-Party Load Out and Materia-

Tifa: Human (Displaced)
Armored Knuckle- Fire, Ice, Gravity ---- Shinra Beta (Bangle) - Time + Added Effect
Other: Enemy Skill+Mime (Absorbed), Rude’s Sunglasses

Rarity: Unicorn
Silken Dream- Restore, Esuna, Ice ---- Shinra Beta (Bangle)- Barrier, Lightning
Other: An undecided rotation of outfits (currently), Earrings

Pinkie: Pony?
Sparkly Megaphone- Lightning, Earth, Fire --- Carbon Bangle- Transform, Manipulate
Other: Red Cape, "Moggy"

Spike: Sapient Dragon
Claws and Teeth (No Weapon Equipped) --- Mythril Armlet: Restore
Other: Natural Fire Magic, Hardened Scales

The lobby doors burst open covered in a golden aura, employees and guests alike scattering in the wake of the very pissed off CEO storming in. Raven and Twilight struggled to keep up with the President and Turk quintet’s brisk pace. It had been three days since the escape and to say Celestia wasn’t happy with the first report she was able to receive would be an understatement at best.

“I want Chrysalis put on immediate probation, with every last one of her projects placed on hold for review! She’s not to examine a single beaker without the direct and explicit consent of either myself or a pair of scientists I deem fit! For now they’ll be...” the alicorn woman fumed as she looked to the ranking personnel files on her tablet “Twilight and Miss Heartstrings.”

“Me ma’am?!” the treasurer blanched.

“She did say ‘for now’ Miss Sparkle. Though the professor won’t be too happy answering to anyone outside the main science department” Sweetie Drops calmly pointed out in a neutral tone, though her underlings caught the ghost of a smile on her lips.

“They’re still scientists” Celestia countered. They were also among the few she could count on for this; Twilight would understand the science probably better than any of them and Lyra was one of few left in the company that wasn’t afraid of the changeling.

“She should be happy to still work here at all frankly...” Raven grumbled as she marked down the president’s orders on their way the the elevators. Celestia’s anger ebbed a little at the comment however. She really didn’t approve of or even like the professor but she was the only one she knew both brilliant and unscrupulous enough to perform the science necessary for their success. It was when she went beyond what was necessary and began indulging herself that things got messy.

‘And it's my fault she ever achieved such a position of power to abuse in the first place’ she sighed heavily. She was saved from dwelling on the fact by the chime of the elevator ushering them in, the group easily fitting into the spacious lift despite their numbers. Celestia had to suppress another sigh as she noticed Twilight staying as close to the door as possible with her eyes glued to the floor, the best ‘view without a view’ as it were. She really hadn’t been the same since the incident, 'Yet another event that weighs on my conscience…’

“Where is the Proxy now?” she refocued, turning the topic away from Chrysalis Hojo. If there remained but one piece of good news in all this, it was the retrieval of the huge materia from the ruins.

“Reactor 3, within its reinforced storage and under heavy guard consisting of both infantry and mechanized units” the Turk director informed “Much to the delight of the latter’s department head.”

‘Ah yes, she has been clamoring for her mechanized troops to serve an even larger role for a while now hasn’t she?' the CEO remembered.

Celestia rather was ambivalent about the head of the company’s weapons development and robotics division, unsure if her motives were genuine. She was easily one of the most neutral members of the board and had so far managed to stay above the corruptions that plagued most of the others, both petty and otherwise. However, she also had the habit of becoming rather… zealous in her beliefs and how they applied to her work. Still, better an eccentric than a psychopath the alicorn supposed.

“Any word on the AWOL copter?”

“No ma’am, though I doubt they deviated willingly. I suspect the captive awoke prematurely and commandeered the craft. The transponder was disabled as well, so we haven’t been able to track them. I apologize that we were not able to pursue at the time but I believed our own cargo demanded priority and we were limited to the two copters.”

“You did not make the wrong decision Agent Drops. Securing the proxy and greater number of potentials was more important, even with how everything turned out.” the president confirmed “Now according to the report, the gunwoman was shouting about what seemed like a very personal beef with Shirna, yes?”

“Yes ma’am” Sugarcoat answered this time “She was screaming something along the lines of never going back, suggesting she has a history within the company. So I’ve been looking through the former employee records and similar avenues with the assistance of Ms. Sparkle. Thus far, nothing has come up.”

“Very good Agent Coat, and a nice show of initiative. I trust you’ll let me know as soon as you find anything.”

“Of course ma’am.”

The elevator pinged again as they reached their first stop. The doors began to part but then let out a number of loud clucks and squeals before stopping only halfway open.

“Oh right, sorry ma’am” Sweetie Drops offered as she and Rude moved to pry the doors apart fully “They’ve been getting stuck on this floor ever since the guards had to force their way through Rarity’s ice spell.”

Celestia simply gave an acknowledging hum in her passing and Twilight quickly stepped through after her, letting out the held breath as she landed on more secure footing again. The stand-in treasurer made a few notes on her tablet as the rest filed onto the recreation floor. Celestia gained a small grin as she peered over the unicorn woman’s shoulder to see her currently sifting through the maintenance budgets, checking on the repair schedule.

‘Always the reliable one, aren’t you Twilight?’ she thought before approaching the scene of the altercation. A few stubborn scorch marks remained but it seemed the area had been well cleaned since the fight. The only other signs left were a sizable crack in the hallway tile and, of course, the person sized dent next to the fire exit. It was actually a surprisingly small amount of damage for a fight that bested a SOLDIER, but it was not simply that nagging at the CEO.

It was almost like there a strange kind of imbalance lingering in the air, a nearly unconscious sensation of something unnatural.

“How is SOLDIER Crusher recovering?” she inquired of the Turk director after a moment, shaking off the feeling.

“Steadily ma’am” the stoic woman delivered.

“Though her pride may take a while to recover” Agent Flare added, earning a few smirks from her comrades.

“Do you have the feed ready then?” Celestia moved on, overlooking the quip.

“Yes ma’am, I just finished compiling and editing it prior to your arrival. As a precaution, I’ve limited the number of those that have seen it as much as possible.” her own team gave her some confused looks at that one “Trust me ma’am, you’ll understand when you see it.”

“Then I suppose we should get to it right away then” the alicorn woman said as they returned to the elevator, giving her another moment to inquire further “What would you say is the likelihood of reconciling with our wayward employees?”

Sweetie Drops hesitated as she considered the more subjective nature of the the issue.

“Difficult at best. Ms. Lockhart is an uncertainty but while she hadn’t shown any open hostility toward Shinra, she never seemed to let go of her initial suspicions. I very much doubt recent events have helped that case.”

“I can vouch for that” Sunny added “while she seemed open minded enough and not too begrudging about the whole forced cooperation thing, she was always pretty wary and I never got the feeling that she ever fully believed our intentions.”

“Now as for Agent Belle?” the director paused again and turned to Rina and Rude “You two were more personally acquainted with Rarity, what is your assessment?”

Rina scratched the back of her head, reminding herself to phrase the answer like she and Rude hadn’t personally let them escape.

“Ehhh, I won’t say it’s impossible but it’ll probably take a lot more than a sorry and a ‘it won’t happen again’ to bring her back” now, always the eloquent one, Rina continued unperturbed “I’d say her faith in the company was pretty well fucked with what was allowed to happen to her and honestly, I can’t say I blame her.”

“Rina!” Sweetie Drops started to scold the tactless Turk when Celestia gently stopped her.

“It’s alright Ms. Drops, there were more than enough oversights that led to this failure. Thank you for your honesty, Agent Zap.” she delivered stoically, but there was a somber note behind the words nevertheless. The doors chimed once more and the entourage made their way to one of the company’s private meeting rooms. As they filed in, the treasurer hesitated at the door.

“Should I be here? What with this being so top secret and all?” Twilight fidgeted as the director turned to regard her.

“It’s not entirely a secret Miss Sparkle, I merely wished the president to be the first to see the footage and be the one to decide how much to keep ‘top secret’ and what to reveal to the rest of the board and security.” Sweetie Drops expressed in another neutral tone “You’re scientific insight could prove useful though and the president trusts you. Besides, you still have your top level clearance.”

“I do?!” Twilight squeaked. As the treasurer, she had a fairly high clearance as it was but she had been sure it was downgraded after her reassignment. Yet the director merely nodded and turned back to the screen, grabbing the remote.

An image of Rarity, Tifa and the yellow thestral-like girl glowing within their isolation pods appeared at her first click. Celestia gave a curious hum at the images; they had been described in the initial report that expedited her trip home but the pictures had been absent for security sake.

“So the professor was able to determine Agent Rarity is attuned to the Generosity currents of the stream, yes? Have we any idea what your assailant was attuned to?” the alicorn asked, studying the yellow woman emitting a pink radiance in her pod.

“No ma’am. Without her here to test, I’m afraid not” the head Turk replied.

“Um, actually…” Twilight spoke up “I think it’s reasonable to assume she’s attuned to the ‘Kindness’ currents… er, ma’am.”

“Oh? Do explain Twilight” Celestia smiled, repressing a chuckle at the subdued air quotes used with the currents’ less scientific moniker.

“Well, it’s only a theory but the preliminary findings suggest that the recovered huge materia may serve as a potential suitable for the Element of Kindness, as it’s had the most positive reactions to those currents. Given what was most likely a long term exposure to the materia, the open mako flux flowing beneath it, and her showing little to no adverse effects, I believe it’s reasonable to assume she’s attuned to those currents as well.” Twilight hypothesized and the group could literally see as a few more of the figurative gears clicking into place as she spoke “In fact, given her near endless stamina during the encounter, she may have actually been strengthened by the close proximity to them.”

“We can't treat it as a solid conclusion but that is a reasonable assumption we can work with. Your passive strengthening theory is also warrants consideration. Raven, make a note of it.” Celestia agreed before turning her attention to the final image: the woman covered in glowing cracks all across her from “Now this most certainly isn’t harmony attunement. If anything it’d say it looks like a mana rupture, but there doesn’t seem to be any physical injuries… and you say they faded away without leaving any mana burn or lacerations?”

“Yeah” Rina piped in “Same as how Priss stopped glowing a little ways into the trip back to the city, the cracks just faded off Lock' without a trace; like they were never there to begin with.”

“Perhaps it’s time to start the footage” Sweetie Drops suggested and, with a nod from the CEO, clicked the remote. The angles were limited, though that was not surprising given that they rarely needed to watch their employees on break. The hallway and elevator cameras offered a decent enough view of the scene however.

They watched as the fugitive group rushed out the elevator, most giving rather befuddled looks at the tiny pink creature riding atop the dragon’s back. The image seemed to freeze until Tifa started moving again, the illusion caused by her frozen associates. The footage cut to a wider angle of the hall to show the 2nd class SOLDIER stepping into view and the incredibly one sided bout that followed.

“Are we certain it was Miss Lockhart who defeated Canyon?” the president asked quizzically.

“Yeah, seems like this ass kicking should be reversed with how Crusher ended up” Agent Zap snarked.

“You’ll see in a moment” was all the director said, ignoring her subordinate’s comment. The group remained silent until the shimmer washed over the brunette.

“What the fuck?” Rina muttered, a sentiment shared by most in the room.

Celestia however was far more concerned with what she saw afterwards, the impossible jump in skill the boxum martial artist seemed to pull from thin air. They watched as the elite was caught completely off guard and began to falter against the renewed assault. Then a gasp hissed through the room as the final hit connected.

“No way!” Sunny exclaimed.

“Was… was that a forced limit?” Sugarcoat’s passive facade gave way to confused skepticism.

“A forced partial limit to be exact” Sweetie Drops clarified.

“Even most of SOLDIER can’t pull that off!” Rina added “Lock is nowhere near that good! Hell, she could barely hold her own against me and Rude when we were holding back! Priss said she’s never managed to use her normal limit, how could she have pulled that off?!”

“Show it again” Celestia’s calm voice cut through the exchange, her eyes remained on the footage and watching intently “No, no the whole thing, after the shift…”

The group fell quiet again as the leader studied the fight.

“Again.”

The footage repeated as Celestia processed what she was seeing, going so far as swishing her fingers around to better followed the brunette’s movement.

“I knew there was something familiar about the way she fought,” she finally concluded, the polished execution making it more clear “That’s the Zangan style.”

“Zangan?” Rude repeated surprised, the reaction from the normally stoic man draw some curious, and concerned, gazes.

“Not merely that but this final attack, even if in this partial state,” the president gestured to the screen “is one of the pinnacle techniques of the style; something that only someone nearing a mastery of the art can accomplish.”

“But…” Rude countered, confusion clear in his eyes despite his shades “That’s not possible.”

“Okay now, what is it the rest of us are missing here?” Sunny cut in, earning a sigh from the bald Turk as he pushed his glasses back up.

“Zangan Style was a exceptionally versatile and flexible martial art, capable of combating most any threat; humanoid or monster, big or small, unarmed or armed. It was notably one of the first unarmed styles with somewhat effective methods to counter firearm wielding opponents. Like any style; it’s not without its flaws, but focusing on speed and power, it wasn’t an art to be taken lightly when used correctly.” the others gawked at their teammate saying more in one sitting than they’d usually hear in an entire day. Rude continued with a far more serious note underlying his words “And it’s gone. All that’s left of it is a smattering of what are, at best, intermediate maneuvers adopted by other styles.”

“Agent Rude is right” Celestia affirmed “Even a few techniques of the basic defense methods we teach to our troops were adapted from Zangan’s teachings. But the full style isn’t taught anymore.”

“Well evidently someone is teaching it, considering Miss Lockhart knows it” Raven concluded, earning a shake of the head from the president.

“It’s not simply that it isn’t taught, it's that it can't be. No one who knew it well enough to pass the art along has survived to the modern age. You see the last student of Zangan, the last person to reach anywhere close to this level…” Celestia gestured again to the paused image of the long-haired woman with her fist glowing

“Died over two hundred years ago...”

Tifa stared warily at the cooked crustaceans at the buffet of the “restaurant” they stopped at. It was really just a cooking station under an old wedding tent, but you couldn’t really expect much from a place called “The Undercity”. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were the same kind of creature that attacked her on her first mission after they fell into Corneo’s trap.

Now, it was actually pretty common for the people of Equestria to eat monsters. They were plentiful and repopulated quickly enough to be mostly sustainable with little impact on the environment. Other than the whole dangerous to hunt and keep around thing, it was actually a pretty good solution to the monsters themselves limiting the continent's usable land for ranching and farming.

A lot of them tasted pretty good too. She personally liked this kind quite a bit in fact; they tasted like snow crab with a little kick of spice to them. So no, it wasn’t the fact they were monsters that was bothering Tifa.

“These came from the caves, right?” she asked the cook behind the table, wresting a laugh from the scruffy man.

“Ah, I see y’all are new down here. Hope yer just passing through or else yer palates are gonna need to become a lot more flexible!” he teased but then gave the brunette an friendly grin “But yeah, don’t worry yourself none there beautiful; these didn’t come from the sewers. Trust me, you’d smell it.”

Worries somewhat assuaged, the martial artist loaded some of the oversized legs onto her plate and moved back to the table with the others.

“So you really think AVALANCHE is our best bet?” Tifa asked “They didn’t seem like the most open people when they attacked the tower, considering they almost killed Twilight and I... twice”

“Even so, I don’t see that we have much of a choice. They’re pretty much the one viable option left to keep us off Shinra’s radar, what with the Wutai Resistance long gone.” the well coiffed woman replied, adjusting what Tifa was sure was just the first of many outfits to come “Shinra will sniff us out sooner or later if we stay anywhere too long without support, even here in the Undercity. Not that we’d want to stay down here anyway, what with the health risks alone.”

It was true; while they so far appeared unaffected by the lingering mako in the air themselves, they couldn’t miss that at least half the area’s population was ill. The extent of the mako poisoning ranged from some looking merely tired to others that didn’t look too far from death’s door. For as much or little good the president may have been trying to accomplish, Tifa was starting to learn just how much of it was out of her control, or at least her awareness.

“Are you certain this Applejack will listen?” Spike asked “As far as she’s concerned, you two are still with Shinra. She’ll undoubtedly suspect we’re spies or worse.”

“While I’ll admit our relationship never blossomed past friendly acquaintances, Applejack was alway a very open woman with an honest integrity. So I think she’ll at the very least not have us shot on sight. She’s also the only member I know, so it’s her or nothing. We have to at least try.” the former Turk reasoned “Though I suppose all that only matters if we can actually get to Ponyville...”

Ponyville was on the other side of the divide; the long, narrow and apparently rather deep sea separating the two primary halves of the Equestria continent.

“Well we can’t go to Junon” Tifa pointed out the obvious.

“What about Baltimare?” Pinkie offered “Or Fillydelphia should be able to get us on a boat too!”

“That would be a pretty long trip, having to go around the entire land mass like that.” Spike retorted. Rarity shook her head at the ideas as well.

“That and we’ll be on the wrong side of the marsh if we’re still planning on taking the tunnels all the way to the Mythril Mine. Without proper transport or at least a couple of chocobos, we’d never make it past the Zoloms.” she explained. She sighed heavily as she continued “I think Fort Condor may be our best bet… unfortunately.”

“Fort Condor is part of AVALANCHE?” the brunette cocked an eye brow.

“Not according to the latest intelligence, no. But they’ve no love for Shinra” she answered, a clear note of dread in her voice “They’re more of the… ‘righteous word of Minerva demands an end to the corporate corruption of freedom’ types.”

“Ah, so a basket case militia in some backwoods compound then” Tifa said dryly “Wonderful.”

“Yes, exception being that backwoods compound is an actual fort with a greater condor perched on top.” Rarity countered with Spike speaking up next.

“If they’re such a threat then why hasn’t Shinra dealt with them?” the dragon quired “Even with just the stuff I've seen from my cell, taking the fort doesn't sound that hard for them.”

“Oh I never said they were a threat Darling.” the former Turk quipped “As a matter of fact they’ve yet to take any violent action against the company directly. All they do it slowly stockpile dated equipment and spout propaganda over the radio. Until they become an actual risk, which is pretty unlikely, they’re simply not worth the resources to deal with. Shinra will do something eventually, but for the time being they’re perfectly happy to just let them stay out there playing with their toys.”

“Yeah, except now we have to go ask to borrow some of those toys” the martial artist pointed out “Assuming they have anything to get us across the divide in the first place.”

“Well they can’t be THAT bad, can they?” Pinkie asked,

Rarity merely looked away anxiously without a response...

After the meal, the party restocked their supplies as best they could from the limited options and continued on their journey, pushing further into the tunnels. Thankfully, the paths had been used enough by those hoping to sneak into the city to be marked and they weren’t far enough yet to have to worry about monsters or the like.

Unfortunately for Tifa, this quiet moment allowed the conversation to turn back to her as well.

“So truthfully now Tifa dear, where are you from?” the well coiffed unicorn asked “I think it’s safe to tell us now.”

“I did tell you. I’m from Nibelheim” she lied.

“Dear, I’ve been to Nibelheim; it’s a few days walk from Ponyville. You’re not from there.” Rarity called her bluff.

“So? You couldn’t have known everyone in town.” the brunette argued.

“I can because there isn’t an ‘everyone’ to know; the town’s nothing but an old ruin.”

‘FUCK!!’ immediately screamed through Tifa’s mind.

“It’s a glorified tourists trap.” the unicorn woman went on. Pinkie however seemed to give Tifa the benefit of the doubt.

“Tourists traps do still have people who live there to run them.” the tiny horse offered, to which Rarity smiled back.

“But of course! In this case, Cranky and Matilda Doodle. Lovely couple. They would come into town once or twice a week to shop and socialize” she explained before turning back to Tifa and very bluntly stating, “And neither of them are you.”

‘Think think think think think think, come ooooon...’

‘...’

“You wouldn’t believe me” the pugilist finally returned “You’ll think I’m insane.”

“You are talking to a sapient dragon and a miniture pink horse perched on his head” Spike smirked back “Try us.”

“I’d think we’d believe it more than you being from a dead town” Rarity added.

“FINE!” Tifa suddenly snapped, startling the trio “You wanna know?! I'm from another goddamn world! I was attending a convention with my best friend to advertise our workshop with some new costumes we’d made when we ran into this really creepy vendor that we told to fuck off! But then he popped back up later and bowled the two us over, somehow turning Liv into an actual zombie who then ripped my fucking throat out! Then time literally fucking stopped and the vendor strutted back, now bald and with a thick German accent. He started blathering about experiments and made Liv dissolve into what looked like the life stream and then started getting excited when the copious amount of blood gushing from my neck started glowing just before what I’m fairly positive was my actual Death!”

She took a deep breath-

“But then I wake up in the slums all alone with an entirely new body, a new name, and half my memories missing!” she vented “And now after finally getting used to my lot in this new life I get pulled into all this shit and am once again scared shitless and have no idea what I’m doing! That’s where I’m from!”

The woman’s venting ended, shoulders heaving slightly as she scowled at the ground. The others just stood silently, throwing one another uneasy glances. Tifa scowl failed to a wide eyed stare as she realized all she had revealed in her rant.

The silence lasted a few beats longer until a smile creeped onto Rarity’s lips.

“You make Costumes?” she asked almost excitedly. Tifa’s head snapped up to the unicorn, a look of of pure bewilderment painted across her face.

“THAT’S what you take away from all that?” she gawked as the woman and pony giggled, Spike’s smirk came back as well.

“Tifa dear you’re talking to a woman who’s personally summoned an Ifrit, a Sheva and even an Alexander” she elaborated “So okay, admittedly yours is quite the unique set of circumstances but we summon beings from other realms all the time. Why the summoner's of- well it’s right there in the title! It’s hardly as insane as it sounds darling.”

The brunette deflated a bit at the rationale.

“I… I never thought about it like that” she mumbled when the group’s dragon nodded his head.

“It is strange you were changed so completely and are not a temporary summon” he mused “But I don’t see how this changes that much.”

“Except you're not all alone this time! Even if you are just crazy, we’re all in this together!” Pinkie informed the still distressed Tifa. She blinked a few times, not failing to notice it when her main fell just a little bit straighter “Still though... dying must have been a pretty terrifying... You want a hug?”

‘Yes’

“No, that’s alright Pinkie. I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

‘No’

“Yeah, thanks though.”

“Well okay... if you ever change your mind though.” she offered.

Not without a bit awkwardness, the group regathered themselves and carried on. It wasn’t long though before Rarity leaned back in to try and distract the displaced woman’s attention with a bright smile.

“So... what kind of costumes do you make?”

Zest trudged through her apartment door, trying not to look at the one across the hall covered in police tape. When she had gotten back from dropping off Tifa’s bug out bag, she found a whole gaggle of Shinra troops swarming her friend’s home. Fortunately, her mother Citrus was also among them and waiting for her, quickly intercepting any unnecessary harassment or unlawful detainment.

She moved to click on her speakers so the music could flood the small space as it had countless times before. She sighed as it did little to improve her mood.

She had spent most the day at the tower, her mom with her every step of the way to make sure her colleagues didn’t entrap her in their legal double speak and get her to confess without even knowing it. Her mother really was great at her job and considering the lack of any evidence, they couldn’t just arrest her for association so long as she was around. Unfortunately it pushed said parent over the edge and she demanded Lemon move back out of the slums or they’d cut her off.

While Zest was confident that she could survive down here on her own, there now seemed like so little keeping her here. She frowned at the notion. She had only known Tifa about seven months by now and she of course had a life down here before the shapely girl had dropped into it.

‘Did I really though?’ she thought with uncertainty. She had a job with a couple friendly acquaintances sure, but was it a life that really meant anything to her? She’d mostly come down to experience something outside the deceitful veneer of ‘the higher class’. Not that she didn’t love her parents but that simply wasn’t the life for her.

She clicked the music off and sat in the silence, hunched over with her hands on the back of her neck. After some long and heavy considerations, she eventually came to the conclusion her parents were probably right. She needed a change and had a decent one in mind, but it probably wasn't the one her parents did.

‘Sorry Mom and Dad. I love ya, but I won’t be moving back home yet’ she internalized as she pulled out her phone ‘And hey, who knows? Maybe I’ll run into Tif out there.’

For most it may have been too late to call but unless her friend got an entirely new personality, Zest knew she’d still be awake. Sure enough it only rang a couple times before a familiar voice piped through the line.

“Hey Sour… Yeah it’s me… Oh I guess I’m alright, you?” the small talk quickly petered out and Zest was forced moved to the reason she called “So listen, I know the season’s already a couple weeks in but uh…”

The conversation awkwardly paused as the pink woman hesitated. She shook her head and with a deep breath stuck to her guns.

“That offer for a tryout still open?”

She flinched away as an excited and rather loud squee erupted from the device.

‘I guess that’s a yes then’ she figured. A small smile found her as the new direction she chose started to grow on her ‘Well, there are definitely far worse things to be than a Blitzball player.

Author's Note

Okay, with all the more obvious hints in this chapter on top of the earlier ones, I'll be very disappointed if no one has figured out what the neighboring continent is now
For those of you that do though, don't worry about too much interference: it's not gonna come into play until act two if we ever get that far (in other words, the sequel )

But another chapter's now down and there's still more on the way. Sorry to any disappointed with the lack of action but I kind of want this one to be a little less over the top than my other story. And hey, sometimes you just need exposition

As always, thanks for reading and have a good one