MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

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

Geralt, Zenkichi, and Edelgard

The Qliphoth
Lvl 14 Geralt (63/140) -> Lvl 14 (66/140) (+2 pending)
Lvl 8 Zenkichi (37/80) -> (40/80)
Lvl 3 Edelgard (24/30) -> (27/30)
Word count: 1,388 words

Geralt, winged in his Ardor Blossom identity, hurled a group of charged-up fireballs into the Floodfested swarm. Maggots and infection forms burst in the flames, while larger enemies caught fire, giving Geralt plenty of opportunity to spread the damage around to the weaker enemies and deal some semi-passive hits to the more powerful ones. A charger came running for him, sensing his vulnerability in the unarmored Identity, only to crash head-first into Edelgard’s shield.

”Back, beast!” She shouted, pushing the Infested away with her towering shield for Geralt to retaliate with a few fireballs. A beam from Ragnell destroyed a walker that was approaching, as Zenkichi leapt into the melee to clear out a group of the low-level swarm. Edelgard slammed Aymr into the burning charger, stepping back to allow Geralt to follow-up.

The transformed Witcher felt the power of Barbatos ready to be activated, and stomped the floor with the destructive intent of the Dark Dragon. Explosions of dark energy burst forward from his position, destroying walkers, infection forms, and some weaker combat forms with ease, and staggering the larger Flood and Infested that it struck. “Let’s wipe them up!” He called, and Zenkichi nodded as Valjean appeared behind him.

”Megido!” He cried to his Inner Self, as Valjean unleashed the explosive balls of Almighty energy into the swarm, finishing off anything that had been hit by Geralt’s Ground Shaker and survived. Edelgard let out a heavy breath before the empty space in the swarm was filled once more by Flood and Infested, this time led by a Tank form Flood. ”Oh man, there’s just no end to these guys!” Zenkichi groaned as he swung Ragnell, a beam of energy launching out to obliterate a combat form that had started to charge ahead.

“Don’t expect things to go easy. Cover me, five seconds!” Geralt shouted, stepping back and transforming into his normal Identity. He drew his flame katana and began focusing a Holy Lance, while Edelgard and Zenkichi stepped in front to provide cover. A ranged form started to fire on them, but Zenkichi dismissed his holy blade to draw his revolvers, firing back at the Flood form. He was trying to conserve his energy, given that this was only the start of what they’d have to deal with.

Edelgard, for her part, was providing a wall against the charging chaff, though once the Tank form reached their line, her attention immediately turned to it. The hulking abomination slammed its trunk-like arm into Edelgard’s shield, the sheer force of the blow sending her staggering. ”What power!” She cried in alarm, as Zenkichi’s revolvers clicked dry. He turned on a dime, dismissing his revolver and summoning the massive Greatsword that Sandalphon had purchased for him. He hefted the blade to shield himself and Geralt from the range form’s attacks, stepping back to better cover the Witcher.

“Get clear! Holy Lance!” Geralt shouted as the spell triggered, lances of holy energy slamming into the tank form and dealing significant amount of damage to it. When the Flood still stood after the final lance had dissipated, however, Geralt sighed as it turned its gaze upon him. “Fuck.” He uttered as it charged, forcing him to leap out of the way. Quen had lapsed, and Geralt had focused on using spells and offensive Signs for much of the battle, relying on Sandalphon’s healing and his armor for protection from harm. If that thing hit him, though, it might just break a bone and damn him. “Zenkichi, deal with this thing, I’ll handle the spine thrower!” He cried, earning a grunt from the detective.

”Fine, but you two keep those chumps off my back!” He replied, Geralt putting away his katana and drawing Odysseus’s bow. Edelgard rushed forward into the melee, Aymr carving through enemies one by one, while the Witcher started firing arrows at the ranged form, each fourth hit triggering a spreading chain of electricity.

Zenkichi, for his part, had swapped the Greatsword for Ragnell, and was slashing at the tank form. The lumbering hulk was slow but powerful, which gave Zenkichi plenty of time to dodge its hits, though their clash lasted longer than Zenkichi would have liked so far. As he came in again for an overhead, the tank roared and bounded forward, catching him off-guard and shoulder-checking the detective, sending him crashing to the ground as it trampled over him.

The detective groaned as he staggered to his feet, while Edelgard was being swarmed by walkers, combat forms, infection forms, and maggots. Sandalphon’s cleanses were keeping her from being infested, and each blow returned some of the damage she’d taken thanks to her Crests, but she was prime target for a larger, more dangerous enemy.

The appearance of the Flood Abomination heralded the beginning of the end for this battle, as the tank form broke off from fighting Zenkichi and instead charged Edelgard, overwhelmed as she was becoming. Ranged forms kept Geralt’s attention, more setting up to fire every time one fell, and Zenkichi had to fight to be heard over the battle. ”Edelgard, big guy heading your way!”

”I’m- ah! A bit occupied at the moment!” She complained, beating back Infested and Flood alike, as the tank grew closer and closer still. Zenkichi tried to regain its attention with blasts from Ragnell. The desperate move failed, and when it reached Edelgard, it slammed both of its massive arms on her, crushing her beneath its bulk and destroying the weaker Flood and Infested around her as well.

The Hateful Flesh, attached to Geralt, carved into the tank’s back, and it slapped its arm to knock him away. He landed on his feet, though he had to catch his balance, and sighing, he summoned the Judicator to provide healing. With its defenses, he shouldn’t be in too much trouble of bleedthrough damage, but he certainly felt the spikes from the ranged forms slowly chipping away at it, even as the abomination restored the vitality of him and his allies nearby.

When Sandalphon announced their getaway, Edelgard began to grow frustrated. How was she meant to escape this? The tank form grabbed her from her position on the ground, even as Geralt and Zenkichi attacked its rear. It was single-minded in its disdain for her, but eventually the men struck true. Edelgard fell to her feet as the final healing wave of the Judicator washed over her and the Striker dispelled. ”Thank you. We must leave at once!” True to her own words, Edelgard broke for the veins that Sandalphon had pointed out, bashing aside foes with her shield.

”Got you covered.” Zenkichi said simply, granting Edelgard a speed boost with Sukukaja, before he and Geralt likewise broke into runs, knocking aside and slaying anything that stood in their collective way to freedom. As maggots, infection forms, and other members of the floodfestation burst beneath their feet and fell to their blades, the group charged to the edge of the battle and carved their way into the vein-like structures before climbing in and being sent upwards.

---

When Edelgard emerged from the Qliphoth’s vein, it was into another infested room, though this one had a very large, and immediately apparent problem: A very large zombie with bizarre clothing and even more bizarre hair. ”Of course we’ve been saddled with such a disgusting enemy to fight. It is only fitting for such a place. She complained disdainfully, hefting Aymr and preparing for battle.

---

Zenkichi found himself in a battlefield, with demons, undead, and all sorts of the same kinds of Flood and Infested monsters that they’d already fought duking it out, but among all the things fighting, one stood out: a gelatinous monstrosity wandering the battlefield, absorbing demons and floodfested alike into its being. ”Okay, now that’s just disgusting.” He balked, summoning Ragnell. ”Guess we gotta fight our way out.

---

Geralt, meanwhile, found himself with Goldlewis in a cramped, maze-like section of the tree. “Ugh. Well, at least we’re out of that chaos.” He muttered, taking note of the strange safe on the ground. “Guess we ought to find a way further inside and reach the others.” As the pair turned their gazes onto the emerging Keeper, Geralt rolled his eyes and cast the Sign of Quen before summoning Tartaglia’s Hydro Twinblade and marching forward at Goldlewis’s back.

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

Geralt, Zenkichi, and Edelgard

The Qliphoth
Lvl 14 Geralt (61/140) -> Lvl 14 (63/140) (+2 pending)
Lvl 8 Zenkichi (35/80) -> (37/80)
Lvl 3 Edelgard (22/30) -> (24/30)
Word count: 815 words

As the Seekers gathered in front of the Qliphoth and caught their breath, Geralt pulled out the Spirits of the Gargoyles he’d slain over the ravine and crushed them, not wanting to lose track of their spoils.

For Geralt

You have obtained:

Stone Blocks x64 A 'stack' of stone blocks. It weighs nothing in-hand, but if a placing motion is made with it, a 2-foot cube of solid stone will pop into existence at that spot, as long as there's space that doesn't overlap with any solid object. These blocks are a lot less durable than normal rock but they can only be broken in their entirety, and once placed they cannot be retrieved. However, they CAN be used in certain recipes.

Stoneskin Ring Adornment of the grotesque statues found in the labyrinth known as the godmaze. Wearing it provides a noticeable boost to Break Power, increasing the stagger/posture/poise/toughness damage dealt by the wearer to foes, bringing them to a broken state faster. If worn with the Stoneskin Bracer and Amulet, the Break Power is boosted by a further 5% each.

Voidborne Gemstone A crystal formed by accumulated minerals within the gut of a fell creature. Wearing it provides a noticeable boost to the damage inflicted by critical hits.

Ammo Pickup A universal ammo pickup that will change into multiple spare magazines for whatever weapon it's exposed to. Somehow

He put on the ring and stowed the other items away for later use. He could likely use them in that smelter if they didn’t prove to have any downsides like the Bleed amulet he was still wearing did.

Having not seen Sandalphon during his escape from the Catcher, Zenkichi was hit with a wave of relief when she reappeared in a beam of light. ”Welcome back.” It was a simple greeting, but it came with a warm smile and a genuine breath of the relief he felt.

He, Geralt or Edelgard, hadn’t quite expected her to spin up her gunstaff and open fire on the Qliphoth after a few moments of consideration, but her decisiveness had a point all its own. Geralt drew forth the hateful Flesh and began carving away at the flesh of the undead tree. Zenkichi summoned the Greatsword, relying on its massive size to carve out great furrows into the Qliphoth’s flesh. Edelgard pulled Aymr from its hammerspace and joined them, hacking and slashing at the demon tree.

With the effort of so many Seekers, the demon tree quickly gave way and opened a path for them to enter through, and they all hurried in to witness the horrific scene that lay within. Rooms, a veritable dungeon even, of twisted flesh. Worse than that, however, was the infection that was clearly starting to gain ground. The Qliphoth’s defenders were putting up an effort, but against the veritable flood that was the Flood, they stood little chance.

As everybody began to engage, Juri took a moment to mock Edelgard. The Flame Emperor simply regarded the thuggish woman with a flat, disdainful visage and retorted, ”I believe you will find there is little I am more suited for. as she made her way into battle. She was in her element here, a mighty glacier that fell upon lesser enemies as a harbinger of death. Each Flood infection form that charged her was crushed by either boot or Aymr, each combat form that crashed into her fell like wheat before a scythe. Edelgard was a force of nature as she knocked over one Flood with her shield while her axe tore another to pieces.

When needles began to crash into her form, she grunted from the impact of the ranged form’s spike against her armor, raising her shield to block the volley that followed. Geralt noticed her predicament as infection forms began to swarm in an attempt to overwhelm the armored threat, and leapt to her defense, Monsoon’s flaming katana burning through the infernal creatures with each swing. “Zenkichi! Need some range here!” he called out, pressing his back against the Flame Emperor’s. “Keep that thing from taking my head off, and I’ll keep the little ones off your back.” He added.

Zenkichi, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. Tearing his way through small fry like these was his bread and butter, and Ragnell was making it even easier with the defense buff it provided. If something tried to break and run, or regroup for a better vantage point, he could launch an explosive blast at it and take it out from a short distance away. When Geralt called for some range support though, he understood the assignment immediately. Cutting down an Infested that got a little too close for comfort, Zenkichi backed up and called for Valjean to provide some artillery support. ”One-Shot Kill!” He cried as a massive bullet blasted forth from his Persona, obliterating the Flood ranged form with a single hit and freeing Edelgard from its barrage. Geralt immediately broke off her back, unleashing a blast from Igni and igniting a few Infested that were coming his way.

Edelgard returned to her onslaught, throwing in a few fireballs for good measure. Feeling a well of power returning to her, she called upon a new old spell that admittedly was hardly her most-used.

New ability for Edelgard

Nosferatu (Flame Emperor)- Edelgard can now cast the more advanced spell Nosferatu. It is an offensive spell that deals weak holy damage, while healing the user for half the damage dealt to the enemy. Can be cast 12 times per combat.

A bright yellow sigil appeared in front of Edelgard, moments before an explosion of light appeared in the space of an Infested runner and destroyed it, returning half the damage dealt as healing. She hadn’t taken much damage from the assorted enemies, but they’d done bits of chip here and there.

Geralt, for his part, was cutting down enemies aplenty with Monsoon’s fire katana while trying to make heads or tails of this place. The Guardian would either be further up or deeper inside the Qliphoth, but good luck finding a remotely straightforward path in either direction. For now, he’d keep an eye out as he blasted infected with Aard, called down Eldritch Lightning to take out swarms, and swapped Identities to deal with various kinds of foes.

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

Geralt, Zenkichi, and Edelgard

The Dead Zone
Lvl 14 Geralt (58/140) -> Lvl 14 (61/140) (+2 pending)
Lvl 8 Zenkichi (29/80) +3 Collab XP -> (35/80)
Lvl 3 Edelgard (15/30) +4 Collab XP -> (22/30) (+1 pending)
Word count: 1,545 words

It wasn’t long after passing the north edge of the ravine, once the combat had ended, that Zenkichi, Sandalphon, Primrose, and Therion emerged from it, a little rattled but otherwise fine. Geralt gave them an appraising nod, one which Zenkichi returned as their formation reassembled to its previous state. Unfortunately, their peace was so short-lived as to be a joke.

Baby Mario, the BB that Edward was carrying, began to cry, then wail incessantly, as the baby it was. It struck Geralt as odd, fortuitous, and simultaneously baffling that these infants were apparently just that: infants. As everybody began breaking into a shouting contest, Geralt turned his direction outward, as splashes of tar began to burst up from black handprints. “They’re coming, we need to-”

He was cut off as Grimm broke and ran, a moment later a massive pit of tar opened beneath the collected Seekers. “Fuck, move!” He pivoted, his own stride barely hampered by the BTs, each forceful yank enough to dislodge the spectral attackers. Edelgard and Zenkichi were not quite so fortunate, the former becoming quickly bogged down and forcing the Witcher to turn back. “Hang on!” He called, running through the sludge to try and reach her before it was too late.

Edelgard was one of those who found herself pulled away by BTs. Geralt, despite his speed and strength, failed to reach her in time, and she found herself being dragged through the tar as if she were tied to a horse at full gallop. All in all, she hadn’t gone terribly far by the time she released, and around her the landscape began to shift as buildings long-destroyed reasserted their presence in this land, rising from the ground like weeds before entering a sort of semi-buoyant floating. ”How…odd.” Edelgard couldn’t help the thought that slipped out.

Zenkichi, meanwhile, was desperately trying to escape. In his panic, he tried to follow Sandalphon, but the Archangel was practical as ever, and was using her special abilities to escape. He opened his mouth to call for Valjean, but was rocked by the feeling of something grabbing him. Fighting back, Zenkichi trudged towards the edge of the tarpool, but it was no use. His old, cold, body was still recovering from the massive adrenaline dump he’d received earlier, and Zenkichi was dragged off.

Geralt had no such problem. His Guardian-infused body had been utterly untouched by the SFE, and though he attempted to help Edelgard at first, once she was taken, he broke and followed in Grimm’s footsteps. Each paltry attempt by the BTs to grab him was thwarted by a thunderous kick, which pushed off their semi-corporeal form. How exactly that worked he had no idea, but soon Geralt found himself at the edge of the initial tarpool, his personal shield flickering in the rain. He had barely taken a few steps when the pool expanded further, once more surrounding him, though this time nothing grabbed for him.

No, Geralt heard the Catcher before he saw it, and when he did, his eyes widened in fear. Were this a mere beast, he thought he could slay it. Fiends were massive, and he’d killed his fair share in his time. He’d slayed many beasts. No, his fear was not of that nature. He knew, instinctually, that this was the harbinger of the Seekers’ destruction. Zenkichi, though he was not near Geralt, felt a similar feeling of dread. He cast his gaze about the arena they’d found themselves in, before forcing himself to ascend onto one of the half-floating buildings and calling out.

”Primrose! Just like on the mountain!” He shouted at the Dancer, who was not too far, though hardly right on top of him. He jumped down, stumbling as he landed, and jogged her way before calling on Valjean. ”Sukukaja!” As Primrose activated Sealticge’s Seduction, Sukukaja spread to every Seeker, giving them a boost to their overall agility.

To Edelgard, this was a lifesaver, and the Emperor made no attempt to make a heroic stand. Sandalphon was clear: if anybody was caught by these things, it was the end for the Seekers, one and all. And she was not going to be the cause of that. So, keeping an eye out for the Catcher as she ran through and around the buildings that were protruding through the tar, Edelgard made her mad dash to the Qliphoth.

Zenkichi, for his own part, kept close to Primrose. He could keep their speed up with Sukukaja, though if the group wasn’t safe by the end of the spell’s minute-long duration, their personal shields would be down anyway, making their death just a matter of time. He shook off the thought as the Catcher charged around, hunting down Seekers and attacking them.

Midna’s daring distraction had given them all time to start moving, and Geralt, his speed boosted to comical levels by Sukukaja, ran straight into the action. When Midna called for somebody else to distract the Catcher, Geralt answered, Quen shimmering around him, but crashing into the monster head-on with the Hateful Flesh. “Get out of here, all of you!” He called, effortlessly dodging a claw swipe from the oversized monster. “I can keep it busy!” He noticed the lack of reaction to the Hateful Flesh, but tried again to attack, throwing a clump of explosive tissue at the creature, only for the Catcher to thoroughly ignore the explosion and pounce at Geralt, forcing him to throw himself out of the way. Tar and mud splashed up over him, and he forced himself to his feet before the BT could recover.

“Come on, beast! You and me!” He taunted, running at the Catcher before dancing aside as it charged straight on, its mask opened wide to try and catch him within. He dragged the hateful Flesh up and along its flank, again to no effect. “Fuck.” This thing wasn’t tough, it was invincible. Even to a weapon from a Guardian, that could hurt the Chimeras? Just what were these monsters?

That was irrelevant, loathe as Geralt was to admit. He found himself being flung through the air, crashing into a ruined building after being struck by a powerful blow from the Catcher’s tail swipe. Quen was gone, and his personal bubble shield had lost a good chunk of its power from the blow. It wouldn’t last much longer, and from that point it was up to his jacket to keep him safe from the timefall.

Pushing himself out of his miniature crater, Geralt cursed as the Catcher quickly filled his vision, having decided his stunned form was an easy meal. A fair decision, Geralt thought, though he imagined it was rather surprising when a single leap carried the Witcher a good twenty feet away, rolling to his feet and sprinting faster than any typical human could have even thought of moving. Still, with four legs and a significant size advantage, the Catcher BT made a damn fine effort in catching up, and Geralt had to jump onto a building to break line of sight for a moment. His shield was flickering, there was no more room for games. Hopefully he’d bought enough time for the others. If not…

Well, it wouldn’t be a problem for this him to deal with, sad as it was to admit. Hopefully, the next Geralt would find Ciri and Yen. That morbid thought on his mind, Geralt ran towards the Qliphoth, leaving the Catcher to hunt the others.

Edelgard found herself just barely crossing the edge of the tarpool as Sukukaja wore off, her personal shield having faded moments before. She pulled the hood of her jacket closed tight, hunching her shoulders and covering the burns in the coat to protect herself from the deadly rain, even as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her in the Qliphoth’s direction. She felt no remorse for abandoning the others to their fates, even as she heard Geralt’s calls for them to flee. She would have been no help to them. No, it was not remorse that Edelgard felt. It was frustration at her uselessness in this damnable place. Hopefully fighting the Guardian within the massive tree would assuage those worries.

Zenkichi’s own escape route had ended up keeping him somewhat near Primrose, though he also kept an eye out for Sandalphon as he made his egress. Seeing Geralt moving under the effects of Sukukaja was quite funny, given that the man already boasted inhuman speed. It was like watching Usain Bolt in fast forward, the way the Witcher flew across the landscape.

As the three closed in on the Seekers’ destination, each had lost the protection of their personal shield. The pieces of Edelgard’s armor that showed through the jacket had spots of rust, though the worst-case scenario had been avoided thanks to her protective posture. Zenkichi was in near-perfect condition, while Geralt’s face had splotches of discolored flesh, and the Witcher had a sour look on his face, a spot on his chin having hair that looked months old while the rest had a light covering of white beard.

“There is, in fact, such a thing as running too fast.” He simply grumbled to Zenkichi, earning a guffaw from the detective and a tittering laugh from Edelgard.

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

Geralt of Rivia

The Dead Zone
Lvl 14 Geralt (57/140) -> Lvl 14 (58/140) (+2 pending)
Word count: 569 words

With Edelgard out of harm’s way and no time to lose, the group continued to advance into the crater after the close call. As the group shifted around the ruins to avoid the large pits of quicksand, Geralt kept a careful eye out for anything around. He, of course, couldn’t detect the BTs, though, so he wound up having to focus instead on the BB carriers. Edward, Goldlewis, Primrose, and Roland. He knew Goldlewis the best, and Edward not at all, so his eyes tended to drift mostly towards the Former Secretary, though Roland on the same side caught his attention as well. As long as nothing corporeal intervened, Geralt would just need to keep quiet and he’d be fine.

As the group pivoted around the quicksand pits, Geralt gave Ace some room to move, which proved wise when he felt himself slowly sliding downwards, though he had little trouble extricating himself, owing to the Orphan’s monstrous strength. Grimm’s jaunt up into a set of ruins above was only barely noticed, short-lived as it was, and after not very long at all Geralt and the others found themselves above a ravine with a river of lava at the bottom. “Damn.” He sighed, pulling himself from the ravine’s edge as Sectonia summoned a platform for the group to use. He noticed Ace’s hesitance, but chalked it up to the rain, the effects of the SFE itself, the size of the group compared to the size of the platform, and the pressure that was on him. He had no idea about the monster hunter’s distaste for magic.

Of course, as the group began their crossing atop the magical platforms, Ace’s scoutflies became agitated and glowed red to warn them of danger just as demons began to appear. “Of course.” Geralt rolled his eyes as he cast Quen before drawing Odysseus’s Bow and nocking an arrow. Ace was quicker on the draw, however, Geralt’s Sign-casting giving the monster hunter the edge in draw speed necessary to defeat the lone demon easily.

That state of things didn’t last forever, though, as more demons began ascending, in multiple varieties, and Geralt hopped and dodged about, firing arrows at any he could see, softening up for allies or finishing them off. Though the platforms weren’t overly large, the group still had plenty of room to fight with.

When some Gargoyles came in close, Geralt summoned the Hydro Twinblade and became a flurry of attacks, moving between them in a flurry of blows that left them all wet, which he detonated with an Igni blast, Vaporizing the entire group and turning most of them to ash. He quickly finished off the remaining Gargoyle with his Twinblade, collecting the fallen Spirits of the demons to be crushed once they were free of the rain and battle.

Once the tide of demons finally stopped, Geralt joined the others in recuperating. It seemed that Edelgard took some nasty hits from the magic blows the demons were using, and once she and Edward had put some healing into her, he offered a First Aid of his own, though it seemed the slime from the Viral Rifle had taken care of what their suppressed magic had not. Once they had all come free of the ravine, Geralt returned to his orbit of Ace, though for the time being he watched their rear to make sure no more demons attacked from behind.

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

A Shot in the Dark

Lvl 8 Zenkichi (29/80) and Lvl 7 Sandalphon (26/70)
Word Count: 2,549

With Zenkichi at her side, his physical presence and support helping to set her beleaguered mind at ease, Sandalphon continued alongside the rest of the Seekers on their grim trek. Huddled around their beacon of safety that was the Stable Field Emitter, its eerily spectral electric white glow the only illumination in this gloomy deluge, other than the archangel’s halo and and the lights on the odradeks’ fingers. They trudged on, more or less united, until they reached an impasse at the precipice of a deep, lava-filled crevasse. Standing at this impasse, they could consider multiple options, but none looked good until Sectonia conjured a means of spanning the gorge to get the team to the other side.

Thanks to that airborne crystal, smaller than usual but miraculously stable even within the bounds of the SFE’s anomaly-quelling field, anyone could make the short jumps needed to get across the ravine, but not everyone did. The crashed ship over to the left, loosely canvassed by a BB and determined relatively safe for lack of detected BTs, proved to be too tantalizing a prospect for several of the more adventurous Seekers to let alone. At the same time, Therion favored another route, and his friend Primrose took the initiative to enable an alternate path down into and along the sheltered ledges of the ravine itself. While splitting the party was a risky move, Sandalphon knew that in a situation like this, there was no such thing as safety in numbers. As long as different divisions of the team each possessed a BB, and could find some way to avoid overexposure to the timefall, they could lessen the possibility of one error spelling doom for the whole team. As a few frontrunners took to the giant gemstone stepping-stone to pave the way for Ace and his all-important emitter, Sandalphon made a choice of her own. She moved to follow Primrose and Therion as they dropped into the ravine, the motion of her telltale halo’s glow making her decision apparent without the need for words.

Keeping Sandalphon in good pace with the rest of the Seekers had required a bit of careful maneuvering. Zenkichi had to watch the Odradeks of the four BB carriers to know when he could pick up the pace a little, and when they had to keep it slow. At least Sandalphon was pretty light, and more than willing to make up whatever pace they needed to when they had the chance. Watching the others jump onto the platform that Sectonia conjured, Zenkichi’s mouth thinned into a line. That was a lot of people in one small area. Thankfully, Sandalphon decided that it might be wise not to group up too heavily, especially when they now had the risk, however small, of falling into a ravine with a freakin’ river of lava at the bottom! Without even a second thought, he followed after the Archangel.

As soon as she alighted upon the ledge that ran along the gorge’s right wall, Sandalphon followed the Octopath Travelers beneath an overhang. Not a moment later, the rear edge of the SFE’s safe zone passed them by. For the rest of the way, it would be up to the protruding lip above them to keep them safe from the timefall. Though mercifully smooth for the most part, this makeshift walkway was only a couple feet wide, so the four Seekers would need to advance in single file. Only another foot or two farther to the left, a sheet of rain poured down, practically a wall of water all the way to the lava below where the droplets sizzled and evaporated into steam. As a result, the depths of the ravine were very misty. Given Ms. Fortune’s warning about demons, and how much the quartet needed to look out for already, that haze would only make this harder.

Zenkichi kept himself fairly close to the wall of the ravine walkway, not willing to risk slipping and falling into a chasm with inevitable fiery doom at the bottom if he somehow survived the drop. No, that felt like a bad idea for some reason.

For a short time, Primrose blazed a trial without trouble, but the denizens of this hellish chasm reared their ugly heads before long. Several rose up to oppose the main group as they crossed up above, and from the back of her group Sandalphon lent a hand with a salvo of ether shots from below. For the most part, though, that storm would be the others’ to weather, for the archangel couldn’t turn her attention from her own predicament for long. Keen as ever, Sandalphon spotted a number of demonic eyes gleaming in the dark recesses of the gorge, mostly further down and half-illuminated by the infernal glow of the lava. She used her screens to discreetly point out where they lurked, but when the BB detected a BT, Sandalphon gave the travelers her full, undivided attention. When the Prowler sprung its ambush, she stopped, her pupils empty rings as she realized what the unchanged direction of the odradek must mean. On high alert, she quietly slipped the Eye of Sol from her back and took aim at the Prowler, even as the disturbed BT began to descend along the wall. To her horror, however, she could not stop her hands from shaking. She could not get a sure shot on the demon as it tangled with Therion; if she tried to silence the offending monster from afar, there was a very real chance of shooting an ally instead. But wasn’t anything preferable to getting caught by a BT?

Zenkichi, meanwhile, was watching the rear, trusting the three to take care of the Prowler themselves. He wasn’t planning to risk shooting into that melee, and of his weapons, he didn’t have much that he could swing here without hitting the wall or someone else.

All these thoughts made it impossible for Sandalphon to steady her aim, and after a moment, she realized that she had no choice but to trust in her comrades. Much to her relief, her faith paid off. Once Primrose skewered the Prowler with her striker, Therion managed to hurl it over the edge, and the pitch-black handprints -mere inches away from the travelers- pursued its howls instead. After a few more moments of tense, stock-still waiting, the threat had passed. Once the odradek’s frantic whirling quieted down back to periodic clicks, and Primrose signaled the all-clear, the four began again. Sandalphon passed the handprints left on the stone with an involuntary shudder, armed with the knowledge that attack could come from any angle. Zenkichi gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, offering a smile for reassurance. He caught a brief glimpse of caret-shaped pupils for his efforts.

The four continued a few hundred feet, sometimes clambering over rubble on the ledges or hopping small gaps. Just after the path began to widen, however, disaster struck once more. A flurry of plasma bolts flew toward Primrose and Therion from the opposite side of the gorge, fired by warped, demon-possessed soldiers from a ledge on the far side, half-hidden by the rain. The bolts crashed against both the surrounding walls and the travelers’ bubble shields, hard enough to crack rock and barrier alike. To punctuate the salvo, a lone demon in craggy gray armor fired a beam of raw hell energy from its mutated claw, raking across Primrose’s shield inches from her BB’s pod. Her barrier shattered, and the gunners lined up their next shots.

“Take cover!” Sandalphon urged them. The group darted into an alcove just up ahead and dove behind cover. Sandalphon sunk down onto her knees behind a waist-high outcrop, while the others sheltered behind the walls. Plasma pounded the rock, kicking up sprays of dust and stony shards, but Sandalphon’s face remained placid. “Stay back,” she advised Primrose and Therion, her pupils becoming crosshairs. She cast a mirage at her current position, prompting a reactive salvo from the demons, then dispelled it to turn a tile ground beneath her blue. “We’ll handle this.”

”You got that right!’ Zenkichi reassured, dual revolvers at the ready as he kept in cover behind the wall. As the firing slowed, he watched to make sure that he wasn’t in Sandalphon’s line of fire before stepping out and peppering one of the possessed soldiers with bullets, easily felling it. ”Alright, that’s one down already!” He whooped, even as more fire crashed into the wall he was hiding behind.

As the barrage of plasma bolts petered out, Sandalphon arose suddenly from behind her cover to return fire. Before she could even get her rifle into position the Hell Reaver’s energy beam slammed into her head, or more accurately, her personal shield at head level. It took only a moment’s exposure to destroy the barrier, but the archangel ducked back down into hiding just as fast as she arose. Fortunately, her forehead and hair were only lightly singed. “Hmph,” she grumbled, annoyed that she’d taken such a clean shot, and that her assailant seemed to have anticipated her emergence. When she glanced up, however, she quickly realized the problem. “...My halo,” she stated. “It’s a dead giveaway.” As plasma bolts from the possessed spattered the area, she looked over her shoulder at Zenkichi, her pupils still shaped like crosshairs. Evidently she had a plan in mind. “Can you suppress them?”

”No problem!” Zenkichi replied, having reloaded his revolvers during the last volley of return fire. He popped out from behind cover, a barrage of fire slamming into him, but he grit his teeth and returned fire, even as his own personal shield broke. As his revolvers clicked dry, Zenkichi grunted and called out to Valjean, ”Triple Down!” The timely usage of his attack gave Zenkichi a boost to his defense from Preservation Protocol, blunting the damage from the last few hits he took before returning to cover.

The moment after the Persona fired off his skill, Sandalphon popped up again. In an instant she observed that the Triple Down had nailed one of the three Possessed and forced the other two into hiding alongside the troublesome Hell Reaver. For warped corpses they wielded surprising tactical intelligence, but this wouldn’t be a problem. Her unholy foes might have taken cover, but by now Sandalphon had abilities to solve problems that bullets could not.

She thrust her left hand out, and a Cerulean Mirage manifested among the demons. Her hologram appeared to be her spitting image, albeit in shimmering blue, but this mirage was much more than a pretty face. While it surprised and distracted the demons, Sandalphon took aim and fired the Eye of Sol at her distant doppelganger. When her bullet struck the mirage, it burst in a diamond-shaped blast of blue flame that withered the demons with double the damage of an ordinary bodyshot. It bowled the last two Possessed over their outcrops and sent them flailing down toward the lava below, and with the subtlest of smiles Sandalphon ducked back down into cover to return fire.

The Hell Reaver endured, however, and it returned fire with a cunning that the archangel did not anticipate. It unleashed its beam, aimed at the rocky overhang above the opposite ledge. As the stream of hell energy swept across the brittle, rain-worn stone, it shattered and fell in huge, deadly chunks straight toward Sandalphon below.

”Shit!” Zenkichi grunted out as he saw the beam of energy sweep overtop the Seekers, crumbling and destroying the overhang above them. He ran out of cover and dove at Sandalphon, pushing the Archangel out of the way just in time for a chunk to land where she had been standing. ”I got you.” He reassured Sandalphon as he stood up, glaring at the Hell Reaver. Ragnell appeared in his hands, and Zenkichi swept the blade through the air, launching an energy blast at the demon. However, in his haste, Zenkichi’s lack of familiarity with the holy blade resulted in the blast detonating just shy of its target, and Zenkichi clicked his tongue in disappointment as the Hell Reaver spooled up to fire again.

It was then that a spine-chilling noise resounded through the chasm, a product of no living thing. Within the span of a second, a black wave expanded from the demon’s position, spreading across the ground and the walls alike. From the way it glinted and glistened in the light of the lava below, it could only be tar, and the Hell Reaver started thrashing around as if gripped by unseen assailants. In this wounded state, though, its movements were clumsy, and it began to sink into the once solid ground beneath it.

Judging by the state of Sandalphon’s rapidly-shifting pupils, her mind had been scrambled somewhat Zenkichi’s body atop hers, but at that horrible sound she rebooted with haste. She rose in a hurry, stopping only to plant her hand to create a blue tile beneath her, then to scoop up the Eye of Sol from where it had fallen. She knelt and assumed a firing position, her face deadly serious. Once again she took aim at the demon’s head as it bucked and struggled, firing only to melt a hole in the wall behind it as the invisible hands yanked the Hell Raiser off its feet. The next moment it began to slide, first toward the tarry wall and then up it. Sandalphon’s barrel traced the demon’s impossible path, but it shook ever-so-slightly, even as the archangel held her breath. In another second, the demon would be dragged over the lip and out of sight.

Zenkichi rushed ahead, getting as close as he could as the demon was being yanked around by the BT. He dismissed Ragnell and drew a single revolver, reloading a pair of bullets into it with a shaky hand. Lifting the weapon to aim at the demon, Zenkichi breathed out, lining up the iron sight carefully. As the demon reached the corner, Zenkichi fired his revolver, the bullet striking the Hell Reaver in the head and reducing it to dust. The tension in his body almost immediately released, and he let out a heavy sigh, slumping down a bit. ”That was too close…” He muttered, shaking his head.

After a moment, Sandalphon lowered her rifle, her finger easing off the trigger. She watched as the demon’s ash dispersed and the tar pool faded, her face grim. Then she stood, her only sign of emotion the T-symbols in her eyes. Without looking back, she motioned for Primrose and Therion to emerge from the alcove. The odradek’s inactivity confirmed no BTs in the area, so the team could proceed, watchful for more demonic activity. While the threat had passed, this episode was not something that the archangel would soon forget.

Zenkichi dismissed his weapons and wiped a beat of sweat off his brow. The grim look on Sandalphon's face gave him pause. They'd nearly died. They'd all nearly died, because a bunch of monsters tried to attack them. He'd come close to death a few times in his life, but rarely had the difference been made by a single shot. He gave the others what he hoped was a reassuring smile before gesturing to them that it was time to go.

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

Geralt, Zenkichi, & Edelgard

The Avenger -> the Dead Zone
Lvl 14 Geralt (35/140) +15 Rest +4 Collab XP -> Lvl 14 (57/140) (+2 pending)
Lvl 8 Zenkichi (13/80) +10 Rest +3 Collab XP -> Lvl 8 (29/80)
Lvl 2 Edelgard (10/20) +4 Collab + 15 Rest +3 Collab XP -> Lvl 3 (15/30) (1 pending)
Word count: 2,393 words

The Seekers were an eclectic sort, Edelgard had decided by the end of her breakfast. It made sense, given that they were from worlds unlike her own. And, it seemed, unlike one another in many ways. Some seemed to be more like herself, like those wearing armor and carrying swords and bows. Others wore strange clothing, or wielded very strange weapons. The oddest to her, however, were the creatures that spoke like humans. One vaguely resembled the golems of Fodlan, though she knew better than to make the comparison aloud. Others resembled mutated animals, though again she would not dare say such unkind things to them. These were merely the limited points of reference from which she could draw.

Geralt, meanwhile, had a weight lifted from his shoulders due to Ace’s good news. Knowing that the Hunter and Linkle were alive, along with the bonus news about a Guardian, its weakness, andthe defeat of a Consul (even if she was left alive, the ego check might have been better than letting the others make a new Consul L) was a massive boon, both to his own morale, and the Seekers’ cause. He was hardly skipping around giggling, but his face was a little looser, his gait a little quicker. His first stop was at the armory, where he deposited his beam sword, Monsoon’s sai, and the steel diver torpedo launcher (with the 7 remaining missiles).

From there, he went to the hangar to meditate, finding a spot in the corner to calm his mind and prepare for the upcoming mission. It would test their abilities, their resolve, and their stomachs.

Zenkichi’s own pre-battle prep consisted of a quick trip to visit Akane and make sure she was alright before the deployment. He kept details to a minimum, but mentioned that they were going after a Guardian, and that if everything went according to plan, there wouldn’t be much of a fight before they made it to the Guardian itself. Akane, of course, rolled her eyes. “And now that you’ve said that, things aren’t going to go according to plan. Jeeze, dad, have you never watched a movie?” Sharing a laugh and a hug that neither wanted to let go of first, Zenkichi gave his daughter a pat on the head and made his way to the hanger.

Before he did, he was reminded of Lizzie, whose Spirit would probably be fading if he didn’t deal with it now. In the hallway of the Avenger, he crushed the Spirit of the Rampaging crocodilian, blinking a few times at what he received.

For Zenkichi

Item obtained:
Darwin's Danger Shield
A stretched crocodile hide. When worn, all incoming fire damage is reduced by 50%, and the wearer is immune to any status/affliction/ailment that deals fire damage after the fact

”Wha…? Oh, that’s just wrong.” It was a crocodile skin stretched over a ring, with what looked like a belt. Was it some kind of back shield? He didn’t feel like lugging that around, but he remembered that there was something in the Spirit Chamber that would let you fuse an item into you and gain its benefits, so he took a jog down to the Spirit Chamber. While there, he remembered that vest he got as well and quickly slipped it off. Shoving it in there, Zenkichi felt the effect of the vest transfer to him, letting out a small gasp. ”Oh, wow. Feel tougher already.” Squeezing the Danger Shield in after the melter had recharged, he felt…cooler? Not cooler, more like…he could handle warmth a little better? He’d have to figure that out later. His business in the Spirit Chamber concluded, Zenkichi headed up to the hangar.

Edelgard made it there before the Phantom Thief, and approached one of the Seekers she’d not become acquainted with, yet. He was knelt on the ground, his eyes closed, and his breathing was so steady that she could not see his chest move. Even so, as she stopped before him, one eye opened, cat-like vertical pupils regarding her with a mixture of curiosity and mild annoyance. Edelgard started at the unexpected sight, and though her reaction was minor, it was not unnoticed.

Geralt opened his other eye, the heavily-armored woman before him at least polite enough not to ask what was wrong with his eyes. He stood from his meditative position, now looking down at the Flame Emperor, his tone even. “Yes?”

Edelgard’s eyes tracked Geralt as he stood, the Emperor used to everybody being taller than her. This man was about Hubert’s height, if not taller, and she had to take a step back to avoid craning her neck painfully to look him in the eye. ”I apologize for interrupting your rest, but I wished to introduce myself before the next deployment. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg…I was once Emperor of the Adrestian Empire, but here I suppose we are all Seekers of Light.” Geralt’s brow furrowed. She must have been recently freed of Galeem’s influence to still be this lost.

“Geralt of Rivia. And yes, here we are all simply Seekers. Emperor, mutant, turtle…thing…we are all equal.” He spoke flatly, some disinterest evident, but then he hummed softly. “I was a Witcher. A man turned mutant, given an extended lifespan and abilities beyond that of a normal human to hunt monsters.” He figured it was only polite to give his own history, about as abridged as hers.

”Well met, Sir Geralt.” Edelgard replied, sure to address a knight properly. ”It is…certainly very different from Fodlan here. Creatures and creations unlike any I have seen…though Those Who Slither in the Dark had some weapons that I would not be terribly surprised to find, if flying ships the size of a village that can become unseen are commonplace.” Some part of her was clearly overwhelmed by everything, but Geralt thought she was handling it well enough.

“Hmm. At least you had an idea such a thing was possible. When Ciri told me of a world where people waged war from a distance, had metal in their heads, and all had flying ships…I thought she was joking.” A tiny smile appeared on his face for a moment, before he continued. “Must’ve been one of the many places that got dragged here. Wonder if it wound up in Midgar. One of the cities we visited recently. Defeated their Guardian.” He clarified.

”Truthfully, it is a small comfort.” Edelgard admitted. ”If they exist here, in this world, then nobody is safe. Ever.” Edelgard’s tone was grim, and final. ”They possessed javelins which could destroy cities, fired from beyond the horizon. I visited the ruins after the war ended…it was pure destruction. Of a like I have never witnessed before or since. Edelgard’s voice wavered, but she steeled herself before Geralt took the wind out of her sails with a pair of sentences.

“The Dead Zone will be the same. It was destroyed a little over a week ago in an explosion that created a second sun, albeit for only a short while.” His voice was calm, and even, despite the horrific news he relayed. “And the creatures inside are what caused it. The BTs. The fate that befell that city awaits us all if we are caught.”

Edelgard nearly recoiled, though she managed to maintain her calm enough to merely close her eyes tightly and look down. ”I…see. I hope it is less miserable than the Valley of Torment, at least. We believed the same thing happened there in ancient times. It tore the earth asunder, and left it aflame eternally, even into my time. At least here, it still rains.” Geralt half-laughed, half-scoffed at that, shaking his head.

“The rain kills you.” He rolled his eyes.

”And what a sentence to walk in on. Jeeze, and I thought I was the high-strung one. Zenkichi laughed, nodding to Geralt and Edelgard, before bowing slightly to the latter. ”Don’t believe we’ve met before. Zenkichi Hasegawa.”

”Edelgard von Hresvelg. Sir Geralt and I were just speaking about our worlds, and about the devastation of the Dead Zone. I am remorseful to say that it is not something that I am unfamiliar with, though the means were certainly different in my world.” Edelgard gave Zenkichi a short bow to mirror his own, though the man was looking at Geralt with an eyebrow raised.

”Sir Geralt, huh? Should I address you by your full title from now?” He laughed again, shaking his head before turning serious. ”But…I know what you mean. In my world, another country dropped two bombs on major cities in my country. That was the only time anybody used them in war. It’s been about…sixty-five or so years since that happened? Over two hundred thousand people were killed by the bombs and the lingering diseases caused by the fallout. This place, the Dead Zone, it’s like…a step back into a nightmare for Japanese people.” Both Geralt and Edelgard were quiet, but Geralt was the first to recover.

“More than two hundred thousand people…somehow, I doubt they were all soldiers.”

Zenkichi shook his head slowly, slumping a little. ”Technically, the cities were producing materiel for the military, but…most of those people, and I mean most, were civilians.”

“Fuck.” Geralt hissed, while Edelgard’s teeth clenched. She was reminded of Rhea and Thales. How their selfish machinations left thousands, tens of thousands, dead. She thought of herself, of the thousands dead for her war. Clenching her fists, she shook her head to dispel that treacherous line of thought. She was notlike Seiros or Thales. She destroyed the Church of Seiros and Those Who Slither in the Dark.

”But yeah, this place…it’s bad, but as long as we’re careful, it’s not gonna get worse. Don’t get grabbed, and if you do…hopefully we have a chance to get you out of it.” Wishful thinking, Geralt mused, but he had no idea how these things worked either. It felt off that simply by touching a person they could cause such devastation, but otherwise…did nothing. There was probably more to it after the grabbing.

”I’m afraid if it comes to running or subterfuge, I am…unsuitable for much of either. My armor, as effective as it may be at protecting me, is rather heavy.” Both Geralt and Zenkichi thought the same thing: That’s an understatement.

Their chat turned to their respective ability sets, each person not looking forward to the suppression field for their own reasons, and soon enough it was time to board the Pelican and take off. Edelgard elected to stand, owing to the bulk of her armor, while Geralt and Zenkichi took seats near the back of the ship. They were far from the smallest members of the team, so they tried to avoid taking up too much space.

The ride to the Dead Zone was quick, and Edelgard could scarcely believe how quickly they’d traveled. Geralt was getting used to the kind of technology this world had to offer, and Zenkichi haad enough time spent in Midgar to not really be surprised by this kinda stuff anymore.

Once they disembarked, the three spread out to join different groups. Edelgard kept close to Edward, one of the BB carriers, Geralt kept near Ace, the bearer of the all-important Field generator, while Zenkichi predictably gravitated towards Sandalphon. The former and the latter paid quiet attention to their surroundings as the others spoke, while Geralt gritted his teeth at Juri’s typical attitude. ”Does she ever tire of hearing her own voice?” Edelgard whispered to Edward, rolling her eyes before continuing aloud. ”Though I fear she makes a point about verbal commands and the risk of alerting the creatures to our locations. A slow, measured approach would allow us to respond to any alerts from the others before we’ve moved too far.”

Regardless of the plan they chose, Geralt and Zenkichi were in their element. While Public Affairs was hardly spying, walking light on your feet and keeping your presence concealed was helpful in eavesdropping on potentially illicit conversations while doing fieldwork. Being a Witcher meant tracking, and tracking meant watching every footfall for twigs, rocks, leaves, any singular thing that could give you away.

No, it was Edelgard, used to forced marches, to the glory of pitched combat, to the manicured halls of the palace, who was in trouble. Each step was carefully measured and found wanting. Between the rain, the uneven terrain, and the weight of her armor, every step had her halfway up to her ankle in mud, a quiet slorp sound heralding her foot coming free, only for a plop to warn everybody around her that her other fit was now encased in mud. Damnable…armor!” She snarled as quietly as she could, before sighing. Should she have remained aboard the Avenger? Her combat prowess would be worthless if they were all slaughtered in a voidout before even reaching the Qliphoth.

Alas, it was not meant to be, and as a loose rock shifted under Edelgard’s foot, her balance faltered, and she stumbled forward. Her armor carried her forward and down, and she fell into a muddy puddle with a loud splash. Instantly her blood froze in her veins as the sound of Edward’s Odradek scanning picked up into a manic whirl.

Then came the handprint. One at first, as she pushed herself into a crouch, mud covering her jacket and armor. Then a second and a third as she stood, faster, then four, five, six, seven, converging on her position.

Edelgard held her breath, standing fully and taking a slow step backwards, her foot coming free of the mud with a soft sound. It came down onto wet rock, but that was enough for her. Edelgard’s other foot came free of the mud as the handprints, each throwing tar into the air, grew closer.

Zenkichi could only watch in horror. Edelgard continued to backpedal, beginning to circle away from the straight line the BT was chasing her in, but suddenly, a rock landed in the mud where Edelgard had fallen a moment earlier. Geralt, near the center of the field, had plenty of freedom to maneuver and find something to distract its attention. The handsteps began to increase in speed, this time back towards the muddy puddle, before slowing and circling around where the rock had landed.

The Witcher gave a strained smile and a thumbs up in Edelgard’s direction, receiving a relieved smile in return.

Now, if only somebody could get that egg off Edelgard’s face. Her ears burned, and she was sure Juri had thoughts about what had just happened.

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

Zenkichi Hasegawa

The Avenger

Lvl 8 Zenkichi - (12/80) -> Lvl 8 (13/80)

Word count: 647 words

New Ability for Zenkichi

Ragnell- A sacred sword wielded by Ike. An extremely powerful sword, Ragnell can fire explosive blasts of radiant energy to attack enemies at a distance (no more than roughly 30 feet). While being wielded, Ragnell also noticeably boosts its bearer's defense.

As Zenkichi and Akane’s games settled down, Zenkichi spent some time making sure Sandalphon got looked over by the ship’s doctors. They ultimately decided upon sedating her to get her to rest, which resulted in Zenkichi having to carry her back to her quarters and tucking her in, before meandering around the ship for a bit. Nervous energy was worming its way through the eldest Phantom Thief, and after a while, and once it was well and truly late, he found himself in the training room. He hadn’t taken much time to get used to his various new weapons, so he figured he could burn up some of that nervous energy and familiarize himself with his arsenal.

His original Claymore, the Closing Statement, the Hero Sword, the Greatsword Sandalphon had purchased for him (And what a sword it was!, the Etiquette left behind by that ghost monster, and…something else. He felt…something tugging at him ever since he’d spoken with Sandalphon earlier. Rather than rush into something new, he did some basic combos with each weapon he had, getting the hang of them. The Greatsword and the Closing Statement were heavier and slower weapons, though the former was so large that it could basically be used as a shield. The latter, on the other hand, was awkwardly weighted and lacked the length to properly guard him like the Greatsword did.

His Claymore was most familiar with him, of course, though something about the Hero Sword spoke to him. Part of that was definitely the kindred spirit he felt with Konoe, loathe as part of him was to admit it. They weren’t too terribly alike, though both men had had their ideals warped and corrupted by an unjust world. Zenkichi…just hadn’t fallen as far, he supposed.

The Etiquette…barely counted. It was an umbrella, for crying out loud! It was too small, too light, to truly fit him as a weapon. Maybe he’d have to try and see if it worked better for somebody else, or pull it out as a gag weapon like in video games. By that logic, it might just be the most powerful weapon he had, but as he was jokingly musing on that, the pull grew stronger.

That thing. It called to him from within. It felt new, and yet…so familiar. A weapon from one of his Spirits? It was a weapon, that much was certain. It felt like a semi-filled void in that subconscious space that Valjean stored his weapons in. Dismissing the Etiquette and reaching his hand out, he focused…and a in his outstretched hand, a sword appeared. ”There you are…Ragnell. Wait, how did I know that name? What the heck?!”” Somewhat startled, Zenkichi paused and took a deep breath. Look at the thing, man!

It was beautiful, to say the least. He could feel the power from it, but also a blessing. He felt tougher. He felt…right. Giving Ragnell a few test swings, Zenkichi smiled. Oh yeah, that fit right in with his other swords. Giving a few test swings, he smiled. Well-balanced, not too heavy, but certainly not lightweight. It did some work on the dummy, too. Though he got the feeling that wasn’t all it could do. Taking a few steps back, Zenkichi gave the sword a swing from a distance, aiming at the dummy. He did not expect the explosion that came from it, and he jumped back in shock, before relaxing and letting out a full-belly laugh. ”Holy crap that was awesome!” Giving it a few more goes, Zenkichi whooped and laughed at the magical blasts that he wrought with Ragnell, before letting out a deep yawn. ”Man, that thing’s awesome. But it’s getting pretty late.”

Cleaning up what he could from the mess he’d made, Zenkichi retired back to his shared room with Akane, his daughter already fast asleep. He settled into his own bunk, joining her a few minutes later.

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

Geralt of Rivia

The Avenger- Dreaming

Lvl 14 Geralt (32/140) -> Lvl 14 (35/140) (+2 pending)

Word count: 1,380 words

Geralt’s tracking had taken him to an extremely dense forest, and he almost instinctively sighed. Of course the monstrous thing had run for the woods. The scent it left was like no other, a combination of different kinds of blood, rot, and manufactured products. The blood was of both man and beast, and the rot was…wrong. Wrong for rot, which was saying a lot in and of itself. Taking another slow breath, Geralt nodded. He was still going the right way. Before entering the woods, he took stock of what he had.

He had applied hybrid oil to his silver sword, though he had no idea if it would have any effect. The descriptions he’d gotten of the creature pointed that way, but there was no real way of knowing. He hadn’t recognized the description, which was frustratingly common nowadays. Still, no point in delaying further.

After a while of traipsing through the forest, the scent trail he was following got much heavier. He was close now. Freeing his silver sword, Geralt kept the blade close by, creeping forward. As the minutes passed by, him creeping ever onward, Geralt started to hear a voice. “I love you.” Was the first thing he made out, and it set him on edge instantly. Mimicry? Could be a cursed one, or a hybrid. Still, it gave him a better idea of exactly where his quarry was. He drew his hand crossbow, his other still holding the sword to the side, and took a spot behind a tree. Steadying his breath, he waited to hear the voice again before striking.

Stepping out from behind the tree, he leveled the crossbow and fired, stowing the ranged weapon before even registering that the bolt struck. The creature was, truly, like nothing Geralt had seen. Five walking limbs, with what looked like a human arm protruding from its head. Its head had multiple mouths and sets of eyes, and he wondered if that back foot could kick as well.

Wasting no time, Geralt cast the Sign of Quen, having refrained earlier to avoid accidentally alerting the creature. It launched forward with a screech, kicking off the ground with all five limbs and charging Geralt with surprising speed. He evaded with a sidestep, his silver sword coming up and across the thing’s side, leaving a slight trail of blood in its flank. In return, the Nothing There slashed at geralt’s midsection with the claw arm on its head, gouging a good portion of Quen’s defenses out. Grunting, Geralt tackled the thing, bashing it in the head with his pommel.

The Nothing There reared back, kicking with its mutilated forelimbs, and lunged forward in an attempt to bite Geralt, only to be kicked aside and stabbed in the flank. Barely reacting to the sword in its body, the creature grabbed Geralt with the claw on its head, drawing him close to its body and biting through what was left of Quen’s shielding, its teeth catching on his armor.

“Damn!” The Witcher cursed, pulling his sword from the Nothing There and backing away to cast Quen again. It seemed the thing had a similar idea, as it curled in on itself and began transforming. Geralt drew close and crashed his pommel into the egg’s shell, but it neither budged nor cracked in the slightest, merely rocked slightly from the impulse. An attempt to slash open the egg was similarly fruitless, and Geralt sighed. Waiting a good twenty or so seconds, Geralt unleashed a concentrated blast of flames from Igni, and that got more of a reaction, with the outer layer of the egg overheating and cracking slightly.

However, it was not enough, and after a few more seconds, the egg cracked open, and a true monster emerged. “Damn, you’re ugly.” Geralt sneered, immediately lunging forward to cut the humanoid monstrosity down, but it brought up its mace-arm with lightning-fast reflexes and batted aside Geralt’s sword, bending over to sink its teeth into the Witcher’s neck while holding him close with its other arm. Quen quickly began to falter, and Geralt used his free hand to quickly draw his hunting knife, plunging it into one of the eyes on the Nothing There’s chest, using the shock of the damage to free himself. “Faster than you look, then…” he muttered, stepping backwards cautiously and pulling free a Grapeshot grenade, tossing it at his foe.

The Nothing There dodged effortlessly, though its back was still peppered with shrapnel when the bomb exploded. This didn’t prompt a response, the creature curiously observing Geralt, who narrowed his eyes in return. Delaying the fight didn’t hurt, as Geralt hadn’t noticed any exceptional regeneration abilities in the creature so far, beyond the metamorphosis. The eye on its chest was still weeping blood, a large gash torn through it by his hunting knife.

“Goodbye.” It suddenly said, and Geralt had only a moment to raise his blade as the monster’s arm transformed into a massive blade, the nothing There surging forward to cleave him in two. The impact between their weapons rattled Geralt’s bones, and before Geralt could recover from the blow, it swiped its clawed hand across Geralt’s face, before its toothy maw found purchase on Geralt’s skull, its massive teeth grinding against the Witcher’s cheekbone. As one side of his vision filled with blood, Geralt’s hand weakly came up to draw the Sign of Aard, telekinetic force blasting the creature off of him, and taking a chunk of flesh with it.

Half-blinded and shaking from blood loss, Geralt raised his silver sword again, grimacing angrily. He wouldn’t die here. He’d survived worse. He just had to find his opportunity to kill this thing, and let Swallow do the hard work. But he couldn’t…take the seconds it would require right now. Not against this thing.

Its arm had returned to its mace-like form, though Geralt noticed that the eye on its chest seemed less damaged than before. So, it could regenerate. Whether that was from consuming his flesh or its own natural healing was irrelevant. Another bite like that would kill him. Taking a more defensive stance, Geralt waited for the Nothing There’s next attack.

It jumped forward a moment later, slamming its mace-hand down in an overhead slam, but Geralt dodge, cutting at the smaller of its arms, the one with the many eyes along it, and earning a splash of blood from it for his efforts. Keeping this thing on his good side was simple enough, as it seemed either unconcerned or unaware that it had made him a much easier target already. Geralt stepped back, watching as the Nothing There mimicked his movement. His remaining eye narrowed, and Geralt lunged forward, catching the eye on its shoulder with a quick slash before stepping back out of the range of a clumsy follow-up with its mace-arm. “Hello.” It garbled to Geralt, who frowned as he watched the thing.

Nonetheless, he was starting to find a rhythm, which was why it was odd when the creature instead kneeled to the ground, holding up one ar- Geralt threw himself to the side as he realized something was wrong, a bolt of bone launching from the Nothing There’s smaller arm a moment later, piercing through where Geralt had just been with enough velocity that it would have broken through his armor. The impact with the ground rattled the Witcher, and as he clumsily forced himself to his feet, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he heard the words “I love you.” from behind.

---

It pushed open the door to the tavern, the flesh-thing at the bar waving an arm with its teeth bared. “Hello, Geralt! Managed to get that nasty, didya! Knew ye had it in ya, after all! Hahahahaa!” The man laughed, though it stopped after a few seconds. “Alright, I’ve got your bounty right here, then. Just- hey, what’s gotten into- Geralt, let go, dammit! You’re gonna break my bloody arm!” The flesh-thing writhed in its grasp, before grabbing a knife from behind the bar and stabbing into its arm.

“I love you.”

---

Geralt shot out of his bed, panting, covered in a cold sweat. “Fuck. What…fuck, just on the Avenger…” He sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

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

Geralt of Rivia

Mafia Town

Lvl 14 Geralt (32/140) -> Lvl 14 (33/140) (+2 pending)

Word count: 446 words

Thankfully, many hands made light work when it came to cleaning up Bancho Sushi. With the added boon of the Mafia coming and actually paying up on their 'protection money' to their highest provider (and throwing a bit of egg on Geralt's face in the process for stealing from their enforcers any chance he got), things in Mafia Town were...still pretty horrible. Bancho, Dave, and the others would still have to actually rebuild the restaurant, but that wasn't his problem. Technically, it wasn't even Nadia's, and she worked there!

Sandalphon's arrival nearly perfectly matched those of the others, with their angelic dispatcher providing even the newcomer a fulton. Geralt didn't recognize the man, but Falcon's demeanor belied some kind of pre-existing relationship. Given that he had apparently been wrapped up with Bowser, Link, Ganondorf and some others in Galeem's 'original' attack, those old bonds would be helpful.

Rolling his eyes at Juri and Nadia's nonsense, Geralt waited for the others to activate their fultons before sighing and looking at Sandalphon. "I hate this."

---

Waking up with the room spinning, Geralt sighed and laid there for a minute or two before forcing himself up, once his stomach had settled. At least Nadia was still out, though the way her tail was flicking gave him the impression that she wouldn't be for much longer. Geralt decided to take the others' lead and leave the feral to her fate, making his path towards the mess hall to grab whatever remained of the day's food.

There wasn't much, only pre-packaged food that was likely to be only somewhat satisfying, but Geralt didn't mind much, grabbing a blueberry muffin and making his way back to his shared room with Captain Falcon while eating it. He removed most of his armor, sitting in the bed, and closed his eyes. It wasn't quite meditation, but a half-state between. He didn't feel like properly meditating at this moment, but he wasn't yet restful enough to sleep, either. Consul I was going to alert the others, because of course they were.

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

Edelgard von Hresvelg

Skyworld - The Last Nephilim Fight

Level 2 Edelgard (1/20) +8 Collab XP -> (10/20)

Word count: 619 words

Uriel and Lady Palutena's plan was absurd, reckless, and utter genius. To destroy the endless loop that this abominable carriage rode upon eternally and use it to destroy the Corruption at its source! It was, also, however, a plan that relied on her and these Seekers escaping the train intact, a feat made much more difficult by the fact that she could not fly. Still, when the call came from Lady Palutena, moments after a titanic explosion sounded ahead of the train, Edelgard used everything she had to run towards an exit.

It was a shame she was so slow. She followed Midna and Edward, even as their allies barrelled past her, the Emperor's armor wearing her down. Even with her prodigious strength, she could not keep up. She felt her stomach drop as the train entered freefall, and she lost her footing an instant before a hand reached out to her, then another, and she desperately reached out for them as Absalom raged below. The Feathershields pulled Edelgard from the carriage seconds before it crashed, their Lieutenant gasping for breath as fear for her fate gripped her.

"This damned, infernal machine!" She cried, sickening hatred tinging her words. "It is a blessing upon this world that we have destroyed it." As the angels lowered her into the crystal fields where the others had gathered after the Infernal Train's fall. She watched the wreckage with disdainful eyes, her breaths slowing as she calmed and a Featherstaff healed her wounds.

And then Absalom's arm burst free from the wreckage, and the Source of Corrpution showed its horrific face once more. Damnable lout. Still, it was her job to destroy Lady Palutena's enemies, and she took a step forwards as Aymr appeared, halting only as her Lady herself spoke out against Absalom. As something immense, and more unsettling, unseen, flew overhead, she frowned. "And what now?" When the Hellpod crashed into the crystal fields, Edelgard's hackles raised. The new combatant that emerged from the pod wasn't somebody she recognized, though Midna seemed to. That was enough for her, and Edelgard charged.

As Edward's command galvanized the heavenly host into action, Edelgard's own roaring advance heralded Ortho's return to the fray, and the angelic griffon slammed into Absalom like a missile, raking his claws across the demon's face and biting at his chest. Dante capitalized on the distraction, slamming his multi-elemental nunchucks into Absalom's face before kicking off him with a flip. Ortho leapt off, lifting himself into the air with powerful wingbeats as Absalom recovered, and Edelgard finally reached him. A fireball to the back caught Absalom as he reached out for Dante, and Aymr slammed into the back of his leg.

"Palutena's might fall upon you, beast!" The Empress roared as she unleashed Flickering Flower, following up immediately with a shield bash before carving her ax into the Source of Corruption. If she could keep him down, somebody else could go for the head. While her allies' maneuverability was impressive, her own power and bulk was nothing to overlook. Even when Absalom rose and punted Edelgard to send her away, the Empress merely took it on the shield and stared up derisively at him. "Not good enough."

"You pathetic WRETCH!!!" Absalom roared, the Nephilim grabbing Edelgard in one hand and lifting her up into the air as his tentacles reached around him to latch onto her. "I will relish the look on your friends' faces as they are forced to strike you down." Even as Corruption creeped across her armor, threatening to take her, Edelgard stared Absalom in the face.

"Made you...look." She smirked, pained from the crushing force.