[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]
Word Count: 720 (+1 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]3[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 125/30
[b]Location[/b]: Dystopiascape - Sector 7[/center]
The Seekers picked up the pace through the slum town after Giovanna explained to Pit the difference between salvage and service, as she'd put it. She was also right that the merchant hadn't been able to help them, but not for lack of trying. In fact he tagged along with the group, looking to do some good. He introduced himself as Partitio, and likewise the angel proudly gave the man his own name and rank.

They continued on their way to the depot, and from there Pit watched Giovanna go off to negotiate while Zenkichi and Poppi spoke with some acquaintances. People they'd met yesterday? [i]For such a huge city it's pretty lucky to run into the same people again,[/i] Pit thought, the implication that the Rust Crew were here for the same reason as them flying completely over his head at first. While they conversed, Roxas ran off in a hurry. Curious, Pit's gaze followed the boy until he met with a familiar looking spiky haired man. 

[i]It's Cloud![/i]

Truthfully he didn't know Cloud all that well, but he recognized that iconic hairdo. He wasn't able to hear what the three were saying to each other, and Cloud and the woman he was with were off in a hurry before Pit could recover and go over there himself. From his run in with Ken the other day, Pit knew that any of the fighters he was familiar with still under Galeem's spell might not remember their stint in the multi-world tournaments too well, if at all... but it would still be a great boon for them if they could get the man back to his senses. But it could wait, for now. It was enough to know where another fellow Smasher was. After they dealt with the machines they could come back.

When the group boarded the two trucks Pit claimed the driver's seat of one of them, absolutely tickled that it would be driving itself. He'd be kicked out of the spot on the way back, if not even sooner, but at the moment he busied himself with studying how the pedals and clutch were moving as well as the scenery they passed. If this has been a natural work, the mega metropolis of Midgar sprouting from the ruins of whatever this city was would have been like a forest flourishing after a fire, but in reality it was just more ruins cut and pasted into place.

Eventually he turned around in his seat, peering over the headrest at the truck's other occupants. his eyes settled on Roxas. Though he didn't look all that eager to talk, Pit asked him a question anyway. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Hey, what did Cloud say?"[/color] His eyes were wide with curiosity, and he didn't even question how Roxas knew the man.

When Susie asked what she thought they'd find out there, the angel turned his attention to her. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"By us, you mean [i]us[/i] us?"[/color] he asked, curious as to what she wanted it for. She then mentioned setting up some defenses for the city behind them, using an acronym that he didn't know but chose to interpret as "hype, wild, and cool." When he imagined the remains of a robot battle, it was antennas and metal lobster-like claws, or big buzz-saws and blinking lights strewn over the ground. Assuming that was the kind of scrap the salvage crews would be collecting, he was confident they'd find some hype, wild, and cool tech for sure!

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"If you're thinking about defenses for the city, maybe we'll find some laser guns, or those electro-beam things... or a mega buster!"[/color] Any of those could probably be turned into defenses by the technologically inclined. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But if we do our job right we'll be stopping any robots... I mean any [i]enemy robots[/i] from getting to the city in the first place!"[/color]

And for the record, he was still up for some factory infiltration afterward if they managed to chase them all the way back to their bases. Having been thrown into plenty of situations that could be described as deathtraps before, he knew it wasn't an easy ask. But how were they supposed to stop the Ever Crisis, or this part of it, otherwise? Still, first thing's first - fending the robots off. The trucks continued to rumble towards their pre-set destination.

[indent][/indent]

[center][abbr=Ace Cadet][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=salmon]Word Count: 2667 (+3 exp)(+15 encounter reward)[/color]
[color=salmon][u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 197/90
[b]Location:[/b] Edinburgh MagicaPolis[/color][/center]
After going from the demon attack at the library to running from police to [i]fighting[/i] the police to trudging through the snowy city streets, Grammeowster's Kitchen was a welcome change of pace. It was warm and comfortable inside, with a touch of the familiar. It wasn't until everyone was resting that the Ace Cadet actually realized why that was, and a smile formed on his face that wouldn't leave. The rustic living quarters above the restaurant made it really feel like coming home after a rough day; hopefully the others felt the same kind of contentment while it lasted.

The Cadet striped off his large outer coat and draped it over the back of a wooden chair, next to where he'd set his backpack down. From his things he offered Albedo a mega potion for his wound, and Frisk [url=https://i.ibb.co/8xYdYbj/Scorpion-Tail-ffxii.png]something[/url] to defend herself with should they run into trouble again. Which honestly was only a matter of time.

With Sierra still unconscious, the group was left to kill some time. With some pent up energy left in him, the Cadet walked once around the table in the center of the room just to really take the place in and then announced to the others, [color=salmon]"I'm gonna go downstairs for a bit."[/color]

He descended into the actual restaurant section of Grammeowster's Kitchen. His intent was to chat up the felynes, but his mouth had been beginning to water even from upstairs. Food would come first. He got a table to himself and ordered three dishes, a basted sushifish, marinated carpaccio, and some kind of roast. He hadn't paid much attention to what exactly was being roasted, but it looked great. It tasted even better. He made quick work of all three, with a familiar brandy called Snowmelt Snifter to wash it down. 

The open-style kitchen gave the restaurant patrons a decent view of the cats making their food. The Ace Cadet caught sight of the proprietress, and though it was the first time he'd seen her he thought she had to be the same "Grammeowster" that the Meowscular Chef spoke so highly of. He left a pile of gold on the table to cover his bill and approached the counter where the Grammeowster was, and she smiled at the hunter.

[color=salmon]"Thanks for letting us stay here,"[/color] he told the elder cat. [color=salmon]"Anything I can help with?"[/color]

"Can mew cook?"

If her customers would be alright with kebabs roasted over a spit, then technically yes. [color=salmon]"I'm a better taste-tester,"[/color] he said instead with a wide grin, drawing a chuckle from the Grammeowster. 

"Nyat too good too wash dishes, are mew?"

[color=salmon]"Of course not!"[/color] he said, already beginning to roll up his sleeves. [color=salmon]"Just point me in the right direction."[/color]

"Oh wondermew. This way."

As she led him to the back of the house the Cadet asked the question that has been on his mind through dinner. [color=salmon]"Chef, you were part of the Research Commission right? With the First Fleet?"[/color]

The Grammeowster Chef's ears flicked under her head scarf and she let out a long sigh, though it was filled with warmth rather than wistfulness. 

"I haven't thought about that in a long time, child. Retired about... twenty years ago meow," she replied, adjusting the small set of glasses on her nose and appraising the young man. "Mew too?" 

[color=salmon]"Yep, with the Fifth Fleet."[/color]

"Me-wow, they're all still working hard aren't they?"

The two of them chatted even after the Cadet took to his volunteer task, diving elbow deep into a sink piled with dishes next to a felyne standing on a stool. The Grammeowster Chef asked after her old fleet companions, and the Ace Cadet told her all about the current Astera. When she had to return to the front of the house, some of the staff took her place in the conversation as they came and went through the kitchen. None of them had been to the New World, so their questions were much wilder in nature, but the Cadet was happy to entertain them with tales of his own exploits - and those of the much beloved Sapphire Star.

When the kitchen's sink was empty and spotless, the Cadet was feeling very relaxed. Still, he couldn't forget that there was a whole other world outside of the restaurant's doors and foreign friends just upstairs. He put another order in and poked through the kitchen for a quick snack before returning upstairs.

When he entered the borrowed rooms it was with two platters in hand; one was an entire roast fowl on a bed of greens, the other a hash of spiced tubers that smelled divine, both the courtesy of the Grammeowster Chef. The hunter himself had a cinnamon roll held between his teeth as he walked in, though when he noticed Sierra was awake he hurried over to the bedside table to deposit the food and finish off his dessert.

[color=salmon]"Thought mew guys might be hungry,"[/color] he said, seeing as Big Band and Sierra hadn't been able to take a trip to the kitchen like the others had. After being filled on what happened to Sierra, the smile that had been on his face all evening finally started to dim. What was with these Consuls, why were they so determined to do harm? For the time being it was probably best for the trainer to stay out of sight too, lest she suffer anymore at the whims of a Consul. [i]I hope the Spheals are alright,[/i] the Cadet thought offhandedly.

[color=salmon]"So what's the plan meow? Er, now?"[/color]
[hr]The plan for now was rest up, recharge, and lay low. Easy enough, but there was also the matter of skeletons being raised at night. Based on everything Frisk and Big Band had said, the phenomenon was connected to Linkle. Knowing that, the Ace Cadet suited up again and left their hideout under the cover of night to investigate, and he wouldn't be the only one. Those that weren't staying behind split up to cover more ground, intending on making their way back to Grammeowster’s Kitchen after they were finished. 

With coats like his a common sight in the winter city, the Cadet wasn't worried about drawing unnecessary attention as he moved about the streets. He pulled the fluffy hood of the garment up around his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he wandered. He passed a couple of people still out at this time of night, and he could hear the dull thump of music being played by some establishments open late, but otherwise the start of his investigation was pretty calm.  

Eventually he drew to stop and leaned against the brick wall of some building to coax the scoutflies from the cage affixed to the holster on his chest. They slowly began to swarm, little clusters of green light growing brighter and flying around in a loose sphere shape. 

[color=salmon]"I snow its a long shot, but think you can find Linkle?"[/color] he asked the insects. They were really smart critters, but given the large and unfamiliar city and the changes Linkle had probably been through, he wasn't sure if they'd still be able to pick up her scent. The scoutflies swirled upward into the air and fanned out, groups of them moving in different directions before doubling back. When they gathered together again and mingled lazily around the cage, the Cadet sighed. No luck.

[color=salmon]"Let's just keep trying,"[/color] he said, moving to continue his wandering. The scoutflies remained loose, serving as a floating lantern that cast a green glow over the the sidewalk in front of him. 

It was a little while more until the Cadet found anything, and technically the flies found it first. They scooted down an alleyway, buzzing brightly, when their green bodies turned to red. The Cadet blinked in surprise. The scoutflies sensed danger and retreated back into their cage. At the other end of the alley was a person slowly walking away. No... on second look it wasn't exactly a person.

A [url=https://i.ibb.co/M1HRx3N/Throw-Master-01.png]skeleton[/url] in a helmet shambled out of the narrow space until it was on an adjoining road. It didn't notice the monster hunter, at least until he ran right towards it. The Cadet didn't really know what he expected when he approached instead of keeping his distance (an invitation back to the skullgirl's location would have been nice), but what he got was a skeleton plucking its own rib from its rib cage and chucking it directly at him. The Cadet skidded to a halt and ducked, the bone passing over his head. The skeleton was standing its ground and readying another rib to throw, so at that point the Cadet equipped his shield. 

[i]It won't run if I actually attack it,[/i] he thought, so if he wanted to try and find where Linkle was... he would have to scare it away, he guessed. There were so many factors to consider though: whether Linkle was actually in control of she skeletons or they did follow Galeem's rules, whether they would seek their master out or only move away, whether it was even possible to get them to disengage...

The skeleton threw the second bone, which ricocheted off of his shield and went flying. At the same time he felt something crack against the back of his leg, a painful but not debilitating sensation. Glancing down, he found a bone lying at his feet. Looking up, he noticed the second bone bouncing off of the alley's wall and headed right back toward him again. So it was like that, huh? He blocked the bone again and was happy to see it didn't ricochet forever. Shield first he charged to close the distance between himself and the skeleton, deciding that this one could be disposed of - and if there was one, there would probably be more so he must be going in the right direction. A couple of shield slams later and he moved on.

He didn't always have to rely on the scoutflies to alert him to the presence of the skeletons. Sometimes he could hear them, their bones creaking or clattering together as they moved through the city's streets. He found that many of them were just regular old skeletons, some were clothed and some not, and there were a few skeletons of animals among them. They were never in large groups, just as often alone as they were with a partner or two. They also didn't seem to be moving with any purpose, with no indication of where any specific one was going or clues as to where it'd come from.

The Cadet clenched his jaw, coming to realize this was going to be a lot harder than expected. He was currently peeking around a corner and watching one of the reanimated bone bags slowly chase a couple down the street. They had been spooked when they'd seen it and fled the other way so fast there was no way the skeleton would catch up to them, or else the hunter would have intervened. The more dangerous looking ones he had destroyed, especially the annoying ones of the same type he'd run into before that loved to throw bones around, but some he just tried to follow hoping they would lead him to [i]something[/i]. It had been a couple hours and so far it just felt like he was just going in circles. 

The distinct clattering sound above him drew the Cadet's gaze up. There was a large creature, half illuminated by the city's street lamps. Was that... a [i]flying[/i] skeleton? That was new! Without skin or feathers it really shouldn't have been able to fly, but hey. Maybe it would eventually roost close to wherever it spawned from, which would hopefully be somewhere Linkle was nearby. [i]Worth a shot![/i] Wasn't like he was getting very far following human skeletons. As the flying undead moved through the air, the Ace Cadet did his best to keep up with it. Sometimes he had to take a roundabout route since he didn't have the benefit of wings, but with his eyes on the shadow moving through the sky he just about managed it. Eventually it stopped to perch on the edge of a building about two blocks from where the Cadet was. Now was his chance to catch up, so he darted out of the shadow of an apartment complex and across the street, into a little maintenance road—

[i]Fwoosh. Thwack.[/i] There was a sharp stinging pain in his side where he'd been too slow to parry the blow of his ambusher, a waterlogged [url=https://i.ibb.co/vXst5jB/skeletal-militiamen-2.jpg]skeleton[/url] carrying a large spear. The second thrust was already coming, caught by the Cadet's shield. [color=salmon]"Not Ya-cool man,"[/color] he hissed, and with sword in hand he made to strike back. 

Drawn by the noise, the shadow on the rooftops took to the air. It circled the scuffle a few times awaiting its opening, and then the [url=https://i.ibb.co/Pm78hMN/Untitled.png]skeleton[/url] dove. It let out no noise besides the brief clack of its joints moving, giving the Cadet barely any time to react when he caught sight of it in his peripheral vision. He raised his shield arm to protect his neck and the undead's large jaws closed around it, teeth sinking through the heavy cloth to the skin below. Well there went his best lead, there was no way he'd be getting out of this one without defeating the flying monster. The Cadet shook his arm but only earning himself deeper cuts as the skeleton refused to be dislodged that easily. Trying to take advantage of the situation, the human skeleton drove its weapon toward the Cadet's chest. It was narrowly avoided by the hunter catching the spear shaft with his own blade and forcing the head up past his shoulder. 

[color=salmon]"Don't worry, I still have a bone to pick with you,"[/color] he said to the spear wielder. The Cadet braced himself and leaned forward, performing the wide circular spin slash of Round Force to push the two skeletons away from him. The flier was launched up while the pedestrian undead hit the wall behind it. It recovered faster than the other one, stabbing forward once again. This time the Cadet dodged, shoving his sword back into its sheathe and grabbing the spear. He yanked it forward and smashed his shield into the skeleton, forcing it to release its hold. The airborne enemy had gone back to circling, but when it chose to swoop in again it was now met with a weapon with much longer reach. The Ace Cadet hooked the spear through the skeleton's lower jaw bone and heaved it down to earth, slamming it against the pavement. He could hear some of its bones break, but it wasn't dead - or redead, or whatever. It writhed and twisted its body to right itself even while its skull was still upside down, but it struggled to attack like that. A few wild swipes of its claws managed to hit their mark on the Cadet, but they didn't stop him from crushing the bones of its head until it was done for good.

Deprived of its weapon, the remaining skeleton could only try lashing out with its hands. Soon enough it was reduced to rubble, and then again when it tried reanimating again. Silence returned to this part of the city, and the Cadet sighed while leaning against the spear. He wasn't sure how late it was, but he also didn't think he'd find anything more even if he stayed out. Best to get back and clean himself up. There would be time again tomorrow night, and maybe someone else had better luck than he did tonight. He returned to the Grammeowster's Kitchen and went upstairs, propping the spear up against a wall. After a quick wash he retired for the night, unwinding from the unsuccessful investigation by indulging in one of the books he'd picked up earlier by the dim light of the aquarium.