[center][h3]S.O.U. Building - the Next Morning[/h3]
Level 11 Tora (148/110) Level 12 Poppi (38/120) Level 4 Goldlewis (9/40)
Goldlewis, Tora and Poppi, Roxas’ [@Double], Karin’s [@Zoey Boey], Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Pit’s [@Yankee], Susie and Blazermate’s [@Archmage MC], Geralt and Zenkichi’s [@Multi_Media_Man], Benedict’s [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 3112 + 628/458[/center]

Unlike a number of their companions, both Tora and Poppi enjoyed a good night’s sleep in their little nook. While she did not require rest to function, the artificial blade could employ her built-in sleep mode to bypass the boredom of waiting and awaken alongside her Masterpon when morning finally arrived. Since yesterday’s events amounted to nothing more than excitement, exercise, and beating up baddies, even if he himself got a little more beat up than he would have liked, Tora slept soundly. He did not oversleep, however, and after a full eight hours roused both himself and Poppi from slumber. He wasn’t a slovenly shut-in anymore after all, but a heropon, and with that mantle came certain expectations. With a yawn, Tora pushed open the closet door and waddled across the hall to peer through the windows. Not a glorious new day by any means, all overcast and rainy. The sound of footsteps behind him heralded Poppi’s arrival by his side, still in QT-Pi mode. She tousled his hair, eliciting a smile. Any day was a good day so long as he had Poppi.

First order of business for any newly-awake Nopon was, of course, breakfast. Midgar’s former Special Operations Unit had established their base of operations on just one floor of this unassuming office building, and with it being stark even in terms of a workplace, no food could be found on the premises. Despite the rainfall Tora and Poppi took to the streets, where they quickly found a small diner only too happy to serve a quick and affordable meal. The Nopon happily wolfed down the greasy, bloated sausages and watery eggs, then drank his fill of sweet, tangy orange juice, happily indifferent to its genuineness. Poppi just took in the smells and sounds of the diner, peering out into the rain as she wondered what the day might bring.

Once back at the office, Tora ran a quick diagnostic on his companion to see if he could tune anything up, but Poppi seemed to be in pretty good shape. They reviewed the spirits they’d gotten from yesterday, which both declined to trade away. Jack Frost possessed a stature and bulbousness rather like Tora, but he didn’t relish the idea of fusion, and also didn’t want a striker–he needed no partner but Poppi. As for Chemtrail, he considered crushing it for an item, but then had a brainwave. Thanks to her fusion with that phantom Armor, Poppi Alpha already had a ‘heavy metal knight’ theme going for her, and the idea of making her even tankier sounded pretty good. Poppi agreed, and they set about making the dream a reality.

[center][hider=For Poppi]Spirit absorbed:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/kVSPvNt.png]Chemtrail[/url][/b]
The host has gotten taller, reaching the side of an adult. Her armor has gotten heavier with the thickest ‘shell’ parts gaining a chrome luster. Her shoulder-pads look like angry, yelling faces. Her lower legs are armored with especially heavy engine-boots with plenty of pipes, vents, and serrations. Her Drill Shield is now mostly chrome metal with serrated edges. This spirit confers the Power [b]Riot Gun[/b], allowing the Drill Shield she generates in this form to fire stronger, faster, more payloads with more stopping power but much smaller explosions, at a mana cost rather than using ammunition. This spirit also confers the Weakness [b]Annul Light/Dark[/b], preventing Poppi Alpha from using her Light or Dark core[/hider]

[hider=For Tora]Item acquired:
[b]Jack Frost Hat[/b]
[i]A royal blue cap with two zigzags on top. Anyone who wears gains Jack Frost’s strength:  immunity to most elemental ice attacks[/i][/hider][/center]

Poppi switched back to QT-PI Mode after. With it too wet outside to head out to the helipad, Tora decided the two of them should do some ‘training’ in the meeting room while everyone else trickled in. This amounted to him attempting to follow along while Poppi practiced her new breakdance-inspired fighting techniques over in one corner, with comedic results, but the little guy kept at it until everyone was ready to begin.

After hopping up into the seat, he noticed an unfamiliar face at the table. Creased and wrinkled by many years of experience, with crow’s feet from plenty of laughter, Vernon looked serious but not unfriendly. “Hello, friend!” Tora greeted him. He didn’t need any introductions to know just what to call someone new.

“Good morning, son,” the former president said in reply.

Goldlewis offered a nod of respect to the Nopon inventor. “I hear you risked your neck for Giovanna last night, so to speak. You have my thanks.” He glanced at the secret agent in question as if to ask her if Tora had hers, too.

“Mm-hm. She leaned back in her chair. Though pretty sure that things would’ve been fine without Tora’s intervention, she appreciated his help all the same. Rei trotted over to shovel her head beneath Tora’s wing to be petted, which pleased him to no end.

Midna criticized the quality of the food offered, and shaky though it might be in terms of nutrition, Jessica did not smile upon the imp’s feedback. “You can have nothing if you prefer,” she deadpanned.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t provide better accommodations for you all in general,” Vernon apologized, not eager for a squabble between the ladies. “We haven’t exactly been living the high life out here. Ever since our exodus from the Administration, we’ve been keeping a low profile. Money is short, and most of what we make goes right back into operations.”

Giovanna shrugged with a sigh. “How the mighty have fallen.”

With Vernon’s presence the level of formality in the room felt a bit higher, and it wasn’t much longer before the meeting officially began. Like any good meeting it began with a retrospective about the road that led here, and the Seekers began recounting yesterday’s events. Midna mentioned the Others first, and from experience Goldlewis knew that despite their bizarre appearances, those things weren’t messing around. “Real tough cookies,” he commented. “Some of ‘em got powers, and they know how to use ‘em. The flyin’ electric ones and the slimy ones teamed up to electrocute me, and it hurt somethin’ fierce. I reckon we only seen the tip of the iceberg so far.”

Next she brought up the Chimeras, which in the veteran’s mind were the biggest problem by far. “Bein’ invisible and appearin’ just about anywhere outta those gates is bad enough, but that corruption is some scary shit. If the folks from Neuron weren’t there, we might’ve all aberrated ourselves.” It was too easy to remember the screams of the poor people from last night as they transformed. Goldlewis didn’t shiver or shudder or anything, but he shook his head in profound, brow-furrowed dissatisfaction. “We can’t take those bastards on. Not ‘til we get some sort of countermeasure.” For now, he didn’t dare say anything about the red spirit. He didn’t know what it meant, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, either.

“Red matter corruption…” Poppi repeated, her tone grave. She examined the weird spirit carefully, but couldn’t figure anything out other than it being, well, red instead of prismatic. “If Neuron has the only cure, it’s worth looking into, but it definitely sounds like we should steer clear of chimeras for now.”

Juiced up on caffeine, Midna also recommended a course of action for today, which just so happened to be what Goldlewis favored as well. “That’s what I figured we’d be doin’,” he told everyone. “Luka mentioned it off-handedly, but it sounded like a real big deal. Some kind o’ massive joint operation with all the fixin’s, ordered by Administration higher-ups. Might be a good chance to learn more ‘bout both Psych-OSF and the Others, if they’re gettin’ their hands dirty in Other territory. Plus, we oughta be there for our moles, in case things go south. I ain’t gonna leave anyone behind if I can help it.”

He crossed his arms. “Yesterday I procured a hideout in Seiran, real close to the lift up to Suoh. Nothin’ much happens around these parts, so Sector 7’s a good place to hole up, but if we want our finger on the pulse a base near Midgar’s beatin’ heart is what we need. Should be ready by now, too. I reckon my team should head over soon as we finish up here and get familiar with Seiran while waitin’ for details from the moles.”

Midna’s offer to set up warp portals appealed to him greatly. “Yeah, let’s do that,” he told her. “Much as I like drivin’ the Patriot, it’s a real doggone trip to make twice or more a day.”

Next to make a suggestion was Roxas. He preferred the idea of eschewing the other factions at play in Midgar in order to go it alone, building up reputation and power through direct action. It sounded nice, but especially after he gave fictional detectives as an example, it sounded a bit fanciful too. “That sound fun! As heropon, Tora very good at quests!” Tora seemed to be in favor, or at least enthused, and he piped out with an important question. “What is detective?”

Susie spoke up to rain on Roxas’ parade, reminding him that establishing such an agency would be a lot easier said than done. Goldlewis stroked his whiskers as Susie said her piece, then offered his own two cents. “Goin’ public is a risky move,” he mused. “It’s true we don’t want anyone controllin’ us, but we’d be startin’ from scratch. It’d take a hell of a lot of time, money, and patience. Assumin’ the powers that be just let it happen, or don’t find out.” Karin was in agreement; the means to make something like this happen didn’t come from nowhere.

Poppi held a knuckle to her mouth as she thought. “We’re all for helping people as much as we can, and reaping whatever rewards we can get from them of course, but…remember what we were told about the Consuls yesterday?” She glanced at Tora for support, although she didn’t necessarily expect him to recall. “It seems like powerful enemies know what we’re up to now. Might be better to stay under the radar. Time probably isn’t on our side.”

Once Susie mentioned hacking, Vernon pursed his lips. “Hmm. Not to be a stick in the mud, but if you’re not psych-tech, you might have a rough time of it. Psynet’s known for being a tough nut to crack. You’d need to access the city computer Arahabaki to even have a chance, and it’s under lock and key deep below ground underneath the Shinra building.”

Giovanna answered Blazermate’s concerns about the secret police. “Actually, you’re not too far off the mark. There’s two kinds of Turk in General Affairs. The kind who work in the light, like Benedict here, who solve crimes, do paperwork, and goof around with G-men. Then there’s the kind who work in the dark: my old buddies, the Auditors. You know, actual secret agents. I was with them before these guys scooped me up, and they’re…well, probably what you’d expect. Dangerous. Unscrupulous. And not anyone we want to come knocking.”

“Speaking of dangerous, I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from Raiden?” Vernon asked Giovanna.

The redhead sighed. “Sadly, no. He split from us in Detroit. I don’t mind him going off and getting killed by DespoRHado in some suicide crusade, but he knows enough to sink us if he’s compromised. I should’ve kept him on a tighter leash...”

At that point, things took a turn. Vernon, Jessica, and Goldlewis had all been made aware that Benedict wasn’t the only Unit Chief from General Affairs who knew about this place. Even as the meeting proceeded, all wrestled with unease at the possibility that Giovanna made a mistake. But now, rather than arriving with a horde of G-men or worse at his back, Zenkichi appeared with his daughter alone. She did not take kindly to the new company, but despite the outburst nobody took action. They all understood the telltale light in Akane’s eyes, and could understand the anguish that must accompany Zenkichi’s position. Luckily, the Seekers could also help. Geralt suggested it and Roxas executed it, freeing the poor girl from Galeem’s grip. With that freedom came the typical mental overload, but Giovanna sent Rei over to nuzzle Akane, and as someone of comparable years Tora offered her his support. “Must be hard right now,” he said. “Nothing make sense, meh. Just take easy for now.” He nodded his approval when Zenkichi got her a donut. “Sweets make everything better, meh!”

As it turned out, Zenkichi hadn’t come to this meeting empty-handed. Without warning he let loose a deluge of fresh information, including the announcement of a possible attack from the Machines [i]today[/i], which Public Security seemed happy to let fall on DespoRHado and the undercities. The news left everyone aghast, especially Goldlewis. “That ain’t good,” he summarized. “It sounds PubSec ain’t willin’ to call off the OSF op to put the Scarlet Guardians on defense duty. So they’re leavin’ it up to DespoRHado to save the day, while also hopin’ they fail. The balls it takes to make a call like that.” He could only run his hand through his hair in consternation. “Actually, I wonder if the intel that leaked to the Machines was about the op in the first place. Makes sense they’d attack while the city’s army is off cleanin’ out the ol’ subway system.” 

Zenkichi’s remarks about Public Security interested the SOU personnel especially. After mentioning Akira Konoe and that the man hailed from his own world, the detective went on to explain just what PubSec’s head had gotten up to in the before-times, and it was nothing good. Under normal circumstances a story like that would have boggled the mind, but the Seekers had no choice. They could only accept it and move on. As the conversation turned away from current affairs and more to a personal dialog between Zenkichi and Geralt, Vernon turned toward the rest of the table, his voice low.

“Akira Konoe is a member of Shinra’s cabinet,” he told everyone. “My people left with me, so I don’t know his personally. Only by reputation. Mara, head of Advanced Weaponry. Hojo, head of Research and Development. Wright, head of Urban Planning. The head of Time and Space Division…I forget her name, exactly, but she’s some sort of erudite. And as you know, Konoe is head of the Public Security, which means it isn’t just the police he’s in charge of. He is also the direct superior of Truman Zanotto, giving him the power to order around Psych-OSF. Aside from Shinra himself, he’s certainly the most powerful man in the city.”

Poppi’s brow furrowed. “Sounds like someone we’ll need to confront at some point. But before that, like Pit and Zenkichi said, we need to do something about this Machine attack. Are we splitting up again?”

Tora looked from her to Goldlewis, who slowly nodded. “Some back to Seiran, some back to Detroit? That seems likely. Nice as it was, looks like our little reunion’s gonna be a brief one.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “Least we’ll get to stretch our legs outside the city, eh?”

Vernon nodded. “While you all get out there, Jessica and I will look after things on the home front. Our talks with Bridges yesterday went well. They’re dispatching engineers today to set up nodes and get us hooked up to their Chiral Network. That includes your Seiran Hideout, once they contact you there. They can even renovate the place for you, make it liveable.” He paused for a moment, then added, “The Chiral Network is a safer and more secure alternative to Psynet; we use phone glyphs for a good reason.”

“If we’re done blabbing, we should get going. With so much ground to cover, we’ll be lucky to get where we’re going before all hell breaks loose as it us,” Giovanna observed.

“Right.” Goldlewis stood. “We got a busy day ahead of us.” Idly he wondered if the groups would be any different from last time. It sounded like Midna wanted to go to Seiran again and Karin would probably want to support her friend Sakura, but other than that he didn’t know for sure.

Tora jumped down from his chair. “Meh-meh! What friends wait for then? To hero-mobiles!”

This time, Goldlewis and Giovanna’s cars rolled out in the same direction. With the chaos that had befallen the highways around Sector 7’s hub last night, and the veteran’s desire not to leave his hummer alone in Suoh long-term, he figured it would be better to go by rail. Both teams would be taking different routes from yesterday, in fact; while Goldlewis and his crew took a train to Seiran, Giovanna’s would be descending to the Sector 7 undercity. Being Detroit’s next-door neighbor and just as likely to take the brunt of a Machine invasion, albeit without DespoRHado for defense, those slums would be a lot easier to operate in. After parking and trooping over to the train situation, the division of Seekers between the Other and Machine Teams got finalized, and they bid one another farewell. “Good luck friends!” Tora called as those bound for Seiran boarded their maglev locomotive. He waved until they disappeared into the distance.

Rather than take up two seats on the train, Goldlewis stood at one end, forced by his impressive height to stoop slightly. In the course of his uncomfortable ride the veteran listened to the train’s news broadcast. Most of it didn’t matter much, but he did catch one interesting story. “At this time, we can confirm the bombing of Mako Reactor 1 in Sector 1 at around one o’ clock this morning,” the newscaster reported. “The destruction led to panic and chaos in Piltover as fires spread and authorities rushed to the scene. Their attempts to arrest the probable fugitives resulted in over two dozen casualties. Even the involvement of a Claw wasn’t enough to bring them to justice. At this point no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but there’s only one name on the minds of the terrified populace: Avalanche. These terrorists are armed and extremely dangerous. Citizens are asked to report any suspicious activity they see today to…”

Goldlewis removed his glasses in order to massage his temple. “Always somethin’,” he muttered. “At least it was all the way over in Sector 1 instead of 7. Last thing Giovanna’s team needs right now is runnin’ into Avalanche.”

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/YeUbnnJ.jpg[/img][/center]

From the moment Giovanna, Tora, Poppi, and the rest of their team arrived in the Sector 7 slums, they realized that even compared to Sector 8, it was a completely different beast. Detroit had the air of a run-down, burnt-out city, a boom town way past its prime desperately trying to cover up the odor of poverty and dereliction with a spritz of new-age glitz and glamor. One could almost believe it to be the home of a second technological revolution of robotics if one stuck to the shiny, metallic main streets and city center, but beyond that lay a hollow, crime-riddled husk of a metropolis. The Sector 7 Slums, meanwhile, offered no illusions; it was simply a sprawling expanse of threadbare, industrial destitution, mistakeable from a distance for one big dump. Instead of roads or gravel, it had dirt. The cluttered clusters of hovels, shacks, and shops were lucky if they were made of concrete or brick. Most were riveted together from rusty sheet metal. Everything was run-down and disorganized, slapped together as it became necessary rather than assembled with any plan in mind. After leaving the train station, Tora needed to climb over a pipe only halfway buried in the dirt road, which happened to be in use judging by the high-pitched scrapy noise it gave off. If one of those ramshackle trucks drove over it the wrong way, he figured it could easily burst the pipe and take out plumbing for the whole area, including a factory next to the train station. These slums made Detroit look pretty good, actually. At least the Plate above blocked out the rain, preventing the undercity’s floor from turning to mud.

Giovanna pointed the team in the direction of the undercity’s edge. “We’re headed for Scrap Boulevard,” she declared. “Unlike Detroit, these slums don’t have a real outer wall. That junkyard is the buffer zone where local militia and any androids or cyborgs deployed here hold the Machines off whenever they come knocking. We won’t have any trouble getting outside the city that way.”

“Once we reach edge, what we do about Machines?” Tora asked. “Stand guard until they show up, meh?”

“I was thinking we’d be more proactive,” Giovanna said. “If we leave Midgar and take the fight to them, we might be able to nip anything going on in the bud, or at least find out more about them.” She crossed her arms. “People in this sector who don’t commute elsewhere in the city to work probably make ends meet by salvaging, and the best loot is out in the valley of ruins. We should see if we can hitch a ride with a salvage crew. They’d probably have some way to tell where the Machines are while out there too, in order to avoid them.”

Poppi nodded. “Makes sense. You’re very knowledgeable, Giovanna.”

“Ehh. I’m too lazy to go and figure all this out myself,” she said, shrugging. “It’s people like the twins who actually go and learn this stuff.” With a goal in mind, she began to saunter down the [url=https://i.imgur.com/3TZFSAr.png]dirt road[/url] in the direction of the city’s edge. Tora and Poppi followed behind, keeping their eyes out. To the left stood a [url=https://i.imgur.com/JlL7VAX.png]hostel cafeteria[/url], one of the only buildings in sight with glass in it, and down the way on the right stood a bar and restaurant called Seventh Heaven, but it wouldn’t be open until lunchtime at least. All these people, just trying to make it day today, and any minute now they might find their meager home under attack by rampant robots. Tora clenched his wing. A true heropon wouldn’t rest until he knew these people were safe.

[hr]

The train ride to Seiran took some time, as well as an interesting route. With the Sector 6 undercity, Deep-Paris, being a massive mass of earth and architecture, the train spent most of its time in dark tunnels until it suddenly emerged into the muted light of the rainy day. Suddenly the vehicle was rattling over the murky Sector 5 reservoir on a track held up by tall metal support struts, hundreds of feet above the water. In this fashion it cruised in toward one of the biggest buildings, and when it reached it it ascended in a spiral path around its edge to the train station.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/sqKjqRT.jpg[/img][/center]

Seiran took the form of a few dozen skyscrapers that rose from the reservoir all the way up to the plate, connected together to form a many-tiered array of bridges, rooftops, and balconies. Its dark upper levels shone with the perennial glow of countless streetlamps that interspersed the railings of countless walkways. Things were nicer the higher up one -and the closer to Suoh- one was in Seiran, especially near the giant cargo lift that marked Seiran’s economical center. Conversely, the lower one went -and the closer to the reservoir- the filthier and less hospitable things became. No boats sailed those fetid waters; no edible fish or potable water could be extracted from it, and nobody in his or her right mind would immerse in it. Yet a number of the poorest, least human, and most outcast elements of the city congregated in camps at the foot of those skyscrapers, sunken too deep to ever rise again.

Goldlewis and the team stuck to the upper part of Seiran, where a crisp wind blew across the high-altitude boardwalks to play with the [url=https://i.imgur.com/fYcHcdW.png]hanging lanterns[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/499jNKI.jpg]umbrellas[/url] of the outdoor markets, pavilions, promenades, and food courts. Their objective was the former clinic just a couple bridges away from the cargo lift, half of it [url=https://cdn1.epicgames.com/ue/product/Screenshot/InfinityBladeHideout2-1920x1080-8fbae86d4f49fa71efca7e59cc62c55b.png?resize=1&w=1920]yellow[/url], half of it [url=https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/040/409/543/large/oleksii-lisovyi-screenshot-2021-06-02-22-54-37.jpg?1628765659]blue[/url], and all of it for the Seekers’ exclusive use. Goldlewis planned to stick around to meet up with the Bridges contacts and get the place developed for use as a proper hideout, but the others could explore around Seiran or even ascend to Suoh. If they were going to help with the Psych-OSF operation, they needed to know more about when and where–and preferably how the trio that joined the Scarlet Guardians were doing, as well.

[center][h3]Home of Tears[/h3]
Level 10 Nadia (144/100)
Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Omori’s [@Majoras End], Ganondorf’s [@Double], the Knight
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1499[/center]

Even among the many tall buildings of the Home of Tears, Habbo Hotel stood out as something special, and not just because of its bright orange, almost garish exterior. Sure, it might not be as high-falutin, exclusive, or aesthetic as the various premier places to stay in the Royal Quarter, but Nadia could appreciate its everyday comfort and broad appeal. When she awoke it might not be any brighter or less rainy outside than when she went to bed, but she felt refreshed and revitalized. The expensive suite she’d secured with her ill-gotten gains also afforded her something new, something that she never would’ve expected to get in a million years: room service.

After figuring out the phone, which took a lot longer than she would have liked, she ordered up a giant breakfast delivered not just to her door, but straight to her bed. A troop of Prinnies with ties waddled in on with silver platters, balancing precariously on their peg legs to deliver her a feast of eggs, sausage, and syrupy pancakes–all the protein and carbs she needed for another long day of constant exercise. Feeling like a princess, Nadia enjoyed the meal with gusto, drinking from her mug of coffee with her pinky finger extended and making a big show of daubing her face with a napkin after every bite.

Eventually she went downstairs. Behind her she left her suite’s bedroom and bathroom a thorough mess of dishes, napkins, towels, perfumes, and shampoo bottles, smugly leaving the Prinny team to pick up after her. When she reached the front desk, she was wearing one of the hotel’s fancy, HH-embroidered, orange bathrobes beneath her black jacket, on top of her shorts and bra. A complimentary umbrella lay tucked under one arm. “Good mornin’,” she greeted the receptionist, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/AIaqLMS.png]penguin with a tie[/url]. His nametag read ‘Berg’. “D’ya know if any of my friends checked in after me last night? I let ‘em know I’d be stayin’ here.” She gave a brief description of some teammates.

“Oh, Ms. Fortune, good morning.” The penguin dutifully checked the register. “Yes, one Queen Sectonia checked in after asking about you. As did one Mr. Dragmire, Ms Faden, young Mr. Omori, Ms Azelhart, the Koopa family…”

“Oh, the others made it here too? How lucky is that!” Nadia grinned, glad that her breadcrumb trail had worked better even than she could have imagined. “Could I leave a message for any of ‘em that come by? Just say Nadia wanted to get together again in the lobby here at, oh…” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Nine?”

The receptionist jotted that down. “Certainly. By the way, someone left a message for you as well. Not you in particular, but anyone from ‘the group of travelers who arrived in the night’.”

Nadia raised her brows, curious. “Go on.” Berg slipped her a letter, which she opened to read. 

[i]To whom it may concern: last night, one of my sentries witnessed your arrival from Ash Lake. Such an unauthorized intrusion upon the grounds of Gallo Tower would have been enough cause to raise the alarm, but I chose not to do so. Very few who tread upon the ashes of the Flower Garden live to tell the tale. I must confess myself intrigued by you, and what brings you to the Home of Tears. We may be able to help one another. Therefore I would like to meet. Seek the tower overlooking the Collection with windows that glow an ethereal white–the Soul Sanctum. Be aware that it is home to wretched things that will no doubt attempt to hinder your ascent. I will be waiting in the highest room.

-IGV[/i]

After a moment Nadia scratched her head, a perplexed look on her face. “I haven’t the foggiest idea what this dude’s talkin’ about. Guess I’ll bring it up at the meetin’.” She put the paper in one of her new leather pouches and clasped it tight. Before turning to go, she glanced back at the penguin. “Oh! One last thing. Didja see any polar bears?”

“Polar bears?” The receptionist rubbed the underside of his beak with a flipper. “I don’t think so, no.”

Nadia grinned. “Makes sense. You guys are ‘polar’ opposites after all.”

After blinking for a moment, the penguin gave a weak sigh. “Ms. Fortune, it’s too early in the morning for puns.”

“Hey, just breakin’ the ice!” Nadia said indignantly before giving a sly wink. “...Berg!”

She sped out of the hotel cackling, opening her complimentary umbrella on the way. With plenty of money still in her pocket, Nadia knew just where she wanted to go before the team reunited to figure out what their next step would be: Seam’s. The feral made a beeline through the rainy streets to where she remembered that distinctive stitched-together tent being last night, and after only a couple wrong turns she managed to find it. It seemed a lot bigger than she remembered, though. Upon entering, she found herself surrounded by all sorts of random odds and ends, including a whole host of [url=https://i.imgur.com/68t0JJQ.png]living plushies[/url]. 

“Hee hee. Welcome, traveler,” a voice said from the far end of the store, drawing Nadia’s attention away from the strange assortment of goods. At the back on a colorful patchwork rug sat a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/deltarune/images/c/c1/Seam_face.gif]purple and orange cat[/url] with a sutured face and a single spinning button eye.

How fun! Nadia made her way over to crouch in front of her fellow feline. “Seam, I presume?” she said with a smile.

“Hehe, yes. The name's Seam. Pronounced ‘Shawm’. And this is my little Seap. Ha ha ha ha…”

The feral grinned. “That’s pretty good…”

“Over the years, I've collected odds and ends,” Seam continued. Course, I've no attachment to any of it. It's just a hobby of mine.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m looking for a new weapon, and you can have these, too. Anchors from the eastern seaboard!” She set Massachusetts’ broken-off anchors down before him. “I used ‘em as axes, but I figured I could do better, so I thought I’d ‘axe around.”

Seam accepted the anchors and gave a small handful of Geo in return. “Thanks for that. What do you like to buy?”

“Oh, haven’t decided yet. I’ll take a look around.”

“Take your time... Ain't like it's better spent,” Seam chuckled.

Nadia poked around the shop. Perhaps thanks to the City of Tears’ mostly peaceful nature, there weren’t a lot of weapons, but she kept digging. Pawn shops like this were probably regular stops for any adventurers who came through, hoping to get something for all the loot they gained in their adventures that they didn’t need or want. Even a valuable piece of equipment might be useless to someone who couldn’t use it, after all. Sure enough, she got her hands on a couple pieces of weaponry, like a [url=https://i.imgur.com/pQoTdpq.png]big shuriken[/url], a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ka37CSk.png]sour battle-axe[/url], and a heavy [url=https://i.imgur.com/H43K0kl.png]bone hammer[/url] clotted with blood, but nothing struck her fancy until she unearthed a metal case with two protruding handles. They looked like pistols, but they didn’t have any barrels or anything, and when she drew one from the case she laid eyes on a segmented blade that extended from the device’s underside. “Box cutters?” she murmured. That’s what they looked like, but they were huge. When fully drawn and held upside-down, with the trigger below her pinky, it was basically a sword. Pushing in the trigger detached the blade from the grip, though reattaching it was easy enough. After shaking the case itself, Nadia realized that it must contain extra blades. Two swords with replaceable blades, eh? “Not bad.” She took the [url=https://i.imgur.com/9RTKFxd.png]weapon[/url] over to Seam.

“Kagari Rokushikisouken,” Seam said when presented with the weapon. Confronted by Nadia’s baffled expression, the cat explained. “The paired swords, hee hee hee. Fell out of the sky one day, probably sunk to the bottom of the lake up above and through one of the cracks. Everything that ends up here has its story, whether or not anyone still lives to tell it, hee hee.”

Nadia ended up paying a lot for it, which on top of her previous expenses cut a pretty big hole in her new funds. Easy come, easy go, she supposed. She slung the case over her back and put the grips in her belt, reasoning that when it came time to use them she could whip them out and insert a blade in each of them before the fight began. Lighter, longer, easier to use, and more versatile than the anchors, the box cutters (she’d already forgotten their full name) seemed very promising, and she couldn’t wait to try them out. After that, Nadia hurried back the way she came. It had to be close to nine by now. No matter what came of the Seekers’ reunion, she expected she’d get to use her new swords soon enough.

[hider=For Nadia]Item acquired:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/9RTKFxd.png]Kagari Rokushikisouken[/url][/b]
A pair of grips, designed to be triggered when held in a reverse grip, and a case with twenty-six disposable segmented blades with a single razor edge. The blades can be inserted into the grips easily and quickly, and detached with a squeeze of the triggers. These ‘box cutters’ ae dexterity weapons that can slash, stab, and sever with speed and finesse, leave their blades inside stabbed targets, or send them flying with a well-timed trigger pull[/hider]