Yankee

What Are You Listening To?

World of Light

Word Count: 819 (+2 exp)
Level: 3 - Total EXP: 81/30
Location: Dystopiascape - Midgar; Suoh

After checking out the gym, running back to the battlefield to snag those leftover spirits, and then meeting up again at Musubi's, Pit climbed into Goldlewis' hummer in the parking lot with the rest of the group to discuss the plan going forward. Ingratiating themselves to Psych-OSF was looking to be a more long-term plan, as a number of the Seekers had expected. Pit wondered how the other half of the Midgar team was doing while the Secretary of Absolute Defense prepared his rundown.

He reiterated the information about Luka, the Psych-OSF agent they'd be meeting with in just a few minutes. A big shot in the organization, or connected to one anyway, even though he appeared no older than a pre-teen boy.

"Me and him both," Pit commented once Goldlewis brought up Luka's age, reminding the rest of the Seekers that Pit, a non-human, was older than he seemed despite the childish looks and equally childish personality.

They went over the goals of their dinner plans and the preferred outcome, which included sending a few of them off into the psychic organization's base. So they needed no only more info, but to convince the guy they were meeting with to take the volunteers back to base with him. 'Play it cool,' yup, can do! As for those going to join the Psych-OSF, he gave them a smile.

"You guys will be fine, just stick together," the angel offered as encouragement. When the fusion process started for Peach and Sakura, Pit shifted in his seat and spread his wings to further block the light from filtering out of the windows on his side of the hummer. Being in such close quarters, he shielded his eyes from the process and only blinked them open again once it was over. They hadn't gone through any major changes on the outside, but on the inside their brain must have morphed or... whatever it was that actually gave people PSI.

"Can you tell what psychic powers you got?" he asked out of curiosity, more cavalier than one of the other boys in the car. Pit looked to Roxas, tilting his head at they Keyblade wielder's thoughts on fusing. Pit's spirit misgivings had been about the original owners of said spirits, while Roxas was more concerned about the person fusing with them. He hadn't thought about that!

"Huh..." Pit turned back to Peach, considering Roxas' words. "Well this doesn't have to be permanent, right? Can you still take spirits out of people, Princess?" She said that she could, so Pit let the subject drop for now as well. He'd yet to go through the spirit fusion anyway, so he didn't know how it felt, but if was to help people he was sure he wouldn't have the same reservations as Roxas.

After that the Seekers all exited the vehicle to head inside. Pit offered an arm or a wing to help the brand new psychics adjust, steadying the princess before she stumbled all the way to the ground. Earlier he'd said that they didn't have to rush getting psychic sight, but if the difference was so much that the transition was that hard on new psychics' eyes (or mind?)... it made Pit really curious as to what it looked like!

The restaurant's interior was simple and modern, so not very exciting to look at unless there were some cool unseen psychic stuff going on. There probably was. Pit followed the whole crew to the table Luka was seated at. Greetings started, and so did the off-hand comments.

What the heck, Midna! Pit would have facepalmed if he wasn't already reaching out to return Luka's handshake.

The angel gratefully took a paper menu, looking it over. He quickly realized that all of the options were printed with no photos on either side, so he put it down on the table and looked over at all of the other diners to see what they were eating, intending to choose like that. Everything looked good, even the tempura, but needless to say he wouldn't be picked that. Too many close calls with those wizards. However, the food was secondary to why they were really here.

"Um, yeah, nice to officially meet you? My name's Pit," Pit said Luka, his voice suddenly getting stilted as he over-focused on "playing it cool." He only barely remembered the cover story for his own identity they'd been given hours ago, most of the information flying right out of his head at that moment. "It's cool to meet someone as. _Uh, famous...? _As..."

Wait, is he supposed to be famous?

"I mean, as good at their job as you! Which is monster-fighting and those other things you could fill us in on."

There we go. That's why I'm the cooler Pit. Take that, Pittoo.

" 'Cause... our psychic friends wanna join up and help, so... uh, they are curious?"

Oh yeah. Nailed it.

World of Light

Word Count: 1042 (+2 exp)
Level: 9 - Total EXP: 173/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis

The shelves in the Noumenon were well stocked to say the least. Even here on twenty-sixth floor each bookcase was crammed full of writings, and there were still dozens or more floors above them. As the Ace Cadet ran his eyes and fingers over the books on offer, he judged that there was little rhyme or reason to the way they were shelved. In fact it seemed unlikely to him that they were categorized at all. They were grouped almost at random, with instructional aids to fictional novels together with autobiographies and children's stories. He supposed that with the magic bookmark it didn't much matter that they weren't sorted... well, it wasn't like he was looking for anything in particular so it wasn't a great inconvenience to him at the moment anyway.

I wonder if someone collected everything here or it just showed up like this when all the world-remaking stuff happened, he thought to himself, noting that some sections all appeared to hold books similar to each other in aesthetics even if not in content. They were likely from the same universe, he assumed, like the adventure book and the summoning tutorial, or the fantasy novel and the language guide. The latter two he took from the shelves they were wedged into. The first's simple title, King, intrigued him, but upon cracking it open he was greeted a mildly disappointing notice:

Gentle reader, you will not understand a word of what follows unless you have read and commited to memory the first three volumes in this series, Beggar, Thief, and Warrior, which leads up to this, the conclusion. I encourage you to seek them out at your favorite bookseller.

"Shucks," he mumbled, glancing back at the bookshelf. He'd been walking, so finding the spot he'd pulled it from would be more trouble than it was worth. Leaving it on the ground didn't seem right, so he tucked the novel into his bag anyway. The other book he'd picked up, Dragon Language: Myth no More, did not have any such foreword. That was the one he was more interested in reading anyway.

He passed over a huge tome to check out a book with a monster on the cover, stopping briefly while he did. He couldn't tell if it was supposed to be fact or fiction from the blurb on the back nor the first couple of pages, so he set it back in its place.

Some items on the shelving weren't even books at all. Wherever there was space, collected scrolls and even stone tablets of all types were stacked. Every now and then there were also magazine racks, and like the bookshelves their collected magazines ranged in content from advertisements, hobbyist niches, fashion trends, to natural wonders of their respective worlds. In one of these racks a glimpse of the familiar immediately drew the Cadet's eye. It was a thick collection of pages, once paperback but rebound into something a little sturdier. The cover didn't appear to be in the best condition, not that it bothered the Cadet - he could still make out the bold script that read Hunting Life Magazine.

"Oh hey!" he exclaimed as he picked it up, the grin on his face running from ear to ear. He jogged to close the small distance between himself and the rest of the group, the monthly magazine opened up to display various articles and photos of his home world. It was an issue he hadn't read yet, which would be gargwawesome to go through once they had some down time. "This place is groovios, it has all kinds of stuff - everything, from everywhere."

What a resource it could serve as. Unfortunately it was just as unsafe for the Seekers as the rest of the city, proven by the disturbance that happened next. Something flew by the Noumenon, something large, fast, and presumably dangerous. With a quick response of "Right!" as Band bid them to hurry on, the Cadet pulled his backpack around to his front to shove the magazine inside and prepare a weapon while sprinting the rest of the way to the next floor. On the next landing they found a scene much like the floors below, with shattered glass and scattered pages all over. They also found the friend they'd been intending to meet, converging on Albedo's location.

"D'you think they found us already?" the Ace Cadet suggested, unhappy with the thought. He took note of Albedo's sword and, thinking back to how Big Band and Wonder Red had handled the enemies in the subway in melee fashion, equipped the great bow. When the enemy appeared above them, its wings spread wide, he considered his strategy; starting, of course, with getting out of the way.

Currently his armor was geared more toward protecting against the cold than monsters. If worst came to worst his shield was still strapped to his back, and loathe as he was to turn his back on something dangerous he could use it as a last ditch defensive measure while the bow was in his hands. At the moment though he had no such desires, and so the Cadet rolled out of the way of the projectiles. The demonic entity zipped away and unleashed more, sending the Cadet to cover behind a towering bookshelf. The impact of the rays practically exploded the wood and paper above him. The hunter frowned as he prepared his arrows - the thing was really fast, and there were still civilians on this level including the group he'd glimpsed under the table that Albedo stood on. Locking it down somehow seemed to be the best bet for curbing the damage it was doing and giving people time to escape.

Once the demon's latest volley was over, the Cadet popped out from behind his crumbling cover with the drawstring of the great bow pulled back. He shot a couple of arrows at Artemis, judging his own attack speed.

"Don't you know you're supposed to be respectful in a library?" he told the monster. As soon as he spotted an opening he fired a Blade Wire. Though it didn't exactly seem like it needed those wings to fly, at the very least it might pin the thing down for a moment.

howdy hey!

Hello and welcome!

The Zumi has landed!

Welcome to RPG!

hello, hello (hello)

Welcome! You'll find plenty of RPs in your comfort zone and outside of it here. Have fun!

[ fox greeting noise ]

Few days late, but welcome to the Guild!

You Can Become a Hero!

---

Location:
Ishin Academy: School Gates
@Asura

---

Ah, not just bold but playful too. Akemi's more relaxed nature, while not exactly contagious, made Riona feel like he could loosen up more too. Generally he'd be a bit more polite with girls, but he followed her lead as he made a show of looking her up and down before replying with a cheeky, "Yeah, we'll call it that."

He could imagine that some of the rest of Class 1-A would be the more stuck up types, so he was glad for a nice first impression as far as future classmates went.

He rolled her name around in his brain. Kemurikage, huh. "Written like smoke?" he guessed, the thought of it clearly amusing to him given the persistent grin on his face. She smelled of smoke so it would be a funny coincidence. The scent was heavy, though it didn't bother him. He was quite used to the smell from back home, his father's casual smoking and the small town kids trying to look cool or take after their parents.

He introduced himself quickly after she asked.

"Fuwari Riona." No one outside of Abashiri would have ever heard of the Fuwari family, but Riona still stated his name proudly as though it was on par with some famous hero's. Hopefully one day it would be. He finished the introduction with a quick dip of his head. "Nice to meet you."

Naturally the door they were looking for came into view, given that they were shuffling along following the tail end of the crowds. The distance between them and the academy's sensible entrance way was closed in no time at all. Whether by loitering, wandering, or simple ambling, it seemed that they were among some of the last students entering.

"So we made it," he joked, glancing at Akemi and gesturing ahead of him at the entryway where the school's doors were propped open to let hero hopefuls (and cold drafts) inside. "After you, Kemurikage-san."

World of Light

Yesterday was my birthday! My present? A pre-order of Octpath Traveler II, paid by my folks. Though I knew they had, it was nice they did. Anyhow, the spirit Benedict was looking at ain't claimed so someone can have it if they want.

@Dark Cloud

Happy (belated) Birthday!

World of Light

Word Count: 1448 (+3 exp)
Level: 9 - Total EXP: 171/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis
_{ft. @Majoras End@Lugubrious}

The Ace Cadet couldn't say he got much out of Wicke's answer other than trivia, but he nodded at the woman all the same. She gave them their checks (which turned out to be small paper rectangles, basically "IOU"s the Cadet figured) and swept out of the cafe after that, leaving the small group to themselves. Naturally, talk turned to their plans for the immediate future. The Cadet had no qualms about visiting the Aether Foundation, and he had no real suggestions about how to go about the skeletons either besides what Band already mentioned. Before they got much further, Frisk brought something vital to their attention.

The information that Frisk gave them about the Consul was important, but there was something else she said that only the Ace Cadet could pick up on. A name, one that must have belonged to the friend Frisk has mentioned that disappeared. The one that was struggling, that was connected to the Skullgirl. 

Linkle. 

The monster hunter was stunned into silence as the dinner conversation from days ago suddenly came back to his mind. Nadia and Bowser had told him the story of Linkle's disappearance in the Deadzone and her encounter with some kind of cursed skull heart, and Band had already deduced that the reason for the reanimated bones may be the Skullgirl. Though he'd never expected to find any clues to her whereabouts quite like this, why hadn't he put two and two together before? 

"Frisk!" The Cadet exclaimed, leaning over the table toward her with wide, hopeful eyes. "You said Linkle? That was your friend's name? Was she about this tall, with two sets of ears, and uses crossbows?" He quickly mimed with his hands as he spoke, his best estimate of the Linkle he remembered. "Was it her?"

Frisk's eyes widened in turn. "Rabbit ears, uses ice magic?" She asked back.

The Cadet nodded, electric with excitement. 

"Yes? Yes! That's gotta be her! That's..." he leaned back in his chair, pressing one hand to his face as he laughed with relief. "Radalos. Man, it's good to hear that she's alive."

After he sat straighter in his seat again, the Cadet figured he should explain how he knew Frisk and the Prisoner's friend, especially since Wonder Red and Big Band had joined the Seekers' campaign after Linkle had been gone. "Linkle was- she's one of us! She disappeared a while ago, taken by one of those black coats. We had no idea where she went or how to find her.

"But now we know she's around here, somewhere. Thank you." It was more information than the Seekers had previously. The Cadet flashed Frisk a grateful smile, though it was dimmer than his usual smiles. Linkle was alive, but she was in trouble, afflicted with some really terrible curse. 

"Earlier you said she left before she could hurt you. She's a real hero, not the kind of person that would do that. How... I mean how bad was that curse when you last saw her?"

"I don't exactly know the specifics, but she was idly raising the dead when we finally made it back on land. I was hoping to find some way to help her before whatever it was got any worse..." The woman solemnly sighed. "Perhaps it was becoming to much to bear?" She frowned.

That pretty much confirmed for the Cadet that Linkle was still in the area. 

"We'll find her, and we'll help her," he promised. The desire to help his friend was stronger than that unpleasant feeling that crawled through his skin when he thought about getting close to whatever evil magic was going on with her. "There's no way I'm gonna let her deal with it alone."

Band kept quiet throughout the exchange, although the expression on his face was one of such severity that the others might have been shocked to see it. His own interpretation of what was happening at night in Edinburgh had been one born of pessimism and conjecture, but this new testimony all but sealed the deal. That made things simple, in a way, but it also complicated matters. As a member of USG, Band had a new priority number-one: his mission was crystal clear. He considered asking his new acquaintances for more details on what could only be a Skullgirl, but therein lay the rub. These people, who hadn't lived through the horrors of untold death and destruction at the hands of the Skullgirls, might not help him if they knew what he needed to do. Worst case scenario, they might turn on them. If this city, and maybe the world itself, were to be spared, they would have to see for themselves--that the Skullgirl wasn't their friend anymore, but a ticking time bomb until the end of days. And if she was already ambiently raising the dead, they didn't have much time at all.

---

The group moved on from the bakery quickly after that, in varying emotional states. Hoping to escape the eyes of the corrupt law, they were headed for a library. A bank was the only stop they made along the way, and the Cadet handed his check over to one of the others to cash for him while he waited outside. There were two reasons for it, firstly because he did not want to see if there was any magic involved in getting the funds, and secondly to call for a Moogle.

He restrained his report to simple facts, though it was hard to when he so wanted to relay to the others that they may be close to getting Linkle back. Once finished he and the Moogle saluted each other and the little messenger disappeared to bring the new information to Alcamoth's database. If any of the other Seekers out there checked in, there would be two simplified pieces of news passed on: more Consul activity, 'Consul L,' and 'Found a lead to Linkle's whereabouts.'

With business at the bank finished, they hastily continued on. The Noumenon came into view from a while away, but it wasn't obvious that was where they were headed until they were right outside of the massive structure. It was hard to imagine that was a library! It was so grandiose. The inside was even more so with intricate marble tile, elegant chandeliers, and rows upon rows upon rows of books. "Oh wow," he said to himself as he admired the place. When Red mentioned making a note of the place, he agreed. "Yeah, definitely."

The Cadet craned his neck up, hardly able to see the ceiling through the upper floors it was so tall. What kind of knowledge was kept here? It seemed like way too much to just be the history of one place, even with fictional novels factored in. I'm gonna borrow some on the way out, he decided. There was plenty of space left in his pack.

The Noumenon's rules were what one would expect of a library, that was something universal it seemed. As for the bookworms, the Cadet had no clue how they were supposed to tell the good ones from the bad ones, so figured it best to just avoid them entirely - save for the one giving them the advice.

Once they had their destination, the Cadet fixed the group with a grin.

"Looks like we're in for a couple stories," he said. Though when he noticed the heavy set on some of their shoulders, his smile turned sheepish. "You don't all have to take the stairs on my account. I don't mind booking it and meeting you up there."

Wonder Red made a suggestion, his intention becoming clear when he raised his arm. That thing again! If Red was alright with using it for a situation like this, then the Ace Cadet wouldn't argue. It was a nice gesture. Now that he knew what was about to happen, being encased in light was both more and less weird than it had been the first time. Hard to explain, really. Wonder Red then took to the stairs, climbing them with hardly even a break until he was on the twenty sixth floor.

Once out of the morph, the Cadet chuckled and patted Red on the back as the shorter man hunched over. "Thanks buddy."

Given that Frisk and Prisoner were the ones who knew what Albedo looked like, it was up to them to take the lead in looking for him. It was a large area, even though it was just one floor of many. Of hundreds, even. As they walked the Cadet stuck close to the shelves so he could read some of the book spines, curiosity overtaking him.