Barring an unfortunate run-in with a very big sea creature and getting into some trouble as a result (an event which prompted the last of the jellyfish like Puyomon hangers on in the process) Edward got the carriage through the icewater swamp without further incident. He had learned however that it would be best to keep it back while they cleared the way, rather than trying to move through areas of danger, lest, like with the laviathen, people try to use it for cover.

Flesh could be healed, and summons replaced, but they didn’t have time and space to repair the carriage if they wanted to keep moving all day.

With that in mind, when they moved offroad and headed for the Naytiba infested dam, he proceeded to park them for a bit while people cleared the way to it. As he did that, he sent his Bronze Golems ahead towards the dam to trigger any ambushes, while his scout drones too poke around a few structures on the way to it.

In one of these, he found a little workshop of relatively sporting a half constructed bolt repeater on its workbench. It also, on a table next to said bench, sported a book oddly stuffed with tools. One that gave Edward paused when he saw the cover, and one which prompted Edward to set out on his own to investigate

A few minutes later, Edward glanced up from the book as the rattle of gunfire sounded from both outside and very close, making him flinch, only for him to process that it was close to the golems he’d sent ahead, not to him. Still, while not lethal news, it was bad news, as he witnessed through their eyes as a trio of sentryborgs filled them with lead, having caught the golem squads in a deadly crossfire due to his inattentiveness.

The magical machines endured the infested one’s fire for some time thanks to their reinforced structure, but when a small group of droids also moved in to finish the droids, it was game over for the constructs.

An unfortunate loss, but an entirely replaceable one fortunately. Thanks to this new discovery, it seemed like he’d be able to replace it with something more suited for the task as well.

Edward hustled out of the little grotto and rejoined the convoy to report the poor news, and try to rustle up a solution.

”As you’ve likely just seen, there seems to be some constructs armed with rapidfire cannons covering the approach to the dam”

“Sentryborgs, probably" Adam informed them

”Three of them, to be exact, plus a number of blade armed humanoid machines loitering around the area”

“Droids”

”Right” Edward replied, before saying ”I have just rediscovered a suitable golem for enduring the approach and getting close, but they’ll need support to actually take down the threats” and then cracking open the Tome of Artificing and beginning to cast.



”For ages past, have the people have raised walls with which to hold back the dark
Some have called this cowardice, those who lack an inventive spark
So let them be awed, and the horrors tremble
When they behold what we can assemble
see now as the walls of civilization stride forth
Expand its domain, east, south, west and north
With shields raised high, no sorcery shall smite
Nor shall they fear any beast’s ferocious bite
From behind this bulwark, our guns shall sing
While they witness the power that we shall bring”

Once he had finished chanting, two new golem squads had formed. Armed with mighty tower shields, and enchanted with further resistance against non elemental damage, they would be a bulwark against the incoming gunfire.

Edward snapped shut the new tome with a satisfaction clack of metal and spark of magic, before setting about seeking out forces to hide behind these bulwarks.

”Ganondorf? Could you lend some of your goblin-esque summons to this effort? We’ll need shooters to take down the threats from behind these tower walls”

”Simple enough.” The Gerudo replied with a gruff voice of confirmation. With a wave of his hand and snap of his fingers he summoned a squad of five Moblin Archers, their quivers loaded with Fire Arrows. ”Will these suffice?” If needed he could also summon Phantom Ganon, but would need to wait for the thick of combat so as not to waste the one minute duration of the summon.

But someone else had overheard the conversation and decided to offer his two cents as well. ”Anything I can do?” Roxas offered, looking between the warlord and the tactician. ”I have a spell that can halve enemy damage and another one that buffs speed, if you can make use of them.”

”That would be a perfect addition” Edward replied at once, mentally adding up all the bonuses. With both warriors onboard, he was quite certain they’d be able to achieve victory.

---

Once they set out, they quickly got into sight of the structure from which Edward’s golems had been ambushed, and in doing so, got a better look at it. It wasn’t entirely clear what the structure had been for from the outside. Some sort of administration office of the damn, perhaps, Edward thought. Regardless, what it was now was a rudimentary pillarbox, one that sprung into motion as soon as they got eyes on it.

The three sentryborgs (one atop the left side of the roof, right of the roof above the door, and on the balcony) all opened fire at once, filling the air with the roar of machine fire.

In response, the six iron golems raised their shields in defence posture, both to block shots, and to form a protective aura around themselves, orange gold, flecked with blue. By overlapping their auras, and combining them with their own defense mode boats, the iron films gained a whapping 50% resistance to physical damage, and that was before their shields, reinforced structure, and general durability was taken into account. And there was Roxas, who cast a few Aeroga spells around on each of the Golems, giving them a swirling shield of wind that would further reduce incoming damage by half for the next 18 seconds. Behind them marched Ganondorf’s Moblins, keeping behind the defensive bulwark for now and awaiting orders to begin firing their shots.

Thus bolstered, the animated wall of metal began to advance up the road.

Fifty meters to go.

”We’ve got this, right?” Roxas asked as he kept pace with Ganondorf. As he asked, he was already spreading around Tailwinds to the Moblins and Golems. The speed buff was small and sometimes short-lived, but it was a spell he could repeatedly cast without spending any of his MP, meaning he could continuously reapply it as many times as necessary.

”Hmph, of course we do.” The warlord quickly answered with confidence. This wasn’t his first time commanding a unit, and it certainly wouldn’t be his last.

At twenty five meters, there came the first true hurdle. The hatches along the can shaped upper bodies of the sentryborgs opened up, disgorging three volleys of three small amber glowing missiles in a spread pattern each, threatening to at the very least stagger the advance of the golems. The shots were relatively slow however, offering a brief moment for interception, but also a risk of becoming exposed to fire in the process.

For this, Roxas decided to intervene directly. With a wave of his hand, he generated a small wall of virtual cubes in the line of fire to tank the missile shots. Being the same consistency as solid glass, the cubes cracked and even broke in places. But they still did their job to prevent a direct blast on the frontline golems. In addition, the wall wasn’t large enough to catch all the missiles, only two out of the three volleys. The third still managed to get through. But that was still an improvement over taking the full volleys, and the golems were slowed by merely a single step before they resumed their advance.

And then the Moblins peaked out from behind the Iron Golems and loosed Fire Arrows aimed at the sentryborgs as a reprisal. Most of the arrows struck cold steel, but one found a borg’s softer flesh, causing it to flinch in pain and preventing it from joining in when the other two opened fire again, letting the golems pick up the pace just a bit more. It looked like the bulwark was going to make it to the structure with mere chip damage thanks to the pair’s support.

At ten meters to go, the Naytibas within the building moved to intercept. A half dozen basic droids vaulted through the already shattered front windows, while a heavy droid, perhaps once a squad leader, exited through the door on the right.

The basic droids charged the front of the formation while the rooftop sentryborgs continued to fire over their heads. The heavy droid meanwhile moved to flank their right, and was joined in doing so by the balcony sentry borg after it leapt off its perch.

”Focus fire on the rooftop.” Ganondorf commanded the Moblins, his voice calm and confident. His minions responded with a little less calm and confidence, but dared to peek around the shields of the iron golems to pop arrows up at the technologically superior monsters. One got clipped by a shot in the process right out the gate, but the aura of their defenders prevented it from being lethal. Then the arrows of the four others flew forth, and though the armor and elevation prevented them from dealing that much damage it threw off the bot’s aim, and also set one on fire due to a lucky proc.

Just as Roxas had directly intervened a few meters ago, Ganondorf then decided to step in himself at this particular juncture. He broke from the formation to charge at the heavy droid and its borg partner, his Acidic Crystal Spear in hand. ”Hit me with a flame spell!” Ganondorf called back toward Roxas.

”You want me to do what?” Roxas called forward with confusion.

”Just do it!” Ganondorf assured the Nobody as he was about to intercept the incoming droid duo on their flank. His spear’s acidic quality would allow it to damage the droids’ armored bodies over time like it would for any foe wearing armor. But that wasn’t the strongest source of damage the warlord could produce by any stretch. And after using some sweeps of his spear head and pommeled shaft to clump as many droids as possible in front of him, Ganondorf felt it.

”Fire!” Roxas’ voice. The Keyblade Wielder’s Firaga spell surged forward from the tip of his summoned weapon and collided harmlessly into Ganondorf’s back. Then the Gerudo’s body flared up with a fiery aura that signified his Flash Fire was now active.

”Burn!” Ganondorf barked, breathing forth a sweeping line of firebreath in front of him before plunging his spear into the ground and summoning an eruption of flames from below. Both of these attacks were 50% more powerful due to his Flash Fire aura.

The man took several rounds to the chest for his effort as the borg paused its move to open fire on him, but slamming his blade into that put a stop to that, smashing it and the heavy droid together. Then the fire washed over them, superheating steel, frying circuits, and roasting the infecting flesh clean off of the metal frames.

After the fires parted, all that was left was ash and falling spirits.

Behind him one of the borgs on the roof redirected its attention, hatches opening up in preparation to bombard the now exposed Ganondorf with explosive devastation. As it did, however, a blood red aura surrounded it, and then a slug fired from down range slammed into it and also set the ground on fire beneath it.

Its source was Edward, who’d used all the distracting combat right in front of the sentry borgs to step around a corner far behind the battle lines, crouch down, line up a shot, and then let it fly with perfect precision without fear of being thrown off by gunfire. The shot borg reacted by jumping off of the roof and crashing down into the street a few meters up from where Ganondorf was. It turned to try and shoot him again, but all this had given the man plenty of time to react

The warlord lunged with his Acidic Crystal Spear, plunging it forward and impaling the borg before opening his mouth to spew another stream of fire breath to wash over it. As his breath attack ended, Ganondorf yanked his spear free and plunged it another three times in succession.

The other reacted by shooting at Edward, only to find the man wrapped in flames, sprinting towards it, and its shots to be eaten by that fire and for it to be set on fire in turn.

All this took the supporting gunfire off of the iron golem squad right as the regular drones charge ended with them slamming superheaded blades into raised iron shields, and finding that the magically hardened against physical damage barriers resisted their redhot weapons far more poorly than they had the gunfire.

Still, they’d attacked them head on while in defence mode, and so the golems withstood this just fine, before retaliating, swinging out with their maces, clobbering drones with a volley of blows. Solid hits, but nothing to write home about. The droids promptly spread out, trying to find a hole in the iron golem’s own defences, but to no avail. Them getting around them and coming to attack the Moblins and Roxas was the real threat, because the bashing of golem maces wasn’t going to dissuade them from doing so. Arrows a little more so, and one of the droids didn’t make it past the front line due to a combo of being blunged and shot by minions.

Thankfully they had Roxas in their midst. But unlike Ganondorf, who broke formation, Roxas stayed with the Golems and Moblins. His Keyblades were summoned and the Nobody was deliberately giving the droids a chance to close in a bit more around the bulwark. He had an idea in mind, inspired by the fact that these were mechanical opponents. ”Thunder!” He chanted, thrusting a Keyblade straight upward and calling down a concentrated cluster of lightning bolts with the unit at the center of the area of effect.

The Thundaga spell caught a few of the closest droids, frying circuits and leaving them stunned enough to cut through them with the energy blade of his StepSword or even blast them with a charged shot from his RockGun. And as for the droids that were outside of the Thundaga zone? That was about when Ganondorf reconnected with the unit after having burned away the borg and heavy droid. He came in with his Acidic Crystal Spear, using sweeps and swings to clump a couple of droids together before skewering them with a fiery forward plunge of his spear.

Next to him, Edward practically slammed into the back of an Iron golem, having not wanted to slow for even a second and to open himself up to gunfire. It immediately got pretty cramped back there, between the three men and the 5 moblins, but as soon as he’d gotten his footing Edward stepped to the side , swung his gun around, designated the sentryborg above them as target and then hammered it with a slug that also ignited the ground, and forced it to jump off the roof.

That left 2 remaining borgs, both suffering from burning and electrified dots, on ground level. Without any sense of self preservation however, they rushed the seeker's formation from both sides, tail mounted stingers raised with which they tried to slip between shields and skewer living prey. Those were a simple enough matter for Ganondorf, who swept over them with a third breath of fire from his mouth, still benefitting the Flash Fire Boost.

At this point, Roxas was almost out of MP. But since the wave had essentially been beaten, he figured it was safe to use the rest of it, ”Heal!” The Curaga spell washed over everyone, providing a good source of healing for anyone that needed it. It didn’t affect Ganondorf, of course, but it would affect the Golems and Moblins - and Edward too if he had joined the unit by now.

Unaffected by the Curaga, Ganondorf had no choice but to scarf down one of the two slabs of meat he had taken from the food court in Krat Zoo. The Gravemind’s spirit did nothing to make the meat not taste rotten, but it still allowed him to safely consume it in order to help regenerate some of the biomass lost from the shots he took during the skirmish.

One of the sentryborg’s stinger tails skewered the shot up moblin as they did this, but thanks to Roxas’ heal it didn’t succumb to the strike. The other four then paid the borg back for its attack, arrows thinking into it much more deeply at this close, and level, range. Indeed, one of those arrows struck a missile the sentry had intended to fire at Gandorf earlier, setting off a chain detonation that rattled up and down its can shaped head.

The got its tail slammed between the edges of a pair of iron golem shields as Edward commanded them to act faster, leaving it open to a beatdown as the second squad dropped their defensive posture and moved in to deliver a beatdown. Cudgels rose and fell with mechanical tirelessness, beating the trapped borg relentlessly.

The combination of these minion maulings and the dots took their toll, and by the time any of the people of flesh were ready to step in once more, it was already over. The two borgs were ash, and the approach to the dam was secured.

”My appreciation for your efforts gentleman. I shall leave the spoils to you, and get us moving on the double” Edward said, nodding to the spirits and building, before setting off at a sprint to get the stage coach moving once more.

After gathering all 10 spirits via the moblins, Roxas and Ganondorf also made their way back toward the stagecoach. And Ganondorf wasted no time once he was back. He ensured the Crown of Avarice was available for use and then crushed each of the spirits one by one.



What the spirits produced was a variety of materials and gear. The materials weren’t something Ganondorf or Roxas were familiar with, but assumed the Seekers would find some use for them. The deployable healing machine was something Ganondorf would have kept for himself if not for the Gravemind spirit rendering him immune to its effects. Roxas could have carried it but in the end reasoned that he could get by well enough with his Curaga spell.

One of the spirits also produced a deployable turret. Not something Ganondorf or Roxas would be proficient with but someone like Edward or Blazermate would certainly find a use for it. One of the objects was a cybernetic heart called a WB Pump. Apparently it could only be used by a technological entity, which narrowed the potential users to Blazermate and not many others. A shame, since the one-time revival effect would be something Ganondorf would have loved to have for himself. One item produced was a protective face helmet, not needed currently but could potentially be put to use at a later time.

And then there were the weapons. One of them was a rifle of some kind that Sandalphon would almost certainly appreciate having access to. And the other one was a katana, a bit too small of a blade for Ganondorf’s size, but Roxas could consider using it if he wanted to. The only thing that gave the Nobody pause was whether or not he’d actually need it in lieu of his Keyblades or StepSword. If nothing else, Hesimay or maybe Geralt would certainly want it if they offered it to one of them. For the time being, the two Seekers decided to keep the loot stored on the stagecoach so neither would have to tote around a bunch of extra gear.

All in all a good haul, on top of the way forward being cleared for the Sagecoach to progress.

The reuniting of the Esaka-based team of Seekers had ended up being short lived. On top of three members still absent and the lobby not big enough to hold all of them, the collision of opposing personalities and sudden revelations about the World of Light for the newcomers made things a little awkward to say the least. To be fair, even though the sun was setting there was still time left in the day, so when people filtered out rather quickly it was hard to blame them. As he'd already said, Therion did not plan to get up to anything else that day. He'd see all he needed to of the city, and he was not interested in committing petty crime (yet). Besides the tip of his tail idly flicking back and forth, he didn't move as he watched the others filter out in pairs.

He glanced out one of the lobby windows, then cut his gaze back to the few others who hadn't yet left. Captain Falcon was still around. He was a bit focused on eating his meal since he’d let the conversation with Terry distract him a bit. Ultimately an inoffensive presence. Then there was the team captain, who after seeing off most of the others with a smile and a promise to be around if they needed him, was half-pacing around the room and attempting to peek out some of the building’s side windows to see if he could spot… something. Probably the two latest recruits, if Therion had to guess. He appeared to be deciding if he should do something about it or not. After a few minutes of that, though, the Orsterran found it to be getting annoying.

"Leave them be," he sighed, dragging his legs off of where they rested on the coffee table so that he could sit up properly. "If they're cut out for this they'll come back. If they're not then they won't."

Pit huffed, sending Therion on a dubious look. It was a rather brusque way of looking at things, but the thief wasn't completely wrong. From what Pit had heard, even before he’d joined there were plenty of people that came and left once the going got rough, or even well before that. He wasn't worried about Terry of course; Pit and Terry hadn't been close friends, but they'd talked plenty back at Alcamoth. The angel knew that guy had a heart as big as his muscles. But that short girl had definitely seemed like she was taking the whole de-storied thing pretty hard. She’d stormed out without even saying hello back!

…well, at least she had Terry to try and cheer her up. Pit went over and flopped down into one of the chairs around the table that Yayama had previously occupied, letting his wings droop over the armrests.

"I guess you’re right," he said, "but I’m not happy about it! I wish there was an easier way to do this part."

Concealing the full truth from anyone freed wouldn’t be right, but not everyone dealt with that truth well. Normally Pit wouldn’t hesitate to try an inspiring speech, but what worked for Skyworld’s centurions almost never did for anyone else. If only everyone was as receptive to militaristic encouragement about fighting for justice under the banner of the Goddess of Light.

”Don’t worry about Terry.” Captain Falcon finally spoke up, still finishing up the meal he had ordered himself. ”Ammy and I will be around him plenty during the King of Fighters tournament. I’ll make sure to ease Terry into all this as best as I can.”

At that Pit perked up, pulling his legs up into the seat with him as he flashed the bounty hunter a smile. "I won't, I know I can count on you, Cap!"

Therion didn’t reply, merely offering a half-hearted shrug. This was dangerous business, and people had died. Would die. He’d considered abandoning the fight and leaving it to the others a few times, though it hadn’t been for a while now that he was in deep enough that his personality had been altered. Ultimately, if anyone stuck around after hearing all the crazy shit that had happened to themselves and the universe, it was their prerogative.

Another couple of minutes passed. Unwilling to sit in silence, Pit spoke up again with a change of topic.

"So what’re you guys gonna do for the rest of the night?" he asked.

Lest he get roped into anything, Therion was quick to reply. "I already said; I’m done for the day."

One didn’t have to be particularly observant to see that Pit was disappointed with that answer. He was honestly fishing for something to do himself. He would have gone with Sakura and Amaterasu to go check out that town, take out a few monsters and earn a bunch of veggies (it sounded like a great time), but he was too busy fretting. Reconnecting with Lady Palutena was something Pit couldn’t have been happier about, but it was a little bit of a double edged sword too - the angel had begun to slip back into an old bad habit and relied on her for advice much too often, so when she was busy, like now, indecision crept in.

He really needed to keep working on that.

For now he let out a puff of breath and leaned forward in his seat, glancing out the window that Therion had looked out of once more.

"Do you not want to go out in the rain? It looks like it’s already stopped, you know!" Therion’s nose wrinkled, but before he could reply Pit went on. "Is it because there’s still puddles and stuff? And you’re part cat? Even though miss-"

"That’s not why," the thief snapped. Thankfully Pit paused, though his mouth was still half-open.

"I’m not scared of a little water. Just don’t feel like it. And…" Therion paused too, blinking when he realized what he was about to say. He’d been feeling uneasy since before the group had even arrived in Esaka, and now the rainstorm… there’d hardly been a cloud in the sky, but all of a sudden the weather had changed - and then changed again just as quickly.

Call him superstitious, but it was a weird omen.

Pit had leaned even farther forward towards Therion, curious eyes urging him to continue. After a moment Therion did, admitting his bad feeling around a lump in his throat. "...I have a weird feeling about that storm."

"The storm…? Are you scared of thunder or something?"

Like a distant memory, the hazy image of a flash of lightning seeped into Therion’s mind.

"...no."

"Hm." Pit gave Therion his space back, reclining and crossing his arms as he thought. Intuition wasn’t something he’d ever discredit, especially when he was prone to going with his own gut when he wasn’t being guided by Lady Palutena and had to. "I guess… it was kind of weird how quick it rolled in and out. It was kind of like that in… um, this farm town we went to after leaving Midgar. It was a nice day, then storm clouds, then boom! Z showed up."

Falcon, who had been listening, finally spoke up again. ”I wasn’t there but… that consul was the one who called himself the God of Thunder, right?” He asked, his meal and drink finally finished, ”Maybe he wasn’t actually exaggerating about that little claim, then? Either way, I’d probably be a little wary of storms too if that had been me.”

Pit nodded. "He wasn't, I could tell he was a god. And I think... after meeting a Zeus here in Esaka, Z's probably a different one."

Of course the angel made sure to add, "but he was nothing we couldn't have taken care of eventually! _{Especially if I'd had the Lightning Chariot..."}

"I'd be more worried about B than Z. She uses lightning too," Therion said, not even bothering to refute Falcon's comment about wariness. The thief sunk a little deeper into his chair again, closing his eyes and letting his ears stand at alert on top of his head.

He didn’t seem all that eager to continue the conversation, and so in the interest of cheering up their team captain, Cap threw the angel a bone in the fun department. ”I was thinking about hitting a gym and getting in a workout before it gets too late. You know, if… that’s something you’re interested in?”

"Sure!" Pit chirped, already somehow on his feet. He didn't think he needed the exercise, but it'd be better than sitting around - plus he'd get to spend some time with his fellow Smasher. "Let's see who can lift the most, heheh! Oh, I wonder if the regular gyms here compete like the dojos!"

”No clue.” Falcon said with a shrug, ”I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if they did…” He paused briefly at the door that led outside where the rain was tapering off, though there was still a drizzle. ”An umbrella would sure be nice about now. Oh well, not much I can do about it.” With an exhale and a shrug of his broad shoulders, Cap stepped out into the evening weather.

Pit paused only to wave goodbye to Therion as the two veterans left, and though the thief didn't wave back he'd at least cracked an eye open at the sound of the door and tipped his head a little in their direction. Outside Banishing Flats the pair of Seekers found Esaka to be much like the rest of those who'd left had found it: damp with dimming light, but still full of life.

Most martial artists trained at their own dojos when they weren't challenging others, so it was no surprise that Captain Falcon and Pit didn't immediately find a regular old public gym. Besides the dojos, in the Mid Tier there were a plethora of businesses and a residential section... with many sporting casual dueling rings or other places for people to spar, but that wasn't exactly what the two were looking for. They figured that a normal gym or two must be around somewhere, because the people that weren't yet signed up with a dojo, or that had been kicked out of theirs, must have a place available to train, right? So they kept on.

After stopping at a promising looking building where a man in a blue gi and black belt was taking a break outside with a feisty looking critter, they were told it was actually a gym for said critters - but thankfully they hadn't struck out yet, as the karate master pointed them in the right direction.

Eventually, they finally came upon an area that was basically a neutral neighborhood, with a few places that advertised personal trainers that would improve a fighter's skills guaranteed, or that boasted they were open 24/7 for the real dedicated body builders.

And then there was one painted in bold yellow with a sign in big block letters that read "Kinder Gym." It was this one that Pit pointed out.

"Look, Cap! Weird, right? You think all the other gyms are full of bullies or something, and this one's full of nice people?"

”Hmm, maybe?” Falcon replied with a shrug, and since there were still pockets of clouds overhead said, ”Considering how long it took before we found this gym, I’d say we oughta check it out before we end up getting rained on.”

And when the pair of veteran Smashers entered the gym, the first thing that caught Captain Falcon’s eye was the presence of a panda sparring with a brown bear - a grizzly maybe? Were these… domesticated like pets? Or were they anthropomorphic and sentient? Most of the time it was easy to tell at a glance. But not with these particular bears. They stood on their hind legs, going at it like proper martial artists, but even then the jury was still out.

The second thing of course was the interior of the gym itself. Bright pastel colored blocks made up the walls, with sky blue panels and cartoon animals painted on the ground or projected from lights in the ceiling. Besides the wide open area in the center meant for sparring, currently taken up by the aforementioned bears, there was plenty of gym equipment -weights, treadmills, and the like- though they were also multi-colored and at times covered in a plush mat-like material for safety. Some were even in miniature sizes!

"It's all kinda... cute?" Pit commented with a confused tilt of his head, not having connected the dots just yet.

Though the sun was setting, there were still a few other people that could be found scattered about the facility: a simplistic looking person in a one-piece pajama set, a school girl who seemed to be wrapping up her workout, a pair of chibi fighters chatting together, and a family man who was busy using his own children as weights, much to their delights.

The man noted the newcomers and shouted a hearty, "Welcome!" from across the gym. A little closer to them, a woman who was manning what probably counted as a front desk smiled at the Seekers. "It's always nice to see families here. There's no fee to use the equipment, so make yourselves at home."

”Families?” Cap inquired. Did they think he and Pit were related? And from the sounds of it, it made the bounty hunter think this gym was meant to be family-oriented. He glanced questioningly at his angelic compatriot (who to be fair looked as lost as he was) before giving his muscular shoulders a shrug, ”No fee, you said? Well, in that case, thank you very much Miss, er…”

"Melike," she replied with all the cheery professionalism of a businesswoman, despite her casual, comfortable attire. More than likely she was the owner of the gym - an establishment which did indeed cater more to Esaka's younger generation of fighters and their guardians. After a moment Melike said, "you wouldn't happen to be new to the city, would you? Here for the tournaments? If you are, make sure to cheer for my husband there in World Warrior tomorrow~"

"As long as they let me in this time!" The man in question commented, grumbling something about his fighting style not being appreciated enough.

”Yep, you’ve got us rightly pegged. We’re new alright, I’m here for the King of Fighters myself.” Cap explained with a friendly grin as he already began walking toward the training weights. ”My angelic friend here entered the Mortal Kombat, I believe.”

That elicited a soft gasp from Melike, probably because of how young Pit looked. “The Mortal Kombat…? At your age?”

The angel had been ready to preen about being a tournament contestant (though technically the participants weren't going to be finalized until tomorrow morning), but he about deflated once again at Melike's reaction. He was getting used to it, but that didn't mean he disliked it any less. And, finally, he then put the pieces together about the "Kinder Gym," just barely resisting slapping a hand to his forehead.

Instead he puffed himself up and declared, "Hey! You're looking at the next Kombat champ here!"

”Oh, he’s not quite as young as he looks.” Cap assured the gym owner, ”And he’s more than capable of handling himself.”

"That's right!" Pit said, glad that Falcon had his back - not that he ever doubted it.

"Is that so..." the woman replied. She seemed a little dubious about that, but not enough to question them further. The Kinder Gym accepted anyone regardless, and even some of her regulars (the oddly proportioned martial artists on one side of the room) were apparently older than they looked too.

Pit went to join his fellow Smasher after that, making a beeline to the largest set of barbells he could see. He mentioned competing again, pointing out various pieces of equipment they could use for contests, that is if the F-Zero pilot was game. Before they could get started Melike made sure to say, "no disturbing other guests, and we close in two hours!"

Cap made a hearty laugh at Pit’s challenge. Of course he was game, the bounty hunter was always up for friendly competition, it didn't matter if it was on the race track, the ring, or here in the gym. Of course he couldn’t help but feel like he might have a distinct advantage in the weight lifting department. But maybe Pit could even things out on the treadmill?

As expected, Cap’s muscular form gave him the edge in pumping more iron for more reps. So as he guessed, it all really came down to who could last longer on the treadmills.

”Hope you’re ready to put those legs of yours to the test.” Falcon said with a grin. Luckily this wasn’t a footrace, otherwise the F-Zero pilot would have it in the bag as he was obviously the faster sprinter of the two. But a more marathon-esque jog on the treadmills was not the same thing. So this was where he was sure Pit would put up the most fight.

Not too put out by being bested in weight lifting (he'd put up a good fight, more than enough to show off to Melike and the other gym occupants that he was definitely a lot stronger than he looked), Pit flashed the man a confident grin. "With all the running around I do? There's no way I'm losing this one!"

With two parallel machines claimed, they started off at a brisk jogging pace before gradually ramping the speed up. And up, and up.

”Careful!” Falcon playfully quipped, ”This is about endurance, not how fast you set the speed to.” Even when he was supposed to be competing, he couldn’t help but give at least a little tidbit of advice. He liked helping others push their limits as much as he enjoyed pushing his own.

"I can do both!" If there was one thing Pit had going for him, it was stamina, and though running on the treadmill was different than just sprinting on the ground, he was pretty sure he had this little contest in the bag.

They ran until Captain Falcon had to call it quits, at which point Pit's victory celebration of throwing his arms up into the air almost saw him flung from the still-moving machine. Though the padded walls and floor of the building would have softened any impact, thankfully that didn't end up being the case.

"Okay, what's next!"

”I think what’s next is that we need to get back to Banishing Flats before we get rained on again.” Falcon offered apologetically. The rain looked like it was gone now but lingering clouds in the night sky made Cap think it might possibly start again. ”Still, that was a fun way to get the old muscles loosened up.”

If it was earlier in the day Pit might have tried to convince the man to go for one more contest just so things didn't end in a tie, but as he glanced around and saw that by now most of the gym's guests had filtered out he figured that Falcon was right. As little as he needed it, rest was an important part of getting stronger, and it was the eve of what was to be a series of battles for both of them.

"Alright," the angel agreed with a nod.

The proprietress waved to the two as they headed out, bidding them both good luck for tomorrow.

”Good luck to your husband as well.” Cap called back as he and Pit exited the gym, offering a returned wave to Melike and Hakan as well.

"If you make it in I'll root for you!" Pit shouted back before the door closed on them. Well, as long as he wasn't up against Sakura or any of the other Seekers in the World Warrior tournament of course.

Wary that Captain Falcon's words might come true and they'd end up arriving back at the Seekers' chosen lodging waterlogged, the two of them traced their path back towards Banishing Flats to reunite once more with any on their team still loitering around before they retired to prepare for the day ahead.

Ft. Sakura and Amateratsu
Words: 3825 (+4) (+4 rapport)

Amaterasu had been expecting a little pool up in the hills or something along those lines when it came to the hotsprings they’d been directed too. In hindsight, however, the mayor had meant it when he’d told them ‘you can’t miss it’



Now, naturally, they had missed it when coming to the town, but that was because it was a little ways further on, nestled into the bamboo forests out of which the turtles had emerged.

Speaking of said turtles, once they’d gotten out of the village, Amaterasu had revealed she’d been steadily gobbling up every one she bumped into during the fight, and had promptly disgorged them from her inventory for usage.



Sakura blinked. ”I didn’t know you stored things like that, Amaterasu-sama.”

The wolf looked pretty smug as she restored their loot.

With that out of the way, it was time to relax, and so into the hot spring establishment they went.

Within, they found a high-spirited were-animal man who as soon as he saw the Sakura exclaimed sympathetically how “Oh wow, you look like you’ve been through it today” before glancing down at Amaterasu and adding “oh and your doggie too. Hello” before giving her a wave.

The wolf gave him a flat unimpressed look, which apparently the were-animal was able to read pretty well, apologizing “Oh. Sorry. Serious dog. Forget I said anything.”

She accepted said apology with good graces, namely by dropping the look of disdain that had been building on her features, prompting him to give a little sigh of relief. Then he went “oh right!” and stood up straight to actually do his job.

“Welcome, welcome to the Blue Moon bathhouse! I’m Murakumo, and I’m here tol do everything in my power to make you happy!” he declared jovial, hands spread wide, before a cough resounded from one the doors in the room, causing him to duck his ears in a bit of embarrassment as he added “for a reasonable fee of course”

The source of the cough, one rather stern looking woman gave him a nod, after which her features softened a bit as she saw the ruffed up state of the pair.

“Trouble on the road? It's a long way to walk from Esaka while ruffed up” she asked, only for the man to lean over the counter and excitedly guess “oh, or did you just finish helping out the villagers? I can smell the fields on you and, hmmm, is that hint of tortoise meat as well?” which the divine wolf found rather impressive.

Sakura, on the other hand, found it a little weird and embarrassing. She lifted one side of her jacket and put her nose to it. All she could smell was, like, the sun. She put her hands behind her back and bowed a bit. ”Um, yes, we did. There were some giant monster tortoises that we had to destroy.” She explained.

”Is there, like, uh, laundry here, too?” She asked. ”It’s my clothes that fell in the dirt, mostly.” She said.

“Of course of course, and for the hero of Flowerbud Village-” Murakumo began to say, before pausing and glancing over to the stern women. She in turn sighed, and said “this one time I suppose” allowing the were-animal to finish his special offer, namely that it was “-it’s on the house!”

Sakura let out a little sigh of relief. To be honest, she had kind of assumed that was a given, but felt it was too late to back out now if they decided to charge them. And by them, it was really Sakura, because she had no idea how much money a wolf kept on her!

He then promptly rushed off to fetch her a gown to change into, leaving the woman to step into place to crew the desk, and to introduce herself as “Shino”

She then promptly slid a menu of prices over, while also pointing out a recommendation "While you wait for your clothes to be laundered, I’d recommend a half hour dip in the spring, followed by this massage for fighters like yourself. Keep the muscles limber without leaving them too soft that you can’t go right back at it tomorrow, be it in a tournament or not”

She then glanced down at Amaterasu for a moment and then said to Sakura “Murakumo also does an excellent fur treatment regime, if your… companion is interested" which the divine wolf indicated she was with a monotone bark.

”Um, she is, Shino-san. Her name is Amaterasu-sama, by the way.” Sakura said. She tapped her two fingers together, having really never done anything like this before. Standing around, awkward.

”Have you done anything like this before?” She asked the wolf in a hushed tone, even though Shino was looking right at them.

The divine wolf barked again, but was unfortunately unable to talk about her time helping out at/enjoying the Sasa Sanctuary, a hotspring for the pure of heart run by the Sparrow Clan (who were giant sparrows).

Shino visibility winced at the notion, and then, with a slightly sympathetic tone saying “Speaking from experience, a massage kind of treatment is excellent for fighters” pausing for a moment, and the offering “and as a special offer for your first experience, and for your hard work in the Flowerbud Village, I’ll let you try it out for free, and if you don’t like it, there's no loss on your part”

This prompted a gasp from Murakumo who’d just re-entered the room, followed by an “ah, oh no, wait, got it!” as he juggled with and then caught a fluffy white bathrobe he’d brought for her to wear while her clothes were washed.

Once he had recovered, she gave him a glare that said “not a word”, before turning back to Sakura and asking “so, how about it?”

Endeared, the street fighter smiled. Then shrugged. ”What’s the worst that could happen?” She took a hold of the white robe. Caught off guard by its fluffyness, she put her face into it and shook her head around.

”These are pretty soft.” She complimented, voice muffled. ”Amaterasu-sama, do you want- well. I guess they don’t make one for wolves. Would you even be able to feel fluffy? You’re kind of fluffy yourself.” Sakura then pinched her own cheek.

(truly, there was no robe that could beat her fluffyness, it was true)

”I’m not fluffy. I’m…what, smooth? Hairy? Squishy?” Blinking, Sakura looked around. ”Uh. Anyway. Where can I change?”

“Right this way!” Murakumo told her, waving her to follow him through the door he’d been in and out of, before leading them through to the back. Back there there were changing rooms, a hamper for Sakura’s dirty clothes, and showers with which to rinse themselves before they got into the hotspring proper.

”Be very careful with that headband, please!” Sakura urged them after she managed to reluctantly take it off.

Said spring meanwhile could be found just beyond the changing rooms, and up a short flight of stairs.



“Oh and don’t mind Ukee, he’s very friendly!” came a call as the two got ready, once again raising the question of who that was.

As it turned out, Ukee was a very small monkey who was presently chilling on the central rock, to which an appropriately sized ship with small -cannons was moored. He seemed sort of nervous at the sight of the big (freshly rinsed) divine wolf strutting on in to his domain, but Amaterasu would not let that stand, and made herself as unintimidating as possible on approach, before casually slipping into the warm waters.

She carefully approached, and then offered Ukee one of the more intact leaves off of a cabbage that had ended up in her inventory via midair collision during the tortoise fight, which the monkey happily accepted and began to munch on.

Tribute to the master of the hot springs given, the wolf settled in to enjoy them.

”Oooh! Ukee!” Sakura’s eyes lit up with recognition. ”Of course!” Sakura lowered herself into the water, and her train of thought was briefly derailed. She sunk so low it was just her eyes and her hair visible. Eventually she rose up a little more to breathe again.

”Maaaah, that’s pretty nice, huh?” She said. ”It’s like a hot bath but…well, okay, it’s a lot like a hot bath. But I didn’t have to do it myself. So that’s nice.” She cupped some water in her hands and splashed it over herself.

”And most, importantly, it was completely free!” Sakura raised a hand to high five the wolf. ”Banzai!”

The wolf, presently neck deep in the water, looked up at this, then down at Sakura, then up at the hand before raising a paw and giving her a rather wet high four.

Settling back into her spot with a grin, she glanced at the monkey. ”Ukee, what are you doing here? Does Terry-san know you’re here?” She said. ”He must. This is a good place for a monkey.”

”I’m pretty sure that’s Terry-san’s monkey, Amaterasu-sama.” She pointed a thumb at the monkey, looking at the wolf, who tilted her head and then glanced up at Ukee before tilting it the other way.

”I always meant to ask him what it’s like to have a pet monkey. I’ve only ever had a pet dog. He’s a good dog, though. He likes to sleep. So when we went out on walks my brother always said the dog was walking me.” She explained with a smile. With Amatarasu’s tail buried in the hot water it was hard to tell if she was amused or not.

After a conversation that mostly involved her speaking and, if she was lucky, the occasional bark or monkey noise, Sakura shut up for a while. ”...Man, I wish I could talk to animals.”

The wolf opened one eye, propped her head onto the side of the bath and settled into a half doze. A moment passed, and then four streams of water leapt out of the bath in turn, each one forming one word of joint up calligraphy that hung there for about 2 seconds, with which the divine wolf wrote: “It rather inconvenient yes” in the air.

Sakura made an unimpressed face and glanced over at the divine wolf. ”Like you’d be so talkative.”

The wolf simply rolled her eye and wrote the word “relax” in the air before closing her eye again.

Sakura lowered herself into the water once more. ”That, I can do.”

Soon, the clothes were laundered and it was time for a message. ”I feel like the techniques for a wolf message gotta be different for the techniques of a human message. Do you have wolf massagers here, Shino-san? ” Sakura asked.
“Groomings are somewhat like a massage, so in a sense, yes” Shino replied as she got everything ready.

Places like this had always been too rich for the Kasugano family’s blood. Being ‘waited on’ was an unusual luxury that didn’t fit her personality. ”I, uh, guess I’m ready if you are.” She said.

“Given how you've never had one of these before, it may hurt just a little at times. But if it's too much, please, just let me know and we can stop" the woman informed her, before cracking her knuckles and declaring “now then, let’s get to work”

Sakura blinked.

About half an hour later, Amatatsu, her coat luxurious in its sheen, perfectly brushed, and smelling of peach blossoms, padded out of the room with her snout high and proud and her tail softly wagging behind her. She paused beyond the threshold before glancing back to check back on Sakura.

The street fighter had changed back into her eye catching street wear, and walked out of the room more than a little sore. ”I feel all droopy, Amaterasu-sama.”

”Still, by tomorrow morning, I should be ready to go. But you look like you should be trotting around a palace, not getting into scraps.” Sakura smiled.

“You’ll both also be performing before an audience" Shino pointed out from the front desk she’d taken over while Murakumo tidied up the back. With her was a familiar looking gentleman, namely the mayor of Flowerbud Village, who gave them a cheerful wave and he “hellloooo”

Sakura waved back.

“The mayor was just telling me all about your escapades” Shino informed them, before saying that “I can only imagine you’ll go far tomorrow"

”I’ll do my best.” Sakura said.

On an anachronistic laptop sitting on the counter, the pair could see the brackets of the tournament tomorrow displayed. It seemed the locals had taken interest in what they’d be up to tomorrow.

The Mayor confirmed this when he said “Oh yes! Quite the pair! We’ll be keeping an ear on the radio for your performance, that is for certain”

“For tonight however, we still owe you a hero’s feast! Not to mention that care package for those friends of yours” he then said, before glancing at Shino and saying “you’re more than welcome to join us for the feast mam, we do owe you both a fair few freebies. It's the least we can do”

“I couldnt… but do take Murakumo with you, I can cover any evening visitors we have” she replied, to which he gave a nod, and then tuned back to the pair of seekers to which he said “Now then, I hope you two are hungry, because we’ve pulled out all the stops!” which had Amaterasu eagerly wagging her tail.

Sakura was touched that she and Amaterasu made some new fans. ”We sure are! Thank you so much for your hospitality. Flowerbud Village really is an amazing place.” Sakura grinned sheepishly as she bowed, her cheeks a light shade of rosy red.

“Why thank you kindly” the mayor replied, briefly removing his hat and giving a little bow of thanks, before popping it right back on and saying “now then, lets see if we can live up to your high praise shall we!”

The villagers provided the raw ingredients to make food, packed up in a wooden crate. Lots of lettuce, cabbage, and other vegetable products. The basis of lots of great meals, combined together with the right spices and ingredients. Hopefully it would do.

”Hey, watch this!” Sakura called out to the villagers. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out the Fulton and secured it to the crate. With a button press she scampered away. The balloon popped out, and slowly lifted the crate off the ground. Just long enough that Sakura hoped she did it right. Then, at astounding speed, it zipped away! ”Nice! Pretty cool, right? That’ll go a long way, I hope.”

A little while later, and the duo were sat down pride of place at an improvised feast hall, which had definitely been a barn at some point, but which was now sporting a long table made out of smaller tables grouped together. Villagers tottered in from their homes over the next few, bringing a cavalcade of different dishes of freshly harvested food onto the table that they’d prepared at home, producing an overwhelming aroma of deliciousness. They really had pulled out all the stops, but then, the villagers themselves had been living off of rations since the tortoises took their fields, and so the oversized potluck was as much for them as it was for the heroes of the hour.

Still, that didn’t mean that the pair weren't the stars of the show, which meant that the mayor had to shoo off a whole lot of wellwishers with promises that there’d be time for that after they’d all gotten to eat.

Once they were all set up and ready to go, the man declared that they should give “three cheers for the heroes of the day!” to which the town responded with a “hip hip hooray hooray hooray!”

Sat upon a raised bench so she could eat at the table Amaterasu happily basked in this praise, while beside her Sakura sank a bit into her seat, waving to the adoring populace with a smile.

The subsequent call of “now then! Let’s eat and be merry!” got its own way less organized cheer too, before the hungry villagers got stuck into their meals with great gusto.

Jubilant, Sakura smacked her hands together. This was something she could get behind! ”Itadakimaaaasu!” She exclaimed, before joining the villagers in tearing through her meal.

”Mmh! Mm, mm! The farms must be protected! At all costs!” She declared not long after starting.

On this, Amatarasu happily barked in agreement, eagerly chowing down, but not so quickly as to risk messing up her fur-do.

Between the trip out, the duking it out, and then hotspring and feast, things started running late. Especially the feast, because the farmers were more than happy to keep that going as long as they could, especially once they were past the initial rush and conversation could start. Sakura got plenty of questions about her travels, prowess, and so on, and got challenged to at least one arm wrestling contest to boot (though fortunately no actual fights). As time went on, a crowd of strangers became a group of friends. Sakura wasn’t shy anymore.

Indeed, by the time they were all longing around stuffed to the brim, the sun was down and the moon was up. Thus, while between the carpackage of food that had been sent to the avenger before the feast and the feast itself, the pair had technically received their payment (and more) they were also offered a guest room to stay overnight in, plus breakfast and a lift to town early in the morning with the village’s first delivery to market.

”It really is too much…” But Sakura considered walking back to Esaka at night, and also the fact that because they didn’t have any money, they still technically didn’t have a place to stay! Unless they borrowed some of Nadia’s money but Sakura wasn’t really paying attention at the time.

”And yet, I can’t turn down such a generous offer!” She admitted with a laugh, rubbing the back of her head.

Amaterasu was also more than happy to accept their generosity given that she too was flat broke. Of course, so too were the farmers, more or less, hence the whole arrangement. Really the only person in the village at the moment with liquid capital was Murakumo and that was only because the villagers kept refusing his attempts to give them his money to help them out.

Soon enough, then, the pair had been shuffled into a spare guest room where Sakura got the bed and Amaterasu a lovely nest of pillows and blankets.

Sakura flopped onto her bed. What a day! She’d been dropped from the Avenger, battle Yokai in the outskirts, gotten into a 2v2 and then a 1v1, and then smashed some monster turtles and spent the rest of the day relaxing and eating. There was a lot of fighting to do tomorrow, and Sakura was giddy just looking forward to it all.

Laying in bed, she tapped her ear piece. ”Uh, Sakura coming in. Amaterasu-sama and I are spending the night in Flowerbud Village! We’ll be in when the morning comes. We also used the Fulton balloons on some veggies to send up to the Avenger. Anyway, goodnight, I guess! Sakura out.” She said. Then she lay on the bed and stare up at the ceiling.

”That was a lot of fun, huh?” She said.

Sakura rubbed her eyes and kicked off her shoes. ”One good thing about being a Seeker is I don’t have to study anymore, so I can finally get to sleep on time instead of squeezing in all my training at night. Or…skipping. Haha.”

”...Well, goodnight, Amaterasu-san.” She said. Without thinking much of it, she stopped addressing the divine wolf so formally after the day they shared together.

The wolf responded by writing “pleasant dreams sakura-san” using the fire of the little candle lighting the room, before blowing it out with a tiny gust of wind.

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Though there was a layer of water that the Seekers had to wade in as they moved through the swamp, since it was only about calf-high (if that) the Ace Cadet hadn't expected it to be much of a problem while he, Ramattra, and Tenna faced off against the pair of monsters. He was unfortunately wrong; the leviathans were able to use their serpentine bodies to utilize even the shallowest water to move swiftly over the area, and so they were upon the trio of Seekers much faster than Ace had anticipated.

He was undaunted, but also embarrassingly unprepared with the barrel still in his arms, so he had to shout for the other two and request, "cover me for a sec!"

As long as a shipping container with deadly hooked claws the size of a human arm, the monsters were on top of their attackers the next moment. The first reared up, exposing its scale plated belly with a curious design in the center before it crashed down to try and body slam the lot of its challengers. The second slithered around to flank the group of Seekers, then twisted to whip its thick piscine tail at any that evaded its fellow monster's attack.

With the signal to go, the rest of the seekers used the monsters’ aggravation to escort their mobile headquarters, leaving the three of them behind. While Tenna was more aloof toward the attackers, he examined the threats from afar before they made their offensive efforts on the trio. To evade the attack without getting caught in the pincer attack, Tenna quickly split himself into 12 miniature copies of himself, pixelating into existence, one getting squished in the process. A necessary sacrifice for a rather painful-looking attack. If Tenna could make some distance from these monsters, he could sneak behind one and distort it…

While their ally made a short disappearance, this left Ramattra with the task of providing cover for Ace. For the front attacker, Ramattra used his nanites to form a hardlight shield behind Ace and him, providing short-term resistance to the attack. With the flanker now the new threat, Ramattra quickly converted his body into Nemesis-form, the alchemist fused flesh now flashing on his biceps. The canisters of the Alchemist Cocktail emptied into Ramattra’s bulky arms, allowing him to counter the other monster’s tail attack with a grab, minimizing the impact on the two while Ace concluded whatever he had been preparing. “This… is going to be the best I can give you." The Omnic pushed into the scaled tail, impatiently looking down at Ace. Where could Tenna have gone at such a crucial time?...

They'd definitely seen the TV-headed man split up to escape being squashed, an action that would have been shocking if the nature of this world was still a mystery to them. Honestly Ace wouldn't blame him for taking off if it guaranteed the entertainer's safety. With the thought that Tenna was probably alright, the hunter's voice was steady and strong as he replied to Ramattra. "It's more than enough!"

The Cadet slipped by Ramattra's side, and not a second later the leviathan that he'd caught by the tail screeched in pain. The scales along the side of its serpentine length shattered and bled, and the monster yanked its tail out of the Omnic's grasp so it could curl up and regroup, hissing and glaring at the pair. Its partner slid in and swiped a massive claw at the Seekers, but it wasn't able to connect - there was a loud clang as its nails met metal.

In Ace's hands now was a long gold-colored sword studded with a single amber gemstone, with curving horn-like designs on the guard and pommel. The parry lasted for only a moment before the monster hunter twisted, redirecting his quarry's claw to the ground and slashing straight up its arm. The somnacanth was now between the two Seekers, craning its long neck to look at both. Then it dug its claws into the icy swamp bed below them and lurched, throwing itself into a wide spin attack.

Ace evaded backward, his weapon at the ready. He glanced over at Ramattra. "I think it's time we put these things to bed!"

The second somnacanth didn't wait long before it took its chance to rejoin the battle; it stayed where it was, just outside of melee range in order to raise its head and sweep its hair-like fins, shooting a few razor-sharp scales out at the Seekers.

Just as the second Somnacanth swung at the duo, the small microlings of Tenna would regroup, forming a mildly wounded TV-Man behind the monster. While he had no opportunity to stop the monster’s intent to attack, his gloved hands began forming an electric wave around them, before he chopped the back of the creature’s head with great bravado. “ACTION!” Tenna shouted, as his attack connected.

The neck of the monster whipped into the ground with cartoonish force, leaving the other Somnacanth heavily dazed and disoriented. While the scales dented off of Ramattra’s metal chassis, he tried his best to body-block the rest of the attack from Ace, his human flesh possibly more vulnerable to their punctures. The Omnic seemed mildly impressed at Tenna’s ability to control the battlefield.

Being separated by the spin attack of the solo enemy, however, left Ramattra with the disadvantage of being separated from the other two, and with no good way to escape, and his cocktail expanded for the time being, his first thought was to engage with another attack. The Omnic, still bulked in his Nemesis form, would hurl a ball of nanites that glowed purple as they began to pull the monster into its gravity. The motion of the spins was partially slowed now, allowing Ramattra a chance to catch the monster by a limb, and halt it to a stop as his feet scraped by yards of sediment from the swamp and water.

The monster thrashed in Ramattra's grip, making any intrepid opportunist's approach nearly impossible to get through unscathed. Still Ace went for it, eager to pay the Omnic back for the earlier protection - which he was appreciative of, though also a little amused by. Maybe he was just still covering the Cadet like he'd asked, but obviously Ramattra didn't know yet how tough a monster hunter could be. It was time to show him!

Weathering a tail swipe as he moved in, Ace set about slashing the monster and testing weak points. As expected, the spines on its back and arms were well armored. The scales on its other extremities were less so.

"Don't let up on it Tenna! Go for its neck or tail!" he called to the other Seeker, glancing over just to make sure the guy was alright. Against two monsters at once, every opening needed to be exploited when possible, however short they ended up being.

With Ace’s order to target one of its vital areas, he quickly puckered his screen-lit lips and pushed out a loud whistle, which, as if it were a magical pager, summoned two cartoonish shadow guys into thin air, each equipped with a two-dimensional saxophone. They would form large strands of magic that wrapped around the neck of the adversary. The two flat-faced thugs made a musical commotion with one another as the second Somnacanth was withheld for a moment longer, though it seemed stronger than the cartoonish magic Tenna unleashed.

Now Ace should take his own advice, since Ramattra still had the first somnacanth locked down for the moment. It snapped its teeth at the beefed up monk while the gill-like slits along its neck, ribs, and tail opened up. A soft blue glow was the only forewarning they were going to get before it disseminated its sleep gas. Close enough to see it, it was the only warning Ace needed.

"Watch the sleeping gas!" He struck with a heavy overhead slash at the space between the somnacanth's shoulders, dug the blade in as far as he could, then used it almost like a lever to increase his jump height. Rather than go for a falling slash like he usually would, Ace swung with a diagonal cut to the monster's face as he moved in the air. Its head jerked to the opposite side from where the Cadet landed, far enough that he wouldn't easily be caught in the gas cloud.

While Ramattra very well could have been immune to the gas due to his robotic nature, he was not willing to test the waters and see if he could withstand its drowsiness-inducing effects. With no incredible options, and Ace now on the scene, Ramattra called to his previous teachings of Nanites, remembering how he could use their complex technology to create an aura around him that harmed enemies, and was safe toward allies!



Before he had lost time in Nemesis Form, Ramattra quickly activated Annihilation to deal slow chip damage to the attacking Somnacanth’s scaly skin, unleashing deadly blow after deadly blow to the opposing monster’s neck and mouth, attempting to terrorize it out of whatever sleep attack it was about to unleash. Ramattra had no clue how weak these beasts were and was unsure if he would be able to handle them out of his beefy form. “If you can find a weak spot, hit it now!” Ramattra’s command was clear, with the other Somnacanth temporarily dazed, the trio had only a moment before there would be two monsters attacking again.

Ramattra's assault worked out very much in his favor, as the leviathan only managed a small puff of its sleep-inducing gas before it flinched under the monk's attacks. As soon as it was clear Ace launched himself back in, smoothly moving into a spirit combo with his sword. The blade drew deep cuts along the somnacanth's side, from its back leg up to its head. Battered and badly wounded, the monster attempted to disengage, slamming its tail down to make a splash and pushing against the water to dart away from its attackers.

It would have been enough to repel the beast, but of course that wasn't possible.

Meanwhile its partner monster struggled in the Shadow Guys' musical hold, eventually overpowering them with a mighty leap that dragged them where they were connected to their instruments up into the air and back down onto the icy ground. It whipped around towards Tenna swinging its bloodied tail at the man, then flopped onto its back to swim away and reunite with the other somnacanth. Compared to the first, it was doing better - and it let out an ear-piercing roar loud enough to make someone want to throw their hands up to cover their ears and protect their eardrums.

Tenna, now at the risk of being attacked by the Somnacanth that escaped his cronies’ attack, fled its reach while returning to the other two. Ramattra was pleased that Tenna was able to make some use of himself during this fight, and while his aloofness only ruffled his feathers, began to see himself tolerating the CRT because of his battle prowess.

The monsters didn't hesitate to try and lash out again after that, splitting up to swim in a circle opposite each other and surround the Seekers. They were poised to lunge at any moment, which was when the Ace Cadet fished a small device from his bag.

"Cover your eyes!" he warned, hoping his teammates trusted him enough to do so. He threw the flash bomb down at their feet as the somnacanth reared up to strike, the sudden shock of bright light blinding the monsters and sending them into confusion.

With the three huddled up, and Ramattra’s sensors turning off at Ace’s warning, along with Mr. Ant Tenna covering his non-existent eyes dramatically, allowing the makeshift flashbang to blind the monsters. With a moment to strike, Ramattra quickly used the last of his energy in Annihilation to plant a firm and swift strike into the chest cavity of the first Somnacanth that had attacked them, hoping to deal a fatal blow to the most weakened of the two. The creature would begin wildly flailing, as if trying to recompose itself from the blindness and crushing blow from Ramattra, allowing him to end his Annihilation as he fired his staff into the hardened flesh on it’s underside. It wasn’t long before the creature would let out a shrill cry, weaseling its neck into the air, before fainting from the wounds.

At the same time, Ace had pivoted to take advantage of the flash bomb he'd set off and sliced into the healthier somnacanth while it was still disoriented. The long sword struck cleanly over its softer scales, and when it finally managed to blink the spots out of its vision and went to snap its teeth at the hunter, Ace swung his weapon in a quick reverse motion upward, cutting a chunk of its head fin as it screeched.

With its “friend” retired from the battle, the second Somnacanth, recognizing its own injuries, would attempt to flee the trio and go for attacking from afar rather than up close, using the shallow swampy waterways to guide it toward deeper expanses of water. Given how fast it was leaving, and whether or not Ace was ready to fire a ranged attack, Tenna pointed his hand to the sky with a dramatic shout. “Show that beast the star of the SHOW!” A hail of large, chaotically chuckling stars would rain onto the battlefield! Their trajectory was completely random, and while trying to escape, the Somnacanth had been pelted by their sharp ends! Unfortunately, given that Tenna had been standing not too far from Ramattra and Ace, the two would need to dodge a couple of attacks.

Which caught the latter off guard as his wariness of all things magical hit him suddenly at full force due to the falling stars. He dove out of the way of one only to get clipped by another. He sucked in a breath, and his next words came out shakier than he would have liked. "Can you watch which way you're sending these things? We could do without the hex-tra danger to keep track of!"

He needed to get a hold of himself, but rather than disengage the hunter opted for more familiar combat movement, straightened his arm and fired his clutch claw at the somnacanth. It connected to the base of its tail, and as he flicked the switch to reel himself in towards it Ace pushed off the ground and swung himself, using the chain to sling himself around the monster in an arc. He ended up nearly on its complete opposite side, standing as an obstacle between it and the lake. But he couldn't quite make himself dive back into offense until the star shower ended - though at least with Tenna's sharp rain and the threat in front of it, the remaining somnacanth was going no where now.

Heeding Ace’s command, Tenna would stop his star-studded attack, realizing it had left his friends in an incredibly vulnerable position. He looked back with a saddened expression as he pouted slightly. “SoorrRry…” Ramattra would appear behind him to collect his spirits as Ace and the Omnic grew closer to his position. His hand gently clasped the CRT’s shoulder as he charged ahead.

“Now is not the time! Come with us.” Which seemed to be enough to rally the TV-Man to their aid.

As soon as it was over, the monster growled and struck out with its claws. With a wide horizontal slash Ace avoided it and retaliated with a Sakura Slash, cutting through the siren's scales with a spray of blood. It flinched backward away from him, closer to his allies, though when all three pressed closer it was well and truly trapped.

The second somncanth was definitely weakened enough for a final attack if the group had any great options, but even without them they could manage just fine. Spread out in a triangle formation they could attack it while it was busy focusing on someone else, and then swap to defense when its attention turned. Between Ace's expert bladework, Ramattra's precise martial strikes, and Tenna's surprisingly effective bag of tricks, it didn't take much longer before the monster fell before them, succumbing to its wounds.

With a flashy display of monk-esque performance-type moves, Ramattra would firmly place a deadly palm strike into the previously weakened neck of the Somnacanth. With the nature of this monster unknown, Ramattra thought it best to finish the creature off now, rather than waiting for it to surprise them later, and with a cracking blow to the neck, the creature would begin to fade to ash, leaving behind its Spirit for Ramattra to collect. He recalled how Edward explained the uses of spirits left behind by dead beings, and how one of these creatures’ spirits may come in later use. He would safely put this with the rest of the spirits later.

A moment after Ramattra had claimed the monster's spirit, Ace sheathed his sword (metaphorically, as it didn't actually have a sheathe) and flashed the Omnic and Tenna a grin.

"Gargwawesome work," he said, and to Tenna in particular mentioned, "no hard feelings about the star, uh, thing."

Honestly it was better to figure out stuff like that before the group ran into something really, really dangerous. Friendly fire now would save them a potentially devastating mistake in the future.

The Omnic gave the command for Tenna and Ace to collect the remnants of the first monster then. Seeing that Ace was the master monster hunter (and had already planned on doing just that), he could leave the monster itself to the man while he would help Tenna gather up fallen scales and other monster parts for later crafting use. Who knew, maybe the hunter could use it for more tricks like the Alchemy Barrel later!

While they did that, the Cadet approached the other somnacanth, which still lived in spite of its wounds. Ramattra's final attack against it hadn't punctured its chest armor, but it must have done some interior damage as the beast's breathing was weak and rattling. Ace placed his palm against the monster's pulse point. It would probably die within the day, but if it happened to survive -scarred and deprived of its partner- it would become an even more dangerous threat for anyone following the Midnight Walk. Either way, it would be better to put it down.

This would be the perfect time to turn its death back to 'normal,' the hunter thought. So far the Seekers hadn't seen any sign of the mysterious order that was said to have that ability, but it would really have come in handy now. They could have cut the monster up, partition off its edible parts and used the rest to fashion items out of, sending most of it to the Avenger's stockpile. Alas, they'd only be able to scrape by with what few pieces they could get before it passed away and its entire body turned to ashes.

Ace pulled out another weapon, though compared to the rest of his arsenal it was rather small. With a carving knife in one hand and a curious (and sort of gross) book in the other, he glanced back at his comrades. "Give me a few minutes before we catch up with the others?"

He worked to take pieces off of the somnacanth; its talons, chunks of its scales and shell. Unfortunately it expired before he could get deep enough to try for its sleep-producing organs or the like, but at the very least he'd ended up a hunk of meat thanks to the cookbook. When he was finished packing its spirit and everything else away save for a scale he planned to give to Edward as a bio-sample, he used the shallow water to clean his gloved hands before standing up straight. Almost immediately the scoutflies in the cage at his breast fluttered out and formed a loose trail in the direction the stagecoach had gone. The trio would be able to follow the path it had taken through the icy canyon, ensuring they wouldn't run into anything that the other Seekers hadn't already taken care of.

"Alright, all set! Let's get back before they run into even more trouble."

The three of them trudged through the cold swamp, passing by the fishing hole and the barren lake where the water was still churning ominously. Though interesting, they didn't stop to investigate since they knew the rest of their group had already been through these areas. Knowing some of them, they most likely stripped the places for anything worth taking anyway. They continued as the swap petered out and the road returned to being packed snow, and ahead of them lay metal structures that stuck out among the icy plains.

By the time the trio had arrived with the rest of the group at the Stagecoach, the threat of android-fused parasytes had already been dealt with, leaving the trio with little to do other than explore the area or help the rest of the group with matters ahead. That was, until Ramattra had seen the spoils Roxas, Ganondorf, and Edward had gathered! He remembered that his group members are not all from technological worlds, and offered an explanation as to what many of the objects’ uses could be. Particularly, the cybernetic heart caught his eye. “This… looks like it would connect to a machine. Maybe it ought to come to use later- if not…” He looked at his chest, where such a device might go. While he would not ask for the item now, if they found no use for it, having a backup plan would be nice…

Meanwhile, Tenna would take on less of a brainy task and forge the path ahead! His plan was relatively simple: go ahead of the rest of the group and clear any hazards or obstacles that lay in the path ahead! Using his tired henchman from earlier to help, he would help to clear any major debris or rocky paths that lay before the stagecoach, just to make the path ahead a little easier and less bumpy!

Her heart pumped in her chest, its rhythm accelerated by the icy grip of fear that squeezed it like a stress ball. Her breaths were sharp, serrated even, leaving her throat raw and ragged as they tore from her lungs. Her shoulder burned in an inferno of pain, exacerbated by excessive exertion and lack of treatment. Her sore feet pounded the asphalt pavement and concrete sidewalks as she darted and dodged through the city, every twist and turn another attempt to sever her pursuers’ sight-lines and lose them for good. Her wide eyes saw no people ahead of her, only obstacles and opportunities. At this time of night, there were no crowds large enough to disappear into, nor enough personal effects for her to discreetly snatch in order to put on a disguise. The night that crowned the luminous skyscrapers was dark, but the shadows cast by dumpsters, phone booths, bus stops, and streetlights weren’t dark enough, and the hidey-holes weren’t hidden enough. It had been a while since she stirred up the hornet’s nest, and she’d already paid for it dearly. But the terrible price that her enemies exacted that day hadn’t been enough, and now that they knew of her survival, there was nowhere she could go that the wolves at her heels couldn’t sniff her out.

It wasn’t long before it became clear that the thief, fleeing on foot, couldn’t outrun her foes forever. Not when they had cars to give chase in. She could have lost them in Little Innsmouth, probably, but this part of the city was the Mafia’s territory, and their legbreakers knew it like the backs of their hands. With the wolves closing in, teeth snapping, the thief did what any cat would do and began to climb. She broke into a highrise, sprinted through the lobby, and dove into an elevator. When she reached the top floor a few moments later, she risked a quick look out a window and spotted a half-dozen black automobiles parked by the front door down below. Nobody seemed to be getting in or out of them; her pursuers were already in the building. Gasping for air, her skin slick with sweat, she made for the roof, making quick work of the aged locks in her way. The chilly night wind gave her goosebumps as she ran toward the edge and looked around wildly, searching for any way out that an adjacent building might offer. On one side, it would be a hard climb up a sheer brick wall, and on the other, escape demanded a terrifying leap of faith. Jets of blood from her wrists and ankles could extend her jump, but would it be enough…?

“Enough!”

She flinched instinctively, her shoulders hunching as her muscles tensed. She whipped around to see a woefully familiar young woman in a showy orange outfit, her head of short teal hair topped by that trademark hat of hers, the fearsome Living Weapon known as Vice-Versa. Even a poor, no-name alley-cat like her had seen the high-flying, death-defying circus performances of Cerebella and the other members of the Cirque des Cartes. Knowing that their troupe were actually hitmen for the Medici Mafia made it harder to enjoy their antics, though. On reflex, the thief’s fingers closed around her broken collarbone, the parting gift left by that Living Weapon’s massive mitt last time they met. She gritted her teeth and fought to control her breathing as Cerebella sauntered forward, full of energy and confidence thanks to the ride she’d hitched to get here. When Cerebella extended an accusatory finger, Vice-Versa cracked its massive knuckles. “You’re not slipping through my fingers this time.”

“Just leave me alone!” Ms Fortune spat. “Haven’t you Medici dogs taken enough from me already?”

The other woman did not slow down. Thirty feet, twenty five feet, twenty. “Not until the Life Gem you stole is back in our hands. And every last threat to Vitale is brought to justice!”

Her inflection on the mafioso’s seldom-heard first name, full of admiration and longing, prompted a derisive snort from Ms Fortune. “Vitale? Justice? Hah!” Well, sorry, but you’ll be crawlin’ back to that bastard empty-handed, ‘cause I can’t give the Life Gem back!” Nadia was powerless to stop the cornered feral as she launched forward, propelled by streams of blood. “Now, get outta my way!”

Wham! Vice-Versa’s hands clapped shut around her, trapping the thief in a cramped cage of immovable fingers and palms. Powerless to fight back, she yelled at the carnie below her, her one visible eye alight with rage. “Let me go!” she heard herself yowl, the words filling her with a dreadful sense of deja vu. “I’ve gotta avenge my family! As long as the Life Gem’s power flows through my veins, nothin’ can stop me destroyin’ the Medicis!”

“Flows through your veins?”

Cerebella narrowed her eyes, and Vice-Versa began to squeeze. A cry of pain erupted from the thief’s throat. “No! Stop! PLEASE!” But those hands continued to squeeze, harder and harder, and the feral continued to howl, until her screams lost any semblance of language and everything gave way to nothingness.

---

Nadia jolted awake with a muted cry, fighting against a terrible, crushing weight upon the cavity of her chest. After a moment she managed to fill her lungs with air, and her head began to clear. She was in the bed in her room at that wrestling hotel, Banishing Flats. Having been sleeping on her front, she rolled onto her back, where she lay stared at the ceiling as her eyes slowly focused and her head stopped swimming. She had a hangover thanks to that ridiculous sangria, beset by insistent pangs of pain in her head just behind her eyes and a mouth as dry as the desert. When she licked her lips, it felt like sandpaper on a chalkboard. Time for a ‘coarse’ correction, she thought. Groaning, she picked herself up from her bed and staggered toward the bathroom. A bleary look around confirmed that nothing seemed any different from how she left it last night, but still…she couldn't escape the feeling that something was wrong.

Rather than turn on the bathroom light and intensify her headache, she drank from the sink’s tap in the dark, then used more water to wash her face. That dream…had it been another one of those ‘bugs’ that Asgore mentioned? A memory from a previous Ms Fortune’s life? Try as she might to remember where the dream took place, the details were already hazy. As far as she could tell, it had been somewhere in New Meridian. Maybe the city existed somewhere in the World of Light after all? Or maybe the whole thing had been nothing more than an ordinary nightmare, conjured up whole cloth by her weary subconscious. Given what happened the last time she stole something important from a very bad man, she couldn’t blame herself for her lingering unease. “Who knows,” she said aloud, rubbing her eyes in the dark.

Suddenly, there came a tremendous crash from the window in the main room behind her. Nadia flinched instinctively, her shoulders hunched up as her muscles tensed. The chill that surged down her spine galvanized her into action, and the catgirl burst out of the bathroom. She arrived just in time to see a big, burly robot with a blonde mohawk, military fatigues, and sculpted muscles as it ripped away the bed’s ring ropes with one one massive mit and pulverized the covered pillows with the other. As stuffing billowed into the air, the Jack-5 seemed to register that its target wasn’t there, and the next moment its baleful red gaze settled on the catgirl a couple yards away. With a terribly inhuman sound like a rumbly, metallic bark, it sprinted toward her, closing the distance in an instant to launch a powerful shoulder barge.

Nadia yelped and fell backward while trying to backpedal, then scrambled backward to avoid a series of heavy stomps. Finally, she twisted around in order to launch a stretchy Fiber Upper. Her sole connected with the Jack-5’s head, snapping it backward in a most unnatural manner. On reflex Nadia retracted up toward her feet in order to continue her offense, but the ceiling was low enough that she banged into it on the way up, and the robot’s upward gaze meant it knew exactly where she was. Its upper body rotated around so that it could stop her fall with an uppercut that drove her into the ceiling, followed by a handful of punches like jackhammers. Flakes of spackle and drywall rained down like snow as she took a beating, after which the Jack-5 let her tumble to the floor. It readjusted its head back to normal, its face devoid of emotion, then raised its huge arms and wrapped one hand around the other’s fist. Though dazed, Nadia put up her guard just in time as the double slam descended and blasted her straight through the floor and into the room below.

The person in that room, an aged but well-known wrestler named Wolf Hawkfield, was already awake thanks to the ruckus, but when two combatants plunged through the ceiling he got straight to action. Identifying the assailant, he launched himself straight over the fallen catgirl in a spear tackle that struck the Jack-5 head-on, blasted them through the door, and deposited them both in the hallway outside. Nadia regained her feet before they did and hurtled out of the room, stopping only to deliver a quick kick to the robot’s face as she blew past. “Guh! The hell’s going on!?” Unaware of where she’d ended up in Banishing Flats, she sprinted down the hall until another Jack-5 smashed through the wall at the end of the corridor in front of her. “Whoa!” As it ran her way she slid to a stop in the middle of a hallway junction, then used Charge just in time to escape the Jack-5’s bear grab by blitzing to the right as a lightning bolt.

To her relief she found herself in the motel’s lobby, but her relief turned to horror as the front door slammed open to admit yet another Jack-5. “What!? How many of you ro-buttheads are there!?” There was no time to panic, though, as it went for her with a mighty running hook. Nadia ducked, then punished with a spin kick to the groin followed by a Cat Scratch rekka. Once two claw slashes landed to activate her Elation blessings, she changed gears with a Tornado unchain combo starter. After the upward high kick, she continued the unchain circle with a below-the-belt punch and sobat kick, then finished with a Neck Cutter upside-down grab to twist the robot’s head clean off.

Just then, the previous Jack-5 caught up. Before he could sucker punch Nadia, though, another mighty machine grabbed him from behind and executed a flawless German suplex. When the Jack-5 jumped up, the Mecha-Zangief met him hand-to-hand in a colossal test of strength, at which Nadia could only blink in surprise. “You saved me!”

“Of course!” the robotic wrestler buzzed. “For Mecha-Zangief, customer is king!!”

At that exact moment, the Jack-5’s face split open to reveal an ominous red timer, counting down from five seconds. From where she was, Nadia couldn’t see what it said–only that two more Jack-5s were coming in through the motel’s busted front door, which she whirled to face. Mecha-Zangief’s eyes flared with alarm. “Customer, look-!”

A huge explosion went off in the lobby, reducing a whole section of the building to rubble and flames in a heartbeat. Every Jack-5 unit breaking in throughout the motel would detonate over the next minute or so as well in an effort to wipe Banishing Flats -and every Seeker within- off the face of Esaka. Overhead, the G-Corp helicopters responsible for deploying the Jack-5s would clear out as quickly as they came, riding the thermal updraft. On a rooftop across the nearby park, a muscular ninja with an X-shaped scar and a stylized blonde crew cut watched with a neutral expression, the furious blaze reflected in his shades.

“The Seekers of Light…are dead.”



Though they didn’t communicate beforehand, Eve and Heismay took much the same tact when it came to tackling the dam. They acted more or less as shock troops, advancing ahead of the main force to strike key targets like lightning. Discreetly eliminating problematic lookouts and sentries gave the main force of Seekers a clear shot to roll in and wipe out the Naytibas, and their allies did not disappoint.

These foes were, on average, a cut above the opposition the team faced at Krat Zoo; though dangerous and horrific, the mutant carcasses had been malformed and disorganized enough to undercut their lethality, and what the Arche Puppets had in versatility they lacked in raw numbers. These specialized amalgamate Naytibas, a grotesque and inexplicable union of military hardware and corruptive biomass, posed a serious threat even in small squads. Ultimately, though, these Naytibas couldn’t hold a candle to the cohesive teamwork or varied abilities of a dozen Seekers of Light, not to mention the antlers, moblins, and golems that quickly crowded the battlefield. Once they stormed onto the scene, backed by Blazermate’s healing and Sandalphon’s fire support, the heroes split the Naytibas up and cut them down, with fighters like Geralt taking on two or more at a time. Not even the withering gunfire and missiles of entrenched sentryborgs could contend with the slow but steady advance of a turbo-buffed iron golem shield wall, and once the frontline cracked that nut the rest was just clean-up.

For some Seekers, in fact, an assault like this was too easy; Sectonia’s excessive and indiscriminate use of wide-ranging magical spells soon dealt serious damage to the dam itself, threatening to blow enough holes in the barricade that the reservoir would wash the team’s bridge away. When Sandalphon noticed this, she quickly took action. She switched out the Destruction spell bullets loaded into her Hexagun for Order spell bullets, then fired at the wounds left on the dam by the wasp queen’s sorcery. When an Order bullet came into contact with destruction, it rapidly repaired the damage, restoring the structure to its original state. While the archangel doubted that Sectonia could actually destroy the dam in such a short amount of time, she wasn’t about to take chances on the Seekers’ last chance to get across this treacherous gorge.

Soon enough, the brief but intense bridge battle came to an end, with no Seeker markedly worse for wear. Those who waded through the carnage to the far side of the canyon, new acquisitions in hand, found Eve, Heismay, and Tenna waiting for them with a secured route to the Orca Space Complex’s front door. With her overwatch concluded, Sandalphon could direct the stagecoach down the rocky side road and across the dam’s ash-littered crest. She paused the wagon briefly on the other side for everyone who wanted a quick break to climb aboard, and took the chance to look over what everyone had obtained from the Naytibas. Their spirits seemed about as unsavory as the carcasses when it came to fusion, but they promised to yield better results when itemized. That said, when presented with a one hundred percent biological sniper rifle, Sandalphon seemed reluctant to touch it, let alone wield it. “I appreciate the thought, but I must decline,” she told Ganondorf, pushing the Sporothrix back into his hands. “I resonate best with inorganic, magic-based precision weaponry.”

Sadly, Heismay did not take much more of a shine to the infected Rainfall. “What are these…protrusions?” he asked as he studied the nanite growths on the blade. “Is it contaminated somehow?” The Eugief hadn’t forgotten what Eve said about Naytiba flesh infesting machines, even if this didn’t quite look the same. After comparing it to his reinforced longsaber, he passed it to Geralt for inspection. “All yours, friend.”

In the course of his stealth mission, Heismay had acquired a few spirits as well, including ones left behind by Eve in her ignorance. Though his haul was less impressive than the others’, he went ahead and crushed his Naytiba spirits as well.



“Ah, ‘tis another one,” Heismay reported wryly, dropping the infected hammer by the stagecoach. He couldn’t even lift this weapon, though perhaps one of the team’s physical powerhouses could make good use of it. The armor, meanwhile, was sized for a human frame and equally unsuitable for someone of his stature. As for the other items, Heismay couldn’t tell what use they might be to anyone, let alone him. “Oh well.”

The team soon got moving, slowly rattling up the rocky slope from the dammed canyon back to the main roadway. Now well-versed with the Naytibas’ firepower and penchant for ambushing, everyone was on high alert as they approached the main entrance, but surprisingly they found no additional obstacles. After the road evened out, the reindrix could pick up the pace and pull the stagecoach into Spire 04’s outermost complex.



Once the Seekers crossed the grounds and entered the main building, they found themselves on the ground floor of a huge, multi-level, high-tech facility. As the primary access point for Spire 04, it seemed to be a massive depot and support center, responsible for the security screening and processing of all incoming resources and personnel prior to shipment to the Space Logistics Complex via hypertube. Thanks perhaps to the hydroelectric power generated by the dam outside, the hangar-like structure was reasonably well-lit inside, with its many interconnected systems online. The place appeared highly industrial, with huge machines, glaring floodlights, and yellow-black warning stripes everywhere. Despite the original safety inspectors’ best intentions, though, Orca Space Complex would be highly dangerous thanks to the Naytibas scattered throughout the building. Just as with the dam outside there were houndborgs, sentryborgs, and droids, but this time the mechanical warriors’ ranks included fearsome battle droids with dual plasma swords, shoulder-mounted rocket launchers, and tougher armor.

At the end of the day, though, these foes were just Naytibas that could be dealt with, and it did not take Sandalphon long to identify the real impediment in her team’s path. The hypertube that represented the quickest and easiest route deeper into Spire 04 was completely sealed off, with three heavy, mechanical locks like giant clamps in an equidistant arrangement around its circumference to prevent unauthorized access. While she conceded that the strongest Seekers probably could budge these locks if they worked long and hard enough, she judged that it would be much faster to take advantage of the facility's powered state to simply disengage them instead. Of course, there was no telling what security measures might be in place to complicate that task.

“Over here!” Eve called, waving.

Sandalphon looked over just in time to see the swordswoman descend a ladder at the end of a catwalk to her left. When she walked over, she spotted a couple computer stations on a lower platform, and without a word the archangel hopped down, using Heavensent to slow her fall. Adam’s drone forced a remote connection and got the system booted up, allowing Sandalphon to bring up a map of Orca Space Complex. “We’re looking for three terminals,” she reported to the team, her sigil in use to proliferate her discoveries to any allies out of immediate earshot. “One is in the security office, second floor, back by the main door where we came in. Access requires a keycard, and it will go into lockdown if we attempt to brute force entry.”

Adam’s voice emanated from his drone as it perked up. “I can handle the door, but there may be other security measures inside. Better keep a low profile.”

The archangel nodded. “Another terminal is in the maintenance bay, on the far side of the first floor. The machines in the area are generating high volumes of error logs, so expect some sort of malfunction. The last is in the operations center, top floor, overlooking the whole facility. The elevator is out, though, so the only way in is by air. Be careful once inside, though. The system reports large quantities of unidentified foreign matter in the room.”

“Probably free-form Naytiba biomass,” Adam piped up. “Nasty stuff. Spreads like mold.”

Sandalphon pursed her lips. “Then it is fortunate that our fliers wield fire.” She conjured a couple screens of her own, each bearing images of White Team’s members that she quickly sorted into four groups. “I recommend three teams of three, not counting Adam’s drone. Sectonia, Blazermate, and Mokou to the infested operations center. Heismay, Roxas, and Geralt to the security office. Ramattra, Edward, and…perhaps Tenna can handle the maintenance bay.”

Perhaps sensing her uncertainty, Eve volunteered. “I could accompany them. I may not have Adam’s hacking skills, but I know my way around machines.”

“That would be most appreciated.” Sandalphon gave her a courteous bow. “In that case, Tenna can remain here at the hypertube entrance with the Cadet and Ganondorf to secure the stagecoach. I will do my best to coordinate the operation from here, as well.” She looked around the Seekers, her expression neutral. “...Is this arrangement satisfactory?”

Heismay nodded. “Works for me.” He then turned to go, gesturing for Roxas to accompany him and Geralt on another adventurous outing. “No time to waste!”

As Sandalphon stepped away from the workstation, she used her powers from Leanne to run a scan of her own, her pupils replaced by radar scanners. “...One more thing. I’m detecting a strong signal in all three locations. It is simultaneously biological and mechanical, similar to the Naytibas we’ve encountered, but far more dense. I cannot ascertain any more than that. Be cautious.”

One minute later, only four Seekers remained by the stagecoach on the second-floor platform by the hypertube. They watched as the three teams took out the Naytibas in their way as they dispersed in different directions, gradually disappearing from view. Sandalphon’s eyes remained glued to her screens, the first and foremost being a top-down view of the facility constructed from the computer data she’d studied, onto which she projected dots representing her comrades as they moved through the facility.

The depot was far from silent thanks to the clicks, thumps, and whirs of countless machines, but it was quiet, so the archangel could focus. A little more sleuthing in the facility’s systems revealed that each terminal would require the completion of a timed captcha in order to deactivate the locks: a hex cipher in the security office, a flow simulator for the operations center, and a TermLink Protocol in the maintenance bay.

What she could not anticipate, however, was the threat awaiting each team in each location. In the security office, Vauban (armed with a Ferrox speargun and Cycron radiation raygun) stood guard, his automated Tesla Nervos prowling the room under the watchful gaze of his various turret spheres. In the operations center lurked Nidus, juggernaut and manipulator of infested flesh, with a Boltor in hand and viral Pulmonars nunchaku at the ready. Finally, in the maintenance bay the Seekers would eventually encounter the tricky gadgeteer Protea, her Velox automatic pistol and Tenet Envoy rocket launcher guaranteed to spell trouble.

Engrossed in her duties, Sandalphon also missed one other variable, skulking just outside her view. Only once enough time had passed that the defenders were less on edge did the monster drop from its hiding spot in the rafters and land with a calamitous slam in front of the stagecoach. It was Orca’s state-of-the-art, flagship combat robot seamlessly melded with crimson Naytiba flesh, with a blinding spotlight in place of a head nestled amidst a mane of cables and tendrils. It stood ten feet tall, and in each hand clutched a greatsword the size of a human. Stunned, Sandalphon could only watch as the Belial unit raised one blade and decapitated a Reindrix with a single, fatal slash. The next second its other blade dispatched another beast, and after wheeling around, Belial dealt the next two Reindrix behind them a mortal blow. By then the pals were panicking, running straight toward the yellow railings at the edge of the platform, even if a fatal drop to the first floor awaited them on the other side.

Sandalphon’s screens vanished in an instant as she cast out her hand, sending forth a Frost Lock aimed at the floor in front of the Reindrix. Slowed down by their extra burden after the death of two companions, they slipped on the ice and fell to the floor, unable to drag the stagecoach to its destruction.

Without a sound, Belial turned toward Ace and Ganondorf, its greatswords hungry for more blood.

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, suddenly and violently—

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.

Special delivery!

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

No idea. 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. Seems pretty late. I can call back tomorrow-

No, no! I'm up! And always ready for duty, Pit thought back, stifling a yawn and hopping to his feet.

This isn't a mission, just returning that phone I took by mistake earlier... with a few goodies included~

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.

Did you put games on it?

No. But check out that circle icon that looks like a globe. Click on it.

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.

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.

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!

Awww, I was hoping to coast by on the mystery balance a little longer.

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.

Palu...pedia...?

Mhmmm. I know you've been a little jealous of Roxas and Bowser Jr. and their little hobby–

Huh? What, no I haven't!

–so in place of a Pokédex, I got you a Palutena dex.

That sounds like it's for a bunch of different versions of you! And I'm not jealous of them.

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.

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.

Whoa! How did you make this, Lady Palutena?

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-

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 look on her face 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.

"What's going on?!"

An ambush!

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 striker 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. "This is Pit! We're being attacked! Give me a status report, all of you, now!"

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

"Primrose, west side, second floor... stuck dealing with a rather rude wake up call...!"

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.

"Luna!" 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. "Luna!"

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–

"Ugh!" 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 vengeful spirit 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. "Night Ode!"

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.

"Are you okay?" Pit asked as he turned to Primrose.

"Yes," 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.

"It's... no way!" 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. "Don't worry about beating these guys, just get out of here - I'll handle any I see while I help everyone else!"

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.

"Therion, on my way back–"

"No!" Pit interrupted. "If you're outside stay outside, they're probably more of them waiting there anyway!"

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.

"Call out if you need help! Otherwise evacuate! I think they're gonna–"

Boom!

When one lived a life of danger, excitement, and adventure, one learned the delicate balancing act of getting solid sleep where one could, while also rising at the first sign of danger. It was a skill that wasn't often relevant. . . but one's career tended to end very quickly in situations where it was both needed and lacking. Perhaps it was simple intuition, perhaps an errant creak or engine noise reached her ears, or perhaps the fluctuations in the emotions of the hotel's guests roused her just in time to stand and suit up before her door exploded into splinters.

The towering automaton wasted no time in charging her, the great bulk of steel and wiring bearing down. Yayama's counterstroke came swiftly, her blade appearing out of thin air as she made a heavy downward slash. The demon sword cut through the robot's torso with a screech of metal rending metal, her assailant's momentum pulling it further down the blade until the tip emerged from its back. "Can I not get a single moment of peace?" she asked irritably as she put one foot on its torso and heaved backward, ripping her greatsword free from the tangle of components with a spray of sparks and oil. "I suspect the rest of them won't be quite that easy," Yayama said to herself, glancing down at the robot as its limbs twitched one last time, then stilled.

It was time to get back to work already, it seemed. Yayama rushed out into the hall, nearly slamming into another Jack Unit. The robot threw a punch at her. She ducked under it, then moved her blade to barely deflect the followup. It hurled another, and Yayama stopped it dead. She was preparing a counteroffensive when the machine snatched her off the ground and slammed her into first the ceiling, then the floor, timbers buckling with the force of the impacts. Its fist crashed down on her once, then again, unable to evade whilst trapped in its grip. On the third, an aetherial barrier coalesced just in time to deflect it, sparks of magic flying where it met machine.

Letting her blade go, she used her own disproportionate strength to lever it up and over herself, Yayama's plate acting as a fulcrum to fling the bot off her long enough for the lalafell to regain her footing. The Jack Unit stood with surprising alacrity, a kip-up bringing it up as Yayama raised her sword. "FOR COIN!" she shouted, her blade arcing down into the automaton's block. "AND COUNTRY!" A Jolt of magic slipped past its arms and into its head, sending it spinning. The Jack Unit clasped both hands to its head to correct it, only for an Impact to toss it down the hall.

In response, it ran at Yayama again, tackling the smaller fighter and wrapping her up in a bear hug. This time, she managed to slip downward out of its grasp before it could secure her. "That won't work twice!" Rolling onto her feet, she turned around to see a timer already counting down. Her eyes widened, and shadows wreathed her blade as she brought it down with as much force as she could muster. The countdown ceased as her assailant split in two.

Breathing heavily, she took a brief moment to assess the situation. Multiple attackers, probably all the same sort of machina. They were all in danger, Seekers or otherwise. "Get out of here!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping to wake anyone who somehow hadn't risen from all the racket yet or jolt anyone frozen into action. "This place is about to explode!" Running down the hall, she encountered one tenant who had the dubious honor of being struck with terror within grabbing range of the Warrior of Darkness. Recognizing the stench of the emotion before she even saw their face, she wasted no time, simply picking them up and physically hurling them out the window and (hopefully) clear of the blast, making sure to make the impact as gentle as defenestration could feasibly be.

At the bottom of the stairs, she sighted another Jack cornering a dazed-looking woman, with a different robot nearby that appeared to be ripping a Jack physically in half. With a wordless shout, Yayama leapt from the top of the stairs. Sailing through the air, she landed on the hostile robot's shoulders, having misaimed her jump slightly. Not one to let this deter her, she smashed both of her arms downward, jamming its head downward. When this didn't stop it, she did it again and again until it was fully mashed into the torso, at which point it stumbled and fell backwards with a clatter. The other robot made no sound, but seemed to give Yayama a grateful look before she scooped up her wayward charge and swiftly made an exit.

Proceeding into the building again, she came face to face with a half-wrecked, but still fighting Jack and another customer she didn't get a good look at. The robot's face had already split open, the timer ticking down to one as Yayama's eyes came to rest on it. Without so much as a conscious thought, her arm stretched out. A barrier of energy wrapped itself around the civilian just as the clock struck zero. Then, her vision was eclipsed with smoke and fire.

---

”I thought it’d be bigger.” Juri said, holding the small, spherical bomb in her hands.

“The design is compact and highly explosive.” Cyrax responded, voice deep and metallic, his bionic arms crossed. His yellow helm meant his expression was the thin glass line on its featureless plane. “Place them strategically and in great number. They will level a building and render even the most powerful fighter vulnerable, if not destroying them outright. It’s designed for assassination.”

The cyborg turned and pointed. On the outskirts of the city, no one was around to observe them blow up some scrap piles. Juri tossed the bomb. It landed with a thunk and rolled to a stop near a broken car. Then, she accessed it with her Feng Shui Engine and hacking ability, causing it to remotely detonate. The explosive was small but heavy, and when the smoke cleared, the car was practically gone! Juri let out a satisfied whoop.

“More explosives will increase the power of the detonation exponentially.” He said.

Juri started dropping the bombs into her duffel bag. In return, she reached inside and handed Cyrax a sack of gold coins. The cyborg ninja opened it up and quickly counted through them. ”And for the discount, all I gotta do is..?”

“Throw the match against me in the tournament bracket.” He said.

”If you’re so big and your bombs are so bad, why even bother making deals like this?” Juri asked with a grin.

“You have your goals, I have mine. Minimizing risk is key.” He explained.

Juri shrugged. ”Hey, fair enough. Anyone who lets me play with toys like this is alright in my book.” Normally, Juri didn’t like losing. But she hardly cared if it meant she could get a discount on tools like this, for THIS goal in particular. Turning that bastard M. Bison to ash. She’d throw a tournament she didn’t give a damn about. Who cares? After it was done, what would she have left to care about?

—

Esaka was haunted.

That much was obvious.

Yet, while every yokai is a spirit, but not every spirit was a yokai. Some of them were ghosts. And one of these ghosts stalked the rooftops. A dufflebag of powerful explosives at her hip, the moonlight shining right through her like she wasn’t even there. The burning fury in her chest had gone out a long time ago- vengeance had frozen her heart over. She chased death like water sought the path of least resistance. Downwards.

It was only ever downwards. Juri Han had been falling for over a decade and she had yet to hit bottom. She yearned for impact. At least then the world would stop spinning.

The Spider crawled to the heights of Esaka City. The Four Kings, swaddled in arrogance, were obvious to anyone who wanted to seek them out. If there was anyone in the multiverse more narcissistic than M. Bison, Juri had yet to meet them.

One of the four towers belonged to Bison, and it did not take long to find out which. Evidently as the Death Tower, it was identifiable by the giant Shadaloo crests that adorned its sides, each a winged skull with a jagged scar or lightning bolt on its cranium. As the headquarters of Esaka’s biggest and most prestigious tournament, the Death Tower stood taller than the other three, though not by that much. Nevertheless it cast a long, dark shadow, much like the man who ruled it. At the very pinnacle, within a veritable throne room alight with concentrated psycho power, sat the black throne of the megalomaniacal dictator himself. Even now he lounged there, resting in silence, for there was nowhere Bison could sleep easier than his seat of power. During the day he might find himself surrounded by adjutants, cronies, and obsequious lickspittles, but at this hour no servant or security guard disturbed him. What need had he, after all, of protection?

Juri was invisible, but she still had to be careful. Her Stealth cloak was noticeable at close distances. She scaled to the top tier and latched onto the wall of the towers and buildings, leaping from foothold to foothold, handhold to handhold. Every camera that might be watching would miss her entirely.

Much like a spider, the smallest crack was all that was needed for Juri to slip through. The bastards had gotten lazy. Maybe up here at the top of the world, backed up by the god of this world, they thought they were invincible. Juri didn’t care. Maybe she should have thought harder about it, but she didn’t care. Windows were broken, electronic locks were overridden. Inside, it was gaudy and luxurious. Thick carpets, gold-leaf bookshelves, old paintings. Portraits of M Bison. Busts of M Bison. The Spider bared her fangs. Oh, how she loathed him. Where were the guards? There was hardly anyone to kill.

She found him, then, peeking through the keyhole to some kind of smoking room. He was almost unrecognizable without that military getup and skin-pulling grin. But she saw him sitting on his chair in fancy red loungewear, one leg crossed over the other and a book in his hands. The very picture of sophistication. Through one of the windows she saw a balcony. That would be the best place to strike. Leaving the interior through the way she came in, she crawled around the roof and made her way to the balcony. Perching in the nook of one of the supports, she planted Cyrax’s bombs one by one, attaching them to the underside of the entire balcony.

Then she climbed up. It wasn’t effortless, but Juri was fast, strong, and invisible, so she had the time and the ability to make it work. Catching her breath from all the intense activity, she waited on the roof, eyes on the balcony. It had fine furniture, imported chairs and flowers on tables.
Juri wouldn’t have to wait long. In the distance, in the rings below, there was an explosion. Wasn’t that where the Seekers were at? The idiots were probably getting attacked already, as unsubtle as they all were all the time. Stupid as they were, she wasn’t worried about their safety. Both because she wasn’t all that attached and because they had at the very least proven themselves halfway decent in a scrap. Juri grinned, though. M. Bison couldn’t resist the carnage. Hell, maybe he had organized it himself. Either way, he opened the doors to the balcony and set his hands on the parapet.

You’re mine.

Juri remote activated the bombs. The explosion was condensed but extremely powerful. Surprised, Bison was consumed in a fiery dust storm before being flung upwards by the force of it. Juri slammed into him mid-air, driving her feet into his back. The two of them fell several stories, all the way down to the ground of the Highest Tier, before she crushed him into the pavement. The impact sent her tumbling, breathlessly, no longer invisible.

”You’re dead meat!” Juri yelled, scrambling to her feet.

M. Bison wasn’t looking too well. His body was broken in several places, oozing and glowing with misty purple psycho power, like his malevolence could barely contain himself. As he pushed himself from the crater with a groan, he plucked at the sleeve of his tattered loungewear with a frown.

Juri pounced on him, looking him in the face. When he saw her, his eyes, white as the dead surface of the moon above, lit up with recognition. That twisted smile spread across his face. It frustrated her even now, at the moment of the kill.

”At it again, Spider?” He asked with a laugh. Like he had been in this exact situation before. It was almost fond, if M. Bison was capable of such a feat of emotion.

”This time, I’m taking your eye!” She said, raised her hand, and then drove it fingers first towards his socket. He caught her hand with his own, smiling up at her.

”Spoiled little brat, pawing at my door. Even now, you are nothing to me.” He said.

Juri shut him up with a brutal knee to the chest, forcing her claw closer to his white eyes as his strength waned.

”You’re gonna scream for me!” She demanded.

M. Bison’s grin threatened to split his head in half. ”This is what REAL POWER looks like!” He yelled, giddy, and his wounds began to glow.

The ground began to shake, and pebbles and debris raised from the earth. The light coming from within was almost blinding. M. Bison began to laugh as he lifted from the floor. Juri struck him once, twice, three times, chopping into him, hanging on as he ascended. She forced her fingers beneath his eye and his skull cracked like ancient glass.

Still, in that last moment, he looked at her. ”I’ll only grant you a delicious glimpse of this neverending nightmare.”

”Would you just shut up already-?!” Juri’s question was answered as the evil lord’s body detonated from within, as she forced her hand deeper into his skull. The tremendous explosion sent her flying backwards as she crossed her arms in front of her. When she slammed into the wall behind her, she went limp for a moment and nearly didn’t catch herself before she hit the floor.

Juri glanced around. Nothing left of him but a smoking crater and the distant alarm.

”Oh, oh, a neverending nightmare, is that it?! Looks like you’re dust to me, idiot!” Juri shouted. She began to cackle. ”Not so goddamn impressive now, are you? What? What was that?! Speak up!” She kicked at the pebbles.

Juri stood still and heaved her breath, fists clenched, staring at the spot where M. Bison had been.

”You think I give a shit what you say? Who's still standing? Who’s left?” She asked. ”Me.” She answered.

”It’s me!” Juri repeated, her voice echoing.

To fill the silence, she laughed again. ”You’re so- you're so boring like this! I’m gonna go find someone else to kill. See ya, loser.” With that, she shifted back into the shadows, her form melting away into the darkness.

Darkness fell, and flames rose. In the distance of where the Seekers of Light handled the threat of systematic destruction by self-destructing machines, a woman with stark white hair simply stood on the second floor of the home she was, temporarily, residing in, her red eyes reflecting the distant fire as she brought a cup of steaming tea to her lips. The woman, the vessel of the Fell Dragon Grima, did not panic at the sight of an actual attack taking place in the city, seeing it more as a… Pleasurable distraction. Even from far away, it was more entertaining than much of Esaka had provided for her.

The house that she resided in was a fairly fancy place, furnished with more focus on showcasing ‘status’ than comfort, and currently lended to her by a… Like minded individual. A green haired snake that thought they could twist the Fell Dragon’s graces with gifts and flattery. While they were busy with ‘other tasks’, they allowed her to use their home as a resting place… A gift that she, despite her admonishment, actually took joy in. It saved her the trouble of having to mingle with the worms that infested this city anymore than she had to.

Grima had promised herself that she would give that snake a quick, painless death as repayment for this gift, once her plans were complete.

Those plans, naturally, tied all the way back to her true self, whose connection she could still feel: Faint and imprisoned, a heartbeat whose only tether to this world was through this frail vessel. Despite that frailty, Grima’s plans had led her to this city of warriors. It was a place where gathering connections and power would be easy: All she had to do was win a tournament and she would have a direct spot with the so called ‘elite’, and once she was there, it would be simple to begin the real work.

Taking a final sip of her nightly drink, Grima turned on her heel, heading back into the home she was given. The entertainment for the evening was nice, but Grima had a tournament to win… And her body required proper rest before it could fight at full capacity.

@Lugubrious

Harry Dubois

𝒦𝒾𝓂 𝒦𝒾𝓉𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾

Word Count: 1,250
Level: Lv: 6 EXP: (3/60)
Lv: 4 EXP: (5/40)
Location: Esaka’s Middle Tier - Banishing Flats

Harry had quite a long day of training. After Dan was knocked out, he was deemed okay by the quack doctor. And for the rest of the day, he continued training with Harry and his other students. Afterwards, he went to meet Kim to discuss what he had found on the Four Kings. Being surprised that he had met the god of thunder. Although meeting another god, it was not surprising that other gods were hanging around. The two had dinner as they discussed the Four Kings. Again, the thought of Harry not being able to get far into the tournament came into his mind. After Dinner, both detectives separated, with Harry going back to his hotel and Kim heading back to his apartment.

During the night, Harry filled his time by getting drunk and talking to other people at the bar. A person he seemed to connect with was a silver-haired man in a cowboy outfit. Soiree mentioned that he, his brother and a girl named Mignon Beart were going to be in the KOF tournament. Harry knew that Terry, Cap, and Ammy were going to be in that tournament. And knew that Rugal was a tough customer. He would have loved to join them, but the Street Fighter tournament seemed more up his alley. They converse about other things, mainly about each other’s lives.

Harry recounted his time as a detective and the various cases he had solved. Going on and on about how excellent Jean, his old partner, and Kim were. And was talking about the case he had before being sent here. But of course, leaving out how he was sent here, as he didn’t totally trust Soriee. And Soriee was talking about his brother and a little bit about his life. By the end of the evening, both men were quite drunk. And as they came out of the hotel bar, they were greeted by Sorrie’s older brother.

“Seriously. This is how you wanna spend your night? I was hoping you wouldn’t pull this kind of nonsense before the tournament, but this is typical.” The man had his arms crossed. The tone of his voice was very familiar to the detective. Sorrie tried to justify his actions, but his brother was having none of it. The two soon left, with Harry going back to his room. He lay in his bed in only his underwear. He was having a hard time sleeping. A few hours in, he finally fell asleep, but his dream was quite bad.

In his dream, he was back in Revachol with Kim. They were standing in front of the tree where they found the hangman. A few moments later, the people he knew were now surrounding him and Kim. Some of them he did recognize, but some he did not. Some of the faces he noticed were Jean, Garte, Cuno, Cunoesse, Siileng, Measurehead, Titus Hardie, Cindy the Skull, Lilienne Carter, Egg Head, The Paledriver, and The Deserter. He could hear them talking, but it was hard to make out what they were saying.

Just then, he noticed the hanged man was twitching with his eyes suddenly opening. A sickly smile on his face, with maggots oozing out of his mouth. “Well, well, well, it’s nice to see you again, Harry. If you think you're going to beat Galeem, then you think very highly of yourself. You're gonna die, and your friends are gonna DIE TOO.” And as he said, the faces of the people he knew had a frightening look to them. Looking at Harry with an intense bloodlust. Even Kim had a bloodthirsty look on his face. All of them are coming towards him, wanting to tear Harry apart. The hangman was chanting for them to kill him. But as they had their hands on him, he was awoken by someone crashing through his hotel wall into his room.

The detective jumped out of bed, covered in sweat. “What the hell! Who the hell are you?” Harry noticed a large, menacing robot in his room. The robot didn’t answer his question, but instead was coming towards him. He knew he couldn’t take the robot on in a 1v1 fight. So he decided to run out the door, but not before grabbing his duel pistols. Stuffing them in his underwear. Harry ran down the hallway and towards the stairs to the lobby. He could utter chaos echoing through the hallways as he passed them in the stairwell. Noticing one of the robots was following him.

“Who the hell are these guys?” Harry thought as he exited through a door, hoping to hide from his pursuer. His tired body was pressed against a wall, hearing the heavy footsteps moving past the door and down the stairs. Harry let out a sigh of relief, trying to catch his breath. Slowly, he made his way to the elevator, hoping that it was still working. As he saw the elevator light approaching his floor, he could hear footsteps coming towards him. Harry quickly turned around to see a strange figure standing beside him. Harry let out a girly scream because he thought the figure was one of those robots.

“My apologies for frightening you, but this is not a safe place. Come, let us go to the lobby.” The figure could see the elevator door being opened by one of those robots. In a flash, the figure unsheathed his sword, cutting the robot in half. The figure sheathed his sword before turning to Harry. “My name is Yoshimitsu, a pleasure to meet you.” The strange ninja bowed to Harry, who bowed back to him. Harry introduced himself before the two made their way back to the staircase. Even though Harry thought the robots would be on the stairs.

As both men were descending the stairs, they were rocked by multiple explosions going off. Yoshimitsu held onto Harry so he wouldn’t fall from the collapsed staircase. Yoshimitsu held onto Harry while helicoptering his sword with Harry screaming as loud as he could. Being so high in the air was scaring the crap out of him. Both of them slowly descended to the stairwell closest to the ground floor.

Yoshimitsu set Harry down near the door leading to the lobby. “Thanks, who were those guys?” Harry asked the ninja as the two were heading towards the lobby.

“They are Jack-5’s. Killing machines created by G-Corp to eliminate the enemies of Kazuya Mishima. I am surprised he chose this hotel as a target for attack.” A statement that led Harry to believe Nadia was the reason for the attack.

Meanwhile, Kim had rushed towards the hotel after learning of the attack. Kim was frantically trying to find Harry, being scared that he would lose him again. Being grateful when he saw Harry was safe. Both men hugged each other before Harry spoke up.

“We gotta go back in to try and find the others.” Harry was reprimanded by Kim because of how dangerous it could be to try to find the others. He wasn’t sure how safe it was even to speak in the lobby. He was yelling out that they needed to leave the building and go somewhere safe. But Harry wasn’t listening, wanting to venture further into the building. But the explosion had made the building quite unstable. So there was no telling when the hotel would collapse in on itself. Kim held onto Harry’s arm to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere.

Rika was a less able to carry her brother around now that she was a fair bit shorter, and so the prince had to put Roxas’ flowmotion skill to good use to keep up with her, slowing them down a fair bit as said skill wasn’t quite as absurd as Rika’s warframe agility. He wasn’t able to just chain wall-jump up a vertical surface for example.

The gum also did nothing for him, which he was pretty mad about. Apparently not a single member of the royal koopa line had taken up ninjutsu (which according to Seek was a requirement for the gum to work its ‘science’). To be fair to them, this was hardly unsurprising given their weight class when fully grown.

Still, after the run-in with the ninja kids, the koopa kids managed to steer clear of any other trouble, being a little bit less brazen in their rooftop running now that they knew they weren't the only ones parkouring around up there.

Once clear of the Shinobi district, the kids made their way to the mildly mistake-able for it Sotenbori district, where the question arose of how they were going to find the specific apartment they were looking for.

Unfortunately, it would be a challenge just staying focused on their mission, for Sotenbori was the entertainment capital of Shinjuku. Starting with the bustling main street with the larger-than-life, eye-catching, lavish food decorations and signs. The warm, laidback, and lively atmosphere continued on through to the picturesque boardwalk that straddled the Sotenbori river, where all kinds of fun watercraft could be found engaged in aquatic activities. Compared to the rest of the human-dominated city, this area seemed to have a more varied populace, everything from morel mushroom men to raving rabbids to black-suited content creators roaming the streets for anything they could make into inter-knot videos. Wherever one looked, one could typically find something weird or at the very least interesting, such as the roaming toilet herd that occasionally stampeded down the street, or the cute, cuddly Rot that tended to hang out by trash cans to help kickstart decomposition. And of course, it paid to avoid traffic violations with a giant spherical parking attendant looming overhead, always on the lookout troublemakers. In the midst of this overload, though, Junior’s phone received a new notification from Taion.

Made it to Sotenbori yet? Our apartment is over a diner called Rikimaru Ramen. As far as I know, there’s just the one location, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. If you see a green alien in a UFO eating ramen, you’re in the right place.

They, unsurprisingly, got left on read for a while.

In the kid’s defence, part of this was because they kept having to hide from the giant parking attendant which Jr assumed would let the police force at large know they were here. Entirely against their defence was the fact that had it not been for said attendant, they would have been on the water getting involved in the frivolities, be it under their own power or in one of the watercraft.

As it was, they used the busy crowds as cover, and slowly made their way towards the location of the ramen place that Seek tracked down for them. On the way they had to resist the temptation to buy any other food despite how many mouth-watering aromas they passed by. Rika got Seek to note down half a dozen places that they were probably never going to have the time to visit, but which she aspired to visit nonetheless.

They also went through an awkward song and dance number trying to both see/snap pictures of the various oddities, and also avoid being caught on camera by any of the content creators. Possibly this was paranoia, but Jr wanted to avoid being caught live on camera and having someone recognise them from a news report.

Once they were five minutes away, Jr had the presence of mind to mention to respond we’re close after which they promptly took another fifteen minutes to get there. Still, eventually, they did arrive at the restaurant and, after taking a moment to appreciate the described sign in person, made their way inside.

Almost immediately, they received a new message. I said our apartment was over the restaurant, not that we were inside it. Nevermind, though, just find a table in there. We’ll be right down.

A minute later, the familiar face and white-feathered headwings of Eunie appeared as she pushed through the restaurant’s door, followed by Clover and Taion. They’d all changed clothes in the intervening hours since the two groups’ last encounter, possibly in an effort to not be recognized as easily after the chaos of their back-alley brawl. Eunie wore her light brown hair in a short ponytail with a white baseball cap on, as well as jeans and a black tank top beneath a green and white varsity jacket for the Yoshi Islanders, while Taion had donned a more techwear-inspired blue overcoat plus khaki cargo pants. Clover, meanwhile, came with a set of denim overalls plus brown sweater. When the trio saw Junior and Rika, they made their way over. Taion’s keen eyes lingered on Rika for a second or two, registering the difference in her appearance, but after a brief moment he wrote the discrepancy off as a product of mistaken memory and thought nothing of it. The family joined the siblings at their table, their cursory glances at the ramen menus a mere formality. Though it was getting to be later in the afternoon it would be a while longer before dinnertime rolled around, and they weren’t here for food, anyway.

Clover seemed wary of Junior and Rika, knowing nothing beyond their fierce clash with her parents, but as Taion tried to help explain the misunderstanding Eunie gave the koopa kids a sheepish smile. “So, er…sorry about all that, loves. From before. I guess we weren’t in our right minds.” She put a hand to her temple and sighed. “It’s still a lot to take in. Like wakin’ up from a dream that went on too sparkin’ long…”

“The worst part is, this isn’t necessarily our first time,” Taion added, his voice low. “We originally came from different worlds ourselves. Though we’re still not privy to all the details, it seemed like one original planet split into two as a result of some disaster, fated to eventually drift back together and recombine. Before it completed, though, Moebius hijacked the process, leading to the malformed amalgamate world called Aionios. We had to undo that conflicted merge in the hopes that our worlds would someday fuse together properly.” He squeezed Eunie’s hand. “That meant us two separating, maybe for good, with nothing to go on but hope…”

Eunie smiled weakly. “In a way, this chance to be together, all this…” She hugged Clover. “It’s exactly what we wanted. But it isn’t right. That sparkin’ ball of light that consumed everythin’…its Moebius all over again. So we know what we gotta do, but with her here…it’s gonna be even harder than before.”

The pair of kids glanced at each other (over the top of a pair of nano colas they’d ordered before the family had arrived) at the mention of that name, after which Jr started to go ”uhhhhh” only for Rika to jump in and say it outright:

”Yeah those are a thing here too. Moebius I mean. I mean, probably not the same ones coz they’ve probably died and been replaced a whole bunch but same idea I’d guess. They do sorta look a bit like your fusion form thing you had.”

”Yeah, those were the guys I was worried might have people listening. I mean they seem kinda lazy and disunited n stuff but there might be one smart tech nerd in em that’d, like, have something watching for emails for words like Moebius and Galeem and stuff” Jr added, before adding as an afterthought ”Also Galeem’s the name of the big winged lightbulb.”

Taion rested his chin on his fist, his elbow propped on the table. “Galeem. I see.” He said it matter-of-factly, but his hard voice and stony expression suggested no small amount of repressed anger. “As for that form we took, it’s called an Interlink. We two are Ouroboros, as are several of our friends. Noah and Mio, plus Lanz and Sena…”

“Those names ringin’ any bells for ya?” Eunie asked hopefully, her brows knitted together with concern.

”Um” Jr replied, before glancing at his sister who did a big shrug, and then looked back at the pair before shaking his head and saying ”No, don’t think so?”

”They’ll be fine anyway. If they get sunk Galeem’ll just pop out a new copy” Rika then informed them with unhelpful non-specificisity, leaving her brother to sigh and lay out the mechanics of Galeem’s world, starting with the fact that they were copies of people, moving on to flame clocks, and then finally to the ten year limit on the lives of everyone except those like Clover who were ‘new life’.

Her explanation left the Ouroboros grim. “Un-sparkin’-believable,” Eunie moaned, her head in her hands.

“It really is like we’re right back in Aionios,” Taion murmured. He squeezed his wife’s shoulder. “But that just means we know exactly what to do.”

“Kill off Moebius and kickstart our worlds back into gear.” Eunie smiled weakly. “Second verse, same as the first, I guess. Least it’s old hat to us now.” She picked up Clover and sat her on her lap for a big hug. As she held onto her daughter, her eyes narrowed. “If it really is more or less the same as before, we need to strike at the heart.”

Taion nodded. “Origin. The database where all our captive souls are kept and copied. The hard drive of the World of Light itself. Moebius didn’t make it, but they hijacked it, taking the reigns of the world to make it into their Endless Now.” He crossed his arms as he looked at the koopa kids. “Aionios was ring-shaped, and last time we found Origin smack dab in the center of the empty space in the middle, hidden away in a cloud bank. Do you have any insight on this?”

”Oh wow, yeah, we have got to get you the Avenger. People on there, they’ve only got like, theories that there’s a ‘source engine’ storing all the info on people” Jr said, before pulling out his phone and getting Seek to find them a map of the world, which did indeed have a sort of ring shape, and at the very least a big bit of empty space in the middle which he pointed too ”so here then?”

”Pretty sure there’s already stuff in that space, right? Plus people like those short beardy miners from the Under go to above us space, so unless that middle space is extra weird, then you woulda thought people’d have found it already, right? Can’t just be defense through obscurity” Rika pointed out, slamming a military term down the end of her childish speech, only for both to come to a realization at the same time, namely that the reason was ”The guardians”

Jr then turned back to Clover’s parents and asked ”Did you have anything like that? 13 super strong bosses that needed to be taken down before you could get to that server? We’ve been told they were protecting Galeem but maybe it’s both? Or they’re, like, the same thing and it actually straight up ate everything”

Eunie gave him a bemused, uncertain look.

“I think these ‘guardians’ you speak of are new to us,” Taion admitted, his arms crossed. His eyes rested on Clover, who’d been busying herself by playing with a couple green action figures and not paying much attention. “Makes sense that they’d implement some extra security if they’re trying to do better than last time.”

While he considered the Moebius angle, Eunie fretted about where her daughter fit into all this. “You mentioned ‘the Avenger’, mate. Wot’s that, exactly? Is that like, your base?” It seemed obvious where she’d be going with this line of questioning.

”Mmm hmm. Its a super cool invisible metal airship” Jr informed them, before amending things a bit by saying ”well, it's more the lost number’s base which we’re using than our base specifically. Still don’t know where papa’s castle is and the seeker base got wrecked by a different giant metal airship”

For once it was Rika who stepped in to explain a term, rather than the other way around, but then again, it was one that was very relevant to why all of this had gone down ”Lost numbers are people like Clover. Never been Galeeming ever, and so there’s no falling apart after ten years. If we fail like every other seeker group, it’d be the best place for her given that you’ve only got so much time left”

”But obviously we’re going to win!” Jr insisted, before adding a little quieter ”We have too” which got a little smile out of Rika where the bravado hadn’t. That need, that care, was worth far more than any arrogant self confidence.

Eunie gave him a wry smile. “We know the Lost Numbers. Well, maybe not these ones. But they ain’t the first. An invisible airship, eh? Sounds like a right laugh.”

“Can you take us to them?” Taion asked. “Or…arrange pickup, perhaps?”

”Galeem really did ape a lot of stuff from your worlds huh?” Jr commented, before thinking for a moment and adding ”Even stuff that feels like it should be, like, a glitch? That’s sorta weird, right? Like even this was planned” before making a sound of discomfort.

”I mean, maybe it was from them” Rika pointed out, which wasn’t a perfect explanation, but it was enough for Jr to move on

”So, uh, yeah, anyway, yeah, we can get them to pick you up. Well. Kinda. We’ve got these fulton device things that just, sorta, yank you up into the sky with a balloon and then they’ll grab you from up there”

”Us up too?” Rika suggested ”Might as well head back to our room instead of running around here more or trying to find somewhere to stay in Esaka”

Jr agreed to this with a nod, before adding ”Plus we’ll probably have to explain this to em? I mean you're not Galeeming so it's kinda obvious who’s side you’re on but still. Context and stuff”

Though both seemed eager to join the Lost Numbers, their daughter’s safety was of utmost concern to them. “That seems…very dangerous,” Taion said, his tone making it clear that this was a severe understatement. “Hmm..”

“Ooh, what if we both hugged her between us as we went up, love?” Eunie smirked. “That way there’s no chance of her fallin’!”

Taion scratched his neck. “I was thinking more along the lines of a rope or something?” He offered the kids a polite smile. “We’ll figure something out. Let’s get our affairs in order here. How about we meet at the temple a couple streets over in half an hour?”

---

Twenty-eight minutes later, the family of three reached the temple at the southwestern edge of Sotenbori, using the nearby boardwalk to avoid disturbing the carefully cultivated sand patterns of the rock garden. The temple itself, being little more than a fancy shell around a great hanging bell, was a perfect meeting spot, since there wasn’t much reason for anyone else to be here. More impressive than the temple, and even the vivid pink petals of the cherry blossom trees nearby, was the view from the back side of the temple, where a stone platform overlooked nothing less than Empty Space itself. The very tip of one wing of that vast void formed much of Shinjuku’s western border. Before them lay an unimaginably long fall into pitch blackness, less like a grand canyon and more like a rift in the world itself. With this branch much narrower than most of Empty Space, onlookers could see clear across to the snowy mountains and pine trees on the far side despite the great distance, though the land’s elevation was much higher over there. The Frozen Highlands were not so far away, it seemed.

The family found Jr and Rika staring down over the edge, watching stray flowerpettles falling further and further and further into the abyss till it was so small as to be out of sight.

”I thought you said stuff floats in space” Rika was saying, having conceptualized it as some sort of sky sea, to which her brother replied ”Well. Yeah. but it also just keeps going for some reason? I dunno, space is weird”

Upon getting their attention, the pair both backed away from the edge and joined the trio in a spot out from under the shade of the branches that’d make for a good launch site.

”Got all your stuff shoved into the armory?” Jr asked, having passed along how to use Edward’s magic to them so they could do their very fast move out. Odds were Sagi, the quartermaster, was equal parts confused and concerned that the seekers had picked up some kind of hoarder who was going to start sending them everything not nailed down.

”Like all the tapes” Rika added, before thinking for a moment, recalling their post battle looting, and adding again ”Some of which I guess we should give back to you.”

“That would be appreciated.” Taion nodded. “Other than that, got everything squared away.”

The ship girl looked visibly disappointed, but despite this picked them out of the pocket she’d stashed them in and handed them over.

Eunie squeezed Clover’s shoulder. Despite the uncertainty ahead of her, she looked excited as she flapped her headwings. “Ready to fly! You ready, love?”

“Yeah!” Though she didn’t quite understand where her family was headed or how they’d be getting there, Clover knew better than anyone that any outing with her parents would end well.

”Ok, here’s the fulton thingies” Jr said as he handed the pair one for themselves and one spare for Clover, before starting a demonstration of how to use them

”You just strap em on like this, and then you, pull this and-” he said while doing this, only to be cut off at the end by his own scream/yell of fear/exhilaration as the demonstration ended abruptly with the prince launching into the air.

Everyone watched him disappear into the open sky in the same way the blossoms were disappearing into the nearby empty space for a moment, before Rika casually said ”Yup, that’s how they work”

Taion looked horrified, but it looked like a blast to Clover. She cheered, jumping up and down as she clapped her hands, and much to her father’s chagrin, Eunie was almost as enthusiastic. “Bahaha! Right then, love, it’s your turn!” She shoved a fulton into her husband’s hands. It took some encouragement from both Eunie and Clover, but after steeling himself he bravely donned the device.

Then Clover climbed into the backpack her parents had prepared, with only her head poking out. Taion wore it on his chest rather than his back, and once Eunie put on her fulton, she wrapped her arms around Taion in a tight hug, their child sandwiched between them. “Agh…fire and sparks.” With a final deep breath, the tactician pulled the cord, and in a blink his family soared skyward.

Having seen them off, Rika then launched herself into the sky under her own power at first, aim-gliding there for a moment as she took in the city around her one more time. All in all, she thought, it had been a neat little sidequest. Then she yanked the cord on her futon device and with a ”Weeeeee!” flew up to join the others.

---

---

As it turned out, the maintenance bay wasn’t some corner of the main facility as it was its own adjacent facility, accessible through a tunnel that took a minute or so to get through even at a brisk jog. Since this complex serviced the entirety of Spire 04, it stood to reason that it would take a lot more power than the hydroelectricity of one dam to power it, and it was in the maintenance sector where all of the utilities that kept the complex operational were concerted into industrial harmony.



The maintenance sector took the form of a large main hub room dominated by a huge, cylindrical power plant surrounded by the pumps and reservoir tanks of the complex’s requisite fluids, from water to coolant to fuel. Scattered around the ground level were a number of stations where the machines, vehicles, and other equipment used throughout the facility could be serviced. Perhaps most remarkable were the giant robot hands, used not just to lift, hold, and move large objects, but transfer personnel between different levels of the hub. Right now, though, the place was practically empty.

A squad of iron golems advanced through the door, shields raised defensively, auras projected around them. Edward, advancing behind them, Infected 'Rainfall' blade in one hand, Oden’s Pinky handgun in the other, saw the occupier of the hall through their eyes and saw that it (she?) was a far more pristine work than the crudely reanimated machines they’d encountered so far. As such, he felt compelled to step out beside his constructs and call out ”Are you Naytibas, or something else?”

The orange-and-black gadgeteer turned away from her computer terminal and leaned against the railing of the power plant’s circular catwalk to look down at the intruders. She had no visible face, and the four cyan lights on her helmet’s front which somewhat resembled eyes betrayed no emotion, but her body language was anything but friendly. With one hand she raised a bulky explosive tech weapon of some kind, and with the other she made a dismissive gesture, as if brushing the newcomers back toward the door she’d come through.

The Omnic was the first of the group to react, clutching his staff quietly in his off-hand while charging one of his nanite abilities in the other, waiting to see if the machine’s warning turned more serious. “Whatever happens, I can protect us. I don’t think she wants to blow us up.” While Ramattra was unable to observe Protea’s motives, there was something odd about the fact that she hadn’t already turned the group into rubble with the rest of the bay.

Though Eve had reached for her hairpin, anticipating a fight, she furrowed her brow at the warframe’s lack of immediate hostility. “It’s intelligent?” she murmured. “But…surely not an Alpha Naytiba. Come to think of it, I don’t see any Naytiba flesh…”

”Something else then” Edward said quietly, as he calmly stared down the barrel of the gun, and having the audacity to sheath his weapons while doing so.

Eve glanced at him, one brow raised. “An android manufactured by Orca that escaped infection, perhaps?” Then again, that didn’t gel with what Sandalphon said about extremely dense techno-organic signatures, if indeed this thing was one source.

Ramattra stepped from the side of the group toward Edward and Eve, who had been discussing the nature of the stranger. “Then why did she not explode us given the chance?... There is an uneasy presence to this stranger. I can feel the air crackle to their will here… Be cautious.” It was hard for Ramattra to explain, but there was an uneasy pulse of raw energy that swept the room. Whether or not this stranger was an android or not, the environment was this well-dressed character’s personal playground.

Edward, half inclined his head to the warning, before raising his voice as he addressed the strange being. ”All we wish is to pass through, so if you could kindly disable the lock, we will be in our way” he told her, before glancing over her person and, noting that really all she visibly had was guns, added ”I’d be willing to offer an armament or two in exchange for this favor”

After a brief pause, Protea tilted her head, then hefted her heavy weapon onto her shoulder. She seemed to respect Edward’s cockiness, which reflected her own. Raising her free hand, she held her fingers straight and together as she pivoted her wrist in a circle, the universal gesture for ‘continue’.

Edward glanced back, both to gauge the reaction of the others and to make a show of beckoning his inferno steed towards him. The steed stored Edward’s spare (and presently unused) two handed ranged weapons. He still intended to use the magnetic grenade launcher, but the other, the plasma cutter beam rifle, he was willing to offer up to avoid unnecessary violence.

Without much hesitation, Protea decided that she wanted a closer look. She stowed her rocket launcher on her back, then catapulted off the catwalk, soaring through the air at high speed. She landed before the Seekers in a slide, her metallic body sparking as it ground across the coarse concrete. When she nimbly hopped to her feet, she stood at 6.5 feet tall. Not at all bothered by the proximity of so many possible enemies, she reached out and beckoned for the plasma cutter.

Edward tensed up as the warframe came leaping down, who wouldn’t, but he held his nerve enough to do no more than that. Once she approached, he held the gun by the barrel with its muzzle pointed to the floor, and offered it to her.

When she received it, she turned away and held it level to her helmet as if staring down its sights. Aiming up at the concrete wall, she fired off a few quick bursts of concentrated ionized gas, followed by an extended stream. She targeted painted numbers, starting big and going small as she quickly got a feel for the gun’s handling. When it heated up, she relaxed her posture, looked down at the weapon’s red-hot barrel, and figured out how to vent the heat after a moment. Once satisfied, Protea expended some of her own energy to rapid-construct a dispenser, which promptly belted out a couple orbs and a universal ammo pack with which she refilled the plasma cutter with dextrous hands.

Protea then stared at the weapon, deciding how she felt about it. After a moment she looked away with a tilted head, as if slightly underwhelmed, and her gaze wandered to the rest of Edward’s weapons stowed upon his fiery steed.

The Omnic, now able to get a closer look at the Warframe in action, confirmed his suspicions that this being was more than just an android, cyborg, or Natiyba, unless that summoned dispenser was an unusual feat of tech to Ramattra. Oddly enough, she still seemed like she could be swayed. The Omnic, noticing Protea’s rather lavish appearance for a gunslinger, hinted to him that maybe there could be other ways to make their inventory more… appealing. To hasten efforts, the Omnic would unclip the red plague mask off the side of his samue without second thought. Maybe she appreciated spooky aesthetics. He placed it gently alongside Edward’s offerings, looking on his person for more to offer.

With a sigh, Ramattra recalled one last sensible thing he could offer. His staff was off-limits, obviously, being his go-to weapon, along with the fact that nanite mastery was a feat only obtainable by Omnics and through special cybernetics. From the pockets of his pants, he drew out his previously tattered Monk Garbs. While he had no original intention to part with them, their time was precious, and traversing this area was of top priority. “Mondata, forgive me…” He hushed to himself as the clothes were politely offered atop the rest.

When offered the mask, Protea picked it up and looked it over. Not quite her aesthetic or color, but it was unique. She took more of an interest when Ramattra offered a new outfit, but his reluctance did not escape the warframe’s notice. With slightly less eagerness, she examined the clothes. They weren’t exactly her aesthetic either, but the colors did suit her almost perfectly. Those four blue lights on her helmet stared at Ramattra for a moment before she glanced over toward the terminal. Then she shrugged, hung the mask on her helmet, and passed the clothes back to Ramattra. With one more reluctant look at all of Edward’s weapons, Protea stowed the plasma cutter, stepped aside, and crossed her arms. A quick nod of her head in the terminal’s direction said knock yourself out.

”Much appreciated” Edward said with a deferential nod, before beginning the ascent toward the terminal alongside the others. Upon arrival he inspectedt it for a moment, and then hitting the only interactable element on it, namely the power button. This caused the monitor to light up and fill with symbols, and the keyboard to pop out underneath it.

After another moment, he stepped back and glanced a touch sheepishly at the others, saying ”I will admit. I have no idea what I’m looking at at the moment, and though I’d love to take the time to figure it out on my own, perhaps this is more in line with something from one of your worlds?”

Eve stepped forward to examine the terminal, one arm crossed beneath her chest while her other elbow rested on the wrist, contemplative. “Although I haven’t seen a cipher like this before, I have found and entered many passcodes. This time, though, I rather think the answer is right here in front of us.” She gestured at the stacks of numbers and letters. “All these words are five characters long. Perhaps one is the answer, and the others are red herrings. Or failed attempts.”

Picking out one word, ‘skies’, she entered it. Immediately the number of attempts left counted down from 5 to 4, and a response appeared on the right side that said 1/5 correct. “That’s something,” she said, glancing at Ramattra. “Want to venture a guess?”

The Omnic had scratched his chin for a moment. With a glance over the letters and numbers, Ramattra tried his best to piece together what the passcode could be. Nothing immediately came to mind off gut instinct, but with the first attempt already securing a correct letter, the group had to do some hypothesizing to not waste their precious attempts. “Well… with the code being five characters, and one letter of our first attempt being correct, I believe it is reasonable to rule out the possibility of any of them being numbers.” While it was a bit of a reach, it was all they had to go off of without the input of the nearby stranger. If their second hazarded guess proved no progress, maybe bartering with her again could earn them the key to this terminal.

“I believe… that it is also reasonable to assume that the word is none of the options with ‘ie’, and words with two or more letters to skies. I’m inclined to believe our correct letter is also one of the two s’s, which eliminates some more guesswork… though, honestly, if we begin to whittle our entry attempts, we may want to barter for information from our stranger…” He glanced over at Protea, who watched as they fumbled with the password to the console, hoping that his suspicion that she controlled this bay was her personal derelict, rather than being under some higher control from the Spire. For a moment, the Omnic thought about the reaches he had made for the passcode, and what possible word could fill in the emptied query.

With a muffled sigh, the Omnic thought it best not to overthink his logic. They still had 3 attempts, even if he had failed, any progress on getting the key was crucial. ‘TANKS’, with this being a maintenance bay, maybe whoever was responsible for the passcode was incompetent enough to pick a word associated with the room's function.

Despite a big difference in terms of the guessed word, the result was the same: 1/5 correct. Now just three guesses remained.

The Omnic figured as much; the wrong answer gave him some room for deduction… Lucky for him, it didn’t seem that the console had put him under any time constraint. Ramattra looked backward to Edward, hoping the commander had some sort of writing utensil and paper for him to scratch down potential third guesses. “Edward. Might I bother you for some quick writing supplies?”

When he was handed a fountain pen and ink, he would quickly jot down answers that couldn’t be correct so far, because of misguessed characters on the terminal… Unlike all-knowing artificial intelligence, Ramattra’s sentience was clearly more human-like, relying on the process of elimination to reach a new conclusion, as their second attempt provided no insight into whether Ramattra’s intuition was correct or not.

Words with two or more identical letters were crossed off a neatly stacked list, now translated to a spare sheet of paper. The design here was to help Ramattra make informed choices for his second attempt. After analyzing the list one last time, he looked at the terminal and typed his third attempt, trying the word that stood out the most: PRICE.

Luckily, his guess resulted in one additional correct letter; now 2/5 were right. That wasn’t all that Ramattra’s choice revealed, though. Eve crossed her arms, thinking. “Ah, so it wasn’t the ‘s’ at the end after all,” she remarked, her tone one of curious intrigue. With only two guesses left, they could afford only one more mistake, so she considered what they already knew. Even after eliminating everything with more than one letter in common with the previous guesses, there were still seven possibilities according to Ramattra’s list.

As the others took a look, Edward was left with his thoughts, which, unfortunately for him, went to how it was a slight shame that this had ended peacefully given the warframe’s capabilities. The athleticism and ammunition generation alone would have made her a valuable fusion.

He frowned as he dismissed that thought, and instead considered instead what might be reasonable to barter for her ammunition stores. He did this while flicking through an armory panel, during which he spotted one of the items he’d sent back to the armory rather than having them pile up in the back of the stagecoach. On a hunch, he summoned it to his hand.

He rather instantly regretted this, for the grotesque Sporothrix rifle was incredibly unpleasant to hold. That aspect alone would certainly reduce the trade value for most, but given the scan results, and the fact that she was presumably ‘from’ this area, Edward made a gamble and asked the warframe ”I don’t suppose this would be ‘on theme’ for you, would it?”

Protea had been watching idly, waiting for the newcomers to finish with the terminal maybe. With how dangerous things were around here thanks to the Naytibas, she could just be taking a break. When Edward approached her, she fixated on the Sporothrix instantly, and when he asked if she’d be interested Protea gave him an earnest nod.

”That’s valuable information all on its own, but I’d still like to barter for it and one other, similar, item, if you have anything you’d be willing to offer” Edward replied, inviting her to consider what she had to offer before making his own pitch. Frankly, he’d probably take anything she could offer given the offputting nature of the weapons, and he did not intend to drive a hard bargain given their lack of rapport, but she didn’t need to know that right away.

He gave her a moment to consider, during which he placed the butt of the sniper rifle against the floor, and then retrieved the Synapse electro rifle as well. This held in the same way, against the other gun, after giving her a moment to look it over. He also would offer her journal and quill to write with, should she seem to want/need to get past her muteness.

Protea’s shoulders went slack with disappointment as her head tilted completely to one side, the unamused glow of her helmet’s optics saying really, bro? After a brief moment -and a head motion that looked suspiciously like an eye roll- she produced the plasma cutter she’d received earlier, then held it out with one hand on her hip. Though her body language was slightly derisive, she seemed curious about whether or not Edward would go for this trade.

Edward supposed that, other than the pouches, she didn’t seem to be carrying much, and so her lack of barterable items was rather limited. He could see her attitude’s legitimacy, and so he wasn’t going to insist on trading back for the Plasma Cutter. Instead he went for something more universally useful, and hopefully less offensive.

”Perhaps. But you also seem to be able to produce those remarkable ammunition kits that can restock even a freshly acquired weapon like that one" he nodded to the plasma cutter ”I would be willing to exchange these for some of those, if that would be feasible?"

With a shake of her head, Protea signalled that it wasn’t. After a moment, though, she held up a one finger as a sign that she’d thought of something. From one pouch she pulled a circular grenade of some kind, which she reconfigured and then tossed into the air. It began to float next to her, projecting a beam of blue energy that seemed to create a low-opacity force field around her. Then, with her demonstration complete, the warframe offered three such grenades to Edward.

It was unfortunate that he’d not get to fill the armory with magnetic grenades given that those would likely be quite useful against whatever larger bio-mechanical horrors surely lurked within the structure, Edward felt, but this seemed interesting in and of itself, and interesting was valued all of its own. Well. Maybe not for the price of two weapons from the team’s stores, but there was also the diplomatic angle to consider here, and so he was certainly open to the trade.

”Now that’s quite something. Limited duration, I assume? Minutes?" he asked, more to know than to weigh up the value of the items. Indeed even as he asked he moved physically to offer the weapons to her and to take the orbs off her hands in exchange.

If Protea could narrow her eyes in a wince, she probably would have. Rather than hurriedly complete the transaction, she stepped back with a shake of her head, then quickly used the plasma cutter to burn a couple numbers into the concrete. 13. She then shrugged as if to say they’re worth it, though.

”In a pinch, I suppose" Edward replied, getting her meaning. But it was true that that wasn’t really worth the two weapons alone. Perhaps something more mercenary would work, he thought, before asking ”I don’t suppose you can help us against the Naytibas? Be it an escort if you are going our way, or a distraction to draw them away if you are going your own way?"

In response, the gadgeteer cracked her knuckles, then her head from side to side as she rolled her shoulders. Seemingly in agreement, she held out her hand to receive her payment.

The man couldn’t help but grin at the confidence, and then gladly handed over the weapons, which he assumed were about to be put to good use. Of course, he wasn’t sure where or how, that had been vague given her muteness, but after the initial rudeness the warframe had proven to be rather honorable in her dealings, so he had no doubt she’d hold up her end of the bargain one way or the other.

”A pleasure" he said once everything was sorted out, before glancing over to see how things were coming along with the console.

“So…’skies’ and ‘tanks’ have one letter correct apiece, and ‘price’ has two.” Eve raised an eyebrow. “The only thing it has in common with another is the ‘i’ in ‘skies’. Oh…could it be ‘trick’? That has the ‘ri’ in price, the ‘i’ in ‘skies’, and the ‘t’ in ‘tanks’!” Spotting another word left her indecisive, though. “Hm, it could also be ‘thick’, I suppose. It has the ‘ic’ from price…” She glanced at Ramattra, wondering if he had a preference.

“Well, with ‘trick’ having 3 overlapping correct characters to our estimated word ‘price’, it only leaves third and thick left for our attempts. Should our deductions be correct, we could just as easily enter one, then the other, if we fail in theory.” Ramattra pointed out. He looked at his previous attempts, comparing his logic to the notes he had jotted down. “Hopefully you trust my reasoning, otherwise be ready to barter again…” His metallic digits entered another word into the dated green screen of the terminal - THIRD, each letter rung with a satisfying metallic clack. “So archaic…”

After realizing her oversight, Eve decided to lead the deductive reasoning to Ramattra. Either way, though, it seemed like the two had this in the bag, since enough attempts remained to cover all the plausible guesses. When Ramattra entered ‘third’, it came back with 3/5 correct, so at that point it was a simple matter to enter ‘thick’ and unlock the terminal. From there, all the omnic needed to do was press the button (and subsequent confirmation button) to remotely disable the hypertube lock. One down, two to go.

For a moment, Ramattra held his figurative breath as he entered the final attempt into the terminal. His logic had served him well so far, and for a moment before submitting his guess into the console, almost considered bartering for the Warframe to help them.

When the console accepted his entry, he released a relieved sigh, thankful that Eve and him were able to enter the machine. Ramattra clicked through a couple of unimportant clearance notes, inventory logs, and other information about the bay itself before selecting the (HYPERTUBE LOCK ACCESS) option, and disengaging the first lock.

The moment that the mechanism began to unlock and spool up the hypertube, though, klaxons sounded out to signal the operators to stand clear while the machines worked. This sudden commotion resounded in the massive, cylindrical chamber that was the maintenance sector, and though it shut off after only a few seconds, the damage was done. Enemies stirred in the wings as multiple squads of Naytiba drones began to emerge, eager to investigate the source of the noise.

In an instant Eve’s monomolecular saber was in her hand, ready for action. Protea seemed unbothered, though, as well as unsurprised. As she took stock of the incoming enemies, she gave the Seekers and their new ally a dismissive wave, indicating that they should scram and leave these dregs to her. Evidently the warframe planned to hold up her end of the bargain sooner rather than later.

The trio saw no issue with that interpretation of the deal, swiftly hustling back the way they’d come, trailing disposable minions in their wake. As they did, Protea deployed a hovering turret above her before leaping into the fray, hotswapping between weapons as she did. Flesh rotting particles burst, electrical beams sparked, plasma artillery bored, rockets blasted, and shrapnel grenades splintered.

Then, right as she looked to be out of ammo, and at risk of being overrun, she suddenly and rapidly began to move in reverse, her every action rewound, every weapon reloaded, every wound mended, till she was back where she’d started thanks to her Temporal Anchor. The consequences of her actions remind as they were however, namely a number of fading spirits littering the ground. Soon enough, far more would join them.

”I can only hope the others also found a way to talk the others like her down," Edward commented as they bid their hasty retreat.

The hasty Warframe’s special ability caught Ramattra’s immediate attention… Time manipulation. The Omnic was correct to assume that Protea was a being of her own, rather than any of their assumptions. The capabilities of her powers were beyond any magical or technological understanding that he had. Though, her ability to restore her state of time certainly reminded him of that time-manipulating Overwatch agent…

Not long after his conversation with Sandalphon ended, Zenkichi retired to his bed in Banishing Flats for a good night’s rest.

Which he did not get, awakening early in the morning to the sound of an explosion. He burst upright, already hearing a flurry of activity outside his room, and before he could even reach the door, it opened to reveal a menacing robot that immediately attacked. Zenkichi threw up a hasty block, knocked backwards a step by the blow. His mouth curling into a frown, he sighed. ”And before coffee, too…”

Ragnell appeared in a flash of light, the blade quickly giving Zenkichi the range advantage as he thrust it forward, forcing the Jack unit to block or be skewered. Stepping in with a second thrust, Zenkichi tried to push the attacking robot out of the bedroom, but it gave little ground before its programming demanded a change in tactics: it was blocking the door out, and thus its face split open and the five-second timer began. Zenkichi groaned, backing up against the wall and holding Ragnell before him to try and block some of the worst of the blast. He wouldn’t be fast enough to get past it and clear the blast zone, so he had to grin and bear it.

Once the ringing in his ears became manageable, Zenkichi pulled himself from the floor, putting his hand to his ear. ”Zenkichi here. Not in the best shape right now, but I’ll live. We should regroup in the lobby, try to keep the fight from spilling into the city.” The sounds of fighting and explosions were still filling the motel, so Zenkichi got moving. He barely made it into the hallway before seeing another Jack-5, and he rolled his eyes as he held Ragnell up. ”Alright, big guy, I’m onto your game now. Valjean. One-Shot Kill.” The Jack unit barely had time to respond before a colossal bullet crashed into it, critting it and knocking it flat on its ass. Zenkichi capitalized on the lucky shot, launching forward and planting Ragnell into the robot’s chest, before drawing one of the New Conglomerate handguns he’d got and firing a pair of rounds directly through the explosive robot’s skull before it could even activate its timer. Much better.

Making his way down to the lobby, Zenkichi was lucky to avoid another Jack unit, but to his horror, the lobby had already been nearly destroyed, and was instead a pile of rubble and fire. He caught sight of Harry and Kim nearby, and called out to the pair. ”Guys, we gotta go, now! This whole building’s gonna come down on us!” He was no structural engineer, but he didn’t have to be to tell that the continual explosions would knock the motel down soon enough.

Turning as he heard heavy thudding footsteps behind him, Zenkichi was a little too late to avoid being punched in the face and knocked back towards the flames. Stumbling to keep his balance, he turned back to his assailant and leapt forward, bringing Ragnell down in a vertical slash which the Jack-5 expertly avoided, grabbing Zenkichi and opening its face to take advantage of its target’s condition. The Phantom Thief tried to pry himself free, but as the numbers on the robot’s face ticked down, he instead closed his eyes and got ready to wake up somewhere far away. How ironic that he would pass before Sandalphon…

Instead, a barrier of energy surrounded him as the explosion went off, and Zenkichi remained thankfully intact, rather than a scattered pile of ash in the wind. Looking around for a moment, he spotted Yayama, who was less than unphased by the explosion.

”Oh, damn, are you alright?” The Lalafell warrior, thankfully, hadn’t been taken down by the blast, and Zenkichi gave a nod before looking around and touching his linkpearl. ”Zenkichi again. Lobby’s a bust, place is burning to the ground, let’s just get out of here.” he turned back to Harry and Kim, waving them out as he booked it for the door.

Sectonia wasn't a fan of most of the spirit drops obtained from the abominations they had fought. As such she didn't lay claim to any of them. Blazermate wasn't a fan of the biological tech either, as it didn't seem any of it helped her heal or buff anyone. With the Avenger though, she could possibly claim something from the armory later. Seeing as how Ganondorf was some organic creature now, perhaps he'd get some good use out of all of this. Regardless, as the the group entered what seemed like a massive complex and cleared it out, they came across a giant door with 3 locks they had to unlock. Sandalphon assigned roles, and sent the fliers, Mokou, Blazermate, and Sectonia, to the only spot the others couldn't reach easily, the Operations center.

Sandalphon did know how to split people up properly, Sectonia thought, as she would've suggested the same. Granted she would've preferred a melee combatant to go with them to take whatever disgusting attacks would be headed their way with all the biomass everywhere. And as the three fliers entered the Operations center, it was clearly infested by tons and tons of biomass with its own little guard. It was similar to the other things Sectonia thought, but it looked clearly stronger. Regardless, the three of them had to clear the area and figure out how to open said lock.

The guard itself wielding a spiked gun was at attention, but wasn’t attacking the newcomers right away as they were apparently not in the area it was guarding. However behind said guard was a lit up console that was perhaps the thing the group had to get to in order to accomplish their little task here. And it wouldn’t take much to get Sectonia up and ready to cleanse the biomass infested area. In fact the area was so full of biomass that if it wasn’t for the fact the three of them could fly there wouldn’t be an area free of it to stand on and it looked disgusting to touch.

Mokou herself simply flew along with Sectonia and Blazermate, her hands in her pockets as per usual and a frown on her face as she took in the infected area, “Quite the work this place is” she commented, taking a hand out to rub the back of her head before glancing over at the other two, “So, our goal is that panel the big guy is guarding, right? If that’s the case, I doubt he’s gonna let us float right in. So-” the hand that was rubbing her head was extended, a ball of fire quickly forming in her open palm, “I suggest a bit of cleansing. In agreement?”

”I’d call it more… purging. This area is disgusting and needs to go. So yes. ” Sectonia said, very on board with Mokou’s idea. Sectonia herself had some fire as well, but it wasn’t nearly at the level of mastery of Mokou. Regardless, Sectonia summoned her red antlers to begin the assault on the room, with Blazermate rolling her eyes and overhealing the two to start as the guard itself got into action as these newcomers opened fire.

Immediately this guard showed why he was stationed alone, as he was more agile than the things below. His gun was also a lot better, and had a much better fire rate launching piercing projectiles. He also threw a pustule that started to tick near the trio that had wiggling tentacles coming out of it ready to grab them.

Blazermate was a bit happy to see someone using a gun finally as she hid behind Sectonia’s bulk and used the healing she gave her to charge up her projectile shield. She’d save her other abilities in case they would be needed soon. Sectonia meanwhile hated having to be the center of attention with such a disgusting creature, but she sent in her Antlers while firing off flying swords from different angles at the Nidus.

As soon as the first bullets flew, Mokou was already moving, flaming feathers quickly forming in the air before firing down in a rain of fire. Mokou herself did not seem too phased by the piercing projectiles that flew towards her, her flying completely casual as she weaved through the gaps in the bullet’s paths. Even the pustule that was thrown at her failed to achieve anything of note, the tentacle just barely missing its mark before Mokou simply launches a stream of fire at the center, incinerating it in one go.

Once that was out of the way, Mokou raised her hand in the air, a red glow forming around her entire body as a massive number of feathers of different sizes formed in the air, taking a single moment to aim themselves before they launched forward, pelting the area below with a torrent of her own projectiles.

While Mokou and Blazermate were able to avoid the pustule grenade, both being either small or far enough away from it when it detonated, Sectonia due to her size and closeness was hit by it. It didn’t do much damage, but instead pulled her towards it as well as her Antlers whom were busy torching the ground of all of its biomass. With a group being pulled, they then conjured a bit of biomass and spread it around the ground, damaging and popping the Antlers who couldn’t fly, but not doing anything to Sectonia as she hovered above it even if pulled. Granted with Mokou also shooting fire in the area, this lead to a bit of friendly fire. At least Blazermate was keeping Sectonia healthy and she had no weakness against fire anymore.

This improved the guard’s gun though as it seemed the more hits they did with their abilities or normal shots, the better their main damage in the form of their spear rifle got. But thanks to all the constant damage Sectonia had been taking, Blazermate was able to use her projectile shield to block the next round of buffed projectiles headed towards the massive bee queen.

So instead of focusing on what was clearly a shielded easy to hit target, Nidus instead focused on Mokou, pointing at her and making some sort of parasitic link with her. While this did no damage initially, as Sectonia zapped Mokou from behind Blazermate’s shield with her dark lightning, a part of that damage was transferred to Mokou instead quickly burning through her overheal.

This made Blazermate swap targets, shielding Sectonia with her shield, but putting her beam on Mokou while firing a divine star at her to heal her with a bit of burst healing. She had a few ways of getting rid of this debuff, but she’d watch to see what Mokou did first.

“Oho, a lifelink huh?” Mokou grins at the link that Nidus placed upon her, wisps of embers forming around her in quick succession, “Alright then, let’s see how much life that can handle!”

With a furious boom, Mokou rockets forward, becoming a flaming comet as she practically slams into the area around Nidus, detonating in a massive burst of flame that sends the guard flying away. Ordinarily, this would have obliterated Mokou as well, but thanks to Blazermate’s shield, the phoenix actually managed to survive her own attack, rising to her feet in the midst of her fiery crater.

This gave Blazermate a bit of a heart attack, well, what the equivalent of one would be for a medabot with Mokou just seemingly going kamikaze and only surviving thanks to the overheal. While this also did a lot to the Nidus and the surrounding area, Nidus noticed that one of his opponents was low and decided to use what he had built up thanks to all the extra damage his lifelink caused to use his ultimate. With a raise of his hand, massive maggots came from the walls of biomass that hadn’t been incinerated and made their way towards the trio to devour them, or explode on them, it wasn’t clear with how they were charging and pulsing.

Blazermate saw this big attack coming and pulled Mokou to herself with Leap of Faith, getting next to Sectonia, and as the bee queen was throwing out rays of light to try to smite these giant maggots, Blazermate cast Holy Word:Salvation with the words ”We Stand together as one!” conjuring a holy dome around herself enveloping Sectonia and Mokou, healing them for 30% of their health and making them immune to damage for a few seconds as they stood in the dome. The maggots collided with them, dealing no damage and after a couple of bites, they exploded. This still did no damage, but knocked the three of them away from their position into different parts of the room.

As Nidus did no damage to any of them, he didn’t get the massive amount of healing he was expecting. To make things worse for him, Blazermate zoomed up behind him and as he trained his gun on her, she used Disruption to place him into a black void for a few seconds as the other two girls righted themselves and got ready to attack.

Truthfully, the phoenix had no reason to dodge the incoming attack. With how much damage she had sustained, a light breeze would’ve been enough to finish her first life off… And even if she was on her last legs, she wouldn’t fret about ‘dying’ properly in the first place. Yet she didn’t complain when Blazermate pulled her back and protected her with a dome of light. The end result, combined with Blazermate banishing Nidus for a few moments, caused the white haired girl to whistle in satisfaction, “Nice work” she called out to the medabot before snapping her fingers, a ring of feathers forming in a circle around the spot where Nidus had been sent to, aligning themselves to launch forth as soon as Nidus reappeared.

Sectonia followed suit after flipping in the air to right herself by conjuring a set of swords out of the ground the Nidus would appear in. And as he appeared, two illusions of him also appeared that attacked him alongside the feather nova and him appearing right into a field of sword spikes dealing a large amount of damage all at once to the already low health bio warrior. And when the inferno caused by Mokou disappeared, all that was left was a spirit for them to collect.

With the guard disposed of, the trio could finally examine the panel. Sectonia wasn’t really one for computers, but she had an idea of what to do. Blazermate, being a robot, would be assumed to be good at technology, but she was hesitant to touch the panel.

Mokou shakes her hand, a small bunch of embers flickering off of her as she walks over to the spirit, letting it rest in her hand as she placed the other into her pocket, “Well, looks like our job here is done. Figure someone might want this, so I’ll bring it back to the stagecoach, if you two want to handle the panel there” the phoenix states, gesturing her head towards the panel as she slowly floats into the air, prepared to make her leave as soon as their job was finished.

Sectonia likewise pushed Blazermate forward to mess with the panel. At first the medabot was a bit uneasy about touching the thing, but as she messed with it, she found it was just a game of pipe and was an easy video game to solve. And once she did, everyone heard the sound of a big lock shifting. Swiping up the fallen spirit, Blazermate happily gestured to the other two to go look at the door, happy she managed to hack something.

-----------------------------------------



Roland was back to his uneasy sleep, as without Grim to burn his nightmares, they came back. But tonight he'd have some reprieve from then, with a living one. While he slept and was in the middle of reliving a part of the Smoke War, an explosion happened. He thought at first it might be part of his dream, but then he felt the force of the explosion which jolted the fixer awake. "What in the..." Roland put on his mask and as he looked out of his room he saw a bulky robot running down the hallway. At first it wasn't really focused, but once it saw Roland, it decided to attack him. As Roland had kept his mask on all day, he doubted it was coming after him specifically but still, that meant that it was attacking people indiscriminately and his mask wouldn't stop the robot from targeting him if that was the case. And that was indeed the case as the robot came for him.

Engaging in a fight, Roland rolled the Keter floor as he intercepted the robot's shoulder charge with his own hammer attack. He managed to deflect some of the damage, but this thing still hit pretty hard. Not as had as a Rhino, but still pretty hard. With that, his emotion level increased to 1, and he gained Pulsation, the voice of a heartbeat saying "Overwhelming aspiration is what leads to wrongful frenzy.", with Roland going to strike the robot with his swords. The robot didn't have much of a complex moveset, as it tried to keep close to Roland to rush him down, Roland clashing and trying to counter the robot with his own style of melee combat using his maces and swords. He'd win some, tie some, counter some, and even lose some, but as he fought, he gained level 2 and 3 emotion levels, gaining Urging and Blood. The first having that same heartbeat voice say "Don’t you want to see the end of this thrill that’s about to burst?", while the other sounded like an ocean of blood saying "Come inside. Get into this dreadful pool of blood.".

Roland was getting the upper hand on the robot at this time, but as he was getting it, the face changed to show a countdown. Roland knew what this meant as assassin bots that blew up existed in his world as well. As such he made his way back into his room, and jumped out his window, the glass of the window clinking on the street as Roland leaped to the adjacent building and ran up the short wall to reach the neighboring rooftop before retreating further from the motel complex as it went up in flames.

"I hope the others didn't get hit by that." Roland said. He then noticed the helicopters flying away from the scene, using the explosion to propel themselves away at great speed. He caught their logo, G Corp upon them, but only saw it for a second. Was this the same G corp Roland knew, or a different one? He weighed in on that, and figured it was another one as his G corp would've just thrown a singularity bomb on the motel if they really wanted to cause damage. He had seen an Arbiter use one of those firsthand, getting hit by it himself and it wasn't pleasant.

“Hey, Terry…”

“Huh?”

Terry’s eyes went wide. He had no idea how he ended up finding himself in a spacious, enclosed void with barely any hints of lighting, whatsoever. The brawny blonde could feel his entire frame numbing, as though he’d been ambushed in his slumber. He gingerly rose up, desperate to push through the lingering pain. But then, there was this serene yet tormented voice speaking to him again—the melodious, ladylike sound he hadn’t heard in a long while. He lifted his gaze, trying to follow the comforting echo.

“L– Lily? Is that—?”

“Yes, it is me, love. Miss me?” the voice confirmed, its echo filling the void. “I know you’ve been thinking about me lately, but we don’t have much time. You love me, don’t you, Terry?”

Terry instantly nodded, his arm around his aching ribcage. “Yes! Yes, I do, Lily! With the bottom of my heart,” he told Lily, not a single hesitation present.

“Well, then, will you do me a favor, sweetheart?”

Unfortunately, before Terry could accept…

BAM!

…A harsh crimson cane knocked his temple, staggering him a couple of feet back. With his fighting stance partly assumed, he shook his head, attempting to shrug away the pain that the ambush had inflicted. The blur in his eyes gradually cleared, and upon glancing ahead, he found a familiar British man in a red-and-white striped bandana standing across from him with a taunting grin, his grip tightening around the lengthy cane’s flimsy figure.

“Promise me you will follow my voice, as I guide you out of the limbo,” Lily urged, her reverberating voice determined. “I want only and only the best for you, sweetheart, but you can’t rest just yet. You have to continue fighting.”

Simultaneously, the British bruiser swung his cane, aiming to inflict further harm upon the man he’d sworn to defeat on behalf of his employer. In just a split second, Terry parried the cane with his wrist, avoiding its sturdy surface from busting his cranium.

“You have to fight them.”

And another swing delivered, in which Terry successfully parried once more.

“Fight the wicked.”

A wheel of flame emerged, as Terry’s ambusher spun his cane in a desperate attempt to land an attack, its flimsy figure a blur of red. With the encouragement from his late lover, the three-time KOF champion wasted no time and rammed towards his opponent, his fiery fist striking forth.

“BURN KNUCK—”

FWOOSH!

Unfortunately, his fire-laced offense was backfired when his opponent released the flaming wheel mere seconds before the fist connected, squealing “HYAHH!!” at the top of his lungs. The vulnerable Terry was sent backwards, his back close to kissing the tiled, checkerboard-esque floor.

“Gwahh—!!”

“Fight despair.”

Fortunately, just moments before he managed a rough landing, a hand had caught him, preventing his back from colliding against the floor. Was it a rescue attempt? Was it Lily’s spiritual form extending her hand to aid him? If only it was…

The pitch-black hand tightened its grasp on Terry’s face, the pressure from the squeeze suffocating him. He could hear a loud, squeaking “GUILLOTINE!!!” echoed across the void, the sound too unhinged to come out of his past lover’s gentle voice. With a maniacal laugh leaving his mouth, his bearer dragged him across the floor, his dark boots scurrying forth. He hurled the former KOF champion’s battered frame up, though before the latter could see his face, the lunatic hitman had shoved him back with a devastating front kick, the sole of his shoe meeting his torso.

“Arghh—!!”

“Fight the darkness.”

As if Terry hadn’t had enough yet, a violet-haired emperor had lunged in his direction while he was still in mid-air, trapping him in a series of physical blows and a subsequent cyclone formed around his spinning form as he shouted: “GIGANTIC CYCLONE!!!” The strong gust of wind carried Terry farther to the back, finally allowing him to lay on his midriff, albeit harshly. His cap was blown out, landing in front of him.

CLAP!

CLAP!

“Is this the best you can do?” the unimpressed emperor questioned, gauntlet-clad hands clapped clean, crossing his sizable arms and shaking his head. “You cannot be the same man who bested me in the King of Fighters tournament. Such a disgrace!”

Perhaps, Terry was more concerned about the injuries he’d received rather than actually listening to his foe’s mockery. He gnashed his teeth, trying to stand out of his prone position, but every time he was close to standing, his weakened frame brought him back across the floor. A cacophony of noises surrounded him—those of insults and scoffing laughs. He wasn’t expecting the day when his sworn enemies collaborated to take him down in his second life. Billy, Yamazaki, and now Krauser were standing there, just watching him wither away after the suffering they’d caused upon him. But then, that same encouraging echo came to comfort him again.

“Don’t give up, my beloved. You’re almost there. I promise you that I’ll assist you in spirit, even until the end of time,” Lily vowed, a gentle wind caressing both sides of Terry’s face like a pair of cupping hands. “I believe in you. The people of South Town believe in you. You’re stronger than they think you are, do you not realize? You will make it out alive, darling, I promise.”

Terry didn’t say anything. However, he was listening. Teeth crackling, he gave Lily a weak nod before trying to stand back on his feet one last time, gloved hands on the floor propping his enormous weight. Just when he was close to assuming a kneeling position…

“Oh, no…”

The voice of his past lover alerted him, carrying a hint of fright.

“Oh my God… He’s here!” Lily echoed, referring to the incoming strides combing through Billy, Yamazaki, and Krauser. “You have to wake up, Terry! Save yourself and everyone else!”

As his strides halted, the man in white gi and broad crimson trousers seized and lifted Terry by the head, his fingers clawing through the bruiser’s golden strands. Terry flinched, held the malicious man by the wrist, and swung his legs weakly, trying to escape the firm grasp. He took a look past his bare shoulder and realized… The man who’d been holding him was Geese, the biggest hater of them all.

“Wakey, wakey, little mutt,” he scoffed, a snort spewed. “Have you softened up lately? I told you, you cannot outrun the circle of fate. Nothing will aid you in the dark times that approach.”

And before Terry could do anything, Geese had already hurled him skywards, sending him flying towards an opposite direction. Then, as his sworn nemesis descended, the infamous crime lord swung his arms to form a circle, blue trails of fire gathering around both clawing hands. Once Terry reached mid-air, Geese pulled his hands back, an energy orb forming between his palms as he released it, knocking his vulnerable nemesis through the other evil-doers and farther away from their proximity.

“RASHOUMON!!!” he exclaimed, rather satisfied.

“WAHHHH—!!!”

Terry could feel as if his soul was separated from his body when the charging palms connected with his torso. Almost, supposedly. He flew further and further away from his foes’ reach, slowly watching the void magically transforming into what seemed to be an abandoned facility. The rubbles and the broken machines made it unwelcoming at first glance, his vicinity screaming chaos and tension. Before he could stumble upon the other end of the facility, however…

SHINK!

SHINK!

SHINK!

“GENOCIDE CUTTER!!!”

Like a swinging sword, multiple crescent kicks sliced his back, their sharp, crimson outlines tearing down the sizable white star emblem by the back of his jacket. The final kick managed to bring Terry down across the floor, forcing him to kiss its metal surface.

“Urghh—!!”

He coughed and coughed, fresh crimson splashes making their ways out of his mouth. As he tried to rise out of his laying position, Terry took a look ahead of him, his widened eyes capturing a sea of motionless KOF participants sprawling along his blood-soaked path. It was horrifying. It was grotesque, reminiscent of the moments leading up to the start of his second life. Old and young, he knew all the faces all too well, yet his closest ones were nowhere to be seen despite the fact that they, too, were present. The brawny blonde then shifted his attention towards his left then right, finding the equally battered Kyo and Ryo laying unresponsively on their backs, their faces pointing at his kneeling form. They took him aback at first, despite his having experienced the moment in his first life.

THUMP…

THUMP…

When a cacophony of striding noises became closer from behind, Terry instinctively turned around, forcing himself to stand upright. He could feel his heart throbbing heavily, his face partly rearranged and every fiber of his muscles close to tearing apart. Across from him…




…a shadowy, red-eyed figure approached, exuding crimson aura around his towering figure. It didn’t take long until the shadows cast themselves away, revealing the man as none other than the past iteration of Rugal Bernstein, his hair and complexion as pale as a dead man. His presence elicited a frown and a flinch from Terry, his clenching hands trembling uncontrollably.

“You… You bastard…” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know you’ve been hiding them away from me. Where are they!?”

Rugal curled a faint smirk under his moustache, more unimpressed than he was amused. Instead of talking about Terry’s loved ones, he reiterated the same words that he told him moments before their world came to a halt.

“Heh. Such a naive individual. I was wrong about everything all these years. It appears you’ve proven yourself more troubling than I thought you were. You see, Terry, you’re the root of all the problems surrounding this place. Branches of realities were created, the cycle of violence and vengeance repeated, all because you sent a madman deep into the depths of hell. Perhaps, I’d been too fixated on the three ‘Sacred Treasures’ to realize that they weren’t even the main obstacles. I won’t repeat the same mistake.”

Terry gasped, finally realizing that he’d been trapped in the same moment where he—presumably—met his demise. Initially, Rugal spoke the first few sentences in his usual, sonorous voice until he reached the part where he blamed the former KOF champion for all the realities established after he defeated Geese in his debut. In that moment, his voice echoed with an ethereal quality, as if a fraction of Orochi’s spirit that’d been resting inside of him had taken full control over his body. He chose not to hesitate with Terry anymore. As the latter assumed his ready stance, the cartel leader prepared his ultimate blow, striking his hands out. The wind gathered around him, whiffling his long, platinum hair.

“C’mon, sucker, bring it! It’s all or nothin’!” Terry challenged, his eyes glowing gold, preparing himself to flail the ground.

The wind whirled and blew even wildly around Rugal, his gloved hands starting to gleam. “Rest well, little wolf! It starts with you, and it ends with you…” he reciprocated, then released the retracted energy in the form of an enormous violet projectile, palms propelling forth.

“KAISER WAVE!!!”

“POWER GEYSER!!!”



Everything went white by the time the volcanic torrent that Terry had triggered with his slamming knuckles collided with Rugal’s own energy attack. And then…




Terry opened his eyes wide, awakened, his parting mouth gasping for air. He darted his eyes left and right, finding that he’d toppled out of his bed awkwardly. His cheek rested atop the floor of his room, reddening and aching. It appeared that he’d fallen face first to the floor while still asleep. Carefully, he rose out of his laying position, gripping one of the ropes loosely guarding the mattress. He dropped himself on the floor in a sitting position, then controlled his breath, one hand running around his torso in relief.

“Whew… Thank God, that really freaked me out!”

Thankfully, it was all just a bad dream—or so it seemed? Contrary to what he wore in his dream, Terry sported a white tight-fitting t-shirt and navy blue sweatpants, his long hair unkempt and a pair of socks still worn over his feet. He still held the Neo Geo Pocket Color in another hand, the screen displaying the ‘Game Over’ screen of Metal Slug 2^nd Mission he still kept running even after losing the game in his sleep. The sight prompted him to pout, frowning hilariously.

“Aww, man… What a bummer! I was so close to beating Commander Kanan!” he grumbled, then turned off the handheld console, his puffing cheeks flushing comically. “Whatever! This game sucks bricks!”

Simultaneously, the exasperated Terry hurled his Neo Geo Pocket Color past the upper rope, its miniscule figure managing to land atop the mattress on its back. He crossed his arms together, still frowning and pouting as he checked the clock perching by the wall, realizing that it was barely morning. He hadn’t slept too well this entire night, after all, so he figured maybe it was time he headed back to his bed and forgot everything about the nightmare and the classic shooter game he just played beforehand.

Yawning, Terry stood out of his sitting position, grabbing the middle rope with both hands. “Yeah, right, screw you, Rugal! Screw you, Commander Kanan! Y’all better allow me to just go back to, uh… huh!?”

Suddenly, his wolf-like senses alarmed him, tingling by the back of his head. As he turned against his bed, Terry could feel something enormous was heading close to his room, about to bash the door open by force. He wished it was only a mere hunch, but…

BOOM!

…a blast erupted, sending the door’s metal panel out of its hinges. Terry, already in his fighting stance, easily launched the panel forth with a backspinning kick, avoiding direct contact with it. The panel flew back towards his ambusher, torn in half upon contact with the latter’s bionic shoulder, finally revealing himself as one of the latter Jacks invading the area.

Heavy strides drumming, the Jack unit continued to charge his shoulder forth, only stopping once Terry was near to deliver a swinging Double Axe with his folding hands. The ambush caught the brawny blonde off guard, and before he could properly parry, it’d sent him flying through the wall behind, penetrating one neighboring room to another until the courtyard was reached. Craters were formed around the walls he’d flown through along his path, awaking and alerting the guests resting within. There were also a few guests still sparring at the courtyard, equally alerted by the abrupt arrival of the mechanical shenanigans. Upon landing, Terry reeled on his back, then halted himself in a kneeling position, wild golden strands dangling over his forehead.

WHOOSH…

A sound of roaring jets was heard lingering above his head, and as Terry lifted his partially hindered gaze, the enormous machine descended with his arms striking out, aiming to drop a gigantic foot stomp onto his target. Thankfully, Terry had seen this coming beforehand, and so, he reeled to his side, letting the Jack unit’s metal boots collide with the ground beneath in a loud thump!

As swift as he could, Terry picked himself straight up, struggling to keep himself steady after the quake that the collision had transmitted. “Yo, what the clankin’ fuck, dude??” he protested, gradually raising his fists. “That’s sooo uncool! If you really wanna spar, just ask nicely like a normal person would, man… But I guess you shellheads dunno it any better, huh?”

At Terry’s quippy complaint, the Jack unit frowned, his engines rumbling furiously. He stamped one of his bionic boots forth, then hurled a hook flail, followed by another, in which the three-time KOF champion successfully tackled with his wrists. The moment the machine withdrew his fist, Terry didn’t wait further to deliver a Hammer Punch to the cheek, his knuckles bashing his opponent’s iron cranium harshly. Both the brawny man and machine began exchanging flails and kicks afterwards, occasionally connecting their hard-hitting blows with one another. The exchange lasted a bit longer than either combatant expected, concluding only after Terry crouched beneath his thrusting elbow to execute a flying, drilling, upside-down kick onto the Jack unit.

“RISING TACKLE!!”

He’d always made aware that—just like any of his Tekken fellows—the Jacks took a slightly grounded approach in combat, preferring physical blows over energy-based ones. With over-the-top techniques capable of closing the distance and defying gravity (in a cosmic sort of way), Terry was confident he had an advantage over his opponent to even the odds. While the drilling boot did connect, it didn’t, however, take long for the machine to recover from the ambush. Still in the air, he curled his enormous frame, reeled to the back briefly, then uncurled, activating the jets attached to his soles to keep himself floating. His landing was about as smooth as Terry was, the fire in his jets dimming once his boots touched the ground.

Now standing across from each other, both combatants assumed their respective stances again, their fists equally swinging close to their temples. Intending to close the distance, Terry lunged in Jack’s direction, retracting his charging shoulder forth. Loudly, he shouted his battle cry.

“POWER CHARGE!!”

However, for the Jack unit, all he needed to do was stand still, waiting until Terry’s charging form was mere inches away from his position. When he was eventually reached, the machine ambushed him with his very own shoulder charge, the collision erupting a spark of energy that slightly separated both combatants from one another. They both managed to maintain their upright stances, though before Terry could go ahead with a follow-up, the Jack unit had already bombarded him with a series of Cossack Kicks, his enormous arms crossing as he performed the dance-like assaults. The three-time KOF champion crouched in anticipation, utilizing both of his wrists to block the low kicks.

“Well, that’s a cute dance. Did comrade Zangief teach you that?” Terry quipped, close to snickering at the amusing technique.

The Jack unit, on the other hand, felt slightly insulted, mistaking the sarcastic compliment for his opponent scoffing the strength of his kicks. Opting for a different strategy, the machine swung his arms around alternately like a grinding windmill, a series of furious flails playing out. Thankfully for Terry, those attacks, too, had been anticipated. He instinctively stood out of his crouching position, leathery wrists still protecting his front, as he blocked each and every aggressive fist hurled upon him.

“Sorry, buddy, no offense, but about four or five of your kind know that exact move,” Terry quipped again, referring to the other, enormous Tekken contestants outside of the Jacks. “It’s nothing special, really. But hey, don’t give up! Maybe someday, you’ll be more than just an industry plant made by some cute lady!”

The Jack unit’s iron face remained ever-so-flat, though a slight hint of frown above his glowing eyes betrayed his expression. His Windmill Punches became even stiffer, creating sparks of energy each time they grazed against Terry’s calloused skin. Eventually, after moments of struggle, the machine managed to penetrate his opponent’s defense with a Megaton Strike, hurling a left fist and an explosive right. The latter flail, unfortunately, forced Terry to lower his pained wrists, close to cornering him to the other end of the courtyard. To further corner him, the Jack unit fired a blast out of his knuckles, a trail of smoke briefly forming around his iron fist.

“Gwahhh—!!!”

CLANK!

The blast sent Terry colliding with a nearby ringpost on his back, prompting him to bounce forth then lay face first atop the ground. Seeing the former KOF champion’s laying form, the Jack unit ceremoniously pounded his chest, believing that one target had been neutralized. Little did he know, one of the practicing guests had been standing right behind him amidst the chaos.

“Hey, clanka!” a younger blonde man with striking facepaints called, sporting a verdant overall and a crimson headband. He poked the Jack unit’s shoulder with his finger, eliciting the latter to give him a glance. “Catch!”

In one of his verdant gloved hands, the New York made wrestler gripped a steel chair, tossing the weapon towards the Russia made machine. Once the puzzled Jack unit caught the chair by its solid frames, the wrestler surprised him with a spinning back kick, his extending brown boot riding the chair further towards his opponent’s face. Both the shoving boot and the steely collision managed to push the Jack unit a couple of feet back, allowing Terry to ride his knee along his opponent’s solid front upon contact. He sent the gigantic machine back towards the towering yet shorter wrestler, watching as the latter bombarded the former with a series of backhand chops.

“FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!!”

With every chop, the Jack unit was pushed gradually to the back, the yellowish, energy outlines successfully slicing his metal torso. Miniscule electric sparks began to emerge, wires partly leaking by the slicing wounds. Like a volleyball, the Jack unit was smashed with the wrestler’s lunging elbow, launching back in the direction of the more seasoned bruiser who greeted him with a…

“ROUND WAVE!!

When his opponent reached mid-air, Terry flailed the ground, creating a bigger, wider shockwave to trap the machine and send him bouncing back towards the upstart wrestler for one final ass-whooping.

“You can’t escape!”

A crackling, purplish light briefly flickered around the wrestler’s upright form, as he spread his open hands forth and caught the machine’s hurling frame with both of his arms, executing his iconic super move. He began with a series of German Suplexes, then leaped highly to slam the Jack unit with a much exaggerated Power Bomb, the harsh impact sending his opponent bouncing and launching several feet back.

“HYPER… BOMB!!!”

As if the machine wasn’t damaged enough, Terry turned against his opponent to ready himself to execute the super move of his own, striking a similarly exaggerated pose with one hand raising overhead and the other clenching close to his hip. A light ignited
around his fist, his one and only gauge stock activated.

“Are you okay??”

The bruiser’s dashing form was a blur of white, yellow, and blue, as he halted the descending machine with a wild, energy-laced haymaker. The fist instantly connected, grazing against his torso. Although initially delayed, Terry managed to deliver a follow-up in the form of an energy explosion, his extending knuckles firing at the brutally damaged Jack unit.

“BUSTER WOLF!!!”

KA–POW!

BOOM!

Finally, the Jack unit was obliterated, his shattered pieces hurling and scattering wildly around the courtyard before he could even detonate himself. His decapitated head fell right between the tips of Terry’s and the other blonde’s feet, his eyes gleaming red for a split second before blacking out in peace. Sighing, the three-time KOF champion tightened a pair of imaginary biker gloves, then pointed a finger gun at the perching iron head below him, theatrically and ceremoniously. Simultaneously, the erstwhile World Warrior champion rolled his arm, then snatched his crimson headband by force, letting his wavy bangs dangle over his bare forehead.

“Stand up!”

“Weak…”

The simultaneous celebrations were amusing to look at amidst the chaos that unfolded. After taking down a Jack unit together, Terry offered the fellow blonde his knuckles, offering a celebratory fist bump. “Nice move, kid! That was unlike anything I’ve ever seen from a grappler before,” he complimented with a genuine smile. “You and I are gonna make for a great KOF team together. Well, that, if you consider joining us in the future, though.”

The wrestler snickered, flattered, his knuckles finally colliding with Terry’s. “Nah, man, that was nothing. I was just practicing a bit.”

“You sure? I mean, it’s anythin’ but ass, that’s for real,” Terry reassured, withdrawing his bare knuckles after they hit the wrestler’s gloved ones. “But anyway, I’ve heard a bit about you. You’re Alex, right? That rasslin’ champ from Manhattan?”

The wrestler nodded, confirming Terry’s guess. “Yeah, that’s me. And you hafta be that Terry Bogard fella, aren’t you? Everyone’s favorite Legendary Wolf from South Town?”

Grinning, Terry nodded, then shook his head lightly. “Nah, not really. Kinda,” he answered Alex’s latter question, partly downplaying what he was. “But yeah, you guessed it. I am that Terry Bogard dude. And sorry if I interrupted your lil’ sparring section a while back.”

“Nah, it’s cool. I don’t think anybody here is… interrupted?”

When Alex looked around him and beyond, he came to realize that he and Terry weren’t the only guests battling a Jack unit. Several of the practicing fighters at the courtyard had been occupied by the same battle-hardened machines. Most were fellow wrestlers, and Alex recognized each and everyone of them a bit too well. Inside a squared circle across from them was a tiger-themed luchador performing a double-team maneuver on a Gun Jack alongside a pink-clad luchadora, while outside of the ring, a blonde, handcuffed non-wrestler who seemed like he’d just broken out of prison. As for Alex’s sparring partner, a silver-haired angel, she smacked a Jack-8 with what seemed to be the most electrifying move in all of wrestling: The People’s Elbow Survivor’s Banquet!

“Jesus! Where did all these clankas come from??” Alex asked, his eyes widening at the chaotic sight.

“My guess?” Terry asked back, narrowing his eyes at each and every Jack unit combating the practicing wrestlers like it was a rumble match. “Sounds like some guy back at G-Corp is pissed off by one of us. Oh, wait!” And that reminded him of what Nadia had claimed to be doing back at the lobby, his face dropping in concern. Apparently, she did steal something from Kazuya, as much as she refused to admit.

“Well, that doesn’t sound so good. It’s that Mishima loozah all over again, ain’t it?” Alex guessed, frowning and hardening the hand that held the headband, already figuring out the possible culprit behind the riot. “I ain’t a Tekken guy, sure, but I never liked those satans. They did worse than Gill, and I despise ’em for that!”

“Gill? Well, that’s a whole other level of conspiracy, alright?” Terry chimed in. “But hey, I don’t think we should keep yappin’ at each other. We better—”

BZZ!

BZZ!

About time, his linkpearl rang, disrupting the conversation. Terry tapped its protruding surface, his finger finally getting used to how the golden earpiece functioned. Upon receiving the call, he was greeted by the voices of Pit and Zenkichi, reporting their situations. He figured he wanted to do the same after Pit asked his fellow Seekers about what they were up to.

“Hey, Pit! Hey, Zen! Hey, everyone! Yeah, it’s me, Terry. Can you guys hear me? Is everybody okay? Things have been messy out here at the courtyard, but ’least me and a fellow fighter got to tackle one of the Jacks invading this side of the Flats,” Terry reported, pointing a thumb at Alex as if his fellow Seekers could see him. The towering wrestler raised his brow, confused for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, totally! Zen’s right. We oughta evacuate everybody and get the hell outta here ASAP. Where you guys at again? The lobby? Bingo. I’ll see y’all there in a minute. But first—”



Terry jerked his shoulders, hands drawn over his face as he became too surprised to complete his words when a detonating noise reached out to his ear. Considering the Mecha-Zangief’s comical “Customer, look!” caution, he could tell that it was coming from the lobby far ahead of his current position. A massive quake was triggered, and the ground trembled, the sensation crawling across the partly destroyed building.

“Oh, no…”

When the impact reached the courtyard, both Terry and Alex struggled to keep their upright states steady, every scuffle surrounding them halting in unison. By the time the quake slowed down a little, both blondes exchanged glances, knowingly nodding at each other.

“Yeah, right…”

“Definitely…”

“Definitely? What do you mean ‘definitely’?? We gotta leave this place now!”

Reflexively, Terry darted his sky-blue eyes towards the other rowdy guests, shouting and trying as best as he could to alert them with a motioning hand.

“Everybody, quit fightin’ and run for your lives! The building’s crumbling!”

As expected, aside from Alex, only a few of them genuinely listened to Terry’s warning and followed him, considering their gleaming conditions. Abandoning the courtyard, the three-time KOF champion hurried towards the lobby, leading the erstwhile World Warrior champion and a group of wrestlers leaving with them. Their path wasn’t without hurdles, as they had to combat the latter wave of Jack units hampering them from going forward. His linkpearl was still activated, though, so he could continue talking with the other Seekers.

“Guys, it’s Terry again. I’m on my way. Just hang in there, alright? We’ll get outta the Flats alive. Seekers or no Seekers, nobody’s staying!” he informed the Seekers before musing: I told you guys.

FIN.

When he retired to his allocated room at Banishing Flats, Captain Falcon didn’t waste much time before he flopped into the bed, finally allowing himself to feel tired and exhausted after the sparring and working out he’d been doing that evening. Tomorrow was the start of the King Of Fighters, and the F-Zero pilot had to admit to himself that he really had no idea what he was getting himself into. He was no stranger to fighting tournaments, as past experiences with the other Smashers proved. But this was nothing like the often-times chaotic matches between himself and other Smashers before one of them eventually went on to challenge Master Hand. Instead, this tournament was much more rigidly structured with rules and regulations. And it revolved around bouts between 3-man teams, something else the Captain was not abundantly familiar with.

Still, as intimidating as the prospect of leading a tournament team was, Cap couldn’t let himself be scared off that easily. Tournaments like this were just another form of competition, something he himself had always excelled at. Between that and knowing that he had a former KOF champion on his team in Terry, the Captain finally let himself relax and eventually fell asleep.



A gigantic sphere of darkness hovered over a vast ocean like a void, as though the very space and matter that had once been there was erased and replaced with this sphere instead. And then, a structure protruded forth from it. Its main feature was a massive laser cannon that soon fired a shot that created another destruction sphere in the distance. Two vaguely familiar figures stood on a command deck, watching with grimaces on their faces as a vessel approached from the direction the cannon had just fired in.

The vaguely familiar airship flew full speed ahead, forced to take evasive action when it came under heavy fire from many turrets that spring to life around the massive cannon. It wasn’t evasive enough and the airship began to explode and fall. But from its ashes, a slew of vaguely familiar ships flew forth - including Captain Falcon’s own Falcon Flyer. Much more evasive than the big airship cruiser, they were much more effective at dodging enemy fire while a very small vessel piloted by a familiar pink blob managed to slice through the huge cannon and destroy it.

Afterward, the ships all flew into the void. Inside the void, there was a maze of various areas ripped from around the map. And at the center of it, Captain Falcon stood with a cast of familiar faces as a ethereal being descended toward them. Whatever he was, he looked humanoid save for the glowing blue skin and seemingly incorporeal and rainbow-colored butterfly wings he sported. He showed no visible response or emotion toward those who were challenging his invasion of their world. He kept his arms protectively around his torso, then gave his wings an ominous flap.

A pulse of white light rapidly expanded out from the being’s body that enveloped the whole space of the room in seconds. Every challenger present was struck down and reduced to a life-sized trophy of their image. Captain Falcon was struck too, unable to resist the attack as his body stiffened into his iconic pose and became trapped in trophy form.



Captain Falon awoke with a jolt in his bed. That was an intense dream… or memory, maybe. Sometimes it was difficult to keep all these things straight. More importantly his ears caught wind of ominous beeping that resulted in a muscular robot literally bursting through his door. And before the Captain had time to react, the Jack-5 had armlocked its target and slammed Falcon against the wall before flinging him into the opposite wall across the room. Then the robot lunged agan and fired off its patented Piston Gun at the still-winded bounty hunter.

Falcon was surprised and winded, to say the least. But much to the confusion of the Jack-5’s sensors, he was also completely unharmed. He was lucky to have his Mint Condition boon or those last few seconds would have been a lot more painful. Instead, Falcon grimaced as he managed to catch an incoming follow up punch from the robot and then pushed himself off the collapsed wall he’d been thrown into. ”Ryuugeki Ken!” He thrusted his palms forward and caught the Jack-5 with a point blank blast of fiery chi.

The Jack-5 slid back from the impact, but apart from some singes it still looked like it was raring to go. Fine by Cap, he cracked his knuckles and entered his stance, ”Show me your moves!” He taunted, initiating combat with the apparent robot enforcer.

The Jack-5 was strong as all get-out, as its earlier throws and Piston Gun attack clearly indicated. But Cap quickly realized that a lot of the robot’s raw power was at the cost of speed and agility. And this was something he easily took advantage of. The F-Zero pilot’s superior speed meant he could duck and weave around the heavy punches and haymakers that the Jack-5 tried to throw at him while striking back with quick lightning infused jabs wherever he could find the openings. But honestly, Captain Falcon couldn’t even tell how effective his strikes were. The Jack-5 was a mechanical robot, and could just keep fighting and fighting without worrying about things like stamina and fatigue. So that meant Cap probably wanted to avoid a drawn out fight if he could.

But that was when he heard Pit’s voice on the linkpearl. And all of a sudden, any notion the bounty hunter had of winning this fight conventionally went out the window. Instead he needed to get out of this building and do it ASAP. Of course, simply disengaging from the Jack-5 was easier said than done. So the fact that Falcon now had a ticking clock to race against only intensified the pressure of the moment. But luckily, Cap was exactly the sort of fighter who could thrive under pressure.

At the first opening he could, Cap grabbed a hold of the Jack-5 and put everything he had into hoisting the robot over his head and into the nearby window that led outside. And then, without any more time to think about what he was doing, Cap sprinted for the window himself and jumped. Both him and the Jack-5 plummeted to the ground below. But where Captain Falcon had jumped freely and was able to tumble safely to his feet, the Jack-5 slammed on the ground flat on its back. As it was slowly trying to get back on its feet, the bounty hunter turned and sprinted to put as much distance as he could between himself and the building.

BOOM!

It didn't take a genius to see that being assigned guard duty of the coach was due to... technical limitations to put it nicely, though Ace really didn't mind. He was a quick learner, but when it came down to it then leaving the higher tech stuff like navigating a computer program to others was the right call. So the hunter shot Sandalphon a reassuring grin, patting the hilt of his short sword which jutted out from where it was stored at his lower back.

"No complaints here," he told her.

While the Seekers headed for their separate terminals dispersed, the hunter watched the moving beads displayed on the archangel's holographic model curiously but otherwise gave her some space.

He still wasn't close enough to the front of the coach to stop the sudden attack that resulted in losing a few of the Reindrix, but as soon as he'd registered that an enemy had appeared, Ace bolted towards it. The blade of his Master Bang was let loose and swinging towards the crimson hybrid while it rounded on the rest of the Pals, biting into the side of one of its legs. As Sandalphon did her best to prevent the fleeing deer from careening over the platform's side, Belial turned one of its swords on Ace. It brought the weapon down in a mighty overhead swing, producing a harsh clang as it met the steel of the hunter's shield. He held it there, but when the great sword's twin swept in from the side he had to drop it and shift in order not to take what would surely have been a nasty wound.

Ace pushed his shield to one side, forcing the first of Belial's blades to scrape down the side of it and land heavily on the ground while the hunter twisted to meet the second with the now-free shield. It struck hard enough to shove Ace back a dozen or so feet, and as if it needed to be said he exclaimed, "it's strong!"

After stopping the runaway pals, Sandalphon rounded on Belial, and it didn’t take much to see the truth behind Ace’s words. Though she wasn’t the Naytiba’s primary target right now, she was still much too close to avoid its wrath if she provoked it. Her first instinct was to run away and put some distance between herself and that thing, but given the monstrosity’s partially mechanical nature, there was something she wanted to try first. From what she’d read of Markiona’s work, those ergo strings of hers could interface directly with sufficiently advanced machines and deliver electrical control signals directly to their actuators. With how much of an advantage that would grant her, she couldn’t leave that possibility on the table.

She reached out toward Belial with her left hand, and ethereal blue strings shot out of her fingertips. They strung out like fishing line until they reached the Naytiba’s more mechanical left side, at which point they wrapped around its limb like little snakes before diving into the tiny cracks, seams, and ports between the metal segments. When the threads made contact with Belial’s system, however, they recoiled as if in pain. With an odd, almost shrieking fizzle, the ergo strings were shredded, and with exclamation marks in her pupils Sandalphon grasped her left forearm as it spasmed from the bioelectric feedback. Any resistance, it seemed, would cause her infiltration to fail. Luckily, Belial didn’t seem to notice as it pulled away to run down Ace, so the archangel quickly turned to vault up to a nearby catwalk.

Tenna was incredibly disappointed when Sandalphon had told him that he would stay behind with the Stagecoach until the three dispersed groups had returned with their respective locks. Oh! The irony… The road to his fame now leads down a path of boredom. At the very least, there were faces present that the TV Host recognized nearby as he idly hummed and buzzed his theme song, waiting for anything exciting to happen.

It seemed his wishes were rapidly being met, as nearby, his friends had begun to clash with a large, tendril-ridden amalgamation of flesh and steel. It looked like a spooky monster right out of a sci-fi horror show! But! Tenna has faced more fearsome adversaries… That Susie was quite the intimidator…

As Sandaphlon’s attempt to navigate away from her counterattack came to an end, the CRT would snap his finger loudly, not only to hopefully draw the attention of Belial away from Ace, but also to summon two henchmen, one equipped with large balls of yarn that could tangle on contact, and one with a Tommy Gun for extra firepower! They both played a melodic chirp before going to work, hucking sticky balls of yarn and firing magic bullets at the behemoth.

If nothing else Ace was glad to make use of any distraction or opening afforded to him. He weathered a series of strikes from Belial, far swifter than the massive swords would have seemed to allow, with a combination of hasty dodge rolls and quick blocks. His shield was taking a beating, but there was no doubt it would hold. Ace was glad now that he'd just recently fought together with Tenna so he he knew what to expect (well, somewhat anyway), so when the attacks from the entertainer's henchman landed the hunter was quick to lash out with a cut across Belial's thin abdomen, then bring his shield up in a forceful Shoryugeki towards the spotlight that was its face.

Tenna’s momentary distraction allowed Ace to land a couple close-quarters hits against the Naytiba, but fighting this close to Belial -and especially its spotlight- came at the cost of being rendered practically blind by the searing white glare. The shield bash arched it backward, but it caught itself by pivoting its right sword arm behind it to prop itself up with. Then it transferred its rebounding momentum into a left overhead cleave to slam Ace back down to the ground, followed a second later by a heavier right slash once its right arm got back into gear. Already forced low due to the first sword's pass, the hunter essentially plastered himself to the ground to avoid the next swing. It barely passed over his head, taking a few strands of bright red hair with it.

By then the yarn from the shadowguy was beginning to wrap around its limbs, more or less doing what Sandalphon’s ergo strings had failed to. Belial turned its baleful gaze on Tenna and his mooks, the scorching light almost enough to wipe away the shadows by itself. Before it could close the distance, though, a magic ray blasted the spotlight. It flickered as Belial looked up to see Sandalphon perched on an overhead walkway, which momentarily rendered the sniper blind. Without a moment’s hesitation, the Naytiba lifted and then hurled its fleshy right-hand sword like a giant throwing axe. It crashed through Sandalphon’s catwalk, which promptly began to collapse. Unable to keep her footing on the bridge catwalk as it bent downward, especially in heels, the archangel began to slide and then tumble. Meanwhile, Belial simply regrew another visceral right-hand sword, its bloody blade serrated with bony spurs. With swordsmen on their way, Tenna and his shadowguys would have to wait.

Ganondorf, leaning against the stagecoach nearby, had remained aloof thus far. For a moment he’d been content to let the Cadet and Archangel deal with this Naytiba, his curiosity peaked when both Sandalphon and Tenna appeared to try and take possession of the hybrid droid. The warlord also possessed his own means of taking control, but it required the Naytiba to be killed first before he could try it. So he figured he may as well make that happen after Belial threw its own sword up at Sandalphon in the catwalks.The Gerudo pushed off of the stagecoach and finally deigned to spring into action.

Ganondorf used Bullet Jump to launch himself toward the catwalks to catch Sandalphon before she could actually fall. ”Intresting time to try experimenting.” He commented dryly, releasing his hold on her before calling the Acidic Crystal Spear to his hand and dropping down from the catwalk to plunge it into Belial from above. Whether his spear actually connected to the Naytiba or not, it caused an eruption of flames from beneath Belial’s feet to add to the power of the attack.

By that point Ace had gotten up and resumed his offense, though the creature did not stand idly by to take the punishment. With one weapon it could block Ace's own, the other free to swing at him. Even though the size of its great swords eclipsed both parts of the Master Bang, the Cadet's own strength allowed him to stand his ground even if neither he nor Belial were making much progress. Its harsh glare made it hard to keep an eye on his allies' movements though, meaning it was more ready than him for the other Seeker's counterattacks.

As Sandalphon floated down the rest of the way with Heavensent, she attempted to take aim once more. She saw Belial backstep away from Ganondorf’s plunge, seemingly showing some respect to the fighter almost as big as itself, only for the fiery plume to sear its organics. Between the Naytiba’s erratic movement and her allies in close proximity, it would be difficult to provide fire support, so the archangel prepared to change tactics.

At the same time Ace had burst out of the flames, blindsided but not too worse for wear thanks to his shield's fire resistant addition. He came to a stop a little ways from Belial and Ganondorf, a hard flick of his arms shedding the few lingering embers that clung to him. He was considering a change in approach as well, a little more hesitant now with all three of the others engaging.

He had a couple of things in mind to help deal with Belial, but whether they'd actually work or not was the question. For now while Ganondorf was taking the Naytiba's attention in close range with his blend of magic and melee, and Tenna and Sandalphon likely to continue their own magic-based attacks, Ace chose to back off and keep away from the impact of such maneuvers. If he needed to dive back into close quarters he would, but until then he put a little more distance between himself and Belial, declaring to his team, "I'll try and create an opening!"

A moment later and a great bow was in his hands, arrows coated with a paralytic substance nocked and fired at the crimson monstrosity.

With a whirl of its blades Belial scattered the flames around itself, then used the disorienting flourish to attack Ganondorf with two slashes from different angles. It sliced diagonally upward with the right, then down with the left, then turned the momentum from each slash to feed into a mirrored pair the next second–a combination that would be nigh-impossible to stop with a spear. When Ace yelled, however, it did not press its advantage, but turned its spotlight his way. He’d already taken aim, so the blinding brightness didn’t have much effect, but Belial raised its right-side greatsword to deflect and shatter the arrow with the base of the blade. It didn’t know that the arrows were paralytic, though, so since its right-hand sword happened to be organic, the fast-acting neurotoxin left that sword arm hanging limply.

However brief that exchange, it served to convince Sandalphon of something she suspected from the moment Belial launched its ambush. “It’s intelligent enough to understand us,” she informed the others through her sigil. She’d reached a spot at the edge of the hypertube platform that put her out of harm’s way, roughly opposite Ace. She had a shot from this angle right now, but that could change in a heartbeat as Ganondorf maneuvered around his foe in melee range. If she tried to freeze Belial with Frost Lock, the projectile’s lobbed arc and travel time could very well result in hitting Ganondorf instead, which would be disastrous. Tenna’s shadowguys were in a similar predicament when it came to fire support as well. Despite her usual composure, the archangel could feel her accelerated heartrate. This would have been intense even if she wasn’t unusually close.

”Hmph, good!” Ganondorf grunted in reply to Sandalphon. He let his spear clatter to the floor and reached to draw his own Greatswords - Litania and the Acidic Curved Greatsword and brandished them into his Gerudo sword-fighting stance while gritting his teeth through the pair of slices the Naytiba had managed to land against his left shoulder and the lower right side of his torso. ”Maybe it will provide me with a decent challenge, then!”

She summoned Hammering, her striker running forward to wallop Belial’s left leg with her massive sledge. The element of surprise and defense pierce allowed her to do appreciable damage, though the limb was far from crumpling. With a flick of her wrist she sent ergo strings whipping through the air, but not at the Naytiba. Instead they plugged into the back of Tenna’s television head. “I can move you if need be and repair you if you’re downed,” she informed him. Even if he wasn’t a frontline fighter, her strings would hopefully embolden him.

Tenna, while not a brawler, was certainly capable of making use of Sandaphlon’s buff. The explanation of her strings would reassure the CRT to not be afraid of the beast currently being fended off by Ganondorf and Ace. With a joyous salute, the TV Host would give the archangel a comedic salute- dressed with a serious expression. “SIR YES SIR.” But without an opening, and the light projected from Belial, he had no good openings. For now he stayed at a safe range, waiting for an opening to present itself.

The revelation that Belial wasn't a mindless blend of meat and machine and could change up its own strategy based not only on what the Seekers were doing but what they were saying came as sort of a surprise to Ace, and he clamped his mouth shut from any further call outs just then. If they couldn't coordinate verbally then they'd have to be extra careful - the hunter was glad he'd gotten out of friendly fire range already. His next arrow featured a rounded pouch-like head rather than a sharpened one, and he dropped to one knee and pulled the bowstring back hard before firing it up over the area instead of at the fight itself. At the apex of its arc the pouch burst open, letting the Haste Rain flow down over the Seekers, speeding up both their bodies and abilities.

Ever since switching to his greatswords, Ganondorf had been able to more easily block and parry incoming slashes from Belial’s blades. But the Gerudo was more than a mere swordsman. With a gesture he summoned Riptor to lunge at the Naytiba with her talons and fangs. If she could pay Belial back for his earlier slices, then all the better. But the main purpose was to give Ganondorf a chance to back off momentarily and hopefully give Sandalphon a clearer shot.

As she leaped forward Riptor’s toe claws sliced deep into the flesh of Belial’s leg on the side left momentarily undefended by the paralytic toxin, and the next moment her fanged maw clamped down on the same spot to worsen the wound. Orienting its spotlight downward, the Naytiba dealt Riptor’s back a grisly slash, which transferred to the striker’s master to a lesser extent thanks to his greater defense. Ganondorf had accomplished what he meant to, though, since standing still long enough to slash Riptor off meant that Sandalphon could lob a Frost Lock Belial’s way. It reacted in time to block with its left sword, but that did not mitigate the ice that froze over its left side. With its right arm only just now recovering, that gave the Seekers a chance to take full advantage and rack up damage for a killer Dissociation.

To further give Ganondorf and Ace a chance to retreat, Tenna would point to the sky to release a rain of laughing stars. The attack, while wild and sporadic in nature, was concentrated just tight enough to leave his allies with minimal dodging to its shaped attack. Belial however, became distracted with dodging the attack, giving Sandaphlon a moving target, but no allies in her way to freely fire.

“Now!” Sped up by Ace’s Haste Rain, Sandalphon led by example with a few well-placed shots into Belial’s left elbow joint, followed by whipping her puppet strings forward. That forced Tenna to fly forward like a cannonball and slam into Belial’s spotlight in a hefty headbutt, made all the more powerful by the CRT’s impressive weight. It also left him in melee range with a free chance to follow up.

The entertainer, now inches away from the mechanical infestation, would wave merrily at the creature. If its intelligence was as theorized, then it could understand this gesture before getting walloped in the head with a Snap-cut, his gloved hands smashing into its skull with cartoon-levels of strength. The beast was sure to have suffered some sort of major trauma to its head, leaving it disoriented. Electric sparks would fly from the attack as Tenna powered himself up. “Reel me back in chief!” He shouted, not anticipating the creature to allow him time to attack again. Maybe Sandaphlon could paddle ball Tenna back and forth for stun attacks!

The archangel obliged, yanking Tenna out of harm’s way.

Like the others, Ace seized the opportunity given to them, laying into the Naytiba with more than a few well placed arrows. He focused on its torso, targeting the glowy, pulsing tubes that wrapped around its back and arm. He wasn't a sniper (at the moment anyway) and they might be not any more important to Belial than its other parts, but even if Ace missed his mark he was still guaranteed to at least hit the hybrid while it was slowed like this. There was hardly a pause between each arrow he shot, even as he dared to get a little closer after Tenna's starfall ended to ensure his Triple Volleys struck close together, packing as much of a punch as possible.

Unfortunately for the Gerudo, Ganondorf found himself having to wait for his allies to finish attacking before he could do much. Unless, of course, he wanted to accidentally catch them with friendly fire from the wide-arcing swings of his greatswords. Personally, Ganondorf wouldn’t have cared either way. But he also didn’t want to have to deal with allies being taken out sooner either. But once Tenna had been yanked away and the Cadet’s shots were timely placed, Ganondorf lunged forward with a growl and roar.

He brought his greatswords in for deceptively fast slices, due in large part to the Haste Rain he had been gifted earlier by the Ace Cadet. This let him lay into the Naytiba, where the warlord deliberately aimed his Acidic sword against the fleshy bits, hoping to dish out some extra biting acid damage on top of everything else. ”Come on, then droid! Do your worst!” He barked in an open and deliberate challenge. It was less about intimidation and more about trying to keep Beliel focusing its attention on Ganondorf over the other Seekers present.

The ice on Belial’s more mechanical left shattered the next moment, the Dissociation payoff insubstantial thanks to Seekers’ tendency to target the more fleshy parts. Still, Belial had taken a lot of damage over just a few short moments. With a distorted snarl, the Naytiba whirled backward, readied its blades, then charged in a berserk fury. Its enormous blades carved through the air and anything in its path as it bulled around the platform, nigh unstoppable. Its savage rampage forced Sandalphon’s back against the railing, forcing her to make a split-second decision and Vault out over the open air, then slow her fall with Heavensent. Any hopes she had that her ice patch from before might make Belial slip were dashed when its wild stomps simply shattered the ice beneath its feet. Safe for now, but with no easy route to get back up from the first floor down below, Sandalphon considered her options. She knew she could warp to the Ace Cadet, but she also remembered that he requested her not to, so unless the situation got truly dire the archangel would have to take the long way around the access ramp the stagecoach used earlier.

Wait…

Remembering another technique used by Markiona in her battle, Sandalphon tightened her ergo strings, but not to pull Tenna to her. Instead she pulled herself toward Tenna, flying back into the fray from a high angle. Of course, that put her in harm’s way again, but she couldn’t afford to prioritize her safety–not when Belial’s assault risked slaughtering the remaining Reindrix and damaging the stagecoach irreparably.

As Belial continued speeding around the battlefield Ace attempted a few shots at it. It was incredibly quick and prone to suddenly changing direction, meaning the hunter missed more shots than he hit. In fact he struck with only one before the Naytiba turned on one of its heels, managed one more hit as it sped directly towards him, and then had to throw himself out of the way as one of its swords came down on the space he'd just occupied, its impact denting the floor. Ace backed away from it, bow still raised to fend it off, but it feinted towards him before dashing off towards another opponent for a surprise attack.

Even charging around like this they had to assume that Belial held onto its rational mind, so setting any traps were a no go. Waiting for it to tire was also too dangerous. But how could they coordinate something to stop it in its tracks without giving it a heads up? If he'd had his own great sword or a lance, or the lingering effects of the Haste Rain let Ganondorf keep up with it then maybe, but...

There were still a few things left in Ace's bag of tricks he could try, so for a few long seconds he kept a low profile. He was just as good as shirking an enemy's attention as he was grabbing it after all. While he moved quiet and slow he prepared a quartet of arrows and got into a likely position.

Tenna being used as the base of an archangel slingshot was not on his BINGO card for this journey, but seeing his ally return to the fray was greatly appreciated, especially since his skills relied more on creating chaos for the enemy. Without a safe ranged ability to attack the beast with, Tenna would sigh, looking for another way to create a distraction. “Looks like he’s ready for the headliner!”

Suddenly, he POOFED into 12 miniature Tennas, now running directly at the beast to deliver toon-force powered jabs into any exposed tendrils the tiny menaces could whack! With their small sizes as well, it was a lot easier to avoid getting hit by the massive blades, though he was willing to lose a couple clones of his likeness to keep the monstrosity busy.

The TV-host shouted back at the group in a squeaky voice amidst the attack dog-pile, “Don’t worry about hitting one of me! Just GOGOGO!”

As though taking his advice, Belial raised both of arms up and behind one shoulder, slotting the great swords together into one massive guillotine that it crouched and swung at the largest mass of mini-Tenna's in a wide arc. Any it struck were sure to disappear in that one mighty blow. With the dwindling nuisances at its feet and the other Seekers spread out around it, Belial could charge towards any target it pleased - and with Sandalphon now newly exposed without Tenna nearby, she could be deemed the easiest prey.

It lunged at her, shaking off what tiny TVs hadn't managed to cling to it. As soon as it did Ace moved too, rushing in and skidding to a halt a few feet in front of her with two arrows nocked and ready, the glint of metal wire not unlike Sandalphon's own between them, sans the glow. Were the angel's wires disconnected from Tenna now that he'd split his body up, ready for use elsewhere? The hunter hoped so. Even if one of their cables wasn't enough, together they might have a chance of bringing it down for a moment.

"Let's trip it up!" There hadn't been time to give Sandalphon a heads up beforehand, but she was smart - hopefully she would catch on quick. Ace fired the first Blade Wire, the arrows spread and the cutting cable between them aimed at Belial's legs. He didn't move from his spot before preparing the next set, as committed to the attack as Belial itself was.

While the others could probably afford to take a heavy slash, get healed, and keep going, Sandalphon could not. If she tried to set some sort of trap with Belial bearing down on her like a runaway train, that could very well be the end. Instead a pillar of blue light engulfed her just before the Naytiba’s vicious double slash cleaved through her. When its blades didn’t hit anything, Belial paused, but when the blue light faded Sandalphon was there, veiled in ephemeral cerulean. Belial concluded that she must have used an evasive ability and swung both blades back, even as Ace’s wire arrows sliced into its right leg, but once again its greatswords failed to connect. The Sandalphon before it was just a mirage, and the real one had warped to Ace.

“Forgive me,” she apologized, though in a way she was grateful; remembering the monster hunter’s misgivings meant that such a warp had been the first thing on her mind when she needed a quick escape. Now, she took aim with her rifle and shot her Cerulean Mirage, detonating it in a bright blue diamond-shaped blast that momentarily staggered Belial so that Ace could land his next shot. The second wire wrapped itself around Belial's limbs along with the first, finally putting a stop to its rampage as it crashed to the ground.

Thankfully Sandalphon's warp resulted in little more than tension and a chill, and he gave her a nod and a weak smile. He'd much rather suffer a little discomfort than lose an ally. "It wasn't thready for that, huh?"

Now that it was down, it would be up to Ganondorf to give Belial everything he had. And the Warlord had every intention of making the Naytiba suffer the consequences of ignoring his challenge earlier. He laid into Belial, slashing and slicing with his swords, always going out of his way to aim for the fleshy parts. But more than that, Ganondorf could feel the dark energy that had been bolstering in his blades while he was using them throughout this battle. It was a trick in his bag that he admittedly had not used in some time, but now was as good a time as any to remind the World of Light why he was not one to be trifled with.

Ganondorf stabbed both blades into the floor on either side of Belial, dark magic runes stretching along the floor around them as the Warlord began to rise a short distance into the air. His large hands were held aloft over his head, charging a crackling sphere of dark magic energy between them. ”DIE!” The Gerudo bellowed as he crashed back down onto the ground, slamming the crackling sphere into Belial and enveloping them both in his signature Dark Explosion.

Before the Gerudo had prompted the explosion, every last Tennaling would latch off of Belial in an evacuation attempt. He managed to escape with most of his miniatures intact, only losing about three or four to the mechanical nightmare. He was practically gnawing at his fingernails in anticipation, hoping the adversary wasn’t getting back up after this.

The shadowy eruption sent Belial flying, blasting it through the railing of the hypertube access platform. As a tremendous CLANG echoed through the cavernous facility, it plummeted down to the first floor where it lay with its limbs splayed, its swords fallen by its side. After a moment the baleful spotlight on its head went out.

Since he first set foot inside the Orca Space Complex, Heismay had been ill at ease. The sight of Spire 04 in all its technological glory had unnerved him since he first caught sight of it from the road to that snowy, green-roofed village, but actually being inside the belly of the beast was a whole nother story. The vast, open area inside this structure felt paradoxically crushing, as if the eugief were nothing more than an ant, powerless and minuscule. Certainly the Regalith Grand Cathedral, which stood three times as tall as the towering Grand Trad walls, had its fair share of massive interior spaces, but at least the materials and stylings of a Sanctist church were more or less familiar to him. He never practiced Euchronia’s faith himself, cleaving instead to the much more passive and subdued traditions of his tribe, but as a former Shadowguard dealing with the Sanctists had been inevitable. Even the interior of Louis Guiabern’s colossal gauntlet runner felt more comfortable, since it purposefully resembled a castle on the inside. This place, though, was completely alien to him in aesthetic and composition, its many metal grates, meshes, walls, and railings reminiscent of cages, while the yellow and black stripes were alarming. This would take some getting used to.

With his senses of space and direction confounded by the unfamiliar layout and acoustics of this place, Heismay relied on the others in order to quickly retrace his steps toward the team’s entry point, where the security office could be found. If it was on the second floor, that put it level with the locked-down hypertube entrance, albeit on the other side of the hangar. He kept his eyes out for Naytibas, especially wary now that elite units with reinforced armor and rocket launchers had made their presence known. Together he, Geralt, and Roxas could probably take on any that attacked them, but they agreed to keep a low profile for now, just as Adam suggested. There could be any number of reinforcements waiting in the wings, after all, and the sooner everyone got out of here the better. Heismay’s team wouldn’t be finishing in last place if he could help it.

The hermit also kept glancing at Adam’s drone, floating just out of arm’s reach from Geralt. It was hard not to see the thing as a miniature monster, of a kind with the amalgam Naytibas. Luckily Edward had already desensitized him to the idea of men puppeting metal husks from afar–somewhat. Plus, he would ostensibly be the trio’s ticket into the security office, though Heismay had no idea how that would work.

As the trip set off, Geralt took note of the drone hovering over his shoulder. It reminded him of the Abyssal fleet, but he shoved aside that discomfort. Knowing that it was controlled by somebody friendly to their aims was enough to manage. He kept to the idea of stealth, not wanting to delay the team's progress by being the last group to release their lock. To that end, he was currently in the Ardor Blossom Identity, his wings wrapped carefully around his body. The other Identities, as well as his natural one, carried too much heavy gear of one sort or another, risking detection.

Roxas was similarly put off by the environment of the Space Complex as Hesimay was. But for the Nobody, it wasn’t because this place was alien to him. It was because it reminded him of things in his past. If not for the sections painted yellow and black, the Complex’s architecture would be strikingly similar to certain sections of the Castle That Never Was. The main difference with the Castle in question was its brighter and more spartan decor. Roxas was… not a fan of having some of those past memories stirred up. But he grit his teeth and dealt with it.

With Adam’s drone to show them the fastest route, the three reached the security office quickly. One-way windows flanked the sturdy-looking alloy door on either side, its sophisticated key reader the only point of access. With his ears tucked into his parka’s hood Heismay was short enough to be able to walk in front of the windows without worry, but the others would need to get low, including the drone. “Alright, just a moment,” Adam murmured, his voice suppressed. His drone projected some sort of signal beam into the access box, and after only a couple seconds a click revealed that the electronic lock had disengaged. “We’re in.”



As it turned out, though, the Seekers hadn’t quite reached the office itself. Instead they’d reached a tall, rectangular room at least five stories in height, and in the middle sat the cube-shaped office itself with walls of bulletproof glass. Inside lay the desks, computers, and stacked monitors one might expect, manned by a bulky, high-tech overseer in silver, vermillion, and black. This office featured a single exit at the rear, locked from the inside, so to get the drop on Vauban the intruders would need to get to the very top of this chamber and descend through four stories of mobile laser grids, all without getting the warframe’s attention.

“...I’ll leave this one to you,” Adam muttered, his drone directed to stay out of sight by the front door.

Geralt looked over the security room with a flat look on his face, having returned to his natural Identity after Ardor Blossom's 30-second limit ran out along the way. What a nuisance that was, though he didn't often spend long transformed anyway. The server racks and various technological components around them were totally foreign to Geralt, even as used to being out of place as he'd become in the World of Light. Casting his gaze about the room, Geralt began slowly crossing to put a physical barrier between himself and Vauban. All it would take was the warframe turning around to ruin their element of surprise. He gestured for the others to do the same, then tried to get a feel for the room's architecture, and where they might be able to make some progress.

As he crept over, Heismay’s short stature gave him a good perspective for looking up through the vertical labyrinth of green lasers. Of course, he didn’t know what lasers were, but anything that glowed a bright green like that couldn’t be healthy. Still, there were some pretty sizable gaps in the grid, as far as a eugief was concerned. “Tricky,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “But doable, perhaps…”

He peered into the office. Having no experience with technology like this, he couldn’t make heads or tails of what Vauban was doing, but the warframe wasn’t actually monitoring security feeds. On the contrary, he was intensely focused on a screen full of graphs and numbers, surrounded by several tickers with inscrutable letter combinations and green or red percentages that constantly scrolled by in a never-ending financial parade. Vauban himself tapped away at a keyboard, quickly calculating, scheduling, and transacting, the hypertube control terminal nearby completely ignored.

Roxas crept forward behind Heismay, his attention kept primarily on the laser grid above them. He obviously didn’t say anything, not wanting to risk being heard. But he was clearly thinking about something. A while back, in Carnival Town, one of the mini games the Seekers played involved filming themselves getting scared by monsters in various locations. And he recalled a similar laser grid in the place his particular team had gone into. And Roxas also recalled that he was able to use his virtual cubes to reflect the lasers and alter the grid to provide a space to slip through. Now he wondered if the same trick would work here if he had to try it. The only thing giving him pause was that the Nobody didn’t know if these green lasers were tied to an alarm system. If they were, then his virtual cubes, even if they reflected them, could very well still set off the alarm bells.

Geralt began stalking the edges of the room to find a ladder or means of reaching the higher levels of the room, aside from jumping to the ledges he could see above them. Too much risk of making noise and getting them caught.

Unfortunately, there was no easy way up. The perimeter walls were by no means sheer, but someone of Geralt’s size and weight would have a hard time turning those little notches, openings, and ledges into handholds and footholds, much less do so without alerting the steely sentinel. Roxas could probably do it thanks to his flowmotion, though, and Heismay thought the ascent possible for him as well. His talons were perfect for latching onto the tiniest irregularities, and even if faced with sheer surfaces, he could always walljump between opposing ones. With more than one operative involved, though, the chance of success went down rather than up. He wasn’t sure which one of them would be better suited to this environment, though. “Only one of us should go,” he whispered, looking between the other two. “I am the smallest and lightest, but my lack of familiarity leaves me anxious.”

At that moment Adam’s drone discreetly peered into the room, trying to gauge their progress. Heismay noticed, but he thought nothing of it; in fact, it did not at all occur to him that the tiny, airborne drone might be better suited for the task than any Seeker.

”I can do it.” Roxas offered with a whisper and nod. It didn’t take him long to find an opening and sprang into making the climb. Well, for himself it was less climbing more like launching himself between various footholds. At one point he even ran up a sheer length of smooth wall in order to reach a foothold that further up to launch himself from. What Roxas didn’t notice was that Adam’s drone had been following him up, presumably to prevent him from being completely on his own up here.

Reaching the top wasn’t that hard for the Keyblade Wielder. Descending back down was the somewhat tricky part. Now Roxas had to watch the laser grids’ movements and aim his descent away from them. This was certainly doable with flowmotion, but not something he could just do on autopilot either. By now he also noticed that Adam’s drone was following him, and thus needed to make sure his route downward took this into account. Roxas paused when he made it to the floor directly above Vauban. He wasn’t exactly practiced at the whole concept of sneak attacks. For that, Heismay would have been the better candidate.

This all meant that Roxas had to be careful about what his opening attack needed to be. It had to be something quick to still catch the Warframe off guard, but also hard hitting enough to capitalize off of the element of surprise. He had one idea in mind and quietly let Shocker out of its Poke Ball, keeping the Rotom quiet by holding his finger to his lips. Roxas pointed down toward Vauban and gestured for Shocker to follow his lead. Then the Nobody dropped down.

The eye of Adam’s drone went wide. “Wait, what?”

”Confuse Ray!” Roxas sharply commanded mid-fall. Then he instantly became a streak of light that homed in on Vauban before unleashing his Cross Slash on the hopefully-confused Warframe.

Focused entirely on transacting the various prime parts in his inventory for precious platinum via the galactic trade terminal, Vauban was taken completely off guard when the Confuse Ray disoriented his neuroptics. Only able to process that he was under some kind of attack, he yanked the Ohma electric tonfas from his back as he whipped around, assuming a defensive stance. The Cross Slash connected with his block, but when Vauban went for a retaliatory strike, he missed the mark, overswung, and landed flat on his back on the floor.

He rose with an agile roll, however, and began to deploy orbs as fast as he could construct and throw them, trusting in his personal shield to keep him alive in the meantime. First he tossed out four Tesla Nervos, each a roller drone that would attach itself to the first viable target in order to inflict continuous electrocution. Then, out came the Tether Coil and Flechette Orb mines to bind and puncture, with an Overdriver to boost his own damage for good measure. In mere moments, the office was jam-packed with technology, alive with electricity and riddled with piercing flechettes.

Outside, Heismay did more than wince; he looked aghast. “Damn it all.” He assumed that Roxas would attempt to access the hypertube control terminal while the warframe was occupied, then escape with Vauban none the wiser. Instead he’d decided to bet everything on a quick takedown, but Roxas was no assassin. There was no point in stealth anymore, yet he couldn’t just throw himself into that blender. As alarms began to blare, he became his Assassin archetype and began to smash on the glass, hoping to give Roxas a means of egress.

Roxas, for his own part in this blunder, couldn’t do much on the outset. As soon as the weapons and tools came out in droves he had to think fast to recall Shocker back to its Poke Ball so the Rotom could avoid getting seriously hurt. But other than that it was a cavalcade of punctures and electric shocks that basically kept the Nobody pinned down in such tight quarters. But he did manage one thing. He managed to point his Keyblade toward the office door which resulted in a thin beam of line shooting from the tip and forcing the door to unlock and open, allowing entrance from the outside. And an egress for himself, assuming Roxas could stay in one piece long enough to use it.

Once the Warframe was alerted, Geralt sprung into action, having assumed that was the plan. He ran around to the entrance and burst in, sending Tirn and Monsoon out to take as much attention from Vauban as possible, the former with a Metal Sound and the latter with his sais. Geralt, meanwhile, had assumed the LCCB Assistant Manager Identity, and was firing pistol shots at the Tesla Nervos rolling around the room.

Of course, the moment the door opened, Geralt’s body would be riddled by electric shocks, wires, and flechettes, though not as much as Roxas. The two Nervos not attached to Roxas yet rolled toward him, and while he managed to shoot one, the apple-sized machines were small enough that the other managed to leap toward and latch onto his armor like a bur. Heismay, having given up on the highly durable glass, slid to a stop beside the door the next moment, more than a little overwhelmed by all the visual chaos.

With only fifteen seconds left on his mines and so much more energy he could spend, Vauban decided to go for the nuclear option. He deployed the projector for his ultimate, Bastille, which erected a cylindrical containment field that expanded to fully encircle the inner office. When it touched the Seekers, including Heismay, the energy mesh suspended them in the air and began to weaken their defense.

Vauban switched out his tonfas for his Ferrox speargun, but before he could take aim at the sitting ducks, the trade terminal behind him began to flash. The warframe spun around, panicked, to try and finish the transaction, only for the other party to decline it out of impatience. Immediately the terminal spat out five mismatched weapon parts, including a large gun barrel, two receivers, the upper half of a bow, and the hilt of a polearm, which all smacked Vauban and clattered to the floor in a disorganized racket.

“Oh, jeez,” Adam’s drone sighed. “Hold on, I’ll try and hack that matrix.” It descended into the room to try and remotely access the Bastille projector, but it would take a few seconds to breach the device’s defenses.

Getting caught up in what he could only guess was the Warframe’s strongest attack, Roxas was left with precious few options as he was held aloft in midair. ”H-Hurry, Adam!” Roxas stammered out through gritted teeth and the pain of the electrocution he’d been suffering so far. His initial instinct was to cast Curaga, but what good would that do? It wouldn’t stop future damage and only leave him helpless and without MP. And that was when he decided he had but one option left. And so, like Vauban before him, Roxas also decided to use his own nuclear option. But he had to wait and give Adam a chance to get the drone out of the way first.

But once it was? ”Grr, you can’t stop me!” Roxas shouted through pain-gritted teeth as he called upon his Limit Break, Magic Hour. Pillars of pure light struck all around him in the room. Even if Vauban was fast enough to dodge one or two of them, even he couldn’t keep up the dodge roll timing forever. ”Give me strength!” Roxas suddenly shouted, pouring even more of his light into the Limit Break, suddenly increasing the size and striking speed of the pillars of light he was calling down.

The beginning of Magic Hour caught Vauban right as he was trying to collect his prime parts. Its first pillar blasted the warframe off his feet and knocked him down. When more radiant columns sprang up and descended, quickly punching through his shield, he decided to get the heck out of dodge. As his shield failed and gave him a brief window of invincibility, Vauban launched himself out of the room and out of range, leaving the Limit Break, his prime parts, and his Bastille behind. Heismay winced, bracing himself for impact, but fortunately his position at the very edge of the containment field prevented friendly fire from Magic Hour. What it did do, though, was destroy the Tesla Nervos and scatter Vauban’s turret spheres, rendering them all but harmless until they broke down a few seconds later.

By then, Adam had finally worked his magic. “There!” He remotely triggered the Bastille’s secondary function, which he assumed must be deactivation. Instead, the Bastille projector collapsed into a vortex. While the three Seekers dropped out of the air, they would find themselves being pulled toward the singularity, along with the gadget wreckage, prime junk, and Adam’s drone. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” his garbled voice rang out from the drone as it gyrated in a cacophony of impacts.

Vauban, meanwhile, seemed immune to the pull. Now outside the room, he readied his Ferrox speargun aiming it at the Seekers like a wizard’s staff as they scrambled to escape the vortex’s pull. Heismay, holding onto the edge of the doorframe for dear life, was practically helpless. “What fresh hell is this!?” he yelled.

Geralt, having been through a gauntlet of dazes and hits, only barely managed to get Tirn back in his Poke ball before the vortex formed, and he was forced to grab onto the other edge of the doorframe, opposite Heismay. His superior strength, however, allowed him to free one hand and throw a grapeshot bomb at Vauban to try and force the Warframe to abandon its attack.

Such was Geralt’s strength that he managed to overcome the vortex’s pull and send his grapeshot bomb hurtling forward. Through the chaos, it appeared on Vauban’s hub as a flashing red mark, and the warframe braced himself for impact. Even as it flew, though, the bomb lost momentum, until it came to a split-second stop just inches from its target and began to fly backward. Vauban raised his Ferrox to take aim, only for the bomb to then go off, still close enough to blast the warframe against the wall behind him. He slumped into a sitting position, his chassis riddled with grapeshot, and at the same time the vortex imploded. Both parties hit the floor at the same time, their situation equalized.

Heismay, being the least injured, regained his feet in an instant. “At last!” He leaped forward, his longsaber raised overhead. “Take this!” CLANG! His blade met the shaft of the Ferrox, brought up at the last second to block. With a snort, Heismay leaped backward. In midair he changed form, becoming his Assassin archetype. “I have my methods!” As he couched his blade, Vauban used even more of his limited energy to produce four Tesla Nervos, but the brief extra moment that took gave Heismay enough time. “Come, shadow!” He unleashed his Dark Sword, and for the first time since joining the Seekers it actually inflicted Forget. The inactive Nervos fell from Vauban’s hand as he stared, momentarily oblivious.

Roxas, overall, was much less fortunate than his allies. He’d already taken a great deal of punishment from the Tesla Nervos since the initial outset. And now, even though he was finally relieved of the constant electrocution, the Nobody had been thoroughly winded. Both by the vortex implosion and by the use of his Limit Break. And because of his use of said Limit Break, Roxas was without MP to cast a healing spell as well. And unfortunately, he wasn’t thinking straight enough to remember that he was carrying a handful of Mana Potions that could restore his MP to him. Instead, the Keyblade Wielder struggled to get off the floor, groaning from the severe electric damage and struggling to get his breath back.

Geralt took advantage of Heismay's initiative to down a dose of Swallow, giving him a large immediate boost to his health, as well as his natural regeneration. Once his potion bottle was capped, he took another moment to cast First Aid on Roxas, before finally entering the fray again. This time, he was wielding Tartaglia's hydro twinblade, and as Vauban recovered from the daze of forgetfulness, he would find a spearlike polearm coming directly for his head.

The warframe recovered just in time to duck to the side, turning a potentially lethal stab into a grazing blow that left a cleft in one side of his helmet. He launched himself away in a roll, transitioned into a slide, and launched himself across the room with a bullet jump. Back in his normal form, Heismay gave chase. “You’ll not get away!” After standing Vauban briefly held a hand to his headwound, then extended his speargun with the other. The weapon charged up for three quarters of a second, then unleashed a bright blue beam. Heismay swerved in time to throw off Vauban’s aim and avoid the beam, which exploded against the far wall not too far away from Geralt. By then the eugief was too close to keep shooting, so Vauban instead lifted and threw his Ferrox like a javelin. It sailed over Heismay’s head and stuck to the ground behind him, where it began to emit a strong magnetic field.

For the second time, Heismay felt himself being pulled backward, thanks mostly to his red metal greaves. It wasn’t as strong as the vortex had been, but it stalled him long enough for Vauban to pull out his Ohma tonfas, energize them, and step forward to press the attack. Barely able to keep his footing and hold his longsaber steady, Heismay tried to mitigate the storm of electric blows.

Geralt, unfortunately, was far too laden with metal to do anything but fight the magnetic pull of the Ferrox, though he did use that time to summon the Judicator, the massive monstrosity providing a sightline blocker against Vauban, and it began launching spectral flames at the Warframe to try and distract it.

Having recovered by a good bit thanks to Geralt’s First Aid spell, Roxas was back on his feet again. He wasn’t at a hundred percent, but at least he wasn’t in critical condition anymore. When he saw the Ferrox get thrown, Roxas braced himself for what he assumed might be more incoming electrocution only to be caught by magnetism instead. But he found he had an easier time fighting against the magnetic pull than some of his allies since his only real metallic equipment were his gauntlets. Well, those and his Keyblades which he simply dispelled to keep them from pulling him toward the magnetic center. But then, out of nowhere, Roxas simply vanished into thin air.

The next moment, the Nobody had reappeared directly behind Vauban, tagging him with a slice of his ignited StepSword energy blade. He’d used its properties to teleport directly to the Warframe so that he wouldn’t have to physically fight against the magnetic pull. And now that he was here, Roxas clinged to Vaubaun’s form to try and keep from being pulled away. He also summoned Poltergeist to use The Sun Is Not Nice to render Roxas invisible under Stealth in addition to a slew of other stat buffs including Taunt, Defense Up, and Healing Up.

Just a few seconds after Roxas grabbed onto Vauban and made him stumble, all the harder to remove thanks to the various buffs, the magnetic field from the speargun subsided. Heismay, having been fighting against it with all his strength, immediately hurtled toward his target. “Ha-AH!” In a stellar feat of lightning-fast swordsmanship, the eugief knocked aside one tonfa, then the other, creating just enough of an opening to land a flying dropkick. Vauban stumbled backward, much too top-heavy thanks to the extra burden, and fell over backward with Roxas pinned beneath his heavy chassis.

Geralt was next to arrive, stooping down and grabbing Vauban. He pulled the Warframe off of Roxas before plunging the Molar Boatworks Fixer’s harpoon directly into his helmet, though without the explosive burst of a fully-charged strike, it was unable to shatter the mask. Instead, Geralt followed it up with a harpoon-tipped punch to the gut and a stomp to the inside of Vauban’s knee. He spun around the Warframe as it fell, the pneumatic weapon attached to his arm charging, and finally unleashed the charged blast into the enemy’s spine.

Though somehow the warframe held on after the vicious thrust to the helmet, Vauban couldn’t withstand the pile bunker’s brutal backstab. His chassis went limp as it crumpled to the ground, as crooked and lifeless as a puppet with its strings cut. Though he winced at the savage blow, Heismay watched with bated breath, not daring to speak in case the Seekers’ opponent had any more nasty surprises up his sleeve. After a few tense moments, though, the gadgeteer’s body finally began to dissolve, signalling the end of the brief but furious fight. Heismay let out a long sigh of relief, wiping his brow. Even if he came out of the encounter less worse for wear than the others, Vauban had been a dangerous foe. If any of the four of them hadn’t been here, the warframe’s crowd control might’ve been enough to end the rest of them then and there. “Tis finished,” he said. “Let us hope it was one of a kind.”

He looked over as Adam’s drone flew over, rather beaten up thanks to Vauban’s Bastille but still functional for now. “Oh, you guys took it down? Knew you could do it.” The drone did a celebratory spin in the air. “I took the liberty of accessing the hypertube terminal as well. Had to solve a little puzzle, nothing serious. Lockdown should be lifted now.”

With that out of the way, the only matter left before the Seekers returned to the stagecoach was Vauban’s stuff. Apparently the warframe had been looting the place, since he had not just weapons, but a surprising amount of credits and resources on him, in addition to the random gun parts. As he sifted through the half-dissolved husk for the spirit, Heismay found something else, a palm-sized cylindrical device about one inch thick. “Hm? What’s this?”

The drone’s optics locked onto it and identified it in seconds. “Oh…that’s a Legacy. A communication device left behind by an Airborne Squad member, like Eve.” Adam oriented the drone toward Heismay. “Wanna see what’s on it?”

A little fiddling activated the device, which projected a holograph of a black-haired woman in a futuristic nanosuit.

“Day 8 after the 2nd dive, 3rd record. Legacy account Raven. Remaining survivors: Ripley and Aniss. Aniss is in a bad condition. Death is very likely at this rate. We discovered a laboratory 4.47 kilometers from the drop-off point. It seems to be a facility that studied Naytibas, but it’s hard to obtain accurate information due to severe contamination. However, I discovered an astonishing fact while searching through the data. Before the war we call the Final War, there was another war. It was a war fought between humanity, and the androids humanity had themselves created, the so-called Andro-Eidos. Humans lost the war…against their own creations. The few humans who did survive hid in underground facilities, but the hunt was far from over. However, an unexpected turned the tide of the war. With mankind on the verge of extinction, Naytibas, powerful creatures of an unknown origin, appeared out of nowhere. The war with the Naytibas brought about the destruction of the androids. And so, during this time mankind was able to make its escape to the colony. From now on I plan to investigate the origin of the Naytibas. Hopefully, at the origin point, I may find the Alpha Naytiba. To anyone who may be watching, may Mother Sphere’s blessings be with you.”

Heismay blinked as the hologram faded away. “I…hmm.” After a moment he looked at the others and shrugged. “If it’s some form of record from a world before Galeem, I doubt it’s much use to us.”

“Hmm…” Adam’s drone stared for a moment. “You’re probably right.”

Geralt began collecting some of the larger items that Vauban had on him, though he spared a few moments to think on the sad fate of the humans from the world that Adam and Eve seemed to be from. “So, they created mechanical servants which tried to destroy them? Sounds like they should’ve taken a lesson from Tora’s book.” The innocent Nopon was perverted, sure, but he hadn’t a mean bone in his body. If those humans were any like the ones from his own world…he supposed it was only a matter of time before he found a world where humans were the ones hunted for what they were. “So, who thinks they want that Spirit? I was considering it, though adding more to my arsenal might just be diluting it too heavily.”

Narrowing his eyes, Heismay scratched his chin with his talons. “Hmm. The anatomical consequences of humanoid fusion make me leery…but perhaps I could make use of its skills, especially if we’ve more tech-heavy areas ahead.” Too small to use the Ferrox or Ohma, he laid claim to Vauban’s spirit, then carefully pressed it against his head in a spray of prismatic light against the cool grays and blues of the security office.



Once everyone collected their spoils, they quickly retraced their steps, hastened onward by the sounds of intense combat from the direction of the stagecoach.

Her ears rang. Her head swam. Despite the comfortable numbness steadily built up by years of near-constant muscle stretching, bloodletting, scar opening, and other such reckless misuses of her supernatural physiology, every inch of her body was alight with pain. When that robot detonated, it didn’t just erupt into flames; its metallic body also turned it into a giant fragmentation grenade. For a time, it was a mercy that she couldn’t open her eyes to see the state she was in. She could only bear the pain as her scorched parts instinctively sought one another, slowly pulling themselves together as the Life Gem knit new flesh to patch her body up, piece by piece. Things slowly shifted around to where they should be, and foreign objects were expelled. All the while, she was only dimly aware of her upper half dragging itself away through the rubble with one arm. More explosions went off in the background that sounded more distant than they were, and foul, acrid smells filled her nose.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Nadia tentatively opened her eyes and found that she’d somehow made it into the park behind the motel. She lay at the foot of a tree, partially hidden by a verdant bush, and her parts lay scattered around her upper half. Gingerly she reattached them, mindful of the half-healed wounds that still covered her form. One of her ears was bent and hurt when she tried to straighten it. Where was her left arm? She couldn’t see it or feel it anywhere. The fingers of her left hand wouldn’t respond when she tried to flex them. Groaning, Nadia looked herself over. Miraculously her clothes had survived the blast, but that was little comfort. Her stylish outfit was ruined beyond repair, and it would probably take a trip back to Gerudo town and Yuria’s mystical tailor shop to get a new set. Of course, that was the least of her concerns right now. Where was her linkpearl…?

Desperate for relief, she pulled the Ripened Heart from its pouch and pressed it to her chest to speed up her recovery as she raised her head to take in the awful scene before her. In the aftermath of the Jack-5s’ assault, Banishing Flats was a blasted, burning ruin. That grotesque, desecrated parody of its former glory, painted in ash, was deeply hideous to her. Were those ashes mere soot from the burning building, or from the bodies of innocents killed in the attack? How many belonged to her fellow Seekers?

Her heart, calmed by the dulling pain, began to race again as ice-cold horror clawed her brain stem. In the heat of the moment Nadia hadn’t recognized those robots, but now she remembered why they looked so familiar. She’d seen several out in front of that G-Corp skyscraper, standing guard. And she’d stolen from their master, Kazuya Mishima. The main Terry called a devil. She’d already realized that this must be his doing, his revenge for her theft. Which meant…that this was all her fault.

A shaky laugh rattled its way out of her chest. She staggered upright, using the tree trunk behind her for support. Gritting her teeth, she clamped her palm to her eye socket, then shook her head. “No…no…” Surely the others survived the attack as well. They weren’t the caliber of heroes who could be killed in a cheap surprise attack like this…right? But even if they survived, it was still her fault for putting them in jeopardy. The blood of everyone else in Banishing Flats -that Mecha Zangief at a minimum- was on her hands. Guilt rose in her throat like bile, thick and heavy. She wanted to totter back toward the motel to see if the others were okay, and help however she could, but shame held her captive. Wracked by sudden coughing, she turned, head bowed, and ran away.

Her heart pumped in her chest, its rhythm accelerated by the iron grip of terror that squeezed it like a stress ball. Her breaths were sharp, serrated even, leaving her throat raw and ragged as they tore from her lungs. Her body ached from burns, bruises, and slash wounds, the Life Gem running low on juice. Her sore feet pounded the asphalt pavement and concrete sidewalks as she darted and dodged through Esaka. Nadia didn’t know where she was going. Only that she needed to get away. As she went, though, she became more and more convinced that someone was pursuing her. After sprinting down a brightly lit street, her panicked adrenaline flagging, she stumbled against a chain link fence. When she looked over her shoulder, her nervous gaze landed on the giant fang-toothed mascot of Shark Wars, then turned toward the burly, shadowy figure silhouetted by the glare of the CesariO ad above it. “Just…” Nadia gasped, forcing out each word like a hairball. “Just leave me alone!”

“Whoa, whoa, easy! It’s me!” As the figure advanced, Nadia saw that it wasn’t a Jack-5 at all, but a familiar burly, hairy guy in a wolf pelt, hastily thrown on over a white tank top and flannel pajama pants. It was Beowulf, the good-natured wrestler she met at the NMO dojo that morning alongside Annie, Filia, and Robo-Fortune. For a washed-up has-been pushing forty, he was certainly a sight for sore eyes. “I heard a commotion,” he explained, carefully approaching with his hands held out for placation. “When I went to see what happened, I thought I saw you runnin’ away. And here you are!” His smile faded as his brows scrunched together. “What happened? You look awful!”

Nadia couldn’t help but laugh as the last bit of fight drained from her. She slumped toward him, and luckily he managed to catch her before she fell. “Beowulf…” she coughed. “I screwed up…”

“Easy, easy. It’s okay. Uh…where’s your arm?” He awkwardly patted her on the shoulder, then took a deep breath and scooped her up into his arms. “N-nevermind. Let’s get you to the dojo, it’s just down the road. Annie’ll know what to do.”

---

Five hours later, Nadia’s crusty eyes slowly opened as she awoke on the couch in the apartment owned by Annie. The celebrated Girl of the Stars lived simply, frugally, and joylessly, as it turned out. It lacked decor and luxury, without the faintest hint of its sole tenant’s storied film career. Annie’s apartment could just as easily have belonged to a divorced accountant in her fifties. Her couch had been comfortable enough though, and Nadia couldn’t thank Annie enough for letting her stay here (or for giving her a spare white t-shirt and gray sweatpants to wear, even if they were too small), but she’d slept terribly, kept on edge by the possibility of another attack and the guilt that needled her heart. Her eyes darted between the door and the windows, every moment spent dreading the arrival of more Jack-5’s.

According to the clock on the wall, it was now nearly seven AM. Only two hours until the tournament started, she remembered, although now competing in an event like that sounded like hell. For the most part, her wounds had healed, although the depletion of the Life Heart’s power left her a lot more scarred than usual. Those burns in particular were stubborn; it would probably be days before her skin recovered completely. Her left arm was still missing, and while she could feel it again, the catgirl had no idea where it was. Part of her needed to know that the other Seekers were okay, but how could Nadia show her face around them again? How could they ever forgive her? Better that she lost her linkpearl, and better yet the Seekers think she died in that explosion, claimed by karmic justice.

“Ohh…when am I gonna learn my lesson…?” With a long, low groan, Nadia sat up on the couch. She tried to rub her eyes, got confused when it only worked on one side, and then remembered that her left arm was gone. “I’ve got nothing ‘left’,” she muttered, laughing weakly. “But now…guess I’ll be…all right! Heeheehee…”

Standing in the doorway in mint-green PJs, Annie pursed her lips, her brow over her remaining eye furrowed in concern. “You-”

“Ack!” Nadia jumped up out of the couch in fright, her tail scared stiff.

“...You probably ought to see a doctor,” Annie finished before walking across the apartment living room toward the kitchen.

The feral held her head in her hand. “I’m okay, seriously. Come back from worse than this be-fur.”

“Uh huh.” Annie opened a cupboard to retrieve two bowls, spoons, and a box of Throw Loops cereal, which she proceeded to pour. She slid the bowl across the counter toward Nadia as the catgirl got up. “Here. Gonna need all the strength you’ve got for Mortal Kombat today. ‘Specially if you only have one arm.” She gave her guest the side-eye, unsurprised, as she groaned again. “Unless you’re gonna throw in the towel. Honestly, nobody could blame you.”

Nadia sifted through the cereal in her bowl with her spoon, squeezing her eyes shut. After a moment, she made her choice. “Nah. Even if I’m off the team, I still got a job to do. Maybe…if I win Mortal Kombat for ‘em, the others might let me back.”

“It’d probably help,” Annie told her with a shrug.

Her nonchalance prompted a chuckle from Nadia. :”Wow, so motivational. Aren’t you, like, the coach or something?”

“No? I just know better than everyone else,” Annie gave her a wry smile. “I know that sounds…egotistical, but c’mon. You’ve met Beowulf.”

Nadia nodded solemnly. “Classic himbo.”

“Robo-fortune is…yeah.” Annie grimaced. “And Filia, she’s sweet, bless her heart, but I swear. That parasite on her head must be sucking out her brain juice or something…”

At that, the feral could only giggle helplessly. “If you’re tryin’ to make me feel better, I guess it’s workin’.”

Annie did not crack a smile. “Do I look like I’m kidding around? Whatever, good for you. Hurry and eat up. Got to go find yourself a new outfit. I’m not having you get fatalitied in my favorite sweats.”

“Okay, okay.” Nadia sighed and put a spoonful of Throw Loops in her mouth. Last night had been awful, and maybe broken some things beyond repair, but Nadia Fortune was never somebody to roll over and die. No choice but to play the hand she was dealt, and make better choices next time.

If nothing else, she still had a lot of money!

---

Elsewhere in Esaka, other Seekers were gathering themselves. Compared to Ms Fortune, Yayama, Harry, and many of the others, Big band hadn’t suffered as rude an awakening the night before. While the Jack-5s came out in force, there hadn’t been nearly enough to assign one to every tenanted room in Banishing Flats, since that would have been overkill even if the organizers of the raid cared to find out that figure. As such, Band had been stirred awake not by a sudden break-in, but by the sounds of bangs, crashes, and yells around him. Having slept within the confines of the elaborate iron lung that constituted his body as always, the detective was ready for action at a moment’s notice–all he needed to do was put on his hat and barge out the door.

Of course, by then the hallways had plenty of people in them, mostly unfamiliar motel customers headed for the nearest exit. Since they were all fighters in their own right, the Seekers clashing with Jack-5s throughout the premises would soon find their numbers bolstered by reinforcements. Angry at being woken up, many of the Banishing Flats’ resident grapplers lent their strength to the motel’s defense. With the destruction already perpetrated by the rampaging robots, all bets were off. Unwary Jack units would be subjected to powerbombs, DDTs, chokeslams, bulldogs, and fireman’s carries, the grapplers giving as good as they got.

For his part, Band tried to convince folks to evacuate instead. As fellow Seekers communicated over the team linkpearls, he headed for the nearest fire exit and stood guard there, beckoning others his way by playing his bagpipes. Only once did step forward to confront a Jack-5 to give others a chance to slip out through the door, using the armor given by his bagpipes to weather a blow before he pummeled the thing to pieces with Super Sonic Jazz. He couldn’t shake the feeling, though, that there must be more to this raid than met the eye, and it wasn’t long before his intuition proved to be correct.

Once the first bomb went off in the lobby, the lodgers became less eager to fight and more eager to flee. Band joined the hurried exodus as one explosion rocked Banishing flats after another. Bit by bit his fellow Seekers escaped the pandemonium as well, their heroic efforts gradually rendered more risk than reward as guests escaped and the building burned, increasingly unstable. In the wake of the disaster they grouped up across the street, crowding with bystanders to the sidelines as the fire department rolled in.Before long, every Seeker who’d elected to stay in Banishing Flats was accounted for.

Everyone except Ms Fortune. And as the Seekers scattered to find somewhere else to sleep, and night slowly turned to morning, they found neither hide nor hair of the resident catgirl.

While Band lacked the knowledge provided by Yoshimitsu that connected the Jacks to Kazuya, he could think of one good reason why a third party with ample military resources might decide to raid Banishing Flats that night, and the cat burglar in particular. Had Kazuya’s henchmen successfully eliminated their target? Or had Ms Fortune scarpered, leaving her comrades to their deaths? Band relished neither possibility. A good detective, never ruled out other possibilities, though. If Esaka really did house the Forbidden Kingdom’s guardian, Moebius had a vested interest in the place, and could very well have eyes and ears anywhere, not to mention resources to spare when it came to trying to exterminate their foes. The person or people responsible for tipping the Seekers’ enemies off could have been anyone that any of them interacted with throughout the day, from Investigator Azuma to Madam Bo to Xilgrev. In enemy territory, anything was possible.

Band spent the night down in Low Tier, hiding out in the basement of the defunct dojo he claimed that morning, Metal Revolution. His giant brass body needed no special accommodations, after all, even if the dusty cellar was dark and uncomfortable. Once the day dawned, the detective marched up the stairs and into the morning light to greet the new day. It wouldn’t be long now until the new tournament circuit began. Today and tomorrow would be dedicated to pools, with the last rounds of qualifiers fought on Saturday and the prestigious Top 8 matches held on Sunday. Most Seekers probably wouldn’t fight more than a couple matches each day, but since two losses were all it would take to be eliminated, they’d need to make every last bout count. As such, they’d need to reconvene for a hearty breakfast, not to mention discuss the events of last night.

“Mornin’, y’all,” Band said into his linkpearl. The others might not be early risers like him, but nobody could afford to oversleep today. “What d’y’all say we meet back up for breakfast? I reckon we could all use some friendly faces today.” It went without saying that since Pao Pao was at the very edge of the Low Tier, it would probably be safer than up where the powers that be were concentrated. Then again, it might be safest just to not meet up at all, but if the enemy made the team too cautious to work together, they might just as well have already won. Provided that Captain Pit agreed, any Seekers inclined to meet could determine somewhere to eat.

Though never a careless man, Big Band was extra careful today. In addition to being in a new and unfamiliar city, the heroes had now survived an attempt on their lives, and potentially had targets on their backs. He moved along at a leisurely place, checking every corner and alley. Twenty minutes later, Big Band arrived at the agreed-upon destination: a Low Tier cafe called Quick Rise. Though somewhat small, old-fashioned, and dingy, it seemed to be a local favorite judging by the number of dedicated regulars, and it offered tasty baked goods along with its coffee. The detective parked himself at the biggest table with a big mug of black brew and waited to see who’d show up.

Despite the early hour, the cafe was already buzzing with anticipation for today's tournament. From what Band overheard, the brackets would apparently be revealed at 8 o’clock, one hour before the grand opening of the tournaments. All Four Kings would be present for a televised announcement, and then pools would begin. Though Band had never personally looked forward to the competition, it was hard to remain unaffected by the general excitement.



When Belial hit the first floor, the slam resounded through the facility’s main area, amplified by all the broad, hard surfaces. When the echo died down a moment later, the silence was equally deafening. Sandalphon, the Ace Cadet, Tenna, and Ganondorf all raced to the edge of the hypertube access platform and looked down over the railing, weapons in hand in case the huge, sword-wielding Naytiba wasn’t done yet. As intense as the Seekers’ fight with it had been, it hadn’t lasted very long, and though the others all bore fresh wounds, Sandalphon got the sneaking suspicion that this victory had been too easy. And yet, when they peered down, they found Belial’s body bloody, sparking, and still.

A heavy, mechanical clanking and clatter rang out from behind them. Sandalphon turned to see that one of the hypertube’s three clamps was in the process of unlocking itself, no doubt the work of one of the away teams. In fact, it was the second one to be remotely deactivated, since at some point during the fight the one at the very top had been opened too; she and her comrades had simply been too occupied by the rampaging monster to notice. Fortunately, they’d succeeded in their endeavor to protect the stagecoach and three remaining Reindrix, though whether or not three would be enough to carry them onward was a different story. Unfortunately, Sandalphon felt very confident in her estimation that they could not, especially with an odd number leading to an uneven distribution.

Just then, she spotted movement from the direction of the contaminated Operations Center up at the facility’s highest level. Sectonia, Mokou, and Blazermate were on their way back, none the worse for wear. Based on the timing, they’d been the first to accomplish their assigned task. At a glance she couldn’t tell if Edward or Geralt’s team was the odd one out, but she couldn’t imagine it’d take long for the final lock to open either way. If Sectonia’s trio made such quick work of her own task, maybe those ultra-dense signals were nothing to worry about after all. Then again, it was always hard to gauge enemy toughness with Blazermate around, since she tended to patch them up quickly afterward.

Thinking about that reminded Sandalphon of her own duty. Of the stagecoach defenders, she was the only one essentially unscathed in the wake of Belial’s outrage. She summoned her gunstaff, raised it up, and released a pulse of holy water to heal her comrades up with Angelic Wings. “There, that should do.” Only then, beset by one distraction after another, did it occur to Sandalphon to check Belial’s body again. Surely disintegration has set in by now. When she leaned over the railing to look, however, she found no trace of the Naytiba beyond its spattered blood and the dents on the floor. “I see,” she stated, deadpan. “I’m afraid we haven’t seen the last of that thing.” This was no mere hypothesis, either. Thanks to Galeem’s influence, Belial couldn’t just retreat. It would be back to finish what it started, sooner or later. Armed with a predator’s cunning, it would launch an even deadlier ambush next time–of that, Sandalphon was sure.

Just before Geralt, Heismay, Roxas and Adam’s drone arrived a minute later, the third and final lock began to disengage. Once that massive clamp released its hold, the complicated radial hypertube doors slid open, all eight slices neatly receding into the tube housing. Air began to flow into the tube in great volumes, and light strips came on along the walls of the perfectly rounded tube, including boost pads represented by strips of four bright pink arrows apiece. Edward, Ramattra, and Even showed up afterward, having had the most ground to cover and the hardest puzzle to deal with, at which point Sandalphon succinctly brought them up to speed.

“We were attacked by an unknown Naytiba wielding dual greatswords,” she explained, pulling up her mental image of Belial on a screen for the others to see. “It possessed great power, speed, intelligence, and durability. We were not able to confirm the kill.” She nodded at the stagecoach, her expression grave. “As you can see, it succeeded in killing several Reindrix in an attempt to slow us down.” She then looked at Edward specifically. “I recommend returning the survivors to their Pal Spheres and replacing them with a team of fused creatures once we exit the hypertube. They should be easier to control and less of a liability, since they won’t be gleaming. The design I leave up to you, we should have sufficient DNA samples by now.”

With everyone caught up and the way open, the Seekers just needed to push the stagecoach into the hypertube, then enter it themselves. Sandalphon joined Adam inside the coach, while Heismay clung to the exterior, not wanting to be sucked away by the air currents just yet. Nearby, the ratshaker rat was already hollering, and its cage rattled as it blew in the wind.

The noise was such that Adam needed to raise his drone’s volume for everyone to hear it clearly. “The hypertube walls are generating a low-yield magnetic cushion,” he informed the team. “Like a bullet train. Metallic objects should be able to ride smoothly across it.” His drone turned toward Eve as she stepped toward the entrance. “Eve, want to show them how it’s done?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” she replied cheerfully. Reaching up to her ponytail, she removed her hairpin and transformed it into her monomolecular saber. After she dropped it at the edge and stepped on, a little push-off was all it took to go zooming off into the hypertube, riding her sword like a surfboard.

“See you on the other side!” Adam’s drone sped after her.

Heismay couldn’t help but laugh to himself. “And here I thought Will was the only one crazy enough to ride upon an enchanted blade,” he said with a shake of his head. “Nevertheless, I shall attempt flying, instead. These currents should be more than enough to glide upon.”

A moment later, the stagecoach reached the hypertube. Its metal wheels magnetized to the floor, and the whole thing shot forward as if fired from a canyon. With Edward only barely able to steer it, the coach rode up and down the walls as it rolled along; if he really wanted, he could almost certainly pull a loop-de-loop around the tube’s interior. Before he could get creative, Heismay spread his wings and took to the air, held aloft by the wind tunnel’s currents. His tired old heart raced with exhilaration as he zipped along, unable to suppress his giddiness. “Waaaaaaaaahahahahahaha!”

Before the Seekers could get too comfortable, though, the hypertube ride got a bit more interesting. Here and there lay bits of wreckage from the last shipments through the tube before it was deemed unsafe and sealed off for renovation, including a number of storage containers, pallets, and transport skiffs, all of which would be very injurious if slammed into at high speed. There were also a number of Skulling minor Naytibas skulking about for machines and bodies to infest, only too happy to grab hold of and latch onto intruders as they whooshed by. Worse still were the tickers, which could damage even the stagecoach with their self-destructive explosions, and the extremely durable Cymul drones attempting to combat them. Though durable enough to withstand Naytibas as they sliced them apart with their spinning cutters, the Cymuls were extremely hazardous to both riders and fliers alike, not least because their reflective coating could return projectiles to sender. If they meant to reach the Space Logistics Complex, everyone would need quick reflexes and to stay on their toes.

Yayama's ears rang in the aftermath of the blast. Had it not been for the Echo, she might not have understood Zenkichi's question. "I'll live," she replied, despite the line of blood running from her hairline to down past her jaw. Her eyepatch had been cut loose by shrapnel, hanging awkwardly off the same side of her head. Zenkichi had the dubious privilege of being the first one in Esaka to see the lalafell's sickly-looking right eye, which looked more like it belonged on a corpse than a living, breathing person. "I'll do one last pass through here for survivors, then make my own way to safety. You'll hear if anything else happens," she said, gesturing toward the linkpearl currently nestled in her ear.

Yayama gathered energy in her hand, then released a pair of Vercures, patching the worst of her injuries up before she headed back into the husk of Banishing Flats. Her armor had taken the brunt of the damage, but she was definitely going to feel the rest of this in the morning. 'Course this happens the night before the tournament, she thought. The residents are probably going to guess this was sabotage, and not an assassination attempt. It could have been either, but she had the sinking feeling of the latter. People getting hurt because of her never sat well with her, especially those who hadn't already committed to the possibility of losing their lives for the cause.

Her blade was sheathed after a few moments; it seemed the bulk of the automata were gone at this point, whether by self-destruction or the efforts of the Seekers. This freed up her hands for the unhappy task ahead of her. She sifted through the wreckage, using her strength to heft fallen timbers to check for wayward patrons. It seemed most of them had fled, but not all. Some of those Yayama found she was able to Raise, patching the worst of their injuries and letting them leave to find a proper healer under their own power, but some were beyond help. Those, she pulled one by one out of the ash-sodden ruins, laying each down with a small prayer so that their loved ones could find some closure, such that existed in a hellscape like this. There's no point to this, you know. None of them are real.

Ignoring the words in the back of her mind, she continued her task along with what few people joined her until each and every patron and employee had been accounted for in one way or another. Being on scene did mean she had the opportunity to report several of the Seekers as missing when the authorities arrived, a small deceit that would hopefully buy some time before the next disaster struck. We ought to punish who's responsible. They deserve to be broken. That thought, she did not argue with, merely assuring herself that all would come in due time.

The sun had begun to peek over the horizon by the time she finally escaped the pull of what remained of the Flats. "Guess I don't get any sleep tonight, either." She dragged herself in the general direction of the Low Tier, only for a vaguely familiar voice to ring in her ear. No rest for the wicked. "Be there in fifteen. I'm still in the Mid Tier." Yayama clapped both (gauntleted) hands to her cheeks, let them drop, then shook her head as if this would physically throw free the exhaustion clinging to her. Fortunately this isn't the first time I've had a sleepless night during which there was an attempt on my life.

When she arrived at the coffeeshop, Yayama was wearing some semblance of the cheery mood that surrounded them. It was easy for her to keep her spirits up when she could quite literally borrow the emotions of the crowd around her, and she needed the mental energy if nothing else. The lalafell shouldered her way through the crowd, mostly because she didn't feel like shouting up at every inhumanly-tall customer to let her past while she came up to their waists at best. On parting the last few feet to Band, she gave him a wave. "Hey there, big guy. Yayama, if you didn't catch it earlier." She clambered up onto the seat opposite the other Seeker, then looked a bit miffed on the swift realization that the seating had not been made with her kind in mind. Some additional clambering left her standing on her chair, leaned forward against the edge of the table. "I don't think we've actually properly been introduced. I was a bit distracted earlier."