Lady's hardened expression was demolished as a wild Ruby entered the scene.
"Oh, yes, good to meet you, and thanks for the complement....always nice to meet a fellow gun enthusiast. I did in fact build the rocket launcher myself. The rest, not so much. I need a minute, then we can talk, but you wanna see the rocket launcher in the meantime?"
She pulled the rocket launcher off her back and held it out to Ruby. After she presumably took it, she turned back around, hardened expression returning as the others addressed her. Once Minako was finished, she took a moment to stare at her.
"Firstly, thank you for the information." She said, looking at Misaki. "If you do find out anything else, I would be very grateful. We've been trying to gather what info we can, but it's a big planet, and there's only so many of us."
"And as for you...." She said as she turned back to Minako. "Bullshit. You're trying to tell me that in the course of two and a half days, you coulden't spare a second to contact us? I gave you my phone number directly, and asked you to call me if anything came up that you needed assistance with. And you're trying to tell me that you coulden't spare the time for a 1 minute phone call to tell me "Oh hey Lady, I met this Vergil guy who seems to know Dante and is a monster who kills people who gets in his way, what should I do?" How stupid do you think I am?"
She leaned forward, moving her face down to Minako's eye level.
"Let me tell you what I think. I think that you believe you know better then anyone else, that you're convinced you're the smartest person in the room. You think you can solve all the worlds problems on your own, and everything will end happily. You refuse to take responsibility and admit that you were wrong. You're a naive kid in over her head, and frankly, the fact that you don't seem to be showing the slightest amount of remorse for letting him get away, even after being shown all the evidence that your actions have ensured he'll go on to kill who knows how many more people is seriously concerning. You want to act like an adult? Then I'm going to treat you like one."
She placed a hand on Minako's shoulder, gripping it as hard as the Common Room would allow her to.
"You're done. You're going to forget about Vergil. Don't try to go after him, don't try to contact him, nothing. You've shown that your judgement cannot be trusted. You've stuck your nose into business that doesn't involve you and made the situation worse then it was. Now you're going to step aside, and let the experts handle the situation. And that goes for your band of friends as well. And if you try to go after him again?"
Her eyes narrowed. "I will stop you. For your own good. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"
Edited by Meanken on Sep 22nd 2018 at 6:30:32 AM
Vampire Hunter
Trevor, Common Room
"And if you end up targeted by Vergil on your travels, I want you to do what you can to escape and call Dante or Lady immediately about it, and you will not be punished for that," Trevor approached the argument between the three, and turned to Lady with the serious expression of a vampire hunter on his face. "Since Vergil is working with Nyarlathotep now and both have a history with Minako, we must account for the possibility that the demon may have Vergil target her."
"However, if I ever hear that you are harboring a demon as violent as Vergil again, I will personally help Lady kick your ass, got it?" Trevor looked at Minako with the stern expression of a disappointed parent even shaking his head.
Alucard & Grant, Common Room
"Would you be okay with waiting until tomorrow for it?" Alucard asked Balthier, crossing his arms.
Meanwhile, Grant looked over Fran. "Man, why didn't we meet bunnywomen like that in the Bamboo Forest?"
Carmilla, Archades Safehouse
Naturally, Carmilla went right through the portal, and as she eyed the decently furished house foyer, Vergil asked a question that the vampiress could easily answer.
"My former master ordered me to join that pack to hunt for our current master," Carmilla explained curtly. "I inadvertently gave him a situation that caused him problems involving a newly-born vampire and her human sister who had decided to take it upon herself to try to assassinate every leader on Battleworld and joining that pack was my punishment."
"What about you?" Carmilla smirked back at Vergil. "After all, you were part of that same pack of fools and children."
Edited by GameGuruGG on Sep 22nd 2018 at 11:29:33 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Balthier took a moment to consider.
"Hmmm...tommorow morning, then. So be it. And where will I find you, come tommorow morning, Mr....?"
"It was not something done out of the kindness of my heart. Me and the girl, the one that thing seems to be fixated on, Minako, had an arrangement. I decided that my time was better spend elsewhere, and that the terms and rewards of this demon lord were better then what I was being offered with the girl. And so here I stand."
He looked out a window, where the sun was setting on the city.
"We have yet to see this human the demon wants us to tolerate. It would seem likely they are already asleep. Humans, weak as they are, need far more rest then us demons. Thus, it would seem that the night is ours to do with as we will. I will be doing research into this new place. As for you, I am sure you will find plenty of weak humans to feast on outside. Just do be sure to clean up after yourself."
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Common Room
Minako opened and closed her mouth several times, becoming increasingly red in the face until her complexion was the color of a beet. "I forgot I had your number..." she admitted numbly, lips still pursed in a straight line, "and I really didn't have time yesterday, between coordinating Ike and everything else, but understood. I won't go after him again."
In the privacy of her mind, however, away from what she allowed to show on the surface of her face, she looked down her nose at the pair scolding her. Kick my ass?! she bristled, I'd like to see you try, whip boy! Wait a second...
"Hey, Trevor, I haven't seen you in a while," she observed, blush fading somewhat, "What happened to your whip?"
Luna Nova
Akko's smile was infectious, and even the teen who had been in what seemed like a perpetual state of grumpiness since arriving in Battleworld couldn't help but lift his lips a little at her sheer enthusiasm on learning she would be invited to parties. Well, soon she would learn that balls and galas were terribly boring, awkward affairs, he was sure. He knew enough from the few times Mitsuru had dragged him to functions to know that he never wanted to go to one again — unless it was in his own honor, maybe.
"Something like that," he affirmed to the Japanese girl's attempt at formal invitation.
"Oh, about that," he straightened up again when Holbrooke asked about SEES' efforts so far, "My background isn't originally in diplomacy, but if you ask me, the most helpful thing would be to reach out to your neighbors and let them know you aren't their enemy. We've been trying to lay the groundwork for a sort of grand Eastern Battleworld alliance, but with two of the chunks vanishing out of the blue and a planet-wide invasion taking up everyone's energy yesterday, we haven't gotten very far just yet. It would be a lot easier if The Cure didn't keep shifting things on us, but we've got to work with what we have."
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
From the look on Lady's face, it was clear that she didn't buy the justification of "I forgot I had the number" for a second.
"Good." Lady said, not completely convinced that she was actually going to do that but not really having much else to say. "I'll leave you to get rested then."
She got back to her feet fully, and turned around, walking back over to Ruby.
"So, like what you see? I'm impressed you realized what the bottom half of the rocket launcher was for, most people just think it's a fancy counterbalance. And that's not the only trick I have on that."
She gave Ruby's weapon an expert look.
"And is that a foldable anti-material rifle I see? 50 cal rounds? It must be pretty sturdy if you can swing it around like a scythe and still keep it working properly. How do you keep it sighted, I can't imagine all the force does favors for keeping the sights adjusted. And-"
Lady paused for a second, remembering an encounter from yesterday.
"Did I hear you say transforming shotgun bracelets? This Yang, she wouldn't happen to be a girl around your age, very very long, blonde hair, exceptional aim with a shotgun at long range?"
Meanwhile, Minako might sense someone else walking up behind her as Lady became distracted by gun talk.
"Try not to judge her too harshly, kid." Dante said. "She just wants to keep you safe, she really hates that big, red, and ugly keeps bringing in kids to fight for him, and you putting yourself in danger like that ain't helping her mood. She'll cool down, just give her time."
Edited by Meanken on Sep 24th 2018 at 9:41:34 AM
Vampire Hunter
Trevor, Common Room
"M-my whip?" Trevor stumbled a bit but shifted towards a more friendly demeanor to Minako again. "That... is a question you should ask me tomorrow."
"I do not trust that any conversation here would be private," Trevor frowned at Minako as if unhappy with that question, but not nearly as unhappy with her as he was when reprimanding her.
Alucard, Common Room
"Alucard," Alucard bowed and introduced himself. "Here if you can manage it, but if you can't, I would suggest the coast of the land that the map calls Castlevania."
"It should be the area between that and Paradise Island," Alucard explained exactly where he had in mind.
Carmilla, Safehouse
Carmilla simply nodded at Vergil's explanation.
"Eh, I need to do my own research as well," Carmilla smirked at Vergil. "I'll wait for the sun to set and find a meal on the other side of town near the ocean."
"And clean up after myself," Carmilla added as she nodded. Tossing a body into Battleworld's ocean should be easy enough to do and doing it as far away from the safehouse as she could would keep the authorities from pinpointing their location even if they somehow discovered the body. She will also need to make sure the body was not resurrected as a vampire either. However, all that should be easy enough under the cloak of night.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Lucha Libre goddess
Dawn of day 4. Grand finale part 1
Paradise island—Jungles—Ambush!'''
"No need to tell me twice!" Alexa would say to both Tomoe and Yuugi. The meek amazon would run at Antiope and drag her out of the way of the battle as she would for the others.
Yuugi's attack made one of the hydra's heads choke as it desperately attempts to open its jaws and breath air. Its long serpentine neck grew widely forming a sphere. The head finally exploded, creating an explosion of around 10 feet wide. Unfortunately for the Oni. Just after she did so, two more heads would start growing in place of the one she had just killed. The hydra would then attempt to trap her with its tail to squeeze, one that could easily break the bones of an average person. But then Yuugi was far from average.
Tomoe's attack was very successful, as she had managed to easily cut one of the heads. However, although she cauterized the head. it's incredible regeneration abilities meant it was still forcing itself to grow two more heads just next to the place Tomoe had sealed. Although her continuous attacks kept the heads at bay, stopping them from fully forming, they still attempted to grow. Like a man pushing a rock over a hill. Two heads were attempting to grow and would do so the instant Tomoe stopped.
However, to heads would attempt to bite her. One coming from her right side, one from her left side. Each with a bite that would easily shatter rock as if it was candy.
The hydra would be paralyzed as it would shake its whole body in pain as Mono's lethal attack made it shake in pain. But then it used one of its heads to drag a nearby log and throw it directly at Mono's location.
6 heads in total. O the six, 2 were Cut. One by Tomoe and one bu Yuugi.
Meaning 4 heads were attempting to grow and if they did they would be facing a 10 headed monster.
Their problems wouldn’t be over however as a group of around 7 Amazons
would be shooting arrows from the shadows at Tomoe, Mono, and Yuugi from the top of trees. They had seised the shadows of the trees and the noise of the battle t be able to approach the group while they were distracted with the monster
One, in particular, jumped from a branch, aiming to kick Mono with her fall.
Another one, a red-headed one,
◊ unsheathed her sword and went running towards Tomoe, aiming to pierce her in the chest with her weapon.
As for Yuugi, with her being so close to the hydra, the risk of facing the beast forced the others to keep their distance from the oni, for now.
Paradise island—Baths—The plot thickens.'''
"Right," Persephone, cleaned her eyes with her left hand. "Once again I betray another friend," she muttered to herself. " Some of my sisters will do an exhibition of their skills before a coming tournament. “ She looked at the shadows of the trees. "Judging by the timing of the light the day dies and the day will fade away. It should start at any moment.—And as for your spell, they don’t know what I did, but they will be willing to follow you. ”
Persephone unsheathed her sword. "This is the sword I would've used if you didn't join us. Now it will be fighting by your side. The gods have a cruel sense of humor"
She stopped at her own place looking at the amazons that although couldn't hear their earlier conversation was staring at them.
"Follow me. It might be too late. " She would then run straight at the Coliseum to lead Lisa with a head start.
"Everything alright?" Wondergirl would fly behind Da Vinci. "You've been talking for some time now."
When Lisa made her signal asking for help, She might be able to notice how, from the sky, Donna Troy had arrived at her location. "I was with Zelda. What's happening?"
In the distance, the servant might also be able to listen the sound of horses coming at her location
Menalippe, the lieutenant, would also approach Lisa. " What's going on? What do you mean "beware"?"
Persephone stopped only to ask something. “Who are Adam and Eve anyway? ” she raised an eyebrow. “ If they know what’s like being willing to give up paradise for something you can’t live without... then I relate.”
Paradise island—Coliseum
Queen Hyppolita would be seen sitting on her throne in the marble stadium looking at two amazons fighting one against one in sword combat.
Unknown to the Amazons present in the audience, there was a group of women
hidden in the trees. They moved as silent as a faint breeze, slowly but surely towards the queen.
One in particular
, whom Lisa might recognize from the silhouette of her shadow earlier, was hidden just outside the building in a hill nearby. She aimed her bow directly at Hyppolyta's heart. Her eyes narrowed as she waited for the perfect moment to shoot the fatal flaw
Common Room—Starfire.
"I was worried you had not been made aware of the earthling ritual of the waving of the hand. What is your name? I am Starfire! Would you like to be my friend?" She would ask Kyoko with a smile.
"Having powers is glorious." She pinned in the air. "But it matters not. Robin has no powers yet he is our leader and the one who I trust the most important. You only need the desire to do right to make a difference."
She only blinked twice after seeing the departing contractor leave.
Sakura Dungeon—Arena
Artemis crossed her arms while looking at ." Don't think that just because we are in "friendlier" terms I'm done with you. I look forward to a rematch. I know all your tricks now. I'm a fast learner, next time vicar will me be mine. As for your friend... not even the gods are invincible."
As for the fox tamer, Artemis would look at her, trying to maintain a poker face. But she would still give her an involuntary smile.
Wonder woman meanwhile crossed her arms. "Leaving already? I hope the gods may will our paths cross once again. There will always be a need for strong women like you," She would team the huntress duo before they parted ways.
Sakura Dungeon—With Yomi.
The witch chuckled after You made her comment. "True, but they still have their uses now and then." To reply to her invitation she said, "Oh that sounds lovely! Lead the way". She extended her palm as an hourglass clock would be floating in her hand. "But look at the time the day, the light of the day says the day is young... yet I feel time runs short. Perhaps one other time we will have our fun"
She would then try to ruffle Lilith's hair. "Thank you for being my companion sweetie. Oh, you have so much to learn. But your sister should be proud of you."
Edited by FallenLegend on Sep 25th 2018 at 1:19:59 AM
Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.
Sakura Dungeon Inn
The matter of the wedding settled, Maeve and Ryuuou stood up and headed out. Though Maeve insisted on carrying Ryuuou for some reason, probably due to her getting into a dragon slapfight earlier. And was in a hurry.The two of them (four, if you considered Ryuuou's servants to be people) scampered off for Former Hell once more, settling into a place that offered a warm meal and warmer bed, so that they could be nearby when the event began.
There was, after all, the matter of a birthday gift still left to resolve.
Sakura Dungeon Arena
"Oh uh, I guess you're feeling better then... okay? It was nice meeting you," Ceri said shyly to team DABY as they were leaving."Maybe we could... hang out later tonight? Tomorrow? Maybe?"
"Or if you're tired, you could let me carry you to your room," the Fox Tamer said slyly to Artemis.
Oh, Rose was there too.
"Um... are you leaving too?" Ceri asked the hamestorker. "Or did you want to do something?"
Sakura Dungeon Street
"Another time indeed, if you must be on your way then I won't get in your way. Though having to head all the way back now seems so tiring, you can always consider yourself welcome to stay here in our inn," Yomi told Circe. "In whichever room you'd care for."
"Ah, no. Not nearly so long if you're a quick learner. Perhaps a few days if you're particularly quickly but most can do so within a week if they keep working at it." Chuckling while doing her best to remember exactly how long she had taken to learn the accursed implements herself, Nitocris kept her queenly dignity while Helena and Touta exchanged knowing looks in the background.
"Indeed, that sounds like a good usage of the time we have. Chaldea is appreciative of your kind offer in this regard. If there's anything you need then we'll do our best to procure it so long as within reason. Still, seeing as you are tired would you prefer an escort back to your chunk?" Continuing with the Egyptian rule of hospitality, the best Medjed did her part to be a good hostess.
"Ooh, what kinda flavor is it?" Astolfo asked with real excitement on his face at the mention of candy, the twenty something paladin behaving more like someone a third of his age as he got caught up in the excitement of the new and foreign hotness. Perhaps it'd be like Halloween themed and there might be pumpkin spice or other exotic flavors out there! The mind boggles!
"Truly, Heracles was a great hero for being able to slay a beast such as this through pure martial arts. Devising the Nine Lives- Shooting Hundred Heads so that he could completely obliterate this foe before it could regenerate... what a hero. As one who is an Archer myself, it seems that I have much to learn..."
Feeling nothing but the greatest respect for the Greek hero who still remained entrapped in the bindings of Madness, the inverse Archer who could be a Berserker herself continued her mad game of dodging the heads that were even now closing in on her. Close enough that scratches and bruises formed from roughly bouncing off the scraping scales that caused bloodied furrows on her exposed arms and also enough to experience the poison that caused horrific pain to lance through her body her before her wrathful flames burnt and purified the wounds before it could seep deep enough to affect her inner workings.
Truly this was a waiting game where the longer one fought, the more the advantage would lay for the beast given its almost inexhaustible vitality. Though Servants were greater than mortal men, they were bound by many restrictions including the dependence on Mana. Even with Independent Action, there was a truly limited reserve for full on combat and Tomoe never wished to burden her Master with her shortcomings.
Thinking of that redhead whose existence was burdened with protecting both world and timeline, Tomoe took a deep breath to stabilize herself while the thing was flailing from the electric attacks that hit it before gathering energy in the tip of her arrow. "Mono, I entrust my back to you. Take care of the interference and I'll focus on the hydra. Yuugi, there is going to be an explosive conflagration soon so be wary and distance yourself at the nearest opportunity."
Deciding to truly dedicate herself on ending the most dangerous task and giving her trust to her current companions, the oni's horns glowed like magma veins even as the very air around her roiled as though her very presence baked it to a stifling level of heat. '''As you command!”
“Buddha Avalokiteśvara, grant me power! By the early sun's radiance! Oṃ Ālolik Svāhā! Widening her now slit pupil bearing eyes and yelling with true oni vigor, an incomparable grief and rage bloomed forth from her heart before pouring into her arrowhead to turn the point a searing incandescent hue.
◊
Where before her arrows were merely inflamed, now the projectile was a receptacle of barely repressed hellfire that struggled to release itself upon the world and consume all within a single fleeting moment of explosive brilliance. Drawing as far back as physically possible and giving the strongest emotions she could muster as well as a great deal of magic energy, Tomoe Gozen let the bestial oni nature consume her mind to truly tap into the forceful power of wrath before letting her arrow fly in a searing spiral.
With the Noble Phantasm now loosed, the end result would be for it to make contact with a solid object before exploding to resemble something akin to a miniature sun in to raze everything within the blast radius with extreme heat and concussive force. In a way, it was a truly indiscriminate attack that one had to make ample preparations for before even beginning to loose it upon the world at large. Staggering back due to how much energy was consumed by that one action, Tomoe sagged with ragged breaths while unwillingly waiting for the connection to begin its slow but steady resupplying to make her operable once more- making her an easy enough target if her allies did nothing to allay the threat from behind.
"No time to explain other than saying that your queen is in great danger to outside forces if we tarry!" Yelling while using Reinforcement magic to be able to at least run faster than the average woman, the Pseudo Mona Lisa huff and puffed as she ran wildly towards where she was pointed to while lugging her star capped staff in a flustered manner. "As for Adam and Eve, they lost their innocence in search of forbidden knowledge and thus was cast out from their paradise which was also a cage!"
Seeing the coliseum in view but knowing that she wasn't going to be making it time if she had to physically approach there on her less than stellar pace, Da Vinci grunted before flinging her staff forward and shot out a sparkling globe that whizzed off into the sky briefly before turning into a flashbang that would disorient the senses of sight of those that weren't prepared for such.
"THERE ARE INTRUDERS IN YOUR MIDST! PROTECT YOUR QUEEN!" Shouting into her gauntlet's built in speaker system that then spiked up the volume by a few folds, Lisa then finally made her way through the entrance of the coliseum with an expression that those who would finish a particularly stressful marathon would have while gasping for breath.
"Well... that was a mission well done." Beaming as she stood there innocently, Nobunaga was rewarded with the dead-eyed stares leveled her way by just about everyone she had come with from the Chaldea team in general. "...Was it something I said?" Shivering as she saw the sheer somberness that everyone else had, the Demon King shivered for a moment as she looked at Ritsuka's particularly annoyed expression while shaking like a leaf.
Edited by Makaioh on Sep 25th 2018 at 1:34:36 AM
Chaldea Mess Hall
"Well then I'll have to get in more practice so that I can master it as quickly as I can," Hiriko commented, finishing the noodles and setting the chopsticks down."It would be in rather poor taste to turn down such a noble offer," she said to Nitocris. "I accept. Shall we be going?"
She stood up, on hand on her hip and holding out the crook of her arm.
"I look forward to our next meeting, Caster," she nodded at Helena.
Common Room: Dealing With Strike One
For the rest of the conversation, Misaki kept a passive presence. She nodded at Lady's request for intel on Vergil, and locked her jaw at Minako's (notably astute) observation about Trevor's missing whip. She scowled at the Fool's nonchalant suggestion to avoid calling that cop-killer a 'bastard;' a term that Misaki felt was too polite for a monster like Vergil. She took a mental note of the girl in the red hood, if only because she dropped the name of the girl who was attacked by VI-952 late this morning. She certainly wasn't offset by the Hunter's in-depth knowledge and adoration of heavy firepower, that'd be completely ridiculous!
It was only after Lady turned to speak with her newest fan that Misaki offered what little she had left to say to Minako. She approached the Fool and spoke in a murmured tone.
"Regarding our little 'agreement.'" she began, already sick of the word she used for it. "I don't disagree with what you were trying to do in the Velvet video. My world can't continue to treat Contractors like skeletons in the closet. Changed or not, they're still people, and they deserve to be treated with the same equality as humans.
"That said, I think you're smart enough to pick up on where you went wrong. A native official breaking the news is taken a lot lighter than a foreign body breaking it. Part of me isn't angry that you're forcing our hand before it's too late, but...well, there might be a few Dollars in our Tokyo spreading the word already. On a planet like this, that's trust we can't afford to lose."
She turned to leave for her city's portal, but only took a step before she looked back to Minako with a sharp gaze.
"Far as your handling of Vergil goes, I won't comment. April's already headed for the Velvet Room; dealing with her when she hears the news sounds like punishment enough."
With that, the Section Chief departed for the smokey warzone that had become the portal area for Hell's Gate Tokyo.
"To think," she muttered, "that this place was an average neighborhood just four days ago."
No time to dwell on that. After clearing her way past the other officers, Misaki pulled out her phone and dialed a number she hadn't known till this morning. A low, slightly gruff voice answered on the other line.
"Can we use our resources to call a press conference?" she asked, turning the corner to stare at the charred frame of an apartment complex.
Up until the past hour, she had wondered why the Cure had chosen to plant the portal here, of all places. Hell's Gate sounded like the most appropriate place to drop an interdimensional doorway; either that, or somewhere central. So why have it in an unassuming neighborhood filled with unassuming people living unassuming lives? She'd been carrying her suspicions for a month or two now, and small as they were she could never fully rule the theory out.
So as she stared up at the nonexistant Apartment 201, the same way she'd done the night this whole tragic adventure had started, she gave her answer to the other line:
"It's time we told the city about Contractors."
Themiscrya, Colosseum: Sweet Save, Bruh
When Queen Hyppolita said there was going to be a turn a mint at the Collie see 'em, Link had a very different idea of what they'd be attending. He expected to see at least one dog, but instead there were lots of scary-looking warrior ladies fighting each other for...some reason? Combat wasn't really a spectator sport back home; it was usually a matter of life and death!
So when the fights began and young "Zelda" turned to Donna with a gravely concerned look, the princess had to explain that the women in this "tournament" weren't fighting because they were angry at each other, or wanted to hurt each other—it was just a friendly competition in the hopes of earning a prize, and the respect of the other Amazons. That calmed the little hero down enough to watch the tournament from his seat by Queen Hippolyta's side. He even cheered for an Amazon who fought with twin swords, like the Gerudo!
Just when the tournament was reaching the final rounds, something outside the torchlight caught Tatl's attention. At first she figured it was a wild animal (this place was definitely full of them), but when the silhouette stopped moving in behind the cover of tree leaves, the fairy started to wonder if it were a spectator who couldn't grab a seat.
...except there were plenty of empty seats to watch from. So why watch from the dark? Behind cover? With your arms stretched by your chest like...
"Hey, is that—?"
Link had half a second to spot what Tatl was looking at, and little more than one second to rise from his chair and block the arrow with his body; or more precisely, the Mirror Shield he had no time to wield properly. He'd bear the stinging impact with a wince of pain, then turn around to use the shield as it was meant to be used, prepared for a second attack the cowardly assassin might make.
Jin, Noel, and Makoto- Common Room
After a moment to both catch thier breath (and process a.) where they were, b.) how they got there, and c.) what the girl who's yelling at people's deal is), the the NOL agents talked amongst themselves.
"Jin, what the hell was that?" Makoto started
"What was what, exactly?"
"You went full ham on those... things! Maybe even more ham than full! Like, overstuffed!"
"Oh. Don't worry about it."
"Not really going to help... but...well, we'll look into it sometime. For now, it's probably best to decompress. It's been a day."
"Yeah... Let's wait for the others to come back." Tsubaki remarked.
And with that, the three of them grabbed a seat, exhaled, and waited for the remainder of the NOL to return from their duties.
Relius- Underground
"Yes, Novus Orbis Librarium." Relius continued the conversation, "Back where I'm from, we're part of the goverment that's responsible for keeping the world order. And we have an office, but, if my time with my associates have told me anything, our quaters is quite comfortable."
He took a sip of his drink.
"I also must say, this tea is exquisite."
Did you know this section has a character limit?
Everyone - I Mean, Not Bond, But You Know What I Mean; Common Room
“Oh, the sights are built in, see?” Ruby replied, demonstrating that specific part of her weapon after handing back Kalina Ann. “But I have them on a hinge so if I need to use her at close quarters I can just flip them out of the way. It clicks into place, like so.”
“That does sound like Yang” Weiss admitted, before glancing at Dante. “Then you must be the Dante she did a favour for yesterday?”
“So, I guess you guys didn’t catch Nyarlathotep?” Nora asked, having picked up some of the details from the conversations around her.
“Nope. But we’ll get him next time. Doctor Breen’s gonna help us with that.”
“Speaking of Yang…” Pyrrha commented, as the woman herself and Blake exited from the Sakura Dungeon portal.
Over by said portal, Yang halted in her tracks, staring at the scene in front of her. She looked over at Blake with a visage of horror upon her face.
“Oh no. They’ve met.”
“Yang, stop being dramatic.” Blake replied with a roll of her eyes, before continuing on towards the group, her partner following along after her.
“Heeey, Lady, Dante. I see you’ve met my little sis.” Yang grabbed Ruby into a side-hug, which Ruby only barely struggle against.
“And everyone else.”
They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!
Lady looked up as Yang herself suddenly entered the room, nodding. "Oh, hey Yang. Yep, very nice girl, very knowledgeable about her weapons. Much as I'd like to keep talking shop with you, you're probably tired. Why don't you come over to my office tomorrow morning? I'll have some food, show you around my armory I keep in the back, and we can talk more. Just look for the door that says Devil May Cry and ask Dante to point you to my office. Bring along whoever you like. Sound good?"
"WILCO, SKIPPER! I'LL BE SURE TO MAKE OUR INTENTIONS KNOWN TO YOU IN FUTURE."
"YEP! THAT'S US ALL RIGHT!"
"hey," Sans shrugged, "'brave ones, foolish ones, both walk not the middle road.'"
Papyrus was pleasantly surprised. "I DIDN'T TAKE YOU FOR A PHILOSOPHER, BROTHER."
"'just a little tidbit i picked up from a friend."
Toriel listed the different flavours of candy one could expect, as the trio took a left into the small room, tastefully decorated with vines and orange leaves. There on the podium was the bowl of candy. One for Astolfo, one for Chara (and some dragging back of Chara by the scruff of the neck afterwards). Then the trio left the room, and ran right into the thunder-core duo.
"Oh! Hello..."
"Whoa." For the first in some time, Tatsu Frampt, the boy that had chosen to take on a world-spanning empire, was shocked and thrown off by what he saw. Having moved quickly but quietly towards the source of the voices, the duo had grown more curious as they had become clearer. And one had become obviously female. And now standing before the source of said voice, the two young soldiers weren't quite sure what they were looking at.
It was a woman(?) with a goat head. Just, an actual goat head. It wasn't a mask or a helmet of some sort, since the dark-haired captain had seen its mouth moving when it spoke, and its eyes blinked and moved naturally.
"Uh, hello." Tatsu returned the greeting after a moment, pulling his thoughts together. "We're looking for a young man with pink hair-" As he had started to speak, the teen had shifted his gaze away from the odd figure and towards the other two there instead, his focus falling on Astolfo just as he mentioned pink hair. Smoothly, and without missing a bit, he returned his hand calmly to the hilt of his blade and simply left it resting there as he met the other boy's gaze curiously. "-that was said to have kidnapped an important young lord from the kingdom not far from here. We're looking for him, to find out what might have been going on. Did that happen to be you?"
Mono's eyes widened beneath his fringe as he watched the creature shake off his lightning, and then fling a tree in his direction. He flung himself to the ground and pressed himself flat in a bid to avoid the blow, an action that likely saved his life. Arrows fell around around him, prompting him to roll over onto his back to try and spot where it was coming from.
Spotting the amazon, the androgyne gasped and moved out of the way of her fall. If he managed to do so, and she landed nearby, several of his cables would wrap themselves around her legs at the same time he aimed his lightning rod into the tree towards where one of the attacks was coming from. And with a burst of power, he channeled deadly electricity through his body, and into both the amazon and out through his weapon.
Eternal Princess
The teachers' eyes widen at the casual mention of a world wide invasion and whole chunks that suddenly disappeared with out warning. Even the mention of Grand Eastern Battleworld Alliance sounded like something out a history book chronicling some long over war, far removed from the peace they know. But after the initial shock they seemed to come to understand that this was their new reality. The LNN on the other hand couldn't be smiling wider at the prospect of such juicy scoops however.
Both Prof Croix and Lotte seemed to be of the same mind at the mention of an invasion. Both looked down thoughtful, memories of black and white alien attacks on a silver screen playing in their mind. In unison they turned to Akihiko to ask if their hunch was true, unable to hide a bit of their geeky side.
"Martians!?"
The diminutive head mistress seemed to be deep in thought. It was still all so much to take in. Especially since not but a few hours ago she had been having tea with Finnelan, her thoughts preoccupied on whether to purchase a cute little hat from a catalog or not. Now she was playing politics with the lives of her students on the line. Her train of thought was interrupted when she could see from out side the window the dwindling sun.
"Oh my, is it truly so late already? Perhaps we should adjourn here for the day. I am sure we all need some time to process all this information and we still need to inform the students of the situation. We can meet again first thing in the morning and brain storm how we want to proceed here on Battleworld."
She turned to the goblin and troll.
"I am sorry to put this on you. But can I ask that for the night that your crew remain on watch until we can place a more permanent security system in place?"
The troll gave a silent solemn nod without hesitation. The goblin gave a flex, putting on a bit of a show for accepting the new responsibilities.
"Just leave it to us!"
Holbrook then turned back on Akihiko, giving a grandmotherly smile.
"I must thank you again for all your help. Ofcourse you and your friends are welcomed back any time. You are also more then welcome to take part in the morning meeting. We would appreciate any input you have to give. Perhaps you would like to meet with one of messengers so we can set up a correspondence?"
Croix recovering from her earlier nerd outburst, cut in.
"I can give you guys a number and email so we can swap info."
She never was a fan of the no technology rule. Perhaps more then anything else it was the most obvious sign of magics refusal to evolve. But if this was the way things were now, they really couldn't afford to stay that way. Not if they hope to keep up with modern politics. She could feel Finnelan disapproving gaze, causing the younger teacher to address her senior.
"I'll filter it through a system so you can take calls and messages on your crystal ball. You won't even be able to tell the difference."
The older teacher gave no response, but a lack of no was probably all she could hope for from the stubbornly old fashioned woman.
With that, the meeting seemed to be over. Though no one moved, still trying to grasp the concept of Battleword. But with that over, there was still the elephant in the room that needed to be addressed. Croix turned to the bunny girl, taking off the gag so they can continue the interrogation of the spy.
"So, again, who are you and what were you doing in the New Moon Tower?"
The bunny girl kept a stoic facade. Memories of her time as a soldier came to mind, particular the protocol of what to do when captured by the enemy. Name, rank, then give them nothing else.
"Reisen, ex-soldier of the Lunarian Rabbit Corp, refugee of Eientei, and 3rd Rank of the UAA."
It was obvious from the look on the teachers faces that none of that made any sense to them. However a particular phrase stuck out to Akko, who leaned over to get a look at the mysterious bunny girl.
"Lunarian...rabbit?"
Something clicked in her mind. Deciding to join the interrogation of the spy her self, Akko got right up to bunny girl's face with a smile, causing Reisen to recoil in surprise.
"You make mochi!?"
It was as much a statement as a question. Reisen just nodded dumbfounded. Satisfied, Akko took another official pose as Luna Nova representative.
"I declare Reisen here to be the newest member of the cooking team."
A look of surprise shown across the teachers' faces, though it was Badcock that spoke in protest.
"Y-you can't just go making decisions like that on your own!"
The goblin representing the maintenance crew, seeming to be only half paying attention, heard the news. He gave them a big thumbs up.
"Sounds good! Welcome aboard! Hope you don't mind bunking with the Minotaur, he kinda snores, haha."
"W-wait a minute, this girl could be some enemy spy!"
Akko waved a hand as if trying to physical wave off Badcock's concerns.
"Its fine, its fine. Besides Reisen wants to be cook, right?"
Reisen again recoiled with surprise. In the pass hour alone she had went from an assassin to a refugee, to a prisoner, to a cook She weighed her options and found she really didn't have any. She let out sigh.
"Yes..."
With a congratulatory slap to the shoulder, Akko welcomed her to the staff.
How do you kill that which has no life?
Slowly, time would pass, and night turned back into day, signaling the start of a new day. As standard, it opened with The Cure speaking to the representives.
"Good morning. To begin, we have a long list of arrivals. For new lands, please welcome The Zone, The Sakura Empire, Facility X-394, Mount Desert Island, and Manhattan. For new groups, please welcome Erza Scarlet and the Fairies, and Doomfist and the Talon Organization."
The map would shift and change accordingly.
In addition, those reps who had been present on the planet since the start of the City 17 invasion would receive an additional message.
"As a reward for your continued participation in this game, you are now eligible for a reward of your own choosing. This can take the form of a summoned warrior, bringing the dead back to life, equipment, whatever you can think of. Just be aware I reserve the right to refuse any reward if I deem it problematic. If you do not wish to use it now, you may save it for later. For those not near a portal, I will provide one at your location which you nay use to enter and leave the Common Room one time."
Those who find their land brought to the Battleworld will find that, in the course of their normal (or not so normal) day, they and everyone in their land had suddenly fell asleep. They would wake up to find themselves on the Battleworld, where anyone near a chunk border would note the clear changes to their surroundings. Whoever had been chosen as the chunk representative (this being the main character) would find a note in their hand.
Greetings. Right now, I am sure you have questions. What happened? Who is responsible for this? If you are outside or near a window, you may have already noticed the changes outside. Suffice it to say, you are no longer on your world. Now, you are in MY world. You are far from the only ones I have brought here, however. Should you wish answers, then you should enter the blue portal that now stands before you, or leave your current quarters and follow the hall. All questions you have shall be addressed there.
As they finished the note, they would indeed find a blue portal had appeared in front of them, waiting to take them inside.
Meanwhile, those who had been pulled to this world without a chunk would wake up to find themselves in a room. This may be a room that was pulled from their home reality, or a room simply built to the tastes of its new occupants. The leader of said groups would also find the same note others had received in their hands, with an opening door taking the place of the portal once they read it. Those that left would find themselves in a white hallway, with many other doors lining it, each door being marked with the name of the group inside and the name of their chosen rep. (Again, whoever had the note in his or her hand on waking up.) Said hallway would only lead one way, and lead them to a room.
In said room, both chunk and chunkless reps would see the following. Blank white walls stood on all sides of them, with only a giant round table in the center stopping it from looking like a white void. In the center of said table stood a rotating globe, with the map of the new world on it, each land clearly marked with the name of the land and the name of their chosen representative (That is, the one who received the note) under it. Above it, in gigantic letters, was the name of the world, Battleworld.
Around the table were chairs, some of which had names on the back. The leader would find a chair with their name on it, and other chairs would have names that matched the names on the globe. One chair, The Cure's giant black throne, stood away from the rest. Currently, this chair was empty. About 20 or so feet in front of it stood a large, black obelisk, with a digital screen on it that seemed to have a list of names on it.
While half of them had gotten back early, the team sent into Area 11 had, for various reasons, been very late getting back, and thus they all agreed to discuss the findings the next morning. With that morning now here, 5 of them sat at one of the cafe table, each with coffee in front of them. Only Makoto was missing, who had stepped out to the Common Room for a moment to check the updated map.
"So, we have a target?" Joker asked, starting the conversation.
"Indeed. A band of ruffians, who-"
"Shouldn't we wait for Makoto to get back before we discuss it? She's the one who convinced that guy to tell her all of that history and all, and-"
"Don't bother, the mission's off." Makoto said as she reentered the room. "Area 11 has vanished."
"You're shitting me?" Ryuji asked.
"I'm afraid not. They're not the only ones."
"Well that sucks." Ann said. "After what we saw yesterday, I was really pumped to teach them a lesson!"
"In addition, it would seem that while we were busy with recon, a major event took place. A group of people launched an attack of some sort on a chunk. And it would seem that our acquaintances in SEES were invloved somehow."
"Time to pay them a visit?" Morgana asked.
"I believe so. But we also need to rethink our strategy. A vast amount of new people are coming, and frankly, we need to stay on top of current events. So I believe we need to place someone in the Common Room to monitor what is going on."
"Not a bad idea." Joker said. "Who do we send?"
"I nominate Ryuji!" Ann yelled.
"Hey! Why are you trying to stick the boring job on me!"
"Actually, I agree with her." Makoto said. "And because I don't want anyone to operate alone, she will be going with you."
"WHAT!?"
Ryuji laughed. "Serves you right!"
Makoto crossed her arms. "Let me be clear. Boring as it may be, this is a very important task. No slacking off, no taking a nap, no telling strangers things they don't need to hear. You remember the conversation we had last night about your big mouth?"
"Er, right, got it. Don't worry about me, it'll get done."
"Before we go and leave..." Joker said. "There's the matter of that reward."
"Oh, forgot about that! Dude, wish for money! Enough that none of us will ever have to work!"
"Preposterous. Wish for a lifetime supply of the finest food."
"But you could get that with money!"
"No wait, don't wish for money, wish for treasure! Gold!"
"None of you understand how economics work, if you wish for that much money or gold, you'll devalue it so much that you'll lose most of the value."
"Can I wish for a different Thieves outfit?"
"Guys."
The single word from Joker caused everyone to shut up.
"I already decided on what we're going to ask for." He looked up at the ceiling. "I want you to give us versions of our weapons that are unable to kill, even by accident."
The Cure's voice sounded through the room.
"As you wish. New weapons will not be needed. A new option has been added to your app that allows you to select between non-lethal, for humans and other sentients, and lethal for demons and the like. Your blades will cut, but not kill, and your guns will fire what amounts to rubber bullets."
There was a second of silence.
"A good choice." Makoto said, everyone noding their approval.
"Now, time to move out." Joker said.
Outside of the Velvet Room, the three thieves and the cat in a bag stood. Joker reached forward, and knocked on the door.
Whenever the Castlevania people woke up and entered the main office, they would see Dante at the desk, predictability with a fresh pizza on his lap.
"Hey, morning! Sypha, Lady said she wants to see you in her office when you're not busy. She also told me people are coming over, so don't go doing anything you don't want to be laughed at for guys."
The door to Lady's office was already slightly open, and a conversation from within was audible.
"-wanted to talk to me?" Lady asked.
"Ya, I have to ask you a question." Nero replied. "I'm just going to ask. Is Vergil my dad?"
Lady's eyebrow raised slightly. "Well, that came out of nowhere. Why ask me?"
"Because I tried to ask the old man, but he won't give me a straight answer. And Trish just said to ask you, said you've known him longer and actually met Vergil"
Lady shrugged. "I've never spoken with him, only saw him a couple of times back when I first met Dante, and we weren't exactly in friendly terms. He was as much an enemy as the man I was there to kill. Dante's talked about him once or twice to me in private, and I've picked up on a couple of things he diden't say outright, but I wouldn't say I know him personally. What makes you think he's your father?"
Nero showed Lady his demon arm. "The day I got this arm, I heard a voice. It said "Power. Give me more power." That voice...until yesterday, I never heard it again. It was his voice. And the sword he was holding, the Yamato."
He flexed his arm, and an exact copy of Vergil's blade came out.
"That sword was broken when I found it. The Order was trying to fix it, but nothing they did worked. But then it just magically fixed itself, and flew into my hand. And then, after we fought, the old man, he just let me keep it. Said it should "Stay in the family".
Lady quietly pondered this. "....And you said you asked Dante already?"
"He keeps changing the subject, shoving whole pizzas into his mouth, that kind of thing. He never mentioned anything to me about this guy until after we arrived here and he came back, and even then, he never gave me any details. I had figured that the old man was my dad, but never asked directly. But now..."
Lady had to suppress a chuckle. "Him? A father? No, that's impossible. I'm the one who told him about what was going on in Fortuna and got him to go in the first place. He'd never heard of it, couldn't even find it on a map. No, he's not your father."
"But Vergil, I know he wandered the earth for many years after his falling out with Dante. It's not impossible that he ended up there at some point. But can I say for sure? No. Frankly didn't seem the type to do that sort of thing with a human. Figured he'd find it beneath him."
"I'm going to find him."
"You're not ready to deal with someone like Vergil on your own."
"The hell I'm not! I've fought plenty of demons, even the old man, and-"
"And he beat you after playing around with you for a while. Vergil won't extend that luxury, and he won't avoid killing you. You're not strong enough to beat him yourself. I'm-"
Nero slammed his demonic arm into Lady's desk. "You don't know shit about me, and I'm sick of being treated like a kid! You can sit there and talk down to me if you want, but I'm still stronger then you!"
A moment of dark silence followed, and Spyha could probably feel Lady's angry glare through the door.
"Experience and a healthy level of caution go a long way." She said finally. "You'd do well to remember that. There's a reason I'm still alive. You want in? Fine. You're an adult, you can make your own decisions, and accept the consequences if you're not as ready as you think. You want Vergil? I'm going after him too. You'll come with me, and follow instructions to the letter. Understood?"
"Good enough for me." Nero said, as he lifted his arm off the desk, and Lady let go of the hidden shotgun she had strapped to the bottom of the desk that had been pointed directly at Nero's chest. "So, since you're so experienced, what should I expect?"
"I've asked some other people to come to the office who I think will help. We'll go over that once everyone arrives. Now, have a seat."
He went to take one at the desk
"In the corner. Out of my sight."
He held up his arms. "I'm sorry, jesh, it got a little heated, wasn't trying to offend you."
"Just stay there until I calm down."
He took his seat, and the room fell silent.
Edited by Meanken on Sep 30th 2018 at 9:13:59 AM
Dreams of Revenge
Day 4 Wrap-up, Celestial Palace Throne Room — Sun-Tzu
Overall, the peacekeeping operation had been a success. Even now there were dozens of men and women slaving away on the press releases and news footage that would be shown the next day. Every word and image would be carefully scrutinised and chosen for maximum impact (and to ensure a completely harmonised message). Even if militarily the results were insignificant, aside from ensuring that Warrior House Imarra remained battle-ready, in terms of propaganda it was of immense value.
What will the next day bring? All things considered, he had handled well the curveballs that the fourth day of his internment had thrown him, but it was never that easy. There would undoubtedly be some new unforeseen turn of events that would send him and his staff scrambling for an answer. But until then, the Celestial Wisdom would have to content himself with having seized the opportunity fate had given him.
Day 5
Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment - that which they cannot anticipate. - Sun Tzu, The Art of War
We are all slaves to our preconceived beliefs. The key is to avoid elevating one source of information over another because it's what you want to hear. - Sun-Tzu's diary, August 2061
Throne Room, Celestial Palace - Sun-Tzu
For once, the morning was rather peaceful. The morning reports had been disseminated, and if what Nancy was telling Sun-Tzu was any indicator, the public was exultant. The only dampener was that there were now seven new groups to keep an eye on, of which five were new polities. Hopefully none of the newly arrived groups was another Outworld in the making - even if "Doomfist" didn't inspire confidence - but the Chancellor wasn't going to let that stymie him. The Confederation had survived many a tyrant... Even those from within. The memory of Maximilian and his mother darkened his thoughts before he brushed them aside. No matter. Precentor XI Yoshizumi was going to be arriving shortly, and Sun-Tzu expected to take full advantage of his knowledge of the Word's technologies. Zi-Jin Cheng needed every edge it could get.
Locking you up on radar since '09
Common Room (End of day 4)
Huh. Kyoko supposed she shouldn't have been so surprised to learn that Misaki was apparently mid-to-upper tier in that Tokyo she just got out of - Akemi was technically a minor civilian, after all. Her eyes followed Misaki’s to the far portal where a bunch of people had entered - evidently Misaki had some business with them as she made some excuse to leave. Kyoko didn't stop her with anything more than a “Yeah, whatever” - she hadn't come with any expectations, so a number for another one of the players in this BattleWorld thing was enough for now. Socializing heads of authority would also be about the talk, after all.
That did, however, leave one pressing issue for one long-haired redhead as another long-haired redhead kept on with more socializing attempts. Starfire’s persistence would finally be repaid by a look from Kyoko as she took another risk: “I might consider it if you know a place where I can crash for the night.”
Strelok- The Zone- Agroprom Underground
The Stalker suddenly woke up with a gasp in the underground
◊ depths of the Agroprom Research Institute. With panic and fear that he was going to be attacked, he got up and immediately grabbed his AK-74 rifle, looking around at his surroundings for any possible attack, either from mutants roaming the Underground or Military patrolling....then he noticed a strange note near him. Strelok slowly grabbed it and started to read it. Not on his world? What the hell is this? Was this the reason he was knocked out? Suddenly afterwards, a portal appeared out of nowhere. This...looked completely different from the portal anomalies from the Zone...could he even trust it? Before he could even think of the consequences of taking this strange portal, voices echoed from the upper levels of the underground.
"Attentions, boys! Keep an eye out for any mutants or stakers here, orders are to shoot on sight, you hear me?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Understood, sir!"
Damnit. Military grunts, he should had known they would be near here. He better take the risk of this portal instead of being shot to death by these grunts when they get to his position.
Strelok quickly put on the screen helmet
of his SEVA suit, and readying his AK. Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and entered the portal.
Strelok- The Common Room
Strelok suddenly found himself....not even he could describe this, to be honest. He was in some kind of weird place, all white, too strange. This was not the Zone, or any part of Chernobyl at all. Despite his screen helmet hiding his face, he was extremely confused. He looked at a map and there was the Zone with other place...Castlevania? Outworld? Chaldea? The.....Mushroom Kingdom? What in the..
"What the hell is going on?" The Loner said to himself, despite used to the Zone itself, he was not even sure of what was his situation.
Edited by Darkomega245 on Sep 30th 2018 at 2:49:28 AM
Sakura Dungeon Inn, Moments Earlier
"Come now, Ceri, I just got word of several new groups being added to this world, we'll need to make haste to the common room," Yomi said, shaking Ceri awake. "And I chose a new outfit for you, take off that armor and let's go.""No! I mean... let's go, but I'm keeping my armor."
"Fufufufu"
Common Room - Yomi (and Ceri!)
Sauntering into the Common Room at a leisurely pace, tail swaying slightly side-to-side, and umbrella gently rotating, Yomi approached the currently-empty throne of the Cure and smiled."It appears as though our host is not here," she observed. "In the flesh, at least. I doubt one such as him would be unaware of the goings-on in his throne room."
Ceri tapped her on the shoulder, nodded nervously, and pointed at the armored man looking at the map.
"Oh, how exciting, our first newcomer," Yomi said, approaching Strelok. "I am Yomi, this is Ceri, and we come from the Sakura Dungeon. Tell me, which of the new names is yours?"
Battleworld - Fairy Tail Start
The Fairy Tail Guild Hall was... different. For one thing, a lot of people were missing.For another, they sure weren't on Earthland anymore.
And of course, there was the matter of the note in Erza's hand.
The following few minutes, while undoubtedly entertaining for third parties, mostly consisted of re-reading the note a dozen times, theorizing, half-hearted accusations, rationalizations, and trying to see if there was any way to escape the building besides through the front door.
The end results was that seven pairs of eyes looked at each other - and one pair of eyes was mostly just half-open, unfocused and gazing at the counter top of the bar - and came to the conclusion that, well, might as well see what this was all about.
Common Room - Fairy Tail
With a non-negligible amount of curiosity, the eight present members of Fairy Tail entered the Common Room, taking note of the surroundings, the people, and the information being presented, while trying to determine just who to talk to. There was a large, absolutely gigantic throne in this room that clearly belonged to whoever ran this place - but he was nowhere to be found. If he was absent, they'd have to get information from elsewhere.
Day 4
Shadow Queen, Palace of Shadow
”Yes,” she responded to Jedah. ”You may stay in any one of the other bedrooms.”
Day 5
Jai Time, Rogueport Sewers
Jai enters the pipe and ends up in the sewer system. One thing he’d probably notice is that not only are there a series of blue pipes around the various twisting corridors that presumably take you to other parts of the kingdom, but there’s also a small underground town far off into the distance. There’s several people – well, goombas mostly – living in these sewers, but none of them look like they really have anything valuable on them. In addition to the transport pipes and the underground town, there is one… other thing of interest. A smelly man with a huge beard is peddling a bunch of wares. None of them look even particularly valuable. There’s a piece of string, a couple coins a can of tuna, various items that you’ve never seen like like Fire Flowers, Thunder Bolts, and… what’s this?
THE CURSED RELIC lies in plain view of Jai. Anyone gazing upon it would be overwhelmed by the force radiating from it. We’re dealing with forces worse than an evil weapon or some sort of book of prophecies.
What Jai sees at this moment... is a motherfucking meme
◊. Can you believe the nerve of this asshole?
An offense against God the crown may be, it was still pretty cute looking. The weirdo beardo vendor addresses Jai.
“Hey there partner,” he says with a toothy grin. “See anything ya like?”
The way he wiggles his eyebrows as he speaks could bring a lesser man to tears.
Rose, To the Common Room
”Hm?” Rose was lost in her own world until Ceri brought her back to Earth. ”Oh, right. Yes, I suppose I will come with you. It’s not as though I really have any plans right now.”
And so she followed Ceri into the Common Room, where she gazed upon the strange new arrivals.
”Seems our ‘host’ was not satisfied with current crop of victims,” she muttered.
Hell's Gate Tokyo, Press Conference: Turning Point
"...We have reached a crossroads in our history: one where we must make a choice not just for the betterment of our city's citizens, but for the betterment of humanity itself. We may turn to our fear; try to close off our city and pray that whatever lies outside its borders never knocks on our door. We may turn to our resentment; blame our situation on a group of individuals who have been stripped of their civil rights for more than a decade. But I know the citizens of Tokyo are stronger than their baser feelings. In the aftermath of the Hell's Gate appearance, I saw people banding together to search for friends and loved ones, establish food drives for the displaced, and even opening their homes to complete strangers. I have witnessed firsthand how the people of this city care and look after each other in times of trouble, and no one can deny that this is a very troubling time for Tokyo. However, that trouble also welcomes opportunity: a chance to welcome, instead of exile; a chance to befriend, instead of alienate; a chance to cooperate, instead of sabotage; a chance to take the road that betters us all. Thank you."
The flash of two dozen cameras bombarded Misaki and her companions at the table: Kanami Ishizaki (Astronomics Scientist and Contractor Expert) and April (Contractor). The Section Chief didn't flinch as the flock of reporters rang out questions all at once, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with it.
Up till now, all she'd done was read from a prepared speech on the existence of Contractors, and some current events on Battleworld. Now that she had nothing to read from, the eager ears and never-ending flashes were starting to intimidate her.
Gulping away the lump in her throat, Misaki Kirihara gestured to a female journalist in the front row.
Now came the hard part.
"Are there many of these superhuman individuals among the Tokyo population?"
"No." Misaki replied. "The exact number of Contractors fluctuates, but we estimate that there have never been more than a few dozen in the greater Tokyo area at any given time. Given the city's population, the likelihood that your neighbors or coworkers are in fact Contractors is nearly impossible. Also, please keep in mind that these Contractors are here to protect the city, and are not a threat to the local populace."
It was a lie, but a well-intended one. Did she expect everyone to take her advice and leave their acquaintances alone? No. But she could at least bank on the hope that most people would be too busy trying to establish a new form of "normal" to spark Contractor witch hunts overnight. No matter how twisted that seemed, Misaki had to count it as a small blessing.
Another journalist—a heavyset middle-aged man with thick square glasses—was invited to speak:
"Was a Contractor responsible for the sudden isolated showers caught on tape yesterday?"
April raised her hand, and smiled. "That would be yours truly. The quarantine zone where Tokyo's portal is stationed got an unexpected visitor, yesterday. They tried to burn down a building; fortunately, I was there to stop it from spreading."
Another lie, but also not entirely untrue. BK-201 and his Mitakiharan associate were uninvited guests; the only falsehood was in who set the apartment complex on fire. There was no need to step on Nishijima's toes when Contractors could look like superheroes all the same.
A third question, this time brought up by a wide eyed gentleman in the middle of the pack. "How many new Contractors are you projecting to appear in the city? Even if our neighbors aren't among them today, who's to say they might not be tomorrow?"
"That's impossible, given the circumstances." Kanami replied. "The existence of a new Contractor is directly related to the existence of a new star in the sky, and as some of the astronomy fans out there might've noticed, the stars above Battleworld are completely different from the ones seen from Earth. We believe that the presence of Hell's Gate is what's maintaining the current population, but there's no chance of a new Contractor appearing while we're here."
An immense exaggeration. This field of study was barely ten years old, so far as anyone at Astronomics was concerned, anything was possible on Battleworld.
A man's voice boomed from the far right corner: "Where is Director Horai?"
There it was, the question Misaki dreaded lying about the most. "I'm aware that my superior, the Director of Public Security, was the first government official to break the news about Battleworld. Director Yoshimitsu Horai is preoccupied with negotiations with the other states. He sends his sincerest apologies for not being present for this press conference."
The truth? Misaki didn't have a goddamn clue where her mentor was. Nobody in the Syndicate had heard from him since yesterday afternoon when he met with Nishijima, accompanied by King Bradley and his son. For all she knew, Horai could be right next door, on the other side of the planet, or dead in a ditch somewhere. What made matters worse was that she couldn't decide which possibility she dreaded the most.
The fifth question came from one of the youngest-looking journalist, dressed far more casual than the situation suggested; probably reporting for an online-only news source.
"Do you have any comments on the disappearance of the identical Ikebukuro?"
For a few silent moments, Misaki's eyes turned to the table. "All I can say is that it's a heavy loss for Tokyo, and for myself personally. Like some of you, I came to befriend some of the citizens in that all-too-familiar neighborhood; among them, the delegate of the State of Ikebukuro. Mr. Ryugamine was an incredibly intelligent person. He—and everyone else who came into our lives only to leave again in flash—will be sorely missed."
Finally, a question where she could be completely honest. The "border patrol" established between the two territories wasn't really organized until yesterday, after it became clear that Hell's Gate Tokyo had rolled over for the Galactic Empire the day before. It was manned mostly on the Ike side by street gangs, or more precisely, juvenile delinquents who's experience with firearms lay exclusively in video games. Even if the locals on either side were intimidated by the aptly named Yellow Scarves, it wasn't like their line in the sand was the toughest to cross. Traffic might not have been as free-flowing as the first day Ike arrived, but it was far from coming to a halt.
People traveled from one state to the other, met people who looked and sounded like them, people who even shared an identical culture, history, and geography. The only other neighbor the citizens of Tokyo could relate to was Mitakihara, and that relationship started off on the wrong foot since the city was in shambles when it arrived. Ikebukuro had been a source of stability for Hell's Gate Tokyo; a minuscule semblance of normalcy—or at least something related to it—that kept so many people grounded in the Days of Battleworld. Now that their largest source of outside stability was gone, Misaki dreaded to think what some of the city's civilians might do.
The Section Chief invited another question, which came from a woman with greying hair and a pencil skewered in her hair like a hair pin. She held something in her palm just outside Misaki's line of sight; probably a notepad, but it could've been a phone.
"What can you tell us of PANDORA's recent activity?"
"PANDORA's Research Director and I have been working diligently in order to make Tokyo safer for everyone. Together, we discovered a means to reverse the effects of the bioweapon released yesterday morning. As many of you have no doubt noticed, the fog engulfing the city is not a natural occurrence. Inspired by the climate inside Hell's Gate, Mr. Nishijima suggested we vaporize the acquired cure and spread it across the city. Those affected by yesterday's attack should be returning to health within the hour. All those affected who have sealed their homes shut are highly encouraged to open a window, if possible, or call for assistance if not."
Misaki had to give the story a bit of inaccurate detail, but she could allow herself that sin for this strip of news; it was the only fortunate news she could offer honestly.
Another journalist, his large dark eyes reflecting the lights from his phone, raised his hand to ask something:
"Is this Cure Mist related to the two-hundred victims abducted by PANDORA staff and who've yet to be heard from?"
"Abducted?" Misaki blinked. "I wouldn't call it an abduction, but—"
Kanami intervened. "We've been told by PANDORA staff that these individuals volunteered to serve as the initial test subjects for this cure. Any other details would need to come from Mr. Nishijima."
Misaki nodded in affirmation; it was a good save. She'd stumbled on that word because it had crossed her own mind. Cured of their mutagens or not, those taken from the emergency wards hadn't returned. With no clear answer from Nishijima yet, Misaki's mind was left to fill the blanks...and she filled them with the most horrific possibilities imaginable.
The next journalist to speak was stern-looking gentleman with a frown to rival Kobayashi's. He turned away from his phone and spoke in a low growling tone:
"What can you tell us about PANDORA's fortifications around the city's portal?"
Misaki froze. What?! Since when was PANDORA getting involved with the portal area? Where were the police officers?!
Another reporter followed up the question: "Have they been working on those robotic soldiers before Battleworld, or are they a new development?"
Robotic WHAT?!?
A third: "Mr. Nishijima is calling them 'the perfect protectors of Tokyo.' How do they compare to your Contractors?"
What the hell was going on?!?
Misaki shot her eyes to the side of the room, where Goro sat staring at his phone. He turned his angry narrow eyes to the city's delegate, and nodded. This was really happening: Nishijima was hijacking the portal.
She couldn't stay silent. She had to say something about this. Informing the public was what this whole thing was about!
"Miss Kirihara, are you alright?"
What, was her face growing pale? Was her lip quivering? Was she sweating too much? She wasn't darting her eyes around the room, so what tell was she showing?
A seat screeched beside her, and Misaki turned to see April (clearly annoyed) rising from her chair to slap her palms on the the table.
"Alright, can you give us some bloody slack? We're not glued to our phones, so we can't tell you everything that's happening right now!"
It was a little on the aggressive side, but not an unmerited request. Under normal circumstances, the press might have backed off on the subject. Unfortunately, this was neither a normal press conference nor a normal speaker: April was a known Contractor—part of a group of underground superhumans they'd never even heard about up until an hour ago. So even in her deer-in-headlights shock, Misaki instinctively knew what would happen next.
A frantic voice cried out from the back of the room. "Stop everything! She's going to attack!"
The press room bubbled into panic. Journalists ducked for cover under the seat in front of them, with the poor fools in the front row left with turning their backs to the Contractor as they searched for cover, or the exit. Photographers dropped everything and rushed for the double doors in the back of the room. Whoever remained either huddled on the floor, screamed and pleaded for mercy, or did all of the above.
The panic of the press room broke Misaki out of her own, and as her pleas for order and silence fell on deaf ears, she realized she wasn't just talking to the people in the room. The whole city must be watching this channel—betrayed, traumatized, yet desperate for hopeful news...and absolutely terrified of the people that were supposed to be their allies.
She stared at the camera, at the people on both sides of its feed drowning in fear, and sighed.
"This press conference is over."
...
It took several minutes to restore order, but once everyone was willing to listen again, they were all too eager to pack their things and leave. Within ten minutes, almost every witness to "The Wrath of April Showers" was out of the East Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company building; or, as of ten years ago, the headquarters for the Tokyo MPD.
April had tried to apologize a hundred times for something that shouldn't have been a problem; Kanami only came around to forgiving her around apology ninety-two. The Astronimics lead tried to belittle the damage. She chalked it up to something that'd be forgotten by lunchtime, given how much this planet changed so often. Neither women succeeded in breaking through to the city's delegate, so when their other pressing matters came up on their phones, they excused themselves and left the Section Chief in silence.
Misaki remained in her seat, her head in her hand and leaning on the table. Why did she think this would work? Was she really so naive to think she'd break the news better than Arisato did? Sure, she was a native to (this) Tokyo, but so what? No one knew her, no one saw her a trusted public face. They received the Director fairly well, but she wasn't him...and knowing what had happened to Agent Raan on the roof of this very building, she was partly grateful for that.
Something came into her limited field of vision: a paper cup, with a dark brown liquid steaming out the plastic lid. Misaki looked up to see her Syndicate partner—Goro Kobayashi—offering it to her.
"All in all, you did quite well. Have you considered running for office?"
"I'm not in the mood for jokes." Misaki leered back.
"Wasn't a joke." another familiar voice rang from the exit. Goro's Contractor bodyguard leaned in the opening, blowing lightly on her newly painted nails. "You handled it like a champ. Up till the end, at least."
"I couldn't have seen that coming." the Section Chief retorted.
"Of course not." Goro shrugged. "I would wager that Eric was counting on that. By evicting the officers at the portal while you were on the air, he could undermine your message and earn PANDORA some good publicity at the same time."
Misaki leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "I understand that, what I don't understand is why he'd want to do it."
"Eric Nishijima has never been fond of Contractors." Goro mused. "Though I suspect that his motives were more far-reaching than simply opening at an old wound. He is a pragmatist, after all. He would not have made such a bold move without some truth behind his words."
Misaki shrugged. "And what truth would that be?"
"That the King of the Nerds wants more pieces of our pie." the Dog answered as she strolled up to the table. "And he's got the power to take it."
"Indeed," Goro frowned. "It seems that by dedicating so much energy to preventing an outer conflict, we have neglected our rival within Hell's Gate. Unless we deal with Eric, we may soon find the rest of the Syndicate against us."
The Section Chief rose from her seat. "So what do you propose we do?"
"We must go on the offensive. Gather what few Syndicate agents we have at our disposal, and find a way to stint PANDORA's growth before it is too late. Bribe one of his employees for schematics on these 'Synths,' use it as leverage. Recruit some of the landless individuals to help monitor Eric's wherabouts. Persuade PANDORA's partners that siding with him is only a short-term benefit. Anything that would force him to the table."
With a pinpoint sense for irony, Misaki's eyes turned towards the last page of her press conference speech:
...a chance to cooperate, instead of sabotage...
Guess the whole speech was full of lies. This little fiasco had made an attempt to correct a decade-long injustice made against maybe a few dozen people inside the city, and all she had to do was stuff even more lies down the people's throats. Part of her wondered if that was worth it: Contractors weren't one of Hell's Gate Tokyo's dirty little secrets anymore, but she had to pull even more wool over the city's eyes just to do it, and she gave PANDORA an opening at the same time! It was like being stuck in quicksand, where the hard-won 2 or 3 inches of freedom were quickly overtaken by the 5 or 6 inches one was seeping deeper into the muck. It couldn't continue like this, but she couldn't see any other alternatives...and a tiny part of her didn't want to look.
Shaking the soul-searching thoughts from her head, Misaki furled her brow, then reached into her pocket for her cell phone. She dialed Saito's number, having charged him and Kono with guard duty of a certain someone in Merguro's Tokyo Medical Center.
"I might know who to ask first..."
Common Room (Nishijima): Shooting for the Moon
Among the first to enter the big white room in the morning hours was a stiff man in an even stiffer business suit. He was accompanied by two figures emerging from the portal a few steps behind him: one, a featureless figure in an off-white set of light armor, complete with helmet and a laser pistol holstered at its side; the other a teenage girl with a blank—almost sad—stare, wearing a school uniform.
No one said a word, but the man in the stiff suit did spare a few moments to study the globe in the center of the Common Room. New states had arrived, replacing old ones who gave up the ghost, for one reason or another. Though at the moment, there was just one new chunk he had an interest in paying a visit:
They arrived late yesterday afternoon—a rather unassuming trio of teenagers (there were so many on this planet it was frankly difficult to keep track) wearing pointed witch hats. All in all, their first impression was one of the more farcical performances the man had seen, complete with another demonstration of the Cure's marvelously horrific "intangible strangling" ability.
Still, in the few blinks the surveillance Specter chose to listen in, the brown-haired girl brought up two details that piqued the man's interest:
"...I was fooled by Luna Nova's reputation at first too. I mean, it was the place Chariot went to, who would have thought in reality it would be like that."
and
"...Luna Nova is an all girls school."
So the Cure was throwing in more academies into the mix? The man could hardly fathom why. Children tend to make terrible soldiers...well, human children do, at least. The girl behind his right shoulder belonged to a human subspecies, so she didn't count. The students of Luna Nova couldn't be counted on to be little more than damsels in distress at best, and lambs to the slaughter at worst, regardless of whether or not the man thought it fair.
Yet there were a few other facts under the surface that held his attention: the fact that someone noteworthy in combat (or raw power, at the very least) had attended the school, and the simple fact that Luna Nova was apparently a school for magic. He'd always hated the "M" word for its heavy-handed mysticism—no one could explain magic, it simply was, and there was no need to as what made it work or didn't work—but if there was a school for these unprecedented phenomena...well, that changed the definition entirely. It meant there was a method to the supposed madness, that it could be learned through practice and study. That made Luna Nova a noteworthy stop for his ambitious projects.
So unless stopped by someone in the Common Room, the man in the stiff suit, the featureless figure in armor, and the girl in the school uniform turned for the portal to Luna Nova, and stepped inside.
Common Room (Amber and Co.): Back to Square One
She blinked, and everything was gone.
Her bed, the impact-resistant transparent wall of her cell, the intercom she'd been speaking to for hours on end, and the woman at the other end. Everything was gone. She stood dumbfounded, staring at a globe she just partially recognized, and the large red creature she wished she could forget.
"Barbara..." she shuddered. "I'm so sorry."
"Amber!"
The bass voice of her second-in-command made her jump. She spun around to spy the large red-haired Contractor in street clothes and a transparent glass disk in his hand, which he swiftly tucked inside the pocket of his light jacket. To his side stood a dizzy and confused Luca. Yin and Hei's other partner stood farther off, closer to the globe.
Amber wanted to say she was happy to see Amagiri again; truth be told, she was. But the fact they were reunited in this room wasn't a reason to celebrate.
The big man seemed to understand that, since he glanced down the hallway before asking: "So who left?"
"The Batcave." Amber sighed, and glanced at the globe. "And you?"
"Ikebukuro. Shizuo, and his friends...looks like they're gone."
A gruff and raspy voice cursed in a muttering tone. "God dammit. Dreadlocks..."
Huang turned first to Yin, partially consoled by the fact she didn't disappear with the rest of the fucking world, then turned to Amagiri.
"So why'd they get the boot? Genosha was full of crazy Mutant bastards, but Ikebukuro didn't hurt nobody, right?!"
"What the inhabitants do or don't do hardly matters." Amber explained, her stoic tone betraying the somber stare at the map. "For one reason or another, some groups stay and some groups don't."
"But where'd they go?!" Huang cried.
Amagiri stepped towards Huang, as if his size and intimidating stature were answer enough. "It doesn't matter. All we know for sure is that they're no longer on Battleworld, so let's move on."
"That's pretty fuckin' easy for you fr—"
"DON'T EVEN START!"
Amagiri's sudden roar might've been heard halfway down the Commons Corridor, to the Cure's throne, perhaps even through the nearest portals, if they could carry sound. Huang shrunk back from the hulking Contractor and his piercing glare—both eyes locked on the old man.
Then, like the thunderclap his voice resembled, the rage subsided. Stuffing his fists in his jacket pockets, Amagiri turned away from Huang, walking towards Amber and Luca.
"Just because we prioritize doesn't mean we don't grieve." Amagiri tossed over his shoulder. "You best remember that."
With that difficult moment behind them, Amber, Amagiri, Luca, Yin, and Huang had the difficult task of getting back on their feet, dusting themselves, and starting back straight from square one. Huang's plan of keeping a cautious distance had taken a shitty setback; the best place to head next was the Mitakihara chunk, though the fact he knew jack shit about it wasn't a welcoming thought.
Almost absent-mindedly, his eyes turned west. To the Underground.
"...guess that furball's in for one helluva surprise."
...
Not too far away from the others, three displaced figures appeared from the ether, one just as confused as the others for the relocation...if not more so.
The pair who had entered Manhattan as "Jason and Sarah Parker, a newly-wed couple from Pasadena spending their honeymoon in Ikebukuro (before it was abducted)" weren't concerned with the chunk's disappearance as much as they were relieved.
"Well," Maria sighed, "looks like we don't need to worry about smuggling souvenirs."
Dmitri adjusted the strap on his new duffel bag, and shrugged. "Wanna head to that office, sweetie?"
Maria gave her comrade a bemused (and just slightly threatening!) smile. "Shut up, verga."
Before the newest pair of Nyarlathotep hunters could take three steps towards Devil May Cry, the murmured laments of a familiar sopralto gave them pause.
"To come so close to the prize, then watch it vanish before my eyes!"
"You okay?" Dmitri asked.
Anna turned to her associates with a clear (practically hammy) look of anguish on her face.
"No! I just lost my best chance to finally live in the luxury that I deserve! What on Earth makes you think any of this is 'okay,' Dmitri?"
"Manhattan's still there." Maria thumbed at the globe. "It just moved."
She was right: in what must have been the Cure's arbitrary reasons, Manhattan had been transported from the southern region of the map, to just north of Hell's Gate Tokyo!
As Anna stared at the map, her Femme Fatale facade formed its first cracks.
"...what the f—"
The Underground, Dreemurr Residence: It's Raining Somewhere Else
"His name was Amitabh Kapoor, and like me, he was a body snatching Contractor."
Mao sat curled on the comforter of Asriel's bed, his eyes closed as if to better visualize the memories.
"A few months ago, a suspicious number of executives from the Fiore Perfume Company started committing suicide. No notes, no signs of depression according to their friends and relatives, but one by one they all took a bad step off the roof of an office building. My team was tasked with retrieving perfume samples from that same company; no doubt Fiore Perfume had collected samples of something beyond Hell's Gate, and the Syndicate wanted it retrieved. Just from reading the papers it seemed clear that another Contractor was trying to collect the same samples, and framing the deaths as suicides. I knew right then that we were dealing with a body snatcher who possessed humans, instead of animals like I do. What I couldn't know was that I'd soon meet him alone, and in a situation I'd never want to go through again."
The cat opened his eyes.
"I missed one of my software updates, and the cat's consciousness took over. When I woke up, I was in a kennel balanced alongside a canal, with a local hack detective who'd gotten on Kapoor's nerves. He jumped into the detective's body, and noticed that I'd spoken from the kennel. He tipped my little prison towards the water, and smiled.
"'So you lost yours too, huh?' he said to me. Then he tipped the kennel on its side, and I fell in the canal. I would've drowned if Hei hadn't fished me out."
Mao's fur bristled at the memory, as if the cat were still trying to shake off the water.
"We learned later that the Contractor I'd met wasn't Amitabh Kapoor, but a Contractor accomplice named Nori Ukiyama, a gravity bender. Turns out that Amitabh's original body was destroyed while he was out of his skin, not unlike my situation. He'd been living in Nori's body ever since.
"Once we knew who he was, tracking him down was a cakewalk. Hei posed as another Fiore Perfume executive and met him on a roof one rainy spring evening. He killed Amitabh easily enough, but before he died, he did something strange. He didn't try to possess Hei or anything; instead, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out...an old tube sock. He used his dying breath to take in the filthy thing's stench."
Mao rose from the bed to look Asriel in the eye, filled with "moral of the story" focus.
"There's only one way out of paying the price for a Contractor's powers, and it's to die. I don't need to pay anything, and neither did Amitabh Kapoor. So why keep something that rancid on his person? My guess is that it was his sock—something that belonged to his original body, something that still kept his scent. Something that he could go back to."
The cat's eyes turned away towards the bedroom floor, in the closest feline equivalent to a look of shame.
"When I was hurt by that clone trooper, I remember telling you that I had nothing to go back to. I meant that in a very real sense: everything I had was destroyed in Moscow, eight years, four months, and seventeen days ago. So when I look back on that spring night on the roof, as I stared at this man's corpse lying face-up in the pouring rain, nostrils filled with sweat-soaked cotton..."
A hint of a snarl grew on the cat's face. "I realize I was jealous of him. I can't view him as some kind of foil to myself because he had every luxury someone in our situation could possibly get. He got a second chance to live as a person, and he could keep a memento from his original body. Do you have any idea how many times I've dreamed of going on a date, driving a car, brushing my teeth, only to wake up from a cat nap to remember I'll never have that back?"
Throughout the confession, Mao never raised his voice or drowned in mutters of despair. There were no passionate cries, tears, or lamentations; just the honest testimony of an amputee describing the accident that took his arm, but who still had the hint of a wince when his missing hand ached.
"I've never felt the need to share any of this because it's never going to be useful, but...I'm a ghost. And I miss my body. It sounds pathetic when it's summed up that simply, but...well, you're probably the only person on this weird planet who can relate."
Former Hell, Chuukuu-yama Summit: The Legend of Majora: Breath of the Wild
Well. That was an adventure.
For the first leg of Majora's journey out of the fun and exciting land known as Former Hell, everything went smoothly! The well led a narrow tunnel, which led to more narrow tunnels where it could get some great practice flying fast in tight quarters. Majora was proud of the fact that its husk only suffered four broken bones—admittedly, those bones included a left ankle and a right wrist, but still a new record! An only record was still a new record!
Though once it reached the fire with all the metal parts, things started to get a lot less fun. Something about that place gave it the heeby-geebies, and the longer it stayed in that place, the more those heeby-geebies started to make its limbs feel really really heavy. The husk wasn't following orders anymore, and for the first time in its very very very long lifetime, even the mask didn't feel well. It was safely away from any flames and confident that the heat of the place wasn't the problem, but still...something about the place was making it feel sick.
So when the mask finally managed to trudge itself out of the opening in Chuukuu-yama, its husk was entirely useless. It laid itself propped against the cliff-side's edge to watch the sunset, and gaze at the planet's stars.
By the time the sun started to rise the next day, Majora had recovered from its peculiar sickness, and used its dark energy to create a new husk to use. Question was: now that it was safe to roam the world, where should it go?
The masked child flew to the mountain's peak to get a better view of the planet, and gasped at the landscapes spread before it:
Facing the sun, Majora gazed down at a dead and desolate land, as if it had been scorched by the sun shining down on it. Stone walls scattered the wasteland, leading to palace so massive it could easily put the Inkana to shame! Looking down on the terrain of Outworld, Majora couldn't help but think about the Land of the Dead it had left back in Termina...and its fallen friend Twinmold. The masked child turned away from that kingdom.
Turning to the right, Majora saw a tower rising from a forest meadow, with smaller buildings in its vicinity. The top of the pillar emitted a pleasant green glow that seemed to beg the masked child to reach out a hand to grab it. Apart from the meadow, the rest of the place seemed overflowing with flora and the wild things it sheltered. Odolwa would've loved it...but Majora didn't want to be hampered with sad memories right now.
To the north was...water. Plenty of hiding spaces, but not much to do. Also, Majora associated large bodies of water with large fish like Gyorg, so that was also upsetting.
Finally, there was the West. At first glance, the metropolis shared some similarities to the land east of Former Hell. They had the same slopey roofs and really big palace, but it had a lot more color to it! There were trees, and shiny walls, and lights that came from inside the buildings. They also had some big funny-looking metal things that walked around on giant legs and darn it that was just like Goht!
Majora was surrounded by places that brought back some very sad thoughts. It felt trapped somehow, and the anxiety that feeling built made it want to run away as far as it possibly could.
So without a second thought (for fear it would be about its lost friends), the masked child lifted its feet off the mountain, and—
"GOOD MORNING."
"WAAA!"
What the hell?! Why was he back? Wasn't that "new arrival" update just a one-time thing? Was Majora going to get constant news like this?
...come to think of it, how was the big red guy in the fancy chair doing this? The note didn't explain that. Did Majora miss an explanation somewhere?
The masked child crossed his arms in thought. Well, there was clearly a connection between them somewhere; maybe it worked both ways?
"Hey uhhh, Mister?" it called out to the morning sky. "Can you hear me?"
Themiscrya Palace, Guest Room: Back to the Hunt
No news.
Tatl stared out the window at the reddening sky, and the shorelines of Themiscrya far below. Ignoring the actual purpose for their visit, the night had actually been an relatively enjoyable one: a feastwith meats, fruits, and drinks the likes of which she'd never seen, an impressive sparring match in this giant arena between two Amazons strong enough to lift a Goron over their heads, and hours of music and games that her partner simply couldn't get enough of. There was even a little adventure when an archer tried to assassinate the Queen before a horde of amazons came to the rescue! After what must've been weeks of just watching the preparations for the Festival of Time, it felt refreshing to finally enjoy a night of celebration.
Still, there was no news.
The fairy turned around to face the room. Queen Hippolyta hadn't been joking when she called them "guests of honor." The sheer size of this room (more like a suite, but that term meant nothing to Tatl) could have rivaled the first floor of a house. A sitting area with chairs so cushiony you could fall asleep on them after thirty seconds, a fire place the size of a stable door, even the bath tub and privy looked expensive!
Then there was the bed: a massive piece of furniture framed with solid dark-colored wood and surrounded by a set of curtains to block out the light of the morning sun. Behind those drapes, Tatl could hear the soft snores of her comrade, still fast asleep.
This was a wonderful place, and an even more wonderful break from all their monster slaying and puzzle solving...but there was no news on Majora's whereabouts, and that was the worst news imaginable.
Queen Hippolyta had promised to search every corner of the island for the boy wearing the demonic mask, and Tatl believed her. After all, you don't show gratitude to the people who rescued your daughter by slacking off with the search party. It seemed safe to say that Majora's Mask wasn't on Themiscrya anymore. But if it left Paradise Island, where did it go?
Tatl sighed, and returned to the window. As the breeze carried the scent of saltwater into the palace, the fairy meditated on what to do next. They couldn't just stay here; the mask came to this strange planet with them, which made them the most qualified people to stop it. Their best hope would be to return to that big white room, maybe head back to Yukari's place, and retrace their steps. They had to have missed something, right?
...speaking of which, the rising sunlight revealed something outside the window Tatl hadn't noticed last night. It was a little hazy with the distance, but on the edge of the horizon there was a sliver of mass sticking out of the ocean.
Land!
Majora's Mask had proven it could levitate its wearer, and there was a landmass within eyesight of the island. If the stupid thing wasn't here, then the next step was to look over there!
Tatl rushed to the bed's curtains.
"Hey! Time to get up! We've got work to do!"
A soft snore was Link's only response.
"Heeeeeeey. You need to get up, sleepyhead!"
More snoring.
"...do we seriously have to do this again?"
Snooooooooooooooore.'
Shaking with irritation, the fairy took a deep breath, braced herself for impact, and dove through the curtains to bonk the sleeping boy squarely on the nose.
Link jolted to life with a yelp, and clutched his tingling nose with a whimper.
"So first of all," Tatl groaned, having made herself dizzy in the wake-up call, "we are not doing this a third time. Either someone else has to wake you up, or I start lighting a bomb for your alarm clock! You are way too much of a heavy sleeper!"
The fairy pushed her way through the curtain to freedom, and waited for her companion to crawl out of the little cocoon to join her.
"Second, look out the window."
Link obeyed, and was awed by the color of they sky. How pretty!
"See that little thing on the horizon? That's land! I think we found out where the mask might've flown off to! So grab your things, get your horse, and let's head back to that big white room with the map!"
Link's enthusiasm curbed as Tatl continued speaking. He wanted to track down the mask of course, but...well, Queen Hippolyta was almost killed last night! He couldn't just leave her now that she was in danger. No hero could!"
His doubt must've appeared on his face, since Tatl let out an exasperated sigh and said:
"Look, you're not bad at solving other people's problems. It's not a bad thing to do from time to time, but you need to learn when to stay focused. We know what that mask is capable of. We came here to look for it. Now we have to leave and go look for it somewhere else."
Link glanced and gestured at the door, as if to pitifully object that the Queen needed their help here.
"You also need to learn when people can't and can take care of themselves! You spent so much time back in Termina helping those who could've been just fine without you. The Rosa sisters? The Deku Scrub merchants? That hand that came out of the...you know. Their temporary problems weren't worth the time we could've used saving the Giants."
The fairy turned towards the door, the bed, and back to Link and the window; her own limbless version of gesturing to the world around them.
"Now look at who you're trying to help: a tribe of super-Gerudos who demonstrated right in front of you that they're no strangers to fighting, or protecting their Queen. Remember that dark-haired one with the weird clothes? She had the whole situation under control! It's great what you did for them far as Princess Donna and that one arrow's concerned, but you need to understand that they don't need you sticking around. Besides: the longer you do stick around—Zelda—the more likely they're gonna find out your little secret. Understand?"
Link still had a look of concern on his face, but he nodded. If they stayed here, it'd only mean Majora's Mask was running around unattended. That had to come first.
So in no time at all, the little hero put on his boots, belt, and weapons, led Epona out of the palace's stables, and rode off for the throne room portal.
Common Room (Tatl and Link): Literally Asking for the Call to Adventure
Out of Themiscrya rode a boy in a green cap and tunic on top a chestnut-colored foal, and a little white ball with butterfly wings. The peculiar pair approached the giant globe in the room's center before the boy dismounted and lovingly pat his steed's mane.
"So going by this thing," Tatl thought aloud, "the most likely place that land could be is...Cass...Casleva...wow, that's a mouthful...Casselvayneeya."
Turning to the sparse (but slowly growing) population in the room, Tatl used the loudest voice she could muster.
"Hey there! Anybody here know anything about this 'Casselvayneeya' place?"
Common Room
"No, it's good that you have something you're so interested in, Ruby! It's cool that you know so much about weapons, really!" Minako reassured, her frown at Lady's anger transforming into a beaming smile. She patted the Huntress on her free shoulder, then gestured to the woman with all the firearms. "This is Lady. She works with Dante at Devil May Cry."
"And first off-" She held up a finger, transitioning back to the conversation at hand. "You and Dante were both busy at the time, and Vergil was on his way out of Ike, after which we would have lost track of him altogether. So, I went after him — with a plan and backup, thank you — and challenged him to a duel with conditions that would force him to keep me alive in order to get what he wanted if he won. I couldn't have locked him up or killed him, because for one thing, he completely regenerated immediately after I beat him. I figured no jail would have been able to hold him, anyway, given his powers, so the next best thing seemed to be setting him against the most dangerous threat I knew of, AKA Nyarlathotep, the shape-shifter we're after. That was the last thing I did the night before last."
"After that, we were all busy with the Empire invading yesterday, so my team and I didn't even have time to talk to you or Dante or anyone else at DMC about him. As Kirihara-san said, it doesn't make sense for him to have been working with Nyarlathotep. He kept completely to his word throughout yesterday, so I assumed I could hold him to our agreement. In fact, he only turned against our interests when the enemy backed us into a corner and then offered anything we desired in exchange for killing this man — who is, by the way, himself guilty of numerous crimes against humanity on a global scale." She gestured to Breen and sent him a brief, sidelong glare. "I will admit I made an error in judgement by failing to anticipate that Nyarlathotep is also granted wishes by The Cure, but other than that, I made the best of the options available to me at the time. Nothing more, nothing less." The Fool finished her calm defense with her hands folded behind her back, her lips in a perfectly neutral line.
"...and I'd be careful who I called a bastard, if I were you," she added to Misaki in an aside, corners of her mouth quirking upward ever so slightly.
Edited by darksidevoid on Sep 22nd 2018 at 8:34:34 AM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs