Bowser and Kamek both snapped back to sobriety but it took them a bit longer than Nadia to actually get over the experience. The old wizard went from hysterical cackling to a slightly wheezing giggling that gradually died as he got a hold of himself, while the king had given up trying to right himself before the enchantment ended, and made no move to do so even when sober. Even after Bacchus had been dealt with and Kamek had accepted the catwoman’s help to stand he was still lying there.

Kamek dusted himself off and then glanced at the king, before becoming a touch worried. ”Sire?” Kamek called, and then when that got no response he shuffled over and poked Bowser’s foot with the end of his broom, causing the to startle awake (having apparently fallen asleep during the latter half of his brief drunken stint) with a ”GAH, WHAT. WHAT HAPPENED,” before he rolled over and pushed himself upright and demanded to know ”WHERE IS THAT GUY, I’M GONNA PUNCH HIM IN HIS STUPID FACE!”

”I believe Ms fortune already dunked him into the ocean” Kamek offered

”SHE DID? Oh. Good. That guy was annoying. Also what was that?”

”I am unsure. Quite the strange hex, that is for certain” Kamek replied making it fairly clear that neither of them had ever been drunk before, and also suggesting that they had no idea alcohol was even a thing.

---

Jr squinted, looked the woman up and down and then flushed with embarrassment when he realized she was right. ”Oh, ah, right. So you are,” he replied awkwardly scratching the back of his head and looking away as he functionally admitted that, yes, he hadn't really bothered to remember who she was once she’d left the picture. Generally that kind of dismissive attitude to remembering the names and faces of strangers didn't come round to bite him on the tail. It was a lesson learned, though whether it would stick remained to be seen. Fortunately the woman recovered quickly from the insult and got on to telling him why she was here with a chipper tone and friendly attitude.

He had to laugh at her impression of her boss, which made him actually feel bad about forgetting her rather than just embarrassed by it. She seemed fun. It helped that she didn’t have a suspicious bone in her body and hadn't pressed to investigate why he didn’t want her in the ship. Instead she was here to see who had been in the ship helping them in the battle, namely, them. Now that she’d worked that out she left as quickly as she’d arrived, hopping onto the water and scooting off to sortie against the fleet again. He wondered how long it would be till she got ripped apart by something like the water princess. He didn’t like that thought. Instead he waved her off and then waited till she was out of sight before letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

”Peach can’t get back soon enough” he said to himself, not that that would actually shovel the problem, the true Abyssals where going to be a problem while they were in town but it would mean it wasn't his problem anymore.

As it still was right now, he walked his way back into the ship, scrambled up to the bridge and then knocked on the door of the bedroom Coast’s clear, you can stop hiding under the bed now or whatever your doing in there”

Inside Rika let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding when Jr gave the all clear.

“Are we going to do this every time someone comes near?” she asked. It had not been an enjoyable experience in the slightest, sitting there pumped up for a fight but not able to do anything to release that energy and while also simultaneously worrying that they might be found and that she would have too do just that. Unable to actually put those feelings into words she reduced her experience down to simply “I didn’t like doing it, it felt bad”

@Yankee@Dark Cloud@Dawnrider@Lugubrious@ZAVAZggg

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"No, not the same me at least." Link replied to Ace Cadet as they did their best to weather the Sorceresses barrage. Link had drawn his sword and shield again by this point, side jumping between the shots he could and bringing up the shield to block what he couldn't. He shuttered with every shot the shield took, not from the force but because this was a brand new shield and he hated blocking like this. As one of the orbs flew at him he set his feet and swung out with his shield arm as it reached him, but instead of flying back at one of the Cia's the thing just hit him in the chest like a baseball. He still didn't have the timing right. He took a cue from Ace and hit the next one with his sword as tried to remember if she had said anything on their date. Snippets of conversation rose though the haze. "She's met one of my incarnations. Maybe more, which makes her much older than she looks."

As for a play, he wasn't sure with the information they had. Luckily Frog, who had been busy evading the Green Cia's wire in addition to the magic barrage, rejoined them sans shield and gave him an idea. "Right, defense. She's angry. She doesn't just want us dead, she wants to kill us. She's not going to be satisfied with a battle of attrition. If we show her that won't work she'll come in close where we all have swords." Getting an idea, the sword and shield vanished from Links hand as he dived for the table he and Cia had been sitting at. Rising to his knees he grabbed the underside and lifted it up on its side, rolling it in the path of the oncoming shot to provide the three of them some cover, in Frogs case keeping him completely hidden. You could hear the balls bursting on the tables surface, but it held. "Draw her inGYAHHHH!"

When he had dismissed his weapons Dark Link, lurking in the periphery of the battle, had taken that opportunity to dive in and plunge his sword right into Links back. Surprising, though, the black blade hadn't gone all the way through. In fact as the dark warrior pulled it out it was apparent that it hadn't even managed to penetrant the heroes blue tunic, though the spot of red that began blossoming from the impact point showed that it had only mitigated the damage.

As Dark Link leaped to attack Green Cia was watching. As it jumped she scowled, tossed the shield the frog had used to block her line over her shoulder, and charged in to keep it from being completely overwhelmed. She swung for Frog again as she got close, standing her ground and lashing the detachable head at him in a series of surprisingly strong whip strikes she a woman of her frame. From this distance the sense she had gotten from the frog earlier was unmistakable to Cia. The miasma of old dark magic surrounded his body. She couldn't help but smile cruely. "My, you've met with a terrible fate haven't you?" She taunted.

Link's sword was back in his hand the moment his dark counterparts sword left his back and he turned with it extended in a counterstroke, but Dark Link blocked his stroke with his shield and was already swinging his own blade for the Ace Cadet's neck.

On the other side of the table from this claustrophobic melee an explosion rocked the restaurant.

---

Hat Kid caught the worst of the Cia's barrage, the women taking out their wrath most crueley on the child that had dared strike her even when the far more dangerous swordsman was in front of her. It was a cruelty that came back to bite them. As Sephiroth swirled primal fire in the palm of his hand and launched it at them Purple and Red dodged around the side where Green had gone, but Blue waited just long enough to fire a few more orbs at the child. When she began to run it was far too late, and she was largely engulfed when the spell went off. The explosion sent her rolling along the floor, one entire side of her scorched, mask half melted from the heat, gasping in pain.

From their new position Red and Purple sneered in unison. Red cast the tip of her mace out, knocking the scepter Frog had forced out of purples hand into the air and wrapping it in the wire. She yanked it back, landing it right in Purples hand. "Arrogant man." Red said as she began approaching him.

"I've made a fool of men far more formidable than you." Purple continued, following after her before moving off to the side. They were surrounding him.

"Stood before the King of Evil himself and not flinched." Red continued.

"What can you do?"
"What can you do?"

Red Cia summoned up that portal again as Purple flicked her staff. Around Purple four patches of turbulent darkness appeared, one right under Sephiroth's feet. Immediately the patch he was standing on began to surge with power, going off like a volcano of dark magic after but a moment as Red unleased another quartet of inferior dark Links to harry the SOLDIER further.

Meanwhile Blue opened her remaining good eye and laid it on Hat Kid. Still in the grips of pain she began to pull herself across the floor toward her. "Little brat," was all she managed to choke out as she continued her pursuit.

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While he'd managed to move quickly enough to avoid being caught by the blast that had radiated from the shadowy ring the sorceress had summoned beneath his feet, he wasn't swift enough to avoid the Dark Link that had surged forward with black blade in hand, an act that left a nasty looking gash across the SOLDIER's formerly unblemished cheek. Stopping his journey backwards with a step and a scowl, Sephiroth caught the clone that had struck him by the hem of its collar as it ran past, twisting himself round to embed the end of his Masamune square in the pitiful creature's back, the rest of the lengthy blade being left to jut up and out of its chest. Letting out a low growl, Sephiroth wrenched his weapon free from the vile thing, bringing his other hand round to snap its neck with a quiet yet immensely satisfying pop before raising his blade once more, swinging it backwards in an arc to decapitate the next pair of umbral warriors that had been summoned to face him. That was three down by his count, which left only one more along with the two duplicates of the sorceress that stood before him now, though they weren't his main concern.

No, Sephiroth knew he'd need to kill the original if he wanted to end this utterly pointless brawl, as it was her magic that had created the clones and hemmed them all in. If he killed her, judging by what he saw of the arcana on display currently, then the effects of her spells would falter and choke before unraveling completely. Thus he spun round, his seconds long analysis of the situation at an end, and charged towards the last dark clone of Link, Masamune in hand. His angle of engagement was simple, but effective. Using the final shadow clone's death as a cover, he would rush forth from the darkness that ensued to deal the sorceress a killing blow. Taking note of their positions as he blocked the strike of the oncoming clone, Sephiroth allowed it to enter a contest of strength, their blades sparking as he pushed it ever closer to his true prize.

One step.

Sparks flew, his blade and the clone's alike being pushed inch by inch towards its throat.

Two.

He was almost there now, almost within range. A smirk slowly began to worm across his face as steel ground against steel...

Three.

His blade and the clone's alike were upon its neck now. The tremendous effort it made to keep the silver-haired swordsman at bay the only thing keeping its weapon's abyssal edge from opening its own throat.

"Four."

In one fluid motion Sephiroth pulled his Masamune down and away, severing the clone's windpipe and sending it tumbling to the floor in a heap of black smoke. With the first part of his plan completed, the SOLDIER calmly fell into the next, turning to face the place he'd seen the real sorceress standing last and lunging forward, letting the steel of his blade fly free...

@Yankee, @Dark Cloud, @Dawnrider, @Lugubrious

Sakura put her ear against the door, continuing to signal everyone else in the silent room to be quiet. It seemed like the friendly ship girl (that Sakura had also forgotten the name and face of) was dissuaded by the brave little turtle boy. They were having a bit of a discussion. But Junior pulled it off effortlessly, flawlessly, with a total mastery over the art of deception. Or maybe he just knew when to stop talking.

Sakura jumped back as Junior knocked on the door, not sure if it was him. Fortunately, it was him, and Sakura's shoulders sagged with relief. "Phew!" She wiped her forehead dramatically. She opened the door and peaked outside. She grinned, opening the door fully and closing it behind her.

"Good job, Junior-kun!" She scooped him up, span him around and then sat him back down in the exact same spot. "You really saved our bacon." She said.

"By the way, the Heavy Cruiser Ri-Class is now called Rika. And the Water Princess's name is now Bella Navire. Don't forget! I really think it's important. I also forgot who Miss Shropshire was, by the way. Sorry you got embarassed. But it was for a good cause!" She said, turning to go back into the room and hesitating. She pointed a finger at Junior. "...Close the cargo bay doors. Please."

---

"<Man...hope I'm not screwing this up.>" She murmered quietly to herself in Japanese. There were still some things she felt bad about. But she opened up the door and entered, sitting back down by the door. Rika and Ranger were voicing their concerns. Sakura looked between the both of them and tapped her index fingers together. Biting her lower lip, she was nervously evaluating them, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say.

"Well, um, yeah. For now, Miss Rika, you two are gonna have to keep hiding. But- but you shouldn't have to hide that like again. Nobody's gonna come onboard the ship. I- I know you're used to the open ocean but you're just gonna have to stick with it." She said uneasily.

She leaned forward quickly, adding on. "Once we meet up with Miss Peach, you and Bella will have to find a place to live that isn't Limsa, or where you came from. Unless you want to follow us and the adventurers, but it's kind of dangerous. We're doing a lot of fighting and a lot of travelling on land." She rubbed the back of her head, unsure.

"I think- I think you need to meet up with Miss Peach to tell her what you know about the Abyssal Fleet. How we can stop it for good, so Limsa doesn't get destroyed. And so that we can progress on our quest to save the world. The worlds. I guess you could tell me? But I-I'm not a leader or a tactical person or anything." She said, shrugging.

She turned and pointed at Ranger and then back at Bella. "Definitely tell Miss Ranger, though! Once we meet Peach, which we will soon, I promise, you can stay in Limsa town. Help the other ship girls. Just remember that you're the only one that knows the truth. About Galeem." As she was speaking, Sakura felt nervous energy build up in her chest.

She really liked these three. And Junior. And Kamek, and Geralt... She didn't want them to get hurt. She felt like if one thing went wrong it would be a domino effect and everyone would get pulled into danger. While she didn't regret her choice, it was her actions that lead to this scenario. The choice to go down and help Ranger's friends escape. Then, to spare Bella. Therefore, it was her responsibility. Anything bad that happened from here on how would happen because of her. And there was something else, too, that she was uncomfortable with. The nature of her new powers.

Rising to her feet she backed up away from everyone and began doing squats. Up, down, up, down. They were perfect form. After that she dropped to her hands and knees, and then supported herself using only her forearms and her toes, going into a plank.

"But- look-" She said, turning her head away from the ground and looking up at the three ship people. "I'm gonna be here the whole time. We can try to have some fun. You guys ever done core workouts before? Or we could share stories. I have a lot of cool stories. And I know about other people who have done cool things." After thirty seconds of planking she lifted one arm and held it straight out, doing a one handed plank. Her harness clanked awkwardly, but she ignored it.

"Like, o to, let's see..." She switched hands. "Okay, wait, hold on. Hold on. I'm sorry. Something's bothering me." She got onto her knees and looked up at Ranger.

She touched her cat ears. "Ranger-san? Is this okay? Is this really okay?" She asked, referring to her absorbed spirit. "What was her name? Did you want her spirit back? I don't plan on keeping her forever." Sakura pursed her lips, briefly glancing back at Bella, who's body was used to kill the ship girl by Galeem. "It- it- I dunno. I dunno how to feel about it. Is it really not a big deal?" She continued tapping her index fingers together nervously.

It was a sound strategy, and the only one they had at the moment. Going on the defensive was just about all they could do while magic was being flung at them from every direction. "Got it," the Cadet said, giving a quick nod of his head while he fended off as many orbs as he could. He sped his swings up, forgoing the traditional techniques of using a long sword in order to just strike out as many times as possible, slicing and dispelling orbs - but still, more came. He held fast, gritting his teeth when the sorceress' dark magic made it past his blade and struck him. The hunter covered for Link as he set up their impromptu barrier, As soon as he and Frog were behind it Cadet made one final swing of his blade, then let it slip quickly back into it's holster, the sheathe clinking against his hip as he jumped behind the table to join them.

"If we're gonna focus on defense then we gotta keep our health up," the Cadet informed, dropping to his knees and already digging into his pack as soon as he was behind cover. He had his potions, and the healing grenade Kamek had gifted him, but in this situation? Lifepowders were really a hunter's best friend. He didn't know how injured Hat Kid or the swordsman might be, but in this small of an area the spores would reach them either way.

"Here—" he'd just produced the powder from his bag when Link's scream sent a chill down his spine. Ace Cadet whipped his head around, getting a good view of someone trying to run his friend through. Argh, that shadow?! I thought he was done for! He'd certainly looked defeated after taking an axe straight on, but that was decidedly not the case - and now the shadow's sword was aiming for him.

With no time to bring a weapon about, Cadet groped blindly through his possessions and grabbed something sturdy, bringing it up to block. Dark steel collided with the object, making a harsh metallic clank. Weary, the Cadet only just managed to stay the shadow's blade, the both of them in a deadlock pushing weapon against makeshift shield. The hunter's eyes flickered between Dark Link and the item he had in hand, struggling to remember what the heck it even was. Then, Dark Link disengaged, somersaulting backwards and already preparing to leap in and strike again. A perfect mimicry of their own Link's acrobatics. It dawned on Cadet just what he was holding, the memory of their first meeting with Link and the battle that ensued flooding his mind.

The shadow moved with a mighty jump, it's sword raised high over it's head ready to bring down on his counterpart. The Cadet rose to one knee and pulled his arm back, throwing the golden disc with all the force he could muster, all the strength he used to fight giant beasts propelling the trophy base through the air until it struck the shadow square in the chest. There was a brilliant flash of light, and when it dissipated Dark Link was gone, and something smaller clattered to the ground.

"Ha - it actually worked?!" Cadet was relieved, but it was only one enemy down. There were still four Cias to take care of.

An explosion shook the area, nearly robbing the Cadet of his already shaky footing. After it, the barrage of magic seemed to stop. Now they could move more freely while they had the chance - and it looked like Link was right, the green colored Cia already having closed in on Frog while Dark Link had engaged them from the other side. Taking advantage of the moment to breathe, the Cadet sprang up and waved the lifepowder in the air. It's soothing spores spread through the Bismarck quickly, healing all of their allies slightly. With their actual healer trapped outside of the magic barrier, it would have to do.

There, not so bad. Primrose lowered her spell casting arm, watching Fox finish off the roaders, and the rest of the group swiftly deal with the remaining enemies. All were turned to ash now, save one. Hearing the lamia speak was surprising, but then she did have the upper half of a human. If they could speak the whole time, why did the lamias jump right into attacking them? Or, perhaps, the snake woman's demeanor had only changed thanks to that strange energy coming from the Thieves' leader? Really, the Phantom Thieves had this strange mystery surrounding them, Primrose had felt it in the Pyramid and she felt it again now. That the group had some information they didn't feel like sharing. A bond they didn't feel like sharing either, considering they were about to strike off on their own again.

It was a little disappointing to see after their stint in the pharaoh's tomb, but Primrose had been like that herself not too long ago. Wanting to do everything on her own. Not trusting anyone, after she'd lost everyone. Even now, she had some trouble with it. She could trust the people here with some things, sure, but where it counted? With her life...? No, not yet anyway. She was willing to try though, her adventure as part of a certain group of eight taught her anything was possible after all. Including having putting her trust in other people again. Primrose's hand drifted inside her cloak, her fingers dancing along the hilt of her dagger, it's blade inscribed with the words she tried to live by.

While Fox talked with the teenagers and the newest stranger introduced himself, Primrose took it upon herself to collect the fallen spirits, doing her best to avoid stepping in the sand. This meant some awkward jumps from stone patch to toppled pillar, but with some effort she brought them back in time to hear the end of the conversation between two headstrong personalities. Honestly, being volunteered for something without so much as her input irked the young woman, but she would have helped Anne out anyway, so she kept her thoughts to herself. Well, verbally at least. She did give Fox a particularly pointed stare. It only lasted until the Phantom Thieves left, and with a sigh and a small wave Primrose saw them off.

"Try to stay out of trouble," she said after them, though it was unlikely they'd hear it from this distance. She stayed put to watched them go on ahead for a little while, but soon enough she rejoined the rest of the group, which had dwindled even more with Sectonia and Poppi descending the barrier again. The dancer stepped close to it herself, joining Fox and peering over it. It was hard to make out any real details, but if the "dragon" hunting group was in any danger, surely Midna would have flown up to them.

A moment passed and Primrose looked between her few companions, suddenly realizing that the atmosphere was a bit... tense. Fox, in the short time she'd known him, seemed all business - the serious type. However, Tora seemed the opposite. Something bothering him though, maybe the conversation they'd been privy to just a few moments ago? The others too seemed to be at a loss, milling around the area or making forced conversation with each other.

"..." Unfortunately, Primrose wasn't the kind of person to try and lighten the mood. And so the people already above the area waited awkwardly for the rest of their team to be ferried up.

For the first time since...well forever really, something went down Heavy’s spine that wasn’t Medic’s mind-shatteringly painful medical tools. No, what went down Heavy’s spine was shivers - Shivers from the very thought of what Medic had just mentioned. "Pyro...Heavy thought that terrible...terrible word could not frighten me more, but...DRAGONS!" Heavy seemed to attempt to distract himself from that terrible mention of the “Pyro”, whoever that was. Heavy and Medic knew perfectly well who, or what the Pyro was able to do, and it wasn’t anything good. But they had bigger fishes to fry, or rather Dragons to shoot with very expensive weaponry.

Heavy had paid very little attention to the conversation between his beloved Doktor and Midna the shadowy monarch, their intellectual prowess not his specialty. Mentions of masks and syringe guns went over his head, though the obvious sight of said DRAGONS brought Heavy’s attention to a sharp mercenary precision! The dragons were nothing like Heavy had seen before, but then again, he hadn’t seen a real DRAGON before either, so how should he know?

”Here, why don’t I just demonstrate” Midna replied when asked by the Medic what she could do, before floating down to the ground behind their observation spot, out of sight of the feasting bug looking but not actually bug type pokemon. The Medic had sighed, expecting her to fly directly into battle, but Midna was smarter than that. Her feet hit the sand, the princess wincing a little at the heat on her bare feet, before she turned ”I know i might look petite to you, but trust me, I hit hard” and flexed a toned arm.

It wasn’t very impressive.

Then she pointed up at the massive glowing one coming out of the back of her head, the fist of the flexing magical limb large enough to crush a man. Well, maybe not the Heavy, but certainly the Medic at whom she was aiming a toothy grin, ”And this is just a fourth of the fused shadow. Plus, I have some magic of my own.” She snapped both fingers and pointed to either side of her where two more wolfos, these ones approaching human height, appeared from the twilight realm, crouched beside her, ready to pounce ”You boys stay out of my way, and I’ll smash these things to pieces.”

The Medic watched her display with interest. His only experience with magic was a wizard that most certainly did not fight his own battles. I’ll have to test ze upper limitz of her magical hair’s strength.

The Siberian Brute had been just about to rush out ahead, when they needed to figure out a plan. Well, really it was Midna’s show of muscle that held him back for a brief moment honestly, the sight of her tiny baby muscles giving Heavy an approving chuckle in Russian. Clearly she wanted them to stay out of her, and what better way to do that than to begin the assault himself? Then again, Midna clearly wanted him to use Sasha against those DRAGONS.

The princess took a few more heartbeats to enjoy her own theatrics before dismissing all her magics, wolfos returning home and the hand turning back into her ponytail, and getting back to business. ”Which shouldn't be a problem for you, if I remember how that weapon works. Some kind of rapid fire projectile weapon right?” she pointed at the heavy’s minigun.

"Da! Sasha be fine weapon against Dragons...I think, never fought Dragon before. Medic? You think Minigun bullets penetrate dragon scale? If not, Heavy use fists of steel to give dragons good punch!"

It was clear that Heavy was losing his patience, wafting his fists and Minigun around in anticipation to start the fight. If neither Medic nor Midna soon started their match, Heavy was more than willing to storm out onto the battlefield and take out the baby DRAGONS like Medic had told him to. Minigun or not. He really missed his Boxing Gloves, though perhaps he would find them again soon?

Realizing their window for strategizing was rapidly dwindling, the Medic proceeded to rush through their current strategy. “Alright, crush ze babies viz your fists, und zen use Sasha on ze adults. I’ll cover you. Meanwhile, her highness vill distract ze parents viz her magic helmet und dire volfs. If eizer of you need healing, shout.” This last instruction was more for Midna’s benefit than the Heavy’s as he was well accustomed to such things.

”Perfect” Midna said, picking up on the large man’s impatience and, seeing little reason to delay any further, was more than happy to set them on their way. She floated up into the air, called her wolfos over from where it had been obediently waiting and mounted up. ”Then without further ado, let's get this started” she announced, before spurring her beast forward, riding around their little barrier and racing towards their targets. The buggy dragons seemed to be too stupid to have posted sentries while they feasted, and so initial her brazen charge wasn’t met with any resistance. This state of ignorance went on right up until the point where she got confident enough to glance back to see if the others were keeping up, at which point her wolfos stepped a paw into one of the small divots in the sand and slipped on the fine grains within.

And so it began - A new match! Heavy was ready to get his hands dirty, or even bloody, cracking his knuckles and charging head-on into the fray of battle. With a guttural, deafening roar from his deepest Siberian vocal chords of "EYAAAAAAA!" Heavy was running as fast as he could through the sandy ground. Ahead of him, Midna raced ahead of them on her mount like a bonk addled scout, and behind him his trusted Medic keeping up with his stubby little legs. Things were looking well, until Heavy’s not-so-nimble feet struggled to avoid a trap. Holes in the ground, where one would sink into. Sinkholes!

The Medic had been chained to the Heavy at the time, so he was a few feet behind Midna when she rode into what appeared to be a sinkhole.

”Wow there, what ahhh!” Midna cried out as a massive blast of sand shot of the pit, fired from the mouth of the adorable puppy sized creature within, which then proceeded to bite the slipping paw of the wolfos with its massive jaw. The beast yowled in pain, its advance entirely halted and alerting its mistress to its plight. The princess stopped trying to get sand out of her one exposed eye and sent a massive orange fist down from her head, which grabbed the biting creature and squeezed it. Hard.

Witnessing the event, the Medic shouted to the Heavy to watch for sand pits.

"I see now! Stupid holes in ground where no holes meant to be. This not be normal map! Not good..."

The beast let go and let out a cry of “Traaaaaa” before its little body broke in Midna’s grasp and she crushed it. ”Wretched thing” Midna complained as her beast limped away from the sand pit. Or rather the sand trap. Similar traps littered the area, and the reason why became immediately obvious as a duet of women voices singing in wordless song suddenly erupted, drawing all eyes to the dragons and their adolescent young.

The two more draconic flygons took to the air, their wings singing as they kicked up a rapidly intensifying sandstorm around them. While they did the younger insectile Vibrava scuttled or buzzed (the sound of which induced a mild headache that got stronger as they got closer) across the sand towards them, a swarm advancing along with the blinding storm whipped up by their parents. A storm that would make seeing the Trapinch’s pits much harder when it hit in a few heartbeats.

“Mache schnell!” The Medic shouted, trying to dodge sand traps while also rushing toward the vibrava. Once sure the Heavy had crossed safely, the two set about clearing the small fry. The Medic at first attempted to use his syringe gun, but the whipping sandstorm blew each syringe off course. Hissing loudly, the Medic switched to his emergency weapon, his bone saw. “I’m going to zaw zrough your BONES!” he shouted angrily as they both began culling the herd of large nymphs.

The meter long bugs came charging in in a scattered pack, the frontrunners rushing to be the first to strike the foolish fleshy things that had entered their domain.

One darted to the side, circling round to attack the side of the wounded Wolfos. In defence, the princess brought out her magic hand once more, flicking it in a wide ark that tore up the sand as the bottom scraped across the sand like a wrecking ball, clipping the bug and sending it sprawling. It rolled out of Midna’s range, hurt but not dead and the princess was unable to follow to finish the job thanks to the crippled state one of her mount’s limbs, prompting the Princess to cry ”Medic!” over the howling sound of song and storm.

The other launched itself at the medic, its mandibles stretched wide as it attempted to rip off his arm with a powerful Crunch. It received a jagged blade to the face for its troubles, though it’s skin was surprisingly tough. Still, the attack had been deflected, and the Medic stomped down on it as he put his saw away and once again pulled out his Medi-Gun, aiming it at Midna’s mount. The entire time the attack continued, with the Medic trying desperately to dodge the biting of the small creatures, with only some success. After just a few moments, the wolfos was healed, and the Medic returned to swinging his saw at the offenders. The speed with which he switched between weapons was incredible.

The woflos took a heartbeat to realize what had happened, before leaping into the fray, bringing a surprised princess along for the ride, to aid the helpful man, quick jaws snapping around a Vibrava before shaking it violently, savaging the creature fiercely.

"I will squash you all like bugs! REAL BUGS!" Heavy shouted in a warlike state, disregarding his minigun at the moment to follow suit of Medic and his tiny, itzy bitzy bone saw. Heavy on the other hands, preferred to use his bare knuckles to knock some sense into the heads of those little baby dragons. Sense, and death, mostly death. While Medic might have had some issue dealing with the sandy hostiles, Heavy had a much easier time picking up the tiny baby creatures and beating them senseless. One after another, Heavy grabbed, beat and tossed away as hard as he could the nymphs like tiny rocks in glass house, finding it an ever joyful sport.

As he did, multiple small mounds of sand rapidly closed in on the slower Heavy as numerous Trapinches dug their way through the sand to try and pick off the slower, meatier intruder. Three of them burst from the sand in quick succession, one on either side and one dead ahead. As soon as they emerged each one tried to spit a heavy ball of thick wet sand at the russian to attempt to blind, slow and distract him before they ran in and attempted to bite his ankles off.

The season of nymph-throwing was rudely interrupted by tiny, orange little creatures sneaking up on Heavy from underground. The heavy Russian tried to stomp at those little biting bugs as they approached, though the soft sand underneath his feet only managing to dig himself deeper into a sandy situation. Two of the Trapinches got him flanked at the sides while the last one faced him down like a true man...thingy! "Who sends babies to fight me?" Heavy taunted at them, only to feel a dry pain in his eyes with a heavy ball of wet sand stuck to his face. Letting out an agonizing "GAAH! It burns!", Heavy was becoming something worse than simply ready for a fight.

He was angry! Blinded by hatred for the tiny, baby cowards of the sand, Heavy gave one of his most powerful stomps to the ground yet. The sheer force of his foot managed to flow one of the critters up into the air for Heavy to grab hold of, snapping in two in a blinded state of frenzy, before digging maddeningly after the other one. "DIE!"

The Medic rushed over, taking out three of the vibrava on his way. He immediately began swinging away at the trapinch that had encircled his comrade. These were much younger and weaker than the flying nymphs, but he had still only managed to clear away one and start on another by the time the Heavy had crushed the remaining two. Switching once again to his Medi-Gun, the Medic began healing the Heavy’s wounds, though it took a considerably longer time than Midna’s wolfos. “Zese zings are stronker zan zey look! Ve mast azeest Meedna!” the Medic shouted over the raging winds. Some of the Medic’s wounds had already healed, almost as if by magic, but he had still taken a lot of damage just getting from one patient to the other. “Go! I veel heal you!”

The last Trapinche’s life was just as short as it was miserable, Heavy’s massive hand dug into the ground, grabbing hold of something shelly and pulling it out like a pebble in your shoe. Like it, Heavy wanted to do nothing but destroy the annoying little thing. This one Heavy slowly but surely squeezed to pixelated pieces with his meaty fingers, giving a satisfying POP as Medic took care of the last one. "We make good team, Doktor! Move!"

Ahead the sandstorm had reached a crescendo sung by the siren’s call of the Flygon’s wings. Dust and sand filled the air, scraping against exposed flesh and gnawing at unguarded eyes. The sun was gone, darkness loomed and in it flares of purple could be seen, as the remaining bugs showed themselves to be true dragons, unleashing burning breath crackling with draconic energy. Amid the flares of fire a dark shape danced, topped by an orange glowing arm as the princess and her wolfos danced amids the winds, guided only by Midna’s mask guarded eye. Then, suddenly, two more shapes appeared at her side, great wolves who blindly lunged forwards through the sands, leaping in great perfectly synchronized bounds as they rammed through sand and bug alike, before their last leap turned into a corkscrew drill attack at the end of which they suddenly vanished. With them, the throbbing pain in their heads subsided, the majority of the Vibrava now wounded, fainted or dead.

Yet the song still filled the air, and only moments later it shook the ground. The dunes trembled, sand dancing and flowing as an earthquake shook everything that was grounded, ruining their footing. Then three points of purple fire flared, richer and darker than that shot by the adolescents, and then slashed down as the claws upon which they burned sought vengeance upon the princess. There was a feral howl of pain, another flash of dragonfire around the creature’s tail and then the impish Minda came sailing through the air into view of the mercenaries, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop close by. After a moment the princess, her body not marred by any claw mark but still burned and bruised by combat, shakily pushed herself up into a fighting stance.

A scant few heartbeats later the two dragons came hurtling into view above them, both their claws lighting up with dragon fire with which they slashed down at the Princess and the Heavy.

The Russian mercenary had rushed forward as hard as he could at this point, fearing that tiny little Midna would be no real match for a true DRAGON. His worst concerns were fulfilled a mere moment later, with the sight of the little royal imp crashing down into the ground before him and Medic. "Midna, noooo!" Heavy cried out, watching the burned body of her struggling to get back into a fighting stance. "Be careful, little imp Princess! Medic! Heal Midna!"

And not a moment too soon, as something much worse than a dragon coming into view to the Russian brute. TWO DRAGONS, spewing fire like...like...like a Pyro! It was a terrible sight indeed, but nothing worse than a real challenge for the one they called Heavy Weapons Guy! Heavy saw the slashing attack come, lifting up his beloved Sasha to deflect some of the blow with her strong metal frame, while a few inches of the slash penetrated his already thick skin. He grunted, seeing and tasting blood. The Dragons were about to have a real bad time. "I promise you one thing, dragon; pain without end!" He taunted, revving up Sasha and unleashing a hail of bullets onto one of the dragons, sending it reeling and fleeing back into the cover of the sandstorm. Many a warrior had struck a dragon with steel, many a wizard with spells, but bullets? If not a first, it would send a clear message out; Heavy was ready and able to kill you!

While the heavy delivered on his promises, Minda defended herself from the other dragon, projecting a great hand and holding it above herself as a shield, the dragon repeatedly trying to claw down at her. Hurt and unable to focus, all she could do was hold fast as the dragon hammer brutally on the glowing limb will claw strike after claw strike till it heard the screech of its mate. The sight of the other flygon retreating after being hammered with lead caused it to retreat too, but the red in their eyes meant they weren't going to back down.

The Medic had at first made a move toward Midna, but he too saw the incoming slash attack and, gasping, immediately ducked behind the Heavy, using the giant as a meat shield. Most would view this as cowardly, and perhaps it was, but his job was to keep his teammates alive. He couldn’t do that if he died, and the behemoth of a mercenary could take far greater hits than the Medic and remain standing. While the Medic could see the attack hit, it was nothing the Heavy couldn’t handle. The Medic took the momentary delay between attacks and ran out towards the princess. She was much smaller than any of his other patients, so rather than healing her then and there, he picked her up and ran back to his living cover. There he set her down and began healing her. For the first few seconds, the burning and healing simply counteracted each other, during which the Heavy was vulnerable(ish). Once the bluish flames subsided, however, the Medi-Gun made short work of Midna’s wounds. Despite being quite muscular, her small size gave her an even smaller damage threshold than the Medic himself.

”Goddesses, you're a lifesaver” the princess panted as the regeneration restored her to full vitality, the relife overwhelming the indignity of the situation. It was fortunate that the twin dragons did not come in to strike again, seemingly very wary of the heavy’s minigun, and instead harried the man with shots of dragonfire coming out of the sand while calling out to their remaining young together for a concentrated assault.

With the princess restored to full health, the Medic suddenly adopted a less panicked, deadly serious face. “Ztay behind us!” he shouted down at her.

The cover Heavy could provide for his tiny teammates was nothing new to him, accustomed to soaking up the worst of damage from any given enemy. The flaming attacks from the twin dragons were a new touch though, sending burning pain through Heavy’s thick-set body and making him cry out in fiery pain. "I’m burn!" Had it not been for his trusted Medic’s beam of healing, Heavy would’ve certainly ended up in the Eternal Spawn area far up in the sky-box. Thankfully he did not remember they’d lost that privilege from the Administrator, or else he’d taken the fire damage much more serious. "Princess of Shadow, stay behind cover! Let Heavy and Medic take care of dragon."

“Heavy!” The Medic chained himself once more to the giant man, healing the worst of his wounds, though this was more a bi-product of his true intention. With one hand, the Medic reached down and flipped a small, unassuming toggle switch on his Medi-Gun. “Ready to charge!!!” He declared, thrusting down on the lever of his healing cannon with renewed gusto. “HYAAAAAAA!!!!” The red mist that emitted from the front of the Medi-Gun ceased it’s lazy swirling and began pumping out ferociously and crackling with red colored electricity. Both the Medic and his patient flashed red for a moment before being consumed by the volatile energy. Their skin became red and gained a metallic sheen, while golden light erupted from their every orifice. Despite having just used the Heavy as a shield mere seconds before, the Medic rushed out in front of him, refusing to allow any kind of knockback to hinder his great monster.

"Charge me, Doctor!" Heavy’s Russian words were filled with murderous delight at those most beautiful of all words; Ready. To. Charge. Heavy’s grin grew three sizes at the sound of Medic’s charge, letting the red beam pump him full of whatever magical sciency stuff Medic had conjured up with Archemides. Whatever it was, Heavy felt the energy surge through him, giving him renewed strength and resolve to do one thing; KILL. "Is good time to run, cowards!"

The Medic ran head first into the remaining might of the Flygon’s brood. Dragonfire lashed out from a few remaining Vibrava, their flames harmlessly lashing against his uber shielded body while a rain of mud-slaps and sand attacks from a veritable swarm of Trapinches, gathered from every pit trap in the area, buffeted him, the impacts knocking him back and destabilizing him despite the shield. It was exactly as he had intended, his body blocking leaving the heavy free to rain death upon them.

Invulnerable, invincible and other smart words beginning with “i”, Heavy stampeded forwards like a raging bull seeing RED straight into the mass of tiny baby dragons and more. Their flame attacks were nothing to the Heavy, who simply shrugged them off with malign delight and let loose a hell of minigun fire at whatever wasn’t Medic and Midna. The true powers of Sasha was visible, an incredible rate of fire of ten-thousand rounds per minute raining down on the trapinches and Vibrava, not even their small size able to outsmart his bullets, which weren’t too big compared to them. "I am BULLETPROOF!"

Two hundred thousands dollars worth of ammunition rained down upon the hapless creatures, shredding through them like they were nothing compared to the deadly combination of german mad science and unending solviet firepower. Chiten shattered, wings were perforated with holes and after only 4 seconds the beasts were in a panic, scattering and fleeing and for another two the minigun gunned them down as the heavy drove all before him. Then one of the flygons appeared out of the sandstorm to the side and slammed down into the ground, its wings thrumming a violent song that caused the ground to dance in turn as it unleashed an earthquake upon them. Though the rumbling and shaking did no harm to the invincible mercs or floating princess using the Heavy as cover, it threw off the heavy’ aim something fierce, causing bullets to spray the open air and desert sands rather than at his target.

In this window of opportunity the other appeared, descending rapidly with its tail afire in draconic energy. With this it whipped round and slammed the empowered appendage into the medic who was, like Midna had been, launched by the impact. The medic flew forwards like he’d stepped on a sticky trap, the beam breaking as his invincible form vanished into the storm.

Using the momentum of the impact of its blow to reverse direction it charged the Heavy, who was still being shaken violently by the earthquake, claws bared and flaming. The claws bounced off the fading uber but then came in again as the medic’s power died completely.

A moment earlier, Heavy and Medic had been an unstoppable duo hellbent on destroying whatever stood in their way. Now Heavy stood alone, watching with despair at the Flygon flicking away his doctor like he was nothing at all, and he was unable to do anything about it. The earth shook underneath, causing Heavy to stumble and wait for the inevitable slash of pain. "Uh-oh..."

”Oh no you don’t!” came a call from behind as Minda’s giant orange hand lashed out from behind the man, the levitating princess unaffected by the ground based disruption. The fist slammed into the dragon, who was sent flailing and then tied to retreat once again, only for the hand to grab its long tail that had caused them so much grief. With it in her grasp the princess hauled the flygon over her head, slamming it into the ground behind her, before pulling it up and over again and again, slamming the screaming beast into the ground over and over.

As the concussed beast began to wail in panic and pain the quake halted suddenly, and the Heavy had mere moments and a flash of purple as a tell to react to the other dragon rushing from the side to try and save its mate.

The Princess, she had returned! Heavy looked up to see the hairy orange fist beat back at the green DRAGON, surprised but happy to see their tiny royalty get revenge. Especially as the flygon was slammed into the ground, again and again like it was a tiny baby toy, much to his murderous delight. "You are credit to team!" Heavy managed to shout out just before seeing the flash of purple descending down upon its mate and Midna. He had to act fast! Sasha was lifted and aimed at the incoming green menace, and then…nothing. Nothing? Nothing! Why was Sasha not working! Heavy dropped Sasha, his Siberian instincts telling him he had but one choice now.

To act like an American cowboy!

The Russian’s eyes locked onto the incoming DRAGON, his knees bending slightly as he took position. Precision and swiftness were key! Closer...closer...."POW! Haha!" Heavy’s finger gun went off, his imaginary bang nothing compared to the sudden impact upon the descending flygon, which was suddenly knocked off course and losing control. A steep fall and a booming crash later, the flygon dragon hit the sandy ground like a piano, missing Midna by mere meters. Heavy wasted no time, rushing over to it on his stubby little legs and throwing himself into a fist-fight! "Take that! And this, and that, and this and that!" His meaty fists knocked the poor creature senseless, unable to save its mate.

The medic meanwhile landed among the panicked bugs and, by chance, also next to Midna’s wolfos. The beast was heavily wounded and half buried with sand but it still had the energy to whine for help from the helpful human who had fixed it up before. As the medic’s charge flashed and began to die the Trapinches and Vibrava began to put two and two together, and some began to turn to try and burn or blast him now that he was on his own.

The Medic picked himself up, the merciless sand already trying to claim his hand and feet as the last of his Uber flickered out. His eyes darted from the entombed wolf, to the encroaching swarm, to the wall of sand around him. He couldn’t be more than a few feet away from his teammates, but for all he could see he had been launched into another world entirely. He looked back at the whining mount. He hadn’t seen it’s life as consequential, as he had seen Midna summon it and assumed she could simply summon another if needs be, but the sight of it laying there brought flashes of a man with similar physique to the Heavy’s crushing a white dove and throwing it to the ground. This brief memory brought feelings of panic, despair, and rage to Ludwig all at once, for reasons he couldn’t be bothered to examine at the moment.

The Medic reached down and pulled his Medi-Gun out of the sand, aiming it at the wolfos. He couldn’t allow this noble creature to die. Besides, his odds of surviving on his own were rapidly dwindling. “Come on… come on…!” He urged, trying vainly to dig the wolfos out with one foot. “Geet up, you useless creature! Are you going to let your princess die like zis!?” The Medic didn’t wait for it to be fully healed before throwing his Medi-Gun down and using both hands to frantically excavate it’s legs.

The wolfos, seemingly spurred on by the Medic’s panicked insult, began kicking furiously, just barely managing to break free of the sand’s grasp. All the while the assault from the vibrava continued. One of the large bugs grew too bold and began advancing without it’s brethren, leaping at the duo. Before it’s attack could make contact, however, the wolfos erupted from the sand, it’s jaws crunching down on the would-be attacker violently. The Medic rose to his feet and, after taking a moment to pull his own legs out of the gluttonous sand, finished healing his new companion. The vibrava hadn’t allowed him to rest either, but he did his best to ignore the stinging bites, burns, and bruises caused by heavy chunks of wet earth colliding with his body. With the wolfos now healed, the Medic pulled out his bonesaw once more and leapt onto it’s back. “Los, ve mast rejoin ze ozers! Schnell, schnell!” The disoriented wolfos didn’t know where they were, however, and instead continued to tear into the annoying creatures. Now along for the ride, it was all the Medic could do to hold on with one hand and help fend off attacks with the other. If they couldn’t assist their team directly, they could at least get rid of the ankle biters for them.

As the song ended and the sandstorm stilled around him, it became clear to the medic that his strategy of keeping the juveniles away from his allies had worked. The blue sky and the harsh sun came beating down on them once more and when it did he caught sight of his two comrades, who were in the process of beating the crap out of the pair of flygons. With a final crushing blow of his mighty fists the heavy shattered the skull of one of the flygons, causing it to burst into smoke and drop him and its spirit to the ground while Minda’s overhead smashing finally beat the living daylights from the other, causing it to burst and decay at almost the same time.

”Oh good, you're alive.” Midna said, her tone sounding genuinely relieved despite her choice of words when she turned and saw the medic and her wolfos riding at them full pelt, leaving the last of the swarm in the dust. Indeed the small numbers of remaining bugs ground their chase to a halt when they saw what had happened and, though they turned to flee, the hunters made quick work of mopping them up.

A few moments later, the trio stood together in a sea of spirits, a blessed silence filling the air. All that was left was to investigate the tent/nest and then argue over the loot.

Yoshitsune couldn’t help but nod at their logic. “I can understand that. I’m still gonna stay with you. An extra pair of eyes could never hurt.”

“Red eyes?” he asked, looking at Skull. “I guess I’m new. Haven’t had much to do but wander this world in hopes of finding a way home.”

“Defeat the evil…” he said, looking at his swords. “That I can understand. I have no need for glory or treasure, only a return to my home.”

Once they began passing obstacles, Yoshitsune watched as each of the four went ahead of him, allowing him to study how they moved, dodging the pillars and moving quickly along the crumbling… and reforming… platforms.

“The magic here is strange.” Yoshitsune said to himself as he watched the platforms reform, allowing him to cross.

With the crushing blocks, Yoshitsune utilized the same strategy as the pillars, only with his eyes on the blocks instead of the ground. With the birds, however, he drew his blades and held them in a block, not knowing exactly what the animals were. While examining the last one, he got pecked on the top of his head and, in anger, blocked and punched the bird as it tried to peck again before walking away.

When it came to the mines, however, Yoshitsune was quick to try to knock the monsters planting them into their own explosives. The first time was to see what they were. After that, it was to get rid of the strange weapons. After the enemies were dealt with, however, there were still mines left, which the thieves were quick to detonate with rubble. The path now cleared, he continued with them.

Upon finding a place to rest, he leaned against the wall right inside the temple, ready to leap into battle at a moment’s notice if something came at them from outside. As one of them spoke into a strange device, Yoshitsune couldn’t help but let his mind wander a bit. “What is that?” he asked, motioning towards the device.

Keeping a partial watch at the door, he looked at the others. “I don’t think I got any of your names. You may call me Yoshitsune.”

He respectfully listened and bowed at each of their introductions if they gave one. They didn’t seem to wanna do the same, though. His mind kept thinking of other things.

“What do you know of this strange world and is there any way for me to get home?”

His thoughts immediately went to Shizuka, wondering what happened to her. Could she be somewhere in this world? Was she…

No! He wouldn’t believe it without proof. She’s out there, somewhere, waiting for him.

Geralt followed after Bowser and their group, not particularly worried about the obese man following after them, loudly complaining about his wine and announcing that he wasn't finished with them yet. Nobody who'd been there prior to his arrival seemed particularly worried, and Geralt had more important things on his mind. Namely, the revelation that they were not, in fact, getting lunch or dinner or whatever meal it was, but going to rescue Link. Bowser's return to this portion of the group helped explain a bit of the lack of organization, as their newfound size made it a little easier to get sidetracked.

The explanation that the city Red Team had gone to was going to explode was a bit strange to Geralt, but he figured it would either be explained later, or completely forgotten about until it was once more relevant. How the entire city was going to explode was well beyond him, but he'd learned to accept that strange, fantastical things happened in this place, and that he'd likely never come to a complete understanding of it all. Shrugging off the curiosity, Geralt frowned as they finally reached the Bismarck, only to be blocked by a strange wall. His medallion was also starting to vibrate, and it only got more intense as they approached the wall, until the wolf's head was practically jumping off his chest. "Well, it's magic." He deadpanned, after both Bowser and their hanger-own tried to brute force their way through.

And that was when the drunken stranger slammed his jug onto the ground, and Geralt found himself both covered in wine, and drunk as a skunk. The world around him swayed, and he held a hand a little out to either side of his body to keep his balance. "Never....got to play Strip Gwent..." He slurred, backing against the wall of the building and taking a deep, shuddering breath as he watched the chaos. Kamek slid down his magic flying broomie and it bonked him on the head, and Bowser slipped on it and fell, making a real loud boom noise, while Blazermate tripped and landed on top of Peach, who herself had also taken position against the wall for stability.

And the cat lady that was following them got her head kicked off, but she seemed fine. Right? Yeaaahhh, she was fine. And not in the way that would make Yennefer hurt him. But also, yeah, kind of in that way too. She wasn't dead, though, which was weird, what with the whole decapitation thing. Usually when people got decapitated they weren't alright.

Geralt was trying to contemplate just what that meant when the drunkenness just wore off, and he frowned. "What in the...?" The frown became a scowl when he realized what exactly had happened, and as he rounded on Bacchus, who was in the middle of raising his jug, he got to see the extremely strange sight of Nadia's head running over, using its ears like legs, and biting him on the ankle while her body gave him a double side-kick that launched his jug into the ocean below. Seemingly too obsessed to care about the consequences, the reveler chased his booze off the side of the pier, launching himself into the sea.

Pushing off the wall, Geralt looked around as if to confirm with the others whether that had, indeed, just happened. Seeing a mixture of emotions, he shrugged as the guard explained that the man was a frequent troublemaker, but would almost certainly be back.

Nadia was the first to really do anything, offering a hand to Kamek and Peach to help them up. The mage had to poke Bowser to rouse him back into consciousness, and Geralt himself went over to Blazermate and crouched beside her, careful to not shove his hand into her mouth...thing. "Let's get you up, now. First time ain't easy." He mumbled, offering his shoulder and arm as support.

"Uuugh. Is THAT what its like to be drunk? how do you people handle it?" Blazermate whined, earning a chuckle from the Witcher.

"Lots of practice. And sitting down."

Once everybody was up, Geralt frowned again, looking at the barrier. "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted, it's definitely magic. Medallion's about burning a whole through my chest with how much it's going. You said it's like the doors in the Dead Zone? Won't open till the enemy's defeated. So...they're on their own, then." Sighing, the Witcher studied the barrier, not necessarily giving up, but not quite hopeful that he could find a way through or around it, though. "You think there's a back door or something? Or are we really just stuck out here with our thumbs up our asses?" Was the complaint juvenile? Yes. Was it completely correct? Also yes.

As the Phantom Thieves forged onward, their accompanying swordsman proved that he wasn't the strong-but-silent type. After a string of comments that lasted their whole journey, culminating in their arrival a the wall of buildings that marked the end of the Crown of Sand, he decided to introduce himself after entering the temple they decided on. Joker bowed his head slightly, just enough to indicate respect if not deference or formality. “Yoshitsune, hm? That's a refreshing name. You must be a countryman of ours.”

Panther eyed his attire and weaponry. “From the past, maybe.” She laughed brightly. “Nice to meet you, Yoshitsune-san! I almost want to use my real name, but you can call me Panther.”

Putting his paws on his hips, Mona grinned. “I'm Mona, and this is Skull! We are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!”

“Hey, don't I get to introduce myself?” The yellow-haired teenager didn't seem too bothered, though. “It's awesome to meet someone else from Japan! The only other one was girl from Street Fighter.”

“I'm Joker,” the young man in charge told Yoshitsune. His curiosity didn't end with the Thieves' names, though. He asked what Necronomicon was, which prompted the Thieves to look among themselves. “Think of her...as a...hm. A flying boat with a voice that can reach across great distances.”

That wasn't all, though—he wanted to know about the World of Light itself. Joker wished he knew a little more himself, but saw no reason to keep the truth from the swordsman. A truth tempered by the knowledge that he remained under Galeem's influence, that is. “This world is not real,” he explained. “It's an accumulation of odds and ends from countless worlds, all housed in the collective consciousness. It's a part of the Metaverse, known as the World of Light, and its ruler is called Galeem. Until Galeem is defeated, we're trapped here; until his guardians are destroyed, he is protected from harm. And we can't leave.”

Mona nodded, paws crossed, the very picture of wisdom. “So we find the guardians, one in each of the thirteen regions in the World of Light. We beat them, we can fight Galeem. We beat him, we go home. And two of the Guardians are down. Got it?”

With no danger outside and their collective breath caught, the Thieves moved into the temple, with Necronomicon parting to. Panther called upon Carmen to light brazier after brazier, casting a flickering ominous light across symbol-painted stones and carved idols. A little farther on they reached the sanctum, an ominous room littered with urns, instruments, icons, and more. An intricate carving, like a multi-tiered sundial, dominated one wall.

But the new arrivals did not get much of a chance to inspect their surroundings. Their presence provoked from the darkness a number of lurking enemies, of all shapes and sizes. At the first sign of trouble the Thieves scattered, hiding to watch as their would-be ambushers approached. They spotted a floating armor with sword and shield, a tormented horror of flayed skin, a flame-wielding sorceress, a white-robed bat monster, and a malformed brute. They searched expectantly; it was only a matter of time until they found the intruders.

Not that the Phantom Thieves planned to wait. “Five of them, hm?” Joker whispered from where he his alongside Yoshitsune. “Take your pick, Yoshitsune-san. It'll be all yours. We'll take care of the rest.”

A fearsome struggle ensued. In the course of events much of the sanctum got trashed, including a bookshelf on one wall whose destruction revealed a hidden staircase. In the end, the Thieves and their new compatriot took no casualties, laying claim to the five spirits. Mona patched up the team's injuries with his healing, but before Yoshitsune received any, Joker went ahead and gave him a Friend Heart that freed him from Galeem's influence.

---

Sectonia wasn't too happy about being asked to grab more of the people up to this cliff, being asked by the others as the combat was over. She was a queen, not a taxi! But before she could make a retort, Poppi offered to help her and her innocent friendliness wore the queen down a bit. "I'll do it, but the next spirit I want appears, I get it no questions asked." Sectonia relented, taking off with Poppi to find the others who were down below. Sectonia heard that the others were interested in the dragons they had seen before, so when she saw that their ride was vacant, she figured they went over to where those dragons were last seen.

As they approached the area, all Sectonia could see was carnage and a hard fought battle, burn marks, bullet holes, blood, and a ton of spirits littering the area with Heavy, Medic, and Midna in the center, all quite worse for wear. "Hmm. They are strong." Sectonia said, looking over the battlefield trying to get an idea of what happened, but as the battle was over, she could only guess at all the carnage that happened. Still, the amount of burn marks and blood dotting the area gave a good picture. Looking at the trio in the center, they were definitely not doing so hot, but this gave Sectonia an idea. "Poppi, I see an opportunity here. Before they heal up, we should make them less of a liability in the future." Sectonia said, impressed at the carnage the trio had caused here and summoning a friend heart from her chest as she had seen others do.

The artificial blade nodded. While she had yet to pull out a friend heart herself, she recognized both the need and the opportunity, and followed her ally's lead.

Descending from the sky, Sectonia with a friend heart in hand said. "You all have had some fun here it seems." She then casually tossed the friend heart at the Heavy, freeing him from Galeem's control and reducing the problems that said control could cause in the future. He was quite the loyal person, and apparently he could take quite a bit of punishment.

Poppi floated down toward the Medic, placing a hand against her own chest. "Hold on Mr. Medic," she greeted him. "Poppi doing to heal you up, with power of Poppi's heart!" When she pulled her hand away, she found to her delight a bright pink heart, just like those manifested by Tora, Linkle, and others. The sight brought an irrepressible smile to her face. Surely, this proved that she was every bit as real a hero as the others! With her own heart full she bestowed the glowing thing on the Medic, which burst on him like a soap bubble washing away both the stain of Galeem's light in his heart and the wear of battle on his flesh.

With that the situation, and their allies 'liability' as Sectonia put it, were handled. All that remained was to reunite the intrepid trio with their allies upstairs. As she looked around, though, Poppi the sheer amount of loot available for collection. "Friends got busy," she observed, agreeing with her insectoid ally. "How carry all this...?" She tried to imagine what Tora would do. Though bumbling at times, the Nopon inventor always made cunning use of everything at hand. In that spirit, Poppi's optics landed on the tent that the departed dragons once used as a nest. "Oh, we can use tent-cloth. Make bags to carry stuff in." She kneeled down and swished her hands among the bug spirits, swirling them up. "Careful about carrying spirits. Spirit in pocket might get fused with if jostled wrong," she advised. After lending a hand to get all the loot squared away, she stood ready to help Sectonia carry the mercenaries to the top. If Midna needed a lift too, Poppi could lend a hand, given her greater strength.

"I'll carry the doctor and our residential shadow princess here should she need it. You get Heavy." Sectonia said, making sure that she wasn't overburdened with the giant Russian man. She wasn't sure if she could carry him, but the thin doctor and small Midna wouldn't be a problem for her. Poppi pointed out a tent that hadn't been too badly damaged in the fight, recommending they use it to make bags to carry the spirits back with them. "Good idea, I'm surprised it survived as well as it did." Summoning one of her swords, she assisted Poppi in turning the tent into a bunch of bags, not too worried about Poppi's warning as her hands floated freely around her body. That and the bee queen's lack of pockets. In short order the group was off, headed for a rendezvous at the Crown of Sand.

---

Having watched the precipice in solemn silence from his shady spot, Tora jumped to his nubby feet when Sectonia and -more importantly- Poppi crested the edge with Medic, Heavy, and Midna. Their arrival meant the full strength of Yellow Team once more, not counting the scouting contingent of Thieves gone ahead. Tora realized after a look around that the new guy, Yoshi-something, went with them as well, before anyone really got a chance to explain things to boot. Hopefully that wouldn't come around to bite Joker's crew—Tora thought they were cool, and though glad of course to have Poppi, couldn't help but thinking that having one of those Personas would be awesome, too.

Spurred on by the lingering heat, Yellow team prepared to get underway. Fox's correspondence with Necronomicon told them where they needed to go, although the designation of a 'sphinx' as a waypoint left Tora and Poppi confused. “Um, hello?” Tora spoke into Fox's communicator, marveling that Necronomicon really could reach them despite having zero reason it should. “What is sphinx?”

“Oh!” Came Necronomicon's voice, more surprised that she didn't realize her mistake than anything. “Sorry, um. A sphinx is a creature that looks like a lion with the head of a woman. Ours has a headdress on. But I can go out and float above it so you can find us easier.” With that settled, nothing remained in the way of getting there except the way itself, so the heroes rolled out.

They quickly found the Crown of Sand to be a troublesome place. Overhead, the desert winds quickened, carrying the area's magic-draining sand along with it. When Poppi went up to get directions she was quickly forced to land; any altitude higher than a few stories promised to suck would-be fliers dry. Yet the Leak-inducing sand turned out to be one of the lesser concerns, since scarcely did the heroes get a street in through the thorn-pierced ruins than Tora -taking the lead- stopped on the edge of a pit stretching from building to building. At the bottom, a good few meters down, he saw a whirling sinkhole of sand and shuddered to think of what would happen should one tumble in. At this point the magically-attuned heroes present could begin to feel enchantment in the air, and for good reason. Floating chucks of road and rubble provided a rough way across the hazard, but after Tora took his first jump he found the foothold crumbling beneath his feet. “Meh, meh!?” He leaped for the next one just in time, fear of falling giving him wings, but he reached the other side easily enough.

A few moments after each platform crumbled, it magically reformed. The more agile heroes could, of course, skip the wait by swinging across hanging streetsigns and such, or climbing on the walls. Their alacrity would serve them well as Yellow Team progressed, passing across pits and entire broken-down sections of the sand-swept city. At some point Tora took a road not traveled by the Phantom Thieves before him, though the unmistakable wall of buildings farther on assured the heroes that they still traveled in the right direction. Their surroundings quickly became a mishmash of modern and ancient ruins, complete with moving pillars, turning floors, and even living obstacles. Walking walls moved in set patterns to try and block the heroes at opportune moments, especially during their jumps, and took remarkably little damage. Tora quickly decided to not bother with them, and patiently time his jumps, though in places that meant timing their movements with that of floating platforms. In addition to the Thwomps, Skullcrushers lurked throughout the ruins, far more destructible than their rectangular counterparts but also far more mobile. A few irritatingly invincible metallic things floated in place here and there, never moving but always positioned in a spot where their spinning blades could do some damage, and as Poppi quickly found out, they reflected all projectiles. Tora found he couldn't afford to ignore the sand traps as he passed over them, either. From the less hazardous ones would rise ergotroks to spit stone projectiles at the heroes, only to duck back down underneath when attacked.

By the time Yellow Team crossed the Crown of Sand, Tora was tired, hot, and caked in sand, and Poppi wasn't much better. Yet all the same they stood before the sphinx-topped temple, over which Necronomicon helpfully floated. The living ship flew down to greet the battered heroes on arrival. “You made it! All in once piece too, that's great!”

“Water...” Tora croaked. “Water?”

Necronomicon patted the Nopon on the head with a tentacle, which made him more annoyed than reassured. “Oh, go ahead and go inside. We found some while you were on your way. A lot of stuff, actually. Take a look!”

Within the temple the weary heroes found its sanctum, as well as the telltale traces of a battle fought by the Thieves. A previously hidden staircase on one wall provided access to still deeper reaches of the temple, but what lay below they could scarcely have imagined.



Beneath the temple lay a beautiful indoor oasis. The orange eminence of the desert evening shone down through strategically-placed windows on lush planters, and the crystal-clear water of its pools shone with the soft illumination of glowing stones. Peacocks nonchalantly strutted about. Inside, in the shade of the great central platform, the heroes found the Phantom Thieves, looking quite happy with their place to refresh. They also looked different from normal, bereft of their thieving outfits. Joker looked like an average schoolkid with his glasses on. Skull looked relaxed in a yellow tank, and Panther had similar thoughts. Only Mona looked normal. Along with them the heroes found Yoshitsune. Seeing the new arrivals, Panther and Skull waved, with Joker cracking a smile. “Reunited at last.”

The two groups became one on the central platform, centered around a camp that evidently predated the Thieves' arrival. There were a few makeshift chairs, including a couple beanbags, circling a campfire with cookpot and pan. Skull was more than pleased to show the others a small stockpile of food they'd managed to gather, consisting mostly of harvested greens, fowl, and a strange meat. There was also a small pile of other assorted loot, mostly consisting of peacock feathers, feather garments, striped robes, and fezzes. “Feel free to cook however much you want! The meat's fresh, pulled straight from animal spirits. Little weird, but pretty good!” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the sunlit pool. “If ya wanna jump in, the water's great! Just make sure you use that one, cuz we're drinkin' from the shady pool, since there's nothin' growin' in it.”

His words fell on deaf ears, however, as Tora was already sprinting for the water. He wriggled out of his shirt and overalls and leaped full speed into the pool. Poppi watched, amused, as her masterpon bobbed to the surface and started splashing around. “Meeeeeeh! It's wonderful, so so wonderful!” After rolling her eyes, Poppi lay down the sack of loot she helped to carry and jumped in after him.



Bella sat in contemplative quiet as the other seafarers complained, having been both aware of what staying under cover meant and gracefully committed to enacting it. Of course, she couldn't say she fully comprehended Ranger's position, since not only was the teacher used to the company of her Navy companions, but it was also the potential threat of those very allies that now forced her into a miserable isolation. While Bella did not share the others unease, she did consider Sakura's words when she talked about finding her and Rika a home away from Limsa. That stung a little, since she very much did want to see the maritime city she now sat on the very precipice on, but the idea was one she would need to tackle sooner or later.

“I don't know if I can remain among ze Abyssals,” Bella told her new friend as she exercized. “Zey would expect me to uphold my duty, and punish me if I failed. I would find no warmth among zem...even surrounded by zeir legions, I would be more alone than ever, I think.” Although that conclusion came easy enough, what came next proved far harder to articulate. What Bella wanted more than anything, even to find a life as part of the precious community she so ignorantly sought to destroy, was to follow Sakura. If she couldn't repay the world for the damage she wrought in her years of warfare, she could repay this girl's kindness.

She took a deep breath, opened wide her eyes, and faced her savior. “I want to come with you, s'il vous plait. I don't care about ze danger. My strength is yours, if you will have it. So ze world might know what you have shown me: zat zere is more to life than fighting.”

After a few moments, Ranger sighed. “You're really turned things around, huh?” She laughed ruefully. “Thinking about the bigger picture and all, while I'm sitting here worrying about my face. You're right.” She leaned forward, her face serious. “Knowing about Galeem means I know there's a real chance to make things better for a lot of people. And it's not fighting the Abyssal Fleet.” She thought about what Sakura said. “Although, if there is a way we can stop it for good, like you said, that would be best. We'd be free to do good in the world, instead of slowly dying out in an endless war of attrition. So I want to help you guys, too.” She nodded with firm resolution.

Bella began wondering what 'stopping the war for good' really meant. Did it entail wiping out the Abyssal Fleet? That left Bella with a world of mixed feelings. Even not counting the mindless fodder and barely-intelligent grunts, there were many Abyssals who could very well be 'awakened' like her. Yet as the same time she knew her own awakening came from an act of undeserved mercy, and many of her former allies in the Fleet were far worse monsters than her. And she certainly had never known kindness or companionship from them. Considering their atrocities, there was no question that they -that she- deserved destruction. But since she was free, and her life belonged to the free, she could instead mete out justice. Maybe in that way she could atone.

While Bella ruminated on this, pointedly distracting herself from the extremely harrowing-looking exercises that Sakura was doing, the street fighter in question rounded on Ranger. She gave voice to the misgivings within, prompting Ranger to try and consider how she felt about it herself. “Oh, um...I...well, I don't know. We've been dying for a long time, so as awful as it is, I can't say it's a new feeling.” She frowned deeply, staring at the floor. “In order to keep moving forward, we...we have to put the losses aside. If we don't, we either die too, or lose the power to keep living.” In her heart lurked a hollowness, a numbness of feeling. In earlier days tears might have welled forth, but now no tears would come.

“Her name was Arashio. I didn't know her very well, since we're from different divisions. She didn't talk very much, but she was a sweet kid. If...this,” she said, indicating Sakura's appearance, “Means you have her spirit with you, then maybe it's like she gets a chance to live on. To keep helping us. But uh, regardless, her spirit isn't mind to take back. Unless you know a way to revive the dead, something like this might be the next best thing.” That said, she knew that Sakura didn't intend to keep Arashio's spirit. “If you don't want her...then I guess you should give her spirit to the surviving Asashio Destroyers. I think...um, her sister Ooshio was killed out there today, so there's only two...well, left. Asashio and Michishio.” She fell quiet, keeping her breathing as steady as she could.



The unnaturally sudden passage of the Intoxication meant a fairly quick recovery for everyone, although for those untouched by the sensation of inebriation prior, their uneasiness lingered a bit longer. After helping her allies as best she could, Nadia turned back to the glowing conundrum before her, her hands on her hips. Within, she could see the fight still raging on, which left her a bit guilty for forgetting her cares and having a good time moments ago—not that she had a choice in the matter! When she saw a great fiery explosion go off, she knew she couldn't stand by. “Aaalrighty,” Nadia joined Geralt trying to figure out a way in. “Nyow, how are we gonna get in there?”

She looked up, noticing that the barrier only seemed to cover the open space surrounding the restaurant. The walls and even the tentlike awning that covered the dining area in places bore no immediate sight of magical reinforcement. That cloth would be easy enough to tear, but if she ripped open a gap with her claws, would the obfuscating sorcery fill the hole? Only one way to find out. Bunching her muscles, Nadia hopped up and onto a section of the awning. She clambered atop it, dug in her nails to prevent herself sliding off, and found no resistance. With little effort she punched her claws deeper in and sliced right through. She pawsed a moment, waiting expectantly, but nothing happened except the next few beats in the battle below. Nadia laughed, waving her tail back and forth to get the attention of the others below her. “Well whaddya know, there's a little hole in their security. This purr-ty is about to get wild!” With no further ado she dove straight in.

Nadia landed -on her feet, naturally- in the middle of an active warzone. “Whoa!” she yowled, dodging out of the line of fire of a few shadowy orbs, and beneath a table to use as cover. At a glance she spotted a couple faces familiar to her from her brief stint in Lumbridge, as well as that snooty Sephiroth. On the other hand she glimpsed a few tenebrous warriors that couldn't look more evil and a colorful quartet of otherwise identical ladies whose extravagant outfits and malevolent magics screamed 'dark sorceress.' Must be the one who bewitched that Link guy! she figured, assuming since there appeared to be no other females in the fight other than the little girl in a top hat. Speaking of, Nadia spotted the child being menaced by the clone in blue, despite honestly horrifying injuries. Wildly she wondered if these copies were real people like the Four Swords in Lumbridge, or just disposable summons. Even if this woman kidnapped someone, flat-out killing someone wasn't in Nadia's wheelhouse.

Before she could figure out exactly what she was going to do about that, however, Sephiroth seized her attention. He ruthlessly dispatched a Dark Link, releasing a cloud of smoke. From her position, Nadia could luckily still see the sorceresses, and watched as Sephiroth burst from the haze to strike at the one in purple, ignoring the others as if they didn't count. Could she be the real one? Nadia wondered. Jumping into the fight late meant she lacked crucial context. She sighed, scooting out from beneath the table. “Okay, enough sittin' around! I gotta do something.”

Trusting that Hat Kid could handle the wounded Blue, she raced after Sephiroth. Going after Purple left him open to the others, and if he'd indeed identified the linchpin, they would certainly have something to say about that. Despite Red and Purple spreading out a little bit, the clones were still rather close together given the arena. If Nadia wasn't introducing herself into the fight, she might have wondered what drove them into proximity. Instead, she leaped into the air in the hopes of catching them by surprise, airdashed using blood-spurts, and aimed to land right in the middle of the mess upside-down. In a handstand she extended her legs and tail, creating a propeller, and with a cry of “Wheel of Fortune!” span her entire lower half as a whirlwind of pain.



When the Skullgirl cracked open the door, she saw a single man standing in the snow. The instant he became visible his gaze locked with hers, and all other details were eclipsed by a singular, striking abnormality.

It was his eyes. They were not the sunset red that dominated the people of this world, that reddish-orange hue of obliviousness and retribution. They were blue, icy blue, more cool and piercing than the most cruel icicle, as if the entire unfathomable reaches of the crisp midwinter sky, and all the winter's suffering, had been condensed into two coins that now contested with the girl's maleficent crimson.

After the initial shock, other details came quickly. This man stood at no particularly impressive height, nor did his bare torso speak of an impressive build. Rather, beneath the murky tattoos colored like the frigid ocean the Skullgirl witnessed earlier, he bore the lithe, hardened physique of a brawler of many years and bouts uncountable. Tiny metal caps like thimbles punctuated the little braids in his full beard, and he wore simple garb of wraps, wool cloth, and furs about his waist and legs. Perhaps the Skullgirl wasn't the only one who didn't feel the cold.



All this she could see through the barely-ajar door, though of course the stranger could make out little more than her crimson eye and her silhouette against the warm, orange interior of Grillby's. This did not please him, and annoyance cropped up across his already-surly features. “You can start by not hiding behind that door like a coward, and open up. It won't do you any good. So come on out!”

Linkle narrowed her eyes at the well muscled man standing outside, paying particular attention to his own eyes. She set the lootbox down by the door, tried not to look worried, and turned back to the bar. "Sorry, this was for me." She said, waving to the barman before standing up as straight as she could and throwing open the door. She stepped out quickly, shutting the door behind her, and immediately felt the air start to sap the warmth she had absorbed within from her bones.

She stared the man right down. This had come earlier than she had expected. She had expected to have to wait a little while. This, it was weird. Where was his coat? You would think that, with the weather like this, they would make doubly sure to wear them. She scratched her head, confused. "I'm not sure what I would know that you guys wouldn't, but go ahead. Ask away."

The stranger furrowed his brows, scowling. “Not sure what I'd know,” he repeated, scornful, then raised his arms. “Think you can play dumb with me? And here I thought you Seekers were so much better than us.” He wiggled his fingers, his voice derisively singsong. “So much smarter! Don't think I don't know why you're here!”

He suddenly reached out and pushed Linkle. She hit the door behind her hard enough to rattle the hinges. “So yes, I'll 'ask away',” the stranger growled. “And no more playing games. Tell me the names, and powers, of all the little friends you're making way for.”

Linkle slammed into the door and then bounced off, catching herself. What was this guys problem? If he wanted to fight, fight. If he wanted to talk, talk. Mixing them like this was just as confusing as the nonsense he was talking. Confusing and irritating. "What kind of game are you playing?" She snapped back, pushing herself up off the door indignantly. "The only reason I'm even here is because your knifey friend from the Dead Zone dumped me here. Go ask him or King Dice, they both know what we can do. How do you not?"

Her words elicited an exasperated sigh and rolled eyes. “I don't know who or what you're babbling about, but it doesn't sound like what I want to hear, now does it? What, you think taking down two of us makes you a big deal, all of a sudden?” He moved closer, glaring down at the pallid girl before him. “Well!?” Once again he raised a hand, this time to slap the Skullgirl across the face.

"What are you talking about, we haven't taken out any of...oh." Cold realization hit Linkle like a slap in the face. Her earlier though had been correct, this had come a lot earlier than she had expected, she had just gotten the context wrong.

Of course, it also stripped away all that unhelpful ambiguity. The Black Cloaks could be a help or a hindrance, seemingly at their whim. Linkle didn't know where the Seekers stood with them. They were like a third army on the battlefield that could swing either direction depending on how the battle played out. Galeem's Guardian's, though, were the enemy. This man was her enemy! As he raised his hand she moved back and launched a kick directly up at his chin.

The kick struck with enough force to snap the stranger's head upward and sending him tumbling backward. He came to a stop in a splash of snow and made no effort to rise. “Ahhhh no, nonono, nonononono...” Bemoaning something or other as his head hung, he remained on his knees.

As he bemoaned Linkle walked out into the middle of the street, eyeing him wearily as she drew her bows. Despite a successful blow she was tense, completely unsure of what was about to happen. There had to be some trick, right? After two enormous dragons Galeem wouldn't pick a normal man as a guardian. It wouldn't even pick a man like Agoston or Ryu. There must be something about this one that made him dangerous. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to attack a man who was on his knees. Inside she could feel the Skull Heart screaming, urging her to take decisive action, but as far as she was concerned that was even more reason not to. "I'm not going to tell you anything." She shouted. "Nothing you do could make me betray my friends."

With a final groan the man looked up, meeting her eyes once again. “Ugh...fine. My turn.”

He shot forward. Under the cover of piled snow, he'd found his footing again, readying himself while his foe stood by. His fist connected with the Skullgirl's stomach in a brutally strong uppercut, and she smashed bodily through the area above Grillby's door, then through the roof, over the building, and into the snow on the other side. As she rose from the powder she spotted the stranger on the roof of the building. He leaped, aiming for her head with a cruel knee drop. Linkle shook the snow off her as she emerged from the pile she had landed in. The world ceased to spin just in time for her to see the man dropping on her and she dived out of the way and back to her feet as his attack scattered the snow everywhere. Linkle scowled at the stranger as she leveled her bows at him, tips flashing a bright green as she held down the triggers and launched innumerable bolts his way.

The man turned into a blur, zipping to the right, then left, then straight for Linkle in a zigzag pattern, shrugging off the bolts that did hit him. His left leg surged forward in a low kick to sweep his opponent's knees.

Linkle had never seen anyone move that fast, covering the distance between them like it was nothing. As he went in for his kick she leaped into the air, flipping over upside down to face him as she pulled the triggers. The rain of bolts being fired seemingly kept her suspended in midair before she spun, leg extended, and dropped one flaming leg onto him.

This time the Skullgirl got a good look at her bolts piling straight into the man, sprouting like a porcupine's quills across his bare skin. He didn't so much as move to shield his face until his foe dropped down to kick him. Her burning leg slammed into his open hand as he went for a grab rather than a guard, and with little ceremony he threw another punch her way.

As she felt the iron grip of the strangers hand wrap around her ankle Linkle couldn't help the awe that swelled up in her breast. She had seen things shrug off bolts before, but that was because they were armored. She had never seen something, at least nothing humanoid, take the hits and just not care. What was this guy made of? She didn't have a lot of time to ponder as his fist was coming for her again. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her hair flashing a pale blue as ice sprang up to form a shield to take the blow. Even as it did so she lashed out with her free leg, a blade of ice forming along the toe as she aimed for his head. That was he only part of his body he had bothered to try defending.

As once the shield shattered under the force of the stranger's blow and the Skullgirl's ice skate sliced into his cheek. She flew backward, righting herself in time to see the man raise both hands above his head. All across his body his tattoos glowed a brilliant blue. "EeYAH!" When he slammed his fists on the ground, a great wave of ice burst forth that swept across the snow. As he stood, the bolts squeezed out of his body, and the ugly gash on his cheek shimmered. In another second it was gone, and the stranger looked untouched. "Care to try again?”

Aloy
Status: 3/10 (+1)
Level 1
Location: Frozen Highlands//Snowdin (Grillsby’s)
===========================================

Aloy’s Focus determined exactly who and what were possible threats and the first thing on her mind was that of the “Hylian” who appeared as an extreme threat to her. She’d have to stay clear out of their way for now but she knew when she was somewhat out of her league regarding abilities.

Aloy looked frustrated that the flame creature gave her very little information for what was clearly a valuable element in her world. She was about to press for more information as she disliked creatures or people who would dodge questions. She’d dealt with a lot of it with Sylven, and it irritated the heck out of her.

The strange woman who had entered before her had answered her questions of where she arrived at and what had happened with her world truthfully which was all she was looking for.

Things began to take a turn for the worse when Grillsby’s began to shake and the door was being slammed into.

Aloy bit her tongue, trying not to attract attention to herself.

Aloy kept her attitude in check as there was a new and clear danger to the restaurant at the front door and perhaps the other woman. The man busted in, wearing nothing, no coat but had tattoos, and clear he was used to the weather around him.

Aloy was already on guard, she had just gotten here and a fight was clearly ready to start between this guy yelling about Seekers. She had never gotten a clear explanation about what a “Seeker” was yet but this guy was now ready to threaten everyone in this place unless she did something.

The man began to fight the woman she was talking to and both were fighting. But it was clear she wasn’t targeted. If she did something now, she’d be targeted too.

She saw the stranger’s bolts being clearly shrugged off. This man was very powerful and leagues above her. She could escape with her wits and her body intact, she had hoped if she timed this right.

She very carefully timed her steps, using whatever tables and tools around the area to get herself closer to the door and away from the fight at hand. She would fight if her hand was forced to protect herself.

Word count- 392 (+1)
@Gentlemanvaultboy @Lugubrious

Sakura listened quietly on the ground, hands on her knees. If Ranger couldn't cry, then tears would come on her behalf. Tears welled in her eyes. She'd never been in a warzone before. In her world travels she had seen suffering, and for her tender heart it never got easier. And this was the worst place she'd seen yet. Such a beautiful, lively town, surrounded by death. On the brink of destruction. It was dreadful.

"Arashio..." She murmered under her breath. Ooshio, Asashio, and Michishio. She wouldn't forget those names. Those brave soldiers who've fallen in a war that didn't need to happen.

When Ranger fell quiet, Sakura got up from her sitting position and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "Thank you, Ranger-san." She knew what she had to do, and it brought her peace. A moment passed and Sakura stood straight again. She made a small noise and turned to Bella and Rika, extending her arms out and giving them two one-armed hugs each.

When she was done she backed up, standing in the center of the room. She wiped her eyes, and then looked at Bella. Unknowingly she would most likely assuade whatever mixed feelings Bella had. At least, about Sakura's own intentions. From within her chest she summoned forth a Friend Heart. She clutched it tightly in her palm.

"I think this is our best shot." She declared. "With every person we free, we not only rob Galeem of power, we also give ourselves a potential ally." She said, switching her gaze to Rika. She already liked them both. A lot. "And, well, I don't think I can do it. I don't want to kill anyone. Especially not after meeting you two." She added.

"And Bella...I...I'm glad you want to come with me. It means a lot. It's just- it's just- I'm worried. I know you're probably older than me, but- I- I feel like you're my responsibility." She admitted sheepishly. The girl rarely kept her emotions to herself. Saying it out loud made her feel better, causing her to give a small smile.

"That probably sounds stupid." She slotted the Friend Heart back into herself. For future use.

"And look, to be honest, I think friend hearting everyone is kind of a new strategy? Among the other adventurers. I didn't really ask anyone on the Atomos when I jumped down to help you guys." She said. In retrospect it was clear she was talking about everyone in the room, not just Ranger and her ship girls.

"So, I think, we're gonna need someone to stay at places. And help organize the people who get freed. Obviously there's no way you two," she pointed at Rika and Bella, "Are going back to the other Abyssals." She held her elbow with a hand, thinking hard.

"So you could all stay and help make sure, y'know, everyone freed from Galeem has a place to go and stay. And you can stick together, support each other. Build a new community. As much as I would love to say that Limsa would be that community..." She trailed off, sadly. "I don't see how. We'd have to beat up everyone in town and give them Friend Hearts just for them to see you two aren't a threat. Since they don't even know why they are where they are, let alone who Galeem is- I- I- I just don't see it happening." Sakura shook her head sadly. As optimistic as she was, with the evidence she had now, she wasn't sure how to make it work.

"I'd love to be wrong though. But Abyssals are kill on sight. Everyone is basically super racist against you guys. Galeem makes people racist. Oh my God, I," She clenched her fists, puffing up her cheeks. "I hate Galeem so much!" Sakura said, bizarrely. The mood change would be frightening if it wasn't so comedic and obviously harmless. Her surprisingly short temper flaring, she dropped to the ground and did several push ups.

"Ugh! I remember when I used to do excercise for fun, and not just as a coping mechanicsm!" She complained loudly.

"You know what!? Bella, I'm just gonna say it. Your leg game?" Sakura shot up into a standing position. Hands on her hips she leaned in towards the Water Princess. "It's pathetic!"

She exhaled, pinching her nose. "Sorry. But seriously! Don't you wanna be able to do...this!?" She stood on one leg and then kicked her other leg upward and held it there. It was almost 180 degrees straight. "Or this!?" She dropped down into a perfect split.

She rolled backward onto her feet. She had an idea. She had a lot of pent up emotions and energy, and she wanted to have some fun. Her frustration with Galeem had temporarily spilled over onto Bella, but now it was converted back into her usual enthusiasm. "Okay! Now I know what we can do to pass the time! Everyone get off the bed!" She waved and ushered everyone off. From the bed she yanked up the sheets and blankets. Clutching them in her hands she rushed out of the room and to the windows. She stuck them against the windows, using them as make shift covers.

"Junior, you're definitely gonna wanna get in on this!" She called out confidently.

"Okay, everyone!" She struck a battle-ready pose, bringing in her left fist and putting her weight on one leg. "If you're gonna battle evil, your body is your most important weapon! You may not be able to jump twenty feet in the air or shoot fire from your hands like me, but you should be able to do a pull up or a sit up!" As she spoke, she did a martial arts routine, punching and kicking the air with power and precision.

"And afterwards, we can have chocolate!" She span around and produced a plastic package of chocolate covered sticks with dramatic flair. She had bought them using Ace Cadet's lended zenny. They were absolutely soaking wet and ruined. Probably from the massive explosion. "Oh."

Tossing them into her student bag that she had previously stuffed under a chair, she moved on. "Okay, well, forget the chocolate. Excercise is it's own reward, anyway!" She knitted her fingers together, palms out, and then put all of her weight onto one leg and bent it, shifting her other leg out to the side. It was a one legged crouch, and she casually switched from leg to leg.

"There are six major muscle groups." She stood up straight and pointed out the different parts of her body. "Chest, back, arms, shoulders, legs, calves. Generally, you wanna stick to working out two groups at a time, and doing it at least once every five to seven days." Now she was jogging in place.

"And there are four different types of excercises. Aerobic, strength, flexibility, and balance." She stopped and looked over at Junior, examining him from a distance. "Hmm. You know what, I bet it works for everyone. Even people that aren't human. What type of person are you, Junior?" She glanced over at Bella, Rika, and Ranger.

"Usually, I'm just a regular human. I guess you guys have never seen the actual Sakura, huh? That's kinda weird to think about. My hair is normally shorter and browner, and I don't have cat parts. And I'm buffer. Like, totally ripped." She said. She reached down and touched her toes without bending her legs. The atmosphere in the bedroom had been brought down by the arrival of Shropshire and the implications therein. Which sucked. She wanted to have a good time. All of her questions had been answered and hopefully any worries the others had were assuaded, too. Now she just wanted to get to know everyone onboard the ship even better. And improve their habits, while she was at it!

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Frog hadn't expected such a fierce attack from the green sorceress, failing to raise his sword in time the series of lash strikes struck him with such force he stumbled backwards momentarily before regaining his footing. The amphibious swordsman limped on one leg as one of the whip strikes twisted his ankle as the strike had pushed him backwards, he struggled to stay upright using his sword to get up and weakly assumed a defensive stance.

Frog heard the sorceress mention a 'terrible fate' and nearly dropped his stance as her words surprised him, questions raced in his mind but he couldn't speak due to the amount of pain he was in.

Could she really tell he was cursed to look like this? It bothered Frog that she could see right through him yet the swordsman could nothing to stop her, yet again he felt like he'd failed but this time he wouldn't flee like a coward and if fate proved cruel he would at least die a hero. But all the pain suddenly washed away and so did the thoughts of self-doubt as the soothing touch of healing spores greeted him.

His fears were replaced by anger and his doubt disappeared only for loathing to take it's place, Cia had the audacity to treat everything like a game and use the hero Link as her pawn as if it were her right. She was exactly like the Fiendlord Magus and the similarity blinded him with rage, and his vision slowly tunnelled and all he could see was red.

"Nay witch thou arte wrong..." Frog growled but kept his bearings in order to surprise Cia, as he made it sound as though he would launch into a poetic speech but instead without warning he launched himself at the green sorceress seething with rage.

With inhuman speed the swordsman collided with Cia's green clone and ran her through with his broadsword, blood splattered them both as Masamune plunged into her chest where her heart was.

---

And now, there were four! That was fair, because it had just been the sorceress (and her dark Link clones) versus the same said amount of them up to that point, plus one out of nowhere… whoever he was. At least both sides (and that one guy) were (numerically) even now, discounting the fact that she could (and did) continue summoning shadows to assist her at will. By her power to boot, they were all now stuck in there with her, along with every bystanding patron and staff member within who failed to evacuate the scene in time. Not that the child figured otherwise at this point, but if it wasn’t certain already that one side or the other would have to go down hard for this conflict to end, it was now so.

Hat Kid hadn’t yet learned, from personal experience anyway, that there was no quit in a ‘red-eyed’ Spirit still beholden to Galeem’s terms. Once disturbed, they would not cease, for they could not. They would fight until dead, freed, or sated by killing their aggressor; in this case, Hat Kid herself. This might explain the Red and Blue duplicates targeting her, specifically, out of all of them. Her evasive saulting and sliding under, over and atop tables helped her to a point, even once yanking the cloth from one to throw out and conceal her movements momentarily, but she soon faltered as she was caught with successive impacts of dark, spherical blasts that juggled her with each hit, interrupted only by the interference of the newcomer.

Groaning, Hat Kid sat halfway up, more hurt than irritated, but more expressing the latter. On the floor with her was the Blue clone, having paid for her zeal by taking the brunt of an incineration spell, suffering inarguably worse injuries. Her already dark skin scorched black across half her body, with her mask gruesomely grafted to her on the same side, yet she weakly persisted still, clearly in what could only be agonizing pain. Hat Kid shrank back, wincing at the sight not meant for young eyes such as her’s, and looked beyond to the woman’s sister duplicates, who seemed to show no care or concern for her well-being whatsoever. The child found herself hoping, in any case, that this was just a transient copy of the Prime sorceress, and not an individual, conscious living being doomed to suffer through her wounds.

She popped one of her spare Honeycombs in her mouth, golden casing and all, to heal and re-energize herself before kipping up from the floor into an advancing suicide dive. While airborne, she hooked onto the awning/rafters and swung toward the center of the action, sailing over Blue and bypassing her altogether, preferring not to cause her any more pain than necessary dealing with her. She then released mid-swing, throwing herself into a still gainer overhead. By which point, she had switched from her vial-loaded witch’s hat to a cyan cub-eared toboggan. From there, she instantly froze herself, dropping forcefully to the floor as a posing statue of crystalline blue ice between (or on top of) the sorceresses, shadows, and whoever else, launching airborne any uninitiated with the resulting quake of impact. Failing that, she could still block a couple of hits before losing her cold shell and having to disengage. Either way, it should serve to momentarily disrupt the flow of battle, one way or the other.

@Yankee@Dark Cloud@Dawnrider@Lugubrious@ZAVAZggg

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Link reared back his sword arm as the Cadet blocked Dark Link's kill stroke with an impromptu shield pulled from his satchel, stabbing forward but missing by inches as the shadow jumped back. Link leaped to his feet as the shadow came forward for another blow, but the Cadet hucked the shield right into the creatures chest. It mid air there was a flash of golden light and Link could only look on, dumbfounded, as some kind of doll clattered to the ground. All that remained of the dark imposter.

Link wasn't the only one confused. Green Cia paused her relentless assault on Frog as she saw her great champion, a work of art crafted from the most potent darkness in her heroes heart, reduced to a mere childrens toy. What did it matter though? She would just have to make a new one. There was such guilt and shame in this version of her heroes hearts, more than enough material for a dozen such soldiers. She raised her scepter, ignoring the crippled frog in front of her too level it at Link. The shaft began to burn with dark power, of spear of evil forming that would call without the darkness that festered within.

She never got the chance to fire it though. The Cadet pulled something else out of his bag of tricks and spores scattered throughout the restaurant. They stopped the bleeding on Link's back, mended the cut on Sephiroth's cheek, finished off what damage was left on Hat Kid that the honey comb hadn't taken care of, even soothed the pain of a few unlucky patrons that had been caught up in Cia's dark barrage. Most importantly, however, it made Frog well enough to fight.

Green only had enough time to look back at him when he spoke before the knight launched himself at her, letting out a pained gasp as he drove his holy sword deep into her heart. For the second time today the Masamune tasted a sorceresse's blood. Her scepter fell from her hand, the darkness upon it sputtering out like a flame with no oxygen. She stumbled backwards. One step. Two. Then, miraculously, she took a step forward and reached out a grafting hand over the Frogs head to Link. He watched, unable to read her expression through the mask. Was she still that desperate to possess him, even now? Or was the gesture a plaintive plea for her hero to save her?

He would never know. Like ash the sorceress dissolved, leaving behind only a Spirit that remained perched on the edge of Frog's blade.

Link didn't have time to pity her. On the other side of their table barricade things had begun exploding again.

---

At the same time Ace Cadet was bagging himself another sort of hunting trophy Sephiroth's plan was coming to fruition. He lunged out of the cloud of black smoke at a startled Purple. She only had enough time to bring her scepter down to try and parry the oncoming blow, but it was to swift. All she managed to do was avert an instant death as the blade slid into her stomach, this Masamune beating its counterpart across the restaurant by only a few seconds. She retched in pain, grabbing onto the blade with her free hand to try and keep it from biting deeper. If was difficult not to notice the surprising amount of power in that grip, or the fire that burned in the sorceresses crimson eyes. She clanged her scepter to the side of the blade, began to pull with her mutilated hand, and using her entire body as leverage attempted to drag the SOLDIER to the side into one of the dark land mine that still waited on the floor. Red saw what her counterpart was trying to do and stepped forward, raising her own scepter to brain Sephiroth with its spiked tip to make it easier.

They might have gotten away with it if an unexpected familiar face hadn't come to Sephiroth's aide. Launching herself out from under the table, Nadia took the opportunity the two Cia's made by bunching up by spinning her legs into them. Red caught a kick in the side and was pushed back a bit, while Purple was was hit in the back with enough force to slide her up Sephiroth's blade all the way to hilt. She tried to reach out and grab the man by the coat, still set on dragging him into one of the mines, but then Hat Kid came down like the icy hammer of god. The floor shook from her impact, launching both Cia's up off the ground. This served to just further gut Purple, but still her hands grasped to hold him still. Hold him there. She wasn't looking at him, however, but staring over his shoulder. Smiling, like she had a secret.

She was looking at Red, who hadn't come down from where Hat Kid's small earthquake had knocked her. If fact, she was slowly rising even higher. There was a burst of power that anyone that had ever seen Linkle fight might find familiar, like a dam being broken as all the momentum of the battle flowed out. She laughed and raised her scepter to the sky, and suddenly the area under Sephiroth, Nadia, and Hat Kids feet were filled with dozens of those same dark mines Purple had created earlier. Dozen of them all around them, and they didn't wait to go off. They erupted like a sea of volcanos, sending burning pillars of dark magic high into the air with enough force to pop the canvas awning above them like a flimsy balloon.

As Red descended down to the floor she knew that, no matter what, Purple would already be gone. She her used the very last of her strength to try and keep the man who had killed her in the epicenter of Red's Musou attack.

Behind her Blue used a nearby table to help her rise to her feet, take a deep breath, and forced magic to well up within her. A different surge of power rocked her body, one that only the Cadet might recognize, as Blue poured magic into her limbs as Linkle had done before she had fired her strongest attack at the Ender Dragon.

”What perfect timing you two have,” Midna greeted the two fliers as they descended to meet them. Not that they would have been able to find them before the sandstorm abated, she supposed, and in a sense it was perfect timing in that they were done and now needed a ride out of there. After the new arrivals took advantage of her allies' rather beat up state to friend heart them, removing the liability of Galeem’s touch and allowing them to explain the true nature of the world to them, later, they quickly gathered up the spoils of war.

Prime among them were, of course, the two Flygon spirits but also their young and a pile of odds and ends from inside their tent nest. There were a number of large (delicious looking) eggs plus a few other magical odds and ends, some cubes on legs (that they were quickly relieved of) and a whole pile of bits of bits of paper with pictures of old men in wigs on them that claimed to be legal tender, a claim which she did not find convincing. All of this was piled into a bag made from the tent canvas and then they were ready to set off.

”You two have a fun flight and try not to fall,” She told the mercs, before dismissing her wolfos and slipping into the queen’s shadow where she could ride weightlessly up the cliff in cool dark isolation.

The triumphal hunters and their transport arrived atop the cliff and found that while most of the team had stuck around to wait for them the Thieves had apparently left the group. ”Those kids completely gone or have they just run on ahead?” The princess asked those that remained in general.

The princess’s levitation and then her summoned mount kept her free of the mana draining sand initially, but sadly it seemed they were not done with sandstorms quite yet as the winds picked up and filled the air above with it, preventing their fliers from simply bypassing what lay between them and the “sphinx” that was their destination. She imagined they would very much have liked to do so, as said path rapidly revealed itself to be a gauntlet of traps and creatures seemingly purpose built to make the platforming a pain in the butt. Bowser would have given it a high score if he saw it. The terrain itself was made up of more ruins, these more tightly packed and made of various different styles and materials, all different to the broken bridges below, all of it jumbled together and left to be worn down by the sand.

Concerned that the wind might shift at any moment and dump magic killing sand all over, Midna stuck mostly to relying on her dexterous and agile Wolfos to see her through. Despite having to take part in platforming like the rest, it meant she wasn't at risk from dropping out of the sky while slowly levitating over gaps, or being dumped out of shadows while she rode or teleported between them. The fused shadow she was more confident in, its own magical reserves dwarfing her own by a significant margin, and both it and her wolfos were on hand to help people who struggled or failed at platforming. The idea of using it to climb, hauling her small body along behind it, or using it as a grappling hook did cross her mind, but again, the same issue of potential failure applied. The woflos was faster, and keeping it in the world of light wasn’t particularly taxing, making it the safest option. Plus it kept her maneuverable, which was convenient when there were Hinox skulls with armored chins flying around at high speeds trying to smash them into bits or into pits.

It was very fortunate that the power that kept her from being killed by the world of light’s, well, light was divine in nature rather than magical. Or that was what she hoped. Unsurprisingly the princess did not make any effort to test whether the sand was straight up lethal to her or not.

The princess led the way for much of the jumping, her and her mount scouting out safe paths and then occasionally helping people over them or taking a turn at carrying the treasure bag. She’d also fish for the sandy octoroc creatures, shoving the fused arm into their hiding places, digging around and if she found them then dragging them out of their hiding spot and tossing them at a nearby obstacle. It was a very cathartic moment in the midst of a lot of frustratingly slow and yet also occasionally hair raising progress.

After what seemed like an age they finally arrived at the ‘sphinx’ temple and were greeted by the flying ship who had been a girl before. Then they were directed inside where they found a goddess blessed little oasis and garden in which the Thieves had set up shop. There was shade, nice furniture, food and cooking equipment and, most importantly, water. Into this the round Tora almost immediately tossed himself.

Midna joined Poppi in rolling her eyes at this ”Have some dignity- woa!” before she cried in alarm as her mount chased him into it, the sand caked beast leaping into the water, causing a large splash.

”you mangy mutt you ah!” she berated it right before the beast rolled over and tipped her into the blessedly cool and cleansing water.

Silently she floated through the water to the edge of the pool while the beast doggy paddle around, removed her mask, fully exposing her face for the first time, and then draped the garments she’d gotten from fusing with Urbosa’s spirit over the top of it so that they could dry. Then, after giving herself a quick scrub to get the sand out of the worst places, especially her eye, she proceeded to float around in the water, her levitation keeping her at the perfect buoyancy so she could drift with her hands behind her head and one leg crossed over the other while she soaked her dusty and tired body.

”Ahhh, now this is more like it” she sighed contentedly. Food and drink and the acquisition of power could wait. For now, this was all she needed.

They never did find out what alcohol was.

Instead more important issues were focused on, like getting inside. Kamek went to go and try and tinker with the wall to see if he could poke any holes in its magics, shuffling over and giving a few taps with his wand ”Hmmmmm” and then pressing an ear-hole up against it.

”Yes, perhaps.” he muttered to himself, but his brief efforts turned out to be a pointless endeavor, as Misfortune did some out of the box thinking and found that whoever had put up the walls hadn't put their own roof on the place, instead relying on the existing building to act as part of her defense. Considering this included a cloth roof, this was perhaps not the best plan.

”Ah, a classic mistake” Kamek commented as the cat snuck in through her self made ceiling cat flap, covering the fact that he would have likely spent hours tinkering away with the magical wall while not even contemplating breaking through the mundane one ”This kind of thing would never keep Mario out” he added as he shook his head and tutted.

”AND IT WON'T KEEP US OUT EITHER! LET’S RIP THE LID OF THE CIRCUS AND GET IN THERE!” Bowser roared, before leaping up on the side of the building in a single floaty bound, boot landing on the solid roof of part of the building, which probably held the kitchen beneath it. He grabbed the awning and tried to rip it off, tugging at the cloth, a few of the connecting points break with each motion.

Then the awning was blown off by the multi mine explosion, hurling the cloth up in the air with Bowser still holding it. The King looked at this goggle eyed for a second, then recovered and whipped the cloth around and tossed it aside, revealing the chaotic mess below. On top of the people he’d been expecting there were a whole bunch of multicolored ladies. Also a frog man. And Sephiroth who hadn't gotten lost or wandered off this time but actually ended up where he needed to be which was a definite improvement on his last attempt.

”UUUUUUUH” Bowser raised a finger as it would get everyone to stop running around and exploding so he could work out what was going on, during which he was joined by Kamek who rode up on his broom to join his king.

”I think we can cross this one off the list” he muttered to himself. They were never going to be allowed to eat here even if they did recover from the carnage

Not the sharpest tack in the box it took Bowser a touch longer than it had Ms Fortune to work out that the colorful clones were the kidnapper(s?) in question, and thus the enemy. He brought down the raised finger and pointed it at the Blue one. Then, in his infinite genius, he decided to try and elbow drop her, leaping up in the air once again and then dropping down towards her like a ton of bricks, while she was charging up some kind of super spell. Kamek had little choice but to aid this airstrike, because the play could only end excellently or terribly and more mass helped in both cases, focusing his enlargement magic upon the king and boosting his size of the truck he was going to hit like by the time he was about to impact.

Geralt nodded as Nadia clambered up the awning and ripped a hole in it, revealing that their opponent had actually placed a horridly ill-conceived barrier, failing to account for literally any level of creative thinking. He was almost embarrassed that he hadn't come up with it, but vertical movement wasn't necessarily his favorite way of getting around. Sure, he could climb and jump better than damn near any regular human, but he was also wearing armor and other equipment, whereas the catgirl was...not.

Quickly following after the new addition, Geralt clambered up to the now-ruined awning and dropped inside the restaurant just after Bowser and Kamek. Quicker than the oversized and heavily Spirit-mutated turtle that he called a boss, Geralt picked out their target: The four Sorceresses that were absolutely wreaking havoc on the place. He'd only arrived in time to watch Hat Kid, Nadia, and the guy with the really, really long sword have a bunch of magic bombs start going off, and the Red one floating down to the ground.

And behind the Red one, the Blue one climbed onto a table and took a seemingly combat-inefficient pose as she inhaled slowly. Eyes flicking back to what the Red one had just done, Geralt drew his blade with one hand while the other traced a familiar pattern through the air: a triangle, its point downwards. The Sign of Axii, directed at the Blue sorceress. Just like in the fight against Link, all he needed was a second to turn the tide, especially in the chaos of the battle. That was even more true with Bowser about to land directly on her head, now even more oversized as a result of his own sorceror's power.

Careful not to lose concentration on the sign prematurely, Geralt advanced slowly, sword at his side and free hand outstretched towards the Blue copy.

So, apparently the barrier that blocked the door didn't block any other way into the building, as was found out by Ms. Fortune who after finding a way in, joined in on the fight with her weird power to turn her limbs into bloody rockets. Looking at the way Nadia got in, Blazermate followed suit as Bowser found his own way in. Looking at the fight inside the building, there were a few more faces that Blazermate didn't see before, such as Hat Kid being beset by a, burn damaged blue woman? The woman looked like the one that was near Link, although with a lot more damage, blue, and well... If Blazermate wasn't a medabot they wouldn't like what was happening to the blue clone buuut she was so...

As Bowser and Geralt made their way towards the blue copy, Blazermate started to heal up her known teammates. Although they didn't look taht injured, even if what Ms. Fortune did would constitute something that would damage her, her health wasn't going down. Still though, she was sure spraying a looot of blood, like, how did she have so much? Still, with the injuries of the group not being that bad she could actually start overhealing people! She started with the ones of the group, such as hat kid, Sephiroth, and Kamek who had the lower overall health of the group, then moving up to Geralt and Bowser, the former concentrating on something and the latter tackling the blue woman.

"So... with all the magical explosions going off, I'm just going to hide behind my shield here and well, yeah." Blazermate said, holding up her shield to hide behind as she healed her allies, the overheal giving them some temporary health for them to take damage with before their actual health went down. This also let her charge up her uber fairly nicely, so soon she could do something with that.

With Frog's decisive strike, both enemies on their side of the Bismarck were down. With the much need breathing room, Cadet took a moment to regard Link and Frog. Altogether the three of them were stable, physically speaking at least. The hunter nodded to them both before looking across the patio to where the rest of the battle was taking place. It seemed like there were two Cia clones left - no, three? One was struggling, badly burned, but the others were tussling with Hatty and the swordsman... and another stranger, a woman this time. Where were these people coming from? Were they patrons at the restaurant that decided to jump in after realizing they were trapped or something? Regardless, more allies was never a bad thing - the whole crew had gone way over the magic number four a long time ago anyway.

With some of the restaurant's floor exploding into vertical columns of dark magic, getting a truly decent view was tough. There was something about the brawl on the other side hard to miss however, which was the red clone's ascent into the air and glowing with power. It more than likely heralded something bad.

The Cadet vaulted over the upended table, planting his feet solidly on the ground and throwing out his arm again. With the press of a button the slinger strapped to his forearm activated, shooting the cable and claw forward as magic began forming on the ground. With that much energy being gathered, the result would definitely be something bad! If he could get just one person out of the line of fire, it would be worth it. The Cadet aimed for the first ally he laid eyes on, which happened to be the largest target: the black coated swordsman. The claw snagged the silver haired man, and once attached it began reeling itself in quickly. It was not quick enough for the monster hunter's liking - some kind of resistance slowed the clutch claw down. A quick whip of his arm and shift of his grip and the Cadet snatched the cable with his hands, shredding the cloth lining of his kote and scraping the skin underneath. He yanked the cable himself, pulling Sephiroth and out of the mine field with a harsh jerk. What remained of the purple Cia clone came with him until she faded to ash, and once unburdened the claw's cable finished it's work. Now there were four persons on each side of the restaurant, for now. Surely it wouldn't remain that way for long.

Ace Cadet clapped a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. "You alright?" he asked, hoping he'd grabbed the man in time and that if he'd been caught by any of the outer mines that at least it wasn't fatal. The explosions looked pretty nasty, he hoped that Hat Kid and the cat-like woman were alright.

Something else caught his eye that weren't the two friendlies - it was the blue Cia clone, having righted herself she was also preparing something big. The Cadet's eyes widened and he braced himself, on the verge of considering whether to run towards her to intercept or try and snatch someone else out of harm's way. At that moment an unmissable falling meteor in the shape of the Koopa King came crashing down. Unlike Sephiroth and Nadia, the two strangers, Cadet didn't even stop to wonder how he'd gotten there despite supposed to having been in the Dead Zone. He was just glad to see him, Kamek and Geralt right behind. In fact, beyond the barrier it looked like some of the others were there as well, and finding their own ways inside.

"Just in time!" The reinforcements would quickly turn the tide of battle completely in their favor, as it was already headed that way before they showed up. It was time to finish things with the sorceress.

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Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as the floor exploded around him, geysers of dark magic spewing every which way, and more than a few of which managed to tear through him. It hurt, naturally, though the physical pain was nothing compared to the blow that had been dealt to his pride. To think he had been pushed this much, this far, by some insignificant flirt who'd managed to learn more than your basic spell. It was shameful, but it was also reality, and one he needed to find a way to escape relatively soon. Unfortunately for him however, it seemed as though he was out of time. More geysers ripped through him, leaving nothing but burnt flesh and partially exposed tendons in their wake. Grunting, he let the tip of his blade scrap against the floor as more of the dark mines ruptured around him, his strength rapidly waning. The little reserves he had left he used to keep his blade grasped firmly in the palm of his hand, unwilling to drop it and accept defeat even in the face of certain death. No, not for some insect like her, she didn't even deserve that much in the way of satisfaction.

He quickly found his concerns unfounded, for something had grabbed at the back of his coat, or what little of it remained in the aftermath of Red's attack anyway. Judging from the fact that it had not yet pierced his chest and the fact that it was actively pulling him away from combat, Sephiroth concluded that it must have been one of the many allies the members of red team had at their side. Thus he allowed himself to be pulled, doing his best to aid in his withdrawal from the field of battle, pathetic as it might have looked. Survival was his main goal at this point, as without it he would become a victim to the worst circumstance and thus fail in his endeavor to end Galeem.

"I've had worse," he said, grunting somewhat as he slowly clambered to his feet, leaning on the handle of his blade for support. He grimaced from the clap, his shoulder still quite raw from the scorching it'd gotten only seconds prior, and abruptly shook off the helping hand. Much as he hated to admit it, he did need these people, at least to stay alive anyway. Every solo venture he'd undertaken thus far had been a complete and utter failure, which meant he clearly wasn't equipped to go at it alone. Not yet anyway. So, falling back onto his more pragmatic side, Sephiroth elected to work a little closer with those around him. If only because they would aid him in their own flawed yet useful ways.

His breathing ragged and heavy, Sephiroth watched as the others carried on the fight while the familiar cooling sensation of a healing beam gradually creeped through his body, mending his wounds and restoring his strength...

@Yankee, @Dark Cloud, @Dawnrider, @Lugubrious