[center][abbr=Therion][img]https://i.imgur.com/af5E4Ko.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=BC8DBF][sub][i]Wednesday Night[/i][/sub]
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Mid-Tier, the Forbidden Kingdom[/color][/center]
By the time that Banishing Flats was reduced to blazing rubble, most of the Seekers were accounted for. Some had escaped and waited outside for their companions, watching the flames as firefighters in blue jumpsuits with red and white jackets over them arrived at the scene. Others had dove back into the wreckage, or never left in the first place, eager to help whoever and however they could. Either way the majority of them were clustered around the remains of the motel, which left Therion -technically present but separated- in the unique position to spot something very unusual: the shape of a man on a rooftop overlooking the blaze, speaking into an ear piece not unlike how the Seekers used their linkpearls. 

The figure left after a few moments, headed in the opposite direction that the flying machines branded with 'G' were. That Therion found even more suspicious than the fact that the man was there at all. With his feline eyes helping his night vision, the thief could tell that the guy was observing and reporting on what was going on, but if he was just meant to confirm a successful attack to his employers wouldn't he have headed back to the same headquarters? So in this case was there some other party at play here - Moebius, or something else entirely?

Therion intended to find out. He was used to living while looking over his shoulder, but that didn't mean he liked doing it. And if safety in numbers was no longer enough of a deterrent, he at least wanted to know who he should be watching out for. With a quiet mention of his choice to investigate to the others over the pearl, Therion slipped away from his position on his own adjacent roof and started after the mystery player. 

It wasn't easy, because this guy was fast. He made maneuvering over the buildings of the Mid-Tier without drawing the attention of those below awoken by the explosions seem like child's play, his familiarity with the city giving him an easy advantage over Therion. The thief's own speed and subtlety was something he prided himself on, but chasing his quarry without being noticed himself was proving to be a challenge. The mix of purples and blacks he was dressed in thankfully blended wonderfully into Esaka's pre-dawn shadows, and he had clamped down on the small bit of chain link that dangled from the manacle locked around his wrist to ensure that he made hardly a sound as he moved. 

Pursuer and pursued were two flashes of darkness above the streets as they got farther from the scene of destruction, dancing shades with a distance between them that never closed. Therion didn't want to catch the man after all, he wanted to see where he was going, who he was with. But as quick and quiet as Therion was, he was a thief - not an assassin, and definitely not a spy.

His target's direction had been changing while being tailed, enough to notice but not question... at first. Then the man disappeared behind the spire of a pagoda and did not reappear. Immediately Therion's hackles were raised, and he dropped down into the space between two sloping rooftops. [i]Damn! I've been had. He knew![/i]

Therion didn't stop moving, sprinting down the narrow alley as soon as he landed. His ears stood tall on his head as he listened for any encroaching danger, but it was only the subtle chime of the Chill Out Badge he'd smelted that alerted him to a surprise attack. 

The thief slid to a sudden stop and jerked himself to one side as Raven appeared from the shadows in front of him. The man's blade narrowly missed Therion's neck as he hit the wall to his right, and he lashed out with his own dagger swiftly torn free from his belt. The knives met each other with a brief spark of metal on metal, but neither wielder pressed the attack. They separated, facing each other down in the middle of the alley. It was still mostly night at that time, creating the illusion that behind each of them was nothing but darkness. Therion's single visible eye flickered over Raven, noting everything about the man that he could. His haircut, facial scar, and the tattoos on his arms all stood out, but besides that he was dressed like any other resident. Even behind the shades he could see the man's own gaze linger on his cat ears as he got a similar once over. 

[color=BC8DBF]"So?"[/color] he said. [color=BC8DBF]"What wannabe world order are you with?"[/color]

Raven wasn't easily baited, but he did reply. "You don't need to know yet."

At his back Therion's tail flicked. He considered if he would be able to weasel some information out of this guy, only a second or so of thought, but during that time Raven was already moving again.

"Don't take this personally," he said, shooting forward at Therion once more. He parried Therion's dagger as the thief reacted, a twist of his wrist disarming his opponent, and with his open hand reached out to grab the cat boy's upper arm. 

[color=BC8DBF]"Hard not to,"[/color] Therion bit back, the fist that previously held his weapon bursting into flickering flame as he called on his magic. But Raven's own blade disappeared from his grip and his other hand locked around Therion's forearm, and in one movement he hauled the thief over his shoulder with the intent to throw him into the ground. 

Therion swiveled, barely breaking out of the hold as he was tossed. He landed on one knee instead of his back with just enough time to throw an easily dodged fireball and jump backward out of the way of one of Raven's boots slamming down on top of him in an axe kick. The mysterious agent was quick to give chase until Therion stepped into a rain puddle, disappearing into it like he'd been sucked into the water.

"Ninjutsu?" Raven questioned, the barest amount of surprise coloring his voice. The word meant nothing to Therion, and from a different puddle behind the man he emerged as silent as a ghost with a new dagger in hand. He took his chance.

Just before Therion's blade connected with Raven's back, the man glanced over his shoulder like he knew that Therion was there all along. He reached back and clamped a heavy hand on the dip between Therion's own shoulder and his neck before pressing down and flipping himself up and over Therion's head. Both of Raven's feet kicked out as he came down behind Therion, slamming the thief face-first into a wall. "...but you are no ninja."

Therion spun around with an aggressive, violent slash of his poisoned dagger, but his opponent was no longer right next to him. One of his ears twitched and he looked up to where Raven had seemingly teleported, and not even a moment later the man's fist connected with Therion's head in a diving punch. The thief stumbled, his brain thoroughly rattled and stars spotting his vision. To add insult to injury Raven swept his legs out from under him and he landed hard on the ground. 

It was fortunate that Raven had no need to dispose of the person tailing him, just lose him. As he lay there fighting off encroaching unconsciousness, Therion heard Raven ascend to the roofs again while speaking into his ear piece. "Amending previous message and returning home."

[hr]

[center][h2][color=D34C25]Primrose[/color], [color=BC8DBF]Therion[/color], [color=gray]&[/color] [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]Pit[/color][/h2]
[color=D34C25][u]Level[/u]: [b]11[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 296/110[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 349/100[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 299/80[/color]
[sub][i]Wednesday Night ➜ Thursday Morning[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 3649 (+4 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Low-Tier, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
In the aftermath of the attack, Pit had dug himself out of the motel ruins with his Orbitars. The divine shields had protected him, and consequently the small group of guests that had congregated around him, from the worst of the explosions. He'd summoned the shimmery, rainbowy light barrier around them all when the building collapsed on top of them, and afterwards threw a chunk of ceiling off of him and helped a few wrestlers to their feet. All of them were at least a little battered (Pit included, who was worse off), small bruises and burns on their bodies and their clothes torn and smudged, but for the gleaming with no target to trigger their aggressive retaliation they could escape the burning wreckage and wait for the Burning Rangers to douse the flames before they even tried to retrieve any personal items from what had once been their rooms. Given the state of the motel though, there was probably nothing left. Even now among the building's ashes were the ashes of people that hadn't made it out, signaled by little glowing motes of light that were their spirits.

The thought to collect them didn't even cross his mind as he flitted around the area, checking in on his team. When he'd called out for a status report he hadn't heard back from everyone. The ones that did call back to him he was grateful for, because those who hadn't worried him enough to stick around to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for, which meant being in the heart of Banishing Flats when it imploded, which meant being singed and sore while he swept the smolders of the area. Thankfully everyone that he knew had been in the motel was present and alright... except for one. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm glad you're all alright,"[/color] he told the Seekers outside of what was left of the motel. As he said that, a fallen piece of wall shifted and from underneath it an ugly yet familiar chihuahua emerged. It let out a dog's equivalent of a grumble and trotted off back towards the elevator to the High-Tier.

Primrose watched it go before she moved to the next ally, raising her hands towards them which were filled with a soft, pleasant flame in contrast to the dying inferno in front of them. When she'd escaped she did not go back in for any of the others, instead waiting outside to patch up their wounds. As they filtered out one by one she called forth her Warmth and healed them up. None of them were going to go back to bed injured, if they could even sleep after that at all. The dancer knew she wouldn't be able to.

She'd heard Therion's report of seeing someone out of place and his intent to follow them, but besides the three others on Gold Team that hadn't been around all day there was a noticeable absence. It was odd, too, since as far as Primrose knew Nadia could survive pretty much anything. Was she perhaps stuck in the wreckage, hurting even as her power healed her? Or if this had been lopsided retaliation for the theft, had she been kidnapped and the robots were to cover up any clues? 

Cold rage gripped Primrose at the thought of her friend possibly being taken by some man, but given that it was only a possibility and there was no evidence to suggest it, she forced the feeling down. Instead she beckoned Pit over to her, and the angel flitted over at her request. She rested a hand in his hair, healing him with Warmth from the top of his head down.

[color=D34C25]"Ms. Fortune isn't here,"[/color] she told him, and Pit fixed her with a serious expression and a nod.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I know,"[/color] he told the dancer. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But I'll find her, don't worry."[/color]

He spoke so earnestly. The righteous confidence of both an angel and a young boy. After a moment Primrose's hand slipped to his face, her other one joining it on the opposite side, and she tapped him twice on his cheeks as the healing flame flared. 

[color=D34C25]"Thank you. Let me know. I'll be making myself scarce for now."[/color]

She didn't want any bad actors to follow her, and she needed time to lose any eyes the Seekers had on them. There had been at least one person keeping watch on the situation by Therion's report, but who knew if there were others. Though she wasn't going to sleep, she wanted to rest - and she wouldn't be able to do that without ensuring she wasn't tailed herself before she found somewhere to lie low.

Most of the Seekers split after that, following Big Band reporting for those far afield that the danger had passed. True to his word Pit remained, helping Yayama pull survivors from the rubble while he looked all over for any sign of their wayward cat burglar. If she'd been smashed into pieces she would have started to reform by now, so the lack of any sign of her was sort of concerning... at least until the angel broadened his search and found something curious - a dismembered tan-skinned arm across the street, wedged under the eave of the neighboring building. Pieces of Banishing Flats were all over the area in general on account of having been blasted apart and all, so while gruesome it wasn't all that surprising to know that people had been blasted apart as well. But this arm, still hanging onto a shred of a blue sleeve, was familiar. It also didn't appear to be turning to ashes.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Eeeugh why does this feel kind of gross,"[/color] Pit said quietly to himself as he extracted the arm. It was tipped by nails and a torn glove - definitely Ms. Fortune's. Probably. He held it in his own hands, turning it over and watching it flex its fingers. Despite how weird it was, seeing that made Pit's expression brighten. She must be alive!

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Okay, point me in the direction of the rest of you!"[/color] he said to Ms. Fortune's arm. Seeing as it was an arm and not a mouth, it did not speak back. It was also not an ear so it probably didn't hear him in the first place. About a minute later Pit realized both of these, and not knowing what else to do with the limb he removed his slightly burnt sash and tied a sling around it. He wasn't exactly sure where his arsenal went when he dismissed them, and he didn't want to try it with one of his friend's body parts. For multiple reasons.

Shaking his head at the absurdity of it, he made his way back to the wreckage.

[hr]
[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Yes! Good idea! Anybody know any good places to meet? If so let's go there!"[/color] 

Captain Pit didn't just agree with Band's suggestion, he was enthusiastic about it. He was starving, maybe a little tired, but mostly hungry - and breakfast sounded [i]fantastic.[/i] Once the flames had been put out and Esaka's police and fire force had sectioned off the area Pit had considered finding another motel to stay at (he could have asked Lady Palutena to warp him back to Skyworld for the night, but as nice as that sounded he wasn't about to abandon the rest of the team even if it was only for a few hours), but since he was already up it was easier to just... stay up.

So by the time most of the other Seekers had arrived to Quick Rise, Pit was already there shoveling pancakes rather aggressively into his mouth. Since his chiffon and the other pieces of his outfit had really taken a beating due to the explosions, he'd shown up in his [url=https://i.imgur.com/2crdVxj.png]angel page[/url] clothes while his regular uniform was getting patched up. In spite of everything he was looking forward to the day, any lingering frustration he had over how last night had gone down melting away with the combination of syrup, butter, and fluffy fried batter.

He'd already said his greetings to the detective, and did the same for everyone else around his food as they trickled in. Among them, Primrose and Therion ambled into the cafe eventually. It was much too late for either of them to claim no association to the Seekers, so unless there was another public attack on them in broad daylight there was little reason not to share a meal with the rest of the team.

Primrose had spent the remainder of the night and early morning awake among strangers, visiting the music bar that she and Nadia had passed before. Though it looked seedy, the clientele were actually rather friendly - and interested in dance. Primrose herself did not indulge, but she somewhat enjoyed watching the bar's patrons hit the dance floor until dawn finally broke and the bartender signaled for last call. In comparison Therion actually had gotten a little sleep, even if it was while passed out from being put down hard by a secret agent in an alleyway.

His awakening had not been pleasant, and he'd nursed a headache until reuniting with Primrose. She pressed the flame of Warmth to his forehead with a raised brow before they sat down with the rest of the group. 

By the time Terry entered and expressed his concern that the Seekers had almost met their ends, Pit swallowed his latest bite and looked over at him. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"No way! A sneak attack like that wouldn't be able to take us out,"[/color] he said with a nod. And the proof was sitting all around them, no one too worse for wear.

And when he asked after Ms. Fortune, Pit had something to say about that as well. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm sure she's okay! I couldn't find her yesterday... er, well, [i]all[/i] of her... but I found her arm and it seems healthy! ...for a severed arm."[/color]

It was an outlandish comment to make, but for anyone that knew Ms. Fortune they could get the gist of what he was saying. The angel then glanced at Primrose further down the table. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Primrose is holding onto it. We can give it back when we find her! She probably lost her linkpearl and then just got lost."[/color]

Primrose nodded to corroborate the story. She and the team leader had met back up briefly when he called her own linkpearl to tell her what he'd found, after which Primrose claimed possession of her friend's detached limb. She did not take it out from where it was gently nestled in her bag though, not very keen on making a show of the other woman's state even if they weren't in public. 

About that time Sakura and Amaterasu rolled in and though they expressed their disappoint with not being around during the attack, Primrose shook her head. [color=D34C25]"We're not sure. Don't worry about it though, I doubt there was anything either of you could have done to prevent it."[/color] 

And then there was the surprise appearance of Bowser Jr. and Rika, welcome sights for weary eyes. Especially when they came bearing good news. Therion turned curious eyes on the pair. 

[color=BC8DBF]"One sword belonging to one guy in the entire world?"[/color] he questioned. [color=BC8DBF]"I'm not buying it."[/color]

He had a point that it was awfully convenient for Moebius if it was true. Perhaps it was only the material the sword was forged from that was important, and they could find said material eventually. Even so, Primrose committed the name of the blade to memory, along with the information on the Source Engine. She wasn't sure how to use it just yet, but it seemed important to know. The fact that Galeem had seemingly copied its method of rule from another world she figured was a given though, even if it didn't end up hailing from that same world itself.

When Rika asked how the rest of the team had been, Pit supplied her with, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"good until we all got exploded!"[/color]

Though as she could see, they were fine. Roland gave her most of the other details, though when he mentioned not knowing who the mystery assailants were trying to blow up (as Pit interpreted the statement, rather than who the assailants were in the first place) the angel looked over at him and exclaimed, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"uh, hello? They tried to blow [i]us[/i] up!"[/color]

Then Pit turned back to the Koopas. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But yeah, we're all okay! Ms. Fortune's gonna need her arm back when we find her, hopefully she'll meet us at the tournament start, but since you guys came back... Juri's the only one still gone.

"Oh! And I got a phone."[/color] He'd hadn't tried texting Junior yet, having been interrupted while still learning about the device after all, but he summoned the smartphone from thin air and let it clatter onto the table in front of the Koopa in case Junior was curious. It did not feature a lock screen and could just be opened by anyone, and besides what came standard on plenty of other phones there were the two unfamiliar app icons of Salty Bets and Palupedia.

On Roland's side of the table, Primrose and Therion listened to him tell the detectives about wanting to look into who tried to take the Seekers out last night. G-Corp being the culprit was a given, whatever that was, but whether it was a one off attack or it was ordered by a higher power they couldn't know. Plus there was the fact that it wasn't the only group involved, which Therion pointed out.

[color=BC8DBF]"Plus we can assume the Consuls will learn about us being here soon if they don't already know. Besides them and 'G-Corp,' there's at least one other group with eyes on us too. Yesterday I spotted someone keeping tabs on us and followed them, but..."[/color] the thief's arms were already crossed, and his ears flattened down a little on his head. [color=BC8DBF]"...well, I didn't find out who he was with. Just that he was probably part of a separate group."[/color]

Which made at least three factors to be aware of on top the Four Kings and their tournaments. 

[color=D34C25]"We'll have to be careful,"[/color] Primrose said with a pointed look at a few of the more boisterous members of their group.

Pit had tuned back in at that point, and though he nodded he also made a general announcement, his voice strong and determined. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"We will, but right now our goal's still the same. We'll go through the tournaments to get our shot at the Guardians, and we fight and we win!"[/color]