Lugubrious

World of Light

The Under - Pizza Tower

Level 10 Nadia (212/100)
The Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Ganondorf’s @Double, Rubick’s @Scarifar, Ichiban’s @Truthhurts22, Omori’s [@Majoras End], Artorias’ @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 3205

It was a night like any other. Or maybe day, you could never tell down here without a clock on hand. The fashionable antique that had been sitting on the desk wasn’t working anymore, so after what felt like an eternity spent waiting in the cramped darkness, Nadia really couldn’t tell. Of course, that didn’t matter now. It was all over with. No more waiting, no more wanting, no more needing. No more sleepless nights spent longing, and no restless days spent toiling, planning, plotting, months of it, all just for this moment. And now she’d done it at last.

For a good long while, she just stood there in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out across the expanse. Few people could afford a view like this, either in terms of elevation, the amount of reinforced glass, or reconstruction costs. Certainly not her, and now she found that she couldn’t tear her gaze away. It really was an unfathomable miracle, this city in the deep. Schools of fish flocked like birds, congregating at clusters of seaweed that danced slowly in the gentle caresses of the currents. A blue whale, the greatest and most majestic animal in all the oceans, flew serenely past the window. Scarcely more than a parade float in comparison. From the rooftops of towering buildings that might’ve been called ‘skyscrapers’ anywhere else, powerful spotlights cast their brilliant rays up into the stygian depths as if to rail against the crushing blackness of a firmament that would never twinkle with distant starlight. Instead the people here gazed up at the glow of innumerable windows throughout the metropolis, not in wonderment of the unattainable cosmos, but in appreciation of the light and warmth they possessed, and in hopes of the heights they might one day attain.

It was a beautiful view. Everyone down by the seabed dreamed of becoming somebody someday, and gazing out of a window just like this one. Nadia flicked her tail restlessly Of course she’d dreamed those same dreams. Her and her whole family. Though she came from nothing, never knowing or caring for extravagance, and delighted in life’s simple pleasures, she hungered the same as they did. Others had more than enough to go around; the Fishbone Gang just wanted their fair share, and a fair share for the poor folks of Rock Bottom too. But life wasn’t fair. Greed was greed, and for daring to reach so high they’d been brought so, so low.

Nadia looked over her shoulder. Down at what was, by now, just another pile of ash. Now, they were even. Sweet, sweet revenge. And yet, despite years and years of constant practice, she couldn’t find it in herself to smile. She felt neither elation nor relief. That was the worst part. From the beginning she’d known that this wouldn’t fix anything. She never intended to do it for the sake of future victims, after all. But she’d convinced herself that this act would bring her satisfaction. Or maybe closure. Right now though, she only felt empty. Everything she’d cast aside for the sake of this moment, for what became her sole defining purpose…what now?

The door to the lounge slammed open, and she looked up, her expression blank. “She’s here!” A handful of suit-wearing goons spread out from the entrance, the barrels of their tommy guns trained on her. After them barged their ringleader, the teal-haired girl in orange, Cerebella. That hat of hers was already ready to fight. The girl paused for just a moment, stopped in her tracks by the sight of the devastation that had befallen the lounge. All the furniture and decor, from the sofas to the side tables, lay in ribbons and splinters. Ice and fire from Dahlia’s special rounds had wreaked almost as much havoc as Nadia herself, and a half-dozen ash piles remained of the Bunnies who’d tried to come between them. Funny that it’d be Cerebella. Nadia had heard just two things about her, and like all good gossip they were contradictory: that she was a good person, and that she’d do anything for Vitale. Well, she wouldn’t be here if that first one was true.

“...You actually got her,” Cerebella sounded almost impressed. “But I’m afraid this is as far as you go. Hand over the Life Gem, and I’ll get Vitale to let you go.”

Nadia sighed. So it’s like that, huh. She took one last look out the window, at the city and all its radiant lights. So much for being somebody. Then she turned to face the mobsters. By now all her new wounds were at least a little healed, which was good. She was going to need every drop. “Wow, just like that? You’re too kind~” She sharpened her claws. “Like I’d buy that. Let’s get this over with.”

The fight lasted only moments. Nadia didn’t hold back–she fought like a woman possessed, or someone with nothing to lose. The mobsters shot, stabbed, and swung at her, fighting to pry her claws from their throats, and she just kept coming. Slaughter for the slaughterers. Her rampage only came to an end when Cerebella finally managed to snatch her up, clamping her between Vice Vera’s massive palms.

Pushing back against the living weapon’s strength, Nadia laughed grimly. “You’ve got some serious guts, fightin’ me after seeing what I did to Dahlia, her bunnies, all your little friends…or maybe you’re hopin’ they softened me up? Hehe, you wish. I won’t stop until the Medici Mafia is destroyed. Every last one of ya.”

“That’s my family you’re talking about now,” Cerebella growled. “I won’t let you touch Vitale.”

Nadia grinned at her with pearl-white teeth. “Yeah? Try all you like. As long as the Life Gem’s power flows through my veins, no-one can stop me avenging the Fishbone Gang!”

“...Flows through your veins, huh?”

She began to squeeze tighter. Much tighter. Nadia grit her teeth, her eyes wide, as the walls closed in. Her attempts to fight back were in vain. A second later the giant hands slammed together, and when they opened again, almost nothing remained.

---

Nadia jerked awake with a guttural gasp. Her chest heaved as she hyperventilated, her skin slick with sweat, her nervous system in raw shock from the visceral certainty that she had been dying. To her horror she found herself bound, encased in some sort of sack, and in her panic she instinctively fought it tooth and nail, like a prey animal squeezed by a boa constrictor. After a couple furious seconds she fought her way loose, partially shredding it with her claws in the process. Only once she’d escaped confinement did her jolt of primal panic begin to subside. That awful sensation of being wadded up, then crushed to death…just a dream. A terrible, terrible dream, but no more than that. Jeez… As the thumping of her heart slowed, her breathing returned to normal, and she began to search for an answer to a very important question.

Where the hell am I? While she didn’t recognize her surroundings, she could tell that she’d wound up in some sort of tent, military green in color. When she took another look at the cloth thing she’d attacked in her terror, she was embarrassed to realize that she'd been fighting for her life against an ordinary, perfectly harmless bedroll. A bunch of her equipment lay neatly arranged on the other side of the tent, including her blade case, her boxcutter hilts, her new dagger Athame, the Bait launcher, her pouch-laden utility belt, and her jacket. That left just her top and her shorts to sleep in, which was definitely for the best. Everything else seemed to be in order, from ears to tails to toebeans. Hearing noise from outside, she crawled on all fours to the slit at the front of the tent where warm light seeped in, and after poking her head through the tent flaps Nadia got her first good look at her surroundings. Purple brick walls, roaring fireplace (the reason it felt so toasty in here no doubt), a firmly barred door, and more tents.

Ah. Now it was all coming back to her. This was the Pizza Tower’s bottom floor after all, the last thing she remembered before passing out. These tents and bedrolls were new, though. The more Nadia thought about it, the more probably it seemed that someone had been nice enough to scoop her sorry ass off the ground, get all her stuff off her, and put her to bed properly. Honestly, while someone else might see it as an invasion of privacy, that act of kindness struck Nadia as a major relief. Right now she felt sore, stiff, and hopelessly unkempt, with a bad case of bedhead turning her raven-black bob cut into an unruly wad of fluff. I must look like a disaster. She couldn’t imagine how much worse it’d be if left to sleep on solid stone, with all her equipment poking and pulling at her all night! It felt like she’d been tossing and turning, and no wonder, with a dream like that. “Ugh…” Nadia groaned, rubbing her eyes. Though the exact details of her dream were already slipping away, her unease lingered. It felt so real…

After shaking her head she ducked back inside her tent and threw her jacket on. While underground there was no reliable way to tell how much time had passed while the Seekers slept, but her gut instinct, drowsiness, and well-restedness suggested that it was some time in the morning. Seven, maybe? That meant it was a brand new day, guaranteed to be as chock-full of thrills and spills as the last. As much as Nadia hated starting another day of adventure in this state, she had to admit that she’d been pretty darn lucky to have spent the last three nights straight of her globetrotting trip in well-stocked hotels, complete with showers and complimentary breakfast. “Gonna have to get used to roughin’ it,” she told herself as she ran her claws through her hair as a makeshift comb.

Thinking of breakfast, unfortunately, made her realize just how hungry she was. She was starving. Thirsty, too–her tongue felt like sandpaper, and not in the way a cat’s tongue usually did. Nadia treated herself to a luxurious stretch, yawning like a lion, and exited her tent to greet the new day. “Good mornin’! Mornin’! Mornin’ everyone!” She made sure to greet everyone with the same cheerful smile. “Anyone got any water? I’m kinda fursty. Purrched, even.” After a few moments she came face to face with the three Pizza Trolls, who happened to be enjoying their last few leftover slices next to the warmth of the pizza oven. “Hey, guys!” she chirped. “What’s on the menu?”

Arno wasted no time in correcting her misconception. He, Willa, and Shyler didn’t make visitors pizzas; in fact, anyone seeking passage through this area needed to make pizzas for them. “If you want to get through Pizza Tower and reach the Forsaken Lands, you’re gonna have to make all three of us pizzas with only stuff we like!”

With that little nugget of wisdom came a new opportunity, however. “We are rather particular when it comes to toppings,” Willa advised the heroes. “But you’re free to make as many pizzas as you wish in order to find the right one for all of us. And the ingredients to make any pizza you could possibly imagine can be found on our magical tower’s various levels.”

Shyler nodded. “Y-you can even take ‘em with you when you go! In our special pizza boxes, pizzas never go bad or fall apart, and you can fit as many in our red pizza bags as you want!”

“Yeah, knock yourselves out,” Arno added. “They’re all open, just make sure you’re fast. Each level’s got a time limit, and trust me, you don’t wanna be in one when the timer runs out! And don’t go anywhere marked ‘Staff Only’, ‘cause boy you’ll be sorry! Now get movin’, these pizzas aren’t gonna make themselves!”

After that somewhat brusque briefing Nadia circled back around to talk with the others. “You guys catch all that?” she asked them excitedly. “Unlimited pizzas that don’t go bad? This sounds like the purr-fect chance to stock up on food for our journey! We don’t even have to make all the ingredients we get into pizza, we could just keep ‘em, or eat ‘em on the spot!” She looked over her shoulder at the trolls in case they were listening, but they were currently playing rock-paper-scissors for their last pizza slice.

While the feral spoke with the others, Barnabee approached the Pizza Trolls. “I beg your pardon. Last night I distinctly remember thee mentioning a ‘boss’ of some sort. Is he an individual of some repute?”

“Y’mean, is he a big deal? ‘Cause he’s like, the biggest!” Arno cackled. “Trust me, nobody -and I mean nobody!- messes with Pizza Face!”

“And hast thou happened to glimpse a porcelain-white mask fragment in his possession, by any chance?”

The troll looked bemused. “Uhh…maybe? T’be honest, I don’t pay that much attention to anything that isn’t pizza.” He narrowed his eyes at Barnabee. “Wink, wink!”

Barnabee nodded in gratitude, then returned to the others. Nadia joined them again after a few moments as well, having gone back together etch her belt and weaponry. Then she padded over to the Hub’s adjacent halls to get her first good look at the Pizza Tower’s available floors. The first hall featured five introductory levels, though the last one in the row appeared to be completely blocked off.

• John Gutter, a blend between underground jungle and tropical isle, with vegetation tinged as purple as the swampy water and a populace of living stone pillars, and various fruits like pineapple hanging from the trees
• Pizzascape, a medieval-themed castle of red brick, infested by Pepperoni Goblins and patrolled by Cheese Knights. Instead of weapons, its armories and wall-mounted racks contain arrays of peppers, including bell peppers, banana peppers, pepperoncini, and jalapenos
• Ancient Cheese, Pizza Tower’s cheese repository, piled high with all sorts of cheeses harvested and delivered from Crumble Cavern to be carved into building blocks and styled in the fashion of ancient Greek ruins. Home to many cheeseslimes
• Bloodsauce Dungeon, a foreboding and labyrinthine expanse of dark halls and rooms where cauldrons, vials, and even pits of red sauce, marinara, pesto, olive oil, barbeque sauce, alfredo, and buffalo sauce can be found if one can get past the monsters

In the second hall, the Seekers found western-themed levels, although the fifth and final one also seemed inaccessible.

• Oregano Desert, an arid expanse plus herbal oasis where all sorts of herbs grow in bushes, shrubs, and sprigs. Home to Buffalocusts, Egglers, Scorpeppers, and according to legend, the terrifying Mothza Supreme
• Wasteyard, a spooky underground cave full of ghosts, gabaghouls, and the burnt, shambling remains of pizzas that never got a chance at life. Being underground, roots, bulbs, and tumors can be found here in abundance, including garlic, red onions, and green onions
• Fun Farm, a lush Italian farmstead with a bumper crop of tomatoes. All sorts of poultry and beef products can be found here, from shredded chicken and eggs to ground beef and meatballs, if one can get past the giant bipedal poleaxe-wielding cows
• Fast Food Saloon, a western-style town where ranch dressing can be found in abundance, usually packing heat in the form of Ranch Shooters and a handful of banditos. There’s plenty of liquor here too, though

The third hall offered five levels collectively referred to as ‘Vacation Resort’, though two were blocked off.

• Crust Cove, a beautiful sunset seaside where the water is not only full of shrimp and anchovies, but sparkling. Black olive trees grow along its sandy shore as well. The vessel that sails its waters is crewed by green pizza goblins, wielding asparagus spears, broccoli clubs, and all sorts of things too healthy to go on pizza
• Gnome Forest, an enchanted fungal woodland filled to the brim with all kinds of tasty and flavorful mushrooms, with plenty of fungal freaks to match. Beehives can also be found littered around it, though the bees are loathe to give up the honeycombs inside
• Deep-Dish 9, an alien planet inhabited by U.F.Olives and one-eyed pickle creatures, highly protective of their flavorful, briney vegetables

Finally, the last hall also offered just three usable levels.

• The Pig City, a swine-themed urban city center where every shop is a butcher or deli, this is a one-stop shop for all essential pork products, like pepperoni, ham, prosciutto, salami, chorizo, and sausage. Just beware the wrath of the pigmen and piglin residents, only too happy to join together into an angry mob to dispose of any meat-eaters
• Peppibot Factory, a facility where raw materials are refined into a number of ingredients for dessert pizzas, including marshmallows, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, candy bars, cookie crumbles, pie filling, and more. Owing to the value of these ingredients, the machines that operate this facility are well-armed and highly aggressive
• Refrigerator-Refrigerador-Freezerator, a snowy landscape where cheap, low-quality, frozen pizzas are assembled and kept. In terms of effort needed to make a pizza this is as low as it gets, but they’re practically guaranteed to displease, and the snowmen here aren’t exactly welcoming

While she found more closed doors than she expected, as well as a number of ‘help wanted - miniboss’ signs on said doors, Nadia found herself quite spoiled for choice. Each open door offered only a sneak peek at the level’s contents, so what the Seekers would run into once inside was anyone’s guess, but if the Pizza Trolls were right about it being dangerous they’d still need to be careful. Still, with her stomach rumbling and empty the feral was more than prepared to take a risk. There were a bunch of good options, but once she caught the faint smell of seafood drifting from the level marked as ‘Crust Cove’, she realized there wasn’t much choice at all. Trying not to salivate, she grabbed a burlap sack from the nearest pile and waved to her fellow Seekers. “Alright, see you guys back here in a few minutes!” With that she jumped in and was promptly whisked away to Crust Cove, eager to rustle up some seafood. Any other enterprising Seekers would be following suit with their own chosen levels, ready to put an end to the team’s short-lived food shortage.

World of Light

For the most part that sheet is okay, 'Lifeless' needs to be adapted somewhat. We can't just play characters that can't be killed. Ms Fortune's probably the closest it gets, and not only is her life-preserving ability a Power, but it's also not bottomless; she regenerates based on her current blood level, which replenishes over time or when she receives healing, and if she runs out of blood completely she can flatline. She could also theoretically be killed in other ways. There's also the WoL system of Lifelight, which is used up by gleaming characters to live. In addition, having a weakness be 'he can take damage sometimes' doesn't balance this out. So 'Lifeless' doesn't work as-is.

In addition, before playing a fourth character, I would prefer you didn't miss any weekly posting cycles with your other three characters for a bit in order to make sure you're okay with the load.

World of Light

The City of Glass - Regatta Bay

Level 5 Goldlewis (29/40)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Karin and Sakura’s @Zoey Boey, Blazermate and Susie’s @Archmage MC, Geralt and Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit’s @Yankee, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Roxas’ @Double, Benedict and Partitio’s @Dark Cloud, Tora, Giovanna
Word Count: 1733

The more Goldlewis saw of Wallace’s boat, the more amazed he became. As a high-up government worker he’d been used to working and meeting important people, whether in elaborate, historic places or huge, fancy venues. Yet he’d never been one to stand on ceremony himself; it just didn’t feel right to live a life of luxury on a salary extracted from the people he endeavored to serve and protect, especially when that money could be invested into their better service and protection. In his heart, he was ever the soldier, never the statesman. Why splurge on the finest French cuisine when a double bacon cheeseburger from Danny Missiles -or hell, Dunny Missiles for that matter- did the job just fine? More than fine in most cases, actually. Still, after a quick wander through the yacht’s incredible interior Goldlewis couldn’t help admit that the high life probably had its charms.

Such an extravagance was just the latest on the long line of brand-new experiences this adventure kept delivering to Tora, but he couldn’t bring himself to be excited. Just as with the breathtaking view of the City of Glass, life’s rich tapestry of beauty and joy lost its savor without someone special to savor it with. Instead of tucking himself in the lounge to enjoy some complimentary snacks and beverages, the Nopon ignored his empty tummy and placed himself on the yacht’s forward railing. All he cared about was reaching Vandelay Campus, where the coalescence of Vandelay’s robots and CyberLife’s androids produced the summit of automaton technology. Tora’s eyes lay on that obscenely massive ‘V’, full of grim resolve. He would use everything he could get his wings on to bring her back.

While Sakura toured the boat with Wallace to fulfill her end of the bargain, taking snapshot after snapshot of the man in an expressionless, neutral pose in front of his various possessions, the other Seekers gradually trickled in. Some of the others spent their brief reprieve on a deeper dive into the ethics of proposed actions in the current context. It seemed to Goldlewis like these heroes wanted to both get the mission done and do the right thing, but in his experience, those two conditions didn’t always mix. There was never a clean, ‘correct’ solution, only trade-offs. Zenkichi probably knew as well as anyone that you could never please everyone, but Goldlewis knew firsthand the kind of crushing weight that accompanied hard decisions when you were accountable to millions. Midna had a very real point: there was no guarantee that Galeem’s defeat would result in universal restoration. And even if there was, relying on that to wash one’s hands of all the consequences of one’s misdeeds. To bear the burden of such consequences, one needed the strongest shoulders imaginable, and the iron will necessary to make those hard decisions. That was where Goldlewis Dickinson came in–to bear that weight, so that nobody else would have to. For now though, the Seekers could avail themselves of the lucky opportunity that Mr. Limestein provided.

Speaking of, the man’s rather stoic photo op was coming to an end. He had his last photo taken in front of a grand piano, and after examining the picture he nodded in approval. “Good...this is a great photo. As a matter of fact, I have done a lot of research on music. I have enjoyed classic songs such as "Still Alive" and "My Heart Feels No Pain" more than twenty times. If my future friend happens to be interested in music, maybe we can book a whole concert hall and listen to an orchestra together. I'll pay for all that, of course.”

When Susie posed him a question, he fixed her with a thoroughly nonplussed expression. “At the moment, my sole occupations are the pursuit of novel entertainment, and my goal of obtaining a true friend.” Utterly nonplussed by the robot’s attempt to be personable, he saw no further need to humor her with a response, but after a moment he scratched his chin. “That said, this does strike me as just the sort of idle conversation I might indulge in with such a friend. Are you perhaps a psychoanalysis android? Alright, I’ll give this a shot. Let’s workshop a back-and-forth exchange once we get underway. After all this time, I am rather numb to the sights around here, after all.”

He then turned his attention to the wisdom Sakura imparted to him. “You are very correct. I could not accept any ‘friend’ attracted solely by my riches or reputation. Friendships of utility are not true friendships. And given my status, it's inappropriate for me to chat with strangers out on the street.” When she mentioned shared interests, he nodded in agreement. “Precisely. These photos will help demonstrate my interests, so that anyone who shares them can instantly recognize what an excellent friend I would make.” She lost him when her train of thought veered back toward fighting, though. “I am no ruffian, miss, and I must insist that you and your friends refrain from any action that might damage my yacht. They do not come cheap, you know.”

Soon everyone was aboard, with Roxas the last one on courtesy of his detour to a sushi bar, and the boat set sail across Regatta Bay. While Wallace claimed to have learned how to control it himself, since he originally figured doing so might make for a fun pastime, he set the yacht to autopilot. Then he met with Susie to begin their conversation session. “Alright, let us simulate a typical conversation. What was it you asked…what do I do? Hm. Well, I have a couple of properties in the Administrative District that require maintenance. I have to pay taxes for them. But I'm far too lazy to rent them out — I mean, time is money! Besides, they're full of priceless relics.”

Goldlewis, watching from the sidelines, raised his eyebrows. “You’re into ancient relics, mister?”

Not exactly,” Wallace admitted. “I just like to own them. For example, a while back Lord Simon told me he obtained a particularly rare gold watch, said to be a relic left behind by Midgar’s previous Administration. How could I miss out on such a rarity! So I offered him three houses for it.” He shrugged, then continued without giving Susie a chance to speak. “I also own an antique car that I’ve kept in pristine condition for years with some help from my twenty-person maintenance team. And a few days ago, I spent a small sum of money — as much as the price of a few antique vases. I requested for someone to fetch a cyberpet from the Sector 04 undercity. Unfortunately...once it was assembled, it was nothing special. As for the people who come from below, all they talk about is policies, money, and business. There is absolutely nothing I can talk to them about. How painfully mundane!” The conversation continued like this for some time, and Susie got very little out of it.

After a good while spent sailing at a leisurely pace across the waters of the Sector 06 plate, the yacht drew close to Vandelay Campus. Its iconic tower had been gargantuan from a distance, but from up close it loomed even larger. Sure, it didn’t exactly compare to the sheer height of Split Mountain, or the vastness of the Sandswept Sky, but this was a man-made edifice. It didn’t just make Tora feel small; it made him feel unimportant. Compared to the rest of the City of Glass, these facilities and factories were both a lot more colorful and rough around the edges, but the public-facing offices and the grand atrium were as spotless and sparkling as could be. Their destination lay between the main building and an exorbitant outdoor concert stage: the illustrious Dendenmille Showcase Theater, with its rich red facade and impressive domes.

The public entrance to the Vandelay Campus took the form of a large area that accommodated all forms of transportation from cars to watercraft to aircraft, known as Circuit Royal. After steering past a number of other boats, Wallace’s craft pulled up at the docks so that the Seekers could disembark. With no intention of attending the debate himself, their pretentious benefactor bid them farewell, then left them in the company of a huge amount of people making their way to the same destination. It wasn’t just residents of the City of Glass; travelers from all eight of Midgar’s plates had come to attend the final debate of the presidential race that would define their city’s future. Blimps, airships, and helicopters seemed to be the exception to the City of Glass rule of ‘no interplate traffic’, and quite the variety could be found around the port. No wonder the Sector 06 Hublink had been so busy, crowded, and well-defended! Security seemed even stronger here, not necessarily any tighter, but a lot more numerous. With this being the birthplace of the Vandelay robots, it made sense that there would be a lot of them here. And somewhere, in all of this hubbub, were the presidential candidates themselves, each with their own hand-picked retinues of capable guards.

Goldlewis took a deep breath. “Well, we’re here. Thanks to these press passes, we’re gonna get front-row seats.” He stroked his whiskers. “Or, six of us will, at least. The rest of y’all need to figure somethin’ out if ya wanna watch first-hand. That said, I’m sure the debate’s gonna be plastered all over every TV in the whole doggone city, so you can put your feet up at a restaurant or somethin’ just as easy.”

“Tora not care about big argument, meh,” Tora piped up. “Want guided tour of robot factory. That something big company do, yes?”

The veteran scrunched his brows together. “I reckon they oughta, but you shouldn’t go off on your own, son…”

Once the team made the final selection and juggled around the press passes, the lucky few could proceed toward Dendemille Showcase Theater to be seated, while the rest needed to look elsewhere. The vast and varied Vandelay Campus was like its own self-contained city, though, so there was plenty to see and do even without entering any restricted zones, and about an hour to do it before the main event.

Escaping the Home of Tears

Level 10 Nadia (208/100)
The Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Ganondorf’s @Double, Rubick’s @Scarifar, Ichiban’s @Truthhurts22, Artorias’ @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 3743

Peals of uproarious, manic laughter rang out from the tentacled pirate Barbary as her Octobombs detonated one after another, their plumes of billowing flame a bright, harsh light against the gloom of the Home of Tears. Entire swathes of its monstrous citizenry either hurtled into the water, propelled by the explosions’ concussive force, or leaped in on their own to quench the fire when Barbary’s destruction set them ablaze. Sophie’s potions sowed almost as much havoc, their sorcerous splashes instantly afflicting all those unlucky enough to be caught in them with blindness, slowness, poison, and fatigue. Though not as fast off the blocks as the others, Solon managed to outdo them both in terms of pure havoc. As the heroes fled, hounded by gangs of pursuers, his relentless casts of Miasma Δ quickly blanketed the circular plaza with clouds of thick, venomous gas to swallow up any who failed to get clear in time. Once caught in that noxious smog, it would only be a matter of time until even the strongest combatants succumbed, their throats and lungs agonizingly thick with malefic chemicals.

Whether her allies made it out of the mayhem or not, Nadia didn’t dare look behind her just yet. Courtesy of the Koopas’ quick thinking and varied abilities, an avenue of escape had opened up just when it looked like the Seekers were about to be swallowed up by the horde, so right now nobody’s safety concerned her quite as much as her own, and she needed to move.. Thanks to F’s terrifying mind control, the cityfolk were literally seeing red, and the hunt was on. Those that could took to the waterways, the paper boats on their endless journey, or private watercraft. The rest crowded along the water’s edge on both sides, taking potshots from the bridges and islands of the Collection or the southern jetties of the Amusement Park on the right. With a cacophony of vengeful yells, battle cries, incantations, and called-out attacks at her back. She skated across the surface of the city’s southeastern waterway in a zigzag pattern, dodging arrows, spells, hurled objects, and a couple citizens who threw themselves from the railings in hopes of taking the feral with them into the drink. At one point a grenade plopped down into the river behind her and blew up a moment later, sending up a spout of water, but the resulting wave only helped speed Nadia on her way. With most of the enemies focused on the Koopa Troop, she quickly outpaced the swimmers and sailors with Massachusetts’ incredible nautical mobility, putting some distance between herself and the action. Her stores of adrenaline were starting to run dry, though, and realizing she desperately needed a moment, she cruised towards a rock protruding from the water a safe distance from land.

Nadia plopped down on the outcrop, her breath ragged in her throat as she fought to catch her breath in the pouring rain. The fatigue, aches, and stress of a whole day’s near-constant exertion all weighed her down, and her heart pounded in her chest. If not for her nap at Habbo Hotel and that much-needed reprieve at the Terminal cafe, she reasoned that she might’ve been done for. Of course, Nadia knew she wasn’t out of the woods just yet. After rolling over she scanned the waterway in a sitting position, on the lookout for the Koopa Troop and their great white whale, but when she spotted them her heart sank. She’d assumed that with that kind of firepower Bowser’s gang would be able to handle being the center of attention, but it looked like they’d gotten a lot more than they bargained for. The Mermaid Corps had caught up to Rika’s ghastly cetacean and started stabbing, and enemy watercraft closed in on all sides. A magic shield went up around it, and as the paper boats converged the whale submerged, but its future was anything but certain. Unfortunately, before Nadia could see any more the water erupted in front of her.

Her eyes went wide as the purple dinosaur from below lunged towards her like a crocodile, fangs bared and a ferocious axe brandished. There was no time to pressurize her blood for a Fiber Upper. Moving instinctively, the feral rolled backward into a handspring, and as she vaulted onto the water the head of Susie’s axe came down on the stone. Instead of obliterating her target it cracked the rock in half, and as Nadia slid backward across the water’s surface the two locked eyes, lips curled and teeth bared. Without saying a word, both took action. Nadia pressurized her arms, and a pink flame sparked at the end of Susie’s axe. At the same exact time both unleashed their might, the feral with a blood-propelled right-arm rocket punch and the dinosaur with a blazing arrow of Rude-elemental damage. The next second both attacks hurtled past their foes’ faces, coming within centimeters of a critical headshot. Susie, however, snapped her jaws shut on Nadia’s outstretched muscle fiber, eliciting a pained “YOWCH!”

With a grin Susie yanked the limb with her mouth, trying to reel Nadia in like a fish on the line, but the cat burglar detached the cords and cannoned off her other arm. Puzzled as to why the limb suddenly went slack, Susie took her opponent’s palm strike straight to the nose, and as the dinosaur reeled Nadia closed her hand to clamp down on Susie’s snout. “Just call me a pepper…” From there the feral just retracted her arm to zip straight across the water to Susie and start up a combo. “‘Cause I’m jalapeño business!” Her two-hit Flip Flop kick led straight into a One-two Pun-isher and finally a good old-fashioned Limber Up to pop Susie into the air. Then Nadia went low, mustered her strength, poured a whole lot of blood into a copied right arm, and finally launched her fist skyward in a jaw-dropping uppercut. “Honorable…DISCHARGE!” When the punch connected, she blasted it out in a geyser of blood to add even more oomph, and Susie sailed into the air, her eyes and mouth wide open. Nadia’s right arm fell from her jaws and socketed neatly back into place, held up in a fist-pump of victory, and a moment later Susie splashed down into the water a couple dozen feet away.

Nadia chuckled, feeling a little light-headed, and turned her attention back toward the others. The Troop had resurfaced on the other side of the citizens’ flotilla, but the exercise left their whale thoroughly boarded. Guess I’m safe on my own, she thought with a sigh. Our only chance is together. As if on queue, a wicked cry made her ears perk up, and she turned to see Lord Raptor flying at her through the air with Death Hurricane, his limbs whirling like helicopter blades. “Whoa!” She put up her guard to block it, and after landing Raptor immediately threw her; his claws closed around Nadia’s shoulders and he extended his ribs like fangs to pierce her torso again and again before slamming her down. He went in for the meaty and got a Fiber Upper for his troubles–this time Nadia was ready. Before she could capitalize on her reversal, though, she spotted Hsien-ko skywalking in. The Jianshi extended a chain from her sleeve to grapple to a point in space, then swung beneath it, her arm windmilling in a vertical circle with claws outstretched. Nadia made her decision and got the hell out of there, skating away from the rocky outcrop as fast as her sealegs could take her, with the two undead in pursuit.

She reached the entrance to Crumble Cavern just after the Koopa Troop did. Just as with the passages to the Womb and King’s Station, this entrance featured a semicircular stone platform on each side of the cave wall, so she leaped up from the water to race across it. In a blink, she’d exited the deluge of the Home of Tears and entered into the merciful dryness of the cheese-filled megacave. Running behind Rika’s whale, she watched as it used its momentum and slick underside to slide across the stone with everyone atop it, then fly off the opposite side over a yawning abyss. Nadia’s eyes widened, but there was no turning back now, so she buckled down for the final sprint. “This not a gouda ideaaaaaaa!” A terrifying moment later the whale slammed down on the cheesy cliff on the gorge’s far side, sending crumbs spiraling down into the dark, and Nadia touched down beside it. Thanks to her new paws she landed better than ever, but her momentum sent her into a roll and she wound up on her back, which meant an uncomfortable smack against her blade case. “...Gah!” she grunted as she gasped for breath, wanting nothing more than to lay there for another few hours, but the Seekers’ pursuers had other plans. Bowser’s yell got her attention, and after sitting up Nadia saw cityfolk amassing on the stone platform above the waterfall. Bowser was right; there was no time to lose. “Yeah, ricotta get goin’!” With a groan she got to her feet and took off running across the cheesescape. Soon the caves and tunnels echoed with the sounds of a half-dozen battles.

Under better circumstances Nadia would have liked to stop and marvel at this place. The cheese was breathtaking, and not just in a metaphorical sense–the smell was almost overpowering. Beneath her feet, the ground felt spongy and even a little bouncy. Dozens of varieties littered the landscape like different kinds of stone in all sorts of formations, a smorgasbord of colors, textures, and aromas. With bloodthirsty monsters on her heels, though, she’d have to stop and admire the scenery some other time. On the far side of the cavern lay the team’s destination, but getting there -and getting rid of her unwanted company- would be a problem. Between the river and the gorge most of the cityfolk had given up their chase, but that left the Home of Tears’ strongest warriors. A quick look over her shoulder after swatting aside Cheeseslimes confirmed both Hsien-ko and Raptor in pursuit. When she leaped and airdashed over a pit full of cheese wedge spikes, Raptor airdashed after her by whipping his legs around, and Hsien-ko swung over. “Ugh. Curd you two give it a rest?” When she sliced up a Gabaghoul and then slid underneath a low-hanging cheese archway with Cat Slide, the zombie morphed his lower half to perform a bizarre crouch-walk, and the jiangshi simply blinked to the other side. “Oh, brie-lliant.” Even when she approached the cavern wall and sunk in her claws to wall-run a couple hundred feet over a massive ravine, her pursuers kept up, Hsien-ko with another skywalk and Raptor with a freakish teleport that involved summoning some sort of demon to swallow him up and then spit him out from the ground on the other side.

“...Cheese Louise,” the feral laughed breathlessly, frustrated. She just didn’t have the gas to keep this up. After a longing stare at Pizza Tower, her eyes landed on a gigantic swiss cheese wheel just a short ways off, and the gears in her mind began to turn. “Guess we’ll finish this the old-fashioned way.” As the zombies closed in she took off, sprinting into one of the swiss wheel’s holes. She ran and climbed through the twists and turns of its tunnels, and though the undead followed they quickly lost sight of her in the maze. When the two eventually climbed out through a hole in the very top of the wheel, they found Nadia waiting for them in what looked like a giant, circular arena of cheese.

“What took ya so long? Feelin’ bleu?” Nadia grinned at the pair as they approached, Raptor at a saunter and Hsien-ko with slow hops, head lolling creepily. With Pizza Tower in the background and the chase concluded, the showdown was about to begin. Their eyes lingered for a moment on the spare blades haphazardly plunged into the creamy-white surface of the swiss, then the case at Nadia’s feet. “Y’know, I can’t say I’m cheesed to meetcha. This isn’t your fault. But there’s no other way,” the feral told as she stood firm, her boxcutters in hand. “So let’s cut to the chase. Your fon-doom approaches!”

In reply, the zombies charged. Raptor messily morphed his right forearm into a freakish chainsaw, as long as he was tall. The way this guy moved, the way he fought, reminded Nadia of herself, albeit to a much greater extent. There was no way he felt pain, and therein lay her strategy. As he ran in swinging, two Copycats burst up from the holes where they’d been lying in wait. They pounced on him from the sides, grabbed hold, and sank their claws in. Together they made him stumble and fall directly onto one of the extra blades, piercing him through the stomach. Both Hsien-ko and Nadia rushed toward him, but the feral arrived first to drive both her boxcutters into him to hold him in place. Pulling the triggers detached the blades and left Raptor triple-nailed to the cheese, giving Nadia a chance to fight one-on-one.

Grimacing, Hsien-ko swung her sleeve, flinging a handful of basketball-sized spiked metal spheres her Nadia’s way. She blocked them, reabsorbed her Copycats, and ran toward her foe. On the way she passed by and attached two new blades, clicking them into place. She stopped short to avoid a giant claw slash, then leaped for a jump-in only to take a strike from Hsien-ko’s claws, extended diagonally on chains. As she fell her foe hopped forward, and by the time she rose Hsien-ko had leaped into the air to come down on her with Zanpa, her claws spinning beneath her like a grinder. Never one to block, Nadia dashed forward to cross beneath her opponent, then spun around with her Cat Scratch series, made longer and stronger by her boxcutters. “One! Two!” For the final hit she flipped forward to bounce Hsien-ko off the ground with her El Gato axe kick. “Wreck-a your face!”

Nadia used this brief window to create a Copycat, and when Hsien-ko hit the cheese, she sent it low with Cat Slide. The jiangshi blocked low on wakeup, smashed the doppelganger flat with her claws, and when her foe hurled her boxcutter blades, she produced a huge gong to reflect her projectiles right back at her. Taken by surprise, the feral took a slice to the ribs and the bicep. “Agh!” she cried, her severed arm falling to the ground in a spurt of blood. “You munster!” Hsien-ko blinked in to capitalize only to run straight into Nadia’s disjointed knee. “Gotcha!” she cackled, extending her head on a cord of muscle to smash into Hsien-ko’s like a flail. The zombie’s backward stumble came to an end as the reformed Copycat hit her from behind with Shove Off, pushing her back into Nadia, who launched herself sideways with her lower half spinning to unleash a vertical windmill kick. She landed in a split and reattached her arms as her clone made Ear Piercing its last hurrah, allowing her to finish off with a double-bladed Gol-fur Swing.

Just when Nadia managed to send Hsien-ko flying, though, Raptor finally worked his way off his blades. He ran up and jumped in on her with Loudness Screw, twisting his whole bottom half into a bone-tipped coil of flesh. Naturally Nadia challenged him, lashing out with a series of slashes, but she found out she wasn’t the only one with a guard cancel when he beefed out of blockstun with the killer guitar riff Death Phrase, backed by the one-eyed monstrosity she caught a glimpse of before. The soundwave stunned her, and the horror promptly launched Raptor forward for a body-slam that knocked her down. To add insult to injury, he then jumped and danced on her with Skull Javelin, letting out high-pitched laughter as he stomped one foot after the other. Enraged, Nadia let out all her frustration in one big burst. “RAAAAAWWRRR!” When Raptor regained his feet he immediately took one of Nadia’s flung blades to his chest. As an angry Nadia barreled toward him, she unwittingly used Charge, becoming a streaking bolt of electricity that burst through Raptor to reform behind him. As he reeled, she blinked, coming to grips with what happened. “Shock?” The zombie wheeled around with a massive guitar swing, but it passed harmlessly between her as she bifurcated her midsection. Then she struck in turn, this time with Battery. “And awe!” Right after her flourishing blade strikes came a two-burst aftershock. With a groan Raptor lashed out in return, jutting out his own elbow as a bone lance, but Nadia beat it out with Hand in Hand and popped off her own head for a Furnado Drill to seal the deal. “A bit off the top!”

Raptor fell flat on his back and lay there for a moment, but when he finally dragged himself to his feet, Hsien-ko was standing beside him. Though both had taken some decent damage, they stood together for a last ditch effort. Meanwhile, Nadia swayed drunkenly, barely standing. She didn’t fight in a way that conserved energy, and now she’d just about run out. Her blood reserves were too low for any more Copycats, too. I can do this. I can do this! It took a conscious effort to keep smiling as she clicked in a new blade from the ground. “Hey…any chance we could call this a draw? I’m basically dead on my feet…not as much as you two, but still…”

Raptor chuckled and snapped his fingers, a rainbow glow overtaking his body. Teeth erupted from the cheese beneath Nadia, and as she froze in terror thanks to her phobia, the zombie’s monstrous companion arose to chomp her into a ball. It spat her into Raptor’s waiting hands, and after dribbling her twice the monster morphed into a bizarre basketball hoop, allowing Raptor to finish off his incredible Hell Dunk. Though Nadia turned back to normal after that, her troubles were only just beginning; Hsien-ko unleashed Tenrai Ha, raining down spiked balls from the sky on top of her. Though she tried to block while on the ground, in the end she lay there flat-out, on the verge of blacking out. The undead approached and stood over her, ready to finish her off.

“Oww. You got me,” she groaned. “But I got…one last…Idea…”

Her striker manifested over her, dwarfing both zombies in size. As they stood there, shocked, the monstrosity shot out its seven tongues to bind the two and bash their heads together. That left them stunned just long enough for Nadia to get to her knees, dig in her claws, face them with the power building in her left eye. “River-carvin’...” Spending every bar of Tension she had, Nadia blasted the two with a thick beam of pure, unadulterated Hydro. “RAPIDS!” The magical torrent washed both Lord Raptor and Hsien-ko all the way across the swiss cheese arena. They disappeared over the side, and after a moment Nadia slumped down. “Damn I’m good,” she gasped, the instant before she smacked face-first into the swiss.

A few minutes later she stirred, already in better shape thanks to her regeneration, but more tired than she could ever remember being. After getting to her feet she lurched to the edge of the swiss wheel closest to the Pizza Tower, collecting her boxcutters, her blade case, and her loose blades on the way, then slid down the side. Just a little farther to go.

When she finally climbed the last cheese hill and reached the tower’s doors, she found most of the others already there, and the doors wide open. “Oh, hey,” she said dazedly, pausing for a moment to lean against the door on the way in. She looked pretty beat-up. “We made it…thank goodness.” Once everyone staggered inside, they could close and bar the doors behind them.

The bottom floor of the Pizza Tower seemed to be some sort of lobby. There were five adjoining halls labeled ‘Tower Lobby’, ‘Western District’, ‘Vacation Resort’, ‘Slum’, and ‘Staff Only’, each of which promised to connect to five or so specific floors of the tower. For now though, those doors -and the tower itself- seemed to be closed for the night. Sconces on the walls blazed softly, and in one corner a huge pizza oven kept the place dry and very warm. While the sudden intrusion of well-armed outsiders had roused the three attendants from their slumber, but the stump-like Pizza Trolls didn’t seem to care. “W-well, the levels up above are pretty dangerous, but nothing happens down here,” Shyler, the nicest of the three, explained. “When you’re feeling better, you can visit any of the levels, and bring all the toppins you gather back here. Then you can make all the pizzas you want with our oven. Especially if you give us some! Oh, pizza…” Though lost in dreamland for a minute whilst thinking about pizzas, he quickly refocused. “O-oh, and you can stay and rest here in the Hub if you like. I’m sure the boss wouldn’t mind. Nobody messes with the Pizza Tower, after all! Hehe…”

By the time Sectonia (or her ‘minions’) unpacked her new Deluxe Camping Set, with its spacious tents and cozy bedrolls, Nadia was already sound asleep.

Persona ~ Alone at Sea (PERSONA WITH A BOAT 𓊝)

Imogen Reed

Even for two highly experienced professional detectives of appreciable skill, finding one particular name from the list ended up posing a fair bit more challenge than they accepted, not because Imogen Reed took any particular pains to obscure her location, but because nobody seemed to possess a single, solitary clue as to where in the world she might be. Of course, Nathan and Harris obtained her schedule and room number from the faculty as a matter of course, just as they did with the others, in order to aid their investigation, but in an unlucky turn of events her schedule just so happened to be free for most of the morning. When they entered her dormitory they found her room empty, if rather disheveled. There weren’t a lot of clues to be had there, as her drawers mostly contained papers for schoolwork or snacks, but the lack of shoes, phone, laptop, or bag suggested that she happened to be out.

It was when the duo approached Imogen’s neighbors that they got their first taste of their target’s elusiveness. The other young women in the room’s vicinity possessed only the vaguest sense of the student living adjacent to them, seldom seen and never spoken to. Forget whereabouts–even the mention of Imogen’s name drew blank stares. One girl even admitted that she thought that room was unoccupied. Soon the detectives were on their way, first visiting the professor of the prior class on Imogen’s agenda, and then the one she’d be attending later today. Neither could claim any knowledge of her whereabouts, nor her activities in general in order to provide a hint as to where she might spend her time between classes. The students from those classes proved even less helpful, only a few cognizant of Imogen’s presence in their class, and even they couldn’t be completely sure that she’d attended today, or even yesterday for that matter. It didn’t even seem like Imogen was shy or anxious, just completely forgettable. Only one detail kept resurfacing: that she always wore a drab green coat. In the end, Nathan in particular actually ended up feeling pretty bad for the girl. Harris couldn’t say the same; in fact, he couldn’t completely dismiss the somewhat paranoid notion that Imogen was covering her tracks on purpose, after all.

While making their way through the general study hall for the third time since the start of their search, Harris idly cast his eyes around the area again, just to be sure. This was beginning to feel like a wild goose chase, and it was trying his patience. His eyes happened to rest on a lone figure sitting at a table in the middle of the area, and with a jolt he took a double take. Light brown hair, black glasses, checkered beanie, and a drab green coat…it had to be her. When did she get here, he wondered. Surely the two of them hadn’t passed her by without realizing twice? She was right out in the open, for Pete’s sake. He nudged Nathan with his elbow and tilted his head in Imogen’s direction, but after a moment of looking his partner gave him an inquisitive glance. Shaking his head, he made his way over with Nathan in tow, who to his credit managed to come to the same realization only a few steps into the short trip.

Together they stopped at the table, quietly whispering between themselves about how to do this, since Imogen appeared to be sound asleep. She lay slouched in her chair at the table, a huge amount of homework arrayed out before her, including a textbook, a couple worksheets, a page of notes, and another of references. Imogen herself didn’t look too good. Her hair seemed a little unkempt, and the bags beneath her eyes were pretty dark. Despite the impressive number of students cramming into this hall to work, nobody else occupied Imogen’s table, so after Harris pulled out one of the other chairs and sat down, he cleared his throat. “Pardon me, miss?”

Imogen stirred instantly, awakening with a sharp inhalation of breath. She blinked blearily as the initial panic died down, regarding the detectives with a wary, almost fearful expression. “H-huh? Ah, ‘scuse me, uh…yes?”

“Are you Imogen Reed?”

“Y..yes.” After composing herself, Imogen straightened up and adopted a polite neutral expression, the sort one might expect from a bank teller. “Oh…did I nod off? Sorry, I’ve just been sleepin’ terrible lately. Is…there somethin’ wrong, sirs?”

“You’re not in trouble or anything. We just wanted to ask you a few questions,” Harris told her, his voice even. “Just a minute or two of your time, and we’ll be on your way.”

The girl nodded, so he continued. “We’re looking for a student named Sofia Wright. Does that name sound familiar to you?”

He scarcely needed to finish that second question though; the instant he said that name, Imogen reacted. Her tells were slight, but obvious to anyone with entry-level experience in this sort of field. She’d slightly opened her mouth and widened her eyes, as well as instinctively taken a deeper-than-usual breath. She didn’t just know the name. It held some sort of import for her. Still, she furnished the detective with a reply out of courtesy. “Yes, I’ve met her.”

“How do you know her?” Nathan asked.

“Well…” Imogen licked her lips, which for some reason felt oddly dry. “Right after school started, she tried gettin’ a bunch of random freshmen together to make nice. Some sort of program I expect. Didn’t work out though, none of us really wanted anythin’ to do with it. Ya can’t force stuff like that, y’know?”

Nathan crossed his arms, nodding. “Right, right, the semester started a couple weeks ago, didn’t it. But what about last week, Miss Reed? Did you see Miss Wright again?”

Uh oh. Imogen swallowed. These men were getting closer to that day. The day when her whole world flipped upside down, and though nothing changed, everything changed. Every night since then she’d lain awake in her bed, the images and events from that impossible island replaying again and again in her mind. She’d hoped that it was all a dream, that Sophie was fine and just living her life out in the campus somewhere, but now these men were here telling her that Sophie really was gone. But what could she tell them in return? The truth would make her sound insane. In truth, she felt a little insane. Things hadn’t exactly been hunky-dory prior to her little dip, and since then it felt like something had been gnawing at her. She found herself showering more than once per day, washing her face more often than ever, but her mind would not rest, and the itch would not go away. Several times now she’d found herself back at the docks, more than once in the dead of night. Just staring at the water. Unable to do away with the realization that there was something else out there. Once she met Verity there. She hadn’t said anything to her, and really, they didn’t need to say a word. Maybe she felt it too–the sensation of walls crumbling down, and the rising urge to peer beyond them.

“...Yes,” she replied after a moment. The truth, but not the whole truth, she told herself. “Sophie tried to get us together again. Some sort of hazin’ ritual that involves jumpin’ in the water. I said no, you’re mental, we’ll freeze our arses off. She went in, and I went home. No idea what happened after that.” Scrunching her brows together, she looked between the detectives. “Did she end up drownin’? Dyin’ o’ hypothermia or somethin’?”

Nathan shrugged. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

“What my partner MEANS to say,” Harris interjected, “Is that we’re not ruling anything out. But I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.” He reached over and quickly scribbled on one of Imogen’s papers, then stood up. He’d given her a number, along with the epithet Detective Diego Harris. “If anything else comes to mind, or you see Miss Wright again, please let us know. We may have more questions for you later.”

He and Nathan went on their way, talking in low tones. Imogen sank down into her chair, her heating thumping in her chest. Who were those two? Were they cops? Did they suspect her? Well, she hadn’t done anything wrong. Sophie had been the one to drag her into this mess. The consequences of her actions were on her. Unfortunately, despite her best attempts to persuade herself, Imogen still felt guilty. And scared. And very, very tired. My first nap in days, and the bloody cops show up to ruin it, she thought ruefully. When was all this going to be over…?

World of Light

Alright, for this week the post in the Under is an important one! In no uncertain terms, the involved characters must escape the Home of Tears, possibly fighting off all the characters we've gotten to know and love while here, and make our way through the cheesy Crumble Cavern in order to reach safety at the Pizza Tower. If your character does not escape within the next week, the consequences will be dire. Good luck everyone!

World of Light

The City of Glass - Regatta Bay

Level 5 Goldlewis (26/40)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Karin and Sakura’s @Zoey Boey, Blazermate and Susi’s @Archmage MC, Geralt and Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit’s @Yankee, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Roxas’ @Double, Benedict and Partitio’s @Dark Cloud, Tora, Giovanna
Word Count: 939

For Goldlewis

New Power:
BURST
While in hitstun of any kind, which is to say being hit by anything. Goldlewis can unleash a short-range blast of pure vital energy with several important properties. It instantly stops his movement, it instantly recovers him to an upright position, and while it deals no damage, it also launches any foes struck by the wave a good distance away, even in the middle of their attacks. Goldlewis can also do this in neutral, at which point it becomes a Gold Burst, and if he hits an enemy with a Gold Burst his tension meter instantly fills. In return for all this, Burst takes a while to recharge, especially if it doesn’t hit an enemy. It also leaves him extremely vulnerable if he doesn’t hit an enemy, either by whiffing it or being predicted, since a Burst can be blocked

If there was one thing new new arrivals could agree on, it was that the City of Glass certainly looked incredible, for better or worse. Whether that spoke to the marvels of human ingenuity or the extent of human avarice was matter left up to personal interpretation. Goldlewis didn’t think too much about it. To him, iniquity came part and parcel with human nature. There was no easy solution; the system was something far greater than any one man, no matter how powerful. After all this time, Goldlewis knew that fact all too well. All he could do was his best, each and every day until his last, trying to make the world a better place. Of course, compared to the social, economic, and political landscape of Midgar, hewn as it was from countless worlds, he almost found himself missing the American government. And that was really saying something.

Sighing, he returned his attention to the City of Glass. For all its magnificence, its beauty was an austere one, distant and cold. Neither he nor the other Seekers felt welcome here, and with an important event just a few hours away the Seekers couldn’t let their focus wander from the task at hand. After the new arrivals’ initial amazement wore off, and they expressed all their admirations and criticisms a suitable distance from the nearest camera clusters, everyone tackled the current problem: getting to the Dendenmille Showcase Theater on the Vandelay Campus. Goldlewis could pretty much guarantee that renting a vehicle to make use of the well-kept roads here was impossible for outsiders, if rental services existed at all, and public transport meant extra scrutiny, so there wasn’t an easy answer. Everyone put their heads together, though, and quickly churned out a few ideas.

Midna offered to repeat the teleportation trick they used to enter Sector 06 in the first place. The sheer difference in terms of scale made things different, however, and instead of going with a group of eight that could look out for one another the Twilight Princess would have to go alone deep into the heart of unfamiliar territory. Could those teleporters even be moved once built? Goldlewis had no idea. “Seein’ as we’re strangers ‘round these parts, I’d prefer that we stick together,” he said. “I reckon we ain’t even scratched the surface of the security this place’s got. I like your thinkin’, miss, but we oughta work as a team.” His brow furrowed as Midna made more suggestions. “A…disguise? With all due respect, this ain’t the doggone Loony Tunes. Unless you’re some kind o’ shapeshifter and even better at fakin’ IDs than Mr. H, they’ll suss you out in a heartbeat.” Her final idea left him scratching his neck, his lips pursed “With how much these boats cost, I’d be mighty surprised if one of the rich folks ‘round here’d give a ride to Shinra himself. A has-been like me’s got about as much clout as Delaware in the House of Representatives.”

Zenkichi pointed out that an actual operative like himself or Benedict might have more luck in the lawful seizure department, but even that possibility was shaky, and as he himself pointed out, risky. If the former Turks started throwing names or departments around, it would make things a lot easier for anyone looking for them. When Geralt casually mentioned mind controlling someone, Goldlewis shared Zenkichi’s astonishment. “Hell of an ace to keep up your sleeve, partner,” the big man remarked. From the way the Witcher described it, his Axii sign sounded just about perfect for the job. Being able to bypass negotiation and subterfuge altogether would keep things simple and clean, and if the target would leave with no concrete memories of the incident, this approach was also attractively discreet. There was just one problem. “Sounds like it’d work well,” he admitted, narrowing his eyes as he mulled the idea over. “But…ethically speakin’, I dunno. It don’t feel right. We are workin’ to save everyone, sure, and sometimes sacrifices need to be made, but still...” It was a classic case of ‘does the end justify the means’. Even with the mother of all ends on the table, he didn’t want to leave a bad taste in his mouth. At the same time, they weren’t planning to kill or rob anyone. The Seekers’ mission concerned the fate of all worlds, and only God knew what it would take to see it through. He knew, possibly better than anyone here, that being in charge meant making hard decisions.

“We don’t wanna hurt anyone, fellas But think for a second about what’s at stake,” he told Partitio and Benedict, who seemed firmly against anything that might be considered morally or legally dubious. “The big picture. Savin’ every soul from all the worlds Galeem brought low. All this crap…” He looked around at the awe-inspiring City of Glass, its skyline and its inland sea, with all its people and all their stuff. “It ain’t real. ‘When the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.’ We’re workin’ to put everythin’ back how it should be. Petty li’l things ain’t more important than that.”

Pit made an innocent and well-intentioned suggestion, and Goldlewis wished he could say he approved. “Simple as it sounds, sometimes askin’ opens up a can o’ worms just by itself. If we ask the wrong person, or say the wrong thing, we could arouse suspicion.” His warning about solicitations went unheeded, however, as Sakura went to do exactly that. Goldlewis laughed wryly and heaved himself up from the bench where he’d seated himself. “Bless your heart.”

He hustled off to go see her, and while most of the group trailed behind, Raz piped up with an interesting observation that Giovanna took a moment to consider. “Might just be a coincidence,” she pointed out after a moment, more or less ignoring what he said about there being no coincidences. “With stuff from every world, there’s bound to be some overlap, ‘specially since it seems like we all speak the same language?” Out of all the coincidences she’d seen in the World of Light, that one was a doozy. Unless there was something smoothing things out behind the scenes? Tabling that thought for later, she pointed out, “Cyberlife is a gigantic, legitimate corporation. Well, legitimate as they get, I mean. But I haven’t even heard of Supernatural Life, and I’ve gotten around.” She shrugged. “Sounds like some weird, shady stuff that Hojo would be into.” The poor little guy seemed pretty upset by the ordeal with Peach, and understandably so. When it came to words of comfort, though, Giovanna wasn’t an expert. So rather than say something that might come across as insensitive, she didn’t even try.

With Geralt’s plan in his back pocket, and most of the group hanging back by the entrance to the docks, Goldlewis went with Tora -who’d floated the idea of using a boat in the first place- to accompany Sakura on her mission to find a selfless millionaire. The first person she spoke to glanced at her for a moment, knitted her brows together in confusion, and then went away without saying anything. Some humored her with a response, while others refused with varying levels of politeness; one just laughed at her. A couple pointed out the bridges spanning the river between the metropolitan coastlines on both sides of the plate, not realizing that she actually wanted to go to the very end of the river to reach the Vandelay Campus rather than across it.

After over a half-dozen tries, however, she met a very particular man. His short brown hair was neatly combed, he wore thick-rimmed, rectangular glasses, and he flaunted unusual but expensive-looking attire that looked somewhere between a suit and a robe, tastefully off-white. He stood there with his hands on his hips, and before she could say anything to him, she spoke. “Young lady, I’ve never seen you before.”

Sakura's mouth was already open to speak when he pre-interrupted her. "Um. Okay! Well, pleased to meet you, then!" She said. She did her bow as she had done to everyone else.

He nodded in return. "I am Wallace Cambridge Limestein. I am the 25th head of the Limestein family. Pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

She peered up at him. "My name's Kasugano Sakura, uh, first child-”

“Good!" Wallace cut in. "I'd say we're now fairly acquainted. Remember, if you ever need someone in the City of Glass to get something done, just come to me.” He gave her a curt, matter-of-fact nod. “By the way, if you find anything or anyone interesting, let me know too. Life is all about having fun! Money is no issue, curiosity fuels me.” Sighing deeply, he looked around Regatta Bay. “Ahh, what a fine day it is... Is there anything that you want to know?”

Sakura nodded back eagerly, already liking Wallace. "Yeah, okay! I will, and... I will!" She exclaimed. "Yes there is! I- I was wondering if you had a boat we could use, we need to get across that river." She pointed across the way. "Or if not, you could point us in the direction of a ferry?" She asked. "And by 'we' I mean me and that group of weirdos over there!" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the Seekers, smiling with wide eyes.

"Hmm..." Wallace frowned, thinking. He looked over at Sakura's group of weirdos, then back at her. "You all seem rather...hm, well-traveled. Well, perhaps we could make a deal. I wasn't actually planning to go anywhere in particular today. I wouldn't object to a quick trip. But you must do something for me in return."

Sakura grinned, wiggling her fists a bit, excited that she got someone. "Okay! What is it?" She asked.

“Well, then I'll just get to the point. As you know, when you're well-off to a certain degree, simple material possessions aren't as stimulating anymore. I need to fill the void in my life by other means.” He crossed his arms, shaking his head. “What is there in life that is worth pursuing? For a very long time, I've been asking myself this question. And then one day, the answer came to me when I was meditating alone.” He nodded decisively. “That's right. The thing I am looking for is a friend. I, Wallace Cambridge Limestein, have never had a true friend in my life. And that must be changed!” More clinically than wistfully, he glanced out at the pedestrians walking along the waterfront, then back at Sakura. “I would pay anything to acquire this thing they call a ‘friend’.”

By the look on her face, Sakura didn't expect him to say that! "Well, yeah! Everybody needs a friend, Mr. Limestein!" She proclaimed genuinely. "B-but, you don't get true friends by paying money. You get friends by...um..." She trailed off. "Uhh..." Her mind was going blank here. "Well, it's not by giving them money. It's not that." She said.

"Well, that makes sense..." Wallace mused. "If 'friends' were things, then I could just buy them with money. What I need is a way to make friends. I've thought about it, and with my reputation, I will be degrading myself if I just ask anyone on the street to be my friend. So I had a great idea: photos. My strategy is to capture my most glamorous moments in photos so that any passerby will be wowed and want to become my friends. Young lady, please answer me honestly: how are your photography skills?”

Sakura made a face at his idea but didn't want to shoot it down right away, because she had just come up with an answer she was fine with. "I'm- okay!" She answered, voice breaking a bit. She had taken quite a few pictures in her world travels, be it of places or Ryu.

"And that idea might work, because the best way to make friends is to just be yourself and see who likes you!" She nodded.

Pleased, Wallace nodded. "That will do. With my charisma and photogenic face, the photo will come out great even if the photographer is not an expert. Well, there's no time like the present. Let's start now. Come aboard and take pictures of me, we'll start on my yacht's upper deck lounge. Be sure to get my priceless relics in the background. Depending on how the photos turn out, I may want some on my other boat as well."

The two stepped aboard and proceeded into the boat’s interior. Goldlewis just stood there as if struck by a flashbang, taken utterly aback by this remarkably pretentious man. Still, the fact that Sakura was getting along with him was all that mattered. He looked back the way he came, caught Geralt’s gaze, and gestured toward the boat with his head before climbing aboard.

Meanwhile, Susie’s efforts to turn up information on the city’s leading corporations bore fruit. Just a little exposure to information media quickly left her inundated with news stories, articles, and even podcasts. The dealings of the sector’s top companies, and the coming and goings of their top players, seemed to be the subject of much public interest. Headlines like ‘Massive Merger Shakes Midgar Tech Market!’, ‘Things Looking Shaky for Detroit’, ‘Meet the Future of Midgar’s War on the Machines’, “Night City CEOs Assure Investors There’s No Need to Fear’, ‘Vandelay Technologies CEO Kale Vandelay Speaks Out About CyberLife Acquisition’, ‘Shinra Investing in Vandelay’s Future’, ‘Vandelay Financial Department Reports Record Earnings!’, ‘Is DespoRHado on the Way Out?’, ‘Memorize: the Company Everyone’s Forgotten’, ’Is This the End for the Gears?’ and ‘Everything You Need to Know about Project Armstrong’ all jumped out at her. She quickly managed to assemble an idea of current events in the tech world, along with a couple revelations. At some point CyberLife and Vandelay Technologies had been different companies, but now they were one and the same under Kale Vandelay. Just about everywhere Susie looked she saw his face, and as if Lady Luck weren’t smiling on the man enough already, the Administration seemed to be pretty happy with the direction of his company as well, even if the merger seemed to cast a dark shadow on the future of Detroit’s robotics industry and the PMC intrinsically tied to it. All of a sudden, the dynamics at play in Midgar were beginning to click.

Home of Tears

Level 10 Nadia (204/100)
The Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Ganondorf’s @Double, Omori's @Majoras End, Rubick’s @Scarifar, Ichiban’s @Truthhurts22, Artorias’ @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 2365

As ever, the waters lapped gently at shell and stone, moved not by wind but by the wakes of paper sailboats as they cruised ceaselessly along the canals. Some windows blazed with light and warmth; others peered down, their gaze glassy and dead-eyed at the city from towers like silent sentinels, streaked with tears. And the deluge poured down on bugs and beasts alike. Everything looked the same, felt the same, and yet things were very different. Behind the scenes there had been a huge shift, not just for the Home of Tears, but the World of Light itself, and the lone figure who stood in Fountain Central beneath the pouring rain regretted that he hadn’t seen it.

“So, they actually did it?” The little fellow crossed his arms, staring up at the huge statue that stood atop the fountain’s central plinth. Though similar-looking at first blush to the Consul depicted there, especially with their shared taste in futuristic suits, there were a few key differences. He was taller, skinnier, and naturally, still alive. As he watched, green vines emerged from the ground at the statue’s feet and snaked across its body. “Looks like I really missed out. I’ll have to ‘thank’ that Organization brat later…” He shrugged dismissively. “How long’s it been since any heroes actually took down a Moebius? Course…out of all of us, it had to be you, P. Sniveling, snot-nosed, literal…IDIOT!” With an annoyed grunt the boy closed his fist. The vines wrapped around the statue squeezed tight, shattering the whole thing into a couple dozen pieces. As the dust settled, the boy teleported up in a purple flash, planted his boot against the fallen statue’s head, and kicked it into the water. “Still. Guess I’ve gotta hand it to ol’ long-ears. These heroes might be the real deal after all. Which means…”

He turned his face upward. His mask, shaped like a smiling sunflower, streamed with rain. A glowing red lemniscate appeared in his right eye, casting light up into the dripping dark. Over the City of Tears, the massive symbol blazed upon the cavern ceiling.

“...This is gonna be fun.”

---

In quick succession Nadia, Rubick, Artorias, and Jesse burst from the entrance to King’s Station, all running, warping, plodding, or floating as best they could. Thoroughly waterlogged and more tired than ever thanks to their eye-opening run-in with the unearthly denizens of the derelict railway depot, they only came to a stop at the edge of the stone wharf that jutted out into the city’s lake, where they waited for another paper boat to make its rounds.

Once in the clear, Nadia doubled over at the waterfront, panting and grateful for the pure downpour that washed the cold sweat from her skin and cleared her head. When she swiveled her head back around to look, she was relieved to see no eldritch abominations crawling their way out of the flooded ruin behind her. As scary as their very sudden encounter with the Nowhere Monarch had been, it looked like the unlikely quartet had gotten away scott-free. Nadia still felt bad for inadvertently getting the others into all this trouble, especially Rubick and Jesse since they got nothing to show for it, but if they didn’t seem inclined to give her a hard time she certainly wasn’t going to. Life was too short and full of surprises for beating herself up. Once a paper boat arrived, the Seekers piled on, and the slow ride back into the Home of Tears began.

“I might be more catlike than be-fur, but boy am I dog-tired,” Nadia chuckled after a minute or so. She lay flat-out on the boat’s surface, not even caring if the rain soaked her right to the bone. “Starvin’, too. What I wouldn’t give for a good stirfry right now…” While laying there with her eyes closed, thinking of the places in town where she could get a nice hot meal before hitting the hay for real, she suddenly became aware of a red glow on her eyelids. She blinked them open and sat up, her mouth slightly agape as she beheld a massive glowing infinity sign. After a moment she exchanged a look with Rubick. Having fought alongside her yesterday morning against the scallywags of the Sea of Serendipity, he knew that symbol as well as she did. “That sign…a Consul!” No matter which way you sliced it, this was a beacon, seemingly projected from the beating heart of the city: Fountain Central. But who was doing this? Was it S again? Had P somehow survived after all? Or was it someone else?

She didn’t like the looks of this one bit, and in fact she wanted nothing more than to ignore the spotlight in favor of her own creature comforts, but as a Seeker Nadia knew she couldn’t turn a blind eye. The actual heroes amongst the Seekers sure wouldn’t, at any rate. If her teammates planned to investigate, she couldn’t abandon them. “I hate to say it, but we’ve gotta check it out. Right?” Even if the other three went to disembark, Nadia resolved to stay the course as the paper boat’s route brought it closer and closer to the city center.

When it finally reached the Fountain Central docks, Nadia jumped from the boat to the pier, landing even more effortlessly than usual. Weird as they were, these new legs made her feel more limber than ever. After a full night’s sleep, I’ll be unstoppable, she mused. No time for introspection now, though; she hurried up the stairs to the raised circular plaza. Right away she noticed that a few other Seekers were already here, having noticed the giant lemniscate in the ‘sky’ while out and about and made tracks to this location. That included the Knight and Barnabee, who nodded to the new arrivals. “Well met, lass. But afore we engage in pleasantries, turn thy gaze yonder!”

Following his direction, Nadia spotted something strange where the statue once stood atop the fountain: a big pink ball covered in layers of junk collected from around the plaza, including the pieces of the statue itself. Atop it stood a diminutive figure in an all-too-familiar uniform. She recognized his helmet in an instant–she’d seen it sneering down at her from above in the moment when the Seekers’ descent into the Chasm became a terrifying freefall. “You!”

“Me.” The Consul tittered. “I’m sure you’re just itching to get some revenge, but as I told the others, I’m not here to fight. In fact, I promise not to harm a single hair on any of you heroes’ heads. All I wanna do…is talk. And I’ll teleport away if you refuse~ So let’s wait until everyone’s here, ‘kay? I know just how exhausting it is to repeat stuff, believe you me!”

Nadia didn’t know if she could fight another Consul in this state, especially one with powers comparable to P’s. Dimly she remembered Kamek describing some strange phenomenon this flower-faced Consul used against him, but the specifics escaped her. Saying nothing for a change, she crouched down and waited the minute or two it took everyone to arrive.

Soon enough, the Consul began to speak. “Well. That’s pretty much all of you, right? A couple fresh faces, too! Gotta say, you’ve been busy. Kicking butt, taking names, making friends. And even killing off a Consul, whew!” He gave an impressed whistle. “Boy howdy, that is NOT something that happens every day, friends! Sure, P was an embarrassment of a Consul, a total moron, and the weakest one by, like, A LOT.” He spread his arms as wide as his eyes to show just how much ‘a lot’ was. “...Buuut that’s neither here nor there. All I’m trying to say, thank you. Not just for doing me a favor, but for being you. For being different! Hehehehe…” As he laughed, his eye began to glow, the lemniscate within clear to see. “And now I know you’re different, I’m gonna be watching real closely. I’m gonna enjoy watching you…squirm.”

Suddenly, Nadia noticed movement. Something was approaching Fountain Central via all four bridges. At first they looked like big, solid, dark masses. All she could see through the rainy darkness were vividly glowing motes of red light. As it drew closer, she realized that they were crowds. Monsters were packed shoulder to shoulder like sardines as they walked across the bridges, four convergent parades. Some of them seemed agitated, or spoke a word, but they all shared two common features. Firstly, whether left or right, all of them possessed a single glowing red eye, just like the Consul’s albeit without the infinity symbol. Lastly, they were armed to the teeth, each and everyone one of them.

“As for me? Well. For starters, my name is F.” The consul grinned. “But you can call me the big bad boss. Boo!”

The crowds spilled from the bridges onto the corners of the fountain plaza, where they stopped, and a few individuals stepped forward. From the Royal Quarter came a towering robotic butler, a one-wheeled machine with a microphone, a wizened sorcerer in crimson robes, and the illustrious Iguana Gallo Valetto. From Downtown came a hopping vampire, a guitar-wielding punk zombie, an undead king, and a squat skeletal blacksmith holding his hammer. From the Collection came the Mermaid Corps Captain in full battle attire, a green-furred witch wielding a gnarled wand, the amorphous monstrosity Endogeny, and a tired woman with a huge grenade launcher. Finally, from the Amusement Park came an evil-looking skeleton clown, a white-bearded centaur archer, and a dynamic duo of brotherly butchers. After another moment a gigantic tentacled pirate burst up from the water to complete the contingent from the Amusement Park, octobombs at the ready. Nadia gulped, her heart sinking.

“Enemy…” the people of the Home of Tears chanted. “Enemy. Enemy. ENEMY!”

For all his typical bravado, Barnabee was quaking. “What…what manner of devilry is this!?”

“I promised I wouldn’t hurt you…” the Consul reiterated. “But I sure didn’t say anything about them! I’ll see you at the end of your journey, so try not to die! And remember: in this world, it’s kill…or be killed!” F teleported away, and all at once the sixteen combatants attacked.

What followed was chaos. Nadia and the others instantly found themselves beset on all sides. Grenades, and arrows filled the air, energy spears erupted from the ground, bombs and spiked bombs rained down from above, and bruisers charged through the fray. The second Nadia dodged a bull rush from Chad and Gram, Igos du Ikana took a swing at her, and when she leaped above the brawl she ran into Hsien-ko walking on the air to smash her back down with a giant claw slash. Ottomo fought like a dancer, his immense limbs whirling around with unexpected style and force. Gallo strove to catch his foes in the time-stopping rays of his Clock Lancet. Sophie hurled magic potions. In their blind rush to kill the Seekers the cityfolk hurt one another as much as if not more than their targets, leading to swathes of in-fighting.

“This is really bad!” Nadia screeched as she pulled an arrow from her thigh, panicking. Not far away, the Knight blasted a few monsters into the drink with Vengeful Spirit, and Barnabee reluctantly wielded his blazing sword against his fellow bugs. The Seekers were in no condition to fight this, and even if they were, these people were obviously being controlled against their will somehow. She’d just seen those two zombies on a date at the Terminal. And how could she bring herself to hurt Bob? “We’ve gotta get the hell outta here!”

Bowser came to the rescue. ”Alright listen up, I’m in charge here, I’ve got seniority, and what we’re gonna do is this!” Bowser shouted, taking charge of the situation, primarily by ordering the people he know he could rely on and hoping that would give enough momentum to follow suit ”Rika, make a whale, Jr, heal Rika, Kamek, make the whale really big because we are sailing out of here!” That got him a chorus of “on it”’s from his kin, and in swift succession an oversized Moby Dick had splashed down into the water on the side that led to Crumble Cavern, onto which Bower leaped with a vitality draining Rika in one arm and an enlargement spell channeling Kamek in the others. Jr flew close behind, raising up his paintbrush and setting to work using his restorative magics to fix Rika right back up. ”All aboard, and make it snappy!” Bowser roared an order at the others. ”Because we are blowing this joint!”

Hope reignited, Barnabee joined the charge. “Huzzzzzzzah!” he bellowed.

Nadia followed suit, running and leaping from the pandemonium onto the Koopa Troop’s whale. She immediately slid down its slippery side and into the water, or more accurately, onto it. After all, she was still part Shipgirl. Immediately the crowd of enemies, elites included, all turned their focus on the whale. Projectiles, explosives, and magic rained down, while hordes of small-time undead, beasts, and demons tried to jump onto the whale itself. Even Barbary began smashing through one of the bridges in order to get to it. The heroes had no choice but to flee at top speed, hoping that everyone could catch a ride or escape under their own power. Teeth gritted, Nadia skated in toward a purple dinosaur hacking at the whale’s tail, grabbed her by the hair, and hurled her into the water. As the Seekers got moving their foes did not relent, either shooting from afar, flying after them, or even jumping in the water to swim. When the paper boats on this side got close enough, dozens of monsters piled on at once and set sail in pursuit.

As fast as it could, the whale bore the Seekers to the entrance of Crumble Cavern, where they disembarked and ran inside, leaving the Home of Tears behind. In front of them lay a huge network of caves made almost entirely of cheese, full of precarious tilting platforms, spiked wedges, giant cheese wheels, and other obstacles, not to mention a whole host of cheese or mouse-themed monsters from Skritt and Ratlings atop Ratslugs to cheese slimes and gabaghouls. At the very end of the caverns lay the entrance to a great stone tower, sitting snugly atop a giant hill of gouda and built up into the cave roof itself. Behind her, Nadia could hear the sounds of the enemy army in pursuit. With the last of their energy, the Seekers needed to lose their pursuers and make it to the shelter of that distant tower.

Edinburgh MagikaPolis - Grammeowster’s Kitchen

Level 8 Big Band (99/80)
Ace Cadet’s @Yankee, Red’s @TruthHurts22, Mewtwo’s @Double, Frisk’s @Majoras End
Word Count: 1498

First, Band felt the jostling. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he found himself subjected to continuous, herky-jerky shaking, bumped and bounced around rather uncomfortably on a hard surface. Then he became aware of the rumble, the grinding sound of crude wheels on hard ground, undercut by a constant and inexplicable meowing. Then his eyes opened, his vision going from black to white in an instant. He blinked up at the cloudy winter sky, the crisp arctic wind fresh on his cheeks. His surroundings were in motion; tall buildings meandered their way steadily downward. At least, they did for a couple seconds. Just when the detective was beginning to get his senses back and acclimatize to this very abrupt shift in circumstances, the Felyne Rescue Squad upended their cart and dumped him on the ground.

“Aaaaagh, nuts,” he grumbled, picking himself off his stomach with the aid of mechanical arms. With a bemused look raised he watched the team rush off and abruptly poof out of existence, prompting him to shake his head. He sat up and looked around, quickly identifying where he’d ended up. Just a few feet away lay the front door of Grammeowster’s Kitchen, just as he and the others left it that morning. Speaking of–Red and Mewtwo were also here, lying on the sidewalk around him. As Band took in his surroundings, the door to the restaurant swung open, revealing an unlikely quartet: Frisk, Lucia, Albedo, and somehow, Ace. Consul N, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, and the Aether Resort was far away. Too far for him to turn up his foes’ whereabouts with a quick search.

Band breathed a sigh of relief. The memories of what happened were fresh on his mind. He didn’t understand how it happened -a frustratingly common occurrence as of late- but everyone was safe, without even a scratch to share amongst them, and he wasn’t about to question that. It was a victory snatched from the very jaws of defeat.

“Can you stand?” Albedo asked simply, his tone sharp and concise.

“...Yeah. I feel fine.” Band stood, then helped Mewtwo and Red up if they needed it.

The alchemist took a deep breath. “I’m glad to see you’re all okay. The Ace Cadet informed me that you were defeated by Edinburgh’s Consul N.”

Band chuckled wryly. “Rub it in, why doncha.” He looked out over the city in the direction of its massive central structure. North of it lay the Aether Resort and N, no doubt frustrated that his foes had somehow managed to slip through his fingers at the last possible moment. “But I don’t see it that way. Long as we’re still standin’, we can learn from our mistakes, and come back stronger. C’mon y’all, let’s duck inside before someone spots us.” With wary glances over their shoulders, the Seekers returned to the safety of the restaurant interior.

Once back in the upstairs room of the building, each with a cup of revitalizing tea in hand courtesy of the kindly old Grammeowster herself, the Seekers spread out around the main table. Those left out of the supposed reconnaissance mission were itching to know more, and in a professional fashion Band relayed everything he’d seen and experienced: L’s arrival, her speech, their happenstance meeting with Mewtwo, their decision to storm the Aether Resort, and everything that followed. His account of what the team found inside L’s mansion chilled everyone who heard it. Even the inexpressive Albedo looked rather grim when Band described the massive collection of Pokemon -and humans- frozen on display. Much to his chagrin the detective couldn’t accurately recall every last detail the two Consuls gave, but nothing carried as much immediate importance as the monologue that Red goaded N into giving them in the moments where his victory seemed assured. Of course, between the man’s vagaries and self-aggrandizing exaggerations it was almost impossible to parse out just what he meant, but Band did his best, and Albedo soaked in every last detail.

When he finished, Lucia rubbed her neck, a conflicted look on her face. “Aw, man. I feel awful I wasn’t theah ta help, but at the same time, I got no clue what I even coulda done.” She gave a helpless shrug. “Whatevah that Latency powah is, it sounds freakin’ unbeatable.”

“Sure felt that way in the moment,” Band supplied glumly. “It was all too much goin’ on at once. All these years a detective, and I couldn’t figure out a damn thing.”

Albedo, however, crossed his arms. “I don’t think it’s unbeatable. Certainly, the power to ‘obliterate time’, as N described it, is incredibly powerful. Yet that power does seemingly have its limitations, as well as one fatal flaw.” At this, Band raised a bushy eyebrow, and Albedo soon continued. “Think about it. It doesn’t sound like he stopped time, because when the ten seconds you mentioned were up, you were all in different places. Red’s sword…and Mewtwo’s orb. Even your arms.” He nodded at Band. “It was like your actions played out, but you weren’t aware of them. Yet according to your story, N said that ‘he alone could act’ in the time he erased. But if he could do that, why did he shoot you afterward, and not during?”

Band sipped his tea. “Hmm…that’s a good point. He had us right in the palm of his hands. Think he can’t attack during the time he erases?”

“That’s just a hypothesis. It could just as easily be that he chose not to for the sake of toying with you. Which brings me to my second point.” Albedo looked around at the whole group. “You described him using his power a little throughout the fight, just to nudge things in his favor. But you still managed to hit him a few times. That leaves one fatal flaw in his ability: the wielder. Which is to say, human error.” As he spoke he wrote in his notebook, keeping track of every tidbit of relevant information. “Power is only as strong as one who wields it. You managed to catch him off guard several times, or exploit his egotistical, sadistic, showboating behavior. There are few weaknesses as disastrous as overconfidence.” He snapped his book shut. “When you meet again, it may not be possible to overcome the magic. But you may be able to overcome the man.”

After a moment, Band smiled. “I like your attitude, kid. If brute force ain’t an option, we can analyze our foe and turn his own flaws against him. After all that smirkin’, I’m itchin’ for a rematch already.” With his health fully restored by the process of being carted, he felt physically up to it, and with a few extra allies at his back another showdown looked a lot more palatable. Still…Latency was a terrifying power. It would take all the Seekers’ wits to push the scales back in their favor.

“Fighting the Consuls may indeed be inevitable,” Albedo surmised. “The destruction of Alcamoth is no doubt only the latest in the long list of evils they should be made to answer for. Moreover…after thinking about what L said on the boat ride to Alcamoth, I believe that Edinburgh’s Consuls are the only ones who know the weakness of the Guardian of the Frozen Highlands.”

Band’s eyebrows went up, and he whistled. “Even better.”

“On the othah hand, based on whatcha told us, it sounds like L escaped,” Lucia pointed out. “If they got a way ta heal back up, takin’ ‘em down’s gonna be a helluva lot hahdah.”

“Yeah…L said somethin’ about a Flame Clock. You know anythin’ that fits that description?” the detective asked.

The policewoman removed her cap to scratch her head. “Clock…? Edinburgh’s got a whole loada clock towahs. If it’s real impoahtant, though…maybe it’s the big one way up at the top o’ the pumpkin’s hat?” She went over to and looked out the window. From here, all anyone could see of Edinburgh’s absurdly huge central structure were the pumpkin itself and the underside of its hat’s gear-shaped brim. “Ya gotta go way fah out from the city centah to see it, but it burns bright yellow at night. Don’t even tell the time, just fills up like the miles pah houah gauge on a dashboahd.”

“No way in hell we’re makin’ it up there in time,” Band grumbled.

“If I may, I do have a suggestion,” Albedo began. “I think we should focus all our efforts on finding Linkle. If she could fight N on even footing, we will be at a considerable advantage if we manage to join back up with her.”

The Skullgirl. A pit formed in Band’s stomach, but after a moment he swallowed and nodded his head. “I agree. Tonight after dark, we’ll find her.” Until then, however, the Seekers would need to bide their time. By Band’s best guess it was about three o’ clock. Five hours until the hunt begins.

World of Light

Sector 06 Hublink

Level 4 Goldlewis (64/40)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Karin and Sakura’s @Zoey Boey, Blazermate and Susi’s @Archmage MC, Geralt and Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit’s @Yankee, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Roxas’ @Double, Benedict and Partitio’s @Dark Cloud, Tora, Giovanna
Word Count: 2507

More or less as expected, the Seekers’ reunion was a terse one. Pretty much nobody had much of anything friendly to say, even in greeting. Goldlewis was no stranger to nonchalant professionalism -the curt nod he exchanged with Giovanna was proof enough- but this reception seemed almost frosty. No doubt the loss of two of the group’s longest-serving members was a factor, and the veteran couldn’t blame them, but at the same time he hoped that wasn’t the extent of it. Considering the stakes at play here, it would be a miracle if there weren’t more losses before this campaign was through. Goldlewis hated it as much as anyone, but he understood it–such was the nature of war. More likely, the reason lay with the time spent apart. It had only been about half a day since the two subgroups first parted, even if everything that transpired during that time made it feel like three months. Still, a team was only as good as its communication.

Once the Seekers got down to the task at hand, though a solid suggestion came from an unlikely source. “That’s a mighty fine idea,” Goldlewis told Blazermate. While the team had gone over to a small lounge area after seeing the checkpoint and the sight of such a large group casually deterred passers-by, he still kept his voice down to make sure none of the security bots could listen in. “In fact, I’d go so far as to call that idea a hole in one. You’ve got my vote. Let’s work together to find a good spot for both ends on both sides.” He surrendered one of the press passes to her gladly. Unlike Susie, who’d foisted the responsibility of solving this conundrum on everyone else while offering nothing in return by taking a pass, this Medabot was earning her keep.

Midna offered a suggestion of her own once Blazermate and Goldlewis finished talking, and though prudent in its own right her idea ended up being a little redundant. Remembering the portal she placed in the hideout, he stroked his whiskers, thinking. “I reckon tech stands out less than magic,” he mused. “Let’s save ‘em for now. I betcha six ways to Sunday they’ll come in handy later on.” The Twilight Princess then brought something else up that the veteran hadn’t considered. Suddenly a little self-conscious, he looked down at his apparel with a frown. “My suit fits the bill, but after bustin’ my butt all mornin’ it’s sure seen better days. If we see an outfitter I oughta pay ‘em a visit.” He looked around at the others, examining their own appearances. Partitio’s garb might’ve been fine if he hadn’t rolled up his sleeves and gotten his hands dirty outside the city. Sakura and Raz still wore their Psych-OSF uniforms. Even those like Benedict and Karin who were well-dressed didn’t exactly ‘look the part’, Midna said. At least Giovanna looked presentable, having gotten the chance to change after the battle at HQ. Wait…that’s it! Goldlewis snapped his fingers. “The spare button-ups back at the office! They ain’t fancy or nothin’, but any metropolis worth a damn is drownin’ in white-collar workers. Y’all can blend right in.” Normally returning to the SOU headquarters would be an impossible detour at this juncture, but with Midna on the team, nothing was impossible.

Zenkichi recommended that Goldlewis take a pass, and he nodded in agreement. “I’m with ya on that one. I was thinkin’ ‘bout it anyhow so I could help Blazermate hunt down a good spot for her teleporter. Folks may recognize my face, but no-one’s got a reason to be lookin’ for me. Unlike you, Mr. Hasegawa…” He narrowed his eyes at Zenkichi, not accusatory, but concerned. “If I were you, I’d lean towards keepin’ a low profile.” Benedict echoed the same sentiment.

When Sakura gave vent to her annoyance, Goldlewis almost let out a wry, humorless laugh. Giovanna actually smiled. “You’ve got a lot to learn about the world, kid,” she chuckled. Even if it turned out she wasn’t much older than Sakura, the girl’s naivete made her feel positively mature in comparison. Her companion was right to focus on the matter at hand; the teleporter should wrap this obstacle up in a nice neat package. A grappling hook, huh? That, Giovanna hadn’t expected from Karin. Sounded like a nice thing to have.

Goldlewis found himself wearing a genuine smile, though, when Partitio introduced himself. Though he positively dwarfed the other man, and their backgrounds could scarcely be more different, the veteran felt like he’d happened upon a kindred spirit. “Howdy. And that’s Dickinson,” he corrected, reaching out his hand to shake. “Goldlewis Dickinson. And likewise. You joined up just a couple hours ago, right? Glad to have ya along for the ride, partner.”

With the meeting over with a plan of action decided upon, there wasn’t anything else to it but to do it. First, the team found a secluded spot in the parking garage nearby to build the teleporter entrance, which everyone without a pass would hang around. If Midna created a portal back to SOU headquarters, they could do whatever they needed there as well. Then Goldlewis, Giovanna, Susie, Blazermate, Karin, and Partitio would end up taking the six press passes and head back into the Hublink, though they weren’t the only ones queuing up at the security checkpoint. Midna tagged along in the group’s collective shadow, while a very glum Tora waddled along at Giovanna’s side, his hammer and toolkit stashed safely within the extradimensional space in the veteran’s coffin. After taking off their shoes -if they had them- and putting their things on the conveyor through the X-ray machine, they proceeded through the metal detector. Laden with metal accessories from cow skulls to horseshoes, Goldlewis had to take off his jacket, both belts, his gloves, and even his tie, and he still got subjected to a pat-down by a somewhat nervous-looking SBR unit. Grumbling, he put everything back on and collected his coffin as fast as he could. Giovanna, meanwhile, got stopped as she tried to go through security with Tora.

“Hey,” the SBR unit said as it stood in front of her, narrowing his optics at the Nopon. “What’s this?”

Giovanna maintained a completely straight face. “This…is my emotional support Nopon. You know, like a service dog?”

“Irony of statement have profound sting for Tora,” the morose engineer muttered beneath his breath.

The SBR unit looked down. “Did it just talk?”

“Uh, no. Are you stupid?” Giovanna nudged Tora with her foot, then patted him on the head.

The SBR unit crossed its arms, an annoyed look on its face. “Emotional support, huh? What’s it for?”

“You’re not legally allowed to ask that question,” Giovanna told him sharply. “And I’m not legally obligated to answer. Patient confidentiality.”

After a moment, the SBR’s composure broke, and it stepped aside looking sheepish. “Uh…right. Sorry ma’am. Carry on.”

One look at the group’s press passes seemed to be enough to convince the robots here that they were approved for entry, even without a fully-functioning GridLink. Once on the other side of the checkpoint, the Seekers moved quickly through the rest of the Hublink. As Goldlewis pointed out, there was no rush to find a spot for the teleporter exit that might get compromised, so together the eight boarded an outbound monorail. Soon the doors slid shut and the train began to pick up speed, quickly leaving the Hublink station behind and zooming out into the City of Glass.

The moment the view opened up in front of the train, Goldlewis couldn’t help but be impressed. In the wake of the rainstorms of that morning, the rays of sunlight piercing the clouds had opened up into whole swathes of radiant sunshine, and all of Sector 06 glittered beneath it. For starters, it boasted a unique feature no other plate had: a body of water, running all the way from the tip of the pizza slice to the ‘crust’. In fact the Hublink hung out over it, so the minute the trail left the station it was flying along a tall, single-rail bridge above the blue. This was made possible, in turn, by the defining feature of the Sector 06 undercity, Deep-Paris, it being a solid block of earth all the way from ground level to the plate with the underground slums inside it. Taking up about a third of the plate’s total surface area, the body of water wound around as a huge river as the plate itself expanded, culminating in a bay near the plate’s far end.

Occupying the lion’s share of Sector 06’s solid ground seemed to be the City of Glass proper. The view of it from here, witnessed by countless newcomers over Midgar’s lifetime, was no less striking for the Seekers than it had been for their predecessors. It was a metropolis of towering buildings, quite possibly the tallest in Midgar save the skyline-dominating Shinra Building itself, and every one of them stood proud in spotless, marble-white majesty, clothed and crowned with vast arrays of reflective crystalline glass. Tastefully sparse, geometric splotches of primary color could be glimpsed here and there in its different districts, but on the whole the place radiated an atmosphere of unadulterated ‘purity’.

On the flipside, across the water lay the other one-third of the City of Glass, a vast and colorful campus of sprawling factories and offices beneath the watchful dominion of the second-biggest skyscraper in Midgar, shaped like a colossal ‘V’ rising out of an enormous glass globe. Those who had spotted it on the helicopter ride to Sector 07 or any of the car rides since -and it was hard to miss- could finally see it in all its glory.

Goldlewis whistled. “Boggles the doggone mind,” he said, describing the view succinctly. Tora stared at the scenery, unmoved. Sure, it was pretty, but to him it just felt like a waste. This was an experience he should have shared with Poppi. After a few seconds, Goldlewis continued. “Dendenmille Showcase Theater oughta be somewhere ‘round the base of that big ol’ V, so that’s where we’re headed.”

Well before getting there, however, the monorail pulled into and stopped at another station. After making their way out, the Seekers found themselves at the waterfront overlooking Regatta Bay. Even one of the most remote parts of the City of Glass, well removed from its beating heart, was the richest-looking part of Midgar any of the newcomers had seen so far. State-of-the-art luxury sailboats and multi-level yachts -some with onboard pools- were moored at the piers by the dozens, all pure white except for the stripes and stripes of singular colors, and many more were already sailing around the bay to make the most of the afternoon sunshine. All menial tasks, from emptying trash cans to sweeping and polishing the ghost-white walkways, were accomplished by androids. There were a lot of security robots scattered around, too.

Plenty of fancy-looking people could be found milling around or attending to some manner of business, all buried in their phones and laptops as they sat in open-air cafes and restaurants. As Tora watched, four dwarves -evidently drunk already- in fine if somewhat disheveled suits skipped by, arm in arm, chanting, “We’re rich! We’re rich!” It wasn’t just formal or office wear around here, though; there was also elaborate, futuristic techwear. That produced a whole host of different looks: lady in an iridescent parka sort of thing that looked too fancy to be a raincoat, a beanie-wearer with a transparent plastic jacket, a man with green shades and even greener lipstick, and a pink-haired fellow who happened to be casting a judgmental look toward the Seekers, and more. Suddenly, Goldlewis didn’t feel quite so confident about the quality of his suit. He could only imagine what Pit, Roxas, and the others felt like. Luckily, there were plenty of boutiques around, too. The only obstacle to obtaining anything that anyone might want would be the price–which Goldlewis could only guess would be egregious.

Tora approached the railing at the water’s edge and laid his wings on it. He listened to the lap of the water against the piers, and the whisper of the wind. His eyes drifted across the bay, all the way down to the other side of the plate where Vandelay Campus lay. Among its its vast and varied edifices loomed one building in particular, not anywhere near as tall as that V but noticeable nonetheless: the Cyberlife Tower. Detroit might be the home of industry, and Night City the home of cybernetics, but this was doubtless the home of robotics. If there was anywhere he could achieve his goals, it had to be here.

“Alright, enough gawking,” Giovanna piped up after a few moments. “Let’s hurry up and find somewhere to put the teleporter already.”

This task was easier said than done. In terms of surveillance cameras, the City of Glass gave Suoh a run for its money; there were clusters of them everywhere. But Giovanna, pragmatic as ever, soon found a place where even their gaze couldn’t reach: a public restroom. She and Blazermate went inside to wait for the occupants to leave, while Goldlewis and anyone else remained outside to discourage others from entering, though luckily this area wasn’t experiencing a glut of pedestrians anyway. In short order the teleporter was constructed, and everyone else could warp through and then file out of the restroom one at a time. Before too long, Geralt, Zenkichi, Benedict, Pit, and Roxas had all joined the others to marvel at the breathtaking City of Glass.

“Alright!” Goldlewis echoed Giovanna from earlier. “Now we’re all back together, there's just two problems. Gettin’ to Vandelay Campus over there, and not raisin’ any kind o’ ruckus while we’re at it.” At this point, it was almost four o’ clock. That meant five hours to cross the City of Glass, and accomplish whatever else the Seekers wanted or needed along the way.

Tora had wandered back over to the water’s edge. He could think of no better way for the team to reach their destination than by boat. “...Maybe friends convince boatypon to give ride,” he offered sullenly. With all the people around the piers, there had to be at least one well-to-do waverider the team could solicit help from. Whether or not there’d be a price to pay, though, was anyone’s guess.

World of Light

Since it's been a couple weeks since the defeat of Consul P and we are not leaving the Home of Tears yet, I figured it might be a good idea to draft some quests (available via any commissions board found in the city) that members of Purple Team could use to occupy their time. Take a look:

Home of Tears Commissions

• Flukewarm Reception - The loathsome Fluke clan has always eked out a living in the bowels of the Royal Waterways, parasitizing the Home of Tears and its people for food. Left alone for so long, they've been multiplying unchecked, and are now spilling out of the sewers in greater numbers to infest city buildings and endanger its people. The City Mermaid Corps needs someone able to reach and open the Royal Sluice to flush them out so we can clean up the rest. Extra reward offered for each proof of Fluke slain - First Officer Lobster Siren, CMC
• Beyond One's Station - There have been several reported cases of missing travelers in King's Station recently. As much as Chief Undine wants to handle it herself, there's too much going on for us to dispatch a force there based on rumor. However, if a small team can thoroughly investigate it and report on the danger, we would be willing to compensate you for your time - First Officer Lobster Siren, CMC
• Bank Run MMDXIII - As always, we're recruiting for the weekly Bank Run. Untold riches await, so long as you can brave its dangers--and stay one step ahead of your competition! Keep in mind that you owe us 25% of everything you collect, but the rest is yours to keep. Stay alert for Ultra Greed, Goldo Golderson, and Fafnir as usual, and remember: if the teller asks, we're there to resolve the security breach! - Mammon, Avarice Holdings LLC
• Help Urgently Cnided - Rain hasn't been the only thing falling from Ash Lake recently. An entire swarm of Cnideria got sucked down through the cracks in the lakebed and rained down all over the Collection today! They're big, gooey, and very toxic; a single stung can induce enough torpor to knock someone out, so the outdoor market is in chaos. The CMC plans to dispose of them, but I need as much toxin as I can get for my potions and medicines! Gather as many as possible without knocking yourself out, and I'll reward you with magic spells, items, and elixirs - Sophie the Witch
• Cheesed to Meet You - Our workforce in Crumble Caverns is understaffed and we're unable to meet quotas. We're looking for additional contractors for procurement and protection of High-Quality Cheese - Mr Pinch
• Meat: We'll Beat it Together - We still need volunteers to help deal with the flesh that's starting growing through the cavern wall from the Womb lately. It'll be easy, barring any unexpected parasites, but tedious. Compensation based on hours labored. BBQ will be provided, and for the last time, the rumors that we're feeding you 'wall meat' are baseless and unfounded - Foreman Luggs
• Project Evening - Both of my usual helpers called in sick today. Given my duties at the clinic during the day, there are just too many children for me to handle at the Orphanage in the evening all by myself. I need help to take care of them, even just one more pair of hands would do. This involves basic lessons, keeping them company, dinnertime, playtime, and bedtime. Volunteers would need to be good with kids, cannot be too scary-looking, and cannot be humans. I don't have much, but I'll repay you however I can - Dr. Natasha

World of Light

Midgar - Sector 07 Slums

Giovanna, @Yankee, Susie’s @Archmage MC, Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Partitio’s @Dark Cloud, Pit’s @Yankee

After the news about Peach on top of what happened with Poppi, the mood among the Seekers was grim just about to the point of being disastrous. Zenkichi only felt more morose, probably finding a way to blame himself. Even Pit couldn’t offer words of encouragement this time. Susie, if she cared, said nothing. Roxas had gone off by himself to wander, and Giovanna doubted she could’ve stopped him even if she tried. With him out of the picture, Bo taken away to recuperate at the nearest clinic, and Tora unresponsive, things felt pretty bleak between the five who remained. The secret agent waited in deadpan silence until she received her drink. This is exactly why I’m not a leader, she thought. Managing people and morale is just too much work.

Fortunately, in the course of the morning’s ill-fated expedition, the Seekers had picked up someone who made it his life’s mission to lift others out of whatever hopeless depths they found themselves in, whether emotional or financial. When Partitio spoke up, trying to rouse the glum heroes’ spirits, Giovanna flashed him a grateful smile. Even if he sounded cheesy, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Though it felt kind of like a eulogy for someone nobody wanted to believe was dead, she joined in Partitio’s toast, and took a good long drink from her glass. For better or worse, this man was the genuine article, and if he planned to join the Seekers for the long haul she wouldn’t say no. A never-say-die attitude was just what the team needed right now.

Of course, more than anything they needed to get their minds off the day’s losses. Rather than be allowed to wallow in their misery and sink even deeper, they needed something to do. As long as these hero-types could see the light at the end of the tunnel and strive for a happy ending, they could probably forge onward. With that in mind, she excused herself after finishing her drink, and made another glyph call. She called up Goldlewis with low expectations, only to receive a one-two punch of critical information out of the blue. It hadn’t been half an hour since their last conversation, but as it turned out, a lot could change in a short amount of time. And this time, it had changed for the better.

After a couple minutes she returned to the others, a sense of purpose in her stride. “The situation has changed,” she announced, carefully lifting up Tora. Roxas was back, which was good. Simplified things a little. “We’re heading topside. We’ve got an appointment in the City of Glass.”

“City of Glass?” the Nopon asked suddenly. “As in high tech city of super-richypons where androids get made?”

Giovanna nodded. “That’s the one. We’re meeting Goldlewis and the others there, so let’s get a move on. We don’t wanna be late.”

Midgar - Sector 05 Seiran Hideout

Level 4 Goldlewis (61/40)
Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Karin and Sakura’s @Zoey Boey, Blazermate’s @Archmage MC, Geralt @Multi_Media_Man, Raz’s @Truthhurts22, Benedict’s @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 1717

Perhaps unsurprisingly, none of the others could really offer an answer to the question posed by Goldlewis. Despite all they’d been through, they were still very new to Midgar in the greater scheme of things, and the city -practically a nation unto itself- was both overwhelmingly vast and complex. When it came to the Seekers’ quest for answers, the needle-in-a-haystack similes wrote themselves. Still, the events of last night and this morning offered a couple clues, and where to go next was a question predicated on what the heroes wanted to do, so Goldlewis cast his mind over everything they’d learned in an effort to put any twos that had fallen through the cracks together.

Before he could get anywhere, a couple more guests crashed the Seekers’ party, but at least these new arrivals were welcome faces and eagerly anticipated. “There y’are!” Goldlewis exclaimed the moment Midna and Raz arrived from the princess’s portal. Normally he’d be madder than a wet hen that two teammates had hurtled off into dangerous, uncharted territory with neither plan in mind nor means of communication, but for the time being he decided to count his blessings. “I ain’t about to say you’re a sight for sore eyes, but we missed you somethin’ fierce. Where in sam hill did y’all run off to?”

Both of them could scarcely wait to spill the beans, and what beans they were. What they’d listened in on in that truck helped fill in some serious gaps left in the Seekers' understanding by the rapid-fire turn of events back in the underground nexus. The troopers’ candid conversation revealed that the entire operation -ordered, planned, and carried out in such a short span of time- hadn’t just been a PR stunt to boost Shinra’s approval ratings during election season, but a method of suppressing internal dissent, as ruthless as it had been efficient. Icing real Others had only been icing on the cake when it came to neutering the rebellious Seiran Garrison. By now almost everyone had heard rumors about the lasting contention between the upper and lower halves of Sector 05, but this turn of events escalated the conflict higher than Goldlewis could have ever guessed. “Sweet mother o’ pearl,” he murmured. “This is gonna get ugly. Travers, you damn fool, if you’re on the side o’ justice why’d ya have to waste time talkin’ riddles?”

After a little thinking he cleared his throat. “I was just about to recap what we know, so y’all dropped in at just the right time. Let’s add all that to the mix and go over everythin’ real quick.”

“So,” he began, his arms crossed and his brows knitted together in thought. “Since yesterday, we done tangled with all three parts of the Ever Crisis between our two groups. The Others, the Chimeras, and the Machines. We also ran into all three branches of Midgar’s defenses, that bein’ Psych-OSF, DespoRHado, and Neuron. To stop the Ever Crisis, we gotta figure out what’s causin’ it, and why the people here ain’t able to turn the tides.”

He held up one finger. “First, the Chimeras. Simple enough, they come from the Astral Plane, another dimension fulla all kinds of strange matter. Gates can open anywhere, and once they are, red matter starts corruptin’ everythin’ in its path, like we saw with them awful Aberrations. The Chimeras are the main problem, ‘cause spread a shitton o’ red matter with their attacks, and abduct poor folks back to the Astral Plane, where they turn even faster. Neuron fights back usin’ Legions, which’re Chimeras they somehow turned to their side.” He sighed. “Doesn’t seem like there’s any concrete way to stop the Gates openin’. But maybe Neuron knows more.”

Goldlewis held up another finger. “Second, the Machines. Buildin’ huge armies out in the Valley of Ruin from their hidden factories, they invade Midgar in a more conventional sense, relyin’ on firepower and sheer numbers. Now we know they got a virus o’ some kind that can turn our machines against us. But that don’t make sense, ‘cause DespoRHado uses nothin’ but cyborgs and androids to fight ‘em. Makes a man wonder…how’d the hell they get some kinda immunity? Did someone at DespoRHado crack the code?”

Finally, he held up finger number three. “Lastly, the Others. Well, we already went over how they come from the Extinction Belt, but now we know humans can be metamorphosed into ‘em too. Not just that, but it’s Psych-OSF that’s doin’ it, or…at least a small part, anyway. I wouldn’t guess most of the soldiers know about it, just those in the scoutin’ team the rebels mentioned and whoever’s callin’ the shots. Which normally would be the top brass, but we met the top brass and he ain’t havin’ none of it, which leaves the people even higher up the chain.” He frowned deeply. “Grand Head Zanotto, PubSec boss Konoe, and Shinra himself.”

He stroked his beard. “I dunno ‘bout y’all, but I’m startin’ to see a pattern. All three ‘kinds’ can turn people or robots into monsters, or at least make ‘em lose their minds. And all three ‘branches’ seem like they have somethin’ deeper to do with their respective ‘kinds’ than just fightin’ ‘em. Its almost like they’re all usin’ their enemies against ‘em, or against other people. Maybe I’m just spoutin’ out nonsense, but….ya gotta wonder. Is the ‘source’ that Organization mentioned out in the Valley? Or…” He stared through the hideout's window.

Soon enough Goldlewis got another call. It hadn’t been long, but he had a lot to catch Giovanna up on, and when the two put their heads together they came up with a plan. When Goldlewis returned to the others from the other half of the hideout, he seemed more animated than before. “Listen up, folks. It’s time to hit the road. In case y’all don’t remember, Sector 06 is the City of Glass, the most restricted sector in the whole doggone city. Home to titanic corporations like Memorize, CyberLife, and Vandelay. And Dendenmille Showcase Theater, which ain’t just where tonight’s debate is, but also smack-dab in the middle of Vandelay’s campus. Giovanna said Tora’s highly suspect o’ CyberLife on account o’ their tech, and since we’re headed there anyway, might as well use the extra time to get as close a look as we can.” Grabbing his coffin, Goldlewis pulled open the hideout’s door. “So let’s mosey.”

Midgar - Sector 06 Hublink

The two halves of Black Team set out at approximately the same time, Goldlewis and his crew up from Seiran to Suoh and then along the same path they’d taken out of Sector 05 last night, while Giovanna’s retraced its steps up to the Sector 07 Plate and toward the same destination from the opposite direction. While the journey took a few hours, it could’ve been a lot worse; maintenance and law enforcement had evidently moved at breakneck pace since last night, either repairing or rerouting around a lot of the Chimera-induced damage to keep Midgar’s interplate traffic flowing. Thanks to a call put into the SOU headquarters, the team’s tech consultant Mr. H was not only able to forge a fresh GridLink for Partitio to ensure his safe passage, but also update those of Sakura and Raz to make sure their identities reflected their new status as Psych-OSF soldiers. With no major issues at security checkpoints, the two halves both succeeded in ascending from undercity to plate, then traveling from their respective plates’ hubs to Sector 06’s via hub tunnel, all by bus. It was only when they both reached the Sector 06 Hublink that things got difficult.

The City of Glass did not permit traffic from outside–of any kind. It all came to a stop at the Hublink, a sparkling, airport-like travel nexus of polished white floors and glittering glass domes. Past the parking garages and renting lots for commuter vehicles, and the pickup and dropoff lanes for public transport, lay the semicircular superstructure.

Before dealing with anything else, the two halves of the team met with something of critical importance: one another. Goldlewis, Giovanna, Blazermate, Susie, Geralt, Zenkichi, Sakura, Karin, Pit, Roxas, Benedict, Partitio, Tora, and Raz all met in the vast open space of the HubLink’s atrium, dappled in myriad colors refracted through the magnificent, towering glass sculptures that stood around the spotless tile like museum pieces. Given the circumstances there wasn’t as much rejoicing as one might expect from a grand reunion, but it was good to see everyone else again, even if it highlighted the two who weren’t here. Anticipating a better working environment, Tora had dried his tears and stowed his equipment in his toolbox. Without the Drill Shield, Mech Arms, or Variable Saber on his person the Nopon looked almost naked. Only his hammer remained; though their hearts went out to him, both SOU members knew that the team’s best tank wasn’t fit for combat.

That led straight into the matter at hand. On the other side of the atrium from the transport hub lay a massive security checkpoint. An extravagant, almost needless abundance of Cyberlife robots could be found throughout the place, and not the humanoid service androids popular throughout Midgar, either. SBR, GNR, and AIR-1N units were the most common, but there were also a number of ES-101s and hulking BA-B00s. Over all of them stood an impressively well-armed duo: the mighty pairing of HG-0M and HG-0G. That was a problem for one simple reason: so far the team’s forged GridLinks had worked a treat, but the buck stopped here.

“We got enough press passes to see six of us through,” Goldlewis explained, well out of earshot of security. “But that leaves eight of us left over, and the GridLinks we got ain’t gonna cut it with real security like this. so we’re gonna have to get clever. No causin’ any big scenes and gettin’ us in trouble, y’hear?”

Home of Tears - Terminal Cafe

Level 10 Nadia (201/100)
The Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Ganondorf’s @Double, Rubick’s @Scarifar, Ichiban’s @Truthhurts22, Artorias’ @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 1998

Like all of Nadia’s spur-of-the-moment harebrained ideas, or at least a majority of them, her scheme to get the Koopa Troop’s attention went off flawlessly. Oh, and Sectonia was here, too! With the big bug in tow, the curious quartet began to make their way into the Terminal, and they soon queued up at the main counter to place their drink orders. It wasn’t just coffee and snacks on offer, though, and Junior’s curiosity drove him down a detour that involved petitioning the help of one of the cafe’s skeletal customers. Rika, meanwhile, couldn’t help but take in the unique, cozy atmosphere of the latest stop on her journey of non-stop wonders, going strong ever since her defection from the Abyssal Fleet opened her eyes to the world beyond the waves.

Between the two of them, and Bowser requiring some shrinkage, it would be a couple moments before the new arrivals joined Nadia and Primrose at the table, but she didn’t mind. With its cozy atmosphere, the soothing ambiance, and plenty of good company readily available, this place invited all its patrons to take their time. Nobody could stay at the Terminal forever, but it was a lovely place for people to linger as long as they could. In fact, many of the people here seemed reluctant to move on, grasping for every second as they wished that ‘now’ could last forever. As she nibbled her last scone, Nadia thought about what Primrose said before. Isn’t this who we are, now? Everyone changes… It wasn’t just reassuring; it was true. None of the changes she’d gone through so far felt a fraction as drastic as those that befell her on that fateful night. And yet, even after all that, she’d still been the same Nadia deep down. Hopefully nothing in this world could change that, either. Compulsively she tried to brush back the hair that now lay across her left eye, but it stubbornly slid back into place.

Soon enough the Koopas arrived, starting with Rika, and the girl did not hesitate to tell the team all about her misadventures in Crumble Caverns. Hearing her describe an entire underground biome of cheese left Nadia slack-jawed for a moment. “You’re kitten me. That’s crazy! I’ve gotta go see that sometime.” A toothy grin spread across her face. “Fair warnin’ though, once I do it’s open season on cheese puns for, like, ever. You cheddar brie-lieve it!”

Rika’s comments on jobs also got an approving nod. “Yeah, exactly! Why bother earnin’ anythin’ for yourself when you can just steal from someone else?” The lack of sarcasm in her voice made it that much harder to tell if Nadia was joking.

The conversation shifted toward the journey yet to come, and what the new information everyone now possessed meant for it. Nadia didn’t particularly care to contemplate the whole subject of Lifelight and how it related to the Flame Clocks, since it hadn’t seemed relevant to the Seekers’ campaign up until now, but the way the others described it reminded her of something from her not-so-pleasant at the Sanitarium. “This Clock thing almost sounds like those weird bags they had at the hospital,” she mused. “When you’re hooked up to one, it pumps ya fulla blood and stuff ya need to live, but the bag needs someone else’s blood to fill it. Then once you’re taken off it, you’re good all on your own.” She shrugged and popped the last bit of her scone in, then talked with her mouth full. “Course, my blood jusht refills itshelf, sho what do I know.” She washed the crumbs down with a drink of coffee, wondering about the implications of the demise Sectonia attributed to P. Dying without even leaving a spirit sounded kind of terrifying. Like a final death.

As the conversation continued, Rika suggested going deeper into Crumble Cavern. That suited Nadia just fine; both of her brain cells were already working overtime on cheese puns. Kamek, however, suggested staying in for the night. “Huh? You wanna be done for the day?” Looking bemused, Nadia reached a hand around to scratch her back. “I mean, I get wantin’ to sell your stuff off and all, but it ain’t even dinnertime. The night’s still young! Can people even sit still that long?” The hair brushing her cheek tickled a little, but when she tried blowing it away it settled right back down into place. “I sure can’t,” she continued. “Just call me a me-owl, ‘cause I’m always up at night!”

She found herself looking at the map while the others talked about selling things, and after a little more studying her eyebrows suddenly shot up. “Oh, hey! Sectonia, you said you’re looking for a king or somethin’, right? Well, lookie here!” She tapped a spot in the corner of the map of the Home of Tears: King’s Station. “It’s your lucky day! Why not just go there?” Unfortunately, it really seemed like she wasn’t joking this time.

At some point Therion had arrived, his natural stealthiness helping him blend in until he helped himself to baked goods and started making suggestions. He mentioned a previous train ride he’d taken alongside Jesse and Raz and the place it deposited them in the Under, which according to the map seemed nearby. Heading there sounded about as sensible as any other suggestions thus far. Nadia just wanted to get a move on from the Home of Tears before the rain started wearing out its welcome. “Might be nice to go somewhere dry for a change,” she piped up.

Her ears swiveled at the sound of well shod footfalls, and Nadia turned to see Ichiban a moment before he asked his first question, which left her a little confused. They were drinking coffee, reading maps, and chatting, what else? The broader scope of his question quickly became apparent, though. She shifted her chair to make room for him at the table, mulling over his words. Honestly, she felt pretty inclined to brush it all off as the typical disorientation that followed someone’s ‘awakening’, and his usage of unfamiliar jargon didn’t help his case. “I dunno what some of those things you mentioned are,” she admitted. “Things are bound to be confusin’ though. Given just how many worlds got caught up in this mess, coincidences are gonna happen sometimes, right?” Shrugging, she leaned back in her chair. “Heck, when I first saw Limsa, I thought for sure it was Little Innsmouth. That’s where I’m from,” she added proudly. In regards to Primrose’s question, she very much did not want to explain things to Ichiban. Someone else could do it, probably Kamek. Old guys love explainin’ stuff, she reasoned.

Rubick showed up, followed shortly by an unfamiliar knight whose acquaintance the magician had evidently made. “Oh hey…you!” Nadia greeted him. This table wasn’t nearly big enough for everyone, and the group was beginning to attract attention.

Well, so far the party ten had neither reached a consensus nor fallen in line after someone’s insistence, so the team stood at an impasse. Plus, even if they did make a decision, that still left a number of team members in the dark. Jesse, Ganondorf, and Omori weren’t here, and Nadia didn’t have the slightest idea where the boy might be. Whether he intentionally left the others or just got lost was anyone’s guess, too. “Ever since we fell down here we’ve been gettin’ separated nonstop,” she thought aloud. “I mean, did anyone even see where that ‘Adventurer’ guy went? It’s a miracle we all made it to the city to begin with.” After looking down at her nearly-empty cup, she sighed and downed the rest of her coffee. Then the feral stood up. “Well, if you guys are plannin’ to stick around here sellin’ loot and whatnot, I’m gonna go stretch my legs.” Stretching one arm and then the other, she grinned at Sectonia. “I’ll go check out King’s Station and see if I can find one to rule this place for ya. If I do, it’ll be a ‘crowning’ achievement, right? Nyahaha~” With that, she folded up her map, pulled her hood up to shield against the rain, and went to leave, waving goodbye as she did. If anyone wanted to come with, she certainly wouldn’t object. “Smell ya later!”

Luckily, the map put King’s Station directly adjacent to the Downtown district of the Home of Tears, so it wasn’t a long journey, especially by water. After heading to the waterside Nadia airdashed to and commandeered one of the city’s many self-piloted giant paper sailboats on its circuitous journey from Fountain Central to the station landing and back again. Once back on terra firma, Nadia did not hesitate to step inside, though the first impression she got of the place once in left her a little let down.

Contrary to its name and perceived prestige, King’s Station looked pretty derelict. Threadbare banners hung in tatters over a rubble-strewn floor with entire sections of it torn up and the earth beneath clearly visible. A once-austere wrought-iron bench lay broken in half, and the station’s lower sections were filled with water. In front of the closest flooded track, a brass bell rested at the foot of the post it once hung from. Nadia crouched down to lift it up in hopes of putting it back, but she found it cracked and useless, so she discarded it again just as quickly. “What a dump,” she muttered. “No way any kings are hangin’ out in a place like this.”

Unless they were waiting deeper in. Something about this place told Nadia that there was more to it than met the eye. She stood and jumped over the flooded track, heading further into the decrepit station. All around hung tablets scrawled with arcane-looking white runes, and the echoes of dripping water resounded through the pitch-black tunnels. If not for her experience in the Soul Sanctum, she would have found this place pretty creepy. After another minute or two of exploring, she hit a dead end in a pretty big room full of all kinds of crabs. Mud crab, king crab, even a magic crab. At one point Nadia almost got nipped by a statue that turned out to be a Rock Lobster. On the other side of one last channel lay a large, important-looking doorway labeled ‘B’ by a nearby sign, the way tightly shut by interlocking metal bars. Even if she detached all her parts, Nadia didn’t think she could wriggle her torso underneath or between them.

It intrigued her less than its surroundings, though. Unlike the other flooded channels that ran through this place, the one here seemed deliberate. It not only featured a stalled waterwheel with a dry channel poised above it, but flowed at an appreciably fast pace toward the right side of the room, where it then proceeded into what looked like a pitch-black abyss. A sign there read ‘Danger - bottomless pit’, which earned a scoff from Nadia. “No such thing as bottomless,” she snarked. The Bottomless Sea sure hadn’t been, what with all the rocks and even an island that she’d seen rising from it. Upon further inspection, the flow of the water seemed to be blocked. With furrowed brows, Nadia scratched her chin. “This seems like a puzzle,” she mused, her tails swishing restlessly. There had to be something good in here to go to all this trouble for it. A king’s ransom, perhaps? Enticed by the prospect of riches, she set about trying to figure the puzzle out.

∞ Activity

By just about anyone’s account, it was a stunningly beautiful day. The sun smiled down across the countryside, its radiant rays of light bathing it in a pleasant warmness perfect for dozing, yet a refreshing breeze blew through the leafy boughs and rolled across the grassy plains. While stormclouds churned far to the north, casting the regions west of the Sandswept Sky’s border mountains in a heavy rain shadow, the sky over the Land of Adventure couldn’t be more blue. But the land that sprawled out beneath it was not the same as yesterday’s. Gone were the bountiful fields of gold that surrounded Morgensloft farm, the lake of Pelagics where the Watertop Land of Fantastication floated, the forest temple with its baffling puzzles, the gorgeous-yet-alien Coral Highland, and the blighted pastures of the Ancestral Farmhead. The Hamlet, with its amicable porcine population, never stood a chance. Even Lumbridge, robbed of the World Anchor that sustained it for so long, was no more. Only Haven remained, its own World Anchors left untouched by its ruler. Other than that, the past -the very land itself- had been scrubbed away.

And yet, that was only the beginning of the loss that today had seen.

For Alcamoth’s survivors, not even a stunningly beautiful day could lift their spirits. Only the fact that some survived gave them solace–yet the guilt that haunted them, like vengeful spirits left behind by the dead, hurt some of them worse than death. Still, the fact that they still lived endowed them with a responsibility. If the Consuls believed that all of Alcamoth’s people had been destroyed alongside it, they were off their enemies’ radar. Though Smash City’s desperate struggle had ended in catastrophic loss, their sacrifice bought the survivors some time. Time enough, hopefully, for a new beginning. Within one week, before the Land of Adventure re-generated again, they would need to find a new foothold in this new, different country.

And how different it was. Rivers cut through the landscape like the strokes of an artist’s brush, dividing in into chunks, and only some even remotely resembled the rich green countryside of yesterday. Vast sections of the region appeared to be woven from wool, yarn, and canvas, including their foliage and many of their inhabitants. On their trek west from the button-speckled wood on the central island where the teleporter left them, the survivors stepped over a rich two-dimensional tapestry of life knitted into the ground itself. Its two-dimensional denizens went about their business with one another as if they didn’t even notice the survivors ‘above’ them, traipsing around in a dimension beyond their ken. By the same token, though, tearing into and altering their fabric of reality was so easy that some of the travelers did it accidentally. Quickly and carefully they hurried on their way, journeying southwest over taffeta tropics, felt fields, textile tech, and tweed treats. At great length, however, the cloth landscape gave way to ordinary dirt, grass, wood, and rock. There the trek finally stopped, at a city lodged in the mountains: Markarth, the City of Stone.

Upon arrival, the survivors dispersed through the city, looking for food, lodging, or just a place to rest. Despite their fatigue and misery, Vandham urged each and every one to be on their guard. Far removed from Alcamoth’s resting place Markarth might be, but at the end of the day, it was all still the Consuls’ domain. Then, rather than follow the others into town, he seated himself in the shade of a leafy tree on a cliffside overlook, next to the man who’d saved his life.

“I really am grateful, y’know,” he began after a few moments in his characteristic Australian accent. “I thought ya robbed me, at first. Of my chance to make a difference. I was ready to sacrifice myself, thinkin’ that if I could save even a single life by layin’ down my own, it’d be worth it. It woulda been a ‘elluva lot easier than dealin’ with the grief, and pickin’ up the pieces, heh, ‘specially knowin’ ‘ow cruel this ‘ere World o’ Light really is. But I thought about it long’n ‘ard ‘bout it on the way ‘ere. The Seekers are still out there fightin’. As long as there’s a chance we can set things right, I’m gonna keep fightin’ too, and I en’t gonna throw my life away just to go out like a ‘ero’.” He held out a fist to his savior. “So. Thanks, mate.”

After a moment, the other man bumped his fist, but his face was anything but happy. “I scarce deserve your thanks,” he said, his Indian accent thick with anguish. “Twas my folly that helped bring about this tragedy in the first place. My regrets, my sins…they weigh upon my soul, heavy as the mountains old, more numerous than autumn leaves. I’ve turned a blind eye to it all for so long, the depravity and injustice. How far I have fallen from those glorious elden days, before I resided in the now.”

Vandham put a reassuring hand on the shoulder of the man’s grape-purple suit jacket. “I can’t say I understand your situation,” he told him, “And I en’t gonna pry. But I do know we all make mistakes. Long as your ‘eart’s in the right place, you can work to make it right. I sure ‘hope ya do too, ‘cause we could really use more o’ that ludicrous ‘ealin’ goin’ forward.”

The healer gave a wry smile. “A stouthearted sentiment, Vandham. One worthy of a hero, and a mentor. I can see why you meant so very much to him.” After adjusting his gray tie, he stood to his feet.

“Him? Y’mean Rex?” Vandham raised an eyebrow. “Oi, where you goin’? You en’t leavin’, surely?”

“Hm? Oh, no.” The healer shook his head. “I thought only that I might better acquaint myself with this place. We have much and more to do, and time is not on our side.”

Vandham left to check in on the others, and the healer descended to the bottom level of Markarth, observing everything that he could. As with every location in the World of Light, this city existed as a fused-together mishmash of shapes and ideas from various worlds. Its unifying theme appeared to be medieval fantasy, which suited him just fine. There were humans, beastmen, dwarves, and even elves, so with his own long ears the man fit right in. He passed by a row of grocers with various unusual wares, from vegetables like the Humming Cabbage, Razzle Basil, and Juicy Steakplant to fruits like the Heart Peach, Spicy Banana, and Dance Apple. Were it a better day the sight of cube-shaped strawberries and upside-down upgrapes -not to mention the fuzzy pink Nopon selling them- might have brought him a smile, but he soon moved on. Fresh meat sourced by a local hunting party could be found at the butcher stall of surly Hogni Red-Arm, and Blurberry’s Bar dispensed all sorts of gnomish grog, but the healer passed them by. The city’s elaborate, almost ceremonious forge, recessed into a mountain where it could utilize both molten-hot lava and snowmelt water, caught his eye for but a moment, and he didn’t bother to look into the tailor–he knew he’d never replace his purple suit. He only lingered at the ‘Petpet Shop’, where a variety of heart-achingly cute little critters caught his eye. It made him miss his Opo Opo. Soon enough, though, he found himself at the riverside.

He stood there a short while, just breathing in the crisp highland air as he tried to clear his head, until he happened to catch a whiff of a tantalizing smell. A jolt of nostalgia hit him like a Landslide to the face, and appropriately enough it nearly sent him tumbling over the river’s edge. He managed to catch himself in time, however, and after a moment he tentatively sampled the breeze. “No…surely not…” But after a second sniff there was no mistaking it. The healer took off at a run, sprinting along the riverside past confused and startled Markarth citizens. In just a few moments he arrived, his mouth ajar as he took in a hauntingly familiar sight. It was an outdoor restaurant situated on a raised wooden platform by the crystal clear pond where the Markarth’s two rivers joined together before spilling out through the sluice beneath the city walls. Above it stood a very high trellis, with patterned rugs stretched across their lengths, as well as hanging brass planters and lanterns. With square tables and stools beneath all the dangling plants and such, it gave off a rather naturalistic and outdoorsy touch, perhaps befitting a garden luncheon on some noble’s grandiose estate. The healer ran a gloved hand over his slicked-back, dark-brown hair, breathing slowly despite the rapid beat of his heart. “Even if it is,” he reasoned, “Surely it cannot be the same…”

No harm in trying, though. He seated himself at a vacant corner table and perused the menu. Some of the dishes on offer he didn’t recognize, but he quickly locked in on one item in particular, and he knew in that instant he could accept no alternative. When the waitress arrived, she found the classy-looking gentleman practically tripping over his own tongue as he tried to place his order, apparently from excitement, though he quickly simmered down once he stopped to remind himself of the circumstances that brought him here. Still…even if this came about as the result of random chance, it felt like fate. His first order did not take long to prepare, and after just a moment the waitress placed his plate down before him. For a few moments, the healer just stared, moving only to wipe his glasses as they began to fog up. There they were, in all their shiny, purple, angular glory: crystal grapes. Carefully he slipped off his black gloves, raised the polyhedron to his lips, and took a bite. Sweet. Juicy. Tart. Like grapes, but crystalline in shape. Every bit as good as he remembered them. “Ohh,” he sighed, his brows upturned above closed eyes. “How I’ve missed you, silly grapes.” He took another big bite and relished every bit of it, flavor and texture alike. “Truly, absence makes the heart grow…”

The moment he opened his eyes, he’d frozen, still as a statue. He’d locked eyes with a woman a table away, who’d just sat down herself. She had short white hair with point cat-ears, blue eyes, tan skin, and red streaks on her cheeks. Her garb was a modest affair for her world, though still complex by conventional standards for a white jacket and blue pants. She even had that stupid twig at her waist. No. Not again. In contrast to the man’s utter shock, this woman seemed amused by his reaction, raising an eyebrow with a smile. After a moment, the healer realized he’d accidentally dropped his grapes into his lap.

“Godsdamn,” he muttered, quickly placing the food back on its plate before dabbing at his pants with a napkin. When he looked up again, he got another shock, for the woman he’d seen before now sat directly opposite him. “Ah! Oh, goodness. Er, my apologies, madam.”

“Are you quite alright?” she asked, her lovely English voice playful. “You looked at me as though you’d seen a ghost. Or is it love at first sight, perchance?”

Swallowing, the healer instinctively worried at his soul patch, clearly uncomfortable. His dark eyes were “Forgive me. You just so happened to remind me of…of someone I used to know.”

“Ah, a classic,” the catgirl smiled, though after a moment she tilted her head. With a slight squint she rested her head on her hand. “You know, though…there is something oddly familiar about you. Are you sure we haven’t met before, mister…?”

A tense second passed. Though it pained him profoundly, the healer shook his head. “I…think not, madam. Loathe though I am to admit it!” He gave a nervous laugh.

“Again with the ‘madam’. What am I, an old lady?” the young lady chided jokingly. “There is something about you…but I suppose not. I’m rather good with faces, so I daresay I’d remember.”

The man put on a wry smile. “One would hope.” He bowed his head in apology. “Again, sorry for the interruption. Please enjoy your meal.”

“I shall,” his acquaintance said, standing to leave. “There certainly isn’t anywhere else around here I can, by the Twelve.” The white-clad catgirl went on her way and, not wanting to distress the man further, headed past her original table to one farther off.

Meanwhile, the gentleman slumped down in his chair. A waitress stopped by, asking if everything was alright, and after assuring her he put in a new order. “One cheeseburger, please.” Once she left he removed his glasses, set them down, and rubbed his eyes with his palms. “Such illimitable torment,” he moaned after a few moments.

“What is?”

Startled for the third time, the man opened his eyes to see another familiar face. Dirty blonde pigtails, pinned-back bangs, camo atop a black jumpsuit. “Ah, Shania,” he muttered, putting his glasses back on. “It’s nothing.”

“Sure it is. Who was that?” When the gentleman didn’t reply, the young woman huffed and walked around the table.

“Just…someone I used to know,” he told her, his expression thoroughly morose. Shania raised an eyebrow as seated herself across from him, and he gave a dismissive wave of her arms. “It’s a long story.”

Shania crossed her arms, her expression a little annoyed. “Try me.”

The healer took a long, slow breath. This had never worked before, but why not? “Well,” he began, clasping his hands as he placed them on the table. “I first awoke in this world from darkness, finding myself imprisoned in a strange, ethereal gaol. After a time, however, I was freed to wander, anchorless and alone in this strange, new world.”

“I had but one thought on my mind,” he continued. “To reunite with my companions, with whom I had shared many an adventure, overcome countless ordeals, and even saved the world. With them by my side, I knew I could do anything. And yet, when I finally found one, I experienced soul-rending horror.” He narrowed his eyes, as if in pain. “He did not remember me. Nor did the next I chanced to meet, nor the one after, nor any of them. Not friends, nor even passing acquaintances I encountered. They recalled a face, a name, a history, but they weren’t mine. It was as if I had never existed.” Muscles going slack, he stared up into the sky. “I wandered the land like a ghost, alone and in despair. Trying in vain to rediscover and reforge all that I had lost. Everything I had ever known, or loved, or achieved, all those precious memories, even my very name… dust in the wind. I tried, and tried, but it was all for naught. Nothing could fill the void. Until the last I lived in fear of death, a broken man scrabbling for every second. Praying for more time.” A hollow, rattling laugh escaped his lips as his voice dropped to a whisper. “...If only I had known.“

Shania stared at him, her face a mix of surprise and bemusement. “Didn’t expect you to actually reveal anythin’. Guess everyone’s got a sob story, huh. Real cryptic, too. Can’t help ya, but I hope ya feel better gettin’ that off your chest.” She crossed her arms. “Now I’ve heard you out, maybe you’d like to return the favor, eh? You owe me, after all.”

“...Hm? What do you mean?”

“Look, jackass,” she said suddenly, curling her lip. “I risked my sparkin’ life tryin’ to get all those people out. We walked all day, and my feet are one more cetri from fallin’ right off. When’re you gonna fulfill your end of the snuffin’ bargain?”

The healer sighed again, annoyed by the girl’s lack of gravitas. “I’m afraid I cannot keep my promise.”

Shania blinked twice, taken aback. “You what? Ugh, I knew it, you double-crossing mudder! You promised you’d-!”

“After that bloodbath, do you really think you deserve-” he cut in, only to be interrupted himself.

“SHUT UP!” Shania yelled without warning as she stood, drawing looks from all around the restaurant. She looked around angrily, as if daring anyone to speak, before focusing her ire back on the healer. “You think I care? Whatever happened, you put me up to it! You came to me after those sparkin’ Seekers destoried me, then told me the only way out was to help you. You’re the one who brought those Consuls down on us! Don’t blame me just ‘cause you’re feelin’ regretful!”

The gentleman stared at her impassively, his grief replaced by stoicism. “I made a critical miscalculation. The shame of that truth weighs heavily upon me. Yet you lack even that, and still you shirk your complicity. You knew from the outset that you were selling them all out, but that did not matter so long as you got what you wanted.”

“We had a deal, and I did my part!” Shania gritted her teeth, seemingly on the verge of tears. “The spark do you know about me, anyway?”

Her acquaintance frowned. “This world is full of records. The Spirit Board was but one source. I know that you hate yourself. But that you also dread the thought of a futile, meaningless, permanent death.” He stared Shania right in the eye. “That you would do anything if it meant you got another chance at life. Was I wrong?” He then leaned back in his chair. “Twas a gamble, but you did it before. So I believed you’d do it again. ‘Tis the extent of it.”

That left the girl speechless for a few moments, but then her fire burned again. “That’s crap!” she spat. “How could you know that? You tricked me! I…I wouldn’t-!”

“Do you believe in destiny?” the man asked suddenly.

When Shania didn’t say anything, he took a deep breath and continued. “Every one of us has a path laid out before us. Or…perhaps I could better liken it to a river. Not a road we walk of our own volition, but a current that carries us along. We may believe we have agency, but we do not. Every choice, predetermined. Every outcome, ordained. Like it or not, believe or disbelieve, we are all helpless against the flow.”

He looked around at the other restaurant patrons, back to minding their own business. Their eyes all gleamed with the blood-red glow of lifelight. “Some more than others, I suppose. Most are as sheep, the wool pulled thick over their eyes. Yet there are those who can struggle against the currents–the destoried. Like you. Those from Alcamoth. And…hopefully, I.” Exhaling, he hung his head. “I truly do sympathize with you, Shania. How blissful ignorance would be. But I haven’t that luxury. I don’t have another life to live. I must achieve my goals -or get as close as possible- with this one. Before I get what’s coming to me.”

Shania took deep breaths. Though not extinguished, her anger had subsided. “So…what? Thought you’d rope me on in it? That we’re the same? ‘We’re not so different, you and I’, is that your game?”

“A foolish thought, maybe…” the gentleman grimaced, his eyes falling to his half-eaten grapes. “But…should we not choose life? We can do better. Be better. Rather than turn our backs, saying ‘next time’, ‘next time’, should we not seek the future we desire, starting today? With these lives?” His expression was pleading. “Only those who start today have a tomorrow.”

A quiet moment passed. Then Shania replied through gritted teeth. “There is no ‘we’. There is no ‘our’. You’re just projecting,” she snapped at him. “All I ever wanted was another go. You can stuff your ‘records’, I didn’t do anything until you used me.” Turning up her nose, she crossed her arms. “The life I have isn’t enough. Now, are you gonna kill me, or what?”

The man put his hand to his head. “Shania…I am sorry. If only you could remember. My dilemma comes down to this: I am loath to take the life of an innocent, and if you are guilty, you too must earn that release. You deserve better than this cruel reality, I know. We all do. So even if the light hurts us, we cannot wallow in the comfortable darkness forever. Not when that light may yet illuminate a future–a future that’s in our hands.”

Groaning, Shania plopped down onto her stool, then laid her head on her crossed arms on the table. “Spark’s sake,” she croaked. “I just can’t have anythin’, can I? I’m just not allowed. Why’s it always me?” Tears began to form in her eyes. “Standin’ here on my own?” She sat up in her chair suddenly, her face twisted in fury, though not helpless anger. “I’ve had it,” she snarled. “I’ve had it up to-!”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” a venomous, sardonic, drawling voice interrupted her. A pointy-eared man in black swept in, his garb streaked with pale gold and neon green, and seated himself on one of the stools at the table with the two survivors. His green-scaled tail curled up behind him; both his bejeweled horns and wingtips shone like emeralds. “To think you’d be so cruel as to keep the poor girl awake against her will! Surely you didn’t think any of these insects could ever relate to you? It’s even more sad than it is cruel–I’d laugh if it wasn’t so pathetic.” His look of utter condescension quickly morphed into one of glee. “Oh hell, I’ll laugh anyway. Bahahahahaha!”

In an instant, the atmosphere had changed. Goosebumps raced across Shania’s skin as she eyed the newcomer, a scowl on her face as she kept her hands hidden beneath the table. The gentleman, meanwhile, fixed the newcomer with a baleful stare. “...M,” he hissed after a moment. “I must confess, I’d rather hoped I wouldn’t see you again for a good while.” He pushed up his glasses, then put one arm on the table, wearing an imperious frown. “Is that really your true face? I must say, ‘tis a most fitting visage. Precisely how I envisioned you.” He stroked his chin, thinking. “An irredeemable, egotistic, vulgar arsewipe.”

“Ooh, aren’t we frisky today? That’s not like you, do I sense a crack in that stone-cold facade of yours? Hehehe…” M chuckled nastily. “I do like this look though. Once I saw you dressing down, I figured I might as well join in. And don’t you look dandy in that lavish purple getup!” he snickered. “Though I think red suits you better, S.”

Shania, her tears quickly dried, turned her wary gaze on the man of many promises. Unfazed by the namedrop, S simply snorted. “Then you truly don’t know me, M. Why are you here?”

M’s grin turned into a deadpan stare, as if S were ruining his mood. “Y’know, you really baffle me, S. All this time, I’ve watched you try and get close to these…things. You know they’re not people, right? They’re our food. Our playthings. It doesn’t matter if one thousand die, or ten thousand, or ten million. You pick your favorites, sure, but you don’t really care about them. And now you’ve gone and, well, basically gotten a ton of ‘em killed. How can you keep pretending after all that? All this make-believe really do it for you? I just don’t get it.” He shrugged, shaking his head. “Why play at being good? None of it matters. This world is a cage for the strong. A mind-numbingly boring prison. All these toys are here for just one thing: our entertainment. My entertainment. Maybe these flimsy bonds and fantasies of heroism are how you ease the tedium of existence. But not me.” M stood to his feet, spreading his arms. “So, to answer your little question, I’m here to entertain myself. I want to know how you really feel, ‘partner’. So let’s start with the look on your face…”

As he raised his hand, a vortex of wind energy began to form. Then he lunged at Shania, a miniature storm raging in his palm. “As I clean up your MESS!”

The air became a maelstrom of whipping, cutting windblades. They sliced through and bashed apart everything in their path, from the restaurant’s wooden furniture to the structure itself. Its patrons screamed in fear and as they were flung from their seats, streaks of blood flying from deadly gashes. For a moment everything was chaos, but just as suddenly as it arose, the squall subsided. The Last Stand had been reduced to kindling, and the innocent bystanders lay whimpering and bleeding on the ground. That included the cat-eared conjurer from before, and the waitress, who’d been on her way to the table with a giant cheeseburger that now lay in halves on the ground.

But when the dust cleared, Shania was still standing. While she had a high-tech revolver in hand, she seemed just as surprised as M. Around her shone a cube-shaped barrier of shimmering blue light in angular shapes, a pink glint sliding across its ethereal surface. After a moment it faded, and the four strange, bladed instruments that projected it from its upper corners floated back toward their owner. He looked at Shania, then across the remains of the Last Stand, his gaze finally landing on the burger. His burger. His eyelid twitched, and he took a deep breath, as if surfacing after a long time.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” S declared, his voice loud and clear. He raised his hand, his catalysts faced upward as they began to rotate around him, and a wellspring of blue-green light rays bloomed upward. “I rather pride myself on being an even-tempered man. It takes a lot to get under my skin.” The light washed over every person in the area, instantly healing them to full. “I’ve long suspected your aim in tormenting me so,” he confessed as the catalysts moved in to place themselves on his back in a neat, diagonal stack. “With no mountain left to climb beyond ‘power’s peak’, you couldn’t help but wonder. If another Moebius might give you the rush you’ve longed for. So, well done. You’ve made up my mind for me.” He tightened his fist and held it over his heart. “I’m done waiting. Today’s the day. Though sunken deep into the sands of time, I may yet claw my way to the surface. You wish to discern my true nature? Then ready yourself. I shall elucidate you.” His catalysts sprang into the air, their blades faced towards his enemy. “M!”

M’s grin had only grown wider. “Heheheh. Finally,” he chuckled. “I’m going to enjoy this. Snapping your bones, squashing your hope, and slicing your idiotic bonds to ribbons. By the time I’m through with you, it’ll take this city’s entire Flame Clock to patch you up, heheheh-!”

He grunted suddenly as a bullet struck him in the forehead, snapping his head sideways. He looked back the next second, the wound barely more than a scratch with just a rivulet of blood trickling down, to see Shania standing next to S. That wasn’t all, though. Drawn by the chaos, a massive shape leaped from a walkway higher up, crashed down next to them with hand scythes drawn, and a looming raptor at his back. “Oi!” Vandham grunted, taking a fighting stance. He shook his head, but kept his eyes on M. “It never ends, eh?”

“...It may yet,” S replied, suppressing his surprise. “I will have need of your strength to finish this–this fell dragon’s reign of terror.” He assumed a stance as well, his catalysts dancing around him. “But you need not fear. My name may be dust in the wind, but I am a Sage, and so long as I stand, no ally of mine shall ever die.”

Shania gave a wry laugh and took aim, her revolver held tight with both hands. “We better sparkin’ not, or I’ll wring that long neck of yours myself.”

“A sage, hm?” A stone suddenly struck M in the chest, and he treated the conjurer who cast it to an annoyed eye roll as she ran up to join the group, her twig in hand. “Room for one more?”

For the first time in a long time, S smiled. “Now it’s a party.”

M flapped his wings and took to the air, his hands in his pockets as his tail thrashed behind him. “Send in however many weaklings you like,” he told them with a mad grin. “You think having friends makes you strong? I’ve got mountains of bodies behind me, rivers of blood fed by whole kingdoms, and I sure don’t mind adding a few more to the pile!” He held out his hands, and the air itself began to hum with power. “Show me a good time…S!”

World of Light

Midgar - Sector 7 Slums

Giovanna, Susie’s @Archmage MC, Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit's @Yankee, Roxas' @Double Partitio’s @Dark Cloud

For the scrappers, militiamen, and citizens of Sector 07, this was a day worth celebrating. The Machines had come for them, the forces of DespoRHado seemingly hung them out to dry. Yet they triumphed, and without a single casualty to boot. People would probably be partying late into the night, already making the most of the peace they’d earned, for however long it lasted. With that peace came a bounty of new material, carved from the wrecks of the fallen by the salvage corps. Later on, they could motor on over to the battlefield outside Detroit as well, where plenty of loot no doubt awaited in the aftermath of that much larger-scale struggle. While Susie soon found that these Machine parts were almost unilaterally a lot lower quality than her own, they would suffice for the cityfolk down here just fine. For them, things were looking up.

For the Seekers, however, it was a hollow victory. They might not have known the two fallen members of the Rust Crew all that well, but the death of any brave soul fighting for the sake of others hurt. The loss of Poppi, however, was a different story. Tora’s partner had been there from the very beginning, preceding each and every member of this team by a long shot in their quest through Galeem’s dominion. She had been an indispensable ally, sometimes an indomitable protector, sometimes a breathtaking force of nature, but always a friendly, helpful face. Some of the others took the news hard, especially Zenkichi, who seemed rather close to despair for a moment. Of course, even compared to everyone else combined, Tora was crushed. The Nopon refused to speak to anyone, accepting no sympathy and offering no information about what happened to her. That duty fell to Pit , and he recounted the events of their pursuit as best he could for Susie and the others. Though they wove a grim tale, it ended on a positive note: Tora’s stated intentions to save Poppi. His plans to create a cure for the logic virus, find Poppi again, and fix her up offered a ray of hope, but the clouds that hung over the assembly of heroes were terribly dark and thick. To Tora, it felt like the weight of the world.

Before much longer, Giovanna decided to make an executive decision. Victory or no victory, this border-line boneyard was a miserable place out in the open, cold and dreary, full of foul, industrial smells and harsh noises. Everyone was tired, sore, dehydrated, and wounded to some extent, either in body or soul. She couldn’t forget about her soaked clothes either, and the combination of stares and shivering were beginning to get old. They all could use a warm place to rest and, should they be of age, a stiff drink. Something she’d seen just that morning seemed like just the ticket.

“Let’s blow this joint already,” she announced to everyone, raising her voice. “You treating us, Clarke? How about Seventh Heaven?”

The engineer waved. “Good choice. I’ve got work to do, though. Just tell the boss to put it on my tab.”

Giovanna nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s move, everyone.” As the troop started to get underway, bound through the rest of Scrap Boulevard into the slums proper to reach the bar, she noticed one member failing to move. “You…coming, Tora?”

He did not respond. One hundred percent of his focus lay on his computer as he struggled furiously with the profound intricacies of the Logic Virus. Giovanna sighed; she couldn’t just leave the poor guy here. “Can someone carry him?”

As they prepared to move on, Pit’s mention of the Walkie Talkie spurred her to finally do something she very much didn’t want to know. “Don’t know if it’ll reach,” she muttered. “But I’ve got a way to get in touch with them.” On the way to Seventh Heaven, with the team’s situation settled for better or worse, she made a second call. This time she contacted Goldlewis, and they exchanged a few minutes’ worth of terse conversation catching one another up. Her expression had not gotten happier by the end of it, and as the group neared the bar she steeled herself to spill the beans.

Once inside, the Seekers were greeted by a jovial atmosphere. People here were happy that Sector 07 had lived to fight another day, and as with any good celebration, alcohol was a hot commodity. Some of the defenders who helped hold the robots off at Breaker were here, and among them Giovanna spotted Tifa of all people behind the bar. The black-haired young lady looked every bit as stunning and composed as she did when the team spotted her that morning, as if she hadn’t just spent a solid half an hour crushing machines like beer cans with her bare fists in a fearsome display of martial arts prowess. She filled up the patrons’ beers and crafted their cocktails with well-honed expertise, serving with a smile, and when any eligible Seeker approached for a drink they received a warmer smile than most. While Seventh Heaven didn’t feature the biggest menu, it did offer some simple foods, so the team could indulge in some late lunch after their hard-fought battle as well.

Uninterested in anything and everything but his work, even food, Tora sat himself down in the corner by the jukebox. Once everyone else situated themselves, Giovanna relayed what she’d heard. “We’ve got some bad news,” she told them flatly. “Goldlewis and his team met Sakura and Raz in the tunnels outside Sector 05 during the Psych-OSF operation. However…” The secret agent lowered her voice a touch. “By the time they arrived, Peach had been transformed…into an Other. They didn’t realize at first and fought her for a while, but people from Seiran teleported her away. Then they ran into Karen Travers -the biggest name in the OSF- who said the Psych-OSF is to blame and Seiran might be able to cure Peach.” She paused for a moment to let that sink in. “Goldlewis also said Karen warned him not to tell any non-Seekers about Peach’s ‘metamorphosis’. So…y’know, take that how you will.” If Giovanna had been on the fence about getting a drink before, she sure wasn’t anymore. Losing Poppi hurt, but Peach was the de-facto leader of the entire operation. Key word ‘was’. After what happened, was she gone forever? Could the Seekers bounce back from this? Well, they didn’t really have a choice, she supposed. What a shitty day, she thought, waiting in grim silence for her drink.

Seiran Hideout

Level 4 Goldlewis (58/40)
Karin and Sakura’s @Zoey Boey, Blazermate’s @Archmage MC, Geralt @Multi_Media_Man, Benedict’s @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 1663

Once the sandwiches had been distributed, Goldlewis took a seat in the kitchen-slash-dining room. With the windows beside the table, the presence of warm light versus the other half of the former clinic’s harsh technological blue, and the bedroom just an open door away, it formed the hideout’s most liveable space. After all that running around through both the Stilt Village outside Seiran’s reservoir and the labyrinthine tunnels themselves, not to mention the constant fighting, the big man was plumb tuckered out. He seated himself at the table for a much-needed breather, although he didn’t take any sandwiches himself. While he’d be the first to insist that the others needed to eat to keep their strength up, he ironically didn’t feel very hungry at all himself. Tempting as it might be to go out and buy a case of beer for the team, the veteran needed his wits about him to tackle the matter at hand, so he settled for nursing a cup of coffee as the Seekers began to grapple with the day’s events.

Blazermate launched the discussion with a flurry of questions. She seemed pretty overloaded by what happened, and Goldlewis couldn’t blame her. That collapsed parking garage -or whatever it had been- had been mayhem from start to finish, even when it had just been a fight with a big Other. Sina’s revelation forced the Seekers to switch gears right in the middle of a dangerous battle, with almost a dozen competing voices piercing the monster’s smokescreen as it continued to attack. Then the thing that had been Peach was suddenly spirited away, by members of the OSF’s Seiran garrison no less, and the Septentrion First Class showed up to drop a cluster bomb of poignant information that, in the end, just led to more questions. It all happened so fast, and Goldlewis could barely keep it all in mind himself.

Benedict summed it up, though. This wasn’t just random criminal or terrorist activity, no way. Something big was afoot. Luka’s analogy back in the underground nexus had been spot-on: Goldlewis felt like a fisherman aboard a boat in stormy waters, stricken by fear at the vague sight of something massive stirring beneath the surface. And right now, that something looked like Psych-OSF, although maybe not quite in the way Benedict described. “It ain’t the OSF actin’ independently from the Administration,” he pointed out after a slurp of coffee, nodding at Geralt. “It’s Seiran, and Travers it seems like, goin’ against the rest of Psych-OSF. An internal division…” That realization invited all sorts of conjecture, and none of them good. If the Scarlet Guardians, arguably Midgar’s mightiest armed force, were splitting into factions, that could mean a whole lot of trouble, with a whole lot of crossfire for innocent people to get caught up in. Like Peach. “Travers seemed mighty pissed about what happened. Maybe it’s the OSF proper that’s behind this metamorphin’ business–and why Seiran’s goin’ rogue in the first place?”

The reality of what Karen called ‘metamorphosis’ was one that deeply unsettled everybody. As Geralt pointed out, the ability for any faction -much less agents of a corrupt Administration- to permanently turn people into Others out of the blue, meant that anyone could be a target. The only question was how they did it, but only Sakura, Sina, and maybe Raz could even begin to answer that. The possibilities didn’t end there, either. Geralt even offered an outlandish hypothesis that this metamorphosis might be the Origin of all others, and Goldlewis quickly stepped in to set him straight before that could inspire any terror.

“Unless they’re somehow flyin’ thousands of folks all the way up to the Extinction Belt, turnin’ ‘em, and throwin’ em out across the city on the regular without anyone noticin’, that can’t be it,” he declared, pretty confident in his reasoning. That said, when it came to explaining the difference, he drew a blank. Other biology was an utterly foreign field to him. “Ain’t got a finger-lickin’ clue,” he admitted to his chagrin. So far he’d assumed the Extinction Belt was the source of the Others in the same way the Astral Plane was the source of the Chimeras, but the eyewitnesses' testimonies -and even the word ‘metamorphosis’- implied a transformation. “But if Others come from the Extinction Belt, maybe ‘they’ reverse-engineered the process?”

Some guesses were made about the motivations behind both sides. Even as the former Secretary of Defense, Goldlewis couldn’t say. With Shinra at the helm, his hand-picked cabinet on the job, and Konoe in particular as the veteran’s replacement, this Administration was a far cry from Vernon’s. One thing Geralt mentioned did seem like a certainty, though: that Karen Travers planned to act. “That man’s the strongest doggone psychic in Midgar, and a candidate for strongest, period. If anyone can get some kind o’ ball rollin’, I’m guessin’ it’s him.” He looked over at Blazermate. “That’s who the masked man was, by the by.”

External conflicts weren’t the end of the Seekers’ problems, though. Geralt had done some reflection, catalyzed by the spirit-suppressing light of the Cleansers in the subway, and spoke about his experience. “That ain’t good,” Goldlewis remarked when he was done, aptly -if a little offhandedly- summarizing the situation. “I never messed with one o’ them spirits myself, but Giovanna did. She didn’t change all that much, but she changed, and I noticed. Both the differences, and the fact she didn’t notice herself.” If these were changes Geralt didn’t anticipate, Goldlewis could only hope that the team could get a better idea of what they were getting into with fusions going forward. “Y’are whatcha eat I guess, so I reckon y’all oughta be careful,” he added unhelpfully.

When Karin thanked him for the food, he nodded absently. “You’re welcome, miss.” While some of the others were devastated by what happened to Peach, Goldlewis was no stranger to loss, and only a little less than a stranger to the princess herself, so he viewed her loss through a more practical lens. One casualty wasn’t that bad in the greater scheme of things, but the loss of a leader was a huge blow, and as Karin pointed out, losing defusion was a big deal too. In fact, he couldn’t help but wonder if Peah’s metamorphosis wasn’t a coincidence. How this happened didn’t seem as important as why. Sakura wanted to know as much as anyone, but her plan to find out more from the perpetrator had one fatal error: a detail she overlooked.

“...You mean, this one?” Goldlewis placed the spirit of the sniper on the table. When Karen threw it at the Seekers’ proverbial feet, likely as a peace offering, the veteran had been the one to pick it up. “We ain’t gettin’ much outta her like this, sadly.” He tugged at his whiskers. “...Still, the fact she’s with Psych-OSF is a start. No way in hell she was actin’ alone. ‘Why Peach’--that’s the million-dollar question.” Hopefully, Karin was right, and as long as the Seekers kept pushing forward, they’d find the answers -and the Guardian- they sought.

Before the conversation went any further, Goldlewis heard a magical tone, and reached up to answer his communication glyph. “It’s Giovanna! Scuse me a li’l bit while I take this.” He pushed up from the table and strove powerfully past the kitchen table, farther into the hideout. The SOU members engaged in a quick, concise relay of facts, with no time spared on sentimentality. After a few minutes, Goldlewis returned. He stood by the table, arms crossed, and gave his report to the waiting, expectant team.

“Good news is that Gio, Zenkichi, and the rest of ‘em succeeded in drivin’ off a Machine invasion. Workin’ with the locals, they managed to keep Sector 07 safe.” He took a deep breath through his nose. “Bad news is…well, they had a casualty, too. Poppi got infected by some kinda Machine virus. Flew deep into the Valley of Ruin, fell into a lake or somethin’. Details ain’t exactly clear. Tora’s beside himself, of course. Gio says he won’t do anythin’ but try and crack the virus to find a cure. The others are fine, and they picked up a new feller named Partitio on the way, but they’re takin’ the loss pretty hard. Headin’ over here after a stop in at a local bar, Gio reckons.”

A few minutes after that, something else confronted the team. They heard a knock at the door, but when they answered it, nobody was there. Instead, they found only a nondescript, honey-yellow shipping envelope Given the day’s events, even a sight as mundane as that got Goldlewis’ heart racing. “Careful!” he warned. “Could be anythin’ in there. Let’s do this right.” With utmost caution, and Goldlewis standing by with his energy shield ready, the package was felt. Nothing seemed to be in it other than a handful of plastic cards, similar to credit cards, and possibly some cloth. Given the unlikelihood of some sort of weapon, Goldlewis went ahead and opened it. Inside he found six plastic press badges, already imprinted with pertinent information. “Shinra v. Armstrong Final Presidential Debate,” he read aloud, both eyebrows raised. “Date, today. Time, nine o’ clock. Location, the Dendenmille Showcase Theater, Sector 06.” He turned a badge over in his hands, noting the bar and QR codes. “Sounds like someone wants us to be there.”

He put it down on the table beside the others, then tried to gauge the thoughts of the team. “I had half a mind to go myself some way or another, owin’ to who’s gonna be there. This just makes it easy. It’s a risk, but one I think we oughta take.” If the others had opinions on that, he’d be happy to hear them.

“Still, it’s a good seven hours ‘til then, at least,” he mentioned at the tail end of the discussion. “Surely there’s somethin’ we can do in the meantime.”

Underground Roadway

Midna’s @DracoLunaris, Raz’s @Truthhurts22

Hearts raced and chests heaved as the soldiers’ black armored truck got underway, burning rubber as it raced to leave the scene of the collapse -not to mention the Other’s metamorphosis- in its dust. Even as today’s extractions went, this had been an especially dangerous one, with plenty of confused, angry combatants on hand, and that barely scratched the surface of its abnormalities, or the day’s horrors in general. The back of the truck buzzed with conversation, totally oblivious to the presence of any stowaways, as it rumbled down an underground highway in a vast subterranean space beneath Midgar.

“Mercy me, did you see the size of that thing!?” One of the soldiers exclaimed in a husky female voice. She reached up and removed her helmet, allowing a huge amount of thick hair to fall down all the way to her thighs, a sky blue to cotton candy pink gradient. Her skin was pale, almost gray, and narrow white pupils stood out against black sclera. “Biggest one so far today for certain, the poor soul. You going to be alright, Crenshaw?”

The tall-headed man who banished the Other with his Transport powers lay sprawled against the front wall, his head lolled back. “...No,” he gasped after a moment. “I’m…completely wiped out. Can’t do any more. The rest…are on their own..”

“Damn bastards, how the hell can they do this to anyone, let alone their own!” snarled one of the brawny men who’d helped grab the one called Crenshaw. His scarred lips were curled, and his fists shook with anger, as if he couldn’t wait to tear the ones responsible limb from limb. “At least we have our answer. If they’re so scared of a Seiran rebellion they’re willin’ to go to lengths like these to put us down, we’ve got no choice. We’ll give ‘em all-out war!” The others voiced their vehement agreement in reply.

Another man had removed his helmet, his long, well-kept, gray-streaked hair complimenting a trimmed, point beard. “We can’t do anything just yet,” he cautioned them. “Especially after today. We’re scattered and broken.” He gave a dry smile. “Got to hand it to them. They’re every bit as well-organized and ruthlessly efficient as we feared. A massive operation like that, called in and set up in what, two days? Didn’t even give us time to pack.”

“How much do you think, Angelo?” the pastel-haired woman asked quietly. “Our losses, I mean.”

The patrol captain sighed. “Aside from the subway system itself? It’s impossible to say.”

“It’s terrifying,” a small female soldier piped up in a squeaky voice, clearly shaken. “The whole thing. We came down here in the first place because the Others would keep people away, but once they realized, a ‘clean up’ was the perfect excuse.” She held her head with both hands. “First the scouts to metamorphose entire squads, filling the tunnels with even more Others. Then the main platoons for extermination. God…”

Angelo put a hand on her shoulder. “Easy, Bennie. We saved as many as we could.”

The big man from earlier closed his eyes, leaning against the truck’s wall. “We shouldn’t be fooling ourselves, what we’re doing isn’t saving them. Alive or dead, they’re still Others at the end of the day. That isn’t livin’. We’ll have to step up shipments to even keep ‘em lucid, for pete’s sake.”

“Then we’ll find a way. The least we can do is keep them as safe and comfortable as we can until someone finds a cure,” the first woman murmured sadly.

Stern-faced, Angelo crossed his arms. “We’ll get there, no matter what it takes. Instead of doom and gloom, we should be focusing on what we have, which is all thanks to Crenshaw here. If he didn’t defect too, we wouldn’t even have a glimmer of hope.”

“It’s nothing. After seeing for myself what Suoh was becoming, there was no choice.” Finally recovered somewhat, Crenshaw hauled himself up onto one of the benches, holding on tight as the truck went around a corner. “I just hope none of the poor initiates from last night got caught up in all this,” he sighed. “First day on the job, and faced with their own allies turned into monsters. What a nightmare.”

Bennie glanced at Angelo, her eyebrows squeezed together. “Are…is Bruno taking us to Supernatural Life, then?”

He shook his head. “No. There’s no telling what people the OSF has snooping around, and we can’t take even the slightest chance of accidentally compromising it to the enemy. We’re regrouping at an emergency rally point to take stock of the situation, then dispersing. They need to believe they squashed us.”

The long-haired woman smiled bleakly. “Good, since that’s exactly what happened. If half of the survivors haven’t deserted by tomorrow morning, I’ll be shocked.” The comment elicited a nervous titter from Bennie.

“Patience, Luminita,” Angelo said, trying to keep a stiff upper lip. “We still have Karen. Once he makes his move, we’ll have all the people we need. The truth will set them free.”

After a while longer, the truck came to a stop at the rally point at the edge of the huge hollow, a collapsed expressway fortified into a sort of outpost on the borders of the Sectors 05 and 06 undergrounds. There were a number of Seiran garrison members there, and more would trickle in over the course of the next few hours -many on foot- before heading upside through secret, roundabout passages, mostly to their homes. At one point, a trooper arrived with a half-conscious Booger Sabbat suspended in the air by Aerokinesis, claiming it was his brother. Crenshaw, who had stayed behind with Angelo to recuperate while the rest of the squad dispersed, set back his recovery with the Transport of another Other. Then he laid back down to rest again, even more dispirited than when he started.

Home of Tears - Terminal Cafe

Level 10 Nadia (198/100)
The Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Primrose and Therion’s @Yankee, Sectonia’s @Archmage MC, Jesse’s @Zoey Boey, Ganondorf’s @Double, Ichiban’s @Truthhurts22, Rubick's @Scarifar, Artorias' @Dark Cloud
Word Count: 1244

While at first the atmosphere of Terminal seemed more creepy than cozy with all the dead around, Nadia quickly got used to it. Though a little dim in here, it was warmly lit, with hanging lanterns and lightbulbs suspended inside urn-shaped baskets. The skeletons and zombies in here seemed to be friendly. For most of them, the coffee seemed to be an afterthought to the simple act of conversing; eager to chat, they talked with the eagerness of people eating their last meals, or perhaps saying their last words. All these living dead, the sort of monsters that a typical hero might kill without a second thought, just seemed like…ordinary people. Well, give or take a few unnatural eccentricities. Still, Nadia couldn’t help but be interested, both in the dead and whatever stories they might have to tell. Her eyes shone and her ears pointed every which way as she looked and listened in.

An undead blademaster recounted old war stories with a long-dead king, while nearby a a soft-spoken, purple-robed skelevangelist engaged a smart-mouthed skeleton in a friendly debate about the gods. Colorful Mariachis occupied most of the bar seats, downing espresso like tequila as they joked and laughed. A trio of zombie siblings, Rottytops, Abner, and Poe Cadaver, sat together on the second floor regaling anyone who’d listen with incredible tales about the lands they’d seen from their family caravan as long as they got coffees in return. Nadia spent a while listening to them, often smiling at the trio’s dynamic of energetic-but-mischievous, rough-but-responsible, and polite-but-weird. Two unusual zombies, the good-natured, huge-clawed Hsien-ko and the wise-cracking, guitar-strumming Lord Raptor, seemed to be on a date of some sort. Even Sargassos and Skuskets floated up by the lights around the second story, listening to the Cadavers or chattering amongst themselves.

The constant drone of the voices from all over melded together with the ever-present roar of rain outside, creating a shroud of peaceful white noise that Nadia found very relaxing. On top of that comfortable ambiance played the music of an old gramaphone, the soft, wistful, and hauntingly melodious voice of the singer, and her long, slow guitar notes, floating around and through the silent feral. Sitting there, with a warm coffee in her hand and the sounds of calm filling her, Nadia felt wonderfully at peace.

”We’re not dead
Suspended in a place of hush, not upset
Just puzzled by the sense of bemusement
It’s amusing losing all of our direction, now we’re lost…”

Nadia wasn’t sure how long she spent sitting there in Terminal, her tails gently swishing and curling behind her. She didn’t bother to count the seconds, and she did her best not to worry about P, or his powers, or the other Consuls, or the long road ahead. When the time came, her spirit would be shining bright, her smile fortified and made ever-present by moments like this. Her underwater siesta in Heaven’s Edge, had been one of these too, and the time she just stood there on a high-up boardwalk in Little Innsmouth, just feeling the heartbeat of humanity. Just the ambient feeling of life around her -even from the dead- filled her soul back up whenever anything got her down. This was what she was fighting for.

Of course, everything was better with company. At length Nadia found herself joined by a lady of stunning beauty, and at first the feral really didn’t recognize her. Only after a couple seconds did things click, enough commonalities gleaned from the woman’s appearance to hazard a guess. “Oh, Primrose!” she exclaimed with a slight laugh. “Eheh, I…I mean, you look good!” Having never seen the dancer before they made one another’s acquaintance in Twilight Town yesterday, she’d never gotten the chance to think of Primrose as anything but a brawny, primarily brunette street performer, clad in bright red, white, and gold. The sight of a high-society socialite, the pinnacle of elegance in a murky red dress and black feathers set against ginger-blonde hair, had therefore thrown her for a loop. “How’s it goin’? Since we last met, I think I became a cof-feline!” Primrose’s new changes brought Nadia’s mind back around to something she’d been considering earlier, and once the dancer received her coffee, she engaged her in conversation.

“I’m purr-etty sure I used to hate water,” she began, propping up her head with her arm. “Y’know, like a cat? But ever since fusin’ with the Oceanid and Massachusetts, I’ve been all about it. When I’m in the water, it’s like I’m in my element. Just feels natural.” She narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows slightly. “But I know it ain’t. Makes me wonder, how much else about me isn’t…well, me? I can’t tell. Even havin’ three tails only felt weird for, like, a minute. There’s…uh, I don’t remember, but I’m pretty sure there’s a word for not feelin’ right in your own body. But it’s like this fusion smooths everythin’ over. Better than feelin’ weird about it, I guess, but we don’t wanna lose sight over who we are, right?” She shrugged, smiling. “Right meow though, the thing I’m mostly losin’ track of is everythin’ I can do. My powers are already super open-ended, and now I’ve got a couple different Strikers on top of ‘em, plus these new weapons, and don’t even get me started on the Copycats! Whenever I gotta coordinate somethin’ with ‘em it feels like my poor brain’s gonna combust.” After a hearty chuckle she took a swig of coffee. “Gonna need to sort my shit out if we’re goin’ after more bozos like P, right? Can’t be satisfied with the consul-ation prize”

Eventually the Koopa Troop happened to pass by. Between the music, the rain, and all the undead talking in here it was pretty loud, so rather than chase after them, Nadia took aim and launched one of her arms on a rocket of blood. It sailed past the Koopas and plopped down on the ground in front of them, then turned around to point behind them. When they looked in the indicated direction they found the feral waving them over, and motioning for one of them to collect her arm for her on their way over. “Hey, guys!” she hailed them. Though grateful for some one-on-one conversation with Primrose in the cafe’s tranquility, she didn’t mind more company. Hopefully Bowser wasn’t too big for this place, and the kids didn’t make a scene. “Some of you went explorin’ or somethin’ earlier, right? Well get this: my map got bigger!” She spread out an updated map of the Under on the table for everyone to look at. If her break was coming to an end, then it was time to plan out the team’s next steps with its self-proclaimed leader.