Goggy

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

Grima

Level 6 (holding 2 level ups)
2/60 EXP

Location: Esaka - Lower Tiers
Wordcount: 940 (+2 exp)

Grima was not one to lose her cool. Nor was she one to show her weakness. That is why when she left Pit’s presence, she immediately made her way down several streets into another side alley, forcing herself upright and clutching the side of her head. The original body and mind, still trapped away in its unknown prison, was not afflicted by this agony within her head, but the vessel was. By their own name, they were tormented. Grima ran through everything that had happened recently, and it was increasingly evident that this agony in her head was not caused by the revelation of this world’s wrongness… But rather, something in her mind.

And thus, she had to calm herself, get her own body under control. Thus, she closed her eyes.

When Grima closed her eyes, the pounding headache in her vessel ceased, enveloped by the comfort of the endless void. Her vessel slowly breathed, slowly returning to a calm state, focusing on the pain to force it to subdue-

“Well, this is certainly a surprise.”

Immediately, Grima snapped her eyes open, whirling around. Yet instead of the alleyway, Grima only saw the same void that she had closed her eyes to… And standing before her was her own vessel. Or rather, a perfect copy. Her vessel from another time.

“Robin” Grima said with distaste, standing straight as her surprise faded from her eyes, replaced by the Fell Dragon’s usual haughtiness, “I am surprised to see you still existing, but it would appear your final act was for naught. We both lived, yet I remain in control-”

“Yes, we did,” Robin interrupted, folding her arms as she looked back at Grima without a visible expression, simply analyzing her copy, “If it were not for Galeem’s light, you would have won. I did not have time to ponder the specifics, I just knew I had to act in the brief moment you were distracted”

Grima rolls her eyes at that, shaking her head, “A desperate maneuver. One that hardly mattered in the end. This vessel is mine, and with it I will hunt down my original body and free it. You’re just an unwelcome tagalong” Grima says, turning around and bringing a hand to her chin, “Regardless, Galeem’s power seemed to have influenced more than just… Our world. Taking everything that its light touched and recreating it all into this poor facsimile. That angel seemed to recognize this vessel, indicating that it’s likely it effected multiple variants of our world. But I’m sure you already knew that, since you have been seeing through my eyes.”

Robin ponders for a few moments, then sighs, “... I’ve seen more than just everything you’ve done since Galeem’s world was made. I also know your own past. Our… Memories seem to be merging, and I know what made you like this. Such as your creator-”

“Oh, and that means you can pass judgement on me, worm?” Grima snaps back, whirling around once more with a look of raw hatred, “I know what I was created to be. I am the culmination of mankind’s folly, their shortsightedness, their greed, AND their hatred. I am their ruination, their judgement. And if you do not cease your ignorant preaching, I will cleanse you from my mind and finally be free of your-” Grima takes several steps forward, almost getting up into Robin’s face before the latter speaks again,

“You can’t. Or else you would have done so already. We both hate each other, and I know that if you had your way I wouldn’t be here. But you can’t… Because you’re sealed away again” the tactician points out once more, causing the Fell Dragon to fall silent as they continue, “The way I see it, we’re at an impasse. I can only observe, and you can’t get rid of me. So… I’m going to continue to observe. And if I feel like I need to, help if I can. But you’re going to join these Seekers of Light and help them. Without any of your backstabbing tricks. Otherwise, I’ll interfere as much as my position allows, and your vessel won't have a peaceful night’s rest for the rest of time.”

The ultimatum between the two hung in the air for several moments, permeating the void between them. Then Grima laughed. A soulless yet energetic sound as she ran a hand through her hair, “You think you’re in a position to bargain? With me?” the Fell Dragon asked with mirth, before dropping to a serious expression, “You’re very fortunate that you are correct in your assumptions. I no longer require you, so I would simply kill you if I had the option. Thankfully for you, I have no intention on betraying these Seekers, and with your unrightfully given access to my memories, you would know that to be true. At least, not yet. Our goals, for now, align. Galeem will pay for taking away my moment of triumph, and once everything is set right…” Grima trailed off, slowly smiling towards her copy, “I will finish what I started. Either with this collection of realms, or with your precious Ylisse.”

With that, Grima’s actual eyes opened, bringing her back to the alleyway where she had stopped to recuperate. Nothing had changed since her little dialogue with her copy, and so the vessel simply straightened her tactician coat and began to head out for the tournament battles she had today. Yet in the back of her mind, she could still feel Robin’s presence… And with it, her retort to Grima’s final words.

“We shall see.”

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

Winterhold College - Seekers vs Math

Ace - Level: 9 - Total EXP: 519/90
Level 7 Heismay (67/70) Sectonia & Mokou
Word Count: 1563

So, step one of crafting a potion to open the chest would be finding suitable ingredients. That, at least, didn’t take any brewing skill, so Heismay could lend a hand. “How about this?” He plucked a mushroom that looked like a pale blue finger from a rack and trotted over with it in his hand to hold up for Sectonia to examine in order to determine what elements it had, and in what quantities. As the smallest and largest Seekers, respectively, he and the wasp queen had quite the gap to cross when it came to doing practically anything together, including something as simple as this.

Reaching down to take the ingredient, Sectonia rattled off what elements it had and its quantities. ”I will need to look at this again when I have a better reference on what ‘amount’ is each, but it has more of air, or B and earth, or C than A or fire and D, or water, by…. Double from the looks of it. No dark, or E element.”

“Then it’s useless,” Heismay realized. “Since we need ingredients with just A, B, and C.” With a sigh he put the mushroom back where he found it, then looked around. There were a lot of ingredients in here. “Twould be best to assemble a pile of relevant ingredients first, then figure out the ratios, methinks.”

”Assuming there isn’t some system where ‘ingredient A and D subtract from each other’ or something.” Sectonia said, scratching her head, thinking about how annoying this might be.

“Fire huh? Well, don’t need to look that far” Mokou says, holding out a hand which held one of her signature fiery feathers, “Should be good enough for your fire needs.” Sure enough, when Sectonia scrutinized it, her magic sense detected an abundance of the fiery magimin A with a little bit of airy magimin B.

Heismay rubbed his chin. “So B, the green element, is air. I suppose it needed to be something, since air is colorless. Hmm.” After a moment, he found a sinuous, forked lump of green flesh. “Is this any good?”

”It IS only full of B, or Air, but it is even less air energy than Mokou’s own feather by a factor of half. And on her feather, the B element is only a fourth of her A, or fire element. Although her feather is equal in A to the B and C of that first thing you showed me. So I think I have an idea of values now maybe.” Sectonia said, thinking about the three things she has seen.

While they worked Ace leaned against the large pot they were going to use. Set up over a raised heating element on top of being on par with most of the Wyverian melding pots he'd seen, it was big enough that he could comfortably rest his elbows on the rim while standing upright. One of his legs was crossed over the other while a cheek rested in one hand, content to watch the others discuss the ingredients they'd found... at least up to a certain point, after which Ace started the couple of items around the station towards them for testing. "Check these!"

With Sectonia’s perceptive help, the team collected a handful of other ingredients including Fairy Flower Bulbs, Impstool Mushrooms, and Rotfly Larva, each of which housed a tiny, four-point portion of magimin A, B, and C respectively. They also found two Hydra Vertebrae, which offered nine points of all three magimins. Lastly, there were two kinds of apples: Figment Pommes, with eighteen points air and six points water, and Daydream Pommes, with twenty-four points air and eight parts water. Heismay looked over the pile of goods, then peered at Ace as the monster hunter stood by the brewing cauldron. “Is this enough to work with?”

"Should be plenty! It was three parts fire, four parts air, and three parts earth, right?" the Cadet said as he tapped at his chin, looking over everything that the other three had picked and separated out. They just needed enough of the potion to fill the receptacle on the chest, and it didn't matter what ingredients they used as long as it had the correct ratio of A, B, and C parts. It was deceptively simple. "Let's see..."

Preferably he would use as few ingredients as possible just to speed up the process. Ace wasn't sure how a magic potion differed in brewing versus a mundane one, but he had to assume that there would still be a lot of crushing, grinding, and mashing involved even before getting to the combining part. The difficulty of processing each ingredient didn't concern him (he was pretty sure he'd be able to handle anything this room could throw at him item-wise) so much as not getting bogged down in doing it all with an audience. So on that note he poked through the pile.

Mokou's feather, while a pretty incredible item in its own right, was way too high in fire element. And some of the other things collected like the vertebrae seemed usable but didn't quite fit right together with other ingredients. The easiest way would be to use the items with the least amount of magimins that Sectonia indicated: three Fairy Bulbs, four of the mushrooms, and three Rotfly Larvae... but if they went with something like one Daydream Pomme, four Fairy Bulbs, and two Rotfly Larvae, it would cut out three ingredients and still have roughly the same ratio. After some thinking the monster hunter chose to try his hand at making the potion with the latter combo.

"If this doesn't work we still have the easy way to fall back on," he told the others with a grin as he started heating the cauldron and preparing the ingredients in separate bowls. His experience as a crafter made breaking the ingredients down a smooth process, and once ready they went into the pot. Ace wrinkled his nose slightly at the smell as the parts boiled down and melted together (mostly due to the Rotfly), but soon enough everything was blended into a stable potion. All that was left was to pour it into the special lock and see if it was right.

Ace scooped the concoction into a glass jar and held it out. It sparkled a brilliant light blue throughout, and it even smelled good now that all was said and done. Rather appetizing, in fact. After the hunter removed one portion of Greater Sight Enhancer, there was still enough to fill three more jars. "Who wants to do the honors?"

Heismay stepped forward. “Might as well.” He reached up to gently take the jar from Ace’s hand, then pattered over to the chest as the hunter bottled up the remainder of the potion. When he poured the brilliant azure fluid into the receptacle, the magic chest lit up, unlocked with a click, and opened its own lid to reveal a handful of items within.

Items Obtained

Handful of silver pieces
A common currency more valuable than copper but less than gold

Potion of Invisibility
A clear brew that renders the consumer invisible for three minutes. Basic clothes disappear too, but equipped armor, items, auras, and weapons are all still visible unless contained within some sort of inventory. This invisibility does not break when attacked or when attacking.

Potion of Weakness
A murky brew that decreases melee damage by 40% for 90 seconds

Antidote
A thin vial of green liquid that can cure all negative statuses / debuffs one time

Toxic Canister
When combat starts, it opens to inflict Poison on all combatants (this poison can be cured by healing but reduces the healing that cures it). The wearer’s basic attack inflicts Poison as well, and anyone who touches the bearer also gets Poisoned

After pulling each item out and setting it on the nearest table, Heismay stepped back to allow Sectonia to identify the different unlabeled concoctions. He then took another look around at the room. “Is there aught else we should do here? I am inclined to move on.”

"I don't think we're gonna find anything else in this room, so I'm ready to see the next one," Ace said. He'd already collected a sample of everything the room had to offer, and the humbee had flown down from the dark recesses of the ceiling's higher points not long ago with a small bundle of the glowing berries clutched in its arms to add to that collection. He was glad to see the potion had worked out and that they'd ended up with some goodies at the end, but ultimately they were still no closer to finding a way out of the labyrinth - so on that front he was definitely ready to move on as well.

Mokou gives off a small clap, “Bravo to all of you. I haven’t done any alchemy in a long while, but it’s nice to see the tradition still alive,” the phoenix comments, already heading for the door, “I agree though. Best to continue moving.”

Pokemon Singularity

Vivian Sorex

Current team

The Archeologist's assistant

Atlas
Appearance:


Species: Golett

Type: Ground/Ghost

Personality: Brave nature

Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other:
- Enjoys lifting things: Atlas has a strange penchant for lifting anything it can when bored or otherwise not doing anything. This naturally includes their own trainer.
- Blood Knight: A natural battler at heart, Atlas is the first to stand up for a fight, even if their trainer would rather not.

Level: 6

Moves: Mud Slap/Astonish/Defense Curl/Fire Punch

Ability: Iron Fist: Powers up punching moves.

Held Item:

The Small Time Champion

Gawain
Appearance:


Gender: ♂
Species: Galarian Farfetch’d

Type: Fighting

Personality: Brave nature

Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other:
Rival to Atlas: After their defeat by Atlas, Gawain did not forget his defeat. While they respect the golem’s strength, he plans to become stronger and even the score.

Level: 5

Moves: Night Slash, Peck, Sand Attack, Leer

Ability: Defiant: If the Pokémon has any stat lowered by an opposing Pokémon, its Attack stat will be boosted sharply.

Held Item: Stick

Inventory

1x Potion
2000 Pokedollars

Vivian let out a large gasp as she laid eyes on the Absol, “An Absol?! Oooooh I’ve heard of these! They appear in a lot of ancient texts as harbingers of doom! Not that they ARE but a lot of people thought so at the time-” Vivian explains hurriedly as she packs up her belongings once again, “Regardless, there’s almost always-probably-maybe something important happening if an Absol shows up! Therefor-” the archeologist cuts herself off again, already running after the Disaster Pokemon. This was an omen of what could be a fantastic discovery!

Or a massive tragedy. But Vivian preferred looking on the bright side of things!

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

Winterhold College - Torment Nexus

Ace - Level: 9 - Total EXP: 516/90
Level 7 Heismay (61/70) Sectonia & Mokou
Word Count: 2470 (+3)

As terrible as the monster was, Heismay did not allow fear to overwhelm him at the sight of the Tormentor or the merciless slaughter of its summoner. The adrenaline in his veins pushed him to act. Against a large and hopefully clumsy target like this, he could be as evasive, painful, and maddening as a horsefly. “Have at you!” Seeing that the Tormentor had another mouth on its back, he leaped at its side as the Assassin to execute a midair Lurking Nightblade. To his surprise his blade cleaved more readily through the Tormentor’s flesh than it had the Coven’s, so he followed up with a switch to the Gunner to nail it with a Poison Shot as he fell. “Tis no match for us!” he called, hoping to inspire the others.

It seemed to work, as though their failure to actually put a stop to the Coven's ritual had disheartened Ace he gave a sharp nod at Heismay's words and swiftly switched gears. He unloaded the last couple of water rounds, popped a new clip into the bowgun, and focused on the new enemy in front of them.

Sectonia, having a new target, cast Slow on the Tormentor to make it easier to hit and to dodge its attacks. She didn’t fear this thing, she wanted it dead. Anger held her fast, and that anger fueled her curse as she struck her staff out and struck the nearby Cadet, getting injured herself from the haphazard attack that seemed to be more wildly flailing her staff. Sectonia barely registered this though as she went to cast her rain of holy swords to rain down on the creature.

The victim of her friendly fire definitely did register it though, and the shots he was firing into the Tormentor abruptly stopped as the hunter was shoved away from her, dangerously close to one of the small pools of lava. Ace braced himself to keep from losing his footing, looking over at the alien queen with confusion. He saw her smack herself too before resuming her casting stance, which didn't clear anything up. "Sectonia?"

But she appeared to be stricken by some sort of battle fervor. Wary of anything worse being thrown his way the Cadet moved to reposition, weaving through burning puddles and keeping an eye on the Tormentor as he did. While everyone else staved it off, Ace shifted the bowgun into its special mode. Being intimately familiar with weapons from his home world he knew just what functions the crab buster had, this gun fitted with a wyvernsnipe capability. It would take more than a few seconds to set it, line up the shot, and fire, but if he managed it then the special ammunition would rip through the monster and explode.

Once it arrived the Tormentor had first gone after the easiest targets, the Antlers. Their lack of awareness and mobility allowed the giant demon to smash them like bugs with its prodigious weight. Of course, Sectonia’s Slow combined with its sheer size made it an easy target for Ace’s gunfire, and each shot dealt visible damage to its lumpy brownish hide. Still, it labored at its task until Sectonia’s summoned swords pierced it from above, and the Radiance’s divine light gave them even more bite than usual. Now looking like a cleric’s pincushion, the Tormentor bayed, its main mouth stretching to cover its entire front, as fanged and round as a leech’s sucker.

While the beast gave vent to its rancor, Heismay took advantage of the distraction. He leaped up, sprang off the wall for even more height, and landed atop the Tormentor just below one of its huge, ink-black horns. Holding his blade in his mouth, he grabbed onto the hilts of Sectonia’s holy swords and used them as handholds to climb higher. After a moment he could stand atop the Tormentor’s head, carefully balanced against its movements, and take his longsaber in hand to pierce the monster’s left eye. He dragged it along while running to deal extra damage, much to the ire of the Tormentor, then leapt off and transformed midair to fully destroy the eye with the Assassin’s Lurking Nightblade.

In response, the Tormentor began to inhale. The wind quickly picked up in a giant cone in front of it, its pull on the Seekers stronger and stronger as the demon tried to suck them into its gullet. Heismay, being much too close for comfort, mustered all his strength for a hard right bullet jump. He avoided being devoured by inches and bounced off the Tormentor’s cheek, his sword knocked from his grasp.

As the Tormentor continued to attempt to inhale the various Seekers, a massive wave of fiery feathers flew in from the side, slamming into the beast's side. The eternal phoenix Mokou, after having spent some time on the sidelines hunting down and devouring the various frogs that had perished in the battle, finally turned her focus on the foe at hand, “Yo. Apologies, got a bit distracted” Mokou called out, adjusting the hat perched on her head, appreciating the increased damage granted by its magical properties.

"Better late than never," Ace called back to her, though his voice was strained from stress. The Tormentor's strong pull had interrupted his snipe preparation and had threatened to take the hunter off his feet, but his trusty slinger saved him from becoming a meal himself by gripping a pillar next to him and holding fast, anchoring the Cadet against the suction.

Sectonia didn’t want to know, not be involved with getting anywhere close to this thing. But getting away from a suction move wasn’t difficult for her as she just blinked out of the range of said suction move. Once she was out of the way herself, a funny idea came to her as she waved her arms to summon a crystal platform in the path of Feast right near the creature’s mouth in an attempt to use it as a ‘plug’ to the attack.

The Tormentor’s mouth stretched and it swallowed the giant crystal whole, leaving no trace of it behind. Since the act left the monster visually unchanged, it seemed more as if the would-be plug had been erased rather than eaten, which would have spelled out a terrible end for anyone unlucky (or slow) enough to not get out of the way. Fortunately, none of the Seekers fell prey to the Tormentor’s Feast, which left it with nothing to do but go after them again. It looked for Heismay, failed to find him, then floated toward Sectonia, happy to slam into her with its bulbous form or wallop her with its many arms. Once up close and personal with the thing, the swarm queen could see that her team’s attacks were definitely working. Bulletholes and stab wounds speckled its body, while burns and poison chewed away at its vitality. The Seekers must be in the home stretch. Her offensive focus meant that she ate a few hefty hits, but between her shields and natural vitality they weren’t anything Sectonia couldn’t handle.

As soon as a stop was put to the Tormentor's inhalation, Ace went back on the offensive. Releasing the slinger's hook he traded out the normal shots for piercing ones, sticking with consistent firing to keep whittling the monster down. As one floating mass it didn't seem as though it had any particular weak spots, as after Heismay destroyed one of its many eyes it had hardly flinched and just grew angrier. Even so, the fact that its hide was much softer than its summoner's and the Seekers could see ichor ooze out of the wounds they'd inflicted just reassured the Cadet that the Tormentor was just as mortal as anything else.

The distance between hunter and target was optimal now that it had flown towards Sectonia, and each shot drilled more holes into its body, deeper and deeper and clustered close together to make smaller wounds into larger, more threatening ones.

Heismay, meanwhile, had run into a dilemma. When his sword got knocked from his hand, it wound up stuck in one of the many small pools of molten lava that dotted the nexus. He hurried to recover it, but by the time he pulled it free the sheer heat had warped the metal, and the convection nearly burned his hands. “Damn it,” he hissed as he looked up at the intense airborne battle above. With a grumble, he pulled out the Ritualist Scythe that he’d obtained in the Forgotten Commune. “How hard could it be,” he muttered to himself as he tried to get a feel for the weight. “Tis a farming instrument, and my forebears are farmers.”

Seeing Mokou fly by, he waved up at her. “Phoenix! May I have a boost?”

Mokou comes to a quick stop, glancing down at Heismay before giving a small nod. She then sharply dropped to his level, holding out a hand, “C’mon.” The eugief hopped up without delay and grabbed her hand, still fairly lightweight despite his armor. Taking a moment to ensure her grip was secure, Mokou immediately flew back up above the fight, continuing to rain down a hail of flaming projectiles on the Tormentor while she positioned herself directly above it, “Just need to be above? Or do you want to get close?” the phoenix asked as she flew, glancing back at Heismay.

“Just throw me, I can do the rest!” Heismay assured her, his other hand’s grip tightened on the scythe’s handle.

“That’s the right answer” was all the warning Heismay got before Mokou suddenly began to spin several times, the momentum swinging Heismay around her before she used it to launch the Eugief at the Tormentor, a few feathers flying ahead at the same time to soften it up before Heismay’s attack.

“Waaagh!” The speed with which Mokou built up centripetal force and launched him surprised even Heismay, but he was ready for action. Briefly spreading his wings allowed him to glide the full distance, then descend on the Tormentor’s unprotected backside with a full-force swing of his scythe like a pickaxe. Ignorant of the scythe’s inherent damage boost against those suffering from status afflictions, Heismay was shocked to see his slash not only cut through the beast’s back like butter, but sliced it open like a baked potato to leave a large wound directly in front of Mokou, ripe for the exploitation.

Heismay’s opening was something Mokou was more than willing to take advantage of. Lifting her hand above her head, the phoenix willed forth several dozen balls of flame in the air around her. Then, with a smooth motion of her hand, she sent each flying downwards, each slamming and then subsequently exploding violently on the Tormentor’s new wound.

Sectonia took the fact that this thing was wounded to try to finish it off in one decisive stroke. Summoning her axe, she waved it as if she was swinging a scythe as a spectre of death appeared behind her and moved to attack the Tormentor, using the ambient death in the air and its own closeness to death to amplify its single strike. But to make sure this attack worked, Sectonia also used her charged holy dragon beam at the Tormenter, with a few extra projectiles coming from her thanks to another upgrade of hers proccing although it only added a couple small ticks of extra damage. But damage was damage, and as the closer to death the Tormentor got, the stronger Reaper’s Scythe got and using all the damage taken by the Tormentor, it finished the Tormentor off using the wound that had been opened up.

With a single decisive strike by what looked to be a ghostly visage of the grim reaper itself, the Tormentor was bisected along the wound that had been initially opened and inflamed by her allies as the Tormentor’s body started to necrotize and instantly begin rotting as if it had been long dead before finally poofing into a spirit of itself.

”Someone else grab that horrid thing.” Sectonia said, an audible ‘ick’ being heard from her as she looked at the remains of the creature. And as everyone grouped to take a look at the fallen spirit, Sectonia gave everyone a little bit of healing with Death Pulse. While not the healing proper healers like Blazermate or Sandalphon could do, it was something to give a bit of reprieve.

Sectonia’s enormous beam made for a stunning display of power, and the reaper’s finishing stroke sealed the deal in spectacular fashion. For all the pomp and circumstance of its summoning, the Tormentor had been short-lived, perhaps thanks to the Seekers’ efforts to deal with the candles beforehand. Whatever the case, Heismay was glad it was over. “A strong finish. Well done, all.” With a sigh of relief, he stored the unexpectedly potent scythe and padded over to collect his warped longsaber.

Mokou herself slowly floats back down to the ground, walking over to the spirit with a bored expression, “Well, as much as I’ve seemed to develop a taste for corpses thanks to a curse, I’m not sure if I’m all too willing to put this thing in me” the phoenix commented aloud, running a hand through her front bangs.

Having fought together for a while now, Ace had a good idea of what the victory regroup would be like, and so he intentionally held back to avoid the last of Queen Sectonia's magics. Ultimately he just put his weapon away far slower than normal before eventually trotting over to the other three as they stood around the pile of ashes.

"Whew. It's just been one thing after another, huh?" he said, shooting a small grin at Heismay. Of course then he was caught off guard by Mokou's comment, turning to blink at her. "A taste for...?"

He paused, ducked his head, and held his hands up. "Nevermind, I don't wanna know! It's probably some curse, right? Seems like this place is full of 'em."

And that it would be impossible to really avoid them, especially with the random room traversal and their bad luck with it so far. Regardless, fusion was not the only option for spirits so none of them needed to worry about potentially growing a few pairs of extra eyes and limbs (not to mention growing rotund). And if none of the victors were keen on making this monster into a summoned companion, well, the Cadet had no qualms about just crushing it posthaste.

Staring at the Tormentor spirit, Heismay blinked. “Wait…I bound that awful, tentacled horror from the obsidian church last night. And…completely forgot to use it today.” The eugief put a palm to his rumpled brow and groaned, shaking his head.

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

A Chance Encounter III

Pit - Level: 8 - Total EXP: 351/80

Grima

Level 5 (holding 1 level up) 49/50 EXP

Location: Esaka's High Tier, Forbidden Kingdom (Friday Morning)
Word Count: 1694 (+3 exp)

Grima’s spell was certainly disrupted as her body staggered back from the force of the heart, even if it was a healing force. In truth though, the damage was not from the friend heart, but from the effects it had on her mind. Instantly, Grima brought her hands to her head, hunching over in seeming agony as memories flooded her mind.

The first thing Grima remembered was the wind. The deafening, howling wind that roared in their ears. Not only their vessel’s, but themself. Their TRUE self. They were free, flying across the ocean to wreak havoc upon Ylisse. The Fell Dragon’s body, left without form for so long in this time, could finally be free.

Time… Yes, time. This Grima was not of this time. Or, they were, in a way. The child of the Exalt, the girl, traveled back through time to try to stop Grima’s resurrection. To take their vessel away from them and disrupt fate’s design. An act that forced Grima to follow, working behind the scenes to ensure that their true form could be resurrected in this timeline as well.

Which led to now. Where the Fell Dragon’s vessel stood atop their true form’s back, staring down at the Exalt of this timeline… As well as the vessel that should have been theirs. An exact replica, a woman with bright white hair and the tainted blood of the Fell Dragon coursing through their veins. They had rejected Grima, rallied with their ‘friends’, swore to defeat them once and for all…

Yet Grima stood. The Exalt and the flawed vessel were both left on their knees, battered and beaten, while their beloved friends barely fought and survived against the Risen that heeded Grima’s call.

“... Utterly foolish. You had a purpose, one that defined your entire, pathetic mortal existence. And yet, you throw it all away, and for what?” Grima’s vessel asked, tilting their head slightly, “I truly do not understand what you see in these creatures. These… Hypocritical, self righteous fools. Even with the Divine Dragon’s power and the Fire Emblem, you failed to defeat me. Truly, how disappointing,” Grima said with a sigh as they lifted their hand. In tandem, the large neck of the Fell Dragon turned around, facing its own back.

“You could have given them a swift death, if you loved them so dearly. Instead they will curse you for subjecting them to pain. And I will [i]ensure[i/] that you witness the life leave every one of their eyes… Starting with the Exalt,” the Fell Vessel slowly smiled as Grima’s true form opened their mouth, a massive amount of dark magic and purple fire forming in its jaws. The flawed vessel herself tried to speak out, to stop the coming end… But she could only stagger back to her knees, coughing up blood.

This battle, this world, and this timeline… It was all over. Grima had won.

…

Or at least, that’s what should have happened.

A shining light in the distance caught Grima’s eye. It was not the sun, as it had begun to rise in the opposite horizon. This fact alone caused them to cease their attack, turning their head to face the oddity… Which only left them more confused as they witnessed what it was. It wasn’t just a glint, but a solid wall of light swiftly making its way across the sea.

“What the… What kind of sorcery..-” Grima whispered to themselves, utterly flabbergasted by the sight before them that they didn’t see the flawed vessel rise from their feet. The Exalt took notice, yelling something that didn’t quite reach Grima’s ears as the flawed vessel pushed Grima’s shoulder, turning their body to face them again… Before stabbing her sword through their heart. In an instant, the dragon’s body shuddered in agony, letting out a screech of pain as the Fell Vessel’s body staggered back, only to be gripped tightly by the flawed vessel, “Wh- You- Worm, what have you-” they gasped out as the vessel silently gripped Grima tighter, focused solely on the task of finally slaying Grima once and for all…

Even as the world faded into light.

“Wh… What did you do to me?!” Grima asked, all theatrics and venom gone, replaced by genuine confusion, her red eyes peeking out from between her fingers as she tried to steady herself on a nearby wall.

The only other person around did not reach out to comfort or assist her, rooted to the spot as he was. The friend hearts weren't supposed to hurt, or so Pit had thought, but the longer Grima had stayed doubled over the more hunched the angel's shoulders got as his tension grew. Maybe there was something else going on in her brain - in Robin's brain.

When Grima finally spoke again it undid some of the knot that had been forming in Pit's stomach. He shook off his nervousness with a quick flex and flap of wings before he tiled his chin up and answered her honestly.

"I freed you," he said. "You were sorta brainwashed, like basically everyone else in the world. Now you're not! You should remember some stuff like how weird everything is, and that light that brought you here."

He paused, thinking about what else he could say right at that moment that would ease Grima down from the shock of her new state of mind. Ultimately though he just dismissed his weapon, knowing he could summon it again in an instant if he needed to, and held his hands up briefly before spreading them in a way that was almost welcoming. "You have to get beat up a little before you can get un-brainwashed, but now that you can think normal again... Um, just take a minute to breathe? If you don't go evil dragon mode I'll tell you everything that you're gonna wanna know!"

Grima stared at the angel for a few moments, processing their words before she slowly lowered her hand, staring at it, “... Freed me, is that it? Yes… You did open my eyes to the inherent wrongness of this world.” Suddenly her eyes snapped up again, the look of confusion gone as she focused once more, “That light. The light that engulfed the world. What was it?”

I think it's going good so far?

Don't let your guard down just yet.

Pit dropped his hands, mostly so that he could gesture with them as he spoke. "It's called Galeem. We don't know exactly what it is, but it's strong enough to have basically taken over every world and make a whole new one out of all the parts."

Should he mention the whole 'and everything is just a copy that times out before a new one gets made'? Honestly he still couldn't entirely wrap his head around that himself, so better not. While still intending to heed Palutena's words, Pit started to walk closer to Grima, tilting his head curiously to see if she needed any help before he went on.

"And us, the Seekers of Light you wanted to join? We're traveling around the world to take out a bunch of Guardians protecting Galeem so that we can kick its butt and get all our worlds back to normal!"

“... So your purpose is far more than just Esaka. I should have anticipated that,” Grima commented, running a hand through her hair as she rose to her full height (which, admittedly, wasn’t that much). “... Galeem huh. They are to blame for this world then. I…” she pauses, looking towards the sky for a moment before looking back at Pit, “I require time to think. This has given me much to consider… And I still have to deal with the tournament,” the Fell Vessel states with a sigh, whispering under her breath as another memory came to her mind, “... Robin… Now I remember that name.”

It was a stroke of luck for Grima that Pit hadn't heard the murmured comment to herself, since the stubborn angel would likely have not let her go if he had. As it were, Pit crossed his arms and nodded a few times. "It's a lot, right? But if you're fighting in the tournaments that's actually part of our plan..."

Briefly he explained that the Four Kings of Esaka would all have to be defeated at the same time in order to conquer this region and get that step closer to Galeem, hence why the Seekers were all there fighting for a chance to face the city's rulers. He also mentioned that she should be wary of the Consul that presided over the area, who was likely to try and put a stop to their plans some time soon.

"We do kinda need all the help we can get, so once you get your thoughts sorted out-" Pit rummaged through the folds of his clothes until he produced a small, golden sphere, which he held out to the vessel. "-then come join up with us! This here is for talking to each other by magic, you put it in your ear."

He was smiling now that it looked like everything had worked out.

Grima looked down at the sphere, pondering it for only a moment before plucking it from Pit’s hands, “I will consider it. And contact your group if I do” she says, turning on her heel and beginning to walk away. There was much she had to consider, not just for her immediate plans but for what her long term goals were as well.

… Including dealing with the newfound headache emanating from the center of her mind.

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

Fujiwara no Mokou & Sectonia

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
32/80

Location: Location: College of Winterhold
Wordcount: 1877 (+3)

Palace of Earthly Spirits

Before Mokou and Sectonia extended a long, tall, stately corridor, featuring classic columns, golden chandeliers, and a half-dozen antechambers on each side. In the checkered floor, patches of glowing tiles shone, reminiscent of stained glass windows. The moment the Phoenix entered, she could hear an unmistakable sound emanating from the side-rooms both near and far: the varied meowing of many cats.

Mokou let out a small whistle at the sight of the palace, keeping her hands in her pockets as she floats around, “Nice place. Seems like this is rather populated. Do you think cats are cursed too?” she asked aloud as she lazily rotated in the air. When Mokou floated over to check one of the palatial corridor's many antechambers, she discovered an oddly ordinary room. It looked rather like an ordinary living room, albeit with a pronounced rustic aesthetic, with wooden walls, animal fur rugs, and wall-mounted taxidermies. A pet gate, over which the Phoenix could fly effortlessly, was her only obstacle, and sure enough there were a half-dozen cats inside. Three were adults, and while the oldest cat (featuring a forest green color palette and an eyepatch) lurked toward the back watching her, the other two -a white-spotted female and a male with a brown hat plus colostomy bag- seemed to be the proud parents of a three-kitten litter. These kittens, for the most part, represented a mixture of their parents' traits, but one seemed to have a rounded mouth and a big, protruding tongue. Each feline featured a collar that offered its wearer's name at closer inspection: Vlady for the papa cat, Jitterbug for the mama cat, Fenrir for the old tom, then Stamper, Bzam, and Coarse Dirt for the kittens.

”I would not be surprised.” Sectonia said, not only confused at all the cats but their names and everything. Cats weren’t common on popstar. ”I do not see much use for this room outside of… another trophy room perhaps. Whoever runs this place seems to like to make trophies out of various things.”

“That seems to be true. They surely like their cats” Mokou comments, scanning the room for anything out of place… Ultimately coming to the conclusion that there was nothing truly of notice here aside from the large variety of cats.

Upon turning to leave, Mokou found herself confronted by somebody new in her way. A pale girl in a pastel blue sweater over a flowery white dressed stared at her with a stern, deadpan expression, as if her dark eyes could see straight through Mokou. "Satori Komeji," she declared out of the blue, answering the unspoken question of who she was. "This is the Palace of Earthly Spirits, my abode within the magic labyrinth of Winterhold College," she went on, perhaps trying to skip as much conversation as possible. "And yes, these are all my cats. They appreciate being understood, unlike most people. Which is why I don't have much interest in leaving. But I might have an idea or two that'd help you out." For how easily she seemed to discern what the Seekers wanted to know, though, the girl wasn't all that forthcoming.

Mokou blinks slightly, but slowly rotates back to an upright position. Surprisingly enough, her mind actually becomes somewhat streamlined for Satori’s mind reading… An act that indicated a lot of experience with one’s own memories, “Understandable, I can get the appeal of chilling in a place where folks don’t annoy you. Got plenty of experience like that” Mokou states, looking back at Sectonia, "Seen-”

“Nope,” Satori replied before Mokou could ask anything. “Nobody else has entered this place.” She crossed her arms, her expression neutral. It could easily be interpreted that she wanted as little to do with the newcomers as possible, but perhaps she just wanted to save time. After a moment, her eyes wandered to her cats, especially the old tomcat with the eyepatch. “Easy, Fenrir,” she told him. “They don’t want to hurt us. And its not like your bear traps would affect them, anyway.”

“She’s right. Well, it might slow me down. But that’s about it” the phoenix comments towards Fenrir, before letting out a small sigh, not even voicing her words towards Satori but instead directing her thoughts about the two moving on. There wasn’t much that concerned them anyway, and they had to regroup with the other individuals that got teleported around.

“Farewell, then.” Satori moved aside so that the Seekers could proceed down the hallway. After a moment, she ventured, “If any of your friends have pets, tell them to drop by. My cats could use someone new to play with.”

When the Seekers reached the far doorway, Sectonia bid her antlers push the door open for her. Sectonia and Mokou found themselves within a vaulted chamber smothered in tattered curtains and spider silk. Appallingly dark, it featured only a couple glass globes containing glowing fireflies and a faint spotlight from above for illumination. The floor itself appeared to be made of molded metal, or perhaps lustrous chitin, arranged in ceremonious circles and ridges. Fallen surgical tools could be found around toppled tables, wheelchairs and gurneys, with broken bindings that suggested involuntary captivity. Most striking of all was the enormous metal contraption that stood in the room’s center, a pair of arcs supporting a half-dozen giant spikes pointed inward, strung with dimly luminous silk and outrageously, surgically sharp. There seemed to be two wooden double doors to allow patients in and out. While before the chamber had been mostly empty with slight shifting of creatures, with the previous seeker having visited this chamber before many silk laden corpses rest around the room, some burnt, some shredded, most destroyed by what seemed to be machine gun fire, but most of all the chamber was eerily quiet.

The silence in the surgical chamber is oppressive, the darkness heavy. It suppressed the Seekers with an atmosphere that made them keep their voices down instinctively, though as far as they knew, there was nothing here that could hear them. There seemed to be no signs of life, yet something struck the intruders as oddly...furtive. Secretive. As if something in here didn't want to be seen, and with every moment that passed, this unseen presence grew more and more nervous, pushed closer to the breaking point. DON'T LOOK AT ME. DON'T LOOK AT ME. Finally, after a few ominous moments of absolute, unnerving silence, the shadows screeched at them. "HIEAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!" From the darkness, a smudge of a face loomed out at them, warped and weeping. Corrosive pitch-black paint dribbled from its misshapen maws, ready to be spat, and its hypnotic movements began to make the Seekers feel drowsy.

Mokou instinctively raises her hand to a snapping motion, only to grimace slightly when she remembered the anti-magical field that was preventing her from properly casting. But it only took a few moments for her to readjust, taking a small gamble as she closed her eyes and raised her hands, “Hey, chill. We’re just passing through.”

Sectonia meanwhile wasn’t looking for peace with such a hideous monster, and knowing the dampening magic field, pulled out her new ‘cursed’ relic and just unloaded on the new creature. Although she wasn’t happy with the huge mana drain the item caused nor its long windup, once the Last Prism had its beams converge it made quite the effective light laser to pierce the darkness and do some good damage to the dark creature until it sucked her mana dry, forcing her to swap to her swords and axe and keep low to regenerate her mana.

“... Or not. I suppose we’re doing this” Mokou says with a sigh, taking out her Pokeball and, in a flash of light, releasing Keine from its ball. The young Spheal looked around slightly before it locked onto the creature before them, almost seeming to panic and look back at Mokou, “It’s fine, I’m here. Let Sectonia take the lead but support with Rollout” Mokou commanded, earning a somewhat hesitant but brave nod from Keine as they curled into a ball and began to roll towards the dark creature. Unlike most of its cute rolls however, it began to pick up speed rather quickly, barreling down to smash into the target.

The shadow creature reacted fairly violently but unknown to Mokou he would’ve done this anyway since they had looked at him. While it looked like a mass of tendrils and other abominable features, its method of attack was unexpected for the two girls as instead of using its limbs to strike them, instead it spit globs of acidic paint at them. Meanwhile its tendrils moved in a bit of a hypnotic pattern, making Mokou and Sectonia a bit drowsy as they looked at him. While Sectonia thought a big blast of light magic would do massive damage to this creature, it was just normal damage while Mokou’s spheal did greatly reduced damage. Apparently this thing wasn’t made of shadow, but of paint and ink and bludgeoning attacks did almost nothing to it.

Mokou herself simply stepped to the side of the acidic projectile fired at her, her expression completely unimpressed as she took her hand out of her pocket again. She hadn’t used her magic before because of the antimagic from earlier, but in the moments that had passed she realized that no, the presence wasn’t actually around anymore. Thus there was nothing holding her back.

… And therefore, nothing stopping her from incinerating this monster.

With a snap of her fingers, a stream of fire erupted from Mokou’s hand, carving through the air and slamming into the monster of ink, causing it to instantly catch aflame and screech in agony, flailing wildly, its attack on the Seekers forgotten now that it was in the process of burning alive. It staggered away, trying to put out the flames, before it collapsed into a smoldering pile.

Sectonia was too big to dodge the projectile, but besides the dot damage ticking on her for a few moments it didn’t hurt too much. The creature, once lit on fire, seemed to go down pretty quickly with the smell of burning paint emanating from its smoldering corpse before it turned into a spirit. The two girls were still drowsy from its hypnosis, but that would wear off in time.

”Grab the spirit and let us continue on.” Sectonia said, Mokou being closer as she took a look at where the creature was and smashed one of the nearby operating tables in disgust… or maybe that was from something else? Hm…

Mokou watches Sectonia already move on, tilting her head slightly at the Queen’s random act of destruction, but otherwise not commenting on it, instead returning Keine to its Pokeball and picking up the spirit to hold onto for the time being.

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

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
31/80

Location: Location: The Midnight Walk - Cursed Armory
Wordcount: 559 (+1 exp)

Mokou’s first instinct upon waking up in this strange location was to flex her fingers, willing a spark of magic to ensure she was still good. The lack of a spark should have been a terrifying prospect for a woman who used magic constantly, but she only let out a light sigh as she slowly floated off the ground, hands in her pockets once more, “I’ll take this as a reminder to step forward myself if we happen to find any presumably magical structures. Random teleportation is an annoyance” she says as she looks around the armory, leaning in to inspect a nearby set of cloaks, “Looks like we ended up in an armory. Magical too, by the looks of it. Wouldn’t be surprised if these were cursed though” with that statement, the Phoenix immediately grabbed a hat from one of the stands, placing it on her head.

Item get!

Dark Artist's Hat (Cursed) - increases defense, magic damage, and magic critical chance while also decreasing mana costs. Also boosts the damage dealt by summons by a lot. This item is cursed, and equipping it inflicts the Disorder OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA. This Disorder increases physical damage taken, causes physical attackers to take damage and bleed due to the sufferer's spiky brittle bones, and when downed the sufferer receives two persistent random injuries that need dedicated treatment to heal

Mokou blinks slightly, adjusting the hat on her head while also flexing her hand, feeling the difference in her body. It was… A strange sensation, but while she was certain it was supposed to be unpleasant, it also felt… Refreshing. The Elixir meant that she never changed, and because of that, even this slight change was enough to BE something.

In a life spent unchanging, that was a rarity. Even if it was a curse.

“... Hm. Well, I can confirm that these are cursed. Not entirely awful curses though it seems, I think I’ll be keeping this hat” the phoenix comments as she places her hands in her pockets, floating around the armory while glancing at other items… Her eyes eventually being driven to a particular sword. While not a swordsman herself, her interest in the blade’s design led her to reach out her hand, grasping the hilt and pulling it out from its display.

Item get!

Sky Fracture (Cursed) - a long-handle sword forged from cobalt, bone, and magic. It is very high-quality and inflicts impressive damage in skilled hands. It can launch magical blue swords to deal equal damage from long range. This item is cursed, and equipping it inflicts the Disorder NECROPHAGE. This Disorder compels the sufferer to move toward any dead bodies they can see (within reason) or smell in order to eat them, ignoring everything else. Any body can be eaten in a single massive bite, and doing so will give All Stats Up for one minute in addition to healing a little

This time, there were no immediate signs of a curse taking event. Mokou was not stupid and knew that meant it was just more subtle, but regardless, with herself already cursed, she chose to just go along with it, resting the sword’s handle on her shoulder as she floated back to Sectonia, “Well, unless you want to do curse roulette, think it’s best we figure out how to get out of here. Would blow open the door, but-" Mokou snapped her fingers, her signature magic technique that resulted in no visible sparks of flame, "Guess they prepared for that. Unless you haven't tried the door yet. In which case-" the phoenix continues, walking over to the door and placing her hand on it to try and push it open.

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

A Chance Encounter

Pit - Level: 8 - Total EXP: 348/80
Grima - Level 5 (holding 1 level up) 46/50 EXP

Location: Esaka's High Tier, Forbidden Kingdom (Friday Morning)
Word Count: 2233 (+3 exp)

"Robin! Hey, Robin!"

Grima didn’t respond, at least at first. People calling out other people’s names was not something that concerned the Fell Dragon. ‘Robin’ was a name she was not familiar with, after all. But when the person calling it out continued to run up to her, Grima was forced to look up, glancing around and noticing that there was truly no other person they could be calling out to.

“... I believe you have me mistaken for someone else,” Grima states calmly, placing her coffee mug down on the table in front of her, putting on a friendly facade as she took note of the stench of the boy in front of her. If the clear wings were not an obvious enough sign, then the scent of divine favor radiating from them was a sign that this was, at worst, a servant of the gods. The fact that they mistook her for someone else was a curiosity though, “Regardless, is there something you need?”

Pit faltered a little, but since she didn't seem to immediately brush him off the angel took that as invitation to stay (though to be fair, he likely would have regardless). He squinted his eyes and tilted his head at "Robin."

"No, I'm pretty sure you're Robin. The girl Robin! You got the coat and pigtails and everything!" Though he wasn't as close with her as he was with other 'Smashers,' she was exactly how he remembered her being. He didn't believe this was a case of mistaken identity. "It's Pit! You know, veteran adventuring angel who's just as cool as Link? Don't you remember me?"

He smiled widely at her as though that would jog her memory, but after a moment his eyes shifted to the woman's own. Unsurprisingly, they glowed with the evidence of Galeem's influence. "...or maybe you don't."

“No, I do not ‘remember’ you. Nor do I know of any ‘Link’. I am sure that I would remember someone like you,” Grima states with a small shrug, her gaze steady as she looked back at the angel, “Odd that this ‘Robin’ sounds like me. I, however, am… Grima.” the Fell Vessel explains.

"Grima?" Pit questioned, confused, while at the same time a voice in his head echoed him. Grima...?

After a beat though, Pit smiled in a way that was just a little embarrassed, but in a good way. "Heheh, someone like me huh?"

He fluffed his feathers proudly at what appeared to be a complete stranger (who dressed identically to someone he knew) recognizing his strengths at a glance. Or maybe his looks. Or his can-do attitude? He had a lot of good points after all.

"Sorry, you just look exactly like a friend of mine."

I don't think you're wrong, Pit. Technically, I mean. It may be more accurate to say that right now, only part of her is the Robin you know.

...I'm not following.

Remember a while ago when we talked about parallel universes and different timelines?

Yeah, and what the point in doing anything was if there was always going to be another version of you that did the opposite thing and–

Not that part. In Robin's world, they already had to deal with at least two timelines. One where the incarnation of an evil dragon's spirit into their fated vessel failed, which is where the Robin we know comes from... and one where it succeeded, and their body and soul is ruled by that same spirit. The Fell Dragon - Grima.

It was only a scant few seconds between Pit's apology and then a sudden, surprised outburst. "Wait, Fell Dragon?!"

His angel senses had been picking up on something, but he'd thought it was just Robin's unique magic signature. With that revelation, the aura of the woman in front of him now seemed a few shades darker.

Grima’s faux friendliness evaporated practically in an instant, her eyes narrowing slightly at Pit’s outburst, “... Seems like you caught on. That saves me the trouble of beating around the bush, though I suppose it may have been better had you not realized,” Grima comments, picking up her coffee again and taking a casual drink, “Yes, Fell Dragon. Though I am hardly your enemy. In fact, I believe you happen to be part of the Seekers of Light, correct? In that case, our goals actually align. I too have been dealing with the current leaders of this city. A certain Lucky Chloe has already been dealt with and shouldn’t interrupt the rest of your plans.”

It was one whiplash after another it seemed. Pit hardly had time to even process that Grima was an enemy before she denied it. He floundered before finding his voice again. "Uh, yeah, I'm their captain! But how did you know about us?"

Neither Captain Falcon nor Bowser Jr. had mentioned seeing Robin, or as it turned out, Grima's vessel. Not to mention the fact that Grima was still gleaming with the firelight of Galeem, a fact that he'd initially come over to remedy. He regretted not freeing Ken back when they'd met the man a few weeks ago, and he wasn't going to pass up a friendly face again if he could help it. So... how had that turned into all this?!

"And how do you even know about our 'goals,' I thought it was impossible for people still brain washed to even think about that stuff!"

Interesting... Lady Palutena chimed in. It felt to Pit as though her divine gaze was leaning forward for a better look. Though she probably means defeating the Four Kings. It is pretty much every person in the city's goal after all, right?

“It’s simple really: I overheard it at the Wine-Cup Hold meeting. You wish to overthrow the Four Kings, and so do I. It’s a matter of common grounds-”

And there was one more thing, arguably the most important thing in fact. As he kept talking, Pit had gotten more excitable, until he slammed his palms onto the table Grima was seated at.

"Plus you're apparently possessing the body of my friend! How does that not make you a bad guy?!" Of course saying that was a little hypocritical considering that Pit had actually done the exact same thing before, intentionally even, but it had been for good reason and temporary. Still, the conviction in his stare may have faltered slightly as he recalled his own soul-jacking incident.

Grima’s earlier comment was quickly interrupted by Pit slamming the table, not quite jolting the vessel but causing her to blink slightly before sighing, “The commonality of this vessel and your ‘friend’ is irrelevant. They were not them, of that I can be certain. Even if they were hypothetically, what would it matter? This vessel was made from the start to be mine. I’m sure even your friend behind those eyes can agree on the value of a proper vessel,” the Fell Dragon stated, her own gaze locking onto Pit’s, “Don’t think I haven’t sensed them. The scent of the divine is something I know far too well.”

Though they were just words they did startle Pit, who drew back slightly. "Wh- you can sense Lady Palutena?"

Veeery interesting!

If any of the other deities that Pit had spoken to since reuniting with Palutena had also sensed the presence of the Goddess of Light, none of them had mentioned it. So far they had been content in the knowledge that with Galeem's influence dominating the world, the telepathic conversations between angel and goddess would be difficult, if not impossible to intrude upon. Perhaps it was then that they just hadn't encountered someone with powerful enough magic, or force of will, to be able to do it. But Palutena pushed that train of thought to the side for the moment, addressing Grima's claim on vessels.

She's not wrong. Like Amaterasu's reincarnation into a physical body, or my Power of Transformation so that humans can comprehend my form, embodying a vessel is just another way for gods to interact with the world. And a bad fit might be more trouble than it's worth, she said, her tone scholarly.

Then... she's telling the truth?

If she had been physically present, the goddess might have glanced down at her ward then. She of all people knew full well that naivety was literally built into Pit's being, and the hope that Robin really wasn't stuck disembodied and helpless as he’d once been was now fighting with the lessons he'd learned about not trusting others at face value.

About no one else being in her body but her? It's a little frustrating, but even I can't tell.

So they were at a bit of an impasse.

Pit squinted at Grima again, his expression something between glaring and scrutinizing. After a few long moments he bit his lip, and a few more later he crossed his arms.

"...okay, fine! She said you're not wrong. I'll believe you... for now!" he said, clearly conflicted over his own decision. "So you just happen to look like someone we know, overheard some of us meeting, and want to join up in taking down the Guardians, is that it?"

“The Guardians? I’m afraid I don’t know those ones, but if they are in leagues with the Four Kings, then it would be only natural to oppose them.” That was a half truth. She didn’t quite know the Guardians, true, but eliminating them would only depend on their status and threat to her resurrection, “Overall, yes. As I said, our goals align in this matter.”

Right, she still didn't know what Guardians were, or even what the Seekers of Light's actual goal in Esaka was. Pit pursed his lips, evidently falling into silent thought again. This time was much shorter before he nodded once and set Grima with a determined stare. "Alright. If you wanna team up with us, there's an initiation you gotta go through."

Are you sure you want to de-story her?

Honestly, I don't know. But if even a King of Evil like Ganondorf can work with us, then a Fell Dragon probably can too, right? And... if she's lying about possessing an empty body, maybe freeing her will bring Robin back.

Hehe, how astute of you, Pit! Normally I would recommend purging an existence like Grima's, but in this case? I agree with you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say.

Then Pit smiled at Grima, the kind of expression that declared a challenge. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much!"

“... An initiation?” Grima asked, her eyebrow rising slightly, before she rolled her eyes and stood, “Fine, and what would this initiation entail exactly?” the angel said it wouldn’t ‘hurt much’, which Grima knew was likely a lie. She would wager a guess that it would be testing one’s ability to fight, in which case… She would be all too willing to oblige.

"We're gonna see how strong you are," he told her, which wasn't technically a lie even if it wasn't the point of the 'initiation.' "Come on, I know a place we can use for it!"

Neither the weather nor the hour kept Esaka's citizens from going about their business throughout the city. Today was still only the second round of Pool's matches, but tonight would mark the start of the weekend and the start of true hype surrounding the tournament series. That fact energized everyone from common folks at their daily jobs to participants doing morning training under the light rainfall. There had been one place Pit had visited before that was mostly empty though, and as he led the two of them up into the High Tier he found that that was still the case. The street ring wedged in the blind spot between the tier's edge and tall buildings, abandoned in favor of sparring pits in better locations or with more pleasing views but not yet repurposed. The same place that Pit had fought and freed Ashrah.

The roofs of the buildings around them did little to stop the rain, but at least it was still only a drizzle. Pit shook the wetness from his wings before holding his hands out to display the area, as uninspiring as it was.

"Nobody should bother us here, I think... not that it's gonna take long."

Grima looks around the chosen arena, her eyes taking in the unremarkable scenery, “Hm. Quiet and out of the way. Very well, you wish to see my strength, so I shall abide,” the Fell Vessel commented as she walked into the abandoned ring, drawing her sword and twirling it in her hand, a bit of smugness creeping into her smile, “Whenever you are ready to be crushed, draw your weapons.”

Fighting and freeing people on a small scale like this wasn't all that bad, Pit thought, as he mirrored Grima. He'd been doing a lot of it these last couple of days, but when in the city of fighting, why not? The Palutena Bow manifested in his hands with a small golden sparkle, and without a string it appeared to be a long, two-sided blade - unmistakably divine in nature.

Pit was unbothered by the confidence in her tone, because there was one way and one way only that this would play out.

"Hehehe, you're about to be in for a rude awakening!"

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

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
30/80

Location: Location: The Midnight Walk - Cave of the Forlorn
Wordcount: 136 (+1 exp)

The slow travel through the caverns was something that Mokou, unfortunately, couldn’t exactly sleep through. Not only did the Drilldozer alert the various bugs to their location, but it also prevented the phoenix from closing her eyes for any meaningful amount of time, causing her to let out a sigh before sitting back up. Kept true to her word however, and didn’t leave the Stagecoach’s side, instead firing a flurry of feathers at whatever bugs dared to come close to Sandalphon’s resting place. For all their numbers, they were still easy pickings for the just as numerous projectiles that Mokou could unleash. A few of the larger and more durable types managed to get somewhat closer, but most of the bigger threats were focused more on the noisy Drilldozer than the stagecoach and its fiery protector.

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

Fujiwara no Mokou

Level 8 (holding 2 level ups)
29/80

Location: Location: The Midnight Walk - Cave of the Forlorn
Wordcount: 210 (+1 exp)

Mokou calmly placed Sandalphon within the stagecoach, once the vehicle had gotten itself properly upright, “No idea on if it’s contagious or not. I suppose once any of you start turning to stone, let the rest of us know. Not something I have to worry about” the phoenix comments with a shrug, floating out of the stagecoach before ultimately sitting atop it, “Shame one of my old acquaintances isn't here. They’d hear ‘disease’ and have a cure for it in no time. Alas, medicine never interested me”.. The white haired girl then turns her attention to the vast cavern before them, a small frown on her face, “I’ll stay around here for a bit, make sure that nothing tries to sneak up on Sandalphon here. Holler if any of you need help with pest control.”

With that, she leans back, laying down on top of the stagecoach and closing her eyes, folding her arms just above her head. She was resting, but she was also capable of easily keeping track of the area around her even with her eyes closed. And with her danmaku, it would be short work for her to take down practically any bugs that tried to approach.