[center][h3]Forbidden Kingdom - Esaka[/h3]
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (135/150) Level 11 Big Band (35/110)
Junior, Rika & Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Zenkichi’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Pit, Primrose & Therion’s [@Yankee] Sakura & Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Harry and Kim’s [@Eviledd1984] Terry’s [@Terry Bogard]
[b]Word Count:[/b]  2369 / 1517[/center]

Ms. Fortune and Robo-fortune glared at one another, eyes blazing and teeth bared, the tension between them palpable as the other NMO fighters looked on. For a few seconds they seemed liable to throw themselves at one another once more, all notions of propriety gormlessly discarded in favor of a visceral, definitive showdown here and now. After a moment, though, Robo gestured with her head toward the dojo’s main room a few dozen feet away. “Shall we take this inside?”

Nadia eased up slightly, a smile on her face as she entertained the idea. “Sure. If we’re gonna do this, let’s do this right!”

Taking the lead, Robo stalked into the paper court, her head pivoting in its socket to keep her unblinking optics on her opponent no matter which way her body faced. Each metallic footfall hit the ground like the rod of a jackhammer, much heavier than Robo’s build would suggest. While Nadia’s stride looked far more relaxed and casual, she did not break eye contact with her adversary either, her expression playful and mocking the whole time. “A metal clone of Ms Fortune, huh?” Nadia rolled her eyes. “Guess that makes you an aluminum ‘foil’.”

Unflinching, Robo scorned her in a cold, dismissive tone. “You are old news, fleshling. I am the upgrade.”

“Upgrade? Ha! You really a-mews-me! While you’ve been sittin’ here, grindin’ your gears, I’ve been rackin’ up so much power it’d make your head spin. As a matter of fact, why don’t I do you a li’l favor…” [i]CLANG![/i] Nadia’s combat pack hit the ground, followed shortly by her bait launcher and Athame daggers. After her weapons clattered to the floor, the feral stretched her shoulders and arms, feeling limber. “Don’t need my new toys to strip [i]your[/i] screws!”

As the two assumed opposing positions, Annie declared the terms of the fight. “This’ll be a standard one-on-one fight, no outside help allowed. First to two knockouts takes it.” She raised an eyebrow at Nadia. “Got it?”

“I’ve been around the block,” the feral assured her. “I know how this plays out!”

Annie crossed her arms. “You both ready then?”

“Affirmative,” Robo told her.

Nadia smirked. “A-fur-mative!”

After Annie nodded at Beowulf, the big man raised his arms. “Then, ladies and gentlemen it’s…SHOWTIME!”

As Nadia burst forward, Robo surprised her with a medium Theonite Beam. “Buster.” With her arms crossed, the pink laser blazed from her eyes with surprising speed and caught the feral in the shoulder. Taken aback for but a brief instant, Nadia rolled with the punches and spun along with her momentum, then charged on all fours. “Beam.” When Robo crouched down to fire off a lower-profile light beam, Nadia stopped short and blocked, then resumed her sprint the second Robo’s ray died down. With her opponent getting close, Robo jumped up to execute a x-swipe and throw down a four-pronged [url=https://i.imgur.com/8haeViA.png]laser cutter[/url],”Variable,” then canceled into a downward Theonite Beam from her mechanical heart. “Beeeam.”

Nadia sidestepped the former, then performed a Cat Slide to narrowly scrape past the latter. After sliding underneath her airborne foe, Nadia blasted out her legs in an explosive [url=https://i.imgur.com/nictM28.png]Fiber Upper[/url]. “Enough purr-jectiles!” She snapped up into the air to follow up with a handful of high-flying strikes, heightened and accelerated by her Elation blessings. “Eat this!” A moment later she finished with a flexible axe kick right to the schnoz. “I’ll foot the bill!”

The kick smacked Robo back down to the ground, but when Nadia descended for a plunging tail blade, her doppelganger teched backward and Nadia’s tail pierced nothing but the floor. “Quartz.” Robo dashed in to retaliate with a low-frequency [url=https://i.imgur.com/8OtDY5s.png]knee blade[/url], struck with an electrical current flowing between her hands, then brought one metal mitt down in an [url=https://i.imgur.com/3hrZR17.png]electric launcher[/url]. “Grounded.” Rather than follow up after the launcher, though, Robo took the moment while Nadia sailed through the air to pop out three headrones. “Launch, headrone. Heads, up. Form the head.”

By the time Nadia got to her feet, her foe had already issued the command. “Beep-beep-plarp!” All three headrones opened up to fire a volley of micro-missiles each. Knowing they’d lock her down long enough for Robo to mess her up, Nadia tried to outrun them, racing around the room as a barrage of explosions went off behind her. 

Unfortunately, her predictable path allowed Robo to cut her off and knock her down with a Theonite Beam, and on waking up Nadia had no choice but to block the rest of the missiles. “Hell of a purr-cussion!” Nadia hissed through gritted teeth as the smoke cleared, her arms seared and smarting from the chip damage. “With all those rockets, you’re gonna give me thrust issues.” When she saw Robo launching more headrones, she quickly took off running, her anger speeding her steps. “Nyaat if I have anythin’ to say about it!”

With no other ideas, she closed the distance with Charge, becoming a bolt of lightning that blitzed straight through Robo-fortune. As sparks flew, Nadia rematerialized behind her foe and pivoted around with a double slash. The Battery hit hard, but did not allow her to follow up, so as Robo put up her defenses Nadia leaped into the air. She intentionally whiffed a light claw slash to bait out a high guard, then landed and lashed out with a low kick. “Shin-terdiction!” It worked like a charm, and as her foe fought to keep her balance Nadia continued with a pivoting kick, then seized her tail from the floor to carve across Robo’s chest with it in a reverse grip. After that a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ms5hg4Y.png]High Brow[/url] head smash launched Robo upward, and a quick air combo ensued. It ended with an upside-down, multi-hitting windmill kick that jailed Robo long enough for Nadia’s ears to plunge into the ground and restand her foe for a follow-up in the form of her level one Blockbuster, Fur-seker Purr-age. “Let’s cut to the chase! EE-YAH!”

“Pain.” The barrage of slashes ended with a hefty cross slash, and with that, Robo hit the ground. “Hurt,” she muttered mechanically.

When the machine failed to rise right away, Annie pointed toward Nadia, pleasantly surprised. “Round one, Ms Fortune.”

Nadia grinned as her opponent slowly picked herself up. “One down, one to go!” She pulled her head off, then tossed it up and down in her hand. “I guess the cooler head prevailed, eh? Now, let’s spice things up!”

She rolled her head like a bowling ball, only for her body to immediately get floored by a heavy Theonite Beam. Her head made a beeline for Robo, [url=https://i.imgur.com/6eLB8Ti.png]using her ears as little feet[/url] as she narrowly dodged laser after laser, then launched toward her for a big chomp. “Mrrow!” Her hardened teeth closed on Robo’s arm, digging in deeper as her foe nipped her again and again with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/qyQqHp6.png]scissor pincher[/url], until Robo gave up and blasted her with a point-blank eye laser. “MEOWCH!”

Her body ran in, but Robo was ready. She sizzled Nadia with a light laser, then immediately canceled into a Blockbuster of her own. As Robo knelt, her torso extended and her arms transformed. “Catastrophe Cannon…Alpha.” [url=https://i.imgur.com/nna6r1P.png]Huge pink beams[/url] surged across the room, seemingly consuming Nadia’s body for a moment as her head writhed, unable to assist. 

“Eugh…” Nadia groaned as the light died down, her eyes bleary from the pain. “That must be…your cannon-ical form…” When she shook out the dizziness, she saw Robo scooting toward her head to finish what she started. “Ugh, nyaat good!” Her attempt to dodge failed as a [url=https://i.imgur.com/muel1bf.png]Scroll Heel[/url] sliced her, the yellow razor blades raking her face. “Grrrah!” Before Robo could bring down an electric ground pound, a blast of blood from Nadia’s neck covered her optics, and the head scooted away into her smoking body’s waiting grasp. Her legs transformed with Fluffy Soft to close the distance, then launched a white tiger dropkick to cut into Robo’s defense. Unfortunately, that led her straight into her doppelganger’s disjointed [url=https://i.imgur.com/W43xJDR.png]Colimating Saw[/url], and the trade of blows left Nadia on the floor once again, half-conscious while her foe managed to recover.

“Round two, Robo-fortune,” Annie declared.

“Good effort though, Fortune!” Beowulf cheered her on, pumping his fist.

Balling her own fists, Filia nodded. “Yeah, nice try! You can do it!”

“Indignant.” Robo-fortune glared at them. “Why?”

With an annoyed grunt, Nadia got to her feet. She wiped blood from her lip as her cuts closed themselves. “Alright, tin cans. No more kitten around!”

Round three began, as one might expect, with a barrage of fingertip-lasers from Robo-fortune. Nadia approached, dash-blocking appropriately, until Robo went for a heavy Theonite Beam from her heart. “Plutonic.” The feral bent over backward, narrowly avoiding the big pink ray, then hurled her hardened tail like a blade. Her foe blocked it, then grabbed it in both hands to try and break it in half, reasoning that the pain would stop Nadia in her tracks. Thinking quickly, Nadia let her tail go limp as she ran forward, rendering it break-proof. “Oh.” It took Robo only a second to realize this and return to her previous strategy, but by then Nadia had leaped into the air to soar over the next Theonite Beam, then spike her head down like a volleyball. It beaned her opponent on the metallic cranium, then landed behind her as Nadia touched down in front. 

“Checkmate!” With Robo sandwiched, the game was on. Nadia and her head alternated attacks in a grueling, unpredictable beatdown, resetting the hapless robot over and over as she tried and failed to block the two-pronged assault. Even if she did guess the right direction to block, Nadia could grab and throw her, and when Robo found what seemed to be gaps in the feral’s pressure, they turned out to be devious traps as Robo’s challenge led to a merciless punish. After a few moments, Robo bet it all on another Blockbuster, counting on its armor to soak her foe’s hit and blow her away. Unfortunately for her, Nadia was in the bot’s head. She cut her offense short to block it out, and even as she took a lot of chip damage, her heart soared–she knew she’d won. “Baited! Nyahahaha!” When the beam died down, she had free reign to chain together an onslaught of claw slashes and kicks. The manic laughter from Wounds of Plenty fired off in the middle of it, adding insult (and even more injury) to injury, and after a few moments Nadia finished with another Fur-serker Purr-age to seal the deal. “Cat scratch fever!”

Robo-fortune wasn’t quite finished, but when she went for a desperate nail stab at Nadia’s throat, she leaned out of the way, sunk her teeth into her foe’s metal arm, then yanked the limb from its socket. “Rip-off!” Taking it by the hand, she whipped it around like a baseball bat into Robo’s head. Oil flew from the machine’s mouth as she hit the ground, down for the count. “And that’s that. No ifs, ands, or ro-buts!”

At that point, Annie scarcely needed to declare the winner. While Filia and Beowulf headed over to congratulate the catgirl, she merely offered a tired nod of newfound respect. “Not bad. Guess you do know how to do things New Meridian Style after all. Welcome to the NMO.”

Nadia beamed, though not in the way Robo-fortune had. “Sweet! Guess I’m off to sign up for the tournament, then!”

“Not wasting any time, huh?” Annie crossed her arms. “Which one you thinking?”

Nadia glanced over her shoulder at Robo-fortune, who had initiated self-repair protocols, then gestured for the other New Meridians to huddle together. “Listen up, ‘cause I got a plan…”

[hr]

After her friends’ tryouts concluded, and she completed her own registration for the tournament of her choice, Sakura had a little time before the proposed Pao Pao Cafe meetup to simply wander Esaka and reacquaint herself with the city. The Low Tier didn’t exactly have streets, but it did have a lot of familiar sights and sounds, mixed in with new things that had emerged in the month or two she’d been gone. Some Low Tier inhabitants and Yokai recognized her despite her absence, some greeting her and exchanging pleasantries, though the bystanders never accumulated into the adoring mob Terry had encountered. After a bit, though, Sakura did get the feeling that someone was following her. When it persisted, she finally turned around, and spotted not just one someone, but two recognizable someones headed her way.

“Heeey!” A young [url=https://i.imgur.com/DiUJuGi.png]Japanese woman[/url] with short brown hair hustled over to Sakura, an easy smile on her face as she called out with gusto. Like the [url=https://i.imgur.com/L45dOZn.png]more composed Montenegrin blonde[/url] that followed her at a measured pace, her expression austere, Asuka wore primarily white, albeit in the form of a smudged button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves instead of an expensive, pristine blouse with ruffles. “Sakura, right?” Asuka asked as she came to a stop a few feet away. “How’s it going? Do you remember me? Lili says we used to be friends, but…I have amnesia, so I don’t remember you. Uh, but I’m game to be friends again if you are!” With a spunky smile and closed eyes, Asuka crossed her arms.

As Lili approached, she adopted a less approachable pose, with one forearm resting on her midsection to support the elbow of the other forearm, which she held curled by her face as if checking her nails. “Miss Kasugano,” she began, sounding mildly, smugly amused like always. “When a little bird told me you’d finally returned, I simply had to fetch Asuka here and see for myself. You’re looking…well.” Her gaze was a little judgemental, but not unfriendly. “A pity it’s also true that you returned without your friend Miss Kanzuki. I was so looking forward to finally settling the matter of ‘best rivals’ with a friendly duel.”

The two pairs had, after all, shared what some might call a fated link. The duos, composed of a haughty, filthy-rich blonde aristocrat and a scrappier, friendlier brunette, had enough superficial similarities that both fighters and Yokai from Esaka often compared them. Some jokingly referred to them as ‘echo fighters’, others as the simpler and more derogatory term ‘clones’, all typically behind the young ladies’ backs. Asuka, Lili, Sakura, and Karin weren’t on bad terms, but if there was anything each pair of rivals could agree on, it was that [i]they[/i] were the dominant duo. Unfortunately, both Asuka and Karin had disappeared a while back after significant tournament losses, leaving an odd couple in Esaka until Sakura left to seek out Ryu. Karin’s appearance in Limsa Lominscuttle Town, and Asuka’s much more recent reappearance with none of her previous Esaka memories, told Sakura everything she needed to know in order to recontextualize what had happened–a fate these two seemed blind to.

“Oh, well,” Lili sighed with a shrug. “I suppose it will have to wait until Miss Kanzuki returns as well. I had just managed to persuade Asuka to edify herself with a visit to Critical Art when the news of your return reached me. If you’ve a mind to join us, feel quite free.”

While not enthused by the prospect of visiting some stuffy old art museum, Asuka seemed much more amenable now that she had someone fun around. “So, where’ve you been?” she asked Sakura. “Got any good stories? Maybe you’ll jog my memories!”

[hr]

In the course of silently observing his fellow detective’s tryout against Kyanta from beside the building’s front door, Big Band quickly came to a decision: that this wasn’t the gym for him. Though his mechanical body possessed great strength and fortitude, he knew he could be overwhelmed by quick, agile opponents, and if what he’d seen so far was anything to go by, he wouldn’t last one minute against these psychos. Their combos and attack patterns followed no logic that he could identify, defying both physics and common sense. While Zenkichi probably had enough magic tricks up his sleeve to pull off a win here, Band was a much more traditional fighter, and while on Kyanta’s turf he couldn’t rely on the Heavenly Principles to even things out. Better to find a dojo that catered to his strengths; if there was one upside to trawling Esaka’s Low Tier for diamonds in the rough, it was that there were plenty of options.

After wishing Zenkichi luck and bidding him farewell for now, Band set off for another pass around the bottommost district at his own pace. He stopped by a number of dojos in quick succession, spending up to five minutes at each, and what he saw didn’t exactly paint the brightest picture for him. As it turned out, the unregulated nonsense of Ultra Fight de Kyanta was more like the rule than the exception. Everywhere he looked he saw unreactable mixups, bizarre techniques, incongruent movements, infinite combos, and staggering imbalance even between members of the same dojo. The average low-tier fight looked more like a cracked-out frenzy than a proper sportsmanlike duel. [i]No wonder the higher tiers turn up their noses at these guys,[/i] he mused, shaking his head. The more Band saw, the quicker he went, more and more anxious about the invisible timer that hung over his head, ticking down the seconds until noon. He hadn’t wanted to partake in a tournament at all, of course, but if they really did involve Esaka’s Guardian like the others expected, he couldn’t hang his teammates out to dry. Soon, less than an hour remained to both join a dojo and register.

At length, though, Band stumbled upon an unusual dojo even by Low Tier standards. This one featured a lot of heavy metal, with a futuristic aesthetic, but it seemed only half-built, with weeds growing up from the disturbed earth in its partially-developed plot. The front door was shut tight, but with nobody around to stop him, Band let himself inside. Within, he found a strange scene. A state-of-the-art, highly technological gym languished in an incomplete state, its metallic interior dusty and rusting. The biggest surprise to Band was the bodies, not of people, but of robots. A variety of sporting-looking, combat ready machines could be found around the place, intact but inert. Poring over the scene piece by piece, Band found a handful of documents, culminating in the discovery of a ledger clutched tight in one robot’s hand. With that, he began to put the bigger picture together.

According to the documents, ‘Metal Revolution’ had been the name of the dojo-to-be, the project. Deliberately and carefully modeled after certain higher-tier dojos with a mind to emulate the best parts of each, the dojo and its roster had shown a lot of promise. Highly publicized throughout the lower and middle tiers, it had received a lot of attention and investment, but not enough to satisfy its founder’s grand designs. With the finish line in sight, Metal Revolution exhausted the last of its funding and support, shutting down before its efforts ever came to fruition. Its colorful cast of fighters, enthusiastically registered along with the dojo in advance, went offline one by one. All had been robots styled after various sports or martial arts the world over, with names like Xuan Cuo, Catalina Gomez, Paulo Silva, Jamal Ritter, and Umi Ito, but like their dojo they’d been forgotten by Esaka and its fighters.

It was a sad story, but in the midst of his revelations, Band saw an opportunity. “Hmm…” he murmured, scratching his chin with a little mechanical pincer as he reviewed the roster. However preemptive and futile it had been in the end, Metal Revolution and all its robotic fighters [i]had[/i] been registered with the tournament board. The Low Tier housed so many stagnant, half-dead dojos in various states of decomposition that he couldn’t help but wonder if Metal Revolution had ever actually been scrubbed from the records. With that in mind, Band paid his respects and vacated the premises, headed for the nearest registration booth.

Soon, the detective was looming in front of a yellow-and-white combot, its beady red eyes inquiring. “What is your name, which dojo do you represent, and which tournament would you like to enter?”

“Paulo Silva,” Band told the machine, his tone one of unflinching self-confidence. “Metal Revolution.” That left just one important question, and unfortunately he knew very little. He did know that King of Fighters used three-man teams, and he worked best in a team, but all three members probably had to be together to register. There was no time to try and find his fellow Seekers. “...World Warrior.”

Though the combot’s lack of face made it difficult to read, it didn’t seem to suspect anything. “Responses recorded. Eligibility check pending. You are free to go. Have an excellent day.”

Band let out the breath he’d been holding as he stepped away from the booth, walking past the line. Plenty of random low-tier fighters had left their registration until the last minute as well, but he didn’t feel any better about his gambit. [i]Nothing to do now but wait and see,[/i] he thought. After getting some distance, he lifted a pincer to the linkpearl in his ear and radioed the others. “Just registered myself. Headin’ to Pao Pao now, over.”

“Hey, me too!” Nadia’s bright, cheerful voice piped up over the comm line. “I’ll be a minute gettin’ down from the Mid Tier though. The Pools are real purr-ty, by the way. Nobody’s up there fightin’ today, so if anyone feels like a nice dip after lunch, we can have ourselves a pool paw-ty!”

Band did not relish the thought of immersing his five thousand pounds of intricate instrumentation in the water, so he decided not to volunteer. Instead he made his way through the Low Tier to Gold Team’s designated rendezvous point, ready to meet back up with everyone else.

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

With the glow of red paper lanterns shining off the burnished whiskers and antlers of gilded Chinese dragons, and zesty music playing near its fully-loaded bar, Pao Pao had a nigh-irresistible party atmosphere. The decor of the place, from the red railings that ringed its second-story balcony to the elaborate antique wall panels on the first floor, not to mention those great serpentine statues, struck Nadia as oddly similar to the Dragon Empire styling of some restaurants in Little Innsmouth. It wasn’t quite the same, of course, but it still left her smiling from ear to ear the moment she entered. After showing herself to the back of the restaurant, she joined a number of other Seekers at a long table. The new guys Terry and Kim were both present, while Junior, Rika, Primrose, and Therion were notably absent; Nadia guessed they must be off doing their own thing.

The moment after Nadia seated herself by Big Band, the mii waitress appeared to take her drink and appetizer order, having already taken everyone else’s. “Cola and pork dumplings, please!” the feral chirped after a quick glance at the menu. After the waitress left, she looked around at the others and told them, apropos of nothing, “So, I signed up for Mortal Kombat…”

Band nearly choked on his sweet tea. “You did what?”

The feral shrugged. “Well, someone’s got to, right? Plus, it’s got the least entrants, so that means fewer fights. And if, God forbid, I somehow do lose, I can just play dead!” To prove her point, her head rolled off her shoulders and plopped into her hands with her tongue sticking out and her ears drooping. “See? I’ll just fall to pieces the second someone goes to fatalize me, and bam, dead,” she declared cheerfully, using the term she learned during her attempted registration.

[i]There’s more than one way to skin a cat,[/i] Band thought, but what he said was, “And what about the people you beat? You’re s’posed to kill them, too, ain’tcha?”

“Don’t care!” Nadia replied breezily. “What’re they gonna do, boo me? It’s not grounds for disqualification, I don’t think. Much as I’d love everyone cheerin’ my name, all that really matters is beatin’ the guardian.”

Soon after, the waitress returned with Nadia’s orders, then pulled out a notebook to take everyone’s entree orders. Between authentic Chinese cuisine and various South American dishes, from Brazilian to Chilean, there were a lot of tasty-sounding options. Once everyone had given their lunch orders, the conversation could continue.

[center][h3]Frozen Highlands - Krat Zoo[/h3]
Lvl 8 Sandalphon (61/80) Level 5 Heismay (28/50)
Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double], Ramattra’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2023

[b]Nameless Stagecoach[/b]
𖥞: 8/8 | 🛡️: 7/8 | [b]Equipment:[/b] Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/(None)/(None)/(None) | [b]Companion[/b]: None[/center]

Once the stagecoach came to a stop within the Hall of Adventure, Heismay wordlessly lent his blade to the efforts to secure the area. There were fewer carcasses in the immediate vicinity than one might expect, and mostly standard human ones at that, so with nearly a dozen Seekers it was no trouble to clear them out. Truth be told, Heismay was grateful. Though he’d fought without giving voice to his reservations, these monstrosities disturbed him greatly. The Humans that plagued his world were awful, certainly, but their horror came from an indescribably alien ‘otherness’ and ‘wrongness’. These carcasses were like nothing he’d ever seen, a repulsive and gruesome mockery of life itself, reeking of death and disease. He agreed with Sandalphon completely; the world would be better off with these things wiped out. The only problem was that he needed to help do it.

Edward and Geralt decided to stay with Sandalphon and protect the stagecoach, while a number of Seekers trooped toward the east wing, especially once the archangel’s report confirmed an avenue of egress on that side. Accordingly, Heismay turned his attention to the west wing. With the main doorway blocked, he jumped over the gap in the collapsed stairs on the western side, then proceeded through to the east wing’s second floor, where he paused on the threshold to scope it out. He spotted a half-dozen rectangular taxidermy displays along the walls, mostly themed around the wetlands. Flamingos, crocodile, hippopotamus, beavers, water buffalo, capybara…Heismay recognized few of those names, but even with the zoo in this condition, it was easy to get distracted admiring these animals.

He could see three human carcasses, a male one near the entrance and two female ones further away. The first one still wore the remnants of a showy yellow tweed suit. “Quite the dandy,” Heismay muttered. That carcass seemed busy pummeling the taxidermied remains of a beaver, mindlessly smashing the husk over and over, so Heismay snuck up on it with relative ease. With ample time to prepare, he transformed as he approached, then used Dark Sword from behind to hack the former gentleman in twain.

When Heismay changed back and turned to focus on the other two, however, he had a surprise waiting for him. Blazermate had flown in without any regard for stealth, then used that strange shield of hers to bite the two female carcasses once each, amidst their ineffective flailings. Having done the deed, the medabot flew away, and when the carcasses turned to face her they spotted Heismay instead.

“Damn it.” The eugief darted behind a display as the carcasses approached, snarling horribly. He looked around, identified a piece of broken glass, then picked it up and tossed it over the display. When it shattered, the carcasses turned to investigate the sound. Without delay, Heismay hopped up onto the display, then jumped toward the enemies. He spread his wings to close the distance by gliding silently, then drew his sword as he dropped to deliver a spine-severing slash to one target. As it fell, he pivoted and cut through the other’s leg, then repositioned himself in order to lop off its head as it toppled. It seemed dead, but the other one’s upper half was still functional. “Vile things.” Heismay tightened his grip on his longsaber, repositioned himself, then chopped off the carcasse’s arms. With no way to move or attack, it wouldn’t be much of a threat to anyone.

Heismay crossed through the second floor, pausing only to look at the taxidermied reptile. Compared to the others, even the more sizable hippopotamus, the croc seemed to have the most care and attention put into it. It was of no consequence, though, and the eugief proceeded down the stairs to the west wing’s first floor. A crude and highly damaged barricade had been erected at its base at some point, but Heismay had no trouble getting past it. Looking around, it seemed like a number of survivors had attempted to hole up here at some point, hoarding all the supplies they could. The wing looked like a junkyard of smashed boxed, broken suitcases, and trampled personal belongings, all the former property of families who’d traveled here to visit the zoo on holiday. He could see a few highly disfigured carcasses, and when one sensed him, it tore a bluish polyp off its body to hurl at him. “Not today.” Heismay jumped away from the globule of decay, then approached, methodically dashing and dodging projectiles until he could put the carcass out of its misery. A similar approach worked for the other ones, and after another minute the bottom floor was clear. Heismay wiped steaming teal fluids off his longsaber using a tattered frock. “Plague us no more.”

At his words, one large suitcase seemed to react, shaking suddenly. Muffled sounds emanated from within. Swallowing, Heismay narrowed his eyes and approached. He waited until the struggling died down, then carefully undid the latch, his blade at the ready.

The suitcase burst open, and from within tumbled a short man with a long, braided, orange beard, gasping for breath. As he panted, Heismay lowered his blade. “Ohh, thank ye for freein’ me,” the [url=https://i.imgur.com/Yn4FJia.png]viking[/url] gasped, laying on the floor. He turned toward his rescuer, only to be taken aback. “Eh!? A bat-man?”

Heismay narrowed his eyes. “And what of it?”

Realizing his mistake, the viking held up his hands. “Nono, it’s great and all, I just…didn’t think you’d be a bat-man.” He cleared his throat. “I owe you one. The name’s Erik–Erik the Swift! What should I call ye?”

“I am Heismay Noctule,” the eugief told him, sheathing his blade. “What were you doing in a suitcase?”

“I climbed in tryin’ to hide from those wretched monsters, only to lock myself in,” Erik explained as he got up. “Wasn’t too bad, mind ye…kind of cozy, actually…but it was startin’ to get a bit stuffy.” He picked up and put on his one-horned helmet, then straightened it. “Ah, that’s better. It’s not just me though, see. My brothers, Baleog and Olaf, are around here somewhere. We got stuck here a few days ago. Found this strange doohickey and tried to call for help, but the monsters found us, and we got separated while runnin’.” Erik rubbed his head anxiously. “Any chance you can help me find ‘em? The three of us, we’re a package deal. Don’t know what I’d do without ‘em.”

Heismay nodded sympathetically. “I’ll inform my comrades. We can certainly keep an eye out. Meanwhile, you should stay with us, in our stagecoach. We…look out!”

Suddenly, Heismay dove into hiding behind a crate. Without question, Erik dove back into his suitcase with a yelp. The reason why was obvious: a horrific monstrosity had just reached the bottom of the stairs. It took a second for Heismay to even realize what he was looking at, but the realization was dreadful indeed; it was the corpses of the two carcasses he just dispatched, reanimated and fused together in hideous fashion. A single head lolled atop the mass as it crawled on three arms and one leg, the severed fourth limb dangling behind it like a tail as the rags of its dresses hung from its fused flesh. Heismay shivered, his breathing heightened. “I killed them…I killed them!” he hissed. None of the others had come back, so why now?

He steadied his breathing. How it came back was of no concern to him. Only eliminating it for good. As far as he could tell, the horror hadn’t detected him, and had in fact turned away to hobble back up the stairs. Time to make his move. Heismay leaped out from behind cover. “Thief!” Transforming, he launched a Mudo at the abomination, then charged after it with his curved greatsword raised. “HaaaaAH!” Though the monster had a second to prepare, it did not attempt to defend itself, so Heismay slashed away. After a moment its pieces fell to the floor, turning to ash as Heismay changed back. His chest heaved as he tried to shake off the chills running down his spine. “We’re clear,” he called back.

When he heard only rattling and muffled yells in reply, Heismay looked back to find that Erik had locked himself in that suitcase again. With a sigh, the eugief jogged back over to free him again.

Before moving on, they took a quick look around. There were still some usable items strewn around the former hideout.

[center][hider=Items obtained][b][url=https://i.imgur.com/vf0bdjT.png]Vivid Ergo Crystal[/url][/b]
A fragment of Ergo, a mysterious power stone that can be found in Krat. Ergo is both a power source and a currency in Krat. Ergo crystals are considered a precious material and good food for those who run on Ergo.

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/jDUYeLZ.png]Fire Abrasive[/url][/b]
A special abrasive made by mixing fire metal powders. Temporarily imbues a weapon with Fire. Wise Stalkers are prepared to face any manner of variable that comes up in battle. Abrasives are another weapon that can turn the tide on the constantly shifting battlefield

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/Wm2JWwY.png]Shot Put[/url][/b]
Some throwable weapons boast great destructive power on their own. When combined with brute strength, nothing more needs to be said. This heavy object can not only deal respectable physical blunt damage, but also break the stance of enemies in a staggerable state from a distance

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/Q84w8iX.png]Trephine Bur[/url][/b]
Inflicts 10% damage on the target and inverts all debuffs into buffs with a refreshed duration

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/rBDNxiG.png]Ratshaker[/url][/b]
The latest and greatest problem-solving product. [url=https://i.imgur.com/t13iszD.png]The rat[/url] inside is completely inert and won’t do anything unless held around the midsection. Shaking the rat will cause it to make noise and fill the Ratshaker Meter, which appears at the center of one’s vision when shaking. Filling the Ratshaker Meter while pointing at stuff can cause things to happen around the user, though the more the rat is used, the more audible evil-sounding whispers become. The rat will also talk to the shaker more often, which only the shaker can hear, with a sardonic attitude, apparent full knowledge of the shaker’s past, and a desire to probe past traumas. The rat can be cracked like a glowstick, which will cause it to scream, after which it will emit light for a while. It can also be squeezed, which lowers the Ratshaker Meter and is the only way to stop the rat talking. The rat cannot be killed[/hider][/center]

Heismay saw the immediate value in the fire abrasive, the function of which he could intuit from its resemblance to a weapon grinder and fiery nature. The shot put looked destructive, but better used in the hands of someone of great physical strength, like Ace or Ganondorf. Since it was so heavy, Heismay gave it to Erik to carry. It was less clear how to use the crystal and bur, but maybe Sectonia could figure it out; she seemed magical enough. Most perplexing by far was the box labeled Ratshaker. When the eugief reluctantly opened it, he could only stare in confusion at the strange, unmoving rat in his hand. After a moment he reluctantly tried shaking it. “Aaaaaa, aaaaaa, aaaaaa-aaaaa-aaaaa,” it went, not so loudly that it startled Heismay, but still unpleasant, especially with the Ratshaker Meter that briefly seared itself into the middle of his vision.

“I don’t like this thing,” he decided. Maybe Sectonia could figure it out, too.

He and Erik carefully made their way back to the group. Ignorant of Blazermate’s abilities, Heismay proceeded to warn everyone about the phenomenon he’d observed once he introduced Erik. “Bad news, everyone. These horrors can reanimate even after they seem dead, and combine themselves into larger, even more horrible monsters. We must be extra vigilant.” Narrowing his eyes, he held up the rat. “And can someone take this? I get the feeling it might be useful, but ever since I tried shaking it, I’ve been hearing whispers…”