[center][h3]Esaka’s Low Tier / Middle Tier[/h3]
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (149/150) Level 11 Big Band (49/110)
Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Zenkichi’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Pit’s [@Yankee] Sakura & Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Harry and Kim’s [@Eviledd1984] Terry’s [@Terry Bogard] Yayama’s [@Chevaleresse]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1377 / 1426[/center]

While she’d already proved that she could scale the walls separating one of Esaka’s tiers from another today, Nadia wasn’t in any hurry to repeat her feat three times over, especially after that tiresome slugfest with Asher. Finding and taking three sets of lifts would eat up extra time, but the catgirl wasn’t in any hurry either. Between now and the tournament’s official start tomorrow, she had nothing but time to kill, and if she planned to spend the night in a comfy hotel bed instead of reliving her childhood memories as an alley cat in the streets, she’d need more zenny than she could make by hustling low-tier locals. It was about time the cat burglar reached into the same bag of tricks that served her so well in the Nyakuza Metro, and like any art, hers couldn’t be rushed.

Nadia leaned on the railing of the elevator as it lifted her from the Low Tier to the Pools, feeling the wind in her hair as she watched the slums recede beneath her and the idyllic farmland beyond the tiered city’s walls stretch out into the distance. Even though she’d only been in Esaka a short while, she already loved the atmosphere here. It was by no means perfect, with plenty of inequality that stemmed from its stark class divides, plus the desensitized, systemic self-destruction caused by the Four Kings’ tournament society, but it still fascinated her. She could see the vision of what a place like this could look like without Galeem, and it excited her. Too bad that this one-of-a-kind culture would vanish along with the rest of the World of Light once the Seekers’ campaign concluded. Nadia sighed and turned her gaze toward the distant, prismatic entity that hovered over Empty Space, an ever-present reminder of this reality’s true nature.

Her mind continued to wander after she walked along the arches of a bridge across the Pools, then up to the Mid Tier. Once she reached the High Tier, however, Nadia forced herself to focus. From here on in, she was no longer a sightseer, but a predator on the hunt for prey.

Even compared to the tier just beneath it, though, this one was a different beast, and a far cry from Nadia’s typical stomping grounds. If the Middle Tier had looked like a small city, the High Tier looked like a metropolis, with wider streets, taller buildings and more space in general. In lieu of bustling marketplaces were well-lit, neatly kept supermarkets, with only the odd hot dog stand on the street. People didn’t collect into crowds much of anywhere, so pickpocketing would be much more difficult, and every establishment could be counted on to have some sort of security. As she walked around, scoping out the various buildings from a safe distance, Nadia couldn’t help but feel out of her element. No doubt the richest people could be found here, but their money would be safe and sound in vaults, not stashed under their beds. And as audacious as Nadia could be some time, the feral wasn’t about to rob a bank or anything. She would need to be creative and selective, even more so than with the jewelry store in the Metro.

As she wandered she found a few possible places, but thought better of them all, always moving on before anyone started looking at her funny. Some of the folks she passed by on the street looked affluent, but as much as Nadia resented rich people, she remembered that money in Esaka depended on one’s fighting skill, so it was even harder to tell who might be both deserving and worthwhile. Eventually, she approached the base of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/n0aWiDF.png]tall skyscraper[/url], drawn by some commotion. While this building -apparently the headquarters of some business called G Corp- seemed to have a lot of [url=https://i.imgur.com/yDoaVqr.png]well-armed soldiers[/url] for security, who both stood guard in front and patrolled walkways higher up, most of their attention seemed to be on some sort of standoff near the entrance. There, a handful of soldiers headed by a [url=https://i.imgur.com/uogfR6B.png]brawny robot with a mohawk[/url] and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/bdWn1sX.png]red-suited brute[/url] stood opposite a squad of [url=https://i.imgur.com/NqkLHWV.png]troopers in black armor[/url] with an [url=https://i.imgur.com/5e6WMJU.png]armored bear[/url]. Some of the rival units’ elites had been squaring off, but with all the raised voices around Nadia couldn’t figure out who won or what was going to happen next. She also noticed a [url=https://i.imgur.com/OMuHyTD.png]muscular gentleman[/url] with a black stovepipe hat who seemed to be arguing that he should be president of G Corp since he was already a president and his name was G, but nobody paid him any attention.

More importantly, the feud gave Nadia an opportunity to sneak into G Corp itself. She left the squabble behind and walked alongside the structure toward the edge of the tier, as the skyscraper happened to be perched upon the precipice. There would be plenty of security around the front of the building, but what about the back? It didn’t make sense to station guards back there, and even if they did, surely they would’ve been reassigned to the commotion out front by now. When she reached the perimeter railing, she casually leaned on it and looked up at the G Corp HQ. It offered only sheer surfaces and arrayed glass windows, with no windowsills and few obvious handholds. If she broke through the window, it could trigger an alarm and all kinds of unwanted attention. Nadia chilled there for a few minutes as she thought about her options before a bright idea finally materialized.

She summoned her Harbor Water Demon striker, then called upon one of the huge abyssal’s least-used abilities. At her command, the striker deployed three spherical [url=https://i.imgur.com/pi7vi3X.png]CAT fighters[/url], then disappeared. As the fighters flew upward, Nadia jumped up to grab one in each hand. 2,700 Pounds of Justice was working against her here, but with the help of the third fighter to lift her up from below she could ascend. In that manner the catgirl slowly gained altitude, bound for the skyscraper’s roof.

It took a good while, but eventually Nadia reached her destination, undetected by G Corp security. Rather than the roof, she made for a [url=https://i.imgur.com/I42eFFx.png]helipad balcony[/url], where a black helicopter was undergoing maintenance. Once she jumped down, Nadia noticed that the mechanics had left the door open while working. Laughing to herself at her good luck, she easily slipped into the building.

She found herself in a dark, lavish office, full of expensive furniture and artworks. Judging by the huge [url=https://i.imgur.com/wtmzu5M.png]portrait[/url] behind the desk, it seemed to belong to an almost comically evil-looking man, with swept-back black hair, a single red eye, and a purple alligator-skin trench coat. “Wow, that guy looks evil-lainous,” she muttered. Keeping a low profile, Nadia began to look around. Some of the furniture here ought to fetch a good price, but it would be tricky to abscond with pretty much anything. Maybe that millionaire had some ‘pocket change’ lying around, or better yet, a hidden vault.

After a couple minutes, the engineers finished with the helicopter and packed up their gear to head through the office. Nadia quickly ducked behind the desk and hid underneath it to wait. While under there, she happened to see a button next to the chair, which prompted her to wiggle her eyebrows nefariously. “Ooh~” Once she couldn’t hear the mechanics anymore, she stood up and gave that button a press. 

Nadia heard a creak behind her. She turned as the huge portrait -and the wall behind it- split apart, revealing a secret passage. A crack of golden light shone upon her face, slowly widening as the feral’s eyes sparkled. When she realized what she was looking at, a breathless gasp of laughter escaped her. “Oh. My. God…”

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/2HZEHiQ.png[/img][/center]

[hr]

The longer Band spent in the Middle Tier, the more bemused he became about the mindset of the average Esaka citizen. Wherever he went he found plenty of people willing to chat, but the fighters and the yokai alike all seemed fundamentally incurious. They could explain to him the minutia of a technique’s block advantage, breaking each movement down into sixtieths of a second, and they could recite various fighters’ catalogues of special moves by heart, but they couldn’t see the bigger picture. Nobody questioned the tournaments or the society centered around them, nor its stratified structure, and while the Four Kings maintained a bad reputation among the populace, nobody seemed to question their authority or entertain the idea of overthrowing them. There were no whispers about conspiracies that an intrepid investigator could trace down and solve. As long as they were entertained, and found some way to get by, the people were content. Or at least complacent.

It disturbed Band, in part because he knew that he couldn’t blame this state of affairs on Galeem completely. Back in New Meridian, things had been pretty bad for the everyday low-to-middle-class citizen, and things never seemed to change or get better. Folks indulged themselves with fantasies of upending the system, but the powers that be were impenetrable for the average civilian. If someone actually managed to get ahead, they’d only become more invested in keeping things the way they were to preserve whatever they’d managed to achieve. In a situation like that, it was no wonder that people became addicted to distractions. [i]Bread and circuses, Ben,[/i] he thought. [i]Bread and circuses.[/i]

If nothing else, the detective managed to turn up important details about one subject: the Four Kings. While they seldom appeared to the public, and tournament winners rarely bothered to actually challenge them after the grand finals, they captivated the public and were subject to a great deal of scrutiny. Over the course of several conversations, Big Band pieces together a relatively complete picture of their capabilities.

M. Bison was the archetypal tyrant, a ruthless and forceful maniac who wielded an energy called Psycho Power in battle, allegedly borne from the fear, anger, and hatred of others. In the arena, he oppressed his opponents with a forward-moving onslaught of beefy slugs, slides, and scissor kicks, never giving them room to breathe. If he were allowed to plant a Psycho Mine, his challenger would be even more stuck, forced to deal with Bison’s assault while a timer ticked down to an automatic explosion. Even if someone managed to push him back, his famous Psycho Crusher would bring him right back in, breezing straight through projectiles if he chose to enhance it. His lack of ranged attacks and reversals were weaknesses that few foes could exploit.

Shao Khan, host of the Mortal Kombat tournament, was best known for his bloodthirstiness. He didn’t fight just to win, but to maim and torment his foes, crushing bones with his trademark hammer or piercing organs with a spear. Evidently he could summon new weapons on the fly if he lost or hurled old ones, and according to one tremulous gossiper he could somehow prevent foes from blocking. Naturally, his raw strength was unmatched among the Four Kings as well. In his tournament, he decreed that all contenders eliminated in the Losers’ Bracket be put to death. The messier, the better. While Mortal Kombat garnered the fewest participants among the four tournaments, it had some of the most crazed fans, and for some reason or another, made the most money week after week after week.

The man who ran the King of Iron Fist struck Band as the most interesting of the four. For all intents and purposes, he appeared to be just a tough old man, without any overt supernatural abilities–unless one counted his unmistakable haircut as supernatural. Nevertheless, Heihachi Mishima was widely respected and feared as a true martial arts master, with a colorful history. Rumor had it that he’d fathered upwards of twenty illegitimate children, survived the explosions of several kamikaze robots point-blank, and even come back from falling into a volcano unconscious. People also whispered that he’d once done the same to his own child, and even killed his wife. His famous techniques included Stonehead, the Hellsweep, Heaven’s Wrath, and the Electric Wind God Fist.

Rugal Bernstein held the honor of being the least fought among the Four Kings, with a penchant for arrogant cruelty, absurd strength, and turned conquered challengers into trophies by encasing their live bodies in metal. Everything Band heard about him made his skin crawl, which considering all that Band had seen and heard during his years in the NMPD and Anti-Skullgirl Labs, was no easy feat. His fighting style was an unpredictable mash of the notorious moves stolen from other fighters, supplemented by nasty-sounding techniques like Genocide Cutter and Dark Barrier. Supposedly, he also owned an entire zoo’s worth of black panthers that he sometimes brought onto the battlefield as assists. His only weakness seemed to be that he fought as a team of one, but given everything else Band learned about him, it sounded like he’d be plenty bad enough on his own.

After learning all this from various sources, Band decided to take a break. The longer he went, the more elusive juicy details got, and with all of the other ambient information about Esaka to absorb his brain was fried. Band retired to a [url=https://i.imgur.com/OxpQhQt.gif]picturesque park[/url] amidst a few of the Middle Tier’s buildings, where he sat on the sturdiest bench he could find to relax, close his eyes, and listen to the wind though the leaves. Though Esaka had very few children or families, there were still a handful of people here, quietly seeking peace from the city’s hustle and bustle here. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and occasionally a [url=https://i.imgur.com/XRjIcuz.png]dog[/url] or two ran across the grass.

Though it was nice to be somewhere quiet, it wasn’t too long before Band got the urge to fill the silence. After thinking for a minute, he set his hat down by his feet, then deployed his saxophone and began to play. He started off with some warm-ups, none too loud, then kicked off some low-key, jazzy ambiance. His goal wasn’t to make a scene, just to paint a pleasant picture with his cheerfully arrhythmic notes. For much of it he kept his eyes closed, not even minding who came and went whilst listening to his music. At one point, though, he opened his eyes after a long stretch of music to find a [url=https://i.imgur.com/umVlq6J.png]young lady[/url] standing right in front of him. She looked like a Japanese high-schooler, with long, ash-brown ringlets, a sky-blue dress, and vivid red shoes.

“Excuse me, mister,” she addressed him in a small, calm voice. She was holding a violin, as well as a bow. “If it’s not any trouble, may I play alongside you?”

Big Band nodded. “Of course.”

He scooted over, and the young lady sat down beside him. The duo began to play, tentatively taking turns at first as they got a feel for one another. After a bit of practice, however, the musicians could really get going. Rather than anything loud, exciting, or upbeat, they continued to play in a more restrained, wistful and longing manner, the solemn and haunting violin strings complimenting Band’s saxophone blues. Though they lacked lyrics, or the musical depth of a full band, the two strangers found themselves able to make something beautiful together. They lost themselves in the music, and time flew by.

Band did not bother keeping time during his reverie, but by the time he finally put his saxophone away, the sky had grown dark, and not just because the afternoon was coming to an end. [url=https://i.imgur.com/aqVvjud.gif]Rainclouds hung overhead[/url], and purple lightning flashed to the east. At some point the girl had slipped away, taking none of the money that appreciative passers-by had left in Band’s hat. When he stooped to pick it up, he was surprised and heartwarmed to see a decent chunk of change in there, probably enough to last him a day or two. He stared off into the distance as thunder rumbled, silently grateful for the company of the young violinist. Then, as raindrops began to fall, the detective got to his feet and moved on.

[center][h3]Krat Zoo - Back to the Midnight Walk[/h3]
Lvl 8 Sandalphon (103/80) Level 5 Heismay (76/50)
Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double], Ramattra’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] Mokou’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1239

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/p76VSWM.png]Nameless Stagecoach[/url][/b]
𖥞: 8/8 | 🛡️: 7/8 | [b]Equipment:[/b] Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/(None)/(None)/(None) | [b]Companion[/b]: Ratshaker Rat[/center]

With Markiona taken care of, the members of Sandalphon’s strike team quickly retraced their steps through the Botanical Garden and back to the stagecoach, where they rendezvoused with the rest of White Team. A quick meeting with those who’d been elsewhere allowed her to check a number of boxes off her mental checklist.

For one, Mokou had managed to complete her mission and reunite the three Lost Vikings, all safe and sound thanks to her diligent efforts. Overjoyed to be back together and none the worse for wear, against all odds, the three offered her rare artifacts as recompense. Even if it would take one more Piece of Heart to complete a new heart container and boost Mokou’s maximum health, it was a thoughtful gesture. Based on the phoenix girl’s combat prowess and self-revival abilities, though, Sandalphon had something more important to offer her. “If you have no particular destination in mind, you’re welcome to continue traveling alongside us,” the archangel told her. “We have a long journey ahead, of which this zoo was just the first step. The road ahead will be inundated with danger, but it will afford you ample riches, entertainment, and chances to do good deeds.” If she agreed, one more reward would be hers eventually: freedom from Galeem’s bondage. Everyone deserved to be free, but in Sandalphon’s eyes, Mokou’s performance and attitude had fast-tracked her liberation, if she saw fit to accept it.

Thanks to the clue hidden in the cryptic vessel, Sectonia had indeed discovered a hidden letter in the mouth of the taxidermied Rex the Crocodile, that being the suspicions of the taxidermist about the true nature of Colonel Little’s murder. “Thank you, Sectonia.” Together with the other snippets of information she’d learned so far, Sandalphon could begin to assemble the story in her mind. At some point after Little founded Krat Zoo, a clandestine group known as the Alchemists -possibly headed by Markiona- had approached him in order to obtain the zoo and its inhabitants for their own purposes. Little had opposed them, but perhaps due to financial trouble, he’d lost ground bit by bit, until the alchemists decided to dispose of him and frame his faithful companion, Rex the Crocodile, as the killer. Finally, Rex himself was slain and turned into a display in his owner’s beloved Hall of Adventure. It was a morbid tale, but even if it didn’t mean anything, Sandalphon was glad to bring the truth to light, and clear the poor reptile’s name at last.

When Ganondorf and Roxas returned, the strange duo came bearing seeds and vegetubes. “You obtained mistletoe? That is excellent news. Considering that they are only seeds, it seems prudent to install the vegetubes on the stagecoach itself, both to grow the mistletoe and obtain a sustainable food supply. There should be adequate space toward the front.” The vegetubes probably needed power, but maybe Edward could make something work with those mana fuel cells of his.

With Markiona and her alchemists gone, the carcasses cleared out, the seeds acquired, the Lost Vikings found, everyone in one piece, and a promising new recruit, the Seekers had not only made it through Krat Zoo but also achieved more than she could have predicted or hoped for. That included all the information from Markiona’s study, but out of everything she’d learned, Sandalphon saw fit to share just one pertinent detail with the others as they gathered inside the stagecoach for stew. “By the way, you all need not concern yourselves with infection from those carcasses. I discovered conclusive evidence that the animals only mutated in that manner from a combination of subjection to the Petrification Disease and the Alchemists’ ‘elixir’. There is no airborne, bloodborne, or other pathogen in play.”

Heismay swallowed his mouthful of stew, then let out a big sigh of relief. “That’s very good to hear.”

After a moment Sandalphon continued. “I would like to make two requests, though. First, may I have all the ergo crystals you all collected? And second, if possible I would like to claim Markiona’s spirit? I believe she possesses skills that would be of particular use to me.”

“You'll hear no objections from me,” Heismay consented, placing the spirit he’d collected onto the bench where she could take it, or others could argue over it.

Once everyone was ready, the burliest Seekers could push open Krat Zoo’s back door. The Reindrix, revitalized by their rest and the tasty, puffy kernels of the popcorn plants, set off vigorously down the [url=https://i.imgur.com/vukBBj5.png]Midnight Walk[/url] marked by burnt matchsticks and into a snowy wasteland beneath the dark and cloudy sky.

[hider=The Tale of Colonel Little]
[b]Destination Reward:[/b] 25 EXP
[b]Tale Completion Reward:[/b] 10 EXP
[b]Gator Tamer Achievement:[/b] Geralt & Blazermate
[b]Achievement Reward:[/b] 5 EXP[/hider]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jv8lQiz.png[/img][/center]

For a good ways, the terrain seemed to be mostly flat, expansive snowfields, interspersed by large, rocky outscrops. Small pine forests could be found here and there, but for the most part this leg of the journey was wide open. With the snow about two feet deep everywhere but the Midnight Walk, the stagecoach could speed along straightaways, its occupants much more secure than in the Reaver Woods thanks to the open sightlines. Nevertheless, there was plenty to be found off the beaten path. This area seemed to be rich in surface coal deposits, just sitting out in the open for anyone to mine, and there were an unusual number of geothermal vents as well.

At one point, the Midnight Walk led the stagecoach through a valley. Perched atop the bluffs on either side were [url=https://i.imgur.com/bvT92Fy.png]strange flying machines[/url] that resembled locomotive gyrocopters, one painted green and the other red. Through reconnaissance, whether via Edward’s drones or just by going over to see for themselves, the Seekers would find not only burly [url=https://i.imgur.com/ZpRoFjc.png]henchmen[/url] busily mining coal or building defenses, but a variety of bizarre and, frankly, impossible creatures. On the right side, where a [url=https://i.imgur.com/RvAF3LK.png]brunette in a teal shirt[/url] seemed to be in charge, there were a variety of predominantly [url=https://i.imgur.com/2pOhJD0.jpeg]terrestrial mismatched monsters[/url], while on the left the [url=https://i.imgur.com/4IQwYxl.jpeg]freaky forces[/url] of the [url=https://i.imgur.com/OMGpgsT.png]big bald boss[/url] were more suited for aquatic warfare. If anyone kept an eye on them for a minute or two, it would be hard to miss additional units getting spit out of [url=https://i.imgur.com/0dxYVb9.png]enigmatic spawners[/url] that seemed to manifest them from nothing but coal and electricity.

As the stagecoach continued on, they happened to pass by a spot on the right where a [url=https://i.imgur.com/XSHfwne.png]gray wolf[/url] had just been tranquilized by a [url=https://i.imgur.com/AX2IFHV.png]dashing huntsman[/url] who was in the process of extracting a small DNA sample to take back to base. Heismay, riding atop the stagecoach as usual, couldn’t help but be curious about the two factions’ standoff all the weird critters involved therein. If someone else elected to split off from the stagecoach to investigate, he’d go along with them.