[center][h3]Carnival Town - Ballyhoo’s Big Top[/h3]
Level 13 Ms Fortune (171/130) Level 8 Goldlewis (71/80) Level 7 Sandalphon (62/70)
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] 4506[/center]

With the team’s time in Carnival Town suddenly rendered finite by Dawn’s news about incoming Moebius forces, the Seekers quickly queued up to make the most of the orb machines. It was a shame that their carefree adventure in Carnival Town was already being cut short, but such was the life of a soldier, Goldlewis knew. With the particulars of the pity system fresh in everyone’s mind, they fell into the pattern of stepping up to cash out their prizes three at a time, then lining back up if they wanted a second or third round. Of course, the expansive cosmetic section over on the north side of the Big Top’s lobby -arrayed like costumes in a Halloween store- offered plenty of tempting options as well, especially once someone’s stock of rift tokens fell short of reaching the next pity roll.

While Sandalphon never moved at an inelegant nor overeager pace, someone who valued optimization and efficiency so deeply could still make tracks when she wanted to. With her long strides she spearheaded the communal movement toward the orb machines and coolly inserted her tokens as the first in line. One by one plastic capsules containing colorful spirits rolled down the chute and into her waiting palm. Rather than obstruct her allies, the archangel moved on without so much as looking at what she received. Only once she’d cleared the way for the others did she pause a moment to scrutinize her rewards, especially that third one of supposedly guaranteed quality.

Her first was a [url=https://i.imgur.com/h2UFVIJ.png]cheerfully smiling woman[/url] with red hair, tight black and white clothes, and a massive hammer. Though her second appeared to be [url=https://i.imgur.com/pWi1Taw.png]coquettish sharpshooter[/url], featuring lustrous black pigtails and an enormous sniper rifle with a distinctive coiled barrel, which definitely piqued Sandalphon’s interest. In the end, though, she saw a semblance of truth in Ballyhoo’s promise, for her ‘pity’ roll was another sniper, this one a [url=https://i.imgur.com/eZQJiX5.png]deadeye cowgirl[/url] in blue and cloud-white. Right away Sandalphon began to concoct a plan for her rewards, inferring what she could about her news spirits’ abilities. Regarding the snipers, it made sense to fuse with one and itemize the other to boost the ‘combat’ side of her ‘combat medic’ role, and the one that complimented her appearance would naturally be the better fit. The other she could trade, simply donate, or perhaps even soulbind as a Striker in order to offer her enemies an unexpected surprise at close range.

Regardless, usage of the spirits would need to wait until she returned to the Avenger. While the others got more spirits, Sandalphon quickly perused the aisles of cosmetic items. With her five remaining rift tokens, she could expand her selection of outfits. Since she did not care too much about fashion beyond presenting a professional and unified aesthetic, the archangel sought attire that would suit various extreme situations. Off the top of her head, she wanted to be prepared for extreme heat, extreme cold, toxic conditions, and aquatic conditions. A hooded heavy winter coat lined with snow-white fur was easy enough to find, and she nodded in approval when she found that it came with heavy white thighboots. While the store offered various swimsuits, Sandalphon chose a standard black wetsuit with scuba equipment instead. A white padded hazmat suit with a full-face gas mask would give her a better shot in hazardous environments, and not far away she found something to satisfy her trickiest demand: an ultra-shiny fire proximity suit for extreme heat. That expenditure left Sandalphon with just one rift token that she couldn’t find an efficient use for. As she strode through the aisles, though, she found herself lingering in the area with formal wear. While none of it seemed very practical, some part of her wanted to deck herself out in stunning finery. So in the spirit of an afternoon of enjoyment, she spent her final rift token on a [url=https://i.imgur.com/VNVqUuk.png]lovely white dress[/url] with light blue accents.

Compared to Sandalphon, Nadia was a lot more enthusiastic when it came to splurging her tokens on hard-earned rewards. Since she didn’t scramble to the very front of the line, though, the feral needed to wait for a moment before she could take a crack at an orb machine. In that moment, Chucho reappeared from the ether with a burst of excited barking, much to Nadia’s delight. “Chucho! There’s my good boy! You been waiting for me?” Feeling bad about leaving her polterpup outside while she enjoyed Balan’s wonderworlds, she made sure to give her spectral pooch a super-sized portion of petting. In no time at all, though, Nadia’s turn to get her spirits arrived, and she stepped up to the plate with six of her eight rift tokens in hand. She wasn’t about to get in line again; whoever came after her would have to wait their turn.

She jammed her tokens in like a kid at a gumball machine, snatching each precious orb as it popped out of the mechanism, taking a quick peek at each. One she obtained a pile of six spirit capsules, she sauntered away with her haul, checking out what she got as Chucho frolicked around her. Her loot included a lightning-wreathed [url=https://i.imgur.com/md5GTH6.png]kunoichi[/url] in black armor, a [url=https://epic7x.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arunka1.png]smirking blonde catgirl[/url], a stern but gorgeous [url=https://i.imgur.com/EaaD8Km.jpeg]desperado[/url], a one-eyed [url=https://i.imgur.com/HpAVJDm.png]piratess[/url], a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ACBApkg.png]crazy-looking inquisitor[/url], and a [url=https://i.imgur.com/njgTDJp.png]sensational wrestler[/url]. All women, funnily enough, and while not all seemed like winners, Nadia could see a couple right away that she really wanted to use. Still, she couldn’t indulge just yet, and so turned her attention to the other kinds of the rewards. With her new duds from Al Mamoon, though, she wasn’t in a big hurry to get any new clothes. She quickly settled for a flashy pair of sunglasses, then headed out through the Big Top’s main entrance into the afternoon sun. “C’mon Chucho, how about a quick game of fetch?”

Goldlewis was in much less of a hurry. After going over to retrieve his heavy coffin from where he left it, he lined up with the others and got to the front after a minute or two. When he plugged in his rift tokens, however, he ended up disappointed. His two random draws turned out to both be animals, one an [url=https://i.imgur.com/OmkZLrx.png]emperor penguin[/url] and the other some sort of [url=https://i.imgur.com/mMq6ivJ.png]rat[/url]. “What in tarnation?” On the other hand, both wore clothes and clearly wielded guns, so maybe there was more to them than met the eye. Fusion was out of the question, but maybe they’d make good Strikers. If nothing else, he could crush that first one for its handgun. The veteran struck gold with his pity roll, though: a [url=https://i.imgur.com/dU4Y6i3.png]powerful-looking old man[/url] decked out in cowboy boots, ripped jeans, elaborate belt, and folksy hat. Goldlewis didn’t know about the black nail polish, but he could definitely appreciate the man’s style. The image within the spirit evidenced some sort of sorcery, which an outsider might not associate with Goldlewis, but the southerner hailed from a world of magic. That spirit seemed like a good candidate for fusion.

Having just one silver medal under his belt, Goldlewis started out with seven rift tokens, which left him with four after the spirits. He considered handing out the others, but after Bowser nabbed a fairly impressive biker outfit from the cosmetics store, the veteran gave the clothing aisles a second look. Goldlewis ended up getting his own [url=https://i.imgur.com/DLHeIqS.png]biker set[/url], along with a more humble, low-key [url=https://i.imgur.com/A6DUoQZ.png]gear set[/url], a set of combat fatigues with urban camo, and a tall brown cowboy hat.

After collecting his spirit capsules and costume packets into a plastic shopping bag, Goldlewis joined the growing crowd that now gathered outside of the Big Top. He spotted Sandalphon talking logistics with Dawn, who seemed to be polishing off the last few layers of her Hundred Layer Sundae, then watched Nadia playing fetch with Chucho using her Hive Stone as a tennis ball. The organic artifact glimmered with a noxious energy even in the daylight, but the polterpup didn’t seem to care. As more people congregated, the question of how the Seekers would board the Avenger came up. Sandalphon, who’d already thought of this and asked Dawn, happily provided the answer.

“These Fulton devices will return us to the ship,” she explained, holding a sand-colored pack that looked like a parachute. “Each one is suitable for the retrieval of one to two individuals up to a maximum load of five hundred pounds. Once attached and deployed, they will rapidly elevate us into the atmosphere for airborne retrieval by the Avenger itself. After observing our reunion with the Under contingent earlier, Dawn was thoughtful enough to bring extras with her.”

Goldlewis furrowed his brow. “Five hundred pounds…?” he muttered, glancing down at the little pack he’d been given when he dropped from the ship. Last time he checked, he weighed at least fifty pounds more than that, but he’d also lost a decent amount of weight thanks to his two fusions. Hopefully it would be enough. 

Meanwhile Nadia, who’d never seen nor heard of anything like this, treated the idea of being hurled thousands of feet skyward with bright eyes and bushy tail. Plus, she’d get to fly on a plane or something afterward! Taking to the skies had been an impossible dream of hers, and yet the World of Light was about to make it a reality. “That sounds awesome! Four of 'em could handle a full ton of fun!”

Some of the more egotistical Seekers present objected to fleeing from H’s approaching forces, which earned a disapproving look from Dawn. “I’m sure you’re very confident in yourselves, but the main risk is to the Avenger,” she pointed out for Bowser and Ganondorf. “Not everyone aboard is as strong as you people. There are civilians and young children aboard. Thanks to your efforts today, Moebius is on high alert. When they’re serious, they’ll take control of the storied and back each other up. I’m sure you can take one of them. We’re counting on it, in fact. But four of them, or eight, or twelve? And backed up by their armies, plus every civilian in Carnival Town? Forget it.” She sighed. “Above all else, we can’t lose the Avenger. So let’s be smart about this, please.”

The team couldn’t say much to that, beyond dubious blustering. While Sandalphon passed out Fultons, making sure to ‘inconspicuously’ drop one where Juri could yoink it, Dawn demonstrated how to put one on. “Just attach the straps on the harness, make sure it’s nice and tight, then pull this cord!” Slipping her thumb into the loop on the end, she winked at the Seekers. “See you aboard!” When she yanked the cord, a balloon popped out of her pack, rapidly inflating. She floated into the air, hung there for a moment while waving, then shot upward like a bullet from a gun.

Nadia stared with her mouth open, shocked by the sheer speed. Her earlier enthusiasm was fading past, but after a quick swallow she donned her characteristic smile. “Okay,” she breathed, tugging the straps extra tight as she tried to control her breathing. “No big deal. Haha. You ready, Chucho? Usually it rains cats and dogs, but today it’s the opposite, huh?”

“If anyone experiences an equipment failure, I can teleport to you and slow your fall,” Sandalphon mentioned to nobody in particular, staring off into the distance. “As long as you’re in my network, of course.”

Nadia pursed her lips. “Uh…am I?”

Sandalphon looked at the feral evenly. “Not yet. I can connect you easily if you like, though.”

“Uhhhh…” After a moment Nadia shrugged. “Sure. Couldn’t hurt, right? Hook me up.”

Once everyone was ready, it was time to start pulling cords. One by one the Seekers deployed their balloons and shot skyward, hurtling up into the azure blue at literally stunning speeds. Even hardened Goldlewis, for whom evacuation methods like these weren’t foreign concepts, couldn’t keep a hold of his consciousness when faced with the staggering g-forces involved. In seconds, the clear blue skies gave way to the black of oblivion.

[hr]

When Goldlewis woke up, he sat up to find himself in the belly of the Avenger, stowed safely in the deployment bay not far from the Hellpod launching system. He could see the others around, taken care of by Lost Numbers aboard the ship once they arrived. Though blacking out in a situation like that felt like a weakness, Goldlewis counted himself pretty thankful that he didn’t have to experience the sensation of floating thousands of feet above the ground, dangling from a glorified balloon. The important part was that everyone made it safely, somehow. He breathed a sigh of relief and got to his feet.

Dawn waited for the Seekers to stir and compose themselves. “Whether you’re returning or brand now, welcome to the Avenger!” she greeted everyone, putting a hand on your chest. “For you first-timers, I’m Dawn, an ordinary soldier of the Lost Numbers here in our sky-high home.” She put her hands on her hips with a smile. “We’re already flying away from Carnival Town, so we’ve got nothing to worry about from the Consul’s forces. You guys have been busy, so take all the time you need to decompress. The whole ship’s open to you, so feel free to wander around, relax, grab a snack, or even find yourself your very own room. If you want a drink, you can find my brother Cirrus in the Stolen Moments bar, and I’m always up for a chat! Long as you don’t mind my kids, that is.” She giggled.

Sandalphon looked around at her allies. “I would recommend that everyone convenes in the Bridge in a little while, perhaps twenty or thirty minutes. Both teams have experienced a great deal, and the exchange when we first convened in Carnival Town is by no means sufficient. We should recount and compile all we know for the sake of a unified effort going forward.”

“I’m with ya there,” Goldlewis agreed. “In the meantime though, I bet y’all wanna make use of all the spirits we got.”

Dawn held up a finger suddenly. “Oh, right! Why not go to the spirit chamber?” she suggested. “That Mr. Deadman from Bridges ought to be there now getting set up. He said he’s a spirit researcher, so I bet he can help.”

Nadia bounced up and down, eager to get started. “Sounds like a plan to me!” 

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/t0kMqYm.png[/img][/center]

With a little help from various Lost Numbers, she, Chucho, and Goldlewis found their way to the Avenger’s spirit chamber. Sandalphon took a detour, having already memorized the ship’s layout, but planned to meet back up with everyone in a little while. Like most areas aboard the Avenger this room wasn’t exactly spacious, but the strange machines laid out in an almost ritualistic fashion and the dark, purple-tinged lighting gave it an oddly ominous appearance. It blended together futuristic, almost otherworldly technology with older instruments of an occult nature. In one corner, more dominated by mystical trappings than any other, lay the humble shop of the demon Vulgrim that Pit encountered before, but the skull-faced merchant didn’t seem to be in at the moment. Instead, Nadia’s eyes lingered on the eerie central chamber that housed a purplish glow not entirely explainable by the ring-light that surrounded it. “It’s like Alcamoth, but creepy,” she murmured, having very little experience with sci-fi to reference.

“According to embedded records, this chamber was once used for psionic research for the purpose of making super soldiers,” a distinctive but unfamiliar voice explained. Nadia’s ears swiveled toward the source, and when she looked over she saw an [url=https://i.imgur.com/udn9qqY.png]affable-looking man[/url] in his mid-fifties, with short gray hair and beard, wearing a red suit and shirt plus a black tie and glasses. He’d shown up unnoticed, as if he’d simply walked through a wall like a phantom when nobody was looking. “Good afternoon, and welcome to the spirit chamber.”

Goldlewis nodded in appreciation for his fashion sense. “Howdy. You must be Deadman. Dawn mentioned you’re a spirit researcher?”

The odd fellow gave a slightly wry smile. “Well, in truth I am more of a coroner. But I am fascinated by death, and in this World of Light, that includes what little we leave behind–our spirits.”

[i]A coroner?[/i] Someone who investigates death for a living must have a hell of a time in a world without corpses. Goldlewis stroked his whiskers thoughtfully. [i]No wonder he turned to spirits.[/i] “Well, we just so happened to get a boatload, an’ I reckon we’re tryin’ to figure out the best way to use ‘em.”

“Then you came to the right place,” Deadman explained, his frame seemingly possessed by a lively energy all of a sudden. “While Lost Numbers have no spirits of their own, their numbers have been bolstered by the destoried for generations, and since they’ve needed every advantage in their fight against Moebius it seems that they have spirits down to a science.” He went around the room, pointing out each gizmo in turn. “In the middle here is the stabilizer. Since spirits are semi-material info bundles, their energy components possess frequencies that can resonate one another, and this machine boosts their ability to harmonize.”

Next, he pointed out a machine that looked like an aquarium full of colorful vapor. “Over here is what we call the Dugout. According to past studies, bound spirits exert a tax on the host that can become dangerous at higher numbers, speeding up the rate at which we burn our ‘candles’. Two is the recommended maximum, but the Dugout is where you can deposit any extras, so you can switch them out between missions.”

Nadia’s brows went up. “Wow, uh, that’s good to know.” She rubbed her head. “I mean, I kinda forgot about the whole Striker thing for a bit, but still. Wouldn’t want to ‘strike out’.” She then furrowed her brow, glancing around at her allies. “Wait, some of you guys use a lot of strikers, right? If what Deadman says is true, you better offload ‘em.”

The coroner nodded. “I would heartily recommend it. We’re all in this for the long haul, after all. And every life matters.” Next, he directed everyone’s attention to Vulgrim’s corner. “I’m not the only one here with an interest in spirits. At this spot, you can invoke an entity that identifies itself as ‘Vulgrim’ that offers a selection of goods and secrets in exchange for spirits. His tastes may be a bit unsavory, but he has directed Lost Numbers to many locations of interest in the past, so consider spending your extra spirits with him.” Finally, Deadman pointed out a [url=https://i.imgur.com/BSdLnja.png]strange gizmo[/url]. “This is one of our more mysterious contraptions. It seems able to ‘reset’ someone to a base state, turning the various abilities gained during one’s journey into ‘possibilities’ that can then be reallocated. However, after we used it on Dante to defuse him, the machine overloaded and broke down. It needs some sort of core to provide a fresh source of resetting power, but that’s so esoteric a concept that we may never be able to use it again.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Nadia stood there, oblivious and arms crossed while several people stared at her, until her eyes suddenly widened. “...Wait! Waiwaiwaiwait! I have that magic ball!” She rummaged through her pouches until she finally found and produced a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ISzE0MK.png]cloudy sphere[/url] that she held up in her hand for everyone to see: the Orb of Undoing.

Another half second passed before she connected the dots, her eyes going as wide as saucers. “Wait-”

In a veritable flashbang of prismatic light, the Orb undid her, slamming the feral to the ground with a yowl of dismay. When everyone’s vision returned, they saw Nadia on the floor with her default appearance, some of them for the first time. Around her floated the spirits of Massachusetts, Cat-5, Kronya, Kanna, and Rhodeia of Loch. “Dammit!” she wailed, rubbing her head with one eye closed and an agonized look on her face. “I can’t believe I did it AGAIN!”

Though Deadman glanced briefly at Nadia, she seemed fine, so he quickly turned his attention to the softly glowing orb that now rolled across the floor. “This…is perfect!” He bent down, scooped up the orb, and inserted it into the Respec Machine’s circular opening. Energy spread through the device in an instant, bringing it to life. “This should be just the thing for rolling back unwanted changes,” he announced, clearly pleased.

After confirming that Nadia was unharmed, Goldlewis took a step back to consider the revelation he’d just witnessed. Hearing that Dante somehow got defused a moment ago surprised him enough, but witnessing the full reset of Ms Fortune firsthand was quite the surprise. If this array of machines really allowed more customization and particularity in terms of spirits, the spirit chamber really could revolutionize the Seekers’ abilities. “This all seems mighty useful,” he muttered before turning to the others. “Well, no need to take turns watchin’. Let’s all figure out what we wanna do. If y’all want either o’ the critters I got, feel free.”

Every spread out around the room to sort out their spirits, sparking several conversations at once. Sighing, Nadia got to her feet and began to collect her spirits. “Ughhhh, felt just as nya-sty as the first time. But hey least my new clothes mostly stuck around. That Yuria gal wasn’t lying.” She put on a smile. “Well, if these doohickies can make spirit stuff better, I might as well give ‘em a try. Plenty of reasons to re-fuse!”

Her contradictory pun confused Deadman. “You…don’t want to?”

“Nono, it was a joke. Re-fuse, get it? Uh, nevermind, heheh…could I get a hand with this?” Nadia put the spirits on a table next to the resonator cylinder, then pulled out a couple of her capsules from the Big Top’s orb machine. “I liked what I had going on, but the whole copycat business just takes way too much brain power. It’d be more e-fish-ient to make that mermaid thing a striker, right? And honestly?” Nadia narrowed her eyes at the Kronya spirit in her hand, then crushed it. “I’m good on the creepy clown girl. Don’t need her making me pale OR kooky.” From Kronya’s spirit she received, somewhat to her surprise, a second Athame dagger. After putting that aside with her other weapons, she gathered up the spirits of Cat-5, Massachusetts, Kanna, Angel, and Rosetta, then plugged them into the slots on the resonator as indicated by Deadman. She took off her jacket and belt just to be safe, then stepped inside. “Okay, here goes!” she announced with a steady grin. “Hopefully for the last time. Get ready to meet the ‘mew’ me!” Then the door sealed shut and resonator fired up, its cylinder filling with a whirlwind of radiant light.

[hider=Ms Fortune Redone]
[b]Abilities Lost:[/b] Luna-trick, Copycat, Cat-aract, Purrge of Vengeance, Preda-torrent
[b]Weaknesses Lost:[/b] Impractical Style
[b]Fusions:[/b] [url=https://i.imgur.com/hTvuk1U.png]Massachusetts[/url] (Cardiofusion), [url=https://i.imgur.com/OGQHohy.png]Cat-5[/url] (Cardiofusion), 
[url=https://i.imgur.com/4X09FIK.jpg]Kanna[/url] (Cardiofusion), [url=https://i.imgur.com/njgTDJp.png]Ángel[/url] (Cardiofusion), [url=https://i.imgur.com/EaaD8Km.jpg]Rosetta[/url] (Cardiofusion)

The Ángel spirit confers the Ability [b]Unchain[/b], which changes her Cat Scratch rekka into a customizable three-hit Unchain series composed of an Unchain Starter, an Unchain Circle, and an Unchain Finisher, many of which are new normals (two of the Unchain Finishers are also command grabs). It also confers the Weakness [b]No Meterless Reversal[/b], which removes all armor from her DP, Fiber Upper. The Rosetta spirit confers the Ability [b]Roll and Gun[/b], which allows her to instantly equip, fire, and reload a ranged weapon during a combat roll, then unequip it again. It also confers the Weakness [b]Fire Bane[/b], increasing the damage suffered by fire attacks by 30%

[b]Appearance:[/b] Nadia is slightly shorter, but boasts a fuller figure. Her hair is fluffy and voluminous, reaching down to the small of her back (but shortened to a bob cut at the first opportunity), and has a distinctive calico pattern, primarily cream-white but with splotches of black and orange. This includes her tail, of which she has only one. Her skin is slightly darker, and her eyes are as electric blue as a TV screen. She wears a dark blue, fur-lined, leather bolero jacket with a lighter blue inside and fishbone badges over a small white shirt with buttons undone, with shorts that match her jacket and a leather belt with lots of pouches. The bell on her heavy collar, like her fishbone badges, is silver. 
[b]Personality:[/b] A little bit more serious, but also a bit more catlike and liable to fall asleep anywhere, with a love of pure water, and a gentler soft side to offset her more violent competitive side. 
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LRj41jN.png[/img][/center][/hider]

When the light began to diminish and the glass doors slid open to admit a rush of steam, Nadia practically shot out and slid to a stop on the metal floor, full of excited energy. “Did it work?” she asked, twisting around to try and check herself out. “How do I look?”

Goldlewis nodded. “I reckon your new look came together well, li’l missie. No extra heads or nothin’, far as I can see.”

“Sick!” Nadia caught sight of her own tail, which prompted a big smile. “Oh, I’m calico! That’s awesome!” She glanced around at the others. “‘Orange’ you glad I got new joke material?”

Her humor elicited a shake of the veteran’s head. “I feel more pun-ished than anythin’,” he muttered with a smile. With the resonator proven, the next person who wanted to fuse could step in without worry. Nadia sidled off to the sidelines with her spirits to make her selection for spiritbinding and itemization, while Goldlewis shopped around, hoping to obtain more fitting spirits. In particular, he set his eyes on Pit’s Marduk spirit and some of the bigger spirits Ganondorf got, though he suspected the warlord would be loathe to part with objects of potential power.