XoXKieroBombXoX

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

Level 7 - EXP 89/70 -> LEVEL UP!
The Midnight Walk - Spire 04
Word Count:1143 +3EXP

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Somehow, after the chaotic skirmish with Belial came to an end, Tenna’s screened face was producing large sweat droplets as he panted in fatigue. While the CRT knew his support in combat was more than appreciated, he still felt particularly winded after such a long kerfuffle. Either that or he was beginning to short circuit after a long day.

Originally, Tenna’s intentions were to rest for the duration of the trip in the confines of the Stagecoach until they arrived some place to camp for the night, however, a particularly stern robot had also made his way into the carriage just as he was planning to play a game of cards with two of his Shadow Guy minions. “In what world do you think this is the best time to be playing games? Go. Make yourself busy.”

The Shadow Guys would toot a sad saxophone noise before Tenna wrapped them in a three person embrace. “Don’t let this GLOOBY fella rain on our parade! Let’s explore!” Though he genuinely believed he was too exhausted for any last minute adventures, Tenna stood up and struck a fantastical pose as a spotlight shone down on him from seemingly nowhere. While holding composure from his tiredness, Tenna also didn’t want to get into an argument with Ramattra. The Omnic stared at the absurdity for a moment before taking Tenna’s seat with his own matters. It seemed like Ramattra was busier than him anyways!

Now leaving the safety of the Stagecoach, Tenna thought about the possibilities of where he and his minions could search to make the demanding Omnic content. Scratching his chin as dots began to appear over his head, he was quick to admit defeat. Throwing his hands into the air, Tenna dramatically shook his fists. “This is so boring!” Sighing, he looked around, thinking that he could maybe ask somebody for ideas of what to do.

He peaked his head in at the Omnic, who had since tuned the CRT out since he began his work. Tenna had yet to understand how spirit fusion and crushing worked, so he ignored Ramattra’s actions, and simply chimed in. “I’m not sure what to be looking for. Just lookin for ideas.”

Ramattra looked up at the aloof TV man, raising a figurative eyebrow at the blank stare Tenna blinked at him with. He wasn’t necessarily upset, but found it troublesome to be distracted from his work. “There was an armory that was destroyed in space while I was outside orbit. Maybe some of its ruins and contents survived the plummet down. I’d start by seeing if anything survived the crash.”

Tenna cheerfully whooped at the Omnic as he left Ramattra alone to his business, tailing backwards from the Stagecoach for a while to find any remains of loot.

For a while, he didn’t see anything, trying his hardest to predict where remains could be hidden in plain sight. If there was anything to be found, it would have been scattered around, if not still floating freely in space. Sending his Shadow Guys to investigate around and spread themselves out a little more. A short wait of searching later, one of the Shadow Guys would cheer excitedly, the eruption of saxophone indicating he found something.

As Tenna approached, he was able to see something similar enough to something he might have found amongst Natiyba infestation. With a lack of knowledge, the chest would spring open and begin rapidly jumping and throwing itself at Tenna and his henchmen! One of his minions faded away sadly from its rapid attack, which gave the CRT and his last minion a chance to dodge. The minion would equip a saxophone and begin playing a musical attack of notes that began chasing and damaging the mimic.

Tenna, who had mistaken this for more Naytiba biomass, had half-expected whatever loot they found to be guarded, but the convincing appearance of an infected chest was clever for a monster.

For a moment, Tenna panicked, remembering that he sucked at fighting, and would be a weak and quick target for this mimic to pick off. He needed to defend himself, and defeat the angry monster. Tenna reminded himself that he was not under the limitations of the Light World (from his world), and was under the same rules as if Galeem’s world was a Dark World.

Level Up

Level up- New skill for Tenna - Toon Force (weak)

With his antics and unexplainable comedic effects now proving more efficient, Tenna can now muster stronger physical attacks by squashing and stretching the size of his body. His ability to change body size is severly limited in his current state, only increasing/decreasing his overall size by 25%.

Tenna rapidly grew larger in size as he posed for an unexplainable spotlight on his position. As the mimic closed in, he swatted the creature on the head with an enlarged Snap-cut, disorienting it immediately in its tracks. The Shadow Guy who still lived would start a barrage of aggressive musical notes, stacking up as much damage as possible before it could collect itself. "Oh yeah!! Stretchy time!"

Tenna felt more at ease knowing he was now able to alter his size again. Though it was extremely limited, he could feel the power of his more “cartoonish” properties growing.

Winding his arm around in a circle, he began to power up an enlarged punch into the chest monster, sending it back at least a foot before it began rapidly fading into ash, its lesser spirit floating idly. Before heading back, disappointed the creature had not provided anything of significant value, Tenna was dedicated on not turning up empty handed. He scoured the snowy landscape for any pieces of value, and was able to return with a small haul of (mostly damaged) equipment in container on the trip back to the Stagecoach.

Items Found

Pistol x6 A basic 3D-printed ballistic sidearm of a somewhat futuristic style. It is unremarkable except for a decently high fire rate, though its accuracy beyond short range is poor. Its magazine contains eight shots Ballistic Vest x2 This military-grade body armor can mitigate the damage from even rifle fire if struck, but each plate can only take so much damage and they must be individually replaced over time, lest the vest lose its effectiveness Screwdriver x8 Everyday tool that has stood the test of time. Could be used as a very short-range thrusting dagger in a pinch Filter A heavy-duty filter for air vents to ensure atmospheric quality. The interior mesh is high quality

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

Level 8 - EXP 89/80 -> LEVEL UP!
The Midnight Walk - Spire 04
Word Count:2416 +59EXP

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From the beginning of accepting this adventure to help Adam and Eve destroy the Alpha Naytiba, Ramattra was not expecting an easy return to the surface of Galeem’s fabricated world. In fact, the entire intention behind asking Mokou to borrow her oddly-shaped space apparatus was in the event that there was an emergency that expelled Ramattra into space. Fortunately, the second Ramattra had heard of the alerts of the Alpha Naytiba all around the peak of the space station, he rushed to the center of the arena, snatched the fading spirit of the Democrawler for himself, then hightailed it to the outside of the armory, where he temporarily stored the Space Suit, and quickly collected it so that he may equip it in an emergency.

He returned to the company of his allies just as the last sequence of events was underway. Part of the Omnic was disappointed he hadn’t taken the chance to search through the abandoned armory for valuable resources, but quickly realized he was correct to trust his own intuition. The Space Station was being torn apart by the true Alpha Naytiba, and the Democrawler they had defeated was merely one of its many pawns. Ramattra didn’t even have time to equip the Space Suit before being swept off his feet into the vacuum of space almost immediately.

While animated by the weightlessness around him, Ramattra tried his best to make out what was happening around him. Between trying to stabilize himself and keeping his circuits calm under pressure, the whole ordeal was quite a flash in his memory bank, but it would be nearly impossible to forget the grandiose view above the surface of the world, along with the ginormous watcher nearby, who was swiftly dealt with by Adam, who unveiled his secret identity as Raphael Marks.

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The normally stoic Omnic returned to the surface shaken and slightly battered from space debris. Hearing the explanation offered by Raphael earned an ironic harumph from Ramattra, who found humor in the man-made god’s performance, declaring his wishes for atonement. The Omnic kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to make enemies or begin any arguments after such a long and exhausting travel. It was incredibly clear, though; Ramattra’s opinion on Raphael was extremely negative, especially for a human.

The first thing Ramattra wanted to do for the evening before settling down for the evening was to return the Space Suit he borrowed back to Mokou. With a curt nod, the Omnic set it down before her. “Thank you for lending this to me. It is in the same condition you loaned it to me in.” No other words were exchanged between the two, as Ramattra left her company just as quickly as he had entered it.

The rest of what he wanted to get finished for the day, he thought, would be best to finish in the safety and debatable comfort of the Stagecoach. He sat for a moment in the chair that Sandaphlon normally operated on, relaxing his worn circuits for only a moment before quickly getting to work. His main objective was finding purposes and homes for the Spirits he had collected, which totaled lots and lots of spirits from Moas, Ospreys, and Sentryborgs, plus one Democrawler Spirit.

A glance at the armory confirmed that they had indeed not collected any resources from similar spirits yet, so rather than run the risk of gaining abilities with niche purposes, he decided that fluffing the armory up some couldn't hurt. "Now, If I can recall, Edward had shown me like..."Setting aside the more notable spirit from the Democrawler he had just fought, Ramattra formed his mechanical hands around the large clump of minor spirits, crushing them all into a small pile of weapons and loot! "This!"

Items obtained

Nano Spores x483 Fibrous technocyte tumor. Handle Infested tissue with caution
Refined Metals x2 High quality smelted allows used for mechanical exoskeletons
Mutagen Mass This living mass can produce weaponized toxins for weaponry
Vengeful Strike A mysterious object known as a mutator, which can be applied to a melee weapon. By default, it increases melee damge by 23% when the wielder is below 50% health. It can be upgraded up to ten times using upgrade materials it would take to level up a weapon ten times. Each upgrade increases the bonus damage by 3%. At level 10, it also increases crit chance by 15% when the wielder is below 50% health. It can be removed from a weapon and applied to another with a few minutes' finegling
Smart Gun A grotesque fusion of technology and alien flesh. It is a machine gun with middling accuracy, 4.24/s fire rate, 30 round magazine, and 1.6s reload time. If thrown at a surface, it will stick to that surface and become an automatic turret that fires at enemies until it runs out of ammunition or is recovered. Accepts long gun, primary, assault rifle, and universal ammo
Grotesque Widget A strange device that seems to be melded from flesh and bone. It is capable of remotely firing synapses in biotechnological weapons or devices from up to about 20 feet away, activating or deactivating them, or causing them to malfunction. It seems to require no energy source, and it is faintly warm to the touch

Ramattra examined the odd collection of items, most of which were biological in origin. With much of what was created looking like it was still alive, The Omnic examined it carefully from an arm’s length before deciding to handle anything. Ramattra was no scientist or engineer, so many of the crafting materials true value was not immediately apparent to him, so they were quickly set aside in the Armory. The items that earned the most attention from him were the weapons and tools. "It would be nice if I knew what this nonsense was." He muttered to himself.

While the Smart Gun appeared to be a highly valuable weapon, Ramattra had not used a firearm in such a long time that his effectiveness with it would be amateur. He thought that, perhaps, it would be better in the hands of a marksman like Sandaphlon or Ed, or at the very least somebody who could shoot a gun. Though the Vengeful Strike mod sounded good on paper, Ramattra didn’t have any melee weapons other than the Buckler, which didn’t provide much outside of its ability. With plenty of swordsmen to make better effectiveness of the modification, Ramattra put both the Smart Gun and Vengeful Strike in the armory with the materials.

One item is now laid before him on the table, The Grotesque Widget, which, according to its description, could be quite valuable. Its boundaries of use would need to be tested, and with only twenty charges, its use would be limited. Ramattra held onto the item, convinced an item like such would be most effective in the hands of a tactician.

Happy with the haul from the common spirits, the Omnic now turned to the spirit of the Democrawler they had just defeated. One thing Ramattra was convinced about in this odd new world was that you can’t be afraid to turn into a monster in order to acquire strength… Or maybe the Alchemist Spirit he fused with earlier had just dampened his intuition. Either way, he knew absorbing major spirits like this would grant him quite the bonus, or he could play it on the safer side and equip the Democrawler as a Striker, like Edward had explained to him.

It took Ramattra quite some time to contemplate what to do with this spirit. Of course, the Democrawler had proven itself quite formidable in strength in ability, but would it be worth a permanent change? Or would the limitations of Strikers weaken the once-impressive feats the monster had displayed? He grabbed the spirit in the stretched-out metallic digits and began to exit the Stagecoach. “If I must become a monster to survive this world, then so be it.” He muttered to himself before absorbing the fading energy from the spirit while walking alongside the Coach.

For Ramattra

Notable spirit consumed: Democrawler The host's torso has become proportionately larger and more rounded. The majority of the new bulk is organic matter grafted and integrated into the existing cybernetics. A curtain of inarticulate tentacles limply down around his legs like a waistcloth, and he now has three mechanical legs with an additional joint in each, making them look less human. His armore exoskeleton now has a face motif, with plates stylized like interlocked faces on his shoulders, chest, and so forth. The host's personality is now more given to wrath and resentment. This spirit confers the Power Siderite Scimitar, allowing the host to manufacture a large curved greatsword within his body that can then be pulled out and wielded. The serrated scimitar is a powerful and durable weapon capable of inflicting grievous Slash damage and status, and it can also act as a conduit for cosmic energy, potentially even space or quantum magic. The Scimitar scales with Ramattra’s Nemesis From. This spirit confers the Weakness No Left Arm, which...yeah

Ramattra immediately took notice of his lack of an arm, which he honestly expected, given The Democrawler’s lack of any as well, though he stumbled awkwardly for a moment getting used to the feeling of having one leg too many. The tentacle-like appendages that now made up his upper and lower torso definitely helped him balance forward at the very least, but it seemed their use was limited since they weren’t jointed. While the lack of a second arm would definitely prove to be a hindrance, Ramattra made a mental note that he could get his arm replaced if he was lucky or could find a way to undo the spirit fusion. "Tsk-. That wretched thing made my body all sorts of out of order."

Suddenly, as if instinctively, Ramattra felt an itch buried deep in his chassis, specifically the fleshiest parts of his body. "No matter." The Omnic reached between a loose intersection of flesh and amalgamated metal in his chest with his only free hand, and began to clutch a heavy-bladed sword, which, as unsheathed from his core, revealed a large scimitar blade, which would’ve been unwieldy if Ramattra weren’t large and bulky.

He waved the blade around for a moment in Omnic form, feeling its weight sitting awkwardly in his hand. Ramattra was not programmed nor proficient in sword fighting. In his hands at the current moment, the blade was clumsy and without method. If he wasn’t keen on learning how to best utilize this new extension of himself, he would be put off at the idea of learning how to fight with a sword. "Aha! A weapon? How curious."

He retired the sword into the mysterious cavity it was found within. The Omnic found it peculiar that the blade seemed to be a connected part of him rather than a separate weapon, but found the idea of having a guaranteed weapon at all times somewhat reassuring.

Then a second thought crossed Ramattra’s mind; was this spirit impacted by his Nemesis form? A quick test was all that was needed, so he transformed his configuration, the draping flesh tendrils over his abdomen staying the same size regardless of his change in shape. Ramattra seemed disappointed for a moment as this likely meant that his thought was wishful thinking, however revealing the blade again showed that it had nearly doubled in size, being even more unwieldy then before- with only Ramattra’s brutish strength making it possible to lift and swing.

The Omnic was- in the present- happy with the results of his fusion and had his new intentions now to learn how to most effectively control his blade. At his current skill level, he would be no better then the Democrawler. He returned it within his chassis and converted back to Omnic form. Ramattra noticed some of his anger and resentment he set aside for this long quest he has accepted to return to his world, which he knew immediately was caused by his fusion as well.

Remembering his hatred towards humanity, now fueled by the spirit of horrifically mutated humans, the Omnic’s resolve to save his people back home hardened. Looking down at his bare, now singular, hand, the Omnic would recall his methodology- and how he was saving Omnics from extinction by control. "The Seekers would function a lot faster if we had the power of Null Sector behind us." A small, translucent dome would form in Ramattra’s hand, composed entirely of nanites, an object that when put on a robotic entity’s head, would make him subservient to his will.

Level Up!

Level up- New ability for Ramattra - Indoctrinate

Ramattra can temporarily recruit minor robotic entities on the verge of death. Ramattra can only have one indoctrinated follower at a time, however the follower can wield any weapon and retains its skill set. Indoctrinated followers are indicated by a large dome-shaped device on top of their head, and behave not dissimilarly to resurrected dead. If the device is destroyed with the life of the follower intact, the follower will be free from Ramattra’s command.

Ramattra knew his power to command robots will was limited in this world since he was in a weakened state with no army left to serve him. It was these grassroots he remembered from the rage of the Democrawler spirit that reawakened his presence to control Omnics, and a special bonus in this world- other robotic entities. The Omnic nodded in contemplation as he deformed the nanites back into his form. With this ability he would be able to increase the number of meaningful entities on White Team, as well as lay the foundation to create more forces later for the Seekers. "This will do for now."

Before the Stagecoach made large amounts of headway away from the Spire, however, Ramattra was able to hear chatter and commotion picking up from the distance. He looked back at where the group had just departed from, Adam- or rather Raphael- and Eve were no longer standing in place during their discussion. While the Omnic was never particularly the “nosey-type”, he was curious of Raphael’s proclamation for a second chance, and knew that Sandaphlon would appreciate the intel. Taking shelter along a veil of trees while trying his best to stay hidden and eavesdrop, Ramattra would approach the source of the talking as quietly as he can…

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

Level 7 - EXP 36/70
The Midnight Walk - Spire 04
Word Count:5571 +7EXP

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Vs Belial, Sword-bearing Cancer

Edward’s @DracoLunaris Ganondorf’s @Double Ace Cadet’s @Yankee, Tenna’s @XoXKieroBombXoX
Word Count: 5571

The bright headlamp was a dead giveaway on just what it was that had snuck up on the Seekers, a mane of flowing fleshy tendrils behind it giving the Naytiba the impression of an ominous will-o'-wisp. At least until it stepped forward, and the edges of its massive swords caught the light. With his rifle still equipped the Ace Cadet had been in the group's back line, and he whipped around when said light fell over the group to find Belial, the Seekers' escaped assailant.

"It's that monster that got away!" he exclaimed, though given Belial's intellect and the recording they'd just heard the simple term monster might not do it justice.

”...Good!” Ganondorf grunted, brandishing his great swords. He was getting exactly what he hoped for after all. And this time, he had no intention of letting the Naytiba escape again. Even if that meant calling on Brother Moon itself…

“SHHHHHHOW TIME!” Tenna interjected needlessly. Honestly, it seemed like he just wanted to announce himself.

”Going right, get clear!” Edward yelled in warning before he hauled on the reins with a bark of ”Yah” and got the shieldrix moving. He aimed to take a wide bank towards the side of the room in order to get their transport around and behind the rear threat rather than having it stuck in between hunter and hammerer.

As he did this, he marked the Belial, prompting the Snoruyo rearguard to form ice crystals in their round hands and to hurl them towards the foe, an attack joined by a shot of flames launched by the traffic crab riding shotgun next to the Dreadnaught.

In reply, Belial raised its mechanical left arm and began to rotate its hand at high speed as it stepped forward, using the motion of its limb to offset the weight of its metal swordblade as its whirl intercepted the hot and cold elements, which canceled each other out.

The Iron Golems had to hold position up front, waiting for the coach to get out of the way and avoiding clogging the left way past it, but the Chillanth allowed no such delays. Instead it leapt clear over the stage coach and crashed down beside the Snoruyo.

Not far away, Ace was making use of Edward's marking himself. He wasted no time in firing on the crimson Naytiba, having dropped into a kneeling position for better stability and accuracy. The first time they'd fought it he hadn't noticed any particularly weak spots that they could exploit, and the same was true now. In fact, it appeared just as healthy as when it had ambushed them earlier despite the beating they'd given it even before it had plummeted a few stories. "Looks like it patched itself up!"

His shots pinged off Belial’s guard a moment before the Naytiba dropped its guard in order to ready its right-hand sword like a throwing axe. Its white light turned red, and the next second its sinew swordblade hurtled through the air toward Ace, its combined speed and size making for a terrifying projectile. The move caught the hunter off guard, not expecting it to sacrifice part of its own body in such a way. It was only the distance between them when Belial threw its bladed limb that saved the Cadet from being cleaved apart - his eyes widened and he ducked into a roll to one side, feeling the air rush by in the wake of the sword's path. It embedded itself in the floor just behind where he'd been a moment ago.

Belial then held out its biological right arm and proved it was not a sacrifice at all, regenerating a new sword in about a second, the weapon not so much equipment as an extension of its body. Then it charged, combining the metal and meat swords into a single, immense curved greatsword even taller than itself. It leaped, swinging the greatsword in a massive revolving cleave at the Chillanth, which left streaks of red lightning as it carved through the air. Then Belial sprang up as it continued its spin to plunge the blade through one Snoryu and into the ground. After a brief moment, the biomass injected into the ground burst up through the floor again as fleshy barbs the size of scimitars in an area around it.

While the Chillanth was sent reeling and bleeding, the unassuming Snoryu raised its hands towards the incoming blow, and formed a protective barrier off which the penetrating blow glanced. The bloody blade still struck the ground however, and a moment later all the impossible creatures were ravaged by the bloody blades striking up from the floor.

This was not a war they could win, and their creator knew it.

”Fall back! Double team and fall back!” Edward shouted from the stagecoach now circling past them, the man thrusting out a finger as he gave the command, giving the squad of Snoryu a burst of speed to act. With their stubby legs, the skirmishers certainly needed it, even as their numbers doubled as a result of them all using double-team. Belial attacked with a flurry of slashes, never aiming for an illusion more than once, but it still managed to hit only one Snoryu.

The gaggle of grunts with the Chillanth at their head hurried towards the approaching line of iron golems, which opened gaps in their shield wall through which they could pass, if they could make it.

Not at all shaken up by the near miss of Belial's sword throwing, Ace did his best to cover the lot of them - including himself as he moved towards the Naytiba, preparing to put himself into melee with the monster once again, his clutch claw primed and the hilt of his swords ready to be drawn. He didn't rush into it, his approach measured to account for the possibility that Belial turned on him and closed the distance itself. He ran through what items he had on him that could possibly help -could it be blinded if it saw out of the spotlight? was its body susceptible to certain elemental energies? how many healing options did he have left to share?- while plugging Belial with the piercing rounds.

Belial had launched a sweeping slash to trip up a fleeing Snoryu when Ace’s shots sank into its fleshy right side, each giving a small spurt of blood. Its spotlight pivoted his way, and after ruthlessly kicking the fallen creature at one of the iron golem’s shields, Belial strode the hunter’s way. It extended its metal sword, pointing it at him, then couched both blades at its sides and bent forward, arms crossed. The next second it launched forward in a dash that ended in a scissor slash, covering a huge horizontal area.

Tenna had to react fast to remove Ace from this situation. With a cartoonish scratch on the chin, he snapped his finger as a photo of a lightbulb appeared comically over his head. Within seconds, Tenna had split into 12 Tennalings and Barrel-of-Monkeys’d himself to the tail end of the stagecoach. The frantic movement of Edward’s Shieldrixes whipped the chain of mini Tennas around wildly, though at the very tail end of it, one of the TV host’s likenesses reached out its tiny hand, as if insinuating for Ace to grab hold. Huh… Strangely enough, the hooked Tennas actually looked like a long rope. With little time to question it the hunter took the tiny Tenna's hand, holding fast as he was whipped nearly clear of the Naytiba's attack. As wide as it was, the edge of its blade clipped Ace's own crimson one on the ends of his rigging as he flared it out. It was a hasty defence, but it worked to prevent a nasty slice into his side, even if it had taken a chunk of one rigging wing in return.

”No! Keep it away!” Edward shouted back, but things were already in motion. They were going to be chased. So best to put things in the way of that chase

”Drop a wall” he commanded the traffikrab justuring over the side of the driver’s seat. After a moment of confusion, the monster complied, sacrificing some of its health to form a wall of plastic bricks that was swiftly left in the dust. He shifted the stage coach’s path such that this wall was then in between it and the incoming Belial. He could only hope that Tenna would be able to get Ace over it in time.

He then made the Shieldrixes keep going in a straight line while he commanded his feather staff striker to heal the impossible creatures, while he himself grabbed his Mag Launcher and started to load a magazine of its intended ammunition into it.

Ganondorf, by contrast, had seen all he needed to see. He refrained from acting immediately so he could gauge how much Belial had recovered since the previous encounter - and to stall for the time he ultimately needed. And when it looked like the Naytiba was at full strength again, the Gerudo remained behind as the stagecoach put distance between itself and the erected wall. Ganondorf knew well enough that the plastic wall wouldn’t hold for long. And so he intended to be there to give Belial a nasty welcoming party.

The Warlord summoned his Moblins, all preparing to loose Fire Arrows as he also re-summoned Phantom Ganon to help him launch what he intended to be a pincer attack against Belial as soon as the Naytiba cleared or breached the wall. ”You won’t escape me this time!” Ganondorf barked, almost as a war cry as he and Phantom Ganon lunged for their attacks. Ganondorf went at Belial from the front while Phantom Ganon flew around around to lung from the flank with N Corp’s Nail intending to inflicting bleeding on Belial’s fleshy bits while Ganondorf’s Acidic Great Sword could deal additional acid damage on top of it’s slashes.

After Ace narrowly escaped bisection thanks to Tenna’s ludicrous but timely rescue, Belial prepared to give chase to the fleeing stagecoach. The sudden appearance of a bright red plastic brick wall meant that Tenna needed to get over it, and after seeing that, the Naytiba saw no reason to waste time breaking through. It ran a short way, following the Seekers back into the space center’s more well-lit Sector 2, then leaped high enough to use the barrier as a stepping stone. As it crested the wall, it saw Ganondorf, as well as Phantom Ganon going the other way. It could not stop its momentum, which resulted in a full volley of fire arrows to its upper body, but it could combine its blades into a single, massive curved greatsword that it plunged into the ground as it descended.

As sinewy bone barbs sprouted from the floor around Belial, the two Ganons’ attacks hit home, resulting in a withering trade. All three reeled for a split second, but by the time tainted blood hit the ground, the battle was on. Belial did not hesitate at all to abandon its stagecoach chase to give the warlord its full attention, perhaps reasoning that it would be most effective to exterminate its prey one at a time. It split its sword, then struck back with a series of wild slashes at both Ganons, any semblance of defense forsaken as it savagely vied to kill them.

”At last” Edward said, mostly to himself, as the king drew Belial’s full attention, giving him the time he needed to get the stage coach fully out of danger, and to pull his troops back too. His striker had managed to stem any bleeding out, but they were still not going to be of any use in this fight.

In terms of active intervention, the dreadnaught used Designate Target on their singular foe once more right as the blows were traded. This boosted the Ganondorfs’ damage by 25%, and refreshing/increasing the stacks of Marked up to 4, giving anyone who wanted to try to shoot into that melee 40% more accuracy against their desired target.

It was something that Ace planned to take advantage of again, but before that he wanted to take the time afforded to them while Ganondorf held off Belial to strategize a little. They could probably fight the crimson Naytiba to a stalemate until the other Seekers were finished and came as reinforcements, but it would be even better if they could find a way to take Belial down before then.

First he pat one of the little Tennas on the head and offered a quick, "thanks for the save, Tenna." The cheerful miniature Tenna grinned happily as he fused back into his whole self again.

Then Ace glanced at Edward, flashing him first a little apologetic smile for the close call with the coach before he got down to business. For this battle they'd traded out Sandalphon for him and the hunter wanted to make sure the other man knew exactly what they were dealing with.

"This thing's smart enough to understand and adapt to us, on top of its speed, and strength. And if it can heal itself... we gotta find a way to put a stop to that, or slay it in one go. Neither's really my forte," he said. "But if we're gonna come up with a plan it's gotta be when it's too distracted to hear us, like now - otherwise I'm just gonna try throwing everything I've got at it and see what works."

Tenna chimed in with a suggestion. “Earlier, when that MONSTER had attacked us, I was able to keep it staggered by stunning it over and over!” The CRT scratched his chin. “I’m not much of a smarts-guy, but I don’t think I can sneak up on him like earlier.” He warned Ace, who was familiar with his chop ability, that he combo’d with Sandaphlon. The connection he was trying to make was clear: get him a way in to attack, and Tenna could temporarily disable Belial.

”We get its armor as sundered as possible, then distract it, stun it, stick it with the grenades from this” Edward suggested as he hoisted now the loaded the mag launcher ”and finally hit it with something else that’ll also set them off prematurely”

Ace nodded at the both of them, a look of confident determination on his face. He could help with the first part, and if nothing else he could most certainly handle the distraction. "Sounds like a plan."

A moment later, the furious duel between Ganondorf and Belial reached its conclusion. Sacrificing some of the weapon’s durability, the Naytiba parried Ganondorf’s Acidic Greatsword with a cunning twist of its metal swordblade. It then stepped forward to stomp down on the warlord’s left foot with its right, then adapted to the extreme close quarters by coming around with a spiked pommel strike from its right-hand bone sword, essentially a right hook to the jaw. As Ganondorf leaned back, a slash to the cuirass from Belial’s right sword hurled him to the floor on his back.

Of course, Belial’s focus left it wide open. The next instant, Phantom Ganon’s N-Corp Nail pierced straight through its chest from behind. Now bleeding, Belial gave a guttural growl, then combined its swords. It wrenched around in a colossal, three hundred and sixty degree red-lightning slash that bisected not just Phantom Ganon behind it, but the plastic wall behind him. The familiar vanished, and plastic bricks clattered down, as Belial recovered from the slash and separated its swords again, the blood-soaked N-Corp Nail still lodged in its midsection.

Of course, Ganondorf was a large man and a rather tough one at that. So the slash across his cuirass did little to take him out of the fight. If anything, Belial was only angering him further. But Edward’s suggestion had reached the warlord’s ear and was not lost on him. So if sundering the Naytiba’s armor was what they needed, well then Ganondorf just so happened to have a weapon that was perfect for exactly that task. He grunted as he sheathed the great swords and summoned his Acidic Crystal Spear to his tight grip, but before actually making any lunge Ganondorf instead inhaled deeply.

In the next moment, the Gerudo exhaled a long reaching fire breath attack that he swept across where Belial stood. The fire wasn’t intended for raw damage, but mostly to create a momentary smokescreen that Ganondorf tried to capitalize on to plunge into Belial through the cloud of smoke with his Acidic Spear, its properties giving it the distinct ability to deal extra durability damage to an enemy’s armor. Of course, if the plunge missed, Ganondorf would simply reroute the attack toward the ground and generate an eruption of flames around Belial’s feet instead. Naturally, Ganondorf’s anger didn’t allow him to stop at just one attack, so he of course plunged and swept wildly with his spear, fully able to take advantage of its longer reach to keep Belial’s blades out of slashing range. And just for good measure, Ganondorf extended the Gravemind tentacles from his back to give himself four extra limbs to grapple and parry against Belial’s blades. He still needed to buy a bit more time, knowing what was coming.

By then Ace had disembarked from the coach, leaping over the edge of its roof and taking off toward Belial as soon as he hit the ground. He was sure that Ganondorf could handle the heavy lifting, but he wasn't about to let the guy go at it alone if he could help it. With the rifle he was confident enough to shoot into the fray at Belial especially while the target designation still lasted, second time being the charm as he moved towards melee. He fired shot after shot until close enough, when he swung the rifle around to hang off his pack and set his grip high on the hilt of his long sword, one hand hovering just over the lower portion of it in preparation for an iai counter, expecting the Naytiba to turn on him at any moment.

When bathed in flame, Belial paused for only a moment, then charged forward with a sword swing. It and Ganondorf struck one another at the same time. From there their ferocious melee resumed in earnest, but they were not on an even playing field. Even if Ganondorf fought defensively, trying to keep Belial at a distance with his armaments, the Naytiba enjoyed the range advantage and would simply not be warded off, even by an acidic speartip. With one sword it could slap away or hook around the spear’s corrosive point, allowing it to attack with its other blade. Ganondorf’s tentacles did help a great deal when it came to taking blows on their master’s behalf, or poking away at openings in Belial’s defense. Still, the Naytiba fought with savage ferocity, fully confident in its regenerative ability to undo whatever wounds it took in order to inflict grievous injury. This included shots from Ace from afar.

Once Belial got outnumbered, it changed tactics. It combined its swords, then whirled around in a massive double cleave from the giant melded greatsword, wreathed in streaks of red lightning. At the same time Ace's hand came down to join the other on the Yato's hilt, yanking it from where it rested at his hip and flowing into his counter. He twisted into a two-handed circular cut of his own, his blade clashing against Belial's while he skated forward throwing the great sword just enough off course that it sliced through the air over their heads.

Tenna, however, was not about to sit idly. Having fought this monstrosity before, he had been convinced that the monster needed a significant period of time to regenerate, so if the rest of the seekers had a good opening, there was a chance they could inflict some serious damage. Tenna would snap his fingers, summoning two Cat-like shadow men with large balls of yarn. Surely Belial would recognize this attack, however compared to Tenna’s previous battle, the beast now had two more obstacles to dodge as the cronies began hucking yarn balls with average precision, when suddenly… Tenna shrunk into 12 mini hims again.

The miniature Tv-hosts scattered about, his motivation behind this move unclear. Suddenly, one of the miniature Tenna’s would crawl along Ganondorf’s side, getting close enough to his ear that the Gerudo could hear him. “The party bus is parked! Retreat for now, I have a plan!” Whether he chose to listen was to Ganondorf’s discretion, though it did seem like Tenna was serious in his words.

”...Hmph.” Ganondorf grunted under his breath. With his tentacles he was able to give himself an opening - albeit slim - to momentarily back off. But even if he was going with Tenna’s plan, that did not mean he was abandoning his desire to slay this Naytiba. Far from it. It also helped that this more or less lined up with his desire to buy time for his own plan that he had in motion.

While this was going on, Edward moved around the fight and added to the shooting. Holding the grenade launcher by the forward grip, he freed up his dominant hand to fire first a magelock pistol slug into the monster, and to then swap to Odden’s Pinky to shower the meat monster with a blaze of burning spell ammo. Between the latter shots and his searing enchantment, the would be aflame for sure.

With both handguns expended, he reholstered the pistols and then moved his grip back to the mag launcher’s own, ready to fire the moment where the seekers were clear enough to avoid them being caught in the anti-titan launcher’s splash radius.

Meanwhile, now that Ace was well within his optimal range for his chosen melee weapon, he lashed out with a reverse vertical cut that dragged his sword over the crimson monster's chest up towards its face. Belial hadn't slowed down at all, so it was hard to properly gauge how injured it really was - best to err on the side of caution and lay on as much damage as possible before giving Tenna his opening.

Though Ace’s skillful parry left his enemy in an unbalanced overswing, the Seekers had only a brief moment before the Naytiba steadied itself. Once Ace landed a harsh slice, Belial raised a leg to deal the offending monster hunter a hefty kick, then leaped into the air and inverted its greatsword in its hands. When it plunged down and sunk the blade through the floor, another miniature forest of sinewy bone barbs sprouted up, endangering everyone in its vicinity. That did not include Edward, though, and by the time his magic submachine gun clicked empty, Belial was both burning and bleeding. It separated its swords, hurled its right-hand meat cleaver at the tactician horizontally, and began regrowing a new one. The cleaver never touched its intended target.

Instead it was swatted away by Ganondorf who was now wielding his great swords again. After backing off from Belial at Tenna’s advice, the warlord had used his mobility via Bullet Jump to put himself in a position to guard Edward for a moment. Then he re-summoned his Moblin Archers to fire a volley of Fire Arrows, immediately followed by summoning both of his strikers. Riptor appeared to lob a fireball from her maw and Blast Hornet fired off his own drone missiles via Search Strike.

Edward cast Designate target on Belial again, maxing out the stacks of marked in the process of weakening it and then joined in on this volley by pulling the trigger on the launcher. The weapon spat out a pair of grenades in quick succession and though he wasn’t exactly a master of such weapons, but both magic and technology made them fly true. Attracted to both the metallic body and the magical marks, the grenades’ flight path curved in the air as they homed in on the foe.

With all of the incoming attacks it was almost a stroke of luck that Belial had caught Ace with its kick. The hunter tumbled away from it, coming to stop by rolling into a crouch with his sword still drawn - but upon seeing the Naytiba falling from its jump and knowing what was coming next he backed up instead of moving back in, mini-cannon batteries at his sides firing while the edge of the spike growths just barely clipping him as he hopped the last few feet out of its range. At that point he felt his back bump something as he watched the bombardments go off, a little sparkle in his eye when he glanced over his shoulder and a thought occurred to him.

Belial lunged to the side to evade the arrows and fireball, and then when this failed to escape the grenades and bee drones used the side of its sword to physically parry the explosives. One of the grenades was bounced, sending it flying across the room to detonate against one of the walls. The second slipped past its defences and stuck to the blighted machine, only for it to grab and haul the explosive off of itself before it went off, resulting in an recoverable arm crippling rather than a devastating core sundering. It was already regenerating when it used its other arm to whack at the search drones, a few exploding on the Naytiba but the rest sent into a tail spin that had them crash into the ground, each other, or even back into the Gerudo's summoned forces themselves.

There was another projectile flying towards Belial that was so unassuming that it was easy to miss among the fire and artillery. When it collided with the side of the Naytiba's head it splattered harmlessly, besides leaving behind an opaque pink residue. Paint balls, fired from the monster hunter's slinger. A couple more joined the first. Though Ace had no idea if Belial was actually seeing out of the spotlight that was its face, the paint balls were good enough to draw the monstrous swordsman's attention even if they didn't end up obscuring part of its vision. And when that attention inevitably turned towards Ace once more it could see he still wielded a blade in hand, though it was very different from the long sword he'd just recently had equipped.

"I'm glad this stuck around, I was starting to feel like you two great sword users were cleaving me out on purpose," he said, indeed hefting a great sword into a ready stance. It was bloody crimson and more than a little odd shaped at the handle, a mirror of one of Belial's own swords - in fact the one it had thrown earlier. The severed limb hadn't dissolved, and whether it would or not once the Naytiba was defeated was a thought for later. For now, Ace gave the monster a cheeky grin and lifted the borrowed sword up over his shoulder.

In response Belial forced Ganondorf away from itself with a wide, vicious swing of its sword-arms, one slashing across the warlord's midsection and the other separating a few of his tentacles from his body before it dashed at Ace. The hunter had gotten used to its speed, so when he brought his own sword down in a heavy overhead chop it sank deep into Belial's left shoulder, a spray of blood shooting out when he dragged the blade down and forced it out of the Naytiba's body to complete the swing. The attack hadn't staggered the monster though, and it traded blows with Ace with the first of its own swords. Ace held fast, gritting his teeth as the blade bit into his side. He was tough enough to weather it, and to still bring the severed sword-arm up to brace against Belial's second blade, its metal limb blocked by and pressing against the broad side of Ace's current weapon. Incensed by the hunter and half-blind on its right side, if Tenna needed that distraction to go in for his stun it was now or never.

With the hope that his allies heeded his warning, suddenly the sky was illuminated with a barrage of stars playing a laughing sound. However, on a couple of the odd-faced shapes was riding a miniature Tenna! Having managed to escape Belial’s attention, had all twelve tiny counterparts intact and was using his All-Star Cast ability to close in. Once all stars mounted with Tennalings had crashed down, Tenna would reform into his regular shape behind Belial on its right and deliver a Snap-cut ability to the back of its headlamp, inflicting the stun that his teammates would need to unleash everything they’ve got. Tenna could continue to stun the beast, but only for a limited time before the effects weakened. “GO!GO!GO!”

”Hold for these!” Edward called out, holding down the trigger on his grenade launcher, and firing its remaining 4 shots in two quick bursts. All four explosives homed in, now unable to be knocked away by the foe, and the stuck fast to it, at which point Edward used his last remaining charged mana fuel cell to cast one more Designate Target on it, briefly rendering it more vulnerable.

”Now!”

The little cannons on Ace's rigging swiveled and took aim. Not as shaken up by the falling stars as he could have been if he hadn't seen them a couple of times before, Ace had escaped out from under Belial once it was stunned with a short twist of his borrowed blade into a horizontal cut that pivoted him away. He retreated while his rigging splayed out since swapping weapons now would take too much time. The cannons fired, the ballistics spraying over the grenades to rupture them into exploding - and explode they did, a great ball of force and fire consuming the macabre swordsman.

There were several long moments where the Seekers held their breaths and waited. They surrounded the plume of smoke and the pieces of the Naytiba that had blown off and clattered or splattered onto the floor around them. Some of its organic body had surely been reduced to ashes, but its metal parts remained. It was impossible to tell if the mechanical legs that had buckled but still stood were remnants that its spirit sat upon or if Belial still lived. Then, the gray smoke darkened into black, flashes of red joining it until it was all dispersed by a wild, wide range swing that threatened those that still gathered around it. There it stood; bleeding, blown apart, but alive and rife with violence.

It was regenerating, one piece at a time. Its sword arms had come first, both of them organic now and ready to fend off anyone that dared to try and come finish it off. One of its legs was still cracked and unusable, the other starting to bulge out of its metal casing as it regrew within moments. Its torso and head were a mess, but it wouldn't be long until Belial had completely reformed itself. If the Seekers didn't find a way to kill it right now, they would have to start over from square one. But something else was coming, something that had been quietly making its way toward the engagement since the very start of it.

It happened in an instant. An immense mass, moving at terrific speed, loudly plowed through the ceiling and into the ground in an instant, reducing Belial to an ashy smear on the ground before the ground itself got pulverized. A wave of displaced air sent the Seekers flying away from the impact zone, where all but Ganondorf were left sprawling and wondering what happened. As the earth beneath gradually absorbed the unimaginable force of the impact, the pillar slowed down, and the Seekers could see that it was a tightly-packed agglomerate of huge tentacles, with each limb the size of a fully-grown sequoia tree. They originated from the ghastly Brother Moon, partially visible through the hole it had punched in the Highlands’ cloud cover. Its very presence seemed to taint the sky an ominous blood red, as if reality itself strained to contain it. Once the tentacles ground to a halt, they began to recede, pulling apart and up into the heavens. The clouds came together again as the Brother Moon withdrew, hidden once more in the starless skies above, but the destruction it had wrought remained.

In front of the Seekers now lay a building-sized pit, several hundred feet deep. At the bottom, Belial’s spirit faintly twinkled amidst the flattened debris. Seeing this, Ganondorf could only laugh like a victorious conqueror. He had wanted to try taking that freakishly strong swordsman for himself, but if he could not have his prize, reducing it to atoms was the next best thing. It had been a vicious battle, but the Seekers had won.

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

Level 8 - EXP 30/80
The Midnight Walk - Spire 04
Word Count:2825 +4EXP

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Vs Democrawler, Embittered Egrogore

Sandalphon, Eve, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Ramattra’s @XoXKieroBombXoX
Word Count: 2825

Ramattra was one of the few to join Sandaphlon and the group up the elevator, having sat the equipment he borrowed from Mokou outside of the Armory, so that after their fight, he could wear it back down to the safety of the Stagecoach. Of course, since Ramattra was robotic, breathing in the vacuum of space was of no concern, but the Space Suit gave him that added protection of returning. Ramattra was unsure of Sandaphlon’s immediate plans, but figured sustaining damage for her would expedite the process. With a simple flick of his arm, a one-way barrier appeared in the distance, directly in front of Sandaphlon, giving her a moment to strategize, attack, or whatever she felt was essential. “The barrier will not be up forever. If you need a clean shot, shout for my attention and I’ll give you another.” Ramattra hoped his offer to strategize would not go unmet, especially since he expected himself to be taking a lot of the blows this fight.

Sectonia likewise didn’t need a space suit. On the contrary, those that live on Popstar seemed to be able to breathe in space. Although the infinite darkness that it brought wasn’t something she was interested in herself so she barely dabbled with such things instead learning how to cast perpetual moonlight. Regardless, there was some horrible creature in front of them and they had to get rid of it.

While Lily and Adam fell back in search of relative safety, Sandalphon had other plans. Even with a much smaller team and safety net than normal, she would endeavor to support the frontliners from afar, which meant finding a new perch to shoot from. Still, it was not lost on her that Eve wasn’t linked to her Angel of Information network, so she wouldn’t be able to warp to the swordswoman’s side to heal her. Worse still, since these three didn’t consider her their leader, so thanks to Azure’s weakness she wouldn’t be able to snipe without a blue tile beneath her. Sandalphon quickly identified a spot to summon and dispel a Cerulean Mirage, creating a blue tile, then whirled around to set her sights on her abominable new foe.

By then, Eve’s fight against the Democrawler had already begun. She had jogged forward, then closed the distance in a blurry dash to kick things off with a flurry of deft slashes. At first, the Naytiba attempted to swat her with its humanoid arm, but Eve managed to parry all three flailing blows. It skittered backward slightly on its tentacled trunk, and Eve pressed her advantage with a flipping combination, only to receive a heavier clawed swipe in mid-air. She recovered from the blow as she landed, then brought up her guard to try and parry an overhead slam, but being slightly too early resulted in a normal block that induced chip damage.

It seemed like Eve’s sword, long and sharp-edged though it was, couldn’t stagger this thing with her normal attacks, so she needed to adapt to its rhythms. When the Democrawler wound up for a grab, the pommel of her sword lit up electric blue, prompting Eve to perform a lightspeed dash behind the creature to start off a new combo with a spin slash. Sandalphon joined in with a barrage of hexagun spell bullets to the Naytiba’s many faces. She ran a quick scan to get a sense of how much damage the Democrawler was taking so far, and as expected, it would be a tough nut to crack.

More than anything, Ramattra was more curious to see the creature’s capabilities so that the crew knew what they were dealing with, and being the most physically resistant of the group, he took it upon himself to act recklessly in an effort to force the monster to reveal its cards. Holstering his staff, Ramattra configured into Nemesis form and immediately consumed the last vial of Alchemist Cocktail he had before exhausting them. The Omnic charged head-on into the cowardly mass of grey flesh, grabbing any limb or exposed tendril of flesh to begin violently pulling it with his stacks of superhuman strength being given to him by the Cocktail, hoping to force the creature into a position where it felt threatened by the Omnic’s Temporary strength, making it react.

Sectonia herself started with her opening move as she did in most fights by summoning some Antlers to support the group by damage or soaking hits. This time just outright summoning 2 golden antlers to deal with the creature to assist Ramattra while Sectonia herself kept herself at mid range to keep the Democrawler within her heartstopper aura.

At almost twelve feet tall, the Democrawler was no slouch when it came to strength, but with the extra chemical stimulants coursing through his systems, Ramattra’s grip on its arm and one tentacle did not relent. Its many tormented faces howled as it struggled for a moment in futility, before the Naytiba began to batter its attacker with one brutal, heavy headbutt after another. Eve jumped in to lend Ramattra a hand, expending Beta Energy to launch a radiant sword thrust. After the first blow, she stabbed three more times with the strength and regularity of a jackhammer. That final hit staggered it, leaving it at Ramattra’s mercy.

Before he could get enough of a grip to throw it down or rip something off, however, the monster’s halo created a downward, ring-shaped pulse around it. The Naytiba vanished, reappearing at the other side of the room as its halo rose up again from the floor. Then the Democrawler reached into its undercarriage with its arm, dug around amidst the cybernetic augmentations, and yanked out a big organic scimitar with nasty barbs alight with a teal glow. As Sandalphon zeroed in on its new position to take advantage of the clear shot, sparks of cosmic light went off within the ring of its halo. After a brief moment, miniature shooting stars went flying at the Democrawlers’ enemies, each arcing through the air to hunt down its target.

Ramattra tumbled to the ground at the sudden teleportation of the Alpha Naytiba, quickly returning to his feet and brushing himself off as he now stood in Omnic Form, having depleted his reserves of Cocktail, he was now physically exhausted, a sensation he had never been familiar with because of his inorganic nature. But with the fight raging on, he couldn’t let up easily.

Sectonia conjured her Chaos Shield to block the projectiles coming for her, while also blocking any projectiles for anyone who used Sectonia as cover for the moment. She did this so that she could concentrate on charging up a reality shatter on this creature that moved very, very little besides the teleporting to cause some significant damage to it.

“Oh good, you’ve brought your own defenses. Then…” Ramattra traced the arc of the stars and was able to make a quick trajectory in his head of which projectile could hit who, and where they were coming from. There was no possible way to protect every teammate in his shield, however, with Eve nearby in the fray, a quick shout for cover was his best bet. “Quick! To me, my friend.”

The Omnic deployed a barrier perpendicular to the barrage of stars and whoever would huddle behind the safety of his shield. While the beast was exposed during its attack, he would also hurl a Vortex at the feet of the Democrawler, dragging its gravity to the floor.

Adam, alongside Lily, was far enough from the fight to not be a target for the Democrawler, but Eve sprinted to Ramattra’s side. Her own ability to dodge -if not just to strafe faster than the stars could home- would probably have been enough, but it never hurt to be sure. Sandalphon, meanwhile, did not want to use up a warp or lose her position, but with no defensive abilities she had little choice. Sectonia was near enough to use as cover, but not close enough to run to, so she needed to get creative. The archangel used Vault to spring upward, then engaged Heavensent to slow her fall. From there she shot out ergo strings from her left-hand fingertips, attaching to a machine by Sectonia, then pulled herself over. Her makeshift grapple got her away from the Democrawler’s stars, with the rest chipping away at the wasp queen’s Chaos Shield.

Of course, the Naytiba did not sit idle. It let out a multitudinous shriek as it raised its strange sword, before teleporting via its halo once more. It reappeared in front of Eve and Ramattra, which gave them only a split second to react before the blade crashed down in a blast of teal sparks.

Eve was no stranger to split-second decision making, though. She nimbly flipped to the side just in the nick of time, with the world seeming to slow down to her as her WB pump rate spiked. Her monofilament blade shone as she dealt the monster a biting repartee . That charged up enough Burst energy for red power to suffuse her, followed by a windmill slash that flipped her upside down as the Democrawler stumbled backward, deep furrows carved across its many faces. With a howl, it raised its a tentacle to grapple her, which prompted a purple glow from her sword’s hilt. Eve cried out as she performed a backward flip kick, and where she struck, a bulbous yellow vulnerability bulged out from between the faces. “Shoot it!” she yelled, summoning Adam’s drone to her side to convert into firing mode.

By then, Sandalphon had stepped out from behind Sectonia and created another blue tile, just in time to take aim. She hammered the weak point with sniper shots, though she paced herself so as to not attract too much attention–having the Democrawler teleport to her was the last thing she needed. Once this window closed, she planned to attach ergo strings to Ramattra to lend him her aid.

Ramattra held his staff tightly as it vibrated from the nanites that swarmed from its tip toward the weak spot as well. The precision of his staff made up for the lack of “oomph” behind the initial attack. The Omnic’s Nemesis form was often where most of his power was; however, the streamlined attack pressure pointed the weak spot much harder. His tricks were limited, since he had only recently been freed from Galeem.

While it took her a bit to charge, the Democrawler was in a good spot as it teleported again to engage with Eve and Ramattra. With a snap of Sectonia’s fingers firing off the spark of void energy, the area around the Democrawler cracked and split as reality around it shattered like glass. This did no damage to Eve or Ramattra, but they too would be blinded by the initial pitch darkness. This darkness would clear soon though, leaving a vague sketch outline of the area that had been shattered that would have its color and detail slowly restored as reality stitched itself back together.

The Reality Shatter was new to Sandalphon, and over the course of her years as a combat coordinator in the World of Light, the number one thing she always tried to avoid was friendly fire. When Eve and Ramattra disappeared into the abyssal rift in the middle of their assault, the archangel feared the worst. With stress marks in her eyes, she acted fast, casting ergo strings into the stygian well in the dim hope that she might latch onto Ramattra and pull him to safety. To her surprise, the desperate ploy actually worked, as a moment later she yanked the omnic from the danger zone. Even more to her surprise, she reeled in Eve alongside him, the swordswoman attached to two of her strings. Sandalphon stared for a brief moment as her pupils became loading rings, using her assumption that the ergo strings could only attach to machines to quickly reach a likely conclusion. Without a word, she dispelled the ergo strings to minimize her allies confusion; her team had bigger fish to fry.

When Sandalphon could actually make out the Democrawler in the wake of Sectonia’s magic, she realized that the Reality Shatter hadn’t been purely visual. The Naytiba bore extreme damage, its body frayed and unstable as if thrown into a cosmic centrifuge. That strange, teal halo still glimmered above its head, though, and when the Democrawler held up its broken sword, its halo expanded massively, becoming countless rings revolving in and around one another. Miniature comets began to rise from the floor beneath all four opponents, each shooting upward for a brief window before detonating in a cylinder of plasma, with another comet appearing only a second after the first. Then, as this chaos unfolded around the Democrawler, the little star in the center of its halo flared, and lasers of teal plasma blasted out to sweep across the Core Chamber in a dazzling and deadly light show. This, Sandalphon realized as she got moving, must be the Naytiba’s last resort.

In a sudden last-minute move of thinking, Ramattra activated his transformation into Nemesis Form, now hulking over the crew as he grabbed whoever was closest standing to him with his mountain-moving strength. A purple ray of armor coated the Omnic, his nanites fusing a protective barrier against his blocking formation as he protected any allies he could from the maelstrom of projectiles in a clutching embrace.

With how hazardous the battlefield had become, there was little time to strategize. Ramattra hoped by taking the bulk of the attack, he could allow his teammates a moment to collect themselves as explosions wavered his blocking formation around them. His allies were safe for now, but the longer he stayed in harms way, the more damage he would need to sustain. “Let’s hope this attack gives out! Otherwise, we need to end this now!”

By now his ultimate ability was ready. Like a beast now only restrained by its leash, the Omnic surged with energy and power. “I’m ready to unleash Annihilation. I need only to close the distance.”

Luckily, that was something Sandalphon could help with. She nodded, her expression serious. “Affirmative. Sending you in three…”

“I’ll follow behind!” Eve added.

When her count reached zero, the archangel performed a whipping motion with her ergo strings, executive a forced move that launched Ramattra toward the Democrawler. He would need to make an effort himself, as well as survive the starlight bombardment in his way, but the extra burst of movement would help him get close. True to her word, Eve dashed along behind him, using the omnic as mobile cover. Even when the Democrawler’s strange energy got around Ramattra’s defense, the swordswoman was ready with a quick dodge. Now unprotected, Sandalphon took cover as best she could, ready to cast a healing miracle before it was too late.

Ramattra used the free momentum from Sandaphlon’s Ergo String whip shot to rapidly configure himself back into Nemesis Form, the titanic Omnic now winding up a nasty right hook as his mechanical steps hardened the launch off further. The connection between metal and twisted flesh reverberated throughout the entire space center as the devastating blow not only held so much force it knocked the large abomination back a meter or two.

While the beast was winded, it attempted to flail its tentacle-like arm to crush Ramattra, only for the Omnic to angrily parry the forceful blow with a green absorbing energy from his Buckler. Immediately using the stored kinetic energy, he pointed toward the ground to release a powerful wave that only pushed the beast backward further, comboing into Ramattra’s Ultimate ability.

The purple glint surrounding Ramattra exploded into a violent haze, causing the nanites to harm the creature as it stood too close to the Omnic, who charged the Democrawler immediately to begin pummeling its disgusting faces with blistering force behind each punch. His allies were safe within the radius, unlike the monster; however, it seemed that Ram was in a blind fury. “Ha! Look at what happens when humanity tries to play god!”

Eve, seeing Ramattra in a new and dangerous light, decided to end things immediately. “I’ll finish this!” In a flash of golden light she assumed a new outfit of black and yellow, a single metallic wing stretching out from her back as a futuristic nodachi replaced her saber. Quickly circling around, Eve launched herself through the Naytiba’s halo in a corkscrew dive into the top of its mass, then ended with a single great slash to put the monster out of its misery. She flipped backward, landed, then canceled Tachy Mode to return to normal as the Democrawler’s body began to crumble to ash under Ramattra’s weight.

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

Level 8 - EXP 30/80
The Midnight Walk - Spire 04
Word Count:1723 +3EXP

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Ramattra sighed once the Shieldrixes became more docile at his and Edward’s efforts to attach them to the stagecoach. With the team of fusion-creatures now at the head of the vehicle, and being the effective muscle of transporting the Seeker’s base of operations, they moseyed into the Space Center with the Stagecoach in tow. Their new ally was quite the chipper one, seemingly showing some routine to the trio’s dynamic. Though the accent on her made him question if the United Kingdom existed in her universe, especially after learning the contents of the Legacy with the rest of the group. He exchanged no sympathy, unlike the trio; Ramattra was ostracized from his society for what was evidently the norm here.

The Omnic looked over at the creations afterwards with a sense of curiosity; the Reindrixes from before were obviously similar to regular reindeer from his world, but he still had a lot to learn about the magical and bio-mechanical oddities from other worlds. Touching the smoothed head of one of the Shieldrix, it would bray a mixed cry of two monsters at once, surely an outcast from either of the worlds it hailed from. Omnics had a natural curiosity about animals, and with the bitter taste towards humans temporarily logged in the back of Ramattra’s mind to focus on the mission ahead, his steel hands were removed from the faceplate of the beast. “I really do hope this doesn’t hurt you. I’m sure the land you came from was beautiful.” He had hoped their hardened heads would provide some more defense in the case Belial returned.

Before they attempted to infiltrate the Spire’s security, Ramattra would step to the side to discuss with Sandaphlon his interest in accompanying her to the top of the elevator. For a moment, the Omnic didn’t think much about Sandaphon’s recruitments, but began to grow concerned that none of the tankier Seekers were accompanying the four. With a gentle sigh, he explained, “I would like to tag around. No point in leaving all the muscle back with the Stagecoach. I am willing to figure out my own way to the rest of the group.”

Natiyba began to emerge from every corner once Lily started breaching the Spire’s defenses, expected, though the number that began to reveal themself was worrying to the Omnic. Was this going to be an elimination or a stakeout until the elevator is operational again?

Ramattra, while not wanting to sound like a coward in the situation, was at an extreme disadvantage. With the risk of clearing biomass possibly resulting in more Natiybas being alerted to their position, Ramattra (and possibly Blazermate) might as well have been walking into the world's largest metaphorical crow nest while clearing into each of the next sectors, and their metal chassis would make quite a good decorative piece for any Naytiba to try and crawl into. Given the possibility that this part of the process could take longer than the technical side, Ramattra didn’t want to risk the swarms of Natiyba overwhelming him specifically, despite them now seemingly only taking human shapes. “I don’t mean to reduce our numbers any, but the risk of my becoming possessed even if I am still living is not something I wish to take. I advise anyone else with a chassis to protect to do the same.”

Though he did not plan to make himself useless, Ramattra knew that the deployed ospreys and moas would not pose much threat, being weaker enemies, but he could see their numbers and scattered spore and gas flinging behaviors becoming a hazard to their flying and less mobile teammates. “I shall take on a temporary offense on a less risky threat. I will be nearby disposing of those sentry-like creatures” He took it upon himself to act as a dam between their additional forces and the rest of the Seekers, who pushed past the barriers of Natiyba. He was particularly glad to see their other muscle, Ganondorf, making haste with the rest of the team to clear the gunk that blocked them from the next sector.

“Leave the stragglers to me. Our support will need them to be taken care of.” The Omnic looked at the odd green glow of the hefty Buckler in his off hand. Wielding it while outside of Nemesis form would be impossible, but Ramattra knew his strengths were in muscle and strategy, and having more combat tactics and tricks in this world was seen as essential to Ramattra.

With his back to the team, and the aggravated swarm now attacking, Ramattra covered the area near the elevator. While his allies began to fell Skulling targets, the Omnic would wield his staff to fire at the Ospereys, which tried their hardest to drive their fleshy exterior into the Omnic’s body, leaving a vile trail of toxic gas that would prove more harmful to his breathing teammates. The Ospereys would quickly begin to seize any debris or dead body that lay previously, picking them into the air before beginning to throw the mass of flesh at the relatively stationary Omnic, along with his teammates.

With a deep robotic breath, Ramattra would try his hardest to focus his fire of Nanites onto the flying units. They were relatively weak, really only taking a couple of seconds of fire before being felled. They would explode into a mutated mess of viscera and machine before their remains would eventually fade away. He managed to snipe down a couple and manage to block a couple of extra projectiles being fired by the swarm of Ospereys. Ramattra would also try his best to collect as many of their spirits for resource gathering, since there was no other

The next immediate threat was the Natiyba sentryborgs, which provided basic anti-air and basic enemy spray. With a good portion of the fliers temporarily staved off, Ramattra could now focus on destroying them, their gunfire growing rather old to the monk, and with their relative size not being much larger than his crushing grip in Nemesis form, the Omnic would find it easy to crush them. Unfortunately for him, the only way to get closer… was to get closer, and with no other designated Tanks amongst White Team, it would be illogical to drop the only barrier protecting the working group to protect himself from some enemies.

Lucky for him, though, the Enchanted Buckler seemed to be the right weapon for this situation. Based on its general description from the Armory, it seemed to just absorb any kinetic impact, which, to Ramattra’s knowledge, would allow him to absorb at least a couple of seconds' worth of fire while rushing them. He sighed, hoping that he wasn’t about to thoughtlessly engage enemies.

With a familiar chime, the Omnic’s frame would change, converting him into Nemesis mode as he was now able to hold the large buckler up with ease, especially after injecting his biceps with Alchemist Cocktail, which, along with an unusual burst of adrenaline, also increased his general attack power. One by one, the bullets began to magically empower the green buckler on Ramattra’s fist, allowing him to marsh through the bullets with minimal scathes, though impossible to escape with none.

He began to thrash borgs to scrap like a prosecutor with a gavel, eliminating the threats with his fists of justice, before remembering that they did have melee self-defense as well, and would stab at the Omnic’s core with their spindly tails, Ramattra dodging away just by the metal off his chassis. He managed to clear quite a large amount during his cocktail rage, but unfortunately, that didn’t stop the threats from pushing. “How much longer here?” He tried his best to sound like he wasn’t rushing them, but with how many threats continued coming in, there was no telling how long they had left before they would be overwhelmed.

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

+

Level 8 - EXP 27/80
Level 7 - EXP 29/70
The Midnight Walk - Spire 04
Word Count:1098 +3EXP

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After safely traversing the distance of the Hypertube and settling down on the opposing end for a moment of rest for the group, Ramattra had taken the time with Sandaphlon to help reassemble the interior of the Stagecoach. Seeing as how, other than the two new guests, they were the most technologically intelligent, it only made sense for him to help clean up the clutter from within. Perhaps he and Edward could have taken the time earlier to quickly secure and fashion the interior for transport. Everyone else held to their assigned tasks, which left Ramattra with a lot of upkeep work for the stagecoach.

Along with that, he held onto equipment he wished to inquire about with Eve in their passing moment. The Omnic would excuse himself from assisting the Archangel with cleaning up to approach the cyborg woman and ask about the coming area. “So, I’m unsure about a lot of the landmarks in the Highlands. Would there be someone who could help me install a part into my frame ahead, on the opposite side of the Spire where we are headed?”

He produced the exospine for Eve to see and even allowed her to see the back of his metallic chassis for reference to its installation. There seemed to be more than enough room for the hardware to be installed against, but whether the technology was fully compatible or not was also what the Omnic was concerned about. “The equipment would go here and would require access into my chassis… but do you think it would be possible?” Once he had his answer, the Omnic was content and thanked Eve for her time before pocketing his equipment again and looking for more tasks to do while they were parked.

Which was until Tenna approached the poor Omnic he believed he had befriended, and hugged him from the side. Having seen a wide variety of oddities now in this world, the TV man’s silly nature had slowly dulled Ramattra’s temper toward the wild card. It seemed that the only one who still had work left on building the fusion machine was. “Ah. Tenna. Would you mind coming with me? You seem horribly… preoccupied,” Which had been the Omnic’s way of challenging the CRT’s competence on such an important journey. Tenna joined without much convincing and followed behind as Ramattra led them towards where the fusion machine was being arranged.

After Edward had assembled and tinkered with the fusion machine according to the blueprints, he created two beasts and left the assembly of the rest to Ramattra and Tenna. Ramattra was unsure whether Edward had fully explored the machine's full capabilities or if assembly had worn him out, but the task was simple enough once The Omnic got a handle on the controls.

“So… It appears we can swap out various parts, add unique ones, etcetera…” Ramattra wasn’t super comfortable going in-depth, explaining how the machine worked, especially given he didn’t fully expect Tenna to listen, but theconsole screen made it somewhat self-explanatory at the very least. “And we have collected plenty of samples on our trek…”

Tenna scratched his smooth head for a moment. “If we were using those reindeer monster-guys to pull us along before, why not use their samples as a blueprint!” He was annoyingly optimistic in Ramattra’s opinion, but Tenna’s idea was pretty good, quick-thinking, and earned him some merit. Plus, the donation of more samples from Geralt meant Ramattra had quite a playground to work with.

Selecting out various parts from the creatures they’ve surveyed so far on the Midnight Walk, Ramattra opted to keep the fusion creatures as simple as possible, to avoid making a mess of a creature, which, with a bit of playing around, he found was very possible. Inserting samples of the Reindrix, Shieldon, and Somnacanth, they had come across. Although they had collected quite a hoard of bio-material to work with, the Omnic thought it best only to replace what of the steeds they had lost. Along with that, Ramattra thought that the marsh was an example of what damage the terrain was capable of. The Omnic thought it would be smart to create a beast capable of traversing through shallow water.

Though another thought that crossed Ramattra’s mind was capturing the monsters, he knew some of his party members used capture devices for the original Reindrix and small companion beasts, but was worried about the nature of the simulated monsters. Before creating any creatures, Ramattra would make use of the Armory, taking two of the rope coils from its storage if the beasts were hostile.

Following the machine's instructions, Ramattra would finally begin simulating a new team of creatures to pull the Stagecoach throughout the rest of the Midnight Walk.

FUSIONS

6x ShielDrix - A beast nearly identical in appearance to a Reindrix; however, its head and short neck now seem to share the hardened shell of Shieldon. The Impossible Creature is notably weak when it is unshielded and has heightened aggression, which it inherits from its unfused counterpart, Shieldon.

SomnaDrix - A large semi-aquatic beast that seemingly lost a lot of its abilities in fusion. The beast shares the large fins and torso of Somnacanth, but has the head and neck of Reindrix to nullify its sleeping powder ability and aggressive nature.

With the beasts generated and ready for deployment on the Stagecoach, Tenna waited nearby with the Rope Coils, tying those of the fusion beasts he could until a permanent solution for them could be met. He split into Tennalings and apprehended as many new lifeforms as he could.

While Tenna cleaned up the end of Ramattra’s experiment, the Omnic had hoped one of his team members had capturing devices at the ready, or a way to tame the beasts to be more docile.

The Omnic also took note of Roxas’ Rotom, and how its previous form was some form of Encyclopedia for monsters. He wanted to investigate the device before he knew it was a lifeform that was now transformed; however, that brought a new curiosity to Ramattra’s mind. Were there any other encyclopedia-type devices that may share insights into other worlds like that Pokedex?... Could they perhaps expand it to other worlds? He hummed at the notion, That will have to be something to discuss with Sandaphlon later… Hmm… he thought, before returning to the group with the bound, albeit somewhat aggressive ShielDrixes, ready to be coaxed into pulling the Stagecoach, along with the aloof Somnadrix, that looked entirely landbound with its waterlegs.

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

Level 8 - EXP 21/80
The Frozen Highlands

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Maintaining Ciphers

Midnight Walk - Spire 04

Featuring: Ramattra and Edward (and Eve)
Word Count: 4180 // +5 EXP

As it turned out, the maintenance bay wasn’t some corner of the main facility as it was its own adjacent facility, accessible through a tunnel that took a minute or so to get through even at a brisk jog. Since this complex serviced the entirety of Spire 04, it stood to reason that it would take a lot more power than the hydroelectricity of one dam to power it, and it was in the maintenance sector where all of the utilities that kept the complex operational were concerted into industrial harmony.

The maintenance sector took the form of a large main hub room dominated by a huge, cylindrical power plant surrounded by the pumps and reservoir tanks of the complex’s requisite fluids, from water to coolant to fuel. Scattered around the ground level were a number of stations where the machines, vehicles, and other equipment used throughout the facility could be serviced. Perhaps most remarkable were the giant robot hands, used not just to lift, hold, and move large objects, but transfer personnel between different levels of the hub. Right now, though, the place was practically empty.

A squad of iron golems advanced through the door, shields raised defensively, auras projected around them. Edward, advancing behind them, Infected 'Rainfall' blade in one hand, Oden’s Pinky handgun in the other, saw the occupier of the hall through their eyes and saw that it (she?) was a far more pristine work than the crudely reanimated machines they’d encountered so far. As such, he felt compelled to step out beside his constructs and call out ”Are you Naytibas, or something else?”

The orange-and-black gadgeteer turned away from her computer terminal and leaned against the railing of the power plant’s circular catwalk to look down at the intruders. She had no visible face, and the four cyan lights on her helmet’s front which somewhat resembled eyes betrayed no emotion, but her body language was anything but friendly. With one hand she raised a bulky explosive tech weapon of some kind, and with the other she made a dismissive gesture, as if brushing the newcomers back toward the door she’d come through.

The Omnic was the first of the group to react, clutching his staff quietly in his off-hand while charging one of his nanite abilities in the other, waiting to see if the machine’s warning turned more serious. “Whatever happens, I can protect us. I don’t think she wants to blow us up.” While Ramattra was unable to observe Protea’s motives, there was something odd about the fact that she hadn’t already turned the group into rubble with the rest of the bay.

Though Eve had reached for her hairpin, anticipating a fight, she furrowed her brow at the warframe’s lack of immediate hostility. “It’s intelligent?” she murmured. “But…surely not an Alpha Naytiba. Come to think of it, I don’t see any Naytiba flesh…”

”Something else then” Edward said quietly, as he calmly stared down the barrel of the gun, and having the audacity to sheath his weapons while doing so.

Eve glanced at him, one brow raised. “An android manufactured by Orca that escaped infection, perhaps?” Then again, that didn’t gel with what Sandalphon said about extremely dense techno-organic signatures, if indeed this thing was one source.

Ramattra stepped from the side of the group toward Edward and Eve, who had been discussing the nature of the stranger. “Then why did she not explode us given the chance?... There is an uneasy presence to this stranger. I can feel the air crackle to their will here… Be cautious.” It was hard for Ramattra to explain, but there was an uneasy pulse of raw energy that swept the room. Whether or not this stranger was an android or not, the environment was this well-dressed character’s personal playground.

Edward, half inclined his head to the warning, before raising his voice as he addressed the strange being. ”All we wish is to pass through, so if you could kindly disable the lock, we will be in our way” he told her, before glancing over her person and, noting that really all she visibly had was guns, added ”I’d be willing to offer an armament or two in exchange for this favor”

After a brief pause, Protea tilted her head, then hefted her heavy weapon onto her shoulder. She seemed to respect Edward’s cockiness, which reflected her own. Raising her free hand, she held her fingers straight and together as she pivoted her wrist in a circle, the universal gesture for ‘continue’.

Edward glanced back, both to gauge the reaction of the others and to make a show of beckoning his inferno steed towards him. The steed stored Edward’s spare (and presently unused) two handed ranged weapons. He still intended to use the magnetic grenade launcher, but the other, the plasma cutter beam rifle, he was willing to offer up to avoid unnecessary violence.

Without much hesitation, Protea decided that she wanted a closer look. She stowed her rocket launcher on her back, then catapulted off the catwalk, soaring through the air at high speed. She landed before the Seekers in a slide, her metallic body sparking as it ground across the coarse concrete. When she nimbly hopped to her feet, she stood at 6.5 feet tall. Not at all bothered by the proximity of so many possible enemies, she reached out and beckoned for the plasma cutter.

Edward tensed up as the warframe came leaping down, who wouldn’t, but he held his nerve enough to do no more than that. Once she approached, he held the gun by the barrel with its muzzle pointed to the floor, and offered it to her.

When she received it, she turned away and held it level to her helmet as if staring down its sights. Aiming up at the concrete wall, she fired off a few quick bursts of concentrated ionized gas, followed by an extended stream. She targeted painted numbers, starting big and going small as she quickly got a feel for the gun’s handling. When it heated up, she relaxed her posture, looked down at the weapon’s red-hot barrel, and figured out how to vent the heat after a moment. Once satisfied, Protea expended some of her own energy to rapid-construct a dispenser, which promptly belted out a couple orbs and a universal ammo pack with which she refilled the plasma cutter with dextrous hands.

Protea then stared at the weapon, deciding how she felt about it. After a moment she looked away with a tilted head, as if slightly underwhelmed, and her gaze wandered to the rest of Edward’s weapons stowed upon his fiery steed.

The Omnic, now able to get a closer look at the Warframe in action, confirmed his suspicions that this being was more than just an android, cyborg, or Natiyba, unless that summoned dispenser was an unusual feat of tech to Ramattra. Oddly enough, she still seemed like she could be swayed. The Omnic, noticing Protea’s rather lavish appearance for a gunslinger, hinted to him that maybe there could be other ways to make their inventory more… appealing. To hasten efforts, the Omnic would unclip the red plague mask off the side of his samue without second thought. Maybe she appreciated spooky aesthetics. He placed it gently alongside Edward’s offerings, looking on his person for more to offer.

With a sigh, Ramattra recalled one last sensible thing he could offer. His staff was off-limits, obviously, being his go-to weapon, along with the fact that nanite mastery was a feat only obtainable by Omnics and through special cybernetics. From the pockets of his pants, he drew out his previously tattered Monk Garbs. While he had no original intention to part with them, their time was precious, and traversing this area was of top priority. “Mondata, forgive me…” He hushed to himself as the clothes were politely offered atop the rest.

When offered the mask, Protea picked it up and looked it over. Not quite her aesthetic or color, but it was unique. She took more of an interest when Ramattra offered a new outfit, but his reluctance did not escape the warframe’s notice. With slightly less eagerness, she examined the clothes. They weren’t exactly her aesthetic either, but the colors did suit her almost perfectly. Those four blue lights on her helmet stared at Ramattra for a moment before she glanced over toward the terminal. Then she shrugged, hung the mask on her helmet, and passed the clothes back to Ramattra. With one more reluctant look at all of Edward’s weapons, Protea stowed the plasma cutter, stepped aside, and crossed her arms. A quick nod of her head in the terminal’s direction said knock yourself out.

”Much appreciated” Edward said with a deferential nod, before beginning the ascent toward the terminal alongside the others. Upon arrival he inspectedt it for a moment, and then hitting the only interactable element on it, namely the power button. This caused the monitor to light up and fill with symbols, and the keyboard to pop out underneath it.

After another moment, he stepped back and glanced a touch sheepishly at the others, saying ”I will admit. I have no idea what I’m looking at at the moment, and though I’d love to take the time to figure it out on my own, perhaps this is more in line with something from one of your worlds?”

Eve stepped forward to examine the terminal, one arm crossed beneath her chest while her other elbow rested on the wrist, contemplative. “Although I haven’t seen a cipher like this before, I have found and entered many passcodes. This time, though, I rather think the answer is right here in front of us.” She gestured at the stacks of numbers and letters. “All these words are five characters long. Perhaps one is the answer, and the others are red herrings. Or failed attempts.”

Picking out one word, ‘skies’, she entered it. Immediately the number of attempts left counted down from 5 to 4, and a response appeared on the right side that said 1/5 correct. “That’s something,” she said, glancing at Ramattra. “Want to venture a guess?”

The Omnic had scratched his chin for a moment. With a glance over the letters and numbers, Ramattra tried his best to piece together what the passcode could be. Nothing immediately came to mind off gut instinct, but with the first attempt already securing a correct letter, the group had to do some hypothesizing to not waste their precious attempts. “Well… with the code being five characters, and one letter of our first attempt being correct, I believe it is reasonable to rule out the possibility of any of them being numbers.” While it was a bit of a reach, it was all they had to go off of without the input of the nearby stranger. If their second hazarded guess proved no progress, maybe bartering with her again could earn them the key to this terminal.

“I believe… that it is also reasonable to assume that the word is none of the options with ‘ie’, and words with two or more letters to skies. I’m inclined to believe our correct letter is also one of the two s’s, which eliminates some more guesswork… though, honestly, if we begin to whittle our entry attempts, we may want to barter for information from our stranger…” He glanced over at Protea, who watched as they fumbled with the password to the console, hoping that his suspicion that she controlled this bay was her personal derelict, rather than being under some higher control from the Spire. For a moment, the Omnic thought about the reaches he had made for the passcode, and what possible word could fill in the emptied query.

With a muffled sigh, the Omnic thought it best not to overthink his logic. They still had 3 attempts, even if he had failed, any progress on getting the key was crucial. ‘TANKS’, with this being a maintenance bay, maybe whoever was responsible for the passcode was incompetent enough to pick a word associated with the room's function.

Despite a big difference in terms of the guessed word, the result was the same: 1/5 correct. Now just three guesses remained.

The Omnic figured as much; the wrong answer gave him some room for deduction… Lucky for him, it didn’t seem that the console had put him under any time constraint. Ramattra looked backward to Edward, hoping the commander had some sort of writing utensil and paper for him to scratch down potential third guesses. “Edward. Might I bother you for some quick writing supplies?”

When he was handed a fountain pen and ink, he would quickly jot down answers that couldn’t be correct so far, because of misguessed characters on the terminal… Unlike all-knowing artificial intelligence, Ramattra’s sentience was clearly more human-like, relying on the process of elimination to reach a new conclusion, as their second attempt provided no insight into whether Ramattra’s intuition was correct or not.

Words with two or more identical letters were crossed off a neatly stacked list, now translated to a spare sheet of paper. The design here was to help Ramattra make informed choices for his second attempt. After analyzing the list one last time, he looked at the terminal and typed his third attempt, trying the word that stood out the most: PRICE.

Luckily, his guess resulted in one additional correct letter; now 2/5 were right. That wasn’t all that Ramattra’s choice revealed, though. Eve crossed her arms, thinking. “Ah, so it wasn’t the ‘s’ at the end after all,” she remarked, her tone one of curious intrigue. With only two guesses left, they could afford only one more mistake, so she considered what they already knew. Even after eliminating everything with more than one letter in common with the previous guesses, there were still seven possibilities according to Ramattra’s list.

As the others took a look, Edward was left with his thoughts, which, unfortunately for him, went to how it was a slight shame that this had ended peacefully given the warframe’s capabilities. The athleticism and ammunition generation alone would have made her a valuable fusion.

He frowned as he dismissed that thought, and instead considered instead what might be reasonable to barter for her ammunition stores. He did this while flicking through an armory panel, during which he spotted one of the items he’d sent back to the armory rather than having them pile up in the back of the stagecoach. On a hunch, he summoned it to his hand.

He rather instantly regretted this, for the grotesque Sporothrix rifle was incredibly unpleasant to hold. That aspect alone would certainly reduce the trade value for most, but given the scan results, and the fact that she was presumably ‘from’ this area, Edward made a gamble and asked the warframe ”I don’t suppose this would be ‘on theme’ for you, would it?”

Protea had been watching idly, waiting for the newcomers to finish with the terminal maybe. With how dangerous things were around here thanks to the Naytibas, she could just be taking a break. When Edward approached her, she fixated on the Sporothrix instantly, and when he asked if she’d be interested Protea gave him an earnest nod.

”That’s valuable information all on its own, but I’d still like to barter for it and one other, similar, item, if you have anything you’d be willing to offer” Edward replied, inviting her to consider what she had to offer before making his own pitch. Frankly, he’d probably take anything she could offer given the offputting nature of the weapons, and he did not intend to drive a hard bargain given their lack of rapport, but she didn’t need to know that right away.

He gave her a moment to consider, during which he placed the butt of the sniper rifle against the floor, and then retrieved the Synapse electro rifle as well. This held in the same way, against the other gun, after giving her a moment to look it over. He also would offer her journal and quill to write with, should she seem to want/need to get past her muteness.

Protea’s shoulders went slack with disappointment as her head tilted completely to one side, the unamused glow of her helmet’s optics saying really, bro? After a brief moment -and a head motion that looked suspiciously like an eye roll- she produced the plasma cutter she’d received earlier, then held it out with one hand on her hip. Though her body language was slightly derisive, she seemed curious about whether or not Edward would go for this trade.

Edward supposed that, other than the pouches, she didn’t seem to be carrying much, and so her lack of barterable items was rather limited. He could see her attitude’s legitimacy, and so he wasn’t going to insist on trading back for the Plasma Cutter. Instead he went for something more universally useful, and hopefully less offensive.

”Perhaps. But you also seem to be able to produce those remarkable ammunition kits that can restock even a freshly acquired weapon like that one" he nodded to the plasma cutter ”I would be willing to exchange these for some of those, if that would be feasible?"

With a shake of her head, Protea signalled that it wasn’t. After a moment, though, she held up a one finger as a sign that she’d thought of something. From one pouch she pulled a circular grenade of some kind, which she reconfigured and then tossed into the air. It began to float next to her, projecting a beam of blue energy that seemed to create a low-opacity force field around her. Then, with her demonstration complete, the warframe offered three such grenades to Edward.

It was unfortunate that he’d not get to fill the armory with magnetic grenades given that those would likely be quite useful against whatever larger bio-mechanical horrors surely lurked within the structure, Edward felt, but this seemed interesting in and of itself, and interesting was valued all of its own. Well. Maybe not for the price of two weapons from the team’s stores, but there was also the diplomatic angle to consider here, and so he was certainly open to the trade.

”Now that’s quite something. Limited duration, I assume? Minutes?" he asked, more to know than to weigh up the value of the items. Indeed even as he asked he moved physically to offer the weapons to her and to take the orbs off her hands in exchange.

If Protea could narrow her eyes in a wince, she probably would have. Rather than hurriedly complete the transaction, she stepped back with a shake of her head, then quickly used the plasma cutter to burn a couple numbers into the concrete. 13. She then shrugged as if to say they’re worth it, though.

”In a pinch, I suppose" Edward replied, getting her meaning. But it was true that that wasn’t really worth the two weapons alone. Perhaps something more mercenary would work, he thought, before asking ”I don’t suppose you can help us against the Naytibas? Be it an escort if you are going our way, or a distraction to draw them away if you are going your own way?"

In response, the gadgeteer cracked her knuckles, then her head from side to side as she rolled her shoulders. Seemingly in agreement, she held out her hand to receive her payment.

The man couldn’t help but grin at the confidence, and then gladly handed over the weapons, which he assumed were about to be put to good use. Of course, he wasn’t sure where or how, that had been vague given her muteness, but after the initial rudeness the warframe had proven to be rather honorable in her dealings, so he had no doubt she’d hold up her end of the bargain one way or the other.

”A pleasure" he said once everything was sorted out, before glancing over to see how things were coming along with the console.

“So…’skies’ and ‘tanks’ have one letter correct apiece, and ‘price’ has two.” Eve raised an eyebrow. “The only thing it has in common with another is the ‘i’ in ‘skies’. Oh…could it be ‘trick’? That has the ‘ri’ in price, the ‘i’ in ‘skies’, and the ‘t’ in ‘tanks’!” Spotting another word left her indecisive, though. “Hm, it could also be ‘thick’, I suppose. It has the ‘ic’ from price…” She glanced at Ramattra, wondering if he had a preference.

“Well, with ‘trick’ having 3 overlapping correct characters to our estimated word ‘price’, it only leaves third and thick left for our attempts. Should our deductions be correct, we could just as easily enter one, then the other, if we fail in theory.” Ramattra pointed out. He looked at his previous attempts, comparing his logic to the notes he had jotted down. “Hopefully you trust my reasoning, otherwise be ready to barter again…” His metallic digits entered another word into the dated green screen of the terminal - THIRD, each letter rung with a satisfying metallic clack. “So archaic…”

After realizing her oversight, Eve decided to lead the deductive reasoning to Ramattra. Either way, though, it seemed like the two had this in the bag, since enough attempts remained to cover all the plausible guesses. When Ramattra entered ‘third’, it came back with 3/5 correct, so at that point it was a simple matter to enter ‘thick’ and unlock the terminal. From there, all the omnic needed to do was press the button (and subsequent confirmation button) to remotely disable the hypertube lock. One down, two to go.

For a moment, Ramattra held his figurative breath as he entered the final attempt into the terminal. His logic had served him well so far, and for a moment before submitting his guess into the console, almost considered bartering for the Warframe to help them.

When the console accepted his entry, he released a relieved sigh, thankful that Eve and him were able to enter the machine. Ramattra clicked through a couple of unimportant clearance notes, inventory logs, and other information about the bay itself before selecting the (HYPERTUBE LOCK ACCESS) option, and disengaging the first lock.

The moment that the mechanism began to unlock and spool up the hypertube, though, klaxons sounded out to signal the operators to stand clear while the machines worked. This sudden commotion resounded in the massive, cylindrical chamber that was the maintenance sector, and though it shut off after only a few seconds, the damage was done. Enemies stirred in the wings as multiple squads of Naytiba drones began to emerge, eager to investigate the source of the noise.

In an instant Eve’s monomolecular saber was in her hand, ready for action. Protea seemed unbothered, though, as well as unsurprised. As she took stock of the incoming enemies, she gave the Seekers and their new ally a dismissive wave, indicating that they should scram and leave these dregs to her. Evidently the warframe planned to hold up her end of the bargain sooner rather than later.

The trio saw no issue with that interpretation of the deal, swiftly hustling back the way they’d come, trailing disposable minions in their wake. As they did, Protea deployed a hovering turret above her before leaping into the fray, hotswapping between weapons as she did. Flesh rotting particles burst, electrical beams sparked, plasma artillery bored, rockets blasted, and shrapnel grenades splintered.

Then, right as she looked to be out of ammo, and at risk of being overrun, she suddenly and rapidly began to move in reverse, her every action rewound, every weapon reloaded, every wound mended, till she was back where she’d started thanks to her Temporal Anchor. The consequences of her actions remind as they were however, namely a number of fading spirits littering the ground. Soon enough, far more would join them.

”I can only hope the others also found a way to talk the others like her down," Edward commented as they bid their hasty retreat.

The hasty Warframe’s special ability caught Ramattra’s immediate attention… Time manipulation. The Omnic was correct to assume that Protea was a being of her own, rather than any of their assumptions. The capabilities of her powers were beyond any magical or technological understanding that he had. Though, her ability to restore her state of time certainly reminded him of that time-manipulating Overwatch agent…

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

+

Level 8 - EXP 16/80
Level 7 - EXP 18/70
The Midnight Walk
Word Count: 3870// +4 EXP

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Siren's End

The Midnight Walk - Ice Swamp

Featuring: Ace Cadet, Ramattra, and Tenna
Word Count:3870 // +4 exp

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Though there was a layer of water that the Seekers had to wade in as they moved through the swamp, since it was only about calf-high (if that) the Ace Cadet hadn't expected it to be much of a problem while he, Ramattra, and Tenna faced off against the pair of monsters. He was unfortunately wrong; the leviathans were able to use their serpentine bodies to utilize even the shallowest water to move swiftly over the area, and so they were upon the trio of Seekers much faster than Ace had anticipated.

He was undaunted, but also embarrassingly unprepared with the barrel still in his arms, so he had to shout for the other two and request, "cover me for a sec!"

As long as a shipping container with deadly hooked claws the size of a human arm, the monsters were on top of their attackers the next moment. The first reared up, exposing its scale plated belly with a curious design in the center before it crashed down to try and body slam the lot of its challengers. The second slithered around to flank the group of Seekers, then twisted to whip its thick piscine tail at any that evaded its fellow monster's attack.

With the signal to go, the rest of the seekers used the monsters’ aggravation to escort their mobile headquarters, leaving the three of them behind. While Tenna was more aloof toward the attackers, he examined the threats from afar before they made their offensive efforts on the trio. To evade the attack without getting caught in the pincer attack, Tenna quickly split himself into 12 miniature copies of himself, pixelating into existence, one getting squished in the process. A necessary sacrifice for a rather painful-looking attack. If Tenna could make some distance from these monsters, he could sneak behind one and distort it…

While their ally made a short disappearance, this left Ramattra with the task of providing cover for Ace. For the front attacker, Ramattra used his nanites to form a hardlight shield behind Ace and him, providing short-term resistance to the attack. With the flanker now the new threat, Ramattra quickly converted his body into Nemesis-form, the alchemist fused flesh now flashing on his biceps. The canisters of the Alchemist Cocktail emptied into Ramattra’s bulky arms, allowing him to counter the other monster’s tail attack with a grab, minimizing the impact on the two while Ace concluded whatever he had been preparing. “This… is going to be the best I can give you." The Omnic pushed into the scaled tail, impatiently looking down at Ace. Where could Tenna have gone at such a crucial time?...

They'd definitely seen the TV-headed man split up to escape being squashed, an action that would have been shocking if the nature of this world was still a mystery to them. Honestly Ace wouldn't blame him for taking off if it guaranteed the entertainer's safety. With the thought that Tenna was probably alright, the hunter's voice was steady and strong as he replied to Ramattra. "It's more than enough!"

The Cadet slipped by Ramattra's side, and not a second later the leviathan that he'd caught by the tail screeched in pain. The scales along the side of its serpentine length shattered and bled, and the monster yanked its tail out of the Omnic's grasp so it could curl up and regroup, hissing and glaring at the pair. Its partner slid in and swiped a massive claw at the Seekers, but it wasn't able to connect - there was a loud clang as its nails met metal.

In Ace's hands now was a long gold-colored sword studded with a single amber gemstone, with curving horn-like designs on the guard and pommel. The parry lasted for only a moment before the monster hunter twisted, redirecting his quarry's claw to the ground and slashing straight up its arm. The somnacanth was now between the two Seekers, craning its long neck to look at both. Then it dug its claws into the icy swamp bed below them and lurched, throwing itself into a wide spin attack.

Ace evaded backward, his weapon at the ready. He glanced over at Ramattra. "I think it's time we put these things to bed!"

The second somnacanth didn't wait long before it took its chance to rejoin the battle; it stayed where it was, just outside of melee range in order to raise its head and sweep its hair-like fins, shooting a few razor-sharp scales out at the Seekers.

Just as the second Somnacanth swung at the duo, the small microlings of Tenna would regroup, forming a mildly wounded TV-Man behind the monster. While he had no opportunity to stop the monster’s intent to attack, his gloved hands began forming an electric wave around them, before he chopped the back of the creature’s head with great bravado. “ACTION!” Tenna shouted, as his attack connected.

The neck of the monster whipped into the ground with cartoonish force, leaving the other Somnacanth heavily dazed and disoriented. While the scales dented off of Ramattra’s metal chassis, he tried his best to body-block the rest of the attack from Ace, his human flesh possibly more vulnerable to their punctures. The Omnic seemed mildly impressed at Tenna’s ability to control the battlefield.

Being separated by the spin attack of the solo enemy, however, left Ramattra with the disadvantage of being separated from the other two, and with no good way to escape, and his cocktail expanded for the time being, his first thought was to engage with another attack. The Omnic, still bulked in his Nemesis form, would hurl a ball of nanites that glowed purple as they began to pull the monster into its gravity. The motion of the spins was partially slowed now, allowing Ramattra a chance to catch the monster by a limb, and halt it to a stop as his feet scraped by yards of sediment from the swamp and water.

The monster thrashed in Ramattra's grip, making any intrepid opportunist's approach nearly impossible to get through unscathed. Still Ace went for it, eager to pay the Omnic back for the earlier protection - which he was appreciative of, though also a little amused by. Maybe he was just still covering the Cadet like he'd asked, but obviously Ramattra didn't know yet how tough a monster hunter could be. It was time to show him!

Weathering a tail swipe as he moved in, Ace set about slashing the monster and testing weak points. As expected, the spines on its back and arms were well armored. The scales on its other extremities were less so.

"Don't let up on it Tenna! Go for its neck or tail!" he called to the other Seeker, glancing over just to make sure the guy was alright. Against two monsters at once, every opening needed to be exploited when possible, however short they ended up being.

With Ace’s order to target one of its vital areas, he quickly puckered his screen-lit lips and pushed out a loud whistle, which, as if it were a magical pager, summoned two cartoonish shadow guys into thin air, each equipped with a two-dimensional saxophone. They would form large strands of magic that wrapped around the neck of the adversary. The two flat-faced thugs made a musical commotion with one another as the second Somnacanth was withheld for a moment longer, though it seemed stronger than the cartoonish magic Tenna unleashed.

Now Ace should take his own advice, since Ramattra still had the first somnacanth locked down for the moment. It snapped its teeth at the beefed up monk while the gill-like slits along its neck, ribs, and tail opened up. A soft blue glow was the only forewarning they were going to get before it disseminated its sleep gas. Close enough to see it, it was the only warning Ace needed.

"Watch the sleeping gas!" He struck with a heavy overhead slash at the space between the somnacanth's shoulders, dug the blade in as far as he could, then used it almost like a lever to increase his jump height. Rather than go for a falling slash like he usually would, Ace swung with a diagonal cut to the monster's face as he moved in the air. Its head jerked to the opposite side from where the Cadet landed, far enough that he wouldn't easily be caught in the gas cloud.

While Ramattra very well could have been immune to the gas due to his robotic nature, he was not willing to test the waters and see if he could withstand its drowsiness-inducing effects. With no incredible options, and Ace now on the scene, Ramattra called to his previous teachings of Nanites, remembering how he could use their complex technology to create an aura around him that harmed enemies, and was safe toward allies!

Level Up ability: Annihilation

During Annihilation, Ramattra enters Omnic Form without directly activating it (meaning he can enter Omnic Form again once Annihilation ends). In this buffed form, Ramattra gains a purple aura of nanites swarming around him. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the aura's 10m radius are slowed, and have their health slowly siphoned. The duration of Annihilation lasts 10 seconds, however downing, eliminating, or killing an enemy can extend the duration by an additional second (with enemy content and variety being accounted for in fairness, of course). As an ultimate ability, Ramattra must charge its gauge by dealing damage, defeating opponents, or (somehow) healing. This ultimate ability can only be used once per combat encounter.

Before he had lost time in Nemesis Form, Ramattra quickly activated Annihilation to deal slow chip damage to the attacking Somnacanth’s scaly skin, unleashing deadly blow after deadly blow to the opposing monster’s neck and mouth, attempting to terrorize it out of whatever sleep attack it was about to unleash. Ramattra had no clue how weak these beasts were and was unsure if he would be able to handle them out of his beefy form. “If you can find a weak spot, hit it now!” Ramattra’s command was clear, with the other Somnacanth temporarily dazed, the trio had only a moment before there would be two monsters attacking again.

Ramattra's assault worked out very much in his favor, as the leviathan only managed a small puff of its sleep-inducing gas before it flinched under the monk's attacks. As soon as it was clear Ace launched himself back in, smoothly moving into a spirit combo with his sword. The blade drew deep cuts along the somnacanth's side, from its back leg up to its head. Battered and badly wounded, the monster attempted to disengage, slamming its tail down to make a splash and pushing against the water to dart away from its attackers.

It would have been enough to repel the beast, but of course that wasn't possible.

Meanwhile its partner monster struggled in the Shadow Guys' musical hold, eventually overpowering them with a mighty leap that dragged them where they were connected to their instruments up into the air and back down onto the icy ground. It whipped around towards Tenna swinging its bloodied tail at the man, then flopped onto its back to swim away and reunite with the other somnacanth. Compared to the first, it was doing better - and it let out an ear-piercing roar loud enough to make someone want to throw their hands up to cover their ears and protect their eardrums.

Tenna, now at the risk of being attacked by the Somnacanth that escaped his cronies’ attack, fled its reach while returning to the other two. Ramattra was pleased that Tenna was able to make some use of himself during this fight, and while his aloofness only ruffled his feathers, began to see himself tolerating the CRT because of his battle prowess.

The monsters didn't hesitate to try and lash out again after that, splitting up to swim in a circle opposite each other and surround the Seekers. They were poised to lunge at any moment, which was when the Ace Cadet fished a small device from his bag.

"Cover your eyes!" he warned, hoping his teammates trusted him enough to do so. He threw the flash bomb down at their feet as the somnacanth reared up to strike, the sudden shock of bright light blinding the monsters and sending them into confusion.

With the three huddled up, and Ramattra’s sensors turning off at Ace’s warning, along with Mr. Ant Tenna covering his non-existent eyes dramatically, allowing the makeshift flashbang to blind the monsters. With a moment to strike, Ramattra quickly used the last of his energy in Annihilation to plant a firm and swift strike into the chest cavity of the first Somnacanth that had attacked them, hoping to deal a fatal blow to the most weakened of the two. The creature would begin wildly flailing, as if trying to recompose itself from the blindness and crushing blow from Ramattra, allowing him to end his Annihilation as he fired his staff into the hardened flesh on it’s underside. It wasn’t long before the creature would let out a shrill cry, weaseling its neck into the air, before fainting from the wounds.

At the same time, Ace had pivoted to take advantage of the flash bomb he'd set off and sliced into the healthier somnacanth while it was still disoriented. The long sword struck cleanly over its softer scales, and when it finally managed to blink the spots out of its vision and went to snap its teeth at the hunter, Ace swung his weapon in a quick reverse motion upward, cutting a chunk of its head fin as it screeched.

With its “friend” retired from the battle, the second Somnacanth, recognizing its own injuries, would attempt to flee the trio and go for attacking from afar rather than up close, using the shallow swampy waterways to guide it toward deeper expanses of water. Given how fast it was leaving, and whether or not Ace was ready to fire a ranged attack, Tenna pointed his hand to the sky with a dramatic shout. “Show that beast the star of the SHOW!” A hail of large, chaotically chuckling stars would rain onto the battlefield! Their trajectory was completely random, and while trying to escape, the Somnacanth had been pelted by their sharp ends! Unfortunately, given that Tenna had been standing not too far from Ramattra and Ace, the two would need to dodge a couple of attacks.

Which caught the latter off guard as his wariness of all things magical hit him suddenly at full force due to the falling stars. He dove out of the way of one only to get clipped by another. He sucked in a breath, and his next words came out shakier than he would have liked. "Can you watch which way you're sending these things? We could do without the hex-tra danger to keep track of!"

He needed to get a hold of himself, but rather than disengage the hunter opted for more familiar combat movement, straightened his arm and fired his clutch claw at the somnacanth. It connected to the base of its tail, and as he flicked the switch to reel himself in towards it Ace pushed off the ground and swung himself, using the chain to sling himself around the monster in an arc. He ended up nearly on its complete opposite side, standing as an obstacle between it and the lake. But he couldn't quite make himself dive back into offense until the star shower ended - though at least with Tenna's sharp rain and the threat in front of it, the remaining somnacanth was going no where now.

Heeding Ace’s command, Tenna would stop his star-studded attack, realizing it had left his friends in an incredibly vulnerable position. He looked back with a saddened expression as he pouted slightly. “SoorrRry…” Ramattra would appear behind him to collect his spirits as Ace and the Omnic grew closer to his position. His hand gently clasped the CRT’s shoulder as he charged ahead.

“Now is not the time! Come with us.” Which seemed to be enough to rally the TV-Man to their aid.

As soon as it was over, the monster growled and struck out with its claws. With a wide horizontal slash Ace avoided it and retaliated with a Sakura Slash, cutting through the siren's scales with a spray of blood. It flinched backward away from him, closer to his allies, though when all three pressed closer it was well and truly trapped.

The second somncanth was definitely weakened enough for a final attack if the group had any great options, but even without them they could manage just fine. Spread out in a triangle formation they could attack it while it was busy focusing on someone else, and then swap to defense when its attention turned. Between Ace's expert bladework, Ramattra's precise martial strikes, and Tenna's surprisingly effective bag of tricks, it didn't take much longer before the monster fell before them, succumbing to its wounds.

With a flashy display of monk-esque performance-type moves, Ramattra would firmly place a deadly palm strike into the previously weakened neck of the Somnacanth. With the nature of this monster unknown, Ramattra thought it best to finish the creature off now, rather than waiting for it to surprise them later, and with a cracking blow to the neck, the creature would begin to fade to ash, leaving behind its Spirit for Ramattra to collect. He recalled how Edward explained the uses of spirits left behind by dead beings, and how one of these creatures’ spirits may come in later use. He would safely put this with the rest of the spirits later.

A moment after Ramattra had claimed the monster's spirit, Ace sheathed his sword (metaphorically, as it didn't actually have a sheathe) and flashed the Omnic and Tenna a grin.

"Gargwawesome work," he said, and to Tenna in particular mentioned, "no hard feelings about the star, uh, thing."

Honestly it was better to figure out stuff like that before the group ran into something really, really dangerous. Friendly fire now would save them a potentially devastating mistake in the future.

The Omnic gave the command for Tenna and Ace to collect the remnants of the first monster then. Seeing that Ace was the master monster hunter (and had already planned on doing just that), he could leave the monster itself to the man while he would help Tenna gather up fallen scales and other monster parts for later crafting use. Who knew, maybe the hunter could use it for more tricks like the Alchemy Barrel later!

While they did that, the Cadet approached the other somnacanth, which still lived in spite of its wounds. Ramattra's final attack against it hadn't punctured its chest armor, but it must have done some interior damage as the beast's breathing was weak and rattling. Ace placed his palm against the monster's pulse point. It would probably die within the day, but if it happened to survive -scarred and deprived of its partner- it would become an even more dangerous threat for anyone following the Midnight Walk. Either way, it would be better to put it down.

This would be the perfect time to turn its death back to 'normal,' the hunter thought. So far the Seekers hadn't seen any sign of the mysterious order that was said to have that ability, but it would really have come in handy now. They could have cut the monster up, partition off its edible parts and used the rest to fashion items out of, sending most of it to the Avenger's stockpile. Alas, they'd only be able to scrape by with what few pieces they could get before it passed away and its entire body turned to ashes.

Ace pulled out another weapon, though compared to the rest of his arsenal it was rather small. With a carving knife in one hand and a curious (and sort of gross) book in the other, he glanced back at his comrades. "Give me a few minutes before we catch up with the others?"

He worked to take pieces off of the somnacanth; its talons, chunks of its scales and shell. Unfortunately it expired before he could get deep enough to try for its sleep-producing organs or the like, but at the very least he'd ended up a hunk of meat thanks to the cookbook. When he was finished packing its spirit and everything else away save for a scale he planned to give to Edward as a bio-sample, he used the shallow water to clean his gloved hands before standing up straight. Almost immediately the scoutflies in the cage at his breast fluttered out and formed a loose trail in the direction the stagecoach had gone. The trio would be able to follow the path it had taken through the icy canyon, ensuring they wouldn't run into anything that the other Seekers hadn't already taken care of.

"Alright, all set! Let's get back before they run into even more trouble."

The three of them trudged through the cold swamp, passing by the fishing hole and the barren lake where the water was still churning ominously. Though interesting, they didn't stop to investigate since they knew the rest of their group had already been through these areas. Knowing some of them, they most likely stripped the places for anything worth taking anyway. They continued as the swap petered out and the road returned to being packed snow, and ahead of them lay metal structures that stuck out among the icy plains.

By the time the trio had arrived with the rest of the group at the Stagecoach, the threat of android-fused parasytes had already been dealt with, leaving the trio with little to do other than explore the area or help the rest of the group with matters ahead. That was, until Ramattra had seen the spoils Roxas, Ganondorf, and Edward had gathered! He remembered that his group members are not all from technological worlds, and offered an explanation as to what many of the objects’ uses could be. Particularly, the cybernetic heart caught his eye. “This… looks like it would connect to a machine. Maybe it ought to come to use later- if not…” He looked at his chest, where such a device might go. While he would not ask for the item now, if they found no use for it, having a backup plan would be nice…

Meanwhile, Tenna would take on less of a brainy task and forge the path ahead! His plan was relatively simple: go ahead of the rest of the group and clear any hazards or obstacles that lay in the path ahead! Using his tired henchman from earlier to help, he would help to clear any major debris or rocky paths that lay before the stagecoach, just to make the path ahead a little easier and less bumpy!

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

Level 7 - EXP 11/70
The Frozen Highlands

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Tenna Gets His Fame!

Midnight Walk - Gründachdorf

Featuring: Tenna and Sectonia
Word Count: 2231 // +3 EXP

While the visual aesthetic of the Stagecoach and The Midnight Walk was rather… Drab- Tenna was not a TV that was easy to surrender! Wherever he travelled, he brought that good old CRT nostalgia, and surely his presence among the Seekers was cheerful enough to outweigh a lot of the gloom so many other members brought… He was a dying star, but a star still shining nonetheless. Tenna just had to find where his attention was most welcome.

After defending the snow-covered valley with all of his new monkey friends, Tenna was awarded with an odd banana-shaped gem! He’d have to ask one of the seekers what could be done with it because the only value the odd TV-man could see in it was a fancy paperweight. If only he knew who was properly in charge of operations… Maybe he could ask that funny purple robot fellow that helped him pop bloons later.

With a village approaching on the nearby horizon, Tenna was buzzing with excitement to meet the locals and impress them with his impressive array of technocolors! That’s to say if the village is more posh than it looks from afar… It was certainly hard to tell, but from where the coach stood, Tenna could feel the aura of dread seeping from the town ahead.

Sectonia wasn’t really all that happy about the village they had to stop in. Considering the denizens within, that feeling was a bit more well-founded. Cybernetics often leads to tough not looking very good. But even then, there was something… interesting about it she’d find later. But for now, she wasn’t very much interested in this town as it was for now. It was just another location to her for the time being.

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As the rest of the Seekers set out to complete side objectives or explore the local area, Tenna found himself looking at the neon and cyber decor around the area… Despite being a high-technology area, it was easy to notice the corruption and decay of their little civilization. While he wasn’t one to judge, the air around the TV-man was rich with melancholy, and he just couldn’t help but get the blues.

People with human or cybernetic eyes would stare as the lonely TV man passed depressed faces on the sidewalk. With all the odd faces making up the Seekers, it was odd to see commonfolk going about their nightly responsibilities. It wasn't until an odd-looking child laborer pointed at Tenna excitedly while leaning on a futuristic skateboard. “That man’s head is a screen! Ain’t eva’ seen a Solaris like you before!” The child seemed to be mistaking the CRT with another group of locals. She excitedly ran up to Tenna, examining his odd appearance compared to the techno-dystopia around her.

“I can’t believe it, ohh! Yeah, yeah! Show me something on your screen!” The child seemed like an outcast punk next to her fellow vendors and wasn’t afraid of speaking her mind. Luckily for Tenna, this was the kind of attention he lived for!

”Oh my small, oil-smudged friend! I can do much more than just SHOW you something! I can play games and music! I can even make shadow-puppet minions!” Okay, that got him an odd look. Why would he even mention his Shadow Guys? Whatever, he’ll just ignore that and show the kid an awesome rock-n’-roll music video!

Not much of a good-looking town close up, either. It seemed to reek of a civilization in decline. Something she could fix later, perhaps, but it really didn’t please her all that much. As she looked around the village like only a noble woman could, she saw one of the newer faces to the party, the TV man, Tenna.

Sectonia knew very little about this guy, other than he negotiated with the monkeys somehow and turned them from potential enemies into allies. An interesting ability, although Sectonia would need to see more of the TV man. She watched from a moderate distance as Tenna interacted with the children of the town, seeing what he would do.

The TV-headed show host seemingly began to get the attention of other nearby Ventikids, who popped out of industrial vents with their hoverboards to see who their leader had been talking to, their curiosity too strong to stay in their airduct-bound headquarters. Suddenly, a performance with a nameless, unfamiliar rock band would boom on Tenna’s incandescent screen, performing an old recording of frustrated stars singing about the gloom in the world.

Any reasonable parent would think this kind of music was a bad influence, but these skateboard-clad youths seemed invigorated by the tunes, seemingly relating to the struggles of constantly working, especially given their young ages. The CRT would begin to bounce and air-guitar to the swing of the song, enjoying this simple moment that brought fun and nostalgia to such a dreary place. Many of the tired adults would pass their commotion with a simple irritated gaze, but out of all the noise they could have been making, this was more tolerable.

”ROCK ON!” Tenna exclaimed excitedly as the show came to an end, the punk-like youths clapping excitedly. A comical tear would dropppppp slowly off of Tenna’s cheek as he enjoyed his moment of recognition. He bowed rapidly as a valley of roses appeared seemingly out of thin air for dramatic effect, disappearing out of reality just as quickly when they hit the floor.

Noticing Sectonia amongst the group of street goers, Tenna pointed dramatically at her, recognizing her as one of the Seekers’ members. ”My flying friend! We haven’t been properly acquainted~”. His tone was exaggeratedly friendly as he began stepping toward her. The Ventikids behind him seemed to wait for his return, though Tenna didn’t necessarily mean to go back after talking with Sectonia.

From what Sectonia saw, he was a bit of a goof. Well, a bit was a stretch. He WAS a goof. Now the question… was he a jester or another ‘king koopa’? If it was the former, he was dressed too well for being a jester, but the latter, he didn’t seem to have the… ambition for? Well, he seemed harmless for now. Perhaps the fact that he had a TV for a head signified he was just an entertainer, which was what Sectonia would prefer. She didn’t want to have to deal with another royal in the group to compete with.

”Yes… You seemed to join our little convoy just after that horrid zoo. I’m Queen Sectonia, ruler of Floralia, and eventually this whole World of Light and you?” Sectonia already knew his name was Tenna, but decided to let the strange man introduce himself out of politeness.

Tenna seemed thrilled to have another introduction to properly introduce himself to another member of the Seekers who had been tagging along with the rest of the group. Hearing the insectoid member introduce herself as queen changed Tenna’s tone to fit as more tame, and befitting in the presence of “royalty”. Tenna made sure to control the limbs of his tailcoat as he gracefully (and rather boisterously) introduced himself. “Mr. Ant-Tenna, Ma'am! People usually just call me Tenna, though! Here! Have a plushie of my likeness!”

Suddenly, the erratically tempered TV man would drop a very cheaply fashioned toy of his likeness into Sectonia’s claws, almost immediately after he pointed back at the impatient youth behind him. “Some laborer kids. I may be a tad foolish sometimes, but I’m not stupid…”

He brushed her comment off about the World of Light and how she wished to conquer it. It was pretty clear that he was still ravaged by Galeem’s influence. While his lack of eyes made it difficult to see the red distinction in them, his ignorance of Sectonia’s introduction spoke volumes to this.

”I see… And what do you do? Some kind of entertainer? Or salesman? Or a diplomat?” Sectonia said, holding the strange plush of Tenna’s, the plush being kind of small for her hands, and examining it. With how he answered, Sectonia had to take a closer look at his ‘face’ to see the red eyes. Well… She’d have to cure that if she found she liked this one. Otherwise, she’d probably have to get Blazermate or another to do it.

It seemed the enjoyment for the Ventikids had reached an anticlimactic end, as they disappointedly realized that Tenna was not returning to entertain them and began dispersing back into their hidey holes around the village's infrastructure. Tenna contemplated what Sectonia had asked him… it would be very difficult to explain that he was a living television set brought to life under the veil of a Dark World. Not to mention her asking if he was a salesman seems to have struck some sort of deep chord.

Yet his optimism lived on! “I can be a lot of things, my insectoid royalty! I’m a screen! I can play GAMES! I host shows! I’m a pretty all-around guy! But if you need something specific to work with, just call me Mr. Everything TV!” With a dramatic point to the sky, Tenna smiled stylishly, though from him it did just sort of come off as awkward showboating. Whether it was charming or annoying was completely at the Seekers’ discretion.

What Tenna was trying to imply, however, was that he doesn’t DO one set of things. His metaphorical skill tree is quite balanced, and based on his interest in fame and attention, was there really any better way to describe him other than TV-ish?

”So an entertainer then. Or perhaps that ‘fixer’ thing Roland yammers on about. ” Sectonia said, mildly amused at Tenna’s flamboyant personality. Well, this was even under the influence of Galeem. If he were free, he might be more entertaining, but first she had to ask another question.

”I’d like to see an example of what you’re talking about. While I’m familiar with TV, referencing yourself as such doesn’t really explain much.” Sectonia said.

The TV-headed oddball would flare the collar on his tailcoat in a pompous and enthusiastic showcase of confidence. As if the lights in the area around him dimmed, his presence was… illuminating against the depressing backdrop. It’s as if all the floodlights brightening the street had angled themselves SPECIFICALLY to hit him. Of course, they weren’t; however, he was just the most colorful compared to everything else.

His screen would display a banner that dazzled with poorly photoshopped horns that played a fanfare. The toot of horns would soon be accompanied by a title reading “Tenna Battle Guide!” in obnoxiously gold font, which would begin to demonstrate the various attacks the CRT was capable of: with a chop of his hands, he could disorient enemies, make laughing stars rain from the sky, and even create electricity from his hands! Overall, he seemed like a well-rounded backline support-type fighter. ”I am entirely capable of traveling with your crew! I just live for the audience!” He turned to acknowledge his group of tech-altered vent laborers who raved at his rock show, who had long since left. ”oh.”

”Hm… Well, be under my service, and I can give you some very strong gifts if you accept. I could always use entertainment.” Sectonia said, giving a small giggle. She appreciated showmanship as long as the person in question also kept themselves looking proper and liked clowns like this.

Tenna would give the insectoid queen a polite bow, seeing this as some form of theatrics to get the Seeker’s recognition on their journey. While his “Servitude” to her was… for show, he would kindly support her in battle with his OWN minions! ”May I be of nostalgic use to you!” Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Sectonia didn’t know what he meant by nostalgic. As far as she knew, TVs were still big in Dreamland. But regardless, with that Sectonia would offer her first gift. She’d make a heart in her hand, and summon her axe in another. With a surprise crystal crash right on top of Tenna, he was hurt enough for a friend heart, which Sectonia promptly delivered. And as Tenna recovered and his eyes cleared, Sectonia said. ”My first gift, Knowledge of the world as it is, not as you thought it was.”

The sudden attack had completely knocked the television set onto his knees, as if whatever Darkner lungs he had the wind completely forced out of him. It was painful. At first, the CRT felt unreasonably angry, seemingly with the intent to attack back at Sectonia for betraying the small amount of trust he had provided her. But before he could even collect himself and even prepare an attack for the queen, a cartoonishly pink heart was absorbed into his being, almost immediately pacifying him from his rogue state.

Despite his lack of eyes, the clarity coming back to Tenna seemed to be overwhelming, his expression still processing what had happened. He was no star. He was alone.

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

Level 8 - EXP 9/80
The Frozen Highlands

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Half Robots? Weird.

Midnight Walk - Gründachdorf

Featuring: Ramattra and Edward
Word Count: 2380 // +3 EXP

Edward had seen many many types of people with all sorts of magical modifications, from steel skin, being turned into nagas, being wreathed in flames (or all of these at once), and so had learned long ago how to look without staring at the oddities he was presented with. Enough to disguise it from the individual passers by he was people watching at any rate, but to anyone traveling with him, and paying attention, Edward’s distinct interest was hard to miss. Given his nature as an engineer/golem-mancer, this being something of distinct interest would perhaps be unsurprising.

Ramattra noticed the curious expression form on Edward’s face, revealing his interest in the augmentations attached to the denizens of this area. From the world where Ramattra came, cybernetics were a common technology, though notably not as advanced as the cybernetics seen around the village. With his knowledge of “magic” being from media in his world, the concept was not unfamiliar to Ramattra, like cybernetics might’ve been to Edward.

”Many people in my world use those augmentations to ‘upgrade’ themselves. It’s not too dissimilar to fusing with a spirit.” He leaned so that only the Seeker could hear, trying not to discuss these matters openly in front of the villagers still under Galeem’s influence. “It is also… like magic. In a way, it is the closest thing to it in my world. It seems there are places similar to mine.

Edward turned his focus away from the passers by, and to the convenient expert on hand ”They aren't entirely uncommon. Indeed, I’d say places of high magic might be rarer than ones of high technology. Still, I was surprised to find one here. Then again, maybe the zoo with its puppets was something of a ‘transition’ between the less technological area we started in and this one? I have not yet seen enough of the world Galeem made to get a feel for how much it cared about such things when creating it”

”I can certainly see the appeal. Power is power after all, and we need all we can get. Still, it seems like it would require a lot of maintenance. I wonder how many mechanics this place must have, if the rest of the population is as ‘augmented’ as those we’ve seen”

”They appear to be quite a dominant commodity in this village. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if there were more human amalgamations of steel like that lady Heismay mentioned…” Ramattra was lucky to have been a sentient AI. Whatever was wrong with the singer seemed to be rooted deeper than just cybernetic overload.

”Possibly. We can’t exactly see what lies beneath the skin after all, and it would be rude to pry” Edward agreed, before thinking for a moment. He then said ”You know, we might have something for her, if she’s as mechanical as you think?”

”Now, I can’t really check while driving, but, here, take this” Edward said, while offering a magical connection with a small gesture that lingered until mentally accepted or dismisted. Not waiting for that decision, he then briefly took a hand of the reins, and said ”then do this” before performing a series of gestures that called up what looked a lot like a holographic display in front of him, just one with a superfluous looking ring of incomprehensible symbols slowly rotating around it.

”Remote access to the Avenger’s armory” he explained, before saging ”I believe there was something in there that was useful for repairing AI, which I understand is what machine based intelligences are known as. If she is steel of mind as well as steel of body, maybe they would be interested in acquiring it from you?”

”Feel free to pursue in general as well. Who knows, there might be something of interest to you in there”

After being trusted with access to the Armory by Edward, Ramattra immediately wanted to begin searching for any equipment to face the potential dangers ahead. Regardless of whether he found something of use, this could be a great opportunity for the Omnic to learn what kind of weaponry existed in this world.

Before deciding on his picks from the armory, Ramattra would retrieve the Mind Map Copy from the armory. ”If it’s for AI, we'd best hope her plethora of cybernetics contains some sort of backup once she’s repaired… Hm…” Ramattra would summon the drive-like technology from the Armory, displaying it to Edward so that the technologically uninformed commander could see the desired equipment. ”We can offer this to the barkeep in charge of that poor woman whenever you wish.”

Now for the fun… Ram didn’t want to be selfish and take more equipment than necessary, but some of the tools available struck a deep curiosity in the machine as he perused the mixture of high-tech and high-magic items at his disposal. What piqued his interest the most, however, was a piece of cybernetic technology to be attached to the back. He would need to visit an incredibly skilled mechanic to get it installed, but… Maybe the payoff would be worth it if he let somebody take a look.

For Ramattra:

Impact-type Exospine A cybernetic implant to be worn on one's back. It increases crit rate, and causes successful crits to generate arcs of unstable energy that chain between enemies, dealing additional damage

Edward had simply nodded in response to Ramattra’s comment, but once he picked out the spine from the armory’s stores, he suggested ”Maybe you could trade that ‘mind map’ for a referral to someone who could install that? I imagine, given her state, they’ve had any experts in town come have a look at her after all”

”Very well.” Ramattra acknowledged simply. He was pretty positive that he had time to visit The Last Gulp before they reached the tower that was marked for their destination. He stood from his seat in the Stagecoach, finishing their short briefing with his new piece of equipment and the Mind Map Copy clutched gently in his fist. ”I’m going to make a quick stop at that bar. I’ll meet back with the team immediately after.” There definitely wasn’t enough time to stop and install his exo-spine amidst their current route, so asking about any engineers would be extremely helpful.

---

Ramattra was lucky he wasn’t programmed with a sense of smell. Based off the dank aesthetic of the town around him, he could only imagine the passing scents of industry, smoke, and alcohol. Going down the steps to The Last Gulp, the Omnic suprisingly didn’t find himself entirely out of place in the technological dystopia around him despite it’s appearance.

Finally, Ramattra would be able to see the mentioned damage Heismay had brought to the attention of the Seekers, and just as astonished by her mere survival as his short companion was at the sight, he stood in the doorway, waiting to be excused inside.

The red-hooded barkeep would shout for his attention, the same way he did previously. “Hey, restricted area pal! Seriously, what the hell is up with all the visitor traffic today…” he muttered underneath his breath, trying to shoo the Omnic out of the property.

”I came by the word of Heismay who said your… friend, was suffering major AI malfunction. The barkeep took interest in what Ramattra had to say now, his interaction with the rogue clueing him in that the Omnic could be here to help. The Omnic began producing the drive that contained the Mind Map Copy, allowing the man to speak.

“You know how to fix it?” He asked quickly, more hoping for an immediate solution, rather than the bandage solution Ramattra was soon to present.

”I’m not an expert on cybernetics.” he immediately disclaimed, offering the drive to the protective man. ”But this drive should contain a protocol that should repair her…”

The barkeep was skeptical, eyeing the drive for a moment and considering his desperation. He really shouldn’t accept a strange drive from a visitor… But something about the honesty Ramattra spoke convinced him to clutch the drive from the Omnic’s hand. ”You can run a diagnostic on it if you don’t trust me. I don’t judge you for your caution.”

With that, the Omnic would begin to turn before stopping himself in the doorway, remembering that he had come here to ask for any cybernetic installation engineers. ”By the by, you wouldn’t happen to know of any Omnic professionals who might be able to install this to my spine?” He dangled the exo-spine somewhat haphazardly to show, like a crazed mercenary who had just ripped it out to siphon it of it’s energy.

The man considered for a moment, the word “Omnic”, assumedly meant whatever kind of robot Ramattra was. “I don’t know about any ‘Omnic’ specialists, but there’s an engineer named Lily in a nearby place that could get you rigged up.” He acknowledged, somewhat remorseful he had been rude to Ram at first.

The Omnic gave a curt nod before vanishing up the steps, leaving behind the Mind Map Copy.

---

By the time Edward had slowly navigated their oversized stagecoach through town (their ride was a one vehicle traffic jam and Edward had to wonder who thought it had ever been a practical creation), the Omnic had caught back up with them again, just in time to see the pair, Adam and Eve, being accepted into the party.

”I’ll admit, I’m not entirely familiar with some of your terminology” Edward said the pair of Adam and Eve as the moved to join them. ”I assume the space elevator is, well, that” he said with a nod towards the massive structure on the road ahead of them, before asking ”but what might a ‘Alpha Naytiba’ be?”

The question did not seem to phase Eve, who offered a succinct explanation in response. "Naytibas are monsters that threaten humanity, and Alpha Naytibas are the strongest among them, which assume a sort of command role over their weaker subordinates."

"Basically, they're your boss monsters," Adam summarized.

”I… see” Edward replied. That information certainly was succinct. He supposed it only would matter if they were going to run into these monsters, which led him to ask ”are these monsters anything we might have to worry about while traveling through ‘Spire 4’? Or are they mostly concentrated in this ‘space elevator’?"

Adam gave him a sympathetic expression. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're gonna be crawling all over the place."

”I see” Edward replied, before trying a more direct probe for information ”Any advice on dealing with them then, or capabilities they have we should worry about?”

"There is a variety of subspecies with different abilities," Eve reported. "Brute strength, bladed limbs, flight, stealth, elemental abilities...the only way through is to be a highly capable and flexible combatant."

Adam shrugged. "Or have a really good team."

”Well then” Edward said non-commitly while he thought for a moment rather than outing his annoyance at the brevity of the answers. Knowing that there was a whole host of them was information on its own, he reminded himself, and brevity had its merits too.

So he mentally shrugged away his frustration and said that optimistically ”I like to think we have some of those here in our little traveling company” and then apologetically ”Ah, and I’m Edward Portsmith. My apologies for not leading with that, my curiosity got the better of me”

The Omnic who stood idly listening to the conversation nearby chimed with a polite bow. ”Ramattra of Null Sector, at your service.” While his title was meaningless without an army, the Omnic did not want to waste his honorifics.

"Not at all," Eve replied, her manner friendly enough. "Since we'll be traveling together, I'm certain we've got nothing to worry about in terms of team quality."

”Wonderful to hear” Edward replied, before holding out a hand with two glowing motes of red and gold while saying ”But here, let me offer a little extra enchanted edge” as he presented them with his boons.

While she didn't know what Edward was doing, Eve stepped forward to accept what sounded like help. She reached up toward her ponytail and removed her high-tech hairpin, which transformed into a sophisticated sword that she held out for her new acquaintance to enchant.

The man in turn touched a finger to the blade, causing the two glows to flow from his palm and surround the blade, granting it Edward’s combo of igniting and armor sundering enchantments.

Ram stood puzzled at the ritual before him, seeing the energy fuse with Eve’s technology and intricate weaponry. It was like the nanites coursing through his circuitry, powering his staff. Magic really wasn’t too difficult for the omnic to understand, but still seeing it in person, free from Galeem’s grasp, was quite a spectacle.

"My thanks," Eve told him with a small smile. She paused to see if the Seekers' spokesperson had any other matters that involved her.

”Not a problem” He replied, with a smile of his own, before giving a little sardonic head bob to the side as he pointed out that ”Besides, anything that helps you fight better helps keep our transport safer”

Speaking of, it was about time they got moving, and so he got the Reindrix doing so. He did so at a pace slow enough that people would be able to still hop on easily enough, and then ramped things up once everyone who was going to do so had come aboard.