[center][h3]Aviary Biodome[/h3]
Level 7 Big Band (68/70)
Raiden’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX], Big Band, Peacock
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1655[/center]

Dirt flew from beneath the tires of the all-terrain vehicle as it tore and drifted through the landscape, with few thoughts paid to preservation when a stage-three monster threat put survival on the line. All the bumps in the road forced the passengers to grab hold of the chassis to steady themselves, but even then it was a herky-jerky trip. It took enough effort for Band to keep his two and a half tons of steel chassis and brass contraptions from falling out of the Warthog, in fact, that a full thirty seconds or so passed before he happened to pick up on one rather important element of his new undertaking. Or, to be more precise, the lack thereof.

“...Wait just a minute, where’d that Raiden guy go?” he wondered, looking around the transport for any sign of the cyborg ninja. There wasn’t much vehicle to search, so it took just another moment for him to determine that Raiden was definitely not on board. Band furrows his bushy brows as he looked down at Peacock. “You see him anywhere, kid?”

The toon goon shrugged, the very picture on nonchalance. “Didn’t jump on, I guess. Maybe all that jabberin’ from these other maroons got him pissin’ his pants or somethin’.”

Band grumbled under his breath, reconsidering the situation. “Well…without the extra stoppin’ power, I dunno how involved we wanna get with this monster huntin’ deal.” As the Warthog’s right wheels ran over a stone he rocked forward to offset the balance, then continued in a lower voice. “And, y’know, I could go a good while before tanglin’ with any more giant monsters, just sayin’.”

To his surprise, Peacock nodded. “No kiddin’! I’m just about ready to blow this popsicle stand meself.”

“What, ya don’t wanna paint the jungle red, or however ya say it?” Band raised his eyebrow at her.

Flapping her gloved hand dismissively, Peacock shrugged again, this time more in a [i]what can you do[/i] sort of way. “Eh, I like a good wallopin’ much as anyone, but we’ve been out in the middle o’ nowhere for ages. Sooner we get done rattlin’ around, the sooner I get back to what really matters!”

“Fair enough!” Band leaned forward toward Regina and Beckett. “Sorry ladies, me’n my little friend here ain’t cut out for big game huntin’ after all. Good luck though!”
Regina just rolled her eyes, but Beckett laughed in disbelief as she shook her head. “Well, what are you waiting for, then? Get off our truck!”

The daring duo obliged, and together leaped off the back of the moving vehicle. Peacock used her dress like an umbrella to slow her descent, while Band landed heavily, carving a furrow through the ground as he quickly slid to a stop. With a disagreeable grunt he stepped out of the disturbed earth and kicked his feet, one and then the other, to get the dirt off, and he in his new surroundings around as he did. From the looks of it, he and Peacock got off right before a large and misty [url=https://i.imgur.com/3KVNoeN.jpg]marsh[/url] that the Warthog and its occupants soon disappeared into, sloshing through the scummy water when no wooden bridges blazed a trail between the spiky roots. While the area near the main base felt pretty balmy, this area felt a lot cooler, although no less humid. The fog that filled the place reflected the polar light that filtered through the dome high above. After a moment he identified the wall, still pretty far off. Though the edge of this artificial ecosystem seemed a lot closer than before, he and Peacock would still need to make their way on foot.

“Let’s skirt around the swamp,” he suggested. “Might add a couple minutes, but we won’t get all mudded up.”

Peacock made a show of shading her eyes as she scoped out the marshland and its clusters of tall, thin trees. “I’ll betcha a wad o’ dough mud ain’t the worst thing in there, pops! Whole scene’s straight outta some horror flick, prolly lousy with monsters!”

“Not takin’ that bet,” Band sighed as he turned to go. “‘Cause I believe ya.”

They hiked for a ways, giving the tangle of cattails and mangroves at the water’s edge a wide berth lest any well-hidden ambush predators take them by surprise. Andy Anvil and Tommy Ten Tons showed up both to bolster the group’s numbers and to provide extra deterrence by doing their best to look very fierce and angry. Their boss Peacock waltzed along with a smile on her face, but the fact that she kept her trusty revolver in hand told Band that she might be a little more nervous than she looked. Meanwhile, the detective took the rear, his eyes perpetually narrowed as he studied his surroundings.

This environment, he quickly found, was far from empty. Loads of creatures of all shapes and sizes, though typically small, called this place home, and though it didn’t teem with activity, enough moved and made noise in his vicinity that the trek kept him very busy. Whenever something jumped, dove, croaked, or called out, he needed to zero in on it and decide whether or not it meant trouble, all within the span of a second. Most of the time it turned out to be nothing, like a stork lunging down to grab a frog, or a couple [url=https://i.imgur.com/cE5dJ61.png]bulbdogs[/url] playing. When they spotted a young duck trip and fall into a patch of [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/rainworld_gamepedia/images/7/74/Wormgrass.gif]worm grass[/url] and get eaten alive, they knew to steer well clear. At one point something huge moved in his peripheral vision, so he whirled around with both brass knuckles deployed and ready to brawl, but the bizarre creatures that wandered into view barely acknowledged his presence. Though they resembled moose or deer in part, the [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/rainworld_gamepedia/images/3/3f/Rabbitwalker.gif]unsettling beasts[/url] towered over the quagmire on freaky, spindly spider legs, and large globules hung from their bodies, like half-melted fudgesicles in the sun. When it became clear that neither group wished to bother the other, they went their own separate ways.

Noises of gunfire and destruction echoed across the marsh from afar, but the only danger Band and Peacock found came in the form of a pack of [url=https://i.imgur.com/IPqWXNS.jpg]snaggletoothed reptiles[/url] they found sunning themselves on some rocks around a river that fed into the swamp. When the detective traced the river’s path up toward the source, he found himself with a mostly clear view all the way to the outer wall. Unfortunately for his group’s plans to quietly sneak by the lizard pack, the hunters caught their scent, and rose from their stones to approach the newcomers curiously.

Peacock held up her revolver. “Ya want I should bump ‘em off, or what?”

“They don’t seem friendly, but maybe I can sing ‘em a different tune,” Band mused. “If it’s gonna be uphill, might as well avoid an uphill battle.”

As the predators closed in, hissing at the intruders, the detective deployed his instruments. The brass showed up in bulk, trumpets and trombones and even his sax, and Band began to blow. Rather than weave his usual melodies, he played a flat, simple tune, less for the sake of beauty and more for the sake of noise. Surprised by the alarming racket, the reptiles froze in place for a few moments, then suddenly backed off. Band let go of his mouthpiece to grin at Peacock. “Looks like it’s working!”

From the swamp erupted a [url=https://i.imgur.com/15nHILa.png]Royal Ludroth[/url], screaming like an eagle as a ton of water shook free from its spongy main. A handful of its [url=https://i.imgur.com/REnpf6q.png]subordinates[/url] joined it, and the other lizards rounded on the new threat drawn out by Band’s playing. From the bipeds’ burrow emerged the [url=https://i.imgur.com/sxt24co.png]tyrannosaur[/url] alpha to contend with the invasion, adding to the chaos. The detective himself stowed his instruments in an instant, his eyes wide. “...Think I’ll skip the encore, c’mon!” He grabbed Peacock before she could start blasting the Ludroth and charged off as fast as his servos could carry him, leaving the reptile rumble behind as they fled through a section of the jungle suddenly alive with activity.

Only once they reached the outer wall did the team stop running. Band doubled over, breathing heavily. “Whew, mighta blown a gasket or somethin’ with that one.” As he tried to compose himself he looked over at Peacock. “Y’alright, kid?”

“I ain’t even winded, old timer,” she boasted. 

“Good.” Band straightened up. The bottommost part of the Biodome’s dome appeared to be a wall, with the less secure glass only starting a ways open. He looked one way, then the other, but couldn’t see any way through. “Trouble is, how do we get outside?”

Peacock, who’d fallen into arms of her minions in exhaustion after making her boast, gave a chuckle as she tipped her hat. “Leave it to me!”

Once back on her feet she reached into her pocket, digging more and more of her mechanical arm inside until finally she brightened up and pulled out a small, floppy black disk. She plopped it on the ground, where it swelled to become a pitch-black pit, and jumped in only for it to close after her. Even if he’d seen this stunt a dozen times by now, the application of cartoon logic in real life never ceased to amaze Band. With a sigh he sat down on a fallen log facing inward to keep watch for any sign of trouble while Peacock called in the Moogle outside.

[center][h3]The Chalk Prince, the Prisoner, and Frisk[/h3]
Frisk’s [@Majoras End], the Prisoner’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX][/center]

Albedo waited in patient silence as his companions perused the ruined camp. With her attention of the wellbeing of her new spherical friend, Frisk more or less skimmed the notes before putting her effort toward making the Spheal more comfortable, while the Prisoner rummaged through the wreckage far enough from her that his infectious miasma couldn’t cause a problem for the others. That Joserf had been here recently Albedo didn’t doubt, but with no sign of the man itself, he didn’t care much about anything that might be found amongst his leavings. Instead, he just stared at the others as he went about their business.

It really was cold in here. This cavern more than made up for the lack of windchill by virtue of its total insulation from the sun, meager as its heat might be in the Frozen Highlands. No frigid flurries or buffeting winds lashed against the explorers, stinging their skin or pushing them around, but the stillness in here was cruel in its own way. So too was it terribly dark. The blue glow of the flowers and crystals provided only the barest level of light, turning everything hazy and indistinct. When someone’s passage disturbed the plants, jagged shadows took flight, making anyone of sound mind as psychologically uncomfortable as they were physically. Any real adventurers in such a hostile place like this would have brought their own sources of light and heat, but Frisk and the Prisoner took no such precautions. They just followed Albedo’s direction and suggestions, heading into places ever more forbidding and remote, places so deep and dark that if something were to happen, their spirits might never, ever again see the light of day. And yet, they did so without question. Who, after all, knew better than he?

Who knew Dragonspine well enough to pick out certain landmarks and the paths between them, and offer sound advice about its dangers, but not well enough that he could go without a guide?

Who knew enough about Pokemon to tug on the heartstrings of one who loved them, no matter which body that heart might be in, and keep an eye out for them despite not knowing what they looked like? And earn the terror of a creature he’d never met, after it immediately warmed up to someone else?

Who could exploit the specific weaknesses of Hel-walkers and Draugr well enough to keep multiple at bay and kill them if need be, but not well enough to even try saving a defenseless bystander, or to call out for help from separated allied fighters? Who could escape with barely a scratch, but use up half the team’s healing, leaving them with nothing should things go south later?

Who sealed the only way in to a cavern with no other visible exits, then steered the others to a high-up corner with just the answers they were looking for?

Who commanded powers over ice, despite possessing a Geo vision?

And who, after Albedo went to lengths to buy a heavy coat with which he might ward off the cold, an experience that helped bring him closer to Linkle, emerged from the avalanche to claim to be unbothered by winter’s sting?

The patient watcher standing behind Frisk waited for her to put her Spheal sack on, and then made his move.

He dashed toward her back, a longsword of crystallized Cryo forming in his hand, long enough to skewer both targets in a single thrust. [color=f7976a]”No, stop!”[/color] came an explosive yell from beside her, and the Prisoner lunged to get in the way. Used to defending with shield only, the Prisoner went on the offensive, bringing his balanced blade around to strike before the ice sword could pierce through. [color=f7976a]”What are you-!”[/color] 

The edge suddenly bounced back, the metal vibrating from the impact. His eye opened wide to see a coating of ice on Albedo’s left hand, so hard and thick that it worked as an impromptu shield. In reply the alchemist pivoted the Prisoner’s way, and in a ruthless riposte pierced his swordpoint through the animated corpse’s chest. As of anticipation of the lack of finality that blow would have for the Prisoner’s unliving body, ice spread out from the point of impact, initiating a freeze. [color=f7976a]”Ugh!”[/color] the Prisoner growled, angry now. He smacked his attacker with an infectious headbutt, causing him to let go of his sword and stumble back, and unleashed a giant swing. Spikes of ice shot up around Albedo to take the hit, and as the Prisoner’s sword smashed through the barrier, he found no sign of his opponent.

Not until a flash of bright blue light made him look up. In the cover of the icy mist Albedo had jumped up into the darkness, and now a giant snowflake glyph shone behind him. A deluge of icicles hurtled down, stabbing into everything in their path. If the others did not jump from the camp ledge down to the cave’s top floor, they would be skewered along with the camp’s remains.