[center][h3]Quarantine Valley - Empty Lot[/h3]
Level 6 Goldlewis (84/60) Level 4 Sandalphon (49/40)
Karin’s [@Zoey Boey], Blazermate, Roland, and Susie’s [@Archmage MC], Geralt and Zenkichi’s [@Multi_Media_Man]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1667[/center]

With their numbers bolstered, at least for now, the Seekers engaged the gang of protolegions. Despite appearances, these were no ordinary chimeras; the fact that these normal, seemingly uncorrupted Lupo could see them was proof positive of that. Goldlewis knew that disaster was continuing to unfold in the background as the Redshift Cascade swept across the outskirts of Quarantine Valley, corrupting everything in its path. Yet he had no choice but to focus on the threat directly in front of him, praying that this stepping-stone would bring the Seekers one step closer to the answers they’d been searching for.

Nine protolegions, eight Seekers, two tenuous allies. With Blazermate and Sandalphon on support duty, the fighters were slightly outnumbered. These enemies fought with more intelligence and cohesion than one might expect, forcing their opponents to answer in kind. Still, with the buffs from False Promise and plentiful healing on their side, the Seekers had every advantage.

Penance took the fight to a big protolegion immediately, putting her thorny flail against its enormous cleaver-arms. Protected by a thorny barrier for 40% of her max HP, she attacked with a ferocity that flew in the face of her drab, stately appearance. That gave Roland the chance to flank it and start laying on the damage with quick strikes from dual-wielded weapons. In turn, that allowed Penance to charge up and then unleash her Last Word technique, a withering downward lash that dealt 200% damage and stunned the astral butcher more than long enough for Roland to finish it off.

One protolegion, wielding a shield for one arm and a grisly spiked mace head on the other, put up its defense and charged Blazermate’s turret to take it down before it could rack up any more damage. Goldlewis decided to lend a hand. He ran in and intercepted the protolegion with a shoulder barge. From there, a far slash knocked it back just a touch, and a down-forward-up Behemoth Typhoon popped it off its feet. Normally that would’ve been the end of a combo, but at that moment Vigil vaulted over him with an impressive flip, firing his revolvers at the protolegion while upside-down throughout the arc of his jump. The bullets kept the monster juggled, allowing Goldlewis to get down and launch it even higher with a slow but powerful [url=https://i.imgur.com/ATpBM6f.png]crouching heavy kick[/url]. While Vigil landed, Goldlewis canceled into a back-up-forward Behemoth Typhoon to smash the protolegion down with a ground bounce. Once again the gunslinger swooped in to extend the combo, this time sliding along the ground and emptying his revolvers upward. From there, a tremendous [url=https://i.imgur.com/lDycGRK.png]coffin swing[/url] spelled the protolegion’s end. 

Goldlewis planted his coffin beside him and wiped his brow. “Mighty fancy gunplay you got there, partner,” he said, nodding at Vigil.

The young man allowed himself a half-smile as he reloaded his revolvers with an expert hand. “Not too bad yourself, old-timer.”

Of course, the next moment a blazing arrow from a bow protolegion destroyed Blazermate’s turret, anyway. Without a word the two men advanced, charging through the melee toward the back lines. One protolegion with giant claws turned their way. Vigil nimbly dodged around, but it managed to catch Goldlewis in its flurry of berserk slashes, only for a purgatory ghost from Blazermate to swoop in and blow it back. Goldlewis dashed in, knocked it off its feet with a crouching kick into [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ye2pCtJ.png]sweep[/url], then brought his coffin down in another Behemoth Typhoon to send his attacker tumbling away. 

Roland and Zenkichi were now working together, their blades pitted against those of two very aggressive protolegions, but as soon as one gained some ground missiles from Susie turned things back in Zenkichi’s favor. He wasted no time obliterating his foe with his Persona. At the same time, Penance had moved into the middle of the brawl to use Stoic Atonement, exchanging her ability to attack for a damage-reducing Sanctuary and constant pulses of crushing force around her. By targeting the protolegions’ knees, Karin kept her enemies inside Penance’s crumplezone where Geralt and Susie could carve them up, one axe-wielder in particular. When Roland whipped out a scythe and beat out the attack of the remaining dualblade protolegion, the monster rounded on Karin unsuccessfully and got sent back toward its original opponent for mopping up. Then, without missing a beat, the street fighter dealt with the clawed protolegion softened up by Goldlewis and Stoic Atonement seconds earlier. Despite her help, Roland couldn’t catch a break, and right after he finished off his opponent one showed up with an enormous curved greatsword to catch him by surprise with a spinning slash. Susie came to the rescue for him too, leaving the big-fisted protolegion she’d opened up for Geralt in order to get the attention of Roland’s attacker. By then Vigil had reached and shot up the bow protolegion somewhat, only for the situation to go sour when the monster forced him to evade with an arrow rain and then nailed him with a charge shot after his roll. Penance stopped Stoic Atonement and hurled her flail out to snatch the bow protolegion with its thorny coil, then pull it in. As it stumbled forward, Vigil clubbed it in the back of its head, then cleared the way so that Goldlewis could smash it flat. Right after he gave the protolegion pancake a shot in the head for good measure, Geralt felled the fist protolegion with a ruthless chop, and the battle was over.

Immediately, a divine pulse of healing water washed over everyone at once, restoring 51% of their maximum life and imparting a heal-over-time for an additional 13% every three seconds for the next fifteen seconds. Blazermate’s continuous single-target sustain was without parallel, but for topping up the whole team nobody compared to Sandalphon. “Excellent cooperation, everyone,” the archangel complimented the team, her feathers very much unruffled. Everyone had worked together seamlessly, helping out one another when needed, and nobody really slacked off. Zenkichi brought up the rear, with only a single kill he could claim, but everyone else pitched in for two minimum, with Roland and Geralt scoring highest. Not that she planned to give them any performance reviews (for now at least), but her eye for efficiency was as keen as ever.

Nodding in satisfaction, Goldlewis stopped his watch. “Fifty-two seconds. Not bad.” He glanced at the purple-tinged protolegion spirits, wondering if they counted as corrupted.

It was Geralt who asked the all-important question of what came next. Karin mentioned their person of interest, but she also recognized the potential obstacle in the way. When she questioned Penance, though, the Judge just gave her a tired look.

“I think we have bigger things to worry about,” she told Karin humorlessly. “The last twenty-four hours have thrown the city into crisis. The Machine attack, the debate, DespoRHado’s attempted coup, movement amongst insurrectionists, a Redshift Cascade and Other deluge within an hour of one another…”

At that, Goldlewis’ eyebrows shot up. [i]Wait, an Other attack? Right now?[/i]

“Don’t forget all the civilian unrest!” Vigil piped up helpfully.

Penance winced at him. “It’s all building up to something, and whatever it is may very well spell disaster for Midgar as we know it.”

“Or perhaps, salvation.”

At the unfamiliar voice, everyone turned to look at the source, many with an educated guess in mind as to just who it might belong to. They directed their gazes up at a third-story balcony on the opposite side of the empty lot, where an unkempt woman with wild blonde hair and a dirty lab coat stood. It was the very person they’d been dying to meet. To either side of her stood a pallid young man, [url=https://i.imgur.com/8Qgb9Of.png]one[/url] with messy dark hair and a crossbow, and the [url=https://i.imgur.com/BzLSV3j.png]other[/url] in white, with a deranged look of elation and a strange, technological cane.

“Jena Anderson,” Sandalphon said evenly.

“So, we finally meet,” Jena called down, her arms crossed. “A decisive victory over the protolegions. I should commend you all. If only your strength wasn’t wasted in service of a tyrannical regime, steering humanity deeper and deeper into a spiral of suffering and self-destruction. Spineless, heartless, feckless government dogs…” If looks could kill, the Turks and Goldlewis would be dead. Jena sounded like she was on the brink of despair. “And maggots in the filth, too busy preying on the weak to fathom just how far you’ve sunken.” She glared at Sandalphon and Vigil, the latter of whom just rolled his eyes. “Surely, you can’t be blind to their machinations? Their lies? Shinra, Konoe, Zanotto, Vandelay, Armstrong, and Yoseph…for all their power, not one of them has saved a single soul! How many must die before people like you wake up? Take control!?”

Gritting his teeth, Goldlewis pointed up at her. His voice was vehement, full of furious vigor. “And what about you? Sure, they’re all bastards, but how many people has Reunion killed, huh? Doomed to a slow and painful transformation into aberrated monsters? Have you even seen what’s happenin’ right this instant to Zone 09!? To the Hermits, so desperate to fight for a brighter tomorrow that you chewed ‘em up and spat ‘em out? You ain’t a lick better than anyone you mentioned, sister! So what, you figured you’d pay evil unto evil? The way I see it, you’ve taken so many eyes the whole damn world’s gone blind!”

“You’re the ones who are blind,” Jena yelled down before composing herself. “But it’s not too late for you to see for yourselves. Here!” She held up a projector that displayed an enormous screen on one side of the empty lot, allowing everyone to watch. As the Seekers looked on, an image appeared of a masked man with gray hair…

[center][h3]Suoh - the Otherlobe[/h3]
Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Sakura’s [@Zoey Boey], Pit’s [@Yankee], Roxas’ [@Double], Luka, Yuito, Hanabi, Lili, Norma, Raz[/center]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ukn6JxS.png[/img][/center]

All over the buildings on and within Main Street, from shops to skyscrapers to underground Other shelters, screens suddenly switched on. Whether in the form of Visions or conventional TV screens, they displayed one universal image: the visage of a man known to all, with long gray hair, a dark gray trench coat with a fur trim, jackal ears, and silver pieces of armor, including a pointed mask. It wasn’t just Suoh either; this same forced broadcast was occurring throughout all of Midgar, on every screen connected to the city-wide psychic network.

“Major General Karen?” Yuito breathed. “What’s…”

“Attention, all citizens of Midgar!” Karen thundered. “Or should I say, New Himuka. You blind fools who denied the truth before your own eyes. Pitiful citizens, don’t turn your eyes from the truth. This nation is insane. They control the city, the information, and the people with Psynet. Not even your thoughts are free. You are nothing but cattle, born to be used by the state. New Himuka is a regime that eliminates those that threaten them by rewriting their personalities, or turning them into Others. They slaughter Pokemon to fuse with citizens, turning them into submissive livestock they can control. There is no justice! The powers that be have never intended to quell the Ever Crisis. Why would they, when fear and loss make you dependent? Amassing power, not to protect anyone, but to ensure you’re all trapped under their thumb. For ever, and ever. This cannot continue.” Pausing, Karen removed his mask, allowing every citizen to see the true face of the [url=https://i.imgur.com/xSiPD6g.jpg]ultimate soldier[/url] fused with the [url=https://i.imgur.com/Kza83Fz.png]ultimate mercenary[/url], with only green irises between vivid red sclera and red pupils. “Starting today I, Karen Travers, Septentrion First Class and Major General of Psych-OSF, have joined Seiran with my allies in rebellion against the Administration of President Shinra. Against a society that would control human beings like cattle, stripping them of their human rights and dignity. What begins now is an escape from oppressive control. A revolution!” He lifted and clenched his fist. “To those of you who are awake. Those who wish to awaken. Come join my cause in the undercities! Help me destroy the New Himuka regime! And put an end to their tyranny forever!”

The broadcast ended suddenly, restoring control. In the seconds that followed, Suoh was quiet, with only distant sirens disturbing the poignant silence. After a moment, Luka breathed a heavy sigh. “Well, I guess we now know what Karen was talking about down in the tunnels yesterday.”

“So Karen’s actually leading a rebellion against Shinra’s Administration?” Yuito shook his head. “I can hardly believe it. But I can hardly deny it, either.”

Hanabi clenched her fists, her brows furrowed. “It’s completely justified! We saw Brain Drain’s lab, what they’re doing to people down there. Including poor Dexio and Sina. Who knows how many people got subjected to personality rehabilitation? Or made into P-types for that matter! And we never thought to question things ‘til now…” The girl seemed almost as angry at herself as she did the people responsible. “Guess Armstrong’s accusations weren’t just shots in the dark.”

Luka seemed both deep in thought and deeply disturbed. “I have to wonder. Not just about the conspiracy, because it seems like this New Himuka business goes all the way to the top. I mean the rebellion. In order to make a broadcast like that, Karen would have to seize control of Psynet at its source.”

“Arahabaki?” Hanabi asked, her eyes widening.

“The city computer,” Yuito mused. “It’s deep underground beneath the Shinra Building, sealed away and heavily guarded. Not even an army could get in there under normal circumstances, but with this Other attack…”

Luka pursed his lips. “That’s not all. You remember this morning? DespoRHado’s attack on Vandelay Industries. I can’t help but wonder if it’s connected. But DespoRHado got destroyed, and Karen mentioned ‘allies’...” He glanced at the others. “Just who else is waiting in the wings?”

[hr]

As the broadcast concluded, Jena lowered her projector. “Now do you understand?” she called down at the nine assembled below. “Midgar is nothing but a den of vipers. And it’s time we started cutting the heads off the snakes.” She turned her gaze upward, looking out through the gap in the wall across Quarantine Valley, up toward the plates. “By now, one should have already rolled. But that’s just the beginning.” Her attention turned back toward the Seekers. “Ten minutes ago, Neuron scrambled all units. After ignoring Zone 09 and its people for so long, they’re finally headed here, toward the epicenter of the Redshift Cascade. Leaving their headquarters undefended. As we speak, Reunion is marching on Neuron HQ. There, the great deceiver awaits. The man who would trick all of humanity into giving their lives for his twisted vision. Once my troops flush him out, I will eliminate him myself.”

Jena extended her arm down toward the Seekers, as if holding them in the palm of her hand. “Come with me. Forget your petty grievances, this is about more than a handful of lives. The Existence as we know it is at stake! Kill me afterward if you must, but together, we can put an end to his misanthropic megalomania. Will you fight to save mankind?” She closed her fist. “Or will you die like a dog?”

[center][h3]The Under - Hollow Bough[/h3]
Level 12 Nadia (106/120)
The Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Artorias’ [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1523[/center]

Though far apart, and beleaguered by nasty surprises of all sorts, the two halves of the Hollow Bough contingent managed to pull through with no losses. Despite an initial run-in with a Metal Attacker parasitized by energy-manipulating Xynach Charge-suckers, and a most unwelcome appearance from the angry Kingtusk to cap off their hacking sequence, the team members who faced the bamboo grottos and cultivated caverns of Montoj pulled through. Things had been even crazier in the Stranga sub-biome, with bizarre environmental hazards followed by a mind-bending hack job courtesy of a very quirky local, but the brave souls withstood the surreal experience to finish the job. Of course, wild as those detours had been for everyone involved, dwarves and Seekers alike knew that the main event was yet to come, so they savored the walk back to the central cavern as a much-needed and well-deserved chance to catch their breath.

With the giant boar out of the picture and a negligible amount of glyphids around, the trip back through the tunnels of Montoj was a peaceful one. If any wind blew through these subterranean passages, it might have created a soothing melody in the patches of grain and the leafy copses of bamboo. The Kirikuris and Twirligigs that guarded the crops watched Sectonia, Cyclops, Overhard, and the Koopa Troop as they passed, but they did not aggress. This time the dwarves didn’t get too greedy about snatching beer ingredients; they stuck to mining mineral resources at a leisurely pace, knowing not to rush toward the confrontation that lay at the end of these tunnels.

After the run-in with Kanna and her reality-warping Wonder Effects, even the thrill-seeker in Nadia was thrilled out for the moment. She took her time on the return journey, happily sitting down on exposed roots and such to rest whenever the dwarves spotted some ore and went off to mine. Everyone needed to be fully prepared for their final fight against the Caretaker, whether that meant scrounging up enough Nitra to eke out another supply drop, or mentally recovering from the beating their psyches had taken from Kanna’s inexplicable mischief. Nadia didn’t regret letting the plant woman off easy for her crimes against normality, but man, she and that freaky rabbit of hers were a real handful. Part of her still felt bad for leaving the overly friendly fool on her own, since she seemed to be social, but Kanna definitely seemed to be more trouble than she was worth. No matter how powerful her abilities might be, that kind of chaos wasn’t something that anyone could stomach. “At least ‘thistle’ make for a good story, eh?” With a sigh and a shake of her head, Nadia tried to put the bizarre encounter behind her, and focus on the path ahead. Navigating Stranga in reverse wasn’t that difficult, but it did force the team to confront that Void Sunflower she saw earlier. Stetson came up with the idea of having Paintbrush throw a cluster grenade through it. When the team heard the muffled blast and ensuing rumble from the other side, they concluded it must be safe enough to try. Sure enough, the flower put them back in the big cavern with the floating water, no muss, no fuss. From there, it was smooth sailing back to the main cavern.

The two teams reunited at the Data Vault, where the slumbering Caretaker awaited them within its rippling orange bubble shield. “Hey, buds!” Nadia greeted the others, waving as she approached the rendezvous point. Bowser, his family, Sectonia, and the other two dwarves looked pretty much fine, though with Kamek and Junior to provide healing she couldn’t rightfully tell whether or not they ran into trouble during their expedition. Still, she somehow doubted that things went as awry for the others as it did for her own team. Realistically speaking, what could possibly be crazier? “Things got pretty whacky on our end, I ain’t dande-lyin’. Iris you’d been there to see it. We ‘rose’ to the occasion, though.” She pulled a flower off her jacket with her nails and flicked it at Sectonia. “Peony for your thoughts? Take it or leaf it.”

“I’m glad to see everyone’s in good health,” Tingyun told the others politely. She spared a half-smile at Nadia as well. “And also that our colorful experience didn’t end up dulling your sense of humor.”

Paintbrush, Stetson, Overhard, and Cyclops all grouped up as well, exchanging high fives, jokes, and complaints about all the problems they’d run into while separated. Even with Paintbrush as tacit as ever, they made quite the din, which Stetson eventually had to try to reign in. “Alroight, alroight already. When we get back, first round o’ beers is on me, eh fellas?”

“Hear, hear!” Overhard agreed. Paintbrush just gave an enthusiastic nod.

“Ah, I can taste it already,” Cyclops groaned longingly. “Could sure go for a nice cold Arkenstout roight about now.”

“Well, don’t start slobberin’ too soon, ‘cause we ain’t earned anythin’ just yet,” Stetson warned, turning toward the Data Vault. “Shield’s runnin’ on emergency power now. Once we take out the batteries, it’s go time.” He looked over at the Seekers. “You’ve all done pretty good so far. Don’t get too comfy though, ‘cause this sonuvabitch’s gonna put us through the damn wringer. Better get your arses in gear.”

Between them, the dwarves were just short of enough nitra to call down two resupply pods, which elicited a round of vehement groans and curses. While they radioed in the one they could afford, Overhard got to work setting up his turrets, while the others used their pickaxes to mine some sections of the petrified wood around the data vault into usable cover. “We’re lookin’ at three phases,” Overhard explained as he worked. “In all four, there’s gonna be robot arms that’ll try to shoot an’ hit us. If you step on the platform, it’ll start deployin’ energy cells that’ll shock ya real good, too. Once we hit the vents enough, the Caretaker’ll open its eye-thing, and that’s what we’ve gotta hit. When we hit the second phase it’ll send out reinforcements, and on phase three it’ll start droppin’ phase bombs on us, so keep movin’. You guys all got that?”

Tingyun nodded. “I’ll be in your care. Good luck, everyone~”

“Yeah, ‘eye’ think that sounds easy enough,” Nadia replied. “Hit the vents, whack its peeper, caretakerblooey.” Not planning to use her somewhat flimsy boxcutters against a target made of high-tech metal alloys, she took off her jacket and laid it aside with her hilts. Once she made sure Athame was positioned for quick and easy use, she sharpened her claws, ready to rumble.

Once everyone was ready, Cyclops and Paintbrush climbed onto the rim of the Data Vault and started removing the batteries. “Ejecting the power source!” That meant bludgeoning them with their hammers until their cores popped out. The shield generator started humming faster and faster until it finally blew out, and the force field died along with it. Right away the machinery noisily came to life, the pyramid-shaped robot rising into the air. The eyes on its four faces opened as the lightning pylons emerged from its base for a test-fire, pulsing once before the eyes slammed shut and the Caretaker gave a mechanical roar. Then four towering [url=https://i.imgur.com/bQLPnXO.png]robotic appendages[/url] emerged from the base, the huge machine’s vents opened, and it began to spin. Overhard forgot to mention just one thing: tha at certain intervals, while its vents were still open, the Caretaker would emit alternating waves of [url=https://i.imgur.com/fpCGg4Z.png]plasma barriers[/url] that would block incoming shots while damaging and knocking back anyone hit.

Without further ado, the dwarves got down to business. They used their long-ranged weaponry to shoot at the vents as they spun into view, and the more damage they took the faster it spun, forcing them to lead their shots more and more. Rather than waste precious ammunition on the robotic arms, they hid behind cover when necessary. Saying, “Evils begone~” Tingyun rang her bell to empower Sectonia with an attack buff, then worked to suppress the Caretaker’s robotic arms by striking them with her fans when not in danger. Nadia took a more proactive approach, weaving around the shots and sudden lunges of the robot arms to rush down the Caretaker itself. Just as Overhard said, it began to deploy its pylons the moment she set foot on the Data Vault, but it took a few seconds before they could discharge, and Nadia was faster than that. She jumped onto the base, then shot upward, either with a blood pressure jump or a Charge, to scramble onto the Caretaker itself. Once there, she could cut a vent’s defense with Athame and slash at it with her claws, using Battery after every Charge to maximize her damage. Doing this would make the boss send out shredders to try and cut her up, forcing her to flee when the swarm got too thick, but her strategy was sound. Wash, rinse, and repeat.