[center][h2][color=D34C25]Primrose[/color], [color=BC8DBF]Therion[/color], [color=gray]&[/color] [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]Pit[/color][/h2]
[color=D34C25][u]Level[/u]: [b]11[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 292/110[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 345/100[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] ●[color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 295/80[/color]
[sub][i]Wednesday Night[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 3375 (+4 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Mid-Tier, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
After getting back to the motel with Captain Falcon, Pit found Therion right where they'd left him; although once the two 'captains' returned the thief got up out of his seat, stretched his arms over his head, rolled his neck for a few satisfying cracks and then bid them farewell, leaving the building. By then the storm was well and truly over, the only thing hanging over Therion's head being a sense of unease.

He'd noted who else had returned and who hadn't, offhandedly mentioning it before he disappeared. Generally he knew that sticking together was more advantageous than not, but unable to shake his weird feeling about the day in the last few hours and unlikely to be able to sleep it off, he figured he'd get out and do anything else other than just sit and wait for morning to break. He'd rather have retired for the night, but while he was this jittery he'd also rather be up and moving. Maybe he'd go poke around that panther zoo he and Primrose had heard about or get a headstart on some tower infiltration plans. Just observations, easy stuff.

Pit loitered in the lobby chatting up one of the mecha-Zangiefs after booking his own lodgings, though after a little while when it was unlikely that any other Seekers were showing up (especially after Sakura reported that she and Amaterasu were staying the night in a nearby village) he went to find his rented room. Since the whole place was wrestling themed it wasn't a surprise when the room's interior decorating was too, but the angel still got a kick out of seeing it. He crawled into the ring-shaped bed and fell asleep not long later, snoring softly.

And he was woken up in the middle of the night, [i]suddenly[/i] and [i]violently[/i]—

There was a blip of blue light before something small, dense, and rectangular slapped down onto his face.

So maybe 'violently' was an exaggeration, but as he blinked and sat up (the offending item falling into his lap) there was a lingering little ache which he rubbed at. Still sleepy, he curiously picked up the object and immediately heard the familiar voice of the Goddess of Light. 

[color=lightgreen][i]Special delivery![/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"What time is it?"[/color] Pit mumbled, moving the hand that had rubbed the impact site on his nose to instead rub the sleep from his eyes. 

[color=lightgreen][i]No idea.[/i][/color] There was a pause, as though the goddess was peering down at Esaka from on high. She likely was, though through the scrying pool in her quarters. [color=lightgreen][i]Seems pretty late. I can call back tomorrow-[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]No, no! I'm up! And always ready for duty,[/i][/color] Pit thought back, stifling a yawn and hopping to his feet. 

[color=lightgreen][i]This isn't a mission, just returning that phone I took by mistake earlier... with a few goodies included~[/i][/color]

Pit was already nearly back to his regular level of alertness, but he snapped the rest of the way there. Despite the world he came from, Pit had a level of knowledge about foreign technology that constantly seemed to surprise people. It was all thanks to Lady Palutena and their access to other worlds of course, but basically - he knew generally about how to use a phone. He hadn't handled one before so it took some fiddling, but it turned on without much trouble. The screen was bare for the most part, with only a couple of app icons that he squinted at.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Did you put games on it?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]No. But check out that circle icon that looks like a globe. Click on it.[/i][/color]

He did, and a moment later the screen changed to black, a loading icon appearing below another image... One that looked like him! 

Before he could question it, the browser came up properly and the phone pinged with a little notification sound. A text based message, the icon for the sender unmistakable.
[table][row][cell][right][color=2E2C2C].[/color]
All set. Your interknot account is ready.
Now you can browse the world wide web and beyond!
And we can talk to each other like this![/right][/cell][cell][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/IVEFkiV.png[/img][/center][/cell][/row][/table][table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/65QFJkh.png[/img][/cell][cell][color=2E2C2C].
.[/color]
ok... but i can all redy hear ur voice in my hed[/cell][cell][color=2E2C2C]____________________________________________[/color][/cell][/row][/table][table][row][cell][right][color=2E2C2C].
.[/color]
True, but don't you think it'll be kind of fun to try it this way sometimes?
Plus it looks like you'll need the practice.[/right][/cell][cell][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/IVEFkiV.png[/img][/center][/cell][/row][/table]
This kind of thing would be a good resource for the Seekers in general, especially in situations like this where their enemies were well documented by fans and haters alike. There was nothing Palutena could tell Pit that he and the others hadn't already heard on the street... Or that couldn't just be looked up online. Of course what she didn't tell her angel was that she'd activated some parental controls for his phone in particular.

[color=lightgreen][i]Before you get lost looking around in there, there's a couple more things I want to show you. Next one looks like a zenny sign over a fist. That my dear Pit is one of Esaka's down low online gambling apps. Honestly it wasn't that hard to find... but until you start wracking up tons of money in the tournament, we're gonna be using that to start paying back that credit card. There's no such thing as free money after all![/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Awww, I was hoping to coast by on the mystery balance a little longer.[/i][/color]

One brief explanation of how it would work later (with most of the minutiae being on Palutena's side) and the last item on the agenda was presented: a simple looking app icon with a soft green background behind a stylized white wing. By now Pit had sat back down on the bed, legs crossed, as they went over everything. He clicked the wing icon and the app's name filled the screen, but it took him a little bit to figure the word out.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Palu...pedia...?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Mhmmm. I know you've been a little jealous of Roxas and Bowser Jr. and their little hobby–[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Huh? What, no I haven't![/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]–so in place of a Pokédex, I got you a Palutena dex.[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]That sounds like it's for a bunch of different versions of you! And I'm not jealous of them.[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Hehe. I thought the name could use some work too, so it became the Palupedia. I put all the guidance I've already given you in it, and anything I tell you in the future should be recorded automatically. I hope it'll be a useful reference.[/i][/color]

And it was true; the Palupedia was very simple to navigate and Pit could see entries for a couple of random people and things. Among them, Juri, Amaterasu and Edelgard's names popped out at him. Even allies were recorded then.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Whoa! How did you make this, Lady Palutena?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Hey, do I hear doubt? ...well, I did have help. I've been doing just a little bit of networking, and reached out to the NORNs... Non-Organic Rational Nanosystems. And from there-[/i][/color]

Pit tried to grasp this part, but too much was going over his head. Plus part way through he got distracted by trying to recall the phone number Bowser Jr. had told him in order to add it as a contact. But he figured that in summary she'd found some kind cyber gods which sounded neat and made it together with them. He missed the part about whether it was part of a deal between them or just a side project they'd agreed to (gods could get very bored after all), but if it was important for him to know then Lady Palutena would be sure to remind him. 

She was still in the middle of explaining software programming using some terms Pit was pretty sure were made up (but since he knew zero about it he couldn't call her on it anyway), and he could just picture the [url=https://i.imgur.com/5JPO9Uq.png]look on her face[/url] as she went on, but it was then that she was interrupted.

Suddenly and violently. 

As he was already awake and aware, the sound of smashing -and not just of something being innocently dropped- down the hall was unmistakable to Pit. Sure the clientele were rowdy, but they had the courtyard to spar in, plus it was the middle of the night! At once he traded the phone in his hand for his bow, not even stopping to question why the former functioned like one of his holy arms. He burst out into the hallway and started off towards the noise when another, much closer crash sounded behind him. From his room where the door was still open, chunks of wood and glass sprayed out into the corridor, swiftly followed by a large automaton with a tall stripe of blonde hair. The robot turned its head sharply, red eyes glinting as they landed on Pit, and then it charged.

Pit met it with his bow split into two, now twin swords clashing with outstretched metal fists. As it pulled back to throw a new series of punches Pit moved inside of its range, dealing a heavy cross slash across the robot's chest. The blades continued slicing outwards at the robot's arms as it closed them in to attempt a grab, its metal casing cut open and showing wires and circuitry which began to spark. 

This was a robot, and not one of those friendly living ones like the Zangiefs or Blazermate. Pit didn't hesitate to press the attack, spinning in a quick, sharp cyclone that fended the Jack Unit off, ending with a roundhouse kick to the robot's stomach. The kick did hardly a thing, the robot standing sturdy in the same place, but Pit just pivoted and kicked himself up using the Jack as a springboard. Only a little higher than the surprise attacker, Pit flipped his swords in hand so the blades were pointing downwards, and drove both into the ventilation slits on either side of the Jack's neck - the left blade in the right slit, and vice versa. It grunted and grasped at the angel attached to its front, but was unable to pull him off before Pit wrenched his own arms apart with the swords still embedded in the android, the divine steel slicing straight through and taking its head off. 

The Jack-5's grip loosened, its body seeming to malfunction with its head gone. Said head had hit the wall and fallen to one side of the hallway, its eyes going dark. The body stumbled, and with another kick Pit smashed it against the same wall its head had rolled to. Just in time for more crashing sounds to reach his ears, along with shouts and screams as the Jacks tore through the building to reach their targets. Another had just turned a corner into the hall Pit was in, ignoring its fallen comrade as it focused only on the angel, bursting in a flat out sprint towards him. Though startled Pit stood his ground, dropping back into his fighting stance.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"What's going on?!"[/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]An ambush![/i][/color]

And even Pit could put together that the attack was meant for them, the Seekers of Light. There's no way it was just a coincidence, especially when there were windows and doors being busted in what sounded like all over the complex. Pit tightened his grip on his swords, but just before the latest Jack-5 reached him he summoned his [url=https://i.imgur.com/r72nzLa.png]striker[/url] to grapple with the robot instead. The golem blocked the passage as Pit turned heel and ran the other way. If the others were in trouble, he didn't want to waste any time before getting to them to help!

As he flew through the building Pit activated his linkpearl, practically barking into the connection with his captain's voice. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]"This is Pit! We're being attacked! Give me a status report, all of you, now!"[/i][/color]

A few moments later the connection came to life once more. 

[i][color=D34C25]"Primrose, west side, second floor... stuck dealing with a rather rude wake up call...!"[/color][/i]

The dancer sounded winded. After the night out with Nadia she'd accepted her friends offer to buy a room for her in addition to the meal she'd paid for earlier. It had been late after all, no reason to go back and forth about it when they could just turn in instead. She'd gone up to the room, locked the door, changed into sleeping clothes, and had laid in the strange bed hoping to sleep until morning. And she had been soundly asleep until the door to her room had been kicked in. 

Primrose, already a light sleeper, had come instantly awake at the noise. The invader bore down on her as she stood up on the square mattress, her hands poised in front of her as she called magic to them. She was too slow to cast her spell, or the Jack-5 was too quick. He slammed a heavy fist against the Baldur Shell that sprang up between him and Primrose. Another punch and another shell gone in the blink of an eye as Primrose finally let her magic loose.

[color=D34C25]"Luna!"[/color] Darkness turned to silvery light and burst from her palms. This close the force of the spell was enough to launch the man -the robot, she noted as the light of her magic briefly lit the room- back towards the door. Primrose stepped down from the bed, conjuring another round of moonlight and sending it streaking towards the android. [color=D34C25][i]"Luna!"[/i][/color]

The Jack-5 jittered in place a few times before it pushed itself to its feet. As she prepared to fend it off, the sound of the room's window shattering behind her made Primrose whip around to see a copy of the robot in front of her forcing its way in. As soon as its foot was planted on the window frame it gripped the sides of it ripped open wide enough to wedge its burly body mass inside. Suddenly she was surrounded. Her eyes narrowed darkly, she raised her hands and pointed them at the new Jack, then–

[color=D34C25]"Ugh!"[/color] She felt metal arms close tightly around her, crushing her own against her sides and squeezing. The first Jack - and now the second was advancing with violent intent. 

Primrose glared as she summoned her [url=https://i.imgur.com/OejWUhK.png]vengeful spirit[/url] to fly out from her chest. It went straight through the Jack she was facing, making it stagger as its more delicate insides were momentarily fried. It was enough time for her body to take on a white glow that empowered the dark magic still pooling in her palms. [color=D34C25]"Night Ode!"[/color]

A pool of shadow spread and erupted around the three of them. Weathering her own spell damage, Primrose wriggled free of the weakened robot that held her. While they recovered she sailed over their heads, landing by her spear and pack. She grabbed them, took the spear in hand and whirled back around, barely parrying the healthier Jack's next punch. She couldn't block the next one. It crashed into her shoulder, pulling a pained gasp from the dancer. The thorned vines that sprouted from her did little to her attacker, so she hurried to summon her magic once more as the Jack raised his foot and aimed to put his boot through her torso. It smashed into the third shell. One left.

At this point Primrose was realizing that this sort of aggressive, in your face bare fist fighter was really not a good match up for her. Add a second one into the mix and it wasn't long before she was crowded into one corner of the room. She swiped at one of them and managed to get behind it with her Ravaging Confession, only for the other to snatch her by the collar and slam her against the wall. Primrose grit her teeth, raising her hand and shoving it point blank into the Jack's face, releasing a fireball as the fourth shell shattered under the backhand its partner attempted to deliver. The one holding her down kept its grip, even with half of its face peeled away to show a steel skull with a black screen, a red number displayed and continually counting down. 

Primrose absolutely refused to be done in here. Her mind raced with options of what she could try to get out of this even while she braced herself as the second Jack drew its arm back menacingly. 

Her salvation came in the form of a bundle of light and feathers, leaping in through the same broken window that the second robot assassin had. Pit threw himself at both Jacks, his arsenal appearing and disappearing in flashes. The Orbitars appeared to strike both with a Shield Smite, cracking one in the back of the head and the other just in the back. His bow was in his hand when they turned to the new addition to the fight, a single piece that he spun with force between the two of them - one raised its arms to block, but the other held on to Primrose and found that arm severed for it. The Jack's elbow crackled where the break was and it staggered backward, its separated arm flexing and twitching uncomfortably until it fell from Primrose's clavicle to the ground. Pit rounded on the one that had blocked, trading out the bow for the Upperdash Arm and slamming the heavy weapon into the robot's abdomen. It lifted the Jack off of its feet, and with a high speed spin sent it careening into the ceiling where the upper-half of it stuck, its legs dangling comically. If only they'd had time for a laugh at it.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Are you okay?"[/color] Pit asked as he turned to Primrose. 

[color=D34C25]"Yes,"[/color] she said, more or less hissing the word. She glared at the Jack that was still standing and intent on fighting even down an arm and a face.

Which is when Pit noted the timer. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"It's... no way!"[/color] he exclaimed. He launched towards it as it prepared to strike, cracking it in the skull with the Arm and caving it and the screen in. It fell hard onto the ground, and thankfully didn't self destruct. Even so, what else could that timer signify? Did they all have that...?!

Pit looked back at Primrose, his expression more serious than she remembered ever seeing it. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Don't worry about beating these guys, just get out of here - I'll handle any I see while I help everyone else!"[/color]

She hesitated for a moment, but eventually her own gaze softened in thanks and she alighted from the window herself. She flew up to the roof, getting a good look at the state of Banishing Flats. At that point another status report came in.

[i][color=BC8DBF]"Therion, on my way back–"[/color][/i]

[i][color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"No!"[/color][/i] Pit interrupted. [i][color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"If you're outside stay outside, they're probably more of them waiting there anyway!"[/color][/i]

The thief had been on the edge of the High Tier when the sudden flurry of activity through the linkpearl started. At that he forewent the elevator, swallowing the quick spike of fear as he leapt from the wall down instead. Halfway down he transformed, landing safely on four paws on one of the Mid Tier's taller buildings before racing back to the motel and retaking his human form as he got closer - then skidding to a halt. The order caught Therion off guard, but he heeded it. If Pit was right, then he could try to thin out any ambushers just to get ambushed himself. Instead of returning to Banishing Flats, Therion circled around, sticking to a higher path to get a better vantage point. The flying machines over the area were unmissable, but as he scanned the area and awaited the Seekers to take care of whatever enemies they were facing he took note of more than one thing that seemed out of place.

Meanwhile, Pit continued his laps of the building, seeking out Seekers that might need a hand while also jumping into fights that broke out between the Jacks and innocent motel guests as they retaliated against the invaders disturbing their sleep and wrecking their things in pursuit of their targets. The whole attack so far hadn't been more than a few minutes, so he hoped he had time when he reached out to everyone again with a warning.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]"Call out if you need help! Otherwise evacuate! I think they're gonna–"[/i][/color]

[b][i]Boom![/i][/b]