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World of Light

Word Count: 925 (+2 exp)
Level: 3 - Total EXP: 123/30
Location: Dystopiascape - Sector 7

Yesterday had really put the Ever Crisis into perspective. They'd seen a lot of lives snuffed out last night between the the Others and the Aberrations. That the citizens of Midgar had to live with the fear of those kinds of attacks that could happen anywhere, at any time, was a very sobering thought. Humans in general usually got the short end of the stick - in fact there was a little saying that the divine invoked from time to time about them: 'Born crying, soon they're dying!' Though it didn't make Pit want to help them any less. Besides, if this type of thing had been happening in Skyworld, the angel would have already been deployed to take care of the problem. Of course, Lady Palutena would also have known where the problem stemmed from and how to take care of it.

Since this was not Skyworld but Midgar (or a mash-up of the real Midgar, wherever it existed), that morning Pit was present with the Seekers and SOU to discuss the events of yesterday, their course of action for today, and the plan going forward. He barely covered a wide yawn with his hand as he waited for everyone to wake up or arrive after chirping a word of gratitude to Goldlewis and Jessica for the breakfast. The smell of coffee was rousing him, and he nearly claimed a cup just by routine to doctor with cream and sugar for a certain someone else. Instead he not so smoothly took a donut instead, shoving it into his mouth.

The informal meeting started once Vernon entered the room, though Pit didn't know the man. Catching up meant debriefing would be first. After a very quick introduction to Vernon, Pit didn't have much more to add to Benedict or Midna's reports. Pretty much everything they'd experienced had been in the presentation the SOU gave the Seekers when they first arrived, though seeing it up close and personal was a much different feeling to seeing it on a screen.

"The situation here is way worse than I thought it was, but I guess you all knew that," he said to the Midgar natives. That said, Pit was more determined to help than ever.

The question was how to help. Was the best way to do that still ingratiating themselves into Midgar's defense forces? Neuron and Psych-whatever definitely had a lot of information that the Seekers could benefit from, especially with their reverse engineered Chimeras as Midna pointed out. Presumably DespoRHado had more information to learn too. Plus, they had three friends already undercover! They definitely couldn't leave them behind. Roxas' proposal, while one that Pit agreed would be a great idea, would leave the Seekers starting from scratch as far information gathering on their foes, and with no assistance (and maybe even active interference) from the other factions even if they could get around the red tape with Susie's help. Not to mention Blazermate's very probable suggestion about someone finding out about the missing government officials working with them now and how that could impact things. So... what was the right course of action?

Ugh, all this thinking is hurting my head. Pit rubbed the palm of his hand against his forehead while he considered the options. Sure would be nice to have an all-knowing Goddess make all the choices for me right now... and Viridi would never let me live that down if I said it out loud!

It was about that time that two new people entered the conference room, a desperate sounding man and his daughter. Pit snapped to attention with their entrance, both from the urgency in the man's voice and the gleaming eyes of the girl. Would this be the second "Turk" that had been mentioned? Yes as it turned out, and after a dramatic freeing of Akane from Galeem's influence courtesy of Roxas, Zenkichi told them that there was going to be another attack on the city soon!

"Maybe since we wouldn't go back through the metro, they won't be looking for us there anymore. It might be safe to go through... unless that's what they want us to think, and they think that we think they think we won't go back..." Pit said, in regards to getting Akane to safety within the Alcamoth. Then, he suddenly shook his head as other matters came back to mind.

"Wait before that we have to go help stop that machine attack!" he exclaimed. "I mean, yeah we should definitely check on Princess Peach and the others, but if there are people in danger we can't just leave them alone!"

Then again, that Psych-something operation would be in order to help people against the Others, right? So in that case, if they had to be in two places at once (or maybe even three), then shouldn't they split up again?

"Okay, let's just... do everything! We're the good guys, so helping people's what we do, but we need a way to help without getting in trouble right? So some of us can get the, um, paperwork in order and then some go stop the machines and some check out what the Psych-guys are doing!"

Pleased with his own conclusion, Pit smiled. "That should work, right? We still have to try and find out what's causing the Ever Crisis so we can stop it, but... eh, I'm sure we'll find that out soon enough!"

Of course, the election might throw a wrench into all preconceived plans, but they'd deal with that when the time came.

World of Light

Royal Waterways Reconnaissance

Word Count: 5810 (+6 exp)
Location: The Under - Home of Tears
Ichiban, Omori, and Therion
_{@TruthHurts22@Majoras End@Yankee}

It was nothing short of miraculous that the only thing Therion was feeling at the moment was a headache - physically, anyway. The nurses' bedside manner had been atrocious, and it was during a heated argument when the thief was about to walk out and take his chances with the sickness that he'd been stuck with a needle and sedated. He'd woken up pissed and groggy, but otherwise no worse for wear. Once more a certain, much more gentle apothecary came to his mind, but he shoved the thought away as he headed for the exit.

He should probably rendezvous with the others. That queen bee had told them to meet up at the city's clock tower, but he didn't care to follow that order at the moment.

In the main lobby, the helpful stranger in red was waiting. Therion didn't recall the man giving his name, but then again he hadn't asked either. Nor was he going to, though he did accept one of the bags of snacks as repentance for not giving a heads up about the weirdly aggressive nature of the medical staff.

"Yeah. I wouldn't recommend that trip to anyone," Therion responded flatly. He turned the plastic over in his hands, clearly unfamiliar with the product. There was a picture of some baked good on the outside of it, so he assumed that was what was inside. He squeezed the bag in both hands until it popped open with a puff of air. The noise surprised him, his cat ears sticking straight upright. Then, his ears flicked and tilted in the direction of the hall where he heard a set of footsteps approaching.

If Therion looked down the hall he would see a small black cat walking towards the group. Her owner, redressed and no longer bloodstained, idly lagged behind with his arms wrapped around himself. In all honesty, Omori hadn't been afraid of the nurses or the hospital's unorthodox practices. But something felt...off. He couldn't figure out what.

Therion wouldn't blame the kid if he wanted to give up the campaign now after the frankly hellish experience they'd just been through. After a few moments the thief called out, "Hey," to get Omori's attention and pointed to Ichiban next to him, who'd come bearing free snacks.

"Mm?" Omori glanced up to Therion, his eyes following where he pointed to towards the guy that guided them to this stupid hospital. He seemed to perk up at the sight of snacks. Might not heal anything, but he had to atleast get something in his stomach. The boy walked over to grab a random bag of chips, nodding to Ichiban in thanks.

A random bag of chips Omori was given indeed, an almost blank packet with two featureless shapes intersecting on the front. "The machine I got these from is kinda weird," Ichiban said, unprompted. "None of the snacks are name brand. Or any brand. They still taste good though."

Omori shrugged, inspecting the packet. "Probably potato chips." His warped voice speculated. To test the theory, he ripped the bag open and popped one chip into his mouth.

He felt a little bit better.

Mewo meanwhile was pawing at Therion's leg while they talked and ate. It was a wonder what she wanted. The thief's tail flicked back and forth impatiently as he ignored her, up until he felt the pin pricks of her claws as she started climbing his person. At that point he scooped the little cat up and tucked her under his arm, intending to pass her off to her owner.

Before that he turned his attention back to Ichiban. "By the way, the bag you were carrying. Some kind of potions? Where'd you get so many, someone selling them?"

He recalled the man saying he had to drop the stuff off at the sanitarium. If they were some kind of healing concoction, it would be good to stock up after the ordeal the Seekers had just gone through.

"Oh, those?" Ichiban hooked a thumb over his shoulder to nowhere in particular. "Nah, ain't nobody selling them. I hope not at least. They were property of the head doctor here, some experimental stuff, I didn't really understand most of it. Some guys ran off with a shipment of them, so I went to get 'em back for her."

Though it wasn't the answer Therion had been hoping for, it was still informative. This place was a city, so it made sense that their was some criminal element to it. There was someone getting their hands on useful items, they just weren't merchants. Not legitimate ones anyway.

"Thieves, huh? Wonder where they set up shop?" he asked anyway.

Ichiban shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Somehow they ended up in the sewers with some pretty nasty monsters. I didn't even catch whoever took them all, all I did was go down there and got them back."

An expression of intrigue flickered across Therion's face. It may not have been implied by Ichiban, but what the thief heard was that whatever opportunist had hijacked the doctor's goods had dumped it in the city's sewer, assuming it would be safe enough there to come back for - only for someone else to get it first. Monsters or not, there was a good chance that there were other ill gotten goods stashed down there. Although Therion wasn't looking for a battle, especially so soon after escaping the "womb," he was eager to work his muscles after the sanitarium's treatment rid him of the heaviness in his limbs and the grogginess in his brain. A quick trip to see if he could find anything of interest before retiring for the night sounded pretty good.

He nodded, acknowledging Ichiban's reply with a glint in his eye.

"Well thanks for the biscuits," he said, clearing gathering himself to leave the sanitarium. He realized he was still carrying Mewo (who had been trying to paw at his ears) and handed the cat to Omori before turning for the door.

"Hang on a minute!" Ichiban clasped Therion on the shoulder to stop him from just trekking off. "I know what you're thinkin' - that these sewers I'm talking about must be full of loot. And you'd be right." Ichiban let go, stepping around to get back in his view. "But you shouldn't go waltzing up down there on your own. You just got over being sick!"

"Key words being got over it."

"The rest of us haven't even popped back up yet." Omori added, not really concerned about their missing teammates as he probably should be.

"That bossy bee said to meet up at the clock tower so we'll just regroup later," Therion pointed out.

The boy furrowed his brows."I was refering to Primrose, Rubick, and that circus of self-proclaimed 'bad guys'." He clarified, sarcastic air quotes included.

"Because we went through a dungeon into a river of blood. We need to find a way back up to them, but before that, I'm doing this," Therion all but snapped, further souring Omori's mood in turn if that glare meant anything. Now that Ichiban had actually confirmed there were treasures to be found down there, he wasn't about to give up the chance to explore it a little. Who knew how many useful things he might find? "I know how to handle myself, alright?"

Ichiban looked up in thought, not quick to simply let Therion go. "Alright then." He nodded once. "Then I'll go with you!"

"Didn't I just say I don't need a babysitter?" the thief said, his tail swishing back and forth. A second look at the two with him and he added, "and I don't want to be one either."

"It ain't like that," Ichiban answered, the determinated stubborness clear on his face. "I know I can't talk ya outta going down in there, so I'm tagging along to help. Every dungeon dive needs the right party, don't it?"

Supressing the urge to make a quip aside, Omori's expression lightened up a little. "Look on the bright side: At least it'll be someone who knows his way around that place." He glanced at Ichiban for further confirmation. "Last thing we need is another one of us going missing..." He slightly frowned in thought.

It looked very much like Therion was going to keep objecting, his tail swaying exactly like an agitated cat's - but he ended up pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing loudly.

"Do whatever you want," he said, relenting.

Omori glanced around. "I should really look for somewhere I can sell some of this loot, but what the heck this place is kinda boring."

As Ichiban fell into line behind Therion, he piped up again. "By the way, I'm Ichiban. Ichiban Kasuga. Figure if we're going to go hunting for loot we should know each other, yeah?"

"...Therion."

"Omori." The monochrome boy introduced himself next. He then held Mewo up. "And Mewo."

"Meow."

It was just after introductions that Jesse emerged from the operation rooms and sauntered over. As luck would have it she requested a tour guide of sorts, and although Therion had just resigned himself to exploring with a tag-along or two, now he thought this was the perfect chance to go through with his original plan of going alone.

He grinned at the red head, and perhaps the expression looked weird on his face since he rarely did it. Nice save, Jesse.

"Yeah, actually, why don't you go with her instead?" the thief suggested, more than happy to exploit the out his fellow Seeker had unwittingly granted him. Then he turned right around and strode out of the lobby.

Unfortunately, this didn't force Omori to stay behind.

"Nice try, Stupid." He deadpanned, following behind Therion.

Scratching the back of his head, Ichiban gave Jesse an apologetic smile. "Oh, nah, I ain't a local like that. Been around for a bit but I don't know it that well. Y'should talk to Cornifer though, that guy loves mapping out places. I'm sure he knows some hot spots I don't." With a small salute he turned and hurried after Therion, truly snuffing out any plans the thief had for alone time.

"Hey, Therion. How come we got a, uhh, a kid comin' with us?"

The answer was something Therion hadn't thought much about since meeting Omori. "He's tougher than he looks," Therion replied, and left it at that.

---

Together the three of them left the sanitarium, heading back toward the heart of the city. After a jog through the rain they made it to the entrance of the Royal Waterways. They descended, Ichiban first, then Therion, then Omori (and Mewo). Once they were all out of the rain and into the sewer, they took in the tunnels beneath the Home of Tears. It was very similar to the infrastructure above - cool, dark colored cobblestone and brick. Iron embellishments completed the aesthetic, twinkling with dimly reflected light. There was water everywhere around them, but that didn't come as a surprise. It almost seemed to glimmer, mirroring the glow of some piping that twisted about the ceiling, lending just a little more light for the three to see by. From where they were all standing, the could see that the tunnels split off in different directions.

It was cleaner than a lot of other gutters Therion had found himself in. There hadn't been any further complaints from him just yet, instead he glanced at Ichiban. "Do you remember where the stash was?"

Ichiban scratched the back of his head, ruffling his messy perm as he looked around. "Uhhh. I think it was... maybe... down that way?" He pointed down a dark side-tunnel, ominous orange globs stuck at various parts of the brickwork. "Definitely somewhere with a lot of that glowy stuff."

Stepping over next to Ichiban, Omori shone his headlamp down the tunnel. "I don't think I want to know what that orange stuff is."

With that Therion agreed. "The tunnels are pretty wide, we can move through them without touching it."

With no real objections the ragtag group took the path Ichiban laid out for them. Their footsteps echoed through the area, splashing as they walked through pooling water. Some puddles turned out to be little waterlings, most of them timid but the more aggressive ones as easily dispatched as they were disturbed. Utility lights were widely spaced, but the soft sickly glow of orange patches filled the dark areas in between.

Now and then a wandering Flukefey would buzz toward the group, becoming more common as they approached a more spacious area of the waterways. It was a crossroads of sorts, in a wide angular room, but this time their choice of which route to take was an easy one: there were two tunnels, and in one Flukefeys congregated in numbers enough to suggest their was a nest nearby. The trio swiftly headed in the other direction.

After another couple minutes of walking the once again approached a more open area, though this one seemed much larger than the last. Before they even left the tunnel mouth it was apparent that the connecting room extended below them, and they came to an upper level with a sturdy iron railing overlooking what could only be described as a garbage dump... or maybe a junk pit.

It was full of discarded insect shells and broken masks, but also outdated household items, deflated tires, random knickknacks, torn clothing, and hundreds of other items that had been thrown away and ended up in the city's sewer system. Piles and piles of stuff reaching almost to the ceiling. The sounds of scratching and shifting could be heard from up there, and some piles within the garbage seemed to moving around.

"Gla..." A bug was peering over the ledge at the pit below, though she turned to regard the humans with some curiosity as they exited the tunnel and came onto the balcony. "Gla gla... visit?"

This looked like another one of those maggot-things they kept running into. Omori faintly tensed up when the hermit turned to face them, but once she began speaking he allowed himself to relax. "Yes. We were just exploring the area for a bit." He answered first.

He understood that? Therion stepped around the bug, occupying a free space and looking over the balcony himself. His eye flickered around the piles of junk, trying to suss out any items worth taking.

"This has gotta be the place."

Ichiban looked around at all the junk, his uncertainty still clear on his face. "I don't think so," he muttered. "This wasn't where I got the medicine from. It's probably some other loot-filled place."

"Oh, who's this now?" Came an echoing voice behind everyone.

Walking down the tunnel they'd just come from was a paper thin person. With a big smile and a hat like a jester's (and dangling star pieces, Therion immediately noted), he gave the trio a friendly wave. When he turned to greet the Fluke Hermit they could see that he wasn't just thin, he was literally two-dimensional.

"Yay! Meeting people down here is rare, usually its just she and I, and those brutes downstairs. My name is Dazzle!"

"Yo, what's up? I'm Ichiban." Ichiban took the role of the 'face' for the trio, since Therion seemed like a bit of a loner and Omori had... he just had a weird vibe to him. "This is Therion, and Omori. Oh, and Mewo," he added, not missing Omori's pet. The cat in question popped her head out of the unzipped space of the boy's backpack.

"Is this your place? Hope you don't mind us looking around, we're doin' some dungeon exploring. Lotsa stuff y'got here!"

"Oh no, don't mind at all, guy. I live down here but I certainly don't own this junk pit."

"Mother sends treasure..." the hermit added. "Gather it up."

"You mentioned 'brutes', have they been giving you any trouble?" Omori asked Dazzle.

"Well..." the smile on Dazzle's face didn't go away, but he fidgeted slightly. "They are the ones who do claim to own this pit. They fight over it. They're troublesome but we try and stay clear. Its a big area, with lots to find, so be careful not to cross their paths!"

"Might be worth checking out," Therion said, his attention shifting from the area below to his companions. He was confident in his own ability to get in and get out of a place without being spotted, but he couldn't say the same for the other two. Well, maybe Omori's monochrome look would help him blend into the shadows.

"I can go alone and then meet back up."

"If you do plan on breaking and entering, we'll need to think up a signal in case things go sideways." Omori crossed his arms in thought. He wasn't against the experienced thief sneaking into bad-guy territory, but where are they even located at?

"I don't think splitting up's a good idea," Ichiban said. "This place has some serious baddies. You shouldn't get caught going solo."

With opinion split Therion turned completely around to face the others, leaning back on the balcony's railing. If the Seekers were going to stay in the city for a little while, he could always slip down into the waterways himself to check things out later if they didn't do so now. He'd gotten his bearings for the most part. "Okay. So. We wanna go down there, head back or keep going?"

Ichiban looked back toward Dazzle and that, uh, hermit worm lady. "Those guys down there keep messin' with you, right? Thinkin' they own the place?" He didn't really know the 'deal' with the sewers, if the so-called brutes actually had a hold over the treasure/trash pit, but even if they did, using it to justify having a bad attitude was something he couldn't let happen.

"I say we go down there - together, I mean."

With a nod Therion pushed off the railing. Omori seemed fine with that plan too, so it was settled.

Since they were braving the pit, Dazzle gave them what information he could. He pointed out a quick route to the lower level, and as for the 'brutes' - he only said the group would know the dangerous hoarders when they saw them.

"Good luck, guys!" Dazzle said to the group. The Fluke Hermit waved at them, gurgling a similar farewell.

As Ichiban and Omori headed away from the balcony, Therion lagged behind. Before leaving he turned back to Dazzle and pointed to the shiny fragments on his hat. Before he could even open his mouth to ask, the paper person's beady eyes sparkled passionately.

"Interested are you? They're star pieces! I collect them - the more I collect, the happier I am!"

Star pieces? Therion supposed if you fit a few of them together they would take the shape of a star... sort of. He happened to have the three he'd picked up in Twilight Town, and hoping they were worth something he asked, "Collect them for what? Are they worth more in a set?"

"Oh I'd never sell them. I've never met anyone interested in buying them anyway! They just make me very happy. If you happen to find any, I'll trade you my badges for them!"

Well there went the thief's plans to cash in on them. Of course Dazzle could always be lying about there being no buyers, but all two dimensions of him didn't look the type. With a half-restrained sigh he said, "I might have some. Let's see what you've got."

Pulling a large paper scroll seemingly from nowhere, Dazzle smiled widely and laid out his badge selection with a flourish. There were a dozen or so pinned to the scroll, all equally as flat as he was, and they come in a variety of colors and designs. "Yay! Which badge do you want to trade for?"

He went on to describe the effects of each, which took Therion by surprise. He'd figured they would just be shiny little chunks of metal with no more value than as collectibles, but it turned out that better described the star pieces. The badges were basically paper, but useful. The Fluke Hermit crawled over to watch the exchange as Therion ultimately traded two of his star pieces of his chosen badge. It felt silly pinning the flat thing to the shirt under his shawl, but he did it - and then went to catch up with the other two amid a second round of goodbyes from the friendly sewer dwellers.

Once reunited they all followed a side path that curved and declined, bringing them into the Junk Pit proper. It was huge, more spacious that it appeared even from above. Though there was clutter everywhere, a lot of it was collected into mounds, leaving room for the group to walk. Down here it was easier to make out the individual items stuffed into the piles, and naturally the thief drifted over to anything that caught his eye. The trio slowly moved through the area, generally exploring. Their thief's senses were on high alert, his cat ears flicking in the direction of any suspicious noise.

The sound of metal clanging was common down here, what with pieces of junk tumbling from the top of precarious piles or some new piece of trash falling in from somewhere above the sewer. Eventually though it became apparent that there was a steady, rhythmic metallic sound like metal shoes on stone - and coming towards them.

A tall, dark figure with a grisly beaked mask stalked slowly through the Junk Pit, scooping up items as it went. What looked like human body parts dangled from the pack on its back, a warning of what would become of any intruders caught on its turf.

"What the hell?!" Ichiban gasped, trying to not be too loud about it. Instead of being shocked by the whole visage of the beaked figure, he was more worried about what it was carrying. "Yo, does that guy have... hands and shit, in his bag?"

"That Dazzle guy really understated the situation," Therion said, voice hushed. "This thing's a killer." From beneath his cloak Therion drew his dagger for some modicum of safety.

"Well, just means this might be worse than we expected." Omori reached for any of his ranged weaponry at this rate. Something told him getting caught in the grasp of that thing would only add their limbs into its collection. "We can always fall back and let the others know what's going on down here." He whispered.

As much of a waste as Therion thought it would be to leave now, it was probably a good idea. Though their wounds and illnesses had been taken care of, both Omori and Therion had gone through a gauntlet of fighting that day with each battle more dangerous and disgusting than the last. The thought of facing down yet another monster right now was exhausting.

"...yeah," Therion agreed after a moment. It wasn't a total loss even if it wasn't the spot they'd been looking for - in their short time down there he'd managed to find a couple of useful things, like surprisingly clean bandages, discarded jewelry that might fetch a pretty leaf or two, and something he'd just picked up on a whim. Retreat for now sounded fine. "Let's go. Quick and quiet."

The guys started backing away from their hiding place and towards the place they'd come in from, their attentions fixed on the beaked menace. The atmosphere in the junk pit grew more and more tense the closer it got to them as they tried to make a stealthy escape. It felt like their were eyes on them, but Scrapbreak hadn't noticed them just yet. Whether it was their new acquaintances in the balconies farm above watching them, or someone else hidden among the garbage piles, they didn't know.

The trio were almost close enough to the exit to make a break for it when something shifted. It could have been coincidence, or it could have been that one of them had bumped into a heap of junk (though none were going to claim responsbility for that), but the closest pile to them toppled over. The sound was painfully loud and echoed throughout the space, and with the items scattered all over there was no where for the three of them to hide before Scrapbeak caught sight of them.

With a horrifying scream the monster shoved his hand into the nearest mass of junk and pulled out a pitchfork just before rushing toward the intruders.

"Move. MOVE!"

Needless to say, said intruders turned tail and booked it. In the middle of their mad dash to the exit, Therion's ears picked up the whistling noise of something being thrown. Whatever it was sailed right over them, aimed at the opening they were running towards.

"Wait!" Therion shouted, spreading his arms to stop Omori and Ichiban in their tracks. A second later the projecticle that Scrapbreak threw hit the stone in front of them and exploded - a spring-loaded razor wire that violently unfolded, spreading like a deadly spiderweb to block their escape.

Less agile than either the thief-like Therion or the tiny child Omori, Ichiban couldn't stop with much grace. He slid along the wet bricks, dress shoes providing next to zero traction so that he ended up falling on his ass. "Ah, shit!" He was probably a bit of a priority to keep safe, considering that unlike the others Ichiban was still Gleaming - getting hit by Scrapbeak would force him to fight it, meaning the other two would also have to jump in to save him.

Being a hero was hard work.

Therion pulled the man up by the scruff of his jacket as the monster's advance drew ever closer. They had to find another exit, but first they had to get away from their deranged pursuer. As soon as it got close enough Scrapbreak thrust the pitchfork at the group, hoping to skewer any of them, but its prey turned out to faster. They split up to avoid the attack and weaved around Scrapbeak, running through the pit to seek any other route out of it. The monster screamed again and gave chase.

Omori had taken the first initiative to kite Scrapbeak away by firing a couple of rounds from his Boxing Glove to direct it towards him. Just as long as he kept his distance and stayed focused, he could give the other two some time to either get the heat off him or find another way out!

"Over here!" Shouting was not a good tactic right now, but it was the only one they had. Down one of the split paths Ichiban stumbled into a less cluttered section of the dump, able to catch sight of the way out at the far end of the pit. Not wanting to keep running empty-handed, Ichiban grabbed a jutting-out piece of metal from a nearby junk pile, yanking it out (surprisingly without disturbing the rest), the crowbar clutched firmly in his hand. Not like he wanted to fight this freaky guy, but it might come to it.

Surprisingly their un-coordination worked to their advantage. The monster would give chase to one, then abort and turn the other direction as it tried to decide which would be an easier prize. Though it didn't deter the hoarder in the slightest, the confusion did give them a bigger gap between themselves and it. With a small lead, the two of them met back up with Therion as the latter ushered them over after finding an easier path through the pit.

Scrapbeak's screeching form disappeared as they got as far away as possible, but the group knew they hadn't lost it completely. It's echoing cries and harsh metal footsteps still followed after them. Then, making up for its slower speed with its size and knowledge of the room, Scrapbreak suddenly headed the three off by taking a short cut directly through a smaller mound of junk, throwing items everywhere and swinging its weapon to try and clothesline the lot of them, missing by a hair's breadth.

"Hey you!" Ichiban chucked his crowbar at the beaked monster in a desperate attempt to draw it away from Omori. He might not stand much of a chance against it, but to Ichiban, it's better for this killer to focus on him rather than the two still healing from their illness. He only managed to throw it against its giant backpack, though that did dislodge one of the severed hands (ew, gross) and a couple more items.

Scrapebeak let out a piercing shriek, beaked head turned to stare at Ichiban with empty eyes... though there was a lucky moment as it chose to stoop down and collect the dropped hand. Ichiban took the chance and booked it again, across Scrapbeak's path to join the others before it decided to keep going.

Luckily, they wouldn't be running in circles for much longer. "Hey- I think I see an exit!! This way!" The boy had called out as soon as he spotted another door nearby, having snuck around and scooped up the items that fell out of Scrapbeak's backpack.

Omori, Ichiban, and Therion had managed to avoid Scrapbeak so far. They had an exit in sight, but their route was littered with debris that made running through it without tripping a difficult task. With the monstrous hoarder on their tail, falling may well have been a death sentence. They sprinted as fast as they could go, nearing their escape with the screaming right behind them.

With his speed and dexterity a level beyond his two companions, Therion reached the door first. He whipped back around to check the status of the others to find Scrapbeak just about to catch up to them. The monster hoisted its pitchfork to go for a stab, but seemingly out of nowhere a heavy porcelain bathtub crashed down from above, directly on top of it.

What? The thief was dumbstruck by this turn of events. Then, he remembered that there were two menaces down here. The other self-proclaimed owner of the Junk Pit and apparently Scrapbreak's rival in body-part collecting sat atop the tub, a wicked smile on his goblin-like face.

"What's got you so distracted, birdy?" The new monster said, laughing down at Scrapbreak as it struggled to get out from under the tub. Saved by the violent rivalry, Ichiban and Omori slipped through the door to join Therion.

Working out the last of their adrenaline they jogged down the connecting tunnel, ending up in an open area where they could catch their breath.

Ichiban rubbed his palms against his forehead, leaning his lower back against the wall. "Hahhh, jeez. That guy was... was a real weirdo." Understatement of the year. "Look, if it's alright with you two, I-I think we should get outta here." He gestured to one of the pipeways branching off from their rest spot, familiar enough with the way out it seemed.

"What, scared of a little serial killer?" Therion quipped. Truth be told though, he agreed. Live to steal another day and all that. Plus now that he knew what was actually down here in the sewers, he could come back more prepared - after a good night's sleep. He followed Ichiban's indication of the piping and nodded for the man to go ahead, himself and Omori to follow right behind. Thinking back, it was incredible luck that the guy's gleaming "fight-to-the-death" trigger hadn't gone off. Therion would have felt a little about leaving him down there to battle those things.

The going was out was slower than going in as they took care trying not to run into trouble. They passed by naught more than a very large slug during the route. When the group traced their way back to one of the Royal Waterways' exits and made their way out, it was still raining. That massive clocktower showed that their little misadventure had felt longer than it actually was, and there was still some time left in the night surpisingly.

"Man, what a workout," Ichiban said, still huffing to catch his breath. He looked back to Therion and Omori. "If you guys wanna take care of that dude, you might wanna get some more help. I'd offer too, if y'let me. Doesn't feel right letting a murderer roam around where innocent people are."

"Doubt they'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Omori groaned, running a hand through his hair. "It's getting late. The others probably turned in for the night by now." Hopefully there's a shop still open that he can sell some of his extra stuff at.

After a bit of silence where he seemed deep in thought, Ichiban suddenly snapped his fingers. "Ganondorf!"

"What about him?"

"Yeah, that one guy who was knocked out with you earlier. He looked kinda familiar and I was racking my head the whole time tryin' to place it. But now I remember. He looks a lot like this bad guy from this video game, came out a little while before..." He stopped himself short of saying something, a small nervous cough to reorient the conversation. "Anyways, that guy was called Ganondorf. Is he some sorta cosplayer?"

Cosplayer? What was he talking about? Omori rose a brow, trying to figure out what Ichiban meant. Something seemed to click in his head after a second, but he didn't say anything further. Whatever the kid had figured out, Therion hadn't. It was clear the thief had no idea what Ichiban meant, and didn't have enough info to even guess.

"Is this one of those different world things?" He said, more to Omori than anything. On second thought, he really didn't care. Now that they were out of the Waterways and into the rain, Therion was getting eager to dry off as soon as possible.

"If you're sticking around you can ask him tomorrow. As far as I can tell he's some self-important, self-proclaimed 'King of Evil.'" Therion replied to Ichiban. "I'm gonna go find a place to bunk in."

He gave the both of them one quick wave in place of a goodbye and wandered off, traveling under the eaves of buildings to escape most of the rain.

Hm. Therion had a point. Omori had to find some place to dry off and spend the night. Mewo was probably getting drenched inside his backpack. But first, somewhere to sell stuff. "See you around." With a nod to Ichiban and a wave goodbye, he walked off and the remaining two went their separate ways, ending the trio's little misadventure.

...But Omori still felt like something was off. Almost as if the feeling was following him. Maybe once he goes to bed he'd feel better in the morning.

Expedition to Isekai

Nagashima Masato

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Awakened: 100
Mind [35] | Body [40] | Spirit [25]
Facsimile: N/A

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Name: _長島真人

Nagashima, Masato

Identity:

Completely average in looks, smarts, and popularity, Masato only manages to score towards the top of the class due to sheer hard work and tons of exam cramming. He always seems to have his nose to the grindstone in order to keep up with his peers, hardly ever letting up on his studies or responsibilities. His reputation at school is mostly a good one, since he makes himself available to help any student in need - as the president of Kuroshio Ogata Junior High's student council, it is his job after all.

Though he may have earned the respect of most of his peers (something he's proud of), it was hard to say that Masato is actually well liked by them. It wasn't like he was elected to his position either, he got it simply because no one else wanted it, a win by default. His personality is one that runs both hot and cold as if he's struggling to suppress part of himself - most likely his temper, which caused him trouble in his earlier years. Masato has come to be known as someone that will help you out, even if he'd click his tongue and say he should knock some sense into you while he does it, though he is much harsher with troublemakers and rule-breakers. The sound of his grumbling or shouting isn't that rare a thing in Kuroshio Ogata Junior High's halls. On the flip side, he brushes people off if they don't need anything from him. He's never spotted outside of the junior high, the cram school, or on his way straight home from either. He doesn't open up to others, so he has few if any close friends.

Taking everything into account, he has high potential to be chosen for the study abroad program if he can just keep his grades up. He's been trying hard to become a respectable member of society in the future - hopefully one far away from this small town. Although, Masato wasn't always like that. His brother Akito, older by five years, has had a big impact on him and shifted Masato's focus into becoming a "better person," though it wasn't a positive impact.

Akito has always caused trouble for others. Currently he's graduated highschool and has become a layabout in the Nagashima home with no plans for the future. With parents that just enable him, the only one he catches flack from is Masato. Fighting between the brothers is a common occurrence, sometimes escalating to physical confrontations. In the past, the two of them were closer - when Akito was running wild in his school years and bringing up his little brother to be just as much of a nuisance as he was. A bully and petty criminal, Akito couldn't have a weak sibling for other delinquents to take advantage of. It looked like Masato was on his way to following in Akito's footsteps, until a certain incident ended up hurting a friend who suffered the consequences. That opened Masato's eyes to how much of a jerk his brother really was, and he started condemning Akito rather than following his orders.

Now, Masato is determined not to turn out like that - he doesn't want to cause problems and have other people clean up his messes anymore. The new mindset is the reason he joined the student council when he entered middle school in the first place, has been trying to rein in the bad attitude his youth instilled in him, and is working to earn a spot among those chosen to go overseas.

Peculiarity:

Masato is extremely dexterous, with superior aim and hand-eye coordination. The school's small baseball team was bitter to lose him to the student council. Besides just pitching or catching, Masato also fields requests from other students to thread needles or help put together model kits. It's not an exaggeration to say he has some of the steadiest hands in school, though its a wonder why when his attitude is anything but. And yes, he is the best at juggling in his class. Besides that he's got a high pain tolerance and a good constitution, recovering from colds in record time.

Expedition to Isekai

______________________________________________________________________

Ugh...

He felt heavy. That was the only word that came to Masato at first. The second word was "hurt."

It wasn't terrible. Not even the worst shape he'd ever been in. But his body was sore. His head was pounding, some ache that suggested he may have hit it somehow. His stomach was turning too, though he swallowed the worst of it. And his face... what the hell had just happened? He lifted a hand to his nose and touched it, winced, then sucked in a shallow breath. Gingerly he felt it again, and though his fingers came away bloody at least he could tell his nose wasn't broken. So he'd just smashed his face against something. Seriously, what happened?!

Heavy... Masato's vision came back into focus when he tried to stand up. It wasn't that he was heavy, but there was something heavy partially collapsed on top of him. Rather, someone. Another student.

"Get off," he said, shoving the other boy off of him. How did Endo even end up over here? Masato had been sitting alone toward the front of the bus, and he was fairly sure he'd seen Endo toward the back when he had sneaked a glance in Sato and Higasa's direction. It was almost like the wind outside had come into the bus to toss everyone around.

Damn, my head's spinning.

Coincidentally some disgusting odor in the bus was acting like smelling salts, slow acting and just kicking in. Masato was roused from shock by the mix of several students' puke and gasoline.

They'd crashed. There was some kind of bright light, then... something. Something strange and unnatural, an alien feeling that Masato did not think about - because the more important thing was that they'd crashed. Masato stepped over a girl in the aisle to get to the driver's seat. The ringing in his ears had been replaced by the irritating drone of the bus' horn, on account of the driver slumped over the steering wheel.

"Hey." He reached toward the man, shaking his shoulder. There was no response, so he shook it a little harder. "Hey, ojiisan."

The man's body shifted, sliding off the wheel and coming to rest with a thunk against the side window. He hadn't stirred at all, hell it seemed like he wasn't even breathi—

Masato jerked his hand away, eyes growing wide. He's...!

He turned away. The crash must have been pretty bad. They had to get off the bus and phone the police. The sooner the better since there was always the chance the engine would explode right? That always happened in movies. From the front Masato could see all of the students, from the giant Duncan to the small collection of dyed heads. No one else had... everyone else was alive, but they were still sluggishly coming out of their own stupors.

"Kondo!" Masato shouted, raising his voice over the scattered whining of the students. He knew she'd be in one of the last seats, or would have been before the crash. "Open the door, that back door. Someone help her open the door! Khh." He pressed a palm to his forehead. His own yelling was going to make his headache worse. He probably looked pretty weird, standing at the front with blood dribbling from his nostrils and an expression that was half demanding and half rising distress. With luck maybe Inaba would pipe up and say they weren't in any danger of the vehicle combusting, but until then who knew. He tried to recall safety lessons from grade school, but they slipped from his mind. The back door, yeah, but it was probably okay to use the regular one too right? As long as they were quick about it.

He turned around again, carefully reaching over the driver to pull the mechanism that would open the bus' front door. There was a trembling in his hand that he did his best to suppress, and he held his breath like the man may just come back to life and grab him, but of course no such thing happened. The doors opened. The smell of gas was stronger now, and there was a rush of hot air that pushed in and did his nausea no favors. He looked over his shoulder, eyes flickering over his classmates, over Kogen, over Sato. He'd rouse them himself if they didn't get up soon, but before that he had to at least get the evacuation started. If possible he wanted to prevent any of the girls from seeing their driver too.

"Everybody off!" he told the group at large.

World of Light

Word Count: 712 (+1 exp)
Level: 9 - Total EXP: 177/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis

They fled the Noumenon. They didn't really have another choice, so after running through the ground floor and taking a custom escape route courtesy of Wonder Red and Big Band they avoided the police waiting at the massive library's exits and were back on the streets. With his focus purely on his allies' backs in front of him, the Ace Cadet didn't worry about getting lost or separated during the dizzying escape. By the time they slowed down in a rundown side street they should have lost most of their pursuers, but the most dangerous among them would still be on the Seekers' trail.

Before they could be led right to the hideout, Band suggested they deal with Irons' officers. They'd have to do it at some point, so why not here? The Cadet was completely on board with Big Band's notion to take care of things here and now.

"I was getting tired of all the running we were doing today anyway," he said. "And my arms are practically burning to snow these Kecha-wackos the true meaning of Justice!"

So in they went, the derelict remains of some shop their chosen battleground. There was hardly enough time to take cover in order not to be siting ducks before Irons' men burst onto the scene. The Cadet sized them up. To the average person, they'd probably be pretty intimidating.

'Heat signatures' were mentioned. It was simple enough to figure out what the robot copper meant when he was making a beeline towards the Seekers' hiding places. That was fine - they weren't trying to fool the trio anyway. Being realistic, it was always going to come to blows.

The Ace Cadet was, as ever, confident in his team - which now included Albedo and Frisk. He only hoped the scuffle with Artemis and then the run through the city hadn't worn on their stamina too much. As for himself, he had only a few seconds to pick the best tool for the job. With the ship rigging packed away for now he wouldn't be trading bullets for bullets unless he decided to mess about with the gun he picked up from Alcamoth. While the bow had been useful versus Artemis, its effectiveness would be more limited here. A trusty blade would do the trick.

He didn't let Byte or Barq come all the way to them. The first to burst out and go on the attack, the Cadet's long sword flashed out of its sheathe and straight towards the colorful metal man. The Cadet had gone with the Nightsky Ripper as his weapon of choice for its mid-to-short range and high offensive capabilities. How nice it would have been to cleave right through the ball joint holding Byte's top and bottom halves together, but the Cadet's attack didn't even connect - the robo-police hound intercepted the blade. Sporting a new gash in its metal casing, Barq spun away with a tinny howl. It left the Cadet and Byte face to face, with Stryker soon to close in.

"Halt! You're under arrest!" the metal policeman said, raising his dukes.

"Huh, wouldn't 'freeze' work better?"

Whoosh. Whoosh. Bam. The springs that Byte had for arms weren't just for show. He threw a quick punch, one that the Cadet easily side-stepped, but the follow up punch went wide and curved into the hunter's side. Just as quickly as he'd thrown the punches, Byte retracted his ARMS and resumed his fighting stance, backing up to give himself some room to really stretch.

Given that the Cadet's main exposure to robots so far had been Blazermate, Poppi, and a handful of others it didn't exactly come as a surprise that Byte was some type of spry fighter. It would make him a pain to deal with though. On his right fist was a big, dark, bulky boxing glove, while on the left was a ribbed yellow and black... thing. Whatever it was, it must do something besides act as a bludgeon since it briefly crackled with electricity.

The second volley of punches came. The Cadet wasn't caught unawares by the curving arms this time. He deflected the bubb arm with his blade and parried the seekie, retaliating with the Critical Juncture counterattack. Steel was meeting steel in an unorthodox exchange.

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World of Light

Word Count: 990 (+2 exp)
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 114/80
Location: The Under - Ash Lake
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●

Asgore's was a sad tale, a kind king deposed and replaced by cruel tyrants. Primrose listened quietly as the story was told. It was very informative, and a few things stuck out to her and she mentally filed them away for later. It was just a shame that the context of the information was so tragic. Once the story was over, the group sat in silence - but only for a moment.

She was both amused and bemused at the Koopa Troop's treatment of the flame clock. She watched them try to break it, sink it, then retrieve it. Though ultimately their attempt had failed, all the same Primrose was glad that they were on the Seekers' side after that display of power. Once the clock was resting in its new place between the altar weapons, the dancer spoke up.

"Instead of dealing with the clock, we should instead deal with the people forcing the issue," she said. The former king had even bid them as much, to not let P or F get away with what they were doing. "The consuls. Once we defeat the area's guardian, the... energy it gives off might be enough to free the city. But the consuls are sure to get in our way before that."

Besides the fact that the Consuls seemed to want to preserve the status quo of the World of Light, everything else about them was a mystery. Their motivation, their goals behind hindering the Seekers... but even still, that they'd pose a problem in the Seekers' quest was a given.

"We know there's one consul right below us, so why don't we pay him a visit? Hopefully we can find the others before that, but if we dispose of one consul, it may draw the other out."

Though to be honest, Primrose wasn't so sure of that. Were the consuls friends, or just comrades by circumstance? And for one as cruel as Asgore made F out to be, would he even care if P was killed? If he wanted to toy with the Seekers, it was more likely he wouldn't show up in the event that P was defeated. But they couldn't know until it happened. "Even if it doesn't, that would be one less obstacle to deal with later as we look for those masks."

Speaking of the mask pieces, Primrose collected the one that Asgore relinquished to them. Then she glanced at the Hive Knight. "We should help Barnabee out after our trip into the city. After what Asgore told us, it would make sense that one of these pieces is in his queendom."

Regardless if the other Seekers agreed with her suggested plan or not, their next step would be traveling to the Home of Tears. At some point they should probably purge Teemo and Barnabee of the "lifelight," maybe just before heading to the city? Vaguely Primrose wondered what time it was, since it had been more than a couple of hours even since arriving at the Temple of the Black Egg. Before the group went outside to seek the pipe the would take them to the city below the lake, Primrose turned to Asgore.

"Thank you for hosting us, and telling us your story," she said. "I have one more question for you, if you don't mind. Though I'm not sure if you'll have an answer. You mentioned that you've been here for years... here, in this remade world? How could it be that you've been here this long, when there are others who only recall being here but a few months?"

Though she didn't explicitly saw that she was one of these people, it could be inferred. She remembered Noblecourt, the Obsidians, Simeon... and then she remembered the aptly named Land of Adventure, ending up in Smash City Alcamoth, and living there amongst its battle-friendly inhabitants until the Seekers of Light arrived. It troubled her to think there might be a huge gap in her memory.

"Is it possible that the world isn't... done expanding? That it draws people into it over time?" she asked, preferring this theory over a bout of amnesia or something more sinister.

Asgore took a long, deep breath. "That's... not it." Even more so now than when he mentioned the countless lives thrust into his hands, to be sustained through interminable acts of murder that he abhorred with every fiber of his being, the old goat sounded grim. "I'm a kind of monster that only ages when my children do, but... my only child died long ago. So no matter how many lives pass me by, I'm still here." He twiddled his thumbs, not meeting the dancer's eyes. "I'm sorry, miss. But I don't think you or your friends are ready to hear the truth. It's just too darn much." The former king rattled out a hollow-sounding sigh.

His response surprised Primrose. Silently she regarded the goat man and considered whether or not she should press him. He was being honest about withholding information, and apparently did so for their sake. If they didn't learn the truth now, they could come to know it eventually - but patient as Primrose was, the ominous answer would sit with her for a while.

"Alright," she said after a few moments, voice soft. "If it won't help us, then I'll leave it be for now. But if... whatever it is might interfere with our plan, I think we have a right to know."

Asgore nodded stiffly. "It shouldn't. But if you do manage to finish the job here in the Under, and you still want to know, I'll tell you then."

Good enough. Primrose gave him a nod of her own, fully intending to hold him to that. She finished the last of her tea that had gone cold and bid the former king goodbye for now. Once Teemo, Rubick, and everyone had their fill of tea, cookies, and questions it was time to move on. The group ventured outside to look for the "green pipe," the path to the Home of Tears.

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Meeting a sadistic Bastard of a Storyteller and Jokester.

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