It was lucky that the tigress woman hadn't woken up while being transported. It would have made the already awkward situation a lot worse. With only a little difficulty they were able to find a doctor, after which they dropped her off and made themselves scarce.

They'd only seen a small part of the city so far, but from what the Cadet could see it stretched into a massive icy sprawl. Skyscrapers were dwarfed by brick towers, roads and aqueducts cut through pedestrian streets... just from their short time walking around, the place seemed even larger than before. At least it would hard to get lost, seeing as they could always find their way back to the city's centerpiece.

The trio soon found themselves in a pub, and after settling in they contacted the Seekers' base of operations via Moogle.

Hearing the news that the three of them were indeed far from the others, the Alcamoth, and everything that had come to be familiar in general, the Ace Cadet started slumping further and further into his seat. He was still one hundred percent sure that everyone else was fine, but still, what a bummer to be separated from them. Especially Nadia - he wanted to spend more time with her in general but after their conversation on the Tinkerslug that feeling was particularly strong. He would have tolerated being surrounded by four mages to stick close to her, but of course it didn't happen that way.

He couldn't fault the Moogle for trying to cheer them up. In all honesty it worked, at least for the monster hunter - seeing her little cheer, he couldn't just mope. There was adventure to be had! The Cadet dragged himself back up until he was sitting properly in the chair. He slapped his palms to his face to get back into the right mindset, putting on a grin.

"She's right. Getting stuck in a whole new places means there's a ton of new stuff to see. Gotta go with the 'snow', right?"

It would also be pretty great if they could figure out the where and whats of the local Guardian, and come up with a plan of attack by the time the cavalry rolled in. Big Band had mentioned before that he was a detective, Wonder Red was a crime fighter, and if their search led them out into the wilderness then the Cadet himself was pretty good at tracking. Between the three of them, it was possible. The little flying creature mentioned not to go fighting it on their own, buuuut maybe they could just play it by ear. After all it would be even better if they could return triumphant.

So that was that. The Moogle left them to their own devices. They were, unofficially, a third contingent of Seekers investigating the furthest reaches of the world now. The Cadet brought the mug of warm liquid up to finish it's contents, then kept his hands wrapped around it to siphon off any lingering heat.

He turned to Wonder Red. "By the way, that unite-thing? Pulled me out of a tough spot back there. Could come in handy that way if you work out how to do it on purpose," the Cadet said, clapping Red on the back good-naturedly. Then he looked to Big Band, ready to get a head start in this region. "I'm in!"

With Band's suggestion for new clothes, the Cadet glanced down at himself. His armor was sturdy, more protective than most given it's use in withstanding wyverns and other monsters, but... it wasn't built for the cold, that was true. Even now whenever the pub's door opened, he could feel the wind right through what he was wearing. Thinking back, Astera and the rest of the 'New World' barely got colder than a slight chill, all of the ice concentrated where Legiana made their nests. And in Lumbridge, the End, the Seaside, the Carcass Isle... the cold had been from being drenched in water, not the bone-chilling frost of winter. And of course because he hadn't planned on ending up a frozen place, he hadn't made any 'hot drinks.' Yup, Band definitely had the right idea.

"Don't need to worry about that, I hardly get sick," the hunter mentioned, proving the adage 'idiots don't catch colds' true. "But you're right - if we'll be here for a while, we are gonna need something warmer. I've got some other clothes with me, but they probably won't be enough."

Plus, getting new equipment was always something the Cadet enjoyed. He imagined hardy pieces of armor lined with warm fur and thick animal hide coats that were tougher than they looked. "Step one, find some new gear - step two, find the big, bad boss."

In a city this huge, there was probably nothing they couldn't find... with time, at least. And some directions.

Happy that his attempt at intimidation worked out, since he really didn’t need any more headaches right now, Oinkie heaved a sigh as he plodded back toward the creek-spanning bridge to the Robbers’ Barge. When he heard the disparaging snark of a new arrival behind him, however, the gang leader came to a stop, his free hand on the bridge’s guardrail. He turned around to face Rubick, his expression dour, only for his lip to start quivering. “Hey…” he whined, holding a hand over his gut reflexively. “C’mon, man. I have a disorder…”

Out of the blue, Omori took advantage of the distraction to shoot Oinkie right in the flank with an explosive blast from his flintlock, its sharp report echoing across the Chasm. “OOGH!” the big man cried, doubling over with his face scrunched up in pain. Sensing an opportunity, the Knight -not quite as defeated as it appeared to be- whipped out the nail slung across its back to jab Oinkie in his other cheek. “Owie!” he blubbered, his voice a high-pitched squeal as he reflexively dropped his prize over the railing. The Knight fell into the creek and was taken by the current, washed downstream toward a sharp, rock-filled incline. Oinkie watched him go, an anguished look on his face. “No-ho-hooo!” he whined. “Without you, my bug collection’s ruined!”

At that point Omori reached him, knife in hand to stab away at Oinkie’s belly. He cowered, blocking low, and called for help. “Maggie!” he squealed. “The kid’s crazy! Help meee!”

“Oh, brother.” Hanging her head, the trapper fired her gun. Something whizzed past Omori and planted itself in the ground behind him, where it then deployed its harpoon trap and shot the boy in his back to drag him off his target. Her pet Trapjaw stepped forward, growling hideously, but Maggie gave a low whistle to make sure her partner didn’t get involved just yet. Stab-happy or not, this kid didn’t deserve a messy end in the Trapjaw’s snaggletoothed maw, not yet at least.

Emitting a pained hiss, Omori struggled to cut and free himself from the trap. A harpoon, hah! Isn’t that some grim irony!? [b][color=dcdcdc]”Someone go help them!”[/b][/color] He called out to his allies, jerking his head towards the direction the Knight fell.

“On it!” Jesse shouted from the backline. She jumped the rest of the distance down the hill till she was even on the bridge. Sprinting she pushed herself off the railing and high into the air, becoming a blur as she dashed to cut the swept up bug thing up before it could get pulled away. Once in position she dropped from the sky like a stone before floating gently into the water at the last moment, and made to scoop the Knight into her arms. As it turned out, the foaming river went only about waist-deep, too deep for the bug but shallow enough that she could easily pluck him from the current before wading to safety.

Oinkie, meanwhile, had been triggered by Omori’s assault. “Shoot me when my back’s turned, will you?” he shrieked. Rolled up into a ball, he launched himself toward the boy, three hundred and thirty one pounds of destructive power. “Your bacon is COOKED!”

Ah crap. There was no way he could block that in time!

A breath before Omori was turned into paste however, there was a flash of light between him and the rolling pig as the glowing wisps instantly phased from their arrow pointing position to defend him. The statically charged incorporeal motes bundled up defensively to form, if not a barrier, then at least an electrical slow field between the boy and the pig.

The wisps succeeded in shocking Oinkie the moment before they made contact, causing his rolled-up form to pop open. Still, flailing or not, his sheer mass hit like a truck, and Omori got knocked flat as the momentum of the gang leader’s flying roll carried him onward. “Oof, ow!” he barked as he tumbled along the ground a short distance before sliding to a halt in a sitting position, facing away. He sprang to his feet, dusting himself off as he whirled around. Closest was Rubick, so the sorcerer received Oinkie’s furious glare. “You zapped me!” he accused, jabbing a finger at the wizard.

“We’ve got company!” After seeing where the wisps came from, Maggie aimed her machine pistol at Kamek and unleashed a burst of suppressive fire, trying to ward him off. This worked very well, the mage diving down behind a rocky outcrop to avoid being filled full of holes, the rush to get down there having ment he had not had time to deploy any of his usual defensive measures. This pot-shooting the mage did nothing to slow Jr’s advance however, the prince driving recklessly onwards while Mimi, clinging to her trainer’s side as the wind rushed past, employed some suppressing fire of their own via hurling an electroball at Maggie.

The trapper was not suppressed. She strafed to avoid the electro ball and turned her gunfire on Junior instead, forcing him to duck inside the clown car for cover. From inside he could hear the sharp whistle, and then the pounding of heavy footsteps. Daisy the Trapjaw slammed into the clown car strong enough to send Mimi flying from Junior’s shoulders while the young koopa himself bounced around inside his vehicle. The monster’s jaw closed around the rim of the machine with bone-crushing force, locking on, before she lifted it into the air to shake it from side to side like freshly-caught prey. Maggie, meanwhile, stopped firing the moment her pet got close to her firing line.

”Wawawawawawawa” the prince cried out in alarm as he was shaken and stirred all about, while Mimi went “miiiii” as she blasted off again.

The same situation preventing Maggie from shooting prevented any outside help for Jr, or so it would seem. Fortunately he had his own help, with the prince crying out ”Goombas! Help!” and summoning a pile off the squat little mooks all around the alien, who they immediately swarmed, point blank charge distance and overwhelming numbers making them not as useless as they normally were.

If supporting jr from range would have been tricky before, the goomba swarm made it quite impossible. Which left shooter vs shooter as Kamek reemerged from cover, the mage taking to the air surrounded by a shimmering barrier as he raced closer to Jr, while a duo of Rika clones he had summoned stepped up onto vantage points and began a bombardment of Maggie’s position from the highground. Without any cover of her own, the trapper could only grit her teeth and sprint for the nearest outcropping, whistling at Daisy as she did. The Trapjaw slammed the clown car into the ground and made a break for it, tearing out of the goomba pile to follow her master. Both took a few painful shots in so doing, but Maggie dropped a couple harpoon traps as she ran.

Normally Oinkie would be only too happy to flee from any fight that looked too risky, but once attacked even he couldn’t back down. If all these newcomers were together, things could get messy. Having heard his associate’s callout, the big man glared over at Kamek, then again at Rubick as he started to run back over. “You stay out of this!” he warned, his voice shrill.

Rubick had been watching the scene unfold, thoroughly amused at how ferocious Omori was being. Rubick then scoffed, offended that Oinkie would accuse him of a crime he didn’t commit. But to be fair, his own motes were still floating around him, making a fairly solid case against him. In the end, Rubick decided that if he was going to be accused in such a manner, he might as well make it true. “Well, if that’s it’s going to be, then so be it!” Rubick said, ignoring his warning. He began to manipulate a few motes to zip around Oinkie’s head, zapping him constantly, while leaving a few more a bit farther away to charge up more powerful bolts and zap him accordingly.

On Omori’s end, Kamek’s intervention did little to slow Oinkie’s momentum, and the resulting collision knocked him flat on his back. Gritting his teeth he suppressed a pained yell as the harpoon incidentally sunk further into his back. He stumbled back onto his feet regardless to see the gang leader running back to finish the job, only to be waylaid by Rubick and Kamek’s motes. ”Pathetic, this is what passes for bandits around here? Much less a leader?? You sicken me.” He didn’t know how much damage those things were doing to him, but the boy used Mock in turn, the four red hands circling Oinkie in a taunting fashion before going in for a strike.

Oinkie, however, had been busy. After being surrounded by annoying sparks, he closed his fists and pulled them into his pits, then adopted a side-facing fighting stance with his front hand open and back hand closed. “Yah! Yah! Yah-yah-yah-YAH!” He punched at the motes with impressive speed, striking -and getting shocked by- each in quick succession before sweeping them all away with a spinning crescent kick. Before they could close in again the big man zeroed in on Rubick, only for Omori’s Mock to warrant his attention. Before the boy could even begin to close the distance, Oinkie came to meet him instead. “Comin’ atcha!” Moving with unnatural fluidity, he performed a back-turn flying side kick and went straight into a four-hit combo of snap kick, right palm, left palm, and spin kick. He rushed Omori down without rest, powering through anything that came his way.

Omori was forced to evade. Whatever gunfire or knife wounds struck, or even the red hands he only had regained partial control over, was being shrugged off like it was nothing. He may be tanking the onslaught, but it was only a matter of time before he couldn’t take much more of it.

“Tough little snot!” Oinkie snapped. “How about this?” The canister-like devices arrayed along his spine suddenly plunged in, and in a surge of green light he transformed into a nine-foot-eight, seven hundred seventy two-pound scaly mutant to deliver a revolving backhand strike strong enough to lift Omori off his feet and send him off into the scenery. Gas vented from his devices as he shrank back down, returning to normal with a smirk. “Home run!”

Jesse had waded over to shore and set the Knight down. “Don’t worry you…person. I gotcha.” She produced a Friend Heart. “This should do it.” She wasn’t quite sure how to do it properly, so she just ended up holding it with two fingers and lowering it into the Knight’s form. She glanced over at the fight and- she swore she only looked away for two seconds- shit had gotten real.

Before Omori could be thrown too far, however, he suddenly stopped in midair. Rubick’s staff was raised, having casted his Telekinesis on the boy to keep him near the battle. “Remarkable strength you have,” Rubick said to Oinkie, dropping Omori onto the ground. “Let’s see if it can overcome a magus.” Wiggles also took the opportunity to leap down to the ground and dash towards Oinkie, climbing up onto the large man’s head and attacking his face, attempting to obscure his vision and just be a nuisance in general. Of course, the Striker timed out after just a moment spent attacking, and disappeared.

That just left Oinkie, who now ran straight toward Rubick, pumping his arms as he came. “One-two-one-two-one-two-one…” With his eyes protected from the scratch of little paws by his mask, he could get his bearings well enough to launch another flying kick the sorcerer’s way.

Rubick hadn’t been expecting much of the striker’s performance, yet he was still disappointed by it. Reaching into his robes and grabbing hold of his Blink Dagger, Rubick teleported away in a puff of blue particles. He reappeared on top of a nearby pillar of rock, where he’d hopefully be safe from Oinkie’s wrath for the time being. Yet, there was a little part of him that couldn’t resist a final response, and had Rubick taunt Oinkie, “What did you hope to gain from that? Ho ho ho ho!”

Breathing heavily, Oinkie slid to a stop in the dust, his head snapping toward the taunt. “Slippery bastard!” He ran toward Rubick again. “Hold still so I can pound you!” His injectors slammed down, pumping him full of The Juice to mutate him again. He smashed the pillar with a colossal shoulder barge, which shook violently beneath his opponent’s feet. One more strike like that and the rock rider wouldn’t be able to stay upright.

Taking advantage of Rubick’s assist and distraction (and making a mental note that he owed the mage for this), Omori pulled out one of his snacks at random and chomped down on it to regain a bit of health. He then attempted to pull the harpoon out of his back as he noticed Oinkie had mutated again, and was trying to knock the magus off of the pillar he perched on. Dang, this guy was annoying. The boy grabbed his Boltok Pistol and fired a couple of rounds at Oinkie’s back. If not to divert his attention away from Rubick, then to divert his attention from someone else.

Jesse was downhill, her pants drenched with water. Hearing the commotion but not quite seeing the battle, she pushed off the ground and quickly rose high in the air, even with the top of the hill she had just jumped down. Uh, okay, the big guy got bigger. She thought. She switched her Service Weapon to Pierce, the long ranged sniper Mode of her pistol. It was perfect for big targets who were resistant to damage and capable of taking a lot of it. The Service Weapon’s barrel had split into four, creating an ominous X. Lining up her gun at Oinkie, the shifting pieces of the X lit up red as she charged up her shot. There was a sharp pinging noise and a snapshot of light as Pierce reached full power. She aimed it towards his upper body, not wanting to risk missing a headshot. Then she released the trigger, unleashing the powerful psychic bullet towards him with a deep, resounding boom. The red hot bullet would reach him in an instant, passing through and out the other side where it would likely tunnel into some rocky surface before eventually coming to a stop.

“Ow.” The Boltok shots to his meaty, scaly back didn’t do much damage to Oinkie, but they stung. After a second mighty shoulder barge that would hopefully knock Rubick down off his high horse he turned to take care of Omori properly, only to be struck as if by lightning. “DAAAAGH!” he cried out, driven against the outcrop a third time by the residual force of the sniper shot as it cut through him -and the pillar- like butter. He clamped both hands on the hole in the right side of his chest as he shrank back down to human, then crumpled onto the ground. Jesse confirmed he was down and dropped from the air, making the rest of the ascent uphill on foot. Meanwhile, Rubick wasn’t worried about falling. With a simple cast of Telekinesis, Rubick could continue to hover in midair. He laughed at Oinkie’s efforts as he mockingly waved from above.

A moment later, machine pistol fire crackled across the battleground. Moving swiftly between large rocks and trees, Maggie sprayed at anyone she got a bead on, throwing down harpoon traps among the stones every so often to make approaching her a real problem. Her companion Daisy, meanwhile, had other orders. She circled around through the pushes toward where Oinkie had been downed, and once in the clear she bounded over his side to lick him again and again with her enormous tongue. Jesse peeked up from where she was crouched behind the crest of the hill. “Aw.” She said sympathetically.

Jr and Kamek (the prince having recalled mimi to her pokeball to rest) were hot in pursuit, flying high above the detection radius of the harpoon traps so as to avoid a repeat of the first encounter they’d had with them (the result of which was presently sticking out of jr’s clown car). Kamek, a quartet of identical clones and the young prince himself, were all hucking fireballs down at the fleeing huntress. While they weren't exactly the best shots, when the football sized fire orbs hit the ground they stayed dangerous due to bouncing along it a half dozen times. With the rate they were tossing them out, this created a chaotic wave of projectiles bouncing all around the huntress which, even if not a single one hit, still forced her to focus on evasion instead of taking potshots at the others. At least, that was the theory; in practice, fireballs traveled a lot slower and less reliably than bullets, and when the Koopas tried to flush Maggie out with them they got a smattering of gunfire for their efforts.

The Service Weapon recombined into its traditional, versatile grip function in Jesse’s grasp. She kept her head low, and eyed the harpoon traps suspiciously. “What are those things?” She asked the others as she began popping off shots in Maggie’s direction.

“Those pointy looking things?” She clarified her question.

“...That the person with the machine gun is putting down.” She clarified again, just to be sure, and ducked down into cover as her Service Weapon recharged.

”Harpoon! Keep your distance!” Was all Omori said to answer her question, as he moved in towards where Daisy and Oinkie were. Even with Maggie distracted, he had to be careful not to draw her attention or set off any more traps, lest he get stabbed again, to his thinly veiled annoyance. He just needed to get close enough to administer a Friend Heart…

Before Omori got in range, Daisy finished reviving Oinkie, and the big man sprang to his feet flexing his arms. “Back in the game!” he exclaimed, only to fall silent and blink a few times behind his goggles as he held the pose, the Trapjaw’s slobber slowly dripping off his face.

“....I’m fuckin’ outta here!” Oinkie turned tail and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, pumping his arms. “One-two-one-two-one-two-one!” Daisy bounded along at his heels, and together they left a trail of dust behind them. Taken aback, Maggie paused just long enough for her boss to grab her around the middle as he sprinted by. She could do little but give an exasperated groan as the elites of the Oinkie Gang beat a hasty retreat, fleeing past the Robbers’ Barge and into the distance.

They…fled? A dumbfounded look took place in the boy’s features. Sure he didn’t realize the creature’s intentions, but weren’t they still gleaming? Or really, shouldn’t they be forced to fight to the death or something?? Omori scratched the back of his head as he mulled over what had happened, but then decided not to think too much on it. This was just another group of crooks scared off. He looked around for the small Knight, then went over to check on them.

”Ok, which of you numbskulls needs healing?” Jr asked as he hovered down to join them in his rather beaten up clown car, followed by Kamek and a smaller nimble of clones than the mage had started out with, the doppelganger decoys having served their purpose well.

”Is everyone alright?" the mage asked, before also adding additional queries in quick succession ”and what was all that about? Also who is this?” regarding the whole incident.

The Service Weapon vanished from her hand as she watched the bullies flee. “Well, that outcome works for me.” She said, being a busy woman. “Omori was just walking down when they tried to, I dunno, ‘poach’ that little guy. So, it turned into a firefight. It was either that, walk away, or...some third diplomatic option that I can't think of." Jesse shrugged. “I think Omori could use some magic heal juice moved his way. Pretty brave to challenge some guy four times your size.”

Now that the excitement died down, Rubick was finally able to land on the ground again. “Indeed,” Rubick agreed with Jesse. “It was very reckless, but oh so enjoyable to spectate.”

”He said something about a ‘bug collection’. Considering some of the residents in Dirtmouth are bugs like… Hm, got a name, bud?” Omori asked the Knight who said nothing in response, before continuing to talk. ”Well, regardless, I wasn’t willing to let the little thing be their hostage. Or worse off. Was even intending to free Oinkie out of pity.” With one last tug, the harpoon wedged in his back was removed with a pained grunt. The boy gave it a look, before tossing it aside. ”That guy was a pain to fight head on.”

Jesse cast her eyes towards the Robber’s Barge.

”I would say we have been advised that simply staying clear of the resident bandits is enough to avoid trouble, but I am getting the impression you won’t be taking that advice to heart?” Kamek said with a sigh, while a grumbling jr hopped out of his car and got to work helping Omori out with just a whole lot of under his breath grumbling involved, starting by yanking the harpoon free and then jabbing a paintbrush and a healing spell in his direction. The boy’s combination of stab wound, blunt force, and whiplash from being halted mid-flight by Rubick’s telekinesis meant he’d be feeling this fight for a while.

“Now where would be the fun in that?” Rubick responded to Kamek, tilting his head at him. He was currently having the time of his life, and after the mind-numbingly boring train ride, he had desperately needed it.

“You’re probably not gonna like the next question I ask, then.” She said to Kamek. Jesse glanced towards the rescued bug creature. “There anyone else in need of rescue there, little guy?” She asked the Knight.

The small bug rested a hand under their chin in thought. Was there anything they missed during their escape? They quietly glanced back at the barge. With Oinkie’s gang out of the way, and new allies at that, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to take a second look. The Knight looked to the gathered group, motioning for them to wait, before they crossed the bridge again to take a peek inside the building. Omori stayed close by just in case.

By now, half a dozen strangers had amassed along the barge’s upper railing to join the armed guards in watching the fight that went down on their hangout’s doorstep. With the firepower and numbers displayed by the newcomers, weapons were very much in evidence among the gallery of rogues. None of them lifted a finger to help Oinkie, maybe deciding that his messes were his to clean up, but when the Seekers’ attention drifted their way the lot of them began to bristle.

The Knight’s return, however, prompted confusion. “Huh? You’re actually comin’ back?” The dude who’d been first out to watch the scrap adjusted his stylish glasses, making sure he was seeing things right. Incredulous, he furrowed his brow at the others hanging back across the bridge. “Hey, don’t look at us funny! We got nothin’ to do with that guy!” He jabbed a thumb in the direction that Oinkie ran.

The purple-haired swordswoman sitting next to him perked up a little. “I mean, if you lot don’t want it, we could really use the money! Bug-collectin’ don’t exactly pay well, but it’s better than grubbin’ around the caves for Geo!”

Her friend put a cautionary hand on her shoulder and lifted his other in a placating manner. “Uh, heheh, but hey, if you guys want it though, it’s all yours! I’m just an athlete for cryin’ out loud, I ain’t gonna argue with people with guns!” He hissed the last couple words through his teeth to make sure his friend got the memo. “You neither, right Malice?”

Hanging her head, the mercenary sighed, deflated by the reality of being sorely outgunned. “Maaan…”

The knight glanced back and forth between the two as they spoke, assuming they weren’t aware they weren’t defenseless either, then looked over their shoulder to the others. They shrugged, as if to say “They are not dangerous.” Then the bug simply walked back over next to Omori.

”Not like I’ll let you take ‘em either, but looks like they already made up their mind.” The boy spoke up, still feeling sore despite the extra healing from Junior. He furrowed his brows. ”You won’t be trying to ambush us as we leave, right?” He and his new companion both stared the collective of strangers down.

While the little guys didn’t exactly cut the most intimidating figure, the fact that so many inexplicably turned up to fight for the Knight’s freedom forced the disorganized barge-goers to take Omori seriously. As the guards stared down, stony-faced, and the pink-and-purple duo looked away, one of the silent watchers stepped forward, his spurs clinking. With his blue mutton chops, big white hat, and self-awarded badge, Lonestar was an odd lawman for such a lawless land, but he cut an imposing figure. “Aw, now don’t get yer lasso in a twist, son,” the squat, broad-shouldered cowboy drawled through his cigar. “No need for any wranglin’ on my barge when we ain’t got any beef.” He leaned sideways on the railing, staring down with beady red eyes. “Just mind your own business, and we’ll mind ours, nice an’ easy.”

Omori stayed quiet for a moment longer, before his expression defaulted back to indifference. ”Then there’s no reason to waste any more time here.” The monochrome duo walked away from the barge, making sure the others caught up as they continued down the path to the Under.

As the new member of their group walked away, apparently satisfied, Jesse shrugged. “Just make sure Oinkie’s learned his lesson, all right?” She said, before turning and following them.

”Ah good, so we are taking my advice then,” Kamek said with a little sigh of relief, before taking off to go intercept Bowser and Rika before they came charging in uninformed and stirred things right back up again. Rubick slumped his shoulders and looked down, disappointed at the prospect. The fun would have to come another time.

Jr meanwhile was sulking a bit about not even being thanked for his efforts or timely medical assistance. Especially seeing as his car was all beat up now, and soooomeone had thoughtlessly run off with his magical repairing hammer and so he was going to have to do the repairs the old fashioned way.

He was stomping over to the car, ready to just pick it up and haul it somewhere safe, when he took one last look at the goons to make sure they weren't trying anything while the group were clearing out, and spotted just the bloodiest mess of a person sat on the roof–the Adventurer.

”Ew, gross,” the boy said, before looking away. Then he had another thought, picked up his brush and pointed it up at the guy. ”Hey you! Get healed!” and casting Cure on him, surrounding the guy in green restorative light.

The prince nodded to himself, planted the butt of his brush on the ground and then called up ”Now thank me for healing you!” demanding praise for his efforts.

”Thank you very much!” Sakura had said to Belle, Wise, and Kyle. Happily, she carried all six radios in her arms, though they were contained within a plastic bag. They were short-wave, for long distances but small enough to be used on the fly. If they could evenly distribute these among the group, it’d be easier for them to remain in contact with each other! Sakura felt very clever.

”Tora-san! Poppi-san!” She said, running into them. ”Look what I got; short-wave radios! We can use these to talk to each other from far away. They have different, um, frequencies. You press this button here and you can talk into it and everyone else’ll hear it unless their radio is turned off. And you have to end every sentence with ‘over’ otherwise no one will know when to press their own button to start talking. Pretty cool, huh?” Sakura said, a tinge of hope in her voice. Tora and Poppi both seemed pretty smart, especially Tora, so she was going to be validated by their ‘smart-person’ approval more than she thought.

At that moment, some bikers roared down the street on their vehicles, forcing civilians into cover. Even some kids! Sakura’s mouth worked up into a pout, but she was also, admittedly, a little excited. Frankly, it had been too long since she’d been able to dispense some street justice. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard and saw a familiar face- it was Edge! ”Eh?!”

Sakura and Edge had crossed fists- or rather, she had crossed fists with his knives- a few times in the past. They both knew each other through their mutual friend Akira Kazama, and anyone Sakura had a friendly street fighter with, she considered friendly. There’s few faster ways to bond with people, in her opinion. Moving the plastic bag full of radios to her right hand, she waved one hand over her head and sprinted over to him. ”Edge-san! Mister Edge! It’s me, Sakura Kasugano! Remember me?” She sprinted all the way to him and skidded to a stop on her heels, leaning far back as she nearly blew right past him.

The spiky-haired young man looked her way suddenly, taken by surprise. On reflex he dodged away from the girl when she came at him, ready to pull one of his trademark knives if a Punk had come back to finish the job, but he stopped short. There were a lot of students in Gutsford, but since nobody traveled much everyone tended to see one another around, especially within the same academy. Friends made here lasted for life, however long that might be. Yet while Edge faintly recalled this girl as someone he'd seen before, he couldn't call her a friend or even someone he really knew. He wouldn't have remembered her name if she didn't give it to him. "Sakura...Kasugano, eh?" He eased up a little, his hand straying from his pocket. At the very least, this clearly wasn't a Punk, Jock, or Frat. "What's...?"

”Hey, those guys suck, huh!” Giving one last concerned look to any threatened schoolchildren, she turned to Edge with a resolute smile on her face. ”I think I’m gonna go beat ‘em up and win their bikes off them because I need them and also it’ll be fun.” Her long winded sentence summarized all her goals. ”I’m new in town- do you know a biker bar where all those guys hang out?” She asked.

Edge ran his hand through his iconic 'do. "Nah, not really, they're just..."

”And also, what’s a Clustertruck and can I…rent one? Me and my friends need a way to get to Midgar as fast as possible. And maybe after all this is done you and me can throw down!” Sakura said, excitedly. ”Sorry, I’ve been talking too much- what do you think?”

Eye twitching, Edge carefully opened his mouth to reply.

She waited a beat, and then interrupted him. ”Edgewise!” She pointed at him. ”I haven’t been letting you get a word in edgewise. Ah, crap, it’s too late now. Dang!” She snapped her fingers. With both Nadia and Ace no longer in this group, there was a lack of punnage that Sakura was trying and probably failing to compensate for.

"No kiddin'! You wanna hear it, or not!?" the dude exclaimed. He waited a moment longer to see if Sakura had anything else to say, but since his old acquaintance seemed to have gotten her motor mouth under control for now, he let out his breath. She covered her mouth and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice to see ya again too, I guess. Just listen, those guys are the Punks. They're a pain in the ass but they can't fight for shit, so they just screw around while out joyridin' on their bikes. You wanna beat 'em up, be my guest! Might even tag along. They don't serve alcohol in this town -believe me, I checked- but there's an ol' garage where the Punks hang out down by the place with all the trucks."

He leaned forward conspiratorially, his hands upheld to aid in his explanation with violent gestures. "Speakin' of, ya really are new in town if ya ain't heard about the Clustertrucks. They're like, the whole reason we're stuck here in the boonies while everything's happenin' in the big city. Get a load of this: out in the wastes, there's these giant herds o' wild trucks with no drivers! They cruise around suckin' up oil shale, but if two herds get too close, they all go nuts and stampede, smashin' and slammin' into one another 'til the whole thing's one big cluster-truck!"

Edge then crossed his arms and leaned casually against the brick wall by the storefront. "It's stupid dangerous, and everyone says not to go out there, but sometimes me an' the guys head out and ride on the trucks. If you can run and jump worth a damn, you can cover some real ground goin' between herds. Yeah, basically I guess you could say we're super badass." He nodded to himself, full of confidence. Sakura nodded with him, taken in by his narrative craft.

Sakura paused before responding, not wanting to interrupt again. ”That's insane! I really wanna see those trucks! Thank you very much, Edge-kun! If you do help me find my way there, your reward will be watching me beat up the Punks." Sakura punched her palm. ”Or, y'know, you could fight, too, haha.” Secretly, she was excited to beat up some weak losers who bullied people but were all talk. It was a serious power trip, which was something she tried not to induldge in...but if the bad guys deserved a beating, Sakura wasn't exactly going to become a saintly beacon of restraint. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to bait them into a fight.

---

Karin and Midna had split up at some point to cover more ground. Neither the Bus Depot, Trade Depot, or even the helicopters overhead were easily accessible. There wasn’t even any cars to buy. Karin ended up pacing back and forth in an alleyway. ”Well it’s wonderful that they have such a delightfully walkable city. Truly the automobile can be such a blight on quality of life.” She muttered to herself.

”But must there be not a single vehicle available even for rent?! She complained loudly and almost put a huge dent, or even hole, in a nearby dumpster, but averted her kick at the last moment into the air.

Karin Kanzuki didn’t need to ask for transportation! She had a fleet of private limousines, helicopters, jets, cars! She traveled the world on a regular basis! And now she’s been reduced to a base commoner, asking around! This was not her role! This was not her place in life! Curse that Galeem! Galeem had taken away nearly all of her power and influence. Though naturally she still had far more than most people, it was limited to a single city! Her global reach had been taken from her by some glorified street lamp! Her entire life’s work! Due to the danger, she hadn’t taken her staff with her, which had already proved to be a wise decision. But now she missed them. If nothing else they afforded her the respect she deserved.

Karin ran her hands up her forehead and exhaled, reigning in her temper. ”All right. You’re out of ideas. Let us simply collect our thoughts and go on a walk.” With that, she reorganized her hair ringlets and began to walk around town by herself to relax and get to know it a little better. She stopped at a coffee shop and purchased some tea, and sat down to drink some in peace. She still had some time before reuniting with the other Seekers, and some time alone with her thoughts and some decent tea would do her some good.

Just the three of them against a swarming mob were pretty bad odds, even with their combined skillsets. Wonder Red's Unite Morphs were out of commission until their energy recharged - not that he was eager to use them now that he understood his compatriots could get swept up in their formation too - so fighting them off wasn't an option. They would really have to make a retreat.

The good news is that what they lacked in raw power at the moment they made for in speed. Ace Cadet seemed a natural in traversing dangerous terrain quickly, and Big Band was surprisingly agile for his size and (presumed) weight. Being made out of brass must add a few dozen pounds. Their escape wasn't easy, involving plenty of close calls, crowd control, and a bit of luck, but the trio managed to make it to the Metro's proper exit before they were overwhelmed.

"We're safe," Wonder Red said, jinxing them just enough so that one of their more avid pursuers braved the cold in order to get one last assault in. She was swiftly dealt with, though, thanks to the efforts of Red's two partners. "Uhh, correction. Now we're safe."

Of course, being safe meant little over the fact that because of his actions, the three were separated from the rest of their team with no easy way to reconnect, in an unfamiliar location that Mission Control back in Alcamoth had no access to, to boot. Strategizing would have to come later, as the first order of business was to deal with their pursuer. Red brought up the possibility of liberating her as they carried her to someplace to rest, but they weren't exactly in the best of situations to add a newcomer on, being so far from the rest.

Afterwards they decided to stop at a pub and figure out what to do next. The news from the Moogle was as helpful as it was demoralizing; no way to get back to Alcamoth and so far north, they would have to find their own means of progress. "Moogle, be sure to inform Commander Nelson of our situation," he added. "Without the Virgin Victory fully functional he'll need to be debriefed in person."

Despite the circumstances Ace Cadet congratulated Red on his Unite Morph's abilities. Red nodded. "A silver lining is always important to keep in mind," he noted, "though it's a bit worrying. Back home, civilians could only become part of our Unite Morphs with the use of specially made Wonderful Masks, much like my own. The fact that in this strange world those rules don't apply means we'll have to be careful. You two don't have the same CENTINEL gear like me or my fellow Wonderful Ones, so becoming part of a Morph could have negative effects on your health."

Big Band brought up the potential issue of clothing, to which Red held up a hand and shook his head. "No need to worry for me. These CENTINEL suits are designed to regulate our body temperature to survivable standards across all sorts of climates, from the chill of the Arctics to the heat below the Earth's crust. A little wintertime weather is no issue for me."

He continued, "while you and Ace Cadet find better clothing, I can do some cursory recon in the area. It seems the cats of the Metro don't have a reach extending into the city, and being displaced from the rest of our team most likely means we won't have any enemy eyes on us for the time being. A short separation should be fine." He hopped down from his stool, almost comically like a child. "And I'm sure the two of you can find something out while exploring. Let's say we meet up back near the Metro's entrance in an hour?"

Wonder Red left the pub (assuming that the other two were like totally chill with that idea) and started his snooping. All Wonderful Ones were trained in the art of on-the-field information gathering, should they ever find themselves cut off from the reconnaissance afforded by Alison and the Commander. Wonder Red began his search in some local hot spots close to the big pumpkin that housed the Metro, namely a lowkey coffee café followed by a much shadier, out-of-the way punk-ish bar. Two opposite extremes of clientele and so close to a major hub of travel - there should be at least a few folk between either shop who have heard of strange happenings or gigantic monster sightings.

---

While a few gave Blazermate's ideas to look at the schools some credence, most didn't and with a vast majority of the party wanting to explore the bigger, wider city in front of them Blazermate had to relent and go with the party. Apparently only a few people even got what she was talking about as if their worlds had nothing even remotely close to what she was talking about. Considering how most of them looked at her when Blazermate first appeared before them, it made sense, but still... Susie meanwhile was with the group that wanted to move forward. After all, maybe this large metro had some worthwhile tech, but she doubted it.

As they made their way into the town proper, things were wrong almost right away. G Men, all sounding weird and being... really suspicious were everywhere. All while having this feeling of being 'watched'. Susie didn't give them too much mind, finding them weird, but otherwise not that big of an issue, while Blazermate questioned. "Wait, is this America?" Raz then explained how they were from his world, and that if you played along with their game, they didn't really bother you. Weird.

That was until they eventually found themselves walking down an alleyway next to a pet shop. Roxas, having been very nice in holding her hand, pulled Blazermate into the nearby pet shop at Raz's insistence as they were all cornered by these G Men, Blazermate herself fine with a fight but Roxas dragging her putting a damper on that plan. Susie, seeing the others go into the store, shrugged and went with them.

As the Seekers split off into a few groups, some looking for transportation, some looking for specific things to help in their next goal, and the rest just looking around, Geralt found himself with the last group, exploring Gutsford and wondering just what the city had in store for them. The Land of Adventure had been remarkably close to home, and while Alcamoth was clearly out of place, Limsa Lominscuttle could have fit in Skellige if you chalked them up as strange locals. This place, however, was completely and utterly alien to him. Buildings made of stone and brick weren't the standard on the Continent, and yet here they not only had those aplenty, but some were clearly reinforced with great quantities of metal.

Raz asked about Organization XIII, and while Roxas answered with his own experiences, Geralt felt the need to chime in as well, "Between the weird...cube headed guy trying to murder us all and accidentally giving us a way to the Seaside for Blue Team, and that one lady telling us to sacrifice people to the Maw", something Geralt left out that he had considered doing, "I'm not entirely sure they have good intentions, myself. Whatever their goals are, they're not explicitly our allies. That much I can say for certain, even if another one stopped the guy who was trying to kill us."

The roads were paved with some kind of...extremely sturdy, black stone-like material, and this was clearly a city, based on how plentiful the people were. Even if the local worksmen appeared to be...not quite doing their jobs properly. Even Geralt could tell as much.

What was most disturbing, though, was the fact that they were all watching them. Sure, some of them tried to be subtle about it, but a few of the red-eyed workers made no attempt to conceal their surveillance of the Seekers, and it was making the hairs on the back of Geralt's neck stand on end. Soon enough, Peach tried leading them past their watchers, only for the G-Men, as they were apparently called, to follow after them, abandoning all pretenses and surrounding them in an alleyway. Raz's warnings had Geralt reaching for his steel sword, only for a door to open and a pair of strangers to usher them inside.

Following Raz's lead, Geralt monotoned a simple excuse. "Need to get some food for the dog..." He said as he went through the door, quickly making room between it and himself before turning to their rescuers.

"Inviting armed strangers into your shop while they're being pursued by the local law enforcement seems a good way to make the wrong kind of friends," Geralt half-heartedly commented. "Not that we don't appreciate it, but is there something we ought to know about what's going on here?"

Pretty much everyone agreed that they didn't want to hoof it all the way to Midgar, so slowly they made plans to look around town for supplies and transportation. Even though they were on a mission, there was no reason not to make it fun - as Sakura was trying to do. Pit probably would have joined her on her escapades, if not for a comment from their Pokémon Trainer.

"No they are not just for show! Watch!" Pit said, his cheeks coloring. A petulant pout formed on his face, but it was hard to see when he crouched low and then sprang up, using his wings to propel himself high into the air. After three wingbeats and he was able to get a great view of the immediate area even if not the whole of Gutsford, but that was his limit. He fell straight back down, using his wings to slow his landing toward the end. Once back on the ground he crossed his arms.

"See? They work perfectly fine!" It was pretty obvious during the demonstration that Pit had not actually flown though. After a moment spent chewing his cheek in thought, the angel let out a short sigh. "I just... can't... fly with them, that's all. It's a whole thing, okay?"

There, now the crew knew he couldn't fly. Better to get it out of the way now anyway, he'd hate to have someone expecting an airborne rescue from him... even if he wanted nothing more to be able to do just that, and would probably pitch himself off a cliff to try it anyway. He had before.

Pit was eager to make himself useful after divulging that he couldn't fly, so instead of going the fun route and following after Sakura he went another way to focus on finding some vehicles. He made a point of hopping up onto the rooftops within reach, just to show that he could. Bede may have touched a sore point.

Gutsford wasn't a maze-like city by any means, but the higher point of view did help with getting around. He moved straight toward any areas that looked promising, but mostly he just looked for any kind of vehicle in general. He did manage to find a few larger ones, but they weren't for sale, rent, or borrow. All deployed for specific jobs already. After getting rejected he'd move on, then rinse and repeat.

...he was getting no where fast, but he kept at it until he was sure he'd tried everywhere he'd seen. Then, he took a quick break.

"This town feels weird," he said to himself. He was lounging at a roof-top cafe, just gathering his thoughts. Maybe he was just unused to college towns, but whenever he was exploring on the ground he felt like someone was looking at him funny. That wasn't the weirdest thing though, the weirdest thing was that no one seemed willing to give the Seekers a ride. It was strike out after strike out!

He looked out over the roof toward the road, thinking about what to do. If they wanted to get to Midgar fast, they could all probably stow away on the cargo trucks. It wasn't allowed by whatever company they drove for (hence, stowing away), but if they were sneaky about it then it'd probably work. Otherwise... nope, he was out of ideas.

Pit swung himself over the edge of the building, landing at the shop's entrance. Had it been long enough to meet back up with everyone? He didn't really know, but considering the Seekers were scattered around town he figured if he looked for them he'd find one or two. Maybe one of them had gotten luckier than him with the whole 'find a ride' thing, and if not - then they'd better hurry up if they wanted to try and slip into the truck beds headed for Midgar.

------

Primrose and Therion's search for equipment took them all throughout the small fading town, it's far edges and outskirts. As expected of a practiced thief, Therion put his skills to use and swiped anything useful looking that he could get his hands on. Primrose's approach took longer to execute, but earned her better quality equipment than her friend - a compliment or two, a batting of eyelashes, and the miners were putty in her hands all too eager to help out. They didn't necessarily stick close to each other, but whenever they did work together they fell into a familiar routine. Primrose would flaunt her looks and distract the mark, while Therion snuck up and did his thing. They'd separate then, leaving poor men and women wondering what had happened.

After she was done flirting and, frankly, manipulating people out of their spare equipment Primrose shed the overly long habit she'd been wearing and donned the twin crown. The spiked and feathered headband was added to hold the longer white cloth away from her face, giving Primrose the look of some barbarian queen. It was a nice look, she decided. She waited in a wide open area, searching for a glimpse of purple and then reminding herself that she should be looking for orange now. Eventually she spotted her partner in crime, waving him over.

The two of them reconvened, sharing their spoils with each other. They'd done surprisingly well, and though the items they'd gathered were too much to comfortably carry alone for long the two travelers grinned at each other, sharing the feeling of accomplishment.

As they started back toward where they'd last seen the other Seekers, Primrose tossed Therion an empty hand-me-down pack she'd been generously gifted by one of the working men. It was decently larger than the satchel she knew Therion to carry, and without delay he started shoving what he could into it.

"Thanks, this was getting to be a pain to carry."

Primrose couldn't agree more. Between the two of them there were ropes looped around their bodies, bedrolls and wood tucked under their arms, cookware and mining equipment attached to their persons, all number of things tucked into their bags, and Therion had his new cat ears flattened by a helmet he was carrying by wearing. She'd taken Midna's spatial storage for granted. While wondering if she could convince someone to part with their wheelbarrow, Primrose glanced at Therion.

"No extra 'goods' this time?" she questioned, tone playful.

In response he wordlessly held up a lump of something that glinted when the sunlight hit it in a certain way. Of course, how silly of me, the dancer thought. If it was ore from down in the mines, it might even come in handy if sticky fingers or a honey voice couldn't do the trick.

"Got this too," he said, swapping the copper for a compass.

"Do you think it will work down there?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"If we'll be surrounded by iron veins or other metals, it might affect the compass..." Primrose peered at the device, curious if it even worked at all. She was no scholar, but she knew compasses pointed north because of the world's poles... did the patchwork world of Galeem work the same way? Apparently it did, or at least there was some force attracting the compass' needle, for it held steady in Therion's hand.

The thief shrugged, pocketing it. "Well, whatever. Doesn't hurt to have it, and if it doesn't work I'll just toss it."

As they walked, a flicker of light caught Primrose's eye. It was unlike the shine of sunlight on steel, or the wink of electric devices. It was a flame atop a candle, opposite it's twin, both of them on either side of a stone door set into the rock face of a cliff. It was a curious sight only because none of the other buildings featured candles. Most of the dwellings looked either completely abandoned like those above the chasm, or overtaken by miners or bandits like those closer to the pit. The glow of the candles, set against a foreground that Primrose came to realize was a graveyard, gave off an eerie feel.

She hummed in thought, drawing her companion's attention. Therion followed her gaze to the door. "Spooky. Want to check it out?"

She thought about it. Dirthmouth left a lot to be desired in many areas, and it's lack of what Primrose would consider magical or spiritual places had led her to believe the person she was looking for was further in... or further down, as it were. But while they were already here, a door like this could give her some clues. Even if it didn't, they had time to explore.

"Let's go," she said.

The Travelers made a beeline to the door. If not for the candlelight it would have been half-hidden from the rest of the town. After navigating through the tombstones Primrose and Therion arrived, and were met with a lock.

The dancer knocked, and wasn't surprised to receive no answer. She pressed her ear to the cold door, and couldn't hear anything inside. The only sound that reached her ears was a faint scraping noise, and she glanced down to find Therion already kneeling at the door's keyhole with his lockpick inside.

"Really?"

"Don't even pretend you aren't curious what's inside," he scoffed. "Besides, this is a simple lock. Not anything like that ass Orlick's manse lock." Ugh, that thing was a nightmare. "It'll take me no time to pick."

True to his word, the door clicked open only seconds later. Pleased with himself, Therion stashed his tools, stood up and made a sweeping gesture for Primrose to take the lead. She refrained from speaking so as not to inflate his ego, but she did take his invitation - pushing the door open and stepping inside.

A wave of thick, musty air greeted them, and within the pair discovered a dingy chamber, more of a hollow than a home. Draped in murky vegetation like tattered curtains and aglow with the flickering flame of a few dozen candles, it featured no other amenities, and only a single occupant. A rotund insect swaddled in cloth, with a bulbous head not unlike a giant turban, stirred as if from a deep slumber when the light of day fell across her face. Glowing white eyes blinked open, and they regarded the newcomers curiously.

“Welcome, strange intruders. I've been sound asleep in here for some time… Some, time?” She paused for a moment. Her voice was strange, a chittering murmur, far from human. “Ah. Yes. Yes. Well now you've gone and woken me up. It's no matter, I suppose. I might even be able to help you. I am Jiji, and if you have found your way into my chamber you must need my help.”

Primrose and Therion spared each other a quick, confused glance. Given that they'd apparently just broken into someone's home while they slept, the friendly reception of the occupant was unusual. If the plethora of working miners outside weren't commonplace, they might have even looked the part of burglars too - what with all the equipment hanging off of them. Still, rather than let this chance slip by and the old bug come to her senses about helping out strange intruders, Primrose took a step forward and greeted her.

"Just so. Thank you, Jiji. I've heard that there is someone in this land that deals with departed spirits. A 'Confessor,' though that's all I know. I was hoping to find some information about their whereabouts."

“How fortuitous that we should meet, then. For that is I.” The Confessor tilted her head. “You see, sometimes we leave our regrets behind in the world, like black stains. If we don't deal with these regrets, hope starts to drain from us. As a service, I can return your regrets to you, so they can be dealt with. You have regrets of your own, yes?”

There was a pause as Primrose blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected to find the 'Confessor' so quickly, or so easily. Rather than hope, the dancer felt some anxious energy begin to grow. Either there would be a catch, or the journey ahead would be fraught with hardship, or both. She remained silent for the moment, and Therion the same behind her, not answering Jiji's rhetorical question. The stains of regret... it was an apt simile, if that was all it was.

Then, the Confessor went on. Jiji closed her eyes, bowing her head. “Ah, but I am very hungry. Perhaps you'd be willing to part with a little of your food? Sleep for as long as I have and you build up quite the appetite. Can return your regrets to you, if you share your delicious food with me.”

"...food?" Primrose questioned, skeptical. "Of course you can have some food."

She gestured for Therion to come forward and the thief rolled his eyes, digging through their packs for the rations and lunch leftovers. He held a small wrapped bundle of food out to the Confessor, while Primrose went on to question her.

"Jiji, when you speak of returning regrets - can you return spirits to life?” She asked. “Surely there is a price involved besides feeding you.”

The bug peered among the offered morsels, as if scanning for something she couldn’t find. “Life...?” she murmured quizzically, distracted. “Regrets... are a part of us. My ritual can only bring them here, from wherever they might be. What you do with your regret is up to you. Bury it, destroy it, accept it, I am but the usher...” She looked up at Therion. “Hmm, but you don't have any food on you. At least nothing that interests me. I can't perform on an empty stomach, so please return once you've found something truly tasty... something nourishing.”

"Pretty picky for a- oof."

Primrose retracted her elbow. "What kind of food do you eat?"

“The food I like... it's soft and round and bursts delightfully in your mouth. The smell it emits... just thinking about is getting me excited. It truly is the most sumptuous thing in the world.” Jiji gave a wistful sigh.

"I see." Primrose closed her eyes, considering the Confessor in front of her. She didn't get the feeling that Jiji was a fraud or otherwise untruthful. She also doubted her feminine wiles would work on an old, sleepy, shamanistic bug, so they wouldn't be convincing her anytime soon. Likewise, threatening Jiji was out of the question - not only because it would be tasteless and cruel, but if they wanted to use her services more than once, it would be best not to get on her bad side.

She opened her eyes and nodded. "Then we will be back with something for you. Farewell until then."

The Octopath Travelers left Jiji's hole in the wall, the bug bidding them goodbye. As they found their way back to the only road through town, Primrose remained deep in thought. Usually Therion wouldn't try to break the silence, but he found himself chatting as they walked.

"Well, now that you know where she is you can come back anytime." The dancer hummed to show she was listening so he continued, his tail flicking. "No clue what she eats though. ...berries?"

It was his best guess, and he followed it up with a shrug. Primrose glanced up, tapping her chin.

"I'm not sure. Hopefully it isn't too difficult to find. I'm sure we'll run into it somewhere in the Under."

A bit of unusual food was a small price to pay for what she thought Jiji would be able to do. Although as they'd talked with her, she was beginning to doubt that it was true resurrection. Even so, she was sure that it would be useful.

They eventually arrived to where they'd last left the other Seekers, a spot between Dirthmouth proper and the lip of the Chasm. That they didn't see all of the Seekers there wasn't surprising, but it wasn't just a few that were missing - it was all of them. Primrose and Therion set down most of the equipment they'd been lugging around to rest, peering around for any sign of the others. Were they still exploring the town, having somehow avoided the Travelers on their way back? Or...?

The final sounds of a battle below drifted up out of the Chasm, echoes of shouting and gunshots. When thief and dancer poked their heads over the side of the pit to look down, they found the Seekers of Purple Team minus Ms. Fortune and Sectonia having just driven away some bandits and about to head deeper in. Primrose sighed as the two Travelers straightened up.

"So much for gearing up first," Therion said, clicking his tongue.

"Eager to explore, I suppose. It wouldn't be the first time we've been part of an unpredictable group, hm?"

"Sure. I do know someone who loves going off alone to 'handle things'."

"Speak for yourself," she laughed. Primrose went down the path into the Chasm a little, waving and calling out to Kamek, Bowser, Rika, and any who weren't too far down yet. "Yoohoo~ We'd appreciate some help up here."

Splitting the haul would make it that much easier to carry, and both Travelers were eager to shuck all but their share onto the others. While they coordinated to go deeper and meet with the rest, hopefully the final members of the group would appear so the entire team could descend as one.

Apparently Pit couldn’t fly… What a shame… Bede didn’t really dwell on that for too long. It was decided the group would split up in order to look for transportation. Bede didn’t find any transportation, but he did find a Trubbish… Was it wild? There didn’t seem another trainer around… He had no interest in catching it. It was a Poison type. Not his specialty. Still, he had plenty of Pokémon that could use the experience. A battle would be nice. He pulled out his poke ball, and sent out his Elgyem. “Elgyem, use Psybeam!”

The cerebral Pokemon launched a Psybeam at the unsuspecting garbage bag Pokémon. The Poison type fell down and screamed out in pain from the Super Effective attack. The Pokémon didn’t bother attacking back.

Bede grew impatient. “Well? Aren’t you going to retaliate? This is a Pokémon Battle! Attack back!”

The Trubbish sat there and cried loudly. Bede felt bad for the poor thing, but Bede didn’t have time to console a Pokémon that wasn’t his own… Especially a disgusting trash bag! With a huff, Bede turned away, and left the Trubbish alone. “What a waste of time…”

When he got caught up with the others, they were in an alleyway. They soon found themselves surrounded by creepy looking detective people things… Raz called them G-Men They entered a nearby building labled pet shop, and Bede shrugged and followed suit.

Once the commotion outside simmered down and it looked like Sakura had everything under control, Tora and Poppi ducked back inside the electronics shop Akindo. While the Nopon lauded the foresight it took to make such a smart purchase, Sakura didn’t give him one of the new walkie-talkies she showed him, so he proceeded empty-handed. Eager to put his idea into practice before the spark of inspiration left him, Tora got to business straightaway. After selling some of the shiny junk he’d collected throughout his travels so far, especially in the icebound crypts of the Inner-Mountain, could afford just what he wanted: a small, nondescript camcorder, the sort one would expect to leave someplace for security rather than take on a nature hike with the extended family. He and his companion then left, since he couldn’t exactly begin the installation on the premises, to find a private place he could crack Poppi open.

Leaving the market street, they turned the opposite way that the Punks had gone and proceeded along the sidewalk toward the bottom-right corner of the Gutsford triangle. “Tora not like feeling of being watched,” he explained in a loud whisper to his partner as he waddled along. Politely she stooped as she walked beside him so that she could listen in. “It bad in Al Mamoon, but it even worse here. Tora want way to watch back, plus record in case anyone need proof. Had enough misunderstandings to last lifetime, meh!”

While scanning the street for a suitable location, Tora instead spotted a familiar mop of brown hair and blue-white tracksuit. “Oh, it Sakura!” he said, pointing down the street at the girl for Poppi, even though the more perceptive artificial blade had already seen her. Sakura appeared to be about half a block ahead of the pair, and one of the guys who’d been around the video store jogged alongside her. “Maybe she see someplace!”

He picked up speed to a brisk bounce to try and close the distance, with Poppi in tow. So focused was Tora on the Street Fighter up ahead that when a trash can lid slammed shut next to him, it just about scared his pants off. “MEH!” he yelped, spinning around to backhand the can with his wing. It toppled over and hit the ground noisily, spilling a bunch of junk anywhere. Just as before he found no sign of any spying device, but when he looked up he found Poppi staring off into the distance.

“Not to panic,” she muttered out of one side of her mouth. “But it seem that Masterpon draw unwanted attention. Carefully peek around.”

Tora obliged, discreetly checking out his surroundings. At first it looked like nothing was amiss. He’d gotten some looks, but since he knocked over a trash can that didn’t surprise him. On closer inspection, however, he realized that not only were people still looking his way, but also that everyone who was looked the exact same. They held different objects, but each sported turquoise skin, a beige trench coat, a matching hat, and red eyes fixed on him. Pedestrians silently walked around the watchers, each averting their gaze. “Tora see now. Who they?”

“Poppi not know, but they seem hostile. Probably linked to watchers from before. Should we confront one and find out what want?” His companion asked, glancing down at him.

“Poppi know meaning of phrase ‘kick skeeter nest’, meh?” Tora asked as he turned to continue his walk down the street. When Poppi shook her head, he went on to enlighten her. “It mean cause unnecessary ruckus only to get stung badly. Even if shadypons look funny at Tora, no need stir pot just yet. C’mon.” Without another word Poppi followed, and after a good twenty seconds spent watching the two stroll down the street, the G-Men seemed to lose interest.

Once far enough away, Tora wiped his brow. “Phew! Look like false alarm. As long as not make scene, we probably okay.” He took another look around to make sure. By now, he and Poppi were close to the roundabout at the bottom-right corner of Gutsford, but they’d lost track of Sakura. Up ahead lay some of big, fenced-in facility full of trucks, and right across the crosswalk lay the gas station Chaps, its rows of pumps hard at work fueling the trucks up for the ride to Midgar. “Aha!” Tora exclaimed. “It place just like Hammerhead! Perfect for tinkerings and fixings!” Ignoring the garage on his side of the street a couple hundred feet ahead, where Sakura and Edge were busy looking for Punks, he and Poppi joined a few pedestrians to cross the street.

A few moments more and they were in. With a gritty, ostentatiously western aesthetic, Chaps turned out to be not just a gas station, but the favorite resting spot of the hardy truckers between trips across the perilous barrens. It also featured the only bar in all of Gutsford, Anaconda. Open only to said wasteland bravers, its staff strictly enforced the limited clientele, although that must be pretty easy with a proprietress like that lounging in the back; Tora doubted that the giant robot arms around her chair were just for show. All this he saw through the shuttered windows, but the acrid smell of smoke from inside quickly turned him away, coughing. “Okay, this fine spot,” he declared, putting down his toolbox at the back of the fueling and maintenance area outside. “Now, let’s get little doohickey installed.”

“Excuse me.” A monotone voice came from behind them. Tora froze, then slowly turned around to see a couple G-men standing nearby. “This area is for grease monkeys only. No other monkeys allowed. I must ask you to…”

His red eyes fell upon the wrench clutched in Tora’s wing. He held up his own wrench, then cleared his throat. “Oh, excuse me, fellow machinist. I see by your wrench that you too are here to grease the wheels of progress.” He held his tool like a ceremonial sword and bowed. “Keep up the good work.” With that, he turned to join the other G-Men around the gas station, most of whom seemed to be juggling spanners to the repressed frustration of the actual mechanics.

Tora breathed a sigh of relief. “Shadypons very weird. We should finish and leave soon.” With renewed energy he got to work, and after only a few minutes, he successfully installed the recorder in Poppi QT’s right pigtail. “There!” he declared, dusting his wings off. “Tora originally plan to add to Poppi eye, but already jam-packed with features. Meanwhile, pigtail serve no purpose, so perfect slot for install!”

“No purpose other than look cute, right Masterpon?” Poppi prodded him.

“Of course! That why Tora put it there!”

Just as the duo went to leave, wrenches in hand to avoid the G-men’s suspicion, an unexpected event unfolded across the street. The graffiti-covered door to the old-fashioned garage by the Trade Depot slid open as the Punks returned from their joyride and pulled inside. It slammed down again just as quickly, but not before their pursuer Midna could slide in behind them, and once back inside their hideout the four goons quickly discovered a couple of unwelcome guests waiting for them as well. “The hell’re you doin’ here!?” the green-haired one yelled at Sakura, putting up his dukes.

The one with face paint glowered at Edge. “The jerkoff sold us out! Get ‘em!”

---

With the strange and not-so-vaguely threatening G-men closing in both in front and behind, even trusting in a couple other (more human) identical strangers suddenly sounded like a good idea. Rather than try to fight or escape the alleyway going upward, Peach quickly joined Raz, Roxas, Blazermate, Susie, Geralt, and Bede without even pitching in an excuse. The Seekers stuffed themselves into the backroom of the pet shop, and the moment the last person squeezed inside the earring-wearing twin locked and bolted the door behind them. “That’s all of them,” he confirmed.

“Good,” his brother deadpanned, masking his relief. Both seemed serious as they turned to address the expectant faces arrayed before them. “You were right to trust us,” he told them with a foreboding shake of his head at Geralt. “Those creatures aren’t just enforcers. They’re the agents of the Midgar government’s Investigation Sector. In other words, spies, and supernatural ones at that. If they so much as touch you, it’s curtains.”

His brother beckoned the group to follow him, holding a finger to his lips. “Ssh! Away from the door, I guarantee they’re right outside. We don’t have much time. The boss wants to see you. Follow me.”

He led the way through a door to a storeroom, which smelled strongly of pet chow even from a distance. Once inside, however, the Seekers found that one of the walls featured an enormous desk rife with computers, files, and various pieces of equipment. A giant corkboard hung over it on the wall, blanketed in tacked-on papers and pictures. Most concerned the G-men, including their favorite stakeout spots and patrol routes, but on one side were a handful of relatively low-quality pictures of people the newcomers recognized, including Tora, Poppi, Jesse, Sectonia, Midna, Primrose, and Raz. And on the far end of the room, casually sprawled atop a pile of Satisfactory-brand dog food bags, was the person Peach’s team had been brought to meet.

She was a Brazilian woman, five foot eight, in semi-formal attire, her sky-blue eyes sizing the Seekers up. Her distinctive scarlet hair, middle-parted, fell to either side of her head in short ribbon-like strips, although they got much longer toward the back until they wound together to form a tight-knit braid all the way down to her waist. Her white collared shirt extended only as far down at her diaphragm, barely held together by just two heroic buttons, exposing part of her midriff but coming together again at her collar thanks to a very short black tie. She also wore suspenders, black fingerless gloves, rather baggy high-waisted black dress pants with a gold-buckled belt, a black suit jacket, and black-green heeled boots. Though business casual, she also possessed a certain edge only amplified by her yellow glasses and cross-shaped earrings. Somehow her appearance conveyed both the down-to-earth charm of an irreverant bodyguard and the mystique of a secret agent. A huge green-furred wolf with an odd symbol on her head lay at her feet, her white eyes already on the new arrivals.

“What’s up?” the ringleader greeted, nonchalantly raising a forearm to wave like the whole thing was no big deal.. “Spooks give ya a rough time? Well, look, I’m sure you’re full of questions, but time’s a luxury we don’t have. They’re outside for now, but can bet your asses the G-Men are gonna waltz right on in once they round up some new disguises. So I’ll give ya the short version.”

She sat up and leaned forward, her arms on her knees. “My name’s Giovanna, and I’m with the Special Operations Unit in Midgar. After Vernon’s term ended a while back and he resigned from office, we broke with the government with him. Me, Goldlewis, Hayabusa, Vernon himself, Erica, and the doctors here, M and N. And yeah, I know those names diddly-squat to most of you, ‘cause except for little Raz there you sure aren’t in the pictures Goldlewis sent me. But you’re still the Seekers, right?”

Peach listened, her brows knitted together, until Giovanna tried to confirm their identity. “What’s it to you?” she asked, her phrasing not as ambiguous as she might have liked.

“All you need to know is weren’t not with the current administration. Or these creeps snooping around,” Giovanna assured her.

Arms crossed, Peach considered whether or not to trust her. Perhaps the most important factor, however, lay directly before her. “Your eyes…you’re not under Galeem’s control, are you?”

“Nope. After he met you guys in Al Mamoon, Goldlewis made sure to free us all the minute he got back,” Giovanna replied. “But forget about us for now. There’s a lot more to cover, believe me, but it’ll have to wait. Right now we gotta focus on getting you out of this town.”

“Out?” Peach’s brows rose. “We’re trying to find a way to Midgar ourselves. Our goal is to find and defeat Galeem’s Guardian in this region, and we think it’s holed up in there. There are more of us out there looking for a way. Can you get us out of here?”

Giovanna flopped back into the dog food bags, sighing. “More huh? That complicated things. I got a chopper already on its way, but the spooks’ll be all over us long before it gets here. There’s too many out here to be on their own. Someone’s got ‘em organized. Someone smart. Which can only mean one thing: a damn Turk.”

“High-ranking members of the General Affairs Division’s Investigation Sector,” Dr. M supplied from the back of the group. “If the G-men are the foot soldiers in Shinra's war against internal strife, the Turks are the captains. They no doubt traced us here in the first place, but now they’ve got our scent, we must do something before the knot can tighten."

“Mhm.” Giovanna hopped down gracefully. The wolf floated off the ground, its legs dissolving into a wispy spirit tail as it wound around her, then disappeared. “So we’re gonna meet our rescue half way. Assuming you’re not gonna cut and run, that is. If you’re gonna back down, now’s the time, but your chances are a hell of a lot better with us.”

Peach elected to stay, which set the tone for the rest of the group. After they concluded any deliberation and made their choices, Giovanna nodded and began again. “Kay, here’s the plan. We need a decoy, someone fast and loud to draw them away. The G-men are dangerous, but they’re not fast. Once they’re gone, the rest of us are gonna make a break for the southeast corner of Gutsford. There’s a fleet of trucks just about to roll out, and we’re gonna hitch a ride. Not inside, ‘cause they check thoroughly, but on top. Trouble is, we’ve only got about five minutes. Need to round everyone up, ditch the spooks, and make it there before the trucks are gone. Groovy?”

At that moment, a loud knocking on the front door resounded through the pet shop. Giovanna grit her teeth as she glanced in that direction. “Damn, they’re fast.”

“We’ll just need to be faster,” Peach assured her.

Giovanna nodded, a thin smile on her lips. “Took the words right out of my mouth. Right then, decoys, you ready?”

“We might need one or two up front as well,” Dr. M ventured. “Someone to keep them occupied while the rest of you make a run for it. Any good actors among you?”

“Whatever happens, don’t get caught, guys. They have ways of making you talk,” Giovanna warned them. “We’re out of time, people. Decoys: you’re up. Let’s move!”



Once she set foot outside Iselda’s mapless map store, Nadia took just a few steps before coming to a stand still in the middle of Dirtmouth. “Where’d everyone go?” she wondered aloud, looking one way and then the other. Aside from the Elderbug, who now sat and dozed beneath the curled lamp post on a wrought iron bench by the Stag Station, she couldn’t see anyone. It was quiet. Desolate, even. Aside from the clang of distant pickaxes and the low roar of the wind across the mountains, the ghost town sat in silence, its long-abandoned ovoid houses still and solemn as tombstones. It didn’t help that an actual graveyard lay on the town’s outskirts, cordoned off by a fence of intricate wrought iron, much like the bench. The others must have split up in a hurry, Nadia figured. Maybe this place gave them the creeps, although to her it just seemed sad.

Well, they would need to meet back up before going anywhere else, and with the others handling the various practical matters for the journey ahead, Nadia didn’t know what to do, really. She looked around idly, swishing her tail. A ways off she made out Primrose and Therion engaging with one of the work crews, all of whom seemingly preferred to make their own camps rather than squat in any eerie, decrepit Dirtmouth husks. At one point a lightshow drew her gaze up to one of the high precipices overlooking the spiral canyon from the Valtarra Mountains, where the feral’s sharp eyes recognized Sectonia squabbling with the local wildlife. All she could really make out about the big bug’s opponent was a serpentine shape, but whatever it was probably wouldn’t last long against the sheer volume of glow rings Sectonia pumped out. Nadia could scarcely imagine that such lavish use of magic came at no cost, but the thought that Sectonia would splurge so much energy on a random critter puzzled her, too. Either way, it ended up being a pretty bland fight despite the fireworks, so Nadia’s attention soon wandered.

Just when boredom began to set in, a bright pink butterfly fluttered into her field of view, which instantly piqued her interest. As it came her way she tensed up, her wide, sea-green eyes stuck to the bug like glue, and when it got close enough she hopped up to swat at it. She narrowly missed, the wind from her arm’s passage speeding the butterfly on its way. Intently focused, Nadia jumped after it again and again, but missed both times. “Playing hard to get, huh?” she snickered, smiling. “You butter watch yourself!” She hardened her nails into claws and scampered after it.

The evasive insect led her on a merry chase through and over the blue-black hovels, prompting her to run, leap, and climb after it. Nadia pursued her quarry tirelessly, blissfully ignorant of the fight a couple tiers down toward the Chasm by Robbers’ Barge. No matter the speed or the angle, the little pink fiend managed to evade her grasp; even when she thought she got it, her prey somehow slipped through her fingers. Finally, after the butterfly led her out of Dirtmouth and over toward a sawmill once used for cutting logs into scaffolding, it slowed down around a patch of silvery lupine wildflowers. Nadia slowed up and got down onto all fours, creeping closer with an intense look on her face. She wiggled her hips as if building up power, then pounced, clapping the butterfly between her hands.

“Gotcha! Nyahahahaha!” she laughed, standing up straight with a big, dumb grin on her face. She took a deep breath of clear mountain air, then let it out in a sigh. “Agh…I feel like such a poser.” She looked down at her tail, more piscine than lupine. “I’m barely a cat anymore…now I just feel silly. Am I gonna have to change up my puns?” Having to come up with new, less feline-oriented material seemed like a nightmare.

Nadia’s reverie came to an abrupt end as a massive shadow fell across her. Jolted into panic, she looked skyward to see an incredibly huge butterfly, its scaled wings hundreds of feet of vivid emerald green and orange. The aerial colossus flapped those enormous wings without making a sound, floating high overhead on the wind currents like a giant kite. Mouth agape and ears flat, a motionless Nadia looked down at her hands, then back up at the colorful giant. Clearing her throat, she ditched the butterfly she’d caught, clasped her hands behind her back, and walked away in an exaggerated casual manner, whistling as looked off into the distance innocently. Behind her, her catch fluttered wonkily away.

Luckily the big one didn’t seem to notice Nadia’s crime, or at least it didn’t care. It sailed blindly forth, its shadow sweeping across the Chasm until the giant butterfly disappeared over the mountains. Nadia sank to her knees, exhaling, and wiped her hand across her forehead. “If bugs are gonna be what this region’s all about,” she told herself, “I’m gonna lose it.”

After that she hurried to meet up with the others, surprised at just how far she’d wandered. Some of her fellows were only just now concluding their endeavors to amass supplies and equipment, while others -including the Koopa Troop, to nobody’s surprise- had already trekked down the rocky terrain of the Chasm toward the pit itself. Nadia offered to help the Octopath Travelers carry stuff, pocketed what little she could in her hoodie, and raced down the dusty slopes. While she realized the extent of the inconvenience caused by her lack of inventory, especially after the very annoying loss of her brand new hair dye during the river rafting, she would have to look into it some other time; for now, she needed to catch up with the trail blazers.



“Heya!” Nadia greeted the others, jogging to a stop at the edge of the pit. “What’s cookin’? …Whoa!” Surrounded by floating chunks of gray stone, as if held aloft by the sheer tectonic power at work here, the gorge extended farther down into the earth as even the most perceptive among the Seekers could see. The way to the fathomless deep seemed remarkably and uniformly straight as well, its walls boasting the same spiral formations as the Chasm itself. Like staring down the barrel of a gun,, Nadia thought, shivering. How fitting that both would typically be a one-way ticket to the underworld, for anyone but her, that is. She straightened up, backing away from the brink to give a low whistle. “...That’s a pit alright!” The feral crossed her arms and looked around at the others. “So, is Sectonia carryin’ us down, or what?”

The plan seemed to be to use the big crane to lower the team down atop the giant wooden platform. Despite appearances, everything suggested that the Chasm was not, in fact, bottomless, so by the time that water tower-sized spool of rope ran out, the Seekers would be at their destination. Someone would need to stay up here to operate it, since nobody else appeared to be around, much less willing, to lend a hand. If one or two of the fliers handled it, though, they could just follow the rest into the abyss afterward. Compared to most of the construction work around here, the platform looked pretty sturdy, but it still rocked back and forth in the wind. Naturally, Nadia jumped on to test it first. “Whee!” she called, down on all fours for balance as the platform rocked a lot more than she thought it would. After a moment it evened out, and the feral stood, sighing in relief. “Whew, plank goodness. All aboard!”

One at a time, the Seekers got on. Miraculously, the reinforced wood held, although Nadia didn’t doubt for a second that everyone had some sort of emergency measure close at hand should the worst come to pass. For her part, she figured she could jump and airdash her way to the spiral formations on the Chasm walls if the situation went belly-up, and just climb down manually with her steel-hard claws, new chain-anchors, and natural agility. It would be long and tiresome, but it could be done. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a longer journey than her ride up and down the Alcamoth lift, which to an attention-deficit catgirl felt like a lifetime by itself, but who knew. When everyone was ready, the crane operator could start the ride, and after an initial jolt the platform began its gradual descent.

A few uneventful minutes passed. Whoever designed this system clearly prioritized safety over speed, which Nadia could appreciate, but it also dragged on a little bit. After a little while spent swatting at beetles who’d hitched a ride, she took a seat and just watched the stone fly by. The team wasn’t exactly chatty at the moment, but Nadia did learn that apparently the others had been in a scuffle, which also explained the addition of the Knight to the team. The little bug said not a word, but whatever business it had below, Nadia didn’t mind.

After a little longer, everyone who kept their eyes and ears on alert for any sign of danger found their vigil rewarded. Without any further ceremony, a purple flash went off above them, and those who looked up found someone, a little taller and broader than Omori, in a set of armor they recognized all too well even silhouetted against the sunlight above.

“Howdy!” an unfamiliar voice echoed down at them. Thick tendrils of some kind extended form his back, which held onto the rope. He seemed to be wearing a helmet or mask shaped like the sun, but no further features could be made out. “Having a nice little ride down, are we? Yeesh! Talk about boring! Well, you know what season it is, right?” He held his hand out and a whole host of lights blossomed into being in a wide range around him, like stars in the night sky, but far too close. “FALL!”

He snapped his fingers, and the white spots fell like rain, yet they were a mere distraction to throw off the Seekers’ attempts to interfere. The Consul put his hands against the rope and opened fire, quickly ripping through until the weight of the platform and its occupants did the rest. It tore loose and began to plummet down. Pockmarked by the Consul’s bullets and forgetting all her earlier contingencies, Nadia instinctively buried her claws on the wood, her mind subsumed by terror. Up above, the Consul waved at the fallen, cackling shrilly. “Ee-hee-hee-hee! Welcome to the Under, heroes! Do me a solid and survive this, ‘cause I can’t wait to see what happens next!”

Of course, Nadia couldn’t hear even a little of what he said over the sound of her own screaming. Down, down, down she went, alongside the others, into the unknown.

---

How much time went by, Nadia couldn’t tell. She awakened from a dark and dreamless place to find herself in a bed of yellow flowers, green grass, and crinkly red leaves, surrounded by the unconscious forms of her fellow Seekers and the destroyed remains of the wooden platform. Her eyes blinked open, staring upward into the Chasm and the tiny mote of sunlight impossibly far above. The memory of what happened returned quickly, and with a groan she sat up. “How did…we survive the drop?” she wondered aloud, running her hand through the flowers. Their petals were big, and really quite soft, but that couldn’t be it, right?

Well, that wasn’t important. What mattered was that she lived, and since the others hadn’t been reduced to extra-chunky salsa on impact, it looked like the others fared similarly. Some weren’t here, but since a few of them could fly that didn’t come as a surprise. What did concern Nadia was where the team ended up. At the very bottom of the Chasm, where the Seekers had fallen, lay a dripstone cave littered with ruins, some wrecked and some overgrown by ivy. Both the cavern walls and the stone bricks carved from it to line the tunnels and passengers were purple. These Ruins must be vast, extending much, much further than the light from above could ruch. “So this is the Under…” she whispered. Despite this relatively peaceful scene, she was instinctively loath to disturb its silence. Something about the darkness out there…for reasons she couldn’t explain, it unsettled her.

After just a few moments though, her instincts got proven right. In the gloom her cat-eyes detected movement, and she did not like what she saw. “H-hey,” she whispered urgently, shaking a few of those yet to awaken. “Rise and shine. We’ve got company!”

From the darkness came monsters. A rugose purple brute, its cavernous maw home to a venomous green tongue studded with eyes. A gaunt, scarlet-veined albino, tongues lolling from its many heads. A horned juggernaut, with spindly crimson limbs poking out from thick metal armor. An animate turkey gorged with green worms and human skulls. A green devil overgrown by spiky vermillion pustules. A faceless knot of pale tissue and hooked talons, almost fungal in nature. A bipedal cloven horror with eyes ringing its pipelike mouth. And the largest, a puzzle monster, ever-shifting but for his vile maw of sharklike teeth. The monsters approached, their nightmarish features ever more dreadfully distinct in the light of day, and they made for the fallen heroes.



The ‘unite-thing’, as Ace put it, did concern Band a little. While more than happy to work as a team while fighting, he strongly preferred any action on his part to be voluntary. This ability of Red’s clearly offered great power, but at the same time it removed his allies’ autonomy and put them at his mercy, not to mention his judgment. Becoming little more than a resource to boost the strength of someone else did not sit right with Band, teammate or not. The superhero’s admission that participation in a Morph could have negative effects on his and the Ace Cadet’s health just put the nail in the coffin.

“I’d much rather hold off on any more Morphs, then,” Band told Red, contrary to the monster hunter’s declaration of support. “I might fight better if I threw ya ‘round like a baseball, but that don’t mean I got the right. So I better not catch you wieldin’ me without my say-so, neither.” It went without saying that he possessed a lot more utility in a fight than just some extra mass to swing around, as well.

Ace agreed with Band’s suggestion, but apparently Red would be fine outside in his super-suit, which tipped the balance of those who needed cold-weather clothes versus those who didn’t. “Actually, I’m fine as-is. Got systems in place to regulate my internal temperatures, and it ain’t half so bad as Split Mountain out here.”

With that in mind, Band could make better use of time spent split up from the others. “I was thinkin’ of takin’ a good look around myself, startin’ with the local law enforcement. My badge and my good years might be behind me, but I ain’t ever lost esprit de corps.” He thought about Red’s proposed time and location. “I’d rather meet back here than by the Metro, since that’s the first place they’ll look if more Consuls come knockin’. Let’s say two; one hour is just a moment’s time, gone before ya know it.” The detective nodded. “Good luck out there. Just remember, if we’re gonna be here a while, we’re gonna need money, so keep an eye out for job boards an’ such.”

A couple minutes later, the three had parted ways. Splitting up not only kept the others safe should any one be discovered, but allowed them to tackle very different tasks. Ace’s would just be taking a casual tour of the area as he searched for an apparel store, peering into whatever shops and chatting with whichever citizens struck his fancy. Rather than casting a wide net, Red delved into the more interesting places in the immediate area around the pumpkin. Even if the patrons of the places he visited weren’t inclined to open up about local affairs to a masked man in spandex, his trained eyes and ears could pick up on something.

Band, meanwhile, allowed his gut to lead him deeper into the city. In the silence of the quiet, snowy streets, he got the shivers; the hairs on the back of his neck could rise like antennae and tune him into the city itself–to its whispers, the story told by his surroundings. As he trudged along, the deep, dark eyes that peered out from beneath the brim of his fedora read that story between the lines etched onto brick, mortar, concrete, and steel. From footprints, the darkness of grit-stained snowbanks, slush, litter, as well as the state of various buildings’ stoops and storefronts he could infer information about the foot and motor traffic: which ways they went, how often, the spots people avoided, and so forth. Interestingly, everything from the lights to the vehicles seemed to be modern, but magical. Still, it wasn’t much of a departure from what Band knew. From what he gathered, people were out and about here with the frequency one might expect of a metropolis in midwinter, which was to say, no more than necessary. Those he spotted around moved with the slight haste of ones used to but still not fond of the cold. They did not hustle furtively, or fearfully, and despite Band’s size they paid him no particular mind. Everyone had somewhere to be, and their own business to mind.

Well, not everyone. What Band really wanted to find were people whose destination was the streets, and who minded the business of others rather than their own. He scanned the snow-laden sidewalks for a double set of matching heavy footprints side by side, spaced close together enough to suggest an aimless amble rather than purposeful stride. It took a while, but eventually he found them, and when he followed them he found those responsible. That the pair of cops in question were actual dogs only surprised him for a moment. Everything else about them, after all, seemed familiar. The posture, the surly shuffle, the intermittent looks around for any sign of trouble, the air that said God, what am I doing out here. After all, he’d once been a beat cop, just like them, out on patrol come rain or shine, hell or high water. Once he got an idea of their path he took a shortcut to meet them coming the opposite way, rather than approach from behind.

“Good afternoon, officers,” Band called out. He stopped in front of the dogs Copper and Booker, towering over them. “Detective Benjamin Birdland, N.M.P.D. I’ve got business with your boss, so I was hopin’ I might be able to ask you gentlemen to escort me to your precinct station. I know it’d mean cuttin’ your patrols short, so if it’s any trouble, please don’t pay my any mind…”

The dogs, though gruff for a moment, quickly connected the dots. Any excuse to get out of the cold early sounded fine and dandy to them. Just as Band hoped. “Oh, no, no bother to us,” Booker the Bulldog piped up, no doubt the more pliable of the two. “We’d be ‘appy to uh, escort ya back there.”

His partner, Copper the Akita, looked a little more conflicted. “We’ve got a ways to go still, Booker. We cannot shirk our duties!”

“We ain’t, we ain’t!” Booker assured him. He gestured with a paw up at Band. “He’s one o’ us, right? It’s our job to help one another, ain’t it?”

Band bowed his head, doffing his hat with a mechanical arm as he took the response as acceptance. “My gratitude to you, gentlemen, you’re too kind.”

Together he and Booker seemed to erode the last of the straight-laced akita’s resistance. By-the-books or not, he wanted out of the cold, too, and having a legitimate reason really helped. “That is true too, I suppose. We’re here to help, after all!”

With Band in tow the dogs broke off the patrol route and returned to HQ. After some more time spent trudging through the snow, with Copper muttering about paperwork and Booker about his favorite hot dogs, they arrived at a station on a dreary corner beneath light, fresh snowfall. They went inside, and while the dogs headed for the break room Band went to the front desk, where he found a blonde woman sound asleep in her swivel chair, her workstation covered in burger wrappers and mostly-empty coffee cups, with a paper bowl of instant noodles by her keyboard that had been cold for a while now. As he passed Booker thumped on the desk with his fist, waking up the police lady with a start. “Whuh!? Whozzawuzzat!?” She hit her knee on the underside of the desk hard enough to crack it -not for the first time either, by the looks of things- and knocked a few of the coffee cups to the floor. “Ooh, oww,” she winced, holding on her knee with gritted teeth. In so doing she noticed Band, which left her terribly embarrassed. Clearing her throat, she pulled herself up to her desk with her elbows on top and clasped her hands. “Heh, heh…hello theah,” she greeted him in a thick New York accent. “What can I do ya foah, mistah?”

Band hid his despair for the state of this police department beneath an amicably amused smile. “Detective Benjamin Birdland, N.M.P.D,” he recited. He flashed her a piece of metal inside his coat so fast that she couldn’t tell it wasn’t a badge, then extended a mechanical limb to demand the lady’s attention. “I’m from out of town on a case, and I was hopin’ I might be able to meet with whoever’s in charge around here.”

“Oh!” The policewoman jumped to her feet, smoothed herself down, and shook Band’s proffered hand. “Howdy-doo, mistah Bahdland. Detective Lucia Moahgan. I’m, uh, not shoah if the chief’s in right now, but we can check togethah, just follow me.” As a couple other officers looked on, their manner much less friendly than Lucia’s, she led Band down the hall.

Midna hopped from shadow to shadow, tailing the bikers through the streets, and, sure enough after finishing their joyride the small gang rolled up to what looked like a hideout of some kind, one next to a gas station and mechanic’s shop of some kind.

She gave a quick glance to said shop, eyes drifting over the weird wrench jugglers and instead spying Tora and Poppie walking away from it. Which was good. If she needed backup they’d be nearby. Unbeknown to her, of course, there was already backup on the scene, something she found out at exactly the same time as the punks as she slipped on into their den before the door shut.

Kasugano Sakura had been led there by Edge. She had swung open the door dramatically upon arrival, only to find no one there. Thus, she set her plastic bag full of radios down in the corner and tried to look as cool as possible, crossing her arms and leaning against a table. It wasn’t long before the bikers arrived.

”Well, well, well. Look who it is-” Sakura began coolly, only for the bikers to react immediately and with violent intent. This immediate escalation took Sakura aback.

”Woah, woah! The door wasn’t even locked!” Sakura said defensively. She got into her light-on-her-feet stance as the green haired one approached, dukes up. Face Paint joined him, looking to reach Edge, but Sakura was feeling greedy. She ducked underneath Green Hair’s punch and shot her foot out towards Face Paint, interrupting his approach on Edge. Then she jabbed Green Hair on the mouth and torso twice, forcing him backwards. Both of them were surprised by just how much the blows hurt, and Sakura grinned.

”Listen- you win, you get all the money I got on me and these cool radios. I win, I get your bikes. Deal?” She offered.

“What the hell’re you talkin’ about?!” Green Hair said angrily. Face Paint turned his attention to her, his nasty looking spiked brass knuckles catching the light. “You’re in for it now, little girl.”
”That’s Miss little girl to you.”

”and you can call me your royal highness” came a voice from behind the goons as Princess Minda rose up from the shadows, giving those that turned a vicious little toothy grin while adding ”when your begging for my mercy”

The blond one with the dragon tattoo’s jaw dropped, causing his toothpick , tiny cigar or something (Midna had no idea what it was) to drop to the floor, while the big guy who thought a padlock was a fashion accessory responded by trying to punch her in the face.

”Rude” Midna told him as she raised her spiky shield to block the blow, causing the guy to go “yowch” and back off shaking his prickled fist. Then he looked up agog at the bright glowing hand Midna’s hair had turned into

”Mines bigger” she informed him, before slamming the brawler into a wall with what she judged was enough force to hurt, but nowhere close to squish.

At Midna’s sudden arrival, Sakura was as surprised as the punks. She deflated slightly, then perked back up. ”Guess a two on one will have to do. Look just don’t hit these guys in the back of the head, okay? ” Sakura said to Midna.

Face Paint and Green Hair rallied, looking to tackle her to the ground. She leapt just above their heads and moved her legs out to the side, shoving them underneath her. As they turned around, Green Hair was blasted back by a ”Hadoken!” That sent him crashing into a table. She rushed forward and fired off a series of jabs towards Face Paint, forcing hims arms upward. She grabbed said arm, breaking his block, and threw him over her shoulder. ”Easy!” He hit the floor with a thud and then stood back up to his feet. She grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. ”Easy!” She said again. He rose again, slower, only to get grabbed and thrown over her shoulder. Breathless, he didn’t get up. ”Now I just feel bad.” Sakura said, setting her fists on her hips for a moment before turning to face Green Hair, who had picked up a heavy looking wrench.

”So far so good, Edge-kun!” She said to her observer, who had elected to just enjoy the show after all. Green Hair rushed her, swinging his heavy wrench towards her head. Sakura Focused, briefly channeling an inky black energy. The wrench bounced right off her skull, much to Green Hair’s dismay, before he received a crumpling knee to the chest. He was knocked around by an elbow, a pendulum-esque double fisted attack, a spin kick, and a rising uppercut that sent him crashing into the wall. Sakura landed, bouncing on her feet.

”I like your outfits, but, other than that, you bring shame to punks everywhere. Where’s your heart-of-gold and sense of community?” She chided her fallen opponents before turning to see what Midna was up too.

Midna had found her own two goons to be a rather annoying combination of squishy and durable. The big guy she’d introduced to the wall had, remarkably, picked himself up right afterwards, very much worse for wear but still spoiling for a fight. Yet she did not want to dig into her growing arsenal of weaponry, because all of it was all way too cutty or burny or toxicy. Even her shield was pointy and potentially lethal.

”I should get a beat stick if I’m going to do any more arresting” She said to herself as she sidestepped a kick from blondie, and then made to grab him. Yet as she did so she found the big guy rushing in, fist raised and then slamming down into her helmet, which was not too sore, but it did let blondie dance away from her grabbing hand.

”Ow.. Uh oh”

She skipped back another step, but the two were on her, and the inability to just stab them or smash everything lest she damaged the bikes meant she was going to have a bit of difficulty fighting them two on one when compared to how easily Sakur had handled that.

So the princess just evened the playing field

”Sike em” she commanded, jabbing a finger forward as she summoned her Wolfos, which proceeded to do just that. The beast raced out of the twilight realm via a portal, dodged around a shoddy kick from a startled big guy and then darted in to bite him.

Right on the butt.

What this meant was, that when Sakura turned to see how Midna was doing she did not see the princess embarrassingly on the defensive, but instead her snatching up blondie like a doll with her shadow hand, and the big guy running towards her, or rather, away to the happily painting wolfos that had bitten a hole in his pants, the two playing the parts of unfortunate postman and territorial housepet respectively.

”Miss Princess Midna, this…this isn’t very sportsmanlike.” Sakura said, no-look kicking Face Paint in the side as he tried to get up. She watched the wolfo chase the poor punk around the room. ”You’re not gonna let your magic dog eat him, are you?” She asked.

”I think it deserves a nibble, don’t you?” she joked, before responding to the point about being sportswomanly with ”I think coming two on one against a pretty lady who was never taught how to throw a punch is the real unsportsmanly thing to do” before turning to look at blondie, who she was holding upside down in her massive magical shadow hand (which could punch through a squads of men in a single strike) and saying ”don’t you agree?”

The thug nodded in desperate agreement which earned him a ”Good boy” from the princess before she turned back to Skura, indicating to the man with a dainty gesturing hand, and said ”See? Even he agrees he’s in the wrong here”

Sakura winced out a smile and walked over and picked up her plastic bag of radios. ”Let’s just wrap this up, okay? It’s pretty clear we win.” Sakura said, a little uncomfortable with this level of gloating.

”Fine fine” Midna replied, before whistling to call off her wolfos, and then tossing blondy at the big guy to deal with the both of them.

”One of the reasons I came here was to grab their motorbikes. I figured maybe we could use ‘em?” She said, looking the vehicles over. ”Yay! The keys are all still in the ignition.” Sakura said.

”Ahhhh, same here” Midna said as she floated over to check out the bikes ”So they’re like mechanical horses instead of mechanical chariots I guess? Interesting. Want me to stash them?” she asked, before leaning in a little closer, the imp floating at just the right position to look like a devil on Sakura’s shoulder from where Edge was standing, and saying ”ooooooor do you wanna give them a go?”

Sakura glanced up at Midna from where she was sitting on one of the motorcycles, already attempting to give it a go. At some point she had yoinked Green Hair’s green goggles and had them resting on her forehead. ”Eh? Stash them?” She asked. ”Where? We need them, don’t we?” She glanced around at the other three motorcycles.

”...Huh. How are we gonna get all four of them out of here, anyway?” Sakura asked, having not thought that far ahead. Sakura was both one step ahead of and two steps behind the proverbial devil on her shoulder. Midna had mentioned her ‘pocket dimension’ in passing during the Meet and Greet, but Sakura both forgot that part due to the impressive display afterwards, and also didn’t know what a pocket dimension was in the first place.

”Oh, right, you don’t know” Midna said, before beckoning her wolfos over and giving him a pat on the head before saying ”Watch” as she summoned a portal and had the wolfos duck down into it back home. Then she ducked down herself, patted the same portal, and pulled a long sword out of it, standing back up and hefting the blade it over her shoulder as she explained: ”So yeah, as you can see, I can stash stuff in my home realm for storage. Beasts too. Just no people. Because they turn into beasts”

Sakura scratched her head, impressed. ”Wow, cool!” She glanced down at the motorcycle between her legs and sighed. ”...I guess you’re right. We should probably do that. Instead of riding them out of here. In a really cool way.” She began to reluctantly step off her new motorcycle, convinced by Midna’s rational and reasonable plan of action.

”Nonononon. Sit. Siiiiit” Minda insisted as she very lightly pushed Sakura back down onto the bike’s seat using her shadow hand, while at the same time floated around and tapped the other bikes to send them away for storage (though not before also re-storing her sword). Sakura’s mouth formed into a small ‘o’ as she hunched her shoulders, placed back onto the bike. Then Midna plopped her butt down on the metal rack sticking out the back of the bike the street fighter was on, both legs dangling off one side ever so unsafely, and commanded:

”Let’s ride!”

”Oooh, okay. If you insist!” Sakura said, smiling. She brought up the kickstand with her foot and then walked the cycle around.

”Bye, Edge-kun. You really helped us out, so thank you very much! We gotta get these back but, afterwards you and I have a fight, okay? It’ll be fun.” She turned to face the exit. She felt bad both about leaving Edge still Gleaming, and also the short walk he was left with, as they needed all the motorbikes.

”Oh, uh. The garage door is still closed. We need, um…we need the switch.” She glanced around for it. ”There! See that little grey box on the wall? Can you use your giant magic hand to flick it, Princess Midna-san?”

”San?” Midna asked about the little addition to her name, even as she did exactly that, a big orange hand reaching up and , after a moment of squinting from the princess as she endeavored to get it just right, delicately flicked the switch.

Sakura pumped her fist as the garage door began to slide open. ”San? It means ‘Miss.’” She explained. She pulled the google down over her eyes, covering the world in a vibrant green.

Minda raised an eyebrow, only for said eyebrow to be covered up a moment later when she slid the half section of a psycho mask she’d tinkered with and tinted up to lock in with her helm. ”Seems a bit redundant after princess, but sure thing” she said, voice muffled by the air purifier now covering her lips.

”...Huh. I think you’re right.’” Sakura realized. The long standing habit of hers didn’t really work if they already had a title. She also remembered something and nodded her head to the plastic bag slung over her shoulder. ”Oh! These radios- or walkie-talkies, haha- can you put them in your magical pocket for now, Princess Midna? They’d be safest there.” Sakura asked.

”Sure thing” Mdina agreed, picking them up with her shadow hand while still sat upon the bike, like she was some kind of crane attachment, and then lifting them up and over so she could touch the bag and store them for later. ”Also if you just want to call me Midna-san, or just Midna, that’s fine. We’re part of a team after all, so no need for honorifics if you don’t wanna use them. I’m no full of herself Queen Sectonia, that’s for sure”

Sakura nodded. ”Sure thing, Midna…san.” She couldn’t quite leave the suffix off, it just felt rude, which the princesse found quite endearing.

Once all that was settled, Sakura adjusted her grip on the handlebars, palms sweaty.

”Ready? Hold on tight.” Sakura said, turning the ignition and revving the engine. ”It’s loud!” Raising her voice over the noise, she looked back over the street. Pulling on the handlebar lever the motorbike accelerated far quicker than Sakura anticipated, and for a moment the front wheel left the ground. ”Eep!”

Midna was for sure glad she’d taken Sakura’s advice, her claw like fingers gripping the bike rack nice and hard meant that she only almost fell off. As it was she only gave an equally embarrassing, if muffled, yelp of surprise alongside the schoolgirl.

Sakura cleared her throat. ”Pretend I said something cooler than that.” Gaining confidence, Sakura treated the motorbike like a bicycle she didn’t need to pedal, and began to head back to the agreed upon meeting point in a distinctly street legal way. ”Wee! Defeats walking!”

”You’ve got that right!” the imp agreed from where she was riding side saddle behind her, before giving a big shadowhand of a wave to Torra and Poppie as they raced on by them, the pair of biker girls still entirely ignorant of how much actual danger was lurking in this sleepy old university town.

Sakura’s plan was to drive them back to the meeting point she had mentioned earlier- the train station.

@Dark Cloud Benedict

Geralt's eyes narrowed at the description of the G-Men, specifically the part where they could defeat you with a single touch, but elected not to press on that matter. Whether it was an accurate description or an embellishment, something else took Geralt's attention, something that Peach pointed out once they were brought to meet with the 'boss'- these people had been freed from Galeem's control.

Interesting. They were from Midgar, and had broken from the government when the previous mayor had resigned from his post. That meant they had knowledge of the inner workings of their next target, which would be helpful.

He followed along with the situation well enough, and though he had no idea what a 'chopper' was, he surmised that it was some kind of vehicle. There were plenty of strange things in this place, so he didn't even bother to imagine what it could be. He'd shot down a flying boat earlier in the day, after all. Nothing was normal here.

The G-men were being organized by a highly-trained, highly-skilled, high-ranking officer of the Investigators working for Midgar. And this person's presence meant that they were, for all intents and purposes, about to be caught in a trap.

So, Tuesday, then. Alright, they had this handled. A pair of runners volunteered to distract the G-Men in the back and draw them away. At the same time, they needed somebody up front to distract those coming in that way. Geralt nodded as they prepared to get moving. "I'll take the front. I'm old enough I can make something up and either play the doddering fool or the experienced warrior, whichever I figure will buy us more time. Might even swap between the two to play up the pity factor." Geralt smirked. Vesemir taught him something useful after all, it seemed.

With that being said, he headed to the front of the shop, greeting the Turk who entered with a nod. "Lovely day we're having, isn't it? Just stopping in for some pet food for our companion's Poke...things. Always slips my mind what they're called. Pony toes?" Geralt started with a simple enough excuse, but one with the truth behind it: he had no idea what that thing that walked up to Bede before was called, other than Pony-something. He remembered that the creatures were called Pokemon, for sure, but the rest escaped him completely.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Geralt probed the bespectacled man.

Sectonia, having gotten her chunk of gold from that worm which she crushed, getting a in the process. It seemed that the others who were having their own fun exploring the area were also done and ready to head down into the unknown depths. Still, while she could have her antillions carry this large nugget of gold, there wasn't really a good way for her to bring it with her all things considered... Plus it'd have to be made usable. Well, she had antillions to do things, so maybe she could work something out with them...

Well, besides the bandits and maybe some of the wildlife, perhaps she could leave some antillions in a spot to guard it with a few signs and whatnot. If anyone stole from her they'd be in quite the bit of trouble, but she figured her antillions could deal with most of the lower level riff raff out of sheer intimidation anyhow and she did just that; summoning a a group of 1 blue, 3 green and 2 red to guard her little gains there until she could come back and claim her little prize here. Finding a landmark area that was in a spot that would be difficult for anyone but her (Or anyone else who could fly) to reach, Sectonia left her nugget with her antillions and would need to pick it up later. She mused to herself that this wasn't her area of expertise, but they had just gotten someone who was good at the monetary sort of thing, so perhaps if that person was to take a look at this... She wasn't too adverse to her minions taking a slight cut for getting the best deal after all...

With that done, she made her way back to the group, meeting the rest at the crane where they had to descend in order to go down into the Chasm, at least those who couldn't fly. Sectonia summoned a single blue antillion to operate the levers, as she had already a fair chunk of her minions guarding what she figured would be a couple magic items at the very least. It seemed like she'd have to make use of mostly blues down in this chasm... Well, that was fine. She had her actual minions around so they could bring up the difference.

”Your sure this lift will be safe for the vast majority of you?” Sectonia said, eyeing the lift as the group descended, herself lazily flying next to the descending group. With her having an antlion operate the thing, at least none of the others had to stay back and wait, but that also did make the platform quite heavy with the likes of Bowser not helping matters and the sounds coming from it didn’t help matters either. But after descending a few more meters it looked like the platform would hold.

That was until they were ‘ambushed’ by someone that made their home in the Under? Sectonia didn’t recognize him, nor did anyone else. But with those magic bullets he cut loose the already fairly rickety transport, causing all of her minions to fall into the chasm. Considering a few of them were tough, they’d probably survive a fall like that, especially since they had all gone down quite a distance already so the bottom couldn’t be that far down… but it would be best for her to check.

Still, that left this fellow who was laughing at the situation he had caused. Now, Sectonia could fight this person here and now, but she wasn’t sure of how long that would take and that time could be used making sure her allies were ok. So with that in mind, she pointed at the armored person and said. ”You had better hope we do not cross paths again.” before hitting him with a cast of Slow and descending down with the rest of her allies to try and at least make sure most of them survive.

His reply was stretched out by the fluctuation of time. “Ohhh, I hooope weee dooo…” He snapped his fingers with a brief yellow flash, and suddenly teleported to a spot farther up, his status purged as if it never existed. The echo of his mocking voice chased Sectonia down the Chasm“...’Cause it’ll be fun for the whole family!”

After descending a fair distance with that armored man not following Sectonia, the bee queen found the rest of her allies, with basically all of them knocked out from the fall. At least they fell on some soft vegetation that surrounded what looked like ancient ruins of some sort, so that helped them. Did those flowers really cushion their fall? Well, there wasn’t much she could do besides wait for them to awaken as she watched them, her pipe of insight at least giving everyone near her a bit of extra help in healing any wounds they suffered.

When everyone began to wake up, Nadia being the first of them to do so thanks to her fast regeneration, the things that lingered in the darkness outside of Sectonia’s view began to move onto the group and they were… extremely hideous. Sectonia could only feel rage at seeing such ugly creatures and began to charge up her reality shatter to wipe them all out.

Almost as affronted by the ghastly horrors as Sectonia, Nadia jumped to her feet. She sharpened her claws and bared her teeth, her eyes quickly shifting between the various monstrosities to size them up one by one. These things were freaky enough to give the Orphan and other nightmarish denizens of Carcass Isle a run for their money. That hideous frog-mouthed gorilla in particular, with its gaping acid-green maw full of gooey, googly eyes, made her shiver; hopefully someone else could take care of that one. But with the nasties crawling, tottering, and talking every closer, she couldn’t spend any more time deliberating. She poured water pressure into her arm for a long-range punch to get the party started.

Right then, she heard a crackling thrum as Sectonia began to charge nearby. The sound and sight of potent magic instantly drew the six-eyed gaze of the wretched Dark Horse. Its eyes, both fiery and drippy as molten lava, fixed upon the insect queen with killing intent, and like some sort of twisted turret it straightened up with its sucker-like maw aimed like a fire hose.

Nadia’s eyes widened. “Look out!”

Rather than attack, she thrust her arm out sideways and launched it past Sectonia to sink her claws into a stone pillar. She jumped and retracted her muscle fiber, flying sideways to skid to a stop in front of her new acquaintance with two Copycats summoned, and just in the nick of time. Dark Horse unleashed a torrential beam of ghostly blue flame that slammed into Nadia and her doubles’ guard, blowing them backward in a blast of steam as the fire and Hydro reacted. For her attempt to save her ally’s bacon the cat burglar now flew on a collision course straight for Sectonia.

Sectonia didn’t have the time she needed to fully charge her reality shatter as while Nadia did defend her from the counterattack, the catgirl was thrown in Sectonia’s direction which forced the bee queen to unleash what amount of shatter she had charged. Not as devastating as the fully charged version or nearly as big, but space around the Dark Horse did shatter, leaving a white void where it stood, the creature clearly visible to all with its figure juxtaposed by an area of pure white. As she unleashed her blast, she had to then focus on catching the steaming flying kitty heading her way.

Figuring she could catch Nadia with one hand, Sectonia was taken aback and thrown off balance for a moment as she wasn't expecting that amount of weight to come from Nadia, slowing down her speed but ultimately dropping the cat girl as Sectonia herself spun around a bit before correcting herself. ”Fire… Hm that could’ve been a problem…” Sectonia mused to herself as she recovered, thinking of what to do next. Seeing as she was fighting this thing directly with Nadia, she helped the catgirl back onto her feet.

”I don’t think I’ve seen you fight yet. Show me what you can do.” Sectonia said, giving herself and Nadia the shield from her Pipe of Insight that would block some of that creature’s fire damage, then giving Nadia a touch of Haste while sitting back and throwing small rings of light at the creature.

Nadia snickered. “You got it, bwoss,” she said, mimicking the voice of Zelmer’s cat crony from the Metro. As Dark Horse, lightly ravaged by Sectonia’s spacial rend, sucked in air to unleash another spectral firestorm from within the void, Nadia sprinted toward it in all fours. With Sectonia’s haste she dove into a slide below the horror’s despicable head, then burst upward with a flip kick. The blow to the underside of Dark Horse’s jaw caused it to reel back, which in turn forced it to adjust its footing to not fall over backward. Its stream of flame went high, terribly bright but ultimately in the upper reaches of the cave.

Grinning wildly, the feral landed and revved up her arms to drill into her foe’s exposed stomach, only for a long, sinewy tongue to wrap around her neck. “Mrrow!?” she yelped, forcibly wrenched off her feet and dangled before the veiny, throbbing faces of the looming, seven-fingered, seven-headed giant Idea. For a moment their eyes locked, sharing a mixture of instinctive revulsion and hatred, before Sectonia’s light ring cut into Idea. It looked her way for just a moment, but that was enough. Clenching her teeth, Nadia reached up and sank her claws into the slimy tentacle to pry it loose, which sent the twisted creature into a thrashing frenzy. It whipped her around and hurled her into the floor.

As she rolled its pulse quickened, pumping blood brighter and faster through its body, until a bevy of tongues burst out from its seamlike mouths to lash sanguine projectiles toward her. Nadia braced herself for the worst, but the Pipe of Insight barrier protected her from the arcane blood. Once she realized the feral spring to her feet and stood alongside Sectonia as Dark Horse and Idea stood opposite them.

“Careful with those rings, unless you’re spoilin’ for a battle royale,” Nadia warned.

Sectonia shrugged, since really she couldn’t control the direction of some of these light rings. ”Very well…” Pulling out her swords, she joined Nadia in fighting this thing in melee combat instead. While Nadia seemed to be someone who used fisticuffs and some strange abilities, Sectonia relied on magic and her own swordplay instead. Casting her Chaos Heart shield on herself, Sectonia got in the way of this Dark Horse, grabbing its attention as she began to rapidly stab and slash at it with her, frankly, huge swords. She would occasionally do a short range teleport to its side to get a flanking strike, but more or less got its attention and thanks to that one magic item she consumed, her attacks were really fast.

And the Bee Queen, keeping the Dark Horse's attention so Nadia could get behind it and do her thing, forgoed a fair bit of her own defense in the process with the Dark Horse spitting its flame at her or getting the occasional hit in that she didn't parry. That was what her chaos heart shield was for however, and thanks to her pipe of insight, she took even less damage from the Dark Horse’s fire breath than its melee swings, but the creature wouldn’t notice that as it struck at the large bee boldly attacking it from the front. Nadia could notice Sectonia was not doing this for fun or anything, but was going for whatever openings she could that would utterly destroy this thing.

Unfortunately, Nadia couldn’t spare any attention to Dark Horse, for its gaunt counterpart demanded everything she had. With its lithe limbs, the splashes of accursed blood, and the array of tongues that swung and writhed like a gorgon’s serpent crown, it confronted her with a non-stop barrage of attacks from any range. Limber and light on her feet, Nadia kept herself in constant motion as well, dashing in and out of range and through the air in a madcap effort to open her opponent up, but Idea just controlled so much space. For every few slashes she landed on its rubbery, plastic hide, it did the same damage with a grab.

“Nya-HAH!” the feral cried, springing off a pillar to come in with El Gato. With a disjointed right claw swipe she batted away the tentacles coming in from the left, then with her left paw swatted off those to the right, allowing her to somersault into the air and crush Idea’s guard with an axe kick. “Chop-chop!” she called as her X-Scrape Claws carved across its upper torso. Idea reeled for a moment, then wordlessly brought its tongues back to close around Nadia like a flytrap. Just in time she kicked off its gut, but as she landed Idea stepped forward and delivered a football kick that dodged so narrowly she could feel the air pressure pulling at her hair. “Holy-!” Her foe advanced with a walloping slap, and Nadia began to block. She defended herself as Idea threw out blow after hefty blow, following each one with a couple rapid jabs from its tongues to keep Nadia in blockstun. Just when it seemed poisoned to bring down a massive overhead slam, however, the monster grabbed her. “Dammit!” she groaned as it brought her close to its odious heads, only to be silenced as Idea delivered a brain-rattling psychic shriek that left teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

At that time Sectonia’s offense against Dark Horse got just a little too lax. Though pierced in a dozen places, the monster pivoted its enemy’s way and lifted its leg to plaster Sectonia with a stone-shattering kick, strong enough to create an air wave with plenty of impact all on its own. Even if not struck by it (and shortly thereafter whatever wall lay directly behind her) she would need to step back a moment to rethink her strategy–and in so doing, catch wind of the pickle her partner was in.

Sectonia was knocked back by the Dark Horse’s attempt to get it off of her. Thanks to her Chaos Shield, the damage was greatly reduced, but this thing was annoying and tough. At that time Sectonia got a look at Nadia having difficulty with the other creature. Seeing her minion was in trouble, Sectonia blinked over to free the feral from the grips of this horrid creature by appearing behind it and giving it a nasty uppercut slash with both of her rapiers, which caused the creature to drop Nadia.

Much to her annoyance, Sectonia saw that her minion wasn’t doing so well, yet there really wasn't any way for them to retreat. Knowing this, Sectonia dropped her own Chaos Shield and gave it to Nadia, before removing her haste effect and instead inflicting both creatures with the Slow condition. ”You should be more careful. This will help but it will not be nearly as durable as my own.” Sectonia said as Nadia felt the pure darkness rainbow shield surround her.

Panting, Nadia wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. By now, nothing remained of her new hoodie’s sleeves. “...Yeah. Thanks.”

Sectonia then looked at the Dark Horse and decided that she’d help her minion with her foe before dealing with that thing. Sectonia summoned the remaining antillions she could, 1 red, 1 green, and 4 blue, to fight the Dark Horse or at least distract it while she helped Nadia with her foe in the Idea. At least Sectonia could make sure her magic didn’t zap Nadia as she despawned a sword and pulled out one of her staffs to barrage the creature with her dark lightning as Nadia recovered. Meanwhile the antillions, having been commanded by their queen to take out the foe in front of them, began to do what they could. The red one soon found its fire did very little, deciding to hit it with its mace while the others did what they could with their electric and ice elemental attacks.

As the Antlions moved in to keep Idea busy, Nadia quickly reconsidered her opponent. “Damn thing’s attacking constantly, but the second I guarded, it grabbed me…” She blinked, realization dawning on her as she watched the horror fight the Antlions, disadvantaged on offense but easily thrashing any that went on defense. “Wait, this thing’s a grappler?” The feral remembered her bouts with that bouncy Medici legbreaker, Cerebella. Anyone who dished out tons of punishment with big throws relied on a high-risk, high-reward playbook, and Nadia knew just what big shots like that hated. She pulled off a Nyawn to kickstart her healing, then narrowed her eyes. “Alright, I’m tired of thinkin’,” she declared, crouching down as Idea scattered the Antlions. “Time for round two: non-stop purr-essure!”

She charged forward, and Idea whirled around to face her. Its tongues lashed out, but Nadia skidded to a stop just outside its range and threw her head like a bowling ball once the icky appendages whooshed by. Her head bopped Idea’s ankle and she sunk her teeth in, which instantly turned her expression from fierce to nauseous. “Bleh!” With the monster distracted, however, Nadia leaped into the air. “Knock knock, time to block!” She fell with a jumping Shock and Paw into a three-hit combo before she touched down. In an instant she sprang up again, but as Idea brought up its tongues to block high she soared straight over its heads to cross it up with Claws for Alarm. A meaty tail slap to the noggins spun her around so that she could pull off a ten-claw Curtain Shredder all the way down Idea’s back to the ground. Her body then backflipped away to avoid a retaliatory slash, which Idea immediately followed up with a seven-tongue headbang to crush Nadia at the end of her dodge.

Luckily, her head -being on the ground beneath Idea still- saw it coming. “No ya don’t!” At her command her body went the extra mile, dodging again to avoid the tentacle smash. Seeing herself also reminded Nadia of that little drum on the back of her waist, courtesy of Massachusetts. “Oh right! Anchors, aweigh!” Her body grabbed the anchors and pulled them from the sides of the drum on lengths of chain, then began to spin them like lassos. Idea attacked with both tongues and blood magic, but Nadia powered through thanks to Sectonia’s shield to land lash after lash. Enraged, the pulsating monster charged, but Nadia’s body leaped to perform a triple somersault slam with the chain anchors. Once doubled over by the blow, Nadia sneezed to add insult to injury with a head-on collision. “Right back achoo!”

As it bounced off, her body reattached her head, only for Idea to grab her again the next instant. “Uh oh.” It pulled her into the air above it with all seven tongues wrapped around her limbs to make sure she couldn’t escape this time, not before it obliterated her psyche with another psychic screech. Nadia, however, looked nonplussed. “Oh no, it got me, whatever will I YAH!” She let go of her own limbs, effectively allowing Idea to pull her apart so fast she launched into the air, where she used her spare blood to replace her lost arms with Copycat limbs. As her chain anchors flailed around her new arms grabbed them, and with a grin she triggered blood rockets from the stumps of her legs. “Here’s some food for thought…EAT IT!” She came down with her three hundred and sixty four pounds of effective weight behind a double plunge attack. The anchors pierced through two of Idea’s heads like rotten grapes, sinking so deep into the torso that when Nadia jumped off and yanked on their chains, the heads exploded off the monster’s body like shredded chicken. “Poultry in motion!” she sang, all too happy to use the line she thought of while looking at I’m Stuffed.

She landed as her foe collapsed, and lifted her head to see Sectonia still fighting Dark Horse. The other monster seemed almost as durable as the wasp queen herself, and while Nadia doubted that Idea was down for the count, she wanted to pay Sectonia back for her help earlier. After reattaching her limbs, the feral bolted Dark Horse’s way. “Here to help!” With its ring of eyes Dark Horse saw her coming from behind, but as it went to kick her she split at the midsection. Her bottom half slid low to slice at the monster’s other ankle, while her top half flew into the air. “I’m rubber…” The feral spent her Dramatic Tension to form and throw down a ten-foot-wide ball of water. “You’re glue!” Dark Horse shrieked as the torrential orb exploded on top of it, bowing it over and applying Hydro to it as Nadia fell back.

While Nadia was dealing with the Idea, Sectonia was dealing with Dark Horse. Without her chaos shield, as she had given that to Nadia, Sectonia was being more evasive than before. This didn’t matter too much though as her large size still made her easier to hit, but Sectonia was getting hit mostly with the fire attacks of Dark horse, using her time to deflect its melee attacks. This is mostly because Sectonia couldn’t really dodge the fire attacks very well, and her pipe of insight made them do reduced damage anyway.

Still like Nadia, Sectonia was doing her own ways of attacking Dark Horse, with a combination of blinks and spawning rings of Light around herself to cut into the creature like buzzsaws. (But not throwing them.) alongside her swordplay. Either way, Sectonia was angry at this creature for how hideous it looked, and if she could avoid an attack she would, often with a counter swipe from her blade. And whenever the creature landed a hit, often using its own cunning to block one of the Bee Queen’s swords before spitting fire at her, Sectonia would blink around the creature to confuse it before landing an overhead swing with both swords at its blind spot. Even so, this thing seemed as durable as she was.

Nadia, thanks to Sectonia’s buffs and antlion distraction, managed to finish her fight from the looks of things. Or at least cause the monster to stumble. And as to repay her Queen back for her help, Nadia blasted Sectonia’s opponent with a large orb of water, causing it to be completely drenched and putting out nearby fires caused by its fire breath. The creature was incredibly soaking wet, far more than what would be caused by just water, so Sectonia figured this was one more of her weird water abilities. Still, this gave the bee queen an idea, and as the creature reared for another attack, Sectonia pulled out her staff, teleported above it, and bombarded it with her dark lightning. Thanks to Nadia’s Hydro, this caused the creature to howl in pain as it was electrocuted to the bone, its skeleton showing as it was zapped by the dark lightning. When Sectonia’s barrage of lightning was done, the creature twitched a bit as electricity surged through its body before snapping out of the paralysis and coming at the Queen with newly invigorated fury, landing a few blows that greatly annoyed the queen. ”How dare…” Sectonia said, pulling out her rapiers again and hitting the creature with an equally as furious barrage of sword stabs with a finishing slash that sent the creature hurtling towards its collapsed brother. ”Careful Nadia.” Sectonia said as she launched the creature over to where the feral was.

“Better bee-lieve it,” the feral quipped, dropping into a feline crouch to avoid the tumbling monster. Sectonia’s speed and dexterity really impressed her, and to send a creature of that size with a slash and not bifurcate it spoke of remarkable strength and precision, too. This battle wasn’t over just yet, though. Covered in electric burns and holes that eked out red-hot ichor, Dark Horse got to its feet in an ungainly fashion, its bizarre anatomy swaying back and forth. Idea pushed itself up too, two of its seven heads reduced to pulp. For the second time the monsters stood beside one another, and together Ms Fortune and Sectonia opposed them. It looked like their fight had brought them to a section littered with ruins, away from the others. Elsewhere in the cave the battle raged on, but Nadia felt pretty good. “That went a lot better,” she told Sectonia. “You up for round three?”

”Yes, these things must be purged, they are too hideous to live.” Sectonia replied.

“And, y’know, ‘cause they tried to kill us,” Nadia reasoned. “Let’s do it!” With that she detached her limbs and extruded a huge mass of muscle fiber, packing it tight into the shape of a giant yarn ball with her constituent components poking out. “Throw me!” she commanded.

Sectonia looked at Nadia with a look of ”What did you just say to me?” but thought about it for a second. ”We should make sure they are truly gone.” and with that said Sectonia pulled out her staff and zapped Nadia with her dark lightning, making sure to charge her instead of damage her so that her giant mass of…. Well Sectonia would put that at the back of her mind for now otherwise she wouldn’t go through with her idea… with a surge of dark lightning and as the dark electricity arced around the feral, Sectonia did what her minion suggested and began to move the large… ball… towards the other two creatures.

At first Sectonia wasn’t really sure how to do anything with what Nadia had turned her into, but soon she figured she was very, very bouncy and that made things much easier with moving her around. Like some horrifying basketball, Nadia was being dribbled along the ground as Sectonia passed from herself to herself, rapidly blinking towards the pair of creatures as they tried to strike the queen with their ranged attacks, failing as they would only hit her after images and once Sectonia got close, she slammed the electrified… ball… into the creatures She then finished with a blink behind the creatures and began charging another dimensional break to finish these things off.

The moment the slam dunk hit the ground, both monsters disappeared in a bloody, electro-charged explosion, lashed again and again as Nadia unwound and retracted her limbs. “Woohoo!” she yelled, a little discombobulated from all the bouncing around but having the time of her life. With the grace of an acrobat she landed between Dark Horse and Idea, where she took a bow. “Now that’s what I call a Lightning ‘Strike’!” she quipped dazedly, her mind still on bowling terms

As her head stopped spinning, Nadia noticed Sectonia charging again. Though jolted and reeling from the Lightning Strike, the monsters could still galvanize themselves into action and stop her, unless Nadia stopped them first. A quick look around informed her that among the nearby ruins was an old archway, still intact. Thinking quickly -or as quickly as she could, given the circumstances- she pulled out her anchors and snared both horrors’ feet, then with the chains held tight took a running jump over the archway. Her effective weight, strength, and blood-powered downthrust combined allowed her to pull the creatures off their feet for a chain and hoist them up to dangle below the arch like meat in a butcher’s shop. They flailed wildly, but couldn’t break free, and after just another moment Sectonia finished her charge.

Being able to get a fully charged Dimensional Break on these weakened creatures did wonders. Nadia was caught in the attack as well, but unlike the creatures she wasn’t damaged. She still got hit by the disorienting sensation of hearing and seeing space around her shatter like glass and be left in a white void that echoed a distant flat-line sound as she stood in it, but the creatures she was holding onto, having shattered alongside the very reality she was standing in, appeared as nothing more than spirits hooked on her anchors. Eventually the space would recover like it always did, but those creatures, they did not.

With both creatures dispatched, Sectonia had time to process what she had just done and looked down at her hands. Well, they weren’t stained with blood or anything, but… ”As a minion, I can’t deny your idea was effective, but… I don’t even know how to go about making something like that beautiful. But I suppose you did your best to work with what you had. ” Sectonia said. It was clear Sectonia didn’t approve of how Nadia used her own body like she did, but more out of the gorey aspect of the whole thing than the results. ”But you keep yourself clean and organized somehow, so I can tell you're trying your best to make yourself presentable.” Even saying this, Sectonia still gave a slight visible flinch before regaining her composure. How that didn’t hurt the feral was another question entirely.

“Presentable?” Nadia scoffed with a smile, putting her hands on her hips after she retrieved her anchors. “Maybe I don’t look like much to some high-falutin’ bug, but to humans I’m the cat’s pajamas!” Having worked up a sweat in her hoodie, she unzipped it down to her belly button as if to help illustrate her point. She then put her hands in her pockets. “Still, for a high-falutin’ bug you’re a pretty good fighter. Somehow didn’t hurt me with that giant explosion, either. So…thanks.”

Sectonia looked at Nadia, not really used to people like her but trying to get a read on her either way before saying. ”Before all of this, my plan was to take over Popstar, then the galaxy with the star warrior taken care of. You can’t have such grand plans of beauty if you are weak. And of course a Queen would make sure her minions don’t get destroyed in her own attacks.” Sectonia then paused for a moment, almost doing a tsundere move herself with her continuing, looking at Nadia at the side of her eye. ”Good minions are hard to find.”

Such an out-of-touch response, at least from her perspective, left Nadia a little puzzled and deflated. Did Sectonia mean to say Nadia was or wasn’t a good minion? Did she even want to be a minion? Still, even if the two minced words, the results spoke for themselves. The feral shrugged, a resigned smile on her face. “Whatever ya say, Sec.” After taking Idea’s spirit she tossed the other monster to Sectonia, then jogged back toward the flower patch where everyone had all fallen.

Wonder Red’s tour for information didn’t start out all that fruitful. The ebb and flow of the city, itself a hodgepodge of different shops and buildings from dozens of unique worlds, made it hard to zero in on where the best info would be. He didn’t have the same relevant experience to throw around like Big Band did - ‘costumed superhero’ wasn’t a common occupation, and his alternate identity as Elementary teacher Mr. Wedgewood wouldn’t help, either. In reality, without a team to support him Wonder Red was a small fish in a big pond, and now that pond was exponentially huger than what he was used to.

That line of thinking wouldn’t keep him down though! He was on a mission and no personal qualms were going to drag down his performance. He made little progress on the street, trying to stop groups of passersby to ask for any news and attempting to purchase some newspapers without having any of the region’s currency, and his first real stop at Coffee Talk yielded the same results. The cozy café seemed promising at first, but there were barely any customers present, with the ones that were there being more interested in relationship advice or overcoming writer’s block than if any monsters have been wreaking havoc somewhere else. Disappointed but undeterred, Wonder Red hit the streets once again, doing his best to sleuth out some better hubs, eventually leading him down a particularly shady alleyway to a bar, tucked away from the general populace.

On the inside the bar had a strangely similar atmosphere to the café, a place where the weary can come in, unload their problems, have a nice drink and take a breather from the chaos of the outside world, though this one had much more of a cyberpunk flair. Maybe, Red figured, such an out-of-the-way location would offer some equally out-of-the-way gossip.

Inside, the red-suited Wonderful One found a motley selection of strangers. Although he’d gotten an idea of how Edinburgh MagicaPolis worked from what he’d seen while outside, like cars that floated on magic circles instead of running on tires, the interior of this bar all but confirmed the pattern: that everything in this city ran on an eclectic blend of magic and science. From phones that were little more than glyph-projecting artifacts, to lights powered by crystals, to taps that were more like fancy cauldrons, no conventional technology could be seen anywhere. Naturally, the people here possessed a certain fantastical element as well. Most notable was the two-foot-four leipori sipping wine over a book on one of the couches, but an old man held a rod somewhere between a cane and a casting catalyst, and the most conventional people like the smoker and scarf-wearer over at the bar. When Red stepped a little farther inside, he even saw a bipedal turtle over in the corner booth, shivering with a big mug of beer beneath a heat lamp.

Red did some quick social math; the small creature was reading a book so she wouldn’t appreciate being disturbed, and the people at the bar might be open to talk but seemed to be in a group, so a stranger barging between them for an interrogation was going to fall flat. That left the lonely old turtle in his own booth. Wonder Red strode to him and took the seat opposite.

”Hello there. Do you mind if I take this spot? It’s pretty chilly outside and your heat lamp seems… less chilly.”

When Red approached, the turtle’s rather miserable expression suddenly brightened up. “Oh no, nono, please, sit!” He shifted in his own seat a little, although he obviously didn’t need to move so that that superhero could seat himself. Not quite sure what else to say, he took hold of his mug with both hands and took a long drink, then set it down and smacked his beak. “Just…awful cold out there, isn’t it?” Whether elderly or just infirm, he spoke with a somewhat quavering voice, as if he’d always just stubbed his toe on something. “Dry, too!” he added. “Most…most folks, they don’t think about that part, but it is. Anything that gets damp’ll just freeze, of course, I know. But look at me! Scales dry as a bone…I’m not a tortoise, I need somethin’ wet!” He gave an airy, almost coughing laugh as he raised his mug. “So this stuff…’bout as good as it gets, eh?”

”Wet, huh? I suppose you could always collect some snow, and… bring it indoors, so that it… melts?” Red offered, having no real hydration advice handy. ”Sorry, let me start again. My name is Wonder Red, and I was hoping to get some help. You seem like you know the place very well, and you’re sitting here by yourself. Would you mind if I asked a few questions?”

The turtle scratched at his cheek. “Questions? S-sure, I suppose.” He blinked at Red a couple times, then tilted his head. “Hmm? ...Aren’t you gonna get something to drink?”

”Later, maybe. Right now I’m, ah, on the clock, in a manner of speaking. So, sir, do you know of any ways out of the city? Other than the Metro, that is.”

After a brief moment the reptile’s brow furrowed somewhat. “Don’t wanna share a friendly drink with ol’ Bubbles, uh, I get it, I get it.” He looked down into his own beverage and waved his claw dismissively. “Just walk in whatever direction long enough, and you’ll get out. Eventually.” The last word he said with a shrug before he went to take another swig.

Wonder Red’s eyes widened, and he leaned forward in his seat. ”Oh, no, sir, that isn’t at all how I meant– uh, Mr. Bubbles, is it? I-I’d be glad to have a drink with you! What would you recommend? It’s my uh, first time here after all.”

Bubbles looked up from his mug, his spirit seemingly renewed by the mere thought that someone might actually like to spend quality time with him. “Well then, why didn’t you say so? As for beer, it doesn’t get much better than this.” He tilted his cup forward so that Red could see the foamy red-pink liquid inside, although it seemed to be just about empty. “Watermelon lager! It’s light, refreshing, reminds me of…of summertime, oh…” The turtle seemed to tear up suddenly. Maybe he’d already downed a few. “I miss the summer, Wendy, I really do. How’m I ever s’posed to get by, stuck up here in this wretched cold…”

Things were getting out of hand. Red looked around the bar as if this ‘Wendy’ would appear out of thin air, but he wasn’t that lucky. He cleared his throat and reached a hand out to Bubbles to try and placate him. ”Bubbles, sir, me and my compatriots are also looking for a way out of this region to somewhere further south. I can understand how difficult it might be for you to be stuck here, but if you could offer any information we’d be glad to accompany you to somewhere nicer. Would that be okay?”

Another ray of sunshine brought Bubbles out of his shell. “Really? You’d do that for me?” He sniffed and patted at his face with a napkin. “Well then. If I have anything worth anything to tell you, I’ll tell you over a nice round of drinks!” With prospects looking unusually bright for the first time in a long while, Bubbles seemed steady at last.

”Excellent!” Red, too, was looking brighter than when he walked in now that some progress was being made. He sidled off his seat, went to the bar and came back soon after with two more cups of Bubbles’ favorite watermelon lager. A sip here or there would be fine to keep the mood light, so long as he didn’t get too tipsy trying to get something out of this old turtle. ”A toast, to… a new friendship, and a way forward!”

“Cheers!” Feeling uncommonly cheery, Bubbles raised his mug, then bent his neck to shove his whole head inside. He greedily gulped down as much as he could before retracting it, dripping wet. A few of the other patrons glanced over, but only for a moment. “Aaagh,” he shamelessly sighed in relief, moistened at last. “Tastes even better knowing it’s free!”

”R-right.” Wonder Red sipped on his own mug and tapped a few fingers on the table. ”It’s on me…” He’ll have to start a tab. And then, hope Alcamoth covered mission-critical expenditures. Hmm.

After Bubbles had finished his chug, Red continued the topic. ”So then, seeing as you’ve been here for a while, have you heard of any other ways out of the city? I’m sure a hike would work, but that seems more of a last resort. A place as big as this, there must be some other means of transport, right?”

The turtle drummed his claws on the table. “Weeeeell…there’s buses and taxis, I guess. Cause enough of a ruckus and the cop’s’ll give you a free ride, too!” He took another sip and wiped the foam off his beak with the back of his caly hand. “There’s also the canals. They keep ‘em from freezin’ with some kind of magic, but they’re still too cold to swim in. Gondolas, boats, even ferries for cars, you name it. All…urk, magical, just like me.”

Red listened intently, making sure to note any piece of useful information that came from this rambly old turtle. ”Canals?” He took an idle sip from his own drink again. ”This city seems to be on an island - do they lead out into the ocean?”

Bubbles nodded. “Eventually, yeah. Whole city’s surrounded. Glaciers to the north, Highlands to the south. Not much on the mainland ‘cept snow, rocks, an’ trees though, from what I heard. It’d be days ‘fore you an’ me saw a single…gosh-darn blade o’ grass.” He slumped down on the table, resting his tired head but still very much awake.

”I see…” Going by water would be the slowest option, but it was the one most easily reached within the city. They could also fare with simply leaving Edinburgh proper to some other form of travel outside the city, though there wasn’t a guarantee that would end up leading anywhere. A true dilemma. ”I’m sure that once I meet back up with my group we can discuss the proper course of action. Is there anything else you can think of that might be helpful? Maybe any news from the mainland?” He decided to omit details on the region’s Guardian, just in case asking about ‘some big thing that may or may not be causing mayhem’ made him seem crazy.

When asked if he could think of anything else, Bubbles seemed to tune Red’s follow up question out. “Be careful after dark!” he blurted out. “These last couple days, folks’ve been whisperin’ about something mighty strange at night. Funny sounds. Funny lights. They say the bones of the dead are walkin’ the streets, burning on the inside with blue fire. Nobody knows why. They’re not hostile, s’posedly, but I tell you it’s only a matter of time! They got a bone to pick with this city, I’m tellin’ you! It’s cold, dead ground….” Bubbles went to take another drink, only to find his mug empty again. He slumped back down, and this time fell sound asleep.

Well, that was certainly a bit more than Red expected to find out. Disappearing people, strange happenings at night? It might not be related to the Guardian itself, but it was probably worth investigating still. Something that affects an area this big couldn’t be nothing. Before he left Wonder Red quickly grabbed a naked and jotted down the location where he and the others would meet, slipping it in Bubbles’s sleeping hand. He might’ve only been there to get info, but Red didn’t want to leave this man in his circumstances.

And since he’d been there enough to “blend in”, in a manner of speaking, Wonder Red went around the bar a second time, asking the other patrons for further details, both on ways to the mainland and of the nighttime strangeness.

He got a mixed bag of responses, with the simplest but also most helpful information coming from the bartender, since Red was now a customer. Public transportation seemed to be plentiful and relatively inexpensive, with option to pay per ride or buy passes, while taxis tended to cost more but could be more flexible. He did learn one detail that Bubbles skipped over: that magic flying machines existed both to carry passengers and fly in the freight that Edinburgh needed to stay afloat, so to speak. As for the nocturnal activity, nothing too concrete came his way. Some thought the whole thing to be an elaborate hoax at best, and a downright lie at worst; after all, in a city full of magicians, anyone could pull a supernatural stunt or two. The old man, however, spoke of a personal encounter with some of the skeletons, and after putting two down with his own sorcery more just reanimated elsewhere. This necromancy, he said, seemed to lack any kind of purpose. His own theory was that it merely preluded something far more dire yet to come.

Thanking each person for their help, Wonder Red left the cool interior of VA-11 Hall-a and back out into the much colder Edinburgh weather. Finding some ways off the island was a definite boon, though with what he’s gathered so far about the so-called necromancy at night he wasn’t sure if they should jump ship quite so soon. At the very least it didn’t sit right with him to leave this place to its own devices when something potentially dangerous could happen.

Either way, Red spent enough time there that it was close to when they were all to meet up again, so he headed off back to the pub. Hopefully his friends didn’t mind a potential fourth party joining them later on…

---

Deep below the earth, a lone custodian padded slowly through the solemn, silent corridors of purple stone. Though she went to great lengths to attend these forgotten Ruins, to sweep away their filth and dust so that the ivy might flourish and the vermillion leafbeds might rest like mosaic carpets upon the ground, no amount of effort would ever fill these hallowed halls with joy or laughter. Though monsters roamed here, she found little company among them. Her prolonged attempts to make friends with them eventually led her to realize that few could even speak. Sadly, fewer still chose to speak with her. So while she continued to leave them food when she could, she left them to the solitude they seemed to desire. While not one to judge, she found herself disturbed by them, by their fearful lack of decency and self-awareness. To her, they seemed less like the monsters she knew, and more like the monsters that humans believed them to be. In light of that deeper, more terrifying level of monstrosity, their indifference toward her seemed like a miracle, and for even that kindness she felt deeply grateful. It seemed to lend credence to her belief: that nobody, no matter how evil, was ever too far gone. Out of everything in this place, only the relic that hung at her waist would ever gather dust from her neglect.



Eventually, the gentle caretaker’s route through the Ruins came to an end. Here, the darkness held sway, weighing heavily on the few who dared to tread here. The atmosphere felt thick and heavy, though not silent thanks to the frequent clink of chains. A number of them dangled from the cavern’s ceiling, suspending glass orbs of lambent lumaflies above the churning mists that rose and fell like the surface of the sea. Wordless, she padded up the foggy trail to the great, ovoid temple that loomed at the top of the incline. Though at first glance it appeared to be hidden in darkness, she knew that she could get within an inch of it and still not make out another solitary detail, for its surface was a glossy, perfectly smooth black, like a colossal, obsidian egg.

At the front of the temple, however, lay a large hole in that shell, and within a huge spiral of strange, almost chitinous material. Over the center of the spiral lay an oval seal, emblazoned with the likeness of three masks, and in front of that was a man..

The prisoner was chained by lengths of pure white embedded in the spiral itself, and shackles around his wrists and ankles. There was enough give to allow him to sit or stand if he chose, and use his hands a little, but nothing more than that. His jailor couldn’t help but be a little afraid of the incarnation of evil itself, but in a way she pitied him, too. She sighed, and continued up the final stretch. In her hands she carried a tray, laden with food and drink. “Good afternoon…Ganondorf.”

The days in this hell were usually quite slow. Not surprising, as there was little to do but sleep, and think. Sleep, and think. Sleep, and think. And when he would think, the only thing he would actually think about was finding the wretch responsible for putting him here. That and imagining all the ways he could get his revenge. Make them suffer, make them beg for mercy. Of course, he didn’t even have a face to put to those thoughts, having not even the faintest idea who actually placed him here. Instead only one face came up, a face from his past. Roahim, that pathetic excuse for a king, and Zelda, his insufferable daughter.

He was sitting when his so-called “caretaker” arrived. At least that was what she had been trying to cast herself as. But the Gerudo man was no fool. He saw the despicable white sword she wore at her hip every day during her visits. Caretaker… How laughable! She was his Jailer, pure and simple. But she also was not a cruel jailer of any sort. She’d been kind enough to bring the man food and water every day. She had also talked to him plenty during these sorts of visits, even though he only occasionally spoke back.

“...Toriel.” said Ganondorf, lifting his exhausted gaze up at his visitor, “Come to feed the evil prisoner again?” to this day he still couldn’t understand why she did this. Coming to check on him, and making sure he didn’t escape was one thing. But going out of her way to feed him and bring water? It was oddly kind for someone whose apparent duty was to keep him under watch.

The white-furred goat gave a thin smile, her eyes melancholic. “Evil prisoner or not, everyone needs to eat and drink. Here, I even have something special for you today.” Despite the very real danger of Ganondorf pulling taut his chains in a burst of speed to come at her, she approached to lay down the tray at his feet. Sourdough, jerky, and mushroom salad were nothing new. For a while now, she’d also been a rotating portion of extra protein, since a man like him needed it to maintain his muscles. Miteloaf, Gnatchos, Omelant, Spaghetflea…none of it nearly as bad as it looked or sounded, and sourced from a distant area Toriel referred to as the Lawn, to boot. Today, however, instead of water the prisoner’s porcelain mug contained a reddish liquid, lukewarm from the long walk over, but earthy and tangy. “Woodrose Tea, made with petals from Hollow Bough,” Toriel announced proudly, rubbing at a couple bandages on her hands. “Took me a while to get the mixture right, hmhm…”

“My my, what ever is the occasion?” he inquired, though his smile made him seem facetious, “A holiday I’m unaware of? Perhaps someone’s birthday?” he took to the tea first, having to admit that the chance to drink something other than the same old water was one he wasn’t about to pass up. He pressed the mug to his lips, keeping the sip deliberately short so as to savor, “Delicious.” he said, tipping the mug as if to offer a toast.

“Every day’s a good day to make someone’s day,” Toriel smiled. “I’m glad you like it!”

He let himself take a bite of the Sourdough, but also eyed the admittedly tasty looking Omelant. In the past he probably would have turned his nose up at this sort of food. How far the mighty can certainly fall, “How long do you suppose my would-be warden can successfully keep me here?” he asked all of a sudden. While this wasn’t the first time he had asked a question like this, this was the first time he followed it up with another one, “Surely they must know that no prison can hold me forever? Not so long as I have this.” he held up his right hand, revealing the pulsing glow of a golden triangle on the back of it just below the knuckles and above the wrist. He even clenched it into a fist, which appeared to almost make the glow brighten up further for a fleeting moment before it faded away, but he made no sudden moves, no attempts to attack or break his chains. Instead he just returned to his meal while awaiting her answer.

Toriel’s worried gaze rested on the sigil. It did look powerful, but after a little reflection that didn’t distress her nearly as much as Ganondorf’s question. “I’m…not sure.” She recalled the ‘warden’ who occasionally showed up to pay the King of Evil a visit. Though youthful in stature and temperament, he’d proven to be the exception when it came to Toriel’s love of children. His visits, infrequent and unpredictable to suggest that he came by on a whim, consisted more of taunting, gloating, and bothering Ganondorf with minions from a distance than any official business. Whether or not the Consul was responsible for imprisoning him in the first place, Toriel couldn’t even say. She sighed. “To be honest, well…I don’t really think he cares about you, one way or the other. I hesitate to speak ill of anyone, but he does seem to regard us all as no more than toys in his sandbox.”

“How interesting,” he said after enjoying another sip of the tea, “he does sound like quite the child, doesn’t he?” after this he had a bite of the mushroom salad, “Exquisite, by the way.” he said of the meal, “But even more interesting, is the thought of what this apparent child could possibly have that he could issue commands to a Queen.” that last line might have come as a surprise. Toriel hadn’t exactly told this prisoner much about herself personally. And yet here he was apparently aware that she was a Queen, or at least had been at one time, “Ah, my apologies, but I’ve been around enough royals to know one when I see one. And you, my dear, positively radiate with nobility and royalty.”

He fell back to silence again. Returning to his meal and allowing his present company a chance to react or respond however she saw fit to.

Toriel caught her breath, stepping back. After a moment, though, she swallowed, and lowered his brow with a look of resolution. “...Not anymore,” she told him. “My husband…he wanted what was best for everyone. But he was stubborn. Terribly, terribly stubborn. He kept on walking down the path he’d chosen, though we all knew it to be the wrong one. Even himself. So I couldn’t stand to be around him any longer.” She bent down to pick up Ganondorf’s tray, then met his eyes. “That’s just how it is. With kings, I suppose.”

“With weak kings, perhaps.” he said in surprising agreement, “For myself, I knew exactly what my goal was, and was every bit resolved to see it through to the bitter end.” this was the first time he’d said this much about his own personal history to her, “A pity that the one I thought I could trust did not agree with me.” he said, not exactly elaborating on who that was or the circumstances behind their apparent falling out, “But for what it was worth,” he held up his hand and the glow of the triangle revealed itself once again, “I at least got part of what I was after. And I did it without the aid of those traitors. So in the end I suppose I never needed them in the first place.”

This time, he didn’t see a whole lot of fear in Toriel’s eyes. Only sadness. “Everyone needs someone,” she murmured. “I thought I would be in a better place when I cut away all the others, and perhaps I am, but…loneliness, too, is a terrible thing. In the end, this is where we are.” Her gaze drifted around the Temple of the Black Egg.

“They betrayed me.” he said in a surprisingly defensive tone, “My quest for this power was for them, for us all. Before this we were little more than bandits living in a barren desert. I wanted more than that, and believed it was only right to share that desire with the others. This power would have given us the means to leave that wretched desert and stake a claim of our own in the world. But they were the ones who decided I had gone mad.” he stopped himself, realizing he was beginning to rant more than he’d originally intended. Despite all that happening years ago, it apparently still stung deep down on some level.

Toriel stepped back as the prisoner began his tirade, inadvertently yanking at his chains as he did. She stood in silence, half turned away, until he got a load off his chest. She couldn’t blame him for, well, blaming others. Or having a lot of bottled-up rage deep within. A situation like this seemed hellish from any standpoint, and yet, here he was, the same as her. Two ex-royals, ferreted away in the earth. “I want to believe that people get what they deserve,” she murmured. “Which means I have to believe you’re as evil as they say, to warrant such a fate.” Her face fell. “But…to be honest, while I’ve enjoyed taking care of you, I’ve been hoping that someday I’ll come and find you gone. Bound for a better life. Better people. Because then, having failed another lost soul, I could do the same.”

“You needn’t worry about that, my dear Jailer.” Ganondorf said with a smile. One last time he held up his right hand, this time the triangle’s glow appeared to be a bit brighter than before, as if it were gaining strength even as they spoke, “As I told you, this prison cannot hold me forever. This mark is the very symbol of power itself, and it always grows. My strength will return to me soon enough, and when it does…” he clenched his hand into a fist, letting the triangular mark give as bright of a glow as he could currently muster before slamming it into the black wall behind him. The most damage he caused was a few cracks forming where his fist had made contact. But the intended message was clear as day.

Toriel gave a humorless laugh, clearly done with the dangerous man’s bravado. “Then hurry, King of Evil. While I’m not around to stop you.”

The pet shop was a brief bit of safety for the crew. So long as the G-Men didn't get a hold of leashes or chew toys or whatever they might not brave stepping inside and be "found out". At least they were easy to manipulate.

The twins lead them further into the pet shop, to where their small base of operations was. Everything felt very spy-like, especially when Raz caught a glimpse at the huge corkboard full of pictures and clippings. "Whoa... hey, check it out!" Raz pointed up at the blurry photos of himself and looked back to the others. "I'm part of a secret anti-government conspiracy!" His face broke out into the widest grin possible, fists clenched close to his chest. "Isn't it awesome?"

While Giovana introduced herself, the Doctors, and their little organization, Raz couldn't stop himself from geeking out, his eyes taking in every detail the room had to offer, especially in regards to the board. He tried to focus on the conversation, though. "Mr. Goldlewis? Yeah, I met him back when I was still all Galeem'd in the head, in Al Mamoon. He helped us with climbing the mountain and fighting that huge monster. I figured he was with you guys, actually," Raz said, pointing to Peach. "I uh, guess not, though?"

"I know all about these guys," Raz continued, gesturing vaguely to outside the room. "We're from the same... world? Home? Universe? I'm still not really sure how to call all this. I dunno if it helps with anything but where I'm from they weren't even physical things, they were a mental construct in someone's mind. Maybe the person in charge has the potential to, I dunno, pull things out of people's head?" An interesting proposal, but Raz felt like that was barking up the wrong tree.

A vague plan-shaped idea was made - splitting up to distract the G-Men and get the rest of the team to their meeting place. "I can do it!" Raz jumped at the chance, literally, hopping up with his hand raised high. "I've dealt with the G-Men before, so I know how to handle them."

Geralt made for the front to deal with the ones coming in, so Raz took to the backdoor they came in from. He pushed the door open a smidge to peer through the crack; it seemed like the G-Men had all made their way to the front instead, no doubt with their new 'disguises' at the ready. Raz entered the alleyway and headed around the building, ending up just outside the large group of trenchcoat-wearing spies.

"Ohhhh wow!" Raz said, loud enough for his voice to carry. "I sure do know a lot about things! Super secret things! I have sooo much knowledge of a plot against the General... Investigation... the, the government! I hope nobody has questions to ask me!" Raz slowly backed away from the G-Men as he spat all that out, wanting to make sure he hooked most of them at least before he made a break for it, running clear the opposite direction of the pet store, not dashing down a side path until he was sure the coast was clear for them. He'd have to think quick on his feet to navigate the city, but he was used to this sorta stuff!

---

Greeted by the stranger, an odd looking fellow with shagged looking white hair and a somewhat frightful appearance and a younger fellow "Mhm, indeed it is..." replying to the older gentleman Benedict's tone sounded anything but convinced by the man's words, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose he continued "This 'pony-something' is your pet, yes?" he asked the pets owner while examining the peculiar little creature, one could call it cute yet he cared little for such frivolities thus he followed his questioning with a brisk turn of the heel.

"My being here is irrelevant to the reason you are here, it concerns the public and it's security sir." he said rather sternly, Benedict noted the man dressed much like a soldier or a man-at-arms unlike the casual wear his companion wore "You wouldn't be one of the group last seen entering the back would you?" the monotone of his voice a timbre lower, hearing a voice call from outside but not acting as though he heard it as the door closed behind the G-Men that flanked his side.

It was obviously a diversion, not a very well-planned one at that however it wasn't conclusive of anything regarding his investigation but something told him these people, whoever they were could be associated with the case "And the shopkeeper? Where would they be?" Benedict said placing a hand upon the tip of his cane, leaning on it with furrowed brow "Is the owner in the back? I should like to speak with them if so." then with a faint and barely discernible expression Benedict arched his eyebrow and added "I assume you have another excuse ready? Or are you content to tell me who you people really are and what you are doing here?"

It seemed a little strange that someone would be waiting for them. The twins that let them in as well as the woman that introduced herself didn't appear to be familiar to any of the Seekers. But they did mention a name that some of them recognized. So evidently the Seekers' actions must have had more of an effect than they had previously realized. Whatever the case, these people were not under Galeem's influence, as they lacked the off-colors and red eyes. It sounded like a previous person the Seekers had freed was able to free them in order to form whatever this Resistance force was supposed to be.

For now though, it was better to let Peach do the talking. Instead Roxas listened in so he could learn more about what all this was about. And while there appeared to be some hesitance at first, the arrival of someone else seemed to make the decision for them. Roxas had no idea what a "Turk" was, but the Special Unit seemed to be treating them like they were bad news. Probably in league with that Government they mentioned? Well there was no time for questions and inquiries. They all needed to get out. Giovana offered a plan involving a distraction on two fronts that would give the rest of the group a chance to make a getaway.

Well, Roxas was no negotiator so dealing with the Turk was a no for him. But he was pretty confident in his running skills. He'd done enough foot races around Twilight Town with the other militia members that he was certain he could lead those G-Men on a wild goose chase while also managing to outrun them all the while. And thankfully, Raz also seemed keen on the idea of being a runner. Good, between Raz's knowledge and Roxas' agility, they'd probably be fine, "I'm going with you." he said to Raz and was quick to follow him out the door.

Listening to Raz, Roxas realized he needed to make himself a target as well, "Man, I sure hope this dark secret we discovered doesn't get out!" he said, playing along, "It'd be the end for those government agents, that's for sure!" he watched for Raz to make a move and then bolted after him. He took a quick glance back to confirm that they were being chased. After which he matched his pace with Raz and looked over at him as they ran.

"Okay... now what?" he asked, hoping for some insight from Raz. The meantime, they ducked around a corner into a neighboring alleyway. Just up ahead, Roxas could make out the shapes of some G-Men coming from the other end, "Uh oh! Raz, go up!" he whispered at Raz, even pointing a finger upward to make sure the message got across. And then, Roxas jumped to his side and pushed himself up off the wall. From there he began the climb, which for him was relatively easy. In fact he was moving with such flowmotion that he was practically running straight up the wall. He just hoped Raz would be able to make the climb as well.

Soon enough they'd find themselves on the roof, "They're gonna corner us if we stay on the ground." he told his fellow Seeker when they had a moment, "I'm thinking we'll have better chances if we can stick to the high ground and stay up here among the roofs. What do ya think?" he asked, wanting to get Raz's opinion before settling on a plan.

Raz focused ahead as he and Roxas headed up the chase, the few glances he managed to throw over his shoulder only making sure they were still being chased. He didn’t know just how many G-Men took the bait, so hopefully their ruse was enough to catch the attention of most of them, enough to give their friends a decent window to escape. ”I know, right?” Raz kept up the fake bragging with Roxas even as they rushed down the road. ”Like that thing! With the important people! So economically sensitive!”

When asked what next, Raz just shrugged. ”No clue! I didn’t think this far ahead.” They sidestepped into an alley to avoid some agents that were starting to flank them. ”Just wing it I guess!” ‘Winging it’ would have to wait, as the alley only lead them into a dead-end, surrounded by G-Men on either side. Raz followed Roxas’s lead on climbing up, only his was much less flashy than Roxas, shimmying up a gutter pipe with rapid speed.

The roof would give them a bit of leeway, but it wouldn’t be long before some G-Men scrounged up, what, roof tiling equipment? Raz looked down at the ground with hands on hips. ”Alright, well, we can’t get to the rendezvous point with them on our tail. Guess we’ll have to lose them somehow.” Raz looked up and scanned the city, trying to drum up ideas. ”They can’t get anywhere they’re not supposed to be, not without a ‘disguise’ at least. Maybe we can cut through some warehouse? One of the schools?”

“The schools? You sure none of them were disguised as students?” they’d spotted so many G-Men on their way to the pet shop that Roxas couldn’t remember all the disguises they were using. If any of them were disguised as students they could just follow them right into whatever school they ran to, “Huh?” Roxas peaked down to the alley below and saw what was coming for them.

Down below, the G-men poured into the alley, jogging at a decent clip. Between the ‘road workers’ and ‘students’ that originally closed in the group and forced them into the pet shop, the decoy duo could count seven of them, all of them one hundred percent identical now that they’d ditched their disguises. While the runners managed to break their pursuers’ line of sight for a moment, the G-men naturally looked up once they witnessed the empty alleyway, and in so doing spotted the young men peering down at them. “Up there!” one of them barked. “They are clearly not air conditioner repairmen!”

As he slowed to a stop, another G-man shook his fist. “Rooftops are restricted areas! Get down here!”

“Now that you’re running from us, we have probable cause!” a third declared. “You may as well give up now.”

Between flowmotion and levitation, Raz and Roxas had made a way up where there was none, but that didn’t leave the G-men out of options. Two of them up their backs to the brick wall down below so that they could give the rest a powerful boost up. Wherever the two planned to go next, they needed to get going soon.

“Uh… I don’t think they’re bothering with disguises anymore.” Roxas told Raz. He glanced around in search of another route they could take and spotted a neighboring rooftop that looked to be at a lower elevation, “How well can you jump?” he asked, pointing at the potential route he had spotted, “Think we can make it?”

”Oh I can jump,” Raz replied with a smug tone. ”I dunno how long we can leapfrog over these guys before we run out of roofs or they wise up though. Plus we still need a way to shake ‘em so we can get to the copter.”

“Well, we’ve got no other ideas right?” he said with a shrug, and then took off in a sprint toward the edge of their current rooftop. When he reached the edge he leaped with as much strength as his legs could give him. Now thankfully for Roxas, he was actually quite spry and thus landed on the other side safely and with no issue. Raz followed soon after, taking the jump at a brisk sprint - he didn’t have enough momentum to make the whole leap, but he formed a psychic bubble under him, boosting off of it for the extra distance needed.

Hurrying to the other side of the building, Raz surveyed their options, soon pointing out a bus stop a few blocks from them. ”How’s about a little trip for our friends back there, eh?”

“Works for me, let’s go!” Roxas replied as he ran to make his move. When he reached the edge he summoned Oblivion in his right hand, “Blizzaga!” he cried, aiming the ice spell at the roof’s edge so that a bit of ice spiked forth and provided a slightly farther out spot to jump from. He hopped into that jutting spike of ice and made another leap. The ice was necessary to reach the neighboring roof as it was a little bit further away and just outside his natural jumping distance. The outreaching ice helped make up the distance and like before he reached the other side safely.

“Just a couple more jumps and then we can make our way back to ground.” he said with confidence. If they could keep the high ground long enough to get as close as possible to where they were going, then they could hit the ground and sprint their way to the bus stop. What would happen after that? Well, they’d probably have that figured out by the time they got there, right?

”Got it!” With the two of them sticking to high ground, the G-Men had no real chance to catch up to them. They couldn’t make the same leaps and bounds if they did get on the roofs, and the two never stood around long enough for them to clamber up the same building. The G-Men didn’t give up their pursuit though, which is what they were counting on.

A few more leaps and several further taunts later, Roxas and Raz made it to a small hardware shop just outside the bus stop, oh so luckily when the next bus was pulling in. The G-Men following them took a wrong turn a block away so they managed to put some distance between them. ”Alright, follow my lead,” Raz told Roxas as he hopped down from the shop’s awning onto the sidewalk, and then made a dash into the bus. He led Roxas further in, about halfway down the rows of seats, before he stopped. ”Okay, these guys still work on the same warped logic as when I first dealt with them, so as long as we can disguise ourselves…” He unclasped a small pouch dangling from his rucksack, pulling out a pair of colorful lollipops and handed one to Roxas.

”We’re a couple of lost kids looking for our parents,” Raz explained, glancing out the windows on the lookout for their pursuers. ”And if they ask where we went, say we saw us hide in the bus somewhere. That should deal with them. Got it?”

“And this’ll fool them?” asked Roxas, staring at his lollipop incredulously, “Alright, I trust you know what you’re talking about.” he then added with a shrug.

One thing stuck out to the two as they took refuge inside the bus, which was its emptiness. No students of any grade could be found on board. The bus driver said nothing to them either, but once they got inside he closed the double doors, shifted out of park, and began to pull away. Only for a squad of G-men stampeding across the street to flag it down, forcing the bus driver to stop again. Very nervous all of a sudden, he swallowed before pulling the lever to open the door again. With no other scapegoats to deflect their pursuers’ attention once they came inside, the boys hurried down the steps with their disguises ready, betting what might be their very lives on the Psychonaut’s plan.

Outside, they found all seven G-men arranged in a semicircle around the door, their red eyes fixed on Raz and Roxas. Close up, they were even more unnerving. They did not seem to breathe, nor to blink. Were they even alive?

Roxas was quick to take a big lick of his lollipop, “Hey, why’d we stop?” he asked, trying to make his voice sound a little different from earlier, “I thought we were going to school?”

”I don’t know,” followed Raz, who made no attempt to hide his voice. ”We are just a couple of children doing regular school-related activities after all.”

The G-men glanced between one another, thinking. One of them crossed his arms, his vivid red eyes narrowed. “Kids, you say? Using a school bus…on a Saturday?”

“Oh yeah, our uh, Speech Club moved its meetings to Saturdays. We were just on our way to meet with our club mates.” he nudged Raz with his elbow, “Right?”

”That’s right! Speech Club helps us with our speech,” he helpfully explained.

“I see…” Furtively the G-man glanced through the bus’s windows, scanning for the runaways among the seats. “Run along then, children. We…being very busy bus inspectors…must further inspect this bus.” The crowd parted to let the boys pass. Then two of them entered the vehicle in single file.

One stared at the bus driver, taking note of the man’s shaking and the beads of sweat on his forehead, then moved down the aisle. The second took his place beside the bus driver, watching his colleague. For a few moments the G-man moved between the seats, finding nobody on board. Then he looked up to examine the emergency roof escape hatch, which he found to be locked from the inside. Impassive as ever, he turned back to the front of the bus, and shook his head.

“Eyewitnesses confirm that our suspects boarded the bus, but there are no passengers, and other exits are all sealed,” the G-man at the front murmured. “Which means the fugitive…” He whirled around to face the bus driver, extending his hand. “Is you!”

The man’s eyes widened as he tried to squirm away. “No, wait, No-!”

When the G-man grabbed his shoulder, a loud snapping noise rang out, and both disappeared. All that remained was a plume of smoke in the seat, the bus driver’s hat, and the haunting echo of his scream.

The first G-man sauntered up, reached down, and picked up the hat. He dusted off the seat and sat down, then replaced his own fedora with his newly-acquired headwear. “I am the bus driver,” he deadpanned. “Bringing my students to school for extracurricular activities.” One by one the other G-men filed onto the bus, holding their pencils, rulers, and calculators. The double doors slammed shut behind them, and with a loud pneumatic hiss the bus began to move.

“Oh man,” Roxas said after a sigh of relief, “I can’t believe they actually bought that. I just hope that bus driver doesn’t get hurt or something because of us.”

Raz and Roxas watched the bus pull away, the G-Men nonthewiser to their clean getaway. ”That guy’ll be fine,” Raz reassured Roxas as he stuck his Psi-pop back into its holster. ”They won’t kill him. At least I think so. Now c’mon, we gotta hurry to the others!”

“Right behind you.” Roxas responded as the two took off for the rendezvous.

@Dark Cloud Benedict @Crimson Flame Bede

As Benedict no-nonsense bulldozed his way past Geralt's blatant distraction, the Witcher kept an ear out for the shuffling of the Seekers in the back room, knowing he'd need to keep this investigator distracted for a few minutes. It was somewhat unfortunate that he was also a somewhat older man, as he'd likely be well aware that many elderly folks exaggerated their mental state, and that Geralt was doing just that. No matter, he at least attempted to buy in to the charade, whether it be out of arrogance or unwillingness to make a move until he was certain wasn't of importance, as long as he allowed Geralt to keep it up.

When Benedict mentioned the safety of the public, Geralt nodded simply, before referring to his own armaments. "Well, as you can see, I'm rather safe myself, and my young companion is certainly safe by my side as well, between myself and his Pony." Not bothering to pretend to remember what Ponyta was called, he kept it simple. "Frankly, everybody in this store is likely as safe as it can be."

Benedict's rapid-fire questioning marked him quite easily as a lawman, if the rest of his attire, his choice in companions, and his own admission that he was here on the basis of public safety hadn't done the job already. Geralt decided to play ball, and answered each question in sequence. "No, we came in through the front," he lied easily, a somewhat bored expression on his face. "As for the owner, she's running an errand. I'm a friend of her father, you see, and she took advantage of our acquaintance to run said errand while I watched the store for her. No care that we have other places to be, though. You know how young folks can be, always needing to be somewhere else, without a care in the world."

Then Benedict threw out all pretense and asked who they were. Big mistake. "Well, for myself, that depends who you ask. To the uneducated and prejudiced, I'm a monster, but to the lovely folks in the Land of Adventure, I'm a renowned hunter and slayer of monsters. To the elves, I'm Gwynbleidd, white-haired. To others, I am the White Wolf, a feared slayer of man and beast. Though, most commonly, I'm called Geralt of Rivia. Sir if you'd prefer, though it's more an honorary knighthood than anything," Geralt chuckled. He left Bede to introduce himself, in whatever bombastic fashion he chose. "And you are?" Geralt bade Benedict introduce himself as well, before continuing. "Though, as I said, we were looking for something for his Pony companion when you came in, hoping to see if there was anything in the back for a moment while we watched the store."

Taking the opportunity to look at one of the shelves, Geralt plucked a few small balls, resembling the ones Bede and Junior used, from the shelf. "I'll admit, I've been interested in getting into rearing them myself..." Geralt half-mumbled, telling the full and honest truth for the first time since he'd walked up front. "And don't forget to grab some food, Bede," he added and took a bag of "high-quality Pokemon food" from the shelf as well, carrying them to the counter and bagging them. "She said to gather what we found together and let her handle the purchase when she returned," Geralt explained to Benedict, continuing to weave his story together.

Finally, however, he could hear nothing from the back. Taking a small breath, he slid the bag to the side and turned fully to Benedict, ensuring his bag was out of the blast zone, as well as Bede. "Well, sir, it has been a pleasure to meet you, though I must bid you good day, as Giovanna is just walking in behind you." He lied as easily as he breathed, and waiting only a moment to see if Benedict took the bait or not, made the Sign of Aard before himself, launching a conical blast of telekinetic force at Benedict and the G-Men with him, before turning to grab his bag in one arm and Bede in the other, hauling the young boy onto his shoulder and running to the back

"Complain later, kid, we gotta run!" He yelled, kicking open the back door and setting the boy down, catching a glimpse of the other Seekers and hauling ass after them. "Get on that Pony-thing's back, I can keep up!" He advised Bede, moving into a dead sprint towards the others. As they started to close the gap with the rest of the Seekers, he called out, "They're on to us, FUCKING MOVE!!!"

When the two girls got inside the petshop, what they saw wasn't what they were expecting. Both bots hadn't seen any of these people, but apparently a few others that had gone to the desert did. This new group of people, at least to the ladies perspectives, were quite strange overall, talking about what was going on and about the G men and everything. Blazermate was way out of her depth with this whole 'conspiracy' thing. Couldn't they just beat up everyone til they won? They would have to beat up the area boss anyway, so all this 'what is what and what is this' really went over the battle medibot's head. Blazermate could be seen visibly confused about all of this, just wanting to go beat up the big bad since that'd fix everything.

Susie meanwhile, having been mostly uninterested in what she had been seeing so far got really into it though. She didn't know what was going on either, but unlike Blazermate she knew what conspiracy and espionage was about, having tried to play a corporate spy herself at one point in her life. But the coolness of that idea was drowned out by the whole lameness of these 'G Men' who just seemed to be really, really stupid from what she could understand. Dangerous, but stupid. These 'turks' though sounded like they had a bit of brains that some basic acting couldn't get the group through.

Either way, with a plan set in motion, Raz and Roxas volunteered to lure the G Men away so the rest of the group could escape. Geralt and Bede also did what they could to distract the ones that were entering the store, which meant... Well, they all did have a place to go, so the lady bots got into the air, flying above all the bothersome stuff on the ground heading to their destination they were told to go at the trade depot. They could probably fly over the trucks as well, but it could be more fun to ride them.

The two girl bots made their way out of the store with the two distractions going on. Blazermate carrying anyone who needed it."Ugh, this sucks. Why can't we just beat them up..." Blazermate complained as she flew over the streets of the city, watching Raz and Roxas being chased by the G men and doing some... shenanigans to lose them, Susie giggling to herself as she saw how they outsmarted the perusing G men, one hand holding her transporter as she flew besides Blazermate. "You don't care much for spy stuff do you Blazermate." Blazermate replied, a bit flustered. "I mean, its cool when your watching, it, but not when your doing it. You'll be beating up a big bad in the end anyway, so why do they have to make it so complicated?"