[center][h3]Suoh[/h3]
[b]Sector 3 Upper[/b]
Level 1 Goldlewis (9/10)
Goldlewis, Peach, Raz, Roxas, Bede, Sakura, Karin, Midna
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2076[/center]

For a moment or two Goldlewis just stood and watched as his new allies dispersed to begin the operation. Raz took off running toward the right side of Main Street with Roxas in tow, while Midna, Sakura, and Karin favored the left. They all moved like they had a plan in mind, even if that plan just happened to amount to ‘idle away time until the Others descend’. That went for Goldlewis too, but how to kill time never came easily to someone as punctual as himself, a man so particular about his schedule that he went as far as to meticulously time each and every one of his fights with the help of his wristwatch.

His eyes roamed over the many businesses and attractions before him, all of them fighting tooth and nail to capture and preserve the attention of the cityfolk who frequented these streets. Even without the ability to see Visions, he got the picture; it was the same in back places like New York City and Las Vegas in America, after all. And here more than anywhere, the old veteran could feel how little he fit in. “I’ll never understand folks nowadays. ‘Specially kids,” he muttered. “All these trends, movin’ a mile a minute. The minute ya jump on the bandwagon, it rolls right outta town. Just tryin’ all this newfangled stuff takes a lot outta me. Last week, I tried somethin’ called a ‘gyoza’ that exploded when I bit it!” He ran his hand through his hair, closing his eyes as he did. “In the army or the government, they kept me too busy to worry about society.” Goldlewis chuckled, shaking his head in resignation. “Bein’ a civvie ain’t easy. How d’ya suppose they all manage it?”

“I guess they just go with the flow.” Peach wished she had an answer, but she couldn’t even call herself an expert on her own world, let alone the mashed-up World of Light. Then again, Goldlewis probably asked that question rhetorically. “Where I’m from, things rarely ever changed. We’d sometimes find new areas or inventions to spice up sports, or to travel to, but looking back on it, the status quo reigned more absolutely than Bowser or I ever did.” She and Goldlewis stepped back, then watched in amazed silence as a young couple passed them by atop a [url=https://i.imgur.com/OXo1JJz.jpeg]purple, tentacled brain[/url], riding it like a horse. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think any of us will be getting used to Midgar any time soon.” Goldlewis gave a grunt of affirmation, and Peach smiled. “Is there anywhere you want to go around here while we wait?” Her eyes landed on the nearby restaurant. “How about there? ‘Musubi’s’.”

Goldlewis furrowed his brow. “No thanks ma’am, I’m not hungry. In fact, I’d like to stretch my legs.” He turned around toward the apartment complex behind where he parked, referred to as ‘Kong King’ by a plate on the wall. “Let’s give that a try.”

The soldier and the princess moseyed on over. While clearly not the highest-class apartments around, the [url=https://i.imgur.com/qBlPFPa.png]dwellings here[/url] had to be expensive, given their proximity to Suoh’s economic and cultural center. Most Psych-OSF soldiers slept in the citadel’s barracks, and its upper crust could afford far better housing than this, so the movers and shakers of Main Street’s business probably called this place home. Many of those here seemed determined to make use of Kong King’s most notable amenity, as well: the multi-tiered plaza. With its central gazebo, its planters of exotic [url=https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.2408721112.8128/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg]eye plants[/url], and selectable nature Visions that could turn the whole plaza into a grassy meadow, flower garden, or lush forest, and even an overarching Vision sky, it offered a place of community for the psychic populace fortunate enough to call this otherwise stark apartment complex home.

After wandering around for a few minutes, up and down the flights of stairs in a big, complicated circuit of the plaza’s various levels, Goldlewis parked himself on a bench overlooking the central area. With the Other Forecast fewer people were around than usual, although even on a good day Goldlewis knew that the sight of children playing would be a rare one. “Kids get sent over to Gutsford at an early age for safety,” he told Peach once the princess sat down beside him. “The Extinction Belt don’t go up that far, and Gates rarely ever open. So Midgar acts as one big shield between the Ever Crisis and the li’l ones.”

“Hmm.” Peach watched a man with a goatee jog past with his dog, which looked like a Golden Retriever but, judging by his curly tail and white socks, had to be a mix. “Well, that’s just what everyone’s made to believe, right? By Galeem, or…whatever. Since the World of Light has only existed for two months.”

Goldlewis blinked. “Huh? How d’you reckon?”

For a moment his response left Peach taken aback. “Well…I only have memories in the World of Light going back two months.” She stared into the old man’s eyes. “Isn’t it the same for you?”

Slowly, Goldlewis shook his head. “It’s hard to remember exactly, but…I’m pretty sure I’ve been in Midgar for the better part of…three years.”

Before the princess could fully process that statement, an unfamiliar voice from in front of her drew her attention. “Excuse me!” She and her new ally looked forward at the same time and saw a teenager standing there, his group of friends a little farther off. “You’re Mr. Goldlewis Dickinson, right? The Secretary of Absolute Defense!”

“Y-yeah, that’s me,” Goldlewis replied after a moment, surprised yet again in the span of only a few moments. “What can I do for ya, son?”

“Oh, nothing! We were just hanging out in my apartment, and I happened to see you down here, and then…” The boy waved his hands, only to realize that yes, he did in fact want something, and held up a finger as he reached into his backpack. “Oh! I mean, if you don’t mind, could you sign this?” He held up a large red sleeve with a rock-and-roll design, holding a big black vinyl disc inside it. “I’m a huge fan! Got your LP back when Vernon was in office!”

Just a tiny bit bashful, Goldlewis gave Peach an apologetic glance, then pulled out a pen. “Sure thing, son. I ain't with the government anymore, but anyone who likes the classics is good in my book!”

Little did he know, doing that opened the floodgates. The boy’s friends and a few random pedestrians crowded around, full of excitement for the unmistakable man whose distinctive appearance, character, and achievements once earned him the popularity of a hero.

“Oh, Mr. Goldlewis, can I get a selfie with you?”

“Is that THE coffin? The one with an alien inside!”

“Please sign my hat! A-and my baseball!”

“Can you say one of your famous lines? Give us a ‘down with the system’!”

“Whoa, whoa!” Goldlewis leaned back, his hands held up in surrender. “Did I really say it that often…? And that ain’t an alien, by the way! In fact, it’s still classified, so I can’t tell y’all nothin’!”

A new, louder voice cut through the commotion. “Mr. Dickinson!” It belonged to a quad-rotor drone, zipping down from above, and the voice that issued from the machine sounded composed and professional, like a newscaster. “If it isn’t Goldlewis Dickinson, the former Secretary of State! What brings you to Suoh today, of all places!”

“A damn Crow,” the veteran grumbled under his breath before replying. “I’m just on vacation! Ain’t a man entitled to a little privacy?”

The drone did not budge one inch. “Of course, of course! And yet, you are no ordinary man. The first active-duty soldier to become the Secretary of Defense in Midgar history, more popular than even the president at that time, Vernon Groubitz. The man who’s personally aided Psych-OSF and Desperado in the field on more than one occasion, saving countless lives! But what is the illustrious ‘Secretary of Absolute Defense’ doing nowadays? What are your thoughts on the Administration that replaced yours? In what direction do you think Midgar is heading?”

As Goldlewis searched for the right words to defuse the situation, the people around him suddenly flinched, looking in all directions. The next moment, an alarm rang out through Suoh. [i]BOO-WOM! BOO-WOM! BOO-WOM![/i] In a flash the citizens were on the move, yelling and screaming as they fled. Goldlewis heaved a sigh. “Perfect timin’.” He then stood up in a hurry and raised his voice. “Other Alert!” he barked. “All of ya, get to the nearest shelter on the double! Move, move, move!”

Peach had jumped to her feet as well. “It’s happening, right?” she asked, scanning the sky. “What do we do?”

Goldlewis grabbed his coffin’s chain and hoisted the whole thing over his shoulder. “You’re comin’ with me. We got some business to attend to.”

[hr]

Within two minutes, they fell. Specks became visible up above, falling from the Extinction Belt above Sector 3 until they got big enough that even those on the ground could make them out. What appeared to be giant peach pits hurtled down toward the city like meteorites, getting closer and closer.

“...Fire!”

At the signal, the army trucks deployed from the hangars of the Otherlobe unleashed the missiles stored in the defense systems on their backs. The rockets ascended skyward en masse in a mountain of billowing smoke to intercept the Other pods before they hit the ground, destroying up to half of the monsters before they even got a chance to pose a threat. The pods that made it through, however, cracked open to jettison their bizarre contents down into the city below. With their mission accomplished, the rank-and-file defenders pulled back, and the available Scarlet Guardians moved in.

On the opposite end of main street, Yuito, Nagi, Naomi, and Kasane had burst from Musubi’s to set up a perimeter so that the other patrons could escape to the nearest shelter. All of the Visions in the area had turned into flashing alerts, urging the population to take cover. Most of the populace, more or less used to alerts like these, had already made it to safety, but here and there strokes of misfortune meant a few stragglers had fallen, been trapped, or gotten left behind, and when the Others hit the ground, the panic only grew.

These creatures were like nothing Peach had ever seen, and just looking at them made even Goldlewis’ skin crawl. They were truly alien, in that they looked like animate amalgamations of plant, animal, and object, moving in ways too unnatural to be called ‘bestial’. [url=https://i.imgur.com/uXsOr3C.png]Bile Pools[/url] oozed around like bulbous slugs, the light bulbs atop their greenery lurching around in search of prey to batter with blasts of water. In tandem, [url=https://i.imgur.com/atO2EWx.png]Plateau Pendus[/url] hunted on wings of fencing, leering with doorknob heads as the green gloves of their inverted mannequin bodies dangled beneath them. Their electric bolts would ensure that any hapless civilian soaked by a Bile Pool would be paralyzed long enough for their brains to be devoured. Ungainly [url=https://i.imgur.com/J0wCpCL.png]Buddy Rummies[/url] tottered around in groups, the torn-off arms of their comrades wielded as weapons to gather food for the fungal mouths on their chests. Worst of all, [url=https://i.imgur.com/DnEzKxJ.png]Vase Paws[/url] stalked around in packs, the bells on their spinal tails jingling as they searched for humans to dispatch with vicious, high-power kicks from their ruby-red heels.

“You two hurry and link up with your platoon!” Kasane told Yuito and Nagi.

“We can’t just leave these people. Nagi, let’s go!” The two boys took off running, the former using psychokinesis to draw his katana while the latter lifted bladed chakrams with aerokinesis. They closed in on a Vase Paws moving in for the kill.

“Kasane, they’re coming from above!” Naomi called, apropos of nothing. A moment later, two Buddy Rummies jumped off the nearby building to drop on the girls. They landed on the trap Naomi laid for them and were blown off balance. Kasane charged, surrounded by dancing blades held aloft by her own psychokinesis, and finished them off.

Goldlewis gritted his teeth as Others noticed him. “Heads up!” he called to peach, directing his attention to the three Bile Pools and two Plateau Pendus headed their way. Farther down the sidestreet, a man was trapped in his car as four Buddy Rummies surrounded it. “I’ll hold ‘em off, go!”

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBlYEagftU&list=PLQdVYT2c2D81_7rxWYtg9XnOgiSD6-p2U&index=9&ab_channel=Qylex[/youtube][/center]

[center][h3]Detroit[/h3]
[b]Sector 8 Lower[/b]
Level 11 Tora (105/110) Level 11 Poppi (105/110)
Giovanna, Tora and Poppi, Raiden, Susie, Blazermate, Geralt, Benedict
[b]Word Count:[/b] 898[/center]

Giovanna rather casually leaned against the railing that overlooked the extremely lethal fall to Quarantine Valley as the others shared their thoughts. Her mention of gangs in the area naturally piqued the interest of her new crew, and considering how much easier it would be to get around via the sky-lines rather than these smoke-tinged streets, finding some ne’er-do-wells that nobody gave a rat’s ass about to furnish the Seekers’ sky-hooks made sense. Raiden was on board with that plan, but he also seemingly itched to scrap some Machines. While nobody could object to an offensive against those artificial adversaries in principle, in practice it was another matter, especially considering the team’s current situation as Benedict helpfully -and curtly- pointed out.

The Turk did take the first chance he got for a metaphoric sniper shot against Giovanna, though. Rather than rise to the provocation, however, the secret agent just let the words roll off her back. “If you got some kind of problem with the SOU, you’d be better off telling Dickinson,” she said with a shrug. “I’m just a trigger. Gonna take a lot to heat up cold metal like me.”

As Blazermate and Susie described what they wanted out of today’s visit here, whether or not that related to the mission, Giovanna snapped her fingers. “Oh, that reminds me. One tricky little detail.” She pointed a finger at all three of the team’s female robots, using the index and pinky of her right hand to do so. “The gridLinks you got back at base won’t cut it if we run into any actual security. Robots aren’t people in Midgar, but they still need a way to ID you, because of the Machines. Gotta have a way to tell friend from foe, right? So everything gets an LED, white for military hardware like DespoRHado’s androids and Unmanned Gear, blue for commercial androids.” She brought up a glyph to display a map of the current area. “So before you go anywhere, visit the Solid Waste Landfill nearby. People dump their scrap there, so there’s bound to be some functional LEDs. Just scan it with the gridLink you got and it’ll transfer everything over, then put it on your temple.” She shrugged again. “I’m pretty sure that’s right.”

No sooner did she finish with that advice than Geralt turned toward her for some. “Should be possible,” she told him. “They say the Hermits started in Quarantine Valley as hackers, but when new leadership took over they expanded out into the city. Got more aggressive, too.” Giovanna peered around the nearby streets. “I’d be more surprised if there weren’t any in Sector 8.”

Tora spoke up at that point. “Before we go to war, friends should take time and figure out what working with, meh. Learn ins and outs of new place, and who better for help than streetwise Hermits? Tora vote search for hackypons!” He took one more look down at ‘Sector 9’ and shivered in the chill wind that blew across the forlorn, rusted rooftops. “Up here though, not in Redshift Valley. Plus, this Tora chance to study city tech!”

“Kay then. The three bots plus Tora to the landfill for LEDS, then either the Limb Clinic or Android Zone, sounds like.” She pointed out the facilities to the four, both within easy walking distance of the train station. “While the rest of us look go make some friends.” She, Raiden, Geralt, and Benedict set off, quickly discarding the electronic avenues in favor of claustrophobic side-streets and grimy lots enclosed by building walls and chain-link fences, like prison yards. Barely a hundred feet deeper in from the undercity’s well-traveled public roadways, its smooth, futuristic alloy facade became brick, mortar, iron, and concrete. For a ways it still seemed livable, but after the squad went down a [url=https://i.imgur.com/xivjCL7.png]warmly-lit street[/url] and took a turn, their surroundings downgraded once again to their base form.

They stopped in a raggedy, graffiti-plastered, [url=https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/033/069/968/large/maxime-delcambre-wd3-par-ev-london-necropolis-maximedelcambre-5-2.jpg?1608301387]pipe-infested alleyway[/url], littered with trash bags piled up against walls like snow drifts. A couple people either laid or drifted around, whether homeless, delirious, semiconscious, or plain old down-on-their-luck. They looked like they could use some help. Giovanna ignored them and summoned Rei, who manifested behind her like a big, green scarf. They began to snoop around. “Finding criminals isn’t hard,” Giovanna said aloud as she and Rei alternatively scanned and sniffed the area. “Like finding a salamander in the jungle. It might seem impossible at first, but if you know which rocks to turn over, it’s only a matter of time. I figure a lot of lowlifes lurk near the train station, trying to catch naive newcomers or unwary commuters. Plus, it’s a quick and easy escape route if you don’t have a car. Places where people come and go in a hurry, you never know what you’ll find…” Producing a small pair of tweezers, she picked up a small plastic sleeve from the garbage and held it up in front of the light. Tiny, faded red crystals could be found within. “...In those liminal spaces.”

She held out the sleeve for Rei to sniff, then looked toward the others. “Red Ice,” she told them, knowing what that meant to Benedict. It was the drug of choice for the city’s dissatisfied underclass in the more techy Sectors especially, being similar to cocaine with an additive of thirium. “Strong, destructive, and addictive. Lots of poor men and women who lose their jobs to machines wind up becoming users. Or even dealers. I’m guessing someone got a fresh load and couldn’t wait to get home to help themselves.” Rei barked and began to move, snaking through the air down the alley toward the set of stairs that led back up to a second level along the street. “Let’s take a look.”

Rei led the team through a series of balconies and catwalks that ran throughout the area’s second story, between and through clusters of buildings. The locals watched them with unmasked suspicion, caring very little for their odd mixture of semi-professional attire, medieval armor, and cyborg components. At one point just after they passed beneath a third-story sky-line, a handful of hoodlums hurtled along beneath it with the aid of sky-hooks, and headed from the direction Rei indicated, too. Just over a minute later, the team wound up across the street from an abandoned three-story tenement on a corner that jutted out into and towered over a [url=https://i.imgur.com/hWfkOsa.png]basketball court[/url]. A handful of lookouts lurked around what looked like a reinforced entrance at street level, further protected by that dead being closed off by barriers in case of inter-gang aggression, but Giovanna could see holes in the roof from here. She pointed up toward the alternative entrance, then with Rei summoned alongside her, took a running jump over the steamy manholes and beneath the unlit street lamps of the fortified lane. Once airdash later, she landed deftly on a protruding AC unit, mantled onto a pipe, and climbed onto a fire escape with which to make her ascent. If the others did not possess the agility to follow her example, they could find another route.

Once at their destination and ready for battle, the Seekers prepared to attack. From the roof Giovanna could see a number of Hoodlum Dolls, strewn all around their hideout. The whole tenement had been gutted, with the central area wide-open, so she got a good view. Gang members with [url=https://i.imgur.com/hxwZHg9.png]knives[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/ld8YyZ8.png]crowbars[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/9CpgJwA.png]bats[/url], and a few [url=https://i.imgur.com/IExiDoT.png]pistols[/url] lounged around, making sure to look extra intimidating for the addicts trying to make a purchase from a [url=https://i.imgur.com/c2OhSfV.png]stash carrier[/url] on the bottom floor, while a [url=https://i.imgur.com/rIIYppU.png]stash vehicle[/url] rested nearby. Plenty of sky-hooks were in evidence, which seemed to garner more of Giovanna’s attention than the weapons–a testament to her confidence. At her signal, the four dropped down and burst onto the scene. 

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wLVZsV8.png[/img][/center]

Tora’s fantasy of poring through a smorgasbord of unwanted mechanical marvels got swiftly crushed under the cruel weight of reality once he and the ladies arrived at the Solid Waste Landfill. Instead he found a big, muddy pit ringed by construction amongst the downtown buildings of Detroit. A heavy-duty lifter sat on the brink of the dump, using its claws to shovel the contents of an adjacent reclamation truck into the mire, but instead of everyday garbage this morass contained the junk of countless machines. For a moment it looked to the horrified Nopon that a number of people lay within the dump as well, sprawled out and often dismembered, but after a quick look with her optics Poppi reassured him that they were just humanoid machines, probably the androids that the SOU mentioned. Still she herself could not quite overcome a feeling of intense dread that permeated her; being an artificial lifeform herself, she looked at this place as something even more macabre than a mass grave.

Still, their mission demanded that they descend. Tora reached the tail end of the street, jumped off the jagged edge, and slid down the dusty, scrap-littered incline. Once at the bottom, he looked around the heaps of dirt and discarded metal, big enough to form mountains and canyons throughout the area. As Poppi flew down after him he waddled up to the upper half of an android husk reclined against a filthy pile of its brethren, most of its valuable components gouged and and picked clean. Even its Thirium blood had been drained by some opportunistic salvager, leaving dry blue streaks across its hacked-up chassis. Higher up in the pile, the body of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/mwpwvt1.png]Side Kicky[/url] dangled limply from where it had fallen onto a spike of rebar, the one big, blue eye that remained in its head smashed. The head of another [url=https://i.imgur.com/LWl8ogZ.png] medabot corpse[/url] seemed to stare at him, despite its cranium being caved in by some sort of heavy impact. Many other trashed robots and their parts came to rest here, including a number of pierces that undoubtedly belonged to the Machines themselves, possibly taken from the battlefields where they waged war with DespoRHado outside the city.

Noticing how uncomfortable this place made Poppi, in addition to how uneasy it made him, Tora wasted no time using his wrench to pry functional LEDs from the heads of dead robots around him. He could learn few lessons from this place, and none were the ones he wanted. Once he collected enough components for his team, he and Poppi beat a hasty retreat.

On the way back toward the Limb Clinic, Tora spotted another of the shops mentioned by Giovanna: Android Zone. He and Poppi, with the military-grade LED newly plugged into her right temple, entered to find a [url=https://i.imgur.com/yN4f3XF.png]pristine white store[/url] full of all the latest lifelike android models on display. Some looked like normal, everyday people, while others seemed rather fantastical. Poppi almost immediately caught her Masterpon ogling some of the more [url=https://i.imgur.com/qynwNK3.png]elegant[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/wH5oiRC.png]alluring[/url] designs, prompting her to push him toward the [url=https://i.imgur.com/NjKCwTu.png]clunkier-looking[/url] units. While he looked around, examining and reading whatever he could, Poppi went to wait at the main counter. After a staff member finished helping a [url=https://i.imgur.com/0qKEPu8.png]man in green[/url] retrieve a [url=https://i.imgur.com/6KRsXIp.png]KARA-type[/url] android that had been in for repairs, she met Poppi face-to-face. “What do you need?” she said, the professional smile she wore before replaced by a brusque neutrality.

Poppi smiled at the employee anyway. “Hello. I would like to ask about where these machines come from.”

“Come from?” The question seemed to take the woman by surprise. “You mean the manufacturer, Cyberlife? Wouldn’t you already have all the information your owner might need about it?”

Poppi shook her head. “No…” Given the false identity provided by SOU’s technical contact that now circulated within her LED, she knew that she couldn’t say that she didn’t come from Cyberlife herself. “Due to a technical error, I lost most of my stored information. My owner says he’s sorry. Can you tell me more about Cyberlife and its workings?”

“N-no?” the employee scoffed, her brows furrowed in incredulity. “If you’re defective or your owner tampered with you, we can deactivate you and ship you off for repair, but we can’t help you when it comes to anything else about Cyberlife. Everything there is to know about them should be available online, however.” Though she kept her tone gentle, the lady began to look impatient. Her expression said [i]why didn’t you just do that from the start?[/i] “Who is your owner, anyway? Is he here?”

Poppi was beginning to feel a little impatient herself. “[i]I[/i] have a Masterpon, not an owner. Sorry to waste your time, I’ll just be on my way.” With a final sidelong glance Poppi stalked out of Android Zone, stopping only to grab Tora by the wing, then drag him away from the female androids and out of the store onto the streets of Detroit.

[center][h3]The Caves[/h3]
Level 10 Nadia (77/100)
Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Omori’s [@Majoras End], Ganondorf’s [@Double]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1088[/center]

“Whew!” Nadia took a deep breath and leaned back, stretching. “That wasn’t so bad. We’re really cuttin’ through these little abominations.” She happily pocketed the nickel that appeared in the room with the Hosts before either Sectonia or Omori got the chance, then began the trip back to the start. The weight of even a little money in her pocket made a lot of difference when it came to her mood; maybe this was the first sign that her luck was starting to change. Still, in this nightmarish place a little windfall could only elate her so much. “Three dead ends in a row, though,” she griped. Her new teams’ efforts got the Seekers no closer at all to the next floor. Instead they’d just been mopping up all the fleshy little fiends that dwelled in these caves’ alcoves and byways, like some kind of demented viscera cleanup detail. “Plus, we’re still dirt poor! Aren’t dungeons supposed to be filled with riches? Where are all the sparkly jewels? The priceless heirlooms?” She stopped in front of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/BtlNDcB.png]fungus-ridden corpse[/url] crawling with maggots, grimace, and skirted around. “Huh, at least the maggots are eatin’ good. In fact, they’re spoiled rotten!”

On the way, Nadia suddenly realized something she’d been wondering since the fight with the Knights, which was why her new bauble didn’t seem to work the way Sectonia said it should, at least all the time. The answer suddenly dawned on her: she fought in a side-facing stance, so of course a light that shone in the direction of her torso would miss any foes in front of her. Plus, the more she looked at it, the less sure she felt about it being a gemstone of some kind. “Great purr-chase you turned out to be,” she grumbled, tapping the Night Light with her claw.

The team reunited in the northernmost chamber of the Caves, where Jesse and Therion’s own series of skirmishes just came to an end. Everyone seemed okay, no life-threatening injuries or grievous mutations immediately apparent as Nadia looked around. And wouldn’t you know it, there it was: another ominously-decorated boss door off to the west, wide open and ready to accommodate any would-be challengers. “We all made it!” she exclaimed. “Not that I doubted ya. But if your rooms turned out anythin’ like ours, we had a harder time even with fewer enemies. Next floor’s bound to be even tougher.” The cat burglar’s shoulders slumped down she let her her head loll to the side. “Ohh, we still don’t even know how deep this goes. This place is gettin’ ‘under’ my skin!”

Before they could think about the next floor, however, they needed to confront the final challenge of this one. While the others caught their breath, deliberated, and shared any tips they’d uncovered on their rampage through the Caves, Nadia happened to notice some movement by the door in the corner of her eye. When she looked over her brows shot up in surprise at the sight of the bug knight moving toward the gateway with a purposeful stride. So far the silent swordfighter had been content to follow Omori around, but now it seemed intent on tackling the biggest challenge in this place so far both head-on and all by itself. “Hey, wait a sec!” Before she could take action, or even decide if she wanted to, the Knight stepped inside. Nadia got a split-second glimpse at a towering [url=https://i.imgur.com/nOgvFUt.png]heap of guts[/url] before the gates slammed shut to bar the way.

“Oh.” Nadia glanced at the others, shrugged, and jogged toward the door. She pressed her ear up against it to listen, and what greeted her was a near-constant barrage of swiping sounds, each punctuated by the wet [i]shlorp[/i] of meat torn asunder. Monstrous coughing and the muffled buzz of oversized flies cropped up here and there, but only once or twice did the onslaught ever cease. After less than a minute, she heard a loud, meaty blast, and the door popped open, so suddenly that Nadia toppled over into the room. In front of her lay Gurdy’s head, dissolving into ash, and she recoiled from the smears of blood around it. In the center of the chamber stood the Knight, using a portion of its accumulated Soul to heal. Above a plinth floated a set of [url=https://i.imgur.com/sou7Eg5.png]soft periwinkle garments[/url], a new trapdoor could be soon on the floor, and behind the Knight lay a door with a pitch-black frame, adorned by the head of a goat. Within, a satanic statue watched over an item on the floor, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/EIDA5Gd.png]creepy head[/url] wreathed in a wheel of crimson flame, and like the shops encountered before it featured a price carved into the floor below it. Rather than money, however, it demanded health.

From her position, though, Nadia could only see the immediate room, the reward, and the very capable fighter that won it. “Well, aren’t you the cat’s pajamas?” she said, impressed. “Not this cat’s though, they’re all yours. Good work!” The Knight nodded and took the PJs, which immediately appeared on its body beneath its cape, with no other visual changes. Curious, Nadia headed over to take a peek inside the dark room, but what she saw made her fur stand on end. “It’s a demon!” Between that and the flat-out scary item in front of it, she backpedaled super hard. “Nope, nope, nope! Not messin’ with that!” She went over to the hatch, through which the knight had already descended. “See ya on the other side!”

Things did not get better on the next floor. Nadia joined her masked companion inside an even darker, drearier labyrinth, free from the nauseating odors of either the Basement or Caves, but somehow even more dreadful and grim. This ancient, [url=https://i.imgur.com/q4SZQ2Y.png]crumbling ruin[/url], replete with strange and unnerving bas-reliefs, possessed a fearfully primeval quality, as if chiseled by inhuman hands in some antediluvian era. It reminded the feral of the catacombs beneath the Cathedral of the Trinity, only worse, and that realization chilled her. That, and the atmosphere itself. Instead of stuffy, musty, and overgrown it felt cold, desolate and long-abandoned. Still, Nadia rather expected to find plenty more horrors here, and worse ones than those that came before. First filth, then rot, and now…death.

[center][b][u][url=https://bindingofisaacrebirth.fandom.com/wiki/Necropolis]Necropolis[/url][/u][/b]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/X03E7cV.png[/img][/center]

[center][h3]The Colorless Wood[/h3]
Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose’s [@Yankee], Rubick’s [@Scarifar][/center]

Silitha’s meteoric descent scattered the Seekers, their defenses, and their minions, and though she took a few puncture wounds from Bowser’s spikes in the process, the Brood Mother’s onslaught continued. When she warped off to the side, she got a satisfyingly good view of her handiwork. While the Koopa King wasn’t so easily squashed, the others had all been either thrown or knocked to the ground, and that meddlesome wizard Rubick took a direct hit that left him cratered in the dirt. Coarse laughter, scratchy as nails on a chalkboard, rang out before she moved in to make sure the biggest threat wouldn’t escape unscathed. Bowser was not the sitting duck that he appeared to be, however, and before her mantis-like forelimbs could test their serrations against her target’s scales, he leaped into the air, where he stuck fast in the strong, wiry webs of Silitha’s innumerable spawn.

With the defenders’ formation broken and prey freshly caught in their nets, the small spiders surged ravenously forward, but their foes knew better than to forget about them. Bowser hammered them with exoskeleton-rattling sound, while Primrose’s flames scoured the arachnids too eager for a bite to eat. Once Kamek’s entourage regrouped to pick up the slack, defending Rubick as best they could in the process, the star players still on their feet could give Silitha the attention she was due. The many-legged monstrosity boldly charged into Bowser’s flame, weathering the burn long enough to deliver a titanic one-two punch with her forelimbs, then laid into him with faster, weaker blows like he was a scaly speed bag. Rika and Junior hurried over to help as the Troop’s leader got turned upside-down. Their combined sorcery and gunfire plus the painful burns convinced Silitha to teleport again, this time on the opposite side of Bowser, at which point she reached her arms up to grab him. At that point she pulled him in for a giant spider bite, just as he feared, but in the nick of time Kamek’s barrier appeared. Silitha hissed as her jaws closed around a Koopa King as hard as rock, and she threw him away with all haste, though that didn’t hurt him much either.

Spinning quickly, she lashed out at the other flies buzzing around her, but thanks to Primrose’s dance the spider’s heavy blows barely left a scratch. Aghast and not sure what to do, Silitha teleported away again, appearing hundreds of feet away. Her options appeared to be limited, however, for after she composed herself the Brood Mother teleported above Primrose, hoping to lay low her enemies’ support the same way she did their sorcerer. After that she rampaged toward Rika and Junior, slamming away at them like whack-a-moles. This pattern of warp out, warp drop, attack, warp out, warp drop, attack would continue without variation–until the Seekers whittled her down to half health. At that point Silitha shrieked, and six-eyed [url=https://i.imgur.com/GA9pwI7.png]Deephunters[/url] the size of dogs appeared from the backdrop. While their smaller kin shied away, the Deephunters spat globules of fiery venom through the air, quickly dealing heavy damage to any ignorant Seekers who stayed in one place too long.

[center][h3]Edinburgh MagicaPolis[/h3]
Level 8 Big Band (38/80)
Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee], Frisk’s [@Majoras End], Red’s [@TruthHurts22]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1524[/center]

In the end, the show went even better than Sierra, in all her endless optimism where random, untrained volunteers were concerned, could have either expected or hoped. Ace and Frisk both gave it their all, and if they stumbled at all the crowd barely seemed to care; they were here for cute Spheals doing cute things, after all, and All Round more than delivered. Clumsiness was practically part of the charm. Sierra kept the audience excited and attentive as her helpers went about their business, hyping up tricks with cheers of praise and encouragement, or offering fun facts about these ponderous Pokemon when the trainers needed a moment for setup. They pulled off routine after charming routine, and whether the Spheals rallied Pokemon-colored balls, balanced atop one another, water gunned down the targets, tricked off the ramp,instigated aurora borealis, or just vibed to the music, the crowd ate it up. Oohs, awws, and uproarious applause filled the plaza when the show came to an end, with the only disappointment being that it was over too soon.

“One more time, let’s give it up for our stellar squishes, our sensational sillies, the heart and soul of All Round, Glenn, Dumpy, Happy, and Sadie!” The people obliged Sierra as she directed her Avalugg over to the front of the fountain, in which the four Spheals were waving at their adoring fans like the superstars they were. Being too small to help either of them, Sierra could only beckon to her trainers to join her up on her animate iceberg, offering them their own icy stage for both the audience at the security detail to see. “And let’s give another big hand to our talented trainers, too! Would you believe this is they’re first time?” A chorus of cheers resounded, and together the three took a boy. “Thank you for coming, everyone! If you enjoyed the performance, please feel free to show the Aether Foundation some support, so they can keep funding more spectacular shows just like this one! See you next time, everyone!”

After the show finished, a bunch of fans swarmed the fountain, eager to stroke, scratch, and feed the Spheals for themselves. With no disturbances of any kind throughout the performance, much to his relief, Band moved in toward the fountain to keep a closer eye on the meet-and-greet, and his fellow guard Lucia did the same. They kept a close eye on everyone who came up to meet the Pokemon in person, but most of them were children, and none gave any sign of ill intent. A few parents and miscellaneous fans crowded around Sierra, full of praise and questions, whether about All Around, Pokemon shows, Pokemon handling in general, or the Aether Foundation and how to show their support for delightful events like these. Ace and Frisk, meanwhile, got a chance to sit back by a portable heat lamp and rest while warming the fingers numbed by constant fish handling in the cold.

Several minutes later, with most of the remaining spectators dispersed, Sierra made her way over to the fountain. “All right, all right!” she told the red-faced youngsters. “Our Spheals love you guys, each and every one, but they’re tired from the show and need a nice, long nap. Plus, they’re so stuffed full of fish, they’ve gone all round!”

One of the kids, a young blonde boy in glasses, looked affronted. “What do you mean, they’re always round!” he corrected her in a nasally voice.

“Ahah, you got me!” Sierra wagged a finger at him. “You really know your Spheals, dude! For real though, it’s time to pack up. See you next time!”

Reluctantly the kids moved on. Band chuckled as he watched them go, then lent a big, brass hand to help carry the spheals to their cushion-lined cages in the back of Sierra’s van. “Gotta say, little lady. Ya put on a damn good Spheal show.”

“Thanks!” One by one Sadie toweled the Spheals off, then installed them in their cages with a pat on the head apiece. “Wouldn’t have been possible without you guys, though. With that finished and all the doors closed, she sat herself on the vehicle’s rear bumper, letting off a big, misty sigh of relief. “Hwah! Man, I’m beat. There wasn’t any trouble, right?”

Lucia shook her head. “Not a peep. No pickpockets, poachahs, nothin’.”

Sierra leaned back against the rear doors, allowing her tired eyes to slide shut. “What a relief. I honestly didn’t think there would be, but if any actual Spheal poachers showed up, I would’ve lost all my faith in humanity. Stick a fork in me, I’m done, you know?” She clapped her hands on her knees. “Still, even if it was for nothing, I’m glad you all kept an eye out. The Aether Foundation…well, it’s not the most popular company in town. Some people have real issues with our shelters. So, someone trying to hurt the Aether Foundation by targeting All Round...not that farfetched, if you ask me. I kinda feel like these shows were approved just in the hopes of boosting our public image. But training and taking care of these guys is [i]my[/i] passion, and I’m going to keep working as hard as I can to make this cold, bleak city of ours a brighter place.”

“You got a good heaht, miss,” Lucia told her. “...I feel bad sayin’ what I planned ta now, ‘cause I don’ wanna bahst yah bubble, but the postahs mentioned a rewahd, yeah?” She shrugged, her hands held up as if the question couldn’t be helped. “We’ah really shoaht on cash right now, is oall.”

“Oh…!” Sierra paused only a moment, but that was enough for the shoe to drop for Band. Sure enough, her paltry attempt at a poker face turned into a wince. “I’m, uh, really sorry, but I don’t…actually have the money right now. My crew’s paid in a lump sum at the end of each show week according to overall performance. In fact, the analyst should be around here somewhere…” She scooted off the bumper and onto her feet, sidling off as she looked around the area. “Where, where…ah!” She turned toward the group and held out a hand toward another woman in white. “Here she comes now!” Then, in a loud whisper. “Better cross your fingers for good news, ahaha…”

After a moment, the senior Aether Foundation employee joined the group, a pleasant smile on her face. She wore gold-accented white clothing much like Sierra did, albeit in the form of a shawl, skirt, and thigh-high boots. A thick pink turtleneck sweater matched his big pink glasses, and her mauve hair boasted both impressive volume and height. Her bright green eyes lingered on Frisk; the two seemed to possess a similar energy, almost motherly in nature.

“Good afternoon,” she greeted them. “You must be our darling Sierra’s hired help, then? A pleasure to meet you!” She gave her coworker a warm smile. “I’m so glad you managed to find some substitutes after all, dear! And they did quite well, considering its their first time. I have all the analytics right here.” The lady held up her tablet and took a deep breath for a thorough explanation of how things went, but second-guessed herself and waved the numbers off. “Oh, but I don’t want to bore you all. My name is Wicke, by the way.” The [url=https://i.imgur.com/3Y1ZOCW.png]Aether Foundation analyst[/url] put one hand on her hip as if posing for a photo. “I won’t waste your time with quibbles, I’m sure you’re eager to receive your pay. I can handle it in Sierra’s stead, but I’ll need to crunch some numbers before I write your checks.” She put a finger to her smiling lips, thinking. “Why don’t I treat you all to a nice cup of hot cocoa at the nearest ROSE? You’ll drive us, won’t you Sierra dear? But let’s hurry, it’s cold outside~!”

With no other choice if Band wanted to cash in on an easy job well done, and no reason to be suspicious, the detective cast one last wary glance over his shoulder for any sign of EMPD personnel before taking Wicke up on her offer. With Sierra behind the wheel of the van, Ace could take shotgun with all his equipment, and Red squeezed into the middle of the back seats between Frisk and Wicke. Lucia didn’t mind riding in the back of the van with the Spheals, whose soft snores the passengers could hear through a grate in the separating wall. Band followed behind, sliding smoothly along the snow-dusted street after the vehicle with a stream of jazz in his wake.

A few minutes later, the van came to a stop at Dessert Shop ROSE, a warm and pleasant-smelling bakery where the magic of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ciT1DjT.png]pink-haired witch[/url] fueled the creation of pastries, chocolates, and other confections of all kinds. Sierra bid the team farewell to take the Spheals home, leaving them in the capable hands of Wicke for their rewards.

[center][h3][color=red]∞ Activity[/color][/h3]

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9iuKbDWUBY3kKv.jpg:large[/img][/center]

The afternoon sun shone through a blue sky dotted by vast, voluminous upon the shingles, timbers, and battlements of a bustling medieval town, livelier than usual. After all, it was Saturday, and for the inhabitants of Lumbridge that meant the exact opposite of a day of leisure. Townsfolks and adventurers alike ran back and forth, each with at least a dozen tasks in mind and only a scant few hours left in the day to check everything off their lists. The outposts, camps, and other staging grounds built around the Land of Adventure throughout the week needed to come down, their equipment and supplies salvaged for use in the coming seven days. With any troublesome monsters cleared out by hunters over the course of the last few days, it was all hands on deck to make the most of this iteration. Field teams arrived to the town one by one, laden with all the loot they could safely carry back to home base from the dungeons, forts, mineshafts, and other such points of interest. Valuables, materials, foodstuffs, spirits–they all got handed off to the citizens for sorting, itemization and distribution through Lumbridge, while the weary adventurers who procured the goods on behalf of the Guild took the records of their achievements with them as they returned back to base for their wages and a hard-earned feast.

In a few hours, as dusk began to gather, most would be sharing stories of this cycle’s exploits over plentiful food and drink. WThe menus of Lumbridge’s eateries and canteens never grew stale, for each week offered a brand-new assortment of ingredients to supplement with the crops and livestock grown within the settlement’s boundaries. Life here was a whirlwind rich with adventure, danger and opportunity going hand in hand, with every week a brave new world of unknowns and possibilities. This ever-changing reality offered its hardships, of course, but as long as the people here -from the most legendary heroes to the most ordinary millers and potters- worked together, there seemed to be nothing they could not achieve. And once the sun set and the sky grew dark, alight with the twinkling of countless distant galaxies and worlds beyond measure, those who wished to could gather at Lumbridge’s borders with their chairs, blankets, and lanterns, and in awed silence watch a realm unravel and woven anew before their very eyes, knowing that even as everything changed, the bonds they forged would remain the same.

On the parapets of the Guild Castle rooftop rest a lone figure, watching the wagons of plunder roll hither and thither, the excited shouts of adventurers gearing up for one last run, and the laughter of squealing youngsters underfoot whose eyes shone with wonder at all the new stuff brought in to enrich their home. The observer reclined comfortably in his fine chair, the spiky, black-scaled tail that protruded from his armor coiled around one of its legs. He slouched, languid, with his elbow on the arm of his seat, occasionally sipping from the glass of red liquor that sat on the table beside his seat next to his helmet, which with its horns and fangs almost seemed to glare balefully down at the townspeople. The Consul’s face, however, was one of faint amusement as he idly tossed a palm-sized cube up and down. As if someone who’d painstakingly erected a house of cards before him was a mere moment away from its completion, oblivious to the errant gust of wind just about to blow his way.

When the rooftop door behind him swung open, the Consul turned a sidelong glance in that direction, and his smile only grew. A familiar figure approached with his cape billowing in the winds of change, too tall to be mistaken for anyone else with a similar taste in armor. “How interesting,” he remarked, his voice curt and acerbic. “A visit in person? You must be infatuated to flatter me so.”

“What are you doing here, M?” S asked, his own tone devoid of humor.

M narrowed his eyes, an unfriendly smile on his lips. “Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow? This happens to be [i]my[/i] territory, in case you’ve been meddling around so much you’ve forgotten. Did you know that these fools made a road all the way to the Hamlet, honestly believing that a link to Lumbridge would prevent its re-generation? What a laugh!” He looked again at the villagers below, then slumped down in his chair with a sigh. “Ugh. It really has gotten nauseatingly boring around here. So here I am to set things straight. You wanted as much, yes?”

“M, I [i]beg[/i] of you,” S drawled, putting every ounce of tiredness he felt into that word. “Speak plainly. Perhaps it slipped your notice, but I have expressly avoided so much as a singular utterance to you for quite some time.”

At that, M snickered. “Oh, but I can take a hint. F was kind enough to stop by and tell me about the meeting with everyone. The way you talked about me, it almost sounded like you thought I wasn’t doing my job.” He feigned sounding hurt. Unconvincingly. “So I simply thought, what better than to clean up one of my partner’s messes for him? Think of it as a gift.” His gaze returned to the people of Lumbridge. “A fresh start, if you will.”

S looked down as well, but not at the people. The eyes inside his helmet settled on the object in M’s palm. It was a chiseled [url=https://i.imgur.com/f8hptIA.png]cube of sleek black obsidian[/url], emblazoned with gold in a distinctive shape plus an inlaid fragment of diamond on each of its four sides. He took in a sharp breath, and his eyes narrowed. “The World Anchor.”

“Mmhmm~” M tossed it again, then caught it. “I knew you put it here, but I didn’t mind since that just meant more subjects for me. But it turned out to be a snoozefest, and we can do better than that, can’t we?”

“Why? Our enemies have no reason to return here, and the people aren’t freed. There’s no benefit. You’re…not even going to harvest their lifelight?”

M’s brows rose. “Oh, how bloodthirsty! That didn’t occur to me. And here I thought you were a feckless wastrel, more interested in playing with heroes than serving your purpose.” He stood and put the World Anchor away. “Oh, don’t you worry about giving me any ideas, I’m just kidding. I’ve already mostly drained the Clock most of the way. Not bad for a peacetime colony, too, must’ve been some big monsters out there this week. We won’t lose much, and it’s more than worth what we’ll gain when the clock strikes midnight! All those gnats, preening with arrogance…I can hardly wait for them to see all they hold dear evaporate before them. What a sublime moment it will be!”

Green wings unfurled from his back as he rose up to clasp S around the shoulder. “You’ll stay here to watch the fireworks with me too, right? ‘Parter’? I know we haven’t always seen, heheh, eye to eye, but let’s not dwell on the past, hmm? Why not enjoy this as the start of a brand new chapter in our friendship!” S said nothing, his eyes dark, and after a moment M shook him by the shoulder. “Hey now, why the hesitation? You haven’t gotten attached to these worms or anything, have you? That’s not very cash money of you, S. Your hands are stained, black as pitch. After all, you’re Moebius, just like the rest of us.t” His mockingly jovial voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned in close. “Or did you not wish for the [i]endless now[/i]?”

“Hmph!” S tilted his head away as he pushed away from M. “Questioning my loyalty is a buffoonish jape even for you. Our newfound initiative against the new heroes is my handiwork, after all. These people are…nothing…to me.” He dismissively flipped his hand at Lumbridge, his voice bitter. “I only ever selected Lumbridge for edification in the first place in an effort to do [i]your[/i] job for you, since you prefer wanton murder to proper cultivation. This was clearly a gross mistake, and one I shall endeavor not to repeat. Moebius I may be, but a sadist I am not. There is no purpose in any pretensions between us so long as we do our duties. Do with your fiefdom as…as you please.”

“Aw.” The other Consul landed, a disappointed look on his face. “Well, I think I’ll do just that. It’s true I’ve been slacking off lately, after all. My colonies are infighting; I’ll need to whip ‘em into shape before we visit any of yours.” M put his helmet on, then turned toward S with a mocking bow. “See you on the battlefield?”

But S was already gone.