[center][h3]Ash Lake[/h3]
Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose’s [@Yankee], Rubick’s [@Scarifar], Teemo’s [@Bugman][/center]

Once the whole fiasco with the Flame Clock subsided and the rest of the Seekers learned all they could from Asgore, all that remained was to heed his advice and descend to the fabled Home of Tears. Barnabee, for one, did not prolong the team’s visit at the ashen hollow a second longer than he needed to. On one hand he couldn’t realistically count himself as a member of this group just yet, which meant he could neither speak on their behalf nor know the questions to which Asgore might have answers. On the other hand, this place just gave him the creeps. It did not escape his notice that the home of this ‘grim reaper’, as he called himself, lay carpeted in drifts and dunes of ash quite unlike the sand of the sandback he traveled across. Given that bodies turned to cinders shortly after expiration, just how much life had the former king claimed for the Home of Tears? How many deaths did it take to amass such a massive congeries of ash? The fact that poisonous yellow flowers, cheerfully and innocently vibrant in color, bloomed from the mass grave only formed the nail in the coffin. Barnabee exited Asgore’s domain before anyone else.

“What a dangerous fellow,” he buzzed. “Provided that all he saith be truth, he wouldst make for a monumental foe should he ever crack beneath that burden of his and lose his wits. He certainly harbors both the strength and the reason to do so.” The Hive Knight rubbed his hands, still on edge. “I can but wonder…were that Flame Clock not quite so full, but closer instead to depletion, would he have attempted to strike us down upon meeting…?”

It took only a few moments to locate the pipe that the old goat told them about. It wasn’t hidden at all, only tucked away in an unexpected place. There wasn’t much to it; a green tube a few feet in diameter simply poked up from the ashy sand, with a lip a bit thicker than the rest of it. Seeing the gray splotches around the tube conjured images in Barnabee’s head of terrified foes attempting to flee Asgore only to be cut down before reaching this exit. He shivered, and with a final look around at the unbelievable environment of Ash Lake, hopped down into the pipe. Upon entering, he began to be pulled through the dark interior of the pipe at high speed as if by suction, never banging against the sides even as he went around twists and turns. Alarmed but a little exhilarated, he could only wait for the ride to end. 

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

He did not expect the pipe to suddenly expel him out into pitch-black water, wheeling around in panic as he attempted to determine which way was up. After a second, however, the motion triggered a handful of lights, most of them built into the lakebed below but a few searchlights as well that automatically rotated to track the new arrivals. Barnabee and the other Seekers found themselves in a roughly cylindrical basin, filled with other pipes, metal supports, and fish small enough to not trip the lights. Most unusually, a diagonal curve of what looked like a racetrack seemed to be immersed in here, but right now everyone’s primary concern was getting out. Barnabee swam upward and after a moment surfaced. The basin they arrived in turned out to be a rather deep artificial pond, set in a courtyard of stone brick walls and glowing fungal gardens. In fact, the Seekers had made it to yet another gigantic cavern, so huge that an entire [url=https://assets.pubpub.org/5h35dfwe/71610386738682.jpeg]city[/url] of blue-black stone and a chitin masonry and wrought iron could stretch out around them. The area around them seemed to be rather aesthetic and upper-class, awash in a soft, comfortable pink glow. Tallest of all stood the huge, magical-looking [url=https://i.imgur.com/9tlCh5r.png]clock tower[/url] right in front of them, with its massive double doors directly ahead of the bridge that spanned their pond. At the other end of the bridge lay an archway, the dividing line between the property of Gallo Tower and the rest of the Royal Quarter. Pounding rain poured down from above, which they knew must be from Ash Lake given its position. The team had reached the Home of Tears.

[center][h3]Edinburgh MagicaPolis - Stricken Supermarket[/h3]
Level 8 Big Band (50/80)
Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee], Frisk’s [@Majoras End], Red’s [@TruthHurts22]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 797[/center]

When Ae went on the offensive and kicked things off, Band followed suit. While the decrepit market didn’t offer a lot of great cover for anyone, what little it had and could be made use of by the others would have utterly failed to conceal the giant gumshoe, so he took refuge somewhere else. After trading a couple blows with Red, Stryker suddenly noticed saw the cool afternoon sunlight pouring down on him through the gaping hole in the roof go dark. “This one’s mine.” The man’s head snapped up in time to see Band descending on him like a meteor, [url=https://i.imgur.com/Hy2RvTF.png]tambourine extended[/url].

“Shake, shake!” he called, whirling the instrument like a buzzsaw. Unable to anti-air in time, Stryker blocked the three hits with a grunt, and with the low recovery afforded to him by his choice of a light attack, Band landed beside him ready for more. “Black…” Raising his other leg, the detective deployed a trombone to hit going and coming with [url=https://i.imgur.com/PcyNXI0.png]Pneumatic Slide[/url]. “...and blue!” His foe kept his guard up, so Band decided to take him by surprise. “”Few!” From beneath his billowing trench coat he thrust an array of organ pipes, but to his surprise Stryker reacted to [url=https://i.imgur.com/M7tTCaC.png]Low Rank[/url] appropriately–by crouching down to block low. That left him with more than enough time to punish Band with the three-hit combo Pain Patrol. As Band stumbled back, the cop followed up with a grenade at his feet, with only a brief delay before its explosion would enable Stryker to pull off an ambiguous mix-up.

But to Band, this sort of trick wasn’t anything special. He hopped up and a blue flash he [url=https://i.imgur.com/on3Z1dt.png]parried[/url] both the grenade blast and Stryker’s overhead punch. “Uh huh.” Already overextended, the cop couldn’t do much but jump backward to safety before the detective’s [url=https://i.imgur.com/X8Gb1q6.png]cymbals[/url] clashed together inches from his face. As Stryker composed himself, Band permitted himself a wry smirk. “Why don’t ya show yourself out, mister? This is one beat you’re better off missin’.”

Stryker reached for his gun, thought for a second, then slipped his baton from its holster. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

“You first. Giant Step!” Band deployed an enormous drum pedal and [url=https://media.tenor.com/LxRwfhFNXIoAAAAi/skullgirls-big-band.gif]slammed[/url] it into the ground. Though out of its range, Stryker blocked low just to be safe, only to fall prey to the special move’s unblockable quake. It not only knocked him off his feet, but pulled him closer to Band, who was ready with Take the A Train. He lunged forward and caught Stryker inside his brass arm, pounded it twice, then released him straight into a flurry of instrumental attacks that ended with Super-Sonic Jazz. Propelled by blasts of sound from his french horn, blazed across the supermarket battering Stryker the whole way, and burst out into the street to continue the fight with a sizable life lead.

Nightingale, who’d taken cover at the first sign of trouble, rose up to open fire on Band with his shotgun while his back was turned. It was a clean shot through the hole left by Super-Sonic Jazz, but as Nightingale lined it up, Albedo sprang off the nearby countertop to drive his boot into the former FBI agent’s face. “Agh!” he grunted, quickly returning the favor and bodily kicking the alchemist to the ground as the much smaller man swung his sword. His shotgun unleashed its thunderous report, and though hastily aimed, it still managed to deal a heavy wound to Albedo’s right thigh. His face tightened, but he made no sound, and with the help of a Solar Isotoma he rose to his feet. A charged attack augmented further with the Isotoma’s coordinated attack staggered Nightingale enough to prevent a second blast once he pumped his shotgun. Albedo attempted a deadly reprisal with a thrust to center mass, but his blade’s point stuck on his foe’s ribs. It was a dangerous and volatile situation for both of them, but more so for Albedo, and he knew it. “Moment of birth!” he rasped, unleashing his stored Geo energy to call forth a Tectonic Tide and level the playing field. The shotgun flew from his enemy’s hands as the crystalline expulsion knocked him back, but immediately he reached for his pistol. Albedo grit his teeth and moved in. If he could keep Nightingale suppressed he could steal victory, but one wrong move would mean a bullet somewhere he couldn’t afford to have one. This was going to be tough.