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Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Double
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Double Hard-Boiled

Member Seen 12 hrs ago



Suoh -> Musubi's


Word Count: 590
Level 4 Roxas: 25/40
Exp: 1
NEW EXP Balance--- 26/40


Roxas was left slack-jawed for a bit after Raz quite literally stuck the little door onto Sakura's head. After that he lowered his goggles over his eyes and then... nothing. Well, nothing from an outsider's perspective, anyway. The fact that they now both appeared to be sleeping meant that whatever Raz had done worked. He guessed. This was completely new to Roxas and truthfully it kinda confused him. But Raz did ask him to stay on watch and keep their bodies from being disturbed, so the Keyblade Wielder sat down on the pavement nearby them and just kinda... stared.

Eventually, the two of them woke back up at around the time Goldlewis came to pick them all up. From Roxas's angle, it was all completely uneventful, dull even. But he made a mental note to ask Raz about what happened later. He wanted to at least know if their efforts had worked out or not. But for the time being the Seekers had to focus on their upcoming dinner with Luka at that Musubi's place. Roxas was... not exactly thrilled. The Psych-OSF hadn't really made a particularly good impression on him yet and having to go deal with another one was definitely not something he was looking forward to. But he kept quiet and went along with it for now.

Along the way, Peach fused one of the Spirits she had showed them with herself. The changes were pretty noticeable, but most of it looked like it could be written off as merely a change of hairstyle and wardrobe, for the most part. And yet... Roxas just stared in disbelief. Did these people seriously have no regard for their own sense of self? They seemed to have no problem at all with letting themselves be changed and influenced by fusing with these spirits. It just seemed, wrong to Roxas. He then inevitably started imagining what fusing would do him if he were try it... and he physically shuddered and even recoiled a bit.

Uh uh, no way. He did not want to have put himself through that, not for any mission. He'd fought too long and too hard to prove his existence. There was no way he could just let it be... violated like that, "S-sorry!" he quickly said when he realized he'd had such a visible reaction to the fusion, "I'm just... surprised that you can so easily let something change you like that." he looked away then, not exactly wanting to continue that line of discussion. But it was pretty clear that he had not come to terms with the idea of fusing. Or that he even wanted to come to terms with it.

Eventually though, he was sitting in the restaurant with everyone else. Luka had to give them all paper menus because, of course, everything in here was only readable for psychics. Just another annoyance to add to the growing list. But Roxas knew better than to make a scene here, so he just read over his menu and picked the first thing that looked good to him. He spent practically the entire dinner just sitting in silence, picking at his food, almost looking like he was just waiting for this to be over and done with. He dared not open his mouth, lest he say something that would land them all in trouble.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Majoraa
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Majoraa Oyasumi~

Member Seen 0-24 hrs ago


Level: 3
Experience: 19/30
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Edinburgh MagicaPolis
Word Count: 359 (+1 Exp)
@Lugubrious, @Yankee, @TruthHurts22


Being carried up twenty-six flights of stairs in a red fist? Not the weirdest thing Frisk went through. But it was convenient, she had seen how Big Band reacted to the staircase and held back a chuckle. When they reached their destination and were let out of the Wonder Fist morph, Frisk patted the tired Red's shoulder. "Thank you, really!" She thanked the superhero with a warm smile. While Ace went on to look through the library's contents, Frisk stuck by Big Band and Lucia as they checked where Albedo was again.

He went up one more floor. Huh.

"Must've not found anything of use down here." She responded to Lucia's comment. With Red taking a breather the rest made their way to one last staircase. Until...

If the shadow hadn't caught her attention, the sonic boom it left behind in its flight definitely would. Frisk nearly lost her balance as well, but quickly regained her footing. What the hell was attacking this place?! They had to hurry upstairs! NOW! The woman sprinted to the twenty-seventh floor with the others. The sight of Albedo defending a couple of children in hiding was both reassuring and heart-wrenching. She followed Big Band, sliding over next to her friend with Vorpan in hand. "So much for a normal introduction!" She grit her teeth, nodding to the alchemist and preparing for whatever it was they had to face. After this? She was going to go weapon shopping. As much as she appreciated Prisoner loaning it to her, Frisk needed to find something more efficent, and maybe sharper.

Her attention snapped to where the next explosion came from, and Artemis finally revealed itself. Frisk's soul took it's cue and followed suite, immediately flickering to a kind green in anticipation. When it fired down a volly of projectiles, she aimed her barrier to block whatever dared to reach her or the kids they had to protect. "I can't do anything to it as long as it's in the air!" She called out, moving to deflect the rays Artemis sent at them next. "Any ideas on how to kill it before this place is done for?!"
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Archmage MC
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Archmage MC

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Level 11 Blazermate (Holding 2 level up) - (60/110)
Level 4 Susie - (24/40) - (Holding 1 level up)

Location: Detroit Fight
Word Count:


Blazremate was happy that she managed to get this guy to fight for them. Apparently from what he said, the bad robots they had to fight didn't fly or look like medabots; Or at least didn't look like her and Susie. Floating above the man and staying out of hsi way, Blazermate participated in his destruction of well... everything, her healing and eventually kritz letting him go more berserk than normal. TAking her advice, the rest of her team vacated the area as they could at various amounts of injury as mr. wind of destruction went to town.

With the rest of the gang members having been taken out, Blazermate went over to heal her friends as Khamsin attacked the G men for getting in his way, mentioning something about Armstrong? Why did that name sound familiar to Blazermate? Either way, it was surprising to Susie in particular Despirado could go around killing G men without issue, or little issue, was really really interesting.

Poppi then suggested that they follow the man back to Despirado's main base, as they had already worked with them and were more or less at a dead end of how to progress. Susie was fine with it, as was Blazermate, with the pink haired bot picking up the dropped spirits for the party to deal with later. "I'll go ahead and chat with the guy so we're on friendly terms when coming across the base. I got a feeling they wont like us just appearing and all that." Blazermate said, flying ahead to chat with Khamsin on the way back to base. Or rather, just let the man talk about freedom, armstrong, and whatever he wanted to and just be a good listener. He wasn't hte first 'crazy' medabot Blazermate has met.
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Majoraa
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Majoraa Oyasumi~

Member Seen 0-24 hrs ago


Level: 4
Experience: 31/40
Currently In: The Under?, Boss Rush
Word Count: 1,006 (+2 Exp)


"....Nnngh..."

What happened? That was what Omori asked himself as he was pulled out of harms way by his smaller companion. Had Sectonia's sudden change in demeanor got under his skin? Had he overestimated himself? Or did one of the questions running through his head distract him? The boy had let Mewo out of his backpack before the fight started, and perhaps it was a good thing. If Mom had impaled his cat, he'd see red, regardless of whatever flesh wounds he had.

Omori winced as the Knight carefully laid him down. Seemed their assistance wasn't needed anymore with Ganon striking the final blows on Mom. The boy breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Repulsive woman. Nadia went over to check on the injured youth, asking if he was sure he's up to continue. "Not dead yet." He answered simply, letting the feral use her new striker to heal him. Besides, it was kind of too late to turn back now, right? The only way out is through.

He sat up straight when she was finished, quietly accepting the headpat with a hum. "Thanks. Both of you." He said to both Nadia and Knight, his and the former's words seemingly snapping the latter out of its thoughts. It nodded in response, but the amount of hits Omori was taking was starting to concern even the Knight. The boy had proven himself to be quite persistent, but perhaps he should get some proper armor when possible? All he had was the clothes on his back and that tulip behind his ear. The two followed Nadia and regrouped with the others.

Omori glanced around. The reward Mom dropped was a hard pass, and alongside another Devil Room appearing to the left was its natural antithesis; A room bathed in holy light, its offering watched over by a faceless angel on the right. They both had a similar item inside, so it was a matter of which to trust.

Well, he was already adverse to the devil rooms. The answer was clear enough. The boy stepped aside to go grab the capsule in the Angel Room. Atleast, until he noticed Therion had similar intentions. Not wanting to be rude, he moved out of the way with a nod and let the thief take it instead.

He did walk over to pick up the spirit of the Templar Impaler though. Staring down at it, Omori ended up deciding to keep it. "My minion now."



With no further points of interest in mind, Omori called Mewo back to him. Scooping up the black cat and letting her back into his backpack, the only concerning things were: Who is Isaac? and They've replaced the trapdoors with flesh holes. Fun. Once Nadia survived the test fall, Omori eventually hopped down afterwards.

The next level was nothing but sickening flesh. The flesh part could've been expected, but the bubblegum-pink color of it reminded Omori of the innards of a certain whale.

Eugh. He took a moment to dry heave at the thought. Atleast there were more items down here. Ones that don't seem to distort anything in those who picked them up. From what he could tell. Once everything was picked up did a gallery of bosses appear from the....

Omori's eyes were immediately drawn to the spider-like boss that hung above their arena of flesh. Triachnid.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING.

Nope. Nope! He's had enough! It was one thing to take a crappy boatride across the sea trying to stave off a heart attack, but at least SPIDERS CAN BE KILLED. He had to fight this thing if they were going to keep moving!

He had to focus. Whatever staves off his fears.

Deep breaths, and try not to let yourself get stomped on again. He reloaded his pistol. Let's get this over with.

As he rushed forward, Triachnid rose its head up out of shooting range and seemingly stomped around at random, leaving small puddles of White Creep in its wake. The third apendage attempted to stomp on Omori, who quickly moved out of the way and fired a couple of gun shots at it before the leg could retreat. Looks like that works on damaging the creature somehow, but it also managed to catch his full attention. Omori was forced to keep moving as the Triachnid attempted to stomp on him again, quickly slamming its head down to wildly fire white projectiles with no intended direction. The boy got hit once or twice; more earing a disgusted reaction from him than pain and fear (It felt like liquid cobwebs! Gross!), but he took the window of opportunity to cast Sad Poem on his opponent and open fire. That speed would be a problem and he couldn't use Mock with its head out of reach.

Focus.

It soon became apparent that this was the only way it attacks. Omori just had to keep himself on his toes as Triachnid tried to crush him. There were times where it stomped four or five times, catching him off guard, brief moments where he accidentally stepped onto the slowing substance it left behind, and when it suddenly spat out a Trite that crawled all over him it dealt extra contact damage alongside causing him to flail in a panic. But the boy adapted. And more importantly, he remained focused. Omori kept firing at the legs, slowed it down further with Sad Poem, he even baited it to try and crush him with its head, only to get cleaved into by a blood red saw. It didn't seem fair for him to take a power from a god and not make use of it.

Focus.

And soon enough, the spider-like boss was done for. Didn't even need to use a knife!

Once its gorey end left behind the spirit Omori walked up to it...and allowed himself to lose his cool. "Stupid, stupid, gross, disgusting, freaking stupid-!!!" He ranted on and on, ending it by stomping on the spirit as a means to vent his frustrations.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Yankee
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Yankee God of Typos

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Word Count: 819 (+2 exp)
Level: 3 - Total EXP: 81/30
Location: Dystopiascape - Midgar; Suoh

After checking out the gym, running back to the battlefield to snag those leftover spirits, and then meeting up again at Musubi's, Pit climbed into Goldlewis' hummer in the parking lot with the rest of the group to discuss the plan going forward. Ingratiating themselves to Psych-OSF was looking to be a more long-term plan, as a number of the Seekers had expected. Pit wondered how the other half of the Midgar team was doing while the Secretary of Absolute Defense prepared his rundown.

He reiterated the information about Luka, the Psych-OSF agent they'd be meeting with in just a few minutes. A big shot in the organization, or connected to one anyway, even though he appeared no older than a pre-teen boy.

"Me and him both," Pit commented once Goldlewis brought up Luka's age, reminding the rest of the Seekers that Pit, a non-human, was older than he seemed despite the childish looks and equally childish personality.

They went over the goals of their dinner plans and the preferred outcome, which included sending a few of them off into the psychic organization's base. So they needed no only more info, but to convince the guy they were meeting with to take the volunteers back to base with him. 'Play it cool,' yup, can do! As for those going to join the Psych-OSF, he gave them a smile.

"You guys will be fine, just stick together," the angel offered as encouragement. When the fusion process started for Peach and Sakura, Pit shifted in his seat and spread his wings to further block the light from filtering out of the windows on his side of the hummer. Being in such close quarters, he shielded his eyes from the process and only blinked them open again once it was over. They hadn't gone through any major changes on the outside, but on the inside their brain must have morphed or... whatever it was that actually gave people PSI.

"Can you tell what psychic powers you got?" he asked out of curiosity, more cavalier than one of the other boys in the car. Pit looked to Roxas, tilting his head at they Keyblade wielder's thoughts on fusing. Pit's spirit misgivings had been about the original owners of said spirits, while Roxas was more concerned about the person fusing with them. He hadn't thought about that!

"Huh..." Pit turned back to Peach, considering Roxas' words. "Well this doesn't have to be permanent, right? Can you still take spirits out of people, Princess?" She said that she could, so Pit let the subject drop for now as well. He'd yet to go through the spirit fusion anyway, so he didn't know how it felt, but if was to help people he was sure he wouldn't have the same reservations as Roxas.

After that the Seekers all exited the vehicle to head inside. Pit offered an arm or a wing to help the brand new psychics adjust, steadying the princess before she stumbled all the way to the ground. Earlier he'd said that they didn't have to rush getting psychic sight, but if the difference was so much that the transition was that hard on new psychics' eyes (or mind?)... it made Pit really curious as to what it looked like!

The restaurant's interior was simple and modern, so not very exciting to look at unless there were some cool unseen psychic stuff going on. There probably was. Pit followed the whole crew to the table Luka was seated at. Greetings started, and so did the off-hand comments.

What the heck, Midna! Pit would have facepalmed if he wasn't already reaching out to return Luka's handshake.

The angel gratefully took a paper menu, looking it over. He quickly realized that all of the options were printed with no photos on either side, so he put it down on the table and looked over at all of the other diners to see what they were eating, intending to choose like that. Everything looked good, even the tempura, but needless to say he wouldn't be picked that. Too many close calls with those wizards. However, the food was secondary to why they were really here.

"Um, yeah, nice to officially meet you? My name's Pit," Pit said Luka, his voice suddenly getting stilted as he over-focused on "playing it cool." He only barely remembered the cover story for his own identity they'd been given hours ago, most of the information flying right out of his head at that moment. "It's cool to meet someone as. Uh, famous...? As..."

Wait, is he supposed to be famous?

"I mean, as good at their job as you! Which is monster-fighting and those other things you could fill us in on."

There we go. That's why I'm the cooler Pit. Take that, Pittoo.

" 'Cause... our psychic friends wanna join up and help, so... uh, they are curious?"

Oh yeah. Nailed it.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Bugman
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Bugman What happens when old wounds heal?

Member Seen 6 hrs ago

Teemo!

Location: Dripstone Cave / Old Memories (flashback)
Words Written: 894
XP Gained: 2
Mentions: Kamek and the Koopa Troop @DracoLunaris
Powers Used: Guerilla Warfare

The little yordle couldn’t quite remember what had lead him to lying down here.

There he was, Darius. Walking right up the top lane of the Summoner’s Rift, flourishing his axe this way and that. But he thought Teemo had returned to the shop. He had a whole ‘nother thing coming as Teemo raised his blowpipe, the armour-clad warrior in the Scout’s crosshairs.

Wait, no. That happened before.

Those Darkin had no business being so close to Bandle-City, but that would be fixed really quick.The little soldier giggled the slightest bit as one of them stepped on a puff-cap mushroom, the fungus exploding horribly to send them airborne. Carefully Teemo reached down to his pouch, and selected a blinding dart in lieu of the standard poison tips. That guy who thought he was so badass wouldn’t be able to swing his sword if he couldn’t see a thing.

Hold on, not that either. Oh, this was it. Strolling through this strange new cave, the realization that Teemo had no rations got him thinking that he ought forage for supplies while he was here. A little drink was collected in his waterskin, and what he thought to be one of thousands of species of fungus that he knew so well was picked up for a light snack. Reckoning it was better to carry it in his belly than in his bag, he placed the morsel in his mouth and chomped down with furry cheeks puffing amidst the effort to masticate. As the juices ran out into his mouth, he realized that this was no mushroom he had ever encountered before. Though he spat it out, it was far too late for the toxins had already made contact with the flesh of his mouth and began running down into his digestive systems. As he dropped down, he made sure to land on the helmeted part of his head and fall in such a way he would neither suffocate nor choke on saliva. As he contemplated the strange new environment he found himself in, Teemo began to slide into a slow delirium.

Rather abruptly he was awakened, darkness all around him. He could of course see that he was in the dark, and he could make out that he was in a cave. What exactly brought him to consciousness? Well, he could see something out there. A guy not much bigger than himself wielding magic, a turtle of somesort? His buddies weren’t too different from him. But, whatever those turtle guys were, it seemed that at least for the moment their causes were similar to that of Teemo. Namely, they were concerned with not being consumed by the bugs floating about this cave, as was Teemo. Who exactly they were could be figured out later, and if necessary dealt with. But just as in the summoner’s rift, now was the time to make peace with any who would stand together against his enemy.

Now more or less completely lucid, Teemo began to run back away from the mosquitoes, feigning a full retreat as he hopped over a rock to hide his tiny body behind. He would stand completely still, his body melding with the shadows as he began his old practice of Guerilla Warfare.
Grabbing his blowpipe, he began to select a dart to fire at the mosquitoes, but was rather disappointed when he looked among his belongings. He lacked any poisoned and blinding ones, and it was thus that he would have to make do with the many he had that lacked any sort of coating for further potency. Slotting it into the blowpipe after having made sure he had properly made use of the cover to obscure himself in entirety for a few seconds, it was time to act.

Hopping out from the side, Teemo would unleash a quick salvo of several darts at the closest mosquitoes to him while he still had an element of surprise.

Then he would begin what some referred to as kiting. He would take a few steps back while reloading his blowpipe, fire it, and then keep moving and reloading in a repeat of this cycle.

All this time Teemo would seek to communicate with his team. Oddly, he was unable to ping them any of the usual things he would when fighting with such strange allies as he could in the summoner’s rift. That’s why he had to go with the simple alternative of shouting across the cave to them.

“Keep the pressure on!” he shouted towards them, the little yordle’s speech bearing the high pitch and soft but almost squealing timbre that the words of a very young boy would. However, they also had a volume, power, and delivery to them that implied this was certainly no adolescent.

“I’ll keep a few coming at me, if we split their attention we can pick them off one by one!” he continued, announcing the very simple strategy against the bugs that he hoped would nonetheless be effective given the stupidity that wilds insects had even when being of this magnitude.

There was of course the concern that these were some sort of magical bugs, but then he would simply have to adapt as any true Scout would. Thankfully, it seemed his unexpected comrades were just as acquainted with violence as he was.
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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: 563 (+1 exp)
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 104/80
Location: The Under - Ruins

𝙱𝙿 ●●●●

When Primrose returned from the cave path to the Koopa Troop and Rubick, she had intended to tell them about the person she'd seen. It was down the path they hadn't taken, the one lined floor to ceiling with ominous masks. When she'd first seen the stranger in her peripheral vision she stilled, then slowly turned until they were fully within her sight. She didn't appear to be preparing for a fight on the outside, but internally she was steeling herself for a possible attack. So far underground most of the beings they'd encountered had been the aggressive kind.

This one was not - or more accurately Primrose got the feeling that it wasn't. It waved to her and then went about its business. She didn't return the gesture, but she considered it an invitation. They were another person to question, if the others hadn't already found their leads to their missing members.

And so, Primrose was going to suggest that they head down the opposite path. However when she got back, she saw that all of them save for Bowser Jr. and Barnabee were already a little deeper into the cave. They hadn't gotten that far, still well within both eyeshot and earshot at least. Primrose took a few steps forward, observing the field of fire that the Koopas were spreading. They appeared to be killing giant mosquitos, and among them was yet another newcomer - a small fuzzy one fighting alongside them.

We certainly pick up a lot of strays, she thought to herself, an amused smile playing at her lips. She left them to their battle, not even bothering to perform a dance for them. It looked to be a one sided extermination from there. Instead, she walked over to where Junior and the clown bugs were. It didn't seem like he'd gotten much conversation out of them.

"I'm going to take a look around the other path. I saw someone down it, so I'll see what information they have," she told the prince. "Don't you all leave without me, alright?"

She retraced her steps once more until she was back to the fork in the road, after which she went right after the stranger. She glanced down when her steps began shifting as she walked, and she noticed that the masks were not just strung up on the wall but underfoot as well. Densely packed, they formed a demented cobblestone-like path. She paused about halfway to the Ancestral Mound, letting her magic dance through her fingers. So far so good.

There was no ambush waiting for her the rest of the way either, so when she came upon a hut made of bone and the Snail Shaman in front of it she assumed she was safe for now.

"Hello," she greeted him, only now returning the little wave he'd given her. "I was wondering if you could help us. We're looking for some people - if you've seen any humans with cat ears come by, or red hair." Since Sectonia was vaguely insect-like she didn't mention the queen on the off chance there was some other giant wasp flying around here. There likely might be, given Barnabee's tale about wasps usurping his kingdom.

After a moment, the similarity of this little guy and Confessor Jiji brought another question to Primrose's mind. "...or if you know of soft, round food that smells nice?"
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Zoey Boey
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Zoey Boey better than the alternative

Member Seen 10 hrs ago


Level 7: 29/70
Word Count: 904
Location: The Under
Points Gained: 2
NEW EXP balance--- Level 7: 31/70




Jesse winced as the giant leg wailed its final horrible scream. Cleaved in twain! Blood everywhere. It was dead. They had won! Jesse faked a spin with her Service Weapon, and faked holstering it too, just for good measure.

“Who the hell is Isaac, anyway?” Jesse asks the room, not really expecting an answer.

This place dropped its rewards, though Jesse wasn’t particularly interested in any of them. She certainly wasn’t going to put on those creepy high heels. As far as she was concerned, she had gotten lucky with her Sigil, and she wasn’t going to push it.

Seeing the hole to their next floor, Jesse just barely failed to suppress a childish giggle.

“Oh, gross.” Jesse said, poking it with her foot. “Listen, before anyone does anything. I am capable of healing with a striker of mine. As long as you can stand in one place for a bit, the Healing Waters at your feet will heal most wounds.”

It was Nadia who took the plunge first. Poor Nadia. Nobody asked her to do these things, but she did them anyway. “I hope you don’t start to resent us!” Jesse called down to her as Nadia descended.

When Nadia gave the all clear, Jesse went second, dropping into the hole. As soon as she saw light, she slowed her descent with a low, quiet bassy sound. They really did look like some giant stomach. Grody. There were four more items, and some of them looked fairly innocuous. Others, not so much. Either way, she had already gotten her reward and was happy to let her teammates do as they wished.

Only too late did she realize the pun of what she was looking at for the ghostly pepper. “Oh, Sectonia, I wouldn’t- Oh. Ooh. I’m sorry.” She said grimacing sympathetically.

There was a sigil, the type that Jesse recognized. “That one’s probably safe.” She said to the room. Ganondorf took it, and it made him big. That was it. Good for him! He seemed like the type of person to like being taller than most people, and now he could be taller than an even greater amount of the population. Personally, Jesse would probably bang her head on the top of many doorframes.

As soon as all four items were gathered, seven tough looking creatures ambushed them out of the blue.

This really does remind me of the Hiss. At least I have other people to take the heat off me now. The only downside, and it’s a big one, is that they die sometimes. Nonetheless, not if I can help it.

“Seven of us, seven of them. Easy money, people!” Jesse said encouragingly, drawing her Service Weapon.

Out of the fleshy ground emerged some kind of grotesque skinless muppet named Mr. Fred. It smacked into Jesse’s thigh, its contact with her poisonous. She almost lost her balance. “Ow.”

“Uh. Hey.” Jesse said as looked into its soulless, beady eyes. It responded by wrenching four attached Homunculi out of the ground, pale tumorous things about half Jesse’s height, all attached with skin cords to wherever the bottom half of Mr. Fred was. Almost immediately, her Sigil power activated, wrenching projectiles of mostly blood from the soft ground beneath her and splattering them into one of the Homonculi and Mr. Fred.

Jesse evaded backwards, avoiding a burst of blood in the meanwhile. She plugged one of the Homunculi in the face with Grip, causing it to splatter and then ash. The rest of them couldn’t reach her due to their cords, which Mr. Fred promptly severed. That ended up sending more blood Jesse’s way, and then Mr. Fred burrowed back underground. Jesse floated into the air to avoid the small reach of the creatures and the blood spray. They glanced up at her just in time to get shattered with Shatter. From their ashen corpses Health crystals spawned and zipped into Jesse’s resonance, recuperating the damage she had just taken.

Mr. Fred popped out of the ground and fired blood at her. Jesse sidestepped and returned fire, only for him to dig back under ground. This repeated once more before Jesse began charging up Pierce. When Mr. Fred emerged next, half of his face was blown off by a superheated psychic round, her gun spinning and cooling off.

When it went to burrow back underground, she used Launch to rip the surface flesh off the ground and reveal the wounded creature. With Mr. Fred on death’s door, his Resonance weakend, Jesse reached out and found his essence with Launch. “Gotcha.”

She plucked him from the earth like a wet radish. While he floundered in mid air, she clenched her fist and violently imploded him into a meatball. Dropped to the ground with a squelch, his corpse vanished into ash. Jesse regarded his loathsome spirit with a frown and nudged it away with her shoe. She couldn’t imagine herself using it as a Striker. She wanted to save room for something more useful, like Uncle Sven the Alchemist.

Omori let himself lose his cool, but Jesse guessed there was a little of that going around.

“See? Easy. If anyone’s scratched up, like I said I have Sven the alchemist as a striker for healing. At the very least, it’s refreshing.” Jesse said.

“So, how do we get outta here?” She asked, looking and walking around. “The good news is, we aren’t being actively digested.”
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Yankee
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Yankee God of Typos

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Word Count: 1540 (+3 exp)
Level: 5 - Total EXP: 66/50
Location: The Under - Mom's Chamber

𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●

Therion waited until the battle was well and truly over to leave the relative safety of the alcove he'd been staked out in. The other Seekers had more or less the same idea as him, to leave the rest of the fight to Ganon. Sectonia ended up helping to finish things up, which just made for three giants going at it until finally "Mom" was no more. Thankfully when she died, cursing some stranger's name, the monsters she'd summoned died with her. The thief gave it a few more seconds before making his way to the rest of the Seekers, not bothering to try and avoid the puddles of blood at this point.

"Understatement," was all he said, both in regards to Sectonia's comment about the place being disgusting and Nadia's comment about the experience sucking.

He patiently waited for Ms. Fortune's striker to heal him, gladly taking her offer up in return for giving her a potion earlier. He made sure to 'cut in line' ahead of Ganondorf, still peeved at the friendly fire. Once he was back in top shape he rolled his neck and shoulders, preparing to find some way out of here. The door they'd come through was open again, but there was also another hole in the floor. A different kind of hole than the ones they'd jumped in previously. He got the feeling they'd have to descend again, and Ms. Fortune confirmed it a moment later. One more floor.

Therion sighed. Well, in for a leaf...

Before descending, he went to go nab one of those shiny looking rewards. He bypassed the various spirits on the ground and the single red shoe, heading for the trophies. Specifically, for the one in the Angel Room. If one of the two was cursed or booby trapped, it was likely to be the one in the Devil Room... and so he left that to one of Sectonia's little bug things. She mentioned that the trophies likely held spirits inside of them, so they were probably like... actually Therion couldn't think of any similar phenomena. He took the assist trophy anyway, stashing it for now.

On the edge of hole, Jesse mentioned that her striker also had the ability to heal, which would certainly come in handy Therion was sure. With Ms. Fortune taking point again, the Seekers made their way down to what would hopefully be the final level of this hell hole. The area that they dropped into was huge, fleshy, and moist. It was gross, like they'd been swallowed by some massive creature. Scowling as usual, Therion took in the arena - and it was an arena, there were no two ways about there. From what he could see there wasn't anywhere else to go, which meant something would be coming for them sooner or later. As if preparing intruders for a fight, there were four items laid out around the area. One corner held a set of robes, which Therion claimed for himself. Once he donned them, he could feel that he was a little stronger. Some kind of enchantment, then.

As soon as all of the items were taken, monsters poured in as expected. Since the Seekers were already prepared for fighting, they dove right in to meet their attackers in kind. Just before the din of battle got too loud, Jesse called out her thought that this would be 'easy money.' At that, Therion smirked as he gripped the hilts of his sword and dagger.

"Heh, that's what I like to hear."

His chosen opponent was a floating red demon. He expected the blood shots that it spewed forth, deftly ducking under them as he closed the distance between himself and the monster. The first thing Therion did was cast Shackle Foe, lowering the demon's damage. Of course he didn't intend to get hit if he could help it, but that was easier said than done. He dodged out of the way of another shot just before he lashed out with his sword.

To his surprise, the monster was split in two vertically - though not by him. His slash hit only air as the two halves of Lokii separated from each other, flying independently from each other and both clearly alive even though their half-brains were showing along with the rest of their bisected organs.

Of course he'd managed to pick the one enemy that was actually two. His gaze flickered to the other Seekers scattered around the arena, wondering if there was still time for a trade. Lokii didn't give him much time to decide, both halves flying at him with wicked half-grins. From their very flesh projectiles shot out in various directions, flexing Therion's dodge skills as he threaded himself through the barrage. They swooped by him, and while one Lokii half flew up the other twisted and headed right for him. Therion side stepped it, cutting the monster as it flew by.

From behind him, the other Lokii rammed into his back. Though it threw Therion forward onto his knees, he heard a pained whine from the monster. Glancing back, he saw that it was retreating from some kind of damage it had taken. Since nothing about him had changed besides the new cloak, Therion assumed it must have something to do with it. At least he had that going for him.

He recovered as the two halves shot out more projectiles. Then, one of them teleported to his right. The new angle on their attacks saw Therion taking a hit, and once again the Lokii reeled back in pain. Unfortunately the robe's effect was short lived, as after another shot struck him and another counter went off, the two halves teleported almost right on top of Therion to overwhelm him with attacks. These hits didn't trigger any kind of retaliation, but at the very least he still felt that strength enchantment within the robes. Therion rolled out from under the Lokii, and when he came up onto his feet again he'd traded his dagger for the greed shield. Combined with the attack debuff he'd applied, the Lokii's shots couldn't get through his defense.

The demon, either unwilling or unable to come up with a new strategy, could only teleport and shoot. It still made keeping up with a pain, especially since they moved separately from each other. At some point a fat red fly was spawned in as well, which only added to the chaos since it was shooting the same kind of projectiles somehow. Therion had no idea how many of these shots were going wide and reaching the other battles, and he didn't check - too busy avoiding as many as possible that were aimed at him.

His fight was turning into little more than dodge, defend, and wait for one of the Lokii halves to teleport or fly a little too close to him so he could slash or stab them. At one point Therion summoned the Junicorn again just to have some cover, and it performed its tanking job admirably. He then withdrew the assist trophy from his bag and, hoping for another hand in the battle, but when he broke the glass (which was the only way he could see to actually open it)... nothing happened.

Gods damn it, a dud? he silently cursed. Just my luck. He exhaled through his nose, irritated with trophy and the Lokii. The Junicorn managed to get a shot off on one of the halves before it's time was up, and just before it disappeared Therion burst out from behind it in his beast form. He leapt at the weaker Lokii half, shredding it to pieces with his claws. The boom fly zoomed toward him but he batted it away with one large paw, then pounced on it to smash it against the ground. When it died it let off one last volley which exploded against Therion's fur. He growled, setting his sights on the remaining half of the demon.

At this point, it's projectiles were easy enough to dodge since it wasn't joined by two other shooters. Therion pounced again, but the Lokii teleported away. The thief shifted back into his human form just before the Lokii flew in for another headbutt, swinging the shield around to smash against the side of its face. One of its massive teeth flew from its head, bouncing on the ground and rolling to a stop nearby. Lokii was momentarily stunned, just long enough for Therion to finish it off with a flurry of cuts from his short sword. Only once both halves were defeated did they turn to ash.

Therion wiped his brow and, after a second to think about it, pocketed the Lokii spirit. He wasn't sure if he would use it, but he wanted to make up for that trophy. A glint of light caught his eye and he turned to see that the tooth he'd knocked out had somehow turned to gold. He picked it up, the thing easily the size of his hand. Interesting... Was that a feature of the monster, or something else? Maybe the greed shield? More testing was needed. For now, he put the hunk of gold away and caught up with the others.
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TruthHurts22

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Sakura's Stream

Wordcount: 6240
EXP: +7

Sakura EXP Total: 26/90 (pending)
Raz EXP Total: 56/50 (Rank Up!)


Raz found himself in abackyard. The sky was a warm sunset, with clouds painted orange and purple. Birds squawked overhead. There was a dog in a doghouse, a family garden with some plants, and on the overhang in front of the second storey of the house in front of him, a mattress.

The sliding glass door was open, and inside a boy, maybe a little older than Raz, was playing video games, and was very, very into it. Delicious smells of seafood came from the kitchen inside the house. Orange light spilled from the open door of the house, and the two windows on the second floor were glowing pink and yellow respectively.

While it did seem to be surrounded by neighborhood, it wasn’t a practical one, of course. There was a large highway overpass, near enough to almost cast a shadow on the house, though the honking of all the cars going overhead didn’t seem to reach the peaceful home. There were a few houses nearby, too. But the fence stopped Raz from seeing more from ground level.

The dog barked playfully at him from his dog house, but seemed too lazy to actually move out of it and do anything. The little boy paid him no mind at all, absorbed in his game.

Raz took his surroundings in, looking this way and that with the semi-trained eye of a semi-Psychonaut. Things seemed normal, but he knew how quickly things might get dicey. First order of business: ingratiate with the mental denizens.

He moved to the doghouse. ”Hey there boy, how’s it going?” He stooped down, scritching the pet’s head. ”You have a name?”

The little white dog stayed with his chin on his crossed paws as Raz scratched him. He was pleased, his tail wagging slowly. On its red collar was a tag, and on that tag was a name written in Japanese. The boy inside made a noise of intense focus as the video game ratcheted up the difficulty, the colors of the TV brightening considerably.

Well, it wasn’t like he could read Japanese. ”We’ll… put a pin in that.” He gave the mystery pup another scratch behind an ear before standing back up, heading for the house. Since the door was open Raz decided to simply walk inside, stopping beside the younger boy and watching him play for a second. Then he said, ”Hey there! I’m looking for Sakura. Know where I can find her?”

It was some kind of fighting game- two strong looking martial artists were battling it out, and it seemed like the boy was winning. He didn’t respond for a few moments. When it seemed like he might not have heard the question at all, he shouted:

“Mooom! Some goldfish-headed kid is looking for Sakura!”

“Be nice, Tsukushi-kun!” Called a voice from the kitchen. Knives hit wood, noodles splashed into boiling water, bowls clattered into sinks and hungry hands swept takeaway boxes from a window. The kitchen was a busy place.

Now that he was inside, Raz could tell this was a representation of Sakura’s family home. There were pictures of her and the family on the wall. The boy, a tall, handsome businessman of a father, and a plump, jovial housewife of a mother, and Sakura herself. Though they were all moving a little bit, like mini-films, with a lot of depth. Vacations, portraits- though Sakura did have a couple of her fighting. There was also a single picture of a Japanese student around Sakura’s age. She had long, straight black hair topped with a green headband. A very beat up, grinning Sakura was with her in the photo, dragging the poor girl’s mouth up into a smile with her index finger, though there was a twinkle of amusement in the girl’s eye. In the back of the living room there was a stairway that no doubt led to the second floor.

“Sakura’s either up in her room or overseas!” The mother called again, with a laugh. “Not sure… Kei might know! Did you tell him to find Kei-chan?” She asked.

The door opened, and the handsome businessman walked in. “Honey, I’m home! And we have a guest!” He said, looking at Raz.

“He’s looking for Sakura!” The mother called from the kitchen.

“Well, she’s either in her room, or overseas.” He said, though there was a note of melancholy in his laugh. He went about setting down his briefcase and removing his jacket.

“If she’s not down here with us, or out with Kei. Are you one of her…fighting friends? She has a lot of those these days. Always smacking each other around- the whole thing drives me nuts sometimes.” He said with a sigh. He took a big bundle of money from his back pocket and dropped it into a small box labeled ‘Dreams!’.

”I guess you could call me a fighting friend. Though I never fought her before, just alongside.” It was rare to see a mental world be so… normal. Was it due to Sakura’s straightforwardness? Hmmmm. ”What’s in that box?” He asked the father, pointing at the ‘Dreams!’ box.

“Oh, this?” He said. “One day, I’m going to reopen the Kasugano family restaurant. Sakura’s mother and I are exceptional cooks- we just need to get the place off the ground again.” He said. The mother flung a takeaway box out of the window and someone caught it.

Raz nodded. ”I hope that worked out for you. Anyways, it was nice meeting you all! If it’s no trouble I’m going to go look upstairs, see if Sakura is there.” He took the stairs two at a time, trying not to make too much noise - he was still a guest in a nice family’s house after all.
Upstairs was a hallway with three rooms. Two on the left, one on the right. One was clearly just a bathroom, the other was Tsukushi’s room, and the final one was clearly Sakura’s room. It said ‘Sakura’s Room’ in plain English on the front, though there was some text underneath it that was most likely the same thing but in Japanese. Cherry blossoms were in front of the door frame and drifted out into the hallway from the room.

Inside was a messed up bed, an open window with orange light streaming through. The light was hard to see through, but the dim shadows of buildings almost seemed to waver, shift, and move, affecting the rays of light that poured through.

There was some clothes scattered about, and a desk with a huge, insurmountably large stack of homework that pushed the ceiling upward. Underneath the bed was a dim, pulsing pink light.

There were lots of posters on the wall. A blonde man in a red gi gave a thumbs up to the camera. An imposing green man with orange hair shook the frame with electricity, a woman in blue kicked fast as lightning. A guy with a blonde flat top looked very, very serious. Them and many more.

A small TV sat on a desk… next to it, there was a large pile of VHS tapes. A match of some kind was playing on the TV. It looked like the man with the flattop and the man in the gi were fighting.

Suddenly, someone in the room almost shouted into Raz’s ear. “Sonic Boom!” The flattop guy in the poster shouted suddenly, firing a spinning blade projectile across the way to the man in the red gi. It whizzed right overhead with a mighty crack of sound waves.

“Ow, hey! Guile! Alright, fine, let’s turn up the heat!” The man in red said, before pulling himself out of the poster and sprinting across the room. He seemed more 2D than he did 3D.
“Tatsumaki!” With a spinning flame kick he pushed Guile into the poster, nearly missing Raz.

“RAINBOW!” A mighty feminine voice scream. A wrestler launched herself butt-first into the quick kicking woman’s poster, nearly knocking it off the wall.

“I’m the strongest woman in the world!” She replied, the two joining the scrap. In all the sudden mayhem, the big pile of homework tipped, and threatened to fall on Raz.

Ducking, diving, and rolling out of the way of the living posters, Raz hunkered down beside the desk to avoid the fights. ”Whoa! Guessing you’re some of her ‘fighting friends’, right?” His impromptu hiding space was threatened by the stack of homework topping down onto him. He, unfortunately, wasn’t able to dodge out of the way in time, and got knocked to the floor by the tide of overdue worksheets. ”Gyahh!”

The papers scattered and filled the space, kicking up another cloud of cherry blossoms. Most of them were shredded by the oblivious poster fighters. The TV continued to play. Fortunately for Raz, it was just a bunch of loose paper, so it didn’t really hurt. The cherry blossoms drifted, picked up by the wind, past the glowing pink underside of the bed, and out the orange window.

“Would you keep it down up there, please!” The mother called out.

”Sorry, miss!” Raz picked himself up, grumbling under his breath about papers and the laying of fault, and crossed the room - avoiding the fighting poster people - to the bed, where he got on his hands and knees and took a peek under.

All the chaos paused for a moment as Raz peeked under Sakura’s bed. Under the bed was a hot spring pool. About ten feet down was a warm sunny day and a pool surrounded by stones. Inside, a stoic yet amiable looking man with short, black hair and a headband sat in the water, shirtless. He had his eyes closed and head down, relaxed. “Ah, Sakura-Chan.” He began. “So you have returned. Please, join me in the Special Fighter Spring for Cool Fighters.”

He looked up at Raz and opened his eyes, before blinking in surprise. “You’re not Sakura-chan.”

Raz, immediately, pulled his head back out from under the bed. ”Nope, not going in there.” Well, he already looked in one conspicuous glowy part. What’s the harm in another? Raz crawled across the floor as another gi-wearing fighter spun through the air, over to the window, raising his eyes over the sill to look into the orange light.

The outside was a big, big place, full of many moving parts. The overpass highway was just ahead and to the right, with children running around behind it in the midday sun, even though Raz was currently being bathed in the light of a cozy dusk. Right beneath him bicyclers bustled underneath, carrying the fresh take-out food Sakura’s mouth had just made. Everyone was happy, busy, and friendly. And fighting.

This little island home and the surrounding neighborhood was actually only a small island, among many moving landmasses. Windswept rivers moved the islands on a big ocean. Some islands had landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower, or a section of the Great Wall of China, others were cramped towns and layed cities varying in size and recognizability. They all seemed to have different times of day, too. Some weren’t ‘places’ at all, but landmasses that contained swirling masses of energy similar to what Sakura throws out in her fights. The rivers themselves weren’t inactive, either- some had boats. Work boats or party boats- lots of fight boats, too. There was a pier on the end of this Homeland Island that extended out with some fishing boats anchored against the quick moving tides.

The cherry blossom breeze led down, out the window, and to the ever quaint street below.

Down there a much more three dimensional version of the man in the red gi was eating fresh noodles and chatting with a girl with long black hair with a pink headband on top- the same girl that appeared in a photo with Sakura but didn’t seem to be a part of the family. Biological family, anyway.

“Can you please take the street fights elsewhere? This island is supposed to be safe and quiet!”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry! The Kasugano Residence just has such a perfect backyard for it.” The man replied, noodles half in his mouth. “I’ll be more careful in the future, Kei-chan. But if you ask me, you’re fighting a losing battle.”

Kei sighed, rubbing her temples. “Maybe you’re right…it’s hardly the biggest problem I have on my plate at the moment.”

There was a certain atmosphere that mental worlds such as this had, a sort’ve chaotic blend that the World on the outside didn’t replicate. Raz might’ve journeyed up a frozen mountain, traversed a cat-themed metro in a giant pumpkin, and jumped over a herd of roving trucks in the desert, but it still felt cohesive. Everything had a place that it fit into the world, like a puzzle made perfectly out of pieces from entirely different boxes.

There’d be time to wax poetic later, though. The conversation on the wind caught his attention. ”’Keychain’?... Oh, Kei-chan!” Raz hopped clear out of the window, forming his Levball to hover in the air, floating down along the breeze’s path to the street beside Kei and the red-gi guy.

He took a couple steps when he touched down to get his balance, then strode up to the pair. ”Excuse me! Are you Miss Kei? I’m looking for your friend, Sakura. Or, maybe, something she’s scared of? I’m not too sure…”

Kei turned around, raising an eyebrow. “That’s me. Uh, hello.” She says, then considers his words. “Err…yes. Yes, that’s it. To be honest, you probably won’t find Sakura. She’s off doing who knows what. I do know there’s a big mess happening at one of the newly created islands to the South. I could help you get there, if you help us out with it.” Kei said.

The guy in the red kept eating his noodles. “I’ve been down there once or twice. It’s bad news- really brings the whole mood of the World Islands down. This place is supposed to be fun, y’know?”

”I’m pretty familiar with big messes on weird islands, so I’d be happy to help. My name’s Raz, by the way. I’m a friend of Sakura’s!”]

“That’s great, because we’re stuck.” Kei said with a bow. “Thank you, Raz-kun. I’m Kei. Sakura’s been my friend for longer than I can remember, and recently I’ve been a little worried about her. Follow me, please.”

She guided Raz through the neighborhood. Once he was in the middle of it, he couldn’t see the chaotic islands outside and everything was peaceful and quiet. They passed by Sakura’s noodle-serving house and went to the other side of the island, where it was dawn instead of dusk. Past a drainage canal and under the overpass where children ran and played and drew on the concrete.

Kei took Raz to the pier and pointed across the river to an island on the other side. “I’d recommend not falling into the river. It’s not dangerous. In fact, it’s actually pretty fun- but you could wash up anywhere.”

Raz looked over the edge of the pier into the water lapping against the concrete walls. In the small waves a set of lumps formed, small rivets of the water that rose higher into the air than the waves, like fingers of a grasping hand trying to break the surface. Raz took a small step back and the lumps disappeared.

It had been a while since he got close to a body of water, yet the dread was present as ever. Still, across this mental sea was the heart of Sakura’s problems, and he wasn’t going to let some silly curse get the better of him.

”You don’t have to warn me,” Raz said, ”I won’t be falling in anytime soon.”

Stones stuck out of the rapids and heavy crates of wood floated steadily down the river. There were empty boats and micro-islands with palm trees sticking out. Occasionally fish would jump out of the water, or even dolphins.

“And the Ki islands aren’t as dangerous as they look, but they can be pretty disorienting. If you see any fighters along the way, they should be able to help you out.” Kei said. “Just keep going South. You’ll know the problem when you see it. Best of luck, Raz-kun. Thanks again.”

A strong breeze was at Raz’s back, and it was even stronger on the river. He could probably sense that this breeze was actually strong enough to carry him through the air at some points over the river.

He turned to wave goodbye to Kei. ”Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Sakura gets back to her usual self.” With that, he was off.

The trek across the water wasn’t much to worry about, not for an experienced(-ish) mental traverser like him. He leapt from the pier to a passing crate, hitching a ride as it floated lazily further out, this way and that, pulled by unseen currents. As it passed by one of the raised stone he used it as a springboard to catch a gust of wind, hovering with it until it deposited him on a small dilapidated dock near the next island.

The next island was desert-like and hot, with a blazing sun overhead. But there was a crispness to the air and a returning cool sea breeze. There were elephants, giraffes, zebras, and people chasing each other around in jeeps and on horse-back. It was a straight shot to the other side, with few visual obstacles in his path to get to the next island south. He could even see other islands to the east and west, all busy with their own features. All he had to do was watch out for alligators and stampedes, though there might be something unpredictable about this place like the house.

A tall, beautiful woman with dark skin and white hair was flipping, kicking, and dance-fighting with a small group of warriors with wooden training weapons, laughing all the while.

Raz didn’t want to linger too long in here if he could help it. It wasn’t like the two were in a very safe spot in the real world after all. Rather than trying to run through the unknown of this island, he instead approached the tall woman. ”Hi! Hello? I was told that some ‘fighters’ could help me get further south, would you be one of them by any chance?”

She ceased her spin kick and stopped in a one-handed handstand, looking at Raz and grinned big. “Jambo! Of course! I can show you a little secret, just between you and me, if you are fun-loving enough to handle it.”

Graceful, she did a few cartwheels over to a crack in the ground. She waited for a few moments and a big gust of steam emitted from it, that blew her short hair back and up. With a giggle, she indicated beyond it to another distant crack. A few moments, it blew up steam as well. Beyond that, another one.

“The steam will let you fly up to the breeze above. The alligators are friendly if you feed them, but, if you want to go fast, that’s the best way!” She pointed up to the sky where the familiar cherry blossom breeze moved above.

Raz could hop from steam blast to steam blast. If he stepped in, would launch him up, hot, but not painful. The last steam blast would be enough to carry him up into the clouds, and up here the breeze was solid enough to walk on!

”Thank you!” Raz rushed for the steam vent as it went off a second time, sending him hurtling through the air to the next, and the next, and the next, a series of air-rocketed jumps into the breeze above. He sailed through it like a surfer, minus the board, onwards.

The next island was a tightly packed cluster of buildings, full to bursting. There was barely even a beach to land on- chances were he would land on a rooftop air conditioner and find the metal surprisingly bouncy. This place had muffled, loud music, thick cloud cover, and the sky was purple like it was night.

There were searchlights painting the clouds pink and blue from a mini-version of a large stadium building with no roof. There was a blast of violent purple energy from within that split the sky. A short moment later a man in a military uniform yelled as he was flung right out of the stadium and crashed into a nearby car. The roof dented and then expanded, bouncing up and out through a window. He groaned and shuffled away, defeated.

Raz leapt down off of his breeze onto a slanted metal rooftop, which was as springy as everything else, sending him careening across the buildings. Seemed the whole place was made out of rubber, from the seeming metal structures to even parts of the concrete below, like a giant bounce house. ”Whoa, this place is fun! I guess Sakura doesn’t want the people she fights to get hurt too badly.”

There was time for playing around later (assuming Sakura let him take another peek around), he was on a mission! As fun as the stadium seemed, this stretch of the journey felt like a cakewalk, so Raz simply bounced and sprung his way across to the other side of the island.

The next island was far away, and the rivers seemed to quiet. Disconcertingly, there were trails of black oil on the still waters surface, flowing much slower than before. It didn’t seem like it would whisk him away to some far off place to no doubt have some wacky adventure, but rather get him stuck in and flounder until he found his way back to shore. That is, if he didn’t already have his own problems with the water that was bountiful in the place. The breeze that had guided him so far seemed to falter and sputter out as it went over this portion.

It was poorly lit, with only faint moonlight illuminating shadows. From this distance, it seemed to be a forest surrounding a field, with an old-looking house that was lit up with flickering firelight on the inside. The way across wasn’t apparent. It seemed impossible to get there without some kind of transport or vehicle.

Another person went flying from the stadium, curling up into a ball and yelling with frustration. He flew, flew, and flew, until he landed on an entirely separate island from the one Raz was on, and the one Raz wanted to go to. The crowd cheered again.

So the way forward was a no-go for him, and the stadium just behind him was spouting out fighters like a slingshot. It was easy for him to put two and two together. He doubled back, using a rubbery chimney to launch forward, towards the stadium itself. Rather than take the entrance like any normal mental manifestation, Raz opted for the quicker route: he used some stray thoughts as a bridge, pulling himself up and over the stadium, before falling straight down through the open ceiling.

Raz landed on the rafters around the edge of the gap, rattling one of the spotlights. From above, he could look down into the stadium. A blonde, bulky, shortstack of a woman with long blonde hair in two ponytails in a blue wrestling outfit was currently tearing up a wrestling ring at the center of the crowd’s attention. She threw up a finger to the night sky and came down with a DDT on a nefarious looking soldier. It almost seemed like these were actual bad guys trying to attack her, but she was making a show out of it. She threw her entire body, rear first, into another villain and sent him sprawling. “I’LL KICK YOUR ASS!” She shouted, her light yet scratchy voice carrying over the crowd.

“Mika! Mika! Mika!” They cheered her name. Grinning wildly, she held up her arms as another bad guy tried to get her from behind.

”Alright, now to safely get down from up here, and…” Raz trailed off as, in the middle of creeping along one of the rafters, the metal underneath creaked. Then buckled. Then gave out altogether. Seemingly not constructed to hold the weight of an entire stadium’s roof and a ten-year-old child, the rafter snapped, dropping Raz down to the wrestling ring below. Luckily for him, his landing was cushioned by one of Mika’s opponents, thrown to the mat by Raz’s fall. He looked up, dazed by the bright lights, and looked around the audience. ”Uhm… hi there,” he offered, sheepish over interrupting the fight.

Rainbow Mika turned around to see Raz on top of one of her opponents. “Woah! Hell of an entrance! Are you trying to upstage me or something?!” She said, her surprise turning back into a grin. She ‘offered’ a strong hand down to help him up, but it was more like her just picking him up by the arm and setting him on his feet.

Raz took the offered hand and gave another wave to the crowd. ”Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude here or anything, I’m just passing through. Trying to get to the next big island down South, only there’s no way over. Think you could, you know.” He gestured to the open sky above them. ”Do that thing that launched all those other guys out of this stadium, for me?”

“Are you seriously askin’ me to throw you as hard as I can?! That takes guts! I like it! Alright, kid, I’ll do it, but only if you say you signed a disclosure agreement beforehand!” She said.

Then she looked to the sky, licked her finger and held it up to the air, and did a brief mental calculation. “Yeah, no problem! I promise I’ll totally make this look cool!” Then she dropped into a squat. “Here we go! Don’t hold on, I’ll let you go when the time is right!” She commanded, then went to grab Raz by the ankles.

She picked him up, her grin forming into a serious pout, and began to spin Raz. Round and round and round until she let him go and flung him into the ropes! They bent, bent, bent, carrying all of his weight, until they rubber banded with a loud snap, sending him flying!

“Badass!!” He heard Rainbow Mika shout as he was launched to his next destination. Up, up, and away, out over the dark sea and to the final island! He soared for what must have been nearly half a minute.

Immediately, things were much quieter. The spotlights of Rainbow Mika’s arena were distant and dim, the noise of the crowd not carrying over the waters as they might have in real life.

The forest was devoid of night life, the stars weren’t visible. The house light flickered and a figure moved inside.

Inside was a man Raz recognized, though he looked different, his countenance much more severe. It was the short haired man from underneath Sakura’s bed, though now he had a beard and was wearing a tattered if functional karate outfit and wooden sandals. Quietly, he meditated in front of a small shrine. He could be seen through the open door. But as Raz approached, he stood and quickly made to leave through the other side.

”Hey wait!” Raz hurried after the man, brushing past trees and bushes trying to keep up with him.

The man led Raz down a path, through the treeline and out to the other side’s beach.

There, he saw it. The Maw. A truly enormous monstrosity of a ship. It was pitch black, and easier to spot by where it blotted out the night cloud cover and ocean. It was as large as a skyscraper. Where it crashed onto the shore, black oil spilled from a jagged wound of rent steel that was wide enough to act as an entryway.

On the shore, the man was engaged in a battle. A tall, animal skull faced creature with horns, draped in skulls and aberrated light. It flung skulls at the man, but he blasted through them with a familiar “Hadoken!”

The creature that Raz would recognize as a Panic Attack teleported to the street fighter and swiped at it with claws, but he parried the blow with his bare forearm. He delivered swift and simple retribution, finishing with a kick that sent the Panic Attack flying. It bounced off the metal hull of the ship and went right back towards the fighter. “Shoryuken!” He did a rising uppercut into the creature's body where it scattered into smoke and dust.

He landed and sighed, considering the huge ship before him.

As the dust of the battle settled, Raz approached slowly, his attention split between the bearded guy and the great metal monstrosity out at sea. Eventually, Raz broke the silence.

”Hey… pretty good job fighting that monster, there.” He walked closer, standing beside him as they both watched the Maw float in the water. ”You seem worried about that thing. Guessing it’s not supposed to be leaking oil all over?”

Crossing his arms, he turned over his shoulder and noticed Raz, then nodded. “Yes. It appeared recently, and it has people concerned. This island is stuck, and no longer moves, and the oil spreads slowly but surely. I also can’t go inside.” He said. “None of us can.”

”What do you mean? You can’t reach it, or you can’t literally get into it?”

“I can’t go in.” He says. “I could go wade through the water and jump inside, but I can’t do it. I think the forces that govern this world do not want me, or any denizen, inside. From that look in your eye, and the fact that you came this far, gives me the sense that you can. Am I wrong?”

Raz looked back out over the oil-tainted water at the Maw, the very sight of it bringing a strange sense of dread to his stomach. Still, he turned back to the fighter, and said, ”yeah, I think I am. Only, uh, do you have a way across the water? I… can’t swim.”

The fighter looked at Raz and then considered the beach in front of him. “The water is shallow. But it would be too deep and thick for you to manage without being able to swim. I can get you there, but you’ll have to stand on my shoulders.” He said, dropping into a kneel.

Raz nodded, using the man’s outfit to hoist himself up. ”Don’t worry, I’m used to standing on shoulders.” Feet firmly planted on his muscular shoulders, Raz focused on maintaining his balance. ”All set up here!”

Serious so far, the man chuckled quietly. “Then let us begin.” He began to wade forward, taking powerful strides through the murk and oil. In less than a minute the bow of the Maw was a huge wall in front of them, but the leaking gash was within arms reach for Raz.

When Raz was inside, the fighter called out to him. When the fighter looked into the palm of his hand, he found a brown, oval seed. “Wait!” He called out. “Before you go in. I think you need this.” He flicked the seed up to Raz.

“Farewell.” He began to back up, but kept his eyes on the gash and on Raz until the psychonaut disappeared from his view.

The Maw was a confusing, disconcerting place. It was dark, with steel corridors that twisted up and around. The light was provided by angry fireplaces that had been screwed into the walls themselves. Tendrils of oil lazily lashed out at Raz if he got too close, trying to entrap him if he got too close. The whole place seemed to be closing in, corridors shuddered and grew smaller over time. Everything was sharp jagged metal and rusted corners.

“Over here…I’m stuck…help me…” A distorted, metallic voice said quietly. Partly emerging from the wall was some type of goo-covered, melting robot with a boxy face, a single flickering light for an eye. “What’s your problem..? Just help me already…” It moaned, its voice fading into a crackling stew of static. It outstretched its arm.

For a moment Raz considered helping, but hesitated just long enough for his mind to change. ”Iiiii’m not really sure if melting robots is an issue Sakura would need dealt with. Probably better to leave that one for later, when she can tell me herself.” He hurried past the bot, shouting over his shoulder, ”hang in there!”

Raz came into a large central chamber, with several floors surrounding it. Mysterious, bloated shapes moved within distant, far off kitchens. The only natural source of light was a single moon beam from the ceiling. There was some kind of large skylight that had been shut with three, large, thick, rusted iron latches. The blocked skylight was above a central mound of patchy brown grass and dead plant life, and some kind of ruined, decrepit shrine that was similar to the one within the house. There was a pool of water that was clogged with algae. At the top of the mound of dirt was a small square of wooden fence posts and patch of wet dirt.

There were a few Panic Attacks crawling about on the walls and floor of this large chamber. But they hadn’t noticed Raz yet.

”Okay,” Raz whispered to himself as he assumed stealth mode, using the dim lighting to his advantage, since he didn’t have the means to fight these Panic Attacks head-on. ”All my Psychonauts training tells me that this seed I have probably has to go into that mound of dirt.”

He crept to the center of the room, to the wet patch of dirt, cramming the seed down in as gently as one could cram something. He then looked around to get his bearings. ”Pretty sure I have to open the skylight and clear that water, too, and those’ll make some noise… Ah screw it.” Raz looked upwards, readying himself for a Psi-blast, directing three bolts squarely on the hinges. He then booked it for the drain, hoping to reach there before the Panic Attacks got to him.

The hinges creaked, groaned, and snapped under Raz’s attack, the skylight looking like it was going to break. The Panic Attacks moved in from their different positions, but were distracted by all the noise coming from above that they didn’t understand where the original source came from. Moonlight came in through the narrow gap like water threatening to spill over the edge of a cup. But the last hinge, the third and final one Raz had shot before running, was more stubborn than the others. As the Panic Attacks began to circle towards the dilapidated shrine…

”Oh, come on!” Raz stopped in the middle of running-and-hiding, too exasperated at the sturdy piece of metal. Of course, this only served to draw the Panic Attacks’ attention his way again. ”Oops.” No time left to lose, Raz rapidly burst the remaining hinge with a flurry of Psi-blasts, hoping at least one would hit so he could finally book it to safety!

With the final latch broken, the skylight fell away, groaning on its hinges. Moonlight, far brighter than what it had been before, bathed the entire chamber in a cool light. The chefs of the distant kitchens cowered and fled, packing up their things and throwing themselves through the steel wall just to get away. The black oil burned away. The clogging, swampy algae turned into lily pads and lichen, flowers bloomed and the pond began to babble and run again. The broken shrine bloomed with new life as vines crept up around it and flowered.

The cherry blossom breeze surged within, traveling to the central shrine. It swirled around and from the seed a tree began to blossom and sprout. Decades passed in mere moments, and the loose blossoms attached themselves to its growing branches and settled there. The leftover wind blew the terrible creatures away, sending them scattering for places to hide if it did not crush them against the walls with retributive gusts.

The Maw both seemed more open, and yet, smaller. The room Raz was in was suddenly no more than a single floor, the cherry tree almost reaching out of the skylight entirely. The shrine now made up a majority of the place, though there were still dark corridors on either side, moonlight came in from above.

Raz took a moment to appreciate the calm space, the claustrophobic, suffocating feeling of the old space gone like a held breath. ”Well, it’s a good start,” he said, looking up at the cherry blossom. The Maw was still here, of course, but it should be more manageable for Sakura to handle. His help given, Raz shuffled inside of his knapsack and pulled out his smelling salts. ”I’m kinda hoping the Psych-OSF has a better way of leaving minds than these.”

And with a waft under his nose, Raz was gone, back to the real world.



The psycho-portal popped open again as Raz’s projection was pulled back into his body. He returned to his senses with a start. ”Alright! Everything felt like it went smoothly. How are you feeling now, Sakura?” He asked, pulling his goggles back onto his head and stowing the portal away.
1x Thank Thank
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Zoey Boey
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Zoey Boey better than the alternative

Member Seen 10 hrs ago

Sakura Level 9: 26/90
Karin Level 5: 3/50
Location: Suoh
Word Count: 983
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 28/90 (pending)
Karin Level 5: 05/40 (pending)




Karin joined Roxas in being truly surprised at what she saw. Sakura stayed on her knees, head bowed, her eyes closed. Karin crouched and waved her hand in front of Sakura’s face.

”Fascinating..! I wonder what he’s doing in there?” Karin said aloud. ”I imagine there won’t be much to look at in her brain.” She joked dryly. Truly, though, she hoped this would work. She needed a worthy rival, and seeing Sakura being held back by some unfair mental curse was starting to get under Karin’s skin. It wasn’t like Sakura to not just bounce back.

Karin sat down and meditated for a while, observing the sky, city, and people.

Raz emerged and Sakura opened her eyes, shaking herself out of her trance. He asked her how she was feeling, but she didn't quite catch the whole thing.

”I’m…I’m ready when you are, Raz-kun.” She said, holding her head.

”Sakura, it’s over. He said it went well.” Karin said flatly.

”Huh? Already?” Sakura asked, looking at Raz.

”You were asleep for ages.” Karin said.

”...Oh…I don’t…feel any different?” Sakura said. ”Raz-kun, do you think it worked worked, or..?” She asked the psychonaut. ”I guess we won’t know for sure until something traps me again.”

Regardless of the measure of Raz’s success, their conversation would have to be short. ”You can give her the details later once we’re in a base of operations. We must reconvene for dinner, and get Sakura fused. Hopefully that little stunt fight won’t blow our cover.” Karin said.

”It’ll be fine…I’ll look different! And I’ll call my Hadokens ‘Wave Motion Fist’ instead.” Sakura said.

Once they reunited with Goldlewis in the Hummer. Sakura nodded at Peach and accepted the spirit, holding it in her hands. ”Phew…okay.” She’d never get used to the weight of another person’s Spirit in her hands. Though it wasn’t nearly all that remained of another person after they were gone, it was their essential power condensed into a single object.

”I promise to do my best.” She said to the Spirit quietly. It was all she could promise to do. Hopefully, wherever this person was now, Sakura could honor their gifts and their talents by using them to do more good. The last time she had fused, she had done it in a desperate situation, which had let her get used to the concept. Now she was doing it again in a more tactical gambit. She still planned to defuse with this spirit once the work was done, just like last time with Arashio.

Karin set her hand on Sakura’s shoulder for a moment, a gesture that Sakura found very reassuring.

With a quick, resolute sigh, she put the heart into her chest.



The light died down and Sakura looked down at herself and her hands, felt her hair be shorter.

”So… how do I look?” Sakura asked. Her voice sounded the same. Maybe a little deeper, but her voice tended to get pretty low when she shouted out her attack names anyway. She also sought out the nearest mirror and touched her face, feeling its slight differences. She pulled at her headband. This happened with Arashio, too. Now that she was fused, she didn’t feel uncomfortable with the thought anymore.

”You look fine to me.” Karin said. ”I could see you dressing up like this and dyeing your hair like that.”

Sakura caught the look on Roxas’ face, and smiled, reassuringly. ”It’s still us, Roxas-san.”

”This happened with me before, too. It’s much less of a change than coming back from getting your wisdom teeth removed, or getting punched really hard and forgetting where you are for a bit.” Sakura said.

Though, she was more confident. Casually, she unzipped her jacket and let it fall to either side, showing off the red crop-top underneath and her toned midriff. ”I’m actually kinda excited, now.”

”That’s good. We’ll meet this Luka Travers and see what we can do within this city.”

When she stepped out of the hummer, Sakura gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. ”Oh, my gosh..!” She said, surprised. It was like a whole different city!

”Is it that splendid?” Karin asked.

”There’s…there’s more commercials than I would have hoped for, but, yeah! It’s beautiful!” Sakura said.

Once inside the place, Karin accepted the handshake and tipped her head respectfully, while Sakura also accepted the handshake.

”This menu is familiar.” Karin said.

”I want the sushi! See if it stacks up to my moms. Probably not, but, y’know, what does?” She said. She waved her hand through the vision menu, amused and happy. Karin raised her eyebrows, equally amused, and went back to perusing her menu to pick out something delicious.

”Thank you for meeting us here. Are we here for pleasantries and small talk, or, exclusively business?” She asked, looking to set the tone right away so everyone was on the same page.
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Lugubrious
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Lugubrious Makes the big edits

Member Seen 43 min ago

Suoh

Sector 3 Supper
Level 3 Goldlewis (2/30)
Goldlewis, Peach, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Roxas’ @Double, Sakura and Karin’s @Zoey Boey, Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Pit’s @Yankee
Word Count: 793




During the first few moments of his mealtime meeting at Musubi’s, Luka received a variety of first impressions from his new acquaintances. One of the first opened with a comment about his apparent age, which earned a look somewhere between a wince and a smile. “I suppose I should thank the anti-aging drugs for that,” he joked in reply. “Or blame them, however the case might be.” If he made any assumptions about a sardonic nature on her part, however, she soon put them to rest with a formal introduction as the Princess of Twilight. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Midna. Or should I perhaps call you ‘my lady’? You’ll have to forgive me if I slip up, we don’t often stand on ceremony in Psych-OSF.”

Karin set out to establish an overall tone for the meal from the outset, but despite his solemn appearance Luka didn’t seem dead-set on formality. “Oh, I’d be happy just to enjoy a meal and conversation with you all,” he told her. “Truth be told, I’m not sure what business I could conduct on behalf of the organization, but if there’s anything I can help with, please be sure to ask.”

While Goldlewis and Peach made themselves known pleasantly and formally enough, Roxas followed them up by declining to extend so much as a greeting, let alone his name. Instead he seated himself in silence, giving a sullen air, but Luka wasn’t one to try and press any issue someone might have with him. In any case, Pit quickly compensated for Roxas’ disinterest with an extra dose of gregariousness. While not exactly the most eloquent, the angel made up for it with some good-intentioned flattery, and went on to mention the recruits straightaway.

“Oh? You mean some of you are interested in joining the Scarlet Guardians?” Luka set down his water glass, his eyebrows raised in an expression of mild surprise and/or interest, though that could just as easily be a polite affectation.

Goldlewis cleared his throat, loosening his tie a little. He hadn’t planned to broach that subject so soon, but there was no accounting for young folks trying to be helpful, he supposed. “That’s right,” he told Luka. “Miss Sakura here, Miss Peach, and Mr. Raz.” The veteran gestured to the prospective applicants one at a time, giving each a chance to wave, raise their hands, or so forth. Peach gave a peace sign and a cheerful smile when it was her turn. “In fact, we were gonna try an’ get ‘em enlisted today, ‘cept that business with the Others got in the way.”

“I see.” Luka nodded seriously. “Apologies about that. Otherfall in Suoh is a rare and unlucky occurrence. But I’m glad you all seem eager to join! A heart for humanity is a wonderful thing. Psych-OSF may not be desperate for new recruits nowadays, but they’ve always got an eye for talent, and if you’re already able to challenge Others as civilians I’m certain you’ve got promising careers ahead of you.” His eyes landed on Peach, full of understanding, and his tone was even. “That new look of yours is especially sharp. Just by looking at you, I’d half expect you were a cadet already.”

Peach offered a smile like sunshine. “Well, thank you! I, eheh, wanted to put my best foot forward!”

“The beginning of a great journey is in itself a cause for celebration,” Luka continued. He waved at a passing server, raising his voice slightly. “Oh, waitress? May I please order a selection of appetizers? How about this, and this?”

All around the Seekers, the atmosphere in Musubi’s was incredibly lively. Suoh citizens, Seiran workers yet to head home, out-of-sector tourists, and even off-duty OSF personnel were packing the place to the brim. A listening ear would find that Others, the Ever Crisis, and Midar politics were as popular subjects as entertainment and celebrities. With sake and other liquors available, many of Musubi’s patrons were having a rollicking good time, helped out by the puzzles and other gimmicks afforded by the Visions at the tables, but there were plenty more juicy morsels to be had than idle brainteasers if one paid attention. Still, the atmosphere managed to be jazzy rather than raucous, and a handful of couples on dates could be found. Among them was a familiar face from the battle against the others: Kagero Donne, in civilian dress very similar to his battle garb, all things considered. With him was a beautiful woman with a purple ponytail, who somehow managed to make an ordinary sweater and skirt look glamorous, and despite it being sundown wore sunglasses.

Soon, fresh orders of takoyaki, crab rangoon, and dumplings were delivered for the Seekers to sample as they pleased. By that time they could place their entree orders as well, which presented Goldlewis with a problem. In his massive mitts the chopsticks here were like toothpicks. What could a gargantuan American possibly get to eat in this place? He ended up going with a curry plate, a sushi roll, and some gyoza. Soon, the real meal and the real conversation could start.

Detroit

Sector 8 Lower
Level 11 Tora (129/110) Level 12 Poppi (19/120)
Susie and Blazermate’s @Archmage MC, Raiden’s @XoXKieroBombXoX, Geralt’s @Multi_Media_Man, Benedict’s @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 1471


Before the team got underway, Benedict offered his two cents on Poppi’s proposed plan of action. His disapproval of her idea made the artificial blade second-guess herself, since it was true that the others might not be feeling up for another excursion, especially at the rate Khamsin would be moving once he reached the road. In fact, she felt a little guilty for failing to consider the condition of her organic teammates, who unlike her didn’t enjoy the privilege of being able to simply increase their intake of atmospheric ether to compensate for lost energy.

Giovanna did not let herself be so easily cowed, however. “What, don’t want us fraternizing with your rivals, Turk?” she countered. “Well, we’re not planning to do anything untoward. Just a quick, casual peek from the outside. We might not get a better chance.” After finishing her braid, she tossed it over her shoulder in a flippant manner, then put her hands on her hips. “Even if the feds have my number, we’ll be gone long before they show up. You, meanwhile, were captured and compromised. You sure you still have friends in Public Security? This city’s full of criminals, but liabilities…well, they don’t last long, right?”

“Meh, friends?” Tora piped up. “Angrypon Khamsin about to get away!”

Sure enough, the Wind of Destruction had reached the street. Rather than continue to slowly lumber about, after reaching suitably flat and smooth terrain. he could dig in his war machine’s feet and began to slide down down the road. There was no more time to waste. Poppi scooped Tora up into her arms and took off, using her back-mounted thrusters to turn her steps into meters-long strides as she ran. “We’ll take point!” she called back to the others, not intending to leave them in the dust. This could work out just like the chase through Al Mamoon two days ago, with the Seekers in pursuit of the next fastest ally instead of the target. “Time to follow the leader! We’ll stay on Khamsin’s trail, so keep your eyes on us!” And if Blazermate could mark him, all the better. She wouldn’t be able to keep up with him for long, and even if she could, he didn’t seem to be in the mood for idle chatter.

As the Seekers rushed off, two figures watched from the roof of the factory where they’d stopped to get their bearings before the construction site fiasco began. Their faces were hidden, but on the fronts of their black balaclavas blazed white holographic eyes, like cyclopes of legend. They said nothing, but saw everything, and once the last living things left the scene below the two of them vacated the factory roof as well. In the undercities, information was one of the hottest commodities, and these two were about to be rich men.




Enormous military hardware plus busy city streets made for an interesting combination. When the way was clear Khamsin could rumble down the roadways like a freight train, much faster than the average Seeker could run, but he was hard to miss, and for all the savage strength and untreated mania the cyborg displayed earlier, wanton destruction appeared to be off the cards. Despite everything looking rather like a nail to a man with one hell of a hammer, he abstained from smashing through or stomping on cars in his way, and he didn’t attempt to take to the cluttered and narrowed sidewalks, either. This led to the rather amusing spectacle of a giant mech waiting in traffic, which turned out to be a saving grace for those tailing him. There were no convenient sky-lines around after all, with any that did show up just as likely to swerve away again the second anyone jumped on, and without foreknowledge of Khamsin’s route the followers couldn’t take shortcuts to shave off time. At least some of the more mobile team members could lend a hand to those in need, like Poppi for Tora, or one of the other lady-bots for Benedict. Still, the crew hurtled through the dark streets in a rather haphazard rush, drawing all sorts of eyes as they went. All except for Khamsin himself, who seemed not only unobservant, but crucially lacking in the peripheral vision department.

Before too long, the Seekers reached their destination. At that point even Giovanna could barely stand, her breathing ragged as she gasped for air. When she fell, plopping down into Rei’s cushioning fluff, the whole team basically followed suit and collapsed around a small plaza with a statue on display and an odd depression in the back to watch Khamsin as he returned to base.

DespoRHado’s famous Bunker was quite a sight. It took the form of an utterly massive building, big enough to have its own little city block all to itself, and it wasn’t just tall, but girthy. Completely unconcerned with aesthetics, the Bunker was an ugly, bulbous block of metal and concrete, several feet thick in places and bulging outward toward the bottom, with glass and other potential vulnerabilities kept to an absolute minimum. Up high, things were even stranger. From the top of the building extended an enormous radial panel, covering the nearby city in its shade like a giant parasol, but they couldn’t possibly be solar panels in an undercity where the sun never reached. Giovanna had expected a sprawling complex with high perimeter walls and patrolling guards, maybe just because that look lay fresh in her mind thanks to the brewery, but this was a citadel decked out in the logos and colors of DespoRHado, black and red. That said, it did have a handful of guards around the main entrance: doll-like androids with a variety of weapons from swords to axes to guns. From a safe, respectful distance up the street she watched a set of giant doors on one of the Bunker’s sides slide open, and Khamsin disappeared inside.

Tora was in awe. “Look like very tough nut to crack. Could probably shrug off direct hit from Red Eye! Good thing friends not have quarrel with DespoRHado, meh.”

Poppi agreed, but her search didn’t end with the Bunker. Her eyes fell on a brick wall near the statue where everyone came to rest, covered with posters. “What’s all this?” At one point a number of simple, striking black posters had been attached there, nice and orderly, but since then most had been either ripped up, torn off, slashed, or covered in paint. Now most of it lay buried under posters of blue and red, reading things like ’I have a dream’ and ’keeping war off our shores’, all featuring stylized depictions of a formidable, stern, square-jawed man with glasses. “Armstrong,” Poppi read aloud. “Khamsin mentioned that name, too.”

“He’s the current president’s biggest opponent in the upcoming election,” Giovanna explained, glancing over. “There’s a couple third-party candidates, but none of them even come close. He’s popular in the undercities and allegedly has DespoRHado backing him. Given what we saw with Khamsin, that might be true.” She took a deep breath and stood, dismissing Rei. “That means things could get ugly. Very ugly. Let’s take a look around this whole area, check out whatever catches your eye. Just don’t get too close to the Bunker.” Her pointed gaze suggested that she didn’t need to add ’looking at you, Raiden.

Although the Bunker dominated this area, bathing the area in shadow and bringing out all the glaring blue and yellow lights, it was also the heart of Detroit. It featured a number of other shops and businesses, from Chinese food to a bookstore to a batting center, any of which the Seekers could check out if so desired. There appeared to be a local Limb Clinic and Android Zone as well, though both had DepoRHado-affiliated branding. G-men seemed conspicuously absent, though in their place small patrols of DespoRHado cyborgs and androids could be found here and there, their optics kept sharp for any would-be threats. Thanks to their presence the people here seemed to be every bit on edge as in ones policed by G-men. Giovanna moved around to try and get a better look at the Bunker itself, being as discreet as possible.

The Ruins - Dripstone Cave

Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose’s @Yankee, Rubick’s @Scarifar, Teemo’s @Bugman


Some quick thinking and expert use of power from Rubick quickly snatched the little Yordle away from the jaws -or proboscises, as it were- of parasitism and spirited him away to safety. The sorcerer’s heroism left the mosquitoes that had been poised to drain Teemo’s juices thirsty, angry, and faced with a whole new crop of bloodbags to suck from.

Unfortunately, the plus-size pests learned that hard way that the Koopa Troop weren’t about to part with a single sanguine drop. Kamek’s red-clad copies backed up Bowser in a tremendous display of firepower, lighting up the whole cavern with their fusillade of flame. Even the Koopa King’s slow-moving fireballs got some play, since these bugs weren’t exactly fast. They burned up and burst like oversized tomatoes, the rotten blood inside their bloated bellies sizzled into foul-smelling vapor as their bodies were obliterated. The commotion aroused more mosquitoes from their hidey-holes around the pungent poison swamp, but the reinforcements just buzzed straight to their demise as well, flash-fried by Koopa conflagration or flash-petrified by Rika’s cockatrice.

Once Kamek’s medic clone tended to Teemo, the little guy wasted no time joining in the slaughter himself. With his trusty blowpipe he zipped off darts with incredible precision, and even without any special coatings they pierced pest after rancid pest, oftentimes cutting them into pieces to twitch uselessly on the quagmire’s surface. While it might have been too dark in this cavern for such remarkable marksmanship normally, the flames of his newfound comrades provided more than enough light, and the Swift Scout provided what help he could in return. While his voice might seem silly, his callouts were useful, and suggestive of a long and storied career of hairy situations.

With a little extra strategy added to the mix, the giant mosquitoes stood no chance. In short order Bowser, Kamek, Rika, and Teemo managed to exterminate the whole swarm. Though dark and dingy as ever, somehow the area seemed a little brighter for their absence, and finding a new friend was surely a silver lining.

Back toward the entrance, in the less malodorous part of the dripstone cave, Junior was having bug troubles of his own. The Migospels just weren’t very helpful, but even still, the young prince couldn’t turn a blind eye to the plight of their party’s sickly member. After Primrose left to investigate the Snail Shaman he cast Cure to heal any wounds, then Esuna to cleanse the makeup-slathered insect of any negative statuses. Doing so provoked a response, but not necessarily what he expected. It jerked suddenly, looking Junior’s way. That orange glimmer in its eyes had not diminished whatsoever. In fact, it looked more active. Like cockroaches that skittered away to shelter at high speed when a light came on, or perhaps more like ants in a disturbed anthill, for the orange light in its eyes stirred violently, as if it sensed it were under attack. Almost like something was moving around in there, some sort of lambent collective for which this sorry Migospel was only a shell.

The bug jerked again, more violently this time, and its head lolled sideways. A crack appeared in its neck, and from the rupture more orange gunk leaked. It swelled into clusters of glowing boils, swollen like overripe grapes and connected by fungal-looking mycelia, all of which subtly pulsed as if to the beat of an unseen heart. As the Migospel shuddered, and took an unsteady step toward Junior, more cracks spread around its left eye for additional pustules to emerge. At this point the other Migospel took notice, and approached to see what was wrong with their friend. The unwell insect filled its cheeks, preparing to spit.

A black-and-yellow blur streaked behind the Migospel as Barnabee flash-stepped in. “ZAH!” With a well-aimed slice he carved through the legs of the would-be spitter with his saw-toothed sword, dropping it where it stood.. The other monsters jumped back, alarmed and ready to fight if need be, but Barnabee held out his hand. “Get back!” he roared. “Tis the infection!”

The body of the Migospel began to thrash around. Barnabee leaped backward as a bunch of Lightseeds erupted from the corpse, scurrying around as it turned to ash. While the Hive Knight made an enormous leap backward, the Lightseeds looked a lot like glowing balloons to the Migospels, and with delighted cries they ran around to scoop them up. “Fie, you fools!” Barnabee cried. “Thou musn’t touch it!”

Away from all the chaos, Primrose’s jaunt up through the misty, mask-laden path brought her to what seemed to be the humble dwelling of the curious creature she spotted before. She found him, sitting not on a carefully-assembled bench of fossilized insect legs, but on the steps of a quaint -not to mention grim- little shelter with an interior covered in masks, all hung so as to stare soullessly down at whomever might rest upon the cushions within.

It was tough to discern much from him in terms of expression, but his voice sounded intrigued, and maybe even amused when he replied to her greeting. “Oho! Who is that creeping out of the darkness? My, you look sleek! A soft, pale face and a strange, cloth-draped form! I can sense a majestic arcane power from you…” The Shaman fell silent and listened to the dancer’s questions. He turned them over in his head, then after a moment, shook it. “Alas, I’m afraid I have not seen any such visage. I was lucky to have so much as glimpsed you as your cohort passed by. A friendly face is a rare sight indeed, so filled are these ancient halls with beasts and scoundrels and far, far worse…”

After a brief pause the mystic tilted his head with a playful air. “Oho, but it wouldn’t be so strange if they did pass by, only to seemingly vanish from sight. For while that cavern may seem a dead end, there is a way to delve still deeper, hidden from view. Scale the root of the buried tree, and you just might discover a secret wall, through which you might pass as easily as any of the spirits haunting this place.”

“As for soft and round…” He took his hands in his staff and stood. “There is something that smells within this Ancestral Mound, although I would not call it nice! If you were to plumb the depths of this temple, you might find a putrid yet placid creature to carve a succulent morsel from, ohoho!” With his free hand he gestured down a passageway.

“Hmm…” The Shaman looked Primrose right in the eyes. “Something important has drawn you down into Hallownest's corpse, but I won't ask what. Perhaps the reason you've found me is because you need my help?” He chuckled. “Say no more, friend. I'm going to give you a gift, a nasty little spell of my own creation. It's just perfect for a mysterious one like you! Ohoho!”

He held out his hand and a white wisp appeared, its form flickering like flame. If accepted by Primrose, the Vengeful Spirit would be hers–as well as a spell of unconsciousness as its power temporarily overloaded her senses.

The Under - Monster Guts

Level 10 Nadia (98/100)
Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Omori’s @Majoras End, Ganondorf’s @Double
Word Count: 1859


When the squad of visceral villains swarmed the heroes, Nadia took the chance while Scolex was burrowing to put some distance between herself and her allies. Not only did she not want to risk that crimson tapeworm sailing into a friend while she tried to fight it, but the feral didn’t want a piece of anyone else’s adversary, either. Besides, while teamwork sure made the dream work in that last fight with Mom and her eldritch cohort, these monsters looked like chumps in comparison. Grinning, Nadia skidded to a stop at one edge of the chamber’s central plateau, which was rapidly becoming an arena. “C’mon, ya big weenie!” she yelled at the walls. “Bring it! I’ve had worse than you on the Innsmouth boardwalk!”

Whether or not it understood her, Scolex obliged. It emerged from the sloped floor below Nadia and leaped toward her. She dodged early, but just as she saw during its earlier jump, the sinuous creature lacked any sort of air control. With Nadia’s heart racing from adrenaline, she felt like she had all the time in the world to wait as Scolex passed her by, then bring both anchors down in an all-out chop. “Franks for nothin’!”

Her makeshift axes bounced violently off its elastic skin, throwing her backward. “Whoa-oa-oa!” she yowled, staggering a few steps in a vain attempt to keep her balance only to plummet off the side of the arena. She dropped a couple feet and smacked down on the sloped flesh wall, then immediately began to slide down the slick incline. “Oh no,” she groaned, both at the possibility of getting stuck in a crevice at the bottom against the raised arena, and the mucus that now coated the back of her jacket. Thank goodness I have it on. Thinking quickly, she reversed her grip on her anchors and twisted around to embed them in the meat, bringing her slip-and-slide to a sudden halt.

She got to her feet and began to climb, aware that her foe could appear again at any moment. When it did she readied herself for a dodge, but this time Scolex only emerged partway, and from its grotesque sucker-mouth it unleashed a torrential shower of bloody tears. “The hell?” Nadia gritted her teeth, stashed her anchors, and despite her misgivings took off across the fleshscape on all fours, using her claws to gain traction. “If anything, I should be throwin’ up at the sight of you!” Scolex unleashed blast after blast, then curled back into the ‘ground’ to dig through it. With her hands against the flesh, much to her chagrin, Nadia could feel the vibrations as it got closer. In the nick of time she arched her back as Scolex erupted directly in front of her, missing its quarry by inches as she gracefully flipped back onto her feet. “Hah!” the thief spat. “Try all you want, you’ll never ketchup to me.”

Scolex arced through the air to dive back in, but as it did Nadia spotted something she hadn’t before: its flashing red tail. If its body was impervious, that had to be a weak spot–that or its loathsome head. A second later, that tail popped out from the same spot, and from the center the tapeworm launched a triple-barrage of much larger, flashing globules. “Hmm~” she murmured, her brows narrowing. The feral dug in her claws and began to climb, moving higher up the increasingly sloped fleshscape toward the point where floor became wall. Explosions went off one by one behind her, sending ripples through the meat and sometimes glancing off her legs, but even as her progress slowed Nadia kept on climbing. After a couple moments the blasts stopped, but by the time that Nadia remembered what that meant Scolex had already burst up beneath her.

“Agh!” She hurtled backward away from the wall and through the air, driven by the giant sucker buried in her gut. With an angry cry she tried to scratch her attacker’s eyes, failed, then had a brainwave. Laughing through the pain, she released just enough blood to summon a Copycat inside the parasite’s gullet. The doppelganger went to work shredding and severing Scolex from the inside, forcing it to relinquish its grip. Once free, Nadia shot her arm back toward the wall and grappled over, landing even higher than when she left. There she clung, panting, until Scolex buried itself and finally re-emerged, tail end first. “I’m gonna relish this,” Nadia smirked, letting go. She began to slide down the flesh wall, quickly picking up speed as she dodged left and right to avoid her enemy’s bombs, and this time she remembered to use her Night Light to help her not get hit. One second passed, then two. At just the right time the feral leaped off the slope, flying toward the offending tail. It began to recede, but Nadia extended her hand. “Not so fast!” Beside her, Idea manifested, traveling with her thanks to her inertia. “Maybe I can’t slash your body,” Nadia told it as her nightmarish strikers extended its seven long, supply tongues to ensnare the tapeworm’s body. “But we can sure as hell grab it!”

With all its strength, Idea yanked Scolex back out of its hole and in a single gigantic revolution whirled the monster overhead. It slammed down with back-breaking force against the edge of the arena. The tapeworm’s tail dangled limply over the edge as Nadia dropped to the slope again, sliding to a stop beside it. “I mustard-mit, ya almost got me once or twice there. But to the wiener,” she gloated with a wide smile. “Goes the spoils.” With a cry she unleashes Fursurker Purrage straight to the weak spot to finish the fetid fiend off.

By that point, the other Seekers’ fights had progressed too, some reaching their own dramatic conclusions. Her team actually got them all! While Ganondorf pulverized Blastocyst, Sectonia excised Teratoma, Jesse squished Mr. Fred, Therion got a lock on Lokii, the Knight blotted out the Bloat, and Omori even managed to exterminate Triachnid. That kid had some guts in him after all! As he went to itemize his miniboss, Nadia went ahead and did the same.





Naturally, Nadia accidentally picked hers up the instant it appeared, not even getting a good look at it. She braced herself for something horrible, but all that happened was that a red worm of some kind appeared and dug into the ground. Super. As she looked around, though, Nadia came to realize that something was wrong anyway. Now that her adrenaline was dying down, she found out that she was tired, hurt, low on blood, and even after a satisfying victory, she felt pretty…bad. In fact, she felt somewhat woozy, queasy, and despite this place’s ambient heat, chilly. ...Did I get sick? It’d be weird if I didn’t honestly, after everything I’ve gone through. “I could use some healin’,” she called to Jesse, since the FBC director offered. That wasn’t all, though. That distant, guttural heartbeat had grown louder, and with it came a new noise: a low roar like that of a pounding cataract. Furthermore, the cavern itself had taken some serious damage from all the fighting. The pink flesh walls had dried out, stiffened, and eventually cracked.

Before Nadia’s eyes, the cracks continued to spread, and from the fissures seeped blood. It began as a trickle, and quickly swelled to a stream. Blood poured from the walls, and the whole room rumbled like Mom’s chamber had. This time it rocked beneath hern almost throwing her off her feet, and as blood began to pool in the basin around the arena she clambered up onto the platform. “The hell’s going-” A thunderous cracking sound cut her off as the one one of the upper walls gave way, allowing a tide of blood to flood through the visceral cavern to slam into and the opposite wall. All around, the chamber began to crumble, and as the blood filled up the central platform floated atop it. The higher it ascended, the better Nadia and the others could see through the breach, until after a couple moments they reached a height that allowed them to peer in horror at a pulsating room in which dwelled an abominable thing, part heart, part brain, part fetus, and altogether too much to bear–especially when its laughter ceased, and it it opened baleful, staring eyes upon the heroes before it.

It Lives let out a bloodcurdling scream. The tubes that connected to its surroundings moved through the flesh and lifted the nightmare off the ground, its limbs, cords, and vestigial wings dangling loosely. It began to move forward, suspended like a marionette from the ceiling. At that point the dam broke behind the team in the blood-swamped round, breaking through the far wall. It Lives disappeared into the distance as the raging current swept the platform along with it, and after a moment spent hurtling down a vascular chute it emerged into a much, much larger tunnel of flesh, awash with blood like a colossal, macabre underground waterway.

“Rapids again?” Nadia joked weakly as stood to her feet, a lot shakier than she would have liked. Around the raft churned a sea of ruby-red vital fluid as it washed down the gargantuan artery that twisted and turned through the bowels of the earth. “This is the second time today, fur cryin’ out loud. At least we got away from that freaky baby.” She shivered. “Although, after sayin’ that, I can’t help but wonder if it’s gonna shop up again…”

Right on cue, It Lives arrived. It descended from the ceiling, shook itself free of monster guts with an angry cry and began to follow the raft. This thing was huge, and its body beat like a heart with eldritch light. While it didn’t really terrify Nadia like she felt it probably should, she didn’t know how the Seekers would fight it after everything they’d already been through, especially considering how far out of melee range it dangled.

But the Seekers had an ace in the hole, and as It Lives descended to inundate them with bloody tears, their Assist Trophies flipped the scales. On the right side of the raft, called by Therion’s heaven-sent trophy, the seraphic behemoth Sapientia arose from the waves of blood. Loosely resembling a massive, winged salamander, with claws and masks of marble adorned with with armor of gold, Sapientia roared at It Lives, its voice of potent but utterly alien authority. On the right side, summoned by Sectonia’s devilish trophy, came the fearsome leviathan Kraken with its golden teeth and jewel-encrusted, anchor-bladed tentacles. Together both angel and demon rallied to help the flagging Seekers fight It Lives–not to mention one another, in a maelstrom of thrashing tentacles, gnashing teeth, cherub-faced missiles with halos, and laser-blasting eye stalks extended from inside Sapientia’s neck as its holy head split in twain. It was complete and utter chaos, a fight for survival among the titans in a rushing river of blood, so fast that the raft could do loop-de-loops around the inside of the artery, yet somehow Nadia loved it.

Edinburgh MagicaPolis - Noumenon

Level 8 Big Band (45/80)
Ace Cadet’s @Yankee, Frisk’s @Majoras End, Red’s @TruthHurts22
Word Count: 1188


Soon after making his snazzy ultimatum, Band came to a pretty important conclusion. Artemis wasn’t only floating in midair, but doing so over one of the four pits that could be found in every Noumen floor in the ordinal directions from its center. Making good on his throat might be a lot tougher than he thought if he couldn’t get close, since his only ranged option -Giant Step- wouldn’t do a lick of good against any enemies not on the ground.

The resident Monster Hunter was better prepared. With a huge bow Ace fired off arrow after arrow, each sent hurtling through the air in spirals of wind to the tune of a bassy THUMP. His hefty projectiles slammed into Artemis’ body, and though they elicited small staggers from the aerial demon, it barely moved from its spot. Evidently this unnatural creature elected not to obey the same laws of physics as everything else. That same proclivity toward remaining at a fixed position in the air made it a prime target for Ace’s Blade Wire, though. Suspended between two well-aimed arrows, his razor-sharp cutting edge sheared through the air and into the demon’s center of mass. It cut into the pair of wings crossed ever-so-daintily in front of its waist, and though it failed to sever them it also managed to leave a gash in the monster’s torso. For a very brief moment, the keen-eyed observer could just about see something cocooned inside Artemis, human in appearance. Then the cut scabbed over and Artemis rocketed across the room again. It slid to a stop in the air with vents of steam from its eye-wings like afterburners, and the fight resumed.

Other than Ace, however, this makeshift team really seemed to be suffering in the range department. While the sight of a magic shield summoned so that she might protect the weak convinced Band that the rather unassuming Frisk knew her way around a fight after all, the sweater-clad supporter quickly alerted the others to the fact that she couldn’t really fight from range, either. Her friend Albedo fared no better. “Unfortunately I cannot either,” the Alchemist said, calmly dipping away from the row of purple lasers. “I can provide a vertical boost, but this presents a unique challenge.” He took a quick glance back to gauge the destruction caused by the demon’s volley. Those projectiles scattered, burst, and burned some books and furniture, but seemed no more dangerous than individual Catalyst attacks by themselves. “At least it possesses only moderate stopping power.”

“I feel y’all,” Band sympathized, gearing up for another dodge as Artemis began to reposition its wings. After assuming a certain pose, it let out another clarion high note, and a ray dropped from its center point downward. At the terminus it burst into a horizontal spread of rays that covered a hundred and eighty degrees. Taken by surprise, Band couldn’t jump over it in time, so he just blocked instead. Not much chip damage, he was happy to note. “I prefer up-close and personal performances myself. But there ain’t nobody I can’t play along with!” He extended his giant mechanical arms to grab hold of chairs from nearby desks. He hurled them at Artemis one after another, and while his first went wide his second splintered against her body.

In response, it reeled back and popped out four pods from its torso. They flew through the air like missiles, but not ones aimed toward the Seekers. After taking up random positions around the battlefield they froze in the air, opened up, and began to shoot their own lasers at their targets like floating turrets. Two took aim at Ace, and the other pair at Band. Once he realized what was happening he blocked their shots, left more bewildered than hurt. “Huh?” he grunted, raising an eyebrow at Artemis. “Don’t you…need those?”

The monster replied scathingly in an unintelligible demonic tongue, and sang out another horizontal spread of lasers.

“...Forget I asked.” Band managed to jump over it this time, then took hold of and hurled an overturned table once he’d made sure no children happened to be using it for cover. This time Artemis managed to blast his projectile into kindling, which earned it an annoyed grunt. “Hmph!” It would have been nice if that kept working, but even if it did his options were pretty lackluster. While he could blast off and soar through the library’s dusty heights with the power of sound, he couldn’t attack at the same time, and if his foray as an aerial battering ram went awry the detective would have all the time he needed to think of better ideas during his twenty-seven story drop to ground zero. “I got a high-flyin’ drumalong that’ll have this songbird seein’ stars, but I can’t afford to waste it,” he told the others.

Albedo gave a nod of confirmation, though he was otherwise engaged. He’d used his alchemy to bring into being a supple sapling, which he new bent back with his Cinnabar Spindle nestled among the upper branches. Seeing that he was doing, and choosing to ignore the maneuver’s impracticality, Band hustle from the floor’s center down its westward bridge, grabbing a candlestick to try and get the demon’s attention. It turned to look his way, and a moment later Albedo sent his sword flying into one of his target’s wings. Artemis gave a shrill cry and turned his way, only for Band’s candlestick to smack it upside the head. “Over here! I’ll give you somethin’ to really cry about!”

With a growl Artemis furled her wings. Band expected another laser array, but this time his foe’s formation was different, and after a brief moment she zoomed forward, propelled by rearward blasts from every eye on her six wings. “What the-!” Band barely blocked in time as Artemis smashed into and through the east bridge, and amidst the deluge of wooden shards the big man flew backward into the far perimeter wall to smash into the bookcase. He slid to the floor, buried in paper and dust, and with a leer Artemis turned to face the others. She’d gotten an idea. With another burst of speed she rocketed across the room, then bulled through the western bridge. Suddenly, the floor’s center area had half the support. As it rocked dangerously the kids who’d already been weeping began to howl in terror.

Albedo’s response was immediate. He charged toward where Artemis ended up and leaped, using a Solar Isotoma to boost him up. With a cold face he flew toward the demon, blade upheld to chop her neck, but she furled four of her wings to block him. After taking only a shallow cut to the face she flung him back toward solid ground, then curled her wings into an O shape around her. The eyes flared up with a brilliant ring-shaped glow, and a second later Artemis unleashed a giant pink laser beam that swept across the twenty-seventh floor from one side to the other, destroying all the railings and other odds and ends of furniture that went unprotected.
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by DracoLunaris
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DracoLunaris Multiverse tourist

Member Seen 13 hrs ago


The Koopa Troop

wordcount: 1,054 (+2)
Bowser: Level 11 EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (240/110)
Bowser Jr: Level 12 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (17/120)
Kamek: Level 12 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (16/120)
Rika: Level 6 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (59/60)
Location: The Under - The Ruins - Dripstone Cave


Through flame, light and blow darts from a swiftly recovered critter the initial swarm of mozzies and their slow moving reinforcements were utterly exterminated from the swamp, with Bowser’s slow moving mega fireballs claiming what was quite possibly their first kills of the entire adventure.

Bowser certainly seemed pleased by this triumphantly cheering ”That’s right burn you schmucks!” as the last of them fell, before rolling his shoulders and rhetorically asking ”Man why can’t every fight be this easy”

Kamek meanwhile turned his eyes to the one who had won the battle before it had already begun, and offered him some praise ”Quick thinking there Rubick, and masterfully done. I would not have wanted to wade through all that mess to reach them that is for sure”

He then turned and addressed the one who the magus had saved, saying ”As for you, I am glad to see you have made such a swift recovery mr…” and leaving things open ended so that the fellow might introduce himself

Unfortunately, before Kamek could follow up and do the same for himself, Bowser did it for him by complaining ”Urrgh, Kamek, that idea of roasting them all was awful, it stinks even more now” while fanning a hand in-front of his face in a futile attempt to clear the air.

His comment got a seconding from Rika, who had it worse both because her gauntlets stopped her pinching her nose like Bowser was, and because she was also getting a hazy wisp of it though the cockatrice’s own nose, linked as it was to her senses.

The mage couldn't exactly disagree, the rotten blood of the burnt bugs had done nothing to improve the smell, even if the general vibe of the area had improved now that the danger and annoying buzzing was gone. At least that last was something they could still enjoy after getting out of the stink zone.

”Yes, well, how about we head back to safety? There’s a more pleasant spot where we can talk, as we have a few questions for you regarding some missing friends of ours, if you’d be willing to answer them?” he suggested to the others and requested of Teemo before noting with a hint of (fortunately unnecessary) worry that ”I also can't help but notice, but we’ve lost track of miss Primrose, I hope she hasn’t gone far”

Unfortunately, the way back to where the dancer had gone wasn’t quite as safe as the mage expected, as the boy prince’s attempt to help one the clown bugs had some unforeseen consequences.

His attempt to heal and cure the sickly looking Migospel did not go as hoped, and instead seemed to only make things worse. It jerked, squirmed and the sickly golden glow seemed to only spread, which left Jr only confused and annoyed, right up until the poor ant burst and revealed that it had been a living corpse, or an imposter, or something in between.

”Ew, what in the world is that?” he asked, with a mix of revolution and curiosity. The answer came swiftly, as Barnabee lept in and sliced the creature in half, crying out about something called the infestation.

”The what?” Jr asked, but he didn’t need to be told to know that the light seeds that burst from the collapsing corpse were bad news. He thrust one finger out, commanding his circus sea lion to attack with a cry of ”Dazzle, blast them!”

This the Popilio did as commanded, switching right from putting on a juggling act to an attack by slapping each bubble of water with his tail in quick succession, trying to nail the light seeds with water gun shots. Then he bounced up off of his beach ball sized bubble perch and landed back in Jr’s car to avoid being swarmed by the wretched little viruses.

Jr, even as he had been issuing the command, had used his other hand to hammer a button on his clown car, causing the side to pop open to deployed a robo arm that had the fleshy lightning gun know as a Synapse grafted to it. Turning the repurposed product of one infestation on the spreaders of another, the hovering Jr unleashed a tight beam of lightning from the weapon that sketched a squiggling line across the stone as he tried to use it to burst the luminous pustules while avoiding shocking the monsters.

Further back, the rest of the troop only got a half understood impression of the whole situation from Barnabee’s yelling. Bowser, much too slow to reach the site of the conflict, could only call for his son to ”Be careful junior, I'm coming!” as he started to stomp towards the fray

Kamek meanwhile heard ‘don’t touch them’ and reacted by casting ”Sphere of Protection” upon the group of small monsters, hoping to at the very least slow the contact and infestation spread, and not thinking about how bad it would be should that fail and they be faced with massively damage resistant infected.

Then, with clearer thought, he sent his copies flying fourth to try and snatch up the incredibly stupid creatures in their drake mount’s claws, in order to kidnap them away from their own demise.

Rika meanwhile charged on ahead atop her swift steed, and as a result most likely put herself as the closest grounded hero to the light seeds. She tried to blast them with more of the cockatrice’s stony gazes that had proved so effective against the mosquitos, but it was really a flip of a coin as to whether the light based attack would be effective, or would be stymied by the seed’s own light related nature.

Should her attack, and/or subsequent attempts to backpedal to escape fail, and the pustules be able close in, then fortunately enough the cockatrice mount had one more trick up its sleeve. If attacked, the ridiculous creature demonstrated the agility of a prize fighting rooster, swift talons, flapping flightless wings and swift wyrm muscled body letting Rika maneuver herself such that she could land the first strike against her diminutive attackers, heavy gauntlets smashing down or forwards to pulp or bat away the golden blobs, combination of steed and rider unintentionally mimicking the shape and prowess of the mighty Brachydios the ship girl was fused with.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by TruthHurts22
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TruthHurts22

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Level 2 (XP: 16/20)
Ace (@Yankee), Frisk (@Majoras End), Prisoner (@XoXKieroBombXoX)
Edinburgh MagicaPolis - Noumenon


Wonder Red stayed on the 26th floor. Not only to give his feet a rest but to let his batteries charge as well. Being the only Wonderful One out on the field, the Shirogane Drive powering his suit had to do so on its own, no others to link up and share energy with. He didn't have access to Unlimited Form either. Now the prospect of facing one of the Consul was looming ever closer with each moment they spent on this island. If the time came for combat, Red was concerned that he might drag the team down.

And right on cue (Wonder Red was starting to wonder if this world operated on some sense of drama) the library was under attack. Red instantly dropped his doubt, his superheroic instinct taking over as he ran up the stairs to rejoin his compatriots. "Everyone okay?!" Making sure the explosive appearance of their foe didn't injure anyone, Red turned to face the angelic monster, fists raised to fight.

Like most of the others Red was lacking in terms of range, though that was easily supplemented with a well-used Unite Morph. Wonder Red rushed ahead of the rest, deflecting any projectile in his path off the edge of his gauntlets, until he reached a pair of bookcases in the center of the floor. With a lull in the angel's attack, he summoned his Striker, the Howler's screech bringing fourth a new batch of Hollows. Red formed another Unite Hand with them, using it to grab a hold of the bookcases from the side. He reared back, took aim, and chucked them like frisbees, soaring through the air at their target. They hit true but did little to falter the enemy.

The angel changed tactics, deploying several pods from its body that turned into individual assailants. One laser swept too close to Red, catching him offguard as he tried to swap morphs. He jumped out of the way, leaving his summoned helpers to face the blast on their own, vaporizing them. "Team, we need to regroup!" He shouted across the library to the others. He rushed for them, jumping over the next volley of low projectiles. Before they could really group up, however, the angel once more altered its attack, charging across the room twice, tearing through parts of the floor with each pass. The shock made Red stumble, grabbing his focus away from the battle itself long enough to realize the real danger present:

That towards the civilians.

"You all, keep fighting it! I'll get everyone to safety!" Red dashed back the way he came, trying to keep his balance along the shaky bridge, to where the innocents were all trying to hide from the chaos. "Everyone, please, follow me! Stay calm and I can lead you out of here!" He corralled the children, parents, and other library-goers, not wanting to leave anyone behind.

Of course, this only opened them up to an attack. The angel's giant laser swept through the room, making its way right to Red and the gathered citizens. In a blink of an eye, Wonder Red made a decision, one he was hoping to avoid but couldn't no longer...

"Uniiiiiiiite SWORD!"


All at once, the various frightened people Red gathered were pulled into the morph. The large, semi-translucent sword stood high, bigger than it had been at the metro from being made with more people. It came at just the right time - the laser reached him, only instead of taking the blast, the beam of energy was reflected by the Unite Sword, acting as a mirror to shoot it right back into its sender.
614 Words
+1 EXP
Hidden 1 yr ago 1 yr ago Post by Archmage MC
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Archmage MC

Member Seen 6 hrs ago



Level 11 Blazermate (Holding 2 level up) - (61/110)
Level 4 Susie - (25/40) - (Holding 1 level up)

Location: Despirado Area
Word Count: Less than 750


Blazermate followed Khamsin being one of the faster fliers of the group and being able to mark him so that the others could follow if they got left behind. This ended up not being as big of an issue though as once he reached civillian roads with people on them, he obeyed all traffic laws and everything after having just destroyed a construction site and basically crunched a shady individual of the leadership of the city. Quite a juxtapose of actions, but Blazermate wasn't going to argue. This just showed he was a terror to his enemies but nice normally. Susie meanwhile guided the others that were a bit slower, able to see and follow Blazermate without much issue.

Eventually Khamsin made his way to the Despirado base, a big strong bunker. Considering what they probably had and what they were fighting, that made sense. The area itself being quite... different? Well Blazermate hadn't seen much of the city to be fair, but there weren't many G men around. Instead there were Despirado clad androids around, playing roughly the same role as the G men? Susie noticed this too, and she figured these weren't as gullible as the G men in their stealth form. Still, the lack of G men in the area meant that there could be something here that was normally outlawed, but without knowing the city proper, this wouldn't be something Susie would know. She'd just have to let her business acumen take hold as she entered the android store to see if they had anything worthwhile. She only got a passing glance at Armstrong's posters. He seemed like a strong guy, but Susie doubted she could make him into a bodyguard with how much he had under his thumb apparently.

Blazermate meanwhile was a bit lost on what to do. They found Despirado, were they now supposed to get in the base or was that all they needed to do was figure out where they were? Thinking these guards were more like G men, Blazermate didn't go to ask them questions, instead asking quesions of the common folk around about what they thought about despirado and all that, since they seemed to have the place safe from the hostile robots and gang members and all that. Still, she was at a loss more on how to proceed really, as it seemed Despirado wasn't taking any recruits considering how tightly guarded their bunker looked. At least this Armstrong guy Khamsin was talking about had posters of himself around the area, and boy oh boy, he looked like a super buff robot man himself. Square head, super broad, really muscular... Not Blazermate's style but she could see some people liking him.

-----------------------------------------------------



Level 9 Sectonia (holding 3 level up) - (68/90)
Location: ??? > Boss
Word Count: Less than 750


Sectonia had a much easier time dispatching her foe than the others. While some might think it was her rage at the whole situation, others would notice that her brand of lingering aoe attacks were the perfect counter to her foe. Unlike the others which seemed to have their own troubles with their foes. Sectonia having been distracted with her enemy didn't catch all that had happened but she did say. "you all are stronger than this! End these horrid abominations!" With the rest of the group done with this wave of minibosses, the big boss of the area finally revealed itself.

To be honest, Sectonia wasn't entirely sure what she would be expecting, but it wasn't this. It was as if whoever designed this area, or this world itself, was some play on body horror or something. What with the blood leaking everywhere as their fight caused the room, or monster, or... whatever they were fighting in to bleed profusely and cause a river of blood that carried the platform along. Sectonia could fly to keep up with her minions, not wanting to get splashed with the oncomming torrent of horrid blood, which ended up being a good solution since the fetus monster chased them down. "Another one of these? Hey, don't break the cannon this time!" Sectonia said, even though none of this group had actually been with her when she fought Big Eyes, the big guardian of the desert.

Being far to furious to care about saving it, Sectonia used her assist trophy and out came a large leviathan, which began to fight with the other assist trophy that was summoned as well as the boss, leading to some kind of freaky 3 giant monster brawl. While not wanting to get involved in the entire brawl, Sectonia summoned her Chaos Shield upon herself and put herself between the brawling leviathans and the platform below, quite angry at the whole situation and just wanting these creatures to be gone. And there was no better way to do that then throwing rings of light and globules of darkness at the fetus monster that was their target. She wasn't as used to the new fire magic she had gotten, so she only spat tiny embers with her angered breaths.

While not being the center of attention, but still involved mostly with the fight of the giant monsters, occasionally one of them would have an attack hit Sectonia. The leviathan she had summoned did absolutely no damage, while the other one did. still, even getting smacked by that thing was better than whatever It Lives was, but getting hit also flared up her Abusive affliction, with her saying. "Don't just stand there you louts! Attack!" This was around the time one of the monsters attacks smacked the makeshift flesh raft the others were on, causing Nadia to tumble in. If she was in her right mind she would see that they had issues with footing, but as it was, she just rolled her eyes and kept up with her assault.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by MULTI_MEDIA_MAN
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MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

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Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Sector 8, Detroit

Lvl 9 (152/90) -> +11 encounter XP Lvl 9 (164/90)

Word Count: 733 words


Well, the good news was that Khamsin did, in fact, have things handled. The bad news was that he was so efficient at 'handling' things that he destroyed a huge portion of the construction site, angering the G-Men in the process. Geralt went from 'glad he's on our side' to 'this thing is a threat that needs to be destroyed' in a split second as Khamsin's hammer instantly destroyed one of the two G-Men after his furious rant. Geralt's lips started peeling back in a silent, feral snarl as the massive mecha-piloting cyborg slaughtered Manananggal. It took nearly all of his self control to not say something, turning away from the murderous machine and looking at Raiden. Only once he heard the movement of Khamsin's mech starting to leave did he speak. "Can see why you hate them so much, if that's how every conversation goes." He was no fan of the G-Men himself, but they were ostensibly on the same side here. Just killing one because it dared to speak back against him made Geralt compare the cyborg to Radovid.

He just hoped there'd be less of a mess if they decided to kill this madman.

"We're in a better position to scout them out than to stand around here talking and waiting for the rest of the G-Men to show up, that much is certain." Geralt bit back at Benedict alongside Giovanna, shaking his head. "Whatever we do, it needs to not be here. Might as well be conveniently outside their bunker. No laws against tourism in that part of town as long as we don't try to break in, is there?" He snarked, taking off just after Poppi and Tora.

The run, along with a clear and obvious view of Khamsin decidedly not rampaging through the streets despite the fact that it would be as child's play for him, made Geralt second-guess his earlier anger. Not the judgment about Khamsin, but whether he was really in control of himself. For the first time since absorbing the Orphan's Spirit, he wondered if his mental state truly had been affected. He'd noticed some minor changes from the Harbor Demon, sure, but they amounted to little more than personality quirks. Now, though, his judgment, or perhaps more importantly, his self-control, were under question. Had he the chance, though, he wasn't sure he'd ask Peach to remove it. Monstrous fury clouding his mind or no, the others...might even have it worse. He was an old man, with decades of experience tempering his mind and his expectations. His Witcher mutations would also prove a boon in dealing with any mood issues the foreign Spirit caused. He couldn't foist that upon others, especially not when there were still plenty more Guardians to absorb.

He followed after Blazermate and Poppi, not quite able to keep their pace, but never out of sight of both of them, and when they finally reached the Bunker, Geralt unceremoniously dropped into a wheezing heap, sucking in massive breaths and squeaking out, "You...robots....pissing me.....off...." before outright giving up on speech for a good minute or so.

After a few minutes to catch his breath and return to the land of the living, Geralt stood up, stretched a bit, and looked around. The Bunker itself was...well, it looked like a modern castle, to put it simply. Minimal windows, clearly designed from a practical standpoint than to look in any way appealing, given that it was a disgusting hunk of metal and stone. What he had no reference point, for, however, was the strange canopy overhanging the surrounding area. "What the hell is that?" He asked, pointing up at it. He spent a few more moments looking it over, but ultimately decided to keep looking around.

It was Armstrong's posters that caught his eye. "So this is what the brute thinks would make a good leader? He'll bring them 'freedom', that guy said? Freedom from what, the Ever Crisis? Have to be a hell of king to pull that off." Something about the man, the grandiose promises on the poster, about keeping the 'war' off their shores, made Geralt narrow his eyes in distrust. It was easy to promise things. Radovid promised things. Even delivered on plenty of them, and it was those things that had earned him a dagger in the back.

"Don't like the look of him." Geralt simply stated.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by DracoLunaris
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DracoLunaris Multiverse tourist

Member Seen 13 hrs ago

Sector 3 Supper

Goldlewis, Peach, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Roxas’ @Double, Sakura and Karin’s @Zoey Boey, Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Pit’s @Yankee
Word Count: 3,701 words (+5)


There was a brief dip in chances to talk as appetizers were brought out, and orders were placed, but after that was out of the way, there came time for feeling out how dinner would go. This was both in terms of what the food would be like (and if there was one positive to the world Galeem had made it was the ability to try out of your world dishes) and in terms of seeing how the flow of talk would be going.

Midna for one started out by dropping her formality levels down a few notches in response to her first impression of their host ”If you don’t do formalities, then I won’t insist upon it either, so just Midna is perfectly fine. Never really cared for them anyway, but the title comes with expectations” she said, regarding his offer to refer to her as ‘my lady’ before commenting that ”Which does leave me surprised to hear that that a military organization would be, well, informal? Not that that’s a bad thing mind, my military advisor was always unbearably stuffy.”

Probably because the position had been of so little import … right up until it was vital and the lack of attention to such matters had nearly cost them everything, Midna thought, but managed to keep that to herself.

Luka tilted his head slightly, considering the sort of perspective that would see the prevailing attitudes within Psych-OSF as strange. “I suppose. It’s said that in the end, all that matters for a soldier is results. You could be a perpetual layabout who never trains or works more than a few minutes a day, but if you can do what nobody else can, you’re irreplaceable.” He laughed lightly to himself. “Not to name any names, of course.”

"...But only if you're psychic." muttered Roxas before he could stop himself, "Cuz if not, then… tough luck, I gue-" only now did he finally catch himself and hurriedly stood up, "I'm sorry, please excuse me." he blurted out before rushing toward the bathroom. Good job Roxas, way to make a fool of yourself!

Minda raised an eyebrow, having clearly missed something while she’d been running around the city missing every single time the group had intersected with Psych-OSF … and then promptly found herself putting a foot into the exact same cowpat

”What’s the deal with that by the way?” she had to ask, before adding not exactly the best set of caveats as an explanation for the question ”Sorry, I’m not too familiar with what makes psychic’s talents different from other types of supernatural abilities, considering they aren't exactly common anywhere else in the world. Galee-fate really did pack you all into this one inconvenient to everyone else city, or so it seems”
"I wanna know too," Pit chimed in after helping himself to the assorted gyoza on the table. "'Cause wouldn't you need all the help you can—"

Goldlewis suddenly burst out into a brief fit of coughing. He held up a cautionary finger to silently ask for the others to wait a moment as he patted his chest with his other hand as if to dislodge something that got caught in his throat, though given the sheer size of the man the idea of a tiny takoyaki ball stuck in his windpipe seemed somehow unlikely. “Beggin’ your pardon,” he said after a moment. “Didn’t taste bad or nothin’, I swear, just ain’t what we’re used to.” With Roxas already gone, his cool blue gaze turned toward Midna. “That’s the great thing about tryin’ new things though, you’ll always end up with somethin’ unexpected.”

“...Indeed.” Luka glanced at the place Roxas left behind at the dinner table. Based on who accepted and made use of the paper menus, he’d already realized who amongst this eclectic group possessed psychic powers, and who did not. Though they might bear ill will toward someone like him, which stung him with a bitter irony, he wouldn’t hold it against them. “Even if this sort of cuisine is rather ordinary for Suoh, the cooks here always surprise me with the amazing and creative ways they come up with to elevate it to the next level. There are many talented people out there, but given what Musubi’s is up against even on Main Street, only a special kind of culinarian could get the results necessary to survive in this sort of…business environment.” As he spoke the young man had loaded his plate up with dumplings, and when he finished he began to enjoy them one at a time, too polite to show how famished he really was.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Roxas stood at the sink and was washing his hands. He stared at himself in the mirror and then shook his head with a bit of disappointment. ”Man, what was I thinking?” he asked his reflection, ”All I had to do was keep quiet, but I went and opened my mouth. What else could go wrong?” After he was finished rinsing, he cupped some water in his hands and splashed it on his face. After that, he reached for the paper towels and started drying off, ”Alright, enough feeling sorry for myself. Need to go out there and clean up my mess,” he said as he finished up and turned toward the door, ”here goes.”

He finally returned to the table after having been gone for only a minute or two. He gave a quick bow before he actually sat down, ”I’m sorry about that outburst. Won’t let it happen again.” and only then did he finally sit back down. For the moment he decided to focus his attention on the curry nanban in front of him. He didn’t always like spicy food, but he had to admit this stuff was pretty great.

Sakura and Karin exchanged glances. Karin with a cool, nearly imperceptible displeased glance. Sakura smiling and shrugging. Practicing with her psychic powers, she started using her chopsticks with them, picking up noodles and trying to get them into her mouth. They ended up mostly on her chin and off her plate, which cause her to giggle. Karin pinched the bridge of her nose.

”Sakura is a very promising recruit for basic braining, as you can see.” She said wryly.

Sakura shrugged again, good-natured. ”Well, that’s what the training is for, right? I didn’t know psychic powers were such a big deal ‘till I moved here.” Normally she would be a little nervous about lying, but with her newfound confidence she realized she was just omitting the full story. Besides, since when was she ever afraid to break the rules? Literally never.

Peach nodded. Though she didn’t see much reason to deviate beyond her own pleasant self for the sake of appearances, she did want to seem more eager and less carefree about the prospect of joining what was effectively the military. “We were hoping to start soon. As soon as possible, ideally. Actually taking the first step isn’t that big a deal, but the anticipation’s murder. Just can’t wait to start helping people, I guess!” After her peppy explanation she took a quick sip from her water, then gestured toward Raz as if to give him the floor. “It isn’t the first time for Raz here, though. He’s a bonafide Psychonaut! You met with, er, someone important from Psych-OSF today who said you might be able to breeze right through training, isn’t that right?”

Raz froze as all eyes turned to him, in the middle of scarfing down a bowl of thick, cold soup that the menu said helped bolster a psychic’s mental faculties. He wasn’t sure if it was just a marketing tactic, but the earlier trek through Sakura’s mind left him with a real appetite. ”Ohmmph. Nhyeh!” He took a moment to swallow, opening his mouth to continue only for a burp to rumble up instead. ”’Scuse me. I met up with a squadron when we first got into the sector, and it had some members I knew back home. The leader for them is Morceau Oleander, who was a prominent agent for the Psychonauts. He said he’d be able to fasttrack me through to Basic Braining, and I’m sure others can come with!” He went for another spoonful, stopping before he took it to add, ”Oh, there’s also Lili. She was a, uhh, close friend of mine. She’s actually the daughter of the Grand Head of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto, so we have an extra angle on the inner workings. I even managed to free her from the influence! With Roxas’s help, of course.”

Luka looked surprised, and a little impressed. "Well, well. While nepotism is anathematic to the OSF and strictly guarded against, a Septentrion and the Chief are some excellent connections to have. While I only saw Peach in action this afternoon, but I could vouch for your courage as well." The boy leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin like an old sage deep in thought. "It's not unheard of for promising recruits to speed through Basic, either. While there are countless rules and regulations to acquaint oneself with, the most important thing is strength, as I mentioned before. If you blow the graders away in the providing grounds, it may not be long at all before you can attempt the SAS aptitude test. After that it's the final exam, and then you're in!"

The Scarlet Guardian's light, cheerful tone made it sound as if it really was that easy. He followed up his briefing with a shrug. "I'm sure the Chief would be happy for any last-minute reinforcements, anyway."

Sakura knew she could blow them away for sure. Demonstrating, she flexed her arm and grinned. ”I’ve got strength! And experience. I’m looking forward to this, it sounds fun. I hope there’s an obstacle course.”

"But what if it's more like a super-crossword puzzle..." Pit commented, thinking about obstacle courses for the brain. He shivered, a little exaggerated. Even though Luka talked of strength, the mention of graders and exams made him glad that he wasn't one of the volunteers.

Having finished his soup Raz set his spoon down and lifted himself a bit higher off the table. ”What did you mean by ‘last minute’ reinforcements, Luka? Is something about to happen?”

During all this, Roxas'd had a quiet and hushed conversation with Midna. Mostly just filling her in on what Psych-OSF was and why they were apparently such a big deal around here. He tried to keep his own reservations to himself, but a tiny bit of venting still managed to slip out once and awhile. The princess for her part didn’t mind said venting, as she could entirely see where he was coming from. Her occasional thoughtless comment probably did little to quell his simmering anger over the whole situation however.

And then Roxas heard Raz's question, "I'm guessing you have to be in to get that kind of information." he offered, doing his best to hide his contentions, "That's usually how these kinds of Organizations work, anyway."

Luka kept his expression amicable. "Well, we're technically not supposed to talk about it, but with the sheer scale of what's happening it's been an open secret for a while. The word on everyone's lips is that there's a joint operation tomorrow morning, spanning over a dozen Psych-OSF platoons. We're clearing out the old tunnels underneath the city fringes. Many say it was ordered by Shinra just to put a solid win under his belt on the day of the big debate, but its a good chance to wipe out a serious buildup of Others down there and keep people safe." He gave a mild, joking smile at Goldlewis and the other duds. "I hope you'll be cheering us on!"

Sakura nodded quickly. ”Then I guess we really better pass with flying colors if we wanna get in on the action.” She said.

”Oh yes. A lot of cheering.” Karin said, wryly, while Midna made a tiny pained sound as she bit her own tongue to prevent it from saying something much less wry about what they’d probably be doing.

Raz considered this, and nodded his head. ”Yeah, if there’s a big operation happening soon, I’d bet they would be willing to take on as many recruits and volunteers as they can. But what’s being cleared out, more Other?”

“Others, yes.” Luka’s response sounded particularly patient. “They’re the OSF’s principal concern. In addition to falling from the sky, they tend to swarm wherever the Extinction Belt descends, and the forecast for tomorrow morning is scheduled to be the heaviest in a long while.” He sighed. “Of course, the Scarlet Guardians tend to all sorts of other problems, as well. With DespoRHado not under the government’s control and the G-men the way they are, Psych-OSF ends up handling most of the Public Security Division’s…well, public security.”

At that Goldlewis shook his head in disdain. “That don’t surprise me one bit. Sure, the G-men might be strong and efficient, but those things ain’t human. They don’t got the people’s best interests at heart, and their handlers’re spread too thin to make a difference. That goes for Neuron, too.”

“Indeed. Though their officers enjoy a good reputation, that organization is minuscule and acutely specialized in comparison,” Luka agreed. “It occurs to me that you might have some special insight as the former Secretary of Defense, Mr. Dickinson, but I have no intention of prying.” His eyes drifted to an incoming server with various plates and bowls of Japanese cuisine expertly carried. “Though I’m sure you all have many questions, let’s put aside Public Security for a moment and enjoy our meal.” A couple moments later and the Seekers’ dinner had arrived, Suoh’s delicacies piled high.

”That does leave something of a gap for” Midna began to say, before her words took a sharp right turn at the arrival of the main course ”Ooo, food. That smells lovely”

Once the dishes were all laid out the princess, for one, laid into them with gusto. Fighting, getting brain blasted, and then racing futility around the city having built up quite an appetite the sating of which was only really slowed by the fact that she had to learn how to use chopsticks. The same went for Raz, who decided to go with some popular sushi dishes, picking up individual rolls between his pair of chopsticks, one in each hand. ”I think I’m doing something wrong here.”

”Like this, Raz-kun!” Sakura reached over. She yoinked the chopstick from one hand and shoved it into the other. Then she guided her free hand over to demonstrate how to hold them. ”Think of it like holding a pencil.” She advised, before popping a sushi roll into her mouth.

Then there was Pit who was forgoing the traditional utensils entirely. The smaller items like some of the sushi and nigiri he simply picked up and ate in one bite. Thankfully it didn't seem to be an unusual way of dining, based on a handful of the restaurant's other guests.

Though rather hungry, Goldlewis took an almost excessively cautious and methodical approach when it came to his food. The last thing he wanted to look like in front of company was an inelegant oaf. At the very least he wasn’t the only one having trouble, and when others exchanged tips -including a few good-natured suggestions from Luka- he was careful to listen. Peach, meanwhile, had an easier time, even with her mind elsewhere. She hadn’t expected her team’s contact to so casually drop a few details regarding a major mission, and with that sort of knowledge came new opportunities, not just for her and the other recruits, but everyone.

Luka didn’t mind helping out the newcomers, being an expert in the art of chopstick-wielding. Rather than get for himself a selection of Musubi’s finest dining, however, he seemed to have gone for quantity over quality, specifically in terms of meat and protein. The heap of food he’d gotten seemed much too big for such a small kid, though to anyone familiar with the strict and oftentimes agonizing dieting regimen of powerlifters, it might not be so strange.

Once everyone was settled, he piped up with something new between mouthfuls. “So,” he began, “While Mr. Dickinson is from Midgar, it seems like most of you are new here. If you’re willing to tell, I’d be delighted to hear anything about the world far beyond its walls. Daring exploits, incredible sights, memorable experiences. Travel opportunities are very rare, you see, and even a few stories from afar go a long way.”

”Getting here was certainly an experience” Midna said, and then had to immediately follow it up with a pivot to avoid talking about the specifics ”But if you want to hear about somewhere you can’t just see from your window them. hmmm. Well I think the most out there place would have been the dessert. That’s Dessert with two s’es”

She then proceeded to run through a quick tale of their time in the sugary landscape, battling machines that the psychic might have found familiar, rescuing a fairy from a cage and people from sugar crystals (which included a tangent about the jerk called Crow she had freed, and the time he’d woken up a whole city just to taunt/mock her), and finding out just how quick you could tire of eating sweets and only sweets (two meals).

”And then we took a train ride out of there back into the regular desert that surrounded it” she concluded before adding ”Speaking of dessert, I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I wonder if they have any good ones here” the experience having clearly not actually put her off surgery treats.

"And that's when I joined up!" Raz hooked a thumb at himself, a piece of sushi precariously clutched between his chopsticks. "We climbed this huuuge mountain out in the desert, it was awesome!"

Goldlewis leaned back in his chair, his brows raised. “Boy howdy, am I glad I headed back here instead o’ joinin’ y’all on that one. It was the biggest dadgum slab o’ rock I’ve seen in all my years, covered in ice and snow.” He held up his hands to help express his disbelief at the scale of the others’ mission. “And to top it all off, they had to fight a giant doggone monster at the top of it all!”

“You mean the split peak to the east?” Luka asked, his mouth slightly ajar in awe. “That’s amazing! Even the highest point of the Midgar building comes nowhere close! To tell you the truth, I’ve sometimes dreamed of climbing it myself.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “Maybe some day. To answer your question, Midna, this place does have a lot of sweets. Mochi rice cakes, dango dumpling skewers, yokan jelly, dorayaki pancakes…take your pick, it’s all excellent.”

”Oh you know I will” Midna replied, delighted at the number of things in that list that she had no idea what they were, and that thus would be a lovely sweet adventure to learn about.

”As for the split mountain, while the top is lovely, maybe stop when you get to High Hrothgar. Everything between there and the summit is ice and death, and we only made it to the top from some goddess given miracle” she added more context to their climb, probably putting something of a damper to his plan, before casually offering a more touristy option ”But if you do ever want to see the top, then I have a magic portal set up there that I just need to set up another end somewhere local to access”

"That sounds awesome, I want to go too!" He’d heard the secondhand reports, but listening to someone who’d actually been there made it sound a lot more exciting. If it was the highest place in the world, Pit definitely wanted to see it in spite of the danger Midna mentioned. And with any cover stories or secret identities thrown out the window, the angel eagerly took up the role of storyteller next.

"If you're looking for good views, there's this place called the Eryth Sea that's really pretty. It's like a big... um, well, sea. Surrounded by mountains! The water's super bright and blue, and there's all these islands in it - and a lot of them float! That's where I was before I came here, in a place called Smash City."

He didn't go into any more detail about Alcamoth, since while it may be interesting for outsiders it was a place already familiar enough to Pit that he breezed right by and into the next location that came to mind, after a quick pause to lift the bowl in front of him to his mouth and inhale some rice and katsuobushi.

"There are a lot of other cool places nearby too. Like there's this arena with a giant cage around it, and people drive their cars so fast in it that they drive upside around the cage!"

As the meal was coming to a close, Raz piped up. ”Excuse me, Luka? I was getting curious - what’s Basic Braining like? It’s been a….. while, since I’ve done it myself, so I wanna get the insider scoop on how it is now.”

That one left Luka a bit stumped. “Hmm. I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly. It’s been a very long time since I went through training, and it’s probably changed since then anyway.” He scratched his neck. “I do know that some people refer to the training grounds as the ‘Fresh Meat Circus’ though, since the new recruits attempting it are supposedly pretty funny.”

On that note, with pretty much everyone quiet in order to focus on their food anyway, the conversation trailed off. Faced with a tasty meal and an uncertain road ahead as their first day in Midgar began to head toward its close, the Seekers could only relish the present while they contemplated the future.
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Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Scarifar
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Scarifar Presto~!

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Location: The Ruins
Level: 3
Experience: 36/30 (Level up available)
Word Count: <750 (+1 EXP)


After Rubick pulled Teemo out of harm's way, the Koopa Troop were quick to blast the giant bugs into oblivion. Even the little yordle he had saved joined the fray. Rubick was more than willing to let the others take them down, as he could sit back and conserve his mana. He nodded in appreciation, glad that such firepower was on his side. At last, the battle died down, and Rubick could relax. At least, as much as he could in this underground environment. He wandered around the room for a bit, already bored, and quickly locked onto the Snail Shaman attempting to cleanse the corpse of a bug near the entrance. Something seems to have gone wrong, however, as the bug began to spasm violently. Or rather, something underneath its surface began to do so. Rubick took a step forward, unable to contain his curiosity, but quickly took two steps back once the seedlings burst out and began swarming towards he group.

Barnabee quickly warned them not to let the seedlings touch them, which Rubick was quick to oblige. Rubick thrust his staff forward and casted, "Fade Bolt!" The green bolt of energy blasted one of the seedlings and began bouncing through each one. At the same time, Rubick grabed his Blink Dagger and teleported back over to Kamek, who had set up a Sphere of Protection. Rubick hoped it would last. Although he was curious what this "infection" that Barnabee mentioned was, he was not so keen to see its effects on him.
Hidden 1 yr ago Post by Lugubrious
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Lugubrious Makes the big edits

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Suoh

Sector 3 Upper
Level 3 Goldlewis (10/30)
Goldlewis, Peach, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Roxas’ @Double, Sakura and Karin’s @Zoey Boey, Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Pit’s @Yankee
Word Count: 1528


In the end, everyone had a good meal, though in truth Peach couldn’t call it an excellent one. She remembered her team’s excellent dinner at Rum for Ale just last night, and how wonderful a time that had been. It capped off a day of much-needed rest and relaxation in safety and tranquility of the Deep Blue Seaside’s tropical paradise, and it hadn’t just been the delicious Cuban cuisine that delighted her. The atmosphere of camaraderie that existed during that meal one day prior had been something she knew she’d treasure for a while. She’d both gotten more familiar with people she’d been fighting alongside for the better part of a week like Geralt and Sakura, and gotten the chance to forge a new friendship with the likes of Karin and Rubick. Even if the departure of fire-forged comrades like Link and Mirage made that night a touch bittersweet, an evening like that would be a rare treat.

In contrast, she couldn’t afford to relax during her stay at Musubi’s, and when the princess stepped outside into the cool of a technicolor Suoh night she felt both invigorated and alert. She was here not to make friends but an ally, and prioritized intelligence over anecdotes. Plus, the night’s festivities were hardly over. The groundwork had been laid, and now was the time to act.

After paying the checks the gang had been obliged to clear the way quickly for the next round of eager customers, and now stood at the edge of the parking lot outside. With the sun set over Midgar, Peach could see a Suoh lit even more brilliantly by Visions that it had been during the day. In addition to the various advertisements and news, a number of purely aesthetic Visions had come online after nightfall to contrast their dazzling colors against the dark sky. Atop the hydroponics facility bloomed a lush holographic forest, with leafy vines trailing down all across the building where make-believe birds perched and pretend koalas climbed. Many-tailed kitsune frolicked and spirits flickered around Sumeragi Tomb, weaving among the trees. Perhaps most splendid were the Visions that danced around the Otherlobe all the way down on the other end of Main Street. The giant brain at the building’s zenith hummed with streaking sparks as if in the midst of a massive brainstorm, its motes of light flying off to burst like fireworks in all manner of different shapes.

“Thank you all for joining me this evening,” Luka began. “I’m glad it seems like we all got to know one another better.”

“O-of course,” Peach stammered, trying to tune out all the pretty lights. “It was a great time, and you were very helpful.”

Luka smiled. “If you’re going to be staying in Suoh, you should all come and work out with me sometime. There’s no better place for strength training than Anistar Gym.”

Stroking his whiskers, Goldlewis replied, “I reckon I just might. For tonight though, we’re headed back to Sector 7. Well, those of us not headed to Psych-OSF HQ, that is.”

“I wish you a safe journey.” Luka crossed his arms, glancing at Sakura, Peach, and Raz. “Oh, but since I’m going there myself, why don’t I teleport you? No time to waste, right?”

“That would be wonderful! You’re too kind,” Peach thanked him, grateful that his offer meant nobody in her team would have to ask themselves. Any way in with a Psych-OSF veteran was bound to be smoother than a walk in the front door.”

Luka nodded. “Let’s go then.” One by one, he warped away with the three aspiring cadets. As he prepared to leave with Raz, he waved to the others. “Good night!” Then he was gone.

Goldlewis sniffed. “That went well.” After checking his watch, he pulled his keys from his pocket and began to head toward his hummer. “We’d better get goin’ as well. Don’t wanna be travelin’ cross-plate after curfew.”




With the group dwindled down to Midna, Pit, Roxas, Sakura, and Goldlewis as the driver, everyone could enjoy a whole lot more room inside the Patriot Mammoth than before as they retraced the path they’d taken earlier that afternoon. On the way Goldlewis informed them of what he’d gotten up to when everyone split up, which included a rather significant detail that concerned their operations in Midgar as a whole. While serviceable in its own right, the office floor currently occupied by the SOU wouldn’t work as well for the Seekers in light of their mission in Midgar. Not only was it under-equipped, its position in a sleepy Sector 7 borough meant that it was pretty far from anything important. In addition to not being on Midgar’s ‘pulse’, it existed in a well-kept area with few options if things ever went south.

All this informed the veteran’s decision to procure a new base of operations for the team, one not only a lot closer to both Psych-OSF and the Shinra Building, but almost completely off the grid as well. The transaction would be finalized and they could move into their new base in Seiran around lunchtime tomorrow, but until then they would have to make use of the SOU office. To facilitate this Goldlewis planned to stop by a Sector 7 department store on the way back for the team to buy sleeping bags, as well as whatever else they’d need to settle down in Midgar for as long as they needed to.

After explaining all this Goldlewis asked for silence in order to call Giovanna, which he did with the aid of a magic communication glyph he summoned on his ear. From their brief exchange he learned that the Detroit team was already on its way back as well, so everyone save the Psych-OSF recruits would be reunited in short order. Giovanna spared her associate the details, but it sounded like her crew had seen some action down in Detroit, so they’d have a lot to catch up on. It was about eight-thirty.

During and after the phone call, the other Seekers got a chance to talk in private and among themselves about what they’d seen and learned that day, their thoughts, and what to do about it. Out of the reach of visual and auditory surveillance, this ride offered a great chance to share information and make plans. Regardless of their individual conclusions, all could agree that things would probably be complicated and risky going forward. There were a lot of pieces on the board.

The conversation came to an and, however, as an array of lights came into view down the road. Traffic slowed, then stopped completely. Up ahead the team could see the red-and-blue flashing lights that denoted police activity glaring off the insides of the tunnel ahead, and with the right angle hastily-erected roadblocks came into view. There seemed to be a mixture of standard policemen around in royal blue jackets and white helmets, and then rank-and-file OSF troopers kitted out for Suoh perimeter defense. “This road is closed!” They were yelling. “Multiple gate openings have been reported on the other side of this tunnel! Keep calm and evacuate the area in an orderly fashion!”

Cars were merging into a single lane to pass through an opening in the highway divider and go the opposite way, but the process was excruciatingly slow. Goldlewis slapped his knee in frustration. “Consarn it all, looks like the damn road’s closed. Gonna have to turn back and find another way a-!”

VROOOOOOOOO! went the engine of a sleek white police motorcycle as it zoomed off an elevated rollway to fly through the air. It landed in the road ahead and slid sideways to a stop, giving the surprised onlookers the briefest of looks at a young daredevil officer before he kicked his cycle back into gear and shot off toward the tunnel, ramping off one of the roadblocks. A mere moment later, a handful of devilish creatures flew down after him in pursuit. Possessing only rudimentary wings, the crystal-pierced monsters floated through the air surrounded by red, pixelated particles, and though humanoid in appearance the red-eyed chasers were overgrown with chitinous corruption, with arms like organic crossbows.

“W-what in tarnation!?” Goldlewis could barely process all this before a lime-and-gray semitruck with the phrase ‘P.S.L. Line Megacarrier’ emblazoned on one side thundered through the opposite lane in the same direction, laden with more monsters and swerving dangerously. It smashed straight through the police barricade in a hail of gunfire from the OSF troopers, then roared through the tunnel after the motorcycle. As the peacekeepers called for backup, Goldlewis grit his teeth. “Damn it, we’ve gotta help!” A moment later his hummer burst through the highway’s center line, and with no time to waste the Seekers sped down the trail blazed for them by whatever these new enemies might be.

Detroit

Sector 8 Lower
Level 11 Tora (131/110) Level 12 Poppi (21/120)
Susie and Blazermate’s @Archmage MC, Geralt’s @Multi_Media_Man, Benedict’s @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 2006


With no concrete plan in mind and only a vague directive to explore the surrounding area, the team of eight tentatively split up to peruse the Detroit undercity center. After one last look around the statue plaza with its political posters and unusual stone depression, Tora and Poppi headed up the street in the opposite direction of the Bunker, while Giovanna set her sights on that very building. After her words to the wise about Public Security (not to mention his revelation about Galeem) the secret agent wanted to believe that Benedict wouldn’t double-cross the Seekers, but in intelligence work one couldn’t afford to take chances on blind trust. Since her wolf spirit Rei could only travel so far away from her host, Giovanna insisted on the silver-haired strategist’s accompaniment as she advanced to scout out the massive and imposing DespORHado HQ. At the same time she noticed as Raiden slipped away into the city, which was less than ideal. Despite his comrades’ insistence that he not act on his vehement desire to take his old enemies to task, he’d been delivered their home base on a silver platter. Much to her chagrin, Giovanna could only hope he wouldn’t do anything reckless. Maybe his fusion with that Hoodlum Dolls goon changed him more than any of them thought.

Giovanna didn’t expect even discreet surveillance of one of Midgar’s most powerful factions to be easy, but as she and Benedict approached things quickly got bleaker still. Despite her casual demeanor she always kept at least one sky-blue eye out for trouble at all times, and the closer to the Bunker the two former administration agents got, the more androids she spotted. Gradually she became aware of an entire perimeter of doll-like guards hidden around the block in unlikely spots, of which the sentries at the bulky building’s door were only the most visible part. Add in the cyborg patrols and this whole area looked a lot like one big, carefully-placed noose, just waiting for any enemies to come along and hang themselves in it. Impressed by the level of security, she couldn’t help but whistle. While she didn’t have any criminal activities in mind that might warrant their attention, she could do without any extra suspicion, and elected to give the Bunker’s block an extra wide berth. Instead she led Benedict into a nearby bookstore, the Time Machine. Inside she found an elegantly antiquated interior, all dark wood and patterned lampshades and plush sofas, offering a atmosphere that Giovanna felt must be both very rare and charming in the acrid neon landscape of Detroit. Before she could head up to the second floor to peer out the windows she needed to act natural, after spotting a female employee at the front desk by the name of Lucina Horal the secret agent headed over for a chat.

Meanwhile, Tora and Poppi set out on their own for a second time. Compared to the more run-down part of this sector by Quarantine Valley that housed that haunting solid waste landfill, this area seemed a lot shinier, but the smells of oil, sweat, and exhaust pervaded it just as thoroughly. The Nopon’s nose stayed wrinkled practically the whole time he spent waddling around, and Poppi considered turning her olfactory sensors off as well. More than anything, this place just seemed inhospitable, both in terms of the populace and the environment itself, even in comparison to the other otherworld cities the two had seen so far. Alcamoth had been futuristic and awe-inspiring, maybe a little sterile, but wide-open and accommodating. Al Mamoon, while uncomfortably hot and busy at times, pulsed with a vibrant vitality even in the midst of its terrorist crisis. Though smaller than the others, Tostarena Town left quite an impression just with how colorful and fun it had been, and Radlandia had a weird but wonderful flavor all its own. Nyakuza Metro came closer than any of the others to the feeling of Detroit, but it boasted a certain sense of unity and charm. This was raw, gritty, and almost completely alien to Tora and Poppi both. A little overwhelmed, they just didn’t know what to make of it, or where to even begin when it came to scrounging up useful information.

So after a little while, they ended up inside Yoshida Batting Center. A couple busts on the way here left Tora a bit disheartened, but when he realized that this establishment hosted an entertaining minigame with prizes available for high scorers, the Nopon was all ears. Together the two spent some money to try their luck at bat, and though Tora’s physique was in every way at odds with the mechanics of baseball, he enjoyed swinging the bat around. He knew he could rely on Poppi’s powerful, precision engineering to score big, and his companion did not disappoint. She racked up the points with a whole host of home runs, then at her Masterpon’s urging exchanged a thousand for the Expert Bat to earn fifty percent more points on her tear through the Superhuman Challenge. In the end she hoarded enough points to cash in on Toughness Z medicine, a Luxury First Aid Kit, a hammer called the Star Crusher for Tora, and an anklet said to be used by fighting breakdancers for Poppi. Of course, the disgruntled manager then kicked them out and forbade them from returning, resentful of a machine that could make a mockery of the Batting Center’s challenges so easily.

“Meh-meh!” Tora complained as the two picked themselves up outside. “Crabbypons just jealous of Poppi incredible skill!”

After patting the dust off her creator, Poppi put her fists on her hips proudly. “If they let artificial people play in the first place, the average engineer around here must be a lot worse than Masterpon!”

“Meheheh. Even in city of machines, there no finer feat of engineering than Poppi!” Tora turned his smug expression on the Detroit city streets, full of people working so hard yet achieving so little. Then he scratched his chin. ”It occur to Tora that there big untapped market for using Poppi to clean out prizes.“

Poppi nudged him, pointing between the buildings toward the sunlight beyond the shade of the Sector 8 Plate, already starting to go orange. “You should think about scamming people later. We wasted so much time there it’s already dinnertime! Let’s go!”

Always happy for a meal, Tora agreed straightaway, and the two prepared to head to the Seekers’ designated meetup spot. Before they could make any progress, however, a couple soldiers came to a stop in front of them: a grizzled-looking man with a faintly amused expression, a bald-headed powerhouse with bulging muscles, and a white-plated robot with a red bandana. All were armed, which gave Tora and Poppi pause, but they lacked both the red-black livery of DespoRHado and any overt hostility. “Hey there,” the first man greeted them. “Don’t mean to stop you on your way to dinner, but it sounded like you’re someone who knows a thing or two about machines, so I was wondering if we could ask you something.”

Pleased to have his mastery recognized, Tora flapped his wings. “That Tora all right! How can help?” Poppi, meanwhile, facepalmed at the obvious use of flattery.

The soldier replied with a smile. “That’s great. I’m Daniel Marshall, and my friends here are Roy Boateng and Cain.”

“Bonjour,” the robot greeted, speaking with a pronounced French accent.

The big man cracked a grin at the little Nopon. “Evenin’. Most folks call me Big Bo.”

“We’re here looking for a special kind of machine.” Marshall produced a photo and handed it to Tora, who looked at it with Poppi. Despite the filter and blurriness, they could recognize what they were looking at, which left Tora confused.

“But this not machine,” he remarked “It just some woman, meh.”

Bo shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong. It’s a Hollow Child. It’s a Machine that looks just like a human, and not only that, it’s programmed to think it’s one, too. Only way to tell is if you get beneath the skin. The Machines outside the city have been makin’ ‘em and sendin’ ‘em in as spies. We think this one got its hands on some classified intel and is tryin’ to make its escape outside, but got wounded in the process.”

“Which is why we’re asking you, not just as an expert but also as an inhuman who couldn’t possibly be a Hollow Child yourself,” the first man continued. “Have you seen this Machine?” Tora and Poppi shook their heads, and the soldier sighed. They must have been asking around for a while already, Poppi guessed. Marshall accepted the photo back in trade for what looked like a business card. “Unfortunate, but not surprising. Keep an eye out, and if you do see anything, please let us know.” The three continued on their way in a hurry, and left the dynamic duo to go on theirs.



A few minutes later, Tora and Poppi arrived at their destination: the aptly-named Detroit Pizzeria. It was about six o’clock by Poppi’s guess, and it looked like the others had already arrived. After a quick word to the people up front the two made their way to the table at the back where Giovanna was sitting. The secret agent flashed an apologetic expression at Susie, Poppi, and Blazermate. “Sorry to drag you three here when you can’t even eat, but if there’s one good thing about this undercity, it’s the pizza. Seeing as it’s about that time anyway I figured we might as well grab a bite now instead of when we get back to Sector 7.”

“It’s fine,” Poppi assured her. “Even if I can’t eat, my olfactory sensors are so fine-tuned I can enjoy good food almost as much as anyone else.” She glanced at Tora, who’d already started salivating at the smell of baked cheese and pepperoni, and smiled. “Not nearly as much as Masterpon, of course.”

Everyone sat down, and the staff wasted no time at all taking their orders. It looked like they were gearing up for the dinner rush, and trying to make sure as few blockages were in the way as possible. With a good idea of what sort of demand they’d get, the chefs had already been making different kinds of deep-dish pizza, so barely any time passed before the Seekers got what they ordered, too. This wasn’t about to be a protracted affair.

Of course, that just meant Tora had to stuff himself with steaming, savory goodness that much faster. As he and the other organics feasted, other people came and went from the pizzeria, but at one point a few unusual guests darkened the place’s doorstep. Tora glanced over to see a handful of G-men, causing him to freeze with his cheeks full like a hamster. Pocketing their various ‘disguises’ in a weary manner, the G-men made their way to a corner table in the back, and as they passed a startled Tora watched with the sole human bringing up the rear. He was a suit-wearing, spectacled man with neck-length black hair and a sharp goatee, his expression one of veiled curiosity aimed at Benedict. Tora swallowed slowly, and the fellow went by without a word to sit with his ’men’.

Benedict might recognize the man as an associate of his in General Affairs, and maybe the closest thing he could call to a friend in that organization–Detective Zenkichi Hasegawa. To Giovanna, however, he was just another Turk. “Keep quiet and act natural,” she hissed, not needing to say aloud that this man wasn’t someone to trifle with.
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Dark Cloud 💀Vibin' beyond the Veil💀

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Wordage: 623 words (+1 points)
Experience: 8/20 EXP (LVL UP PENDING)
Location: Detroit
Interaction
Geralt's @MULTI_MEDIA_MAN and Giovanna's @Lugubrious

"Merely making a suggestion," the former inspector replied cooly with a slight shrug of the shoulders, seemingly unfazed by the Witcher's snark before turning to look at the Medabot zooming off towards where the hulking cyborg had stomped off to "Hmm, it appears majority rules." he would have preferred returning to headquarters back in the less dangerous part of Midgar though he was hardly surprised at Giovanna's insistence to accompany her, after all she was originally the person he was supposed to find and detain.

Benedict knew full well the security was tighter than Shinra's grip on the city itself, which was to say it was outside of the Public Security Divisions jurisdiction though he was more than aware that DespORHado was no easy group to keep a close eye on. Dolls were round every corner, patrols making rounds on every which way possible it was almost as hard for him to not say 'I told you so.' as it was for the other agent not to whistle, keyword almost.

Putting a bit of distance between themselves and the veritable army of Dolls, both the former inspector and agent seemed a little less on edge though still wary of their surroundings as they both were trained to be. The change of atmosphere was a welcome one for Benedict, from the dingy and decrepit streets of Detroit to this quaint little bookstore. The antiquated furniture reminded him of House Wolffort's council chamber lined with books on wooden shelves.

***


Sitting opposite to the secret agent, the Turk had removed his glasses to clean them with a white kerchief squinting as Giovanna welcomed the others. Benedict nodded acknowledging the two automatons and the little furry blob after placing his glasses back on, though he refrained from eating the strange food they called pizza it looked most unhealthy to him like a piece of bread baked in grease and cheese.

Benedict sat back, keeping an eye on the door out of habit and curiosity as he watched people come and go from the restaurant though he had looked away to advise the tiny Nopon to maybe slow down except the look on Tora's face made the Turk pause and turn his head slightly in the direction the Nopon was staring aghast with food filling his mouth,

Several agents warily removed their 'disguises' moving to a table towards the back of the restaurant, lead by a man he didn't need to look at twice to recognize. Detective Zenkichi Hasegawa, he should have expected he would be here after all he was assigned to following leads in this part of the city, more crime requires more than just more enforcement after all.

Benedict laced his hands together in front of him, he nodded curtly to the other man before he discreetly whispered to Giovanna "This might be an opportunity Miss Giovanna," he was watching Zenkichi closely behind the rims of his glasses as he spoke obscuring his mouth with his hands in front of him "You see I am acquainted with that gentleman, he might be useful as they say 'if we play our cards right'" he was certain if he had been under the influence of Galeem so would the Detective, and if they could somehow free him he would be a useful asset to their team.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend or so they say, and if so it would be a step towards infiltrating the cities government. Benedict had began to formulate that the cities failures were to do with this outside influence and if they were to get anywhere they would need to start by freeing those working for Shinra or the other divisions.
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