MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia & Zenkichi Hasegawa

The City of Glass- Regatta Bay

Lvl 9 (222/90) +30 Collab XP -> (254/90)

Lvl 3 (21/30) +30 Collab XP -> Lvl 3 (53/30)

Word Count: 1,136 words

As the Seekers reconvened, Zenkichi was still going over things in his head. That Goldlewis and C knew each other from their world was yet another piece of the puzzle that they could connect- namely, Goldlewis would have insights into C’s psychology and capabilities, though how much those capabilities had changed was up in the air.

Geralt, meanwhile, was still in the dark about what had happened after the broadcast was cut. Missing vital context, he was much less patient than the former Turk, and as soon as they could go, he was through the portal, even if he grumbled about it the whole time. Shuffling to grab himself food to settle his stomach (which was rather upset at going through a second portal in one evening), he dropped into a chair heavily, a bag of jerky quickly disappearing into his mouth.

They gave the newcomer, Roland, a wary greeting, shooting Giovanna a look questioning their new tagalong.

While Geralt didn’t know what a G4 summit was (Zenkichi’s eyebrows rose, though he wondered if their worlds were similar enough that they meant the same thing, given that Goldlewis was from the US), what came after was much more interesting: He was a Source. The first Source of Goldlewis’ world, at that, and with powers that made Ciri look like a Witcher when compared to a proper sorcerer, if what Goldlewis had been told was correct. “Huh. My daughter, Ciri…is similar. Not quite as fantastically powerful, but she’s what we call a Source. A person with a deep, innate connection to magic, and incredibly powerful.” Taking a moment to practically inhale some jerky, he continued.

“She’s also a worldhopper.” Leaving that tidbit to sink in for the others, he frowned. “Which means she could be anywhere, or Galeem…fuck.” Sighing, he rubbed his forehead with his hands, frown deepening. “Fuck, I hadn’t thought of that until now. She’s in more danger than I thought…”

Zenkichi grimaced awkwardly at Geralt’s revelation, but tried to give the man a bit of hope. ”It could also mean she’s fine, and hiding out somewhere. Though, that adds the problem of finding her if she’s not willing to end up here.”
“Not that simple. Her ability to travel worlds isn’t quite so finely controlled. But it’s also not the point. Sources are prone to severe mental instability. It’s possible that this Happy Chaos is similarly afflicted, and as you say, might be a great boon or a great liability to the other Consuls and Galeem. If we can manipulate his insanity properly…”

”We can take him off the board.” Zenkichi finished.

“Or anger him into slaughtering us all.” Geralt hedged, throwing a bucket of cold water onto the whole idea. “It’s an idea, but one we’ll have to think long and carefully on if we decide to try it.”

”Yeah, I prefer not being slaughtered…” Zenkichi half-joked. “As for Shinra not knowing about the Consuls, I actually don’t find that terribly surprising. Chaos went to Konoe first, probably knowing how he’d react when given secret knowledge that he could use to amass power. It’s exactly how it happened in our world. Konoe was a tech genius, whose company maintained a personal assistant smartphone app called EMMA. In reality, it was an AI developed by a genius woman who basically had no emotions, and was using it to try and understand humanity.”

”Things get weird from here. Where I come from, there’s this sort of…collective unconsciousness that lies just beneath the surface of the world, that we call the Metaverse. It very rarely interacts with the real world. The app was taught a way to manipulate people in such a way that it warped the Metaverse by altering their desires, typically by manipulating past trauma they’d experienced. In turn, this allowed those people to manipulate others through the Metaverse, though they were mostly doing it unconsciously.”
Pausing, Zenkichi sighed and shook his head. ”I’m almost done, I promise. Konoe comes in at this point.”
Drumming his fingers on the table, thinking of the best way to phrase it, Zenkichi continued. ”Konoe became one of these people, targeted by his own app, though it only amplified what was already there: an immense sense of guilt that came from killing his own father as a child.” He paused again, letting that simmer. ”Konoe’s father abused him horribly, and one day, when his father revealed that he’d kill Konoe’s mother as well, and was just going to ‘get rid of him’…he killed his father.”

”The guilt’s controlled him ever since. He was convinced that there were no heroes in the world, that nobody would save him…so he became his own hero. EMMA preyed on that, and distorted that guilt, and that conclusion, to make him believe that he had to become all of humanity’s hero. Of course, he did that by using it to control people. His plan was ultimately to rid all of humanity of free will. And according to Consul C, Happy Chaos, he’s back to doing the same damn thing by taking over Midgar from the inside out. Whatever other plans he has under the hood, that we don’t know about…I’d be willing to bet they’ll use a similar method. Reduce people into mindless husks, obeying the whims of trusted leaders, or some grand system that tells everybody how to act on a daily basis.”

”Raz, you…said you might have a way to help? You’re a psychic, right?” Geralt nodded to that, humming in thought.

“Hate to burst your bubble, but how confident are you that he was telling the truth about any of that?” Geralt questioned.

”Pretty confident. Though he could absolutely be manipulating us, it’s perfect. It fits Konoe’s psychology to a T. No free will means no crime. No evil, no injustice. Just a perfect, peaceful world.”

“Then we’ll assume it’s true, I guess. I don’t have much to work off, though, given that we weren’t there.”

”Well, speaking of that: C mentioned some things about the abilities of the Consuls. They can all warp around as they like, though he said it wasn’t very useable in a fight. I guess it takes them a couple seconds to do it or something? It wasn’t clear. Uh…he said they can drain life, and mentioned that they could do so especially well from something called a Flame Clock, which sounds to me like it might involve that weird Machine he brought up during the debate. And they all apparently have one special ability unique to them, which was the least useful piece of useful information we got.”

“Always great to have that.” Geralt sarcastically confirmed. “I don’t have much to add. It’s late. We should probably leave the more involved plan making for the morning.”

”Yeah, probably for the best..” Zenkichi nodded, standing up and stretching a bit, before heading towards the bedrooms. ”I’ll go check on Akane and make sure she’s settling in, too. Night, everyone.”

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia & Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 6

Lvl 9 (220/90) -> (222/90)

Lvl 3 (19/30) -> Lvl 3 (21/30)

Word Count: 780 words

Geralt remained stoic in the entirely expected reactions of his allies, though not all were directed at his admittedly morally-dubious idea, and instead at the general thought of stealing transportation or otherwise duping people into helping them. Sometimes he forgot he was working with heroic types. As much as Yennefer might give him flak for his own selfless tendencies despite what he claimed about himself, he certainly wasn't as bright-eyed or bushy-tailed as these do-gooders he'd found himself working with. "This is the other reason." Blazermate's reassurance was...a small thing. But he gave the robot a nod. It was still something they could do if all else failed.

Zenkichi, on the other hand, seemed to remember that he was supposed to be a good guy and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "This is what this city does to you...tears us apart, makes us think in us vs them terms. Even now I'm still letting it get to me." Turning to Sakura and then Partitio, he gave the two a couple of nods while the Street Fighter headed off to enact her plan. "No, you're right. We shouldn't be stooping to those levels to get what we want. Though, technically I don't think Geralt's plan quite counts as stealing, mind controlling people is still...not great." The Witcher let out a sigh and shook his head at that, but followed along after Sakura with Goldlewis.

To the surprise of few, Sakura was rejected and sometimes outright ignored in her requests for transportation. Geralt hung by, close enough to make it plain that this girl was not one to be trifled with (though he knew she could handle herself, her current appearance did not necessarily belie that competence given that she was trying to blend in) though nobody seemed worried. They likely assumed that she was the child of some wealthy folk who lived and worked here, rather than somebody who had managed to sneak past the plate's security.

What did surprise him, however, perhaps less than it ought to have, was the gentlemen who seemed...perhaps too friendly? His eyes narrowed a bit and he slowly meandered closer, enough to hear their conversation rather clearly with his enhanced senses. Sakura, of course, was quick to offer her- and by extension, the Seekers'- help, though the man's request turned out to be...rather sad, actually, in a pitiable sort of way.

He wanted one of the few things gold could not buy- a true friend. Not a follower, a hanger-on, somebody merely pretending to be loyal for favors or scraps of wealth, but a loyal friend. It was perhaps even sadder that in his lack of sociability, he believed showing off himself and his wealth would get him those things. Geralt had no idea what photography really was, though he'd gotten glimpses of people taking pictures here and there, but even a flash-portrait was more a vanity affair than a way to make friends as far as he was aware. Still, he followed Goldlewis and Tora onto the boat after Sakura, casting his gaze about and getting a sense for the vessel. He doubted things would go sideways, given that this Limestein fellow seemed genuine, but it never hurt to have an idea of your surroundings.

Zenkichi, meanwhile, was thinking on what Goldlewis said. "You know, Benedict, something Goldlewis said is kind of bothering me. When all this goes away, who knows what will happen? I don't want to waste too much time on what ifs, but...I think you know as well as I do that experiences change you. If we let our morals slip because it's all for the greater good...no. No, I don't like that at all. And I know you've always been more practically minded, but...there's gotta be a line we don't cross, right?" Chin in his hand, deep in thought, he frowned.

He was certainly glad nobody in this group thought it was acceptable to just go about and kill people to get any little thing they wanted, and even he wasn't terribly concerned with the morals of temporarily stealing a boat and leaving it safely to be retrieved later, but the absolute conviction in Goldlewis' voice left a bad taste in his mouth. He and the Phantom Thieves were supposed to be allies of justice. Not like Konoe, who overrode people's minds, abused their trauma and tried to stamp out individuality to create a peaceful world with no evil in it. He had people's best interests in heart, in a truly twisted way, but what he did to achieve it was too far. He just hoped something similar wasn't happening here.

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia & Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 6

Lvl 9 (218/90) -> (220/90)

Lvl 3 (17/30) -> Lvl 3 (19/30)

Word Count: 789 words

The matter of their attire came up while they were planning how to get in, and Zenkichi looked himself over. "I mean, I'm not exactly the most fashionable guy in my office, but I don't look that bad, do I...?" His suit was fairly well-fitted, even if his white sneakers clashed somewhat garishly with them. His spectral Phantom Thief attire took the brunt of the dirt and grime of the day's shenanigans earlier, as well, leaving him looking eccentric enough to stand out, but not shoddy enough to stand out. With both Benedict and Goldlewis agreeing that he's best keep his head down nonetheless, Zenkichi was accepted as one of the group's hangers-on for going through without a press pass, however they decided.

Geralt was a guarantee for that role, as well, given that it was exceedingly unlikely he could get by with a press pass while looking like he was many centuries behind this place's technological level. He didn't even know how a camera worked, and while their main concern was getting passed the guards, there was no telling what they'd see on the other side. The Witcher quietly accepted that he'd likely be passed off for a bodyguard by one of the others, and given his resting murder face, that was probably their safest option.

While the others passed through the checkpoint, the group hanging around the teleporter entrance in the parking garage waiting around semi-awkwardly. "Never been in Sector Six before. Place basically has its own unit dedicated to handling it. So much corporate security and secrecy that I just accepted I'd never get the chance. Man, this is weird." Zenkichi kicked the ground, scuffing his sneaker and let out a sigh.

"Just hoping it's less miserable than the rest of this godsforsaken city." Geralt mumbled in return, carefully keeping an eye out and glaring down anybody who gave more than a single glance at the group.

After a short while of standing around, the teleporter started up, and they all went through, coming out in a...public restroom? Zenkichi paused for a moment before shrugging and getting out of the way of the others. "Good thinking," He complimented Blazermate and Giovanna before heading out and regrouping with the others.

Geralt, meanwhile, almost lost his eyes as they bugged out of his head for a moment, before blinking a few times and looking around more reservedly, letting out a small sigh. So much wealth, hoarded for greed and selfishness. He looked out over the Bay, closing his eyes. "A city of glass, and the most beautiful thing is still the water it tries to mimic."

Blinking a few times, he nodded. "Huh. Almost sounded like Yen there for a moment, though she'd probably appreciate the logistics this sort of place would take." He'd have to tell her all about this when they got back to Alcamoth.

Zenkichi had his chin in his hand, thinking about their next move. "Benedict or I might be able to try the same," he offered in response to Midna's plan, "Though it's a toss-up on whether that'd be a good plan or a terrible one. I wouldn't put it passed these people to call it in right away and demand to speak with a supervisor first or something..." Shaking his head, he shrugged. "Might be smarter for Ben to try that, anyway, given that he didn't go and blow his cover first chance he got..." Self-recrimination evident in his voice, Zenkichi shook his head to dispel the negative thoughts. He was trying to be better, and that included on tearing himself down over his mistakes. That just hurt the people around him, too.

Geralt, meanwhile, had another idea. A risky one, but one that might work. "Or I could just mind control them."

"I'm sorry you what?" Zenkichi whirled on the Witcher, confused. "You can do that?! Why didn't you do that before then!" The Witcher sighed and shook his head in response.

"Wouldn't have worked. Not on the golems, or robots, not on you, hell, not on really any of you. Easier to pull off on unsuspecting folks outside of a fight. Need to focus to give more complex commands, as well. And folk tend to realize when it's been done to their friend so I try to avoid using it unless I'm alone with somebody. That said, might be enough to get us a boat, then once it's done and we're on the other side I just tell them to sail back and forget our faces. They'll still remember some of it, but odds are we'll be far away by then. Up to you. Doesn't always work, though. Fair warning."

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia & Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 6

Lvl 9 (217/90) -> (218/90)

Lvl 3 (16/30) -> Lvl 3 (17/20)

Word Count: 642 words

As Giovanna returned from her second phone call not long after they'd received the news from Goldlewis about Peach, Zenkichi nodded along. Tearing off another piece of pretzel and tossing it in his mouth, he choked when the SOU operative mentioned that they had an appointment to make in the City of Glass. Thudding his hand on the table and coughing, he forced down the offending piece of food with a swig of beer and thumped his chest twice to help force it all down.

"God that hurt. Wow, that...doesn't feel like a coincidence." Quickly moving on from his embarrassing experience, Zenkichi stood and gulped down the last of his beer, taking what was left of the pretzel with him. "Then let's get going!" He agreed, following after Giovanna.

---

Geralt, meanwhile, was being updated by Midna and Raz about what they'd overheard from the 'rebellion' within Psych-OSF. The entire operation had been a setup to slaughter Seiran? This city was looking more rotten and corrupt by the day. Given that the man in charge of the Psych-OSF was apparently not just corrupt, but a threat that could have rivalled Galeem in Zenkichi's own world, that followed. It was a strategic move, if a dirty trick as well. Turn Seiran operatives into Others, then send the rest in to cull the transformed, killing both in the process. Finally, sweep up the dirt and destroy the evidence. It was a good thing at least some of Seiran was aware of what was going on, though he wondered if it would be enough.

As Goldlewis went over everything they'd learned, Geralt listened and followed along. It was a fairly succinct summary all things considered, but it got the main points and raised some serious questions about how much each faction of Midgar's defense was holding back. He hadn't interacted with anybody from Neuron, but DesporHado and the Psych-OSF were very suspicious to him, the latter having been confirmed to have traitors in their midst.

He had nothing to add, however, so when the call came in to meet up with the other team at Sector 6, Geralt set out with the others.

---

As the two groups met in the atrium of the Sector 6 hublink, Zenkichi and Geralt both looked over the opposite group, the absence of their missing members weighing heavily on them all. While Zenkichi didn't know Peach, he knew she was the leader of the Seekers and very important to the other members. Geralt, meanwhile, was shocked to see Tora without his gear, but refrained from making a comment and upsetting the rotund Nopon further.

They all grouped together and began discussing their options, with Midna and Blazermate both offering their own ways of getting past security. Zenkichi turned to Goldlewis and nodded at the man. "I think at the very least you ought to take one of the passes. People may recognize you here, and having an official invitation would make things much less noticeable. I'm on the fence about myself, given that I'm definitely AWOL by now, having any official presence here, especially with known dissidents, might make Konoe and his people realize I'm back. Assuming he even remembers..."

Geralt, meanwhile, eyed the giant robots warily. "Not sure I'm keen on voluntary getting closer to those things..." He admitted with a small amount of reluctance, shaking his head. "Especially with what we just had to deal with. Best I go around." His roundabout way of mentioning that he apparently wasn't in full control of his mental faculties aside, Geralt was being honest in that he wanted to avoid dealing with the guards checking at entry. "Though somebody will have to take the passes, for certain." So far, nobody had really offered to do so, though Midna and Blazermate certainly had good reasons on their end.

World of Light

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Midgar- Sector 7 Slums

Lvl 3 (15/30) -> Lvl 3 (16/20)

Word Count: 400 words

Upon returning to the others, Zenkichi found that the mood hadn't really improved at all, and Roxas still hadn't returned after passing by him earlier. Part of him was worried about the kid, though he knew they all had some big emotions to work out right now, and he couldn't fault anybody for how they handled them given his own history in that regard.

It wasn't long until Giovanna had enough of their moping and took Isaac up on his offer to treat them, calling out the name of a local spot. The engineer was too busy to join, though and told them to put it on his tab. Well, that was a depressing look into how his daughter probably viewed him: how many times was he "too busy" for her?

Shaking his head to dispel the melancholy thought, Zenkichi went with the others to the bar that Giovanna had mentioned, helping to drag/carry Tora along. He didn't bother with any words of consolation or encouragement: If Poppi could be saved, Tora could do it. If not...

When they reached the bar, the positive atmosphere was almost overwhelming. He ignored the tiny part of him that wanted to be angry that anybody could celebrate given the circumstances that bought them this freedom, remembering that they all chose to fight. They knew the risks. Poppi, Cain, and Marshal all knew the risks of going out to fight the machines and they did it anyway. He wouldn't let his own issues take away from the fact that there was cause to celebrate.

Unfortunately, Giovanna came in with even more bad news once her call was finished.

Psych-OSF was compromised. Peach was turned into an Other somehow, and taken away by a team from Seiran that was apparently acting against the main branch. Hmm. Another branch directly under Konoe's control, and corrupt as all hell. That wasn't a coincidence, and Zenkichi said as much. "Konoe again, huh...? The fact that they can turn people into Others...not gonna lie, that scares me. He's used my daughter as a pawn to get at me before...but at least she's safe back at your headquarters. For now, that is." When their drinks and food finally arrived, Zenkichi quickly thanked their host and cracked open his beer, taken small chunks out of his pretzel and tossing them in his mouth. "Food's good, at least."

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Seiran Hideout

Lvl 9 (216/90) -> (217/90)

Word Count: 670 words

Geralt frowned a bit when Sakura mentioned possibly de-fusing with the Orphan's Spirit, but given that she didn't press the matter, he didn't say anything. As unpleasant as he might be, he couldn't guarantee that others wouldn't have worse results from fusing with that thing. He would have to meditate more often and try to work out his own problem with being overprotective of his allies (And more specifically, Sakura in particular) to help prevent such a loss of control from happening again.

Leave it to Sakura to want to avoid the political nonsense that was going on in this city. He knew exactly how she felt, and wanted the exact same thing, though he knew that they'd have to engage in some manner or another, especially if they wanted results. With the internal division going on not only between different groups but within the organizations (at least one) protecting Midgar, they'd have their work cut out for them. Not only would allying with any group directly likely buy them more enemies, but if they made the wrong choice, they'd probably be backstabbed themselves when the time came.

When Goldlewis cut off his musings on whether all of the Others were forcefully transformed, he nodded. "I'll defer to your expertise. The sheer size of this city is...so unlike anything I've ever seen. The logistics of equipping and feeding an army have won wars, a place like this? I'm shocked it has enough food to keep itself running."

He also concurred with the man's caution regarding fusing with Spirits. "Yes, it's...hmm. Difficult to describe, and quite unpredictable. We has a device that could localize fusions to a specific part of the body, and thus mitigate some of the dangers of Fusion, but it was brought with another team to an alternate location. Strategically speaking, having Peach in one team and the machine on another allows us to be more flexible when it comes to the Spirits we fuse with and keeps any one group from missing out, but it's still impossible to know the results before doing it." Drumming his clawed fingers gently on the table, he shook his head.

"What's worse is that the Spirits of the Guardians, the immensely powerful beings which we are hunting, cannot be destroyed or made into a Striker. Somebody must Fuse with them, or the Guardian will revive within 24 hours. I made the decision to fuse with the Guardian of the Deep Blue, though it wasn't done lightly."

They discussed the events they'd just experienced a bit more, with the question of why Peach specifically having been attacked being the most pressing thing on everybody's minds, when Goldlewis received a call from Giovanna. When he explained what happened to Poppi, Geralt's blood froze in his veins, and he shook his head sadly. There was a sliver of hope in that Tora seemed to believe there was hope to help Poppi be free of the Machine Virus, however a virus infected a machine, but they'd fared similarly to this group then- a strategic victory with some tactical losses. Ones that, hopefully, would not remain permanent.

As the others discussed the significance of these events, Geralt took a few minutes to meditate, trying to clear his mind. It proved to be different than normal, with his thoughts more chaotic than normal. Hmm. Yes, that was certainly a problem. Though it was interrupted by another matter, albeit one which was not immediately pressing, thank goodness.

After a cautious opening of the mysterious package that was delivered to their not-so-secret hideout (clearly, given that they'd been found), they were met with half a dozen press passes for the Presidential Debate. Huh.

That just left what they were going to do until then. Geralt, absent any idea of what to do in a city like this that he'd be willing to speak about in present company, shrugged and got himself another glass of water. What he wouldn't do for his Gwent cards right about now.

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Seiran, Abandoned Subway- Underground Nexus

Lvl 9 (214/90) -> (216/90)

Word Count: 951 words

Geralt's relentless assault did not go unpunished. His Strikers were quickly brought low, though the Judicator with its impressive bulk lasted its full timer, the others were not quite so lucky. Geralt did not respond to the wounds their defeat, nor to the blows that he made no attempt to block, dodge or parry. Blood trickled down his face from ribbon cuts, and as his berserker onslaught continued, he was skewered upon a pair of ribbons that crashed into him, slide along his armor, and dug between a small gap in the plates, impaling him.

As they pulled away, carving even wider wounds into the massive Witcher's flesh, Geralt slumped for a moment, falling to one knee as blood pooled around him. Blazermate was no slouch, nor did she ignore him, but his lack of attention to anything other than destruction allowed the Other to slam his face with its arm, knocking him to the ground. He coughed, blood spraying over his face and his armor, and rose once more, as the blood shimmered into glowing particles and vanished.

Like a phoenix, Geralt rose once more. He did not postulate on his miraculous recovery, even subconsciously. His only thought was murder. He leapt into the fray once more, only to be interrupted as an energy field appeared around the monster formerly known as Peach, and disappeared with her in short order. He whirled around, looking for what had done it, and his eyes narrowed as he saw the troopers drag one of their own away and made their escape. He tried to give chase, mind beginning to clear, but stopped when Karen Travers appeared and grabbed one of the OSF troopers they'd joined.

Letting the Hateful Flesh fall to the ground and be re-absorbed into him, Geralt stopped, listening to what the Septentrion had to say, even as his heart pounded in his ears, his pupils still thin and catlike.

More conspiracy talk. As his mind cleared, and his adrenaline slowed, Geralt sighed and shook his head, waiting for Travers to leave before saying anything. "The other Turk was saying the same thing. Zenkichi. Konoe, the administration, the corruption. And now that we know that these people can...do something to transform people into Others, it makes you wonder: is that where they're all coming from? Or is this somehow different than the other Others?"

Taking a moment to run his hand along his face, he grimaced when he felt a scarring gash on his forehead. Whatever that force that prevented his death was, it wasn't perfect, though that was preferable. He didn't know what it was, how it healed him, or if it could be overwhelmed, but he couldn't assume he was immortal. That was an easy way to become complacent.

With the return to their headquarters being much quicker than their descent, Geralt had little time to ruminate on what had happened in the cave. Though he did know one thing: he couldn't allow himself to lose control like that again. He put himself and the others at risk in his blind rage.

When they were finally back, Geralt ravenously tore into the food Goldlewis had prepared, thanking the man before making a second sandwich, this one even larger, for himself. He drank down as much water as he could tolerate before thinking about the questions they all surely had, and that the others finally began expressing. "Zenkichi mentioned there was corruption in the city's government. I wouldn't be so sure that these people are acting independently. If anything, Travers might be the one committing sedition by the way he spoke." He couldn't be sure of this, but he was sure this went even deeper than any of them realized.

"Zenkichi said that Konoe was corrupt, and had a way to control the minds of people in their world. This might be some way of attempting to recreate that. If he could instantly destroy anybody trying to act against his interests by turning them into a mindless monster, eventually people are either going to snap and fight back, or bury their tails between their legs and cower in the hopes of being safe."

He drummed his fingers on the table, thinking. "And if we're all at risk of turning into one of those things, however they do it, it might be wise to heed that warning. Wait until a more opportune moment to strike. If Travers is planning to act against Konoe and the government, we could use that to our advantage. Zenkichi will want to hear this tonight when we regroup."

Letting out a sigh, he looked over the others at the table. "Though, there's something else that I need to bring up. I know most of you haven't been part of this group long, or fought alongside me, but...what you saw there wasn't normal. That wasn't me, and I mean that mostly literally. I think when I absorbed the Spirit of the Guardian...it muddled my mind. When we were in that strange corridor, being dragged along chasing and trying to destroy that device, one of those things shone its light on me. Midna said it was suppressing our abilities from fusing with spirits, after it almost caused her to fall off the platform."

"When the light was on me, and it was suppressing those abilities, my mind felt clearer. Like a fog had been lifted. And I've noticed since absorbing the Guardian, I'm more irritable. And I know, coming from me that's funny, but I am not exaggerating. It's altered my mind."

Ending on that ominous note, Geralt leaned back in his chair to let the others digest all he'd said, as well as their sandwiches.

---

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Valley of Ruin -> Sector 7: Breaker

Lvl 3 (13/30) -> Lvl 3 (15/20)

Word Count: 795 words

New Power

Power gained: Fury- A self buff for Zenkichi that increases his offensive capabilities in exchange for slowly draining his vitality. While Fury mode is active, Zenkichi's attack power and attack speed are increased, and each of his sword attacks lets out a small AoE shockwave in the direction of his sword swing. His Vampiric Strikes ability still works while Fury is active, but the vitality drain is typically faster than the absorption, unless Zenkichi is cleaving through a very large number of enemies, and even then it's usually only enough to roughly break even.

As the rain poured down, Wolf dragged his blade through yet another biped, the time between the first fight and this one having been enough for exhaustion and muscle fatigue to settle in. He was out of practice, but that was okay. All he had to do was keep fighting. A medium biped ran up to attack, but its leg was sheared off by an effortless beam of plasma, which was followed up by a second shot that tore its weapon-wielding arm away, rendering the machine harmless. Wolf stabbed his blade into the thing's torso, deactivating it with a sigh and a nod of thanks to Isaac.

The fight went much slower for him, now that he was tired, but it still passed fairly quickly. Susie's missile made short work of a great deal of the attackers, and each of the Seekers only had to contend with a few machines, though it still took some time to make sure things were totally swept up and nothing remained partially intact. The defensive structures were damn impressive for having been cobbled together by desperate folks who needed to protect themselves in the face of a callous government.

But soon, the Machines were dealt with, and Zenkichi, now finally back in his suit and sneakers, followed Isaac back to the forward command center with a slouch. He waved away a question of medical attention, having sustained no lasting injuries thanks to Valjean's protection. When Isaac thanked them, he nearly dismissed it as just helping out, but decided to accept the thanks graciously. "We're just glad that the army didn't get through. I...wish I could say nobody got hurt, but...well, Cain and Marshal..." Trailing off, he shook his head. "And one of our own got...well, I'm not sure what happened. But...dammit, we were such idiots! Why did we bring an Android out to fight a Machine army!" He buried his face in his hands, despair almost overwhelming him. "I don't know what happened to her. I just...hope Tora and the kids could do better than we did."

He couldn't say for sure whether he regretted staying or not. He had no idea what he could have done to help, and there was no denying that their help here had been vital. Even though only a fraction of the total army had reached the walls of Sector 7, it was still a sizeable group that the denizens of the Slums might not have been able to fight off without casualties of their own.

"Listen, don't uh...don't mention that if anybody asks, by the way? You can probably tell, but we're not exactly on good terms with the Administration right now." Zenkichi asked Isaac, hoping he'd be happy to keep quiet about it.

He shared a laugh with Partitio when he revealed his own sorry state of affairs money-wise, and promised to come back some time to share that beer. "I think we have bigger fish to fry, though."

When the Cargobob returned with Tora and the others, Poppi conspicuously absent, Zenkichi collapsed into his chair, speechless. Metaphorical clouds covered his face, and his mouth dried up. He'd failed again. Marshall, Big Bo, and Poppi. His first job since re-awakening and they'd lost a third of the group they set out with. He couldn't even make a self-deprecating joke. He just...sat there. Thoughts going a mile a minute, until he sighed and stood up, walking away from the others to the gate.

"Joker...how did you do it? I'm no leader. I couldn't even help myself. How am I supposed to save people if I can't keep the people by my side safe?" Clenching his fists, he raised his head up, staring in anguish at the clouds above, the rain having slowed but not quite stopped yet. "Konoe, you bastard. I'll end you for this. Letting these people die to further your sick games. How dare you. How dare you use the police like your own tools. You haven't changed. Not one bit. Condemn the evil...and hunt them down." He muttered to himself.

Letting his head drop as he let out a sigh, he turned back around, hands in his pockets and back to his traditional slouch. He had to do better. Had to be better than this. Konoe and PubSec were just the tip of the iceberg. He had no idea how far this thing went, even with what he'd been told by the other Seekers. Whatever this world would throw at him, he had to rise up. He had to get back into the swing of things, remember everything those damn kids had taught him. And if they could help him find them again? He had to make sure they were okay.

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Seiran, Abandoned Subway- Underground Nexus

Lvl 9 (213/90) -> (214/90)

Word Count: 561 words

Geralt grunted as they were warned that the Other was, or had been, Peach, but a swipe of the arms forced him to step back, lashing out with his sword to keep the oversized limb from striking his body as he stepped back in when it retracted. He had no idea how she could have been turned into an Other, nor any ideas on how they could return her back. His specialty lay in curses and transformations that he knew about, though he supposed with enough information provided by the Psych OSF should they continue working with them, he might be able to try to reverse whatever happened. If it were reversible at all, of course. Not everything here, in fact the vast majority of things, worked on different rules than he was used to.

He wasn't able to stand there and take punishment as effectively as Goldlewis, but his size, his armor, and Quen let him take quite a few hits without having to risk disengagement. With as many targets for it to focus on, as well as its seemingly laser-focus on Sakura, this meant Geralt could focus on offense, stepping away from the larger, more telegraphed attacks, even if he wasn't always quick enough. Quen shattered after a few hits, but enough time had passed that he could reapply it without issue. He kept his focus on the thing's legs, moving to let Goldlewis try to keep its attention.

When the Other sagged in defeat, Geralt took a deep breath, looking around. Sakura had taken quite the beating, and that left Geralt rather pissed off, but it seemed they'd be okay for now, once it finally dissolved into Ash, hopefully leaving Peach behind.

Geralt blinked a few times before sighing, realizing what was happening as the sentry gun shot away, and the Other stirred once more, its temporary defeat more of it simple being a bit winded. Dammit, Geralt thought. Just their luck.

The monster flipped itself over, its heads now facing the ground, and stabbed its ribbons into the stone floor. The sentry gun was quickly and unceremoniously destroyed, while Sakura, still wounded on the ground, was hit, then impaled upon the ribbons.

Even with the dust in the air after its roaring, his eyes watering slightly and his nose irritated, Geralt could tell she was hurt. Badly. He didn't recognize Blazermate healing the Street Fighter. He took a deep breath, his enhanced sense of smell allowing him to track where the Other had disappeared to. The sound of a sword being sheathed dominated his mind before his fist buried itself in his gut, ripping itself out with a gush of blood and bile, the Hateful Flesh coming with it. "FIZZ! IMPS! JUDICATOR!" Geralt yelled, summoning his Strikers while rushing madly towards the Other.

His Protective Instincts drove him forward and the influence of the Orphan [Rager] blanked his mind, lightning wreathing around the siderite blade as he devolved into a snarling, swirling mess of violence and chaos, as much a threat to the other Seekers who dared get close to the berserking Witcher as he was to what Peach had become. He fought with no concern for his own safety, his Strikers joining him, somewhat insulated from his berserker fury but still acting on his command, which was simply to attack, attack, attack.

---

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Valley of Ruin

Lvl 2 (11/20) +3 Collab +15 Fight EXP +3 collab -> Lvl 2 (33/20)

Word Count: 224 words

As Tora and the youngsters raced off on the Tallneck to chase down Poppi and fix whatever was going on with her, Zenkichi and the others had a job to do: get back to Midgar, stop the Machines, and make sure they didn't all get immediately arrested for it. Simple enough.

Zenkichi half-jogged to the back of the truck, climbing in with a call to the others, "What's the plan when we hit Sector 7? Rally the troops or just handle it ourselves? I'm fresh out of ammo, and to be honest, I'm pretty darn tired too. I can still swing my sword, but now that the adrenaline's wearing off...hoo boy. He took a deep breath and sat down, resting his hands on his knees as the exhaustion really started setting in. "I can keep going, promise...I just...need a second. Damn." Resting his head against the wall of the truck, he closed his eyes and tried to relax as they set out.

When the truck finally got back to Sector 7, Zenkichi was quick to disembark and head towards the gates, calling back to Partitio and the others. "I'm gonna hold the line. You guys run and grab help, and be quick about it, would ya? I'm only one man. A hundred machines I can take, but two is pushing it."

World of Light

Geralt of Rivia

Midgar- Seiran, Abandoned Subway- Underground Nexus

Lvl 9 (197/90) +15 XP combat reward -> (213/90)

Word Count: 465 words

Geralt, Midna, and Goldlewis did one hell of a job keeping the Cleansers off their backs, with the Twilight Princess knocking one so far back that even Geralt's eagle eyes had trouble spotting it for a moment. Their victories heralded a greater Victory, however, as Blazermate unleashed her powerful Medaforce beam now that she was free of the burden of keeping them alive against an onslaught of explosive foes. The camera defeated, it spiraled through the air, giving off an ominous red glow, and as suddenly as they found themselves in the Infinite Corridor, they were freed from its endless clutches, back where they had started.

Geralt sighed, not wanting anything to do with the damn thing, and followed Goldlewis' lead. Not worth it, even if Blazermate's explanation made the technology seem less sinister. They swiftly carried on, reuniting with Karin, who had been spared the surreal experience, even if she got a firsthand explanation courtesy of Midna.

After a bit of walking, they came upon a group of OSF Troopers, whom Geralt didn't pay terribly much mind. It wasn't that he distrusted them; if anything, the OSF was much less ambiguously Good than the other organizations keeping this horrible city intact, but he was very much not interested in blowing their cover with his obvious lack of psychic abilities. He could pass off his Signs, he supposed, but his understanding meant that such a hollow disguise wouldn't last more than a few seconds under heightened scrutiny. So, he slightly played up his usual standoffishness, and let Goldlewis handle the deception.

When they passed on, Geralt hurried with the others, eager to catch up with the rest of their team. When the roar of what could only be a monster, an Other, resounded throughout the cave, he joined the others in hurrying even faster. When he saw the thing, his mind took a minute to comprehend just what he was looking at- which seemed to be a pattern with these horrific monstrosities. He'd deign to call even some of the more hideous monsters he'd faced back home downright normal compared to these things.

The team exploded into action, Midna summoning companions and riding forth, Karin moving to reinforce Sakura, Goldlewis rushing directly at it, Benedict moving to attack the legs while imploring others to do the same, and Blazermate summoning her sentry-creating Engineer and staying back to heal.

Geralt started with the customary Quen shield, rushing forward to attack the Other's legs, his size and strength making him an ideal front-line combatant against a large monster. He slashed at its legs, hoping to get its attention, and circled around to its front, silver sword in both hands and ready to carve at its eldritch flesh. "Pick on someone your own size." He taunted.

World of Light

@Dark Cloud

Partitio Yellowil & Zenkichi Hasegawa

Word Count: 1,635 Words (+3 XP)

"Can-do!" ears ringing from Zenkichi's firearms blasting any unlucky machines who dared near them, he thrust the lodged spear forward just as a ball of crackling energy got within distance to make the hair on his arms stand on end. The quadruped jerkily moved forward before gaining its legs and galloping in a line lurching as it turned with the spear steering it "Woah there." he called pulling their steed to a halt, he looked back at the giant ape of a machine then to his partner "Got something fancy up them nice sleeves of yours friend?" he asked, leading the quadruped between its cohorts and even trampling over a few.

Wolf shook his head, swapping his greatsword for one of the grenades he’d picked up and tossing it at the Goliath and the smaller machines that were near it, frowning when it failed to destroy the larger machine. ”Not much, unfortunately. Though I figure I can take it down mano e mano if you want to pick me up again in a minute.” Buffing himself with Tarukaja would likely be more than enough to take the Goliath down, frankly.

Their steeds joints groaned as it turned, still some fight left in it but not enough to clear them right off "Well sometimes-Hngh" he ducked as a volley of bullets whizzed by "Sometimes a simple plan is good as any." not like he could do much, without needing one hand on the spear and another to hold on for dear life.

Nodding, Wolf kicked off the quadruped and drew his sword, calling out to the Goliath, ”Right here!” Giving himself a buff with Tarukaja, he charged, sword lashing out at its leg as the Goliath charged up a whirlwind uppercut, but the Phantom Striker was out of the way far too quickly for the slow, telegraphed attack to even have a chance at landing, along with its follow-up hammer smash. Wolf took the opportunity while it was distracted and recovering to get off a short series of slashes, the backswing taking down a biped that risked getting close. When the Goliath raised up again, Wolf backstepped, watching its movements carefully for a tell.

Another smaller biped windmilled its arms, charging him, and was batted aside by the Phantom Thief’s greatsword, only for the Goliath to do the same. He couldn’t block or counter that, and he knew it, so Wolf backpedaled some more, grunting as he lashed out at the Machines trying to block his path. So they did have some coordination. Well, lesson learned. Probably the hard way, as the Goliath approached. ”Valjean, Triple Down!” He called, the Persona appearing to lash out at the large singular enemy with its chains, the Gun damage being somewhat reduced by its armor, but still enough to put a dent in the Machine.

Meanwhile the merchant had been bearing down on the bucking quadraped, losing some control on it as it trampled through the battlefield, Partitio noticed the spear was getting jostled out of the thing’s back and the loose wires were sparking. Now he wasn't all that well versed with machinery so he couldn't have anticipated his next gambit to be a shocker, taking the wires and pulling on them was a bit more painful than expected as the merchant was shocked by a jolt of electricity.

Yet Partitio endured, using his tenacity and endurance to bring the Onailgun at his side to his hands and get to work on this bucking bronco of a machine. He got the feeling that their steed wouldn't last if he didn't have an easier way of controlling it so he ripped out a decent length of wiring nearly shocking himself to death had he not used Rest. By this point the two had been galloping willy-nilly taking out smaller bipeds that got in the way.

A handful of weird looking string to the merchant was more than enough for what he was thinking. Dislodged spear in hand he decided to take the dangerous but much more efficient option of taking the damn bull or rather machine by the horns or rather wires. He grabbed onto the wiring once more and tugged grunting painfully as he gained some control over the quadruped again, it'd have to do for now.

He took the assault rifle off his shoulders by the strap and with one hand on the wires and the other gripping the handle of the gun he cried both in triumph and a tiny bit of pain as he turned his steed and galloped back across the vale. He pulled the trigger of the rifle letting loose a volley of bullets going every direction as he went missing more machines than it hit, but taking out quite a few unfortunate fliers that had decided to tail the merchant as well as several more bipeds that were either trampled or shot.

As Partitio and his mount rampaged through the machines, Wolf carved through the smaller bipeds blocking his path, as the Goliath finally finished its tantrum. Snarling, he turned around, stabbing his greatsword into its arm and following up with a heavy, over-the-head circular slash which carved through the thin beam-like structures supporting one of its arms. The machine stumbled, lopsided, and a final slash put an end to its existence. Breathing heavily, Wolf turned to a group of bipeds with a multilegs that were approaching and called for his Persona once more. ”Megido!” The Almighty spell managed to destroy a couple of bipeds and deal a pretty serious amount of damage to the Multilegs while he reloaded his revolvers, taking advantage of a momentary lapse in the attacks against him.

With a shrill whistle the merchant came from behind in the breadth of a moment looking a bit worse for wear but he persevered, thanks to his indomitable vigor and knack to shrugging damage off. Possibly the other man's fancy ability also saved him from getting downed by a stray bullet. Anyhow, he rejoined his ally just as his steed finally buckled and collapsed.

As gracefully as he could Partitio leapt from the quadruped as it collapsed landing by Zenkichi with a grunt, firing a slightly more accurate spray of ammunition at the few other bipeds that were standing around them as he got to his feet "Dunno bout you friend but I'm all outta tricks, looks like we're settlin' this the old fashioned way." his arm as sore from the guns recoil, nerves shot from the electric shock but most of all he sounded disappointed that the metal bucket kicked the bucket, but now wasn't no time to complain.

”Fine by me,” Wolf replied, drawing his revolvers and firing at the approaching bipeds and the multilegs which survived his Megido, then turning his aim skywards and knocking a medium flier out of the sky. ”Don’t forget the ones above us,” he warned Partitio, reloading his last rounds and drawing his greatsword to fight, a few more multilegs, these ones with blades instead of cannons, approaching. He stepped forward to meet them, sword stabbing out to attack the main body of the closest one. It scored a retaliatory hit, but Wolf stepped in rather than back away, and brought his sword around and down while the Machine was preparing a follow-up, carving one of its legs off and throwing the thing off-balance. He took the opportunity and with a hefty overhead swing, bisected the creature’s head and torso.

As it crumbled to pieces, the next multilegs attacked, scoring a couple of hits in quick succession, but Wolf turned with a back-handed slash, knocking the blades aside, staggering the multilegs, and following up with a pair of lighter slashes before stepping back and calling for Valjean, ”Triple Down!” The Persona appeared, raising its chains to lash out, and struck true, damaging both multilegs pretty badly. The one that Wolf had hit before was on its last legs, both literally and figuratively, and the Phantom Striker rushed forward, bringing his sword down and dissolving it into ash. The other Machine cried out and charged, but Wolf was ready, stepping forward with a warding slash to meet it, and following up with a pair of crossed slashes to destroy the thing. As the rest of the machines continued approaching, he moved back to help cover Partitio.

Partitio hadn't the luxury of a big fancy world companion to fight by his side just his gumption and a big ass gun, which after running out of ammunition the merchant switched up his tactics and started fighting tooth and nail, taking on several medium bipeds with his spear and nailgun before the former Turk rejoined him to fight as a combined force.

The pair managed to make quick work of the medium bipeds, moving on to hardier targets with renewed confidence and vigor. Even large bipeds found themselves quickly taken down, though Goliaths proved a bit tougher of a target. Wolf kept Partitio covered with Rakukaja as best he could, fighting more aggressively when the merchant wasn’t protected, both to regain his own lost vitality and to keep him from being harmed when his defense wasn’t boosted. Between spear, greatsword, nailgun and revolvers, after abandoning the destroyed quadruped, the pair found that more mobility meant quicker results, not having to fight their mount to get where they wanted to go.

Even after Wolf’s guns clicked dry and the pair were battered and bruised, they still fought, the Phantom Striker focusing harder and harder on offense to regain his lost vitality, tossing out Megidos and Triple Downs like they were going out of style. Each AoE attack cleared a few of the smaller enemies, and with hard, heavy breaths, Wolf planted his greatsword in the ground, the carnage around the two a sure sign of their efforts.

Tally (Zenkichi & Partitio):
Medium Biped x71, Large Biped x24, Goliath x6, Legpower x2, Multi-leg x18, Reverse-Joint x6, Quadruped x9, Small Flier x46, Medium Flier x25
Total (Zenkichi & Partitio): 207/200 machines defeated.