MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Seiran, Abandoned Subway- Overgrown Transfer

Lvl 9 (184/90) -> (185/90)

Word Count: 236 words

Between Blazermate's little flying contraption, the Judicator's healing (even if he took a few hits through the oversized thing), and his Swallow, Geralt was...doing well enough, let's go with. He was still achey, but it was quite a bit better than the pain he was in when that thing first launched him across the damn place. Midna and Karin were able to help as well, the Princess dousing the flames and launching projectiles at the monster, while Karin took a much more direct assault against the Slippy Chinery. As it began thrashing wildly about, Geralt put a bit more distance between himself and the thing, watching it carefully as the others took its attention for a moment.

Karin came back in after Midna's projectile volley, dashing under its legs and striking a devastating blow into the Slippy Chinery's hindflank, destabilizing the monster and sending it stumbling forward. Geralt charged, stabbing his silver sword into the Other's skull, and stepped back, leaving the blade inside as his hand made the Sign of Aard, launching a cone of force into the creature's skull, but most importantly, the hilt of the sword, and the blade buried itself even deeper into the creature, which began to dissolve into ash.

Picking up his weapon, he turned to the other monster, watching as Goldlewis and Blazermate fought it, and taking a deep breath. "Ow. Fuck." Yep, his ribs still hurt like hell.

---

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Valley of Ruin

Lvl 2 (6/20) -> Lvl 2 (8/20)

Word Count: 831 words

Well, that went...poorly. Susie was serious about just going out and grabbing a bunch of random scrap. Giovanna not-so-warmly reminded Susie of the reason they were here, which seemed to set the merchant guy who had joined them off, but with Pit behind her, the Little Pink Lady summoned her massive mecha suit and went to town on the robots. Meanwhile, he, Partitio and Giovanna were making their way all sneaky-like towards the crane. Zenkichi was nervously looking between Partitio and Giovanna, a bit surprised that he genuinely thought they were here for scrap. Had he not been obvious enough when he warned him that there would be a fight? Usually the scrap crews did their best to avoid getting into combat with the machines. Besides, they'd commandeered and sabotaged the salvage trucks. Any chance of them being ordinary scrap recovery team had died with that.

Still, Zenkichi didn't say anything to the man. Better not risk making anything worse with his big fat mouth. Besides, they were trying to be stealthy right now, and even a hushed conversation could get them caught. While not quite as speedy as Giovanna, he was able to keep up at a short distance as they approached the construction yard. The place was fairly well guarded, if lacking in actual defensive positions, but even though his official status as a Turk was no more, Zenkichi wasn't any less dangerous now than he was yesterday. He could handle a few Machines no problem. Noticing Giovanna's attention redirect skyward up the crane, Zenkichi's eyebrows rose as well. "Seriously?" He hissed, shaking his head. "Ugh, fine. You'd be better at getting up their than my old bones, anyway. I can cover you." Whispering carefully so he didn't get overheard, Zenkichi turned to Partitio. "Listen, I'm gonna make a distraction. Don't worry too much about me, and do whatever you can to take these things down while I've got their attention. After that, we'll figure out what's going on. Alright?" Not really waiting for much feedback, Zenkichi ran to another hiding spot, this one a bit further away from the crane.

Taking a deep breath, he summoned Valjean (and his Phantom Thief attire) and stood up, walking out into the open. The robots were quick to raise their weapons, but so was Wolf. A pair of shots took the first one out, and Wolf dodged to the side to avoid the incoming fire from the others that had reacted quickly. "Rakukaja!" Wolf shouted, the familiar feeling of a solid defense boost coursing through him. "Oh yeah!" He cheered, turning his aim to take down another pair of robots before aiming upwards, putting the rest of his cylinders into whichever Simians he could get his eyes on, not focusing any down, just trying to get their attention and get them out of Giovanna's way.

When his revolvers ran dry, Wolf quickly stowed the weapons and drew his greatsword, rushing in to attack. Bullets flattened against his body, the enhanced durability of a Persona-user and the boost granted by Rakukaja keeping the Detective from becoming a bullet-riddled corpse, and he cut down a pair of Assault Shooters that hadn't managed to get out of his way in time. A Rapid Shooter charged out from cover, making a semi-circular pattern to keep him away, but Wolf was quicker, launching himself with a burst of speed and tackling the Machine to the ground, following up with a brutal overhead swing, destroying the robot with a mighty crash.

Another burst of gunfire crashed against his back, and Wolf turned with a scowl, facing a small group of robots, all opening fire. Lifting his sword to try and block whatever he could, he snarled, "Valjean! Triple Down!" His Persona responded accordingly, raising and lashing out with its chains, mystical gunfire tearing through the robots and ripping them to pieces. Stashing his sword and drawing his guns to reload them, Wolf looked up in time to see the Simians final approach, having gotten quite a few of their attention. Replacing his revolvers with his sword once more, he beckoned hem towards him. Rakukaja had since worn off, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Backing up as the monkey-like machines descended, he called out for his Persona again, "Megido!"

Some of the Simians, a little quicker than the Shooters, managed to get out of the way of the attack, though a few others found themselves fried by the Almigthy spell, and Wolf followed up with a vicious horizontal swing, taking out another of the Simians right off the bat. Its fellows charged, crying angrily and swiping, kicking, and punching at him, but Wolf stood resolute, slashing and crushing his way through the ones that had targeted him from on top of the crane, determined to keep as much attention off of Giovanna as possible, and steering clear of the monolithic structure she was planning to crush.

World of Light

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Valley of Ruin

Lvl 2 (5/20) -> Lvl 2 (6/20)

Word Count: 353 words

As the trucks lumbered on, Zenkichi didn't have much else to say, the melancholic mood admittedly getting to him a bit. Some old habits died hard, and even with his re-discovered dedication to justice, Zenkichi was prone to melancholy since Aoi's death. So he sat, mostly quietly, in the truck, watching the landscapes pass him by, enjoying the sights and taking in the devastation. "It's wild...just how much stuff there is out there, ruined... He sighed when they passed a particularly wrecked area on their way to the salvage zone.

Once they stopped, Zenkichi was quick to get out and stretch his legs, half-hearted grumbling about his age. The sight of the massive plane crash made him whistle. While Tora got to work on disabling the automated routing of the salvage trucks, Zenkichi and the others joined Giovanna in keeping an eye out on the local 'wildlife'. Thankfully, these machines weren't hostile, but there was no telling what was and what wasn't, so he kept on alert. Soon enough, they were back underway, the two truck teams splitting up.

When the truck Zenkichi was in stopped at its second destination, the Investigator stepped out and immediately began looking around, balking at some of the machine forms in this place. "Definitely don't wanna get close to the water. I'm not sure how closely these things take after the animals they look like, but hippos and crocodiles are some of the deadliest animals on Earth." After pointing out the machines he was referring to, his attention shifted to the construction site. "I'm thinking we check that out," he told the group as he pointed towards the giant crane, "Might be some goodies lying around that we can use, and there's bound to be plenty of machines wherever we head."

Summoning Valjean, Zenkichi drew his revolvers and looked at the others. "Open to other suggestions, of course, but...well, we're here to scout, right? Figure that's the place to do it, nice and high, fairly open sightlines. Might just be a pain to get there...definitely be a fight and a half."

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Seiran, Abandoned Subway- Overgrown Transfer

Lvl 9 (172/90) +9 collab XP -> (184/90)

Word Count: 1,567 words

Goldlewis' verbal bombardment on the group's return was...fair. Generally unappreciated, the Witcher suspected, but fair. They had survived, but not by their own talents. He wasn't sure whether Goldlewis was being literal when he mentioned that the Psi-fish would pop their heads with their powers, but he'd seen enough strangeness in the World of Light that it probably wasn't worth taking that chance again. Had the reservoir been slightly less busy, he likely could have used the Breaching Bastion to put some serious dents in the wildlife population, but ultimately that was the crux of the issue: there was too much there to get anything properly done.

Taro being shuffled away for treatment was...unfortunate, given the likelihood of him being arrested for being Fused, but the man was in no shape to join the Seekers proper. Unfortunate as it was, hopefully his jailers would still allow him to receive treatment. Staying down there, continuing to suffer physically and mentally...it would do him no good.

Geralt didn't respond to Goldlewis, but the half-hearted frown on his face indicated that he was, at least, somewhat chastised, even if he damn well didn't like it.

Especially given that they had to go back. A bit of a shame that they hadn't done any proper scouting, but Geralt wasn't going to lose sleep over it. The journey to the tunnel system was fairly uneventful, thankfully, even though they had to use those damned ziplines again. At least these ones were less circuitous than the ones in Detroit.

Casting Quen once they entered enemy territory proper, Geralt stayed towards the back, all the better to get a good look at their enemies before engaging. The Others were a bit more tricky than the average thug, he'd heard, and he'd prefer to not get caught off guard by anything they might be able to do.

Such as explode in your face once they got in close proximity. That was...oddly terrifying. And unnatural. No creature threw itself to death like that unless it was serving a greater purpose, some higher cause. All living beings held within them a sense of self-preservation, be it as basic as 'move away from large predator' or as complex as 'I need to work to eat, and eat to live, even if I hate the work I have to do to eat.'

That these...things...so casually disregarded that basic fact of biological function...disturbed him. Yes, the Abyssal Fleet was similar, but his experience with Rika and Bella indicated that they were somewhat incomplete. Hollow creations, with only the most bare-bones souls within them. The Strikers he'd bonded to from the Fleet were little more than automatons in his eyes. Their lack of self-preservation made sense: they were not created with it, all the better to wage a ceaseless war.

But the Others...they had been presented as a biological phenomenon, an eldritch and foreign one, but living creatures nonetheless.

Shaking his head to clear the disturbing ruminations, Geralt took Goldlewis' offer of protection and stayed behind the man, his giant coffin, and the massive shield he summoned, endured the wave of self-destructive monsters handily. Geralt sighed when it was over, shaking his head at his own sense of helplessness. He certainly could have fought, but being caught in the explosion of even one of those monsters...could have had catastrophic results, especially if it left him vulnerable to other attacks. "Thanks." Geralt simply stated when the coast was clear, giving Goldlewis a nod. Even if he wasn't exactly thrilled with the man at the moment, there was no grudge being held. He understood why he had been upset at them.

As they continued, Geralt renewed the shielding of Quen, keeping his breathing steady and his pace solid. He knew that wearing himself out would come back to bite him in the ass later, so he made sure to conserve his stamina as best he could. Even with his enhanced abilities, he was not a workhorse nor a limitless font of energy.

Coming out to the train platforms, Geralt scowled when he saw the Saliva Santas. "What in the..?" He mumbled, still not quite used to the unusual forms the Others took. He went with Goldlewis to the right to attempt to attack the thing, only for the pair to be blasted back by an explosion of warm saliva, Geralt shaking off a glob from his arm. "Disgusting..." He muttered, drawing his bow. "Looks like a blade won't help."

Geralt used Midna's assault on the singular Other as an opportunity to attack the pair on the other side, the special power of Odysseus' Bow triggering and spreading lightning between the two, though he focused his arrows on one of them. Doing his best to avoid being hit by blasts of water, Geralt nonetheless took a few hits, re-applying Quen midfight to keep himself sturdy. His other Signs lacked the range to deal with the Santas, so he focused on shooting with his bow, calling upon Panther to launch a few blasts of his laser weapon alongside Geralt. One arrow managed to trigger the missile launcher on his shoulder, which certainly helped deal some major damage to the Santa it hit, but even that was not enough to fell it.

Overall, it wasn't quite as clean as Midna's efforts on the solo Santa, and he most certainly had not slain his by the time she was done on her side, but he was assuredly wearing them down for the others to assist with a cleaner finish. It was times like this he missed the open ocean, being able to bring the Breaching Bastion to bear on foes, though it was only reasonable that it wouldn't last forever.

Once they cleaned up the rest of the Santas, Geralt and the other Seekers followed after Goldlewis, and saw the results of...something...having been freshly killed. Two equine Others, one with leaves on its branch-like antlers, the other without, stood among a pile of ashes, the leafed monster cleaning blood from its nails, the bare one still eating. They'd interrupted quite the fresh kill, then.

The Slippy Chinery covering itself in oil made Geralt hum. What were the odds that igniting that oil would harm it, and what were the odds that it would only become a flaming, rampaging nuisance? He wasn't sure he wanted to test that just yet, but perhaps when it was suitably weakened he would. The Winery Chinery he wanted nothing to do with, what with using metal swords as his primary form of combat. Sure, he could stay back and shoot the thing with his bow or crossbow, but after having just done so with the Santas, he was less inclined to ignore a chance to use his silver. Once more applying Quen to protect himself, Geralt moved to color, mimicking Midna's attempt to locate the Slippy Chinery via smell. It looked like the Twilight Princess and her hound were a more appealing target, though, and Geralt's witnessed the train she perched upon being crushed by the thing's assault, running to her aid as she was launched by the follow-up attacks.

It was incredibly difficult to properly see the beast as it attacked Midna, but blasts of sand gave Geralt a good idea of where it was, and by the time it was clashing with her Darknut, Geralt had clambered aboard the damaged train, slashing his blade across one of its hindlegs as it reeled, quickly repositioning his blade to deflect the retaliatory tail strike. Sensing Midna as the greater threat, the Chinery continued attacking her, and she responded by trapping it in swarms of grasping vines, rooting it to the body of the train. Giving the Princess an appreciative nod, Geralt plunged his blade into the Chinery's side, calling forth a spray of blood, before moving out of the way of the cyborg bear's swoopin stu cannon. As the Other burned and thrashed, Geralt added to its misery with a concentrated stream of flames from Igni, covering its side with flames in addition to the ones on its front.

Unfortunately, the Slippy Chinery also broke free as Geralt was dousing it with flames, and with Midna retreating to be healed, that left Geralt as a perfect target for a body slam. Unable to react in time, Geralt was bodily launched from the train, silver sword clattering and sliding along the ground as his Quen shield explosively shattered, and the oversized Witcher crashed to the ground and rolled for a good twenty or so feet, crashing hard into an advertisement stand. Groaning, he forced himself to his feet and clumsily shuffled towards Blazermate and Midna as the Slippy Chinery came at them, summoning the Judicator behind him. "F-fuck...need help here..." He groaned, and the massive monstrosity screeched, beginning to self-flagellate to heal its summoner while he stumbled to his sword and grabbed it.

Geralt fished in his pouch for a dose of Swallow, quickly swallowing it and standing to his full height as the potion quickly began hypercharging his already-good regeneration abilities. He wasn't back to 100% instantly, but it would allow Blazermate to focus on Midna while the Judicator and Geralt turned towards the Slippy Chinery and began a renewed assault, Geralt calling for backup from whomever was free to assist. The thing was burning, bleeding from Geralt's stab wound, and angry, but still standing. It likely wouldn't last for much longer, but for now...it was still a threat.

World of Light

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 7 Slums

Lvl 2 (4/20) -> Lvl 2 (5/20)

Word Count: 637 words

Zenkichi nodded appreciatively when Partitio confirmed that he was no slouch in a fight. He wasn't sure that'd be enough, but he could always hit the merchant with a Rakukaja to keep his defenses up. It wouldn't be the be-all and end-all of a fight, but his duty wasn't just to bring justice to the guilty, but to protect the innocent as well. And an honest merchant, risking life and limb to better the people who needed his wares? At worst, it was self-motivated in a long-term thinking kind of way. At worst. But given that he was risking his own life and limb? More likely to be genuine altruism. "Then you'll have no complaints from me." He replied simply.

His discussion with the Rust Crew went smoothly enough. It seemed like they were were considering a plan to try and hijack a DesporHado transport, which...well, it was ambitious, for sure. Though it also didn't seem like they were entirely on board with the plan themselves, and were happy to hitch along with a less insane plan when offered the opportunity. He wasn't sure how he felt about Cain's flirting with Poppi, but the android herself didn't seem terribly perturbed, at least not enough to speak up, which he'd gotten the impression she was more than comfortable with doing.

It looked like they'd be getting on the scrapper transports, which were automated to go to the area and leave for home at set times. Giovanna seemed confident enough in the little round guy's hacking skills to assume that he'd be able to mess with that programming. He wasn't in any position to doubt those skills, given that it also seemed like he'd built Poppi himself. He thought he'd heard something about a family project, but even with help, it still meant he was certainly quite the clever little guy.

Partitio speaking to the scavengers to get some better equipment, trading in his old, low-quality gear, was a point in the newcomer's favor. Zenkichi could manage without armor thanks to Valjean, Giovanna had that wolf partner of hers, Poppi was a friggin combat android, Pit was apparently an angel, Roxas had honest-to-goodness magic, and Susie...he wasn't actually sure what Susie's deal in a fight was. She seemed very techy, maybe she had some kind of hacking deal? Still, her robotic nature meant she'd inherently have some protection against damage. Tora was another matter he wasn't sure about, but he very obviously wasn't human, and Zenkichi wasn't going to assume he couldn't hold his own. All in all, he felt confident about their odds against the Machines.

As they all got into their vehicles to be driven to the salvage zone, Zenkichi couldn't help but notice that Roxas was...well, brooding would be the way he'd put it, but that wouldn't go over well with a kid to tell them that. He wasn't sure he had any advice for him, though, so Zenkichi kept his mouth shut. Susie's idea about adding turrets to the border down made Zenkichi chuckle a little. "That's if Upper Midgar doesn't take them for themselves once they hear about us making proper armaments. Can't even be bothered to fix the outer wall..." He wasn't sure why Konoe wasn't taking things more seriously, especially given his obsession with being a hero, but then again, the Konoe he was used to didn't have that Heidegger in his name, and he was a tech guy, not a cop.

As the trucks rumbled on, Zenkichi looked outwards and sighed at the devastation around them. "It's like it's out of some post-apocalyptic TV show..." He muttered, wondering what exactly happened. Had this been placed here, just like that, plucked from some ruined world, or had this been a thriving community that was destroyed?

World of Light

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 7 Slums

Lvl 2 (3/10) -> Lvl 2 (4/10)

Word Count: 520 words

Zenkichi concurred with Tora and Giovanna's suppositions on why Midgar hadn't taken the fight directly to the Machines. "It sucks, but...well, it's not all bastards all the way up and all the way down. They make the decisions they make for reasons, not just to be cartoonishly evil. Well...mostly not to be cartoonishly evil," Zenkichi corrected after remember some of the more corrupt folks he'd had the misfortune of dealing with. "It's almost always a question of logistics. What do we get out of doing this? Is the risk worth the potential reward? And...well, the undercities just get counted less heavily in the equation. Not only is it out of sight, out of mind, but there's not many people with money down here to make people care. If you can invest in a bigshot politician's campaign, or even worse, his opponent's, well, they have to at least hear you out. Or it's their job on the line, and their power." Sighing, Zenkichi shook his head. "Politics..."

He watched on curiously as Tora waddled over to Partitio, and let the man know what they were here to help. Unsurprisingly, they didn't mystically round up a posse to take the fight to the robots because everybody was just waiting for the first person to stand up and say "no more", but they did at least get the attention of the merchant himself. "Huh. Uh, well...we're definitely trying to help out, but, and forgive the bluntness, we're not planning a casual stroll. It's gonna get ugly." He wasn't saying that to try and scare the guy off, but it was better to be safe then sorry.

The Seekers carried on, reaching Stargazer Heights on their way to Scrap Boulevard, and that was where they saw the Rust Crew, along with a couple of folks that Roxas recognized and ran after while Giovanna made her way to Scrap Boulevard to try and get them a ride. Poppi's question, or more specifically, the way she addressed him, caused Zenkichi to tug at his collar, a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah...that's them. But could you...not call me master? It's...kind of weird." He admitted, vividly remembering a time when he...hadn't handled Aoi's death so well.

Shaking his head, he focused back on the Rust Crew. "But, yes, let's give it a shot." Walking towards the three members of the Rust Crew, he waved and called out, "Hey guys! So, heard you were looking for that Hollow Child yesterday, too. That, uh...well, didn't go so well for us. And turns out PubSec is...less interested in doing the right thing than in trying to save face. I probably shouldn't go into detail, but we're on our way to go try and do what we can to keep things from blowing up too badly in our faces. Not officially, of course. If you're willing, we could use a hand?" Zenkichi decided to go with honesty, hoping that they'd be willing to help, for whatever reasons they so chose. As long as nobody was stabbing anybody in the back, he'd consider it a win.

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia and Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- S.O.U. Building -> Split: Geralt to Seiran, Zenkichi to Sector 7 Slums

Lvl 9 (171/90) -> (172/90)

Lvl 2 (2/10) -> Lvl 2 (3/10)

Word Count: 639 words

After some conversation, a few key decisions had been made: Akane would stay at the S.O.U Building for now, where it was safe. Risking dealing with the Nyakuza Metro was, at the moment, inadvisable. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't be attacked, and while the young girl was still trying to wrap her head around the changes her life had just underwent, it was best not to take any risks.

Second was that the group would be splitting up again. Geralt opted to join Midna, Blazermate, Goldlewis and the others heading to Seiran, while Zenkichi insisted on going to deal with the Machine incursion, given that it was his failed operation that had potentially spurred their attack. The Witcher felt he'd be better served fighting "actual monsters instead of golems", as well.

---

The trip to Seiran was fairly simple, though Geralt was also forced to stoop low in the train, his massive Spirit-infused frame very clearly not designed for modern amenities. A shame, especially on his old bones, but he kept his mouth shut and merely frowned at the gawkers, giving them plenty of reason to turn their heads. No damn respect. The news about the bombing by Avalanche piqued his interest, and though he didn't ask Goldlewis much, he did reply to Blazermate's question about them being possible allies. "Old saying ain't exactly accurate. If these folk're willing to blow up an important building, safe to say they're not the type concerned about casualties. Might be trying to save the world, but there's no point if you do it by killing everyone in it."

When they finally arrived and made their way to the hideout, Geralt looked around their new place. Midna set about creating a travel portal, which Geralt kept a minimum firm ten feet from at any given time, and summoned a pile of old bones and armor onto a surgical table. Grimacing, Geralt instead looked around to get an idea of what the place was like overall.

---

Zenkichi, meanwhile, joined Giovanna and the others in heading down to the Sector 7 Slums. He always hated coming to this place. It was...so depressing, to have it shoved in his face the brutal reality of Migdar's two-tier system. He never once in his life here thought it was a good idea, but even with Valjean he had no way of taking it down. Hell, even with the Seekers, even if they got rid of Galeem, this place...unless it was rebuilt from the ground up, there was no happy ending here. It was an evil city, run by evil people.

"Condemn the evil, and hunt them down, huh...?" Zenkichi mumbled, loud enough for the others nearby to hear, but not for the random passersby to notice. His memories of Awakening to Valjean were vibrant in his mind, the first words he spoke as a reborn man etched in his heart.

He wouldn't let his Persona down. His daughter down. Not again. Never again. "I agree. Best to get out there and take the fight to the Machines. It'll keep the chance of collateral low, and if there is anything useful on the Machines, we can grab it before any of the scavengers have a chance to. And for what it's worth, the real money isn't in the parts, but doin' something with them, and folks down here don't get nearly as much chance to actually learn that. Everybody who gets that chance finds their way up top and nearly all of them stay up there. Comfortable and wealthy." The barely-hidden disdain in Zenkichi's voice was omnidirectional: at the people who abandoned their friends and loved ones for a loftier life, for the system that necessitated such cold behavior for any sort of comfort and safety, and himself for being an enforcer of it.

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia and Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 8, Detroit -> S.O.U. Building

Lvl 9 (163/90) -> +5 Battle Reward Lvl 9 (171/90)

Lvl 1 (4/10) -> +5 Worthy Opponent Lvl 2 (2/10)

Word Count: 2,414 words

Power Gained: -Kaja Suite: Zenkichi gains Tarukaja, Rakukaja, and Sukukaja, which can temporarily boost one ally's attack power, defense, or agility for a short period of time (roughly one minute). These buffs share a collective cooldown of one minute.

With the fight winding down with Chemtrail’s destruction, Zenkichi was finally allowed to get to his feet when Geralt sheathed his blade. While he was dusting himself off, Giovanna came over, gave a quick ‘This is much more important than you realize’ speech, and gave him the address of their hideout. They really were trusting him on this. Unless it was a trap, of course, but the things he’d remembered…no, this…this was real. At least, as real as anything got here. Where even was here? Midgar? He’d never even heard of a city like this on Earth. They certainly didn’t have this kind of technology anywhere.

No, this was real. He needed to….he needed to do a lot of things. Was Akane even safe? Would Konoe even consider Zenkichi a threat? Did he remember their real lives, before this place? And what was with that weird, hyphenated name?

Shaking his head, Zenkichi sighed. “Yeah, I’ll be there.” He said, thoughts still going a mile a minute. Geralt, meanwhile, nodded at the Persona User and ran off with Giovanna and the other Seekers, taking the sky-rails away.

Sighing and jogging from the scene of the crime, Zenkichi headed home with fears, worries, and a dozen half-baked plans in his mind. He had to make sure Akane was safe, first and foremost.

---

Things with Akane went…in a word, poorly. Not poorly enough that she wasn’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but suddenly explaining to your resentful daughter that you magically understood all of the issues she’d had with your behavior since your wife’s death and were now going to be the perfect hero of justice typically wasn’t met with cheers and immediate belief. No, Zenkichi knew that he’d have to earn his daughter's trust all over again, but he was willing to do that. What he was less willing to do was ignore the red glowing of her eyes, and the mutedness of…her everything. It disturbed him, and his first order of business was undoing whatever had been done to her.

Or, well, getting Giovanna and Benedict and their new friends to do that. He just hoped it didn’t require getting as thoroughly thrashed as he’d been before that double sword guy had done whatever he did last night. Some of that was still blurry, hazy. A lot of things were, but other memories were much more clear, like the Phantom Thieves. God, was he worried about those damn kids, too. But he had to trust that they could take care of themselves. And, he had a vague recollection of one of the robots they had with them mentioning Joker, Panther, and others with similar powers. No way that was a coincidence, they must have run into the Thieves.

So, as Zenkichi entered the SOU Hideout with his daughter in tow to see the assembled Seekers, Geralt included, he came out swinging. ”Before I hear out anything you are planning, you need to do whatever the hell it is you did to me for my daughter. Make her remember. Remember everything.” Akane’s reaction to this was, honestly, predictable: confusion and anger.

“I’m sorry, remember what exactly? How we had to move Districts after mom died so you could play cop and hide like a coward? And how are these…people…” Akane’s tirade cut off when she realized who exactly was in the room: Vernon Groubitz himself. “Dad? Why…why is he here? Isn’t he one of them?! They killed mom! You just told me that these people would help us, but he’s ONE OF THEM!” Zenkichi desperately grabbed Akane’s shoulders as she tried to point at the former President, kneeling and looking into her eyes, trying not to cringe at the redness inside them.

”Akane, honey, please, I need you to listen to me. These people know more about what’s happening in Midgar than anybody. I trust them. I trust Benedict. And…honestly, I don’t have much else left to do. I got demoted yesterday. This morning, technically. This…this is our last chance, Akane. To get justice for Aoi and for everybody else those bastards have hurt. Please. I know I’ve screwed up, over and over since she died…but I promise, this time is for real. Please, Akane.”

Clearing his throat, Geralt took a few steps forward. “Normally, removing Galeem’s influence requires…pain. Physical injury. I think we can get around it, though. Roxas, you managed to free somebody before without hurting them, right? With those…keyswords you have? I didn’t get a good glimpse, but would you be able to do it again?” In typical old man fashion, Geralt messed up the name of the Keyblades, but still got the jist of it. Whether he was doing it on purpose or not would remain a mystery. Thankfully, Roxas could do it, but he warned them that it wasn’t pleasant.

Akane looked around, realizing that these weren’t typical government types that her father had shacked up with, confused and a little scared. “W…what does he mean, dad? Why do they need a sword? Why…what’s going on?!” With the only options being her screw-up of a father and big, scary, armed people (including some robots, what looked like a kid only a few years older than her, and a weird floating person-thing), she defaulted to the one person she knew for protection.

”It’s…complicated. And I don’t actually know all the details. It’s why I came here, to get more answers. But somebody is messing with our heads. Like Akane did before.”

Expectedly to all but Zenkichi, this only confused Akane more, who was about to speak when Geralt cut her off. “I think it’s best we leave the explanations for after Roxas takes care of this. It’s…like mind control. You can’t understand that it’s being done to you until it’s over. She’s only going to get more upset and confused if we keep talking about it.” Geralt was speaking in a softer tone than the others were used to hearing from him, his paternal instincts on full display, unbeknownst to him.

Akane, meanwhile, was nearing a full-blown panic attack, causing Zenkichi to hug her close, gently rubbing her back and rocking her side to side for a minute or two until she calmed down, before standing up. ”Alright. Let’s…do this, I guess.”

With a warning to hold her, and that things would get rough before it was done, Zenkichi stood behind his daughter, who started to thrash side to side when Roxas summoned Oathkeeper, and pressed it into her chest, causing a bright light to begin glowing from the point of contact. Akane cried out, causing Zenkichi to almost loosen his grip, but he doubled down, wrapping his arms tighter around her as she screamed and thrashed, and Geralt stood behind Roxas, ready to keep him up if the process proved as exhausting to the boy as it had been last time. The light grew brighter and brighter still, watering the eyes of all who looked on it.

After a short while, the light abated, and Akane slumped in her father’s arms, exhausted and panting, memories slowly coming back to her, while Roxas heaved a sigh and took a seat, a little winded but not much worse for wear all things considered.

Zenkichi hefted Akane up in his arms and plopped her down in one of the chairs, taking a donut for each of them, and coffee for himself. ”I’ll start with the bad news: I’ve been demoted to Petty Officer. My own fault. I got too focused on you all, and let the target I was following get away. They…it’s bad. They stole classified information and returned it to the Machines. Public Security thinks they’re gonna attack today. This morning. They’re planning to keep it under wraps and let DespoRHado take the blame. Disgusting…I can’t believe this is the justice I was fighting for. At least Japan wasn’t nearly this bad…but this damn city…it’s sick. It’s sick from the inside out. I still believe in the rule of law, but PubSec is compromised from the top down. Which brings me to another problem…Akira Konoe.” Zenkichi’s attitude became even more serious, if that were possible, and he put both hands on the table.

”I don’t know, exactly, what Galeem did. But Konoe being in charge of this city’s police means nothing good. He’s…he thinks he’s a hero. That he’s leading people into a brighter future, that he’s their only hope. He was brainwashing people by the millions in Japan, along with a researcher of Cognitive Psience, Ichinose. I…don’t actually know if she’s here, or working with him, or what, but if she is…it could be bad. And I need you to understand that I am not understating this when I tell you how bad it is. They made a god. An honest-to-goodness god, that could control people’s hearts and minds if they weren’t a Persona user. It took all of us to beat that thing, and it wasn’t easy. Maybe Galeem’s worse, but…he can’t be trusted. Not with PubSec, not with Midgar’s safety. But…the message I got indicated that the Southern Undercities would be the most likely target of the attack And that’s the most important thing right now. Helping those people.”

Pushing up a little from the table, he looked around. ”I’ve probably got more, but that’s all that’s coming to mind right now. Sorry.”

Geralt frowned, finishing the donut he’d taken. “Well, that makes two gods we have to kill then. Great. Gods I kill are usually a lot more local. Lot smaller, too.”

”He’s not kidding, is he?” Zenkichi deadpanned.

“Aren’t real gods. Monsters that fancy themselves gods, maybe. Monster hunter by trade. Mutated human called a Witcher. Fused with a couple Spirits a few days back, hence the claws, the height, the…weird things on my shoulders.” Geralt introduced himself.

”Uh…Public Security Investigator. From Japan. I have a Persona, called Valjean. It’s my inner self. The rebel in my heart, I think Mona called it?”

“Uh…huh. Alright, then. Big guy you summoned? So that’s not a Striker? You can just…do that?” Geralt asked. He never did learn too much from Joker and the others.

”Well, normally they can only appear in a special Cognitive World, called the Metaverse, but whatever this Galeem did…made it all real. Unless this is somehow the Metaverse…would explain why people dissolve into those weird Spirit things when they die…”

“I’m not going to pretend to understand any of that, but don’t go around thinking this world is any less real than the one you came from. Our job is to help people.” Geralt scolded.

”Oh, no! We, uh, only ever fought shadows really! Kind of..cognitive constructs. Intentionally killing a person’s shadow could kill them, but we didn’t do that. Murder isn’t our style. We stole their warped desires and freed their minds, giving people their conscience back and showing them the wrongs of their ways.” Zenkichi explained heroically.

“Sounds like mind control.” Geralt very bluntly retorted. “Tricky thing to mess around with. Not that I’m one to talk…” He muttered the last bit.

”Excuse you! Not mind control! We were freeing people from unhealthy psychological obsessions and traumas that were controlling their behaviors, letting them see past themselves to understand what their actions were doing! Everything after that was up to them! And we didn’t just do it to people we didn’t like, the Phantom Thieves only targeted people who were abusing their authority and harming people! Ugh, why am I even telling you people this…Joker’s gonna kill me…”

Geralt just chuckled at Zenkichi’s frantic defense of himself and the Phantom Thieves. “Relax. We already know them. Bit…guarded. Only ever use these odd names for themselves. But we’re on the same side, at least I think we are. They ran off last time our group all met up and we haven’t heard from them since, though it’s only been a day or two since then. Figure we’ll run into them again eventually.”

“Dad…did you just say you were a Phantom Thief? But the Phantom Thieves are so cool…” Akane mumbled from her seat, her donut finished and her mind still ringing from trying to mentally reconcile two lives.

”Way to make your old man feel bad, Akane…” Zenkichi mumbled, slumping.

"If you're done feeling sorry for yourself, we still have the problem of being arrested if we try to do anything." Geralt grumbled halfheartedly, crossing his arms.

"Uh, right, that. Sorry. So, as for starting your own agency, that...could maybe work, and having a skilled hacker might let you break in and backdate some paperwork making it all official. I might've been demoted, but I'm still a Public Security officer, so I could head to the office and try and get you access somewhere, though it'll have to be quick. As for me and Benedict going AWOL, well...to be honest, I'm not sure if they've even noticed Benedict being gone, but if they have, they're not making it obvious. I'm not the only one who got demoted yesterday, so they've gotta have some candidates in mind to replace us if they're clearing house like this." Zenkichi stroked his stubble with his thumb and index finger, thinking.

"Way I see it, I can make up some details, maybe blame my screw up on those gangsters you folks wiped out. Long as Khamsin doesn't try and clear the air, and I highly doubt he'd be caught dead answering to any PubSec investigators in any real capacity, I can keep my job for a few more days until they realize I'm actually going rogue. I'd prefer not to lose it completely, but...well, we've got bigger fish to fry right now. Though, I...gotta favor to ask. Is there somewhere safe for Akane to stay? This...isn't like before, where I was still technically in good standing with my bosses. If somebody gets wind that I'm working with you, I don't doubt that they'd go after her for a second. I already got threatened to back off my personal investigation before this." Zenkichi was really putting it all in their hands.

Geralt frowned at that, though he couldn't blame the man: he'd gone to much greater lengths to make sure Ciri was okay. "Midna, those portals of yours...they go anywhere we can be certain she'll be safe? Alcamoth would be better, but if it'd risk you going back through the Metro, we can't be sure if those cats are still after us or not."

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia and Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 8, Detroit

Lvl 9 (168/90) -> -8 Friend Heart Lvl 9 (163/90)

Lvl 1 (1/10) -> Lvl 1(4/10)

Word Count: 1,326 words

The song of steel clashing against steel sounded throughout the Plaza, Geralt and Zenkichi's blades flashing in a flurry of blows, though Geralt certainly had the upper hand in initiative. He could easily make two or three swings in the time it took Zenkichi to sweep his blade through the air. This was somewhat balanced out by Zenkichi's Persona-enhanced strength and durability, not to mention the sheer heft of his weapon. Geralt could tell the detective was by no means a master of the blade, as a more accomplished swordsman could certainly swing it faster and more efficiently.

The Witcher lashed out with a kick to the knee, buckling Zenkichi's balance for a moment before following up with a slash across the man's chest, drawing a pained grunt and a reflexive sweep of the heavy blade, forcing Geralt to back off. His Quen shield had broken from an earlier hit, and he wasn't looking forward to another. Zenkichi tried to take the initiative this time, vicious blows coming one after the other, with no attention paid to defense. Geralt had wondered about that, but when the first few hits he'd landed hadn't carved the man like a slab of meat, he figured that there was even more to him than met the eye. Made it a bit tougher to take him down, though he likely wouldn't have to worry about accidentally killing the man and pissing off Poppi and Tora. Why they asked him not to, Geralt wasn't sure, though the man's power did bear a resemblance to that of those kids that he remembered running off with Yellow Team and then leaving on their own way from the subway.

So be it. Carefully dodging or deflecting Zenkichi's blows that came to close, Geralt bided his time for the right moment, and when he saw it, unleashed a blast from Aard to knock him off balance and follow up with his blade. What he didn't expect was for Zenkichi to stumble, slam his blade into the ground, and catch himself while blocking Geralt's strike, sending uncomfortable vibrations up the Witcher's arm from hitting what may as well have been a steel wall while intending to cut through it.

Zenkichi smirked, pulling his sword out with a snarl, and swung, but Geralt was quicker to recover, spinning around and cutting across Zenkichi's stomach. Ending up behind the Persona-wielder, Geralt slammed the pommel of his sword backwards, hitting Zenkichi in the back. Geralt twirled again, only for his swing to be intercepted by the heavier greatsword Zenkichi was wielding, knocking his attack aside and crashing into his armor with immense force. The Witcher was knocked back, but not stopped, and leapt back to the fight, steel clashing with steel once again.

Really wish I hadn't mag-dumped to start this off, Zenkichi mused, desperately wishing he could catch Geralt off guard with a quickdraw shot to the gut, but unable to do so without having to take a few seconds to reload. He had an idea, and with the others ignoring their clash, it might actually work.

Lashing out from a guard and deflecting Geralt's strike, Zenkichi jumped back, thrusting a hand forward and calling out "Valjean!" to summon his Persona. "Megido!" He yelled, a swarm of spheres of energy bursting out from Valjean behind him. The spheres swarmed to the area Geralt was in, forcing the Witcher to dive for cover from the magical explosions while Zenkichi reloaded one of his revolvers, backpedaling away from Geralt and stowing the now-ready weapon when the Witcher was safe. Only managed one, but it was better than nothing. Drawing his blade, he met Geralt's charge, forcing him to step aside from a heavy slash.

Their blades clashed yet again, but Geralt was starting to tire of the dance. He adjusted his grip on his sword, holding it in one hand and dancing around another heavy hit, his free hand taking hold of Zenkichi's wrist while his blade sliced up and along the detective's armpit, drawing a pained hiss and a reflexive elbow, which crashed painfully into Geralt's armor. "Shit!" Zenkichi cursed, realizing that Geralt now had him right where he wanted him.

Geralt, with his free hand, twisted Zenkichi's wrist and ducked under his outstretched arm, knocking the heavy sword out of his opponent's hand with one of his own, and trapping Zenkichi's arm with the crossguard of his sword using the other. Hooking a leg around Zenkichi's foot, the Witcher forced the pair to topple to the ground, Zenkichi awkwardly keeping his skull from slamming into the concrete, but he was thoroughly at the mercy of the taller, older, armored mercenary. "So this is it, huh?" He sighed, looking up at the scarred face above him. As far as last sights went, at least it wasn't the barrel of a gun. A little more personal.

Instead, he heard a gruff "Nope." as he felt something wash over him, his injuries healing themselves and the soreness he'd been feeling as the adrenaline faded vanishing. Geralt stood up, keeping his sword in hand and pointed at Zenkichi. "Give it a minute. It'll start coming back, whatever it is you forgot." He advised, circling to the side so he could get a view of the rest of the fight while not taking an eye off the Persona-user.

"For...got...?" Zenkichi mumbled, looking around. His G-Men, with the exception of Chemtrail, were either already defeated or being made a fool of, while he himself was in a pickle himself, though for some reason he was being spared? Was this their way of saying they really were on the same side, but couldn't...

Oh. Oh. He was remembering...

KONOE?!?!?!?

Oh no. Oh no. Konoe. Akane. He still remembered her, but...they'd made up? Almost? Maybe?

The kids! Nearly bolting upright, only to stop himself when he remembered the sword ready to impale him, Zenkichi looked up at Geralt with panic in his eyes. "You gotta let me go! My daughter...the kids! Konoe!" He was practically babbling incoherently, before he balled his fists up and shook his head. "The...my boss's boss's boss is...oh god. It's Konoe. He's doing it all over again. But...this isn't...and what was...That's what this is, right? He brainwashed me? And...how did you fix it without a Persona? Without forcing a change of heart?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Who's Konoe?" Geralt replied, eyes narrowing in suspicion. What did Zenkichi mean by him doing it all over again?

"You...you mean you don't know? Oh great, he doesn't know." Zenkichi was clearly beyond done with this situation, but Geralt just shook his head.

"Give it a bit. You've just woken back up. I'll let the others give you the rundown, I always leave something out. But to put it simply, whoever Konoe is, he's not the one who brainwashed you. Whether he's just another pawn in Galeem's game or what, I don't know. But you're not going anywhere, not now. You just passed initiation, like it or not." Geralt smirked down at the detective, who just groaned and dropped his head to the pavement, looking up in shock. He had...so much to do.

Akane, first of all. Whatever happened next, he needed to apologize to her for being a dumbass. And...could they wake her up, too? Make her remember what happened, the Phantom Thieves, everything?

Oh, he was going to have to go into hiding, wasn't he? Could he keep up working for Public Security like this? This wasn't...this wasn't like with Owada. He didn't have Kaburagi here to help him. Sure, he could trust Looker, but...it wasn't the same. Did...did Aoi even die in this world, or did he and Akane just remember her dying here?

Oh god, that was an existential crisis and a half he wasn't ready to try and crack open. Yeah, this...was bad.

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia and Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 8, Detroit

Lvl 9 (167/90) -> Lvl 9 (168/90)

Lvl 1 (0/10) -> Lvl 1(1/10)

Word Count: 642 words

Geralt took Benedict's lack of contradiction to Giovanna's response as an agreement, and nodded. Not terribly surprising, that. Really, had Zenkichi just walked over and offered his help to solve all their problems, he'd probably be more suspicious of the man. Geralt picked up on Benedict's unease, though he wondered if it was just due to the current situation in general, one of his old allies oh-so-conveniently walking in on them, or something else he couldn't quite figure out.

He didn't need long to realize what that was, though, as he noticed the nigh-deserted plaza as soon as he stepped out, rolling his eyes a little at the G-men's ineffectual attempts to blend in. Zenkichi was still standing in that half-slouch pose, thumbs hooked in his pockets, even as Benedict drew his sword and the G-Men began to transform. It was as if he was totally confident in his ability to handle the situation. Geralt was actually a little impressed, though he seriously doubted he would be able to back up that confidence for long.

Geralt drew his steel blade, looking at Benedict. He knew the tactician wasn't a slouch when it came to a fight, but he wasn't sure what Zenkichi had up his sleeve and if the other man could take it. Still, the numbers were well in their favor, about two to one in fact.

When Benedict replied, alluding to Galeem and implying that Zenkichi was under the influence of a greater power, the other man looked a bit taken aback, his face hardening a little. "So you do know...I take it that that's why you went to her, then. You saw what was happening, and you went to somebody who'd been as close as you could get without needing to get your own hands dirty. Lucky you." Zenkichi half-mocked, though Benedict could tell the mockery wasn't directed at him, but Zenkichi himself.

"I need to know whose side you're on, Benedict. I have too much to lose to risk anything if I'm not 100% sure."

Geralt lifted his hand, drawing the Sign of Quen.

Zenkichi called out, "Valjean!" as his posture straightened and his Persona materialized, his hands launching up from their lazy position at his hips, now carrying dual revolvers.

Geralt cursed, moving forward.

Zenkichi let loose a barrage of bullets, sweeping his aim over the Seekers, the firepower crashing into Geralt as he charged, Quen barely holding after the couple of shots that hit him.

Zenkichi gave his revolvers a spinning flourish before depositing them in their holsters and catching Geralt off guard by swinging a massive sword off his back, forcing the Witcher to pivot on his feet to avoid his lighter blade (even upsized a bit from the Spirit fusions) being knocked aside.

"Why two swords?" Zenkichi wondered aloud, making Geralt roll his eyes.

"Really? Wait till now to ask that?" He snarked back, stepping in with a thrust which Zenkichi barely dodged, replying in turn with an easily-avoided swing.

"You clearly know what you're doing. Was just wondering." The harsh sound of steel on steel as Geralt stepped in, Zenkichi blocking with the wider flat of his blade.

"How about this: Win, and maybe I'll let you know." Geralt lashed out with a boot as Zenkichi tried to thrust the crossguard of his weapon into Geralt's shoulder, the Witcher coming out of the exchange ahead and landing a follow-up swing across the Lieutenant's arm.

"Damn. You drive a hard bargain, there. Can't say no to an easy win like that." Zenkichi taunted, launching a pair of slow but powerful swings, forcing Geralt back a bit. A longsword was one thing, but a blade like that had enough mass behind it to seriously hurt even through armor or a cracked Quen shield.

"We'll see." Geralt bit back.

World of Light

The sheet looks good, aside from the Valjean image being for ants. If possible I'd like to add a third weakness to balance with his three strengths since both weaknesses are not terribly combat relevant.

@Lugubrious

Images are...kind of fixed? The links work fine for me. As for a third weakness, that absolutely makes sense, especially since as you said the other two aren't really combat-relevant, unlike most of the others'. I'll brainstorm something while at work tomorrow hopefully and update then and let you know.