As dinner wound down, Geralt joined the others who wanted to shop on their excursion to the Argentum Trading Guild while Yen retired for the night, having extracted a promise from Geralt to not stay out terribly late. The massive ship caused Geralt's gaze to drift ever upwards, until his eyes locked on the literal titan which was tethered to the ship. He wasn't entirely sure what the deal was with that, but it seemed like they were content with the arrangement (Something that big wouldn't have trouble making it known that it was unhappy), so he pushed it from his mind and continued inside.

The interior was just as impressive as the exterior, and Geralt nodded in appreciation as he looked around, keeping a few of the places in mind. He wasn't sure if he'd end up here again, but given that the place seemed to be well-travelled, it wouldn't hurt to remember where different merchants were located within the Guild.

Having wandered through many a bazaar in his days, the Witcher kept a quick pace, rapidly scanning a variety of interesting but unnecessary items as he passed by them. Perhaps a small token for Yennefer would be a good idea? No, at the moment he was concerned about keeping himself alive throughout this adventure he'd found himself roped into. With the loss of the energy-based pistol Tora had made for him (He'd have to apologize profusely for losing it, the golem seemed to care for his inventions), Geralt was back to relying on his hand crossbow, which while powerful, lacked the kind of power and range he'd be hoping for.

As such, he was keeping an eye out for a bowyer, or even simply somebody selling weaponry. The smithy had a few good-looking swords, but his blades hadn't been having any trouble, really, and the armor he was wearing was excellent, minus the...alteration he'd received from the Harbor Demon Spirit. Speaking of which, he could get that fixed here, couldn't he? Yes, that actually seemed like a good idea.

A quick run home, an awkward questioning from Yennefer, and even even more awkward questioning from the armorer later, Geralt was assured he'd have his armor returned to proper order soon enough for 500 gold. It was a fair price, all things considered, given the quality of the gear and the strangeness of the repair job. He had no desire to repeat that experience, though he was sure the armorer felt the same. No sane man would choose to wear armor like that, and Geralt hadn't, but good luck explaining that.

Still, he had a decent amount of coin left, and some things he wished to sell. The strange shards of some fallen piece of the heavens, imbued with a strange and dark power, seemed to hold some secret within them. When Geralt had gone over his inventory of items just in case to see what he might want to get rid of, they had stuck out. Surely somebody would pay good coin for them, to search deeper within and learn their secrets.

That, and the damned watering can he'd somehow kept on his person this entire time.

As he neared the Grand Exchange, where somebody could buy or sell just about anything, Geralt took notice of the strange individuals lighting small fires which seemed to leave their surroundings unharmed by heat or flame. Curious, he approached one of them and inquired as to what they were doing, only to be told that the person was getting experience. Not entirely sure what experience they were seeking by repeatedly lighting fires with a tinderbox, but he decided that it wasn't worth thinking too hard over.

Approaching one of the many counters from which the Grand Exchange was operated, Geralt set up a sale for the blasted watering can, which was quickly purchased for a mere 25 gold, which he figured was fair enough based on the exchange rates he'd seen. The shards, however, he was much more insistent upon receiving good money for, and thought it took a few minutes, he soon received a solid 1,000 gold for it.

At that point, it became a matter of hunting down a new ranged weapon for his arsenal. All sorts of bows appeared when he attempted to find one, so he instead sought out a magical one. That cut the listings down substantially, and soon, one stood out to him. Whether it was due to the weapon's elemental affinity resonating with the Orphan's Spirit was unknowable, but he decided on the bow in short order and had it in hand as he collected his armor and returned to the entrance of the Bazaar, crossing paths with the collected Koopas, Sakura and her friend, and even the self-proclaimed Grand Magus, Rubick.

"Well, looks like we've all had a successful trip." Geralt commented dryly. "Got the damned chest window out of the armor, finally. And grabbed this." Showing off the magical bow, Geralt inspected it yet again. Oh, it definitely called to something inside him, that was for sure.

Before going into the shop, the Koopa Troop, wanting to see Susie's business sense in action, gave her a few items they themselves had no use for. Blazermate mulled over giving her bean to Susie as well, but since no one knew what it did and no one was couragous enough to eat it, Blazermate decided to keep it because they had NO idea what it did, and if one of these shopkeeps ate it out of curiosity bad things could happen. Tora was a strange onion bird thing, so these shopkeeps could just be as odd, but maybe not as flattering.

Susie, in her element, went over to the Grand Exchange first off to sell the iron bars and buy/sell a few of the orders sitting around using about half of the money given to her. She managed to make 75 per iron bar for a total of 1125 gold which she immediately invested into more buy and sell orders to turn a profit, although it would take some time for her to see returns on her orders.

Blazermate meanwhile looked around the stalls, a few things were cool, but not really anything she was interested in for the most part. Cloths meant nothing to her, weapons were nice but if she had to hold them that could be annoying, and all the various food items were useless to her. She moved around, a bit dejected that not much here worked for her, until she came across a weird display at Shynini's Accessories. The display read "Rare and valuable Medals!" which caught a curious look from Blazermate. Did this Nipon have some medabot medals he was selling? That might be weird, but she could at least give them tinpets to move around in.

When Blazermate got there, she found that they were not Medals, but 'medals', IE the stuff people wore to denote rank or success in something. According to the shopkeeper they were magical, and had some powerful effects. And they were priced perfectly that Blazermate could spend all of her allowance and get 3 of them! But what to choose? They had one that looked like a heart, one that looked like a leaf, some that were just triple arrows pointed up, or some strange colorful ones. The Nipon put on the charm, which had a mixed reaction from Blazermate as she was already interested in what she was seeing, but would she spend all her money here?

In the end, thanks to the Nipon's prodding and Blazermate thinking about it, she figured it'd be funny for a medabot to wear medals, and decided to buy 3 of them spending her entire 2100 allowance. She bought one that reduced the effectiveness of status effects by quite a bit, one that Let her increase her and her allies defense and one that made enemies target her less often. she kept herself away from combat as much as she could usually, but more insurance on that couldn't hurt. The Nipon, happpy he could make a sale without needing to haggle at all, waved cutely at Blazermate as she waved back, but once out of eyesight of Blazermate, the merchant went right back to trying to 'sell' more of his products.

Susie meanwhile, only having about half of what she had from her initial funds and the 'allowance' she had gotten from the royal princess, a fair sum to be sure which Susie would gladly turn into more money, went shopping herself. Most of what she saw didn't seem all that great as most of what she saw on display seemed like it'd be best in a museum or on an executive's wall as a nick-nack, but Susie did find something of interest. A strange looking, but actually high tech, rocket launcher that seemed to launch blats of radioactive energy that exploded with a large amount of force. With a bit of work, she could even make it look like it came from Haltmann Works or maybe even replicate it! The Nipon, seeing Susies interest, the Nipon listed the price of the item, which was just a bit more than what Susie had on hand. And seeing as one of the rules on this market was 'no haggling', Susie really couldn't get that price just a bit lower.

It was then she remembered the weird "Gorgon's Eye" she hadn't sold. The Nipon took a bit of interest in the bauble, and with Susie doing her best at 'no haggling' haggling, she managed to get enough gold from selling this thing to come out with a new weapon and some cash left. With Susie done, having only seen a few other items that piqued her interest and her investments still going at the Grand Exchange, she decided to go back to the rest of the group, Blazermate already waiting there with the other finished shoppers.

"Hey guys, look! A medabot wearing medals!" Blazermate said, laughing as she showed off her new small pinned medals. Susie didn't know what the joke was, but gave a cheery look just the same as if she 'got' the joke. She handed over the remaining 200 gold she had gotten, saying. "I didn't find much of value there that I would be interested in, but I did take most of that money you gave me and invested it. We should see some large returns in a little while." Susie said with a nod.

The trading guild was amazing. It was far and away the biggest ship the Cadet had ever seen, and the inside of it was even bigger than some towns he'd been to! He was sure it must have functioned like a town itself if it traveled over sea, with living quarters and dining that they just couldn't see - as the ship extended up quite a ways. Still even here just on the merchant level, it was huge. Shops and goods as far as the eye could see, all in a colorful rustic aesthetic with lights strung throughout. The Cadet sighed dreamily. It was a beautiful sight, and he actually had money to spend thanks to the successful sale of the buried treasure, plus a generous donation from the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom herself. At the same place they'd traded the pearls for gold, he'd also sold the pretty pearl-inlaid shell for some extra funds for himself. Once everyone got their share, it was time to hit the shops. Almost immediately the Seekers split up from each other, all headed in different directions. Some wandered, some had specific goals in mind. Cadet was, mostly, of the latter group. He had some ideas, and with a selection this big he was confident he would find something he liked.

His goal for the trip was this: acquire some clothes, acquire some additional, portable storage, and then look into whatever else caught his eye. Predictably his preference was in gear, specifically weapons and armor. He passed armorers and blacksmiths peddling their creations, and general merchants flipping arms they'd happen to come across. All the Cadet took in with wide, shiny eyes. There were plenty of blades and mini bowguns, and even some weapons more to his taste in size, but he didn't buy any yet. Good quality stuff was expensive, and he wanted to focus on what he really needed at the moment. If he really wanted some great craftsmanship he knew just where to find three skilled blacksmith sisters anyway.

There was no lack of options when it came to clothing sold here. There were shops and stalls of all kinds, with clothes suited for pretty much any size and shape. There were plains outfits and intricate ones, ones that were gaudy and some that were minimalist. The Cadet considered what he'd buy - a more familiar style, or something else? Maybe something like what the more 'modern' people wore? Or... maybe something that would impress a certain cat burglar?

The shop keepers, mostly Nopons like Tora, assured him that he'd look good in anything - though the hunter knew that was just a sales tactic. Still, the Nopons were friendly and their energy was infectious, so he let himself be talked into a couple of different items. They claimed to expert on "Hom fashion" and hooked him up with a pair of boots, some khaki colored shorts, a pair of red sweats, and a light pink colored button down. He hadn't needed persuading at all for a certain sweater once they'd explained the pattern on it was supposed to be "Aces," he got a good kick out of that. Neither could he resist a somewhat over the top ensemble that just screamed "Radalos" to him.

"Mission one, clear! On to the next," the Cadet said to himself. Being able to hold more stuff! His item pouch was pretty spacious all things considered, but the more bulky stuff he picked up the more he needed something else to carry it with. Or some kind of... portable portal technology to a supply room. He could probably find something like that here, or somewhere in the world, but it was also probably really expensive. So he set his sights on something more mundane.

One of the stalls had a particularly loud hawker that peddled all kinds of bags, purses, and packs. One of the most expensive items in the shop was a square backpack, which the shopkeeper boasted was able to carry near anything, and even included space to store liquids. Plus it came in multiple colors! But...

"Five hundred? That's kind of much for a backpack, isn't it?"

"Not at all, meh! This best bag on market!" The Nopon slapped one of the backpacks, though nothing happened to it other than it turning slightly in place. "It hold so many items!"

When his potential buyer didn't look convinced, the Nopon held out one of his wing-arms toward the hunter and made a 'gimmie' gesture. "Friend need demonstration, meh."

Sure enough the bag held all of the recently purchased clothes just fine, plus the extra armor pieces. Despite it's size (which was pretty much on par with any normal backpack) and it's shape (which was all angles), it managed to hold anything placed into it with no issue. And, seeing as his things were already packed into it, the Cadet told the shopkeeper he'd just made a sale. Just to really test it, the Cadet tried putting the greatbow inside - and cracked a grin from ear to ear when it actually fit. The quiver of great arrows followed. The bag he'd bought happened to be turquoise in color, and he slipped his arms into the straps once he'd sorted his inventory out. To his great surprise it wasn't awkward to wear.

Mission two, clear!

It felt great to go shopping with a goal in mind and actually accomplish it. And he had plenty of gold left! He counted about 2340 pieces of varying denominations. He wasn't exactly sure about the conversion rate, as he tried to imagine how much it would be in zenny. Probably enough to get something good. He was on his way back toward the stand where he'd seen those shiny appropriately sized bowguns when something else quickly caught his ear.

It was the sound of people, simply put. Laughing, screaming, cheering, and crying. Such a ruckus might have been hard to hear from elsewhere in the bazaar, especially closer to the Grand Exchange where similar voices could be heard, but being on the other side of the ship the Cadet could hear this cacophony loud and clear. Curious he followed the voices and came upon a robust storefront of dark brick and iron. There were dozens of people pushing towards the front, and dozens more loitering around the fringes of the shop. It's overhead sign read "Immortal Core Store," and the people at the forefront were so fervent in their dealings that they didn't seem to notice money flying everywhere when they slammed their payment down on the counter. The loiterers hurried to snatch the coins out of the air and add it to their own. One such person cried out, "I've got another hundred!" and went to squeeze themselves through the crowd to make another purchase. After only a few moments of watching, another anguished scream echoed from one of the customers, followed up a string of cursing. It was followed by a similar reaction from someone else, and a loud kick to the brick wall. It seemed that most of the wall below knee-level was chipped from many an indignant customer.

"Uh... what's going on here?" The Cadet questioned. He'd joined a small crowd of bystanders, and one man dressed in white garments and stylized keffiyeh obliged him with an answer.

"Something incredible," the man said, with a somewhat wry smile. "This shop has an inventory of gemstones. They are all imbued with some power, though most of them offer only weak boons."

He produced one such stone, a glimmering blue beauty only a few inches long. He rolled it around in the palm of his hand, twirled it between his fingers, and even made it float and dance in the air before he returned it to his sleeve.

"Some, however, are much more powerful. It's these that most of the people here are looking to procure."

The man nodded his chin toward the shop's window, sitting wide beside the counter. The glass was so thick that it blurred the items behind it slightly, but it was still clear to see that there were gems of multiple different shapes arranged in rows, with plaques beneath them displaying their names, the power they granted, and... a percentage.

The Ace Cadet scratched his head. "So they're buying a gem, but they don't know which one?"

"Sort of," the man chuckled. "For most of them, it's more like they're buying a chance."

The man, who eventually introduced himself as Naveed, explained the process with the crests, geodes, and chances in more depth. It seemed as a lover of stones and gems and practitioner of lithomancy, he was a frequent customer at the Immortal Core Store. The more they talked about it, the more sense the idea made to the Cadet. It wasn't too different from digging up relic weapons or mysterious stones while in the field back home and bring them back to an appraiser. He easily recalled the despair at bringing home an armful of charms that he was so sure would make gargwawesome decorations, and then all of them turning out to be "worse than duds," as the Ace Lancer had put it. Ah, those were the days.

"I'm gonna give it a try," the Cadet declared. The crowd at the counter had lessened somewhat, giving the poor haggard-looking Nopon who ran the shop a little bit of breathing room. Naveed glanced at his new acquaintance from the corner of his eye while he faced the shop itself. His smile turned friendly. "Oho, it's always a pleasure to see beginner's luck in action."

They stepped up to the front, where Mamalu raised an arm in weak greeting. His fur was ruffled and there were dark bags under his eyes. He looked almost displeased to see an unfamiliar face, but the Cadet countered with a grin.

"A rare crest, please."

"...red hair friend know rare crest only chance for legendary gem, yes? Only chance." Mamalu stressed this as he pulled an icebag from under the counter and placed it on top of his head, nursing a headache. The Cadet nodded, and so he quickly passed one over to the hunter - who then brought it over the crest redeeming machine, which rumbled and produced a plain looking geode. The geode was moved on a sort of conveyor into another device that meticulously broken open the rock's face to reveal...!!

"Aw, just a normal gem!"

"Nothing special."

"Do another one!"

The Cadet blinked, taking his new shiny yellow gem and looking over his shoulder at the peanut gallery. Indeed, there were hecklers and customers-to-be that waited in the store and eagerly watched people try and fail at getting what they were after. As the crowd turned their harsh words on Mamalu and accused him of being a crook, the Cadet looked to Naveed who shook his head with a shrug.

"The most common result. If you are planning to go with rare crests, I suggest buying ten at once. It improves your odds of something good."

Another gentleman spoke up then, stepping toward Naveed. He was dressed extravagantly, and seemed confident in his statement of, "That has not been proven."

As the two men discussed, the Cadet went back to the counter. "Two more!" He said, and Mamalu passed them over with shaking wing after receiving the payment. The result was much the same, small stones in the colors of red and blue. Maybe Naveed is on to something, the Cadet considered. Or maybe not. The chances were pretty low, from what he'd been told. Although, he did have enough for a legendary crest...

Once more he approached the Nopon. He put a thousand down and slid it over to Mamalu. "Okay, let's go with a legendary crest!" he said, and was met with both whoops of excitement and jeers from the crowd. Mamalu didn't look any happier at the purchase. He knew from experience that the ones that shelled out the most were also the ones that got the most upset when they didn't get exactly what they wanted. Still, it was his job, and he passed the crest over to the Cadet. When it went through the machine, the geode it produced was the same as the previous: featureless and unremarkable. Then, it went through it's breaking process.

The gem it produced was perfectly spherical, and of a rich dark honey color. It did seem to give off some kind of energy, and it looked like it would fit perfectly in the slot on his sword. He picked up the gem and turned around, and when the crowd go a look of it they went wild. Some screamed in general excitement, here for the entertainment of random elements. Most just screamed in general though, cursing the new face for his luck at getting a higher rarity stone, at Mamalu for rigging the store, at the world for the unfairness of it all. Before it became a riot the Cadet felt hands at his back as Naveed pushed him out of the shop.

"Good work," the lithomancer laughed, "I'd get going if I were you though. The regulars frenzy almost daily, but it can get to be a lot."

"I can see that," the Cadet said, looking back at the people trying to jump over the counter and the poor Nopon flapping his arms and wings-arms wildly to try and calm them down. The hunter did manage to note which of the stones he'd gotten, finding it's plaque among the others behind the window. After that though, he jogged away from the area. There was a grin on his face and the thrum of excitement in his veins. Gambling was fun, but as he made his way toward where he'd expected to meet his friends and the thrill of it filtered out of his body, he started to become tired. It had been a long day. A fun day for sure, but a long one. He drew the Master Bang and just as he'd hoped, the Fervent Fang Gem fit snugly in the niche of it's hilt.

As the evening wore on, the Seekers naturally began to congregate. They showed off their purchases to each other, the most amazing of those being Sakura's bicycle. Sure the machines the Koopas had were cool, Rubick's dagger seemed great and Geralt's bow looked awesome and was a close second, but the bicycle was beyond them. He'd seen cars in this world, and even his own world had wagons and wheelbarrows... plus they had airships, submarines, and more even if primitive compared to those he'd seen here... but how had no one back home thought of a bicycle before?! It looked so swift and simple! "Oh my wrog, that's radalos Sakura!" The Cadet said earnestly. He was definitely going to pay someone to invent one when he got back to his own world, or maybe even give it a shot himself.

He was glad everyone managed to get something they were happy with. Himself included. He awaited the rest of the group to see what they'd bought. The odd square backpack was easy to spot on the Cadet's back, and if questioned he'd tell of the core shop, but since none of his items could compare to cool weapons or a bicycle, he didn't feel the need to show them off. Well, except the gem - he did happily show it to the other weapons-users where it sat in the handle of the Master Bang's sword, increasing the simple weapons' overall destructive power. All in all, it was a great trip!

Except for the odd bit of discomfort, or the occasional nightmare about Wendigo, both halves of Yellow Team slept like the dead. While those privy to the interior of Gerudo Town enjoyed much nicer beds and accommodations on the whole, the inn at the oasis served the others’ purposes just fine, and even those who slumbered under the stars enjoyed a night of peace and quiet until the break of dawn. Some time after the sun had risen, a very groggy Tora emerged from the inn, his conspicuous lack of overalls hinting at his chosen method for freshening himself up.

“...Meh-meh-meh-meh-meeeh!”

The Nopon took off running across the hot sand, through the gauntlet of palm, and finally performed a flying leap into the sparkling desert oasis. Being cannonball-shaped, he made quite the splash, loud enough to stir Big Band out of hibernation in the palm trees’ shade. “Huh, wuzzat?” He blinked the sleep from his eyes to see Tora swimming around, using his wings like oars to push himself through the water. The detective shook his head in resignation as he rose from where he laid himself to rest, causing his bones to pop and his metal joints to creak. “Oh, good heavens. Stiff as a damn board, I need a tuneup or…or somethin’.” With deliberate slowness he got to his feet, where he watched Tora continue to paddle around. “Y’know, for a beach ball your swimmin’ ain’t half bad, kid.”

“Hm-hm!” Tora chuckled, a smug look on his face. “Friend Band not see anything yet. Poppi!”

His artificial blade, seated at the water’s edge, perked up. “Masterpon!”

“Initiate Rally Mode!”

“Roger, roger!” After standing, Poppi clapped her hands together above her head in an A shape, then launched herself into the water in a corkscrew dive. She vanished beneath the surface, and a moment later, Tora began to rise out of the water. Poppi emerged in a big splash and set the Nopon like a volleyball, sending him flying straight up.

“Whee!” he sang, his limbs tucked in as he arced up and back down toward the water. Poppi moved to bump him as he came down and return him to the air, then repeated the process where he fell down next.

When Vandham walked over to investigate the noise, the sight of his friends elicited an uproarious burst of laughter. He held out his hand. “Over ‘ere, I’m open!”

Poppi obligingly bounced her Masterpon his direction, and with a big grin the man adopted a wide stance. Just a hair too early he bumped Tora back to Poppi, sending him at a low angle. “Cripes, you’re ‘eavier than I remember!” he laughed. When Tora hit the water with a splash and bobbed back up to the surface, all smiles, he crossed his arms. “If this ship ever makes an emergency landin’ in the water, we’ll ‘ave a good float at least!”

“Even Tora sink like rock if Biggypon take hold!” the Nopon joked back as Poppi waded over to him. At his level of durability, such mild impacts barely even registered. “C’mon Poppi, let’s go again! Now friends Midna, Braum, and Band play, too!”

“Oi, don’t forget about me!” the Scout called, waving from the shoreline. He’d gone for a dip himself in a pair of swimming trunks from the market, and his bulbous red beard was heavy with water. “If anyone lands on my ‘ead, they’ll bounce straight off like a bloody trampoline, trust me!”

They set up another rally, although this one didn’t go quite so smoothly. Poppi and Vandham both possessed such an abundance of strength that they made bouncing Tora around look easy, when in fact it wasn’t. A few hard splats into sand at the feet of a would-be hitter, which left the Nopon half-buried with his legs wiggling in the air, convinced the others to dial up the power a little, but that wasn’t without its own consequences. As Vandham walked into the inn to get the others, he heard a loud BONK as Tora bounced off the hull of the Virgin Victory, and shook his head in resignation. “Alright mates, rise an’ shine!” he shouted, visiting Therion, Raiden, Joker, Skull, Panther, Mona, and Raz in turn. “We got a big day ahead of us, so don’t make me chuck ya in the lake with Tora!”

Having slept on Joker’s bed as usual, Mona woke with a start and promptly rolled off onto the floor. “Okay, okay already! Sheesh.”

With that more or less taken care of, Vandham headed on over to Tumbleweed Saloon, where Commander Nelson and James Shirogane were already seated with a breakfast of black coffee, beans, and tropical fruit beneath the wagon wheel chandelier. With them he also found Alice MacGregor, having returned bright and early from Gerudo Town with ill tidings, or so he assumed from the general dour mood and lack of stuff for the Virgin Victory. The mercenary leader nodded to them and sat at an adjacent table, joined shortly by Big Band. One or two at a time the rest of the Seekers trailed in, bringing in or ordering food before they found somewhere to sit, which could include the bench for the piano since nobody was playing it. A few faces appeared from the Gerudo Town contingent as well, including Panther, who was eager to see her friends again.

After everyone got a chance to chat and eat, Vandham kicked things off. “So, Miss MacGregor. What’s the sitch?”

The solemn-faced pilot took a long breath in through her nose and began. “Well, in terms of fuel and mechanical parts with which we might make the Virgin Victory ship-shape, I regret to inform everyone that the town is rather lacking. It is not as, for lack of a better word, anachronous as we might have hoped. There is very little technology even approaching ‘modern’ to be found.”

Nelson looked grave. “So we may be stranded here for some time then, I take it. That is most unfortunate.”

“Luckily, we might have an alternative.” Every eye was on Alice, their momentary despair converted in an instant to hope, as she continued. “I visited the train station, the only modern facility in the city. I was curious, since we saw no tracks anywhere in Gerudo Town’s vicinity, and indeed, the place seemed to be empty. And yet, as I waited there, a subway train pulled into the station. It arrived from a dark hole in the wall, pulled by an orange tabby cat the size of an elephant, running along a track of yellow light. The train opened, and a number of desert folk came out. The station guards allowed the women into town, but the men were obliged to leave the city immediately through a second gate that seemed to link the station directly to the outside.”

Fox adopted a pose of exquisite thought. “Just like the subways in Mementos,” he observed. “Phantom trains arriving from nowhere and leading to nowhere, in stunning defiance of Euclidean space.”

“Those never stopped though,” Skull remembered, looking from his friend back to Alice. “But you said this one did?”

“Indeed. And to indulge my curiosity, I boarded it, as well.”

“Now ya got me curious,” Band told her. “Where’s this midnight special train take ya?

Alice tented her fingers. “When we set off, we disappeared into a dark tunnel, the sort you’d expect underground, except that it would have logically ended after only a few meters on the opposite side of the city walls. But the train emerged in what appeared to be a large city, lit by bright neon signs and full of black cats. After I got off, however, I realized my first impression was incorrect. In fact, ” She paused for a moment. “Most importantly, there were other train lines. Other than the yellow line I came in on, I mean. There were all the colors of the rainbow. So naturally, I assume the place is simply a gargantuan, multi-story train station. And if each of the train lines warps space as ours did…”

Poppi’s processor had already come to the same conclusion. “That mean it potentially lead to places all over world!”

“Like hub for fast travel, meh!” Tora piped up.

Not sure what he was referring to, Alice delivered her final report. “I did not try any of the other lines, since I did not want to risk getting lost, and some of them required paid passes, regardless. While waiting for the Yellow Line train to run again, however, I did find a door and step outside.” She crossed her arms as if shivering. “What I found was freezing cold. A city sitting atop a frigid ocean, blanketed in snow, yet full of life. I could see very little before I went back inside, but when I looked up, the exterior facade of the train station appeared to be a gargantuan pumpkin. So big as to be unmistakable from any distance. In other words, it may as well be on the other side of the world from here.”

As that sank in, the others reacted with a mixture of bafflement, wonder, and excitement. Tora in particular bounced up and down in his chair. “That mean we not stranded here after all, meh! Just need ride train, and no more awful hot-hot desert!”

“And it sounds like the ladies in town let men into the train station, at the very least,” Band observed. “How forward-thinkin’ of ‘em.”

Nelson nodded. “Certainly a more promising prospect than a journey on foot across the desert. We need only ride the rails until we come across somewhere with the materials we need. Or better yet, somewhere close to home base, in Alcamoth.”

“Sounds like we got a plan then!” Vandham announced. “Eat up and get ready, mates. We got ourselves a train to catch!”



As much as she wanted to hang out with her friends, Nadia just didn’t have the patience to check this incredible marketplace out at anyone’s pace but her own. With only so much time and money available, she needed to cover as much ground as possible to ensure that whatever purchase she ended up making would be the right one, and what better way to avoid getting lost in a never-ended feedback loop of sensory overload than to take the whole place one shop at a time?

The feral quickly plotted a course around the Argentum Bazaar. If she essentially hugged the right wall, she could hit every shop in a big counterclockwise crescent around the outside, then turn around to make an inward clockwise crescent back to the start along the new right wall, which would eventually leave her in the innermost core of the market. With that plan in mind, she set off, and immediately discovered that things wouldn’t be quite so simple. The bazaar was stuffed with people, be they traders from afar, citizens of Limsa Lominscuttle Town, or the shipgirls of its Azure Navy. Throughout the place the crowd flowed and swirled like the currents of the ocean blue, and it seemed all too easy to be swept away, or even dragged under. The hubbub reminded her of the Little Innsmouth dark markets, specifically the chaos that befell them when the fishers and trawlers came in with the day’s catch, and Dagonians of every shape and size came out of the woodwork to snag the freshest seafood for their businesses and families. Though not quite a feeding frenzy of that magnitude, this bazaar did have an even greater variety of patrons. Many diminutive but very solidly-built Nopon scurried around, liable to trip any customers wandering around with their head in the crowds, and the shipgirls who skated over from the city under their own power still had their somewhat hazardous rigging on, however folded-up it might be. Some of the busier shops had lines out from them that followed no particular pattern, creating blockades that other customers needed to get around or through. If anyone could duck, dodge, scoot, and scurry her way through such a crowded place, though, it was Nadia Fortune. By habit she kept her eyes sharp at all times, darting hither and thither to speedily take stock of just about everyone she crossed paths with. Not that she planned to pickpocket anyone, but still.

First on the docket was the incredibly noisy Immortal Core Store, tactfully placed by the main entrance, and quite possibly the biggest, fanciest, and most eye-catching shop in the whole bazaar. Unlike the rest, which made little to no attempt to doll themselves up as anything but ordinary market stalls, the Core Store looked like its own little building done up in a dark fantastical style. After Nadia made her way over she sidled past the raucous throng at the counter and joined a handful of people spectating the process. It took a bit to wrap her head around what was causing such a ruckus, and how, but as best she could gather, customers could buy a couple different kinds of Crests that would then allow her to physically grind open geodes for an unknown gemstone hidden inside, which would then empower any equipment they got socketed into. It sounded kind of fun, but there air of discontent around the place was potent enough to put her off. In the end Nadia decided against it; after all, since the whole thing came down to random chance, who knew how much she would need to spend to get anything good? “Now that I think about it, I don’t even have any gear I could stick ‘em in,” Nadia muttered to herself as she disengaged from the Core Store crowd. If anyone in her group wanted to try that, she hoped they had good luck!

Next door she found Honeycomb Sweets. Though its cakes, cookies, candies, pastries, puddings, ice cream, popsicles all looked incredible, Nadia was still very full from dinner, and the thought of eating anything else threatened to make her ill. After a few deep breaths to enjoy the ambient aroma she moseyed right along.

Shroomblade Smithing occupied the last spot on the outer-bottom row, and it was a big one. Complete with its own forge and workshop behind it, where its supply of more generic armaments was assembled in-house, this shop drew the attention of soldiers, adventurers, and enthusiasts alike. Those not drawn to ogle the walls of weapons on display could watch the smiths at work as they pounded, chiseled, carved, and enchanted away. As fascinating as the process might be, Nadia didn’t have minutes to waste on entertainment, or money to splurge on a whim. Never in her life had the cat burglar received formal training with any kind of weapon, not even with knives, the thief’s tools of the trade. No blade would serve her better than her own body, thanks to the feral ability to harden her claws, tail, teeth, and so forth. With a final longing glance at all the badass sabers, halberds, kukris, morning stars, knuckles, rifles, and shields, she moved on.

The next couple stalls, all on the bazaar’s right side, turned out to be Reedirait Bookstore, Nopox Hobby Store, and Strummer Instruments. Neither seemed to offer Nadia much value at first, since she never tried an instrument and couldn’t call herself much of a bookworm. Besides, where could she possibly find the time or place to actually read a book or play an instrument, either in her frenetic old life or her crazy new adventure in the World of Light? But after today, she wondered if she might occasionally get enough time to indulge herself after all. It might be nice to immerse herself in a good story, or to pick up a new hobby. If she could actually learn how to make music, it might bring some benefit to everyone else, too, by means of raising morale or just helping to connect them better. She pictured herself plucking the guitar and working the accordion that Strummer Instruments had on display, maybe around a campfire somewhere with Ace and the others. That sounded pretty great, actually. But then again, she would need to carry her stuff around with her everywhere, and with her pouches discarded alongside her old clothes she possessed a single means of storage, that being the thief’s teal shoulder bag. In the end Nadia moved on, but she noted the shops down as a solid ‘maybe’ in her mind.

When she reached the outer-top row she came face to face with Noodlers’ Delight and promptly skedaddled. On its left stood Shynini’s Accessories, where all sorts of bracelets, pendants, broaches, watches, and other vanities could be purchased, virtually all of them inlaid with stones and crystals purported to grant magical effects. While looking over its tempting wares, Nadia happened to run into Cerberus, who she found in the process of spending their entire stipend on pretty baubles. On second glance, however, the accessories they chose were bejeweled cuff links of amber, amethyst, and aquamarine, which in addition to matching their eyes perfectly, promised to boost their fire, electric, and ice elemental attacks, respectively. It didn’t take much searching to discover accessories that boosted physical attack, defense, and even water attack, or offered better health regeneration. Nadia only stopped herself from buying something then and there with the logic that there might be something better elsewhere. Hopefully the stuff she had her eyes on would still be sitting there when she got back.

Last on the upper row was Cleo’s Cosmetics. Normally Nadia wouldn’t give a place like that a second glance, since a lifelong tomboy like herself seldom thought twice about such fripperies as foundation, false eyelashes, and blush. For some reason though, as she stood in front of the counter with her arms crossed, her eyes lingered on the rows and rows of aesthetic products. She figured that under normal circumstances, people used stuff like this in order to make themselves look like someone they weren’t. Someone better, more attractive, more perfect. Even if she didn’t partake herself, Nadia understood why so many would. At the same time, she wondered if the same products might serve a different purpose: to make her look like herself.

Nadia took hold of her hair. White as dead coral, longer and more flowy than usual, as if perpetually underwater. It was nice, and part of her just accepted it as ‘her’, but her memories assured her that wasn’t always the case. If she kept fusing with more spirits, how long would it be before she looked in the mirror and could no longer recognize the girl staring back? It would be foolhardy to believe that every enemy she ran into with powers she wanted would happen to look like her. No matter what happened, she wanted to keep a hold of herself, and not become something else. Her first instinct when she fused with Northampton, to cut her hair back to jaw-length, said as much. As the gears turned, the feral came to a decision. She spent two 250 gold on a bottle of platinum blonde hair dye, good for five applications. No matter who I fuse with, she thought as she placed her first purchase in her bag, I’ll still have the ol’ bob.

The moved a little faster around the inner crescent, spending just enough time to get an idea of which shop sold what and whether or not she needed it. She soon noticed that the inner crescent seemed a little…stranger. While the stalls she passed so far all featured cute Nopon shopkeepers, these more cluttered, dimly-lit stores featured the enigmatic Bazaar Masters, and though each styled himself as ‘Mr’, Nadia found herself doubting whether they were really men. In clockwise order, she went by Mr. Chimes’ Lost and Found, a highly exclusive antique vendor, Gottery the Outfitter, a clothes store run by Mr. Veils, Crawcase Cryptics, a shop of secrets and rumors run by Mr. Papers, Dauncey’s, Mr. Wines’ liquor store, Nassos Zoologicals, a pet (and minion) shop under Mr. Eaten’s leadership, The Great Downward Engineering Company, a gadgetry workshop run by Mr. Iron, Empire Adornments, operated discreetly by the employees of Mr. Stones, the Bridge Without, that being a grocery cheerily attended to by Mr. Apples, Carrow’s Steel, a less popular arms provider run by Mr. Fires, and Nikolas Pawnbrokers, run by Mr. Mirrors. Beyond these curious shops lay only the innermost portion of the Bazaar, occupied by Whiteside Salvaging, the storefront for Argentum Trade Guild’s own special industry. There she spotted the Bowsers, just finishing a transaction.

The trip took more time than Nadia expected, even though she avoided entangling herself with her friends whenever she happened to run into them throughout the marketplace. In the end, she went back to Gottery the Outfitter, since the clothes she bought today wouldn’t be much use in the coming battles, and bargained for a new outfit. The zip-up jumpsuit she settled on for 800 gold covered all her bases: cute (although in rather less innocent fashion than Rika’s new sundress), stylish, didn’t cover her separation points, and thanks to a remarkable degree of durability, pretty practical actually. It came with a set of fingerless gloves that could help her punch, as well. After that the feral went between the accessory shops looking for the best bang for her buck. In the end, she spent her bottom dollar on two new trinkets. One was a shiny ring that would increase her ‘maximum equipment load’. Though skeptical at first, she realized once Bazaar Master let her try it on that the ring made her gear feel light as a feather. As a direct result, she also got a charm that promised to boost her attack power the lower her equipment load was. Hopefully, all that meant that because she traveled so light, she would be able to hit way harder, and even if she needed to gear up for harsh conditions, it would be easier to maintain her agility. Even if that didn’t work, at least her finds were pretty, and the charm looking rather like a cat toy spoke to her on a fundamental level.

It was getting to be that time, and soon after she met up with the rest of the Seekers back at the Trade Guild’s dock. The others had been every bit as busy as she, and everyone sported some fancy new stuff, be that equipment, supplies, or just whatever caught their fancy. Nadia loved that Sakura got herself a bike, it was just such a Sakura thing to do. Not everything had to be functional, and seeing the girl enjoy herself with her new purchase made Nadia sort of wish she bought an instrument or something, after all. Geralt, meanwhile, got a cool new bow, while Peach somehow managed to find a fearsome new weapon of destruction, the Agro Torpedo rocket launcher, able to wreak havoc at ranges her Boomshot could only dream of. “Looks like everyone’s made good use of their allowances,” she giggled, seeing a few of the purchases. “It’s getting late, so we should probably disband for the evening. I feel like tomorrow’s going to be another very busy day, so let’s all rest well.”

Once the ferry deposited all of them back at the Limsa harbor, the Seekers could go their separate ways. Although the sound of another long snooze in the comfy white sheets of Mizzenmast Inn sounded divine, Nadia couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid about how secure her hotel room really was, on account of her repossession efforts that afternoon. Best case scenario was that her disposal of both Rita and Barth left the gang she’d fallen foul of scattered and leaderless, with those nasty customers’ more redeemable underlings free to pursue better opportunities elsewhere. Worst case scenario was that her incursion sent ripples through the underworld, putting a target on her head that any number of assassins might be eager to cash in on. Someone in her line of work didn’t survive by assuming she’d always get lucky.

She decided to bid the other inn-goers farewell, and tag along with Peach back through the warp portal to Alcamoth. “Night-night everyone!” she called as she waved the others away. Only as she, the princess, and a couple others crossed the seaside city to reach the teleporter did Nadia really begin to feel just how tired she was. “Whew. Gonna sleep like a log tonight.” By the time she finally reached an empty room in Alcamoth’s residential sector, she was shambling like a zombie, and when she collapsed into bed she zonked right out.

---

Just shy of eight hours later, some noise outside Nadia’s room made her cat ears perked up, followed shortly by the slow, bleary blinking of her eyes. It took a second to remember where she ended up this time, although compared to the last time she awakened, so oblivious from ten hours straight of alcohol-induced unconsciousness that she couldn’t even remember her own name, she felt a whole lot better. With a groan the feral reflexively grabbed hold of and hugged her pillow tight, eyes squeezed shut, but after a few seconds she sighed and rolled out of bed. Here in the futuristic, almost alien floating city of Alcamoth, she really missed the soft chorus of seagulls and the distant crash of waves on the sandy shore, as rhythmic and soothing as a lullaby. After stepping into the tiny adjunct bathroom to splash water on her face, she put on her fresh new outfit for the first time, which did require carefully cutting a hole in the back for her tail. “Hah,” she said, looking herself over in the mirror. “Feline fine.” Satisfied with what she saw, the feral made her way out from her stark, minimalist room down the stark, minimalist hallway toward the shopping center in search of something to eat.

A few minutes later she sat on a second story food court, working her way through a stack of Tea Break Pancakes, bathed in sweet berry syrup, as well as a handful of fried eggs and bacon from a restaurant called the Pancake Bar. Here at least, surrounded by stores and people from countless worlds, the rather austere Smash City felt like it had plenty of life. Just watching the denizens of Alcamoth prepare for the day kept her busy as she ate her fill, since no matter where she looked she found something interesting and new. Even more than that, she felt as she observed a certain sense of unity. Though everyone here had their own lives to live, their freedom from Galeem and commitment to a brighter tomorrow meant that they shared a common bond. Every meal served, every consumable crafted, every weapon made, every hour spent training, and every mock battle between the mercenaries…they all served that purpose. It got her a little worked up, she had to admit, although some coffee worked pretty well, too. The next chapter in this grand campaign to save the worlds was about to begin, and Nadia knew she needed to be ready.

She’d just finished eating and lifted her coffee to her lips for a big sip when a Moogle poofed into being in front of her, scaring her so badly that she blew hot coffee all over her face. “What the f-whah!” she yelped as she tipped backward in her chair and hit the ground. The Moogle flew over to the edge of the table in concern, only to get grabbed as Nadia shot up to her feet, dripping and angry. “Hey, ya stinky little furball!” she growled as she squeezed on its face like a stress ball. “What’s the big idea, scarin’ the livin’ daylights outta me like that!?”

“Oogh! Urgh!” the critter grunted, eyes bugging out. “The boss! Needs you! At the! Meeting!”

“The boss?” Nadia relented, her eyebrows furrowed. “You mean Peach? Or maybe Bowser?”

Breathing heavily, the Moogle nodded. “Yes, yes, everyone’s meeting right now to decide where to go next!”

“Oh, man, I must be late!” Nadia moaned, smacking a hand to her forehead.

“No no, you’re good. It’s in, um, ten minutes.”

Nadia stared at the messenger. “Ten minutes?”

“Uh-huh…”

The feral’s dark eye twitched, and her grip tightened again. “If I got so much time, what the hell’dja have to go and gimme a heart attack for!” As she spoke she reeled back and hurled the Moogle like a football over the railing, sending it flying out into the open space until it poofed itself away.

Sighing, Nadia dabbed at her face with her napkin. “Well, here we go, I guess.”

She grabbed the railing and jumped over, stretching out her muscles to lower herself down and reach the bottom floor at a controlled speed. Once there, Mercenary HQ was only a hop, skip, and a jump away. Inside, Nadia found Peach and the somewhat intimidating Pokemon Mewtwo standing at the huge screen table at the very center. Her eyes widened as she grew closer, taking in the immense computer-generated map of the continent, the first time she’d borne witness to a map of the World of Light in any capacity. While much of it remained to be filled in beyond a loose outline of the different regions, it impressed her a lot. “Wow.” She glanced over at Peach, who nodded her agreement. “So. Where we headed, princess?”

Peach shrugged, then sipped her tea. “Once everyone’s here, you’ll find out.”

Level: 1
Experience: 3/10
Currently In: Deep Blue Seaside, Limsa Lominscuttle Town >> Alcamoth
Word Count: 852 (+2 Exp)

Books were neat, but he couldn't stay in the bookstore much longer. Omori had grabbed one and quietly took a seat in one corner, paying little mind to his surroundings. The shopkeeper did ask about him buying a book, but he waved him off, explaning that he was just looking around. When he eventually got bored of staying in one spot, the monochrome boy put the book back in it's place and went back to walking around. Luckily too, the nopon would probably get irritated at him loitering or something.

He initally passed by the Smithy when he first entered the place, stopping to see if they had any knives he could get. Nothing really stuck out to him though, and the prices for some of them were just plain ridiculous. Collector's item or not, he's not that desperate to shell out an arm's worth of cash. And he could swear the one with the bent blade was a scam. Not a total loss though, he wouldn't want to part with his trusty knife any time soon.

He did pass by the sweets shop next. Omori did need some healing items, under the assumption that things like chocolate or snow cones still functioned the same to him. But then there was figuring out how many of what he should get, cheap or not.

...Admittedly, he took a bit too long to figure out the math of it. Like if he got a small box of donuts, would he be able to afford some chocolate bars? Or could he get a small cake? Maybe just a bag of candy?? He lightly shook his head. He'd worry about it later. Didn't have to fight any prominent enemies for how long he's been in Limsa.

That left getting a charm. Something to give him a better edge in battles. Aaand nothing popped out at him in the intended shop. Omori did take a moment to try on a thing or two, but they were either normal accessories, or didn't do much for him. Well, he was looking out for the prices too, obviously. So that left the cosmetics shop.

He was...a bit hesitant to go in. Just a little. It felt more like a shop Aubrey and Mari would check out, and he could be there to help pick stuff out for them and whatnot. Maybe here he could get them some gifts? The boy looked around for anything either of them would like. Mainly, he kept an eye out for anything in their favorite colors. Aubrey did like pink. Then something else caught his eye.

A hairstick, made to look like a white tulip. He walked over to it and gently picked it up. He had been compared to a tulip. Omori searched his short pockets for whatever he earned through odd jobs around town, mostly spend on necessities with Headspace being gone. After flagging down the price from the shopkeeper there, turns out, he had just enough. Nothing wrong with spending a bit on yourself.

He bought the charm and prepared to head out. But once again his curiosity drew him to something else. There was that witch again he passed by at the bookstore, along with alot of other colorful characters. Some a mishmash of something or another that while a tad confusing, it interested the young boy. ...Looks like they're splitting up, once they reached the harbor again. A portal? Maybe he could take the chance and slip by? Would have to part with Limsa for now, but he had people to look for.

Quiet as a mouse, Omori snuck through the warp portal into Alcamoth.



...

Maybe he should've thought twice about his decision.

That's what went through Omori's head when he was dragged into a fight by the guards on the other side of the warp portal. With his rather unique color scheme, it was hard not to ignore the red eyes of galeem's influence in the poor kid. No matter how hard he'd fight back, he didn't have his friends with him. He got overwhelmed too easily. It was by stubborn luck that he didn't succumb to any wounds, letting the guards heal him with a friend heart.

...

Wait what.

Omori was given an explanation, to their actions, and the reason why what he concidered his home was lost. This thing. In the sky. Galeem. It separated him from his friends, family, himself. And if him being controled by this thing was anything to go by...

He only felt anger towards it. Whatever it was. Something was one thing, but this was a new breed of despicable.

After a bit of talking with the guards, he was welcome to settle in and find a place to stay. With whatever money he had left, Omori ended up staying at whatever inn he could afford for the night.

The next morning his worries weren't quelled. Again he found himself wandering through a new location, trying to keep his mind off things. But mostly to keep an eye out on any familiar faces he can prevent from getting hurt.

Or worse.

Sleeping under the stars had been a lovely way to pass the night. Admittedly it had involved laying on the rough ground and had been quite cold, but a combination of exhaustion and the echoes of comforting memory had made for a deep and rejuvenating sleep that the princess had sourly needed. Then, of course, the blasted sun came up and it was time for the princess to get back to squinting and being much too warm.

”It’s going to be good to get out of this wretched desert, that’s for sure” the princess told her wolfos as she got herself fully dressed and then slipped out of the sleeping bag and into the morning air.

She had drifted up into the air and was in the midst of stretching some of the stiffness out of her limbs when Tora came storming past while making a right racket before tossing himself into the water for a morning swim. If anyone had still been asleep among the outsiders they were sure as heck awake now.

Still, a rude alarm clock the fluffball might have been, but at least he made up for it with his and Poppie’s cheerful attitudes and silly antics, the latter of which Midna was swiftly dragged into without any complaint. Sometimes you needed silliness, especially when the day ahead no doubt held more trials and tribulations. In short order the princess found herself dashing across the sands and using her shadow-hand to launch the living volleyball, the exertion and laughter that resulted from this doing far more to get her limber and awake than the stretches had.

Unfortunately the game eventually came to an end when the mercenary boss yelled at them to get a move on ”Ahhh you're no fun, but fine fine, let me just check in with the market first for a moment so I can afford breakfast.”

Well, first she intercepted Sectonia, borrowed the Symbol of Avarice and used it to crush the Sanscale spirit she’d picked up last night. The common spirit gave her an unremarkable gemstone of some kind, but given that she’d been intending to sell whatever she got anyway, that worked out well enough.

A few minutes later and she’d found a jeweler and a silversmith who saw worth in her various looted currencies other than their unrecognized monetary value, indeed the buyer of the ducats had launched straight into seeing if they could make earrings out of the odd coins moments after the sale had been made. As a result the princess had wound up with a pretty decent haul of 2300 gold, most of which she set aside for future succulent pig-equse purchases.

First tap of that fund: a big breakfast

As a result Midna started the day with her seat at the table being served a big pile of eggs, bacon, hash brown, baked beans, sausage, toast and, fortunately, no regret because she had 3 other mouths to feed on top of her own. So when push came to shove it really turned out to be more of a small and mostly vegetarian breakfast for her, because most of the sausages and bacon went under the table to a rotating line up of her twilight-beasts who took turns at portaling in and getting some light-world grub.

So that was what Minda was up to while the team were informed of the existence of a giant cat based transportation that apparently existed in an underground ‘subway’ of some kind. It sounded very silly to the twilight princess, but then it was always better to have something silly and helpful than something nightmarish and ever so lethal in this mashed up world, so she couldn't exactly complain.

”So, guess what we’ll need to do is go down, split up, ride some more cat drawn carriages and find out where these ‘lines’ all end up?” Minda said, before taking a little scoop of eggs into her mouth and the having a thought ready by the time she swallowed
”Or, you know, just find a map? That would be a logical thing to have down there… which given how whimsical the place sounds I guess is not a guarantee”

”That said, I’ve got some unfinished business with that split mountain before we ditch this roasting land for good” Midna said, popping one of the port stones down on the table as she spoke to make it clear how she was getting up there ”get that poor guy his oil from that Convent… If either he or it is left… that worm probably messed up the mountain pretty bad”

That put a bit of a potential damper on her plan but still, I wouldn’t stop her from at least trying ”Well anyway, I don’t mean to drag it out. Pull a lightning raid on that place and then drop down the mountain more or less as fast as possible. If we put the other one of those warp rocks on the Virgin Victory I can just jump back, and maybe retrieve the one up on the mountain top while I’m at it if there’s nothing else worth seeing up there.” she suggested, putting something on the table to ensure that it wasn't a frivolous waste of time from the perspective of those who would need to take steps to ensure she was not left behind.

This entire situation was absolutely horrible. Bede had been traversing this unfamiliar world for months now. Somehow, he wound up in the desert. When he finally found a town to stay in, they refused him entry because he wasn’t female. The nerve of them! He had been trained by Opal and was the pride of the Galar region. What did his gender have to do with anything?

So it was back to traversing the hot, sandy desert…. If it wasn’t for Hatenna, and her chipper attitude in spite of the situation, and the fact he managed to find an inn to stay in that night, he might have gone insane! That morning, he found a place called the Tumbleweed Saloon. It would have to do he supposed. At least it was somewhere to eat and figure out his next move.

He entered the Saloon, and got himself and Hatenna something to eat. It was a miracle this place accepted Pokedollars as payment. In the middle of their meal, a ragtag group of misfits walked in. None of them looked like they belonged together. Bede would have just ignored them, but then then one of them said something about getting out of the desert on a train. His interest was piqued. So, Bede confidently approached the group. “Good morning. I’m Bede. The most Elite Pokémon Trainer in all of the Galar region!” He said while flipping his bangs. “You better remember it! Did I hear you correctly? There is actually a train to get out of this desert?”

When the Draugr’s axeblade came down, Frisk had one shot for survival–and, with a mind sharpened to a razor’s edge by the horror of Melony’s suffering, they made the right decision. Rather than trust their faltering shield to stomach one more grievous blow, the child went on the offensive, going for the monster as it moved in for its grim execution. The sudden lunge, unexpected an unaccounted for in the Draugr’s heedless bloodlust, meant that its vicious chop overshot its target, though not completely. Its notched, dull blade met the thick material of Frisk’s boot at the leg just above the ankle, and while its poor condition plus Frisk’s defensive gear meant that it failed to cut through, it still struck with enough blunt force to break the bone.

Even so, the Draugr got the bad end of the trade, because at the same time Frisk struck its knee. Without flesh or armor to cushion the blow, the bony joint crumpled underneath the Vorpan’s swing. A sickening crack sounded out as it bent sideways, partially splintered, and all of a sudden the monster’s weight was working against it. The undead warrior staggered, and as it sank it threw out one hand to support itself. That left it wide open on the same side, and with all the opportunity they needed Frisk went straight for the head.

BONG!

The hearty clang echoed off the nearby cliff face as the smash struck home in a shower of bone fragments, leaving half the axe-wielder’s head caved in and its jaw dangling ghoulishly from just one side. Unfortunately, while that alone would have felled any ordinary enemy, a Draugr did not care how much punishment its grisly husk took, so long as it could still fight. Though its head lolled to the side, it affixed its baleful, soulless gaze on Frisk once more, and with a hollow cry threw itself forward. Whether it could sprint, walk, or only crawl, the Draugr possessed the weight to bring the child to the ground beneath it if it managed to grab hold, and the bestial savagery to rip and tear until the snow ran red with blood.

Still, Frisk might have been able to outpace the abominable thing and save Melony if not for one important factor. The Hel-Walker who blasted the child earlier had not gotten into melee range, its hands overflowing with rotten miasmata of seior magic. A terrible sinking feeling of despair bubbled up from within when Frisk realized couldn’t help Melony without giving the Hel-Walker free reign to work its fell magic, which would then give the Draugr the chance to catch up. Worse still, however, was the realization that it was already too late. Albedo, still dealing with the Draugr raider and the Hel-Walker he toppled before, could seemingly do nothing. The shieldbearer, uncontested, raised its sword for the finishing blow.

“NO!” came a scream from the top of the cliff. An arrow zipped down from on high from above and lodged in the Draugr’s head, followed almost instantly by two more. Atop the overlook stood Teba, having peeled away from the undead that attacked him up there to do all he could to save his new acquaintance. Before he could loose any more shafts, however, the Draugr he’d ignored to do so, disarmed and peppered with arrows, grabbed him from behind and sank its teeth into Teba’s feathery neck. “Krah!” he screeched, clenching his beak as he shifted his weight to throw the monster over his shoulder. As it tumbled over the edge he lashed out with a desperate kick, and the Draugr hurtled down to land on the Draugr shieldbearer, knocking both to the ground in a heap.

But it was all for naught. When the shieldbearer went down, it left behind its sword, pushed mercilessly through Melony’s heart.

For a brief moment Teba said nothing, paralyzed by the shock and the weight of failure, but soon anger took over. He dove from the top of the cliff, firing arrow after arrow as he circled above the fight. Each one, loosed with vengeful strength, pierced the limbs and torsos of the monsters from above and pinned them to the ground. In the span of just a few moments, he eliminated the Draugr heavy, shieldbearer, and pincushion, reducing them to ash. He dealt enough damage to the raider that Albedo could tip the scales. The alchemist struck out with a flurry of deft swipes, finishing with a charged that dispatched his opponent with two slashes at once. That left just the Hel-Walkers, but their frigid, hardened flesh caused each arrow that struck them to bounce off. Rather than waste ammunition, Teba swooped down and landed on the one near Frisk, giving the child the chance to abuse the undead’s weakness to blunt attacks and finish it off for good. Albedo, likewise, disposed of the sole survivor.

The ashes from friend and foe alike blew away in the frigid went, whose whispers in the ice-crusted autumn trees seemed oddly jeering. When Teba spoke, his voice was calm, but cold. “Are you really warriors?” he questioned. “These creatures are cruel, but anyone with even modest abilities can cut through them like wheat. You left Melony unprotected, and now she’s gone. I can expect as much from a child, but you,” he said, glaring at Albedo. ”Didn’t even try to go for her.”

Albedo looked unamused. “You don’t need to tell us that,” he said flatly. “We were outnumbered more than two to one and taken by surprise. Not everyone is familiar with Draugr as you are. What happened was terrible, but we can’t do anything about it now.” He turned his ice sword over in his hand and stabbed it into the ground before crossing his arms. “All we can do is push on, find Joserf’s father, and make sure that she didn’t die in vain.”

"Hmph," Teba snorted, his face one of barely-suppressed fury. "How pragmatic of you. Not even a word of thanks for saving your skins a moment ago. And where's the other one, the corpse with the glowing eye? Skulking around somewhere? If this is how your group treats your allies, I would be better off on my own." His eyes narrowed. "In fact, I'm going back to camp right now, to check on Joel. If I find out that girl did anything, I'll kill you both." Without another word he took off, disappearing into the turbulent white of the sky.

Morning dawned once more over Peach’s castle, and the Koopa Troop went through the closest thing to a morning routine they had had since they arrived in the world of light. Piling out of the large shared bedroom and then heading down to invade the kitchen in-order to acquire a hearty breakfast.

The main difference from yesterday was that all their clothes and gear had been cleaned, and just in time too. A day of rest had been most welcome, but adventure awaited them once again. The gang suited up, literally in Bowser’s case, while Rika tossed her old blue cape-like jacket and various satchels over the top of her new yellow sundress which certainly resulted in a look, that was for sure.

Kamek meanwhile donned her old, heavily modified, mages outfit mainly for the pocket-space while Jr personally had his trusty bib, duffle bag of gear and bandoleer of (2) pokeballs strapped to his chest. Oh and the prince also had his new and improved clown car, which was a fair bit bulkier as a result of it sporting some reinforced armor which housed the egg mobile's anti-gravity systems. The other visible change was a little windshield on the front that made it a bit more aerodynamic, which was useful considering it could now deploy a pair of small wings and a rocket engine from the back for increased speed. The new massive wrecking ball further added to the upgrade, adding a nice heavy hitter to the car’s eclectic arsenal.

The boy had worked late in-order to pull this off despite Kamek’s suggestion otherwise, so he ended up sleeping through a lot of the subsequent meeting. For him, Rika and Bowser the trip to that meeting was fairly uneventful, but for Kamek, well, she ended up doing a double take upon seeing a vaguely familiar child in a place she would not have expected to do so.

”Hello there, I’m Kamek, nice to meet you. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you and I very briefly crossed paths yesterday at the market in Limsa Lominscuttle Town?” The mage asked after diverting away from the rest of the group in-order to introduce herself to the boy, before adding ”How in the world did you get here?”, then after checking his eyes ”and how are you fairing with your new understanding of reality?” and finally ”Is there anything I can do to help you or are you settling in just fine?”

While the mage got sidetracked the rest of the troop headed for their destination, a meeting on where they’d be going next that they’d agreed to do over breakfast with Peach. Finding the princess there, and the speedy Ms Fortune, was no big surprise. What was was the fact that they had apparently upgraded from the hand drawn map that had been (unbeknownst to the seekers) left for them to find by organization 13.

Bowser gave a whistle and a comment of ”fancy”/ upon seeing it, before cupping a hand under one chin and scanning his eyes over it. While junior parked his car in a corner and took a catnap Rika goggled at the sheer size of the map the world, tracing a pointed finger from Limsa Lominscuttle Town all the way up to Carcass Isle to get a sense of how little of it she had seen.

“Wow, its so big” she marveled “and so many places to go”

”Hmm? Yeah, right on the second, we’ve only been… well we started here” Bowser pointed down at the bottom center of the map to Precipice Knoll, and then transcend their route across the map for her ”went up to peach’s castle here, then along here to Lumbrige, messed about a bit, then went through here to Alcamoth”

“Wait, they're that far apart?” the ship girl interjected, talking about the distance between peach’s castle where they had woken up and Alcamoth, the place they had gotten to in mere moments of travel thanks to Jr’s painting.

”Heh. You think that’s far? Next we went all the way from Lumbrige to Inkwell Isle all the way over here in the blink of an eye through some hole in space” Bowser said, getting another amazed sound from Rika ”and then we took a boat to Limes-a- loin-scuttle town and then you know the rest” Bowser said, managing to butcher the long named town’s name in the process.

“That still leaves so many places”

”I mean I guess. But then again, this is supposed to be a mashup of everything from every world, yet there's what, like, a big country’s worth of stuff? You kinda have to ask where everything else is, you know, LIKE MY CASTLE!” the king yelled that last bit in the vague direction he thought Galeem was in (and getting it entirely wrong) before sighing and adding ”Well anyway, we’ve poked at this Deadzone place a bit, forgot to mention that, and some other group’s hitting up that big desert, so I guess we’ll wanna do something vaguely over here?” the king concluded before waving a hand at the entire west of the landmass.

“Mmmm, I got it” Rika said, before focusing her world scanning to that general area to see what the places they might be going next were like.

While she did that Bowser had a thought and turned to the psychic pokemon inorder to ask ”Hey Mewtwo, do we know how those other people are doing anyway? You know, the big bee and the furball and his robot and stuff…” he paused and then clicked his fingers a few times before finally snapping them as he remembered some names ”Tora and Poppie! Yeah them. And, uh, Sec something. Sec-topia? Anyway, any of them touched in to let us know they’re good recently?”

It was amazing what a decent night's sleep could do for a person. Once booking rooms in Gerudo Town's inn was taken care of, Primrose bid Jesse, Ann, and Sectonia a brief farewell before making her way to the public bath. She'd gone back and forth with herself on whether to just go in the morning or not, but it was too far from the inn and she would sleep much better without the lingering sand clinging to her skin. With some direction from the alien queen, Primrose found her destination. After a wash of her hair, body and clothes it was back to the inn dressed in the Gerudo-style clothes she'd picked up from Yuria's shop. Weary from the climb, the descent, subsequent battle, and then the brawl in the street, Primrose fell to sleep as soon as he head hit the pillow. She barely stirred, and didn't wake until sunlight began streaming through the room's window.

With morning come, the dancer joined the other Seeker ladies as they made their way out of town and back toward the oasis where their male counterparts were no doubt waiting for them.

Meanwhile, there was a kindred soul in Kara Kara Bazaar's inn that had similarly slept like the dead. With all of the events that day plus the migraine-inducing information dump he'd experienced after being freed of Galeem's influence, Therion was mentally exhausted on a level he'd scarcely known before. After dragging himself to a room and locking himself inside, he'd only just managed to kick off his footwear before throwing himself on the bed and curling up to sleep. Normally a very light sleeper, Therion only blinked awake after hours of black unconsciousness at the sound of a man threatening to throw him into a lake. It was an irritating to start to the day not because of Vandham's shouting (he'd gotten plenty used to the early birds H'aanit and Olberic waking everyone up each morning), but because he hadn't been awake before that.

I guess fighting a giant armored worm with the multi-world circus will do that to a person, he thought. Therion laid there on his back for a few more minutes, scrubbing at his face to chase the lingering drowsiness away. The short chain of the fool's bangle was tapping uncomfortably at his chin as if urging him to get a move on. With a long suffering sigh he swung his legs out of bed and stood. He was out the door and into the oasis a moment later.

With a whole parade of interesting and unusual characters making their way past the Kara Kara market stalls and toward the saloon, it was easy enough to lift his preferred breakfast while those tending shop were distracted. His preferred breakfast being apples. There were a lot more other fruits for sale here in comparison to the noble apple, so Therion grabbed a banana bunch for ha-has alongside the apples, all swiftly and secretly tucked under his shawl where no one was the wiser.

With the size of the group they ended up taking a majority of the space inside the saloon, spread out over a few tables. Primrose arrived after her fellow Orsterran, and she drifted over to the chair next to his after stopping by the bar for a quick order of food. The thief had his own mug of coffee in hand, sipping it nonchalantly as they all listened to Alice's report.

"A train hub..." Primrose said, picturing the place in her mind. If pressed she would admit that she was a little tired of trains, given most of her experience with them over the last two days was of the life-or-death kind. Still, she couldn't deny their usefulness. And this place's usefulness even more so, if it quickly connected to areas all over the continent. Following Poppi's train of thought the dancer commented, "If it easily connects to distant places, it would help in getting to the other Guardians as well. Very advantageous for us."

"And convenient."

With a plan of action, the Seekers doubled down on eating their respective breakfasts - though Midna laid out her own separate plan for the day. Glad that she was still planning to go to the mountain, Primrose spoke up after the Twilight Princess.

"I still intend to join Midna," she said. Assuming the imp would still have her along. "As she mentioned, we can meet up with everyone again afterward." Now she was even more glad she'd purchased an outfit that had pants. Technically she did still have a loose appointment with that tailor in town as well... but if the Virgin Victory was in flying shape sooner than later, she'd just have to miss it. Or if they were lucky enough to find a train getting close to the Alcamoth, she could stop by whenever there was free time.

Primrose glanced at Therion, curious to see where he would go. She wouldn't mind his company on the mountain, but when the man in question caught her eye he frowned.

"If I never climb another mountain in my life, it will still be too soon," he said flatly.

So it was decided. Primrose hoped those going to the train station would find what they were looking for without much trouble, though to be honest that didn't seem likely. Trouble seemed to follow the Seekers wherever they went, attracting attention to them like flies to honey. Or maybe they simply were the trouble.

Well, speaking of attracting attention a boy and his little critter companion made his way over to the group, seeking a way out of the desert just the same as them. Therion regarded the latest stranger somewhat suspiciously - after all who just walked up to a group of weird and dangerous looking people like that. He ended up leaning in his chair toward Big Band and asking, "What the hell is a Pokémon Trainer?" While Primrose actually answered Bede's question.

"Apparently so. We can show you the way, if you like."

Was it uncouth to invite someone to tag along with a group she wouldn't be present in? Yes it was, but Primrose doubted any of the kind people she'd come to know over the last few days would deny a boy a way out of the desert. It wasn't like bringing him to a battlefield, and if anyone really took exception then she'd just make it up to them later.

Level: 3
Experience: 3/30
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Dragonspine
Word Count: 485 (+1 Exp)
Albedo @Lugubrious

Frisk's change of strategy for the most part went better than their first attempt, at the cost of a broken leg. Though their bout of adrenaline would numb that for the moment. They managed to stagger the undead warrior, breaking it's jaw and caving one side of it's head in. The youth clicked their tongue in disatisfaction. Was it not enough to behead the stupid thing?? Wasn't enough to keep it from retaliating either. The Draugr practically threw itself at them, ready to make them suffer the same as...

Frisk was forced on the evasive. Forced to take whatever measures to prevent the warrior Draugr from reaching them and their soul. A gradual, grim realization caused their racing heart to drop to their stomach. They forgot about the Hel-Walker. Albedo was still cornered.

...They were too late.

A decisive act of desperation, Teba fired at the shieldbearing Draugr, leaving the one he was dealing with an opening to merely get thrown to the other. But it was too late. It's sword remained pierced through the woman's heart.

Driven to avenge or otherwise, the remaining three cleared out whatever undead were left. When Teba landed on the Hel-Walker nearest to the child, they bore no hesitance in cracking it's skull open.

They survived. But for what?

The avian's chastising seemed to fall upon deaf ears on Frisk's end. But they could hear it. Every word. Yet their gaze was frozen on where Melony's ashes once were. What could they have done different? Their magic could've lasted long enough to reach her, right? Were their foes really that out of their league?

Why weren't they strong enough?

They could've responded to anything Teba said, but they were unable. Not with the lump in their throat forming. Instead, they limped around, gathering and crushing the spirits of the Draugr and the Hel-Walkers that remained. Then they approached Melony's spirit. They carefully knelt down next to it and gently cupped it in their hands. Their face twisted into a guilt-ridden frown. "...I'm so sorry..." Frisk's voice cracked, and they hugged the spirit close to their soul...



And in the next moment, an older woman stood where the fallen child once did. It took a moment to process what happened, and Frisk's eyes widened. "W-Woah. This is...something!" She looked herself over. "The others are going to flip over this! Hope the change isn't too jarring for them. Then there's the added chubbyness, that's going to hinder me a bit..." She trailed off in her thoughts, then turned her attention back to Albedo. No matter what reservations they both held over this, someone had to take care of Melony's Pokemon in her steed. The woman walked over to him. "Guess it's down to us then, huh?" Frisk asked, then looking over her new items. She'd shrug off the broken leg for now, until they find healing items on their way up.

After everyone’s shopping spree, Rubick excused himself from the group to get his affairs in order. After all, if he was going to be traveling with these “Seekers of Light”, he would need to make preparations. The last couple months had been dreadfully boring, with only an occasional shipgirl or some other curious-looking passerby to tease. He was certainly not going to pass up this chance for some adventure and excitement. First things first, it was getting rather late, so he would return to the inn he had been staying at for a quick bit of shut-eye.

---

With that sorted, Rubick looked over his items and confirmed that everything was in place. Blink Dagger in hand, Rubick blinked his way over to the front desk and checked out for good. Next, he traveled to the Arcanist’s Guild to inform them of his… extended leave of absence.

It looked like just another busy day at the Guild, although for the sorcerer, his imminent departure cast everything in a rather different light. The change in perspective, though slight, allowed him to better perceive the place and its rather quirky personnel, where before he might have otherwise continued to take him for granted. As usual, Rubick could find the guild’s four star pupils lounging around the common room, entertaining themselves with various board and card games. Though remarkably talented, especially when it came to combining elements (with oftentimes explosive results) the four never took anything seriously, and seemed content to do the bare minimum to make ends meet rather than apply themselves and move up in the ranks.

As much, the bulk of the guild tended to be made up of the arcaniststhemselves, an odd, limbless folk with a predilection for sorcery, and though their skills seldom extended beyond a single school of magic, their combined destruction power made them a force to be reckoned with–if they’d ever stop arguing among themselves, at least. The countryside surrounding Limsa sported many craters from their duels that had yet to be repaired. Still, their antics made for amusing displays, and when the city called upon the Arcanists’ Guild to perform some task, it was those titular arcanists that joined Rubick to get the job done.

Of course, on any given day one could expect to find itinerant mages here, learning and accomplishing what they could before moving on to bigger and brighter things. Their tuition, combined with the arcanists’ earnings from various commissions, kept the whole guild afloat. It seldom paid to get attached to any such student, but in recent weeks the staff had the pleasure of getting to know one mage in particular. The cheery, tomboyish Rinwell boasted not just impressive prowess with a wide range of elements and spells (referred to as ‘Astral Artes’ by herself) but a spirited disposition. While she seldom talked about her past, it seemingly being a source of pain for her, she seemed happy just to be around other magic-users day to day. It was none other than Rinwell who greeted Rubick when he arrived.

“Mr. Rubick!” she said, jumping up from a table (and knocking over a valuable tome in the process) to jog toward him. Her adorable pet owl, Hootle, flew right behind her to circle around the duelist’s head. While protective at first, the fluffy white owl chick had begun to trust Rubick enough to accept food from him, and it was all downhill from there. “Where were you yesterday? Apparently you left right after I went to Sky’s Hatchery for Hootle, and without anyone to watch them the arcanists totally wrecked the training room! Guildmaster Thuby’s beside herself!”

An arcanist dressed in red, with a wizard’s hat even bigger than his body, rolled his eyes. “It was an accident, come on! If you’re gonna pin it on anyone, what about the wizards? They’re the ones who told Wellington not to combine life and death magic and, well, you know Wellington…”

Rinwell crossed her arms. “We’re not just teaching magic here, you know! We’re teaching responsibility! Any fool can blow something up and play the blame game. What the Arcanists’ Guild practices is an art, and we’re supposed to be the artists, remember?” She looked at Rubick imploringly. A word from the veteran mage, her expression said, would surely set these fledgelings on the right path. “What do you think, Mr. Rubick?”

Rubick giggled at the recounting of these recent events. “Oh, I wish I had been there to see it!” Rubick said. After clearing his throat, he continued on with a more serious tone, “But Ms. Rinwell is right. There are rules in place for a reason, and I won’t be the first to break them. You can always count on Ms. Rinwell to remind us to stay in line.”

Turning to Rinwell, he answered, “As to where I was, well, I had found the most entertaining group of people I’ve ever encountered, and that’s saying something considering just how many I’ve met. It seems they have some important mission to accomplish, and I plan on joining them. That is why I am here now; I will be taking a leave of absence… for the foreseeable future.”

At Rubick's announcement, Rinwell seemed to deflate. "...Oh." Word spread quickly in whispers among the arcanists and wizards nearby, and a concerned silence fell over the guild hall, with all eyes on Rubick. Whether or not he desired as such, it seemed as though Rubick had managed to become not just respected, but well-liked. Rinwell in particular looked unhappy with the news, but she by now knew Rubick wasn't the joking type. "Um, okay. Since the…uh, since Thuby is out, I'll…let her know. When she gets back." Hootle landed in her hood, looking a little crestfallen. "Well, we'll miss you! Won't be easy filling your shoes, that's for sure. You take care of yourself out there, Mr. Rubick."

Rubick placed his hand on her shoulder. “You’ll do just fine without me,” Rubick reassured her. “I always thought you’d be the one to take my place anyway.” Rubick reached out a little further to stroke Hootle. “I’m going to miss you too, little Hootle. I’ll be depending on you the most to keep these hooligans here in line, ok?” Returning his attention to Rinwell, he continued the conversation from before, “And sure, it’s a little earlier than I had planned, but hey, better early than never, right?” Before anyone could tell him that he got the saying wrong, Rubick shouted a quick, “Goodbye!” before using his Blink Dagger to blink out the entrance.

Finally, with that sorted, he would head to that warp portal Princess Peach mentioned to meet up at. He excitedly wondered how it would function. Luckily, the customs and excise agency of Mealvaan’s Gate was the Arcanists’ Guild’s next-door neighbor, and just on the other side of that sat Westport, where most if not all newcomers took their first steps in Limsa Lominscuttle Town.

It took just a moment to find the spot, and he discovered a curious affair waiting for him. Against one of the stone walls that formed Mealvaan’s Gate, someone splattered a large patch of graffiti that seemed to move in an impossible swirl. It matched the description of the portal he’d been given. That said, it wasn’t exactly subtle, and after its placement by Bowser Junior, Peach ended up getting in touch with city authorities to prevent its removal, or worse, exploration. Evidently their collaboration bore fruit, for the warp portal now seemed to be cordoned off, with a couple of monochromatic Game and Watches posted as guards. No doubt the existence of the Aetheryte Plaza made the city relatively open to other modes of fast travel. When Rubick approached, the Game and Watches parted to let him pass, and he could step through.



What he found on the other side took even him, a storied spellcaster, by surprise. He ended up in an immense atrium, far beneath the glass dome, surrounded by the well-tended trees, grassy lawns, and white flowers of the biggest indoor park he’d ever seen. A large rampart of sorts divided the roughly saucer-shaped superstructure in half, its design a pleasant blend of futuristic and classical, and on the other side of its arches he could make out the bottom floor of a multi-tier gallery of buildings all slotted neatly into place.

Of more immediate concern, however, were the people nearby. A warmly-dressed duo wielding mallets, a woman in military gear, and an anthropomorphic falcon appeared to be engaged in a three-on-one mock battle against a red echidna, with a very burly man with a stylish haircut supervising them. Despite the numbers disadvantage, Knuckles seemed to be doing just fine, possessing enough physical strength to overwhelm any foe who he faced head-on. The others needed to work together, using their greater speed and more varied skills, to come out on top, but Knuckles’ digging ability kept them on their toes. After a few moments, Knuckles managed to floor both Ice Climbers with one well-aimed punch, only to get zapped by a device that Falco kicked at him, leaving him stunned long enough for Jill to get him in a headlock and lift the shorter creature off the ground. Falco raced in as Knuckles struggled and leaped into the air for a flying kick, but before he could connect, Guild’s watch beeped.

“Time!”

Falco stopped in his tracks, skidding to a halt in a cloud of dust that swept into Knuckles and Jill. The agent put him down, and with an annoyed wave of his hand he cleared the dust with one swipe. As the others came over, Guile turned to face Rubick, sizing him up through narrowed eyes. “Well well,” he said after a moment. “We’ve been waiting for you.” He checked his watch one more time, reset it, then pressed the button to start the timer again. Relaxing, he approached the newcomer. “At the moment we’re members of the Alcamoth Mercenaries, which means we’re on the same side. William Guile.” He crouched down, and extended his hand to shake. “At your service.”

Rubick clapped his hands in appreciation of the show, then extended his hand to Guile to return the greeting. “Likewise, Mr. Guile. I am Rubick, the Grand Magus, though judging by your comment, I assume you already knew that,” Rubick replied.

Nodding, Guile reached out for Rubick’s hand, then reached past it. His hand closed around the sorcerer’s wrist like a bear trap, and the next second he answered with a fully-charged flash kick straight to Rubick’s unguarded chin. The blow launched him up and backward, and before he even hit the ground, the others were on the move. “Go, go, go!” Guile commanded, and with the rehearsed cohesion of a well-oiled machine his teammates spread out to surround the fallen mage. Jill and Falco raced toward positions on either flank, shooting their pistol and blaster respectively, though the former did not seem to do anywhere near the damage that a real firearm should. The Ice Climbers and Knuckles then moved in, ready to wallop Rubick with some serious impact damage, while Guile stayed still to charge his next attack. “Sonic Boom!” he called, flinging his arms around to launch a slow-moving wind disc. The five-pronged beatdown was officially in progress.

Rubick was surprised when the well-toned man launched an attack and prompted the others nearby to do the same. He realized his time spent in Limsa Lominscuttle Town had made him complacent. Something he knew he would have to correct once this fight was over. His first course of action was to escape his current predicament and either fight off these Alcamoth Mercenaries or simply flee. Racking his brain through the pain of the incoming attacks, Rubick remembered how Knuckles had dug through the earth to give their members some trouble.

Rubick opted to do the same. “Yoink!” Rubick said, quickly using his Power Steal on Knuckles, and he began to dig iinto the earth. The Sonic Boom whizzed past, missing Rubick by mere inches, as Rubick repositioned himself some feet away. After reemerging from the ground, Rubick would then point his staff at Guile. “Face the Magus!” Rubick yelled as he took the Sonic Boom for himself. Rubick would then go on to perform the same motions as Guile had before proceeding to announce, “Sonic Boom!” launching the same wind disc attack at them.

He pulled off a flawless copy, and a Sonic Boom whirled his pursuers’ way, even as the barrage of pistol shots and laser bolts from the shooters chipped away at his life. Knuckles promptly dove underground, instantly breaking line of sight, while the Ice Climbers simply stepped around. The mimicked Sonic Boom, Meanwhile, struck one of Guile’s and canceled it out, only to reveal Booms three and four already coming his way as Guile inched forward in a crouched position while charging. “If he does that again, close in!” Guile ordered the other two shooters. The Ice Climbers paired up and twirled his way with mallets extended in a multi-hitting attack, while Jill and Falco remained at a distance, ready to adjust as necessary. The ground beneath Rubick, meanwhile, began to rumble.

The continuous fire from Falco and Jill were taking their toll, and Rubick knew he could not keep taking them. Remembering the Loch Shield he had received from Kamek, he pulled it out and held it in front of him as he moved backwards, which helped to lessen the damage. He continued to think of another solution, as it was evident that the Sonic Boom was not as helpful as he had hoped. Overall, the situation was quite grim. His firepower was much lower than theirs, so fighting wasn’t an option, which meant he would have to flee. Before he could do so, however, the ground had opened up from underneath him, revealing the red echidna that had been tunneling underneath him. His footing lost, Rubick fell through the ground, and he realized that he was out of options. His mind flashed back to when Princess Peach had warned him of the dangers of coming along on their journey; evidently, she was right.

Knuckles’ uppercut promptly interfered with his line of thinking, at least for a moment. Half-senseless from the direct impact after all the damage he’d soaked up so far, he hit the ground and without delay found himself surrounded by the Ice Climbers, who proceeded to freeze Rubick to the grass with a double spray of ice breath. Everyone closed, taking their time, but not out of a sense of sadism as one might think. Instead there seemed to be a collective exhale, and the fighters, in no hurry to finish him off or anything, relaxed somewhat. “Another day, another dollar,” Falco sighed, holstering his pistol. “Alright, who’s got ‘em?”

“Might as well,” Guile shrugged as he pressed the button on his watch. Less than a minute, he noted with satisfaction, and a flawless victory to boot. This strategy did its job. He approached Rubick and tapped his chest, producing a bright pink sprite in the shape of a heart, which he then tossed down to the frosted-over sorcerer like a passer-by donating some change. The instant the Friend Heart touched Rubick, it instantly restored him to peak condition. More than that, it lifted the influence of Galeem from his being, allowing the memories of his world’s end -as well as the wrongness of all that he’d witnessed these last few months- to sink in. It was a dizzying revelation, but when Rubick’s vision cleared he could see Guile standing above him. “Sorry about that,” he told the mage. “Gotta put every new recruit through their paces. Clear their heads a little.” He extended his hand once more. “Not a trick this time,” he assured Rubick. “You have my word.”

Rubick was puzzled as to why he hadn’t been killed yet, but the answer became clearer when the Friend Heart cleared his mind. He remembered the day Galeem descended onto his world and decimated everyone with its beams of light. For the first time in a long time, Rubick was left speechless. Still, he would take it better than some. He used to live in a world where such “strangeness” was commonplace, after all. Looking back up at Guile, Rubick sighed. “This is embarrassing. I may not be at full strength, but to think that the Grand Magus was reduced to such a state,” he said, taking Guile’s hand. Patting himself off, he continued to ask, “But I must hear an explanation for this: that… entity that destroyed my world… you know what it is, don’t you?”

Guile pointed toward the inside of Alcamoth. “You’ll find the front desk over there. Isabelle has the information you want, and there are brochures explaining anything she may have missed.” Rubick’s eyes followed to where Guile was pointing, then he nodded and saluted at Guile. “Appreciate it, Mr. Guile. Off I go!” Rubick said before skipping away.

---

“Hmmm… fascinating…” Rubick muttered to himself with his head buried in a brochure. Galeem, Lord of Light, was taking over worlds and adding them to the one he currently resided in. Rubick doubted that there were many entities capable of such a feat even in his own world, and yet here was one now. It was incredible that all this time this world was being illuminated by Galeem’s light and not once did he think it was strange. Its influence on the mind was subtle, but truly effective.

Closing the brochure, he looked around at the sights of Alcamoth. He wondered if the Seekers of Light and these Mercenaries would succeed in their quest to vanquish Galeem and restore the worlds to their original state. He would certainly hope so, as the Grand Magus would be joining them, and it’d be a shame to have him fail in anything. But his recent defeat told him that he needed to become stronger, and soon. The journey would be perilous, and he would need to regain his former abilities soon.

His new goal in mind, he set off for the Mercenary HQ. As he walked, staff tapping the ground with every step he took, he took in the sights. Just as in Limsa Lomiscuttle Town, Alcamoth was also a mishmash of a city. A collection of builds and locations with themes and architecture that clearly clashed with each other. Rubick nodded in approval. He would expect nothing less from this world. He also spent a few minutes perusing a nearby bookstore. He still had some time before the meeting began, after all, and it’d be a shame if he didn’t use it to explore. Sadly, none of the items were of much interest to him, so he left without buying anything and hurried along.

Entering the building, Rubick let out a cheerful, “Rubick has arrived!” as he greeted those within. Peach and the Koopa Troop were there, as well as Nadia, but the white-and-purple colored being was new. Well, he’d surely have time to know this person later. For now, he needed to speak to Princess Peach.

Blinking over to Peach, Rubick bowed to her, saying, “Ms. Peach, I owe you an apology. You tried to warn me of the perils of your mission yesterday, and I took them lightly. I met some of those mercenaries at the warp gate, and despite my best efforts, I was soundly defeated. Had that been a real duel, I would have lost my life. This experience has taught me a valuable lesson, and not just about Galeem.” Putting a fist on his chest, he vowed, “Henceforth, this journey will not just be about your mission, but about reviving myself as the Grand Magus!”

He then realized that he forgot to close the door on the way in, and waved his staff at it absentmindedly. With his Power of Telekinesis, it immediately closed shut. Rubick gasped, surprised at his new Power, or rather, his old power returning to him. “Ha haa! I haven’t done that since I got here!” Rubick exclaimed in delight. “That should take the edge off.”

Direct mentions:@Crimson Flame - Bede, @Lugubrious - Tora

---

---

Raiden rose from his deep slumber by the waking call of the other Seekers. As he shot up in attention, this head clipped the edge of the headboard as a loud thump was heard from his room in the inn. Hearing the rouse of the other seekers had alerted him to new activity outside the room. Was it finally time to move again? Better yet, what was even going on? There was little for Raiden to remember the night prior, which he chalked up to the heat effecting his memory, but a few things he does remember was the waking feeling of being released from Galeem’s influence and his adventure with the other Seekers. He had (albeit) been inducted unofficially but the extra hand was welcomed none-the-less by the crew.

Raiden finally got out of the bed and politely tucked the sheets around the bed and underneath the pillow before he attached his dangerous armaments back to his body. By the time Tora had popped in his room, there had been no traces, save for the cyborg himself, of any living being. “Well aren’t you lively today.” He added in a neutral tone. He rolled his shoulders before following the small engineer out of his room. By the time he exited, it seemed many of the other Seekers had already made their bouts in either the nearby town or raided the markets for all they had sold. If he hurried, there might still be time for a quick purchase, though he may have to part with a few trusty grenades to make any buys worth while.

But all that would have to wait right now, as it seemed many of the other Seekers were gathering in a nearby saloon to get quickly filled up before the change in adventure awaiting them. Raiden double checked for everything one last time before finally making chase to the rest of the group who induldged themselves in breakfast. Raiden had no need to eat, being a metallic husk of the human he is, but still took part in the pleasure regardless as he enjoyed the refreshing cool lick of water and assorted beans and fruits. It was an odd mix, but being out in the middle of the desert was sure to limit resources of food, so he enjoyed regardless.

After the group had finished eating their meal, one of the members Raiden recognized from the earlier travels on the Virgin Victory had kicked off their discussion of plans. Raiden listened carefully and quietly, making sure he gathered every detail that was spoken. Things had seemed grim for the Seekers who sought to continue their travels, however it was reassured there may be an alternative option for the group to pick and based on the details, it seemed like it may be time to soon board another train. Raiden nodded as he listened along to the continuing discussion.

Some of the next details were positively eye-raising to Raiden. It seemed like this train could move him from point to point in the world. It had seemed for a while there that he had been trapped in the sandy hills for centuries, but now he could simply go anywhere. It sounded too good to be true Raiden had a sour feeling in his gut, the one that screamed ‘I have a bad feeling about this’, yet he kept his concerns to himself.

The group was then dismissed to prepare for the journey and as Raiden slipped away, a young boy appeared who introduced himself as Bede and mentioned something about training. Raiden didn’t know what a Pokémon was, and this kid certainly did not look like a body builder, so maybe that term has more merit in his own than the context Raiden has. Still, the menacing cyborg extended a friendly hand for Bede to shake as he began introductions. “Name’s Raiden. Most of the other guys have been here longer than I have, so they might be willing to help you.” He pointed in the general direction of Big Band, Tora, and the others. “I’m taking a trip down to the markets for a minute. Feel free to tag along if you need to make any last minute purchases.” He added, announcing his short departure from the rest of the group.

...

Once Raiden reached the oasis, where many merchants had laid out their goods, wares, and services. Raiden didn’t know what he wanted to look at, but he figured some new gear in this mysterious world was required in order to adapt. Being crunched on time, he panned the area for anyone who seemed to sell more “advanced” weaponry and came across a dark green canopied, pop-up tent which was lit up inside with lanterns.

While it was dark inside the tent, stepping inside Raiden found no problem making out the details of what was inside. There were racks and shelves filled to the brim with scrap metal, rusted weaponry, and makeshift weapons. This tent was selling scrap accessories and weapons. Raiden walked next to the shelving of scrapped accesories, seeing clear in the back a man with a shaved head clad in camo and an apron next to his workbench. He examined the shelves for a minute longer before a quiet voice spoke with an English accent behind Raiden. “Looking for something, friend?” He asked as Raiden turned to face the mechanic.

“Just looking for some upgrades, I suppose.” Raiden answered, before perusing the stock once again. The man didn’t seem to mind Raiden examining his merchandise, giving him ample time before speaking again. “You got a name mister?”

“Oh... well, you can just call me Rigs.” He told Raiden before scratching his head. “And, well, I don’t have much in terms of... robotics?” He looked Raiden up and down for a minute. “I tend to fix up my own weaponry and resell them to paying clients at a fair price.” He stayed at his work bench, watching Raiden as he spoke. “You know, guns, blades... I mean, I do have a few scrapped parts that may be what you’re looking for.” Rigs stepped towards one of the shelves and began searching it’s contents. “Just gimme one sec.”

Raiden went back to examining the shelves as Rigs scavenged for the parts he mentioned. Many of the stock seemed to look handmade, but each one looked slightly different, even if they served the same function. After a few minutes, Rigs returned from his search with three weapons, each either seen with wear or rusted from the aging of the desert heat.
The first was a sort of blaster attachment that seemed completely busted, and beyond use. The next was a sort of
Blade relic which could attach to Raiden’s wrist with ease, but seemed incredibly out of date, but the last item of interest was the most peciluar to Raiden.

They were a pair of severed robotic arms Raiden had no clue what the purpose of them were, but Rigs quickly interjected admist his skepticism. “Those arms there aren’t just prosthetic. A supplier gave them to me for some scraps. I don’t think they knew what they were giving up, but those, have blades inside of them.”

Raiden’s interest was now piqued. While he’d never volunterily give up his or Sam’s sword, having an ace up his sleeve could prove useful. “Mind if I?” Raiden gestured to the fleshy hands, indirectly asking if he could examine them.

“Oh, sure I guess. Just, you know, break it buy it.” Rigs added as Raiden lifted one of the severed arms up to look at it, twisting it in the air as he felt the clear weight in the arm. He didn’t want to force the blade out, but was curious regardless. He gently set it back down on the work bench before turing back to the salesman.

“So what do you want for those?” Raiden asked, taking inventory of what he could realistically trade for the arms, as cash was unavailable to him. Time to barter.

“Well, I actually don’t take cash. I make a majority of the stock here out of what my customers trade in scrap metals.” Rigs told Raiden. “Or... what weapon’s they’re willing to part with.” Rigs had clearly eyed down Raiden’s blades for a moment before speaking again. “Again, I’m not picky. Just make it seem worth it.”

Raiden adjusted his gear for a minute, as he eyed his firearm holstered to his hip. It’s true that he had been more used to regular blades in the past years. “Will this do? Socom-23, though I assume that name means nothing to you.”

“Afraid not. Though...” Rigs scratched his chin for a moment. “I guess that’d make it all the more intriguing.” He seemed to think again for a moment longer. The silence was near deafening for a moment before Rigs finally chimed again. “You got a deal, though as a weaponsmith of sorts, gotta give you the courtesy to know that I will be dismantling your weapon to sort of reverse engineer it in a way... that alright.”

“Yeah.” Raiden said without a thought. He never really made use of the gun, except for fighting Hegel the day prior. The truth was just that there was no need for it anymore, he was a master with blades, not guns anymore, and this new attachment would improve his skillsey further with training. He turned the gun over to Rigs before he shook Raiden’s hand firmly before tightening the severed arms in a wrapped rag and handing it to Raiden.

“Thank you for your business.” Rigs nodded as Raiden returned the favor, and left the little tent into the sunny oasis.



...

Raiden quickly returned to the Saloon where operations were continuing to be held. He remembered mention of the robot Poppi having been constructed by her master Tora, one of the original members of the group, and probably the most distinguishable. Raiden bravely made his way immediately to the small engineer as he made no waste of time. “Small friend-“ he caught himself, and quickly remembered the new companion’s name. “Tora” he corrected. “Could we talk for a quick moment, I... Might need some help.” It was hard for Raiden to ask for help. It was similar to how he was with the young robotics protegy Rose when he was a young adult. He gently handed the wrapped arm blades to Tora, giving the Master Nopon an opportunity to examine the contents.

“I’d like some modifications, and to my knowledge, you might be able to help me?” He tapped on the arms he had just handed to Tora. “There are concealed robotic blades inside of those arms, and while they’re in questionable condition, I think they could be fixed and installed into my own arms.” He looked back to the Nopon’s eyes. “Obviously, since we’re crunched on time, not right now, but once we have a free minute, you think you could do it?” He believed in Tora at that moment and while his expression was blank, he hoped that sentiment was clear.

It was Pit's second meeting in as many days, though the meeting with Deadman and his group concerning Midgar, the Deadzone, and everything else felt like it could have been months ago. It had been a lot of information all at once, with some heavy subjects and of course requests for help. Now, Princess Peach would be bringing the situation up to her own team of light-seeking veterans as they decided their next course of action.

Pit was waiting as patiently as possible for the "Blue Team" to filter into the room. He rocked back and forth slightly on his feet, and his wings twitched every now and then. It wasn't that he was unused to meetings like this. He had a day job as a captain, he wasn't out saving the world all the time. So yeah, he was used to listening and even running this kind of thing. But at the moment he just felt so restless, he couldn't help but fidget. Firstly, he still hadn't caught wind of any clues to his goddess' whereabouts. The Dead Zone's recon team had split up after yesterday - he assumed Yuri went to look into reverse engineering her camera with the professor, while he didn't know what Nero, Banjo and Kazooie were up to. And the crew that had picked them up aboard the Virgin Victory went to fetch another contingent of Seekers from the desert, among them Asbestos who they'd only just met. Pit was going to go with them, but at the last minute he decided to stay at the Alcamoth. So here he was, full of pent-up energy and awaiting the meeting to start.

When people began to make their way inside, Pit could get a look at the group. He recalled when they set off from Smash City the other day, though he hadn't seen a lot of them. He only personally knew Peach and the Bowsers, the rest of them didn't even look familiar. And honestly, two of the three hardly looked familiar, what with their spirit changes. In particular the Koopa King looked even more intimidating than when they first met all those years ago with all those weird things coming out of his shell, but Pit had already gotten over his nervousness around the villain (mostly), so he didn't hesitate to jump in before Mewtwo and answer the Koopa's question.

"They're just fine!" Pit announced, taking a step forward so he was closer to the room's center. "The Wonderful's airship went to go pick them all up after their successful boss battle!"

He grinned widely, happy to share the good news as though he'd been there himself. As it was, he was more like a proud upperclassmen talking about his contemporaries' achievements.

"Last I heard they made it to Gerudo Town safe and sound."

Even more of the Seekers began filtering in after that, all equally parts strange and interesting. After the latest entered and spoke with the princess about a warning or some such, he waved his staff to close the door...


...which opened only seconds after it was closed. On the other side was the Ace Cadet, who rubbed gingerly at his nose and gave the offending door a harsh look. He stepped into the room, wearing one of the more casual outfits he'd purchased yesterday. The pack was present on his back, holding his armor and most of his weapons. He'd been absolutely delighted to pack it all into the square bag, and now he had like, a traveling arsenal at the ready! If the group set off today as soon as they were done planning their next move, he'd be ready to go without having to run back to his equipment. Besides the ship rigging the sword and shield was the only thing he kept on him at the moment, as the weight of a weapon was, if nothing else, comforting.

Of course there were already other Seekers inside, and some other faces as well. He couldn't recall ever seeing the humanoid... hairless cat... thing before, but since it was standing by Peach he went ahead and guessed that it had something important to say. The Cadet did a double take at the monochrome kid that would eventually enter the room, but since his eyes weren't red that must be his natural look. There was also a young looking angel, that the Cadet did remember from when he'd dropped of his scoutflies for the Alcamoth's mercenaries. In fact he remembered that the winged boy had been grossed out by the bugs, and the memory brought a little grin to the hunter's face. The scoutfly cage was actually back in possession as of this morning. With the flies propagated, the mercenaries could continue to breed and care for their own for use in their missions, while the Cadet took possession of the cage itself again. That, too, was on his person - attached to his belt like a glowing keychain.

"Morning everyone," The Cadet said to his fellow Seekers, though to the more unfamiliar boys he gave a friendly smile and a "Heya."

Naturally he drew close to the bright table at the center of the room, and though he could instantly tell there was a map illuminated on it's surface it took him a moment to realize this was the same map he'd seen the other day, the old parchment that showed the world they all found themselves in now. "Whoa, how'd you manage this? It's way Ya-cool."

He too leaned over the map, inspecting it. This version was a lot more in-depth than the original, as it seemed someone was filling in areas as information was learned about them. He spotted Lumbridge, in the Land of Adventure where he'd spent his gleaming days. Back then he never imagined what would happen next, if he had even been capable of it in the first place. After a few minutes of trying to commit the map to memory the Cadet stood up straight and loosely crossed his arms.

"Back to business then." The day off had been amazing, with all the food and fun. And personally he was happy to have connected more with Nadia. Ultimately though, duty called - there were still plenty more of Galeem's Guardians out there after all.

Level: 1
Experience: 4/10
Currently In: Smash City Alcamoth
Word Count: 615 (+1 Exp)
Collab with Kamek @DracoLunaris

"Hmm?" Omori's head turned to face the witch stepping over to him, introducing herself as Kamek. He nodded when she noted that they've bumped into eachother beforehand, but patiently waited till she was done asking questions before answering. He motion over to himself with a hand over his chest. "Omori." the boy introduced himself in return. His voice was near emotionless, yet carried a faint ghostly echo to it.

"I've been fine, more or less. This place is...different." He explained, glancing around before looking back to Kamek. "Dangerous."

”Oh yes, Galeem has made quite the deathtrap of a world that is for certain” Kamek agreed unhelpfufly, before quickly atempting to be reasuring by saying ”But don't you worry, I'm quite sure here is the safest place in it! The people having control of their senses and all that”

”Oh and, do you mind if we walk and talk? I do have somewhere to be, but I am happy to answer any questions you have while we travel there"

Omori tilted his head. She needed to be somewhere? Couldn't let her miss anything important cause of him. He nodded. "After you, ma'am."

”Thank you kindly, this way" the mage said, directing them both to start heading in the direction the rest of the Koopa Troop had been going to get to the planning meeting.

The monochrome boy quietly followed behind. After a moment of thought, he spoke up again. "Is it...okay if I help bring some people here too? Get them help like I needed?" He asked, thinking back to the guards that broke him free on arrival.

”Hmmm? Oh, by all means, the more the merrier infact." the mage replied, before asking the boy ”Though does that mean you intend to set out to try and find them?" with a hint of concern in her words. It was at that point that they arrived in the meeting room, which conviniently presented the map of the known world to them such that Kamek could gesture to it while saying ”The land is quite vast and, as you know, dangerous. It would be unwise to travel it alone"

He nodded again. "My friends and sister are out there, under the influence of something that can get them fatally hurt. I've been looking for them since I ended up here anyways." A faint frown of worry crossed Omori's features for once, his eyes downcasted to the floor, then to the map. "I've been staying in Limsa until I was prepared to head out again."

”Well... if you can tell me what they look like I'm sure we and the mercenaries can keep an eye out Kamek began, before realising that the boy might well insist on heading out no matter what and tenatively offering ”Or if you really, really, really must seek them out yourselves, you could do worse than sticking with one of the official teams. We'll be covering a lot of ground so if we haven't been where they are yet, we will surely find it on our travels"

Official teams?

Omori's mood seem to lighten up at the offer. After the butt-kicking he had to endure last time, it was obvious he'd need whatever help he could get. Who knows if he'd be that lucky outside of town? He let a fist rest under his chin in thought, then nodded. Kamek could see a ghost of a smile form on his face. "I'm in."

The mage sighed to herself, becuase the child was now effectively her responsibility but then nodded and told him ”Well then, welcome aboard" because it wasn't like the boy was going to be the only kid on the team after all.

Having spent the night with the koopa troop, Blazermate just having nothing better to do and Susie just going with the big boy of the group, they followed the troop back to Alcamoth. Upon getting close to the gates, Blazermate was quickly reminded of something she had forgotten about, Susie was still under Galeem's control! "Gah, I knew I forgot something!" Blazermate said as the doorman stopped Susie and got into a fight with her. Without her business suit though, and the insanely difficult fight the doorman were supposed to present, it wasn't a very long fight. Blazermate made sure Susie did survive though, which also gave Blazermate a good idea of Susie's base durability and damage. Her tech did hurt, quite a lot, even if the doorman was just far, far, far beyond her. Just being able to make the doorman's health wiggle a little was impressive, but Susie was a bit glass, like any kind of heavy weapon based Medabot. At least Susie looked way cuter and nicer than any God Emperor, although those were tankier... With Susie being subdued, Blazermate threw a Friend heart at her then helped the robot lady to her 'feet' and explained what had just happened and what was going on. Being ambushed put Susie in a really bad mood though, which followed her through her tour of Alcamoth. The tour didn't last long though as while Blazermate was at HQ, she did get a look at the updated map and a region that had her very interested, Japan. Although she figured it wasn't where she was from but some alternate world take on it. A bit of a shame, but if there was a question on where to go next, she'd ask about going there just to check it out.

Susie meanwhile decided to take a much closer look at the HQ of the seekers and much like Blazermate looked over the map. But unlike Blazermate, Susie was annoyed that there was no space that was even closely Haltmann related on the map. These guys hadn't scouted everything clearly. She figured that made some kind of sense, they were savages after all and the Access Ark MK2 was a spacefaring vessel, so they probably had no concept of that or a way to even look there. Still, that did mean that the presence of HWC wasn't really here and that meant that Susie would have to do quite a bit more work than she anticipated. And looking over everything, none of these places looked even remotely high tech short of a few areas in dystopianscape, but even then they were probably industrial level tech at most. Funny enough, Susie could understand the Koopa king's annoyance at not having his castle, although she doubted it was anywhere close to what the Access Ark had.

Susie could only shake her head at her options, but it seemed if there was a 'vote of where to go next' as she suspected she'd suggest that area. And when the two robot girls were asked where they wanted to go, both voted for the same area, although for vastly different reasons.
"Somewhere in Dystopianscape, Midgar perhaps?"
"Oh, Oh, I wanna go to Japan to see if its MY Japan!"

Susie came out of the whole thing thinking that Alcamoth was probably the most 'high tech' thing on this planet besides herself which was a bit saddening, but that just meant the devices of Hatlmann Works Company would make a fortune here, if the savages could afford them and she could get access to more tech. She could call her copter now though, so she was getting some signals to and from the Access Ark, but still no business suit.

===============================================================



Before turning in for the night, Sectonia decided to give the larger petal dragon thing a try. If she remembered right, one of the other seekers could reverse things if she didn't like how the fusion turned out.

Notable spirit consumed:

Having done the fusion, Sectonia went to sleep, waiting til the morning to take a look at the changes the spirit did. From what she could tell... Yeah this has issues. Massive ones. She'd have to figure out how to fix this 'mask' thing, but more important, she had to get rid of these vines. It just looked horrible seeing these things flop around wildly as she moved her hands. Besides those two things she looked pretty alright. At least she looked like she was wearing some beautiful flower petals... a mixed deal much like the last one. IF, IF the power and the weaknesses inferred by this spirit were worth it, she might think of a way to overcome this issue, but if they weren't, she'd have this thing taken out of her when she could.

Still, she'd have to deal with it for now. Meeting up with the rest of the group to figure out what to do next, Midna came up to ask her to use her Avarice helmet, which Sectonia obliged, but in return Midna had to crush a spirit of Sectonia's, which gave her a...

You have acquired:

Sectonia wasn't aware of any minions who could use a whip, nor was she able to use it herself. She sighed as it was a dud, so they'd just have to sell it and maybe find something better. A new, fairly well dressed humanoid much like the others approached the group, talking about 'pokemon' and 'training', pokemon being something Sectonia wasn't really familiar with. Having come back from the market, Raiden found some augmentation to his body he wanted Tora to install, as he was a mechanic, and Midna had said what her plans were before they met everyone after they all talked about some 'warp trains' pulled by cats.

"Hm... Well, personally I'd suggest we take some time to take a look at clown town. Professional fools that entertain you sound like fun after we had to deal with this horrid desert." Sectonia suggested, offering her idea.

Riding around on her bicycle, she was happy and slightly confused at Cadet’s joy at seeing the simple contraption.”Y-yeah! It is pretty radalos!” She smiled.

Meanwhile, Karin, disinterested and still mildly in her own head after all this Galeem business, decided not to buy anything. She had no idea what she was in for, and until then, she was going to have to travel light. Karin was no spoiled brat- she had what it took to survive in the wilderness, and to rough it out. Yes, luxury and comfort were befitting of a woman of her status, but by no means was a Kanzuki ever complacent! No, this journey would be far too dangerous to bring her staff along like she used to back on Earth. She would rely on her fists, her wits, and she supposed, her allies (and her dimwitted friend) to guide her to victory.

If anything specific was to be needed, she would return and buy it depending on their destination. In the meantime, she wasn’t going to slow herself down with pouches and backpacks and belts with items on them.

---

Sakura woke up bright and early and took her new bike on her first joy ride around town. Karin arranged her affairs at her estate, leaving it in the charge of her more than capable staff. Birdie would protect it from ne’er-do-wells. He understood the mind of a ne’er-do-well, given that most of his professional career experience was being one himself. Ishizaki-san would make sure Galeem’s curse caused no trouble, and was on the lookout for opportunities to give away his own Friend Hearts.

Alcamoth was an impressive structure for sure. As far as military outposts went, Karin was quite pleased with the decor and the level of cleanliness. Sakura was riding her bike in a meandering path as they made their way into Seeker HQ.

Sakura spotted a familiar face as she made her roundabout path. It was Bella! Sakura’s Abyssal friend! She wheeled over. ”Hi, Bella-san! Told you’d I visit! Look who I found! Look what I found! Er, bought. Okay, I bought this bike, and I found Karin!” Sakura said. Karin was one of the few people in the world who Sakura didn’t use a suffix for.

Karin glanced over and waved politely with her fingers.

”Remember? She smacked my head really hard into the ground.”

Karin cleared her throat. ”All right, Sakura. You can’t just say things like that. We’re sparring partners, and we treat each other with respect by not holding back. ANd besides, you were the one who cheated.”

Sakura seemed a little confused at Karin’s objection, but she just nodded along.

After their brief encounter with Bella, the pair continued on (possibly along with Bella if she was going as well) to the meeting.

”So, yeah, Karin, basically that’s it. Thirteen big bad bosses, one Galeem. We destroy that, and, I guess everybody goes home! There should be a pamphlet around in here somewhere…” Sakura had gotten off her bike and was walking it along her side.

”You guess?” Karin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura handed a pamphlet to Karin, who began reading through it. ”Yeah, I guess. I don’t really know for sure, but if Galeem put us all here, it makes sense that getting rid of him would put us back, right?”

”Not necessarily.” Karin muttered. ”We may just be stuck here. Or have to find another way to get home. I imagine the most likely outcome will be a mass undoing of Galeem’s curse. And then we’ll have to find our own way home.”

Sakura’s face fell. ”Oh…you really think so?” She didn’t like the thought of that at all. She had hoped, secretly, that upon reviving Galeem, all the lives that had been lost would be restored.

”I do. Now, one thing I am impressed by is this door stopping system. Did you catch that ruckus earlier? The door guards defeated that Rubick wizard and also, a child. Rather clever, actually. Perhaps I should have brought Birdie along after all…oh well, another time, then.”

”Hmm…” Sakura pursed her lips. ”Yeah, that is pretty smart. Plus, it’s always a nice ego check to get trounced in public.” Sakura said, smiling at Karin.
”I don’t know what you mean.” Karin said, flipping some of her golden coils over her shoulder.

Once inside the main meeting room, Sakura ‘ooh’d’ at the large digital map in the center of the room. She set her bicycle against the meeting room table and propped herself up on her palms, gently bouncing herself up and down.

Karin took in the sight with a smirk. ”I suppose this will do, for a meeting room. It’s serviceable for our purposes, if a little understaffed.” She rubbed her chin, thinking of her own intelligence room. Plus her satellite. Damn, she really missed her satellite.

Sakura was wrapped up in Bowser’s retelling of the story so far, though she waved to the others, such as Cadet as Rubick, as she spotted them.

”Yup. Back to business.” She laced her fingers together and stretched her arms out, moving her upper body side to side. ”I’m eager to get back out there, I gotta admit. Especially with Karin here. I’m itching to put a real dent in the bad guys.”

Blazermate spotted something interesting- a place called..Japan? ”Eh? Japan? That’s the English name of where I’m from, too! That’s so weird! What? ‘Japan’?” She looked, bewildered, at Karin.

”Japan!”

”Right, I noticed.” Karin said. At Sakura’s continued staring, Karin offered up a condescending shrug of her shoulders.

Geralt's first real night adjusting to his new...additions was awkward. He'd been too tired the previous night to do more than remove his armor and padding, and pass out.

This night, though, he had a wife to listen to. "You really should see about clipping those nails, Geralt, they're practically claws!" Yennefer exclaimed, pointing at one of his hands. To which Geralt replied with a roll of the eyes.

"They are claws, Yen. And if I'm ever forced into a fight where my swords aren't usable, they can provide a viable alternative against monsters with hardened hide." Always a fight with her. Though, he'd have hated if she rolled over on everything, too, so he rolled with it.

"Be that as it may, I will not have you scratching me with those...things. I can't imagine they'd be gentle."

"Sharper the blade, the cleaner the cut. And a beast's claws tend to get quite sharp." Geralt retorted with a waggle of the eyebrow.

"I'm honestly not sure how you made that an innuendo, Geralt, and I'm not sure whether to be impressed or exasperated." Yen sighed.

"I like impressed more. Usually leads to a nicer night." The Witcher purred.

"Oh, is that what that was? Trying to impress me?" Yen returned with a husky voice. "Then clip the nails." Her voice instantly changed toa flat, bored tone.

"They're claws, like I just said..."

Yes, a wonderful night indeed.

---

When the morning came, Geralt and Yennefer climbed out of bed, and as many old people do, gave their bodies a nice stretch to get out all the kinks that laying immobile tended to make. "Ahhhhh, that hits the spot. Need to get some food in me."

"Really, Geralt? It's like you've become obsessed with food." Yennefer taunted.

"Between the larger frame, the being stuck on a sub-aquatic vessel for hours and cursed to starve to death, and the fact that this place can make things we've never even dreamed of? I'm alright with a little obsession." Geralt playfully responded. "Besides, I need the calories more now if anything. Still feels a little wrong to be this...gaunt."

Yen merely hummed in response. He wasn't exactly wrong, but she didn't outright say that. She had some tact, and she knew how difficult it could be, dealing with...unpleasantness with one's body. Sure, she would mock him for poor style, but style was fixable. He couldn't mold his body like she'd been able to. "Well, we'd best not dawdle forever, then." She instead commented, diplomatically.

As the two were eating, much like Nadia, they were interrupted by Moogle warning them of the imminent meeting. Their reaction, thankfully, was more subdued, and did not involve violently grabbing the thing, though Geralt had come close before he policed his instincts. "Best not to sneak up on a monster hunter if you can help it..." he grumbled, though he understood that they just...kind of did that.

Once the two finished their meal, they headed to the meeting area and joined the rest of the Seekers in waiting for it to begin, with Geralt and Yennefer re-introducing each other to those the other had only met.

Jesse didn’t sleep much. Today was hardly the hardest day on the job she’d ever had, but it was up there. She got a few good hours in but ended up night walking, like she usually did. An extra nap after that, and suddenly, it was dawn. Up and at ‘em. Jesse was a little disappointed her little bonding exercise attempt failed.

“Yeah. Sorry we didn’t get to hang out last night.” She said to Ann and Primrose. “And instead we had three giant women try to murder us and then watched as they were executed in the streets.” She swung her arm, snapping her fingers. “Dontcha just hate it when that happens.”

They met up with the others, and while their aerial vehicle situation wasn’t good, Alice said there was a chance with some kind of strange subway station that Jesse was very interested in seeing. It seemed Primrose and Midna were heading off, which was too bad because those were the two people Jesse had talked to the most. Except maybe the group of teenagers known as the Phantom Thieves. Jesse was thoroughly in camp ‘done walking up rocks,’ and seeing this cool subway station was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.


“All right. Let’s go see about this magic train. Too bad our magic ‘get everything for free’ passes probably won’t work.” She said. “Still…probably won’t be that expensive.”

For Tora, getting ready consisted of little more than eating up. Feeling rather deprived after spending his whole day yesterday doing nothing but exercise, with little more than an admittedly tasty Mexican lunch to show for it, the Nopon took the opportunity to stuff himself with whatever Tumbleweed Saloon had to offer. Greasy fried bacon, buttered biscuits, chicken-fried steak with gravy, toast, beans, and fruit all disappeared into his black hole of a stomach. Like Raiden, Poppi did not need to eat, but unlike him she didn’t indulge in the practice anyway; instead the Artificial Blade just enjoyed the smell, using acute olfactory sensors to make double use of the food her Masterpon put away.

The duo’s preparation only came to a temporary halt in order to greet Bede when the boy revealed itself. After a little unsolicited eavesdropping, he announced what seemed like an intention to travel alongside the Seekers to their current destination, and being who they were, Tora and Poppi greeted him immediately. “Hello Bede! This Tora!” Poppi said, inverting the pair’s customary greeting.

Her Masterpon caught on right away. “And Poppi is Poppi!” he replied, holding his wings out toward his creation like a showman on stage. Then he went right back to eating–at least until Raiden showed up.

The cyborg ninja appeared with a request for help, and though he continued to chew away at some milk-soaked hardtack, he listened attentively. If he could actually lend a hand, it could be the start of a beautiful new friendship, and possibly leave Raiden in a handy state of indebtment! Luckily, Raiden’s problem was right in Tora’s wheelhouse. He needed the inventor to install some new bladed weapons into his arms, but those blades happened to be in a state of disrepair. Tora dabbed at his mouth with his napkin in an attempt to look refined, then cleared his plates for Raiden to put the arms down. It took only a few moments for him to grasp how the blades ought to work. “Meh-meh,” he said appreciatively. “Clever little device. Teensy bit primitive for Tora standards, but can definitely make work, meh!” With a nod he pulled the arms closer. “Tora agree, now not good time. Tora study and fix this up during day. Then we meet later. Tora eventually need good look at friend Raiden’s own arms, maybe re-engineer a little to accommodate blades, meh-heh-eh…”

Poppi smiled at the swordsman as if nothing could possibly go wrong. “Raiden not worry. Despite appearances, Tora best engineer in business!”

“What Poppi mean, ‘despite appearances’?” Tora asked, aghast.

Band leaned over, a roguish look in his eyes. "Hey, while you're at it, when're you fixin' me up like ya said ya would, Tora?"

"Meeeeeeeh! Tora beset on all sides!"

Before their mission began, the Seekers had a little more deliberating to do. Midna wanted to pay another visit to Split Mountain to fulfill the promise she made to Gemino, and with her ferrystone she could definitely make that happen, so long as the portcrystal the team set down near the now-shattered upturned bell Jondo remained intact. Despite the prospect of a return to the utterly brutal Graveyard of the Peaks, she seemed pretty optimistic about a quick and easy win, while also knowing nothing about what exactly that mission entailed.

“Hold on now, you’re serious!?” Big Band wheezed, his eyebrows high with disbelief. “I know we didn’t lose anyone last time, but I’m pretty sure that whole flyin’ to the peak thing ain’t happenin’ again. I mean, you remember all the bodies in the snow, right? And you’re gonna waltz through all that for a couple drops of oil?”

To his further bafflement, Midna wasn’t the only one, either. Primrose reaffirmed her intention to go with her, and at that Band could only shake his head in resignation. “Y’all got a death with or somethin’. I feel bad for that poor sonuva gun too, but you ain’t catchin’ me freezin’ to death up there again, no ma’am.”

At that point, Shovel Knight downed the last of his glass of water and stood up from his table with Vandham, Asbestos, and Wonder Red. “If you wilst not reconsider, fair maidens, please allow me to escort thee through this most inhospitable clime. On mine honor as a knight, I cannot conscion abandoning thee to such a cruel fate.”

“Count me in while you’re at it!” Braum interjected, smiling good-naturedly as he stood alongside Shovel Knight. “Whether a team of five or four, we stand a better chance together!”

Shovel Knight received the go-ahead from Vandham, as well as a spare ferrystone from Jesse, who would have no further need of hers. Other than that, only the newly-transformed Sectonia offered any more alternative ideas, but since nobody knew what she was talking about everyone went ahead and proceeded with the plan. The sight of Sectonia reminded Panther of a potential fusion of her own, but rather than broach the subject with her fellow Phantom Thieves, she kept Scythana’s spirit in her pocket for now. If she was going to be packed into a train, after all, the last thing she needed was more height. In short order the Seekers of Light left the saloon, packed up their things, and with their new acquaintance Bede set off toward Gerudo Town.

After following the road to the walled city, the group heeded Alice’s instructions and took a right at the main gates. The Virgin Victory’s pilot guided them around to the southern side of Gerudo Town, where the entrance for their enigmatic train station awaited them. This doorway, a lot smaller and less obvious than the main gate, also featured a pair of guards, but unlike their counterparts elsewhere they did not intend to bar the way to the team’s male members. “Inside is the station,” they explained. “Males may not proceed through the doors to the city. Just wait at the platform for the train to arrive.”

Compared to the massive station in Al Mamoon, this one seemed to Tora to be a rather paltry affair. He and Poppi lined up behind a handful of Gerudo Town residents ready to commute elsewhere on the continent for their day jobs, where the Nopon stared quizzically at the giant cat flap on the wall and the strange track that ran out beneath it, through the building. The way that it shimmered, like brilliant yellow glass, intensified the feeling of familiarity that first hit him when Alice described her experiences from last night. After a couple moments spent wracking his brain he suddenly remembered that he’d seen both a track and a tunnel like this before. In fact, he’d spotted it in Al Mamoon during his long hours spent tinkering with the Railway Gun the day before yesterday. At the time the sight of a giant cat appearing from the tunnel with a train in tow seemed like just another quirk of this weird World of Light, and a distraction from his engineering to boot, so he paid it no mind and forgot. Who could have imagined what such a thing represented for his team?

“Before we left, I contacted HQ,” Commander Nelson told the group. “Reported Alice’s findings, as well as our intentions. They came up with a plan. Once we reach the metro, we’re to split up into groups of four, and take different trains to different locations. After arriving, we’ll call out for Moogles, who will appear with tracks that can relay to HQ our locations. Our objective is to locate as many train stations as possible on the map, as well as to find the closest one possible to Alcamoth. Understood?”

“So we just ride around and see new places, meh? Sounds fun!” Tora agreed, and Poppi nodded along.

“I can dig it,” Band concurred. “Must say, I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ this home base of yours. After all I’ve heard, it better knock my socks off.”

“Like you even wear socks, pops!” Peacock laughed.

The Phantom Thieves exchanged a quick word. “Fine by us,” Joker announced. “Much as we want to move on, a deal’s a deal, even if Fox isn’t here to see us uphold it. We’ll stick with you ‘til everything’s wrapped up on this end.”

“Long as I’ve seen the last of this bloody sand, I’ll agree to anythin’,” the Scout grumbled.

Asbestos leaned on her shield, flicking her tail back and forth with a toothy smile. For a travelholic, it was hard to suppress the excitement that the idea of literal fast travel inspired. Still, she managed to keep her cool. “Like I’m gonna stick around this dump!”

“Sounds like we’re all in agreement,” Vandham observed after a few more responses. “Let’s ‘ave some fun, but keep your wits about ya as we move along, right mates?”

A couple minutes later the train very suddenly arrived. Without any warning, a huge orange cat exploded out of the cat flap, dragging a subway train behind it. In seconds the whole thing screeched to a stop at the train platform, and the doors flew open. A handful of passengers, all female, stepped off and made for the station doors, while those waiting climbed aboard in a casual manner. Veteran Metro riders either seated themselves or grabbed hold of the straps that dangled overhead, prompting the newcomers -either to this particular train or the concept of a subway in general- to follow suit. Tora hopped into a seat, then got picked up by Poppi and placed down again on her lap as she took the seat. Big Band, meanwhile, elected to stay on his feet. A couple moments passed, a tone sounded out, and the doors slid closed. Then the cat let out a loud meow, and the train began to move. With nowhere to go but the pitch-black hole in the wall, it was a matter of seconds before the locomotive was swallowed by darkness.

Tora definitely flinched, and he also definitely felt foolish afterwards, because nothing bad happened. Sure, he couldn’t see anything when he peered through the train’s windows, but the train itself remained brightly lit, without suffering so much as a bump as it sped into the passage. For a while, nothing continued to happen, and the Nopon’s initial exhilaration began to turn to boredom. He fidgeted on Poppi’s lap for a bit, then pushed himself off to walk around the train a bit, which his companion didn’t mind thanks to his remarkable weight. Tora thought about chatting to the others, or evening beginning his examination of Raiden’s Mantis Blades, but the anticipation was just too much. He kept his eyes fixed on the windows, convinced that the second he looked away, something interesting would happen.

Sure enough, at the three-minute mark, there came a beep through the intercom, followed by a cutesy voice. “Now arriving at…Edinburgh MagikaPolis.” Before Tora could properly process that, the darkness surrounding the train suddenly fell away, and the train shot out into an immense, wide-open space. His jaw dropped as he struggled to take in the sight of an indoor city, enclosed in brick and floored in hexagonal stone tile, utterly flooded with radiant neon lights, and absolutely silly with cat-themed imagery. He could see tons of food carts, stories upon stories of shops and homes, construction, advertisements and an impossible amount of black cats of all shapes and sizes walking around and hanging out beneath a sky of colorful train tracks, twisting and bending through the air like ribbons on the breeze. “Welcome,” the cute voice said. “To the Metro!”



He was still so spellbound by everything that when the train finally pulled into the station, and the doors opened right in front of him, he didn’t move before Big Band picked him up as he passed. “C’mon, Tora, don’t get in the nice folk’s way,” he chided lightheartedly before setting the Nopon down on the platform. The detective then lifted his face from his mouthpiece to drink deep the smell of this strange yet wonderful place. A faint wind blew through the Metro, and it carried with it the tantalizing aromas of nearby food trucks. He could make out the smells of fresh french fries, coffee, burgers, and pizza, as well as a number of others that he couldn’t quite place, but stimulated his senses nonetheless. He followed his nose and found a food court off to the right, where black cats gathered at tables to enjoy their morning meals while waiting for the next train.

Shortly after the train’s passengers disembarked, a warning rang out from behind him. “Watch out!” the cute voice teased. “Doors closing right nyaow” As it pulled away, the voice added, “Next stop, Carnival Town!”

In front of the group sat a handily-placed wall screen, and when Band plodded over, he quickly realized that it offered information about the Yellow Line, a train circuit that evidently ran through the Sandswept Sky. “Hey, over here!” he called to the others as he turned to learn more. Carnival Town, Al Mamoon, Gerudo Town, he read. Just three stops for the whole region?

“Well,” he began, “This Carnival Town ain’t ringin’ any bells, but I bet if this Yellow Line just connects up places all across the desert, then the other-color lines do the same for the other regions.”

“Yeah, right on the money!” A small voice said on his right. He turned to see a black cat of very short stature with a long, loopy tail, a plastic-topped coffee cup held in his paw. “First time in the Metro, you guys?”

Tora waddled over, looking chipper. “That right!” he told the cat. “Can friend tell us anything about how Metro place works, meh?”

“W-well, you’re in the Yellow Station right now,” the cat replied, seemingly a little nervous to have so many eyes on him. “If you go out into the main area, there’s a kiosk that’ll tell you everything you wanna know! But uh, I can tell you right now, you’re gonna have to buy a pass to get into any line.” He took a sip from his cup and headed toward the platform. “Uh, good luck!”





As she waited for the others to arrive, Nadia managed to keep herself entertained via the map table for a solid couple of minutes. All of the unfamiliar places and names, the outlines and suggestions of strange settlements and fantastical landforms, tickled her sense of adventure something fierce. When she tried to retrace the journey she and the others took along the Deep Blue Seaside, however, she became puzzled by the lack of detail on just about everything when it came to the Deep Blue Seaside. For the Bottomless Sea in particular, nothing existed beyond a vague and ominous name atop a dark spot in the map’s upper-left corner, leaving the whole area a murky mystery awash in the fog of war, which admittedly suited that perilous stretch ocean pretty well.

Oh, duh.

Then it hit her, as obvious as it should have initially been: her adventure with the Seekers had taken her far beyond the limits of what Alcamoth’s personnel managed to explore. As difficult as her own journey had been through war-torn waves and nightmarish frontiers, Nadia realized that the cartographers responsible for this map must have a pretty raw deal, too. They needed to be fastidious about the terrain they mapped, poring over it in far greater detail than the Seekers needed to, but they needed to be just as well-prepared for the infinite unexpected dangers of the World of Light. And even after all that, the map could be only so detailed, or accurate. When she thought about how much effort and risk must have gone into even what little this map had done so far, Nadia felt a little bad about nitpicking.

After losing interest in the map a few moments later, she glanced at Peach, who seemed to be engaged with the strange floating creature in a one-way conversation, then wandered off. The feral steered clear of dispatch and the Moogles, who at the moment seemed to be mostly concerned with making sure everyone knew about the meeting, and ended up at a fancy terminal called the Spirit Board. Though all these futuristic gadgets and doodaws were pretty alien to her, the controls were actually pretty easy to figure out, and in just a few short moments Nadia was scrolling through the database. At first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a very long list of names in alphabetical order, each featured alongside a number of columns that provided even more information related to the entry. It was a lot to take in, so much in fact that even trying nearly frazzled Nadia’s poor, attention-deficit brain. She managed to focus, however, when she happened to spot a familiar name near the top of the registry. Ace Cadet? Blinking in confusion, she looked over to the ‘Description’ column. Gung-ho, enthusiastic, and stalwart no matter the task at hand, the Ace Cadet is a great ally to bring on any hunt, she read. True enough, but when had he been around here for an interview? A funny thought occurred to her, and Nadia decided to entertain it. Pawing at the control wheel, she scrolled down, and down, and down, until…there it was.

Nadia Fortune, the feral read with raised eyebrows. Carved into pieces but kept alive by the Life Gem, this playful cat burglar remains a thief with a heart of gold. A slight chill ran down her spine, and she swallowed. How the hell did whoever made this know about her? She’d be careful about dropping her own first name, let alone that of the Life Gem. Anything anyone knew about her, after all, could be a liability. More worrisome, however, was the fact that she’d never been to Alcamoth before, let alone told anyone her life’s story. Plus, a heart of gold? That was something she joked about. “...Must be magic or something,” she murmured to herself. After another moment of thinking, she narrowed her eyes. Included in each entry was a ‘location’ column, and though it offered just a nondescript ‘wherever duty calls’ for herself, it specified that Naija, in the row directly below herself, was in Limsa Lominscuttle Town. Her eyes landed on a button that said ‘Record’, and she pressed it.

“Who are you looking for?” A disembodied Moogle’s voice suddenly asked, scaring Nadia for the second time that morning and making her jump back in alarm. When nothing else came out of the machine, however, she cleared her throat and sidled back up to the terminal, where she pressed the button again. “Who are you looking for?”

“Um…” Nadia said. “Uh, how about…Mirage?”

“Entry found!” The list suddenly scrolled upward by itself, then highlighted the pertinent record. Nadia scanned the entry, and let out a breath of relief when she saw that his status was ‘Normal’, even if his location escaped the machine for the time being. Taking a deep breath, Nadia pressed the button again. “Who are you looking for?”

“Black Dahlia,” Nadia told it, her voice hard and flat.

“Searching…searching…no entry found!” The Moogle voice sounded disappointed. “To add a new entry, you must encounter this person in the World of Light!”

The tension drained away as Nadia gave an irritated sigh. She went to mess with the Spirit Board a little more, but the sound of voices from the Garfont Center’s main room told her that the others must be here. With a final glance at the screen she jogged back to find the whole Koopa Troop present and accounted for, all gathered around and enjoying the map table. She waved and joined them, listening in silence with her usual mischievous half-smile on. The mention of the Dead Zone brought her eyes to the enormous crater on the map just east of Empty Space, and it took her a second to recognize it. “Wait, the whole thing is gone!?” For the first time she could really grasp the scope of the dead city’s destruction, and given how ridiculously huge and bright that light had been a couple nights ago, she didn’t doubt it one second. “Good riddance, jeez!”

Bowser then asked the strange creature about the status of the other team, referring to it as Mewtwo, which took Nadia by surprise. She hadn’t been sure that the psychic Pokemon was sentient, let alone in a position of authority in Alcamoth, but Mewtwo quickly showed her. ”We do,”, it told everyone, not through speech, but by speaking directly into the Seekers’ minds, its bizarre voice not quite male, not quite female. The sudden mental intrusion left Nadia even more taken aback, but luckily an angel-winged boy piped up to give some more details in Mewtwo’s stead.

Earnest and peppy, Pit reported that Yellow Team hadn’t just survived, but triumphed over their region’s own Guardian in the Sandswept Sky, which definitely brought a smile to Nadia’s face. “That’s sand-sational!” she punned with a fist-pump. “Always nice to hear that a big bad got its just ‘deserts’.”

”There is more to tell,” Mewtwo added. ”But I will wait a little longer.”

Just after that Rubick arrived, which he made sure to announce loud and clear. Glad to see the mage, and even happier to see his eyes a bright, Galeem-free green, Nadia waved. “You sure have! Welcome to the party, Roob.”

The sorcerer then made his way to Peach, who he shared his sobering realization with. Peach applauded his conviction. “Wise words, Rubick. Such self-reflection tells me that you’ve got what it takes to both challenge and overcome whatever might wait for you on the road ahead.” She then offered him a reassuring smile, tinged by a hint of embarrassment. “And if it’s any consolation, it’s the Door Bosses’ job to greet anyone who arrives here under Galeem’s influence with a massively unfair fight. From now on, you won’t be alone!”

As the two spoke a couple more people arrived, including the ponderous personage of King Dedede, and the stupendous Caesar, regal despite his current lack of battle attire. Nadia’s face lit up with delight when she saw him, and she crouched down to beckon the snow-white Great Pyrenees her way. “Oh my gosh, what an incredible beast! C’mere, boy!” Stately as ever, Caesar padded toward her, flanked by his bodyguards and allowed himself to be stroked. “Aw, who’s the very best boy? You are, yes, you are!”

She didn’t want to bother the eminent hound too long, though, especially since the next person to arrive was none other than her good pal Ace. “Morning, Sunshine!” He looked good in his new garb, and part of Nadia wondered if he liked her new outfit too, but with Blue Team’s day off out of the way even she knew that it would be inappropriate to spend group time on her budding relationship with the Monster Hunter. Time and place, she told herself, and with crossed arms she waited around the map table with everyone else while others continued to file in.

Mewtwo, meanwhile, saw fit to answer Ace’s question. ”Scouts,” it informed him. ”What you see is the result of a rough combination of short-range scans, eyewitness testimony, and hearsay. As such only nearby regions are filled in, as you can see, while farther ones are mere outlines, shrouded in the Fog of War.”

After a couple more minutes, and the arrival of Omori, Kamek, Blazermate, Susie, Karin, Sakura, Geralt, and Yennefer, Mewtwo got everything started. ”Welcome, allies new and old,” it said via telepathy. ”You may call me Mewtwo. While Vandham presides over the Mercenaries, I represent Alcamoth itself, and may run this organization in his stead while he is out. We are meeting to discuss the current status of our mission to quell the Galeem, the Seekers of Light, and the world itself, as well as to decide a course of action to embark upon.”

It waved its hand, and the map responded. It divided itself into thirteen regions, each with a corresponding name. Over nine of them hovered boxes with question marks inside them, but four featured images of the Seekers’ most powerful foes. “So far, four of the thirteen Guardians that prevent us from challenging Galeem have been destroyed. In the Mushroom Kingdom, Megadragonbowser…in the Land of Adventure, the Ender Dragon…in the Deep Blue Seaside, the Orphan of Kos…in the Sandswept Sky, Red Eye.” As it spoke, a red X appeared over each box. Then, the Sandswept Sky blinked. ”Yellow Team, under the dual leadership of Fox and the Phantom Thief Joker, did this yesterday evening. Fox himself, however, remains in Tostarena Town, at the base of the northern mountain. Just as young Pit said, we then dispatched the Virgin Victory, an airship operated by our new allies, the Centennials, to evacuate them. However, the ship’s condition forced it to land at a location the Mercenaries scouted nearby, Gerudo Town.”

Mewtwo crossed its arms. ”As of approximately forty minutes ago, we received a new report from the Virgin Victory’s Commander Nelson. A train station was discovered in Gerudo Town whose tracks appear to bend space. It leads to a city bound in snow and ice, presumably in the Frozen Highlands, the farthest point of the World of Light from Alcamoth. Our correspondent believes that the station there in turn links to a number of unknown locations scattered across the continent. With that in mind, Mission Control has hatched a plan.”

From the direction of Dispatch came a clean-shaven dwarf, evidently Mission Control. Portly, with a wrinkled white collared shirt, a headset, and pronounced eyebrows, he spoke in a growly British accent. “Here’s the plan. Yellow Team is going to ride the trains to various locations. Then they’re going to call our Moogles, who will poof over while carrying trackers. At that point I can mark where they are on this map.” He jabbed a thumb at the holographic roundtable. “With any luck, one of the places they visit will be near enough to Alcamoth that we can establish a route to it, at which point we will not only be able to recover our friends, but be able to use this Metro for our own purposes. A worldwide fast travel system.”

Nadia marveled at both the ingenuity of the plan and the sheer possibilities of such a system, though she managed to keep her excitement to herself for once.

Mewtwo’s next words, however, put a dampener on her enthusiasm. ”That’s all for the good news. Two days ago, the two-pronged mercenary mission to protect Peach’s Castle ran into trouble. While our defense team, led by Caesar here, successfully repelled the robotic invasion force of Dr. Eggman, when the pursuit team followed him back to his base in the Mushroom Kingdom’s eastern plateau, their raid, led by King Dedede, ended in failure.”

At that, the big penguin bristled. “Now, hold on just a finger-lickin’ minute, y’hear? It wasn’t just more o’ them wimp-bots we trashed out by the junkyard in there. The kinda stuff we found in that forsaken place would turn any o’ y’all white as a sheet! Right away the doors close behind us, leavin’ it dark as sin in there, creepy as all get-out, and before we know what’s happenin’ this thing with a giant propeller comes right at us! No matter what we throw at it, its ground it right up and kept on comin’, so we had to run for our doggone lives. Suddenly we were surrounded by shamblin’ corpses, stuffed fulla all kinds o’ scrap metal doodads, bolted straight into ‘em! I’m talkin’ drills for arms, fellas, come on! And that was just the start!” He painted a vivid picture of the horror he’d seen firsthand, desperately trying to rally support and sympathy from the others in the room. Dedede sighed. “We ended up splittin’ up. The others escaped down some chutes, while the rest of us hightailed it through some caves ‘til we found a lift. Only me, Ness, and that Wario feller got out, far as I know.”

Already informed by Vandham the other night, Peach took a deep breath. She hadn’t let the disappearance of her beloved Mario get the better of her before, and she wouldn’t now. “We dispatched two mercenary teams to the Forlorn Factory yesterday, with V and Zelda in command. Their infiltration uncovered a massive underground facility that Eggman had taken over to build his robotic army. They successfully made contact with Roadhog, Mario, and Pikachu, as well as one Karl Heinsenberg, an unwilling accomplice of Eggman’s. In exchange for a promise of freedom Heisenberg sabotaged the facility, forcing Eggman out into the open, then fought alongside our mercenaries against the doctor in his Death Egg. While Eggman ultimately escaped, the facility is now back in the hands of Heisenberg, who was freed from Galeem in the process and expressed an interest in our cause. ”

”Indeed,” Mewtwo affirmed. ”That covers only a portion of our operations, however. In addition to constructing this Garfont Center to serve as mercenary HQ, we’ve put together a vehicle bay in one of the city’s domes, where we can launch aircraft, watercraft, and even probes once we secure them. In short, despite the loss of the Virgin Victory, Alcamoth is better equipped than ever to deploy both the Mercenaries and the Hero Teams across the world, and this will only become more true if we secure the Metro. This begs just one question, which I doubt is lost on you.”

“Where to next?” Peach leaned over the roundtable. “Our scouts have turned up a number of options. The closest region to us is technically Empty Space, but its apparent lack of gravity makes traversing it a tricky proposition. Besides, while there is a field of asteroids and planetoids floating in the air, the pit down below is sealed off by some kind of barrier. Currently, we have no idea how to breach it. Or if we should.” She directed her attention elsewhere. “Next closest is the Twilight Forest, situated between the Deep Blue Seaside and the Mushroom Kingdom. From the east, it’s most accessible via an area that’s locked in permanent fall, the Autumn Vale, which also provides access to two more region’s we’ve caught wind of.” The princess pointed to each in turn. “The Under, which we know little about other than it being, well, underground, and a temperate region embroiled in large-scale warfare, the aptly named Theater of War.” From there she went all the way from the continent’s southwest to its northeast. “However, we’ve received an urgent request from our new contacts in Bridges, that we journey to Midgar in this region, the Dystopiascape, to get a handle on the crisis gripping the city.” Peach crossed her arms. “We consider that a priority, but while it borders the Dead Zone and the Sandswept Sky, it would be extremely difficult to get there.”

”Before this last report my advice would have been to proceed from Peach’s Castle through Autumn Vale to the Twilight Forest,” Mewtwo intoned, ”But now, everything hinges on the Metro plan. Not just for recovering Yellow Team, but for what opportunities that strange train line opens up. Once we have a suitable destination, Blue Team will blaze the trail there and make contact. No doubt you all look forward to the reunion, but for now we plan our next move, while waiting for the call.”