[center][h3]Sector 07 Slums[/h3]
Level 11 Tora (151/110) Level 12 Poppi (41/120)
Giovanna, Roxas’ [@Double], Pit’s [@Yankee], Susie’s [@Archmage MC], Zenkichi’s [@Multi_Media_Man], Partitio’s [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1496[/center]

No recognition glimmered in either Tifa or Cloud’s eyes when Roxas confronted them. If anything they seemed a bit put off by the stranger’s sudden introduction and forwardness, and though Tifa at least put on a friendly face, Cloud looked suspicious. Someone knowing the name of his new acquaintance he could understand since hers was a welcome and familiar face in town, but his? He’d just arrived. While Roxas admitted they wouldn’t know him, the extra information he offered sounded like nonsense, and it didn’t explain why this kid knew his name. 

Sensing the mercenary’s guardedness, Tifa tried to smooth things out. “Well hi there, Roxas.” She gave Cloud a smile, part disarming and part reassuring. “Always a friendly face around here.” Then she turned back to Roxas. “We’re a little busy right now, but you can almost always find me behind the counter at Seventh Heaven when we’re open! See you later.” She waved, and without any further awkwardness or embarrassment, headed on her way. Cloud gave Roxas a last narrow look but turned and followed Tifa without a word, choosing to believe that this stranger simply happened to hear his name at some point since his arrival last night. At the very least, Roxas had time to think of a better opening before he got his next chance to see one or both of them at Seventh Heaven later that day.

Back with the rest of the group, Tora was happy to see that rather than try to continue with his rabble-rousing, Partitio joined the Seekers instead. Zenkichi spoke the truth when he said things would probably get rough out there today, but as long as the merchant pledged his strength, Tora was happy to accept him with open wings either way. “Good to hear, meh!” he told Partitio. “Many Nopon end up as merchants, so even though Tora inventor, am very well acquainted with businesspon.” He blinked, scratching his chin with one of his winfingers. “Would like know however, what can friend Partitio do in terms of combat? Plan today not involve much talking, meh.”

With the distraction offered by Partitio, Zenkichi and Poppi ended up paying a visit to the Rust Crew by themselves. The detective greeted them with a call and a wave, drawing their attention. Even if Poppi hadn’t been a particularly important part of their long and arduous day yesterday, they still recognized her when she waved today, especially the robot Cain, who left Zenkichi’s preamble to the others. “Ah, bonjour, mademoiselle,” he greeted her, reaching out his hand. Thinking he wanted to shake, Poppi extended her own, but to her surprise Cain gently took her hand and raised it to his faceplate as if to kiss it despite his lack of lips. [i]Tink.[/i] “It does me good to see you in health.”

Poppi blinked, thrown for a complete loop. “O-oh, uh…uh, yes, thank you.”

She gingerly retracted her as she turned her attention to Zenkichi, and Cain evenly followed suit. The detective kept things short and to the point, but even what little he did let slip piqued the squad leader’s interest. “Oh yeah? We almost got her, but things ended up getting…complicated. Still.” He sized Zenkichi and Poppi up with a different frame of reference in mind, his arms crossed. Once he and Big Bo exchanged a glance, he cracked a wry smile. “Well, someone’s gotta get things done around here. Might as well be us. We were fearing the worst when we lost the Hollow Child, but now that we know for sure…”

“We can do somethin’ about it,” Bo finished, nodding as he turned toward the motel room. “I’ll get the goods.”

Cain went to help, and Marshall stepped away for a moment to make a radio call, briefly mentioning reinforcements. He returned at about the same time Tora waddled over, and seeing the Nopon made him grin. “You on mission with us too, little guy?”

“Tora ready to reclaim some scrap!” he proclaimed, using a wing to give the thumbs-up. “Any mechanical issues out there, Scruffypon just leave to Tora!”

“I’ll do that.” As Bo and Cain returned with their equipment in tow, Marshall looked between Zenkichi and Poppi for information. “So what’s your plan?”

“We’re hitching a ride with the salvagers, I think,” Poppi replied.

Marshall nodded. “Better than hijacking a DespoRHado transport, eh Cain?”

“I merely said it would be interesting, monsieur,” the robot off-handedly replied. He flicked his head toward the Salvage Depot as if to say [i]shall we?[/i] and without further ado everyone got moving.

The location in question was a lively one, with a number of well-equipped people and formidable six-wheeled [url=https://i.imgur.com/jwJgu5c.png]trucks[/url] rolling around, unloading cargo and loading fuel. Poppi spotted Giovanna in conversation with an ordinary-looking everyman in a futuristic suit with copper-colored armor, presumably the [url=https://i.imgur.com/REH6hmK.png]Isaac Clarke[/url] she heard about while asking around. When the secret agent saw her entourage headed over through the freight yard, with the Rust Crew trio in tow, she jogged over to meet them halfway. “Good news,” she told them. “Well, in a sense. On one hand, we caught them at a good time. It’s all hands on deck to clear out the current wrecks and caches. On the other hand, that’s because their long-range scanners are detecting movement from the Machines. Like the tide going out before a tsunami. They’ve gotta be quick to pick up the fish.” She put her hands on her hips. “So, we’re probably looking at an attack, just like we thought. Anywhere between three and eight hours from now, if so. They’re gonna raise the alarm once they know for sure, but ‘til then they’re gonna batten down the hatches and take everything not nailed down, which is where we come in.” She raised her eyebrows at the Rust Crew. “Along for the ride?”

“If it means trashing some machines, we’re all aboard,” Bo spoke for them.

“That’s enough for two trucks then. Of course, they don’t take chances with their hardware here. The trucks have their routes locked in for maximum safety, with scheduled pickup and dropoff times. They drive themselves out, wait for the salvagers to load ‘em up, and drive themselves back. No human error.” She winked at Tora. “And of course, I know ‘no human’ who’s good enough with machines to do something crazy like, I dunno, override the program and give us direct control.”

Tora -who’d been trying to find Rex amidst all the salvagers as the depot- gasped, his eyes wide. “That me!”

“Then what’re we waiting for?” Giovanna tossed him a hardhat, which Tora caught mostly with his belly. When he looked up, she was already wearing one. “We’ve got a quota to meet.”

[hr]

Once ready to roll, the two trucks started on their own accord and began to maneuver through Scrap Boulevard, with the ten members of the team split between the first and second trucks. As much as Tora wanted to start meddling straight away, Poppi convinced him to hold off until the team reached the halfway point, that being the designated salvage point. On the far side of Scrap Boulevard, which itself harbored the scars of many a past battle, lay a massive perimeter wall with a massive hole in the center thanks to a dedicated Machine invasion at some point in the past. Some stopgap gates had been erected in the breach by the locals, and they swung open to allow the trucks through, but Poppi knew they wouldn’t hold for long should they come under attack again. Better to not let the Machines reach the undercities in the first place, although Poppi knew as well as anyone the Seekers by themselves couldn’t fight an entire mechanical army. They needed to find some other way to make a difference out there.

Once through the gates, and out under the rainy sky, the trucks rumbled due south. The farther south one went on the continent’s northeastern peninsula here, the lower in elevation it got, turning from temperate and autumnal at the educational northern shore to the river-carved badlands around Midgar itself to the Valley of Ruin to the south, where swampland and overgrowth choked the remains of sprawling cities. Formerly metropolises perhaps even comparable to Midgar in size, albeit far more conventional in appearance, these destroyed cities seemed to go as far as Poppi could see into the distance, nestled between the eastern and western ranges. Abandoned by humanity and reclaimed by nature, the buildings looked almost like mountains themselves, and the Seekers were already rolling into the foothills.

Tora wore a sad expression as he peered out into the distance through the rain. “So much devastation. So many people, long gone. Especially with rain, it…it make Tora feel sad.”

With a slight smile, Poppi patted his head. She couldn’t help but agree.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pE3ZXMa.png[/img][/center]

[center][h3]Sector 05 Seiran[/h3]
Level 4 Goldlewis (13/40)
Karin’s [@Zoey Boey], Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Blazermate’s [@Archmage MC], Geralt [@Multi_Media_Man], Benedict’s [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1632[/center]

“You WHAT!?”

Goldlewis stared, mouth agape, at the contingent of Seekers newly returned from the reservoir with the stink and stains to prove it. None of them seemed to be wounded at all, but whether that came as a result of their own performance or of Blazermate’s healing, only they could say. Along with them they brought one hell of a story and a squat, scraggly-haired, part-alien bum wrapped and shivering in a raggedy blanket. Even putting aside the color and translucence of the skin across patches of his body, it didn’t take a genius to tell he wasn’t well. He clammed up the minute the away team brought him in, and just sat in a dark corner where he twitched as if addled by some sort of muscular disorder, muttering things about Suoh, Seiran, psychics, and psifish with varying levels of coherence and consistency. The last of the Bridges renovators spared him a worried look as they left the building, giving the reservoir visitors as wide a berth as they could.

“Lord have mercy, I’m too old for this crap.” Goldlewis gave a groaning sigh. Two men as old or older than himself should have known better than to dive headfirst into that dingy swamp. He removed his glasses and kneaded his wrinkled temples with his palms. “Look, y’all. I don’t mean to be rude or nothin’, but there’s an awful lot ridin’ on us. We can’t afford to run off half-cocked and pick a buncha fights when we don’t know what we’re gettin’ into. I mean, I know I’m new to the Seekers an’ all, but ain’t there gonna be a day y’all kick the wrong hornets’ nest? If those psifish you found were even a smidge more aggressive, they’d’ve popped your noggins like they popped them those doggone ghouls! How d’you know you ain’t got somethin’ in your heads right now? And even putin’ aside all that, we can’t have ya pickin’ up dysentery, parasites, or worse from that stinkin’ bog down there, either.”

He glanced over at the former soldier known as Taro Chalmers, who had yet to drink from the cup of water he’d been given. His face creased itself in pity. “I know y’all wanted to do the right thing, but we ain’t equipped to take care of this poor fella here. He’s hurtin’ somethin’ fierce, both body and mind. All that time spent around psifish musta done a number on him. This man needs a hospital and trained medical professionals. I don’t give a damn whether fusion’s legal or not; the consequences don’t matter if he ain’t alive.” He rubbed his whiskers for a moment, thinking, before he snapped his fingers. “We’ll send him through the portal. Chances are he’ll get better treatment in Sector 7 than here.”

Once that was taken care of, Goldlewis rounded up the whole group. “Alright, listen up now. While y’all were down there, I got some news from Raz. The Psych-OSF op’s moments away from startin’ and it’s happenin’ down in the subway tunnels next to sectors 5 and 6, not far outside the city. Did any o’ ya see any tunnels while pokin’ around down there?” They had not; scouting had been neither a reason for their descent nor a byproduct of the time spent at the reservoir. Goldlewis shrugged helplessly. “Well, I hope you guys ain’t outta steam from all that fightin’, cause we’ve got a doozy of a day ahead of us. The subway’s s’posed to be crawlin’ with Others. Our goal’s to get in and meet up with Peach, Sakura, and Raz. Clear out any monsters in the way, make sure our buds are fine, and figure out whatever we can about Psych-OSF and the Ever Crisis.” He raised a cautionary finger. “One thing. No matter who we run into, this is our story. We’re part of the Special Operations Unit, sent in by Konoe himself to make sure the operation’s runnin’ smoothly. My name oughta be enough to lend us all the credence we need.” He nodded at Benedict. “But havin’ a Turk along should help shore up any doubts.” He grabbed his coffin, flung the massive object over his shoulder like a fall cardigan, and headed for the door. “Now let’s get a move on. On the double!”

Reaching the city’s edge in Seiran proved to be a lot tougher than in the Sector 07 Slums. Rather than walk there, the Seekers needed to find a roundabout path through the skyscrapers via the network of bridges, rooftops, and cable cars. In the end, with what little time they were allotted, they found just one means by which they could descend to earth at the border between reservoir and the wilderness beyond Midgar: a defunct cable car system repurposed into a dangerous zipline. It meant a sizable detour, since the former fishing village at its base lay closer to the edge of Sector 04 than 06, but there were no better options. Unfortunately for Geralt and Benedict, it seemed like switching teams wouldn’t save them from flying along at lip-flapping speeds suspended beneath a length of metal. Luckily, the cables proved tough enough to hold even Goldlewis’ weight, although he requested that Blazermate help provide a little lift on the way down just in case, anyway. Using the zipline, the heroes made it to earth, far from the area of the reservoir that Midna’s crew disturbed earlier, but not quite free of the mire’s grasp.

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

Before the reservoir’s decline into hideous stagnation, the Stilt Village might’ve been the perfect old-fashioned callback to seafaring Seiran’s maritime roots, alive with hardy inhabitants and wistful vacationers casting baits and nets to dine of the salty lake in a bid to return to the simple, natural life. Now, though, there were no fish to be found, and the carcasses of abandoned fishing vessels festered in their watery graves. Only troglodytes and dying psifish chrysalises now dwelt in the half-collapsed hovels above the putrid red-tinted surf, their insane scratchings seldom audible over the miserable creak of loose, rickety boards.

Goldlewis watched his step carefully, not eager to put a foot through any of these rotten planks and plummet into the contaminated brine. With how long it’d take the team to even reach the subway, they could afford to get tangled up or bogged down anywhere on the way. The UMA in his coffin helped point the way as he guided the Seekers through the Stilt Village’s decrepit maze, heading southeast. His airdash came in handy during big jumps, but the others could find their own ways to get around. He expressly avoided the packs of roving trogs, ghostly chrysalis drifters, and anything that looked particularly loathsome while still making decent time, according to his well-used wristwatch. Even if there was loot to be had in these hovels, left behind as the previous inhabitants fled from the psifish scourge, he wanted no part of it. Nothing wholesome could come out of a place like this, not anymore.

Eventually he found it. Just outside of Stilt Village lay a wooden train station, and beneath it, a single [url=https://i.imgur.com/cqCd6RK.png]underground platform[/url]. Naturally, this had to connect to the rest of the network Raz mentioned, and sure enough, when the team reached the station they found evidence of Psych-OSF presence. “Looks like some kind o’ rally point,” he told the others, taking note of the supplies and communication equipment left here. “Must be plannin’ to come back out this way once folks in the area get done cleanin’ up the tunnels.” He trooped down the stairs toward the platform, using a comm glyph to dial in his location as he went. “All we gotta do is follow in their footsteps.”

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

Pretty soon, Goldlewis followed them straight into the site of an Other encounter. The underground tunnel opened up into a small enclosed area, mostly ruined and pierced in a few places by large roots. Odd red plants flourished here, including a kind of [url=https://i.imgur.com/7lcFXX5.png]red flower[/url] he hadn’t seen before. Another thing that caught his eye was the [url=https://i.imgur.com/B9P6O2H.png]Missin Pound[/url] pinned to one of the roots, still weakly eking out smoke from the top of the sacklike organ within its cagelike body. A spar of rebar had been forcibly jammed through the rungs of the cage, the sack, and out the other side before the Other had been left to die. Upon noticing the Seekers, it began to exude more smoke, but without much left in the tank it failed to pose even the most tangential of threats. Still, worth noting in the veteran’s eyes. “We’ll be needin’ your scanner of more of these show up to lay down smokescreens,” he told Blazermate. It looked like the Psych-OSF squad went left from this junction, so Goldlewis turned right. After another minute or so that brought the team to a [url=https://i.imgur.com/C6D4mKt.jpg]open room[/url] lined with old pipes, and barely did they arrive than a pair of Missin Pounds appeared to fill the room with smoke. “There we go,” Goldlewis grunted, although movement in the shadows told him there was more to this ambush. Through the haze came curtain-flapping, antler-bearing [url=https://i.imgur.com/terxRYM.png]Session Pounds[/url], flashing rapidly as they closed in on the newcomers to violently self-destruct. At the same time, some of the [url=https://i.imgur.com/qckJTzu.png]locals[/url] appeared with a similar strategy, though their charges ended with a violent explosion of corrosive Root Rot instead.

[center][h3]Home of Tears[/h3]
Level 10 Nadia (149/100)
The Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Ganondorf’s [@Double], Rubick’s [@Scarifar], Teemo’s [@Bugman], Ichiban’s [@Truthhurts22], the Knight
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2142[/center]

Just as Nadia pulled her arm back to hurl her box cutter away, Ichiban suddenly -and unexpectedly- interceded. Someone with a lick of sense in his head might have attempted to grab her throwing arm rather than jumping in the way of a very-soon-to-be flying weapon, but his chosen method of stopping her short was brave, foolhardy, and effective; though unable to completely stop herself in time, the moment the frizzy-haired man placed himself in her path, Nadia managed to instinctively detach her own forearm to stop herself going through with the throw. “Hey!?” 

Her box cutter blade clattered to the floor along with her arm, and Endogeny went for it. Even if the fetch amounted to only a couple feet, the monster bounded toward Nadia, flecking a strange liquid from its orifice. Seemingly unaware of its massive weight and powerful gelatinous body, it accidentally knocked the feral off her feet as it went to retrieve her sword, although the sudden fall surprised Nadia a lot more than it hurt her. She scooped up and reattached her arm, then got up to see Endogeny offering her the weapon it retrieved, its tails undulating proudly. “Oh,” she muttered, gingerly retrieving her box cutter to make extra sure she didn’t hurt the critter. Despite everything, it still seemed to be a dog, and a good dog at that.

Jesse showed up, and she wasn’t too happy about the halt in forward progress. “No need to waise the woof,” Nadia hissed under her breath. “Just go another way. There was another staircase, right?

Ichiban then revealed his plan, which turned out to be a lot better than Nadia’s. In hindsight, sacrificing her brand-new (and expensive) weapon just to the amalgamate off her back wasn’t one of her brighter schemes. “Ohh, that’s a…a smart idea, yeah.” As Ichiban fed Endogeny delectable sausages from his pocket reserves, which the amalgamate accepted into its unfathomable gullets with gusto, the cat burglar marveled at the foresight it took to make such careful preparations. “Good thinkin’, Ichi. If I lost my sword dealin’ with this dog, it woulda been ‘ruff’.” Despite being in his forties and being kind of a doof, Ichiban had been doing well in the Soul Sanctum so far. He could hold his own against some of the foes the team ran up against, and he did not push his luck against the more powerful horrors that reared their ugly heads. The fact alone that he chose to accompany the crew to such a dangerous and ill-omened place when a handful of their own did not suggested that he might be hero material himself.

When all those shapeless wretches first started showing up, always appearing from odd angles and often attacking either silently or a few at a time, things had been something of a scramble for the Seekers. Of course, things could only be so creepy with Bowser and Sectonia around. The former promptly went on a rampage backed up by a posse of offense-oriented Kamek clones, nearly setting fire to the tower’s dry, dusty interior with their flame in their eagerness to mow down all the spooks. Sectonia, meanwhile, flooded the rooms and halls with her antlions, packing them like sardines to pound any haunts into submission the moment they appeared. Together the royals and their cohorts did a lot to diminish this place’s atmosphere. That said, the patients still posed a threat with their manic, flailing strength, and the farther the group went into the Soul Sanctum the more they got spread out, each forced to contend with their own handful of threats. Unless something ridiculous showed up, though, Nadia figured she’d see the others again at the top.

She turned her attention away from the staircase and the distant noises of combat and back to Endogeny. After happily glutting itself on Ichiban’s food, the amalgamate leaned its dripping, amorphous body on him, twitching affectionately. “Huh. Furrykey as it looks, it’s actually kinda cute.” Not having to kill everything in her path was honestly kind of nice. Though she didn’t want to put away her sword in case something else showed up, Nadia switched it to her off hand, then went over and stroked Endogeny just to try and make sure it was happy. The tarry substance around its gaping pit-face began bubbling up into a happiness froth, and its epidermis quivered with what might have been a contented sigh. Nadia considered giving the monster a tummy rub, but she couldn’t tell exactly where the tummy began or ended. Idly she wondered what could have happened to make this creature like this, or if it just started out this way. Either way, with Endogeny essentially pacified, Ichiban could slowly ease its bulk off his body and join Nadia on their continued ascent through the Soul Sanctum.

Nadia continued to climb with a spring in her step despite the eeriness ambiance and haunted atmosphere, her wellspring of energy topped up by her surprisingly heartwarming encounter with Endogeny. Few of the creatures she met on the way up, however, proved to be as pliable. Her keen senses and reflexes spared her a nasty contusion courtesy of a patient patiently waiting just through a doorway. When it swung its rusted IV pole at her she popped her head off as she went low. She planted one of her feet in the side of its knee, taking its spindly leg out at the load-bearing joint, then drove her box cutter upward straight through its bag-head. Her own slammed down on top of the sack with the help of a blood rocket from her neck, pushing it further onto the blade, and from there Nadia could run up the wall and flip over the patient to carve the bloated bag clean in half. What sludged out onto the floor didn’t bear looking at, and the smell nearly made Nadia convulse, so she popped her head back on and hurried on her way.

After a few more scraps, she reached a strange room near the top. At first she thought the room had been overgrown by a strange leafy plant, but as the fronds moved she realized that they must be hordes of butterflies, and the feral spotted a handful of [url=https://i.imgur.com/PX7E9Qj.png]strange creatures[/url]. Pallid, bulbous, and ill-defined, they stood around with empty eyes as if waiting for her to make a move. There were no Mistakes or Follies here, nor patients, just these bizarre humanoids. Nadia swallowed, unsheathed her other box cutter, then began to move forward, one step at a time. She tried to give the Everymen a wide berth, but when she got near any of them they turned their empty sockets on her, and before she made it through one quickly started to plod her way. The cat burglar’s nerves wouldn’t let her stand still. “Fuzz off!” She sliced through it with her blades, cutting through it like butter, but Everyman barely seemed to register her slices. It headbutted her right in the nose, and with a growl she pivoted on her heel and kicked its head clean off.

The monster stumbled back, then without ceremony, grew another head. A chill ran through Nadia’s body as the hair on the back of her neck stood up; around the room, the butterflies took wing. They clustered together on the heads of the Everymen, causing them to writhe and thrash, and make muted cries of pain. The one Nadia hit tottered toward her, butterflies swarming around it, its arms outstretched. “Screw this!” With a yowl the feral ducked under its arms, slammed a Purrge of Vengeance orb into its back to blow it apart in a watery explosion, then ran for the door.

A few moments and a couple staircases later, Nadia’s run finally slowed to a jog, and after another few seconds she came to a stop. The roar of drumming rain sounded a lot louder now, and a peek through a nearby window confirmed that she was pretty high up. This floor looked like a cross=shaped hallway that intersected four rooms, with three staircases leading down and just one leading up. There must be multiple routes through the Soul Sanctum to get here, Nadia realized, but only one way forward. That meant the others might have run into different frights and foes on their way up, and that things could be different for her going back down, too. [i]Like hell I am, I’ll just claw my way down the outside,[/i] she resolved. One thing did perturb her: she could see colorful lights beneath one of the hallway doors, and hear various noises coming from within. Curious, she moved closer. It sounded like music, sound effects, and a variety of voices in a language that Nadia didn’t understand. Was someone watching something in there? Nadia didn’t know who would choose to live in a place like this, but IGV’s letter mentioned the top floor, so this couldn’t be him. She rubbed her nose and sat down to wait for the other Seekers.

[center][img]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZKHsb-TYIew/maxresdefault.jpg[/img][/center]

Once everyone arrived, they proceeded to the top floor. Here, the rain pounded down on the glass windows in the dome ceiling, reinforced with veins of wrought iron like leaves. Except for discarded tablets and a single chair, this floor appeared to be a single wide-open room, with no spooks or surprises beyond the lone figure who stood opposite the stairs, a mage or perhaps a scholar, his back to the Seekers as they climbed up. At the noise he turned, sweeping his fine cloak aside, and regarded the newcomers with a politely interested expression, as if they’d just related an anecdote he was supposed to find amusing. He wore an exquisite blue robe, hemmed with gold, as well as a floppy brown hat atop well-kept shoulder-length black hair, and his sunken eyes were no less dark. In his hand he held a red tome, embossed with gold, and after his brief dramatic movement his cape settled neatly behind him. “Good morning,” he greeted the Seekers, his voice deep, silky, and as refined as his appearance. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am [url=https://i.imgur.com/SIUi4Wl.png]Iguana Gallo Valletto[/url].

“IGV,” Nadia said aloud, her brain cells audibly rubbing together.

“How adroit,” Gallo purred, glancing coolly around the assembled heroes and villains. “You certainly came in force. I’m glad. I trust the poor creatures down below gave you no trouble?”

Chuckling through her nose, Nadia stabbed her box cutters into the carpet and crossed her arms, her tail flicking behind her. “Ghosts and such don’t spook us. We’re big game haunters by now. What up with those [i]things[/i], though?”

“The pitiful products of vast and varied attempts to harness the power of souls for their own ends,” Gallo explained with a shrug. “Some by their own mistaken hands. Others not so much. Such is the price for meddling in matters beyond one’s own comprehension.” He tilted his head, a thin smile spreading on his lips. “A price that I hope we can help one another exact upon one most deserving.”

Nadia leaned against the wall. “Well, we came to hear you out, so let’s hear it.”

“Very well.” Gallo crossed the room, seated himself in the chair, tented his fingers, and began to speak. “By now you’ve heard of Gallo Tower, I’m sure? It is named after its creator–me. Originally, my tower was a place of artifacts and experiments, an edifice of science and sorcery where my glorious research was once synonymous with the word ‘progress’. Perhaps you may have heard of my famous Relics? The Glass Vizard, the Magic Banger, the Ars Gouda, or the legendary Randomazzo?” Despite the flair with which he said it, Gallo received only blank stares. “...No? Not a one? Argh.” He cleared his throat. “Regardless, those days are long gone. Now, Gallo Tower is merely the sty of that little…[i]pig[/i]. Consul P.”

The words dripped with such venom that Nadia couldn’t help but take notice. “Oof, yeah. So you got it out for P-brain, too?”

Her response seemed to please Gallo. “Indeed!” he smiled grimly. “He is cantankerous, capricious, selfish, spoiled rotten, immature, rude, and frankly, stupid. He treats me as no more than a mere manservant–me, Iguana Gallo Valetto!” The man pounded the cover of his tome in anger, accidentally releasing a few tiny Dust Elementals that he quickly brushed away. Clearing his throat again, he continued. “Regrettably, I haven’t the means to oppose him. P’s toadies know I am much aggrieved, and I could do little by myself. But if for whatever reason your organization seeks P’s downfall as well, I can provide all the information you need…to orchestrate his undoing.”

“Purr-etty temptin’...” While she didn’t want to speak for the others, Nadia thought that sounded pretty good. “Well, it couldn’t hurt to tell us at this point, right? We’re already kinda stuck together since either of us could rat the other out to P.”

Gallo nodded. “But of course. There are just three things you need to know. One is that, while powerful, P is a simpleton. He is a woefully unfit ruler, and in fact, does not practice any ‘rulership’ other than shamelessly lording about and doing whatever he pleases. He doesn’t monitor the city, set up patrols, or do anything. If a problem arises, he solves it through brute force alone. This means that he knows neither who or where his enemies are, and that you can confront him directly…once you know my other two details.”

Gallo carefully opened his tome to leaf through its contents. “Two is that he is not completely alone. He leaves all his duties to the cronies I mentioned before, the ‘Agarthans’, better known as ‘Those Who Slither in the Dark.’ They are a troublesome group, none especially remarkable alone, but if allowed to rally together in support of P by a brash attack on his person, their devious tricks might prove...rather difficult to overcome.” The scholar looked up at the Seekers. “That is why I recommend you hunt down and take out their elites before challenging P. Without their leaders, the roaches will soon scurry back into the dark. So listen well.” Person by person, he began to spill the beans. “Solon is their Dark Bishop. He disguises himself as a cleric named Tomas, and works as a teacher in the Home of Tears’ largest school in the western district. Kronya is their Head Assassin. She leads a double life as Monika, a red-haired mage found often in the Amusement Park. Cleobulus is their Grand Sorceress, and she moonlights as Cornelia, the glamorous gala queen of the Royal District’s high society, seldom far from its grandest club. In her case, I urge discretion. Finally, there is Thales.” Gallo pursed his lips. “He is their leader, and he almost never leaves Shambhala, his headquarters. It will be difficult to dispose of him beforehand, unless you infiltrate Shambhala itself. Still, something should be done.”

“The last thing you should understand is that P is, first and foremost, a child. He is woefully immature and prone to fits of emotion. When on the verge of defeat, he will likely flee to his sanctum to hide, which we ‘servants’ masterminded in case of emergency. It is heavily safeguarded and may in fact be impregnable, but if one or two of you go there while the others fight him, you will be able to finish him the moment he arrives. And this is where it is.” Gallo offered the Seekers a diagram, and with that, he was finished.