[IC] World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

[Eviledd1984]

@Lugubrious

Harry Dubois

And

𝒦𝒾𝓂 𝒦𝒾𝓉𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾

Word Count: 1033
Level: Lv: 6 EXP: (3/60)
Lv: 4 EXP: (5/40)
Location: Esaka’s Middle Tier - Pool Arena Round 1

Harry had been resting for a bit while Dr.Faust and his team were working on Harry. He was glad to have someone as skilled as Faust helping him. A few moments later, he was bandaged and helped to his feet, much to the protest from Faust. But Harry was not going to hear any of it. Slowly, Harry shambled towards the arena, being helped by Faust, who kept pestering him to consider. ” Don’t worry about me, Doc, I’m gonna be okay.” Harry thanked Faust for helping him get to the arena. Faust gave him a concerned look, even though the paper bag over his face hid his expression. But Harry had a feeling Faust did not want him to fight.

Faust left the arena, leaving Harry to face his new opponent. The giant hairy figure let out a grunt, putting out his hand for Harry to shake. At first, Harry looked confused by the gesture, but carefully shook it off as he didn’t want to anger the beast. The moment before the match started gave Harry a lot of anxiety. He was pretty beaten up, and fighting this creature would probably kill him or put him permanently in the hospital.

Nevertheless, the match started, and Harry quickly got into a fighting stance. Sasquatch smiled, seeing Harry raising his fist. Sasquatch let out a noise that signalled that he was pretty excited. Harry’s opponent started charging towards him. Harry stood his ground for a moment, and at the last minute, he jumped out of the way. Landing on his feet, Harry tried kicking Sasquatch in the leg.

Sasquatch let out a grunt of pain before turning towards Harry. Sucking in a reasonable amount of air into his lungs before blowing it onto Harry. It chilled Harry like he was suddenly inside a cold blizzard. Harry’s hair stood up straight, and his face had a puzzled look. This was enough time for Sasquatch to give Harry a back-breaking hug. There was a loud crack as Harry groaned and muttered a curse in his pained state.

Harry figured he would have to escape soon, or he would look like an accordion. His thoughts were racing with Pain Threshold, letting him endure the pain he was going through. And Physical Instrument is coming up with an idea on how to escape. Harry leaned his head back before slamming his forehead into Sasquatch’s face. Blood was splattered on his face as he broke the creature’s nose.

Sasquatch let go of Harry, who was crouched on the ground trying to recover. Sasquatch wiped his nose with his hand before swinging his long arm towards Harry. Harry leaped over the arm and gave Sasquatch a hard kick to his face. Sasquatch staggered backwards as Harry punched Sas in the stomach. Harry’s fist landed with a hard thud. Harry shook his hand in pain.

There was a brief expression of pain, followed by multiple curses from the detective. The yeti was just recovering as he went back to attacking Harry. Once again, charging at Harry with a shoulder tackle. Once again, Harry moved out of the way, but Sasquatch took him by surprise by punching Harry in the side. It felt like the wind was taken out of his lungs. He lurched forward before falling on the ground. Sasquatch jumped high in the air, which was quite impressive for someone his size. As Sasquatch was coming down, he had his elbow out trying to give Harry an elbow drop. Luckily, Harry had collected himself enough to avoid the elbow drop. There was a nice, big hole where Sasquatch’s elbow had landed on the ground.

”Holy Crap!” Harry blurted out while getting back onto his feet. Harry drop-kicked Sasquatch in the head, dazing the creature. The detective followed up this attack with a couple of hard chops to his chest. Following up from the chops with a european uppercut. Harry’s attack knocked the creature down, but Sasquatch was still not down for the count.

His opponent got back onto his feet. Smiling at Harry, which was a little unnerving to see. Sasquatch was immensely enjoying his match with Harry. And part of him hoped this would last for quite a while. This, of course, was a sentiment that Harry didn’t share with the yeti.

” I gotta say you're tougher than you look. But let’s see how ya like this.” Harry tried spearing Sasquatch but was instead grabbed as Harry landed on top of Sasquatch. Harry’s hand clenched into a fist, slamming his fist into the face of the fluffy giant. Sasquatch eventually stopped the punches by grabbing one of Harry’s fists. Twisting Harry’s arm, and returned the favour by punching Harry square in the face.

The punch had broken Harry’s bulbous nose. Making the bridge crooked, and the tip being smooshed. It was now hard to breathe, so he had to use his mouth. Blood was flowing down his broken nose. Harry kicked Sas in the chest, so he flew backward onto his feet. His rather athletic move was followed by Harry falling on his butt. Sasquatch laughed loudly, clapping from the pratfall.

The detective slowly got back onto his feet. At first, he looked angry at being laughed at, but then he smiled, finding some amusement, and joined in the laughter. After a couple of minutes of this, the laughter stopped. Harry returned to a fighting stance. His bandaged fists were raised near his face. A bit of blood was seeping out, leaving red blotches around his knuckles. Sasquatch hopped towards Harry, and as he got close to him, tried to slap Harry. Harry barely dodged the slap by leaning backwards like he was trying to limbo. Quickly, he straightened up, kicking Sasquatch in the chin.

Sasquatch smiled, finding the effort of kicking him to be quite amicable. But thought now he would like to finish the round. Harry once again tried to attack the yeti, kicking him. Sasquatch grabbed his foot, surprising the detective before slamming him onto the ground repeatedly. Harry felt the pain rushing through his body. A moment later, Harry was sprawled on the floor, and Sasquatch was declared the winner of the round.

[DracoLunaris]

wordcount: 787 (+2) (ammy and rika +1 rapport)
Location: Forbidden Kingdom - Esaka’s Pools
Bowser Jr: Level 15 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(314/150)
Rika: Level 12 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(150/110)
Amaterasu: level 9 (1 level up stored) EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (53/90)

Amaterasu did her best to eat her serving of wings with dignity, but it was a bit tricky to eat at a human table when you had no hands. Still, she had picked the most easy to eat food. No knives or forks needed here, just tasty bite sized wings she could pluck from the plate one at a time.

This ease of eating let her take her time and enjoy the meal, while her sensitive ears stayed pricked and perked, listening out for any useful tidbits that might be dropped by the other diners who could actually discuss the plans.

One of the only bits of conversation directed at her came from a somewhat unlikely place given their early animosity. Namely, it came in the form of Rika asking "Wanna trade some of this for some of that?" while offering her a stick with half a dozen garlicky smelling prawns skewered onto it.

The wolf stared at her, then deliberately glanced from the stick the girl was holding to her paws and then back again, trying to communicate the obvious question of “how do you expect me to eat that exactly?” as doing so would be incredibly impractical.

The ship girl did not get this subtle cue unfortunately, and instead tilted her head and slowly asked "So is that a no orrrrr?" which was very unhelpful as it made a simple yes-no answer basically impossible. Still, with the girl looking increasingly sad at the prospect of not getting to indulge in her attempts to try as much of the menu as possible, the wolf mentally sighed and pushed her plate towards the girl.

The girl immediately brightened up with a little "yay" of delight before grabbing one of the wings and giving an "mmmm" followed by a "Tasty!" upon eating it.

When she tried to put the skewer onto the plate however, the divine wolf barked a ‘no’ at her, which confused the ship girl.

"Huh? Do you not want it?" she asked, to which Amaterasu responded by grabbing her plate with her jaws and carefully sliding it back her way.

Rika tried again by asking "You sure? They’re really good" but the wolf rejected her offer again. The shipgirl frowned but, after a bit of twiddling with the skewer, shrugged and said "Ok then. Thanks for the gift!" and gave Amaterasu just a tiny amount of Praise in the process.

A worthy trade, in the divine wolf’s eyes.

Once the two kids were close to finishing their food (or in RIka’s case, was done asking people for some of theirs) they slid back towards the business of the incoming explosive robot delivery.

"So, right, that map you got. Where's this armoured people carrier or whatever it was called gonna be traveling, N when's it gonna be doing that?" Jr asked, having guessed by the fact that there was time for lunch that this wasn't a particularly time constrained task. Rika also piped up to add her own question of "also any good ambush spots along the way?"

Anji directed the kids' attention toward a winding road on the map, which led up from the peninsula where the Tangled Shore was purported to be and up through the Forbidden Kingdom. Judging by the route, it not only had a north-south section that probably crossed paths with the route the kids took to Shinjuku via Kuebiko, but went east through the farming village that the Seekers fought Yokai in yesterday. That village would make for a good starting point. "As for ambush, perhaps you can make use of all the cover in the bamboo forest," Anji suggested.

"Long as we don’t get into any more fights with pandas or robots or whatever other stuffs itching for a fight in there" Jr (half jokingly) replied to the suggestion of using the bamboo as cover, to which Rika responded that "If we pick a spot early enough we can beat up whatever we need to beat up first and then block or ink the road"

Unfortunately, it seemed like the question if they’d have time for that didn’t have a clean answer.

"As for the exact time, we can't say exactly," Chevalier commented. "We don't have any agents in G-Corp, after all. But they'll want their reinforcements soon, so once you've enjoyed your lunch, you'd better get going." Evidently the French had a great deal of respect for mealtime.

That was certainly something both the kids and Amaterasu could respect as well. Still, the meal could only last so long, and they had both eaten before anyway. As such, it would soon enough be time to go.

For Amaterasu, this meant padding over to Terry to see which mission he was going to hit. For the kids, it‘d involve hitting the road once more, and hoping those coming along had the wheels to let them keep up with their driving pace.

[Terry Bogard]

Level 10 Terry Bogard

_{EXP : 46/100 (+2)
Location : Winecup Hold, Esaka’s Mid Tier
Time : Sunny Thursday Afternoon
Word Count : 1,204}

Instead of being annoyed, Terry was rather amused when the Koopalings began questioning the best meals that the winery had to offer, instead of focusing on the important subject at hand. A part of that reminded him of every time he ate out with his surrogate son when the latter was roughly their age, and just the sight of that made him smile from ear to ear. One could say that he was even close to giggling.

“Alright, alright… I know you kiddos are hungry, but… hear me out!”

Then came the part where Terry came up with the notion of which Seekers should be assigned to which assignments, and it didn’t take a while for Junior to chime in and agree. His exhilaration for the mission finally prompted the king of fighters to giggle for real, saying something along the lines of: “Man, you sure look so excited for the gig, Raphael! I’m jealous that you got to kick more butts. Boo hoo!” And as much as he preferred combating as many battle-hardened individuals as possible, he knew he couldn’t just join Team A and leave Esaka when he had a tournament to attend. Albeit leisure, what if his team’s tournament schedule clashed horribly with Team A’s assignment? He’d never know. He could be right, but he could also be wrong about it.

Nevertheless, a number of Seekers (aside from the Koopalings) seemed to agree with what Terry had to suggest, with Yayama and Roland giving their own takes in particular. Chevalier—and to some degree Anji—also gave them all the right information needed to aid them in the missions ahead, even going as far as providing a map and further details of the type of Jack units the Koopalings and the rest of Team A had to deal with in Midgard. Surely, having decided to stay in Esaka, the information might not be that necessary for him, but he was still glad to be informed, regardless.

“Ooh… Gigas, huh?” he asked, arching a curious eyebrow. “They’re huge cyborgs, ain’t they? Good luck takin’ care of ’em, I guess.” He giggled, then shrugged, just imagining the laughable differences between the Koopalings’ sizes and theirs. However, considering the humongous mechanical striker that Junior accidentally summoned (and the same one that had Terry screaming “holy shit!”), he still had faith in the twins.

While a number of Seekers reasonably held their words back, some seemed to share the same skepticism that he couldn't help but sense throughout the rendezvous, most notably Therion. While Terry didn’t say it, he inwardly agreed with what the Octopath Traveler had to ask. Why bother chasing after G-Corp when their main goal was to overthrow the Four Kings? Wouldn’t it be far more effective if they could just focus on every individual directly connected to each King? But knowing the Kings and their so-called Heavenly Principles, perhaps things were easier said than done. And given Chevalier’s explanation, it was equally reasonable to use G-Corp as a gateway to their primary targets.

“Almost thought the same, too, but now I know. Hei’s offer is a trap in and of itself, ain’t it?” the king of fighters chimed in. “Glad none of us fell for the bait, then, I guess.”

When the rendezvous began to reach its conclusion, a white-haired waitress approached, taking and serving orders for both the Seekers and the UN representatives. Surely, like most staff, she didn’t look so fishy. Or so, it seemed? Regardless, Terry chose to hold his words back until there were no other people but his crew and their newfound allies around.

When the menu was finally passed to his gloved hands, the hat-wearing bruiser picked it, absently flipping its pages. For a Mid Tier restaurant, both the meals and the beverages served were surprisingly pricey, though not as expensive as those of a Top Tier restaurant like L’Amor. After what felt like a while, his eyes soon fell upon the picture of a cake-like dessert mixed and baked with beautifully arranged apple slices. Compared with other meals, the dessert was slightly more affordable than the rest. Though, before he could place an order, he first had to consult with his bestest friend.

“This one?” he asked, then peered over the monkey on his shoulder, pointing a finger at the picture. Ukee, being into all sorts of fruits, nodded without hesitation, screeching loud enough to draw the attention of the nearest customers. “Ha! Okay! We’re gonna eat that, then.” Once decided, he whistled at the white-haired waitress, about to place his order until… he struggled to read the name of the dessert. Funny since the dessert originated from France, and he didn’t have a problem understanding anything that came out of Chevalier’s mouth.

“One apple claw… erm, clay… uh… ugh!” Terry huffed, sheepishly scratching his blonde temple. It took him quite a bit until he finally got the name right. “One apple clafoutis, please. Thank you!” He smiled and nodded at the obviously trustworthy waitress.

When there was no other person nearby to eavesdrop, Terry began opening his mouth again, striking up a conversation. Unfortunately, when he did talk again, Band had already left the winery to attend his third World Warrior match, meaning that he possibly missed out on anything that the king of fighters was about to bring up next. Initially, he wanted to talk about who to send where with his KOF team while waiting for his order. However, he changed his mind. Instead of discussing with his teammates right away, he chose to ask a couple more questions to both Chevalier and the others present at the same table.

“Sorry, guys, I was just wondering. When we’ve agreed to come after Azucena and Chloe, it means that we just have to kick their asses senselessly, right? Not that we gotta finish them off?”

The way Chevalier suggested the plan early on, it sounded as if assassinating them wasn’t just an option. It was a must. Despite his notorious pacifism, ironically, Terry knew exactly how it felt like to (nearly) execute a living person—and the emptiness that came out of it. Some might say that he slain just the right person when he shoved Geese off the top of his tower, though nobody knew the fact that he never intended the bout to end that way. Hell, he never even wanted to kill him. All he wanted to do some years ago was to give the kingpin the bloodiest beatdown of his life, thinking it would’ve let his surrogate father rest easy. But as it turned out, he ended up doing exactly what Geese did to his father when he was 10, and rather than being satisfied, Terry was disgusted with himself.

While Geese did survive the fall, Terry had already made a promise since that he would’ve never made an attempt on someone’s life. But now that claiming two lives seemed to be the objective (let alone the fact that the only real crime that both Azucena and Chloe had ever done was cluelessly partaking in G-Corp’s sportswashing practice), was it wise for him to go ahead with it?

“They’re just baits, right? There has to be another way we can approach this, right?”

Up until that moment, Terry had never been so conflicted in his life.

---

Level 7 Ryu

_{EXP : 27/70 (+4)
Location : The Pools, Esaka
Time : Sunny Thursday Afternoon
Word Count : 3,308}

Ryu’s remorse was still palpable, even after he’d parted ways with Sakura. He’d been looking around the Pools area with a rather tensed look, his face devoid of expressions. As much as he didn’t want to admit, the prior sight of his fangirl breaking into tears and giving him a somber face was still weighing on him. While he didn’t know what prompted her to cry and said stuff like ‘it’s not your fault,’ he knew that he had to be part of the reason why she even felt gloomy to begin with. He assumed it might’ve had anything to do with him leaving Esaka for a long period of time, but what if it was something else? Something far grander and darker than his rather miniscule brain could think of? Something related to his… gleaming red eyes?

No matter! As long as I’m here, Sakura will be fine. I just have to continue fighting and meet her in the bracket, do I?

Most importantly, he didn’t want the guilt to get the best out of him in the tournament. Not when he’d gotten this far. Breaking out of his reverie, the street fighter began scanning the area seriously, finding that he’d absently strolled past a small pond with waterfalls and statues of Herculean men grappling with mythical horses. If the nearby map board was to go by, his next stage, F-187, was supposedly within reach. And it appeared that he couldn’t be any truer.

▶︎• ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌၊|• 2:06
_{Theme of Makoto Mizoguchi – Fighter’s History}

Ahead of him was a spacious timber bridge connecting the stony-floored area with the small, abandoned island where the alleged ‘bonus cars from Hell’ were dumped, holding a torch and a traditional kettledrum that simply matched the illustration provided by the map board. Overlooking the bridge was a cliff with a massive waterfall cascading past its bedrock and an abandoned traditional Japanese house surrounded by a cluster of trees facing the cliff from afar.

Right across from the street fighter on the bridge was a fellow headbanded man seemingly in his late 20s or early 30s hurriedly running towards the makeshift stage. At first glance, he looked almost identical to the original World Warrior champion, save for the white (seemingly lengthier) headband, the lack of karate gi, and the dark school trousers—a peculiar sight for a grown adult who was about as old as the other headbanded warrior was. Ryu recognized who this man was. In fact, both his dojo and the man’s dojo had a rather intriguing history together.

Once upon a time, the Street Fighter Dojo took a legal action against the Fighter’s History Dojo after its founder, Jinborov Karnovski, allegedly stole and produced cheap imitations of the Street Fighter Dojo’s missing secret scrolls for his dojo’s applicants to learn from. While Karnov was later proven to be innocent (and the missing secret scrolls have never been found until this day), the damage had already been done, and since then, the Fighter’s History Dojo had been struggling to attract new applicants. Nowadays, though, the Fighter’s History Dojo has become one of the many subsidiaries of the KOF Dojo spreading all over Esaka. While their applicants used to be banned from competing in the World Warrior tournament during the legal proceedings that took years to conclude, things had started to change lately with the inclusions of Mizoguchi and Samchay.

“Mizoguchi!” Ryu greeted, as he closed in on his third opponent, his bare strides finally grazing the bridge’s rough, ligneous surface.

“Hah! Ryu! There you are!” Mizoguchi returned the warm greeting with a wide smile, panting and halting his strides. Hands on his knees, he tried to control his breath before adding: “Shimatta! Guess I’m late to the party now, huh? Sorry to disappoint ya.”

Ryu, seeing how Mizoguchi had been bowing repeatedly in apology, drew an amused smile. “It’s fine, Mizoguchi. The match hasn’t even started yet. Though, it is true that I’ve been expecting your arrival,” he reassured, then lowered his duffle bag, letting it fall close to his feet. Then, he reciprocated his opponent’s bow of apology once. “It’s good to see a Fighter’s History Dojo representative in this tournament after what feels like an eternity. I almost assumed you had already signed up for the King of Fighters tournament like you normally did.”

Mizoguchi widened his already wide smile, his teeth bare and his hand around the nape of his neck. Just like Ryu, he still remembered the bad blood between their dojos. “Yeah, I gotta admit, that court thing was a bit of a hot mess, ain’t it? Glad y’all ain’t so mad at us anymore,” the Jissen karate practitioner joked before adding: “Actually, I did wanna enter the KOF tournament, but you know what held me back?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ryu admitted with an arching eyebrow. “Do tell me, then. Perhaps you missed the thrill of competing in the World Warrior tournament, my friend?”

“Nah… It ain’t just that,” Mizoguchi revealed, darted his eyes left and right, then leaned a step closer to Ryu to whisper: “There’s somebody I’m looking after…”

Ryu widened his eyes momentarily before narrowing his gaze at Mizoguchi. “Oh, really?” he asked. “And who might this person be?” Face stern, the street fighter was half-expecting Mizoguchi’s target to be somebody as threatening as Bison (or perhaps, Bison himself). But as it turned out…

“It’s the guy who stole Naniwa Ichiban’s mighty octopus the other day,” the comical headbanded man revealed, which elicited a puzzled reaction from Ryu. “And I think it’s not even a guy. He looks like a… clanker.”

“Huh? Clanker?” Ryu asked, oblivious to the rather modern lingo used by Mizoguchi. “What’s that?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Mizoguchi asked, gritting his teeth and facepalming. And here he thought he was the most old-school guy ever. “It’s a robot. R-O-B-O-T. Got that? And not only did that clankin’ scum leave with the octopus, nope, he even bet the crap outta the owner while I was away! And that just doesn’t sit right with a top tough guy like me, Ryu. ’Least not when the owner’s my father’s friend.”

“Oh, so that’s what! I, uh… I’m sorry,” Ryu said, his face dropping slightly. “So you’re saying that this robot you are looking after is… participating in this tournament?”

“Yosh!” Mizoguchi confirmed with a nod, smirking and bumping both of his fists together with a vigorous bam! “Heard rumors about ’em joining the tournament, so that’s why I’m here! To give that clanker a historical ass-whooping and avenge Naniwa Ichiban’s owner for good!”

As he listened, Ryu caressed his mandible and nodded, visibly impressed. “Hmm… I see. I commend your fighting spirit, Mizoguchi, but hearing your reason makes me wonder… Is it possible that the robot you were referring to was… Seth? Or was it Jack-5?” And he only thought of Jack-5 upon remembering what happened at the Banishing Flats last night. Jack-5 attacking a random takoyaki shop nearby might not be too hard to believe, after all.

At the question, Mizoguchi shook his head. “Nah… No chance in Hell,” he answered. “Actually, I don’t think any of us has ever seen this robot before. They said it’s awkwardly jacked, faceless, has some kinda funny-lookin’ golden chest plates and, I guess, red gauntlets?”

Hearing the description, Ryu was even more puzzled. He tried to recall if he’d ever met any machine with the exact same appearance in the past, but so far? He couldn’t remember any. “Hmm… Odd. I don’t think there is anybody in Esaka who looks exactly like that, let alone in the World Warrior tournament. At least, not that I can think of,” he said with a small, defeated shrug. “Nevermind… Let us fight, shall we? I’m sure we’ll find that mysterious ambusher you’re looking for, as either of us advances.”

Mizoguchi grinned again, struck an akimbo pose, then pointed a dramatic finger at Ryu, his toned chest puffing. “Ha ha… Yosh! Now we’re talking! I hope you know that I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he told Ryu, enthused and exhilarated, before stomping the ground and striking a pose similar to one of his opponent’s taunts. “Ora!”

“Koi!” Closing his eyes, Ryu then brought his hands over the back of his head, tightening the knot of his headband. He drew a deep, deep breath. “The answer lies… in the heart of battle!” The street fighter opened his eyes, then crossed his arms over his face, slamming them with a sharp motion. Then, instead of a metaphysical bell, the kettledrum was drummed.

DUM!

DUM!

Loud enough to attract the nearby unoccupied contestants. As both competing fighters assumed their respective stances, the glittering light emerged and flew out of the water, transforming into a cue separating the two that read:

---

_{RYU VS. MAKOTO MIZOGUCHI
ROUND 1 – FIGHT!}

---

As usual, the glittering light dispersed and transformed into a timer and the pairs of health bars and power meters. The two headbanded men began to circle one another, trying to get into each other’s head. This was the third round, so Ryu expected Mizoguchi to perform immaculately, given that he’d gone this far. From the sidelines, the street fighter could already hear dozens of fellow Esakans screaming his name, telling him to “rough him up!” and that he should “show no mercy!” As expected, given the history between the Street Fighter and the Fighter’s History Dojo, the spectators didn’t seem to treat Mizoguchi nicely, calling him all kinds of insulting nicknames such as “Ugly Ryu!” and “Fighter’s Knockoff!” While Ryu remained unfazed, Mizoguchi, on the other hand, started to sweat and darted his eyes around anxiously, visibly affected by the crowd’s brutality.

After a moment of silence, eventually, Ryu leaped back just enough to distance himself from his opponent. Mizoguchi did the same, as if already reading what the street fighter was thinking. Sure enough, when Ryu launched a fireball out of his hands, Mizoguchi did the exact same thing, letting the tiger-shaped projectile collide with Ryu’s palm-shaped one.

“HADOUKEN!!”

“TIGER BAZOOKA!!”

WHAM!

The impact was so great it created a sharp, resounding noise upon collision. Perhaps now he knew why most Esakans labeled Mizoguchi one of his biggest, most blatant copycats. The way the delinquent approached the bout—coupled with his fireball technique—said it all. A funny coincidence, indeed. It felt like he was fighting himself more than anything.

Both competing men continued to distance themselves from one another, even after their projectiles had collided. Face hardening, Mizoguchi ducked and brought his hand forth, blasting another “TIGER BAZOOKA!!” out of his palm as if it would’ve fruited anything. Ryu, predictably, went with the same approach, bringing both of his hands forth to launch another “HADOUKEN!!” out of his palms. It was a bigger, heavier Hadouken than the one he launched prior, easily engulfing the Tiger Bazooka before its eventual dissipation.

_{“Kuso...”}

Impatient and irritated, Mizoguchi went on to try a different approach. Instead of distancing himself, he closed in on the street fighter with an abrupt leap, executing his own take on Ryu’s famed dragon punch. Seeing this, Ryu did the exact thing, leaping forth and countering Mizoguchi’s fiery dragon punch with that of his own.

“KORYUSAI!!”

“SHORYUKEN!!”

POW!

The flying uppercuts connected with each other, erupting an explosive hitspark that jolted and sent both lookalikes back atop the bridge. When Ryu finally reached the ground again, Mizoguchi wasted no time and bombarded him with a series of fiery, flying kicks—a technique oddly similar to a certain long forgotten variation of Ryu’s Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku. The headbanded delinquent sounded his battle cry aloud, though it wasn’t clear whether he was shouting “CHESTO, CHESTO, CHESTO!!” or “RENZO, RENZO, RENZO!!” due to the crowd’s deafening noises.

CLASH!

Fortunately, when the Renzoku Geri was within reach, Ryu was able to anticipate the series of kicks in time, instinctively parrying each and everyone of them with an energy-laced wrist. Each time the wrist connected with his opponent’s foot, a loud clash echoed, a blue, almost fluid-like spark emerging. Before Mizoguchi could finish the combination attack with an ankle drop…

THWACK!

…Ryu had already lunged forth with a high-leaping hurricane kick.

“TATSUMAKI SENPUUKYAKU!!”

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

WHAM!

The spinning kick hammered the delinquent’s cranium over and over, pushing him further and further towards the other end of the bridge. He could feel the street fighter’s bare ankle knocking his brown temple rather firmly, building up his stun meter slowly but surely. The harsh mockery of the spectators grew louder and sharper, urging Ryu to knock him out right there and then because they couldn’t stand his opponent. Fortunately, in spite of the rejecting bunch, Mizoguchi wasn’t truly alone. The other Fighter’s History guys were present, stuffed and hidden between the mocking bunch by the sidelines, yet their noises were equally loud.

“C’mon, Makoto! Don’t just stand there like a wimp!” shouted a spiky-haired detective, his teeth gnashing and his clenching hand raising high. “Rough him up and knock him out!”

“Yeah, Mizoguchi!” shouted a brown-haired woman in a torn Taekwondo uniform. “C’mon! You can do better than that. I know you can!”

“Go for his weak spot, Mizoguchi!” advised a nak muay with a thin mohawk who also happened to participate in the same tournament. “Remember our last training!”

Samchay’s advice was loud enough to reach Ryu’s ears, as he continued to pressure Mizoguchi with one strike after another. Knowing the legal dispute between his dojo and his opponent’s, it just occurred to him that the reason why the Fighter’s History Dojo emerged victorious in the court was because they successfully proved that the contents of the alleged imitations of the Street Fighter Dojo’s secret scrolls detailed the many ways they could utilize their opponents’ weak points to their advantages (the cheat codes rarely taught by other dojos), instead of blatantly copying the secret techniques from the alleged stolen scrolls. The scrolls dictated that every fighter had their own weak point, and it’d even been a known secret among many Esakans that the Fighter’s History combatants had the most jarring weak points of them all, which led Karnov to compose said scrolls. Now, it was clear that all Ryu had to do was to figure out what Mizoguchi’s weak point was.

Initially, Mizoguchi managed to fend himself from the subsequent flurry of strikes, blocking each flail and kick coming his way. However, as Ryu began mixing up lighter, more digestible strikes with heavier ones, the delinquent’s defense began to falter. He continued to be knocked back, perhaps close to getting cornered. Loud grunts and red liquid drops began to leave his mouth, albeit in the most theatrical fashion.

POW!

POW!

WHAM!

“Ouchouchouchouch–!!”

When he began working on Mizoguchi’s temples with his fists, it didn’t take long for Ryu to notice that his opponent’s white headband had been flickering uncontrollably. Perhaps, this was the kind of weak points that Karnov had been talking about in those scrolls. Instead of a body part, it was an accessory presumed to grant a Fighter’s History combatant either a protection or a special ability, which made it all the more obvious. All it took for Ryu now was to execute Jodan Nirengeki—a flail and a kick so strong it instantly stripped his opponent off his headband.

WHACK!

And just like that, the kick sent Mizoguchi colliding with the nearby kettledrum with a resounding thump, immediately bouncing him back across the bridge. He quickly sprung up, but instead of entering his fighting stance, the delinquent was frozen in place, his brown hair disheveled and his stun meter completely filled. He could feel the stage around him spinning, imaginary octopuses swirling around his head rather comically.

As somebody who valued fair fights, Ryu chose to wait for Mizoguchi to recover, while he began charging and concentrating his inner force, spirals of dark ink forming around him. They grew thicker and hotter by seconds, though even after what felt like forever, the delinquent remained frozen, unable to move nor fight back. A yellowish light began to glow around him, flickering faster and faster as if urging him to execute his Focus Attack already. The majority of the crowd even agreed, demanding Ryu to just “knock him out now!”

“Urgh…!! Mizoguchi, gomen...”

Unable to contain the overwhelming rush of energy any longer, Ryu forced himself to channel his spiraling inner force into an ink-trailed fist, bashing his opponent’s torso with a resounding…

KA–POW!

Eyes wide, face pale, Mizoguchi could feel his bones crumbling and his knees shaking at the sensation. He could’ve sworn he was close to throwing up right there and then. Even worse, it wasn’t just an average Kaze no Kobushi that Ryu executed onto Tiger the other bout, but rather, the Level 3 variant that dealt with far higher damage.

Mizoguchi staggered a few strides back, hands around his ribs, as his eyes desperately searched for his own health bar. In just a split second, the super move had depleted what was left of his health bar, emptying it altogether.

“R– Really!? I…”

He was left speechless. After a small, bloody cough, the delinquent rolled his eyes—more out of exasperation than it was overwhelming agony. He brought himself down on his knees, then crumpled, still deciding between laying on his midriff or simply kneeling. His arms fastened their clutch around his ribs, and his ferocious face sank deep into the bridge, tears coursing down his cheeks at the knot in his chest. As the match reached its conclusion, the kettledrum was drummed.

DUM!

DUM!

Both the timer and the pairs of bars flew overhead, merging to form an enormous announcement that read:

---

_{K.O.
ROUND 1 – RYU WINS!}

---

Mizoguchi was strong, indeed, but Ryu also thought that his opponent could’ve delivered a better performance than what he showed him. Most of the spectators, however, exploded in joy, as Ryu emerged victorious in what appeared to be a one-sided bout. Out of sympathy, the street fighter approached his fellow headbanded warrior, holding out a helping hand.

“What’s wrong, Mizoguchi?” he asked. “Haven’t been feeling like yourself?”

Gnashing his teeth, Mizoguchi lifted his face, then accepted his opponent’s hand, using it to prop himself up. The tears still welled up on the corners of his eyes, but he was quick to wipe them away—a sight laughable for somebody as brutish as he was.

“I knew I could’ve done better, but dammit… Those dumbasses,” Mizoguchi protested, then glared sidelong at the disrespectful jabronis by the sidelines, his ears vividly catching the chant “Ugly Ryu!” shouted loudly and repeatedly. “They’ve been distracting me the whole time! What’s wrong with these punk ass wimps, anyway??”

Ryu followed where Mizoguchi was glaring at, capturing the same view of rabid spectators calling his opponent all sorts of derogatory nicknames. Oftentimes, they’d even trash around the bridge, tossing toilet papers and peculiar banana peels in Mizoguchi’s direction. And just the sight of that made Ryu scowl.

“Well, this doesn’t look too good,” he remarked before looking back at the fellow headbanded man in front of him, his face softening. “It’s fine. The next time we fight, just pretend as if those people never exist. The fight is what matters the most, not some frivolous jeers.”

It’d been revealed now that the crowd had gotten the best out of his opponent. Unlike Ryu, Mizoguchi had a very, very short fuse, so managing emotions wasn’t exactly his forte. Though, hearing the street fighter’s advice, it did make him think that he should’ve been able to put aside his doubt and fury rather than let them ruin his performance.

“Welp, yeah… I guess you’re right, Ryu! This is the match of my dreams. I’ve always wanted to fight you. I shouldn’t have let some assholes discourage me from fighting,” Mizoguchi agreed, realization finally dawning on him. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to put up a cheery demeanor again, his thumb striking up and his wide, optimistic grin restored. “Yosh! Don’t worry, Ryu! Starting the next round, I’ll give ya my best shot!”

“Now that’s the spirit!” Ryu approved, then raised his fists below his mandible, a small smile drawn. “So, Mizoguchi, ready for Round 2?”

“Oh, you bet!” Mizoguchi exclaimed, bumping his fists together vigorously. “I’ll bring ya my A-game, Ryu. That’s a promise. Kakattekoi!”

FIN.

[Yankee]

Christmas Village - O Holiday Outfitters

Ace Cadet, Sectonia, & Blazermate

Word Count: 5678 (+6 exp/12 rexp)
Location: Christmas Village, the Frozen Highlands

It was a little surprising to find such a bustling, welcoming town this deep into the Highlands, especially when most of what had preceded it were miserable, horror-filled lands. But as far as surprises went, this was a pleasant one - and the festive atmosphere was sure to be infectious. It wasn't long before a local ambassador came over to greet them all.

As Ace listened to Maeve's explanation of what type of holiday Christmas was, he came to equate it with similar ones of his own world. "So it's like Lumenhymn, or the Winter Star Festival," he said with a smile and a nod. The events sounded the same, even if some of the aesthetics differed. If they had to get stopped by a blizzard on their path, this seemed like a pretty great place to get stuck.

The Cadet also didn't mind helping the villagers out with their celebration preparations, and not just because there was a feast to look forward to. The Seekers would probably be able to get some supplies for the road here, and with the use of the market board for fast ordering maybe they could even get more outlandish things, like say... items to repair a giant steel carriage. So might as well get along with the locals and make merry in the mean time. So when Sandalphon volunteered them to assist, Ace gave her and Maeve a thumbs up.

"Sounds groovios to me."

Sectonia, upon reaching this Christmas town, was one of the few seekers that already knew what it was. Surprisingly Blazermate also knew what it was, and while there were a few differences in how the two knew Christmas, it was still mostly the same. And this town was following most of those core concepts. While Blazermate floated around looking at the town, Sectonia threw a couple Antlers at the blizzard. First ice to see how cold it was; they froze, and red to see if they could melt it; they couldn’t.

So finding her magic wasn’t doing much to it, she relented and went to check out the town more, eventually getting her hands on the ‘to-do’ list that would dispel the blizzard. Strange, but she had seen weirder rituals that weren’t as wholesome so... why not? At least the town was warm, compared to the other coldness of the trail.

The village’s decorative lights glowed all the brighter for the overcast sky, which had been made worse by the roaring blizzard just outside of town. It was as though the red, green, and gold shine of ornaments, string lights, and festive outfit accessories really might have the power to disperse a storm so long as they were charged up enough with cheer. It made walking around the village a pleasant experience, and that was without factoring in all the interesting sights, smells, and people. After one good lap around the place it was clear that Christmas Village was not as large as it appeared to be though. It had plenty of things to do: entertainment in the form of activities, dining and shopping, listening to locals sing impromptu little concerts outside in the snow… but they were all relatively clustered together, meaning it did not take long for any Seeker keen on exploring to have gotten the gist of the entire town.

So what was left? The insides of its establishments of course, and none drew the eye more than the village’s central hub, the huge meeting hall / workshop / mill / blacksmith / whatever else the people that lived there needed. From the outside it was hard to really get a sense for everything that could be found within.

So, naturally, Ace entered to check it out.

The interior was laid out almost like one huge open market, just with walls and a ceiling to keep the cold out. There were two large fireplaces in addition to a kitchen that kept the whole building heated, and multiple wide rooms across from and adjacent to each other. Each one had a similar but distinct function it seemed, though most were for getting creative. On the far side from the main entrance there was another door that led outside which included a patio for a kiln, and after peeking his head into most of the rooms that was where Ace had been headed. Originally.

He was stopped by a well dressed woman with a square head, who stood in the doorway of one of the public rooms. A small sign on the wall next to the entry read Christmas Clothier.

“Sigh,” she said, pronouncing the word rather than just actually sighing as she pointed at him. “So many visitors show up in plain old black and white. Good thing I’m here to get tourists into the spirit... or at least into some colorful clothes.”

Ace looked down at himself. He hadn’t thought he looked that bad, but the heavy coat he wore was just a dull, dark shade of gray. The colors of his gloves, boots, and belt didn’t pop much either, especially compared to the fashionista’s outfit of bold red and gold with a thick layer of matching makeup. It was on theme, but stylish and modern compared to some of the more silly looking getups that some citizens were walking around in. Although to be fair, plenty of equally garish and bedazzled pieces of clothing lined the racks in the room behind the woman.

She raised a thin, perfectly shaped eyebrow at Ace expectantly, and he gave in without much of a fuss, holding his hands up in surrender.

”You’re not gonna hear me hem-ming about new clothes,” he told her with a friendly little grin. ”Sew whatcha got?”

The woman seemed satisfied at the easy acceptance and gestured for the monster hunter to enter, though at the same time something else caught her eye. Well, honestly the large figure floating down the hall was impossible to miss.

While decorations would be what Sectonia wanted to do the most, she’d need to get an idea of what decorations they wanted here. Popstar used mostly stars, but Blazermate mentioned baubles that she'd put up for Christmas when the two of them met in town. So leaving the decorations for later, she instead took the medabot to help with the costume design. While not a crafter, Sectonia was sure she could at least teach Blazermate some basic motions that she could do with relative perfection. They'd entered the workshop to find Ace already there speaking with the person apparently in charge of costumes. The lady in question looked the alien bee up and down.

“And who’s this diva?”

”Queen Sectonia.” she said matter of factly. She wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to introduce herself.

”Oh, oh, I’m here too. My name is Blazermate. Although I don’t know how well I’ll do making costumes. Sectonia says I could probably do something though. I’m not a sewing machine though…” Blazermate said. As Blazermate was flying behind Sectonia, she wasn’t as easy to observe at first.

The fashionista looked impressed with Sectonia's title of queen, or as close to it as she could possibly look with her face mostly still with painted on beauty. Even if Blazermate's introduction was longer, it unfortunately fell flat since it followed literal royalty. But the woman wasn't as unfriendly as she might look to modern people, and she pursed her lips in a small smile at the two of them.

"Welcome to Christmas Village, now let's get you all into something more appropriate," she said. Though she added with a nod to Blazermate, "we do have bolts of fabric and some sewing and embroidery machines here, but you don't have to actually make the clothes."

With the three newcomers inside the clothier section, it was apparent why they might not need to take a crack at actually sewing: in addition to just the racks they could see from the hall, there were rows and rows and shelves upon shelves of outfit pieces to be found. Everything from plain, pattern-less clothes in holiday colors to intricately designed ensembles with detailed stitch-work, along with dozens of accessories and accent pieces, as well as literal costumes of classic holiday icons: reindeer, Christmas trees, nutcrackers, and of course Santa Claus.

"When we tell visitors to make outfits, we're talking about the actual coordination. You know, the fun part?" The fashionista placed her hands on her hips, indicating with a tip of her head to the huge assortment of clothing options and the dressing rooms in the far back. There actually was someone in one corner in the middle of making a knit holiday sweater who waved at them all before going back to her task, but otherwise just taking pre-made parts and dressing up was the name of the game.

"I heard we got a big group of people new to town today. Are you all part of that? If so, why not pick some festive outfits for your friends too? Giving is, like, always in fashion here."

”Ah I see, if that's the case…” Sectonia said, lowering her hand as she was about to summon Antlers to aid with the costume making. If it was making something out of an ensemble, that would be a lot easier. Perhaps a bit less to her exact style choices, but she could think of a few things.

”Sandalphon should have some angel looking outfit, complete with flowing robe. Tenna feels like some sort of reindeer outfit, or something with antlers… Mokou would need some holly wreath outfit. Ganondorf would have an amusing juxtaposition by dressing him in a Santa outfit. I will be a decorated tree-like costume, although for Roxas, Edward, and Ramattra I am not sure yet.” Sectonia said, thinking out loud about what would fit each person properly. She didn’t mention Ace and Blazermate as they were right here and could make their own decisions, although for Ace, Sectonia figured another reindeer would fit him.

”Oh, maybe some kinda snowman for Roxas? He could look alright like that?” Blazermate offered, totally unsure since she wasn’t much one for this kinda thing.

While some ideas were being listed the clothier herself went to find and pull out a few pieces that matched the suggestions. As she did that, Ace made a hmmm noise as he turned in a circle, looking at all the options. If this weren't all for fun the sheer amount of choices might have honestly been a little overwhelming. He was happy to choose something for himself eventually, but for the others? He'd have to really think about what they might like, or at least tolerate for the duration of their stay in Christmas Village.

"Did you just come up with those or had you been thinking about how to dress everyone up since we got here?" Ace joked, given how quick Sectonia was to decide what she thought would be best for most of the group. He tried to picture the various Seekers in her suggestions, though there was one that he didn't have the context for.

"What's a santa, by the way?"

”Oh Oh! I know this one! Let me do it!” Blazermate said, zooming over to the outfit ensemble and pulling out a santa coat and a santa hat way, way too big for her. Sectonia nodded, but made a correction. ”Where I am from, the tip of the hat is crowned by a star, not a puffball. But otherwise that's accurate, yes.”

Which didn't tell the Cadet exactly what a santa was, but at least what it looked like. Or dressed like? Maybe it was a person? At the very least since it was red and white he got why it matched with the rest of the holiday aesthetics. He nodded, then looked at the medabot holding the outfit up and asked, "what are you thinking, Blazermate? Are you gonna change into something too?"

”Uh…. I’ll probably just wear a santa hat. I know its really low effort, but anything too bulky and It’ll make flying a hassle. Also can’t cover my pigtails since thats where my flying mechanism is in.” she said. While fusing with the shipgirl sun goddess did give her the ability to wear a kimono and still fly, instead of the scantily clad schoolgirl look she had before, that was more an exception than the rule.

"Nonsense, we can find you a fit that's just as functional as it is fashionable," the clothier said as she walked back over with a load of clothes and costumes in her arms. She piled them all on a table in the center of the room. There were many classic Santa outfits among them, along with some more unique ones, but everything she brought over were just some of many options the Seekers tasked with outfitting the group could go with.

"Like if you're going to be flying... how about something that rings? To really get into the mood. Like this."

She tossed a red and green outfit at Blazermate that jingled when she caught it. It was probably familiar to her as something a Christmas elf might wear... or a medieval jester. Either way, it wasn't bulky at all and the loose parts would flutter prettily in the air. Ace had started picking through the clothes pile, and he grinned when he spotted a green version of the Santa hat Blazermate had just shown him. He tossed it over to her too, since it would fit with what she was holding. The complete outfit was pretty festive, but as for if it was to her taste...?

”I guess that’ll work?” Blazermate said, shrugging and trying on the outfit. She really didn’t seem to care one way or another. At least this was a temporary thing, flying with bells ringing might be festive, but they’d make her way easier to spot in the air if they had to fight. Really christmas stuff wasn’t her thing, but her style of things weren’t holiday themed really.

"It doesn't look bad," Ace commented, stroking his chin in thought. The hat and mantle combo with her glasses was pretty cute. Maybe if the colors were different it would match Blazermate's white and blue metal better, but that would defeat the purpose of wearing the garish red and green in the first place.

One outfit down, ten to go including Sectonia and Ace. Not everyone would be as casual about wearing a holiday outfit as Blazermate though, so the picks for the rest of the team would have to have a little more thought put into them.

...or not, since it was just for the day.

The fashionista presented her next pick to Queen Sectonia, a simple but pretty Christmas tree themed dress. It was cut in such a way that it would fit her unique body shape just fine, slim at the top but ballooning out at the waist. And though at first it didn't look like it would fit considering the queen's measurements (she was already brushing the ceiling of the room), if she tried it on the dress would grow to near perfect size.

Though if she didn't like the professional's choice, there was always the amateur's. Ace dived back into the massive amount of clothes and returned with something much more literal for a decorated tree costume.

"Check this one out!" he said, quite proud of the find.

Sectonia took the first choice, preferring the more elegant simpleness to it. Although she did comment on Ace’s pick. ”You should wear that one. The bulk fits your frame better.” She said, pointing out how it was so large and bulky instead of slender and voluptuous like Sectonia.

"You think so?" Ace held the costume up against his own body. It wasn't what he'd personally pick for himself, but he'd always been a function over form type of guy. For the most part. It might surprise some people to know, but professional monster hunters of his world did tend to hold fashion in high regard. While they mixed and matched armor pieces, they would also go out of their way to avoid wearing the dreaded "clown suit" - too many pieces that clashed and was sure to draw mocking comments from fellow guild members, whether hunters, handlers, or even scriveners (who were always sharply dressed in their uniforms or overcoats).

Well it wouldn't hurt to at least try it on. If nothing else maybe the girls would get a laugh out of seeing him dressed like a tree.

While he went to change (unaware the sweater he had under his coat actually fit the holiday theme already), their host looked back at Sectonia and Blazermate. "Alright, I heard angel, reindeer, wreath, santa, and snowman for your friends. Good start. How many do you have left? If you're running out of ideas, just tell me what they look like and I'll help you out."

Sectonia explained Edward and Ramattra. Discussing Edward, she did have an idea to give him a ”Perhaps a nutcracker outfit for him.” but Ramattra more or less stumped her. There was Krampus, but such an ugly thing wouldn’t work for a costume.

The description of their three legged, one armed companion also seemed to throw the clothier for a loop, but after a moment she composed herself. She normally didn't face such challenges when it came to outfitting the people of Christmas Village or their regular volume of visitors, but failing to include someone (especially on celebration day) was out of the question.

"I'll see what I can do... in the meantime, look around, see what appeals to you. Most of the gimmick outfits are on that side of the room." She motioned to a large array of costumes just past the pile, and with that she went to put her brain to work.

Not long after Ace emerged from the changing room, shed of his heavy coat and instead in the bushy tree costume. It covered him from head to toe, save for the cut-out where a few tufts of scarlet and gold hair poked out along with his face. He looked pretty ridiculous, and fully aware of that he struck an exaggerated pose for Blazermate and Sectonia.

"How do I look, ladies?"

”Like a fuzzy tree!” Blazermate said.

Sectonia knew she did this for a bit of a laugh, but at least Ace owned it. So she held back her little laughter from the joke she made and just politely clapped. To be honest, finding something that fit him might be a bit tricky. He’d probably be an OK Santa, but they already had one in mind for that. ”If its not to your liking, you could always take a Santa outfit, they tend to be quite common.” she said, offering him another choice.

"That's probably a better idea," Ace agreed. He didn't feel any particular need to stand out, and the Santa coats were both comfortable and inoffensive in appearance. Not to mention the specific one that Sectonia pointed out was among some of the nicer options.

Although as Ace was about to go try it on, Blazermate pointed out another costume that Sectonia figured was better. ”Actually, I think this one will fit you best.” Sectonia said, grabbing the outfit Blazermate pointed out and presenting it to Ace. A reindeer-like outfit that worked well with his physique. Funny enough, Sectonia knew that Nadia would love him in that outfit, if she could get a picture. Although knowing christmas tradition, a photo was almost required.

Now this outfit actually was a stand out. Thankfully Ace wasn't shy, and while he didn't have the urge to wear a showy outfit he wasn't actually averse to it. He did however raise an eyebrow at the girls. "Really?" he asked with a chuckle.

Well, he liked it better than the tree he was currently wearing - and they'd picked it out specifically for him, so he might as well go with it. With a wink he vanished back into the dressing area, and after peeling himself out of the Christmas tree he returned to them in browns, greens, and furs. Honestly, it didn't look half bad on him! He could do without the collar and would probably end up taking it off later, but the rest of it fit well, including the headpiece with the ears and little antlers. The exposed arms and inner chest didn't even feel any colder than the rest of him.

"Yaaaas, you all look great!" the fashionista said as she looked the three of them over, returning with yet another handful of clothes for them to look through. Once she dropped them she snapped her fingers in a Z formation and then held her hand up, striking a pose of her own.

"And now that you're dressed to impress, let's design a few more outfits!”

The three Seekers dove in with gusto. With plenty of Santa outfits in sizes large and small, in classic red as well as blue, white, and green, this getup was far and away the most common. It didn't take any time at all for the trio to locate a set of coat, pants, and boots in a size large enough to fit Ganondorf. With matching hat and a fake beard of course. Since Ace didn't know what Blazermate and Sectonia found so amusing about putting the warlord into this kind of outfit he figured that Santa must be a more jolly sort of guy compared to Ganondorf's dour personality. If that was the case, maybe he wouldn't like being the butt of a joke - so the hunter scrounged up a back up outfit that was still clearly Santa-inspired, but also functional enough that it could be worn outside of the holiday too.

For Sandalphon, a traditional flowing white angelic robe was a little harder to find... but they got close with a gorgeous choir robe with golden embroidery. Their fashion guru also suggested that if they wanted to really evoke 'angel' they could pair it with a wing accessory, which was lighter than the metallic piece made it look. It was a pretty garment, but given what Sandalphon normally wore maybe she would prefer a more stylish outfit for the modern era.

After some trial and error, the costuming team managed to put together an outfit that was reminiscent of a nutcracker's for Edward. They all agreed it would probably suit the man well, but that it was also rather plain. As they kept suggesting additional pieces or changes, it gradually became a separate outfit entirely. That was fine though, they still had the original laid out and ready to go.

At some point during the process of picking out clothes, holding them up next to each other, shaking or nodding their heads and then tossing them into a "yes" or "no" stack, Blazermate's scans picked up a small life form moving through the piles. When Ace stuck his hand in to pull it out, the critter turned out to be a little flea. One of the kids they were supposed to keep an eye for?

Well, it now sported a red knit cap with white fur trim and a star instead of puffball on top courtesy of Sectonia, and after being 'tagged' as found it was happy to help in choosing clothes - mainly by shaking its head in approval at every shiny piece.

Going with Blazermate's suggestion of 'snowman' for Roxas meant that they sorted through plenty of white clothes. Pure white, eggshell white, off white; sweaters, jackets, pants... and a very literal costume. If one chose to wear the head piece, they would be glad to find that the mouth opened providing an easy way to see and communicate. It looked cozy, if not a bit silly, but since Roxas was at that delicate age between child and adult it was hard to say if he'd think it was lame or not. He probably needed a backup outfit too, and the fashionista suggested something simple and classic that would suit a youth.

As for Tenna, Ace was very enthusiastic in his agreement that Mr. Ant-tenna needed some ant-lers for whatever outfit they went with for him. He was a very recent comrade, but friendly and funny. As an entertainer, would he want to stay stylish as a presenter, or wear something goofy to become the entertainment himself? It was on this that the three Seekers disagreed, spending much of their time trying to compromise on something both sleek and silly but not liking the results in the end.

Well, they'd come up with two options for everyone else so far, so why not for Tenna as well?

"How many outfits are we allowed to take?" Ace asked the fashionista, who was busying herself putting away all of the rejected clothing so far.

"Um, do you see how many we have? Take a bunch. Most people that visit end up returning the clothes before they leave anyway. If you end up falling in love with the looks though, feel free to keep them. They'll keep you warm."

That was all good news. At the last comment the hunter couldn't help but look over at a few of the display sets that were little more than festive swimsuits though. "All of them?"

The woman gave him a flat, knowing look. "All of them."

With the matter of how many outfits they could give out settled, they went with both interpretations for Tenna. The silly outfit consisted of a gift wrapped top with its hat swapped for a green cap with antlers and a shining red nose. The stylish outfit featured candy cane slacks and patterned vest, as well as a much more elaborate antlered hat.

While they were going down the list, the Cadet noted that the girls had forgotten Heismay. The eugief had the combo of being one of the older party members, but also one of the smallest, which meant kid's costumes probably weren't to his taste even if they'd fit. Luckily the Santa outfits were all ages, so there was a coat in just his size, not unlike the kind that one of the locals of similar build wore. If they used that person as inspiration, they could add themed boots and a hat that could sit on his head between his ears. Of course if that was a little too childish for him, there was another another set that might work, with or without the tree-like hat. The boots that came with this one were probably more Heismay's speed anyway.

Speaking of, Ace held up a similar hat when he spotted it. This one looked really close to Sectonia's chosen dress, so he offered it to the queen bee.

"What d'ya think, a corona for a crown?" he said, then paused. Did that pun make sense? Eh, whatever, they couldn't all be winners.

”I suppose… To be honest I’d prefer more crystal ornaments and gold trim, but that is traditional popstar...” Sectonia knew it fit the costume, but yeah, the lack of her own christmas costumes and such were becoming apparent. Although maybe she could do something with the decorations?

Luckily for her, "Decoration Station" was not far from Christmas Clothier, being in the same building. Now that she'd had a chance to see the town and get a feel for what kinds of things the locals looked for in both their clothes and their decorations, she would probably do well in making sure everyone and everything looked their best. Heck, maybe the stagecoach could use some decorations too - but first, they had to finish up with the outfitting.

Since they'd only recently met Mokou, she was a tough one to choose for. Wreaths were all over the village, but as for wearing them the team surprisingly came up short. There were wreaths as crowns or bracelets, and one scarf, but that was it. Wreaths were pretty much limited to accessories. But if that was the case, they could always pick the outfits that those accessories were meant to go with - like the cute red outfit with a wreath-wand. With Mokou's flowing white hair it would probably look pretty good. Ace did point out that with her lax personality, she might appreciate something like a set of jammies more, complete with cute, starry hooded cape.

Which left only Ramattra now. They had to not only take his physical changes into account, but his personality as well as he seemed to be one of the Seekers that was less inclined to put up with too much silliness. Hopefully being part of the cheerful village festivities would loosen him up some though. The easiest choice for Ramattra was something that disregarded pants entirely due to the trio of spider-like legs the omnic now sported. Ace, Blazermate, and Sectonia worked together to pick out things that ended up coming together decently well: a classic Christmas colored sweater and huge scarf, along with a set of glowing red and green lights that could easily wrap around even jointed legs without obstructing them. With the addition of some big, fake antlers that probably pushed it too far, the outfit wasn't half bad. Thankfully the antlers were not mandatory... although the fashion guru did end up adding one last minute addition to her own outfit suggestion after seeing them. Her pick was a long, open mantle that could easily fit over any other outfit or body type, and would conceal the missing arm if that's what the omnic ended up wanting to do. Of course it also sported some festive finery, and a fluffy brown scarf, a headband with ears and horns, and a pair and a half of reindeer-inspired boots that would fit just fine on Ramattra's new feet.

With so many Seekers to clothe and so many options to choose from, the three that had ended up in the clothier's spent the better part of the morning in there. At least looking at all the outfits and discussing what would look best on who had been fun. Slightly less fun was folding every individual chosen piece so they could be packed into colorful gift boxes and delivered to all of the others, but even so they could still chat while they did it, and try to puzzle out how to spell some of their friends' names as they wrote them on the box tags… which brought them a whole other issue in that they could understand each other’s spoken language, but their text and alphabets differed. Thankfully it was easy enough to get around by just including the same name a couple times in different letters.

When they were all done their outfit mentor shoved all of the boxes into a neat stack; two per person, with plenty of generic Christmas accessories thrown in to be safe. She also pulled out a few plain sacks, but assured the group that the boxes would miraculously fit and they wouldn’t be crushed unless something really, really tried to do it. And if an extra outfit had somehow ended up bundled with the others (a classy winter scarf, sweater, and coat combo with an added icy top hat), wrapped up and simply labeled "Professor", well, it would just have been a coincidence.

“Do you want us to deliver them to your friends, or do you want to deliver them yourselves?” she asked.

”If the ritual to banish the blizzard is ‘Christmas spirit’, it might be best if we deliver them ourselves.” Sectonia said, though a bit annoyed at the prospect. She knew how particular rituals could get though, so much like many things, she’d have to bite her tongue at the annoyance for now. She thought of having Antlers deliver them, but a fair amount of the seekers might get confused as to what is happening or reject them outright.

”I will take Tenna, Edward, and Sandalphon. Ace, I recommend you give Ganondorf, Ramattra and Heismay theirs. Blazermate, you have Roxas and Mokou.” Sectonia said, delegating giving the costumes out. She made sure to take note of who would receive the costumes the best from each person. Well, when it came to Ganondorf and Ramattra, she wasn’t entirely sure. Blazermate might be a good choice for them as no one on the team disliked her, but her frame couldn’t carry much while Ace was quite strong. And Sectonia didn’t want to deal with that whole mess, it would be far too embarrassing.

"That suits me fine," Ace said. With the sacks sorted, the costume team was officially ready to finish their task. "Let's get a move on, no time like the present, right?"

"Oh, wait!" came a new voice. The lady who'd been deep into her knitting now approached with another flea in hand, wearing a tiny version of the sweater she'd been making. "This little guy ended up being all tangled in the yarn. Can you take him with you?"

With no reason to refuse, the pair of fleas trotted along after the Seekers as they made their way out of the workshop and fanned out. Since they didn't know which members of their team were where, they ended up passing each other once or twice as they made a lap around town again to deliver the outfits. Ace did not go out of his way to explain too much to the people he gifted to, just mentioning that they were outfits for everyone for the celebration and they could wear them if they wanted. The fact that he was walking around in his own themed outfit said he was already getting into the festivities himself, and that the outfits would be warm no matter how they actually looked or what they were made of. The girls were a little more detailed in their delivery when they presented the boxes with bows to their own assignments.

The single box for "Professor" ended up in Sectonia's bag, which was also a lucky coincidence (or perhaps some Christmas magic?) since the man in question could be found around Sandalphon - and the queen bee would just hand the box off to their archangel to sort out, since she hadn't wanted to act as a courier in the first place.

And of course the little fleas ended up skipping home to the caravan to show off their own new duds as well. All in all it was a fairly productive morning, as far as knocking out some of the village's tasks went.

[Goggy]

Christmas Village - Ice Fishing

Fujiwara no Mokou & Heismay
Setting: Snowy Thursday morning
Wordcount: 2839 (+4 EXP) (+8 Rapport for Mokou and Heismay)

By the time that Heismay made it to the fishing holes, a distinct figure was already seated next to a perfectly cut hole in the ice, lounging on a chair with a santa hat perched upon their head and a blue ball napping next to them, also having a hat on their head.

Mokou herself barely looked up at Heismay approached, simply leaning back in her seat with her legs folded, “Sup. Take a seat, plenty of seats and rods to go around. Haven’t gotten a bite just yet, but fishing is all about the patience” she comments, gesturing to the rod rack that was nearby.

Having trotted over from the assembly of Seekers by the to-do board with an almost youthful energy in his gait, Heismay was delighted to see Mokou already situated at the fishing hole with her new companion. “Ah, I wasn’t aware you had a penchant for fishing, as well. And you’re exactly right about patience. Tis indeed the crux of the matter, which can make fishing a niche pastime, since patience is all too often a rare virtue.”

It took some effort for the diminutive eugief to wade through the snow toward the frozen pond, especially with such a chill, snowy wind blowing. Maybe Heismay was just imagining it, but it felt even colder than it had been yesterday. As such, he chose a spot where his back would be toward the warmth of the blazing furnace nearby, and set down his tacklebox as an impromptu stool. Instead of using the rod rack pointed out by Mokou, he extended a well-used and expertly-made rod of his own, which he baited with a cricket-shaped lure. “I’m rather used to whiling away the hours on my own,” he admitted as he got set up. “However, I shall not turn up my nose at good company. Good luck, Mokou.” Though it felt like a good time to use the Phoenix’s full name, he remembered her saying that she didn’t much care for her full name in their first encounter. This time, without a mutated elephant carcass around, perhaps the two could get to know one another.

Heismay sank his line into the hole alongside Mokou’s, and began to wait. His face and front were cold, but the radiating heat of the furnace behind him helped keep him warm. Most people would probably be uncomfortable if not miserable sitting out in the cold as they waited for a fish to bite, but for the first time since Snowdin, Heismay actually felt at peace. In such a well-lit and festively decorated area, with so much bustling activity throughout the village, he felt reasonably safe. Even if he wasn’t the most sociable person around, he could appreciate not having to hide himself in a dark closet to finally feel secure. To an extent, he still couldn’t believe that the vast majority of the people he met were broadly accepting of a eugief like him, seldom even batting an eye at his inhuman features. Now that he’d experienced the World of Light, he couldn’t help but wonder if the discrimination that his tribe -and many others- faced in Euchronia wasn’t simply an inevitable fact of life. Of course, the World of Light had many other failings, but it made a man think.

Not much else to do while fishing than think, after all. Other than talk.

It wasn’t long before Heismay’s eyes wandered to the rotund beast at Mokou’s side, not-so-patiently awaiting a fishy feast. “Found yourself a partner as well, have you?” he asked. “It seems many amongst our number are enjoying the companionship of strange creatures. I never considered a pet myself, but if caring for them is as easy as they make it look, perhaps I should give it a try.”

“Yeah, wasn’t my intention at the start. Found them as an egg and was going to make a meal out of it. Then it hatched in my arms and, well, that’s that” Mokou states, her own eyes glancing down at the Spheal, having woken up and waddled closer to the edge of the fishing hole, “Was going to give them a few fish I caught. Haven’t done much fishing in a few years, but I had a phase early on where it was calming.”

The phoenix takes a moment to look over at Heismay, scanning the eugief for a moment before turning her eyes back to the hole, “Haven’t talked much since the zoo. Or rather, since the whole Naytiba fiasco. Figured I’d ask what your world was like.”

“Hmm…” Heismay sat quietly, considering what to say. He hadn’t anticipated a conversation on this topic, and he didn’t exactly relish it. Describing different worlds had been a tricky topic so far. One could never tell how much overlap there was. Some worlds shared the same name, even the same countries, with only granular differences in history and current events. Others were so different that one pretty much had to start from scratch. Beyond that, though, how much was appropriate to share? Nobody wanted to listen to rambling complaints, and Heismay didn’t need anyone’s pity. After a few moments, he cleared his throat.

“I hail from the United Kingdom of Euchronia. It is a country formed from three states: the Kingdom of Euchronia, the Principality of Oceania, and the Principality of Montario. Though we are fortunate enough to not be at war, ‘tis hardly a time of peace. There is a great deal of social and economic division between the various tribes, resulting in distrust, anger, and violence. More than that, though, civilization is under siege by strange beings known as ‘humans’.”

At that, Heismay could not help but snicker. “I’m well aware that in this world, ‘human’ seemingly refers to ordinary people. In mine, though, humans are terrifying, bizarre monstrosities, resilient and filled with magla–the energy that allows us to do impossible things. Until recently, ‘tis thought that humans were merely legend, but I have been unfortunate enough to encounter several.” He shuddered, and not just from the cold. “Does that suffice? I’d be curious to learn about your world as well.”

Mokou didn’t look at Heismay as they talked, her gaze still fixed on the water. But a slight tilt of her head towards him showed that she was listening, ultimately nodding as he finished, “Interesting. So mutated monsters with magic… Not surprising that those exist in other worlds, but I am surprised that the term ‘human’ is used in such a different way. Unless they were the same as ordinary folk but were changed by something…” Mokou ponders for a brief moment before shrugging, “Eh, guess it doesn’t matter. If you want to know my world, then I can go over a brief history-” the Phoenix suddenly stops, her fishing line going taut. Like a coiled viper, Mokou immediately yanks her line back, engaging in an extremely brief battle of wills before wrenching a fish out of the water, “Got ‘em. One up for me” with that, she unhooks the fish from her line… Before casually tossing it to the Spheal, who lets out a happy “Sphea!” before munching away at their meal.

Does she intend this as a competition? Heismay wondered. While getting lots of fish would be nice, competing sounded like an easy way to undercut the pleasant, peaceful experience of fishing. He did not comment, but continued to listen..

“Where I come from, there’s two worlds. Well, I suppose ‘world’ is doing one of them a favor. You had the “Human Realm” and “Gensokyo”... Known mostly as the ‘Land of Illusion’. It wasn’t so much of a world, more like a caged land far from human civilization. It’s primarily a land of Youkai with a few humans- ‘ordinary people’, in this case, not yours. But it’s also just where anything that becomes forgotten by humanity goes.”

The Phoenix leans back a bit in her chair, her gaze now back to the water, “It’s a pretty nice place, so long as you don’t get eaten by the Youkai. Those come in a lot of different varieties, though I see a lot looking like human girls. But there’s also a lot of cultures and ideas that exist within it. Not to mention different strengths floating around. The whole reason Gensokyo even exists nowadays is because one Youkai created a barrier that cut it off from the rest of the world. You don’t really see that level of power used that often.”

Heismay’s bobber bobbed subtly. He tested the line with a very light tug of his rod, but encountered no resistance, so he did not attempt to reel in. A fish had probably nudged the lure; hopefully its curiosity would lead it to bite. “If Youkai look like humans, are you a human, or Youkai?” he asked idly as he shook his head to dislodge the snow settling on him.

“Human, or at least, I was. Hard to say when I lack a core component of what makes humans… Human” Mokou replies with a small shrug, “I told you that I'm immortal. I’ve lived through countless generations, and after a few hundred years it’s hard to see yourself the same as folks who actually age.”

The eugief took a second to release his hold on his rod with one hand and scratch his little pink nose. “I can see your reasoning.” Part of him wondered if Mokou’s immortality was to blame for her somewhat aloof behavior. Hard to talk to people if one couldn’t relate to them, he supposed. That said, she seemed to be doing fine. Heismay wasn’t qualified for psychoanalysis, so he didn’t consider the notion further. Unfortunately, he also couldn’t think of anywhere else to take the conversation. After about a minute, he cleared his throat. “Have you decided on a name for that new pet of yours?”

At that question, Mokou looks down at the Spheal, who had finished their piscine meal and had rolled over onto their back, “Not sure yet. Trying to think of a good name for them though. Had a friend from Gensokyo who had a similar color scheme though, so that might be what I name the lil’ gal” she comments, reaching over to pat the Spheal on its belly, “Though it might be awkward if we ever meet them in this world. They’d likely be too distracted with this ball then actually care about me naming said ball after them.”

“A means of reminiscence,” Heismay remarked. That wouldn’t be his first choice, but it wasn’t like he had any better ideas. His gaze lingered long enough on the adorable Spheal, gurgling and wriggling as Mokou kneaded its blubbery middle, that he almost didn’t notice the tug at his lure. “Hm!” Just before the fish could get away, he yanked on his rod and began to reel it in. He could feel a weight on the line, although it didn’t put up much of a fight. After a couple seconds, the hermit pulled his catch from the icy water, only to be gobsmacked by the sight of a bizarre peanut-butter-and-jellyfish.

“...What in the world?” Mindful of the tentacles, he brought the limp, floppy sandwich over and set it next to him in the snow to freeze. “Never have I seen such a thing,” he admitted. “Is it a living sandwich, or just an absurd fish? I suppose tasting it would be the only way to be sure, yet I’m oddly hesitant.” He shook his head, then prepared to cast his rod again. “If only Lady Hulkenberg were here. I’m sure she’d eat it without a second thought.”

“... That’s… Certainly not something I’ve seen before” Mokou comments, looking at the strange jellyfish before abruptly having to pick up the Spheal as they tried to waddle over to the strange creature, placing the ball on her lap, “Guessing this Hulkenberg is an old friend. Knew a Youkai back home who was notorious for having a bottomless appetite myself, though we were more acquaintances than friends.”

Heismay chuckled as he resumed the waiting game. “More of a new friend, really. I had only just met her and the others who visited Martira before…all this happened.” He gestured broadly at the world around him. “Hers wasn’t a case of bottomless appetite so much as an exotic appetite. Sandworm larvae are something of a regional delicacy for Martira, and I ate what I had to, but she actually seemed to relish them. And the others made allusions to even stranger dishes. I’d have liked to get to know them a bit better, circumstances permitting, but alas.”

Only a couple minutes later, Heismay felt another tug on his line, this one much closer to what he expected of a fish than the last. “Aha! Twould seem lady luck is finally on my side!” This one took much more effort and skill to reel in, but Heismay kept a cool head and wore the fish down bit by bit, until finally he could pull his catch from the water.

He was greeted by the sight of a green fish with wide, vacant eyes, a striped hat, and a big, red nose to go along with its unusual lips. As he watched, the fish reached up with a fin and squeezed its nose to release a honking sound. Heismay blinked at it, baffled. “...Perhaps I spoke to soon.” Nevertheless, he laid the second fish down by the first to chill out, then looked at Mokou. “And here I thought that fish I found in the ice swamp yesterday was strange. Did you see that one? Twas practically skeletal, possessed of a twinkling constellation inside its gaunt body.” He shivered. “Let’s hope we need not eat that one.”

“Nope. Was busy getting drowned by whatever that giant was in the water” Mokou shrugs, her line going taut once more and, in a smooth motion, the Phoenix added another fish to her own pile, making sure her Spheal was seated comfortably on her lap and didn’t go after her haul, “Haven’t seen a literal clown fish though. But yeah, I get wanting to do things before this whole thing went down. I was literally sitting in my shack before I abruptly got blinded. Can only imagine how some of the more active Youkai from my world reacted to that.”

The two continued to converse as the minutes slowly turned into hours, trading trivia about their respective worlds and anecdotes about old friends or acquaintances. They learned a bit more about one another, but never got too personal. Over the course of his time at the fishing hole, Heismay caught two long, slate-blue wolffish, their distinctive incisors designed for crushing molluscs and crustaceans. He caught four hardy char with greenish-brown backs and vivid vermillion undersides, although one was a molten aberration with bubbling flesh and rock-hard scales, which destroyed his best lure. No matter how long it sat in the snow beside him, its heat never diminished, which helped make his time out in the cold more bearable. One more clown fish turned up, its intermittent honking vaguely derisive, and he snagged a fancy-looking charp. Finally, his most impressive catch was a tuna, so big and heavy that he needed his Assassin archetype to lift it out of the water.

Mokou’s own haul was just as large, with a few oddities scattered throughout. She herself had captured a few Monkfish and Flying Fish, but her other fish were a bit more odd. Three of her fish were a set of white fish with diamond eyes, seemingly digitalized. She had raised an eyebrow at it, but after letting her Spheal test out the fish, they seemed quite fine for eating, so she simply shrugged and added them to the haul. The phoenix also caught a fair amount of snow-like crabs, though her own best catch was a massive, golden salmon that had spat out a few gems at her before she added it to the haul of fish. The feast would be odd, but with a good bit of elbow grease the cooking would make it good.

[TruthHurts]

Christmas Village - Letters for Santa

Setting: Snowy Thursday morning
Word Count: 3260 (+4)

The flea caravan had gone quite some time away from civilization, so Layton was pleased when it finally arrived at such a lively settlement. One that was already in the beginning hours of its famed festival, at that. Layton disembarked from his carriage a little early, he didn’t want to bother everyone as they went to get settled amidst the flurry of elves, workers, and guests, and took a small tour around the village, eventually circling around to its center. He’d familiarized himself with the Christmas festival before he left - the gathering of Christmas Spirit to be precise - though he was surprised at the presence of the blizzard that blocked further progress on the Midnight Walk.

Curious. Layton was interested to see if the festival could truly stifle a storm like that.

Eventually the Professor ended up near the To-Do list, mingling near a group of fellow arrivals and catching the conversation they had with Maeve. As their attention was drawn to the list Layton approached the pixie.

”If you have no-one else to do so, I’d be happy to take up the task of collecting letters,” he said. ”I’ve an interest in finding the missing fleas as well, so I’ll be exploring the village already. All the better if I can assist in preparations at the same time.”

At the head of the other group of newcomers stood a slightly tall white-haired woman with an authoritatively stiff posture. Though she wore a parka like many of her teammates, the three-ringed halo that floated above her head shone with a warm white glow, like many of the Christmas lights strung throughout the village. While the others chatted about the activities, tentatively planning out who would do what while they waited for the blizzard to subside, this lady simply stared at the to-do board in silence as if lost in thought. When Layton approached, she turned her head to examine him, her expression blank and her strange, symbol-ridden eyes oddly unblinking.

“I’m curious about these letters,” she told Maeve after a moment. “This settlement is small, so the use of a mail system strikes me as odd. Not to mention inefficient.”

Maeve tittered as if the archangel had just said something quite foolish. “Oh, silly! The letters aren’t for anyone here! They’re for Santa!”

The unfamiliar name somehow changed the power symbols within the woman’s pupils into question marks as she tilted her head. “Santa? I am not acquainted with this individual.”

This time, the pixie raised a questioning eyebrow as she wondered if her new helper was being deliberately obtuse. Then she wearily launched into a quick explanation. “Santa Claus, of course. Kris Kringle? The reason for the season! People send him letters so he knows what they want for Christmas, hoping those gifts will come wrapped under the tree on Christmas morning!”

“Oh.” The archangel’s pupils became targeting reticles. “If it’s a simple matter of determining what people throughout the village wish to obtain, I can help with that. Gathering and agglomerating information is a skill of mine.” Her eyes turned toward Layton. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

”Not at all,” Layton replied with a friendly smile, ”though I don’t foresee us needing that particular skillset. Writing letters to Santa Claus is part of the holiday tradition. We would only be collecting these letters from everyone and delivering them. To a post box, perhaps.”

Layton rubbed his chin, looked at the taskboard again, and returned his attention to Maeve. ”Are these two names on the board singled out for a particular reason? This Iorveth and Vanessa?”

The pixie gave a nervous laugh. “W-well…Vanessa’s scary, and she doesn’t ever come out of her haunted mansion. And Iorveth doesn’t really like humans. To, um, put it mildly…” She scratched her neck as she snuck a look at the surly elf viciously chopping firewood with a well-kept axe. Each log had a face drawn on it with conspicuous rounded ears.

“Fortunate that I am not human, then,” Sandalphon remarked as she turned to head Iorveth’s way.

Maeve flew in front of her, waving her hands. “Well, uh! I mean, even if you look human, he’s gonna be pretty sour. When it comes to discriminating he doesn’t…um, discriminate?” She shrugged. “Just saying, unless you’re an elf, he probably hates your guts.”

After thinking for a second, Sandalphon brushed her hair back. “And what if I look like an elf?” Beneath her hair, she had pointed ears. Short ones, barely any longer than a human’s, but pointed nonetheless.

“Oh!” Maeve blinked at her. “Well, give it a try I guess!”

With a nod, the archangel headed over toward where the woodsman was working. He saw her coming, and before she even got near him the one-eyed elf was wearing a scowl. When Sandalphon pulled her hair back again to show off her ears, his expression changed briefly to confusion, then suspicion. “...What do you want?”

The archangel attempted to give him a polite smile, to mixed results. “Do you have any letters for Santa Claus?”

Iorveth scoffed. “Of course not. And even if I did go to the hassle of writing them, what good would they be in the hands of a human?”

It didn’t take Sandalphon long to change her tact. “I understand. In a broader sense then, perhaps, is there anything you might want?”

The elf chuckled dryly as his baleful gaze swept the village’s visitors. “Maybe a nice, firm shortbow and a couple hundred arrows.”

“I see. Thank you.” Only too eager to be rid of the others, Iorveth resumed his work, and Sandalphon turned to Layton as she stepped away. “It’s true that writing letters is impractical. For the sake of expedience, I can compose the letters myself using common denominators. We need only inquire about what gifts the people here would like to receive.”

Layton nodded and pulled his journal out from his jacket. ”That does seem the best course of action. I’ll keep track of the specifics.” He jotted down what they had managed to get out of Iorveth - shortbow and arrows - even though he seemed to desire it for malicious reasons. Maybe there’d be time to deliberate on it later.

“Oh, allow me.” With a wave of her hand Sandalphon summoned a light screen, and the same words inscribed themselves in a bullet-pointed list upon it. Then the screen minimized into a mote of light that floated up to the archangel’s halo. “It’s no trouble.”

Suddenly they heard a bark and saw a certain yellow-and-black dog bounding toward them. Its owner, a blond-haired boy wearing mostly blue, was chasing after it, ”Wait for me, Scamp!” He called, heaving breaths when he finally caught up to his hound. As for Scamp, the dog Pokemon was sniffing curiously at the gentleman’s shoes before barking with a wag of his tail.

”Sorry about him.” Roxas said to the man apologetically, ”He gets… excitable sometimes, but he’s harmless, I promise.” He turned his gaze toward the archangel and rubbed his neck sheepishly, ”I… guess I’ll help you with the letters since I’m here, Sandalphon?”

”I certainly don’t mind,” Layton offered, ”the more the merrier, which is particularly apt today.” Closing his journal, Layton took a small step aside from the two and tipped his hat to them. ”Ah, I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Professor Hershel Layton. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintances.”

Recognizing his good manners and polite gesture, Sandalphon offered him something akin to a curtsey, using her longcoat in lieu of a dress. “The pleasure is mine, professor. I am Sandalphon, and this is Roxas.” She glanced at the boy and his hound. “You both are welcome to join us. Currently, I plan to generate the letters after the fact, so we can focus on simply finding out what everyone wishes for.” Her eyes briefly turned to carets as she regarded the others. “First things first, then. What is it that you two want for Christmas?”

”What I want for Christmas…” Layton pondered the question. The obvious answer was something small, easily procured by the denizens of this settlement, if the intention was for the gifts to be delivered; a set of books, a new hatbox, some blends of tea he hadn’t tried before. He was accustomed to such gifts, so it wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. If they were to adhere to the spirit of, well, the Christmas Spirit the act should generate, then…

”I suppose what I’d like is a letter of my own,” Layton answered. ”One from a friend of mine whom I haven’t heard from in a while. I’m sure he’s safe, though the silence has me worried.” He let the wish linger, then cleared his throat, awkwardly straightening his hat. ”Not to air my concerns with you both. I’m simply trying to match the festivities, as I understand them.”

Sandalphon’s gaze did not waver. “That sounds like a perfectly reasonable wish to me.”

Roxas could certainly sympathize, nodding in agreement. ”I’m looking for some friends, too.” He said, fairly certain he had already told Sandalphon about the missing Xion and Axel. ”One of the reasons I left Twilight Town was so that I could look for them. Still haven’t had any luck, yet.” Scamp gave a little whine of empathy and the Nobody scratched the Boltund’s ears appreciatively.

“...Noted,” the archangel confirmed.

The three had a long task ahead of them, so it was time they got on with it. There were plenty of people in the village to collect letters for, they could simply pick a direction to walk to encounter someone to talk to, which is exactly what they did. The next elf they ran into was thankfully less hostile towards them, a young lad in green clothing that was rooted to the spot, conspicuously in the middle of the road.

Layton began, ”Excuse me sir, do you have a moment? We’re collecting letters to Santa Claus, so if you have one, or a wish for Christmas, we’d be happy to take it for you.”

“Me? A Christmas wish? Oh, I’m not so sure…” The elf rocked on his feet as he thought, muttering under his breath before answering, “oh yes, I know! I would want nothing more than to visit the Arena, in Cyrodiil! I hear the Gray Prince has been defeated, and I want to witness the new Grand Champion in action!”

Sandalphon’s pupils became inverted triangles as she processed his response. “Your wish is to go somewhere? Understood.” She inscribed the elven boy’s desire on her light screen, giving an aside to the others as she did. “Such a request may be impractical in terms of fulfillment, but since our task is merely to log it, it’s no trouble.” Her pupils returned to normal as she gave a grateful nod of her head to the lad. “Thank you. Carry on.”

Just then, a well-built man in a thick, fur-lined red suit, complete with a trapper hat and goggles, trudged past with a wrapped present under his arm. That gift caught Sandalphon’s eyes first, but she quickly remembered what she needed to do. “Pardon me, sir. What is your name? And is there anything you might like for Christmas?”

The man stopped, the serious look on his hard face becoming a genial smile. “Victor. Well, if you’re asking, I guess I’d like Uprooting One’s Mask Fragments. Need thirty of ‘em if I’m gonna get my Chimeratech Fugue here upgraded into a Fangtian Huaji.” He showed the couriers a purple axe that already looked pretty impressive as a weapon, its fantastical purple hue balanced by the vicious edge and serrations. “Of course, they’re awful hard to come by, but this is Santa we’re talkin’ about, eh?” Sandalphon nodded and recorded his response.

As he watched the exchanges, Roxas spotted a winter-dressed Pokemon Trainer a short distance away feeding and grooming her Piplup. So he waved and jogged over to her, Scamp bounding beside him. ”Hi there!” He said, ”We’re collecting letters for Santa. Is there anything you want to ask for for Christmas?”

“For Christmas?” asked the girl, humming thoughtfully. “My Pokemon do love the stickers I decorate their Poke Balls with, so… maybe a new set to make their Balls even prettier?” she then answered with a bright smile. Roxas tilted his curiously at first. He’d never even considered the idea of decorating Poke Balls before, and wondered if that was something he should try some time. But for now he had to focus on the task at hand.

”New stickers for your Poke Balls, got it!” Roxas said with a grin, turning back toward Sandalphon, ”Did you get that down?”

She nodded. “Of course.” Now Sandalphon’s list had six entries on it, but there were a lot more people around here to talk to. Sticking together made this task feel more communal, but it was hardly ideal for efficiency. “I think it would be beneficial to split up,” she suggested. “You both could relay your findings to me remotely. Or I could just listen in.” Since Layton wasn’t connected yet, she demonstrated by holding two fingers up to the side of her face, which manifested a yellow and blue sigil. “I can connect you to my network if you’ve no objections, Professor. It will allow us to communicate from afar.”

”Certainly,” Layton replied, mimicking the gesture. He’d normally be skeptical of such unconnected communication, but his Gleaming state made him simply accept it. ”I’ll head for the cabins and igloos. I’m sure Maeve wouldn’t want to leave out guests such as us.”

”I’ll keep looking for anyone still outside.” Roxas offered as he and his Boltund scampered off.

Sandalphon turned to look around. “Alright. Let’s reunite in an hour and verify our progress. Please ensure that you obtain names from everyone you solicit, both so we know who wants what, and to avoid repeat inquiries.”

Layton, as he stated, made his way for the igloos and guest cabins. He wasn’t sure if guests were included in the ‘letters to Santa’ tradition of this festival, though he decided to ask what some would want regardless; Fleamaster Mooshka was easy enough, the safety of the caravan, while other guests were trickier to get an answer out of. Obviously none of them had prepared letters for Santa before arriving, and some were not yet inundated in the spirit of Christmas to so readily divulge a wish to a stranger. The Professor’s patience and amenable demeanor did open up even the grouchiest of visitors, whether they realized it or not, and soon he had relayed the majority of guests’ wishes to Sandalphon - some obvious presents, others intuited desires.

Then he went to the igloos. Denizens of the village, most of them elves as well, were busy preparing for the festival, so this area was not as populated as others. There were some Christmas celebrators around, of course, taking a break from the work or otherwise uninvolved in the tasks that Layton chose to engage with. Most of them had already written out letters in full. Layton collected them despite their change in methods, reasoning that a letter spared now would ease the burden of writing them out later. He didn’t dare open them, so their contents, the wishes made, would remain a mystery to the trio.

Roxas made a couple of laps around the village outdoors. He encountered another Pokemon Trainer - a hiker named Ronald - whose Christmas wish was a new pickaxe for digging up fossils and other buried treasures alongside his two Drillbur. Then he encountered a pair of kids - Tyler and Becky - who wished for a new sled to go down hills on. The kids in particular almost all already had their letters written so all Roxas had to do on that front was to collect them.

It was the adults who mostly hadn’t made up their minds yet. In addition to Ronald the Hiker, there was also a high elf woodcutter whose only wish was that Maeve would send him more help from time to time to get the wood gathered. That, and he also wanted a new set of woodcutting axes since his old ones were getting more and more rusted. There was even a case or two where the villager handed him the letter but chose not to disclose what the wish was. Roxas naturally didn’t try to pry and instead just politely accepted the letter and promisedpromised not to peek at them.

Meanwhile, Sandalphon perused the worksites for Christmas wishers, including the main lodge. Several of the elves in charge of the reindeer wished for more agreeable, less obstinate beasts, though most were more interested in things for their families. A common denominator among the crafters laboring away in the village’s workshop was better tools, or repairs to old favorites, though in practice everyone’s wishes varied wildly and could not be extrapolated based on profession or appearance. Not that the archangel would have resorted to such a tactic to save time. Sandalphon logged every request dutifully, often without the people she solicited even being aware of her doing so. Although her task was simple, there were a lot of people and personalities to dig through, so the hour flew by with surprising speed.

The trio reconvened where they started, back in front of the village’s workshop by the to-do board. In addition to verbal feedback that Sandalphon stored in her mental database, all three had collected a number of real letters that could be delivered as-is, saving the archangel time. Maeve fluttered over just after the three dropped off their letters in a rusty blue mailbox. “Hey! How’d it go?”

“Satisfactory,” Sandalphon replied. For the sake of the pixie’s tenuous sanity, she decided not to tell her that a good two thirds of the wishes they’d received had yet to be put to paper. “I have some extra work to do, so if there are no objections I will retire to the workshop to accomplish it.” She glanced between Layton and Roxas. “It occurs to me that we did not seek out Vanessa to ask what she wanted for Christmas yet. You could both look into that if desired.”

Maeve nodded. “That’d be great! I know she’s a little, uh, scary, but I’m sure she’s got some Christmas spirit buried deep down! Somewhere?”

Layton nodded. ”Yes, it would be a shame to leave someone out of the festivities because of our own superstitions.”

After glancing at the other two with her brows slightly raised, Sandalphon entered the workshop. Soon she was seated at a worktable in a clean, well-lit corner with a pile of stationary close at hand and an ink pen squeezed between her delicate fingers, writing away with such mechanical regularity that one could reasonably mistake her letters as being mass-printed.

With the two left to their own devices, Layton addressed Roxas. ”Well then, shall we go visit this haunted house?”

[Zoey Boey]

Sakura Level 11: 028/110
Location: Pools!
Word Count: 3,565
Points Gained: 4 +3
New EXP Balance--- Level 11: 035/110

—
Sakura would have challenged Ryu to a battle on the spot, had she not needed to conserve her strength for her next opponent, Arina Makihara. Seeing Ryu here broke her heart. Was it her fault he…died?

No. It was no matter of fault. But it was a matter of responsibility. Sakura wouldn’t let her spirit waver. She had come too far to be burdened by doubt and guilt, now. She would set things right by defeating him. Sakura clenched her fist, her eyes as hard as steel.

She thought about what she said with Ei-san.

Yes. She had to win. And she wanted to win. Sakura would do it. Sakura would try her best, and her best would be good enough. It had to be.

Arina Makihara was a young, energetic brunette, with a self-taught fighting style. She was reading a red jacket, big red shoes, and a blue bodysuit. She reminded Sakura of herself, obviously, with the exception of the big bunny ears poking out from the top of her head. Arina lifted the goggles off her eyes and onto her forehead, and smiled at Sakura confidently.

“Kasugano Sakura, right?” Arina asked.

”Yes.” Sakura said with a bow. ”And so, you must be Arina Makihara.”

“Yeeeh~” Arina said, her voice going into the back of her throat as she pointed at herself with her thumb. “And so, you must be going down!” She turned that same thumb upside down.

Sakura smiled. ”I guess we’ll have to just see, Arina-chan. You remind me of a slightly younger version of myself!” Sakura said.

“And you remind me of a way shorter version of myself!” Arina said back, just as cheerfully.

”Gee, thanks.” Sakura said with a sarcastic laugh, not being offended. Especially since it seemed like Arina didn’t mean it that way. It was true, though. Sakura was just over five feet tall. Meanwhile, Arina was all legs. She must have been just shy of six feet tall.

“I like your outfit.” Arina said, smiling back.

”Thanks! I like yours, too. You look like a mech pilot. Or, I guess, an athlete.”

“Yeaaah, I don’t like mechs. I beat up a mech user to get here. They should work harder on their own bodies instead of relying on trash.”

”Hmm. They really let anyone fight in here. Mechs, robots, weapon users. There’s no limits, really.” Sakura thought aloud. ”But I guess when you’ve worked as hard as we have, your fists and ki will let you take down any opponent. No matter what form they take.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Arina said. “I never really put too much thought into it! Today, all I want to do is win. I’m gonna win the fight, get a whole lot of money, and then…well…I guess that’s none of your business, is it?” Arina said, leaning forward, squinting.

Sakura leaned backwards, even though they were an entire arena’s width apart. ”Uhh…no, I suppose not.”

“Go Arina-chan, go!” Someone shouted from the audience. Sakura glanced over and saw a group of other girls, dressed in a similar color scheme as Arina. All three of them had some form of goggles on their forehead. They must have been friends.

Two P and Blue Suede Goo had somehow found enough time in their time to come and boo against Sakura. At this point though, Sakura just wondered if this counted as having fans, too. At least she had Ei-san cheering for her, in spirit if nothing else.

“Someone’s gotta know how to beat her, right?” Two P asked the crowd. “Maybe the rabbit girl!”

”We could just spar, y’know!” Sakura said.

“Hey, hey, alright! I like that! Still want you to lose, though!” He said. Sakura frowned.

“The sooner you lose, the sooner we go to the movies together, baby!” Blue Suede Goo said. “Hoo- hah- hoo!” He made several poses.

”You’re annoying!” Sakura said outright.

“That’s what all the ladies say.” Blue Suede Goo said, running his hand through his hair suavely.

”Yeah, I bet!”

“Hey, let’s go beat that guy up after this!” Arina offered.

“Can I help?” Two P asked, punching the air.

”I don’t like jumping people.” Sakura scratched her head.

“Trueeee.” Arina said, giving a peace sign. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Hmm, hey, actually, I gotta go, uh, sign a concert. The King has left the building!” Blue Suede Goo said, standing up to shuffle out of the arena.

Sakura sighed, and set her hands on her hips. ”So, are you all mechanics, or something?” Sakura asked, referring to the goggles all of Arina’s friends had.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean, huh?! What kinda stupid question is that?! That’s it, I’m gonna kick your butt!” Arina said, setting into a fighting stance.

”H-huh?” Sakura raised her hands placatingly, eyes wide.

“You’re calling me dirty, is that it?!” Arina stomped her foot, and Sakura felt the vibration from where she was standing.

”No, no! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-!”

“HURRY IT UP, REF! LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!” Arina looked more geared up to fight than ever. Sakura blanched, a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead.

The Heavenly Principles obliged.

ROUND ONE: FIGHT!

“Toh!” Arina flipped forward, legs straight, her jump taking her a surprising distance. Guess the rabbit ears weren’t just for show! Sakura shifted to the side, and Arina landed early, doing another flipping jump. She came in hot, and before she hit the ground sent an upwards kick towards Sakura's chin, which she just barely avoided.

The two exchanged in a furious melee, in which Sakura was taken off guard by the strength of Arina’s blows. Every hit she blocked was sending her skidding away. At this rate, she was going to get rung out before any one broke a sweat!

“Arinaaa Tornado!” Arina did a series of spin kicks towards Sakura. She ducked under one, and Arina went for a chin buster kick. Sakura met it with one of her own, their ankles crossing high above their heads in a high power clash. Sakura grit her teeth and pushed forward, engaging in close quarters combat by knocking Arina’s upward leg aside and shoving her to the ground.

Arina bounced back up onto her feet but now it was her turn to be taken off guard by how sticky Sakura’s offense was. It was all elbows, knees, and quick snatches towards her shoulder and collar.

“Hey, buzz off!” Arina said. She found an exit and kicked Sakura away.

“Arina Heart!” She struck a back and arm bending pose in the air, before flinging a heart shaped projectile at Sakura.

”Hadoken!” The two projectiles clashed mid air, pink and blue fire bursting forth from the collision.

Arina sprinted full force at Sakura, feinted low, and then plunged her foot into Sakura’s stomach. The street fighters eyes widened, and she took a moment to admire Arina’s ridiculous thigh muscles before Arina brought her other leg around into Sakura’s gut and sent her flying. Sakura skid along the arena floor and managed to catch herself with her hands, her legs coming up almost over her entirely, her shoulders hanging over the edge.

When she flattened herself on the ground, Arina was already falling ontop of her, planting both of her feet harshly into Sakura’s belly. ”Oof!” Sakura grunted, squeezing one eye shut as Arina trampolined off her, backflipping away.

Sakura kicked herself back up to standing. Her opponent was quick in movement, and powerful in force. But she was also very committal. Sakura could figure this out.

Arina wasn’t making it easy, though. She hopped back in, and Sakura jumped over her head. Arina caught her mid air, and punched her upwards. “Ban ban ban!” Then she slammed Sakura back down with an open hand. Sakura thudded into the arena, but at least she wasn’t going to get rung out so quickly.

“Toh! Toh, toh!” Arina was hopping around, well, like a bunny, sprinting in and then hopping away. Sakura let her move around, watching her. Arina jumped in, and Sakura met her mid air with a ”Shouoken!”, her fist taking her high into the air. Instead of catching Arina, though, it caught nothing but air, as Arina had frozen her momentum to charge up a mid-air fireball.

”Uh oh-bwah!” Arina’s heart of ki touched Sakura’s heart, and Sakura ignited into flames before cratering back onto the floor.

Once again, Arina landed and planted both her feet into Sakura’s midsection before bouncing away. That was starting to get annoying. Sakura should copy that move to use on her opponents.

Arina landed and turned. “I think I’m faster than you!” She said, and began throwing a barrage of heart shaped missiles Sakura’s way. They twisted through the air, but always ended up on an upwards trajectory where they popped above the stage like fireworks.

”It’s not over!” Sakura Focused and dashed through one projectile, absorbing it with an inky black ki maneuver. Arina charged up another one only to get roundhouse kicked in the face, which was Sakura’s first real hit of the match.

Undeterred, Arina met Sakura’s offense head on. Sakura stayed close with ”Shunpu!” kicks, but every time Arina had a moment to breath, she used it to shove Sakura away with her knock back.

Sakura tried to buy some space and pressure by charging up a fireball. ”Hadooo…”

Arina lit up, and span forward, a visible tornado surrounding her body. She blasted through Sakura’s fireball and caught her on the chin. Sakura spun around in the air, one arm across her front, the other bent behind her back. She was practically floating in the air.

“Haaa…” Arina crouched down, and then shot upwards. She slammed her fists over and over into Sakura’s body, once in the face, and then did a front flip and kicked her on the top of the head. “YA YA YA YAAAH!”

”Eyaaaah!” Sakura cried out. She slammed into the floor, rolled, and then landed on her back.

“Toh!” Arina dropped from the air and stomped on Sakura’s exposed stomach a third and final time for this round. Sakura puffed, and she lay flat on the ground. ”Bluuugh.”

Arina shoved her hands into her jacket pocket and turned to the small, cheering crowd made up of mostly her friends. “Yeeeeh~” She gave a big thumbs up.

ARINA WINS ROUND ONE!

Sakura caught her breath on the floor, before sitting up. Bad start. Real bad start. But she could turn it around.

”You’re really strong. I can see why you made it this far.” She said as she stood up.

Arina grinned. “You’re not bad either! This is a lot of fun!” It seemed like she wasn’t mad at Sakura anymore. Maybe beating her up made Arina feel better.

ROUND TWO. FIGHT!

Sakura decided if she couldn’t handle Arina’s offense, she wouldn’t play defense. As Arina hopped in, Sakura hopped back, slamming her foot into Arina’s guard. Then she swept her legs out from under her, jumped up in the air, and stomped on the center of Arina’s back.

“Bwah!” Arina flailed her arm and legs around in protest as Sakura trampolined off her.

“Did you copy me?” Arina asked.

”Heh, maybe. I’ve never been good at attacking opponents on the ground. Your techniques gave me a great idea!” Sakura said. While it’s true she could use big stomps to finish off stunned opponents, she’d never managed to do them as quick and as sharp as Arina had taught her to do just now.

“You’re just a cheap- a cheap COPY! I’M THE ORIGINAL!” Arina shouted. Sakura laughed nervously. It looked like Arina was back to being angry. Then again, Sakura was annoyingly prodigious, implementing Arina’s hard-earned techniques after only seeing them a few times. This, combined with her tremendous work ethic and earnest desire to succeed, are what made her a formidable opponent. A formidable opponent Arina intended to vanquish here and now.

“ARINAAAAAAA..!” Arina jumped up into the air and burst into flames. The passion, and apparent rage, in her heart made manifest. She was floating in the air, eyes and mouth wide, staring and pointing at Sakura as her flames grew and grew in intensity.

Panicking, Sakura ran left, and then right, but Arina’s judgemental finger never strayed. ”Crap crap crap!”

“...SPECIAL!!!!” Arina streaked in like a meteorite from heaven, creating a huge explosion. Sakura had no choice but to brace for impact.

”Woooaaaaah!” Sakura yelled out as her guard was shattered. She tumbled and rolled along the arena floor, before coming to a stop, her arm dropping over the edge.

Preemptively, she rolled onto her back and lifted up her feet. Like she predicted, Arina was coming in to stomp on her again. Instead they met sneaker sole to sneaker sole. Sakura grinned up at the angry Arina. The two kicked away from each other. Arina backflipped and landed on the floor.

“I really wish that had knocked you out.” Arina pouted, crossing her arms.

”I’m still awake!” Sakura smirked, shrugging. Even though her own arms were still smoking from the fiery impact. Ouch. It reminded her of Captain Falcon’s Falcon Punch.

“I can fix that!” Arina hopped in with another big kick. This time, Sakura side-stepped, and ducked under the follow up spin kicks before shooting up with a chin buster kick. Arina stumbled backwards, and Sakura kept it tight, striking her several times before she could interrupt.

Arina came back in with another big kick, but Sakura used Focus to absorb it clean, and then jammed her knee into Arina’s ribs. Eyes wide, Arina crumpled to her knees, where Sakura punched her in the gut to lift her in the air.

”Shunpukyaku!” She spun in the air, kicking Arina several times with the same spinning leg, before launching her upwards with a chin buster kick. Before Arina could land, Sakura met her in the air and slammed her down with both her fists.

“Ooh!” Arina landed face down, her ears standing straight up. Before Sakura could land and stomp on her back, Arina rolled out of the way. But Sakura was ready for it. She let her stomping momentum take her into a crouch, before she planted her feet on the floor and then kicked her feet out, catching Arina’s back. “Oooh!”

Sakura held the pose, doing a plank maneuver with only her hands on the ground. Then she stood up.

Arina dusted herself off, but Sakura could see she had the life lead in round two.

Arina threw another heart, but Sakura spent EX meter to send a blazing fireball towards the bunny girl. She side stepped it, but Sakura used that moment to advance and kick her in the side. Blows were exchanged, this time Sakura dodging all that she could. She shifted her head out of the way of two strikes, before popping Arina on the nose and kneeing her in the stomach.

“Oof-!” This, rather anti-climactically, seemed to do the trick. Arina clutched her belly and fell to her knees, then onto her hands. “Hahh…hahh…hahh..” She panted in and out, unable to stand.

Sakura hopped from foot to foot with a giggle, arms swaying. ”I did it that time!”“ She cheered. Arina glared up at her.

SAKURA WINS ROUND TWO!

When Arina stood up, strength regained, she clenched her fists. “I’m going all out! I won’t lose, Sakura-chan!” She said. “Get ready for me!”


”Yooosh! Ikuzo!” That was what Sakura liked to hear! Two fighters, going all out, with everything on the line. Sakura had strength in reserve that she thought might take Arina off guard in the final round.

Arina adapted to Sakura’s dodges by aiming for her lower body. Sakura ended up having to block, and barely managed to hop over a sweep of the legs. ”Shunpu!” She span forward with a hop, kicking out towards Arina. Arina blocked it, and kicked out at Sakura, but it was just out of range. A spacing trap. Sakura swept Arina’s foot out from under her, and blasted a fireball at her while she was on the ground. Arina rolled backwards from the impact, only to have to block another fireball.

Sakura leapt in the air. ”Here I come!”

Arina rose to meet her with her alternating uppercuts, but Sakura flipped mid air and beat Arina at her own game, stopping her momentum and kicking Arina in the face for her trouble.

Arina landed, and summoned a wellspring of energy. “Arina Beam!” She burst into flames and shaped it into a massive heart shaped fireball.

Sakura fired a hadoken at it, but it was swallowed up by the Arina Beam like it wasn’t even there. Blocking the oncoming heart projectile, Sakura skid backwards to maintain her footing, giving Arina the perfect chance. Sakura popped the fireball with her elbow, and Arina used the opportunity to grab Sakura by the shoulders, spring board off of her, and then drive her into the floor, feet to chest like a drill. ”Ack!”

Arina bounced up from the impact, flipped in the air, and then moved slightly down Sakura’s body to stomp on her stomach. ”Oof!” Then Arina did a third and final flip, landing on her feet.

A big, slow, homing fireball like that was going to be hard to get around. Sakura had an idea already, though, as she avoided a regular heart shaped blast that scorched a hole in the floor.

Arina danced forward, throwing more spiralling fire hearts Sakura’s way. Sakura dipped, dodged, and dove out of the way. Arina jumped into the air and alternated hands, blasting more and more at Sakura. She widened her stance, shifted out of the way, and then stood up straight as a fireball zoomed an inch past the tip of her nose.

As Arina prepared another fireball, she was surprised to see Sakura meet her mid air. ”Oops, sorry!” Arina’s fireball went wide as Sakura clambered all over her, before pushing her feet into her back and then kicking her face first into the ground.

Sakura landed, and the two ran at each other full speed. Arina jabbed out, but Sakura kicked her in the ankle, out ranging her, before popping her up into the air with a pistol of a Shouoken strike.

Arina landed, frustrated, rubbing her jaw. She forgot she had to target Sakura’s legs. The two exchanged blocks and dodged, and Arina thought she had Sakura, but the street fighter dropped low and blocked the sweep, before kicking out at Arina and knocking her over.

“No way!” Arina complained.

Sakura grinned, but, when Arina said no way, she apparently meant it. Sakura found herself punched in the face three times, before she was back handed and sent flying. Normally, she liked frustrating an opponent with her own micro mobility and clean movement, but, in this case, Arina’s anger didn’t make her lose a step.

“Arina Beam!” Arina followed up her knock down with another powerful blazing projectile.

Sakura ran forward to meet it head on, causing Arina to flinch and try to catch Sakura out.

”Right there!” Sakura’s aura turned an aquatic blue. Flowing like a river, she back stepped, and severed the invisible cord of ki that the Arina Beam was using to track her down with a smooth motion. Then she rotated around it and kicked Arina away. Her super beam floating harmlessly behind Sakura before it exploded. Sakura’s clothes, headband, and hair all fluttered in the breeze as she stood over the downed Arina.

Gritting her teeth, Arina burst into flames once again as she floated into the air. “ARINAAAA…” She charged up her ultimate move once more.

”Shinku…” Sakura lowered her stance, and brought her hands together at her side, glaring up at Arina. Arina burned a bright orange, her aura bright hot. A warm orb began to circle around in between Sakura’s palms and fingers.

“SPECIAL!!!”

”TENGYO HADOKEN!”

A massive fireball exploded out from Sakura’s hands and Arina punched headlong into it. There was a tremendous burst of flame, orange and blue alike.

When the smoke cleared, the dust settled, and the vibrations came to an end, Sakura stood, stone faced, holding her palms to the sky.

Arina was on the floor a short distance in front of her, on her hands and knees, huffing and puffing. She turned her head up at Sakura, and Sakura expected to see that glare, full of fighting spirit.

Instead, she saw a goofy, confused grin on Arina's face, her eyes crossed. Sakura could practically see the little birdies flying around Arina’s head. ”...You okay, Arina-chan?” Sakura asked reluctantly, already knowing the answer.

“Hoy hoy~..!” Arina answered brightly, before faceplanting. Her bunny ears drooped limply over her head. Arina’s friends winced.

SAKURA WINS!

Sakura punched her fist into the air and grinned big. ”Yattaaaa!” She cheered, panting. These fights were only getting tougher. But once again, Sakura came out on top! Like Golrio, there wasn’t much to say to Arina when she was in this senseless state. Sakura bowed to her, before turning to leave. "I think you and I will both go far. But today, I'm going farther." Sakura said.

There was no answer, of course, so Sakura strolled away, victorious.”What a relief! The longer I can stay in Winners, the better.” Sakura said to herself. Despite how powerful her opponents were, there was still more than half of the tournament left to go. As strong as Arina was, her chances of winning were pretty much nothing now that she had gotten knocked out into the losers bracket. That was just the harsh, exciting nature of bracket tournament fighting. Only one could win…Sakura needed it to be herself!

[XoXKieroBombXoX]

Level 8 - EXP 21/80
The Frozen Highlands

---

---

The Worst Case Scenario

Midnight Walk - Christmas Village

Featuring: Ramattra, Edward, and Ganondorf
Word Count: 2988 // +3 EXP

The Omnic stared at the sky as featureless clouds blizzarded in the near distance. As the landscape of a particularly… festive town came into view, the Omnic was the first among the group to recognize the aesthetics of the new village to explore. “Christmas? The human holiday?” He scratched his chin for a moment, contemplating the ridiculousness of living in a town entirely festive. Sighing, he decided to entertain the idea of playing along with the town’s residents' jolly moods. Best to not fight this wave…and to go with the current.

Ramattra, in particular, was not fond of Maeve’s childlike enjoyment of the holiday, especially how aloof she spoke about the horrific storm in the near distance, and the town’s even more ridiculous plan to make it disappear through Christmas Spirit. Ever the nihilist Ramattra was. But it dawned on him that the nature of Galeem’s World could very well have created an environment influenced by festivity. Groaning in mild bemusement, the Omnic found himself wishing to be in like-minded company for a while. Normally a solitary robot, Ramattra knew that the world he found himself in was full of dangers that blocked their path (metaphorically and literally), and forming new alliances would be the foundation of eliminating the guardians and freeing their worlds. The Omnic was at least glad that Sandaphlon spoke about her negative beliefs on the pixie’s plan; it was nice hearing someone among the group sounding sane.

One of the benefits of passing through such a merry civilization was the particularly strong hospitality its Christmas-y residents displayed to the Seekers. Ramattra did not follow the Stagecoach through the small town at first, choosing to scope out objectives and landmarks before regrouping with whichever of the group’s tacticians he could meet with. While there was no designated area to post the posse of Shieldrixes for the afternoon, they had been allowed to park alongside arustic horse stable that had been repurposed to house reindeer, with troughs empty of feed. They almost seemed frustrated at the nearby sight of impossible creatures grazing on the last of the berry reserves Ramattra had gathered the night prior, though it seemed that whoever had fed them recently had left towards the barrier-like blizzard in the distance of the town, indicated by two large sets of footprints in the snow. Ramattra followed them with clattering triple steps, the grey flesh adorning his cybernetics entirely senseless to the biting cold.

”Thinking of taking a closer look at the blizzard?" Came the voice of Edward from behind as he approached with a lengthened stride, having just finished securing their vehicle (via a perimeter of summoned golem guards and resting somnacanth derivatives). The man clearly had no desire to trust the residents of the town, regardless of their representative’s cheerfulness.

This was also why he was somewhat quieter when he got closer and derided their whole plan ”a preposterous notion, is it not? I’ve seen a dozen different of winter festivals on a dozen different realms, it's practically a constant on ones with seasons, and they are all ultimately about keeping up moral rather than whatever mystical purpose they claim to serve"

They were followed by Edward’s new Trafficrab companion. The plastic creature mostly indifferent to the cold, while the still mostly human Edward moved with his angelic wings worn like a cloak over his cold winter gear.

”Depends on the ritual.” Came the gruff voice of Ganondorf. The man hadn’t been very social since the defeat of Belial, primarily because he was getting himself used to the updated nature of his fusion with the spirit in question. But here he went ahead and decided to throw in his own two Rupees. ”If there’s actual magic attached to it, then maybe. But I couldn’t guess what kind of magic exists in this town’s rituals, if any.”

“Yes. The humans of my world are quite fond of the one that this village is named and decorated after.” Ramattra didn’t see Edward approach initially, his face turning to the commander as his body continued to face the nearby storm. “I am skeptical of their approach to clearing this blizzard. However, I am convinced we have no better alternative since the whole population worships the holiday.” The Omnic hoped they were out of earshot while foulmouthing; however, he enjoyed the sight of bright town lights over the vast nothingness of the Frozen Highlands.

“Though it appears that braving the storm itself seems futile. I dare not cross the threshold myself.” The Omnic’s sensors blinked as he surveyed the land. There was no visibility whatsoever, and if it passed over the small town, it was sure to spell doom for the townsfolk. Magic did indeed seem to be at play here.

”Well, that is what summons are for after all. So let’s confirm before we jump to conclusions" Edward replied, as he retrieved the tome of Enchantment from his hip and opened it up before him. Orange runes glowed upon its pages as he began to forge a squad of copper golems before them.

”Hmph, quite the pragmatic suggestion.” Ganondorf said, though he had no actual objections to the idea.

Soon enough the squad was complete and, with an accompanying thrust of a finger, Edward sent them forwards into the storm. Frost immediately began to form on the surface that the Dreadnought reported was ”Cold enough that it's damaging them" at a steady rate. Then after a few seconds he blinked in surprise and then informed them that the golems had ”Frozen solid" mostly due to having just been given a reminder of what that ‘felt’ like by PomPom

”That is not traversable without proper protection. I could make such protection if I had the resources and time, but getting enough for everyone would be difficult to say the least" Edward said, holding up the hand wearing the Frostkin ring as he said this to show them it as he explained this.

”So we are stuck relying on this town and its festival, then?” asked the Gerudo Warlord, looking none too pleased, ”I can’t say I enjoy the idea of being delayed, even less so the idea of being delayed because of something this… ridiculous.”

“No.” Ramattra interjected the conversation, immediately understanding the situation in hand. “This is no natural ice storm. Something- or someone is causing this.” The Omnic looked over his shoulder at the two warlords. “Perhaps some benevolent spirit to haunt the village” Ramattra teased, emphasizing how preposterous the idea was with the inflection of his tone. Though… the thought was not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

“Well. Regardless, I’ve been meaning to meet with you two for quite some time.” The Omnic stepped backward from the snowstorm, approaching the other two seekers. “I believe that the general consensus is that we three are the most capable of leading armies into battle, yes?” The Omnic would leer metaphorically with his sensors at his allies. “I think some of our friends are beginning to fear us, so to say.”

Edward raised an eyebrow at this statement, it didn’t particularly line up with his own present self image, then failed to stop himself from glancing at Ganondorf. The man’s reputation had been rather dragged through the mud, and he imagined his own association with one of the major contributors to that (before her untimely demise) might not have endeared him to the man. It had been hard to gauge how much of her naysaying of him was vendetta driven and how much was legitimate, and in hindsight he had been foolish to not make his own impartial assessment of the veteran seeker.

There was, he supposed, no time like the present.

Rather than look away and appear guilty at his glance, he leaned into his expressions and tried to give them a positive spin, saying to the king that ”Well, I’m not so sure about myself, but the way you did away with that regenerating Naytiba was an impressive show of power, especially after the rest of us struggled to take it down” Ramattra nodded in agreement, it was impossible to ignore the Gerudo king’s impressive feat. More than anything, it was their added strength that made the trio more threatening.

Ganondorf simply nodded, trying not to let too much of his personal pride show. ”You’re referring to Brother Moon…” He clarified, ”It’s easily the strongest power I’ve added to my arsenal yet. But came with a steep cost, being attached to the Gravemind spirit. That blasted fusion prevents me from being healed outside of my own internal regeneration. It’s… troublesome, to say the least. Hopefully that Naytiba’s spirit will mitigate the problem, if only a little.”

“The Naytiba possess a unique array of… disabilities, along with their strength.” If anyone among the trio understood, it was Ramattra, whose body was now predominantly the side effects of spirit fusion. The storm raged further, giving no attention to the group who idly stood, now staring at ice crystal-coated golems in the belly of the storm. “Regardless, this world does not appear content waiting for us. Maybe we should tend to some of the village matters. Even if their planned festivities fail to dissipate the blizzard, it’s best for us to keep busy while we have matters to discuss.”

Ramattra pointed towards the large pine trees nearby, plentiful for the harvest and tall enough to be cut into multiple logs. “It should be easy enough to gather more wood, right, Edward?” The Omnic didn’t see Ganondorf as the ‘toy-crafting’ type of Gerudo, and neither was he. Honestly, a lot of the tasks on the list were too celebratory for Ramattra’s taste, especially with the looming threat of annihilation by a giant ice storm.

”One of the more practical uses of our time on the list, certainly. Oh and one well suited for my golems” Edward replied with a nod, before flicking the tome of enchantments to a different page and forging a squad of bronze golems. Standing tall above them all, the ax blades on their towering helbards would be well suited to the task of tree felling.

Ganondorf summoned some Moblins with an almost dismissive gesture. They could stack and organize the wood as it was chopped by the golems to speed the process up a bit more.

A high elf peasant was already busy hacking away at the local woods with impressive gusto, but he was only one man. Or elf. Despite this, as they approached and interrupted his muttering of “two plus three times-” he turned around and demanded to know “what do you want?” in a tone of rather sophisticated arrogance.

The Omnic raised a dismissive hand for a moment, sensing the mild tension in his voice. The last thing they needed was confrontation. “We’re here to lend a helping hand with the wood gathering. We saw Maeve’s to-do list and are merely trying to busy ourselves.” The Omnic hoped their sudden appearance on the elves' worksite was not unwelcome, especially considering they had asked for help in the first place.

The elf raised an annoyed nose at the three commanders, recalling his request for extra hands to bring wood back to the village for the festival. “It’s about time she sends help up here. Fine, make yourselves useful, but I’ll be keeping a loose eye on you.” Ramattra gestured for the duo to follow him deeper into the thick of the woods.

Once just out of earshot of the wood-working elf, Ramattra drew his blade from the crevice in his chest, opting to use its enhanced size in Nemesis form to cut trees in brutal, singular strokes. “I propose we form a small alliance. Should we be trapped in this world against our will, I would at the very least prefer being in the company of like-minded individuals. Not to exclude our allies, of course, but I’m what you might call a ‘results-focused’ Omnic.”

Ganondorf, meanwhile, had chosen a more directorial role in getting work done. His Moblins were better suited for menial tasks, but occasionally needed direct oversight from him to keep them on task and prevent any unnecessary distractions. ”An alliance…?” He grunted. He’d be lying if he claimed this sort of thought had never entered his mind. Of course it had. But so many in the Seekers were the heroic sort who would be frustratingly picky about the methods of achieving results.

”I suppose it was always inevitable.” The Gerudo added, ”So many people with often clashing personalities. I’m surprised nobody has created any internal alliances already, frankly.”

”That we are aware of anyway. Any moves needing to be made now would be rather subtle, I suspect” Edward noted. As they worked his bronze golems used cleaving strikes to take down trees, while he himself got to the more precision work of removing branches and such with one of the available axes.

”What, might I ask, would be the overall goal of this alliance?”

”My goal is toppling Moebius and overthrowing Galeem.” Ganondorf said simply. ”How I go about achieving that is no object to me. You’ll find I have little qualms about using subterfuge and other less savory tactics if it means getting us closer to Moebius and Galeem.”

“I’m still quite a rookie when it comes to travelling with you lot, so for now my goal lies in either returning to my world or, alternatively, understanding this world more. With that, I do not request this alliance for null or simple reasons.” The Omnic had always thrived in solitude in his world; however, the magnitude of this world appeared to be infinite, and there were certainly ways to expedite the process. “Do we really believe that we are going to defeat a world-creating god only with a ragtag group of survivors carrying out isolated missions?” The question was clearly hypothetical, as he let silence hang in the air for a moment.

Raising the large scimitar, Ramattra delivered a one-hit KO to a particularly tall tree, gravity drawing it to the group opposite the trio. “No. We need an army. Maybe not a huge one like what I am used to commanding, but…” He looked out at the ice storm, curious about what threats lay in its snowy veil. “Look at how many bodies it takes to fell stronger foes. Who knows what strength the guardian of this area may hold alone?”

Ganondorf said nothing for a moment, and instead just hmphed in thought. Then he finally offered a reply, ”I’m no stranger to war and battlefields.” He said, ”An army at my command would no doubt be a boon. But if that’s your plan, then it begs the question: From where would you call forth this army you're suggesting? Soldiers and minions don’t exactly grow on trees. And we lack the force necessary to levy conscripts, not to mention how little approval we would have from the Archangel and the rest of the heroic sorts among our ranks.”

”If we can acquire a sufficiently powerful source of mana, I could forge us legions of golems” Edward replied, though he was aware that was no easy task. Plus, it did put all the power in his hands, and he suspected neither would be best pleased with that.

As such, he instead directed their attention to the army building abilities that they did have.

”We do have Dr. Willing’s machine for forging impossible creatures that only requires coal. Plus the pal-spheres to tame wild beasts. The issue is more that beasts cannot lead beasts. If we want an army rather than a rag tag band, we need to organize ourselves as such and delicate the commanding of our forces”

Ramattra nodded. He was glad to see that Edward shared a similar plan of thinking. “We are unfortunately stuck with the resources we currently have, however in the meantime, we can focus on improving the quality of leadership as our numbers increase.” The idea was hopefully simple enough; the three of them had experience commanding armies, and should the time come to lead one, he saw the three of them as most fit.

Edward gave a half smile, but internally noted that Ramattra had not taken the hint. If they wanted to make use of the resources they had, then the others would have to start using said resources.

Perhaps Ramattra was being overzealous in this matter. Or perhaps his irrational wariness towards his new allies was a fault he needed to work on. Either way, there was no denying the fact that he valued these two and their ability to command large groups. “Either way, the matter of an alliance is simply a formality. I value your contributions to the group and the roles you two fulfill. I see similarities in us.” He admitted, now configuring into Nemesis form as he picked up a couple of large logs at once.

“Do consider my offer. I believe we can brainstorm great things together. Again, nothing official by it.” The Omnic reassured, hauling the bundle of wood over his shoulder as he followed the marching golems away, back toward the village. The three worked together in great cooperation to chop logs and prepare them for the festival, with rumors of the three warlords now becoming friendly surely circulating among the other Seekers.

[Lugubrious]

Esaka - the Pools

Setting: Clear Thursday Afternoon
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (196/150) Level 11 Big Band (89/110)
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
Word Count: 2080 / 1933

After stooping to pick up her fallen daggers with a flourish, Maya stepped away from where Nadia lay on the wrestling ring, smirking as she crossed to the other side of the stage to reset the fighters’ positions. “You’re not worthy prey.” When she reached Mira, she did not congratulate or high-five her half-sister, but simply stopped and stood there with a casual confidence. Though she was breathing heavier from her exertion, the amazon was ready to finish the match.

Nadia, meanwhile, never actually lapsed into consciousness, but it took a few seconds for her new cuts to scab over and her second wind to kick in. Determined to not give her opponent the satisfaction of seeing her groan, she composed herself in silence, her breathing and heart rate accelerated. “Heh, not bad!” A playful smile covered her face, but it belied the nerves beneath. It had been a while since she’d been so thoroughly worked over, barring serious opponents like Guardians and Consuls. Even if she had the time to think the match over, analysis and reflection weren’t her forte. With her nerves rattled by the beatdown, could she get it together in time for a comeback?

She didn’t notice Robo-fortune until the robot bent down to bodily pick her up and plant her on her feet, holding on just long enough to make sure that Nadia was steady. The unsolicited aid surprised her, since she’d half-expected Robo to be nursing such a grudge that she wouldn’t mind throwing a match just to see Nadia lose. Even now she expected a scathing rebuke. Instead of criticism, though, the dispassionate doppelganger offered her just the bit of insight she needed. “Suggestion: stop blocking her knife throws. Doing so seems to power them up in some way.”

Don’t block? After a wide-eyed second, Nadia gave a curt nod. That sounded just fine to her. It had been second-nature to easily block those projectiles, but dodging them wouldn’t be much harder, and she hated blocking anyway. “Got it.”

“Hey! No mid-match coaching!” A young woman’s voice, high-pitched but intentionally made as growly as possible, reached the two from the sidelines. Both looked over to see Ferra riding piggy-back on her brutish partner Torr, both fresh from their first Losers-side match against Hsu Hao. Of course, the catgirls didn’t know who they’d been up against, but judging by the blood dripping from the duo's weapons it probably didn’t matter any more.

The two split up, Robo vaulting over the ring’s wrestling ropes while Nadia turned to face Maya. “Oh?” Her opponent smiled as she got ready to fight. “Does the kitty want another scratching?”

Sharpening her claws, the feral flashed a toothy grin. “Fangs for the warm-up. Now, let’s fight ‘fur’ real!”

ROUND TWO: FIGHT!

This time, Nadia did not blindly rush into action, but stood firm. She watched Maya walk forward, calling Mira as she approached. When Mira jumped in, she shaped streams of silver blood into a six-foot scythe then burst forward, its blade dragging along the ground. At the same time, Maya threw herself into a forward roll that ended with a spring, launching her toward Nadia in a long, low hop that would take her over her opponent’s head.

Right away Nadia realized she had only one instant to decide where to block. High or low? Forward or backward? It was a dirty mixup, and she was almost impressed. Her eyes were sharp, though, and her reflexes were good. More importantly, in the heat of battle, the feral was too caught up in the moment to second-guess herself. She ducked down to avoid any fly-by attacks from Maya as she soared overhead, which allowed her to block Mira’s upward scythe swing. Its lethal point still hurt a bit when it slammed into her guarding arms, but the blow jarred Mira as well, leaving her off-balance.

By then, Maya had landed behind her, and Nadia whirled around just in time to see her foe flip over for a double cartwheel kick. “Hah!” Straightening her legs, the catgirl blocked the first kick, then the second that followed it. When Maya went for a double overhead knife plunge, however, Nadia went low again. She bent forward enough that her chin almost touched the floor as she extended her arms like the stakes of a barricade. “Hand-le this!” Her nails sank into the ribs of both fighters, and when Nadia snapped her arms back the next second, Maya and Mira stumbled forward and into one another.

“Taste de-feet!” Leaving Mira to retreat, Nadia launched into her first real combo with gleeful aplomb. She planted her hands to deliver a One-Two Punisher, striking first with a disjointed kick and then with her tail. From there she stabbed her hardened ears into the ground, then whirled her legs and tail around like a giant upward propeller. “Tail n’ nails!” A light Fiber Upper launched Maya into the air, and after snapping up to her hyper-extended Mantreads, the feral flipped once before landing an aerial light kick into X-Scrape Claws. “Alley_cat-OOP!” A quick somersault allowed her to bounce Maya off the ground with an axe kick.

She landed on her feet, dashed forward, and caught her foe with two light slugs. “Cat pun-ch!” Still grinning, she delivered a Fishbone Flop, then took off her head and spun it like a drill with one rotating hand. “Stick to the bit!” A couple moves later, she wrapped her combo up with a three-hit Cat Scratch rekka into her level-one blockbuster, Furserker Purrage. One manic chain of upward and downward slashes later, she finished with a headbutt that knocked Maya against the laser ring.

The amazon was on her feet in a flash, wincing both from the barrage of blows and her newly-burned back. “So you do have some fight left in you!” She had no time to talk, though, with Nadia’s head already bumped like a volleyball and on its way.

When the feral tried to give Maya a taste of her own medicine, though, she stopped it short with a hurled dagger, then launched her Leap Kick to anti-air the head. “Ow!” Nadia yelped, her head sailing away just as her body blocked Maya’s purple dagger, Vengeance. Sure enough, the gem in its hilt began to glow with some sort of power, just as Robo said. ”Damn it, she breathed. Her head hit the ground behind her body with a splat as Maya threw her other dagger and rolled forward to collect the first. This time she dove to the side to avoid blocking Temperance, the dagger landing blade-first only about a foot away from Nadia’s head. “Whoa!”

Maya then sprinted toward her lost property, which gave the feral an idea. “Metal cat, puppy guard!” At her command, her Kameo leaped in to fire a heavy Theonite Beam at Maya. Surprised, she managed to sidestep, only for Nadia’s body to come at her from behind. The claw slashes of her Cat Scratch rekka put Maya on the defensive. When Nadia’s body ended with an unsafe El Gato, Maya went to punish her, only for a blast of blood from the catgirl’s neck to smack her head into her foe’s ankle. “Cattering ram!” Her body didn’t have enough time to combo off the counterhit, but a throw seemed like a safe bet. Sure enough, Maya tried to back toward Temperance while blocking, and once Nadia got her hands on her foe she delivered a palm thrust, knee lift, and palm uppercut to floor Maya once more.

Nadia pulled off her tail and went for a hefty downward chop at her downed opponent. Her hack fell a little too early, and with a panther’s grace Maya rolled sideways, snatched up her other dagger, and then sprang into the air. As she vaulted over the catgirl’s headless body, she readied her weapons for throwing, but this time Nadia was one step ahead. With her tail-blade right next to her head on the ground, she chomped down on the end of her tail, then swung the impromptu sword and released her bite at just the right moment to send her noggin flying. “Heads up!” It slammed into Maya’s stomach a split second before she hurled her daggers, throwing off her aim just enough that both stuck into the ground at Nadia’s feet.

“Haha, knife try!” As Maya flipped away and landed on her feet, the catgirl chased her down, catching her falling head on the way. She popped it on, then ran straight into a low kick from Maya. “Oh, hell nyah…” Gritting her teeth, she endured a series of cartwheel kicks, followed by a double knife slash, double whirling sweep kick, a backflip kick that popped her the other direction, and a songbird upper-kick followed by a powerful Shadow Version of the same move. “Ugh.” As Nadia sprang backward, Maya ran forward, then tried to grab her. For once in her life the feral actually saw it coming and managed to fend off her foe’s grasping hands, pushing the two away from one another.

Immediately Maya threw Vengeance and caught Nadia in the face, though since this didn’t result in a Vengeance charge or a combo the feral wasn’t deterred. She threw herself forward with Cat Slide, and Maya jumped away. In midair she somehow inverted her trajectory and dove forward, her Temperance blade raised for a plunging assault. She landed on Nadia right after the latter got up and slid on top of her a short distance before plunging her dagger beneath her foe’s shoulderblade. She then flipped off, calling her sister. Mira jumped in to provide fire support with three batlike projectiles as Maya collected her lost dagger.

“Oof…you don’t know when to quit! Robo, drone me!” Nadia took off running around the ring as a headdrone from her Kameo joined her, outspeeding the homing of Mira’s silvery Blood Seekers. This round had really heated up. Both fighters had landed a combo, although Nadia’s had been much better. Now Maya knew that she really couldn’t afford to get touched, but nobody could fight perfectly. When the amazon moved to intercept her, Nadia had a plan.

She skidded to a stop so suddenly that her head rolled off her shoulders and then fell into her hand. Like a baseball player she hurled it at Maya, but the amazon was ready. With Cobra Bite, an upward knife slash, she opened a long, bloody cut on Nadia’s face as it flew away. Then she threw her own daggers, one after another. Their impact drove Nadia into the laser ropes right behind her, and when she touched them she recoiled from the sizzling flash, stumbling forward. Maya smelled blood and cannon forward with a flying kick.

In the nick of time, Nadia recovered, and revealed her Blue Monday counter. Even though Maya’s kick connected, it was her that got popped up by the feral’s knee instead, allowing Nadia to grab and side-slam her backward. Maya smacked into the laser ropes face-first and blasted, smoking, into the air. With just one eye open, Nadia’s head smiled through the pain at the sight of her helpless opponent. “You really…blue it!” As Maya fell, the catgirl’s body leaped up, grabbed her out of the air, and unceremoniously tossed her down into the water beyond the wrestling ring’s edge.

PLOOSH!

MS FORTUNE AND ROBO-FORTUNE WIN!

As Mira nonchalantly watched her half-sister drag herself up from the water, Nadia grabbed her head and took a quick breather, cackling to herself (despite her blood loss) as she returned to her Kameo’s side. The handful of onlookers assembled nearby seemed entertained, if nothing else. A second-round winners-side pools match probably didn’t warrant much attention, even for Mortal Kombat. “See that, Robo? Down for the count-er!” Maybe she was just imagining it, but even Robo-fortune looked amused.

Truth be told, though, Nadia was a lot more relieved than she let on. Her comeback was all thanks to her foe’s mental state: once she got serious, a professional duelist like Maya had been so focused on the fight that she hadn’t anticipated a cheap trick. That probably wouldn’t work a second time, though, so she’d need to keep her head on straight for the final round. With momentum on her side, though, how could she lose?

---

When Band finally reached the stage for his third pools match, he was happy to see that it wasn’t a rickety wooden raft this time, at least. Of course, a free-standing wharf surrounded by gondolas (which a couple yokai spectators had already claimed as front-row seats for the upcoming fight) wasn’t much better, but at least he didn’t need to worry about flimsy boards buckling beneath him.

Probably.

Instead, it seemed like he’d be primarily worried about his opponent. Just after Band got close enough to view the stage for himself, he saw a white robot a couple dozen feet ahead of him leap from the walkway, flip nimbly through the air, and land on the dock with ease. As he approached, Band narrowed his eyes to try and get a read on her. Although she stood a couple heads shorter than the cyborg, she seemed to be one hundred percent mechanical, even if her face and overall shape closely mirrored that of a human female. Primarily white with bronze accents, she looked lightweight and agile, not least thanks to a helmet that resembled the beak of some tropical bird and the ponytail of red metal feathers that hung behind her like a knight’s plume. He even managed to catch a glimpse of the inscription on her collar: IX-CHEL. This was definitely his next opponent.

When Band jumped over the gap to the stage, landing with a grunt, Chel turned his way. “Ooh! Se aproxima el robot gigante!” Just as with Victor Chevalier and Heihachi Mishima, the detective was cognizant of the machine speaking a foreign language, yet somehow he still understood her meaning. The giant robot approaches! This automatic translation still confused him. Could ‘mutual understanding’ be a decree of the Heavenly Principles? Well, no time to think about it now.

“Not me, miss,” he replied, trusting that his own speech wouldn’t be lost in translation. “I’m mostly metal nowadays, but the parts o’ me that matter are still one hundred percent human.” He extended a little mechanical pincer to tip his hat, revealing his middle-aged face. “The name’s Big Band. I’m all there is of the most real.” He had yet to tire of using his introductory catchphrase.

Chel gave him a peppy wave. “Hola, señor Band!” She then raised both arms, pointing two thumbs toward herself. “Salude a la heroína. Me llamo Ana Itza, y este es mi mech Chel!” Greet the heroine. I call myself Ana Itza, and this is my mech Chel. The robot extended her arms, playing to the crowd, such as it was. “¿Listos, todos? Vamos patear algunos traseros!”

The detective snickered. He hardly needed the Heavenly Principles to understand when someone wanted to kick his butt. “Good luck with that!”

More importantly: if this robot was actually a mech, did that mean that there was a tiny person somewhere inside it…?

ROUND ONE: FIGHT!

“Gimme a hit!”

“...Estrella!”

Band started off with Brass Knuckles to test the waters, while Chel dashed backward. The detective’s giant slide punch fell just short, and before he fully recovered, his foe tagged him with an energy blast from a small cannon formed around one arm. It didn’t hurt all that much, but it gave Chel a chance to push forward with a quick one-two, each punch augmented by the plasma jets in her palms. Band blocked it with his music stand, then answered in kind with a jab from his musical triangle, which Chel also blocked while backing up slightly.

She then launched a high, long-legged roundhouse kick that caught Band pushing forward at the very edge of her range, which she could only combo into another Night Sun plasma shot. Playing the range game, eh?” Band crouched down to belt out a row of pipe organs, aimed low. Chel was already backing up, though, and her fast walk speed put him beyond even Low Rank’s range. Anticipating another projectile, Band jumped forward, his massive frame airborne for only a brief moment. His foe turned out to be more patient than he expected, though, and another high roundhouse kick anti-aired him.

“Estrella!” Knocked down, Band teched backward, far enough away that the Night Sun he predicted didn’t combo, but did force him to block. “Haha!” The next moment she launched forward into a flying triple kick, the first two hitting nothing but the third connecting with Band’s guard at the very tip of its range, which allowed her to land with enough to to block her opponent’s would-be punish as his saxophone uppercut clanged off her armored limbs. So this girl knows her spacing, Band thought as she raised her cannon for another Night Sun. But can she handle this?

“AAHHAAY!” A giant brass fist extended from Band’s body as he burst forward with a second Brass Knuckles, plowing straight through Chel’s plasma. She let out a metallic yelp as she flew a decent way, rolling halfway to the stage’s edge before she flipped to her feet. Thinking herself safe from this distance, she fired off another Night Sun, only for an oversized drum pedal to create a quake that knocked her back to the ground. “Giant Steps!” Band then thundered forward with Brass Knuckles to armor through the projectile again, canceled his momentum with Emergency Break, and slid to a stop only a couple steps away from his foe just in case she had a surprise ready for him.

If she had a reversal, though, Chel did not let it fly just yet. Instead she leaped up into the air, perhaps conscious of the corner. Her mechanical body contorted in ways that would be impossible for a human to ensure maximum airtime, and Band opted for his own anti-air, Beat Extend. Before the tambourine halves could snap shut on the incoming mech, however, Chel stopped her momentum with a downward plasma blast that splashed against Band’s head, knocking his fedora right off. “Baloney!” Unable to follow up from that distance, Chel landed a few feet away, blocked a light Brass Knuckle, and left the two right back where they started.

“Hmph. Try this!” Band jumped forward. This time, Chel did fire off a true anti-air at him, rising with a twirling uppercut. But this time the detective thought ahead by air-blocking instead of attempting a jump-in, and though Chel’s Crush Breeze pushed him back as he landed, it left her so unsafe that he could dash twice to close the distance by the time she landed. “Hot Socks!” Ever pragmatic, Band knowledge-checked her with a deceptive standing attack that used a tiny drum pedal to hit low, opening his opponent up at last.

Without further ado Band hopped up, immediately letting out a punchy note from his lowest left-side cap. “Tenor!” From there he filled with Jelly Roll, his three-hit knee tambourine, then spiked Chel with the first hit of a downward clarinet. Her groundbounce gave him enough time to land, fire off two honks from his bike horn, then popped her up again with his saxophone uppercut. “Saximum!” Following her into the air let him continue the combo with a middling Baritone Blast, the full stab and spin of Sweet Clarinet, and finally his signature five-thousand-pound dropkick. With only one bar of Dramatic Tension to his name so far, Band decided to save it and simply fall flat on his back, reasoning that the dropkick should be enough to ring Chel out.

Instead the mech bounced off the floor with a handspring and landed on her feet right at the stage’s edge, comically swinging her arms as she attempted to keep her balance. “Wha-ah-ah!” She managed to right herself, after which she pumped her fists in excited celebration. “¡Haha! ¿Cómo te quedo el ojo?” How do you like that?

Band sighed, his broken respirator whistling flatly. Always finish your plate, Ben.

He rose and threw out a Brass Knuckle to try and finish the job. Chel nimbly leaped over him, her flip kick whiffing thanks to Band’s forward movement. She backed up a step after landing, then jumped again. Not expecting her to willingly corner herself, the detective ate her jump-in, and it was the mech’s turn to combo. She hammered him with a plasma-infused one-two punch, a low punch, a Night Sun that she used Kinetic power to cancel into a forward dash, and a couple more punches followed by her three-kick Dancing Wind. After the last kick bodily launched Band upward, Chel’s used her Crush Breeze uppercut, finishing with an axe kick that bounced her foe off the ground and right back up into an airgrab. “Alley-oop!” With a cheerful farewell she fired a point-blank plasma blast that threw Band to the ground.

The detective teched backward and got to his feet, bruised and grumbling but hardly beaten. More plasma shots were headed his way. He blocked one, then saw Chel jump to fire a downward shot before shooting a grounded Night Sun upon landing. The zoning reminded him of Rasputin, and he was not happy. Next time Chel’s feet left the ground, he splurged the Tension he’d saved to deploy a giant French horn and blast forward like a missile. “Super…SONIC!”

The startup of Super Sonic Jazz annulled the Night Sun about to hit him, and the extra hit of armor after that pushed him through the next ball of plasma. He smashed into Chel as she fell and hammered her for full unscaled damage, ending with a downward flip that sent her skidding behind him. He added on a Giant Step for good measure, the tremor hitting Chel off the ground, though without more Tension Band couldn’t keep the pain train rolling with more Super Sonic Jazz.

Even so, Chel wasn’t doing so hot. Another combo would be enough to power her down, and she knew it. This time, she used her Night Suns a little more carefully, while still forcing Band to come to her. Boasting even more patience than his opponent, the detective silently blocked and walked her down, jumping over plasma shots whenever possible. Finally, she used Kinetic to cancel a shot on startup and dash toward Band, then jump straight up. More lucky than anything, Band leaped after her, snatched her out of the air between the halves of a giant bell, then clanged that bell to drop her to the floor, her head ringing.

Unlike Chel, Band could combo after an air throw, so after a quick clarinet spike to pick her up he laid on the hurt, even mixing in the Sound Stun from Beat Extend for good measure. And as it turned out, he didn’t even need to go the full distance; just over halfway through the combo, Chel’s chassis began to spark, and the mech plummeted to the ground.

BIG BAND WINS!

Band dropped after her, landing heavily, then began to back up to prepare for round two. Nearby, spectators drawn by his musical beatdown offered their claps and a few cheers, but Band didn’t feel so good. While he’d seized an early victory, his breathing was too ragged. With the sorry state of his respirator in mind, had he overexerted himself too soon? The detective fought to get his breathing under control, his brows furrowed sharply. From here on in, he’d need to pace himself if he wanted to seal the deal.

The Midnight Walk - Christmas Village

Setting: Cloudy Thursday Noon
Lvl 9 Sandalphon (68/90) Level 7 Heismay (7/70)
Edward’s @DracoLunaris Blazermate & Sectonia’s @Archmage MC Ace Cadet’s @Yankee Roxas & Ganondorf’s @Double Ramattra and Tenna’s @XoXKieroBombXoX Mokou’s @Goggy
Word Count: 838

Nameless Stagecoach
𖥞: 6/8 | 🛡️: 6/8 | ◆◆◆◆ | Equipment: Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/Vegetubes/Lightning Rod/(None) | Companion: Ratshaker Rat

Even with all the pre-written letters out of the way, and Sandalphon’s mechanical efficiency when it came to inscription, putting the Christmas wishes of the rest of the populace took a long time. When she finally finished, such a big stack of letters addressed to ‘Santa Claus’ that she needed both hands to hold it, she emerged from the village’s central workshop to find that the morning had just become the afternoon. Of course, the dark cloud cover overhead meant she couldn’t discern the time via the sun’s position, but the presence of a big clock in the town’s square revealed what time it was. Furthermore, it seemed that the last night’s snowfall had finally stopped, leaving a fresh blanket of pure white powder over just about everything in sight.

Sandalphon paused for a moment, simply taking in the sight of warm cabins, festive lights, and joyful people. Then, careful not to drop a single letter into the snow, she deposited her load into the mailbox she, Roxas, and Layton used earlier. She wondered if the student-professor duo had actually gone through with their mission of visiting the antisocial Vanessa in her mansion in order to find out what she wanted. With such a pleasant, peaceful atmosphere around the village it was hard to imagine that anyone could come to any real danger, but appearances had been deceiving before, and locals like Maeve had regarded the reclusive with an unusual amount of dread. Still, if the makeshift team had managed to get to Iorveth, hopefully Vanessa wouldn’t be much harder.

When Sectonia also left the huge workshop a few seconds later to begin her outfit deliveries, she found one person on her list only a few feet away. Once the wasp queen got her attention, Sandalphon turned to receive a surprise present from Sectonia’s sack, her pupils shaped like question marks. Knowing no reason to wait, Sandalphon opened the box then and there, her dextrous fingers making quick work of the ribbons and wrapping paper. Inside, she found a gorgeous choir robe of cream-colored silk, richly embroidered with gold in the shape of suns and starlight, very well complimented by a splash of deep poinsettia red. It was so lovely that the archangel scarcely believed it. “For me?” she confirmed with questioning eyes, to Sectonia’s (slightly impatient) affirmation.

Better still, the costumers had provided her an alternate outfit. It was nice, but it looked like it would make her armpits very cold, and the horns did remind her somewhat of a demon’s. Sandalphon returned it to the box, set it side, and held the choir robe to her bosom. “...Thank you. Sincerely.” Sandalphon’s pupils became teardrops as a true smile played across her features.

She soon after found herself endowed with a package that seemed suitable for Layton as well. Sandalphon didn’t actually know where he was right now, but it would be easy enough to track him down once she called him. Thanking Sectonia again, she moved aside to let the big bug go on her way. As she flew off, so did the young fleas found inside the Christmas Clothier’s section of the workshop, which reminded the archangel that she’d actually forgotten to look for fleas earlier. Not like me, she thought, frowning.

Just after the fleas went out, a couple more Seekers moved in. Heismay and Mokou had approached the big cabin from the fishing pond to the east, both hauling a sled laden with fish. Sandalphon stopped and stared, quite impressed by the quantity and variety of their catch. She examined their hauls as the fishers received their own costumes from the Ace Cadet and Blazermate.

Already in a good mood, Heismay received his outfits with a smile. “What’s this?” The fur-lined red suits looked a little silly, but very warm, so after taking a deep breath the eugief made up his mind. He’d been feeling cold again anyway. “If this attire is customary for such festivities…” He put on the red coat from the first outfit over his parka, then donned the black boots from the second getup. Even the reindeer cap fit, since his big ears were already tucked beneath his hood. “I shall play my part.” Hopefully he wouldn’t regret muffling his ears with so much cloth. At the very least, now he felt warm and toasty.

“Taking these to the kitchen?” Sandalphon asked him and Mokou.

He nodded. “Indeed. Most of them should bake up nicely. This one…” He narrowed his eyes at the molten, aberrant char. “A heat source, perhaps.” He and Mokou parked the sleds, then began to transfer the fish inside, so Sandalphon gave them a hand, although her stiffness of movement indicated some sort of bothersome pain as she exerted. Once the two were all set and ready to cook, the archangel wandered back out to the to-do board, wondering what she could do next. With so much work to do, the thought of play never even crossed her mind.

[Eviledd1984]

@Lugubrious

Harry Dubois

And

𝒦𝒾𝓂 𝒦𝒾𝓉𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾

Word Count: 486
Level: Lv: 6 EXP: (3/60)
Lv: 4 EXP: (5/40)
Location: Esaka’s Middle Tier - Pool Arena Round 2

Between the first and second rounds, Harry was catching his breath. He hunched over while sucking in a lot of air into his lungs. Sasquatch, meanwhile, was waiting patiently for Harry to cover before the round started. After a while, he was ready for the next round. Once again, getting into a fighting stance. Sasquatch began to charge at Harry. Harry, who quickly chugged his flask before throwing it at the charging beast. The flask smashed into Sasquatch’s nose and bounced off onto the floor. The thrown flask was enough to make Sasquatch slow down, and this was enough time for Harry to react.

Sasquatch’s running was slowly becoming a jog towards the detective. Harry ran towards the yeti and jumped off of his chest high into the air. He brought his arms down in a downward axe-swinging motion. His closed fists connected with Sasquatch’s head, making him flinch in pain. Harry followed up this hit by performing a spinning heel kick to his face.

Sasquatch fell onto the ground, making Harry jump a little from his heavy body hitting the ground. He was wondering if the yeti was out for the count, but he didn’t think it was going to be that easy. And it wasn’t as Sasquatch got back up onto his feet. Sasquatch started sliding towards Harry, who tried jumping over his massive body. Instead, Harry fell on top of his opponent with a hard thud. Sasquatch gave Harry a big hug, almost breaking his back in the rather intense bear hug. After a moment, Sasquatch held Harry by the leg while getting back up onto his feet.

Slamming Harry onto the ground a couple of times, leaving blood splatters on the ground. After doing this, Sasquatch threw Harry a few feet away. Harry’s body was sprawled on the floor. Slowly, he got back onto his feet but stumbled as he stood up. ”D**n it, my head is spinning.” Harry was slurring his words as he tried to keep his balance.

Sasquatch jumped high in the air, mimicking Harry’s double axe handle from before. Harry was lucky and moved out of the way before he could be hit. Because if he were hit, then he’d probably be turned into a pancake. Harry reacted by trying to body slam his opponent. His own body hit Sasquatch’s body with a hard thud. Quatch grabbed Harry by the neck and held Harry high in the air. And before long, Harry was slammed onto the ground with an even harder thud.

There was a brief moment of silence before it was declared that Sasqautch had won the round. And was going to move up the ranks. Harry, meanwhile, was groaning and moaning in pain as Dr. Faust and his medical crew came by to look at him. Harry gave Sasquatch a thumbs up for the good match, and Sasquatch returned the gesture with his own thumbs up.

[DracoLunaris]

wordcount: 821 (+2)
Location: Forbidden Kingdom - Esaka’s Pools
Bowser Jr: Level 15 EXP: //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(316/150)
Rika: Level 12 EXP: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////(152/110)
Amaterasu: level 9 (1 level up stored) EXP: ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (55/90)

”aaaaand done!” Jr declared as he finished strapping his sister’s (washed) hands back into her gun gauntlets. He then glanced around and, after a moment of confusion, asked ”Wait everyone is still here!?”

”mmm hmm” Rika replied as she flexed the fingers on her mechanical gauntlets, before adding that ”guess they’ll have to catch up” as she slipped out of her seat.

Beside/behind her, and still in her chair, Amaterasu ruled her eyes at this impatience, impatience which had been caused mainly by the pair eating too fast. She herself had eaten at a slower, more dignified pace, and so was only just now finishing up.

As the kids started to leave, the prince paused, glanced in the general direction of the U.N. members (Darli, Dolores, and Anji) who were going to be taking part in mission A and asked ”You three got rides to get out to the jungle?”

Anji chuckled to himself, his smile hidden behind a fan. “Well, I have my methods, at least.”

“I’ve seen your methods, and they won’t be doing the rest of us much good,” Dolores clarified, pushing up her glasses. “We should take the company car. We have a reserved spot in the Low Tier’s public parking garage, not far from the northern gate. Let’s meet there in…shall we say, five minutes?” She glanced at Anji. “Since you have your methods, maybe you could fetch the car for us?”

The gentleman bowed politely. “My pleasure.” He produced a second fan, and with a flourish conjures a swarm of swirling blue butterflies. They coalesced into a cloud, upon which Anji seated himself, and a moment later he was flying away.

”Five minutes? Yeah can do that” Jr replied, before calling out to the others ”Last one there’s a rotten egg!” and then taking off at a run.

”Hey! Wait up!” his sister called out before running after him.

Amaterasu rolled her eyes at this as well, and did not follow. Instead she approached Terry to lend her support for not simply killing the two in town targets.

Arson could send the same message just fine.

Of course, communicating that would be a little tricky without Yayama’s help, but she’d make do with drawing the words “break not kill” in the air, by using wine as the ink for her celestial calligraphy.

---

Outside, the kids made perfect pace towards winning their own little improvised race. Jr, with a good headstart, made it to the edge of the mid tier first, but was slowed by a need to slide down the wall, claws leaving scratch marks as he did. This let his sister catch up by simply leaping off of it. The princess plummeted down to the water below and then landed atop it without a hint of strain from the impact.

She then took off, weaving between arenas and spectator stands as she surfed across the pool water, avoiding any issues with congestion on the walkways, maneuvering thrusters flaring to boost her speed or rapidly adjust her course. Her brother, of course, could do this too, using his Magma Rush dashes to match her maneuvering thruster maneuvers.

When it came to the drop from pools to low tier and here anyone watching might have expected Jr to fall further behind again due to their difference in decent speeds. They would have been wrong however. Instead of wall sliding Jr angled his approach to the edge towards the tallest of the lowtier buildings, and thus got to use it, and then its neighbors, to drop his altitude while keeping up his forward momentum this time, hopping from one rooftop to another with relative ease.

Rika followed suit, and then accelerated as bullet jumps and grappling hook slingshots let her speed up her own pace, the shipgirl pulling ahead despite her deceased stature and sea-legs being not exactly apt for running.

Falling behind, Jr slowed even further as he pulled up an armory screen and then summoned his clowncar, before racing through the skies after his sister. He gained on her, and then as she dropped down to ground level for the final stretch towards the exit gate, closed in with the added speed granted from a descending swoop.

Deployed go-cart tyres hit the street while Rika’s grapple latched onto a gatepost, causing both kids to launch forwards, crossing the finish line within a breath of each other.

By the time anyone (or likely, everyone) who didn’t want to compete caught up, they’d find the kids casually bickering about who won while sitting atop the metal attacker Kuebiko. They dropped the debate as soon as those others showed however, both to try and work out who’d lost, and was thus the rotten egg, and to remind the others of the small pile of vehicles found in the armory. This included several motorcycles, a four by four Warthog, a Prowler hover sled, the other a monowheel Chopper.

[Archmage MC]

Blazermate

Level 14 Blazermate (Holding 3 level up) - (139/140)

Location Frozen highlands
Word Count: Less than 750

With costumes done and delivered, Blazermate meandered around looking for something else to do. It was then something on the list came to her mind. 'finding the snow imps'. This, was something she could do very well with her Scan ability once she thought about it. As she looked around the village, she found why people had a hard time finding these things. While Scan made it much easier to find them, there were a lot of them and they hid in the strangest of places.

For example, when she started to scan for them, knowing what they look like, she found one hiding in a festive barrel filled with candy canes. Apparently the imp, once found and grabbed, had been nibbling on the base of these candy canes making them look like they had been nibbled by mice. Another one she found just out in the open, as it was pretending to be an ornament. Seeing as how Sectonia, Mokou and Edward had just put these ornaments up, she was a bit surprised they didn't see this one. That or perhaps it took the time between the ornaments being hung up and Blazermate finding it to find its 'hiding spot'.

While Blazermate could keep looking for these things, having someone help her would probably be for the best. As while some of them hid until grabbed, some just ran the first time Blazermate even looked at them scampering into little hidey holes that she couldn't fit into.

[XoXKieroBombXoX]

Level 8 - EXP 44/80
The Midnight Walk - Christmas Village
Word Count:43922 +5 EXP

---

---

Snow-Laughing Matter

Featuring Sandaphlon and The Ace Cadet
Word Count: 3922

Unable to contain his excitement, at the beginning of the evening, Tenna had been absent, partaking in Christmas-like festivities. The last the Seekers had seen of him, he charged off to explore the fantastic village as soon as Maeve said the words “Christmas Village”. He went off sprinting into the small crowd of townsfolk mingling in the cobbled streets of Galeem’s festive village, shouting “CHRISTMAS!!!!!” into the distance. Apparently, he was fond of the holiday.

Any Seeker who had grown wary of his whereabouts quickly could have their worries set to rest, as the CRT quickly became entranced in holiday games with many of the (possible URL if there's a good one) children residents of the village, who quickly radiated toward Tenna’s child-like personality. Every time a different Seeker came to inquire about the TV host's location, he was always in the same spot, playing a different game every single time someone checked on him. Though now things had grown oddly quiet in the plot of snowy land that Tenna and the children were playing in, save for a steady and repeating “THOOMP!” noise.

Now the amount of townkids spending time with Tenna had decreased, as they hunkered down amidst a snow blockade across from a group offestively dressed delinquents who continued to, way too violently, mind you, hurl snowballs at the opposing fort. The children who stayed no longer looked like they were having fun, and Maeve’s warning about playing safely was ignored. Some of Tenna’s henchmen helped to form a counterattack of snowballs, but were quickly pelted in the face.

The leader of the group could finally be made out as he steadied his buzzcut head and leveled a weaponized snowball launcher that easily left bruises on skin towards Tenna and his henchmen. “Ok. I reloaded. Now hit that stupid TV-Face.” The boy commanded his clique in a stoic and almost careless tone. It almost looked like he wasn’t having any fun doing this, if it wasn’t for the twisted smirk that curled on his face whenever he hit somebody with the snowball gun.

It was only a matter of time before the spectacle happened to draw the eye of someone in search of something to do. Of course, Sandalphon had pictured herself assisting with decorations or gift-wrapping rather than engaging in a physical activity in any capacity, but the archangel had a keen eye for the analysis of warfare, be it conducted with swords or snowballs. It didn’t take an expert to be able to tell that the snowball field was in a rather sorry state. With only a couple rudimentary barricades and rather meager caches of snowballs, it reminded her of the dreary public playgrounds scattered among the residential areas of the Sector 08 undercity in Midgar, Detroit. Yet even a playground like this seemed to have its share of bullies.

Sandalphon was not experienced with children, but the disparity between the two factions in this frosty conflict was plain to see, and it seemed obvious that this shouldn’t continue. The archangel began to approach, considering what tact she ought to take to resolve this matter.

She was also not the only Seeker who had stumbled upon the scene, though this one took a much less calculated approach. Whether it ended up giving Sandalphon a small opening or interfered with her budding plan remained to be seen.

"Hey, Tenna! You want any help?" the festively clad Ace Cadet called from the edge of the snow arena, opposite the archangel.

After making the rounds giving out clothes he'd actually intended to head right back to the village's central workshop, but his return route had taken him by the snowy play-battlefield. It'd been a long time since he'd participated in a snowball fight himself, and while he would have been happy to leave the village kids to it he couldn't help but notice his fellow Seeker among them, with his while group pinned down.

Ace cupped his hands around his mouth to shout out again, but ended up having to duck a snowball that was pitched at his head. "Whoa!"

"No outside help!" one of the holiday hooligans yelled.

"Alright, alright! Snow easy on me!" the Cadet yelled back. Rather than leave, which is probably what the opposing snowball forces wanted, he charged into the arena with an arm thrown up over his head to protect from the rain of snowballs that followed. He slid behind the crumbling wall of Tenna's side's fort, shooting the entertainer and his entourage a grin.

Tenna nodded to Ace’s offer to help. With many of the leftover kids hunkering down in the safety of the small fort, the resistance against the bully’s barrage of snow was three to five, excluding Ace and the nearby Sandaphlon, who the CRT and the delinquent boy had not yet noticed. “We started having a normal snowball fight but then that teenager started talking to some of those dressed-up bullies about this fantastic weapon he found specifically for hurting people in snowball fights.” He tried his best to point to the cannon without peaking over his cover.

“Honestly, they’re RUINING THE SHOW!” Tenna pouted playfully, before using a squash and stretched enlarged hand to ball an oversized lump of snow in his palm. He chucked it over the makeshift blockade towards the rowdy ground at the opposite end, causing a couple of heads to duck down to avoid being pelted. The assault of snow slowed down for a moment as they hid their heads, giving one of the Shadow Guy goons an opportunity to nail the teenage leader square in the face, staggering his aim.

“Okay, new rule.” The boy shouted from his fortress. “If you hit me again, I’ll beat the shit out of you later.” The threat seemed empty from the inflection in his voice, but it was pretty clear this kid was the root cause of the snowball fight catastrophes from years prior.

Tenna sat back down next to Ace, forming another ball as he said, “I thinks that if we disarm that gun from him, the kiddos can go back to their snnnnnnowwwday! I’ve been using my employees and Darkner powers to hold them back without hurting anybody…”

The Cadet peeked over the snow mound to see the opposition, muttering a "sheesh" at the ring leader's reaction to a taste of his own medicine. Ultimately it came down to a kid (and his pack of adult underlings?) taking the game far too seriously, so his promised retaliation wasn't intimidating. Taking his advantage away did seem like the best option for getting him to quit the game so the rest could continue more casually though.

"Sounds like a plan!" he said, packing a fresh snowball in his hands.

Still far enough away from the one-sided snowball fight that nobody had really taken notice of her (despite looking even more angelic than usual thanks to her new outfit), Sandalphon paused as one of her fellow Seekers jumped into the action. She’d hoped that Tenna and his mooks would have the situation somewhat in hand, but even the monster hunter’s assistance didn’t seem to be enough to turn the tide against the little hellion and his gang, especially with that snowblaster of his. What really convinced Sandalphon to intercede, though, was the curmudgeon’s threat, especially given his foul language. That evaporated any sympathy the archangel might have had for him and his cohorts, painting them as delinquents in need of correction.

She moved in, walking in an arc toward her allies’ snowy citadel. Used to precise measurements in far more dangerous and stressful situations than this, she had all the time in the world to calculate the necessary trajectory as she manifested an icy cluster in the palm of one gloved hand. “All units, prepare for all-out bombardment, targeting enemy emplacement,” she ordered. After a moment, she wound up to throw, her blank face subtly menacing. “Here’s a snowball for you.” With that, she hurled the Frost Lock straight at the bully’s snowball cannon. On contact the machine froze solid, leveling the playing field for five crucial seconds.

Her dynamic entrance had Ace and Tenna glancing at each other, and then throwing matching grins the angel's way.

“Action time baby!”

The mean teenager looked at the malfunctioning gun in confusion, not suspecting the support from Sandaphlon. The tides of the struggle had been leveled out more, now that the crew had an opening to counterattack! Tenna and his henchmen began rapidly forming and throwing snowballs towards the clique, forcing them to duck and weave while throwing in messy succession.

After her tampering with the snow-launcher, the group seemed to be aiming mostly in her general direction now, seeing her as a threat to their troublemaking. “My launcher may as well be useless with her protecting them!” The leader shouted over his holiday henchmen.

Tenna knew that once the Frost Lock ended, the cannon would be aimed at Sandaphlon. “Doesn’t this bully have a parent to reel him back in!” The CRT complained under the cover. The henchmen had managed to land a couple of hits on the henchmen.

Even before the freeze ended, Sandalphon could tell from how the gunners pointed their weapon that she could expect a cold-hearted reprisal for her interference. Rather than try to join in her allies’ barrage, or attempt to defend herself with her strings, she made for their snow fort as fast as possible. Unfortunately it was slow going, and with neither the strength nor speed to push through the powdery drifts, the archangel would probably not reach cover in time… which meant her allies would have to find a way to protect her from the horror of being pelted with packed snow.

Even in his holiday outfit, there were some things that Ace wasn't going without; his pack with all of his equipment for one, the scoutfly cage for two, and of course third was the trusty slinger. Though he would be able to pull Sandalphon with its chain... Tenna could probably reel her in the same way he'd done for the Cadet in yesterday's battle, and it would be a much less jarring experience versus being yanked with the hunter's own clutch claw. Ace patted the television-headed man on the shoulder and suggested it. "Think you can pull our commander in? I'll try and draw some fire- actually, I guess draw some ice!"

It took Tenna a moment to connect Ace’s train of thinking; the cadet wanted the CRT to divide again into a Tennaling rope to retrieve Sandaphlon, though it seemed like she had some sort of intent to charge toward the enemy fort. “You got it! Just give me a small opening and lasso me on over there!” If Ace could remove even one attacker, that would distract the foes for long enough to retrieve their commander. Tenna waited nearby, now a stretched-out rope of miniature Tennas linked hand and feet to one another.

Though Ace'd just been throwing normally before, now he pulled the catch of the slinger back to manually adjust it, loading it full of snowballs from the fort's slowly dwindling stash. Using the sling shot mechanism wouldn't have been considered cheating back in his world, and considering the bullies were using even stronger propulsion, he wouldn't have felt bad about doing it here even if it was.

Ace rolled out from behind the snow fort opposite the side Sandalphon was approaching from, coming to rest in a half kneel with the slinger raised. It fired a snowball at the gingerbread-faced delinquent, nailing them square in the nose. The hunter did play fair - no rocks or chunks or ice in these snowballs, and with the gear's power tuned a little lower it wouldn't be any more painful than just getting struck by someone just chucking them. But it was fast and accurate, the second snowball already following up the first. It burst against the same underling, the next two aimed at the sock headed guy right next to him.

"You guys are pawsitively out-chilled!" he teased, swinging the slinger's aim to the next in line of the opposing forces.

With two of the snow-hurling neirdowells disposed of temporarily, Ace then had a good chance to wrangle Tenna by the midst of his makeshift self-rope and swing him towards Sandaphlon, whom he grabbed and quickly wrapped around her arm to reel her back towards the group. “Whoa there! My! Aren’t you popular!” The CRT quipped. “But seriously though, if you have a plan, you gotta speak up!”

While the three huddled in the safety of the snow fort, the boy on the opposing side had managed to get his snowball cannon functioning again, the steady rhythmic noise playing against the battlefield again. With that gun in commission, they weren’t going anywhere, and while Sandaphlon had tried to take initiative in disarming the annoying boy, the opposing attack’s focused effort proved too dangerous. Piecing himself back together, Tenna looked at his teammates. “If you need a distraction, I make an excellent one!”

Having not engaged in a snowball fight before, Sandalphon was taking this a little too seriously as well–from her expression and labored breathing, one could easily believe she’d just narrowly escaped real machine gun fire. She held up her gloved left hand and stared at it until her fingers stopped shaking from a combination of numbing cold and nerves. Then an idea occurred to her. Floating overhead, her halo served as a beacon to reveal her exact position to her opponents, so any move she made would be betrayed to the opposition in advance. Even now, snowballs pelted against her halo’s metal, causing powder to shower down onto her head. And even if she could get a good angle on the delinquents’ position, it would take twice as many Frost Locks to freeze the cannon again.

With her new power, though, she need not poke her head up from behind cover. Sandalphon narrowed her eyes, extended ethereal ergo strings from her fingertips, and then angled her left hand downward. The luminous wires dove down into the snow, burrowing like worms. Her mental snapshot and previous calculations should be enough to guide her strings toward the teens’ emplacement. “In approximately ten seconds, I can disable their machine again,” she informed the others. “I’ll try and knock it down, half-bury it in the snow. The rest is up to you.”

It wasn't a lot of time to come up with a plan, and she'd left the details up to team members that maybe weren't the most well suited for doing that in the first place. Wartime strategy, even if just for pretend, was definitely outside of the Ace Cadet's wheelhouse. Then again, it wasn't like the stakes were all that high. In the middle of packing more snowballs he glanced at Sandalphon, noting her rather serious demeanor, and then peeked over the fort again. His eyes slid over the enemy position, the open the field, and then back to their own base. Then, he glanced back at the rest of his allies with a smile and a shrug.

"How about the rest of us charge in, then?" he suggested. "I bet they won't be expecting that! Plus when they see us coming, without the snowball cannon they might get cold feet and abandon their fort." Such was the way of a lot of these kinds of bullies after all.

Not long after, ether strings sprang up from the snow around the snowball cannon on the other side of the field. They quickly wound around the weapon, pulled taut, and then yanked it downward as Sandalphon tugged on the strings with all her strength. It wasn’t much, but with the element of surprise, it was enough.

With the pull of her threads the signal, the archangel's troops jumped into action. Ace vaulted the short snow fortress wall with one arm laden with snowballs, the other with a freshly reloaded slinger that pelted the opposing team's fort and its defenders while he charged. And when it inevitably ran out of ammo, well, his pitching was still pretty good.

Tenna remained at the ready for her signal, divided into twelve miniature clones of himself once again, this time for better evasion. The tiny CRTs scattered wildly, dodging any attempts to hit him with thrown snow, and with a three-person charge, they could easily rush the fort. The leader boy frantically attempted to retrieve his weapon from the clutch of the strings dragging it into the snow below. Once Tenna had surrounded the foot of the bully’s defenses, he waited for Ace to group up with him, offering a valuable distraction to disarm the wintery weapon by climbing up the sides of the fort, drawing any immediate fire.

In panic, one of the bully’s teammates turned toward a nearby snowman. It was an odd-looking sculpture, especially the head, which had what looked like gossamer ears poking out the top, a couple beardlike strands sticking out the bottom, and a single hole in the very middle of the face. The teen pulled it off, then lifted it up to hurl at Tenna like a giant snowball. As big as a soccer ball, it definitely had enough mass to knock him down if its thrower hit his mark. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. A moment after the kid raised it up, the snowman head popped, revealing a fluffy flea hidden inside. It let out an excited babble, then zipped away with a playful “Awoo!” Taken aback, the teen was a sitting duck - and quickly covered in snow as the mini-army overran that side of the field.

As expected, once it became clear that they no longer had an overwhelming advantage the majority of the team of bullies turned tail and ran, less they ended up becoming snowmen themselves. It left only their stubborn ring leader to defend the base, but the odds were not in his favor. At some point the deluge of snowballs from the Seekers' side had resulted in the bully releasing his grip on the tangled cannon to shield himself with his arms, and when he turned to look for it again the weapon was buried under a half-crumbled wall of the snow fort.

"Dorks! Cowards!" he called after his fleeing crew. "Hafta do everything myself. Alright, my turn now."

He scooped up a hand full of snow and roughly shaped it into a sphere, pitching it like normal at one of the multitude of little TV heads running around. As they were quick and small he ended up missing, but rather than trying in vain to take out the Tennalings he instead aimed his next shot at the larger target.

Ace was in the fun-having mind set, so when he turned to catch a snowball right in the center of his chest -one not launched by the snowball cannon and instead by the boy's own arm- he blinked once and then a grin split his face as he dramatically flopped over onto his back in the snow. "Aaah, I'm hit!"

The bully paused, evidently not having expected that reaction at all. And was that a little satisfied smirk that formed on his face after a moment, rather than a cruel one? He formed another snowball, but he was still alone and surrounded, and the simple stick and cloth flag of his base was sagging where it had been stuck into the snow.

Ace’s performance was commendable, especially to the optimistic TV-host, who effortlessly dodged the mean kid’s last-ditch barrage of quickly crafted snowballs, scaled all twelve miniature copies of himself to the top of the snowy building that the bully hunkered himself down in. They rematerialized into the TV’s full glory, now posing dramatically over the boy as he glared down at the half-snow-submerged weapon, half-tempted to make a last attempt to retrieve it from Sandaphlon’s Ergo Strings. Tenna stepped down from the ramparts of Jimmy’s snowy base, now face-to-face with the cause of so much sourness on a jolly occasion.

The TV-host reached down with a gloved hand, grasping the weapon by its stock, and would signal for Sandaphlon to release her strings from the weapon by snapping his fingers over the barricade. Once they had detached from the gun, Tenna was quick to toss it over the fort and towards Ace, whom he trusted would be ready to receive it. As it was flung over, the hunter's arm reached up to snatch it from the air before flopping 'lifelessly' back onto the ground with a poof of white flakes. “Your reign of terror is over, you little MAGGOT.”

The boy scoffed at his fun being foiled, disappointed not only by that but also by his group of delinquents bailing out on him. Children began to emerge from the fort, ready to pelt the poor sport who tried his best to play nonchalantly. “Whatever, man. You people are a bunch of freaks.” The boy flipped the trio off before spitting on the ground and storming off at a brisk march towards a nearby caroling performance, where he proceeded to heckle the man’s terrible singing.

“Well… At least he isn’t bothering the village kids anymore.” Tenna sighed dramatically, looking back at Ace and Sandaphlon. “Now then! Would you two be interested in learning the proper rules of the game?”

Sandalphon, having been watching the conclusion of the curmudgeon’s saga from the sidelines, considered the proposal. Her talents would be much better used elsewhere, efficiently pursuing the maximum possible contribution toward the upcoming festivities…but from what she understood of Christmas and the ritual’s goals, being part of this holiday was about more than fastidiously working a job. If enjoying oneself was part of the point, then it would be counter-productive to work herself to the bone. And if nothing else, maybe a proper snowball fight would broaden her horizons in terms of strategic possibilities.

“I would like to participate,” she confirmed, her pupils shaped like carets.

The Cadet sat up and brushed some of the snow out of his hair, his face touched red from the cold but otherwise still feeling fairly merry. Though he hadn't known Tenna for long he knew the strange man was good for a lively time, but he was particularly pleased to see the team leader having some fun. "I'm game too," he said, already forming yet another snowball in preparation.

With the battleground reclaimed for the participants who would play more appropriately, Tenna would show the two how to build a snow barricade, gathering up groups of snow to wall off from oncoming threats. Once the two were more familiar with the game, the show began, as snowballs flung through the air. After the game had finished, Tenna and Sandaphlon returned to where Maeve had been checking off tasks they had completed! After reporting the bully to her, they handed in the weapon, trusting that the pixie could return it to its rightful owner.

[Goggy]

Grima

Level 5 (Holding 1 level up)
6/50 EXP

Location: Esaka - Middle Tier: The Pools
Wordcount: 2703 (+4)

(Grima gained 20 EXP from completing her second round) ((Will change if this is false and is just +10 per round))

Grima did not stay around the Wine Cup Hold for that long. Instead she made her leave shortly after the Seekers and UN did, with the staff of the Hold being left with the question of who the white haired woman that had joined them for one morning was. The G-Corp situation would likely not be handled during the time of at least one battle, so Grima could… Grace their efforts later.

In the meantime, she made her way back to the pools, preparing herself for yet another duel. The Pools were a sight she was getting used to. Which annoyed her to no end, the urge to keep her head down conflicting with her hatred of walking in the dredges with the rest of the lower tiers.

Her opponent this time, a young, pink haired school girl, was already waiting for her, giving a cheerful wave at the Fell Vessel… Before jogging up before the fight was announced, “Heya! How are you doing today? Pleasure to meet another opponent!” she stated, extending her hand towards Grima with a large smile, “My name’s Heart!”

The act left Grima off guard for a second, the vessel blinking slowly before shaking her head, “We’re foes, not friends, child. And I certainly have no intention of befriending someone like… You” Grima stated, raising her hand and nonchalantly batting Heart’s hand away with the back of her own hand. The contact, brief as it was, shot a connection between Heart and Grima Or rather, from what Grima could gather, between two beings bound to these vessels. Somehow, this ‘Heart’ had a being of power, and though the Fell Dragon could not gather how strong they were, she could feel the nauseating presence of light.

Heart blinks for a moment, clearly processing the action before she nods, “Oh, um… Okay! Well, I’m used to a few grumps. But don’t worry, by the end of this match, you’ll see that cheer and love have a power of their own!” she states, pumping her fist into the air before backpeddling to her side of the arena, leaving Grima to tilt her head in confusion.

Love. A paltry emotion humans cling to before their world crumbles around them.

Round 1, FIGHT

As soon as the announcement came through, Grima’s hand shot up, a ball of dark energy forming in it before firing out towards Heart. The young girl in question didn’t flinch at the sight, simply putting her hands in front of her and gathering pink energy of her own to create a trio of pink spheres, which then fired out to intercept Grima’s own. Despite being swiftly made, Grima’s magic managed to overcome the first two without issue, but the final pink sphere finally burnt out the remaining magic within it, causing both to sputter out and vanish.

The vanishing of the two spheres was punctuated swiftly by Grima’s sword arcing down at Heart’s head, the vessel having charged forth with her approach covered. Heart, for her part, simply jumped back… Not even having to hit the ground before she launched forward herself, her fist striking out and slamming into a quickly erected magical barrier, right before a geyser of dark magic erupted from the barrier to throw Heart back.

The starting round continued like this for a significant period of time, with both Heart and Grima landing small hits but unable to seal the deal. For Grima, she was simply testing the waters, seeing what this child could do. But soon enough, the vessel grew bored of the back and forth, and when Heart dashed in for an attack, Grima chose to end the first round, her hand glowing with purple light, making a grabbing motion at her side like she was gripping the very air itself before snapping it up.

As Grima threw her hand up, a torrent of dark magic exploded from the ground. Yet Heart did not bother to dodge the attack. Instead, she simply twisted her body to the side, pink light swirling into her shoulder and grounding her against the attack. It was a classic shoulder check, one that was meant to absorb the force of the blow coming towards her and then strike back with brute force.

In an instant, Grima held her sword up, aiming to block Heart’s attack… Yet the sheer force of Heart’s shoulder check caused her to stagger back, her blade arm being knocked aside and leaving the vessel itself exposed. As soon as Grima’s guard was broken, Heart turned her body to the side, her other arm rapidly spinning to the point where it looked like a pure circle.

“SUPER DUPER AMAZING IRON FIST PUNCH OF LOVE!”

The rapid fire words that came from Heart elicited a small expression of confusion from Grima, right before Heart’s fist slammed into her face. The massive smashing sound that followed was agonizing, especially for Grima herself as she was sent flying, tumbling head first across the ground before coming to a slow stop.

KO!
HEART WINS!

A silence fell upon the arena for a few moments, punctuated only by Heart pumping her fist into the air, “Alright! Score one for the power of love~!” she calls out

Despite the quick regeneration from the Heavenly Principles and the next round preparing to start, Grima remained still for a moment, almost seemingly ko’d entirely. But slowly, she pushed herself up, her hand coming to her nose… And when her red eyes looked up, there was a notable malice within them, enough to cause Heart to flinch.

For Grima, this was an insult. An almost insurmountable insult. She had been fooled in two separate occasions, her guard being breached by a lucky strike that she did not anticipate at first. But this went beyond a small hit that reset the tempo of a duel. This had been a blow that took a round. She had chosen to give this child a more serious battle than others on the basis that she could avoid getting blindsided yet again, especially with the extra power that Heart seemed to possess.

And yet she, the Fell Dragon’s vessel and will, lost.

“Fine then. No more games, child” Grima mutters, twirling her sword as she took up her position

ROUND 2, FIGHT

The start of round two was fairly similar to the first, with both sides launching their spheres towards each other. Yet as soon as Heart dashed forward, she was forced to duck as a small beam of dark magic fired out, with Grima barely having moved from her position, her red eyes narrowed in full concentration. The beam was sudden, throwing Heart off for a moment but in short order she continued, charging forth to take Grima on directly.

But this time, there was no flash to Grima’s movements. Just pure, economic movement from a warrior who was no longer trying to show off, but rather win. Every jab that Heart threw was easily blocked, and every committing attack was pivoted, a swift slash being rewarded to Heart for each misstep. As cheerful as Heart was, even she could tell what was happening: Grima was learning, and more importantly, she was using that knowledge to dismantle her fighting style.

Heart wasn’t one to become scared. But she couldn’t help but feel… Unnerved by Grima’s shift in demeanor. It was enough to cause her to go further on the offensive, trying to get back the initiative and catch back up to the lead Grima had taken.

And eventually, she found what appeared to be an opening. As Heart leapt into the air, Grima brought her sword up, aiming to intercept her jump in… Only for Heart to suddenly fly back through the air, a faint ring of pink energy flowing around her.

Grima had slipped, and in that moment, she had made an opening that Heart would capitalize on, “Special kick!” Heart yelled out once more, a torrent of pink energy flowing around her legs as she dove down feet first.

Unfortunately, Grima had anticipated this move from her. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Grima raised her hand, Heart’s kick slammed into yet another magical barrier. Yet in the same instant, Grima snapped her fingers, several dark tendrils snapping out from under her cloak and grabbing Heart’s leg, barely giving the young girl enough time to process it before Grima swung her arm over her head, yanking Heart with her and slamming them into the stone, hard enough to send cracks in the arena’s floor.

KO!
GRIMA WINS!

Silence falls for a few moments as Grima lets go of Heart’s leg, the tendrils withdrawing into her robes as the white haired woman ran a hand through her hair, “Mortals like you annoy me to no end. I could spend all day tearing your fragile philosophy apart, but fools like you will only learn when the truth is bashed into your head” Grima states, standing over Heart as the latter began to push herself up, “‘Love’ is a fool’s ‘passion’. A bastion that the weak hide behind to ignore the crushing weight of reality’s despair. It is itself weak."

Heart blinks, rising to one knee as she looked up at Grima, “No, it’s not. Love is-”

“Weak” Grima suddenly interrupts, leaning down to be face to face with Heart, “It can inspire the weak to fight, true. But the weak will always remain weak. Your first round victory was a fluke, nothing more. I have seen more of humanity’s depravity than you could comprehend, child. And I will tell you: Love never won wars. It merely acted as the excuse for man to slit their comrade’s throats” with that Grima straightens, turning on her heel and walking towards her side of the arena, “You’re fighting for nothing. It would be a far better use of everyone’s time if you went home and thought about how the world really works.”

Heart stared at Grima’s back, her eyes falling for a moment as the vessel’s words ran through her mind, “If I lose… Then that would mean that…” she murmured, before shaking her head violently, clapping both of her cheeks, “No, I can’t let that line of thinking win. I’ll just have to prove Love can prevail!” with her own words of encouragement, Heart jumps back to her feet, running over to her starting position and preparing for the final battle.

While Grima had no intention of continuing the conversation, she could at least hear Heart’s words, and when she looked back, the vessel could see Heart prepared to go into the final round with all her might. A fact that caused… Confusion for Grima.

Why was this child still bothering to fight? They had nothing to stand for, nothing to gain. Were they truly so dense that they believed that a ‘cheerful smile’ and ‘fighting for love’ could ever hope to match ruination itself?

A small ache in the vessel’s heart was the only answer that came to them, a statement that Grima quickly buried, instead letting out a sigh as she took her position for the final round.

ROUND 3, FIGHT

The final round between Heart and Grima erupted in action, the two sides charging each other without a moment’s delay. Heart herself leapt into the air, using her power’s natural floatiness to attack Grima from above and swerve away from the vessel’s counter swings, whilst Grima herself launched a variety of dark spells up towards her.

Yet, despite it all, Grima had learned Heart’s style. And the Fell Dragon’s vessel was not intending on losing. Not in general, and certainly not to a mortal child.

Thus, for any onlooker, it became increasingly clear who would take the match. While Heart was able to sneak in light blows here and there, the white haired woman was capable of predicting every other move Heart made. Every dash and dive was expertly countered, and when Heart chose to be defensive, Grima was able to pry it apart with a well timed grab between sword strikes, blasting Heart away with an explosion of dark magic.

While Heart was certainly not the brightest bulb in the bunch, she could tell when she was losing. And because of that, she decided that she had to pull out all the stops.

“Okay Partinas!” Heart yelled as she came to a stop, thrusting her fist to the sky… Which was punctuated by a massive burst of energy as a massive figure simply appeared behind her. A mature woman with long pink hair and a set of six angelic wings, an orb of pink magic already forming in the palms of her hands.

For an instant, a flash of pure surprise went across Grima’s eyes. She had been surprised before by these other fighters, and she had known that this child was harboring a being of power. But the sense of power she felt was akin to that of her eternal foe Naga, a strength that when fully unleashed could harm even her true form.

… Yet, the surprise vanished as quickly as it came, with Grima’s grip tightening on her blade’s hilt. This spirit, strong as it was, clearly had limits since it only appeared now when its host was on her last legs. It was a last ditch attempt to swing the momentum back into the child’s favor, and while it was certainly powerful, it was merely a small hurdle for the being that puppetted this body, “I see this battle has reached its conclusion. Very well, I shall answer in kind” Grima says, a slow grin forming on her face as she lifted her free hand, shadows beginning to coil around her, quickly forming into the massive, shrouded shadow that was Grima themselves. Unlike before, the shadows seemed to coil around the platform itself, the six red eyes absolutely massive in the darkness.

Heart’s eyes widened herself as Grima’s true form was revealed, but she quickly steeled herself, lifting both of her hands as the pink orb that Partinas created grew larger and larger, refusing to be frightened by Grima's display.

“Partinas is what you called that pathetic spirit, wasn’t it? Soon enough even that will be wiped from memory. Now…” the vessel and shadow spoke, their voices in sync… Before the shadow itself took the lead, its eyes flashing with malevolent intent, “KNEEL. EXPERATION!”

With that, the two sides unleashed their attacks. From the shadows, a massive beam of black magic tore through the air towards Heart herself, whilst Heart and Partinas threw their now gargantuan orb of pure Love energy into the darkness. Thanks to the angle, the two attacks quickly slammed into each other, a shockwave of kinetic force sending a massive ripple across the water. While Heart herself had to raise her arms to protect herself from the backblast, Grima simply stood where she was, her robes fluttering wildly, her arm outstretched as if holding the attack together.

And then, just as abruptly, a massive explosion erupted from where both attacks had clashed. Grima barely had a moment to recognize the explosion, shielding herself with her arms due to her expended mana from Expiration, before the shockwave sent her flying back. The vessel tumbled over herself, barely managing to slam her sword into the ground to skid to a stop just a few feet away from the opposite edge. Grima remained there for a few moments, panting heavily, thrown off by the fact that her spell had only matched the child’s own attack. She was vulnerable now, and if they-

RING OUT.

GRIMA WINS

The announcement broke through Grima’s thoughts like a knife through butter. A ring out, and this time unintentional. But when she thought about it, it made sense. The initiative had been hers, and because of that she was able to push Heart closer to the edge of the arena. Even if they were capable of limited flying, the injuries and expenditure of energy meant that it was unlikely they could sustain it to get back to the arena.

Victory was hers, the path to the top still open.

Yet victory felt… Hollow.

[Goggy]

Christmas Village - Decorations

Edward, Sectonia & Fujiwara no Mokou
Setting: Snowy Thursday Afternoon
Wordcount: 1826 (+3 exp) (+6 Rapport for Mokou, Ed, and Sectonia)

The trio of Edward, Ganondorf, and Ramattra had lapsed into relative silence after the attempt to broker an allegiance had, in Edward’s eyes at least, floundered without much conclusion. It was all well and good to raise the idea of allying together, but without much of a concrete goal the Dreadnaught did not see it really going anywhere. A general stance against heroic idealism wasn’t a particularly solid foundation, even if he could see the merit in taking a collective stand against any particularly foolishly impractical ideas.

Thus the rest of their time was mostly taken up by the sound of wood being chopped, save for a brief interruption when Edward had to panickily stop his golems mid swing before they sent a pair of tree climbing flea children plummeting to the ground.

Usuring them back to their caravan was as good an excuse as any to break ranks and seek some time with his own thoughts without the noise of woodcutting getting in the way. He got about a minute of this before being approached by Sectonia who came bearing the gift of a festive outfit.

As he’d gradually find out, he’d gotten off rather lightly.

”Well, this one looks warm at least” he said as he examined the bulkier of the two outfits. It was certainly better than the parade uniform in that regard.

”It even has armor, though I can’t say I’m familiar with the material” he noted after tapping a shoulder pad with a knuckle.

”Seems to be fiberglass.” Sectonia said, taking a glance at where Edward was tapping. He was her last delivery, so with that done she could think about what she was going to do next. The other thing she wanted to do, besides costumes, was decorate things. Maybe show a popstar christmas?

”Interesting” Edward replied, before completing his inspection and turning his attention back to the queen. He began to say”I take it you’ve fully committed to this…” paused briefly to find the appropriate words and landed on ”novel solution to the storm?”

”This is not the first time I’ve seen Christmas, and this is not the first time it may be involved in a ritual. It is a big holiday on Popstar, probably the biggest. So while I’d prefer more crystals, I understand how this works.” Sectonia said, no embarrassment in her voice, but also not a whole lot of enthusiasm either.

”Why, do you not have this holiday where you're from?” She said.

”Winter festivals are rather common, but no, I’ve not encountered one specifically called Christmas” Edward replied, finding it curious that it seemed like this specific one might be something that existed in multiple realities, before asking ”What would the crystals be for? Decorations?”

”Of course.” Sectonia said simply. The group knew what she was into, and left those jobs for her or so it looked like. ”For example...” Sectonia said, summoning a crystal platform and using her crystal axe, smashing and chopping it up until it was carved into a series of crystal stars and hearts which she hung up on the nearby building.

”Stars, Hearts, christmas trees, or just round baubles and candy canes. These are good examples of decorations. Larger buildings might have a loop of holly above their doorways.” She continued, explaining how decorations should be done. At least how it was done on Popstar, which while close, was different from traditional christmas.

”I see” Edward said from a good way back, having gotten well clear of axe swinging range, not to mention crystal shrapnel range. Now though he stepped in and picked up one of the stray shards. He inspected it for a moment, before proceeding to start casually whittling it with a small knife while they talked.

”That your next task then?”

”Indeed. Although it will take quite a bit of time to get all the decorations up. While my antlers can handle the smaller stuff, the more people on the task, the faster it will go. And outside of hunting those snow imps, which I’m sure some will reveal themselves as we decorate, this task will be the lengthiest out of all of them.” Sectonia said, getting back to making more crystal decorations in roughly the same manner.

It was at this time that a familiar white haired girl wandered into view, dressed in a fairly extravagant christmas outfit, one far different from the normal set she wore. The Phoenix had initially tried to decline, but she had eventually folded for the ‘christmas spirit’, forced to loop her arms around the back of her head instead of keeping them in her pockets as she usually did, “Hey. Looks like you two are keeping yourself busy. Carving out some decorations?” Mokou asked, walking over to the two as they kept working.

”I suppose we are, yes” Edward replied without too much enthusiasm, pausing his whittling and examining the palm sized crystal star he’d produced and suggesting ”It might be better if we string these up rather than placing them individually. Also we should use a workshop rather than littering the place with shards like this”

As Edward said this, an antler was sweeping up all the gem dust and shards into a pile, while another one was pulverizing the gems into a fine powder. Some of this powder would be placed to make some areas pop, much like glitter but far less sticky, while other dust was being used to help decorate some decorations themselves.

“Hm. Suppose that wouldn’t be too exciting of a task. Can’t say I’ve done much decorations, hard to have a reason to when you lived far and away from civilization, but I don’t have anything better to do” Mokou says with a shrug, walking over to the pile of crystals and picking up a sizable chunk, “Got a spare knife I can use?”

The man flipped the knife around to hold it by the blade before offering Mokou the handle. He needed to go change into his new outfit anyway.

”There may be decorations that they have ready to set up. Ornaments I can create, however Wreaths and other such items we would need to use their supply. Perhaps you could find and place those? They often go on doors or above doorframes.” Sectonia said, offering a faster method for these two as while she could craft her own crystals fairly well with her spirits, they had to do it with a much slower method.

Finding the storehouse for decorations didn’t take too much time, asking around they were brought to a fairly festive building that was large, but not too descript. Unlike the costume shop, it wasn’t like people came in here all that often with much of the decorations stored in festive looking crates with names on them. This did bring up a decoration Sectonia forgot as her gemstones gave a glorious glow in the moonlight, something that might be a problem here. Christmas lights, and they could go nearly anywhere and make any pattern.

“Wreaths? Sure. I know the basics on where those go, so no need to tell me” Mokou says, tossing the crystal back into the pile before walking over to the wreaths in question, picking a few up and slinging them over her shoulder, slowly floating off to set them up around town.

Edward (now donning his festive armor, having changed while the other two asked around) had found a set of stars attached to part of them, one of which he turned here and there before speculating ”I think these are meant to go atop something? A staff, rod, pole or.. Oh or perhaps a treetop? We could decorate some of the surrounding ones to liven up the dark forest around the town perhase?”

”Either of those options work. Perhaps set up some lights if you are going to decorate the trees. I realized that my gemstones glimmer with moonlight, but with the absence of the massive moon backdrop of my home lights may be needed to make everything glimmer properly.” Sectonia said, explaining her new thoughts as she continued to craft her crystal ornaments.

”We’ll need fire then, or some sort of magical or technological light source. Lets see what we can find” Edward replied, before continuing to pop open crates to see what they could find.

Tinsel, baubles, lights and more were found, along with a mischievous flea child who had thought they had a very good hiding spot before they got locked inside of it by accident.

The light issue, however, was still an issue, until Edward got creative with his enchantment, and had three bronze golem squads wrap themselves up in tinsel and hold a massive star of crystal up above their heads. He then fooled the universe into thinking these crystals were weapons, which to be fair, they could entirely be used as, causing his seating weapon enchantment to cause each one glow with heat and, more importantly, light

These lovely radiators for one lit up the village, and that light was reflected off of many smaller carved crystal decorations that had been strung up and hung between the houses, or wrapped around several of the largest surrounding trees.

The warehouse stocks were also put to good work, wreaths decorated doorways, tinsel and baubles joined crystal decorations. There were also a number of more specific ornaments, such as colorful straw goats that had to be kept well away from the burning stars, large stockings, little figures of reindeer, jolly red beaded men, festively clad elves.

By the time they were done flying around putting all this up, the town was literally aglow with festive cheer. Sectonia gave her two helpers a thumbs up of approval once everything was done, making everything beautiful with the additional glow of her hand made crystal ornaments reflecting and glowing with the light of the christmas lights, making things just a bit more ephemeral.

Mokou herself seemed pretty content with the decorations, having flown around and placed the wreaths in various hard to reach locations. She even seemed to have decorated her own hair with a smaller wreath, letting it contrast with the white. Once she returned to the other two, she gave them a thumbs up, before ultimately floating off once again, her work done in this area.

[TruthHurts]

Christmas Village - Culinary Cheffervescence

Heismay, Ramattra, and Professor Layton
Setting: Cloudy Thursday Afternoon
Wordcount:] 3208 (+4)

With some assistance from Mokou, Sandalphon, and some helpful passers-by, Heismay got the fish transferred from the sleds outside to an icebox in one corner of the kitchen. All but the bubbling char, of course, which he tossed beneath the stove after pulling open the squeaky metal hatch. With it being so much warmer in here than outside, the eugief loosened his new costume and pulled off his hood, allowing his ears to unfurl for the first time that morning as he looked around the room. While not the best-equipped kitchen he’d ever seen, this did have all the basic amenities one might need to prepare a good meal. He wasn’t sure if its output could feed the entire village, but it was a start.

Heismay began a more thorough search of the kitchen, including its cupboards and drawers, climbing up onto the cabinets when necessary.

Ramattra tried his best to make his presence easily known to avoid startling the alert Eugief, his metallic legs clacking against the tiled floors of the bare kitchen. If a frown could be painted over Ramattra’s metallic face, it would stretch over its entirety, the open-design outfit from Sectonia and her helpers now donned on his person for the remainder of the evening. “I look ridiculous.” He complained to the scout, the large antlers on his forehead slanting lazily to the side. It didn’t look bad on him, but of course he wasn’t going to admit that.

The Omnic took a couple of steps around the kitchen, inspecting the inventory available, same as Heismay, to inspect what was available to their use. “So, I imagine you have some ideas for the dinner? I must be honest, I don’t have a lick of cooking experience. Perhaps you could direct me through so I may help?” Ramattra was trying his hardest to be polite, though he felt as though he was inserting himself into a task he was inexperienced at. The large coat adorning his body and concealing the dead flesh fell off his body slowly as he removed it, hanging it on a nearby chair.

“Help?” Heismay looked over from the cupboard he was rummaging through. Out of all of the Seekers on this wintry expedition through the Highlands, Ramattra was one of the last he would have expected to offer a helping hand. Appearances could be deceiving, though, as monstrous as the omnic now looked. “Twould be my pleasure to oblige. I’m impressed that you’d volunteer yourself for such a big task. You must have a real heart for people, as they say.” He turned back to his task, carefully pushing aside pots, jars, and other kitchenware. When he found an open sack, he peered inside to find a powdered flea instead of flour. It popped out of the bag, shook itself off, and flew away with a playful awoo. Heismay watched it go, amused, then got back to his task. “As for me, I was just…aha!”

With a little effort, the hermit pulled a big bag of flour from pantry, which he rested on the ground. “Today, I shall be cooking with dough! Dough is a most delicate ingredient, and those who lack experience often go afoul of it. But fear not, for I was raised in the grain belt, and our dough shall rise to my standards!” He pointed Ramattra toward a large black pot. “First, we need some water. Luckily, there is plenty outside. May I ask you to take that outside and collect fresh, untouched snow for melting?”

“Ha.” Ramattra coughed a weak laugh. “It looked like everybody else was being more… festive than I am willing to play along with. I won’t be a Scrooge, however, games and fun are not quite my… taste.” This was where he would be most cooperative, especially now that he knew how he could assist Heismay. With a polite nod, the Omnic stepped outside, looking for a clear patch of snow that would be perfect for boiling. Most of the snow, of course, was on the ground, but was contaminated since it was on top of soil and frequently treaded, but many patches of medium-sized brushes of tree leaves held what Ramattra thought would be ideal snow.

Setting the pot underneath the tree and giving it a light shake in Nemesis form filled it to the brim, though now, a large pile of snow had plopped down on the Omnic’s head, a blank-slated grumpy face metaphorically etched across his head. “Great.” Shaking the snow off his head, Ramattra returned to the kitchen with the cleanest snow he could think of finding. The boiling, at the very least, will remove any other contamination. “Here you are, friend.” Snow-filled container in hand, Ramattra set it down on the burner for Heismay to boil before turning towards another pair of footsteps approaching.

In the middle of the pair discussing their plan for dough, another cook-to-be entered the kitchen, one Professor Layton, wearing the outfit the Seekers prepared for him as well. He looked to see where he’d be of most use, though as soon as he spotted Ramattra over the heads of others he made his way towards them.

”Pardon me, you two were accompanying Miss Sandalphon and Roxas before, were you not?” He asked, addressing them as best one could, swapping eye contact between a much shorter and a much taller person. ”I’m Hershel Layton. We collected the letters to Santa Claus together, so I was hoping to thank whoever of your group made these outfits.” He adjusted his festive tophat to make his point. ”It’s a pleasant surprise that I was included.”

Heismay turned from the bowl he was carefully pouring flour into, trying not to kick up wasteful clouds of white powder. “Twas certainly hospitable of them. I think you have Sectonia, Blazermate, and Ace Cadet to thank for that, if I remember them correctly.” His ruby-red eyes narrowed for a brief moment as he scrutinized the professor. “Perhaps as thanks you could assist us in meal preparation. All those fish we caught are certainly not going to cook themselves!” The eugief said it in a joking manner, but if Layton took him up on the offer, he certainly wouldn’t object.

Immediately, Ramattra eyed the newcomer from a distance, lucky that his sensors acted as a poker face for his bias. Layton certainly didn’t look like any human from the Omnic’s world, but was, without a doubt, of the same race. At least the man seemed composed and intelligent, something that Ramattra valued even in humans. “Ah. Hello there. I am the Omnic Ramattra, at your service.” He gave a polite bow, somewhat surprised that his horrific appearance did not deter Layton from introducing himself. Of course, Ramattra was capable of assisting Heismay with minor tasks, setting aside whatever sparse spices for the bread he could find in an isolated cabinet a little higher than the Eugief’s reach.

Layton reciprocated Ramattra’s bow with a tip of his hat. ”Very nice to meet you both.” He watched as they prepared to bake, not wanting to intrude in what they’d already begun. ”I had come here to assist in dinner preparations, as it happens,” Layton said, ”so I’d be happy to help. I may not be adept at culinary arts, but I know a few things from when I was younger, helping my parents in our kitchen. And I’m willing to learn in places I lack.”

Ice melted quickly over fire, so in very little time Heismay had plenty of water. Animated by an excited energy, he combined yeast, flour, and water with salt fetched by Ramattra. Once he had the mixture suitably consistent, he plopped the dough out on an empty counter, gingerly laid a spare cloth atop it, then slipped off his heavy boots and climbed up. “Watch closely, as I demonstrate the proper technique. Take this! And that! Hah” So saying, he began to knead the dough by stamping upon it with his feet in an odd but very deliberate dance. After a moment he glanced quizzically at Layton and Ramattra, as if what he was doing was totally normal. “Why do you idle? Show me your conviction! Hah!”

Layton couldn’t help but chuckle at Heismay’s technique. No doubt effective, though not one he’s seen in all his travels. ”I’ll use my hands if that’s quite alright,” he said, stepping up to collect a pile of dough that was left un-stomped. He started kneading it much like how his mother would, a fairly simple push-and-spread motion. Watching Heismay continue to work, however, he decided to change tact, trying to match the eugief’s erratic stamping with the heels of his hands. It probably wouldn’t produce the same results - the difference in angle, shape, and power - but Layton was doing his best to learn.

Heismay nodded in approval. “There you have it! But do not just stamp randomly. We must stretch the dough just right. With proper technique, our bread will be as soft and luxurious as a goose-down pillow.” So saying, he continued to dance atop his dough, swinging his winged arms to maintain his balance. Despite appearances, there was indeed a method to his madness, a sequence of movements passed down through generations of eugief breadmakers. It was all to achieve perfect consistency.

Ramattra, however, was less of an instrument of precision and more well-tuned for calculated brutality. He tried his best to knead the bread with care, technique, and strength, pressing it firmly into the flour bed, coating the counter's surface. “You must have made quite a bakery’s worth in your days.” The Omnic teased the Eugief’s more artisanal side, his dough now malleable against his cold hands. It took him a minute to get used to the kneading motion with only one hand.

“Of course, since I don’t need substance to survive, I’ve never so much as had an interest in cooking or baking. My home, there used to be Omnic’s who dedicated their lives to culinary arts, despite never being able to taste.” It was ironic that now Ramattra found himself in their boots, over-analyzing every movement he made against the now softened dough he continued folding into itself.

A somewhat forlorn sigh escaped Heismay as his dance came to an end, the dough beneath his feet satisfactorily springy. “Tis woefully rare that I get the chance, in truth. Perhaps in another life I could have been a baker, but it was not to be.” After inspecting an empty oven to bring it up to the ideal heat, he began to tear off globs of kneaded dough to transfer them to a baking sheet. “Rather than a rolling pin, I took up the sword. Eventually won myself a position among the royal knights.” He chuckled ruefully. “Well…in the ‘shadowguard’, that is. An order not of decorated defenders, but discreet enforcers, relegated to ‘necessary evils’ in back alleys and moonless nights. No captain would be caught dead with a eugief in shining armor.” He shook his head. “And in exile, I had neither grain nor grindstone, no oven for baking nor kitchen to bake with. Tis a small miracle I remember the teachings of my childhood at all…”

The Professor, having matched Heismay’s movements to the best of his ability, prepared a sheet of his own, dividing the dough into equal portions. This, at least, was something he was more familiar with. ”You’ve lived a hard life, it seems,” he commented to Heismay. ”Whatever circumstances brought you to where you are today, I’m glad you managed to keep true to a part of yourself.” He gestured to the rolls of unbaked dough on the counter. ”The holiday this festival is in service to is partly a time of thankfulness, recognizing all that we’re grateful for in our lives. So I’d like to give you my thanks for allowing me to learn such a technique from you.” Layton finished with a small bow of his head and a tip of his hat. Hopefully not too forward for having just met.

Actually… that last point brought something to Layton’s mind.

“You’re welcome.” After putting the dough-laden sheet into the oven, Heismay let out a deep breath. “Though my sweat tells of a battle hard fought, the final trial yet awaits. With anything less than perfect timing, the bread will either fall flat or fail to rise at all. I must calm my mind and strike like an eagle in flight.”

Not wanting to interrupt Heismay’s focus, Layton moved to Ramattra, wiping his hands clean of dough and flour. ”If I may ask, what brings your group to this festival? Your companion, Sandalphon, seemed unfamiliar with Christmas and its traditions, as had a number of you as well - apologies for eavesdropping, I was simply reading the task board while you all were gathered there.”

Layton crossed his arms in thought. ”I assume your true destination lies beyond the blizzard, on the Midnight Walk?”

The Omnic froze for a moment, almost hesitating to answer the professor’s question. Ramattra looked to Heismay for his opinion, but after sizing Layton as mostly harmless to their mission, it seemed only fair to fill him in since he had gotten stuck here with his original caravan. “Our final destination is Moon Mountain. We’ve decided to… rest here until the blizzard passes.” Though it seemed partaking in Christmas magic was the only way to remove the obstacle, Ramattra was not going to admit something so unbelievable to a stranger.

Ramattra grabbed a separate pan for his Omnic-handled dough. Though not perfect in the slightest, the Omnic felt a small amount of accomplishment in having prepared the dough. Much of the work and guidance would be credited to Heismay, whose odd technique had convinced Ramattra that the Eugief’s loaf would turn out the best.

”Moon Mountain…” The Professor has heard tales of Moon Mountain before. From what he could gather it was a very fraught, desolate, dark place, with only folktales as to what may be at its peak. His professional curiosity was getting the better of him, but he decided not to ask further - not now, at least.

”Then I hope the blizzard subsides sooner instead of later, for your sake.”

As the bread baked, the trio helped prepare other foods for the feast, including the haul from the fishing hole. With only so many ovens available, they cast a broad net by pan-frying, grilling, and even smoking the different fish. Whatever herbs they found in the pantry’s cupboards went toward spicing these different fish recipes up. Not every attempt was a success, but as the minutes turned to hours more and more sizzling fish dishes piled up, ready to be devoured that evening. At one point, Heismay reached into the icebox and removed not a fish, but a soccer ball-sized flea, shivering as it sneezed again and again, going more achoo than awoo.

Heismay seated the poor flea by the fire to warm up, then returned his attention to the bread oven. Throughout his preparations he’d kept one eye on his main project at all times, very pleases as he watched the dough rise. Finally, the hour had come. “There!” He popped open the oven, paused just long enough to avoid a faceful of hot steam, and snatched the sheet tray from inside the furnace. When the steam cleared, the others could admire the fluffiest-looking bread they’d ever seen. “Behold, a taste of my homeland: Benevolent Bread,” Heismay declared.

Without the need for oven mitts, Ramattra reached into the oven after Heismay showcased his product, clutching onto the baking sheet that had been rising his loaf. Though the bread would surely taste similarly to Heismay, the fluffiness of the specially-cooked bread was unbeatable, as Ramattra’s bread was more crusty- with a mild burn on the exterior. “Ah. I suppose for my first time, that wasn’t the worst I could do.” He examined the loaf over, almost curious to sample its taste if it were possible.

While the others attended to their own tasks, Heismay took stock of the kitchen. He hadn’t really been paying attention to anyone outside of himself, Ramattra, and Layton, but the other cooks hard at work in the kitchen had made plenty of progress, too. A couple crock pots were in the process of slow-cooking roast meat, ensuring that when the time came it would be so tender that it’d practically fall off the bone. Casseroles were much in evidence, and the smell of baked potatoes delighted him almost as much as the bread. There was only one thing that perturbed him: the sight of a rock floating in a bowl of broth. After rubbing his eyes, Heismay trotted over to get a better lock, and yep…it sure was rock soup. Baffled, he turned to the tired-looking elf responsible for the concoction. “What, pray tell, is this?”

The elf shrugged his shoulders, a gesture that emphasized the fact that he had no arms connecting them to his free-floating hands. “I call it ‘Loud Soup’,” he answered in a lazy drawl. “A magical brew that, when imbibed, will allow you to project your voice across the whole area. It’s to help Miss Maeve make announcements, more than anything.” He stirred the soup, causing the rock to clack against the bowl. “If you’re curious, feel free to sample some, but be warned that everyone will be able to hear you for thirty seconds at least. Don’t blame me if people get annoyed.”

Heismay blinked at him. “I think I’ll pass.”

Ramattra seemed almost offended at the offer. His eyes scanned the stew with some curiosity before the Omnic, surprisingly, walked closer. “I’d like to try some, but would it be alright if I stored some in a bottle for later, rather?” If this stew could amplify the speaker's voice, maybe it could serve some niche purpose later in their adventure. “A hearty serving, please. It does look quite… good?” The Omnic lied through his metaphorical mouth, hoping that the elf would fail to realize that a robot would have no use with such a liquid.

”I would like to save some for later as well,” Layton added. The elf raised an eyebrow but decided against questioning a save-for-later sample, and spooned a portion of the remaining broth into two mason jars, adding the requisite stone to each before handing them off to the two. Layton didn’t have any grand ambitions for the soup, of course, he just wanted to give it a proper try when he wouldn’t be an inconvenience.

Having spent a good while here, and done their part toward preparing an excellent feast, the three then took the chance to move on and see what else the village had in store for them.

[Lugubrious]

Esaka - the Pools

Setting: Clear Thursday Afternoon
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (199/150) Level 11 Big Band (92/110)
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
Word Count: 2370 / 1461

Even as she used the brief interlude before her duel’s final round to take a breather, Nadia kept one eye on her opponent. Maya looked pissed, that much was certain. Although that realization did fill the feral with glee, it by no means meant that she’d gotten into Maya ‘s head and would be guaranteed to win. After a moment the amazon returned Nadia’s gaze, replying to her cheeky grin with a baleful glare, but rather than spit barbed words Maya kept her mouth shut.

Not a good sign. Nadia had been getting under other people’s skin for the better part of twenty years, and when she really got to someone it tended to go one of two ways. Usually angry people got sloppy, becoming more liable to make mistakes and be tricked again, despite their best efforts. Some people, however, became possessed by a tranquil fury that empowered them to retaliate with ruthless, ice-cold precision. The more professional Nadia’s enemies, the more likely they’d be to keep a level head and make her regret her actions. But would that be Maya, or would the would-be hunter become the prey?

Time to find out.

FINAL ROUND: FIGHT!

Nadia burst forward in a four-legged sprint. For the deciding round, she needed to be both smart and aggressive, to leave her foe neither time to think nor room to work with. At the same time, Maya rolled, then sprang into the air with a long jump. As quickly as she could, Nadia rose, allowing her head to roll off her shoulders and across the ground as she leaped. The two fighters met and clashed in the air, hardened claws against curved daggers, and blood sprayed as they traded blows. Both fell, their aerial momentum thrown off-kilter by the other’s strike, and smacked into the ground.

They were on their feet the next moment, and no sooner had Maya risen than she hurled her a dagger. Vengeance bounced off Nadia’s guard and back toward its owner, the yellow glint in its hilt reminding the feral not to block these projectiles, just as Temperance whirled forward in its stead. This time Nadia jumped forward, only for Maya to catch her dagger and launch herself skyward in an anti-air kicked surrounded by luminous songbirds. As Nadia fell with a frustrated snarl, her opponent performed a calculated safe jump, landing at point-blank range just as the catgirl took action. For once, though, Nadia didn’t attempt a reversal; on one hand she didn’t have enough Dramatic Tension (if she did, she definitely would have) and on the other, she actually remembered that her Fiber Upper had lost its priority. Instead she tried a throw, latching into Maya’s guard as cords of muscle fiber swarmed out of her seams like tentacles to wrap her foe up in a ball of living yarn. “Plies reconsider!” After a second of play, she tossed Maya out in a specific direction, then pulled herself together to dash forward, unable to combo in time.

She unleashed her Cat Scratch rekka just far enough for the first lunging slash to carry her into Maya’s block. “One, two! Buckle my shoe!” She somersaulted, one leg extended, to finish with an El Gato axe kick. Maya knew the timing, having seen this before, and Nadia knew she knew. When the amazon took advantage of the brief gap to interrupt her foe with a double knife slash, Nadia’s detached head slammed into the back of her knee, propelled by a jet of blood from her neck. She grunted in pain, staggered by the counterhit, and ate the Axe Kick the next second.

Nadia’s El Gato left her opponent’s nose bloodied as she bounced into the air. She dashed forward, caught Maya with two light slashes, lashed her with her Fishbone Flop light kick, then thrust her arm forward in a corkscrew spearfinger. A one-two hit of upside-down-kick into tail smack let her combo into the first hit of a medium Cat Scratch, then fire off Furrserker Purrage using one stock of freshly-built Tension. “I’ll clean your claw-ck!” After several rapid claw slashes, her headless Blockbuster concluded with an upward arm drill sure to leave Maya smarting. “Get the point?”

When Maya slammed down behind her, she rolled backward and hurled both daggers, one after another. Temperance stuck just below Nadia’s ribs, eliciting a guttural choking sound as she reflexively blocked the next projectile. Maya rolled forward as her opponent backed away, snatching Vengeance the moment it hit the ground, and launched a quick flurry of slashes. It ended with a twist as she whirled around to grasp the knife in Nadia’s abdomen and wrench it free, which staggered the catgirl enough for Maya to execute a quick combo of her own. She launched upward with Leap Kick, threw a dagger downward to juggle her foe, then landed to bombard her airborne opponent with a barrage of slashes and kicks (aided by a quick, well-timed assist call from Mira) before finishing with her Tumble Kick ender for a hard knockdown and maximum damage. “Stay down!”

“Meowch,” Nadia groaned, rolling away from her foe’s pressure on wake-up. She checked Maya’s aggression with a disjointed shove that she couldn’t convert into a combo, then dashed forward. Maya flipped away, connecting her dagger’s hilts, so in anticipation of a throw Nadia did likewise. Unfortunately, the combined power of her foe’s weapons allowed the resulting twinblade to bounce off the floor and into her as she sailed away, before she could attempt any airdashes. “Nya-huh!?” Wincing, she plopped back down and tumbled backward, close to the laser ropes that marked the stage’s edge. In that moment, though, she could see both daggers stuck in the ground. This was her chance!

“On the hunt!” In dismay, Nadia watched as Maya’s daggers flew back toward her under the influence of some magic power. “Hah!” She laughed as she flourished her weapons.

Nadia scoffed, grinning. “Robo, drone!”

As the Kameo obliged, Maya launched her assault. She hurled her daggers one after another, stepping forward between each toss. Nadia darted left and right, but even if a projectile missed her it bounced off the ropes behind her and right back toward its owner. It was only a matter of time before Maya caught her on the rebound, leaped forward to catch her dagger mid-air, then landed with a punishing combo. A furious storm of dagger slashes ended with a wheeling sweep kick into backflip kick, but just as the pain seemed over with, Mira appeared to recapture the feral with a scything slash of silver blood. “Gah!”

Maya combined her daggers and sent them swirling into Nadia like a buzzsaw, shaking her head with mocking disappointment before cartwheeling forward to the combo. She tossed both daggers, collected them with a roll, tossed them again, leaped up to catch them, then landed to perform a double sweep kick into Shadow Leap Kick, her golden songbirds a contrast against her purple aura.

Nadia slammed down, her body shaken into loosely-connected segments by Maya’s assault. Grimacing, she pulled herself together just in time to scoot away from the amazon’s double dagger plunge with jets of blood. She rolled to her feet, bloody and aching. “...Sh-sheesh! You tryin’ to kill me?” Whatever Maya had done to empower herself, it seemed to be gone now, but things were looking dire. With her natural regeneration neutered by the Heavenly Principles, she couldn’t afford to take another full combo.

Her opponent just grinned, only interested in finishing the fight. She did not advance, however, and Nadia wondered why her foe wouldn’t rush in to finish her off until she remembered that these matches were timed. If she didn’t make a comeback, she would lose no matter what, and if Maya held her ground she’d be less likely to fall prey to the same sort of shenanigans that ended round two. Nadia took a deep breath. “Robo, drone me!”

Her Kameo looked at her dubiously, but followed along. “...Launch, headdrone.” Her head blasted off to join the other two floating behind Nadia, replaced the next moment as another head rotated up from Robo-fortune’s head compartment.

“Alright.” Nadia wiped blood off her cheek and smiled. “Meow it’s purr-sonal!”

She took off her head, rolled it forward like a bowling ball, and sprinted past it. As she approached, her head sneezed to launch itself in an arc over Maya and hopefully cross her up. Maya responded with Leap Kick, soaring into the air a split second after Nadia’s noggin passed overhead. The sight of a whiffed reversal both surprised and excited the feral, and she raced closer, ready to punish. At the apex of her leap, however, Maya twisted around to hurl Temperance downward. The purple dagger lodged beneath Nadia’s collarbone, catching her by surprise, and without delay Maya plunged downward in a Mantis dive. “Enough!” The catgirl yanked out the blade, then hurled it downward just before Maya swooped down and slid her a couple dozen feet on her back.

After cartwheeling off her opponent, Maya realized just how far she’d gotten from her purple dagger. There was no time to think, though, with victory at her fingertips. With expert timing she threw Vengeance to catch Nadia’s wake-up, only for her to wake up with Furrserker Purrage. “Cat Scratch Fever!” The barrage of slices shrugged off the projectile, then carried Maya back toward the center of the arena in blockstun. That left her separated from both daggers, but free to punish Nadia’s blocked Blockbuster at her leisure–or so she thought.

“Fur-get something?”

Maya instinctively whirled around to face Nadia’s head behind her, anticipating a blow that would interrupt her punishment. Instead she saw the head just sitting there, using both ears to wave as she grinned deviously from ear to ear. Realizing the ploy, she turned back around to block Nadia’s body as she recovered, only for the head to burst forward and chomp her on the calf anyway. “Ack!”

“Omnomnomnom!” Nadia’s body got to work, kicking the combo off with Flying Screen Door into El Gato for a ground bounce. From there an aerial light kick led into another Flying Screen Door she canceled with a bloody airdash, followed by aerial light punch, Footloose, and another axe kick the instant before she landed. Rather than going for her customary forward dash into double light slash, she opted for her Unchain Starter - Step, itself a low-profile dash that let her follow up with an Under Blow punch, Assault kick, and Hammer Blow punch. Finally, her Unchain Combo came to an end with a rolling reverse axe kick that sent Maya tumbling. “Tin Cans,” Nadia called, panting. “...Fire!”

“Command received.” When Maya regained her feet, still without her daggers, she looked up to find a volley of twelve moussiles blasting off into the sky, four from each headdrone at Nadia’s disposal. They arced downward, tracking every move she made. At one point Maya got hit and called in Mira to break the combo, but there were so many missiles that she couldn’t escape. In the end, Maya realized she had no choice but to block. She gritted her teeth and endured the explosions’ chip damage, but when the smoke cleared and she lowered her scorched arms, the amazon couldn’t see her foe anywhere.

“Over here!”

Once again Maya whirled to face her foe, only to see nothing more than her head. As she stared, momentarily frozen, the smoke behind her cleared to reveal Nadia’s body plunging downward in a dramatic dive kick, her leg spinning like a drill bit. It slammed into her back, hitting repeatedly, before the feral’s body became a bolt of lightning that blitzed straight through Maya into a hero landing by her head. As the blast launched Maya, Nadia took a second to put her head on straight, then jumped up to punctuate the Charge with Battery in the form of a two-hit Footloose. Finally, she grabbed Maya in an airthrow and began to spin. “Haaaaaah…!” Jets of blood from her seams propelled her faster and faster, until finally she released her grip and hurled Maya straight at the floor. “Knife knowin’ ya!”

THUNK! Nadia’s foe hit the ground and crumpled, instantly unconscious, and the feral landed a moment later. She just watched for a couple seconds, scarcely daring to breathe, until the Heavenly Principles cemented her victory.

MS FORTUNE AND ROBO-FORTUNE WIN!

Nadia doubled over, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Her body still hurt from all the cuts and kicks, and all the blood she’d lost (or spent) left her head dizzy, but she’d won. Quite decisively, too. Her finishing move hadn’t been fatal, but she’d be surprised if Maya went into the Losers’ bracket at full strength after that impact. When Robo-fortune came over to check on her, Nadia cheekily jumped into her arms, forcing her doppelganger to bridal-carry her. “We did it, we did it, we did it! We’re still in this!” She wrapped an arm around Robo’s shoulders. “Get your ro-butt to a spa or somethin’, pal, it’s time to celebrate!”

Deadpan as ever, Robo-fortune dropped her. Ms Fortune’s effective weight led to a heavy plop on the wrestling ring as her detached arm remained on Robo’s shoulders, until the machine brushed it off like a speck of dust. “This is only the second round,” she stated. “Do not get ahead of yourself.”

In the middle of picking herself up with a groan, Nadia froze, staring at Robo. “A-head?” She tossed her head up and down like a ball. “That was a pun! You punned!”

“I did not,” Robo insisted.

“You did too! A purr-fect pun-chline!”

Leaving Mira to look after Maya, the two took off, arguing about puns, where to go next, and how much celebration a hard-fought round-two pools win was worth.

---

After a quick rebooting process, Big Band’s inorganic opponent was back on her feet. A couple exploratory motions and techniques confirmed that all systems were operational again, so Chel moved to a spot opposite the detective, facing him as she did. “¡Buen asalto!” she complimented him, emulating a human’s stretching motions with her mechanical limbs. “Pero tengo mucha más gasolina en el depósito.” But I have much more gas in the tank. When Band didn’t respond right away, and she noticed him struggling to breathe through his broken respirator, the mech cocked her head at him. “Oye, ¿estás bien?”

Band took a deeper breath and cleared his throat. “Ahem! I’ll be fine. You worry about yourself.”

His adversary nodded, and the next moment, their second round began.

ROUND TWO: FIGHT!

Band advanced slowly, one heaving step at a time, while Chel fired her first shot. “¡Estrella!” When she saw Band block it, she decided to go out on a limb and fly forward with Stinging Wind, a variant on her wind kicks. It took just one kick to get into range, and after that both her second kick and ensuing palm strike connected. Her strikes barely moved Band, or depleted his impressive vitality, so he gambled that she would be unsafe and unable to follow up on her technique.

Sadly, he guessed wrong, and his attempt to hit her low with the drum pedal from Hot Socks flat-out missed as she launched a swift high kick with the leg he’d been aiming at. The blow struck him square in the chest, eliciting a grunt. Since it didn’t lead to a combo, Band counter-poked with his bike horn, hitting Chel’s head twice as she attempted to execute a low chop. He honked one too many times, though, and the third pushed his foe just far enough away that he couldn’t connect with a trombone slide from his knee, and the next moment Chel landed her low chop.

That move also linked into itself, but unlike Band she could follow up the third repetition with Stinging Wind, and this time she landed every hit. Its final, energy-infused palm pushed Band far enough back that Chel could start zoning again, and soon several Night Suns were headed his way, each ball of plasma more brilliant than the last. “¡Estrella! Estrella!” As Band hopped over the second one, Chel took to the air to fire downward. It zapped him in the middle of a dash. “¡No, no!”

Band’s nostrils flared as he grew impatient. “Take five!” He bulled forward with a medium Brass Knuckle, moving just far enough forward to strike his target–specifically, strike her guard. Although she could definitely feel that hit through her defenses, it was unsafe enough that she could counter it. Producing an energy blade from her arm cannon, she lunged forward with a double stab, then finished up the target combo with a one-two energy slash into Crush Breeze. Her uppercut lifted the much bigger Band into the air, where she could spike him downward, bounce him off the ground, and then finish with Stinging Wind. Even without meter, that string hurt, and now she’d gathered enough power to make her next combo hurt even more.

Grumbling, Band teched backward off the ground, gaining enough distance to compose himself. He correctly predicted more Night Suns incoming and continuously side-stepped to circle around his foe. When he executed a Giant Step, Chel recognized the move with enough time to leap off the ground, flipping her opponent’s way. Band had an answer for this, but in his rush to anti-air her with Brass Knuckles he forgot about how Chel had psyched him out in round one. Sure enough, she stopped her air momentum with a downward plasma shot, and though Band’s armor soaked it his tambourine halves snapped shut on nothing.

She landed before he recovered, but took no action, biding her time. When the detective closed the distance with a big step to try and throw her, she leaped away and fired downward again, forcing him to block. Her spacing and timing were still solid, and despite her peppy, energetic demeanor, it didn’t seem like she’d get bored of zoning any time soon. Band continued to chase her down with a light Brass Knuckle. What this move lacked in armor it made up for in safety, and since Chel didn’t know to try and strike through it, she tried to punish with a kick afterward only for Band to parry it with a high hat cymbal. “Mm hm,” he murmured over the clashing sound. His Noise Cancel gave him all the time he needed to land Hot Socks and start a combo.

Eager to make up for lost time, Big Band laid into his opponent with a whole orchestra’s worth of brass instruments, sounding out a musical melee with trombone, saxophone, and clarinet. Chel had a lot of things going for her in this matchup, but damage output wasn’t one of them, while for the detective it just so happened to be the opposite. His baritone beatdown quickly exceeded the damage done to him by his foe, giving him the lead, but just after he used the Sound Stun from Beat Extend about halfway through the combo, his lightweight opponent slipped from his grasp, touched down, and put up her guard.

The next second his Air Mail Special smacked her guard, a move so unsafe that Chel had no trouble punishing with a combo of her own. “Te tengo!” Her energy blade stabs linked into a low surgical blade stab, followed by a Night Sun canceled with one bar of Kinetic energy. The resulting dash let her build off the plasma shot with a close-range rising blade strike, then another shot canceled with Kinetic Advance. This time, her heavy blade slash transitioned into Dancing Wind, and once the high kick launched Band, a Crush Breeze uppercut ended the combo with a bang.

The detective fell heavily and rose blocking low as Chel kept up the pressure. Sure, her damage wasn’t great, but now she was back in the lead and his mistakes were mounting. If he’d managed to finish his combo earlier, he’d probably be one more solid hit away from winning, but if he continued to squander his chances his windows for victory would continue to close. Now Band began to doubt himself, missing chances to anti-air or close distance with Brass Knuckles lest he be predicted and fall further behind.

At a certain point, he was tempted just to give up, to call this round a wash and mentally reset himself for the final round. But Big Band wasn’t one to throw in the towel. He bided his time, then once totally assured of himself, unleashed a reversal Super Sonic Jazz to bash through Chel’s attack and deal a boatload of damage. “Horn Crush!” Ba-ba-ba-BAM! That final flip tossed his foe behind him, where he landed a heavy Giant Step for good measure.

He took the brief moment afforded to him before Chel started shooting to play a tune with Bagpipe Blues. After blocking one plasma shot, he slid forward with a heavy Brass Knuckle to armor through the next one, planning to cut his slide short with Emergency Break so that he couldn’t be punished on block. To his surprise, though, Chel canceled her Night Sun by overcharging her arm blaster. “Super…Nova!” A huge plasma ball blasted forward, completely stripping Band’s armor as it knocked him to the floor.

Now in really bad shape, Band fought to get up as Chel zoomed forward, propelled by jets of energy from her palms. Knowing that he now had armored normals thanks to Bagpipe Blues, he filled his lungs, then deployed his massive tuba to stun his foe with Overblow. Unfortunately for him, once she got into range Chel fired off as many crouching lights as she could, each tiny bit of hitstop pausing Band’s uninterruptible Overblow as the damage quickly piled up. On the fifth low chop, Band’s strength gave out, and his tuba retracted as he fell to his knees. “Uuuuugh…” As he fell forward, Chel yelped and just barely got out of the way of his falling form in time. The impact shook the pier, and after the dust settled the Mexican mech raised her arms in celebration.

“¡ La victoria es mía!” After a little fist pumping, she stepped forward and leaned down, extending a hand. “¡Vamos! No has terminado todavía, ¿verdad?” Come on! You’re not done yet, are you? In some ways, though, Band definitely wished that he was.

CHEL WINS!

---

At Chevalier’s direction, the Seekers who composed both Team B and Team C would eventually make their way to the High Tier of Esaka, at which point the comrades split into their designated subdivisions to track down their respective targets. Although neither Azucena nor Lucky Chloe were direct subordinates to the infamous Kazuya Mishima, and were responsible for no war crimes that the United Nations were aware of, they were still G-Corp accomplices who directly and unscrupulously benefited their sponsor’s heinous acts, and they could not be allowed to lend their strength to Kazuya if called into action. Chevalier did not mandate that the two be assassinated, so a nonviolent solution would be permitted as long as it definitely got the two away from Esaka and out of the picture.

In order to target Azucena, Team B made for a metropolitan square in the busiest part of the High Tier’s ring-shaped urban cityscape. They didn’t need to look far to find Azucena; the Peruvian martial artist’s smiling face and unmistakable coffee brand were plastered across several huge electronic billboards, evidence of her substantial financial backing. A few such displays offered live feeds of current Pools matches, but other than that one could be forgiven for forgetting about the tournament occurring just two tiers down. The Seekers also didn’t take long to find their contact. In a ultra modern setting, a lady knight of the sixteeth century stood out quite prominently. Dressed head to toe in polished silver armor, the red-headed swordswoman stood tall and proud as she awaited her new associated, a sword at her waist and a standard in one hand.

When approached, Hildegard von Krone nodded her head in greeting. “Well met,” she told them in a somewhat stiff German accent. “Azucena is nearby, running a publicity event. She’s taking challenges in street fights in an effort to prove the power of her coffee. Some of her challengers are paid actors, but she’s attracting a few real ones, too. It won’t be hard to fight her, but to deal with her in broad daylight…who knows. Especially with two Gigas bodyguards close at hand.” The knight looked down at her dazzling armor self-consciously. “Whatever we do, we should keep this…discreet. Ja?”

At the same time, the members of Team C reached the fancy (if somewhat ominous) opera house where Lucky Chloe was scheduled to perform in a couple days’ time. Right now, the venue was empty except for the production crew, working their magic to remodel the classical structure into a pop-rock concert hall, with all the modern audio equipment one could ask for. When the Seekers stopped outside, they could see plenty of Lucky Chloe’s staff milling around the area, but no sign of the woman herself.

Instead, they found Darun Mister, a huge, musclebound Indian wrestler with a long, razor-sharp mustache, black wrestling trunks, and not much else. “Ah, there you are!” Darun waved the Seekers over. “This is where Lucky Chloe’s having her Saturday night concert. Her people are all over the place, busy making preparations. I have not seen her, but hopefully she is nearby.” He directed his contacts’ attention toward a promotional standee of the young woman herself, distinguished by her long blonde pigtails and copious cat affectations, including a garish pink bolero jacket with attached cat-paw sleeves. “Maybe we split up, ask around. Without drawing too much attention. Could pose as fans, though if I tried it, I don’t think they’d buy it. Security is already looking at me funny.” The wrestler gestured toward the security bots roaming the area, then chuckled, crossing his arms. “Maybe one of you’d have more luck.”

[Yankee]

_{Thursday Afternoon}
Word Count: 1308 (+3 exp)
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 325/80
Location: Esaka's Pools, the Forbidden Kingdom

With plans to secure some lodgings for Pit's team later after they left the Pools tier, angel and demon headed for the other side of the Mortal Kombat area. They followed the rough stone pathway around, headed for the location of Sareena's last match of the day. The Seekers had barely spent two days in Esaka, but Pit was already starting to find the Pools to be a very familiar place even if he couldn't say the same for the rest of the city. It basically meant then he started to notice things about it, what was the same and what was different from earlier, and the first difference was...

"Is it just me, or are there a lot more yokai around now?"

The early impression of the Pools was that they generally didn't draw much of an audience. Competitors gathering info on rivals in their bracket, people supporting their fighting friends, and die hard fans that would never miss even one match featuring their bias were the bulk of the individuals on the side lines - so the fact that this particular area seemed to be packed with Esaka's ethereal populace stuck out to Pit. Ashrah too, as the woman narrowed her eyes slightly at the chattering crowd as it began to thin out. There were yokai of all types, but in particular there were tengu. Large, medium, and small ones, with varying features but enough similarities that it was easy enough to tell they were the same type of creature. They raised their fans or shook their staffs jubilantly as they began to take off, fading back into the stream or rising into the air.

"...I believe I know what's happened," Ashrah said after a few moments, recalling the opponent her sister was slated to fight against.

They weaved around the crowd. Most of the arenas on this level, besides being all obviously water-themed, were pretty wide open with plenty of natural light; but when possible the MK section seemed to be a lot more shaded. Idly Pit wondered if that was intentional, because of the tournament's whole 'theme.' It was a little silly if it was... though it did make for some decent areas where participants (or spectators trying too hard) could stand in shadow and brood. This was where they found Ashrah's fellow demon, her back to a pillar and her arms crossed tight over her pinched face.

At this point it wasn't hard to guess what might have happened, but it was made obvious when a fuzzy gray hand landed on Pit's shoulder and he looked up to see a buff tengu with its beak-like mouth curled up happily.

"You got here too late to see the mistress win!" it told him, its wings jittering. "She took both rounds one after the other, same as the first match! Ah, what a glorious return to the tournaments!"

The tengu gave Pit a shake in its excitement, but after feeling his head rattled around Pit wriggled out of the yokai's grasp. It didn't seem to mind, wrapped up in its celebratory mood as it was.

"'Mistress'? What are you talking about??" he asked somewhat impatiently, which earned him a confused tilt of the tengu's head.

"Huh? Y'know, the mistress! The princess?"

"I know a lot of princesses, you gotta give me more than that."

The yokai's eyes trailed from Pit's face to his wings and then back again, failing to put together that he was not in fact speaking to a fellow tengu. It took a another few seconds for Pit to realize the misunderstanding himself, but before he could correct it another hand landed on his other shoulder, nudging him forward once more. A lighter touch, belonging to his kameo partner who'd found him again among the leaf fans and feathers.

"He meant our next opponent for tomorrow," Ashrah clarified as she led the two of them to the edge of the area. Both her face and her voice were impassive, but Pit picked up the slight hint of both surprise and regret in them. He glanced back at the buff tengu, though it only rubbed its thumb over its chin as it hummed in thought, then shrugged and turned away from the retreating pair.

The angel traced the shape of the tournament bracket in his mind. "So Sareena really lost?"

The woman in question had already spotted them and met them halfway, her dark eyes glinting with muted fury.

"I underestimated her in the first round; a foolish mistake that I paid for," Sareena explained, clenching her fists at her sides. "By the time the second began, the momentum was already with her. Never before has the Order of Light been eliminated so quickly! I should have transformed..."

Ashrah laid a palm on her sister's shoulder. Sareena glanced at the gesture of comfort, her eyes flickering over to meet Ashrah's briefly before she made a tch noise and turned away. By now the three of them were standing in the open, part way between the arena-side and the lip of the tier as a whole, and the gathering of yokai had really thinned out. Only a few of the more playful ones still remained, poorly re-enacting their princess' moves from the fight. Frustration practically oozed off of Sareena at the sight. Pit knew from experience that it would be lingering for a while and there was little anyone could say after a loss that would ease it, but he spoke up anyway, gesturing to himself and Ashrah.

"You still got us! The Order of Light and Seekers of Light crossover team!" He smiled at Sareena, shifting to rest one fist at his hip. "I'm technically repping Fight of Gods, but since Ashrah's my partner we're kinda fighting for your dojo too. And we're going all the way, so don't worry - we'll protect your pride!"

It was a moment before the sisters replied. Ashrah was the first, returning Pit's smile gingerly. "Well said."

Sareena let out half of a sigh before nodding once.

"I suppose that's true. The rest of us in the Order will support you while we continue to look for other ways to strike at Shao Khan."

"Deal!" Pit chirped.

It was nice to know that it wasn't just Ashrah in the Seekers' corner, but her fellow fighters as well. If push came to shove extra help might be useful, especially when it was four separate bosses that the Gold Team would have to face.

But that would come later. As the afternoon wore on, the people gathered at the Pools grew fewer and fewer.

"Let's see who else still fighting, then we'll move on. Wanna come with us, Sareena?"

"No. I'll return to the Order of Light and suffer the embarrassment of filling them in on my loss," the demoness replied, the clench of her jaw signalling that she really was taking it hard. "I was looking forward to facing you, but... stop by later with Ashrah and I'll tell you what I know about your new opponent."

"Sure, maybe, gotta see what else is going on first," Pit said. He might not remember to do it after checking in to see what the other Seekers were up to, especially with regards to the meeting about G-Corp that he'd missed. Not to mention that when it came to getting the low down on fighters, Lady Palutena was always eager to share what she knew.

"See you later then," Ashrah said, bidding her sister a farewell. Sareena parted from them, making a solitary bee line for the nearest lift up to the Mid Tier.

Once more Pit and Ashrah were left to their own devices, not that the angel intended it to remain that way for long.

"Alright, let's go see what everyone else is up to!"

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 11 - Total EXP: 313/110 ------ Level: 10 - Total EXP: 364/100
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
_{Thursday Afternoon}
Word Count: 984 (+2 exp)
Location: Esaka's Pools, the Forbidden Kingdom

When the dancer arrived at her destination, she was one of a few bystanders who had gathered to watch. The stone paths circled a wide pool of water, forming a raised ring. In the pool's center, a circular concrete arena held an angular stage with bright red strips of light forming the border. Primrose rested her arms on the railing that stood around the ring of water, leaning against it as she cast her eyes down upon the arena.

Nadia's match had already started, but if Primrose had her timeline right it couldn't have been very long. She was not a fighting connoisseur, so the intricacies of the four women's technique or their skill in stringing combos together was mostly lost on her - but she had not come to watch a match per se as much as she'd come to support her friend.

...not that she couldn't get some entertainment at the same time. That was what this spectacle was for after all. She watched the fight with interest, following every flip, dodge, and thrust. Idly she wondered what Olberic might say if he were there spectating with her. He would probably appreciate that dagger wielder's expertise if nothing else.

The first round of the match ramped up gradually, and it concluded in the double Fortunes' defeat. Primrose's brows rose up when the golden flow of the Principles declared the round, nearly as surprised as Nadia herself when Maya pulled the win out with a quick turn at the end. She did not cheer or boo though, simply watching the pairs recover and start gearing up for round two.

Soon after the beginning of the second round, Primrose heard a soft buzz in her ear. She murmured back and settled in to continue spectating, and it was not long before the current round hurtled towards its conclusion that she turned her head to find her expected guest.

Before the impromptu luncheon had wrapped up, Therion slipped out a little early. He'd said what he wanted to say and heard what he'd wanted to hear; if anything important came up after the fact he was sure he'd hear about it soon enough, but he doubted there would be any huge revelations. He was still sorting out his own thoughts, but he really hadn't found much reason to doubt the 'United Nations' other than the fact that, well, the Seekers didn't know them. He was planning to help out, though healthy suspicion sat in his stomach as he made his way back down a tier to do as Primrose had asked and fill her in.

The thief leaned on the railing next to her, his ears flicking toward the battle below. He quickly recognized Ms. Fortune based on her unique fighting style, just in time to see her dunk her opponent into the ring of water. This was the first match he'd seen in person, and he found himself noting the wounds on both fighters as they regrouped.

"It's one and one at the moment," Primrose said. Therion hadn't asked, but it did satisfy his faint curiosity.

"Not going to give her a 'hurrah'?"

"No, I don't want to spook her, especially now that you're here."

"Spook her...?"

Therion glanced at his fellow Orsterran, though a moment later he connected the dots with Primrose's train of thought. Right, the whole reason part of the team was even thinking about running off after G-Corp in the first place. Still, he scoffed.

"She's not a wild animal, she's a grown woman."

Primrose turned to him, lowering her head to rest on her hands as she gave him an enigmatic smile. "And what would you know about women, Therion?"

He clicked his mouth shut with a tch noise. Can't argue with that.

He left the topic alone, shifting to rest his back against the railing instead. What would be the final round of the match was about to start, but he didn't have much interest in watching the rest.

"Whatever. I just came to tell you about that meeting."

Primrose had already turned her eyes back to the arena.

"By all means."

Therion spoke quietly, relaying everything. The dancer hummed in acknowledgement as he continued with recounting his opinions alongside the facts. It wasn't a long tale.

"Seems like a sound plan... and I don't mind lending a hand," Primrose said. "What were you planning to do?"

If she were to guess, then perhaps the thought of getting away from the city even for just a few hours would lead Therion to join the assault team. However, he minutely shook his head.

"Not sure yet. It's easier to find someone here than it seems, so looking into those celebrities night be quick. The group that goes after the reinforcements is gonna need preparation though."

"I agree, although considering the distribution of people already... what they might actually need is some patience."

"...ah."

It was definitely not only possible, but probable that the assault team could have already gotten started. Therion pushed off of the railing and scooted off, most likely to check things out on that front.

At the same time, Nadia's match had gotten more vicious. But it was soon to be decided, and in dramatic fashion. When the cat burglar took hold of Maya and began to spin with the woman in her clutches, even Primrose could tell it was over. The impact only drove the point home. A few seconds passed after the official declaration of Nadia's win before Primrose moved, circling around the arena to try and catch the victorious cat girl before she disappeared into Esaka's belly.

"Ms. Fortune~" Primrose called once she was close enough, loud enough to be heard but not too draw more attention than she wanted. She didn't have a plan thought out, but she was hopeful that she wouldn't be rebuffed based on their earlier meeting, however brief.

[Eviledd1984]

@Lugubrious

Harry Dubois

And

𝒦𝒾𝓂 𝒦𝒾𝓉𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾

Word Count: 450
Level: Lv: 6 EXP: (3/60)
Lv: 4 EXP: (5/40)
Location: Metropolis Square/ Opera House

Harry had met up with Kim a few hours after Kim had escaped from the hospital. When he caught up on how he escaped, Harry was quite impressed by his partner’s efficiency. Although he looked quite concerned, seeing how heavily bandaged he was. But he was bandaged as well, so perhaps they should be careful so they don’t end up in a body cast. Both detectives split into different teams. Harry joined up with Team B, and Kim joined Team C.

Harry had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he stood in the middle of the square. Lighting the cigarette while making sure the duel pistols in his pants don’t go off. Blowing big smoke rings as he noticed the other seekers coming to join him, and being one of the first people to see their contact. Not being surprised by the way they were dressed, this whole place seemed to be topsy-turvy. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement as he blew another smoke ring. ” Howdy.” Harry said with a slight smile on his face. Discretion was not really his strong suit. But perhaps he could create a distraction so the others could pursue Azucena.

” I could take up her challenge, and while I distract her, you guys could take out her bodyguards. Or perhaps one of us could fight her. If we all try to take her on, the bodyguard will join the fight.” He looked like he was not sure if it was a good plan, but it was something they could try. He wasn’t even sure it was a good idea to kidnap her. He was a detective, so he was hesitant about breaking the law.

“Not like that has stopped you before.” Volition said in a matter-of-fact tone.

” Don’t really know how discreet we can be in this situation. But i’m sure we could get close to her somehow.” Harry took another deep drag of his cigarette. Blowing another large smoke ring. He lifted his dress shirt to see the twin pistols stuffed in his pants. Discression was not something he was well known for.

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

Meanwhile, Kim was with Team C, smoking and trying to think of a good plan to get the job done. ” I could get into the building pretending to help with security. Unless she already knows I am a Seeker. Kim looked around at the crowd and the security that surrounded the area. Part of him wished Harry were here to help him come up with some ideas. Even if they were half-brained, it was still something. Nodding his head, thinking he could ask around to glean any information that could help them.

[Chevaleresse]

Esaka - Low Tier

Yayama Yama
Status: Waddling onto the scene
LV: 6, EXP: 25/60
Word Count: 286 (+1)

The lalafell decided to make her own way to where the kids had stopped, figuring with a glance or two at them that they'd be occupied with bickering long enough for her to arrive before they finished, so long as she kept up a reasonable pace. Her prediction turned out to be spot-on, of course, though it did put her toward the tail end of the arrivals. One short introduction to the armory aboard the Avenger later, and she had her mount for the day, a futuristic, yet still brutish-looking monowheeled vehicle she'd heard called a Chopper. It certainly looked like it would chop apart the unfortunate soul to get into its path, especially before she was introduced to it having elements in its controls to let someone look past the titanic propulsion elements directly in front of the rider.

A few false starts later, she had the controls figured out. She was no ace pilot or master of beasts, but she'd had her fair share of experience directing either. Once she figured out that the main priority of whoever had designed this had been "go toward the enemy so you can hit them with your sword," Yayama had a good idea of how the vehicle would handle and how to avoid crunching up any unfortunate pedestrians under the hostile-looking wheel.

Without further ado, she tore off to the north, once again setting her own pace. It'd be a bit of a ride, and it was probably best that she arrived first anyways. . . plus it gave her some time to play around with this thing, an activity which most certainly did not result in her flipping it trying to get a long jump.