[center][h3]Midgar - Burning Vandelay Campus[/h3]
Level 5 Goldlewis (86/50) Level 3 Sandalphon (27/30)
Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Karin and Sakura’s [@Zoey Boey], Blazermate, Susie and Roland’s [@Archmage MC], Geralt and Zenkichi’s [@Multi_Media_Man], Pit’s [@Yankee], Roxas’ [@Double], Benedict and Partitio’s [@Dark Cloud], Giovanna
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2657[/center]

In a blink the ominous boundlessness of a stormy sky, its dark clouds rendered iridescently oily by the Extinction Belt, was traded for the cool, dark confines of the DespoRHado troop transport. Sandalphon laid her hand on the back of her chair, trying to steady herself. Her halo cast her cluttered workstation in a soft golden glow, very restive. Right now she wanted nothing more than to sink down into it and sit a while in peaceful, contemplative solitude. After all, she’d just concluded her coordination of five separate missions, each involving both allies and enemies with unknown abilities in wildly different sections of the Vandelay Campus, and all happening simultaneously. Though she planned to intervene personally if need be from the very start, she’d ended up hopping between all five teams to provide assistance, sometimes bringing fresh wounds from one fight right into the next without so much as a moment to breathe in between. Even by her standards, it had been quite the ordeal. And at the conclusion of the final counter, what reward did she receive? Nothing less than the complete and utter annihilation of her current worldview. So very much to deal with, and so very little time.

Rather than sit down, Sandalphon propped her gunstaff up and bent over her desk, rummaging through her coffee cups. Her pupils flashed low-battery signs as she checked each one, able to tell their contents by weight. Empty, empty, empty, and empty but for meager, earthy dregs that would achieve nothing. These cups were sized for the average human, after all. Sandalphon pulled the coffee pot from the machine and held it up to the light. Bingo. It might be the least appetizing shade of brown known to man, but to the angel it was good as gold, and still warm. “Thank Illia.” Her pupils turned into hearts and she lifted the spout to her lips to drink. Two point seventy-three seconds later an explosion shook the room, and though Sandalphon furrowed her brow, she kept on drinking until a huge explosion rocked the entire dropship. The shockwave nearly knocked her off her feet, and as she choked in surprise she accidentally blew coffee out her nose. She gasped, her pupils blinking fire symbols, and she quickly dabbed at her face with the napkin she’d eaten her breakfast burrito over earlier that morning. Her gaze landed on the coffee pot, shattered on the floor, and sighed through her nose. It seemed like she couldn’t delay any longer. She picked up her gunstaff and ran through the dropship until she reached the cargo ramp, from which she could peer out at the crisis unfolding in Circuit Royal.

For the time the authorities remained at the perimeter they set up to assess the situation, but now, with reinforcements arrived and the signal given, they had begun their assault. Both Peace Preservation and General Affairs had turned out in droves, with several squads of Shinra troopers backing up a veritable army of G-men, which was a frankly terrifying sight. At the head of the columns of G-men strode their commanding officers: the curly-haired tigress [url=https://i.imgur.com/di75pwN.png]Swire[/url], the one-horned shieldbearer [url=https://i.imgur.com/IGDraUZ.png]Hoshiguma[/url], the devilish guardswoman [url=https://i.imgur.com/OMfdYy5.png]Matoimaru[/url], and the grim, wolf-eared visage of [url=https://i.imgur.com/OzBWCTo.png]Penance[/url] with her golden thorns. Of course, the Turks Sandalphon saw were just the tip of the iceberg; it was the Turks she didn’t see that worried her. And even without them, the situation was worrisome enough. The Administration’s forces were attacking DespoRHado wholesale. One wave at a time, the G-men revealed their true forms and charged forward to fight against the androids and cyborgs holed up around the dropship.

 “So you’re making your move, Shinra,” Sandalphon muttered. Reasonably speaking the authorities should be impartial when it came to corporate warfare, but Vandelay was Shinra’s favorite. She watched for a moment as shadows like [url=https://i.imgur.com/Y0GVEXY.png]Loa[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/Y0GVEXY.png]Cyak[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/si2tDja.png]Troll[/url], and [url=https://i.imgur.com/2kToeqn.png]Lillim[/url] faced off against her androids in a furious struggle. Quickly she pinpointed the source of the giant explosion as the many-headed great serpent, [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ay5BeYA.png]Ananta[/url], hammered the dropship with another massive blast of Nuclear power. 9S, who had arrived from Production to provide air support with his Flight Unit, ripped into Ananta with his chainguns, prompting Penance to send one of her G-men after him. It erupted into the demonic manta raw [url=https://i.imgur.com/CL7CK1t.png]Forneous[/url], his wingspan as wide as a jet’s, and flew up to challenge 9S in the air, forcing him to stay mobile. It was a brave effort on the part of the DespoRHado remnants, but with so many G-men, this was impossible. The Winds of Destruction had been destroyed, and its forces depleted by Vandelay’s defenses during the assault. It seemed that the PMC was destined to die here.

That didn’t mean that Sandalphon intended to die here, however. Thanks to Roxas, she could see clearly now. All her hard work, her carefully laid machinations, mattered as much as dust in the wind. She knew the face of her true enemy, as well as the only faction that would lead to this world’s salvation.

“Sandalphon!” The archangel looked down to see [url=https://i.imgur.com/5GfU8rI.png]Laxi[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/55t9HNY.png]Mascula[/url], both lightly damaged by elemental attacks. Laxi’s face betrayed no emotions, but Mascula looked distraught as he stepped toward her. “There’s too many of them. What are your orders?”

At this point, it was too late to order a full retreat. DespoRHado was in the heart of enemy territory, surrounded and under siege. They could neither escape on foot nor in the troop transport, which would never get off the ground. Sandalphon made her decision. “It’s time for DespoRHado to collapse. And for us to disappear. You two, with me.”

“Understood.” Laxi and Mascula took off down the ship’s ramp with Sandalphon right behind them, matching their speed with her long strides. Escorting their leader, the two androids carved a path through the chaos of battle toward Production, following the path Team Mustang had taken. Mascula fought with his katana and the power of water, while Laxi wielded katana and knife alight with flame. She shot out phantoms of herself in quick succession to slash from a distance before teleporting above her targets to assassinate them from above as a meteorite of piercing flame. Sandalphon supported them with rifle shots and healing, and together the three cut through to the edge of the battle. Just as they drew near Production, however, two men in black suits appeared to block their path.

“Going somewhere?” [url=https://i.imgur.com/zvSISyB.png]Reno[/url] grinned, his electro-mag rods at the ready.

His partner [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ee2K4V2.png]Rude[/url] said nothing, but raised his fists.

“We’ll hold them off,” Mascula told Sandalphon, brandishing his weapon bravely. “Don’t worry about us. You can escape.”

Sandalphon was quiet for a brief moment. “I order you both to survive this.”

“I aim to please,” Mascula said, a melancholy smile on his face.

Before anyone could attack her, the archangel warped to 2B, appearing suddenly atop the android’s Flight Unit in midair. She stood there with her staff planted, her coat billowing in the wind as she surveyed the scene, before she put in a call to all the Seekers at once. “The Administration is here in force. Far too many to fight. Their goal seems to be the extermination of DespoRHado, but I doubt they’d turn up the chance to squash you as well. We need to rendezvous as soon as possible. What’s your status?”

Goldlewis answered her first. “All accounted for over here in Production. After the fight ended Rekka turned tail, and we ended up followin’ her back down to ground level along some kinda emergency escape route. Sounds like we’re ahead of the curve.”

Giovanna responded last. “We’re a-okay in security. Managed to capture Korsica, and while she woke up after Pit went to open the door for Benedict so he could follow us, we ended up reaching an understanding thanks to our new buddy Chai.” She paused for a moment. “She wants to talk actually.”

“Oi, what’s this magic rubbish? Can anyone hear me?” An unfamiliar woman’s voice with a pronounced Scottish accent could be heard over the comm line. “Uh, one of you said somethin’ about an escape route, didn’tcha? All the department heads got a personal L.I.F.T. that heads straight there. It leads down from the City of Glass right through Deep-Paris. Got it set up just in case we ever needed to disappear, boost pads and everythin’. Since Vandelay’s literally burnin’ down and the Administration’s here to clean shop, that’s your best bet for a clean getaway.”

Sandalphon nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Ms. Korsica, I can give everyone an exact route there if you can provide me with campus schematics.”

“What, like an upload? This magic symbol thing doesn’t exactly have a port.”

“If you have computer access, just display them on screen where Giovanna can see,” Sandalphon instructed her. “I have a photographic memory.” Luckily, the interior of Korsica’s miniature L.I.F.T. came with a computer terminal, and once she obliged the archangel’s request, Sandalphon proved the truth of her words. Each of her Seeker contacts received a heads-up display marking their destination and indicating the way to get there via dotted line. “Hurry, everyone. There’s no time to lose.” She gave 2B her coordinates, and the Flight Unit swooped down to head in the right direction.

[hr]

About twenty minutes later, the teams arrived in a circular open-air courtyard. On one side lay the big reinforced gate that led down into Deep-Paris, and on the other five railways came to an end after emerging from the five tunnels, one for each division. As the mini-L.I.F.T.s came to a stop at each terminus, the Seekers on board piled out. Goldlewis, Roland, and Partitio arrived from Production, having bid farewell to Rekka when their paths diverged. Geralt and Midna arrived from Research and Development without Tora; instead, they brought with them a [url=https://i.imgur.com/iJgigBU.png]little girl[/url] with white hair and a red coat. She introduced herself and her giant, dangerous-looking robotic companion as [url=https://i.imgur.com/LdbAanh.png]Clara and Mr. Svarog[/url], then somewhat bashfully explained that she wanted to get away from Vandelay campus. Pit, Giovanna, and Benedict arrived from Security with not two but three new acquaintances, those being Chai, the black cat-bot 808, and Korsica. Geralt, Karin, and Blazermate arrived from Finance, and lastly came Sakura and Roxas from the Signal Tower, looking very out-of-breath. Of course, Sandalphon, 2B, and 9S arrived before any of them thanks to the Flight Units, which deposited them before soaring away to find Laxi and Mascula, and Susie showed up too. That left everyone accounted for except Tora, whose absence his teammates could explain, and Raz, whose absence his teammates could not.

That is, until a noise only Sakura would really recognize signaled the arrival of a familiar face. It was Luka, the young-looking, hammer-wielding Psych-OSF captain. More specifically, he was the captain of the platoon to which Sakura and Raz had been assigned yesterday morning. He brought the Psychonaut with him in fact, and the first thing he did was bow in apology. “Forgive me for not arriving sooner,” he told them. “I came as soon as I spotted you two on the news. I figured you must be in trouble, and a platoon leader never leaves his soldiers behind.” He put on a wry smile. “Even if his soldiers leave him.”

After a second he held up his hands to placate them. “I, uh, don’t mean to guilt you though. Or to keep you here if you’re in a hurry, so I’ll be brief.” Korsica nodded stiffly, then went over to open the gates for everyone. “Fact is, I was hoping to tell you both something. And maybe get your help. Some weird stuff has been happening around the Otherlobe since yesterday. When they got back, Dexio and Sinah couldn’t stop talking about what they’d seen, trying to recruit people to go back down into the tunnels and find Peach. When I saw them again this morning, they were acting completely different. Pretending that Peach had been killed, and not remembering anything else. So…I linked up with Gemma, Yuito, and Hanabi, and we did some snooping around.” Luka’s frown deepened. “I found this old hospital that’s supposed to be abandoned. But there were people there, up to something. Shipping something somewhere by truck. We kept hearing the phrase ‘Supernatural Life’, and Raz said-”

[color=FF8c00]“That’s where they took Peach!”[/color] Raz chimed in excitedly. [color=FF8c00]“I knew you’d want to go, so I told Luka he’d have to ask you, too.”[/color]

Goldlewis looked serious. “If y’all got a lead on Peach, that’s some damn fine news. How many of us can ya take with ya, Luka?”

“Aside from these two…” Luka furrowed his brow. “If I share my power, us three can take one more person apiece as we teleport.”

Just then, a strong smell filled Giovanna’s nostrils. “Well, whoever’s going, pick fast. We’re about to have company!”Just then, a mean, green, six-wheeled [url=https://i.imgur.com/d93rVRc.png]machine[/url] smashed through one of the courtyard walls, sliding to a stop in a shower of dust. Huge, menacing, and as heavily armored as it was armed, it stared down at the crowd of heroes with a head like a medieval helmet. “Oh, GREAT,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “Shinra’s pursuit robot, Motor Ball.”

“We can take it,” Goldlewis asserted, raising his coffin. He projected a Wall of Light from it to block the robot’s attacks. “There’s, what, twenty of us?”

“If it can find us, so can his army,” Sandalphon pointed out. “Every second we spend here is another they have to close in on us, and we can’t ‘take’ them.”

“Over here!” Korsica called. Thanks to her Vandelay authorization, the reinforced emergency gates were open, revealing a street leading underground at a somewhat sharp angle as far as anyone could see. Lights affixed to the ceiling illuminated it from above, and the buildings of Deep-Paris stood quietly on either side. For their inhabitants, proximity to the surface probably came with certain advantages, both for them and for Vandelay.

Gio divided her gaze between Motor Ball and the downhill road. “Uh, on foot? Not even I’m that fast.”

“Didn’t I mention boost pads?” Korsica stepped onto one and immediately got launched downward, somehow running at blistering superhuman speeds. “See you at the bottom!” her voice echoed back.

Goldlewis’ jaw dropped. “This is ridiculous.” As Motor Ball smashed through his Wall of Light, however, he heard voices in the distance. The emergency gates creaked, beginning to close. “Aw, hell,” With Sandalphon giving covering fire, he ran through the gates, stepped onto a dash pad, and zoomed downhill. “Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

Giovanna ran after him, followed shortly by Chai, Svarog (with Clara in his arms), and then Sandalphon herself. It was up to everyone else to either follow suit, stand firm against insurmountable odds, or join the Scarlet Guardians as they teleported away. Out of all the Shinra forces only Motorball got through the gates before they slammed shut, and without delay it began to careen downhill through Deep-Paris, plowing after the Seekers like a runaway truck. 

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WcyVvWZJU4&ab_channel=DeoxysPrime[/youtube][/center]

[center][h3]The Under - Holograd, the Termite Capitol[/h3]
Level 11 Nadia (140/110)
The Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Ganondorf’s [@Double], Rubick’s [@Scarifar], Artorias’ [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2701[/center]

Once everyone gathered in the misty outskirts clearing and the Hive Knight outlined their new mission objective, the Seekers split up, deciding where to explore based on the landmarks they’d spotted on their descent through the immense hollow. Naturally, rather than plan anything out they essentially just picked various directions to go and then went. For once, though, the team’s designated point woman found herself uncharacteristically indecisive about where to look. With her arms up and her hands clasped behind her head, she ambled after the others at a leisurely pace, even after she entered the city limits and strode carefully across a fuzzy Mothfly bridge. As she considered her options she watched her teammates head out in different directions, trying to guess at their reasoning.

Bowser’s stomach led his capricious quartet not any closer to the Hive but to Holograd’s marketplace and restaurants, evidently not satisfied with the smorgasbord of pizzas stowed away in the team’s infinite pizza bag. Sectonia and Rubick happened to share an interest in the ruined city’s residential quarter, and since those derelict homes seemed to house the Termite Capitol’s biggest spider infestation, Nadia happily left them to it. More eager to fight than find a way forward, Artorias wandered off in the direction of the colosseum, while Ganondorf set his eyes on what had been Holograd’s grand castle. Out of all the places, the Arboretum seemed the most promising due to what Barnabee said about roots, but Therion and Primrose were on their way, and Nadia did not want to be a third wheel for the two old friends. Those two made quite the pair. Idly Nadia wondered if they harbored feelings for one another, and she resolved to ask Primrose the next chance she got. Her thoughts drifted toward Ace. Hopefully, wherever he ended up after that train station kerfuffle, he was doing well.

Jesse watched the others split up, and rolled her shoulder, as she tended to do. Everything looked interesting, but Jesse usually opted for what looked the most bizarre. That, or should we go with whoever went by themselves. “Look at everyone go.” She said. “It’s like…it’s like [i]herding cats.”[/i] She glanced at Nadia who was nearby. “Eh? What do you think? Right?”

The feral glanced at her with wide eyes. “Hey, that’s racist!” Then she grinned. “Haha, just jokin’. Now I know you like puns though, so you’re in for it now.”

For a moment, Jesse seemed genuinely alarmed, wondering if she had made the same mistake as she had with the rabbit person. “Oh, heh, oh. Okay.”

In the end, Nadia’s mind could only wander so far from her feet, especially with that bizarre song in the distance that dug its hooks into her like an ear worm. It sounded like singing, at least, but she couldn’t make out the words for the life of her, and if those were instruments they sounded unlike any she’d ever heard. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she came up with the plausible justification that any option might benefit the team in some way and made her decision. Tapping the linkpearl in her ear, the feral tried letting everyone else know. “Uh, hello? How the heck’s this thing work, is it on? Uh, well, assumin’ it’s on, I’m gonna go figure out where that weird song’s comin’ from. Guess I’m just mew-sically inclined! If anyone finds a way down to the Hive, ‘bee’ sure to let everyone know, ‘kay?”

[i]Damn, she’s good.[/i] Jesse thought to Polaris, before turning her thoughts to the music. “Weird sound waves are basically my entire wheelhouse. I’m tempted to check it out, too. Just in case there’s some creepy shit going on.” Jesse said. “Unless you wanna go it alone.”

“Nah, let’s check it out together! It’s like last night all over again, ‘cept it’s just us gals, huh?”

With that Nadia scampered off on all fours down the twists and turns of Holograd’s cobblestone pathways, jumping over the rubble that had spilled down from the husks of nearby buildings. In a city of rounded, red, domed buildings, the one the music led her towards stuck out like a sore thumb. Big, blocky, and predominantly white, it almost looked like a courthouse to her, but instead of columns or statues it featured the ravages of time, with giant cracks along its walls, smashed windows, tattered advertisements, and collapsed stonework. Nadia could hardly call its atmosphere inviting, but the weird song’s volume confirmed that this was the place. It was loud enough that the feral could just about start to make out the words, but still tantalizingly hard to grasp. She sighed and gave a shrug. “Well, I came this far. Not gonna puss out now.”

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHz6G5Xybxs&list=PLKDOdCjxOjzL6dnS9DsU4aNYU0ignNtWD&index=31&ab_channel=LewieG[/youtube][/center]

Inside the structure lay a [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEA-J6pXIBMwtCg.jpg:large]wide-open space[/url], not-so-quietly sinking further into ruinous decrepitude along with the rest of the Termite Capitol. It seemed to feature a square center structure with two floors, ringed by a wide walkway with planters and white plastic trees. Many of the tiles in here were smashed and dislocated, exposing the meager dirt beneath, along with a few sprigs of the bone-white plants that seemed to grow in this cavern. Broken glass, rotting wood, and peeling paint could all be found in abundance. Recessed into the walls were a variety of long-neglected storefronts. Parts of the floor featured yawning black crevices with no discernible bottom. Strange masses of darkness with red eyes floated aimlessly about here and there, and what looked like giant animate toys stalked around. The big, pill-shaped, one-armed pink ones with lime-green halos and metal claws unsettled the feral more than they reasonably should have–the Mascotoys themselves looked less alive than the cream-colored stuffing that poked out of them like living tissue. Throughout the place echoed that music from barely-functional loudspeakers, their quality so laughably low that what should have been an ordinary song sounded distorted, wistful, and haunting.

“What is this place?” Nadia wondered aloud, baffled.

“It’s like a…fucked up version of a rundown mall.” Jesse said, answering Nadia’s external thoughts. Setting her hands on the railing, Jesse peered through the halls. Her eyes tracked the floating red-eyed shadows. “Though with way more abominations than I’m used to seeing. D’you think they’re friendly? What are the odds?” Jesse asked. 

[i]A mall?[/i] Nadia blinked, looking around. So that’s what this was. She turned away from Jesse so that the other woman couldn’t see her rapidly-growing mischievous grin. “Surprised ya recognized it so fast. But I guess if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen a mall, right?” Barely able to hold it together long enough to get it out, Nadia doubled over, cracking up. Jesse let out an instinctual ‘ugh’ noise, before Nadia continued: “Pff, hahahahaha…but, uh, no way these things are friendly. That’s your idea of a joke, right? I like a good scrap as much as anyone but I’d be fine not killin’ stuff the second I go somewhere for once.” Putting her hands in her pockets, she began to walk around, giving the lumbering Mascotoys and other critters a wide berth. At least there weren’t that many of them. “So this is somethin’ normal in the world you’re from, Jess? Abominations aside, I mean.”

Jesse shrugged: she didn’t want to fight either, so if those things left them alone, she would leave them alone. “A mall? Yeah.” She answered. There was a brief pause.

“Oh, uh, yeah. A mall. Basically a big marketplace, except it’s just one huge building and everyone puts stores and stuff there. There’s food courts and attractions, movie theaters, some even had roller coasters. And basically their heyday was forty years ago and they’re going out of business. So there’s a lot of malls that see sparse visitors, are occasionally empty, or on rare occasions, entirely abandoned like this one. A place like this used to see thousands of people a day. Now?” Jesse said, wiggling her fingers mysteriously. “...A modern-day ghost town.” 

Nadia pursed her lips, reflecting on that. “Huh. Sounds kinda…I dunno, sad. There’s a boardwalk in New Meridian that sounds kinda similar, roller coasters and everythin’, but it’s always jam-packed with people just havin’ a good time. Not just rich folks either, ordinary people havin’ fun in the sun, eatin’ ice cream, ridin’ the ferris wheel. So nice you could almost forget about all the ugliness everywhere else.” She shrugged. “D’you know why the malls ain’t doin’ so hot back where you’re from?”

“Eh,” Jesse said, clearly not feeling too upset about the plight of the American mall. “There’s still amusement parks and boardwalks, like you’ve got. The main appeal of the mall was shopping, and shopping,” Jesse pointed at the ceiling. “Can now be done online.”  Jesse explained. Nadia gave her a blank stare.

“Just hop on the computer, click on a few buttons, and the thing you want can be delivered to your door in as much as a week or as little as a day. It’s crazy. So, way less reason to go to the mall.” Jesse concluded. Nadia’s stare somehow grew even blanker. Nothing was going on behind those eyes.

“And, then, I guess, in this case, all the monsters move in. Or wake up. Though, now that I think about it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s gonna be a creepy mall full of something Paranatural out there somewhere, someday, back where I’m from.” Jesse mused. 

“Yeah, haha.” The feral scratched her head as the two continued to walk around. After a moment of silence, Nadia spoke up. “Y’know, out of everyone in the group, I feel like I know ya the least, Jess. There’s others who don’t talk about ‘emselves a whole lot, like Big Dorf, but I kinda understand his whole deal. You, not so much.” She furrowed her brow slightly, still smiling. “Sorry if this seems…I dunno, mean-spirited or somethin’, but wouldja say you’re ‘normal’ in the world you’re from?”

“Big Dorf.” Jesse replied absent mindedly, before blinking and looking at Nadia. “Oh, me? Hah, um, no.” She said good-naturedly. “Not exactly.”

“Between the powers, the gun, Polaris, the job, and, y’know…how much I hate normalcy. No. I’m not normal. But I can’t imagine many of us can claim that. Whoever could would be the odd one out in our little group, wouldn’t they?” Jesse asked rhetorically. “I don’t mean to come off as enigmatic. But it does make me seem cooler.” 

“Hah, that’s true,” Nadia admitted with a chuckle. “On both accounts. I mean, I don’t…think…I’m weird? I mean, what I [i]am[/i] is purr-etty unique. Y’know, feral. Three tails. Split apart. But other than how I look, I’m just your average outgoin’, fun-lovin’ gal.” She smiled. “Then again, maybe some of ya think I’m weirdly upbeat.”

“You do seem to have a good head on your shoulders.” Jesse admitted. “Most of the time, anyway. Ba-dum tsst.” She briefly mimed a drum set in front of her. 

“It’s just, and maybe I’m wrong, but in my experience most people go away from scary things rather than towards them.” She said. 

Nadia smiled. “I guess it’s easy bein’ happy-go-lucky when nothin’ can hurt me.” She shrugged. “At least, not in any way that matters.”

After another couple moments, the sight of something familiar prompted a double take. It was a red ring supporting a white arrow that pointed down, stuck to the wall over a downward staircase. With the memory fresh on her mind, Nadia was able to recall where she’d seen it before. “Hey., isn’t that…didn’t we see that last night?” It had been dark and very rainy, but she’d glimpsed that same symbol hanging over another somewhat ominous abandoned entryway. The feral led the way down the stairs, and when she reached the bottom she found a large room of dark green and beige tiles, with ticket machines, turnstyles, and pitch-black doorways blocked by metal bars. “It’s another station!” she realized, her eyes roving across the room until they found a familiar one-eyed crustacean with a wizard’s hat as a shell. “And another magic crab!”

“The one and only Magikrab,” the critter corrected as the ladies approached. “As the custodian of these railways, I have been blessed by the Stagmer-line to be able to visit any station within this underground land.”

“Oh, uh, hello again.” Jesse said with a wave. 

Nadia nodded sagaciously. “That’s magic, alright!” She then glanced at Jesse, her eyebrows raised. “I guess that means there’s more of the stations down here? Maybe we can use ‘em to get around!” In her excitement she ran toward the big barred tunnel, but before she could disassemble herself to slip through she stopped cold, her ears going flat “Urk…I’m gettin’ that feelin’ again, all the way from here,” she winced. “Although…maybe I’m just gettin’ used to it, ‘cause it doesn’t seem quite as bad. That pizza guy gave off the same aura, but aside from that one gimmick, he really wasn’t anythin’ to write home about.” Still, Nadia stepped away from the bars and looked back at Magikrab. “If we go in…would we get attacked another horrible monstrosity?”

“You mean an archangel?” The Magikrab nodded. “Most certainly. The Stagmer-line’s next of kin are many and varied, and each possesses a favorite station.”

Nadia’s disappointment led her to gloss over the implication of what the crustacean said. “Aw, kitty litter. I was hopin’ we could get around easier.”

“Oh, you still can!” Stepping aside, the Magikrab revealed a much smaller passage, about six feet in height, and the bars in front of it slid upward with a grinding sound. “Routes to other Stag Stations, now boarding at Platform B. Now with two connections to the Metro! Just ring the bell.”

A grin spread across the feral’s face. “What an a-track-tive proposition! Whatcha think, Jess? Once we deal with the Hive, this oughta make the boss hunt a helluva lot easier. A tram-endous help, you could say, heehee.”

“Heh, yeah, um.” Jesse said off-handedly, her thoughts elsewhere. She raised her eyebrows and glanced back in the direction of the symbol. “I’m sorry-” She looked at the wizard. “The Once and Future Magikrab- you said archangel? Of the Stagmer-line? Is that secret, or can I ask what that is?” Jesse asked. 

The Magikrab thought for a moment. “That’s the name given by the people of New Wirral, where the Stagmer-line last rested. They’re just…beings. Unique and different, no two alike. Given life and form by the collective archetypes of humanity, their thoughts and motivations are a complete mystery. Those that ride the Stagmer-line can be…unfriendly. They’re castaways, after all. Wandering far from home, trapped in the liminal space here. But you don’t need to worry about them if you stick to Platform B. The Last Stag is a little gruff, but he’s nice on the inside.”

Jesse scratched her head, trying to take that in. “Thanks, Magikrab. Sounds like the Stagmer-line is both a magical source and… a literal train line?” Jesse tried to parse through the multiple ways the word Stagmer-line had been used by Magikrab. “And Archangels are somehow related. I guess they don’t have to do with Galeem though, so that’s good. Maybe.”

“Mm-hm.” Nadia didn’t quite get everything Magikrab said, but her discovery of a fast-travel system left her in even higher spirits than usual. “We’ll be seein’ ya again pretty soon then, li’l guy! Wanna head back up and keep lookin’ around, Jess?” The feral gestured back toward the stairway. Even after this amazing find, it felt like Falldown Mall had more for the two to discover.

Jesse was of the opposite mind, a little too focused on weird esoteric lore to fully appreciate how helpful fast travel would be. “Uh, yeah! Sure, Nadia.” She gave Magikrab a grateful wave and then turned back to the stairwell. 

“I wonder if any of the attractions still work.” Jesse wondered aloud. 

“Alright, mall run round two!” Nadia grinned, jogging toward the stairs with pep in her step. “Let’s see what else is in…store!”