[center][h3]Minigame Roulette - Connected Climbing Chaos[/h3]
Level 13 Ms Fortune (150/130) Level 8 Goldlewis (72/80) Level 7 Sandalphon (31/70)
Roland, Sectonia, and the Robot Girls’ [@Archmage MC], Midna and the Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Geralt and Zenkichi’s [@Multi_Media_Man], Pit and the Octopath Travelers’ [@Yankee], Roxas and Ganondorf’s [@Double], Juri’s [@Zoey Boey]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2751[/center]

After about a minute spent sitting by the penguin’s fire, its radiating warmth balanced against the slow rain of cold flakes against her skin, Sandalphon began to get restless. Of course, she’d only permitted herself to rest in the first place after forcing herself to accept the fact that winning this race really didn’t matter, but the feeling still agitated her. And no matter how much she reasoned that she didn’t need extra rewards from these games, and that they’d be better off in the others’ hands, or that her chances of winning were negligible at this point and only getting worse over time, her fretful nature wouldn’t change. The archangel had lived her whole life not just doing, but overdoing, holding herself to the highest of standards when it came to acts of service. Especially after already allotting herself an exceptionally generous break with Zenkichi today, capitulation at a time like this -game or not- would be nothing short of indolence. As the moments of inaction trickled by, Sandalphon fidgeted more and more, bouncing her leg and drumming her fingers, until she could stomach this slothfulness no longer.

She inhaled sharply, standing. Her sudden movement got the attention of Goldlewis, and he glanced up at his partner. “Well, shall we continue?”

The southerner stroked his whiskers, his lips pursed. “Y’know, I reckon we’re probably dead last. Ain’t a snowball’s chance in hell we overtake any frontrunners, so I don’t mind waitin’ it out right here. Besides, the snow’s mighty relaxin’. Don’t ya think?”

Sandalphon’s pupils turned to inverted triangles. “I am sufficiently rested already. It’s true we’ve encountered many setbacks, due largely to my own regrettable deficiencies. However, I can’t imagine that a man of your strength would be so easily cowed.” The archangel attempted to ply the man’s pride to motivate him, shouldering the blame for their failures at the same time. “Even if we cannot claim victory, let us not wallow in defeat, but put forth an effort we can be proud of.”

“I’m pretty proud we made it this far,” Goldlewis replied evenly. “Though truth be told, I mostly just don’t wanna do any more climbin’. Haulin’ this load around ain’t exactly easy.” He slapped his own belly with a good-natured chuckle. Then, for just a moment, he grew serious. “I don’t mean to say I got no fight left in me, of course. When it comes to doin’ my duty, I ain’t one to hold back, I know you seen that much.”

The veteran shrugged. “But this here mountain ain’t a battlefield–it’s just a game. Sure, there’s rewards for doin’ well, but at the end of the day we’re here to have a good time. If the youngins wanna tire themselves out runnin’ around, that’s their call. Me, I’d rather just sit back and let ‘em.” He leaned back, his palms against the ground to prop himself up. “That’s just how gettin old is. It don’t mean you’re weak–but it means ya gotta ration your strength.” He glanced at Sandalphon, raising an eyebrow. “I dunno how familiar y’are with the process, seein’ as you’re angel an’ all.”

Sandalphon crossed her arms, a thoughtful look on a face punctuated by ellipsis in her eyes. “Although I am several hundred years old, I believe you do have a point. As far as I’m aware, this body does not age.” She tilted her head slightly. “Though we angels can be destroyed, I suppose our lifespans are indefinite. That does mean I cannot truly understand the ‘gravity’ that comes with aging. I can only offer my sympathies. It must weigh heavily upon you.”

Narrowing his eyes, Goldlewis questioned her. “Hey, was that a fat joke?”

Though Sandalphon didn’t flinch, the empty circles that her pupils became said everything. “Not at all, I am quite incapable of humor. I merely meant…”

“Ahh, relax, I was just joshin’ ya,” Goldlewis told her, grinning. Then he let out a sigh. “You’re right, though. It’s scary. As the years pile up, time gets faster and faster. The years mean less. I’m plenty strong -stronger’n most folks my age, that’s for damn sure- but knowin’ I’m gettin’ weaker an’ weaker, ‘til I find I’ve lost my strength some day…it ain’t a cozy feelin’. And then…well, I’m sure I don’t gotta lay out how the story ends.” He looked up at the simulated sky, beyond the fluffy white clouds and violet horizon. “I’m a soldier, though. I looked death in the face many times, and I ain’t scared. But that don’t mean life ain’t worth livin’.” The veteran turned to Sandalphon and offered an apologetic smile. “I don’t mean to get all serious just to avoid gettin’ off my ass. Just mean to say we should enjoy the time we got.”

After another moment, the archangel reached her conclusion. “...I suppose I wouldn’t enjoy pushing forward any more than remaining here.” With elegance she seated herself by the fire once more, crossing her legs. “It would be nonoptimal to finish even lower than this if we happened to fall again, as well.”

Goldlewis nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

Just then, the deep, resounding blow of a horn echoed down across the rocky landscape, prompting both to look up. “Reckon that means someone crossed the finish line?” Goldlewis asked. Without any visual evidence to back up that hypothesis Sandalphon hesitated to offer any conjecture, but a moment later a second noise swept down through the snowy mountainside. Only seconds after that, a third followed it up, but rather than taper off like the first two the third noise grew more intense. All around, the terrain began to warp and fray, first distorting and then collapsing. Everything seemed to squeeze together like a balloon between a child’s hands, and when their reality popped, both Goldlewis and Sandalphon found themselves back on the giant roulette table. All of the other Seekers appeared too, banished from Balan’s wintry wonderworld and returned to the lobby.

“Whoooo!” Nadia cheered breathlessly, her voice more than a little horse. Though seriously worn out, the feral couldn’t look happier. “We did it, we won! I mean, not to gloat or anything, but we killed it!” When Captain Falcon inevitably looked down on her last minute cheating, she waved him off, her grin indelible. “What’s that? I can’t hear you over the sound of WINNING!” Once she settled down, the armless feral went around to collect her lost limbs, which had luckily been deposited in the lobby just like everyone else.

After about a minute, Ballyhoo poofed into existence, floating off to the side with his typical aplomb. “Aaaaand that’s a wrap! Congratulations to our winners! In first place, A and A! In second place, A and A! And in third place, A and A! Here are your WINNINGS!” Doffing his hat like a magician, he rolled it across his shoulders, then snatched it and held it like a party popper. A glittering gold projectile burst from it, then exploded in the air, raining down the correct number of rift tokens on everyone. Nadia gathered hers up, bit one more for show than anything, then stuffed them into her pouches. “And courtesy of our sponsor Vandelay Technologies, here’s a refreshing beverage! ON US!”

With a snap of his fingers he pulled a [url=https://i.imgur.com/lYnztsn.png]robotic refrigerator[/url] into the lobby, who promptly opened himself to offer everyone revitalizing green energy drinks. “Help yourselves!”

Far beyond questioning any of this by now, Nadia trotted over to accept a drink right away. “Mew-sic to my ears!”

Anyone else who wanted one would have to move quickly, however, because once Balan showed up again, Ballyhoo got the ball rolling–literally. The gamemaster launched another boo ball around the table, and the maestro made it spin. “Aaaaand your second minigame iiiiiiiis…!” Another few moments passed in eager -or perhaps tense- anticipation before the ball made its home in pocket number seven. When she looked to gauge their hosts’ reactions, Nadia was surprised to see Ballyhoo clutching his head with both hands in dismay, while Balan seemed frightened–though he might be just pretending.

“Film Those Freaks!?” Ballyhoo made a show of fainting, though the second he hit the ground he popped right back up again. “Is that a chill in the air? No…it’s another thrilling minigame, with a scrumptiously spooky bent! For this one, you’ll be split into teams of four and started off in cheerful sky gardens. It’s up to you to grab your camera, take the diving bell down to the old world, and use your precious ninety seconds of film to record as much scary stuff as you can! Once you’ve captured all those horrific happenings, it’s on you to make it back to the surface, upload your video to SpookTube, and rake in the ad revenue! Whoever gets the most moolah wins! Be careful though, ‘cause you’ve only got five minutes of oxygen, and a set amount of ‘hit points’. Run out of either, and it’s a one-way trip back to the island–lose your camera, and you’re out of luck!”

Nadia blinked, surprised. So these weren’t all going to be sporting events, after all? Maybe that was for the best, given how tough all that mountain climbing had been. Some of what Ballyhoo said went right over her head, but she knew that film and cameras had to do with movies. Having snuck her way into a theater or two, she’d seen the miracle of moving pictures for herself, and even if none of them had been remotely scary they were still pretty cool–not to mention black and white. “So we’re gonna be, like, hunting for cryptids? And making our own movies? Sounds fun!”

Ballyhoo nodded. “If you’re not a SCAREDY CAT, that is! Mr Balan? Take it away!”

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1Vl78bk.png[/img][/center]

Just as the gamemaster promised, the Seekers wound up scattered across five different sky islands, separated into teams of four. Each one looked like a big, well-kept backyard garden, with vivid greenery, huge hedges, sunflowers, and apple trees. They also came equipped with one little [url=https://i.imgur.com/SuDI2pS.png]medical shed[/url] apiece, and from the [url=https://i.imgur.com/UmWA9KK.png]porch[/url] of each cozy red house (where the camera and four cheap, low-power flashlights could be found) the Seekers could see both a power station for recharging electronics and the [url=https://i.imgur.com/V2WmTEt.png]diving bell[/url] that would take them down to the Old World, suspended by a crane. Inside its spartan interior the Seekers could find a crank for operating the door, a button to initiate travel, and a screen with the O2 levels and distances of every team member. It also housed a selector with three choices for each team’s destination: the Factory, the Cruise Ship, and the Tunnels. Upon appearing in a garden, the soon-to-be amateur filmmakers would find their winter wear replaced by old-fashioned diving helmets, each fitted to their own heads.

The bright, idyllic scenery, surrounded on all sides by nothing but perfectly blue skies and fluffy white clouds, left Nadia blinking as she tried to adjust. “Agh, that hat guy’s gonna give me whiplash, I swear. Huh?” When she became aware of the weight on her head, she started pulling and prying at her new diving helmet until it slipped off, allowing her to get a better look at it. A sort of dark brass in color, it seemed old-fashioned but very sturdy, and it even featured hollow protuberances on top to accommodate her ears. “Oh, jeez. Are we really going swimming? These clothes are brand new! They don’t deserve to be fashion-derwater!”

Helmet in her hands, she looked around to see who’d ended up on her team this time. Right away she saw her true-blue pal Blazermate, which elicited a friendly smile, but her search also turned up Roxas and Captain Falcon, two of the competitors she’d just gone head-to-head with in the last minigame. “Huh, guess we’re falc-on the same team this time. No hard feelings, eh?” She didn’t really know either of them well enough to pun with them yet, but hopefully this minigame would change that. Her gaze landed on the handheld camcorder, the key to this whole challenge, and she jogged over to scoop it up. The feral held it up like a sandwich, one eyebrow raised as she tried to figure this out. After a moment, mostly spent workshopping jokes rather than actually examining the thing, she gave up and swiveled her head around to the others. “...Anyone know how to use this thing? People are always shilling stuff like this, but franc-ly, I can never make ‘cents’ of it. The dime-ensons just don’t work for me. Guess I’m just not tech-nickle enough.”

One island over, at a safe distance from the barrage of terrible puns, Goldlewis was sizing up his own team. It looked like he’d ended up with Midna, Geralt, and Bowser Junior. In other words, for this video-making contest, this crew was two old farts with barely any grasp on technology (though for very different reasons), one woman from a medieval fantasy world, and one little kid–who out of everyone probably had the firmest grasp on what this minigame was all about. Sighing, Goldlewis shook his head. “Figures it’d be black tech. Even after all this time in Midgar, I’m just about hopeless when it comes to figurin’ that stuff out.” The veteran crouched down to try and address the young koopa on his own level. “Well partner, I hope you know a thing or two about this whole video-makin’ business, ‘cause I reckon the rest of us ain’t got a clue.” At least right now they had some time to go over how things worked, since once everyone piled into that diving bell, they’d be on the clock.

When Sandalphon arrived in her own garden, she took stock of her teammates right away. The first she saw, owing to his remarkable size, appeared to be Ganondorf. While his immediate confrontation with Midna did not lead to the best first impression, and his inherent darkness created a natural contrast to her light, the archangel could not deny that he’d been the more level-headed of the two. Naturally, she planned to treat him with the same professional courtesy that she offered everyone else. The other man present interested her much more, since it happened to be Zenkichi. Just the sight of the grizzled detective, and the subsequent realization that they’d be working together, was enough to turn Sandalphon’s eyes into sparkles for a moment.

“Hello again,” she greeted him, bowing her head with a slight but irrepressible smile on her gray lips. “It appears that we’ve been matched together for this challenge. I look forward to working with you.”

That left the last person, who Sandalphon had uncharacteristically ignored in favor of greeting Zenkichi. Now, though, the archangel offered her undivided attention, for player number four wasn’t a Seeker, but someone entirely new. This stranger was a lithe young woman, her black hair done up in two pink-banded horns and her diagonally-cut bangs laid across mismatched purple-and-green eyes, wearing a very small white crop top that left her dignity to the mercy of black body tape, as well as baggy pants. Her appearance evoked the image of a martial artist with an odd fashion sense. Of course, this [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/e2/12/41e212e82d0c1e15de98d7f6ca1d69c9.jpg]fighter[/url] was sizing up her teammates as well, and her expression made no bones about how she felt.

The archangel did not take Juri’s feelings into account. “Good afternoon. It looks like we’ll be working together as well.” Sandalphon inferred the reason why this stranger might be here. If Captain Falcon could end up in the Seekers’ lobby, it made sense that others could too, especially given how unevenly a roster of nineteen players could be sorted into teams. “My name is Sandalphon. Though we are not acquaintances, I hope you will enjoy your time with us nonetheless.”

Once introductions were out of the way, the team could focus on the task at hand: the creation of a scary short movie. Though unfamiliar with cameras, she felt confident that she could learn in a short amount of time, as she did with most technologies during her time in Midgar. The art of film-making, however, would be a whole other beast.