[center][h3]Tora and Poppi[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon
Level 9 Tora (90/90) Level 9 Poppi (90/90) Level 5 Big Band (29/50)
Fox’s [@Dawnrider], Jesse’s [@Zoey Boey], Sora’s [@Rockin Strings], Mao’s [@Potemking], Raz’s [@TruthHurts22]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1970[/center]

A hefty helping of rather unhealthy food, calorie rich and vitamin deficient, left Tora feeling more rotund than usual, so he was in no hurry to do much of anything. Since wherever he went Poppi followed, the pair ambled out into the town. Despite being their fourth or fifth journey through Al Mamoon, the city really did have yet to lose its charm for the unusual pair. Without the suns’ rays a blanket of blue moonlight had settled over the city, The world of Alrest that Tora and Poppi called home simply didn’t have cities either this big or this dense. Even the capitals of Uraya and Mor Ardain, Fonsa Myma and Alba Cavanich respectively, fell short. On this trip the two also happened to lack any objective beyond an eventual arrival somewhere that Tora could sleep, so they could wander to their hearts’ content. And wander they did.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SX5lcl8.png[/img][/center]

At their leisure Tora and Poppi ducked in and out of a dozen shops, businesses, and other places of interest. Though normally a wealth of unfamiliar smells would fascinate any Nopon worth his salts, Tora was so stuffed from his feast at Spread Eagle that the very idea of food repulsed him, so he and his Blade steered well clear of other restaurants. Still, that left plenty of cool places to visit, like the quaint little [url=https://i.imgur.com/F0QSChq.png]Kecleon Shop[/url], a [url=https://i.imgur.com/DBJyirO.png]multimedia retailer[/url] that caught Tora’s attention, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/FhpMird.png]bowling alley[/url] the [url=https://i.imgur.com/MbUqaTS.png]Crafters’ Guild[/url] integrated into an ancient ruin, the spooky [url=https://i.imgur.com/GUdRKSX.png]Hall of the Chosen[/url] that served as a Grimleal temple, and the [url=https://i.imgur.com/pxrLPBF.png]Sacred Flame Arena[/url], a gladiatorial cage suspended before the statue of a forgotten war god.

Even though the two seldom stopped for more than a few moments at any given place, the sheer abundance of sights to see meant that a good long while passed before Poppi eventually steered her Masterpon in the direction of the train station. Now that the incredibly awesome Railway Gun was officially Team Good Guys property, Tora couldn’t be more jazzed to waddle over and check the behemoth locomotive out, no matter how tired and full he might be. The two arrived and made a beeline to the platforms to find the Railway Gun right where they left it, as gargantuan and imposing as ever, but not unattended. Instead they found it under review by none other than the Conductor. Spick and span in his little uniform despite the late hour, he watched over a crew of the Grimleal’s undead workmen as they went down his long checklist of repairs and preparations to make before the immense locomotive could get rolling the next morning. Tora moved in. “Hihi, Mr. Conductor! How things going?”

“Not too bad, considerin’ ‘ow much I’d rather be watchin’ me ol’ Westerns in me couch right about now,” the yellow-feather bird joked, none too serious. “Lucky this oversized rustbucket in’t as complicated as it looks, or these zombie blokes’d be in a peckin’ state, make no mistake. If I wanted a bunch of peck necks to dance around on bird seed, I’d visit me grandchildren.”

Tora saw only a couple thralls around the Railway Gun, so he figured the rest must be inside. “That good to hear. Any idea on progress?”

The Conductor shrugged. “We’re pretty close, actually. We’ve mostly just been loadin’ up fuel. This thing’s got a big peckin’ appetite.” He glanced over at Tora, or at least the Nopon assumed he did, since he couldn’t for the life of him identify the Conductor’s eyes--if he had any to begin with. “Guess all that work ya did fer free earlier saved me a lotta trouble. Don’t s’pose ya know how to run one o’ these things, lad?”

“Not really, but Tora very good with machines, and vehicle just big machine that move, meh!” the Nopon declared, which Poppi backed up with a nod.

Their assurances they still left the Conductor well shy of convinced, but if they seemed sure of themselves, who was he to judge? “Eh, I’ll take your word for it, lad. Hopefully Validar agrees and lets me off the peckin’ hook. The sooner I get back to me Owl Express, the better!”

Though the opportunity came as a result of the Conductor passing the buck, Tora lit up at the possibility of driving the Railway Gun. “Ooh, Tora hope so! Nighty-nighty, Conductor!”

“G’night!”

As he went back to his business, Tora and Poppi stepped away, with the Nopon making an idle observation. “Meh, meh...doesn’t he talk sort of like Gormotti in Torigoth?”

“Poppi actually thought same thing!”

The shared revelation made Tora smile. “Meheh. Gormotti are kittypons though, and Mr. Conductor is birdypon, so he not be very happy back home.”

“No trains, either,” Poppi added in agreement.

Tora’s brow furrowed. “...He [i]is[i/] birdypon, right?”

His companion looked no more certain than he did. “Scans inconclusive,” she told him.

Rather than rush back toward the entrance they wandered a little while longer through the station, moving up and down the train platforms. Tora made sure to check out each and every locomotive he could get close to, wishing he had both the time and permission to peer into their inner workings and learn their engineering marvels for himself. Despite all his technical accomplishments, from making weapons to video games to Poppi, it had always been beyond his means to prototype his own vehicle. His forebears never dabbled in that area, so he lacked the know-how as well as the materials, and before meeting Rex he traveled precious little, anyway. That meant that in a way, the Railway Gun was a massive, ironclad dream come true.

Tora’s locomotive tour ended in a particularly strange train. Sleek and almost featureless except for its rows of yellow windows, it looked to Tora like a big, long blue box, but that wasn’t all. The track beneath it shimmered like an illusion over the concrete beneath, and it extended straight into the pitch-black void of a tunnel Tora felt pretty darn sure was on an exterior wall. In front of it rested a [url=https://i.imgur.com/gBwjvdw.png]giant orange cat[/url], bigger than a horse and tethered to the vehicle like one too, curled up in a tantalizingly fluffy ball. In other words, it was an impossible train--and that was precisely what made it so interesting. With Poppi right behind and as curious as he was, he approached the sign.

[center][i]Yellow Line
Destination: Nyakuza Metro
Connections: Just about anywhere
Yellow Metro Pass required to board[/i][/center]

“Anywhere?” Tora repeated before turning to Poppi. “Meh meh. Poppi not suppose they mean [i]anywhere[/i] anywhere?”

“If cat train somehow use impossible space, it not...well, impossible,” Poppi reasoned.

As the two pondered the implications, a brassy note from behind broke their concentration. They turned to see the familiar hulking figure of Big Band power-walking across the station toward them, shaking the ground ever-so-slightly with each two-and-a-half-ton step.

“Band-Band!” Tora exclaimed, flapping his wings as he ran over with Poppi in hot pursuit. Before either got too close, however, a black hole opened in the tile in front of them, and out of the darkness within sprang a [url=https://i.imgur.com/fHBInbJ.png]ragamuffin in a top hat[/url]. With teeth as metal in her arms and crimson eyes in abundance on her limbs rather than in her empty sockets, she looked just as creepy as she did cartoony, and the pistol she pointed right at Tora sure didn’t help with first impressions. “Meh?!” he squeaked.

“Say your pwayers!” she grinned as she pulled the trigger.

As Tora flinched, a tiny flag extended from the barrel and unrolled, revealing a bright red banner with the word ‘BANG!’ written in bold yellow font. Immediately the would-be shooter broke down into a fit of laughter. “Gahahahah, gotcha! Boy, you’s two’s oughta see the looks on your faces right about now!”

Taken utterly aback, the two looked between the stranger and Band as he approached. “Peacock!” he admonished as he came to a stop behind the girl, deploying an arm to take hold of her shoulder. “If you greet someone like that, they’re liable to take you serious!” With a sigh he gave Tora and Poppi an apologetic look. “Sorry, folks. She’s still learnin’ that what’s funny for her might not be funny for everyone.”

“Aw, shucks!” The girl complained, weaseling out of Band’s grasp. “The big lump ain’t got a funny bone in his body, see?”

“Better than bein’ the eternal child.” Band retracted his arm and addressed the duo. “Anyway, this is Peacock. She an’ I go back a ways. Say hi, Peacock.”

“Soitenly!” Closing her eyes with a smile, the girl [url=https://i.imgur.com/vyzW1GQ.png]doffed her hat[[/url], revealing a [url=https://i.imgur.com/90zVMVI.png]little bird thing[/url] in similar clothes that raised its own hat, beneath which a tiny cricket raised a hat of its own for a triple-layer greeting.

Band turned toward a row of benches the group could retire to, signalling the others to follow him. “Why don’t we sit and get y’all caught up?”

“Meeeh…” Tora groaned, prompting the detective to pause. A quick examination confirmed that Peacock’s stunt had spooked the last bit of energy right out of him. “Tora literally about to collapse from exhaustion. Can’t Band-Band give short version while Poppi carry to hotel?”

No stranger to adapting on the fly, Band conceded, and the small group set off. Held like a plushie in Poppi’s arms, Tora fell asleep instantly, but naturally his creation was willing to hear Band out in his stead. “Short version is, Peacock here took a leaf outta my book and came here to try an’ crack the Resistance case all on her own. Course, she didn’t tell me nothin’, so by the time I roll in she’s nowhere to be found. Apparently she tracked the actual ringleader all the way over to a town nearby, only for the both of ‘em to get struck in traps.”

“I busted outta there last night and moseyed on back though,” Peacock added, swinging her arms as she walked in an exaggerated fashion. “And wouldn’tcha know, on the way over this mornin’ I stumbled on a buncha chumps out in the sand. There were some weird bugs too. Wasted those suckers.” She raised a finger gun and winked, which made a gun sound and actually shot a puff of smoke.

“Point is, the people she met were apparently part of your group, if everythin’ matches up,” Band said. “I’d found Fox here waitin’ for Tora..."

"Oh..." Poppi mumbled, having gotten so caught up with dinner and exploring the city that the pilot's instructions slipped her memory.

"...But when I saw Peacock’s planes I knew it was her straight away. We went out, helped bring ‘em in, and fixed ‘em up in the hotel.” He nodded at the establishment coming up on the small group’s right. “He stuck around with ‘em, but I came back to see if there was any funny business with the train. Guess we’ll double check tomorrow mornin’.”

Having assumed that the party members lost during the upswell were dead, Poppi greeted the news of their recovery with joy. “That great news! Everyone will be so happy!” With a smile on her face the artificial blade ran her fingers through Tora’s fur. “Even Masterpon sleep easier knowing they safe.”

“I sure hope so.” Band couldn’t help but echo Poppi’s smile. “It’s gonna be one hell of a day tomorrow. Y’all make sure you’re well-rested.”

“And you, detective.” After giving Band a curtsy in thanks for holding the door open, Poppi disappeared inside to speak with the receptionist about a room for herself and Tora.

As Peacock marched inside, demanding to stay up late and watch cartoons, Band’s eyes rested for another moment or two on the moon. “Alone together at last.” Then he shook his head, murmured, “God bless the child,” with a smile, and disappeared inside.

[hider=For Big Band]New Power:
[url=https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/018/508/bigband.jpg][b]Satchmo Solo[/b][/url]
Big Band’s level five Blockbuster, requiring five times the dramatic tension of Super Sonic Jazz or Tympani Drive. Big Band deploys a tuba, stopping time for as long as he plays it up to a maximum of seven seconds. When the duration ends or he stops playing, he receives a massive power boost and can unleash the Satchmo Death Blow, a hydraulic brass-knuckle beatdown that deals an absurd amount of damage[/hider]