Zoey Boey

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 50/90
Karin Level 5: 45/50
Location: City of Glass
Word Count: 539
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 51/90

Karin Level 5: 46/50

—

Honestly, Karin couldn’t believe it. Sakura prancing around like she was a princess in a field of flowers, getting rejected over and over again. Even mocked. But when it came to things like this, Sakura simply had no pride. No stake in it. Something like this wouldn’t embarrass her. And then she met this odd man who was clearly spoiled blind my wealth kept talking over her and had no idea how people worked. But Sakura and him hit it off right away. Sakura, Karin found, could make friends with most people. Somehow she had even made friends with Karin. Because the more Karin thought about it, she covered her face and kept quiet. This guy was like looking into a dark mirror, and Karin didn’t need that much of a reality check with her lunch.

When Midna said they all looked like a bunch of cynics, Karin felt obligated to speak up. “Well. It was Tora’s idea, first.” She said, as if to deprive her rival of a win.

Sakura meanwhile was happy to take pictures of Mr. Limestone once he gave her a camera. While it might have been a little higher tech than the polaroids of her world, the basic concept was the same. Point and shoot!

”Teehee. This is kinda fun. I feel like a…what’s the word…a paparazzi!” She said, smiling. ”Except not like, evil, or whatever?”

Karin had find it amusing how Geralt loomed in the distance behind Sakura. She wondered if seeing such an intimidating form behind the plucky teenager influenced anyone’s decision to not do Sakura’s odd request.

Sakura had her eye up against the camera and her other eye shut when Susie asked Wallace a weird question. ”Pfft.” It struck Sakura as a bit glib. But then she remembered they were undercover, and she tried to clam up a bit.

Karin overheard the conversation about morals. She found herself agreeing with Zenkichi and Midna, even if the former might be a bit sentimental about it. Benedict also had a point, but she didn’t like the wishy washy way he said it.

”We must be our best selves at all times. Anything else will result in failure. It is as simple as that.” Karin said.

Sakura meanwhile considered her mission to get Wallace friends as seriously as she could. ”Hmm… paparazzi.” She went down a line of thought related to celebrity culture. ”You don’t want to attract moochers. Now that I think about it, being popular is different from having friends.” She rubbed her chin, deep in thought. If Wallace wasn’t paying attention, she would also happily be talking to herself.

”Besides my best friend Kei who I don’t even remember meeting for hte first time…I made a lot of friends through sharing common interests. Or school. But my common interest is fighting, and you’re not in school...” She looked Wallace up and down.

”I mean, what do I know, you could be a totally awesome fighter already! Are you an awesome fighter? I wonder if this boat is big enough to have a fight on.” Sakura got distracted quick, squinting at Karin and trying to figure out if she could throw a fireball at her from here without destroying the boat.

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 49/90
Karin Level 5: 44/50
Location: City of Glass
Word Count: short
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 50/90

Karin Level 5: 45/50

—

”You don’t look that much older than me…” Sakura complained mostly to herself in regards to Giovanna’s comment. If getting more mature meant getting numb to injustice, then maybe Sakura would just stay naive. Not that she was some big hero or whatever, but…still. If she didn’t care about fighting for what she thought was right, she wouldn’t have come along.

Karin set a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. ”The injustice is-”

”Oooh no! I don’t want to hear anything about that from you. You own your own freakin’ private mountain in the middle of Japan!” Sakura said, waggling her finger in the air.

”But that’s my estate. I thought you said you understood that part? I can have a big house. I’m rich.” Karin replied.

”Yeah but, man, your house is bigger than my entire neighborhood. ANd it’s not even your only house!” Sakura said.

”...Well, this is all besides the point. We have to focus on the task at hand.” Karin said. ”Besides…I definitely deserve it.”
Later, Karin walked into the City of Glass with the other pass users. Even if she didn’t fit the look exactly, she carried the aura of someone who would rip apart anyone who dared question her presence. The city was impressively built, though as Geralt pointed out, it lacked any natural beauty.

”Spot on. That’s why I had a mountain built within my property. Nothing can beat the beauty of the natural world!” She said proudly, somehow.

Once in the bathroom, Sakura came out. Perhaps she didn’t get the memo entirely, because she was still in her headband and fighting gloves. The suit fit her short but athletic frame nicely, however. She was wearing black slacks, a black suit, and a white long sleeved undershirt. But again, the white headband and fighting gloves might have been a bit of a give away.

”My dad would be so proud if he could see me now.” Sakura remarked wryly.

”No longer a thuggish street fighter. An upstanding member of society.” Karin responded, suave.

Sakura squinted, shielding her eyes from the sun. ”This place is hard to look at.” She said. That was when she saw Tora, all by himself, and her face fell all over again. He was so sad! With a sigh, she adjusted the cufflinks of her new shirt and steeled herself. If they were going to save Peach and Poppi, they would just have to keep pushing forward.

Karin rubbed her chin as Geralt brought up his plan. Midna’s too. Sakura looked pretty concerned. ”Uuh...geez. I guess if we have to steal, we could. Are we really that broke?” She said. ”What if we just asked really nicely?” She wondered aloud.

Then Sakura walked, no, practically skipped, towards the pier. Much to Karin’s chagrin.

Sakura would open up to any stranger with a boat with a polite bow, her hands at her sides. ”Pleased to meet you! Me and my friends need to get across the river. Could you help us? Or point us in the direction of a ferry?” If someone refused, she’d just say ‘thanks’ and move right along to the next person! It was one of her go-to problem solving skills. When she began her fighting journey she just ran around town looking for strong people to ask to fight out of the blue.

Young Justice

Kila and Pei

---

Pei was going through her things post mission when she realized she had forgotten something in the satchel she brings along just incase she needs free hands while also carrying something. It was Metamorph’s mask! The one he had dropped when he disappeared. Pei pursed her lips, and resolved to go give it to him.

That was why she was still in her superhero uniform when she knocked on Kila’s room door, not knowing where else to find him. Worst case scenario, she could just leave it outside his door. It was a shave and a haircut knock, a jaunty little tune for anyone that wanted to spice up their knocking arsenal.

“Come in.” Came the calmed voice of the young man inside. Pei hesitated, then tilted her head with a shrug.

Upon opening the door, she could see him sitting in a metal chair near the window. He was at least half of the way dressed down, the torso piece of his metamorph suit traded for a sleeveless black compression shirt but the uniform pants remained. A white, albeit now partially stained red, towel laid on the floor near his feet with one of the suit’s gauntlets resting on it. The other was in his hand being wiped down with a wet rag.

Kila only briefly looked up to see the identity of the person coming in before continuing with his task. “Hello, Pei.”

”Hey howdy hey.” She said with a smile. ”I was uh, lookin’ through my stuff when I remembered I picked something up of yours.” She approached and presents his mask to him with both of her hands.

”Ta-daaa. Your cool mask. I never was much of a secret identity person but, I might get one of those superhero eye mask thingies one day, if only for the aesthetic.”

That seemed to rouse his attention more directly and he paused again to look at it. “I see. Thank you…I was hoping that it wasn’t stolen.” He looked at the cleaned golden piece of armor in his hand and rested it on his lap. Accepting the mask, he stared into the eyes of it for a moment.

“I don’t fully know why I took it off in the first place…Where did you find it?”

”On the ground.” She says with a bit of a grimace in her smile. ”Next to a bad guy with two broken arms and a lot of scared civvies.” She rubs the back of her head.

Her smile fades completely as she works up the courage to say what she felt she needed to say. She hadn’t come here with the intention of doing anything except dropping off the mask. And yet:

”Um…look, I know I’m new here but…that was um…well, that- that wasn’t okay.” She managed.

”You’re right…It wasn’t. I thought when I joined this team, I wouldn’t have another incident like that…but, here I am, cleaning blood off of my things…I’ve at least been told that none of the innocents were harmed.”

Pei turned and walked a few steps away and then walked back. ”Right, but, you totally brutalized those guys. Put them in the hospital for months, probably. Injuries that will only heal years from now, if at all. The people we were supposed to be saving were scared of you.” She said. ”Scared of me, afterwards.”

”Are you saying you’re not in control of your actions or somethin’?” She asked. ”What do you mean ‘another incident’?”

”What I am referring to is my mysterious power of the Red; my ‘animal’ side, if you will. I have exhibited some uses of it in the past, which are more numerous, as I am now learning. The incident in the past was when I was younger…and had less control. It has a primal fury that I can only guide, instead of contain.”

Pei looked a little exasperated. ”Oh, great. You have a superpowered evil side? Dude, I’m sorry, I know you’re more sick of dealing with it than anyone. But it’s still happening and it’s like, totally not conductive to superheroing. We need to work on this. We need to stick some Blue or Green into you to balance it out, or whatever!” She said and at that point, Kila’s eyes cut away from his mask up to the icy girl. His stare held contempt.

”What do you think I do all day?! Do you think if it were simply as easy as changing one little thing that it hasn’t been tried?!” He threw the mask away and stood. Pei took a couple steps back.

”You say ‘I know’— You know nothing about what I was put through in Buredunia! Or about the Red, Blue, and Green, you don’t know anything about it!” In his sharp burst of emotion, his breaths quickened in pace, shoulders rising and falling. Yet, he looked down at the gauntlet in his hand. Iwisa… He closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself, but still raised her garment up as a representation.

”I come from a military where kids like me;” He paused, opening eyes to look at Pei directly. ”Kids like us; are trained to be weapons for their country to deploy at their enemies. I was the son of the President-King, with dormant, barely controllable abilities. I was meant to be the example, so how do you think it was handled…?” His eyes again fell to the gauntlet and he lowered it to hold in both hands.

”My amai took me away from that system, and taught me that I didn’t have to be a weapon…but that this power of the red that flows through me, will surface again. That it is forever part of me. Not just some ‘evil’ side, as some see it, but something I must learn to make peace with…”

Pei tilted her head, a little incredulous. ”My guy. I’m sorry about your past. But I’m talking about the present.” She said.

”You brutalized those crooks like they killed your dog. You terrified those civvies. You left me completely by myself in the middle of a dangerous situation. Things could have gone real bad. Like, make peace with it? We gotta fix it!” She said.

”I have only been free from their influence for a year, after years of conditioning to be a certain way. This short period of time and you coming in here to tell me about myself isn’t going to fix it. While talking about those thieves like they weren’t holding guns at the hostages. As if that they hadn’t shot at us. But our teammates’ injuries say otherwise, don’t they…?” The young lion sat back in his chair.

”If you are done being yet another voice telling me that you are afraid of or for me, you know where the door is. Thank you for returning my mask.”

”...Geez, man.” Pei put a hand on her hip and shook her head. ”You’re welcome.”

She was about to leave, but…she stopped and turned around. ”Come on, you really don’t see where I’m comin’ from at all? You just- I just- I got left out to dry. Like laundry. Flap flap, on a little- clothesline. What was I supposed to do, not say anything?”

”Not come in acting like the results were my intent. Or like I don’t understand the severity of the consequences my actions may have. I have the worst of them physically embedded in my skin. If what you need is an apology, then I apologize. It will not change what I’ve done, or really provide a solution, but I said and meant it.”

She really wants to argue, like, she didn’t come in here acting like it was his intent. She came in here to give him his cool mask back. She also didn’t like being made to feel like she was out of line. But she couldn’t see the point of saying these things so she just thought them really hard while staring at him.

”Yeah…okay. It’s just, I think we worked well together. Like, right up until that last part. Which was also like, the first part. It was like the first thing that we did. Just: zwoop.” She slaps her hands together and sends the top hand soaring away like an airplane taking out.

”I did the acting of my life, by the way. I distracted the hell out of that robber, just like you said. Nobody else even saw.” She said, pouting while the premature veteran sighed.

”I know you did your best…Just…give me some time, Pei. I’m still recovering from what happened.”

”Yeah, man, no problem. I just- I just want us to all work together, y’know? Sorry if I came on a little strong.” She said, rubbing her elbow. ”Let me know if you ever wanna hang out or whatever.” With that she turned to leave, overall feeling pretty bad about how that all went down. When she faced away from Kila and walked out she bit on her finger and winced.

Closing the door behind her she kept her knuckle in her mouth as she walked away. Then she stood up a little straight and took her finger out to talk to herself. ”Guess I have no choice. I’ll just have to trust him all the way anyway.” That solution cleared up all her problems. Pei believed in second, third, fourth, and fifth chances. Sixth with a bit of bargaining. And Metamorph was only about a quarter of the way through his first chance. She just needed to be on her toes in the future now that she knows about his problem. Would it have been nice to know about it beforehand? Sure. But the past was in the past. Pei was more concerned with the present.

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 48/90
Karin Level 5: 43/50
Location: Hideout -> Hublink
Word Count: teeny
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 49/90

Karin Level 5: 44/50

—

Sakura rubbed her temples as she listened to the recap. Secret viruses, secret groups within secret groups. This was all too much to think about. Poor Peach…they had to get to the bottom of it so they could save her- save everyone! If only that sniper hadn’t gotten killed.

”Well. I suppose it couldn’t hurt to learn a little more about the people that run this city.” Karin said, in reference to the debate they were now trying to get into.

”It’s kinda weird to be back together every once in a while.” Sakura mused. ”Though it is a nice reminder that there really is kind of a lot of us Seekers? There’s like twenty of us or something.” She said.

Sakura got her ID updated! ”Oh, thanks..! To be honest, I kinda forgot these were all fake.” She said. ”It’s also a little creepy that we even need these… everywhere else we’ve been you can just walk wherever you want without needing to prove you’re a real person.” Sakura muttered quietly.

”The city is authoritative in nature. Crisis are an excellent excuse for restricting liberty.” Karin said.

”You still owe me a fight, by the way.” Sakura said to Karin.

”Of course. But-”

”-We’re still being sneaky.”

Sakura tried and succeeded not to gawk at the atrium and the giant killer robots within. There was a bit of a problem with their access though. Security wouldn’t easily let them through.

”Well, they better let us in.” Sakura said. ”We just fought for this city. Raz and I even went through their training programs. They should let everyone in. It doesn’t seem very fair to have an entire section of a city most people can’t go into.” She crossed her arms and pouted.

”A house? Sure. A neighborhood, I guess. But a whole part of a city? That’s just- elitist!” Sakura complained. ”Look at ‘em with their giant army of killer robots. Didn’t see so much of half of that much security protecting a bunker full of innocent people against creepy monsters from the sky. What a bunch of crap. This place sucks.”

”Security theater, more than actual security. As we are no doubt about to demonstrate. Unless there is some kind of technology we don’t know about that can counter it, a well placed teleporter would do the trick, yes? ” She said, agreeing with Blazermate's idea.

”Worst case scenario, with my grapple hook and some of our agility, it shouldn’t be too difficult to simply sneak over or around using the terrain of the city.” Karin said.

”Yeah…but whoever gets a pass should really shove it in their face.” Sakura added.

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 46/90
Karin Level 5: 43/50
Location: Seiran Tunnels -> Hideout
Word Count: 697
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 48/90

Karin Level 5: 44/50

—

Sakura stirred as Blazermate’s light overcame her. It didn’t take long for her wounds to seal cleanly and smoothly. Much nicer than the zombification process Blazermate did, for sure. Sakura opened her eyes and looked at Blazermate.

”O-oh! Blazermate-san. You saved me. Thank you.” Her head was clear now, though after the relief of life and health wore off, the worry and fear for Peach’s wellbeing returned.

Karin was surprised to see Geralt lose his cool, though, Karin had missed the moment where Sakura had been so gravely injured.

When the battle was over, and the cavalry arrived, Sakura angrily confirmed the traitor who had metamorphed Peach. “That rotten sneak! It was her. I saw her! Here and at the gym.” She brought her clenched fists down and breathed out, Karin setting an unusually gentle hand on her shoulder.

But whoever these Seiran Defence Force people were, they were Peach’s only hope, so Sakura and Karin were glad they existed. Even if there arrival was abrupt, to the Street Fighters it came as a big relief. Really, what could they done to help her? Seeing Peach like that had distressed Sakura to the point of irrational action. ”I couldn’t believe she could just be gone like that…” She said, rubbing her arm and staring, ashamed, at her shoes.

”It’s all right, Miss Sakura.” Karin said. ”I didn’t get to do much battling at the end there. Perhaps you and I could spar after dinner?” She offered.

Sakura, still feeling blue, brightened a bit nonetheless. ”Sounds fun.”

—

Back at the hideout, Karin eyed Geralt knowingly, while Sakura looked at him with more concern after his speech. She caught the tail end of his furious barrage and it made her nervous. Ever since he had fused with the Orphan, Sakura had been worried and a little distant towards Geralt.

”And with Peach…gone, we can’t even unfuse you if we wanted too.” She said, sounding sick to her stomach. Sadly, she ate the turkey and ham sandwich in front of her.

She thought about how Raz had helped her with her own psychic damage problem. ”Maybe Raz could- oh, man.” She began, mouth full of sandwich, before she remembered the little psychic wasn’t with them anymore, either.

”Don’t talk with your mouthful. It’s impolite.” Karin chastised without looking, tone light. Before Sakura could respond, Karin continued.

”And thank you, Mr. Goldlewis, for the meal.” She said.

”I know the loss of the Princess has put a damper on things, but don’t let that distract you from the overall success of the mission. As we continue in our journey, we will find the answers we seek.” She said with absolute confidence.

”Yeah...” Sakura said, making sure to swallow this time. ”We’re Seekers, not…Thinkers.” She said, though that sounded better in her head.

”...Indeed.” Karin responded wryly. ”All this to say, we made it through the mission with only a single casualty, and it was not even a death. Our wayward allies will no doubt report back to us with their findings.”

”The thing we need to focus on is tracking down that sniper who shot Peach! I saw her do it.” Sakura said, righteous anger lifting her spirits. Though she didn’t mean to be dismissive of Benedict’s thoughts, questions about the motivations of whoever or whatever weren’t worth thinking about from here to Sakura.

”That changes everything. That’s the real mystery. The only reason we should engage with any of this political crap is to get to the bottom of that! And then I’ll make that rotten Anya eat dirt for what she did. Right after she’s done telling us everything she knows.” Sakura’s tone was resolute.

”We’re in a district full of mind readers.” Karin said. ”There must be some way of tracking her, or whatever group she’s affiliated with, down. We just need a lead.”

”Maybe I could go and talk to Gemma?” Sakura said. She liked the idea, but facing him after her little breakdown brought heat to her cheeks. ”She was hanging out with him when I first saw her.” With that, she sat back on her hands and knees. There wasn’t exactly a huge dining table in the hideout, so Karin and Sakura were sitting on the floor next to their respective cots.

”If all else fails, I’m sure it will not be long before we find something else to do. We will find victory as long as we continue onward.” Karin concluded. Hopefully she had succeeded in at least presenting the group with the possibility of action. And reminding everyone that their mission was ultimately a success couldn’t hurt either, right? With Peach gone, Karin felt a void in the group dynamic. Perhaps she was the one to fill it. Only time would tell.

Young Justice

The Incorrigible Iceburn!

Interactions
Zatara

---

Over the comms, she nodded at Rain's commands. He sounded like a good second-in-command! This was Iceburn's first mission with the team, so there was no way she was going to step up, at least, not with someone so eager to do so already being present.

"You got it, Boss #2." She said.

"Alright everyone!" She said to the civilians. "The way is clear. We're movin' on down. Follow me!" With that she lead her people down the stairs. She vaulted over the railings and hopped down several stairs at a time, a little too amped up to just walk down them normally.

That was when Mirage asked her a weird question...probably one that indicated that she would be pretty upset at the idea of Metamorph being missing. "I just mean, y'know-- he went, uh, away. From me. And didn't tell me where he would end up." She explained with a wince. So much for being gentle, that just came out awkward. Iceburn grimaced back at the people following her like she was on an awkward phone call. The man she had spoken too earlier shrugged.

Despite that, they eventually they made it to the lobby without incident.

"Zatara! How's it goin', magic man?" She said, seeing more and more civilians freed as they escaped from the lobby to the waiting police outside.

"I think that's everything." She said, dusting her hands off.

She activated comms and began speaking to her team again. "Civilians secure. Now, have we found Metamorph yet, or do I need to get a broom?"

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 45/90
Karin Level 5: 41/50
Location: Seiran Tunnels
Word Count: 1051
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 47/90

Karin Level 5: 43/50

Sakura grunted as she was knocked away, sent scattering through rocks and debris, separated from her team. That was a heavy hit by itself, and Sakura had already been worn down by the previous fights.

Sakura’s overwhelming storm of emotions were all wiped away by the reality check of the massive Other rearing its entire body to bring it down just on little old her, over and over again.

”Peach!” She cried out in dismay, crossing her arms in front of her.

She blocked the first slam, resulting in the sound of breaking glass and blue flash as her guard broke completely. The slams after that were free to hit her, and Sakura was cratered into the ground like she had been during the Orphan fight. Sakura briefly lost consciousness.

That was when Luka and Raz got it off her. Sakura gasped for breath and coughed, practically surrounded in her own personal dust cloud. Visibility for and of her was low to none.

If it wasn’t for her ability Round Two, she would be unconscious, like Karin had been when she got slammed by a giant monster. Instead she just lay there, totally dazed. Over the course of her recovery, her left arm began to bleed, a lot, as well as a cut on her forehead, and some blood trickled from her lips. Maybe she was tougher than she gave herself credit for, but she had still just been totally crushed several times.

Some of her ribs were cracked, she had internal bruising, a concussion, and her left arm was broken from her blocking attempt. While her allies were distracted by the beast, Sakura quietly lay down, struggling to keep her eyes open.

Karin was just trying to keep up with creature, striking its extended limbs and legs whenever an opportunity prevented itself. But the Other was massive. Karin was trying to make it work. It was hard, but if things stayed at this pace, they would win. The Other knew this of course and changed up its strategy.

Plunging its ribbons into the ground, it made to impale every last hero on the scene. Several struck Sakura before she could stand up. There was a yellow spark and Sakura spat up some more blood. It hurt, more than getting stabbed like that usually would, because she was running on fumes.

‘That’s not good,’ she thought, using her good hand to ‘catch’ the blood before most of it could spatter against the ground, like that would do anything. Sakura was pale, her hands shaking.

Soon after that, the creature kicked up such a huge amount of dust that anyone that wanted to help Sakura would lose track of her. But at the very least, the wounded street fighter figured that the Other couldn’t see her, either.

Karin avoided the ribbons on her own and attached herself to the ceiling as the dust engulfed the area. Then she swung over to the wall, grabbing onto a craggy outcropping. Squinting against the dust, she tried to listen carefully to where the ribbons were coming from, so she could avoid them and locate the source.

Meanwhile, Sakura, clutching her battered arm, staggered away from the noises of conflict. Her mind was still hazed. She hadn’t noticed any healers. All she could think about was Peach. She didn’t…get it. Where was everyone? Sakura squinted in the dust.

Out of the thick, dusty haze rushed a humanoid figure, darkly dressed. For a moment this didn't register with Sakura as anything strange; after all, her enemies here weren't people -or weren't anymore, anyway- and given what she'd just been through, a helping hand from an ally whether new or old wasn't just appreciated, but deserved. It left the street fighter in utter shock, then, when the person charged not just to her, but past her, and clipped her shoulder on the way. A fresh lance of pain shot through Sakura's system, making her see stars, and when they stopped dancing through her vision she'd fallen to the ground. Only after a moment did she twist to confront whoever it was who struck her with an anguished, indignant glare. The runner turned too, and the moment Sakura laid eyes on her she realized that this was no friend of hers. Feminine in stature, she wore a full-body suit of black and red that struck Sakura as achingly familiar. She'd seen it before, she knew, and recently. But when...? The unknown woman froze for a moment, as if she'd seen something she recognized as well, after getting a closer look. She held out one hand, her index and middle fingers extended, to shoot an imaginary finger gun at Sakura. After the recoil she raised the same two fingers to give a mocking salute, then, with her sniper rifle held tight in her other hand, turned to take off running. She sprinted into the tunnel Team Goldlewis came from and was gone.

The concussed fighter tried to move. Two more spikes emerged from the earth and stuck into her lower bare back, arching it and lifting her off the ground, until only her arms, feet, shoulders and head were touching the earth. They stabbed her fairly deep, but weren’t strong enough to do more than lift her. The ranged attack wasn't strong enough to impale her completely and finish her off.

”Ugh..!” The stars filled her vision again, and this time they did not recede. They got brighter and brighter until all she could see was white. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth. When the spikes retracted, Sakura was flat against the ground.

She couldn’t go on. ”Unh…” With a defeated moan, Sakura resigned herself to unconsciousness.

Karin, still low-vision because of the dust, was playing on the defensive until it all cleared down. She would leap and swing away from any ribbons coming her way as soon as she heard them, if they could even reach her on the walls. Reluctant to make any reckless moves of offense, she played it save. There was no reason to get squashed trying to avoid some relatively minor piercing damage. She tried not to worry too much about Sakura, wherever she was, and focused on defending herself. Running around shouting her friend's name wasn’t going to help anyone.

OBLIVION

I almost made a straight up meanie-bo-beanie but instead I made this character. Let me know what you think, i guess..!

Jolene Miller-Wilson

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████████ PERSONAL DETAILS ████████ █ AGE Twenty-three █ GENDER Female █ SEXUALITY Heterosexual █ OCCUPATION Receptionist/ Call Center Representative █ QUALIFICATIONS High School Diploma, one year in college █ RESIDENCE Apartment Complex ████████ PHYSICAL DETAILS ████████ █ SCARS Small pinpricked shape holes in the crook of the elbow. Navel piercing scar. █ TATTOOS Lower back thorn-rose tattoo █ PIERCINGS Simple earrings █ MARKINGS None █ HEIGHT 5'5 █ BUILD Rectangle ██████████ MISC NOTES ██████████ [+] Says 'um' and 'like' a lot Still working on figuring out 'non-problematic' language Daughter is 3 1/2 years old ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

---- Jolene Wilson was the baddest bitch at Ritman High. Captain of the Cheerleading team, the self-acclaimed most beautiful girl in school and not many people thought to doubt her. She lead a pack of ruthless teenage girls who sought order and conformity above all else. Freaks were to be called freaks, geeks were to be mocked as their burly boyfriends shoved them into lockers. Anyone who was outcasted was probably being outcasted by her. Jolene set the pace for three long years, her reign of terror at it's highest when she turned 18 in the final year and gained a lot of financial freedom from her parents. What captain of what sports team DIDN'T she date? The rich Miller family even gave her power outside of school as well. Jolene threw parties and only the coolest students were let in. If you weren't at Jolene Miller's parties, you were basically a nobody. Racist, homophobic remarks? Sure, get those in there too, SOMEBODY has to feel bad, and it can't be Jolene. She was at the top of the world. ---- The thing about being at the top, is that there is no where to go but down. Her grades, at the end of everything, were much worse than she had been leading her parents to believe. She was already planning on getting married to her perfect high school sweetheart and travel the world with him. And there was the problem of the drug habit she had developed. But that didn't matter! She was Jolene Wilson! Within one year of graduating high school, she was a divorcee in rehab. A few months after that, she found out she was pregnant. She was plannin on flaking out of rehab, or relapsing, because who cares? But she took the pregnancy as a sign from God and stuck with it. At this point, Jolene was biggest shame to the Wilson name, ever. It was a small mercy that she had been using it in conjuction with the Miller name, the name of her short lived husband, Craig. But it didn't save her from her family cutting her off almost entirely, and going on a very, very long vacation out of town. Jolene was crushed. She had only wanted to live up to their expectations. She only needed the drugs to feel good about herself. Would she ever be enough? Why wasn't she enough? How did this happen? Where did her life go? Her child was born, underweight, and Jolene named her Hope. Jolene got a normal, working class job-and-a-half, and that plus a little bit of child support as made her life...liveable, if stressful. But a few years clean has done wonders for her looks and she still had that cheerleader workout ethic buried somewhere in there. While she still has a few scars, physically and mentally from those dark days, she is back to her old beautiful self. Which has done wonders for her self-esteem, especially when she came to the conclusion that the only person who would decide what 'enough' was, was her. That it happened because of her, and that she could make other, better things happen too. And she remembered that her life was right in front of her and in her arms. Time to turn things around, you know? ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

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---- To Be In Many Places At Once- Self-Duplication From one Jolene, another can emerge. Clothes and small items and accessories will be duplicated, but more complex items will not. All duplicates have their own consciousness, allowing them to make decisions with full focus. They are all also however linked in such a way that all Jolene's will be the same person, and allow for extreme co-ordination. ---- Jolene was a horrible bully in her youth but has learned humility and found herself in the years following high school. Without being manipulative, her social skills are now lacking where before, they were lethal. But she has genuinely changed since becoming a single mother. Her ability will allow her to try and balance the activities of the plot with the responsibility to her family. At the beginning she will try to go around and apologize to everyone and try to make things right, and also make some friends since she is a bit lonely. But basically, Jolene is going to get stronger. And I like stories where people are better than they were before. Hopefully I can write her endearingly enough. But I also like the idea of her still having a biting, sassy side that comes out every once in a while. Like John Wick but instead of a master assassin she's a mean girl. Like she still has that part of her that can upset people by stabbing at their insecurities. Just REALLY trying not to get back into 'the business'. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

- █████ STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES █████ + Telepathic link make for an effective fighting force − Splitting focus over more than two tasks degrades mental capability of the duplicates. + Up to twenty-three Jolenes at a time − Can only split one into two at a time, no more, which takes time. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 44/90
Karin Level 5: 40/50
Location: Seiran Tunnels
Word Count: small
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 45/90

Karin Level 5: 41/50

—

”We won! And the crowd goes wild!” Sakura cheered happily. High fives all around for the other two ladies on her side of the wall. Clearing space for the inevitable teleport, Sakura bent down to make sure the laces of her combat boots were secure.

When she glanced up at some kind of disturbance. Sina noticed something was wrong, and Sakura glanced at Peach. Something bad had happened to her. ”Peach-san?” She asked.

There was a sound like cracking glass and Sakura saw Peach and the air around her crack like glass. Sakura shrieked in horror and rushed over to do something. All would be in vain as the glass, the air- Peach- all shattered and was replaced by the largest Other Sakura had seen yet.

Sakura fell backwards, propping herself up on her elbows. Sina was knocked away and the other half of the squad appeared to do battle with the Other monstrosity. Everything became blurry, and Sakura tried to blink hard against her tears. ”W-what..?” She asked.

Raz emerged, and began to distract the monster. It began to target him. This sight pushed Sakura back to her feet, even as the tears flowed down her cheeks.
”Leave him alone!” She shouted, her voice cracking with distress. She sprinted towards the Other and came at it with everything she had. She sprinted after it and spent an EX-Meter to do an EX-Hadosho. Her fist ignited with blue flame and she dashed forward, looking to knock the creature solidly while it chased after Raz. Though she had pushed herself into combat, she had only been able to convert despair into anger, not able to rid herself of negative feelings.

”Give her back!” Sakura shouted, using her close range Hadokens and Hadoshos to trade precision for power, using her ki to wallop and explode against the beast with both hands.

When Karin entered with her team she was eager to get back into the fight, having missed the last event. Fortunately, they all seemed to make it out okay. After briefly passing by another team, Karin was eager to meet up with Peach’s team and see how Sakura and Raz were doing.

But before that could happen, they would have to battle through the great Other in the way. The last time Karin battled a large beast, it hadn’t gone so well, and Karin was determined to not let it happen again that time. All she had to do was act carefully and get a read on its patterns before attacking too aggressively.

A lesson that apparently Sakura hadn’t learned, as Karin saw her plunge straight into danger and begin spamming some of her most powerful attacks like she wanted to crank out as much damage as possible with no regards to combos, or, more worryingly, defensive and evasive maneuvers. Karin was a good enough fighter to know when someone was emotionally compromised. Especially someone like Sakura. Concern passed over Karin’s face.

”Sakura!” She called out. ”Pull back!” But her friend didn’t hear, or didn’t listen.

Karin grapple hooked ahead of the pack and went to get on the outskirts of the melee fight to give herself enough time to gauge the situation. Right now she was looking to see any particularly cumbersome attacks the creature might throw out. Then, she would go in to punish with powerful advancing strikes, before retreating again out of immediate melee range.

World of Light

Sakura Level 9: 38/90
Location: Seiran Tunnels
Word Count: smal
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Sakura Level 9: 44/90 +5

---

”See ya! Good luck!” Sakura called out to the leaving team.

When they made it down the tunnel and looked at those strange little psychic blips ands shimmers. She reached out to poke one, and hesitated. Her thoughts about them weren’t that deep- but she found them interesting. It was nice, in a way, that these feelings and thoughts were preserved somewhere. Even if only for a little. Like finding a carving of a heart and two initials on a tree. It can be sweet to get a glimpse like that. Though in this case, a little uncomfortable, too.

Noticing the tire tracks when Luka pointed them out, Sakura thought. ”Bad guys?” She offers.

That was when Dexio did a somewhat ill-advised move, splitting the party in half. And not even saving Sakura, Peach, and Sina from the oncoming monsters!

”Uh oh! Not good!” Sakura said, nervously looking for an escape. The hole was pretty far away, and there was no guarantee all three of them could easily make up, if at all, before one of them got caught. She also tried to gauge the distance. Sakura could jump pretty high. But even if she could make it, no way would she leave Peach and Sina alone.

Out of the three on this side though, Sakura felt she was the physically most powerful. If anyone should be last, it should be her, because the others could support her. Right?

”Can we get outta here somehow?!” She asked. But it was no dice.

Sakura started chucking fireballs the Others way to harry their approach. ”Let me try your Cryokinesis, Sina!” She exclaimed, and then her fireballs began to have a frosty twist! Badass! The elemental damage would slow them down and of course, hurt more. ”Wow, that's cool!” She said, the simple unfunny pun not intended nor noticed. But shortly, they closed the distance.

Once they got close enough, she would stride forward and began to battle them, kicking and punching, blocking and dodging as best she could. She infused her strikes with more Cryokinesis. The Vase Paws were hungry and quite kicky, but Sakura stayed out of range and returned fire with her roundhouse kicks, knocking them away and into each other. As one tried to get up, she blasted it apart with a hadoken. One of them hit her in the back, but she turned and blocked the next kicks. Another grouped up to gang up on her, but she spent her V-Reversal and used her powerful defensive technique to get them all off her.

”No, wait-! We got this!” Sakura exclaimed, her spirits rallying a bit as when the Vase Paws got up to get her, she pushed her advantage to throw them into each other and scatter their un-sapient ashes across the tunnel floor.

”The three of us?! No problem!” Sakura said.