[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/EQXq1Ty.png[/img]

[color=FF8C00]

RANK 5
9/50 EXP[/color]

[b][u]Nyakuza Metro -> Gutsford[/u][/b][/center]

Things got hectic for the group right when they had to overcome this last hurdle and make the final stretch. Being stuck in a dead-end will do that. Raz helped hold back the encroaching tide of the mob as his friends did their best to make it up to the landing, though he wasn't fast enough to stop Roxas from being shot down. [color=FF8C00]"No!"[/color] Since Geralt was dealing with the assassin themselves Raz continued to blast the cats back, enough aggression coursing through his big head to provide him ample ammo to give Geralt and the downed Roxas a wide enough berth. The others either pitched in to help defend or focused on getting up to the station, but luckily Geralt made quick work of their attacker with the help of some little creature that appeared out of nowhere. Was that one of those Spirits people mentioned? He'll have to ask later, since their ride was here - literally, as Raz could hear the train pull into the station above them.

Another bit of good fortune; by the time Panther was dealt with and the group was ready to move on, the wall-bound cat vacuum (or "catuum") was close enough to bounce off of, giving them all the way up they needed. Raz made sure that everyone else had made it before he took the cat-vacuum-bouncy-thing, sproinging off it like a pinball against a bumper and landing with ease in the last hallway to the Black Line. 

[color=FF8C00]"Everyone okay?"[/color] Raz asked, pulling his goggles back onto his head now that the worst of the assault was behind them. [color=FF8C00]"Did we lose anybody?"[/color] Apart from Roxas still being unconscious, the only one not in their group was the very conspicuous Wonder Red. How they lost someone so flashy was beyond Raz. Hopefully he only got split up and not... you know, worse. No use in worry about it right now. That guy seemed pretty capable. Yeah! That's enough justification to put it aside.

On the train itself, which thankfully did not have any feline foes after a bounty, Raz watched Roxas as Blazermate and Geralt healed him up. He was sure he was fine, he was more curious about the un-Galeem-ing process. He wasn't exactly cognizant enough when he got freed, so there was still a curiosity there to sate. It was pretty uneventful, though. Geralt produced a heart out of thin air, which was neat, and then tossed it onto Roxas, where it disappeared with a small poof and restored color to the kid.

[color=FF8C00]"I'm trying to find my friends too,"[/color] Raz said to the newly awakened Roxas. [color=FF8C00]"It's a pretty big place though. It'll probably be hard for either of us to find them. But if your friends are anything like you, I'm sure they're doing okay out there!"[/color] Raz looked out the window as the train pulled into their stop. [color=FF8C00]"Same for mine..."[/color] A sadness flashed across his face as he thought about just how many people close to him were out there somewhere, under Galeem's influence and possibly in danger. He turned back to Roxas and the others as they all prepared to leave the train, trying to get that particular thought out of his mind. If only he managed to learn the Memory Removal technique before he got beamed into this world. There were quite a few things already he'd just love to forget. The smell of monster guts still haunted him, after all.

Gutsford seemed like a much needed break from the whole 'cat mob bounty onslaught' they just went through. Appearances weren't everything, sure, but how much danger could there be in a place like this? Student debt was probably the biggest threat someone could encounter. [color=FF8C00]"School? I never went to a big academy like these,"[/color] he noted, [color=FF8C00]"or even a public school. Mom and Dad taught us everything we needed to know. Usually things to help run the circus. You'd be surprised how useful Geometry is when it comes to performing a spiraling septuple front flip without hurting yourself."[/color] His family... great, [i]another[/i] thing to worry him!

Lili, Sasha, Milla, Ford, they all could take care of themselves just fine in this dangerous world, but what about the other Aquatos? Where were they? Are they even still together or have they been splintered all over the place? So much anxiety flooded his mind that he wandered straight forward without paying attention, leading him to slip in a puddle and fall flat on his face. [color=FF8C00]"Oofgh!"[/color] Picking himself back up, Raz caught a glimpse of something quickly hiding into a conspicuous mailbox on a seemingly random part of the sidewalk. Weird.

Everyone's attention was brought to the city in the distance, a massive metropolis the likes Raz has never seen before. [color=FF8C00]"Oh man. That's a... really far walk."[/color] Raz looked up and down the roads leading to Midgar, hoping for a convenient bus or friendly taxi driver to show up. [color=FF8C00]"Not to complain about our super important mission to save pretty much every world in existence or anything, but after climbing that huge mountain I'm really not looking forward to another hike. Hey, if there's roads leading from here to there, there's gotta be some kinda way to use them, right? They're not just there for show?"[/color]

And that was the next thing on the agenda: finding transportation! Despite only just getting there everyone split off into their own smaller groups. Raz stuck with Roxas and Geralt, also finding himself in the company of the leader, Peach, and Bede and Blazermate. On Peach's warning about keeping cautious, cleared his throat nervously and fell into step with her. [color=FF8C00]"Hey, Princess, uh, Peach? I'm not super familiar with this Organization XIII or these Consul guys, but exactly how [i]evil[/i] do you think they are? They wouldn't, like, try to find the people we care about and hurt them or use them against us... for example?"[/color] He tried to pass it off with a big, innocent smile, but that only made things more awkward.

Things only got more awkward as their search lead them to a very busy section of Gutsford, one that seemed rife with construction. Or so it seemed. As soon as Raz's eyes rested on one of the trenchcoated street workers, he froze in place. [color=FF8C00]"Uhmmm..."[/color] There were more of them, too, gardeners and sewer maintenance workers and phoneline repairmen bemoaning the advent of cellphones. [color=FF8C00]"Okay, this situation has officially gone from 'strange' to 'alert level reddish indigo'."[/color] In a hushed tone, Raz advised his teammates while trying to corral everyone into a safer, less surveilled part of the city. [color=FF8C00]"These G-Men are from my world. I [i]know[/i] them! They aren't real-- well, okay, they are here, but what I mean is that where I'm from they were only mental constructs inside somebody's mind. If Galeem can bring those out into a physical space, that could have so many implications. How many places or people or creatures have come from someone else's mind?"[/color] As the group turned into an alleyway, Raz got off one last piece of advice. [color=FF8C00]"Oh, also, don't get near them, answer any questions, and if you see a particularly pyromaniacal milkman, run in the opposite direction."[/color]

Of course this ended up being moot since soon after they entered the side road. The G-Men, much more proactive than Raz remembered them being, started to corner them, first from one end of the street than the other. They were trapped. [color=FF8C00]"Okaaay... we might have to fight them off, which is not a good idea, but..."[/color] Before he could finish the thought, a door to the pet shop opened, and two twins told them to follow. Without much time to gauge the intentions of the pair, Raz seized the opportunity. [color=FF8C00]"Oh look![/color] He said, loud and stilted much like the G-Men that threatened them. [color=FF8C00]"A store for pets and pet accessories! My newly adopted animal companion could do with a new leash and/or toy!"[/color] Hoping that was enough to convince the G-Men, Raz semi-quickly sidestepped towards the shop, beckoning the rest with a look and a tilt of his head to follow his lead.[hr][center][color=FF8C00]1,381 Words
+3 EXP[/color][/center]