Lugubrious

World of Light

Forgive me. I won't bother you with such reminders again.

World of Light

Be that as it may, that's his business. If you've got free time, we're almost at two weeks without a post from Papyrus.

World of Light

Princess Peach

Location: Smash City Alcamoth

While the exhausted princess wanted nothing more than to follow Nadia, Ace, and the others back through Junior’s painting to Limsa, where she could collapse at long last among the sheets and pillows that a triumphant hero so richly deserved, she couldn’t clock out just yet. It had been a very big day, especially the unconscious Hat Kid she cradled in her arms, but not just for the crew that set out yesterday morning across the sparkling sea. For all she’d been through on Blackwater Bay, beneath the Bottomless Sea, and within the bowels of curse-rotted Carcass Isle, she acutely remembered every face that set out alongside her just a couple fateful days ago. When she closed her eyes she could see them, locked in combat against the grisly Thing from the Stars or the darkly magnificent Enderdragon, but it was here in Alcamoth where she physically saw them last, when the team split into Yellow and Blue. Fox, Midna, Primrose, Tora and Poppi, the enigmatic man known only as Courier 6, the precocious Phantom Thieves…where had they gone, and how had they fared in that inhospitable desert known as the Sandswept Sky? She needed to make sure Bowser and Mirage were okay before she could relax herself, but right now she couldn’t turn down a chance to ask for any updates on the others, either.

Peach took a long, deep breath in, then exhaled, and set off across the great atrium of Alcamoth. She moved at more of an amble than a march, and she made sure to disturb Hatty as little as possible, but she moved with purpose nonetheless. Even in the dead of night the countless lamps arrayed throughout the atrium garden filled it with a soft, blue-green glow, so she had no trouble finding her way toward the place’s back half. For a moment she took a brief detour by the receptionist’s counter, but not even the hard-working Isabelle was up at this late hour. With a sigh Peach hoped that her excursion wouldn’t be for naught, and pressed on.

With the floating citadel’s adjunct domes serving as the complex’s fighting arenas, it fell to the main structure to serve the residential, commercial, and utilitarian needs of the populace, and still Peach found herself marveling at the grandeur of it all. Countless stories of shops, businesses, apartments, and more extended upward to such dizzying heights that she needed to crane her neck to see the highest one, arranged like immense shelves. It made Coconut Mall look like a shoebox. Still, the princess paused for only a moment, since she knew that her destination lay at the bottom. She made a beeline for the Garfont Center, where the Alcamoth Mercenaries -and by extension, the entire campaign against Galeem- were based. The watchman on duty, one of the Miis, offered her a bow. “Can you please get this poor girl to the infirmary?” Peach asked, and with a nod the Mii accepted her precious cargo. He then ran off, leaving the princess to admit herself to Mercenary HQ.

Stepping inside the place, she almost didn’t recognize it. In the time since she’d been here last, the place had turned from a slapdash alcove outpost into an entire pseudo-military headquarters, complete with its own wood-and-iron style tailor-made to differentiate it from the futuristic temple aesthetic of Smash City proper. It featured a wide-open central command chamber dominated by an enormous round table, where a holographic screen that took up most of its area displayed a map of the World of Light. It seemed to be based off the map recovered from her castle on the day everyone first arrived, with much of it vaguely covered by the fog of war. At least the Eryth Sea, the surrounding mountains, and much of both the Land of Adventure and the lower third of the Sandswept Sky seemed to be filled in, with places of interest marked. There were even a few bright lights in small clusters here and there that Peach realized must be mercenary teams out in the wild. Looking around the command center, she found four arched doorways that elsewhere in the building, those being labeled Dispatch, Mog Station, Armory, and Barracks. There were two strange terminals marked as Vehicle Bay and R&D, which she could only assume were transporters of some kind. On the far wall lay another screen, this one marked ‘Spirit Board’, and as she approached it lit up. Hundreds of people, creatures, monsters, and more suddenly appeared across its breadth, neatly organized and available for selection. It was by no means complete -she saw no mention of ‘Abyssal’ under A, for instance- but the scale of the compendium was already staggering.

“Magnificent, eh?” a deep voice remarked from behind her in an Australian accent. When Peach turned she found Commander Vandham leaning on the table, fully dressed and styled, every bit as enormous and imposing as she remembered. “Weren’t much for a while, but once we got our ‘eads togetha an’ put ‘er to rights, she’s a beaut an’ no mistake.” He ran his fingers along his jaw as he looked Peach up and down. “Speakin’ of, you’re lookin’ spiffy, but not quite as I remembers ya.”

Peach managed a weary smile. “Hello, Vandham. No need to try and make me feel better, I know I must look like death itself. But yes, I ended up fusing with a girl named Chao Ho. There was…a battle on the sea. It’s a rather long story, and not a pleasant one.”

“Sounds intense,” the giant murmured, pulling out a chair at the round table for the Princess that she gratefully accepted. He then seated himself, causing the chair to creak. In the light of the map screen his hairdo seemed even more dazzling than usual. “Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do to survive. No matter ‘ow big an organization gets, if the right person kicks the bucket, that’s all she wrote. I’m glad ya made it back, Princess.” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his burly arms. “I take it things went well?”

Peach nodded, exhaling. “It was close. Very close, and not just the end. We had a few losses, I’m sorry to say. But to make a long story short, we’re one step closer to flushing out Galeem.”

“Holey dooley, anotha one already?” With the news of casualties in mind, Vandham measured his response. “I don’t mean to downplay the losses you mentioned, but that’s ‘uge news. Three outta thirteen, that’s nothin’ to scoff at. Proof ya got what it takes to go the distance, even if it ‘urts. Sometimes victory demands sacrifice, but if it means savin’ the worlds, the prize is worth the price.”

“I hope so.” With a sigh, Peach looked down again at the map, taking in the scattered lights. “How are things here? I know it’s late, but I needed to see if everything’s okay.”

Vandham leaned on the table, thinking. “Well…it’s a mixed bag. On one ‘and, we’ve really started putin’ a foot’old in the area. Workin’ on solvin’ problems like transport an’ supplies. Got a few missions done, an’ our scouts ‘ave some juicy details on other areas, includin’ what became of that bloody Dead Zone. Trouble is, a couple didn’t turn out well…”

Peach bristled. “Like what?”

“I’ll get straight to the point,” the big man said, turning to place his elbows on the table. After tenting his fingers he kept his eyes on the map. “Don’t suppose you ‘eard about this bludger Eggman, sendin’ a bunch o’ tin cans to attack your castle?” Looking alarmed, Peach shook her head, so Vandham continued. “Well, don’t fret, ‘cause our guys beat ‘im off. Trouble is, they went after ‘im, followin’ ‘im all the way back to his base. They stormed the place, but once inside things went south. Team got separated. Dedede, Ness, and Wario made it out, but those crazy blokes, that li’l fella Pikachu, and Mario got stuck inside. Ain’t ‘eard from ‘em since.”

A sharp intake of breath from Peach told Vandham that he’d been right to be reluctant. After a moment, however, the princess got herself under control. “Well. That’s bad, but it’s Mario we’re talking about. If anyone can get the job done in this whole world, it’s him. I trust him with my life.”

Vandham nodded. “Right you are. When I asked ‘round, I was gobsmacked by what everyone ‘ad to sa about ‘im. ‘E’s like a bloody celebrity. I’m sure once ‘e an’ the othas are done givin’ those machines a good thrashin’, ‘e an’ the rest’ll be ‘ome in time for dinner.” He leaned back again as the tone lightened. “I do ‘ave some news ya might wanna ‘ear.”

“What might that be?”

“Well, earlier today we got some visitors. They flew in on this giant ship, a real sight to behold. Turns out they’re a joint operation between two groups called Bridges and the Centennials, connectin’ places together and keepin’ the peace, ‘cept neither got enough manpower for the job. Wasn’t gonna make any big decisions ‘til you came along, but I’m was thinkin’ we stand to gain a lot from joinin’ forces. Ya ought to meet ‘em in the mornin’, once ya got some shuteye.”

Peach nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. On both accounts. Don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay conscious much longer. Need to rinse off and sleep.”

“I can tell!” Vandham laughed. “Well, you can use the Barracks. Save ya the trouble of goin’ anywhere else. Washroom’s in the back.”

Peach dragged herself to her feet. “You’re a lifesaver. I’ll go right away.” Without further ado she turned to shuffle off in the indicated direction. Only once through the doorway did the princess turn. “...Goodnight, Vandham. Don’t stay up too late yourself.”

“Bahaha!” the giant’s shoulders shook. “Just you try an’ stop me, li’l lady!” With a wave he stomped off, leaving Peach to put herself to rights and to bed by herself. Even after all that excitement, it was looking like a busy day tomorrow.

Infactorium: A New 4Xpansion (Overlord RP) [DISCONTINUED]

Actually, since Mae has the Witching Veil item already I was thinking I'd just have her bring that up.

World of Light

Tora, Poppi, and Big Band

Location: Sandswept Sky - Apex of the World
Level 9 Tora (145/90) Level 9 Poppi (145/90) Level 5 Big Band (85/50)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Fox’s @Dawnrider, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Raz’s @TruthHurts22, the Phantom Thieves, Braum, the Scout, Peacock, Mao, Robin, Tharja, Ciella
Word Count: 1270

Phalanx put up quite the struggle, curling and swerving through on the winds as it strove to rid itself of its unwelcome riders, but the Seekers stayed the course, and while some of their more terrestrial members tumbled off into the wild blue yonder, a few others managed to close the distance. In prime condition thanks to the full restore and with their flight abilities still bolstered by the afterglow that brought them up the mountain, they chased the sky leviathan down and grabbed hold. Tora and Poppi might have beaten Midna to the punch if not for the unlucky twist of a colossal fin in their direction, brushing them aside. But even that misfortune only delayed the inevitable. Their enemy’s panicked thrashing soon subsided, and as Phalanx evened out, the dynamic driver-blade duo closed in on the final sigil.

They swooped in for a landing while Midna and her wolves worked at the covering, ready to help pry it away from the weak spot should the Twilight Princess need another couple hands, but their friend managed just fine. A little dimensional sorcery brought a vicious-looking dagger to Midna’s hand as she prepared to strike the decisive blow, so Tora and Poppi stood by. While excited by the locale, the momentous occasion of a battle against Galeem’s chosen Guardian, and the high-flying daredevil action, neither were particularly tense or worried. All things considered, especially their previous boss battles, this seemed pretty uneventful so far. Of course, neither imagined that this moment would be the end of the fight, either. Fights against gigantic beasts in their own world made them very well acquainted with foes with utterly absurd levels of vitality. Surely more weakspots would reveal themselves, or additional enemies would appear to complicate things, or it would change forms, or…something. As nice as it would be to have a cake walk for once, nothing worth doing ever ended up being simple.

At the last moment, however, Midna paused. Tora looked on for a moment, confusion mounting, as she lowered the blade, but not into the runic flesh. She then let the fin fall, which clamped down over the sigil with such force and noise that Tora nearly jumped straight off Phalanx’ back. By that time, Big Band, Joker, and Skull were close enough to hear her announcement, which only gave rise to further bafflement among her allies. “...Middypon serious?” Tora asked after a moment, brows furrowed, but the shadow hand she placed on the fin to hold it down -in essence, keeping it safe from her fellow Seekers- told him she was. It took him another brief moment to overcome the ridiculousness of having a moral debate in the blistering wind atop a titanic monster’s back above the clouds, but Tora soon found his tongue.

“Meh meh!? Why!?” the Nopon called back to her. “If Midna not want kill animal, just fly off and squeeze eyes shut while Tora do it, meh!” He held up and activated the Variable Saber, its vibrant laser blade ready to burn deep into Phalanx’ flesh. “Tora do this all the time, like with Stoyan and Reginald. Death just natural part of life for all animals, especially big meany ones that probably deserve it! We not come all this way for nothing, Midna! Here, let Tora at it!” Despite his protests Midna remained adamant, which made the Nopon a little frustrated. “You go crazypon or something? We right on cusp of big-big victory! Here, Poppi!” He turned to his companion. “Use superstrength to get open again!”

The artificial blade hesitated, not because of the potential harm to the colossus, but because doing so meant directly opposing her ally’s will. “Poppi not know, Masterpon…”

“Mehhh! Please use superstrength?” Tora reiterated, serving the nicety alongside a helping of exasperation.

“That not it!” Poppi snapped, looking between her creator and the Twilight Princess. “Think about what Masterpon asking! Poppi not want go against Midna. Even if she seem crazy we should talk it over first.”

A moment later, one of Ciella’s mighty arrows of despair ripped into Phalanx’ flight bladder like a raging typhoon, piercing through the membrane and exploding on the inner wall of the opposite side. As yellow gas streamed from the rupture the colossus began to pitch downward, descending from on high now that it couldn’t keep itself up as well. From the rocky precipice where she’d taken aim at the creature from below, Ciella did not smile, but tightened her grip on her greatbow with renewed focus. Confident that she’d be able to bring the creature down this way even if bullseye shots eluded her, the Agito slowly pulled taught her bowstring once more, condensing a torrent of water for another spiral arrow.

Meanwhile, the others had fanned out across Jondo from the point at which they entered, searching for anything that might be of use for their communal efforts against Galeem’s champion. From their distance the ground team avoided experiencing even the token difference that Phalanx mounted against the fliers, which helped make its total lack of meaningful threat so impactful that Raz down below started having the same doubts that Midna soon would up above. After a cursory examination of the surrounding area, Robin couldn’t help but agree. “You may have a point. While I can offer no further hints at the moment, if this truly is our foe, one whose existence directly serves to protect Galeem…it does seem rather too easy, does it not?”

Tharja had her narrowed eyes on the statues, attempting to divine their purpose. “The chains…” she murmured. “The ringer. They’re not holding it up. They’re holding it in place.”

Jesse, however, was two steps ahead. She’d run through the situation in her mind from both a practical and meta perspective, and everything was coming up ‘destruction’. Simply put, if they didn’t do anything with the tools at their disposal, nothing was going to change. Her ideas concerning the functionality of the bell in the boss fight garnered some interest, but it took a couple choice words from Primrose to make those above Jondo begin to see Phalanx in a new light.

“A decoy, yes…and the bell…” Robin repeated with a slow nod. “That would make sense.” His eyes turned toward the craggy pass where the climbers came in, and the reinforcements appeared via portcrystal. “The challengers arise, beset by a grueling climb. Up soars the creature, enormous and impossible to miss, but easy pickings for a well-armed force. For those seeking a quick end to their ordeal, the day is soon won…” He walked over to join Tharja, who knelt at the edge of the bridge staring down into the darkness. “What was that the pilgrim said? It was built to ring across the land, but ‘now Jondo resoundeth in a deep triune moan’...”

Therion’s consultation turned up no definitive information, other than reinforcement of the bell’s importance. Coolheaded and reasonable, he seemed averse to the idea of sounding this mountain-entombed instrument, but his friend Primrose seemed resolute, and Robin agreed. With Jesse raring to go, the course of action seemed obvious. “Looks like we have a plan. Once all four statues are broken, the bell should be free to ring. Shall we divide and conquer?”

“Allow me!” Braum declared, as bombastic as ever. “Ever since that villainous hand appeared I’ve been itching to break something, and if it helps the team, all the better!”

Mao stepped forward, his hands in his pockets. “Finally, some action. Just busting a statue, is it?” His mechanical arms roared to life, ready for some industrial-scale disassembly. “No sweat.”

The Chalk Prince, the Fallen Child, the Skeleton, and the Skullgirl

Location: Frozen Highlands - Snowdin
Linkle’s @Gentlemanvaultboy, Frisk’s @Majoras End, Papyrus’ @Dark Cloud

With Treat feeling quite a bit better, more welcome, and even a little wiser, the general mood of those basking in the cozy little household’s crackling fireplace was suitably warm and bright. While the goodwill was flowing, Linkle took the opportunity to request medical assistance for herself as well, and her host quickly assented. “Right, yeah, comin’ right up.” She performed her dance once more, and in a matter of seconds Linkle found herself suffused by the healer’s ether magic as well. Its reconstructive power knitted together her wounds and breaks, and though the pain of injury did not reach the Skullgirl as it once did, any chance to be whole once more was a welcome one. “Though you can forget about that ‘miss’ guff,” the cat-eared girl added with a casual smile. “The name’s Nia.” She glanced over at her big, fluffy companion. “I’m guessin’ Dromarch already introduced himself?”

“But of course, my lady,” the tiger replied with a polite bow of his head.

“So, you’re lookin’ for an internet, hm?” After laying her ringblades on the coffee table, Nia crossed her arms. “Well, I’ve ‘eard of an etha net, but I ‘aven’t seen one, and it wouldn’t be of much use on anythin’ but Blades anyway. As for an ‘ospital…” For a moment Nia and Dromarch exchanged a glance. Then the healer’s brows shot up, and she looked back. “Surely ya don’ mean Mount Massive? That en’t just some ‘ospital, it’s a flippin’ insane asylum! And from what I’ve ‘eard, it en’t empty, eitha!” Full of genuine concern, she searched the group as if for confirmation that they were serious. “You lot sure ya can’t find an internet anywhere else?”

The news left Albedo less than pleased. “Well, that seems far from ideal,” he admitted. “It really is rather important that we find one, and we can handle ourselves in a fight should it come to it, but if this facility is unable to assist us in this regard perhaps we should seek an alternative.” He took a deep breath, his face contemplative. “Rather than try our luck with additional points of interest scattered around the Highlands, perhaps it is past time I struck out beyond my comfort zone.”

He turned to look at Linkle. “To the northwest lies Dragonspine, a mountain from my home. It is where I spent most of my time back then, and when I am not in Snowdin, it is where I spend most of my time now. On clear days, I can look out from its heights across the ocean, past the floating obelisk you mentioned before, and see a sprawling cityscape upon the water. A city of frozen canals and great arched bridges, and buildings shaped like pumpkins with icicles the size of trees hanging from their frosty witches’ hats. The size and distance of the place are somewhat…well, intimidating. Only once did I seek out a boatman, and though I did not enlist his services, I did learn the city’s name.” As he spoke, he produced his sketchbook, and after some flipping arrived at a two-page that he then turned on Linkle in all its glory.

“Edinburgh MagicaPolis.” If the Skullgirl wanted a closer look, he offered her the book for her to hold. “If what we seek is a product of what they call ‘advanced society’, surely we will find it there.”

Nia leaned herself against Dromarch, putting an arm around his neck and absently scratching his chest. “Well, good luck with all that, then! As for me, I’ll be stayin’ nice and warm at home, thanks!”

“Indeed,” Albedo offered a rare smile, even if the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “That said, that is but one possibility, and we cannot go anywhere until Treat’s well-being is assured”

“Oh! I’m fine!” the wolfgirl fretted, content to listen and not at all expecting that she’d be brought to the forefront of the conversation. “Please, don’t worry about me!”

The alchemist furrowed his brows. “Don't worry? After we found the house you’ve been squatting in has been haunted by a giant monster for who-knows-how-many months? Surely such a thing is only natural.”

“Well, you know..” Treat began.

“Listen for a moment, Treat,” Albedo cut in, his voice soft but stern. “You have been through a great deal, suffering in isolation and silence. But the way you are treating yourself is self-destructive. Almost prideful. All we want is to get you back on your feet, and to show you that you do not have to be alone. Seldom do I insist on anything, but if our efforts mean anything to you, please stop devaluing and effacing yourself, and accept the help of others, little though it is.”

“Exactly!” Nia just about exclaimed. “I mean, I don’t know for sure what you’ve been through, poor thing. That monster bit especially, that’s pretty freaky if true. But, take it from me, ya can’t run away forever. Sooner or later you’ll ‘ave to find where you belong, and there’s no shame if it takes someone else to teach that to ya. If it’s pride, swallow it. If it’s fear, face it. But whatever it is, it’s better than livin’ a lie–even if that lie is just ‘everythin’s fine’.” She gave Dromarch a final scratch and pulled away to put her hands on her hips. “So, whaddya need, if ya don’t mind me askin’?”

Treat looked terribly uncomfortable, but also touched. Though she felt a hair’s breadth from melting away, she took a deep breath of her own, and pushed through. “W-well, I guess I need somewhere new to stay.”

“How ‘bout ‘ere?” Nia ventured instantly. “I mean, it’s nothin’ too special. Pretty quiet, nothin’ ever happens. But it’s nice, and Dromarch ‘ere is the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”

The tiger bowed his head. “You give me too much credit, my lady.” After regaining his posture, he fixed his temperate, azure gaze on Treat. “I must concur. I would be honored to extend to you my hospitality. It would also behoove my lady to make a friend near her age, as well.”

“Can’t force ya or anythin’, but it’s a pretty good deal, eh?’ Nia grinned. “Why not stay the night at least, see ‘ow ya feel? Not like ya got anywhere else to go, right?”

Treat mulled it over, but the fact that she wasn’t brushing off the offer said a lot already. As abrupt as this arrangement stood to be, it was true she didn’t have a lot of options. Between her chill but cordial fellow beastgirl Nia and the prestigious Papyrus, she already had a preference forming.

World of Light

Make sure to have Papyrus suggest the as much then, as well as why.

World of Light

Rocket League Recon

starring Yuri’s @Gentlemanvaultboy, Pit’s @Yankee, and Banjo-Kazooie’s @Dawnrider
Word Count: 9934

As the four-man crew of would-be talent seekers maneuvered through the parking lot, chock-full as it was of nonstandard vehicles of all shapes and sizes, Yuri presented the idea she managed to draw up for how she and her team might accomplish her mission. Nero had to hand it to her; she’d already put a lot more thought in tackling their assignment than he had, and he was the one supposed to be in charge. While some might say that a leader’s primary responsibility lay in the art of tactful delegation, Nero had encountered so few instances of cooperation in his brief but storied career as a devil hunter that he knew precious little about teamwork, let alone leadership. In his mind, the old adage held true: lead by example. He couldn’t afford to pull his reluctant hero shtick, acting put-upon but always getting the job done in the end, when he had others to look out for. Of course, he also couldn’t afford to let pride get in the way of good ideas, and Nero planned to give respect where it was due.

“You’re a smart kid,” he told Yuri. “We’ll do it your way. Go case by case, try and figure out who we’re dealing with, maybe drop a couple hints about Alcamoth if we turn up any hero types.” Crossing his arms, he kept a stern face as he continued. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you to make sure you ask whoever you’re planning to photo. Just good manners.”

The spirit photographer made it pretty clear that she’d like accompaniment as she went about her business, and Nero agreed wholeheartedly, even if his only visual response was a stiff nod. In an unknown and potentially dangerous locale, it didn’t make sense to split up four ways, providing one counted Banjo and Kazooie as a unit. On the subject of units, Nero felt like skipping the volunteer process and cutting straight to the chase. “How about you keep her company, Pit?” he suggested to the young angel, figuring that their wildly different demeanors might be able to balance one another out. As he did he positioned himself closer to the bear and bird, making the delineation clear. Yuri turned and nodded at the energetic angel, who in turn nodded back at her.

"Sure! Nobody's a better guard than me," he said. Just had to ignore the times that Palutena had been kidnapped, or turned to stone, or... yeah, ignore all of that. With groups decided, Nero turned his attention toward the massive, glass-domed structure before him, ready to score some interviews.

Though the Rocket League Arena contained a vast majority of this place’s populace, there was no shortage of people in the parking lot, either. Visitors by their vehicles or trekking toward the building would be easier to isolate, but harder to keep still, while spectators already inside promised the opposite experience. In his brief search of the nearby parking lot, Nero identified a few possibilities. Leaning against an obnoxiously pink hovercraft of some sort was a churlish man of impressive stature, bored, and though he wore sunglasses he seemed to be on the lookout for something. An aisle over he spotted a lavender-furred cat about to leave in a snazzy single-seat convertible, and it was a moment before he noticed the dull-eyed salamander girl sitting in a dingy, military-style jeep, listlessly munching through a sandwich only partially unwrapped from its clingfilm. And of course, one couldn’t miss the huge robot taking up a bevy of parking spaces.

More than the others though, a newly-arrived, brick-red motorcycle caught Nero’s eye, not just for its remarkable size and unique design, but also for the even more interesting pair currently disembarking. The man, so broad-shouldered and built that he might as well be the picture for ‘macho’ in the dictionary, sported a red jacket and headband in croppy dark brown hair, as well as a chiseled face permanently solidified into a stonelike state of unamusement. In sharp contrast, the woman who cheerily leaped from the cycle’s sidecar seemed full of energy, with long rose-red hair and a white jumpsuit sort of thing that couldn’t hug her figure more if it was glued on. They made for an odd but fascinating couple.

Pit jumped up, a couple flaps of his wings bringing him just high enough to get a decent overhead view of the lot and it's occupants. A lot of colorful people for sure, and some that looked vaguely familiar. Actually some looked more than just 'vaguely' familiar, he thought, although his gaze was drawn from the garish pink machine to a much larger one.

"I think I know that guy," Pit said as he landed, gesturing generally toward one area of the parking lot. He turned to Yuri with a bright smile, ahead of a suggestion for heading in the opposite direction. "But first why don't we check out that giant robot?! I bet that thing has seen all kinds of stuff!"

Yuri stopped craning her neck to spot whoever the angel had and instead turned her attention to the lots biggests occupant. Her face fell as she stared at it in all it’s industrial menace. The world, it seemed, conspired to throw her into the deep end with every new challenge she faced today. Fine. After this one, everyone else would be a walk in the mountains. Nodding, she approved the robotic behemoth. They approached.

“Excuse me?” She shouted up to it, treating Pit to the rare spectacle of Yuri Kozukata raising her voice. It cracked halfway through the word “Excuse,” and Yuri coughed a couple of times to clear the frog from her throat before continuing. “We’re members of an organization trying to map this world and reconnect people with their loved ones. Would you mind answering some questions?” She held up her little notebook slightly as though it were a shield, but the robot gave no response. “It would only take a moment of your time.” She implored again, but the robot didn't even seem to know she was there.

She stood there in hopeful silence for a short time, then turned back to her companion. “Pit? Do you think maybe this is a…” She faltered, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “...a car?”

Her companion blinked at her, surprised she would even suggest that. There was no way it could be true, right? It had a torso. And sure, the Cherubot had arms and was just a... car, more or less, but this car in front of them had a head, so surely it wasn't just a car.

"Maybe it's just shy," he reasoned. Pit moved to the front of the tank-with-a-torso, waving his arms over his head. "Excuse me! Hey! It's okay, we're friendly!"

It didn't acknowledge the odd duo at all. "Hello!?" Pit all but shouted, but still it didn't move.

Pit huffed out a breath, his brows furrowed and his brain very unwilling to accept that this robot was just someone else's vehicle. After a moment he brought a fist down into the palm of his hand. Having apparently realized something, he turned to share his thoughts with Yuri.

"Oh, maybe it's shut down, or in rest mode! So it can't hear us. We'll just have to catch it when it wakes up later!"

“Uh, yes. Of course. It must be.” Yuri replied, looking back at the behemoth machine one last time. Giant robots were, after all, a boy's romance. Who was she to despoil such dreams? Besides, they might get to meet the pilot if they came back later.

Well interviewee one was a bust, so time to move on to the next one. Since the robot probably wouldn't mind Pit and Yuri continuing to chat in front of it, the angel shifted topic. "I'm pretty sure I saw one of the Assist fighters here," he told her, "We should go make sure it's him and tell him about Smash City, right? Maybe you met him too, before everything was Galeemified. His name was..." Pit trailed off, trying to recall how Captain Falcon had introduced the man. This was kind of embarrassing, it'd been three tournaments they'd been in together, but in his defense these get-togethers were brief and there was always a lot on his mind - just like there was now. So the only part that stuck out to him now was what had stuck out to him then. "Samurai!"

“Samurai?” Yuri considered. She hadn’t exactly been a social butterfly even in the fairly nice waiting area assistants used during a match, but she had spotted one beautiful young man that was the spitting image of the classic samurai warrior. “I think I know who you’re talking about.” She remembered especially because he had been accosted by some way too rambunctious middle aged man, who had whipped out a sword and challenged him to a duel right there in the waiting area before being unexpectedly whisked away to assist. “Yes, we should definitely send him to Smash City. Lead the way.”

After a quick glance around to make sure they were headed in the right direction, the two of them regretfully left the robot behind. They moved through the parking lot, weaving through the various impractical vehicles. The cars alone told quite the story, but most of their drivers were absent. As Pit led Yuri through the eclectic collection of cars they had the good fortune to pass someone who had apparently dipped out of the arena for a quick bite to eat in her car. Apparently human, if you discounted the long amphibian tail draped across the passenger seat. “Ah!” Yuri made a short sound as they walked past to get Pits attention before indicating back at the lizard girl. “Did the assistant look like they were about to leave?” She asked. “Because this one is right here, we may as well.”

"Not really?" the angel answered, though it had only been a glimpse. He followed Yuri's gaze to the woman and nodded. "The more people the better! Let's go."

They quickly backtracked until they were standing before the stranger. She was radiating an unfriendly energy, not that that would deter the angel. "Hello!" He started with a wave of his hand and then mimicked Yuri's earlier introduction, punctuating dynamically. "We are part of an amazing organization that's mapping the world and bringing people together! So we've got some questions for you!"

Asbestos narrowed her eyes and muttered "give me a break," under her breath as Pit gestured to Yuri for her cue.

Yuri stepped forward, already kind of regretting this just from the vibe the girl was giving off. Still, she couldn't falter after an introduction like that. “If you wouldn't mind. My name is Yuri, this is Pit.” She pointed to the angel with her notebook before opening it up and preparing to write. “Do you remember where you were when you first awoke in this world?”

“Tsk.” In no hurry at all, Asbestos finished chewing her mouthful of sandwich. It took her a few moments to work through it and swallow, after which she took a deep breath in while opening her mouth to respond. Then she just took another bite, leaving her guests hanging in awkward silence. As Yuri and Pit looked on she held up a finger as if to ask them to wait another few seconds, but when she finished she simply popped the last morsel of her meal in and polished it off, too.

Then she passed her hand through her bangs, and as it crossed her face it left behind a startlingly surly scowl. The adjustment revealed a vivid fuschia left eye with black sclera alongside her lime green right, detectable even beneath Galeem’s sunset-red haze. Both were fixed in a ferocious squint, and her mouth full Asbestos declared, “What a pain in the ass.” Her husky, churlish voice sent crumbs flying as she spoke, a few of which landed on Yuri’s notebook. Yuri made a disgusted little noise as she wiped the notebook on the leg of her shorts. “Whadda I look like, a toah guide? A walkin’ encyclopedia? Beat it, kids. I’m busy as hell, an’ I sure don’t have time fah any dumbass questions.”

That said, rather than brush the two off and turn away, she crossed her arms and leaned back, using her salamander tail as a neck pillow as her bangs fell back across her evil eye. “What’s some prissy schoolgahl doin’ ‘round heah anyhow? Some kinda reseahch papah? Or maybe they jus’ ran outta shoaht shoahts where yah from, huhuh. Well, fuggedaboudit. Drawin’ maps and blazin’ trails ain’t my style. I just run around the woahld chasin’ thrills. That’s about all theah is to know about me.” Her admiring gaze landed on the megalithic skull that hung above the Rocket League Arena.

Yuri had been about to excuse them and walk away after the girl refused, but after she asked a question of her own Yuri felt like they might still be able to get something out of her, even if the question was sarcastic. Kazooie might have been rude, but this girl was downright abusive. Seriously, schoolgirl? Did she still come off as that young? Besides that, Yuri was nothing if not persistent. This had been her idea, after all. You couldn't quit just because a few poison words were thrown your way.

“Like Pit said, we’re just trying to learn more about the world. Help reunite people. Find things that have been lost. That’s why I’m out here, I’m good at finding things. That’s all.” She brought up the notebook again, read her list of questions, then abandoned it for a while. “Have you managed to find many thrills yet, or is this the only one?”

“Huh!?” With her eyes wide and her mouth open enough to see her sharp teeth, Asbestos looked genuinely surprised. “You been livin’ undah a rock or somethin’? This whole damn country’s been one big conga line a’ advenchahs, one aftah anothah!” The salamander girl sat forward, suddenly fired up by the greatest hits of her past experiences. “Nothin’ but new, new, new no mattah wheah I go! Ancient ruins, giant monstahs, goahgeous scenery. Stuff ya wouldn’t believe, like those hoahn-shaped mountains with watahfalls. Then theah was a city wheah everyone’s crazy about fightin’, one with whole ‘nudda level on stilts like giant pizza pie, and one fulla nothin’ but rotten zombies! And the people, jeez. I nevah seen so many different soahts a’ people! Always gotta make my life hahd, too. Whetha it’s punchin’ ‘em out oah doin’ theah damn choahs. Some real close calls, too! Heheh, I betcha I could tell ya a couple stories that’d have ya pissin’ yer pannies, kid.” Calming down, Asbestos cleared her throat with a cough, then gave a dismissive shrug as she reached down to grab her paper bag for something else to eat. The marker on the crumpled front of the bag read ‘Mel’ and had a heart drawn on it. “I mean, if I wasn’t so busy, a’ course.” As she rummaged her narrowed slit eyes glanced at Yuri and Pit again, wondering what they were still doing there.

“Of course.” Yuri replied, finishing up her notes. It had been hard picking through the girl’s accent once she started talking with such energy. She jotted down what she heard about the horn shaped mountain, the city with the pizza upper level, and the one where everyone liked fighting. “The zombies are all gone now.” She said, looking up. “The city up the road from The Hammerhead Garage, right? We just came from there.” She shook her head. “Don’t travel back that way. It’s nothing but a crater now, full of disembodied spirits and rain that will kill you.”

She could tell that the girl's patience for them was coming to an end, so she decided to wrap things up now rather than risk losing. “If you wouldn't mind one last thing, I was wondering if I could get your name and photograph you? We’re near a pretty well trafficked location, so if someone who knows you comes through and sees it we can point them in your direction. Or…” Her eyes fell on the bag, and the man’s name circled upon it. “...Or if you have anyone you would like to find, you tell us and we’ll keep an eye out for them as we travel.”

Despite Yuri’s best intentions, her warning had the opposite effect. At the mention of what became of the Dead Zone, Asbestos more or less repeated her response from before: surprise, followed by excitement. “You kiddin’? That sounds awesome! I’m dyin’ anyway, so might as well go out aftah seein’ some kickass ghosts.” She pulled a film-wrapped cookie from the bag, barely even looked at it, then chomped it in half, plastic and all. “Blech!” she coughed, reaching up with her other hand to pull the plastic wrap out, and giving her interviewers a good look at her vivid blue tongue in the process. She tossed it on the ground and kept on munching as if nothing had happened. By that time, Yuri had posed a few follow-up questions. “Like hell I’m posin’ for a photo,” the operator smirked. “I ain’t got a good side. Might as well say my name’s Asbestos though, ‘cause if anyone recognizes it, they’ll know to steah cleah.” She sighed coarsely, scratching at a few oddly-covered scabs on her neck. “Knowin’ that bastahd, he’d probably come aftah me, anyway.”

“I’m so sorry.” Yuri said after a short intake of breath after she heard Asbetos’s prognosis. Was she sick? What with? You couldn't tell from the outside. Was the tongue a symptom? Was the tail? Those scabs? Everyone looked so distinct that she couldn't call any of that unusual. “Have you seen a Doctor since you got here?”

Asbestos’ brow furrowed. “Sorry? For what? Don't need any a' your pity, Shortie,” she told Yuri, shielded from the realization that the spirit photographer had seven centimeters on her by the height of the jeep she sat in. “And no, I ain’t seen ‘em. Been enjoyin’ my time oaff just fine. With all the shit they put me through, I figyahed I’d make the most of it. Sure as hell beats sittin’ around in sick bay stuffed fulla tubes and needles.” She glowered as she trailed off, though not at Yuri. Evidently the idea of being vulnerable bothered her almost as much as the idea of needing help. After a moment, however, Asbestos regained her composure. ”So yeah, I’m just fine. Who assed you anyhow?”

“I understand. I’m not fond of hospitals either.” Yuri said emphatically, finally finding some common ground with the lizard girl. It might not have been being poked and prodded, but she would be a happy woman if she was never trapped between those clean, sterile walls for the rest of her life.

“Hey!” Before Yuri could ask anything else, there came a shout from Yuri and Pit’s right. They turned to see an ordinary-looking family headed their way, a mother, father, and young son, all blondes. The man, who held his boy against his body with one, looked kind of familiar, but right now he mostly looked upset. “The heck are you doing in my car!?”

The salamander girl’s surprise quickly turned into a toothy grin. “Time’s up.”

She launched herself from the jeep, and after landing nimbly behind it, took a moment to retrieve something she left propped against the side. With a grunt she hoisted a massive tower shield, or maybe some kind of metal door, despite it being bigger and heavier than herself by a long shot. Asbestos paused only a moment to look up in bewilderment at Yuri, who she did not by any means expect to be taller than herself, then took off running as fast as her giant shield would allow. “Piss off, banana hair! Hahahahahaha!”

As she hustled off with her tail waving behind her, Ken walked up at a controlled pace, determined not to disturb his son’s rest. He treated the back of the fleeing Asbestos to a scornful stare before turning his attention to Yuri and Pit. “What was that about? Friend of yours?” An inkling of recognition filtered through his features as he fought to remember where he saw these two before.

Yuri looked between the blond man and the rapidly disappearing Asbestos looking absolutely gobsmacked, mind processing what was going on. “Wha…I…they’re…,” she stumbled over her words.

---

Meanwhile…

“‘Scuse me.”

Both strangers turned in unison at Nero’s hail, and the devil hunter got his first good look at them. First and foremost, the swivel of the floating glyph around the woman confirmed that it was no mere gaudy accessory affixed to her back; it was an honest-to-goodness halo that gently bobbed behind her, silhouetting a head of long red hair that seemed to be white in the inside. When she glanced his way, her expression was one of such geniality, curiosity, and wide-eyed innocence that he couldn’t help but wonder if he stood before a genuine angel. Although typically not one for idle speculation, Nero had at some point or another mused whether or not the existence of demons in his world implied the existence of angels as well. If he did ever meet one, he certainly wouldn’t have expected one to be wearing a skintight bellbottom suit, gloves with metal fingernails, or a hobble shaped like an iron pumpkin.

He did not, however, examine her appearance too closely, because the guy she was with looked pissed. Maybe his face was just built like that, its resting position an imposing glower, or maybe he just vehemently objected to anyone disturbing his date. As far as Nero could tell, though, his sense of style seemed even more out-there than his girlfriend’s. Belts covered his outfit, buckled with gold, halves of a pair of handcuffs, and -where a belt should be- a plate inscribed with the word ‘Free’ that also featured what Nero first thought was a loincloth. A headband lurked underneath his wild, spiky brown hair, adding further weight to his brow. Most impressive of all, of course, was his physique. A relatively small waist compared to his broad shoulders and giant chest made him look remarkably top-heavy, and those arms looked like they could punch through a brick wall or two. Nero did not relish the thought of being on his bad side.

Sol looked between the odd combination of bear, bird, and devil hunter. “You talkin’ to us?” he asked, his voice as gravelly as one might expect.

Nero nodded stiffly. “Yeah, uh. Just wanted to ask you two something, if you got a moment.”

“We sure as hell don’t,” the man practically growled. “Whatever happened to respectin’ a man’s privacy?”

“Got somewhere to be, Buckles?” Kazooie half spat, though with honest curiosity to her inquiry, should it happen that anything might require their attention.

“Kazooie…” came a starting reminder of manners from Banjo to reel Kazooie in early before her mouth could get them into trouble, to which she tacitly complied, her apology (to Banjo) implied through body language. Thankfully, both duos had their own handlers, it seemed…

Before anyone could turn tail, however, the woman gave a bright, cheerful laugh. “Aw, someone’s a little grumpy-wumpy from the drive over,” she teased, her voice youthful and expressive. She jumped up behind her partner and threw herself over his back, her arms wrapped around his neck, after which she proceeded to rub her face against the side of his head. “C’mon, we can lend ‘em a hand, can’t we? One good turn deserves another!”

He groaned, averting his eyes, which seemed to be good enough for her. “Heehee!” She slid to the ground and stepped in front of him, waving hello with both hands. “Trick or treat! I’m Jack-o, and this lovable hunk is Sol. What can we do ya for?”

“Erm, Trick or Treat, Mrs. Jack-O!” Banjo returned casually with a small wave, assuming it may have just been a flavorful form of greeting for her. Though, he still couldn’t help wondering in whisper, “_{Is it really Halloween?} Anyway, we just wanted to… erm…” He held a long, thoughtful pause before admitting, “Actually, I forget. What are we here for again?” He looked expectantly to Nero for an answer.

The devil hunter put a hand to his face, mortified and baffled as to how he’d gotten himself into this situation in the first place. “We’re just hoping to get the lay of the land,” he supplied. “Anything you’d care to share about cities, towns, or even landmarks would be a big help.”

“Lay of the land, huh? Hmm~” Jack-O crossed her arms, her brows scrunched together as she got the gears turning. “‘Fraid we’re not the best people to ask. We mostly keep to ourselves out in the country, just goin’ into town for groceries and stuff. When we’re out bounty hunting though, we ride all over! The forest, the mega-huge forest, the mountains. And everywhere you go, there’s something fun to find!”

“If by ‘fun’ you mean a new pain in the ass, then sure,” Sol groused.

“Hahah, yeah!” Jack-O smiled. “I guess if you’re out explorin’, don’t go too far north on either side of the big hole. On the right there’s a city totally overrun by monsters, at least until it all blew up last night. That was bananas! We were just cruisin’ along like normal, then BA-BOOM, the whole place goes up in smoke! The light was so bright I was seein’ stars for hours!” Energetic gesticulation helped to express just how remarkable the experience had been for her, even if Nero already knew all about it.

“You should see it now,” Kazooie suggested in a cheeky, offhand manner…

She kept on talking. “Oh, and if you go too far up ‘round the other way, there’s just a flat-out war goin’ on. I’m talkin’ GIGANTIC armies, with dragons and tanks and flyin’ machines. Trust me, you do NOT wanna get too close to that whole mess.”

“Hm, that doesn’t sound good,” Of course, Banjo couldn’t pretend to be surprised at this point that every subsequent region of the World of Light to be explored would, by assumed design, contain some great absurdly inflated and possibly thematically accurate challenge for them to pass through. “We’ve been through a great deal already, but I’m not so sure we’re prepared to go to war.” What he seemed to forget in his expressed doubts was that, like it or not, they [The Seekers of Light] were already at war–with the entire World, no less. That contingently included just about anyone and everyone they talked to just as they were doing now, not excluding present company.

“You two seem to have made it out okay,” the question of ‘how’ being implied though emphasis.

Jack-O nodded, grinning, and put her hands on her hips in a determined, heroic pose. “Uh-huh! Sol here’s, like, the toughest guy around, and I’m no slouch myself!”

“Tell the whole world, why don’t ya,” Sol grumbled. With no other option, he stepped up to try and disarm the situation personally. “Look, I ain’t some big shot or anything. Just a guy hopin’ to live a quiet life. Don’t want any trouble.”

Even as he said it, though, the gears in Nero’s mind were turning. Maybe this guy didn’t go looking for trouble, but it sure looked and sounded like he could deal with it once it arose. People who lived quiet lives didn’t go around with giant greatsword slung across his back, after all. The earlier detail about hunting bounties for a living didn’t escape the devil hunter, either. It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility that they could help out Alcamoth. Something about this guy worried him, though…would Smash City’s ‘welcoming committee’ be enough to onboard him? Of course, to even get to that point he’d need to choose his words carefully.

“No sweat.” Nero held up a placating hand. “I just thought that you two looked, you know, capable, maybe even strong enough to take on a job or two for Alcamoth. That’s who we’re working for right now, as mercenaries. Funded by the princess of the, ahem…” He cleared his throat to bide for time until he remembered the name. “Uh, Mushroom Kingdom. So, I’m just saying, if you need work, maybe you two oughta stop by.”

The prospect seemed to interest Jack-O. “Hey, that sounds fun!”

“Sounds like pain, you mean,” Sol just about spat. “We don’t need to get ourselves involved in any kingdoms or politics. Goin’ it alone suits us just fine.”

“But you’re… not alone...” Banjo observed aloud, curiously, and rather unhelpfully, that the two traveled as a pair, which he perfectly understood.

“Wait, aren’t you always sayin’ its a huge hassle runnin’ all over lookin’ for jobs?”

Sol grimaced. “Agh, Jack-O…”

“That’s me!” the woman innocently beamed.

“Well… now you know where you can find some, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to have your help.”

“Now just tell us which way YOU came from, and we’ll go there instead… in different directions... away from each other.” In her indirect inquiry regarding the bounty hunters’ previous whereabouts, Kazooie made an unironic, if needlessly overt appeal to the man’s professed asocial sensibilities, and provided him a possible easy ‘out’ from the discussion as an unintended byproduct.

The Breegull’s choice of words, not to mention their tone, seemed to rub Sol the wrong way. “You’re sendin’ some real mixed messages, Tweety,” he just about growled. “If you don’t want us, we’ve sure as hell got better things to do.” He abruptly turned and walked off, headed in the direction of the Rocket Arena.

“Ooh, really stepped in it there, didn’tcha?” Jack-O laughed. “Oh well! I’m sure we’ll check it out some time. Toodles!” After giving the Mercenaries a little wave she bounced off after her boyfriend, leaving Banjo, Kazooie, and Nero to themselves.

Shockingly, Kazooie’s smart-ass, roundabout method of persuasion didn’t win them a great deal of favor or produce gratifying results. It wasn’t without opportunity, however, to perhaps see what they were capable of, depending on their unspecified business at the arena. Sparing the thought, the arena itself was its own marker of interest, doubtlessly replete with potential, and they had yet to enter to see for themselves.

“Hmm…” Banjo began, cupping his chin and tapping his foot as he watched the couple trail off into the colosseum. “Anyone else wondering what they’re here for?” Given their spoken profession, if they weren’t competing or participating in whatever was taking place inside, then it was likely some other trouble might go down. A trip inside, he thought, for whatever reason, might educate them one way or the other.

“I’m curious about what’s happening in there…” Kazooie agreed, but voicing her curiosity in a broader sense.

“Maybe they’re here to watch…whatever those cars are doing.” A chorus of cheers brought Nero’s attention to the Rocket League Arena, where he and his associates could see a giant soccer ball soaring through the sky with full-sized cars flying around it in desperate attempts to hit it in one direction or another. He shook his head and, hearing some noise over in the direction of Yuri and Pit, went to investigate.

---

Luckily, Yuri only had to flounder and falter in the face of suspicion for a few moments before a certain gallant devil hunter came to her rescue. While she and Pit attempted their own interviews, Nero and Banjo/Kazooie (but mostly Nero) had acquainted themselves with the stylish couple who’d just arrived themselves. Their efforts yielded mixed results, since while the big dude rebuffed his with grumbles about privacy and minding his own business, his shockingly cheerful girlfriend roped him along for a quick chat. That went on a little while before its abrupt end, after which Nero appeared just in time to catch a glimpse of Asbestos on her way out. Wearing his best no-nonsense face, the devil hunter looked between Yuri and Ken, then came to a stop with crossed arms. “Something the matter?” he asked.

“I sure thought so for a minute there.” The martial artist gave an exasperated shrug. “My family and I were just about to head home, only to find some hoodlum sittin’ in my car like she owned it. And then the other two…” He noticed that a few moments had passed without a reply of any kind from Nero; in fact, the devil hunter looked quite taken aback, staring at Ken with something akin to bewilderment. “Uh, you all right, buddy? Something on my face?”

Nero’s brows scrunched together, and in a momentarily tentative voice ventured, “...Dante?”

Now it was Ken’s turn to be confused. “Who?”

“Uh. Sorry,” Nero coughed. “For a second I thought…well, it’s just, you sound just like someone I know. I mean, exactly like him. My bad.”

Confused initially by Nero’s tangent, his given explanation for it clarified for the bear and bird the metafictional nature of the conundrum of familiarity, of which only they were likely aware. This led to the two exchanging hushed comments about how “there are only some many voices,” presumptions of the voice acting industry’s need for “fresh talent”, the realization that the law of averages dictated more than one instance of this in the World of Light, and an admitted gratitude for never having the same problem themselves, having foregone proper acting in their own games well before it hit a proverbial stride.

If he thought his gaffe might exacerbate the situation, however, Nero was happily mistaken. The stranger gave a good natured laugh instead. “No worries, I get that sometimes. Name’s Ken Masters, nice to meet you. This is my wife Eliza, and my son Mel.” He adjusted the arm supporting his kid as he laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

Even though it was just to be polite, Eliza’s smile was dazzling. “How do you do?”

“Eh, can’t complain.” Never one much for pleasantries, Nero cast a glance in the direction Asbestos went. “Yuri and Pit are with me, I’m sure they weren’t up to anything. As for that other girl, she’s no friend of ours. Think I oughta chase her down, bring her back?”

“I dunno…” Ken rubbed his chin. His cursory examination of the car turned up no damage or irregularities beyond a couple ransacked picnic lunches. “Whoever she was, she didn’t take anything from the glove compartment. Just food.” He shrugged, still wearing that smile. “If she’s that hungry, she’s probably got enough problems as is.”

“Poor dear,” Eliza mused. “Probably a lost soldier, judging by all that gear she had on her.”

“She told me she was dying.” Yuri relayed, more to herself than anything.

"Wait - wait, wait, wait!"

Pit had initially been extremely confused at the appearance of this family. He didn't put two and two together that Asbestos was just sitting in someone else's car, what she planned to do with or in it unknown. But the man that joined them looked incredibly familiar, but the hairstyle and the outfit were throwing him off. Not to mention the wife and child he'd never met. But then he'd introduced himself, and it all made sense. He thought he knew those eyebrows!

He looked between Ken, Yuri, and Nero with big wide eyes. "Didn't you hear what he said? It's Ken! Ken, like - wham, wham, pow!" Pit did some mock punches as he made the sound effects, bouncing on his feet in his best impression of the street fighter. He blinked up at Ken, smiling.

"You remember me, right? It's Pit! We were in those tournaments together! And then we were all on that cliff, and then Galeem..." Oh, right, Galeem. The blue of Ken's eyes were shrouded over in red, just like everyone else that had yet to be freed. Pit's wings and shoulders drooped. Almost the entire world was Gleaming, but seeing someone you knew, even if not that closely, really drove that fact home.

"He's part of the whole Smash Brothers thing," Pit supplied to Nero, sure that Yuri and the dynamic duo already knew.

"The what now?" Though still maintaining a friendly demeanor, the information barrage was starting to get to Ken. "Sorry guys, I think you might've lost me." He scratched his head as he took a second look at Pit. "Now that you mention it, you do look familiar, though. If you say we've met before. I believe you."

"It's a start!"

“That’s right. You were one of the tournament’s real participants.” Yuri said, realization dawning in her eyes. “You wore red.” She hadn’t been able to recognize him without that distinctive red gi of his, having never been that close to the action when summoned.

As the conversation went on, Mel began to fidget. "Dad, I'm hungry," he complained.

"Whoops, sorry, sport. Here, it looks like my lunch is still intact. You can have it." He hefted his son over, put him into the jeep, and passed him the last film-wrapped sandwich, which Mel got busy extracting.

With the excitement of meeting Ken again, Pit had pushed the person that had coincidentally facilitated their meeting from his mind. Now though he was reminded of not only what the Masters family assumed about Asbestos, but what the lizard girl herself had so casually divulged. She might have been a petty thief but if she needed some kind of help, it was only right to offer it to her.

"I guess someone should go check on that Asbestos girl. I can probably find her, but..." The angel trailed off, thinking. He didn't want to lose Ken after randomly finding him. The man was strong, determined. And he'd probably want to know if he was being mind scrambled by some kind of cosmic entity. But Pit also wasn't about to throw down with the street fighter right in the middle of the parking lot in front of his family to get a friend heart into him. Assuming Pit would win anyway, he'd been on the receiving end of that Hurricane Kick before it packed a punch. Packed a kick?

"Oh! We're looking for information so maybe you could answer Yuri's questions, it might help you remember?" Pit sounded hopeful as he voiced the suggestion. The others could occupy Ken, and then he'd just go check up on Asbestos and come right back. Maybe even weasel an apology out of the girl if nothing else.

"I'll be back soon. Don't worry Ken, we'll fix your brain!" Pit said, hopping onto the top of the jeep and then off in the direction he'd seen Asbestos run. Before he got very far he twisted back, waving at Mrs. Masters and her son. "And nice meeting you both!"

“Somebody should fix his brain,” Kazooie remarked snidely, unprompted, in the wake of the angel’s sudden leave.

“Pit, wai-” Yuri started, but the angel was already running off. She worried that Asbestos girl might get the wrong idea if she saw Pit running after her. Maybe that wasn’t an entirely bad thing though. “Banjo” She said, turning to the bear that had more experience at this than either of them. “That girl seems incredibly well traveled. She only talked vaughly about what she had seen, but she could be more amenable to sharing details if you cured whatever was killing her with a friend heart.”

Shaking his head, Banjo politely replied, “Afraid I can’t, ma’am. I don’t think it works like that, and I’m not a doctor.” Mostly clueless to the reptile girl’s condition–be it medical, magical, or metaphysical–the point stood that neither him nor anyone he knew was particularly qualified to treat the sick or terminally ill. It was worth considering, however, that there may be one among their plentiful number back at home base who was. “Buuut, I’m sure Kazooie and I could still ‘help’ her, see where it goes from there…” he suggested with an expectant glance over his shoulder at his partner, awaiting her to inevitably endorse the idea.

“I’ve had worse excuses,” she replied with casual enthusiasm before lifting Banjo onto her back and setting off after Pit and the diseased reptilian girl in question, without waiting for any word or sign from him to go, for none were needed between them.

“Thank you.” Yuri said as the duo set off before turning her attention back to the Masters family and giving an apologetic bow. “I’m sorry. I never considered that this wasn’t her car. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Masters. Mel.” She stood up again. “Like Pit said, we’re here trying to gather information in the hopes of better understanding this world and helping people find their friends and loved ones. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you mind answering a few questions?”

“Eh, I don’t know how much I’d be able to tell ya, really.” Ken ran a hand through his hair. “I also don’t want to keep my family waiting forever, but I guess I can answer a couple questions, best I can.”

“Thank you. I promise this won’t take long.” Yuri replied, pulling out her notebook and a small pen. “When you first woke up in this world do you happen to remember where you were? Or, what you were doing right before that?”

The martial artist crossed his arms, a perturbed look on his face, as if something about the girl’s terminology struck him as bizarre. “You mean where we’ve been living? Well, we moved to Esaka a while back…don’t remember why, but since then, I’ve been squaring off against other fighters from across the world almost every day. Might sound strange, but fighting is pretty much the lifeblood of that place. I like testing out my skills as much as the next guy, but there’s some real tough customers, and after a real close shave I figured my family and I could use a little road trip.”

”I see. It sounds like an interesting place to live” Yuri said, slightly disturbed by her first real brush with the effects of Galeem’s domination. So it seemed that asking about their awakening was a non-starter. She could only assume that this ‘Esaka’ was where Ken and his family had been placed when they were engulfed by the light. Wasn’t that odd, though? As far as she knew Ken had gone to face the Master Hand army with everyone else, and she had never seen the woman or the boy he was with in the arena. Had Galeem intentionally placed him with his wife and child? She couldn't help the pang of jealousy that welled up in her. What was the difference between the people who were scattered and people like Ken?

“We’ll be heading for Esaka eventually.” She said, pushing her feelings down. “On your road trip, did you happen to see anything noteworthy between there and here? Other settlements, dangers, curiosities?”

The martial artist nodded. “Sure, a whole bunch, even if it’s been a little dicey at times. The countryside around Esaka is full of awesome Japanese and Chinese flavor. Palaces, pagodas, shrines, fortresses, you name it. There were festivals and haunted mountains, and just a crazy variety of yokai. Great places for fighting, let alone sightseeing. We stopped by a whole bunch on the way out, but we’re traveling to get something different, you know?” He cleared his throat as he continued, recalling the events of the past few weeks. “So we kept on goin’ southeastish, through the land of reeds..Spent a night in a hotel on top of a giant tree. Eventually we hit this huge valley filled with the ruins of some old city, sprawling out for miles and miles, totally overgrown. And sittin’ on the plateau above it all, Midgar. We heard about it and wanted to visit, but the ruins were full of weird creatures, and after a couple fights we high-tailed it outta there.”

Ken paused for a moment to catch his breath, then worked through the final stretch of his journey. “South of that, we hit this giant ravine, so deep you can’t see the bottom. Built right across it was the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life, roller coasters and all. Mel wanted to go, and for a bit we did, but something wasn’t quite right. It was…I dunno, just sort of creepy. If you head that way, keep an eye out. Anyway, south of that was another city, but this one had nothin’ but zombies in it! We were just about ready to give up and head back, but in the end we decided to go around, and boy was that the right decision. Took this windin’ path through the mountains around the east, and little lady, you won’t believe how gorgeous it was. Green hills, crystal-clear lakes, trees with golden leaves, cheery little villages, campsites, all sorts of animals...made the whole trip worthwhile.” He shrugged. “So we kept on goin’, and ended up here. Probably turnin’ back before long.”

“It’s good to know there’s a safe way around the dead city.” Yuri replied, again noting the description and directions Ken had given them. “Especially since it’s gotten worse. The city was reduced to a crater, and the rain there ages whatever it touches now.”
She tapped her pen on her notebook, before taking a shot. “If I could make a suggestion, if you plan to go a little farther, our group came from a similarly lovely place called The Land of Adventure. A village called Lumbridge. It’s just down the road that way, past the Hammerhead garage.” She gestured out to the road, giving the man the route they had taken to reach the arena from the town where they had started. “If you want to take in the sights or just restock for the journey home I can’t think of a better place. You might even find someone you know with all the travelers that come through it.”

Ken seemed to brighten up at the suggestion. "Hey, sounds pretty good to me. I'll see how Eliza and Mel feel." He gave Yuri a cheerful thumbs-up. "Thanks a bunch, li'l lady!" With that, he returned to his jeep, leaving the girl to await the return of her fellows.

---

Pit sprinted off down the lane of parked cars and open spaces, headed for the mundane white-and-brown camper van he’d been fortunate enough to spot the salamander girl disappear behind as she fled the scene of the crime. He rounded the back of the vehicle expecting no more than a shot at seeing where his quarry ran off to next, if anything at all, but instead stumbled upon the object of his search right there in front of him. Scarcely had Asbestos managed to break line of sight with the innocent bystanders she’d been bother than she collapsed to her knees, clinging to her tower shield as the last line of defense between her and the pavement as she hyperventilated. Her ragged gasps suggested some kind of respiratory issue, no doubt related to the terminal disease she hinted at so offhandedly. The operator’s back faced the new arrival, but even if she heard his sandal-clad footsteps as he slid to a stop, she couldn’t do much about it other than fight to regain her composure. Even compared to her previous scene, this was not a flattering display.

The scene surprised Pit, who hadn't expected to run into her so quickly but definitely hadn't expected to find her in such a sorry state. He flitted around her tower shield to peek at her face, worry for the stranger beginning to grow. He held his hands out to brace her.

"Are you okay?!"

When Asbestos met his gaze, her scowl only deepened. “Ugh! What’re you…? Nevermind! I’m…fine, okay? Just catching…my breath!” Gritting her teeth, she ignored his hands and tried to force herself to stand up. The cold sweat on her brow, however, made her struggle quite clear despite her best attempt to save face. Though the angel couldn’t know it just by looking at her, her untreated Oripathy had advanced to a point where even just a moderate burst of exertion left her in bad shape. It wouldn’t be long before the crystallization of her organs began. If Pit’s focus wasn’t on her, he might pick up on some motion and noise from inside the camper van she’d taken refuge behind - but as it was, his attention was devoted to the obviously not-fine woman in front of him. She was putting on a tough act, though it was not very convincing.

"You are not fine!" He said, still hovering around her. "You're sick, right? Let me help you, we can go find a doctor or a healer! Ken's not even mad at you for breaking into his car, it's okay."

“You deaf or somethin’?” the salamander girl snarled. She let go of her shield with one arm to shoo Pit away. “I said I’m-!” No sooner did Asbestos put her whole upper body’s weight on one arm than her hand slipped from its purchase. The next second she hit the pavement, hard enough to elicit a gasp of pain that carried a few shiny flecks of dark red fluid with it. Then, as if to add insult to injury, her door-sized shield tipped over in her direction, a split second away from falling down onto her back.

Pit swooped in, catching the hunk of metal before it could do her any damage, though it was a near thing. "I am trying to help you!" he said from behind the shield, maneuvering the heavy thing to the ground. He looked at Asbestos, clearly worried for her well being despite her protest. He offered his hand again, proving as stubborn as her. "So let me!"

If she could muster the strength to rebuff the angel’s plea Asbestos probably still would have, but as her continued humiliation proved, she had barely any pride left to salvage, let alone the wherewithal to salvage it. With a groan as much from despondency as from unwellness, she gave up her struggle at last, allowing her limbs to go limp. “Huhuh,” she laughed, bitterly. “Guess I ain’t foolin’ anyone.”

She breathed as deeply as she could, and let it out in a long sigh that ended in a couple coughs. “Ugh. I just thought…I had moah time.” Her dejected gaze fell on the pavement. “Oah maybe it was just wishful thinkin’. Now thatcha seen me like this, I guess…ya might as well.” Ruefully Asbestos glanced at Pit out of the corner of her eye. “‘Course, unless yah a real-ass miracle wahkah, theah ain’t much you can do foah me, angel boy.”

"I hope you're not giving up, I barely know you but that doesn't really seem like your style," he said, kneeling beside her. Now, miracle worker Pit may be, but it was not in the healing arts.

I wish Lady Palutena was here, she'd know exactly what to do. She could look into her lungs or heart or whatever is the problem... oh, heart...!? Pit arrived at the same thought that the group he'd left behind had come to. He had the same crash course about the process as everyone else at the Alcamoth, so he knew that low health + friend heart not only would break someone out of Galeem's influence, but also heal them completely. Surely that would be enough to fix whatever was ailing the salamander! Now if only he could actually do it.

"I've got an idea, but, um," he stopped, once again hovering around Asbestos and conflicted as to whether it would be safe to even try and move her. If she was in so much pain maybe carrying her would actually be worse. "I'm gonna have to leave you for a second and bring something back to you. So you're gonna stay put, right?"

Asbestos sighed, as if even rock-bottom expectations had been shattered. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m goin’ nowheah.”

Pit nodded, and then he was off once more. To his surprise though he didn't have to go very far.

The approaching chirps that accompanied every tallonfall faintly announced the bear and bird’s arrival on the scene, meeting Pit shortly into his backtrack for additional aid. “Oh…” Banjo started, seeing the floored sick patient-in-waiting in the distance over his shoulder and Kazooie’s back. “Done already?” he asked, assuming the possibility that the boy angel had quickly beaten her into submission, as if it would have been necessary.

"Huh?" Confused, Pit narrowed his eyes slightly. "No, she's still alive! But she could really use some help. I was coming back to get one of you for your heart!"

“OH… That serious, huh?”

“Sounds reeeal noble and all, but I think I need it more, thanks.”

The duo misinterpreted the boy angel’s request by his phrasing (or at least acted to), taking it to be more in line with a literal medical emergency, as opposed to what he was really asking for.

Unsurprisingly Pit didn't pick up on their joke, taking their puzzlement at face value. "Not that kind of heart!" he expressed, looking like he was seconds away from facepalming. "A friend heart!"

“Oh… right!” responded Banjo as if having a “Eureka” moment in light of the obvious. “That makes more sense.”

“I knew what he meant.” Whether she spoke true following jest, or saved face after joint confusion, only she really knew.

Banjo hopped down to dismount Kazooie, drawing herself back into his pack as they approached, calmly so as not to alarm the woman in need. He pulled a Friend Heart from his chest with one hand and held the other up in a placating gesture, emphasizing in his body language that they presented no threat, where keeping Pit company should ideally suffice for her. With her permission, he knelt down next to Asbestos and gently presented her the Heart…

“Here. It’s not much, but hopefully it helps.” With her medical condition, he could make no promises; just that he didn’t expect a cure-all. At the very least, she could be her own woman again.

While in no state to object, Asbestos kept a sharp eye on the bear as he approached, though her defensiveness turned to confusion when he popped a bright pink heart out of his hand to offer her. From the others’ descriptions Asbestos expected some sort of medical aid, maybe an injection, definitely not the sort of sprite one would expect to blossom in the eyes of a lovestruck cartoon character. Still, if it meant some kind of relief, the salamander girl accepted it nonetheless. Closing her eyes, she winced as Banjo drove the heart home.

There came the typical momentary, dazzling pop, and in a flash Asbestos was restored. She blinked, her eyes as comically wide as her mouth as she slowly picked herself up into a sitting position. After a moment’s utter bafflement she rolled her sleeve down to check her arm, then tugged at her collar to run a hand across her neck, shoulder, and chest, feeling for any irregularities. Her search turned up nothing other than a slight discoloration and scarring on her neck, which now wasn’t even visible above her turtleneck when in place. Try as she might, the operator could find no evidence against a single, overriding conclusion: that in a single flash, months’ worth of untreated affliction had been wiped away. Her Oripathy was back down to a wholly manageable level, and stable as the day she left her world behind.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” she exclaimed, filled with such relief and insuppressible glee that a sharp-toothed smile stretched ear to ear. “I’d just about fahgatten what feelin’ good’s like! Hoo…” Asbestos flopped backward against the side of the camper van, relaxed for the first time in ages. A sigh of long-awaited bliss escaped her as she allowed her head to fall back and her eyes to slide shut, not even minding the bonk of her head against the metal. A moment later, her green eye cracked open to glance at Banjo. “What the hell was that ya hit me with? Ya must be oaff ya rockah oah somethin’, wastin’ a miracle like that on the likes of me. No mattah how chummy ya ah, I’m not gonna retahn the favah.” With a grunt she got up to retrieve her shield, handling the massive, custom-built gadget like it was a kite. Avoiding the gaze of the others as she looked it over for damage, she muttered, “Still, yah alright, I guess.”

Delighted that the cure-all friend heart had worked, Pit split a vivid smile between Banjo and his newly healed patient.

"Aw, we're just happy to help!" He said. He nearly forgot the whole reason they'd run into Asbestos in the first place, and most likely would have if he Banjo and Kazooie weren't right there next to him. Instead of thanks (which would be going to Banjo anyway, realistically Pit was just the middle man), the angel would accept more information from the salamander girl, so eager not to let her go so quickly he spread his hands and started talking again.

"We don't need a favor, but we do want to know more about the places you've been!" he told her. "Didn't you have a bunch of stories that would— Um. Well, you know!"

Saying he didn’t want a favor and then asking for one took Asbestos by surprise, especially since she’d been hoping these do-gooders would graciously accept her implicit thanks and move on to the next sorry soul in need of salvation. “Well, uh…” The salamander girl took off her hat and ran a hand through her hair. As much as she wanted to blow the request off, it probably wasn’t an exaggeration to say she owed these people her life. Being her regular incorrigible self at that point would leave a bad taste in her mouth. She cleared her throat and gave the trio a nonchalant shrug. “...I guess. I mean, I ain’t really the story-tellin’ type, but I seen a couple sick-ass spots, suah. Like Esaka in the Fahbidden Kingdom, the place they cuall the Tieahed City.” A mischievous, sharp-toothed grin appeared on her face. “Tell ya what. Let’s grab some actual chow at the food couaht, and I’ll tell ya oall about it.”

“I could eat,” Banjo conceded with a casual shrug, having forgotten they had come from (a branch of) Grillby’s not long before, and extended a helping hand to Asbestos to lift her onto her feet (and support her further thereafter if she would take it).

“You’re buying,” came a terse insertion of condition from Kazooie in acceptance of the proposal.

"That works for me!" The angel said, glad for her agreement. "C'mon, let's go tell everyone the good news."

The four retraced their steps back to where they last saw Yuri and Ken, although Asbestos seemed understandably reluctant to show herself to the man whose young child she literally stole food from. They arrived just in time to see Ken pull away with his family and head off through the lot of parked car, which gave Yuri, Pit, Banjo, and Kazooie all the time in the world to decide what to do next, with or without their new hanger-on.

World of Light

Ms Fortune

Location: Carcass Isle - Where All Things Must Come
Level 8 Nadia (24/80)
Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Blazermate’s @Archmage MC, Hat Kid’s @Dawnrider, Geralt’s @MULTI_MEDIA_MAN, Ace Cadet’s @Yankee, Sakura's @Zoey Boey, Link’s @Gentlemanvaultboy
Word Count: 1660

After Nadia voiced the question on everyone’s mind, Geralt -his thankfully rather minor changes taken in stride- directed her attention to the remnants of the Koopa Troop. The Witcher suggested that everyone make use of the Atomos airship, which Nadia herself had totally forgotten about. To be fair, she’d set off from Limsa Lominscuttle Town that morning as a member of the crew aboard Shippy, so she’d never actually ridden on it. Plus, with the magical aircraft rendered unusable by the malefic atmospheric conditions above the Bottomless Sea, the Atomos stopped being a factor at all right before the Seekers found themselves plunged into the innards of the nonstop nightmare machine that was the Maw. If the loathsome denizen of this impossible place truly did exist as the wellspring of the curses and storms that plagued this godforsaken ocean, then maybe with it dead the triumphant heroes really could just fly on out of here.

Whether by fatigue or good old-fashioned insensibility, It didn’t occur to her to think about what ‘here’ actually meant. Brought to the ill-omened Carcass Isle and its violated fishing hamlet by forces beyond their control, neither she nor her teammates could say where they were with any degree of accuracy. Limsa lay somewhere to the south and the continent somewhere to the east, but that amounted to everything the Seekers collectively knew for sure, and in the dead of night how could they tell cardinal directions? All that assumed that the Atomos could be made ready for flight in short order anyway, and judging by Junior’s words of warning even that might be a tall order.

As luck would have it, after Blazermate finished healing poor Hatty, she presented a different and far more direct solution. Thanks to her Engineer striker, she possessed what Nadia suddenly realized might be the most important ability of all: the power to return her team home, no matter where in the far-flung World of Light they might be. As it turned it, she wasn’t even the only one, either. The Koopa Prince Junior didn’t want to spend one picosecond longer in this hocus-pocus hellhole than he had to, and after announcing as much he began to ink a drawing of a floating city on a section of the nearby rock face. Fascinated by the painting and curious how that would facilitate the safe return of the Seekers, Nadia sat herself down in the sand nearby to watch at rapt attention. As the feral rested Sakura made her rounds offering hugs, and Nadia wasn't about to turn down some genuine humanity. Once hugged, she half-listened to Kamek as he dropped a little exposition, not just for the sake of Rika but everyone yet to participate in the destruction of one of Galeem’s thirteen Guardians, which included the crew’s resident cat burglar. Apparently that wave of shadowy fog was normal, and would even free everyone in the vicinity from Galeem’s influence, although in this case that amounted to a bunch of grotesque sea monsters, most of whom did not look remotely capable of rational thought. She felt uneasy seeing Rika go back through the tunnel into the Azure Weald, hoping that the Abyssal girl wouldn’t end up punished for acting on a good conscience. With Link, Kamek, Sakura, and of course Bella watching Rika’s back, however, she would be in good hands.

In short order, with everyone eager to be free of this place gathered around, Junior completed his work of art. His imprecise brush-strokes and hurried coloring might not stand up to a critical eye, but if the magical painting could really get Nadia home, it was a masterpiece in her book. When the tiny terror stepped forward to test it, he passed straight through the warp graffiti and disappeared. Peach went through next, and then the floodgates were open. When an opening presented itself, Nadia couldn’t squeeze through fast enough.

After being spit out the other side and picking herself up from the grass, the feral stopped short in surprise. With visions of her inn room in mind, complete with a hot shower to wash away the filth of the briny deep and luxurious bedsheets she could sink into forever, she’d been expecting a view of marble-white seastacks and washed-out driftwood walkways, complete with the gentle, low roar of the tide below and the pure ocean breeze. Instead she found herself in the atrium of some sort of colossal megastructure, spacious, sterile, prim and proper, not quite as reverent as a grand cathedral but not quite as hall-over-the-place as a mega-mall. If anything, with its sleek, futuristic design, it smacked of corporate idiosyncrasy, like the illustrious headquarters of some international megacorp, complete with an expansive indoor business park. Nadia’s eyes turned skyward, and through the glass dome she could see a night sky speckled by distant stars and alight with wondrous auroras that bathed the walkways and fountains of the atrium in splendid, dreamlike colors. It was beautiful, and it filled her with awe, but it also weighed upon her. All that space and grandeur in her current state made her feel exposed, gross, embarrassed even, and very, very small. She felt like she didn’t belong.

“This isn’t Limsa…” she breathed, stating the obvious in hopes that someone might be able to lend a hand.

On cue, Peach tugged on her arm, gently encouraging Nadia to clear the way so that everyone else could come through with no problem. Geralt in particular would need as much space as he could get, even if the Orphan’s spirit left him a bit smaller than before. “This is Alcamoth,” the princess told her. “Are you alright? You look almost horrified.”

“Uh, yeah…” Nadia tugged at her collar, causing her cat-bell to jingle softly. “It’s just…I’ve never been somewhere like this before. It’s practically alien to me.” It took some willpower to suppress the urge to shrink back into the shadow of the archway Junior’s return warp had been painted upon. “And you guys live here?”

“Not exactly. While a bunch of our allies live here, and have been for a while, our group only came through the other day. It’s more like our home base. If it’s any comfort, the back section is a lot less austere. That’s where Mercenary HQ is, plus a ton of different shops. There’s a place called Sushi Strikers you might like.”

Nadia’s eyes narrowed before she shook her head. “Nah, I’m not really hungry or anythin’. Was just hopin’ to get back to Limsa, clean up, and pass the hell out. I’m feline like the livin’ dead, ya know? Fresh from the dirty and everythin’.”

Peach pointed to where the Koopa Troop was preparing to head out. “You should follow them, then. Since Brineybeard returned to Limsa, Bowser probably did too, and I’m sure Junior wants to see him again.”

“Oh! Yeah, yeah, will do.” With what little vigor she had left Nadia scampered off, waving behind her. “Thanks!”

A few moments more and Nadia had put Alcamoth in all its glory on the far side of another Warp Graffiti, and she stood in the public docks in the harbor of seaside Limsa Liminscuttle Town. She took a long, deep breath of the crisp, clear, salty seabreeze, and for a moment longer just stood there on the wharf. The city was quiet, embedded in the comfortable dark, its lullaby the gentle wash of waves against the cove’s sandy shores, the whisper of life-giving winds, and the creaking of the wharves. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky to obscure the sea of stars. Such sights, sounds, and smells might not be to everyone’s taste, but to Nadia they meant ‘home’. This place might not be Little Innsmouth, but it was close enough. Close enough to forget the storm, the terror, the misery and rot, the deathtrap of iron and the specter of death. Close enough to offer some much-needed peace and tranquility. The seastack town was asleep, and once Nadia got a little help, she would be, too.

The Seekers dispersed, headed wherever they pleased. Too weary to rush despite her readiness to collapse at any moment, Nadia took her time as she made her way through the city to the grand central tower. With her three containers tucked under one arm, she let her tired eyes rove over everything that crossed her path, as if to reacquaint herself with the natural world. She took in the gentle rocking of moored ships whose masts waved back and forth in rhythm, shanty highrises that crowded around the seastacks like wooden barnacles, the web of ropes and nets that turned the city into one big jungle gym. All the workshops, stands, storefronts, and restaurants were closed; it must be very, very late at night. Here and there she spotted townsfolk out and about, some of whom stared back at her, but after what she went through Nadia couldn’t be bothered to care. She just padded onward and upward until she set foot inside the Drowning Wench tavern, where the late-night receptionist of the Mizzenmast Inn managed to admit her to her room without turning up his nose.

Once inside, Nadia took another deep breath. The white linens called to her with a siren song, but she wasn’t about to crash while crusted over with Carcass Isle’s mucilage. She went straight for the mercifully modern bathroom, where she deposited two of the three containers by the sink but popped upon the third, the one labeled ‘Timefall Porter’, and after cracking open all six not-so-cold ones the very thirsty feral got down to business. Her unsalvageable garments went straight into the trash, and after fighting to stay awake for fifteen minutes in the hot shower, a stupefied but filth-free Nadia barely managed to drag herself into bed before passing the hell out.

World of Light

Tora, Poppi, and Big Band

Location: Sandswept Sky - Apex of the World
Level 9 Tora (142/90) Level 9 Poppi (142/90) Level 5 Big Band (85/50)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Fox’s @Dawnrider, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Raz’s @TruthHurts22, the Phantom Thieves, Braum, the Scout, Peacock, Mao, Robin, Tharja, Ciella
Word Count: 886

After soaring above Phalanx, Tora and Poppi could get their first really good look at the creature while a number of their allies cruised in for a landing. In the span of just a few moments, the big blue yonder had filled with heroes–or at least, a very small subjection of it, anyway. In addition to the dynamic driver-blade duo, Sectonia, Big Band, Peacock, and all the Phantom Thieves (minus Mona, who would be ascending fashionably late after a quick pep talk with Raz) had taken to the skies in search of a way to bring the airborne colossus down. That, rather than any kind of actual threat, seemed to be the main issue. Although Phalanx made its objections clear with vigorous shakes once boarded, it had yet to attack in any fashion.

The lack of hostility left Tora perplexed. Raising his voice above the wind, he asked, “Why it not fight back? Everything fight back in world of light, right?”

“Maybe bosses exception,” Poppi hazarded a guess. “Or maybe we not actual inflict damage yet?”

Though full of energy and eager to get their hands dirty in this climactic mountaintop fight, Tora and Poppi remained aloft for a few moments longer, trying to figure out a plan of attack. The others’ search continued pretty much fruitlessly, for no matter how much they pummeled, pried, shot, or scorched the creature’s body, none of it seemed to matter. Ciella seemed to be aiming for its eyes, judging the trajectory of her charged water arrows, but given the circumstances hers were some very difficult shots to make. When the thieves took a crack at the eyes themselves, they quickly realized they couldn’t get a clear shot from atop Phalanx, and if they jumped off to use their gliders the colossus would leave them behind in an instant. With the lingering blessing of flight, falling posed little threat, but if left behind the Seekers would have to wait quite some time for another pass at their high-speed adversary.

It was Midna who cracked the case. Thanks to a combination of magical sense, experience, and luck, she managed to spot an unusual glowing glyph hidden beneath a fin atop the creature’s back as she tumbled free into the sky. As Tora and Poppi flew in, they just managed to hear their friend’s words of wisdom on the wind. “Meeeh!” the Nopon exclaimed. “Why Tora not realize it sooner!? This classic stuff!” He extended a wing, pointing down at the sigil Midna spotted like a hero. “Okay, Poppi! All power to thrusters!”

“Roger, roger!”

The two boosted off in hot pursuit, but they weren’t the only ones to hear the Twilight Princess’s advice. Sectonia beat them to the punch, using her aerial expertise and her blinking to circumvent as much wind pressure as she could as she chased the weak spot down. Once there the insect queen mustered her strength and plunged her blades into the runic flesh, as hard and as many times as she could.

Jets of black smoke burst from the stab wounds, and Phalanx screeched. It banked hard enough to jerk Fox and Panther from their handholds, then began to roll. In a desperate attempt to get its assailants off its back, fueled by the agony of its grievous injury, the colossus pulled off a corkscrew maneuver of epic proportions. Sectonia got dislodged and hurled away, and while she could take a few moments to bask in her victory, Tora and Poppi needed to fight to keep up. After putting her thrusters on full blast and having her Masterpon hold on by her ankles, the artificial blade managed to grab onto a prominent ridge in one of Phalanx’s fins. It tested them both, but in the end mechanical might won out, and not just for the two of them.

Farther back, both Big Band and Peacock managed to maintain their hold until Phalanx finally straightened out. “Whew!” the detective exhaled. “Y’know, I wish I could have grandkids, just so I can sit ‘em down and tell ‘em this story, someday.”

“Whatever ya say, old timer!” Peacock handwaved, popping up from a portable hole by fin number two. It seemed to be sealed tight down around the sigil, protecting it like a shield. Andy Anvil and Tommy Ten Tons appeared, but the both of them together couldn’t pry it off. “You quit on me now, you’re dead weights, ya hear me?” the living weapon threatened, but even with that encouragement her cohorts couldn’t budge it, forcing her to look to her elder. “Here, gimme a hand with this thing, wouldja?”

“Ain’t no thing.” Big Band stepped in with brass arms deployed. His pneumatic might did the trick, and in just a few seconds the glyph was easy pickings.

Peacock stepped over it, revolver at the ready. “Reach for the sky!” At a pull of the trigger a giant black blade popped out, it’s gleeful grin only outdone by Peacock’s own. “Yah!” With a grunt she drove the blade in, then hammered the trigger to empty the chambers, splitting five bullets in half on the blade to carve deeper into Phalanx’s weak spot. The colossus shrieked, and the rodeo began anew, stronger and fiercer even than last time.

The Chalk Prince, the Fallen Child, the Skeleton, and the Skullgirl

Location: Frozen Highlands - Snowdin
Linkle’s @Gentlemanvaultboy, Frisk’s @Majoras End, Papyrus’ @Dark Cloud

In the comfort of the little home’s cozy parlor and the white tiger’s gracious hospitality, both the cold and the stress that clung to the five began to melt away. Even for a Snowdin household, it really was toasty in here, enough to be a little soporific. Barely had Albedo seated himself before he rose again, headed for the coat closet he didn’t think he needed to use. Most of the tiny room seemed to be occupied by what looked like a puffy yellow snow suit, but he managed to hang his coat up alongside it. When he returned he stopped short of the couch, averse to getting into anyone’s personal space again, and stood by with his arms crossed. As Dromarch gingerly -and rather painstakingly, given his lack of opposable thumbs- prepared their refreshments, Frisk sparked up a conversation in front of the blazing hearth, and the alchemist listened in silence.

It proved mildly interesting to hear the child rediscover, bit by bit, the way this bizarre world worked. Its mechanics lay in stark contrast to the state of affairs in Frisk’s home, or so a little reading between the lines would imply, but for better or for worse, they seemed to be both making sense of and coming to terms with it. What Frisk said about luck stood out to him; although not a particularly pious person, Albedo did consider it to be something of a miracle that day-to-day life in the World of Light seemed mostly stable, given the sheer scale upon which worlds were colliding. This hodgepodge reality could just have easily been complete and utter chaos, an indecipherable maelstrom of various places, forces, and phenomena in which no living being could endure, but its creator Galeem seemed to have sewn this tapestry together with logic in mind. But how? And why? It made for a conundrum as intimidating as it was fascinating. It might be nice in here, but the truth was out there. Albedo ended up staring impassively out the window as the fallen child and the silly skeleton traded words.

After their exchange, Treat was surprised to find herself on the receiving end of a most generous offer from Papyrus. “O-oh,” she stammered, suddenly filled with anxiety. “I…I…well, uh, I mean, thank you. You’re way too kind, I really just, don’t deserve it. But I just don’t know…”

She trailed off weakly, unable to articulate her thoughts, although at the very least her reticence showed on her face. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Papyrus or anything, but did she want to live with him? Aside from him being a guy, and aside from him being a slightly creepy skeleton, she’d already gotten an idea of his exclamatory, goofy, over-the-top, larger-than-life nature, and Treat didn’t know if she could deal with that energy. When Albedo and Linkle mentioned living somewhere else she assumed they meant a different empty house, not cohabitation! If she was going to be living with someone else, whoever it was needed to be a lot more chill and normal than Papyrus, as bad as that conclusion made her feel.

Eventually the chitchat pivoted toward magic. Linkle had a lot of insight to offer on the subject, and after a few words on spirits in general, covered both her inherent talents and those gained through fusion. The Skullgirl’s testimony about the source of her cryomancy, as well as the lack of a Vision on her person, helped to put the nail on the coffin of a worrisome hypothesis that first arose when Albedo noticed the bright blue of her hair when fighting. While not particularly close to the Spindrift Knight Eula, it would have pained him to find out that she died, when she could instead be living free of the scorn heaped upon her Lawrence lineage, somewhere in the world.

When his turn came around, he swallowed, and replied in brief. “I’m afraid I don’t have much to say on the subject. In my world, humans are able to manipulate the elements through the use of Visions. This one is mine.” He held up an amber gemstone inlaid in a winged metal talisman, a geometric pattern shining in its center. “Although, it’s really nothing more than a tool to aid in my experiments, no different from a beaker or crucible. The one thing about it that really intrigues me is the principle behind how it works... One day, I will uncover its secrets, it's only a matter of time.” With nothing else to say, he drew quiet once more.

Once Dromarch delivered everyone’s drinks, he stalked down the hall toward the house’s rear, where he rapped upon a door with his paw. “My lady? Excuse me. We have guests in need of your expertise, if you would be so kind.”

“Eh?” a girl’s voice came in reply. “Oh, sure, sure, I’ll be out in jost a sec.”

True to her word, the healer came right out, but if the newcomers had been expecting a noblewoman befitting Dromarch’s regal treatment they were in for a surprise. A head of dusty gray hair topped by side-turned cat ears poked around the corner, with curious dark yellow eyes just below, and the next moment their owner appeared. Nia was short and thin even for a teenager, cozy a a set of plaid yellow, green, and black pajamas, her unkempt hair not even tied into their customary bundles. As much as she’d been enjoying an afternoon spent reading in bed, however, she greeted her customers with bright eyes and a genial smile.

Dromarch followed her, looking mollified. “My lady, are you quite sure you’re ready? This is most undignified…”

“Aw, no need to stand on ceremony, eh Dromarch?” she told him in a pronounced Welsh accent. “We’re all friends yure, or will be soon enough–ahem! Heya guys,” she greeted the five with a little wave. “So, ‘oo’s our lucky sufferer what needs some ‘ealin’?”

For a moment Treat seemed somewhat dumbstruck, staring with wide eyes at Nia. Albedo cleared his throat. “Treat here has a sprained ankle,” he replied for her, indicating the wolfgirl with his hand.

“Huh, that all?” Nia zeroed in on Treat, but received no response. “Ya alright there? Well, doncha worry, we’ll ‘ave ya patched up before ya find your tongue again.” In just a moment she retrieved the ringblades, and with one in each hand she performed a very short dance. It ended with rings on one upheld arm, spun around her wrist like hula hoops, and from the weapons waves of bright green ether washed across the parlor. Just like that, the wolfgirl was healed.

Treat’s face was one of astonishment as her healer tossed up and caught her ringblades. “Wow, that’s all it takes?” she gasped. “That’s incredible!”

Although she brushed off the praise with a shrug, Nia didn’t bother to hide her grin. “Ah, that’s nothin’. Just glad to help, an’ all.”

It took only a moment for Treat’s elation to turn to misgiving. “Uh, s-so, what do I owe you?” She looked down at the floor. “I-I know I probably shouldn’t have asked you, you being a catgirl and all, so if it’s extra I understand.”

“Eh!?” Nia looked genuinely confused. “A cat…? You mean me? I’ll ‘ave ya know I’m Gormotti, but wot’s that ‘ave to do with anythin’?”

“Ohh…” Ears drooping, Treat looked like she wanted to sink through the floor. “W-well, you know, ‘cause I’m a…a wolfgirl?”

Nia scratched her head, looking at Dromarch and then back again. “I mean, yeah, but…oh, oh! D’ya mean, like, the thing with dogs an’ cats? Pff!” Shaking her head, she crossed her arms. “Well, ya en’t a dog, and I sure en’t a cat. I don’t know where ya gettin’ these funny ideas, but all that matters is that ya needed my ‘elp. Doesn’t matter what ears ya got, or if ya don’t even got ears,” she nodded at Papyrus. “Anyone oo’ stops by our ‘ouse is gonna leave feelin’ better on the way out.”

Although the moment got a little awkward, particularly with so many bystanders around, Nia managed to turn it in a direction Albedo felt pretty good about. For most people, one’s animal features made little to no difference. It was just the same back in Mondstadt, with the Kätzlein. It was high time Treat stopped dwelling on the bad people and see the good in the rest of them.

World of Light

Ms Fortune

Location: Carcass Isle - Where All Things Must Come
Level 8 Nadia (21/80)
Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Blazermate’s @Archmage MC, Hat Kid’s @Dawnrider, Geralt’s @MULTI_MEDIA_MAN, Ace Cadet’s @Yankee, Sakura's @Zoey Boey, Link’s @Gentlemanvaultboy
Word Count: 2569

For a long moment Nadia stood stock-still atop the roof of her briny, tar-splattered hovel, trying to get herself under control. It came as no surprise that even taking aim with her strange, plasticky firearm she’d been given was a challenge. It extended backward rather than forward, with a tall, heavy body and a large stock, but no forestock or handguard of any kind. The best plan she could come up with was holding the grip with both hands like a fishing rod in front of her, and extending her neck muscles high enough that she could look down the sights.

Of course, the logistics of using the gun was only the tip of the iceberg. Her limbs felt like lead, and perhaps due to the constant and oftentimes external exertion on her muscle fibers, her best efforts couldn’t prevent a bothersome twitch. Her nerves were shot, and not just from all the physical duress she’d undergone. As numb as she’d gotten in recent times, the sight of her beloved Fishbone Gang shook her more than she could describe, reopening the one wound that never quite healed. It would be a while before she could wrap her head around what she saw in that all-too-brief moment, as taunting and ephemeral as a long-forgotten dream, but in a way…it was enough. Nadia didn’t need any scientific explanation or therapeutic soul-searching to know that her family was watching over her. That even if she couldn’t see them, they were right here with her, holding her up and guiding her hand. And that gave her the strength to carry on.

Dimly Nadia was aware of other visitations across the beach, other haunting glimpses of bygone souls offering much-needed relief to her teammates in their hour of need, but she did not dwell on them. As far as she was concerned, these precious memories were private, and none of her business. Instead the feral steeled herself at last, flashed open sea-blue eyes, flattened her ears, bared her fangs, and with her bizarre handgun as well-aimed as it was going to get, squeezed tight. Dutifully the weapon sprang into action, condensing her oceanid blood into bullets that it then launched via magnetic propulsion. “Have a taste of your own medicine!” she cried as her weaponized blood streaked through the air, more than happy to pay the Orphan back in kind for the bloody devastation it had wrought.

Nadia’s visceral charge shots joined their strength to the bombardment of cannon fire and sniper support that had been both whittling away at the giant BT and shooting down its attempts to return fire. None of the Gas Bags withstood more than a single shot from anything, instead bursting like the balloons they so resembled before they could plant themselves like mines in the tarry battlefield the accursed beach had become. The heroes’ ghastly pursuit by golden BT’s warranted more urgency, and though the lustrous fiends managed a couple close calls, they failed to drag anyone down into the muck. As more and more of the Seekers received aid from their phantoms, replenishing not just arsenals but bodies and souls, the cannonade turned into a withering deluge of steel, lead, bombs, flame, electricity, sound, shadow, and blood. Thanks to Blazermate’s healing even Peach could lend a hand, and though she couldn’t blast out railgun shots or deploy bombers like Bella, she had a trick or two of her own. Mr. Grimm’s revolver sent forth screaming spirits of the restless dead to home in on the BT’s blood-drunk heart alongside the Medabot’s purgatory ghosts, where all three specters collided with explosive results.

Working together, the team piled on the damage while keeping one another safe from the hazards that the BT spat back out at them. The punishment culminated in an uproarious fireball from Ace’s alchemy barrel, almost bright as the sun in the stormy dark of the shoreline. Its explosion ruptured the heart in a burst of nauseating, necrotic slime, and with an abysmal moan the eidolon recoiled. Its strands flailed like streamers from the tips of its stricken arms as it took a half-step back, and despite all that ailed her Nadia found herself wearing a gleeful grin. “We’re making progress!” she called out to encourage the others, but by now the feral knew better than to celebrate prematurely. “Just keep your guard up!”

Right on cue, the odious collapsed eyeball slid shut, and began to recede into the BT’s chest. In the span of a second the organ disappeared, and the patch of golden crystal began to slide across the nightmare’s tarry skin. It moved upward and around, coming to rest on BT’s left shoulder, where after another moment the mutilated eye protruded once more. Nadia couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle. It was such a simple move, but on such a large scale it meant that most if not all the Seekers couldn’t hit that weak spot any more. Not from their current positions, at least. Luckily, the problem had an equally simple solution. As Nadia lowered her gun and prepared to move, though, she realized exactly what was going on. The beach was shifting again, and in a big way. Almost everything that lay above the surface had already begun to sink below, while new fragments pushed up elsewhere. The scraps of shipwreck and shack that bubbled up looked even more rickety and decrepit than what she’d seen already, if that were even possible. She set her sights on the pieces of ancient Atlantean ruins instead, but even they seemed weird, their odd angles impious with horrible images and hieroglyphs. “...Hissterical,” the feral spat. Like it or not, it was time to get a move on.

Loathe to leave her family’s parting gifts behind, Nadia sacrificed the use of one arm to bind the cases and the gun in a sling of muscle fiber. Then she was off to the races. Before her roof could disappear into the mire she got clear with a running jump. She used the prow of an upturned rowboat and the top of a lamp post as stepping stones, then nimbly ran across the top of a crumbling stone wall. Spotting a rotten ship’s figurehead, she jumped for it with a blood-propelled dropkick. The impact snapped the spar supporting the carved maiden, and with Nadia atop it the whole thing fell forward into the quagmire, forming a bridge to a circle of standing fish idols. Breathing heavily, she crossed over, used the statues as stepping stones, and landed on a section of antiquarian aqueduct just in time to see the BT’s strands whipping across the beach. “Whoa!” she yowled, separating at the thighs to avoid the first pitch-black tentacle. As she came together she sprang forward in a jet of blood, diving between two more before she landed with a roll at the end of the aqueduct, blotched by the tar pooled within. “Eugh,” she groaned, getting to her feet to assess the situation. She’d managed to get almost to the beach’s east side cliff, from which she could definitely hit the big bastard’s eye. When she looked back, however, she spotted the BT swinging its strands in a colossal backhand, chasing the heroes as they made their way Nadia’s direction. “Look out, it’s coming around again!” she yelled.

Hat Kid was mid-jump when she got hit, caught wholesale by one of the hands that adorned the BT’s strands. It squeezed her tight, then like a stone from a sling, let her loose. The poor child hurtled out of control, straight toward the rocky cliff. “Hatty!” Nadia screamed, dropping her loot without a second thought. With only a split second to act she launched herself toward the girl as best she could, but it wasn’t good enough, and she realized mid-flight that she and Hat Kid would pass one another by a matter of meters. In an act of desperation she sacrificed a chunk of what little blood she had left to throw a half-formed copycat Hatty’s way. It managed to intercept her, grab hold, and be dragged along as the little girl flew, wrapping itself around her in a hug until the two hit the cliffside. Nadia’s copycat exploded from the impact, but its gelatinous body managed to cushion the kid just enough. She fell onto a stony shelf behind a promontory, and a moment later the real Nadia descended with the help of an airdash. Though lightheaded from the blood loss, the feral crouched down beside her. “Hatty? Hatty!” The girl wasn’t moving, and Nadia didn’t want to touch her, lest she worsen her injuries. “Blaze, over here, hurry!”

There wasn’t much that Nadia could do for her, she knew. Blazermate would have to bring the tyke back from the brink. At the very least, though, the cat burglar could make that monstrosity pay. She dropped down from behind the promontory, retrieved her weird gun, took aim, and fired. As the others let loose, having made their way to new vantage points from which they could strike at the BT’s eyes, Nadia fired and fired and fired again, until the expenditure of blood made her pass out, too.

It wasn’t long after that that the Seekers struck the final blow. The BT has reached the shore, but the relocation of its eye had been its last resort, and once they maneuvered their way across the perilous beach to get a bead on their target, Nadia’s allies finished the job. Their enemy fell to one knee, vying to support its weight on one arm, then with the last of its strength attempted to stand once more. Golden crystallization spread across its entire body, and as it stiffened,the hands that sprouted from its neck splayed wide. As the fingers bent and twisted, as if grasping for any shred of salvation, it shook the beach with one final bellow, like the song of a dying whale. Above it, the tumultuous sky began to calm, and the tar -with all its clutter- began to recede into the earth. Then, with agonizing slowness, the abominable thing toppled backward into the surf. Its golden body shattered like a mirror, and from within surged a tide of darkness. It swept over everyone present, but instead of pain or further horror the heroes found a strange relief in its momentary embrace, like the relief of closing one’s eyes after staring into a bright light.

”Ah, the sweet child of Kos, returned to the ocean…”

Then the shadow passed, and in its wake it left only the Beach, devoid of tar, or corpses, or filth of any kind. The water had receded a couple hundred feet from the black sand, leaving a wealth of chiral crystals, a field of frozen, grasping hands. In the largest formation, the spirit of the Orphan of Kos lay, its visage every bit as horrifying within the cerise swirl. A distant sunrise shone through the clouds, and in its warm rays the last traces of black mist melted away.

”A bottomless curse, a bottomless sea. Accepting of all that there is, and can be.”

After making doubly sure that no more nasty surprises awaited them, the weary heroes reconvened. Those in good shape helped along those who weren’t. Despite being barely conscious, Nadia clung to her gifts as if her life depended on it, which turned out to be oddly appropriate when a friend of hers inspected the containers. One of the labels on the box of cryptobiotes mentioned their ability to restore blood levels when eaten, and once made aware Nadia began to chow down. Though gross, the little bugs proved effective, and after munching through ten of them the feral felt a lot better. “Oh, man…” she exhaled, still a little woozy but able to (mostly) stand on her own. “I hope that worked. Otherwise, my efforts will be…in vein.”

She felt bad the instant she made the pun. Everyone was dirty, in pain, tired, and miserable. Their gear and clothes were in a pitiable state; Nadia was one hundred percent sure she’d have to throw hers away. Her mind swam from the horror of what she’d witnessed as much as from the blood loss, but no amount of not-so-yummy snacks could make that go away. Nobody died, at least. Bowser got whisked away by the cats to go hang out with Mirage, Link overcame his electrocution, Sakura jumped up from the mud like her alarm went off, Hatty got knocked out and...that was all she’d seen. It had been pandemonium, but all of her friends were still here. That’s something worth celebrating, she thought. Aside from the whole saving-the-world thing.

Once everyone left was accounted for, Peach took a deep breath. “Screw this place,” she declared suddenly, all the optimism and goodwill she’d striven for in her earlier speech washed away by the Orphan’s final act. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

The princess only got a few steps before she suddenly stopped, an important realization came to mind. “Damn it.” She turned back around. “I know that freak is the last thing we want to think about, but someone needs to fuse with it. It can’t be destroyed, and if we don’t take care of it...well, it’ll probably come back.” She looked around, her expression as apologetic as it was weary.

"Think I might be the best one to take it." Geralt said in response to the question. "That...thing...isn't something to be considered lightly. And Witchers, specifically, are mutated in such a way that allows us to take in alchemically prepared monster parts to gain some of their traits. Spirits are like that, in a way." Looking at the Orphan's Spirit, Geralt nodded. "And I'm willing to take the risk, and the downsides, that come with it. Whatever they are..."

For volunteering the Witcher found himself caught in a deluge of thanks and praise. Nobody wanted the Orphan inside them, horrific as it was, and to have someone willing meant a weight off their backs. Going near the chiralium crystals proved to have an immediate negative effect on his mind, taking the form of a sudden surge of depression, but Geralt’s long stride allowed him to retrieve the Orphan spirit quickly and retreat to a safe distance. There, with everyone looking on in worry, he did the deed.

For Geralt

Guardian spirit Assimilated:
Orphan of Kos
The severity of this fusion has been greatly lessened thanks to Geralt’s mutagenic resistance and his fusion with the harbor demon, whose height, beauty, general thickness, and voluminous hair almost perfectly counteract the Orphan’s shriveled, grotesque, hairless husk. The host is now pale enough to be considered albino, down to 7’7” in height, with a present but not too worrisome decrease in mass, if not physical strength. Harbor demon’s original hair length plus the Orphan’s baldness has resulted in somewhat shaggier hair at only a little longer than the host’s original length. The host’s generally a little less good looking than he was originally, with a ghastly smile and overall more bony structure (prominent ribs, elbows, knee bones, cheek bones, etc). From the shoulders of his gear extend two half-capes of a slightly translucent white material that is mistakable for silk when dry. Confers the Power Eldritch Lightning, which allows the host to call forth waves of electricity with a scream. Also confers the Power Hateful Flesh, which allows to pull the Orphan’s cleaver from within himself at a moderate health cost. The heaviest of his three weapons, it possesses an edge of siderate, a mineral said to have fallen from the great beyond, and rather than men or monsters, it deals extra damage to eldritch and spectral enemies. The host can pull clumps of extremely volatile tissue from the cleaver, which can then be used as contact explosives. Also confers the Strength A Call Beyond, giving the host an affinity for and insight into nightmarish things beyond mortal ken. Confers the Weakness Rager, making it easier for Geralt to give into anger when fighting (or in general) and suffer compromised decision-making with no increase to combat ability

When the light died down the Seekers were relieved to see that their grouchy friend didn’t look all that much worse for wear, somehow. In fact, he looked rather like his original self, if a little worse for wear. With that matter settled better than anyone -Geralt included- could have hoped, there wasn’t much to do other than gather up loot and get the hell away from the beach, as Peach prescribed. Though it glittered, the chiralium was certainly not gold, and just going near such a vast deposit gave rise to a disquieting onset of dark thoughts, so the heroes prepared to hurry on their way.

That left just one question, which Nadia, after blinking a few times, ended up voicing. “So…how do we get back to Limsa, again?”