[center][h3]Any Port in a Storm[/h3]
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 11 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (175/110)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (244/90)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 10 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](153/100)
[b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 5 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aqua]////////////////////////////////////[/color]////////////// (36/50)
Blazermate, Geralt, Ace Cadet, Sakura, Pit, Karin, Rubick, Susie, Omori, Level 9 Nadia (107/90), Peach
[b]Word Count:[/b] 7385 (+8)[/center]

[color=fff200]”Welcome aboard, Seekers!”[/color] Karin called out, hand on her chest and foot on the railing. She cut quite the dramatic figure. Unfortunately, her high energy of victory was not met by anyone else, a fact that somewhat annoyed her. Everyone was moping. [color=fff200]”What is it?”[/color] 

Risky, bound to the Tinkerslug’s cracked center mast by an excessive amount of rope, gave the newcomers the stinkeye. “Thank goodness. If they all wanted to gloat as badly as you do, I’d probably off myself then and there.”

[color=fff200]”Silence.”[/color] She shot a look at Risky and began attending to the situation at hand.

Jr’s clowncar limped over to the tinkerslug in response to Karin’s call signaling that they’d taken it over. Then when it landed the battered Troop piled on out, exhausted Kamek immediately finding somewhere to nap, while Bowser and Jr both went running to go find the resident healer with a wounded lady slung over their shoulder.

[color=SpringGreen]”Blazermate! Blazermate! Blazermate! Help!”[/color] Jr demanded as he hurried over and presented the doctor with the crippled and unconscious form of Annetta the sea fairy and leader of Port O' Panic.

Bowser was hot on his son’s heels, and presented Rika in much the same way, the poor shipgirl having had an even worse time in her 2vs1 than she had in her 1vs1 with the bot in question.

Blazermate came when Jr. called for her, having swooped over to pick up the healer shipgirl’s spirit. It had been awhile since she had found any kind of medic spirit, so she could see what it did. Although if it was only the drones, that may or may not be good depending on how strong they were compared to her medigun.

[color=0072bc]”Alright, everyone gather round for healing.”[/color] Blazermate said as she hovered near Jr. and began healing his request and everyone else. She also summoned the engineer to make a dispenser to heal everyone passively as well, seeing as they finally, finally had some solid surface.

Not long after the designated healer arrived, Peach pulled herself up onto the Tinkerslug’s deck, having scaled the ladder. Though Blazermate’s speedy treatment closed her wounds and fixed her broken arm, her right eye remained closed. While able to accelerate the body’s recovery to phenomenal levels, it seemed that even hyper-advanced medical technology could not restore everything to exactly how it once was, just as the body itself couldn’t regrow a lost limb. And though physically sound, the princess herself appeared to be in a troubled mental state. Since the Tinkerslug, being a living thing beneath the ship built on top of it, lacked any interior decks, Peach staggered over to a sheltered part beneath the shell to curl up in silence.

[color=Aqua]”Urrgh, my everything,”[/color] Rika groaned as she woke up in Bowser’s supportive arms [color=Aqua]”What happened?”[/color]

[color=FD0000]”You kind of got exploded. A lot.”[/color] Bowser informed her, before quickly adding [color=FD0000]”But everyone’s good,”[/color] before she could worry about the outcome of the battle, only to glance over at where Peach was curled up and guiltily adding [color=FD0000]”Kinda. Well, alive, anyway.”[/color]

[color=Aqua]”Wha-”[/color] the ship girl pulled herself to her feet while processing all of this and then arrived at the reaction [color=Aqua]”I… lost? Again!”[/color] with aghast anger, before letting out a pained sigh and then half collapsing to the flood, where she wrapped her hands around her curled up legs and buried her face in her knees in self pity. 

[color=Aqua]”I’m just dead weight, aren't I?”[/color] she mumbled, not taking her defeat well one bit. 

[color=FD0000]”Wow hey, no, it worked out in the end. We beat them up enough that they, uh, well they ran off,”[/color] Bowser told her, before sitting down next to her and clapping the ship girl on the shoulder with a big clawed hand. [color=Aqua]”I shouldn’t have left you to fight them on your own either, so it's kinda my bad,”[/color] he replied, which unfortunately just made the women feel worse.

[color=f49ac2]”It’s okay, Rika-chan.”[/color] Sakura said, still soaking wet and bruised all over. [color=f49ac2]”I got exploded, too.”[/color] She sniffed. That was it- she wasn’t exactly the picture of high spirits at the moment, either.

[color=0072bc]”Yeah, everyone was getting hurt bad, and I’m our only dedicated medic for such a large group. Usually there would be more than 1 healing medabot in a party this size.”[/color] Blazermate said, trying to also reassure Rika and the others. The fact Peach was missing an eye that Blazermate couldn’t regrow was a bit concerning. But considering this wasn’t her default medabot medigun, and it did some weird things, could it be possible it could actually regrow parts like that?

[color=Aqua]”I should be able to handle myself,”[/color] she insisted, [color=Aqua]”Be unstoppable like everyone else and….”[/color] 

She stopped her self-deprecation when she saw something strange, namely what Jr was doing with the person he had come running to Blazermate to heal, and so she had to ask [color=Aqua]”Wh-why are you tying her up like that?”[/color] 

[color=SpringGreen]”So she can’t attack anyone when she wakes up,”[/color] Jr replied, and then pre-empted the obvious question by adding, [color=SpringGreen]”And no, I can’t heart her because I already did that, and she still fought us close to death because sooooomeone went and stabbed someone’s grandpa in the heart.”[/color] 

It took a few moments for them to parse that, and then all eyes were on Omori, skulking in a far corner.

[color=FD0000]”Wait, what? Why’d he do that?”[/color] a slightly confused Bowser asked

[color=SpringGreen]”I dunno, I totally had everything in the bag but nooooo,”[/color] Jr replied sardonically [color=SpringGreen]”So now that town over there’s leader,”[/color] he gestured to it and then Annetta [color=SpringGreen]”both hate our guts and it's all his fault. Well, him and that weirdo consul guy or whatever. No idea what his deal was, but it seems like he tricked everyone into thinking we were here to kill ‘em or something, and all these idiots fell for it like chumps.”[/color] 

At that moment Nadia poked her head up at the top of the Tinkerslug’s ladder, having taken to long way around to avoid the front of the living ship; even if the three-eyed leviathan didn’t betray any sign of hostility, just the thought of it eating her freaked her out. Exhausted from her brutal fight with Massachusetts on top of the chaotic river ride, she climbed aboard hoping to take a well-deserved break, only to hear Junior mention people being ‘tricked’ into thinking the Seekers would kill those who stood in their way. Nadia swallowed nervously. After climbing up she put her hands in her pockets and ‘casually’ strolled toward the back of the ship, whistling badly as she went.

 [color=Aqua]”Why’d anyone want to do that?”[/color] Rika asked, to which Jr shrugged. 

Bowser, meanwhile, had a bit of badguy insight on the ploy: [color=FD0000]”Classic bit of villainous trickery, that. Get heroes to fight each other or some random group of chumps that’d have helped them otherwise. I mean it allllways backfires in the end and just makes everyone involved mad at the bad guy, but still, 3rd rate villains try it anyway.”[/color]


This got a few impressed looks from the two youngsters, before Rika asked [color=Aqua]”So, what happens now then. Everyone gets mad?”[/color]

[color=SpringGreen]”I know I am,”[/color] the miffed prince added.

“[color=limegreen]”I’m feeling disappointed, myself,[/color]” Rubick admitted. “[color=limegreen]I was hoping we could find a nice shop to peruse and buy some wares from.[/color]”

[color=FD0000]”Now’s the bit where some hero explains the whole deal to the people that attacked them. Which, uh, we’re not gonna be able to do because, you know, bad guys,”[/color] Bowser explained before hollering, [color=FD0000]”Hey, some hero come and explain to this fairy lady that we’re cool or whatever,”[/color] and just kinda handing the whole problem off to someone else.

[color=salmon]"I wouldn't mind someone explaining it to me either,"[/color] the Ace Cadet admitted, rubbing the back of his head. The lighter mood he'd shared with Karin after the successful raid on the Tinkerslug was long gone, as what should have been a celebratory regrouping turned into a more solemn affair. Between the badly wounded (that Blazermate had thankfully worked on), a killing, and the other Seekers saying that all of them, on both sides of the battle, had been manipulated... Well it was a lot of information all at once. [color=salmon]"So this wasn't a random pirate attack, someone set us up?"[/color]

Karin’s brows furrowed, taking in all of this information. Her fingers came to her temples. [color=fff200]”What an utter disaster.”[/color] She managed to reign in her temper, for now. Sakura was quiet, not sure what to say or even what was going on. 

Rubick shrugged. Death was an unideal state of being, but it was something that happened to everyone eventually. It certainly happened on a regular basis around him, sometimes even because he was the cause, and he had already gotten used to that fact. 

The accused in question had been doing his best to ignore their reactions. No matter how angry or unconcerned, they all would have sounded the same to him. He screwed up. Omori might’ve looked unphased on the outside, but he could still feel himself reeling from everything. …[i]Was[/i] this what [i]he[/i] was feeling? Fear, and guilt? Technically. But technically not. He wasn’t certain yet. But he was sure about one thing. These guys are going to hate his guts now. Would they even be willing to hear him out?

Welp, he might as well head inside if they’re going to reason with Annetta. The boy didn’t want to jinx that just by being in her line of sight. Omori pushed himself off the ground and stepped away into the captain’s quarters hidden beneath the shell. He had been needing to update his journal anyways.

Wait, [i]Omori[/i] killed someone!? That sweet little boy? Nadia’s head span around on a dime as she stopped, even more horrified than she’d been when the fluffy round creature shot her in the solar plexus. She watched him shuffle past her toward the back of the ship. After a moment spent turning the gear in her head, she cleared her throat. “W-well, that just happens in a fight sometimes, right? Self-defense, yeah? When you’re fightin’ for your life, it’s you or them.” Though her words were reasonable, it sounded a little like she was trying to convince herself, as well. “‘Specially with enemies who’ve got that Galeem in ‘em.”

[color=fff200]”Only they weren’t enemies, and it wasn’t self-defense.”[/color] Karin said sharply. [color=fff200]”They were innocents who were convinced they were defending their town, correct?”[/color] Karin said, raising her eyebrows in a vaguely insulting manner.

Nadia smiled, though her eyes held contempt. Despite her numbness and the healing received from Blazermate, her torso still ached from getting torn in half, while this sneering princess didn’t seem to have a scratch on her. Just how much fighting for her life had [i]she[/i] done?

While Pit had been absorbing the information flying around and trying to make sense of it, he also felt the need to come to Omori's defense, given the events of earlier that morning. It was unfortunate and downright tragic that the monochrome boy's opponent couldn't randomly come back to life like his had.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But he didn't know that! Just like they didn't know we weren't the bad guys!"[/color] Pit huffed, throwing an arm in a vague gesture to the Port. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You're making it sound like he did it on purpose. They were trying to kill us, if you forgot!"[/color]

[color=SpringGreen]”Nah, it was totally obvious from where we were standing,”[/color] Jr added informatively from where he and the rest of the troop had parked themselves on the sidelines of this whole thing (with Bowser keeping an eye on both Peach and Kamek as they rested). [color=SpringGreen]”What’s his face was right there, egging them on and everything”[/color] 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Egging them on to [i]attack[/i] you guys, you mean?"[/color] Pit asked, crossing his arms.

[color=fff200]”The turtle prince said he had it ‘in the bag’. And whatever Omori did, not even freeing Annetta from Galeem’s curse de-escalated the encounter. Unless you are calling him a liar, I fail to see any excuse for lethal force, outside of sheer incompetence.”[/color] Karin said.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"He's a kid - a human kid! Humans make mistakes, it's kind of like your [i]thing[/i]."[/color] At this point Pit was surprised that she couldn't seem to let an accident, however regrettable, go. He was getting defensive, he knew, but somebody had to stick up for Omori. It's true that Pit hadn't been there when the event in question had happened but he wouldn't believe that Omori, or any among them, would maliciously slay someone.

[color=salmon]"Maybe now's not the best time to argue about all this,"[/color] the Cadet cut in. His own thoughts on the matter were scattered. The topic of letting the young ones like Junior and Hat Kid travel with them and be exposed to danger had come up before, and while he could confidently say no one was [i]comfortable[/i] with it they generally let it slide. As far as killing another person went - over the course of their campaign over the last several days, they would be hard pressed to name one among them that [i]hadn't[/i] killed someone. They were never able to save every person they'd come across. It sucked, but that was the whole reason for their journey in the first place - to set everything back to normal so this kind of thing wouldn't have to happen.

Regardless of how everyone else thought, an argument right here and now seemed pointless. [color=salmon]"Once we're back on dry land we can worry about it then, okay? We're still due in Twilight Town, but it looks like we have to finish up here first,"[/color] he said, nodding towards the 'captives.'

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Hmph..."[/color] Pit relented, a frown sealing his mouth closed. Stubbornly he stayed put right where he was, intending to survey the rest of the events on deck. 
After getting his point across the Ace Cadet gave the rest of them some space, seeking out the now not-as-familiar form of Ms. Fortune. Besides the changes from her fusion, he'd also noticed the tension she gave off. He intended to get the story from her later, but for now he went to simply stand by her side, brushing their shoulders together as he did.

Susie then spoke up, summarizing the conversation in simple terms. [color=ec008c]”So essentially it was a false flag operation, and these ‘people’ fell for it.”[/color] Susie said, thinking to herself. [color=ec008c]”The question is… who told them this and was so trustworthy they would ignore the fact it could be a lie? I’m unconvinced it could be something as simple as a kid.”[/color]

Impatiently, Karin glanced over at Annetta. [color=fff200]”Is she going to wake up soon? I must speak with her.”[/color] She said. [color=fff200]”This is a situation that must be dealt with using diplomacy and tact.”[/color] After Blazermate refilled Annetta’s health, the nymph had remained where Junior deposited her, evidently still unconscious. The team could wait for her to awaken on her own, or expedite the process. 

Karin watched her for a few moments before clicking her tongue. [color=fff200]”For goodness sake. Someone fetch me a bucket of seawater while I make Miss Annetta more comfortable.”[/color] She propped Annetta up against the side of the ship so she wasn’t laying on her side. Glancing derisively down at the restraints Junior had applied, she undid them. If she had been so thoroughly defeated by a small turtle child, then there was no way she would pose a threat with nearly all of Blue Team on board. All the ropes would do would be stoking her apparently well founded fears. 

Twirling his staff, Rubick proceeded to cast Telekinesis on a bucket and walk it over to the edge of the Tinkerslug. From there, it was a simple matter to dip it underneath the water and bring it back up, now full of seawater. Rubick then guided it over to Karin, placing it in her hands. “[color=limegreen]There you are Ms. Kanzuki, one bucket of seawater,[/color]” Rubick said.

[color=fff200]”Ah.”[/color] Karin said, nodding politely. [color=fff200]”Thank you, Mister Rubick. The salt should aid in bringing her to consciousness.”[/color] She didn’t intend on totally disorienting the woman with a douse of water, but she would increase the volume as needed.

[color=fff200]”Miss Annetta, darling, can you hear me?”[/color] She asked. Producing a monogrammed handkerchief she dipped it in the water and gently squeezed it above her face to let the water trickle down it.

It took a bit more squeezing, but the cold water did the trick. The nymph’s face scrunched up for a moment before her eyes blinked open, both her vision and her memories a little fuzzy as she slowly surfaced from a place both deep and dark. She focused on Karin first. “W-who…who are you? And…where am I? There was…I was…”

Karin knelt down and put the handkerchief into whatever rich person dimension from whence she had produced it. [color=fff200]”Relax, Miss Annetta. You’re safe now. Before I answer any of your questions I must impress upon you that you and the people of Port O’ Panic are free of any danger from us.”[/color] She said gently. [color=fff200] “I am Karin Kanzuki, with the Seekers, and you’re onboard the recently commandeered Tinkerslug.”[/color]

A look of unease crossed Annetta’s face despite Karin’s urge to relax. Everything was trickling back. “W-wait, what do you mean? We were fighting, and the pirates…they were helping us. Everything was fine, until…” She looked around, noticing the other members of the group. Her gaze quickly roved beyond the confines of the Tinkerslug, which she neither recognized by name nor from its deck. She spotted the Raptor, dead in the water, and Port O’ Panic as well. Not much remained of the sea tower there, and she knew why. Annetta’s eyes suddenly widened.

“We lost, sunshine,” Risky supplied helpfully, a rueful smile on her face. “And these are our captors. Say hello!”

“Risky Boots!?” the nymph gasped, shocked by the sight of Port O’ Panic’s infamous nemesis tied to the mast. That was the nail in the coffin on top of everything she’d already realized, and a panic attack took hold of her. She began to hyperventilate as she tried to back away, only to realize to her further horror that her legs wouldn’t obey her commands. Whimpering, she tried to drag herself away by her hands. “Go away! Please! Leave me alone! Don’t kill meee!”

[color=fff200]”Can someone shut that infernal pirate up?”[/color] Karin snapped at the people behind her before turning back to diplomatically address the panicking nymph. [color=fff200]”Miss Annetta, as I said, you’re- you’re safe. Miss Annetta please, be reasonable. No one is going to kill you and you’re free to go whenever you’d like, but I’d feel terribly sorry if you hurled yourself off the side of the boat and drowned, so I must ask you to remain calm!”[/color] Karin admittedly spoke quickly as she moved to the side of Annetta. She firmly, but not roughly, took her by the shoulder and made her look her in the eye. Without someone to shore up her spirit, the nymph didn’t have a lot of fight in her. Unable to struggle or escape in any meaningful way, she resigned herself to a teary silence.

Karin let out a breath. Sakura had stood up at this point, lingering a short distance behind Karin and tapping her index fingers together. [color=fff200]”Thank you. I’ve been told you’re the leader of the Port O’ Panic, and I am interested in parley. Now, stand up, would you?”[/color] The smile faded a bit as she herself rose to her full height. [color=fff200]”Act respectable. I intend to treat you as an equal.”[/color] 

The whole thing made Nadia uncomfortable. She not only kept her distance but turned and moved away, making no attempt to heed Karin’s request. Of course, averting her gaze only reminded her about Peach, who probably needed attention herself, but the feral wanted to deliver the apology she was workshopping in private.

Blazermate moved next to Nadia, giving her a one armed hug seeing how shy she was being after it was mentioned they had killed people they probably shouldn’t have. Bringing Nadia’s ear to her ‘mouth’ Blazermate said [color=0072bc]”Hey… don’t worry too much about it. Medafights are exactly like this, so it was more their fault than yours.”[/color] Blazermate Then gave her a thumbs up saying. [color=0072bc]”Plus we are the people who have to eventually fix this world, so the occasional part helps out loads. We can’t be making ourselves out of just monster parts, otherwise we might turn into big squid monsters with multiple mouths. I thought Bowser was going along those lines until Kamek got that snackivator…”[/color] Blazermate continued, glancing at Bowser. Nadia said nothing; the well-meaning medabot had abandoned Peach to an almost certain death just as she herself had.

It was at this moment that Geralt finally climbed onto the Tinkerslug, a bound and gagged LeFwee on his shoulder. “Bird brain just wouldn’t shut his damned mouth.” He offered as way of explanation, dropping the pirate captain to the deck and sighing. “Alright, what now?”

He returned to the pitiable scene of Annetta attempting to stand as Karin commanded, only to find that she could not do so. “My legs…won’t work,” she whined, but after a moment the nymph used her wings to lift off the ground instead. Her legs dangled limply beneath her. Somehow, she managed to sink to an even greater level of despair when she saw LeFwee tied up too. Certainly she had no love for the egotistical coward, but now she could appreciate just how total these strangers’ victory was. “Both of them…” she quavered. “We really are finished, then. Even with the pirates’ help, I couldn’t save the Port…” Rubick stared at Annetta for a moment, then turned to Karin, then back to Annetta. He [i]could[/i] say something about the situation, but why spoil the fun so soon? In the end, he remained silent, save a giggle he could barely stifle.

Karin blinked, briefly casting a look at anyone paying attention to the conversation. [color=fff200]”...Perhaps you were still too delirious to understand me. We are [i]not[/i] invaders.”[/color] She pinched her index and thumbs together and let the sentence hang, staring emphatically at Annetta. [color=fff200]”We are not going to hurt you.”[/color] She said again. [color=fff200]”I don’t appreciate being made to repeat myself. We’re moving on. Ask me, or anyone, any question that you desire.”[/color] She said with an upward flourish of her hand.

Still seemingly dubious, Annetta went for the straightest shot she possibly could. “Uh…then, why don’t you let me go, and go away?”

[color=fff200]”You’re already let go.”[/color] Karin said, gesturing to Annette just floating there. [color=fff200]”And we’re already on our way out. But if you leave now, we’ll be forced to release these two pirate captains into the wild since we cannot take them with us.”[/color] She pointed at the two of them with her thumb. [color=fff200]”If that is ideal for you I suppose this conversation is over.”[/color] 

After some time had passed, Omori finally emerged from the captain’s quarters, looking over his journal. It was a bit difficult, sketching out S’ armor from memory. But hopefully he could figure this guy out in due time. He had to get stronger, he reminded himself. Once the boy overheard Annetta venting her rage towards the two pirates, he looked back up to see that… Well, crap. Maybe he should’ve waited a bit longer to come out.

Glancing over to the captain’s quarters, Rubick noticed that Omori had finally emerged from his hidey hole. Seeing a prime opportunity for social interaction, he blinked next to Omori and placed an arm around the boy. “[color=limegreen]You’re just in time![/color]” Rubick said happily. Gesturing towards their band of seafaring prisoners and leading him towards them, Rubick continued, “[color=limegreen]Grab a snack and enjoy the show! We’re just getting to a good part now.[/color]” Geralt gave a snort at that. Omori wasn’t as amused.

Indeed, the sudden realization of her position left Annetta speechless, but only for a moment. “W-wait, you’re going to just, let them go, too? They’re…pirates! They rob and hurt innocent people just because they’re stronger!”

LeFwee squawked angrily into his gag, but the nymph just glared at him bitterly. “We had to work ourselves to the bone to keep up with payments, just so you’d fight on our behalf! And even then, you weren’t satisfied!” Annetta’s lip curled at Risky next. “And you! Your constant raiding is the reason we had to hire LeFwee in the first place! Were you even gaining anything!?”

“Eh, that’s fair,” Risky said, shrugging. “At a certain point, it was mostly for fun. And to knock that featherbrain down a peg or two. Still, lucky you had ne’er-do-wells like us, mm? Up north near the salt plains, the pirates kidnap poor, defenseless villagers and sell them into slavery.”

Though surprised for a moment by the pirate’s casual manner, Annetta composed herself. “I don’t really care what you do with them,” she told the Seekers. “All I want is for people to leave the Port alone. We’re not strong, or wealthy, or important. We just want to live. Like a weed. All people need to do is not go out of their way to tear us up.” Still wary, she prepared to leave.

“Ugh,” Risky sighed, rolling her eyes. “This is all the Consul’s fault. If he bothered telling us how strong you people really were, I wouldn’t have bothered. You were supposed to be in rowboats, for goodness’ sake…”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Well, it's true that we were just passing through when you all ambushed us. We're not gonna do anything to your town,"[/color] Pit chimed in, his irritation from the argument receding after hearing Annetta out. He glanced then at Risky Boots. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I gotta ask: you've all been enemies all along, and started working together - why? Just 'cause that guy in the red armor told you to?"[/color] Like most of them he was curious what kind of sway that man had, but more importantly how he'd known about the Seekers' operation and why he'd tried to stop them.

Raising his other hand, Rubick interjected, “[color=limegreen]I’m still curious about who this ‘Consul’ is. He seems to be quite the individual to call you evidently fine ladies and gentlemen to action.[/color]” 

[color=fff200]”..Yes, we’re all rather curious. My plan was to give the pirates to you, as your prisoners. Because letting them go is foolish and executing them would be quite barbaric. And in return, you’d tell us all about this nefarious liar. From what I understand, his machinations led to the death of one of your citizens, yes?”[/color] Karin said. [color=fff200]”Terribly, terribly sorry to hear of that. We hope to learn more about him so future loss of innocent life could be prevented.”[/color] 

Annetta waved her hands in protest. “We don’t want them!” Geralt’s eyes narrowed at LeFwee when she said this, hand closing into a fist. 

“Look, I’ll tell you everything I know without any blubbering,” Risky quickly offered. “Most of the time we’re on our own, but Consul S helps us out from time to time. He lets us know where to find stuff, gives us jobs to do, and warns us about enemies. He’s not our boss or anything, seeing as I’m the Queen of the Seven Seas and all, but he helps keep us afloat. He doesn’t share a lot of personal details, though. When I asked him why, he just said it’s his job. Some hoity-toity stuff about ‘keeping the flames alight’.”

Annetta blinked a few times, her brows knitted together. “That’s…pretty much the same as us, weirdly. I mean, we had to get LeFwee to fight for us, but we did other jobs for him sometimes. Nothing…sinister, I don’t think. But we’ve been enemies the whole time. Why’d he help us both…?” She scratched her head. “Maybe he wants everyone to succeed?”

[sub][b][color=dcdcdc]”Would someone innocent try to skewer someone with a harpoon? Sheesh.”[/color][/b][/sub] Omori couldn’t help mumbling, furrowing his brows at Karin’s words. Though soon as Risky started to explain who S was to them, he prioritized taking notes for the moment. When Annetta suggested a reason why the Consul would “help” them both he properly spoke up, albeit rather bluntly. [b][color=dcdcdc]”Or he just wants [i]us[/i] dead?”[/color][/b] He raised a brow.

At this the Cadet blinked. [color=salmon]"Wouldn't that mean that he's actually, uh - awake? Seems like it's a bit much to assume he was just being controlled by one of those big floating hands."[/color]

Susie thought to herself for a moment, before saying. [color=ec008c]”I haven’t heard of this man, and from the sound of things none of you have either until now. If that's the case… does he work for someone you do know and wants everyone here dead? Or was this just something he convinced all of you,”[/color] Susie said, gesturing to the foes they had just defeated and captured. [color=ec008c]”to do in order to get you out of the way for plans of his that you would get in the way of?”[/color]

Geralt crossed his arms at the offered explanations. “Sounds to me like he’s working for a Guardian, or even the big guy himself. Keeping the flames alight? That’s damn near religious talk. And they’ve had to have noticed us killing a few of his Guardians already, so they may be desperate to put us down.” Sighing, he shook his head. “And you have no idea what I’m talking about anyway.” 

[color=ec008c]”You mean those powerful Galeem monsters that all have to be destroyed to take out that ball of losing profits.”[/color] Susie said, correcting and reassuring Geralt in her own way.

Geralt nodded. “Yes. We’ve taken a few out already. Mecha…Dragon…Bowser? I think. Some version of our big guy. That was before I met the others. The Ender Dragon. The Orphan of Kos. And Yellow Team took out Red Eye. Should be nine left.” 

Blazermate didn’t have too much to add to this conversation, instead just checking up on everyone and making sure they were all good. She was a bit surprised the new scar Nadia had gotten didn’t heal up, as her medigun often managed to heal recent scars no issue. Perhaps the feral was making a subconscious effort as part of her sorrow to keep that scar as a reminder or something? Well, that was a bit above her expertise to figure out, so all she could do was make sure everyone was well. 

At the moment, Nadia was too busy mulling over the new information to realize that Blazermate was examining her. She moved a little closer in from the sidelines to rejoin the group conversation, sitting on a leftover red barrel as she did. “Whatcha said makes sense,” she told Geralt, drumming her feet against the barrel’s side. “I’m still not totally up-to-date on everythin’, but if we’ve managed to take out a couple Guardians in a couple days, and there’s only thirteen total, someone’s bound to take notice. If that creepy Hand was the only thing that’s actually tryin’ to stop us, that’d be too easy, right? Plus…well, even if that Consul didn’t actually try to fight us, and he thought the parrot deserved to bite the dust, he did look like a bad guy, huh?” She pulled her ponytail over one shoulder and fiddled with it as she thought out loud. “Question is, was he a Guardian? Aren’t they all big monsters just waitin’ around for someone to come fight ‘em?”

[b][color=dcdcdc]”Sounded like a walking cliche too.”[/color][/b] Omori glanced over at Nadia. [b][color=dcdcdc]”I did try to fight him, but he knocked me into [i]his[/i] clown car-thing with no effort.”[/color][/b] He explained, pointing a thumb at Junior.

[color=SpringGreen]”He made me fall asleep at one point too, which coulda been bad, and he was the one doing all those shields on the fairy too. I think?”[/color] Jr added, before pondering that [color=SpringGreen]”You know, if he wanted us dead, it’s weird that he didn’t help more, given that when he did act he was pretty dangerous.”[/color] 

[b][color=dcdcdc]”Wouldn’t surprise me if that was his doing, but I think [i]she[/i] was keeping those barriers up. You know, survival instincts.”[/color][/b] The boy nodded his head towards Annetta’s direction. [b][color=dcdcdc]”She’s pretty sturdy.”[/color][/b]

[color=SpringGreen]”Dunno, she seemed like she was surprised every time they came back up but eh, whatever”[/color] the prince shrugged, not to invested in this

[color=0072bc]”Have you guys noticed each Guardian is like a giant monster or something? Why are they all giant monsters? Couldn’t one be like, just a normal dude?”[/color] Blazermate said, thinking about what had been said. She had been one of the very few that had been with the group since the beginning..

[color=FD0000]”Big monsters are boss monsters, duh,”[/color] Bowser pointed out what he thought was obvious. [color=FD0000]”Little people are either chumps or heroes, and neither’d make good Guardians.”[/color]

Geralt rolled his eyes at Bowser’s surety. “Not taking a jab at you, boss, but I’ve put down plenty of mindless beasts at least your size. Ain’t easy, but a veteran warrior in proper armor is a fight I’d rather avoid compared to a Fiend. A thinking mind can outclass near any size difference.” He was thinking back to his fight with Imlerith in specific, the elf warrior having taken almost as much effort as Eredin himself, and Imlerith fought without magic. “Add potent magic or something else into the mix? No thank you.” 

[color=FD0000]”Right, but, hear me out, another guy in armor ooooooor a dragon? Or that weird whale baby weirdo thing? Or me, but like, more of a jerk. See, why go for a dude in armor who can think and do magic when you can get a big monster in armor that can think and do magic?”[/color] Bowser pointed out, and to drive it home said point, pulsed some dark magic in his claw to modify his size up and down. [color=FD0000]”Like these Guardians have to be on par with me! So like, someone who’s a challenge to you wouldn’t be up to snuff, they have to be a challenge to a whole pile of heroes, not to mention me!”[/color]

Geralt was about to interject when Bowser said that something that challenged him wouldn’t be up to snuff, but paused and nodded when he continued. “Hmm. Fair enough, I suppose. The Guardians have so far all fit that model. Extremely powerful monsters, though where I come from whether a dragon is a monster or not is debatable. And if one guy with a silver sword, Witcher or no, could take down a Guardian, wouldn’t be much of one, no matter the shape or size. Still, there’s nothing saying it has to be a [i]little guy[/i].” Shaking his head, Geralt stopped. “No. No point in speculating while we have no idea what we’ll face next. Suffice to say, this Consul likely wasn’t a Guardian himself, given that we’re still ostensibly in the Ender Dragon’s territory.” 

The Cadet weighed both of Geralt and Bowser's points. The thought of an elder dragon with armor and magic made him very uncomfortable, that kind of enemy would probably be almost impossible to deal with, but at the same time he had to agree that a cunning mind made fights a lot more unpredictable. He wanted to jump in on the debate, but it was something that would have to be brought up later - like he'd said to Karin and Pit before, they had other matters at hand.

The angel himself spoke up then anyway. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"So we've got a whole other element to deal with now. Who knows how many other people he's convinced that we're going to harm them, or how many other 'Consuls' are out there!"[/color]

[color=0072bc]”Well, as morbid as it might sound to you, if they come at us, that's just more parts for our group.”[/color] Blazermate said, being one of the group who had no issue actually felling their opponents for their parts or powers as that was just the medabot way. [color=0072bc]”Sure once their numbers thin out we can recruit, but the first few… Free parts!”[/color]

“[color=limegreen]Agreed,[/color]” Rubick said, nodding his head. He was a mage who lived off copying others’ abilities, and this seemed like an approach that worked just as well, if not better. He was also no stranger to killing, having done quite a bit of it himself in the past. “[color=limegreen]We should prioritize our own lives, and if they’re going to try and kill us, we might as well take what we can from them.[/color]”

While she took no joy in killing, Nadia found herself nodding along. “We’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do to survive. We can try goin’ about it all heroically whenever possible, but if someone crosses the line…well, them’s the breaks, right? Not everyone has the luxury of bein’ able to do the ‘right thing’ all the time,” she said, putting air quotes where appropriate and making sure to say it in a dopey way. Karin got just a little bit of side-eye as well.

 [color=fff200]”The ‘right thing’ isn’t a luxury, it’s an obligation!”[/color] Karin protested. 

The monochrome youth remained quiet despite their reasoning. There were just…worse things to worry about than himself.

“I don’t mean to interrupt all your rationalizations or anything,” Risky interjected. “But if you’re going to do something with us, could you get on with it? These ropes chafe, and I’m starting to lose circulation. I’m practically turning purple!” She laughed, remarkably confident still despite her situation. “Oh, and, uh, for the record. I don’t really have any useful powers or parts, so…cut me some slack, will you?” Her eyes landed on LeFwee. “Bet he does, though. Think about it: how could such a sniveling little chicken get strong folks like Rip Tide and Rakkam to do what he says without mind control or something?” Luckily, LeFwee’s gag rendered his enraged response muffled and unintelligible.

[color=0072bc]”Well… thats the thing, it's surprising what you can get from even lowly zombies that can’t even talk…”[/color] Blazermate started to say, a gleam in her eye.

[b][color=dcdcdc]”Besides the fact that your co-conspirator was a bit too easy to defeat. Doubt he’d be useful to us besides that sword he had on him.”[/color][/b] Omori told Risky with a shrug.

Though he'd defended Omori earlier and was happy to do it, Pit didn't necessarily agree with Blazermate's cavalier point of view. His wings drooped and he ignored that conversation, saying to Risky and LeFwee, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"No one's going to kill you, you already lost. So just don't try to kill us when we let you go."[/color]

He paused. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Whenever that is."[/color]

[color=salmon]"I guess we should take them with us after all, find some kind of jail to stick them in. Feels weird to just let them loose if they've been terrorizing that town."[/color]

Nadia crossed her arms. “I guess that works. They ‘arr’ pirates after all, just like Annetta said.”

“[color=limegreen]Oh, so we’re not killing them?[/color]” Rubick asked, feeling a little disappointed. “[color=limegreen]Very well, then.[/color]”

Geralt had a bit of a frown on his face, but nodded. “I’m not much of one for executions. Up to you what you want to do with them.”

“During a fight is understandable,” came a new voice. The Seekers turned to see Peach headed over from the back of the Tinkerslug’s deck, her tone and pace both measured. “After the fight’s over, though, it’s cruel. Despite what happened here today, we’re [i]not[/i] villains. If someone is trying to make it seem like we are, we have to prove them wrong.” She then turned to Port O’ Panic’s leader to offer her something only Karin had so far. “Annetta, we really are sorry. We were all mistaken and misled. When those Abyssal bombers appeared, it was all I needed to know to assume that you all were our enemies. We’ll leave you alone, and without the pirates around, hopefully those weeds of yours will become a flourishing garden. If people from Alcamoth come by again, it will be as friends to try to repay the debt we incurred.”

[b][color=dcdcdc]”....I’m sorry.”[/color][/b] Omori spoke up to Annetta after Peach had the ghost of a regretful frown on his face.

A few eyes turned to Jr, but he just shrugged. As far as he was concerned none of this was his problem any more.

Annetta nodded slowly. “I don’t know if I can accept all this. Or if I even have the right to. Reme is dead, after all, and the Port…I’m really not much of a leader. But…it seems like you’re all pretty serious about it being a misunderstanding, and making amends. I hope it’ll be like you say.” With that, the nymph flew off, her flight pattern limp and lopsided from the dead weight she carried along with her.

[color=ec008c]”You know… If we’re turning them in, we could probably claim some kind of bounty.”[/color] Susie said, having tuned out of the conversation a little while ago as she pulled out her PDA to collect and redistribute the money she had been making at the Grand Exchange.

 [color=fff200]”...Indeed.”[/color] Karin said. [color=fff200]”The releasing them thing was just a bluff for information, anyway. Southward, yes?”[/color] She strode to the bow of the ship, planting her foot and pointing forward.  [color=fff200]”Onward, Triumph! To Twilight Town.”[/color] She commanded the Tinkerslug. Their journey was underway once again.

 She set her hands on the upperduck and looked solemnly down upon the Seekers. [color=fff200]”Of course it is natural that our enemies may be slain in battle. But today it has been made clear that our true enemy intends to weaponize the innocent against us. We must hold each other accountable and act with wisdom and restraint. Need I remind you that we are not trying to save the world, we are trying to save the people in the world. That is all I have to say on this matter.”[/color] She turned and went to attend to the front of the boat.