[center][h3]Return of None III[/h3]
Lvl 14 Ms Fortune (129/140), Midna, Edelgard, Lvl 4 [color=1f66b2]Captain Falcon[/color]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2360 (+3)[/center]

Captain Falcon’s barrage of attacks against the Sepulchers earlier had pushed him over the edge of building up a single stock of his Power Gauge. And now that the memory zone meme was dropped again, it was time to capitalize. [color=1f66b2]”Falcon…”[/color] He said as he began winding up his fist. [color=1f66b2]”PUUUUNCH!”[/color] His voice rang with the impact of his explosive fist against Something Unto Death. Then he jumped back a step and spent his Power Gauge stock, chi building in his arms before thrusting his palms forward. [color=1f66b2]”And one more with FEELING! Haoh Shoukou KEN!”[/color] And with that the explosive ball of flame lurched forward from his hands at the downed meme.

Stalking forward menacingly, Edelgard hefted Absolution with a dark look on her face. Not bothering with fireballs or Nosferatu, she returned to close quarters with her memetic tormentor and began carving away at its flesh with the burning axe, her fury only serving to strengthen each blow she hammered on the foe. 

With her target downed, Nadia didn’t need any high-flying stunts or fancy footwork this time. Instead she collected her arms, then charged in alongside Emily to join Edelgard’s beatdown. When their slashes raked across the specter’s salamander skin, they realized that no invisible force welled up to push them back. “Finally! Shreddy or not, here I come!” Nadia cancelled straight into Cat Scratch Fever, her repeated slashes accelerated to a dizzying pace. “Fur-serker purr-age!” Still wounded, but resolved to finish the fight, Emily poured her energy into a splendid Crimson Moon to follow up.

Minda summoned her wolves while she raised up her shadow hand, projecting a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda_gamepedia_en/images/d/df/Dark_Energy2.jpg]dark energy zone[/url] across the fallen foe, orange lighting wrapping around it like a cage. Once it had engulfed the meme entirely, she snapped the fingers of the shadow hand, and unleashed the beasts with a command of [color=Aquamarine]”sic em”[/color], the field guiding them to pounce and maul each and every eye upon the meme in quick succession at a truly ferocious speed. Her twilight blitz turned out to be the clincher as the cracked eyes burst open like stained glass, and with a hollow cry Something Unto Death fell apart, motes of violet energy wafting upward as ashes poured to the ground.

A moment after the fight’s climactic finale, the victors were once again presented with a selection of random rewards.

[hider=For Midna][b]Moon Water[/b] - using your hex restores 15% health, up to 3 times per rest
[b]Starward Demonhunt[/b] - after landing an attack, reduce the damage of the next hit against you by 12%, stacking up to 2 times
[b]Shock Wire[/b] - electrify the Astral Chain, making it somewhat visible to others but shocking everyone it touches. If used to bind a target, the target is electrocuted while bound[/hider]
[hider=For Captain Falcon][b]Stamp Rush[/b]  - every ten seconds, your next dash/sprint will cause a fiery ground blast when it ends
[b]Vesicle[/b] - when expending the Power Gauge, restore 10% health
[b]Revenge Explosion[/b] - gain 20% explosive resist, and trigger a small blast any time damage is taken[/hider]
[hider=For Edelgard][b]Curse of Vengeance[/b]  - when taking damage, inflict Doom on all nearby foes, causing a crimson blade to drop on them after a delay
[b]No Mercy[/b]  - attacking a non-boss enemy under 15% health will execute it
[b]Inferno Cannon[/b]  - starting to sprint will burst you forward with a scorching lunge. Hitting an enemy or solid surface during this burst will create a fiery blast with high knockback[/hider]
[hider=For Ms Fortune][b]Blood Line[/b] - your blockbusters fire off damaging rifts both in front of and behind you, but take 15% extra tension
[b]Clockwork Apple[/b] - after launching a follow-up attack, your speed is boosted by 16% for 10 seconds. Repeated attacks refresh the duration
[b]Open Wounds[/b]  - each melee attack inflict Bleed for 1.5 seconds[/hider]

At first blush, Nadia wasn’t all that impressed. Blood Line would make her blockbusters harder to do and throw off her internal timing, while Open Wounds sounded like a trap. What if she wanted to tussle with someone non-lethally? Initially she didn’t think much of a paltry sixteen percent speed boost either, but when she thought about it more, the feral became more receptive. It would accelerate her combos, and her mix-ups right after a combo, making it easier to rush opponents down and reset them. With no other good choice, she chose Clockwork Apple with a tap of her finger, a little hesitant since she’d accidentally skipped this part last time. This time, though, something appeared in the darkness before her, for just a split second. It looked to her like a collection of random objects, including playing cards, coins, toys, and masks beneath multicolored spotlights, but a chill ran down her spine as her eyes refocused on the dark, barely-visible figure behind them. Then the vision was gone, and the sounds of tittering laughter faded away.

[color=1f66b2]”Ah, right.”[/color] Captain Falcon said when time stopped and three cards floated, [color=1f66b2]”We’re doing this again, I see.”[/color] All three of these sounded pretty nifty in their own ways. But Stamp Rush and Revenge Explosion also sounded like they could be rather inconvenient at times, too. That left Vesicle as the real pragmatic choice. The problem? The entity depicted by the card looked, well, totally evil. A big black space insect sounded like a recipe for disaster. [color=1f66b2]”Well, here’s hoping I don’t regret this later.”[/color] Cap said as he touched a gloved finger to the card. What he heard next almost immediately made him start having doubts. A loud buzzing, like countless insects all beating their wings in unison. At least the previous card he picked actually gave him understandable words. There was no telling what these insects were trying to tell him, if anything at all.

Midna blinked once in the void, and then commented [color=Aquamarine]”Gods really don’t like this place do they? Can’t blame then one bit its like every nightmare’s been crammed into it”[/color] as she took in her options. The weaponization of the astral chain seemed useful but, [color=Aquamarine]”I just know I’ll trip someone up with that at some point”[/color], while 15% healing and only in situations that weren't vs a single great enemy seemed quite limited. Up to 24% damage mitigation however, now that was worth taking.

She was no monotheist either, so getting in touch with a second divine was not something she had any issue with. As it turned out however, this one was much more distant. Literally even, as she touched the boon, and bore witness not even to the god of the hunt, but merely one of its arrows. It was like a comet flashing across the heavens at unfathomable speed and with awe inspiring might compressed behind it, and it brought the princess to her knees before it.

Edelgard looked the cards over carefully. While adding more fire to her repertoire sounded good, the ability to punish any foe that harmed her without lifting a finger was promising. Touching the first of the three cards, Edelgard flinched as the god of war himself appeared before her, though his smile was calm. “You've got quite the fighting spirit in you there, I have to say. Most intriguing, and yet no surprise for someone who slayed the nearest thing she had to a god. I’m sure you’ll make good use of this.” Ugh. How [i]patronizing.[/i] Edelgard thought.

When time resumed, Nadia’s fatigue caught up to her all at once, and she let out a heavy sigh. “Aaagh, what a pain in the ass.” She leaned over for a moment, hands on her knees, then wiped sweat from her brow. “My specialty is fightin’ people, not giant monsters I can’t pressure right. And that fur-reak wouldn’t even let me combo it!” Given the bizarre nature of Something Unto Death, she was at a loss for puns at the moment. When she looked around for material, she instead found Emily, her makeshift bandages stained with vital fluid. Instantly a sharp pang of guilt struck her, and she rushed over. “Oh, crap, Emily! You okay? You bloody well better be!” She began to rummage through her pouches for her Ripened Heart, hoping it would help the soldier regenerate like it did her.

“I’ll manage,” the young woman told her, her face a brave attempt to mask her pain. Her sword lay on the ground, smoking. Falcon, however, didn't look entirely convinced.

[color=1f66b2]”Can you walk?”[/color] The Captain asked, extending a gloved hand and offering to help her stand and walk if she needed it. He even reached for her sword and offered that back to her as well. She nodded, then grimaced as she tried to demonstrate.

The unmistakable pop and hiss of a can being opened reached Nadia’s ears. She looked over at to see that Gallagher character from before behind the bar, with five glasses arranged in front of him, each with ice cubes immersed in two layers of red and green liquid. “How about this?” As Nadia watched, the poured out the can into the glasses one at a time, creating a fizzy yellow layer on top. When he put the can down, Nadia read ‘Lemon SoulGlad’. “Five orders of ‘Death Before Noon’,” Gallagher declared, presenting the Seekers with his drinks.

Nadia glanced over at Emily, then approached the bar. After leaning on it with her elbow, she scraped her claw across the wood. “You already left us with that monster. Maybe even sicced it on us. These things gonna kill us, too?”

“The opposite, actually.” Gallagher did not look particularly bothered or threatened, just tired. “But hey, suit yourself.”

[color=1f66b2]”Hmm, well, I’m not normally one for alcoholic beverages.”[/color] Falcon commented. [color=1f66b2]”But after everything we’ve been through today? Maybe it’s time to make an exception.”[/color]

[color=Aquamarine]”Sure, I’ll take you up on that”[/color] Midna agreed, but not before sending her wolfos off to [color=Aquamarine]”Fetch”[/color] her assorted dropped weapons, prompting it to scamper off, grip a weapon by the lilt it it’s maw, before dropping down into a portal to bring it back to the twilight realm.

As the beast did its work, she pulled off her helmet, carefully set it on the bar, and picked up the glass to inspect its contents. She’d never had light-worlder alcohol before, Telma wouldn’t exactly have served her in imp form even if she’d introduced herself and asked, so she took a tentative sip of the stuff, doing her best to disguise her trepidation beneath regal refinement.

[color=Aquamarine]”Sort of… spicy-minty? Not bad”[/color] she said after a moment of reflection.

Edelgard also partook of the beverage, swishing it around in her mouth like the Emperor she was. Despite her attitude towards much of the nobility of her world, she still tasted booze like a true snob. [color=crimson]”A combination of soothing cool, spice, and…hmm…what seems to be citrus? Enjoyable.”[/color] She commented as she sipped the drink slowly.

For all her initial distrust, Nadia would be lying if she said that a stiff drink didn’t sound good right about now. Though her attitude remained relatively sunny amidst all the bad weather, it had been an intense morning so far, even if her visit to Carcass Isle still took the cake. Emily made her way over, eager to partake of the cocktail’s implied healing properties, so the feral followed suit. She took a long sip, intrigued by the mixture of minty refreshment, powerful cinnamon, and bubbly sweet lemon. “Whew! Got a little kick to it.” The carbonation made her eyes water as she went back for another mouthful. She felt pretty great, and a glance at Emily confirmed that her wounds had all but disappeared. Nadia raised her brows at Gallagher, and gave him a begrudging nod. “Looks like she’s in mint condition, eh? Not bad.”

[color=1f66b2]”That’s a spicy whiskey, alright.”[/color] Captain Falcon said after having a sip of his own. [color=1f66b2]”But I’ve always been a man who can appreciate spice. So it gets my approval.”[/color]

“Glad you like it.” Was it Nadia’s imagination, or was the mysterious barman suppressing a smile? “Now, you folks better get a move on before that thing shows up again. Or something worse. It’s not safe here.”

Emily furrowed her brow. “It isn’t? There isn’t any sign of infestation.”

After a moment, Nadia shook her head. “That monster’s gone, but that dreamy, surreal feeling’s still here. We shouldn’t get comfortable.” She crossed her arms as she looked at Gallagher. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I’ll find my own way out,” he told her. “Don’t worry, this old dog’s still got a few tricks up his sleeve, heh.” He looked over his shoulder toward the left of the bar. As if on cue, a door creaked open. On the other side was Qliphoth matter, with a bloodstream vein nestled among the reddish meat. “We grown-ups all have jobs to do. Off you go, make the best of it.”

[color=Aquamarine]”No rest for heroes hmmm”[/color] Midna mused after she finished working her way through the cocktail, before lightly setting the glass down and drawing her nightsky ripper inorder to cut her way into the vein.

[color=1f66b2]”Ha, if only.”[/color] quipped the Captain as he finished the last of his own drink and set the glass down. [color=1f66b2]”But not in my experience, I’m afraid.”[/color] He added as he followed the Twilight Princess into the vein she’d cut open. Nadia took Emily’s hand once more, then followed.

Finishing her drink, Edelgard sighed. [color=crimson]”Just another day in this endless war.”[/color] Not far behind Nadia and Emily, she entered the vein and was brought upward.