Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to celebrate the 10th year of the Gameverse! And I've even found the perfect theme song: play "Made in Heaven" by Queen~
A lonely grave-keeper softly patted the soil of a stone with his shovel. Ensuring the soil was smooth and flat, he continued his inspection of the vast, vacant grounds. A sea of gray covered the sky: it was damp weather, but it was peaceful. The spirits of the departed enjoyed a quiet, serene atmosphere to take their eternal rest. That's what the grave-keeper believed. Somewhere far above those gray clouds, the spirits were living peacefully. Tranquilly.
In the Underworld, millions of souls were in line, awaiting judgment at thousands of courthouses. At one such courthouse, a chubby human man who appeared glum and depressed set foot on the scale. The scale on the 'Good Deeds' side weighed down a bit… but it was passable. The Reaper stamped the hilt of his scythe against him, marking a golden stamp. With an expression of awe, the glum man began to ascend to a golden ray of light above Underworld Castle.
Beyond the cavernous ceiling of the Underworld was a glistening sky and a valley eternally lush. A golden gate opened to welcome the man to this world.
Children of all ages were chasing each other and exploring a playground the size of a fortress. Some were trying to catch golden spirits that carried hammers, said spirits smiling and laughing joyously. There was a swamp where frog spirits sang exuberantly upon a stage of lilipads. A Crocodile Hunter sat at the edge of the swamp when a crocodile spirit propped its head on the man's lap. The hunter patted the reptile's head as the creature purred.
In a vast desert of golden sand, explorers were excavating the dunes in search of Genie Lamps. Dozens of genies were found, and would grant their discoverers a single wish before becoming a star and ascending. One of the explorers wished for a mountain of gold. A Mobian camel explorer wished his camel spirit guide could assume a humanoid form; the female camel became a proper Mobian and they fell in love. An elf spirit wished for a Magic Zanpakutō, and a fairy wand conjured in his hands. The genie who granted such a wish resembled a robin.
Some people rode a flying train to Game Central Station, suspended in the air with giant cables connecting to trains. A Japanese girl named Chiaki was relaxing on a bench at the central park, playing on a handheld console. An electric, teardrop spirit appeared beside her with a cute smile, and the girl smiled and petted it. There was a fountain resembling an N64 controller. An African-American boy was leaving the game store with a copy of the newest Banjo game.
Merpeople and Fishmen freely swam in the endless sea, and Adabat folk, Lurelin folk, Hydropolis folk, and other fish-loving humans were riding the spirits of giant, red and gold koi fish. They all formed a great, wide berth as Sea God Kyogre rose to the surface, swimming alongside them. Some of the fishermen climbed atop the king and cast their fishing lure Zanpakutō, awaiting a bountiful hull of fish. There was a man named Stephen floating peacefully on a giant sponge.
Above a sea of stormy clouds, the Nimbi, Birkans, and other sky folk were surfing waves of white, stirred by the swimming of Sky God Rayquaza. The shiny green snake erupted lightning from the surface, the Birkans surfing in and relishing in the electrical juices. "Ha haaaa!" laughed Adam West as he soared beside the Sky God. "I always knew I was a Sky Dolphin and I was riiiiiiight!"
Atop a molten volcano, the Gorons were feasting on the lushest, mouth-melting, juiciest rocks around. Lava God Groudon waved his arms and erupted another meteor shower of rocks. Some Mogma were burrowing out of the ground, giggling greedily at their armfuls of treasure, but a Meteor Meat hit one of them in the head.
Earthbenders from the Avatar Realms stomped the ground in unison, erecting their best statues resembling Earth God Regigigas. Former King Bumi laughed as he built the biggest statue of all of them. A spectacled mole in a red, patterned shirt poked out of the statue, looking around in confusion.
There was a peak that rose into a tip, on which it seemed the sun itself was stationed. Thousands of Ancient Robots from Secco and Mobian worshippers from the Sol Kingdom gathered around the peak in worship of Sun God Solaris.
Jack Frost skied up a frosty mountain alongside his little sister, Jenna. They easily outpaced the Glacians, Anouki, and Water Tribe folk at their back. Upon reaching the peak of the mountain, they skied up onto an Ice Road, flying around and around the Ice God Polaris and wrapping him into a giant present, with ice ribbons and snowy wrapping paper. The people giggled at Jack's silly action, Polaris poking his eyes through the snow with a disbelieved stare.
Miles atop the spiritual surface, upon the Spear Pillar that touched the stars, angels were soaring up to meet with the gods. Lunarian angels, with crescent-shaped white wings, reported to Moon Goddess Cresselia. Zathurian angels with pink wings reported to Palkia, and human angels with blue wings reported to Dialga. With the gods' command, the angels rushed down to fulfill their orders.
Yet, higher above the gods still were a great many space explorers, sailing the spiritual stars from within gigantic Space Clams. Mr. Spock had been voyaging alongside the souls of the Jedi Knights. A beautiful shooting star swerved around and past them, returning to the surface. With a glittery flash, the star transformed into Jirachi.
A blonde man in a brown top-hat and blue coat twirled a cane as he welcomed hundreds of children into his Candy Garden. They all took as many scrumptious sweets as they desired (for the right price), and the Candy Man encouraged them to, saying he could grow much more in no time (again, provided they had the money)! One of these children was a Sweetian girl with magenta hair, who purchased a bag of croquembouche.
That child rode a carriage down to the Underworld Prison and spoke to a Bulblin at the Gifts Center. The Bulblin would have the sweets checked, but after confirming nothing suspicious, he would have it delivered to Charlotte Linlin. Around the same time, three Zathurians were speaking to the warden, Magellan. After filling some paperwork, the massive, bat-winged warden guided them to the lower levels.
At a castle-size restaurant that sold all kinds of non-alcoholic drinks, Dumbledore, Snape, and Sirius shared a drink with a man named Alan. At that same shop, the chubby man who had just entered Spirit World had come here to get some Sol Juice. He accidentally bumped into a man in a black trench coat and ten-gallon hat, a black mask covering his pale, withered skull-like face. The skull-faced man tipped his hat in apology and was on his way. Little did the chubby man know that a very small organism had gotten onto his neck and would infiltrate his ear.
Millions of people were riding the glamorous escalators to Heaven's Hotel, the endlessly colossal paradise where souls came to live their afterlife in peace. The group consisting of Nigel and Rachel Uno, Mika Chariton, Jagar King, and all their friends were returning up the escalator. Marine Frantic rushed up it in excitement, pouncing her old friends and knocking them over, causing other riders of the escalator to fall over and downward. Marine's friends shared an awkward laugh with her, while the other riders were greatly annoyed. Cranky Kong shook his cane at the Mobian in anger, but Chunky Kong simply lifted his elder up to carry him up the stairs.
The skull-faced man viewed their ascent up the escalator with a sharp stare. …He could sense the microorganism return and held his gun horizontally, so it could enter the slot. With that, the skull man walked away, joined by an obese man with curly blonde hair, a pink coat with purple trousers, and holding a Zanpakutō.
Valley of Song (Play "One of a Kind" from Bayonetta.)
A distant, vast valley rang with melody for hundreds of miles. Towering over the center of the valley was a statue of the Song Spirit, Meloetta. And all the way at the top of Meloetta's head stood a great tower. It was the Tower of Babel, the very core of all languages in the universe.
Hordes of Hollows were swarming around the tower, the Spirit KND determined to slay them. Maka Albarn sliced five in half, Black Star caught the neck of a giant Hollow in his chain scythe and decapitated it, and Ellen Wickens conjured giant skulls to chew the dark spirits like candy.
Meanwhile, a standoff was taking place between a tall, slender woman in black, her black hair in a beehive-like hairdo and glasses. She had swords in her hands and guns strapped to her heels. Before her were a shorter man and woman: the man wore a tan-colored robe that blew like scattering sand, his hair a dark-grey, and the woman had blue fiery hair, an orange shirt, and a ghostly tail.
"Umbra Witch Bayonetta…" Nolan York spoke gruffly. "You're wanted for invading and attacking over a thousand Spirit World settlements over the past 400 years."
"Tut tut, same old spiel I've heard over and over." The woman rolled her eyes, twirling the blades. "You Spirit Brats are no different from the Divine Angels. But come to think of it, aren't you two a little old for their playpen?"
"You're never too old to be a kid!" returned Emily Dickson, drawing a Zanpakutō. "Let's take her down, Nolan!"
"Gladly!" Nolan drew a sword of his own.
"You're going to regret this~" vowed Bayonetta. Her movements were like the wind, her blades touching theirs with such speed that it barely left a sound. Sandman managed a punch at her hip, but a swift kick to the head knocked him away, and she followed by thrusting her leg in his direction to shoot some bullets. Her foot curved around the other leg to shoot Emily with swiftness. Bayonetta opened dark portals above either operative and stomped massive dark heels down, but the two dodged. Emily turned intangible and phased underground, and Nolan flew up to slash spirit flames from his sword, Bayonetta matching his motion with little effort.
Nolan managed to grab her right arm, holding it firmly even as she tried to kick him off, then Emily flew up to grab Bayonetta's head and try to force it against the ground. Bayonetta was stubborn, and the witch let herself be pulled down, her legs flipping up and down to catch Emily's head. She flipped up the other way to slam her against Nolan, freeing her arm. She viciously slashed the two with her blades, but Emily grabbed onto Nolan to turn them intangible, flying away from the witch to recompose. Bayonetta summoned a giant serpent of darkness, gnashing its teeth as it flew to them, so Emily bellowed a Ghostly Wail to keep the beast at bay.
Alas, Bayonetta rushed around, Nolan throwing punches at her, but Bayonetta's legs outsized his arms and kicked him off-balance. He drew his sword again, using it to defend from Bayonetta's bullets, but she tossed a sword and stabbed Emily's back, allowing the serpent to SMASH them in its teeth. The beast vanished, and Bayonetta kicked the two like soccerballs. "Draw to life, Phan Art!" Emily's sword transformed into a pencil, complete with a sketchpad. She drew a picture of Danny Phantom, the ghost boy coming to life as he flew to punch Bayonetta.
Her drawing speed unmatched, Emily drew 24 El Tigres, 12 She-Zows, and a few Wakko, Yakko, and Dots to attack Bayonetta. The witch struggled with dicing all the cartoons, and Nolan was able to get behind and slash her with his Zanpakutō. She reactively did a flip to try and kick him, but Nolan evaded and caught her leg, trying to twist it, but Bayonetta stomped her other heel into his head, twisting it until Nolan was forced to release. Afterwards, she proceeded to sit on his shoulders and squeeze his head, casually slashing away the cartoons in the process.
"You're new to this game, aren't you? Doesn't your Zanpakutō have a name?"
"Grrrr! I haven't… learned its name, yet!" Nolan grunted, trying to cut the woman, who merely defended with her blade.
"My, how disappointing. Oof!" Bayonetta was punched off by Emily, but the witch flipped to a recovery as she sent the dark serpent at her again. The snake wrapped around and swallowed Emily whole, but she destroyed it from inside with an Ecto Burst. A whipping kick from Bayonetta knocked her away, however. Sandman grappled the witch and pulled himself to her, forcing Bayonetta to the ground, but she grabbed him in turn, rolled them over, and smashed him instead. "Now, that's called harassment, Sandman." Bayonetta said, choking the shorter man between her legs. "I know the perfect dungeon in the Underworld for men like you. Hm?"
Arrows rained down from the heavens, exterminating all that remained of the Hollows. A golden light shone from the heavens: a fleet of Angels were descending, with blue wings, pink wings, moon wings, and a choice few of them wore white and gold robes with larger white wings. "Well, it seems playtime is over. Toodle-oo, Sandman~ Fly me away, Madama Butterfly!" Bayonetta grew a pair of dark, yet colorful butterfly wings. She took flight away from the valley with a squadron of Angels pursuing her. (End song.)
The Angels in white and gold garb landed near Nolan and Emily. "Might you explain what you were doing on the ground?" asked a long, white-haired man with a light complexion. His Zanpakutō were two long, thick gold and silver swords with purple gems at their hilts.
Leader of the Divine Angels
BALDER
"She had overwhelmed us, Lord Balder." Nolan replied. "We appreciate the assistance."
"'Assistance'? More of an interference, on your part. You failed to stop that witch from attacking one of our most sacred of sanctuaries."
"If we hadn't been here at all, the damage would've been worse."
"Hardly. The Tower of Babel is impenetrable without the Lost Voices. And last I learned, they were still safe in their domains. Even so… this is exactly why I believe the Spirit KND is unnecessary. We Divine Angels, loyal servants of the gods, have protected the cosmos from dark spirits for eons. Why God Arceus decided to approve of the Spirit KND shortly after his revival is beyond me."
"Ahh, don't be so hard on them, Baldy." said another Angel. He had messy blonde hair, white skin, and bags under his blue eyes. "KND, Divine Angels, we all love God Arceus, don't we? And I certainly welcome the lovely young ladies~" He passed a look to Emily, to which she was creeped out.
"Sherbet, do not say something so undignified." Balder ordered.
"Luu luu luuuuuuu…" sang a female angel. She wore a blue dress, had blonde hair that flowed down her body, a halo, and narrowed green eyes.
"I agree, Ciel. I do not know why Arceus considered this man a close friend in the old world."
"Ciel?" Nolan repeated. "Heh, funny, I just met a Ciel before I… y'know, died."
"Fascinating." Balder replied with disinterest. "However, these two are new recruits from New Galaxia. They knew God Arceus long before any of us. Quite powerful, I will admit. Well, you children can leave now. We will tend to any damages."
Nolan and Emily cast a glare at the Angel, not appreciating the belittlement. Regardless, they began their flight down and off the statue of Meloetta. "So, are you used to him, yet?" Emily asked.
"Meh, I've dealt with worse." Nolan replied.
"Yeah, even though the Angels were meant to be a separate faction, they still act like they're in charge of us."
"Whatever helps me get back to relaxing, the better."
"Heh heh, if you wanted to relax, why even join the SKND to begin with?"
"Hard to say. Felt it was my duty. I figured, as long as I still have conscience, I was entitled to protect the world."
"If you say so. But as for me, I'm doing enough living for both my life and afterlife. It's kind of lucky that they allowed me to meet with you. We knew each other in life, but the gods didn't consider us close, so it all worked out!"
"You sure we weren't close? It feels like only yesterday that Danika and I were breaking into your house."
"It was such a romantic first meeting, I'll never forget." Emily remarked sarcastically. "Of course, I'm not allowed to discuss you with anyone living."
"It's okay. There's no point in dying if the living can't move on. But I'm guessing you can't come to the party."
"Nope, Halfas aren't allowed in Heaven's Hotel. You're either Whole Dead or No Dead."
"Makes sense, I suppose. Anyhow, let's head back to my treehouse for a healing treatment. The others can handle the report to Kid."
Castle Hell
Death the Kid, the young king who ruled the Underworld, splayed a report perfectly in the middle of his desk. It greatly irked him that Bayonetta's picture was on the right side of the page, but the text had already ruined the symmetry, anyway. "Umbra Witches… I can't believe we're still dealing with those. These mages worshipped the Demon Kings in exchange for greater power and longevity. They were free to visit the Underworld at will and used their power to breach Spirit World barriers. The Divine Angels snuffed next to most of them out, but this one still runs rampant. Sigh…"
Kid pushed his chair out and walked around the desk. "It's becoming more and more difficult to maintain law, but it's a job that must be done. Even if I have to hurt some feelings…"
Underworld Prison, Level 6
A single cage suspended by chains hung over a soulless abyss. The chains rattled as the cage was slowly brought upward to the entrance of this dungeon. The wall of the cage slowly opened, allowing the prisoner's visitors to see him, but with bars to keep him contained.
"Hello, Dimentio~!" the family of three greeted with a unison of waves. "I made you a cake!" Dimentia said, miniaturizing the cake to have it go through the bars, after which it resized.
The Zathurian man inside was practically melted from gloom, the black side of his face faded to gray. "…Revan… will not… shut uuuuup…"
"Hey Dimentio! I smelled cake! Is there cake up there?! Gimme some cake! I love cake!"
"Dimentia, does the sign up there NOT read 'Solitary Confinement'?"
The three relatives faced upward, noticing an old sign that read 'Solitaire Confinement.' "Son, check under the mattress, I think I see a deck of cards." His mother, Nosteré pointed.
Dimentio did so and picked up said cards. "Oh, screw off."
"Dimentio, did you find your cards, yet?! C'mon, I wanna play some cards! Got any 3's? Ah, go fish!"
"Dimentio, I know it is far too late to say this," Blumeré began, "but… it is wonderful to finally see you again. We're very sorry for everything you and Dimentia were forced to go through because we abandoned you."
"Oh, I hardly even cared about that. Besides, my fate was already written. I was destined to fall into the Vortex of No Return, to become a Logia… and to create sheer emptiness and bliss. And after almost a year of wasting away in here, I long for empty space all the more. Unlike you, Dimentia, I have no regrets for how I lived, just for how I died."
"Sigh, it's our fault that you ended up this way." Nosteré sighed.
"I wouldn't say that." Dimentia replied. "Dimentio's an adult now, he should've been wiser for the wear. It's his own fault he ended up in here. Ow!" A tomato hit the back of her head.
"Hehehehehehe!" snickered Tallests Red and Purple from around a corner. "We got 'er!"
"HEY!" bellowed Warden Magellan. "What're you two doing down here?!"
"Crud, it's the warden! RUUUUN!" They ran as Magellan conjured a purple serpent of toxic liquid, nearly gnashing the squishy aliens in its teeth.
Dimentia warped the tomato off her. "Anyway, Dimentio, I just wanted to say that, in spite of everything that's happened… you're still my brother, and I love you."
"Easy for you to say when I'm not destroying the universe." Dimentio cracked a witty smile.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Mrs. Winkiebottom, but I'd like to speak with you."
The family faced right: Death the Kid had come down to visit. "He must mean me." Dimentia clarified to her confused mother. "I'll just be a minute."
Leaving her parents to talk more with Dimentio, Dimentia approached Kid. "Dimentia, the gods have assigned you to cleaning duty as your punishment."
"Ah, of course." Dimentia's face fell, remembering the agreement she made.
"It was one thing to have the Vistium sword sent to your daughter, but having any sort of contact with her is a violation of our laws."
"But the Phoenios said I can visit any time."
"That may fall in line with their rules, but from this universe's perspective, your mortal body is dead and you're now 'immortal' with a form of spiritual power. Considering that Skaios was already freely attacking mortals and breaking his boundaries himself, Palkia allowed you to send the sword to be used to quickly straighten him out. All the same, broken rules have to quickly be punished and/or rectified. If you could freely write to your children, then other parents will want to. There's something I want to show you as well."
Kid led Dimentia to an extremely barricaded cell, the latter viewing through a very small window. Inside was a mass of black-and-blue fire, squirming as electrical wires struggled to keep it contained. "That is Pandora, the Goddess of Chaos." Kid explained. "Chaos is the natural opposite to Law, so Arceus created Pandora to embody this universe's natural chaos. Whenever laws are broken, especially spiritual laws, Pandora's chi will increase. Her chi could go out of control and seep into the universe for massive destruction. Even when she had boarded the King Dutchman and was cut off from the Spirit World, her chi still existed in this world, and everything that was happening caused it to spike tremendously, especially that little incident that happened on the Noah. The only way to shrink her chi back down is to rectify broken laws or punish lawbreakers. But there have been so many lawbreakers lately that it's becoming harder to do."
"Then why haven't the Divine Angels or you guys tried to stop Skaios by now? He was probably breaking tons of laws, wasn't he?"
"He was too fast and too strong for the gods to catch, and after he had formed the Sky God Pirates, he had garnered worshippers and followers. Having worshippers makes a god stronger. Although gods cannot interfere with mortal affairs, it is important for them to bond with mortals. It will increase their strength to protect the Spirit World, and in turn give strength to mortal souls. Some gods even have a right to defend their territories from invading mortals, such as Kyogre's kingdom or Darkrai's city, in order to protect the mortals who worship them. However, one of the gods' most sacred beliefs is that mortals must be stronger than them and advance the universe by persevering. Even if we could defeat Skaios, it was much preferred that a mortal defeat him, even with special equipment.
"Even so, Dimentia, the act of experiencing loss or grief is also important for mortal growth. When a mortal dies, those who were close to them in life must be cut off from them. It's a natural law that persists in every universe… most of them. But as you know, this law has been broken many times. There were so many unnatural resurrections; of course, my father was not innocent either. He showed the Kids Next Door potential visions of their deaths so they would think more wisely in combat, but he even revived a few simply out of compassion. Mark my words, Mr. King is still living his punishment, and Skaios will receive his when Rayquaza believes the time is right. But trying to manage all this chaos is incredibly stressful."
"I… understand where you're coming from." Dimentia sighed. "But I…maybe we'll just talk about this later. …So, what's my cleaning duty?"
"Heaven's Hotel, of course." Kid remarked, his eyes becoming beady and his body chibi. "Charlie is really excited to have you as her maid."
"SHE BETTER NOT EXPECT ME TO WEAR A COSTUME!" Dimentia's eyes popped out in panic.
"Aha ha ha ha! I'm hearing a lovely conversation~" Dimentio sang.
"Ah, but I do have a bit of good news." Kid spoke again. "I believe Jirachi has just arrived in the Spirit World."
"Jirachi?!" Dimentia beamed. "All right! I was hoping to see him again! Ow!" An egg fell on her head.
"Heeeey, Dimentia! Remember me??" Rumpel Stiltskin yelled from a high platform. "You may've escaped my playground monster, but I still egged ya good!"
"THERE YOU ARE!" Magellan bellowed.
"YIPE!" Rumpel jumped away when Magellan's snake flew up and destroyed the platform.
Sector WITCH
Nolan and Emily were lain on beds inside a plastic dollhouse, with large stuffed animals sewing the rifts on their spiritual bodies. "I feel like I'm being stuffed with fluff." Nolan said.
"I know it feels weird, but it's pretty quality healing magic." Emily assured. "You get used to it after a while."
"It's okay, York-san." A giant purple eye peered into the room's window, the sweet voice belonging to a young girl. "You're still new to this team. Even the grown-ups can't catch Bayo-san, uu-uuuu."
"I'm a grown-up too, Maria." Nolan stated. "Even if I am a 'young' spirit."
"Maria was born before York-san. Maria is grown-up, uuuuu."
"Sorry, Nolan, Maria is our senior." Emily said.
"Sigh…"
After their treatment was done, the duo exited the dollhouse, magically returning to normal size in an instant. They faced down at the girl named Maria, nine years old with short brown hair, a small black crown on her head, a pale pink buttoned shirt, and a black skirt. She wore knee-high socks and red Mary-Janes. "So, York-san, did you awaken your Zanpakutō, yet?"
"Not really."
"It's okay. It takes a while before people learn their sword's name, but at least you managed to materialize it in a short time. Maybe you'll be a witch like me, uu-uu!" She waved her magic scepter, gold with a phoenix wing head.
"Then why didn't Hogwarts ever send me an owl?"
"Uuuuu. What's Hogwarts?"
Maria's Zanpakutō was a magic-type, similar to Ellen Wickens or Agatha Prendergast. Magical Zanpakutō were usually gifted to spirits who were once mages in life, albeit Maria had died before she could go to a magic school. Magic Zanpakutō possessed a wider variety of abilities akin to magic in the Mortal World, yet they were usually tied around a theme like other Zanpakutō.
In Maria's case, her power was tied around the toys she used to play with, and her healing magic was based around how her cousin, Ange would repair her broken toys. Her Zanpakutō's name was Sakutaro, named for her favorite stuffed lion. Her sectormates would often gather in the safety and comfort of her dollhouse for lounging, meals, or private discussion, not to mention Maria could easily carry them all in secret. She also had another dollhouse resembling her old family mansion, inside which the souls of her family lived in peace, albeit Nolan had never met them, yet.
"Anyway, thanks for the treatment, Maria. I have a party to get to."
"Would York-san like Maria to warp him to Heaven's Hotel?"
"No thanks. A nice drive is good for the soul."
"Ta ha, okay! Uuuuuu!"
Mortal World
On Planet Hyrule, the black-clothed man with a skull face was strolling through Kara Kara Bazaar in Gerudo Desert. He bumped into a dark-skinned man wearing Gerudo clothes. "Oops, sorry, honey~" the man said in a feminine tone, speaking Gerudo. The cross-dresser resumed his journey to Gerudo Town.
In the kingdom of Uraya on Planet Mira, an Urayan boy was playing tag with a small Nopon boy. The Nopon had turned a corner, but bumped into the dark legs of the skull-faced man and fell on his back. The Urayan caught up, laughing as he tapped the Nopon's belly. "Mehmeh! Got you!" He spoke, mimicking the Nopon speech.
"Mehmeh! Veero cheated! Runini fell!"
"Runini not watch where going! Now catch Veero!" The Urayan ran off excitedly.
"Mehmeh! Come back here!" Runini chased after him.
The skull-faced man, his back facing their direction, tipped his hat. He calmly walked into the darkness of an alley. The gentle strums of an invisible banjo played to mark his presence.