[center][h3]Esaka, the Tiered City - the Pools[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Drizzly Friday Noon
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (278/150) Level 11 Big Band (216/110)
Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Pit’s [@Yankee] Sakura & Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Captain Falcon’s [@Double] Yayama’s [@Chevaleresse] Grima’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1640 / 1086[/center]

Nadia half-expected golden letters to materialize in the air to officially begin the fight, but this was no tournament match under the purview of the Heavenly Principles. Kazuya glared at her with murderous intent in his red eyes, malicious enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. That look told her that this would be a good old-fashioned street fight, no holds barred, with lives on the line. Nadia had fought for her life plenty of times before, whether in this world or her own, but it never got easier even if her sunny smile suggested otherwise. Hopefully Beowulf, who at times seemed to think that everything (no matter how dire) was part of a highly staged wrestling match, could sense the gravitas of this situation and break kayfabe.

At the moment, though, Beowulf seemed to be looking around in an effort to find the camera crew shooting this particular backstage brawl. After a moment he shrugged and raised his hands. “Okay, ready to rumble!”

Kazuya needed no further invitation. He dashed toward the two in a peculiar fashion, moving with a very fast stutter-step just as fast as a run, although not quite as committal. Right now, Nadia really wanted nothing to do with this murderous psychopath, least of all to rush straight at him. What she really wanted was to run away, as far and as fast as she could. By surviving the attack on Banishing Flats, though, she’d proven that this man would need to handle her personally in order to get his revenge. [i]All this for some sneakers,[/i] she thought, but some men were just that egotistical. This cruel tyrant would just keep on hurting people unless she put him down. And she couldn’t do that without getting closer.

Launching forward, Nadia closed the distance on all fours, then pulled her own hand off as she rose. A spray of blood from her stump splattered Kazuya in the face, rendering him blind, and after she reconnected her hand the feral whipped her arm back down. Her hardened nails glinted as she pulled off less of a claw slash and more of a chop, meant to slit the devil’s throat in a single razor-sharp slice.

Somehow, though, Kazuya shrugged off her blinding blood. He stepped to the outside and dipped, expertly dodging the claw slice by centimeters. Nadia had only a split second to register the sizzling steam that rose from his luminous red eyes, then the gloves fist inches away from her face, and then all she saw were stars. She stiffened and stumbled backward, her body in shock, as the punch blew her head clean off her shoulders, kept from flying into the pool only by the cords of muscle fibers that kept it connected to her neck.

Her head swung down and dangled behind her, next to her tail, as her vision swam. Had he broken her nose in one shot? It sure felt like it. In that moment of pain and uncertainty, Nadia changed her mind. “Buhhhh…” With her most genuine death rattle she slumped to the ground, her limp limbs splayed at unnatural angles, as if her body had only just now realized it had been killed. Extra blood leaked from her seams, dripping between the planks around her in a rather convincing fashion. Kazuya couldn’t possibly know about her ability to play dead, after all. Once he thought her slain by his own hand, he wouldn’t know any better than to leave her alone. It was a perfect pivot…almost.

“Fortune!?”

Crap. She’d forgotten about Beowulf. Nadia cracked open one eye to see the wrestler rush Kazuya with his triple charge attack, Wulf Blitzer. “Ao, ao, awooooo!” His foe sidestepped the first charge, backdashed away from the second, and then sidestepped again to put himself at medium range. As Beowulf grabbed his chair and turned to hurl it, Kazuya leaped forward with a flying thrust kick that struck him square in the chest. “Gah!” He flew toward the halal food cart and just barely missed it, skidding to a stop by the rest area’s railing.

With a grunt, Beowulf used the cart to help pull himself up just in time to block a back leg snap kick from Kazuya that pushed him back into the railing. He looked up to see an overhead chop incoming and blocked it with his wrestling belt, then hopped in order to strike with [url=https://mizuumi.wiki/images/0/01/SG_beo_jlk.png]Naegling Knee Drop[/url] on the way up. 

That actually took Kazuya by surprise, which meant Beowulf connected and could continue with an aerial knife edge chop into a double Wulf Blitzer, forward and downward. After bringing his foe back to the ground, Beowulf extended with [url=https://mizuumi.wiki/images/8/89/SG_beo_slp.png]Cheap Pop[/url], a quick stomp, then went for his microphone drop. He held it just long enough to go for a reset, but Kazuya saw straight through it, blocked high, and grabbed him for [url=https://ssb.wiki.gallery/images/5/5f/Kazuya_Gates_of_Hell_SSBU.gif]Gates of Hell[/url]. The savage back-breaker followed by a dismissive straight kick sent Beowulf flying, and he belly flopped to the floor only a foot or two away from Nadia.

He lifted his head up, inhaling sharply through gritted teeth, and was shocked to see Nadia’s fallen head winking wildly. Stunned by the macabre sight, he just stared for a moment before swallowing and giving an almost imperceptible nod. Maybe the wrestler’s kayfabe ability would come in handy after all.

“You MONSTER!” Beowulf pounded the floorboard dramatically, his tone one of almost cheesy dismay. The catgirl’s estimation of his acting skills plummeted. Sniffling, Beowulf rose and pretended to wipe tears from his eyes as he turned to face Kazuya. “Such cruel strength…! You won’t get away with thiiiiiiiiis!” With a bellow he charged, his gait clumsy and slow as if overcome with grief. Kazuya, sneering with disdain, lowered his arms as Beowulf approached. When he dodged, the wrestler overswung with such exaggerated strength that he practically threw himself over the railing behind Kazuya, wailing as he fell toward the pool. “Waaaaaaaaaaagh-!” [i]SPLASH![/i]

A second passed before Kazuya peered over the railing. He found Beowulf floating face-down on the water’s surface, looking like a washed-up corpse thanks to his wolf pelt, and saw no need to besmirch his clothes by examining him any further. “Imbeciles,” he muttered as purple bat wings sprung from his back. “What a farce.”

With a powerful beat of his wings the devil disappeared into the sky. Once they thought he was gone, nearby onlookers began to emerge from their hiding places and approach the field of battle, searching among the aftermath. As far as Kazuya encounters in Esaka went, there was much less damage than usual, thanks mostly to his targets not putting up much of a fight. Splashing and sputtering from down below, however, alerted the citizens to the fact that Beowulf was still very much alive. He swam toward the nearest place where some off-duty fighters and yokai could help him up, and while that was happening, the much grislier-looking ‘corpse’ began to move as well. Nadia [i]schlorped[/i] her head back onto her neck, wrung out the excess blood, and dusted herself off as she got to her feet. As Beowulf approached, soaking wet, she shrugged with a wry smile. “Honestly? As one-sided beatdowns go, not that bad.”

“Says you,” the wrestler sighed, shaking his head. “I’m gonna have nightmares after seein’ your head like that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re alive somehow, but my heart just about stopped. Never do that again, okay?”

The feral giggled. “No pawmises~”

Beowulf sat down at a picnic table, waving off onlookers with assurances that he was fine. Things were settling down and getting back to normal pretty quickly; fights like this were not exactly uncommon occurrences in Esaka, after all. “Well, I’ve seen the leaderboards. If I’m gonna win Tekken, I gotta face that guy again. I barely scratched him!” He threw his hands up in resignation. “Whoever’s writing this storyline coulda given me a fightin’ chance, at least!”

“Hey, you got a couple good hits in! Really helped meowt by gettin’ his attention off me, too!” Nadia plopped down by the wrestler and patted him on the shoulder. “Aw, cheer up, dude! You got a couple more days before the main event. Get some more fights under your belt, maybe a couple spirits, and you’ll be fine. And hey, maybe someone’ll take him out before then.” Beowulf gave her a doubtful look, and she shrugged. “Look, all the other Seekers want him dead too. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” She looked up at the sky, narrowing her eyes against the drizzly rain. “Would’ve been nice if he dropped a hint about where he’s goin’. Can’t see a thing through this purrecipitation.”

As the conversation trailed off, and Nadia began to feel her nose to make sure it wasn’t broken, a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/4c1162aca548.png]young man[/url] with long brown hair approached the two. “Afternoon. Just wanted to say, congrats on surviving Kazuya. That’s definitely a win in my book; the man’s infamous for a reason. And thanks for not wrecking my cart while you’re at it.” He gestured toward his food stand. “If you feel like celebrating your ‘win’ with a bite to eat, I’ll give you a discount as thanks. It’s Lebanese food, straight from my home country. Satisfaction guaranteed.”

Grinning, Nadia turned to Beowulf. “I’ll bite!”

“Gotta keep our strength up,” the wrestler agreed. The two stood to follow Sahad to his cart, careful not to step in the blood Nadia left behind before the rain washed it away.

[hr]

As Primrose strode forward to contact the UN agents, Band hung back, turning to face a different direction and feign being otherwise occupied to keep his attention discrete. When she lightly bumped into Mila, she took the MMA practitioner by surprise. The sight of the tall, gorgeous, and well-muscled dancer stunned Mila for a brief moment, as if she’d been starstruck by a random encounter with a celebrity, before she stepped back to reaffirm her personal space. “Oh, hey there,” she greeted Primrose with a friendly smile as the other two agents looked over. Her voice was higher than one might expect, with no trace of either a New York nor Spanish accent despite her heritage. “Yeah, these are pretty good! I mean, the hotdogs are just, y’know, run-of-the-mill, but the sausages are nice. Whatcha thinking of getting?”

As the conversation began, Band furrowed his brow slightly. Did they really need to be taking this angle with UN agents? They ought to be allies, after all, ready and willing to help one another when possible. Then again, maybe Primrose didn’t really trust them, and she could very well be right to distrust them. The Seekers could never truly count on anyone still under Galeem’s spell.

His attention briefly wandered to the Jeon Ryok Residence nearby. Primrose had recommended that he and Roland experience what she’d called ‘ki tuning’, and the immense palace definitely looked more like a place of spiritual learning than a hospital. Since his new Headlok arms from the eggheads in Lab 8 had been useful but not enough of an upgrade to guarantee him wins in bracket, maybe he owed it to the team to be scrounging for any advantage he could get at this point. He was a little hesitant, though, and not just because he doubted that the tuners could squeeze in an appointment while Primrose was making friends. There were lots of elements of Esaka, both architecturally and culturally speaking, that a born-and-raised New Meridian native like himself would find ‘foreign’, but few wore their heritage on their sleeves like the Jeon Ryok Residence. It was a little intimidating. Band had never heard of ki in his life, for one. His cyborg body featured plenty of instruments that could be tuned, but ki? The detective hadn’t the foggiest.

Still, if it was for the sake of the mission, he’d give it his best shot. Just not now.

He glanced back in the direction of Primrose, listening in. The charismatic dancer had worked her magic, tactfully turning a casual chat about frankfurters and condiments toward the many wonders of Esaka itself. She described the Flame Clock without naming it directly, framing it as a sort of one-of-a-kind tourist attraction, and it seemed to ring a bell. “Oh…I think I’ve seen something like that!” Mila exclaimed. “Up at the Top Tier. It shows up on the Four Kings’ broadcasts from time to time. A big, donut-shaped glass full of purple light, set into the plaza between the four skyscrapers.” She pursed her lips, giving Primrose a sad look. “Oh, but access is restricted. No way you’re seeing it in person.”

“Well, not if you just waltz up there,” Darli grinned as she stepped forward, dwarfing her luchador companion. “But the guards live and breathe the tournaments like everyone else. If there’s a big match goin’ on, you might be able to slip in for a li’l looksie. But you didn’t hear that from me.” She winked.

A few moments later, Big Band’s linkpearl lit up. He heard Sakura’s voice as she made a public service announcement for the team, sharing a juicy detail. “Another Consul?” Band frowned. As the governors who ruled each territory throughout the World of Light, the Consuls had a lot on their plates. If two were about to meet in Esaka, that couldn’t mean anything good. They could simply be getting together to plan their next skirmishes between their respective colonies, but the detective worried that they were joining forces to take action against the Seekers, or worse, the Lost Numbers.

A moment later, he heard Pit on the linkpearl, who requested more information and said he’d look into the matter himself. Band nodded to himself. It sounded like he and the team captain were of one mind.”

Thinking about the other details that Sakura mentioned about the Consul in question, Band tried to remember the map of the World of Light he saw in the Avenger’s bridge, specifically the Forbidden Kingdom. [i]Northwest. Northwest.[/i] While he did look at it prior to his deployment, he couldn’t fully remember the region’s layout. If nothing else, though, the Seekers had a direction, and their exploits yesterday against the Jack shipment had proved that if they could identify where this other Consul was coming from, they could intercept and maybe eliminate him. At the end of the day, the removal of one more Consul (even temporarily) could only benefit the campaign.

Once Primrose rejoined him, Band addressed his companions. “If Sakura doesn’t find out anythin’ else, we oughta get in touch with the Lost Numbers,” he murmured to her and Roland, the latter of whom had been able to hear the announcement thanks to his brand-new linkpearl. “If we can figure out the Consul’s stompin’ grounds, we might be able to figure out which way he’s comin’ from, when, and how. With a strong enough strike force, we can take him out before he and Esaka’s Consul put their heads together.” As he spoke, he felt around the inside of his trench coat. He still had the Fulton Device he (and the other Seekers) had been given just before deployment, so they could pay the Avenger a visit in person. He had no guarantee that the Lost Numbers could give him the info he wanted, but since the members of Moebius were essentially public enemy number one, the Lost Numbers had to be keeping tabs on them.

Band’s gaze returned to the UN members. “I doubt Esaka folks would know much about another colony’s Consul, but we could try ‘em, and if not, see if the Lost Numbers know what’s up.” He narrowed his eyes. “Actually, I’m curious who Sakura heard this from, too. Consul activity ain’t your everyday gossip. Guess I’ll ask next time we meet up.” Since there probably wouldn’t be matches high-profile enough to distract Top Tier guards on day two of Pools, pivoting toward this new lead made sense, but Band was open to suggestion. 

[center][h3]Winterhold College - Moon Mountain[/h3]
[b]Setting:[/b] Frigid Friday Noon
Lvl 10 Sandalphon (90/100) Level 7 Heismay (141/70)
Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double] Ramattra’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] Mokou’s [@Goggy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1618[/center]

One by one, the threats amassed by the Cryptic Overseer crashed against the Seekers’ shore and were broken. Sectonia disposed of the misshapen monstrosity with extreme prejudice, but only minimal difficulty. Heismay, the Ace Cadet, and Ramattra challenged the eerie Stargazer, which proved its strength through a mix of various resistances and punishing attacks, but with Blazermate to assist them the trio ultimately triumphed. Mokou engaged the Cryptic Vulture in a high-flying, spectacular dogfight of ghostly and fiery projectiles, and after some back-and-forth finally incinerated the reanimated bones. And finally, Roxas and Ganondorf tag-teamed the fearsome, four-armed nightmare dentist in a barrage of light and dark, skillfully withstanding its oversized dental tools as they dismantled the mechanical malpractitioner.

Heismay, doubled over and hyperventilating from his back-to-back fights, couldn’t help but remember the room full of corpses with toothbrushes and strange metal headgear. A mad doctor the size of a Gauntlet Runner seemed like just the kind of nightmare that could have slain them. “Tis a rare blessing we met with no such thing ourselves,” he wheezed at Ace. He they had encountered the giant dentist after arduously cleansing the Forgotten Commune, they could have easily been too weary to contend with the Coven.

Once the dentist crumbled into ash, a victim of its own grisly drill, the phantom of Sandalphon that served as her game piece automatically moved across the remainder of the Dice Room’s board. When it came to rest on the one-hundredth space, a burst of fireworks went off, and the ghostly Cryptic Overseer glared down at the heroes responsible. [color=#73ffa9]”Damn it all, I can’t believe this crap! I went all in, stacked the deck against ya, and thanks to you jokers I still went bust! Gaaaaah…”[/color] The giant floating skull sighed and shook his head. [color=#73ffa9]”Welp, I guess that means you’re good to go. Get the hell outta here!”[/color]

The giant double doors swung open, revealing a dark and snowy mountainside beneath a cloudy night sky. Cold air blew in, and the denizens of the labyrinth needed no further invitation to get out. Students, shopkeepers, couriers, and cats all made a break for the exit, stampeding out the doors to freedom. The Seekers got moving as well, Sandalphon using the staff Edward had given her as a crutch as she hobbled as fast as her Petrification Disease would let her. After a moment, though, she found herself lifted into the air by some unseen force as little Alice ran past her, and though momentarily alarmed Sandalphon allowed the psychic cat to carry her out.

Scoffing, the Overseer watched everyone leave. [color=#73ffa9]”Yeah, you better run! Don’t let me see y’all ‘round here again! I’ve got a work to do. Gotta remake this place from scratch, do it all over again. Ain’t nobody gettin’ outta here next time.”[/color] In quick succession, the other rooms of Winterhold College began to collapse in themselves, the cacophony of destruction growing louder and louder behind the last few escapees as they hurriedly made their way out. Then the doors slammed shut, and for a brief moment, all but the biting wind was still.

[center][img]https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/ea8f30525dbf.png[/img][/center]

It took Sandalphon a moment to adjust, both to the low light and the bitter cold. Maybe she’d just gotten used to the more temperate climate within the labyrinth, but it felt even colder out here than she remembered. Once Alice gently set her down, Sandalphon examined her surroundings and found them totally unfamiliar. There was no sign of the snowfield with the spent Drilldozer nor even the college itself, just a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/9cabc89f9ca8.png]mountainside outfitted with some desolate ruins[/url] including the giant double doors built into the rock wall itself. White grass and snow-laden dead boughs poked up between the wind-eroded stone bricks around her, though there were a couple magical lanterns seemingly providing heat, which the college survivors and cats crowded around. A section of the ruins a story or two above the Seekers jutted out over the void, and there some kind of statue sent a beam of blue energy up into the night sky. Maybe this exit had deposited everyone higher up the mountain? When Sandalphon looked upward, she saw the moon looming overhead, very close indeed.

The archangel took a quick head count. Two teammates were missing. “Any word on Tenna or the professor?” It turned out that the last Seekers to see them were Ganondorf and Ramattra, respectively. The former had parted ways with Tenna in the labyrinth, while the latter watched Layon disappear into a hole shaped just like him. Sandalphon pursed her lips and considered the matter, her pupil a loading ring. If Tenna had still been wandering when the labyrinth collapsed, could he have been evacuated to the Christmas village by the Cadet’s felyne rescue squad? She couldn’t say for sure if that sort of demise was something the cat crew could save him from, but she thought it likely. As for Layton, she did not venture to guess what had happened to him, but she could read between the lines and tell what had become of him. Without the two of them, White Team was down to just ten. [i]We can’t keep a new recruit for the life of us,[/i] Sandalhon thought dryly. At this point, the only new recruits to actually stick around for the past few days were Edward, Ramattra, and Heismay. It was a sobering realization.

For another moment she stared at the double doors. The spirits from Sinners’ Inn hadn’t been among the survivors. Had they managed to persist thanks to their ghostly nature? She hoped so. Such kind, innocent souls deserved to rest easy, not be the disposable playthings of some other, evil spirit.

Sandalphon turned her focus to the people still here. A quick cast of Angelic Wings helped sooth anyone still suffering at the battle, and it also helped get the survivors’ attention, many of whom already recognized her as her team’s leader. “We’ve escaped Winterhold College, but our goal lies at the top of the mountain. Yours should be to get to safety.” After geographically positioning herself, she pointed her staff down the mountain in a particular direction. “There is a village to the south at the foothills of the mountain with food and warmth to spare. I recommend making your way there via the Midnight Walk. You’ll need to descend a stone lift and cross a chasm, but it should be doable.”

Byleth stepped forward, shivering from the cold thanks to her particular fashion sense. Behind her stood Primm, Thops, the aphid twins, the silent alchemist, Aramis, Diosdado, and a ton of cats. Primm and Aramis stood arm in arm, keeping one another very warm. “You have our deepest gratitude. We’ll make our way down. Good luck with your quest.” Sandalphon bowed her head, glad to have helped save so many people, and the survivors began their trek downward. For better or worse, Winterhold College was over with.

[hider=The Tale of Frederic]
[b]Destination Reward:[/b] 55 EXP
[b]Tale Completion Reward:[/b] 10 EXP
[b]Identity Crisis Achievement:[/b] Ramattra, Ace Cadet (Made more than one Fred dead)
[b]Achievement Reward:[/b] 5 EXP 
[b]Extra Rewards:[/b] Professor Layton spirit, Godhead Fred spirit, Stargazer spirit, Cryptic Vulture spirit, Nightmare Dentist spirit, Satori Komeji spirit, Crystal Sage spirit, Hauntome spirit x2

..and a cat! That’s right! If you so choose, you can adopt one of the cats from the Palace of Earthly Spirits! You can choose a class miniboss cat like Lucy or Alice (they start out stronger but have less growth potential) or you can make your own using the Mewgenics Kitty Maker website. Create your own cat with a class of your choosing, and it can level up and gain additional actives, passives, stats, or ability upgrades after encounters (depending on how many other cats participate). This is a great way to cultivate a powerhouse with useful abilities, either as a dedicated companion or spirit fodder[/hider]
…Or was it?

As the survivors departed, one hung behind. Though still rather frazzled in appearance, Frederic appeared to be greatly relieved by the death of so many painted Freds. He did not seem to be at peace, however. Approaching Edward and Roxas, he cleared his throat. “Excuse me. About the paintings…I can tell that most are gone. The voices are much quieter, and I almost feel like myself. I have some medical supplies, and they’re yours by way of thanks. But…it’s not over yet.” He extended his hand and pointed a quivering finger at the four-armed painter standing in the snow, staring at him with the void where his face ought to be.

“That one. Right there. That’s the last painting. You can see it, right? [i]Faceless[/i]. The most terrifying one of the bunch…b-but with all of you here, you can definitely take it! Please!”

The faceless painter shook his head, his hands held up in placation.

“Wait a moment,” Heismay piped up with furrowed brow. “According to our hunter, that one tells a different story. He claimed to be the original, and that his face was stolen by an impersonator.” The eugief stared at Frederic. “By you.”

Fred’s lips curled in disbelief, his mustache quivering beneath big blue eyes. “W-what!? That’s insane. I’m the original, who painted all the others. Just look at me! That…that thing, it’s lying! Trying to trick you, I swear!” He pointed at the faceless one again. “Y-you can’t…you can’t let it fool you! Come on, I’m the real Fred! ME! You’ve got to believe me!”