantage of the blank check that fate had written him and clear the way for his allies’ descent. Sectonia put on a dazzling light show with her rings as she buzzed back down to earth, and while Therion with his steel formed a formidable vanguard for his airborne company, Primrose unleashed her pyromancy to blaze even brighter than the Akrid that assailed her.

The others rose to the challenge as well. Braum crusted over his shield with ice, increasing its size threefold, then stood atop it with Raz and the Scout tucked under one arm each, mulching Trilid like bugs against a windshield the whole way down. Maybe taking inspiration from him, Ciella let off a handful of spread-shots to help thin the swarm before manifesting a cryogenic meteor beneath her, so large and heavy that she only needed to latch on to plummet straight to the front of the group. Peacock pulled her buddy Andy Anvil out of hammerspace and held tight as the cartoon curmudgeon dropped like a rock, shooting like a maniac with her pistol as she did. Mao wielded his mechanical arms to make mincemeat of whatever Trilid swerved his way, while an emotionally overloaded Tharja eviscerated all comers from the inside out with fearsome dark power. Unfortunately the Phantom Thieves had little choice but to dive headfirst, making use of whatever shields their allies could provide on the way.

Big Band, meanwhile, took his protection into his own hands. Upside down and pushing through the currents thanks to his rockets, the detective deployed his brass cymbal over and over again to parry the Trilid that attacked him, which allowed him to kill them without taking damage if timed right. Of course, he couldn’t always time them right, but the one-man band was made of sterner stuff than most, so even as a handful of the pests crashed into him, he stayed the course. No matter how the wind roared in the heroes’ ears, the clash of his cymbal cut through it, reassuring them that the big guy was still alive and kicking.

Unwilling to allow the Trilid to ruin their big moment, Tora and Poppi quickly changed tactics. At her Masterpon’s request Poppi switched gears into her Alpha form, the heaviest and bulkiest of the three, allowing her to supply Tora with his coveted drill shield. Once angled downward and dialed up to eleven, the drill bit pierced through both the thermal updraft and any Trilid unfortunate enough to charge the pair head-on, while the shield’s rearward boost added to the Poppi’s overall thrust. As small as their shield was, it was enough to make them practically invincible as they dug through the Trilid onslaught, so long as they stayed committed. Even as friends took damage, they couldn’t do much to help other than veer their way slightly, hoping that the streak they carved would help to alleviate their troubles.

Together the seekers weathered the storm, slashing, piercing, dodging, diving, ducking, burning, and bashing. They filled the sky with light and darkness, fire and ice, and mustered all their strength to push through the alien swarm until finally, finally they broke through to the other side. The Trilid supply had been exhausted, many reduced to ash but most harmlessly flown by on their way to the clouds above, and the Seekers of Light remained. As the final stretch opened itself up before them, with Red Eye sitting defenseless at the bottom, they began to pick up speed. Raiden ripped a gruesome path across its body, bleeding the giant Akrid of the T-ENG that flowed like magma from its sallow flesh. With his help, the core was totally exposed.

“Poppi!” Tora roared, his heart beating a mile a minute as he retracted his shield’s drill bit. “Time to combine power!”

“Here goes Poppi!” The two switched places, with Poppi taking over the shield and filling it with channeled ether. “Throttle released! Preparing to strike!”

Nearby, Band shrugged off bug bits and gooey ash from his cymbal, then whipped out his bagpipes. The few notes he belted out were lost in the wind, but the act was nevertheless of vital importance. As Red Eye grew closer and closer, he deployed his giant [url=https://i.imgur.com/ccjIvgc.png]French Horn[/url] and blasted the last couple hundred meters, the wind whipped at what little remained of his hair. “Uuuaaahhh, horn crush!”

“There!” Tora cried, then along with Poppi, screamed out his two favorite words. “JET BITER!”

In quick succession the heroes divebombed Red Eye’s thermal core. Ciella’s frozen comet came down hard enough to not just leave a crater as it shattered, but shove the monster even farther onto the myriad girders that skewered it. Big Band smashed into it with Super Sonic Jazz, then laid waste with a barrage of brass-knuckled punches. “Tubatubatubatubatubatubatubatuba–TUBA!” Next to him Tora and Poppi struck at withering speed, drilling straight into -and then through- the Akrid’s dying body. The impact of Braum’s shield caused a blood-curdling [i]CRACK[/i] to echo across all of Hollow Heights, and the Phantom Thieves became a flurry of black blurs that tore across Red Eye’s final weak spot like ravenous piranhas. Saved from fall damage by the drafts from below, everyone lent their all to this climactic final assault, and when the last Seeker fell upon it the behemoth gave up the ghost at long, long last.

Its body burned up from within, its countless tons of biomass turning to ash in a matter of moments. The Seekers were left to drift down to and grab hold of the steel beams and supports that once held up this section of desert. Perched precariously on one such length, Tora and Poppi held tight, both to one another, and to the knowledge that they’d made it through the action-packed, heart-stopping rollercoaster of a boss fight to somehow claim victory once more.

[hider=Results]
[b]Party:[/b] Tora, Poppi, Big Band, Midna, Sectonia, Primrose, Therion, Jesse, Raz, Raiden
[b]Reward:[/b] 30 EXP[/hider]

Band took a long, slow breath. “Well, it wasn’t easy, and in some ways it’s hollow as these here heights, but we did it. And if we could take out that sonuva gun, I guess there really ain’t nothin’ we can’t do. Even the sky ain’t the limit.” He pulled a fresh hat out from his jacket, dusted some ash off his shoulder with it, then put it on. Up above, the blue sky was beginning to yellow in the west; it wouldn’t be too long until sunset. Sloggin up Split Mountain, skedaddling down, and then nearly getting killed a half-dozen times over a giant Railway Gun was enough to take its toll on any man, and Band for one was just about ready for an early bedtime. Idly he wondered how far the team was from Al Mamoon, and if they could even get there with both train and track totaled.

Still, there was one crucial matter to attend to. The spirit of Red Eye had emerged as the ash of the body that housed it melted away into the abyss, and now it floated in a whorl of crimson light over the open space. “Boss spirit immune to crushing,” Tora said aloud, remembering the dilemma that followed the defeat of both Megadragonbowser and the Ender Dragon. Of all those present, only he and Poppi had the pleasure of being present for the death of another of Galeem’s chosen guardians, so he realized it fell to him to explain.

Before he could say anything, however, a stern voice reached the Seekers from above. “Correct.” They looked up to see a lone figure floating down. It was [url=https://i.imgur.com/nXL03VE.png]Ram[/url], the oddly emotionless brigadier who’d dined on fast food with the team in Al Mamoon last night, then helped them against the great stone snakes above the Graveyard of the Peaks today. At some point she’d exchanged her robe of white, with its strange fleshy lining, for a hooded coat of black. With its zipper undone it flapped in the wind, but Ram took no notice. “If you don’t want it to revive in the next sixty seconds, someone needs to fuse with it,” she explained.

Band’s brows shot up. “Hold on, sixty seconds!? And whaddya mean, ‘fuse’?”

“She mean absorb monster into self, taking on it powers and appearance,” Poppi supplied, relishing the idea about as much as everyone else familiar with the concept, which was to say not at all.

“Huh!?”

The deliberation came to an abrupt end when a black blur swept over the spirit, snatching it up. It came to a stop on a high girder above the others, revealing itself to be Joker. When the young man turned after a moment he held the spirit up in his red-gloved hand, grinning devilishly.

“You’re not…” Mona blinked twice, his eyes wide. “Wait! I know what you’re up to! Nyeheheh, if this works, you’re a real card, Joker!”

Tora looked between the Thieves in bewilderment. “What friends mean!? If Joker fuse with big wormypon, he get even bigger than Railway Gun! That no way to live, meh!”

“Who said anything about fusing?” Joker asked. With his free hand he reached up and took hold of his mask, which turned into a ball of azure flame when removed. “I’ve never met a god that the Wild Card could not overcome. Compared to their like, a monster like this…is nothing at all!” So saying, he took hold of the Red Eye spirit with his flame-wreathed hand. It struggled within his grasp, somehow fighting back against whatever he was doing, but Joker grit his teeth and gripped harder. “I am thou…” he growled. “And thou art I…let the contract be signed…now!” There came a pulse of energy, then silence and stillness. When Joker opened his hand, a mote of light floated up that turned into a new mask. He smiled and put it on, then stretched out his arms. “Manifest. Red Eye!”

Behind him, the behemoth reappeared in a burst of bright blue fire, albeit at only a fraction of the size. It curved around to Joker’s side and opened wide its maw to let out an ethereal roar. “Holy moly, Joker!” Necronomicon exclaimed, the UFO whirling in excitement on his other side while Mona struggled to stay seated on top. “Not only did you actually turn it into a nuclear Persona, but it’s [i]crazy[/i] strong!”

The Thief shrugged and banished Red Eye before placing his hands in his pockets. Doing so nearly caused him to fall off his girder, so he held them out again for balance. “All in a day’s work,” he downplayed, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. “How about we…get out of here?”

At a loss, Band looked over at Ram, but the brigadier seemed less than certain herself. When a few more moments passed with no explosions or violent changes of any kind, he heaved a sigh. “Well, if that takes care of that, by all means. Let’s blow this joint.” It would be a decent climb -or a short flight- to the surface from here, so the battle-weary detective got cracking.

[center][hider=For Big Band]New Power Obtained:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/esKMsiW.png]Take Five[/url][/b] - Big Band’s Outtake. A strategic option taking the form of a high-knockback, non-damaging attack. If a foe is fighting as part of a team, this special attack not only stuns the victim but drags in whatever enemy teammate Band wants. If the foe is alone, this attack prevents the foe healing until the battle is decided

New Strength Obtained:
[b]My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now[/b] - Prolonged overuse of Band’s reconstructed body in extreme conditions has toughened it up somewhat, giving him increased endurance, temperature tolerance, and defense[/hider][/center]

[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
Location: Deep Blue Seaside - Limsa Lominscuttle Town
Level 9 Nadia (3/90)
Blazermate’s [@Archmage MC], Rubick’s [@Scarifar]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2384[/center]

Having taken heart, Nadia descended from the Upper Decks. While the many ropes, nets, walkways, bridges, and beams of Limsa Lominscuttle Town might leave the average newcomer lost and dumbfounded by the complexity of it all, to someone as agile and opportunistic as Nadia Fortune, the whole place might as well be one big jungle gym. She leaped, vaulted, slid, and swung her way down to the Octant, where the majestic, sapphire-blue, crystalline Aetheryte hummed and span softly above the heads of the civilians, who by either whim or necessity found themselves in or passing through the seastack city’s busiest -and most popular- intersection, its living, beating heart.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/f6BzMyb.png[/img][/center]

After she used a taut banner line to pull off a successful triple-backflip, Nadia alighted on the plaza’s white stone bricks with feline grace, landing on her feet as always. While a few passers-by glanced her way, nobody seemed to regard her dynamic entrance, or her appearance for that matter, as anything unusual. Most of the people gathered around the Octant just kept their focus on Shantae’s dance class taking place on the grass ring around the Aetheryte, for obvious reasons. As if the half-genie heroine herself wasn’t eye-catching enough by herself, her expert movements so perfect and fluid as to be mesmerizing, she’d assembled quite the assortment of earnest students. More than a few appeared to be dressed for the occasion, and almost all of them were pretty good, following their instructor’s example nearly to the letter. With all of them together, the synchronized dance became a captivating display of whirling silks, bells, and hair, all flowing to the merry maritime music of a few [url=https://c.tenor.com/iyWg3Y7eefIAAAAC/sea-of-thieves-sea-of-thieves-music.gif]piratical bards[/url] on their concertinas, banjos, drums, and hurdy-gurdies.

Naturally, such a splendid spectacle had drawn a suitably large crowd to watch and cheer the performers on. Now that she'd come down amongst them, Nadia could really appreciate just how clogged with people the Octant was. Even with everyone arranged around the perimeter, there were enough men, women, children, and creatures around to get in the way of people trying to go about their business as usual. In fact, it was a wonder that nobody had toppled backward over the plaza’s knee-high seastone railing yet. As much as she wanted to just jump right in and try her luck, Nadia couldn’t help but hesitate at the edge of the crowd. Maybe it was just her inexperience talking, but these dancers didn’t seem like beginners at all. Some of them were supplementing their dances with spinning rings. While she was no shrinking violet by any stretch of the imagination, there were a [i]lot[/i] of eyes around if she ended up making a fool of herself. In the end Nadia decided to bide her time for a bit. She crouched down and stroked her chin like a philosopher, eyes narrowed. If she could glean a basic idea of what to do before trying to do it, after all, she’d be that much better off.

Try as she might, however, she just couldn’t commit to a serious study of the dancers’ craft. It was just too enjoyable, and too easy to get caught up in the spirit of it all. In no time at all her feet were tap-tap-tapping and her tail was swishing in time to the beat. It took all her willpower not to give in to the urge to spring to her feet and join in the fun. [i]Not yet,[/i] she whispered to herself, aware and frustrated that her internal rebellion made it that much harder to concentrate. She was almost grateful when a hand came down on her shoulder and shattered her focus completely.

Nadia glanced up to see a [url=https://i.imgur.com/FpbUG6L.png]red-haired woman[/url] to her right, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow and a slight but knowing smile. She looked familiar, but the feral couldn’t quite place her. “Looks like you wanna jump in. What’d the hold-up?”

“Heh, that obvious, huh?” Nadia returned the smile, not so self-conscious that she couldn’t laugh at herself being foolish. “Well, I’ve just never tried it before, that’s all. Don’t want to…ya know, ruin it or anythin’.”

The lady crossed her arms. “Oh, yeah? You looked plenty limber hurtling around the city the other night to us. Well, how about this. Guybrush here’s got two left feet, and we’re just about to give it a shot.” On her other side, a good-natured [url=https://i.imgur.com/u7pCOxm.png]blond fellow[/url] gave a friendly wave. Seeing the both of them together jogged Nadia’s memory enough to make her realize where she’d seen them before: laying together up on the grass-topped seastack she scaled on the way to the Blitzball arena. [i]Small world after all![/i] she supposed. “Why not join us?” Elaine asked.

As Nadia mulled over the offer, the pirate’s music came to a sudden crescendo, then finished. The crowd erupted into a mighty round of applause, drowning out any reply she might have made. Some of the dancers bowed out and dispersed into the crowd, while a few of its members jogged up to take their places. Among them went Guybrush and Elaine, the former led by the latter, although the redhead paused for one final glance back at Nadia. It was now or never. [i]Oh well,[/i] she thought with a shrug, then grinned as she reached out a hand. [i]Just for today, I’m going with the flow.[/i] Elaine seized hold and pulled her along.

Nadia and the other newcomers took their place in a circle around the Aetheryte, encouraged by a chorus of cheers from the onlookers. Shantae treated everyone to a big, warm grin. “Alright, everyone!” she sang. “It makes me so happy to see so many fresh faces! This is gonna be great. Just follow along as best you can! Let’s go~!”

The band struck up a fancy tune, Nadia took a deep breath, and Shantae began to [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/3c/c0/593cc0747d2cdcd49dfabd90755af1c1.gif]spin[/url]. Together the dancers launched into action, planting one foot and stamping the other in a circle with arms outstretched. While a little stiff at first, focused completely on the rotation and rhythmic up-down, up-down of her leg, the cat burglar quickly realized that she needed to be moving her hips, arms, and head as well. After three spins, Shantae would sashay from side to side, arms and waist snapping back and forth in sync, then begin a new set of spins. Nadia tried to copy her, and to her surprise found that it wasn’t nearly as much of a struggle as it first seemed. One step at a time she worked to synchronize the movements, keeping her eyes on her fellow dancers so she could follow their example. In doing so she also began to notice that the others weren’t quite as perfect as they first seemed. Maybe everyone was just learning and doing their best, after all! Plus, all around her were fellow catgirls or statuesque, rabbit-eared women, making her own animal features nothing out of the ordinary. Instead of scornful faces, she found only smiles, and kindred spirits. Pretty soon, Nadia’s worries about tripping over her fish-tail, jeering onlookers, and judgemental professionals began to melt away. Her rigid spasms turned to , and the exhilarated beat of her heart chased away the unease that had gnawed at it. She was actually doing it, and it was [i]fun[/i]!

After a few minutes the music suddenly changed, switching from elegant to goofy in a flash. Nadia looked at Shantae in alarm, but found the half-genie heroine giggling as she bounced around in a [url=https://i.redd.it/xy0gcdpm69ay.gif]ridiculous dance[/url] that all the others hurried to emulate. Even members of the outside crowd got in on it. In an instant all of Nadia’s illusions about this being a serious performance were shattered. Though taken aback for a brief moment, she quickly burst out laughing, then joined in, hopping on one leg and swinging her arms with the best of them. Forget dignity and decorum–this was just a rollicking good time. All too soon, the bards’ song came to a thrilling conclusion. Everyone gleefully leaped into the air and landed with arms upheld, surrounded by a cheerful mixture of ovation and mirth.

Nadia, tired but happy, spotted Guybrush and Elaine heading off together as the dancers dispersed. The crowd was in the way of a proper thank-you, but the feral still managed to shoot the pair a grateful smile and mouthed [i]thank you[/i]. If not for their encouragement, she would have missed out big time, and probably never even realized what her hesitance had lost her. As the herd thinned she spotted a distinctive giant ponytail of purple hair, so Nadia made her way over to where Shantae rested on a white stone bench in the shade of the Octant’s leafy green tree. “That was paw-sitively delightful!” she punned, reaching out a hand to shake. “Thank ya so much for puttin’ it on!”

“You’re welcome!” the dancer beamed. “This is your first time with us, right? Well, you could have fooled me! You’re practically a natural!”

Nadia laughed, scratching at the back of her neck as she soaked up the praise. “Ya think so? I’m just glad I didn’t fall flat on my own face, honestly. Compared to li’l ol’ me, you’re practically breathtaking.”

“Aw, you’ve got nothing to worry about. The crowd couldn’t take their eyes off you! You’d better come back tomorrow.” Shantae tilted her head slightly. “Then again, if I remember right, I saw you, like, two days ago with that Peach lady and that big Bowser guy, right? That must mean you’re with the ‘Seekers’?”

Nadia nodded, seeing no reason to hide her affiliation. “Uh-huh! Nice to meetcha, I’m Miss Fortune.”

“A pleasure, Miss Fortune. My name’s Shantae. And wow!” Sheseemed even more impressed. “That makes you extra specially welcome, but maybe you’re moving on to the next big thing pretty soon?” The half-genie heroine crossed her arms. “I mean, if everything I’ve heard is true, you all just rolled into town, un-cursed the Bottomless Sea, and toppled the Abyssal Fleet in what, a day? While we’ve been struggling for months? Sounds like you’re the breathtaking ones.” While still smiling, Shantae looked a little downcast, too. “Compared to all that, I haven't been much of a hero.”

“Oh, go soak your head!” Nadia scoffed, much to Shantae’s surprise. “I’m nobody special. Just some stray in the right place at the right time. If someone like me can be called a hero, anyone can. Plus, good heroes are super modest, right? So I bet you’re secretly, like, the best ever.” Her tail swished back and forth as she put her hands on her hips, an eyebrow raised. “So tell me, Shantae, what does a day in the life of a hero look like?”

The dancer did argue, but rolled with the change of subject. “Well, I guess you got me. Yesterday I went out with a team to track down a fugitive from the city, wanted for murder. A silver-haired swordsman with a long, long blade.”

Nadia’s eyebrows shot up. “No way! I [i]knew[/i] that guy was bad news! Well, sword-a. We only met him earlier that day, but he gave off a bad vibe. You’re saying he went and killed someone in the city?” When her new friend nodded, she shook her head in bemusement. “Jeez. Guess we shoulda left him to die in the Dead Zone. No wonder he didn’t show up the mornin’ we shipped out. Didja get his ass, at least?”

“I think so…” Shantae toyed with her hair uncertainly. “We met someone of that description, sword and all, just chilling in a resort up north. But I guess the initial description was off, because the target was a woman. We put her under arrest, and on the way back she attacked us. For a minute I thought we were done for, but she kept trying to run, and Officer Nanu shut her down every time. After that…well, it was us or her.”

“Sheesh. Well, good on you guys.” Given Sephiroth’s fusion with one of the Cia clones, Nadia felt like she might have an idea about what happened. Just went to show that nobody could afford to be careless, brazen, and murderous all at once. As messed-up as this world was, actions still had consequences. “Anyway, I dunno where we’re headed next. I was thinkin’ of lookin’ at a map or somethin’. Right now though, all I care about’s findin’ somewhere nice we can all pig out for dinner. Got any tips?”

Shantae tapped her index finger on her chin. “Well, there should be a map of the region at the Aftcastle. And for food, if you want the finest dining Limsa has to offer, either Bismarck or Mother of Pearl’s the place to be. One up high, one out on Galdin Quay in the north shore district. That said, my favorite is Rum for Ale. While I don’t drink, and I don’t know where ‘Cuba’ is, the flavor of the food there is to die for.”

“Never heard of Cuba either, but good to know! Thanks for everything, Shantae.” Looking down at the donations box, Nadia gave it a nudge with her foot. “I’d drop ya a tip, but I don’t have anythin’ on me right now.” As she said it, the feral couldn’t help but feel as if something was wrong. She scrunched her brows together as she patted herself down, realizing that her new jean shorts didn’t even have pockets. [i]But if I don’t have pockets,[/i] she thought, [i]where…is my room key?[/i]

As horrific reality dawned on her, Nadia’s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped. “Uh oh.” While Shantae looked on in concern she sprinted off toward the Bulwark Hall, headed toward the elevator that would take her back to the Mizzenmast Inn, where her room waited for her with its door ever-so-slightly ajar, and not a single golden coin to be found inside.

[center][h3]Cerberus[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Deep Blue Seaside, Kanzuki Beach Estate
Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN], Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee], Sakura and Karin's [@Zoey Boey], Link’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy][/center]

When Link approached the Triple Demon, he found the three in a much better state than he left them in. Practically the moment Karin gave them her blessing, her butler Ishizaki and several of the Kanzuki ninjas had swept the would-be freeloaders up to give them a much-needed hand. Running rampant over the buffet table in utter disarray, soaked to the bone and plastered with sand, would behoove nobody after all, and it was patently obvious they had no plans to help themselves other than to Karin’s barbeque. In a matter of moments the three bedraggled, waterlogged messes, with their nice suits and long white hair in a sorry state, had been toweled off, brushed up, and given spare sundresses to change into, with their garb washed off and hung up on the railing of the beach house’s deck to dry. Link found them sitting in a circle on a giant striped beach towel in their fresh clothes, eyes bright and tails wagging as they chowed down on plates of leftover meat.

“Thanks!” they chorused as they accepted the hero’s offerings without a second thought, so quickly in fact that none of the triplets took the correct color-coded drink. Luckily, if the way they gulped their mango smoothies down was any indication, they liked the stuff plenty anyway. Cerberus didn’t seem to even consider the possibility that Link bore them any ill will from their fight, as intense as it had gotten, and they certainly didn’t bear him any. It didn’t take much time spent watching or listening to them as they squabbled or bubbled about this or that to get the impression that the triplets shared a forthright, one-track mind, blunt and -despite their earlier stated intentions of corrupting the mortal realm- rather happy-go-lucky. They were beings without subtext, enthusiastic but endearingly empty-headed–sort of like dogs.

Two of them shuffled over to make room for Link to join them, and while they kept snacking afterward, the one across from Link considered his request as she scratched her ears. With all three in matching sundresses, they were just as identical as when they first emerged from the Evergaol, with only the color of their eyes telling them apart. “Heehee, did you forget already?” Cerberus grinned at Link. She sneezed abruptly, then leaned back with her palms on the beach towel. “That was a jail! We were stuck in there forever, and it was awful! Dunno who put us there, or how. One day we were at home, everything business as usual, yeah? Then all these pillars of light showed up outta nowhere! We thought angels had come to send us back to hell. Everything went white. After that…” She squinted as if trying to see her memories better, and the others’ feast ground to a perplexed stop. “It was weird. Hard to remember. Like a bad dream. Nothing made sense. We just got jumbled around a lot. We fell into this giant dog monster with three heads, like us. Except it [i]was[/i] us. Dunno. Then finally…something. Some kind of faraway place. Didn’t recognize it, but better than nothing, right? But no matter how hard we reached, we just couldn’t…couldn’t get there.”

Cerberus sighed. She fell back against the towel, her hair splaying out beneath her. “Next thing we know, we’re thrown in jail. The world was right outside, but it’s like we were trapped in this weird limbo. Sometimes ghosts would come around, but no matter what we did they ignored us. So we were alone. Stuck with this horrible feeling…like we lost out. Like the mailman gave everyone their letters, but we got left in the bag. Like he couldn’t figure out where we were supposed to go, and it was [i]our[/i] fault!?” Her brows furrowed as her lip curled. “No way in hell! Damn mailman. Screwed up, then left us to rot! You said you’re fighting whoever it was, right? Well, lemme at ‘em! We’ll feast on his flesh, and gnaw on his bones!”

As the others echoed her conviction, Cerberus angrily bit into a smoked drumstick, ripping off its succulent, flavorful flesh as if it were the throat of the mailman she spoke of. After a few bites, however, her flared-up temper began to subside. “At least sleeping in that purple crack passed the time faster,” she said with her mouth full. “Since the jail’s for losers, we just had to wait and hope someone’d spring it eventually, so we could kick some ass and get out. And here we are! That’s all there is to it, I think.” With a bright smile the demon downed the rest of her drink.

It wasn’t too long before Cerberus took note of a gathering nearby. Karin, Geralt, and the Koopa Troop had all assembled to build sand castles, whether for the purpose of destressing or socialization, but by their collective efforts the construction of a great sand city was well underway. Its citadels, fortresses, battlements, and parapets slowly took shape, painstakingly molded together by both the builders’ hands and their tools, and seeing it all come together intrigued the Triple Demon greatly. “What’s that?” they wondered, naturally gravitating toward people and wanting to be involved. Together they got up and jogged over to join in the fun, and while terrible at first and comically oblivious to the importance of the architectural detail that Karin went to great lengths to recreate, they were eager to learn.

Once sufficiently instructed to keep their goofing off at a safe distance from the young woman’s creations, they spent a little while making lots of haphazardly-placed towers with their buckets before they decided to see who could build the biggest one. In a mad scramble to do so they ended up digging a couple bathtub-sized pits in the beach, mostly with their hands, and when the blue-eyed triplet tripped and fell in the others wasted no time burying her up to the neck. None of them paid any attention to the conversation between Geralt and Karin, although when Sakura arrived and a fight seemed to be brewing they perked up their ears and looked on with interest. It took a minute to get going, but when it did Cerberus pumped their fists in excitement and goaded the combatants on. “Fight, fight, fight!” they cheered, eager to see what the new girl and the big guy could do.

[center][h3]The Chalk Prince, the Fallen Child, and the Skullgirl[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Frozen Highlands - Snowy Forest
Linkle’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy], Frisk’s [@Majoras End][/center]

In just a few moments Linkle and Frisk managed to indulge their curiosity, but beyond the few nuggets of wisdom and information the clerics saw fit to dispense, Albedo saw no further reason to engage with them. His companions came to the same unspoken conclusion, and when the child ventured that the three should continue onward, Albedo nodded his assent. Before long the body of the Gammoth would be totally stripped of all its meat and useful materials, which might go on to feed and arm small communities like Snowdin across the Frozen Highlands. Even beyond that, though, these holy hunters had their own business to attend to, and Albedo’s group theirs. When Linkle bowed Tatiana curtseyed in return, her smile warm enough to blunt the bite of the woodland’s cold winds. “May grace shine upon you,” she told them. She then turned along with D, who gave only a stiff nod by way of farewell, and the both of them headed back to their fellowship.

Soon Linkle returned, coasting down the ridge on her sled. She cruised past trees and fragments of the nearby ruins in a flurry of powder kicked up by her sled’s runners, and at one point even took flight thanks to a small snow drift. It looked like such simple, childlike fun that Albedo made a mental note of it. When everything blew over and all was as it should be once more, Klee might get a real kick out of an afternoon spent sledding down Dragonspine’s tamer slopes. The tough part would be convincing Acting Grandmaster Jean, but then again, how could she object to a proposal that would keep the mischievous Spark Knight entertained without the risk of dynamite fishing or forest fires? When Linkle pulled up and sprang to her feet, that made all three members ready to go, so the next leg of their journey northwest could begin.

While the idea of scrounging the ruins for treasure did not escape Albedo’s mind, the weathered edifice didn’t seem that large or intricate to begin with, and the trio didn’t have a wealth of time to spend on a detour anyay. In this region it was harsh and cold enough in broad daylight, so he did not relish the prospect of spending any more time than he absolutely had to out in the frozen wilderness at night, when the silvery light of the moon and stars would be the only thing between hapless explorers and pitch blackness. Besides, if this forest was as well-traveled as the sizable crew of clerics made it appear, anything of value had probably been picked from those ruins long ago. Accordingly, the alchemist did not give them a second thought as he set off, leading the way for Linkle and Frisk toward the lonely mountain that towered above the northwestern coast. He suspected that for anyone else from his world, Dragonspine would be cold comfort as the sole element from Teyvat to make it here, but it suited Albedo just fine. Its beauties and its perils alike were well known to him, a welcome source of familiarity in this strange and unpredictable world. Before they reached Dragonspine, however, there would be plenty more winter wonderland to grapple with. 

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SsNqw4n.jpg[/img][/center]

As the three pushed onward through the silent woods, the trees gradually began to thin, but as the foliage grew more sparse Albedo noticed a handful of unusually large specimens. They followed a frozen river as it wound through the forest, past rotund hills that sat alongside the icy water like giant layer cakes covered in frosting. Pretty soon the path narrowed into a snowy gulch between the hills, scarcely wider than the river itself and lined by trees on either side. Overhead the sky remained a moody gray, but with only moderate snowfall visibility was still pretty good, and with drifts smaller than the woodlands’ the going was easier, too.

Only one thing kept Albedo on edge: the odd snow formations that seemed to be growing more frequent as he, Linkle, and Frisk proceeded through the canyon. They took the shape of bulbous piles and small spires, making it easy to imagine something concealed behind or even within them that could jump out any second. He kicked a couple to make sure, but the splashes of ordinary snow did little to set his mind at ease. Worse still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, but no matter where he looked he saw only earth, snow, and trees. It got to the point that when one finally did move, the alchemist wasn’t even surprised. His weapon manifested in his hand in an instant as he prepared to attack, but as he stood there with his sword drawn, the [url=https://i.imgur.com/ReeYssc.png]snowman[/url] in front of him did nothing more than mill about aimlessly. It gave no sign at all that it noticed Albedo’s presence, let alone his implicit threat. In the area ahead he spotted a couple more, all wandering with neither rhyme nor reason. After several seconds the alchemist relaxed with a sigh, but he did not allow the Cinnabar Spindle to fade away. “Do not let down your guard. This area is ripe for an ambush,” he whispered just loud enough for the others to hear. “We may as well get it over with, don’t you think?”

He stepped forward and sliced the harmless snowman in two. Its top half fell to the snow with a plop, the pieces of its coal face arranged in a frown. There came a series of crunches as nearby snow piles began to move. “As I thought,” Albedo said, readying his blade. “Get your victims used to something odd but harmless, then after they’ve strolled into the belly of the beast, spring the trap.” He watched with narrowed eyes as [url=https://i.imgur.com/9a1j7Fy.png]Sir Slushes[/url] took form, grimacing at the trio as they packed snow together into rock-hard snowballs to hurl with pinpoint accuracy. When the first one let fly, its projectile would have struck Albedo square in the throat if he didn’t manage a deft block with the flat of his swordblade. It was an ambush, but since he triggered it early, only a handful of the total enemy force was close enough to engage his team. Of course, he suspected that if Linkle felt like it, an entire army of snowmen would be no match no matter how good their aim was. The [url=https://i.imgur.com/E6dkoj9.png]smaller snowmen[/url] were cute, and their ice looked more dangerous, but not by much. There was [url=https://i.imgur.com/nfIzeaN.png]one[/url] at least who looked like a nasty customer, maybe the ringleader of the whole gang, but he was a ways off and not too fast by the looks of him. “Nothing like a little exercise to get the blood flowing,” he quipped dryly. “Do take care not to go too overboard.”

The Sir Slush hurled his second snowball, but this time Albedo rose out of the way on top of a Solar Isotoma, spawned in secret beneath the snow. He kicked off, using the golden platform as a footstool to leap straight toward his frosty foe, his sword upheld for a mighty overhead chop aimed straight for the monster’s top hat.