Sakura had been 'whisper-shouting'. Perhaps she thought that somehow made her voice harder to hear. She got lucky, though she did cringe as Nadia pointed out her obvious mistake. Sakura covered her mouth and shot up a silent peace sign towards Mirage with the other hand.

"Baka!" She chastised herself quietly, continuing onward. Big floaty hands one-eye was getting angrier. You know who else was getting a little angrier? Sakura!

"How dare you?!" Sakura whisperered harshly to herself, offended, as she watched Nadia apply for Jack Ass. "How dare you tell me to be quiet! You hypocrite!" She grabbed the sides of her head as the kitten rolled down the junk hill in a tire. Like a pokemon, Bongo Bongo hurt itself in its confusion. But now Nadia was going to get eaten by the junk monster! Only at the last second was she saved by the Koopa Troop.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that quickly turned into a squeak of terror. The junk pile was falling, and the monster was going crazy! She had to get away from junk mountain before she was buried. She managed to get away, but it was close. The girl stabilized both her balanec and her breathing, rolling her neck. As time went on she was getting used to being without powers and was attempting to restore some of her confidence.

"Fake it 'till ya make it." Sakura said. She tried to give everyone reassuring peace signs and thumbs up, especially poor Bella who looked exhausted. Link was with her, doing the good, smart, and reasonable thing. Since when was being smart apart of her job description?! Man, she really wanted to get back to fighting.

"Come on, Mister Link! We got it." She whispered over to him, shaking herself out of her funk. Whatever issues with the vent could wait- she was beelining for hte sofa. She had to get off this junk ocean before she drowned! Often she found herself having to stop and hide beneath her pillow or her towel. Or just get down on all fours after a particularly hard shockwave. At this point her fear was numbed, now it was just a game of survival.

Eventually, though, she made it to the red sofa. She hooked her little hands between the cushion and the base of the furniture. Leaving her trusty pillows behind she climbed up, accepting any aid people who give to her in the process. Once on the cushion itself she rolled over onto her back, huffing. She squeezed herself into a corner and caught her breath, holding a shaking hand. They were almost out. Now it was just a matter of getting through the vent. How they were going to do that, Sakura couldn't even begin to fathom. The girl was still reeling from her prolonged near-death experience. She was just glad she could lean her back against something again and rest her legs and fingers. Though adrenaline was carrying her through, her face was red and her forehead was sweaty. Breathing heavily she just kept watching Bongo Bongo slam his hands, hoping that she wouldn't see any of her friends get squished.

---

The good time Link had been making came to an end as the drumbeat of the hanging monster caused the junk sea to get choppy. He and the little monster that had taken him hostage were forced to hunker down and hold on for deal life whenever the shockwaves moving through the junk passed through them. After a few cycles he added it to the rhythm: BAM, BAM, lift, place, BAM, hop. When the thing turned its hateful orange eye toward them Link spun around and held on tight, the kite of his back completely obscuring both their forms, but this only took up more time that they could spend getting somewhere more stable.

The little monster, too, was getting very twitchy. It had obviously believed that they would reach somewhere else in a timely manner and had never expected to be subject to conditions like this. It made its displeasure about their pace known by bopping its hostage on the head with the bomb every time they had to stop. Sakura's manner of encouragement was far more appreciated as he continued fighting against the waves and hiding from the monster looking to crush them flat. She was going faster that him now, though whether that was from a rekindled confidence pushing her forward or because of his passenger he wasn't sure.

He just had to hope the others came up with some way to distract the creature from these shockwaves and then double time it to the sofa when that opportunity presented itself.

The Cadet grinned, wide and boyish. He wasted no time following the king's order, hopping into the lifeboat and dutifully taking an oar. Before any rowing he stripped his garden pole of the tarp, deciding that wearing it as a cape cover like Bowser would be more practical now. BB scooted over to the both of them, peeking out from beneath their disguises every now and then. As for the makeshift weapon itself, it was leaned on one of the boy's shoulders resting against his neck. He didn't want to part with it while they were still in the Belly, just in case.

They continued in the direction Bowser had originally set the boat in: backwards, away from the exit in order to connect with the Cadet's fellow stragglers. With both of them manning an oar, the progress was a little faster. Rowing through the trash wasn't terrible. It was way more awkward than rowing through water, but hey - it was working wasn't it?

Then came the monster's tantrum. Smashing things indiscriminately, hurting itself, and then descending to spread waves out all through the sea of garbage. Ace Cadet threw a look over his shoulder, searching the far side where plenty of the others had gathered already. He was taking a headcount of everyone he could spot when the initial waves Bongo Bongo set off reached them. The lifeboat wobbled dangerously, and the Cadet's wide eyes snapped to Bowser. They stayed afloat then, but the first of the larger waves nearly capsized them.

With a tight grip and their oars jammed into the junk to hold them steady, the wave passed without throwing them overboard. But only barely.

"Bowser," he said, looking at the mini Koopa King, "we're gonna have to pick up the cara-pace."

It was especially frustrating because the monster had lowered itself, and they would have made such quick work of it if they'd all had their normal sized bodies. The Cadet was itching to poke that thing in it's ugly eye.

"So not Ya-cool!" he grumbled, little muscles straining as he put extra effort into rowing the lifeboat onward. Their current goal was to collect Bella per Bowser's suggestion. With the three of them they'd be able to move even faster, hopefully make their way to any of the others still needing help, and make it back to the exit... where Bongo Bongo waited impatiently, still slamming the ground and threatening to topple everything in the Belly, least of all them.

With perseverance they made it to the Abyssal. The Cadet grasped her arm to help her into the lifeboat, and then they were off again to pick up any that needed help, slowing only when they needed to duck and cover themselves to evade the monster's spotlight gaze. Princess Peach seemed to be okay on her own, while Link was pillow hopping even in these dangerous conditions. He couldn't even see Glenn from where he was, but he hoped the other boy was alright. The lifeboat could easily swing by the Hylian if he was of the mind to join them, and then they were finally headed back towards the vent.

Going back was rougher, the waves larger the closer the go to Bongo Bongo. If only they could interrupt the monstrosity, or distract it, or get it stop for just a little while. Then, with the extra hands on deck, the lifeboat would be able to make impressive time getting to the goal.

Just one opening... before he knew it he was standing up with the hollow metal pole held like a javelin. His form was practiced, perfect, but when he drew back to throw his stance shifted and he stumbled backwards. The makeshift weapon was unwieldy, especially in the hands of a four year old boy. He landed on his back with an oof, still holding the pole over his head.

"Ugh!" he pouted, sitting up quickly. So he couldn't throw it, he could still give Bongo Bongo I good poking if it tried to give them any trouble when they drew close to the exit. The Cadet twisted his hands around the pole, anxious and prepared to strike out if one of those hands got too close.

Though a visitor in Al Mamoon for less than a day total, Band had already learned just how intolerable standing out in the light of day was, especially in the early afternoon. Especially in a trench coat fit for a king. His internal regulators were being overclocked before five minutes went by. Dry heat or no, he had to go.

After a quick detour to let Hunnigan know he thumped back down a street a short way to the Coffee Spoon he’d patronized once already, with its relieving shade and the life-saving flowers that shrouded the place with a cool mist. The feature made the multi-floor cafe a popular one, but with a chill atmosphere that Band could really jive with. There he gingerly seated himself on a sturdy-looking stool at the counter on the second floor, and when the place’s barista (and owner) came by to take his order the detective requested one of the same. With a sigh he removed his hat to fan himself with and chase off the last of the midday desert heat so that the mistflowers could work their magic.

A few minutes passed before his drink arrived. The barista placed it on the counter in front of him with a smile, and Band gave an appreciative nod before the man went on his way. Served in a tall glass that glistened with droplets of condensation, the Thai iced tea came as two layers. On the bottom sat the full-bodied black tea, expertly mixed with vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise. Atop it rested the rich condensed and evaporated milk with pillows of smooth ice and a single protruding straw. With utmost delicateness Band extended a spindly robot arm from his coat to grip the straw in its padded pincers, and once he had a hold of it a few good stirs was all he needed to mix the disparate colors of the drink into a soft pastel orange. Then he brought it to his lips and drank deep, enjoying the creamy sweetness. In the midst of a sandswept sky, a little slice of heaven. Made him want to make some music.



The Thai iced tea went all too quickly, after which a much refreshed Band retired to a seat on the shop’s misty balcony to relax, wait, and watch. Below him burbled a steady stream of the population, humans and creatures of every stripe whose traffic swirled and flowed, riverlike, simply going about their business. The variety on display so outstripped imagination that Band felt like people-watching could become a national pastime. He, however, wasn’t keeping a look out for his enjoyment.

Unless he missed his guess, the people nearly responsible for the destruction of the Commissions Office and the murder of at least one innocent person, just trying to do her job. Though an old soul who’d seen more than his fair share of atrocities, he still burned up inside imagining what might have happened had he not intervened. Of course, that thought only brooked further worry. Similar things could be happening all over the city for all he knew. So while he searched the crowds for the three faces he’d seen in the Hound Pits Pub, he also kept an eye out for his allies. They needed to know what he now knew--that even if Validar and his Grimleal were corrupt, the Resistance was scum, and it needed to disappear. No wonder, he thought with a wry chuckle, That fine rabbit lady was scowlin’ like stormy weather.

He spotted the others long before they saw him. They numbered five, including royals large and small, the partially mechanized samurai, and the mismatched pair. First they stopped by the Commissions Office, led by the Twilight Princess, where Hunnigan pointed them in the right direction. Big Band watched like a hawk as the group made their way over toward the Coffee Spoon, but he didn’t have eyes for his comrades alone. Something was fishy, and his birds-eye view gave the detective a pretty decent idea what. Band stood, eyes narrowed, and retreated into the cafe away from prying eyes.

A few moments later the others reached the second floor, and Band rang a little triangle to steer their eyes though the mist and to the table he sat behind. “Just in time,” he told them by way of greeting. In just a few moments he’d gathered enough chairs for everyone to join him, regardless of Sectonia’s ability to do so. “But we’ll have to save the happy talk for later. Things’re a lot spicier around here than you might think.”

For perhaps the first time since they’d known him the others could get a look at his face for the first time. The pain of many years was etched onto his features, but for everything he’d been through, he still radiated a sense of confidence and tranquility. At the moment, he bore a serious expression that lent gravity to his words. “For starters, you got followed. Don’t look now, but I spotted a li’l senorita in purple not too far behind ya. Appeared from nothing, then vanished just as quick. Might be she can go invisible, and if that’s true, there’s no tellin’ how long we been tailed.”

Instinctively he glanced at the stairs. “I’m positive she won’t come in here, what with it bein’ all misty. Still, there ain’t a lot of time. Things could get ugly any minute now, ‘cause whoever tried blowin’ up the job office ain’t gonna be happy it’s still around. There were three of ‘em. A guy with glasses, white hair, and a big red coat off the shoulders. A woman with bright pink hair. And a tiny blonde girl in red. But keep an eye out for anyone actin’ shifty, ‘cause they’ve got friends. They were talkin’ ‘bout someone called Chicken Legs.” He scowled. “They used a little girl to plant the bombs. Told her to bury her ‘treasure’ like it was a game, then rewarded her with pizza. The cognitive dissonance that takes...I seen a lot, but that riles up all of me.”

“So what friends do?” Tora asked him, a determined look on his face.

“Do nothin’ ‘til you hear from me,” Band instructed. “Grab a drink, bump gums, whatever. I’m gonna go out an’ see if I can grab their attention. Try an’ get ‘em to follow me. Might be a minute, but when it’s time I’ll bust out a good, flat note with my sax, and when that happens I need y’all to come runnin’. Sound like a plan?” The detective stood ready to put his scheme into action, unaware of the similar plots brewing nearby.



Bongo Bongo’s percussive onslaught quickly stirred things up in the final stretch of the Belly, threatening to snatch away the chance at escape that the children in its domain had been struggling to reach. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and before things could go to hell the biggest and most mobile of the Seekers decided it was time she pulled her weight. Blazermate jetted around the outer rim of the great junk chamber, giving the shadow beast’s tantrum a wide berth until she dove in to assist the now stranded Geralt and Mirage.

With the monster’s position and movement dashing any clever plans they could come up with short-term, the boys opted for the Hail-Mary solution Blazermate offered. One after another the two entrusted themselves to the throwing arm of a medabot only a couple feet taller than either who didn’t specialize in strength. They got some impressive air, with Mirage providing himself some in-flight entertainment by pelting the phantom with a few totally ineffective darts, but soon it became clear that Mirage would fall short of the target. He fell smack dab into a big section of brown shoes in the ground layer and sunk up to his waist, the impact not too bad but his movement impeded. A moment later Geralt joined him, and both were left to flounder as they tried to wade through the shoes toward the sofa.

The sight of it sent Nadia’s heart into her throat. She knew all too well what awaited her friends in the ground layer down there, but in a twist of fate it wasn’t even the unseen monster that provided the most immediate threat. Behind them, Bongo Bongo continued to slam down on the junk, left left right, left left right, and each beat with its right hand caused a shock wave that popped the boys out of the shoes, making movement almost impossible. Nearby the others were making their way through the quake, including Peach, Sakura, Link and a boat using the combined rowing power of Bowser, Ace, and Bella. Would any of them be able to help the fallen in time?

Nadia couldn’t assume so. Her mind raced for an answer, any answer, and her cat eyes landed on the streamer wound around Mirage’s shoulder. She could use it to pull them in, like quicksand in a movie! “Throw me the rope!” she called to Mirage, reaching out from the sofa cushion toward them. Once she got it, Rika and Junior could help pull her up, although Junior seemed worryingly fixated on plans far too intricate for the mess they were all in. Bongo Bongo swerved to face the noise, ready to pounce on the dead giveaway, but Mimi’s Shadow Sneak struck its right hand, and Rika's tiny shells burst against its head. The thing grunted, and for a crucial moment its heavy beat stopped.

But before anything else happened, Blazermate dropkicked the fan’s central reactor, smashing both the red light and the engine within. Immediately it let out a deep BZZZT and started sparking, accompanied by the hideous noise of metal grating on metal. Gouts of flame burst from the mechanism, but instead of coming to a stop the fan started accelerating out of control. It started wobbling on its hub, throwing itself further and further out of whack, its blades sliding against the vent rims with such fervor that they glowed with heat. Then, with a terrific wrench, the fan tore free of its housing and leaped, flaming, from the wall.

Blazermate dodged in time to save her own neck, but not so fast to avoid one twintail taking a catastrophic slash from the rampant fan. Bongo Bongo, however, wasn't able to dodge at all. The fan carved into its body like an immense buzzsaw, nearly cleaving it in half before it lost momentum. It let loose an abominable wail that chilled the blood of each and every soul and, gushing shadowy essence, disappeared into the darkness. Its beat had stopped. Everything was still.

Everything except the thing that lurked below, of course. It powered toward the fallen children, throwing up shoes in its wake. Nadia had helped Sakura onto the sofa but she could not let her rest. “Here, help me pull!” Once those already on the sofa had a grip of the streamer they worked together to haul Geralt and Mirage away from the unknowable grasp of their remaining foe and onto the sofa. Nadia let go a moment before the others to get into position herself, lying on her back with her fan on her belly and her finger on the trigger. Bongo Bongo had reappeared a ways off, and despite its grievous wounds its searchlight was fixed on the crowd of kids on their sofa. There was no time to waste putting up darts. “C-come on, jump over my fan! I’ll boost you up, hurry!”

As the most exhausted Bella went first, and with a push of the fan’s button she went sailing up to land on the fan duct. One after another Nadia sent the others, Sakura, then Rika, then Kamek, with Peach pausing to give her a brief but portentous pat on the head. The Shadow Beast was getting closer; its hands reached from the blackness. Nadia sent Geralt, Link, Ace, Junior, and finally Bowser, trusting Blazermate to make the climb herself despite her damaged pigtail. Then the feral hopped to her feet and found herself alone before the face of death, awash in the crimson of cursed blood. Things slowed down. This is it. This is the end, she thought, but as she bared her teeth the corners of her mouth twisted up in a smile. In her mind she saw her family, waiting for her with arms outstretched.

Then something dangled in front of her vision like a fishing line, bringing her back. It was the streamer, hanging from above. Her friends were going to bring her up. Nadia grabbed the steamer, stuck it in her fan, and turned it on. It wound around the blade as it spun, and with the other end held firm, it pulled her up instead. The next second Bongo Bongo’s hands clapped together where the kitten had just been, but when the monster opened its hands it found nothing inside.

It shrieked and lifted itself upward. Its hands gripped the edge as it rose in front of the vent to see most of the children fleeing, Nadia among them. It did not expect to find one child directly in front of it, weapon clutched in his little hand, to finish things once and for all.

---

Nadia didn’t know how long she sprinted through dark vents and cramped, metallic confines, but eventually she followed the others through a hinged grate into a poorly-lit room. Though stark it seemed normal, and contained no monsters. Light came through a doorway mostly blocked by furniture and boxes, and through the opening the feral could hear the sound of water.

She came to a stop and collapsed, barely feeling herself hit the floor. Every inch of her hurt in some way or another. Right now she felt more gassed than she could ever remember being. “Guh...huhh..hahh…” she gasped, curling up into a ball. “Ohh...hohh...kuh…….man. I thought...kids never...ran out...of energy.” One somewhat delirious laugh escaped her before she calmed herself, breathing deeply. Truly, she’d felt better. A little loopy from both mental and physical exertion, thirsty, and...surprisingly hungry.

A growling noise filled her ears and her eyes blinked open, brows lowered. “Why the hell...am I so hungry? Did it...did the demon magic just...rewind the lunch right out of me?” In her formative ears foraging alleys for scraps she’d led what many would call a meager existence. Hunger had been a constant companion. But as she looked around and heard from the others she became aware that everyone was hungry, even those who as children should be well cared-for.

Strange, but she could think about it once her everything stopped aching. For the moment, before they needed to come to grips with whatever lay beyond the door, the little Seekers could have a well-earned break.

---

Mirage was right to look down at his landing zone, as it turned out he wasn't making it to the couch. Not as worried about noise now, he screamed as he plopped into the shoes, momentarily getting his head stuck in a sock, struggling to escape but Geralt's landing helped pop him out, face almost green from the smell of the footwear he had landed in. He eyed the couch, still a short distance away, before being launched again by Bongo Bongo's quakes, his attack proving ineffective, unfortunately. As he landed, he looked down and realized the situation they were in. After what he'd seen with Nadia, he easily put together the urgency of their situation and grabbed his wingman Geralt before yanking him along, making it clear that: "We gotta get up before we get pulled under!"

He clenched his teeth, head shifting to get a look behind them and in front, trying to figure out a plan as he trudged through the junk, in a slow and clumsy manner due to not having much for footing. Everything he stepped on sank and triggered the monster, and his breathing became more and more uneasy as he felt like this was it. However, Nadia's voice broke him out of it as he realized the streamer he had could possibly save their lives. With no hesitation, he released Geralt to take his makeshift rope from it's place around his arm, before tossing it towards the tiny feral. Thrusting an arm back he urged for Geralt to grab on, not wanting to waste even a second given they were sinking. His panic came back as they seemed to not be moving immediately, the boy wondering what was going on until he saw a fan soar overhead, flying back and slicing through Bongo Bongo. "Oh yeah! How'd ya like--" To his horror, it was still moving despite the damage, causing the moment of happiness to quickly end as he lightly tugged on the rope and shouted: "Get us out get us out get us ouuuuuuuut!"

His feet scrambled as they began pulling. Feet pressing against the cushion, he tried to scale up as fast as he could, knowing things were getting sour quick. On a safe zone again, he couldn't keep himself from offering a kiss to the couch for it's service. It seemed there was no time to rest, however, as Nadia urged for them to get going. Eyeing the vent, Mirage pulled whatever strength he had in reserve, gripped his streamer, and ran up to her fan, jumping in and letting out a "Woo!" As he soared into the air before planting some darts to give a bit more of a landing zone for the vent.

He felt like his heart was going to hop out of his throat, hands caressing the cold vent as he saw everyone come up, one by one. "Crap, she can't blast herself up!" Mirage realized, running over with streamer in hand as he peered over the edge. Urging the others to grab hold, he dipped it down to try and fish Nadia up, which happened just in time thankfully due to quick thinking with her fan. With their last teammate recovered, he was quick to start running despite the aching his body felt. He wasn't interested in ever seeing that room, or those creatures, ever again.

---

It had been dark, and aside from the steps of those within the vent and their heavy breathes, pretty quiet. Mirage was half glad to be out of the vents, but also scared of what could be around in this next room. Things seemed simple enough, thankfully, and nothing jumped at them so perhaps they had a moment to rest. Pulling his goggles up onto his forehead, he dropped into a sitting position, trying to catch his breath. Everything hurt, he felt like he'd been run over, or something. This little body wasn't meant to be exerted so much, and he was regretting the amount of physical activity he chose to partake in.

His stomach felt a particular pain. Earlier he'd felt like he'd been stuffed with a glorious porkchop dinner, but now it was like it had been torn right out of his gut. His arms wrapped around his waist as the hunger pains added to the suffering. the boy feeling like he'd not like the reason this feeling suddenly came over him. "There's magic making us hungry now?" He questioned, staring at Nadia with a tired expression. Slowly, his view went to the floor, confirmation that he indeed did not like the reasoning behind his hunger. "Man, this hull place just sucks."

Deciding to try and find a positive, Mirage allowed himself to fall onto his back, arms outstretched. Everything was dark, they were hurting, there was no certainty that something wouldn't pop out and try to eat them within a moments notice. "Look at the bright side, guys: We're alive!" What a good positive to point out, Elliot, captain of the Obvious...

So Blazermates idea didn't turn out so well. First her idea of launching Geralt and Mirage to the couch didn't get them enough distance as well, she wasn't the strongest medabot especially without her demonic shield arm. Second her flying kick of desperation was that, a flying kick of "oh dear god the fan is now a buzzsaw". Blazermate ducked out of the way, but due to the wideness of her frame due to having her jets out she couldn't fully dodge it and the saw ricochet off her pigtail and disabled it, causing her to be forced to land with the others. The silver lining of this was that the now turned buzzsaw fan sliced its way through bongo bongo, although this didn't kill the monster like some had hoped but sent him back to the start. Apparently deadly slashes like this only reset the monsters down here instead of killing them, good to know for the future. Still she made her way up to the vent with the others, climbing with them as she had no way of using her flight for now.

When she got into the vent, she put her hair in a different mode so that it'd be more compact to allow her to navigate the vents, even if one of them had a massive slash along it and the engine components inside were showing. Her head part wasn't completely depleted, so she could heal up if given the opportunity, which soon she would be allowed to do as the vents went in deeper and deeper, and everyone had been able to get inside. Blazermate would've liked to help the others get up, but her size meant that it was difficult for her to move through the vents let alone turn around inside them.

""Phew, that was close..." Blazermate said as they made their way through the vents, most exhausted and a little hurt. She wouldn't be able to do much for everyone until they got to a more open area that had the sound of water flowing nearby, something Blazermate wasn't too keen on. With the space to move around, she began to mend her own jet and the wounds of the others, not having the enhanced healing rate that her fancy robo medic medigun gave to lingering wounds meaning that this took far longer that she would've liked. While she made sure everyone was at least health, she could hear the rumbling coming from everyone's stomachs. This wasn't something she could help though, with her saying. "... Are you all ok?"

Tora's protestation of splitting the gold, specifically with the demon prince was definitely unprecedented but instead of getting angry at the ball of fur the boy simply smirked in silent self-indulgence. Laharl wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to gloat yet Poppi intervened and prevented the situation from escalating further, she was a lot better at controlling her master than her master was at controlling her.

After that the impetuous boy stopped listening to the group chattering amongst themselves, only vaguely listening to them from time to time whenever they mentioned something interesting which was essentially nothing. Soon enough everyone went off to spend their earnings, except for Laharl. As he was well acquainted with the concept of value Laharl knew that spending the little amount of gold he had would be a waste of his coin, so the boy pocketed his earnings unlike the others who went off to peruse the various market stalls.

Laharl decided it was time to go his separate ways from the rest of the group for the time being, he wanted to see if he could find trouble or if trouble could find him...



'I'm tired of being treated like I'm nothing more than some kid!' Laharl thought to himself huffily as he made his way through a narrow alleyway, he wasn't entirely sure where he was or how far from the market he had gone because he was wrapped up in his own little mind-set.

'I am an Overlord not some pathetic nobody like those pricks!' the boy kicked a piece of trash in frustration, Laharl had to take a deep breath in order to not try and destroy everything around him in a fit of rage. He had more important things to worry about like where he was and why he had the suspicious feeling like he was being watched...

Minda led the way to the office and, after which the ever helpful lady there pointed them towards a local cafe. After scooting through the steamy interior of the store they found the man and, a little surprisingly, found him bear faced. Part of Midna had just assumed that the mask he’d worn was his face as part of his semi-mechanical nature, but it looked like that wasn't the case. He was in fact rather handsome under there, but that wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

First thing they found out after taking a seat at his table was that they were being followed. Midna’s court intrigue honed senses stopped her looking before Band even suggested it, or so she told herself anyway. Either way she didn't immediately blow their cover. After that she sat quietly and listened to the train of events that had led to him preventing the bombing of the job office, though she couldn't and didn't stop herself from looking physically ill upon finding out that the rebels had used a child to place their explosives.

”Goddesses, scratch the surface and you find this town is rotten to the core.” she muttered in disgust. Part of her wanted to just wash the hands of the whole place and move on. Once they dealt with Galeem none of this would matter anyway after all. But they were knee deep in the thick of it now and, though the two sides might be various kinds of trash, the locals themselves seemed fine.

”The people deserve better than this… ” she waved her hand around generally to indicate to, well, everything wrong with the town’s politics and rotten underbelly ”mess”

After that Band said he’d be going out to act as, well, bait for the rebel’s scouting force.

”I can hide in the shadows. Physically I mean, completely undetectable. Could ride yours or the slink around the surroundings if you want someone to watch your back without drawing more attention” Midna offered, though she was aware that her vanishing from their party’s numbers might also draw attention. She wasn't an expert at this kind of thing, whereas Big Band clearly was, so it was very much up to him. If not, she was broke, so no tea for her, but she could chat with the others about stuff till the big man’s trumpet called them to war.

Like checking in with how their minion’s desert rescue mission was going with Sectonia.

---

”Or we could build a giant slingshot and-” the Koppa prince was saying only for Rika to yell “Jr! It’s time to go!” at him as she ran back to them from her firing position and then past him to hop onto Nadai’s fan before soaring upwards to the vent. She landed in the vent, wobbled a little, and then moved to the side to again, try and cover people as the last of the party rushed to the exit that Blazermate had drop-kicked open for them like the badass robot lady she was.

Said dropkick had also inadvertently resulted in a crushing blow to cyclops chasing them, and a near death experience for Kamek, who was still pressed up against one wall of the vent where he’d narrowly avoided being run down by the deadly giant fan, his breathing slowly stabilizing from the panic and fear nearly being blended into a fine past had caused.

Down below Jr finally pulled himself out of his elaborate planning spiral as his dad’s ship crested the shore and its people rapidly unloading and started also being fan launched up into the vent

”Come on son, let's go” Bowser said, pushing him to go before him.

”Shoot. Right. Going” the prince replied, grabbing both his minions and leaping into the jet-stream with them in tow, after which the king followed suit and the pair found themselves staring the long dark metal hallway of the vent

In front of them some of the crew were already moving forward, while others were waiting to make sure the rest of them made it. Jr dropped Tyrant to the ground and then moved to collect Kamek and kept moving, while Bowser joined in with the rope team, helping bail Nadia out of trouble and giving the one eyed jerk a mini fireball for good measure before joining the others in legging it down the vent-way and into the depths of the ship.

---

The dark vents felt like they went on forever, and only a scant few light sources, like a little wisp of fire-breath Bowser kept going as much as he could while running, lit the way and kept them together till, at last, they dropped down into a dark but rather normal looking room. There, unsurprisingly, everyone rapidly found somewhere to take a load off, the troop finding walls or boxes to lean or sit against while they all caught their breath. Then the hunger set in, which was a lovely added bonus to proceedings.

Supernatural hunger perhaps some hypothesized. Kamek would not be surprised if that was the case.

”If I remember rightly, our oh so helpful adviser from the 13 that said this was the best way to go mentioned that the food in this place was bad somehow. Cursed probably. So as much as this is, frankly, the worst, I highly advise against eating anything.” Kamek recommended, not remembering he specifics if there had been any, but knowing that there was definitely something wrong with the food intended for the diners in this accursed ship

”Uuurgh, for real!?” Bowser complained ”Easy for you to say, freeloader, I’m starving here. And real thirsty too”

Kamek shrugged, what was he supposed to do about his crummy little turtle legs after all, but he did suggest ”Well, we could see about getting water from wherever that sound is coming at least? That might not be dangerous. Might.”

”Gimmy, like, five more minutes. Then maybe we'll take a look.” Jr insisted, which was more than fair.

Things were looking rather bad but, as Mirage pointed out, they were at the very least still alive.

It was something.

”We are indeed, each and every one of us. I’d say you’ve all quite thoroughly beaten the odds to make it this far, but then that is what heroes do, yes?” Kamek suggested, trying to add on a little encouragement to Mirage’s statement of fact, ”Quite an infuriating habit most of the time, but more than welcome given the circumstances.”

”Tell me about it” Bowser grunted, but he was smiling a little

”Bet that jerk lady thinks she’s already won and we’re done for. But we’re not and that means we’ve got the element of surprise for when we find her, kick her butt and then blow this popsicle stand!” Jr concluded, which got a little chorus of affirmations from the troop. The thought of vengeance was a poor substitute for food, but it would have to satiate them for now.

Kasugano Sakura watched in awe as some of her tiny friends saw fit to battle this thing. They were actually managing to hold it off, too. And Blazermate cleared their exit with a "Super sick dropkick!" Sakura shouted, her voice joining the cacophany of metallic destruction that followed.

Sakura was pushed into action, pulling herself from her cozy corner and doing her best to help pull her friends up. Especially Link, the pair of them having bonded over their pillow-hopping, at least in Sakura's mind.

"We're almost out, almost out!" Sakura said both to herself and her teammates.

Nadia was going to her fan to get everybody up. "All right- just be careful, Nadia-san!" Then she jumped and was pushed to safety, tumbling unsteadily to a stop.

"The streamers! Get her up!" Sakura practically shrieked. Nadia used her agility and quickly thinking to latch onto the streamer using her fan. The little brunette held on as tight as she could, but no doubt the heavy lifting was being done by some of the others.

"We're good! Let's get the heck out of here!" And they did, running down into the vents. Her purple shoots pattered along the vents, her arms stretched out infront of her and to her sides.

Sakura came to a stop along with the others, putting her hands on her knees and panting heavily. "Phew...that was a bit close." She said, a small laugh in her voice. It quickly grew into a bigger laugh. Despite herself, she hopped up and down in victory.

"We're alive, Mirage! We did it...we did iiit! Oh, we're the best!" With some tears in her eyes and a grin on her face she gave anyone who was willing- or even just particularly vulnerable a hug. Or, a high five. Bella, Geralt, Cadet, Link, even bitty Bowser; No one was safe. High fives and consolations especially, for Nadia. "You're the MVP, Nadia. I owe you...e to, something. I'll figure it out." She smiled, closing her eyes and rubbing the back of her head. This was her own little celebration of team work and being alive.

She'd been so caught up she hadn't noticed her stomach rumbling. Sakura frowned and then listened into Kamek's helpful reminder. "...I hate this stupid ship." She complained. "Being hungry? And not being allowed to eat?" Her face fell. "Just feed me to the junk monster, are you kiddin'!" She pouted, kicking the ground.

"Let's go. You're right, Junior. That lady and her stupid cheating demon snake kites are gonna get smoked. I'm gonna smack 'em around in the runback, just you wait." She huffed, punching her fist into her palm. "Now...I guess we gotta go back to being quiet." She looked around the big room.

"No where to go but forward. At least we're on steady ground." She hopped up and down again before continuing onwards. She reached the big door and pressed her ear up against it. "Sounds like water." She whispered to the others. "Let's move these furniture and boxes and stuff out of the way." Instinctually she pushed on it with one hand. This obstacle would be no problem for 18 year old Sakura. For 4 year old Sakura? It barely moved. She leaned up against it and pushed as hard as she could for a few seconds, grunting from the effort. She only ended up pushing her own body backwards. Grumbling to herself she let what little strength she had be lent to the coordinated effort of getting through the door.

Geralt cursed as he noticed Mirage's descent to the ground, figuring that he'd also be joining the fellow turned toddler in the layer of discarded junk that covered the floor of this room like a layer of water in a flooded cavern. It was somewhat odd that this entire section seemed to consist only of brown boots, but all things considered it was hardly worth thinking on. What mattered was that he and Mirage got to safety, and quickly before whatever it was that called this sea of debris its home attacked. He didn't shrug off Mirage's helping hand as he might otherwise normally have, since they were both hardly in their best shape right now, and he could use whatever help he got.

The two trudged for dear life through the footwear, barely making progress due to their pursuer's erratic movements rippling through their surroundings like it truly was water they were wading through. Geralt cursed yet again under his breath, annoyed at himself for going along with that insane plan, but also annoyed that he hadn't come up with anything better. Systematic approaches to dangerous situations was supposed to be his forte, and he'd failed to come up with anything better than 'jump around and try not to die'. Sure, it had worked until that last pile of junk, but 'until' didn't quite cut it when the penalty for not having a proper working plan meant death.

Thankfully, help came in the form of Nadia calling out for and reaching to grab Mirage's streamer, which he gladly threw to the feline girl. Mirage held an arm back for Geralt to take hold of, while those who had already made it helped pull the two up. Once they were safe, Geralt sighed and shook his head. "Thanks. That...went much worse than we'd hoped." If that wasn't an understatement, then that word clearly didn't mean anything.

Geralt hadn't quite missed Bongo Bongo being shredded up a bit by a giant flying fan blade, but he'd been a bit too preoccupied to comment on it, and he certainly wasn't going to do so now that they were almost home free and it was right behind them about to kill them all.

Quickly making it to safety thanks to Nadia's fan boost, Geralt turned to make sure the others made it up as they had done for him, putting him in perfect position to grab hold of Nadia's arms as she used her fan in what was a rather creative way. Helping to haul her over the edge, Geralt ushered the two onwards with the others, waiting at the opening of the vent with his pilfered scissors in hand.

He turned to the other person who had stayed behind, the Cadet, a true hunter like himself, and nodded. Adjusting his grip on his 'weapon' to hold it like a shortsword, Cadet holding his pole like a javelin, the two watched as Bongo Bongo floated up, his baleful red eye shining brightly on them.

And the hunter became the hunted as both weapons thrust forward, stabbing into the eye with ease. Bongo Bongo recoiled, scissors left inside its eye, and fell to the ground below them, bouncing off the couch and dissipating into shadows once more. Geralt wasn't going to wait around any longer to make sure it was permanent this time, however. "Let's go." He said simply, turning and hurrying after the others.

________________________________________________________________________

After who-knows how long spent navigating through dark, cramped vents, Geralt found himself in a poorly-lit room with the other Seekers, and he breathed a sigh of relief, even as a wave of lethargy washed over him. Hunger and thirst came with it, and he had trouble suppressing the painful feelings like he normally would have. Whether that was something his body had simply learned to do or was the mutations, Geralt actually wasn't quite sure. Witchers were hardly alone in being able to last a few days without food if it was absolutely necessary. "I vaguely remember that as well, Kamek." Geralt agreed on the point about the food being cursed or tainted in some way. "Hell of a trap, honestly."

Ignoring the light rumbling of his belly, Geralt took note of the sound of water coming from the other side of the doorway that the light was slipping past. What exactly that meant, he wasn't quite sure, but it didn't sound good. Still, as Mirage and Kamek agreed, they were all alive, and that was a win. "We survived once. We just...have to do it again. And then again. And probably a fourth time. Maybe a fifth."

He still wasn't great at pep talks. At least that much hadn't changed about him.

The point wasn’t lost on Fox. He knew the towering detective had been keeping a loose tail on him. He wasn’t exactly trying to hide the fact, even if a man of his size and mass with built-in noise makers was somehow capable of doing so. Whether he trailed him to act as contingent backup or out of underlying suspicion was up to him, but either would be understandable. Even if they meant well, a seasoned investigator worth his salt couldn’t rightly be expected to fully trust some ragtags he just met.

If anything could be said for sure about him, it’s that he better knew how to play the field--and more--for what he needed. It didn’t take Band long to post up outside of a heavily trafficked locale to put his instruments to good use. It took Fox a second from the initial twitch of his ears registering jazz tones to realize what the Big man was doing. In applying his unique talents to create a more comfortable, inviting, and perhaps disarming atmosphere, he made for himself a perfect cover from which to observe the crowd as patrons and passersby came and went. Fox respected the idea such that he almost wanted to drop a tip in his hat if not for lacking in physical (or presently any) currency to do so. At any rate he had more important things to think about; namely taking advantage of the distraction provided to slip off into the cracks in the scene, and looking for anyone else who would be doing the same.

---

Alas, after nearly an hour of searching for conspicuous oddities among the bustle, he came up cold and dry, figuratively speaking. He ended up ducking off into a shaded alley to find a minute of respite from the midday desert heat in the midst of his thus far fruitless search for anything at all. The boredom of it was starting to get to him more than anything else (as tended to be the case), as he was left with a moment to consider what he had been doing wrong, the first and most obvious thing being working out of his element in general. Matters of the covert and any requiring greater discretion or a more discerning eye weren’t exactly his forte, as one who seldom needed to hunt down a target.

Perhaps his newest acquaintance with lifelong experience in the criminal could provide his particular insights on the case. Fox might have had a mind to contact him and ask if he only knew how to reach him. In any case, he had a feeling they wouldn’t be seeing him again until later in the day, closer to (or at) night. Hopefully, by then, he will have at least found out more than them.

Until then, he had naught else he could do but retrace his steps and reconsider his approach. It occurred to him on the trek back to the bar where he left Band that he may have stood out a little too much to anyone looking back, who didn’t want to be found. Perhaps deviating from the scene rather than immersing himself in it was the wrong move; that he was checking the wrong places in the wrong way. He was now realising that whoever he was looking for could (and may very well) have just as easily blended into the setting when given the opportunity. It was a bit late for it now, but setting aside a moment to relax--or at least appearing to--may better benefit his end of the investigation than a dedicated (ergo visible) effort. At that, he actually find a restful moment of peace by accident in pretending to try.

It seemed that moment would come slightly later, for when he made it back to the block where the Hound Pits was located, He found empty space formerly occupied by Big Band when last he saw him. Further inspection confirmed that he wasn’t inside the establishment either. A quick ask to an attentive patron/staff about the whereabouts of the one visitor they couldn’t miss would lead him vaguely in the direction he had taken off in, whereupon he happened upon the scene of a thwarted crime, thanks to Band himself, as he found out. With a small sum of convincing, Hunnigan gave him the briefest rundown of what had taken place mostly in her fortuitous absence, and pointed him in the proper direction where he could find the detective to reconvene. He thanked the office attendant for the information (what little she could assuredly provide) and went on his way.

Within the cool, misty cafe he would find not only Big Band, but the better share of the rest of the crew as well. Thus came that moment of relaxation as he joined them, pulling up a seat next to the detective. He would mildly regret reintroducing his now mist-moistened fur to the desert sun to suffer the humidity later, but it couldn’t be helped. Having grown up on an arid, desolate desert planet, and been consistently underdressed (even sleeveless) in the snow, he was never one to be openly bothered by the elements.

“I’d ask if you found anything on your end, but… I think I’ve already seen it,” he addressed to Band specifically. He tried--somewhat convincingly--to bury his frustration with coming up empty-handed beneath a bearing of forward objectivity “So what’s our play?” While the question was meant primarily for the detective, anyone with additional leads or answers was free to offer them, for which he waited and read the table. On this particular matter, he was content to let the Big man take the lead, being clearly the most experienced at it. That didn’t mean, however, that he would be getting comfortable enough to cease looking over his back for any would-be pursuers.

The sweet worms Sectonia was eating were not unpleasant. If anything they were an interesting experience. Now the Nuka cola however.... Soda did exist on Popstar but it was more of a cream soda this was very different. And energy packed! No wonder why Tora was jittery. Sectonia had more of a presence than the nopon so she held her composure for the most part, although she did move a bit quicker when chatting.

And much like Midna Sectonia was a but surprised at Big Bands normal face under his respirator. "Hmm good to know those aren't permanent." She said. It was either the moon stone, the Nuka cola or something else but Sectonia kind of liked his rugged face. Maybe it was his hardboiled air? Well thoughts for later as he spoke about the rebels and coming up with a plan.

Midna commented a bit about the whole situation between both factions and white she was more annoyed with the evil, Sectonia was more annoyed at how poor both groups are doing. "Hmph why don't both factions just fight each other and get it over with. Both aren't even doing the whole Intel game right." Sectonia said airing her grievances of the whole thing. None the less as Midna offered her help Sectonia offered an antlion if Band needed it. She also told Midna about the situation with the rescue antlions. Or at least what she could as she could only tell if they were alive or dead.

A few moments passed while Big Band’s info sank in for the others, parts of which elicited no small amount of contempt from the royals. Once Midna got up to speed, however, she offered an excellent suggestion that the detective was only too happy to agree with. “Sounds like an A1 plan to me,” he told her. “Won’t turn down some instant backup, no sir.” The Twilight Princess’s contribution prompted Sectonia, who never settled for second best, to offer what she could, but Band turned her down. “Save your bugs for when we begin the beguine. Until then I need the suckas feelin’ like they got me all to themselves.”

Fox’s arrival both gladdened Band’s heart and tied off one loose end in his mind. After confirming both the ruthlessness of the Resistance and their awareness of the Seekers’ presence he would have been lying if he said he hadn’t worried where Fox went. His appearance here no worse for wear put an end to that line of thinking. Succinctly the detective repeated his plan. “I’m gonna show up at the scene of the crime actin’ the fool, with this sophisticated lady in my shadow, and see if anyone rolls up with intentions for me.” He leaned back in his chair with a slight smile. “Chances are I’ll end up in a lot somewhere and they’ll try’n give me the one-o-clock jump. If the two of us can’t bring about a resolution I’ll give the signal, so if you hear my sax come runnin’. Take five ‘til then.”

Once everyone got the plan down, Band stood to get to work. He plodded his way through the cooling mist and out of the coffee shop, at which point he retraced his steps to the Commissions Office. Big Band could be discreet despite his size, but he could also be conspicuous because of it, and now he made no effort to mitigate his presence. In short order he was stomping around the scene of the crime, looking up and down the street, trying so hard to find someone that he could only possibly find someone who wanted to be found. And in surprisingly short order, he found one.

In the course of his faux investigation Band spotted a large man hanging between the public bathhouse and the library across main street. He was blonde and burly, a rough warrior type ridden with showy spikes, and absolutely not a visitor at either nearby establishment. Most tellingly the stranger kept looking Big Band’s way, pretending to look at passing citizens or other buildings for a few seconds at a time here and there, or when the Detective glanced his way. Once sure, Band winked at Hunnigan and took off in the direction of the burly loiterer. Predictably the stranger beat a hasty retreat, disappearing between the buildings. Band followed, rounding the corner just in time to see his quarry’s boots vanish behind the next. “Too easy,” he murmured, more for his passenger than himself, as he gave chase by sliding across the concrete, asphalt, and tile with a stream of music notes.

The pursuit came to an end in a parking lot between a few large buildings. One had a garage door partially open, and the meathead ducked into the dark inside. His perception and intuition told him he’d followed his mark far enough east to be close to the market district again, making these warehouses or offices of some kind, but this particular lot seemed deserted. A perfect place for an ambush. Feeling pretty wise to the act, Band slowed his roll and used a giant hand to slide up the garage door enough to get in. The instant he entered he visually swept the interior, taking in every detail as fast as he could. While the place bore a few signs of relatively recent activity, the current occupants were not workers. He spotted a green-clad ninja with pistol and claw, a masked swordsman, a mohawk-having punk on robotic bird legs, an indecent jester, and last but not least the trio who’d set up the bomb scare: Mao, Maeve, and Klee. Though they stood, sat, or otherwise lounged around in a casual manner, they were positioned to have him almost surrounded.

A noise from behind drew Band’s eye, and when he looked over he shoulder he found the purple-clad woman he’d seen stalking the Seekers early, behind him with a submachine gun. She waved cheekily with the hand not holding her weapon at the ready.

Though instantly on guard, Band betrayed no fear. He turned back toward the rest “Huh! Real nice welcoming party ya got here. Makes me feel all kinds of warm ‘n fuzzy inside.”

“Spare us the brave face,” the demon-faced samurai snarled. “You’re going to tell us every last detail about your group. Who you are, and what you’re doing in the city with Validar.”

Band raised a brow. “You wanna know who I am? I’m all there is of the most real.”

A smattering of bullets struck the ground around his feet. Daemon hefted his sword onto his shoulder and took a step forward, while the other Resistance members got to their feet. “I told you we’re not playing games. We’re-”

“You’re a two-bit, no-account, rat soup eatin’ grab bag of fools,” Band told him, steamrolling right over his speech. “And if ya don’t take this last chance to lay down your weapons and stick ‘em up, you’ll be prosecuted to the full extent of the jam.”

A moment of pregnant silence followed before Daemon gave a derisive snort. “Have it your way.” His mask turned ever-so-slightly to Big Bands’ left and nodded.

Band was moving before the first few shots left Koga’s gun. He slid across the floor like a freight train, soaking up the bullets with a cymbal shield before he got into range. “Gimme a hit!” From his other side hurtled his gigantic fist, and when it connected the ninja got smashed into the wall behind him hard enough to leave a crater.

The sight cowed Band’s enemies, but only for a moment. More bullets pierced Band’s back as the Resistance melee fighters rushed in. “Short stuff!” he called to Midna. “Wipe out miss vanishing act before she hits the tracks!” Tira, Baz, Daemon, and Maeve were nearly upon him, but the detective stood his ground and deployed an enormous drum pedal. “Giant Step!” Its pendulus weight swung and slammed into the ground, releasing a tremor that knocked his attackers bodily to the ground. Only Cass managed to keep her footing thanks to her legs, but when she lashed out with a brutal kick, Band armored through the pain to deliver a mighty sound blast from his sax, loud enough to be heard from a distance. The trade went in his favor, blowing Cass back while he staggered from the body blow, but just a moment the others had gotten to their feet, and the battle was on for real.



Much to her chagrin Nadia had to leave the pun-making to Mirage for the moment, and she focused on stabilizing herself instead. Her eyes rested on the fan that lay on the floor beside her, and her mind filled with gratitude. Never in her life would she have expected such a mundane little device to be such a lifesaver. And thinking back on it, she was honestly shocked that she’d been able to put the fan to use on the fly like that. She decided to repay it by sitting up and beginning the task of untangling the streamer from the fan blade. Even being turned into a child, it seemed, couldn’t dampen her creativity--her aptitude for making the most of a bad situation.

The thought emboldened her just as much as the others’ celebration. Mirage was right. Despite everything stacked against them, the team had made it through the dark, miscellaneous hellscape and through that shadow beast’s gaze without a single casualty. There was hope for them yet. She nodded her response to Blazermate’s question but did not resist Sakura’s hug, but received it with open (and then closed) arms. “Meowst Valuable Player, huh? Well, it was mostly this thingy, but I’ll take it,” she smiled, patting both her fan and herself on the back. A few of her friends hyped themselves up too, filled with determination by their little victory.

Still, even if things weren’t quite so bleak, Nadia didn’t think for one second that they were out of the woods just yet. Their trip through the vents gained them a little elevation but the Seekers had a long way to go before they made up for their trip through the chutes. Just how big is this place? Worse still, the hunger she felt actually did seem to be the work of some witchcraft. Kamek shared a tidbit of information that Nadia must have missed: the heroes weren’t supposed to eat anything aboard the Maw. With a frown Nadia rose, putting the fan on her back. “Then this is a race against the clock, too. Spend too much time hidin’ or explorin’ and we’re done for.”

Peach nodded, her petite features about as grave as they could conceivably get. “Agreed. Let us proceed, then.” Her eyes fell on Sakura, trying all by her miniature lonesome to shift the obstruction blocking the door. “We’d better give her a hand.”

Many hands made light work, and soon the children dispersed enough of the piled boxes to slip through the doorway and into the dim light on the other side. On the way through Nadia tried to steel herself for anything, so what she saw surprised her only a little, even though it discouraged her a lot.



On the other side of the doorway three metal steps took them onto a red metal platform with railings, its surface about half an inch underwater. Beyond the railing stretched a gargantuan expanse of water, flat as a mirror. Large cylindrical structures of unknown purpose rose from its calm surface like leviathans from the deep. Catwalks of varying elevations, linked by stairs and in some cases wooden boards or hanging chains, snaked throughout the room both above and below the water. Nadia guessed that the place must be some sort of industrial zone, but what for she couldn’t tell, since the Maw certainly didn’t seem to suffer from it being flooded. The Depths had to be at least as big as the Belly, but the kitten got the feeling it extended much farther down. She scampered to the metal platform’s stairs, splashing the shallow coat of water, and saw that they led down, down, down until they finally vanished into the darkness. She whistled.

How deep it went, of course, was none of her concern. What bothered her was what might be lurking down there ready and willing to devour a couple kids who needed to make their way across all this water. “Yuck. This has sea monsters’ written all over it. And here I thought we’d had enough for a lifetime…” Try as she might, though, her cat eyes couldn’t discern much of anything down there, so she turned her gaze across the water for a possible destination.

Bella leaned on the railing and stared into the water herself, unperturbed by the Depths. “That’s unfortunate,” she mused. “I was thinking that Rika and I could just swim. We’re still Abyssals, after all, even if we’re little. But you’re right, there could be anything down there.” It was as clear to her as to anyone else that the team would need an alternative.

“Over here,” Peach called, waving. She’d been looking up at a laminated paper attached to the wall by the door the group came through, but she needed a boost or two to be able to actually read it. Once properly elevated, the pint-sized princess was gladdened to find that it was a map of the Depths. In fact it was four maps, one each for the area’s first, second, third, and fourth floors, the latter of which served as their current location. The first three floors appeared to be underwater, and she quickly caught on to a painful truth. “There’s an elevator but it...it’s...underwater,” she breathed in disbelief.

A sour expression had taken hold of Nadia’s face as she stood with her arms crossed. “Is there another way out?”

After a few moments Peach shook her head, frustrated. “It doesn’t look like it. But…on the first floor, there’s a room called Flow Control. And…!” As she spotted something else of note she turned to find its real-life counterpart across the water on the fourth floor. In a central location on the huge room’s right-side wall a windowed section jutted out, which the map labeled the Command Center, and right beside it was the Submersible Bay. “There! We might be able to...well…” Peach climbed down, looking like she already regretted her idea. “I mean, I know this is going to sound awful, but we could try using a submarine to go down and drain the water at Flow Control. It’s not like we have any other options right now, so we could at least head over.”

Nadia shot the Command Center window a dubious look. It might as well be across the ocean. “How?”

Pointing upward, Bella said, “We could use those hanging and suspended walkways.”

Eyebrows raised, Nadia looked toward the ceiling. The catwalks did form a pretty large, if extremely precarious, network that spanned the whole upper level. Not all were connected to one another, and fewer still in a safe manner, but on the far side a ladder lay right beside the door to the Command Center. The whole thing essentially made for an aerial maze, and one that would take no small amount of daring. But she could see pinpoints of light in the dark that the others probably couldn’t. “I think I see control panels up there. They might extend, raise, or lower the walkways. We’d just need…” Her eyes landed on Mirage and his gun, then on a flat section of wall nearby between the Seekers’ current footing and a low-hanging bridge. “A way up there.”

---

"Revenge isn't much of a treat, but it'll do!" Mirage said in agreement with Junior, the general mood of the group seeming okay, all things considered. A high-five from Sakura hurt more than raised his mood, but it was a fun gesture all the same and did help a little. Surely there was a long path ahead, but making a milestone was worth being joyful over, right? And Sakura granting Nadia MVP status was about as joyful as it got. The feral seemed to put the fame on her fan instead, but Mirage figured piping up a little was worthwhile in this situation.

"Hey, there's a saying amongst us engineers--" Mirage added, raising his hand to point at Nadia in particular. "A tool is only as useful as the way the person holding it puts it to use. And you saved our bacon, so I think you deserve the credit!" He stated with a smile, noting her help was critical to him getting this far. He also felt pretty bad about the whole tire thing, and felt like he owed her big time for that. That was for another time though, they didn't have time to get into all those details right now.

Pushing himself to his feet as Sakura began to try and work on clearing their path, Mirage chuckled at Geralt's words, offering him a low-energy grin and a finger gun as he passed by. Surviving again and again was his specialty, there's a reason he's an Apex Legend after all. "We just gotta keep being better. And none of these monsters are better than me." His words were met with him arriving at the blockade, rubbing his palms together as he prepped himself to lend a hand getting everything out of the way. Unfortunately, his success wasn't much better than Sakura's, but he desperately tried. After a moment, he took a step back and wiped the sweat from his brow, embarrassed but trying not to show it as he looked at the items blocking their way as if he was planning something in silence.

Thankfully, the others joined in and Mirage was able to play along that he was going to suggest teamwork as the way forward. Hunger and the exhaustion from the previous escape hindered his aid, but he pulled his weight in clearing the way. With a momentary break here and there.

---

As the sight of the Depths came into view, Mirage had a scowl on his face. "Oh great, water. Because we weren't soak-and-tired of that already." He complained, momentarily considering taking a sip, but remembering some of the others were talking about cursed food or something, and he didn't want to be cursed. He was cursed enough with hunger and being a kid, thank you.

Nadia commenting about sea monsters didn't help him feel better, but it did drive him away from wanting to drink any water. He cautiously eyed the surface of the flooding-- Or at least what he assumed was flooding, but the ship didn't seem impaired by it or anything. No sight of anything concrete... Though the light shifted and had him a bit wary here and there.

Speaking of wary, Mirage wasn't entirely liking the idea Peach was having with the submarine. Though, as he tried to use his head to think of a better way, he had nothing. "Well, never operated a submarine before, but there's a first time for everything." He said, defeated by the lack of options he had. He wasn't sure how familiar the group was with machinery, but noted that one of them was piloting the Atomos so there was someone here gifted enough, whoever they were. Hopefully they could figure out the details on the way.

He'd been spacing out a bit in his thoughts, but Nadia snapped him out of it. Eyeing the wall and bridge, he tried to make note of the distance to make each dart so they'd make the climb. "Say no more, a couple of steps coming right up!" He said, a few 'pop pops' sounding off as he placed his platforms along the wall. Ever the adventurer, he went ahead and took initiative to start climbing, figuring it would prove the darts were positioned well and that the bridge up top was secure enough to hold them. He hopped a few times, stopping after hearing a small creak which startled him

"I think I'm actually glad we're small," Mirage remarked up above, eyeing the bridge. "If we were adults, I bet this thing would give out under us." He looked out into the dark, noting what pieces of bridge he could see. He wanted to be wary on their path, no telling if any of this stuff would give out, really. He'd happily take the front, if it meant getting to that submarine faster. Then he'd get to sit back down, at least! Perks to this mess, right?

---

Mao was in position, overlooking the situation with Klee close to his side. He felt like sending Baz as bait was probably the best use he could of had, but at the same time, he felt like this was a lot for just a mercenary or two. But as he was always told, 'they stick together' and all that. More than that, Mao was ticked off that Klee was here; Noting that he could be on the front lines if she was back at the base, but instead he was on the defensive if anything were to go south. Plus, she kept worrying about Baz, which he had to repeatedly assure her the dunce would be fine. He was pretty sure if anything happened to that mass of muscles Klee wouldn't know how to handle it, so keeping her thinking positive was the best he could do right now.

As Baz came bumbling in, Mao gestured to him for Klee. "See? He's fine!" He spoke in a factual tone, as he took note of the man who entered behind their muscle-amassed companion, who seemed just as big, if not bigger, honestly. He seemed oddly familiar too, but at the same time, Mao couldn't figure out where he'd seen him from. Though, it didn't matter, as it seemed he came alone. And he would soon be severely injured and open for experimentation. Or flat-out dead, whatever came out of the attack squad making their move.

It took him by surprise that this guy wasn't startled in the slightest: In fact, he was alarmingly confident despite being surrounded. "I don't like this." Mao quietly muttered to himself, glance going between the interrogators and Klee, before suddenly things went sour. A fight broke out, and despite the numbers advantage, they were clearly getting smacked around, at least for the time being. Mao stood, sword still sheathed but that didn't mean he wasn't combat-ready. As Band unleashed his attacks, the wind from his impressive sound nearly blew Mao's coat from his person but at least he wasn't the big guy's primary target.

"Stay behind me," Mao ordered, wanting to keep space between Klee and their attackers. His left fist began to glow, the demon building up energy in a large, bright light overcoming his hand easily as he prepared his Star magic. The brightness would hopefully help obstruct Klee from view, and if a forward push was made, Mao was ready to offer a burst of his magic to deny forward progression. Those damn peons needed to pull themselves together and handle the one opponent they were facing: His reaction to being surrounded and the amount of noise he was creating made Mao feel certain reinforcements were on the way. How could they possibly prevent that if it happened?

His mind clicked on Klee's treasure possibly being the answer here. "Klee, think you can cook up some of your 'treasures'? The smaller ones." He questioned, figuring he could skip over the battle and instead aim the bombs towards the entrance to prevent any would-be helpers from tagging into the fight. Or retreat for this big guy, who Mao figured couldn't hold out against the numbers for long. Mao noted he'd have to throw them with his spare hand, but given their size and his strength that didn't feel like an issue. it'd keep himself and Klee at range while also providing what Mao thought to be a tactical advantage in the long run, wanting to try and punish the overconfidence of this (admittedly) strong musician.

"You see someone coming through the entrance that isn't one of us, start the fireworks." He added as instructions, hoping Klee was prepping her bombs as he hadn't the time to look back at her given his focus on the situation ahead. Magic prepped and ready, though he was unsure if he'd be able to stay on the defensive for long, if his group kept getting tossed about.

Keeping up with Link had proven a difficult task for Glenn, he wasn't accustomed to his younger selves physiology but the boy was able to evade danger narrowly. He was growing increasingly anxious, to the point of forgetting his prior concerns and instead Glenn was solely focused on getting off this dark place in the deep depths of the Bottomless Sea. He too felt the pang of hunger the others were experiencing, he would have done anything for a scrap of food yet the green haired boy steeled himself at the heed of one of his companions making it apparent that eating would be a mistake aboard the Maw.

Upon the groups arrival within the Depths, Glenn began to feel a sense of trepidation at the sight of the murky water beneath them and tried to stay as far back from it as possible. Something about this place put him on edge, in fact everything about this metal barge made him increasingly nervous.

"I beseech thee to rethink thy plan," Glenn voiced himself to the others, the boy's bright green eyes darted from the water to the rest of Blue Team looking nervous and obviously agitated "It could verily be dangerous!" it was more the fear talking then it was him, even he wasn't sure if his gut feeling was right.

Taking a deep breath then sighing deeply the green haired boy looked exasperated "Alas tis no alternative..." Glenn realized he was either out of his mind or too hungry to even think straight let alone form a cohesive plan.

Midna gave Band a smile and a nod when he approved of her plan to accompany him, before slinking down into his shadow to, well, shadow him. Finding out about the progress of the scouting party would have to wait, they had a trap to spring.

Tagging along with the detective was quite the enlightening little experience in how not to investigate things, the man stomping his way back to the scene of the crime and making a big ol show of sleuthing the place and looking for criminals that should have been long gone. Yet, lo and behold, there was a suspicious looking character just hanging around, observing the scene of the foiled plot.

Midna thought this was a stupid move on the rebels part part, only to turn around and get the fact that this was bait a few moments later. Maybe if she hadn’t been shadowing a professional she would have taken it before thinking twice, but there was no accident in how Band stepped up and prompted the man into running. His too easy comment earned a giggle from the princess, as much as a way to reassure him that she was still there as it was a genuine laugh at how thoroughly he’d outsmarted the rebels.

Big band gave chase with Midna coasting at his coattails in his shadow till they ran into an alleyway which, as Big Band predicted easily, was the spot where the ambush was going to be sprung. So with utmost calm, calm Midna did not quite share (she had no way to know what these people were really capable of after all), the man stepped right through the jaws of the trap before they could be sprung and found the rebels sitting around rather casually, likely assured that they had the upper hand.

They certainly were a fine gang of toughs, Minda thought as she gave them a quick appraisal, but she didn’t note any obvious magical abilities or items among them, which bolstered her confidence a whole deal. These thugs didn't know what was gonna hit them.

To an extent neither did Midna, because after trading a short series of barks and bards and one hell of a verbal smack down it was time to dance, and boy, did Band’s performance show him to be quite the maestro of mayhem. The man moved swift as fiddle and hit as hard as a gong, taking out one of the gang with such speed and force that he took even Midna by surprise.

If that first blow wasn't her cue, then Band’s order to take out the purple punk who’d been tracking them certainly was, and Midna had no disagreement with the target. She was covering his back after all and here this stealthy sneaker was, ready to fill it with lead.

Good thing the girl in purple hadn’t realized she wasn't the only one shadowing the one man band.

Midna rose out of his shadow, a grayscale outline of the impsh princess rapidly materializing from the dark before the bright green and red of her new outfit shone true as she dropped to the ground. Dragon claws flared over her skippered toes and dug into the sand for a second before the princess used the grip they provided to launch herself at miss invisible woman. She summoned a massive shadowhand as she flew, aiming to snatch the woman up and then to pivot in-order to throw her at one of her allies inside the garage using her tail and levitation to flip her body around while it was still in flight to add extra momentum to the throw. Then she’d use her new shield as an air/sand break while free hand lashed out, pointing over her defensive bulwark at the rebel closest to the garage’s door.

”Fetch!” she’d bark as the up-scaled wolfos she had at her disposal burst from a portal, and then shoved its snout into the garage it wasn't going to fit in, jaws snapping as it tried to snatch up one of the rebels in its jaws in order to grab and pull them out into the alleyway for Midna to deliver a follow up blow on. Or at the very least it would make people think twice about trying to move towards the alleyway to flank Big Band, or to leg it to try and get away/help.

Through all this, Midna was trying to hold back enough to not straight up kill anyone, and keeping an eye out for targets to free. They needed people alive to question after all, and there might, might, be people worth salvaging from the rebels for their own cause. But if someone (except the kid) needed to die so that a seeker could live though?

So be it.

"Meowst valuable player- teehee." Sakura giggled. It was also a point of pride for her that her English was good enough to understand almost all of the puns some of her teammates were making non-stop. Mirage and Nadia in particular were the dynamic duo of puns.

They managed to clear the obstacles and Sakura was not very pleased with what she saw on the other side. "This ship is so big it has its own place for sea monsters. Great. Doesn't that defeat the entire point of a ship you use to escape sea monsters?" The brunette leaned over the railing of their platform and peered into the murky depths. Her shoes and socks were getting wet. But she didn't exactly want to take them off and risk getting impaled by a rusty nail. "Maybe your super fast swimming could still come in handy, Bella-san and Rika-chan. But let's hope no one falls in so we don't have to find out."

Peach gave everyone a low-down of what she found on a nearby map. Now, they're plan was to get to an elevator. Go over the walkways, get to the Command Center, then Submersible area, then find a Submarine. Go down, drain the depths, and then the elevator will be free to use.

Mirage lead the way, using the helpful darts to ascened to the above walkways. Mirage tried to see a silver lining in them being kids. "Eeehh...yeah, sure, okay. I mean, if we were adults like, all of us would have way more skills and abilities and magic...but, no, I see your point! Let's look at it that way." Mirage was a friendly guy. Too bad he was still Galeemified. They'd have to sort that out sooner or later, that stuff messes with a persons mind in unpredictable ways. Sakura looked over at a kid she didn't exactly recognize, who was voicing his concerns in a very weird voice. Was that old school English? When he talked before, it was kind of hard for her to understand...who else talked like that? Doing some quick mental maths, she figured this must be the Frog Knight. Guess he wasn't always a frog.

"It might be dangerous. But we have to get outta here so we can, y'know, save the world! All the worlds. We won't be kids forever. Heck. Give it ten years- I'll be super powerful again, just you wait. You've never met a 15 year old tougher than I was!" Sakura giggled, joking. She slapped the sides of her head, shaking some nervous energy out of her wrists and legs.

"Okay. I'll go next! I got this. Go Blue Team." An off-handed peace sign. Sakura was trying to feel herself out a little bit. She may be in tiny tot but surely her parkour skills were still in there somewhere? At least this time if she fell, it was only into water. Someone would be able to save her if she fell, probably. But she wasn't going to fall! So it wasn't a problem.

One jump and climb at a time, she made her way up to where Mirage was. Her progress was a bit slower than his and she felt herself be a bit embarassed by all the eyes on her. She jumped up and grabbed the edge, a sharp thrill of panic and fear travelling up her spine as she felt her little legs dangle over the large drop. But once Mirage lended her a helping hand she pulled herself up. She rolled onto her back and then clambered to her feet on the suspended railway.

"Okay, okay great!" Sakura said, nodding, slapping Mirage on the shoulder. She rubbed her finger under her nose for a moment and then clapped her hands together. "Easy. Easy as pie!" Her heart was racing but, overall, she was feeling good. "I jump around everywhere. All the time. I can jump 10 feet in the air from standing, huh! This is easy as pie."

Sakura held onto the railing and began to walk forward, psyching herself up. "I'm not nervous or scared anymore, I got this. It's just a platforming section, that's all!" She'd go until she had to start making more jumps, in which case she would wait for the more agile or capable members of the group to catch up.

The whole escape from boat to couch to vent was a whirlwind. Almost literally, taking the boost via Nadia's fan into account. Once it was his turn to get out of the Belly, Ace Cadet pressed himself against one of the vent walls. Other children passed him by, and after they'd pulled Nadia up and she scurried off it was just he and Geralt left. Seems the two boys had the same idea. He returned the future Witcher's nod with a jittery smile attached.

It felt really satisfying, sinking his makeshift weapon into Bongo Bongo's squishy eye. As much as he may have wanted to, the Cadet wasn't planning to take his garden pole through the vent into the next area. It would have been a hassle to drag through the small space. His little dartboard was still gripped tightly in one hand, but the other let go of his pretend-lance when it ruptured the monster's weak spot alongside Geralt's scissors. He scampered off after the other boy, giddy at being able to something to their harasser. When he jumped down from the vent and landed in the next room, it was just in time to be caught in one of Sakura's hugs - which he returned just as tightly.

"That was Kut-kurazy," he said aloud once Sakura moved off to her next target. Everyone made it through in one piece though, so he counted that as a win.

He might have written any hunger off as just the usual. The Cadet had always had a big appetite, not that that was unusual in his world. He frowned as more of their group began bringing it up though. A curse of hunger was just awful. Add to that not being able to eat to even try to sate it - double awful. The Cadet let out a long suffering moan of discontent. "That lady said this was our best bet, I'm starting to wish we tried taking on that giant thing."

After the group pushed any obstacles out of the way and ventured through the door, the redhead was surprised to see that the next room was completely flooded. The water was deep, more than enough to sink a ship he thought. Was the Maw different because it was a submarine? Since it was already underwater, more water inside didn't really matter? He glanced over at Nadia. "If there's sea monsters at least we'll actually be able to see the monsters... eventually, when they come toward the surface."

The room seemed like a dead end, but Peach discovered that wasn't quite the case. The Cadet looked up at the catwalks overhead. If he'd heard her right they'd have to get into some room, then into a submarine within a submarine to lower the water level. If he'd heard Bella right then they'd be crossing the suspended walk ways as the first step in this plan.

Nimbleness wasn't exactly his thing. Not even as a kid really. He could duck, dive and dodge with the best of them, side step and roll, but he was no Kamura hunter. He happily let Mirage lead the way, followed soon by Sakura and anyone else that wanted to get a head start. The Cadet was fine giving the other kids a boost up to the first or second dart and bringing up the rear.

"If we were adults we wouldn't even need to go up there," Ace Cadet pointed out with a laugh. "We could skate or grapple or fly across. Maybe even swim too, we could probably take whatever it is that showed up."

Actually... one them could still fly, couldn't they? The Cadet turned to Blazermate, his eyes scanning her once-damaged head part that now looked nearly as good as new. "Do you think it's safe to fly across? You could help the others get back down when they cross over," he suggested. Or catch anyone that falls, he thought.

Upon hearing the plan from Big Band, Yoshitsune began his thoughts.I could stick close on the roofs of the taller buildings, keeping him in sight but staying out of sight myself. Midna apparently had a similar idea about being close by and unseen. Her shadow ability made it easier on her than it did for him.

As their planning session ended, Yoshitsune stood and followed the others outside. Instead of going to where everyone else was going, which Yoshitsune had no idea about, He slid into a small alley and got himself up to a roof. He stuck close to Big Band, almost always jumping to a higher roof than the one he was on, as he watched the fake crime scene investigation from the real professional investigator. The irony was not lost on him.

Apparently, right below the roof the samurai sat on, there was another man. With a smirk, Yoshitune readied to chase, not wanting to lose his friend or the man that was obviously trouble.

Big Band began to approach the man.

The Chase was on.

Yoshitsune got lost.

How could I lose that big man? He was definitely angry with himself. While he was still jumping from roof to roof, he heard the howl of the sax. With a slap of his forehead, he ran to the area, ready to jump into the fray.

Once he saw the number of enemies that Big Band and Midna were up against, he stood in shock. With one of the enemies below him, he jumped through the window, creating a large crash that would definitely draw attention to him, and aimed for the swordsman in hopes of taking his weapon. The stunt did not catch Daemon sleeping and he dodged out of the way well ahead of time, then turned with a sweeping horizontal slash to counterattack.

With the torch as his only weapon, Yoshitsune blocked with it, smirking. "You lost," he said, shoving Daemon back before thrusting the head of the torch at him, not knowing if the enemy would burst into flames or not. He hoped not as he didn't want to kill anyone, though more for his own honor than for any questions Band had.

Though the new enemy recovered from his fall a lot faster than Daemon thought, it was not a problem. He readied his blade as the firebrand came in, and though blinded into tunnel vision by the sudden flare, there was nobody else to take advantage of for the time being. The gang leader deflected the torch with a parry and aimed a downward chop at Yoshitsune to slice into his arms.

Yoshitsune blocked with the torch again before jumping back a few feet. "You're fast," he smirked, "but not fast enough. Kamui!" He sped towards the swordsman again, aiming another thrust towards his torso. Thinking he was gonna try the same parry, he stopped before making any connection and spun, aiming to slam the torch hard into his enemy's right side.

"Tricks already, huh?" Daemon's mask hid his intentions as he dove to the side. He took a glancing blow from Yoshitsune's torch as he did, the strike aimed true thanks to Kamui, but a momentary contact did not allow the flames to truly take. When the fire disappeared so did Daemon as he activated Stealth, disappearing from sight.

"Kamui!" Yoshitsune yelled again, focusing all his senses on the man he'd been fighting, listening for any sound that would give him away. Eyes closed, he listened carefully, ignoring the rest of the fighting, unless anyone came too close to him, and focus on where Daemon could be, whether for a stealthy attack or retreat.

Unfortunately for Yoshitsune, everyone in the area had heard his dynamic entrance, and it took only a moment for Cass to switch targets and come running his way. Her giant mechanical legs covered the distance between them in only a moment, and once she grew close she extended a punishing snap kick with power and range to spare.

With his Kamui still active, he reacted early, ducking under her kick and replying with a thrust of his torch to her lower torso. "Bad idea," he said, spinning to his feet just as Kamui was about to wear off, aiming to knock her in the side of the head.

Taken by surprise by Cass's unorthodox stature, Yoshitsune underestimated the length of her prosthetic legs. Even with the superior focus, he couldn't land a hit if he couldn't reach; only the tips of his flames tickled her. In contrast, Cass needed only to lift up the leg she kicked with to bring it down in a stomp onto the samurai's back as he stretched up from the low stance he ducked under her kick with.

With a dodge roll, Yoshitsune barely dodged Cass's attack, leaving only the cloth of one sleeve torn. "I'm not the only one." He revved his engines, turning to go in circles around her, watching her reaction, though he stayed out of range of her kicks.

The swordsman felt the air on his face as the metal talons carved through the space just centimeters in front of his head. Cass wasn't about to stand still and let her foe do donuts, but took another step toward and let loose a spray of knife-like feathers from her arms before kicking again. At that same time, Daemon dashed out of stealth behind him, his blade already in motion, to execute a cruel slash across Yoshitsune's legs and sandwich him in.

With Cass coming from one direction and Daemon from another, though he almost didn't notice the swordsman, Yoshitsune did the only thing he could think of. He stopped his wheels, jumped backward with a flip, getting out of Cass's reach again and getting over Daemon's blade.

Try as he might, the samurai couldn't escape the situation both unscathed and without Kamui. A few of her feather knives struck him even before he took to the air, and with Daemon completely blindsiding him from stealth he would have gotten downed if his lower legs weren't metal. By jumping backward he managed to avoid a crippling wound from his would-be assassin, but for Cass kicking him yet again was easier than shooting a clay pigeon. He got launched over Daemon's head and hit the ground a ways off near where Band was doing his best to hold off the rest of the rebels. The two cyborgs approached to finish him off.