Yankee

Greetings and Salutations.

Welcome to RPG!

Mahz's Dev Journal

As for "You", I'm not sure why it needed to be changed. Your username already made it pretty clear that it was you/your profile link.

@Kuro

I do agree with Kuro on this point, especially if the account switcher Legend mentioned in the discord a little while back becomes a thing, it will be easier to know which account you are on if it says the account name. Here is the preview they linked for it before.

It is pretty cool to see all the changes going on though. Thank you for your work!

World of Light

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 172/80 ------ Level: 6 - Total EXP: 112/60
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
Word Count: 3304 (+4 exp)
Location: The Under

Before any plans were made, any consensus was reached, or any future rendezvous point was established the Seekers once again went their separate ways. Primrose watched them all filter out, some with incredible haste and others casual but quick. She dropped her chin into her palm as the lastest Seeker left the cafe, leaving only herself and Therion remaining at the table. It was a little funny; at first glance she wouldn't have pegged some of these people as the flighty types, and yet off they all went.

Therion took one of the vacated seats. There was a crease in his brow when he said, "Is it just me, or did nothing actually get decided?"

Primrose let out an amused puff of breath. "Seems like we'll be staying in the city for a little longer, but as for after that, who knows?"

The thief slumped in his chair and crossed his arms, his tail sticking out of the back and thumping against the floor. He was keen to get out of the rainy area and onto finishing their mission so they could ultimately return to the surface. They didn't need this mask finding fetch quest to drag on any longer than it had to. Maybe next time the group could put the decision to a vote before splitting, or draw lots for the winner to decide where to go.

"Guess I'll find something to do," Therion sighed. The request boards that dotted the city held no interest to him. He could be practical and stock up on food for the road, or go find the missing Seekers... or he could catch up with the group heading to the auction house and see what valuables were up for sale. Not that I'd be buying anything, he thought to himself. Even though he had a nice chunk of change between the money recovered from Consul P's room, that treasure he'd found in the waterway, and the various other gems he'd sold off, he had other ways to procure something he wanted. An auction heist would be a classic caper to flex his skills in. While turning the thought over in his head, Therion glanced at the dancer across from him. "What about you?"

"Hmm~" Primrose adjusted her posture and considered her plan for the rest of the evening. She had no pressing matters to attend to, personal or otherwise. She could return to her room and rest, maybe do some self care. Soaking in a warm bath would be nice after being rained on all day and night. However, something she'd been thinking about since long before they'd come to the Under pushed to the forefront of her mind once more. Something that would be beneficial for her and the rest of the group.

"A bit of shopping maybe," she replied after a few moments. She didn't need to look at Therion to know he probably had a curious look in his eye. "You remember Panther and the other Phantom Thieves, yes?"

There was a noncommittal noise from Therion. Primrose went on. "They had this... device. It was for communicating. It fit in their ear, and they were able to speak and listen over a distance. That fox... er, Fox had one too. I remember how useful it was, even though I didn't know how it worked. I assumed at first it was some sort of magic, but..." She struggled to explain it with her limited scope of technology, but her friend got the gist. "Anyway. I'd like to find something like that."

"That kind of thing would be useful," Therion agreed. "Then we wouldn't have to try and catch people by chance to meet back up. Can't help but notice no one picked a new time or place to gather. Again."

From the disorganization among just the Purple Team, he couldn't imagine the larger "Seeker" alliance. There were other groups out there too, or at least one more - the others they'd met at Twilight Town. "Kind of a miracle a group like this can even function without some kind of communication, huh?"

"Having a base of operations to return to helps," Primrose said, catching onto what he meant. "But since we don't have one down here, and given how easy it seems to be to get lost in these tunnels..."

The dancer trailed off, but her decision was made. She was definitely going to search out an item that would help them all stay in contact with the rest of her time in the city. She stood up and smoothed out her dress, preparing for another walk through the rain. "If you've nothing better to do, care to join me?"

"Why not?" Therion's umbrella was already half open before they even got to the door.

Together they ventured to the merchant shops of the city. The people they spoke with helped point them in the right direction when the two tried their best to explain what it was they were looking for. It was a learning experience, but soon enough they had all kinds of vocabulary to help their search. "Communicator," "codec," "earphones," "ear pieces," "wireless," "phone," "radio." However despite being armed with new information, actualy locating something like that was easier said then done. Few stores carried anything even remotely similar, and those that did had limited range. The last shopkeeper they spoke with mentioned the only people that could be seen using that type of magitech were the Mermaid Corps.

Primrose and Therion stopped under one of the city's rain shelters, considering their options.

"So this plan is a bust," Therion started off with, still holding his umbrella up even under the canopy. "Unless..."

"Unless..." Primrose repeated, raising an elegant eyebrow. She was fairly sure she knew where his train of thought was going. "...we take the communicators from the town guard?"

"Sure. Think about it. We took care of the dictator and his cronies, killed a lot of huge monsters nearby, what else has this place got to worry about? Plus we're leaving soon anyway."

He had a point. It was something Primrose wouldn't have considered on her own, but now that she was... well, there was no better person to have plan a theft than the man next to her. "That's true... and I'd say we need it more, even. Saving the world trumps protecting one city, surely?"

"Exactly." The thief smirked. They chatted quietly, coming up with a few plans of action.

The first part would be information gathering, which meant finding a guard. Normally that was something that should have been a little easier considering what they were used to with large cities, though it seemed the law enforcement was sparse down here. They set out from under the cover of the shelter.

"Look." Therion jerked his chin to indicate a member of the city's Mermaid Corps a little farther ahead of them. The mermaid was at attention in the canal, and sure enough a hand was pressed to her ear while the look on her face said she was clearly listening in on something.

They put step one into action. Primrose did a quick appearance check and then plastered a kind, somewhat naive smile on her as she approached the mermaid. She planned to make some small talk and casually bring up the device, but if needed she could usually seduce women just as well as men. She didn't expect trouble.

"Excuse me," she said, shy and sweet. The guard turned to her sharply, only just noticing Primrose. Her eyes studied the dancer briefly before narrowing, and then her gaze searched the vicinity until they landed on Therion. The man stiffened in surprise, which made the mermaid's expression harden. There's no way we're caught out that quick, he thought.

"Is this human troubling you, sir?"

"...huh?"

"Er..."

The mermaid held a hand up to Primrose and swam closer to Therion, rising out of the water with the aid of some air-flotation device. Therion's ears were standing straight up and his tail bristled out. He glanced at Primrose, who was a little red faced about being so rudely ignored, and saw the dancer miming the cat ears on his head with her hands. ...right, right. They probably think I'm a beastman or something. Jeez...

"No, she's... uh, helping me," he said. He cleared his throat, smoothing over his prior alarm. Thinking fast he spoke the first lie that came to mind. "We're trying to find the Mermaid Corps' main office and having some trouble."

In the corner of his eye he could see Primrose shoot him a questioning look, and he aggressively thought "what did you expect me to do, I'm on the spot" in her direction.

"Why?" the mermaid asked. She glanced over her shoulder at Primrose and leaned in a little, whispering, "If there's something you need to report, you can tell any guard, anytime."

She seemed earnest, even if she was barking up the wrong tree. Therion was nearly at a loss on how to handle this. Maybe just go with it? He took a deep breath and whispered back, "it's okay, it's not... serious. Wouldn't want to disturb your post. We're going to sort it out, if you could point us in the right direction..."

When the mermaid gave him a look of sympathy he had to clench his jaw in order not to give the game away. She dutifully gave him some directions. He thanked her and hurried away with Primrose in tow, slightly mortified by the whole experience.

"Well. What a role reversal. You played damsel in distress well for an amateur."

"Cut it out."

After that encounter, Primrose pursed her lips. She knew that the Home of Tears was a monster city for the most part, but she hadn't actually encountered any problems so far for being a human. Not to mention the city's elite seemed to be humans themselves; that mage, the Agarthans, maybe even the late Consul though it was hard to tell. Perhaps that was the problem, the common folk were scared to cross a human for fear it would be the wrong one, while the city guard had no such qualms.

"Things may go better if I had a disguise." The Koopa Prince had mentioned some kind of "tape" that recorded monsters and could transform the user into them temporarily. Maybe she should give it a try? Though where she would find the actual "tape player" she didn't know. Then maybe a small fusion enough to give her some non-human traits? She'd have to chose her target carefully...

"...you look like you're considering murder," Therion said to her, voice low but blunt. Primrose glanced at him and smiled briefly. She had been doing just that. The two travelers were heading in the direction the guard pointed them, and if they were really thinking about doing this then they needed to get rid of any disadvantages they could. Therion pulled the fake horns off of his head and offered them to Primrose.

"Here, I dunno how much it will help but if you hide the band with your hair it might look like natural horns."

"Thank you." The dancer pushed her own head piece back farther on her scalp and fitted the Loki's Horns into place. Thankfully since they were solid black and simple, they didn't clash with her outfit. "It will be better than nothing."

They continued on, and though yet to complete step one the plan hadn't really changed. Thankfully the next guard they met was a friendlier one. She stood on her tail, stationed in front of a watertight sphere above a body of water and a bold sign that declared "MERMAID CORPS."

"Greetings! Do yoü need assistänce?" she asked. She had a strange way of speaking, but she smiled kindly when she spoke. Primrose returned her smile.

"Just some questions, if you have the time."

"Of cöurse! Möst öf the ötter guards äre oüt dealing with flukes, since I was left behind I häve been so böred... whät questiöns do yoü have?"

Honestly Primrose didn't think this mermaid would have to be fooled out of the information, she seemed happy to chat. Without further ado Primrose motioned to her own ear and asked, "Actually we were wondering about the thing the mermaids use to communicate. We've been curious about it for a while and have hardly seen anything like it."

"Oh!" The guardswoman reached up and, to both Primrose and Therion's surprise, took what looked like a pearl earring from the inner most part of her head fin and showed it to them. "The Linkpearl, yes?"

It wasn't anything like Primrose expected. Was it as simple as enchanted earrings? Who could sustain such magic? "Yes. How does it work?" she questioned. The mermaid giggled sheepishly.

"I dön't really knöw. It ist cönnected to a Linkshell thät the captäin has, büt besides thät?" She shrugged.

Even though the guardswoman claimed not to know much, what she had told them was a lot more than the travelers had before. They were on the right track too by coming here, if the main part of the device was with the captain it stood to reason that the captain was here at the headquarters.

"Speaking of, we were also hoping to meet with the captain," Therion chimed in, completely winging the next part of their plan. This time Primrose didn't question it, especially when the mermaid in front of them gestured to the sphere beside her.

"I'll escört yoü! Büt she might be büsy, so yoü may have tö wait."

The three of them stepped into the diving bell, and after the door closed it plunged into the water. The mermaid introduced herself as Irenes, chatting casually with Primrose as the bell descended. Therion had his arms crossed, ears flat, and eyes closed for the majority of the short trip. Long before they came to a stop the station could be seen through the glass.

"Wäit here," Irenes told them when the bell's doors opened into the lobby. Even here the guards' presence was minimal. In fact they saw only one other mermaid that hardly sparred them a glance as she went by. Being underwater they must not worry about security here at their headquarters - a fact that would work out just fine with thief and accomplice.

"So what's the plan now?" Primrose said quietly. She recalled that ever since getting to really know Therion in Orsterra, she'd kind of wanted to tag along on one of his jobs. He never let any of the other seven come along unless it was absolutely necessary, and most of the time it wasn't. Now, she was decidedly less excited about it. They were underwater, in the town guard's station, about to meet their captain. In order to steal their "Linkshell," that they didn't know what it looked like. Then they had to leave with it.

"Get the thing and get out," Therion replied. Primrose looked at him, frowning. "You can't be serious."

"Things have been going good so far, right?" he countered. "When luck's on your side for once, don't question it. Just go with it."

"...this explains a lot about the situations you've found yourself in," Primrose sighed. The thief bristled, the manacle on his wrist clinking against his hidden weapons when he turned in order to refute her.

"NGAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I will defeat you!!"

The sudden shout silenced the two of them. It sounded like it came from somewhere down the hall. Following it was the murmur of some voices, the scrape of furniture. Another, more muffled yell of frustration. The sound of a door slamming open. It was a couple minutes later that a tall, blue skinned, red haired fish woman with an eye patch stormed through the lobby. She was holding two halves a pencil between her fingers, and she didn't so much as notice the station's guests as she went from one hall to another. She was flanked by a frog-like girl who held a stack of papers.

"I'm taking a break!" Undyne announced while on her way, sending the paperwork in the frog's grasp a scathing look. "Round two soon to come! And I WON'T LOSE! But right now I need to fight something ELSE!"

She was already gone when Irenes trailed back into the room, her voice echoing throughout the station. Irenes beckoned the travelers over, giving them an apologetic smile.

"Captäin Undyne will see yoü when she retürns. This wäy."

Primrose reassured the mermaid that it was fine, letting her take them down the hallway.

"Don't question it, just got with it," Therion repeated, hissing the words through his teeth as they were led to the captain's office.

The interior was much like a normal room. There was an oaken desk, a small bookshelf, and a filing cabinet. It was not one of the completely glass domes they'd seen from outside, giving the captain some privacy. Behind the desk mounted on the wall was a sword, and besides a few chairs the only other feature was a small spinet against one wall, its keyboard cover open.

"I am süre she will be bäck soön," Irenes said, though she didn't sound too confident in her statement. "I am göing bäck to my post, büt I will leave the diving bell döwn here for yoür return. Mäke sure to say hellö on yoür way öut, okäy?"

"Of course," Primrose promised. "Thank you, Irenes."

Once left to their own, Primrose and Therion gave it a few seconds before they looked at each other.

"Much too easy," the dancer said, keep her voice soft on the off chance someone, somewhere, could hear them. They'd just happened to find who had to be the friendliest member of the Mermaid Corps on a day that many of the Corps was away on a mission, and now their captain indisposed? Primrose could laugh at the absurdity of it. "This doesn't bode well for the future."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Now come on, let's see what we can find."

It did not take long at all to find what they were looking for. The Linkshell was just as its name implied. It looked like it could be a cross between a conch and a scallop, and it was the only object of its kind in the room. Furthermore when Primrose gingerly picked it up and turned it over, she found a Linkpearl of the same kind Irenes had inside of it. She picked up the small earring, and in its place another grew inside the shell.

"Amazing." Primrose removed one of her earrings and fit the Linkpearl in its place. She touched two fingertips gently to the pearl and focused, a grin growing on her face when she could hear the discussion of Mermaid Corps members.

"This is it," she confirmed with Therion. The man nodded, and as tempted as he was to rifle through the rest of the small space he was already heading towards the door. Primrose followed with the shell tucked in her bag. Mission accomplished.

She didn't realize she'd still had her hand pressed to her ear until she heard a confused voice asking, "What's it?"

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"Someone said 'This is it.'"

"Who?"

"Not me."

"Stop clogging up the Linkshell and focus!"

Oh dear. Primrose hurriedly removed the earring and shoved in her bag next to its shell. She'd have to figure out how to disconnect the Mermaid Corps "frequency" (another term one of the shopkeeps had taught her) or find someone who could. She spurred Therion to walk a little faster, and though he didn't know what got her worried he didn't need much convincing, just as eager to get out of the town guard's home turf. Within minutes they were back in the bell and rising to the surface in order to bid Irenes good bye and, hopefully, make a clean getaway.

World of Light

Word Count: 703 (+1 exp)
Level: 4 - Total EXP: 129/40
Location: Dystopiascape - Midgar: Sector 06

After Giovanna informed everyone that the other half of the Seekers in Midgar also had suffered a loss, being Princess Peach no less, a lot of the optimism Pit had tried drumming up evaporated. They'd been in battle, casualties should be expected (and they weren't even dead, just compromised), but it still stung. He found himself at a loss of what to say, so he stayed quiet.

He remained quiet, uncharacteristically so, throughout the move from Seventh Heaven to Sector 06. At certain points he even had his eyes tightly closed. To the outside observer it might have looked like he was meditating, at least until his eyebrows pinched together and his nose wrinkled up. After that it appeared he might have been thinking of something unpleasant, perhaps ruminating on what had happened with Poppi and Peach. That wasn't technically correct, but it was part of it.

What Pit was actually trying to do was the same thing he'd been trying over the last several days: contact the Goddess of Light.

Lady Palutena's wisdom would be invaluable right about now. She always knew what to do, and how best to help people. He knew that he didn't really have anything to do with the mental connection between himself and Palutena - it was all a result of the Goddess establishing and maintaining that link with her telepathy. Even so he couldn't just give up on trying to reach out to her, even if he had no idea how to.

Come on, Pit! Just... think... harder! Graaaah!! He raised his finger tips to the laurel crowning his head, imitating Raz and some other psychics.

By the time everyone had reunited in the Hublink just outside of Sector 06, the only thing Pit had managed to do was give himself a headache.

So it was that when they rolled up together to the security check point and needed to find a way in for all of them past the robotic guardsmen, the angel couldn't offer a solution faster than Blazermate or Midna. They'd come to the same conclusion, one that was pretty simple: teleport in. "Can't argue with that," he said.

Pit himself was part of the group waiting on Blazermate to set up her teleporter. In the mean time some of the Seekers picked through the clothing Midna dropped off before joining those going through the checkpoint, but just as he'd done the morning before Pit declined to change.

"The angel's code of conduct says that we must always be ready for duty," he stated matter-of-factually, the same code he'd quoted yesterday. "Plus this has to count as 'high society!' It's a divine uniform."

He would end up sticking out, but that wasn't a concern of his. His chiton was a little dusty but still intact, and the gold accented ensemble had to count for something didn't it? At least it would be better than, say, Geralt's grizzled armor...

When finally they were summoned through the teleporter into the City of Glass, Pit looked around at the shining city and let out an impressed, "Wooooow. Tt's big! And bright! Super sci-fi." This is where Tora mentioned the "high tech super-rich" lived and worked, and it certainly looked the part. The people around them looked the part too, and Pit had to admit some of their fashion sense were kind of cool. Maybe he could be convinced to find something to blend in with, as long as it fit over his regular outfit.

Now that they were there, it was time to get a move on. Goldlewis pointed out the enormous V-shaped building as their destination, or close enough to it anyway. Wonder what that place is even for. Are the rooms inside it slanted? Must be owned by someone really full of themselves... As for getting there, since it was across the water, a boat would be the easiest wouldn't it? Pit nodded, agreeing with Tora suggestion. A suggestion which quickly devolved into stealing, requisitioning, and even mind controlling.

"Wait, wait!" Pit exclaimed, eyes wide and looking between Midna, Zenkichi, and Geralt. "As cool as it would be to flash a badge like, Police, I need your vehicle! We could just ask first, you know?"

Expedition to Isekai

______________________________________________________________________

The moment that Masato realized he wasn't going to best this monster with his new found strength, he felt the flame in his chest flicker. A flash of doubt in the most frustrating way; he could almost do it, close but not close enough. When the fact set in it was too late to bail and try another strategy. He was lifted up, his stomach flipped, and then he was smashed into the ground once more.

He let out a strangled shout as he felt his breath leaving his lungs. The lacerations on his back had already healed, a small blessing that he didn't feel any more pain besides the weight of the beast pressing down on him, but what did it matter if he was going to die anyway? He might have preferred that it hurt more as proof of his struggling - it was about all he could do at the moment after all. Both of his hands were still wrapped around the hulking creature's paw though he couldn't dislodge it. He strained against its press, trying to get his legs underneath him again. He was pretty effectively pinned, and hadn't regained breath enough to call out for help.

Looking up at his captor, Masato could swear that the beast was grinning back down at him. A chill spread through his body along with an inkling that these things were not just alien animals, not really. Even with the ability to shoot magic lasers, he'd expected that they'd be dangerous but simple, predictable... but the fact that they'd split up, that there was a trio firing on them to support their larger pack mates, that there was a creature waiting in the wings, that this one hadn't yet killed Masato despite rendering him almost completely vulnerable... it all suggested a capacity for thought. For violence beyond just survival.

It flexed its shoulder and pushed down harder, the look in its eye bringing him to another time his back had been pressed into the dirt, an overwhelming presence above him keeping him there.

"You've been acting really entitled lately," that presence growled. "Now you won't even greet your family properly?"

Right, that was how it started this time. It was already well into the evening by the time Masato had gotten home from cram school, he'd had a headache and brushed by Akito and his parents on the way to the small kitchen. A snide comment followed him there, though he couldn't recall what it was. He could tell his brother was in a bad mood, but still ignored whatever it was Akito was saying while he pulled leftovers from the fridge. The flick of a lighter reached his ears and annoyed him. The smell of smoke that followed incensed him. He remembered rounding on Akito when he heard their mother coughing from the other room. Remembered telling Akito to put the cigarette out and the bark of laughter he'd gotten in response, and how he'd snatched the thing and snapped that he didn't feel like dealing with Akito's shit that night. He definitely remembered thinking that was the wrong thing to say, but not how they'd ended up outside afterward.

He hadn't realized he was still holding the cigarette until Akito ripped it from his hand while pressing a knee into his chest. When his brother spoke again it was after a long drag and smoke billowed from his mouth around the words.

"Why don't you give oniisan an apology, then we'll be done with this." For today went unsaid.

"Akito—"

"O-nii-san."

"—get off me!" Masato snarled. He grabbed a fistful of his brother's shirt and dragged him in closer. The angle was bad for a punch but he went for it anyway, barely cuffing Akito's chin before the older of the two retaliated. He took hold of Masato's collar and raised the boy up to slam him back into the ground.

"So fucking annoying, always thinking you're better than me," Akito hissed, his patience run out already. "Spoiler alert Masato, you're just the same!"

It hadn't been much of a tussle that time. Some days Masato liked to think he could give as good as he got, but it wasn't one of those days. It ended with a small, circular burn on his skin. He felt those ashes, that heat now under the monster's foot. The memory helped burn away some of the chill of dread he'd been feeling - right now he was still alive and he needed to do whatever he could to stay that way. He had to make it back home and tell off his asshole brother one more time, see the look on his face when he got on that plane.

He gathered air into his lungs again, but didn't cry out for anyone to come to his rescue. He'd gotten himself into this predicament by overestimating his strength, and he'd get himself out somehow. Masato curled, wrapping his legs around the monster's limb to use as leverage. His plan was much the same as it had been before: snap this thing's bones. He shifted his grip so that he could twist, hoping to force its foot to twist with him in an unnatural, painful way. Even if he couldn't break its digits, if he could get it to let go in order to escape its pin that would be good enough. He could figure something out from there.

Expedition to Isekai

______________________________________________________________________

Masato woke up.

He didn't remember falling asleep. Hadn't planned on it either, but the day's events must have tired him out more than he'd thought. When his eyes opened late into the night he felt rather disoriented. That was Kanamori yelling, wasn't it? Laser bullshit? What...?

He sat up quickly, because even if he didn't know what she was talking about if she was shouting at all it had to mean there was trouble. He soon learned that "laser bullshit" had been literal. The blast of light sliced through the bus frame that Masato had been seated outside of, scattering the students inside. Someone cried out in pain, which kicked Masato in gear. He scrambled up and around to where everyone was gathering outside.

The story Maeda told earlier buzzed around his head. 338 causalities. They couldn't even go one night without fending off more monsters. He could see them, eyes adjusting easily to the dark of the Otherside. He could also see Inaba running off again, this time with Kanamori at her side. "...!" Don't he started to shout, only to bite the word off before it left his throat. Don't, it's dangerous, don't, you're splitting the group. But Inaba and Kanamori were both "changed." He'd seen Inaba recover from what would have been a fatal impact hours ago. If those fucking laser wolves were content to stay away and snipe them, someone should go put a stop to it.

Which left five of the changed students, including himself, to deal with the other problem.

Three more monsters emerged from the forest on the other side of the bus, cutting off their escape route. They were huge, way too huge to be able to sneak up on them as easily as they had. Yet here they were, and already on the attack. Masato was too late to do anything about Bansen getting struck, didn't even notice Ohta separating from the group as he made his own dive forward. He collided with the two girls the monster had been aiming for, all three of them tumbling out of the beast's path.

After recovering he wanted to tell Kondo and Takehara to run, but where the fuck would they even go? Realistically, escape wasn't an option. Even if was, it meant leaving their injured peers for dead. They had to kill these monsters, or else show them that the prey there were after was too much trouble than it was worth.

"Get the rest of those spears Inaba was making and stick together with everyone," he instructed the girls, his voice harsh. He didn't check to see if they followed his order, just turned back to the hulking monsters threatening them. He felt the furnace in his chest heating up, coals stoked by yet more danger having found them.

Could he do the same thing he'd done against the earlier wolf-bears? Catch its limbs, force it still enough for everyone to pierce its body and skewer it? Masato knew something had happened inside of him and he was stronger now than he was before, but was he strong enough to contend with monsters like this? They were at least twice as big as the wolf-bears from before. But what else could he do but try? There were two monsters up close, and of the students able to contend with them... He wasn't sure if Stewart was well enough yet, he didn't know where Kogen had ended up, Todokawa had taken a wound, and Hoshino...

"Hoshino!" Masato barked. He didn't know what his fellow councilman was planning with the phones, but it seemed like the other boy was panicking. "Focus! Keep these things away from the others."

And when the nearest elephant-wolf brought its massive paw down again in order to crush Masato this time, he caught it in both of his hands.

"Damn monsters," he growled. He tested his strength against the beast, intending to snap the bones in its foot. Seconds passed, he struggled, and his eyes widened as the realization that his half-baked plan was in danger of falling through. In the test of strength, he was losing.

World of Light

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 168/80 ------ Level: 6 - Total EXP: 108/60
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
Word Count: 1398 (+3 exp)
Location: The Under - City of Tears

At the cafe Primrose had her mug of coffee pressed to her lips, pleasantly pleased at the compliment Ms. Fortune had paid her. I do look good, don't I? she thought to herself as she sipped her drink. It was more on the bitter side, as she liked it. As they sat together Nadia brought up her thoughts on her own fusions, and Primrose considered them. She let the other woman talk about not losing sight of who they were, seriously thinking on the topic before she set her mug down and leaned in with her arms folded on the table in front of her. "I've thought about that, but really isn't this who we are, now?"

Her eyes dropped briefly to her drink, observing her murky reflection on the surface of what remained.

"The sum of our parts. Whether something we chose, like fusing, or something we didn't. I remember what I looked like before very well; I was shorter, smaller. Definitely didn't have these," she sat back and curled an arm to show off the muscle there, less pronounced than before she'd fused with Cornelia but still apparent that she had some strength. Inspecting herself was something she'd always had to do in Sunshade. Making sure she looked presentable, and desirable, had been a part of her job. "But even after changing I still feel like I'm me. Maybe it is the smoothing over as you put it, but..."

Primrose smiled. The nature of spirits, fusing, everything, was still mostly a mystery - maybe it was possible to lose yourself in them. But for now, it was just another change in her life. "Well, at risk of sounding like Professor Albright, who knows what their true self is anyway? Everyone changes as time goes on, and at least this kind of change was our decision, no?"

She didn't know Ms. Fortune's background, but she couldn't imagine that the Feral was looking for a philosophical discussion, and since Primrose wasn't either they let the topic pass into the actual power gained from such fusions. Nadia's earlier joke about coffee hadn't gotten a reaction from the dancer, but her second pun earned an amused giggle. "Right. Though I think that goes for a lot of us too."

It was certainly a feat juggling everything she could do now, but it only meant that she was more powerful and had more options. A good thing, in her opinion.

It was at that point that the Koopa Family got their orders and came to sit down with them, Queen Sectonia appearing shortly afterward. Primrose scooted over to give them all some space as chairs were pulled over. If many more joined them they'd have to drag another table into the mix too. Ms. Fortune laid her map on the table for everyone to see, showing the areas the group had been to. Primrose hadn't expected a magical map, that was incredibly useful. That map maker is undercharging, she thought, recalling how bare bones she'd found it earlier. Now it was a little more filled out. Her eyes trailed over it, tracing the vague path she and the Koopa Family had taken to arrive in the City of Tears. The 'Bough' must have been that massive tree they'd made their way down. Was it part of the Colorless Wood they'd found themselves in before? It was hard to pinpoint on the map.

"I wonder if little Barnabee has any insight on these areas," she mused aloud. He was a native to the Under, and his queendom was somewhere down here. "He mentioned needing help and was willing to wait until we all reunited. Now that we have, perhaps we should head that way next."

Rika explained the Crumble Cavern section of the map, ending with a bold statement about making money that saw Primrose covering her mouth with her palm to hide her deep amusement over it (and Kamek's concern about it too). A familiar feeling washed over Primrose as the group poured over the map and talked. She'd done this many times in Orsterra in inns and taverns. She could practically picture Tressa standing across from her, scoffing at Rika's words and trying to get her back on the path of an honest day's work or the professor marveling over a self-updating map and soaking in Kamek's explanations about the Koopa culture's royal hierarchy. Despite being filled with undead, the cafe's atmosphere made the scene a cozy one.

She finished her coffee while the Flame Clock was being discussed. It was after that conversation and before the start of the next that Therion found his way to the cafe, his business in the city done. His errand had been relatively quick, just picking up his commission order from Bis the smithy after some adjustments to make sure everything fit. He'd never had anything tailored to him before in his life, so needless to say it had taken a bit of time even after getting over the awkwardness of standing around in his beast form while the felynes strapped everything into place. When he'd shifted back into human form, the armor and weapon he'd paid for disappeared - but remained in place when he tested changing into a feline again. It worked out perfectly. He'd been heading back toward the Habbo Hotel when he came upon the Seekers squeezing into the cafe. As he'd thought, it was really hard to miss them.

The thief stayed under his umbrella until he was already halfway into the establishment, trying to stay as dry as possible. When he quietly joined the Seekers, slotted somewhere under the alien queen's wing, he studied the map laid out on the table.

"We know where we're heading yet?" he asked. Primrose shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Hm." He didn't really care which way they went, so long as they made progress. He was munching on a cookie that had mysteriously appeared in his hand, most likely pilfered from the plate already on the table, when something on the map caught his eye.

"This," he said, pointing to the MTT Resort. "I've seen it before. When we were riding on the cat trains, Jesse, Raz and I came to the Under. It took us to a different area than Dirtmouth and this resort was there."

Weird that it was connected to the Royal Waterways. Then again, there were paths he hadn't taken when he was down there. One of them must have led out to the area around the resort. Therion glanced at the other Seekers gathered. "The most dangerous things I've seen in the Waterways under the city are in one giant garbage dump, if we avoid that it might not be difficult to get to this resort. And the train station should be nearby. If you want to waste more time sleeping, you could stay the night there. Who knows, maybe if a bunch of rich people are staying there you could get rid of some of the Consul's stuff too."

Since it wasn't like sunlight would be a thing down here, Therion didn't see the reason in waiting until tomorrow. But if the rest of them wanted to spend another night in the city there wasn't much he could do about it besides try and find something to occupy his time. He'd said his piece.

Primrose didn't voice her support for any options, besides the initial reminder that they owed Barnabee a favor. She was about to point out that there were still several Seekers missing from the conversation that they should probably round up and at least let know what was going on when one such person appeared. The newly freed Ichiban wanted an explanation, but Primrose only gave him a look of pity.

"It's a lot. And doesn't even make much sense with context," Therion answered unhelpfully.

"What do you mean, 'from a game'?" Primrose asked Ichiban, wondering if he had some insight to share. Was he from the same world as the Consul? But he seemed to know Bowser as well, and the king hadn't mentioned anything like that. Though, it was more likely that the man was mistakenly attributing something from his own world to this patchwork one.

After his answer she blinked and looked at the others. "Would anyone like to do the honors of explaining things to him?"

They really needed a brochure.

What Are You Listening To?

World of Light

Word Count: 536 (+1 exp)
Level: 4 - Total EXP: 129/40
Location: Dystopiascape - Valley of Ruin

The helicopter made what otherwise would have been a long walk a short, awkward ride. Mr. U dropped them off just outside of Sector 07. The place was still standing, abuzz with activity in fact, which told Pit and the other two boys that the machine invasion had failed. Pit smiled when he saw it, glad that at least the mission had been successful despite the losses suffered. Hopefully one of those losses could be reversed; Tora was already working on it with fervor. Though the mood in the area was generally high, when they reunited with the Seekers in some kind of command center the lack of Poppi put a damper on things.

Susie broke the silence, asking what happened. There were more awkward moments where none of Poppi's would-be rescue squad spoke a word. Pit blinked, realizing that Tora wasn't going to say anything. It wasn't his story to tell, and their lack of results weighed on him - but not as much as they did on Roxas, and Tora especially. So it fell to the angel to explain. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before doing so.

"Um, well... We chased Poppi down. She was really serious about getting away, and she almost did, but we caught up to her! She wouldn't let us try to help, and..." he paused. At some point Zenkichi had slipped out of the room, but for the rest that remained he wanted to get them up to speed. He left out the sorrowful cries of his companions, the painful position they'd put Poppi in, the tears disguised by rain. He breathed and out in one deep sigh, his face taking on a resolute expression befitting his occupation as a soldier. "We lost her, in a lake. For now. We're going back to rescue her for real when Tora figures out a cure for her virus-thing."

They could all see the arm as proof that she was still out there waiting for them. Eventually they'd return to the lake and reunite. For now, Pit moved on from his brief explanation. His posture loosened up a little, and a smile ghosted his features.

"There was this giant clock-spidery thingy there with a bunch of those tiny flying machines, but we ditched them. Thanks for picking us up! And you guys managed to get rid of the rest of the robots right? That's awesome!"

Focus on the good news, and going forward. Pit did have to wonder about the other half of the machine army's attack though, all the way in the Detroit area. He crossed his arms and cocked his head. "Do we still have that walkie-talkie from Sakura? Can we check in on the others and what happened with the rest of the robots?"

Considering his "angel radio" had limitless range (when it was working), Pit had no frame of reference for how close together the walkie-talkies had to be to work. If the other Seekers, or Midgard citizens, needed some help they could go lend a hand. There was no telling when Tora would be finished with his work, so it wouldn't do to linger around the area if they were needed elsewhere.

World of Light

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 165/80 ------ Level: 6 - Total EXP: 105/60
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
Word Count: 1134 (+2 exp)
Location: The Under

Neither Primrose nor Therion followed Ms. Fortune out of the tower's window. Instead, they trudged back the way they'd come with most of the other Seekers. At some point Queen Sectonia was summoned away from them, which Primrose took to mean that the Consul was contained and now it was the alien queen's job to use her striker and get some answers. When the other half of their group emerged from the tower with the news that the Consul was dead, it was met with disappointment in varying shades.

"I suppose our plan was too optimistic," Primrose mused, her personal feelings on the matter complicated. They'd violently deposed a tyrant and menace, but said tyrant just so happened to be a child. And in doing so, they missed an opportunity to learn more about the Consuls - who they really were, their plans, their motives. Given how tired she was, she nearly missed the portion of coins pushed her way while she thought about P's fate. "Oh - thank you."

It was a hefty amount, certainly enough to draw Therion away from any thoughts he'd had on the matter. After getting his share the thief hovered around Sectonia whom Kamek had said was holding the stash, his feline ears flicking. "What else did you find?" he asked, but besides the money most everything else were large (well, currently shrunken) pieces one might expect to see in some rich person's manor. Luxury furniture, ornately framed paintings, and the like. Nothing he wanted to deal with once they were brought back to their normal size.

The Seekers hurried away from Gallo Tower as fast as their fatigued bodies could carry them, wanting for rest. Primrose and Therion were of the same mind when they split off from the group: they wouldn't be staying in the Habbo Hotel again. Primrose let the other Seekers know as much before they left to find other lodgings free from the consequences of P's actions. When they found a new motel they booked rooms next door to each other and tucked in for some much needed sleep.

It was a few hours later when Therion woke up. He'd never needed much shut eye, and more often than not didn't have opportunity to get a full night's rest. Even if it was perpetually dark underground save for the city's lights, his internal clock registered as "day," and so he roused himself up, stretched, and left the room.

I doubt we'll be back here anytime soon, he thought to himself. If we get the rest of those mask pieces tonight we'll be killing some monster then crawling out of these tunnels and going back to that base someone mentioned I guess.

He stood outside of the room Primrose was staying in and knocked on the door. He knew her to be an early riser, but that was under normal circumstances. Lately neither of their lives was anything close to normal. When he heard nothing from behind the door he knocked again. This time a shuffling sound reached his ears and a few moments later the door opened to reveal a dancer.

"Again?" Therion asked, unimpressed.

"What? I needed to get stronger."

For Primrose

Notable Spirit Consumed:
Cornelia Arnim (Cleobulus)
This fusion is in most ways a normalizing return-to-form, reigning in the effects of the others. Primrose is three inches shorter, down to 6'0". She's lost much of the muscle mass gained through her Amazon fusion and is down to merely 'toned'. However, her bust is larger still, large enough to be unwieldy. Her hair is shorter at about the middle of her back, it's no longer tied, and though still voluminous and wavy it is now a gradient of reddish-orange to blonde, with no trace of her original brown. Her cowl is much shorter, and the veil is gone, but her bejeweled hairband remains. Her garb has lost a lot of its metal, both in terms of armor and accessories, and has joined together into a long one-piece, double-side-slit burgundy dress with a deep v-neck and bare shoulders, but a sort of mantle all the way around from the chest around the arms to the back, which has black feathers. Her accessories are a uniform pale gold with no more scales, though the talon-rings remain. Her personality is a lot more vain and self-important, but she's no less thoughtful and kind. This spirit confers the Power Luna Λ, granting her access to potent Dark Magic. The moonlight that she can cast in outward blasts or explosive, tracking moons is not that strong, but it completely ignores magic defense / resistance. This spirit also confers the weakness Tomebreaker, which dramatically increases the accuracy and evasion of fistfighters and similar against the host.

Primrose flipped her hair and cowl over her shoulder, quite satisfied with the changes. She'd been honest with herself earlier in that Cornelia's barbs about her looks hadn't gotten to her, but now her appearance was a little closer to what she was used to. Her outfit was more cohesive as well, and she sensed the new addition to her magic repertoire. The latter was most important. If she hadn't fused with the pyromancer days ago she wouldn't have been able to stave off the poison and heal the Seekers, if she hadn't fused with the Rosaria or the Amazon it's possible she wouldn't have been able to recover after taking a direct hit from the Broodmother. The more abilities she had access to, the better.

"Whatever." Therion dismissed the changes and turned to walk down the hall while Primrose adjusted her dress, feather mantle covering most of her cleavage but creating a cheeky window of fabric instead. The dancer closed the door behind her as she moved to follow him.

"It's close enough to the time everyone will meet, but now that I'm not quite so tired I realize we never chose a meeting place." An understandable oversight, considering the exhausting battle they'd had. Most of the Seekers probably stayed at the Habbo Hotel, but there were a few unaccounted for still. Rubick and Omori hadn't gone with them to the tower, so it was possible they were out in the city completely ignorant to what had happened. Ichiban presumably had somewhere else to stay, so who knew where he'd retired to.

"Same lobby as this morning's as good a place to check as any."

"Mhm. Shall we?"

Therion shook his head. "Commissioned something earlier, so I'm gonna pick that up first." The duo had exited their motel and stood under the awning, a pair of umbrellas in each of their hands. Therion glanced in the direction he'd be heading before looking back at Primrose. "I'll meet you all there later. Or wherever."

Even in a city of monstrous folks, it probably wouldn't be hard to find the Seekers again. The Travelers went in opposite directions, simple gray umbrella heading to the smithy and black and white polka dot umbrella toward the Habbo Hotel.

When Primrose arrived it was a little too early to catch most of her companions in passing. She checked in with the clerk, who pointed her in the direction he'd seen one of their party go. She walked leisurely toward the city's center where a large fountain connected each district. It was a good place to stake out for people passing through, and Primrose wasn't disappointed to find one of the Seekers in a cafe by the water.

The dancer closed her umbrella and entered the establishment, taking a seat unbidden at the table Nadia occupied. She flashed the Feral a small smile in case she wasn't immediately recognizable as Primrose before flagging down waitstaff to order her own coffee.

"I didn't find anyone at the hotel, so I'm glad I found you here," she said. She was considering some light conversation topics when her drink arrived, so she sipped on that instead. Their world saving mission made it a little hard to get to know each other a personal level, beyond what each of them could offer in battle. There was also a part of Primrose that thought that in the end, it didn't matter. Either way the opportunity to chat would present itself eventually if not now, as Primrose noted the Koopa family passing by. "There they go," she noted, letting Nadia handle calling out to them.