Current
Now running: World of Light: The Tale of the Dark Itself
5 mos ago
Forever and ever, amen
8 mos ago
Calling out from Scatman's world
1
like
11 mos ago
Called into action - by threats that seem harmonized
1 yr ago
Tomorrow comes
Bio
Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.
Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.
Harry’s @Eviledd1984, Level 11 Big Band (21/110) Word Count: 1285
A few seconds passed after Harry replied, quiet except for the wind through the forest’s leafy boughs, occasional spurts of birdsong, and the gentle babble of the stream. At that point it became apparent that the detective wasn’t keen to say much else on the subject, so Band turned his attention away from his new acquaintance to resume his uphill trudge. He’d intended to spice up the rather glum mountainside foray with a little casual conversation, but with the way Harry clammed up at the mention of his old partner, Band felt no need to try and pry further. The cyborg didn’t mind the quiet, after all; if Harry felt like talking, then the Icebreaker could break the ice.
Not long after that, the two had an unexpected encounter. While in Martira, Band had heard his fair share of nervous murmurs about wandering zombies, wild beasts, and ravenous sandworms from the townsfolk, so he’d been more alert throughout the journey so far than it might seem. Even then, the sudden appearance of a white wolf took him by surprise. Graceful yet deadly, the predator emerged in near-silence, blowing out of the treeline like a flurry of winter snow. Still, while the sight surprised Band, it didn’t necessarily alarm him. Having not seen a wolf in the flesh before, he hadn’t realized just how much bigger they were than dogs, but the creature still didn’t hold a candle to him. Should the worst come to pass, he felt very confident in his abilities to defend himself, but right away he realized that such measures shouldn’t be necessary.
This wolf was, after all, not hostile–that much was immediately clear. Its body language was relaxed, upright, and undefended, with no sign of aggression or fear. It could have ambushed the two men at top speed, but instead it approached at a carefree lope, friendly as a dog. For a wild animal this was undoubtedly strange, but then again, Band had seen all sorts of strange things in the World of Light. If a cat could cook a pot roast, a wolf could be a friend. Only a moment after the critter arrived, Band relaxed as well, a smile in his eyes as he gave the wolf a genial nod. He had no reason to suspect that it was sentient, but a friendly wolf was special, so he’d treat it with respect. “Hey there, li’l one,” he greeted Amaterasu, watching Harry. He expected the man to be a lot flightier about a wild animal than a five thousand pound cyborg like him, but the Icebreaker reacted pretty well. He offered the wolf a hand to sniff, a nickname, and then a hat. “If you wanna tag along, be my guest.” He tilted his head in the direction of the stream, then turned to continue onward.
After a few more minutes of travel, the unlikely trio found themselves closing in on their destination. Up ahead, the wooded slope evened out, then gave way to high stone walls. At least two stories tall, they towered over everyone, Big Band included, and though festooned with moss and ivy they looked very formidable. Hesitant to pit his mechanical might against such solid stone, Band led the others in a minutes-long search for the actual entrance. He could see what must be Curien Mansion itself looming large over the walls in the distance, so he guessed that the main gate must be opposite, and his hypothesis proved to be correct. A gap in the stone brick turned out to house a huge, elaborate gate of gothic wrought iron, all buckled up in various chains and padlocks. Band deployed a spindly mechanical arm to grab one of the bars and give it a good rattle. Though the gate made a lot of noise, it barely budged, and after it stopped clanking Band gave an impressed whistle. “Whoever did this sure didn’t want anyone gettin’ in. Or out.” If Heismay could scale Martira’s walls like Morris said, though, these defenses probably posed no challenge for him. He looked back at Harry with an eyebrow raised. “How’s your lock-pickin’, Icebreaker?”
Regardless of Harry’s reply, he spun back around, his trench coat flying open. From within his mechanical body extended a gigantic fist of black steel, brass tubes, and nickel-silver pipes. Pressurized gasses hissed and screeched, propelling the Brass Knuckles forward with pneumatic strength. One massive punch was all it took to bash through the chains and blow the wrought iron gates wide open with a tremendous cacophony of crunchy metallic reverberation. Busted chain links scattered noisily over the cobblestone pathway ahead, and then there came an ominous, heavy silence–until the newcomers heard the moans.
In front of them lay a massive courtyard, huge to the point of absurdity, with multiple layers of wrought-iron fences within, enclosing wilted flowerbeds, twisted dead trees, and mosaic plazas. Frog-mouthed gargoyles squatted grotesquely around fountains full of scummy, fetid water, while the channels beneath the arched footbridges seemed even worse. At a word, this place looked dead, which also aptly described its denizens. Right away Band’s eyes were drawn to sudden movements, only for them to roll when he saw what he was up against: zombies. They came in all shapes and sizes, in various states of decay and undress, but that all shared that familiar lifeless stare, that unnatural pallor, that maniacal gait. About a dozen of them were in the process of converging on the newcomers from all directions, their groans and growls getting louder.
Band heaved a sigh, much more annoyed than afraid. “Figures.” Judging by his reaction, Harry could probably infer that this wasn’t his fellow detective’s first rodeo. Band widened his stance, his tone sharp and authoritative as he took on a more menacing appearance. “You just a normal guy, right? Better stand back and let me handle these chumps. I was built for this, literally.” He didn’t expect Amaterasu to understand him, but hopefully the wolf could sense the danger she’d followed him into and would know to stay away. “Whatever you do, don’t let ‘em bitecha. Don’t want ya spoilin’ on me before payin’ back that cash you owe, eh?” He was joking about the money, but when it came to the undead, Band was deadly serious.
“...Impression!” Band started the fight by deploying a giant drum pedal that slammed the ground hard enough to shake it, knocking the two nearest zombies off their feet with the tremor. He then used Brass Knuckle again to slide across the ground toward them, only to cancel the ride with Emergency Break. One zombie had cracked his decrepit ankle bones as he fell, keeping him down longer, and when the other fought its way to his feet he found Band looming over him. “Hot socks!” Band clocked the creep in the knee with a smaller drum pedal, then brought his other leg forward with a knee strike that popped out a trombone for extra kick. “Bee’s…knees!” Finally, he hopped up just high enough to deliver a massive (if clumsy) drop kick that sent the zombie soaring into the derelict fountain in pieces. “...Lay BACK!” He landed on his back, but a burst of sound energy from his pipes allowed him to bounce off the ground and straight into the face of the second zombie to keep the pain train rolling.
As for the Black Eye Orb, I figured if we ever get to Irithyll past Sen's Fortress it could be used there to fight Lautrec and fulfill Kit's mission to avenge the Firekeeper of Firelink Shrine. If you would prefer not to have that happen I can just remove it from his inventory.
That's fine! With the rest of those changes made, Kit is good to go.
Just a few notes. One, the amount of charges on his Estus Flask should be reduced to 5, but can be kindled up to 15 for his current life by spending humanity. He won't be dying here as often as in his game after all, since that would block participation in a lot of fights. Two, we could probably expand Undeath to include the last place he had a long rest and not just bonfires, since those aren't a consistent world element. Three, abilities should include related numbers, so changing 'allies' to 'up to three allies' would be more explicit. Is that all fine?
Also, how do you envision the black eye orb would be used in this game?
I should be able to keep up with that commitment! I'm thinking of playing the Chosen Undead from Dark Souls who got plucked and thrown into the World of Light right after first arriving in Anor Londo. As for who I'd join, probably the team at the paved wilderness.
Sounds like a plan to me. Right now, the Wilderness crew is at (or near) Hammerhead, and my update tomorrow will introduce one new area (Outback) as well as lead into a week of driving to their destinations. Your character could be at Hammerhead, at Outback, at another destination, or somewhere on the road to another destination, meaning he'd meet other characters en route.
Hey, long time no see. I was part of the original RP a looooong time ago and I'd love to join this if you guy'll have me.
Well, hello again! Seems like it's a good season for returns. If you're down for a one-post-a-week commitment then we'd be happy to have you. It's a good time to jump in as well, since we're in a bit of downtime before the next mission, with people spreading out over the Paved Wilderness for short adventures. Or, you could join team Detectives and Dog to the northeast near Martira, whose members are looking to crack a case of missing children at the nearby Curien Mansion.
It's good to see Sakura again, and I'm sure many characters will be happy to see her IC, as well! I think you've got a solid plan for managing two characters. For upgrading her psychic abilities, there are two options. Because that NPC's psychic power was Mental Connection, upgrades and pins that apply to Mental Connection in Psychonauts 2 could apply to it. https://psychonauts.fandom.com/wiki/Mental_Connection Second, she could lean into standard SAS abilities like she already has with Brain Drive. One example is Brain Crush, allowing her to force open a port to a mentally staggered opponent with her SAS cables and deal a huge burst of psychic damage as a finishing move. Another is leaning on her psionic friends from Midgar, gaining their abilities through SAS, either to use their powers for herself or to conjure Visions of them for offense and defense. So there's plenty of options, and I'd be happy to write your choice up for you if that would be convenient.
Back from his extended vacation, it's everyone's favorite detective, Big Band!
Name: Ben “Big Band” Birdland Origin: Skullgirls Appearance: Big Band is 7’6” and 5000 pounds of polished brass and dark steel all wrapped up in a beige trench coat big enough to pitch a tent with. More machine than man but not so much as a micron less soulful, he’s a pneumatic cyborg whose technology may be dated but never obsolete. Beneath the coat, his bell-shaped body sits atop comparatively stumpy legs. With his mouthpiece, hat, and glassy eyes (not to mention his sheer mass) he can cut quite the imposing figure, but beneath the brass contraptions is the face of a kind, middle-aged man who’s seen it all but never betrayed who he is. For the most part he interfaces with the world through a set of small, spindly mechanical arms with cushioned pincers, but for those in need of a little justice he can whip out a pair of enormous, pneumatic arms with brass knuckles, and he has plenty more instruments packed away in there Personality: “When the word of the law falls, pick it up and hold it higher!” - Observant and dutiful, with a strong moral compass and a profound respect for spirit of the law, Band is a resolute and nigh-incorruptible authority figure. He exudes confidence and fortitude, and though he can be intimidating, but possesses a lot of fatherly kindness for the young and the suffering, and consideration for the consequences of his actions. While he maintains himself to be calm and collected and prefers to talk things out, he will not hesitate to fight back when he has to. Unafraid to put fools in their place if need be, he fights as he lives and breathes: with an incorrigible style and dedication to jazz. He loves a good tune, quiet company, a nice drink, and his instruments neatly polished. His every other breath is a tribute or allusion, woven into a charismatic dialog as rich as the art itself Background: Ben Birdland has seen a lot in his time, including the worst of the Grand War. But nothing was worse than what he saw as a beat cop in New Meridian. When he ran afoul of his crooked unit, he was given a violent early retirement, and his broken body was left to spend the rest of its days in an iron lung. Only his good friend Irvin did not betray, but there was nothing that he could do.
That would have been the end of Ben’s story if it hadn't drawn the ears of the Anti-Skullgirl Labs. With little left to lose, he agreed to be rebuilt with their experimental procedures. Melded with the machinery that allows him to breathe a powerful array of pneumatic weaponry, he was reborn as “Big Band.”
The years passed, enough that he saw the rise and fall of the two Skullgirls before Marie, and Band became not only a fixture of the organization but also a father figure of sort to the younger ASG soldiers. A firm believer in their cause, he has stayed with the project through its controversies and continued to have a place on the frontlines against every Skullgirl. Though working with dated technology, he more than made up for it with experience and fortissimo.
When Marie became the new Skullgirl, he resolved as ever to destroy the source of his enemy’s power: the Skull Heart. His investigation of her hatred for the Medicis took him to the River King Casino where he contended with Cerebella. Upon his return to Lab 8, he found it in shambles, with the man he owed his life to dead and a mysterious doppelganger in Band’s place--the grotesque Double. He eventually reunited with the Lab 8 fighters only to be forced to defend himself against Peacock, who planned to fight the Skullgirl all by herself and refused to accept his cooperation.
Though defeated, he made it his mission to track Peacock down before she could get herself killed. Thanks to a tip off from Irvin, he made it to New Meridian’s Grand Cathedral after running afoul of Lab 0’s Brain Drain. Before he could reach his destination, however, an all-consuming light twisted the tale. In the Now: Big Band rode into Al Mamoon in the Sandswept Sky one unassuming day in the desert, his young sidekick Peacock at his side, only to become embroiled in conflict when the Seekers swept into town. He lent his strength to their efforts in order to root out the terrorist organization known as the Resistance, then tagged along for the ride to Split Mountain in order to help see the heroes’ mission through. Along with the other Seekers, he fought and defeated the Guardian of the Sandswept Sky, Red Eye, in a thrilling train battle across the desert, then used the Nyakuza Metro to rendezvous with other teams. When Rush Hour occurred, however, he was part of the small group left behind to wander Edinburgh MagicaPolis, tangling with Consuls L and N and even a rogue Skullgirl until his crew hatched a scheme to catch L in a trap. After defeating her, he extracted aboard the Avenger alongside Ace Cadet and Wonder Red, rejoining the Seekers at last.
Job: Baritone Bruiser Specialty: Long reach, heavy hits, and durability make Band a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, allowing him to control the tempo of his fights and make his foes play around him, lest they get beat Inventory: N/A
Lv: 11 EXP: 12/110 Abilities:
Musical Ensemble - hidden within Band’s cybernetic body is a whole orchestra of instrumental weapons, from the tiniest horns and triangles to trumpets and trombones to enormous tubas and saxophones, all of which not only strike physically, but also release physically damaging sound blasts depending on their strength. He’s even got kick pedals and music stands in there. The instruments have a variety of uses, giving him a tool for every job, be it short-range pokes, sliding smashes, head-ringing grabs, or earthquakes
Sound Stun - Once per combo, Band can release a sound-based follow up attack on any instrumental hit that will momentarily leave his opponent paralyzed, allowing him to string together a longer, more damaging combo or open his foe up to allies
Dramatic Tension – Once a fight begins, Band can begin building up Dramatic Tension by dealing and taking damage. If he accumulates enough she can perform powerful Blockbusters. His Level 1 Blockbusters are:
Super Sonic Jazz - Big Band transforms into a French Horn and charges forward hitting multiple times, the last hit launching the opponent up and behind Big Band
Timpany Drive - Big Band pulls out several timpani and bangs on them with mallets causing multiple sound blasts to shoot out of the bottom of each timpani. Big Band floats and can move around during the attack
Even the Sky Ain't the Limit - 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
Satchmo Solo - Big Band’s level five Blockbuster, requiring five times the dramatic tension of Super Sonic Jazz or Tympani Drive. Big Band deploys a tuba, stopping time for as long as he plays it up to a maximum of seven seconds. When the duration ends or he stops playing, he can unleash the massively powerful Satchmo Death Blow, a hydraulic brass-knuckle beatdown that deals an absurd amount of damage
Take Five - Big Band’s Outtake. A strategic option taking the form of a high-knockback, non-damaging attack. If a foe is fighting as part of a team, this special attack not only stuns the victim but drags in whatever enemy teammate Band wants. If the foe is alone, this attack prevents the foe healing until the battle is decided
Bagpipe Blues - After playing his bagpipes for a moment to built up energy, Band gains two buffs. One allows him to finish off his next Super Sonic Jazz with Satchmo Blow, a weaker version of Satchmo Death Blow. The other gives him armor on his attacks for ten seconds, making him much harder to stop in close-range combat
Skills:
Hard Bop - Band’s mechanical body commands both great strength and weight, meaning he can take and dish out a hefty amount of punishment. Sound mind, sound body
My Favorite Things - While a pretty good musician himself across a variety of instruments, some better than others, Band shines through in his expertise with the subject itself, jazz in particular
Never Miss a Beat - Due to his time spent with New Meridian’s ‘finest’, Band possesses a number of useful skills from investigation and observation (including risk assessment) to forensics and criminal psychology. He even has a feel for Esprit de Corps, the spirit of policing, giving him an understanding of fellow officers of the law
My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now - Prolonged overuse of Band’s reconstructed body in extreme conditions has toughened it up somewhat, giving him increased endurance, temperature tolerance, and durability
Weaknesses:
Lazy River - When it comes to covering distance, Band is neither quick nor agile
Bright Size Life - Band is a big target, both easy to hit and easy to notice. Dodging and stealth just aren’t his jam
Miles Beyond - Though his melee attacks have some good reach and he has tools to get in, Big Band operates at close range. He has no projectiles and attacking someone from far away means getting close to them first, however long that may take, so keep-away tends to take its toll
When Band spotted Harry headed toward the tailor as well, he changed tactics and decided to let the man choose his garb for himself. Honestly, if he were in the same shoes he’d want to pick out his own clothes too, but as always, money was the problem. Band didn’t think the two thousand zenny stipend he gave Harry would get him very far. Hopefully he could manage a full outfit and still have enough cash left over for soap and water, or the poor guy would be scrubbing himself off in a very cold mountain stream.
The detective left Harry to his own devices and stomped off to tie up a couple loose ends, mostly inquiries he’d been meaning to make with people who hadn’t been where he’d expected them last time he looked. Unfortunately one of them -a grocer whose daughter had been among the recent disappearances- wasn’t open for business today either, which Band understood and was actually relieved to see. He’d had second thoughts about questioning the grieving man but resolved to do his due diligence, so having the choice taken out of his hands suited him just fine. He met with the parents of the missing girl’s young friend, but they refused to let the hulking stranger ask their son anything, and with that well within their rights Band had no choice but to look elsewhere. He did manage to catch a clemar guard who’d been on duty the night of the last kidnappings according to Bardon, but the man was defensive, and even after Band guilt-tripped him into cooperating his answers yielded nothing substantial. He settled for directions to Curien Mansion, which the clemar supplied before making himself scarce. With almost nothing to show from his efforts, the detective could only sigh in frustration and head back down to the plaza to rendezvous with Harry. How could this case already be so cold?
When Harry arrived, the sight of his new getup wiped every other thought from Big Band’s mind. “Holy smokes!” He chuckled, shelving his new partner’s question for the time being. “It’s a good thing I ain’t the fashion police, or I’d have to lock ya up and throw away the key!” Harry’s new duds, mismatched and ill-fitting, didn’t look that much better up close, but Band didn’t want to give the man too much of a hard time, given what he’d been through this morning already. He assumed that Harry was not much happier about his new look than anyone who had to see it was, and was simply making do with what he’d managed to acquire. At least, he hoped so. He was happy that Harry had cleaned himself up, though, and now that he got a better look, Band couldn’t help but be impressed by just how many articles of clothing the Icebreaker had managed to acquire. “Gotta say, you sure know how to handle your money. Got it all on clearance or somethin’? Musta been a real steal.” He paused just long enough to make Harry wonder about the intentionality behind his word choice, then turned to go. “But yeah, I’m ready to roll, and I know the way. Let’s bounce, slick.”
The two proceeded through Martira’s main gates and began their trek up the mountain. Heeding the directions he’d been given, Band led the way along the road until he reached a footbridge, then took a hard left and began to follow the little river up the forested slope. Near Martira the woods had been thinned out by loggers for timber to build the town’s houses with, but the woods quickly got thicker as the mountainside got steeper, and the pair’s progress slowed down just as fast. While Band’s mechanical body featured countless sophisticated subsystems and hidden sound-based weapons, its bulky frame and proportionally puny legs were not built for hiking, and soon the detective was wheezing and steaming like a locomotive. Engaging his thrusters and taking to the air would have saved him a lot of trouble, but it would have left Harry up the creek without a paddle, and Band wasn’t the type to let a partner down.
On the way up the mountainside, he happened to cast his mind back to something that Harry said earlier. “Hey, Icebreaker!” he called back as he paused between heavy steps. “Earlier, back when we split. Coulda sworn you called me ‘Kim’ or somethin’.” He raised an eyebrow like a cross-examiner, his tone playfully accusatory. “I know you ain’t forgotten my name already, so what’s the deal? Am I the spittin’ image of some gal you knew back home?” Where he came from, Band had only ever heard the name ‘Kim’ as short for ‘Kimberly’, so he’d been thoroughly unable to wrap his head around Harry’s misnomer.
New ability: Rapid Fire A chain skill that serves as a level 3 Blockbuster. Dual handguns must be equipped to use it. Nadia becomes a shadowy blur, leaving afterimages as she whips and whirls around at hyperspeed, unloading her handguns at 410% base damage for 3 seconds. This Blockbuster does not consume ammunition
New ability: Nitro Storm A chain combo skill that’s empowered the more blue tiles Sandalphon has contacted in a given fight. She has to have contacted at least 2 to be able to use it. When used, Sandalphon channels her azure light into her weapon and fires off a lustrous round heavensward. After a moment, diagonal rays of azure light rapidly descend on her target like angels shooting down from on high. T1 (2 tiles) drops 4 rays in an 8-foot diamond, T2 (9 tiles) rains down 12 rays in a larger circle, and T3 (12 tiles) rains down 36 rays in a 20-foot diamond. If she has a Cerulean Mirage active, the Cerulean Mirage also uses a T1 Nitro Storm slightly after. After this, Sandalphon’s tile count resets
New ability: Kindred Spirits Grimm can now summon Grimmkin Novices while in darkness. Oddly spectral, these strange masked bugs can float around and perform various tasks for him. They can also fight on Grimm’s behalf, charging headlong toward his foes or lobbing scarlet fireballs from a distance with their torches, but doing either leaves them vulnerable for a moment, and they have low health. The Grimmkin disappear in sunlight, and only Grimm can communicate with them. The amount he can summon increase with his stock of Nightmare Flames. At present, he can summon 2
Were any of the Seekers to look over their proverbial shoulders as the Avenger zoomed away from the Dead Zone, they might have caught a glimpse of the parasitized Qliphoth as it withered and died. Suddenly robbed of the floodfested tissue that had subsumed so much of its inner structure, and unable to sustain itself through the nourishment of stolen blood, it quickly succumbed to the timefall pounding its trunk and rotted from the ground up. Within minutes, the titanic, demonic tower of Babel crumbled, sloughing off desiccated masses the size of office buildings as it vanished into the chiralium-laced clouds below.
None of the Seekers looked back on the Qliphoth’s demise, however, so its mammoth grave went unmarked. Some things were better off left in the past, with naught but nightmares to mark their passage, ephemeral as life itself.
Given the Dead Zone’s proximity to the Paved Wilderness, the Avengers reached its destination quickly, even while flying at the lowest possible speed. The Seekers were only about an hour into the afternoon when the ship began to descend, and while it didn’t feature many forward-facing windows, anyone in the bridge could avail themselves of the camera feeds arrayed there to lay eyes on the not-so-trackless wilderness unfolding in front of them. Hope engaged the ship’s cloaking to hide the Lost Numbers’ flying fortress from prying eyes, and as Avenger continued to lose altitude, it wasn’t long before Hammerhead itself came into view in the distance. Of course, cloaking or no cloaking, the Avenger was much too big -and noisy- for its artificial pilot to set it down at the truck stop’s doorstep. Instead, the airship veered away from the crossroads and toward a distinctive rock formation in a more desolate-looking scrubland off the beaten path. The Avenger came in for a landing behind the curved crag, its massive thrusters kicking up billowing clouds of sediment until the roaring engines finally quieted down. Then the cargo bay door lowered amidst the haze, and the Lost Numbers could set foot on solid ground for the first time in a while.
“Mrrrrrrooooooow!” Nadia yawned as she plodded down the ramp, extending her arms to an unnerving extent as she arched her back. It hadn’t been long at all since she last stretched her legs, but to do so free of worry -at least for a while- was a liberating relief. It helped that the Lost Numbers had actually opted to land this time, sparing the Seekers from another nerve-tracking drop in the hellpods. No matter how many times she used those things and lived to tell the tale, the feral just couldn’t get used to falling from the sky in those deathtraps. Once her mantreads hit the dirt, Nadia pawsed to take in the scenery, breathing in the fresh air. The area looked rocky, arid, and dry, with plenty of long, yellow grasses but only a few scattered trees. The Avenger’s arrival had disturbed a number of scaly-shelled Ceratonoth that had been wandering and grazing the land in herds, each group of females clustered around a single male, distinguished by the tall keratin spars on their backs. “Guess I was right not gettin’ dessert with lunch, ‘cause we’re in for a rocky road to Hammerhead!”
Her ears perked up as she heard a familiar groan behind her. “Man, if I hear one more bad joke outta you…ice cream.”
Nadia grinned and turned to see Nero. From the look of the humorless, white-haired punk’s face you’d never guess he’d just made a pun of his own, but to Nadia the contrast between the young man’s hard shell and gooey insides just made him that much funnier. “Hey, Nero!” Though she thought she spotted him aboard the Avenger at some point, the two hadn’t really spoken since the Seekers’ first trip through the Dead Zone. “What’re you gettin’ up to at Hammerhead?”
“Just got the sneaking suspicion this girl I know’s gonna be there,” the devil slayer replied, brushing the dust off his navy-blue coat.
Nadia snapped her fingers. “Oh, right! Your friend from the dead zone. Ni…Nick…Nicole!”
Nero smirked, wondering how Nico would take to being called that. “Close enough.”
A quick glance over Nadia’s shoulder confirmed that Nero wasn’t the only one coming along for the ride. Plenty of Lost Numbers were as eager as the Seekers to experience natural, wide-open space. Like Sagi, the quartermaster, who had Caesar on a leash as both strolled out onto the ground, the latter so excited for a walk on solid ground that his wagging tail was a fluffy white blur. Once enough people were out of the way, the Lost Numbers’ two Armadillos rolled down the ramp after them, each armored car capable of transporting twelve passengers in comfort. One was driven by grouchy nopon mechanic Lulubi, while the other seemed to have Tora and Poppi behind the wheel. “All aboaaaaaaaaaaard, everypon!” the little inventor sang. “Next stop: Hammerhead!”
Only a few people hung back aboard the Avenger. Grimm took one look at all the sunshine, shrank back with a hiss, and disappeared into the shadows, while Sandalphon just looked on. Having been keeping tabs on her allies, she’d warped to Pit’s side seconds after his brawl with Juri concluded, and even after freeing and healing him she had hovered around him since then. Maybe something had her on edge? Nadia waved up at the archangel. “Not comin’?”
“I have…some calls to make,” Sandalphon called down.
Her zero-shaped pupils suggested some sort of inner conflict, but Nadia wasn’t going to probe. “Alrighty. Halo and goodbye!”
Still weary from the morning’s ordeals, Nadia was happy to hitch a ride aboard an Armadillo and ride the rest of the way to Hammerhead, watching out of a window. True to her pun earlier, the going was rough for a while, but before long the trucks discovered a dirt road, followed shortly by one of the wilderness’s titular paved roads, which soon led like a river tributary to a highway. From there it was a smooth ride across the flat expanse toward the region’s iconic landmark, Hammerhead.
One after another, the Armadillos turned off the highway and pulled into the parking lot to discharge their passengers. As an all-in-one blend of gas station, truck stop, service shop, and garage, Hammerhead had always been impressive, but among all of today’s visitors only Tora, Poppi, Bowser Jr, and Blazermate could appreciate how different it was since last time. Hammerhead as a whole had undergone a surprising amount of expansion in just two weeks, gaining not just its own oil refinery but a new forge hut for the local manufacture of custom parts. The previous adjunct restaurant, Grillby’s, had also been taken over and completely remodeled into Cheesetopia, a more traditional retro diner.
It was a lot to take in, and today it seemed that the whole place was already bustling with activity. Whether it was loading, unloading, gassing up, or breaking down, dozens of drivers and technicians were hard at work all over the place in a cacophony of voices, industrial sounds, and radio tunes. Both Nadia and Nero were drawn to a familiar-looking van parked next to the forge hut, but Tora’s eyes were more drawn to its owner out front. The glasses-wearing, chain-smoking country girl Nico seemed to be in a heated conversation with a the mechanic Cindy and two of the forge’s smiths, the red-headed Minayle and the blonde Gemma. In fact, the nopon’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head. “Tora must be in heaven!”
Embarrassed by him around so many people, Poppi quickly smacked him in the back of his head. “Masterpon should be careful around mechanics, lest they ‘fix’ you like dog you are.”
Nadia, meanwhile, zeroed in on a different quartet, and not for the same reasons. Nero had spotted four young men in black by the garage and gone to talk to them, so the feral followed him over. While Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio had retreated from the Dead Zone well before the Seekers reached the RCPD station, she’d heard about these boys from Nero afterward, and was happy to see they made it. “Hey fellas! What’s up?”
The guys fired off a round of friendly greetings. Nero had just asked what they were up to, prompting Prompto to give a good-natured smile as he shrugged. “With no kingdom or empire around, we’re basically stuck on one big road trip, right? All we gotta worry about is making ends meet.”
“Which is why we accepted a collection job,” Ignis mentioned in his posh English accent.
Gladio grunted. “Us and every other buncha guys in the whole Wilderness, looks like.”
Unperturbed, Ignis continued. “Indeed. All we know is that yesterday evening, a Ficsit company freighter crashed into a very tall structure to the northwest just last night. Fittingly known as ‘Highertower’, it apparently extends so high into the air that it poses quite the hazard to air traffic. The tower survived, funnily enough, but the ship and its cargo were scattered all over the Wilderness. Ficsit has issued a region-wide commission offering rewards for retrieving their lost property, which would be enough of the occasion on its own, if not for the rumor that illegal firearms were being smuggled among the cargo.”
“Yeah, turns out, it’s totally true,” Prompto chirped. After a surreptitious look around, he opened his jacket to reveal a huge, blocky revolver that seemed to be made of ice. “We found a weapons cache on our first trip. Worth way more than the two thousand we woulda got handing it in! Cool, right?”
“So as you can imagine, there’s quite the hullabaloo,” Ignis summarized.
Gladio crossed his arms, clearly impatient. “So we were just discussin’ our next move. Right Noct?” His big hand descended to pat the team’s quiet leader on the shoulder, pressing him for an answer. “Can’t sit around forever while the others make off with the goods.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Noctis sighed as he stood. He gave Nero and Nadia an apologetic nod. “Join in the scavenger hunt if you want, but we’ve gotta get going.” Without disclosing where they’d be heading, the four took off and jumped in their convertible to hit the road.
Nero and Nadia exchanged a look, the latter raising her eyebrow. Then the devil hunter gave a curt wave and began to jog in Nico’s direction. “Happy hunting.”
Nadia rushed back toward the largest group of Seekers with a pep in her step. While spending her break snoozing somewhere warm sounded pretty nice, a fun diversion was more the catgirl’s style. “Hey, guys! Found out why it’s so crazy around here. Some flyin’ cargo ship crashed and s-cat-erred cargo everywhere. We can earn some money findin’ their stuff for ‘em, or…” She leaned forward as she lowered her voice. “Keep it for ourselves!”
With her plan outlined, Nadia hustled over to the nearest map board, where a handful of other miscellaneous treasure-hunters were gathered. It gave a top-down view of the whole Paved Wilderness, including countless race tracks and many points of interest. In the southern plains lay Chutes Meat Plant and to the southeast stood the mountain pass leading to the Land of Adventure, both so far from the impact point that neither could possibly have much salvage. To the east lay Scorched Gorge, a network of red sandstone canyons home to particularly unusual wildlife, and a little farther north beyond stood a somewhat ominous complex known as the Refinery. Farther to the northeast the racetracks gave way to Cheese Land, which as far as Nadia could tell was supposed to be made of actual cheese. Reminds me of those cheesy caves near the Home of Tears, she thought. Way to the north lay the Rocket League Arena, as well as the attached settlement Noctis.
Nadia blinked. “Huh?” Did the village on the map have the same name as that broody guy from the boy band? That was a funny coincidence.
She quickly finished off the map. Hightertower could be found to the northwest, and as the crash site, it promised to be a hotly-contested area, especially if the murmurs Nadia was hearing about psychotic bandits held water. Apparently the scrubland where the Avenger landed was called the Windward Plain, and the ecosystem only got stranger the closer one got to a settlement called Outback. “Lots of choices,” she muttered.
In the midst of the feral’s pondering, Tora pushed his way through the crowd to stand beside her, Poppi hot on his heels. “Wherever you go, you not get anywhere without set of wheels.”
Nadia blinked. She hadn’t thought of that. “Ah, crap.” She took off her head and held it up to look over the crowd, disturbing almost everyone in her immediate vicinity. In terms of transport, her only options were the Armadillos and maybe Nico’s van, if the gunsmith wasn’t gone already. Then something else Tora said clicked with her, and she looked down at him. “Wait, you’re not doing the scavenger hunt with me?”
He shook his head. “Much more interesting things going on here, meh.”
“Double crap!” Nadia groaned. Kooky Cabbies had proven that she could sort of drive, but she did not feel confident about the Armadillos, even if they were hers to use. All the locations within walking distance were probably picked clean, too. What was she going to do?
That was when she saw it as she scanned the whole station from her elevated perspective: a splendid red dune buggy with impressive suspension and room for two. What caught her attention wasn’t the vehicle, though, as much as the little guy who’d left it purring at the gas pump to go attempt to flirt with Cindy. Nadia promptly stuck her head back on, wiggled her eyebrows, and scampered over.
If nothing else, Band had to admit that this guy had guts, introducing himself with nothing more than a grandiose title in such a bedraggled state. Then again, ‘Big Band’ wasn’t a real name to begin with, so maybe he thought the two would be going by codenames. Such discretion wasn’t necessarily common among cops, but it was a classic trope for secret agents. Maybe there was more to this Icebreaker than met the eye. Hopefully a lot more, Band thought, though he did not allow himself a smirk. He didn’t mean to look down on the man -as natural as that was for someone over seven feet tall- but he looked -and smelled- like he’d been through hell, and it wasn’t even lunchtime.
“Icebreaker? Not bad. Rolls off the tongue real nice. Guessin’ you ain’t the type to let red tape get in your way, then” Band surmised. “Me, I was always the straight-laced, by-the-books type. Too much for my own good, as a matter of fact. Me an’ the boys down at the NMPD didn’t always see eye to eye, but I bit my tongue and kept quiet, long as I could, ‘til one day, I just couldn’t take it anymore. Set out to blow the whistle on the whole dang unit. Thought I was ready, but things didn’t go quite as planned. Ended up the hospital, stuck inside an iron lung for life.” Band shook his head ruefully, a humorless smile on his face. “These days though, I carry my lungs around with me, and I gotta nice set of pipes, believe you me.” To show what he meant, Band popped open the caps on the side of his body in sequence, a musical note bursting from each.
Just as the detective was wrapping up his own introduction, the door to the Friendly Arm opened, and Morris appeared. Judging by his moody expression, he was in a huff, and eager to be done with his fellow lawmen. Not for the first time, Band wondered if the man’s heart was really in the right place. He’d met his fair share of officers who treated their job like a chore, and he knew that Morris must be off duty right now, but however precious free time was in a place like Martira, something about the man rubbed Band the wrong way.
“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Morris told the two, crossing his arms. “You wanted to know about Heismay, yeah? It’s not like I know the guy or anythin’, but I saw him, aye. Nearly caught him in the act, too. It was my late shift, on a dark, stormy night, and I was out patrollin’ the east wall, same as usual. I’d been out there for hours, not a damn thing in sight, ‘til just for a second, the clouds part and the moon shines through. Just enough for me to see the bastard climbin’ over the damn wall!” He balled his fists, jaw clenched. “So I went after him, shoutin’ up to high heaven the whole time, but he ran like hell. Disappeared into the woods to the east, headed up the mountain to Curien Mansion. En’t seen him since, but for that night at least, all the young’uns could sleep easy.”
Though Band didn’t have a notebook like Harry did, he still kept track of all the new information, filing away each snippet in his mental lockers. He raised an eyebrow at Morris. “What about Curien Mansion? Y’all ever head up there to try huntin’ this Heismay guy down?”
Morris gave a frustrated sigh. “We tried, but there just en’t enough of us, and we don’t have the arms for it. Whole place is crawlin’ with undead.”
“Ooh, my favorite.” Band gave a wry smile. “Well, maybe we oughta pay the place a visit ourselves, eh partner?” He shot a questioning glance at Harry.
For a brief moment, Morris ruminated on the proposal. “If that's the plan, actually, you lot might be in luck. We get these storms ‘round Martira, see. Sandflashes. Monsters can't stand ‘em, they tend to hole up in their dens to wait ‘em out. There happens to be a sandflash today, so if you're lucky you could stroll right into Curien Mansion and scope the place out for yourselves.”
Band narrowed his eyes, thinking, then nodded. “Sounds like a plan then. Thanks for your time, Morris.”
“Dinnae mention it,” the guardsman replied. “Happy huntin’, you two. And…” He wrinkled his nose at Harry. “For God's sake, take a bath or somethin’, would ye?”
He disappeared back into the Friendly Arm in a hurry, leaving Band and Harry to mull over what they'd be told. The big man deployed a spindly mechanical arm to adjust his hat, then scratch his chin. “Hmm…now, I've only been casin’ the joint since last night, but from what I heard, sandflashes don't pacify monsters at all. Word on the street is they actually aggravate ‘em. Sounds like someone doesn’t have his facts straight, hm?”
After another moment, his pensive expression dissolved into a jocular smile. “Still, he ain't wrong about one thing. We oughta get you cleaned up, Icebreaker. Here.” He extended an arm with the neck of a little bag pinched between its three finger-pads. Inside was two thousand zenny. “Seein’ how stormy it's been ‘round here, it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone willin’ to sell a barrel o’ rainwater. Betcha they got some handmade soap at the farmer's market, too.” He waved Harry off. “I'll find ya some new clothes in the meantime. See ya in a few?”
Band turned to stomp off. As he went, though, a green glow in one of the Friendly Arm’s windows caught his sharp eye. When he looked through, he found the big man from earlier, Stein, on the other side. He was sitting at a table with his daughter, a half-eaten hot dog in his hand. With his sunglasses it was impossible to tell if Stein was watching him, but he seemed close enough to have heard the conversation. Band’s gaze lingered on the window for only a moment, and then the detective moved on. The local tailor might not stock anything in Band’s size, but she ought to have something in Harry’s.
Free Skill obtained: Wounds of Plenty Launching a follow-up attack charges Maddening Voice by 5%, making Nadia increasingly giddy. When it reaches 100%, Maddening Voice activates, causing a burst of multitudinous laughter that cancels her current action and deals ten hits of Aftertaste damage to her current target, locking it in hitstun. Afterward, her Aftertaste damage is doubled for the rest of the fight
Free Skill obtained: Memosnatcher When attacking in her Shapeshifted state, Sandalphon’s attacks sacrifice 5% of her health, but have a 50% chance to Freeze the target until her Shapeshift expires. They’re also now ice-blue instead of yellow
Free Skill obtained: Flame Shard Increases fire damage by 25% and immunizes Grimm against the negative effects of burning
Slowly, the survivors of the Qliphoth assault force departed. After climbing the stairs from Deployment, they could disperse to any number of locations throughout the Avenger. Whether their natures and circumstances dictated that they seek celebration or solace, solitude or togetherness, this flying fortress was tailor-made to accommodate the needs of campaigners. Of course, not everyone knew what to do or where to go right now, and for a few moments, that was the position Sandalphon found herself in.
As the others got moving, the listless archangel remained in place long enough to see them off, doing her best to field any questions and provide whatever direction she could. Prior to exfiltration from the dying demon tree, her tendency to stand by had given Zenkichi the chance to catch her an unexpected embrace. Though a little stiff and awkward at first, she’d returned his hug after a moment, her arms gently encircling his back, their cheeks and temples pressed together beneath the soft glow of her halo. He’d been fresh from the fight, his tense body warm to the touch and slick with sweat, but in the wake of the team’s losses they’d found some semblance of comfort in one another’s arms. This was hardly the first time that Sandalphon had lost comrades, but never had such casualties left such a rawness in her heart. No doubt her newfound emotion was to thank, and unfortunately no amount of healing miracles would scrub away that scar, but to her surprise Zenkichi’s affection had soothed the ache somewhat. Maybe she’d hoped that lingering would prompt him to embrace her once more, but the detective -understandably- had other priorities. After all, Akane had probably been worried to death the whole time. Sandalphon watched as Zenkichi hurried off to go see her, trying not to think too much about the request he’d made of her in the hollow. Human emotion really was a two-edged sword.
One of the other Seekers who didn’t get far from Deployment was Grimm, though unlike the others, Sandalphon didn’t get the impression that there was anywhere in the Avenger he’d rather be. So far the Troupe Master seemed like an enigma, unconventional in both mentality and morality. Neither Sandalphon’s scanning abilities nor innate spiritual sense could quite get a bead on him, but something about him nevertheless put her off. Still, inexplicable misgivings were no excuse to be unsociable. If she couldn’t figure Grimm out at a glance, she knew she ought to just talk to him normally. “I imagine that experience will cast a long shadow over our campaign,” she said softly. “Has it taken its toll on you as well, Troupe Master?”
”Why would it?” Though Grimm’s face was too featureless to parse his emotions, there was curiosity in his scarlet gaze. ”Death is merely one turn of the cycle in whose gyrations we all play a part. If anything, today’s spectacular dance with death underscored its importance. All those horrors we encountered, borne of that vile ‘Gravemind’...a twisted and feeble parody of life, sustained in dead flesh, ad nauseam. Better that the dying forest burn to ash, and feed the soil of new beginnings.” He shook his head at Sandalphon. “So, I do not dishonor their ends with mourning. When the curtains fall, all will be ashes, so may we all be so fortunate to go out in a blaze of glory, as they did.”
After a moment, the archangel gave a respectful nod. She hadn’t expected to understand where Grimm was coming from. Still, the thought of leaving the departed Seekers unmourned was untenable, especially now, when the unprecedented hole in her heart demanded some sort of fulfillment. As mission control, who called the shots but seldom took the field, Sandalphon tended to be the one left to write eulogies amidst the aftermath. She couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Goldlewis on that snowy mountain crag during the minigame roulette in Carnival Town. Now, his sacrifice had given much of what he’d said a deeper meaning. It would be as good a place as any to start. “I see the wisdom in your words. But as an overseer of humanity, it is my duty to mourn the departed, and I will not dishonor them.”
Grimm tilted his head, then gave a raspy huffing noise that might have been a laugh. He lifted his arm to reveal the Grimmchild hanging beneath his cloak, whose chin he scratched with a pitch-black claw as he turned to walk away.
When Geralt found him, Tora was tinkering with something new, as always. Having exchanged his goggles for a custom welding mask designed to shield the upper third of his rotund, ovoid frame, the furry little Nopon seemed to be in the process of assembling a large machine frame with the help of Poppi’s beam saber, which he’d apparently jury-rigged into a soldering iron. It was shaped like a hockey puck, but twice as tall as the engineer himself, and almost as broad as Bowser’s shell. Absorbed in his work, he didn’t notice the new arrival until his artificial assistant tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned and popped up his mask, a wide smile spread across Tora’s face.
“Friend Ger-Ger!” he greeted the Witcher. “Tora glad you make it back, meh!” While the two of them hadn’t always been on the same team, Geralt had known who to come to for weapons since his first job in Lumbridge, and Tora always appreciated a repeat customer. When presented with the Keeper’s wire mines, the Nopon knew to handle the devices with care. “Ooh,” he murmured gently turning the trap over in his hand. “Nasty piece of work, meh. Spring-loaded, stuffed to burst with barbed wire. If catch sight of this on ground, Tora just do three-sixty and walk away! What Ger-Ger want done with it? Tora cannot help having special shield idea in mind, but should probably steer clear of war crimes after last time, meh…”
Poppi clapped her hands together and tilted her head with a disarming smile. “For legal reasons, that is joke.”
Conversely, the Nopon took one look at how Geralt summoned the Hateful Flesh and grimaced. “Blech! Put away! Meat-sword stink of magic, which not at all Tora specialty, meh!” He looked over at Poppi with a shrug, who returned the gesture, then turned back to the Witcher. “Uhhh…could weld new handle on, mayhaps? Not much can do beyond that, though.”
Once Geralt laid the cleaver down, the mood did not improve much. Geralt relayed the bad news about Goldlewis and Midna, both of whom Tora and Poppi had gotten to know during their trek across the Sandswept Sky. Poppi covered her mouth, a shocked and sorrowful look on her face. “Oh, no…”
Tora looked not just miserable, but deflated, like a balloon two days after a birthday party. Even his feather mohawk seemed to droop. “Meh, meh…” he mewled. “That make Tora…very sad. Not want think about right now. So…Tora ignore and think about something else.” He gave a determined nod when Geralt mentioned he’d be busy. “Yes, yes. Tora already had at work on new ideas. For instance, everypon on Avenger always busy doing chores. But if Tora makes machines to do chores, all friends have more time! So right now, am working on all-purpose cleaning robot. Found schematic on inter-knot that Tora get inspiration from…”
“Steal,” Poppi whispered to Geralt.
Her Masterpon continued without missing a beat. “...But Tora see plenty of improvement room, so there lots of work to do, meh. Sadly, though…” The inventor scratched his head, eyes narrowed. “Am short on good materials, and meanypon Shirogane say Tora not allowed to take any more parts from Avenger engine room. So, was hoping that friends like Ger-Ger help with funding for special projects, meh. Would be much much appreciated!” He hopped up and down, flapping his wings pleadingly. Poppi just slapped a palm to her face and shook her head.
Before she went anywhere else within the Avenger, Nadia knew one place she wanted to be–and luckily, it wasn’t far away. She made a beeline for Ace and squeezed him tight in a fierce hug, as if strength alone was enough to guarantee he’d never leave her. After a second or two, though, she relaxed a little, and laid her head on his chest, her furry ears tickling his neck. By now she knew about Palico Rescue, but that knowledge hadn’t made his sudden disappearance any easier to stomach, and after the actual loss of several friends Nadia had needed to see her love interest safe and sound. They were both a mess, of course, but they were alive. Held tight in Ace’s strong arms, it was hard to feel bad about not sacrificing herself, or about much of anything, really. For one, golden moment, there was nothing in their world but each other.
Of course, reality caught up with Nadia with a vengeance, and after only a few seconds the tender silence was broken by the almost leonine rumbling of the feral’s stomach. A fit of giggles burst from Nadia as she laughed it off, pulling away from Ace just far enough to pull him after her as she made for the stairs. The pair followed in the footsteps of Head Chef Bracket as she made her way through the Avenger toward the mess hall, where the Mimiga’s fellow cooks had been putting the finishing touches on today’s meal in her absence. After a quick, five-minute detour to the showers to freshen up, they returned on the heels of Edelgard, Ganondorf, Zenkichi, Akane, and a few others. Inside the airship’s cafeteria,Nadia found a pleasant surprise awaiting her: while the giant crab legs fetched by the Koopas were boiling bit by bit for dinner, hemborgers were on the menu.
These patties, festooned with melted cheddar cheese and drenched in rich brown gravy, came surrounded by fresh sliced vegetables and a couple hard-boiled eggs for good measure, promising a flavorful and protein-rich meal. Though dubiously named, one bite was enough to convince anyone that these things were the real deal. There were other miscellaneous foods on offer for lunch, primarily leftovers from previous meals that ought not go to waste, but the minute the sumptuous aroma of the beefy feast hit her nostrils, Nadia could think of nothing else. “Hemborger,” she murmured absently, her mouth ajar in anticipation as she lined up to receive her portion. As it turned out, running and fighting for one’s life for hours at a time really built up one’s appetite.
Once she reached a table with her precious cargo, Nadia wolfed down her hemborger so fast that barely tasted it. After realizing her mistake, the feral could do little but seek to rectify her foolishness with a second portion, slowly and meticulously savored. She washed it down with some freshly-brewed, piping-hot espresso. “It might be after noon, but this is still my ‘mourning’ coffee,” she told the Cadet, a wry smile on her lips. Finishing the hemborgers, of course, left Nadia with a double portion of vegetables to gnaw through. She approached this task with significantly less gusto, which gave plenty of time to chat with Ace -and anyone else who happened to be nearby- between crunches.
The mess hall was pretty lively by now, after all. In addition to the other Seekers, Lakota and Dawn were here, along with their three bunny-eared little girls Aurora, Ciel, and Soleil. As their dad attempted to cajole them into cleaning their plates, their mom went for Lakota’s, making off with his hemborger. When he discovered the theft, Dawn pretended to have no idea what had happened. She managed to keep up the facade until Lakota poked her in the belly, which earned him a giggle and a slapped hand. As she munched her cucumber slices, Nadia couldn’t help but smile at the two any more than she could stop herself glancing at Ace afterward. Dawn, Lakota, and their kids were living proof that an impossible love across worlds could succeed, even in a world as cruel as this one. What would happen to those little girls -to all the Lost Numbers- if the Seekers’ campaign succeeded…?
Nadia let out a heavy sigh, took a swig of her coffee, and smiled. She had enough on her plate today without having to worry about tomorrow.
For the second time the nightmarish pocket dimension of flesh and sacrifice receded from Nadia’s view. The next moment, the Final Hollow faded back in around her and the other Seekers, leaving the team one more ally short. Unfortunately, it wasn’t any easier for the feral to compose herself this time; if anything, she felt number than before. The decision paralysis inflicted on her and the others by A’s meatspace was wearing off, and the cold fear with which her phagophobia gripped her spine had diminished, but the loss of Goldlewis Dickinson was a weight she’d be carrying for a while.
“Damn it, old man,” she muttered bitterly. Sure, at the end of the day she hadn’t know him that well either, but how many more times would she have to console herself in such a way? As someone made mostly immortal by the power of the Life Gem, it would be her lot in life to outlive most everyone she met. That meant losses were inevitable, but while Nadia knew she couldn’t let such things drive her to despondency, she also knew that she couldn’t harden her heart to said losses, either. Having lost so much already, Nadia had taken to heart an important lesson: that the inevitability of loss wasn’t a reason to give up on life, love, or laughter, but instead the reason to live, laugh, and love all the more. In the short time she’d known Goldlewis, he’d proven himself to be one of the strongest, most stout-hearted old warriors she’d ever seen. He had not thrown his life away for nothing, but had nobly faced his own death without fear for the sake of saving everybody. Nadia felt guilty, for lacking that courage herself and forcing the veteran’s hand, but also grateful for the extra chance he’d given her. She would not waste it.
“Badass to the end, huh?” Nadia found herself looking upward, past the twisted, throbbing horrors of the floodfested demon tree and into the clear blue sky. Against such a backdrop, even the Brother Moon looked small, somehow. “Well, you can rest easy. We won’t letcha down.”
The next moment, Nadia’s ears twitched, and on instinct the feral sprang backward. A blazing meteor slammed into the floor where she’d been standing a split second earlier, close enough that she could feel its searing heat on her skin and eyes as her hair fluttered from the displaced air. Blown further back by the shockwave, she used the momentum to twist herself around in a backflip and land in a crouched stance on her feet. Her claws raked across the flattened Qliphoth bark of the floor as she slid to a stop, her lips curled over bare teeth. Above the battlefield hovered Moebius D, a fresh batch of spells already on their way after Pit’s shimmery shield took the brunt of the last one. In the wake of the second Come Unto Your Maker, the vampiric Consul had taken advantage of the emotional fallout to try and rack up a few more kills of his own, but now Nadia’s blood was boiling a lot hotter than his meteors.
Another round of violently purple rays streaked toward the Seekers below. Nadia took off with a dash propelled by jets of high-pressure blood, then sprinted on all fours in a frenetic strafing run. As the magic curved toward her she zig-zagged back and forth, changing her direction at the last second to confound the arcane beams’ homing abilities. “Such wanton D-struction!” By the time the barrage ended, though, whirling sickles of flame were on their way. Only after weaving through the fiery pinwheels did Nadia realize that she’d been corralled against a thick curtain of blood rain as huge fireballs plummeted toward her. Thinking quickly, Nadia used Charge to bolt through the crimson deluge, only a little worse for wear while a cacophonous chain-explosion demolished the area where she’d been. “Hah! Sorry to rain on your parade, but it’ll take something a bit ‘meteor’ than that to get me!”
Despite her jokes, Nadia was definitely annoyed, and not just because she heard Juri gloating about killing Moebius O. There were no gaps in D’s offense in which her team could fight back, and even if there were, none of them had a chance in hell of reaching him. With Junior grounded and no Sectonia or Kamek to safeguard the skies, the Seekers were vulnerable against aerial opponents. She, Roxas, and a few others were agile, but not that agile, and if anyone stopped long enough to fire off a few bullets or spells, D would return fire with ten times the fury. Was there seriously no limit to how much magic that dirtbag could pump out!? There wasn’t anything she could do…from the floor, at least.
Nadia snapped her fingers, then abruptly turned tail and ran. To the others it might look like she was being selfish and cowardly, distancing herself for the sake of her own safety no matter what happened to the others, but as convenient as it was for her, she did have a plan in mind. Hopefully the others could last long enough for her to pull it off. Given how close the Brother Moon’s tentacles were getting, their odds were getting closer by the second, but she had to do something!
Some of her allies, at least, had their fights a little more under control. While A had managed to snuff out one of his strongest attackers, that smidgen of relief came at a great cost, and those who remained were determined to make him pay the price. The Monster surged forward first, little more than a massive heap of raw power, instinct, and emotion. What followed was more of a beatdown than a fight, with A struggling to defend himself as his heavily damaged husk began to fail him. Even hunkering down did not avail him, however, as Primrose’s Makami siphoned from him, and the Monster took advantage of his unanchored state to hurl him into a nearby environmental hazard. It wasn’t the end of him, but it put the villain in a terrible position he was forced to literally claw his way up from. He did manage to strike a solid blow against the Monster while its overextension left it isolated from the other Seekers, but when A crested the edge of the pit he found the children very much alive, and before he could try to finish the Koopas off, Roland arrived.
A handful of abilities hammered the Consul in quick succession, followed by Roland himself in ghoulish attire. His rake scored A’s body, gouging a huge chunk of demonic metal flesh from his torso. Once gutted, he found himself buffeted by a thick cinnamon cloud, as hard and heavy as a fist. Its impact momentarily stunned him, its psychological component affecting his eldritch mind in some inexplicable manner, which paved the way for Primrose to take center stage. As A regained his senses in front of the empowered dancer, now on his last legs, he made the pragmatic choice to try something new: teleporting away. Yet no matter how he tried, his Moebius teleportation ability would not obey him–what had Roland done!?
He lashed out first. How could he not? And for a moment, it looked like he’d seized victory. Primrose doubled over, blood seeping from her mouth as her flesh yielded to his strike. When he attempted to recoil, however, the rose’s thorns pierced through his tentacle, more than living up to their name. A brilliant aura of black and white flared around Primrose, then flooded into the A’s flesh, a lance of pitch-black incineration that turned the Consul’s own limb into a burning fuse. He had only a split second to realize what was happening before the Black Serpent reached him, implanting Primrose’s dark magic into the very core of his being. ”Mortality-!”
Moebius A exploded in a maelstrom of rippling, roaring shadow. His failing body, unable to stitch or hold itself together any longer, was ground away into fitful purple sparks that were swallowed by the dark just as quickly. After a moment the tenebrous singularity subsided, leaving behind only a handful of misshapen hunks, including part of A’s head. The scattered remnants did not regenerate this time, but crumbled into nothingness bit by sickening bit. Even the glow of the red lemniscate in A’s eye had been extinguished, but it stared at the Seekers nonetheless, gleaming like a black pearl.
”Victory…” A’s tone was critical, almost chiding, even as it faded away. ”A hollow…and ridiculous…notion…”
Then the last vestige of the aberrant Moebius A was gone, at last.
Unfortunately, the Qliphoth was not yet free of dead flesh, even if it had gone to pieces. The grotesque separation of the Gravemind into a number of large, extremely aggressive fragments was overwhelming to Grimm for a few moments, but from her bird’s-eye view Blazermate managed to get a bead on the situation that the Troupe Master did not. In a bid to stop the Gravemind’s spore-dropping core from ascending out of reach and into the Brother Moon’s eager embrace, Blazermate applied herself in a uncharacteristically physical sense: she tackled the vile thing out of the sky. Her metallic limbs battered the bomber’s newly-formed body well enough, but it was her Suffering shield that did the trick, its teeth puncturing the core’s gas sacs enough to let out the lighter-than-air fumes lifting it upward. In a matter of moments the core wasn’t gaining altitude, but losing it, and in another few seconds it would be well within Ganon’s reach.
Determined to give his much larger ally the space he needed to bring the Guardian down for good, Grimm and his Grimmchild turned their attention toward the fragments down below. Though not particularly well-built, the horrors formed from the remains of the core’s chrysalis moved powerfully and erratically enough to be dangerous, as Zenkichi and Edelgard found out. Grimm joined in with barrages of firebats from afar, keeping himself out of harm’s way. Though things looked dicey for a moment or two, Edelgard held firm until Zenkichi composed himself, and the pair turned the tide in a storm of spells and steel. These fragments didn’t seem able to regenerate or reform, so the team picked them apart one slice at a time, and the arrival of Captain Falcon plus Roxas sealed the deal. For the finale, Grimm took a bow, his cloak moving on his own to plunge its tips into the ground and spear the last monster from below. With their last course served up on a silver platter, the others could make sure that the Gravemind got its just desserts.
As the gargantuan tentacles of the celestial monstrosity above drew close, Ganon mustered the last of his strength. The next moment, a torrent of purple energy burst forth from his gullet bringing long-overdue annihilation to the execrable Gravemind core. Once back on his human form, Ganondorf found himself caught in a downpour of ashen remains, gentle as snow. Soon after the spirit of the Dead Zone Guardian fell at his feet, the visage of his vanquished foe resplendent in a wreath of sickly green light. The Seekers had won.
The response from the floodfested collective was immediate. A hundred thousand voices wailing, lamenting, singing in an abominable chorus. Untold tons of undead biomass writhed in despair and pain, much of it so interwoven with the demon tree that the Qliphoth itself seemed to shake. Overhead, the Brother Moon was gone–gone, just like that. Far, far above the World of Light hung a dark, scarred moon, innocent but sinister. Yet to hatch. Had it all been a vision conjured by Consul A, a cosmically horrific feint to boggle the heroes’ minds? Nadia didn’t know, but she was indescribably glad that it was gone, and almost as glad when the floodfested finally stopped screaming.
When the noise began, the magical bombardment from Moebius D had ceased. At first he'd been incredulous, but the more he surveyed the situation on high, the less D could deny what had happened. Both O and A were dead, and the Gravemind had been destroyed. For all his power, he'd failed to stop the Seekers. Failed to stop a fourth of them, even. "No," he snarled through gritted teeth, dark magic flaring to life at his fingertips, but after a moment he let it go. D drifted down from the air, returning to his everyday form. "I must admit, I'm rather impressed," he conceded stiffly. "And it would seem that I've failed in my duty. Fighting for another's sake has never been my strong suit. I suppose congratulations are in order." He seized his cape and shrouded himself with it. "But make no mistake. We will meet again, and when that day comes, you will learn the the meaning of fear." Then, in a burst of purple energy, D vanished.
In the moment of silence that followed, though, there came one final surprise. Even as their bodies and collective intelligence disintegrated, however, the multitudes raised their wretched voices as one to make their last words heard.
”RESIGNATION IS MY VIRTUE. LIKE WATER, I EBB AND FLOW. DEFEAT IS SIMPLY THE ADDITION OF TIME TO A SENTENCE I NEVER DESERVED…BUT YOU IMPOSED.”
Nadia couldn’t help but shudder, but after the Gravemind delivered its own eulogy, its consciousness seemed to be gone for good. As the floodfestation died off, the branches and boughs they’d parasitized thrashed, withered, and began to fall apart. Cracks spread, the bark peeled away, and enormous slabs began to plummet toward the wastes below. With all the timefall dramatically hastening the Qliphoth’s degradation, it wasn’t hard to imagine the whole place coming down in half an hour or less. As much as Nadia wanted to slump down and not move for a good few hours, she knew she couldn’t relax just yet. “So…how’re we gettin’ outta here?” She craned her neck in the direction of the hollow’s entrance. “Race against the clock, all the way back to the bottom?”
“Nothing so dramatic.” Sandalphon’s voice reached her allies through their divine communication sigils, but after a pillar of blue light descended from the heavens, the archangel was here in the flesh. She’d arrived with a large, military-style duffle bag slung over her shoulder, just as she did in Mafia Town last night, and it didn’t take Nadia long to connect the dots. “Congratulations, Seekers. The World of Light is fifty-three point four percent saved. We cannot linger here, however. Everybody, please take a Fulton and prepare to ascend.”
The feral breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Finally, we get to do things the easy way for once.” After the odyssey it had taken the Seekers to reach this damn place, through rain-soaked wastelands infested with nuclear ghosts and a tower stuffed to the brim with monsters, the chance to soar straight out through the hole A opened in the roof was a welcome break. Practically the second she realized that she was in the clear, her adrenaline faded and fatigue came rushing in. Nadia laughed to herself and jogged over, shaking her head. “Jeez. What a day.”
Though eager to leave as the next guy, Grimm did not immediately follow Nadia’s example. After approaching Ganondorf he plucked the spirit of the Gravemind up in his slender black claws, but he did not try to use it. Instead he merely stared into the orb’s loathsome luster, his scarlet gaze almost reverent. Then he presented the spirit to Ganondorf, unaware of what needed to be done with it. ”To the victor go the spoils, hm?”
After that, he turned his attention to something nearby. It had been easy to miss in the heat of battle, but now that the action was over, it was practically impossible to miss. The reinforced coffin wielded by Goldlewis sat, motionless and silent, on the floor not so far from the wreckage of Drop in the Ocean. Though scuffed and scratched by countless battles in which it had served as a blunt force instrument, its heavy metal frame and spikes still shone with a defiant glint. Inside lurked the extraterrestrial entity that Goldlewis insisted on calling a cryptid, bereft of its bearer. Grimm approached it, his eyes unblinking. That man hadn’t been his friend, if such a concept existed in his mind to begin with, but Grimm knew that without Goldlewis, he wouldn’t be here. Now Goldlewis was gone, laid to rest in the Guardian’s grave, and though it wasn’t his coffin, this was all that remained of him.
When Grimm looked to his right, he found Sandalphon standing there. Her pupils resembled the lowercase letter V, and her hands were in her pockets as she bowed her head. “He was a soldier to the end. A man who walked hand in hand with death, bore its weight upon his shoulders his whole life, and who did not flinch from the end. We must take time to remember him.”
Grimm nodded, then bent down to take hold of the chain. He did not lay claim to it, and he could not carry it, but he could pull it back toward the group one tug at a time, in the hopes that someone else could carry its weight henceforth.
With the Qliphoth still falling apart, the team needed to get going. Once the Gravemind spirit, the veteran’s coffin, and any other immediate concerns were addressed, the Seekers could Fulton themselves up and out of the demon tree for aerial pickup by the Avenger. Though Nadia was among the first to extract, Sandalphon could wait to make sure everyone else made it before teleporting back. Over the course of this mission, she’d been tabulating a number of miscellaneous statistics, but four in particular stuck in her mind.
Twenty-four had entered. Twenty-one had returned.
Seven down. Six to go.
Yet again, Nadia came to in the bowels of the Avenger, surrounded by heavy-duty machinery in the dimly-lit deployment zone. Unlike last night, though, there were tons of people here waiting for the team, including Lost Numbers, former Alcamoth Mercenaries, reserve Seekers, and the three saved by Ace’s Palicos, not to mention the man himself. After everything that had happened, Nadia was especially relieved to see the Cadet safe and sound. There were no cheers or claps, fireworks, or party poppers, but everyone was ready and willing to do whatever they could to help the weary Seekers out. Bracket Brace was here with sodas, bottled waters, and snacks, while Eleison came prepared with medkits and vials of laudanum that could mitigate the stress they’d suffered. One could be certain that, despite the hour, Cirrus could be found in Stolen Moments, where visitors would find the memorial wall in dire need of an update.
Before everyone could go their separate ways, Sandalphon gave them a quick update. “I’ve conferred with Hope and Vandham. Though we are aggrieved to have sustained losses, the fact remains that you all fought well, and claimed victory. It is currently eleven fifty-one. The day is yours for decompression and recovery. After leaving Dead Zone airspace, the Avenger is bound for Hammerhead, to the south. We will reconvene in the Bridge at eighteen hundred hours to debrief, vote on our next destination, and hold a memorial service for the fallen, before proceeding to the mess hall for dinner. I understand that, for the first time since our arrival, the Commander will be making an appearance.” She paused, her face an unreadable mask. “Dismissed.”
Grimm stalked off without a word, the Grimmchild in tow. Nadia just sighed. Like many of the others, she imagined, she didn’t know what she wanted to do next. Get a drink, maybe? She’d drowned her sorrows after helping defeat the Orphan of Kos, after all. Then again, lunch sounded pretty good right about now, and afterward she could relax until Hammerhead, then maybe find something to do. It had been one hell of a morning.
Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.
Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.<br><br>Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.</div>
Member
RPM
CabbageAngel
TruthHurts
Eviledd1984
DancesWMonsters
Archmage MC
Dyelli Beybi
FujiwaraPhoenix
Bingelly
