[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/zwmtO3n.png[/img]
Level 7 - EXP 7/70
The Frozen Highlands[/center]
[hr]
[hr][center][h2]Radio Hijinx[/h2][h3]Midnight Walk - Endless Woods[/h3]
Featuring: Tenna, Ganondorf, and the Ace Cadet.
[b]Word Count: 6669[/b] // +7 EXP[/center]

After her words of reassurance that none of the group would be afflicted by the infection that ravaged Krat Zoo, Sandaphlon retired to the Stagecoach before they resumed their journey. Resting in the main cabin, she was committed to her regular duties of observation and surveillance for intelligence of the area soon to come on the Midnight Walk. Diligently, her eyes scanned over every surface of her light screens and read every number in deep concentration. 

The area ahead was sure to have a new slew of threats, so before the Seekers of White Team made their next march, the idle archangel continued to compile the topography, weather, and landmarks of what to expect. Along with her screens, Sandaphlon was also flipping between different radio channel chatter in an attempt to find a broadcast that might contain useful information. A lot of the wavelengths were dead however, too far from any radio tower to receive a clean signal. There was only one radio station in the surrounding area, and it was the only one that the citizens of Snowdin could listen to as a result, which she had come to discover in her work a couple of hours ago. The issue now, however, was finding that signal again so that she might see what kind of news was being reported.

However, something very odd happened when she finally heard audio from the same broadcast frequency. Rather than relaying any news or playing any tunes from a distant world, an odd [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd9hnjTQayk]distorted-sounding message[/url] was all that played on loop. She even tried checking over other wavelengths to make sure this was the only radio station currently active, but only found the odd recording playing over and over, even after looping around empty static; it was the only available message. Regardless of her care for the citizens of Snowdin’s entertainment, the radio station [i]did[/i] provide useful information and gossip when it wasn’t playing its music, and not having it available made her work more difficult. She saw it best to have one of the other Seekers run this little errand for her to investigate and return the Stagecoach before it got too far away for the evening.

After asking for volunteers, one of the Seekers who ended up going to check the place out was the Ace Cadet. He wasn't fleet of foot like a few others, but his armor allowed him to easily move through the snow. He was also still in good shape as the morning wore into afternoon, having had an easier time with the last few hostile encounters. Just lucky, he guessed. And though he was interested in how the recently discovered vegetubes worked (especially since Roxas and Ganondorf had apparently found some mistletoe seeds while they were at it), he figured he could learn about them after they were set up, and thus he was glad to go look into the radio situation. It wasn't too far away, apparently (the Seekers' leader wouldn't have suggested investigating if it was completely out of the way), its tower eventually peeking over the pine trees as Ace headed in the direction Sandalphon had indicated the signal was coming from. The area wasn't as thickly forested as the earliest part of the Midnight Walk, so it wasn't long before the hunter spotted what he thought was his destination through the trees.

Heavy footsteps crunched against the snow in the direction that the hunter had come in from. But it was not a Carcass, nor a Puppet. It was the imposing form of Ganondorf, the Gerudo Warlord having elected to follow after the Ace Cadet some minutes after the latter had departed from the stagecoach. Ganondorf had now caught up, having been delayed briefly when he scarfed down a bowl of stew from the pot. Something about the Gravemind’s spirit had greatly increased his appetite. Probably had something to do with regenerating his body’s biomass, he wagered. Thankfully, he suffered little to no damage during the fight against Tom, and that meant he had almost fully recovered from the beating he took from the Elephant Carcass he and Roxas fought in the Hall Of Adventure.

As for why the Gerudo had chosen to follow the monster hunter, that was quite simple really. He’d been wanting to hear a few more details about the members of Moebius that Ace had previously fought against, and about the flame clock he had seen in Edinbourgh. A distraction such as this excursion was as good a time as any to strike up the conversation. [color=797979]”So this is the source of that… ray-dee-oh that the Archangel listens to?”[/color] Ganondorf asked aloud, not looking very impressed by the ruined radio tower.

Similar to the monster hunter (who was just barely familiar with radio, the little experience he had with either limited to the past few weeks in the World of Light), the word ‘radio’ was every bit as foreign to Ganondorf as well. All this time he had just assumed it was some form of magic. But evidently, that was not the case. The warlord grimaced a bit, shrugging off the biting cold by wrapping his heavy cloak more tightly around himself. Nevertheless he picked up his pace until he was finally caught up with the Monster Hunter and grunted a short greeting, then said, [color=797979]”From little I can gather about this ray-dee-oh thing, it sounds no different than a town crier… only much farther reaching and on a larger scale.”[/color]

It was kind of hard not to notice Ganondorf's approach, so the greeting and commentary hadn't caught the hunter by surprise. The red head smiled widely at the warlord's over-annunciation of 'radio.' Maybe two medieval guys weren't the best choices for this particular mission, but on the flip side they might learn a thing or two. 

[color=salmon]"Yeah, but isn't the thought of that gargwawesome?"[/color] Ace replied. If Ganondorf's world still relied on criers, then he was even further behind than Ace, whose home at least had printing presses and newspapers. 

Not keen for more casual conversation, Ganondorf glanced sideways at the monster hunter. [color=797979]”Tell me more about the flame clock you said you saw.”[/color] He requested while they walked, [color=797979]”And the Consul who governed it… L, was it?”[/color]

Ace stuffed his gloved hands into his coat's pockets, his weapons having been stored away while they traveled. He didn't know much about Ganondorf, only what he'd seen during the fight in the Dead Zone and the brief team meetings over the last day or so, but he'd picked up that the man was pretty no-nonsense and had more interest in the world's governance than most of the other Seekers - himself included. Ace figured he would be asked about what happened in Edinburgh sooner or later, and he'd already promised to tell all, so when he replied it was with only a little disappointment that they'd jumped right to 'business.'

[color=salmon]"She was one of them. The other was N,"[/color] he said. He tipped his head back slightly, just enough to look at the cloud covered sky as he recalled the encounters with both Consuls. [color=salmon]"The clock is in a huge city called Edinburgh Magicapolis, at the top of a tower that's built on a giant bumblepumpkin. Not sure how far it is from here, but believe me you'll know it when you see it."[/color]

He went on. [color=salmon]"I know that L used it to try and heal herself after Linkle, Albedo and Lucia wore her down. Didn't work since me, Big Band, Mewtwo and Wonder Red made it up there to ambush her. L... she shouldn't be a problem for us anymore."[/color]

He didn't sound completely sure, rather the Cadet's tone implied he was hopeful - hopeful that Consul L would uphold her part of the bargain and not endanger her own life or those of the Seekers. With that feeling showing in his voice and on his face, he turned his head to look fully at the gerudo.

[color=salmon]"If the Highlands' Consuls are gonna come after us, it's N that we should be on the look out for. Especially because of his power. It was like..."[/color] Here Ace trailed off, withdrawing one of his hands to gesture randomly in the air. He moved it back and forth erratically, then stopped completely, then resumed at a slowed, jerking pace, and repeated. [color=salmon]"...I don't even know how to describe it! But we couldn't move normally, and we couldn't touch him. It was like he knew what we were going to do before we did it. A real reverse Diablos ex machina."[/color]

It was hard to articulate just what N had done to them, as if Ace lacked some context in order to describe it. Perhaps that made it sound less dangerous than he remembered, but he was serious about N being the one to be wary of. He wouldn't be forgetting that battle any time soon, as without the palicos the errant Seekers would have been dead. Hell, after they'd taken the other three if the hunter hadn't had that teleporting bone then [i]he[/i] would have been dead. 

Ganondorf nodded with a thoughtful hum. [color=797979]”Sounds like someone capable of glimpsing the future.”[/color] He said of Consul N. Such a thing wasn’t too far’fetched. Ganondorf recalled a young man among the ranks of the Smashers who originally stood up to Galeem. He didn’t know the boy too well or even remember his name, but Ganondorf did recall that he too possessed some kind of power of premonition… for all the good it did against Galeem at the time. [color=797979]”Moebius doesn’t just use the clocks to heal themselves.”[/color] The Gerudo explained, [color=797979]”It also gives them a form of eternal life that lets them live beyond the normal 10 year limit the rest of us are confined to.”[/color] He wasn’t sure how up-to-speed the hunter was on all this, so for all Ganondorf knew this could have been information that Ace was already aware of.

He went on, [color=797979]”And according to S, everyone in a given region is tied to those clocks. The Consuls wage an endless game of war with each other to keep them fueled to maintain themselves. But he also told me that destroying those clocks would theoretically de-story everyone connected to them. Hence my interest in knowing each of their locations. We could de-story large swathes of people from Galeem’s control and cut off Moebius from their main source of eternal life in one blow.”[/color]

Besides the last part, it was information that Ace was more or less aware of. He'd had a crash course aboard the Avenger along with the extra group meetings, but a lot of it he honestly wanted to put out of his head if he could. It was a lot, most of it not good, and with any luck they wouldn't have to worry about it too much longer. A couple of more weeks maybe, and the Seekers will have completed their quest. Still, the hunter nodded his head to show he was listening. 

[color=salmon]"That's a great plan,"[/color] he said honestly. [color=salmon]"It'd make sure we don't get swarmed again like we did in the Metro too. They're pretty damn sturdy though, how do we break them?"[/color]

[color=797979]”I asked S about that.”[/color] Ganondorf replied, [color=797979]”And he said the clocks can be damaged by someone who was born outside of the ‘system’. Someone like a Lost Number, potentially. But he also mentioned a power people like us could use that he called ‘Interlink’ to do it as well. He didn’t say what Interlink means, but he did say it requires a great deal of trust between the people using it.”[/color]

[color=salmon]"Hm."[/color] By this time Ace had set his sights back on their current destination, but by no means was he not paying attention. Interlink... had he heard of that before? He wasn't sure. [color=salmon]"It's way too dangerous to have one of the Lost Numbers try it, so I guess we'd better figure out this Interlink thing."[/color]

A 'great deal' of trust could be anything, though. Ace trusted the other Seekers with a lot of things - could he use this mystery power? Or did it require a team effort? Questions for another time.

As the two got closer to the radio tower, more of the surroundings began to come into his perspective, the [url=https://i.imgur.com/yCiv1ku.jpeg]large forecast radio tower[/url] growing only in size the closer he got. A small opening began to form in the woods, obviously carved out by whoever decided to build a radio station here. The whole perimeter was walled off by a brown-brick barricade topped off by barbed wire, save for a small entrance gate off to the side, where a poorly painted sign was hung over the station’s original namesake, now reading “Mr. (Ant)Tenna’s Marvelous TV Studio”. The gate was metal and latticed, making it impossible to just squeeze through the gate. 

The only odd thing was that this was OBVIOUSLY a radio station, and even lifting the poorly made sign revealed a rusted plaque that reads “Galaxy News Radio” with a weathered logo of a radio tower flourished with the letters GNR. Inside the gate, there seemed to be an access booth with a small porthole inside and a pager with three buttons with options “Access”, “Directors Office,” and “EMERGENCY”. The buttons seemed to be in working order. Looking inside the porthole was nearly impossible; only able to see the outline of stockpiled canned goods and a mattress.

After the Seekers traced the outer wall and ended up at the only entrance, Ace gave the gate a tug. It was unsurprisingly stuck, frozen over with ice or actually locked (or possibly both). Ultimately it wouldn't be an obstacle for long; if he couldn't find a sturdy enough pole to vault over the top, it probably wouldn't take much to just break through the hinges. Before that though the hunter glanced at the newly hung sign. 

[color=salmon]"Must be the guy who took over the signal. Some kind of neopteron man I'd guess?"[/color] he said to his companion with a grin. [color=salmon]"Because of Ant-tenna?"[/color]

With neither of them any more familiar with television it was the sign's message itself that got their attention rather than the swap from radio to TV - and clearly Ace was amused by the pun. His attention then shifted to the small building on the other side of the brick barrier, the only thing in sight on the inside besides the tower itself.

[color=salmon]"Aaand that's probably where we'll find him."[/color] A well placed strike with the hard pointed edge of his shield cracked the stiff, icy joints of the gate and with a push it fell inward, displacing snow with a [i]poof[/i] as it hit the ground. They could head over to the booth now and see who was home.

With the gate now open and the access booth now in open view, Ace and Ganondorf were both free to proceed inside the perimeter. Entering the gate allowed the two to have more visibility inside the area, revealing the [url=https://killer-frequency.fandom.com/wiki/KFAM] actual radio station [/url], which looked [url=https://i.imgur.com/14La4rf.jpeg]very basic[/url] in architecture, only being two floors. The main thing that stood out about this building was that nearby, lying out in a pile were large metallic channel letters reading GNR, along with a large metal decal of a radio tower. On the face of the actual radio station, however, now stood LARGER, shinier golden letters now reading [b]TV.[/b]

The commotion outside, primarily the destruction of the frozen front gate, seemed to have woken up whoever was inside the access booth, because now an audible rustling could be heard from the nearby porthole. The door that normally would have given employees access to the access booth swung open, and emerging from it was a [url=https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Three_Dog] plain-looking man in a headwrap. [/url] He seemed to size up the damage of the gate from where he stood first before speaking to Ganondorf and Ace. “Whoa! You two certainly did a good job on my front gate there! But next time, use the access button, okay, dogs?” The man seemed cheerfully optimistic despite living in what looked to be less than a couple of meters wide. Of course, Three Dog was completely unaware that using a callbox was completely foreign to these two, but it didn’t seem like he was too pressed on the matter. 

“I’m assuming y’all are here for Galaxy News, yeah? Best radio station in the Frozen Highlands?” It’s also the ONLY radio station for miles, but the denizens of Snowdin seem to enjoy it enough.” The smile on the man’s face communicated that he was here to help these two, that somehow their goals were aligned. He wanted something from them. “But the thing is here, see… That people are saying Galaxy News isn’t quite what it used to be… Do you get what I’m saying here?” 

Given that the stranger was friendly, Ace saw no reason not to return the same energy. He laughed lightly, having the decency to at least look a little awkward about the gate.

[color=salmon]"Sorry about that,"[/color] he started with. [color=salmon]"But, yeah, me and the big guy here -I'm Ace, he's Ganondorf- were looking into what's changed with your radio."[/color]

Ace clapped Ganondorf on the back good-naturedly as he spoke, then after a brief glance around the area turned back to the stranger. [color=salmon]"If you run the Galaxy News... I guess you're dealing with a hostile takeover type of thing going on?"[/color]

Ganondorf stood with arms crossed over his muscular chest. Radio. TV. Galaxy News. He didn’t understand what any of that meant. But a hostile takeover? [i]That[/i] was something he [i]did[/i] understand. [color=797979]”Let me guess, more Carcasses and Puppets that need to be exterminated?”[/color] The warlord said, making what seemed like an obvious guess to him. [color=797979]”If so, you’re in luck. I happen to be quite effective at doing just that.”[/color]

“Whoa whoa, easy there, gentlemen. No hostile takeovers. It’s bad enough that damn cartoon box is still hogging my wavelengths!” Three Dog looked at the second floor of the building, as if there was something of value up there. His attention turned back to Ganondorf and Ace a moment after. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. Name’s Three Dog, and yes, I run this gig. Galaxy News is my baby. It’s uh… a bit of an independent pet project to keep myself from going coo-coo.” Snowdin was a fair distance away, the frozen gate, and given the location of the studio plus his [url=https://i.imgur.com/rX7JKVP.jpeg]modest mode of transportation[/url], it was fair to assume Three Dog didn’t get too much company. 

“But… The other day, I want to say about 5 days ago, some eccentric type came around and pressed on my buzzer, saying he needed my tower for a ‘big announcement’.” He tied it with air quotes and all, emphasizing how adamant the visitor was about using Three Dog’s station. “And as soon as I showed him how to play his announcement on the vinyl player and intercom, he had his cronies grab me by the shoulders and throw me out here! Now, I’m not one to travel without a firearm, so I would’ve been more than happy to deal with him myself.” The man pointed to the sliding glass doors, which were now barricaded by a large number of TV screens displaying various programs. “That asshole closed himself in, and I’m not strong enough to get in. Look, I’d [i]prefer[/i] if you could get him out of there without breaking any of my equipment, but do what you gotta do. This radio is my passion and without it, well, I might as well be another waster.”

As he followed Three Dog's attention to where the mystery visitor (who he figured must be the same guy who'd hung the new sign over Galaxy News' old one) was holed up, Ace had to wonder how what was described [i]wasn't[/i] a hostile take over. Still, he thought he got the gist of what was going on now. Tossing this Ant-tenna out would help Three Dog get his life back, and in turn would apparently help Sandalphon keep tabs on any news floating around the area. 

[color=salmon]"We can help you out,"[/color] the Cadet agreed easily. [color=salmon]"One way or another you'll get your radio back."[/color]

If they could do that with minimal damage to the building and its equipment remained to be seen though. At the very least they might have to break their way through the barricade of screens if Mr. Tenna proved uncooperative. 

[color=salmon]"You mentioned he had 'cronies’? Do you remember how many?"[/color]

Three Dog contemplated the question, trying to recall the number of oddball backups that Tenna had brought with him. “I want to say it was definitely around 20. Look, I don’t care what you do with anybody in there, just get them out! Ahem- Please.” He corrected himself, making sure his enthusiasm didn’t rub off on The Ace Cadet and The Warrior King as rudeness.

Ace at least didn't look offended in the slightest. He offered Three Dog a grin and a wave of his hand. [color=salmon]"Don't worry, it's all Ya-cool, we'll get you back in business in no time!"[/color] And Ganondorf? He looked the exact opposite of offended, like a warlord in search of a war to fight.

The first step to that being to get inside the station. Now that they'd been given a run down on what had happened and knew to expect a sizeable group, the two Seekers could come up with an action plan. As he was wont to do, The Cadet trudged through the snow right up to the radio station before anything else with the other two trailing after. He peered in through the ground floor windows to see if he could spot anyone. As he did that, he spoke over his shoulder to Ganondorf and Three Dog.  

[color=salmon]"I'm thinking we've got two options: see if there's a door on the roof or go in through one of these windows. We [i]could[/i] break through the front but then we'd end up smashing all the TVs too."[/color] Which would be a shame because as the hunter had very recently learned, TVs were amazing devices. Even now his eyes flickered over to the screens now and then to see what they were showing. [color=salmon]"It's not like they'll just let us in, right?"[/color]

Ace didn't expect that they'd be getting the drop on this band of radio-station-stealing opportunists in the first place, so as if to prove his words he knocked heavily on the entrance doors a couple times.

Upon knocking on the door, one of the security cameras monitoring the area would turn on Ace, Three Dog, and Ganondorf, before the inside of the building burst with a cacophony of saxophone noises and trills, almost as if a burst of conversation were happening with stock sax sounds. Suddenly, a low rumbling would erupt from the ground, the clear cause being from inside the radio station. The rumbling began to move across the floor as a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Htu0g9R.jpeg]bulldozer-equipped figure[/url] began moving the TVs out of the way of the door, the shadowy man piloting it tipping his hat politely with a muffled saxophone noise greeting the duo, as if trying to speak to them. The odd thing is, no matter how many times Three Dog tried knocking, they never let him in.

Finally, the two could see inside the double window doors, the first floor, which looked like it had been a receptionist area, was now filled to the brim with well over 20 [url=https://deltarune.fandom.com/wiki/Shadowguy]Shadow Guys[/url] who each had a different hat or article of clothing to signify their role in this establishment; some with construction hats were making repairs to previously damaged/weathered areas and some with painters smocks were very delicately repainting the whole interior a bright beige, red, and gold, were among many others working. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the [url=https://imgur.com/a/DQ5AMCW]large golden statue[/url] of a man with a TV head, this would have looked like some revitalization project rather than a hostile takeover. If anything, it looked like Tenna was taking better care of the studio! Three Dog was in complete shock, so much work had been done so quickly, his studio was unrecognizable from before!

Before any of the three could get any words out, one of the Shadow Guys, who was wearing a shiny badge with a sun and a cloud on it, would quickly rush out to greet the three, very rapidly shaking their hands as a trill of saxophone buzzed from his mouth to greet each of them. With each handshake, he would plant a very cheaply painted gold “VIP Pass” which looked like the top of a bottlecap, saying VIP on the flat end. As soon as each of the three had acquired their passes, the badged Shadow Guy would begin to usher them in, encouraging them to follow him inside.

The place exploded with colors, music, and eccentric scenery, the floor adorned with a new red carpet that almost felt laid out for the visitors. Three Dog, who had been silent from shock as they followed the lone Shadow Guy, finally spoke, “I swear there were only about twenty of them.” Fighting was definitely off the table now, as any hostile action could result in a swarm of henchmen stampeding the three of them. The trio approached a stanchion labeled “Backstage Access”, which was parallel to another across the room labeled “Audience Seating”. The Shadow Guy would lift the rope for the guests with a bow and another mumble of saxophone noises before leaving. Now, before the three stood a large staircase leading to a rusted metal door, with half of the hallway accompanying it unremodeled. It seems there’s still work to do.

[color=797979]”Twenty or two hundred.”[/color] Ganondorf grunted, cracking his neck. [color=797979]”It makes no difference to me.”[/color] He was clearly still confident that he could conquer this place by force if he tried hard enough. But whether he could do it without demolishing half of the facility in the process was another story. So to that end, the Gerudo decided to play ball… for now.

[color=797979]”Seems he wants to talk.”[/color] Ganondorf added as they made their way up the stairs. [color=797979]”So I guess that’s what we’ll do. And rest assured,”[/color] he looked toward Three Dog, [color=797979]”if this goes too poorly, I’m more than able to fight our way back out of here, numbers be damned.”[/color]

So far Ace had taken everything in stride, from the surprise welcoming to being guided through the building by the half-featureless men. They all looked pretty chipper, so the hunter had grinned back at all of them even if he couldn't understand what exactly they were trying to say with their musical voices. He fingered the rough edges of the VIP badge that had been pinned to his coat as he climbed to the second floor with the other two.

[color=salmon]"He's Ap-serious too,"[/color] the Cadet tacked on to Ganondorf's words. Preferably it wouldn't come to that though. [color=salmon]"But hey, maybe this'll be easier than we thought. So far so good, anyway.

"Maybe the both of you could even work something out, share the building?"[/color] he suggested to Three Dog. It looked like a lot of work had been put into it, so maybe it just hadn't been ready to show off just yet and the new tenant was just really, really strict about that kind of thing. 

They could only hope for the best since they had the feeling they were about to meet him as they made it to the second floor's landing.

The closer they got to the door, the more the “impending” feeling that they were about to meet some big shot celebrity, the sign above the door, reading “on air,” was off at the current moment. As they entered the door, a TV-headed man, in fact the same likeness as the gold statue in the lobby, boisterously greeted the “VIPs”. [color=#FF5349]”Visitors! VISITORS!”[/color] He struck a cool pose, pointing to the sky as he exclaimed at his excitement. [color=#FF5349]”You’re just in time for our [color=yellow]BIG[/color] show!” [/color] It was almost as if when he said the word “Big,” his voice exploded, altered by some TV-sounding static.

The room was nearly unaltered [url=https://imgur.com/a/9h1SwQP] from its original appearance[/url], save for a large red curtain that now separated the recording booth and studio. At the other end of this curtain must be where that “audience” door leads to. Tenna would put his gloved hand to his ear, as if listening for something. [color=#FF5349][i][color=6ecff6]”Shhhhhh…[/color][/i] and can you hear THAT? The audience is ABSOLUTELY excited.”[/color] The silence was deafening; not a single clap, cheer, or even cough could be heard from the other side of the curtain. Tenna would gesture for the three of them to join him to peek at the curtain to gauge the audience turnout. As the four peered into the large auditorium, a construction feat that would have been impossible in 5 days, not a single living face could be seen, other than smiling Shadow Guys who definitely were employees (symbolized by their TV pins), and an assortment of [url=https://freddy-fazbears-pizza.fandom.com/wiki/Trash_and_the_Gang]trashy mundane conglomerates[/url] who were the actual only bodies in seats.

This guy was nuts.

[color=salmon]"Wow, you got a full house here, huh?"[/color] Ace joked of the shadow guys and shoddily put together mannequins. 

Ganondorf just dead-stared at the bizarre man and his setup. The Gerudo obviously had no concept for what TV was, but even if he did? He probably still wouldn’t understand what all this was. [color=797979]”I hate to be the bearer of bad news,”[/color] the man said dryly, still trying to maintain some modicum of diplomacy despite the sheer oddity of the situation, [color=797979]”but this building originally belonged to this man here.”[/color]

He gestured to Three Dog standing nearby, [color=797979]”And he’d like it back.”[/color] While Ganondorf wasn’t trying to be overtly threatening, his natural tone and imposing figure made it all-but impossible for him to not sound at least a little threatening. One of the many drawbacks of being the infamous King Of Evil, essentially. Still, if he could diplomacize with Lady Riju in Gerudo Town then how hard could this possibly be?

Ace nodded along with Ganondorf's statement (it was the whole reason they'd come here after all), but he couldn't help but also feel sort of bad for the strange looking man. Sure, maybe he'd gone crazy like Three Dog had worried he might have if the disc jockey didn't have his music, but so far he and the shadows that could only be his underlings seemed genuinely excited to put on... whatever it was they were planning to put on. 

The Cadet pulled his head back from the curtain. [color=salmon]"So if there's anyway we can get your big show on the [i]road[/i]...?"[/color] he said, though after a moment he couldn't help but ask, [color=salmon]"What kind of show, anyway?"[/color]

Tenna seemed to take some sort of favoritism towards Ace, since he was really the only person who seemed to show some genuine curiosity, though Ganondorf’s comments about the rightful owner of the place did not go unnoticed. [color=#FF5349]”I’m glad you asked my private property destroying compatriot! We’ll have game shows, cowboy programs, pirate movies, infomercials!”[/color] He’d clutch Ace and Ganondorf’s shoulders, bringing them into a tight whisper [color=#FF5349]”We gotta get advertisements from SOMETHING.”[/color] He joked with the two as he finally stepped back, hitting dramatic poses as he emphasized his words. “And. That’s. NOT. ALL.-”

But before he could speak more, Three Dog interrupted Tenna, which was probably for the best because it sounded like Tenna was going to go on about “The Show.” “I’m gonna stop you there, man.” His voice was somewhat stern compared to his usual enthusiastic radio host persona. He really wanted Tenna’s attention here because he had something to say. “Show host to show host man, you’re robbing me of my gig here!” Three Dog threw his arms up in frustration with the CRT host. He thought of something on the spot that might sway Tenna to leave his studio. “And now you have a REAL chance here to get an actual audience rather than shit from my supply closet!”

“Look, you’ve done a lot of great work here in my studio here, Mr. Tenna, but you’ve made a whole mess of my gig, and now I’m 5 days behind on reporting local news!” Tenna looked around the room as Three Dog made his point. This was no TV Studio, and the CRT wouldn’t get the audience score he wanted here. 

[color=#FF5349]”The Fun-o-meter in this place IS pretty… [i]low,,,[/i]”[/color] Tenna seemed to get emotional slightly. Ganondorf and Three Dog’s words stuck with him; this was not where ANY of the “action” was. It wouldn’t take much more to make the television set mope his way out of the building with its goons.

[i]This whole thing might solve itself sooner than expected,[/i] Ace thought. It seemed like all they'd needed to do was get the two opposing media hosts an opportunity to talk - the takeover being not so much malicious as it was eagerness, and misunderstanding. Three Dog could probably sort things out with Tenna himself at this point, but Ace jumped back into the conversation anyway.

[color=salmon]"You know, I just saw a movie for the first time yesterday and it was [i]radalos.[/i] I'd watch another, and I bet there's a ton more people that wanna see that kind of stuff too! So if you want to put on a show for as many people as possible, you'd be better off in a big city. We were just talking about Edinburgh Magicapolis - that might be the closest one,"[/color] he mused. He didn't know what a cowboy or an infomercial was, but game shows sounded fun too. He'd have to look into those at some point. [color=salmon]"North of here, I'm pretty sure."[/color]

It was in fact the same direction the Seekers were traveling on the Midnight Walk in the first place. At this point, Ganondorf was holding his tongue. The bizarre man had clearly taken more of a liking to Ace, so it seemed like the monster hunter was the one who was going to handle the talks for now.

Tenna, who had taken an interest in the implications of a large city north of here, suddenly seemed to perk up. [color=#FF5349]”You mean… there’s better places I can make my studio?…” [/color] The cartoon box thought to himself quietly, considering the pair had travelled here together, maybe there could be a better place to establish his own business. [color=#FF5349]”Wooooo mama!”[/color] He cheered loudly as he waved his wacky hands excitedly in the air. The CRT would walk over to a well-kept vinyl player and remove a disc that said “TV” in large gold font, stopping the ceaseless chatter that Sandaphalon heard a couple of miles from the Studio. 

[color=#FF5349]”You have yourself a deal my liege and cadet!”[/color] Wait, deal? Does this mean the two were responsible for Tenna now? He took the Gerudo’s hand and shook it very rapidly, following suit with Ace. [color=#FF5349]”Mr. Radioman, the studio is yours again! Completely refurbished!”[/color] Tenna spread his hands out to show the marvel of Three Dog having a clean and bright studio. 

The Disk Jockey shrugged, somewhat unbothered. “Sounds good to me, as long as I get my station back”

[color=#FF5349]”And to make up for the trouble, you can keep my hench- I mean, ‘employees’- around to help you!”[/color] Again, Three Dog wasn’t too entirely bothered. The Shadow Guys could make for a great maintenance team. [color=#FF5349]”Besides, they’re technically contracted to you anyways.”[/color]

[color=salmon]"I didn't mean–"[/color] By the time handshakes happened Ace seemed to realize what Tenna intended, and he started to correct the TV-headed man's assumption, but he moved like a whirlwind and was already making moving out plans. Technically the Seekers' work here was done, the radio station was soon to be back with its rightful owner and playing news - it would just mean having to take Tenna along when they returned to the stagecoach. Thankfully, he still didn't seem like a bad guy.

While he spoke with Three Dog, Ace turned to Ganondorf and said in a half-whisper, [color=salmon]"This'll be fine, right? I mean we are sort of headed that way..."[/color]

Ganondorf exhaled a long breath, rubbing his temples like he could already sense the migraines that were inevitably going to be in his future. He was annoyed, but ultimately grunted a reluctant agreement. [color=797979]”I don’t even know what ‘TV’ is and even I can already tell how much it apparently rots the mind.”[/color] He grumbled, not particularly thrilled about the arrangement but not refusing it outright either.

[color=797979]”Let’s just return to the stagecoach before I change my mind.”[/color]

And when Tenna inevitably turned his attention back to them, Ace cleared his throat and thought it best to actually give the flamboyant host a fair warning even if it put them all back at square one. [color=salmon]"We are going north, but it will get dangerous if you travel with us. You okay with that?"[/color]

[color=#FF5349]”Buddy-”[/color] Another friendly clap to Ace’s shoulder. [color=#FF5349]”[color=#DC143C]DANGER!![/color] is my middle name! (Next to Ant, of course!)”[/color] With that, Three Dog would thank Ganondorf and The Ace Cadet in private for finding a peaceful solution to his issue before they left to return to the Stagecoach with Mr. CRT himself. Being around Tenna, despite not knowing what a TV even is, would fill the duo with some unfamiliar feeling of nostalgia. Tenna smiled as he followed Ganondorf with some pop in his step, ready to begin his adventure on the Midnight Walk. His optimism toward this matter was at least relieving, reassuring Ganondorf and Ace that he wouldn’t become their responsibility. Little did they know, this CRT is actually quite the formidable support… [color=#FF5349]”Oh yeah! And if we see any of my buddies on the way, just know that danger is [i]THEIR[/i] middle names too!”[/color] Tenna missed the games he, Kris, Susie, and Ralsei played…