—------

Jesse lingered near the back of the ground, hands in her pockets. She’d been walking around and familiarizing herself with the town, on the lookout for any more spontaneous fights to the death. No such luck. This place was pretty chill, which meant it would be a good platform to launch the next phase of the Seekers plan.

Once there, she met up at the Docks with the others. It was a sizeable operation, with an eclectic cast of characters of all different shapes and sizes, no doubt with just a wide of variety of abilities. Jesse approved. This was good stuff.

Of course, the person delivering the speech and organizing things was Princess Peach herself. You know, the one in another castle? Jesse chuckled, enjoying her bizarre new reality. Becoming Director was the best thing that ever happened to her ever since she was a kid, that was for sure.

Next up was Big Band. That’s one hell of a prosthetic. Guy must weigh a ton or more. And it lets him maintain his passions, too. And, assumably, kick great amounts of ass.

After that was Tora and Poppi, who Jesse had become somewhat familiarized with. Just a furball and his robot against the world. At the very least, I can rely on them to not make any machines that require ridiculous amounts of button mashing…I can, right? Yeah, I think I can.

Third was Nadia, who was covered in scars. So she can break herself apart? Aw, sick. That really would make someone difficult to kill. You’d probably have to target the head almost exclusively, even then it could just fall off and roll around. That’s so grim. Wonder if I’ll get to see it in action.

Fourth was Raz, another member of Yellow team. The kid was an enthusiastic psychic. And…his weakness is water? Was that hyperbole? He’s not made of paper, is he?

Fifth was Wonder Red. Uh huh. Well, shit, he’s done better about maintaining secrecy than I have. Then again his HQ isn’t under siege in some kind of hell zone, probably. At some point I’ll need to get the Seekers up there to help out. Hopefully there’s a Guardian up there, otherwise the Oldest House might just be a distraction from the task at hand.

Sixth was Roxas, whom she’d raced with, and a member of the same organization Ram and others were with. Hopefully he could shed some light on our mysterious ‘benefactors’.

Seventh was Primrose, someone Jesse considered her friend. Or as close as she had gotten to one. Her introduction was just as mysterious and alluring as she wanted it to be, no doubt about it. Assumably. ‘Feminine wiles’ hadn’t really ever been on Jesse’s list of weaknesses. WIles of any kind, really. Eight was Therion, and his introduction was pretty much exactly what Jesse guessed it’d be like.

Ninth was someone named Ace Cadet. His actual name is Ace Cadet? Or is this one of those ‘earn your name’ civilizations? Must be. Regardless, he was plucky and capable, a real hero type in the most traditional of senses.

Tenth was Midna, somebody else Jesse knew. She did a bit of showing off and gave a bit more insight into the world she was from. She’d kind of changed shape a lot since Jesse had known her. It’s going to be even harder to nail down people’s personalities if they keep doing fusions…

Eleventh was the entire Koopa Troop. Bowser and Peach, working together. Who would have guessed? There’s his kid, the wizard and…I don’t recognize the little one from anywhere. She must be new. All four of them combined and they make a formidable, balanced force all on their own. But isn’t Junior- I mean, he’s a literal baby? That’s a baby. A smart baby sure, but that is a baby.

Twelfth was a giant insect queen. Personally I’ve got no problem letting these people call me minions and subjects. It’s funny and makes them happy, and is pretty harmless. As long as none of them start trying to…repress me or whatever.

Thirteenth was a healing robot who seemed friendly enough. She mostly went over her abilities, so Jesse assumed she was very performance focused. Makes sense, given that she’s a robot. She’s probably programmed for service, though with Fusions involved there’s no telling how she could change.

Fourteenth was a robot that specialized in robotics. So…does she build Susie’s? Or just other robots? Maybe she just repairs them or something. It’d be pretty weird if she was making robots, right? I dunno, I guess not, robots gotta come form somewhere.

Fifteenth was a duo of girls, Karin and Sakura. Both martial artists. One spent way too much time practicing talking about herself. Apparently she’d done it a lot. And the other was fairly unremarkable, which in itself was somewhat remarkable. Fourty pounds? Maybe not. That’s…impossible.

Sixteenth was- man there are lot of people. Sixteenth was Geralt of Rivia. I am not going to be able to remember all of these names. Another monster hunter, though far more grizzled and somewhat monsteresque himself. Though she couldn’t guess what was natural and what was the result of Fusions.

Seventeenth was…an angel! Lady Palun-...who? Okay, so, probably not a biblical angel. A video game angel who can shoot lasers or something. Nope, nope, he has a magic bow. Makes sense.

Eighteenth was…a weird child. With emotional based powers. It either made no sense or made a lot of sense that he had mood powers while being…flat. Personality wise. She squinted at the drawing but from where she was she couldn’t make out much. He probably had it figured out.

Nineteenth was…eh. Jesse. Why not.

---

Silently she stepped up onto the picnic table and rolled her shoulders, her dark eyes scanning over the Seekers for a brief moment, making eye contact with several. Brushing her red hair out of her face she cleared her throat.

“My name’s Jesse Faden. I can move things without touching them, and I have a gun that never runs out of bullets. And one that does a bunch of weird stuff. I like horror movies, exploring, and…this.” She gestured vaguely at the Seekers and all around her, indicating the entire scenario they were in, or perhaps scenarios like it.


She produced the Service Weapon, it’s shifting, disconnected black pieces forming the impression of a gun. “This is the bullet one. Don’t try to use it because you’ll probably kill yourself.”

She cleared her throat again, figuring she might as well bring it up. “Since I have all your attention: My people got put into a dangerous situation in a city far North. They’re capable and can probably hold on for the foreseeable future, but I’d like to go help them out at some point when we get around to it. All right. That’s it. Go team.” She pressed her lips together and did a little pump of her fist before stepping down and rejoining the crowd.

Primrose explained to Bede their entire situation. Quite frankly it was a lot to take in. The basic gist of it was that some evil overlord named Galeem destroyed the universe, and rebuilt everything in his image, and it was up to some ragtag group of misfits to bring everything back to how it was before. That sounded outlandish just thinking about it, even if their would be no other way to explain some of the strange things he’s seen.

In between this long explanation, they stopped on Market Street. There Bede bought himself a Clefairy doll for himself. It was adorable, and Bede had a weakness for cute things! According to the shopkeeper, the plush could be thrown at an enemy in order to run away from an impending battle, but why on earth would he waste an adorable plushie for that?

Soon, the entire group met up for lunch. And boy was it a large group. Everyone was making noise, and it was such a chaotic scene that Bede couldn’t hear himself think. That was untill a woman in pink armored suit who had red white and blonde hair fired a revolver into the air and suggested they go around and introduced themselves. The woman went first, and she called herself Princess Peach. She was apparently the leader of this whole organization, and had a passion for sports. Bede shrugged. What was he supposed to do with that information? At least he knew who to ask when he had questions.

Up next was Big Band. Bede had already seen him earlier, but hadn’t actually spoken to him. He really did live up to his name. He was big, and had a lot of instruments!

Next was Tora and Poppi. People that Bede had met before. He had saved Tora from Elgyem. Bede giggled to himself that the egineer extraordinaire got entranced by Elgyem.

Next up was a cat lady who called herself Ms. Fortune, and was very fond of cat puns. She was some type of thief who could split herself into pieces without dying. To Bede, that sounded grotesque, and couldn’t imagine why that would be useful.

After her was Razputin Aquato, who called himself a Psychonaut. He said he was a master of Psychic combat, and Bede was intrigued. Did that mean he was like a Psychic type Pokémon? Bede has experience with Psychic types… He would have to question him on that later.

After him was a man dressed like a superhero who called himself Wonder Red. He didn’t say anything useful other than he was a member of Planetary Defense Force. The man couldn’t even give his real name. Did anybody here actually care who this person was? Bede doubted it.

Next was a boy dressed in black robes called Roxas, who said he was a former member of Organization XIII. Bede had never heard of this organization or what they did, and as such, Bede didn’t know why he should care. He wielded key shaped blades, and magic, so that was nice to know he figured. He would be cute if it weren’t for the robes.

After Roxas was Primrose. He had met her earlier. She was the one who explained all this nonsense to him. He had firsthand experience of her magic. She was dancer, uses magic, and apparently knew her way around a dagger. She took the opportunity to show off her dance steps. Bede would have done the same if he had that skill if he were being honest with himself.

Then there was a man who very vaguely looked like Bede himself. All he needed was a lot more pink. Other than that though, he didn’t really say anything useful. He could apparently unlock doors? Boring. Next!

After him was a man in armor who called himself Ace Cadet. That’s it, no real name? He was apparently a monster hunter. That was interesting. Bede himself trained monsters in a way. It made Bede wonder what kind of monsters he faces. Probably scary ones considering the armor…

After that was Bowser and Bowser Jr. They were the Koopa King and the Koopa Prince he guessed. They were apparently card carrying villians from the way they talked. Bede was going to avoid them, but then that all went out the window when they sent out Pokémon of their own. Not just any Pokémon, a Mimikyu and a Popplio. One was a Fairy type, and the other would become a fairy type when it evolved. How on earth did these creatures get their hands on such cute Pokémon?! “HOLY ZAICAN, FAIRIES!” Bede exclaimed excitedly, and rushed over to pet them.

After regaining his composure, he went back to listen to the introductions. Up next was Minda. Princess of the Twilight realm. How many royals were on this team? Apparently her realm was dangerous. In all honesty, he was more interested in the fairies than whatever she had to say.

Next was that bug like thing who reminded Bede of Vespiquen. Yet again, another royal! For someone of royal blood, she definitely had an obnoxious attitude. Bede couldn’t relate to that at all!

Then their was a robot girl who could heal, and make people invincible. That would definitely be useful.

Blazermate was followed up by Susie. Yet another robot girl who was the CEO of a major corporation that dealt in robotics, and had a mech suit. Two sentient robots back to back. That’s something you don’t see everyday.

Next was Karin and Sakura. They were apparently close friends, yet from what Bede could glean from their introduction, they had wildly different personalities. Karin seemed very confident, and Sakura less so.

After them was a very strange looking man named Geralt. He called himself a witcher, another monster hunter. He utilized a variety of weapons, and magic. Seeing these monster hunters reminded him that their were a vast array of creatures in this strange world. He wondered if their were any cute ones…

Next was Pit. The cute angel boy, and the closest thing to a real life fairy that Bede would ever meet. He seemed friendly, wielded weapons like everyone else in this group, and served a higher authority. He put on a display with his bow and arrows, and Bede was more interested in this than he was with Primrose’s dancing. Bede made a mental note to talk to him later.

After him was a cute black and white boy clad in pajamas named Omori. He wasn’t as cute as Pit, but still pretty cute. Apparently he was the new person in the group before Bede came along. He utilized emotions to fight, and Bede was interested to see how that worked.

Finally, their was Jesse. If her ability to move things without touching them meant what Bede thinks it meant, then she had Psychic powers too. She also used guns.

Now, it was Bede’s turn to speak. He stood up, and flipped his hair.“Ok, we’re saving the best for last. Listen up, the name is Bede. I am a Pokémon Trainer!” He released his Hatenna and Elgyem. “A few of you have seen Pokémon before apparently, but I’m better at taming them than all of you! I specialize in Fairy types. Even though all my Pokémon are Psychic types right now… I am the new Gym Leader of Ballonlea, chosen by Opal herself to be her successor. She knows talent when she sees it!” He realized that this probably meant nothing to most of them, but Bede didn’t care. “I may not have weapons, or Magic, but I am a master Pokémon Battler. As long as I have a Pokémon Fighting on my behalf, none of you can touch me! I’m one of the best Pokémon trainers their ever was. Your group is lucky to have encountered me!” Bede took a bow. “Any questions?”

Just then, Bede heard music and suddenly a small white horse with a multicolored mane and tail, and a small purple and white horn protruding from her forehead. Bede’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Ponyta! You’re back!” He gave the small horse Pokémon a hug.

If Nadia expected to fade into the background following her short-and-sweet introduction, she quickly got proven wrong. One of the details she elected to share with her new cohort earned her some extra attention. Among the various strangers who’d gathered to meet the Tinkerslug contingent on the docks was a lanky young boy with a rather uniquely shaped head and what appeared to be a severe jaundice, and once she made mention of her unique ability he inundated her with questions. She had herself a chuckle at his enthusiastic curiosity.

“I could answer all that,” she told him, “But showin’ ya might be the ‘necks’ best thing. Check this out.” Nadia reached up and took hold of her head by the ponytail, using at as a handle to lift her head from her shoulders. She swiped the other through the space between them, showing that her neck had been completely, cleanly, and easily severed. A few gasps and incredulous stares accompanied her little feat. “As ya might guess, this ain’t somethin’ I can teach,” she told him, her words tinged with laughter. “I can separate along any of my scars. Blood’s under my control, but I can always make more if I love some, or use it to do stuff. Guess you can say I’m a cut above!”

After that she put her head back where it belonged and fell silent, happy to give the inquisitive little guy his own time to shine. Though she liked the limelight as much as any outgoing person, her looks earned her enough attention as-is, and so many eyes on her just felt uncomfortable sometimes. Raz introduced himself as a Psychonaut, and his mention of entering minds intrigued her. While that sounded like a massive invasion of personal privacy, and from a ten-year-old circus clown no less, Nadia wondered if the kid really could help her sort through some of her confusion and pain. Even for someone as energetic, fun-loving, and reckless as herself, peace of mind was a valuable thing. Hopefully Raz possesses some himself; flat-out dying in water was one hell of a weakness.

Wonder Red introduced himself next, speaking on behalf of the CENTINELS. Though not anyone that Tora, Poppi, and Big Band knew for very long, they seemed like good people. A little cheesy, but refreshingly professional, was the impression they left with Big Band. Tora wondered where the rest of the hundred-man international team might be. Roxas followed in Red’s footsteps, and though he spared only a handful of details, his relation to Organization XIII made him seem important. His commentary left Big Band with more questions than answers, and hungry for more. In a world of stasis, its oblivious populace kept perpetually in thrall, the existence of an independent Organization operating with its own agenda could not be ignored.

When Primrose stepped up to introduce herself, she did so with a stupendous flourish, putting on a little spectacle for her new allies that Nadia couldn’t help but admire…grudgingly. Through no fault of her own, the talented dancer ended up making Nadia feel a little inferior. Primrose was just so gorgeous, so glamorous, so elegant and powerful, all perfectly wrapped up in one stunning package. Put the rudimentary dances she learned from Shantae to shame, too. Normally the feral wasn’t one to get hung up on comparisons, but she also noticed that Ace couldn’t seem to look away from this woman, and somehow that stung a little. Could that be a touch of jealousy? Nadia frowned. Maybe this newfound competitiveness came as a result of her spirit fusion, or maybe it only just now manifested because she found someone she really liked. Lost in thought, she barely noticed the dancer’s companion Therion, though the thief did not make a spectacle of himself to begin with.

Ace said his piece next, introducing himself as a well-trained, well-equipped slayer of fantastical beasts. His job description and oversized equipment painted him as a frontline battle companion that Tora and Poppi would be happy to fight alongside. After that, Midna and the Koopa Troop picked up the trend Primrose started of showing off and carried it even farther, putting both abilities and egos on display in a show of power and braggadocious bravado. Band noted with some amusement the royals’ opposing boasts; if Midna saved time and Bowser conquered time, times must be interesting indeed. Tora, meanwhile, was just happy to see his fellow gearhead again. Not since Peach’s Castle had he and Junior really gotten the chance to put their heads together. Kamek looked a little different than he remembered, though that line of thinking quickly gave way to an interest in the Snaktivator she produced.

Sectonia went after, and she even managed to rope in Blazermate in order to try and impress the others with her magic. Once her turn came around, the Medabot deployed all her features and constructs too. Tora couldn’t wait to have a dedicated healer again, even if upgrades like Buster-Mode helped Tora take care of himself. Susie went next, but Tora’s mind drifted elsewhere. He had happened to realize that out of everyone gathered here, only Bowser, Blazermate, and himself remained from the original group of strangers who once gathered at the knoll at the edge of the southern badlands to defeat Kirby. It was a sobering thought.

Karin certainly introduced herself with aplomb, and with a level of pride that Poppi hadn’t been expecting. The martial artist took pains to make sure everyone knew just how accomplished she was. Grandiose attitudes were nothing new to Poppi, given her time with Sectonia and Bowser, but the phrase ‘prove yourselves worthy of fighting at my side’ came across as a little insulting from a newbie. Her comment about the Nopon manner of speech did not elude Poppi, either. The moment that Karin needed an immovable shield between her and certain doom, or salvation from its death’s door, she would realize just how valuable these peons around her could be.

In contrast, Sakura made a much more modest entrance. Her fun fact about hot dogs earned her the admiration and respect of Tora, who figured that anyone who loved sausages as much as he did couldn’t possibly be a bad person. Plus, she was cute, friendly, and maybe just a little dumb, all very endearing qualities.

Geralt introduced himself, though to Tora and Poppi his abilities were well-known. The events of the fight at the crystalized farmstead in the Ancestral Steppe had been seared into their memory. Helpfully the Witcher explained away some of the overlap between himself and Ace, which earned some respect from Band. Raw power was nice, but experience didn’t come cheap. After the grizzled, slightly bestial veteran came the bright-eyed youth Pit, the very definition of ‘happy to be here’. Omori followed him up, explaining about powers that derived from emotions. Band’s thoughts were elsewhere. What was that now, five preteen boys on the team, counting Tora? He, Raz, Junior, Pit, and Omori should be out there enjoying their lives, not risking them in a fight like this. If -or more likely, when- death came knocking, would not care that they were children.

When she went Jesse kept things simple and to-the-point, even deigning to drop some info that might be important later. Poppi logged the woman’s mention of a city in danger up north. While she could not yet venture a guess as to what city that might be, one thing was certain: this world needed a lot of saving. Her introduction left just two people, though only one elected to say anything: a rather proud young man who talked highly of his skill with Pokemon. After remembering her Croagunk, Poppi figured it wouldn’t take much to be a better Pokemon trainer than her. Maybe this Bede could give her some pointers. As for the spooky-looking sorcerer, only time would tell, it seemed. Not everyone would be the sort to make nice like this.

When the introductions finally concluded, Peach was all smiles. No matter what she or the others had gone through to get here, as long as the world’s heroes stood united, the future seemed bright. “Okay then. Now that we’ve gotten to know one another a little, let’s get started on our first mission…lunch!” She pointed her gloved finger up toward the Clock Tower, high up on the hill that Twilight Town rested on. “That’s where we’re going, right? Where the Metro station is, I mean. So, let’s make our way up through this…” She squinted in order to make out the name on a nearby street sign. “Market Street toward the train station. On the way, we can buy enough food for everyone, as well as anything else we need. It’s a beautiful day here, so we can eat outside as pool information and figure out who’s going where. If anyone needs some money…” She pulled out a Wallet purchased from the Argentum Trade Guild and poured out a handful of gold coins into her pocket, just a fraction of the wealth now housed within the magic Wallet’s infinite depths. “The treasury of the Mushroom Kingdom will provide!”

She glanced at LeFwee, still smoldering where he lay. “...And let’s make sure we throw these pirates somewhere, too.”

Forty-five minutes later, a few large, checkered tablecloths had been laid out across a grassy hillside on the upper outskirts of Twilight Town, roughly halfway between where the western perimeter road ended and the coniferous forest began. Separated from the acrid haze of the Sulfur Pools on the other side of these hills by the sloped expanse of fragrant pines, this hillside offered an excellent view past the Clock Tower and down across the town itself, all the way to the water. Those Seekers tasked with purchasing food had procured a trove of ingredients for sandwiches, including tasty cheese, fresh bread, savory salami, luscious ham, and vegetables like tickles and tomatoes that could be sliced up and added to sandwiches or eaten as-is if so desired. Drinks aside from water were only a short walk away, as the cafes around the Central Station’s plaza offered coffees, teas, fruit juices, and more. Other food and drink, of course, was up to the buyers’ (and financier’s) discretion.

Not everyone had been getting supplies for the midday feast, however. When the team passed a hairdresser called Seabreeze Salon on Market Street, Nadia discretely slipped inside. Pretty as long hair might be, Nadia didn’t care much for it, especially now that knew Primrose had an even bigger, more voluminous, and more lustrous ponytail than she did. In just a few minutes she emerged with her hair back in a short bob cut, albeit still with Massachusetts’ hair color, black on the inside and white on the outside. To her annoyance Nadia realized that she’d lost the hair dye she purchased at some point, probably in the river; she really needed a better way to carry her things instead of constantly losing them. A few others made their own stops as well. Vandham and the mercenaries took the chance to stop at the Militia headquarters, for instance, and deposit their piratical prisoners after an impromptu meeting with the boss.

While eating, the Seekers spoke, and the biggest topic was naturally where the Metro would be taking them. With such a miraculous transportation system the World of Light was their oyster, but they needed to avoid spreading themselves too thin. This applied even more considering that Vandham and the other mercenaries would be headed back to Alcamoth once their business here concluded, and that some sort of undisclosed discovery by the Phantom Thieves meant that they would be taking the Gray Line no matter what. Commander Nelson relayed Deadman’s request for help in the Dystopiascape, specifically in the biggest metropolis known to the World of Light, Midgar. A brief overview of its internal struggles, including the feuding powers within the city and the upcoming presidential election, as well as the Ever Crisis that assailed it from without, convinced the heroes that this was one cry for help they couldn’t ignore. Plus, as some Yellow Team members brought up, their acquaintance Goldlewis Dickinson would be there to help them, too. Once they established a foothold in Midgar, the Seekers could use the knowledge and resources gained during their time there to find and defeat the Dystopiascape’s Guardian.

Black Line it was, then. But would that be all? A massive group would be that much harder to manage, and in all likelihood cause more problems than it solved. The discussion soon turned to where a secondary team might be headed. Everyone considered the Twilight Forest, the Forbidden Kingdom, and the Frozen Highlands, but ultimately decided on the Under. It seemed like as good a place to start as ever, with more adventure and fewer complications than might be found elsewhere. It was settled: the Dystopiascape and the Under would be the next challenges the Seekers of Light would tackle. After some deliberation, the two teams came to be as well.

Susie, Peach, Tora, Poppi, Raz, Red, Geralt, Bede, Midna, Blazermate, Pit, Roxas, Sakura, and Karin would take the Black Line, while, Sectonia, Ms Fortune, Big Band, Omori, Rubick, Primrose, Therion, Bowser, Junior, Kamek, Rika, Jesse, and the Ace Cadet would take the Purple. The fourteen-thirteen split made sense, and with the teams scrambled everyone would have a chance to work alongside allies both new and old.

A few of those present, informed about new possibilities during the meet and greet, took the chance to request the use of the Snaktivator or Peach’s soul-taking services.





Briefly the picnickers also touched on a couple other causes for concern. Organization XIII presented an unknown extra factor in their campaigns, with some of its members helping the Seekers, and others unabashedly hindering them. Their goal seemed to be the eradication of Galeem’s Guardians, but they also worked in secrecy, and Roxas’ past painted them as enemies with a sinister motive. The other issue was a new one: the Consul. An individual who’d seemingly marshaled the denizens of the Sea of Serendipity into one force despite their past opposition, and pointed them directly at the heroes. While little could ultimately be said about him, what happened at Port O’ Panic seemed like enough to say with certainty that the Consul was someone to watch out for.

Finally, with their meals and discussions concluded, the Seekers wrapped up their picnic and made for Central Station to begin the next step of their grand adventure.

They went in the peaceful but subtly melancholic golden glow of an eternal sunset, but as ever the dusk cast long shadows. Atop the Clock Tower itself, no fewer than thirteen such shadows perched in the darkness. Some were tall, and some were short. Some were male, and some female. Some brawny, and some slender. None wielded their weapons, though one held a camera. The affected poses of sophistication, curiosity, flippancy, boredom, severity, excitement, and more, but one thing united them all, aside from their black coats. Not one of them felt a thing–just emptiness, where their hearts should be.

“Aw, now doesn’t that just warm the cockles,” one of the nobodies drawled as he sat on the precipice of the Clock Tower, peering down on the Seekers with one golden eye. “Nothin’ like teary reunion, eh guys?”

“Wot? Surely you en’t alludin’ to us there, scahface,” the shortest Nobody chirped, crossing her arms. “Dunno oo’s ‘appy to see your ugly mug.”

The first one snickered. “As if! We’re just here to wish them luck.”

“What good will luck do them?” another Nobody criticized in a sharp, slightly nasal monotone. “If they mean to achieve their goal, what they need is more power.”

Sighing, the first one shook his head. “Spoken like a true runner-up. You of all people should know, raw strength ain’t what always lets the heroes save the day. Nor speed, nor smarts, nor skill. Not even bravery!”

“It’s true,” a tall one said, his hood stretched over his cube-shaped head. He produced a playing card, then spread it into an entire deck of fifty-two. “No matter the player, there’s one factor Nobody can account for. Luck of the draw.” Without looking he pulled one card from the fan, vanished the rest, and then turned the card to look at what he’d drawn. It was the Ace of Diamonds. “Wonder how this hand plays out.”

“Nothin’ to do but wait and see. Unless they need a little nudge here and there,” the first one replied. . He clapped his hands on his knees and stood. “Ramaxi, Hallextram.” Two of the female nobodies stepped forward. “Kudos to ya both for a job well done. No rest for the wicked though, got a new task for ya. Thanks to that little meet and greet, we now know there’s someone we oughta pay a visit to. Someone I thought we left behind.”

Hallextram nodded. “Understood.” Portals of darkness opened around the shadows, and into them the Nobodies disappeared. Only she and Ramaxi remained for a moment, their eyes on the Seekers far below. “They seem happy,” she murmured. “Even knowing how long and difficult the path ahead will be.” She held out her gloved hand and stared at it pensively. “When this is all over…could we be happy, too?”

“A Nobody doesn't have a right to know,” Ramaxi whispered. “Nor does it even have the right to be. Corpses such as us…should be left well alone.” The two stared a moment longer, then in a heavy silence, left.

---

In the darkness, an incessant rattling noise accompanied the beam of light that shone from the backmost reaches of the room, projecting the image through the pitch and onto the far wall. There an enormous screen rested beneath the dangling curtains, their tassels limp and still given the utter lack of wind. Reflected off the screen, that light gave form to the stage that lay beneath it, the twin curved staircases that led down to the auditorium seating, and the stalls themselves. Most of the seats were empty, but scattered throughout were a few handfuls of curious attendees, their forms given only the vaguest distinction from the shadows by the glare of the screen. Each guest was appropriately dressed for the occasion, and through their suits bore little variance between one another, no two helmets looked exactly alike. These guests all sat apart from one another, and not one of them said a word to each other.

For the most part, they kept their eyes glued to the silver screen before them, especially now that the film had reached its climax. Some of them oohed and aahed over the spectacle, diverted by impressive displays of skill and dramatic reversals of fortune. Shouts of encouragement or derision accented the decisive moments. “Finish her off!” one might yell, or “don’t just stand there,” or “where did that come from?” The spectators insulted and criticized as they pleased, or showed their indifference with a yawn. When the monochrome boy stabbed the old lizard through the heart, and his young grandson wailed his sorrow to the heavens, they savored the rich pathos of the tragedy. When the scrappy brunette got tied to a cannonball and fired away with a yell, uproarious laughter ensued. A couple gasps followed the apparent assassination of the well-armed shipgirl, only to turn to a smattering of cheers when she stood up again to bear the hopes of her late friend, dispatched with such groan-inducing anticlimax by the medical bot. Exultation then followed as she finally pinned the squirrely catgirl down to give her just desserts, but that soon fell to disappointment as the dirty fighter then seized the day. Several nodded their heads at the honorable resolution of the final duel between the sword-wielding warriors, and when that cowardly pirate captain found himself utterly alone and helpless at last, many a chuckle could be heard. Before long, all hope was lost for the denizens of the Sea of Serendipity, and the snap of the fairy’s spine punctuated the end of their resistance. The victors gathered their spoils, and in their captured vessel sailed on to parts unknown.

With the film concluded, the screen went dark, and with it the whole of the theater. Just a moment later, however, a singular spotlight came on above the stage. It illuminated a tall figure in cherry-red armor, his helmet crested with an arch like the battlements of a tower and flanked by half-discs like overlarge ears.

“Welcome back to the stage of history, eternally retold,” he declared, bowing politely to the auditorium. After straightening up, he stared out into the darkness, his dark eyes visible through the X-shaped slit in his visor. “And it would appear that we have quite the healthy turnout, as well. Fourteen is nothing to scoff at for such a ramshackle production, mustered up on such a tight schedule. How long has it been since this place saw so many of us?”

“Not long enough,” spat a pointed, almost venomous voice. A spotlight fell upon the owner to reveal a helmet with the visage of a fanged tragedy mask, adorned by curled horns like bat wings. The man sat upon his cape with his legs crossed, his elbow perched on the arm of his chair so he could rest his chin on his fist. “It was not by my hand that I am once again giving audience. Tell me, S. Why have we been beckoned hence by such an insolent knave as yourself? Merely for a smidgen of entertainment?”

The owner of another voice, old and cantankerous, cleared his throat. “Don’t be so hasty, D.” A spotlight shone down on a domed helmet surrounded in tubes and medical apparatus. “Like it or not, this concerns us both. Your territory’s been awfully quiet lately, has it not?”

D sounded as incredulous as he was scornful. “Siding with this maverick, O? Hmph! Eager to get back to playing with the dead, are we? Or do you have some other bent, you miserable pile of secrets?” A mixture of anger and fear made O trip over his words, and with a grumble he fell silent, while D rolled his eyes.

“Anyone with their wits about them could guess why we’re here.” An even, mature voice brought forth a light that revealed a sinuous helmet with a white mask face dotted by tech lines and recessed eyes. “He has found another band of brave heroes who mean to stand against the flow.”

“Really, I thought it was a social visit.” His tone sarcastic, D glared at the speaker for the implied insult. “That was a rhetorical question, Y. What I want is an explanation. What makes these heroes worthy of our time. If I didn’t know better, I’d say S wanted there to be heroes!”

“Surely you don’t mean to try our patience again, S?” Light flooded onto a burly Consul as he rose from his seat, his ice-blue eyes glaring out from his centurion-styled helm. “You cried wolf once before,” he said, his voice naturally gruff and hard. “You were so sure these ‘heroes’ would be the ones to give us a run for our money, but they folded like a cheap suit, and all we got for our efforts was wasted time. What makes you think this time is any different?”

“Hey, hey, now.” Another light announced the presence of a shorter figure with a helmet shaped like the sun, marked with jagged zig-zags in the shape of a mouth and eyes. “Sit down, U. As fun as it’d be to watch you all at each other’s throats, don’t you think we oughta hear him out, at least? He’s the same as any of us, after all. And did give us a good show!” The Consul closed his eyes, smiling. “I mean, did you hear those dulcet death throes? ‘I’m sorry, everyone’...’forgive me…’ They sure love apologizing, huh? A lot of good it’ll do them when they’re dead, heheh.”

“Thank you O, F,” The man on stage tilted and nodded his head in gratitude. “What I shall endeavor to bring to your collective attention is, indeed, no small matter. My past transgression is, of course, my deepest and most bitter regret, which is why I bided my time to collect enough information to truly certify my position. I do not intend to ask the world of you, my friends; merely that we should lift a finger or two, when the opportunity presents itself. For these ‘heroes’, as you say, are the real deal.”

A number of voices broke out at the same time, most of them dismissive. But through the chaos ripped a rich baritone, possessed of a subtle ethereal echo that bore the depth of time. “Compose yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. Preposterous as they might seem at first blush, our colleague’s concerns are more well-founded than you likely realize.” The voice came from a helmet shaped like a heart clasped in mechanical instrumentation, bearing nine crests and a bevy of eyes.

“A?” Some of the Consuls shifted in their seats, in particular a diminutive one with a drill-shaped helmet on his huge head. His growly voice sounded impressed. “If you’re backing S up, this can’t just be more bologna. But my dominion is as absolute as ever. Not one whiff of trouble in or around the Plateau.” He crossed his arms, narrowing his slitted orange eyes. “What sort of damage are we looking at?”

S adopted a thinking pose. “I’m so very glad you asked, R. As it happens, our new heroes have amassed quite the little list of accolades, and in a rather short time as well. In less than one week’s time, no fewer than four of the Guardians have been defeated, and their spirits laid claim to. Opposing factions have been eliminated across the Deep Blue Seaside and Sandswept Sky, and the people of places like Limsa, Lumbridge, Peach’s Castle, and Al Mamoon rally in their heroes’ support.” The revelations were met with silence, but nobody was jeering now. S gave a wry smile and continued. “This state of affairs cannot, however, be attributed to inordinate strength, or even sheer murderous intent. As you just saw, even the motley crew of blowhards, has-beens, and civilians I quickly gathered in the Sea of Serendipity gave our heroes a run for their money, even if no casualties ensued. We’ve reached this stage -both literally and metaphorically, I might add- because of negligence and complacency. We’ve rested on our laurels so long, we’ve flattened them.”

“Hey, speak for yourself, Stretch!” an obnoxious, childish male voice called out from the front row. No eyes could be seen within the helmet that resembled a boar’s head, with four bent spider legs jutting out from either side, as the portly little Consul stared up at the man on stage. “Everything’s just fine where I am, and getting to the Guardian is impossible! You just want the rest of us to cover up for your mistakes!”

As F snickered, another voice arose in reproach. This one was female, albeit roboticized, and though monotone her delivery carried a certain ridicule. “As much as it must sting to be reproached once in your pampered little life, P, consider the bigger picture for a moment. If we’ve really let four Guardians slip through our fingers in one week, we may be in danger. Our greatest enemy is not a group of heroes, but ourselves.” She turned her semicircular helmet around the room, bathing all in her yellow gaze. “We should begin by asking the corresponding Consuls what happened in their regions.”

“What are you talking about, G?” P whined. “We OWN this world!”

“This world is but a fleeting shadow, on the backdrop of eternity.” From the likeness of a snarling, fanged demon with a plated helmet of its own issued an elegant woman’s voice, soft but charged with power. “And eternity is in our hands. We cannot allow it to slip away.”

“Too true.” S took a deep breath in through his nose. As he continued to speak, images from previous films appeared on the screen behind him. “So. The slain Guardians are Megadragonbowser.” A clip of the fiery brawl in the throne room of Peach’s Castle played. “Ender Dragon. “ A shot of the giant monstrosity crashing through the End. “The Orphan of Kos.” A pitch-black giant loomed over a tar-covered beach. “And Red Eye.” From on high the Seekers dove down to finish off the giant worm as it lay impaled upon countless supports.

“For my realm, I was unaware of them for a time, and while visiting Lumbridge mistook the newcomers for simple adventurers. Only after an uproar surrounding the Guild Master did I begin to connect the dots. After that I began to monitor them more closely, and resolved to let them challenge the Ender Dragon to see if they possessed the power to vanquish it. Afterward, I began to concoct my plan.” He shook his head. “My opposite number, M, was otherwise engaged at that time, and elected not to appear today, either. I cannot speak to him, or to the other regions…”

A rubbed the chin of his helmet. “I admit, I was rather engrossed in other affairs. The depths of the Bottomless Sea provide quite the diversion. With the Maw out of commission, however, I shall have to requisition ever more exquisite horrors from the deep to stoke the flames of war.”

“We were all just busy, I’m sure. Lot of ground to cover, y’know?” The husky, strident voice came from one of the biggest, brawniest Consuls in the room. Her helmet resembled a skull nestled in a mane of tentacles. “Tell you what, though. If the folks from Limsa think they’ve seen the last of conflict, they’re about to be in for a rude awakening. I drummed up a group with a lot of attitude who's gonna shake things up in the Seaside.”

“What, Abyssal Fleet just not doin’ it for ya anymore, I?” A lean Consul in a one-eyed helmet drawled.

I shook her head, her disgust clear in her voice. “They are stagnation itself. It’s not that they do not change–it is that they cannot. They do not think, or desire, or adapt. They merely charge forward, and if they fall, their replacements charge over them. They are played out, and life is wasted upon them. So I leave them to sink, and have chosen for Limsa a new enemy. One that will happily learn lessons from their broken bones, and appreciate wisdom more than they do their teeth. You understand, yes, H?”

“Wow, huh, good luck with that,” H told her. “Well, in my neck of the woods, I’m actually pretty happy those ‘heroes’ of yours broke Red Eye outta the mountain. Their little fight wiped out so much track that Al Mamoon’s ground to a stop, leaving them no choice but to accept an offer from FeeCo. Soon we’re gonna have the whole desert hooked up and fightin’ like cats. Business is BOOMING, baby!”

A Consul with a helmet like a chicken-shaped totem shook her head ruefully. “You forget that neither side is supposed to truly defeat the other,” she reminded him.

“Hey, you of all people should know I play to win, X!” H chuckled. “Maybe you’re just backing the wrong horses. I mean, hordes of filthy bandits and voodoo magic against FeeCo tech? Please!”

Before they could start bickering, S spoke up. “What about the Mushroom Kingdom, then? I understand that they swept through in less than a day, but how fare things now?”

“Don’t you look at me funny!” a slightly shrill old voice insisted. Its owner could be seen under the spotlight, his spiked helmet stylized like a brain protruding from a skull. “I’ve been preoccupied trying to get that fool Eggman started, only for him to go and lose the factory I gave him! My beautiful machine army, up in smoke! Meanwhile, K’s been off playing castle to the west! Didn’t even show up today, see?”

Consul A tilted his head. “If machines are your desire, W, perhaps I can direct you and your erstwhile associate to a certain elephantine derelict on the perimeter of my domain. In their cups locals whisper tales of a Metal Devil, a relic of an advanced civilization.”

“Is that so? Metal Devil, hmm? I like the sound of that. Perhaps I shall give my pawn another chance.” W rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

After a long drink from his glass, D slammed his hand down. “Enough talk! If we mean to actually do something, it would behoove us to know where things stand.”

“Of course.” S cleared his throat again. “The heroes employ Alcamoth as their base of operations. It is well-equipped, and will soon finish repairs on an airship that can cover the whole continent. Right now the heroes are on their way to Twilight Town to use the Metro to begin the hunt for more Guardians, but we don’t know where they’re headed. They also have help from the Organization.”

O snorted. “Feh, the Organization. They’ve been a thorn in our side, sure, but that’s all they are. They know they can’t take any risks if they mean to achieve their goal. Let them keep their shadows. We are the light, and they know it.”

“Plus, we literally outnumber them two to one.” P drummed his feet against the legs of his seat. “If we’re actually going to do something, why not just all jump them at once? Get it over with nice and fast.”

A mixture of snorts and laughter greeted his proposal. “Do you forget who we are?” D scoffed. “We are the custodians of this world! Its very rulers! To resort to such a base tactic would be to announce to all the world -and worst of all, one another- that we possess neither power, nor wisdom, nor courage. Do you truly have no shame, child of man?”

With an annoyed grunt P slumped down in his chair.. “Ugh. It was just a question.”

B interlaced her fingers as she considered all angles. “Have we any word from Master Hand?”

“Off working in mysterious ways, I’m sure,” U jeered. “Forget the oversized glove. Any actual action is up to the likes of us!” He pounded his fist into his palm for emphasis.

“Hmm.” Another Consul earned a light, which shone down on a bucket helm with the face of a clock and a forked adornment. His voice was deep, equal parts sophisticated and menacing. “If the time has come to dispose of Alcamoth, perhaps I could convince L to make use of that Tech Plant she’s always gibbering about. Would you agree to a joint venture, H?”

It took a moment for H to understand the proposal. “Huh? You mean…? Oh, with Zurvan? Yeah, uh, sure thing, N. If you actually convince that frosty bitch, that’ll definitely do the trick. Hate to be those guys, whoo.” He laughed as he pretended to pull at his collar. “Wouldn’t mind watching, though.”

“As for the rest of us,” S mused. “We have much and more to do. Let us stay sharp, keep our noses to the grindstones, and make ready. Whenever and wherever they turn up, we should be ready to oppose them.”

“Very well. Myself and C shall arrange a warm welcome for them in Midgar” Y murmured, nodding his head. “If he hasn’t already begun, of course.” With that, he disappeared in a flash of purple sparks, and the spotlight above him snapped off.

“Funny that neither Consul from Twilight Forest bothered showing up, either” R grumbled.

“I’ll spread the love.” Beneath his mask, F grinned. “I can hardly wait to get T involved. Ohoh, this should be fun.”

B took a long, slow breath. “I suppose I must let J know, as well. One can only hope that she will not go overboard.”

They left, and the others quickly followed suit. One spotlight at a time the room returned to darkness. In just a couple moments, only a couple remained. Rather than vanish, N stood in his chair. “Something occurred to me. A delightful little bit of entertainment. You mentioned that they would soon reach Nyakuza Metro. I happen to know an easy and discreet way to put a dampener on their plans, should I make it in time.”

A brief moment passed in silence before G replied. “It sounds like you’d better get moving, then,” she told him. “I’d join you to see what comes of your little test, but it looks like I’ve got other plans. Try to leave a little for the rest of us, will you?”

“Time will tell,” N replied. A second later he was gone, and G right behind him.

That left only S. His eyes narrowed as he gazed out into the darkness. “Brave, foolhardy heroes…how far will you get this time?”

Then he vanished, and darkness ruled the stage of history once more.

---

“This place is fur-iggen’ AWESOME!”

The bustling, neon-and-brick enormity of Nyakuza Metro took Nadia completely by surprise. She’d seen her fair share of train stations and thought she knew what to expect, but an old-fashioned nighttime city totally exceeded her expectations. At first she assumed that this place featured the same sort of magically-locked time of day as Twilight Town, but upon closer inspection it turned out that the whole miniature metropolis existed one hundred percent indoors. It was weird but wonderful, and once she overcame her initial awestruck incredulity Nadia loved every inch of it. Everything was cat-themed, from the tunnel entrances to the vacuums, and no matter where she turned her delighted gaze she found something that made her smile.

“I mean, street food? Scratchin’ posts? Heat lamps? Giant kitties and cat tower apartments? This is a feline paradise!” Just a few minutes into her new mission, Nadia already found herself distracted. ‘Smitten’ might be a better word, in fact; this place offered just about everything she could ever want. The Metro, laden with cat-themed curiosities and perfect for parkour, just begged to be explored, and when she spotted a glittering jewelry store her eyes sparkled with greed. But she couldn’t afford to take a detour given her present company. With a heavy sigh, Nadia jogged to catch up with the others, resolving to take in as much of the Metro as she could while making her way through to the Purple line. After passing a group of Metro Cats, though, her disappointment gave way to a fit of the giggles. “Oh my gosh, aren’t these little guys cute? Their voices are makin’ me crack up. I swear I just heard one say, ‘if my train doesn’t arrive right meow, I’m gonna be late!’” When she mimicked the feline’s speech, her impression wasn’t just spot-on. It was immaculate, as if she and the Metro Cats somehow shared the same voice, albeit with a different inflection. Nadia blinked a few times, surprised and a little weirded out, then shrugged and carried on.

“Sadly, it ain’t as simple as findin’ the right train station,” she heard Band saying. “In order to enter any station, we need the right color train pass, and the only money they take here is pons.” He pointed to a nearby brick wall covered in graffiti, where a handful of the bright green crystals floated in a row going upward. “Those emerald-lookin’ things, see? Meanin’ we gotta stretch our legs a li’l before we can hit the tracks.”

Before the grand pon hunt could get underway, however, a loud crackly static noise echoed through the Metro. Everywhere, the Metro cats stopped what they were doing and looked up. “The hours of folly are measured by the clock,” an unfamiliar but rather villainous-sounding British accent declared. “But of wisdom, no clock can measure.”

A loud bong rang out as the giant clock face nestled in one of the metro’s high walls above the plaza struck one o’ clock. Silhouetted against its glow were two people, one broad-shouldered with armor and a tall cylindrical helmet, and the other a tall, imperial feline holding a microphone. “Kitties and gentletoms, it seems we have some uninvited guests. Whatever will we do?” the same voice began.

“...Take them,” the other said, her voice low but commanding. “Reward is one million a head.”

“Meh-meh?” Tora piped up, taken aback. “They mean us? Who they talking to?”

A sinking feeling in her chest, Nadia looked around. Where moments ago the Metro had been full of cats, now there wasn’t so much as a whisker anywhere to be found. Everything had gone quiet, and the Seekers were alone. “Uh oh.” She stared up at the clock, her face a mixture of anger and fear. “I think those pricks just put a hit on us! What happened to this place bein' safe!?”

“Sounds like our li’l train ride just got a lot more complicated,” Band said. He, too, squinted up at the clock, trying to make out the strangers who’d just announced both their presence and malicious intent. Could that cat lady be ‘her’?

The man broke out into evil laughter. “Hmhmhmhm…hahahahahahaha! That’s right, fools. Quake in your boots, for Rush Hour is upon us!”

Suddenly the ground began to shake. The sound of countless footsteps pounding the ground echoed through the Metro. Then, from alleys, tunnels, doors, windows, manhole covers, and just about everywhere else the Seekers could imagine, there erupted a living tide of black fur, gleaming claws, and slitted eyes so awash in red that almost no yellow remained. The Metro cats arrived in staggering quantities, wearing white face masks across their snouts and wielding all manner of weapons as they moved in tight-packed crowds. It was a terrifying display–not least because the feral masses seemed to be converging on the Seekers’ position.

Nadia crouched down, pressurizing her blood for a high jump. “Hah, no way in hell I’m fightin’ that! I mean, even if I could, they’re just little guys! Do we really have to hurt ‘em?”

“They weak by selves, but there so many…!” Poppi marveled, her processor momentarily overloaded by her attempt to take count. Despite the massive threat the cats posed, she did not relish the idea of fighting them either. Even attacks with a small area of effect could claim dozens of lives at once. “Extreme caution advised! Friends should run!”

“Forget the pons!” Peach shouted, taking her umbrella in hand as the tsunami of cats bore down on the group. “We need to get to the stations and get the hell out of here, NOW!”

The Phantom Thieves didn’t need to be told twice. They turned into blurs and disappeared down a nearby alley, following the Gray Line signs. “See you on the other side,” Joker called, waving goodbye. “Good luck!” He then darted off after the others, barely making it before the cats swept in front of it and closed off that avenue of escape. Peach was right. It was time to go.

Even though Nadia's techniques weren't able to be taught, according to her at least, Raz was still pretty excited to get a better understanding of how it worked. Back home where everyone with powers was a psychic, you could generally understand what you were getting into in both fighting and teaming up with them. Here, though, every person was different, unique in what they could do and how. He thought it was pretty important to get a grip on his allies' abilities, in case of an emergency. An information-based emergency. It could happen!

Speaking of information, the kid in a weird black robe, Roxas, seemed to have some weighty info of his own. "Organization XIII," Raz muttered. Back when he first fell in with the group in Al Mamoon, Raz remembered there was another person who showed up in a robe just like Roxas, someone that the southern guy seemed to know. Lethal Ram? It was hard to place details, since that was also around when he was still under Galeem's influence, so memories were murky. Still, a secret cabal of robed figures operating alongside the Seekers was interesting, though with the way Roxas talked about them, maybe it was something to be more worried about?

The next introduction was Primrose, a dancer who turned out to be friends with Therion, followed by the thief himself. They made a really strange pair. Actually, they reminded Raz of Agents Nein and Vodello, though Therion was a lot more dour than Sasha. Hopefully he manages to come out of his shell at some point. If everyone was raging a campaign against some humongous threat together, being so withdrawn probably wasn't a good thing.

The Ace Cadet took the spotlight after. Wonder Red felt a little at ease now that another Seeker was withholding their true identity from the team. Even being a necessary precaution it was hard to feel like a real member with the barrier of a secret between him and the rest. "You have experience against large foes?" Wonder Red asked him once he left the impromptu stage. "We've been trained to combat such enemies too. Maybe we could trade techniques? I'm certain that we'll face enormous threats moving forward, so pooling our knowledge will be a great advantage!"

Hopefully Ace caught all of that, because Midna's introduction was so spectacular that it nearly drowned out Red's voice! Lightning, giant wolf howls - while not very subtle (at all), it definitely proved Midna's capability as a bruiser. And as a fellow 'big hand' user, Red felt some comradery with her.

Literally jumping at the chance to follow Midna, a tough act to do so, Bowser introduced himself and his "troop", which, as far as Raz could tell, was basically just his family. Bowser himself seemed like the muscle of the troop, and a pretty boastful turtle on top of that. 'Tyrant of terribleness'? Was he some sort of bad guy? Well, if he was helping to stop Galeem, it probably wasn't anything to worry about. His son had a lot less to say about himself, though magic portals, self-made hovercars, and his two, uh, pets? That was all pretty interesting to Raz. Must be hard to talk yourself up when your dad does it twice as loud.

Kamek, the lizard wizard, revealed a point that made Raz look around the group again. "Fusions? Body parts? Spirits?" So the people that looked strange might not be like that normally? Who was all fused up and who wasn't? Was it rude to just ask? And if fusion caused physical changes, did it change their mental state too? Way too many questions ran through Raz's head, so he tried to push it to the side and worry about answering them later.

After the troop, Sectonia. Both Raz and Red have journeyed with her for a decent amount of time, though Red only recently, but both were put off by her view of everyone as her minions or subjects. Neither liked the idea of traveling with somebody who saw themselves much higher than them, especially since they were all meant to be a team, but so far nothing she's actually done ran counter to helping them, so... maybe it was another thing that was fine, actually?

When Blazermate started showing off her moves, Raz started to feel a bit self-conscious. It wasn't like he had a big showcase of his abilities, and everyone else seemed a lot flashier than him, some literally. Had he just come off as a silly kid who couldn't defend himself? Rubbing the side of his helmet Raz tried to shake those thoughts away and focus on the intros. Blazermate was a healer robot, that was easy enough to understand for him. What really had him curious was whether he could actually project into her mind. Did a robot brain count, would his Psycho Portal work on her? He wouldn't try without asking first, of course, but that was for later.

Susie. Probably the shortest introduction of the group so far, and kinda confusing. She was a CEO who specialized in... roboticizing and making wishes? Wonder Red fix her with a look as she hopped down from her summoned "business" suit. For what little she divulged about herself, Red had an odd feeling about her. It could simply be that she was still new to the group and needed time to acclimate, Red convinced himself.

"Man," Raz said to nobody in particular as Karin took her turn, "so many people in this group are pretty smart. Tech geniuses, actual robots, joint business-owner-and-ninja-army-leaders. A whole lot of royalty, too. Kinda wish there'd be some normal people around to even things out. Like, the next person to join up being some middle-aged bum who has a mean right hook. Variety, you know?" Raz's semi-hope came about with Karin's friend, Sakura, who was seemingly as normal a person in this group as there could be. As far as anyone else was aware at least. Still, even if she didn't have a lot of fancy credentials, having another person fighting the big bad was enough of a help!

A monster hunter that looked like a monster, huh? Seemed... poetic, or something. Raz wasn't one to judge though, even if he was trying to track Geralt's pre-fusion appearance. Just, less monster-y? "Where were the monster hunters when we climbed that mountain?" Raz asked, "things might've gone a lot smoother there if we had you guys with us."

They had an angel on their side too? This group was getting wilder and wilder with each introduction! And another general on top of that. Having experience in the world-saving business was a real bonus as well. And he was servant to his own personal goddess! Raz wondered why they had to do this whole ground-level war when they could ask for Palutena's help with Galeem, even just a quick ride to them. She wasn't also Galeem'd too, was she? That was a scary thought.

A young monochromatic boy introduced himself now, Omori, and with it came a sense of apprehension for Wonder Red. While Razputin Aquato and Bowser Junior seemed capable and had proper protection, Omori looked like an ordinary kid, for a given sense of the word. HE may have managed to make it thus far but it still rubbed Red the wrong way, simply allowing so many kids to be part of this war. What if Omori got hurt? The abilities tied to emotions might help in part, but wasn't that too volatile of a safety net in all-out combat? Red would have to keep a better eye on Omori from here on, for protection.

Jesse Faden, the only person besides Razputin to have a surname it seemed - or at least willing to divulge one - came next. Seems she was another psychic, and an armed one at that. When she mentioned her friends in trouble, Red tried to ease her mind. "Do not worry Jesse Faden. The people at Alcamoth has plenty of capable mercenaries they can dispatch to help. It might do you well to put in an official word over there, before we all head off to the Metro."

Last but certainly not least (from what he said about himself) was Bede, who called himself a Pokemon Trainer, along with a whole heapload of boasting about his potential. Wonder Red didn't have much issue with showboating or talking oneself up - he just hoped that it wasn't misplaced ego and Bede had the skills to back it up with. Red also noted that Bede's Pokemon were similar to Mimi and Dazzle, Bowser Junior's pets. Interesting.

And that was everyone! Or, near enough everyone. Peach proposed lunch, which was a great idea in Raz's opinion. He was starving. Everyone walked down Market Street, preparing for the picnic as they went. Raz took the time to take stock of his belongings; he still has his handful of Psi Pops for a quick pick-me-up, health-wise, and he wasn't needing anything else... "Oh! Bacon!" Raz took out his little baggie with a strip of bacon in it, and carefully disposed of the meat. It was getting old. "Anybody know where there's a good slice of bacon? I'm gonna need it moving forward." For any strange looks that garnered, Raz elaborated, "Oh, see, Agent Cruller put a little psychic hook in my brain, so whenever I need to call on him I just need to wave his favorite food near my ear. Bacon!" That probably just made the looks stranger.

Neither he nor Red had money of their own, and nothing to really spend it one besides, so they helped with the lunch prep. Sitting down to eat, Raz piled his plate up with one huge sandwich, meats and cheeses and pickles stuffed like a small mountain between two pieces of bread. Wonder Red took a simpler approach and made himself several small sandwiches made for maximum protein. He was going to need his strength for the next leg of their journey.

Deliberations for what that next leg was began, and as the discussion started to narrow on a few key locations, Raz threw his two cents in towards this 'Dystopiascape' place. A technological hotspot that was also the bed for political intrigue? As Raz put it himself, "there's no better place that Sasha would end up going. Sasha Nein is one of my fellow agents, and my personal hero. Maybe there's other Psychonauts there too! I have to check it out."

Wonder Red also gave his inclination towards the place. "With Commander Nelson returning to Alcamoth to oversee the complete of the Virgin Victory's repairs, it's imperative that I help in dealing with the Timefall there. And, like Razputin Aquato said, a big hub of activity might house some Wonderful One-Double-Oh members."

Now that it was all decided, and all their stomachs full, it was time to get back to business. The trip back to the Metro was uneventful - it was just a train ride after all - but before anyone could split off for another search of Pons, things went south quickly. The large tolling of the clock and the sudden emptying of the Metro brought the hairs on Raz's neck standing. Red scanned their surroundings, fearing an ambush, as the young psychic pulled his goggles from his forehead over his eyes, a sign that anyone he'd traveled with knew meant things... were about to get dangerous.

As if they needed the help.

"Everyone for the Black Line, follow me!" Raz shouted over the growing noise of their feline pursuers, summoning his Levitiation ball and bounding down a safe walkway. "I got a good look at where all the rails went the first time we were here, I can figure out how to get to the station! Just keep up!" Rolling a bit ahead of the group Raz did his best to keep their path clear, Psi-blasting away groups of cats that broke from the surge to block their way forward.

In their mad dash towards their station, things were pretty hectic. Between the rush of the cats after them and the chaotic nature of the Metro itself, it was no wonder than some people would end up on a different rooftop or level than the rest. One such was Wonder Red, having been cut off from the group in trying to fend off a gang of cats flanking them. On a railway a bit above Raz and the rest, Red looked ahead, and saw the tide of cats starting to close around them. Thinking quick, he summoned his Howler striker; being surrounded by so many enemies triggered its piercing shriek quickly, stunning the few ambitious felines climbing towards Red, and summoning four Hollows from the brickwork just beneath them. Red hopped down from his railway, falling a very brief distance just in time for a train to pass in front of him...


In a blink of an eye Red summoned his Unite Morph, slamming into the side of the passing train with enough force to send it flying off its tracks, crashing through the mob just in front of his companions, clearing the way forward. However, this left Red himself in a bad predicament, as he was falling further down now, towards an unending horde of cats that ended up beneath them like a wave of water. In a bit of a panic Red de-morph his Hand, twirled around so he faced downwards, and...


In the same one-billionth of a second a massive sword spawned from Red's extended fist, the tip planted firmly against the ground. He was balanced over the mob like a polevaulter mid-vault. Before any cats could climb the Morph to get at him, though, Red swung it sideways, up and around, striking the ground against from an angle, and using the momentum of the force to actually vault himself over the crowd to a safe metal walkway off to the side.

Once he touched down, Red dematerialized his Morph, letting his summoned Strikers land on the walkway alongside him... and, much less gracefully, some fellow Seekers that had been caught in the radius of his Unite Morph from the very first (@Yankee's Ace Cadet, @Lugubrious's Big Band, & anyone else who wants to follow to Frozen Highlands). For the first time, Red looked flustered. "O-Oh, I'm sorry about that," he said, helping them to their feet. "I didn't realize that, ah, you were close enough to be acquired like that. I thought my Unite Morphs were bigger than usual... Are you okay?" His fretting would have to be put on hold, however, since the group was now cut off from their designated teams, and no easy way back up.

"Anyways, uh, right. In my haste to protect our teammates I seem to have gotten us stuck away from them. I'm low on power from the Morphs, so we might have to consider as retreat."

Back up to the group heading for the Black Line, things weren't looking much better. After a couple of turns, hops, and daring leaps between moving trains later, and Raz skid to a halt in front of a vending machine right in what looked like a dead-end. "Up there!" Raz pointed straight up, where an opening forward sat, farther up the wall. Only a single, lazy vacuum was there, taking its sweet time coming down to them, so they'd have to get up on their own.

---

Quite a few people took their turns after Roxas did. The first was a dancer named Primrose, incorporating dance into her fighting style and could use it invigorate allies. She admittedly did have a certain allure, but the next introduction came before he could stare for too long. Therion, a guy in a purple cloak of some kind. Another rogue, according to Primrose. But Therion confirmed that he was good at opening doors, picking locks, seeking treasure. In other words, it was all a fancy way of saying he was a thief. He also didn't seem like a particularly nice guy, having what seemed to be a dismissive attitude and wanting everyone to stay out of his way. Not much of a team player, apparently.

Next to go was a guy who introduced himself as an Ace Cadet... whatever that meant. He explained that he was a monster hunter, and that he had lots of experience at taking on opponents way bigger than himself. Pretty impressive, all things considered. While Roxas himself and several of his old friends had their share of experience dealing with large enemies, it sounded like this Ace was an actual professional at doing it. Though despite all this, Roxas couldn't help but wonder how effective any of his weaponry would be against the likes of Heartless or Nobodies, creatures that are much harder to kill if you don't possess a Keyblade.

Next up was Midna. Roxas had already met her earlier, but here he was able to learn a little bit more about her. She wasn't kidding about being a "Princess of Twilight" because she said she was from an actual Twilight Realm? Another realm? Besides the Realms of Light and Darkness? It seemed unreal that there was an entire third realm that he and presumably none of his friends had ever discovered. And now he found himself wondering what it was like there. She also showed a bit of her powers, summoning two wolves. She also summoned purple claws and a flying insect creature. None of it looked like anything he had ever seen before.

After Midna was the biggest of the turtle dragons. His name was Bowser, and he called himself the King of the Koopa. So that was a fourth royal here on top of the two Princesses and Sectonia? He also tried to act like he was the one who was really in charge, but even Roxas could see through that bluff. Still his list of accomplishments sounded impressive, assuming they were all true. And he also had that entire Troop at his beckoned call so he was obviously powerful. After that, Bowser's son Jr. took a turn introducing himself. He was younger and smaller than his father, but made up for it by seemingly being craftier. He apparently built the machine he was riding in, and possessed a magic paint brush capable of brushing portals to other locations into existence. On top of all this he also possessed a pair of monsters that looked kinda like the one Midna summoned. But at the end of the day he was still a kid, confirmed by him also proclaiming that he loved video games.

The old one went next. She introduced herself as Kamek, and was Bowser's advisor. She also looked like a Wizard, judging by her robe and pointy hat. It also didn't take her long to single Roxas and request they talk later. Roxas knew she was probably curious about the Organization, and so he just nodded his head in agreement. He promised he would tell them all whatever they needed to know, and he intended to keep that promise. She then showed off a device that apparently could alter someone's appearance. Of course, Roxas had no idea about spirits and thus did not know why such a thing would be necessary.

Next up was a girl named Rika. She opened by saying that she had only been "a person" for three days, having been a part of something called an Abyssal Fleet beforehand. She said Kamek had freed from Galeem... Galeem? Had Roxas heard that name before? No, no of course not. Anyway, for weapons she possessed a set of guns and blades. There didn't seem to be much else beyond that.

After this Roxas noticed that one of the robot girls had come over and sat next to him. She said he didn't have to be so formal and could loosen up a bit. Also, what was an "anime" boy? She had called him one and referred to some other person she knew as one, but Roxas had no clue what that meant. He wasn't sure what was so interesting about him, but he let it go for now and just nodded in response.

The next one to go was Sectonia. While Roxas had already met her, this was first he was hearing about her actual abilities. She said she was a sorcerer and spellsword, and could easily control who would be affected by her magic and who wouldn't be. She also claimed to control space and time, but... Roxas had a tough time believing that. It sounded more like a boast than anything. And why did she insist on calling everyone her subjects and minions?

After the Queen, the robot girl next to Roxas got up took her turn. So her name was Blazermate? And she said she was the main healer, implying at least part of what she brought to the table. And then out of nowhere she pointed at Roxas and shot a beam at him, "Whoa!" he shouted in surprise, putting up his arms defensively. But the beam didn't hurt at all. In fact he then noticed that turned him blue and metallic, and invincible according to Blazermate, "Whoa... weird."

The next was Susie, who introduced herself as the CEO of a company that Roxas had never heard of. She summoned some kind of robotic suit, which served as both her armor and her primary weapon. After that she started going over a lot words and jargon that may as well have been an alien language from Roxas' perspective. Still. she was obviously smart and knew her way around machines. And given the number of robotic people here, that was probably a very welcomed skill to have.

After this was the introduction of a seemingly normal looking girl. She introduced herself as Karin Kanzuki, and evidently she was a martial arts master. So someone who possessed no weapons or magic? Just relied on the strength of their own fist? One had to respect the resolve it must take to do that when surrounded by many magic and technology users. After her was a girl named Sakura, who seemed a lot less confident but was also a martial artist like Karin.

After the two girls was a tall man with white hair and blackened armor, and a horn of some kind on his forehead. He introduced himself as Geralt, and he was something called a Witcher. Apparently that meant he hunted monsters like Ace did. And he was old, very old. Saying he had nearly a hundred years of training and experience. Just how old was this guy? He also mentioned being fused with some spirits, and that they were responsible for how he currently. And now Roxas was wondering how many of the others were fused with spirits that was changing their appearance. But he was quite skilled overall. Tracking, spells, mastery of swords and various other weapons. It almost made Roxas think he could learn a thing or two more about fighting from him.

The Seeker up was a guy who looked like a literal angel, with his white clothes and white feathery angel wings. Pit had even said he was a servant of a Goddess. Sounded pretty angelic to Roxas. He was a captain of his Goddess' royal guards, and wielded a blue-and-gold bow weapon. Well, it looked like a bow, but it also looked like it was sharp like blades too. Were they swords that should shoot arrows? Wouldn't be the strangest weapon Roxas had ever seen by a long shot.

And then there was Omori. A gloomy-looking boy with a blank expression. He claimed he wasn't as strong or flashy as everyone else, but that he could fight using his emotions. Roxas couldn't begin to imagine how that would work or if he would be all that proficient at fighting that way. He had a feeling Omori wasn't giving himself enough credit. Then again, he also said that he was looking for his missing friends and sister. Something that obviously hit close to home for Roxas, so maybe he was being a little bit biased. Roxas decided that he had to help this kid find his friends. Being in the exact same position, Roxas himself would have appreciated whatever help someone else offered him in finding his own friends.

Next up was Jesse, whom Roxas already met earlier. For once he wasn't especially surprised by her abilities, having already seen a glimpse of them for himself during their big race earlier. He was instead surprised to learn about her guns, particularly the one that didn't run out of bullets. Sounded super useful, but for the part that only she could apparently use it properly. She liked scary movies, which Roxas couldn't bring himself to disagree with. Such a thing could be fun when the mood and occasion called for it. She then mentioned her people being in danger in a city far to the north. Roxas didn't know what that was about, but he kind of wished they could go help them. It sounded like they needed it.

And then there was Bede. A very confident kid dressed all in pink who informed them that he was something called a Pokemon Trainer. He then mentioned that he noticed a few of the others had them as well. So was that all those creatures were that were summoned by Midna and Jr? So did that mean that Roxas could become a Pokemon Trainer too? Maybe he should ask Bede about it if he got the chance. Having some extra buddies to help him out in battle could come in handy. And he had to admit it sounded like fun, too.

And finally, all the introductions were eventually done and over with. After this the Seekers all separated and went to go shopping or run other errands. As for Roxas, he had business to take care of at the Barracks. He needed to let the Commander know that he was leaving Twilight Town, and it just so happened that one of the Seekers, Vandham, had business with the barracks as well. As such, Roxas offered to show him the way and to introduce him to the Commander. As they walked, Roxas noticed the captive pirates and Vandham explained how the they had attacked the Seekers while enroute here and they needed to be handed over to the authorities. That explained why Vandham wanted to go the Barracks, of course. And naturally, Roxas also explained that he was a member of the Town Militia and needed to report to the commanding officers and hand in his resignation.

"Sorry I've been gone for so long, Commander." said Roxas apologetically when the entered the barracks, "A lot of new arrivals came and some important things were brought to my attention. This is Vandham, by the way. He leads a group of mercenaries who arrested some pirates for us."

"I see." Auru had said in response, "Thank you for your work." he said to Vandham, and then to Roxas he said, "I'd like you fill me in on these things that came up."

"Do you remember my missing friends?" he asked the Commander, knowing Auru was one of the only people he'd ever told about them, "Well, I discovered today that a group of my old enemies have resurfaced. And now I'm worried that they're involved."

Auru rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I see. And you intend to investigate this information for yourself?"

"Sort of. The arrivals that came today had a few run ins with them, so I think if I join up with their party I'll get a chance to see for myself what my enemies are up to."

"Hmm." Auru looked troubled, "It sounds as though you'll be leaving us."

"I'm afraid so, sir."

"Well, I hate to lose you Roxas. But this sounds like a personal matter, so I won't stop you. But do take a moment to say goodbye to the others, won't you?"

Roxas heeded the advice. He took a few minutes to say his goodbyes to the other militia members. Whites in particular made Roxas promise to bring his friends back and introduce them after he found them, to which Roxas agreed readily. With the goodbyes over, Roxas left the Barracks and ran to catch up with the Seekers at the picnic lunch.

Once there, Roxas answered the barrage of questions he was unsurprisingly asked as best as he could. At a certain point he simply found himself standing up in front of everyone so he could just tell them all more about the Organization. That turned out to be harder than he thought, since the more he thought about it the more realized how confusing the full story actually was. What Roxas wouldn't give to have a Gummi Phone right about now. Still, Roxas did his best to keep it as simple as possible. He started by explaining what Heartless and Nobodies were, as that would provide enough context to understand what the first Organization XIII was about: a group of Nobodies reportedly seeking to find a way to become whole again. That of course had been lie, Roxas further explained as he continued his story into the actions of the so-called "True" Organization XIII led by Xehanort. Roxas made sure to include that either Xehanort, his Heartless (Ansem) or his Nobody (Xemnas) were the ones most likely leading the current Organization. But he obviously couldn't be sure without seeing them for himself.

After this he found himself chatting for longer with Kamek and Big Band, who both seemed to be more curious about the Organization than anyone else. Kamek especially, given that she seemed to already knew a few of the things Roxas had explained thanks to her discussions with the Master of Masters, "Unfortunately, I've never actually met the Master of Masters myself." Roxas clarified at one point during the conversation, "I'd never even heard of him before Sectonia told me about him. But it sounds like he knows even more than I do. If it's possible I'd like meet him as soon as possible. He may be interested in meeting me as well since we're both Keyblade Wielders and all."

Once he was finally able to satisfy Kamek's curiosity, Roxas tried to chat a bit with some of the other Seekers. At first he talked a bit with Raz, being a bit curious about whether the kid could actually read minds. He also asked him a bit about what Mental Worlds were like. Roxas knew there were all kinds of worlds, but never dreamed there were worlds inside people's minds. The other Seeker Roxas found himself talking to was Bede. After seeing all the Pokemon that some of the others had, Roxas was admittedly curious to learn about them himself. He pestered Bede a bit with questions about Pokemon and whether or not Roxas himself could become Trainer. That led to him asking Bede for one of his Poke Balls or if Bede knew where Roxas could get some.

Eventually though, the picnic lunch came to its end. The Seekers were divided into two teams, one that travel along Black Line and another that would take the Purple Line. Roxas was in the former team, alongside Raz, Bede, and quite a few of the others. It seemed as though the Seekers he had already met earlier were pretty much all on the Purple Team though. That meant that despite only just meeting them, they'd have to part ways already. Well, it had to be done, as much as it sucked to have part ways with new friends. But that left Roxas with a slew of other people to become more acquainted with instead, and luckily he'd already started doing so with Raz and Bede, sort of.

The Metro was definitely something else. Roxas knew this place was accessible via Station Heights but this was the first time he ever ventured that far in. Despite being indoors and underground, it was well lit with all sorts of colorful lights and signs all pointing to numerous places in seemingly numerous directions. Roxas glad he never came in here alone, because he'd probably get lost if he had. But before Roxas could become any more impressed, he heard a loud voice voice commanding someone to "take them" followed the ground beginning to rumble.

"That's not good!" he yelled when he caught glimpse of the literal tide of felines all charging toward them. Actually they were sort of reminding him of a Heartless his friends had fought during their battle at the Keyblade Graveyard. Of course, Roxas seriously doubted these were anything like Heartless, given how intelligent they apparently were.

Everyone took off running. But since Roxas had no idea how to navigate this place, he instead stuck close to Raz who did seem to know where he was going. As Raz hit parts of the cat wave with psychic blasts, Roxas decided to help him out by summoning one of his Keyblades and blasting back blotches of cats that came at them using Waterga spells. The Waterga spells wouldn't be super damaging, but they were perfect for knocking back targets utilizing the actual pressure of the water blasts. That, and cats generally hated the Water, so most likely at least some of them wouldn't be too keen on coming after the guy blasting them with water spells.

This was about when Roxas spotted Red using his superpower to punch a train off it's tracks, "Whoa!" he yelled in awe, but couldn't be impressed for long. Immediately after he also spotted Red falling down to a lower level, which actually made Roxas stop for the briefest, "Oh no, Red!" his first instinct was to jump down after him, but even that became impossible when the tide of cats blocked the way. This left Roxas no choice but to continue after Raz.

Thankfully, Roxas' own athletic ability and knack for adapting to the layouts of his environment gave him a keen edge in spotting ways of getting past cats and other obstacles. That allowed him to catch back up to Raz with relative ease. But by now Roxas had noticed that a number of their teammates were no longer in sight, "Uh, Raz, we've got a problem. Looks like we've lost some of our teammates!" he told the Psychonaut as he resumed his earlier routine of blasting bunches of attacking cats with Waterga spells, "Are you positive you know where we're going? 'Cuz I'm totally lost!"

After the troop came her majesty Sectonia, whom everyone but Rika knew. The ship girl’s impression was that she was amusingly similar to Bowser. The king himself meanwhile got a bit of a nasty shock upon seeing that she had the potentially multiverse annihilating chaos heart in her possession.

That was going to need watching. By Kamek. Who Bowser handed the responsibility off to immediately.

Next up were a pair of bots who were new to Midna. The princess became ever so slightly envious of the excess of magical healing the other party had apparently had (a whole two sources), but that was about all she learned about Blazermate, and a little inkling of her personality from her enthusiastic descriptions of abilities. The second bot, Susie, who sounded oddly similar to Sectonia it had to be said, was mostly all business, as befitting the business bot, but the cute flirt with the oblivious Bowser threw everyone else for an absolute loop.

Next up, the pair of street fighters. The first, Karin, gave quite the impressive hype up of herself, while poor Sakura was a bit of a flop in contrast. Well, other than the 40 pounds of hot dogs part, though Midna had no idea what those were, and so she mainly spent the short intro suffering secondhand embarrassment for the poor woman.

After that was Geralt, followed by Pit, a pair who could not have been more contrasting if they tried. A grizzled veteran who certainly knew his stuff by the looks of things, and even if he hadn’t been able to talk the talk, Minda would have still assumed he was good based on experience alone. You did not, she expected, grow old as a monster hunter if you did not know your stuff.

Pit meanwhile was all youthful energy, and yet he also claimed to be experienced as well, which Midna felt a bit dubious about till she remembered he’d been in the smash tournament, and an old enough hand at that to have been through the ordeal that had apparently happened during the one before she had started taking part. The little display of his floating weapons certainly helped build her confidence in him as well, and over all, by the end he left her with a good impression.

Next, Omari, who Jr stuck his tongue out at ever so maturely. The rest of the troop where a bit mixed, Kamek feeling a touch guilty about bringing him along, both for what had happened and the grief Omari was getting as a result. Bowser meanwhile was quietly backing his son’s opinion of the other boy, but mostly leaving his own boy’s budding rivalry to its own devices, while Rika didn’t really get what the big deal was due to a lack of immediate empathy for anyone involved in the grandpa stabbing. If she stopped to think about it, she would have supposed she did not like him because he made Jr angry. But there were plenty more introductions to go, so she did not dwell on it.

Midna had no knowledge of said grandpa stabbing, though she would have both disproved of the act and yet would have also noted from experience that you couldn’t save everyone when lives were on the line. Allies first, enemies second. As for the impression she actually got, well, she certainly raised an eyebrow at his alluding to the event, but then let it pass and listened with interest as he explained some kind of emotional combat system, complete with diagram (which she could see just fine in the familiar twilight), which was very thoughtful.

After they got Jesse’s short but perfectly informative introduction. Here seemed to be a competent woman entirely in her element, and for whom adventure wasn’t any kind of chore or duty. None of them could argue with that certainly. Kamek and Midna also made little mental notes about Jesse’s people to see if they could work out how to help her with that in future.

Last, but not least, was Bede, who immediately caught Jr’s attention with his profession. There were no bones about it, if he could, Jr was going to get the measure of this other trainer in the group, especially after being challenged like that by his boast of superiority. He certainly seemed competent, though the fact that he was entirely reliant on his monsters was a touch concerning to those who cared. He’d have to prove he could handle himself in Midna’s eyes at least, and till then, if they were together, she’d be keeping an eye on the kid.

After the meet and greet wound down it was time for the most important part of this meetup: Lunch!

And boy, did the Troop need it. Never mind the fact that Bowser and Rika had stopped off for a second breakfast. Or first lunch. Or maybe this was Bowser’s third lunch if you counted the shrimp. Really it was hard to keep track, and the king did not bother, seeing as he had the metabolism to match his appetite, and, besides you couldn't save the world on an empty stomach now could you?

Rika meanwhile had the excuse that she had nearly died, which also built quite the appetite, while Kamek had emptied out all of her energy reserves transporting the ship they had immediately lost, and as for Jr, well, bickering with Omari was tiring in its own way. As such the troop went straight for the nearest shop with their allowance, practically cleared it out, and then headed for picnic hill.

That food consisted of a wide variety of different things acquired mainly to sate Rika’s curiosity, although it was tricky not to get caught up in her enthusiasm for trying out new stuff. There was everything from chorizo & cheese quiche, BLT sandwiches, fish finger hot dogs, pork pie, sausage rolls, cheese scones, chickpea salads and to top it all off, some donuts.

Rika and Jr sampled their way through all of these, while Kamek stuck to the veggies and Bowser hoovered up everything that went spare.

Midna meanwhile took a bit of a detour, and just like Nadia, it was done in the name of aesthetics, though unlike the cat girl the princess wasn’t trying to impress anyone specific, just generally being aware of her appearance. Specifically, how kinda messy it had gotten clothing wise. The snaktivator plan had, mostly, worked. She hadn’t noticed any real mental changes, although they would soon rear their head, and the transformation had been quite localized physically too.

She was however, it had to be said, a bit annoyed with what had happened to her skin on her torso, though she supposed it could be worse given the inhuman nature of the spirit. Now the outfit she had gotten on the other hand? Yeah, sure, it covered up the minor skin blemish, but otherwise it was quite unsightly, and it really clashed with the rest of her everything. The rest of her outfit was shiny and fun, this? Very droll. So, a bit of clothes shopping was in order.

Part of her did consider trying to get armor of some kind to really lean into the shield and toughness combo and go full on knight, buuuut that might be stretching the other princess’ generosity just a tad. So instead she popped into a simple clothes store, and emerged a bit later wearing only her sandals and a warm, green and slightly oversized
hoddie. It was, in her opinion, the absolute height of comfort, which is why she had gone ahead and bought a few spares while she was at it.

How she had survived this long without having changes of clothes on hand was something she now very much asked herself. She wasn’t ditching all the other garments mind, but they were in an effective laundry pile now (well except for the priest's robes, which was in an emergency only pile all of its own).

With that out of the way, the princess rejoined the group for a very comfy picnic under the endlessly setting sun, where there was light food and light chatter to be found in abundance. She moved to and fro, trading words, and fuling her ongoing seafood mood with some tuna pasta.

Eventually, however, the time for leisure was over and business came a calling. Specifically it came a calling for, of all people, Jr, who was reminded that he’d said he’d make them all a portal back to smash city by Vandham, who very much wanted to check back in with the place to see what had been up while he was away. The prince did what he had promised after only a bit of complaining, finding a nice central but secluded spot and engaging in a bit of vandalism (though the mercenary captain had gotten permission for that from the relevant city authorities while visiting the town barracks) and away they went.

A little bit later, the prince returned… carrying a crank operated minigun and a assult rifle with a chainsaw slung under the bottom of it like a bayonet.

”You guys have got to see the absolute pile of guns and vehicles and stuff they’ve just brought in through there” he informed the others, before moving over to his clown car, pulling out a toolbox and engaging in a quick tune up session to first install his wind up mingun in his car, before moving on and upgrading Rika’s bayonet into a Chainsaw Bayonet for her.

Midna, upon hearing this, also popped through for quite a while, and only returned once Vandham heard she was practically emptying the armory into the twilight realm and forced her to choose a more limited selection. At the very least this got her some instruction as to what she was acquiring. Her new instinct for flames inevitably drew her to the Flamethrower on offer as her main pick of the day, which she complimented with the Interdimensional Axe as a light one handed weapon, and a Revolver for some basic ranged capabilities she’d found herself lacking.

She also took a pile of aluminum tubes to be used as improvised lightning filled grenades and, last but not least, an entire warthog which she tucked away in the twilight realm for later.



The lot of them hung around a bit longer to see if anything didn’t get snatched up, and then, after that, it was off to the trains where danger awaited.

After the meet and greet, the mob of Seekers made their way into the heart of town. From their they split up, each with their own tasks, wants, or needs. Primrose had already been down Market Street a couple times at that point and had already made a personal purchase, so instead of window shopping she volunteered to help procure some food for the group. Therion kept an eye out for any treasure chests he wouldn't have been able to see from the race track, but didn't mind any. He thought about finding some kind of appraiser, or at the very least a pawn shop to exchange the gems he had into leaves - or gold or whatever currency was widely accepted here. Then again, if a princess was footing people's bills, there wasn't any pressing need for that.

And just like that, the Seekers were laid out on a grassy hill, eating and chatting like they weren't the would-be saviors of the world.

As the entire group went on to discuss the mysteries other groups out in the world as well as their next move, Primrose recalled the conversation she'd had with the Master of Masters before she set off with the Yellow Team. "There is someone in the Under who can deal with lingering regrets. A Confessor. For the right price, she can summon lost spirits." That was what he'd told her, right before chuckling and adding, "At least, that’s what I hear." Primrose liked to think that she was a good judge of character, and although the Master of Masters had been hard to pin down, she was not inclined to think he was a liar after all this time. So when the time came to vote on what to do and where to go, the dancer put forth her opinion: the Under.

She didn't explain why to the group at large. It wasn't like the information she'd been given was a secret, but... she felt more comfortable keeping it to herself. Even after fighting side by side with new friends and fusing with spirits, Primrose still kept some things close to her chest.

Once that was sorted out she leaned back and propped herself up on her elbows, just enjoying the view and the loud, but comfortable, peace before they all had to head back to the subway. Unsurprisingly, Therion was sat next to her with his legs crossed in front of him. He wasn't shy, he just wasn't the type that made friends easily. Or at all, given he'd only become Primrose and the other Travelers' friend by both coincidence and convenience. At some point he had wrangled an entire fruit platter into his lap and was picking at it, and he'd deigned not to join in the conversation about which areas to go to. He was wholly unfamiliar with the new world after all, and even if he wasn't he didn't really care which spot they tackled next. He did glance over at Primrose though, curious as to her reason for choosing the Under.

"Any reason you picked that place?"

When she answered him it was in a slightly hushed tone, and though mostly drowned by the voices of other Seekers it was not soft enough that she couldn't be overheard. "Do you know what a necromancer is?"

"Yeah. I think." Therion closed his eyes, searching his memory. "After the stuff in Quarrycrest, Cyrus mentioned them and some other kinds of forbidden magic." He cracked his eyes open again, giving the dancer a sidelong look. "...why?"

"I'm told there is a necromancer of sorts there, somewhere in the Under. Someone that can call spirits back from the other side. I want to meet such a person. That kind of power, here in this kind of world..." she let her head fall back, facing the sky. "It feels too important to ignore."

"Hm." He supposed she was right. He didn't know much about that kind of magic, but from what he recalled from the professor's long winded and jargon heavy explanations, necromancy mostly ended in shambling bones and animated corpses. But in this messed up world where you could hold someone's very spirit in the palm of your hand? Maybe it would be like true resurrection. "Under works for me. Rather be under a mountain than on top of one again."

With the two Orsterrans decided on their path, they spent the rest of the time trying to relax and privately thinking about the other Seekers. The two groups had mingled and now the composition of each was different. As for the group headed for the Under alongside Primrose and Therion...

"The Ace Cadet" came off not as capable as he wanted himself to sound, though Therion thought the more bodies between some monster and me, the better. The "Koopa Troop" were a lot, and they certainly made an impression. Whether it was a good or a bad one remained to be seen. Primrose thought the father and son dynamic was rather cute, and that Junior's diverse skill set would certainly be useful. Therion was sure that Bowser was a blowhard and did not take a single word the king had said seriously. He was more interested in the weird little granny, who actually seemed like she had the most information out of any of the Seekers. She was one to keep an eye on and an ear out for. Rika was a mystery to them both - a human arsenal seemingly only born a few days ago. She did seem about as capable as most of the other Seekers though, so she did have that going for her. As skeptical as they might have been about the Troop, Omori's introduction had them even more so. He appeared to be just a boy in loose pajamas, and he explained his abilities worked based on emotions. What about fear? Love? Loathing? Primrose thought, while Therion wrote the whole thing off more or less. These guys really do take anyone, huh? The reptilian looking sorcerer was an enigma.

Besides Band, the only others from the desert team going underground were Sectonia and Jesse. Primrose had gotten used to the insect queen's eccentricities already, and Therion was only beginning to catch on to the fact she considered herself a literal lord over the rest of the Seekers. He would have to try very hard to stop himself from doing things to spite her, and most likely he would fail and do them anyway. By contrast Jesse was more or less a regular person, save for the psychic powers. At times she was insightful, and at others so blase it was shocking. Therion didn't know what to think of her, but Primrose had liked her almost immediately - it was why she had invited the woman to join the Seekers after investigating the museum in Al Mamoon together. The admission that people that she knew were in danger was a surprising one. They'd have to make that their next stop after conquering the Under.

The other Seekers they probably wouldn't see for a few days. More of the Yellow team were headed to the Dystopiascape than the Under. Bede they'd only met this morning, so Therion held no real opinion of him other than that the kid could stand to get a reality check. Primrose hoped that he'd be alright going forward, and that his Pokémon were enough to protect him. Once an enemy saw through his link with the Pokémon as she had during their earlier battle, it would be dangerous for him. Midna was an intense ball of energy, who had strong emotions and opinions - and she was one of the Seekers that Primrose felt closest to, given that they set out together and everything that had happened. She was looking forward to seeing her again and what new changes she went through.

The others they would have to get to know more another time, as they were strangers headed off in another direction. Of those, the ones that made the biggest impression were Karin and Blazermate. The former, with her many accolades and confident nature, drew opposite reactions out of the Travelers. Primrose could not bring herself to dislike a woman who knew what she was about, while Therion thought that she was exactly the type of person he loved robbing. Wonder what her mansion looks like, he commented to himself with a smirk. The latter had a bubbly personality and boasted of some impressive healing abilities, which would always be useful. After them, a robot that was also a businesswoman (who made others of herself? The Travelers couldn't really tell), and a nervous brunette who claimed to be good at fighting. On these two Seekers, Primrose and Therion's thoughts were almost the same. For the both of them, Tressa came to mind. It would be interesting to introduce her to everyone, but especially to Susie and Sakura. Primrose was glad that Sakura and Karin had each other, too. Finally, another monster hunter and an angel. Between the two hunters, Geralt looked much more experienced and actually could use magic. He apparently also had a wife, which made Primrose giggled when he mentioned it so nonchalantly. As for Pit, a winged boy wasn't so strange when compared to the rest of the Seekers. If he actually was an angel in a traditional sense, then they supposed it wasn't far-fetched that he actually did have "world-saving" experience. He didn't mention any divine powers, which was... surprising, to say the least. It would be pretty sad (or pathetic, as Therion would say) if his version of Aelfric didn't bestow any, when even humans in Orsterra had the ability to gain a god's favor with enough hard work.

Overall, the Seekers were a varied and interesting bunch. As a group their members ranged from small to huge, from the martially inclined to the magical, human, not-so-human, and everything in between. Primrose was looking forward to getting to know them all just a little better and, begrudgingly, Therion was too.

---

Soon enough it was time to get going. On the way back to the station Primrose put some thought into the single spirit she still had in her possession, that of the battle nun. She considered fusing with it, but even with the Snacktivator it didn't seem worth it. She decided just to itemize it and move on, though with Rosaria's spirit being a part of her now she wouldn't be able to completely put that abbey on the mountain behind her.


Throughout the walk to and through the Metro, the Travelers did not stick close to each other. While Therion hovered around the outside of the pack of people, Primrose walked with the Phantom Thieves. They were headed out on their own, and though the dancer knew they were capable she couldn't help but worry for the teenagers. She wanted to bid them a proper farewell, until next time.

"Keep an eye on the boys, they'll be completely lost without you," she told Panther, giving the girl a warm smile. If Primrose was one for hugging she may have offered the girl one, but she was not, so after a few encouraging words and a wave to Alibaba, she moved off to find Therion and prepare to depart on the Purple Line.

It was only a matter of time until the afternoon peace came to an end, but that it happened so soon and in the Metro of all places came as a surprise. The unsettling voices that echoed throughout the area, and the sudden disappearance of the subway's patrons signaled something nefarious was beginning. It all fell into place when Ms. Fortune exclaimed that there was a hit out on them.

Gods damn it, Therion thought, he and Primrose pressing in toward the group and preparing for the unexpected. What were they expected to face now? The dancer had steeled her expression into one of indifferent determination, getting ready to battle... only to met with hundreds of enemies, so many that their steps shook the Metro itself.

With the swarm coming in, there really was only one thing to do: run. As the Purple Line was the path he, Raz, and Jesse had taken earlier Therion knew exactly how to get there, so he wasted no further time standing around.

"This way!" he shouted, bolting in the direction of the Purple Station. Therion was quick, and garbed in clothing matching the station's color he made a good guide for the others headed to the Under to follow - as long as they were fast enough. He wasn't about to wait around risking his life for any slowpokes. Primrose ran after him, and though she could feel a new found distaste for fleeing bubbling in her gut, she knew the right move here was to run. Unfortunately she couldn't exactly dance in this situation to raise the Seekers' speeds, but if nothing else she could help clear a path if it came down to it. Her magic began to pool in her hands as she followed her friend, his poncho billowing like a signal flag ahead of her.

The metro cats surged, not only chasing after Seekers but trying to get ahead of them and block their escape routes. Therion's eyes flickered up, but the balconies and walkways above were also littered with cats. Seeing two crashing waves of black fur rushing in from the left and right ahead of him, the thief drew his dagger. It was more for security than anything else, he did not intend to fight his way through. As the two waves met in the middle and began flooding the area leading to the Purple Line, Therion ran straight for them. Then he leapt, pushing with both of his feet right off a cat's head. Packed as tight as they were, even the most lightweight cats were supported by their brethren around them, making it possible for the thief to literally travel over them. He kicked off of their heads, backs, and continued straight towards his destination. The felines underfoot swiped at him with their claws or blades of their own, and some pulled themselves from the flood to lunge at him, but all were fended off with the sting of his dagger.

"It's not too much farther down!" he called back as he continued hopping from head to head, avoiding sharp claws.

Primrose had taken a similar, though fundamentally different approach. She could sail over the mass of metro cats thanks to her scarf's floating magic, putting her out of harm's way - for the most part. While the cats on the ground focused on the other Seekers, tumbling over themselves to get at anyone they could, the ones that waited on the levels above peeked over the edge and brandished their weapons in anticipation.

"Beware," she warned her teammates, opening a circle for her Night Ode spell in the middle of the seething group of cats. Sensing danger, the cats parted and left an open spot for people to rush through. The spell erupted afterward taking out any felines that weren't able to get out of it's way fast enough, and the remains of the magic left the opening for a few more moments before the swell of cats was too great and closed the gap as they continued trying to catch the Seekers.

At that point the cats above put their plan into action. They began flinging themselves at the flying Seekers, including Primrose. Their aim wasn't anywhere near perfect, but they only had to get lucky a few times. If a couple of cats could drag them down into the thick of waiting fur and claws, their prey would be in for a horrible time. Whenever a cat managed to land on her, she grabbed it and flung it as far as she could. Only a few managed to scratch her before being thrown.

True to Therion's word, the lighting began taking on a more purple color the closer they got to the station. He knew it was only a matter of seconds until it came into view. They wouldn't be home free until they were as far away from the Nyakuza Metro as possible, but when he caught sight of that ticket booth the first hints of relief began to form.

Then, a blur of orange and blue to his left. Therion snapped his attention toward it just in time to see an attacker swing down from the level above, and feet first the man used the swing's momentum to deliver a harsh kick into the thief's side. Therion went crashing from atop the river of cats into a wall, feeling his bones rattle as he connected with the brick. He lifted his head, seeing the cat-earred man standing in the throng of metro cats - just before the masked furballs all rushed toward him at once. Therion pushed himself off of the wall and dove out of the way, rolling and coming up crouched as the cats smashed into the spot he'd just been.

He didn't stay in place for long, as the feral little animals turned and gave chase. They forced Therion to back away down an adjacent corridor where he disappeared from the other Seeker's eyesight, breaking off from the main horde of kitties to corner him. Before they could overwhelm him, the thief lashed out with blade in hand. Swipes and stabs deterred them from getting too close, for now at least.

"Do you mind? I'm gonna miss my train," Therion said, raising his blade defensively. His words may have been light, but his heart was starting to really hammer in his chest as he realized the cats were trying to isolate him and make him into easier prey.

"Sorry, nothing personal," came the stranger's voice. It was relaxed, unhurried, and the man even smiled at Therion as he spoke. Unsurprisingly, the red glow of Galeem's light covered the cat man's mismatched eyes. "You know how it is. You heard the boss lady, right? So, prepare yourself..."

He stalked toward Therion, a powerful aura beginning to surround him as he appeared to transform. "I'm gonna bring you down."

Meanwhile, the Purple Station was in sight at that point in all of it's neon glory. Beyond it were the cat-pulled trains that would bring them to safety. Primrose didn't even want to entertain the thought that those cats, too, would be out for their lives. Here the mass of enemies wasn't as thick, though that was sure to change soon. Primrose alighted to let her scarf recharge it's magic, running on foot with some of her allies.

She'd seen a group of the metro cats break off and chase Therion off of the path, so she needed to take a detour to collect him. "Go ahead," he said to the other Seekers, letting them know that she and her fellow Traveler would catch up. Then she darted off.

It had been no more than a minute, but then Primrose rounded the corner she found a scene of ash and blood. In the corridor Therion was locked in desperate battle with a feline beast about the size of a tiger. Teeth and claw marks dripping red marred his arms, and from beneath the hair covering one side of his face blood ran from his temple to his chin. The laguz sported wounds of his own, including a cracked fang where it had bit down on the thief's metal bracelet, but most were shallow cuts and the poison laced in Therion's dagger only slowed it down instead of debilitating it. Around the both of them were the remnants of metro cats, their ashes scattered over the ground and their spirits floating. Some metro cats still lived, tense and waiting to jump into the fray at a moment's notice, but Primrose would make sure they didn't get the chance.

At the moment that Therion managed to put even a little distance between himself and the wild cat, Primrose moved in with Ravaging Confession. She appeared in the blink of an eye behind the beast, sinking her own dagger into the skin just in front of it's haunch. From the impact point, dark magic bloomed. The cat roared out in pain, turning on her as the second stab fell short, becoming a slash instead across it's side. She stepped away, preparing for a fight, but with the cat's back to Therion the thief took his chance to end things. He lunged at it, and straddling the beast he fisted one hand in it's fur and raised his blade high in the other.

"Gotcha," Therion hissed, bringing the dagger down at the base of the cat's skull. It was a critical blow, and the laguz could do no more than mewl before it's body crumbled.

The metro cats, at first stunned at what had happened, grew restless again and prepared to pounce - though the Travelers were already on the move again. There was no time to exchange words, together they just booked it back toward the Purple Station. It was only by habit at this point that Primrose scooped spirits up as she ran. The dancer's longer strides and Therion's overall speed saw them back at the station quickly, and they hurtled toward the train - ducking, dodging, shoving, and flat out sprinting through the mad furry obstacles.

Moments before Rush Hour...

Nyakuza Metro was home to many establishments besides the trains and stations. There were some shops, cafe's, other places like that that lined the neon-lit corridors of the Metro. One such establishment was the Cat's Nip, a milk bar dimly lit and sporting a noir-esque atmosphere, complete with smooth jazzy music playing in the nearby jukebox. It only had a handful of patrons, generally being busier at night than in the afternoon. But among those patrons, a feline with dark purple fur sat at the edge of the bar by himself. He was adorned in a dark, bluish-purple suit accented by silvery-white armored parts. He looked like he had just stepped out of a spaceship, which wasn't actually too far off from the truth. He sipped on his shot glass of sweetened milk, a white line visible on his fur coat. Technically it was a just a white patch among an otherwise pure purple coat, but from a distance it almost looked like a scar.

He sat, looking almost bored. Whether he was there for business or just waiting for someone would soon be irrelevant, for the Panther then heard something that made his black ears perk right up. A voiced announcement offering a million per head on some group that apparently had entered the Metro. Well, the Panther was normally a fighter pilot by trade, but such a profitable bounty hunting job wasn't something he was about to pass up. And nether was anyone else for that matter, as he began to notice felines all over the metro run rough-shod everywhere in search of these targets. The Panther downed the last of his milk and calmly stood up from his stool. As he walked toward the door he used his claws to flick some pons over onto the counter to pay his tab.

"Time to make some money." he said softly to himself in a low voice that almost sounded like a pur. He slowly walked out into the crowded Metro and appeared to just vanish into thin air.

Rush Hour

While all the other cats flooded the Metro like some kind of swarm, an invisible figure stalked the rooftops and other hard-to-reach areas closer to the ceiling of the underground metro. Made invisible by a personal cloaking device he wore on his hip, the invisible feline made swift and silent leaps between footholds. His speed and acrobatic skill were quite superior to the common cats currently flooding the grounds. His pale yellow eyes pierced the shadows of the metro with nocturnal vision. This meant that even if one of his quarry were trying to hide, he'd still find them easily enough.

Before long, his feline eyes caught glimpse of someone. Multiple someones actually. They were making a mad dash, appearing to follow the signs leading toward the Black Line. Rather than charge in head first, the cunning Panther instead decided to head them off. He used his own familiarity with the area to quickly and smoothly position himself in what he believed would be the path they'd take. He watched one of them perform a powered punch that resulted in him and a some others falling through the lower zones. Meanwhile the short kid in goggles kept along the path that the stalker had predicted. And quickly catching up to him was a taller kid in a black coat. But it looked like they had gotten a little bit ahead of their compatriots. Good, that would make them much easier pickings.

The stalker silently moved in closer, still invisible thanks to his device. He reached an invisible hand for a blaster pistol on his hip and drew the weapon from it's holster. He had to make sure this first shot counted, because the sound would give his ambush away immediately afterward. He trained it on his target, focusing on them down the barrel and wisely choosing to lead them for a moment before...

As Roxas ran behind Raz, he started to get a bad feeling. The kind you get when you're being watched. And yet every time he looked around he never saw anyone other than the swarm of cats chasing them. But he couldn't let his nerves get the best of him, one wrong move could spell the end. And death by a thousand cat claws didn't exactly sound pleasant. And then Roxas jumped over an overturned trash bin. While in midair he heard a loud buzz and then suddenly felt a sharp, burning pain in his side. An energy bolt had struck him in his right side, fired from the gun of an invisible shooter. The shot knocked Roxas off his balance and he tumbled to ground and groaned in pain.

"What... what hit me?" he said between painful breaths, desperately trying to push himself back onto his feet. Before he could, he saw a figure appear to flicker into existence. Another cat, but different from the others. He had a blaster pistol trained on him, ready to fire one more shot directly at Roxas' forehead.

"My humblest apologies, boy." said the Panther in his low, pur-like voice, in what almost sounded like a Spanish accent, "But I'm afraid I must kill you."

The sheer scope of the Metro mob as it thundered toward the group left even the stalwart stoic Big Band blindsided, paralyzed like a deer in the headlights. In no time at all, the Seekers were outnumbered hundreds to one–even thousands to one didn’t seem too extreme an estimation. Packed so tight that the detective couldn’t see where one cat ended and another began, the horde of bounty hunters moved quickly to surround the info kiosk. When they closed in, escape would be near-impossible for those with neither uncommon agility nor the means to take to the skies.

That realization finally galvanized the vintage virtuoso into action, and he wasn’t the only one. First off the block were Raz and Therion, who called for the others to follow behind as both paved a way through the Metro’s twists and turns, the former atop his brightly-glowing Levitation ball, itself an invaluable guiding light in the indoor city’s perpetual darkness. After him ran Tora, who could really move if the situation called for it apparently, and Poppi, both trusting in the Psychonaut to steer them straight. While someone who actually rode the Black Line might be better qualified to lead the way there, neither Peacock nor Raiden were on hand to help, and Band himself -committed to the Purple Line- was in no position to lead the charge. Besides, he had different plans.

Rather than turn to follow, he stepped toward the feline throng. “I’ll buy us some time!”

As the group split in half to follow Raz and Therion, Peach hesitated. “Mr. Band, no! It’s far too early for sacrifices!”

“Who said anythin’ about sacrifices?” The one-man band deployed an enormous kick pedal, then slammed its terrific weight overhead and onto the ground. “Giant Step!”

The percussive mass beat the Metro’s hexagon-tiled floor like a gargantuan drum, sending out an unblockable earthquake. It rippled through the incoming crowd of cats, dealing no damage but knocking the entire horde off their feet and into the air. Instead of watching his handiwork, however, Band has already turned to slide after the thief. “Alright, let’s boogie!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Nadia took off after the Octopath Travelers in a rocket-assisted sprint, using her blood jets to build up speed before her legs took over. She and the others moved fast, but barely had their race against the clock down the Purple Line path begun than Nadia saw the Metro cats converge ahead of them to block the way. A problem for some, but not for Therion, Primrose, or for that matter, her. Once the thief went crowd-surfing and the dancer took flight, borne aloft by the glow of the glyphs on her scarf; Nadia forged her own path by high-jumping diagonally and extending her arms to grab hold of a balcony railing. From there she swung over the mob like a living trapeze, letting to at the apex of her arc with a flip to airdash, find another handhold, and repeat.

Band sighed. “That’s great for y’all, but I ain’t exactly a spring chicken no more!” As he drew near the cats he jumped into the air and deployed his rocket boosters from his undercarriage, blazing into the air once more. The sight of Primrose fending off Metro cats that either leaped or footstool-jumped off one another to get at her convinced him to fly higher than he needed to, sticking to open spaces to avoid hangers-on, but even then the detective wasn’t careful enough. Mere moments into his flight, a burly figure in white took a running jump off a nearby apartment complex, roaring out a ferocious battle cry. Band turned in time to block a heavy punch, but his attacker’s momentum threw him off course, and together they hurtled over and landed on the fourth-story Green Station plaza. As they skidded to a stop, Band got his first good look at his assailant -a strong woman with the ears, tail, and coat of a white tiger- just a moment before she went for a mighty two-handed wallop. Clicking his tongue, Band deployed his cymbal to parry the telegraphed blow, allowing him to follow up with a trombone strike from his knee and lean back on a music stand for a strong double kick. From there he powered forward with Brass Knuckle, only to be stopped cold. His eyebrows shot up as he peered around his mechanical arm to see that Lin Xiao actually caught the punch with her muscular arms.

Before she could do anything about it Band extended a pair of super-sized drum mallets to whack her repeatedly on the head. Surprised and disoriented, she got dragged off her feet as Band pulled his arm back and wheeled it around, bouncing her off the ground to land a real Brass Knuckle. Lin Xiao tumbled back a short distance but came to a stop by dragging her gloved fingers through the ground, then launched forward. She swept under Band’s attempt to intercept her and grappled him around the middle. He barely budged. The detective scoffed. “That ain’t gonna work, miss…whoa!” His opponent made him eat his words as she lifted him off the ground and abruptly powerbombed him back down. As he lay flat on his back, Lin Xiao jumped on top of him to start whaling on his head. She beat through his attempt to block with his mallets and landed three skull-rattling punches before his cymbals deployed to crash together with her in the middle. Stunned, she couldn’t do much as Band used Overblow to strike her with his tuba from behind, throwing her off. He rose with a black eye, dazed, only to find his foe already on him. She grabbed him again and, in another feat of Herculean strength, suplexed him into the ground. From there, it only took one terrific Tiger Fist to launch him from the plaza back down into the Metro streets.

Band crashed down near friends, but not the group he started with. He got swept up in the chaos as Red made use of Unite Sword, and along with the Wonderful One got hopelessly separated from either Black or Purple Team. They ended up at one of the lowest points in the city, where just a trickle of pale light and a whisper of wind seemed to cut through the darkness of the Metro. When Red asked if he was okay, bruised and crumpled as he was, Band gave a humorless laugh. “I seen worse,” he grunted. His attention turned as another swarm of cats came his way, with a bright-eyed Lin Xiao right in the forefront. “Just couldn’t say goodbye, huh? We gotta move,” he said, looking around for any sign of a relevant train station, but he found none. With a groan he did an about-face “Let’s follow that breeze, triple time!”

Meanwhile, Nadia was closing in on the Purple Line, but things weren’t looking good. She’d lost sight of Therion, and though she and Primrose ran alongside one another as the latter waited on her scarf, the cats were in hot pursuit. After a moment the dancer peeled away to go down a sidepath, telling the others not to wait on her. Nadia waved her off with as reassuring a voice as she could. “Good luck, see ya in a few!” Now that things had gotten serious, she felt no envy or ill will for Primrose; that lady was just another comrade. A couple seconds later, though, the feral did regret not joining her. The main entrance to the Purple Station, signified by its bright purple gates, was totally blocked. Out in front the street was packed wall-to-wall with Metro cats, and another couple rough customers stood before them. One, a muscular cat man glowered at her with a scary-looking heavy-duty weapon in his hands, part drill and part saw. The other, a catgirl like Nadia, looked like a witch. Nadia did not like those odds, and she couldn’t get through the purple gates without a pass anyway, so a little detour seemed to be in order.

As she ran in, Nadia clapped her hands together, and between her palms created a swirling orb of pure Hydro with what little Dramatic Tension she’d gathered. “This oughta give you ‘paws’!” It swelled into a frothing sphere ten feet in diameter, making her prospective opponents wary, before she slammed it down right in front of her. It erupted in a spectacular burst of water, and for even more chaos Nadia threw a couple copycats into the mix, only to then hurtle off to the right as her wave washed harmlessly around the fearful cats’ feet. With all eyes on the magical display and her trouble-making clones, none of them noticed her zip off down a narrow alley, hot-footing it past dumpsters full of old tuna cans and worn-out balls of yarn. “Hate to ‘wet’ your appetite and run, but I’m outta here!” she laughed to herself as she ran by a very fitting wall mural. Distracted by the art and her own smugness, she did not detect anything out of the ordinary until she went round a corner and a big boot roundhouse-kicked her head clean off.

As Nadia’s body slumped down and her head bounced down the alley, the leonine prizefighter Zelmer rounded the corner, an almost disappointed look on her face as she nonchalantly adjusted her jacket. “This prey is weak.”

A couple Metro cats sidled out of cover behind her. “Nyeheheh, looks like ya knocked ‘er block…boss!!!”

Zelmer whipped around as Nadia’s headless body delivered a full-force kick of her own. The lioness barely got her arms up to protect her head, only to be driven backward painfully into the wall by the force of the kick. Her attacker flowed into a turning heel kick, but Zelmer dove beneath it, rolling across the stone floor as Nadia’s hardened foot cracked the bricks where Zelmer’s head had been. She got up with a turn kick that struck Nadia’s block, pushing her back. The Metro cats jumped up behind her, but somehow the headless body saw them coming and launched into a blood-rocket lariat -made possible by her new belly scar- that sent all of them flying. Zelmer charged in only to be met with Nadia’s Cat Scratch rekka, taking both swipes before the feral went to finish with a drop kick. With a growl, Zelmer took the blow, but grabbed Nadia’s ankles and whirled her around in a giant swing before throwing her back down the alley.

The body bounced a couple times but came to a stop on her feet, right next to her head. “Nice kicks,” she said as she lifted her head onto her shoulders, then cracked her neck to both sides. The scratches on her face, courtesy of the claws on Zelmer’s boots, healed over before her eyes, leaving her with a competitive smile. “But it’ll take a lot more for me to admit…de feet.”

Zelmer snorted and began to move. Nadia crouched, embedded her claws into the stone, and backed up to stretch out her muscle fibers. After a brief moment she launched forward like a rubber band, zooming her opponent’s way. At the last moment she rolled to send her Fiber Upper, only for Zelmer to do the same thing–she dropped backward to evade and handspring off the ground with a double kick. Nadia narrowly missed, but then snapped up to her lower half in the air, narrowly evading Zelmer’s kick in turn. The two landed at the same time, turned, and came together in a loud clash, roundhouse against tail smack

“I don’t have time for this,” Nadia hissed.

Zelmer smirked. “Then I’ll make this quick.”

The feral attacked fastest, swiping twice with her claws, which the lioness dodged, before using Facepalm to thrust her head forward as a drill. As it cut into her sleeves and skin Zelmer growled, striking with her knee to knock the head away. She carried the momentum into a hop kick to Nadia’s chest, then followed through with a turn kick. Her foe sidestepped it and threw her head, bopping Zelmer’s own as she moved in to provoke a response. She stopped short and blocked as her opponent threw out a double round. As much as she hated blocking, Nadia held her ground as Zelmer advanced, feinting once, then twice, then turning the second feint into a hook kick. This she ducked easily without a head, allowing her to Limber Up with ease. Scratched and angry, Zelmer moved to punish Nadia’s obvious overextension, only to fall victim to her frame trap as the feral’s head counterhit her from behind. “One step a-head!” Nadia crowed as she drove her elbow into Zelmer’s belly, then pivoted around to slap her in the face with everything she had. The lioness staggered, but found her footing, and turned the sideways momentum into a rib-shattered spin kick that came around with enough force to kick up the dust. Unfortunately, it cruised right between Nadia’s halves as she split herself at the midsection. For a split second the two locked eyes, the feral’s teasing and the lioness’s full of rage, before Nadia reconnected and pushed her into the wall.

As she bounced off, disoriented, Nadia grabbed her in a rear naked choke, her arms fastened around Zelmer’s neck tighter and tighter. The taller woman struggled, driving the cat burglar into the wall once, twice, but Nadia would not be dislodged. After a few seconds Zelmer’s fight left her, and she began to lose consciousness. “Too big for your boots,” Nadia quipped, sensing victory. Rather than wait for the end, she released her grip, grabbed Zelmer by the head, and bonked her noggin against the wall one last time. By the time her foe crumpled to the floor next to her cronies, the feral had taken off running. A back door from this alley, used by janitors to empty the wastebins inside Purple Station, would give her the access she needed.

After the trio of girls, there were a few others that went. Some that Blazermate knew, some Sectonia knew, and most Susie had no clue about. When it came to Pit, Sectonia and Blazermate knew a little about him, but not much. They knew Geralt more, but Sectonia did notice his new upgrades. Sectonia didn't know Sakura's friend, a person Susie was surprised about being a business person like her. Then that was concluded by a kid who could control some kind of emotion power (Something that was a weakness to Sectonia's Chaos shield, but she didn't know that.), then another person who just seemed to be good with a gun and move stuff with her mind, and fianlly a boy Blazermate thought was a girl thanks to how androgynous some anime looking people can look who was into the same pokemon things Jr. was, but he used them exclusively.

With everyone introduced, there was a bit of mingling and discussions going about as everyone ate their food. Blazermate being unable to eat food, just sat there and enjoyed the company of others while Sectonia ate and Susie did more business stuff on her PDA. While almost the size of Bowser, Sectonia didn't have his appetite, although that being said her size did make her eat quite a bit. When chilling at dinner, Blazermate remembered something she had, and pulled out the single pokeball she had picked up a long, long time ago. "Hey Bede, do you need this? I still have it but I haven't found any of these 'pokemon' I like. As I've learned about them, I don't think there are any medabots among them. You need these to hold onto pokemon yeah?"

Sectonia overheard Blazermate talking about this, although unlike her and Jr, Sectonia didn't know what a pokeball was until now. That reminded her of a cute cake monster thing she kept under her crown. Something she rarely took out as the fights they had all been involved in have been quite rough and really Sectonia had no idea how to command the little thing. Pulling the Alcremie out from under her crown, Sectonia asked "Is this little thing one of these 'pokemon'?"
Blazermate wasn't too sure, but just shrugged and said. "Well, only one way to find out. See how it reacts to the pokeball!"
Sectonia agreed, and took the pokeball offered to her from Blazermate and gave it to the cream monster, which began to play with it until it hit the button on the ball and went inside it without issue. "Well, I guess it was! Good to know." Blazermate said with a smug look on her face. Sectonia held the ball and thought a bit... She really didn't want to have this thing get destroyed by battle, as she wasn't someone who understood whatever this 'pokemon' stuff was. She then came up with an idea. While she wasn't fully familiar with the stuff in this new world, there were brands of magic that had been unseen. Perhaps this 'pokemon' trainer was one of them? Probably not, but perhaps Bede had some skills or something that energized well with these 'pokemon' similar to what Jr. had. AFter all Jr. had been able to keep some, and lose others as he wasn't a part of that world, but perhaps...

"Bede was it? I'm curious as to what you could do with this little one, if it comes from your world I'm sure you know much more about it than I do." Sectonia said, giving Bede the pokeball containing the Alcremie. "Show your Queen what you can do with such a creature. I'll be watching." After all, if one of her minions could use something that she had little experience in much better than she could, it'd benefit her in the long run. Yeah thats it.

Susie tried to talk with Karin to get an idea of what business she ran, but to be frank, it was more a formality as Karin wasn't the most civil person. Other than that, not much else happened at the picnic. Soon after, everyone made their way to the metro, this being Blazermate and Susie's first time there. "Cool! Its like a drab cat laced Tokyo!" Blazermate said. Susie wasn't as awestruck, but seeing something a bit more industrial instead of rustic was somewhat nice.

When it was suggested that everyone go around to gather their pons for their train rides, Blazermate flew up and started to collect some. This was put to an end shortly though as a voice came on the loudspeaker, which ended with every seeker getting a bounty on their head. Big or small, it didn't matter as each one had a bounty, and the opportunistic cats of the metro, at least the non civilian looking ones, all gathered up in giant hordes to attempt to get a hold of that sweet bounty money.

"Hmph. A Queen having a bounty put on her by a Baroness? Sounds like shes trying to move up in the world." Sectonia said, annoyed and amused at the state of affairs. Seeing the sheer amount of cats though, slaughtering what seemed like an endless ocean of enemies might take far, far too long, so the idea of just getting on their trains if possible was for the best. Conjuring her Chaos heart shield, Sectonia made her way for her stop, while the two bot girls made their way to their stop.

Sectonia, thanks to her Chaos Shield, had little trouble with the multitude of cats. She could fly over the hordes below her, and while the occasional sniper took a shot at the big bug which they couldn't really miss, the shot would just bounce off her glowing shield with Sectonia not even really noticing the shot. After a few snipers tried this and found the bee queen was far, far too tough of a target to take down, many swapped targets onto other, less squishy targets. Still, it wasn't too hard for her to get t o her train as she'd only need to occasionally blink to get past the giant cats pulling trains when she was forced onto the tracks. Why this place was so weird to navigate was beyond her.

Blazermate and Susie meanwhile had a much more difficult time of it. Since the two bots were together, Blazermate could keep Susie healed and overhealed, as well as any other member of team City that was nearby. Susie meanwhile made the cat crowds scatter when she got into her business suit, the mech's armored bottom being nearly impossible for the cat hordes to even put a dent in. That and Blazermate's flight made the crowds of cats not an issue. The real issue came from their support, the snipers up top. Susie taking the first hit due to her relative slowness in her business suit. Thanks to Blazermate's overheal, she wasn't too badly damaged and could be healed back up, but this made her more weary and forced her to 'hop' through the crowds of cats instead of just pushing them all away with spinning arms as she had to have her arms guard her cockpit.

Blazermate meanwhile didn't have the luxury her partner had, and had to rely on her agility and ability to mark out any sniper that appeared. At first she could handle a few of them, as she could dodge or deflect shots as she knew where each sniper was. This eventually got much more difficult however as the snipers that gave up on shooting at Sectonia joined the crowd, causing Blazermate to really, really slow down as she had to jump from cover to cover. Susie had a much better time of it for sure, but Blazermate could only really advance to a new spot when her shield was ready, slowing her down considerably. At least the snipers didn't follow the girls on the tracks, but on the tracks Susie had to use her transporter to move around, as the business suit was too slow to dodge the trains being pulled by giant cats.

All in all, when the two bots got to their destination, Blazermate was hurting while Susie was more annoyed that hurt thanks to Blazermate's healing. Blazermate could heal herself of course, but it'd take time. At least they were on the train heading for their destination with the rest of their team...

Before the gang set out for another adventure, flashes of light blasted repeatedly, as the Troop did some rearranging of spirits, and Midna upgraded one of her minions.



”Ahhh, that’s better” Kamek sighed as he, and it was he again, stretched and enjoyed being himself again. Then there was a crack and an ”ak, my back” as the return of his old age caught up with him.

Jr meanwhile was leaning out over the rim of his clown car while looking back and admiring his new longer cat tail, flicking it to and fro with a great deal of amusement. It was fortunate that he’d up gunned and upscaled his clown car because his slightly lankier proportions that he’d gotten, presumably due to having the fusion in more than just one place, would have been pretty cramped if it was still boy sized. Then he pulled out his paint brush, spun it around and pointed a finger at Kamek as his new cloak fluttered dramatically and cast ”Esuna!” causing a light blue aura to flare up around the mage before it burst away and took something with it.

”Oh. Oh my. hmmm” Kamek said after the light dissipated, patting his shell and then standing straight once more ”Well I don’t think you fixed my old bones, but you did make it stop hurting for the moment. Thank you yonge master, that was quite thoughtful of you”

”I, uh, well…” Jr foundered, not really knowing where that had come from despite the fact that he’d talked Kamek into giving him the power specifically so he could help and not get stuck in the same situation he had with Anneta, and so defended his ego with ”I am pretty smart for working out that that would help, yeah?”

He’d also gotten it because it would let him help out his minions when they were battling, and also so he could heal them after fights like the one he had had with Bede.

Speaking of minions, Midna had modified her own one to help herself using one of the ones the mercenaries had acquired, and had gotten some kind of abominable bear pendran robot wolf hybrid thing which had lost any cuteness despite still having it’s Shiba like tail, but was just the toughest dogo now, with armored plates and scales adorning it’s body all over.

Oh and it also had a massive cannon which the princess hopped up onto the back to inspect while the dumber cyber wolfbeardran huffed mechanically below her. She pulled open a hatch and found what, based on her limited knowledge, looked like a chamber for ammo, and an odd round one at that. She scratched her head, wondering what the shells were like and where they even were, before she found just the tiniest inscription of instructions handily scrawled just above it, which depicted a load of junk being shoved into the back of the bear’s turret, before same said junk was blasted out the front.

”Wait, so it can just fire anything?” she asked, before pulling an aluminum tube out of the twilight realm, putting some electricity in it, and then finally popping it in the chamber. Then she shut the door, and there came some mechanical sounds before the hatch popped back open again.

”Guess it’s loaded..?. Is it?” she asked her minion, and got a growl of, probably, confirmation

”Right, so, like the train then. Two ‘shells’ one in this chamber, on in the, uh, shooty bit” she guessed, before saying ”Well, only one thing to do now” and then doing it.

There was an electrical sound and a wumf as whatever non gunpowder based system the cannon had for launching its improvised ammo went off, followed by the thunderous sound of kinetic force and thunder striking as the tube smashed into the ground a ways off hard enough that it exploded.

That certainly got some attention, notably that of Jr came over to admire the mecha beast and then, once he had had it explained to him, quickly got to work on an idea he had to give her infinite ammo. His ingenious idea turned out to be a jar (the most valuable of items) with a bit of goop from his magic paintbrush at the bottom and enough space in the rest of the jar left for a single swoopin stu to form out of said goop.

”Then you just grab this” he explained, picking the stu up by its weird head tentacles, before shoving it into the chamber ”and use it as ammo. Then you wait a bit and boom! More ammo”

Sure enough, after a little bit, another stu formed, ready to be loaded.

”Well, if i ever run out of junk, guess i can fire these chuchu at people” Midna said doubtfully as she picked up another and shook it about

”Hey, I bet they'll be really powerful” Jr insisted and, sure enough, when they launched the poor thing off it made quite a splash. Literally.

”Huh, that’s a lot of slime. Does it hurt people or something?”

”Yup, and it comes in three flavors. What do you want, poison, electricity or fire?” jr asked, and was just a bit disconcerted at how quickly and a little unhinged Midna replied with ”Fire!”

And that was the last bit of tinkering and tweaking they had time for before it was time to head off to the action. Unfortunately for them, the action decided to come to them ahead of (train) schedule.

They headed down into the metro, Midna walking so as to not upset the kitties (and finding herself just a bit heavier in her steps which was a little disconcerting), and found themselves back in the bizarre and brilliant Nyakusa Metro.

”Oh wow. There’s so many cats, it’s like Lake Lapcat up in here. Or down in here” Jr marveled, before joking ”Guess I fit right in!” in reference to his new ears and tail. Then there came a little jingle as Bowser clipped a bell to his collar and joined in with his son’s a-mew-sment with a ”hey, me too” which got them both gawfing and giggling.

Whether this was culturally insensitive to the cats of the metro would remain a mystery, because right that very moment they all turned hostile anyway (those that did not turn and flee at any rate) as rush hour set in and prompted the cats seeking a quick payday to rush them at the behest of the local crime boss and, of all things, another helmeted figure.

”What? Oh come on! Another one? Is this just going to be a thing now?!” Jr complained, recognizing the evil doer’s attire, but there wasn’t really much time to do anything about that because, as Princess Peach rightly assessed, it was time to go, and go fast.

Preferably without massacring every stray cat they came across.

While some, like Midna upon the back of her newly summoned wolfos (the cats were trying to kill her, no time for sensitivity) took to the rooftops to avoid the masses of the kitty swarm, the troop stuck to the streets and walkways, Bowser using his shell mounted as a mix of water cannon and squirt bottle to clear a path.

Rika sprinted along after him, flanked by a pair of shadow clones of the king acting as bouncers, while up above hovered Kamek and jr, with the prince having Dazzle aid his father’s riot control with his own water attacks.

It was somewhat slow going, but it worked quite well, and then perhaps too well when the suddenly burst out of the crowd and into a wide open plaza, the center of which rapidly cleared before them. Well, before them and at the behest of a cat-eared likatu floating around above them, which signaled something the cats were familiar with, but that Bowser just took to be a signal of his own success.

”Gahahaha, that’s it, run kitties!” Bowser laughed, spraying a poor unfortunate strangler before storming out onto the wide avenues of the plaza, stepping out between the two fountains that dominated the large room and pausing there in-order to try and work out where they needed to go next to catch their train.

”Hey, do you hear that? It sounds like… roaring?” Rika suddenly asked, causing Bowser’s ears to perk up, and indeed, he did hear that sound, right before the source, or rather sources burst onto the scene.

A mass of metal and fury driven by a kung fu catgirl suddenly burst into the plaza and gunned straight for them. Upon spotting this Bowser grabbed Rika and pulled her aside as the hotrod careened towards them, meaning it only slammed into and road killed one of his clones instead of the ship girl who had been standing next to it.

”Hey, watch where you're driving!” he roared after the catgirl. If that wasn't enough, the corridor she had come careening out of wasn’t done divulging roaring machines as hot on her heels came a whole bevy of motorized followers inducing:

A buff cat in a golf cart
A cat ear’d sparten on a quad bike
A tiger tike in a hovercraft,
And just a whole host of street cats in various go karts.

It wasn’t just mechanical roaring that came either, because there were also a small host of sabertooth tiger pulled Charioteers the most prominent among which was a pharaoh looking sorceress who used a lightning firing staff to actively attack the troop instead of just trying to run them down, the sorceress blasting sparks up at the two fliers, forcing them to take evasive action.

These various drivers came careening after the lead driver, taking their own pass at the Bowser as he held Rika aloft. None of them had the same metal mass as the lead driver to just ram the stalwart king, but they did have gangs of street cats riding with them, double dash style, who swung at them with improvised weapons which hurt a bit, but not nearly as much as the hail of gunfire that came from the Spartan’s quadbike mounted rifles, which hammered Bowser in the chest.

After they had zoomed past the king put down Rika and clutched his chest

”Gah! That hurt. But at least it's over” Bowser complained after Rika thanked him for the save. Kamek was in no way so sure, because from up on high where had flown to avoid being zapped he could see the true shape of the plaza. Two large fountains, one at each end, gave the room a somewhat 8 like structure of pathways, ones, now that he cared to look, he saw where they were marred with skid marks, both old and new.

”Oh, no” he said upon realizing what was going on, before shouting down to the ground pounders ”Look out sire, we've wandered onto some kind of street racing circuit!”

Jr had figured the same thing. Only instead of analyzing the environment he had just kept an eye on the races as they all went drifting round the outside of one of the fountains and came looping back around the top of the figure of 8, ready for another pass.

”Here they come again!” he called out in warning

”Run!” Rika cried out as she turned to do just that, sprinting away as the races came bearing down on them once more. Bowser and his one remaining cone turned to do so too, only for said clone to also become roadkill as the kung fu catgirl ran it down as well and then yelled “get off the road!” as she blazed by.

”Up here up here!” Jr shouted ahead of them, waving his arms floating above a high wall that led to a walkway above the plaza, which some of the cats were using to watch the race/bounty claiming attempt.

As the rest of the racers bore down on them Bowser and Rika made a mad dash, and then both made a great leap up onto the balcony just in time to avoid a second drive by beating. Cats scrambled out of the way to avoid the king’s landing, but then immediately re-coalesced to beat and claw at the pair, the nimble blighters avoiding retaliation frustratingly well.

”Gah!!!” ”Ow ow ow, jerks!”

”Up here, up here!” Jr called out again, floating above a row of stores lining the avenue heading towards their desired trainline.

With another leap and a bound, the pair got themselves above the vagrant packed streets and could, at last, take a breather.

Or so they thought

As jr used his new white mage magics to patch up his pappa and ship-girl companion, two of the racers showed themselves to be a bit more committed to the bounty than the rest, and they where, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ones who had brought ranged firepower to a street race.

A grappling hook line shot up and tethered to the railing of the balcony, and up came the cat eared spartan, using their momentum to launch themselves up into the air and performing another grapple once they saw where their targets were to bring them closer.

A moment after that, a flash of light came from below, and then the sorceress acceded up upon the back of a bizarrely fluffy griffon with eyes on its wings.

The Spartan immediately opened fire, while the sorceress called out to some of the cat mooks “fight for me, and I shall give you stretch of arms and body that these fools won’t stand a chance!” while dramatically brandishing her staff.

Rifle fire pinged off of Bowser’s shell as he gave the troop cover with his body, while at the same time a set of brave or foolhardy cats clambered up onto the roof, and where rewarded for their daring when the sorceress followed up on her words, waving her wand and engulfing their improvised weapons with a shimmering shocking star filled aura and their bodies with a glowing spheres of protection

With the spartan moving to flank them, the empowered cats surrounding them far more daringly, and the sorceress flying above them on her swift steed, there was going to be no escape

“We have you cornered, you little scurrying rats” the sorceress gloated “Give up now, and maybe we’ll let you live just long enough for us to collect that reward for your oh so valuable heads”

”Ha, as if! You know what they say about cornered rats? Well cornered koopas are ten times worse!” Bowser shouted back before thrusting a finger forward dramatically and commanding ”So no more mr nice guys! Koopa Troop take them down!”

Rika, who had never really understood why they weren't just slaughtering the cats, was first to open up, targeting two cats and unleashing a volley of fire at each. Jr meanwhile deployed his car’s wrecking ball and swung at another, Kamek blasted one with a fireball from his wand and Bowser himself just tried to punt the closest cat to him off the roof with a steel toe capped boot.

Unfortunately, the shimmering spheres of protection worked as advertised. Shells and bullets thudded harmlessly into the barriers, while the wrecking ball and foot strikes were soffend from crushing blows to light knock back.

Emboldened by their seeming invincibility, the cats lunged forwards, raising baseball bats, chains and a folding chair, all engulfed with starlit power that did a mix of elemental damage on top of testing Bowser and Rika’s electrical defenses as they tried to inflict shocks on them. A test Bowser failed spectacularly due to the water typing he’d gained from one of his pokemon spirits, electricity coursing through his nerves and slowing his movements greatly and making him vulnerable to further electric damage. Such as more shocks.

One of the cats, however, had not joined in the beat down. Instead that cat had been sent running away, his pants on fire, as Kamek’s fireball had cut right through the sphere of protection.

”Burn them, your royalnesses!” he called out, but unfortunately Bowser was getting zapped too much to follow through, and Jr was too concerned about his dad to go on the offensive.

”Esuna!” the prince called out, using his new magics to relieve his father, only to be forced to duck down a moment later when gunfire rattled his clown car chassis. The spartan was, after all, still out there, and he was taking potshots at the fliers, forcing them to concentrate on their own survival rather than helping the ground troops. Which meant the cats could just reshock Bowser with more blows.

Then came some far too close range explosions as Rika started furiously punching cats with her gauntlets. The actual blows did little but the impacts did splatter them with slime that detonated into fiery chemical explosions a few moments later.

It was at that point the cats realized they weren't invincible, causing some to bail, and the rest to be more evasive, avoiding Rika’s big swings and frankly just the girl herself entirely, focusing instead on the big easy target.

This opened Rika up to start trading fire with the spartan, the ship girl blessing off gun and cannon fire across the street, only to have the spartan activate some jet boosters on their suit to launch them to the side and out of the way of her shots. They then returned fire, which Rika used a combination of gauntlet and hull blade blocking in conjunction with her bullet slowing sunglasses to avoid the worst of.

Free from suppressing gunfire due to the shooter being engaged in a gunfight with Rika, Bowser’s family could now help hi., Jr recasting Esuna on his pappa while Kamek summoned copies of the king to help him. Three swaths of flame burst out, sweeping over the cats and sending them, in a manner reminiscent of a certain plumber, running and jumping away while clutching their burnt butts.

”Ha! What are you going to do now that your help is gone!” a beaten but still in one piece Bowser gloated up at the Soruceress, only for a hypnoytic swirl around the heads of his two shadowy dopplegangers

“Why, then I’ll just take yours!” she replied, as the two clones turned on the original

”Aw not again!” the king moaned as he was assailed by foes wearing his image for at least the second time in his life.

“As for you, little wizard, let me show you how little your magic compares to the power of a sorceress!” the woman declared, brandishing her staff dramatically.

”We shall see” Kamek replied, brandishing his wand as the magic duel began in the air above the rest of the troop.

Below, Jr and Rika were both contending with the lone Spartan, who was causing them no end of trouble. Between grappling hook and maneuvering jets they were highly mobile, while a personal energy shield and a deployable energy barricade meant that even when they did clip them with their own shots the futuristic warrior could simply take cover and renew their own defenses without getting even a scratch on the paintwork of their armor.

Meanwhile, the pair only had evasiveness and Jr’s new healing magics to keep themselves alive, and the latter was rapidly running out. He’d already used lucid dreaming to start restoring his mp, and if they did not finish this fast they were dead meat.

Still, the amount the battle had dragged on did have one advantage on the Troop’s side:

”All out assault, next shot” Rika called out to the prince, but holding out on unleashing it in case he could come up with a plan, and come up with a plan he did.

”Hold it. Hold it. Now!” Jr commanded the next time the spartan deployed their wide forcefield barrier.

Rika pulled the trigger, and an impossible wave of shells blasted out of her cannon from that single pull, annihilating the barrier and sending the spartan running. Then grappling, only to have to jet boost another way when Jr had Dazzle fire off a slew of explosive bubbles.

At this point, with all the sparten’s tools spent, Jr could have tried to gun him down, but the shield was still up and it would give their foe enough time to find cover. So he didn’t use a fireball, or his new crank operated machine gun. No instead he launched out Hook, who soared through the air, hooked around the spartan's waist and hauled them closer. Because he was pretty sure their foe had no major melee capability to speak of.

He was somewhat wrong in that assessment, as Jr got a rifle butt to the face for his efforts, allowing the Spartan to escape the grapple. They did not escape the second, however, as Rika slammed a gauntleted fist home, breaking his shield, hacked down their foe’s gun with her hull blades, and then introduced hyper advanced armor to the industrial tool attached to the front of her rifle.

Metal and then a person screamed as the chainsaw bayonet tore through everything, and then there was silence and ash.

Behind them, Bowser wrestled with his dopplegangers, but though he was hurt, these stooges could not stand up to the OG Koopa king. Ironically, this was because they were clones of his original form, while the king himself had an absolute pile of enhancements on top of their base forms. Cat and power claws racked at one to his side, as it came in and then when it grappled him the king deployed guns from the side of his shell and blasted it straight in the gut, causing it to dissipate.

The second didn't even last that long, as Bowser fired up his kinetic strike module and punched it clean off of the roof and into the crowds of kitties below.

He was in the midst of celebrating his victory when a fist of magic energy formed and then smashed into him.

”You witch! Focus on me” Kamek called at his magical nemesis, or rather, 5 kameks called it, before they all added ”If you can” tauntingly.

“Humf. I don’t need to, you are just that far beneath me” the sorceress huffed, before swooping forwards and trying to have her griffon mount claw Kamek and his indistinguishable clones, only for them to scatter, blasting at her as they went, and then form back up again a ways away.

“Coward!” She cried out, before meyowling in alarm as gunfire clipped at her mount’s wings as Rika, having finished sawing her foe in half, turned on the one remaining one while Jr rushed to aid his hurt Pappa.

“On second thoughts, I think your heads are beneath me. Others are certainly more valuable than your ugly vissages” she decided, before hypocritically beginning to turn tail and run.

”Oh no you don’t. You set this cauldron a boiling, you deal with the consequences when it overflows!” Kamek called after her

“Be quiet” the sorceress yowled as she backed off, retreating strategically while covering herself with blasts of lightning from her staff and summoned phantasm warrior who formed a defensive shield wall between her and the troop, their ethereal nature allowing them to shrug off Rika’s gunfire much the same way the barriers had let the cats do the same.

”No, you” Kamek retorted childishly, or at least that was what it seemed like right up until a gunshot rung out from Quiet (one of Kamek’s strikers)‘s rifle, the expert sniper placing the bullet right between her guards, shields, past the griffon mount’s wings and head, and right between the sorceress's eyes

She dropped without a final word, ash and spirit falling onto her steed’s back. The summoned beast and warriors went wild at the death of their master, charging forward with reckless abandon, but without her magical support they were quickly cut down.

Being magical constructs, they left no spirits, but the troop did retrieve the sorceress herself, and the one of the spartan. Oh and also the two street cats Rika had blown up. The ship girl pocketed her own kills without comment, while Kamek took the sorceress’s spirit that her steed had helpful delivered to them in its death charge.

They took a few moments to get Bowser back on his feet and more or less in one piece, and then set off once more before any other determined hunters or racers could come after them, leaving the street circuit behind as it turned from bounty hunt to actual race.

Unless someone else stumbled into it of course.

@Double Roxas, @TruthHurts22 Raz

A few people went after Geralt's introduction: Pit, the angel warrior that Geralt had sparred against. Claiming to be a direct subordinate of a goddess, with notable combat experience under his belt (specifically having saved a few worlds), Geralt nodded. He was no slouch in a fight, even if Geralt had given him a damn good fight before they wound up on the ground. With those magical arrows of his, and assuming he did actually have the backing of a sufficiently powerful being, he could see Pit having done some good work in his day.

Omori came after, the young boy who'd unfortunately slain somebody in their last battle and was receiving no shortness of grief over it from Junior and the troop. Geralt felt a bit of kinship with the boy, looked upon poorly for killing in a fight when others thought it unnecessary. Not to mention that he was also looking for somebody-dammit, he didn't mention Ciri earlier. He'd have to do that when they were getting food, if only a brief description to give people an idea to keep an eye out and let her know he was around and where he and Yen could be found.

Omori continued, explaining some...strange ability he had, to fight utilizing his emotions as a weapon. Very odd. But if they could alter one's capabilities in battle, it seemed rather useful. He was also growing a noticeable knife collection. Geralt might have to give the kid a few pointers if they got the opportunity.

Next was a woman that had joined Yellow Team after the split, calling herself Jesse Faden. Telekinesis and a weapon that never ran out of ammo. A potent combination all its own, though he got the feeling that there was more to its weapon, between its obviously magical nature and the ominous warning she gave about it. She had people she had to help, apparently in the far north, but it seemed that it was more of a stalemate that needed to be broken than a dire emergency, which was minorly relieving.

Finally, Bede, the arrogant Pokemon trainer. Geralt had no compunctions about that judgment, though he also had no doubts that this young man was the most experienced in Pokemon training amongst them. Their best answer would be Junior, who only had spent a few days to a week at most learning how to work with his companions, compared to what he assumed was a denizen of their natural world. He had to be good if he was the chosen successor of one of his area's combat instructors (at least, that was what his mind replaced what Bede said with). He wasn't sure what Fairy of Psychic referred to specifically, but it gave an impression of an even wider variety of natures than he'd already seen from the scant few Pokemon he'd encountered so far. They were almost like Strikers, in a vague sense, but you didn't have to kill something and bond with its Spirit to work with them. Hmmm.

After the introductions were done, the Seekers made their way up Market Street, some (Geralt being one of them) taking money from Peach to secure food for the group. Keeping in mind the extreme metabolism some of the Seekers had (himself only somewhat included in that), he got quite the array for them. He'd noticed the Troop clearing out a nearby store, though, so he made sure to hold back a little. Not point in getting too much and having it go to waste. Thankfully, dealing with Lefwee had also been taken out of his hands.

Once the group reconvened, Geralt used the fish he got from the recent battle to add to their food stores, hording his more long-lasting rations for another time, though he did eat one of his bananas during the picnic. He settled with a light ale and a pair of sandwiches to go with his banana, one using some of the fish he'd added to the mix. As the Seekers chatted and ate, Geralt kept mostly to himself, though he did ask a quick question to Bede about the nature of Pokemon, alongside Roxas. They seemed to be rather curious beasts, marginally intelligent and keen to battle, be it for fun or an actual fight.

When their destinations were determined, Geralt gave the members of the Purple Team a nod, wishing them good luck on their exploration and in hunting down the Guardian. It'd be odd, not having the boss and his troop alongside him going forward, but there was some splitting up a bit early on when they formed Red, Yellow, and Blue teams. Still, they'd come together again when they did their jobs and dealt with their respective issues and Guardians. No point dwelling too much on it now.

Geralt's first thought on entering the metro was that it was lively. Cats walking to and fro, hustling about to reach their trains, which were pulled by other, larger, cats. Not dwelling on that any more than it needed, Geralt looked around a moment before the group was interrupted by the loud, ominous announcement. 'But of wisdom, no clock can measure', huh? Geralt almost snorted, that sounded like something Vesemir might have said if he wasn't trying to lord his age over them. Otherwise, it'd be all about how much more experience he had than them and how he knew better.

What followed had him scowling, though. "Whoreson..." he muttered, the technical inaccuracy not on his mind. Nadia was right. That cat had just put a hit on them! Quickly casting the Sign of Quen to protect himself before their attackers appeared, Geralt followed after the kid who called out that he knew the direction to the Black Line, Raz if he remembered correctly. Roxas went along with him and Geralt joined the pair, occasionally blasting swarms of felines away with Aard, but otherwise maintaining his stamina for the run. His long legs and superhuman strength helped him keep up easily, though he didn't miss Roxas being attacked by a sniper, and quickly came to a halt. "Damn!"

Turning to see Roxas about to be executed, Geralt felt a surge of adrenaline course through him, and he grabbed his crossbow with blistering speed and lifted it, loosing a bolt at Panther, who dodged with ease. "Ah, not so fast, señor," the flirtatious assassin replied, "But I suppose two will do just as well," He smirked, firing his blaster at Geralt, who was already dodging to the side as he adjusted his aim, firing another bolt which was easily dodge.

"Dodge this!" Geralt yelled, leaping at the assassin with claws bared and forming the Sign of Igni, masking his final approach in scorching flames as he raked his claws along Caruso's side, causing a hiss from the cat. Thankfully, the swarms of cats weren't quite willing to risk getting as close to this fight, even if one or two tried their luck, a quick lashing kick was enough to scare them off when the magic or Panther's reputation didn't do the trick.

Still, Panther wouldn't be stopped by just a little scratch. He fired his blaster once, then twice, at Geralt in point-blank range, expecting the predictive dodges by the clearly-wizened fighter, before smirking and aiming his blaster at Roxas. Either suffer a crippling blow or let his ally be killed. Ruthless, but efficient.

Instead, Geralt merely gritted his teeth as the blaster shot hit him center-mass, Quen shattering and dissipating the force of the blow (it still stung like hell and left a radiating pain in Geralt's gut, but he'd survived worse), Panther's red eyes going wide as a clawed fist crashed into, and broke, his nose, blood pooling down his face and covering his lips. "Yuu'll regrut that!" He snarled, swinging his blaster like a knife at Geralt, who took the blow on the arm, punching Panther in the gut and kicking him back.

"You good, kid?" The moment of distraction was enough for Panther, though, and Geralt groaned loudly as a blaster shot landed against his shoulder, throwing him off-balance. Stupid! Geralt cursed himself, the concern for Roxas and anger at the situation having gotten the better of him. Oughta know better...

Midna, who’s destination was the dystopianscape via the black line rather than the Under via the purple, had split off from the troop’s route well before they even got to the race circuit, and so was ignorant to all that went down there. Instead she had her own path to follow. Specifically she took to the walkways, rooftops and any other vertical space she could fly, teleport, or leap too, which gave her complete immunity to cat hordes below and a nice overview of the battlefield. Such as, for example, of queen Sectonia heading off on her own, sailing through the skies and becoming a brief target for a number of shooters till they figured out she could just take the shots, and moved onto other targets.

Well, Midna thought, it looked like she had something to deal with, and that was clearing out the spiders and the cobwebs up in the rafters. Or getting the cats down out of the tree. Or. well. Some other metaphor for going up high and punching some sharp shooter kitties in the face.

To get there she blinked from shadow to shadow and then up into the rafters to her first target. The twilight princess’ eyes, adapted over the generations of her ancestors to the dark of her home, made spotting the sharp shooters' secluded shadowy sniping spots ironically a fair bit easier than if they had been in some brightly lit spot that would have hurt their eyes.

The first of her targets was some hunched over brutish looking cat that, if she had asked, she would have found out was a member of a species known as the Charr. She did not ask questions however, and instead leapt out of the shadows, interdimensional ax raised to strike down the pirate sniper.

They turned on her with a growl, keen cat ears having heard something, and raised their weapon to block the blow. Her new blade’s hilt hit the weapon, but rather than be discouraged she hooked the blade around it while stabbing her spiky shield forwards into the cat’s hand, forcing them to let go one of her handholds on the weapon and allowing Midna to wrench the it free of the charr’s grip.

Midna’s grin at having disarmed the sniper lasted till the Charr punched her in the (masked) face with their good hand in retaliation, forcing the princess to stumble back. Still, she had the cat on the ropes. Or so she thought before, first, a shot rang out and hit the Charr in the side, delivering a payload of rapid regeneration medicine to the sniper that fixed her cactus spiked arm, and second, another one of the snipers kicked down the door carrying a shotgun while their rifle was slung over their back.

”uh oh” Minda intoned as she realized that there might be some kind of solidarity between assassins, or at least a desire to not get picked off one by one.

at least their worrying about me instead of shooting at the others she thought to herself as she took a half step back to avoid an incoming arrow from a fourth sniper who leapt into their balcony party, while she also flicked a finger and summoned a pair of chilfos strikers to bodyblock the shotgun blast from the adorably small super persian sniper.

The pair of icey undead stepped forwards to try and impale the cute cat, which she felt really bad about, but things were kinda desperate with how outnumbered she was. She raised her shield and blocked the next arrow, causing the archer to flinch as the Sabo Shield reflected half the damage it would have done right back at the sniper via a launched spine, and then sicked her wolfos on the pirate charr.

The one eyed cat had been in the process of picking up her gun to try and shoot the princess, only to have to use it to block again, the twilight beast’s jaws being filled with the length of the barrel, which it then bit down onto. While the wolfos gripped the gun and wrestled with the charr for the weapon, Midna locked blades with the archer, who had drawn a short sword to do battle with her.

Another shot from the medical sniper rang out and struck the archer just as Midna was getting the better of her wounded foe, giving them a burst of vitality to keep up the clash of sword vs ax.

Behind her minda summoned her other two chilfos to keep the persian busy, the cat getting very frustrated that having to dodge roll out of the way of yet more spear thrusts.

Just then the wolfos won the contents of strength and ripped the gun out of the Charr’s hands. The one eyed pirate made a grab to try and get it back, but the wolfos just jumped back while growling, and then hurried over to Midna with the stick it had fetched. The archer backed off as the wolfos, not wanting to fight two vs one, and shouted “Help Kajite stupid” at the now weaponless charr.

Said charr took one look at the ax wielding princess, and her many minions, and then down at their empty paws and decided “screw this, she can keep it” and made a run for it, much to the indignity of the other snipers who had come to help her.

”Hey get back-” the princess started to shout, only to realize that: ”wait… I don't need to kill you or free you,” while grabbing the musket from her wolfos’s mouth because she had just worked that all she had to do was: ”just to get rid of these''

The musket vanished into the twilight realm, meaning that even if the Charr came back, she would no longer be a long ranged threat to the party.

The princess grinned toothily at the remaining snipers, and then rushed forwards, just narrowly avoiding some kind of viral payload coming from the medic sniper. She dodged to the side of the khajiit she had been attacking’s own blow, and then swung her axe down, narrowly missing the archer. Or so it seemed, for there came a snap and a twang as the axe cleaved through the end of the archer’s bow, leaving her, functionally, as an archer no more.

She turned away before the Kajite worked out what she had done and lashed out with a shadow hand that could have splatted the short persian, but instead the hand paused above her and then carefully pinched the barrel of its sniper between two fingers and then crushed it completely flat, rendering it useless.

”And that’s me done with you'' she declared, hopping into a shadow before she got blasted by a shotgun, leaving the two briefly confused and then incredibly mad about their broken equipment.

A heartbeat later and she appeared next to the final cat sniper, the one that had been supporting the others with his healing rifle. The therian also tried to swing his gun around on the appearing from nowhere Midna, senses as sharp as the others, but he did not manage to get a shot off before she slammed a shadow hand into him and pinned him to the floor.

”I’ll be taking that'' she told him as she patted the gun and sent it to the twilight ream before rather rudely searching his pinned form and pulling out a number of canisters marked with either pluses or biohazard symbols. Symbols she did not recognise the meaning of.

”Wait. Hmm. healing remedy… or deadly poison'' she asked, holding them up one of these for him to see, which got her just a nonverball hiss. So she shrugged and said ”Eh I’ll just ask someone else'' before stepping back and vanishing once more, sniper threat dealt with, and with 0 casualties too.

She felt pretty good about that as she skipped through the shadows to catch up with the others.

Sakura and Karin, having bought their new outfits and chatted for a while, walked excitedly towards the next part of their mission. Karin had purchased a practical yet comfortable adventurer's outfit, sporting a sleeveless waterproof black and blue top over a tank top, and sturdy looking trousers tucked into boots. Her hair, however, still flowed gracefully over her shoulders in carefully maintained coils. For once Sakura was not in her school uniform but a form-fitting tracksuit and track pants combo. They were both white, but the tracksuit had red running up the sides of her body. Karin looked more prepared, but Sakura looked much more mature and prepared. Which Karin argued was the primary point of the new outfit- it would make people take Sakura more seriously. She even had new blue fighting gloves and a pair of durable looking red shoes.

(Writer’s note: Sakura still has her old, shorter haircut, not the slightly longer haircut in the picture. Ok thanks bye)

”All right, Karin.. Here we go. First mission for you. You need to make a good impression.” Sakura said.
”I believe they need to make a good impression on me, Miss Sakura.” Karin said, adjusting her studded fighting gloves. ”Were they fortunate enough to have me from the beginning, there’s no doubt that I would be running the entire operation. I’m just making up for lost time, now.”
”...Nah.”
”’Nah’?”
”Yeah, nah.” Sakura said with a shrug.
”What-”
”I just don’t think so.” Sakura explained. ”And we’ll never know because it didn’t happen that way. So, you’re right, I guess you don’t need to make a good impression. I’m just saying- it’s good to have you.”
”Well-”
”Becaaause you’re my friend. I’ve made new friends but you’re one of my old friends.”
”...Naturally I-”
”I mean not my oldest friend. That’s Kei. She’s my oldest and best friend. She puts up with me the same way I put up with you!”
”What-?”

At THAT moment, an ominous message played over the entire intercom system. Karin and Sakura both turned around to face where they had just came from. A bead of sweat ran down Sakura’s head and Karin’s gaze hardened.
”One million p-per head?” Sakura asked as the eyes of the Metro began to fall on the Seekers.
”ONLY one million?! That’s insultingly low!” Karin exclaimed. She took a fighting stance. ”I’ll not be run out of town by a mob of unambitious, low-minded bounty hunters.”
Sakura, though, was with the others. She grabbed Sakura’s shoulders. Even the blonde’s face fell slightly when she saw just how many cats were coming their way. ”It’s not worth it, Karin- we’re leaving anyway! Let’s just go!” She tugged at her friend.

Karin growled but relented, turning to flee. ”Fine! But it is for their good, not mine. We’ve no interest in killing civilians, no matter how foolish or reckless they are.” Karin said.

”And I don’t wanna get my ass kicked by a bunch of cats! My pride can’t take it!” Sakura yelled over the din, a nervous smile on her face. As the two ran towards the trains, it became clear that Sakura was the more proficient in the two of them at freerunning. Sakura vaulted quickly over a fence while Karin cleared it gracefully by ten feet. In fact, running in generally didn’t really befit a woman of her stature. She looked and felt out of place, especially compared to Sakura, who avoided a small group of would-be cat-captors by hopping onto a wall and then pushing down off of it, smoothly transitioning into a roll and then back into her sprint. Karin faced them head on, using her dash to push through the small squads ranks as they tried to stop their momentum to catch Sakura.
Frustrated, Karin glanced down at the grappling hook attached to her wrist. She and Sakura had practiced it with only a little in their free time. Flying gracefully through the air- that more befit a noble like herself. She prepared to try it, and attached it to the top of a nearby food stand. Immediately the top of the stand was ripped off and towards Karin, who side stepped as she ran, surprised. Out of the top of the stand came several Metro cats- and one cat girl named Cliffheart who was using the place as her hiding spot. Karin pretended this was on purpose.

“Come on! Let’s show ‘em what we can do!” She cheered. Between her hands she held a threaded black rope attached to a sturdy looking hook. It had two ends, one for grabbing, the other for slashing. Sakura went to blow past Cliffheart, but the enemy catgirl whirled her hook over her head and flung it. Even with her midsection now covered, the layer of fabric did nothing to prevent the pain or the familiar feeling. Sakura was yanked back and pulled into a small swarm of metro cats who descended upon her with street weapons.

Karin immediately felt bad and went to interfere, aiming to give Cliffheart a taste of her own medicine by hooking her towards herself. As she did, a massive figure that ought to have been lumbering dropped from the ceiling and interceded. Her hook collided with him instead, and the unwitting heiress was pulled towards her six foot four foe. Once there he treated her perfect face with a clothesline. Karin grunted and span, detaching her hook and landing on her back, rolling to her feet. Where she looked upon the imposing feline named Mountain.

Unphased, Karin took her stance, turning her body perpendicular to his, crossing her back arm in front of her chest and her front arm back down across her midsection. As much as she is interested in battle, there would be no time for a full on duel- she simply had to give Sakura and herself enough time to escape.

Mountain wasn’t impressed. “I’ve met plenty of people who claim to practice martial arts. They’re all just weaklings putting up a front.”

”You stole the words right out of my mouth, sir.” Karin said, narrowing her eyes and dashing forward.
Meanwhile, a crowbar swiped across Sakura’s face, and she had enough. Blocking a knife, she turned with the swing and swept out her legs in a circle, batting the entire squadron away. ”Okay!” She said, exasperated. Just in time to get pulled towards Cliffheart once again, who promptly tossed Sakura hard into the stand, knocking it onto its side with a deep thud that knocked nearby cats off balance. Sakura lay on her back and opened one eye, looking up at Cliffheart.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Pleased to meet you…” They both said at the same time, though one had a lot more exuberance in her tone than the other. Still, it was clear they might be somewhat cut from the same cloth.

Cliffheart when to stomp on Sakura’s face, but the street fighter rolled out of the way as the concrete broke in slightly where she stomped. Sakura dashed in and began firing off a series of light jabs and kicks. Cliffheart was forced into retreat, backing up and using her rope to deflect punches and moving her legs out of the way of the kicks. Sakura overextended and Cliffheart expertly wrapped her wrists together.

Sakura prepared herself for a smooth counter attack involving a kick, but instead, panic seized her heart. For a moment, she could have sworn she was back on the Maw, hands tied above her head, preparing to be made into stew. She stood there, dumbfounded, as a hard metal clamp swiped across her face, once, twice, three times. Sakura yelled and fell backwards as the rope lost its tension, releasing her. Shaken by her vulnerability, she tossed an oncoming cat away and scrambled back to her feet as blood ran from her cheek.


”K-Karin!” She shouted, voice unusually uncertain. ”Trade!”

Karin was on more equal footing with her opponent. He blocked her first series of attacks and returned fire with his own. Karin leaped over his head and kicked him in the back of the skull. He turned and span his fist around, but she dropped under it, supporting her body with one hand as thrust both her feet into his leg, sweeping him off his feet.
“Hmph!” The Mountain noted, back rolling as she approached once again. Hearing her friend call out for a trade, Karin raised an eyebrow. She kicked out at the Mountain but he blocked it, and after a brief exchange of blows he caught her off guard with brutally fast Left Hook to the head. Karin’s head snapped to the side. He caught her shoulder and plunged his fist into her belly.
”Oof!” Her eyes nearly bulged. The next fist came in, but she put a stop to it with her palm and thrust her elbow into his chest with a V-Reversal, causing him to fly backwards onto the ground.

He was up and at her again in moments, but his feline face was crushed into by the steel-like surface of her palm. “Grr!”
”Ressen Ha!” She moved over him and went to attack Cliffheart from behind. Then things truly turned into a brawl. Karin seized Cliffheart by the wrist and flipped the cat girl over her shoulder, sending her spinning towards Mountain, landing on his back as he got to his feet. Sakura leapt a solid twenty feet and brought her fists down like hammers onto Cliffhearts sternum, flattening both her and Mountain onto the ground.

She rolled to a stop and dove out of the way of some cats, who were afraid of getting too close to this whirlwind fight, giving her opponents the chance to get up.

Cliffheart threw her hook again, but Sakura was ready this time. She blew it out of the way with a fireball that hit into both of them, causing them to slide backwards. Riled up, she flung a few more, forcing them into cover. Cliffheart hid inside a nearby building while the Mountain ducked around the corner. ”Hadoken!”
Karin finally got to use her grappling hook. The Mountain turned and burst one of Sakura’s fireballs with his fists, preparing to engage. That was when Karin’s hook attached to him and the food stand was pulled toward him at high speed. “Coward!” He yelled as he crossed his arms in front himself, getting flung backwards.
“Hey!” Cliffheart yelled, offended on behalf of her friend. She ran out of cover and got beaned by a precise fireball. “Gah!” She was knocked onto her back and rolled back inside.

”Ditch 'em!” Sakura shouted, knowing neither feline was anywhere close to being defeated. But she knew they could be outran. Karin cast a brief, hesitant look at Mountain before nodding. ”If they wanted a fair fight, they should have challenged us fair and square. Quickly!” The two turned and ran away to the Black Line.

The gate was in their way, and many Seekers were engaged in disparate battles. But Sakura and Karin had tailed enemies on their own hypothetical tails. Still, the flow of metro cats and din of battle meant that as long as they took a few turns, they had left the pair of felines in the dust. As they got closer to the Black Line gate, they confirmed that their pursuers weren’t making trouble for any of their friends as best they could. They also spent some time knocking away some Metro Cats before the big wave could arrive.
Karin wrapped one arm around Sakura and fired her grappling hook up towards the ceiling near the gate. Once there, Sakura smashed open the window and the two descended, successfully making it to the Black Line.

Once Omori was done with his turn; eloquently pulling his lower eyelid down and sticking his tongue out back at Junior in response, he quietly sat out the rest of the introductions. The skepticism and concerns (and ire, in the Bowsers' case) for someone so innocuous looking being involved in this fight aside, one of the last two to introduce themselves mentioned something interesting. The blonde in pink, Bede, called himself a pokemon trainer. One who specializes in "fairy" types, despite having "psychic" types at the moment. So those thing Junior had were called pokemon? It'd explain the quick fanboying Bede did once the little runt brought them out. Besides that, he was even more ordinary than the monochrome boy himself, if not as prideful as Karin flamboyant. Omori couldn't help feeling a bit of empathy for the trainer.

Then, it seemed one of Bede's pokemon finally found him. A baby unicorn, with a fluffy purple and blue mane and tail. It reminded Omori of cotton candy. Ponyta, huh? Looked like something out of Headspace. Curious, Omori walked over to carefully pet the pokemon. He didn't want to spook it after all. Now that introductions were settled, the next thing they had to do was set up a picnic for lunch.

Well that made Omori perk up a bit! Mari's picnics were always the best. Though, he was broke at the moment. So he had to ask Peach for some coins. Not only to help with the picnic, but to also get himself some long-overdue equipment for the road ahead. He already had more than enough weapons, and the tulip hairstick has done him well so far, so his main concern was set on health items. Whether that'd be snacks for later or health potions, Omori would run out of inventory space eventually. So he made another stop to buy himself a big enough pack to store the extra stuff in.

With whatever money he had left, he also made one last stop to get some extra layers to his outfit, a black raincoat with cat ears, and some matching rain boots. It might not have been much, but at least it was practical. Once everyone was all set, Omori quietly ate as he took in whatever info he could from the ongoing conversations. So they'll be splitting up again? All signs pointed to Dystopiascape as one of the next places to investigate.

But then they also agreed on going to the Under. Somewhere Omori was, to an extent, familiar with. Yet he had never went too far deep into the chasm. Now was his chance to see what hid in the depths! Though he had some reservations, he ultimately decided to stick with his choice. And admittedly? It sucked that he had to part ways with Pit for now. "Just be careful, okay?" Was what he said to the angel.

...Black Line, Purple Line. How ironic, though only to himself.

He was still curious about something. And it turns out, Roxas and Geralt were too! Omori looked over to Bede and his pokemon, speaking up with his own questions in between the other two's. More specifically, he wanted to know more about the type Bede specialized in, and anything about other types.

Maybe because he wanted to get one himself.

Their eventual conversation would be interrupted when Junior and Midna brought in a small arsenal of weapons and vehicles. Omori hadn't exactly learned how to drive yet, so he focused more on rummaging through the weapons. He eventually settled on a pair of knives and a spare pistol, along with whatever ammo for it he could get. He organized his inventory accordingly; his smaller weapons could stay in his pockets for now, while the larger ones were carefully stuffed into his pack, then nodded to the two in thanks.

And then, it was off to the Metro.

---

Perhaps it was fate that he bought a cat-eared coat. This place was nuts! Omori followed behind Nadia, head darting around with an excited gleam in his eye as the group made their way through the Nyakuza Metro. Everywhere he looked, cats, cats, CATS! He wished they had time to explore besides a passing glance, nearly bumping into the feral when she spotted a jewlery store. He was lagging behind a bit too, but soon, for another reason.

Omori had spotted a familiar blob of darkness, laying next to a red-striped kitten. His eyes widened slightly.

"Mewo?"

The former's ears perked up at her name being called. Mewo sat up and looked around, her eyes settling on the familiar face of a fellow Whitespace resident. "Meow?" The black cat stretched as she stood up, accidentally catching the attention of the Litten next to her, and walked over to Omori. The boy took a couple of steps to her and reached a hand out to pet Mewo. His mouth quirked up into a smile. "Sorry for the wait." He apologized, nodding to the other cat in thanks for looking after Mewo before picking her up and hurring back to the others.

The litten watched the two head off with half-lidded eyes. Curious. Maybe it could follow them?

...Nah.

Besides, it'd be best not to get involved in what was to come.

Apparently the teams had to get train passes first. And to do that, they had to collect small green capsules with gems in them called pons. Seems easy enough.

Aaand then someone ordered a hit on them. And the other one, looked eerily similar to Consul S...

As the ground shook, Omori slowly turned his head in dread to see a tide of black barreling down towards them. He didn't need to be told to run. Arms protectively wrapped around Mewo, he sprinted off to follow the rest of "Purple Team". The way the Metro Cats flooded the area was sort of like a game of The Floor is Lava, so that was what he'd treat it as, leaning more on the evasive as he prioritized escape over fighting.

The generic goons that broke off from the tide to try and attack him were easy to handle. For the ones Omori wasn't able to juke, the boy quickly drew out his combat knife to stab them in non-lethal areas, then kick them away from him and Mewo, forcing them back. Though, as the intervention of the Metro's elites slowly made itself known it was only a matter of time before Omori would be forced to fight for real.

If only he had a way to bypass all the cats blocking the gate, like Nadia. Welp, no beating around the bush now.

"Follow them. Head to the train, I'll meet you there!" Omori quickly told Mewo before setting her down, allowing her to sprint through to the entrance to the Purple Station. The black cat spared one more look at her owner before searching for another way in.

Omori eyed the two cat-eared guards and their large sum of Metro lackeys as he approached the entrance, keeping out of sight. He did suffer a few minor scraps so far, but if that combination of a drill and a saw the darker haired one was holding any indicator?

This was gonna suck.

Meanwhile...Jesse Faden had been pretty busy. When the cats came, she put things together pretty quick. Traversal was easy for her, and she was able to keep above the crowds and out of harms way. She Levitated through the air, using bursts of evasive speed to avoid getting predicted. A couple groups of bold metro cats attempted to descend on her from above. One almost landed on her but she dismissed it with a forceful shove of her mind, and the others she just moved out of the way of, leaving them to a hard impact.

As she got closer and closer to the Purple Line gate, hopping off high places and pushing herself through the air, she realised it still wasn't open. Not only that, it was being guarded. Two powerful looking feline foes. Broca and Haze guarded the way. Broca was a strong looking fellow equipped with a sword, while Haze seemed to be some kind of caster with a magic book. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Jesse needed that door open if the Seekers were to maxmize the chances of escape.

From Omori's right, Jesse descended from above. She didn't seem to notice him. Her pistol changed into the shape of a spinning barrel and she unloaded a fussilade of gun fire the chewed at the floor and sent the Metro Cats scrambling for cover. For the two cats that didn't retreat, she regarded them coolly.

"Get out of my way- I can't afford to hold back." Jesse said simply.

"Let's get this over with," Broca said, levelling his technologically advanced sword.

"You think you're all that, huh?" Haze rebuked, her book flying open by itself and magic lighting up her eyes.

Jesse frowned and prepared to fight, switching her gun back to its basic but versatile Grip mode. She fired upon Broca, but he proved tough, blocking her shots with his sword as he advanced. Meanwhile, bolts of red light flung Jesse's way at regular intervals, causing the Director to sprint to the side to avoid them. Broca would have closed the gap, but she turned her gun on Haze, and he was forced to interpose himself between Haze and Jesse lest he leave his caster unprotected.

"This won't hurt for long." He promised Jesse. Briefly raising her eyebrows, she ripped a heavy glowing light attached on a nearby wall and flung it at him. He blocked it but was knocked aside as a result. Before she could fire at him, Haze sent more bolts her way, causing Jesse to duck and move to the side. It seemed like the Director was leaning at impossibly steep angles as she strafed and changed her movement patterns, but she was just keeping herself up with Levitation.

Omori had taken a moment to observe the fight, swapping out his combat knife for his gunblade, Revolver. It was some luck Jesse cleared out the Metro cats, but like heck he was going to let her fight alone. Seeing Broca get knocked aside, the boy rushed out of his hiding spot to ambush him. Only for Haze to see him approaching.

"Broca, don't let your guard down!"

Hearing the witch's warning, Broca turn his head around to see the hooded boy. "Tch." Gritting his teeth, he swung his industrial weapon at Omori's direction, and the saw blade clashed against the other's in a burst of sparks. Looks like Haze was stuck dealing with the red-haired broad alone.

Jesse saw Omori's help out of the corner of her eye. Before she could help, a bolt struck her in the chest, knocking Jesse over. She floated back to her feet and returned fire. Haze was in a predicament. "Black Mist!" From her book there was an explosion of, aptly, black mist. Like a dark smoke grenade, Jesse lost visual on Haze as more bolts came out of the mist, faster and more powerful than before. Jesse took to the air and began evading, once again switching her Service Weapon to Spin. She coated the mist cloud with machine gun fire, and she heard a shot connect and the bolts stopped. Hard to place foot steps led Jesse to believe Haze was looking for cover.

The Metro Cats must have thought Omori looked vulnerable going up against Broca on the ground, and they gathered to jump him. Jesse fired overhead, blasting up the concrete infront of the cats to scare them off. "One more time and I'm aiming for you!" She threatened the cats as she Levitated towards Broca and Omori. She switched to Grip and started to line up a shot on Broca, as well.

At that point did the two truly start trading blows with each other. Deeper cuts than what the Metro cats could even try to do could be seen bleeding into Omori's hoodie, mainly cutting across his chest, arms, and Broca even managed to graze him in the face. Not like the buzzsaw wielding Feline was getting through unscathed either. With the boy quickly learning what the gun part of Revolver could do, Omori kept an eye on any openings to trigger a shockwave round through the blade. Though it was rather difficult with how bulky his opponent's weapon was.

"You aren't half bad."

"Wish I could say the same for you." The boy responded in a mocking tone, bounding back a small distance to send what looked like four red hands out to circle Broca, before striking into him, just as painful as knives. With a pained grunt, the two exchanged glares. "Drop dead already." Broca's weapon sparked to life with electricity, while in anticipation of his next move, Omori casted Sad Poem on himself to regain his defense, the silhouette of a blue book appearing closer in front of the monochrome youth.

Jesse dashed forward in the air and fired bullets into Broca's back before he could begin his offense. They sunk into him, dealing big damage, but he could still fight. He whirled and slashed his drill at Jesse, and even though she was well above the electric arc extended outward and caught her by surprise. Struck by lightning she dropped to the ground, but Evaded to the side, her Health protecting her from serious damage. Strafing, she fired more pistol shots in his direction to keep his attention. She noticed that she was slower for a second, the lightning constricting the muscles in her limbs.

She had to act fast to keep Haze off her. Diverting her fire from Broca, she used her off hand to fling a dumpster at Haze, causing her to retreat back into cover around a building. "Acid!" She called out, and Uncle Sven appeared to toss a vial of acid where Haze was hiding, forcing her back even further as her feet were burned and the pool of deadly liquid threatened her approach. Frustrated, took a flanking route and prepared her ultimate, though risky move, Crimson Eyes.

Looks like the heat was off Omori, but for how long?

As Jesse was flung down to the ground, the boy searched his pockets for his flintlock. From what he knew, it should still be loaded since they took down LeFwee. If he could just get close enough, he could hopefully deal enough damage to friend heart the Feline.

Though of course, he wouldn't have time to.

Omori narrowly dodged a couple of bolts Haze had begun firing at him instead. Right. He forgot she existed. With Broca having turned his sights on Jesse, Omori pulled out his other pistol and opened fire on the witch, running to find cover. The two were locked in a shootout.

As Omori and Haze engaged, Jesse felt confident enough to give Broca her undivided attention. No doubt he aimed to close the gap now that she was on the ground. He slashed more electricity at her, but she raised a Shield of concrete and force. There was a flash of sparks, and Jesse dashed forward, slamming into Broca with the Shield. The Shield released, and the concrete shards went flying outward with a burst of force, crushing through his defense. The Service Weapon shifted into Shatter, and she unleashed a point blank shotgun blast at his center of mass. In her minds eye she saw blue shards fly off him and into herself, restoring her protective shield.

As he slid backward, reeling and bleeding, Jesse realised the cat minions were upon her once more. "Little bastards!" Jesse swore as one of them went to stick a knife right into her kidney. She leapt above them all, though one clung panicking onto her leg and stabbed her thigh. With a swiping motion downward, she flattened all of them into the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of them, taking them out of the fight.

Still, she was fast, and she wasn't going to let them distract her for long. Before Broca could recover from her combo, she was already firing upon him again. Though at this range, Shatter was less effective. Instead, as he prepared to slash up at her, she ripped a bench from the floor and crushed it into him. His composure dropped as, his defences broken, he was crumpled and sent spinning across the floor. "Gotcha! I mean, sorry." Jesse said to his somewhat-moving body.

At this point, Haze had had enough. Flipping to the appropriate page in her book, she sacrificed her own vitality to even the firepower score. Her eyes glew crimson and the size of her bolts must have tripled. Now she was a one woman artillery squad. She fired at the ground below Jesse to make the explosion difficult to dodge, and Jesse was knocked from the air. Landing, she barely Evaded the next one that blew a chunk out of the wall of a far building. She alternated her line of sight to look back at Omori and launched bolts at him as well.

Omori quickly ducked behind cover and reloaded his gun. That lady was going to wreck the place before ANY of them went anywhere. He had to stop this soon, somehow! The boy calmed himself down, then fired again, aiming for a shot in the gut.

She turned to fire a bolt at him, but her aim went wide as the bullet struck true. Instead it crashed up into a distant bridge in the air. Having sacrificed her vitality, she doubled over from the shot, clutching her belly and wheezing. She wasn't going anywhere for a while, just like her partner. If the two of them didn't get medical treatment soon, they might not make it, but they had a chance, and as far as Jesse was concerned that was fair.

"Nice shot, kid!" Jesse called out, having been lining one up herself. Out of Energy, she just dead-sprinted over to the booth. Busting the lock on the door she went inside and used it to open the Purple Line gate.

"All right! It's open." Stepping out, she used Spin to surpress any more forward thinking Metro Cats with ideas above their station, as it were. Sectonia was among those who flew through the newly opened exit, and anyone else who wanted an easy opening through to the Purple Line would now have it. Jesse was planning on being the last one through. If everyone made it through Purple Line, Jesse would have Sven toss a Healing Waters potion Broca's way right before retreating and closing the gate behind her. Why not, right? Maybe that'd help our reputation around here.

The monochrome boy, decently wounded, stumbled back onto his feet and hurried towards the opened gate. Though he was hesitant in leaving Broca and Haze behind. Circumstances or not, could he help them? As he took a glance behind him, he saw the metro cats were already trying to reflood the street.

...

Hopefully some of them will help the two get healed back into shape.

Omori nodded to Jesse, then walked the rest of the way to the Purple Line. Hopefully Mewo made it through.

Rubick listened to everyone as they introduced themselves. He nodded as familiar faces such as Nadia and the Koopa Troop group made their greetings, and listened intently as some fun new members made theirs, such as Jesse, Sectonia, and Midna. These new people interested him greatly, as he was far too curious about their magical and otherwise unexplainable abilities. At last, Rubick's turn came up, and he was quick to take the opportunity to step forward and begin his own introduction.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Rubick, the Grrrrand Magus," Rubick said, raising a hand to emphasize his own splendor. "I earned this title by killing many a magus in a one-against-many duel, and I will have all those who know of me never forget it. I am also son and heir to the mighty wizard Aghanim, seeker of all knowledge of the mystic arts, and master of the Arcane!" He then casted Telekinesis on himself and lifted himself into the air, continuing on, "Now that everyone has revealed their parlor tricks, it is only fair that I do the same. Well, to be more accurate, I will use yours instead. After all, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Rubick pointed his staff at Primrose, using his Power Steal to take her Art of Dance. He added his own spin to the ability as he performed a short ballroom dance, holding his staff as if it were a dance partner and spun it around. At the climax, he pointed his staff at Jesse and took her Launch ability, using it to rip chunks of rock out of the ground. He then pointed at Midna and took her Call the Pack ability. Launching the rocks into up the air, Rubick then summoned a portal in the air to summon a green copy of her Vibrava wolf, diving down at Rubick, only to be shot away and dissipate from the damage.

Rubick was not yet done, however, as he then turned to Pit. One quick Power Steal later, he then fired a green Light Arrow into the air, manipulating it with even finer dexterity than Pit had, performing zig zags and even twirling it around his own body before finally shooting into the straight up into the air and bending it straight back down. The moment he did, Rubick quickly copied Geralt's Igni Sign and fired a burst of fire into the air, as if intercepting the Light Arrow. Finally, Rubick copied Sectonia's ability to summon a giant green crystal of his own right between the flame and the arrow. As they both collided with it at the same time, it shattered with the same ethereal sound as Sectonia's original ability, also doing no damage. "Any competent magus can control who is affected by their spells," Rubick casually remarked, taking a jab at Sectonia's fine control.

---

Now that everyone's greetings were done, they moved on to the Nyakuza Metro, a place that was filled with colorful lights and walking cat people. He would've liked more time to marvel at the sights if the entire populace of the place wasn't suddenly hostile to them. Rubick laughed as he ran, following the rest of the Seekers to his designated train. Nothing like a bout of chaos the moment one set foot in new lands. "I was hoping to have done something first before getting a bounty placed on us!" Rubick said. A small group of cats tried to pounce on Rubick from a nearby rooftop, but a Fade Bolt bouncing between them was enough to incapacitate them long enough for Rubick to run past them. Any sniper shots from afar would be blocked by Rubick's own Chaos Shield, copied from Sectonia. Sadly, the fun had to end sooner than he would have liked, as he soon made it to the Purple Line. He would've aided the others against their feline opponents, but they evidently had it handled. He quickly ran in after Jesse broke the lock and opened the gate. "My thanks, Jesse," Rubick said as he ran past her.

Once the meet and greet was over, it was time for lunch. With no personal matters to attend to nor any particular wants or needs, Pit stuck close to Peach and the others tasked with organizing the picnic itself. A blanket large enough to fit all twenty-something of them (with some much larger than human sized to boot) would be impossible to find, so the angel fetched a few and ran on ahead to spread them out, all the while throwing food suggestions at the others while they were in the process of buying. Viridi always said he was a glorified errand boy, but Pit had never minded that type of work. Besides, it wasn't really true anyway!

Meanwhile, the Cadet visited a few of the stores that they passed. He was curious to see if there were any unique shops, but he found it was mostly the same kind of goods one would find in any town. Not that it stopped him from perusing them, picking up little things here and there to restock his own inventory. He'd done most of that at the Alcamoth, but seeing as they'd just come from a battle on the sea and they just happened to be a in nice town, he figured he might as well top off. It was not pride that stopped him from taking Peach up on her offer of gold, but the promise of embarrassment if he had to rely on her treasury. While he still had his own funds he'd try not to mooch too hard.

The lunch itself was very pleasant. There was an incredible spread, not just in variety but sheer number - as expected, with so many food fiends in their group. Conversations were lively, and Pit flitted from one to another, jumping into any conversations he could hear with comments or questions and generally would have been making a nuisance of himself if not for the warm and relaxed atmosphere. As people were still getting to know each other, most didn't mind it. The Cadet noted Nadia's haircut back into the shorter bob style she'd sported before. It was a look she obviously preferred, and it did look good on her - he told her as much as everyone settled down onto the blankets. Afterward he took Wonder Red up on trading techniques, although their discussion didn't get very far into "techniques" per se. The hunter gleefully spent time talking about the Hunter's Guild, how it handled missions and monsters, and how it functioned in general. He also listened with interest to the more in depth details on the Wonderful 100, and the kind of threats they faced and how they were deployed. Their talk was cut short when Bowser Junior got back from the Alcamoth and mentioned a surplus of items, which was something the Cadet didn't want to miss. He took a trip back to Smash City, and returned not long after with a interesting weapon tucked into his backpack.

Finally, on the topic of who was headed where, the hunter would be headed underground and sticking with Ms. Fortune and the Troop, and other allies new and old. Meanwhile Pit declared he would be going to Dystopiascape to follow through with the end of the "Neo Red Team" mission. Anything that wasn't eaten during lunch, which wasn't much, was wrapped up safely to go.

One train ride later and the Seekers were in the subway's main lobby. Like the other newcomers to the Nyakuza Metro, both the Ace Cadet and Pit were impressed with the place. The colors, the look of it, the smell even. Sadly, they didn't have long to take it all in before things went... well, as they usually did. Not in the Seekers' favor.

"Already?" the Cadet asked. It had barely been a couple hours since the last ambush! And yet here they were with an actual bounty on their heads. He couldn't help but laugh at Karin's exclamation that said bounty was too low. At first he prepared himself for a fight, but soon after seeing the sheer number of cats advancing on them he agreed with Peach's assessment: it was time to run.

The Seekers scrambled, splitting into three groups: those bound for the Under, those heading toward Dystopiascape, and the Phantom Thieves on their way to the Gray Line. Those that knew their way around already took the lead, and the rest followed in anyway that they could.

When the cats swooped in front of the group and seemingly blocked the way, everyone else headed to the Purple Line got around it - some leaped, some flew, some took detours. The monster hunter, for all his strength, endurance, and at times cleverness, had always been lacking in speed. The wave of metro cats was quicker than he was, and by the time he was close enough to try to grapple an overhang and swing over the mass he was surrounded on all sides. He tried the grapple anyway, but the crowd of cats as not keen to let yet another Seeker pass - a few daring kitties jumped up and knocked the clutch claw off course where it fell to the ground. When the Cadet reeled it back in, a metro cat rode the contraption right back towards him and jumped onto his shoulders. Rather than a friendly purr, it took hold of his armor and tried to tip him over into the waiting claws of it's fellow felines. Just one cat trying was useless, and the Cadet quickly shook it off, but the others seemed encouraged and all at once the horde rushed in and swallowed the hunter.

"Get - off -!" he struggled, fending off cats from literally every direction as they scrabbled not just around him but above and underfoot as well. This was quickly becoming a cat-astrophe, and though the Cadet's armor saved him from any dire wounds he could feel the cats trying to get into the spaces between and try prying his protection off or otherwise immobilizing him.

"Okay, enough kitten around!" The Master Bang was in his hands, and though it was with some difficulty due to the sheer number of cats mobbing him, the Cadet pulled off his sword art of Round Force. The spin was wider than the length of his blade, and the force that was enough to push fellow hunters into the air flung all of the cats surrounding him off. With some breathing room now the Cadet could see that he'd been pushed backward away from the direction he'd been heading. It was with a sinking feeling in his chest that he noted he didn't see any of the other Seekers around at all.

The was until he felt a weird pull, his vision stretch and blur, and then suddenly he was not on the ground floor surrounded by metro cats but splayed on a walkway with Wonder Red and Big Band standing around him. The Cadet scrambled to his feet, eyes wide and a little freaked out.

"What happened?" He questioned, getting a quick explanation from Red that he and Band had been dragged into his Unite Morph. Seeing as that's probably what saved him from being captured or worse, the Cadet wasn't mad - he'd have to thank the guy later, in fact. For now, he made to escape with the other two men in any direction they could, even if it meant they'd be separated from the others.

Meanwhile on the path to the Black Station, everyone hurried after Raz. Though many had only met the psychic that day, it said a lot that they were willing to trust him to lead them to safety in this situation. Pit sprinted along after him, keep a close eye so as not to lose him in all the twisting, turning, and general chaos of enemies on their tail. He also tried not to think about if he didn't have a guide to follow, he would definitely have gotten hopelessly lost and overrun.

As it was, the cats were fast - and the fastest among them did try to outrun the heroes. With the Palutena Bow split into it's two blades, Pit fended off any cats that tried getting in their way. His haste combined with his natural quickness had Pit toward the front of the group. By the time they got close enough to the station's entrance where Raz pointed up, the angel was covered in scrapes and scratch makes where cat claws and improvised weapons reached him before he could reach them.

"Aw man, all the way up there?" It didn't seem like the elevator would make it to them in time, and even if it did those kinds of doors were notoriously slow to close. Climbing it was. Or in his case, jumping. With a running start Pit leapt up and pushed off the side of an indoor shop, and with the help of his wings he got pretty high before he had to kick off the pipe itself and do it again, heading up.

As he was ascending, Pit caught sight of a pair of slightly different looking kind of cats. They shuffled around a level or two higher than the one the Seekers were on, and then peered over the edge. In their paws they produced something cartoonishly bomb-looking, so much so that Pit could only assume that was exactly what it was. And the cats held it out over the side, ready to drop it on the group below. The bomb didn't look very big, but still - wasn't that a little much?!

"Oh no you don't!" Pit kicked off the tube and clicked the two halves of the bow back together. He soared toward the group, spinning his sword in hand when they threw the little explosive at him as he predicted they would. It bounced off of the attack, striking the underside of the walkway instead where it blew in a small fiery wave. There didn't seem to be any structural damage, but the pathway shook from the miniature explosion, giving Pit enough of an opening to flap his wings and join the cat guards on the walkway where they put up little fight. With them taken care of and, unbeknownst to Pit the other ambushing sniper cats already handled by Midna, the rest of the Seekers at least wouldn't have to deal with any nasty surprises from above. They would still have to deal with the cats on the ground floor, but that was something angel could help with as well.

Pit finished making his way to the Black Station, and taking up a high spot he looked back the way he'd come for any stragglers. With the bow pulled back and light arrow formed, he could reverse the situation just a little bit and take shots to cover the other Seekers that hadn't made it up yet. Pit was competitive, but they didn't need to win they needed to escape, so any opening he could give them would be useful. The angel loosed his arrows, pinging off of any cats that got too close to the others. The largest and most dangerous looking opponents were his targets for the most part, whether they were burly catmen built like mountains giving chase or sneaky catmen firing at his friends, the brilliant blue arrows found their marks. Due to the way the arrows could change direction they provided some good cover fire.

Though Poppi and especially Tora feared for their newfound friend Band as he seemed to take a stand alone against the mangy masses, his seismic Giant Step quickly proved that the pair had nothing to worry about, and with a nod of respect the nopon turned to race after Raz, Roxas, Geralt, Sakura, and Karin on their way to the Black Line station. He bounded along with surprising speed, his feet given wings by instinctive fear, and Poppi thundered alongside him in her well-armored Alpha form. Normally Tora would opt to take point, his indomitable Drill Shield or stalwart Mech Arms ready to defend his softer, squishier allies against whatever might lie ahead, but this time he brought up the rear; the enemy was behind them, and in Tora’s case, right behind. As he ran for his life he soon realized that his pursuers were literally on his heels, spilling over themselves, crashing against surfaces, and flowing around obstacles like a landslide of black fur and white masks. For all his tankiness, Tora could no more turn and face them than he could a natural disaster, and whenever he lagged behind even a little a sharp blow to the shield on his back reminded him that the cat’s claws and fangs were just one step away.

For a while he and Poppi managed to keep up a good pace, hurtling up and down stairs and escalators, through tunnels and over bridges, but the farther they went the more the other Seekers left them behind. With Levitation, flow motion, and good old-fashioned long strides, they managed to steadily put distance between themselves and the duo at the back of the pack. Either that, or they took a side path after being cut off by another wave of felines. After a couple minutes Poppi suddenly realized that she must have missed a turn. In the Metro, glowing arrows and lines on the ground and the walls lit the way to the stations, but black wasn’t exactly the most eye-catching of colors. Worse still, she noticed her Masterpon breathing heavily. Without the speed or stamina for long-distance running, it couldn’t be long before Tora gave up the ghost. “Poppi!” he gasped. “Tora legs not hold out much longer!” His face turned from discomfort to dismay as more cats rounded the bend ahead of them, putting the pair on course to be caught in a disastrous pincer maneuver. “Oh no! What now, meh!?”

Poppi’s brow furrowed, and she scanned her surroundings. “Seeking alternative route.” The two of them seemed to be in some sort of indoor shopping avenue, with a hedge row interspersed with streetlights running down the middle, and only two stories beneath the low ceiling. Going up wasn’t an option, and smashing through any of these classy glass-and-curtain storefronts would be a huge gamble; if it didn’t have a back door, they’d be trapped. Her frantic search turned up no vents, nor grates among the shiny stone tiles that might provide access to an underground passage. Could they make it by flying over the crowd, with so little clearance…?

“Poppi!?” Tora quavered, unmasked fear in his voice. Only seconds remained before impact.

The artificial blade veered his way as she ran and grabbed him by one wing to pull him into her grasp. Constructing her claymore, she slid to a stop and plunged the huge wave into the ground, sending out a wave of elemental ether that matched her current Core: ice. As it coated the tiles, rendering them slick and slippery, Poppi boosted into the air. Unable to control their momentum, the two opposing mobs of yowling metro cats slid into one another at full force and went flying like bowling pins. As they groaned below him, unable to rise thanks to the ice and squabbling with one another, Tora found a look of uncertainty on his companion’s face. “Poppi not sure,” she told him, peering from one end of the cat-carpeted street to the other. “No routes available!”

For a split second Tora wavered, but as in all times of need he asked himself one important question: what would Rex-Rex do? Then he smiled, and took the Drill Shield in hand. “Then we make one!” he declared as he extended the drill bit and revved it up. Down below, the cats had started to pile up, forming a living tower to reach the two. Tora pointed his drill at the brick wall. “Now, Poppi!”

Poppi obliged, boosting forward to drive her Masterpon’s drill into the wall. The ether-infused weapon tore through the masonry and into the second floor of a cat-themed apparel shop. Yelling his most ferocious battle cry, Tora charged past a couple terrified kitties and into the far wall, which Poppi helped push him through from behind. Together they carved a path of destruction through a couple buildings, until finally they burst into a big, dimly-lit space. They fell onto a wooden platform hanging from the ceiling, and as her Masterpon sprawled Poppi grabbed the Drill Shield. She turned to face the hole they made and poured ether through the weapon to spray it with a freezing flurry. “Noponic Storm!” she called, and in just a couple seconds the way was blocked with an impervious mass of ice. With the flow of light, air, and cats thoroughly cut off, the tension began to fade, and Poppi heaved a simulated sigh. “Kitties not get through that.”

As she passed the shield back to Tora, the artificial blade realized just where the two had ended up. They stood in a big subway tunnel with a few sets of tracks, one of many that ran through all parts of the Metro as they made their confusing and circuitous connections. Her Masterpon watched the trains rattle by while catching his breath, the puller cats that ran along the track nearest to him so close he could reach a wing out and stroke its orange fur. Unfortunately for him and Poppi, it looked like these trains belonged to the Blue Line. In one direction the tunnel seemed to open up into a part of the Blue Station. Then something occurred to him, and he got to his feet. “This ticket out of here!” he told Poppi, pointing down at the train running away from the station. “Tora remember blue tracks up high. We surely see Black Station from there!”

“Just watch for signs,” Poppi warned, her eyes on the big neon adverts of various shapes that hung over the tracks with barely an inch of clearance. She and Tora waited for the next train, then jumped on top of it and were whisked away. A frantic few moments of dodging ensued, with both getting clipped and, in Tora’s case, flat-on walloped by one particularly big sign for some kind of milk bar. Soon enough, the signs came to a stop, the two not that much worse for wear, but the moment Tora went to breathe a sigh of relief he noticed something disconcerting. “Meh-meh! Look out!”

Up ahead, the tunnel came to an end, with just a cat flap to admit the train. As Tora panicked, Poppi’s eyes went to a double green track that ran above them, and she had an idea. She grabbed Tora like a beach ball and threw him, then followed with a rocket-powered superjump. They landed on the green line trains and were swiftly borne into canyon between two buildings, where even the golden light that spilled from the pawprint windows did not reveal any bottom to the pit below. Thoroughly done with dodging signs, Poppi stepped forward to carve through with her claymore, and Tora sat to let out his heavy breath. “Meeeeh. This too much excitement right after lunch.”

“Mind if I drop in?”

Both trains shook, and a tremendous noise rang out, as a furry dragon slammed down behind him. The impact bounced Tora into the air, his face one of comical shock, but the nopon landed on his feet. He raised his Drill Shield. “What now!?”

The huge creature sat with a mischievous glint in her eyes, her massive scorpion tail curled around her forelegs. “Paw-don me, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cait Sith, and on behalf of my dear fur-iend the Empress, I am here to collect you.” She narrowed her reptilian eyes. “Won’t you come quietly?”

Poppi, looking back over her shoulder with a face of anger, chose to answer. She hot-swapped to her QT Pi form in a whirlwind of sparks and ribbons, then unleashed a wave of energy from her Variable Saber. It flew down the canyon, annihilating every sign in its path in one fell swoop. She turned and tossed the weapon to Tora, who caught the hilt and extended the blade. “Not going anywhere Tora not want,” her Masterpon added, scowling. “Please to jog on.”

“Aw, how very rude.” Cait Sith tilted her head, smiling. She lifted up a massive paw to pluck at her whiskers, and shadow magic welled around her. “In that case…”

She unleashed a whirling twister of dark power. Tora and Poppi split up to run around it on either side, with the nopon running forward to swipe at Cait Sith. She deftly dodged his slashes, then brought her paw down on him. Tora jumped back, landed in Poppi’s arms, and got promptly thrown at their foe. He planned to swing at the dragon’s face, but her tail whipped around, forcing him to change the Variable Saber to shotgun mode and change his directory with a blast. He landed on the train and went for Cait Sith’s legs with Swooshing Slash, but the dragon elegantly flipped backward to avoid the spin attack and brought her tail down in an overhead stab that roiled with shadow. Tora went to block it, but on impulse Poppi snatched him out of harm’s way, and a second later he found out why. The sting infused the train roof with dark energy, causing it to explode. Poppi leaped backward, and through the nebulous maelstrom Cait Sith sauntered, undeterred. “What’s the matter?” she purred. “You haven’t even hit me yet. Can’t bring yourself to mar my beauty, purr-haps?”

Just then, the trains shot out into open space, high up up in the Metro. They also split, with one train going up toward the cat apartments higher still, while the other wound down through the air toward the Green Station. The split forced Cait Sith to rebalance on one train as the wind whipped at her fur, and in that moment Poppi spotted it: the Black Line station, a few stories up, but currently below them. Thinking quickly, she leaped from the train with Tora in her arms, plummeting down to land in a garbage-filled alley. Cait Sith watched them go, a playful smile on her snout. “How a-mew-sing…”

On the ground, though far above ground level, Tora winced at the smell of the dumpsters. He and Poppi hurried out of the alley, covering their noses. “Good thinking, Poppi!” he told her. When they hit the street, they found the Black Station just down the road. “But won’t fuzzypon come after us?”

“We not hit her, so she not compelled to,” his companion reasoned. “Plus, did Masterpon catch whiff of perfume? She put on serious airs. High-society cat probably not so eager to jump in trash.”

“Ooh, doubly good thinking! Whoever invent Poppi must be genius” Tora sang, pleased as punch with himself as much as his partner. She nodded wearily and took off running toward the station, and as he made to follow, something caught his eye. Sitting only a few feet away, at the Latte Box cafe responsible for all the trash in that alley, was a weird-looking cat. Tora froze for a moment, expecting an attack, but the cat only stared. The nopon stared back, trying to overwhelm the stranger with his trademark unflinching eye contact, but something about the cat unnerved him. In fact, she chilled him to his core. He wilted under her gaze, looked away, and ran, not daring to look back.

A few moments and another hot-swap later, the two drilled through the side of the Black Line station, and made a beeline for the final train, loaded with teammates and just about to leave.



The Black Line train soon pulled in at a rather ordinary Yasoinaba Station, a rather small and well-lit terminus compared to the Seekers’ departure point. Thanks to the billboards in the station that mentioned a railway shutdown, it didn’t look as though anyone would be following them here, and aside from some discontent from the would-be passengers who’d been waiting around, no trace of the chaos that overtook the Metro seemed to have made it here. Everyone could breathe a well-earned sigh of relief and disembark at their leisure, for this train wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. After a station worker unhitched the big puller cat from the front and it went over to a giant cat bed to curl up, Tora made sure to waddle over and give it a good scratch. “Much nicer than last big kitty we see,” he told it, his praise barely audible over its purring.

Once both were satisfied, he rejoined the others commiserating at the entrance as they made their way out of the station. At the bottom of the stone steps they found a modern-day college town, full of coffee shops, bicycles, book stores, and students of all ages. Directly ahead lay Gutsford University itself, the trees all over its spacious campus decked out in fall colors. To the left stood the prestigious Blackwell Academy, a high school and academic oasis of art and science for over a hundred years and counting, adorned by pines and flapping flags in the cool temperate breeze. To the right stood the infamous Bullworth Academy for grades one to eight, striking in its bleak neo-gothic style, with a rugged football field situated nearby. Beyond the breezy autumnal town, alive with a restless unease and fear for the future, lay a small part of the continent’s northeastern shore. No land could be seen across the chilly, dark blue water, just a forbidding white horizon.

Once far enough from the station to turn south, however, the Seekers could see something far more impressive than this nervous, insulated educational district. In the distance, far beyond where the autumn trees gave way to scraggly yellow grass atop croppy, rocky wastes, past miles upon miles of harsh terrain where the roads snaked weirdly across and over the earth, lay a city–an immense, towering metropolis of steel that pierced the clouds, like nothing the heroes had ever seen.



As the previous riders of the Purple Line might expect, the Seekers’ train deposited them underground, but despite what they might think at first glance it wasn’t exactly the same dimly-lit, metallic blue-black station as before. This stately but neglected terminus lacked any suggestions of mossy overgrowth, and no pinkish bubbles or cool, wet mists wafted through it. Only a few ghostly sprigs, curled and dry, sprouted between the cracked tiles of the floor to swish gently as the newcomers walked by. The ceiling, with its little domes and arches supported by various columns, wasn’t as high as that of Queen’s Station. In the pale light of lumaflies in one of the few lamps the visitors could see one other train platform, though it had no tracks and the tunnel seemed to be blocked off by an intricate but heavy metal gate. That same light shone softly on the bronze of the bell beside it, and on the curled shells mixed into the masonry. Other than the two platforms, the place offered only one other feature: a chain-operated lift, too small to carry everyone at once, that would raise them a few at a time to the entrance. After all, there was no going back, even for the allies who didn't catch the train.



Outside lay a pitiable town. In a misty night, illuminated sparsely by curled lamplights so as to leave much to the imagination in the shadows, its alien shapes and silhouettes might have possessed some manner of lost grace and quiet dignity. In the light of midday, however, its rounded hovels, clustered together and sagging like long-discarded shells, seemed woefully dilapidated. It gave the impression of something abandoned, unwanted, with its glory days so long behind it that only the ancient Elderbug who sat alone on a wrought-iron bench might faintly recall a time in which the place hustled and bustled, packed with eager adventurers and full of life.

Yet even in its current state, Dirtmouth wasn’t quite lifeless. A handful of men and women well-equipped with sturdy tools and practical clothes seemed to call this place home, or at least a base of operation. They went about their business, mending their gear and making preparations, offering neither friendly greetings nor words of welcome. Everyone seemed to be hard at work, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they might be up to, for Dirtmouth stood at the edge of what could only be described as a staggeringly vast hole in the ground. The Seekers found themselves on the precipice of an awe-inspiring spiral canyon of pale red foliage and exposed bluish gray stone, full of wooden scaffolds, platforms, ramps, stairs, mine carts, rails, and other constructs, and littered with various tools of the trade, all to facilitate a single purpose: the systematic extraction of the wealth of the earth.



That said, not all of the hardy folk ferreted away around Dirtmouth or in camps around the Chasm could be said to be miners. Many seemed to be of a rougher aspect, perhaps looters, or even bandits. Countless mineshafts existed throughout the canyon, their entrances tucked away beneath the crags that spiraled down in an unerringly clockwise manner, and though clearly picked over for many years the area might very well still hold untold treasures. Most important of all, though, it featured at its very center a yawning black pit in the ground, an opening into the bowels of the earth. Given that this region seemed to exist mostly underground, it stood to reason that the Chasm was where Purple Team’s adventure would truly begin.



The escapees’ mad dash from the hordes of would-be bounty hunters brought them through a winding exterior passageway as they hunted down the source of the fresh air and chill breeze. Past the layers of insulation that separated the haven for heat-loving felines from the cold outside, past various mechanical and janitorial offices, and past a dozen or so surprised commuters the three charged, until finally they sprinted across an atrium lobby with the black cat horde on their heels and burst through one of the sets of double doors into a world of stasis. Big Band, Ace Cadet, and Wonder Red found themselves on a snowy street in an ancient, storied city, staring up at a colossal pumpkin big enough to house the Nyakuza Metro in its entirety. That same monolithic Halloween edifice, bearing the Eiffel Tower itself atop the hat whose gear-shaped brim the Seekers could not see past, looked out over a waterbound city of powdered rooftops and icy canals better suited for the wintry season of Christmas.



Behind them, the cats slowed to a stop well shy of the double doors and frosty windows, shivering as their teeth shattered. They shied away from the cold, their numbers already thinned by the journey here and their greed tempered by fatigue and discomfort at the extreme cold. Once a few of them broke ranks and ran back for the warmth of the Metro, the rest quickly followed suit. Only Lin Xiao remained, her face irate. “C-cowards!” she howled after the others, unable to avoid shivering herself. No matter how tough she might be, a sports bra and arctic temperatures clearly didn’t mix. And yet, thanks to Galeem’s influence, she could not back down. Gritting her teeth, the woman stepped out into the cold, her fists clenched. Edinburgh citizens gave her looks and kept their distance as she built up speed into a charge, headed straight for Band. “Raaaaaagh!”

@Double Roxas

Panther wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity he had opened, and rushed in, claws flashing and carving lines across Geralt's face, who reacted with a kick that Panther easily dodged. Small beads of blood pooled up along the cuts, though this was less than the full-on facial wound Panther was intending to create. He hummed curiously as Geralt ran in to lash out with his own claws again, blocking him at the arm and throwing a punch that the Witcher ducked.

Geralt followed up by drawing his knife and stabbing it into Panther's side quickly, a move that cost him another slash to the face, but succeeded in wounding the feline assassin, who hissed in pain and drew his blaster, trying to catch Geralt while he was distracted by pain.

What Panther didn't expect was Fizz's trident jabbing at his face, though he was able to dodge just barely in time to avoid being skewered. This gave Geralt, time, however, to draw his crossbow and line up his own shot, which pierced into Caruso's chest, puncturing the aptly-named Panther's lung and causing him to stop and cough up blood. "Ah...it seems I wasn't able to catch my prey..."

Fizz ended Panther's lament by stabbing him through the chest, and the cat faded into ash as the speedy trickster disappeared in the way Strikers did. Sighing, Geralt picked up the Spirit left behind and rushed to Roxas, scowling when he saw the cats trying to drag the boy away. "Scram!" He yelled, drawing his blade and slicing one in two, not even bothering to take the Spirit it left behind as the others scattered. Roughly hauling the unconscious teen onto his shoulder, Geralt stowed his sword and started running in the way he remembered Raz leading them. He had some trouble finding the way on account of having been split up from the others, but through a careful application of violence, he managed to reach the station, where he saw Pit providing covering fire and shouted up to the angelic warrior.

"Got ambushed! Kid's still out, but I need to get us in there before- DON'T YOU DARE!" Interrupted by a group of cats nipping at his heel, Geralt spun and unleashed Aard on them, launching the bunch back and dazing them. "Before that happens again." He finished, sighing.

He just needed to get up to that window and they'd be home free. Thankfully, Geralt had one more trick up his sleeve that he could use. "Judicator!" He called, the massive abomination appearing and kneeling while extending its neck towards the shattered window. It began its self-flagellation immediately, sealing the remnants of the cuts Panther had given him and putting a little more life back into Roxas as he carefully climbed up its back and jumped through the window, landing on the inside of the station with a grunt.

Once the Seekers boarded the Black Line train, Geralt dropped Roxas in a seat and reached inside himself for a Friend Heart, pushing it into the teen. "Welcome to the Seekers for real this time." He casually remarked, sighing as he sat down next to him. "You've got some catching up to do. Somebody else explain it, I had to lug his ass through the whole metro, I'm fucking tired."

With that, he closed his eyes as waited for their destination.

When they finally arrived, he stepped out of the train station and looked around warily, not expecting the nice, if somewhat busy, town on the other side. He could see three, three academies! Clearly this was a place that valued the highly-educated.

Still, if that looming city they found once they walked on a bit more was anything to go by, they had their work cut out for them.

Blazermate wasn't the first one on the train, but she wasn't the last. Apparently Roxas had gotten smacked real bad out there... How did an anime boy that was former org 13 beaten so bad? Good on Geralt for bringing him to safety, but... What hit him? Hopefully this wasn't going to be a sign of things to come...

Still, Blazermate made her way over to Roxas as Geralt friend hearted him. Susie observed this and noticed it was something very, very similar to what Pinkie did that one time. Go figure that monster of a creature had techniques that beat up something a light god did... Blazermate knew she didn't need to heal Roxas, but was over there either way shaking the poor boy awake with words of "You ok?" and "What the heck did you do?"

Susie meanwhile was looking over the area. Hm... looked like your average megacity. Schools on the outside, probably extremely shady and primitive busiensses inside the city. But where there were wealthy people, there was a deal and money to be had and potentially technology to be had as well.

Blazermate after getting over her little exchange with Roxas, held him loosely in one of her hands as she looked at the schools nearby. "Oh hey, we're in an anime! Look! Universities! Wonder if we're going to have fun or terror if we go in one. Maybe we'll get superpowers? Or it could just be normal school... Hard to tell at a glance!" Blazermate then pointed at the Blackwell acadamy. "Yeah, these aren't really Japanese looking, but it can't hurt to go look in one to see if there are supoerpowers or something inside them!"

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Sectonia gazed over the grim, gloomy looking Dirtmouth town. She didn't know what she was going to expect, but she figured it was going to be an area that needed some beauty to it. But in a way, the gothic gloomy look had its own beauty.... she'd just need to touch up a bunch of places. The crack that lead down to the Under might have some interesting magic. It was either that or something disgusting that she'd need to eradicate from this world. Speaking of something that wasn't nice to look at...

Sectonia had joined the group with Bowser. He looked much, much cleaner than the last time Sectonia saw him, so at least he was being weary of that aspect of himself, but that didn't help the whole... 'dry scale' look he had. But that was contradicted by Kamek being on this team with his Snackivator, which would let Sectonia prioritize powerful spirits over beautiful ones as long as she could make that spirit look beautiful in some way. No more omni spirit fusions, and to her knowledge she had unlocked all the power this Count Bleck had. Well, besides the true power of the Chaos heart, but she felt that would cause more harm than good as it felt that once it was released, it wouldn't stop until everything was erased.

Another thing Sectonia noticed looking over her team, they had all the magic casters here. Perhaps they were all drawn to the potential magic here, or something else? Could that be something that could be an issue? Well either way Sectonia could see what some of these newcomers did. Rubick for example seemed to be able to copy any ability Sectonia used, or rather, the last one she used, so that could be interesting. If he could at least keep his magic from hurting others.