[center][abbr=Ace Cadet][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=salmon]Word Count: 927 (+2 exp)[/color]
[color=salmon][u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 199/90
[b]Location:[/b] Edinburgh MagicaPolis[/color][/center]
With the morning came debriefing the night's events - and, of course, breakfast. The Ace Cadet would never skip a meal if he could help it, which included today despite the heavy atmosphere in the Seekers' corner of the restaurant. In between plates he filled the others in on what he'd found last night, which hadn't been anything but random ambling bones. It turned out that no one had found a clue towards Linkle's whereabouts, even when she'd been right under their noses. [i]The Noumenon? Why would she show up there?[/i] He thought, eyebrows pinched together. That she showed up at such a conspicuous place and tangled with a Consul...

[color=salmon]"Do you think she's looking for us?"[/color] the hunter questioned, a hopeful note to his voice. Sinking further into the Skullgirl curse couldn't be something that Linkle wanted, so even if she'd abandoned Frisk and Albedo after saving them she must have realized that it was too much to handle on her own. [color=salmon]"She could've heard about what happened earlier, and the police are probably passing around our descriptions, so... maybe she wanted to find us as much as we want to find her."[/color]

They'd know for sure once they actually reunited with the heroine. Albedo was right, they had to find her as soon as possible. The Cadet gave a resolute nod. No matter what came at them, they'd help her through whatever she was going through.

The news did not end there, as Big Band pointed out. When the detective showed them the cover page, the Cadet grew puzzled. 

[color=salmon]"War? On the Alcamoth?"[/color] Technically the Seekers and everyone at Smash City Alcamoth [i]did[/i] want to "overthrow world leadership and destroy the world," but it was for the good of everyone. The entire world populace, save a handful, didn't even know what was really going on! [color=salmon]"So they didn't just know where [i]we[/i] were, they know where our base is too! Well let's give them a heads up that trouble is coming their way. Moogle?"[/color]

Yesterday when the Ace Cadet had stayed outside of the bank to summon one of those furry friends, it popped right up in front of him from thin air. It had hardly even taken a second to appear, but now nothing came. He tried again, and there was still nothing. The Alcamoth was full of strong, capable people, but...

[color=salmon]"...I have a bad feeling about this."[/color] They had no way to contact the city, nor a way to get back there. The only thing they could do was continue their mission up here in the frozen north. Whether the newspaper announcement really was a trap to draw the Seekers out or not they had to get some idea of what was going on, so the Cadet seconded the plan of visiting the Aether Paradise. [color=salmon]"Yeah, let's go."[/color][hr]
When they arrived it was indeed to a crowd. People pressed up against each other and the railings lining the lake that encircled the Aether Paradise. Within such a large amount of people, the Seekers would hopefully be invisible to those that sought to do them harm. They waited there - and waited, and waited. [color=salmon]"She'd have her hands full if she actually went. She might not even come back,"[/color] the Cadet whispered to the rest of his group. One Consul down, courtesy of the Alcamoth Mercenaries. There was still no response from a Moogle though, so he waited with the rest of the curious citizens of Edinburgh.
 
Consul L did eventually arrive, later than scheduled and hiding some injuries that a well trained eye could see through, but alive and allegedly triumphant. The Cadet clenched his jaw, fingers curling into fists. What did she mean Alcamoth was [i]no more?[/i] She could have been lying, feigning victory after running with her tail between her legs. But if something had actually happened, what then? What would become of all the people there, and how would they let Nadia, Princess Peach, and all the others know it wasn't safe to go back after they were done with their own missions? 

The hunter turned to Big Band and the rest of his group, prepared to tell them he thought they ought to pay Consul L a visit and find out what really happened before they took care of her themselves, but more news about Alcamoth came in an unexpected form. Suddenly there was a Pokémon right in front of him, whose distinct look and psychic communication was vaguely familiar to him. It was the person who'd helped run the war room during the Seekers' last meeting in Smash City and showed he and Sakura how to use the training rooms, and if he remembered correctly its name was—

[color=salmon]"Mewtwo?!"[/color]

The Cadet felt his stomach tighten as the words Mewtwo "spoke" actually sunk in. So something [i]had[/i] happened, something awful. He caught the Pokémon as it drooped, with enough foresight to shed his coat and cover Mewtwo in it. He had no clue what had really happened, but Mewtwo stuck out more than most in a crowd, and who knew if one of the ship's crew might recognize him from Alcamoth even from all the way over there. This time when the Cadet looked to his companions, there was a whole host of emotions showing on his face. 

[color=salmon]"This is- He's one of us from Alcamoth,"[/color] he tried to hurriedly explain. [color=salmon]"I don't know how he got here but something really must have went down. I... let's take him back to Grammeowster's, it looks like he's really hurt!"[/color]