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[h3]Esaka, The Pools[/h3]

[b]Word Count:[/b] 2,008 (+3 Exp, +1 Rapport)
[b]Level 6 Captain Falcon:[/b] 73/60 -> 76/60
[b]Level 10 Terry Bogard:[/b] 26/100 -> 29/100
[b]Level 8 Amaterasu:[/b] 32/90 -> 35/90

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Before they set off, Amaterasu ran around gathering up all the spirits and proceeded to present them to the other two members of her team. It wasn’t exactly the most appealing pile, it had to be said. Horrible meat machines weren't exactly on the top of anyone’s fusion candidate list, and certainly not those who’d not dipped their toes into that way of gathering power yet.

Still, there were other options, and Amaterasu demonstrated this by crouching down and growling at one of the spirits till it bent to her will and became a striker for her.

[center][hider=For Amaterasu]New Striker spiritbound:
[b][url=https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Chris_the_Car ]Chris the Car[/url][/b]
A damaging and straightforward striker with a 30-second cooldown. It can perform one of four actions when summoned. It can use Tackle to charge forward and smash into targets, though needing to rev up and being unable to turn means it can be dodged somewhat easily. It can use Venom Bite to damage and poison targets in close range. It can use Squash to rear up and them slam down. It can also simply drive forward, turning or stopping when desired, for a maximum of 10 seconds. As always, the cooldown starts when the striker finishes acting and disappears[/hider][/center]

A moment later she stood up, focused for a second, and then the destroyed demon car was briefly back, roaring around the park again under the wolf’s command. As it did so, she rode  around on the roof of her infernal chariot, holding in a majestic pose as she did, aptly demonstrating that there was some value to be found in the spirits of these cursed machines, should the others desire to join her in claiming it.

[color=1E90FF]“Woahh…”[/color]

Frozen, Terry could only gaze in awe at the sight like a little child, absently holding out a hand as if trying to grab one of the spirits being gathered by Amaterasu. While he’d already seen yokai and such, he never recalled experiencing the very thing demonstrated by the furred deity beforehand, let alone thinking that it was possible to use them.

[color=1E90FF]“So these are the spirits you were talking about yesterday, aren’t they, Cap?”[/color] Terry asked, slightly peering over his equally gallant partner, who offered a nod in reply. He then darted his eyes back at the collection of vehicular spirits provided in front of him, finally making up his mind. [color=1E90FF]“I… guess it doesn’t hurt to have a striker that I can count on at any given time.”[/color]

Given Cap’s prior explanation, he was already aware of the consequences, but it wasn’t like he was planning on collecting as many spirits as possible like they were a bunch of spectral Pokémons, anyway. The three-time KOF champion drew his extending hand back, then brought two of his fingers between his clipping lips, folding his tongue against his curling fingers to blow out a loud whistle. Among all the spectral cars lining up before them, only the blue-roofed Hornet accepted the call, as if drawn to him almost instantaneously. It drove towards Terry on both of its rear wheels, happily vrooming and honking. Despite the initial beat down, the King of Speed seemed willing to act as the King of Fighters’ striker, its demeanor brighter than it once was.

[center][hider=For Terry][b]New Striker Spiritbound:
[url=https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Hornet_(Fighters_Megamix)]Hornet[/url][/b]
A car with the approximate size and fighting style of a human, with a 10 second cooldown by default. When called in normally, it can perform one of three techniques. These include Iron Mountain (a short range armored shoulder charge), Mad Drive (Hornet gets down and drives forward in a long-range low attack), and Super Ignition. When using Super Ignition, it will explosively shed its outer shell, which can damage opponents in close proximity. In this state, its cooldown increases by 5 seconds and its other techniques are replaced by two new ones: a four-hit tire combo that ends with a launching uppercut, and a four-hit tire combo that ends with a knockdown-inducing headbutt. Hornet returns to its default shell state at the start of every fight[/hider][/center]

Ukee giggled aloud and applauded, as the Hornet began to nudge Terry with rounds of playful jabs. Reflexively, Terry placed his forearms over his face, not quite blocking each and every spinning front wheel tickling his forearms. He chuckled along.

[color=1E90FF]“Alright, alright! Jeez…”[/color] Terry chimed in, followed by the Hornet’s mechanical roar. It was quite a stark contrast to when they fought a while back. Gone was the dark influence that’d been consuming it, replaced by a gesture of gratitude.

[color=1E90FF]“See that, guys? I think this thing loves me!”[/color] Terry said heartily, then as the Hornet dropped itself on both pairs of wheels, patted its blue roof. The racing car quickly leaned to his touch. [color=1E90FF]“Somehow, they knew that I wanted ’em. You guys think it’ll be legal to bring this bad boy to some of our future matches?”[/color]

The wolf wasn’t really sure, but she assumed that the ‘heavenly principles’ would balance things out to make them fair in the same way it had affected her. Not that the change had had any real impact in her last fight, but in the next, things were going to be interesting. Especially now that she could summon a demon car. Falcon wasn’t really sure either, though either way he would have personally preferred to stick to his fists for Tournament fights anyway.

Speaking of cars, both her and Terry’s timed out in short order after they were done riding/petting them, their impact on the world ever so fleeting. Fitting for spirits brought back to a semblance of life, she supposed.

As for the rest, none had any interest in the more grotesque machines on offer, nor the smaller ones, and so they were swiftly crushed and turned into items.

[center][hider=Items obtained][b]Demon Plating[/b]
Fleshy plating hardened in hellfire... Boosts physical Attack and provides 50% fire damage reduction. Cannot be conventionally equipped (except by vending machines) and must be treated like a material

[b]Gaskette License Plate[/b]
A taxi license plate. It reads 'DETH2U''. Decently tough

[b]Cursed Gear[/b]
A mechanical component suffused with demonic energy. Its inherent dark energy would likely affect the overall nature of whatever machine it's used in

[b]Nightstick[/b]
A sturdy black police baton used in riots. Deals impact damage. Its attacks can suppress targets, decreasing their attack by 5% per hit, up to 20% max

[b]20 Bucks[/b]
Represented by a single crisp note

[b]Chrome Finish[/b]
Minimal protection, but quite stylish. Provides small increases to agility and luck. Cannot be conventionally equipped (except by vending machines) and must be sprayed on the metallic surface of another piece of equipment to apply its bonus

[b]Hornet Tire[/b] x4
These wheels are only about the size of an average human head, but they can be effective tools for inflicting blunt force damage. Unfortunately, they are difficult for humans and similar entities to properly utilize

[b]Car Tooth[/b] x8
Steel fangs recovered from a nightmarish automobile. They're even bigger than shark's teeth and are about as sharp, although not as good on jewelry, since who would believe you got them from a car and didn't just make them yourself?[/hider][/center]

The results weren't exactly useful to the divine wolf (except the paper money), though they were at the same time pretty interesting, and she guessed that some might be of use to the more mechanically minded seekers, while the rest might sell well enough.

The same could be said about Terry because he either fought with bare hands or the fact that many of the items obtained were simply cursed. However, he could see some use in the hellish plating, given that its advantages could affect their performances directly. Even then, he wasn’t sure about using the item, either, considering its fleshy form. Just seeing most of the items provided made him flinch in disgust.

[color=1E90FF]“Yuck! Well, that’s gross!”[/color] Terry remarked, slightly stepping back. [color=1E90FF]“But hey, ’least we got to summon a note outta those things. I didn’t know that even cars needed money, too.”[/color]

At the thought, a snicker left his mouth, despite himself. He wasn’t sure if he was still hungry anymore after the grotesque sight, but he could still feel his stomach grumbling, albeit faintly. Ukee, too, seemed to be experiencing the same thing, as he stood on the brawny blonde’s shoulder and held his midriff. The amusing sight prompted Terry to grin, his affectionate hand running across the monkey’s brown head.

[color=1E90FF]“Aww… you hungry, buddy?”[/color] Terry asked, in which Ukee reciprocated with a hopeful nod. [color=1E90FF]“Yeah, me too.”[/color] The Hungry Wolf then shifted his attention towards both of his partners, glancing over them alternately. [color=1E90FF]“What about you two? I think we could use some lunch before our next match. Pao Pao, anyone?”[/color]

[color=1f66b2]”Sure.”[/color] Cap said in agreement, [color=1f66b2]”I had some stuff I wanted to chat about, so lunch is a good way to do that.”[/color] He snapped his gloved fingers and dug around his pockets until he produced a pouch containing his 125 emerald-like pons. [color=1f66b2]”And this is some money I earned in Mafia Town a few days back. Is there any place I can exchange it for zenny around here?”[/color]

The divine wolf barked once in agreement as well, before moving to patted all the unused items with a paw, storing them one by one in her inventory for later use/selling. But not before Captain Falcon stooped down to pick up the Chrome Finish, [color=1f66b2]”Might be able to find a use for this,”[/color] he suggested with a grin, [color=1f66b2]”if not for me than for my F-Zero Machine at least.”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“Hmm…”[/color]

Again, Terry found himself contemplating, absently running his hand around his mandible. Ukee did the exact same gesture, as he narrowed his eyes and scanned each and every item thoughtfully, also mimicking the exact expression on his human friend’s face. Out of all the items yet to be claimed, they could both agree that the Hornet Tires and the Nightstick were the least gruesome of them all. Simultaneously, both the golden-haired human and the monkey glanced over each other, eyes locking as if already predicting what was inside each other’s head.

[color=1E90FF]“Well, well… Are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’, Ukee?”[/color]

Ukee could only nod and screech happily, as if attempting to reciprocate what Terry had been guessing all along. He darted his gaze back towards the remaining items, now focusing solely on both the police baton and the tires. While he found no use for the both, he thought he could—at the very least—keep the tires to either sell them to [url=https://www.fightersgeneration.com/news2025/char2/jacky-bryant-vfkids-render.png]a certain [i]small-time[/i] Indy car racer[/url] or change the Hornet’s tires every now and then (if the spectral car still required a regular vehicle maintenance, that is).

[color=1E90FF]“Y’know what? Right,”[/color] Terry said, as he lowered his shoulders and picked each of the tires scattering close to the tips of his sneakers. [color=1E90FF]“I’ll keep these. I know somebody I can sell ’em to. He’s a racer just like Cap.”[/color]

Ukee, excited, leaped out of his buddy’s shoulder to prevent him from picking the last tire, only to set the tire up and play with it. At the amusing sight, Terry snorted in a snicker, giving the monkey a head pat that prompted him to jolt upon reeling the tire against the ground.

[color=1E90FF]“Oh, nah, you don’t! There goes my boy again,”[/color] Terry quipped, then shook his head, not trying hard enough to snatch the miniscule tire from the monkey. Subsequently, he shifted his attention back towards Cap and Amaterasu while Ukee continued to mind his business. [color=1E90FF]“Sooo… what say we go to the closest money exchange place first before we head straight to Pao Pao? I think Ammy and I can show you ’round if you wanna, Cap.”[/color]

The divine wolf wasn’t entirely sure how much showing around she could really do, despite her running around all over the previous day, but she wasn’t going to say no to the plan if it involved going for food.

[color=1f66b2]”Sounds fine to me.”[/color] Captain Falcon agreed with a shrug. With that, the three teammates finally left the parking garage.