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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Yankee
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Yankee God of Typos

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Word Count: 687 (+1 exp)
Level: 3 - Total EXP: 46/30
Location: Dystopiascape - Kunad Highway

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Pit's arrows of light sailed through the air and around the makeshift battlefield as he leaned into support while recovering from the nuclear attack. With all the chaos and constantly shifting targets, just as many missed as hit. No matter how many times they hit their marks though, if one of the demons was healing the others it would be moot. While he tried to focus his shots on Atropos, the chaotic fight made it hard to do. The trucks themselves were spread out, and then suddenly closer together every time the road narrowed. Wide ranged spells of ice and darkness bloomed around the area, and the scattered shouts of the Seekers was a near constant.

They managed to fight regardless of the conditions, but the G-men were not the only thing they had to contend with. The woman they were working with, Giovanna, called out a warning for something coming up ahead. "Wild trucks" she'd said, which sounded strange but turned out to be exactly that - large semi trucks with no drivers, clustered together and headed their way.

There was some good news though! That helicopter she'd mentioned earlier was within view and on it's way. Hopefully it got to them soon. In the mean time, there were two separate but soon to be collectively massive situations to deal with. One in front of them, and one currently at the tail end of their ride.

Being caught between two major problems really sucked. Pit was split on what action he should take - would it be best to help clean up with demonic shadows, giving his team an easier time as the navigating the moving trucks without worrying about attacks from the rear? Or should he focus on mitigating the threat of the clustertrucks, making their current ride safer while leaving the others to deal with the enemies?

I really wish I had some divine advice right now! The angel fretted. Despite knowing it likely wouldn't reach her, Pit did pray to the Goddess of Light while he dispelled the Palutena Bow and equipped the Guardian Orbitars in it's place. While he'd been deliberating on what to do, the other Seekers had already followed through with most of their plans. Melee combat was steadily wrapping up, and bullets and sandstorms were closing in from the back of the convoy. There was a gradual shift toward the front of the line of trucks, notably with Raz and Roxas having taken hold of the enemy commander. Pit went forward with them, but instead of another combo play with Raz and continued on until he was right at the edge of the lead cargo truck's trailer.

Ultimately, his choice was always going to be this one. The delivery drivers looked totally petrified, staring down the horde of sentient trucks while a supernatural battle was going on atop their own vehicles. The Seekers were professionals at fighting and world-saving (sort of), but the people they'd hitched a ride from were just regular humans. Humans that could use some help avoiding a head-on collision on the road.

Pit hopped down onto the truck's hood, looking back over his shoulder at the man driving and shouting a quick, "Sorry!"

Thankfully the driver, though startled, kept his iron-grip on the wheel and didn't swerve. Pit breathed in, focusing on getting the timing right. His plan was a simple one: to project the orbitars' energy shield and force the clustertruck herd to part around the cargo convoy. It was hard to judge just how many wild trucks there were, but at high speeds like this a few seconds should be enough time to cleave through the pack - he hoped.

He deployed the shield when he judged they were close enough, giving the driver-less vehicles time enough to swerve away. If they were dead set on going straight then they'd just smash against the shield and be pushed to the side anyway. That wouldn't be ideal for anyone, but at least it would still be better than crashing right into them. He'd escape with the others once he did what he could here.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Majoraa
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Majoraa Oyasumi~

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Level: 4
Experience: 15/40
Currently In: The Under
Word Count: 457 (+1 Exp)


The plan was set. But first they had to get a map for the area. At the mention of that the Knight pulled out their map of Hallownest to glance over it. Yeah, they're going to need a fresh one, especially with so many new areas they were unfamiliar with. Hopefully Cornifer was in the area. At Nadia's comment about breaking the seal, they couldn't help shaking their head. The first time wasn't exactly a "Piece of Cake", and they worked relatively alone for the most part. Hopefully Hornet or Quirrel were somewhere further down the path. The Knight put their map away, and lightly tugged on Omori's sleeve, indicating that they were ready to go.

"Hm? Oh." The boy looked down at the pale bug, then back to the few that were already heading out. He, like some of the others, was admittedly distracted by the escalating argument between Ganondorf and their pridefully self-proclaimed "Original Evil". As much as Omori wanted to complain about the inherit hypocrisy in that statement, a part of him also wanted to just forget about that slip up and move on. Besides, if this was to free the dark king, then he won't step in either. The two didn't stay long for the fight, making their way to the Crossroads Cavity.

"...Another long way down." Omori spoke up, as he and the Knight looked down from where they stood. Looks like Nadia and Therion had a head start, Jesse following behind them- Aaaand Nadia takes another plunge. Hopefully it won't wake up the Gruz Mother. The Knight took a glance at the gruzzers idly flying around. One lightly bounced of a wall and near them, to which the bug kept it at as distance by hacking away with their nail. The gruzzer fly quickly expired in a small splash of...some orange substance, leaving behind it's spirit. The Knight curiously reached out and grabbed it.

"I think you can crush that to get an item. Dunno if it'll help much regardless." Omori told them with a shrug. He didn't know what other use it'd have otherwise. The Knight took a moment to concider, and crushed the gruzzerfly's spirit in their hands, spraying out a small sum of Geo. This was a bit more convoluted, but fine.

As much as the Knight could hop down the platforms like normal, they didn't want to leave their companion behind. Especially with him overworking himself, from what they can tell. They'll have to find somewhere to rest at some point. Maybe a bench? Either way, despite the boy's insistence, they took to clearing out any leftover cave crickets or grubs in the way as they steadly made their way down.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Archmage MC
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Archmage MC

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Level 9 Sectonia (holding 3 level up) - (45/90)
Location: The Ruins
Word Count: Below 750


Sectonia watched as her minons decided where to go. Overall it didn't matter in the end as apparently they would have to go to all areas, so why not let them have a bit of fun and autonomy? Ganondorf though was someone to be weary of, eve with Bowser beating him up and friend hearting him. Still, he talked a tough game like Bowser, but if the koopa king could beat him, he wasn't all that tough. That little bug thing felt like it would be a tougher, if faster fight all things considered right now, but that could change if the gerudo king showed he had more magical prowess than just punching things or kicking things.

Nadia went off on her own, going ahead towards the first location they were said to look for one of these seals. The troublemaker she was, she got catapulted off a cliff after attacking one of the local bugs, with Jesse coming around and making a platform for her to jump off of and recover herself. Sectonia could only shake her head at the catgirl's eagerness to throw herself off a cliff like that, moving to have a little chat with her.

Although while some might think it would be Sectonia chastising Nadia for going forward like that, that wasn't the case at all with Sectonia, seeing Ganondorf was free and curing Galeem, spoke privately with the feral. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you to beware that one. He seems like the 'king' that would stab you in the back given any opportunity that would give himself power. A ruler is nothing without subjects, and he clearly hasn't learned that lesson." After that, in a more vocal form that everyone nearby could hear she said. "And be careful being the scout of the group. There are holes everywhere."

Speaking of which, everything in this immediate area looked very... bug-like. Sectonia wasn't sure if she liked it or not, but something about it screamed ancient fallen kingdom or something... And with all the horrors that were here.... She'd need to think about that, there might be magic hidden everywhere. Although fisrt they'd have to deal with the locals, who probably weren't the most thrilled that their group had stumbled upon their resting ground. Especially with some of them spitting a horrid smelling orange goo...
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Lugubrious
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Lugubrious Makes the big edits

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Kunad Highway

Level 11 Tora (91/110) Level 11 Poppi (91/110)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Geralt’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit’s @Yankee, Blazermate and Susie’s @Archmage MC, Sakura and Karin’s @Zoey Boey, Raz’s @TruthHurts22, Bede’s @Crimson Flame, Roxas’ @Double, Benedict’s @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 2552


Belphegor’s Mabufula went off like a set of firecrackers, loudly and messily detonating over the convoy. The icicle-like spikes flew like miniature lances, piercing and sharp as winter itself, but despite the prospect of grievous stab wounds Tora’s body moved like it had a will of its own. The rotund Nopon threw himself over his partner as she wallowed in the pits of despair, squeezing his eyes shut as he clamped his ears down over his head. When the ice fell upon him, however, their tips barely penetrated any deeper than the head of a pencil into an eraser. With Poppi’s Wind Core not currently in use, Tora’s absurd constitution reduced the pointed flurry into ice-cold acupuncture.

Of course, he still wasn’t happy about it. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!” he cried, bouncing back and forth as he flapped his wings. “Get it out, get it out, meh!” After dancing a lively jig he managed to get the icicles out, which clattered to the roof of the truck and quickly flew off to the scrubland floor.

Taken aback by his attack’s ineffectiveness, Belphegor gaped at the silly-looking but tough-bodied creature before him. “What!?” he bellowed. “An immunity!? Of all the rotten luck!”

“Tora not immune!” The Nopon turned and braced himself on the rocking truck with his Variable Saber clutched tight. Poppi still languished behind him, and he wasn’t about to let any of these monsters hit her while she was down. “Tora just super toughiepon, meh! Withstand getting stomp on by giant dragon days ago! Climb freezing mountain higher than clouds just yesterday! Compared to that, pottypon ice feel like bonk with popsicle!” He fixed the demon with the most smug expression he could muster.

Belphegor ground his teeth, completely incensed. “That was just a taste, fuzzball! Let’s see how you like Bufudyne!”

Before he could conjure any more cold, Karin sent a present his way from the truck running parallel to his own. Her grappling hook anchored itself to his right pectoral, delivering a painful pinch that left him howling as he looked over to see the buffalo-headed mage zooming his way. The limp body of Morax slammed into him, nearly yanking his fellow demon from atop his ivory throne. It tilted precariously, and with his other hand Belphegor grabbed onto the rim for dear life as he cursed and yelled, but with Morax barely conscious after getting his ass handed to him it all fell on deaf ears.

Laughing, Tora stepped forward to take advantage of the chaos, but the herky-jerky movement of the truck beneath him proved to be too much for his stubby legs and the Nopon sat down hard. He thought about getting up, but the view of the drop off the bridge to the canyon floor just a couple feet to the right gave him pause. “Meeeh,” he grumbled, uneasily looking back at Poppi as he wondered what to do. In doing so, he realized that one of the trucks just ahead seemed to have an open rear door. Just moments ago, someone had slid it up from inside, and it just so happened to be someone that Tora knew. “You!?” Tora exclaimed at the sight of a sleek, black-armored cyborg with distinctive platinum-blonde hair. “Where you been!? We thought you abandon us, meh!”

Raiden sighed. “Good grief. And here I was hoping for a peaceful truck ride to Midgar.”

Tora glanced back at Belphegor, still tangling with Morax as the trucks made their way over the precarious black-drip bridges, then back at Raiden. “Well, it little late for that! But Tora forgive sliceypon if help RIGHT NOW!”

Shrugging, Raiden repositioned his scabbard and drew his signature high-frequency blade, then tensed up for a jump, filling his actuators and artificial tendons with lightning. The halves of his visor clicked shut. “...Might as well.”

The cyborg launched as if fired from a cannon. With electricity arcing around his legs he performed a ninja run along the side of the truck behind the one in which he hitched a ride, not even using his hands. He sprang to the truck opposite, ran a few deft steps along the sheer surface, then sailed up and struck Belphegor like a bolt from the blue, nailing him with a metal knee to the face with such force that he instantly broke the demon’s jaw. As the monster reeled backward Raiden flipped and came down with a heel drop to the front of the toilet bowl. The blow both took a chunk out of the bowl and tipped it forward, which in turn ejected Belphegor. Raidan cartwheeled backward as the demon belly-flopped onto the roof of the truck, squashing Morax beneath him. Before Belphegor could rise, Raiden dealt a football kick to his head that bent him backward as it lifted him off the ground. He smacked into his floating toilet, and when he fell again his opponent activated Blade Mode. Time slowed to a standstill as the cyborg subtly adjusted his aim, and when his blade flashed forth the perfectly-aligned slash carved through the heads of both demons in one deadly instant.

Tora could only blink in slack-jawed bewilderment as the demons burst into tarry ash, and Raiden returned his sword to its scabbard. To him the whole sequence had been a blur, but one thing was clear: this mostly-machine man hadn’t lost his edge after fighting Red Eye.

At that point Blazermate arrived from the front of the convoy to restore Poppi, having already cured Peach of her despair, and while she worked Tora took a quick look around in case he missed anything else. Roxas and Raz faced off against Benedict and Atropos toward the rear, while above their heads Trumpeter rained down nuclear power on Midna and Sakura in their Warthog in an attempt to run them off the road and into the rocky ravine far below. The street fighter fought with the four-wheeler’s machine gun almost as much as her assailant, but she managed to land a few streaks of bullets, which together with Midna’s sand blasts kept the harbinger from raining down destruction as they pleased. Closer to the front, the doctors, Peach, and Giovanna stood firm. Geralt and Bede were doing their best.

Not a moment too soon, the series of bridges came to an end, and solid ground stretched out before the Seekers. Of course, their troubles were far from over. With the appearance of the wild trucks stampeding toward the convoy, everyone shifted gear in a hurry. Roxas and Raz quickly began to move up from the rear, the latter of whom managed to find an inventive way to bring Benedict along for the ride. They left behind Atropos and Trumpeter, but the two shadows suddenly had bigger things to worry about than a couple of grunts all of a sudden, too. Pit went toward the front as well. On the way up the boys passed by Karin on her way to the back. That exchange struck Tora as oddly funny, though he knew that might just be the adrenaline speaking. Maybe Karin meant to leave the trucks at the front to get wrecked while the ones behind could skate around unharmed, while Raz and Roxas meant to stow away with their captive on a lucky truck that might manage to break through the chaos and leave the carnage behind. “Front or back, front or back,” Tora jittered, scared stiff by the sight of a dozen wild trucks on a collision course with the convoy. “Meh-meh-meeeeh! What Tora do now!?”

Poppi, restored from despair at the brink of oblivion by Blazermate, grabbed his wing in her hand. “Time for Plan C!” she announced, pulling her masterpon into her arms as she took to the sky after Susie. Peach jumped after them, floating through the air with the aid of her momentum.

Behind them, Blazermate unleashed the rippling magnificence of her Medabeam upon Trumpeter. Bombarded by the beam’s unrelenting force, the shadow dove down to grab hold of the bus beneath it lest its flight get cut short, but the grip of its skeletal fingers wasn’t enough. “This isn’t…the end!” With a final cry the harbinger lost its grip and hurled backward through the air. Its giant, bony body narrowly missed Atropos, then Midna’s Warthog right after, its robes fluttering in the wind as it tumbled along the dusty road and got unceremoniously left behind.

Sadly, the Seekers couldn’t savor their victory. The two fleets of trucks drew closer and closer. All at once the Bridges personnel smashed their horns in a nerve-steeling war cry, and like a pack of wild dogs the incoming trucks bayed in reply. Pit bravely took up pole position on the truck leading the convoy, hopefully with some strategy in mind. Looking down at the scene from the safety of his flying companion’s embrace, Tora struggled to come to terms with this actually happening; he counted his lucky stars that he didn’t need to be in the thick of it, unlike most of the others. “Good luck, friends,” he squeaked, swallowing nervously. Just a moment later the two fleets of trucks came together. Despite the drivers’ best attempts at last-second swerves, the result was utter pandemonium. Trucks toppled, twisted, and tumbled. Some of their rear ends lifted off the ground, more than one flipped end over end. For all the staggering forces at work, the trucks on both sides somehow weathered their collisions remarkably well, deflecting or crumpling rather than exploding into scrap metal or compacting into slag, but that same durability led to awe-inspiring sights of truck acrobatics.

And yet, there was a method to the madness. Giovanna led the charge, moving with incredible agility and poise. She could dash, airdash via magic sigils, double jump, use Rei for course-correction, and even slow her fall without compromising speed thanks to jets of air from her shoes. The doctors, being secret agents worth their salt, deployed gadgets. They skated across the trucks and sailed over the chaos on sporty hoverboards, using the empty space between the trucks rather than the trucks themselves. Raiden made the disaster into his personal playground, easily ninja running, vaulting, and flipping across and between to the trucks. He and Giovanna not only found what they were looking for, but also actually made it; from the pandemonium emerged two lucky trucks, breaking free from the pileup to carry on toward the ravine. One of them had pushed through totally unscathed thanks to Pit’s intervention with the Guardian Orbitars. Poppi aimed for them, cruising in to land on the one with Giovanna to the tune of the drivers cheering their lungs out both for Pit and just in general. The doctors stuck to their hoverboards, not concerned about running out of power with their objective so close at hand. Peach landed a moment later behind Raiden, and the rest of the Seekers couldn’t be far behind.

A couple other trucks might make it out of the pileup, but the damage had been done to this section of gorge. Any more G-men reinforcements from Gutsford would take a while to make it past that roadblock, if at all. No more enemies, at least for now. Giovanna sighed in muted relief, and sank to the roof of the truck, laying down on Rei once the wolf spirit materialized behind her like a cushion. “Looks like we made it,” she said, her tone oddly nonchalant. Her eyes rested on the cargobob as it flew over the ravine. She waved her arm, directing it to the side of the road. “No need for any more heroics, eh?”

The chopper kicked up a lot of dust as it set down, its bay doors sliding open, but Giovanna pushed through with her face shielded, so Tora and Poppi did the same. After hopping in, the agent beckoned to the rest of the Seekers, scattered across the ravine slope by their various methods of getting through the pileup. “C’mon!” Then she left the rest of the encouragement to Tora, Poppi, and the doctors, instead making her way to the cargobob’s cockpit. She plopped down in the copilot’s seat and put on a headset. “Don’t get comfy, Duke, ‘cause we’re goin’ the second they’re all in.”

“Now, now, Miss C,” the bowtie-wearing pilot chided her, his voice every bit as unflappable as his appearance. “Shouldn’t you be calling me ‘Mr. U?”

Giovanna rolled her eyes as she dusted herself off. “If not even Goldlewis cares about the damn codenames, I sure don’t. Just get us outta here.”

“Righty-O.” As a series of bright blue explosions went off among the wrecked trucks, the pilot prepared for liftoff. The cargobob rose off the ground and hovered just long enough for the Seekers to get inside. Even if Midna managed to bring her ‘Hog through that mess, she didn’t need to worry about attaching the cargo hook beneath the chopper when she could stash it in the Twilight Realm. In just a few moments more, the helicopter took flight, sailing away toward the city while a handful of G-men, left stranded and leaderless in the scrubland, looked on.




As the cargobob flew, the steady whir of its propellers quickly becoming the only sound as the chaos of the scrubland fell away into the distance, the Seekers could finally begin to decompress, giving their frenzied hearts a chance to take it easy. The closer to Midgar the vehicle got, the denser the scrubland became beneath, and the more well-developed the roadway, until finally the paved route gave way to the real Kunad Highway: miles upon miles of dilapidated freeway layered on top of and winding around one another like a nest of gargantuan serpents. Full of rubble, wrecked cars, and disused dividers, the highway had plainly seen better days. In fact, much of it appeared to be overgrown by a curious mix of huge, bulbous baobabs and pale pink sakura trees. In fact, one green-blanketed sakura tree towered so high above the highway that it might as well have been a skyscraper, with blossoms that nearly stroked the clouds.

Of course, a big tree was one thing, but the biggest city was another. ‘Sprawling metropolis’ truly did not do the place justice. To Tora and Poppi, it seemed as though if every single Titan meandering Alrest clustered together to form a single mass, it still might not be as big as this metallic colossus. Looking down on it from an aerial approach provided just too many details to make sense of all at once, but one thing Tora could try to wrap his head around was that the whole thing not only seemed to be elevated, but double-layered. The upper layer appeared to be divided into sections, just one of which could have been a city by itself, but he counted eight, and all sported their own unique flavor. What lay beneath, at ground level, Tora couldn’t see.

The psychics among the group could see one other strange detail, all but invisible to those without any such mental abilities. Above the city floated a jumbled and surreal mishmash of buildings radiating in every direction. The strange projection just hung there, a little distorted as if filtered through television static, beneath an oddly oily-looking sky.

Most remarkable of all, though, was that nothing attacked the Seekers throughout the entirety of their flight.

The group wound up at a rooftop helipad where the cargobob set down. Everyone piled out, Giovanna at the forefront to usher them along. “Inside, quick. No time for sightseeing.” No sooner had the newcomers cleared the way than the chopper took off again, bound for somewhere that it couldn’t be traced thanks to eyewitness testimony back on Kunad Highway. Tora just plodded numbly along, held by Poppi wing-in-hand as she followed Giovanna, a serious look on his face. They went down a flight of stairs and ended up in the hallway of an office building, which in turn led them to a spacious, yellow-tinted conference room with windows that looked out across the city. Upon entering, the heroes also couldn’t help but notice a titan of a man standing there, who to some was an old friend.

“...Mr. Goldlewis!” Poppi exclaimed, her face lighting up. Even if Jesse, Sectonia, and Raz had, like Tora, didn’t quite recall his name, they no doubt remembered him from Al Mamoon. After all, how could anyone forget that splendid beard, that amazing pompadour, his cow skull and horseshoe accessories, or the suit jacket with matching chaps instead of slacks. Sure enough, that enigmatic coffin of his could even be found close at hand, propped up at the table as if it were just another participant in the meeting. Also at the table sat a well-dressed woman, but she did not say anything just yet.

Goldlewis rose from his chair as if it had a tack on it. “Howdy!” he greeted them, his gruff Southern voice equal parts professional and genial. “Hoo-whee, I was just about hangin’ off the edge of my seat here, waitin’ to see how things’d turn out.” He nodded at Giovanna as she and the twins filtered in, holding Benedict between them. “Mighty fine job ya did, Giovanna. I knew ya’d pull through.”

“It was a pretty close shave,” she admitted casually as she seated herself, then leaned back in her chair. “We got followed out there by a Turk, and he flushed us out right after these people showed up.” She tilted her head at Benedict, who received a concerned glance from Goldlewis.

Whistling, the secretary of defense rubbed his head as he made his way around the table to approach the group. “We’re gonna have our hands full with that one. Here’s hopin’ ya made that right call. I’ll be lookin’ forward to your report later on.”

“Better grab some popcorn,” Giovanna muttered.

Peach approached Goldlewis, a little daunted by his sheer presence but happy to shake hands with him. “My name is Peach. I guess you could say I’m the leader of this group. Mr…what was your name again?”

“Goldlewis Dickinson, ma’am. Pleasure’s all mine.” He shook, his hand so massive that the princess’s disappeared inside it. “Just Goldlewis is fine.”

“Then…are you in charge here, Goldlewis?”

He shook his head. “No ma’am, that’d be Vernon. Vernon Groubitz. Sadly, he ain’t here at the moment. Out with Salvador meetin’ a VIP over lunch. Mr. P I mean, out with Mr. P.” He gave a resigned shake of his head, then held his hand out toward the unknown woman. “This is Jessie, by the way.”

“Jessica McCartney,” the lady corrected. “Pleased to meet you, though I’m afraid I must question the wisdom of speaking so openly in front of an enemy. Or bringing one here in the first place.” She narrowed her eyes, not at Benedict, but at Giovanna. “We’ve only survived this long by flying under the radar.”

As Goldlewis ran his hand through his whiskers, the field agent shrugged. “I’m sure he’s smart enough to realize the kind of situation he’s in. We’ll figure something out.”

“Ah…” Still a little shaky from everything that had happened, Peach put her hand on one of the seat backs. “Sorry, there’s just a lot to take in.”

Goldlewis gestured at the chairs. “Please, take a seat. And don’t you worry, ma’am. Plenty of folks could live their whole lives and still not know a doggone thing about Midgar. Luckily, ya got us here, and I reckon ya couldn’t do much better when it comes to intel.” After seating himself, Goldlewis looked around at the faces of all those present. “So, this here’s yer big chance. If we’re gonna be workin’ together we gotta have everythin’ on the table. So whatever questions ya got, we’re gonna answer ‘em, best we can.”

“Goldlewis is the guy to ask about the government,” Giovanna supplied. “Who’s in power, how everything’s organized, all that jazz. You can ask the twins about the problems the city’s facing from outside, what we call the Ever Crisis. M for what we’re up against, and N for Midgar’s armed forces.”

“Other way around,” one of the twins told her. “Although, we pool pretty much all the intel we get, anyway.”

“Whatever.” Giovanna reclined to the full extent that her chair would allow, her braid dangling below the headrest as Rei lounged beneath her.

Jessica clasped her hands together. “If you want to know about current events, as well as problems plaguing the city from within, I can be of assistance.”

“As for me…” Giovanna scratched her nose. “Well, I’m not the biggest talker, but I guess I could tell you about the city. Which plates are which, where important stuff is, getting around, you know.” She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, but before anyone asks, no, we don’t know who, what, or where the Guardian is.”

Goldlewis nodded, his expression grave. “That’s right. But once y’all know everythin’ ya need, we can start puttin’ together a plan to find out. And maybe save every soul in Midgar while we’re at it.” He heaved a sigh and leaned forward, putting his arms on the table. “So get askin’!”

The Ruins

Level 10 Nadia (57/100)
Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Omori’s @Majoras End, Rubick’s @Scarifar, Adventurer’s @Isaac, Ganondorf’s @Double
Word Count: 1578


Therion’s jibe went unheeded as Nadia plummeted down through the bug-filled chamber, her heart racing at about a million miles an hour. She did not fail to realize that this constituted the second time she’d thrown herself into uncontrolled freefall today, and unlike her little misstep in the Alcamoth atrium, this time she could barely see what was going on. Everything passed by in a blur of light and shadow, mostly shadow, with wrought-iron supports and platforms arranged without the slightest hint of regularity in every direction. Just when she managed to compose herself enough to nearly get her bearings, she smashed into and through a hapless Gruzzer fly, splattering it into a pulp of chitin chunks, squirmy little legs, and malodorous guts that left the poor catgirl’s mental state even worse than it had been before.

“Gaaaaaah!” she cried, desperately wiping at her face as she tried to come up with a patented Nadia Fortune clever solution. Unable to see -or for that matter, think- far enough ahead to throw out her limbs in hopes of snagging a handhold or two, she could conjure up only one other plan of action. Nadia spread-eagled like a skydiver as she built up pressure in her legs, then let it loose to cannon her through the air with rockets of blood. Oblivious to Jesse’s saving throw, she made for the cavern wall in order to dig her claws in and slow her descent. Unfortunately, she barely got a couple meters before a passing strut beaned her on the forehead. “Owww!” she yowled. Her numbness and overall durability reduced what would have been a knockout blow or worse to a painful blow, but it still hurt enough for her to clasp both hands to her head as she tumbled through the air back in freefall. By that point the floor of the vast chamber had gotten too close for comfort, let alone any more harebrained schemes, and with no other options Nadia blasted blood from all four limbs and her neck to slow her fall.

Just a second before she made impact, the vial of Elastic Ooze shattered on the ground beneath her, and rather than go splat the feral rebounded into the air, flailing wildly in confusion but totally unharmed. She turned her momentum into a series of flips, and after a brief moment of hangtime, landed on her feet. Arms outstretched like an acrobatic, she just stood there for a second, hyperventilating with eyes as wide as saucers. “...Hah!” Then she promptly collapsed, dizzy from revolution and blood loss.

Jesse, Therion, and Sectonia appeared a couple moments later, although it took the dazed Nadia a moment to put two and two together based on fur color and mocking expression. “Yeah, yeah, yuck it up why don’tcha,” she told them, pulling herself together as best she could with her head figuratively spinning. “I’m just…woozy from all the blood that got uh…vaporized in that fight.” Once back on her feet she hopped up with her body in a spin cycle to get rid of the partially-dissolved bug muck, her head momentarily detached so as to not get any dizzier. After soaking up as much of her spent blood as she could, she put her hands to her head, rubbing her eyes as Sectonia lectured her. “Ugh. I’m gonna have to be a lot more careful down here, that’s fur sure..”

After finally reaching the bottom in one piece -or in as singular a piece as the cut-up feral could ever be, anyway- Nadia put her sharp eyes to work taking a good look around. Peering around the gloomy lower reaches of the crossroads cavity, she counted not one, not two, but four means of egress, and each offered a vague hint of what might be in store down those different paths. The farther along the eastern tunnel went, the more the mix of purple stone brick and blue-black shells gave way to compacted dirt, grass, plant sprigs, and beds of moss. To the east, meanwhile, the masonry seemed to give way to carpentry, with wooden supports like one might find in a mineshaft. Above the eastern route lay what looked like a tunnel leading back the way the part came through the Ruins, albeit at a more middling elevation. And last but not least, Nadia eventually realized that this crossroads seemed to extend farther down as well thanks to a couple holes in the floor.

She found herself quite spoiled for choice, but since she didn’t plan to make any decisions by herself and go off on her own without the others, she didn’t waste any time agonizing over this way or that. Instead Nadia attuned her ears to a curious sound, quite distinct from the low whine of Gruzzer wings, the clicking of cave cricket limbs, or the pitter-patter of countless feet. Instead, it sounded like someone humming, and in a male voice as well. After taking a few steps in different directions to hear how that affected the sound, she zeroed in on the location in one corner of the huge room. When she spotted a roll of spare paper, she knew she was on the right track. Bingo. She scampered over, hearing the humming grow louder, and paused at the top of a small flight of stairs to see none other than the long-nosed cartographer drawing in a corner near a clutch of eggs.

“Over here!” she told the others, figuring that the fellow must have been too absorbed in his work to pay much mind to the noise. Nadia made her way down the flight of stairs only to stop short at the bottom, where a gaping pit in the pavement stared back at her. She could see what looked like mushrooms down there in the light of a yellowish haze. “This place is getting ‘under’ my skin,” she muttered. After making a mental note of a fifth direction the team could explore, she carefully maneuvered around the hole and continued on to the mapmaker. “Hey there!” she greeted, coming to a stop a few feet away from him to find that she stood about a head higher than he. She squatted down to talk to him, wearing her friendliest smile. “Are you Cornifer?”

“Hmm?” The bug looked up from his maps, his nose drooping like a great mustache. His voice possessed the same odd ‘insect’ quality as Iselda’s, but he also seemed to affect the tone of a sophisticated gentleman or scholar. “Ah, hello there, and yes, yes. Come down to explore these beautiful old ruins? Don't mind me. I've a fondness for exploring myself. Getting lost and finding your way again is a pleasure like no other. We're exquisitely lucky, you and I.”

After what had befallen her so far, Nadia didn’t feel particularly lucky, but she didn’t mind laughing at herself from time to time. “It’s been purr-etty crazy, I’ll admit!”
Cornifer chuckled. “Quite. I'm a cartographer by trade, and I'm working on mapping this area right now. Would you like to buy a copy of my work so far? Just thirty Geo.”
Nadia grinned and opened her mouth, the words ‘you read my mind!’ on the tip of her tongue, only to realize that she was currently penniless. Her ears fell flat as she clenched her teeth in embarrassment. “I, I’d like to, but, uhhhhh…”

Cornifer’s expression fell. “You don't have enough Geo? Ah, I understand. I'd give you the map as a gift, but I don't think my wife would be very happy if I did. "All our food is made of Geo", as they say.”

Nadia looked over her shoulder at Jessie and Therion. Sectonia hung back, letting her minions handle this like usual, so she wouldn’t be of any help. “Could either of you handle this? I’m sorta broke right now.” Her gaze settled on the thief, now back in human form. “What about you, cat friend? Once I get some money I’ll pay ya back. Purr-omise!”

Therion begrudgingly accepted, forking over the ill-gotten sum to Cornifer. Easy come, easy go, as they say. In exchange he received a map of the Ruins, revealing all its ins and outs as well as any links to nearby areas.



“A map can be a useful thing,” Cornifer told the trio. “But it alone won't show you where you are. If you've not the head for directions, I suggest purchasing a compass from my wife, Iselda. She's just now opening our new map shop in Dirtmouth, selling all sorts of useful things to wanderers like yourself. She'll even sell some of my old maps from time to time. I pop back to see her whenever I finish mapping an area. She's always so excited to see me.”

Nadia waved at him. “We’ll be sure to pay her a visit when we get back there! See ya around sometime!”

Cornifer waved back. “I’ll be happy to sell you my maps of whichever areas in which we meet again if we do!”

Ah, useful. With that, Nadia stepped over to Therion to look at his map. It didn’t seem to show much beyond the Ruins, but it would certainly allow the team to make the most of it. “Well,” she said after a moment. “I guess we’ve got a lot to talk about!”




Beyond the Temple of the Black Egg, a short purple-stone passage led to the liminal area between the Ruins and the Hollow Bough, and though already desensitized to the idea of woodlands underground by what Ganondorf said, Primrose could not have anticipated what she found. After exiting the mouth of the tunnel, she bore witness to an open cavern filled with thick pillars like the trunks of primeval trees and carpeted with grass. An ethereal mist filled the place that possessed a subtle luminosity, growing brighter the farther into the distance Primrose looked. It also cast everything in black; even her garb seemed to lose its color when she stepped inside. If she didn’t know better, the dancer could easily have believed that she no longer stood beneath the earth, but the sheer depth of the Chasm convinced her beyond the shadow of a doubt that she must be.

Then again, maybe this transitory space didn’t imitate a forest as well as it first seemed. Something about it wasn’t quite right. It was quiet, and eerie. And so very, very still. There wasn’t any wind at all, and nothing moved, from the blades of black grass below to the leaves of black boughs above that obscured the cavern ceiling a couple hundred feet up. Instead there came a noise more like television static, though Primrose wouldn’t know that sound. It might remind her more of the buzz of insects, a great swarm just far enough away that she couldn’t be completely sure what she was hearing. And the more she looked into the mist, the less it looked like swirling vapor, and more like static tapestries of gossamer fibers, stretched in layers upon layers between the bushes and trees to create a landscape of enveloping softness.



Edinburgh MagicaPolis

Level 8 Big Band (33/80)
Ace Cadet’s @Yankee, Red’s @TruthHurts22
Word Count: 1506


The monster hunter didn’t have much to report, which made sense. His mission, if it could even be called that, had only been to outfit himself for the chilly weather after all, so Band couldn’t fault him. “Don’t fret none,” he told the Cadet. “Even if I did say anythin’ about keepin’ your eyes out, everyone in our merry band plays to their strengths. Scrapin’ for clues is a detective’s job; we’ll need what you got when the local cops come knockin’.”

Wonder Red kept quiet. Band hadn’t really expected a costumed superhero to turn up a treasure trove of information either. Hopefully he would heed the detective’s encouragement too.

After a server dropped by to give Lucia her beer, the policewoman took a long drink, wiped the foam from her lips with the back of her hand, and chipped in. “Speakin’ of, might as well tell ya know, so ya know whatcha lookin’ foah. Iyahns stuck some real bastahds on the case, so listen up.”

She held up one hand with her index finger extended. “Fahst is Iyahn’s top dog, Kahtis Strykah, and lemme tell ya, that guy’s enough of a problem by himself. He ain’t got any crazy powahs or anythin’, but he’s tough as nails, hits like a truck and keeps on comin’ no mattah how much damage he takes. Look up ‘police brutality’ in the dictionary and you’ll see his pichah. He even says it out loud when he’s on the job, can ya believe that crap?”

Lucia shook her head, took another drink, and cleared her throat before holding up two fingers. “Anyways, next is Byte. He’s a robot, one hundred percent loyal to the foahce, so there ain’t any reasonin’ with ‘em. Fights with stretchy ahms, and his little robot pal, Bahq. Got a tricky tag-team soahta thing goin’ on. If they put theah heads togethah, they can punch through a brick wall and then some, so watch out.”

Finally, she extended her ring finger. “Last is a guy named Nightingale. Don’t know much about him, he’s kinda new. But he’s got a screw loose oah somethin’, a real obsessive and vengeful type. He’s a loose cannon, but the kind Iyahns likes. If he’s comin’ aftah ya, all bets ah off.”

Band filed away the new information carefully. “Got it. Much obliged, Detective Morgan.”

“Ah, just call me Lucia,” the policewoman smiled, brushing off his formality as she took another big drink.

“That just leaves the question of what to do next,” Band began. “I don’t know about the rest o’ y’all, but I ain’t skippin’ town before I get a read on this whole skeleton-at-night situation. I keep tellin’ myself the odds of it bein’ the Skullgirl, but it just don’t sit right with me; I gotta find out for myself. If we’re gonna be in town for the long haul, though, we’re gonna need a little cash in our pockets. Lucia?”

His fellow detective nodded, and withdrew a paper from the inside of her coat covered in illegible scribbles. “On the way we stopped by a Hello Woahk and checked out some moah o’ those job postin’s ya mentioned, red,” she told Ace. “Figyahed we could kill some time and make ya some money at the same time. Two bahds, one stone, y’know? Most of it wasn’t suited foah a crew like ouahs, but heah’s what I got.

Help Wanted:
  • Mortuary Assistant/s: Help urgently needed at River Fields Mortuary. Must be able to follow simple written and recorded instructions. Not suited for squeamish, nervous, or panicky individuals
  • Exterminator/s: Signs of Swarm infestation reported in neighboring condo. If left unchecked it could spread to our wine cellar within a day, but pest control is already booked for weeks in advance. Minor combat ability recommended
  • Demolisher/s: Additional personnel requested for the ongoing demolition of an apartment building condemned for Swarm infestation. The site has already been gassed, so the likelihood of encountering Swarm is low, but applicants should possess strong constitutions
  • Assistant/s: The ‘All Round’ Spheal Show needs your help! Most of the team ended up getting sick, so we need five people to cover for them during today’s performance: two security guards, and the rest to handle the Spheals. All this means is encouraging them and giving them fish when they do their tricks, so if you have a heart for our blubbery buds, please apply!
  • Dredger/s: City management has dispatched a dredge barge to the site of yesterday’s bicycling accident to remove all the bikes from the canal before they have a chance to deteriorate and affect the water. Any extra hands would be fairly compensated for expediting the process


“Hmmm…” Band pored over the list with the others as he listened to Lucia’s thoughts on the options, trying to figure out the terrible handwriting. “Well, I guess I wouldn’t mind most o’ these, ‘cept maybe the first one. Mortuary work ain’t somethin’ I’d ever want to do if I could help it, and given the whole walkin’ dead thing, ehh…might be better to let sleepin’ dogs lie.” He considered the other options. “I’m thinkin’ about the third one, though. I ain’t crazy about animals, but with everythin’ we been through lately, it might be a nice change of pace to take care of some critters. Could do with a smile.”

Lucia nodded, wearing a wide smile. “Sounds like a plan to me! Spheals ah just the cutest li’l things, you’ll love ‘em! I wanted to go see one of the shows this week myself, but I got stuck at my desk.” She gulped down the rest of her beer and stood, slightly red-faced, to beckon the others to follow her. “Let’s go!”






A short while later, the four arrived at an open plaza, surrounded on three sides by buildings and on the fourth by a canal. In its center stood a big fountain, enchanted by magic to stay warm and flow freely even in freezing temperatures. There, they found a parked van, a trio of sublimely spherical seals playing in the water, as well as two women, one heavier-set in her mid twenties with longer hair and a caring aura about her, and the other a younger, very slender girl in white, seventeen or eighteen years old. As they approached, the girl held out her arms for a fourth Spheal to jump into from the back of the van, which she carried over to the fountain to plop in.

Band approached the other woman first. “Good afternoon. You in charge of the All Round Spheal Show?”

“That’d be me, actually!” the girl called out, jogging over from the fountain. She quickly took stock of the four wildly mismatched newcomers with big eyes the color of wenge wood. “Well, I’m not in charge of the company, but I am running this show. Are you here about the job?”

The detective nodded, giving an apologetic bow. “That’s right. Saw the ad sayin’ your staff took ill, and we didn’t wanna let all your hard work go to waste.”

“Wonderful!” the girl declared, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’m Sierra, and this is Frisk! She’s been helping me for a couple days, and she’s just the best. Everyone loves her, and I’m sure they’ll all love you guys, too!” She introduced the Spheals in turn, pointing them out one by one. “That one’s Glenn, he’s basically a giant marshmallow. If you hold your hand out for him, he’ll come over and put his head under it to be pet! Those two are Happy and Sadie, they’re sisters, and they’re crazy energetic. You’d be shocked at how fast they can roll around while playing tag. And the last one there is Dumpy. She’s lazy and stupid, but she know’s she’s cute.”

Sierra turned back to the newcomers with a smile that quickly faded, even if the shine in her eyes persisted. “Well, the show’s gonna start in half an hour or so. We’re still setting everything up. When the time comes, I’ll need two of you with me and Frisk on Spheal duty, while the other two are security. Both to keep the crowd away, and an eye out. We don’t want anyone distracting the Spheals, and…” she looked around, then lowered her voice slightly. “Between you and me, we’ve caught wind of people saying they want to steal or even poach the Spheals. I don’t think anyone actually would go that far, but it’s best to take precautions.” Shrugging, she put her hands on her hips and looked around again. “So, go ahead and get started helping with the equipment. And get to know the little guys, too! First impressions are everything.”

With that, Sierra returned to the van to haul out a couple heavy-looking buckets of fish.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Isaac
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Isaac Through Hell and Back

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The Adventurer

Wordiness: 395 not counting the () Location: With Lugubrious's characters




"Ugh. Down there, then?" The Adventurer said, walking to the edge of the big pit that the cat-looking humanoid jumped into. He dashed onto one of the first platforms, and made his way down the cliffs to meet with them. As he was hopping the rocks, his mind inquired as to the strangeness the day had wrought. Unlike his unfortunate fellow....adventurer, he used his acrobatics to traverse the plateaus and was quickly blocked by a couple of Gruzzer Flies. "Damn it. They're giant."

The Adventurer tried to stab one of them, and succeeded, but due to the size of the rapidly dying fly, He had to let go of his weapon and watch as it and the fly took a massive fall, hitting the ground with force sufficient to crack it. This impact woke up some the other flies, maybe three or four, and suddenly, he was facing them all. Smacking a fly away, he quickly dashed through a hole in the crowd and just reached the platform behind the flies, running away with an urgency previously unneeded.

He reached the floor, grabbed his weapon off the corpse, and ran in any random direction away from the enemies until he found other people. The Adventurer barely had time to speak before the buzz of the Gruzzers drowned all words out. Not wanting to cause problems for the others, he charged towards the four fat animals, and methodically chopped them in half, one by one, right next to the Gruz Mother, who had heard the noise, and woke up.

"Crap."

To say the Gruz Mother was big even for a Gruzzer fly would not be too difficult. The rhino-sized creature charged the Adventurer, and he barely had time to dodge it. With a look of grim determination, the man turned once again and dodged to the side, hoping someone would come help.

The next time an attack came, he leaped to the side and sheared a wing off, causing them to fall to the ground. He next moved to dismember the strange proboscis from their face, and was knocked multiple feet back by rams from another two Gruzzers from the back who had come over to help. Leaping backwards, he watched the other people he was trying to protect, and silently scolded himself for being an idiot and not being aware of all his surroundings.

(I could kill them here, but Imma give the others a chance to jump in)
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Double
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Double Hard-Boiled

Member Seen 15 hrs ago


Kunad Highway -> Migdar

Word Count: 1,442 (+3 Exp)
Level 3 Roxas (16/30)
Exp: 16 + 3 = 19/30


"It'll have to do!" Roxas told Raz, knowing the wild trucks were getting closer. As Raz made his daring psychic move to snatch the Turk, Roxas also leapt into action. He stuck relatively close to Raz in case the latter needed help at any point carrying the Turk along. While Raz used his Levitation jumps and Mental Connection to make his away, Roxas was using Flowmotion to keep himself going, at one point straight up bouncing himself between parallel-lined trucks in order to push himself forward at a fast pace.

Eventually, he spotted Pit glide by overheard and shouted to Raz, "There's Pit! Let's keep close to him! Safety in numbers, right?" He just hoped Raz would catch what he said among all the chaos. So Roxas also decided to think those words really loud as well so the Psychonaut could hear them via telepathy if needed... just in case.

Eventually Roxas' feet hit the roof of the lead truck mere moments after Pit had made it there, "Please tell me you've got something in mind." Roxas had to admit that the oncoming herd of wild trucks had him nervous. At the moment they were looking to be in what was going to be ground zero of the chaos. Thankfully, Pit made a move, apparently having thought of a plan after all. Roxas ran up to the front edge of the trailer but hung back as he watched Pit land on the hood of the cabin. From there he saw the angel summon a giant shield that he used to deflect incoming trucks in other directions.

But Roxas soon saw that the front wasn't their only worry. On occasion a wild truck would sift over toward the side of the truck they rode. For those, Roxas fired off Waterga or Blizzaga spells that, while not super damaging, was at least enough to nudge them back in the opposition direction to avoid any sideways bumps or crashes. Between that, Pit's shield, and whatever tricks Raz still had, the Seekers aboard the truck would eventually manage to see the other end of the chaotic crashes and collisions safely.

When all was said and done, Roxas hopped down from the top of the truck, glad to finally have his feet on solid ground again, "Whew... I never... wanna see... another truck... for as long as I live..." Roxas said, practically panting. Everything from the G-Men chase, the fight on the trucks, and then escaping the mass collisions had really taken it out of him. He felt pretty spent up and was really hoping they wouldn't have to fight anymore for a little while.

But Roxas glanced over at the nearby Turk, now pretty definitively their captive. He had to be pretty winded after all that yanking around and making it through the wild truck crashes along with his would-be captors. But he wasn't injured, and so Roxas knew that a Friend Heart wouldn't be effective. And yet... he still felt resolved to do something. But what? He closed his eyes a brief moment and thought back. He could recall the Keyblade Graveyard and the actions Sora was forced to take throughout those events. That was when Roxas hit upon an idea: The Power of Waking. On the surface it was a power meant to be used to awaken sleeping hearts. Could it... be applied here?



"May your Heart be your guiding key..." Roxas said to himself under his breath. It wasn't a phrase he was overly familiar with himself, but... well neither was what he was about to do. His eyes shot back open and he quickly turned to face the Turk, summoning the white keyblade Oathkeeper in the process. It might have even looked like he was going to go on the attack, especially when he stepped forward while readying his weapon for what appeared to be a stabbing thrust. And then... he thrust it forward. The blade didn't pierce the exhausted-looking Turk, as Roxas had stopped it before the thrust went that far. But the weapon's tip did press against the man's chest, and Roxas pushed it ever-so-slightly forward.

And it was at this time that all the Seekers would hear a loud, guttural cry coming from the Turk, although whether it was the man himself or something deep inside him would be unclear. Even Roxas himself instinctively cried out, as if whatever was affecting Benedict was also affecting him as well. A searing light issued from the point at which the blade's tip touched the Turk's chest, building up steadily until the char began to melt away, "I made a promise...!" Roxas could be heard saying as he shouted alongside the captive, "And I'm gonna keep it, so get out of this man's Heart!" he shouted this as he suddenly and violently twisted his keyblade over to one side, as if using it to force open a stubborn lock. And with that movement came a wave of purest light that briefly struck everyone present blind for mere moments.

And when the light finally faded, the Seekers would see a newly freed Benedict. The muted nature of his colors gone, and gone too was the red in his eyes. Whatever Roxas did, it managed to purge the man of Galeem's influence, rendering him as freed as any one of them. But moments later, Roxas fell to the ground, finally falling asleep from all the exhaustion.

The flight was surprisingly uneventful apart from Roxas sleeping through it, and probably for the best. No doubt everyone was tired and ragged from all that just happened, so a nice peaceful final leg for the journey was probably what they all needed.



When at least the vehicle touched down on the roof of a helipad, Rroxas had awoken and milled out of the cargobob along with everyone else. He followed them inside where the Seekers were introduced to the people that Giovanna worked with: Goldlewis and Jessica. There were two others named Vernon and Salvador but they apparently weren't in right now. But there was also those twins the Seekers met back at the pet store: Dr. M and Dr. N, they were here too.

A lot of the explanations didn't make a whole lot of sense to Roxas. Politics and infrastructure were definitely not his forte. But he at least understood that these people knew practically everything there was to know about Midgar, so that at least would make them good sources of information. And, just like back at the clustertrucks, Roxas had a question that had still gone unanswered, and he decided it was time to rectify that.

"I've got a question. Two questions, actually." he spoke up, stepping forward and breaking ranks with the Seekers to make his presence more known to those in the room, "First: Where do people go when they're arrested by the G-Men?" which probably sounded strange to everyone. Everyone except Raz who likely would recall what Roxas was referring to, "Back in Gutsford, I, er, that is, Raz and I... someone innocent got caught in the crossfire and taken away while the G-Men were chasing us." he looked down a bit, clearly feeling responsible for what had happened to that poor bus driver.

But he couldn't let this drag him down too hard, he still had one other question to ask. All this time, Roxas had been holding his black coat in his arms, folded up into a rectangle. He glanced down to where it was tucked under one of his arms, "And second," he held out the folded coat and let it unfurl for the room to see, "Do you know of anyone who wears one of these? Working alone or as part of a group?" he finally asked.

While the rest of the Seekers probably thought he was merely inquiring about the Organization, they would only be half-right. While it was true this could give them a lead on the Organization, Roxas was also kind of hoping this might give him a lead on Axel or Xion... or even the Master of Masters. Those were all the original reasons why he joined the Seekers in the first place after all. And Roxas was determined to get some kind of lead to follow. And a city as huge as Midgar just had to have one somewhere, right?
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Scarifar
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Scarifar Presto~!

Member Seen 4 days ago



Location: The Ruins
Level: 3
Experience: 31/30 (Level up available)
Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)


"Hmm... interesting..." Rubick said as he stared quizzically at Ganondorf's sword. Was it truly the source of the extra magical power he was sensing? Rubick guessed that it wasn't. Call it intuition, but Rubick believed Ganondorf was hiding a secret. Well, Rubick just so happened to be a seeker of knowledge, and secret knowledge was his favorite kind. Whatever this giant man was hiding, Rubick intended to be the first to find out.

Bowser and the Koopa Troop, meanwhile, had a bone to pick with the Gerudo King, and they would soon enter combat. Rubick quickly retreated to a safe distance and sat down on an elevated piece of rock, eager to spectate the show. They began to exchange blows, and Rubick made mental notes of their abilities, intent on learning what he could about them. Perhaps, even use a few of them himself in the future.

The shining triangle was what truly caught Rubick's full attention, though. He realized it was that particular energy he had sensed earlier. Whatever it was, it evidently granted Ganondorf incredible power as it allowed him to overpower Bowser, and it only grew stronger once he was Friend Hearted.

Rubick clapped enthusiastically as he walked over to Ganondorf along with everyone else watching the fight. "That was a wonderous sight to behold!" he exclaimed. "You simply must tell me more about this... triangle of power you possess! What an aura it has!"

Once the excitement finally died down, Rubick made his way through the passage Primrose was observing. The atmosphere of the area was... unsettling, for lack of a better word. Even for the mishmash of a world he currently inhabited, the location was so... unnatural. Rubick kept his staff at the ready, preparing himself for any dangers that would inevitably come their way.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by MULTI_MEDIA_MAN
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MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

Member Seen 4 days ago

Geralt of Rivia

Kunad Highway-> Midgar

Lvl 9 (134/90) -> Lvl 9 (135/90)

Word Count: 505 words


As the battle raged on, Geralt scowled when Bede giggled at his decorated form, though he could feel the associated power boost. He wasn't exactly sure how, but he could. It had to be something with Pokemon and their fantastical abilities, but he didn't question it. He kept up his fusilade, before breaking off when the call to alarm was given. Ahead of them were trucks moving in....frankly absurd ways. They looked almost alive the way them charged around, rather than a mechanical carriage powered by...whatever these trucks were powered by. He was sure it was different in most places, anyway.

Rushing to the front of the trucks, Geralt took cover behind Pit as he watched Raz and Roxas apprehend their assailants' leader, giving the boys a quick nod, and Benedict a look that he was watching him. No escape attempts would be allowed by this wolf.

As the trucks came closer, Geralt watched in no small amount of awe as the collisions occurred, Giovanna and a metallic-looking man with whom Tora was apparently acquainted literally running around on the colliding vehicles in a display of superhuman acrobatics that even he was envious of. The four machines flew overhead, safe from the collisions while he and others without any absurd maneuverability or vehicles (He was pretty sure Midna and Sakura were still in that smaller vehicle he'd noticed earlier) were taking cover with Pit, whose flying shields protected them and the truck they were on. Thankfully, their pursuers were both beaten rather badly thanks to the others, and also suffered from the pandemonium, being thrown about as the trucks collided.

When the dust settled, Roxas used his keyblade to...do something to Benedict, that cleared Galeem's influence from him. Resolving to question him about that later, Geralt picked up the unconscious teen while informing Benedict that they had a lot to talk about, but that somebody else would have to give him the details.

In short order, they were recovered by the flying vehicle that their allies informed them of, and Geralt did his best to quell the unease at going up in what looked to be a steel vehicle that was flying. Utter madness. Still, he kept his cool, and watched for any signs of Roxas waking up, though that didn't end up happening until they reached their destination and began settling down.

Geralt took a seat when offered by Goldlewis, who some of the others who were on Yellow team recognized. Nodding as the man and their allies introduced their areas of knowledge, Geralt leaned forward and nodded.

"Simply put, I'd like to know it all. But let's start with this Ever Crisis, as I believe that's your most pressing concern. The rest can come after. What exactly is it, to the extent of your knowledge, how are you dealing with it, and how effective are those tactics?" It was, after all, why they were here in the first place. The more they knew, the sooner they could deal with it.
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Yankee
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Yankee God of Typos

Member Seen 0-24 hrs ago


Word Count: 626 (+1 exp)
Level: 3 - Total EXP: 47/30
Location: Dystopiascape - Midgar

The flight to Midgar after escaping the highway had been awkward. The actual escape itself had been quick, but stressful. Although Pit was glad he'd been able to shield a majority of the Seekers and what civilians he could, those he wasn't able to protect during the pile up left a bitter feeling in his chest as he boarded the cargobob. It came with the job though - you couldn't always save everyone even if you tried. The angel spent most of the ride with his face pressed curiously to the chopper's windows, trying to focus on the future. Most of the crew was tired out from the battle, even after getting healed up once they were all safe. They had the captive Benedict with them as well, which wasn't a comfortable addition to the party even after Roxas had freed him. Pit still wasn't sure exactly how he'd done it, aside from using his keyblade. Whether it was part of the weapon's function or an ability that Roxas inherently had would remain a mystery for now, as the boy had slept through the remainder of the ride.

Once the helicopter landed, the Seekers had been rushed inside to where they found themselves now. It was a rather simple looking conference room, though Pit wasn't sure what he expected in the first place. Something to match the city itself, huge and impressive, or maybe gritty?

Regardless, their hosts jumped right into offering information. There would be a lot to go over, and if Pit was being honest most of the governmental and political aspects would probably go right over his head. There was some election coming up or something? Generally he had little interest in those kinds of human affairs, and being that Skyworld was under the divine rulership of the Goddess of Light for eternity it's not like he had any firsthand experience with other kinds of governing anyway.

But the Ever Crisis? Dealing with some kind of invading threat, and possibly helping Midgar's security forces get whipped into shape? That, at least, he could wrap his head around. He could always work up to learning and helping with the city's internal problems, but they to start somewhere.

Pit turned his attention to the twin agents, echoing Geralt's inquiry.

"What he said. It's the biggest problem, right? And there's a bunch of militia already out there not doing too well?"

He did remember that Deadman had made it sound like the Ever Crisis was the most pressing issue. He struggled to recall all of the information that had been presented during that brief meeting with the small group from Midgar they'd met earlier, but it had been something about brain-eaters and invisible monsters that could infect people with something? It sounded pretty awful. Speaking of that meeting...

"Oh! Uh -" the angel looked between the people gathered at the table, unsure who he should direct his next question to when he continued. "Do any of you know someone named Deadman? He was one of the ones that got in touch with the Alcamoth Mercenaries, and he said he was still in Midgar. He mentioned that he was running... Bridges?"

The man's name was easy to remember for how strange it was, but Pit glanced over at Princess Peach as he recalled the organization name. Her short nod to him let him know that he'd remembered it right. "He'll probably be happy to hear we made it to Midgar to help out!"

Pit figured that Bridges and Goldlewis' group most have been one and the same, but if that wasn't the case then it meant that they had even more allies in the city than those gathered there in the conference room, ones that they should rendezvous with.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Zoey Boey
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Zoey Boey better than the alternative

Member Seen 13 hrs ago

Karin Level 4: 25/40
Location: Kunad Highway - Helicopter
Word Count: short
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--
Karin Level 4: 26/40


”Oh ho ho ho~! Ohohoho!” Karin laughed her supremely smug and obnoxious laugh as the two demons comedy sketched in mid air thanks to her own efforts. As Pit passed her by, Karin began backing up to get a head start on her exit as well. Her laughing stopped as someone she didn’t recognize beheaded both of the demons in less than a second. ”Ohohoho-! Oh.” Decapitation wasn’t particularly amusing. Who was this stowaway that had hid until the end of the fight to emerge, anyway? It seemed like the furry one knew him. Regardless, it wasn’t a very good first impression for Karin. Such barbaric means of combat always left a bad taste in her mouth. Still, the two demons struck Karin as both dangerous and rotten, so they wouldn’t be missed.
Clearing her throat, she moved on, jumping from the rearmost truck to one in the middle of the pack.
Karin was going to follow Giovanna and Raiden’s lead, breaking through the pack by relying on skill and mobility. She wasn’t nearly as floaty as all of them, but she was strong, fast, with great reactions and quick thinking. If she did say so herself.
She leapt from truck to truck, dancing through the carnage like a leaf moving from stone to stone in the raging rapids. One truck rose above the others and aimed to crash into her- Karin calmly moved over it like she was stepping over a knee high wall, despite the container being twice her size. There she dashed to make up the ground she just lost. Finally, she used her grappling hook to pull her the rest of the way, latching onto the side of one of the leading trucks and letting it pull her as she hopped along behind it. Latching on victoriously, she climbed onto the roof and patted her very dusty pants. It was fortunate she had changed outfits- this type of adventurer’s clothing looked just as good with dust on it as it did without. There was a certain aesthetic to it that Karin enjoyed. She did, however, go about removing the dust from her perfectly maintained hair as fast as possible. Turning over her shoulder, she watched with an impassive exterior as she waited for Sakura to emerge from the carnage in that vehicle of hers. A few moments later, she did, and Karin quietly breathed out a sigh of relief.
Waiting for the trucks to carry her the rest of the way, she flipped off the truck as it passed by the helicopter and skidded to a stop.
”A private helicopter. This is the type of transport befitting a Kanzuki- and all of us Seekers.” Satisfied, she stepped aboard and waited, setting a hand on her hip. ”I offer my congratulations to all of you. I wish I could give you all a more detailed review of your performance for future improvement, but I was quite distracted by my own bout. So I will just have to improve on that aspect, myself.” She brought the back of her hand against her coils.
”Regardless, it was all more than satisfactory. Not a single casualty.” Karin was very pleased.
She turned her attention to other matters. ”Who is this sword wielding fellow that joined us so late into the fight?” She asked Tora, Poppi, and the man himself.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Archmage MC
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Archmage MC

Member Seen 9 hrs ago



Level 11 Blazermate (Holding 2 level up) - (34/110)
Level 4 Susie - (3/40) - Level up! (Holding 1 level up)

Location: Midgar
Word Count: Less than 750


Being some of the only flyers of black team, it was easy for the robot girls to make it to the escape helicopter when it appeared, Susie already on her way and Blazermate carrying whoever was having issues getting to it. It wasn't that long until both girls and the rest of the group were taken into Midgar proper. It was such a huge, huge city that Blazermate had a streak of wonder in her eyes. Susie had MADE bigger cities than this, but it wasn't too bad. Perhaps there would be something worthwhile here.

Out of all the newcomers, Susie liked this "Raiden" guy a lot. Sure it was only for his looks, but he was already partially mechanized! With a few more upgrades and that steely cold look, he could make for an excellent bodyguard. Maybe better than that metaknight fellow she mechanized once upon a time? Either way, she would often look at Raiden with a look that was cute, but unsettling, like she was eyeing him up.

While the two girls hadn't met most of the people here, it was explained what everyone was and what they were up to, with it being clear the Guardian wasn't known in the area at all. Geralt and Pit were interested in the Ever Crisis, and with them asking that question, Blazermate could ask the question that was on her mind. "Hey... what happened to the spot known as Japan? And are there any other medabots like me in this city?"

Susie meanwhile asked her own question, simply. "What businesses or corporations run this place, and how important are they? Do they run the local government, or are they beholden to it?" If Susie could get some business deals or something going, that would get them much further than just wandering around aimlessly as it seemed the Seekers tended to do.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by DracoLunaris
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DracoLunaris Multiverse tourist

Member Seen 16 hrs ago


Sakura Level 9: 06/90
Karin Level 4: 26/40
Location: Kunad Highway
Word Count: 5535
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 13/90 (pending)
Karin Level 4: 31/40



wordcount: 5535 (+7)
Midna: level 8 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(122/80)
Location: Kunad Highway
Warp Charges: 0


As she suppressed the Trumpeter, Sakura let out a sharp bark of a laugh as Blazermate blasted it backwards and away. They passed by it quickly, hopefully leaving it in the dust. Sakura let up the trigger on her machine gun. ”Buh-bye!” She taunted cheerily as they passed the powerful demon.

”Eat my sand!” Midan shouted, almost but not quite replicating the fitting term of phrase, back at the terrible tooter as she proceeded to dump an entire sandstorm behind them in an attempt to make sure it would not be able to get back up and cause a nuisance.

The smile was almost immediately wiped off Sakura’s face as she realized what was coming. The trucks were going to crash. ”Wuh…Midna-san? If you have any magic that can help us not crash, please do it now!” She said. She traversed from the machinegun to the passenger’s seat, sitting down next to Midna and holding on tight to a handle grip on the Warthog’s chassis. Despite everything, she afforded herself enough time to do a double take at Midna’s booster seat.

”I’m cursed, it’s technically a disability aid!” Midna retorted to the glance, as if her keeping her dignity was more of a big deal than the incoming trucks.

Sakura turned bright red and stared even harder at the oncoming trucks. ”S-sorry-!”

Midna’s lack of fear was a combination of bravado and ignorance, but she did have some magic that could help. It was just that most of her magic was a hammer, and so she was going to be treating the trucks as nails.

As the carnage began (carnage that they, at the back of the pack, had an excellent view of before it actually hit them) they hung back. Sakura was quiet, biting her lower lip. Midna weaved their vehicle around tipped over or crashing transport trucks that fell out the back of the pack.

Waiting.

Waiting.

And then the inevitable happened. One of the feral trucks breached through the back of the convoy unscathed, and broke out into the open road, only to spot a new target, the titan of steel blaring its horn at the much smaller machine.

”Alright, bring it!” Midna practically screamed over the sound of engine roaring and metal grinding … as she smashed her warthog’s horn in retaliation, gunned the engine and sent them racing right at the thing. The truck would have risen to this challenge … if it hadn't already been blazing a trail right at them anyway

Sakura flattened herself against the back of seat, limbs braced. If she was funnier, she might have said something like “I said not crash!” but all that came out was a genuine little: ”Nooo!”

Tires screamed as they raced towards each other, and then orange light flared as Midna summoned a massive shadow hand from her helm and then lunged it out of where the driver’s side window would have been if the warthog had had any, before bringing it around in a powerful left hook, while at the same time also swearing to the left.

The massive fist slammed into the side of the truck’s cab, and while it was as near indestructible as they had seen when one had survived an explosion earlier, it was not immune to physics. The cab was slammed to its left (their right), forcing it to turn while the warthog swerved to its left (the truck’s right). Thus, what had been a head on collision became an incredibly close pass, the white painted metal screaming within hair’s breadth of the passenger side of the car as the two machines raced by each other.

Sakura literally felt the vacuum of the truck pull her slightly towards it as it went past, her trailing handband following the wake of the truck. For a moment she thought Midna had accidentally punched the truck right towards her seat! Breathing heavily, her feet braced against the dash, her head sunk in her shoulders and arms spread across the seats of the warthog, Sakura was otherwise still as a statue. In a shocked silence, she slowly reached up and grabbed the seatbelt. She buckled herself in, realizing that none of that bracing would have done any good because she would have just flown right out through the non-existent window! Doubly embarrassed, she held onto the interior handle of the Warthog.

Which was most certainly for the best, because things only got worse from there. The front runner of the feral truck swarm had been seen off, but behind it was, well, almost every single other truck. Said trucks were in the midst of engaging in a massive pile up, and it was all Midna could do to put the shadow hand to work, punching, slapping and woman handling machines out of the way.

Sakura saw it before Midna could- as she shunted a car aside and avoided another, the back end of a tipped wild truck slid towards them like a tail whip. ”Oh, darn it!” Sakura grunted.

Unbuckling her seat belt she put her face on the line and stood up, planting one foot on her seat and the other on the dash. ”Yaaah!” She launched the fireball at the back end of the truck and bounced it upwards with a fiery, dusty explosion. She did it too early, and the container threatened to land on the back of the Warthog. Wrapping one hand around the windshield, she clenched her fist and use her regular ol’ non-shadow hand to punch upward. ”Sha!” Steel dented, the container bounced up for one necessary moment longer before slamming down behind them. Sakura held her wrist and shook her hand as she dropped back into the seat, smiling stupidly.

By a mix of chance and intent, Midna managed to maneuver them into the tailwind of Pit’s truck for the last stretch and from there it wasn't exactly plain sailing, but the corridor he cleared let the two ladies gain ground on the rest of the party and then, after what had felt both like an eternity and a single run together moment of heart-stopping terror, they burst free of the pileup and back onto the open road.

”YATTA! WOOHOO! YEAAH!” Sakura cheered loudly, throwing her weight against her seat several times. She grabbed Midna’s shoulder and shook her around.

”Yeeeesssss ahahahaha we made it!” Midna cheered, pumping a fist, before coughing and insisting on a forcibly reserved tone ”I mean, uh, easy. Piece of cake, had it all under control”

Sakura continued to celebrate wildly. She ended up in a handstand, before falling to rest on the front window frame of the Warthog, her shoulders, head and arm laying where she had just been seated. Fists clenched, she raised them. ”That was incredible, Midna-san!!”

The princess looked a fair bit chuffed by this, but she couldn't take all the credit, replying ”So where you. I mean you punched one. With your human fist. That is ridiculous!” with a tone which made it clear that she ment ridiculously amazing. Sakura just grinned, tilting her head back, shutting her eyes and flexing her arm.

After they were done celebrating, somewhat anyway, Midna would likely be riding the high of their survival for days (or until their next bout of death defying insanity), she glanced behind them at the pile of crashed trucks, and was amazed that they seemed to basically all be intact, only unable to keep going due to being either tipped over, or, in one or two cases, stuck in between other trucks.

”Goddesses, those things are ridiculous as well, kinda wish we had …” Midna was saying, but before she said the wish her mind raced ahead and she had a stupid idea. A really stupid idea. But the adrenaline was still coursing through her veins.

”Sakura take the wheel” she requested with a calm touched by just a hit of madness before she leapt out of her seat, declared, ”be right back” and vanished into a shadow.

Sakura was upside down in her seat. ”Na-auh?” She made a perplexed noise and fumbled from her spot. The Warthog coasted a considerable distance before she leaned over and grabbed the wheel with one hand to steer it. She glanced at the approaching evac helicopter and whipped her head over her shoulder a couple times, but Midna was already out of her line of sight. ”Midna-san!”

The princess, meanwhile, lurked in the shadows of the pile up, quickly scouting around to get a feel for the situation.



By now, it looked like the dust had settled somewhat. Like spooked cattle the wild trucks had tired themselves out, and with the excitement at its end, the pileup was slowly starting to sort themselves out. The marauders flipped themselves onto their tires, wafting steam from rattled radiators as they rolled away to lick their metaphoric wounds. Those that pushed their extreme durability too far, meanwhile, lay where they fell belching smoke. Cursing and bemoaning their incredible misfortune, the battered and bruised but persevering Bridges personnel righted their trucks as well. Once restored by the generous application of emergency med-kits and repair kits, both vehicles and drivers could push through the mess of metal and rubber to totter up the remainder of the ravine slope and cross the bridge that paved the way back to Midgar.

Of course, one of the vehicles present didn’t receive such treatment. The school bus, beaten up and buckled like a soda can, lay on its side toward the back of the wreckage. With a loud hiss its doors opened, and a moment later the G-man who’d been driving it climbed out. As he set foot on the road, Atropos jumped down beside him, and after a moment spent examining his surroundings the unscrupulous agent reached up for his hat. “Let us search the scene for stragglers,” he told the shadow just before he morphed into the rainbow-bodied snake Yurlungur. It wove through the air, the pearlescent white eyes of its two heads searching in tandem as it floated over the pileup, keeping one eye on Atropos as she stalked through the aftermath below.

All that, Midna noted, was going to make this looting attempt a bit more awkward. Still, it was nice to see that the drivers were ok after all that carnage, but them being up and about was kind of a problem. After all, all it took was one of them spotting her and calling out the alarm and the big weirdly tasty looking rainbow snake would be on her. Logic dictated that the one left behind to drive would be the weakest one …. But she decided it best not to leave that to chance. She wouldn’t put it past the not exactly genius demons to leave one of their better fighters behind.

So. Sneaking it was. But how. She didn’t have much time, so the princess used what she had at her disposal and came up with a plan…

The problem was that the trucks were very big, so it was going to be incredibly obvious when one dropped away into the twilight realm. That, and she had to make sure it didn’t have a driver inside when she nabbed it. Well, technically she didn’t have to do that, but while she might be happy to steal from them, she wasn’t callus enough that she’d let one be transformed irrevocably into a beast in the name of this little endeavor.

So. Distractions.

A few moments later, two were set up. First, a (formerly empty) crate Midna had borrowed from the back of a truck tipped over, spilling 1000 individual gold coins out through the convoy, the little disks rolling and bouncing across the tarmac oh so attractively. Second, a high pitched whining, strong only enough to be annoying, swept through the convoy from a far off Vibrava who was attacking from well out of its effective range from atop a random outcropping in the wastelands beyond the roadway.

From its bird’s-eye view above the jumble of vehicular debris, Yurlungur watched the scattered coins spread out noisily, but it found no apparent reasons why. It could have easily been happenstance, but the off chance that someone was attempting to loot said coins from the chaos crossed its mind, as well. The same occurred to Atropos, and unlike the airborne serpent, she wasn’t planning to take chances. She cast Mazionga, manifesting a rain of lightning bolts around the scene to target all enemies, but her widespread magic only struck wild trucks. Yurlungur peered down at her for any sign of her findings, but Atropos shook her head and resumed her search.

Her multicolored comrade, meanwhile, turned its attention to a strange bug away from the scene making an irksome racket. It acutely remembered seeing the Vibrava before while driving, when the creature perched on the back of the truck in front of it to pester its allies with Bug Buzz. Moreover, it recalled it shrugging off the lightning Atropos attempted to punish it with. While the Pokemon wasn’t accomplishing anything from there, Yurlungur knew it to be an enemy. “Thy botheration is at an end.” Rather than cast its own Mazionga, Yurlungur unleashed Megido. A terrific white explosion erupted on the outcropping, consuming it in its entirety in typeless Almighty damage.

Down below, a wild truck -disturbed by Atropos lightning’ suddenly lunged at her like a crocodile. It slammed its front into her, flooring the shadow with a pained cry. Yurlungur turned its attention back to the mayhem and found the leftover wild trucks incensed, ready to fight with what little strength they still possessed. “Let us cut to the chase,” it murmured. After an undulating sky dance it cast Brain Jack, and a mind-numbing wave swept through the area to brainwash its enemies. It worked on about half of the wild trucks, and without hesitation they turned on their former kin. As Atropos pulled back to heal, the Bridges drivers scrambled to get in their own trucks and drive away, for the situation was quickly devolving into chaos again.

Sat upon an entirely different outcrop Midna flicked a finger, opening a portal under the Vibrava as soon as it the big worm started doing something magic looking, and good thing too, because it turned out her guess about the demons not being smart enough to leave their weakest member driving the bus proved right as her pokemon narrowly avoided vaporization. She was incredibly glad the rainbow worm had not joined in on the truck battle, because if it had they’d likely all be dead. Information on its capabilities was likely worth this entire expedition but as for the actual objective, well, her odds were: incredibly slim chance of success, incredibly high likelihood of exploding.

She’d have to teleport into a truck, grab the driver, get out of the truck, touch it, start sending it away, and then also deposit the driver somewhere at a safe velocity before she could bail. Considering that at any point, the snake could just spawn and explode on top of her… ”yeah that’s not happening”

”Drat … well, whatever was in those other crates will have to do” the princess decided, having, while stealing the crate and putting all the gold into it for the part of her plan that didn’t do much other than get a bunch of trucks killed and cost her 1000 gold, just taken everything else in there. Which wasn't much, as it looked like the college town was an export destination rather than an import one. Indeed, as it turned out, all she had gotten out of it were crates. Empty crates. With not a thing inside. But she would not find out about that till later.

For now, Midna left behind the mess she’d caused and shadow hopped back to the warthog right as it pulled up next to the helicopter, the princess pulling herself out from the shadow and apologizing to Sakura ”Sorry about that. Wanted to steal a truck and it did noooooot work”

Sakura had managed to guide the warthog to its destination. As Midna reappeared, she let out a sigh of relief. ”Phew! Midna-san, you made it back.” She stepped out of the Warthog, shutting the door behind her. She grabbed Midna’s forearm and pulled her in for a quick hug and a pat on the back. ”Let’s get the heck outta here already!”

”Oh wow um ok” Midna said, not at all used to this kind of physical affection. It was unbecoming of royalty. It was also kind of nice.

”Sorry to worry you” she apologized, this apology having a lot more heart behind it, while awkwardly returning the hug and back pat before being put down.

”It’s okay! I’m just happy we all made it.” Sakura said, retracting and hopping onto the helicopter. There, she spotted Karin and latched onto her with a hug as well.

Karin pat Sakura on the back and then pushed her away, smiling gently. ”A pleasure to see you well, Miss Sakura.” She said.

”That was crazy!” Sakura exclaimed cheerfully, pulling up her goggles and resting them on her forehead. Her bangs were pushed upwards. ”I was so scared- but man, that was awesome! Those demons never knew what him ‘em! And that uptight guy-

Karin subtly nodded her head towards Benedict, who had since been brought onto the helicopter. Sakura kept talking. ”He wasn’t so tough- if he really wanted to win he shouldn’t have worked with a bunch of rowdy, evil demons.” She said confidently. Karin nodded much less subtly this time, and Sakura spotted Benedict and the unconscious Roxas.

”Oh, hey, he’s here! Welcome, Misteeer…” She trailed off, not knowing his name. She glanced at Geralt. ”…what happened to Roxas?”

Karin shook her head and focused on Midna. ”I wanted to thank you for helping to guide Sakura through all that mess. Next time, I shall have to remove her from her motorcycle by force, lest she get stuck on it for half the fight again.”

Midna had paused briefly to pat the Warthog (and quietly apologize for even considering replacing it with a massive indestructible truck) and then sent it home before floating aboard and ceasing to hold up the whole operation.

”In hindsight, we’re lucky no one else decided to take one. Those things need, I don’t know, stirrups or something if you wanna use them as cavalry mounts” Midna said, before adding ”But she was a big help on the warthog’s turret, so it worked out in the end. Kinda. I don’t think we actually got the trumpet thing”

”That would probably be the first time she has ever used a real gun. Outside of, perhaps a water gun.” Karin said, amused by the thought of Sakura using a machine gun.

”Did you have any more luck up on the trucks? I see everyone made it, but those things were nasty. The way they can just create magic ontop of everyone without even aiming is really unfair. I’m pretty sure it breaks a bunch of arcane laws too” she said. Midna wasn’t the biggest expert on the theoretical side of magic, but she was pretty sure that kind of thing was cheating.

”Indeed, quite troublesome for my allies. But they traded not needing to aim for power, and the Trumpeter’s magic simply failed to work on me for no discernible reason. As for the demon mage I went up against, he was insultingly weak and arrogant. She said dismissively. ”Perhaps if he knew his place, he could have survived by staying in the backline where he belonged. Oh, well.” Karin said.

”Definitely had a better time of it than I did. All those strikers just made me an easy target I think” Midna replied, a little embarrassed to have been shown up, but simultaneously glad that the team had at least one person whose fighting style/powers did well against the demons. She expected that they had not seen the last of their kind ”eugh, don't even want to think about what it would have been like if that worm had gotten out of the bus. Made a whole load of the trucks attack each other which would have been a real piece of work. If we see it again, it should be up there with the trumpet when it comes to things to take down fast”

”Pardon me? Worm? What makes it as dangerous as the Trumpeter? I can’t imagine we’ll be fighting on trucks again anytime soon.” Karin asked. ”...I imagine it is an oversized worm. The monstrous kind that someone might mount on a wall, for example.”

”It was huuuuuuuge, and all the colors of the rainbow and could fly and make all its enemies go insane and fight each other and vaporize stuff with big explosions as well” Minda replied, her tone exactly like someone describing a big fish they totally saw.

”I see.” Karin said, rubbing her chin, one eyebrow raised. ”I think I would have noticed such a thing. When did this happen?”

”Oh, uh, well, when I went back to try and steal a truck …. It didn’t work. But I got some boxes” she said, suddenly a bit embarrassed by the impulsive bit of attempted thievery.

”You…went back?” Karin asked, unimpressed and incredulous. ”For a truck. My goodness, woman, how many vehicles do you need?”

”Well I mean I did lose two so I kinda felt like I needed to make up for that … and it’s also alive? So imagine, for a moment, that I am facing someone … and then I summon a truck and it rams them for me. Think about that” Midna said, trying to explain her impulse decision retroactively.

”I think I’m the only one here that is.” Karin narrowed her eyes. ”Your recklessness endangers not only you, but others around you. If you had gotten into trouble-” Karin pauses and lowers her voice. ”Don’t you think someone like Sakura would dive in after you, no matter what?”

”Geez, lighten up, would you? I can see your glowering from across the room.” Sakura said, skipping over.

”Well, we are in a helicopter, so it’s not a particularly large room.”
Karin said, closing her eyes tilting her nose up. Sakura reached up and put her index fingers against Karin’s lips, forcing a smile onto her face. ”What on-” Karin smacked the fingers away, but Sakura rebounded, going to tap Karin’s nose. The heiress grabbed Sakura’s wrist and twisted it, looking to put her in an arm lock, but Sakura countered with a front flip and a jab. Karin deflected it and jabbed back, and it looked like they were about to get into a fist fight. Karin grabbed Sakura’s arm and Sakura pushed against Karin’s face, and the two fighters remained locked in their grapple, their limbs all intertwined with each other.

Midna had been about to retort about how she’d actually been careful, thought things through and backed off when it became clear that the risks were too big, but instead she got to watch in bemusement as Sakura came over and then the two devolved into a childish fight. Minda sat there for a few moments, and then decided this was hilarious, especially the tangled mess they ended up in.

The princess’s laughter, an odd combination of impish giggling and royal haughtiness, chimed through the cramped interior of the helicopter before she asked ”Are you two always like this? Because it's great. Keep it up and never change”

Sakura looked at Midna and grinned. ”Always like what?”

With an indignant flailing of her arms, Karin disentangled. She cleared her throat. ”No.” Was all she said, at a loss for words. Then she brought the back of her hand down, and with a heavy impact Sakura crossed her arms and caught it, knees bending. Slinging her fist back towards Karin, Sakura’s blow was blocked but the blonde slid backwards. Then she threw her arms up. ”Not in a crowded helicopter!” She commanded.

”You sure?” Sakura asked, bouncing from foot to foot.

”You’re incorrigible.”

Sakura glanced at Midna. ”I only know what that word means because I heard her say it a bunch.”

Midna suppressed a snort of a laugh at that.

Karin huffed and switched gears, pointing at Midna. ”Don’t do anything silly like that again! Now I have to train, so do not disturb me.” She went into a corner of the helicopter and went to balance on her fingers.

Sakura set her hands on her hips, at Midna’s side again. An idea occurred to her. ”...Hey, Midna-san, you and me should throw down some time!” She suggested cheerfully.

The princess raised her exposed eyebrow at the confusing combo of being asked to fight in such a cheery voice, but then after a moment seemed to get it. ”Like a spar?” she asked ”We could do that, though preferably not inside a flying metal box”

Sakura bent her knees, clenching her fists. ”Yeah!” She said excitedly. ”I wish we spent more time back at Alcamoth so I could fight everyone. I’d love to test myself against a powerful wizard like you!”

”Do you mind if I asked how you got so strong?” She asked. ”Like- that shadow thing you did. That was crazy. I wouldn’t have been worried at all if I knew you could do that.”

”So some of my magic is me, some of it is spirits, but the hand, that is all thanks to this” the princess said as he pulled off her crested helmet, fully exposing her face to Sakura, including the fully crimson eye (no white or black, just red) that had been hidden beneath it. She popped it down in her lap and explained it

”This is the fused shadow, or one fourth of it anyway. An ancient artifact made by my ancestors’ dark powers, all of it fused into a single artifact that they tried to use to conquer the Sacred Realm and claim the Triforce” she said, and then simplified ”They fought to claim the power of the goddesses, only just barely lost, and this is a fourth of the magic they tried to use to do it. If I had the full thing, there’d be no stopping me. Well. Next to no stopping me. Even when I did manage to assemble the full thing it wasn't enough to … well, that’s a whole other story” she trailed off, realizing she had gotten off topic and not really wanting to talk about her biggest failure. Or her death.

A lot of that went over Sakura’s head, but she got the gist. As Midna trailed off, she set a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ”That’s okay, Midna-san. We all lose sometimes.”

Then Sakura looked at the helmet, tilting her head to the side. ”That is a pretty powerful hat. I guess the trade-off is that you don’t have any, uh, depth perception.” A thought occurred to her, and she gasped. ”If I put it on, would I get to use a shadow hand?” She asked. ”One fourth of the power that almost won!” She said, excited, though if that had come out of someone else’s mouth it might have sounded sarcastic.

”Hey, thanks, but uh, that would not be a good idea. Anyone who doesn't have the training and natural resistance to dark magic I have will, well, get corrupted by it” Midna said, not wanting the charming street fighter to go the way of Darbus the Goron patriarch, who had been transformed into the monstrous Fyrus by only a brief exposure. ”My ancestors were not good people, and they more than deserve to be banished to the Twilight realm” she summarized.

”Oh.” Sakura said, glancing at the helmet, which now seemed much more dangerous than before. ”Well, you seem to be putting it to good use, right? ”

”No safer hands than mine” Midna agreed, as she picked the helm up and popped it back on her head, a perch it rarely if ever left these days.

There might have been more talk, but there was shortly after a distinct lack of breath available, as the view presented to them as the helicopter climbed up and headed towards Midgar took it all away.

Beautiful rosy trees, including one so massive it was a landscape onto itself, where the first things they saw, nature breaching its way out of the sprawling mess of roads that no sane road engineer would ever have planned.

”Wow…” Sakura said, pressing her face against the glass of one of the windows. She stared at the mind boggling city in the distance, but it was the large tree that had her eagerly tapping against the glass. ”Hey, it’s a sakura tree! I’m named after those!” She said excitedly. ”They’re waaay smaller where I’m from, though.”

”A pretty thing to be named after. Fitting too” Midna teased

”Oh, um…thank you?” Sakura smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. Karin rolled her eyes and wondered if Sakura got this excited every time she saw a cherry tree back home.

Beyond that urban jungle that was their destination, one that boggled Midna’s mind, for a single district of the city surely held more people than all the towns and cities the princess herself had ever set foot in. She had, as a result, only one question: ”What are they growing at Meridian Farms to feed that many people?”

None of the seekers had any answers to that but, hopefully, their new hosts would be the kind of people who knew about that sort of thing, as after an uninterrupted flight and a not so clandestine landing, they met with the leaders of the clear eyed government defectors and were offered the opportunity to ask some questions.

There was a lot of personality in the room, and Sakura found herself a little gobsmacked as the big american man encouraged them to ask a question about any part of the city. The city that was more like a country. Karin, however, was more used to superstructures, and while Midgar’s size was impressive, the entire thing was so packed together it lost all of its splendor. ”An upper half of the city…could the upper class be any less responsible? They may as well walk around with a stickied note on their backs that says ‘Overthrow me’.” She muttered to herself, peering through the windows.

Karin turned and approached Goldlewis. ”Mister Goldlewis.” She began. ”I am Kanzuki Karin. Tell me about how things are run around here. Is it a democracy, monarchy, oligarchy? How is the political climate? I want to know what factions, if any, can be trusted. Or which ones will get in our way. The most powerful faction has the highest chance of harboring the Guardian, is my hypothesis. It’s disappointing that you don’t know anything about the Guardian, considering it is our primary objective…” Karin noted. Though she said it aloud, she mostly meant it for herself. Without her own intelligence network, finding any clue at all would be hard work.

”And of course, as Mister Geralt said, don’t leave anything out you think might be relevant. We’re going to be combing this city over for this Guardian, but we need leads or we’ll never find it. If there’s any other cells of this group within the city, I’d like to know how to contact them as well. ” Karin said.

Sakura tapped her chin. She slowly formulated and asked her question. ”Are there any bad guys around here that need punching…like, right now?” She asked.

”I guess following on from that, kinda, is the question of who does the punching around here, and how do they punch?” Midna asked, deciding she’d pick up the military situation ”We’ve met the city’s covert forces, but what about their army, their town, or I guess, city guards and so on. How big are those forces? How hard is it going to be to just, well, move around in the city under their noses? Where are their bases of power? Their command structure?”

”Perhaps we could disguise ourselves, if there is an abundance of inconspicuous cloaks or something of that nature around here.” Karin commented.

”Sounds like a plan” Midna agreed, before asking ”know where we can get any of those? Or other disguises? If we need em”

”Oh, and are there any, I don’t know, rebel groups and if so, how strong are they? Or you, for that matter? What you all got up your sleeves power wise?” she added, hoping that if there were anti-government forces, they weren't all pawns like the last bunch, before boiling it all down to ”Basically, if things go incredibly badly, and it does come down to a straight up war for the city, how bad is our situation? Because we’ve already had to console sick an entire town on us twice, and if they know we’re here and have the influence to do the same here …” well, she wanted to know just how bad that would be for them.
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Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Dark Cloud
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Dark Cloud 💀Vibin' beyond the Veil💀

Member Seen 30 min ago


Wordage: Less than 750 (+1 points)
Experience: 6/10 EXP
Location: Kunad Highway -> Midgar


Something felt different, but what had changed wasn't all that clear to the likes of Benedict. Doubtless it had to be something to do with whatever Roxas had done to him, the boy had blathered on about freeing him and such. What could that have meant? He wasn't under the impression he had been under any spell or some kind of trick, for all he knew they had cast some sort of ill magic upon him.

Benedict rubbed his wrist, staring out the window towards the streets of Midgar below 'Clearly these people are not who they seem.' the strategist thought to himself, they had arrived not that long ago within the great city. A couple of the group had approached him on the way there yet all were met by stony silence.

He knew it folly to reveal important information to those who stood to gain from it, especially if said people were not one's own allies. He had no chance of escape, that was certain as he was simply outnumbered and outmatched. If he stood any chance to figure out any possible way to slip away, Benedict was going to have to wait and bide his time.

With a sideways glance the strategist met the concerned gaze of Goldlewis with a cold stare from behind his spectacles, he betrayed no signs of concern for the situation he was in just a wall of practiced apathy. Yet the sides of his mouth subtly twitched at the indignity of the red-headed woman, Giovanna.

Benedict wasn't entirely sure what they were referring to as the topic of the Guardian came up but he made a mental note to be sure to learn of it when it was imperative to do so. He didn't doubt it was unwise to speak so openly before him, but something told him it was not all that scrupulous in the end. He simply stood before the windows in the small conference room, Benedict's hands laced together behind his back as he listened in on the conversation. When Ever Crisis was brought up he didn't bother hiding the disapproving shake of his head at the mention of the organisation, whom were ironically ever a problem to the cityscape and it's internal affairs. "Nothing but terrorists" the Turk muttered to himself quietly, to put it plainly they were the thorn in Midgar's proverbial behind and caused nothing but problems for public officials like him.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Archmage MC
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Archmage MC

Member Seen 9 hrs ago



Level 9 Sectonia (holding 3 level up) - (46/90)
Location: The Crossroads
Word Count: Below 750


With a bit of time to breath, with the stronger enemies not around them anymore or not even giving the seekers some attention, the group could branch out and explore a bit. Sectonia went with the group that went to investigate the humming in the chasm, with Nadia and the others eventually pinpointing the source of the humming. While the others did ask Sectonia to help them find the humming map maker, Sectonia took that message a bit differently than they were hoping. Instead of directly looking for the man... bug, Sectonia instead summoned what antillions she could and sent them to scavenge the area for anything that would be useful, perhaps even clear the area of weaklings a bit to make their trip a bit easier if they figured out which way they wanted to go.

Her antillions made short work of some of the enemies here with their basic patterns with their ranged magic. And if any antillion fell? Sectonia could just summon another one, but this wasn't an issue for her fire ones, only the ice ones had any sort of trouble due to their low hp. All in all, while Sectonia observed her little summons dealing with what they could and bring back what they found, Sectonia all in all found a few spirits of the weak monsters here, and some 'geo' which she was later told was used as currency down here. Considering it was found almost everywhere, even in rocks, coming by it wouldn't be that hard. This also did make her wonder though if she would need a lot of Geo to do anything though, as a currency that was easy to get wouldn't have too much value...

Still, she had all these spirits, none of which looked all that useful. Crushing them herself would be a bit of a waste however considering what she had for the others to use. As Nadia and Therion looked over the map they had just bought, Sectonia flew over and looked at the map as well, towering over the two. "Not much of a map, but some intel is better than none." Sectonia said. She then got Nadia's attention. "I have some spirits here that might do better crushed, Would you care to crush them while wearing this?" Sectonia said, pulling out her Symbol of Avarice, the weird mimic hat looking very grotesque. "Should you or any other of the others, as long as you are my minions, can use this freely if you require. It saps a small bit of life force, but allows you to gain much more powerful items from spirits you crush. The items tend to be tailored for whoever crushes them as well, so its a good way to power up."

Sectonia then glanced at Ganondorf and the Koopa Troop. "The other royals will need to pay to use such a privilege however."

With her symbol of avarice explained, Sectonia waited for the rest of the group to come to a conscientious on where they should go. Sectonia herself voted for the Basement, as it was the only clearly visible thing on the map. But she would be easily swayed to one path or another as she ultimately didn't care where they all went, since they would need to handle all locations at some point anyway.

Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by DracoLunaris
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DracoLunaris Multiverse tourist

Member Seen 16 hrs ago


The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 1279 (+3) (bowser - 8)
Bowser: Level 11 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (218/110)
Bowser Jr: Level 11 EXP: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (105/110)
Kamek: Level 11 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(104/110)
Rika: Level 6 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (37/60)
Location: The Under - The Ruins


Bowser had a right chuckle at Ganondorf’s dramatic cry at the heavens, before saying ”Yeah, well, welcome to the team. Or back to it I guess. Only the pink puffball got away, and then he bailed me out, and since then I’ve been leading the charge against Galeem” to the other king, filling him in on some of the blanks, before ordering Kamek to ”Fill him in on the rest for me”

”Oh, ah, yes sire” the mage nodded and then introduced himself ”Good afternoon, your majesty, I am Kamek: Lord Bowser’s head magikoopa and trusted advisor. ” before doing as he had been commanded and laying out all the other details.

”So, hmm, where to begin…” pausing for a moment to think, before deciding to start with what was on hand ”Well, as you might have guessed, taking down the foe sealed behind that door is part and parcel with taking down this Galeem. Much like the three keeping this door shut, Galeem’s 13 guardians, now 9, stand between us and it.”

”Said guardians are spread all across a ring shaped continent Galeem has made by stapling random bits all other words together. After it annihilated/assimilated them all. Most are not aware of this whole patchwork nature of reality, as Galeem’s influence blinds them to the fact that this world is not where they belong, just as you yourself where. They are also somewhat more aggressive or impulsive, and are compelled to finish any battle they begin” he continued, before forming a friend heart and saying that ”Fortunately, individuals can be freed from that influence using these, bleh, ‘friend hears’ after an intended target has been sufficiently weakened”

The mage then dismissed the heart and pointed at the spirit of Toriel ”As you may have also noticed, those that do die turn to ash, and also leave behind those spirits. These can be crushed to create items, I believe her majesty Sectonia has a hat that improves the output of that, or they can be made into briefly summon-able strikers” he gestured to the side and summoned a Tonberry to demonstrate ”And, finally, they can also be absorbed into the head to gain skills or strengths, and into the body to gain more active abilities, some of which you can see on Lord Bowser here, and which he used against you in battle.Taking in spirits will cause changes to body and mind, but I also have a device, the snaktivator which can limit a change to a specific body part. Well. Mostly. There is still some bleed over as you can again see on his magesty”

”Oh, and, finally, it is not just us. There is another team seeking a guardian in a place known as Midgar, and a whole host of people who work as mercenaries or as civilian support who are doing what they can to secure the lands we have already passed though, and acquire more resources to fuel our quest” Kamek finally said, before glancing at the others and saying ”and I do believe that covers it?”

”Mmmm, I think so” Rika agreed, before adding ”Oh, and I’m Rika by the way, nice to meet you mr king of evil” to introduce herself as well, giving the king a little short bow as she did so.

”And the rest of them are my army of … hey wait a minute where did everyone go?” Bowser asked, glancing around at the now smaller group of people

”I mean, Nadia went off to find that map, and most of the other people missing went after her. But I think that the copy cat wizard and the nice dancer lady who gave us a bunch of stuff went down that way” Jr said, jabbing a thumb down the other exit to the room they were in. The boy then got back to work on his car, which was now covered in little cross shaped patches, doing a few final adjustments before pulling himself inside and firing up the eclectic engine, causing it to hum rather healthily to life. A miracle, considering the beating it had taken

”Yeah, nice, back up and running!” Jr cheered, before informing the group that ”Ok I’m good to go” and then asking his pa specifically, ”So… where to next?”

”Ah, mmm, hmmm” Bowser glanced to and fro the two directions people had already gone, and then took a moment to mull it over ”Well, if Ms. fortune is just going to get a map, then she’s probably be fine because that map guy is probably fine down there, and a bunch of other people went with her sooooo… lets go make sure those two newbies aren't getting in trouble”

He jabbed a finger down the corridor at the end of his little verbalized thinking over and then more specifically commanded ”Koopa Troop lets roll out!”

”On it!””Sure thing papa” ”As you say sire, a wise decision I might add” the other three responded, and then, after any more hold ups, they set off after Primrose and Rubick

What they found at the end of the tunnel was quite bizarre, a forest of towering trees in a cavern so vast its top could not be seen. Or at least that was the impression it gave, but a lot was off about it. Not enough for the Troop to not fall for its mind, though given Rika’s newness to this whole land thing, and the sometimes nonsensical nature of the koopa’s home they did have an excuse for not finding an underground forest to be the strangest thing.

”Huh, weird forest… big too” Jr said, staring up at the tall trees, before thinking for a moment and then asking ”Or did the tunnel somehow make us smaller?”

”I did not particularly notice any magic that might have caused such an effect” Kamek said ”Though there is certainly something wrong with the air here … and the colors seem to be gone? Most concerning”

”Also what is that annoying sound? That really annoying sound?” Rika asked

”Urg, yeah that is the worst … its like that sound you get when the tv loses signal. A kind of static-y one” Bowser said, identifying it.

”When it loses signal? What do you mean Papa? Doesn't it just say ‘no signal’ on it?” Jr asked, making his dad feel old as a result.

”Uh, well, you see jr, back in the day-” Bowser the old began to explain, and while he did, Kamek and Rika decided to see what they could do about the whole obscuring fog thing. The ship girl had Kamek pull out some of the torches she had in her pockets and then the mage plopped them around the entrance to the forest, which conveniently marked it out in case anyone wandered off into the mist. They also made a plan to, if/when they went out there, they’d see about leaving a trail of torches to light the way back.

Then they pulled the same trick they had done in the canyon, with Kamek summoning some of the softly glowing wisps, while Rika deployed her planes. Together, the remote scouts once again fanned out to take a look around to see if they could spot any notable landmarks, the far wall of the cavern, big obvious threats, or anything else that might be of interest, though the fog would likely make that a bit tricky.

Still, any info they could glean would be better than blundering into the mist blind, and while they sat about waiting for the results, it also gave the others time to catch up, if they were going to do so.
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Yankee
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Yankee God of Typos

Member Seen 0-24 hrs ago


Word Count: 1122 (+2 exp)
Level: 9 - Total EXP: 163/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis

Lucia found an attentive audience as she described the agents to keep an eye out for. It was implied that things would more than likely come to blows whenever they came knocking, as Band has put it, so the former police woman's briefing on them was invaluable. The Cadet would have to keep her descriptions in mind, as well as the advice Sakura had given him earlier about close quarters fighting. A pair of crazy cops and a robot tag team, huh?

The Cadet echoed Band's gratitude for the information. After that, of course, was the group's plans for their next move. It was looking likely that they'd stay in the city for now, much to the Cadet's chagrin. It was fine, he could deal with it. Though the reason Band gave made the hunter give the metallic musician a sideways glance, half concerned and half amused.

"The what situation now?" he asked, prompting Band for the information the detective had learned while in the police chief's office, even if it wasn't in much detail. Of course after the explanation, the Ace Cadet pledged himself as back-up. Of course he wouldn't be leaving without the others, especially if there was danger ahead.

And as far as what to do in the mean time, picking up some odd jobs was suggested.

"Sounds good to me," he said, stretching out and leaning back in his chair. If they had to kill some hours until nightfall to investigate this skeleton thing and possibly get some clues to their actual objective, then there was no better use of their downtime then making money with it. Especially while they were cut off from the Alcamoth Mercenaries and the other Seekers. He looked over the list Lucia pulled out.

"What's the 'Swarm'?" the hunter asked out of curiousity, noting that it was mentioned a couple of times in the job listings. Something commonplace in the city, then? He couldn't imagine a big bug problem here of all places. He looked toward their local guide, and Lucia scrunched up her face.

"Vahmin. Like roaches but with heads like leeches. Can't sahvive out in the cold, so they hole up in basements an' crap wheah they can eat rats and make theah nests. Gross as hell, but nothin' people who can fight can't handle."

"Noted." So there was a bug problem even in an icy place like this. Interesting, but yeah, it did sound gross.

Assisting with the Spheal show was definitely the odd job out, seeming to be the only pleasant option. The Ace Cadet was not opposed to physical labor, but given the choice of it, dealing with some truly grotesque sounding vermin, dealing with cadavers, or dealing with trained animals? Well, he knew which one he would choose.

Band was on the same page too.

"Agreed," the Cadet said. Lucia's enthusiastic response sealed the deal. They'd help out with the show, earn some cash, and see where the night led them. The hunter stood up to accompany the rest of them out of the tavern. "Looking forward to it!"


"All Round" was right. The animals, about two feet around, were basically big friendly looking globes with feet.

"Aw, look at these little guys," the Cadet cooed, crouching by the fountain. The Spheal that must have been Glenn did come up to his outstretched hand, enjoying some scritches that the Cadet gave him behind his ears. He pet the Pokémon as Band confirmed what the group was there for, and as Sierra finished introducing each Spheal to them. "Snow cute."

Sierra's mention of possible poachers came as a surprise, but honestly with another look at the rotund animals it made sense. The Ace Cadet's face smoothed out into a serious expression, taking her whispered words seriously. It brought up memories of a couple of poor piglets who never ended up back where they belonged, and of course memories of his home world and his responsibilities there. Man, I really can't stand poachers.

He sighed and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Makes sense if they were after the pelts," he said, observing the Pokémon as they played in the fountain. "Their fur seems waterproof, and it's really thick - I'm sure it could make all kinds of useful stuff." Warm coats, boots, clothes lining, sturdy pouches... Plus the deep blue color and white spots would make for some nice patterning. If the Spheals were as docile as they appeared now, it would make them even more attractive targets. Of course any potential poachers would have to get around the whole "dead things turn immediately to ash" thing...

The Cadet only pondered over that for a moment or two before he shook his head slightly and stood up to properly face the two women.

"But not to worry, we'll keep everyone safe," He promised. He wouldn't complain if some poachers actually did turn up, so they could face justice. Oh, but the whole thing with police department... eh, if we can't deliver them to be locked up then a good scare should set them straight at least.

"Anyway, good to be working with you!" he said to Sierra and Frisk. As he went to properly introduce himself, an expression briefly passed over his face as though he were thinking about something complicated. In the end though he didn't say anything that might hint to the thought process his brain had just been put through. Rather than going through the naming convention thing as he had plenty of times over the last few days, instead he made it simple for everyone involved. "Call me Ace."

Worrying about the protection would come a bit later, for now the four of them were being hired to do a job so do it they should.

"Okay, just tell me what goes where!" He said, aiming a smile at Frisk. Between the lot of them, everything would be set up in a jiffy. Now that the Cadet's attention was directed toward Frisk, he he noticed something very peculiar about her. He smile didn't quite slip so much as twitch, and he blinked in surprise.

"Oh, you're...?"

Frisk was not under Galeem's influence. The Cadet glanced at Big Band and Wonder Red. How was it possible that she'd been freed if it was the first time the Seekers had been to this place? On second thought, why wouldn't it be possible? The Cadet's understanding of how the first Seekers got free was hazy, but they weren't the only ones out in the world without the light's brainwashing, right?

"You don't have the thing going on," he told her, helpfully wiggling his fingers beside his own eyes to clarify what he was talking about.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Double
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Double Hard-Boiled

Member Seen 15 hrs ago



Level 2 Ganondorf (3/20)
Location: The Ruins | Temple of the Black Egg -> Crossroads Cavity
@DracoLunaris Bowser & Kamek | @Scarifar Rubick | @Isaac The Adventurer
Word Count: 1,025
Exp: 3 + 2 = 5/20


"That 'triangle power' as you put it, is the Golden Power created by the Goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. But the Golden Power is now split into three aspects: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Each one now carried by a chosen bearer." Ganondorf didn't really need to explain all this to the wizard, but something about hearing the Triforce be referred to as a mere "triangle power" was almost insulting to him, "Princess Zelda carries the Triforce of Wisdom, and her wayward Hero carries the Triforce of Courage. As for the third... you stand before it now."

Bowser may have had a chuckle, but the simple truth was that he was no better off than Ganondorf. After all, they all were crushed by Galeem when it first appeared. And that made Ganondorf reconsider his current position with a sly smile, "Laugh all you want you bumbling Koopa," said the Gerudo to Bowser, "but that Galeem creature clearly knew which of us was the greater threat to him, did he not? Why else would he go this much trouble to lock me up down here? It clearly means he must fear me."

But Bowser didn't hang around, and instead it fell to his advisor to explain things to Ganondorf. And while Bowser may have been a bumbler, this magikoopa clearly was not. Galeem was something Ganondorf was already familiar with thanks to his previous actions with the Smashers. But these Guardians were a new development. Thirteen in total, and now there were nine left. That meant these people had only defeated four so far. And their fifth target was believed to be sleeping in the Black Egg.

"Then it sounds as though we have no time to be wasting." Ganondorf finally said after the Magikoopa finished her lengthy explanation, "Those Guardians are not to going to slay themselves." while it was definitely true that Ganondorf was infamous for his inability to work on a team, there were certain goals that were more than worth letting himself join a group for. Galeem was one of those goals. He wouldn't enjoy working with Bowser again, but the King of Evil wasn't above doing so anyway for the greater goal of revenge.

But as their group left to catch up with those that had gone before, Ganondorf let himself lag behind momentarily. He stared intently at the spirit in his possession, knowing he only had a limited time to decide what to do with it. He doubted he could successfully command the Spirit as a striker, and potentially changing his appearance or even personality didn't seem appealing either. That left him but one option. He took the spirit in his hands and with his great strength he crushed it.



The Gerudo king couldn't help but chuckle. Something about this outcome seemed incredibly appropriate. She always did go on about food and cooking when the opportunity arose. But in all honesty this slice of pie probably wouldn't do Ganondorf any real good. So instead he decided to do something else with it. With Ganondorf as the last one to leave the Ruins, the only thing left of the commotion that had taken place was a single lonely slice of pie sitting on its plate, in the very spot that spirit had been standing when she was cut down. Perhaps it was there to serve as a memorial of sorts? Or perhaps it would eventually be found and taken by another passerby later on.

A bit of time later, fighting broke out in the Crossroads Cavity. One of the Seekers had awoken a slumbering Gruz Mother and now appeared to be struggling. So far, Ganondorf had not bothered to fight any of the small insects the group had come across, seeing them as a waste of effort and not worth his time. The rhino-sized Gruz Mother on the other hand... that might prove mildly interesting. He drew the white sword and moved to intervene on the behalf of the struggling Adventurer.

Ganondorf attacked the insects from behind, able to use to element of surprise to cut down the Gruzzers with ease and even get in a good slice on the exposed face of the Gruz Mother. The beast reeled back but then began it's charge forward. But Ganondorf wasn't one to dance or roll around his opponents. Instead he stuck the tip of the white sword into the ground in order to free up his hands so that he could pull his fist back in order to wind up for a punch. As the charging insect came ever closer, Ganondorf's fist steadily became charged with fiery dark magic which allowed him to meet the charging Gruz Mother with a powerful Warlock Punch.

His attack sent the big bug sprawling, squirming in place while puffs of orange smoke exploded outward. Eventually the insect was dead, and was a reduced to just a Spirit and a pile of geo, both of which Ganondorf decided to ignore in favor of retrieving the white sword and returning it to its scabbard. The Adventurer could have the spirit if he wanted it, Ganondorf had no need for such weak things.

The Gerudo King caught up with the others in time to overhear the bee explain something about her hat. Evidently it allowed spirits to produce stronger items when crushed. Certainly useful, but Ganondorf had no desire to grovel or pay for the privilege of using it. Instead he would rather take his chances. If Sectonia had been expecting to use this as a way to make Ganondorf bend a knee, well, she would be sorely disappointed.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Majoraa
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Majoraa Oyasumi~

Member Seen 0-24 hrs ago


Level: 3
Experience: 18/30
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Edinburgh MagicaPolis
Word Count: 3,172 approximately? (+4 Exp)
@Lugubrious, @Yankee, @TruthHurts22

Two and a half days ago...


Despite last night's snowfall, the air was crisp and clear well into the boat ride to Edinburgh. Having awoken that morning after a decent night's sleep in the warmth of the fishing village's hotel, it seemed for an hour or so that the trio of Frisk, Albedo, and Linkle might be fresh out of luck, but after a little patience the winds turned in their favor. A sturdy-looking paddleboat had sailed into the little harbor and dropped anchor, and as the dwarven crew got busy offloading various supplies in exchange for shipments of fish, hide, and lumber from the surrounding area, Albedo posed the all-important question. Soon enough the three got underway, quickly finding out that the Tidebreaker could reverse as well as it advanced when it moved backward out of the harbor and didn't bother to turn around on its way to Edinburgh. They kept to the upper decks at the prow so as to not obstruct the dwarves as they went about their business, and for once it seemed like everything was going well.

About the time that the enchanted Tidebreaker vessel had puttered about halfway to Edinburgh, close enough that the passengers could begin to make out its gargantuan shapes through the subarctic haze, one of the other passengers approached the corner of the ship that the Skullgirl and friends had commandeered as their own. While a handful of people from the fishing village had boarded the dwarven machine on its voyage to Edinburgh, all kept to themselves, using their warm winter gear for privacy as much as heat. This person, however, stood out like a sore thumb. Rather than a coat, she seemed to wear an intricate full-body suit of various shades of gray beneath cherry-red armor. A purple core of some kind glowed in her chest, and a black cape fluttered in the icy breeze behind her. Her face lay hidden beneath an odd helmet, broadly conical and composed of interconnected strips. As she stalked over on high heels, cutting a slender, elegantly feminine figure, Frisk could remember her from the glimpse she'd caught last night. By the time this stranger came to a stop, close enough to imply that she wanted to talk, the Seekers could see that the eyes gazing coolly out from inside her helmet were green.

"Good morning," she greeted the three. "Forgive me for approaching you without invitation. Last night I happened to see something both rare and special, and it left quite an impression." She put one hand on her hip and tilted her head slightly, her attention on Frisk. "Your eyes. Neither vivid nor red, but positively normal. Not the teensiest glimmer of Lifelight. And the same goes for you." Her gaze shifted past Linkle to Albedo. "Remarkable. And as I'm sure you've noticed, that goes for myself, as well. So in more ways than one, we're all in the same boat. Isn't that lucky? So I knew that I simply must get to know you better." She clapped her hands together, and her eyes smiled. "May I ask your names?"

Admittedly, Frisk was a little startled at the sudden appearance of the armor-clad lady. The way her gaze had lingered on her a bit longer than the others hadn't gone unnoticed beforehand, but she didn't dwell too much on that. The fact that the stranger wasn't under Galeem's influence either was a relief.

Or a concern...

"I'm Frisk." She introduced herself first with a polite smile.

"I'm Linkle!" the Skullgirl practically sang, excited at the prospect of another ally and/more importantly, friend. "It's nice to meet you!

Albedo's expression remained neutral as he thought for a moment, then replied. "They call me Kreideprinz," he told her. "I'm also pleased to make your acquaintance. May I ask your name, as well?"

The stranger gave a bow of her head. "Of course, my dear. I myself am simply called...L." With playful amusement in her eyes, she made an old-fashioned curtseying motion, despite not having a dress with which to do so. "I must confess, though we've barely spoken, my heart is moved by just the sight of you two together." She offered both Linkle and Albedo a wistful look in turn. "You remind me of my own darling children, who I've yet to find in this cold, cruel world of ours. It's been...hard. Being awake but alone in a world of sheep, blissfully ignorant of their new reality. For you as well, I'm sure?" She made sure to glance over at Frisk again, thus imposing the sympathetic question to all.

Frisk's smile turned sympathetic. "I...understand. Being separated from the people you care about in an unfamiliar world, unaware of how your loved ones are fairing?" She said to L, looking back to a photo she had been staring at for a moment. "Whether or not these people are sheep to what you call 'Lifelight', isn't it only fair we help who we can regardless?" She purposefully left her words open-ended.

"Absolutely!" Linkle declared, clapping a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "I couldn't call myself a hero if I didn't try to help people! It's our duty as people with the power to do so to try and help out whoever we can, wherever we can."

L nodded as she crossed her arms. "Such a noble sentiment! I completely agree. I've been working around the Frozen Highland for some time now, moving among the people, but wherever I go I find only more suffering. People fighting and dying, just to live another day. It's all so..." Her eyes slid shut as she turned her head ruefully to the side. "Incessant." With a sigh, she turned sad eyes on the trio before her. "So, I wanted to meet you. As fellow free men and women. To ask what it is you plan to do, or...if anything can even be done."

"Aw, don't worry, ma'am!" Linkle told her, moving over to take L by the hand supportively. "Don't ever lose hope, 'cause where there's a will, there's a way. We know how to save the worlds, and turn everything back to how it was before! When you're done, you'll get to see your kids again, I promise." She looked back at Albedo, then to Frisk to follow up with more support.

Hopefully. Frisk thought to herself. She was unsure whether or not this will just be like another reset from her own world, or something more permanent like the scar from a battle wound. But did anyone know? The idea that the deceased would be revived once everything was back to normal did relief some weight off their shoulders, she figured.

Frisk decided to humor L. "I'm sure you noticed the big orb of light floating above everything? That is Galeem, the reason for everything being...well...like this. Our main goal is to confront and defeat him, but we have to fight a total of, twelve? Thirteen Guardians that oversee the different regions. Defeat one, and the whole region is freed from Lifelight." She went on to explain.

"That's right!" Linkle added. "We've met the Guardian of this area, too! I even kinda beat him. But he's invincible or something, so it didn't take. We're going to Edinburgh to try and find out more about him. Some kind of weakness, maybe. If you come with us and help, everyone will be free that much faster!"

L's eyes seemed to widen. "Goodness! Do you really possess that much power?"

Linkle gave an embarrassed chuckle as she scratched the side of her head. "Well, sort of, heh. But I'm doing my best not to use it too much, or I've got a feeling things could get nasty."

"I see." L nodded again, her gaze seemingly worried. "I had been wondering if you'd been ill or something, dear. You're awfully pale. Take care of yourself, won't you?" She then held up one hand to her chin, thinking. "A Guardian, hm?" She paced backward from the ship's prow a short way as she mulled the information over, then turned around, a single finger raised. "Ah! As it happens, I think I have heard a rumor or two about a man who cannot die. Perhaps I can be of help, after all."

Frisk's brows rose. "...Well, if you think it'll help. What did you hear?"

L put her hand on her hip again. "I've heard it said that he does have one weakness. A singular type of material amongst everything in every world, which can remove his infamous invincibility. And that what it is happens to be the most guarded secret in the Frozen Highlands, so secret in fact that all records of it were scrubbed from the Edinburgh databases, so that only two individuals in the whole world might know what it is."

"Oh, no. Does that mean that even if we find an internet, it won't be any help?" Linkle didn't know what databases were, but she could grasp that purposeful erasure of the information she needed had taken place. "So he's got people helping him, and they're smart enough to hide his weakness."

"Hmhm, indeed. Smart, and beautiful, and powerful. Well, one of them, anyway," L tittered. "He may just be a raging beast carried by a single gimmick, but as long as his handlers are around to protect him, I'm afraid that destroying him is quite impossible."

For the first time since his introduction, Albedo spoke up. "You don't seem quite as dejected anymore. Have you already learned everything you wanted to, and lost interest in your act?"

L smirked. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. My dear boy, I really haven't the foggiest what you might be on about. I'm here to help you, after all." She put on a wounded expression, and used an appropriately indignant tone of voice, and yet to one devoid of emotion her affectation rung awfully hollow. "I want nothing more to love and protect each and every poor soul in this frozen world. To spare them the worst pain imaginable. And as such, I have advice for you. I know just what you need to do to reach the best possible outcome. You want to hear it, don't you?"

...For once, Frisk was on Albedo's side here. She could feel it. Her soul was anticipating a fight. It knew what was bound to happen next and she would not be made a fool again, not like what happened with the Fellflower. And yet she restrained herself just enough for the heart shaped object to remain hidden, lest it reveal her intentions too early. Her kind expression faded as she stored the photo away.

"I've a feeling you'll tell us either way." Frisk coldly stated. "So why don't we pry the rest of the information you're keeping from us by force?"

L stepped back with her eyes wide, as if she'd smelled some execrable odor. "Such animosity! Such ingratitude! Whatever did I do to you?" She put a hand to her helmet and shook her head, then clasped her hands behind her back. When she looked up, her eyes were amused once again. "Ah, but what am I saying. How could you know? And that's really the crux of it, dear. Hence my advice, which in my boundless love I will still share with you, despite your unwarranted ill will."

She raised her left fist and opened her hand, palm-up, to reveal an origami figure. "...Resign yourself to the flow."

As Albedo summoned his sword and Linkle reached for her crossbows, the origami moved at blistering speeds. An arc of light flashed out and cut cleanly through the ship itself, slicing off its forward quarter in a single stroke. With the Tidebreaker moving in reverse thanks to its magically-powered paddle wheel, it immediately left the smaller piece behind, which lurched dangerously as the water halted its momentum. L, meanwhile, drew away aboard the remaining half, and as she did she created a much larger wormhole than the one she made behind her back a moment ago. Through this aperture, a thirty-foot monstrosity floated, which L jumped up onto in order to grab hold. The new creature pivoted around until its thrusters faced the severed portion of the ship, giving the team just enough time to defend themselves before it blasted off, putting out such force as it flew away that the wreckage toppled over and the trio flew toward the frigid ocean below.

Before they could plummet into the deadly cold water, however, Linkle unleashed her cryomancy. By flash-freezing the water's surface she created an ice floe to save the team, and they landed on top of it the next instant. Albedo sank his sword into the ice to stop himself sliding, then watched L disappear into the distance atop her otherworldly mount. What remained of the Tidebreaker, still evidently able to function despite the damage, sailed off as well with no apparent intent to come back for the lost passengers. The alchemist furrowed his brow with a sigh. "I'm sorry, you two. I underestimated this foe's ability, and should not have provoked her."

"Ah don't blame yourself now, you've caught on quicker than I did." The pokemon trainer huffed out as she carefully stood herself back up. She dusted herself off, and her soul calmed down. "I'll have to arm myself properly for the next time we run into her. But those creatures... I don't think I've ever seen anything like them."

Linkle patted off the smoldering embers on her clothes, looking pissed. "This world is going to give me trust issues," she declared.

"The fact that we stumbled into with a meeting with a not just dangerous but dedicated enemy is rather alarming," Albedo observed. "My current hypothesis is that she was one of the two 'handlers' she mentioned, and simply unable to pass by a good opportunity to praise herself. I feel it likely that she may suffer from some sort of egotistical condition, and possibly sociopathy, given her skillful simulation of emotions." With the waves rocking the ice floe, he could not stand without risking a fall. "The bigger problem right now, however, is where we find ourselves. It appears we are stranded in the middle of the ocean, and I regret that I can conceive of few ways to proceed."

"Hah. Sounds like Flowey." Frisk noted with a wry smile. She crossed her arms. "But anything's better than freezing to death out at sea. What do you have in mind, Albedo?"

"Probably the same thing as me." Crouching down, Linkle placed her palm against the surface of the ice floe and called upon her cryomancy again. A shimmering wave of power expanded the miniature iceberg about a hundred feet in one direction, its width about the size of a country road. "I can probably make us a path to the city, since we can see it from here. It'll be tough going though, and..." Reflexively she put a hand over her chest, but no heartbeat issued from within. Her face was cloudy. "I have a bad feeling about this. The Skull Heart...it's pushing me to do it. Saying I have to if I want us to survive. It's always pushing me to use my power, in fact. I don't know much about it, but...I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be doing what it wants." She sighed, but looked out toward Edinburgh with eyes full of steely resolve. "But there's no choice. I'm not going to let you both freeze to death. And our journey can't end here. Not after Ms. L was nice enough to say that the Stranger has a weakness after all." She smiled at Frisk and Albedo. "So as long as there's any chance at all, I'll keep going. No matter the cost."

Her smile was returned with a solem expression.

"I detest the fact that this is only giving your curse what it wants, but..." Frisk placed a gentle hand on Linkle's shoulder. "No matter the cost. We're here for you."
The trio arrived in Edinburgh hours later, cold, exausted, and miserable. As a result of using her power; being forced to do what the Skull Heart wanted, Linkle's transformation had progressed to the point where she seemed to idly raise the dead around her. Frisk hadn't seen her since then. Not even Albedo seemed to know where she went. So it was down to the two of them.

Well, two and a half to be exact.

During their whole encounter with L, the Prisoner, who had been stuck without a body ever since they fled the caves of Dragonspine, was stuck as a head in the worn satchel Frisk kept on her person. Unfortunately, he wasn't much help besides offering himself up as a distraction in fights. Not that Frisk didn't mind his company, just that she had to do the work for the both of them.

After a bit of investigating around Edinburgh, Albedo and her soon learned that L was a "Consul" and an authority figure in Edinburgh, with power and influence behind the scenes. They had to find a way to pin her down and force her to talk.

That is, if she hadn't fled town yet.

Currently...


"Oh?" Frisk herself was sitting by the fountain, watching the three spheals play. Her attention drew away from the spherical spectacle to a rather tall man, asking if she was in charge of the show, followed by a shorter, punny guy cooing over how cute the spheals were, even giving Glenn some head scritches. Luckily Sierra answered for her, then learning that the detective and the group he arrived with were there to take the job listing they posted earlier. Sierra then introduced her and the spheals to the newcomers, Frisk waving hello to the group when prompted.

The mention of poachers possibly taking a chance to kidnap the poor creatures earned from her a solemn look. Frisk glanced aside when Ace offered his two cents on the matter, and a reassurance that the pokemon would be safe."Nothing gives them the right to hurt innocent pokemon like this. I only hope this show will go on without any issues, last thing we need is to turn it into a bloodbath." She said with a sigh. Regardless, she smiled back at Ace. "Either way, it is nice to meet you, Ace."

And then he noticed she wasn't gleaming either. Even when he clarified, Frisk gave him a knowing grin. She stood up from her seat by the fountain. "Yep. One of my friends freed me from Galeem's influence a couple of days back." She confided, resting a hand on her hip. "Too bad we don't know where she went. I worry that curse she was struggling against may have become too much to bear, so she left before she could hurt us." She sadly smiled, regretful that there was nothing she could do to help. She looked back to the other three. It seemed like only Lucia was still gleaming. "But I'm glad we're not alone here. Should be meeting up with Albedo at some point, I can introduce you guys. As for the sentient orb of pestilence I'm carrying around, that's Prisoner." Frisk motioned to the satchel hung across her shoulder.
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Yankee
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Yankee God of Typos

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____________________________________________________
Level: 7 - Total EXP: 165/70 ------ Level: 5 - Total EXP: 40/50
𝙱𝙿 ●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●
Word Count: 1101 (+2 exp)
Location: The Under - the Chasm, Ruins

Therion had shifted back into human form after some gloating, and then they were off - following after Ms. Fortune as she led the way to the cartographer. Which, ultimately, led to the thief parting with some of his money in exchange for a map. He grumbled about it, but didn't plan to hold the feral to her promise. Then again he also wasn't going to tell her not to worry about it, because if she wanted to pay him back he wouldn't say no.

"A compass, huh," Therion said. He'd have to let Primrose know that his initial thought about swiping one was right. He didn't pull the item out from his bag until Cornifer had went on his way just in case. He hadn't stolen this compass from the bug man's wife (at least he didn't think so), but he had definitely stolen it. Once Nadia and Jesse came over to look he produced the compass, comparing it to the rather rudimentary map he'd bought. When Sectonia flew over as well to crowd them, Therion hunkered down into his poncho after marking the map with a very simple compass rose.

"Better than nothing I guess," he said. Once everyone had gotten their fill of looking at the small map of the ruins, he tucked it away. As for what they had to talk about, Therion didn't think it was a lot - they just had to pick a direction and go. Pretty simple as far as he was concerned.

"We shouldn't over think this," he said. "Unless we were planning to divide and conquer, all we have to do is pick a path."

They had enough numbers that splitting up wouldn't be the worst idea, but he didn't lean one way or the other on that point. If this were Orsterra, or any other world that followed familiar logic, he might have suggested it. But it wasn't, so it might be for the best that the large group tore through the underground as one noisy but well-prepared unit.

And for the path they should choose, Therion didn't have an opinion on that either. At the moment he was sort of resigned to being pointed toward something and told, "go, fetch," his earlier irritation fading - though not quite gone. So it didn't matter what direction they went, as long as they didn't waste a lot of time getting there.

At this point, an obstacle did appear. That man that had been following the group, a straggler who seemed lost and confused more than anything and with no name to address him by, had jumped into the pit to tail them. In doing so he'd woken up a rather large bug which began rampaging around. It was focused on the Adventurer now, but it would be a pain to avoid if they didn't do something about it now. Luckily, this obstacle did not last long - the most recent person to travel down into the cavity was the newly freed king of evil, who handily took care of it.

Looking over the group gathered together at the bottom of the cavity, which at some point included Omori and the Knight, Therion couldn't help but notice that both so called "guides" were here yet not all of the Seekers were. If they actually were going to split up, it would be nice to know. Maybe let the others copy the map while they were at it.

"...rest of them still exploring up there?" the thief inquired, leveling his question at Ganondorf who had been the last to descend.



"Up there," Primrose found herself in a misty forest, devoid of life. As she stepped into the area, the fog washed over her and cast her in monochrome light, draining the color of her clothes. It was dreary, but more than that the area was... discomforting. The deathly stillness was one thing, but when combined with the all obscuring fog, the buzz of what she imagined was insects high above her, and the blurry silhouettes of imitation trees it made for a very surreal and off-putting place. The fog was also not so much fog as it was a sort of fuzzy blanket, or so it appeared to her. The dancer walked slowly, wrapping her arms around herself.

Through the constant dull droning, the rustling of robes came from behind her. Joined by another of the Seekers, Primrose glanced at Rubick as he stepped up to join her in looking around. He had his staff held in front of him, prepared for danger.

"Expecting trouble so soon?" she asked the mage. Honestly she didn't blame him, given not only the Seekers' track record but the experience so far in the Under. Ambushed twice already, and it hadn't even been half a day.

She turned the palm of her hand up and produced a flame, attempting to burn off some of the fog around them. It did little to help, lending credence to the thought that this area was under some kind of... enchantment, for lack of a better word. It certainly didn't feel natural at all.

They went on a little more, their careful, measured steps not taking them far before they were joined by the Koopa Troop. Kamek stated that he didn't sense any magics, and though Rubick hadn't said one way or the other Primrose thought that if he had sensed anything, he would have exclaimed it so like he had with Ganondorf's power. Either way, the lack of any powerful spell around them put Primrose at ease somewhat. One less thing to worry about. The Koopas also went about setting torches and deploying their scouting abilities to get a better sense of the area.

"A good idea," the dancer commented. She added one more scout to the mix, summoning the Makami. It wouldn't hurt to have an animal's keen nose to go along with Kamek's magic motes and Rika's tech, even if it wouldn't last as long as them since it was a striker. She sent the wolf spirit out into the mist, watching it's body twist through the air. "Bark if you find anything, but howl if it's danger," she told it.

Now that the Koopa Troop had caught up to Rubick and herself, and Bowser had finished his explanation of what he thought the sound above them was, Primrose turned to them and the chameleon mage. "How far shall we go?" she asked, "I had intended to only look around a little while they went to see about a map, though I'm unsure how useful a map would be in this place."
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Crimson Flame
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Crimson Flame Doll Collector

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Pokémon: Hatenna, Elgyem, Galarian Ponyta, Alcremie
Location:
Level 2 Exp 7/20
Word Count: 193


The battle raged on, and for the most part Bede followed Geralt. Assisting wherever he could. It was a chaotic scene. Trucks were crashing into each other, Roxas freed that man that was questioning him and Geralt back at the pet store. And through it all, Bede took cover behind the magic shields Pit had put up. He had to imagine this would have been easier if the angel boy could fly properly… He kept quiet, for now.

Eventually, their copter arrived, and it was on their way to the next destination. Throughout the trip, Bede petted and kept his Pokémon entertained.

When they arrived at their destination, Bede took a seat, and it was time to ask question. Of course neither of them knew the answer to the question the group actually wanted to know, so they went around the table asking whatever it was they wanted to know. “My turn. What I want to know is, do you have any Pokémon here? Or… failing that since apparently some people don’t even know what Pokémon are… Do you have any sort of interesting creatures roaming about? Ones that can be tamed preferably.”
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