Yankee

"After The Fate I've been through I must continue."

Hey there, welcome! Should be plenty of RPs that would fit a character like that here. Good luck finding one, and have fun!

What Are You Listening To?

Expedition to Isekai

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It was a weird feeling, having Stewart on his side for once. Though putting it like that seemed wrong, there shouldn't be any sides in a situation like this. Regardless, Masato listened to the taller boy shout that no one had made him the leader (technically true), and that he had a point. It was better than nothing. He didn't let Stewart touch him for longer than it took to push himself and Kanamori farther away from each other, shrugging the hand off of his shoulder.

Masato glanced at the other students to gauge their reactions. The unchanged, the ones they had protected, surely they felt the same way as he and Stewart. But the others, were they all as angry as Kanamori? If he had to guess, in regards to his childhood friend the answer was probably yes. Before Masato could look Kogen's way, Stewart's tirade continued into an attack on the fighting capabilities. He was going too far, so much so that Kanamori's rage crumbled and she bolted away from everyone.

"Kanamori..." Should he go after her? He really didn't want to split the group up now that they'd all found each other again, but she couldn't have gone that far. Masato had taken one step in the direction the girl had gone in before a sharp, broken shout echoed around the area.

His head snapped to Hoshino, sobbing on the ground next to Bansen. His reaction was alarming, but his words even more so - he wasn't able to heal the other boy? Why? Was he too far gone?

Masato's eyes first found Okumura, since she had basically been the class' nurse since yesterday morning. Just as quickly as his gaze found her, they slid off of her. Even though she was alive (thanks to leaving her behind, he reminded himself), there was still a small measure of guilt that made him look away from her. But there was still a student begging for help, a fellow council member no less, and who was Masato if he couldn't try to be the helpful council president?

He brushed past Stewart, rushing back to Bansen's side. He fell beside Hoshino, letting his knees hit the dirt while his hands hovered nervously in front of him.

"How?" He asked. How can I help? "What should- how do you heal them?"

They were both Awakened, so he should be able to do whatever Hoshino did to heal someone, right? He just had to learn it. If he could see it properly once, maybe he could imitate it. If he couldn't, then... another one of them would die right here.

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_@baraquiel

World of Light

Word Count: 459 (+1 exp)
Level: 4 - Total EXP: 175/40
Location: Dystopiascape - Midgar

From what Pit could grasp while on the way to meet up with the other teams, the city's government agents had finally arrived. A whole third faction, but since they were late to the party all the work was already done for them. The Seekers had pretty much dismantled both DespoRHado and Vandelay, so what else was left for the administration to do? Besides swoop in and arrest people. People including the Seekers. Pit sighed as they rode the elevator down, crossing his arms while Giovanna and Korsica sent the map Sandalphon's way.

"It'd be nice if we could be celebrated heroes sometimes," he said, "you know with confetti, and food, and cheering and all that stuff." Since almost the entire world was brainwashed, it was probably asking a lot. But always being on the run was getting tiring. At least after collecting Benedict the old man's healing striker had made the angel physically feel better.

When all of the teams met up again in the courtyard, there were some relieved sighs but not much fanfare. There were also two missing, Raz and Tora. Were they alright? Pit fidgeted, asking after the both of them. Apparently Tora had decided to stay in order to research a way to help Poppi - he was alright. Hopefully he could escape the agents swarming the area so he could actually work on his project. It would be good to have Poppi back as soon as possible. Raz was a different story however, because he had disappeared in the middle of the mission.

...only to reappear again now at the end of it.

"You found Peach?" Pit repeated, hopeful. What a boon it would be if they could rescue her as soon as possible! With some luck maybe Tora would have a break through and the entire group could reunite. He and Peach went way back, sort of, so he'd feel like a jerk if he left her rescue to someone else - he planned to accompany Luka and Raz back even if he was completely out of his element.

At that point a huge tank-looking robot crashed into the area just after Giovanna's warning, spinning its treads and staring down the group. It looked familiar, but Pit didn't dwell on it. As Sandalphon advised, they had to escape as soon as possible lest they get surrounded by the city's forces. Most of the Seekers headed with Korsica to the escape route she'd been mentioning, but Pit turned to the Scarlet Guardians.

"I'll go too!" the angel exclaimed, diving forward to take Raz's hand while Midna took Sakura's, and Roxas took Luka's. He held his other hand out as if they'd form a ring together, regardless if it was needed or not before they teleported.

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 8 - Total EXP: 198/80 ------ Level: 6 - Total EXP: 143/60
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
Word Count: 3788 (+4 exp) (-6 Friend Heart)
Location: The Under

Therion was the first to the ground out of the two Travelers, dismounting the borrowed wyvern and giving it an awkward pat on its neck. He shuffled away from it and closer to the empty hut while taking in the area. It was incredible that a city of this size was so far down underground, but then again they had just come from the comparable Home of Tears. When Primrose alighted among the group a few moments later, her eyebrows were knitted together in concern. True to Barnabee's word the area was all but destroyed already, and pools of residue from the calamity covered a lot of the surface area. There didn't seem to any people left that they could see from here, only monsters - and not the sentient kind like the city they'd just come from.

Once everyone was together they could decide their plan of action, which turned out to be a simple one. After Barnabee told everyone what he remembered, both of the Travelers glanced in the direction of the arboretum. It was a no brainer considering it was the only place they could see that had visible roots growing around it. They would leave the extra exploration to the other Seekers now that their destination was decided. Therion started toward their destination without a word, only casting curious looks at the other points of interest. Primrose was soon to follow, taking only a few moments to make a comment to the others as everyone dispersed to look around.

"Don't forget to check in if you find anything... or run into trouble," she said, tapping her ear. After that she quickly caught up to her friend due to her longer stride, and together they made a beeline for the abandoned arboretum. They avoided the local wildlife as they walked, finding that most of it avoided them in turn. The black pools of sludge were the exception, as even though the Travelers gave them a wide berth if any of the hands reaching out of it spotted them with the eyes on their palms, the entire tar pit would move in pursuit of them. A blast of Primrose's magic felled many of the limbs, but upon discovering that they seemed to regrow themselves very quickly the Travelers focused on outpacing them instead.

Thick, dry roots blocked the front entrance at the building itself, large enough that they could be seen from afar. There was no doubt they belonged to the massive tree whose branches were stretching out of the broken roof. Thankfully windows lined the entire structure, most of them already broken or missing all of their glass entirely. Therion nimbly climbed through one of them, dry grass crunching under his boots once he dropped inside. He was greeted by a musty, earth-rich smell and distant rustling reached his sensitive ears, but the immediate area was safe.

"It's clear," he called up to the window, signalling Primrose to float inside and land beside him.

At first glance the interior seemed to be a large garden featuring a plethora of plant life, and while technically true it became immediately apparent that the whole area was neglected, dehydrated and left to rot. Entire trees withered where they stood, foliage both large and small drooped toward the ground, and many plants had long ago shed their leaves and petals. Many more were already completely dead and shriveled. It made sense - the caretakers of the arboretum had all either died or fled.

They walked slowly down a path of cracked stone. To say it was overgrown didn't seem right. Maybe it had been in the past, but now the plants that had threatened to overtake it were dried up and gone. The grasses that lined it were brittle and yellow. Crimson vines sometimes stretched across the floor, their thorns like jagged teeth. The Travelers avoided these whenever they came upon them.

"At least that foul looking muck isn't as dense here," Primrose commented. Compared to the city's streets and other buildings, the gloom inside the arboretum was little more than puddles - thankfully without any grasping hands growing out of them.

"Yeah, especially if that stuff about it breaking down weapons is true."

"Didn't Barnabee mention that it 'sapped away their lives,' and you're more worried about your sword?"

"Us non-mages kind of rely on them to fight and kill the things that are trying to kill us, like the hand monsters sapping life in the first place."

"You have claws now, don't you?"

Therion did not dignify her question with a response, just rolling his eyes at her as the two of them continued to pick their way through the area. "Anyway, he said the place we're heading is deeper underground right? So I guess we'll be looking for a staircase or something to go lower."

Once a little deeper into the arboretum, the first signs of actual life began to appear. Among the dead and dying plants seedlings scurried on their tentacle-like roots, chasing or being chased by more dried out plants. Without the original inhabitants here to explain, it was impossible to tell if creatures like these had always been here or if the plants evolved to eat each other when the lack of water and sunlight became too hard to bear. Larger, more dangerous looking plants were present but in much smaller numbers, mostly ambling around a small area if they even moved at all. These monsters weren't interested in trying to go after such large prey, so they left the Travelers alone as they walked on. The two of them agreed that if they were attacked, neither of them should use their fire spells. With how dry it was in here, one stray ember could lead to the entire arboretum being torched.

There was no sign of a stairwell or elevator that would take them down that they could see. At ground level, the huge tree's trunk took up a lot of their view. Plants were everywhere else, and along the walls and floors those red thorny vines stretched. However the inside of the arboretum was huge, much larger than it seemed from outside, so they still had plenty more ground to cover.

"What do you say to splitting up?" Primrose asked, glancing at her companion. If there was a way deeper, they were likely to find it faster that way.

"Sure. I'll go that way and put these claws to use."

Therion took his feline form, knowing it would be better suited to exploring a jungle like this even if it was mostly dried up. Primrose went up, using her scarf to get a higher point of view before the two friends went in opposite directions.

Therion slunk through the brush, checking out anything that might be alternate pathways. He did find a staircase that might have led to a lower level, but it was completely collapsed and seemed to have been buried a long time ago. After leaving it behind he decided Primrose's idea of a higher vantage point was a good one. He spotted a tree that might be able to hold his weight and climbed up, leaping from branch to branch. Not seeing anything yet. If this is really a dead end...

He didn't finish his thought, the branch underneath him snapped. He hadn't been that high up and landed on his feet, his fur standing on end. He landed beside a thorny brute, immobile and camouflaged until Therion had dropped in next to it. It uncurled itself, the light behind its eyes glowing bright as it activated. Ugh, I don't feel like dealing with this!

Meanwhile, Primrose had found her way to an area that looked unusual from above. It was a cluster of what looked like leaves and moss, most of it brown and wilting. When she arrived she found a few groups of little creatures, ball shaped with plants growing from them if they weren't already plants themselves. The korpokkur looked up at her sadly as she walked up to them. The few green ones in their numbers came to meet her and held out their little hands, gesturing to their leaves and the leaves of their dried out friends.

"...I'm sorry, I don't understand," she told them, seeing as they had some intelligence. "Do you want water?"

The word water drew the other korpokkur closer, and they all looked up at her with big, sad, hopeful eyes. All she had on her was her canteen, with no other way to conjure water for them. Then again, she could just refill her canteen at any of the rivers they came to pass. The dancer fished the canteen from her bag and poured a little of it on the nearest brown korpokkur. It wiggled happily and slowly turned green itself. The other brown ones queued up for the same treatment, making Primrose chuckle. She repeated the action, half wondering if there was a way to get an ice or water spell soon.

As she was doing this a furry, four legged shape nearby caught Primrose's eye. It was half hidden in the brush on the opposite pathway, stalking another small group of korpokkur. "...Therion?" the dancer asked, standing to get a better look. The shape stilled and then slowly rose to its own full height as the little seedkin scattered away from it. Its fur was matted, his claws long and sharp, roots covered its back and dug into its skin, and from its head a massive flower bloomed. Primrose stood her ground even as a second, previously unseen monster stood up as well. The pair of beasts loomed taller than the dancer, snarling.

So there weren't just plants here, she thought, though with the flowers on their faces that remained to be seen. The hulking animals lunged, but a moment later the dancer vanished. She reappeared behind one of them with her Ravaging Confession and struck. Dark magic rippled through the wounds left by her dagger, making the beast howl with pain. It turned on her quickly and swiped its claws, missing the dancer by a hair as she moved to the side. Its partner did the same, grazing Primrose's skin as it bounded forward and slammed its claws down at her. She jumped backwards, flipping her hair and raising a hand glowing with magic. When she closed it into a fist the Moonlight Waltz erupted around the injured bear, reducing it to ashes with a drawn out yowl.

Drawn by the sounds of battle another beast burst through a dead thicket, sliding to a halt between Primrose and the grizzly host. Therion barred his fangs and roared at the monster, and in return it raised its claws and roared back. Heavy thumping preceded the arrival of the thorned hollow that had been chasing after the thief, and when it crashed through the foliage it barreled towards all three of them. Primrose and Therion were deft enough to avoid it, leaving only the flowering beast to be trampled. It wailed and sank its fangs into the twisted vines that made up the hollow's body, leading the two monsters to start fighting each other.

The Travelers left them to it, departing the scene during the confusion with an entourage of korpokkur in tow. They moved until they were out of earshot, stopping under a willow that had lost most of its branches where Therion took his human form once more. The brown korpokkur trailed behind, while the green ones ran in circles around the both of them.

"So there were some dangerous things in here. I suppose that's to be expected..." Primrose sighed. There was still no sign of any path that Barnabee might have taken. Some of the green korpokkur started tugging at the hem of her dress, drawing Primrose's attention. At the same time, Therion's tail twitched and he turns his head, his nostrils moving.

"I think I can smell water," he said. But he couldn't tell where it was coming from. It could have been from outside if they were close to that small river in this area of the building. The korpokkur hopped on their little feet at this comment, continuing to tug at Primrose. She patted the closest one on the head.

"Maybe a spring somewhere?" she guessed. Standing up straight she gestured for the seedkin to go on, assuming they wanted to show her something. "These little ones seem to want us to follow them. Maybe they know where the water is."

With no other leads they followed the korpokkur, back tracking a little and weaving around the center tree. The creeping red vines grew thicker in this area, and when they stopped again the korpokkur were pointing right to a large cluster of them. They seemed to be growing through a hole in the ground, but there was nothing else to be seen. Therion frowned at the vines, then at the seedkin.

"Here?" The smell of water was a little stronger, but there wasn't any way to access it. Unless... Therion brandished his sword and swung at the nearest tendril. When the blade struck it barely cut through before the entire plant moved. Much more quickly than anything else in the arboretum the vines pulled together, lashing whatever was in their path with thorns. They tore through dirt and leaves, and their chainsaw-like ripping caught the thief as they retracted away from his weapon. He sucked in a breath and darted backwards as bloody cuts opened on his legs. They were quickly tended to by Primrose's Warmth spell while the vines retreated into the hole. After a few seconds they started to crawl back out, reaching towards the areas they had previously occupied. Some of the korpokkur that had run when the vines moved started to peek out from their hiding places.

"Well, what do you think?" Primrose asked, moving her hands to her hips once Therion was healed. The thief scratched the back of his head, frowning harder.

"The water smell got a long stronger when those vines weren't covering the hole. I think it really is a way down." Keeping his distance this time he threw a knife, and the same thing happened. The vines ripped through the immediate area to pull together for defense, and then unfurled themselves to grow back. "But how to get past these... a controlled burn?"

Primrose wasn't sure if that was the best course of action. The fire would surely destroy part of the vines, but there was too much danger of setting the rest of the garden aflame. "How about digging around them?"

She summoned her striker Hippowdon and commanded it to Dig. The Pokemon snorted and got to work while Therion and the korpokkur looked on curiously. It was surprisingly fast at digging, but at a certain point it struck vines that had burrowed into the earth like roots. They ripped into its thick hide when they pulled away and destabilized the soil where the Travelers stood, pulling the both of them and the group of seedkin down below the floor. Thankfully the drop wasn't very far, and the whole lot of them landed in a canopy of soft leaves. One by one they detangled themselves and hopped to the ground.

The difference between the floor they were on now and the one they'd fallen from was like night and day. For one, this new area was green. The plants here were all alive and growing well. On this level, larger plant creatures could flourish due to the water access, and some seemed only able to grow here in the first place. Rehydrated versions of some of the plants upstairs were spotted, much healthier looking than their counterparts upstairs.

There were even some lingering signs of life, like foliage set up around a table to mimic having a conversation. Another stone pathway wound through the area, and with the korpokkur already getting a head start moving along it Primrose and Therion followed them. It led to a great pool surrounded by well nourished korpokkur and other little creatures. The dehydrated korpokkur from above stumbled forward and hopped in, happily letting the water soak into them. Giant lily pads formed a walk way across the pool, leading up to a small stone temple that had seen better days. The Travelers glanced at each other, coming to the same conclusion. If there was a way to get even lower than this, it would be through that temple. They carefully crossed the lily pad road and went inside.

There wasn't much of interest to either of them inside the building. It almost seemed to have been a magic greenhouse of some sort far in the past. Pots lined the halls in many different sizes, along with soil and seeds. Maybe to another person, the prospect of such rich gardening would be like a treasure. Like the rest of the arboretum plants grew everywhere and vines curled around the walls and ceilings, including the aggressive red vines that had been on the floor above. They had smashed through the temple's roof and climbed up to the higher level before spreading... but they didn't originate here. When Primrose and Therion made it to the center of the building, a wide area greeted them. There were smaller pools of water here, and a lot more thorns. The red creepy vines were growing through another, much larger hole in the ground, suggesting another way forward.

"This has to be the right place," Primrose said. Her voice echoed slightly in the space, triggering movement. She and Therion tensed, spotting something - or someone - on the far side of the room. They were laying in a giant flower pot surrounded by the vines, and slowly rising.

The plant woman stirred, emerging from her pot with an exaggerated yawn. She was larger than the both of them, maybe even twice their size. She stretched her arms up over her head and shook her leaves out, and when she cracked her eyes open only to find two strangers in front of her she startled.

"Huh?! Intruders? Trying to ambush me while I was asleep?"

This is unexpected, Primrose thought. She took a step forward, holding up her palms. "No, we're looking for-"

"I-I won't let you! Hyah!" The siren squeezed her eyes shut and waved her arm. On the ground below the Travelers three seeds sprouted. They both knew better to stay in place - they dashed away from the seeds seconds before they erupted into huge, green vines. The vines punched through the earth and then retracted, and with another wave of the siren's arm the same thing happened, new vines sprouting from the ground where the two Seekers had just been standing.

"We're just looking for a way down!" Therion shouted at her.

"She might be holding a mask piece," Primrose reminded, preparing a spell in her hand. "We may have to take her down."

"Mask? I don't have anything like that!" The siren cried. This time she brought her arms in close to her chest, and when new vines appeared they were much smaller and bound into a humanoid shape. "Protect me!"

The animus of will fired its spear-like appendages, both of them breaking against Primrose's Baldur Shell. The dancer returned fire with her Moonlight Waltz. While the newest plant monster staggered, Therion moved in. Throwing daggers embedded themselves in the animus' chest, neck, and head. It twitched, clearly hurt but not yet defeated. Therion continued on past it regardless, headed for the water lily siren herself.

"Hey! You cheater!" She summoned a trio of giant vines to burst forth from the ground again, narrowly missing the thief as he ducked and weaved out of the way. The vines had been crashing against the stone every time they missed, and this time a chunk of rubble was dislodged. It fell onto the mass of creeper vines, triggering a deadly chain reaction.

The vines tore through the entire temple, whipping past Primrose, the animus, Therion, and the siren. They cut ribbons out of all of them, destroying the injured animus in the process. They cracked and shattered the stand that the siren's pot was sitting on, sending her tumbling to the ground where she was at the mercy of the vines when they started to grow back. They started to curl around her, and she did her very best not to shake in panic lest they retract again.

"Oh no... O-okay, you can have all of the seeds here just... please help me!"

The pair of Seekers were bleeding onto the grass while undergoing another bout of Warmth. Neither one of them seemed inclined to assist the siren, and when she realized that the plant woman's eyes started to fill with tears. "You said you were looking for a path down? I might know it! So, come on... please?"

Primrose sighed. The siren didn't seem malicious - maybe they'd just spooked her when they woke her up. Once she completed her spell she gingerly stepped forward around the vines on the ground. Reluctantly Therion followed her.

"We're going to have to pull you out I think," she told the siren, making the woman's eyes go wide. "It seems like it'll hurt, so just brace yourself. I'll fix it afterward."

The siren nodded, letting Primrose take both of her hands. The dancer looked to Therion next, grimacing. "We'll probably get caught in it again," she warned him. "But if you could cut the vine and make it back off for a moment?"

Therion grumbled something that she didn't hear, but he pulled out his shield, tensed his shoulders and raised his arm. When he struck the vines did as expected, and he blocked the stray whips as they moved. They cut up Primrose and tore through the siren's leaves and body while the dancer used her strength to drag the other woman out of the danger zone for when the zines grew back. Once she was free Therion came over to help, and the three of them moved as far from the vines as they could within the room.

The siren blubbered, big tears falling from her eyes and, strangely, her leaves. Primrose patted the plant woman's head and produced a friend heart from her own chest. As she tended to the siren, Therion gave them some space and pressed a hand to the link pearl in his ear in order to let the other Seekers know what they'd found.

"It's Therion. Primrose and I are under the big building with the tree growing out of it. We might have found the route Barnabee took here. ...just watched out for the vines on your way down."

Heiseina: Memories Long Forgotten

Hayashi Sumiko

_______________________________________________ // INFO P E R S O N A L D E T A I L S Full Name - 林純恋 (Hayashi Sumiko) Age - 23 Gender - Female Occupation - Traveling Artist - // PERSONALITY P E R S O N A L I T Y Passionate More than anything, Sumiko is able to pour her entire heart into things she cares about, be they projects or people. From her passion stems both diligence and confidence, as she works hard for results. Her passion is quite obvious when one views her work, and the individuals who have felt her helping hand directed at them say the encouragement can be intense. Pushy Sumiko really likes getting what she wants. Doesn't everyone? But at times she can be a bit forceful in pushing her ideas onto others. She even pushes herself to keep going at something futile, her perfectionist streak showing through. She does have a sense of pride that can prevent her from backing down as well. Free Spirit Since her "liberation" Sumiko has greatly enjoyed doing whatever she likes, whenever she likes. She keeps her options open, as being tied down to one place or idea doesn't suit her at all. Like anyone else she has her rough days, her arguments with others, but ultimately she tries to let everything slide off of her back. Forgive, live and let live. // SKILLSET S K I L L S E T Rhythm and Balance A self-proclaimed expert in traditional dance and hopping back and forth on stage, Sumiko has a very good sense of balance. She has a strong core and her coordination is top notch. She's dexterous and rarely fumbles anything, whether she uses her hands or her feet. Physical Artist Though performance is her greatest love, Sumiko is excellent at working with her hands. Her calligraphy is steady and smooth, her paintings and drawings are detailed and life-like, her pottery comes out even and clean, and of course she can read and write quickly. If you need something written or made for you, Sumiko is your girl - but she can be a perfectionist so it might be a bit of a wait. Persuasive Sumiko has a knack for roping others into doing what she wants. This isn't always aggressive badgering - in fact being a poet Sumiko can be quite cool with her words, and being an actor she can make anything sound like the truth. She doesn't go around lying to people though, that would be uncouth! Tt's just that she can be quite convincing. With some people after a conversation with her they end up running an errand and thinking it was their idea in the first place.

Physical Description Sumiko always stands out in the village due to her taste in clothing: elaborate and stylish. Of course the frames she wears over her eyes are no exception. Even if she didn't dress like that, her shockingly pale hair would make sure that one can always pick her out of a crowd. Her physical appearance is rather plain; her eyes are dull, she isn't the most busty or shapely of women nor is she that tall or short... but she does love to paint herself in varying degrees of make-up. This has the side effect of making her seem more attractive, but the enjoyment of making an art piece of her skin is why she does it in the first place. Although she tries to keep clean its very common to find her with ink stains on her hands, arms, and even her face. Character Conceptualization Painting! Poetry! Pottery! Dance! Drawing! Acting! Storytelling! ...stilling working on the music! Even small towns need entertainment, and Sumiko takes it upon herself to provide that. She's a "jack of all trades" type when it comes to the arts, with the notable exception of song and instrument. Please don't call her tone deaf though, she will vehemently deny it. She was born in Heiseina, her family the last of the dying Hayashi clan. Hers was an old family, once well respected in the valley, so it came as a shock when each passing year saw their prosperity dwindle. No one really knows what happened to the Hayashi family, though some claim that the family's head offended a spirit so badly that it cursed his line for generations. It would explain the sons' early deaths, the daughters' lack of vitality that presented itself through pallid skin and colorless features. Some subsequent family heads were obsessed with turning their luck around. Sumiko's father was one such person, but he died desperate for a son to carry on his name and ended up with two daughters. The clan's fate was sealed. His passing was a sad thing, but for his wife and children it was also a freeing experience. There was a certain liberation in knowing they didn't have to toil on behalf of a doomed family name any longer. Sumiko left Heiseina when she was barely old enough to travel on her own, exploring the valley they lived in and the small hamlets that surrounded it. She met many people and heard many stories - in order to commit them to memory she wrote them down. To keep herself occupied during trips she would doodle pictures to go with her writing. It didn't take long for her to fall in love with art. For her freedom came in the form of a song on the wind, or a brushstroke on canvas. Now, Sumiko is Heiseina's resident artist extraordinaire (self-proclaimed). She's also a decent source of news and gossip, bringing stories and paintings with her all over the valley. She travels very often, taking advantage of not being tied down to one place. When she returns to Heiseina she stays at her family home and mooches off of her more responsible and respectable elder sister. Their mother passed years ago, leaving the large, empty estate to the both of them. She always makes it back in time for festivals, where she insists that she put on the newest play she's written, play a role in local re-tellings of myths and legends, and participates in dance until she can barely move. Though she has a strong passion for all kinds of art, dance and Kabuki are one of her favorite pastimes, so when she can she goes all out. Lately, life in the valley has been slower than normal. There haven't been as many interesting stories to create art about, so Sumiko has been going out a lot more and pestering others in search of something to spark her creativity. Other Information Her older sister's name is Himiko (27) She likes to drink, but can't hold her liquor The only Sign she knows is Wind Her eyesight has started to get worse

Heiseina: Memories Long Forgotten

No relation

_______________________________________________ // INFO P E R S O N A L D E T A I L S Full Name - 林純恋 (Hayashi Sumiko) Age - 22 Gender - Female Occupation - Traveling Artist - // PERSONALITY P E R S O N A L I T Y Passionate More than anything, Sumiko is able to pour her entire heart into things she cares about, be they projects or people. From her passion stems both diligence and confidence, as she works hard for results. Her passion is quite obvious when one views her work, and the individuals who have felt her helping hand directed at them say the encouragement can be intense. Pushy Sumiko really likes getting what she wants. Doesn't everyone? But at times she can be a bit forceful in pushing her ideas onto others. She even pushes herself to keep going at something futile, her perfectionist streak showing through. She does have a sense of pride that can prevent her from backing down as well. Free Spirit Since her "liberation" Sumiko has greatly enjoyed doing whatever she likes, whenever she likes. She keeps her options open, as being tied down to one place or idea doesn't suit her at all. Like anyone else she has her rough days, her arguments with others, but ultimately she tries to let everything slide off of her back. Forgive, live and let live. // SKILLSET S K I L L S E T Rhythm and Balance A self-proclaimed expert in traditional dance and hopping back and forth on stage, Sumiko has a very good sense of balance. She has a strong core and her coordination is top notch. She's dexterous and rarely fumbles anything, whether she uses her hands or her feet. Physical Artist Though performance is her greatest love, Sumiko is excellent at working with her hands. Her calligraphy is steady and smooth, her paintings and drawings are detailed and life-like, her pottery comes out even and clean, and of course she can read and write quickly. If you need something written or made for you, Sumiko is your girl - but she can be a perfectionist so it might be a bit of a wait. Persuasive Sumiko has a knack for roping others into doing what she wants. This isn't always aggressive badgering - in fact being a poet Sumiko can be quite cool with her words, and being an actor she can make anything sound like the truth. She doesn't go around lying to people though, that would be uncouth! Tt's just that she can be quite convincing. With some people after a conversation with her they end up running an errand and thinking it was their idea in the first place.

Physical Description Sumiko always stands out in the village due to her taste in clothing: elaborate and stylish. Of course the frames she wears over her eyes are no exception. Even if she didn't dress like that, her shockingly pale hair would make sure that one can always pick her out of a crowd. Her physical appearance is rather plain; her eyes are dull, she isn't the most busty or shapely of women nor is she that tall or short... but she does love to paint herself in varying degrees of make-up. This has the side effect of making her seem more attractive, but the enjoyment of making an art piece of her skin is why she does it in the first place. Although she tries to keep clean its very common to find her with ink stains on her hands, arms, and even her face. Character Conceptualization Painting! Poetry! Pottery! Dance! Drawing! Acting! Storytelling! ...stilling working on the music! Even small towns need entertainment, and Sumiko takes it upon herself to provide that. She's a "jack of all trades" type when it comes to the arts, with the notable exception of song and instrument. Please don't call her tone deaf though, she will vehemently deny it. She was born in Heiseina, her family the last of the dying Hayashi clan. Hers was an old family, once well respected in the valley, so it came as a shock when each passing year saw their prosperity dwindle. No one really knows what happened to the Hayashi family, though some claim that the family's head offended a spirit so badly that it cursed his line for generations. It would explain the sons' early deaths, the daughters' lack of vitality that presented itself through pallid skin and colorless features. Some subsequent family heads were obsessed with turning their luck around. Sumiko's father was one such person, but he died desperate for a son to carry on his name and ended up with two daughters. The clan's fate was sealed. His passing was a sad thing, but for his wife and children it was also a freeing experience. There was a certain liberation in knowing they didn't have to toil on behalf of a doomed family name any longer. Sumiko left Heiseina when she was barely old enough to travel on her own, exploring the valley they lived in and the small hamlets that surrounded it. She met many people and heard many stories - in order to commit them to memory she wrote them down. To keep herself occupied during trips she would doodle pictures to go with her writing. It didn't take long for her to fall in love with art. For her freedom came in the form of a song on the wind, or a brushstroke on canvas. Now, Sumiko is Heiseina's resident artist extraordinaire (self-proclaimed). She's also a decent source of news and gossip, bringing stories and paintings with her all over the valley. She travels very often, taking advantage of not being tied down to one place. When she returns to Heiseina she stays at her family home and mooches off of her more responsible and respectable elder sister. Their mother passed years ago, leaving the large, empty estate to the both of them. She always makes it back in time for festivals, where she insists that she put on the newest play she's written, play a role in local re-tellings of myths and legends, and participates in dance until she can barely move. Though she has a strong passion for all kinds of art, dance and Kabuki are one of her favorite pastimes, so when she can she goes all out. Lately, life in the valley has been slower than normal. There haven't been as many interesting stories to create art about, so Sumiko has been going out a lot more and pestering others in search of something to spark her creativity. Other Information She likes to drink, but can't hold her liquor The only Sign she knows is Wind Her eyesight has started to get worse

Expedition to Isekai

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Kanamori was acting strange and doing an extremely poor job of hiding it. Masato didn't usually speak with her, in fact the most they'd ever spoken to each other was yesterday while the both of them were part of the water searching group, so it took him a beat or two to realize that she was angry. She didn't do anything until after Hoshino had come over to help lay Bansen down, and then as soon as Masato stepped away to give them some space she got into his face.

Somehow he honestly hadn't expected that the other "changed" students would be upset. For Masato, leaving the clearing with the other, unchanged students during the attack meant they were saving the most amount of lives. He thought the others would understand and come find them, if they survived, which to be fair hadn't seemed likely. Ah. It clicked in his brain while Kanamori was shouting questions at him that they must have felt they were abandoned to die. So Okumura wasn't the first person he'd done that to, huh? Now that he understood the situation he felt a little guilty, but irritation was his main emotion at that moment.

"I don't remember us being that close," he said in response to her use of his first name, wrenching her hand off of him. Like this, in the Otherside, their strengths were on par with each other so she wouldn't find him to be so easy a target.

In just a few seconds he learned a lot. First that Higasa was definitely dead, not just missing. He recalled that he'd been Kanamori's friend too, not just Sato's, which explained why she might be angrier than the others. Second, how Okumura had survived. Hoshino seemed to have developed a completely new ability, one he didn't have before. Somehow Okumura and Akito had found their way back to the others, which ended up saving her life. Third, Akito hadn't told them anything yet. It was surprising, and appreciated, and there was no telling how long it would last. As a bonus fourth, she was laying all of the blame at Masato's feet and not any of the other students', including Stewart who'd come along with them. This he didn't begrudge her, he just made a note of it. If he was going to be the class' de facto leader then he'd accept that blame. He slotted all of the new information into place in his mind while facing Kanamori's ire. He didn't stoop to the level of threatening a girl - just took a step away from Kanamori and scowled at her.

"How many of us do you want to die?" He asked her seriously. "I'm sorry about what happened to Higasa. But it could have happened to a lot more people if we didn't leave. There are monsters in this place trying to kill us. Monsters that most of us can't fight! It was the best way to protect the most amount of people."

And it worked. Though he didn't say that out loud, it was both clear on his face and an observable fact. Twenty eight students, one casualty, despite the brutality of the attack last night. While two were still unconscious, they were alive - and they might yet end up okay thanks to Hoshino. Almost everything had worked out. Almost. Masato glanced briefly to Sato, the girl that he admired and who had asked him to go with them away from the battle. Then he looked back to Kanamori with his head held high.

"If that isn't a valid enough reason for you, then fine," he said, "but I stand by my choice."

______________________________________________________________________
_{@AThousandCurses}

'ELLO GOVNAH!

@Yankee

Haha thank you! Though I am wondering if you're American or just a big fan of baseball haha!

@Returner

The former

World of Light

Maximum Security

Location: Midgar Sector 06, the City of Glass
Pit’s @Yankee, Giovanna, Sandalphon, Chai
Word Count: 5156 (+6 exp)

The Seekers' ultimate objective here was to get a leg up in Midgar, either by convincing the major players involved here to cooperate... or crippling them entirely. It would be nice if they could make more allies, but Pit knew it wasn't always possible - and was never easy. With Galeem's light in their eyes it would be impossible once it came down to a fight, and it looked like the group had arrived just a little late to prevent that in the first place.

The opposing forces of Vandelay and DespoRHado began to circle each other slowly, paying little heed to the three newest intruders. Then the air crackled, Korsica shifted her stance, and Mistral's eye glowed a bright ominous red.

Pit dashed forward, sliding between the two women as they lunged toward the other each with deadly intent. The angel barely skid to a halt before throwing his arms up on either side of him with his palms open, the Guardian Orbitars following suit and zipping into place on his left and right. In a flash they projected a pair of opalescent winged shields, putting an immediate stop to the thrust of Mistral's polearm and Korsica's batons. He held his stance and kept the energy shields up even as they gradually began to shrink.

"Wait a minute! Don't you wanna hear us out first?" he asked. Sandalphon mentioned that at least one of them might be open to that, and Chai’s buddy mentioned they needed to talk with Korsica for something. So step one was keeping the women from killing each other.

Both combatants’ opening strikes met with Orbitars’ shining barriers and bounced back, halting the fight before it could really get started. Faced with a new problem, Korsica immediately jumped back to take stock of the situation, conducting a lightning-fast risk assessment on the newcomers. Mistral, meanwhile, saw that Pit’s shield shrank when struck, and instead of retreating she redoubled her efforts. She wielded her polearm like a quarterstaff to bash the glinting surface with both ends in rapid succession, making the boy wince with every strike that threatened to break his block.

At that point Gio stepped in to help her new ally before his defenses could be compromised. After quickly gauging the distance she launched her flying dropkick Trovão, which Mistral saw coming out of the corner of her eyes. She ceased her assault and crouched to defend herself with a wall of arms, but Giovanna’s well-spaced technique finished before she made contact, and she landed with a slide. Mistral threw wide her arms like a shoulder cape to perform a thrust to center mass, but Gio leaped and airdashed overhead. The moment she crossed over her prospective opponent she used her Burst. A forceful golden blast of concentrated vital energy struck Mistral in the back, doing no damage whatsoever but sending her flying away from Pit. Thanks to the circumstances of its use, the Gold Burst also completely filled Giovanna’s meter, and in response she began to glow all over, from more vividly red hair to white eyes to the green static that danced across her skin. Her help meant that she and Pit both now stood right in the middle of the conflict, ready for action.

“Hear you out? Hmm.” Sounding incredulous, Korsica narrowed her eyes. “You all broke into my office! Destroyed my security!”

Chai joined the others, putting himself in between the security chief and Pit. “To... peacefully resolve this.”

“Wow, do you even listen to what you say?” Korsica raised her batons.

Mistral rose to her feet, seemingly in agreement. “Unless I am to hear your surrender, save your breath!”

Shields faded by now, Pit let the Orbitars disappear completely and bid his bow back into his hand.

"To be fair it was already mostly destroyed before we got here!" He told Korsica.

Chai added his own critique. “Hey, they attacked us first, anyway! I was down to hang with those chill tech guys. Even helped them fix some stuff! You’re welcome, by the way.”

“What kind of policy is kill-on-sight for robots, anyway?” Giovanna wondered aloud.

Pit’s attention flickered between Korsica and Mistral, the latter more than a little unnerving with those undulating arms attached to her. The surrender of either one of them didn’t seem likely. "Guess we're gonna have to knock some sense into them," he said, assuming his own fighting stance.

Gio shrugged casually. “That’s usually how this goes.”

Out of the two, Korsica hesitated a moment, perhaps forced to consider the newcomers’ points. Mistral did not hesitate, but sprang forward into a forward barrel roll, spinning with her polearm extended like a vertical sawblade. “Whoa!” Gio braced herself and blocked, spending some of her meter on Faultless Defense to try and cut down on the hits, as Mistral buzzed her twice before buzzing off, her final spin bringing her back to neutral. Then her polearm extended, flexing like a whip, and thrashed around in a series of sweeping strikes. Gio switched from defense to offense to make her way in.

The sudden attack took Pit by surprise. She really wasn't messing around. He decided he had to lend Giovanna a hand - but before joining her on the offensive against Mistral he looked back at Chai and, briefly, Korsica standing beyond the young man. She definitely seemed less battle thirsty than the DespoRHado agent, so maybe they really could get away with talking some things out. "She seems like a handful! But we'll keep her busy," he said, indicating Mistral with a nod of his head, "So, um, good luck with whatever you needed to talk with Korsica about!"

Chai mistimed the last rhythm parry in Korsica’s attack sequence and got bonked on the head by her baton. As his opponent hopped back to circle around him, he shot Pit a slightly woozy smile and a thumbs-up. “Yyyou got it, pal!”

With that Pit dashed around to flank the Wind of Destruction. He knew at this distance his arrows would be too close and too slow to get through the barrage Mistral was letting loose, so he'd have to force his way past the whip-like spear with his blade. His bow flashed and spun as he dove in. He could feel the bow's sharp edge slice into the synthetic flesh of the arms making up Mistral's weapon about as often as he felt the sting of the knife cutting him when his parry wasn't fast enough. What the heck is this made of? He wondered, and more importantly was it possible to just chop part of it off? He swung the sword-bow wide, putting some force behind it and aiming for the polearm.

The strong slash, though not enough to carve through the material, proved sufficient to finally bounce it away. Rather than try to whip it around again, Mistral retracted her weapon into spear form in order to deal with the secret agent who’d just dashed up into her face. Her momentum slid her across the ground and into point-blank range to land a knee strike right to Mistral’s gut, which led cleanly into a triple side-kick leaning on Rei for support. From there she could gatling into a series of flying kicks to bash Mistral over and over, but she moved too fast and the combo dropped. Gio found her third kick intercepted by a wall of arms that grappled her leg like the tentacles of an octopus, and with a grin Mistral whirled her around and then into the floor for a ground bounce. Gripping her polearm like a baseball bat, she swung for the fences.

Her attack was once more intercepted by Pit. Not wasting an opportunity to get in close while Giovanna was going at it, he sprinted forward and caught the spear with the edge of his bow. Due to her figure he misjudged just how much strength the cyborg possessed, and though he tried to dig his heels in he was overpowered due to the mistake. Pit twisted the bow in his hand, spinning its reversed blades to force the polearm down toward the ground before he was flung away.

Pit's intervention allowed Gio to flip out of the short combo before she took its ender, and the next moment she landed on her own two feet. Not one to try and force the matter in terms of brute strength, which she didn't conceive of as her strong suit despite her mechanical arms' power, Mistral stopped pushing the moment she found her blade pinned. She withdrew, spun around, and sent a flurry of jabs Pit's way. He'd landed in a crouch, hastily throwing an arm up to barely defend against the first strike with a bracer. The bow twirled forward again with his other hand to fight off the rest.

Gio keeping her distance led Mistral to drop her guard against her, not expecting Seismic Hammer to cause a burst of force beneath her and interrupt her attack after a couple thrusts.

Given the moment of respite, Pit shifted gears and let the casing of the Upperdash Arm envelop his own. He thought he must be near enough to land a blow with it. Dashing in closer with a "hyah!" and without hesitation he swung the divine weapon into an uppercut. The disc-shaped cestus made contact explosively, and Mistral staggered, lifted off her feet by the angel’s gut punch. He was in the midst of a follow up attack as the Arm faded and gave way to the bow once more, one half of it in each hand. He pushed off the ground and whipped the blades toward the cyborg, twisting with each move into a triple slash. After his technique completed, Mistral regained her poise and leaped backward just as Gio flipped over Pit’s head to try and finish his string off with Sol Poente. She whiffed and landed in front of him, then dashed forward to try and keep their opponent from gaining any momentum.

As she aimed a skip-up roundhouse kick Mistral swung her polearm, and the two collided, deadlocked in terms of strength. Of course, only Giovanna felt the pain of the impact, and from that she knew she’d falter. Rather than press on she folded her kicking leg to let the arm-spear continue on, bending her planted leg as she did. Then she sprang off it and pivoted around to extend a side kick into Mistral’s ribcage, but though the blow connected, the cyborg was better prepared than she thought. Her extra arms grabbed Gio’s leg and gave her a whirl, flinging her up in a wild lateral twist. Disoriented, Giovanna could do nothing to stop the rigid thwack that followed and knocked her away, though she’d had worse.

"Gio-whoooah!"

Rather than try to follow up, Mistral turned her attention to Pit. In the recovery of her swing she turned her polearm slack, then whipped it down toward Pit’s ankle. The hand at its extremity grabbed hold and the angel suddenly got yanked off his feet, hanging upside-down like a fish from a rod. As Gio picked herself up a couple dozen feet away, Mistral giggled at her captive audience. Her Snow Spikes began to move for the first time, coiling behind her as they charged up for a deadly thrust.

"This isn't funny!" Pit cried as he bent to chop at the limb that'd caught hold of him. His wings flapped uselessly as without any wind or momentum he couldn't use them to get upright. After flailing around he came to realize he probably couldn't escape before Mistral threw whatever she had planned at him, but that didn't mean he was out of options. He braced himself to reflect with another summon of his Orbitars.

Surrounded in raw cold, the Snow Spikes thrust toward Pit in a line, lunging like a frigid metal cobra, but when they smashed into his Orbitars the chain burst apart and rained down on the floor before drifting back to Mistral, who glowered at the angel in annoyance. “What an annoying power. Isn’t there anything else you can do, boy?” She sent out her Snow Spikes once more to orbit around Pit in a ring, all briefly charging up to fire piercing icicles at him from all sides.

"Of course I can! Just -argh!- wait 'til I -graah!- get out of this and you'll see!" His bravado might as well have been a bluff, spoken as he redoubled his efforts to escape before he could be skewered.

With a snarl, Rei leaped upward toward the chain of Dwarf Gekko arms and snapped her jaws shut, crushing the artificial limb between her teeth. As Pit fell, Giovanna leaped up and caught him in her arms, then stalled their aerial momentum with an orange glyph. Rei landed the next second, and when Gio airdashed off her glyph she and Pit landed on the green wolf’s back, the angel with a soft oof.

"Thanks," he told the both of them, patting Rei's head. He swallowed the feelings of embarrassment from getting caught in that predicament in the first place in order to keep focused.

Curling her lip, Mistral separated her extra arms, forming them into three polearms she hurled at the trio like javelins. Then she vaulted up onto the raised walkway behind them, where a squad of Dwarf Gekkos were waiting. She wasted no time pulling off their arms to replenish her own and hurling their cores down toward the Seekers like basketball-sized grenades. “A present... from me!”

Unwilling to be blown up or stabbed, Rei got moving - and being tucked in front of Giovanna gave Pit room to counter Mistral's bombardment. While Rei carried them forward, deftly zigzagging around the spears, the first of the Dwarf Gekko cores were shot down before they got too close. It was like target shooting, but a lot more dangerous. Light arrows streamed forward, piercing to disable or prematurely detonate the cores and lessening Mistral's volley with one of Pit's own. Cores that slipped by were too fast to be caught by a twist of an arrow, but Rei herself avoided the worst of it by leaping away from the explosions with her charges on her back.

As they closed in on Mistral, Pit charged the next shot. The arrow grew brighter and more powerful, and when released it ignited a ball of fire that spiraled around it. It sailed forward and crashed through the core she'd just thrown to strike the cyborg directly. In order to take advantage of the short window of opportunity, Pit patted Rei again and prepared to jump. "This is my stop!"

The angel sprang up above the raised platform with a push of his wings. He fell towards Mistral, the Palutena Bow in front of him in a spinning cycle. The blades were locked together and slashing like a windmill, cutting into her until Pit landed, and he continued to press with a wide horizontal slash.

His quick combo opened a couple fresh cuts and pushed Mistral back into the wall behind her. She bounced off it and almost fell forward, doubling over as if in pain–when in reality she was using her extra arms to hide her reaching for the knives on her thigh band. Suddenly the cyborg straightened up again, hurling the blades into Pit, before she pirouetted forward. Her polearm curved as she whirled around in a crimson triple slash, striking with both ends to push Pit into the railing behind him in turn while he deflected the deadly points of her weapon with his own, face pulled into a pained grimace. Then she leaped backward into a wall cling, and with her L’Etranger bent like a magnet shot both sides down to either side of Pit to grab the rail. Her weapon then snapped together like a rubber band, yanking Mistral down on top of him with a super-strong divekick to bring both back down to ground level. With hardly any time to think let alone summon his shields, Pit crossed his arms in front of himself to soften the blow even a little. He hit the floor hard.

“Pit!” Having jumped up to the raised walkway to help, Giovanna jumped back down. She launched a series of kicks at Mistral, who ducked away from the first and blocked the second only for Gio to kick her polearm out of her hands with the third. Mistral cartwheeled away to catch her weapon as it fell, while the secret agent stood over Pit. “You okay, kid?”

"Yep, I'm-" his words were cut off by a wince as he got up and pulled the knives out of him. Pain was clear on his face and he suffered cuts of varying depths all over his body, besides the feathered limbs he took special care to avoid damaging, but otherwise the angel seemed ready to continue fighting on. "Gonna take a lot more than this to keep me down!"

Smiling slyly, Mistral activated her Snow Spikes. They whirled around her in a chain like a ribbon, then floated behind her back in a hexagonal formation like a snowflake. Gio dashed toward her, but when the cyborg lunged forward to meet her she did so with a flying knee extended further with a prong of ice. The heavy counterhit staggered Gio long enough for Mistral to grab her and launch her with another knee, and as she got popped up the Snow Spikes orbited around her. Mistral turned her back and posed, triggering blades of ice that slashed Giovanna downward together. ”Augh!” With a wince of pain, Gio rolled backward after landing. “Just a scratch...”

“Ready to slice off some more?” Mistral laughed.

Giovanna gritted her teeth. So far she and Pit had been doing alright by bailing one another out, but that didn’t exactly count as working together. If they managed to actually coordinate, they might be able to better deal with this multifaceted opponent. But whether looking to prove himself worthy for his spot with the Seekers or just used to handling missions on the front lines solo, unfortunately Pit wasn't on the same page just yet.

Not to mention Mistral didn’t plan to give them time to communicate. She attached her Snow Spikes to her feet and zoomed forward like an ice skater. Gio evaded just in time as her foe plunged her polearm into the floor. Holding on with one hand, Mistral spun around her L’Etranger on a ring of ice, her Snow Spikes arrayed in a ring of ice blades to whirl and slice like a twisted merry-go-round.

Pit leapt away, chancing an actual weapon swap. His bow vanished and the Upperdash Arm formed once more, solidly locked around his right arm. He held the divine construct straight out and fired its projectiles, relying on the heavier rings it shot to shatter Mistral's ice. Once enough of them were broken Pit went into melee range wielding the Arm like a club. It was slower than his swords, trading speed for more power, and he hoped to change the flow of battle with it - especially if he could get a clear shot to use its more devastating moves.

His methodical approach brought an end to Mistral’s icy tornado, but as she recovered from the ring barrage she recalled her Snow Spikes. She locked them together in a flash and hurled them like a chakram, but this time the cyborg was a step behind. Pit ducked underneath them on the way in and unleashed his forward dash attack, leaving Mistral with no other option than to try and block with L’etranger, but the polearm wasn’t well suited for defense–especially against the Upperdash Arm. Its blunt force ripped the flexible spear out of her arms before flooring Mistral herself. At that point Gio dashed in to lend a hand, sending Mistral higher with a Sol Nascente flip kick. She then jumped up after her foe, and the moment Mistral recovered midair she got air-thrown back down toward Pit.

The angel couldn't help but grin as Mistral was caught between them, though it might have been a bit premature to feel triumphant. He followed up with a kick of his own, hopping into an anti-air stretch kick. After connecting her swung his other leg around to land another, and upon landing he was already revving the disc of the Arm for a back-dash that would fling Mistral right back.

His final blow knocked the cyborg down, and she skidded across the floor for a couple yards before rolling to her feet. With a huff, she brushed the large bang covering her left eye up to slick it back along with the rest of her hair, then brought her Snow Spikes behind her. Ice blades formed, and as she skated forward they rotated in a corkscrew in front of her like a huge drill. After dashing up, Giovanna replied with Ex Burning Kick, using its invincibility to somersault into Mistral’s drill and blast it apart with a fiery heel. She recovered from the blow and jumped to avoid the follow-up Trovão, but Gio herself recovered in time to block the ice corkscrew that fell on top of her. Mistral pirouetted atop her ring of spikes, drilling into Gio’s guard and building up RISC, then flipped her hair as the final hit extended the spikes downward to physically trap her opponent in ice. It would only hold for a moment, but it allowed her to focus on Pit, and Mistral wasted no time jumping toward him with a flying kick.

The Upperdash Arm came up to crash against her leg, though without the mighty power behind it that a lead in dash would have granted. Pit had raised his own leg for balance as it rose to the apex of its upward arc, and with a stomp he reversed its momentum to bring it down on top of Mistral like a bludgeon. She found her kick interrupted, and in the disorienting reversal of fortune that followed she hit the ground, then struggled against Pit as he tried to hold her in place. Chiefly that took the form of her Snow Spikes levitating in a ring around him, icicles forming and about to fire.

His eyes darted between the spikes, Giovanna, and their opponent as he tried to decide whether he should commit to pinning her. He decided he probably couldn't withstand being skewered, and the moment he shifted to dodge or block Mistral pushed him off of her by drawing her legs up and performing a spin kick. He was caught with a heel in the side, letting out a pained cough while he raised the Arm up to fire at her. He was met with a look of indignation from Mistral.

"Don't fuck with me, boy!"

The icicles that had been circling all shot forward at once to knock the disc from the air, and yet more formed to chase after him.

The cyborg spun in place once she was back on her feet, ice-producing nanomachines circling quickly around her to fend off any opportunistic attacks while she regrouped. At that point Giovanna had freed herself and sprinted towards her, right through a group of Dwarf Gekkos that began gathering to replenish the limbs on Mistral's back. Her Sepultura met the swirl of cold and broke its formation a beat too late.

The Snow Spikes whirled around, following the flow of Mistral's arms. She lashed out by swiping her hand toward Giovanna, claw-like, and the spikes responded by sailing forward like a twisting serpent. They smashed against her block over and over until Mistral crouched in order to swipe upwards. The ice spikes responded in kind, exploding out of the ground beneath Giovanna and forcing her to back off again. Then she twirled with the spikes in tow once more to start the same combo on Pit, who was predictably jumping back into battle as well.

The first strike caught him completely open. Gone was the Upperdash Arm, the trusty Palutena Bow back in the angel's hands, which left him with less bulk. The spike slashed a stripe across his shoulder and chest, but on the second go around he deflected them with the broad sides of his blade. The icicles slammed against his weapon, some splintering apart and sending shards cutting across his skin before rapidly reforming but ultimately not getting through his parrying. Mistral pulled back, raised one of her long legs with another Snow Spike attached, and lashed out with a vicious kick.

"This ends now!"

"Yeah, for you!"

Pit met her attack with a two handed slash. The bow and ice collided, neither overpowering the other. Mistral didn't back down, unleashing a flurry of spike tipped kicks that continued to crash into the bow as Pit swung and spun it in a flurry of his own. The noise of it reverberated throughout the room until it ended with a sharp crack. The repeated abuse of the icicle eventually led to it shattering, Mistral stumbling, and the bladed part of the bow slicing into her. Pit shoved her away with the bow then, panting to catch his breath as Mistral went sprawling to the ground.

He’d gained the upper hand, and Mistral lay on the floor clutching her stomach, seemingly unable to rise. For a brief moment she just sprawled there, gasping, but even with all the damage she’d taken so far her enhancements meant that Pit hadn’t inflicted a fatal wound. Her Snow Spikes were still in play, and in near-silence they rose up behind the angel to stab him in the back. Then Giovanna grabbed her, hauling her off the ground with a cold expression. “Don’t look,” she told Pit, her voice deadly serious. Startled by her tone and too tired to argue about being treated like a kid, Pit obeyed and squeezed his eyes shut. He winced when there was a spine-chilling snap, and then Mistral slumped to the ground again, dead. Her dissolution came slowly, and though a feeling of finality hung heavy in the air, things weren’t quite over yet.

On the other side of the office, things had really heated up for Chai. He dialed in his parry timing as the fight with Korsica went on, but she showed off new techniques even faster. The Head of Security had combined her batons into a staff and begun to whip up whirlwinds, throwing Airbursts when she wasn’t throwing her staff or using Tailwind, herself. Chai had to weather a storm striking him from every angle, and he by no means got through unscathed, but the dude managed to parry more than he missed. Steadily the reflected damage wore Korsica down, until finally she’d had enough.

She whirled her staff overhead, using the ultimate ability gained from her fusion with the warframe Zephyr. Three huge tornadoes arose in front of her, and when she struck them with her staff they gained Impact damage and swept forward. Giovanna and Pit ran up to stand alongside Chai as the cyclones bore down on him. “Need a hand?” the secret agent asked casually, nonplussed by what she’d just done.

“Eh, couldn’t hurt!” Chai grinned, his spirit emboldened as he brought his guitar up for the mother of all parries.

Chai's expression brought a bit of a smile back to Pit's face. He separated his bow into two and spun both halves to the underlying rhythm of the place. The whirling wind surged towards them, and each of the three claimed the cyclone closest to them. Pit raised his swords in an X-shape to "catch" one of the tornadoes, and then with a cross slash scattered the winds apart. Giovanna defended alongside him with Faultless Defense, sacrificing some meter to negate the chip damage as she took the tornado head-on.

Chai, meanwhile, protected himself with a furious flurry of parries. When the tornadoes dissipated, they revealed Korsica floating in the air thanks to her Tail Wind. She dove down at them, giving it everything she had as the wind screamed around her. Chai bit his tongue, held his ground, and at the last second, parried.

BWOOSH! Korsica got hurled back in a burst of air, her weapons flying from her hands as her consciousness faded. Chai dropped his bludgeon and ran forward, sliding on his knees to catch the security chief in his arms as she fell. She plopped down safe and sound, the last remnants of her strength spent on the most annoyed look she could muster. “Stupid… robot… musical… powers…”

Chai breathed a sigh of relief and stood, turning to face the others with a shaky grin and a whole lot of bruises. “And that’s a wrap.”

"Another win for the good guys," Pit sighed. He rolled his injured shoulder to test just how hurt it was, finding it was manageable; meaning there was no danger of his entire arm falling off. He glanced at Chai, who was looking a little goofy at the moment.

"Are you okay? You look pretty beat up!" he asked with a laugh, despite being littered with wounds himself. He kind of wished that they hadn't lost Benedict along the way since his healing striker would have come in handy, including right about now. Then again the man probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with the fast paced, high stakes battle they'd just been part of. Either way, now that both of their targets were neutralized this part in the overall mission was complete.

Chai shrugged as best he could with two armfuls of Korsica, laying on the bravado. “Eh, I’m fine. All in a day’s work!”

"How's that, Halo?" Pit asked, looking to Giovanna to whom she was connected.

Sandalphon replied after a moment. “Ah, sorry for the delay. I just got back from assisting team Skywatch. I see that you’ve captured Korsica.” She went quiet for a moment as she remotely observed the slain Wind of Destruction, just now disintegrating into the spirits of Mistral and Sasha Ivanoff. “...And defeated Mistral. Well done. Unfortunately, it looks like we have a new problem. Begin extraction immediately. I’ll fill everyone in momentarily.”

Giovanna jabbed her thumb at an elevator on one side of the room that said ‘Security Chief Personal L.I.F.T.’, where Rei was whining. “Let’s get going then.”

"Right back to the action, huh?" Pit said, though he didn't seem bothered by it.

“You’d better go with them, Chai,” Peppermint told him through 808. “That should be the fastest way out, and we don’t have a lot of time. Hopefully Korsica will listen to reason once she wakes up.”

He carried the security chief with him to the L.I.F.T., met there shortly after by Pit and Giovanna after they'd collected the fallen spirits. Once everyone was on Gio pressed the button that would take them out of there.

'ELLO GOVNAH!

Welcome (back) to RPG! And happy early birthday!