Sakura listened to the recap of the matches eagerly. She looked at Geralt, puzzled. ”You lost?” She asked incredulously. ”I mean, hey, that’s okay! Nothing wrong with losing! As long as you learned something.” She backtracked, though it seemed like she still didn’t really believe it. Geralt lost? To some angel guy they didn’t even know? She’d have to take a crack at this Pit guy to see if he really was tough enough to beat Mister Geralt.

”Hey, good job, Mister King Bowser.” Sakura congratulated the king. ”And you said you beat that Miss Dante person earlier? Guess they don’t just make anybody the king, huh?” Sakura said, smiling. Then a thought occurred to her. ”...Then how come you keep losing to Mario? Isn’t Mario just some plumber guy that can jump pretty high?”

”And aren’t you just an undereducated schoolgirl with a crush on a homeless man you’ve met four times?” Karin said suddenly, preemptively coming to Bowser’s defense, and perhaps the defense of villains everywhere.

Sakura blushed, her origin story outed for anyone who cared to pay attention. ”It-it- it’s been more than four times! And he’s not homeless! Geez! Why do you have to be so mean to me? Let’s just go!” Sakura hurried off, and Karin followed, pondering why indeed she felt the need to be so mean to Sakura sometimes.

On the way there, Karin’s eyes opened wide in shock as someone committed suicide from the top of Alcamoth, exploding into a pile of blood in limbs. Sakura seemed nonplussed. ”Don’t worry, Karin-san. That’s just Miss Nadia. She does that sometimes. Gross, huh?” Indeed, it was only a few moments later that the Seeker literally pulled herself together. Karin huffed, affronted by this uncouth display from Nadia. Some commoners truly did have no manners. Adjusting her coat and ruffled sleeves, she followed Sakura to the meeting. It turned out to be a race, and Sakura immediately participated, taking off as fast as she could to keep up with Nadia and Geralt. The three of them were quite the group of speedsters.

Once there, Sakura listened to the speech. Her face fell, a sneer revealing her teeth. ”Boats? Again? I just got the last of the sea salt smell out of my hair.” Rubbing her brown hair, she huffed.

”But Sakura-chan, you’re dressed for the occasion.” Karin teased lightly, flicking Sakura’s yellow tie into her face.

”That…that is true. Hey, why aren’t you in your uniform, anyway?” Sakura asked.

”Because we’ve been in this new world for more than one day and I own more than one pair of clothes.” Karin said snootily.

Sakura was defensive. ”Hey…I wash it!” She hugged herself. ”I- I meant to buy a new pair of clothes I just- forgot. PLus, this one was a gift from Miss Isabelle! So I actually have two pairs of clothes. The other one is…somewhere.”

Karin scoffed. ”That’s what I get for leaving you alone. Upon our return to Limsa, Shibasaki-san and I will be escorting you on your next shopping trip.” Sakura giggled apologetically, rubbing the back of her head.

Once there, they received a mini map and a boat from Steve, the weirdest looking person Sakura and Karin had ever seen. He was friendly enough, and definitely a part of the good guys, but Sakura in particular had a hard time not staring whenever she saw him. The guy was operating on a totally different wavelength than everyone else, and everyone else included every other person in existence.

Karin stared at the boats in disbelief. ”What…this? This is our boat? This is not a boat. This is a glorified milk crate.”

”Hey, be nice!” Sakura said, a laugh in her voice from Bowser’s blunder. She was already happily rowing around in her boat, marveling at its simple but highly effective design. She also thought the mini-map was wicked cool. ”This is actually really cool! I feel like I’m a Ship Girl again!” She zipped around.

Karin frowned, but relented, accepting a boat and mini map. ”This is hardly befitting a woman of my stature…” She stated, stepping carefully into it and sitting very still as Alcamoth prepared itself to release them into the sea. Karin had rowed in bows before- competitively, of course- but only a part of sport or for leisure. And in Kanzuki Brand kayaks, of course.

Speaking of Ship Girls, Sakura cast a worried look over at Rika. Still, she was glad the Abyssal was joining them. But also a little sad she wasn’t finding a new path, like Bella was. She would just have to keep an eye on Rika with her new friends.

Soon they were on the way. The open ocean, with everyone in their own boats. Sakura compared it to the last time she was on the water. Both had pros and cons. On one hand, she felt pretty vulnerable. On the other, she had freedom of movement and wouldn’t be trapped on a big boat. While she wasn’t a Ship Girl anymore, she did have her original body back, which meant she was stronger and faster than before as long as she got on land. And their goal was land, so once they got there, Sakura would be more effective than she was in Ship Girl form. She really wanted to punch some evil goon right in the face.

Karin, meanwhile, was ready to show the Seekers how it was done. They had done well thus far, certainly, but with her onboard things were bound to go a lot smoother. Karin was prepared to do what it takes to secure victory. Galeem would be destroyed, and the natural order of the universe would be restored. The Kanzuki Zaibatsu would ensure it.

Sakura was happily rowing along when she saw some weird green stuff floating on the surface. It almost looked like a huge grass plain on the water. A large section of it, just to the left of the Seeker armada. Despite her uniform, Sakura was hardly an experienced sailor, so she attempted to plow right through it. Instead, it scraped against the green stuff, which was actually grass, and got all tangled up in it.

”That didn’t take long.” Karin said, slowing down alongside Sakura.

”Shush shush.” Sakura said, thinking. ”I guess I’ll just get out and push.”

”Miss Sakura, I really wouldn’t-” Karin began, but it was too late. The grass was merely kelp, greeting an illusory floor that Sakura immediately fell through. Karin covered her mouth, suppressing a smile.

Sakura flailed for a moment underwater, trying to get the icky kelp off of her. Underneath the surface though, the water was very clear, and Sakura opened one eye to look around. It was green, and hurt her eyes a little but, but under the grassy sea plain was a beautiful sight. The sky was green! There was a statue of sharks! So many verdent colors!

Under there, she saw a small group of dinosaur sea turtles swimming peacefully about among the rocks. As well as a host of other colorful fish. The view was almost literally breathtaking.

Up on the surface, Karin watched the Sakura shaped hole in the kelp with mild disinterest, waiting for her companion to emerge from the water. As she did, her keen orange eyes spotted green on green movement. Narrowing in, she spotted some kind of beast slowly moving through the kelp, barely disturbing it. From Karin’s perspective, it almost looked like a three-eyed alien crocodile.

She sensed its hostile intent. While Sakura was floating happily below the surface, Karin protected her friend. She and the creature made eye contact, and a hardened gleem passed through Karin’s eyes. She glared at it, tilting her head to the side questioningly. There was the universal feeling of a blade being unsheathed. Or the feeling of walking near a cliff’s edge, or entering a dark cave where predators lay inside. Karin communicated with the creature in a language that could be understood by even the simplest of minds. Any nearby Seekers could feel it- even the kelp around Karin seemed to drift away from her boat. The beast’s will broke first, and startled, it turned around and dove back underneath the surface, swimming away from the Kanzuki. Satisfied, Karin relaxed in her boat. The blade was sheathed, the cliff smoothed, the cave lit once more. It was safe to pass.

It was then that Sakura spotted the large creature as it swam away, quickly returning to her boat. She spat some water out.

”I just saw some kinda alien reptile thing! And turtles! Oh, man, but Miss Karin, it’s beautiful down there! You should really see it!” Sakura said, trying and failing to dry herself off.

”We’ve not left the port for ten minutes, and you’re already gotten yourself drenched in sea water and plant matter, rambling about sea turtles. Please, do not talk to me or look at me.” Karin said, before rowing off to keep up with the rest of the Seekers. She didn’t tell Sakura about the sheer amount of malice she projected on her behalf. Sakura brushed her short brain hair out of her eyes and laughed.

”Okaaay…but I just had a really cool adventure. So I’d say it was worth it. I saw some really big turtles.” With that she rowed off, trailing towards the rear of the Seekers little navy.

Rubick had heard the announcement to get to Garfront Center, but he got lost a few times while making his way to the meeting room. He had already forgotten the route he took getting to the Item Storeroom, so it took a little bit of wandering around. He didn't mind it, though. Sometimes being lost provided excitement on its own. But it didn't last long, as he eventually found a map on a wall, which helped him set the nearest course to his destination. A few more hallways and an elevator ride later, Rubick soon arrived, skipping towards the group. "I hope no one missed me while I was gone!" Rubick announced cheerfully.

After joining up with the rest of the group, they found themselves receiving their mission assignment: to rendezvous with... someone, apparently. He didn't quite catch who it was. Also announced was their destination: Twilight Town. The description of it sounded curious. "This Twilight Town reminds of a tale back where I came from.... how did it go again?" Rubick wondered out loud. It had been so long since he had heard it, after all. The thought left quickly as he followed along to a rather angular-looking figure, who gestured to similarly-angular boats in the water. Rubick tilted his head, then poked one of the boats with his staff. It gently rocked for a second before settling still. Some people made mention of having once had shipgirl spirits, which reminded Rubick of his time back when he kept messing with shipgirls back in Limsa Lominscuttle Town. He wondered if he could've obtained their spirits if he had truly defeated them. He then cleared his mind of such thoughts; it was too late to be having such regrets now, of course.

Turning his attention back to Steve's boats, Rubick shrugged and exclaimed, "Alley-oop!" before pushing one into the water and jumping in. Rubick gave the oars an experimental row, and found that it was much easier than he expected. Despite the boat's rectangular shape, it treaded water quickly, and he hardly used any effort to do so. He looked over to the rest of the group, who had been similarly confused at the sight of these strangely-shaped vehicles. Bowser tried to enter one himself and failed miserably, which Rubick couldn't help but loudly guffaw at, kicking his feet in the air as he lay on his back. Kamek had decided to summon some servants to aid him, which gave Rubick a bright idea. Conjuring his staff, Rubick wasted no time in Power Stealing Kamek and proceeded to summon his own Toadies. They were visually identical to Kamek's own Toadies, but they only obeyed Rubick instead of him. He clapped his hands, and the Toadies proceeded to carry him into the air as Kamek had done for Bowser. "This is fun!" Rubick said in delight. He looked back at the Koopa Troop, and it seemed Bowser was already getting a new ride in the form a large whale. "Oh, that looks fun too!" Rubick said as he looked around for the caster, only to see Rika hunched over in pain and bleeding from the effort. "Oh... on second thought, maybe not," Rubick corrected himself. Rubick was hoping to summon his own whale, but it seemed that the effort would not be worth the trouble after all. It was regretful, but it was to be expected. Such power had to come at a price, and it was not something Rubick was willing to pay. The Toadies would have to do.

He followed the group as he traveled through the air, abandoning the boat Steve had made. It was more fun to do this, anyway. As he flew, he spotted Karin and Sakura lagging behind. Curious to see what they were doing, Rubick turned around and headed over to them. It seemed Sakura had discovered something interesting underwater and was eagerly sharing it with Karin. He looked down at the water surface, briefly wondering if he should go in as well, but just as quickly dismissed the thought, realizing that it wasn't worth getting soaked. Calling out to them from above, Rubick said, "Let's hurry around now, friend!... and Ms. Kanzuki. We don't want to keep the others waiting!" On that note, he decided to cast his Telekinesis on Sakura's boat, carrying it along with her faster than she could row it. With his magic, he guided them him back near the whale, humming another cheery tune while leaving Karin behind. He would help her too if she asked, but for now, this little joke would be enough to hopefully get a reaction out of the prideful fighter.

After the Elgyem was finally taken care of, and it was confirmed that Torra was alright, they continued towards their destination. As they should. Bede knew he was a master Pokémon Trainer, even if some people back home couldn’t appreciate it. They even made him the offer to join their little group once this whole train nonsense was over. Bede figured it couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

After making their way to the train station, and hopefully headed for somewhere normal. They avoided more oddities along the way (Bede was glad to be out of here. This place was too weird.) The group asked questions about himself. Bede’s eyes lit up. He was more than happy to answer. To be honest, it had been a long time since anybody cared to actually know about him.

“Where do I even begin? Pokémon are fascinating creatures. There are a variety of Pokémon species. Some breathe fire, some have electrical powers, some like Elgyem like you saw had Psychic powers, and my personal favorite, fairies. Where I come from humans live among them. Some people raise them as pets, and then there are people like me, who traim them battle other people’s Pokémon. Those of us that like to battle are called Pokémon trainers. I’m one of the better Trainers where I came from. Before all of this happened, I was appointed Gym Leader…”

Bede could go on and on, but before he had the chance even explain what a Gym Leader was, the next train arrived.

They soon arrived at a new location. When they got there, they entered a boutique. Bede was intrigued… until he got adopted by Chairman Rose, he didn’t grow up with a lot of money… His parents left him at the orphanage because of financial trouble. He only ever went to shops like this when Chairman Rose’s assistant took him shopping. This boutique was no ordinary upscale shop either. It felt more like a Museum to Bede. They showed antiques, musical instruments, and machines which was what Tora was the most interested in. Bede himself wasn’t too impressed. He liked shopping for cute things personally…

Poppi told them they made contact with their HQ, and that they were very far away. This strange new world was huge and varied. Bede was also told they needed to get to the Mint line, and go to a place called Twilight Town… That meant they had to get more Pons, but those were easy enough to obtain.

“That’s great.” Bede replied. “Hope this Twilight Town is more normal than the last town we were in. And while we’re on the way there, I can tell you more about Pokémon, and the amazing Bede!”

When the person from the ground level climbed up after them, Roxas and Hush stopped their advance. He shouted, something about the insect being a friend of his and that she meant no harm. As odd as that probably sounded to most people, Roxas on the other hand was a bit more willing to bite. He wasn't one to talk, having been close personal friends with a talking dog-man, duck-man, and mouse-man in the past. On the other hand, Hush was finding this a little hard to believe. And when the insect finally noticed them and demanded that Roxas come with them for questioning, that didn't exactly help matters.

"Hold on!" said Hush, having drawn his dagger in anticipating, "You're in our town, Queen Bee. That means you do what we say, not the other way around." in fact he was about to go invisible, but he stopped when a gloved hand appeared in front of him to stay his blade. It was Roxas, "Huh? Hey what's the big idea?" but then he saw the look on Roxas' face. Deadly serious, more serious than Hush had ever seen him look, in fact.

"I need you to go report what we've discovered to the others." said Roxas, with a deadly serious monotone, "I'll take this from here."

"Alone? Are you insane?" Hush protested, the Sram confused by all this, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna humor them." Roxas replied, but in a more hushed tone, "...for now, anyway. I'm counting on you to discreetly bring the others here in case this goes badly."

"You'd better know what you're doing." said the Sram, who then vanished into thin air after that.

Once he was alone, Roxas focused his gaze up at the insect. This was no longer about some monster making a next. She'd said something to him that dragged up all the memories that Roxas would have preferred to leave buried. But no, she mentioned them clear as the day. The Organization. Despite them having all been wiped out at the Keyblade Graveyard, it sounded like they were trying to rear their ugly heads again. And if no one else was around, then it was just going to have to be Roxas who stepped up to put them back down again.

All of a sudden Roxas was enveloped by a black blanket of Darkness, and vanished. Barely a moment later, he was suddenly up at the Clock Tower right next to the Bee. There was no more time for pretenses. If these people had encountered his old enemies, then he would just have to be up front with them, "Start talking." he said to the Bee, flatly. He made no moves to draw any weapons, but he would also clearly look like he was in no mood to play any games, "The Organization. Where did you encounter them? And who was calling the shots? A bald old man, maybe? Or maybe a man with long silver hair?" Roxas figured it had to be one of those two. None of the others were nearly as attached to the idea behind the Organization. But the real question was just how could they have possibly come back? They should both be dead. The Guardians of Light had seen to that. And yet, this was still happening somehow.

No amount of torrential rainfall or murky, overcast skies could dampen Nadia’s mood as she sailed forth across the Eryth Sea. The thrill of setting off on a brand new journey, literally surrounded by her friends, left her beaming almost as brightly as the morning sun before the storm clouds rolled in to swallow it up. In some ways it made her feel like a kid again, bravely sallying forth into the unknown in search of the day’s adventures, and in others she felt like a badass, rolling out with a crew of awesome professionals to get the job done. It was a thrill that quickened her heart two days ago as the Azur Navy sailed north to Blackwater Bay, even though she knew that a brutal naval war awaited her there. It was a feeling she’d sorely missed ever since her last crew departed on their final voyage to parts unknown, convincing her for a time that she could never hurt so badly again so long as she worked alone.

Luckily, such thoughts were very far away, and for the moment Nadia lived wholly in the present. Once she cleverly used her Feral ability to harden her hair, her bob cut kept the water from stinging her eyes, allowing her to keep her head up and track her fellow Seekers of Light as they went along. Much to Nadia’s surprise in particular, owing to her loose familiarity with seafaring, her oddly-shaped rowboat handled like a dream. It less pushed through the water than slid across it, or so it seemed, demanded only low effort to build up speed, and weirdest of all, kept itself remarkably upright despite the choppy surface of the sea. That blocky man really knew his stuff! that, or he and his creations simply worked with a set of physics very different to the one Nadia knew and loved.

After emerging from inside the Alcamoth vehicle bay in a big clump so tightly packed that the wooden boats might have just as well been bumper cars, the group spread out across the water. Without any real formation in mind, they stuck together in twos and threes as they made their way eastward. Bowser, atop his white whale-monster, took up a central position in the heroes’ flotilla with his loyal Troop as escort. Peach skated across the waves beneath the shelter of her parasol. With his souped-up stamina Geralt rowed almost as well as he ran, which was to say, a lot better than Nadia expected. The street fighters bent all their strongest muscles to the task, including their hearts, and cruised right along. Finally, Omori, Pit, and Rubick brought up the rear, the magus being carried by his own versions of Kamek’s Toadies.

The fliers got the chance to stretch their proverbial wings as well, although Nadia worried a little about Susie with that wimpy-looking Transporter. If the pouring rain or buffeting wind got to be too much, the pink-haired robot might find herself in the drink and wishing she took a boat to begin with. At least if Nadia capsized, she could trust in Ace to bail her out. She’d taken him up on his offer earlier, but truth be told she did not relish a piggy-back ride even on his brawny shoulders. While she might not be the most mature person around, Nadia wanted to think she had a little dignity. Never mind that she was soaking wet from the rain. The feral zipped up her jumpsuit and rowed on.

After just a couple blissfully uneventful minutes, the journey across the inland ocean began to get a little interesting. Sakura and Karin stumbled upon a big green patch of kelp, buoyed upward from their anchorage points on the sea floor by gas-filled sacs to gather in a massive carpet on the surface. The pair got bogged down there for a moment or two, but it didn’t look like anything serious, so Nadia continued. At least the rain wouldn’t feel cold to Sakura now that she’d been underwater. Things like the kelp forests or the lilypad islands were easy to avoid without ever realizing the beauty that lay below. By now everyone had spread out enough that they’d begun to have their own little encounters, be they with the creatures of Eryth Sea or the environment itself.

Despite the mild level of wind overall, a handful of cyclones descended across the water, traveling erratically along the surface. Each whirlwind harbored a minor suction effect, and if it happened to pull one of the travelers in, it would spin the hapless hero around before launching him or her hundreds of feet up into the rainy sky. Even then, however, Steve’s uncanny rowboats would not be destroyed, but would splash bottom-down into the seawater before bobbing to the surface. Thanks to her improvised helmet, though, Nadia could see her coming, and despite one close call she managed to steer clear.

In a similar vein were the water spouts, perhaps the products of underwater geysers. In areas with golden coins afloat on the surface and flush with bright red Cheep Cheeps, spumes of water suddenly burst up from below, carrying anyone in the area on top of them. Though harmless for the most part, anyone who got lifted up while going too fast could be sent flying through the air, and hitting one of the protruding mushroom trees nearby at that speed didn’t sound fun. Sometimes a spout brought up a giant purple pufferfish with it, whose immense bulk and vivid spikes looked more than capable of reducing a boat to a pile of sticks. “Yeah, fluff that,” Nadia muttered, and she went out of her way to give the whole affair a wide berth.

While looking overboard for puffers, Nadia did spot something else that looked interesting. A rather alluring specimen sat on a raised pillar of rock not too far below the surface, with five glowing lights around the formation. Four of them would render the valuable, highly-pressurized fleshy orbs known as Hadal Cores, but if a looter chose wrong, an abyssal horror would lunge from its hiding place to snap up its prey. Farther off still, Nadia could see more lights in the depths of the Eryth Sea, but of these she couldn’t make out the most fragmentary detail. Though that submerged luminescence did ignite her curiosity, she couldn’t see underwater and she didn’t want to risk losing her boat if she went under, so she pressed on, never knowing the horror just beneath her, or the wonder further down.

As she tried to make out underwater shapes through the ripples of rainfall on the surface, thoroughly distracted, disaster struck. From beneath the other side of her boat emerged a gargantuan Serprond, so vast that its three-section maw only failed to devour Nadia’s boat because the water it displaced washed her away. Taken completely by surprise and mere inches away from being eaten, the feral collapsed in her boat, paralyzed by primal, gut-wrenching terror. She cowered, her heart just about stopped, as the colossal sea monster passed by, flying into the air to hang over the ocean like a six-eyed zeppelin. It took a moment for her to start breathing again, at which point she clutched at her chest, trying to dull the agony. “...Fuck,” she gasped, fighting to calm her pounding heart. The Serprond soared away at a leisurely pace, unbothered by the insignificant creature it left behind. Had it even been going for her? In Nadia’s mind, absolutely. “It almost got me…it almost ate me…”

Though frightened within an inch of her life, and her lifespan potentially shortened as a result, she thanked whoever came to check on her. “I’m fine. I think?” Nadia wiped a mixture of rain and tears from her eyes. “Go-lly. I didn’t know I could be that scared. For a second…it was like I was back there. On the Maw.” Despite her new phobia, she was still one tough customer, and she composed herself soon enough. “Better get a move on before it’s friends shop up. God…”

Nadia started rowing again, this time with a vengeance. In no time she approached the river that led through the mountains, the water growing shallower on the way. She spotted a few little turtle guys playing with bubbles by some coral shacks among the shoals, but her attempt to find joy in their antics had mixed results because the little ones’ lifeguard watched over them with a sniper rifle in hand. After that her attention lay mostly on the cove that sat at the border of ocean and river, mostly due to the giant stone skull that sat among a forest of spiky crags, complete with glowing red eyes. The whole place was a ship graveyard, piled high with the guttered husks of different vessels. “Whoa,” she marveled, admittedly a little intimidated. “This is some crazy ship.”



Getting through there in one piece demanded that the Seekers slow down and mind their corners. In addition to a head-on collision with one of the rock spires, they needed to worry about running afoul of the wreckage. Looking at it from a different angle, however, the Kove might as well be a wooden playground of masts, sails, decks, overturned hulls, and makeshift rafts of floating debris. Some booty could still be found in the barrels and chests scattered throughout, from provisions like salted pork and bananas that could be eaten underwater, to handy gear like ropes, candles, shovels, and buckets, which would be useful when it came to getting water out of boats. Only one ship seemed to be relatively intact: the Adrian, a midnight-black pirate vessel of fearsome aspect. Its main cabin was well-furnished, with a treasure map and quality spyglass resting on the desk, and in its hold dwelled the piratical monstrosity Cortez, standing watch over a heap of glittering treasure.

Reasoning that anything big enough to eat her couldn’t be hiding in such shallow, cluttered waters, Nadia stopped her boat by one half-wreck to see what sort of loot she could expect from the place. Nothing really struck her fancy that she could carry in her pockets, though she did take a bucket to put in her boat for bail, and after finding a small keg labeled ‘fresh water’ she took that too. No telling how long the team might be out on the ocean, after all. Except, this was empty. Figures. For a moment she stood there, wondering if the Eryth Sea was fresh or saltwater, since it apparently sat upstream of the real ocean. Well, she knew better than to test! If she took this keg, she could gather some rain water, at least. As Nadia turned to go, she spotted one other thing. A humble hurdy-gurdy of wood and metal. Her idle thoughts about instruments from the other day flashed in her mind, and her mouth curled into a 3 shape. “Well now…can’t just leave you to rust there forever, can I?” She retrieved the instrument, and returned to the boat.

A little farther and she passed the skull rock, putting her at the mouth of the river. When she became aware of an increasingly strong flow she pulled over to the pebbly beach, ran aground, and jogged a short way to the start of the riverbank. Sure enough, there were rapids. The whole thing looked like a sequence of small, foamy cataracts, two or three at a time, interspersed by winding sections of river with a fast-moving current. “Honestly, it looks really fun,” she said aloud, and not just because of the excitement in store.

A salmon migration was in progress before her eyes. The colorful fish were making their way upstream to the Eryth Sea in droves, leaping up the rapids in a living barrage of salmon. Nadia pictured her friends trying to sail downstream in them and getting smacked by fish after ten-pound fish, which sounded very funny. That it’d happen to her too she didn’t doubt, but she could think of worse things to be slapped in the face with than lunch. Of course, nothing complimented a fish frenzy better than hungry bears, and from where Nadia was standing the bears had come out in force. She saw normal -albeit fearsome- grizzlies, yellow-ringed bears with their cubs, one in a flannel shirt, white ones with big heads, a number of more timid black bears, and one very big Runebear sleeping up on a ledge after filling his belly, and who else but Banjo and Kazooie arguing beneath a tree.

Nadia did a double take. “Oh, hey!” She waved to Banjo, who waved back, both of them irrespective of Kazooie. “How’s it going?”

“Good!” the bear declared. “We were just grabbing some fish when it started to rain, and now we’re talking about where to go next. I was thinking of Spiral Mountain.”

“All these new places to go, and this knucklehead wants to go back home,” Kazooie said, rolling her eyes. “What about you all?”

“Down to the ocean,” Peach called, having drawn her boat to the top of the river as well. “We’re going to meet our friends in Twilight Town.”

Kazooie snickered. “Hah, good luck with that! This river’s like a theme park ride!”

“Ooh, really!?” Nadia’s eyes shone. “Now I’m excited!”

The bird rolled her eyes again in resignation. “Oh, I should’ve known.”

Once everyone got through the Kove, all the Seekers could do was to row their boats to the top of the first cataract, say any pertinent prayers, and take the plunge.





With no further business in this place now that their plan had proceeded to stage two, Band’s party waited inside the visitor center until finally a cat dragged in another train. They boarded it to head back to the Metro hub, leaving the dense jungle, steaming marshland, and bizarre creatures of the Aviary Biodome behind. Of course, before cycling back to where it all started, the Black Line subway would pass through two more stops, which according to the electronic thickers in his car were Gutsford and Rapture. Though the detective stayed put both times he did peer out the window for a sneak peek at the location in quest, in case he or the others returned later on.

Judging from the station at least, the place called Gutsford looked rather ordinary. Band saw brick walls, a cement floor, metal benches, trash cans and litter, and vendor booths where they sold drinks, snacks, and cigarettes. Nothing special could be said about the people who milled about, other than most of those not working for the station itself seemed to be about college-age. Since it lacked the size or grandeur of a New Meridian train station, Band’s intuition told him that this establishment might belong to a medium-sized town or small city, nothing too fancy. By all appearances it seemed to be a slice of relative normalcy in this absurd, topsy-turvy world.

At the final stop, however, things got weird again. When the train pulled up to the platform at Rapture, it took Band a moment to become aware of what was wrong. At first the Atlantic Express Depot seemed relatively normal, a little dark, a little confined, perhaps. The other trains seemed more like monorails, with large, yellow-windowed cars that hung beneath their metal rails. Only after he noticed that the windows featured a lot more reinforcement girders than normal did he realize that on the other side of the glass lay a glowing city in the depths of the sea, where whales wandered around the towering pinnacles like blimps and schools of fish replaced the pigeons who flocked around the windows and great neon signs. Even from inside the safety of the subway, two layers of glass and a dingy train station away from the ocean, Band was shaken to the core, and not just by the sheer impossibility of such a place. More than that, he found himself struck by the seafloor city’s unmistakable Art Deco aesthetic, with its glitzy skyscrapers, luxurious materials, its vaguely abstract and geometric forms, the divided facades, the hierarchical floor plans, the lavish mix of styles. It wasn’t just fascinating–it was familiar. His eyes landed upon a casino with a vibrant pink crown, ornamented by the image of a crowned fish beneath a name that Band knew all too well. The River King. For a moment his breath caught in his throat, but then, as the train began to pull away, he deployed a mechanical arm to give Peacock an urgent nudge. “Pea, Pea, look! Just look!” Just before the view receded from sight, replaced by the black void of the Metro’s magic tunnels, the girl got a glimpse, and her eyes went wide. “Sure it’s underwater, and it ain’t exactly the same, but…it’s New Meridian.” Band sank down into his seat, trying to process the information. “It’s home.”

Not long after the two stepped out of the Black Line station into the open air of Nyakuza Metro. Band took a second to look around at the buildings of mortar and brick, and up to the dizzying heights where the black cats made their homes. He breathed in deeply. No more did the millions of tons of water hang over him, but he still felt the weight of what had become of that city. Of his city. That one sight tore open a hole in his focus on the mission and allowed a million questions to flood through him, like sea water through a rupture in a structurally unsound submarine. Was Lab 8 down there, at the bottom of an unknown ocean, with all the young ASG agents for whom he’d endeavored to be a father figure? Was the Medici Mafia ruling that underwater underworld? Did the Skullgirl lurk in those depths, amassing the bones of sea monsters and sailors? He needed to know. But he couldn’t go, not just yet. Benjamin Birdland had a job to do, and as always he would fulfill his duty.

When he and Peacock returned to the information kiosk that Yellow Team ended up using as a rendezvous point, they found a handful of allies already there, getting directions. Tora, Poppi, Vandham, and Bede had arrived on the Blue Line a little while ago, regaled the whole way over by the Pokemon Trainer’s fascinating tales about Pokemon–and of course, himself. The minute Tora spotted some friends -or more accurately, Poppi spotted them and then pointed them out to her Masterpon- he started bouncing up and down, waving his wings to get their attention. “Over here, meh!” he said, beckoning the cyborgs over. Vandham exchanged a brotherly nod with Band as the two groups met up, none of them seemingly any worse for wear, although Tora couldn’t help but notice one difference. “Why friend Band coat so icky-dirty?”

The detective stooped to get a look at his trench, noticed for the first time the mud that coated its hem and gave a grunt of annoyance. “We had to hoof it through a big-ass nature preserve, and there sure weren’t any hikin’ trails. Saw some real freaky critters, too.” He shrugged and raised an eyebrow at the others. “Where’d you folks end up?”

“We visit two spots on World of Light western coast,” Poppi replied. “One seaside town…”

“Hurt Tora poor eyes! Very strange overall!” Tora supplied.

“...And one port city,” the artificial blade finished. “Not get very good look at that one, but seem nice. Very pretty area, but city itself offend Poppi olfactory sensors.”

Vandham nodded. “Aha, I thought I caught a bad whiff of somethin’-or-other on the breeze. Little bit o’ low tide, little bit o’ industry, an’ a little bit o’ rot for good measure. You see those apartments up by the station, mates? Looked bloody infested. Flies the size o’ birds!” The big man shuddered. “If it were up to me, I’d burn the whole buildin’ to the ground, just to be sure.”

The Nopon made a face. “Meeeeh. Tora could not agree more. Hate fighting Skeeters back home most of all. Buggypons impossible to hit!”

Poppi tilted her head. “Well, since we team defender, it not matter if we hit them as long as we keep attention. Still, buzzing hurt Poppi processors, so Poppi exterminate whenever possible.”

“By the by, Bede here’s gonna be stickin’ with us for a bit.” Vandham patted the Pokemon Trainer on the shoulder. “‘E knows a thing or three about ‘is Pokemon, to be sure! Think he’ll be a fine addition to the team. Anyway, we just got done collectin’ some more o’ them crystal things. Pons, they’re called, yeah?” Vandham held up a handful to show the new arrivals. “Fixin’ to head over to the Mint Line station and roll on outta here.”

Peacock groaned, her hat comically deflating as her arms extended to drag the knuckles along the ground. “Ugh, I forgot about that.”

“We go on ahead then. See friends later!” Tora told them. He promptly began to waddle away in the direction that the helpful kiosk cats indicated, and after exchanging farewells, the others followed.

“Guess there’s nothin’ for it,” Band said after Tora’s group made tracks. Around him hustled and bustled the Nyakuza Metro, a scene of ever-present motion both down below and up above. Commuters and cats alike ran to catch their trains or busted their brains trying to figure out their connections, while those waiting for one to show -or already left behind by one they commiserated in small groups all around. On their first run through the place the Seekers cleaned out the nearby areas of all their loose pons, meaning Band and Peacock would have to be a bit more inventive. Hopefully the residential heights remained unplundered. “Ten apiece, by my count. You ain’t gonna make me do all the work this time, right Pea?”

After winding herself up again, his little friend cracked her knuckles. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lest ya forget, I’m the gen-u-wine article .” She pulled out a magnifying glass, held it up to her face, and joined the detective in scanning the scenery, despite both of them knowing that her real eyes were on her arms . “Now, where’s a gal gotta go to score a little dough around here…?”

Her eyes landed on a jeweler at the end of the street–Le Félin. “Howsabout that one, chief?” she asked Band. “Place like that’s gotta have a buncha those macguffins. Shake ‘em down and we’ll be outta this joint in a minute flat.”

Band shook his head as he prepared to discourage her, but before he could say anything he paused. All of a sudden something felt…off. A strange sensation tickled him, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and a surge of paranoia flooded through him. Like he was being watched. To anyone else it might have been nothing more than a passing chill, but Band trusted his detective instincts. “Hmm…” he murmured, stalling for time. Covertly he looked around, and the more his eyes darted back and forth, the more he realized that he might be onto something. All around him, whether standing around talking, eating on a bench, or just passing by, the Metro cats were looking his way. They’d turned toward him and Peacock on instinct, and though most now made an effort to act casual, the direction they pointed their ears made one thing clear: that they were listening in. Most worrisome of all, it wasn’t just one or two, or a particular group, but almost all of them. It was as if he’d tripped some hidden alarm, and the whole feline populace was all ears.

“Hah,” he said after a moment. “You shouldn’ joke around like that, Pea. Someone might get the wrong idea. Let’s just check up top again, hm?” Before Peacock could protest he reached out and took hold of her, then blasted off into the Metro’s enclosed sky.

A few moments later they touched down on a rooftop, and Peacock squirmed free of his grasp. “Ey, what’s the big idea, ya goomba?”

“Ssh,” Band hushed her. “Mind what ya say around here, Pea. Just listen a moment. Earlier, I heard some cats talkin’ about the police ‘round here. Mentioned they have a deal with some ‘boss’ of theirs, scratchin’ her back long as she scratches theirs. Just now, when ya mentioned robbin’ that jewelry store, every cat in the vicinity suddenly got real interested in our conversation. I ain’t sayin’ anythin’ for sure just yet, but there might be a lot more to this place than meets the eye.”

Peacock gasped, her six arm-eyes sparkling. “You sayin’ there might be some kinda mob, old-timer? And they even got a fix in? Now we’ses talkin’!” She put on a nasty grin. “If it’s the Medicis…”

“Calm down, kid!” Band interrupted. “Look, there’s no way to know for sure, so don’t run off paintin’ the town red or whatever just yet. Besides, we got a job to do. Much as I hate to say it, this whole Guardians business is more important.”

“Says you.” Peacock told him. “Look, if there’s garbage business afoot, I gotta find out. Whether it’s the Medicis or just some kinda kitty-cat nyafia. We stuck together so far ‘cause it made sense, but we can work seperate too, right? I can check out this place, and that underwater joint too. Maybe even finger this region’s big bad for ya’s. Now that I know, I’ll be more careful, see? Ya know I can handle myself, and I ain’t exactly alone, either.” She raised her hat to reveal Avery, who cocked his shotgun before Peacock covered him again. “Whaddya say, partner?”

The detective took a deep breath, then put his hand on his little friend’s shoulder. “Well…I hate to admit it, but ya ain’t wrong, and I couldn’t stop ya even if I wanted to. If this is really what ya wanna do, then…good luck, Pea. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself, will ya?”

“Soitenly!” Peacock smiled, her balled fists proudly on her hips. “I ain’t a gumshoe like you, but I’ll have this case cracked wide open before ya knows it, just wait and see!” A cane reached out from nowhere and abruptly snatched her out of existence, which by now was par for the course. “...Toodles!”

Her sudden departure left Band alone on the roof. He narrowed his eyes and looked around. “Just ten pons then, huh.” He spotted a line of them along the top of a big electronic billboard, and stomped off.



Despite the Scout’s claims, Sectonia immediately took a less-than-friendly attitude regarding the black-coated boy who’d come to investigate their arrival. Without so much as consulting the other members of the ‘we’ she employed in her pronouncement, she stated her intent to take Roxas in, as if she, the Scout, and Red constituted some authoritative force. At least she didn’t threaten him outright, but her chosen course sure shifted the tone of things, and any self-respecting dwarf wasn’t going to let himself get dragged into trouble.

“You wot?” he sputtered. “Hold on a tick, that ain’t what we’re s’posed to be doin’! This might not be obvious to a bug ‘oo doesn’t wear clothes, but people who where the same stuff ain’t necessarily affiliated!” Trying to understand her line of reasoning, however, led the Scout to the realization that Roxas’ coat did look rather familiar. “That jacket is rather similar to that blonde lass’s, I give you that, but…”

At that moment, Roxas made his move. He’d been talking to his own friend while the Scout chided Sectonia, and now he’d teleported up to the clock tower to get in the insect queen’s face, where he proceed to try to turn the interrogation around on her. Now the Scout, still on the ground, couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, but he doubted it’d be anything good. And with Red current out of his line of sight, it fell to the dwarf to try and mediate things. “Oh, bugger me,” he groaned, pulling out his grappling hook. “Why’s everythin’ always gotta be complicated. I like it better in the mines.”

A sheer surface with no foothold wouldn’t be feasible for him to climb, so he started looking for windows, or other buildings to use as stepping-stones. Where there was a will, there was a way, especially for an opportunistic Scout, but it would be a minute before he could get up there. And that might be too long.



What started as a sprinkle beneath moody clouds soon became a terrific downpour from the heavenly heights, strong enough to leave any poor soul caught wandering haplessly in the wilderness totally soaked through, but it wasn’t a problem to those who came prepared. For now the rainfall just pattered against the pavilion awning set up earlier by the attendants, then washed down around its edges as curtains of water. It created a rather pleasant and relaxing ambiance, and though a little chilly up here on the bluffs that overlooked the winding canyon river between the enclosed Eryth Sea and the vast Sea of Serendipity, the two men who lounged beneath the awning found the conditions wholly acceptable. They sat in a semicircle upon velvet-lined armchairs, hauled out for just the occasion, silently sipping on freshly-brewed Moroccan Mint Tea as they waited for the empty third seat to be filled.

The taller of the two took a deep sip of the beverage he’d selected, and exhaled deeply. In addition to the classic spearmint, tempered with just a pinch of sugar, the pungence pennyroyal made for an exquisite flavor and aroma, deepened further by the mingling of wormwood, lemon verbena, and -in a twist of irony not lost on him- sage. Its warmth, comfort, and richness perfectly complemented the chill, seclusion, and starkness of this place, high above the white foam of the rapids and far from civilization, yet important nonetheless. A better set of circumstances to relax in he could not ask for, and though they did not blunt the anxiety or anger inside him, they certainly helped.

“Now isn’t this a rare delight,” he said aloud. These words were the first to be spoken since he exchanged greetings with his first guest upon his arrival, and like all his words he spoke them through a slight Indian accent. “Though one would typically smile upon cloudless blue skies, often do I find far greater satisfaction in murky, overcast days, with the low roar of such heavensent deluges as this so soothing in my ear.”

His guest merely grunted, then in his own British accent replied. “Hmph. If you like rain so much, you should pay the island east of the City a visit.”

“That so?” The gentleman stroked his chin. “Known for its rainstorms, is it? Perhaps I should.”

“Oh, aye. I happened to be near when two factions landed there, and stopped to watch them fight. It was a bloody stalemate, until the rains came. Pummeled both armies straight to death, eheheh!” the old man cackled.

Annoyed by the implication that he should off himself, the gentleman returned a strained smile as he adjusted his glasses. “...I see. That sounds a little strong, for my tastes.”

“Good morning, gentlemen,” a new voice came from behind them, accentuated by an odd, almost ghostly echo. They turned to see a third man as he removed his helmet, revealing a well-kept, dusty-brown beard and eyes masked in shadow. Taking a cup of tea in hand he seated himself in the empty chair. “I must render my thanks for your invitation,” he told his bespectacled host, looking down across the canyon. “You’ve selected a picturesque precipice, to be certain. Sequestered between mountains of archaic eminence, above a river that winds along with serpent-like suggestion. So stark a contrast it is with the tenebrous places where I while away my time. Though I have long tired of conventional extravagance, there is still solace to be found in the warmth of fine tea, and capable company. Like a campfire in the dead of night–a brief respite for primitive minds from the hellish abysses of our own making.”

“A fine morning to you as well, esteemed sir,” replied the organizer, his head bowed slightly in respect.

The elder grumbled and nudged the host with his foot in reproach. “And I thought your prose was purple, feh!”

“Now, now,” his target chided him, snickering at the grouch’s annoyance. “A little theatricality suits men in our position, does it not?”

“Suit yourself!” his guest told him curtly, before taking another swig of his tea. “Ugh. What I wouldn’t give for a cup of real English tea.”

For a moment the three sat in silence, staring out at the rain. Then the whiskered gentleman spoke again. “Though this does harken back, in a way not altogether unpleasant, to my vain days of luxuriant decadence, I am a busy man. Many matters of dire importance demand my attention, so despite your present circumstances, S, I do hope my entreaties do not fall upon deaf ears when I say, let us get to the point.”

The tall man he called S tugged at his soul patch in muted discomfort. “Ah, so you are aware, then? I hadn’t dared imagine that any of our cohort might bother keeping up with affairs so far beyond their purview. Then again, forbidden knowledge is and always has been your domain–as well as the reason I called upon you, half a world away.” His guest nodded to accept the praise, and S continued. “In that case, I shall cut short the preamble. Victory, however well-earned, has made our brotherhood interminably lax. I have ample reason to believe that a credible threat has arisen, and that it would be in our best interest to address the issue forthwith.”

“Poppycock,” the elder spat. “Credible threat, my foot. Do you even realize what you’re asking?”

The dark-eyed man, however, stroked his beard as he considered the suggestion. “How many?”

At that, the elder nearly choked on his tea. “What? Don’t tell me you’re taking this seriously, A.”

“Four,” the bespectacled man answered, his expression grave.

“Hmm.” A looked off into the rainy distance, putting his hands into his pockets. “...It has been some time since any upstarts amassed such a figure, I must confess, inconsequential as it may be.” His burning, soulless gaze turned back to S. “Graciously you’ve omitted another of your reasons for summoning me hence, for you doubtless know as well as I that one of said losses occurred within my territory. Some semblance of responsibility do I bear, and in that sense perhaps, we are already united.”

His host nodded, a well-practiced gesture that to him came as easily as breathing. “Truly, your reputation sells you short. If you’re amenable to my plan, then you must already know the request I would make of you. Though some -fools- regard you as a maddened eccentric, you hold sway over the others that I could never dream of. If you were to vouch for me, surely at least a handful would attend a meeting in the Theater.”

“So you can waste our time, again?” the elder derided him, extending a wrinkled, accusatory finger. “You’re always barking up some tree or another, S, and you know it. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted there to be heroes. What makes this time any different?”

S furrowed his brows and crossed his legs. “This group is doing everything right. They’re going about their objective in a clear and focused manner, stockpiling power, resources, and allies as they go. Even split into multiple teams, they overcome every obstacle in their paths, recruiting additional members while sustaining a disturbing lack of casualties. They’re exploiting every flaw we’ve left in the system, and since we all seem content to sit back and enjoy ourselves, they’ve yet to even realize the existence of serious opposition, let alone face it.”

“Maybe if you two did a better job with your forces, these ‘heroes’ wouldn’t’ve toppled a couple Guardians on your watch,” his detractor sniffed, dismissing him with a flick of his hand.

“That is precisely what I’m advocating, O. Besides, you speak as if your own domain isn’t presently a smoking crater,” S told him coldly, trying to keep a level head. “All those monsters in your sandbox to toy around with, and you still couldn’t be bothered to actually stop our friends carving a warpath through the Dead Zone. Like it or not, our circumstances are one and the same. It’s why I called you. And why you came.”

The bearded gentleman turned his baleful stare toward the complainer. “It is undeniable that your damnable reclusivity leaves a great deal to be desired from someone in our position.”

O gained time by coughing. “A-at least my area's Guardian still stands, you imbeciles! And what about the others your heroes took down? Why are those our responsibility? Surely the blame lies with those closer to the action!”

“Their carelessness is what led to this mess. If not us, then who?” Gloved hands tented in front of his mouth, S stared down at the river. “Mayhaps this is another false alarm. But if it isn’t…with how things are, by the time we realize, it will be too late. Ever since the Ender Dragon fell, I’ve had someone on the inside. Alcamoth is no longer a solved problem. From there our friends’ campaign continues. They sail for Twilight Town to unite their disparate forces, whereupon they will make ample use of the Metro to spread all over the World of Light. Nowhere is safe so long as our own associates stand idle.”

The shadowy-faced man stood and strode over to the edge of the awning. He watched the convoy of waterbound dots in the distance, making its way across the Eryth Sea to the canyon river. Then A crossed his arms. “You’ve piqued my curiosity, S,” he intoned. “Before I spread the word, however, I would solicit one further thing from you. A demonstration is in order, I believe, to establish these miscreants as the credible threat you suppose them to be. Mariners and misfortune go hand in hand, as they say.”

“I grasp your meaning, and I agree,” the tall man replied. “The situation is ideal, with our friends grouped up out of their element, and vulnerable. It’s a win-win as well, for if I should triumph, the problem is moot, but if I should flounder, you will have all the proof you need. The only wrinkle is whether or not a sufficient force can be mustered from the Sea of Serendipity on such short notice, but rest assured that I shall pull out all the stops.”

“Sounds like you’d better hop to it, then,” O snapped.

Eyebrow raised, S turned his head the old man’s way, sarcasm in his voice. “Pardon me, but is that encouragement I hear? For a minute there I could have sworn you didn’t believe me?”

“I do not,” the old man huffed. “But if you’re doing this, you had better not hold back just to prove your point. Whatever paltry reputation you have is on the line, understand?”

“Reawaken within them the odious memories of acrid gunsmoke and the concussive report of cannonades,” A implored. “With the weapons of war measure in blood the price of hope in this world. In our world, from which no woebegotten sufferer, tossing and turning in the throes of eternal nightmare, might ever awaken.”

S nodded once more. When he lifted his head, he wore a helmet, the same pinkish-red, white, and gray as the rest of his suit. “I’m on my way.” Then, in a purple flash, he disappeared, and a moment later only the rains drowned out the silence once more.

The goal was simple enough. Rendezvous with the other team at this Twlight Town area. Omori had stuck with Rika and Junior all the way to the vehicle bay. This was nothing he and the others couldn't handle, right? Except, there was one small issue. They had to get there by crossing the sea. In dingy-looking rowboats no less. While everyone else prepared to head out with gusto, Omori seemed to freeze up, his eyes genuinely widened in anxiety. He didn't react to his surroundings for a moment, and thank goodness for that. Bowser accidentally sinking into the water would only make him feel worse. But in his hesitance, he was lagging behind.

Calm down. Breathe. It's not as scary as you think.

They wouldn't let him accidentally fall into the water, would they? They seem like good people. The youth had already agreed to join them in hopes to find his friends. He couldn't ditch them now. So, static as his movements had become, Omori willed himself to push his boat into the water and hop on in a swift motion. As long as he stayed in or by his boat, he'll be okay. As long as someone was around him, he'll be okay.

Everything is going to be okay.

...

Okay, he may underestimated his little sea-faring vessel. The small boat held itself well against stormy waters. Kudos to that blocky guy! Omori still felt anxious about being out in the water like this, but that helped him calm down a little bit. Enough to where he could focus on keeping up with the rest of the team. A couple of peaceful minutes later and already someone else took a dive under water. Those two girls, Sakura and Karin, attempted to drive through a bed of kelp, and the brunette, deceived by the illusion of a solid platform, fell through it instantly. Luckily neither of them got hurt. Even Rubick stepped in to help only one of them out!

Only one?

...Hm.

Between cyclones, water spouts, and cartoonishly giant pufferfish, Omori maneuvered around every hazard with focus, taking deep breaths to keep his rapid heartbeat stablized. The sights might be interesting, but he only cared about getting to Point B in one piece right now.

And then something tried to attack one of them.

Omori could only look on in horror as Nadia barely avoided getting eaten by a dreadfully large monstrosity. Another stroke of luck, it didn't bother trying a second time, instead...flying...away...? Not the weirdest thing in the world but odd enough. With it out of the way, he could hurry over and check up on his feline acquaintance. But, unusually, he couldn't muster up any words. The concerned look he gave her spoke for him instead. Concerned, and something else. Instead of the usual dulled black, his eye color was a dread-filled white.

Omori was afraid.

And yet, he kept going.

After that quick incident, he opted to row nearby Nadia instead, on the look out for any further hazards in the road. Down a river and through the mountains, the water grew shallow to his relief. And the team stumbled upon a cove, a ship graveyard. Pirates must've taken this route! The boy carefully steered around the wreckage sight, and even made quick stops to search for anything useful.

His first find could be a stroke of luck: A duo of weapons, a machete and pistol. More used to wielding his trusty knife, Omori picked up the machete first by the handle. He slashed at the air, getting a feel for the new weapon. Yeah he could work with this. But for some reason it didn't feel right separating it from it's ranged partner. So he decided to bring it too.

The next, the boy admittedly thought it was a treasure map at first. And when he opened it up, he was met with a faint dissapointment. It's just dance instructions! And what the heck was the Monkey? After mulling over whether or not he should take this with him, Omori decided to go ahead and grab the not-map with a huff. Maybe he can give it to someone else.

Third was a cute little cockatiel bobblehead. Omori couldn't help lurk at the piece of wreckage just a bit longer, as he stared innocently at the blocky little fella. With a light slap, the jig in response brought a small grin to his face. He chuckled, fake or not, it was pretty charming. It even managed to lift his spirits back up.

And lastly for caution's sake, he grabbed a couple of life preservers in case anyone went overboard. He didn't know what kind of ship the S.S. Robloxia was, but nothing was stoping him from calling his own boat the S.S. Robloxia the Second. With nothing else catching his eye, he went back on the main path.

The team eventually made it to the mouth of the river, which seemed to have a stronger flow than back at the Cove with a K. Omori decided to follow Nadia and Peach on ground too. He idly looked over to the collection of bears having a salmon lunch as he walked.

...

For some reason, he felt like he should avoid provoking them. Especially that big one. Eugh, that'd be a pain to fight. The monochrome youth managed to catch part of the conversation the two were having with a bear and bird duo nearby. "Like a theme park", huh? Hopefully she didn't mean like a roller coaster. When everyone had gathered again at the first cataract, Omori waited a bit for a couple of others to take the plunge, before rowing down the water himself.

Unsurprisingly the pair that had come to confront Sectonia didn't recognize her sovereignty right away. While one of them was about to make quite a horrible mistake, his pal managed to calm him down, being the more rational of the pair. Although that rational one was the one that looked like they were from that organization, so only time would tell what this meant. Although that time came soon, as he used the same dark portal trick to teleport up to the top of the clock tower and come at, mostly, Sectonia's level.

He then said something interesting that Sectonia wasn't sure even he realized, he gave out a lot of his own information about the organization. While he had a serious look about him, which was greatly diminished thanks to his anime boy aesthetic, his forthrightness was refreshing. So much so that Sectonia laughed a queenly laugh before saying. "I don't know anything about a bald man or a man in white hair, unless you would count the dice man we fought as bald." Sectonia looked Roxas up and down for a bit, shrugged, and continued. "It seems you know more about them than we do. Or perhaps you know their past, but not what they currently do now? Well, either way, I'm sure an exchange of information would be beneficial to both parties."

It was around this time the Scout tried his best to diffuse the situation, probably not familiar with this type of chat. Sure the situation was tense, but Sectonia wasn't too worried after what Roxas had just told her.

Whether she knew it or not, the insect had also revealed some nuggets of information to Roxas. The way she phrased her initial demand. That Roxas come with them to be questioned. That suggested that there was someone higher up that she reported to. And it honestly sounded like Roxas was going to learn more from them. But still, he continued to play along with the conversation, "'Dice man', huh?" he rubbed his chin in thought. That was definitely unlike anyone he previously knew, which meant the Organization had itself a new roster, or at least a partially new one anyway, "Sounds like they managed to trick some new people into doing their dirty work." he said thoughtfully.

But unfortunately, Roxas had no way of knowing for sure if the two he had in mind were actually involved or not. But who else could it be behind the scenes? They were the only people he could think of who would have any desire to continue the Organization's mission. If that was even still the primary mission at all, "Take it from me: Whatever the Organization claims they're doing, I'd bet my coat that it's a lie. It's how they operate. Claim they're working toward one goal in order to convince people to join them, but in reality have their sights set on a different goal entirely."

Roxas took a breath and rubbed his temples in thought. He hadn't thought too much about where Axel and Xion had gone to. He was worried about them, sure, but at same time knew they were capable of handling themselves. But if the Organization had been rebuilt? That changed things. Suddenly Roxas was questioning whether they were involved in his friends' disappearance. All the more reason to hunt them down and get answers from them, "No offense, but it's pretty obvious you're with some larger group." he finally said to the insect, "And it sounds like you've already had encounters with the Organization. So if it's alright, I'd like to join you. I have my own reasons for fighting them, but clearly our goals are aligned."

Sectonia laughed again. This one was quite straightfoward. If he had any kind of combat capabilities, he'd make an excellent minion! "Very well. It wont be long until we head back." Sectonia then continued the convresation, affirming that she'd take Roxas with them back to HQ. "Unfortunately we don't even know what the goal of this 'organization' is, we just know they exist and are helping a much larger enemy. In addition to the dice man, there were reports of a man with a camera that froze time. ring any bells?"

"Camera? No, sorry." said Roxas, shaking his head, "Must be another new guy. Tell me, have you ever encountered any silver-and-white creatures when dealing with the Organization? Or maybe black creatures with dark red emblems on them shaped like hearts?" if this new Organization was managing to operate without using Heartless or Nobodies, then that would definitely be a surprise to Roxas. Still, even if they weren't using them openly, there was still always the possibility they were holding them back for whatever reason, "And one last thing: Have you ever seen one of these?" he held out his hand, and summoned the black Keyblade named Oblivion, "Has anyone you know ever seen or mentioned anything about it?"

Sectonia shook her head at Roxas' first question about the minions of the organization. "I haven't seen them use any of those. No one has, they use more... varied... minions." Sectonia said. Roxas then summoned a keyblade, something Sectonia had seen before, which she said. "Ah, those key swords that that suspicious Master of Masters talked about. They don't look like they could do much in the way of damage I'd say." Sectonia said, giving an offhand comment at how she wondered how those could be 'bladed' weapons when they acted more like clubs. Still, her casual mention of the Master of Masters was something she was looking for a reply for, as Roxas was dressed in the same outfit.

"The who?" asked Roxas, utterly perplexed. He had never heard of anyone called the Master of Masters before. And he was pretty certain that none of his old friends had, either. Maybe this was just some alias being used by Xehanort? But why would he do that? Still, he kept himself composed regardless, "I've never heard of anyone going by that title before. But it does at least confirm that the Organization's plans involve Keyblades. So it doesn't sound like much has actually changed in that regard." The Keyblade vanished from his hand in the same exact way it had appeared, "I should give you a fair warning, though. There's a lot of people out there who would do anything to get their hands on the Keyblade. Plus they tend to attract the creatures I described earlier. If you do let me join you, it could end up attracting more trouble to your group."

While a bit of a shame, Sectonia wasn't all that surprised Roxas hadn't heard of the MoM. "Well, if you do see him at HQ, you'll see why I asked you about him. You two share the same fashion sense." Roxas then went on, explaining that him joining could be a bit of a risk as his weapon attracted enemies to him, to which Sectonia laughed at. "Oh, that isn't a worry. We have fought much, much worse than whatever comes after you. I can guarantee that." With that being said, Sectonia opened her wings a bit more and said. "So, if you are going to be my minion from here on out, what is your name? I am Queen Sectonia."

"I'd very much like to meet this Master of Masters, and I have a feeling he might share the sentiment when he learns that we're both wielders of the Keyblade." whoever this Master was, Roxas had decided to he had to find a way to meet him. It sounded like he knew a lot about what was going on, and could definitely give Roxas some much needed straight answers, "And I don't really know about being a minion, but my name is Roxas."

Seeing as the two came to an agreement, Sectonia offered a ride back down to the ground for Roxas and the Scout so they could regroup with red. Once back down on the ground level, Sectonia said. "Seeing as you live here, care to give us the tour? Beauty salons or magic shops are what I am interested in, although fine dining wouldn't be amiss either."

“Read whose mind?” Jesse asked, catching the tail end of the conversation between the two males. Therion didn’t seem very pleased, and Raz was a psychic, so she filled in the gaps.

“Hmm. Probably not a good idea to read my mind, either.” Jesse mused, rubbing her chin.

I think I’m past it now but I don’t want to risk triggering any old bad habits. You know what I mean, with the tin foil hat that one time. That was a bad year. Plus, I don’t think you would let him in, even if you wanted too, right? You’re always watching out for me. I think it’s enough, just the two of us in here. I know I shut you out sometimes. So, I’m glad you’re still here.

A shimmer in the corner of her eye. Jesse’s best friend. Thankfully, though, not her only friend anymore. They decided to head out to the other station on the Purple Line, since Queen’s Station was obviously way too far underground. Once there, they emerged from the much busier train station to find…
“Yeah, we’re still underground.” Jesse said, squinting at the ceiling. “How’s it go? I just say Moogle?”

At the magic word, the Moogle appeared. “Oh, great. Hey, um-”

“All done!” The Moogle interrupted politely.

“Huh?” Jesse asked, confused.

“Oh, sorry: All done, kupo!” The Moogle repeated with clarity.

“Right, I know, but, all done with what?” Jesse asked seriously.

“Sectonia’s Team found the closest one to Twilight Town, kupo! You can all go back, kupo!” Poof! The Moogle told them where to go, and was gone.

Jesse stuffed her hands in her pockets and glanced at Raz and Therion. “Well, boys. Operation Fuck-All is complete. Let’s go home. Or, I guess, Twilight Town.” Jesse nodded.

“Honestly, Therion, we could spend the rest of our lives exploring this place. I can only assume that anywhere we go, there’ll be something worthwhile to poke. And to be honest, I’m pretty excited to link up with the rest of the Seekers, get a real good look at this operation we’re running. See who the Good Guys are. Maybe learn a little more about what we’re up against, too.” She followed his eyes up to the Resort. “But, y’know, it’s your call. I’m not the boss of you.” Jesse said, before stepping back onto the train and take it back to the main metro.

Then she would go about the business of reuniting with the other Seekers.

"Thank you for the report." The Moogle that Primrose had been talking to gave her a energetic salute before it disappeared in a cute puff of white smoke. After being transported through Midna's twilight portals back to where the Virgin Victory rested in the oasis outside of Gerudo Town, Primrose had decided to check in on her fellow Seekers. The Moogle that she'd called was very thorough in their report, even going as far to mention bits of what the other contingent of Seekers had been getting up to back at Smash City Alcamoth. Most importantly of course was the news that the next phase of the train station mission was a-go. It's about time to make a visit myself.

She glanced at Braum and Shovel Knight who were resting nearby and chatting. Of the six that had escaped the convent only Midna was currently missing, as she'd gone to fulfill her promise to the cursed man. "You both heard all of that, yes?"

"Indeed!" the knight responded. "We should make haste to this Twilight Town."

Primrose nodded. "Midna knows we're going to the train station, but it may be good for one of us to stay behind and let her know which way to go when she gets back just in case."

For that task Braum volunteered, and he would end up catching the Twilight Princess later as she returned with a familiar entourage in tow.

For the others, the respite after the mountain misadventure had taken some time. There had been several near death experiences in quick succession after all. Before calling the Moogle, Primrose had taken a long time laying in the Victory with her eyes closed and just breathing. She may have even fallen asleep. During that time Laharl had recovered. He was less surly that usual, though whether it was in gratitude for the rescue or embarrassment at being caught in that position in the first place Primrose didn't know.

She approached the young half-demon and his angelic companion where they sat at the edge of the water a few arms lengths apart from each other. Flonne was saying something in a soft voice that seemed to be grating on Laharl, though he didn't voice any complaints. They both looked up at Primrose when she got close. Flonne smiled at her and tapped the space beside her, which the dancer took. Her boots had been discarded some time ago, stored somewhere in the airship. She dipped her bare feet into the cool water and leaned forward, studying her reflection. It was weird, looking at the face of a stranger and yet recognizing herself in it. She didn't dislike the changes, all things considered. At the time she hadn't had time to look at her body. She felt stronger, and that fact smoothed over any misgivings she may have had about the transformation. Now she noted her new height, her much larger curves, her hair and skin, the subtle changes in her facial shape...

"Am I still pretty?" Primrose wondered aloud suddenly. The two people next to her were caught off guard by the question. Laharl sputtered, looking like he might have a heart attack while his eyes quickly shifted away from the dancer.

"What the hell are you asking?!" he said, while Flonne recovered much faster and clasped her hands together before she spoke.

"I think so! There's nothing more beautiful than a loving heart after all." Primrose leaned away from her reflection, raising an eyebrow at Flonne. The Angel giggled. "But you're pretty on the outside too."

"Why even ask?" Laharl huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and inching away from the two ladies.

"My trade was dancing, but my figure and face were just as much a part of it as my skill," she explained. It was the honest truth, and something she'd used to her advantage many times. It was also the reason she hadn't already fused with the spirit of a Battle Nun she'd managed to salvage during the escape, not wanting to mar her face with a... zipper.

Primrose stood up then, gesturing for the other two to do so as well. "That's not actually what I came to ask," she chuckled. "We're moving on soon. Are you coming with us?"

Angel and demon looked at each other. After a few seconds Laharl spoke up first. "I'm a leader, not a follower, so I'm not gonna tag along on any mission somebody else tries to give me," he said, his face scrunched up. "I'm gonna get my power back and hanging around a bunch of minions ain't gonna help!

"Still, I... _{appreciate... you all coming... to help us out...}" he grumbled toward the end, coughing after delivering his quiet thanks.

Flonne giggled again. Her hands were now clasped behind her back and she bounced slightly on her heels. "I'm going to stick with Laharl. We've known each other from before this jumbled up world business, and he's still got a lot to learn about the power of love!" The young man in question rolled his eyes.

"I see." Out of all the places in the Sandswept Sky they'd visited, Primrose supposed Kara Kara Bazaar was as good as any to bunker down for a while. "You know where to find us should you need to."

They parted. Flonne waved at the dancer as she left to regroup with the Shovel Knight so that they could head to the train station. "Keep an eye on him," Primrose called to Flonne over her shoulder, a teasing smile on her face.

"I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me!"

---

The Nyakuza Metro was a lot to take in. For one, Primrose had to hunch down slightly when she entered the train car - which was pulled by a huge cat. She wasn't convinced that it wasn't really a cait. The actual area that the train took them to was gigantic to futuristic in a completely different way to the Alcamoth. She didn't let herself be too dazzled by it, she still had to get to the meeting place. Twilight Town, on the Mint Line.

The Moogle had explained the whole deal with the pon collecting, but that wasn't really Primrose's style. Like her fellow Orsterran, Primrose went about obtaining her station pass in a different way. Apparently it was exactly the Shovel Knight's style though, and he bounded off to collect some.

After asking around a little the dancer was pointed in the direction of the Mint Station. Her plan was simple: charm her way in. It would have been easy with her original body. As she looked now it might be a bit more work, but Primrose was confident. Sure she was tall, more muscled, and intimidating if she scowled, but she also had a lot more 'assets' to work with. At the moment her expression was fixed into one she'd practiced hundreds of times before - open, interested, and alluring.

She sashayed up to the ticket booth, making the most out of her larger hips. Due to her attire, the skin of her stomach and thighs were on display as well. The attendant, a skinny metro cat as tall as a human, noted her approach right away with wide eyes. There were a myriad of different kinds of people in the subway, so it wasn't her appearance that surprised him as much as her intent. Primrose picked up on his feelings immediately. Lucky me, she thought to herself. If no one had tried something like this on him before, it would go all the more smoothly for her now.

"Hello~" she purred pleasantly. Primrose leaned forward on the till's counter, an angle that would give her target a decent view at her cleavage through the sheer white fabric of her top. Allure was one of Primrose's main strengths, her original strengths, though she hadn't used it much besides getting some free food with Panther back in Al Mamoon. It was a bit weird given she'd never tried this on a sentient bipedal cat before, but she was a professional - and when he stammered a hello back to her but didn't look away, she knew she had him.

She leaned a little closer in order to whisper to him through the plastic divider. "I really need your help," she said, "I need to get into the station but I lost my pass."

The mention of a Metro Pass seemed to clear the cat's head a little. "I'm really sorry about that, but we can't replace them for free."

"I don't need a replacement sir, just an... escort~?" Primrose batted her eyelashes at the attendant. "Please, help a girl out?"

"Uh..." His gaze was fixated on Primrose's face. After a moment he smiled widely. "Aw, what the hey. It's about time for my break anyway." He put a little sign up on his booth that read "be back in 10 mewnutes" and hoped out, greeted by the groans of a few subway patrons that were hoping to actually buy a pass. He was a head shorter than Primrose, but didn't seem to mind. He held out a paw toward her. "I'll take you into the station, Miss!"

"Thank you~!" She took his arm without hesitation, used to this kind of behavior. She let herself be lead into the Mint Station and toward the train. Usually she'd be leading around anyone she'd charmed until she chose to dismiss them - many times they'd even go into battle on her behalf. She wasn't sure if it would be the same here, with Galeem's influence still having an effect on people. She didn't worry too much about it though. At the moment the metro cat was content to just chat away at the woman on his arm.

In the subway's main areas Primrose hadn't seen any of the other Seekers, but here in in the Mint Station she spotted four waiting for the train's arrival: Tora, Poppi, Vandham, and Bede. It seemed the white haired young man had decided to stick with them. The dancer let go of her escort and began to head over, though she knew the cat was following her because he yelped out a "wait for me!"

Though Primrose had changed, she hoped it wasn't so much that her comrades wouldn't recognize her when she spoke. "Hello again," she said to them. "We got the message to regroup. The others should be here soon."

------------------------------------------

As the group went down the river to get to their destination, Blazermate, having a better view of the area than most, noticed something she thought was cool. Zooming down to the others, she said. "Hey guys, I see a ghost ship! But like, the fun type, not the creepy maw type." Blazermate then pointed at the stranded ship of Cortez, which was stuck on some rocks and unable to move. Seeing as they were all well rested and this didn't look nearly as bad as anything they saw in the ocean of terror, a tiny side adventure couldn't hurt, right?

Gesturing to the others, Blazermate flew to the deck of the ghost ship and was immediately greeted by a spooky ghost voice telling her to leave with a Spaniard accent. Blazermate, having her entire gaggle of friends nearby, ignored this with a bit of wonder in her eyes. This was a kind of adventure she was into, where it didn't seem super serious, but was still awesome. The ship itself was fairly small, consisting of only a couple rooms before reaching what was an insane amount of treasure just sitting there which visibly disappointed Blazermate, hoping for a bigger ship. Although before Blazermate could do anything, a giant skull appeared, dropping the creepy voice and putting on a more pireate-y voice.

"I'm not a bloody creepy ghost, I'm the mighty pirate Cortez! And you will not..." Cortez began, as if he had been waiting for some action for some time. He was quickly cut off by Blazermate though, snapping out of her disappointment and saying. "Oh wow, a REAL ghost ship! A REAL ghost pirate! Thats Awesome! And your a fun ghost too! Not that creepy butcher guy who was making meat pies out of children or that fish guy who looked like what you'd get if you aged a pickle in the summer sun then dropped it in..."

This interruption threw Cortez off his groove for a moment, with him showing a visible face of disgust when Blazermate mentioned the cannibal chef from the Maw. "What kind of monster would eat children like that?" But after saying that he recovered and began to boom. "And you, miss, you've come for my treasure haven't you?" Blazermate, looking at Cortez who seemed like he was about to defend his horde said. "Uh buddy, I'm a robot. I don't have use for any of that! I just came here to say Hi." Blazermate said, half lying. She would like that treasure, seeing it as a way to get a lot of neat items and powerups, but she saw clearly that this guy was territorial when it came to his treasure like a real pirate. Plus it was hard to tell she was lying by looking at her face, having an immaculate poker face due to being a robot.

Cortez paused for a bit and looked over Blazermate with a ghostly eye before saying. "Aye, you are a thing lass, not a person. If you were here to greet the great dread pirate Cortez amigo, then where is your tribute?" Even saying that, Cortez looked a little disappointed. Blazermate then scratched her head before asking. "Uh... Maybe we could get your boat out of the rocks here if you can help us with ocean stuff later down the line?" Blazermate said. This caught Cortez's attention, in more than one way. "'We'?" Cortez asked, and if almost on que, Susie came into the room giving Cortez a bow and a wave. Unlike Blazermate, Susie looked at his treasure for a moment before thinking to herself. Blazermate seeing this, said. "Yeah, we got a lot of people that can help you with stuff if you can help us with moving around the ocean. We kinda did a lot of ocean stuff, but I'm sure there is more out there..."

Cortez looked between the two ladies, the blue lady looking at him in wonder, while the pink one seemed to be eyeing him but with a look all too familiar to him. Susie than said. "Hello, I'm Susie..." Susie began to say, with Blazemate, having forgotten her manners, cut off her talk about being the executive of Haltmann works saying. "Oh yeah, I'm Blazermate, nice to meet you!" Susie, not missing a beat or even paying Blazermate's interruption any mind continued. "I'm sure Haltmann Works could improve your ship in the process. Perhaps aake it fly? For a nominal fee, of course." Cortez thought to himself. Neither girl seemed to be making a grab or even trying to sneak away any of his treasure, and while the pink one was looking at him with greed in her eyes, she was at least curtious enough to offer him something that he never thought of, although he wasn't sure how she would even do that. The blue one though offered him something he really wanted, and for almost nothing! "You do know who I am amigo? I am Cortez, the dread pirate who has terrorized the seven seas! At least until I got stranded here." Blazermate then cut him off saying. "Oh thats not a problem. If you'll help, thats fine. Just be careful around the Shipgirls, they have some big ladies that might be an issue. Or Abyss ladies? They're ship girls but..." Blazermate then started to mumble a bit confused, saying things Cortez had no clue about. But he then laughed, saying. "If you can get me out of this accursed sea and back onto the open oceans, aye I'll agree to that."

Blazermate clapped her hands, saying. "Cool! Just stay away from ship girls, and uh... little girls in general. There is this little girl on the ocean that eats ships." Blazermate then grabbed Susie and left the ship, Blazermate excited, while Susie silently protested after seeing all that money. She'd have to come back and sell this pirate some gear for sure, when she could.

And off the gang went on another adventure, the little pile of boats setting off into the Eryth Sea, headed for Twilight town. Along with them went the boatless troop: the koopa king riding atop his cetacean steed while Jr and Kamek floated above him and Dazzle and Rita moved alongside him (just under and just above the water respectively). It would have been a lovely start to an lovely ocean cruise if it went for the weather.

Rain lashed down which left all the koopas grumbling in one way or another, while Rika got the bright idea of hiking her cape up abv her head to act as a very impromptu raincoat. That was the start of the bad times, the weather only got worse with mini tornadoes wooshing about across the waves, one of which sucked Jr in and sent him dizzily spinning through the sky. Add to that the big water spouts and there were plenty of opportunities to be tossed about.

Rika was deft enough to avoid trouble fortunately, and she even had the nerve to go platforming about on some spouts to collect a few coins while she was at it, which she added to her cash reserves. Bowser meanwhile started to just plow through stuff once he got sick of the whale swaying about beneath him, the water spouts failing to lift the beast anyway, while at least one lily-pad got itself burned/rammed/clawed through when it got in his way.

Generally there wasn’t much that threatened the troop, who with their flight, skating or big whale mount were more or less in their element. The same could not be said of the little rowboat riders who ran into all sorts of trouble. Sakura managed to dunk herself in the drink and that was the least of it.

The most of it was just barely avoided when a Serpond breached the waves right next to Nadia and scared the bejesus out of her. The fact that it didn't swoop around and come in for another pass right away indicated that it had mostly been an accident that it had disturbed the catgirl at all. Unfortunately a certain turtle did not have the brain cells to work this out and so things swiftly got messy when he assumed the worst of the situation.

”HEY YOU, PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE YOU OVERSIZED SARDINE!” came a cry from Bowser, who then went surging forwards atop his white whale and aimed his cannons at the aerial tuna, unleashing a barrage of shells at it. The four shots pummeled into the Serpond, which let out a glub of a groan before the red in its eyes flared with more of Galeem’s light and it arched around to take on its attacker.

”YEAH THAT’S IT COME AND GET ME. I’LL KNOCK THE STUFFING OUT OF YOU REAL GOOD” the king yelled, punching his palm challengingly.

”Sire, I don’t think it was actually-” Kamek tried to point out the misunderstanding, but it was, as Jr pointed out ”too late!” as the mighty minnow came charging through the air right at them.

”I got your back!” Rika called out, being right on Bowser’s wavelength and having only not started this off herself because she’d been a bit further off coin collecting. She made up for that now by cocking all 4 sets of guns and unloading them with a single figurative pull of the trigger, a spray of fire shotgunning the fish as it came swooping in at them.

The damage spong of a creature took this head on however, just as it took on the white whale’s own barrage of shots that it sent out just after its master’s. All this did slow the mighty sea/sky creature, though did leave it bloody. Remarkably it was the smallest among them who made the difference as Jr shouted ”Dazzle! Use Penguin Jet!” which caused the Poppilo to burst out of the sea and into the air, chest feathers glowing with malignant energy while it was carried by a jetstream of water.

The little sea-lion was absolutely dwarfed by the fish, and swallowing him whole would have been a breeze for it, so it was a good thing the mon had raced ahead and was coming up at a nice angle that let it smash into the side of the fish instead, the heavy impact of the blow knocking it off course and causing it to splash down into the water next too Bowser rather than ramming right into him and his whale.

”Nice one Dazzle” Jr cheered, but Kemk had only once concern which was ”But where is it now?”

Indeed, just as it had been undetected till it surprised Nadia, the big fish had become near invisible after diving into the depths of the surprisingly deep sea.

”I got this. Melock Marines, find that fish!” he shouted, summoning a gaggle of the eponymous strikers around his elevated aerial position. The poor things then went splashing down into the waves like it had suddenly started raining fish.

Once they had recovered from their fall they dived down to take on their commander’s foe. Then after a few moments had passed Jr started going ”Ow! Ow ow ow!” and a moment after that a much smaller number of merlock surfaced. Sending smaller fish vs a bigger fish did not go well it seemed.

However, when Rika demanded to know ”Where! Where is it?” from the closest one they did provide some use when it ducked its head under the water and then pointed a finger down in a specific direction, its big bulging seeing what the surfaceworlders could not.

That was all Rita needed. She primed her gauntlets, and then unleashed her torpedoes, getting a use out of them for their intended purpose for the first (what might well turned out to be the only) time.

Perfectly calibrated, the propeller propelled tubes vanished into the dark, and then a flurry of flashes reached the surface as the grenade sized blasts rocked the Serpond that had been just about to splash out of it in order to snap Kamek out of the air. Instead the mage swooped away with the time and warning the blasts gave her, and then prepared some retaliation while she was at it.

When it surfaced again the fish went soaring up, up, up, higher and higher into the sky, only to find itself being hounded by a set of shadow clones of Jr summoned by Kamek, who assailed it with boxing gloves, saws, hammers and drills. The Serpond ignored them all despite the wounds it was receiving till it reached the top of its arch and then flipped around, batting some out of them way with its tail and gobbling up especially unfortunate one up in its twin fanged maw.

Pests dealt with, it started plumating right down at them, the troop scattering while having difficulty shooting straight up at it. It selected the biggest and least nimble target for its dive, angling just a little as it swooped towards Bowser.

Despite knowing that if it even managed to knock him off of his steed he was done for due to his inability to swim, the king stood firm atop its back.

”OH, YOU’RE COMING AT ME HUH? WELL THERE’S ONE THING YOU’VE FORGOTTEN” he shouted before pointing dramatically up at it and concluding the taunt with the observation that: ”THERE’S ALWAYS A BIGGER FISH!”

Just then the titan that was Scylla burst from the waves, the striker taking all of Bowser’s stamina from him and in return to delivering a devastating counter charge to the shocked Serpond. It smashed into the smaller fish and then gappled it with its barbed tendrils before finally taking a massive bite out of its neck with its multiple rows of teeth, ripping apart the spine and sending a gush of blood that quickly turned to ash as the rules of nature took another victim.

Scylla faded and its own spirit returned to the exhausted Bowser while the Serpond’s slowly drifted down, only for Jr to swoop down and snatch it out of the air. Kamek meanwhile floated down to her king’s side, concerned about how he was slumped down on the white whale’s back.

”I’m fine I’m fine, that one just really winded me” he told her, waving her off while joking that ”good thing I’m riding rather than walking yeah?”

”Mmm well yes, but i do worry about you sliding off now” she replied, which was how Bowser ended up having the toadies gripping him anyway, the floating mooks that Rubick had made copies of (a thing Kamek found quite validating in a way) acting as a seatbelt for the tired king.

Fortunately, there weren't any other big threats than the one the troop had created on the way down the river, and soon enough they found themselves in the ship graveyard. Bowser inched his way through the wreck on the back of his whale, and Rika went with him in order to help clear the way, using her hull blades as fire axes when she wasn't just blasting stuff.

Kamek and Jr meanwhile went rooting around the ships a bit, looking for anything that might be of use.

The ship they ended up choosing that had anything of worth in it was a decrepit paddle boat pirate vessel that looked to have been used for target practice multiple times judging by the holes blown in it. Despite this punishment it was still alive, though fortunately the AI mainframe buried somewhere in the autonomous ship’s hold was not programmed to feel the pain of its grievous injuries. Equally fortunately, no one decided to inflict any more damage on it that might have trigger it to try and use its oversized front gun to defend itself.

Instead they ranged around the hold for booty before reuniting with their fellows at the end of the graveyard. Kamek herself returned with several crates full of bananas and meat benign carried by a set of shadow clones, which her king was uncharacteristically grateful for and the contents of which he immediately started scoffing down to restore his stamina.

Jr meanwhile came back with a rusty self reloading 64 Pdr Cannon dangling from the end of his clown car’s (sentient) hook.

Any attempt to dissuade him about the practicality failed, and soon enough the white whale had the old timey ship weapon tied nice and tightly to it using some of the plentifully available rope found around the boaty ruins. The tightness of said knots was then swiftly put to the test as the next leg of their journey (after giving banjo a passing wave) was a set of rapids.

It was probably for the best that the troop went first, because if they had not then there would have been a risk of Bowser’s white knuckle white whale ride plowing through the smaller rowboats at the speed the whale ended up going. The king only avoided becoming a stain on some rocks thanks to Kamek and Rita scouting ahead and making sure the whale was warned of any upcoming dangerous rocks or sharp turns.

Instead of helping with this Jr proceed to instead cheat at what appeared to be some kind of target practice minigame that had been set up, big hanging pots meeting an end at the end of a boxing glove robo arms, but got bored of that about a third of the way through, leaving the rest of the target's up for the boat riders to try their luck at if they had the guts to multitask during their dangerous ride.

Instead he raced with Dazzle down the rest of the way, prince blazing his way down just the waves while the sea-lion had a lovely time splashing down the treacherous waters, periodically showing off by leaping over the top of his trainer’s low flying car while the boy giggle in delight at his minion’s antics.

Then all too soon they were at the end of the ‘ride’ and the next leg of their journey could begin.

Sakura lifted her oars briefly out of the water as she felt Rubick start tugging her boat along. “W-woah. Haha- weee! Thanks, Mister Rubick!” She couldn’t help but grin ear to ear. She cast a glance over her shoulder at Karin as she was separated from her and began to say something, but just laughed again. “You guys are too much. That’s so funny.”

Karin, meanwhile, was hardly a stranger to this kind of treatment from people who thought they were superior, or even an equal, to her. She proved them all wrong, in time. ”Hmph.” She hmphed. ”I’ve no issue protecting the rear flank of our troop.” She ended up near Omori’s boat. When she noticed the mono-colored boy, he caught her attention. She wondered what kind of powers he had. He looked the nervous sort, and she wondered why.

Sakura realized she was pretty darn cold. ”Do you have a heating up spell? Like a dry clothes spell?” Sakura asked Rubick after a while, squeezing some more water out of her scarf. She really wasn't expecting an answer, And her socks were wet, too. If she was totally honest, all of a sudden she felt like crying, because getting dunked in the water this early on really sucked. She felt stupid. But the thought of crying because she fell into the water so early on made her laugh again. Covering her mouth, she just kept her head down and kept moving forward. Man, she was all over the place.

A little while later, Sakura was very startled by the nearby giant sea monster, and she instinctively karate chopped the air several times, almost falling out of her boat again. Karin called out to make sure everything was all right, speeding up.

”Oh, my gosh, Ms. Nadia, are you oka- Oh, my gosh, Mister Bowser no!” She covered her ears and leaned away as the koopa troop got dragged into a confrontation with this giant monster fish. An even more giant sea monster came out of Bowser’s spirit arsenal, eliciting another shriek from Sakura.

”Ah! What the heck!” She just rowed away as fast as she could, very eager to get to shore. Karin rowed by, watching the battle with interest. ”...Yes. I imagine I could kill the creature inside out, should it attempt to eat me. It would be easy. And once it died, it would turn to ash.” She nodded to herself, confident in her sea monster slaying abilities. The Biblical Jonah didn’t have the power to punch through an arm’s length of concrete, did he?

Once that was over and done, they ended up on shore. Sakura stayed way the hell away from the giant skeleton monster pirate and his pile of gold. That was just asking for trouble. She liked her body in one piece, thanks. The thought of literally stealing gold didn’t even occur to Karin, being as unfathomably wealthy as she was. If she was going to steal someone’s money, she would do it with wit, paperwork, charisma, and espionage. The correct way. Karin was 14 when she brought her first business competitor to tears.

Karin once again watched Omori with interest, her focused gaze not entirely comfortable for most people. She watched him loot weapons from the shipwreck. The very prospect wrinkled her nose. ”Hold on. You’re not just…some boy whose just now found a gun, are you?” She asked. A warrior would already have a weapon. And surely someone with magic wouldn’t pick up some sand-covered gun.

"Hm?" At the question directed towards him, Omori turned to look towards the source. Oh, she was with that brunette that fell through the mossbed. Karin mentioned the pistol he found the machete with. The boy held up the gun in one hand and motioned his head towards it. "This? Honestly, I wasn't planning on taking it at first. Never handled a gun before, but it didn't feel right separating it from this." He explained picking up the machete in his other hand and showing it to her.

She leaned forward, looking down at the blade with an unimpressed look. ”What skills do you have, if you don’t mind my asking? For fairness’ sake, I shall go first. I am a Grandmaster martial artist and pioneer of Kanzuki-ryu Kakutojutsu.” She said, fingers delicately splayed across the front of her red jacket.

The boy hummed in thought. "Sounds interesting." Omori noted. He pocketed the pistol in favor of his knife. "I'm no martial artist, but I'd say I'm pretty good with smaller blades. That's why I grabbed the machete." He twirled the knife in his hand with experienced dexterity.

Karin squinted. "No martial artist?" She questioned. "You understand we're going into battle. You need to be lethal with that little knife of yours. It does not matter how proficiently you can carve you and your crush's initials into the side of a tree."

For a moment, Karin was met with no reaction. His gaze was almost off-putting. He had even stopped spinning his smaller weapon and lowered his hand.

But then, Omori narrowed his eyes. "You underestimate me." He spoke bluntly. But like a switch, his expression let up. "If you're concerned I'll lag behind, perhaps you can teach me some pointers, given the chance?" He tilted his head.

”Ohoho.” Eyebrow raised, Karin said her laughter instead of laughing. ”What I do cannot be taught. If you're looking for pointers and concern, seek the drenched idiot with the unkempt brown hair.” Swishing one of her golden coils back over her shoulder, Karin turned and strode away. Either he was more capable than he looked, or she could relish in his later failure, knowing that she told him so. Victory is assured, as always, for Karin Kanzuki.

Omori simply watched her walk off, all smug and such. "...Hmph, interesting lady." The monocrhome boy said to no one, putting his stuff back in his inventory, then walking back to the main path himself.

What was her deal, anyways? Not like he couldn't learn how to fire a gun eventually.

Meanwhile, Sakura was looking at some bears. Apparently, Nadia knew one of them. Sakura was just very pleased by the cuteness of some of the bears, and in awe of the power of others. In other good news, her outfit was very slowly drying off. Very slowly.

Later on Karin and Sakura took their boats to the river's mouth, the path forward being a rocky river ride. ”Careful, Karin. That Miss talking bird said the river is like a theme park ride.”

"Of course.” Karin said, rolling her eyes. "Do you often take advice from Muppets?” She asked.

”About as often as you lose boat races.” Sakura said casually. ”When you crash on the way down because you didn’t take my advice, don’t complain to me about your hair being undone.”

"And when you crash, feel free to pretend that you didn’t because you are already soaked in water. ” Karin said, already rowing much faster.
Sakura grinned and sped up. ”I like our banter, Miss Karin. But just because it needs to be said sometimes, you really are one of my best friends. ”

"Ugh. Silence. We are racing.” Karin said, the downward momentum of the water beginning to speed up the boat. Up ahead, the Koopa Troop were taking point.

”My heart is full of respect and platonic love for you!” Sakura called out as the sound of the rushing river muffled her voice. To herself, Sakura snickered, setting her teeth on her tongue. It felt good to say it out loud, though. In the past, Sakura had tried to steer their friendship away from the ‘pretending we don’t like each other’ stage. But Karin was a tough rock to budge on that front. But still, it wasn’t too bad considering once she had shouted ‘compassion is weakness’ and then kicked one of her employees in the face. And that employee was a crucial corner of a human pyramid.

Karin’s shoulders were hunched and she was focused on winning the race, moving between rocks. Naturally, canoeing was something she had lots of practice with as well. Though she found when she thought to pull a particularly skillful maneuver, she realized she couldn’t do it. Like the skill was locked. Hmm. She did the safer route instead, still fast, but not as fast as she would have hoped. Karin would have to ponder on these limitations placed upon her by the world. She had no doubt that with enough focus, she could break through all of them. Or at least, the ones relevant to their pursuits.

Sakura meanwhile, had very little if any canoeing experience. Eyes and mouth wide, she narrated her entire trip down the river with excited, nervous noises. “Ooaaahhh woah woah oaaahhh! Eek! Ahaha- woaaah!”

Karin vanished over the curve of the river and Sakura sped up to catch her. She shrieked as she sailed over the edge of a waterfall, only for Steve’s magic boat to stay fully intact and upright. Once at the bottom, Karin was waiting and laughing loudly.

"Ohohoho! How delightful! Miss Sakura, you really will challenge anyone to anything, won’t you? Regardless of if you win or lose, or if you have any experience at all.” Karin said, smiling.

”Thanks, Karin. That almost sounded like a compliment.” Sakura said, standing up in her boat to stretch her legs.

"Of course. Karin Kanzuki does not associate with mediocre commoners. It is fortunate you picked street fighting to be your hobby, otherwise you never could have been anywhere close to my rival in any other skill.”

Sakura furrowed her brow, really trying to parse that one out. ”Thaaanks?” She tilted her head to the side.

As Karin nodded graciously and began to take a look around, Sakura asked, ”Um. Where are we, anyway? Are we there yet? I hope there’s another waterfall, I think I’d have more fun this time.”

"I'm alright! Just about burried in snow, that's all..." Frisk spoke up after Linkle, immediately pushing herself off the snow and dusting herself off. "The other two seem relatively intact as well, as far as being stuck with no body goes for one." She noted, looking between the undead Spheal and the head of the Prisoner she quickly scooped up in the then empty pouch. It'd take a bit to find him a new body, and she didn't want her friend to lag behind or be forced into acting as a diversion. The woman glanced around the place they landed in.

It was...different from the initial path she took. Much more peaceful. And by the water, what kind of crystals were those? They were lovely.

Frisk's attention was taken from the surroundings when Albedo addressed her. When she got the hint that he was talking about Melony, she frowned, followed by a dry chuckle. "Here I was thinking I wasn't strong enough to keep her safe. That I let myself get cornered so easily. But I think..." Frisk layed a hand over her chest, and she bore a cold disgust for the faker that fooled them all. "That thing. It let her die. Fionn, Gordon, Joserf, I wouldn't be surprised if it killed them too..." The woman frowned. What was the point in vowing to find Melony's pokemon, if they might not even still be alive?

She was still weaker than both Linkle and Albedo in fact. Damn it all. Was there any way she could keep up with them besides being stuck with one form of magic and a weaponized frying pan?

...Well, there was one option-

No, don't be ridiculous. There's no way Frisk could resort to THAT, right? Then again, with all the monsters she fought, she hadn't felt her LOVE increase any. Maybe it was different here, like the save points? Or was she thinking about it all wrong?

She'll have to think about it some other time. With nothing else of importance on the mountain, the only thing the team had to do was meet back up with Joel and Teba. Frisk's heart ached for the poor kid. ...Wait a minute. "I guess you cleared things up with Teba? He's not still mad about, you know, is he? And did you manage to free them too??" She asked the two, concerned about how the avian archer was going to react to Frisk's new appearance.

In fact, her eyes widened once she remembered something she did before leaving the camp. "Oh, right! I made a checkpoint before leaving there but..." Her mouth crooked into a frown. "I can use the shortcut to head back quickly, but I don't want to leave you two behind. If you think it's alright though, I'll see you back at the campsite." She suggested, awaiting their consensus.

A little bit after they had appeared in a shower of pixels in the Virgin Victory’s teleport room Midna and her recovered team of bros headed for the train station, with Midna carefully and unnecessarily avoiding getting too close to the Gerudo guards to avoid the whole Urbosa spirit situation.

After that little bit of unneeded tension was out of the way, the princess rode down into the underground, her arrival causing quite a bit of a stir among the feline passengers class who cleared a wide berth around the bottom of the stairs. This meant she and her posse had little issue getting to the map of the underground. Unfortunately, they had one slight problem, which was that they had no idea where they were going.

”Wait. Shoot. I don’t have any idea which one of these is the one we need to take” she was forced to admit as such to the others. Fortunately, their obvious arrival had made them quite hard to miss for the person who had been waiting for them.

“Never fear, Bruam is here!” the self identifying muscular man called over “and he knows where to go”

”Oh, phew, good to see you” Midna said as he approached, quite relieved before going ”Eek!” when she was suddenly picked up into a bear hug by the big guy who said “and it is good to see you again safe and sound my friend. You had Braum a little worried you know ha ha!” while patting her jovial on the back and then plopping her back down on her steed.

”Ah, mmm, well, you didn’t need to be” Minda replied, pointed ears a touch flushed from the intimacy before she cleared her throat and insisted that ”I handled everything just fine”

“Yes yes, and I see you found some of our other friends while you are it” Braum said, giving a wave to the lads who were mostly trying to not have a laugh at the princess’ expense, before asking “and our trapped friend…?” to which Midna shook her head sorrowfully, a hand briefly grasping the frozen olive strung around her neck.

”I’ll tell you about it on the train” she said, before asking the important question ”So where are we headed off too? I assume you stuck around to catch me up while the others headed off to wherever was closest to home base already?”

“That’s right. Primrose has already gone off to this place called Twilight Town which is just a hop round the coast from home.” Bruam informed her, before clarifying that “The other two decided to go their own way” before she even had to ask.

”Oh…” Midna replied, briefly feeling annoyed about them doing that after all the effort they’d put in, before mentaly scolding herself for that selfishness and picking up on the interesting name of the palace ”Wait, did you say twilight town?”

“That’s right! Oh, is that the twilight you are a princess off?” Braum asked

”I… No it cant be… but maybe?” her people should not be able to live in the world of light, but maybe Galeem had let them and plopped a town from her home into its realm regardless. She wasn’t sure if she should be excited that she might be about to see a bit of home or fearful that a town was all that was left of it. Regardless ”Well, only one way to find out. So, do we need to pay to get on or..?”

“We do. We need these pon things that were lying about the station, though it looks like people have cleared them all out for the most part, at least the easy to reach ones. Braum didn't have much luck looking where he could still look for you” Braum explained, which caused Minda to take a proper look around the station, spotting at least one high high up in the rafters eventually, but mostly noticing how the cats had given her wide berth and where glaring at her.

”Huh, what is their problem?” she asked, glaring back at one only to find it not matching her eyes but instead… She looked down at her mount who was entirely unaware of the mean looks coming its way, and was instead just happy to be here as always.

”Oh. Cat’s and dogs huh” Midna said, finding this kind of funny at first, at least until she noticed a rather more towering and more authoritative feline striding through the rest at which point she decided maybe she should just put the wolfos away so as to not cause any trouble. Sure, she could take them if things came down to it, but it would make using the train a bit trickier to become a foe of the local enforcers.

So instead of getting into some kind of argument or tussle over their little problem she banished her steed, dropped the floor, made a little show of the fact it was gone, before replacing it with her Vibrava instead as her escort. The big guard/thug cat scowled at her, before making an ‘im watching you’ gesture with two of its fingers and halting its advance.

”Right. Now that that’s all cleared up let’s get this place cleaned up” she said, having her vibrava latch into position on her back before buzzing up into the air and proceeding to make a mockery of all the platforming and obstacle avoidance challenges via flight and shadow hopping.

The amount of scrounging she had to do to find every last pon they needed did make her a little concerned about just how useful this would be, because what would happen if they spent all the currency the stations had? Still, that was a problem for another time, for now, she got what the five of them needed and then together they set off to catch up with the others.

Hopefully there wouldn't be any kind of big climactic event going on in twilight town that they’d arrive late too.

As the Seekers set off, Geralt found rowing the boats to be a rather simple affair. Despite the unnatural agility they possessed, the learning curve to their use was practically non-existent. They seemed to glide over the water, with little regard for minor irregularities in the surface of the water, though they did still move with currents, Geralt noticed.

It was an eventful ride, for sure. When Sakura attempted to walk on the kelp which had entangled her boat, he sighed and shook his head, though he trusted the flying mage, who he'd noticed had taken a keen interest in the pair of Street Fighters, and the two themselves to make sure Sakura was okay. Unbeknownst to him, Karin was doing just that with a predatory creature that didn't dare approach when stared down by the haughty heiress. As he rode on, Rubick did his thing, pulling Sakura, who was now drenched, along and gave her a speed boost as they rejoined the larger group.

Geralt had found himself nearly pulled in by a cyclone as they moved through the kelp forest, but a careful application of Aard in the windstorm's direction shot him away from it, Geralt taking a moment to lazily drift along and observe their surroundings. The strange plant islands were quite the sight to behold, and he figured they were even more magnificent below the water, but now was hardly the time for sight-seeing.

They were continuing along, having managed to (mostly) avoid trouble with the cyclones and water geysers, when disaster nearly struck. A leviathan breached the surface damn near directly under Nadia, then began to float as if it were held aloft by magic, slowly ascending while the Koopa Troop began to open fire on the creature. Geralt, likewise, had summoned the Breaching Bastion underneath himself, being pushed above the water in his noticeably-smaller weapon platform (it appeared that his smaller stature also affected the aquatic weapons platform, which was a shame really). As the troop opened fire, Geralt got in a few shots with the auxiliary cannons, not wanting to risk a close-call friendly fire accident with the main gun. The sea beast was ultimately dispatched in short order thanks to the combined efforts of the troop and Junior's Pokemon companion.

As it dissolved into ash, Geralt dismissed the Bastion, his boat falling back into the water with a light splash, both unharmed. What a neat trick.

They continued on, not quite undaunted, but not shaken nearly enough to halt their journey, either. He gave the catgirl a single nod and a commiserating look, having had his fair share of close calls.

It wasn't long before they came upon another sight, though this was was much less alive than the others: a ship graveyard. "Mmm. Never a good thing when one of these are around." Experience told him that silver would likely be necessary, though whether this place would be even a fraction as infested as a ship graveyard back home would be, he doubted.

Docking near Nadia, Geralt stepped out of his boat to explore, and took with him a length of rope from a nearby boat, along with more than his fair share of food. He wasted no time in eating a banana, savoring the fleshy fruit, before frowning at the peel. He couldn't very well keep the thing on him, and it felt...almost wrong to simply discard it. Though, given that he was in an actual river and not the streets of Novigrad where the peel would rot in the street, he figured he'd find a spot alongside the river and get rid of it there.

As Blazermate and Susie were talking to Cortez, Geralt stumbled upon the group, his hand moving to his back before he even realized it. He stopped when he noticed the skeleton pirate was talking to them, and then he heard the pair offer their assistance, with Susie making him proud in refusing to work for free. Blazermate's trade was, of course, fair enough, assuming the pirate was actually capable of assisting them, but something about demanding cold hard cash for one's work was what got Geralt to give the robot girl a nod. "Can't guarantee I'll be much help, but we might be able to talk the Troop into it, assuming they haven't gone ahead already."

As the three left Cortez's ship, he looked at Blazermate and cocked an eyebrow. "So, any plan on how to get this guy out of here? Honestly, not even sure we should, him being a pirate and all." Geralt spoke low, so as not to attract Cortez's attention. "Though he's like as not to get himself killed if he tries anything with the folk from Limsa, against your advice."

Still, unless they planned to use the Breaching Bastion to lift the ship, and potentially risk destroying it entirely, Geralt knew he wouldn't be much help here. He found a spot away from the others and grabbed a broken but dry-looking piece of wood and lit it with a very weak flame from Igni, holding the lit plank like a candle and helping to dry some of the water on his armor. It didn't do much, especially with the wind still blowing, but it helped a bit to warm his old, cold bones.

Noticing some of the others moving on, he waved to Blazermate and Susie to indicate he was doing the same. They could come back and fish this guy out when the team was reunited.

Embarking on his boat once more, Geralt's brow furrowed as they approached the rapids, parking off to the side like Nadia. Magic boats or not, that did not look like fun. The salmon migration did make for a nice sight, however, and the pair of old friends they found made it even better. Geralt gave the pair a nod, listening in as they described what they were up to. He didn't blame Banjo for wanting to go home. Though he was glad to help the Seekers, his goal was, ultimately, the same: go home and be with his family. He had no doubts that he'd carry on with the Path, but he hardly wanted to leave them to do it.

He'd find a way. He usually managed to, after all.

Thoughts of the future aside, Geralt left the bears (and one bird) to their devices, getting back into his boat and going own the river, though not without casting Quen on himself to avoid any nasty bruises from high-velocity fish assault. He'd fallen a bit behind the others, but at the end of the rapids it seemed many of them had slowed down to wait for the rest of the group, for which he was thankful.

Bede had regaled the group with tales of Pokémon, and his exploits as a Pokémon Trainer. Before he knew it, they were back at the Metro. After Torra, Poppi, and Vandham said good bye to their friend, they were now stuck at the metro waiting for the other people in the group. It also meant they had to find pons, but with two Psychic Pokémon to his name, that should be easy enough.

The first person to greet them was that woman who had invited him to join them. Bede greeted her immediately. L“Yes, hello. I remember you. It looks like I will be staying with your little Ragtag group. You all can use a skilled Pokémon Trainer like me. As Torra, Poppi, and Vandham can attest to.” He gestured to them with his thumb.

The brief siesta at the river’s headwater, watching all the assorted bears help themselves to a fishy feast, gave the Seekers a chance to group up again after their hijinx on the Eryth Sea spread them thin. Nadia hadn’t been alone in her opportunistic perusal of convenient shipwrecks in the Kove, as she found when most of her comrades pulled up to the riverbank with at least few articles in loot stashed in their rowboats. Given more time the feral would have been only too happy to give the ship graveyard a more thorough search, especially after she piddled away the last of her money on that morning’s pancake feast, but even putting aside the time it would take, this mission was about helping the stranded members of Yellow Team–not helping herself. Besides, how would she even carry all her ill-gotten gains? By using rope to tie together barrels of treasure behind her rowboat like a miniature sea train?

…

It took some effort, but Nadia managed to shelve the tempting idea for now, reasoning that such a craft couldn’t possibly survive these rapids. Now that she got a good look at it, it might be tough just to get her rowboat through there by itself, what with all the potentially hazardous wildlife. Still, she hadn’t been joking around when she told Kazooie that this log flume got her excited. When she looked around, she saw that most of her team had caught up, and now crowded around the precipice of the first cataract like sea lions on a wharf. A few lagged behind, but nothing she needed to worry about. “Well, if you’d ask me what our chances are, I’d say they’re a little fishy…but bearable. Eh? Eh?” Nadia grinned at the others, her smile bright even in the murky rainstorm. “Nyeheheh. This is gonna be a boatload of fun!”

With the Koopa Troop at the head of the pack and Sakura and Karin caught up in the flow, it was off to the races. Nadia splashed through the pebbly shallows with her boat in tow, launched it into the current, and pounced in head-first. A moment later she flew off the edge, dropped a good twenty feet to the waterfall’s bottom, and bobbed to the surface in a spray of water with her heart full of exhilaration. “Woohoooo!” she yowled, shaking herself off. With a huge grin she closed her hands in a vice grip around her oars and got swept away on a wild rapid ride.

Of course, she got about three seconds in before the first problem slapped her in the face, literally. Agitated by the arrival of the boats, the migrating salmon went into a frenzy, and threw all caution to the wind in a mad dash upstream. The big hook-nosed fish, its scales a vivid crimson, smacked her face sideways before landing in the beat. “Hey!” Nadia cried, trying to grab the thing as it thrashed and nearly sending her new hurdy-gurdy into the drink in the process. “No stowaways, chum!” By the time she tossed it out, another one flew her way, but this time the feral and her lightning reflexes were ready. Though her nature urged her to filet the fish with her claws here and now, she just batted it away with her hand, her claws unsharpened. No use killing them if she couldn’t make use of their meat, after all. More salmon leaped her way, but no matter the angle Nadia struck them aside. “Hey, not a bad warmup!” she laughed, her mission momentarily sidelined in favor of fooling around with different attacks. One after another she dished out chops, palm strikes, ridgehands, backhands, headshots, and plenty of old-fashioned punches, leaving the dazed fish strewn about in her wake. Finally, a massive specimen hurled itself at her, big as a Labrador Retriever, but Nadia stepped up to the plate with her tail held like a baseball bat. With a mighty WHACK she sent it flying into the air. “And it’s a home run!” After nearly tumbling overboard Nadia sat back down, chuckling to herself. “Or should I say salmon run?”

Her amusement turned to dread, however, when the salmon hurled up and slapped down onto the shelf of rock where the Runebear was napping. Disturbed by the meaty impact and the fish’s flailing, the enormous beast rose to its haunches, blinking down at the interlopers raiding its patch of river. As a number of the smaller bears around the riverbanks and cataphracts turned to run, Nadia shrunk down, her ears flattened and her teeth clenched as she let out a nervous laugh. “Ah…aha…hah. Nice…bear?”

In reply the Runebear roared, and a shockwave of pressurized air ripped through the rain to blast apart the water’s surface like a rogue cannonball. “Holy mackerel!” Nadia yelped, seizing her oars. Up ahead, Peach looked back to see why she’d shouted, only for the princess’s eyes to go wide when she saw the Runebear on its feet. “This is bad, beary bad in fact!” Though maybe still not taking this quite as seriously as she should, she immediately bent to the task of getting the hell out of dodge. The giant beast threw itself from its ledge and hit the water in such a tremendous splash that the resulting wave picked Nadia up and sent her boat shooting downstream. “Didja see that!?” the feral hollered as she zoomed up toward Peach. “It bear-ly missed me!”

“Enough with the damn bear puns!” Peach exploded, letting out a little Mr. Grimm as she went into high gear herself.

What followed was a frenetic downstream chase, involving anyone else unfortunate enough to be in the middle of the pack. Though slow, the Runebear seemed to be nigh-unstoppable, bearreling through any obstacles in its path. At times its incredible bulk just about blocked the river’s flow, creating a swell behind it that slowly grew into a tidal wave as the monster washed downstream. As it turned out, the river itself was nothing to sneeze at, either. The distance it covered compared to the Eryth Sea itself in terms of length, but its path through the mountains was anything but predictable. At times it got very deep, taking the form of a half-flooded crevasse in the stone, but sometimes it got shallow enough that the water washed up around the bends like a giant water slide, where the average person could wade through at knee-height. Here and there the river evened out and widened into a small lake, flat enough that a boater might need to pick up his or her oars again, but as Nadia found out with very little warning the river could also fall away at a forty-five degree angle that left her holding onto her boat for dear life.

All sorts of obstacles presented themselves, too. There were stones in the water, from normal rocks to natural columns to ancient ruins beneath the surface. Tree trunks flowed down stream and in some cases stuck in the rocks to create blockages, and more than one beaver dam showed up at the end of a small reservoir. In the more verdant areas, plants often dangled over or into the water. Not everything in the way seemed natural, though. Sometimes the Seekers encountered ramps, or speed-boosting rings. Once Junior got tired of destroying them, the others also got a chance to take out the minigame targets suspended over the water, with each providing a couple rupees for their troubles.

Just after the second forty-five plunge, the river opened up into a foamy pool where green jungle covered the surrounding crags. There the river split, with one branching path each to either side of the ruined tower right in the middle. Thinking quickly, Nadia went with the flow as it favored the right-hand distributary, but as she passed the central structure she shot out a hand to grab hold, allowing her to swerve behind it to the left-hand path. Unable to fight the current, the Runebear got swept along to the right, and Nadia was home free.

The branches of the river flowed in, out, and around one another, headed in roughly the same direction but different in appearance. They tended to be either rocky, with a smattering of highland timber, or jungly, interspersed by occasional caves. On the rockier path lay the only river town, with solemn huts perched on hardy stilts above the water’s flow, connected by rickety wooden bridges. A few raised platforms featured the ability to deploy rafts, but none of the empty ones would accept one of Steve’s rowboats. The town even included a restaurant over the water, where chefs scrambled to serve their customers from atop platforms suspended by ropes. Elsewhere the overgrown remains of aged shrines sat silently in waterfall gorges, their mystique impenetrable as the Seekers were swept by. On the more verdant branches, there were more peaceful stretches just as often as frothing rapids and enormous cataracts. There were many bridges just waiting to clock the unwary rower in the head, from ladders that a traveler could barely balance across to more solid affairs of metal or stone meant for animal or even vehicle traffic. Speaking of animals, the river had its fair share, from fish and birds to swimming dinosaurs and little monsters camped out in crevices. Nadia’s heart never got the chance to stop pumping the whole time; even if she happened to slow down for a moment in some mountain pool or basin, it would only be a few seconds before the flow picked right back up again.

Often Nadia caught sight of the others on their way downriver, but between the currents, branches, and hangups, the Seekers were mostly on their own. Considering everything she’d narrowly scraped around and bounced off so far, Nadia couldn’t believe her boat held up as long as it did, but it was only a matter of time until her luck ran out. With the bear out of sight and out of mind, the feral got the chance to enjoy herself. Whenever the opportunity arose she jumped out of her boat to hop along pillars of rock, run over lily pads, swing from vines, scurry along the riverbank if there was one, or otherwise just wall-run along the the sides of cliffs as her boat floated beneath her using her hardened, stone-scarring claws. Putting her agility to the test against these makeshift courses, and finishing them off with a giant leap back into her waiting boat, was an absolute blast, and with each excursion she pulled off more daring maneuvers than the last. At one point, however, she got a little too cocky and for her final trick swung a few loops around a vine that hung across the river, launching toward her boat in a quintuple-backflip. Rather than land in her watercraft the feral smacked her head against the side, knocked it off-kilter, and plunged into the water. “Owww!” She surfaced a moment later with a grimace, holding her head, and no sooner did she open her eyes than she saw her boat drift directly into a big rock and smash to pieces. “Oh…great.”

Nadia floated the rest of the way in a huff. A strong swimmer, she pushed through the slower parts without any real issue, and when rapids appeared in her way her quick thinking got her through. Well, sometimes; the feral’s resistance to pain came in handy elsewhere. Eventually the elevation leveled out, and all the branches of the river reunited into one big tributary. As the Seekers drifted back together, most of them still miraculously with their boats, Nadia bobbed along with them in the water, bruised, tired, and soaked to the bone. “Don’t want to talk about it,” she muttered sullenly, her droopy ears flicking at the rain. Not long after, the final waterfall deposited the group in a quiet basin at sea level.



Hemmed in on three sides by red-rock cliffs and featuring a handful of giant green mangrove trees, Lake Floria seemed to be a place of relative peace where everyone could recover from the harrowing, multi-faceted trip downriver. With corals down below and a unique ribbed texture on the rock walls, it announced to one and all that they’d finally reached their destination. Nadia clambered up onto a rock, shivering, and got the hair out of her face so the rain could wash the saltwater sting from her eyes. There lay some overhangs nearby that she could have used, but at this point, she didn't even care about being wet anymore. “Y’know, it wasn't that bad, all things considered!” she announced after a moment, keeping a chin up despite the ride’s disappointing end. The whole river ride had taken about half an hour by itself, maybe even longer, and she was worn out. As she looked to the right, she could see through a short curved channel to the open ocean at last. Just a little further, and it would be a straight shot to Twilight Town! Hopefully she could hitch a ride without looking like an idiot in the process.



Bloop!

The pale-green barrier deactivated after Tora swiped his pass, allowing him to waddle through. Once Poppi and Bede followed, all four had made it through the checkpoint, and with Vandham in the lead the four began to make their way through the Mint Line station. Just as with the other stations, this one featured its own thematic decor. Rather than the aquariums, water fountains, potted corals, and teal Prismarine bricks of the Blue Line, or the animal-headed statues, pottery, monuments, and sandstone of the Yellow Line, this one featured a rustic, adventurous flair.

It featured a mixture of conventional brick and different kinds of wood, harvested from dozens of different trees with their own colors and textures to make a mosaic of the land’s bounty. Bulletin boards dotted its walls, well-anchored to withstand the rumble of the passing trains, and on them Tora spotted a huge variety of samples, be they leaves, flowers, crops, insects, hides, or monster loot, all carefully preserved. There also seemed to be plenty of pictures, though the only ones that Tora recognized depicted Lumbridge, the First Town. Beyond that, none of the ruins, hamlets, hovels, or natural wonders rung a bell for him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that just about everything here hailed from the Land of Adventure, collected from previous cycles and brought here for safekeeping before the region’s weekly regeneration wiped them all away. For the second time that hour Tora felt as though he were walking through a museum, but unlike Glorious Karnaca, he couldn’t just leave when he got bored. He seated himself on a pale beige Jacaranda-wood bench to wait for the next train.

“Hopefully friends not need coming through here too often,” Tora mentioned after a solid two seconds of sitting still. “Finding pons to get train pass every time seem like big-big chore.”

Leaning back in his own seat, Vandham scratched the side of his head. “Yeah, mate. Lucky fer us, the place wasn’t designed with someone like Poppi around.” He gave a grateful nod to Tora’s companion. “Made right quick work of it, flyin’ around like that, eh?”

Poppi QT-π proudly tossed her long, lavender hair and crossed her arms. “Of course. In this form, Poppi thrusters calibrated for maximum speed and pinpoint precision. Pons stand no chance, wherever they might hide.”

“Too bad other friends not have Poppi!” Tora gloated, looking terribly smug.

Vandham nodded. “There’s the rub, aye. If the Alcamoth mercenaries mean to use this place, it’ll take a bloody fortune to get passes for ‘em all.”

“Maybe there someone we can speak to in hopes of coming to arrangement,” Poppi suggested.

Just then the small group heard a greeting from right, in the direction they’d come from the Metro proper, and when they looked over poor Tora’s eyes went as wide as saucers. On her way over was an absolutely stunning woman, whose abundant physique drew attention like a gravitational field, and whose constant, hypnotic motion -an effortless and rhythmic dance of swinging hair, streaming silks, jingling jewelry, and swaying curves- made it nigh-impossible to look away. She stood six inches taller than Poppi and only three shorter than the brawny Vandham, with impressive muscles of her own and an enormous ponytail that went from reddish-brown to blonde. She seemed familiar somehow, but at the same time totally different. Only after a few seconds did Poppi’s processor, currently not short-circuiting like a certain someone’s, make the connection.

“...Primrose?”

The name, along with a hard nudge in the ribs from Poppi, seemed to kickstart Tora’s brain back into working order. He blinked a few times, shaking his head, and looked back at the statuesque dancer with a slightly more objective eye. “It is!” he exclaimed after a moment. “Rose-Rose, what happen? I mean, Tora sort of know what happen, but…meh-eh-eh!” After getting another bonk from Poppi, he continued, wincing a little. “Meeh…Tora mean, Rose-Rose get into fight? You okay? What about friends Midna and Braum?”

“Shovel Knight too,” Vandham added, his focus squarely on what mattered. “If ya don’t mind, tell what ‘appened.”

After a few moments, Poppi’s optics picked up some more non-cat motion to the team’s right, and she looked over to see a handful of more familiar faces on their way over. “Oh!” she said suddenly, uncrossing her legs as she sat up straight. “Looks like Phantom Thieves are back.”

Sure enough, Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, and Necronomicon all arrived in one bunch, having coordinated their arrivals with their comms. Unlike Primrose, Panther had yet to fuse with the Scythana spirit she received the night before, no doubt thanks to the impracticality of standing over seven feet while none of her friends even got close to six. None looked hurt, but Poppi knew that the thieves’ healers could have already worked their magic. After hearing about what happened to Midna’s team, Poppi wasn’t about to assume everyone’s trips went as well as her own.

“Hi-hi!” Tora greeted them, glad for a little extra help in his fight against gravity. “How friends’ trip go?”

“I believe it went well, all things considered,” Fox ventured. “We visited a quaint medieval kingdom by the name of Brightvale, which seemed altogether quite pleasant. It was a verdant and picturesque countryside, with rather friendly and peaceable locals. While there, we happened to witness a cheese-rolling competition. I would’ve liked to set up an easel and commit the memory to canvas, had I the time.”

Mona looked a little less happy. “Yeah, but after that was Tomato Town. We went in expecting a nice farming village, but the whole place was a warzone. Smoking craters, bullet casings, all kinds of ruins and wreckage. Worse still, the war’s still going on a ways off! Turns out most of the region is a gigantic battlefield. And it’s all on the far side of Empty Space from Alcamoth anyway, so we hightailed it back here once we got the word, pronto.” The little thief shook his head wearily, then sipped the juice box he’d gotten from one of the food trucks. “By the way, not that I’m a cat or anything, but have any of you noticed that some of these guys look awfully like me? I mean, big heads and everything!”

“You know I was actually just thinking that? Hehe.” After giggling, Panther delivered her own report. “For us, it was just kind of, like, boring, actually. Just different parts of a big dry area. Not a sandy desert, more like a rocky one. There were some big metal buildings, and one tower that went way, WAY up. Buuut since it was pretty clear, we didn’t need to climb it or anything.”

“I really wanted to though, I’ll have to go back later. For a minute we were totally on the top of Alcamoth’s list, but the other team found somewhere closer, I guess,” Skull added.

“Just snowy cities on our end,” Joker said succinctly. “One normal, one really big but ancient-looking.”

“I’m glad I can’t feel the cold!” Necronomicon chirped.

Vandham nodded, absorbing all the information. “Got it. Since we know Band and Peacock got back from the Black Line, that just leaves the folks who went for Gray. I sure ‘ope that Asbestos bird is keepin’ Nelson and MacGregor safe.”

Less than a minute later, the subway train finally arrived. As it pulled in, Big Band slid up too, using Emergency Break to cancel his Brass Knuckles charge. Poppi couldn’t help but notice that the detective was alone. “Where others?” she asked him, her concern writ on her face.

“They’ve got some other business to mind,” Band replied. “I know it’s a minor drag, but it’ll be just me with the in crowd for the time bein’.”

Poppi nodded solemnly. “Poppi hope they find whatever it is they looking for, then.” After a final glance through the station she turned and boarded the subway car. Big Band followed suit, and after just a moment the train got rolling.



After arriving in the wintry glade and confirming everyone’s condition, the sledders took a few much-needed moments to try and decompress. All things considered, they couldn’t have asked for a better spot, either. Around them the soft glow of the trees and crystal formations assuaged the fundamental fear and uncertainty that plagued their travails through the gloomy caverns, and now that the storms had subsided, fissures opened in the clouds to reveal a starry night. No worrisome echoes reached them to hint at some nearby danger just waiting for a chance to strike. Even the winds relinquished the relentless fury with which they howled across the faces of Dragonspine, a more dire and inexorable predator than any of the elementals or risen dead Frisk faced.

Still, the shadow of the impostor lay over them. Its specters of doubt, regret, and inadequacy would haunt Frisk for some time, Albedo feared. Though neither he nor Linkle knew exactly what duplicitous events transpired on those dark and snowy slopes, the Skullgirl especially couldn’t stand to see Frisk in a bad state because of them. “I know this is rich, coming from me,” Linkle began. “But…you can’t blame yourself.”

Her eyes fell to the skeletal Spheal, now little more than a curled spine with only a distended ribcage to suggest its former shape. When an idea occurred to her, those same eyes shone blood-red in the moonlight. “I could bring Melony back, if it’d help?” Ghostly flame welled in her palm.

“I strongly advise against it,” Albedo said, his voice somehow soft and firm at the same time. “These sorts of wounds cannot be so easily healed. The best treatment is simply time.” He did not dare lay a hand on Frisk's shoulder, but he attempted to communicate his sincerity nonetheless. “That, and the willingness to look forward. To treasure and protect those who yet remain, then be buried with those who are gone.”

Accordingly, the conversation turned to the living, namely Teba and Joel. “Albedo arrived not long after Teba returned,” Linkle told Frisk. “He was very, very mad, and it was hard to get the details straight, but when he realized Joel was okay he calmed down just a little. Then Albedo showed up, half-frozen, and we started to realize what had happened.”

“Teba is still at camp, looking after Joel. He wanted to depart to a cabin farther down the mountain right away, but Joel insisted that both stay a while longer to wait for word from us.” Albedo stared off into the night. “I think he felt responsible. For sending you and Melony into such danger.” He turned back to Frisk and nodded. “They’re not free, but yes, go ahead and return there.”

Linkle nodded too. “Yeah, let them know we’re okay.”

“We’ll make our way over,” Albedo added. “We’ll be retracing our steps once we get back though. By my calculations, the fishing village isn’t much farther northwest from here.”

With permission given, Frisk could zip back to the campfire in the forest of slain giants. When she approached the fire she saw two figures, but not the two she expected. There was Teba, his snow-white plumage orange in the firelight, but also an unfamiliar man-sized shape. As she grew near, the sound of her footsteps spooked the mass, which split in two. It turned out to be the young Joel, who’d been hugging an unfamiliar man. Though Frisk didn’t recognize him, he looked very similar to Joel, and when the gears began to turn in her mind a bright spark of hope rekindled the burnt-out coals of her heart.

Maybe he mistook her for Melony, or merely recognized Frisk through the changes she’d undergone, but at Frisk’s approach, Joel’s face lit up even more. “Dad! This is that person I was telling you about. Her and the others, they were so brave going up into the mountain to look for you! I’m not really sure what happened, but look, they must be okay!”

The man nodded, his look immeasurably apologetic and grateful. “Joel has told me everything about you. I can't thank you enough for trying to help. My memories of my time up there are a little foggy…everything’s blurred together. My memory has still not fully recovered, but Joel and his mother... they are the only ones that I will not... no, that I cannot forget.”

His son sniffed. “Daddy…”

“Daddy's right here, Joel,” Joserf whispered, hugging the boy tight. “Daddy's right here.”

Wings crossed, Teba motioned for Frisk to step aside to give the two their moment. In a low voice, he spoke to Frisk. “He staggered in from the cold just ten minutes ago, half-frozen to death and a little delirious. Things got better after some soup, though.” The Rito nodded at the steaming pot that hung over the campfire. Then his eyes narrowed. “Are the others okay?” After receiving a reply, he sighed. “Look…I’m sorry I blew up on you back there. After learning that you’d been traveling with a fake, everything suddenly clicked. We were all being played against ourselves, and one another.” His eyes settled on the fire. “If only Melony didn’t need to pay the price. But she knew the risks, and was brave enough to take them, even though she couldn’t fight on her own. That’s one tough lady, in my book.” He presented Frisk with a satchel containing Melony’s belongings, including some basic provisions, items, and two Pokeballs. “Do right by her, will you?”

“Anyway,” he said after another moment. “I’ll help two along to the fishing village nearby, where they can spend the night. You and the others ought to come along as well.” He pointed a wing to the northwest, indicating the direction from which Linkle and Albedo would be coming.



Amidst the tropical downpour, turbulent waves driven by the coming storm lapped at the lashed-together rafts and stout wooden stilts of the ocean platforms that constituted the maritime colony called Port O’ Panic. The algal growths whirled and fluttered like a dancer’s fans in the current, while the competing clusters of barnacles and mussels put aside their age-old struggle to batten down the hatches against inclement weather. Given the chance, Reme Losteau would have liked to do the same, but before he could bunker down he had a job to do. Like any marine iguana, purple-scaled or otherwise, he felt out of sorts whenever clouds rolled in to deprive his cold blood of the sun’s warmth, but it wasn’t the chill of the rain on his wetsuit making him shiver right now. Instead, he braced himself at the sight of the dirigible warship that appeared from the rainy haze, cruising in for an expert water landing at the docks of the Port’s central tower.

A gangplank swung down to clatter against the pier, and a moment later, the ship’s master appeared, peg-legged and purple-clad. He looked to be in a foul mood, far fouler than the weather, with his beak twisted up in a scowl as he ground the three metal prongs of his multi-hook together. The villainous-looking parrot stomped down to the dock, casting about such a fearsome glare that even the townsfolk peering from their windows shrank back behind the shutters. They’d learned the hard way that the captain’s ego far outstripped his patience -along with his stature- and that he would brook no insult, whether real or imagined. And right now, his feathers looked about as ruffled as a bird’s could be.

Reme’s expression tightened. “LeFwee.”

He marched right up to Reme and shouted in his face. “That’s CAPTAIN LeFwee to you!” he squawked, sending spittle flying into the iguana’s face. “What be the meanin’ of this, ye flea-bitten bilge rats!?”

Anger simmered behind Reme’s aged eyes, but he kept an even keel. “Captain LeFwee. Madam Fish has urgent business with you. Please follow me.”

“That so?” The parrot ground his beak, his eyes narrowed in annoyance at the bothersome rain. “Hmph! Very well. But if there be any funny business…Bosun!”

At the captain’s bidding, the sky vessel Raptor’s dreaded second-in-command showed his face. LeFwee’s bosun descended from the deck with a powerful gait, heedless of the raindrops that spattered atop his broad, crested helmet, or on the coat slung with casual confidence across broad shoulders. Nobody really knew if this silent giant, who stood almost twice as tall as the parrot who commanded him, was a machine or a living being. Only that his name was Rakkam, and that he was a warrior without peer. Alongside him floated a tentacled companion, a subtly loathsome sentinel that Rakkam seldom went without. Reme just nodded, and led the way across waterlogged planks and creaky stairs.

A few moments later they stood in the Big Room, the port’s largest structure in its central tower, higher than even the tallest rafts that floated nearby. By far the cleanest, most spacious, and best-furnished residence in the whole colony, the Big Room doubled as its town hall, and at the meeting table in its center Reme, LeFwee, and Rakkam found the town’s leader. While the fairy known as Annetta Fish looked more like the siren who’d lead a boat astray than the captain who’d keep it on course, the people of Port O’ Panic had chosen her as their metaphorical ship’s figurehead, and her efforts to live up to that title were plain to see. Her outrageously long sea-blue hair was frazzled with stress, and there were bags beneath her perpetually-narrowed eyes. “C-captain,” Annetta chirped, her once-bubbly voice pitched with agitation. “Thank you for coming so fast!”

“Aye, that I did,” LeFwee squawked. Reme stepped aside to stand by the door, and Rakkam followed his captain as he stalked over. “But why, pray tell, have I come? That seashell ‘orn of yers…when I ‘ear it blowin’ o’er the briney deep, it means that poor, defenseless Port o’ Panic be needin’ Captain LeFwee to save ‘em. And yet, there be no Marauders in sight. I ain’t one for social visits, wench–need ye a reminder o’ our little agreement’s terms?”

Annetta balked. “N-no, captain! It’s not that, but…”

The parrot slammed his multi-hook down on the table. “But what!? Lest ye forget, the protection money ye pay is for protectin’. If ye mean to stand around flappin’ yer gums, ye better be willin’ to pay fer that, too!”

“Well! It’s a good thing you’re here today to do some protecting, then.” A man’s voice cut in, drawing the others’ attention to the Big Room’s second story. There, they saw a tall figure in a gray-white composite suit, its rubbery texture layered beneath cherry-red armor plates. A purple light glowed within a socket on the chest beneath a facsimile of an ascot plus collar, and an intricate helmet crowned his head. A fine soot-black cape trailed behind him as he made his way downstairs.

LeFwee glowered at the unwelcome guest. The sight of someone who stood at an impressive 6’10”, higher even than his bosun, made him mad instinctually. “And who might ye be, ye bloody eyesore? Speak up now–can’t hear ye with yer head in the clouds!”

“Ohmigosh! I’m so sorry, Consul, sir!” Annetta panicked.

“Now, now. It’s hardly your fault, miss.” The stranger reassured her, an amused tinge to his words. “We’ve had no occasion to meet before now, so it’s only natural, especially for one of his ilk.” He turned to the incensed captain. “As for you…well, I shan’t raise my expectations unduly, but have you any familiarity with the time-honored game of chess?”

LeFwee looked ready to launch himself at the stranger and gouge him with his corkscrew, but Rakkam laid a hand on his shoulder. The parrot glared at him, then back at the stranger. “...Aye.”

The gentleman clapped his hands. “Well, that makes things delightfully simple! As you know, then, the board is composed of various pieces. From the all-important King and his mighty Queen down to the lowliest Pawn. The two sides fight their battles, over and over again, through victories and losses unnumbered. As for me…well, I am neither pawn, nor knight, nor even king. I am not even on the board. Just a shadow that lies across it.” Closing his eyes -the only part of him visible beneath his suit-, he performed a polite bow. “I am your Consul. You may call me S.”

“Hmph! S? What kind o’ name be that?” LeFwee looked nonplussed. He glanced at Annetta, who gave a shrug and a shake of her head, as if to say just roll with it “What’re ye prattlin’ on about? If ye not be on the board, then surely ye be nothin’. I meanwhile, be king o’ these ‘ere waters! What’ye mean by ‘consul’, anyway?”

S straightened up, rolling his eyes. “Ah…nevermind. Twas just an analogy, if you will. Consider me the superior of the lovely Annetta here, which in turn, makes me yours. But fret not, for all I ask is business as usual. As I alluded to beforehand, you’re here today to defend Port O’ Panic against some threats that will arrive in the very near future.”

“...What kind o’ threats?” The parrot ran his fingers through his feathery beard.

“It is a band of powerful and highly skilled fighters,” the Consul replied, approaching the table. “They number less than a dozen strong, but what they lack in numbers they more than make up for in power. They are monsters that make a habit of slaughtering anyone in their way in order to steal their abilities for themselves. I fear Port O’ Panic is directly in their path. Luckily, there is one flaw in their plan: they did not account for the ‘infamous’ LeFwee Pirates. Anticipating no naval adversaries, they come this way in mere rowboats.”

The captain laughed. “Rowboats!? Ye can’t be serious. If that be the case, it matters not how skilled they are. One good broadside’ll blow them straight to Davy Jones’ locker!”

“I’ll thank you not to underestimate these monsters,” S, now seated at the table, told him sharply. “To the poor people of Port O’ Panic, beleaguered by maritime disaster time after time, this is a dire predicament. You must crush them. Do you understand?”

“Fine, fine, says I,” LeFwee told him, sighing. “We’ll ‘it ‘em with all we got. But ye…” he pointed his multi-hook at Annetta. “Owe us double fer this week.”

“Double!?” the fairy squeaked. “We’re just fishers and divers here, we can barely pay you as-is!”

LeFwee turned up his beak. “Sounds like a big fat load o’ not me problem!”

Fingers tented, S spoke up again. “By the way. Not that I harbor any mistrust for the ‘great’ LeFwee Pirates, but to ensure the safety of the whole Sea of Serendipity, I’ve taken the liberty of requisitioning some additional help.”

“Oh, wow, you’re too kind sir!” Annetta made sure to tell him right away.

The parrot drew a different conclusion. “More like lily-livered,” he muttered. “Who be these ‘elpers, then?”

Before S could answer, a cacophony of shouts erupted outside. Reme hurried to open the door, and right on cue a villager burst in. “Madam Fish!” he panted. “It’s the Marauders! They’re here!”

“WHAT!?” the fairy almost fainted, falling backward out of her chair before pulling herself back up to the table, her expression aghast. “They’re attacking now!?”

Reme held his head in his hands. “Madam, I’m so sorry! I should’ve gone back to the watchtower so I could’ve raised the alarm.”

“Back to the ship!” LeFwee roared. “Before they blow us to kingdom come!” He and Rakkam ran for the door, with Annetta flying right behind. S just laughed, stood, then followed at a leisurely pace.

The minute he stepped outside, however, he screeched in dismay, for the villager’s warning had been literal. Parked at the docks right across from the Raptor was the terrifying Tinkerslug, a pirate ship built into the back of a giant, three-eyed sea snail. Its deck swarmed with Tinkerbats, while the bestial crew of the Raptor crowded along its own deck, weapons drawn. Both parties seemed to be in a stand-off, hurling insults and threats at one another over the rain. The elites of both factions stood by, waiting for a signal from their bosses. Finally, perched in the crow’s nest above it all and enjoying every second of it, was the Tinkerslug’s captain: the renowned pirate queen Risky Boots, with her distinctive giant hat and skeletal garb.

LeFwee leaned over the railing, his eye wide. “What in the seven ‘ells’re ye doin’ ‘ere!” he shouted down.

“I was invited here, you chicken-legged clod!” Risky cheerfully yelled back. She aimed a finger gun at him. “Maybe these folks are sick of you protecting ‘em as I am!” When she fired the finger gun, a grappling hook shot from her wrist-mounted launcher and hooked info the sea tower, followed shortly by Risky herself. She landed with an acrobatic flip in front of everyone and leveled her scimitar at LeFwee, eliciting a surprised squawk. He stepped back behind Rakkam as he fumbled for his silver gunblade.

“Invited!? By who!?” LeFwee demanded.

S, watching the ruckus as he leaned against the doorframe, waved his hand. “By me, of course,” he said, pretty nonchalant about it all. “Your additional helpers have arrived.”

Annetta looked dumbfounded. “W-what? You’re saying they’ll help us? But they’ve been the ones robbing and kidnapping us, the reason we had to hire LeFwee in the first place! He and Risky Boots are sworn enemies!”

“CAPTAIN LeFwee!” the parrot roared, raising his blade. “But the wench be right! This sea ain’t big enough fer the both of us. She killed me first mate! ‘Ad an eye for treasure like a ‘awk, ‘e did!”

“And you killed our new healer! You’re the lowest of the low,” Risky snarled.

“Daw, please. We’re pirates, fer Pete’s sake!” LeFwee turned his sour face on the fairy. “What’s this about, some kind o’ bid to knock me off? If ye double-crossed me, Annetta, I’ll gut ye like the Fish ye be! And the beanpole after that! Once I finish off this blue bitch, ‘ere…”

At that Risky laughed. “Ahahahaha! You mean you’ll tell your bosun to, you feathery windbag. Hiding behind his skirts the whole time, too!” She glanced at Rakkam, then back to LeFwee. “Why don’t we just settle this, here and now!”

“Enough!” S pushed off the doorframe, his voice raised. His eyes shone red, as did those of both pirate crews, captains included. Despite the high tension, the uproar began to simmer down, and when it subsided so did the glow. “Lower your weapons,” S told them. “What you’re up against is far greater in scope than your petty rivalry. If you fail to cooperate, you can kiss both Port O’ Panic and the Marauders’ Den goodbye. Once you’re done, and I’ve distributed your rich rewards, you can get back to wanton mutual destruction.” The mention of rich rewards helped to distract them both. He shook his head in resignation holding his temples, then stepped forward to put a hand on both captain’s shoulders, pulling them together. “Now, both of you, come with me. There’s no time to waste. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

Sensing that the gloom that clouded her heart hadn't let up yet, Frisk's companions tried to lift her spirits back up. Linkle suggested ressurecting Melony, like she did the unnamed Spheal, but Albedo shot down the idea. She nodded in response to his answer. He had a point, but there was also one other issue that'd prevent the Skullgirl from acting on her idea.

"Besides, I already fused with Melony's spirit. Unless we find a way to undo it, I'm stuck like this for the long run. Sorry." Frisk explained to her. "But I'm alright now. We managed to avenge her, remember?" She managed a smile to her companions. Atleast, the woman hoped they managed to defeat the Fellflower. It was hard to tell, having to escape the caverns so abruptly. That power it had. She could've made use of it, if she had enough time to take it's spirit.

Ah well, there was always the next batch of enemies, right?

When the topic changed to Teba and Joel, Linkle explained to her what happened back at camp, and how they realized the Albedo that left with the others was a fake. The two were still okay, not freed from Galeem's influence, but they were still okay. And at Joel's insistance, they were still waiting back at the campsite.

"Right. It'd be poor timing to attempt to friend heart them. I wouldn't worry about it." Frisk noted. Seeing as Linkle and Albedo were okay with her taking a shortcut, she passed Prisoner's pouch and the Spheal to them and stepped aside to teleport away. If anyone was looking closely, they could see the faint glow of a golden star. One that mirrored the alchemist's "mark of authenticity".

And in a blink, Frisk dissapeared. On her end, her surroundings had changed back to the still creepy forest, where the campfire broke through the drearyness. She followed the fire to find something quite unexpected. Teba was recognizable, but it took her a bit to make out the second silhouette. In fact, the silhouette was Joel, embracing someone unfamiliar.

Wait a minute.

Could it be...?

A gasp escaped Frisk's throat. "Are you-???" She asked him, picking up the pace to stand by the two. Joserf. He was okay! She didn't know if Joel saw her as Melony or recognized her as Frisk, and maybe it was best for her not to know. Either way, she smiled sweetly at the boy. "The others should be heading back as we speak! They gave me the go ahead to use a shortcut back here." She told him. When his father spoke up, her smile turned empathetic. Hopefully he'll recover his memories over time.

When Teba motioned for her to give father and son some space, Frisk quietly stepped aside and over to the archer. He explained that Joserf stumbled onto the camp most recently, recovering from near death after a bit of soup. By either luck or miracle, she didn't have to worry any longer.

And if Joserf hadn't met his end by the Fellflower, then maybe...

The avian asked if the others were okay, and Frisk rested a hand on her hip. "Yeah, they managed to find me and Prisoner before that thing killed us. Us three managed to fight that thing off, but I'm...honestly not sure if we managed to kill it. I think we did, but we couldn't stick around long enough to check. It set off an avalance." She shook her head in distain. "Prisoner lost his body. Twice. So if you don't see him, he's been reduced to a head. Other than that, we're all in one piece.

After her brief report, the woman's eyes widened when Teba apologized for how he acted before. "It's understandable. None of us knew we were being manipulated like that. We're lucky there were no further casualties." She reassured him, crossing her arms. The Spheal was an odd case, so she decided not to mention them. Teba reflected on the late Melony's choice to join them, and as if he caught on to where Frisk's form change came from, he gave her the belongings she left behind. She grabbed the satchel and looked inside. The woman glaced back up to Teba and nodded.

"Thank you, Teba." Frisk closed the satchel back up and put it on. "You know, you sort of remind me of a friend of mine. Just a bit less extreme. But she's a strong solder, and a caring person. I'm sure she'd love to fight alongside you." She noted with a grin.

After another moment he told her he was going to help Joel and Joserf to a fishing village nearby, and that her and her companions should come with.

"Oh yeah, I think we caught a glimpse of it on our way up here! Hopefully it has some shops I can sell some of this stuff at, gonna need a quiver and arrows for this bow I got."

The rapids part of the river ride eventually came to an end, yet there was still plenty more downstream riding to do. The Troop, however, decided to take it slow once they’d gotten to the foamy pools, partially so Bowser could recover from the turbulent ride’s disagreement with his stomach, and partially to let everyone else catch up. Oh and also to make sure no one had been turned into paste by the bear based carnage that had occurred after Bowser took the lead.

”Nadia… Sakura…Geralt…” Kamek counted people off as they arrived on her fingers, and then grew a little concerned and looked up and about for two robots who could not be found ”Wait, where are Blazermate and Susie?” she asked

”I dunno. Think they were up near some giant skeleton pirate guy?” Jr hovered over to reply, and the answer he gave left the mage quite incredulous.

”Near a what!?”

”Oh yeah, saw them going right up to him just before we left. Seemed cool tho” Jr replied, not letting Kamek’s concern get to him

”That’s not. How could. We should not have left them behind like that. Who knows what could happen to Blazermate without someone there for her to support”

”Doesn't she have Susie?”

”We haven't seen her in action, I do not consider her to be reliable. Yet." Kamek replied, before adding ”Also that bot owes me money” as another black mark against how much he trusted her. She hadn’t been through the maw, and if that place had taught her anything is that its survivors could handle anything if they stuck together.

”You’re gonna go allllll the way back up to get her, aren't you” Jr realized, before sighing and taking a pokeball off of his chest bandolier and tossing it out and calling out ”Come on back Dazzle, ain’t gonna make you swim all the way back up there” to his Poppilo minion before it was beamed back into orb based storage.

”Wait you don’t need to come with me"

”Someone does, and papa and Rika are both not swimming back up that river soooooo you’re stuck with me” for much the same reason that Kamek wanted to go up to get Blazermate ”Now let’s get going already!”

And with that Jr’s clown car took off, leaving Kamek to hit the bricks on her broom to chase after the prince despite this backtracking having been her idea in the first place.

---

A little bit later, and they were floating over the graveyard again, and from their altitude they spotted the pair of bots, Jr specifically pointing them out for the bespectacled mage and saying ”See, there they are. Big bone guy”

”Ah, so they are" Kamek said to the prince, before calling down to the bots ”Hello down there, what is keeping you two?"

”Oh, hi you two. I was just exploring the pirate ship here.” Blazermate said nonchalantly. ”Cortez here is a REAL ghost pirate! Not those cannibals in the maw and all that.” Kamek and Jr. had caught Blazermate and Susie on the deck of Cortez’s ship, getting ready to fly up to and catch up with the others. Since the two bots could fly, they could catch up fairly easily, or at least that was Blazermate’s thought process.

”While not a business bot, Blazermate here did broker a deal with the pirate captain in the ship. We get him back on the open seas, and he’ll help us when we need it.” Susie said, her hands clasped on her stomach. ”I would rather money, but a service is something I suppose.”

”Yeah. I was hoping Bowser could help since hes strong, but I don’t know if even he could pick up a ship. But it appears you guys all left us behind!” Blazermate said, looking at Jr. and Kamek with a stern look on her face.

”Ah, well” Kamek looked a little bit sheepish at that accusation, but Jr had no such shame calling down ”Hey we came back didn’t we? You should be grateful!”

”Young master please” Kamek whispered to the rude boy, but the prince was having none of it, and instead replied loudly:

”What? We did, and now you can magic up a solution or something to help the cool ghost pirate guy and then we can get going again!”

”It’s not. I mean. well.” the mage pursed her beak and then sighed and agreed ”Fine fine, we’ll be helpful as can be then” before laying out the two options she had to offer:

”Well, we have two options here Blazermate, either I make someone really big so they can carry the ship, or I shrink it and we can see if we can fit down the river. All down to you and your pirate friend”

”.... We might have to go with option 2, if Cortez is fine with it. I don’t think I could fly his boat out of the river even if I was big. He had a lot of heavy stuff in there.” Blazermate then turned around and went back into the cabin to have a chat with Cortez.

“Ah, your back already Amigo. Did you figure something out?” Cortez asked as Blazermate came back in, a bit surprised the bot came back so fast. ”Yeah. But I gotta ask you about it. One of my friends came around and gave us two solutions, well one solution unless you think your ship can survive some nasty rapids.” Blazermate said. She waited for Cortez’s reply to that, but he just looked at her, waiting for her to get on with it. ”Uh, right. The method that won't work is if my friend makes me huge. I don’t think I can carry your ship far though, I could get it out of the rocks, but the gold will make it too heavy for me to fly with. The other method is to shrink your ship and all the stuff inside it down so we can get it down off the rapids. ”

Cortez didn’t like the idea of his ship being one of those model ships for even a moment, but he would terrorize these fools if they tried anything. And while his ship was mighty, he didn’t like the idea of a rapids ride. If anything his treasure might go everywhere, and that would be one heck of a mess to clean up!

“Are you sure those are the only options you can think of?” Cortez asked, apprehensive.

”Sadly yeah. I mean, I could fly the ship, but you’d lose your treasure, and what pirate would lose all that booty?” Blazermate said, striking a chord with Cortez. This bot got it, which made him laugh a nervous laugh.

“Do what you gotta do amigo. But if you double cross me…”

”Yeah, you don’t do that to ghost pirates. Or you get the Maw.” Blazermate said, interrupting Cortez and shivering a little bit. With that settled she then went back out and told Kamek the plan.

”Ah, yes we can’t go around abandoning all that lovely gold now can we? Very reasonable. Now then, step back, and we’ll get that ship river capable in no time” Kamek replied to the plan.

Then she floated over and, once everyone was clear, began a quick chant

”
Hocus Boatus Filiocus

Here’s a spell that will let you come with us!

What once was big, soon will be small,

I really should have bought an umbrella at the mall!

With my magic stronger than that of a djinni,

This pirate ship is now the size of a dinghy!
”

And then let out a blast of magic that hit the ship and, with the sound of a big plumber bumping into a goomba and shrinking to half his size, the boat got smaller. And smaller. And smaller. Till the mighty pirate ship was the size of Rika’s whale. It would be a snug fit for some bits, that was likely, but it was now entirely capable of sailing down towards the sea.

”And hey presto, one smallified boat, ready for river riding!” Kamek declared with a little bow and a flourish.

”Hey Kamek, can you make me big too? If you could do both, I could fly Cortez’s ship safely to the ocean no problem!” Blazermate asked, getting a fun idea.

”Aah, urgh, well… I suppose” Kamek said reluctantly, before adding ”Just don’t expect me to do anything else for a while after we get there. Also I’ll need a ride down myself” to which he looked to jr, who himself sighed and scooted over in his clown car’s seat to make space for the old magikoopa.

”Thats fine, if I’m a big mecha, I’ll just pummel whoever bothers us! I don’t have any rocket fists though.” Blazermate said, giving a flex. ”Ready when you are!”

”Very well” the mage replied, and then plopped herself down beside Jr in the car, propped up her broom, and then cleared her throat, raised her wand again and chanted out another spell:

”
Abra kadabra alakazam,

Become so big I could fit in your palm!

With my magic you’ll get bigger,

And certainly have more vigor!

So heroes and villains best go to ground,

Because big bad Blazermate’s now in town!
”

And sure enough the medabot began to grow. And grow. And grow! Till she towered above them all and picking up the shrunken ship would be no trouble at all.

Blazermate looked at her new tall self, and how tiny the others were. Making mechanical noises like out of some anime, she said. ”I’m a gundam! I’mma punch someone in the face!” giving some shadow boxing and causing a few waves as she did. She then got to work, picking up Cortez’s small ship and began to fly with it, Susie flying above her.

”Hey Cortez, we’re flying! Come on out and enjoy the view!” Blazermate said, trying to get the ghost pirate captain to take a look as the medabot flew through the skies. The pirate captain, hearing the giant medabot’s voice, decided to humor her and manifested on the deck of his teeny ship. A ship he figured was much, much tinier than he thought it’d be considering as he looked behind him, he saw the same robot girl as before, but her head was bigger than a whole him.

”At this rate we’ll be at the ocean in no time!” Blazermate said as the group passed over the rapids, the big bot leading the way and the littler one and the koopas in their clown car flanking her like 2 addons.

Blazermate had a bit of trouble looking at the stuff below. She could make out buildings, bridges, almost like there was a town alongside the rapids! Well, IN the rapids. It was a very good thing Cortez didn’t bring his ship through there as it’d get stuck again. The creatures in the water weren’t much of a sight either, although the dinosaurs were kinda cute. Those ‘villagers’ though did not look friendly.

”Going down those rapids in those teeny tiny square boats looked like fun.” Susie said sarcastically as she looked at everything below, getting a much better view than Blazermate, although not nearly as impressed at its denizens. They looked more savage than the savages!

”Yeah, it really does” came a forlorn sigh from Jr in response to that, the prince having entirely missed the sarcasm. Kamek meanwhile was far to busy focusing on maintaining the spell for any sight seeing.

Still, eventually the bypassing of all the fun stuff came to an end as jr stirred from the monotony of being rained on to call out ”Hey is that the ocean? Hey hey is that it, are we there? I don't care if it is I’m going down there” and then put his car into a dive down towards the waters, with Kamek holding on for dear live during the daring descent.

”Is that the ocean, already? Wow. Time flies when you well… fly!” Blazermate said as she descended alongside the koopa troop, being able to fly much more stability than they were. “Ah, to be on the ocean again… Cortez will be a terror once again!” Cortez said, noticing the descent and the mention of the ocean coming up to meet him. Blazermate put the relatively tiny boat into the water when she reached the water, Nadia and the others nearby and no doubt looking at the giant mecha Blazermate carrying a small creepy looking ship with a skeleton head riding on it.

”Ok Kamek, I think you can size the boat back up now.” Blazermate said. She then had an idea, and as the boat grew back to normal Blazermate concentrated a bit to summon a moogle. “What do you want kupo?” The moogle said in confusion as it was summoned. Blazermate, still large, then gestured to Cortez. ”This is the dread pirate Cortez. He says he’ll help us out if we need to travel the seas. So let everyone at HQ know.”

Blazermate then turned to Cortez. ”If people come up asking for a ride and can summon this cute little guy, they are our friends. If not, then yeah, do whatever you do.” Blazermate said. She then reminded Cortez about not getting hostile with little girls or ship girls as they would be really, really painful to deal with. After Cortez got a look at the moogle and nodded at Blazermate’s little deal, Blazermate dismissed the moogle and waved to the others. ”Sorry I’m late guys, but we got a real cool ghost pirate now! I wonder what he’ll do on the high seas…~”

”Ghost pirate stuff probably” Bowser commented as he sailed over on the back of his whale ”And eh, you weren't that late. We only just got here too!”

”Because we stopped for lunch!” Rika helpfully added, the pair of them having parked the whale by the odd out in the middle of nowhere restaurant and gotten some grub using the coins she had collected while jumping around the water spouts.

”Your upset your tummy on the rapids and your response to that was to eat even more? Really sire?” Kamek called over, before waving a wand and undoing both size up and size down spells, causing the pirate ship to grow back to its original size while Blazermate shrunk down to her own petite form.

”Yeah! nothing like grub to settle the stomach!” Bowser replied, before taking a look at the pirate ship and giving it a nod of approval and complimenting Cortez on his vessel ”Nice boat… hey, how about you give us a ride to this Twilight town place? My butt’s getting saddle sore from all this whale riding” there was a little pause and then he added ”and, uh, I guess everyone else could do with a break from rowing. Plus, hey, maybe you can pick up some crew in town? Can’t exactly run a ship without minions to boss around right? That’s like the best thing about them.”

Cortez laughed at Bowser’s mention of crew, calling his ghost crew to his side. As he did, many MANY wisps of ghost fire appeared all around the boat, although mostly on the sails. “Amigo, unless they’re ghosts, they aren’t of any use on my ship.” Cortez than agreed to ferry the king koopa on his ship, it was part of the deal after all, as long as the big lug didn’t go inside and try to take his treasure.

”Looks like you’re already sorted, nice” Bowser said as he hopped aboard, stretched his stiff legs, and then found a nice spot to lay down for an after lunch nap. He was joined by Kamek, who was legitimately tired rather than just stiff and lazy like Bowser, and Jr, who was saving power on his car. Rika meanwhile kept up the skating.

”You sure you don’t want to join us?” Kamek asked as she settled down on the deck

”Nah I’m good!” Rika called back, making a little circuit of the ship just for the fun of it before moving up ahead to take the lead again ”Who knows when I’m next gonna get to ride about on the sea right? So gotta get all the sailing in that I can!”

”I’ll just fly like I usually do. Unlike Bowser, I don’t get tired. Perks of being a medabot!” Blazermate said triumphantly. She then looked at her fellow robot Susie, who was on Cortez’s ship, looking at and poking Bowser. ”I’ll stay on the ship and ‘observe’ our strong friend here. Oh, I wonder…. Yes… hehe” Susie said, trailing off as she started to speak under her breath almost like a mad scientist. Considering she robotized strong people, getting an idea of what augments would be good for Bowser if she turned him into her bodyguard much like Meta Knight would be paramount.

Eager for warmth and rest at long last after a harrowing winter’s night on Dragonspine, Frisk set off with Teba, Joel, Joserf, and the Prisoner in tow. The countless spots of distant light in the cosmos above mirrored the snow-white landscape below, dotted as it was by the azure glimmer of so many blue flowers, the earth and heavens connected by beams of moonlight to make clear the travelers’ northwestern path. Trudging through the earth beneath that starry night felt almost dreamlike, as if this mystical, ephemeral realm might fade away at any moment. At times even the moon itself looked oddly hollowed, as if chiseled away by some celestial carver in a fundamentally unwholesome manner, and for a moment it seemed as though a second moon drifted above the World of Light to keep the incomplete moon company. Yet the moment Frisk so much as blinked her eyes, it was gone, so suddenly and without ceremony that she couldn’t help but wonder if that second moon ever really existed in the first place. Now that her adrenaline had faded, fatigue swept in to take its place, and phantoms sprang readily to a tired mind.

The small party met with Linkle and Albedo on the way, prompting a brief recap of the events already explained to Frisk. For her part the Skullgirl couldn’t be happier to see father and son reunited, and while Albedo agreed, the way he kept looking at Joserf once everyone got moving again suggested a subtle distrust. As the starlit darkness gave way to the stretch of riverbed illuminated by radiant trees and effulgent crystals, and electric lights revealed the angular outlines of the long sought-after port town, the vague feelings of mystery and menace that clung to the travelers melted away. Numb from the cold, they made it through the final stretch and dragged their weary feet into the town together.



True to its appellation, this place looked like nothing more than a humble twenty-first century fishing village, ferreted far away from the civilized world on some remote, frigid Canadian coast. It featured only a couple handfuls of buildings, most of them utilitarian, with the largest compound surrounded by a tall barbed-wire fence. It possessed none of the rustic charm of Snowdin and offered the tired travelers nothing in terms of a warm welcome, but the wooden lodge that sat upon the slope above the town confirmed that people did live here, at least. On one side of the docks sat a promising chalet with great glass windows that betrayed some light from within. Whether or not the people here would be welcoming to strangers, especially at such a late hour, Albedo couldn’t say. One thing was clear, however: the original plan to take a boat from here to Edinburgh would absolutely have to wait until the next morning.

After confirming this with Linkle and Frisk, Albedo approached Teba in the hopes of asking about any accommodations this tiny town might be able to offer. If he and the others were going to spend the night, after all, they’d need a place in from the cold to stay, and ideally food at some point. Short and to the point as usual, Teba recommended the seaside chalet, then bid the others farewell. Joel and Joserf left together, with the boy leading his amnesiac father to their home. Even in the dead of night, the youngster knew well the path. That just left the original group who set out from Snowdin, plus a certain sentient pustule along for the ride. “Let us heed Teba’s instruction, then,” the alchemist stated, and the party started moving again.

As he made his way across town, however, Albedo began to get the impression that there might be more to this place than met the eye–and he didn’t mean the miracle of electricity, incredible as it still seemed to him. While at first he just assumed the village to be run-down and neglected, the cracks, holes, gashes, craters, and burns scattered across the walls and walkways told a different story. It looked to him like battle damage, and recent at that. As he passed, a couple of the spaces that at first glance appeared vacant actually harbored the wreckage of other wooden buildings. Meanwhile, one of the few spots with the lights still on turned out to be a clinic, where the local sawbones seemed to be looking after a good half-dozen wounded men, women, and creatures.

From a distance Albedo spotted a wide, red-haired fellow with a colorful collar and viking hat speaking to a very slender woman in a lightly armored suit, wearing a asymmetric helmet composed of many overlaid, spiraling strips like ribbons, but before his group got close the pair split up. The man, looking very much put-out, shook his head as he made his way toward the clinic. Meanwhile the woman happened to cross paths with Albedo’s group by the docks, as she headed for a curious whale-shaped ship. She glanced at them only once as she stalked past beneath the glare of a dock light, one hand perched on her hip. Only her lime-green eyes could be seen beneath her cherry-red getup, and her gaze lingered for a moment on Frisk. Then she went on her way.

As it turned out, the chalet was open, though the white-furred goat who answered the bell looked rather sleepy. Still, Chevre made an effort to be as kind as she could, and offered the newcomers some spare rooms at a very reasonable price for spending the night if they had no other business to attend to in town. She also mentioned a courtesy continental breakfast to be provided the following morning. “Thank you, ma’am,” Albedo told her. As she hoofed it back to bed, he went on to address the others. “Let’s all make sure to rest well, recuperate, and catch the first ferry to Edinburgh MagikaPolis tomorrow morning. See you then.”

Before going to bed himself, however, Albedo went back outside to do a little extra looking around. Contrary to his initial impressions, this fishing village really piqued his curiosity, and it would be difficult to retire for the night with his urge to learn unsatisfied.