[center][h3]Esaka, the Tiered City[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Clear Thursday Late Afternoon
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (225/150) Level 12 Big Band (21/120)
Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Pit’s [@Yankee] Sakura & Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Harry and Kim’s [@Eviledd1984] Terry’s [@Terry Bogard] Yayama’s [@Chevaleresse] Grima’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1887 / 1655[/center]

After Nadia bid her steadfast friend farewell, the two Fortunes continued on their merry way. Of course, Nadia -still riding high on her victory over Maya a few minutes ago- was the only merry one. Robo was, as usual, playing her self-appointed role as the dynamic duo’s resident ‘brains of the operation’ and ‘voice of reason’, mostly by raining on her partner’s parade and insisting that the pair ought to practice rather than part ways so the feral could celebrate. Since they had no more Pools matches scheduled for Thursday, they did have some extra free time in the afternoon and then the whole evening to themselves. Scoffing at her cybernetic doppelganger’s persistence, Nadia tried to change the subject. “Aren’t these tournaments supposed to be a big deal? Kind of crazy we had only two matches to fight the whole day.”

“While Mortal Kombat is the most popular tournament to spectate, it is paradoxically the least popular to participate in,” Robo reminded her. Even though her synthesized voice was devoid of emotional inflection, it was all too easy for Nadia to imagine her Kameo as condescending. “That said, registration across the board does seem lower this week than usual.”

Nadia smirked, crossing her arms as she strode along the boardwalk. “Lucky us.”

To her surprise, Robo shook her head. “Not necessarily. It is true we have fewer fights overall, but the overall difficulty of each fight is higher. Much less chaff to cut through than in World Warrior, for example.” She stared at Nadia pointedly. “It would be ideal if that were the case, and not that our performance is simply subpar.”

“Jeez,” the cat burglar complained as she rolled her eyes. “Lighten up! We won, didn’t we?” She sighed and gave an exaggerated shrug. “But fine, fine. If it’ll getcha off my case, we can spend some time purr-acticin’. I can’t afford to keep droppin’ combos, and if we can actually two-touch our opponents, we’ll be sittin’ purr-etty.” She frowned, slightly displeased with her repetitive pun use. Unable to play off a charisma void like Robo, she’d resorted to her tried-and-true fallbacks. Well, it wasn’t like an emotionless robot would benefit from her best material anyway. Might as well save the jokes for someone they might actually amuse.

Oblivious to the feral’s internal dialog, Robo nodded at Nadia’s compliance. “Let’s return to the NMO dojo then.” The two were already heading toward the nearest list to the Middle Tier, so their new direction did not require a change of plans. Within a couple minutes the two were aboard an elevator, gaining altitude above the Pools as they glittered in the late afternoon light. Nadia lazily leaned on the railing, her head resting in one hand, and stared at the various fights. By now, there were fewer ongoing duels overall, with plenty of unoccupied arenas. She guessed that well over half of the fighters registered for each tournament had been eliminated, meaning that tomorrow’s battles would be longer, more competitive, and more worth watching. The catgirl wondered if her performance today had managed to make any new fans. Had the yokai she impressed during her little scrap at the farming village managed to catch either of her matches? She hoped so. On the other hand, she also wondered just how many fighters had been killed today. It was easy to get overstimulated by all the action everywhere and not look too deeply, but if Losers matches in Mortal Kombat ended in a fatality, at least a couple dozen lives had already been lost. And yet, nobody in Esaka seemed to care. The dead would be back within a few days after all, ready to try their luck all over again in next week’s tournament. Even as a willing participant in it, Nadia couldn’t help but be unnerved by a bloodsport that everyone treated as fun and games.

Robo seemed to notice that Nadia was unusually quiet. Either that, or the machine simply saw a way to better optimize the pair’s travel time. “Maya displayed exceptional skill with her blades,” she mentioned. “When you arrived yesterday, you fought me using daggers of your own, but I recall that you left them at the dojo with your other equipment. Are you uncertain of your own dagger skills?”

Smiling wryly, Nadia stood up straight and crossed her arms. “‘Knife’ of you to notice. Yeah, I got them kinda recently. Not half bad with ‘em, ‘specially ‘cause they make enemies take more damage, but I don’t think that works here.” She shrugged. “It’s just easier to fight the way I’m most comfortable with. Plus, extra weapons are a lot to keep track of. Dunno know, but I just keep losin’ ‘em whenever I get somethin’ new.”

A staticky noise burst from Robo’s voicebox. “Hmph. Sounds like you would benefit from Maya’s ability to recall her blades to hand.”

“Hm?” Nadia raised her eyebrow. The battle had been frenetic enough that she’d hadn’t been able to commit all her foe’s quirks to memory. It was actually remarkable that she’d managed to learn to not block Maya’s dagger throws.

“It was some sort of mode she entered,” Robo reported. From the sidelines, she’d had an easier time observing what Maya could do. “After saying ‘on the hunt’, her daggers began to glow, and for a short time they always returned to her once thrown. Its use seemed limited, but it made you struggle even more than usual.”

“Yeah, thanks. I noticed.” Now Nadia remembered the times when Maya’s daggers flew around like crazy, always bouncing off of her and the surrounding environment to miraculously make their way back to the amazon’s hands. As the elevator came to a stop and the two Fortunes disembarked, Nadia scratched her chin thoughtfully. That [i]would[/i] be a useful ability to have, wouldn’t it? “Hmm…”

Robo peered at her. “You look like you’ve had an idea.”

“Am I really that easy to read?” Nadia chuckled, shaking her head. “But yeah. I thought of somethin’. Maybe tomorrow, I oughta hunt down Maya and check out her Losers’ matches.”

A look of dubiousness seemed to dawn over the robot, although maybe Nadia was just inferring it. “To try and learn her ability through observation…?”

A smug smirk spread across Nadia’s face. “Yeah…somethin’ like that.”

Even with Robo’s navigational abilities, it took a while to cross the Middle Tier and return to the NMO dojo. Now that the day’s tournament fights were starting to draw to a close, everyday Esaka life was resuming, although for today at least the differences weren’t that noticeable. As the competitions progressed and the more important matches drew more and more attention, the tournaments would really take over. At the moment, though, most Esakans were wrapping up the last few hours of their workdays, running errands, or training. It was honestly pretty wild that Nadia would actually be doing some training herself, but with her tournament life -and by extension, the World of Light’s fate- on the line, the feral would need to make some exceptions if she wanted to become truly exceptional.

When the Fortunes arrived at last and Fortune rapped the dojo’s front door with her knuckles, nobody responded, so Robo was forced to let the two in. A quick look around and a few callouts confirmed that nobody was home, and Nadia couldn’t venture a guess as to whether or not that was a good or bad thing. Both Annie and Beowulf seemed like they had their matches in hand, but the catgirl was more concerned about young Filia, even if her parasite Samson (literally) had her back. Well, she was either out celebrating or sulking, and right now Nadia needed to look after herself.

She fetched her Athame daggers from where she stowed her stuff, then entered the main gym to join Robo-fortune. By far the biggest room in the relatively small dojo, the [url=https://i.imgur.com/BQ7a0Ie.png]training room[/url] still amazed her with how its floor and walls looked just like notebook paper. Not that Nadia had ever been to school. Robo was waiting for her, her arms crossed, and by her stood something the catgirl had seen a lot of since she entered Esaka: a [url=https://i.imgur.com/9m7ZWqK.png]Mokujin[/url]. The animated wooden training dummy just stood there, its eyes alight with a subtle but eerie red glow.

“Got my knives,” Nadia announced, flipping one of them to show off in front of Robo. She mistimed the catch and cut her finger as the dagger clattered to the floor, the dour shimmer around her indicating that she’d reduced her own defense with the fumble. “Aw, crap…”

Robo did not look amused, though at least that was par for the course for her. “Although I do want to practice your combos enough to reduce such slip-ups, the main goal for our training session today is to discover and implement combo extensions.” She held up a single finger. “When I’m called as a Kameo, I can only do one thing, but if you time it right even one move can make a lot of difference.”

Having recovered her second Athame, Nadia stuck it in her belt. “Okay, whaddya got?”

“Observe.” Robo knelt down, her torso opening up. The original Fortune had only a split second to backpedal before a giant [url=https://i.imgur.com/R5AifXP.png]sawblade[/url] extended, blue energy surrounding its vicious teeth as it whirred dangerously.

“Whoa!” Nadia put up her guard. “Wish I ‘saw’ that coming!”

Robo ignored her, standing back up as the blade retracted. “My Collimating Saw. Slow start-up, but it hits five times. It can even withstand one hit.”

“Wait, so I could use it as a reversal?” Nadia threw up her hands. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? My Fiber Upper can’t take a hit anymore, so it’s harder to wake up than ever, and I don't just mean in the morning.”

The machine jabbed her in the ribs with a pointy finger to express her impatience. “It’s slow,” she repeated as Nadia winced. “It won’t be active fast enough to save you. But if you call it just before a highly committed move, I can keep your target stuck long enough for you to act again.”

Now getting what her doppelganger was saying, Nadia snapped her fingers. “And keep the combo goin’!”

“Precisely. I also have access to several ‘danger’ actions. Observe.” One after another, Robo demonstrated [url=https://i.imgur.com/lmsHTvI.png]’Danger! Head Swap Action!’[/url], [url=https://i.imgur.com/rGEwr1z.png]’Danger! Flailing Arm Hazard!’[/url], and [url=https://i.imgur.com/6mncbUR.png]’Danger! Rotating Component Hazard!’[/url], demonstrating pragmatic uses of her mechanical body.

Nadia narrowed her eyes as she worked her thinker. “Hmm. Guess each one’s good for a different extension, right? That first one looks like a good juggler, and that last one looks strong enough to send ‘em flyin. Gonna be hard to play off that one…unless I [i]zoop[/i] forward to catch ‘em or somethin’.”

“Hm. Your intelligence quotient may be slightly higher than previously estimated,” Robo reflected. “Now, let’s implement them in a combo. We’ll go as many times as it takes. As Annie says: practice makes perfect.”

Sighing, Nadia performed a mock salute. “Aye aye, cat-ptain!”

[hr]

Although Dr. Coyle turned out to be at least as proficient an engineer as Stanley, Big Band’s repairs took a while, though not as long as the retrofits. Since the two were working on the mechanical parts of his body, Band didn’t need to be sedated or anything, and a spare welding mask worked just fine when it came to shielding his face from flying sparks and such. Of course, all the noise and jostling kept him from simply dozing off either, so the detective simply laid there and watched the two geniuses at work. Although they couldn’t have been acquainted with one another for very long, Coyle and Stanley cooperated with practiced professionalism, crisply and succinctly communicating instructions, precautions, and requests for tools. While working, Stanley also found the time to chat with Band himself about his tournament run so far, and commiserate about all the zoners he’d been facing. If only he had Peacock, Lab 8’s own premier zoner, for backup!

Not being technically minded himself, Band had no idea what they were doing at any given moment, but while he was a captive audience he figured he might as well enjoy the show. He wasn’t alone in this, either. Hive and Leduc were off doing their own thing, but Ileum loomed nearby to monitor the procedure alongside a couple wide-eyed youngsters, either entertained by the lightshow or eager to see their long-absent ‘father’ restored to good health. Without their ‘granddad’ Avian around, Band reasoned, he was probably the next best thing. Going forward, it would probably be a good idea to pop back down here and visit for a few hours at least once a day, as long as circumstances permitted. Based on what he knew about the World of Light, these poor kids would never grow up and be able to live their own lives, but they still deserved the same care and kindness that any child did.

Stanley’s first priority was to repair and then reinforce Big Band’s respiratory system. It had been quite a while since the giant suit’s built-in iron lung had been properly serviced, and once it got fixed up the extra oxygenation it provided to Band’s blood would reduce the rate at which the cyborg built up fatigue. The scientists stripped out Junior’s bolted-on iron and mended the damage to Band’s chassis with heavy metal, then stitched together his hat and trench coat. After everything was shipshape, Coyle could take over to work her own magic. She deployed Band’s main mechanical arms, then busied herself disassembling and remodeling the giant brass knuckles. Her ominous cackles didn’t exactly set Band’s heart at ease, but the evil genius seemed to know what she was doing.

When Coyle’s frenzied assembly came to an end, the fist’s in Band’s punching arms had been replaced by devices she called ‘Lokjaws’. Each seemed to be a heavy steel wrecking ball in the shape of a mechanical head, outfitted with opposing sets of large, blunt bronze teeth. These teeth, she explained, could be opened to allow the jaws to be used as pincers, to admit targets into his arms’ inner cylinders, or to fire the cannons housed within. When she informed Band that his new fists could fire explosive payloads, the detective was equally excited and flabbergasted. The fun didn’t stop there, though. Coyle had also built giant copper coils into both arms, attached to the Lokjaw. By charging the mechanism before punching, Band could apparently release the coils like springs to massively extend his punches.

[center][hider=New Ability Obtained][url=https://i.imgur.com/Vv8rRlp.png][b]Lokjaw Arms[/b][/url]
These heavy steel wrecking balls, built into Big Band’s arms and mounted on large coils, allow him to charge his punches to deal huge damage from a longer distance. They can also open their mouths to act as pincers, for his Take the A Train command grab, or to fire red-black explosive spheres that detonate on impact (only on charged punch). When charged, a single red eye pops out from the top of either Lokjaw. They cannot be used to grapple since the explosion launched once a Lokjaw hits its target (or reaches max distance) will launch the Lokjaw backward[/hider][/center]

After hearing all that, the detective needed to see the upgrades for himself. “I gotta try this.” He rolled off the workbench and picked himself up, admiring the scientists’ handiwork on both his body and his new arms. For a couple seconds, he simply availed himself of the new-and-improved respirator, filling his lungs with deep, clear breaths of air. “Hah…I feel like a new man. Again.” Then he lumbered toward the laboratory’s practice range, followed by the scientists, Ileum, and excited littles. Even Hive and Leduc showed up to watch, well aware by now that anything built by Coyle was bound to be worth checking out. Once he reached the line, he took a moment to quickly try out a couple moves, assuring himself that he could still access his arsenal of weaponized horns, organs, pedals, and tubas without issue. Then, with all eyes on him, he stanced up and squared off against the laboratory’s most dependable test dummy: a [url=https://i.imgur.com/1G66ffZ.png]Combat Adjudicator[/url].

“Gimme a hit!” Band slid forward as he unleashed a heavy Brass Knuckle, his modified metal right arm deploying to drive his Lokjaw into the naga-like mannequin’s central target. With a tremendous crash, the adjudicator slammed into the back of its cage, reeled for a moment, and then reset. A couple of the littles cooed or clapped, but Band was far from done. He backed up, far enough that his Brass Knuckle shouldn’t be able to connect, then began to charge a punch. “Break it…!” When he punched, his arm only went so far, but the wrecking ball shot forward on its coil. “Down!” The Lokjaw struck dead-center, and a split second after it smashed the adjudicator backward, its jaw opened to fire off a parting shot. The payload burst against the adjudicator in a red-black blast, and after snapping backward the dummy slumped to the floor. 

“Incredible, no?” Still floating a few inches above the ground, Coyle smiled like a snake. “All that power in the palm of your hand. You won’t need to fear your foes’ keep-away any longer.”

Band whistled as he pulled the arm back, the Lokjaw clanking right back into place before he stowed his arm. “That’s somethin’, alright. The only thing I’m worried about…is whatcha gonna ask in return.”

The thought seemed to amuse Coyle, and she laughed through her nose. “Hmhm. Consider it a gift. All I ask is that you lend me a helping hand or two, should I need you for a favor.”

“Ben, over here!” Hive flew over, a handful of particle board cutouts in hand. She began to set them up around the lab, some spots easy to reach, some trickier. “Try these!”

Stanley furrowed his brow, holding up a finger. “Now hold on, some of those are near sensitive equipment…”

Band was a straight shooter, though, and never one to disappoint. Without charging any punches, he took careful aim and then fired off his spring-powered Lokjaws to obliterate one target after another. Stanley flinched every time, but Coyle never batted an eyelash, and the younger ASG units cheered for every cutout reduced to kindling. In the end, the inventor sighed in relief, rubbing a hand over his sandpapery scalp as if smoothing back his hair. “Thank you for not wrecking my equipment.”

 Band couldn’t help but crack a grin. “My pleasure.” Looking away, he zeroed in on a clock on the laboratory wall and clicked his tongue. “Tsk. Much as I enjoyed seein’ y’all, I really better get movin’. Got one more fight today before I’m off for the day.”

Disappointed, kids and teens said the goodbyes and went their separate ways, but Coyle remained a moment longer. “I pity whatever poor fool they throw at you now,” she told him, smirking with crossed arms. “Good luck out there. I’ll look forward to working with you soon…” With that she floated backward, neither averting her gaze nor even blinking until she disappeared into the shadows.

The detective couldn’t help but chuckle at her theatrics, even if she did unnerve him just a little. “Sheesh. She’d give Avian a run for his money.”

That left just Stanley and Illeum, who stepped forward. Band turned to face her, watching closely. Though her immobile mask betrayed no emotion, the way she clasped and wrung her hands told him she wasn’t ready to leave just yet. “Nice shooting.” Her voice was soft as the intestines that constituted her, airy, and somewhat low. “Ben…if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you for a time. To stretch my legs, such as they are, to watch you work, and to take a little break from the kids. It’s been too long.”

The detective smiled gently. “Much too long. I’d be happy to have ya. And if any suckers wanna mean-mug ya for how ya look, I’d be happy to box their ears with these new fists o’ mine.”

“Let them talk. I don’t really care.” The gutsy agent brushed a hand through the dark hair of her wig. “I’m hardly a novelty in this city anyway. Did you know that there’s a Mortal Kombat fighter named ‘Meat’? I look a lot better than he does~”

Band grinned again. “No kiddin’? Well, let’s get goin’ then. I ain’t exactly fast, so we got no time to waste.” The two old friends made for the stairs, and within a few minutes they’d stepped out into the late afternoon light. Ileum paused for a moment, shielding her dark eyeholes from the descending sun with one intestinal arm. Then she and Band set off through the Low Tier to ascend to the Pools for the detective’s final fight.

[center][h3]Esaka - Metropolitan Square[/h3]
Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Harry’s [@Eviledd1984] Terry’s [@Terry Bogard][/center]

Maybe Harry thought to he looked tough as he stood there and ignored Azucena, but it also looked to the martial artist like her heckler was just spacing out. When he did not deign to honor her ultimatum with a response, he convinced her that he was just here to annoy her in a desperate bid for attention. She threw up her hands helplessly, rolling her eyes, and backed off to return to her Coffee Challenge soapbox. If he’d given up on denigrating her and lapsed into silence, she saw no point in acknowledging him any further, although any further disturbances would probably result in swift action from her Gigas bodyguards.

“Alright everyone, forget about all that. You know what we’re here for: coffee, coffee, coffee! Anyone wanna step up and try a little Azucena Blend for yourself? However you like it, I wanna give it to ya!”

Before she could fully get back into the swing of things, though, a much harder to ignore protestation appeared in the form of giant, radiant letters conjured by Amaterasu. Azucena blinked at the accusatory word, her mouth slightly ajar and her brow furrowed in indignation, as she tried to figure out the wolf’s meaning. “Huh? Hypocrite? The hell are you talking about?” Seemingly more bothered by that one word than any of Harry’s jabs, she ran a hand through her hair in consternation. “What’s with people today? I mean what I say and say what I mean, always have, always will! If there’s something wrong with my brand, I’m gonna make it right!” Azucena seemed totally unaware of the allegations vaguely laid at her feet by Amaterasu; if she even recognized the Polar Star van the wolf stood on, she gave no indication.

Nearby, Hilde tapped her armored foot restlessly. After meeting the new arrivals, she’d taken up a position near the Gigas where she could easily lend a hand if push came to shove, but now she regretted not staying near the others. She hadn’t know what to expect when headquarters informed her that she’d be getting backup, but she expected more than this. Harry and Amaterasu’s attempts to deride Azucena seemed like clumsy attempts to provoke her so that they could take her down under the flimsy justification of self-defense. Maybe Amaterasu knew something that Hilde didn’t, but there was no way to tell. And ever since he arrived Terry just stood there, practically catatonic as he stared listlessly off into the distance. Hilde herself was no assassin, and hadn’t even wanted to take on the task of neutralizing Azucena to begin with. But she had to do something…what was she going to do?

[center][h3]Esaka - Opera House[/h3]
Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Kim’s [@Eviledd1984] Grima’s [@Goggy][/center]

Eddy just grunted when Kim expressed sympathy, and his attitude didn’t get much friendlier as the disguised detective continued to talk. On one hand, he didn’t exactly feel like spilling his guts to a random employee of Chloe’s who seemed to be trying to get on his good side. It was easy to imagine this shmuck trying to bait him to say something that incriminated him, or to divulge some kind of treacherous plan, then run to his bosses and snitch for good boy points. “You mean Bruce?” On the other hand, if this guy really didn’t know who Bruce Irving was, that said something completely different about him. It was a weird position for Eddy to be in, on top of what he was already going through, and the capoeirista really couldn’t be bothered right now.

Before he could confront Kim, though, his new acquaintance essentially bid him farewell, offering him well-wishes. Eddy sighed impatiently. “Thanks, I guess.” With that, Eddy turned and walked off, headed for the main auditorium where he could find a plush seat where he could await Chloe’s return.

Outside the opera house, Darun Mister sat at a bench in front of a little sandwich shop where he could keep an eye on the building’s main entrance while slowly crumbling a heel of bread to feed an ever-growing mob of pigeons. Since the massive wrestler was not at all suited for stealth or subterfuge, he was happy to leave probing the place to his new associates and keep an eye out for Lucky Chloe. He was well aware that many celebrities tended to wear disguises while out and about to avoid the paparazzi, although he didn’t actually know if the pop star was popular enough to warrant such attention in public.

When not watching the front entrance, he looked up and down the street in an effort to figure out if Chloe might have visited any of the establishments nearby. Darun was worldly enough to know that convenience was king, after all. There was a Bread and Butter grocery store, and those often had some sort of deli or miniature food court where hungry people could get a bite to eat. But someone like Lucky Chloe was above such things, right? He could see one of those trendy bubble tea shops, Infinite-tea, right next to a Comeback Mechanic auto shop where a [url=https://i.imgur.com/RKUgfbE.png]strange truck[/url] decked out in merchandise had been converted into a pop-up shop while being serviced. It seemed to be run by a [url=https://i.imgur.com/COa8FPV.png]masked otaku[/url] obsessed with all things Japan, from older samurai culture to modern pop culture. Double Luigi looked like a popular Italian eatery, so that was a possibility. Darun knew Chanko House Edomon quite well, since that was where wrestlers like him (sumo or otherwise) often loaded up on protein, but a slim pop star like Chloe probably wouldn’t be caught dead there.

Well, the bigger issue was what Darun would do if he actually spotted his target, he supposed. Even if he did feel up to the task of killing her, death didn’t take in Esaka, so Chloe would be back on stage in no time. If would be better to convince her to cut ties with G-Corp somehow, but Darun suspected that their funding was too lucrative to turn down. How else would she put on a show in an opera house? It was a tricky matter; if only all problems could be solved by a full-body suplex.

[center][h3]Forbidden Kingdom - Bamboo Forest[/h3]
Bowser Jr and Rika’s [@DracoLunaris] Therion’s [@Yankee] Yayama’s [@Chevaleresse][/center]

With Darli on the back foot against two Jack-5s, the Koopa Kids’ assistance made a world of difference. The robots couldn’t block projectiles they weren’t facing or anticipating, after all. Although the big heal from Junior restored Darli just shy of full and left her raring for more, the carpenter decided to express her gratitude by heeding Rika’s suggestion and allowed the former abyssal to sub in for her. Against Rika, the robots were markedly less effective, and once her white whale erupted from the earth to even the odds, the tables were officially turned. Separated from its comrade by the whale’s body slam, one of them got gummed up by electric paint, while the other received a ballistic barrage followed by a grapple strike. Rika then stunted on the hapless machine using her whole arsenal; what she’d lost in height she more than made up for in the skillful use of her many weapons. In no time at all, the Jack was toast, and courtesy of a massive ground pound, the other one didn’t last much longer.

Meanwhile, Darli moved to assist Dolores. Though the elegant lady had been faring decently on her own, the extra firepower was just what she needed to bring her protracted game of cat and mouse to an end. Darli ran up behind one Jack, planted her saw in the ground, and whipped out a giant drill. She grabbed the robot from behind, jammed the weapon in, and revved the drill up to maximum power. The whirring reached a fever pitch near instantly, tearing through the Jack’s shell as sparks and metal shards flew, though the damage dealt came at the cost of breaking the drill as well. It fell flat, then rolled forward, but without missing a beat Darli skipped forward, spinning her arm. The Jack picked itself up and turned to face her, ready to stuff her wind-up, but Dolores knew what her accomplice was up to. An earthen spike rose from the ground beneath the Jack to stagger it at just the right moment, and the next second her mighty haymaker struck hard enough to smash the robot clean in half.

Dolores took a heavy launcher from the other Jack-5 targeting her right after, and quickly began a combo, but now it was Darli’s turn to bail her friend out. She grabbed her saw, sprinted forward, and once in range cut the Jack’s combo short with her Weapon Flip Art, Egurinami. A whirlwind uppercut from her off hand popped the Jack up, allowing her to slice into it with an upward baseball swing of her saw, wreathed in blue light. Finally, a huge horizontal swing parted one of the robot’s limbs from its body and left it sprawled on the ground, where Dolores could take her revenge with a quick, definitive rock bash to the head.

Not too far away, Yayama took drastic measures to make sure her Chopper didn’t fall into enemy hands: she sacrificed the chopper itself. When she swerved the vehicle hard and it began to roll, she dismounted a lot faster than the surprised Jack-8 did. The scythe head that caught the robot’s torso convinced it to let go, though, and a moment later the two tumbled across the forest floor. The Jack-8, of course, landed much harder than Yayama did, and as the impact wrenched her blade free it left a big slash wound across the robot’s chest. As for the Chopper, it continued to roll, its weighty main wheel utterly obliterating one of the Jack-5 pursuers before the Chopper crashed through a bamboo thicket and came to rest among the broken greenery.

Jack-8s were nothing if not tough, though, and the robot was back on his feet a second later, facing Yayama with a mechanical growl. He put up his dukes as the second Jack-5 heedlessly ran in, then threw himself at the lalafell in a big, clumsy dive. The Jack-8 followed up, dashing forward to execute Two-Step Die, a ruthless knee strike followed by a straight lunge punch. Unlike the Jack-5s, the 8’s arms both included a firing mechanism to magnify each punch with the force of a shotgun, each ejecting a spent slug casing afterward. In this fight, the 5 would be an annoyance, but the bleeding-edge 8 was a threat.

Against Anji, the Jack-8 had an advantage thanks to his brutally aggressive fighting style, but the addition of Therion and Mimi to the mix changed the equation. The thief’s debuffs took the edge off the robot’s physical abilities, while unexpected slaps from the Mimikyu’s shadowy limbs interrupted the Jack’s offense. For all his strength and fighting ability, this latest model shared a weakness with his less sophisticated brethren: being outnumbered. Although by no means a juggernaut, Anji recognized his role in this fight and continued to attack in close quarters to keep the Jack’s attention on him. Faultless Defense and well-timed fan flourishes would keep him safe. When Therion flung his water orb, the blast created an opportunity that Anji capitalized on. The gentleman spent his Tension to unleash his primary Overdrive, [url=https://i.imgur.com/Cb9E7K3.png]Issei Ougi: Sai[/url]. He flung his fans to spin like giant sawblades and strike the Jack repeatedly. Once the Overdrive ended with a hard knockdown, it was a perfect chance for everyone to converge on their foe and try to beat him down together.

[center][h3]The Midnight Walk - Alpine Foothills[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Snowy Thursday Evening
Lvl 9 Sandalphon (92/90) Level 7 Heismay (28/70)
Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double] Ramattra and Tenna’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] Mokou’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1634

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/p76VSWM.png]Nameless Stagecoach[/url][/b]
𖥞: 8/8 | 🛡️: 6/8 | [color=blue]◆◆[/color]◆◆ | [b]Equipment:[/b] Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/Vegetubes/Lightning Rod/Icebox | [b]Companion[/b]: Ratshaker Rat[/center]

As the Seekers gathered, packed up, and got ready to roll out, Sandalphon took stock of the expeditionary resources inside the stagecoach. Although her team hadn’t covered nearly as much ground today as yesterday thanks to their forced stay at the Christmas Village, the festival did offer the substantial silver lining of free food and warmth, so the team’s supplies hadn’t taken much of a hit. If anything, leftovers from the grand feast (procured, naturally, by the team’s number-one foodie Ace) would sustain the travelers for at least another day, and even longer if they could find a way to prevent spoilage. The main cabin’s kitchen did have an icebox, as Sandalphon recalled, but appropriating it for the stagecoach would be antithetical to the holiday spirit, even if the campaign’s needs did logically outweigh those of the storied people here.

On the other hand, that icebox would make an excellent gift, and perhaps the villagers felt enough gratitude for the Seekers’ deft handling of the Ice King situation that they’d be willing to part with it. Sandalphon called up Heismay with her communication sigil to ask him to check if that would be acceptable with Maeve, and after a couple minutes the eugief called back to report Maeve’s agreement. Pleased, Sandalphon then contacted Ganondorf to ask that he requisition the icebox for the stagecoach, reasoning that he had more than enough strength to make it happen–though he probably didn’t appreciate being used for heavy labor. Nevertheless, the warlord obliged, and within a few minutes more the [url=https://i.imgur.com/wyaYyRU.png]icebox[/url] was installed in the stagecoach. The heavy metal cabinet occupied the last bit of free space the wagon had, so in order to add any other amenities going forward, the Seekers would have to take something else out.

After that, the archangel considered ringing up the Avenger to check on the status of Tora’s project, but before she could make any long-distance calls, Professor Layton arrived with questions. For a few moments Sandalphon thought she knew where Layton was going with this, in that he wanted to know more about the Seekers’ target, but his mental throughline took an unexpected turn as he attempted to extrapolate the Seekers’ mission. This subject was hazardous for a gleaming individual, so she decided to draw him back.

“In truth, your primary hypothesis is somewhat inaccurate. Our target is not at Moon Mountain, to my knowledge. This individual, a pugnacious legend by the name of Baldur, supposedly seeks out worthy opponents to defeat, so our goal is to create enough of a spectacle to draw Baldur to us. He has some sort of mythical association with winter and seems to be linked to the long night the Highland is suffering.” She paused briefly, slightly taken aback by the look Layton was giving her. Did he think his intellect equal to the task of scrutinizing her? If a human mind actually did manage to probe hers, its owner might be irreversibly changed by the experience. “To answer your questions specifically, we learned about Baldur from Consul L, ruler of Edinburgh MagicaPolis. Our intention is to quell the threat posed by Baldur by force. He is not the first villain we’ve dealt with, and he will not be the last.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was still true. If Layton got the impression that the Seekers were a roving band of heroes, or at the very last justiciars, he would not be too far off the mark.

By now, the Seekers were pretty good at getting ready to go. Heismay, Mokou, and the others bid their farewells to the village’s elves, kids, and fleas. Once Ace, Edward, and Geralt got the well-rested Shieldrix hitched up, the giant black steel coffin could rattle over the stone bridge and onward along the Midnight Walk.

[hider=The Tale of Kris Kringle]
[b]Destination Reward:[/b] 10 EXP
[b]Fleafriend Achievement:[/b] Everyone
[b]Achievement Reward:[/b] 5 EXP
[b]Tale Completion Reward:[/b] N/A
[i]The true meaning of Christmas eludes them[/i][/hider]

Once the stagecoach reached the other end of the bridge, the matchstick-lined road left the yawning chasm behind and led through a [url=https://i.imgur.com/s0gVgSL.png]snowy pine forest[/url]. These trees were much smaller and less tightly packed than those in the creepy woodland the Seekers dwelt in last night, so the going was a bit less stressful. Fresh snow had begun to fall, perhaps a lingering effect of the Ice King’s blizzard, but it did little to impede the massive vehicle or determined travelers.

The real impediment came out of the blue, literally, in the form of a wall of unnatural blue and black flame that sprung up in front of the wagon so suddenly that Edward was unable to avoid it. It was just like the flame that caught the team off guard in the icy swamp prior to Spire 04 yesterday, and it inspired the same sudden, constricting sensation of impending doom, albeit even more severe. Arguably worst of all was the ratshaker rat’s wailing, which proved almost as incessant as it was disquieting.

[i]The Loathing festers…[/i]

With everyone disturbed and on high alert, Sandalphon stopped the stagecoach shortly after to check up on everyone, but there seemed to be nothing her Angelic Wings miracle could cure. Her team could do little but buckle down and press on, waiting for that dreadfully persistent feeling to subside. It would take a lot more than a little Loathing to undo all the soul healing everyone experienced in the Christmas Village, but it still seemed like a bad omen. They continued through the snowy forest, the road getting bumpier as the terrain beneath the frosty pines became rougher and more uneven. Through the flurries, a daunting new obstacle revealed itself.

[center][img]https://peak.wiki.gg/images/Alpine_Default.jpg[/img][/center]

With Moon Mountain looming larger than ever, the Seekers had finally reached the foothills. Ahead of them towered a tall, implacable cliff of rough blue stone. It presented an immediate problem, so Heismay and Edward (the latter via his reconnaissance drones) got busy looking it over. Though this cliff wasn’t sheer and its many protrusions appeared climbable, it lacked any kind of road or even footpath, so it seemed like anyone who wanted to scale the cliff would need to find his or her own way up from start to finish. At first, this cliff seemed like the end of the road for the team’s stagecoach, but as Edward’s drones followed the Midnight Walk to the base of the cliff, they found a critical clue.

Some kind of [url=https://i.imgur.com/tClYcOO.png]elaborate structure[/url] had been built into the base of the wall, accessible via a short and spacious tunnel. It lay at the bottom of a vertical shaft that went as far upward as anyone could see. Although ridiculous and implausible in theory, the whole thing actually seemed to be some sort of colossal elevator, more than capable of lifting the stagecoach from the ground to the top of the cliff. Unfortunately, the only means of control that Edward’s scouting could find seemed to be a pedestal with a disk-shaped object (possibly some sort of key) missing.

That wasn’t all the cliff had going for it, though. Up, past winterberry trees, geysers, loot-filled suitcases, and even a capybara-laden hot spring, a strange and somewhat terrifying [url=https://i.imgur.com/czci7kf.png]obsidian-black cathedral[/url] stood atop the cliff, hidden in the snowy night. Loathsome tentacles of muscular eldritch flesh crept from its stygian interior, promising a nightmarish encounter for whoever managed to reach the clifftop. Given its position, though, perhaps the key to activating the lift could be found therein. Unfortunately, anyone seeking to climb the cliff would need to contend with intermittent winter winds of chilling power. Able to strip cold resistance from even the most bundled-up adventurers and knock them out with enough exposure, those irregular gales would force any prospective climbers to seek shelter whenever they began to blow. 

Heismay stood up as the stagecoach rattled closer along the rough road to the bottom of the cliff, crossing his arms as he stared up at the cliff through the snowfall. “This should be interesting,” he remarked dryly.

Sandalphon, who’d disembarked to walk alongside the wagon as she tried to scope out the new obstacle for herself, couldn’t help but agree. This looked like a difficult climb even for the most agile Seekers on the team, and judging by the winds that swirled around the dark spires of Oblivion’s Ingress, not even the fliers would trivialize the task ahead of them. Perhaps, she reflected, she should have tried a bit harder at that one minigame in Carnival Town, Connected Climbing Chaos. Remembering Goldlewis made her a bit sad. “...I’ll remain down here, if that’s alright. I am not very physically capable, and would be a much greater hindrance during the ascent than a help. I can warp to anyone who might find themselves in need of my help, however. And please let me know if you discover any way to get this lift working. We cannot afford to abandon the stagecoach just yet.”

Taking a deep breath, Heismay sighed before cracking his neck and twisting his back to warm himself up. He expected that Mokou, Sectonia, and Blazermate would try soaring straight to the top, while Roxas, Ganondorf, Ace, and perhaps Tenna would attempt to scale the cliff. He did not relish making the ascent himself, but it ought to be well within his ability, so the eugief wouldn’t just sit by while the others did all the hard work. “Old bones, don’t fail me now.”