[center][h3]Everdream Valley - Port Meridian[/h3]
Level 8 Goldlewis (49/80) Level 6 Sandalphon (64/60)
Blazermate, Susie, and Roland’s [@Archmage MC], Midna’s [@DracoLunaris], Geralt and Zenkichi’s [@Multi_Media_Man], Pit’s [@Yankee], Roxas’ [@Double]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1908[/center]

As Bravo led Goldlewis out of the Pelican Inn and toward a spot he claimed would be perfect for a fight, the veteran mulled over the situation with a stern expression whilst lugging his coffin. Unlike Bravo, who made no bones about his excitement for the upcoming clash, Goldlewis dreaded the imminent exchange of blows. After the exhausting events of that morning, another scrap was the last thing he wanted, but it wasn’t just that. In Galeem’s world, there was no such thing as casual sparring. Once a battle began, it could only ever end with a beatdown. It didn’t seem possible to him that Bravo, himself apparently a martial artist, could be ignorant of this fact. Very suspicious, Goldlewis couldn’t help but wonder if this was some sort of ploy after all. Perhaps it was foolish for him to worry so, but no matter how much strength he attained, Goldlewis didn’t plan to become complacent nor overconfident. [i]Pride comes before the fall.[/i]

The destination Bravo had in mind wasn’t far off, but the short trip did give Goldlewis a chance to look at the dark, angry sky. The sheer speed at which the weather turned from dour to dangerous surprised him. If a severe storm broke before the Virgin Victory could get airborne with everyone aboard, the team’s welcome reprieve in Everdream Valley could turn into an extended stay, and with a Guardian freshly slain Goldlewis didn’t want to wait around for the Seekers’ enemies to find them. “Can’t afford to drag this out,” he muttered beneath his breath.

After another minute, the two men reached their destination. “We’re here!” Bravo announced, casting his arms wide to showcase the scenery. They’d traveled just beyond the edge of the city and stopped at one of the many nearby [url=https://i.imgur.com/fbLcxnI.png]pastures[/url], this one growing nothing but grass and dandelions for flocks of sheep to munch on. As battlegrounds went it lacked ceremony, but there was plenty of space, and Goldlewis had no objections. He watched as Bravo pulled a boombox out of his inventory that he set down atop a boulder, then turned to his prospective opponent. “Ready to begin, my friend?”

Goldlewis let his coffin fall to the ground with a slam, which slid open so that the UMA could hand him his new shotgauntlets. He slipped them on, cracked his neck, and tapped his stopwatch. “Let’s make this quick.”

With a grin, Bravo started the music.

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w2joqV5XVA[/youtube][/center]

The blare of a horn rang out, signaling the beginning of both an energetic beat and the fight. Goldlewis stood his ground as Bravo charged toward him. He crouch-blocked as the chef unleashed a handful of hefty chops, culminating in a downward slam. Goldlewis stood to block high in anticipation of an overhead, but the move turned out be a low as Bravo struck the ground and a fully-loaded dining table sprung from the earth as a launcher. After popping his foe into the air, Bravo jumped up into the air and grabbed him, instantly wrapping the veteran in a giant dumpling that he then slammed to the ground in a titanic body slam.

Confused at what just happened but unshaken, Goldlewis rose with an unamused grunt. He lashed out with piston punches, finishing with a haymaker that Bravo backdashed. Instinctively Goldlewis went on defense as soon as he recovered, but his opponent read his reluctance and laid hands on him once more. Goldlewis found himself tossed up, then caught in a gigantic wok. His foe proceeded to toss him like fried rice, holding both man and pan with the strength of just one arm. “One! Two!” After a couple flips, Bravo whirled the wok around to slam Goldlewis down. “Bellissimo!” Bruised and disoriented by the Sublimating Frying Pan, Goldlewis rolled backward to his feet. He’d been right not to get too cocky, he realized; this chef wasn’t just a fighter, but a grappler!

Bravo gave him no time to rest. He sprinted the veteran’s way, his arms outstretched to either side. This time Goldlewis went to him, catching his opponent with a quick one-two punch, though he couldn’t convert off it. [i]Was he trying to grab me again!?[/i] “Don’t push your luck!” Though not able to convert off the interrupt, he seized the momentum with a forward dash, only to through Bravo off with a slow [url=https://i.imgur.com/srgWhY3.png]stomp[/url] into [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ye2pCtJ.png]sweep[/url] to send his opponent to the ground. With no coffin at the moment, he tried to follow up with a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/f/fc/2fa36d46d52d.gif/revision/latest?cb=20201115112219&path-prefix=en]low hook[/url], but Bravo recovered fast enough to get away. He performed that recognizable overhead slam again, and without questioning it Goldlewis blocked low. Sure enough, another dining table burst up beneath him, exploding into pieces against his guard. Bravo jumped toward him, and Goldlewis -expecting some kind of bombastic body splash that would hit him overhead- rose to anti-air. Instead he received a disjointed splash of hot noodle soup, pulled out of thin air and dished out on Bravo’s way down. The counterhit led to a short combo that ended in another grab, Passionate Thunderous Soup, in which the chef threw Goldlewis into a boiling [url=https://i.imgur.com/spdZjJY.png]soup pot[/url], then watched with a nodding head until it exploded.

“Ugh!” Goldlewis hit the ground to find Bravo bearing down on him yet again. This time he made a statement with a reversal overdrive, grabbing his coffin skyward and [url=https://i.imgur.com/q2ya1jG.png]thrusting it skyward[/url]. “Down the…system!”The heft blow threw Bravo back, and the veteran charged his way. He swung his coffin again and again in a whirlwind behemoth typhoon, landing a couple hits before Bravo learned to block, and even then he still managed to break his guard with every hit.

“Not bad!” Bravo complimented, his teeth gritted in a grin. “But can you break through this!?” He rose in a titanic lariat, spinning with a silver platter on each hand. The move armored through his foe’s offense and knocked Goldlewis back on counterhit, forcing him to block another Invite Dining Table.

Without delay, Bravo jumped toward him again, but this time the veteran’s anti-air was on point. His [url=https://i.imgur.com/ZWLgkKC.png]6P[/url] carved through the hurled soup to slap the chef out of the sky. After tumbling, Bravo woke up with a reversal of his own, but Goldlewis blasted straight through his Welcome Spin with his unstoppable [url=https://i.imgur.com/kEEVJfI.png]Wild Assault[/url]. “Go to hell!”

On his next wakeup Bravo respected his foe’s offense, blocking every hit of the [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/c/c5/Machinegun_Blast.gif/revision/latest?cb=20201119205044&path-prefix=en]Machinegun Blast[/url]. After Goldlewis delivered his right-hand shotgun punch, Bravo lashed out from the smoke with a chain of sausage links wielded like nunchaku. The surprise attack struck Goldlewis repeatedly, and after knocking him away Bravo used Invite Dining Table to pop him up into the air for another Flying Wrapped Dumpling. Like a maniac, he then went for a meaty command grab, which Goldlewis managed to jab him out of. He converted into a three-hit [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/5/5c/Mad_Dozer.gif/revision/latest?cb=20220531104920&path-prefix=en]Mad Dozer[/url], then ended with a Behemoth Typhoon, and when Bravo woke up with buttons Goldlewis shut him down with a meaty two-frame throw. “How’s! This! Taste!” he growled, delivering a hefty headbutt with each word.

By this point, both fighters were feeling it, especially the one who started with a noticeable handicap. Panting, Goldlewis tried to catch his breath while blocking Bravo’s next assault, but the chef managed to mix him up, and this time Bravo whipped out a super of his own. He snatched Goldlewis out of the air, slammed him down, then whacked him with a triple revolving golf swing using a swordfish and a giant roast chicken. His coffin hit the ground, too far away for Goldlewis to reach before Bravo reached him first. Goldlewis clenched his jaw. With no other option, he’d have to place his faith in the power gained from Jack-8. Fueled by determination, he got his second wind.

[center][hider=For Goldlewis]New Strength:
[url=https://tekken.fandom.com/wiki/Gamma_Howl][b]Gamma Howl[/b][/url]
Grants access to Jack-8’s Gamma Howl power stance, which can be transitioned to from certain techniques, as well as the techniques specific to Gamma Howl, many of which have useful properties. Gamma Howl can soak a hit, and it becomes Gamma Charge if it does, strengthening the next move used from that stance[/hider][/center]

The veteran activated Heat, knocking Bravo back with [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/d/d8/Jack_TK7_Tyulpan_Blast.gif/revision/latest?cb=20211117153603&path-prefix=en]Tyulpan Blast[/url]. Once powered up, he got in Bravo’s face to provoke a response, then caught him with a fast [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/d/d2/6154fcad71.gif/revision/latest?cb=20230605201915&path-prefix=en]Jackhammer[/url] that allowed him to perform a sideways flex–his new Gamma Howl stance. The pose confused Bravo, convincing him not to challenge, and Goldlewis gave him a taste of his own medicine with [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/2/29/D87441dce3.gif/revision/latest?cb=20220402221657&path-prefix=en]Iron Gunman[/url]. He seized his foe, threw him up into the air, then hammered him with upward shotgun punches. On the final hit, he canceled into his Heat Smash, decking Bravo with a solid swing before his new Mothman railcannon descended for a grand explosion.

This time, Bravo did not rise, and as he lay on the grass in a daze the concerned sheep crowded around him. Relieved that the fight had concluded, Goldlewis doubled over, gasping for air. It was a moment before he could stop his watch. “Just seventy-three seconds,” he wheezed, shaking his head in Bravo’s direction. “Well. Hope you got what you wanted there, hoss.” he straightened up with a deep breath. “Guess I oughta give ya one o’ them li’l hearts. Maybe we can sort things out over drinks.”

Before he could take action, however, a sigil manifested by his ear. Someone was calling him.

“Hello, everyone. I have urgent news.” By now Goldlewis was used to Sandalphon’s disembodied voice in his ear, but what she said turned him dead serious in an instant. “Return to the port ASAP. I just received word from Geralt that a consul has arrived in Port Meridian and plans to attack the Virgin Victory. According to the crew, this is the same consul that hounded them all the way from the Land of Adventure. Given our current situation, Commander Nelson has ordered immediate evacuation. You have two minutes.”

The archangel’s voice disappeared as suddenly as it came, and Goldlewis sighed. “Guess we’ll need a rain check on those drinks.” After shouldering his coffin, he took off at a run back the way he came, using every last ounce of energy at his disposal to reach the Virgin Victory on time.

[hr]

With a loud, morbidly definitive [i]clonk[/i], the extra-large glass hit the countertop, empty except for half-melted ice. Other than that sound and the crash of thunder outside, Dreamjolt Hostelry had been quiet for a few minutes. The music had stopped playing, and both man and monster took their leave, fleeing the coming storm. Only one person aside from the Consul remained, staring evenly at her last remaining customer from the other side of the bar. Siobhan pursed her lips as the Consul’s stool creaked, his weight shifting off it. “Care for a refill?” she asked almost jokingly, knowing it was a long shot.

The luminous gaze of Consul Z rested on her calm face for a moment. Though mostly just concerned with her looks, he couldn’t deny that it took guts to make an offer like that, given everything she’d overheard. “...Perhaps some other time,” he told her, his voice firm but not hostile as he placed some gold coins on the bar. Then he left, his massive frame swaggering toward the doorway to disappear into the storm.

After he left, Siobhan’s worried expression remained for a good while. “Good luck out there, Geralt,” she whispered fretfully. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

[center][h3]The Under - Nyakuza Metro[/h3]
Level 13 Ms Fortune (112/130)
The Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Primrose and Therion’s [@Yankee], Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Ganondorf’s [@Double], Osvald’s [@Dark Cloud]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1745[/center]

When Sectonia heeded Nadia’s suggestion and headed off in the direction of the Le Félin jewelry shop, she waited a few moments with tails swishing, then began to surreptitiously follow the big bug through the Metro. As always, Sectonia carried herself with pomp, authority, and determination, her sheer size and gaudy appearance turning heads wherever she went. In comparison Nadia, with her dark coat and feline features, barely stood out and could be mistaken at a glance for the tallest kind of common metro cat. This distinction was not just important, but pivotal to the feral’s newest scheme: returning to her roots with a bonanza of burglary.

Naturally, she’d already picked her target. Nadia hadn’t forgotten Rush Hour, after all. That jar-headed Consul might have called the shots, but it was the Empress who called in the shots and pulled the strings around here. That grandiose title was the word on the lips of every other metro cat down here, whispered fearfully even by those who seemed to be in her employ. It smacked of the Medici Mafia in a way Nadia didn’t like one bit. Even if the whole Rush Hour debacle didn’t make this purr-sonal, the matriarch of the local nyakuza probably deserved to be taken down a peg. This wasn’t just for her sake, either; if the Seekers planned to make use of the Metro more often to maneuver around the continent, a massive surplus on pons for train passes would save a lot of time. With this in mind, Nadia tailed Sectonia to the sparkling boutique with Chucho on her heels, ready for a heist that’d put her previous pilferage to shame.

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

After entering Le Félin with a surgical mask on, Nadia acted casual, feigning an interest in the bejeweled accessories while she scoped the place out. Its publically accessible interior, regal in appearance, was small, spotless and well-lit, with high ceilings and low display cases. It offered practically no space to hide, and clear sightlines for the four security cameras, one in each corner well out of even her extendable reach. She could find only one door, positioned right next to the register where the Empress herself stood watch, with only one assistant cat in attendance. Right now Sectonia commanded the attention of the Empress, but she still managed to keep a close eye on Nadia. The would-be burglar supposed that she ought to count her lucky stars that the imperial feline didn’t recognize her from Rush Hour, but then again, Nadia had definitely changed since then. Inside, though, she was still the same cunning schemer, and after a few moments the feral hatched a devious plan.

First, she selected an article she knew she could afford, a necklace with golden fangs. “Ooh, Jesse would LOVE this,” she announced, before falling crestfallen at the sight of the price tag. “Oh man. I’m gonna have to make a withdrawal.” She put her hands on the glass case and leaned down as if talking to the necklace itself. “Okay gorgeous, don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back!” Then she turned tail and jogged off, leaving the smudged glass for the assistant cat to clean up.

Once out of sight, though, she did not head for the nearest ATM. Instead she roamed around Le Félin, searching for something very important. As things currently stood, the boutique had no weak points, even with Sectonia running interference. With a security setup like that, not even a mouse could slip through to wherever Le Félin kept its goodies, and there were probably cameras there, too. In the whole place, Nadia could only imagine one spot not under surveillance twenty-four seven: the security office itself.

Cameras themselves weren’t the real problem, after all. That would be the staff on guard duty in the security office, monitoring the footage for anything fishy and ready to sound the alarm at the drop of a hat. If she could compromise that office, the store’s greatest security asset would become its downfall–and security guards needed to breathe like everyone else.

“Aha!” After a few minutes searching, Nadia found it: a vent. A cat burglar’s best friend. This vent happened to be much too small for even a metro cat to fit through, let alone a grown woman, but Nadia Fortune was no ordinary thief. Using a neighboring building, she jumped and climbed until she reached the third-story vent. Then, ignoring the deadly fan, she hardened her claws and ripped open a hole in the box’s metal side. Once it was big enough, she let her head fall off and shoved it inside. Using blood for propulsion when rolling didn’t do the trick, the head took off down the ventilation duct, and her body fell to the ground outside.

Focusing on just her head, Nadia navigated the claustrophobic metal labyrinth, peering each through the ventilation grate she found. She passed up the one for the boutique’s showroom, but the second opening really caught her eye. Down below lay a nondescript room, gray and rectangular, piled high with cash. It was a dragon’s hoard of zenny, pons, and bundles of dollar bills. Forget a jewelry store’s stockpile–this had to be a nyakuza vault. No wonder the Empress herself was here! Her eyes sparkled with greed, but with a sigh she tore herself away. Right now, her destination was the third grate: the one overlooking a small, dark office bathed in the blue light of a half-dozen monitors.

She pressed up against the grate and looked through. A short, stubby-limbed metro cat with a head as big as his body sat in an office chair in front of a desk piled high with screens, observing the storefront and the vault from every angle. He looked very bored, but wide awake, and for the next part of her plan Nadia needed to deal with him. Her options were limited in Forma de Cabeza, but she’d been saving dramatic tension for a rainy day, and now was the time to cash out.

The next moment, a Purrge of Vengeance went off in the duct, blowing the lid off in an explosion of water. The noise scared the living daylights out of the metro cat, and the next moment the grate beaned him in the head, knocking him to the floor. As he lay in a daze, soaked and half-conscious, Nadia’s head rocketed down to the desk. “Sorry, little dude,” she winced. “If your boss was looking out for ya, this woulda never happened, you know. Just goes to show, you should never let down your guard.” With step one finished, step two was a go.

Nadia watched the security footage in a state of total concentration as her body sauntered back into the shop with her hands tucked into her pockets. On her shoulders sat a copied head of condensed hydro energy, which got looks from the Empress and her assistant. Was it weird? Definitely. But what could they do? From her tail dangled a cheap plastic bag full of zenny, freshly converted from the Under’s geo. She laid it on the display case, then tapped the glass with her tail, indicating the necklace she saw earlier.

Full of suspicion, the Empress walked over and rifled through the bag’s contents herself. Despite the bizarre form it came in, the money was all there, and with great displeasure she reached into the case to present her customer with her purchase. “...Pleasure doing business with you,” she practically snarled as Nadia’s body left. “But let’s not make it a habit.”

She nodded at her assistant, and he gingerly picked up the bag of money. He carried it with him to the door, pushed through it, and headed over to the nearest pile of zenny to dump the cash out. Unbeknownst to him, Nadia’s actual hands let go of the underside of the bag. They fell to the ground and, directed by Nadia herself via the security footage, scuttled into cover–carrying her special wallet with them.

Once the cat left, it was go time. Working her hands remotely, Nadia opened the wallet and began shoveling money inside. Thousands of zenny and hundreds of pons disappeared into the magical space inside, which could store unlimited cash. It was a laborious process, and she couldn’t be too greedy when an employee could catch her red-handed at any time. As the assistant concluded another purchase a few minutes later, Nadia quickly wrapped up, maneuvering her hands toward the door. When the cat entered to make another deposit, unable to tell what had been taken, the feral’s extremities slipped through and into the store, skirting along the underside of the display cases to find an accessible spot where they could wait, out of sight.

Nadia let out a sigh of relief. “Payout purr-loined.” Step two, done. Now for step three: extraction. That involved using her copycat trick, but in reverse. Carefully she expended just enough blood from her neck to make just enough of a body that she could get her head back inside the vent, at which point she retraced her ‘steps’ back out of the building. Dropping to the ground hurt a bit, but once down her head could be collected and put back where it belonged. Fully formed again at last, she hurried back into Le Félin, drawing an irate look from the Empress. “Sorry, sorry!” she apologized, bending down by one of the display cabinets. “Dropped my wallet!” In one motion she inserted her hands into her empty sleeves, then used them to hold up her wallet. “That’s why I had to use the bag, haha…” Trying to look as sorry as she could, Nadia fled, her contrition turning to absolute glee the second she set foot outside. “Nyahahahaha!” she giggled, heading toward the Yellow Line station. “You ran a tight shop, but I’m not empressed! Cash me if you can!”

With 492 pons and a whopping 13447 zenny to her name, Nadia could easily afford a Yellow Line pass, as well as one for anyone who failed to get the prerequisite pons, like Osvald. The mean-spirited grouch would have to eat his words when Nadia paid his way, all out of the kindness of her heart (and a profound sense of smugness). Once the Seekers reunited, passes in hand, everyone could climb aboard the next train for the last leg of their locomotive journey. Next stop: Gerudo Town.

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/RntfJ0i.png[/img][/center]

With the afternoon now in full swing, the desert sun beat down upon the Sandswept Sky with its full power as the Seekers stepped out from the darkness of the underground train station into the blinding light. The sand sizzled and the air itself swam from the ambient temperature, more than strong enough to conjure mirages for those driven by dehydration to heatstroke. The town that lay before the newcomers, however, was very real. Encircled by tall sandstone bastions and guarded by towering amazons with fiery red hair, prominent noses, and fine blades of shining steel, this walled city was well-defended. Though they’d only been here at night, Primrose and Sectonia knew just how remarkable the civilization beyond those fortifications could be, but they also knew Gerudo Town’s defining rule: that no male could venture inside.

Naturally, with Bowser, Kamek, Junior, Therion, Osvald, and Ganondorf around, that unshakeable edict posed something of a problem for the team’s overall unity. Not wanting to leave them out, Nadia didn’t mind skipping Gerudo Town entirely, and pushing onward toward a fun-filled fiesta in Carnival Town. Still, she was every bit as curious as the others to find out if Ganondorf, self-proclaimed Gerudo King, could tip the scales.