[center][h3]Tora, Poppi, and Big Band[/h3] [b]Location:[/b] Edinburgh MagicaPolis - Nyakuza Metro Level 9 Tora (237/90) Level 9 Poppi (237/90) Level 7 Big Band (63/70) Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Raiden’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX], Bede’s [@Crimson Flame], the Phantom Thieves, Braum, the Scout, Peacock, Vandham, Wonder Red, Asbestos, Commander Nelson, Alice MacGregor [b]Word Count:[/b] 1111 + 1049/725 Far above the streets, alleys, and stations where his allies hunted down enough pons for their train passes, Big Band explored the upper levels of the Metro superstructure. Up here it seemed as though the vast majority of the Metro cats, as well as a number of other denizens, made their homes in the tenements of the residential area. Up here, even compared to the lower levels with all their profundity of cat iconography, the apartments seemed even more tailor-made to the feline lifestyle. Entire sections looked like ultra-elaborate cat towers, with large columns supporting myriad rooms split up by platforms for their sure-footed tenants, with plenty of communal scratch posts for a casual clawing and even a couple playgrounds where cat toys and tunnels give the kittens a chance to play. It was all very cute. Being about as agile as a refrigerator, however, Band stuck to the more conventional skyscrapers. Just a few minutes spent looking around confirmed that even those offered their fair share of navigational challenges, though. Rather than pollute the open space with tons of bridges and walkways, the publicly-accessible areas seemed to be connected by zip lines, slide rails, grapple points, and stretches of sheer wall perfect for ninja-running, none of which Band could take advantage of. Some of the giant billboards could even be rotated to open up new paths for parkour masters, he found. That bizarre design philosophy made it nigh-impossible for the average cat to get around the buildings’ exteriors, as the abundance of pons all over the place suggested, but Band came equipped with an ace up his sleeve: the miracle of flight. With just a handful of well-aimed takeoffs and well-timed afterburns, he could bypass the veritable obstacle course the [url=https://i.imgur.com/J5QLDUz.jpg]cluttered rooftops[/url] presented and lay claim to all the pons he needed. Of course, it really helped that just bumping into the crystals seemed to be enough to put them in his pockets. And since he just needed air pressure in order to generate his sound-blasts, the only limiting factor was time. After collecting a bounty of thirty pons, Band found himself feeling a little light-headed, so he took a breather at a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Le6cfWE.jpg]rooftop restaurant[/url], where some chefs were chopping and grilling up food for the customers, hibachi-style. Five pons bought the detective a coffee, and while he expected it to be black, he couldn’t help but smile at the happy little cat face in the cream of the latte he received. It almost felt a shame to destroy it, but destroy it he did before sipping as he relaxed in the sturdiest-looking seat the radial tables had to offer. He listened idly to the chatter of the nearby metro cats as he drank, which at the moment seemed to be concerning the mind-boggling series of transfers one of the poor guys needed to get through in order to get to work that day. A different pair of kitties talked about the vacuums all over the place, specifically one of them bouncing off and hitting his head on another restaurant’s ceiling recently. His eavesdropping did happen to turn up one interesting exchange though. “You know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a police cat around here,” a squat cat with a big head mentioned. “Nah, you won’t,” his lanky friend told him. “I think you-know-who has a deal with them.” “Oh yeah?” “Yeah, they don’t come in here, and [i]she[/i] doesn’t go out there.” Cops and corruption–a sad story as old as time, Band knew. Naturally it piqued his interest, and given how focal the Metro might be to the Seekers’ continued operations it might be worth looking into. Either way, it was a matter for another time. Feeling jazzed up, Band left five more pons as a tip to round it out to an even twenty and hit the bricks. Using his rocket to control his descent, the detective made it all the way back down to the Metro’s bottom floor, not far from the information kiosk where everyone planned to meet back up. Unsurprisingly due to his method of traversal, he was one of the last to arrive. Tora looked at him curiously as he approached. “Friend Biggy-Band actually went way up there? Tora heard it dangerous!” Band shrugged his massive mechanical shoulders. “Sky’s the limit, kid. ‘Sides, there ain’t nobody who can strongarm this armstrong.” “Fair point, meh,” Tora admitted before looking around. “So, this everyone?” Commander Nelson had been wondering the same thing. “I believe so. I trust that everyone managed to procure their train fare?” Everyone turned out their pockets, whether they contained pons or train passes they’d already purchased, or in a certain someone’s case, ‘acquired’. Band raised an eyebrow at the butterfly that fluttered out of Peacock’s pocket. “Nothin’? What were you doin’ out there, kid? I know you ain’t bisbehavin’.” “Relax, gramps!” Peacock drawled, waving her hand dismissively. “I was just checkin’ out the local jewelry store. You shoulda see the puddy-tat behind the counter! Decked out like some wannabe mob boss.” Band sighed, offhandedly wondering if his charge happened to be referring to a certain cat burglar he happened to know. Probably not though, unless the enigmatic Ms Fortune had really scaled up the scope of her crimes. He split his share of pons in half and gave them to Peacock, who swiped them with a steely grin. “Now you’re speakin’ my language, nyeheheh!” What followed was a back-and-forth about who would be going where. For the sake of the plan the team needed to cover as much ground as possible, but Nelson reminded everyone that with the sheer amount of unknown territory in play, they also needed to beware spreading themselves too thin. After a few minutes, based on who’d already procured what pass and the reported ease of accessing the correct ticket booths to get more, the group came to a consensus. “Roight then, with that settled, let’s go over our mission one more time,” Vandham began, crossing his arms. “Each train passes through multiple locations. We’ll be stoppin’ at the lot of ‘em to scope out the area, find a secure spot with good reception, and call Moogles from HQ to get a bead on where ya are. Rinse and repeat. And remember, your safety is our primary concern. Stick to the plan, and she’ll be right.” “Good luck everypon!” Tora exclaimed. “See friends soon!” The decided-upon duos and trios then went their separate ways, to board the trains that would take them off on a brand new adventure. [center][h3]Radlandia[/h3] Tora, Poppi, Vandham[/center] After boarding the Blue Line subway with their old Urayan friend, the three sat in a row, united in both fellowship and silent anticipation. The black void outside the train windows betrayed no hint of what their destination might be, but the trio wasn’t completely without a clue. Even without Big Band’s investigative prowess, they could glean a couple leads from their fellow passengers. Whether bound for work or pleasure, the people headed to Radlandia and other Blue Line destinations further beyond wore and carried things suitable for the day ahead. Hawaiian shirts, masks and snorkels, sunscreen and beach towels, fishing gear, sailors’ uniforms…maybe the aquarium being so close to the station had been no accident, and maybe the railway’s color code carried symbolic meaning. Although focused to get hyped right now, Tora couldn’t help but get his hopes up. With the torturous heat of the desert behind him, was he really headed for the ocean blue? Contrary to expectations, the first color Tora and Poppi saw the moment the darkness of the mystic subway tunnel came to an end wasn’t blue, but more of a salmon. Their train came to a stop at an open-air train platform in a town utterly saturated in the hues of the sky at dawn, all pale reds and pinks maroons. “Meh…” the Nopon marveled as he looked around, taking in the town’s bizarrely all-encompassing color scheme. The more he gawked, however, the more he realized that salmon overload might be one of the least weird things about the place. [img]https://i.imgur.com/4JJdA2w.jpg[/img][/center] His eyes were naturally drawn to the skate tracks that ran around the place, the bright blue of their wooden boards -which appeared to be their natural color, strangely enough- offering a stark contrast to just about everything else in the place. Nailed and in some cases [i]taped[/i] together, and held aloft by some the flimsiest-looking sticks and scaffolds either Tora or Poppi had ever seen, they curved and sloped throughout the town in circuitous, absurd paths up the sides and over the tops of various buildings. It looked incredibly dangerous, but Tora would be lying if he said he didn’t think that riding something along those tracks might be a lot of fun. “Masterpon,” Poppi murmured, nudging him. “What think?” Tora tore his eyes away from the vivid, distracting blue of the track to follow his companion’s gaze, at which point he could really start to appreciate just how strange the place they’d come to was. For starters, everything looked grungy. The buildings, the sidewalks, and the streets themselves were all cracked, blotched, and in some cases slimy. Pipes leaked a fluorescent green substance, and tilted trash cans eked out what could only be described as ‘sludge’. Unusual shapes and creatures moved in the shadows of second-story windows and the sewer drains, not necessarily scary, but things that Tora would be no means expect, like a giant floating eyeball and disembodied octopus tentacles. In fact,Tora saw strange creatures no matter where he looked. A bear was nothing too freaky, but sitting calmly in an inner-tube in a puddle on top of a building? What were those gremlins eating the giant display donut above the pastry shop? Did that man, currently serving an animate banana at a food cart with text on its canopy that read ‘EAT TRASH’, have a donut for a head? Tora rubbed his eyes and looked again. Yep, definitely a donut. “Very…” Tora searched his lexicon for the appropriate word. “...Odd. But sort of cool, meh?” Vandham shook his head with a shrug. “It’s surreal, ‘s’what it is. Crikey.” At the very least there were normal people around too, and they didn’t seem to mind all the strange, dreamlike phenomena around them. As the party moved away from the train platform they got their first good look at the nearby shore. Radlandia stood at the mouth of a river that opened into an enormous bay, and way out in the bay stood a much larger city of castle parapets atop white stone seastacks, surrounded by a web of piers and wharves stacked on top of one another. When Poppi zoomed in using her optics she could make out additional details, like the airship dock that sat atop the biggest, highest tower, the mammoth sports arena at the edge of the city, and a gargantuan vessel on the far side that sat beneath an even bigger, rotund whale-like creature that floated above it like a hot-air balloon. She blinked as the gears in her head turned, and after a moment of wracking her brains, something clicked. “Goldmouth!” she shouted suddenly, her expression one of shock and elation. “M-masterpon! It, it’s its…!” “It’s what, meh!?” Tora exclaimed over her awestruck stuttering, frightened by his creation’s sudden outburst. He craned his nonexistent neck trying to see just what set Poppi off. “It Goldmouth!” Poppi reiterated as if that should explain anything. “Masterpon not remember!? Goldmouth name of Titan of Argentum Trade Guild!” Tora’s eyes widened. “Argentum!? You mean, from Alrest!?” “Yes, from our home, it right there, just beyond city on water!” Poppi told him excitedly, pointing with a metallic finger. Vandham squinted, shading his eyes with his hand. “Well, I’ll be!” he laughed. “About time, eh? Not Uraya, but I’ll bloody take it!” He cleared his throat as he crouched down to pat a hand on Poppi’s shoulder and Tora’s head. “Don’t go loony on me just yet though, mates. Before we run off we’ve got a job to do, right? And not just ‘ere either. Gotta call in the Moogles to all three stops.” “But, but, this special occasion, meh! Surely we can make exception?” He turned to Vandham to see a stern shake of his head, and sighed. Tora knew the old mercenary was right, so much so that he didn’t even attempt to sway him with unflinching eye contact. “Okay, okay, Tora know. Let’s finish it quick!” Poppi nodded, even more determined than before. “So, we just need get to high point in town.” She looked up at the tallest building, where a couple local kids were taking turns racing down the precipitous beginning of the track on their skateboards. “Hold tight. Poppi be right back!” [center][h3]Aviary Biodome[/h3] Raiden’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX], Big Band, Peacock[/center] One of the last to pick a train line to ride, Big Band ultimately chose to accompany his fellow metal man Raiden on the first leg of his journey, lest the swordsman wind up unaccompanied and, if anything should go wrong, unaccounted for. A sense of gratitude compelled Peacock to tag along, which made a total of three cyborgs standing beside one another in Black Station as the latest subway that a cat dragged in came to a stop. Though from entirely different eras, Mr. Lightning Bolt and the USG soldiers actually had a lot in common. In terms of human flesh, not even one full person could be made between the three of them; all were more machine than man, and little more than scraps of their original organic bodies remained. They’d been rebuilt in the wake of terrible brutality and custom-engineered to fight for a cause. Raiden and Peacock shared the twisted fate of being child soldiers, but while those days were long behind the former, the latter would seemingly never escape her campaign. Yet here they all stood, despite untold pain and suffering, brokenness and betrayal, and the wars that raged on without end. Band, Raiden, and Peacock shared an unspoken connection, united by the conviction to fight for what they believed in, and the strength to face whatever tomorrow might bring. One after another the three living weapons boarded the Black Line subway train, bound for parts unknown. Their trip through the darkness of the tunnel brought them to a train station with an industrial appearance, all concrete and metal, more like a bunker than a public facility. While a couple metro cats and other passengers joined them as they exited the train, the younger crowd identifiable as students and the more well-dressed passengers stayed put to ride on to the next destination. Band scrutinized those who disembarked alongside him, trying to figure out the common denominators among them that might forewarn him about what exactly he and his allies might be stepping into. [url=https://i.imgur.com/1mUt8pT.png]Some[/url] appeared to be very heavily-equipped, as if going to battle, or maybe on a big game hunt, while an [url=https://i.imgur.com/wD72VYL.png]augmented gentleman[/url] and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ziNt4MG.png]gorilla[/url] looked more dressed for a safari, and still others sported the coats and research equipment of botanists or zoologists. Together with the name of the place, he began to draw some conclusions. As the others split up to head to different wings of the building, Band’s attention went to the front entrance thanks to its distinctive style. It featured a vines-and-wood jungle aesthetic and looked like some kind of tourist attraction, complete with brochures and a gift shop. After giving a dubious glance at the racks of [url=https://i.imgur.com/7FjAN97.png]stuffed animals[/url] for sale, most of which didn’t resemble any kind of normal creature, he approached the highly reinforced main door. A small crowd of other visitors had gathered there, their faces a mixture of eager and nervous, and in front of them stood a strange-looking [url=https://i.imgur.com/wgTCSfk.png]staff member[/url]. Alien in appearance and at least partially machine, which kept up the fun trend Band was noticing, she nevertheless spoke in a perfectly understandable -if slightly electronic- voice. “Alright, hey everyone, excited to get out there?” she asked, leaning casually on her longbow in a very human manner. “Good, good. I’m a forest ranger here, you can call me Ivara. Stick close, listen sharp, and you’ll all make it home in one piece, with some new memories that’ll last you a lifetime. Let’s get to it!” She punched a terminal, and the giant doors began to open. A surge of warmth, humidity, and natural light hit Band as the gates receded to reveal an enormous and extravagant environment, all lush rainforests and overgrown swamps, all under the expansive protection and climate control of a glass and metal dome big enough to house a city. Beyond, Band could just about see the icy crags and towering glaciers of an arctic skyline, making him wonder just where the hell he’d ended up. “And there you have it,” Ivara said theatrically, holding her arms wide. “Welcome to the Aviary Biodome!” [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/OLkmbXf.png[/img][/center] [center][h3]Queen’s Station[/h3] Therion’s [@Yankee], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Raz’s [@TruthHurts22] [img]https://i.imgur.com/lbuFjZr.png[/img][/center] When the Purple Line train finally ground to a halt, its doors opened to reveal not a bustling complex of transportation, but a peaceful and quiet hall of carved blue-black stone, moist and cool, sprinkled by patches of thick, budding moss, lit by the pale electric glow of lumaflies in glass lanterns, and the unintelligible sigils carved onto hanging slates. The columns in the walls and the converging arches in the ceiling gave the whole place an air of solemn antiquity. After the new arrivals proceeded past the benches where weary travelers could sit themselves down to rest, they entered a four-story room of wrought-iron fences and leafy creepers, which served as the hub of the Queen’s Station. A central spiral structure allowed them to ascend, and starting from the second story upward, they could approach the intricate railings between tall, spindly pillars at the station’s back in order to look out at a grand, spacious [url=https://i.imgur.com/x99y64f.png]underground canyon[/url], awash in the gentle, lavender light of countless bubbles. There, among the hanging tendrils and drifts of fog, [url=https://i.imgur.com/gPx9u6e.png]Uoma[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/4HIElRn.png]Ooma[/url] floated lazily over verdant hills and sizzling lakes of mint-green acid. It was a dreamlike view. Very few passengers had gotten off the train here, and the station seemed mostly empty overall. Every step taken across its floors echoed over the bloopy, bubbly ambient sound. What few people the new arrivals did find appeared to be bugs, or at the very least bug-related. One such [url=https://i.imgur.com/nFPepWx.png]girl[/url] could be found having a picnic in a little alcove near the overlook, where she shared a meal with two ladybugs the size of chimpanzees, [url=https://i.imgur.com/MtY7ZoY.png]Leby[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/2uHpQRn.png]Dib[/url]. The siblings had recently arrived from the Metro with a number of souvenirs, and after receiving a courteous invitation decided to join the strange but kindly Agitha for lunch before the long trip back to Bugaria Outskirts. A [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ct6dzwm.png]Pinsir[/url] had dozed off in one of the corners, scary-looking even as it slept. Other than the noises of someone eating that could be heard down one of the halls, the only other sign of life appeared to be a small gang of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/undertale/images/5/5f/Migosp_battle_idle.gif]Migosp[/url] arguing about where to go next in low tones. Therion, Jesse, and Raz had wound up in a strange place indeed. [center][h3]Haven[/h3] Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Wonder Red’s [@TruthHurts22], the Scout[/center] Through a mixture of luck and coincidence Sectonia and Wonder Red wound up being the odd pair who’d be riding the Mint Line to see where it took them. With most of the other teams of three made up at that point, the Scout ended up joining them, which definitely made their team a contender for the strangest. Then again, they also happened to be the wealthiest; since the Scout had made quick work of pon collection with his trusty grappling hook and a bit of dwarven greed, his stash plus all the pons pulled out of vents and gutters by Sectonia’s antlions meant that they could afford their pases with cash to spare in case they ever came by here again. Together with Red, fresh from his curious encounter with the sack-people, they climbed aboard their train and were promptly whisked away. In quite the departure from the gaudy liveliness of the Metro, the first stop on the Mint Line turned out to be a derelict station, long since ruined and given over to time, then rebuilt and repurposed as a base of some sort. Though partially flooded and quite overgrown, it nevertheless brought forth a sizable crew of passengers from the subway once it opened its doors, all of them either warrior types or treasure hunters. Some went to relieve the weary guards of their posts, allowing them to board the train and get out of here, while others made for the exits. When the dwarf, superhero, and wasp followed suit, a stunning vista opened up before them. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/P0lzUY1.jpg[/img][/center] At a glance it was clear that this place had once been a city of man, a steel-and-concrete jungle of big, blocky office buildings and highrises, but that had been a very, very long time ago, enough time for an apocalypse to have come and gone. In the wake of ruination, nature had reclaimed the city in a big, big way, with mammoth trees growing straight through the sky-scraping husks, and twisting roots that snaked in and out of the terrain like sea serpents. Over time the great cracks in the earth turned into canyons, creating a network of low-lying rivers in the fault lines. Flocks of birds called the place home, as well as many less benign creatures, like [url=https://i.imgur.com/V0DAKPT.png]Karkinos-spawn[/url], the [url=https://i.imgur.com/teh9BD0.png]bomb bugs[/url], the [url=https://i.imgur.com/4f2eOon.png]glyphids[/url], and the [url=https://i.imgur.com/xA3UCng.png]Root[/url], whether they [url=https://i.imgur.com/LiC1Cg7.png]stalked[/url] or [url=https://i.imgur.com/GQefo1Y.png]flew[/url]. The most incredible thing on display, of course, was the cathedral in the canopy. Among the uppermost branches of the area’s tallest, [url=https://i.imgur.com/4Y3ucCM.png]most venerable tree[/url], which now crowned the former cityscape’s loftiest edifice, there stood a safe haven far above the perilous streets. From within streamed a pure, spiritual light, white tinged by blue, that practically radiated goodness far and wide.