Lugubrious

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

As of today, we've entered the Metaverse. I'm sure everyone's excited to get their Personas, and we definitely will, but I have a method in mind for the madness. It's going to take a little bit for the Warlords to dispatch detachments to track down their targets, so with one exception, those characters with the Renewal route will go through their awakenings first. You'll be drawn to the territories of your Shadows as we try to escape. Once we're out of the prison we'll run into the other Warlords, and not necessarily one by one. This will also give everyone on the Rebellion route more of a chance to make their Warlords.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Barney Rynsburger

4:15 PM

When Barney seated himself he scarcely felt the bench beneath him. Although it wasn’t especially cold out today, he still felt numb. It was hard to think straight. A buzz occupied his mind, not too unlike the sensation that followed a casual drink or two, but this numbness held no comfort. Rather than oblivious he felt painfully aware, but even though Barney knew that he ought to be getting himself together in order to think up a solution for this mess, like a rational adult, his every attempt got crowded out by that cruel, nagging buzz. “Calm down,” he whispered aloud. “Calm down. It’s not over. It’s…” He trailed off. The words rang laughably hollow. How wretched could he get, trying to console himself like this? That wasn’t something a strong person would do. Nobody could ever respect someone who needed to tell himself everything was okay. Barney looked around, although even as he checked for other people, he didn’t know what he wanted to see. Did he want to make sure nobody saw him being a loser? Did he want someone to see him and feel compelled to extend compassion? Why was he fixated on such stupid things to begin with!? Seething quietly, the young man shook his head to try and chance away his runaway thoughts. He needed to quit throwing himself a pity party and think about the future, already!

The future. His future. Idiot that he was, he thought he might be able to control it. In the end, all he’d managed to do was sink himself further into hell. The existence that lay before him could scarcely be called a life. How many years, how many decades would it take to repay everyone he owed? How could he last all that time without family, friends, or love? Where do I go from here?

Barney expected no answer, and received none. But in the end, he did know what came next. Just rotting here sounded pretty good, but it was never really an option. Tonight’s shift at the deli, Best Wurst, began at six. Less than two hours from now. He needed to do some homework, clean up, get dressed, eat something, and go. Of course he didn’t want to, but there was no good reason not to. No actual sickness ailed him and no emergency matters occupied him. In fact, he needed money now more than ever. To slack off now would be tantamount to giving up on his life. And even if he didn’t go, sooner or later hunger or thirst or something would force him back to reality. It was just a matter of time.

Better, he thought, not to let himself get into such a sorry state. Things were hard enough without him gimping himself like this. ”All in my head,” he murmured. Everyone had their troubles, just like everyone had their responsibilities. He wasn’t special. In fact, the only difference was how much of a baby he was being. It’s not a big deal. As long as he could still do what he needed to, he could make it through. Come what may, he would survive. I can handle it. Just buck up and get it done. Barney took deep breaths, working the brisk November air through his system. With each heave of his chest the muscles knotted by nerves and exercise could release a little of their tension. He sagged limply down across his bench until he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling as the cracks’ heat warmed him from below. The knots in the wood above stared back down at him, taking in his listless expression as he considered the other matter at hand. No matter how he teased his brain trying to explain the cracks away, he could arrive at only one conclusion. “I’m losing my doggone mind,” he moaned. “Ugh. It’s all in my head. All in my…?”

Someone was here. Barney looked over, startled from his reverie for the second time that day. Did someone follow him from the student center after he made a scene? He studied his visitor’s appearance, noting the long black hair with orange dyed strips. Mostly black clothes too. A goth? After just a moment he felt sure that he didn’t recognize this guy, either from the student center or from the university at large. That didn’t exactly surprise him, with BWU being a big school and all. What did surprise him was that Dakota seemed to be recording, not the bearded layabout, but the cracks in the floor. The realization jerked Barney fully awake. “Wait a second,” he blurted out, swinging his legs onto the floor as he rose into a sitting position on his bench. “You can see those too?! I thought I was seein’ things!”

The two didn’t get long to ponder the revelation. Barney’s eyes drifted to another incoming person, and this one he did recognize. That girl again! How bizarre that he would run into her outside of class twice in one day. Then again, judging by the way the redhead stared at the cracks, maybe this wasn’t coincidence. She hung back from the two dudes already inside the gazebo, indecisive, but as Mila considered her options yet another student showed up. His tailored appearance and severe bearing gave Barney the instant impression of someone from a totally different walk of life, but here he was, all the same. It took just a moment for Caelum to arrive at the same conclusion that Barney did a few moments ago, and the rich boy made a beeline for Dakota to make sure that he was, in fact, recording the cracks. With his head spinning, Barney only half-listened to the exchange that followed. Other people could see the impossible cracks. A bunch of them! They could feel their heat, too. He wasn’t crazy after all!

That, of course, begged a different question. If these cracks weren’t figments of his imagination...what were they?

For now he couldn’t fathom. He could only watch as a girl with long black hair arrived exhausted from running, small and skinny enough that Barney mistook her for a middle schooler. When she felt a few sets of eyes on her she looked like she wanted to melt through the floor, a true shrinking violet. Not even a minute later another stranger appeared behind her, albeit one a lot more attention-grabbing. Tall, scrappy-looking, and recently wounded, he cut a bizarre figure in undersized athletic wear. He ended up seeming more filthy than fearsome, however, and even if he opted to stagger toward a bench rather than start punching people, his odor hit Barney like a haymaker. He sat, released an nigh-unintelligible whine, and went limp.

Barney offered him a look of empathy. “Poor guy. The homeless really have it rough.” As a result of the spectacle he nearly missed another arrival, another shortie, but this one in janitorial attire. The slouching stranger seemed oddly familiar, like someone Barney had seen before but not committed to memory. Either way, he couldn’t get much of a read, and his attention quickly shifted. Next to wander into the impromptu pier-bound pow-wow was none other than Harriette, seemingly by accident, but at this point Barney was having his doubts. “This is too weird,” he muttered, thinking aloud. When his acquaintance’s russet eyes turned his way he shot her a look saying he was just as confused as she was, shrugging as he did so. “Did we all follow the cracks…?”

Another guy, a fairly normal-looking fellow with a youthful bent to him, but as he gave vent to a fragment of his pent-up stress Barney found himself otherwise engaged. Since he first arrived the cracks had remained totally static, bafflingly anomalous but otherwise not that concerning. Out of nowhere there came a loud snapping sound, so sudden that Barney jumped a third time, as the entire web of cracks widened. With his annoyance at getting scared again buried by acute alarm Barney jumped to his feet, only to sway dangerously. The ground felt unstable beneath his feet, as if the pier were about to collapse, but it wasn’t just that. Where before the narrow cracks held only darkness, now there seemed to be some kind of light, a fiery orange glow. In that dull light he could see movement, like clouds of tumbling smoke. Barney noticed black particles drifting upward from the cracks, and as he reached out dumbly to touch one he realized his vision was swimming. He felt dizzy...woozy...he fought to steady himself. But in the end, he fell.

---

Chapter Two - Intolerable Cruelty

When Barney hit the ground it knocked both the wind and the wooziness right out of him. “Huuhh!” he gasped, curling up as he rolled onto his back. “Oww, jeez…” he held himself still for a few moments until the diaphragm spasm cleared. Only then did he finally open his eyes, but the clear sight of a dark, cloudy sky brought him confusion rather than relief. “It’s...night?” After all those cracks he could believe that the gazebo fell apart, and attribute the rest to stress, but he didn’t feel like he lost consciousness for even a moment, let alone a few hours. Yet that shadowy sky extended as far as the eye could see, a tumultuous black-gray swirl whose underbelly shone a smoldering orange. A storm must have rolled in, he decided after a moment. With brows furrowed in bafflement he rose, first into a sitting position, then to hit feet. At that point it took him about a picosecond to realize that the sky was the least of his concerns.

He wasn’t at Barclay Waterfront University anymore. Hell, after looking around for a minute, he might not even be on earth. He stood not on Stoutland Pier but on what appeared to be a heavy-duty dock, and when he looked down to where the ocean should be he found only a bubbling, shifting, oil-dark mass that extended from the shore all the way to the horizon. Though at first glance pitch black, it shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, like motor oil on a highway after a rain, as its surface constantly changed. As he watched Barney thought he caught glimpses of limbs and faces, human and inhuman, forming and unforming, a limitless and amorphous expanse that boggled the imagination. Afraid, not of drowning but of what might lurk in that sea of souls, Barney backed away from the edge. When he turned in the direction that the college should be, however, he found a sight still more fantastic.

It was like something out of the movie. The dock connected directly to what looked like a gargantuan jail, shaped like an angular magnet against the waterfront. Immense citadel walls, topped with coils of barbed wire the size of subway tunnels, boxed in a prison compound at least as big as the university itself, if Barney had to guess. Octagonally roofed guard towers interspersed the walls at relative citadels, shining down two harsh spotlights apiece across the entire complex, no doubt searching for escapees and intruders. The jailhouse itself shared the walls’ magnet shape, a single curved building with at least five stories. Even from here Barney could see the light eking out from the cells’ barred windows. Also like the walls the jailhouse bore a needlessly brutal, almost demonic appearance, with rows of spikes and even what looked like gargoyles. Closer toward the middle stood a similarly arrayed curve of smaller buildings throughout what could only be the prison yard, and though things moved through those yards Barney could not tell what, and he shuddered. There were a couple other more miscellaneous structures tucked into corners here and there, and Barney’s eyes lingered on what looked like a cathedral for a few moments. In the center of it all, however, stood a courthouse of immaculate beauty. Its pristine white pillars and domed roof stood tall above its frightful surroundings, but beneath the dome of its central tower the glassless windows revealed the biggest, brightest searchlight of them all. Like a giant, lemon-yellow eye it roved around the jail, nothing escaping its gaze.

And if that prison wasn’t terrifying and awesome by itself, a glance beyond the prison’s walls would provide the barest, smoke-veiled peek at a smoky metropolitan cityscape ravaged by war. Into the sky rose the hazy suggestions of streams of wreckage and debris, dreamlike in their surrealism, before they dove back to the earth in unfathomably huge loops of constant motion.

Barney staggered, mouth agape, barely standing. When he took a step his footfall created a pinkish splash on the ground, as if he’d stepped in a phantom puddle, but the stain disappeared just as quickly. In disbelief he looked between the others scattered around the dock, clinging to the only stuff that made any sense. “What is this?!” he breathed, his panic only kept at bay by his certainty that this couldn’t possibly, under any circumstance, be real. “Some kind of nightmare?” He stamped his foot a couple times, watching the splashes appear and disappear, and only barely managed to suppress a crazed giggle. “Ohhh, man. I better not be stuck here. I’ve gotta get to work...I’ve gotta be there on time, or the boss is gonna freak…” Shaking his head, he looked again, trying to find a way out.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

@TruthHurts22 Since you have fulfilled your end of the deal we discussed in DMs and made a good opening post, I will admit you and your character to the RP. You can post the contract in the Characters tab, and welcome to Soldiers of Fortune. I hope that our collaboration will be a fruitful one.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

See you guys are still accepting, so I was hoping to throw my hat in the ring here. It's been a while since I've been around, I'm sure some of you already present might remember me, but I still wanna take the chance at playin' again. I have (at least, what I think to be) a pretty solid character idea... if Lug'll allow me to join, of course!

@TruthHurts22

We are indeed still accepting in general, but given our particular track record I'm afraid I must decline. I wish you better luck elsewhere!

World of Light

Tora, Poppi, and Big Band

Level 9 Tora (47/90) Level 8 Poppi (117/80) Level 4 Big Band (6/40)
Location: Al Mamoon Northwest - Obelisk Temple
Primrose’s @Yankee, Fox’s @Dawnrider, Yoshitsune and Sora’s @Rockin Strings
Word Count: 1220 and 577

Though he’d only just avoided a surprise Night Ode from the newly-arrived Primrose, Dante seemed determined not to give either Tora or Poppi a singular moment to breathe. He left the dancer for Earthquake to deal with and rushed the pair down. A barrage of pistol fire buffeted Tora’s Mech Arms as Dante ran in, and when he got into range closed the distance that remained with a Stinger. The point of the demon killer’s sliding thrust went right between the Nopon’s high-tech cestus, and only a quick ether barrier from his fast-acting partner prevented a stab between his eyes.

“Too close!” he yelled in surprise, but before he could even try to wrench the Rebellion from Dante’s hands the sword shrank back into the hilt and transformed into Osiris, a scythe of angelic silver. It swooped in from the side in a crescent arc, striking the Mech Arms again and again in quick succession. Tora pulled back with his left wing while continuing to defend with his right for a counterpunch, but instead of slugging Dante in the stomach, his enemy interrupted his attack for a backward dodge, and Tora’s blow swept through empty air. In the moment he overextended himself Dante struck back, hooking the blade of his scythe around Tora’s own weapon to yank him off his feet. “Meeeh!” he cried as he got swung overhead and into the ground on Dante’s other side, separated from his blade companion.

With her Masterpon in trouble, Poppi jetted into action. She zoomed forward with a jet-propelled spinning crescent kick, followed by a roundhouse into afterburner side kick. Only the round connected, and even then just into Dante’s shoulder, and as he dipped out of the way of Poppi’s last attack he grabbed her by one of her metal twintails and rammed the barrel of his shotgun, Revenant into her back. The blast of demonic shrapnel blew through Poppi’s chest, stunning her momentarily even as her ether furnace began to repair the damage. Without Mercy Dante unleashed his scythe’s Prop technique, juggling Poppi on its blade.

Tora leaped up from behind him with his Mech Arms raised for a double overhead smash, his face an uncharacteristic mask of rage, but Dante deftly dropped Poppi in favor of a quick elbow to Tora’s chin. As he turned his weapon changed from angelic scythe to demonic fists, and Tora only barely moved his weapons in time to block the dizzying Slam that squished him into a sitting position against the ground. Dante charged Eryx for an uppercut, sure that it would be the finishing blow, but Tora had other ideas. With a cry he forsook his guard and unleashed a sideways blast from the tip of one Mech Arm. The burst of force spun him like a top, allowing the other arm to sweep his foe’s legs. Dante belted out a colorful swear as he went down. Tora sprang up, but rather than press his luck he ran to collect Poppi. The decision spared him a blow from Beast’s hammer from behind, and with her sprinted away from both enemies toward the back of the dungeon.

They turned to see Dante on his feet, dusting off his coat, and Beast next to him. Though panting from exertion already, Tora did his best to stabilize Poppi on her feet. “Poppi! You okay!?”

Bit by bit, the orange glow of converted ether mended the bullet holes in her chassis. The blade gave a slow nod. “Yes, Poppi self-repair routines online. Still, Poppi think mode change good idea. Mech Arms not suited for this fight.”

Dante gave a cocky grin, enjoying the lull in the battle. “Grasp at whatever straws you like, toots. You’ve got nothing on me.”

His casual manner infuriated Tora to no end. “Meh, meh, meh! Buttface jerkypon very sore loser!”

“You didn’t beat me,” Dante told him, shaking his head. “And you never will.” He rested Rebellion on his shoulder as he waited for Tora and Poppi to make their move.

In the brief standoff that followed, Tora and Poppi stood firm with defenses raised, ready to pivot toward either opponent. Even Dante was taking the chance to catch a quick breath. But in that space the duo caught a glimpse of the obnoxious Earthquake menacing their friend Primrose. Made to look tiny and frail against the mountain of angry meat in front of her, the dancer seemed hard-pressed. Tora couldn't forsake her--neither as a defender nor a hero. "Primrose!" he called, afraid enough for his friend that he was willing to risk a charge right through the opposition to protect her.

Primrose thrust a hand in the direction of Tora's voice, a palm held out to signal he not move towards her. "I've got this," she told him, staring down Earthquake with a glare to match his leer. She didn't seem intimidated, instead she was almost emboldened by the large man's taunts.

Her confidence reassured her friends completely. “Good show, Rose-Rose!” Tora called back. “Mess that fattypon up! As for us….” He gave Dante his best death stare. “It time we stop messing around. Poppi QT Pi, let’s go!” His companion shifted to her final form, Variable Saber at the ready.

Dante did not look impressed. “That one again? You two swing that thing around like a kid trying to hit a piñata. If you’re still playin’ games, I might as well finish this now.”

“Things turn out different this time!” Tora grinned. In smaller voice he addressed Poppi. “This guy too fast for fighting normal way, meh. Need fight together!”

A worried look took over Poppi’s face. “But if we do that, Poppi can’t shield Masterpon. And besides, we have only one weapon.”

“Not so,” Tora whispered. “Listen…”

Just a moment passed before Dante got annoyed. He summoned another new weapon, Kablooey, and with a shout of “Alright, enough yapping!” fired a dart of demonic energy between Tora and Poppi. They recognized what it must be in an instant and split up just before Dante detonated it. Smoke and stone shards flew as the explosion went off, shaking the whole dungeon.

The next moment, however, the two burst from the haze, Poppi boosting forward while holding Tora by one swing. She spun around to launch him at the opposition, saber blade extended, in a blue laser whirlwind. Beast rolled to the side while Dante jumped over, and as Tora lost his momentum the demon killer brought out Ophion to snatch his opponent where he stood and reel him in. “Try blocking this, tons of fun!” His weapon transformed to Arbiter, and its cruel axeblade came down to cleave through Tora’s desperate attempt to slash him and split the Nopon like kindling.

Instead Arbiter came down on the Drill Shield, barely leaving a mark. “What? You had…!” Before Dante could say another word the shield’s center opened to shoot out a Boom Biter. The explosion went off point-blank, blasting Dante away. Beast charged in to take over, but Dante wasn’t done just yet. As he flew Poppi Alpha rocketed up behind him, and with the full weight of this form’s armor behind it, drove her elbow into the demon killer’s spine. “Poppi returning favor,” she said flatly, raising her claymore above her head in a reverse grip. “Regret in next life.”

---

Level Upgrade - Big Band

New Power Acquired: Even the Sky Ain't the Limit - In a marvelous display of ASG's technological prowess, Band can reconfigure his lower body into a rocket and blaze through the skies. He can't sustain it for too long, and he can barely turn after blasting off, but it's still an effective tool for travel. For slower, more precision flying he must deploy the inner rockets into Timpany Drive position, although the strain of flying like this gives him only a few seconds for maneuvering

Although he planned to corral Es toward the bottom-right corner of the dungeon in an effort to keep her away from the other fights unfolding throughout the place, Big Band’s adversary practically did the job for him. The short swordswoman displayed no emotion one way or the other, but if she preferred the one-on-one fight he was aiming at, that was fine by him. That just left the matter of actually fighting her, which was a task much easier said than done. Es came to the table with a strong hand, the complete package of speed, strength, and even reach given the size of her zweihander. Though she enhanced her swordplay with just one magical trick, it soon became apparent as they traded blows why she needed no other. The magical crests that her sword left in its wake threw off the rhythm of the fight completely, making her that much harder to deal with.

But if she expected the detective to be easy pickings, she would be disappointed. Any big, slow fighter who stood the test of time invariably piled up experience fighting smaller, quicker enemies, and with Band about as big and slow as they came, he was just the man for the job. He wouldn’t stand still and allow himself to be pressured into an endless vortex of defense until she finally slipped through. Instead he took the fight to her. Brass Knuckles allowed him to armor through careless hits and make her think twice about just throwing things out. His five thousand pound dropkick provided a lot of threat, both when Es tried to jump in over his Brass Knuckles or Giant Steps, and because he could spring forward after landing to close the distance. When inevitably put on defense, he tactically opted to take hits that he knew couldn’t lead to full combos just to get back to neutral. Being tough had its advantages.

Of course, he still only got a couple hits in. But when you’re Big Band, a few hits is all it takes.

There! Though slashed, battered, and bleeding, Band saw his chance. After managing to land a combo, Es went for a quick and dirty reset to start it all over again. Her mistake was to approach from the air. He’d been saving a special something from the outset for just such an occasion; she had no idea what she was in for. “Beat!” As he angled himself upward, halves of an enormous tambourine shot from the front of his coat to clap shut on Es’ torso like a vice, and her overhead cleave failed to connect. The clamor of the cymbals rang out across the dungeon, filling the air with jingle jangles as they filled Es with Sound Stun. “...Extend!”

She fell limply in front of him, and Big Band got to work. A magnificent array of instruments, from the triangles and trombones to the clarinet, oboe, and organ pipes, deployed to hammer his foe in harmony. The brassy beatdown culminated in an Air Mail Special, and after the saxophone uppercut popped Es skyward, Band finished things off in style. “You’re gonna get beat!” A ring of six rocket-powered timpanis deployed from his undercarriage, and with each smack of a drum a soundblast both blasted Es and sent him higher into the air. All too soon it came to an end and the two fell back to earth. Band landed on his feet, but Es did not.

World of Light

Team Mao

Location: Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Mao’s @Potemking, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Joker, Fox, Necronomicon, Braum

When Ciella’s riptide tore across the battlefield, the furious scrap between Mao and the Dragonborn came to a momentary lull. Now that the fury of Mao’s opponent had subsided it could no longer sustain his offense, and fatigue took its toll on him along with his wounds. Nevertheless the Nord warrior composed himself to jump over the wave and deliver a falling attack. Gravity could make up for his waning strength in bringing his sword down like a sideways guillotine blade to split Mao straight down the middle. In a most unexpected turn, however, he never got the chance to try it. Rather than just evade the wave, the opportunistic Overlord used it to his advantage to propel himself forward at high speed.

All of a sudden the Dragonborn found Mao right in his face, a whole host of weapons and magic much too close for comfort. With no other options he planted his foot to withstand the raging water and resolved to bet his life on his shield. He aimed a single thrust at Mao’s head before committing to defense, but the demon’s scalpel narrowly deflected it. Simultaneously the buzz saw bit into its surface, kicking up smoke and sawdust, but Mao had a better idea for overcoming the shield than pushing his saw to the point of getting stuck.

His magically-charged fist struck the shield in an explosive blast of power. Its cracked almost in half, but even worse for the Dragonborn than that, the force carried through and bodily smashed him into the riptide. Meanwhile, thanks to the law of equal and opposite reactions, Mao popped up safely over the wave. When he landed he could watch the Dragonborn roll to a stop near to the top edge of the arena, the shattered remains of his shield still strapped to his arm. Though battered, bleeding, and close to the brink, the Warrior picked himself up with a Herculean effort. He gripped his sword with both hands and walked forward to meet Mao once again. He possessed no more magic, and no other weapons--save one. A single talent that could turn the tides. “Zuun…Haal Viik!” His shout rolled forward to strike and disarm Mao, pulling his weapons from his grasp. The axe hurled away, and his machine limbs hung limply. Despite his wounds the Dragonborn broke into a jog, headed into the ultimate round. “Your fist of flame against my steel. Let us end this!”

In the top-right quarter of the colosseum, though, Ciella’s riptide barely made an impact. It just made for the cherry on top of the pile of things Jesse had to deal with, while Oriendi hopped over without issue and it finally petered out before it reached Mordecai. Still, Jesse had been on the back foot long enough to get a grasp on what her foes could do, and it was past time she struck back. With the disruption provided by Sectonia’s magic she launched her own offensive. It began by letting loose a Shatter shot that clipped Mordecai’s hawk and forced it to beat a hasty retreat to its master. Jesse found her angle and hurled a jagged length of floor forward. The flying spear elicited a squeal of panic from Orendi, who scrambled to get out of its way, before hurtling on to force a prompt relocation from Mordecai.

While the sniper got to a new safe spot, taking the chance to reload, Orendi found refuge behind a pillar and readied her magic. Cackling to herself she positioned its area of effect perfectly for Jesse to walk right into as she rounded the column. All she needed to do was wait. After a moment, however, Orendi got the impression she was waiting a little longer than she ought to. Just then there came a terrible wrenching noise to her seven o’clock, and Orendi’s head snapped in that direction to see a chunk of the pillar headed her way. A shriek tore from her throat as she threw herself to her right, barely avoiding the projectile and nearly landing on her face.

When she rose she spotted none other than Jesse, having circled around the other direction. “Guh! Whyaren’tyouonFIRErightnow?!” All four hands shot up to unleash a fusillade of black-purple magic bolts, but Jesse had the upper hand. A concussive flashbang blew through her attack, knocked the imp head over heels, and slid her through the sand for a couple dozen feet before she came to a stop. Jesse approached for a closer shot, but as she leveled the barrel of her Service Weapon Orendi looked up with a wild grin on her scarred face. A row of black rings appeared between her and Jesse, the prelude to an incinerating magical beam. “Heeheehee, gotcha! Showmethemguts!”

In the moment she spent talking, however, before her magic came out, Jesse made a simple observation. While staring down the barrel, so to speak, she could so that the very rings that Orendi used for targeting perfectly framed the caster’s face. A shot aimed through them couldn’t possibly miss, and Jesse didn’t. The Shatter blast rang out, and with a groan Orendi’s head plopped down. One down, one to go.

Speaking of which, a sniper bullet smashed into her right shoulder. In his haste to try and stop her Mordecai had fired off a less-than-optimal shot, and his weapon still did a bunch of damage. With Jesse’s barrier newly restored by the crystals collected from Orendi, however, it was far from catastrophic. Mordecia’s bird circled overhead once more, confirming that her fight was far from over.

Meanwhile, the advent of Ciella’s awakened form on the opposite end of the battlefield garnered an immediate response from the Resistance members nearby. Even a few of the Vandals in the center turned their guns on her, taking potshots on the big target from afar. In a bid to keep Ciella from going hog wild Midna attempted to take Reinhardt, who she figured would be the Agito’s main target, for herself. In a stroke of luck Ciella began by endowing herself with a defense-boosting Karmic Shield rather than attacking, although Midna was at that point too busy with Reinhardt to notice. Her strategy worked flawlessly, and while the new-age knight struggled to pull his hammer from the grip of her hair-hand, she landed a solid blow to his head with her shield. Reinhardt saw stars as he reeled from the impact, but he did not go down, and the next Midna found herself faced with another problem.

A heavy glass flask shattered against her Fused Shadow in a burst of liquid flame. Running toward her like a lunatic, Uncle Sven threw a vial of elastic ooze at his feet and with just a small jump sprang into the air, headed her way. He slammed into Midna’s shield belly-first, bounced harmlessly off it, and hurled two flasks of purple acid from above. She could easily float out of the way, but in the midst of Sven’s potent distraction Reinhardt came around in a revolving hammer swing strong enough to break her guard even if she blocked it. Then, to add insult to injury, Shadow teleported in above her and dealt a two-footed stomp to send her straight into Sven’s acid pool.

With Sectonia still enjoying herself above the firefight in the colosseum’s center, pumping her mana into an abundance of random projectiles of varying usefulness, that gave all three Resistance fighters a chance to face the Agito. The fight began with a furious exchange of water and chaos bolts between Ciella and Shadow, while Reinhardt and Sven quickly set up their next gambit. Ciella could conjure five water arrows for the price of one, and since all ricocheted off any surface they hit, they quickly rivalled Sectonia’s own spells in quantity, but Shadow kept moving. He hurled spear after spear, until finally Reinhardt charged over a new puddle of Sven’s elastic ooze and launched into the air. The titan of a man soared skyward, a breathtaking feat of teamwork, and like a rocket-powered train rammed into the harpy midair. With a mighty downward swing of his faithful weapon he cried, “Hammer DOWN!” and struck Ciella head-on. Her barrier shattered, and she plummeted to the ground.

The Agito was, however, a lot lighter than she looked. Her landing hurt nowhere near as bad as it sounded, and though Reinhardt started swinging, she rose back off the ground a moment later. Ciella wasted no time firing off Bolts From Above, an attack that promised to deal incredible damage if its targets did not escape its telltale AoE. Once out of her acid bath, Midna would need to intervene to spare Reinhardt and Uncle Sven the same punishment that spelled the end for Amara.

Meanwhile, Shadow turned his attention to Sectonia. As if the egomaniacal insect didn’t bug him enough already, she just had to go and start being a nuisance with random projectiles--his least favorite kind of projectile. As her Ice Antlions got into a firefight with the Vandals in the arena’s center, Shadow floated up to face her. “It’s about time I shut you up for good!” he yelled, and as she let loose a lightning bolt he hurled a paralytic Chaos Spear. The two traded blows, and the sudden electrocution made Shadow grit his teeth. “Rgh! Think you’re hot shit, do you? Well, here’s a news flash, weakling!”

With the mission on the line, Shadow could not afford to hold back. He unleashed the power of Chaos Control, freezing Sectonia in time. Flying around her, he deposited the Solar grenades he’d stolen from Nastasia’s Vandals while not being bothered by Ciella’s Riptide. He then teleported in front of her, and with a snap of his fingers kicked time back into motion. “You’re toast!” The final moment of the grenades’ fuses passed before they detonated in a chain-reaction of fiery destruction.

Even as a spectacular lightshow went off overhead, the Phantom Thieves could not distract themselves from their own fight. The number of Vandals Nastasia summoned quickly got overwhelming, and though Braum arrived in heroic fashion to lend the Thieves his shield, so too did Shayne and Aurox crash the party. With Fuse still in the mix, things were more chaotic than ever, and nobody could afford to take their eyes off Nastasia herself for long lest she get close enough to bring them under her hypnotic control.

Chased by mass gunfire from the Vandals, Fox slid to a stop behind Braum shield, joining Joker in the only refuge they had. Laser fire pinged off their ally’s mighty tower shield, unable to scratch it, but they couldn’t exactly launch an offense, either. “We appear to be pinned down,” Fox observed. Rather than reply, Joker looked over his friend’s shoulder to see Shayne and Aurox incoming. He pushed Fox aside and rolled sideways in time to avoid the enemy teenager’s boomerang, but a moment later Shayne reached melee range, and Aurox lashed out with scythelike claws. They sliced into Braum’s torso, provoking a grunt of pain even as the mustached guardian held firm. If Braum fell, Joker knew, there would be nothing between them and the Vandal battalion. They’d be done for.

He slid forward beneath the horror’s arm and lunged for Shayne with his knife extended, only for his blade to be caught by the punk’s own. “Nuh-uh! Get ‘em, Aurox!”

“I will ELIMINATE your physical form!” her companion snarled, lashing out with such fury that Joker nearly backpedaled into the open. As Aurox pounced on Fox, and after Fox helped Joker up they faced Shayne and Aurox two on two.

“Guys!” Necronomicon called. “That monster is an energy being cobbling together a body out of rocks! Max him out and he’ll de-manifest!”

They traded a handful of blows, knife and katana against claws and boomerang. Without any room to work with, the thieves were on the back foot until they called forth their Personas to deliver blasts of Curse and Ice, which left Shayne more incredulous than anything. “You’ve got them, too!?” Joker ignored her and let loose with his new hand cannon. Aurox crossed his arms to defend his host, with each bullet chipping away at his stony arms, but while he defended his front Fox summoned Goemon to deliver a powerful overhead Tempest Slash with his pipe. After getting clobbered Aurox roared out, “Grrrrr! I am a RAGING HATE FURNACE of INFINITE POWER!” and hurled both himself and Shayne forward in a dizzying spin slash, but both Phantom Thieves jumped into the air. Joker plugged Aurox’s head with a charged shot, blowing him back, and Fox fell with a slice down the pair’s front. After landing he followed up with a quick spin slash that faced him away from them, and sheathed his blade. A shattering sound rang out as Aurox unsummoned, and Shayne staggered, groaning, for just a moment before Joker dropped her with an elbow to the head.

He and Fox stood there for a moment, victorious, until they realized that the shooting had stopped. They turned forward again to watch Braum slump to his knees, and when they looked up found Nastasia sitting calmly on top of his shield, one leg crossed. “Yeah, that was cool and all, but you’re pretty much done for.”

A half-dozen Vandals fanned out to either side of the shield, their weapons trained on Joker and Fox. Nastasia smiled politely. “Didn’t you get the memo?”

Ms Fortune

Level 4 Nadia (84/40)
Location: The Maw - the Depths
Blazermate's @Archmage MC, Bowser's @DracoLunaris, Ace Cadet's @Yankee, Sakura's @Zoey Boey, Mirage’s @Potemking, Link’s @Gentlemanvaultboy
Word Count: 874

The Mockingbird was toast, its existence nasty, brutish, and short. Yet, despite feeling bad for the thing, Nadia found herself wishing that its end lasted a little longer. With it gone, it put the lives of everyone else on a timer, and those of Junior and herself in particular. When Moreau turned away from the wreckage to roam through the junk-littered Depths, scanning his territory for any signs of life, he quickly picked up on the pang-pang-pang of little feet on metal. Detected just as they turned the second floor’s top-left corner, Nadia and Junior made a mad dash for the elevator, their weary bones spurred on by panic. Moreau gave a guttural grunt, ponderously rolled himself around, and with a terrifying vigor hauled himself their way. Knowing his prey’s intentions he went not for the runners’ current position but for the elevator itself. A terrible racket resounded through the Depths as he shoved its detritus aside to reach his destination.

Although the stray kitten neither meant nor wanted to serve as a distraction again, the uproar gave Link, Geralt, Ace, and Mirage ample time to both put forward plans and deliberate upon them. Given the enormous, repulsive obstacle that seemed dead set on barring their escape, the idea of confronting Moreau directly held some water. They considered striking at his weak points, weaponizing spirits, and spattering the monster with structure gel. But whatever their options might be, it took just one look at the current situation to realize that they need to do something now.

Nadia saw Moreau him coming from a mile away, but did not divert from her destination. If she could just reach the elevator and get it open, she could take refuge inside until the others arrived. The leviathan couldn’t possibly squeeze inside, after all. As Moreau crashed closer and closer, eyeballs lolling and tentacles thrashing, Nadia closed in on the button. Only then did she realize quite how far loomed above her, so tantalizingly out of her stubby little arms’ reach. Not even thinking about how Mimi might be better equipped to accomplish the task, she sprang up to slap the button with every bit of spring she had left. Her fingertips clapped it, bringing a grin of victory to Nadia’s face, but her elation lived only briefly. The next second Moreau’s loathsome bulk annihilated the second-floor catwalk directly in front of the elevator, crashing through the metal so close to Nadia that the vacuum wave of his passage and the loss of footing pulled her down after him.

The kitten landed on something uneven and squishy. After a moment she realized she was not dead, but opened her eyes to find herself nestled between a bunch of Moreau’s grotesque, gooey eyeballs, which wasn’t much better of an alternative. She looked up in hopes of seeing the elevator doors opening, but no such luck. Nadia just barely kept herself from screaming and tearing her own hair out in frustration. Of course the elevator needed to come down, and take its sweet time too. At least Mimi and Junior were okay. Maybe the Pokemon could reach down and pick her up. Or maybe…

Moreau was on the move. When Blazermate flew down to scoop Ace up and mend his booboos, the light of her thrusters was just what the fish freak wanted to see, and the noise of her flight music to his ears. Once Moreau turned to track Blazermate Nadia’s bright eyes could see the others on the move too, using the catwalks to cross the formerly flooded base’s center. Nadia spotted just about everyone down on the second floor now, including Sakura, Bowser, Rika, Kamek and even the pets! This was truly the final stretch--all that remained was to bring it home. Unfortunately, the only straight shot across had already been wrecked by Moreau earlier, which left the Seekers with less direct routes. They could either zigzag around the remaining bridges or chance taking a flight of stairs to the bottom in order to climb back up another set closer to the goal, throwing whatever they liked at Moreau on the way.

From her current vantage point, Nadia felt like she could land a hand. For whatever reason -possibly an existence of constant aches, pressures, and pains, now that Nadia thought about it- Moreau hadn’t noticed her yet. Blazermate still occupied his focus, but for how long she couldn’t say, since he wasn’t so stupid as to chase an unreachable target for much longer. Though still running on fumes, the feral wobbled to her feet and grabbed onto the base of a tendril for support. Then she started jumping up and down on his icky, defunct eyeballs, squashing and squeezing the oozy tumors, even puncturing them with her sharp toenails. Moreau might roll over again or shake her off, but Nadia wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Right now, once the elevator actually arrived and the doors slid open, everyone would be home free. In the heat of the moment she thought only about what she could do to help her friends get there. So she mashed those eyes like her life depended on it, clinging tight even as Moreau bucked in annoyance. “Rrgh! Get offa me!”

Old Mill

Location: Frozen Highlands - Alpine Skyline
Linkle’s @Gentlemanvaultboy

When first stepping into the windmill’s bottom floor one could be forgiven for mistaking the place for a barn. Plenty of old grains clumped up in corners and along walls, while various farming tools lay scattered around the place, some of them bent and twisted in odd ways, or embedded into the walls. Albedo imagined the mill’s mischievous feline occupants playing with them, either in mock sword fights or throwing competitions. Either way, the disused place had long fallen into the paws of vagrants. Only the massive grindstone in the center of the floor took away from the impression of a barn, but following the great log upward past the giant gears dispelled the illusion completely.

Albedo craned his neck upward, taking in the awesome spectacle. Rather than being divided into floors that blocked his view, the mill was predominantly open, and its heights alive with motion. The turn of its blades powered a huge array of simple wood and metal machines, including pulley lifts, big gears both vertical and horizontal, transport carts on rails, spinning blocks, and what a more modern observer might have likened to Ferris wheels. Throughout the whole area he could spy more floating pons, too.

Of the cat burglars he could find no immediate trace, not even the slight distortions that gave away their invisibility. A closer look up above, however, revealed the tricky felines. They appeared to be scrambling upward using the platforms and machines, perhaps in order to reach a hideout up at the top. Coming to terms with the task ahead might have provoked a sigh from anyone else, but the mild-mannered alchemist was no stranger to legwork. In fact, this was a good thing; retreating upward was a gamble that one’s pursuers could not follow, since if they could, there was no place the runners could go. “Impetuous creatures,” he remarked. “Let us get to it.”

Albedo began by calling forth a solar isotoma near the grindstone. Its Geo magic carried him high enough that he could make it into the gear with a well-timed hop. From there he hitched a ride on one of the ropes that conveyed the main shafts’ turn to another gear on the left side, hanging from the length of tightly-braided fibers until he reached the higher loft floor. After dropping he took a running jump and stuck to a vertical board of planks, and just a couple seconds of crawling later he reached the top. A balancing act across a rafter took him close to a spinning wheel, and once Albedo internalized the distance and movement speed he jumped again. He landed softly in the straw inside the bucket and sat down for stability, waiting in silence as the turn of the wheel brought him higher.

Even once he reached the loft floor above that, though, he still estimated himself only about a fourth of the way up the windmill, if that. As he looked around for a good spot to summon another flower he also kept an eye out to see how Linkle was faring. If she managed to focus this time, her energy and creativity could propel her upward a lot faster than his steady, pragmatic progress.

World of Light

Dungeon Resistance Headquarters

Location: Temple of Khamoon, Al Mamoon, in the Sandswept Sky
Word Count: 4434 (+5)
Primrose’s @Yankee, Fox’s @Dawnrider, Yoshitsune’s @Rockin Strings, Tora, Poppi, and Big Band

While at this point Tora really didn’t have much to worry about from such a minor fall, Poppi boosted upward to catch him mid-air anyway. Reunited well above the searing flame of Robin’s Arcfire, the two got a chance to take in a bird’s-eye view of what would soon be an absolute slugfest. In addition to the six Resistance fighters who sprung that ruthless ambush on his team earlier, the spellcasters whose names Tora now knew to be Robin and Tharja further bolstered the enemy line, and that white-robed assassin provided an entirely new threat. Even though Tora and Poppi arrived late to the fight between Azwel, Fox, and Es, they caught a glimpse of the arcanist’s formidable weapon arts, and for a Grimleal lieutenant to be taken out just like that must surely be no mean feat. That made ten enemies by Tora’s math, including Es and (despite his state) Charnok, but not Drippy. Meanwhile, his own team -himself, Poppi, Fox, Big Band, Primrose, Yoshitsune, Skull, and Panther- numbered just eight, since in more ways than one Kan-Ra could not be counted on.

Poppi’s keen optics and even keener processor picked up on the details even faster than her Masterpon did. Among the opposition, two wielded high-output guns and a whopping five could dish out wide-range magic. This dungeon already made for a rather small battlefield, and the column in the middle with foes to either side divided it in half. For all intents and purposes, the Seekers found themselves faced with a firing squad, expertly coordinated to end the battle before it began in a brutal, overwhelming display of firepower. Neither she nor Tora, being the team’s main protectors, could allow the Resistance even a moment’s time to put their plan into action. “Poppi recommend provocation on one side!”

“Tora thoughts exactly, meh!” It was time for the Nopon to knack for attention-grabbing to work. With a decisive strike on one side he could divert three enemies to the far side of the dungeon, giving everyone more room to work with, and allowing his side’s melee fighters to rush down the mages in the middle. Hopefully an ally would follow them to lend a hand, since Dante was already a problem on his own, and he’d have two friends backing him up. There was just one question in his mind: which side to provoke. Unfortunately it appeared as though Robin anticipated such a move, and not just arbitrated the split by sex; both featured one gunner, one mage, and one melee fighter apiece. But there was no time to think critically. Tora pointed to the left, at Dante, Earthquake, and Beast. Physically tougher customers, fewer distractions. “Let’s go!”

Without delay Poppi dove toward the left. As she flew, Poppi popped open the missile silos in his Mech Arms to shower the area with suppressive missiles, hurling down taunts as he did. “Losers, losers! Meh-meh meh meh-meh! Dummy suckypons never beat me! Dirty, smelly, underground losers! Come get slapped by Tora!” His infuriating singsong voice, punctuated by a blown raspberry, instantly got Earthquake to boiling point and pissed Dante off. As the huge man turned to thunder after the Nopon and Dante ran behind, Beast rolled his eyes to follow them. The others could handle the rest.

Still a couple of meters outside of Arcfire’s range, having been used defensively this time, Fox stayed his ground, but readily widened his stance in poise. A snap assessment of the rapidly escalating situation around them told him that they were out of options, not that they were wealthy in them to begin with. He expected things might fall apart like they were, so he had his mind set in advance. With no remaining recourse, it was time to start making sense again, by showing them something they would understand.

“Fine… have it your way!” Fox uttered sharply to himself, almost under his breath, then swiftly drew his sidearm to squeeze off an Impact shot meant for Robin. Whether it connected or not, he would have Robin’s unyielding attention, just the way he wanted. If the matchup between them at all resembled what he remembered, Fox would be the best qualified to deal with him personally, and given his vested stake in the mission, that was just how he wanted it. There was little doubt, however, that he wouldn't just be allowed to have him to himself, so he went in mentally prepared for a more lopsided engagement. Either way, his sights were set…

Seeing his allies go different directions, Yoshitsune dashed to the right, drawing his flaming swords swiftly. Because of his wheels, he was faster than most people could react to and attack. He knew he wouldn't reach them unscathed but he could protect his vitals with his swords. On the way he passed right by Es, charging toward the center group, and the two traded a glancing blow. Once close enough, he slid around behind the fleeing gunner before she could reach cover, and with his swords to her neck he turned her to face the Witch Doctor. "Move and she dies." Using Daisy as a shield, he began moving further from the center, keeping his sight on the others, ready to defend and counter once there other girls made their moves.

While others rushed in to meet their opponents head on, Primrose fell back, making sure her equipment - the mask and watch - was secure. She could sling spells with the best of them, but her main role was as a supporter. Right now she needed to make a quick assessment and see what the best move for her would be. Though she'd expected things to come to blows, the assassin that fell from the ceiling was a surprise. Though not fond of either of the Grimleal captains, Primrose's face hardened when Azwel went down. They're back to their true colors, she thought. After that first ambush they should have guessed the Resistance would have something like this up their sleeve. Before offering any kind of support to those on the offensive the dancer ducked down beside the flamboyant captain. She didn't know if it was possible to survive that kind of injury without some kind of miraculous power... like the ones the Seekers held.

"Do not make me regret this," Primrose said to him, her voice quiet and harsh. She placed a hand on her chest and when she pulled it away, a bright pink friend heart appeared. There was a brief, tense, awkward staring contest between Azwel and herself before Primrose plunged the heart into him.

While he pulled himself together Primrose stood up, dark magic pooled in one hand and fire in the other. She hadn't gotten the chance to see the abilities of most of the Resistance members, even the ones she and Band had chased down, but a quick look was enough to tell the mages from the others. Trading spells with her allies in the middle wasn't something Primrose wanted to attempt. Instead she glanced at those on her team that were yet to move up. "If any of you are going in, I'll cover you."

For the moment, however, she could cover Band where he was. After passing by Yoshitsune, Es came in like a hurricane. Her greatsword flashed out to slash the detective across the front, and though he brought up a music stand to block, the crests that followed her attacks pierced through his guard. The swordswoman executed a rising diagonal slash next, followed by a triple revolving strike that carried her into the air. When she came down with a helm splitter aimed for Band’s hat, however, the savvy gumshoe took advantage of the brief opening. He deployed a cymbal defensively to parry to heavy blow, looking unimpressed. “Uh huh.” Before she could change course he jumped off the ground himself and caught her with a soundblast mid-air. “Head hunter!” Out came a huge, noisy Cymbal Crash whose Sound Stun allowed Band to deliver a giant dropkick. Es went flying; for a moment she’d be out of the picture.

Band landed on his back but picked himself up with surprising speed. He sported a few fresh slices and dents but could still fight without issue. “Ain’t nothin’ but a thing.” A fragment of burning Hot Hail hit him square in the hat, and in a hurry he removed it to fan it out. With the Witch Doctor apparently stalled by Yoshitsune for the moment, who was struggling to hold onto the tenacious Daisy, his attention fell to the center. Robin had rolled out of the way of Fox’s Impact Shot and returned the favor with Elthunder, threatening the pilot with electricity. After conjuring a fresh round of Hot Hail to smack and sear the intruders from above, Charnok unleashed a stream of fire, and Tharja hurled explosive hexes of darkness. The three-pronged magical assault forced the Seekers who remained in front to separate, but once the Arcfire that sheltered the spellcasters died down, the Phantom Thieves could move in.

“Get a load of this!” Panther yelled as she ran for the dragon mage, her whip arcing through the air to lash against his scales. With her fire resistance she could challenge Charnok without much worry, and even if his reptile hide brushed off her whip, her other talents made it a favorable match-up. Skull, meanwhile, joined Fox in trying to corner Robin, taking advantage of his own electricity resistance and a raw rushdown style to keep the tactician on his toes. That left Tharja uncontested in her curse-slinging, but only for a moment; without much regard for Azwel’s wellbeing, Kan-Ra stepped forward to take care of her. It was then that Ezio reappeared from hiding, attacking the other Grimleal lieutenant with his sword. He moved with such skill and fluidity that he forced Kan-Ra to divert his attention completely.

Azwel, meanwhile, sat up with a moan. “Ooh, hoo...what in the…?” He blinked a pair of pale yellow eyes a few times in confusion as he felt the part of his neck that no longer featured a stab wound. When he looked up he found Primrose standing over him. “Ah, and here I thought it was curtains. I suppose I have you to thank?” The researcher rose in a hurry, dusting off his robe. “For now, let’s see this little spat through, hmm?” As a stray bolt of electricity hurled his way he called forth a spear and shield of blue crystal.

"Don't mention it," the dancer told him, "at least not until we all make it out of here alive." Her gaze was concentrated on the battle in front of them, arms up and magic flying through the air to intercept as much as possible the rain of fire that Charnok had been sending down on them. Once the reptilian switched tactics she was free to launch a spell here and there where she could, sending handfuls of dark magic sailing toward their enemies, but while most of the resistance engaged in combat and focusing on others Primrose planned to make the most of the time she had now.

The first step was Sealticge's Seduction, that divine dance that allowed the benefits of one's buffs to be shared among teammates. Primrose was confident in her movements in the midst of battle, and when the dance was completed she bestowed the blessing upon herself. The next step was a seamless transition into the Mole Dance, with some help of a battle point boost. It spurred Primrose into faster movements, and when her low twirl came to an end the whole of the Seekers and their allies found themselves with a lot more defense than before.

Fox quickly shone his shield to turn around the initial shot of Elthunder and followed it on swift feet back to its caster to cover his approach. Dodging his own spell still left Robin having to somehow stop Fox's boots from meeting his chin, cheek, temple or torso. The tactician blocked as best he could the unrelenting series of kicks, and though the blows stung despite his defense, he was quick to snatch Fox in a swirl of magic and throw him backward toward the central pillar. Skull came up in the break between the two veteran Smash Brothers to see that he wouldn’t have a second’s respite, only to have his efforts brushed off and thrown aside the way of Fox. Shortly following recovery, Fox suffered dead weight knockdown from Skull bodily impacting into him. Before he got back to his feet, he dove for the Thief to throw them both out of the path of a stray great ember falling their way, then rolled to standing once more.

While he couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, Fox could tell there was something different about Robin, as he could from when they first encountered him there. An uptick in martial capability, perhaps? Whatever it was, chances were that he got something else from someone else, and that meant there was more to even the subtlest changes, he figured. He was keen to find out himself; get a better feel for it in personal combat.

“Leave him to me,” he calmly told Skull as both of them stood ready to try again. “You take the other two,” referring to the two mages that attended the tactician.

“Someone ought to give Tora and Poppi a hand,” Band suggested. Seeing Robin turn away Skull’s bludgeon with superior technique and deftly kick the boy straight into the thrown Fox, he deployed his big pedal to try and knock the tactician off his feet. “Giant Step!” In a feat of awareness, however, Robin blocked low and suffered only a momentary distraction. Then came Fox from overhead, bounding over Big Band in a full twist layout to drop feet first down at Robin with a drill stomp aimed for his head.

"I've got it," came the voice of Primrose from nearby. There was a sheen of sweat on the dancer, the combo of her performances and fire spells from both sides contributing to that. With a quick intake of air to catch her breath, Primrose slipped back and away from the others to get a better vantage point before going in to help the Nopon and Blade.

While this was happening, Es landed near Yoshitsune’s gambit. The artificial girl looked upon the hostage situation with dispassionate eyes. Since the samurai had turned to face the Witch Doctor, his back was to the Seekers, and thus to Es, as well. She saw only a chance for an easy kill. Es dashed forward and came about with an enormous cleave of her greatsword, aimed for Yoshitsune’s back.

Dropping his swords, Yoshitsune yelled for Kamui again, using his slowed perception to grab Daisy by her collar and spin, throwing her towards Es. With as much speed as he could gather, he grabbed his swords just before they hit the ground and raised them, blocking Es's slash before it hit him or the gunner. This, however, left his back facing the Witch Doctor. With all his strength, he pushed the opposing swordswoman's blade up and back, hoping to knock her off balance, before spinning again and rushing the mage. With his swords sheathed again, he attempted to grab the third woman's shirt to throw her on top of the other two.

With his unique ability Yoshitsune managed to intercept the slash from Es before her greatsword could carve into either ally or enemy, but in attempting to leverage his physical might against the girl’s the samurai found much sterner opposition. As evidenced by the way she slung around a weapon bigger and heavier than herself like it was an umbrella, Es possessed inhuman strength, more than enough to counter Yoshitsune’s attempt to break her poise. His struggle demanded both hands, allowing Daisy to free herself in an instant, and she wasted no time. The freedom fighter lashed out repeatedly at close range with her elbow, targeting her assailant’s chest, jaw, eyes, throat, whatever she could reach. Her retribution only stopped when Yoshitsune turned to address her, but not just in order to keep her shirt out of the man’s clutching hands. An explosive zombie summoned by the Witch Doctor blew up right behind him in a concussive burst of flame and viscera. Even if the bravado with which he charged into them suggested otherwise, it was clear that Yoshitsune could not fight all three at once.

Luckily, he didn’t need to. While leaping forward to for a plunging attack, Es twisted mid-air just in time to block a runaway freight train of brass and steel. The weight of Big Band’s heavy Brass Knuckle sent her skidding as he arrived in dramatic fashion to crash the party. “Back on the beat!” Knowing full well he’d be hard-pressed to contend with Es, he went on the offensive anyway to take the heat off his ally. With the Witch Doctor throwing jars of spiders and Daisy shooting on the run, however, he’d still have plenty to deal with.

As Daisy leveled her gun at the samurai, he was quick to respond with a dive out of the way before rushing her again. As she'd try to keep her aim on him, he'd get close enough to slash at her weapon, knocking it off center if not knocking from her hands. With the chance, he'd aim a kick to her head, using the metal surrounding the top of his wheel to knock her unconscious. As fast as Yoshitsune was, though, he had yet to develop an appreciation for the technology of bullets, and when the going got tough Daisy wasn’t above spraying. A handful of shells had struck the samurai by the time he struck at her weapon, some just glancing blows but a few putting painful dents in his armor. Still, he managed to take her by surprise almost as much, and though his kick didn’t knock her out it did topple him long enough to turn his attention to the conjured spiders and toads now swarming him.

Swinging his swords as fast as he could, Yoshitsune sloshed at every spider and toad that got close enough. He was also spinning his wheels to spin himself in circles, crushing any that were too close. He seemed different after his Kamui ended just about halfway through the tiny beasts.

In the midst of the steel whirlwind a new threat appeared. A zombie bloated with dark magic barreled into the mayhem, and with Yoshitsune’s Kamui down, his defensive options were limited. By the time the noxious undead exploded in a gruesome burst of foul magic and rotten blood, the Witch Doctor was filling the air with firebats. Jars shattered at Yoshitsune’s feet, leaving sharp shards to pierce his wheels even as the corpse spiders scurried forth. She enjoyed total control of the battle, polluting the fight from a safe distance to wear the samurai down in a punishing battle of attrition.

---

On the other side of the battlefield, Primrose arrived to find Tora and Poppi under duress. Fighting three strong at once left the duo struggling to defend themselves, let alone attack. Though Beast looked every inch the bruiser he amplified his brute strength with magic; flares of electricity and blinding light broke out as he hurled himself into combat. Earthquake’s massive size combined with his weapon of choice, a length of chain with a sickle on one end and a weight on the other, presented a constant problem that proved difficult to stop. Of the three Resistance fighters, however, Dante claimed the title of most dangerous. He wielded a wide variety of weapons with casual skill, switching and moving faster than Tora and Poppi could adapt. Only the fact that he seemed to be toying with them gave the dynamic duo an advantage, but even when not serious Dante provided a serious threat.

Tora and Poppi managed to hold out by taking the offensive with the blade’s evasive QT mode, striking out against their foes to keep their enemies from controlling the battle. In this way they avoided being closed in and annihilated, but they lacked the burst damage to put any of their opponents down, and sooner or later the damage would add up on Tora. Upon seeing Primrose, however, Tora tried to keep his elation to a minimum. With the Resistance fighters’ attention squarely on him, Primrose could do whatever she wished.

The dancer's eyes flashed between the three threats. The effects of her dance should last a little longer, so with that thought in mind she lifted a hand and began to conjure her wide range spell. The dark magic began to form under the Resistance member's feet, hard to notice in the dim light even if their focus wasn't on breaking Tora down. Catching her comrade's eyes, Primrose gave a sharp nod and then closed her fist, the Night Ode erupting beneath their enemies' feet.

Her plume of dark magic hit Earthquake and Beast full-force, effectively spit-roasting the heavy-hitting pair from below. Beast growled as he reeled from the sorcerous burst, while the giant ninja went as far as to release his kusarigama with one hand and massage his loins with the other, hopping up and down the whole time. “Ooh, hoo, hoo! What in Sam Hill!?”

Unfortunately, Dante avoided the attack, having been fighting so casually that he picked up on Night Ode’s tell. He shot Primrose the middle finger but turned his attention back to Tora and Poppi, and when Beast rejoined him that left only Earthquake against the dancer. When he saw her, however, the massive Texan seemed to forget his pains in lieu of remembered rage. “You again!” Weapon at the ready, he stomped Primrose’s way. “Where’s yer big fella? Ain’t gonna hide behind ‘im this time? Guess I’ll go lookin’ once I get done moppin’ the floor with ya!” Leering, he held his weapon’s chain in both hands, one below the blade and the other below the weight. “Almost a waste, messin’ up such a purdy thing. Once yer on our side, maybe I’ll show ya a different kind of action, geheheh! Yagh!” With a yell Earthquake sent out his chain sickle, a soaring crescent arc.

---

Back at the dungeon’s front, things only got more hectic. Once redirected by Fox, Skull provided just the teamwork and extra punch Panther needed to really start putting a dent in Charnok. The hooligan’s new kanabo beat out the dragon mage’s staff by a long shot, and though Charnok managed to escape the two-pronged assault with a rocket launch, things quickly took another turn for the worse. Panther and Skull moved both in sync and at high speed, cornering their foe away from his allies.

Amidst a flurry of bludgeoning and whipping he brought all his firepower to bear in a desperate last stand, but to no avail. With his arms crossed in front of him Skull powered through both Hot Hail and flamethrower, building up electricity, until he reached full charge and called upon Captain Kid to release a shower of thunderbolts. In the middle of the lightning storm Skull delivered a revolving bat slam that just about left Charnok senseless, followed up by an upswing string enough to launch him into the air. “Up to you, Panth!”

“Okay, let’s get serious!” At that moment Panther swept in, stylishly using her whip to swing down and deliver a double kick that drove Charnok into the wall. A torrent of fire breath scorched her in a last ditch attempt, but Panther would not be deterred. Snake fangs flashed as she leaned in to bite into and rip free a mouthful of scales on his forehead, then with just one hand on her whip pressed barrel of her submachine gun pressed into the raw flesh. “I won’t hold back!”

A moment later she descended to the ground in a shower of ash and embers. Charnok’s spirit landed beside her, and her friend wasted no time giving her a hi-five. “Dude, that was sick!”

Panther spat out a few red scales and returned the high five. “Thanks! Jeez, my heart’s beating like crazy. I didn’t even think before going to bite him. Must be the snake lady in me.”

“Well, keep it up, ‘cause we’re not done yet,” Skull pointed back at the fighting. “Let’s move!”

While they’d been beating down Charnok, Fox had been gaining ground against Robin. Even with the tactician’s brilliance, this was a bad match-up. His foe possessed both the speed to constantly rush him down and the tools to counter him at long range. At first he’d been able to keep Fox at bay, but starting with that drill stomp things went downhill. Somehow, Fox seemed able to anticipate what he could do. Without any allies to coordinate with, he could only do so much. That left him with just one option, even if it meant inviting further pain. “Tharja! Pair up!”

The dark sorceress acknowledged his summons by unleashing a trump card against Kan-Ra. A well of darkness formed beneath him, and from the purple-black puddle reached clawing arms to sweep away his sand, rip his bandages, and gouge his aged flesh. As he struggled to free himself, his other opponent Ezio reappeared. He plunged a hidden blade between Kan-Ra’s ribs, taking him to the ground and allowing Tharja to jump to Robin’s side. Before Ezio could finish Kan-Ra off, however, Azwel leaped in with a swing of his conjured axe. “Let us do this properly!” Ezio narrowly avoided getting bisected, then dove out of the way as Azwel hurled the axe like a discus. He launched a crossbow bolt as he rolled, then rose with sword in hand to find Azwel ready with twin scimitars. The researcher grinned, primed to relish his revenge in a display of martial prowess, and the assassin sighed. “You should have stayed down.”

Once in a Pair Up in the support position, Tharja could no longer be attacked, instead boosting her partner’s defense and evasion in exchange for only being able to attack as a follow-up to his own. Robin began phase two with a wave of Elwind air blades. Tharja’s Hex welled up beneath Fox a moment later, able to punish him if he stood still to use his reflector. The mages shared a bond even deeper and more hard-fought than the one between Panther and Skull, and as Fox would soon find out, together they were more than the sum of their parts.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Barney Rynsburger

10:15 AM

With Harriette focused on fixing her cosmetics and Mila still trying, probably in vain, to get some much-needed rest, nobody stopped Barney as he collected himself to leave. Despite his worries it looked like the aide had no business with him, after all. In fact, rather than bring him down with reprimands or penalties she’d understood completely, and even offered some support of her own. Somewhat clinical, but appropriate to the nature of their acquaintance, so he couldn’t fault her even a little. As he shifted into gear and looked back Barney even felt a little guilty for passing such paranoid judgement. Harriette really just was that nice, or just that polite. Maybe both. It might not seem like much to her, but a little understanding went a long way.

“Right. I appreciate it. Take care, then.” He offered her his thanks in a manner neither mumbled nor rushed, hoping it wasn’t loud enough to bother Mila again, and went on his way. As it happened his schedule featured an empty period between Principles of English Composition and the last of today’s gen ed courses, University Physics. Normally he’d beeline it back to his dorm room and either spend the hour snoozing, scrolling, or watching videos, but the morning’s disquiet left him restless, so instead he strolled, aimless, through the crisp November air around campus.

No matter where his feet took him, however, his mind stayed back in that study room. It took refuge there, perhaps, to avoid the corrosion of failures, debts, and wild uncertainty. But no matter where it went, it found no joy. Barney did not by any means loathe Harriette’s simple advice, which amounted to ‘get help’, but she’d been right in guessing it wasn’t a novel concept to him. In the worst of times humans naturally reached out for help, extending a hand in hopes that someone, anyone, would save them. But though he wanted to, Barney knew that it would be a mistake.

To ask for real help, in the sense that he’d be relying on someone else, would be to go against his principles, his personal ethic. They might not be worth much in the greater scheme of things, but at the end of the day they were all he had. They were fundamental to his being. His peace of mind is the result of his inner strength, the ability to power through and overcome obstacles through effort and determination. That simply meant that needing help was a weakness. In this world the weak might survive, but they could never achieve a good life. Barney felt totally assured that the average person didn’t want anything to do with a man who was insecure or incompetent, and even those who did offer such men understanding, kindness, or charity could only be sneering in the back of their minds. A man needed to be strong and capable, able to stand on his own, without relying on other people.

The idea of asking help, of course, conjured an even worse image than receiving it and being looked down on. It was an awful, terrifying thought that Barney didn’t even want to consider.

What if he did? If he did send up his distress beacon, begging for aid from someone, anyone? And what if nobody reached down to pick him up?

What if he was completely and utterly alone?

Barney shook his head with sudden strength and pushed the thought from his mind. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to risk finding out, period. Instead he could take solace in the probability that friends, family, classmates, and school staff would help him if he needed it, but he didn’t really need it. Come what may, he could weather the storm. Even if expelled from college, even if saddled by debts for years, Barney Rynsburger could make it through. Because he was strong. Glancing at his phone, he realized it was nearly time for class. He stepped over an enormous fissure in the sidewalk and set off with renewed determination. More cracks, he marvelled. All these students funneling money in, and this place is still going to hell.

---

12:55 PM

University Physics actually went well. As well as could be hoped, anyway. Barney managed to stave off the anxieties that circled over him like vultures by actually applying himself to the class. Even if it was still a gen ed at the end of the day, this science course felt like it mattered a lot more than, say, English. Plus, he didn’t know anyone there, which allowed him to keep a comfortable distance. The professor did inform the class that a group project would begin in the near future, but in a way the announcement gave Barney’s imminent scholarly demise a silver lining. It always paid to look at the bright side.

Afterward he went to lunch, like normal. As miserable as choking anything down still sounded, Barney’s lack of breakfast was starting to make him feel uncomfortably hollow. Like it or not, he needed food to keep on trucking, if not for his student life, then for whatever came next in the real world. Unfortunately there wasn’t much good stuff. Plain ham sandwiches that some students tried to spice up using shredded cheese from the salad bar, the stuffed peppers that most found to be unpleasantly gluey, the highly interactive customizable wrap line where you could expect a couple minutes’ delay, and of course the desperation zone, where spaghetti and pizza probably sourced from the middle ages awaited anyone unwilling to try something else. Barney inserted himself into the wrap line, shuffling forward in silence until his turn came to specify what he wanted from the lunch lady.

He took his food straight past the dessert section and soda machines, pausing only to get water, and made for an isolated seat. Today was a bad day in the cafeteria. Normally things were better, although at the end of the day it was still the budget option. Most people opted for meal plans that included BwuBucks, allowing them to buy from the on-campus chain restaurants like Burger King and Chicken Express, even if it was a worse deal overall. With all the stresses in their lives the students couldn’t afford to eat well. Many wished they stopped at just the freshman fifteen, although to his credit Barney arrived at college this way. Even if he didn’t really put anything on, he couldn’t get it off, either. Right now he had other things to worry about. As he gnawed on his wrap, he absent-mindedly ran his knuckles over a crack in the table. These things are everywhere. How could so many different surfaces be cracked in the same way? And...what was that warmth, eking through the gap? Barney withdrew his hand and ignored it. No way he was going delirious right now. No way.

He stopped to grab a small donut on the way out.

---

4 PM

The day’s remaining classes passed by without much issue, which to Barney came as a blessing given the swarm of issues already chewing on him. By the time Intro to Electrical Science came to an end, he felt more numb than anything. He felt like his doom was approaching, like storm clouds on the horizon, but he couldn’t see it, and as he flopped down in the student center by a window he could only sit there wondering when and how the hammer would fall. Or even if it would. It wasn’t like he’d stepped on a landmine and the consequences would blow up in his face, after all. More like he’d poisoned a well. If today he’s guaranteed he’d never be able to get his grade back up to passing, he would only know for certain at the end of the semester. Or maybe much later he’d find out his GPA was too low for something or another. If he actually got an email from an advisor or something telling him he’d screwed the pooch and could quit wasting his time, it would be a miracle. Barney scrunched up his nose as he massaged his face with both hands. Why can’t I ever know anything for damn certain!?

A few minutes passed of browsing on his phone. When you didn’t want to think much, social media really hit the spot. That also meant that when the notification of an incoming call popped up, he realized what was happening before his ringtone even went off. Barney hammered the ‘accept’ button to avoid getting anyone else’s attention, and after only missing it twice he brought his phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon, is this Mr. Barney Rynsburger?”

“Yep, that’s me.”

“I’m calling on behalf of Barclay General Hospital,” the woman on the line breezed onward, without further professional pleasantries. “In regards to the interest-free payment plan you’ve been pursuing in order to take care of Miss Rynsburger’s hospital bills, I regret to inform you that Cimarron Lifeline has declined us service.”

The color drained from Barney’s face. “...W-what? Why?”

A mild irritation entered the woman’s voice. “I’m afraid I don’t know, Mr. Rynsburger. You will have to contact them and review the nature of your insurance package.” After a few seconds of silence, she continued. “This unfortunately means that if you cannot find an organization that can assist you with these bills, you personally will owe the full amount once Miss Rynsburger’s stay at Barclay General concludes.”

Barney cut in with desperation in his voice. “Isn’t there anything you guys can do? I don’t have the money to pay for it all!”

“Sir, there are many people in the exact same situation,” the lady told him. “Rest assured we cannot kick Miss Rynsburger out. All I can do is give you the same advice we give the others. The hospital’s collection agency will contact you in the following month. It is not necessary to pay the full amount in bulk, but you can set up a recurring payment plan to pay what you owe over time. Many clients take out a loan for such purposes.” She paused for a moment. “It’s...well, not exactly recommended to pay via credit card, since charges like this can compromise your credit score.” After that less-than-official-sounding statement, she cleared her throat. “Ahem. Anyway, you’ll be receiving a letter soon with the full statement. I hope things will work out for you. Goodbye.”

The phone slid back into a pocket, and for a time, Barney sat in silence, his face frozen in an expression of abject anguish. His brain felt like a primordial swamp, a bubbling pit of foul mud. In the end all the stewing came to one coherent word. Why. Why was all this happening to him? To his family? What could they have possibly done? All they’d ever done was the best they could. They’d never broken any laws or hurt anyone. All poor Cassie had wanted was to get out of this rat race. And for daring to hope she’d been plunged even deeper into the darkness. It wasn’t fair. None of this would have happened if not for him--if not for Lucas. Barney gritted his teeth, anger welling up inside him along with the tears. That smarmy, oh-so-charming scumbag. Rich enough to drive sports cars and live in a mansion, but not enough to pay his girlfriend’s hospital bills! “Why not, damn it?! He’s the one who put her there!”

There was a loud slam as his hand hit something hard, bringing him back to his senses. At some point he’d gotten to his feet, and his fist was against the window. His rage faded, and he looked around in fear. Every eye was on him. Barney gulped and slowly looked back at the window. It was right there. Cracks surrounded the point of impact. As he watched they suddenly widened, and he withdrew his hand like a snake bit it. He shook, his legs on the verge of giving out. But as he balked, he realized something odd. The air on his face, eking in from outside, wasn’t cool. It was warm. Before he could process this a crack suddenly snaked downward. It went all the way to the floor, then continued onto the tile itself. Barney stared, taken utterly aback. That’s not possible. He watched it race along the floor, straight between two bystanders who didn’t react one bit to its presence, and through the door.

“What in God’s name,” Barney breathed. His confusion filled him with unease, and his unease jolted him into action. He took off running after the crack. The bystanders parted to let him through, and a money later he was outside. The fissure raced ahead of him, and like a dog he chased it. Why exactly, he couldn’t say. Maybe it was a morbid curiosity; with all else lost, he’d fixated on this bizarre anomaly. Maybe it was a sign, a way out of this mess. Or maybe he’d just cracked under pressure himself. Either way, he kept running.

How long he ran he didn’t know, but he slowed down when he reached the waterfront. Above him loomed the majestic Stoutland University Hall, named for BWU’s founder, and those in its classrooms and offices could seldom be blamed for staring out the window across the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Mexico. No doubt President Pondwater himself looked out across the sea quite often, and even in the depths of Barney’s turmoil the place’s beauty wasn’t lost on him. The crack crossed the waterfront road and onto Stoutland Pier, so he did, too. Thanks to the cold season the docks-turned-local-hotspot sported only a few people here and there, mostly around the Shanty Shack, the quaint beach-themed eatery housed therein, older even than the college itself. Although the warm light of the patio heaters looked enticing, Barney carried on by to the isolated gazebo at the end of the pier. There, his fissure terminated in a web of cracks. For a moment the young man just stood there, not knowing what he’d expected to find at the end. Then he sank into a bench, defeated but comfortable in the cracks’ heat, and was still.

World of Light

Team Mao

Location: Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Mao’s @Potemking, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Joker, Fox, Necronomicon, Braum

Despite the Seekers’ collective attempts to keep things under control, the fighting quickly got chaotic all around the suspended gladiatorial arena. This came about in large part thanks to Reinhardt’s heroic charge straight through the center of the grand clash, driving some of his opposition’s heaviest hitters back toward the entrance and separating the rest between the left and right sides.

To the left, the vicious bout between the Dragonborn and Mao took a turn as the latter let loose his array of devious mechanical arms. Even at his best the warrior would have been hard-pressed to deal with against the multi-faceted onslaught, but right now going on the defensive was the farthest thing from his mind. Rather than be put on the backfoot and give Mao either his turn back or the space to work around his shield, he charged recklessly forward. Saw, drill, scissors, and scalpel sliced into both flesh and armor, but they couldn’t deal enough up-front damage to stop him. Try as Mao might to block with his ill-gotten axe, the Dragonborn crashed into him shield-first all the same. Once the pint-sized Overlord got knocked off his feet, a good thrust would be all it took--or so the Dragonborn hoped. Since Sven’s magic medicine hadn’t gotten anywhere near fully healing the near-fatal wounds Jesse dealt him, his ability to man up and take trades had suffered a lot. As the rage pumping through the viking’s veins began to subside, all the damage he’d accumulated was starting to take its toll, slowing down his assault.

In the middle, the Phantom Thieves scrambled to deal with the sudden reinforcements Nastasia called in, as well as the overwhelming firepower they brought with them. Even after Joker fired off a well-placed headshot on one of the four Fallen Vandals as things kicked off, instantly dropping the alien gunner, he scarcely diminished the overwhelming suppressive fire that the rest unleashed the next moment. He and Fox were forced to run for their lives as the Vandals filled the air with gunfire and explosives. For a moment it didn’t look like Fuse was doing anything, but the truth was much worse: right as a Vandal stopping shooting to reload and Joker slid to a stop to take advantage with Arsene, Fuse used the launcher on his back to fire some sort of payload straight up into the air. Joker’s Persona hurled an Eigaon into the grouped enemies. Its painful blast of Curse damage scattered his enemies, but not before Fuse’s Motherlode went off overhead.

The roar and flash of Fuse’s fireburst filled the whole arena, and the next moment a circular wall of flame formed in the colosseum’s center, limiting the space the Phantom Thieves could move in. That suited the Vandals and Fuse just fine, and Nastasia even better. The little lady moved quickly, making a beeline for the nearest thief as her minions covered her. “Stay away, you guys!” Necronomicon warned. “I’m reading super-powerful Psy energy. She might be trying to brainwash you!”

Nastasia’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “Uh, yeah? Get with the program, already.”

The Persona paid her no mind as she cast Moral Support, boosting Futaba’s friends with Rakukaja. “Okay Thieves. Defense up!”

As if a starting pistol had been fired, Fox and Joker attacked together. They moved in, shrugging off or blocking the Vandals’ energy bolts. As he ran Joker called forth his new Persona, and Jinx manifested with a cackle. The sight of his former ally turned both ethereal and against him took Fuse momentarily by surprise, and before he could plug the Phantom Thieves with his rifle rounds Jinx whipped out her stungun to zap him with Zionga. Fox rushed into the thick of it as the electrified Legend fell back and caught two Vandals at once with a whirling slash. His prismatic katana danced between them at a dizzying speed, filling the air with slashes. With a flourish he reeled back for a finishing blow. “Goemon…!”

From between the stricken Vandals Nastasia threw herself, hand outstretched toward Fox’s head. But the young man had already cut himself off, never intending to use his Persona in the first place. Instead he entered a counter stance, his sheathed blade behind him, and the second Nastasia made contact there came a single, brief stroke of light. The little lady and her minions remained totally still, frozen in time, as Fox stepped backward he slid his weapon back down into his scabbard. “Foolish.”

A phantom slash erupted across her and her Vandals with enough cutting force to rip through the small-timers and send all three flying backward. As Nastasia skidded to a stop her remaining Vandal and Fuse opened fire with their rifles, and with a scowl she adjusted her glasses. Thanks to her Overshield, she’d taken no damage at all. “Hmph. Struggle all you like. We’re still right on schedule.” With her phone she called up another round of Vandal reinforcements, and the fresh minions rekindled the fight with a needless excess of hurled grenades.

As chaos ensued Necronomicon provided what help she could by firing off a small group heal. “Jeez, they just keep coming! We’ve gotta prioritize the little snob.” She noticed Braum having troubles of his own on the left. Shayne and Aurox’s stealth, armor, and overall versatility left them running circles around him. It seemed like a good chance for a swap. “Braum, any chance we can get you and your shield over here? And someone help miss Jesse, she’s all alone!”

At the same time, things weren’t much better on the other side of the arena. After Midna took off to assist Ciella, Jesse had nobody but herself for company while she weathered the storm that was Orendi. The little gremlin just kept dishing out magic, filling the air with cackles and incomprehensible strings of insults the whole time. Although the spiked rings that appeared before most of her gave away their trajectory, their sheer size left Jesse barely any wiggle room to launch her counterattack. Still, she could have taken a few good shots or hurled chunks of scenery if not for Mordecai’s interference. His bird constantly circled overhead as a painful distraction, swooping down in its attempts to gouge her and split her focus. Whenever she provided even a small opening, the sniper took advantage, shooting from afar. After the first chucked debris he started repositioning himself a little at a time too. Together he and Orendi locked down Jesse on defense, forcing her to wield metal torn from the arena as shields, but even that wasn’t foolproof--one of Orendi’s few spells without spike rings was a magic geyser that could fling foes into the air from below, and she didn’t hesitate to use it to knock Jesse around when the FBC director hunkered down too much.

Midna, meanwhile, had jumped into quite the clobberfest. She arrived to pay Shadow back for smacking Ciella into what amounted to oncoming traffic by giving him a big hand. Rather than try to evade it he answered in kind, gritting his teeth as he punched the incoming palm. He struck with enough force to cancel out the blow and even knock it back, but being magically-infused hair Midna took no damage from it. She was more concerned with Reinhardt, whose hammer was poised to ruin Ciella’s good looks. The princess’s plus-size Wolfos rammed him in the back, hard enough to interrupt him but not nearly enough to knock the titan of a man over. He pivoted around to pound the Wolfos instead. Shadow reappeared for another clash, only barely kept at bay by Midna’s sand long enough for her to throw a Friend Heart at Ciella.

As Shadow confronted Midna with such a blistering flurry of attacks that she couldn’t retreat cleanly, her heart took hold in Ciella, undoing every bit of collective damage dealt to her by the resistance in an instant. It left her momentarily pacified, and in that bleary moment Reinhardt decked her with a full-force hammer swing. The rabbit woman went down like a bag of rocks, and Reinhardt followed up by adding a Firestrike to his upswing that more than doubled the damage as it rolled Ciella limply away. With sluggish muscles she struggled to stand, and as Reinhardt came in for another piece of her and brought up the bow she clutched in a deathgrip in a desperate attempt to defend her vitals. Her longbow withstood one mighty smash, but the second cracked it in half, and the third blew through her best attempt to punch him. Turned sideways by the hammer’s force, Ciella fell to her knees.

All this went down in just a few moments, and after surveying the fight for a few moments, Sectonia decided that she wanted not just a piece of the action, but a piece of everyone’s action. With uproarious laughter the insect queen started pumping out magic, sending dark and light magic wiggling, winding, and warping through the battlefield in every which way. And wherever her spells went, chaos followed. Projectiles flew haphazardly into the left, center, right, and rear fights, and though not all her allies were aware of their immunity, none wasted the unexpected windfall. They sowed discord among the Vandals in the center, gave Braum and Jesse openings to retake control from their oppressors, and one light ring even cut into Reinhardt’s leg as he brought his hammer up to put Ciella down. To prevent it shearing too deeply he jumped to the side, and in her moment of respite Ciella wiped away the fog that clouded her mind.

She cried out as she flexed, releasing a riptide of water that swept Reinhardt off his feet, using his top-heavy body against him. It rippled out across the battlefield, dousing Fuse’s flame and interfering with each fight even more than Sectonia’s magic had. When Ciella rose to her feet and turned, her unmasked face was once of cool anger, and as water swirled into a sphere around her her voice resounded. “Ignorant, pigheaded slaves to hypocrisy. We are wings that unfurl in rejection of the deceit of this world. We are AGITO!”

The maelstrom erupted in a fountain of water, and from the cascade rose a white-feathered harpy with six angelic wings of enchanted water. Ciella opened her eyes and looked out across the battlefield. The beat of her wings sent waves of pressure through the air itself, and her eyes shone like the sunset. “I will plunge you into the depths of despair!”

Team Kan-Ra

Level 9 Tora (40/90) Level 8 Poppi (110/80) Level 3 Big Band (30/30)
Location: Al Mamoon Northwest - Obelisk Temple
Primrose’s @Yankee, Fox’s @Dawnrider, Yoshitsune and Sora’s @Rockin Strings, Skull and Panther
Word Count: 2714

Expecting a simpler, more concise sitrep, Fox waited idly, patiently for Necronomicon to finish her long-winded summary of events on their end. He had no idea what "the Metaverse" was, had to do with anything, or had any bearing at all on their ability to communicate, and was content all the same to gloss over its mention. He cared more about their well-being, as well as how they "took down" whoever they did, but that half could wait. What he ultimately took away is that they were still alive, well and on-track--going at the same rate, no less.

"Red's down; had to pull back," was all he said to start his more succinct reply. "The rest of us are moving further in. Remember, we're on their turf, so stay sharp," he reminded. "No doubt they'll have more waiting for us." With a second's pause for consideration, he issued one more imperative reminder in closing to "Take back who you can," before ending the call to re-attend matters on his own end.

While everyone broke down their own experiences during the mission thus far upon regrouping, Big Band, having the occupationally keenest eye and sharpest mind for investigation among them, found the last of the three nodes without any difficulty to get them through the door and back on their way. They proceeded deeper down and through an old, dilapidated cell floor, Fox casually marching past the bronze knight with his focus locked forward as if he hadn’t noticed him or his pleas at all, though silently bearing him in mind for later. They were there to help, for sure--more specifically, to set people free, in a sense--but help would have to come first for some. At any rate, it might not make for the last jailbreak they made that day, Fox thought.

At the bottom-most depths of the dungeon (as far as they could tell) awaited their goal, in the flesh. Robin--in some way distinct from his usual self--and his cohorts sat centered within their personal underground sanctum, seemingly alone, but everyone there knew better. As he began making his address to Yellow Team, in particular, Fox stepped forward slowly, pushing his way to the front of the group with a gesture of pause to the others, trading eye contact with his possessed acquaintance and former/to be reclaimed ally to confirm what he already knew--and among other things, what he had suspected. He elected silently to hear him out, for even in a world reshaped and corrupted, Fox trusted that he knew him well enough that he could still find a worthy comrade in him, however ultimately little he may have known him at all.

Yoshitsune glared at the unconscious spellcaster and the one heading him. His anger demanded he decapitate the dragon mage now. His honor held him back. He strode up to the pair, frowning. "When he wakes up, tell him the samurai he ran from wants a rematch." He took in the girl’s appearance but mainly kept his gaze on the one he'd fought. He was listening to everyone else around him as he slowly backed away from the beast man, returning to the group.

For Primrose's part, she was somewhat annoyed that the Resistance was only trying to talk things out now after trying to kill them earlier. It couldn't have even been blamed on the light of Galeem either, as the Resistance had been the ones to ambush the group led by Kan-Ra. Still, any time spent not fighting meant the more she'd be able to recover. The dancer placed her hands on her hips, waiting for Robin to go on. Although she doubted anything he said would change their minds. Whether the Grimleal were as evil as they looked or Robin was about to tell them a lie, eventually the Grimleal and the Resistance would come to blows and the Seekers would be caught in the middle.

Robin glanced down to the diminutive creature at his right and gave a nod, which his acquaintance mirrored with enough enthusiasm to rattle the lantern that dangled from his nose. “Ah, so I’m good to go, then? Tidy! Well first off, ‘owdya do. Name’s Drippy, Lord High, er, Lord of the Fairies. I en’t exactly in with this Resistance lot, seein’ as I never met their boss ‘n such, but it’s a roight important matter I’m here to help ‘em with. But not to worry, I got all the answers!”

As the tactician rose from his chair to stand by the dark healer to his left, Drippy jumped up to the higher ground to better address his guests. He looked out at his audience with a lot more determination than fear, even though Azwel looked mightily impugned upon, and Kan-Ra condescendingly amused. “Well, fer starters, this Validar fellow of youers is a proper bad apple. This whole deal with her Moojesty, the Cowlipha? It en’t some condition what occurs natural-like. She’s been brokenhearted. A piece o’ her heart’s gone missin’, an’ either Validar got summan t’do it or he did it himself, the rotter. Her sense of restraint, most like. Dependin’ on which bit of heart is missin’, all sorts of weird things can happen, see? Without restraint, she can’t control the urge to stuff her right royal face!”

“With the Cowlipha a laughing stock and out of the picture, her trusted vizier could take over,” Robin then supplied. “And bend the city to his will, thrusting the idyllic place of peace into a future it was not in any sense ready for, all under his thumb.”

As his compatriot gave a dismissive noise and sneered, Kan-Ra only smiled. “An intriguing tale, and a magnificent accusation. Yet this all amounts to hearsay. If I recall correctly, my retinue was promised concrete proof.”

Drippy looked indignant. “Wot? This brokenhearted business is from me own world, mun! I’ve seen it all before, I have! I can even tell ya the name of the blighter what’s been spreadin’ war and rrruin ‘cross parallel worlds n’ breakin’ hearts, see? Shadar, the Dark Djinn, his name is!” Crossing his arms, he narrowed his eyes at Azwel and Kan-Ra, attempting to discern recognition from their guarded features.

"...and you are saying that Validar, and this 'Shadar,' are one and the same...?" Primrose mused aloud from her place within the group. She had to admit, Kan-Ra had a point. If everything Drippy said was true, there was nothing that proved Validar had anything to do with it. Unless the little guy was leaving an important chunk of the story out.

The fairy lord gave the matter some thought. “Can’t say for suere there, lass, but it en’t out of the question, not by a long shot. That said, Shadar’s really strong enough that he doesn’t need to rely on long-runnin’ schemes like this.” Drippy looked between the present Seekers, sensing their attention on him. “Anyhow, if you want youer proof, all we need is a wizard ‘oo can use the spell Take Heart. Find summan with plenty o’ restraint to spare ‘n borrow some o’ theirs, cast Give Heart on her Moojesty, and she’ll be right as rain.” He held tight his spellbook, its importance clear from the way he treated it.

"And how do you know that will work the way you expect it to?" Yoshitsune asked quizzically, stepping closer to the being. "These spells you mentioned are unheard of to many of us. Do you know them? Do you know someone who can cast them?"

Drippy’s indignation knew no bounds. “Couerse I flippin’ do, mun! They’re simple, entry-level spells where I’m from. Anyone who can wave a wand can cast ‘em after readin’ this here Wizard’s Companion!” He nodded at the book in his hands, jingling his nose-lantern in the process.

Still unconvinced of how this information implicated the Grimleal, Primrose glanced at those in question. Maybe something in their actions would give away that they'd known about this plot all along, but it was still possible that some malicious opportunist had swooped in and the Grimleal were just dealing with the fallout. On the bright side, if Drippy was right about the Cowlipha's affliction no matter who caused it, then they now knew how to cure it.

“As it happens, that’s what we’re here for,” Fox piped up in response to the diminutive manservant’s qualifying description of a capable, sound-minded spellcaster. Robin fit the bill perfectly, on top of being a precious acquaintance of the Seekers/Smashers anyway. “We need you back, Robin.” Fox addressed him, specifically, in a soft-spokenly serious tone, beseeching in likely futility that he call back his sealed memory and senses to rejoin them in the real fight.

Fox’s choice of words darkened the tactician’s features. “Back? I was never, ever with the Grimleal. I was born for one purpose--to assist my ‘father’ in resurrecting his dark god, the Fell Dragon Grima, which would bring ruin to the world and all his enemies. Validar attempted to control me by force and make me slaughter my own friends. My own daughter.” Though Robin kept his countenance, it was clear nonetheless how much cold rage bubbled below the surface. “So no matter where I find myself, I will oppose Validar with every ounce of my strength.”

“I’m not talking about the Grimleal,” Fox interjected once more, “I’m talking about us.” Were he more himself, that might have made sense to Robin, but thus render moot the need to explain anything at all. While that left only him in the room in the know, out of the only two present who were there the day the world ended, it was clear nonetheless he referred to a third party independent of the two warring factions with a greater goal of their own. “I know you’re not our enemy; that’s just what they want us to be.” Whether ‘they’ referred to the Grimleal or otherwise was their guess.

“I don’t expect you to remember,” he started back up, casually pacing two or three steps further forward, “but there’s a bigger threat to the world than Validar and his cult.” Plain was his speech even in the presence of said ‘cult’. It was time they were all a little more honest with one another. He shot a look back at Band while still speaking to the room, and said, “If you want the truth, go outside and look up. You’ll find your real enemy there. What we’re all doing here; what you’ve been doing the whole time; this is exactly what it wants from us...” Fox casted emphatic glances between the present members of the Grimleal and Resistance as he spoke, “To fight each other instead… until there are too few of us left.”

Though unwilling to give up on what he had come for, a sense of resignation entered his voice as he came to terms with the irrevocable truth of the consignment of the Gleaming to misunderstanding and irreconciliation. “If none of this makes sense to any of you, I don’t blame you.” Fox attempted to empathize, as much or little as that may have meant to any one of them at this point. “But you should all know you have a greater common enemy than each other--one that’s afraid you’ll wise up and unite against it.”

“They should be...”

Robin looked far more annoyed than receptive. Trying to invoke the bigger picture was tantamount to saying that his campaign wasn’t important, and saying that he should join forces with his foe was outrageous. “Whoever you are, you ought to stop trying to distract us. Our enemy is here in the city, sitting on a throne stolen by subterfuge and kept captive by corruption. If this doesn’t concern you, you should keep your nose out of it.”

“That brings me back to the matter at hand,” interjected Kan-Ra, his voice less gleeful than usual. One look at him and Azwel was enough to tell their thoughts on the matter. “We do have some business here, after all. As peacekeepers it is not our place to question the validity of your claims, mister...Drippy, was it? We will gladly extend you protective custody for an escort to the palace, where you may levy your charges formally.”

Like that, Fox was written off as an agenda-driven tagalong apathetic to the local plight by the one he came there and went through so much trouble to help save. Though it couldn’t be farther from the truth, as the liberation of the world at large--and by extension Al-Mamoon--factored into the overall scheme, perhaps Robin was onto something. Never was Fox so single-mindedly fixated on an endgame goal as to neglect the collateral, but if such could be inferred of his character, mistakenly or not, how much better was he really? Was he so different from the Gleaming if seemingly all he could see was the enemy ahead of him; a vendetta against the apparently almighty to be satisfied?

Band wore a scowl as he considered the rapidly developing situation in front of him. There wasn’t an ounce of sense talking turkey to people still under Galeem’s influence, and tensions had continued to simmer while If the allegations of corruption against Validar’s administration -and by extension the Grimleal that served under him- held water, little Drippy wouldn’t be getting any time in court. More likely, he’d vanish off the face of the planet, never to be heard from again. All of a sudden the wounds of the detective’s past ached afresh. He knew what crooked cops looked like, and how they operated. There would be no justice. However Kan-Ra bandied about his words, the Grimleal had already made it clear that they intended to wipe out the Resistance this very day, and in so doing silence any chance of serious opposition for good. The truth that the detective sought would never come to light.

The sorcerer continued just as Band expected, his lipless grin cruelly wide. “That said, on account of the Resistance’s many crimes, up and to including theft, arson, and murder, we will be leaving this temple with all of you, and in whatever state you see fit to put yourselves.”

“So be it.” Robin did not look surprised. If the combat already endured by the temple’s marauders hadn’t doomed negotiation from the start, then the matter of making accusations with members of the offending party present certainly did. He waved Drippy away, and the little fairy took off running for safety. “You must realize that we will not come quietly.”

At that, Azwel smirked. “Alas, we dared not hope that might be the case.” As the Seekers readied themselves for combat he summoned his twin red and blue crystal scimitars to hand, saying, “So, this dingy place is to be the stage of history. Very well. Thus begins the final act…!”

His proclamation was suddenly cut off by a dark shape falling from above. A man in white robes dropped onto Azwel from the darkness and plunged a hidden, wrist-mounted blade into his neck. Simultaneously, Robin produced a fire-red tome, and with a cry of “Arcfire!” created a carpet of raging flames in an arc before his rug. In its glare Band lunged for Azwel’s assailant with Take the A Train, but the assassin leaped nimbly out of the way and threw something down at his feet that hissed and smoldered. From nowhere Tora appeared to save the day, leaping on top of the bomb with his Mech Arms blocking downward. When it detonated a second later he flew skyward for Poppi to catch, but everyone else had bigger problems than how that turned out.

As Azwel sagged to the ground, a hand pressed against his bleeding wound, the cell doors on either side of the dungeon flew open. Dante, Earthquake, and Beast came in from the left side, while Daisy, the Witch Doctor, and Es appeared from the right. As his allies ran to join the fight, Robin called, “Now, Tharja!” and in a spray of concentrated life magic the woman next to him restored Charnok to two-thirds health, ready to fight. She then got to her feet, weary but still capable, to fight at Robin’s side. Band took a deep breath. Things were about to get wild.

Ms Fortune

Level 4 Nadia (82/40)
Location: The Maw - the Depths
Blazermate's @Archmage MC, Bowser's @DracoLunaris, Ace Cadet's @Yankee, Sakura's @Zoey Boey, Mirage’s @Potemking, Link’s @Gentlemanvaultboy
Word Count: 1190

Filled with fear and even despair, both for the fate of her friend and her own uselessness, Nadia kept her eyes glued to Cadet’s flailing form as he hurled through the air. It felt like an age, but only about a second later the small hunter crashed down among the debris on the first floor. In her heart of hearts Nadia knew that Ace must be okay. A human could survive this, after all, and he was no ordinary human, even in child form. But as the seconds dragged on and the monster hunter did not rise, she felt a terrible chill inside her. Were she already standing she might have sunk down to the grate of her catwalk, every ounce of fight drained from her, but as it was she could gawk at the spot where Ace lay, unblinking.

Nadia stood upon a precipice; the darkness yawned before her. Only her grip kept her from plunging down into the abyss she’d never rise from. In this nightmare of powerlessness, this hell of darkness and hunger, all the children really had was one another. If Nadia lost the ray of sunlight who’d joked and fought by her side since she’d arrived...she didn’t know if she could hold on. For all his pathetic mewling, Moreau might very well pick them all off, one by one. They would die in the guts of a metal monster deep below the surface of a bottomless sea, never to be found. The idea filled Nadia with dread, but it also spiked her with rage. Screw that, she thought, bitterly. Screw it! That can’t happen. He’s not dead. He can’t be!

And when her eyes refocused and she looked again, he wasn’t. The Ace Cadet stirred from where Moreau tossed him, bruised and bleeding but alive, with no foreign objects embedded in him. Even better, he still held tight his clippers, ready to keep fighting. “He’s okay. He’s okay!”

Pent-up breath surged from Nadia’s lungs. When she squeezed her eyes shut, tears streamed down her face, but the stray kitten inhaled deeply and wiped them away with her arm. She found Junior and Mimi below her once again when she opened her eyes, the fan in hand. Anything else he’d said she hadn’t internalized, so as far as she knew they were good to go. “I’m alright, but we’ve got to move. Get up here!”

She took a quick look around the formerly flooded base. More shouts issued down from Kamek in a bid to keep Moreau occupied, but the monster looked like he’d made his mind to Nadia. The not-so-magic Koopa would find his efforts more rewarded if he started making his own way toward the exit. Link appeared, still alive if not exactly well, to check on Ace and lend him a hand. Nadia would have liked to do so herself, but all things considered Link had a much better position, so she was grateful. From here she could also see teammates from the Command Center way up high, starting to make their way down with some help from a certain someone’s darts. She spotted Mirage, Geralt, Sakura, Bowser, Bella, Blazermate, Peach, and Rika--everyone accounted for. Whatever it was that confronted them up there must have been dealt with. Good news all around!

Of course, her team was still a long way from victory, and Moreau lay squarely in their path. Nadia kept her eyes on him as she got back up, using the catwalk’s railing for support. After destroying Ace’s walkway he’d rolled back onto his belly, that tantalizingly weak-looking body withdrawn back into his mouth. His lack of immediate objective and the way he twisted around in search of a target told her he didn’t know where anyone was at the moment, except maybe Kamek, far beyond his reach. Still, it wouldn’t be long before his stomping around flushed out Link and Ace. And everyone would need to descend to the second floor sooner or later to use the elevator. He needed to be dealt with. Somehow.

Nadia’s focus shifted as she spotted movement in the corner of her eye. She expected to see a kid making a break for the exit, but instead she spotted a different familiar figure. A hulking diving suit, stained with black streaks of structure gel, minus one forearm. The eerie way it shambled, like a zombie from a monster flick, sent a shiver down Nadia’s spine. Worse still, when Moreau wasn’t making noise, she could hear it talking.

"Take care of..." It echoed from memory, during it's slow trudge. It groaned as it tried to understand what it was supposed to take care of. "Elliot, you're not an idiot." It told itself, one hand it had to spare scratching at its suit, which became more aggressive as it grew anxious, seeming to be reliving a memory of sorts. "Don't become a legend without having a bit of Witt." As if holding two sides of a conversation, it's scratching stopped as it replied to it's own words with a small scoff and a simple: "You're right, Ma."

The Mockingbird managed a recollection of what it was trying to care for: Mother. Though, as it felt a moment of pride in it's revelation, it felt a voice ring in it's mind: Small, squeaky, the voice of a little girl. It set the Mockingbird back on track, on the mission at hand. In a drawn out exasperation, it actually remembered what it was intended to care for down here. "Where are you?" It practically growled out the name: "Junior." before finding itself met with no response. Fixated on this goal, it shambled forwards, calling out again in a more desperate manner, not wanting to let the little voice in his mind down. "Junior? Where are you?"

It wasn’t long before the loathsome shambler got Moreau’s attention. With a bellow the mutant hauled himself the Mockingbird’s way, stomping the floundering mutant anglerfish into paste on the way. Given his target’s position, Moreau made his way toward the northeast corner of the bottom floor, close enough to Nadia at the top middle to make her shrink down. The racket he made as he scrambled over the scrap got the Mockingbird’s attention, but though the wretch turned with its hand outstretched as if to grab and choke the life from Moreau, it stood little chance. Without ceremony the mutant reared up, then crushed the Mockingbird beneath his weight. For good measure he then did it again. Nadia shuddered. Even if she had a hard time feeling for a machine simulating a real person, that was not a fate she envied.

What it was, though, was a chance for her to get the hell out of dodge. With Junior and Mimi hopefully by her side, she took advantage of the freak-on-freak carnage to sprint down the walkway away from him as fast as her wearied legs could take her. If luck was on her side, the others would make a move too, or if they’d put together some plan to keep Moreau off their collective backs, they would put their plans in action.

Goat Village

Location: Frozen Highlands - Alpine Skyline
Linkle’s @Gentlemanvaultboy

Once Linkle made her way back to the newly-connected blue flagpole by the Badge Seller, she needed to wait just a couple moments before Albedo joined her. Although in the end their activity didn’t end up being much of a race, if his new friend managed to enjoy herself, that was all that really mattered to Albedo. During the descent he did spend a few moments wondering why he felt compelled to try and help Linkle have a good time, but ended up writing it off as something that normal people -and friends in particular- just did for one another. Besides, with that vile Skull Heart both literally and metaphorically eating away at her, she deserved whatever she could get to take her mind off it.

With their pons combined, Linkle and Albedo could make just one purchase from the Badge Seller. It seemed as though it would take a lot more than a few minutes’ platforming to assemble the funds necessary for anything else, but Linkle could still get something she liked. A couple of the badges tickled Albedo’s curiosity, but since nothing fascinated him he left his share of the green gems for Linkle. Instead he busied himself at the flagpole, examining it in an attempt to divine how it worked. With no visible connection to the elements it magic was like nothing he’d ever seen, but at the end of the day it was just a rope with flags, and when Linkle came over he was ready for another chilly, high-speed ride.

The old windmill stood tall and straight on its blue-tinged mountain spire, a monolith of white planks and blue-painted rings. The bright red banners of its blades, being more than half as tall as the mill itself, could be seen from an incredible distance. It made for a splendid sight, wholly without any appearance of neglect, since even though the populace of the Alpine Skyline turned to smaller, more convenient and accessible mills for their grains some time ago, this grand fixture of the region had never stopped turning.

Linkle and Albedo arrived at a slightly lower mountaintop courtesy of the flagline, but since their objective was another line purported to be on the premises rather than the mill itself, that didn’t pose much of a problem. At least, it didn’t until a quick look around confirmed that this alleged line did not terminate on the same plateau. As far as the alchemist could tell, the place looked deserted, so they couldn’t ask around, but searching wasn’t much of a challenge either. After a glance at another nearby peak with an odd house and a cat-shaped rock atop it, he summoned a solar isotoma from the surface of the rocky crag for Linkle to ride up toward the mill. Another brought him up soon after. He treated the risky jump with apathy since, although Linkle hadn’t seen him earlier, clinging to and scaling a sheer cliff posed no challenge for him.

Once on the main plateau he paused for a moment to check out the windmill. Up close it was much, much bigger than it looked from afar. The fence that boxed in the yard around it stood easily twice his height, and if either he or Linkle wanted in they’d need to make use of the nearby hay bales and trees, although the giant entrance to the windmill featured no door to bar them entry there. There seemed to be no need to go in, however, as getting up here confirmed the presence of another flagline leading down into the clouds. It would be smooth sailing from here.

Or so he thought. Somewhat taken by the sights, he didn’t notice a slight disturbance in the air as it grew close to him, or the soft pitter-patter of paws. Suddenly an orange cat burglar appeared just inches away from him and shoved him, stealing his sketchbook in the process. The next second it turned invisible again, its silhouette sprinting into the mill. “Hey!” As Albedo got to his feet, a second cat appeared behind him and jacked his pouch before vanishing as well. A third cat surprised Linkle and nabbed her crossbows before following his brothers toward their hideout. Quick intervention could stop the third and possibly the second cat, but the first made a clean getaway. Albedo looked annoyed. “How unfortunate. That one probably just took something to distract me, but he ended up stealing my most valuable item.” He jogged toward the entrance to the towering structure before him. “It would seem we have more running around to do.” Once Linkle joined him, he proceeded inside, ready to whatever it might take to recover his lost property.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Barney Rynsburger

10:10 AM

Even if they couldn’t break his bones, words could still hurt, and Barney needed more time to recover from the blow Felipe’s tasteless joke dealt him than the incoming students gave him. Once forced to pack up his stuff, surrender his seat, and leave the classroom for the next bunch to suffer through. He paid no mind at all to the professor taking the aide aside before both made their way out, and turned singlemindedly to finding a new, more private refuge. If he hurried, Barney knew, he could find a study room before each one in this wing got occupied, and if he did he could be assured of all the privacy he could ask for, thanks to a basic rule of college life.

Even in the relatively short time Barney had spent here at Barclay Waterfront, he’d observed that just about everyone tended to keep everyone else at a distance. Of course everyone wanted to spend time with their friends, but when it came to anyone they didn’t know so well, it was the unspoken rule to stay away. When seated in the auditorium, bleachers, chapel pews, cafeteria, you name it, people would stick to opposite ends of the rows, and if they couldn’t, they’d put at least a couple seats in between themselves and anyone else. Only when obliged to by lack of space would they come together. At mealtimes it was common to see just one or two people per round table, and during a shortage one college visit day Barney had been shocked to see people putting two chairs together and eating in their laps rather than asking to sit with strangers. The average student preferred to find another bench than sit on one with someone else. And of course, if someone came upon a study room -little more than a nook, with two tables max, a couple chairs, and a single whiteboard- they’d be happier to sit out in the hallway than cohabitate.

It was a lonely paradigm, although for someone who wanted to be alone, it could be useful. Often enough Barney found himself wondering exactly why this seemed to be the norm, and the best answer he could come up with was stress. In college everyone had a whole lot on their plate. Classes, homework, projects, degree plans, work, debt...each person Barney saw struggled under the weight of an invisible burden, bending their minds rather than their backs. A clock hung over every one of their heads, their hands ticking steadily down. This was a place where people wagered their money and their lives in hopes of a better future, and for your average Joe it took a lot of work. In a situation like that nobody needed to open the can of worms that was human interaction. Better to mind your own business, and give everyone else the space to mind theirs. Nobody wanted to be bothered. In a way it was a behavior borne from mutual understanding, politeness, and even sympathy. And nobody, as far as Barney could tell, deserved more sympathy than himself, who having made it link by link and yard by yard, labored under a ponderous chain indeed.

So it was that after he found himself a miraculously unoccupied study room and collapsed onto the table like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Barney expected nobody to disturb his brooding.

But disturbed he was. At Harriette’s first word he jolted awake from his stupor with a grunt of alarm, and seeing none other than the teaching aide from Principles of English Composition shocked him even more. However, his surprise turned to embarrassment almost immediately, enough to turn him almost as red as her hair. “Oh, uh, no. Just...taking a break, is all. And ah, please, go right ahead.” In an instant Barney receded entirely from the table to his chair, leaving his visitor the whole space to work with, only to realize his mistake. If he wasn’t studying, what was he doing? It was a miracle anyone would want to come in here with him already present in the first place, and if there was nothing to occupy him, his presence might get uncomfortable, and fast. He slid a hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, and that was that.

Of course, he didn’t even read what came up on the screen. Instead he started overthinking things. Though normally not really self-conscious, the events of the day already left him raw, so much so that even a little humiliation left him scrabbling to put himself together. How lame it must look, he thought, for a big guy like him to be scared so badly by so little. It felt a lot worse than usual to look pathetic in front of someone like her, too--someone so composed, unflappable, professional. Although by no means one of his degenerate classmates who he knew spent a little too much time thinking about this lady than was healthy, it would be dishonest of him to deny her charm. Though technically a student herself, she spoke, taught, and even moved with a certain measured elegance. Coolly composed and even a little aloof, she gave the impression of someone in total control of her life, a cut above all the struggling freshmen. Since Barney started college late, he was only slightly younger than but there really was no comparison between the two of them. Adding in her style, she was practically a noblewoman, and he a peasant, grubbing in the dirt. And since for some unimaginable reason she had decided to come here, his number one goal was to not make himself look any worse.

That said, his embarrassment burned inside him as the seconds passed. No doubt Harriette came to speak to him about his participation in the class, which anyone could see was lackluster. In her politeness she no doubt meant to approach him without causing him too much distress. Thinking objectively, Barney could fathom no other reason why she would break the unspoken rule of college life and shorten the distance between them. He decided to try and make amends. Even in tenuous circumstances such as these, Barney Rynsburger was no shrinking violet. He could speak firmly and honestly, just as he wanted to live his life. As such, after a few moments went by, he cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Uh, hmhm. Sorry about that a moment ago. I’m just a little on edge at the moment. I also wanted to go ahead and apologize about how I’ve been doing in Poe Comp,” he said, using the popular abbreviation for the class. Pausing for a moment, he thought about how to best phrase his next bit, so as to not sound like he was trying to make excuses. A little vulnerability, a little humanity, might garner him some sympathy. “I’m not normally one to make excuses, but things really have been rough lately. It’s just one thing after another, after another. I might have to retake Calc One at this rate, but money’s super tight as it is, you know?” He gave a wry smile. As he looked at Harriette, though, his eyes narrowed slightly. Something wasn’t quite right, and after a moment he realized what. “Er...sorry to just drop this on you, but I think there might be a little...smear. On your face.”

He brought up a hand to gesture to his own face and indicate the area around and below Harriette’s right eye. After a sudden splash of juice and a hasty top replacement in the cramped confines of her car, her freshly-applied makeup had smeared, and ‘a little’ was a polite understatement on Barney’s part. A heaping portion of distraction had conspired to keep her from noticing, and though Barney made sure not to stare, he could clearly make out what looked like a dark circle of accumulated fatigue beneath the eye of the invincible aide. Maybe, he suddenly realized, his rambling about things being rough had been preaching to the choir.

At that moment, Barney became aware of someone else in the room. She’d arrived while he had his face buried in his phone and gotten Harriette’s approval to seat herself for the sake of a brief respite. Now that Barney actually glanced at her, she seemed very familiar, too. Half a foot shorter than Harriette but pretty in her own right, she was the girl who he sometimes heard whispering to her friend for a calculator in his Calculus class. Neither really knew the other, and even her name escaped Barney at the moment, but right now she served as an ample reminder that he’d missed today’s big Calculus test, and in so doing proved that he would never succeed in college.

Barney also realized that he’d probably been disturbing the peace she sought to sleep in with all his talking, too. Plus, if it turned out that Harriette didn’t actually have business with him, which suddenly seemed much more likely to be the case, then he’d definitely screwed up again. The image flashed in his mind of a bunch of people at a party all staring at the camera with expressions of confusion and disgust. “Uh, anyway,” he began, getting to his feet. “Reckon I oughta be going, to get ready for my eleven o’clock. So long.” Rather than give into panic and bolt away, however, he took a moment to compose himself and depart with dignity. If it turned out that anyone did have business with him they could stop him, but otherwise he could make himself scarce before he messed up again.