[center][h3]Tora, Poppi, and Big Band[/h3] [b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky Level 9 Tora (219/90) Level 9 Poppi (219/90) Level 7 Big Band (47/70) 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, Tharja, Ciella [b]Word Count:[/b] 1690[/center] Despite Tora’s proclamation, there would be no such thing as getting comfortable out on the scorching desert sands under the ruthless glare of the sun, especially after an irate Big Band rolled his eyes and moved to deprive the incorrigible Nopon of his shade. With the sun well into its descent its rays weren’t as intense as they would be at noon, but the Sandswept Sky had made the most of an entire day to soak up its warmth and create a layer of sweltering residual heat, so there was no relief in sight. Tora quickly found out that Poppi had no intention of exhausting her entire ether supply in a bid to keep her Masterpon cool, and that he would receive no such preferential treatment from the team’s other purveyors of cold either, so as far as he was concerned things were looking grim. Fortune was still smiling on Tora and his merry band, however, and Sectonia’s bottomless bag of tricks saved the day once again. She conjured a handful of huge crystals overhead, covering a wide area in shade. What light filtered through the magical gemstone lattice turned all the colors of the rainbow, while the heat got absorbed by the crystal above. The desert’s residual heat still smoldered around them, but with the sun effectively blocked it was a lot better. Poppi, the Ice Antlions, and Goemon had less heat to contend with as well, so their efforts to beat the heat went a lot farther. In its shelter the victorious heroes could actually take a load off and wind down from their unforgettable experience. From the looks of it, Therion planned to stick with the Seekers, after all. While he didn’t really know the man yet, or what he could do to help out other than press buttons, Tora was glad to have him. In the two days he, Poppi, and the others had been traipsing across the Sandswept Sky, the position of stoic, pragmatic rogue had gone unfulfilled, courtesy of the Courier’s sudden, inexplicable departure. Of course, they had the Phantom Thieves, but their brand of rebellious and stylish didn’t quite fit the bill. With the gunslinger still nowhere to be seen after all this time, not even showing up at the eleventh hour to save the day during the biggest boss fight of Tora’s life, the Nopon couldn’t help but think he was gone for good. So Therion was welcome, and the rotund engineer resolved to do better by this man than the last. The thief inquired about payment, a subject near and dear to Tora’s heart. He had a lot to say on the subject, so much so that by the time he’d inhaled enough to fill his lungs, Midna cut in front of him. She mentioned Princess Peach as a potential source of remuneration, after which Tora launched into speech. “Tora sure hope so, meh! We out here risking life and limb, burning alive, freezing solid, flying around, fighting big bugs and small bugs and bomby bugs and all sorts of horrible rubbish. Tora should be rolling in cash!” He flopped back down on his back, only to get nudged in his side by Poppi. “Uh, friends too, meh.” Poppi nodded slowly. Given everything that happened, even an Artificial Blade feeling weary wasn’t out of the question. “Back in Alrest, our group get money by completing quests, slaying monsters, salvaging, and selling collectibles. But here, we not really have time for anything but main mission.” After seating herself by Tora, she crossed her arms atop her knees. “Back in Al Mamoon, we only had time for one quest, and other than that, best we got was loot from mountain catacombs.” “Mm-hm. Couldn’t buy much.” Tora looked sad. “Meh-meh. Usually, we very thorough. Scrape every corner for goody-goodies. But this team not have time for picking places clean, and it job of tank to be up in front, meh.” He sighed. “Once Tora get paid, first thing to do is eat own weight in Tasty Sausage!” His companion shook her head with a wry smile. “If Masterpon overstuff himself, all that food could go to waste, and then Masterpon right back at square one.” She tilted her head a little and looked at Therion. “That remind Poppi, though. One silver lining is that in both places we save so far, everyone so grateful that they give us food and shelter for free. Maybe Validar in Al Mamoon do same.” Until now Band had been sitting nearby, content to listen to the others talk while he fanned himself with his hat, but now he broke his silence. “Hmph,” he grunted, his brows skeptical. “Somethin’ tells me Validar ain’t gonna be as accommodatin’. You mighta saved those other places, but the big grub wasn’t goin’ anywhere up on that mountain. Way he likely sees it, we were just cleanin’ up the mess we made. Man’s too deliberate, if you get what I’m sayin’.” He glanced at Ciella, but the rabbit-eared archer just shrugged. “Don’t kid yourselves. For unleashing such a threat upon the Eastern Desert and endangering Al Mamoon, I’m sure he would hold you personally responsible.” “Figures.” Band huffed. “No wonder you didn’t shoot out any of the statues up there.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “What’re you still ‘round for now the job’s done, anyhow? You ain’t plannin’ to tag along, are ya?” Ciella snorted in indignation and looked away. “Just catching my breath before I fly back. [i]My[/i] mission is far from over.” “Ughhhhh,” the Nopon moaned. “Tora just want out of sandyland, meh. It feel like we here forever.” [i]And yet, we’ve seen so little[/i], Band mused. This went double for him, seeing as he only joined forces with the Seekers in Al Mamoon, roughly two thirds across the Sandswept Sky from the point that the team evidently departed. This region seemed stupidly vast, ostensibly barren and inhospitable, but who knew how many more hidden temples, ancient ruins, and unfathomable secrets lay scattered across it? Just Split Mountain on its own had been like a realm unto itself, from the alpine wilderness and frosty heights above, to frozen caverns and accursed catacombs below. Just who was that giant, entombed in the ice? That big bear who slumbered in with his snout in autumnal redwood forest and his rump in winter wonderland? He remembered seeing lights in the windows of that convent, nestled as it was in the inhospitable Graveyard of the Peaks. Maybe the treasure troves Tora dreamed of did lie undisturbed in the Inner-Mountain’s dark recesses even now, their gems and baubles never to see the light of day. For Band, however, the prospect of inordinate wealth didn’t ruffle his feathers. Just the chance to do real, tangible good for the people of the world was more than he was used to, and that was what he wanted the most. The detective evaluated the group. Able to take a break at long last, the airborne mages Midna and Sectonia could set themselves down at last, and do little more than converse as they saw fit. Now that Therion was with the group officially, he and Primrose could reconnect properly. The Phantom Thieves sat off to the side in their own little group, talking among themselves. Even with the desert heat, Skull and Panther in particular didn’t seem to mind sitting very close together indeed. Only Joker really kept quiet, though he did scratch at Mona’s ears just like a cat’s. Braum had planted his shield in the sand at an angle and reclined on its cold-enchanted surface with his arms behind his head, dozing away. When Raz mentioned a shower, Poppi offered to switch to her Water Core and douse him, which promised to leave him both clean and cool in the desert breeze. Now that he’d given his name and formally pledged his blade to the cause, Raiden received both a literal and figurative warm welcome from the others, even the Scout. When he got the chance, Band made sure to introduce himself in return. “I’m all there of the most real,” he said in customary fashion. “Big Band. You got yourself some sharp notes there, son. I’m sure we’ll play together just fine.” “Poppi is Poppi!” the Artificial Blade told Raiden. “Am Tora!” her Nopon creator added without sitting up. That left just a couple others. Like Joker, Jesse remained taciturn, although not in a hostile way. Maybe she just wasn’t used to a group this big, or more likely, how strange its members were. For Band’s part, working for the Anti-Skullgirl Labs did a lot to desensitize him to colorful characters. Mao and Fox weren’t around, but with how aloof they’d been, Band wondered how soon he’d see them again. That just left Tharja, who the others had left alone with her grief–everyone except Peacock, at least. The crazy little redhead and her zany gang of minions seemed to have surrounded the dark mage with their hijinx, either trying to lift her mood or just distract her from her misery. To their credit, Tharja looked gloomy and annoyed, but not miserable, so maybe it was working. Band closed his eyes. As much as it hurt to lose Robin, he was grateful that nobody else had died over the course of the Seekers’ journey. Even Sora and Yoshitsune, gravely wounded by the Wendigo underground, were going to be okay, and Laharl didn’t seem like the type to go off and die in a blizzard. That almost everyone made it was a miracle, considering what they’d been through, and it was one for which Big Band was profoundly grateful. “Ey, pops!” Band opened his eyes to see Peacock standing in front of him, her mechanical arms crossed. “I told Miss Diaphanous over there you could belt out a mean tune, and wouldn’tcha know it, she wants an earful. I’ve gotten more than enough earfuls from you ovah the ears, but howsaboutcha play ‘er a li’l somethin’-somethin’, eh?” The detective smiled as he rose to his feet, shaking the sand off. “I’d be happy to.” [center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3] [b]Location:[/b] Deep Blue Seaside - Limsa Lominscuttle Town Level 9 Nadia (12/90) [b]Word Count:[/b] 4518[/center] “You’re DOG FOOD!” Flush with anger and scowling ferociously, the so-called Pirate Lord Barth clenched his teeth and began to hoist himself up over the bar. In his single-minded fury to get at Nadia and rip her limb from limb he nearly sent the burglar’s gold-laden bag to the floor, which the indignant thief narrowly managed to yank out of the way in time. “Watch it!” he snapped as he stumbled out of his chair, his efforts to play it cool ruined. With a curled lip the man resigned himself to an ungainly barfight, which he started with a bang by kicking his barstool out of the way. Nearby, all three of the hooligans rose from their booze-soaked table at about the same time, either eager to fight or just to follow along. The bearded cat-caller owned a hatchet slung across his back, but rather than wield it alongside Barth he just cracked his knuckles, ready to brawl. Though the five made for an intimidating sight, especially with Barth just about to charge Nadia down like a raging bull, the feral had a more immediate problem to worry about: the oversized gecko between her and the swinging saloon doors. Her eyebrows furrowed. She’d pretended to forget about the guy whilst trading barbs with the boss, but she bet her bottom dollar he meant to grapple her from behind and hold her like firewood for Barth to hack apart. Sure enough, the creak of aged planks behind her made her cat ears twitch; there was no time to lose. She spread her arms suddenly, unleashing a voluminous splash of blue blood that coalesced into three feline doppelgangers. Her copycats surged forward like a tidal wave, catching her foes off guard just enough that they couldn’t react in time. Barth’s wild swing cleaved straight through the first one, but it wasn’t enough to stop her, and all three mimics pounced on him in a triple tackle that knocked him right off his feet and smashed him through his lackeys’ table. All of them went down in a tremendous crash that caught the slack-jawed trio mid-rise, and in one big burst of wood chips and lifeblood the crew went down with their captain. Only the thief escaped the destruction, but with the mess in his way he had to go around. Unfortunately, Nadia couldn’t afford to relish the havoc caused by her copycats. Right after dispatching them she’d twisted halfway around, grabbing her wrist with her other hand, then in a blast of blood launched her elbow right into the pirate Techo’s snout, aiming for the bandage. “Gyahh!” he grunted, his headlock foiled and his hands instinctively clapped on his nose. With a snarl he pulled his right back for a haymaker hook punch, but Nadia was faster. She moved in with a double claw slice, left then right, then a back-leg round that flowed smoothly into a turn kick. Her foot planted in the Techo’s belly, prompting a gasp, and with a grin on her face Nadia raised her arms for a big X-Scrape Claws to finish him off. Her opponent had other plans. Recovering faster than she thought, he lunged forward and latched onto her forearms with his big, clammy hands, stopping her cold. He then leaned back, using his tail as a support so that he could pick up one big, muscular leg and kick her right in the ribcage. Instead, Nadia detached her arms at the biceps and headbutted the Techo right in the schnozz. “GYAHH!” He released Nadia’s arms as he stumbled backward, his hands on his poor nose again. The feral rolled after him, sticking her arms back on as she tumbled, and flipped over to launch a point-blank [url=https://i.imgur.com/uU3mVcr.png]Fibber Upper[/url], propelled to new heights by her internal purr-essure. “Hasta l’away-go!” Her legs’ explosive full extension blew the Techo through the saloon doors, across the boardwalk, and into the murky seawater below. A booming laugh reached Nadia’s ears, and in the middle of her extension she looked up to see Barth almost upon her. Though roughed-up from her doubles’ stunt earlier, he’d broken free from the mayhem and thundered across the bar toward Nadia, his axe held overhead with the murderous intent of an executioner. Her eyes went wide, and she snapped together again like a rubber band, yanking her upper half out from under him to rejoin her legs in midair. Barth’s axe came down on nothing, splitting apart several planks of the Sturmbreacher’s wooden floor but missing his target completely. “Huh!?” “Nice try, Pirate Lard!” The big oaf rubbernecked upward, his face twisted by the transformation of gleeful assurance into angry confusion. He found Nadia clinging to the wall above the door where the momentum of her snap-back carried her, a gleeful smirk stretched ear to ear. Much to the feral’s delight, it looked like he had yet to understand her true ability, having only just come to terms with her copycats. “What, cat got your tongue?” As he lifted up his axe, Nadia kicked off the wall in a blood jet, somersaulted in midair, and landed on Barth’s face with a double stomp that bent him backward and carried him into the floor. He swung at her even still, but she was already gone, having rolled forward and sprung to her feet. As Barth fought to get back up, frothing with both swears and spittle the whole time, Nadia got a look at how his mooks were doing. After they decked the head honcho, her copycats tried to pin her opposition down as long as they could in order to buy the original time. One lay in a puddle on the floor thanks to Barth, leaking down into the grooves between the planks, but the others managed to keep the bearded catcaller and the boozy lass down. Only the masked guy was on his feet, but his attempts to get the girl free had gotten him slapped around by her captor’s fishtail. “Ouchie!” he yelped, his palm on his stinging cheek. “Cooooooole!” his little friend blubbered, face-down and too sloshed to do anything but struggle weakly beneath the weight of Nadia’s copycat. “I’m stuuuuuuck!” “‘Old on, Ducky!” With his other hand the dude reached down to his pouch, from which he produced a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Xs0YVGO.png]sea-blue sphere[/url], a little like the balls that Nadia remembered Junior tossing around. “R-roight then!” he stammered, breathing deep to center himself. “Up an’ at ‘em, Pudgy!” He tossed the ball, and in a burst of light a [url=https://i.imgur.com/tsxovJg.png]big seal[/url] manifested. Nadia’s eyebrows rose. [i]Oh no, it’s cute![/i]. At her trainer’s behest the Sealeo shot the copycat holding the scoundrel girl down with Ice Beam, freezing it solid. “That’s it, Pudgy!” the bandit cheered. “Let’s get it off Ducky, quick now!” Together he and his Pokemon started kicking, shoving, and otherwise beating the frozen clone to get it off. It was actually kind of sweet in a way, but Nadia had already paid the pair’s antics too much attention. The bearded catcaller had fared better against his assailant. After taking a series of punishing slugs and knees his copycat had lost too much mass to sustain herself and plopped down, allowing the brigand to get back up. Now he shuffled toward her in stance, his fists raised like a boxer, and the white-haired thief strolled after him. Behind her, Barth was nearly back up, too. Nadia moved in. She and the brigand closed the distance in a second. Knowing that she had only a couple seconds to deal with the thug before his friend joined in the fun, Nadia went low beneath his right cross. As she ducked she moved past him, slapped him in the face with her fishtail, and elbowed him in the spine. He turned with a full-force backhand, poised to knock her block off with one massive hammerfist, but Nadia popped her head up and out of the way. He followed through with a mighty hook to the feral’s ribs, and it hurt like hell, but it wasn’t enough to stop her. “Head’s up!” She caught her head and slammed it into the brigand’s like a rock. A loud [i]BONK[/i] rang out as both staggered, but with his temple struck versus Nadia’s parietal, the catcaller had it a lot worse. Before she could fully recover, the thief made his move. He threw his grappling hook and ensnared Nadia’s leg, which he yanked out from under her using both hands. She went down hard enough to knock the wind from her lungs. As he dragged her across the floor Nadia passed the leftovers of a copycat, which she strained to reach out for and absorb. The clever thief slung his rope over a hook hanging from the ceiling, coiled the line, then used his body weight to hoist Nadia into the air, where she dangled by one leg. Just as she got her breath back she received a sharp kick to the back of her head, hard enough to prompt a grimace and screw her eyes shut. “Oww!” When she opened one she got an upside-down look at both the brigand and Barth storming her way, axes in hand. The boss shoved his lackey aside, however, and closed in as he wound up a timber-felling chop. “Oh, crumbs.” She detached her leg at the thigh and dropped to the ground just as Barth swung. His mighty overswing left him off balance, and as Nadia came down hardened her ears to stick in the floor. From there she rotated at the neck to pull off a [url=https://i.imgur.com/OlwjdAX.png]Wheel of Fortune[/url] to cut into barth’s belly with tail and talon alike. “Spin cycle!” She ended with a flourish, holding herself up by her hands with her stump aimed behind her as a thruster and her other leg extended. “Off your feet!” The sweep to Barth’s knee dropped him to the floor for a third time, where he landed hard with a garbled howl. As he fell Nadia rose, a new mimic leg growing to replace that limb that was still tied up. Unfortunately, the brigand cut short her cool pose as he surged in. He planted his foot hard enough to shake the floorboards, but instead of coming down, his axe went low. “Agh, kitty litter!” Nadia cursed when the blow opened her up, bloodying her good leg. [i]I hate blocking! I hate blocking![/i] The brigand swung upward, replacing the axe on his back as he kicked her. He continued the combo with a burst of body blow and ended with an uppercut. After that he reached back and pulled out his axe for a massive overhead chop, but in the clarity that accompanied her numbness, Nadia got an inkling that his finisher couldn’t be true. She let out a burst of blood and backdashed out of harm’s way to land on top of the bar. Determined to not give her a moment to breathe, the thief sliced at her calves with a dagger, but Nadia cartwheeled out of the way along the countertop. “Nuh uh!” Her hand closed around the neck of a beer bottle, and the next second it hurled the brigand’s way. To the feral’s chagrin it missed, but there were plenty more where those came from. “Drinks on me!” As the two men chased after her she absolutely pelted them with bottles. They pushed through, shielding their eyes from shattered glass and fiery grog, until Nadia switched things up by hurling her own hardened fishtail like a big battle-axe of her own. The sharp-eyed thief ducked, but the brigand took it to the chest and bowled over backward to land on and crash through a stool. “Nyahaha, can’t hold your liquor!” Soaked in alcohol and spiked by splinters, he attempted to rise, but Barth stepped on his chest as he made a beeline for his nemesis. At some point the thief had retrieved his grappling hook. Now it whirled around in his grasp, primed for another expert throw, but to Barth it was just in the way. “MOVE!” He elbowed the thief into the bar and stomped past, only for his underling to spring toward him and jam his dagger right into the ringleader’s gut. “GRAGH!” Barth howled, his rancor changing targets in an instant. “WHAT THE HELL!?” The sunset light of Galeem burned like coal in the thief’s eyes. “Don’t you ever touch me, you cretin! You hear me!?” As the two began their own fight Nadia crouched down on the bar, using the chance to take a deep breath. “So much for our honorable thief duel later,” she murmured. Still, if not exactly what she planned, she’d avoided hitting her fellow burglar on purpose, so this worked out well enough. Her break came to an abrupt end when an Ice Beam blasted her back off the bar and froze her to the shelves behind. “Oof!” she gasped, her eyes on Ducky and Cole as they approached. The girl swayed drunkenly, but she held a table leg almost as big as she was like a greatclub, and Cole wielded twin chair legs as he stood by Pudgy the Sealeo. Nadia smiled. “Ice to meetcha.” “Loikewise!” Cole chucked his table legs like throwing knives. Nadia rolled her head from one side to the other to avoid them, then shot it in a spurt of blood. The sight of the head flying toward him, mouth wide open and fangs exposed, shocked Cole so badly he couldn’t move. “Wot the!? Gaaaagh!” “Omnomnomnom!” Nadia’s head darted around his body, biting again and again. “Oogh, ow, eek!” Cole squealed. “Ducky, you gotta help me! Ducky!” The girl shambled toward him, lifting up her table leg. “...I got it. Hold…still!” Her friend’s eyes went wide. “W-wait, no!” [i]BONK![/i] As Cole fell like a sack of bricks, Ducky bent over him. “Did…did I get it? Hic!” “Oof, right on the noggin!” Nadia’s head remarked cheerfully, very much not gotten. Frightened, Ducky lifted her impromptu bludgeon for another swing, but Nadia’s head rolled back. From her neck flew a spray of blue blood, right into Ducky’s eyes. The girl yelped and fell backward thanks to her oversized weapon, which left just one problem. “Ee!” Pudgy grumbled as she flopped toward Nadia’s head, trying to squash it. With a yowl the feral flipped her head upside down, and using her ears like tiny legs she took off running. The bizarre chase went on for a couple moments, beneath tables and chairs, as Nadia worked her body free from the ice. Finally she broke out, the crash loud enough to get Pudgy’s attention. “Ee?” Barely had the Pokemon looked over, however, then the body landed on her flabby back and bounced off her like an exercise ball. “Oh!” she grunted, turning back to see Nadia’s head and body reunited once more. The feral dashed in, but when Pudgy scrunched up to block, she got thrown instead. Nadia wrapped the Sealeo up in a [url=https://i.imgur.com/qwmCCOt.png]yarn ball of muscle fiber[/url], spinning her around and around. A few feet away, Cole and Ducky both sat up, ready to vent their frustrations. Before they could start arguing, their eyes settled on the giant ball of blue tissue rolling straight toward them, and in comedic fashion they grabbed onto one another while screaming. Nadia’s ball rolled them over and exploded through the bar, where it unwound to leave the catgirl back in one piece and the odd pair in a dazed heap with their Sealeo. “And that seals the deal, whew!” Nadia sighed, stretching before she pulled out and flicked away a wood chip. She spotted the thief’s bag on the counter, full of her stolen gold, and scooped it up to wear over her shoulder. Only then did she become aware of labored breathing and turn to see Barth, supporting himself on the bar with one hand while the other staunched a stab wound in his midsection. Behind him a body lay in two halves on the floor, half-dissolved into ash in a pool of blood. Nadia’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a real vicious sonuva bitch, huh, Barf?” The so-called Pirate Lord chuckled darkly, his bloody teeth bared in a gruesome grin. Nearby the bearded brigand pulled himself up too. Nadia circled toward the door, unsteady on her mimic leg. [i]Can’t leave my real leg behind[/i] she realized. [i]Or my tail, for that matter.[/i] She scanned the floor but found no sign, even when she gave a mental signal for it to kick a little. “Lookin’ for this, ya freak?” Nadia locked onto Barth to find him holding her twitching leg on the counter. With one giant mitt he held it down, and with the other he held up his bloody axe. “You…” “I figured it out,” he growled. “All yer bits are still alive, wherever they might be.” The man lifted his axeblade. “Which means ye can still feel THIS!” Fear curdled in Nadia’s stomach. He was going to chop her, just like Dahlia did, and she was too far away to do a thing about it. “Dammit!” In an instant her blood pressure maxed out, and she remembered her idea from earlier. [i]Now’s as good a time as any.[/i] “DIE!” In a blast of blood she launched her arm, connected by cords of muscle fiber. Her punch hurtled across the room like a miniature rocket, missed Barth’s ugly mug, and shattered a bottle on the shelf behind him. Nadia grit her teeth, despair threatening to well up inside her as she dreaded the all-too-familiar agony soon to come. Of [i]course[/i] she wasn’t going to hit the first time she tried this; why didn’t she practice earlier!? But wait. The combination of her vehement outburst, plus the unexpected projectile, had given Barth pause. He thought her long-range punch was going to hit him, and when it missed, the big lout couldn’t help but look over his shoulder to see what it hit. [i]Now’s still my chance![/i] Nadia seized the shattered glass, ignoring how it pierced her, and snapped back on her arm. In an instant her limb retracted, pulling along with it a fistfill of glass that sliced through Barth’s face as it went. A wordless scream erupted from him along with the blood, and his hands went to his face. Nadia grimaced as she retracted her arm, pulling her leg through and reabsorbing her last copycat puddle as she did. No matter how bad a man Barth might be, the grisly wound turned her stomach, and his cries of agony chilled her spine. Regret gnawed at her insides as she searched for justification. [i]There was no time,[/i] she thought. [i]It was my only choice. He probably deserves it.[/i] But it didn’t make her feel any better, and seeing the look on the faces of Barth’s crew made it worse. With her ears flattened in horror and her mind racing, Nadia didn’t hear the creak of footsteps behind her. Not until the knife pierced her back. “Huuuuh…” she gasped, eyes wide as shock and pain filled her body. Her vision lost focus, and her head lost forward as shadow crept across her face. “Hagh…hagh…” Behind her, Red Band Rita bared her teeth in an ugly, crooked smile. “‘Ow’s it feel? ‘Matey’…” Her hand came to rest on Nadia’s shoulder, sliding up toward the neck. “Me carvin’ knife. Special made for works of art, but it cuts up mouthy li’l wenches just as nice, heheh.” Up toward the bar, Barth took his hands off his face. He was still bleeding from a half-dozen scars and breathing heavily, but for all his wailing he seemed strangely composed. “Rita,” he rumbled, pulling out a cloth to wipe his head with. “What’re ye doin’ here?” “Just settlin’ a score,” the pirate woman told him. Taking in the state of the Sturmbreacher, she narrowed her eye. “Don’t tell me this scrawny whelp did all this?” Barth spat out a wad of blood. “She’s got powers,” he growled. “Copies ‘erself, and splits ‘erself apart.” Rita smirked. “Hm. Maybe ‘er soul will fetch us a good price, eh?” She shook Nadia roughly by the knife in her back. “Once the bitch ‘urries up an’ dies.” “Heheheh…” Rita blinked. “...What?” “Heeheehee,” Nadia giggled, fighting through the pain. “Man…that hurt…” Her head rotated around to stare Rita square in her flabbergasted eye. Her hands softly closed around the pirate’s. “Well,” she whispered, her left eye ablaze with blue light. “Maybe a whittle bit…” Rita reeled back in shock. “What the-!” A beam of radiant azure water burst out from Nadia’s eye, blowing first through her eyepatch, then through her would-be killer. It blazed through the Sturmbreacher’s saloon doors, along the piers, and above dark waters. Rita screamed, but the sound was drowned out in the torrent, and a moment later she was gone. Only her forearm remained, which Nadia dropped to melt away on the floor as her head spun back around. Behind her, the late afternoon light silhouetted a very angry cat, her left eye still aglow with oceanic power. “H-huh!?” Barth backed into the bar, aghast. His crew members shrank away behind the furniture. “Stop! Please! W-what are you!? Y-you lot, get ‘er!” But nobody did. Nadia took a long, slow deep breath and dropped her new bag to the ground. “I’m…” Her eyes lingered on the gold that glittered within, the cause of all this trouble. The reason why people thought it was okay to murder her in cold blood, Galeem’s influence or not. It was stolen treasure that brought on the wrath of the Medici Mafia too, that led to the deaths of her family, and almost to hers. People like this, like Barth and Rita, or Lorenzo and Dahlia, so consumed by greed that any tragedy was excusable…how much blood was on their hands? How could they ever be forgiven? In their world, only two options existed: kill, or be killed. Nadia’s eyes opened. “I’m…still alive.” [hr] The sky was beginning to turn pink and orange, and the sun’s slow but steady slide brought it closer and closer to the horizon that lay across told depths of water. All along the ocean waves, but especially across the gorgeous shallows of Heaven’s Edge, the water glinted with reflected luster. It was a dazzling sight, and all the more wonderful that it came as the send-off for a perfect afternoon of enjoyment and relaxation. Whether spent stuffing oneself at the buffet, luxuriating in tropical drinks, engaging in various competitions, exploring the beautiful surroundings, building sand castles, chatting together, or just dozing the hours away on a beach chair in the sun’s immaculate radiance, a good time was had by all. Even the fighters between the street fighters, or between Cerberus and Link, did little to spoil the experience. Moreover, while originally meant to be a time for peace and privacy for the weary Seekers, the time spent at the Kanzuki Beachfront Estate ended up introducing them to a couple promising new faces. Cerberus, Rubick, Susie, and of course the illustrious Karin herself found themselves welcome among the heroes who’d made the Deep Blue Seaside a safer place. While the matches between Sakura and Karin had yet to conclude, they ultimately occupied only a small fraction of the beach, a sense of tranquility reigned. Everyone got a chance to sit back and breathe easy, recounting the afternoon’s events with Peach and Hat Kid now that the two had arrived from Alcamoth. As the Seekers talked over a fresh round of smoothies and virgin pina coladas from the bar, they got a chance to see something interesting on the water: an [url=https://i.imgur.com/4mPYIUJ.png]incredibly huge[/url] vessel of red metal cruising along the water, suspended beneath a a live, balloon-like sea creature of even greater side. It sailed at a leisurely pace for Limsa Lominscuttle Town, bound for its main harbor to make port. Here and there the more astute of them could catch some chatter from passers-by, and glean a sense of the general excitement that the Argentum Trade Guild had come to do business in Limsa once more. At least, when the combatants weren’t calling their attacks, that is. Not long after the merchant mega-ship passed, the Seekers spotted one last familiar face headed their way. Nadia Fortune strolled toward them across the sand, a little more tired and less exuberant than usual, but visibly none the worse for wear. Her white tank had been replaced by a deep blue tee knotted at her diaphragm, and over her shoulder was slung a teal-colored bag, the contents of which clinked softly with every step. “Heya,” she smiled softly, waving as she approached. “Miss me?” “Hello yourself.” Peach returned the smile. “I was just wondering where you were, actually. Everything okay?” Hatty’s eyes lit up at the sight of Nadia, and she ran over with open arms. “Hi!” The feral knelt down to give the kid a hug. “Hi, Hatty! You feeling alright?” When the girl nodded, Nadia took off her hat to pat her head. “I’m so glad.” She rose back up to her full height and glanced at Peach. “I’m feline fine, yeah. Always nice to be missed, y’know? Plus, check this out. I’m filthy rich!” While it wasn’t much compared to the Mushroom Kingdom treasury, Peach gave an impressed nod anyway. “Looks like you’re one lucky cat.” “Mhm, yeah. So, what’re you all up to?” Peach shrugged. “Nothing much. We were just starting to discuss where to go for dinner once the girls finish their little tussle, since it’s getting to be that time. Now that you’re back, I think everyone’s here, too.” “Oh!” Nadia crossed her arms. She glanced at Rubick for a moment, but despite his arcane appearance took him to be just another new friend. “That reminds me. I heard of a place called Rum for Ale. It’s food from Cuba, wherever that is. Really flavorful, or so it’s said. My treat!” “That sounds nice. And you’re really too kind.” Peach looked around at the rest of the group. “Any thoughts? Other ideas?” “Whatever’s good with us!” Cerberus chorused, [url=https://i.imgur.com/ZBSVIkt.png]sharply-dressed[/url] in their newly cleaned and dried suits. Nadia couldn’t help but smile when looking their way. [i]They’re like dog girls, how cute![/i] she thought. Of course, they didn’t compare to Ace. She moseyed over next to him to give his shoulder a squeeze. “Hey dude. Lookin’ a little red there.” As she took in the gathered Seekers and guests, she found herself more grateful than ever for good company. For a little while at least she’d had quite enough of going it alone.