[hider=Tuesday Night Fights]
[b]Party:[/b] Goldlewis, Sandalphon, Blazermate, Roland, and Susie, Karin, Geralt and Zenkichi
[b]Encounters Reward:[/b] +20 EXP[/hider]

[center][h3]Arahabaki - Big Money[/h3]
Level 6 Goldlewis (128/60)
Susie’s [@Archmage MC]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2081[/center]

With the alarm sounded, Goldlewis knew that his time was limited. He wanted to think that Shinra would be too preoccupied with countermeasures for the imminent Machine invasion to dedicate anything more than a token force to the defense of Arahabaki, but if he’d learned anything over the last few days, it was just how heartless Midgar’s governing body could be. Now that Vandelay had been gutted, Neuron put on ice, and Psych-OSF split into halves, would Shinra really spread Peace Preservation and General affairs out to defend the city -especially the undercities, which would be the first in the Machines’ line of fire- or would they rather concentrate their remaining troops to protect their seat of power? Goldlewis felt dismally confident in his expectation that the Seekers would face much more than a skeleton crew.

He did not, however, expect the countermeasures to begin the moment he stepped into the teleporter.

“What in tarnation?” Though Goldlewis hadn’t been the first onto the teleport pad by any means, he found nobody else waiting for him when he arrived. He’d wound up on top of a module that towered above many of the others, looking out across the ceremonial artificial expanse without anyone else in sight. Confused, he continued searching until the exit pad behind him began to whir again, and a moment after he turned to look it flashed to deposit the diminutive android Susie alongside it. A moment later the device went dark, signaling that there would be no more new arrivals. “You? But where’s…?” He grit his teeth, an angry look spreading across his face as the reality of the situation dawned on him. “Dagnabbit, we’ve been hornswoggled. That teleporter doohickey musta been wired to split us up.” He headed to the edge of the platform, peering around the complicated, visually intense layout of Arahabaki’s interior. “So where in sam hill did the others wind up?” 

Susie could only shrug, just as perplexed as Goldlewis. [color=ec008c]”I assume different parts of the city. The question is if they are close by or in other sectors outright…”[/color]

After a moment, a little reassurance reached him by way of divine information. “Come in, everyone,” Sandalphon’s voice broadcasted through her personal network. “It appears that we tripped some sort of intrusion countermeasure and have been sent through a number of connected teleporter relays, effectively scattering us throughout Arahabaki. I am with Geralt, and we’re both unharmed. Please confirm your status ASAP.”

Glancing at Susie to make sure she wasn’t damaged at all, Goldlewis lifted his index and middle fingers to his ear to activate the glyph beside it. “I’m with Susie, everythin’s fine up here.”

Once everyone checked in, Sandalphon addressed them again. “We should be clear to proceed then. Use caution, and call on me if you need to. Halo out.” 

Well, at least the others were all okay, even if that nasty little trick left them disunited. After giving his thoughts on the situation with a groaning sigh, Goldlewis turned to face Susie. Their mission in Quarantine Valley last night had been the first time they worked together since the Seekers arrived in Midgar, but they hadn’t really cooperated, so the veteran still knew relatively little about her and what she could do. He’d seen her Business Suit, though, so despite Susie’s small size he knew that she carried a big stick. “Well little miss, looks like we’re on our own for now,” he told her. “Still, between the two of us, we got some serious firepower up our sleeves. If we run into trouble, we’ll give ‘em the business, eh?”

[color=ec008c]”If they get in the way? Of course. I do hope they enjoy extermination by blaster <3.”[/color] Susie said in a cute voice, a bit gleeful to see what all of this would amount to.

[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/SvHSaM0SXm0?si=5bTwOIWCGVC507mJ[/youtube][/center]

The two ran into trouble almost right away, though not in the way Goldlewis expected. When the veteran and the money-minded machine made their way off the module they’d been sent to, stepped onto one of the many [url=https://i.imgur.com/SCVN60v.png]strange bridges[/url] connecting Arahabaki’s elevated modules. It featured a strange, grooved surface with grouped dots and bars, as if the whole thing was a giant, elaborate punch card, and a hazardous ‘railing’ that consisted of a single red rail suspended over both its sides. While it seemed stable, Goldlewis didn’t like it, and he jogged around its curved length as quickly as he could. After it straightened out, he could see it ramp up toward a module walled in like a feudal fortress at the end, but before that point the bridge ran between a pair of towers that seemed to serve as some sort kind of [url=https://i.imgur.com/ef8THF8.png]checkpoint[/url], each home to an electronic shrine with holographic talismans hanging from their braided red cords.

More worryingly, he could see one [url=https://i.imgur.com/2IN0R7v.png]bizarre creature[/url] on either side, each a surreal amalgam of metal objects, mannequin parts, brass instrumentation, and feminine footwear. “Hold up,” Goldlewis cautioned, his eyebrows shooting up. “Those are…Others!” Sure enough, the Base Paws quickly noticed the intruders. Rather than move, the living mortars began to fire off arcing blasts of boiling oil from their pipeline mouths. “Come on, now,” he groused. “What are doggone Others doin’ down here!?” Swinging his coffin around to use a shield, he picked up the pace.

Before he could worry too much about why (or how) Shinra would put brain-eating abominations down here for security, a new problem presented itself. Well before he reached the shrine checkpoint, the bridge beneath him began to move like a conveyor belt beneath him, carrying him backward. Off-balance, he stumbled and nearly fell, then jumped to the side to avoid an oil shot. In doing so, he saw the next one swerve mid-air toward him, which (being physically impossible) took him by surprise. He had to block it, which stopped his momentum completely, and the bridge casually conveyed him away from the oil-spouting others. “Damn it!” He could activate his Wall of Light, but with that barrier up he couldn’t move forward fast enough to outpace the rate he’d be sent backward.

Susie, at least, could fly. Being able to approach the Base Paws led to a discovery of her own, though. These Others were panicky, and the moment they got hit -or someone got close- their metal ‘skirts’ would slide down to shield their legs completely. Those legs, covered with bulbous red sacs, seemed to be their only weak spots, and if a Seeker stuck around them to try and pierce their defense they’d start dropping their explosive lanterns to set their attackers alight, especially if they were doused in oil. Still, making them hunker down had one benefit: they stopped shooting. Susie’s help was pivotal, since Goldlewis couldn’t use Burn it Down down here to drop a satellite laser on the stationary Others, and his weapons didn’t have enough range. Seeing this, Susie hovered behind them, shooting their exposed legs with her blaster and forcing them to be on guard, giving Goldlewis an easy approach as they would stop bombarding him, and instead go into their defensive position. When not under fire, Goldlewis could run (and more importantly, airdash) his way across the bridge to the checkpoint.

Once he reached it, he took a crack at a Base Paws with his coffin, but even that couldn’t break through its metal armor before the lanterns started falling. That gave him an idea, though, and after giving the Base Paws enough space to lower its guard, he charged back in. Strikes might not work against such a strong block, but a throw might. He grabbed hold of the metal lattice with both hands and mustered his strength. “GrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” With a great effort he pushed the monster over, and the impact with its canopy jarred loose both its defensive skirt and its lanterns, causing a chain explosion that softened it up. Then Goldlewis grabbed it by the legs and began to spin, swinging the monster around by the legs in order to chuck it off the shrine tower and onto the receding conveyor. The Base Paws landed with a huge crash, its canopy totally busted, and rolled away. Susie then followed up by taking some pot shots at it with her blaster, keeping it rolling away and teaching it a lesson.

Once he and Susie dealt with the bridge checkpoint, they entered the next stretch. Once again the conveyor began to move, pulling them backward. This time, something new quickly joined the mix: strange [url=https://i.imgur.com/nqn3Fn7.png]discs[/url] that slid out from slots on the far end of the bridge, then got conveyed toward the pair like a cookies in a factory line. To Goldlewis they looked like hubcaps, but as he watched them approach they beeped alarmingly, their lights blinking red. “Holy hell! Mines!” And with the upward ramp of the bridge, they’d be even harder to avoid. He turned tail and ran back to the start to avoid the first wave, then held back to try and get a sense of the pattern in which the mines were coming. Susie could hover above the mines and watch as they moved past, not being anywhere close enough to set them off. She could at least shoot a couple to give Goldlewis some room to breathe and space to jump, being able to hover near where they were being released and shoot them on occasion. Granted she couldn’t take them all out for fear of structural stability to the conveyor belt and for Goldlewis’ safety.

Goldlewis jumped and double jumped his way up the incline, panicking the whole time. One bad landing, one late jump, and it might be over. Twice he came too close to a mine and saved himself with Faultless Defense, negating the damage at the cost of getting guard crushed and sent back to the start. Realizing that his tension wouldn’t last forever, he breathed deep, then took a running jump and pulled off a Roman Cancel right at the start of his airdash. Doing so flung him most of the way, and a moment later he reached the end, sweating buckets and panting but still alive. “Guhh,” he grumbled. “I reckon that took a couple years off my life. I need better mobility, damn it…”

About the time the two entered the walled module, the security alert finally received its answer. High up on Arahabaki’s ceiling, panels opened, and mechanisms released large purple objects. They plummeted down toward the module array on Arahabaki’s floor, their falls slowed by jets of green flame from four angled thrusters. Seven in total, they descended toward platforms ahead of the intruding Seekers, where the [url=https://i.imgur.com/htVIJWT.png]Type-53 Squad Breaching Carapace[/url] touched down and slid open their lateral doors to deploy four emergency responders apiece.

As Goldlewis and Susie watched, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/CVs3SdJ.png]jacked robot[/url] decked out in militaristic cybernetics shouldered his way out of the drop pod, followed by a much smaller, more fantastical [url=https://i.imgur.com/Kp1f28H.png]clockwork doll[/url], an old [url=https://i.imgur.com/JwOLJ9k.png]veteran[/url] using a sniper rifle as a staff, and a bearded [url=https://i.imgur.com/escXm4Y.png]tech sergeant[/url] in green camo and spider-like goggles, who made his way to the front with some kind of advanced projector in hand.

“About time,” Goldlewis huffed. “If Vernon was still runnin’ the place, I bet y’all woulda been here ten minutes ago.”

Lip curling, Hank took a puff of his cigar. “Got an attitude on ya, huh? Well, sorry to keep ya waitin’, lardass, but don’t you worry.” He activated his Shield Charger, granting the whole enemy team a personal shield. “We’ll make this nice an’ quick.”

“Hmph.” Goldlewis cracked his neck, then lifted his coffin onto his shoulder. “You’d do well to address me as ‘Sir’.”

[color=ec008c]”It's about time something happened that wasn’t a conveyor ride full of traps. I do apologize but we have an appointment to make and you four are in the way.”[/color] Susie said, getting her blaster ready.

“Darn tootin’,” Goldlewis replied, ready to fight. “Let’s rock.”

[center][h3]Arahabaki - Silver Experience[/h3]
Level 5 Sandalphon (53/50)
Geralt’s [@Multi_Media_Man]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1525[/center]

[center][hider=For Sandalphon]New Power:
[b]Frost Lock[/b]
The power to cast an icy cluster that moves about as fast as a thrown softball. On hit, it detonates in a small area, freezing enemies and machines for 3 seconds. Larger targets take two usages of Frost Lock to be frozen. Large targets also take triple the amount of previous Frost Lock usages to be frozen again. This power has a cooldown of 12 seconds[/hider][/center]

As the responses from the scattered Seekers came in, Sandalphon recorded each pairing on a screen she’d summoned. [i]Goldlewis and Susie…Zenkichi and Sakura…Midna and Giovanna…Roxas and Blazermate…Roland and Raz…Pit and Karin.[/i] She felt foolish for not anticipating countermeasures like this, but then again, even the Angel of Information was going in blind here. As the Midgar city computer and the central server of Psynet itself, Arahabaki was a highly restricted place, and despite her mind’s vast reserves of data Sandalphon had nothing on this layout or defenses on this place. She disliked flying blind, but in this case there was no helping it. That said, she did bemoan her failure to ask Pit, Midna, and Sakura for their cursory impressions of this place earlier this morning or last night. Between all the things going on, her mind had been elsewhere–still, that was no excuse. For Sandalphon, anything less than perfection was failure, and she did not intend to fail again.

“We should be clear to proceed then. Use caution, and call on me if you need to. Halo out.” Sandalphon released her halo’s cord, allowing it to hang beside her. By pure chance, the number of Seekers meant that they’d been randomly sorted into duos, with nobody left out or third-wheeling. As much as she wanted to find a vantage point and provide support to everyone at once, this situation demanded her to take an active role, so beyond warping to an ally for an emergency heal she would need to trust in the others to get through this place. That meant focusing on just one pair in particular: herself and Geralt of Rivia.

“Of course, while I can attend the others if needed, I have no intention whatsoever of abandoning you,” Sandalphon stated, turning to address the Witcher. “I pledge to support you to the best of my humble ability. At the same time, I must ask that if we meet with danger, please protect me when possible. I possess a weak constitution.” She closed her eyes and gave him an apologetic bow. Once finished she brought out her Eye of Sol rifle, slung across her back. “I had hoped to be more useful in terms of offense with this. Unfortunately, it is too small for me to use effectively. My apologies.” She replaced the gun on her back, then summoned her gunstaff in staff mode. “One other thing, if I may. Though potent, my restorative skills must be charged by attacking. In other words, I have to consistently land hits before I can heal you. Please keep this in mind.”

With that, the two set off. The path laid out ahead of them, fenced in by short gray walls with slanted red-shingled roofs like the walls of a rock garden, soon brought them to an elaborate drawbridge mechanism. Geralt’s strength was able to knock it down on the Seekers’ side, and afterward Sandalphon could shoot the terminal on the far side to drop the other half into place. The greater challenge came next: a downward-sloped bridge, with just thin red rails suspended on either side between any prospective traversers and a long fall. Sandalphon frowned at it, noting that the bridge sported an incline rather than any steps. “This may be difficult with heels,” she muttered. Nevertheless she pushed forward, passing through the large, technological-looking archway and carefully crossing the bridge.

The real difficulty came when the two got just over halfway down, as the bridge suddenly began to move beneath them. Sandalphon toppled instantly, falling onto her tailbone. “Ah.” Though deadpan as ever, her pupils turned into flashing skulls. As the conveyor bridge carried her and Geralt back toward the top, a series of [i]fwooms[/i] obliged her to look over her shoulder, allowing her to see the array of bright red laser beams that now formed a grid inside the archway she was rapidly approaching. “We should avoid that,” she announced, picking herself up. While Geralt could sprint down the sloped bridge, she really couldn’t. Even at top speed, she couldn’t keep pace with the giant treadmill. Sandalphon extended her free hand toward the bridge itself, trying to access the power granted by her fusion with Vigilant. Her pupils became snowflakes, and she launched an icy cluster that burst against the bridge’s surface, chilling it. It did not stop, however; it would take another Frost Lock to ice it over. The archangel lost her footing and fell forward onto her hands and knees.

She did not look defeated, though. “Keep running,” she told Geralt as the bridge sped her toward the lasers. “Ten seconds.” Sandalphon picked herself up with the help of her gunstaff, then used Vault just before reaching the laser grid, flinging herself straight upward. She seized her halo and landed softly on top of the arch, where she knelt with her hand outstretched. “Five, four, three, two, one. Freezing.” When she fired off another Frost Lock, its touch froze the bridge solid. It also dropped Geralt, and the Witcher began to pick up speed as he slid down the bridge toward the bottom. Three seconds later, he shot off the end onto the top of the next module, and the bridge unfroze. With nobody on it, it stopped moving, but Sandalphon wasn’t about to totter her way down it again. Instead she jumped off the archway and glided all the way down, alighting next to Geralt a few moments later. “Are you uninjured?”

As exciting as that had been (at least in theory) the next part might be even more interesting. This module, low enough that steam from Arahabaki’s floor wafted up in curtains on either side of it, was a long gauntlet of different turrets. Decked out in distinctive white and orange atop cylindrical bases, these defense towers sported a futuristic style and five different designs that Sandalphon could identify, including tri-barrel [url=https://i.imgur.com/y0XE2fH.png]cannons[/url], ringed [url=https://i.imgur.com/inwx9zl.png]gatlings[/url], ground-pounding [url=https://i.imgur.com/liuDDBK.png]ACP towers[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/b9kIi4t.png]miniature factories[/url], and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/wwe1MQX.png]device[/url] that suspended an orb for a purpose she couldn’t immediately discern. They were arranged strategically along a maze of empty bases in a zig-zag pattern, with the ACPS on the inner corners and the guns around the longest sight lines. Though the sight of it all put Sandalphon on alert, she immediately realized that the gun turrets’ targeting range must be bizarrely low. “These are automated ranged weapons like ballistae,” she mentioned for the sake of her medieval partner. “They haven’t registered us yet, though. This setup seems to be intended to funnel targets through a path that will ensure maximum damage. We can forge our own.”

As it turned out, this setup was highly exploitable by anyone with a brain. In addition to low range, the turrets lacked firepower individually, so Geralt’s shield worked well against them. When Sandalphon shot a cannon, she found it highly susceptible, and proceeded to charge both her skills while destroying the turrets on one side. While the ACPs pounded the ground constantly to deal damage in an area, climbing on top of the empty bases put the Seekers beyond the shockwaves’ reach. Only in the vicinity of the orb-suspending AMPs did the turrets really get punishing, but repeated gunstaff shots were enough to disable it. Still, getting through the gauntlet took a little while, so by the time the archangel and the Witcher got to the end, the emergency response teams were on their way.

A drop pod landed on the module just ahead, so after the turret gauntlet the Seekers ascended the staircase to see who’d come to bar their way. This next module, octagonal in shape, featured a tower that looked like a large transformer on every corner, with connecting fences in between them and a sort of central gazebo ringed with electric blue tourou lamps. The drop pod opened just as Sandalphon and Geralt arrived, and from within appeared a team of four women in different kinds of formal attire. “Stay behind me,” a black-suited [url=https://i.imgur.com/VOtZByX.png]lady[/url] with incredibly long flame-red hair said calmly, raising her shield as she hefted her heavy flanged mace with ease. In silence a white-haired [url=https://i.imgur.com/WbNmb5Z.png] professional[/url] stood partially behind the defender, lips pursed and gauntlet ready as she watched with narrow eyes.

“So, these are the intruders? Wow, they’re super tall.” Smiling as if she didn’t have a care in the world a less stoic, [url=https://i.imgur.com/hQ7MP4z.png]less lustrous redhead[/url] flicked her braid over her shoulder and pushed aside the jacket tied around her waist to draw her twin pistols. Finally, the team healer stayed back, barely peeking out from behind the others–not to mention her trim, raven-black bangs. This [url=https://i.imgur.com/KHYbOLU.png]well-dressed director[/url] carried only a PDA, but the drone floating beside her looked like it meant business. 

[center][h3]Arahabaki - Dog Moms[/h3]
Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Giovanna[/center]

Fast as ever, Gio reached the teleporter at the head of the pack, only to find herself all on her lonesome. Midna turned up not long after, but after that, nobody else seemed to be forthcoming. “Oh hey, you again,” the agent said by way of greeting. The two of them had ended up on a module that looked like a courtyard, filled with computing devices shaped like little shrines and komainu statues. Torii gates around the edges preceded bridges in several different directions, and enormous bundles of red cables wound into massive shimenawa ropes that connected them. Giovanna didn’t really know what had happened, but she knew that Sandalphon still had everyone connected, so she waited for the archangel to explain the situation.

It didn’t take long for Sandalphon to oblige. From the sound of it, that teleporter sent the various Seekers to a bunch of different receivers all throughout Arahabaki, so for now Giovanna and Midna were on their own as they made their way to Arahabaki’s grand central structure. “You and me, huh?” she asked, hands on her hips. Having not re-braided her hair this morning, her choppy crimson locks hung down past her shoulder, so she brushed half of them back behind her ear. “Alrighty then, show me what you’ve got.”

Even with the whole area too bright for Midna to hide in shadows, the Twilight Princess could move quickly, so that was one thing the two women had in common. They booked it, crossing several modules and bridges in quick succession. If it turned out that they went the wrong way through this sprawling gray maze, it didn’t take long to double back. Sometimes doors slammed shut, metal bars shot out to block a way, or walls rose from the floor, but the two were agile enough to get around most of the obstructions with ease by jumping, airdashing, climbing, and grappling.

Only on a longer conveyor bridge did they run into trouble. When it began to move, the treadmill went much faster than any of the others so far. Gio dashed again and again, but despite her blistering speed, she found herself unable to gain any real ground. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until she got tired and the conveyor belt sped her backward toward the deadly laser grid erected behind her. “This is dumb. Rei?” Giovanna’s wolf spirit descended and got down on all fours, and once her master climbed on, Rei took off running even faster. The two became a green-and-red blur as they closed in on the far side of the bridge, only for a handful of drones to float out of saisenbako boxes on the next platform. One by one, they turned, projected a red laser, and floated forward.

“Oh, gimme a break,” Gio groaned. With her arms around Rei’s furry neck, she held on tight as the wolf spirit leaped over the first laser, then over the second, then went low and sprawled out under the third. Vertical laser drones forced the pair to veer right, then left, then right again. Then the drones started coming two at a time, left and low, right and low, right and high, left and high, right and left, then finally up and down. Rei dodged, ducked, and jumped as needed right until the end, at which point it became clear that she and Gio couldn’t possibly get through the high and low lasers together. So Giovanna gathered herself and used her companion as a springboard, leaping over the lasers and then airdashing right into the other arch. “Oof…” Wincing at the wind knocked from her lungs, she climbed up onto the arch, then hopped down onto the next module.

This one was quite large, with rows of server racks set up like ema gakari on either side, laden with holographic ema tablets. In between stood electronics arranged into what looked like a Japanese rock garden in a remarkable feat of engineering, with grooves in tranquil patterns and engraved plug-in modules like standing sekihi stone monuments. Long, relatively narrow walkways without handrails criss-crossed the ‘garden’, sometimes bridging little rivers of coolant. Cables had been wound into spiral trees, their branches stripped at the end so that the wires could splay out into smaller branches, and holographic omamori dangled beneath them. Soon after they arrived, a drop pod descended from the ceiling toward this strange garden. Giovanna watched its approach with her arms crossed, nonplussed. A moment later the pod landed and divulged its occupants.

First on the scene was a severe-looking [url=https://i.imgur.com/Qq3mSQv.png]blonde[/url] in a gray pinstripe suit and a cape, wielding a high-tech lance as long as she was tall. “Halt!” she cried out immediately, taking point for her team. Behind her the other three formed up: a [url=https://i.imgur.com/DuOe68f.png]commando[/url] in yellow with dual machine pistols, a stern-looking [url=https://i.imgur.com/Lg9C44o.png]psychic soldier[/url] in blue, and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Op7CoQV.png]big man[/url] in heavy white armor with a rocket launcher and a shotgun. “This is a restricted area. Our orders are to stop you getting any farther, by any means necessary.”

Four on two, huh? That didn’t sound fair. Then again, Giovanna was a two-for-one kind of deal, and who knew how much help Midna might be packing. “Yeah, yeah.” Not too bothered, the secret agent yawned, then beckoned the goons closer. “Let’s get this over with.”

[center][h3]Mercy Dreams - Same Old Story[/h3]
The Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Ganondorf’s [@Double], Ms. Fortune
[b]Word Count:[/b] 3275[/center]

Sure enough, after just a few moments the ground began to rumble. Nadia grit her teeth in a smirk, steeling herself for some kind of tunneling behemoth. Rather than keep her and the others in suspense, however, the source of the disturbance appeared right away. A large block of stone pushed itself up from through the soul at the far end of the room. About twenty feet tall and fifteen wide, it seemed featureless except for the gaping black rectangular hole on the front, and some sort of sign just above that opening: a red ring with a downward-pointing white arrow. Something clicked in Nadia’s mind. “Wait…that symbol. I’ve seen it somewhere before, I know I have!”

And with that realization came a sinking feeling. A dreadful and familiar sensation seeped not from within Nadia’s heart, but from that yawning mouth of darkness. That inimitable aura of wrongness. Like drinking saltwater, the taste of metal. A crawling beneath the skin borne of microwave radiation. Orchestrated tinnitus. Anathema. She’d felt it twice before. Once in the depths of King’s Station, where every fiber of her being mutely screamed in instinctual alarm. Once again in Falldown Mall, but at such a distance that she thought it diminished, accustomed to, and manageable. “It’s one of [i]them[/i],” she heard herself say, though what ‘they’ were was impossible to say. She swallowed, her claws already sharpened, and stared into the darkness, waiting. 

From behind her came the rustling of dry wings. When Nadia averted her eyes from the void, she spotted paper butterflies, a whole swarm of them. Gathered from all over the prison, they now fluttered in from Mercy Dreams’ fifth layer. They flew above the Seekers’ heads and made a beeline for the dark doorway. They streamed inside, and over the papery chorus Nadia could hear a voice. It welled up from the floor below, getting louder as its owner grew closer. The voice was higher than she might expect; reedy, singsong. It didn’t speak, but it hummed, and she didn’t know the tune. Out of everyone here, only Jesse might.

The Director recognized it. Gun out, taking a couple steps forward, letting that familiar unreal feeling wash over her. ‘He’s a jolly good fellow.’ She heard the lyrics of the little jingle in her mind.

When the tune ended, everything was quiet for a moment. Then the newcomer emerged from the darkness, staining the face of reality with something that didn’t belong. At least, not in the context of something standing and walking around, for its colors and texture were like blotchy watercolor on aged parchment. It sported a human torso of bare flesh on shaggy legs and hooves, matched by a coiled tail and the furry head of a donkey with brown teeth bared, its head permanently turned sideways so that one saucer-round yellow eye could stare, unblinking, at the Seekers. It moved at a lower framerate, its colors shimmering and sliding slightly as it did, in its hands it held a green book, open so that each of the paper butterflies could unravel and tuck themselves inside. Nadia realized that this [url=https://i.imgur.com/lZJF7Rq.png]creature[/url] resembled the wooden carving she’d found earlier. After a moment, it slammed the book shut, and held it behind its back.

[b][i]”POOR THINGS.”[/i][/b] Its voice had a theatrical sort of unsavory silliness to it, like that of an archetypal trickster. [b][i]”STRUGGLING AND STRUGGLING. ALL THIS PAIN AND MISERY, AN EXERCISE IN MEANINGLESS FUTILITY MADE IN BLISSFUL IGNORANCE. HOW I ENVY YOU!”[/i][/b]

[color=92278f]”So this hideous creature is the area boss?”[/color] Sectonia said, not liking its chimeric design at all.

Ganondorf had hung back at first, having decided to give himself a breather and let the other Seekers deal with the other creatures on this fifth layer. The loud and shrieking voice was what changed his mind. The Gerudo King entered the chamber the same way that Jesse and the Travelers had earlier. He almost wanted to cover his ears as a reflex to the loud voice of the monster. But he had a feeling that wouldn’t have done him any good.

[color=FD0000]”Yeah, well, how about I introduce you to some pain so you don’t have to be jealous any more!?”[/color] Bowser shouted back after a moment, responding to feelings of fear and discomfort with foolish bravado. As he did that, Jr and Kamek both felt a shared urge to check on the carving and book they both had respectively acquired up in the warden’s office, as much to see if they were still there as to double check the similarity to this otherworldly thing in appearance and description each held.

Unflinching, the being brought out its book again and flipped to a certain page. [b][i]”OH, BOWSER,”[/i][/b] it chided. [b][i]”BENEATH ALL THOSE STOLEN TRAPPINGS, YOU’RE AS SIMPLE AS EVER.”[/i][/b]

[color=FD0000]”Well yeah, ‘course you’ve heard of me!”[/color] Bowser started to gloat, before cutting himself off with a [color=FD0000]”Hey wait a second! What do you mean simple!?”[/color]

[color=797979]”Only you could get into an argument with a mindless monster and still find a way to lose.”[/color] Ganondorf quipped, finding himself almost amused at the Koopa King’s idiocy.

For Therion's part, he didn't have to check the little wooden carving he'd found to see that it most likely depicted the mule-headed figure in front of them. He shouldn't have brushed the wooden figure off so quickly, because of course it couldn't have been a coincidence, but there hadn't been a lot of time to stop and study it either.

Instinctively the thief took a few steps backward, away from the thing even while he made sure his weapons were in his hands.

Primrose had taken a step forward, regarding the newcomer darkly with her ice lance in her grasp. Intelligent enemies were more troublesome than simple beasts - and from the aura given off by the strange thing, the only thing it could be was an enemy. She wondered if it was a jailer or a prisoner here, or something else altogether.

Neither of the two of them had seen something like this, but both were ready to face off against it - even with the tangible impression that it was more dangerous than it looked.

[color=D34C25]"You've seen something like this before?"[/color] Primrose asked, cutting a quick glance to Ms. Fortune.

Nadia narrowed her eyes as she whispered back. “Kind of? It didn’t look like this. But it felt like this. The same kind of ‘wrong’.” The fact that it knew Bowser’s name unnerved her, though clearly that knowledge originated from the book in its hands. Clearing her throat, she raised her voice. “Hey, assface! Am I in your little book, too?”

[b][i]”OF COURSE.”[/i][/b] The being held its fingers over the book, and the pages turned themselves. [b][i]”NADIA…OR WOULD YOU PREFER MS FORTUNE? A BORROWED SURNAME, A BORROWED PLACE TO BELONG. YOU NEVER HAD PARENTS TO GIVE YOU ONE OF YOUR OWN.”[/i][/b]

For a moment, the feral stood dumbfounded, her mouth agape as her teasing smile turned into a snarl of pure rage. Between the others hearing her first name, or seeing her comedy mask broken, it was a day for firsts. For once, Nadia found herself lost for words.

It was the creature's response to Ms. Fortune that put Primrose and Therion even more on edge. Part of it was how affected the feral was, but it was also the words themselves. Between being surveyed by the Organization or the Consuls and their general familiarity with magic, they both thought it would be a simple thing for an antagonistic stranger to learn their names. But more in depth knowledge? If there were files on all of them, their strengths and weaknesses, akin to the pages of monster information that the paper moths featured... it could be very bad for the Seekers, to put it mildly.

“Wow, dick.” Jesse said, offended for her friend and on principle, given her reaction. She had to admit, this creature looked fucking cool. But that was all he had going for him. “We’re just here for the mask piece, so… I mean there doesn’t [i]need[/i] to be a fight.” She said, though in a tone of voice that indicated she realized the inevitability of it. 

But she wouldn’t be a very good Director if she didn’t at least make a cursory attempt at conflict de-escalation, even with the freakiest shit imaginable. 

[b][i]”RIGHT YOU ARE.”[/i][/b] The entity’s unwavering gaze lay upon her. [b][i]”YET MANY CHOOSE VIOLENCE RATHER THAN FACE TRUTHS THEY CANNOT ACCEPT.”[/i][/b]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”And a way to access dreams”[/color] Kamek reminded them as he continued flicking through the book in a rather futile search for answers, before having a thought and enquiring [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I don’t suppose you have anything about Galeem in that tome of yours, do you?”[/color]

Before the entity could properly address or lay eyes on Kamek, its attention was taken by someone else. [color=797979]”Am I the only one here wondering how exactly this abomination knows so much about us?”[/color] Ganondorf demanded, beginning to become impatient, [color=797979]”A magic tome is one thing, but the writings in that tome had to have come from [i]somewhere[/i].”[/color] he reasoned. It was a logical enough question to ask. And he now was also wondering to himself if they could use that tome for themselves.

[color=797979]”I say…”[/color] Ganondorf said as his hands went for his twin greatswords, [color=797979]”...we take it! Or at the very least destroy it so it can never be used against us.”[/color]

The entity held up its book, staring at it. “[b][i]”WHAT? THIS LITTLE THING?”[/i][/b] Then it shook its head, gently. Mockingly. [b][i]”DON’T LET IT BOTHER YOU. IT ISN’T REAL.”[/i][/b] A chill crept through the air and down the Seekers’ spines. [b][i]”THEN AGAIN…WE ALLOW ALL MANNER OF UNREAL THINGS TO BOTHER US, DON’T WE? FRIENDS. ENEMIES. FAME AND FORTUNE. OUR PASTS AND FUTURES. OUR VERY LIVES…”[/i][/b] Just as the waves made from the being’s voice vibrated the air, so too did they vibrate the listeners’ souls. [b][i]”FICTION.”[/i][/b]

“...Yep,” Jesse said, stepping forward and to the side, leaning to the right to see if she could see the piece behind them or something. “Everyone loves a good story.” 

“My name is Jesse. I’ll admit, someone made that up.” She said, not seeing anything. On the off-chance it was suspended from the ceiling or something, she glanced up there. “What’s yours?”

“[b][i]”WHY, I AM BUT A MERRY WANDERER OF THE NIGHT,”[/i][/b] the entity replied. “[b][i]”THEY CALL ME HOBGOBLIN, AND PUCK. I AM ROBIN GOODFELLOW!”[/i][/b] It lifted up its tome, and flipped through a couple pages. “[b][i]”YOU NEED NOT TELL ME YOUR NAME, JESSE. IT’S RIGHT HERE IN THIS BOOK. RATHER, WHY DON’T YOU TELL ME YOUR FATHER’S?”[/i][/b] Robin’s gaze turned toward Junior. “[b][i]”OR YOU, LITTLE ONE. WHO IS YOUR MOTHER?”[/i][/b]

“I’d rather not say, if you don’t mind. Kind of a weird thing to ask, Robin.” Jesse said, while Jr replied exasperatedly [color=SpringGreen]”I ain’t got one yet! Why do people keep asking me that?”[/color] clearly rather upset by the question but not at all for the reason Robin seemed to have intended.

Though still very mad, Nadia couldn't help but be a little sheepish, since she'd been the other one to ask Junior. Her question came from a place of innocent curiosity, and he hadn't seemed bothered then, but he sure seemed bothered now. This Robin monster was getting into their heads.

[b][i]”THAT’S RIGHT,”[/i][/b] Robin said. [b][i]YOU DON'T HAVE A MOTHER. YOU WERE NEVER A BABY. YOU WERE NEVER BORN.”[/i][/b]

[color=BC8DBF]"What the hell is it talking about?"[/color] At first Therion had been given the impression that the creature was some kind of demented sage, but could it have lost its mind? Reasoning with it seemed useless as is.

[color=92278f]”I have a feeling this creature is what caused all those above to go mad. Possibly from its ramblings.”[/color] Sectonia said. For once though, she was with Ganondorf. Assuming that book didn’t turn people insane by viewing it, it would be very useful. Why did she get a very faint inkling that she knew of an all knowing book? Huh… strange.

[b][i]”THAT BOOK,”[/i][/b] Robin said suddenly. Its head turned forward for the first time, facing Kamek. Over its left eye, kept hidden until now, was worn the upper-left third of a mask. Both eyes were on the book held in the magikoopa’s hands. “[b][i]”A CURIOUS READ.”[/i][/b] The aura surrounding Robin seemed to swell slightly, a discordant ringing in the ears. “[b][i]”A STORY OF FAIRIES: OF KING OBERON, QUEEN TITANIA, AND THE TRICKSTER ROBIN GOODFELLOW.”[/i][/b] After turning its head sideways again, Robin continued to glare. “[b][i]”WHEN THE SUNFLOWER GAVE IT TO ME, I REALIZED. THAT I AM BUT AN INVENTION OF A MORTAL PLAYWRIGHT - A MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, TO BE PRECISE. AND NONE OF YOU ARE ANY BETTER. SIMPLY MORE DELUDED.”[/i][/b] 

Robin lowered its book. “[b][i]”OUR STORIES ARE NOT OUR OWN. LET THE TRUTH OF IT WASH OVER YOU. LET IT PULL YOU INTO ITS DEPTHS UNTIL YOU CAN NO LONGER GASP FOR AIR.”[/i][/b]

The way this thing was speaking... so high and mighty, like it knew everything and the Seeker's struggles were just an amusing game... It upset Primrose. Its words touched somewhere dark in the depths of her heart. The fact that it was trying to upset her friends as well was secondary to the revulsion she felt, more than just the inherent feeling that this creature shouldn't exist. When the mule man spoke she could almost hear [i]his[/i] voice too - the traitor who likened himself to a puppet master, and her life and her goal to mere stage drama. The man with the mark of the crow upon his neck.

[color=D34C25]"Enough of you!"[/color] she hissed at the thing. She took a deep, steadying breath immediately afterward, but it was no good. It didn't matter if this 'Goodfellow' included itself as one of the sad, unwitting actors. She wouldn't stand for it to draw her in its delusion, and she couldn't have stopped herself if she'd wanted to.

Without warning her allies she disappeared the next moment, leaving wisps of shadows where she once stood. She let her Ravaging Confession carry her forward, teleporting behind the monster and lashing out at it with her lance. Shadow and icy flames licked at the entity.

Well, Ganondorf wasn’t going to complain. If someone didn’t begin the fight then he eventually would have himself. With weapons still in hand, he made a gesture that summoned his Moblins to him. Together they leveled bows in order to take aim at Robin and then let their fire arrows fly. Ganondorf himself stayed put for the moment. He wanted to gauge this thing first before bumbling into a melee skirmish against it.

With another gesture, he summoned Blast Hornet who went to work targeting the abomination with his holographic crosshairs in order to use three consecutive Search Attacks against it. So during these Search Attacks and the volleys of fire arrows, the Gerudo King watched and observed - opting for caution and waiting to see what the monster would do before deciding his next move.

The others' call to action was all the impetus Nadia needed to quit smoldering in anger and rush forward to help shut this abomination up. She didn’t fully grasp whatever it was talking about, and she didn’t really care. So what if it struggled with the circumstances of its birth? Did that make it special, somehow? Her entire life had been one long run of making what she could of her own unfortunate origin story. If this thing thought that its own misfortune justified behavior like this, Robin Goodfellow wasn't anything special after all. It was just an asshole, and the world has plenty of those.

The sudden lance strike to Robin’s leg did a little damage to it, but the entity seemed more annoyed than hurt. It took a long step away, its hooves clicking against the floor, and as it continued to do so it avoided most of the Moblins’ volley. Then it extended its free hand, like an actor performing a soliloquy. [b][i]”SLEEP. PERCHANCE TO DREAM.”[/i][/b] Magical fairy dust rained down on Primrose, and her eyelids grew heavy. 

[color=D34C25]"You...!"[/color] She tried to say, irritated with its tactic. Ultimately she was unable to resist the spell and she slumped down, asleep.

“Primrose!” Rather than make a beeline for Robin, Nadia skidded to a stop next to the fallen dancer. Her friend was still breathing, but seemed completely unconscious, and no amount of stirring -whether gentle or not so much- would rouse her. “Hey, get up!” Nadia said urgently, trying to pry open Primrose’s eyes. “A rose oughta sleep in a flowerbed, y’know? Not here!”

“She’s out, Nadia! We gotta pull her back!” Jesse commanded, trying to refocus Nadia’s attention on the thing she could do rather than what she couldn’t.

The sudden turn of events spooked Therion enough that he had been frozen in place. What fur he had was standing on end, and his eyes were wide with apprehension. That thing had incapacitated Primrose so quickly and so [i]easily[/i]. Therion's skin tingled with the want to escape the situation, but he was rooted to the spot until the women confirmed that his friend was alright. [i]Just a sleep spell.[/i] Combined with the unnatural, alien aura of the monster and the way it spoke, it had seemed worse at first.

He didn't cross the arena towards Primrose. Instead he let the other Seekers take the brunt of the attention as usual, black cloaked form melting into the dark edges of the room.

Robin opened his book, the pages flipping on their own turning in a raspy flurry. [b][i]”I WILL GRANT YOU MERCY. BE IT IN DREAMS...”[/i][/b] Ethereal energy welled up around the tome, and after a moment two streaks flew out to dive into the ground next to Robin. Two strange warriors manifested, both part organic and part machine in sleek, streamlined shapes. [url=https://i.imgur.com/roD4Xkj.png]One[/url] looked like a mechanized ox with his horns and ring-shaped piercings, black in color but bearing a [url=https://i.imgur.com/0BwdxW7.png]rifle[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/0VJAqrZ.png]melee weapons[/url] of white, all ornamented in gold. The [url=https://i.imgur.com/03VMIKs.png]other[/url] was slender, delicate and elegant as a butterfly in bright shades of red and teal, a gilded [url=https://i.imgur.com/aLJTZCu.png]shotgun[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ziei78Y.png]saber[/url] on her person. As they stood, readying their weapons, ten purple diamond outlines flared up in a halo-like arc around Robin’s head. [b][i]”...OR DEATH.”[/i][/b]