[center][h3]Esaka’s Middle Tier / High Tier[/h3]
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (163/150) Level 11 Big Band (58/110)
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] 475 / 588[/center]

Though Nadia managed to not trip over herself on the way back from her sensational dinner at Mesón De Las Flores, nor to be too much of a burden for Primrose, it was clear that the thoroughly inebriated feral was in no state to troop up to the High Tier and go snooping for an abode that befit her newfound affluence. Plus, sticking with the other Seekers just made sense, so before it got too dark outside the two women returned to Banishing Flats. Insisting that she could look after herself from here, Nadia thanked Primrose and bid her good night. Luckily, the Mecha-zangiefs made checking in for the night pretty easy, and after hoisting her key belt like the champion she would soon be, Nadia found her way to her room.

As she shed her jacket and boots, she mused that she now had enough money to actually afford a change of clothes, then idly wondered where she left her shipgirl rigging. Probably at the NMO dojo, right? She’d need to head that way the next morning anyway in order to link up with Robo-fortune before pools began. Nadia couldn’t help but giggle when she remembered the look on Robo’s face when she suggested that her mechanical counterpart accompany her as a kameo to the Mortal Kombat tournament. As vehemently as Robo had protested, though, even she could see the wisdom in the real catgirl’s latest and greatest idea. With a strong zoner like Robo-fortune in her back pocket to enhance her strengths and cover her weaknesses, Ms Fortune would be more unstoppable than ever when it came to rushing her opponents down. Once Annie and Beowolf approved of the idea, there wasn’t much for Robo-fortune to do but sullenly fall in line.

On the way out Robo had not-so-subtly reminded Nadia that if she got eliminated in Mortal Kombat’s Losers’ Bracket it would be her life on the line, which elicited only a cocky snicker. [i]And if you stage a mew-tiny,[/i] Nadia had replied, [i]I’ll dismantle you myself, cog sucker!”[/i] Of course, the feral knew something that Robo didn’t: that any ‘execution’ of hers was bound to be im-purr-manent. The thought of Robo’s face when she showed up the next day, back from the dead, filled Nadia with smug glee. If she did get eliminated, her replica’s reaction would be a sweet silver lining. That said, Nadia wasn’t planning to lose. Before the week was out, Shao Khan’s reign would come to an end, and the era of catgirls would begin.

Before that, though, Nadia would need one hell of a good night’s rest. After washing up she climbed into bed and passed out within minutes, snoring away without a care in the world, all the trials and trepidations of her first day in Esaka well and truly forgotten.

[hr]

As Zenkichi shared his story, Big Band listened with all the gravitas that his fellow detective’s tale was due. While his companion hadn’t suffered the physical harm that Band had, his was a story of exceptional emotional anguish. Zenkichi spoke of heartbreaking loss, followed by the soul-shattering indignity of being coerced into letting injustice stand, lest he lose what little he had left. Band was no stranger to being forced to turn a blind eye to evil, or to the guttural anger that such despicable acts filled him with. His fellow detective was right; their stories weren’t so different, after all. The only difference had been that Band didn’t think he had anything to lose, and in his attempt to revolt against a repugnant system, he had paid a steep price. Even so, looking back on it, Band was proud that he chose to stand up for his principles. If he had been in Zenkichi’s shoes, though, he probably would have done the same..

During the explanation, Band didn’t fully grasp the intricacies of psychics and changing hearts. He just figured it was Zenkichi’s world’s equivalent of the supernatural abilities from his world, like parasites, living weapons, and so forth. When Zenkichi moved the timeline of his story up to the present day World of Light, though, Band paid attention. As it turned out, while Band had been in Edinburgh MagicaPolis, Zenkichi had been part of the contingent in Midgar, and an old rival had popped up in his path. Although Band disagreed with Konoe’s execution on principle, he couldn’t drum up much sympathy for him. No matter one’s past or ideology, robbing innocents of their unalienable rights made the man a villain, and villains had to be stopped. 

When Zenkichi outlined Konoe as the example of a more meta observation, though, Band agreed completely. He stared off into the streets of Esaka’s High Tier, his tired eyes watching each bright-eyed fighter come and go, full of excitement for yet another upcoming tournament. Each person, forced to retrace their steps. “Same old story,” he murmured, his voice low and grave. He cast his mind back to the term used to describe freeing someone from Galeem’s influence. If Seekers like him were ‘de-storied’, then each unwitting pawn in Galeem’s world was ‘storied’, forced to live and relive the same old story that dictated their existence, unable to break the mold he or she had been poured into.

He followed Zenkichi’s gaze toward the Top Tier’s towers, reminded of his mission. “It [i]is[/i] crazy,” he agreed after a moment. “It’s sick, and it’s twisted. While poor, innocent folks from countless worlds get ground to dust over and over again, monsters like Moebius and the Skull Heart run rampant, free to claim more lives than ever before.” He thought about Linkle, stuck somewhere in Edinburgh MagicaPolis with only that boy Albedo to keep her sane. How long could one man stand against the infinite malice of the Skull Heart inside Linkle’s chest, and forestall the undead apocalypse she now embodied? If he returned to that island city, would he find a magical metropolis, or a mass grave? “This world’s gotta go,” he said succinctly. Band gave Zenkichi a firm nod. “And startin’ tomorrow, we ain’t gonna let anyone stand in our way.”

With their meals concluded, the two detectives got moving once again. They took roughly the same route back toward Banishing Flats as night fell over Esaka, heralding the end of yet another day in the Endless Now.

[center][h3]Spire 04 - Outskirts[/h3]
Lvl 9 Sandalphon (32/90) Level 6 Heismay (35/60)
Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double], Ramattra and Tenna’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] Mokou’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2519

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/p76VSWM.png]Nameless Stagecoach[/url][/b]
𖥞: 7/8 | 🛡️: 6/8 | [color=#3961a1]◆[/color][color=black]◆◆◆[/color] | [b]Equipment:[/b] Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/Vegetubes/Lightning Rod/(None) | [b]Companion[/b]: Ratshaker Rat[/center]

When the stagecoach slid into the ice swamp, tensions were higher than usual. With the frigid, briny water over a foot deep around the vehicle, most Seekers couldn’t afford to form a perimeter outside without risking hypothermia, so those who couldn’t fly remained inside. The giant, coffin-like hearse’s prominent lack of windows afforded those within only one, highly limited method of viewing the world outside: through the singular rear door, currently kept open so that the crew could scramble to the stagecoach’s defense at a moment’s notice. Fortunately, the wagon’s size meant that the water fell just short of its floor, so at least leaks wouldn’t be an issue. Outside, the Reindrix didn’t mind the cold, but the water resistance forced them to work twice as hard to haul their load forward, so it was slow going. All this meant that the stagecoach was an easier target than ever, and with only Sectonia, Mokou, and Blazermate aloft to keep the others’ ride safe, it was underdefended as well. With that in mind, those who stepped forward to blaze the trail for the team needed to make their decisions carefully.

Of course, Sandalphon considered using her position as team leader to decide the stagecoach’s course for everyone, but the archangel was still tentative about potentially overreaching her authority. Plus, in an enclosed area like this icy, saltwater swamp, the situation could change at the drop of a hat, so while she could gather information indirectly using her powers and arbitrate from there, it would be more efficient to trust in the reflexes and judgement of the capable professionals alongside her.

Unfortunately, there was no good choice among the options presented to Edward. To the right, the snowfield would guarantee a run-in with the fearsome, ogre-like Goss Harag, or the angry, sleep-inducing baggi, or perhaps even both. The leftward path lacked obvious threats, but there was definitely something dangerous in the water, as the preponderance of clean-picked bones in the area could attest. That left the center route, which featured the tempting proposition of a shipwreck filled with loot. When Edward directed the stagecoach across the threshold, however, a wall of uncanny blue and black fire erupted too suddenly to avoid. Pushing through it inflicted no burns on either the Reindrix or the stagecoach, but for a moment it rattled the walls of each Seeker’s psyche, and even when the horror abated it did not fade completely. Something remained, subtly but foul, like black mold in the grout between shower tiles. That subtle hint of dread was loathsome, but it was only a whisper. For now.

Still, it drove Sandalphon to make an executive decision. Even if its effect could not be properly quantified, the Seekers would be better off if they avoided the Loathing from now on. Cracked wheels and dented armor panels could be replaced; there was no telling what the darkness could do if the heroes let it in.

A few Seekers split off to loot the shipwreck, then the mineral-rich cove, while Edward provoked a couple of serpentine monsters up ahead. He managed to turn their soporific fumes against them, and after a moment the Ace Cadet, Ramattra, and Tenna sallied forth to keep them busy. Once their skirmish kicked off, the stagecoach slunk by and toward a larger, seemingly safe section of the swamp, where Heismay saw an opportunity in the waters. It felt a little absurd to go fishing in a dangerous area when he could be looking to the team’s safety instead, but on a campaign like this there probably wouldn’t ever be a time and place for his hobby–not unless he made one. He found a shelf of rock overlooking the shallow pool to fish from, cast his baited hook, and settled in to wait.

By that time, Mokou had engaged the Leviathan that had risen from the depths of the lake. At first blush the white-haired hotshot seemed like an ideal opponent for it, able to fly beyond its reach and rain down fire plumes from above. What did Vulnerable tokens matter if she never got hit, after all, and what did Blind tokens matter for individual projectiles when she had dozens if not hundreds more where that came from? In the end, though, Mokou wasn’t quite as above this opponent as it seemed, and her overconfidence led to a ruthless snatch that plunged her beneath the bitterly cold brine.

When Roxas and Ganondorf jumped to Mokou’s defense, however, they made a critical misstep. In the middle of the stagecoach’s attempt to discreetly slip by the conflict, the two decided to use it as staging ground and refuge in order to avoid a disadvantageous dip in the chilly water. When the Leviathan turned its cold fury their way, its gales and waves rocked the stagecoach. “Direct its attention away from us!” Sandalphon ordered sharply. “The expeditionary vehicle is not cover!” After a few moments the two succeeded in diverting the snaggle-toothed menace’s attention elsewhere, but by then the stagecoach armor had incurred further damage.

Once Edward kicked the Reindrix into overdrive, though, the stagecoach was home free. It rolled up out of the water and onto the snowy Midnight Walk on the far side of the ice swamp, where the passengers could briefly wait for the other Seekers to rejoin them. Among the returners was Heismay, with a fresh catch of two icefish and one toothfish, though one of the icefish looked [url=https://i.imgur.com/FSInUSi.png]a little weird[/url], with miniature constellations of light stitching together the fins and bones of its body. The eugief seemed pretty happy, though. “Let us hang them from the strange rat’s cage to dry in the cold wind,” he said before giving the aberrant icefish a dubious look. “Though…truth be told, I am not keen to eat this one.”

The team had a more important matter to attend to, though. Following Mokou’s rescue, it was a perfect chance to finally free the half-dead heroine with a friend heart, and after Sandalphon recommended that the team do so, Blazermate obliged. The lightshow was over in an instant, and with it went the delusions clouding Mokou’s mind. Her new allies would have a lot of explaining to do, but fortunately they had a lot of ground to cover. Once everyone was reunited, the crew could set off between the rows of burnt matchsticks that led them ever onward. If stress simmered within the minds of those who’d faced the Leviathan, perhaps they’d find solace in the soothing song of the stagecoach’s windchime.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/qQHiZHC.jpeg[/img]
[h3]The Tale of Raphael Marks[/h3][/center]

Some time later, the Seekers’ stagecoach finally drew near to the massive complex of Spire 04, though it would be a while longer before anyone could consider stepping foot inside the space elevator. According to a map printed out on a large roadside signpost, any prospective visitors would need to enter the Orca Space Complex, enter some sort of tunnel-like structure called a hypertube, pass through the Space Logistics Complex where all the passengers and freight bound for space were sorted out, and finally penetrate the Raphael Space Center itself before the space elevator could be accessed, assuming anyone even wanted to. If nothing else, it looked like the Seekers could exit Spire 04 on the other side of the space center, and continue on their way to Moon Mountain. Though taking this route seemed daunting at first glance, it turned out -just as Sandalphon suspected- that the heroes didn’t have much choice in the matter if they meant to continue following the Midnight Walk; their path led straight toward the sprawling facility ahead of them, with deep, rocky gulches full of icy water running toward the Leviathan’s lake everywhere else.

Unfortunately, even reaching the first step in the journey ahead of them would be tricky thanks to the canyons carving up the land. “The bridge!” Heismay called down from his makeshift crow’s nest on the roof. “It’s out, there’s no way across!”

Anyone who looked just down the road -which now looked more like a highway- could see the truth of his words. The latter half of the bridge that led straight to the Orca Space Center’s main gate had broken off and collapsed into the valley. That section did look remarkably intact as it lay down there, the arched roadway tilted upward at a thirty-five degree angle, but that didn’t do the Seekers much good. Fortunately, what remained of the broken bridge provided a good vantage point from which Heismay could survey the scenery, and it did not take long for his bright, ruby-red eyes to spot an alternative path despite the Highlands’ gloomy evernight.

“Down there, perhaps!” he called again, pointing into the gulch toward the east. Not too far down below, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/KMRMnd5.png]dam[/url] had been installed in the glacial waterway, perhaps to generate hydroelectric power for the Spire 04 facilities. The sloped, grooved surface beneath the dam’s spillway formed a controlled, artificial waterfall that limited the flow of water through the canyon, and the dam’s crest -safely nuzzled between rock walls on each side- effectively spanned the gap to form a second, far more stable but less accessible bridge. Its parapet walls meant little risk of falling off the sides, as well.

Sandalphon had stepped out from the stagecoach before it came to a stop on the broken bridge in order to survey the landscape for herself, and after a thorough look around she could see the wisdom in Heismay’s suggestion. It would be tough going, but they had little choice, and from here the archangel could see what looked like a rough, but usable path down toward the dam amidst the snow and rocks. Getting the team’s vehicle down there in one piece would be Edward’s greatest challenge yet as stagecoach driver, but she had no doubt that it was a miracle he could make happen. “I recommend that everybody disembark,” she advised the team. “This is going to be bumpy.”

“Not to mention dangerous,” Eve declared as she stepped out from the stagecoach, her heels clicking on the asphalt roadway. She and Adam had trusted the Seekers to see them safely to their destination on the way here, but now that the two had reached the outskirts of Spire 04 it was their time to shine. Though Adam seemed reluctant to take the field himself, he had deployed a [url=https://i.imgur.com/CYhWqtV.png]one-eyed drone[/url] to accompany her, which floated by her side as she approached the bridge’s wall and leaned over it to peer into the valley. “This is Naytiba territory. We can expect to find heavy opposition.”

At approximately the same time, Sandalphon and the drone both launched a scan, the former with her pupils ringed like a radio scanner and the latter with a probing pulse. Between the two of them, they quickly pointed out a number of hard-to-spot enemies hidden around the dam. “There, there, there, and there,” Adam declared, speaking through the drone. Evidently he would be staying aboard the stagecoach despite Sandalphon’s warning. “Looks like it’s primarily  machine-type Naytibas.”

“Naytibas whose flesh have infested and taken control of man-made robots in a sort of parasitic relationship,” Eve explained.

Adam sighed. “Guess there’s no limit to what their rapid evolution can do.”

Keen to learn more, Sandalphon brought out her rifle to make use of its scope for a closer look. Sure enough, there were a number of machines in the dam’s vicinity, all sporting rather disgusting signs of organic infestation. Standard droids, whether armed with [url=https://i.imgur.com/GGxVIAc.png]just a superheated blade[/url] or kitted out with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/8xH1MrI.png]red plasma shield[/url], looked as if they had fleshy guts spilling out of their bellies. Quadrupedal [url=https://i.imgur.com/LnVuLBg.png]houndborgs[/url] patrolled large areas in small groups, endowed with additional tentacled limbs, and anyone who planned to assault choke points from a distance could expect [url=https://i.imgur.com/z0WsO2T.png]sentryborgs[/url] top return fire with miniguns and missiles. They weren’t too numerous or organized, so Sandalphon judged that her team could handle them with Eve’s help, but on average these would definitely be tougher nuts to crack than Krat Zoo’s carcasses. And if the past was any indication, there would be a couple remarkable specimens tucked away around the most important parts of Spire 04, just waiting for hapless heroes to wander in and try to complete their objectives.

“Let us proceed,” she announced. “We need to clear out everything in the stagecoach’s way to see it through safely. I’ll stay up here to provide fire support, but I will avoid firing at will to preserve your element of surprise. If anyone wants me to take a shot, just give me a call. Reach out if you need healing, as well.” With Blazermate going down alongside the others, though, she did not anticipate that her restorative miracles would be needed for a while. 

“Understood.” Heismay hopped down from the roof of the stagecoach. Though no leader, the eugief had no qualms with taking initiative when it came to following orders, and Eve did not hesitate to join them. In a steady jog they retraced the path of the stagecoach back down the Midnight Walk to the base of the bridge, then diverted from the road to descend along the rocks. They passed beneath a couple of large pipes alongside the bridge, then veered right to navigate among the large rocks.

It wasn’t long before they encountered their first Naytibas, a couple of houndborgs stationed along a small, gravelly tributary to the reservoir above the dam. They were relatively isolated, so Eve put a finger to her lips as she pulled out her high-tech hairpin, which transformed into a swordblade that perfectly conveyed her intent. Heismay gave a nod, then crept into position alongside his new comrade. After she came to a stop atop an outcrop directly above one houndborg, Heismay hopped over the little canyon to get close to the other. With the Highlands as dark as night, he did not need to worry about his shadow giving him away.

Once both were ready, Eve launched her assault and plunged her blade into the houndborg from above, then flipped off with her weight behind her blade to tear its core out in one stroke. Taking careful note of where she hit the thing, Heismay followed suit the next moment. His longsaber’s blade slipped between armor plates, cracked circuit boards, and pierced abhorrent flesh, and the next second he finished off the stricken Naytiba with a wrenching cleave. As both monsters turned to ash his boots splashed into the creek’s frigid, and he tried not to wince as he gave a nod at Eve. These were kills worthy of the assassin archetype. “Well struck.”

“Thanks.” Without another word the woman moved on, so Heismay did as well, taking a different, higher-elevation route toward the dam where the bulk of the fighting would take place, all under Sandalphon’s watchful gaze.