[center][h3]The Avenger[/h3]
Level 13 Ms Fortune (174/130) Level 8 Goldlewis (74/80) Level 7 Sandalphon (65/70)
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] 2038[/center]

Feeling rather fabulous and pleased with herself (thanks in part to Primrose’s praise), Nadia sauntered away from the resonator machine with some spring in her step so that the others could follow her example. Having started out hungry for power but wary of what she might become, she’d certainly come a long way with her attitude in regards to spirit usage. Power was a must, but it certainly wasn’t everything, and with so many tools at her disposal there really seemed to be every reason to both get strong and look good doing it. She owed much of that progress to Primrose, really, starting with their conversation in that undead cafe down in the Home of Tears and culminating in their memorable visit to Yuria’s tailor shop in Gerudo Town. Now more than ever, the feral felt more at peace with who she was, flaws and all. That in turn allowed her to focus on who she wanted to be, embracing change without fearing the loss of her old self. So now, Nadia felt like she’d managed to put together the broken pieces into someone that really shined.

Of course, Nadia didn’t spend too much time indulging her vanity with self-admiration. How could she , when there was so much going on? Spirits were like purses, after all; you could never know what you’d find inside until you cracked them open. For about a minute, the feral just leaned against some innocuous-looking machines, stroked Chucho’s spectral fur, and watched the others make use of their hard-earned rewards. As people sorted through their spirits, figuring out what they wanted to use and how, a collection of unwanted spirits gradually took shape on one of the empty operating tables. While she felt satisfied with her looks and abilities for now and didn’t want to risk any more changes, the cat burglar couldn’t help but be curious when it came to loot. She actually had some spirits she didn’t want all that much, either. Pushing off her resting place, Nadia headed over to the makeshift spirit depository, where she carefully laid down the capsules containing her Tsukuyomi, Kromer, Raine, and Arunka spirits. Out of the four, she parted most reluctantly with that last once, since the warrior within appeared to be a fellow catgirl. Still, she didn’t want to pigeonhole herself too much. As long as the feral kept her ears and a tale, she didn’t want to get too catty.

Having made her donation, Nadia then perused the other rejects. With men, women, and creatures of all kinds among their numbers, these spirits really ran the gamut, but nothing caught her eye until she spotted an orb depicting an [url=https://i.imgur.com/qP4AJhX.png]adorable Border Collie[/url]. “Oh no,” she gasped, instantly crestfallen. “Aww, poor thing! What heartless bastard did this to you…?” Without even asking Roland’s permission, she picked the capsule up and held it to her face. “I mean, I know these all belong to dead people, but seeing a dog like this feels so much worse somehow.” Nadia seemed genuinely heartbroken, and when Chucho sensed her sadness, he rubbed up against her cheek with a hollow whine. After petting him for a moment, though, his owner seemed to get an idea. “Wait…” She stepped back and stared at her Polterpup, who gave her a confused look, then at the spirit in her hand. A smile spread across her face. “We can give him a new col-lease on life! Every dog gets his day, right?” She carefully wrapped her arm around Chucho, then pressed the spirit to his chest.

[center][hider=For Polterpup]Spirit consumed:
[url=https://i.imgur.com/qP4AJhX.png][b]Pickles[/b][/url]
The host’s breed has changed, making him look much more like a border collie, albeit a bulbous, cartoonish version of the dog. This includes darker patches of ‘fur’ and fuzzy, floppy ears. The host is also more intelligent. This spirit confers the ability [b]Those Spoke Pickles[/b], allowing him to call down a psychic starfall from the sky over a target, dealing psi/mental damage and buffing Nadia’s damage by 30% for 20 seconds. This spirit also confers the Weakness [b]Mineral Afflatus[/b], making the host weak to enemies of the Star afflatus (anything associated with space or fate)[/hider][/center]

Once the light of the solitary fusion died down, Nadia regarded her spectral pet with a look of utter delight. “You’re so cuuuuuuute!” she cooed, grabbing Chucho in a big hug to rock him back and forth. “You’re the best boy! The very best boy! Truly a diamond in the ‘ruff’!”

Glancing over, Goldlewis smiled at the two, then returned to his business. While fusion seemed to be first and foremost in everyone’s mind right now, and the veteran did have a good candidate in the form of Pritzker, his attention right now lay on one other facet of spirit usage: spiritbinding. Despite his pragmatic tendency to employ everything at his disposal to secure victory, he’d completely neglected to use strikers at all. While using strikers did incur some risk, he knew that the fault mostly lay in an old man’s tendency to shy away from new things–it had been something of a miracle that he tried fusion at all, in fact. Now that he could rely on stalwart teammates, though, it was about time he seized a little extra power, as long as he didn’t go over the two-striker limit that Deadman warned of.

Goldlewis considered using Emperor and Bongkoos, but given the spirit stockpile he felt like he could do better. Initially he kept an eye out for ones that looked like soldiers, since he figured that he’d be able to command them most effectively, but after noticing a couple spirits in particular an idea popped into his head that amused him enough to act on. “These two…they’re the same doggone guy. If I grab ‘em, I’ll basically be a mobile ol’ folks home. Heheheh…” With this in mind, the veteran quickly negotiated with Pit and Zenkichi, who were both agreeable enough to give him what he wanted without stipulations. “Don’t sweat it,” he told Geralt, offering her a smile. Once Goldlewis had the two spirits in hand, he stepped aside to recruit them to his cause.

[center][hider=For Goldlewis]New striker spiritbound:
[url=https://i.imgur.com/knnZp48.png][b]Marduk[/b][/url]
A grizzled but gregarious veteran who offers heavy firepower on a medium cooldown. He can wield his cannon, the Rage Serpent, to fire concussive volleys that deal pure physical attack in 2-round bursts. He can also call in a drone to bombard a wide area, detonating 12 weaker blasts in an area. Using the Rage Serpent or his drones builds Firepower, 1 per gunshot and 40 per drone call. Reaching 100 Firepower allows him to use Hissing in Rage on his next call-in, a withering barrage that deals heavy physical damage

New striker spiritbound:
[url=https://i.imgur.com/p0RoeeW.png][b]Kamael[/b][/url]
A harvest god turned business tycoon who utilizes aggressive tactics for the good of all. He can attack with his sickle, most effective with hooking a launched enemy back down to continue an otherwise finished combo. He can also use Circle of Life to fire off an orb of rippling energy, which rends life energy from targets hit to lower their ranged defense by 20% for 3 seconds while healing nearby allies. Finally, he can appear and, instead of performing an attack, use Nature’s Blessing to boost the damage and recovery of his next Circle of Life by 25%[/hider][/center]

The spirits vanished once bound, leaving Goldlewis to speculate on what exactly they could do. Hopefully they could really use the weapons he glimpsed in their images, but he would need to visit the training center that Geralt, Midna, and Roxas used in order to make sure. With any luck that could come later though, and there wouldn’t be any more action today, because Goldlewis was beat. Looking back on it, he could barely believe that the final confrontation in Midgar had all gone down just this morning. While he’d managed to get through the rest of the day well enough, there was nothing left in his tank if more conflict arose before the day was done.

Goldlewis turned his attention to the others, who by now had more or less made their choices and started to roll the dice. After some literal spirit binding of his own, Roxas pulled off a conservative single fusion with a very suitable spirit, changing little. Nadia wasn’t the only one who tried out spirit fusion on a minion, as Junior did the same with his Pokemon, Midna with her wolfos, and even Ganondorf with a fearsome spectral horseman. Between Phantom Ganon and all the big-bodies present, the Spirit Chamber was getting pretty cramped. When Ganondorf finished, his heavily-armored underling looked fearsome indeed, and the warlord himself sported a menacingly cohesive look. Of course, Chucho had them all beat in the cuteness department. Even the newcomer Falcon, here courtesy of Pit’s quick thinking and action, gave spiritbinding and fusion a try.

While Ganondorf impressed Nadia, she’d been aware of his dark grandeur from beginning, so it was Midna’s transformation that amazed her most. When they met back up in Carnival Town, the imp had been something of a mess, but thanks to the resonator she’d managed to reinvent herself as a majestic draconic warrior. “Wow, you look badass!” Nadia remarked, grinning. “Like some crazy warrior princess.” Having not been on the same team at all so far, the feral didn’t know how right she was.

Even more incredible was her ability to wield the Dead End Express, a weapon so massive that even Goldlewis held up his hands in surrender. “Knock yourselves out, I ain’t about to bust my back liftin’ that thing.”

Nadia smirked at him. “I bet you could…with enough ‘training’!”

Various other changes took place. Sectonia hogged the machines for a while, but between her, Blazermate, and Roland, Nadia only remarked on the latter. “Oof, you don’t look too happy. Feeling…blue?” She didn’t know Pit at all, but his new look suited him, and even after another change Primrose was as lovely as ever. The same couldn’t be said for Therion, who made himself into a comedic mishmash that had Nadia trying -and failing- to suppress her laughter until his friend’s foresight came to the rescue. 

Geralt went after that, correcting an unwanted side effect of his fusion with Ishmael that morning. While the fusion process suppressed dysphoria somewhat, there were some changes that just didn’t belong. Nadia was glad to see him more or less back to his former self, and especially glad to receive the long-coveted Harbor Demon spirit from him. “Hell yeah!” she cheered. “I might not be a pirate, but I can’t say no to a great chest!” Giggling at her joke, she went ahead and spiritbound a second miniboss from the Deep Blue Seaside.

The sound of Juri’s voice got her attention next. When she looked over, Nadia spotted a slightly different version of her rival. [i]Zero hesitation, huh?[/i] “You learn fast,” she said, referring to both spirit usage and the Seekers’ overall plan. “Yeah, that’s purr-etty much it. Welcome to the winning team, bestie! Feel free to thank me for saving you any time, by the way~”

As the spirit action wound down, thanks to a violent outburst within the Koopa Troop, Sandalphon showed up again, her timing as impeccable as ever. “Hello again. What was that noise?” She gave a nod to Deadman, who returned the polite gesture, then resumed tapping at his pad. Evidently the coroner had been noting down all the changes that happened that he could, as fast as humanly possible. After a quick look around the Seeker-filled room to internalize all the alterations, as well as who’d already left, Sandalphon cleared her throat. “Ahem. I’ve gone over our roster with the quartermaster. As large as this vessel is, its interior is by no means unlimited, and all space is at a premium. Unfortunately, in order to accommodate everyone, it will be necessary to share lodgings at a minimum of two per room. It would be prudent to determine cohabitation prior to bedtime tonight.”

“Tonight?” Goldlewis chuckled. “I reckon I’ll be lucky if I last ‘til dinner. After all the excitement today, I’m plumb tuckered out.”

Nadia let out a heavy breath, her eyes closed and ears drooping. “....Yeaaaah. Those games were fun and all, but I’m wiped. Still gonna explore this place, though! It’s so big I keep forgetting we’re actually flying through the sky. The whole thing's just crazy. I mean, Dawn said there's a bar somewhere, right? Hell, I bet it’s even got a pool!”

“I don’t believe so, although it does have showers, if you’re looking for refreshment. It and all the Avenger’s facilities are open to everyone,” Sandalphon continued. “I recommend that we continue to familiarize ourselves with it and reconvene in the Bridge in thirty minutes. I’ll set a timer, starting now, and notify everyone in my network once it’s time.”

Nadia stretched herself. “‘Kay. Guess I’ll go find a room then.”

As the Seekers began to leave and spread out throughout the ship, Sandalphon entered the spirit chamber. With very little ceremony, she produced the three spirits she’d already decided upon and used them, turning two into strikers before inserting the third into her heart.

[center][hider=For Sandalphon]New striker spiritbound:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/h2UFVIJ.png]Hammering[/url][/b]
A plucky Nikke with a big heart and a bigger hammer. Unfortunately, she can’t do much aside from hit things with her hammer, but she does so with enough force to crack rock. Her cooldown is short, only 10s per hammer technique

New striker spiritbound:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/pWi1Taw.png]Annabella[/url][/b]
An urban legend armed with a rifle that’s basically a railgun, accelerating superheated payloads to dangerous speeds. She can appear to fire three rounds at a time while standing or in the air, weaker than sniper shots but dealing fire-aspected damage. By taking aim, she can also charge up a stronger shot over a couple seconds, though she’s vulnerable during this time. 20s cooldown. Finally, she can lob a canister that explodes when shot

Spirit consumed:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/CptJtGO.png]Azure[/url][/b]
Sandalphon has shrunk to 6’0”, her skin back to its original paleness. Her untied hair is now mostly white again, with a few streaks of pale orange and blue, and is shoulder-length in bladelike swoops. She also received a white cowboy hat. Her black irises are now dark blue, like the deep sea, and the symbols within are red. Her collared shirt is now light blue, long enough to be tucked beneath her belt, and split into two parts: an upper section that includes the sleeves, collar and back, and then the lower section that’s essentially a button-up tube top. She’s more busty, and her black tie lies atop her cleavage. Her longcoat is of a more western style, complete with fringe, and she’s now wearing white high-heeled boots up to just below her knees, over tight gray pants. There are still plenty of black belts and straps across her outfit, but her suspenders are gone. Her personality is a bit less robotic and more casual. This spirit confers the ability [b]Cerulean Mirage[/b], allowing her to create a holographic double anywhere within her line of sight and walkable distance, once every 10s. If she shoots this Mirage, it will detonate to deal double the shot’s damage in a diamond-shaped area, which is even bigger if the Mirage is on something blue. The host can also dispel the Mirage to turn a square foot of the ground beneath it blue. This spirit also confers the Weakness [b]The Blues[/b], which locks her trigger if she’s not on something blue[/hider][/center]

When the light died down, Sandalphon took a deep breath in and out through her nose. She removed the white cowboy hat from her head and set it down on a table, then ran a hand through her hair. Compared to her first couple of fusions, these changes felt more significant, but she liked them. The fact that she ‘liked’ anything other than coffee and honey came as something of a shock, as well as the fact that she could be shocked so easily, but the archangel reasoned that the more human she was, the better she could understand and help them. Of course, there was no telling if her former comrades would recognize her if they met again. She could easily picture Uriel and Raphael joking in their own ways about her height, but she couldn’t imagine what Regina would say if she saw her like this. Hopefully, someday soon, she’d find out.

Sandalphon turned, bid farewell to Deadman, and left him to his studies. As much as she’d changed, the dirt and fatigue of a long day remained. A visit to the showers before the big meeting would work wonders, giving her a much-needed chance to steel herself before delivering the very bad news.