Lugubrious

World of Light

The Round Table Discussion V

Word Count: 3980 (+4)

Sandalphon considered everything that the group had discussed so far as she continued. “We have a number of missing allies still, some awaiting recovery in the Land of Adventure, others in parts unknown. We have several locations to revisit, including Markarth in the Land of Adventure, and Limsa Lominscuttle Town in the Deep Blue Seaside.” After confirming that the geoscape was, miraculously, still functional, she used it to display the World of Light in all its topographical glory, then mark regions off the map. All this aptly demonstrated the usefulness of the system Bowser had nearly destroyed. “In addition to those regions, the Seekers have quelled the Guardians in the Mushroom Kingdom, the Sandswept Sky, the Under, and the Dystopiascape. In addition, Consuls M, P, and Y are dead. That leaves seven regions that still have their Guardian and Consulate fully intact. We should discuss where to go next.” Sandalphon peered at Blazermate. “For instance, didn’t you say that the Dead Zone was destroyed? If Its Guardian is exposed, we should strike there.”

”Whoa.” Roxas mouthed as his eyes scanned around the map on display. It took a moment for him to finally spot Twilight Town, which seemed like a speck compared to the scale of places like Midgar. It was a pretty big world alright, and he’d only seen a small fraction of it so far. But something else on the map caught his eye, a peculiar city situated in the center-most northern spot. It didn’t quite register at first why this was eye-catching. At least, not until the Nobody thought about the city’s name for a moment, or rather, it’s lack thereof.

”That’s it!” Roxas suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere. His gauntleted hand was pointing directly at the City That Never Was. ”Kamek, you said earlier that the Master of Masters saw the Organization in a ‘city with no name’ right?” He asked the magikoopa but went ahead and explained further without waiting for a reply. ”That right there has to be it! There was a place called the City That Never Was in my world, and in it was the Castle That Never Was, and that castle was the Organization’s stronghold!”

Pit spoke at the same time as Roxas, making the conversation muddled as the two boys talked over each other. Pit's chiming in was in regards to his fellow angel's suggestion of taking on the Dead Zone once more. "Yeah the whole place looked like a wasteland, but there's still all that time-rain around the Dead Zone though! It makes everything it touches older, super fast."

“That’s where we come in,” a quirky old voice piped up, announcing the presence of one E. Gadd in a mechanized chair and a navy-blue cap. “We’ve been working on a way to protect a whole team of operatives from the effects of timefall, long enough for you to reach the Qliphoth tree and get inside. After recovering a surplus of chiralium crystals from Kosm’s Beach, our solution is coming along, too. We still need a little more time, a few days maybe, but after that we’ll be ready to finish off the Dead Zone in one fell swoop!” As his excitement simmered down, the little old man crossed his arms. “I should say, there’s another problem when it comes to reaching the City That Never Was. The whole region as far south as Dunwall is saturated by a strange signal we call the Transmission. It’s demonstrated an irresistible hypnotic effect on living things. So far, it has us stumped. So until then, steer clear!”

At that point, another new voice joined the conversation. “Pardon me, everyone. My name is Hope. I’m the Avenger’s onboard support AI, as well as its pilot. Thank you for not destroying my geoscape, by the way.” It paused for a beat. “On the subject of navigation, I do have some advice. Right now, with two more Guardians destroyed, Moebius is on high alert. The Consuls aren’t just shoring up their defenses, but actively searching for both us and Consul S. This includes H from the Sandswept Sky, one of the two who attacked Alcamoth, and who -like all Consuls who’ve already lost their Guardian- is free to hunt us down. And I hardly need to mention Z, who we -at great risk to everyone aboard- directly confronted above Everdream Valley. It would be wise to lay low for a few days and pursue side objectives until the hornets’ nest calms down.”

Bowser gave a slightly embarrassed cough at that, while Jr gave a quite ”wow cool” before having an idea and saying ”Oh, we should also check Peach’s” he paused briefly and made a small sad sound before pushing on and suggesting ”Peach’s castle. I had a warp painting from our base there, maybe there’s survivors who got out using it and are there now?” hopefully.

”Even if not, it might be wise to evacuate them, lest the Consuls find it,” Kamek suggested, fearing the worst where the young prince was hoping for the best.

"Evacuate them to where?" Therion pointed out. He hadn't retaken his seat after Bowser’s outburst, now standing with his tail curled around one leg. "That city's gone and if we're already sharing rooms on this ship, how many more people can it fit?"

”Unfortunately, Gerudo Town isn't an option.” Ganondorf said just to get ahead of the idea before anyone else suggested it. ”At least, not for the men anyway. The Chief made exceptions for me and those who accompany me, but only to visit when needed. But beyond that, well, the Tribe’s laws are considered absolute.”

”Well, if it's a big city you're looking for, Midgar could work. It needs to be fixed up a bit, but the Ever Crisis is over so it should be relatively peaceful. We’d just need to figure out or fix the next election.” Roland suggested, noting that most of Midgar was mostly ok, and even the backstreets of Midgar weren’t all that bad.

”But what about the electricity?” Roxas pointed out. ”The Guardian powered the whole city. With it gone, who knows how long it could take to set up a replacement system?”

”Well, my friends from the library used to work for L corp, the power company from where I’m from. I only vaguely know what went on there, but the power it produced was enough to power time machines and warp trains and have more to spare. And it was clean energy… Although I don’t know how they made so much Enkephalin.” Roland said, being a bit spotty on the details in a combination of not knowing, or leaving out a bit of the details due to not wanting to remember. He had already said some of what went on earlier anyway.

”And one of them, although I’d say she is more of an acquaintance, runs Shinra.” Roland continued, scratching his head.

”So we just hand power back over to Shinra again?” Roxas retorted. He really didn’t like the sound of that, but he unfortunately had no other alternatives to suggest. ”And there’s also Midgar’s defenses - Neuron, Psych-OSF, Public Security. They’re all in shambles because of us. How do we go about fixing that?”

”Well, technically Shinra didn’t lose any standing on ruling the city. President Shinra and Armstrong both died so by default Shinra would still be running the city right?” Roland said with his own retort. ”And as for the defenses… Most of them are still there and there are also the rebel forces and those who helped with the Ever Crisis that stayed in Midgar. I don’t know about you, but a select handful of people that took out entire departments might be better security than those departments against huge threats like the Consuls if they popped their heads back into Midgar.” Roland continued before taking a breath. ”All I’m saying. If we’re trying to hide a tree, putting it in the forest would be the best place to hide it.”

Goldlewis scratched his head. “I feel like we’re gettin’ off into the weeds here. Midgar was a hellhole held together by Shinra’s iron fist, and now that’s gone, too. Power’s gone, and everyone’s shippin’ out, last we heard.” Hopefully the exodus was going well, he thought. With the likes of Karin, Vernon, and Fubuki there the Midgar refugees were not lacking for leadership.

”Midgar wasn’t all that bad besides the Ever Crisis, to be honest…” Roland said, gloomily alluding to knowing a way worse place. To him, Midgar was a great place to live, although his standards of living were rock bottom.

”I’m gonna be honest with you, Roland, that’s…really more of an indictment of your world than it is an endorsement of Midgar. That place was…bad. And I came from a world where Konoe tried brainwashing the entire human race to end all crime.” Zenkichi said, looking a little sad to be bursting Roland’s bubble.

"We can take anyone that needs rescuing to Skyworld!" Pit cut into the argument, slapping his palms onto the table.

"We'd have to go and clear out any baddies that might be there—" Because Palutena's domain was unfortunately not the impenetrable bastion of goodness that the goddess strove for, seeing as it had been invaded a couple of times even before being sucked into the World of Light. "—but after that, Lady Palutena's temple can fit more than a whole city's worth of people!"

He went on, resolute in convincing everyone that visiting Skyworld was worthwhile. "It's high up in the sky, and if Lady Palutena is there she can protect everyone. If you guys figured out a way to stop the other Consuls from finding S, I'm sure she can figure out how to do the same thing and stop them from seeing the temple! She'll be able to help us!"

That he wanted to help her, too, and make sure she was alright didn't need to be said - it was clear in his voice. "When Midna took us up to the top of this giant mountain, we saw it. It's probably not even that far away if we can fly right there!"

”The ship certainly does solve the issue we had of how we were going to get there” Minda agreed, implicitly offering to go with him there.

”Count me in, too.” Roxas said, also agreeing.

“That’s another locale to visit, then,” Sandalphon told him with a reassuring nod. “I must confess that I wish to see it myself. If we’re going to bide our time while Bridges opens the way to the Qliphoth, it may be wise to spread our force out across several locations, keeping a low profile while gathering intelligence, additional allies, and resources. Skyworld could be one such place. I would advise against anywhere near Alcamoth or in the Land of Adventure, though.”

Relief at everyone agreeing with him, in any capacity, made Pit shoot them a huge grin. Though when Sandalphon cautioned against returning to the site of Alcamoth's destruction, Primrose hummed in disappointment. Still, she understood, and didn't put up any argument.

“I just want to visit Markarth to find Yen.” Geralt added, an edge to his voice. “I understand the caution, but I’m already having to look for Ciri. If the Land of Adventure resets and everybody from Alcamoth is still there…we’ll have lost a lot of good people. And not just my wife.”

Hope quickly addressed his concern. “We can definitely do that. We have no impression of leaving the survivors to that fate.” Geralt nodded, not having expected anybody to be suggesting that, but needing to make sure they at least made sure to stop there and rescue the survivors.

After nodding her assent, Nadia stood and leaned over the table to get a better look around the geoscape, scanning the three-dimensional map of the World of Light for any spot that interested her. “Somewhere to lay low, huh…how about there?” She tapped a little island in the ocean on the continents southwestern side. “‘Mafia Town’. I’ve dealt with plenty of mafia types, so I could probably hide out around there. Plus, it’s close enough to both Limsa and that big forest area that there’s bound to be rumors goin’ around. With port towns, you never know for ‘shore’!”

”Sounds like a hive of scum and villainy, to me.” Captain Falcon said, finally speaking up for the first time this whole meeting. ”Been a while since I’ve been in the bounty hunting game, but I bet I could rake in some good money in a place like that.”

Juri hadn’t said much, taking in all the information available to her. But if they were going to crack down on some Guardians and Illuminati wannabe freaks, Mafia Town sounded like the place Juri wanted to be. ”It sounds like it might be some sham tourist trap with a name like that. But if things really are just that obvious now, then I’m all in.” She said from her spot on the railing. Backlit, the most obvious feature of her shadow-obscured face was her dimly glowing artificial purple eye. Her declaration earned an incredulous look from her rival Nadia. The glowing eye winked in response.

”Alright, you check those places out, and then we’ll get people to wherever best for a load of toads and whoever else is still at the castle” Bowser said, before Jr added ”or both. I can hide some portal paintings between them, maybe? That way people can go back and forth?”

”What about this place here?” Roland said, looking at the map and pointing at Meridi-at-han. ”That place seems pretty central, and perhaps we could get a glimpse at that City that Never Was Roxas was talking about. Or at least gather some information if there is any to be had.”

”I suppose I’ll check out Skyworld then. If that’s going to be a main base, I should make sure it's to my beauty standards” Sectonia said with a bit of a sigh.

Her throwaway comment drew Pit's attention, and he made sure to tell her, "It was made by Lady Palutena herself, so even if it got mixed with some other places it's definitely up to snuff!" Sectonia didn’t doubt the angel, so she gave him a nod, but she was expecting to fix something up.

”Well I’mma go with Bowser. He needs all the healing he can get, the big ol’ lovable lug.” Blazermate said, although it was more for the fact Bowser let her ride on top of him and gave her an excuse to be lazy.

”I’m going back to Gerudo Town.” Ganondorf said simply. ”They’ve been in a stalemate against a bandit horde in the territory - so I’m going to help them break that stalemate.”

And what better place for a Gerudo to blend in than Gerudo Town? Primrose added privately. She went over to peer closer at the geoscape, thinking about all the options that had been given so far. Now that she'd met with the Confessor and learned what exactly she'd been capable of, Primrose didn't have any specific person or place in mind. It would be nice to find the friends from her home world, but with no place to start from, that would be difficult. Instead, she thought it best to go with somewhere that would help everyone in the long run.

"I think Roland is right," she said, nodding at the city straddling two regions. "I'll volunteer to head there as well and see what we can find out."

Goldlewis seemed to approve. “Makes sense. I’ll join y’all there, if ya don’t mind.” Arms crossed, he checked out each of the three locations in turn, noting their approximate locations. “We just about got a triangle goin’ on, so I reckon we’ll have pretty good map coverage. Long as we hold off on any big stunts that’d get the Consuls’ attention, we oughta be able to fly under their radar.”

As for Therion, he was of much the same mind as Primrose. With no specific destination in mind, he would be choosing between the options already presented. The thought of going to some place called "Skyworld" somehow didn't bother him as much as he'd thought it might, but he passed on it still. He was sort of interested in going to the castle brought up, but then again he wasn't about to steal stuff from a dead comrade's place no matter how rich they'd been. And since he didn't want to be all that close to some brainwashing "transmission" even if it didn't reach as far south as the city Roland pointed out, that left him with one choice.

"...I'll head to Mafia Town too," he said. Between a celebrity racer and two women with big personalities prone to butting heads, he questioned how much 'laying low' they'd actually do. A small, sarcastic grin worked its way onto his face when he motioned with his chin at the others headed for Mafia Town. "Someone's gotta keep them in check."

Nadia smirked at him, hands on her hips. “Heh, careful not to bite off more than you can chew.”

“I’ll be hunting down Ciri after we pick up Yen and the others. Need to pay that Vulgrim a visit, got a few Spirits he might be interested in for some info on her.” Geralt added. “It’ll be good to see some of the others from Alcamoth, as well.” He was looking forward to seeing the other survivors, though he knew it’d be bittersweet to see Lumbridge gone.

”And I’ve gotta find the others.” Zenkichi said, sighing. ”I know you got split up from Joker and them at the Metro, so who knows where they wound up.” He had a feeling they’d been more than capable of taking care of themselves, much like Geralt did with Ciri, but he still worried about their well-being. He wouldn’t be Gramps if he didn’t.

At the mention of the young Phantom Thieves, Primrose's expression softened slightly. She figured that as long as they had each other they would be okay, but even so it would be good to confirm it and give the kids a place to come back to. "Good luck," she told Zenkichi, and meant it.

“Tora sure they okay!” the nopon piped up cheerfully. “Phantom Thiefypons were very good team in desert, meh. Whatever come their way, Ren-ren and friends pull through!”

”We’ll grab everyone, drop them off and then hide out, uuuuuuh” Bowser claw trailed all across the map before tapping down on what linked like some small town or camp in the mountains that would turn out to be called Camp Whispering Rock ”here” before explaining ”Good spot to hit that forest we never went into, or whatever these big cities are up here,” referring to the Twilight Forest/Autumn Vale and the Theater of War respectively, ”once you all are done with hiding out.”

”Oh wait, my new phone!” Jr suddenly remembered, before adding ”oh and I gotta fix my car, and I wanna tinker with sis’ gauntlets and… yeah I might need to stay here till we group up again” which got a thought and then a nod of agreement from his papa.

After jotting down the last few decisions on her screen, Sandalphon’s pupils turned from loading wheels back to normal. “That’s all of the Seekers,” she announced, saving and then dismissing the magical document. “I may end up returning to the Avenger early to help provide additional support alongside the Last Numbers. Good work, everyone. The plan we’ve made covers intelligence gathering, avoiding Moebius, and recovering lost allies until we’re ready for the strike on the Dead Zone, and Illia willing we’ll have leads on the Twilight Forest and Forbidden Kingdom Guardians by then as well.” Her pupils changed to T’s. “Of course, we are still missing a number of allies.”

At that point, Commander Nelson spoke up for the first time. “We may be able to assist with that, at least. According to our findings, the CENTINELS’ very own Wonder Red went missing along with the Phantom Thieves, Ace Cadet, and Big Band during the Metro scramble we’ve come to know as ‘Rush Hour’. Once we finish repairing our equipment, we should be able to triangulate Red’s position by conducting several long-range scans for his CENTINEL-suit. With any luck, we’ll find the rest of them alongside him.”

At the mention of Ace (and to a much lesser extent Band, since he hailed from her world) Nadia’s ears perked up. Though it had been only a few days since she last saw him, it felt like much longer, and in this world separation tended to make one anxious even if one wasn’t the worrying type. “Let us know when you find ‘em, eh? Not to, uh, name any names, but I know some of us have been worried. So you better look Ace-siduously!”

Geralt chuckled, turning his head to Nadia. “Oh, Ace’ll be fine. Not sure if he’ll be more excited to see you, or the Avenger, though. Probably call it ‘Gargwasome’ or something equally painful to the ears.” He joked, shaking his head while laughing.

Grinning, Nadia crossed her arms. “Pff, he better be happy to see me! Or he’ll face my wrath…alos!”

Geralt sighed, putting his head in his hands and shaking his head. “Brought this on myself. You two and your puns. Brought it on myself.”

”That’s not even a pun. That’s just noises.” Juri said, scrolling through something on her phone.

”So that's it? We’re good?” Jr asked, glancing between the door to the room and Juri’s phone.

Sandalphon slowly stood up, her bones creaking slightly as she stretched for the first time in a while. “I believe so. Our more time-sensitive plans dictate that we fly south-southwest first, to deploy Geralt to Markarth along with a number of Fulton devices, over to Peach’s Castle to deploy the Troop, and then back to Markarth to collect everyone. From there, we should turn in for the night and begin distributing our forces tomorrow. In the meantime while traveling, we can partake of a meal, make use of other facilities, or consult with Vulgrim, should he return.”

“Got everythin’ planned out, huh?” Goldlewis exhaled deeply, trying to let himself relax a little. He looked around at the huge gathering of Seekers, survivors, and Lost Numbers. Everyone had learned a great deal during this meeting, including plenty of bad news and more than one dizzying revelation. Even so, the campaign to save the world was looking better than ever.

“....So.” Goldlewis smiled at Bracket. “What’s for dinner?”

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate VG Crossover RP, reborn!)

Oooh!! Currently deciding between either a Wizard/Pirate101 player character, the Enchanted Journey player character, or a completely original OC/"avatar" character for mine! :D

@Dragonfly 9

Hey there, glad to have sparked your interest. Just as a heads up, any avatar character needs to have a strong enough backbone/role in their game (such as Fallout's 'Courier' or Bloodborne's 'Hunter') as well as enough of a personality to be a real character. And if you have any more questions about character creation, I'm happy to help.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate VG Crossover RP, reborn!)

Actual thread: https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/193061-world-of-light-the-endless-now-the-ultimate-vg-crossover-rp/ooc

Welcome back to the stage of history, eternally retold

Long, long ago, an otherworldly entity known as Galeem, the Lord of Light, coveted the marvels of countless worlds for itself. In an apocalyptic deluge of light, it swept over each and every one in an all-consuming flood, bringing the universe itself and its countless stories to an end.

In the wake of the total annihilation, Galeem created a new world, an anachronous amalgamation of countless realities not-so-seamlessly stitched together, over which it could preside for eternity. Into this World of Light the innumerable inhabitants of the devoured worlds were reformed, stripped of their memories of the end and rendered oblivious to the wrongness of their new reality. Then Galeem chose a number of Guardians whose existence would safeguard its own, and hid them throughout its brave new world.

Finally Galeem fell silent, becoming the engine that sustained its perpetual motion machine of a world. As it slept, its all-consuming desire for eternity gave rise to Moebius, its will accepted and embodied in twenty-six individuals who would serve as Consuls throughout the World of Light. Its denizens, in thrall to the Flame Clocks that meted out their lifespans, would live, die, and be reborn countless times, a cruel Life Service keeping their destinies arrested, stuck in a waking dream with no hope for advance–the Endless Now.

It’s hard to say how long it’s been since then. But through it all, a star of hope twinkled faintly amidst the dust of ages. Heroes with the power and will to challenge Galeem’s Guardians would rise, fall, and rise again, eventually stirring the Consuls from their listless complacency. In the wake of many Guardians’ defeat, the Consuls are on high alert, and things are more dangerous than ever.

In this massive video game crossover RP, you’ll play as a game character of your choice and join the campaign against Galeem in a grand journey through a tapestry woven of countless worlds, a series of battles, puzzles, and adventures, meeting friends and foes both new and old as you fight to reach and destroy the Lord of Light.

The Lost Numbers and the Avenger

The Avenger is the ship that will be our mobile base of operations during the RP, once everyone reaches it. We’ll deploy from it on missions and return there once we’re done, though given how important it is, keeping it hidden from Moebius is our top priority. This huge ship has all kinds of rooms and amenities in it, and as long as you can find a roommate, you can even claim your own to decorate as you see fit. The Avenger is home to an NPC group called the Lost Numbers, the descendents of previous game characters unique to the World of Light, who can provide services for the group. Once the RP begins, information on both the Avenger and the roster of Lost Numbers will be available in the Characters tab.

EXP

EXP earned for posting is as follows: <750 words is 1 point, 750-1250 is 2 points, and 1250-2000 is 3 points, then +1 for every thousand after that. You will also get bonus EXP after successful encounters. Your level of contribution determines your growth. Please keep track of your own EXP, please be honest when it comes to reporting and don't use filler to inflate your word count.

If a collab happens (including one that involves only your characters) every participant will get the full EXP reward from the collab’s word count.

EXP gain is boosted during boss fights.

When your EXP total goes above the next level requirement, you can subtract the requirement from your total to give yourself a Level Upgrade. These can be spent on a new Ability or Skill from any powerset available to your character. Leveling up also gives your character a minor stat increase across the board. Abilities/skills gained by leveling up can Interplay with old abilities/skills if it makes sense. Please submit your level writeup to me for approval

The Power of Friendship

In the World of Light, everyone starts out ‘gleaming’ under Galeem’s influence. This status prevents cognitive dissonance regarding the World of Light itself, seals memories of Galeem plus the apocalypse, and makes one unable to voluntarily back down from a fight once begun.

Any character who’s freed can spend (your level - 3) EXP to use a Friend Heart to free someone who’s gleaming, restoring their cognition, memories, and wellbeing to normal.

Spirits

In the World of Light, every being has a spirit, a bundle of light that defines everything about that character. It’s represented as a mote of prismatic light with that character’s image nestled inside. When something dies, its body disintegrates into ash and the spirit manifests. Spirits don’t remain for long and will quickly fade if they’re not bottled up somehow, though that only prolongs their existence a little.

Our characters can use spirits for their own gain in a variety of ways. When you choose one, message me and I will write the results up for you

Spirit Usages

• Fusion - pressing a spirit into your heart will give you that spirit’s powerset, a free Ability from that spirit’s powerset, and a Weakness from that spirit. It will also physically change your character, and even their personality somewhat
• Inheritance - pressing a spirit into your head will give you a free Skill from that spirit’s powerset. It will also palette swap your character, changing the colors to be more like the spirit’s
• Spiritbinding - you can equip a spirit (or a cluster of very weak spirits) as a Striker, allowing it to manifest when called upon for a brief time in order to help in some way, usually performing a certain move. If a Striker is hit, the host will take some of the damage. A character can only have two Strikers equipped, but they can be swapped out aboard the Avenger
• Itemization - crushing a spirit will result in a random loot drop from an arbitrary but thematic loot pool

Rapport

A special, optional way of further developing your character, not to mention bonds with other characters. Whenever two PCs are involved in a non-combat, non-progression collab together (both characters in a back-and-forth post) the EXP from that collab can also go into Rapport if both players are willing. Leveling up Rapport offers additional bonuses

• D Rank (<5 REXP): Just shows you’ve built up some REXP, but not enough to reach C Rank
• C Rank (5-9 REXP): Tag Team (a powerful, special team-up attack unique to these two)
• B Rank (10-19 REXP): Skill Share (both characters can copy a free Skill from the other(
• A Rank (20-29 REXP): Crossover (both characters can now switch to the other’s Job. Doing this switches your base powerset and base weapon out for theirs, as well as replacing an element of your outfit with one of theirs)
• S Rank (30+ REXP): Interlink (will be explained later)

Rules

• All standard roleplaying rules apply. Be excellent to one another
• Your character will start in a weakened, basic state no matter how powerful it was originally
• Your character has to originate from a video game, but it can be any officially-licensed game, no matter the console or company. Characters that originated in other media are prohibited. Other media built on top of games can be considered canon to the games, however
• While you start with one character, you can apply for more once qualified. To qualify for another character, you must reach level 3 with an existing one, as well as be able to handle the additional workload
• While not 18+, we are open to mature themes like violence and romance, but not to excess
• You can make some slight changes to your character, or expound on one that would otherwise be too shallow (following fan interpretations if necessary). If you choose a blank slate ‘avatar’ character, you must give them enough personality and backstory to make it a real character
• I expect one post a week for all your characters. My big weekly update usually comes on Sunday evening after 11 PM CST. By applying to this RP you are making a commitment to maintaining this schedule. Exceptions are fine but I would like to be notified
• If you demonstrate a constant inability to meet my standards through lack of posting and/or communications, you can be kicked, and I deserve the right to deny applications from players who’ve done this in the past
• If you give your character's speech a color please make sure it's a color that's easy to read. Please do not give your posts gigantic, obnoxious headers
• Your decisions matter in this story. Ingenuity and creativity will be rewarded, especially in regards to teamwork, but bad decisions may have disastrous consequences

Just as a heads up, this RP already has seven members accounted for, including myself:
@DracoLunaris, @Archmage MC, @Multi_Media_Man, @Yankee, @Zoey Boey, and @Double.
The RP will start on August 25th regardless of how this interest check fares. Still, I'd love to get as many new people as possible! All players’ characters will start spread out across a number of locations at the RP’s start, including three ‘starting locations’, and new characters will need to start at one of them, too:

• Mafia Town - a small island city situated near the Blue Hole, in the World of Light’s southwestern sea. It’s ‘run’ by the Mafia of Cooks, an organization of mostly harmless chefs, and it’s mostly just a bustling port town with a special emphasis on food, occasionally attacked by sea monsters, pirates, murlocs, and so forth
• Skyworld - a large archipelago of various sky islands floating above the Sandswept Sky on the continent’s eastern side. Its Greco-Roman architecture and divine influence is evident in its various settlements, temples, and cathedrals, set amidst white trees and autumnal leaves. Its angels always need help fighting off the Corruption
• Meridi-at-han - a fused acropolis city that stands above the Tyrannian Plateau and flood plains of the Forbidden Kingdom in the continent's north. A colorful cultural melting pot, it lies in a beautiful but untamed region filled with all kinds of creatures, including dinosaurs, and in lies at a crossroads between several regions. More fantasy in origin, it relies on magic and magitech instead of technology

Character Sheet

Name:
Origin:
Appearance: (You can use just an image, a description, or both. If your character’s appearance changes, you can modify this section or just add hiders with the new changes)
Personality:
Background: (You can go into as much detail on your character’s biography as you want, and your character can be taken from any point in that story. This ends with Galeem’s attack)
In the Now: (A synopsis of your character’s existence in the World of Light itself. For new characters, this is limited to the ‘new normal’ imprinted on you by Galeem, and your chosen starting location)

Job: (A succinct name that encompasses your character’s ‘class’)
Specialty: (What your character brings to the table; your role in the group)
Inventory: (Your character’s starting equipment and items, including currency. Unless you specifically have the Inventory skill, your characters must carry everything physically)

Lv: 1 (You start with 5 level-upgrades you can split between Powers and Skills)
EXP: 0/10
Abilities: (Powers, spells, special moves, an iconic piece of equipment, and so forth)

• Ability Name - Ability Description

Skills: (Passive abilities, outstanding ‘stats’, and talents/proficiencies)

• Skill Name - Skill Description

Weaknesses: (Practical limitations, detrimental ‘stats’, and deficiencies. Include three)

• Weakness Name - Weakness Description

Spirits: (Any spirits your character possesses should be listed here with their type)

• Spirit name - Type

Rapport: (You can keep track of your Rapport here. As you level up Rapports, consider linking the posts here and listing what they give you)

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Lewa

This city seemed impossibly large, its sheer population and its towering structures of stone unprecedented, but Lewa forged on, taking the labyrinth and its countless denizens one step at a time. He never liked traversing the claustrophobic tunnels of Onu-wahi that this place reminded him of, albeit less dark and enclosed, and while Nieve did in a way bring to mind the deep jungle of his home, its near-total lack of vegetation stripped out any semblance of familiarity. For someone used to braving the wilderness, with either wild beasts or nobody at all for company, the huge number of people felt a lot more intimidating. Nevertheless, the Toa of Air would see his duty through.

As Lewa wandered, he received a lot of inquiring or wary looks, but only once did he receive a question, and it came from a surprising source. Lewa glanced down at the tiny organic thing in his arms, surprised to hear her talk. While he hadn't paid her much mind during the trip so far, reasonable that it fell to humans to take care of their young, he'd been subjected to the same few voices for days on end as the caravan traveled, but hers was completely unfamiliar. "Rot?" he repeated, confused. That word didn't ring a bell to him. He knew that plants decayed after death, but that concept was as inapplicable to bionic beings as photosynthesis. Probably something unique to organics, he figured. "Nope!" Lewa replied after a moment, his tone cheerful as he tried to assuage her worried tone. "A toa-hero never rots." Body language might be alien to him, but if there was one thing his people had in common with humans, it was expression through voice, and Lewa was nothing if not empathetic.

Eventually, after a few rather timid attempts to ask for directions, Lewa reached a promising locale. The building that stood before him, with its distinctively elaborate windows and tall steeples, was excitingly reminiscent of the church where he first appeared in this world. In its vicinity he found a number of humans who also appeared to be suffering from ailments of one kind or another. This, he reasoned, must be where this city's people went when something was wrong with them. If they congregated here, there must be a reason, and what better than the presence of something able to fix them--or at least soothe their symptoms? Not knowing to keep his distance from any of the sick or injured, Lewa began the delicate task of navigating through the crowd to find someone who could help the child in his arms. He did his best not to ask anyone who seemed busy and risk distracting them from his work, but instead sought out an authority figure of some kind. There must be the equivalent of a Turaga here, he reasoned. Once he found a similarly old and wise authority figure, he could deliver his newfound responsibility to better-suited hands, and maybe -given the proximity of another church- get an answer or two about the elusive Navielle.

World of Light

Lost Numbers pitch: Quartermaster

Name: Sagi
Origin: Tear (Recettear) + Oboro (Monster Hunter)
Appearance: A woman with a short, slight build, standing only an inch or two above five feet tall. She has long, silky silver hair which she keeps partially tied in a bun at the back of her head while the rest flows down to her shoulders. Her bangs are slightly longer, framing her smooth face. Her large hooded eyes are also silver though slightly darker in color. Her skin is pale beige, and despite her mostly human looking appearance there isn't a drop of human blood in her heritage. She has a few traits that set her apart, most notably her wings. Always floating behind her are a pair of transparent green wings, which glow slightly. They appear flat with little details besides their vaguely wing-like shape, and at only about half the size of Sagi's body one might assume that they are just for show. She also has pointed ears which jut away from her head and four fingers on each hand, tipped by nails painted purple. Her usual outfit consists of: a slightly flared gray skirt that goes down to her knees with a matching double breasted blazer, dark tights and loafers, a purple cravat that matches the ribbon used to tie her hair bun, a pair of gold rectangle earrings and a red braided rope she uses as a bracelet.

Personality: Sagi's parents were calm people, and her personality developed much the same way. She is straight forward and prefers to gather as much information as possible rather than pass snap judgements. She is friendly with most everyone, maybe even a little too friendly as she treats nearly everyone she meets as though they were a younger sibling, sort of looking down on them without meaning to. She generally keeps her negative feelings to herself, but if they show themselves it is through passive aggression or cold, quiet anger.

Sagi generally gets along with people, but she is also strict in her duties and won't compromise for even her friends. Even her younger half-sister doesn't get special treatment despite how much Sagi cares for her. Sagi is not easily swayed by appeals to emotion, though she enjoys people trying. Finally, Sagi's sense of humor can be rather dark.

In the Now: For the first years of her life Sagi grew up well-adjusted in the World of Light's Forbidden Kingdom. She lived on the second floor of the family's small shop with her parents, learning their trade in between schooling and playing with other local kids. Her father had been a traveling merchant, and her mother the supply middleman he frequently met with. Their romance was a simple, gradual thing, which eventually resulted in settling down and raising their daughter.

When her parents' time limit was up, Sagi was left alone with her parent's shop. She hadn't been surprised by it. She'd seen other people, neighbors and friends, dissolve into ash before. No one ever mentioned or commented on the spontaneous combustion, so Sagi didn't either - until now. Her parents had always told her that those of their race would live long lives, and yet they were gone before her tenth birthday. Why them? Why now? And would it happen to her, too?

Grief had kept Sagi in her family home, and there she remained twenty... thirty... forty years later. She still ran the shop, standing fast at the same location, and thus she noticed something: the ashing always happened. The longest she'd ever seen someone last was a single decade. In the name of getting answers about why it seemed she, alone, was unaffected, she used her ever changing mercantile contacts to retrieve information about it. That was how she eventually learned the "Lost Numbers," connecting with other people like herself that did not turn to dust.

Sagi did not immediately join the group. She had coped with the knowledge well enough and preferred to keep to her simple life, content with just learning the truth. Some years later there was an event that finally pushed her to join the Lost Numbers... and it started with meeting her father again. The last time she'd seen him was as a little girl, and now she looked as old as he did, if not older, since he appeared exactly the same. Though she knew he wouldn't have recognized her even if she hadn't aged. In befriending her father she learned that he had returned to being (or rather, he still was) a traveling merchant and that she had a half-sister out there. Under the guise of a business deal she ended up traveling across the area back to his semi-permanent residence with him to meet her.

What she didn't know was that the time she'd spent audaciously looking into the true nature of the world's inhabitants was about to catch up with her. After arriving at her father's home, her family was attacked with the intent to wipe out the two sisters. With just two civilian targets, whatever Consul ordered the hit did not deign to attend to it themselves. Sagi took her sister, Haruka, and ran while their father and Haruka's mother protected them. They fled until Sagi got into contact with the Lost Numbers again, joining their ranks for her little sister's safety.

Since then, Sagi has done her best to help the cause in her own way. She has served as the quartermaster on the Avenger since the vessel was obtained, which she does gladly.

Job: Stewardess
Specialty: Inventory management and item procurement.
Inventory: Melding Pot, and almost never without a clipboard in hand.

Lv: 5
Abilities:

• Wyverian Melding - An ability passed down through her father's culture, now practiced by Sagi. Although the actual way it works is supposedly secret, melding is basically an advanced form of recycling. By combining different items, Sagi can make entirely new ones. This is normally done with scraps and unwanted things combined to make randomized talismans that grant various boons. It takes quite a lot of items to meld even one talisman, but the more valuable the pieces used to meld, the less of them are needed.

Skills:

• Fairy Flight - Despite appearing to be a spell or magic construct, Sagi's wings are a part of her anatomy. They allow her limited flight, more akin to floating. It helps a lot with checking inventory stacked up high at least.
• Tear's Teachings - Her mother's fairy race is one that is innately talented at administration and management. Combined with Tear's astute attention while growing up, it Sagi made very talented with logistics. She runs a tight ship.
• Longevity - Due to her Wyverian blood, so long as she isn't killed Sagi will be able to live for hundreds of years. She is already older than she looks, having crossed the half-century threshold a while ago.
• Appraisal - Spending a large portion of her life sourcing, buying, and selling items has made Sagi an adept appraiser. Though she cannot intuit the uses of objects she's completely unfamiliar with, she has a lot of experience to draw from and can assess an item's usefulness (and thus monetary value) with a high degree of accuracy. Of course, she does have a Skewed Point of View which sometimes interferes.

Weaknesses:

• Dainty - Her body is physically slight and she isn't very strong, which puts her at a disadvantage against large or powerful creatures. She also has to enlist help moving heavy inventory around.
• Civilian - On top of her small fream, Sagi is not a fighter in general. She's taken a few self defense classes while living in the Forbidden Kingdom, but she is far from combat fit.
• Skewed Point of View - Being a blend of long lived races, yet also being 'mortal' in the World of Light, has had an effect on Sagi's psyche. She tends to be sort of cavalier about the passage of time, some times doing everything in a rush and some times acting like her charges have all the time in the world. She also falls into the trap of appraising and item's usefulness in relation to her experience, so an especially niche item she may evaluate as being useless even if it's a legendary object of some renown.

@Yankee

That's a really excellent Lost Number submission! You've thoughtfully used the core elements of the World of Light to great effect to set up a compelling narrative for this character that's also quite down-to-earth in terms of scope. And her role as a Lost Number is both humble and very valuable, making her an important part of the team. That's a definite approval.

World of Light

The Avenger

Level 13 Ms Fortune (177/130) Level 8 Goldlewis (77/80) Level 7 Sandalphon (68/70)
Roland, Sectonia, and the Robot Girls’ @Archmage MC, Midna and the Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Geralt and Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit and the Octopath Travelers’ @Yankee, Roxas and Ganondorf’s @Double, Juri’s @Zoey Boey
Word Count: 1736

As she found her way toward the ship’s living quarters, Nadia took it slow, and not just because of the weariness gnawing at her muscles and bones. She felt very out of place here in the bowels of this mechanical monstrosity, a monolithic construct from a time far, far removed from her own, when the simplest of planes were still in their infancy and dirigible airships dominated the skies. Alcamoth had instilled in her a similar sensation, but it at least offered bright, wide-open spaces, with man-made parks and other such features that gave her room to breathe. Plus, its style of architecture somehow looped back around from the far-flung future to give her the impression of mysterious antiquity. Meanwhile, the cramped corridors, chambers, and stairwells of the Avenger, often dimly lit in artificial light, seemed almost purely functional, designed to economize the limited space as much as possible. The whole ship moved subtly around and beneath her, not as severe as the pitch and yaw of an ocean-going vessel, but still very perceptible to someone not used to it. If nothing else, she felt better knowing that everyone she’d meet here would be an ally, and every facility lay at her disposal if she could figure out how any of it worked. If this would be the Seekers’ mobile base of operations going forward, it would be a good idea to get familiar to know it better, and maybe set her sense of unease to rest.

Then again, there would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, Nadia just needed a break by herself. Getting around in the Avenger wasn’t too complicated, since its walls featured plenty of signs and arrows for the sake of direction, and in their absence a Lost Number was never far. The closer the feral got to the rooms, the more she sped up, her competitive streak ignited as she sought to claim a better room before the others could. When she finally arrived, though, she couldn’t help but be disappointed as she popped from one to another. All the available rooms looked pretty identical, their designs and contents spartan. With a sigh, Nadia finally settled on an untenanted chamber where she could stake her claim. She did this by taking off her blade case, belt, and jacket, which she left leaning against the bed, then jumping into and rolling around in it. Though the sheets felt nice enough, the wooly green blanket felt a little scratchy. After a little wriggling Nadia lay still for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. “My new home,” she murmured.

This accommodation, barebones and small, wasn’t a whole lot of fun. She’d had worse, of course–there were times in her life where even having a real bed was a pipe dream. But things were different now. Maybe she could collect some decorations, extra blankets, and other furnishings while out adventuring, and turn this meager space into a cozy little vacation home. Of course, that’d depend on having a cool roommate, she realized. Primrose would be a great roommate. Nadia and Sectonia would definitely have differences of opinion, though. And Juri didn’t even factor into the equation. I pity whatever poor soul winds up with HER, she thought, snickering. But who could say? Maybe someone on the team happened to have both infinite patience and a nonfunctional nose.

Nadia sighed again, closing her eyes as she tried to get comfortable. “How far I’ve come,” she said aloud. “The Mizzenmast really spoiled me. Give a mouse cookies, I guess.” Nevertheless, she’d doze off until the twenty or so minutes that remained before the big meeting were up.

Goldlewis felt pretty tired himself, all things considered, but rather than deposit himself somewhere he took this time to amble around the Avenger’s interior at a leisurely pace, using elevators rather than staircases whenever possible. He’d already made his rounds once before, after first boarding the ship alongside the rest of the Dystopiascape team, so rather than the layout he wanted to better acquaint himself with the Avenger’s denizens. The Lost Numbers intrigued him a great deal. On one hand, they seemed like uncommonly ordinary people for the World of Light, plagued by everyday concerns as they tried to live their lives day to day. On the other hand, their existence was a shocking anomaly, something that shouldn’t be possible in a world where countless souls fought and died under the thumb of the tyrannical Consuls. The fact that love and new life managed to blossom in such barren soil ignited a spark of real hope within him, but it also filled him with fear. These people were living on the razor’s edge, and all their eggs were in this one flying basket. Goldlewis felt duty-bound to protect these poor brave souls, but they weren’t children to be coddled, either. He wanted to meet them on their own level, and join them as a comrade in arms to fight for a better future.

Having already reunited with Tora and Poppi, and met the small but spunky head chef Bracket, the veteran went around greeting and introducing himself to everyone he could. Though careful not to intrude, he visited a number of facilities throughout the Avenger to meet the Lost Numbers staffing them, and they turned out to be quite the interesting bunch. He met the priest-doctor Eleison, and sensed a certain fury behind the young man’s polite smile, buried deep. In their work centers he exchanged a few words with the affable Professor Koa and the mysterious but pleasant Dr. Yu. In the common room he encountered not just Dawn but her three rambunctious daughters Ciel, Soleil, and Aurora, all bearing Sylvan rabbit ears inherited from their father. A number of the people that he assumed to be Lost Numbers actually turned out to be Alcamoth survivors, the former members of Vandham’s Garfont Mercenaries. This included Guile, a long-serving mercenary, Leon, a young go-getter who’d evidently survived the Dead Zone as well, Ness, Nero, and even a majestic Great Pyrenees by the name of Caesar.

From them -minus that last one- Goldlewis got a better picture of one big piece of the puzzle that he’d been missing out on: Alcamoth, the campaign’s former base. Naturally, much of what he heard concerned its fall. The survivors described an all-out war waged by the Consuls against Alcamoth and its defenders courtesy of two enormous airborne carrier ships filled to the brim with well-armed soldiers. War stories were never easy to hear, no matter how many the veteran had under his belt. If the Consuls could muster power like that against their enemies, he definitely understood the Lost Numbers’ desire to stay mobile and under the radar.

Goldlewis didn’t rush himself, wanting instead to give each encounter its due diligence, so he could cover only so much ground throughout the Avenger before Sandalphon’s sigil appeared by his head. Goldlewis tapped his stopwatch and nodded in approval at her punctuality. Thirty minutes on the dot. Just the sigil’s appearance, manifested for everyone who’d connected to the archangel’s information network so far, said everything the Seekers needed to know, but Sandalphon went ahead and said her piece anyway. “Attention all Seekers, please make your way to the bridge at your earliest convenience. To get here, simply ascend via staircase, ladder, or elevator, and you will inevitably reach the rendezvous.” With that, the sigil vanished again, but by that time Goldlewis was already moving. Having already tracked down the Avenger’s bridge, he didn’t need to rely on trial and error, but made his way there with a purposeful stride.

When he arrived, he found Sandalphon waiting for everyone, though after a quick double take Goldlewis realized that she’d changed somewhat after he left the spirit chamber. Though she elected to leave behind her new cowboy hat, he could still sense a faint southern twang from her, and he gave an appreciative nod before seating himself around the geoscape. Several Lost Numbers were already in attendance, including both Dawn and a dashing rabbit-eared fellow carrying three little girls between the two of them, all of whom sported a distinctive mix of very dark green and blonde hair. Goldlewis spotted Eleison and, somewhat to his surprise, Cirrus, though he didn’t see Bracket anywhere. More and More Seekers showed up to join them, Tora and Poppi among them. Nadia arrived at the rear of the pack, looking very much like she’d rather be snoozing. Sandalphon made the rounds, handing out cups of coffee to whoever wanted one. Finally, after an additional four minutes fifty-one seconds according to the veteran’s stopwatch, everything had settled enough for the host to get started.

“Welcome, everyone,” Sandalphon began. “It is currently five thirty five, Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to the Lost Numbers, our group -referred to first by Organization XIII as the Seekers of Light- is almost fully reunited, safe from harm beyond our enemy’s grasp. Regrettably, I understand that some of our members remain unaccounted for. Identifying all of them and putting together a plan for their recovery is one of our objectives today. At this moment, however, our goal is to pool our knowledge, so that each and every one of us are fully informed in our fight against our enemy, which we now know to be not just Galeem, but Moebius, the World of Light’s ruling elite. This may seem trivial, but as the Angel of Information, I assure you that there is no weapon more powerful than knowledge. So, I thank you all for coming.”

Placing her elbows on the geoscape table, Sandalphon clasped her hands and continued. “I request that we recount the events that led us to this moment. We need not bog ourselves down in nitty-gritty details, stating the obvious, reiteration, or personal anecdotes, so please stick to major events, but supplement them with any important discoveries and loose ends that have not been tied up. It should go without saying that we should pay special attention to the two groups with a meta relationship to the World of Light: Organization XIII, and Moebius. Anything you have to share about these groups and their members is fair game. Once our exchange concludes, we will concoct a plan for what to do next. Please take turns and give one another ample time to speak.” She lifted her mug of coffee, then paused before drinking to glance around. “With that in mind, let us begin.”

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Lewa

Traveling for days on end did a lot did a lot of damage the Toa of Air's carefully-reconstructed resolve, eroding away his veneer of positivity until his anxieties once again lay bare and plain to see. He found it very difficult to feel as though he were making any kind of progress on a grand adventure while traveling at a snail's pace. How he longed to speed ahead, leaving the caravan wagons in the dust as he blew across this landscape like the wind itself! But the trip so far had taught him that this continent must be orders of magnitude more vast than his island home, so without the guidance of this world's locals he would be completely and utterly lost. So he walked, and waited. Withstanding every empty, mind-numbing hour, every breakdown and rut in the road, every night the organics spent sleeping while he roved around the countryside, lest he lay awake. Any minute, after all, could be the last for Le-koro and his people, crushed by the mindless onslaught of the Bohrok Swarm while its guardian was nowhere to be found, his brothers and sister ignorant of his disappearance or stretched too thin to stave off the tide of destruction. Making it back and finding his homeland in ruin, its vast and beauteous jungles melted into toxic sludge by the Lehrok, would be worse than never making it back at all. Lewa could not turn away from his duty, however, so if there existed any chance of returning from whence he came, he had to try.

At long last, after three soul-crushingly monotonous days on the road, the otherworlders came within sight of their destination. "Nieve," Lewa murmured, the name of the city never far from his mind these days. "Finally." Even from this distance, the toa could make out its astonishing scale. During his time as one of Mata Nui's guardians he'd traveled all across the island, witnessing the icy spires of Ko-koro, the underground village of Onu-koro, and the huts of Ga-koro on their sprawling mats of buoyant kelp. Out of all the settlements across Mata Nui, none impressed so much as Ta-koro, a citadel of ignenous stone that rose from a lake of boiling lava. Even that, however, paled in comparison to this human city in terms of size. All six Matoran villages combined might not be Nieve's equal, and it seemed obvious that more people existed in this one place than across all of Mata Nui. The smallness of Lewa's whole world came as a humbling realization. He swallowed, and pressed on alongside the others.

Lewa followed the caravan inside, his appearance raising no objections, but a handful of eyebrows. Some of the humans he met already referred to him as a 'golem', but even if the average person here could grasp at that plausible explanation, it did not suffice to fully explain something intrinsically alien to this setting. He proceeded warily, trying to set the humans' minds at ease with cheerful smiles and waves, rather like a country bumpkin who'd never before experienced civilization. Which, of course, wasn't far from the truth. If there was one thing clear in his mind, though, it was his purpose here. Having had several days to come up with a suite of questions, and get advice from the others on how best to pose them, Lewa felt very eager to begin his hunt for Lavielle. By now, he didn't care one whit about 'how' or 'why', only whether or not the goddess could return him to Mata Nui.

But just after selecting a group of idle citizens to query, and before actually approaching them, the toa received a question of his own. "Huh? Why me?" He had avoided the mysterious ailing child until now, feeling completely unable to care for the helpless girl in any capacity. Matoran might be smaller than toa, but they were all fully capable and complete beings, comparable to human adults. The concept of a child was beyond him. Yet out of everyone Anne singled him out, then ran off before he could tell her she was making a mistake. The buck had been well and truly passed.

After a moment Lewa shook his head, despondent. "Mata Nui..." He looked down at the girl. Not being the merchants' problem, she could no longer enjoy the shelter of the caravan, so she currently lay on the ground. He stared at her for a moment, unmoving. Why was she his problem? He never wanted any involvement with her, or anyone here for that matter. Dumping this responsibility on him like this was neither smart nor fair. Why shouldn't he just walk away?

Unfortunately, Lewa knew the answer. If his actions displeased Anne, or any of the otherworlders, and they managed to find him, they could easily destroy him. While a beacon of strength and hope in his world, he barely registered in this one, so his continued existence depended on keeping the others happy. But the fact remained that he couldn't care for a human, especially a young one that couldn't even communicate with him. "Cross-wired piraka," he muttered in frustration, his plans completely derailed. He reached down and picked up the catatonic child as gently as he could. If he couldn't take care of her, who could? Remilia had healing abilities, but she couldn't repair the girl. Come to think of it, she wasn't 'human' either. Maybe if he could find a healer from this world, with a better understanding of how humans worked, someone like that could fix whatever was wrong with the child. Or at least make her comfortable? Better that than roaming around with Lewa for hours and hours. "It's worth a go-try." With a sigh he set off with a new set of questions in mind, now on the hunt for the city's medical center.

World of Light

The Avenger

Level 13 Ms Fortune (174/130) Level 8 Goldlewis (74/80) Level 7 Sandalphon (65/70)
Roland, Sectonia, and the Robot Girls’ @Archmage MC, Midna and the Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Geralt and Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit and the Octopath Travelers’ @Yankee, Roxas and Ganondorf’s @Double, Juri’s @Zoey Boey
Word Count: 2038

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

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

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

For Polterpup

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

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

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

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

For Goldlewis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For Sandalphon

New striker spiritbound:
Hammering
A plucky Nikke with a big heart and a bigger hammer. Unfortunately, she can’t do much aside from hit things with her hammer, but she does so with enough force to crack rock. Her cooldown is short, only 10s per hammer technique

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

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

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

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

World of Light

Lost Number: Duskwing

Name: Duskwing
Origin: Spyro (Spyro) x Brightwing (Heroes of the Storm)
Appearance: Duskwing looks mostly like her mother, but with a less chubby, more western dragon form with purple-blueish scales instead of aqua scales. Still has the frog tongue and butterfly wings though.
Personality: Duskwing takes more after her father more than her mother, which is great for everyone involved.
Background: N/A
In the Now: One day while Spyro was doing his forever task of finding gemstones and freeing dragons in his ever repeating 10 year cycle, he bumped into and freed a peculiar dragon that looked like a mix of a frog, butterfly, and chamelion named Brightwing. Of course, the 'known to be crazy' Brightwing was enamored by her 'hero friend' and making a bit of a game of it, followed him around. At first she was... ok? A bit creepy with her sing song voice, but she was helpful. Especially with helping deal with Consul K, who had a vendetta against Spyro.

One thing lead to another, and the two ended up having Duskwing. Although they weren't around for too long to raise her before their cycle was up, but they could at least introduce her to the Lost Numbers before they went. Duskwing having picked up many of her mother's creepiness, but having more of her father's heroic but 'done with this' personality. Probably for the best, as Spyro never got to see Brightwing's dark side if they had managed to take down Consul K...

Job: Crowd Control Healer
Specialty: Duskwing heals her allies around her while using her fairy magic to disable enemies trying to attack her and her 'friends', err... allies.
Inventory: N/A

Lv: 5
Abilities:

Polymorph - Duskwing turns a nearby enemy into a harmless critter for a few seconds, making them take 25% amplified damage and being unable to move or take actions while transformed.

Phase Shift - Duskwing teleports to an ally within 5km, healing them for 35% of their hp. This has a hefty cooldown, but is reduced by any enemy attacked by Duskwing.

Fire Breath - Duskwing can breath draconic fire, dealing fire damage to even fire resistant or immune enemies although to a lesser extent. Can be done while running with no reduction in movement. This fire breath can be tuned to be harmless to activate devices if necessary, and will also cleanse specific curses such as petrification and time shenanigans.

Skills:

Healing Wind - Duskwing emanates a healing wind around herself every few seconds that soothes and heals the wounds of those around her. Duskwing can also concentrate to pulse a potent healing wind that will heal for more and cleanse light CC effects on a long cooldown.

Hover - Duskwing is immune to any shockwave or attacks that move along the ground.

Weaknesses:

Manic - While not as bad as her mother, Duskwing has episodes of manic laughter and is unnerving to be around.

Limited Flight - Without aid, Duskwing can only really hover off the ground.

Self illuminate - Duskwing, contrary to her name, is quite bright and can be clearly seen in the dark. This is especially true for her eyes and butterfly wings. She can't turn this off.

@Archmage MC

Although our Lost Numbers have defined origins, that doesn't mean we should just say that they're like one or the other parent in some department and leave it up to the reader to do all the work. You should still describe this character's appearance and personality. I know you mentioned that you're not so good at backstory-related stuff, but the In the Now section could really stand to be fleshed out. Maybe we could work together to put together something, I'd be glad to help. There's no reason to invoke a Consul if he ends up barely being utilized after all, and this backstory doesn't explain Duskwing's involvement with the Lost Numbers.

While I'm fine with having a passive Skill that can be actively intensified, weaknesses shouldn't also be strengths. Limited Flight should replace Hover in stating that she can fly low to the ground, with the limits to that skill explained within it. Likewise, having one's own light could just as easily be a benefit when trying to navigate at night or in dark areas. Regarding her abilities, may I ask for your reasoning for the power creep in her abilities compared to her parents? In Dota Brightwing's Blink Heal only travels 10 units, and Polymorph inflicts a slow rather than a root and damage buff. Spyro's fire breath doesn't have such special properties as far as I can tell.

Just to describe the overall philosophy, the Lost Numbers aren't meant to the cumulative strength of their parents and then some; if anything they're watered down because they're half one and half the other, and rather than try to tread the same ground but worse they'd be more likely to try their own paths, especially without the environments that their parents originated from. Neither of the children of Cloud and Tifa are hyper-competent supersoldiers for instance; they have their own distinct niches.

World of Light

Carnival Town - Ballyhoo’s Big Top

Level 13 Ms Fortune (171/130) Level 8 Goldlewis (71/80) Level 7 Sandalphon (62/70)
Roland, Sectonia, and the Robot Girls’ @Archmage MC, Midna and the Koopa Troop’s @DracoLunaris, Geralt and Zenkichi’s @Multi_Media_Man, Pit and the Octopath Travelers’ @Yankee, Roxas and Ganondorf’s @Double, Juri’s @Zoey Boey
Word Count: 4506

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nadia pursed her lips. “Uh…am I?”

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ms Fortune Redone

Abilities Lost: Luna-trick, Copycat, Cat-aract, Purrge of Vengeance, Preda-torrent
Weaknesses Lost: Impractical Style
Fusions: Massachusetts (Cardiofusion), Cat-5 (Cardiofusion),
Kanna (Cardiofusion), Ángel (Cardiofusion), Rosetta (Cardiofusion)

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

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

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

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

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

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