Zoey Boey

World of Light

Level 7: 17/70
Word Count: 1753
Location: The Under
Points Gained: 3 (+5)
NEW EXP balance--- Level 7: 25/70

—------

With an appreciative thumbs up to Primrose and Therion, and a consolatory thumbs up to the koopa troop, Jesse followed the others onto the elevator. As they went further and further into darkness, a small part of her wanted to hop off the elevator and head down in front of the others. But there was no reason too and she didn’t want to get split off for whatever reason. So she stayed put, leaning against the railing of the elevator and watching tunnels pass by.

A Consul made their grand entrance.

Shit. That’s not good. He’s gonna- yep there he goes.

There were lots of fliers on her team, but not all of them. As the elevator fell out from under her, Jesse tried to act fast. She let herself fall and reached for her Tool Gun, which wasn’t exactly a quick unholster mid flight. After a few misses she managed to get some balloons on her falling teammates, only for some stray magical bullets to pop them.

“Shit.” Jesse swore, and went into a head first dive to fall faster than everyone. The ground was coming up fast- she could see it now. “Sven!” She called out. Landing with a thud that tossed up motes of light, she had the alchemist throw elastic ooze on the bed of flowers she had landed on.

It sank between the petals but it didn’t matter. The first person that fell landed softly and was merely disoriented for a few seconds. The rest followed suit.

Jesse stood up straight, exhaling. Relieved, of course, but also unhappy by how that went down. Holstering her Tool Gun, she peered about the cavernous area and up to the swirling cavern they’d fallen from. “We’ll have to be more careful in the future.” Jesse said. “It had to have been the flowers.”

Their troubles weren’t over. The cackling Consul seemed to have wanted to organize some fun, and a parade of what could only be described as ‘Under-Your-Bed and In-Your-Closet’ style monsters came out of the darkness to eat them.

“Oh, ew. What the fuck?” Jesse said in an oddly enamored tone of voice, almost laughing. Then she was back to business, rolling her shoulder and producing her Service Weapon.

“Let’s separate them.” Jesse said, and sprinted to the left to where the purple, frog-like brute traveled forward. She made eye contact with its main eye and it seemed to follow her.

The Director paused in a brief moment before either made any moves. “Peace in our times?” She offered with a shrug. The frog-like brute, Ang, more than twice her size, responded by lashing out with its ocular tongue. Jesse moved her torso to the side with a non-magical dodge, throwing herself out of the way. She stared at the tongue, and only some of its eyes looked back at her. The ground dissolved, and its sticky nature dragged dirt and rocks back into its gaping mouth that didn’t even seem to have the capability to close all the way. Acid bubbled in the back of its maw, threatening to spill over, and secondary rows of teeth awaited any prey.

“...Yummy.” Jesse said dryly, squinting one eye. Even with her psychic shielding she’d be digested immediately. She couldn’t get pulled in there at all costs- best be hit by any other attack before that one.

I wonder what would happen if it ashed me while I was in its mouth, and if it would get any sustenance. Theory? Maybe eating my spirit and ash itself would provide the creature with enough life energy to eat someone else up. Seems like big purple here is way more interested in testing my hypothesis than I am, though.

Once again it lashed out with its tongue, and Jesse leapt over it and began to float in the air before quickly dropping back down, not wanting to be a mosquito to this creature’s frog. In return, she raked heavy duty machine gun fire across the tongue, ripping into the soft tissue. It made a grating, shockingly high-pitched creaking noise in response, eyes whirling around.

Angered, it leapt to her as a blur, its powerful hindlegs supporting its ferocious jump. It brought its weird little fists onto the ground, kicking up dust where Jesse had just been. She had Evaded away. Even its impressive speed couldn’t match a properly timed dodge- nothing physical could, as far as Jesse could tell. Still, she could only evade six or seven times before she ran out of Energy and had to cool it for a few moments to recharge, and a mis-timed dodge could leave her vulnerable. Still. She’d defeated monsters far larger than this one.

Despite lacking opposable thumbs, it gripped large chunks on the ground within its…paws? Foot? Hand?

It chucked them at her at high speed, and Polaris guided Jesse to react instinctively. She reached out her hand and plucked both rocks from the air. They zipped over to her side, bending to her will.

Nice! I’ve missed that!

Jesse promptly Launched both rocks at high speed right into Ang, shattering its teeth and bludgeoning its tongue, fraying and swelling its tissue. Once more it screeched and leaped towards her. Jesse didn’t want to underestimate its intelligence, but she felt she had no choice but to Evade once more. That was when it used its tongue to lash out of the side of its mouth to where she ended up, its many eyes tracking her movement.

“Damn!” It burned into her and she found herself being yanked back towards her death at break neck speed. Jesse evaded forward, using its own momentum to double her speed and yank herself free of the beast, just barely avoiding its maw as she flung herself hard into the cave wall. “Oof. Yuck.”

Ang kept up the pressure, diving forward once again. Jesse narrowed her eyes and Evade again. The creature lashed out with its tongue, and found purchase. Not on Jesse, but on something much smaller and made of glass. It pulled the Fire Flask Sven had provided right into its mouth, igniting it. Yowling as its tongue and eyes burned, it hit the wall and rounded on Jesse as she fired Grip shots at the inside of its mouth. It closed it as best as it could and raised its hands to defend itself. It swallowed, gurgled, and vomited a shower of eyeballs in her direction. Amazed, Jesse raised a Shield to defend herself, watching them pop like juicy acid grenades against her invisible psychic wall that ripped stone from the ground. They sizzled, dealing damage to the wall, but the acid slid off and pooled to the ground, leaving her barrier mostly intact. Apparently tired of getting close, its eye began to glow as a thin beam of light emitted from the stalk-eye, burning against her Shield as she strafed to take cover behind a Stalagmite. Dropping the Shield, she switched Pierce and wanted to give herself more time to recover her Energy.

It circled around from a distance, trying to spot her while keeping the eye beam focused. Jesse circled the pillar, briefly poked her head out on one side, and then lunged to the other side of the pillar, luring the beam and juking Ang out to let loose a powerful Pierce shot. It blew out the inside of its mouth, spraying acid blood out behind it and leaving a red hot tunnel out one side and through the other. Gurgling with fury, it reeled from the attack, and Jesse switched to Grip just long enough to land a few well placed shots into its eye stalk, severing the connection and stopping the eye beam. Reduced to only a few remaining eyes in its tongue, it furiously threw stone after stone at her, but the Director weaved easily enough between them without using her Energy, placing stalagmites and pillars between her and the stones. Forcing it into action, she outpaced its ranged damage output shredding into it with machine gun fire from Spin. Acid blood sprayed everywhere, but Jesse was well out of range. Forced into aggressive action, it leapt forward through the fusillade, right where Jesse wanted it.

“Sven.” The alchemist shattered an Elastic Ooze at her feet where she used it and a combination of Levitate to be flung high over the creatures’ form. With no eye-stalk, it was forced to tip its mouth up to spot her, opening it. There it witnessed Jesse plucking three stone stalactites from the ceiling of the drip stone cave, her face obscured by shadow.

It raised its hands but she had already flung the deadly stone spikes towards Ang in a blur. They ripped through and broke its arms and one large spike stuck in its mouth, spewing acid like a grotesque fountain. Jesse landed next to it and picked up the health elements it was dropping to repair her psychic Health. The Director had an annoying tendency to come out of fights unscathed.

Rolling her shoulder, she tested her powers one last time on the dying beast. Extending out her hand, she saw in her mind’s eye the white outline that signified her control over the beast's physical form. She prepared to Launch the creature, splattering it against the wall, but she thought better of it. Primrose and Therion had battled against two monsters on their own. With a little more help, they could be done. The heavily wounded, faceless horror named Dizy was looming towards them both, and they seemed fairly tired after their previous fight.

“Heads up!” Jesse called out, and Launched Ang towards its doom. The beasts collided, and Ang practically burst like a balloon with the stone spike acting as a needle. The dizzy was slammed into and knocked over, scrabbling as it dissolved under the corpse of its ally. Jesse revved up Pierce and fired an unaimed shot at Dizy as the acid melted it, the sound echoing throughout the cavern. Still melting and now with a large hole in it, Jesse approached and emptied her clip into Dizy with a series of short range Shatter shots. At that point Dizy’s structural integrity was compromised and the regenerator fell apart and was reduced to ash. All the gore and chunks, gunshots, slung spells and unsettling silence faded away.

Jesse looked up at the Travelers. “Sexy.” She said flatly.

Jesse turned her attention to the rest of the battlefield, switching her Service Weapon to Grip as it reloaded, and maneuvering to aid her comrades in securing the area.

The Mercenaries of Mundus - 18+ - Brought to you by METAmucil

Aya was flicking through some scrap pieces of paper. "All these boo-hoo letters to loved ones. We're not actually expected to deliver this crap, are we? I mean, unlike those guys, I actually have a life. I have things to do." She dropped down into a crouch next to their commander. It was a squat much like a frogs, her elbows on her knees.

"What do you think, Boss?" She cupped her ear. "...Y'know, there's some benefits to him being like this, now. For one: no more shitty ideas. We didn't even get to kill that Phaendor guy. If I ever see another skeleton warrior again, I quit. I mean, that was baloney. How the hell am I supposd to slit the throat of a skeleton? I can't." She stopped picking her teeth with her dagger and holstered it.

She ran a hand through her short brown hair. Then she popped up into a standing position. "I think I'd make a good leader. It can't be Anslem. What, swap out one grumpy 'experienced' merc for another? No thanks. Can't be Oliver, he's completely delusional. It can't be Victor because..." She trailed off. "Well, that one's obvious." She was talking like nobody else was in the room- or maybe she was talking loudly to herself. Or perhaps every time she talked, she was talking to everyone in the room except for the person she was talking about.

"And it can't be Humphrey because- actually, well, hmm." She glanced at the door to the cistern Humphrey had claimed. "We'll put a pin in that. It could be Humphrey. His last name is what he is." Aya mused. Then, she clapped her hands together and galloped over to a treasure chest, picking up some weird looking artifact and occupying herself with it.

"So, that's the vote. Me, or Humphrey. But he's indisposed at the moment, sleeping, so he's a no-show for the vote, which makes me the leader. Yeah, I think that all works out. First decree as leader- no more skeletons unless they're wrapped up in living meat!" She pointed into the air.

The Mercenaries of Mundus - 18+ - Brought to you by METAmucil

Aya Olvera

Name: Aya "O'kaya" Olvera
Age:22
Class: Rogue
Stats:
PHYSICAL- +1
MENTAL- -1
ARCANE- -1
LUCK- +1
Spells Known: Leave blank to start.
Weapon: Long dagger, throwing knives, charming good looks.
Inventory: Leave blank to start.
Catchphrase: "Okayokayokay..."

"Aya O'kaya, professional street sweeper, feet sweeper offer and swiper of loot, at your service! How may I be of service?"

"Magic! That ain't real magic. That's just wizard shit! Real magic is all about misdirection and sleight of hand. Watch, pick a card, any card...no, not that one. Any card but that one. Really just try to avoid any card that my thumb isn't touching and we're golden."

Mercenaries! - A tongue in cheek fantasy roleplay where things often go wrong 18+ language, violence

Here she is. This CS is made under the assumption that PHYSICAL also includes dexteriy roguey things and also that Spain is included in European fantasy which it rarely is for some reason.

Aya Olvera

Name: Aya "O'kaya" Olvera
Age:22
Class: Rogue
Stats:
PHYSICAL- +1
MENTAL- -1
ARCANE- -1
LUCK- +1
Spells Known: Leave blank to start.
Weapon: Long dagger, throwing knives, charming good looks.
Inventory: Leave blank to start.
Catchphrase: "Okayokayokay..."

"Aya O'kaya, professional street sweeper, feet sweeper offer and swiper of loot, at your service! How may I be of service?"

"Magic! That ain't real magic. That's just wizard shit! Real magic is all about misdirection and sleight of hand. Watch, pick a card, any card...no, not that one. Any card but that one. Really just try to avoid any card that my thumb isn't touching and we're golden."

Mercenaries! - A tongue in cheek fantasy roleplay where things often go wrong 18+ language, violence

I've got a dumbass rogue up my sleeve for this.

World of Light

posting in the OOC to notify everyone that my most recent Sakura post has undergone some pretty heavy changes! Lugu has once again made the big edits

World of Light

Sakura Level 8: 74/80
Karin Level 4: 21/40
Location: Metro
Word Count: 849
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 8: 74/80

Karin Level 4: 21/40 (pending)

”Thank you very much!” Sakura had said to Belle, Wise, and Kyle. Happily, she carried all six radios in her arms, though they were contained within a plastic bag. They were short-wave, for long distances but small enough to be used on the fly. If they could evenly distribute these among the group, it’d be easier for them to remain in contact with each other! Sakura felt very clever.

”Tora-san! Poppi-san!” She said, running into them. ”Look what I got; short-wave radios! We can use these to talk to each other from far away. They have different, um, frequencies. You press this button here and you can talk into it and everyone else’ll hear it unless their radio is turned off. And you have to end every sentence with ‘over’ otherwise no one will know when to press their own button to start talking. Pretty cool, huh?” Sakura said, a tinge of hope in her voice. Tora and Poppi both seemed pretty smart, especially Tora, so she was going to be validated by their ‘smart-person’ approval more than she thought.

At that moment, some bikers roared down the street on their vehicles, forcing civilians into cover. Even some kids! Sakura’s mouth worked up into a pout, but she was also, admittedly, a little excited. Frankly, it had been too long since she’d been able to dispense some street justice. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard and saw a familiar face- it was Edge! ”Eh?!”

Sakura and Edge had crossed fists- or rather, she had crossed fists with his knives- a few times in the past. They both knew each other through their mutual friend Akira Kazama, and anyone Sakura had a friendly street fighter with, she considered friendly. There’s few faster ways to bond with people, in her opinion. Moving the plastic bag full of radios to her right hand, she waved one hand over her head and sprinted over to him. ”Edge-san! Mister Edge! It’s me, Sakura Kasugano! Remember me?” She sprinted all the way to him and skidded to a stop on her heels, leaning far back as she nearly blew right past him.

The spiky-haired young man looked her way suddenly, taken by surprise. On reflex he dodged away from the girl when she came at him, ready to pull one of his trademark knives if a Punk had come back to finish the job, but he stopped short. There were a lot of students in Gutsford, but since nobody traveled much everyone tended to see one another around, especially within the same academy. Friends made here lasted for life, however long that might be. Yet while Edge faintly recalled this girl as someone he'd seen before, he couldn't call her a friend or even someone he really knew. He wouldn't have remembered her name if she didn't give it to him. "Sakura...Kasugano, eh?" He eased up a little, his hand straying from his pocket. At the very least, this clearly wasn't a Punk, Jock, or Frat. "What's...?"

”Hey, those guys suck, huh!” Giving one last concerned look to any threatened schoolchildren, she turned to Edge with a resolute smile on her face. ”I think I’m gonna go beat ‘em up and win their bikes off them because I need them and also it’ll be fun.” Her long winded sentence summarized all her goals. ”I’m new in town- do you know a biker bar where all those guys hang out?” She asked.

Edge ran his hand through his iconic 'do. "Nah, not really, they're just..."

”And also, what’s a Clustertruck and can I…rent one? Me and my friends need a way to get to Midgar as fast as possible. And maybe after all this is done you and me can throw down!” Sakura said, excitedly. ”Sorry, I’ve been talking too much- what do you think?”

Eye twitching, Edge carefully opened his mouth to reply.

She waited a beat, and then interrupted him. ”Edgewise!” She pointed at him. ”I haven’t been letting you get a word in edgewise. Ah, crap, it’s too late now. Dang!” She snapped her fingers. With both Nadia and Ace no longer in this group, there was a lack of punnage that Sakura was trying and probably failing to compensate for.

"No kiddin'! You wanna hear it, or not!?" the dude exclaimed. He waited a moment longer to see if Sakura had anything else to say, but since his old acquaintance seemed to have gotten her motor mouth under control for now, he let out his breath. She covered her mouth and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice to see ya again too, I guess. Just listen, those guys are the Punks. They're a pain in the ass but they can't fight for shit, so they just screw around while out joyridin' on their bikes. You wanna beat 'em up, be my guest! Might even tag along. They don't serve alcohol in this town -believe me, I checked- but there's an ol' garage where the Punks hang out down by the place with all the trucks."

He leaned forward conspiratorially, his hands upheld to aid in his explanation with violent gestures. "Speakin' of, ya really are new in town if ya ain't heard about the Clustertrucks. They're like, the whole reason we're stuck here in the boonies while everything's happenin' in the big city. Get a load of this: out in the wastes, there's these giant herds o' wild trucks with no drivers! They cruise around suckin' up oil shale, but if two herds get too close, they all go nuts and stampede, smashin' and slammin' into one another 'til the whole thing's one big cluster-truck!"

Edge then crossed his arms and leaned casually against the brick wall by the storefront. "It's stupid dangerous, and everyone says not to go out there, but sometimes me an' the guys head out and ride on the trucks. If you can run and jump worth a damn, you can cover some real ground goin' between herds. Yeah, basically I guess you could say we're super badass." He nodded to himself, full of confidence. Sakura nodded with him, taken in by his narrative craft.

Sakura paused before responding, not wanting to interrupt again. ”That's insane! I really wanna see those trucks! Thank you very much, Edge-kun! If you do help me find my way there, your reward will be watching me beat up the Punks." Sakura punched her palm. ”Or, y'know, you could fight, too, haha.” Secretly, she was excited to beat up some weak losers who bullied people but were all talk. It was a serious power trip, which was something she tried not to induldge in...but if the bad guys deserved a beating, Sakura wasn't exactly going to become a saintly beacon of restraint. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to bait them into a fight.

---

Karin and Midna had split up at some point to cover more ground. Neither the Bus Depot, Trade Depot, or even the helicopters overhead were easily accessible. There wasn’t even any cars to buy. Karin ended up pacing back and forth in an alleyway. ”Well it’s wonderful that they have such a delightfully walkable city. Truly the automobile can be such a blight on quality of life.” She muttered to herself.

”But must there be not a single vehicle available even for rent?! She complained loudly and almost put a huge dent, or even hole, in a nearby dumpster, but averted her kick at the last moment into the air.

Karin Kanzuki didn’t need to ask for transportation! She had a fleet of private limousines, helicopters, jets, cars! She traveled the world on a regular basis! And now she’s been reduced to a base commoner, asking around! This was not her role! This was not her place in life! Curse that Galeem! Galeem had taken away nearly all of her power and influence. Though naturally she still had far more than most people, it was limited to a single city! Her global reach had been taken from her by some glorified street lamp! Her entire life’s work! Due to the danger, she hadn’t taken her staff with her, which had already proved to be a wise decision. But now she missed them. If nothing else they afforded her the respect she deserved.

Karin ran her hands up her forehead and exhaled, reigning in her temper. ”All right. You’re out of ideas. Let us simply collect our thoughts and go on a walk.” With that, she reorganized her hair ringlets and began to walk around town by herself to relax and get to know it a little better. She stopped at a coffee shop and purchased some tea, and sat down to drink some in peace. She still had some time before reuniting with the other Seekers, and some time alone with her thoughts and some decent tea would do her some good.

World of Light

Level 7: 11/70
Word Count: 815
Location: Dirtmouth
Points Gained: 2 (+4)
NEW EXP balance--- Level 7: 17/70 (pending)

Jesse took a seat in the metro with the others, brushing a strand of red hair out of her forehead. She did a brief headcount.

Don’t think everyone made it to where they wanted to go. Well, I did all I could. I didn’t make the mistake of going too easy on my opponents this time, at least. I’m interested in seeing more of this beetle-topia situation.

Jesse patiently waited her turn for the lift, observing and admiring the stately architecture of the terminus. Bowser is way too big to be moving like that. It’d be unnerving if it wasn’t so…adorable? He’s like a big dragon cat turtle.

Glancing around, she spotted a sign that gave information about the rest of the Purple Line. MTT Resort and Queen’s Station- how far away were they? There wasn’t much there in terms of usefulness to objectives as far as she could tell, though they both certainly looked like interesting places. This place, according to a dusty sign, was the Dirtmouth Stag Station…which, from what the residents at Queen’s Station had told her, was well, well above Queen’s Station.

We’re gonna have to find the Guardian somehow. But this place is ginormous. It could be anywhere, guarded by who knows what kind of freaky underground monsters. I hope it’s not just keeping its head down somewhere or this’ll be a slog. What the hell would we do if the Guardian was an immortal roach hiding under a rock in miles and miles of cave network? I don’t imagine it’s that, though, if the last Guardian was any indication. Still, there’s gotta be a way to find out what the Guardian is and a rough location. Maybe Organization 13 will help us out again, if they’re so inclined. Or maybe that Master Hand thing I’ve heard so much about will give us a clue again. I’m assuming there has to be some kind of reason for all this, but it could genuinely just be some bureaucratic bullshit in a file somewhere that mandates a certain amount of monologues and clues. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Once they were up the lift, Jesse squinted against the sunlight and peered around at the small, sad bug town. Omori made a grand introduction. Jesse glanced over at him. “Have you been here before, Omori?” She asked off-handedly.

Despite it being so utterly alien on the surface, it reminded her of the many forgotten towns she had passed through and stayed in during her life after Ordinary.

Honestly? The biggest difference is that this place actually has a train line. And, from the looks of it…

She glanced around at the very busy workers. It still has an economy. Bizarre. Wonder why this place is so empty, then? Is there some magnate somewhere pushing all the locals out? Or maybe it’s just a result of Galeem’s little doll house project. Things don’t have to make sense, they just have to look the part. It’s anyone’s guess though- we’re just passing through. Jesse approached the beginning of the quarry and peered over the edge, taking in it’s massive depth with an appreciative whistle. Hearing the word ‘Dirtmouth’ she tuned into the conversation Primrose and Therion were having with the Elderbug.

Jesse waved once to the Elderbug and nodded her head, a familiar gesture like they were old friends. Then she looked at Therion. “My best guess is that the Guardian is somewhere between here and Queen’s Station, since that seemed like the lowest level. But from what they told us there, this place is way, way above Queen’s Station. So we’ve got our work cut out for us in terms of a search.” She said. Then she glanced over at Kamek.

“Yep. I don’t have a flashlight on me. I do, however, have a very tiny car in my pocket.” Jesse said…wisely.

“Be on the lookout for headlamps. I imagine we’ll need our hands in order to fight all the giant monsters that are no doubt eagerly awaiting our arrival. If we brought some heavier duty lights, I could shrink them and carry ‘em with us to expand and use later, too. Though, after that, my jacket will officially be out of pockets.” She admitted. “Need a backpack or something.”

“I’m also a little low on cash…” She said, rolling her shoulder. “So. I probably can’t pay for anything unless we want to stick around to do some odd jobs. Or just…regular jobs. I’ve been told I’m pretty good with a mop.”

Jesse turned and saw Omori heading down a path, with some of the Koopa Troop’s minions scouting ahead. She didn’t mind that the group would spread itself out a little, but she didn’t want any member to be too isolated. From a short distance away she traced Omori’s footsteps, making her way down the sloping surface of the aptly named Dirtmouth.

World of Light

Sakura Level 8: 72/80
Karin Level 4: 19/40
Location: Metro
Word Count: 1,610
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 8: 74/80

Karin Level 4: 21/40 (pending)

Sakura and Karin rushed into the train, with Sakura flinging herself onto a seat and Karin taking a seat. For a moment, both girls flattened out their skirts. It took them both a second to realize they didn’t have skirts anymore and they both chuckled. Sakura rubbed her head and shoulder, and Karin wiped her lips to make sure there wasn’t any saliva on them.

“My goodness. Splendid work, everyone. Geralt, Roxas, Pit, Susie, Blazermate, Tora, Poppi, Midna, Peach, Bede, Raz…Sakura. It seems all of us but Wonder Red made it to their intended destination. Our mission can continue unhindered.” Karin said, straightening her posture.

”I hope everyone’s okay…” Sakura whispered. ”I think we’ll see them all again in a few days, at our next meeting. After we defeat the next two Guardians.” She said, nodding resolutely.

Then, suddenly: ”I’m not going to let this experience ruin my opinion of cats.” Sakura said, clapping a fist against her thigh. ”I mean, I am a dog person. I have a dog. But cats are cute too, y’know?”
Karin nodded sagely. They listened in on Roxas’ introduction to the Seekers. Sakura nodded as he stated his new mission. “That’s right, Mister Roxas. I think a lot of us are looking for our friends and, uh, family. I’m sure they’ll turn up. Besides, nobody covers more ground than the Seekers do, right?” Sakura said optimistically, mostly free of her doubt. Since her time in the World of Light, she’d come to terms with the ‘Gleaming’ situation.
Karin stared thoughtfully at the back of Sakura’s head, drawing the Street Fighter’s attention.
”What’s up, Miss Karin?”

“During our battle you asked to trade opponents. Why?”

”Oh, um.” Sakura shrank into herself lightly. ”I…I dunno. It was…it was weird.” Hesitating, she geared herself up to share some pretty heavy intel.

”Back on, um- there was- okay. There was this really scary ship called the Maw. Remember I told you about it?” Sakura asked. Karin nodded. ”Well, um…on that ship, it was really scary. I was tied up and, I was gonna be eaten and…” Sakura exhaled. ”Wow, this is harder than I thought.”

”And when that Cliffheart girl got my hands together, it was- it was like I was there. It was like I was back on the Maw. I’ve never seen- never felt anything like it before. I can’t describe it, but it was awful. And it caught me so off guard, I just- I just couldn’t fight her.” Sakura finished, rubbing her own arms and suppressing a shudder. A thought occurred to her. ”Now that I think about…I wonder if something similar happened when I was fighting Risky? My memories got a little fuzzy afterward.” She said.

”...I see.” Karin said. “How bizarre. Perhaps you’ve been traumatized?”

”T-traumatized?!” Sakura was alarmed. ””Geez I- I sure hope not! I don’t wanna be traumatized.” She dropped to the floor of the subway and started doing push ups.

”Oh, must you? That floor is disgusting, surely.” Karin said, nudging Sakura’s shoulder with her boot.

”Oh, right, probably.” Sakura jumped up and started doing jumping jacks instead, her hair and bandana bouncing up and down.

Karin watched Sakura, eyebrow raised. ”We’ll have to look into this. You can’t freeze up in battle.”

”I know! I don’t like that idea more than anybody. Just not sure what to do about it.” She said, jumping up and down. ”I really didn’t like that feeling.”

Karinn showed Sakura her wrist-mounted grappling hook weapon. ”Perhaps some testing is in order. Once we have a moment. For now we should focus on the objective at hand- we’ve no idea what’ll be waiting for us at our destination.”

Sakura reluctantly nodded, finishing out her set of jumping jacks and moving onto a series of stretches.

Soon they were at their destination. Yasoinaba Station in particular struck Sakura as fondly familiar. ”This looks like it could be from someplace right where I live! It’s exactly the kind of train station you’d see in my hometown. ” Smiling, she spotted lettering on the wall. ”Yasoinaba station!” She read aloud for everyone, proudly showing off her bilingual ability. Karin smirked and rolled her eyes and made her way outside.

Emerging into the daylight, they spotted not one, but three academies. A trio of them all relatively huddled together.

Karin set her finger on her chin, a bead of sweat running down her head. ”Hmm…I see.”

”Wow, look, Karin.” Sakura said flatly.

”...M’yes, I-” She began.

Sakura jumped on Karin’s back and started pulling on her ear. ”If only someone here had a freakin’ school uniform!!”

”Ah! Unhand me!” Karin, indignant, managed to grab onto Sakura’s arm and dislodge her to the ground. Sakura laughed, facepalming.

”It’s- they’re western schools, anyway, you buffoon!” Karin said, crossing her arms and looking away from everyone.”If anything the track suit makes you blend in more than a seifuku would!”

”I guess you’re right, Karin.” Sakura said, teasingly. ”But hey, yeah, everyone! This almost looks like a place where we’re from. Though the schools wouldn’t be so close together, I think.” She stood up and looked around, scratching her brown hair.

”Huh. It must really suck to still have to do homework. This is kind of confusing to me. Are they just learning the regular stuff and pretending like nothing crazy is going on because of You-Know-What?” Sakura pondered.

She turned and spotted Midna’s magical ability to produce awesome space-vehicles from mid air. ”That’s amazing, Miss Princess Midna! Oh, man! If I had my bike, I could ride that around…I left it at Alcamoth because we had to take those weird, small boats.” Sakura complained. Enviously, she looked around at everyone with their bicycles. ”...I wouldn't have freakin’ bought it if I knew we were coming to a place like this! I could go buy one right now and actually get to use it! Aw, man, this sucks!”

Karin was looking away, and noticed along with everyone else the massive city in the distance.

”Now, that, I imagine…is our point of interest. Midgar, no doubt. If our Guardian is anywhere, it’s either there, or we can learn of its location there.” Karin concluded confidently. ”In addition to battling whatever injustice may be occurring, of course.

Sakura jogged up alongside. ”Wow, that is the biggest building I’ve ever seen! If I were a bad guy, I’d be sitting right at the tippy top and looking over my entire empire, stroking a cat with an eyepatch. Isn’t that right, Karin?” She nudged her friend with her elbow.

”Precisely.” Karin nodded. ”Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Sakura had already moved on. ”Yeah, that place is cool, but this place is also cool. If it really is like where I’m from, then we won’t be seeing any magical monsters or scary bad guys. At worst, just some creeps. But I can happily beat up any creep in the world, so that’s not a problem either.” Sakura said. ”There’s gotta be something we can use here. Not at these schools, though. If there’s a car shop we could buy a truck! I dunno about a coach wagon though, Midna. At the very least, I’m going to go see about a new bicycle. Maybe I can guilt Miss Karin into buying one for me since she’s so rich.”

”...I’m right here!”

Sakura was still talking. ”Come on everyone, let’s go look around! There’s gotta be something useful or fun around here. Like an electronics store full of radios! We can meet back here soon? Like, an hour? Thirty minutes? Something? Thumbs up thumbs up?” Sakura was already backing away, shooting semi-automatic akimbo thumps at her fellow Seekers, hoping to compel at least one of them to follow her. Karin snatched Sakura by the wrist before she got too far away.

”Take this coin purse, if you must. I’ve no interest in keeping up with your wondrous sense of exploration. Practical purchases only.” Karin said, handing her a small bag with the equivalent of 1000 gold inside. Sakura grinned. ”Kasugano ‘Practical’ Sakura. That’s me.”

If all went well and she wasn’t interrupted, Sakura dashed off into town with anyone that chose to accompany her. If she was all alone, so be it! The Street Fighter was on the lookout for bicycle shops, and maybe an electronics shop. To buy walkie-talkies for everyone, an idea Sakura had right at that very moment and was now very excited about. And also, troublemakers. Goons, gangsters, etc. If she ran into any bullies like that, she wouldn’t complain. Or anyone or anything that looked interesting or fun. Best case scenario, she ran into someone strong and she could get into a quick street fighter before the Seekers moved on!

Sakura would freerun up onto rooftops and across them, or she’d take ‘shortcuts’ through any alleyways to cover as much ground as possible.

Karin, meanwhile, would stick with the largest group and continue to strategize. ”Those odd roads look interesting. They’ll lead us to Midgar. Walking would take far too long. If we cannot buy or rent our own vehicles, there might be…public transportation, of some kind.” Karin said, failing to completely hide the distaste in her voice. ”Since that went so well last time. Regardless. Let us begin our search for automobiles, or, any other type of ‘ride.’” With that, she went to find the largest street around. A main street, if you will. Such a place would be a nexus of the town. While Sakura piddled and paddled about in the side streets, Karin searched in search of transportation with, ideally, some of the more non-distracted Seekers.

World of Light

Sakura Level 8: 69/80
Karin Level 4: 16/40
Location: Metro
Word Count: 1,928
Points Gained: 3
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 8: 72/80

Karin Level 4: 19/40 (pending)

Sakura and Karin, having bought their new outfits and chatted for a while, walked excitedly towards the next part of their mission. Karin had purchased a practical yet comfortable adventurer's outfit, sporting a sleeveless waterproof black and blue top over a tank top, and sturdy looking trousers tucked into boots. Her hair, however, still flowed gracefully over her shoulders in carefully maintained coils. For once Sakura was not in her school uniform but a form-fitting tracksuit and track pants combo. They were both white, but the tracksuit had red running up the sides of her body. Karin looked more prepared, but Sakura looked much more mature and prepared. Which Karin argued was the primary point of the new outfit- it would make people take Sakura more seriously. She even had new blue fighting gloves and a pair of durable looking red shoes.

(Writer’s note: Sakura still has her old, shorter haircut, not the slightly longer haircut in the picture. Ok thanks bye)

”All right, Karin.. Here we go. First mission for you. You need to make a good impression.” Sakura said.
”I believe they need to make a good impression on me, Miss Sakura.” Karin said, adjusting her studded fighting gloves. ”Were they fortunate enough to have me from the beginning, there’s no doubt that I would be running the entire operation. I’m just making up for lost time, now.”
”...Nah.”
”’Nah’?”
”Yeah, nah.” Sakura said with a shrug.
”What-”
”I just don’t think so.” Sakura explained. ”And we’ll never know because it didn’t happen that way. So, you’re right, I guess you don’t need to make a good impression. I’m just saying- it’s good to have you.”
”Well-”
”Becaaause you’re my friend. I’ve made new friends but you’re one of my old friends.”
”...Naturally I-”
”I mean not my oldest friend. That’s Kei. She’s my oldest and best friend. She puts up with me the same way I put up with you!”
”What-?”

At THAT moment, an ominous message played over the entire intercom system. Karin and Sakura both turned around to face where they had just came from. A bead of sweat ran down Sakura’s head and Karin’s gaze hardened.
”One million p-per head?” Sakura asked as the eyes of the Metro began to fall on the Seekers.
”ONLY one million?! That’s insultingly low!” Karin exclaimed. She took a fighting stance. ”I’ll not be run out of town by a mob of unambitious, low-minded bounty hunters.”
Sakura, though, was with the others. She grabbed Sakura’s shoulders. Even the blonde’s face fell slightly when she saw just how many cats were coming their way. ”It’s not worth it, Karin- we’re leaving anyway! Let’s just go!” She tugged at her friend.

Karin growled but relented, turning to flee. ”Fine! But it is for their good, not mine. We’ve no interest in killing civilians, no matter how foolish or reckless they are.” Karin said.

”And I don’t wanna get my ass kicked by a bunch of cats! My pride can’t take it!” Sakura yelled over the din, a nervous smile on her face. As the two ran towards the trains, it became clear that Sakura was the more proficient in the two of them at freerunning. Sakura vaulted quickly over a fence while Karin cleared it gracefully by ten feet. In fact, running in generally didn’t really befit a woman of her stature. She looked and felt out of place, especially compared to Sakura, who avoided a small group of would-be cat-captors by hopping onto a wall and then pushing down off of it, smoothly transitioning into a roll and then back into her sprint. Karin faced them head on, using her dash to push through the small squads ranks as they tried to stop their momentum to catch Sakura.
Frustrated, Karin glanced down at the grappling hook attached to her wrist. She and Sakura had practiced it with only a little in their free time. Flying gracefully through the air- that more befit a noble like herself. She prepared to try it, and attached it to the top of a nearby food stand. Immediately the top of the stand was ripped off and towards Karin, who side stepped as she ran, surprised. Out of the top of the stand came several Metro cats- and one cat girl named Cliffheart who was using the place as her hiding spot. Karin pretended this was on purpose.

“Come on! Let’s show ‘em what we can do!” She cheered. Between her hands she held a threaded black rope attached to a sturdy looking hook. It had two ends, one for grabbing, the other for slashing. Sakura went to blow past Cliffheart, but the enemy catgirl whirled her hook over her head and flung it. Even with her midsection now covered, the layer of fabric did nothing to prevent the pain or the familiar feeling. Sakura was yanked back and pulled into a small swarm of metro cats who descended upon her with street weapons.

Karin immediately felt bad and went to interfere, aiming to give Cliffheart a taste of her own medicine by hooking her towards herself. As she did, a massive figure that ought to have been lumbering dropped from the ceiling and interceded. Her hook collided with him instead, and the unwitting heiress was pulled towards her six foot four foe. Once there he treated her perfect face with a clothesline. Karin grunted and span, detaching her hook and landing on her back, rolling to her feet. Where she looked upon the imposing feline named Mountain.

Unphased, Karin took her stance, turning her body perpendicular to his, crossing her back arm in front of her chest and her front arm back down across her midsection. As much as she is interested in battle, there would be no time for a full on duel- she simply had to give Sakura and herself enough time to escape.

Mountain wasn’t impressed. “I’ve met plenty of people who claim to practice martial arts. They’re all just weaklings putting up a front.”

”You stole the words right out of my mouth, sir.” Karin said, narrowing her eyes and dashing forward.
Meanwhile, a crowbar swiped across Sakura’s face, and she had enough. Blocking a knife, she turned with the swing and swept out her legs in a circle, batting the entire squadron away. ”Okay!” She said, exasperated. Just in time to get pulled towards Cliffheart once again, who promptly tossed Sakura hard into the stand, knocking it onto its side with a deep thud that knocked nearby cats off balance. Sakura lay on her back and opened one eye, looking up at Cliffheart.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Pleased to meet you…” They both said at the same time, though one had a lot more exuberance in her tone than the other. Still, it was clear they might be somewhat cut from the same cloth.

Cliffheart when to stomp on Sakura’s face, but the street fighter rolled out of the way as the concrete broke in slightly where she stomped. Sakura dashed in and began firing off a series of light jabs and kicks. Cliffheart was forced into retreat, backing up and using her rope to deflect punches and moving her legs out of the way of the kicks. Sakura overextended and Cliffheart expertly wrapped her wrists together.

Sakura prepared herself for a smooth counter attack involving a kick, but instead, panic seized her heart. For a moment, she could have sworn she was back on the Maw, hands tied above her head, preparing to be made into stew. She stood there, dumbfounded, as a hard metal clamp swiped across her face, once, twice, three times. Sakura yelled and fell backwards as the rope lost its tension, releasing her. Shaken by her vulnerability, she tossed an oncoming cat away and scrambled back to her feet as blood ran from her cheek.


”K-Karin!” She shouted, voice unusually uncertain. ”Trade!”

Karin was on more equal footing with her opponent. He blocked her first series of attacks and returned fire with his own. Karin leaped over his head and kicked him in the back of the skull. He turned and span his fist around, but she dropped under it, supporting her body with one hand as thrust both her feet into his leg, sweeping him off his feet.
“Hmph!” The Mountain noted, back rolling as she approached once again. Hearing her friend call out for a trade, Karin raised an eyebrow. She kicked out at the Mountain but he blocked it, and after a brief exchange of blows he caught her off guard with brutally fast Left Hook to the head. Karin’s head snapped to the side. He caught her shoulder and plunged his fist into her belly.
”Oof!” Her eyes nearly bulged. The next fist came in, but she put a stop to it with her palm and thrust her elbow into his chest with a V-Reversal, causing him to fly backwards onto the ground.

He was up and at her again in moments, but his feline face was crushed into by the steel-like surface of her palm. “Grr!”
”Ressen Ha!” She moved over him and went to attack Cliffheart from behind. Then things truly turned into a brawl. Karin seized Cliffheart by the wrist and flipped the cat girl over her shoulder, sending her spinning towards Mountain, landing on his back as he got to his feet. Sakura leapt a solid twenty feet and brought her fists down like hammers onto Cliffhearts sternum, flattening both her and Mountain onto the ground.

She rolled to a stop and dove out of the way of some cats, who were afraid of getting too close to this whirlwind fight, giving her opponents the chance to get up.

Cliffheart threw her hook again, but Sakura was ready this time. She blew it out of the way with a fireball that hit into both of them, causing them to slide backwards. Riled up, she flung a few more, forcing them into cover. Cliffheart hid inside a nearby building while the Mountain ducked around the corner. ”Hadoken!”
Karin finally got to use her grappling hook. The Mountain turned and burst one of Sakura’s fireballs with his fists, preparing to engage. That was when Karin’s hook attached to him and the food stand was pulled toward him at high speed. “Coward!” He yelled as he crossed his arms in front himself, getting flung backwards.
“Hey!” Cliffheart yelled, offended on behalf of her friend. She ran out of cover and got beaned by a precise fireball. “Gah!” She was knocked onto her back and rolled back inside.

”Ditch 'em!” Sakura shouted, knowing neither feline was anywhere close to being defeated. But she knew they could be outran. Karin cast a brief, hesitant look at Mountain before nodding. ”If they wanted a fair fight, they should have challenged us fair and square. Quickly!” The two turned and ran away to the Black Line.

The gate was in their way, and many Seekers were engaged in disparate battles. But Sakura and Karin had tailed enemies on their own hypothetical tails. Still, the flow of metro cats and din of battle meant that as long as they took a few turns, they had left the pair of felines in the dust. As they got closer to the Black Line gate, they confirmed that their pursuers weren’t making trouble for any of their friends as best they could. They also spent some time knocking away some Metro Cats before the big wave could arrive.
Karin wrapped one arm around Sakura and fired her grappling hook up towards the ceiling near the gate. Once there, Sakura smashed open the window and the two descended, successfully making it to the Black Line.