Blazermate was glad that everyone managed to finish their missions and that this stupid hand wasn't in control anymore... at least for the time being. "I really hate that thing." Blazermate said, not fond of being a toy, even though in her world she WAS a toy all things considered. She listened to Bowser ramble on about who and what Master Hand was, and said sarcastically. "So they're an abusive meda fighter more or less. Great." They had a few spirits to dole out for their trouble at least, their varied appearances sort of showing what the others had to face. Kamek then brought up a terrifying thought of boss monsters being fused with other spirits like they all were as he spoke about the abyssal leader. "Oh jeez... Not good." Blazermate said.

Seeing as everyone was hurt, She summoned Dell to make a dispenser before dismissing him, allowing those that got around it to craft new ammo and heal up, while using her own medigun healing those that needed it. Bowser seemingly taking some weird damage that her cleanse protocol wasn't getting rid of, but the damage was slowly fading in potency as Blazermate healed the big lug. "You guys had an entertaining fight then I guess." Blazermate said to Kamek. "Meanwhile we had to deal with someoen who mind controlled people, and Mr. Teddy over there really can't handle it." Blazermate said, pointing a thumb at Bowser. "He just unloaded everything he had right at the start on us! Honestly he was more of a threat than the Siren herself." Blazermate thought for a bit, then said. "Maybe I could teach him how to deal with mind control. The key is realizing you swapped to a less effective team, and putting in less effort to match their lack of teamwork. And/OR just running because, well, your new team sucks." Blazermte went to say. After all, those that mind controlled others never wanted to work as a team with their temporary member. "Although I will say, I'm a lot easier to manage than Mr. Big Bad over there." Blazermate said, giving a thumbs up to Jr.

Kamek mentioned that in his hands one of the spirits could bring back the dead. Blazermate was a bit skeptical as she looked over the remaining two as Kamek had taken one into himself. She remembered what fusing with an 'organic' did to her and she wasn't going to deal with that, probably needing Peach to take whatever spirit she had out of her if that nonsense happened again. But seeing as how she could be a better healer from one of these spirits, she took the one of the Sun Princess herself. "She kinda looks like a super humanoid fancy medabot, I mean look at her joints! Ball jointed like me! I can try this one, and Peach can fix it if it doesn't go well." Blazermate also liked the fact she wore a fancy Japanese kimono outfit, which would look good on her seeing as she mostly flew anyway. After absorbing the spirit and transforming, Blazermate hovered and looked herself over. "So how did your fights go?" Blazermate asked as the group was resting up after their ordeal.

=================================================



Sectonia was a bit disappointed that the bear wouldn't be her minion after all, but at least everything was resolved without any problems. Seeing as the mountain was beginning to be Snow based, Sectonia did what she said she'd do and summon a fire Antillion, who acted like a space heater warming everyone who was nearby. Sectonia made sure to keep it close to her as she was one of the few who used her own skills to warm herself instead of using cloths like the others, but she wouldn't be too annoyed if others came close for the warmth... as long as they were minions that is.

Their traversal up the mountain had its fair share of trials. Midna played with some torches and was rewarded with a treasure chest, which made little sense. There were just puzzles laying around that if you solved they'd give rewards? Very strange. As they moved on, they got assaulted by the various mountain deizens. The fire antilion made quick work of some of them, Sectonia slashing at the others with her swords and with the efforts of everyone many foes fell although the Queen did take a few hits due to her size. These foes were fairly weak all things considered, but maybe their spirits could be useful. When she could without much trouble or without getting lost in the oncoming snow storm, Sectonia scooped up the spirits of those that ambushed the party in the snow.

There was one peaceful section in between the travels through the wind and snow, with Midna taking a fascination on a frozen man who was content with just dying there. Strange considering the group had ample wwarmth, but that was his decision after all.

Speaking of Midna, Sectonia noticed her language had been devolving more and more as they traveled, being far less princess like and more like a basic thug. However until they reached High Rothgar, Sectonia didn't make a mention about it as they were all in danger while traveling. Once there though, and introduced to the Greybeards who were fairly hospitible and letting the group rest a bit before continuing, Sectonia pulled Midna aside to chastise her for her choice of words as they climbed the mountain. "For a princess, you have quite the... lacking vocabulary. Do I need to give you a lesson in proper royal language?" Sectonia said, almost acting like a fussy mother to Midna than anything.

With their rest completed at the greybeards, the men discussing they couldn't speak due to being able to only speak magic, and being quite poor at controlling it, the group decided to make their way up the lift being introduced to them that would take them through the mountain and lead to the top without the wind, but it'd still be cold and dark. Both things Sectonia could easily deal with with her fire antillions. A few others left the party however, not wanting to continue on the trek. These weren't Sectonia's minions however, so she didn't care too much about their departure. After all, they took some of those ferrystones so they would be back later.

Moving through the cold cave wasn't all that eventful compared to their climb, Sectonia catching a bit of conversation that Tora and Poppi were having about the group going through this trial a bit fast, having possibly missed treasure along the way. Sectonia could get what they were talking about, but... well, who would want to explore an icy wasteland? Sure it looked pretty when you could see through the blizzard but even she had to say it was a beauty that wasn't worth it. She had already gotten beautiful ice top mountains in Floralia that put this one to shame as it was anyway.

They then came to a big open cavern with an ice bridge that zig zagged next to a sleeping giant in ice. "Oh Wonderful." Sectonia thought to herself, gesturing for the Antillion to reduce its heat output to not melt the ice of the giant. Yoshitsune, not being very good with ice, requested Sectonia fly him across the gap as the bee queen flew. Sectonia mentally sighed as she grabbed him to assist him crossing this chasm. Her fire antilion being held in her other hand forcing the bee queen to have to move slowly through the area, not really being able to lift both of them but she could assist just the same. And Yoshitsune was kept warm by the antillion that walked right behind him at least.

The Cadet came running out of the tunnel just in time to see the last lingering effects of Master Hand vanishing. Had it said New Record? So that meant they'd done it, right? After a few seconds of no one dropping dead or turning into ash, it seemed like they'd definitely succeeded, even if by a hair's breadth. There was a collective sigh of relief as the wall of fog disappeared.

He picked up Ms. Fortune's separated hand, giving it a little high five before letting it return to her. "Pawsitively clawdacious job guys," he said. Time trials were tough, but now the way forward was unimpeded. One last battle and their work in this area of the world would be done.

The tunnel wasn't that long, and after arriving in the grotto the Cadet was happy to regroup, take stock of everything and let Blazermate go to work. It was a much needed breather. At this point the Seeker usually dealt with the spirits in their possession, and they did so now as well after Nadia mentioned that they should use the chance to power up while they could.

"Good idea, since we're down a man," he said. With how close the Seekers had cut it, plus the overall exhaustion and trip into the open grotto, no one had brought up the fact that Mirage was missing. Whether it slipped their minds or the topic was too hard, the Cadet decided to ease any worries that might have been silently stewing. "About Mirage - he took a hard hit but the palicoes managed to grab him, so he will be okay. He's probably half way back to Limsa already."

That left one more free ticket for the Felyne rescue service by his math, but even so he hoped it wouldn't come down to that. On the subject of powering up though, he went over and looked at the spirit orbs in detail. Besides the Oceanid there was... a somnacanth-looking thing, two feminine ship girls, a woman with cat ears, two carapaceon monsters, and a diminutive wizard. "...I'll pass on the fusion though."

Personally he couldn't stomach the idea of personally fusing with a monster. Maybe if it really came down to it, do or die, but otherwise if he could avoid it the Cadet would gladly leave that for others that were more comfortable with it. And letting alone the wizard, he was already fused with a ship girl. If he took another he would be more ship girl than Ace Cadet! He gestured for the others to have at it, with the observation that a couple might make good equipment and he that he wouldn't mind crushing them into items for people.

He took a step back, finishing up any last minute prep he could do for the battle ahead, which included swapping his vambraces. While the others went about their business, Kamek dropped some pretty surprising information.

"Whoa, really?" Thinking about it, he supposed it would make sense that others would figure out the whole spirits-thing. Especially their opposition, as that Hand could just tell them about it. Just another thing to watch out for. But the whole resurrection thing? It was eerie, sure, but would change things in a huge way for them. If there were any casualties the rest could fight on knowing their friend would be back with them soon. It was pretty much impossible not to be interested in that. Although he still didn't volunteer to test any of the spirits out himself, he watched the results with curiosity.

It was here in the Seeker's journey that the mountain was really beginning to take it's toll. The snow was growing deep, slowing progress as they trudged through it. The cold grew numbing if one tarried too long, making it awkward to push on. Fending off wildlife, either native or unfrozen by another's antics, sapped strength - but taking a stealthy approach did much the same, crouching and trying to move quietly through the crunch of snow taxing in a whole different way. Climbing ridges and waterfalls, the incline steadily getting steeper... Well it was very tiring. Eventually though the group reconvened at the landmark of a metallic statue of a man, which turned out not to be a statue, exactly, but a man encased in one. Primrose was in Jesse's camp, considering that this must be some kind of punishment. Therion on the other hand was in Midna's, and had even made a move to step forward to help break the man free before the victim himself turned them away. That was the end of that, as anyone that wouldn't fight for their own life couldn't be helped.

Further ahead a crude path revealed itself, and they followed up up to a large stone castle-like building. A fine place to take shelter, especially because the inhabitants allowed. Kindly old folk dressed in robes who called themselves the Greybeards. An apt name. It was good of them to offer respite, and even information.

Inner-Mountain, and a lift? Primrose thought that if they could do as the Greybeard suggested, that would surely be a lot easier on them.

After Arngeir left them to their own devices and most of the Seekers split up, Therion and Primrose did the same. The thief casually rolled his shoulders and then started off down a hall, calling behind him.

"I'm going to take a look around."

"What for?"

Therion stopped and pivoted on his heel until he faced Primrose, spreading his arms and gesturing to himself in general. "What do you think?"

Right. While Primrose didn't think he would find much to pilfer from a temple of monks, she waved him off, watching as he turned and went on his way down the first corridor he found. Primrose remained in the large, warm space for a little while. Once more she considered the pros and cons of continuing up the mountain versus waiting at the base. Going back down and then teleporting up seemed really convenient. She might have gladly chosen that option, but... she looked down at her hand, slowly curling the fingers into a fist. I want to become stronger. She was almost back to her full power, and then some thanks to the spirits she'd taken, but the journey so far had given her the feeling that it wasn't enough. Tangible power, as well as real experience were needed. She decided to continue on. Hopefully the inner route would be a little easier to traverse.

Meanwhile, Therion wandered the stone halls of High Hrothgar. There was very little of value in the place, for him anyway. There were plenty of ancient tapestries, texts and carvings that looked like they would be priceless for people that cared about that kind of thing. He could only imagine the field day Cyrus would have in here.

He came to a room packed with shelving that held books and trinkets. He picked up one of the books, thumbing through it's pages. Some kind of historical text. Next. He repeated the action a few times, finding languages he couldn't read. Those he could seemed to be myths and stories of some unfamiliar world. He moved on to the next shelf, which held all kinds of junk. Powders, flowers, teeth. Next. The shelf beside it was much the same, save for a couple of bottles with old, faded labels on them.

Therion picked up the first one, turning it over and squinting at the writing. Draught of Strength...?

"Score," he said to himself quietly, checking over his shoulder to make sure he was alone in the room. He uncorked the bottle and took a whiff, crinkling his nose at the stench. Yeah, that was a magic potion alright. He stuffed it into his bag and examined the few other potions in the room.

Regeneration... health... haggling? How the hell can a potion make you better at haggling?

He ignored the last one, and since he did't know the difference between regeneration and health he just took both, tucking them next to the draught. He was on his merry way after that, back to the meeting area. He avoided the priests out of habit, that place was so full of dust he didn't think they'd notice anything different for a long while, if at all.

When the group reconvened, he caught Primrose's eye from the opposite side of the room. Usually he didn't discuss his job with the other Travelers much, given they were all upstanding citizens. Primrose had never disparaged his profession though, so he wiggled his eyebrows at her to signal he hadn't come back empty handed. The dancer returned his gesture with a roll of her eyes. After a couple of their members decided to descend the mountain, the rest went on.

There was no snow to trudge through in the mountain tunnel, but it was still bitter cold. Dark too, though that was mitigated by torchlight, and Poppi's own lighting. Eventually the tunnel opened up to a cave which had some natural light, but also an unnaturally huge person frozen inside. Therion looked from the giant, to the winding path ahead covered in a sheet of ice and sighed. He was no quitter though, so he shuffled onto the bridge. Carefully. He was going to be pissed if he slipped and fell. Equally so if someone woke that thing up. If he was close enough to Raz he would have bonked the kid on the head and given the classic "shush" gesture, but all he could do for now was glare his intent. The same went for Midna, though that stare faltered in the middle of her short speech because - what? Seriously what, it sounded like a bunch of gibberish.

Not far away Primrose and Laharl were crossing. The little demon had stuck close to her since reappeared, though she hadn't minded. She looked down at him when he asked for her attention, though the question caught her off guard. She stifled a giggle, while the "Snow White" in question turned his glare ahead.

"His name is Therion, he joined us in town just before going up the mountain," she whispered back to him, much more effectively than the half-demon's attempt to be quiet. Since Laharl had surprised them on the mountain, of course he would have missed the hijinks in town, and thus Therion's abrupt introduction. "He is a friend, so you need not worry too much about him."

If Laharl looked back at this so called friend he would see that Therion had definitely heard the question, and currently had his unfriendliest scowl on - the one that matched perfectly with his scruffy appearance. What part of 'be quiet' don't they understand?

---

---

Link marched into the room at the rear of his group. Blazermate's healing beam, which had gotten him moving after he had taken one of their rogue Princesses torpedoes directly to the thigh, had done nothing to quell the churning worry in his gut. What did help with that was seeing that they weren't the first group to finish. He hadn't had time to count who had been running where when the Seekers had scattered to take on the bosses, but he did a quick count now and not counting multiple Kamek there were eleven of them here. If they had split up fairly evenly that...meant...

His eyes slid back to two new faces. One was, with a little examination, Rika. The other lounged on the back of a giant horrible crab cannon abomination some distance from the gathering group, her eyes displaying her freedom for all to see. A short ways in front of her the Stalfoes stood as impervious as ever, the cracked across his bones telling a tale of brutal battle. They all looked like they had gotten in rough. Not rough enough though, he thought with a smile, that Sakura hadn't found the time to make a new friend. Now they just had to trust the others to make sure they had enough time to get to know one another.

He did trust them, of course. They had Geralt with them. He had seen what that cannon platform of his could do to even giant monsters. If Geralt had been with them in their battle against the Siren it would have been a complete massacre.

One way or the other.

It was thoughts like that the crept in as he leaned against the wall, checking his hand periodically to watch the numbers tic down. 55 seconds. They were cutting it a little close for comfort. 48 seconds. Everyone else had finished around a minute ago, they were probably coming right now. 41 seconds. They didn't have a healer. The other two groups both had a healer, the last team didn't have as much margin for error. 37 seconds. They also had that new guy with them. What if he had thrown of their synergy? 35 seconds. How long was that tunnel? Wait, which tunnel even lead to where the last team was fighting? He didn't know, he hadn't seen which tunnel Sakura's team had come from! 30 seconds! Would it be better to start running now, or attack The Hand while he had the chance? It didn't look like the shield was up now, but how could he know. What was the best way for everyone to live? What if everyone wasn't alive, what if the last team was already dead?

Link struggled with indecision for he could only guess how long. He had stopped checking his hand at this point. Finally he reached a decision, pushed himself off the wall, and started for the last tunnel. As he did so he thought he heard an echo, before realizing it was the sound of small boots going at a full sprint. As the Hat Kid came around the bend Link jumped out of her way as a full hand was hurled past him and into the room.

There was a long, pregnant pause after the Hand called time. Link didn't breath at all. If they had failed they had failed at the very last moment. In that stillness he could only imagine everything, anything, he could have done differently. Could have done better. Could have done to get them just one more second of time.

Then their fates were sealed. They had established a new record, as as the creature announced that Link felt all the strength leave his body. He slumped down in relief onto a squishy maggot bed and tried to let them absorb some of his built of stress.

---

It was to his infinite shame that, such was the relief that all of his new comrades hadn't crumbled into dust before his eyes, that he hadn't notice they were a man short until Ace brought it up. They had the correct number of people, but only because of Team Sakura's plus one. He felt his mind start trembling again, but only until the Cadet clarified that Mirage was no doubt already on his way back to Limsa courtesy of those remarkable cats. He had forgotten those as well, the lifeline that seemed to follow the Ace Cadet wherever he went except the Maw. With that cleared up he was able to look over the spirits in a relatively sound mind.

Ms. Fortune picked out one that was a startling blue for herself as Bowser explained the situation with the Hand to anyone who cared to listen. The confrontation at the cliffside hadn't been his first encounter with the creature and its ilk. In fact Bowser had collaborate with it in the past, alongside The Calamity. Or, at the very least, the man who would become The Calamity the burned his homeland and wiped out everyone he loved. "I didn't know you were partners." He muttered as the Koop King continued his story. He didn't know how to feel about that. It was as emotionally confusing as having to stand side by side with the man himself to face something far worse. He buried whatever he felt for later, though.

He was grateful that Kamek diverted him off that train of thought, though onto a track that was no less disturbing. They had battled with the leader of the Abyssal Fleet, and when they had slain her she had left behind three spirits. He supposed that answered the question of what happened when something that had fused was slain, but the fact that she was fused at all was unsettling. He agreed with Blazermate, this wasn't good at all. "It's not that surprising. How long has it been since we were all flung here? Someone was going to figure it out eventually." He said grimly, picking out the Siren from the small but potent collection they had. "And with us out in the wild, using these, the information will only spread faster." It sounded like, if the wrong person got it in their heads that spirits were a shortcut to power, they would be needing the resurrection ability more than ever.

He stepped away, giving the fish woman inside the spirit as toothy a grin as he could muster. "You're a woman who enjoys being protected. You felt how strong I am. Let me protect you from now on." He said, trying his to look both trustworthy and fishy enough that it would entice the Siren to act as his Striker.

As he walked to the entrance to this small cavern he passed the Stalfoes as it kept its distance and waited for its turn from the healing beam. He produced one of the crystals he had pried off the thermal vent where they had first met Mirage and offered it to him. A promise was a promise, after all. "For your help. Thank you." Then he continued on, after his real target.

"Wait. There's something I want to ask you." He called out to the Abyssal's retreating back. Whether she stopped or continued, he kept going. "The last time the Hand played a game like this I was one of his pieces, like you were. But when they woke me up I didn't remember anything about where I had been before I opened my eyes. What about you? Do you remember? Do you know what happened?"

The trek up the mountain following the Redstone racetrack proved to be somehow comparably less taxing or eventful, though not without its difficulties. With the literal biggest of their obstacles being a giant sleeping bear in the midst of hibernation, Yellow Team barely stopped for anything else that followed, be it the odd hostile flora/fauna ambush, the tribe of polar savages they were content to ignore for time, and of course, the terrain itself. Fox lent his hand to casually gunning down the insectile swarm at the start, managed to keep up with the Thieves on every jump and climb made, albeit with marginally less ease, and if the cold bothered him at all, he hardly showed it, neglecting even to roll his sleeves down—at least until the weather picked up the higher they went. Lastly, of the of the tortured prisoner entombed in a withered tree of frozen iron, he made little, electing to close himself off from the pitiable man’s suffering and moving on, rather than entertaining any sympathetic impulse that would compel one to indulge his dying request. He wouldn’t blame anyone who had, though, but as far as he was interested, it would be over for all of them when they were finished. Only the mission mattered.

Their eventual ingress into the quiet stone keep upon the cliffs bore them relief from the elements, the past hours of accumulated chill they felt dispelled by the gentle firelight within. The looks they drew from the temple’s devoted denizens highlighted an already inferrable infrequency of visitors, but that they just as soon returned to their own business despite the occasion meant they weren’t terribly worried either way. Only one among the elders saw fit to attend or address them at all, providing them just about all they needed in directions, advice, precautions, and time for the Team to decide once more if everyone still wanted to make the full trip. Those who didn’t had the option to cruise back down and wait for a call to the top. Just as well to ease their burden in numbers, but Fox, as always, wouldn’t be among them, electing to press on with the rest.

True to the attendant’s word, the mountain’s interior path failed to entirely insulate the party from the frigid atmosphere that permeated this upper region of what they could have almost forgotten was a desert. The cold and dark, thus far into their new route, happened to be the only inconveniences presented to them, remedied easily with what they already had on hand, and proceeding otherwise fortunately unmolested as they did. It got ever so slightly more interesting for them when they arrived at a wider cavern opening, ambiently lit by what could have been ever-thinning walls of ice giving way to daylight, featuring a perilously narrow zig-zag bridge likely slick with ice, and a frozen giant looming directly over it.

This presented little still to be immediately concerned about, as it posed no apparent threat in its current state, assumed threatening simply by appearances, naturally. The demand for quietude during their crossing thus made little sense to Fox. If it spent as long as it presumably had dormantly encased in ice and stone, noise wasn’t going to disturb or awaken it—doubtfully enough to make a difference, at least. It didn’t seem to stop the young psychic Raz from having questions about it regarding their objective, answered summarily by Midna with conclusive citations of precedent about the constants of the World. It would have been too easy for him to be right, besides.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re not here for him,” Fox reminded at an appropriately measured volume. “Our problem’s up there. Let’s not lose track now.” In so saying, his own choice detractions from the course on their journey through the Sandswept Sky hadn’t escaped him, hence the emphasis on focus on the main objective. If there was a time to be single-minded—and a worse one to be distracted or sidetracked—it was on the last stretch before the main event. No one needed to get any more ideas now.

Rather than bypassing the bridge in one or two moves skipping ahead to the end, as he was certainly capable of doing, Fox matched pace with his cohorts, carefully marching along the trail a step at a time. He would prefer to be in their midst, should any (more) of them need assistance, or in critical event, rescue.

As Nadia checked up on her allies, both who fought alongside her and who waged their wars elsewhere, she couldn’t help but acknowledge how great a toll the mysterious Master Hand’s trial had taken. The three-way miniboss extravaganza, as well as the sheer dramatic tension of the heroes’ much too close for comfort photo finish, left them all wounded, tired, cold, stressed, and more than a little miserable. They’d lost an invaluable ally, albeit not forever–that caveat being of rather critical importance to the mental wellbeing of certain individuals among their number. This harrowing episode wasn’t one that Nadia’s cohort could collectively shrug off and then just keep on trucking. Foreknowledge that only one ultimate trial awaited them in this place came as a rare comfort, even if it also assured them that it would be their most difficult challenge to date. A situation like that made it hard for even someone like Nadia, a jokester so desensitized by pain and bloodshed that she could pun and quip her way through even the most stomach-churning injuries, to put on a brave face. Yet she and the others managed, from the oldest and most grizzled among them to the youngest and most vulnerable. Before they could tackle the Deep Blue Seaside’s final boss, the bedraggled Seekers needed a break.

Unfortunately, this grotto could provide only so much respite to them. They could lay down on the stone, the kelp, or sponges, but they could not get comfortable. They could try to slacken their tensed muscles, but they could not relax. They could close their eyes, but stubborn aches and chills meant that they could not rest. They could steady their breathing, but the briny putrescence of the Parasite Farm wouldn’t let them breathe easy. And they could conjure up imagined comforts, be they the welcome faces of friends and family or more worldly delights like food, beauty, and sleep, but it proved nigh-impossible to blot out the unwholesome visages of marine aberrations, stamped as they were into the heroes’ minds.

A few separate conversions drifted about the grotto, each of which Nadia tried to pay some heed. When Bowser opted to shed some light on the giant evil glove’s whole deal, she made sure to swivel her ears his way. Evidently he and a few other apparent acquaintances whose names the feral didn’t recognize ran into this Master Hand before, and in what sounded like quite a sensational series of events, too. She couldn’t ignore the part where Bowser let slip his previous plan to take over various worlds, but she chalked that up to his exaggerated harmless villain shtick. More relevant to her was the fact that Master Hand showed up to beleaguer the heroes with enemies twice before, which included Link of all people. By her count, that made three times that its machinations came to naught. “I guess we’ll keep seein’ him, then,” she remarked, using the pronoun that the others did despite the entity’s total lack of identifiable characteristics. Kamek’s comment about the trial being a boon got her thinking. “Well, if he really is an enemy, I gotta ‘hand’ it to him. He shows up, fails to actually kill anyone, then leaves us with a whole buncha strong new allies and spirits. If you ask me, I’d say he’s alright..” She let slip a mischievous grin. “Get it? ‘All right’? Because he’s a right…ah, nevermind.”

Blazermate spoke briefly of more recent developments, namely the trial she’d faced alongside Peach, Bowser, his son, and Link. As hard as her own fight had been, Nadia did not relish her tale of an enemy who could brainwash the opposition to fight for the other team. The Medabot treated the situation pretty off-handedly, but Nadia came away from the story more uneasy rather than less. Nothing, it seemed, was off the table.

When Ace mentioned Mirage for the other’s sake, Nadia put her hand to her head and breathed a heavy sigh. She hadn’t forgotten about him or anything, but after seeing his rescue by Ace’s mysterious felynes she’d written the Legend off as ‘okay’ and moved right along, wanting to get the image of him being crushed under a watery leviathan out of her head. The heroes were lucky to escape the consequences of their actions this time, but would those kitties keep bailing them out forever? That sounded too good to be true to Nadia. It was just bad luck that her team ended up without a healer; that was a mistake that wouldn’t happen again.

Denied anything beyond a superficial and short-term wellness, the group needed a distraction in order to keep their heads in the game, and nothing served the purpose better than their looted spirits. It struck Nadia as a little funny how quickly they accepted and incorporated the little motes of prismatic essence into their daily activities, despite how incredible the things were. The power to essentially rewrite reality in the palm of one’s hand, to change appearance and personality and bestow new abilities, all made possible through death. Honestly, it sort of freaked her out a little, making her wonder if she and the others shouldn’t be a little more worried about the phenomenon. Just what kinds of dark secrets might it hold? But Nadia wasn’t even really the type to ask the right questions, let alone find the answers. If she didn’t get stronger, she could very well get the others killed, or find her undying body subjected to a fate worse than death. Spirits would make her stronger. That was that.

So it was that when nobody objected to her claim on the Oceanid spirit, she took a deep breath, and placed its essence into her chest. Then, like the others around her who accepted the exchange of one’s very self for power, she dissolved into a flare of radiant light, and transformed.



When the light died down, Nadia blinked a few times to clear the stars out of her eyes, then got straight down to business looking herself over to see the extent of her changes. It took all of one second to realize that her crop top had gained silky extensions in both front and the back, something like a sarong or other cover-up one might wear to the beach. It struck her as just a little too elegant for her tastes, but as far as appearances went she could hardly complain, and if push came to shove she could just cut it back down to size. Other than that, however, she couldn’t detect any changes. Not until a discoloration of her scar tissue prompted her to pull off her forearm, at least. “Whoa, look at that! I’m all blue inside!” When she shook her stump a splash of bright blue blood splashed onto the ground, which she promptly absorbed back into her body. Mind racing, she reattached her arm and ran a hand through her hair without realizing its new length or flow.

After noticing something her friend did not, Peach elected to inform her cat-eared comrade. “Your left eye,” she supplied. “It’s the same color as your blood, with a white dot in the middle.”

“Oh, really?” If anything, Nadia looked disappointed. “Well, I know heterochromia’s all the rage, but maybe I could work it into a cool eyepatch or something.” She absent-mindedly scratched at her collar, which was tickling her neck just a little with its new fluff. “Although, I’m pretty sure my vision’s fine…”

Pleased by the extent of her fusion overall, Nadia put her perfect vision to use on the others. Blazermate’s new kimono looked nice, although all her different parts were starting to make her look like she’d hit a real-life randomize button. Her gaze lingered a moment longer on Kamek, whose change had been more drastic. In fact, while she held her tongue, she couldn’t help but think the Magikoopa looked pretty weird. A bizarre blend of animal and human. It took her a moment to realize, not that she herself was an animal-human hybrid and a hypocritical one at that, but that a more significant change had taken place for Kamek. “Wait, what...!?” she murmured in awe, her eyes wide as saucers. “That’s how that works!?”

That left the spirits of the little Black Mage and the Ucas, but since Nadia wanted nothing to do with any of them, she left the others to deal with them. Now more than ever, she felt the need to be careful about what she fused with, and being either shorter or uglier was not on her radar. Instead she obliged Blazermate with a summary of her own encounter. “Well, the fish-thing I stuck in me didn’t actually fight us. She just summoned these animals made of water to fight for her. At first it was just pigs and birds and stuff, nothin’ serious, but then she whipped out tigers and giant turtles for round two. Then for round three she just plops down giant fish monsters and sea dragons! That last one even had shield and ice powers! They were so. Damn Tanky. It took fur-ever for us to whittle them down!”

Remembering another element from the fight, she glanced at Delsin and Hatty. “Man, you two really saved us. If ya didn’t take down that giant eel by yourselves, we woulda been dead for sure.” She shook her head with a groan and laid herself back down on her bed of kelp. “When we’re done with this rotten island, I’m gonna take a vacation. There were beaches around Limsa, right? Oh man, I can’t wait. Just me, the sun, and the surf, nice and warm, coconuts and barbeque, ahh…and lots and lots of alcohol.” She stared at the grotto ceiling wistfully, only to turn up her nose at the weird masses growing there, so her gaze lingered on Ace instead. “...Can’t get meowtta here fast enough.”

Her brows suddenly furrowed. “Wait, we’re bein’ paid for this, right!?”

At the very least, Spinal was. Link offered him one of the treasures he’d collected during the group’s stint in the Luma Pools, a gorgeous crystal sulfide. Its luster certainly caught the greedy skeleton’s eye. “Oh, hohohoho!” he cackled as he snatched the gemstone to affix to his shield. He crammed it right in the eye socket of the wooden octopus, where its viridian gleam could shine with the ghostly power at the pirate’s command. Link then left, retracing his steps up from the grotto in a hurry to find the unknown Abyssal freed by Sakura in the course of her trial.

He found her in the Parasite Farm, momentarily flummoxed as she sought to find a way out of the cave and up toward the less detestably malodorous surface of Carcass Isle. At his call she turned, first her head and then her crustacean mount. The haughtily beautiful New Southern bore a faint resemblance to Bella, her sister the Seaplane Tender, but she bore a snooty, lazy air all her own. She looked like she had a lot on her plate, and not very happy about it either, but the last thing she wanted right now was more enemies. “What is it?”

Link’s questions prompted her to raise her knuckles to her cheek as she searched for answers. “Yes, I remember…my sisters and I. The interminable campaign. Our only purpose in life, to oppose. To slaughter them, our hated enemies. I remained beneath, ever by the side of Her Excellency. I lacked the speed to go forth, but I could defend. In doing so, I could see my sisters, my people. Reduced to ash, resurrected time and time again. A grim parade of death, infinite, meaningless, and so very, very bothersome. Then suddenly, I’m here. With Her Excellency herself, and that oh-so-perfect toady, Pacific. The taste of death, my own death, for the first time…” The Abyssal sighed, allowing her eyes to slip closed. “If that’s all life is, I am done. Checking out. I wish only to be comfortable as I sink into a sweet, soft end, for good…” Her eyes flashed, and her brows knotted un annoyance. “Once I free myself of this wretched, stinking pit!”

Tentative steps, and even more ginger breaths, were in order as the heroes set out to brave the jagged path of ice, beneath the sightless gaze of its imprisoned overseer. Walking on ice made for a difficult challenge even without the rather extreme hazard of a bottomless drop on either side, and with the all-too-present sharp turns, the bridge demanded not just bravery, but an exceptional amount of focus.

Yet try as he might to concentrate, with Poppi at his back ready to pull off a rescue at a moment’s notice, Tora found his mental state nibbled by his allies’ speech again and again. A discreet -and prudent- request for help at the start from Yoshitsune, before they grew close to the ice-bound giant, wasn’t so bad, but others spoke up even after the treacherous trek got underway. No doubt Raz felt that his thoughts on the giant were important enough to warrant attention, but his conjecture came as a bad time. Luckily his questions didn’t provoke the dormant Typhon, but that stroke of luck emboldened a few others into picking up the psychic’s baton. Provided he was even trying, Laharl failed to keep his voice to a whisper when posing a few less-than-relevant questions to Primrose, although Therion hearing them was the least of his concerns. While the dancer replied in a much more situationally-appropriate tone, Midna took it upon herself to answer Raz, albeit less definitively. Even Fox chimed in, and though he sought to shut down the conversation as fast as possible, his voice was a small addition to the overall level of disturbance nonetheless. It wasn’t long, in that wide-open cavern of savage cold and dead silence, where even whispers and the scrape of feet across ice rang off the frozen walls, that the pilot’s confidence in the situation’s immutability endured.

A muted symphony of faint crunches echoed through the cavern as Typhon moved ever-so-slightly, contorting and cracking the ice that frosted his sickly flesh. A rush of air coursed past ears as he inhaled, long and slow. Then, after a poignant moment’s delay, he exhaled out in a tremendous sigh, his breath a buffeting glacial wind. Those in the middle of the group began to slide, pushed toward the brink of their precarious bridge. Skull went down on his side, suppressing a pained cry into a strained grunt with a Herculean effort, and next to him Panther fell on her front hard enough to knock the wind out of her lungs. It was all she could do to bury her new claws in the ice for purchase, quell the bitterly cold tears that welled up in her eyes, and hold on for dear life. Necronomicon hovered over as fast as she could to buoy her back up. Big Band’s inertia allowed him to shuffle against the wind before he could be pushed far enough to fall off, but judging by the look on his face, he was by no means a happy camper. When he turned his eyes on Typhon in anticipation of an attack, however, the detective found no sign of hostility. The wind that threatened to send almost half the group to oblivion had been nothing more than a murmur in the giant’s sleep. Band clenched his jaw and, one careful step at a time, moved on.

A few minutes more and the Seekers reached the opposite side of the cave. Even if the perilous episode failed to make the fliers and a few of their more seasoned veterans anything other than nonplussed, it left the others at least a little shaken, especially those unused to such fantastical environments. Once out of the giant’s domain and in the shelter of deathly cold catacombs, the less dauntless Seekers could let out whatever breath they’d been holding.

“Damn, I think I busted a rib,” Skull moaned. As Mona rolled his big eyes and begrudgingly healed him with a Diarama from Zorro, he gave his most courageous smile. “Hey, coulda been a lot worse, though.”

Band took the chance to touch on the subject Raz threw out earlier. “Not sayin’ anythin’ one way or the other, but is there any way to be sure that big guy back there wasn’t the guy we’re after, after all? Nice as it’d be to take everythin’ at face value, I still don’t know how I feel ‘bout that black-coated bunch.”

His question prompted Poppi to adopt a thoughtful pose, tilting her head down as she raised a fist in front of her mouth. “Well, it just Poppi conjecture, but that seem too easy. Barring hidden magic or break out from ice, he not seem that capable. Friends could just sit safely outside range on one side or other and shoot to death. No protection, no build-up, nothing. Compared to others, fight with him seem like anticlimax; just not have that much going on.”

“Plus, if it actual biggy boss, we run into Master Hand first, meh!” Tora piped up.

“Oh, very good point.” Poppi looked mildly impressed. “Rare observant moment from Masterpon.”

“Meh!?”

The detective looked confused. “Hold on a moment, back up. What’s this Master Hand y’all mentionin’?”

“It say on tin, meh. Giant flying handypon that show up and ruin Tora day right before biggy boss fight. Friend Band know when he see it,” Tora assured him.

With that matter definitively settled, the team could move on. Without even the faint light filtering through ice that illuminated Typhon’s cavern, the catacombs wallowed in Stygian blackness, and was it ever cold. The heat of torches, similar devices, and even a Fire-attuned Poppi barely radiated at all. Even back on the ice bridge, Sectonia’s fire antlion didn’t cast enough heat to be in jeopardy of melting the ice, and it was even worse here. Shadows cast by fickle firelight took on startling and fleeting forms, which went a step beyond the product of jumpiness when Draugr rose from their resting places to shamble around, attacking anything with a pulse that dared traipse through their dominion. The first one fell on Tora before he even realized what was happening, but a panicked flailing knocked the undead warrior back before its blade could bite into his flesh. From there a sound pummeling from Tora’s Mech Arms took the thing apart, but even in broken pieces the Draugr’s attack continued unabated. Only a spray of fire from Poppi reduced it to ash for good, and after that, the heroes tread that much more lightly. Paranoia was one thing, but when enemies were actually lurking in every shadow one had a good reason to be cautious.

Dead Nords weren’t all that awaited the heroes on their trail through the catacomb caves, either. Here and there they found bone-white warriors of ice marching through the halls on silent patrol, icicle spears at the ready. Rather than blindly rush the intruders like the Draugr, the Chilfos struck from a distance with the advantage of range, throwing their javelins to reach targets that the thrust of their polearms could not. The cramped confines of stone passageways not only limited how many Seekers could act at once, but increased the chance of friendly fire. When the mazelike catacombs opened up in several directions, the party had to choose between splitting up in order to cover more ground and find the right way out, or stick together in one big, ponderous group. Alongside danger, however, the heroes found scattered troves of treasure, be they coins or gems stashed in funerary urns or precious keepsakes that must be pried from cold, dead hands.

Leaving the loot to his more nimble compatriots, Big Band prioritized defense. His armored Brass Knuckles proved to be an invaluable tool against the team’s lifeless enemies, allowing him to power through their attacks and strike back with hydraulic might. He still took the damage from their attacks, which had the potential to add up into a problem if he didn’t receive any medical attention, so if a cluster of enemies confronted him he opted for a different approach. A well-spaced Giant Step could knock them down so that he could swoop in without worry, or a thrown urn could break their formation from afar–and if one happened to explode in a shower of hidden treasure, so much the better. Those who didn’t crumble beneath his first strike fell victim to his combos, which he kept short but sweet with the added benefit of both walls and ceilings to slam his lightweight foes into. Some of the Draugr and Chilfos had the intelligence to block, but even if his overzealousness got him punished here and there, Band came out on top with his throws and Take the A Train.

On their own path, Tora and Poppi blazed a fine trail for anyone to follow. The Nopon’s short stature but excellent defense meant that he could hold off the opposition while others attacked over or around him. Once the artificial blade Poppiswapped to her Alpha form for both a stronger shield and a sturdy sword, their company swept through the forsaken halls, stymied only by Tora’s insatiable desire for treasure. Without a single thought for the significance of their presence here he helped himself to over two hundred gold pieces, seven rainbow gemstones, and a nice necklace he would have put on the moment he got it if not for his profound lack of human-sized neck. Even after totally filling his pockets he continued to loot, right up until he threw open a chest only for it to come to life and attack him. Tora’s bloodcurdling scream echoed through the catacombs until Poppi managed to kill the thing and free her Masterpon from its chompers. Though covered in bite-marks, Tora looked more horrified than seriously hurt. “That is EVIL!” he cried. “Tora never feel so betrayed in whole life! How could such terrible thing exist!?”

“Maybe it supposed to punish the greedy? Teach some sort of lesson?” Poppi ventured.

“That stupid, meh!” The Nopon crossed his wings in annoyance. “If Tora not supposed to have treasure, why it just sitting there, ripe for taking?”

Eventually, one of the teams found a way out of the labyrinthine catacombs, a broken wall that brought them back into undeveloped tunnels. They demanded calculated jumps, deft climbs, and careful descents, which were feats that numb extremities made all the more difficult. By the time that a light at the end of the tunnel appeared, Tora was tucked snugly into Poppi QT Pi’s arms, soaking up every ounce of heat that her ether furnace managed to generate. He ignored the indignity of it and fixed his gaze ahead, which allowed him to be the first to lay eyes on the new cavern. It wasn’t so big, and in a strange turn seemed to foster life in the form of strange fungi. “This not at all what Tora picture. Did friends take wrong turn…?”

A brief look around turned up little. These organic chemical processors emitted light, but only the faintest trace of warmth, so despite appearances this cave wasn’t all that hospitable. It did offer a straight path forward, and this time the tunnel opened up into an immense cavern, larger still than that which held Typhon in its icy grip. As best Tora could tell, it seemed like some sort of long-abandoned mining center. All the wooden scaffolding, carts, tracks, ladders, pulleys, and so forth suggested as much. In the center of the room, past the various unstable-looking bridges and such, dangled a gigantic set of pincers. Only when Tora followed its chain upward did he truly begin to grasp the place’s staggering proportions.



What he assumed would be a tunnel upward through the cavern ceiling actually opened up in every direction, becoming an incredible hollow extending untold distances both vertically and horizontally. The sight of entire ships lodged in the ice hundreds of meters above blew the Nopon’s mind. “...Meeeeh,” he murmured in awe, his breath misty and warm. Even as the spectacle dazzled him, however, his mind raced to come up with a path forward.

“That must be lift oldypon mentioned!” he observed after a moment. “If friends use that, we get to top in no time! Except, it not have actual floor. It just giant crane game right now.” Tora took a few steps forward to get a better look around. “Tora not want climb giant chain. Or make Poppi climb it, for that matter. Maybe some way to make go up?”
With his hand resting in his chin, Joker had been pondering the issue. “Perhaps we could position a platform for the ‘crane’ to grab. As long as it’s secure, we could ride it like a real elevator.”

“Failin’ that, we can always hold on for dear life an’ ride it up, long as there’s a way to control it,” Band remarked.

“There one other problem.” Poppi’s optics zoomed in on a point of contact between the giant chain and one of the ice-covered ships. “It look like chain frozen to ship masts. Someone need fly up and break free. Maybe look inside ship in process?”

Necronomicon whirred, agitated. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re not alone in here. I’m picking up cave monsters skulking around the place. Maybe some of us should clear them out so we don’t get any nasty surprises when it’s time to use the lift.”

“Sounds like everyone has somethin’ to do.” Band gave a stiff nod of approval. “Let’s get to it before we all freeze to death.”

This so-called 'friend' gave the half-demon a very unfriendly look that did nothing to pretty up his scruffy looking face, Laharl stuck out his tongue childishly at the grumpy looking thief but before he could annoy him further the boy found himself neary dragged over the edge of the precarious ledge they had been shuffling slowly across.

Suddenly he found himself clinging to the ledge with a muted squeak escaping him, trying not to look down. Laharl gritted his teeth and pulled himself up with a grunt, quickly resuming the nerve-racking journey across the cavern shrugging off any worried looks the dancer directed towards him as well as the probable smirk her scruffy looking companion had on his face satisfied with the brush of karma the annoying little boy encountered.


A shaky sigh escaped the half-demon's mouth once the group was clear of Typhon, thoroughly shaken by nearly falling to his demise. It felt even more frigid in this cave, despite having a superior physiology Laharl felt himself shiver at the nipping chill biting at his face. Vaguely listening to the artificial blade and her masterpon explain who or rather what this 'Master Hand' was. However the matter was soon put to rest as the group was fallen upon by zombified corpses lurching from the inky blackness with weapons raised.

Laharl sidestepped the swing of one of the undead warrior's axe, countering with a punch to his assailants chest. His fiery fist punching right through the warriors chest cavity, the first enemy to fall to him and fuel the boy with it's strength and as soon as he had defeated it the half-demon fell upon another attacker practically launching himself at a Draugr as it lunged towards one of his allies, striking it with a crushing blow to the side of the head.

If his allies glanced in his direction in the midst of the battle they would immediately notice that their annoying ally was taking down one enemy after another, seemingly growing stronger as he defeated the undead. It was fortunate he was avoiding getting in range of the frozen undead attacking from afar, he wouldn't last long if he attempted to engage them.

Laharl wiped the sweat from his brow, thankfully before it froze upon his skin while he leaned over to catch his breath while listening to his heart beat rapidly between the rise and fall of his heaving chest. It also gave the half-demon the opportunity to grab some spirits, greedily grabbing anything he could get his grubby little mitts on especially the souls of the Draugr, they would make fine servants or more accurately they would be adequate for the time being as there would definitely be better spirits to bind to his services.

Level: 1
Experience: 7/10
Currently In: Snowdin Outskirts, Treat's House >> Back to Snowdin
Word Count: 419 (Exp +1)
Albedo @Lugubrious, Linkle @Gentlemanvaultboy

Once Treat calmed down enough, Frisk let her move away from their embrace. While the jerks that bullied her were still a problem, they were glad to atleast cheer her up. While Albedo stepped out to get some firewood, and Linkle chatted with the wolfgirl, the child was simply content with sitting by the fire. They took a deep breath in, and out. Once more logs were added, they scooted back just a bit to avoid getting overwhelmed by the warmth. They were also wearing a sweater and a snow cap after all.

After a moment passed, Albedo finally asked Treat about her living conditions. She didn't even hesitate to say the place kinda sucked. The child couldn't blame her. Maybe if more people were brave enough to make the trip, they could fix up the manor to be more...liveable? They guessed? It wasn't like, say, Toriel's home back in the Ruins, but could it be salvaged?? Perhaps. Linkle seemed to agree with them too.

But then there was the elephant in the room. According to Treat, there was something lurking in the basement. Linkle immediately recognized the signs of a ghost haunting the area. Though she called it a "Poe", Frisk got the idea. They were honestly hesitant in fighting a ghost. Asides from the obvious reason, if the ghost wasn't corporeal, they would have a hard time killing it as far as they knew.

Or maybe it was something much worse than a simple ghost.

Albedo turned to address them about their wanting to talk with the rabbit residents. Frisk held a hand under their chin in thought, then decided: "You guys go ahead and deal with the ghost. I'll talk with the rabbits." They said, raising up their stick, their lowly means of self defense. "I'm...not cut out for fighting, not even against ghosts." The child added with a nervous grin. It felt weird, talking longer than a few short sentences. But they knew they might have to soon. They had to act. If no one had any objections, the child would step back outside.

However, they were hesitant in taking the same road back to Snowdin. The mansion wasn't as bad, but still! Those dolls looked like they were watching them! Frisk shivered. They stopped at a checkpoint for a reason. The child focused their soul, their determination on returning back to Snowdin. Then with a blink, they teleported back to the fallen star that only they could see.

Now to look for anyone rabbit-like.

If the gentle correcting from his teammates wasn't enough to convince Raz, the huge ice giant starting to move definitely shut him up. Even though he wasn't in the danger zone of the titan's exhale, Raz crouched down, putting his hands to the ice bridge to steady himself. Seeing the others in front of him threatening to be blown off, he thrust out his big orange TK hand, hovering it at the edge as a way to right anyone that got off balance. When the wind cleared Raz stood up again and continued on behind everyone else, much less talkative until they were out of the woods.

On the other side, in the next cavern, he let out a breath he'd been holding since then. "That was, that was close, huh?" Brushing past his possibly involvement in the titan's near awakening, Raz hurried ahead, doing a little fast-walk deeper into the catacombs.

Pros: solid ground, no huge heads that could blow then down in a single sigh, and a touch less cold. Cons: everything else. They were attacked by monsters, some seeming to come right out of the walls, and the corridors were cramped enough to make it difficult to fight back. Luckily Raz's smallness helped him to weave between the legs of his taller, well-proportioned allies in the heat of a scuffle. The icy javelin throwers would've been an issue, but Raz could pluck the spears out from the walls they embedded into (or, with a bit of luck, right out of the air) and fling them right back with his Telekinesis, smashing the ice golems to pieces.

When the group split up, Raz decided to tag behind Tora and Poppi, and got a front row seat to the Nopon's greedy tendencies. "I'm not sure about this," Raz thought aloud, looking into a pot that had a few handfuls of coins sparkling at the bottom. "This looks like some kind've tomb, so all this treasure probably belongs to the people in here, right? It doesn't feel right to steal from them. Even if a few come back to life and try to kill us."

On the other side of the maze of corpses and cobblestone, they all filed into another big ice cavern. Raz shivered. "I'm gonna be honest, I hate being surrounded by ice all the time," he said, folding his hands under his armpits for warmth. Despite the chill, the chamber was another stunning sight. If Raz didn't know better he'd assume he walked right into the ice giant's head, with the way the various ships were frozen to the walls far, far above them. He still wished he had his Pyro back. It was really, really cold.

"I can get up there!" Jumping at the chance to get his blood pumping, Raz was the first to make way for the chain. He scrambled up a section of scaffolding broken in a way that resembled a ladder, balanced along one of the wooden beams to the center of the chamber, and hopped onto the giant pincers. "I'll get this thing unstuck, don't worry about me." He started climbing the chain, up and up and up at a pretty decent pace. Probably not faster than anyone who could just fly up there, but you had to admire his gusto.

---

Bowser didn’t hear any of Link’s mutterings about Ganondorf, which was the hero’s loss as if he’d been louder he could have learned a bit about one of his past selves and how he had also teamed up with the Garudo king in that very same adventure. To his credit, unlike a certain princess he didn't take to violence as soon as he learned that context-less information about someone teaming up with his universe's eternal arch evil and so the king was subsequently left to snooze, his sword in the gut free.

Well, after taking Blazermate to task for a bit for her “strategy” for dealing with being mind controlled.

”Oh yeah sure, let me just recognize I’m mind controlled and decide be mediocre. Why didn't I think about that half dozen times it’s happened?” Bowser replied sarcastically in response to her laziness strategy ”You know what you do when you get saddled with a pile of half useless schmucks? You carry them to victory, because if you're not gonna do it no one will.”

He tiredly jabbed a finger her way, before waving his hand once and letting the topic lie if she would. He needed all the rest he could get, especially for his throat. He really should not have swallowed that conch.

He got woken up again a bit later by his son’s raucous laughter, his brief annoyance at being awake in such a way being rapidly squashed by the thought of how nice it was to hear his dear boy’s mirth for the first time in what, thanks to the maw, felt like a long long time. Of course, this being Jr, the laughter was 100% at someone's expense, in this case, the freshly transformed Kamek.

”Really young master, it isn't that funny” Kamek was saying to the gawfing princling, who’s response was ”yeah it is! you look ridiculous!” followed by more giggling

Reptile (and Koopa) sexual dimorphism being what it was, namely basically non existent, meant it would take a while for most people to catch on to what had occurred. Even her voice was mostly the same. As a result Jr, and subsequently his dad once he caught onto what was happening, were mostly amused by the humanization of the wizard. That and the poofy tail out back. Actually it was basically all about the tail actually, it was very silly.

“It’s not that bad. You look kinda cute actually. But how come you changed so much when I’m mostly just me with new clothes?” Rika reassured him and then asked

”This system has something of a humanoid preference, it seems, on either the spirit or Galeem’s slide. Or both. Which, I’ll admit, is rather annoying for my koopa pride buuuut” the mage gave a stretch and then rolled her shoulders experimentally and was delighted to inform them ” I haven't felt this spry in near on a half dozen decades! Perhaps ever? If dropping a few scales is what it costs to be young again I can hardly complain.”

“So did it work? Can you bring people back?” Rika butted in to get them back to the point of all this.

”Hmm? Oh yes, that! Well let's find out shall we?” the mage said and then stepped over to one of the fallen crab spirits, picking it up and putting it on a rock before sweeping her arms out to clear some space. ''Stand back! And be ready!” she instructed before dramatically jabbing her fingers at the spirit in a wizardly fashion punctuating each subsequent flourish with ”Arise! Stand once more! Live!” to no avail. Then she strained her now very short beak and tensed her younger muscles with one last effort before giving up and breathlessly admitting ”ahhh, it's no good. I can feel something but… no. or maybe not yet? I did decipher more of Cia’s magic earlier, maybe I can do the same with this? Hmmm, what did I even get from this?”

“Oh. Well. Hopefully you’ll figure something out, or one of the others will” Rika replied, more than a little disappointed.

”Hmm, no I think that there's certainly something here that might be related. Something to do with herbs and…” the mage was racking his brains for newfound knowledge and then suddenly exclaimed ”Cooking? Really? How… stereotypical”

“Cooking?” she asked

”It seems I have learned an awful lot about living in and making use of the materials found in forests. Not something it would expect from a person dressed in white. Think of the stains, ech.” He shuddered at the thought before trying to reassure her friend ”I’ll keep at it however. I’m sure there's more to this woman than squatting in the woods”

“Oh. well. Good luck. I’ll, uh, go tell the other one that her friend isn't coming back any time soon while you do that?” Rika replied with a sigh, and then stepped away from the mage who was now being bothered about making a meal for the two royals, who then reminded them that the king had already eaten their one available cooking ingredient, only to find the crabby princess missing. “Oh. Huh. where did she go?” she asked herself and then, with her gauntlets strapped onto her back rather than primed and at the ready, set off to take a look, eventually coming across her speaking with Link further up the cave. Grimly too, based on the end of the conversation she heard involving her decrying life as not worth living.

“Wow, no hey wait! There’s way more to life than all that” she shouted as she hurried to join them “there’s friends! and fun! And forests! and food! and, um, well I’ve only been at this for a day but here. Here here here.” she dug around in her newly changed jacket, failing for a moment to find where her pockets had gone, and then pulled out one of her dwindling supply of lollipops and offered it to her fellow former abyssal “Try this. You put it in your mouth, like this” she got out one of her own to demonstrate, before pulling it out again to add “and then you lick it as it melts and it tastes so sweet and yummy” before popping the sweet back in for her own enjoyment.

Then she realized she was being rude and got out a third to offer to the hero of the wilds and saying “Right Link?” her words a touch muffled due to not being able to take out her own lolly as her her hands where busy offering the other two one of their own each.

Therion just rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on getting across the ice bridge. Not long after the giant in the ice moved as they'd feared, however slightly. Instinctively Therion started to move away from it, which in this case was backward. Slowly he pushed back the way he'd come, stalling any behind him in the single file line. Ahead of him, the other Traveler was in the path of the giant's icy exhale. Primrose was light, and with nothing on her person that could fight against the wind she was in grave danger of being blown off the edge and into oblivion. Fortunately there was a spiritual ally that could help her though.

"Hippowdon!" the dancer cried, sinking into a crouch so that there was of her less surface area for the wind to push. The heavyweight Pokémon appeared on the bridge in front of her, and she hurriedly wrapped her arms around it's neck. "Pow! Pow!" She held on tightly, squeezing her eyes shut until the giant's breath died down. The striker's time ran out not a moment too soon, leaving Primrose thoroughly jostled but still on solid ground.

"Well," she said, puffing out a breath of her own. She stood up again to finish crossing the bridge, feeling curious eyes on her that she had no doubt belonged to her fellow Orsterran. She owed him many an explanation, but that would come later. Once off of the bridge she got sort of an explanation herself, listening in on Tora and Poppi explain their reasoning for why that giant couldn't be the monster they were looking for. Then, it was time to keep moving on.

Into a catacomb haunted by corpses and ice constructs.

In the narrow halls it was difficult to maneuver in order to counter attack, but as long as she had a little room Primrose could dance. She was a professional after all, and though she preferred plenty of space she could dance in place. Her dances empowered those around her with additional strength and defense so that the could deal with the draugr quickly. When she got the chance to throw fireballs at the ice warriors she did so, but most of her focus was on buffing her allies until they found a way out.

Therion had yet to show off his combat prowess during their mountain journey, and even in the catacombs he left that to the others. The first time one of the enemies' attacks went wide, shattering a vase and spilling gold coins out onto the catacombs' floor, well he busied himself with the collecting of treasure. It didn't seem like any of the heroes needed much help anyway, if they had it might have been a different story. As it was, Therion ducked behind corners and and allies alike, seeking an exit while scooping up any treasure he could find. There were coins all over the place, mostly gold but some bronze and silver as well, and of course various gem stones.

I trust they won't be missing these, he thought. Thankfully he hadn't run into the bane of thieves like Tora had, though he heard the Nopon's screech and paused what he was doing. Maybe it was time to check in. By the time he weaved his way over to rejoin the others, someone had spotted and exit. The Seekers hurried through it and they were on to the next section of the inner mountain.

The cavern was huge, and it's details were surprising. Primrose wondered how such a ship could even find itself here inside of the mountain. A curious side effect of Galeem's combining of the worlds, perhaps. Her eyes followed where Tora pointed out a dangling chain with some kind of attachment at the end. That old monk had mentioned they would need to repair the lift, but she hadn't thought it would be missing it's... everything.

"It doesn't look very safe," she murmured, looking around for any other clues. She couldn't really imagine how they would secure a platform to it as Joker suggested, but alas - she recognized that her knowledge only went so far when it came to technology beyond her home world's, even with simple devices. "How do you suppose it works? I don't see a lever or a pulley."

While Primrose thought on the lift itself, Therion watched Raz volunteer to break the chain free of the ice and start climbing it.

"That kid is going to get himself killed."

Besides the one, Therion had no attachment to these people. It'd only been a couple hours at most since he met them. Still, he wasn't an asshole... okay maybe a little bit of one. He wasn't cruel though, and watching someone fall to an icy grave was pretty much at the bottom of the list of things he wanted to do today. There were also members of the group that could literally fly, so Therion didn't see the point to someone climbing up. The fact remained that Raz was making his way up the chain and to the frozen ship, and at the moment no one else was moving to go after him. So it was with a long suffering sigh that Therion ripped up a few scraps of fabric, tied them around his palms to protect his hands, and went after the psychic.

And hey, if they could spare time to check out the ship's interior like that girl suggested, all the better.

Back on the ground Primrose watched them go with an amused little smile. She tended to worry about the younger members of the Seekers, so it was reassuring to see someone else go with Raz, even if he was perfectly capable. That it was Therion in particular was the amusing part. The expression on her face began to fade as she turned her attention forward, heeding Alibaba's warning and keeping a look out for any monsters that might appear. She had conjured a small ball of flame in the cavern before this one, and it was still blazing hotly in her hand ready to sling.

---

---

@DracoLunaris

---

Link plucked the lollypop out of RIka's outstretched hand like one would a small flower before, hoping to encourage the despondent abyssal to do the same, popping it in his mouth. His teeth instantly sheered the paper stick in half, leaving him to roll the candy ball around in his mouth. Maybe it was the fact that he was still blisteringly hungry, but the flavor hit him like a blub to the face. Sweet, but tangy. It was the taste of that pined apple they had eaten back at their impromptu beach cookout. It made him want to cook again.

He took a moment to compose himself before turning his attention back to the problem of the Abyssal. Her answer hadn't done anything to set his mind at ease. He wished that she had said that she didn't remember anything because that would at least line up with his experience. Instead she had been taken from somewhere in this world and placed in their path, which begged the question of where he had been before being turned into one of the hands pawns.

Her answer had illuminated her own situation. She was a spectator to endless, and in her own words purposeless, conflict. Or at least a conflict that she didn't understand, against an enemy she had never even seen. If that was all you thought life was then he didn't blame her for wanting to lie down and find some place peaceful she could sleep forever. She was lost and ignorant. He had been there.

"Listen to the girl." He said to the Princess. "Look at how much of a difference a day can make. The ocean you know is just a small part of the world. Most are better." To prove it he approached, pulling the slate from his side flipping to his photo album before showing her. A resplendent castle shining in the distance. A desert sanctuary at sunset. A lone tree overlooking a great bridge. The lively inside of a tavern, a familiar blue medabot prominently featured. Snapshots of a world beyond what the Princess had ever known. "We're going to be leaving this island soon, after one last battle. Hang around until then and we'll show you a world you can live in.

---

---

@Majoras End@Lugubrious

---

Linkle ears perked up at Frisk's suggestion of going to talk with the rabbits alone, bristling with worry she couldn't put words to without either sounding like a crazy person or beating up two of the sweetest residents of Snowdin. Tackling the problem from both angles was actually a really good idea, so she couldn't poo poo it on that account. Still, even if they weren't good at fighting that didn't mean a fight wasn't going to start.

"Albedo?" she asked as Frisk made their way out the door, an idea popping into her head. "Could you please walk Frisk back to the village while I take care of this basement problem? Just to make sure nothing bad happens. Those rabbits might see red if Frisk confronts them. I'll be right behind you, this shouldn't take two shakes of a cucco's tail."

The battle was over, and the Seekers had emerged victorious! Sakura had been stressed out as the timer ticked town, nervously tapping her fingers together. Sweat dripped down her forehead as the fates of her friends became increasingly unclear. At that final moment, she looked plain sick. But when it came to light that not only were they victorious, Sakura switched gears and jumped for joy, clenching her fists together by her chin.

"We did it...I knew we could do it!" Sakura pumped her arms. "And you were all like," Sakura went over to Bella. "Oh, mon cherie, we are doomed! Oh, no, mon cherie!" Sakura held the back of her hand up to her head dramatically, like she was about to feint. Her impression of Bella was also pretty good, even if it was played up. "But instead you kicked, uh, total ass, I believe is the scientific term." She nudged Bella in the shoulder.

"And you guys-" Sakura opened her arms wide to the rest. "Nailed it! Flawless victory!" Sakura struck a fighting pose. "You even defeated someone with mind control powers? In short, we rule, Master Hand drools."

"I mean, I guess Mirage-san is a casualty, but he's probably drawing up a hot bath for himself as we speak. If anything, I'm a little jealous..." Sakura said, trailing off. "I mean, my outfit is totally ruined, but, I plain on getting my old clothes back the moment I give Araisho-san's spirit back to where it belongs." She said resolutely, mixing her simple priorities with a somber note. Sakura listened to what Bowser and the others had to say about some stuff. About the Master Hand. Weird. Didn't sound like anyone stood a chance against Galeem when he first arrived...

"Speaking of spirits...geez. I mean, I don't want to be rude or anything..." Sakura looked at Kamek and Blazermate. Grimacing, the gears turned in her head. "...So, I won't!" She said chipperly. "Hope those powers come in handy. Everyone'll be freer and happier once we wipe the floor with this boss. That was just a warm up." She punched her knuckles together. "But I feel good about our chances. We're almost done. And once we get back to Limsa, I know a lady who probably has her own private section of the beach. At the very least, she can get us some fresh pastries to eat." Sakura said. She turned to see what her new friend thought of that, only to realise she wasn't here. Rika went off to look for her, and Sakura trailed behind.

Turned out, New Southern wasn't in a very good mood. "Yeah, don't kill yourself!" Sakura said in an unintentionally bright voice. "There's so much to do and see! You should at least give it a shot. You Abyssals really got the short stick when it came to your lot in life, so if there's one good thing to come out of this Galeem situation it's giving people like you a chance. And you can pick out a name! You look like a...Wendy. Or a Dorothy. And your crab pet could be Toto." She snickered, making a joke. A joke that nobody else in this little group understood. Sakura's smile turned into a good natured wince. "...or not. No pressure."

The fact that the entirety of Blue Team was about a literal second from arbitrary time-based death was...unsettling. Not quite existentially horrifying, but it wasn't a pleasant sensation to realize that they'd not only taken the longest of the three groups, but that they'd worried everybody so deeply. Geralt wasn't sure if these suckers were growing on him, or if it was the influence of the Harbor Demon that he'd fused with, but he gave a short bow of his head and apologized. "That creature was...frustratingly clever. Did not of its fighting for itself, but made it fight waves of constructs made from the water itself. If we weren't fighting for our lives, they would have seemed more beautiful." But, they were fighting for their lives, so the damned things were just annoying.

As the Seekers sought their rest while Blazermate and Kamek patched up the groups' wounds, Geralt tried to do a small bit of meditation, separating from the group just a bit. However, he found that doing so was nigh impossible. Even trying to settle into a proper state of mind was eluding him. Whether that was from lingering adrenaline, or it was some characteristic of this godforsaken place, he couldn't tell, but after a few minutes of futility, Geralt stood up and started stretching instead.

He'd missed a few conversations that the others were having, but other than Bowser explaining the situation with Master Hand (thus causing him to miss out on some info about Bowser's past), he hadn't even noticed enough to know what kind of conversations he'd missed. In the end it wasn't of exceptional importance to Geralt, who was admittedly being a bit asocial right now, trying to keep himself sharp for the upcoming fight. The Spirits that were being fused with by people hadn't quite interested him, though he had no idea what the Spirits of the other enemies could do, he wasn't one to simply take chances without knowing what he could. The Spirits he'd bonded with were all enemies he'd at least observed directly in combat and had a decent idea of their capabilities. It wouldn't do to fuse with a Spirit and find himself any larger or less nimble. He'd already had to adjust his combat style a bit as it was, as useful as the Breaching Bastion was.

So, while the others conversed and fused with Spirits, Geralt practiced the blade. The blade maintenance, that was, carefully checking his weapons over to make sure they were in proper working order.

Silence. Complete, conspicuous, and not at all reassuring. As the seconds dribbled by, and Nadia’s perky ears fell lower and lower, she let out a nervous laugh. “Uh, guys? Cat got your tongue? I mean, I get the whole ‘hero never asks for money’ deal, but we’re riskin’ life and limb here.”

With her brows furrowed, Peach considered the matter. Although she could no doubt count a couple altruists among the Seekers’ ranks for whom justice and peace were their own rewards, the cat burglar’s question was a fair one. “Well…while there’s no formal sum, I’m sure the people of Limsa and other settlements in the region would be glad to see the last of the Abyssal Fleet, the storm, and other monsters. Failing that…” she cleared her throat and gave Nadia an officious nod. “I can pay you from my royal treasury.”

“Really!?” Nadia’s ears perked right back up, and her eyes shone as bright as a future filled with money. When Peach nodded the feral gave a long, breathy sigh of relief, a toothy grin on her face. Even in a place like this, it seemed like every cloud has its silver lining, after all. “You’re the real deal, princess! If the upper crust where I’m from were half as classy as you, my world would be one hell of a better place!”

Peach brushed aside the praise with a smile. “Oh, you’re too kind. It’s really the least I can do, after sitting on it for so long. Better than spending it on parties and such.”

Bella, who’d been fiddling with her tail with a slight blush after Sakura’s encouragement, took a moment to chime in. “Indeed, you are most generous, demoiselle,” she said. “I am afraid zat I cannot accept your generosity, however. Even just experiencing Limsa is more of a privilege zan I deserve.”

Not for the first time Nadia wondered what the Seaplane Tender’s fate might be. Bella’s dark past filled her with regret, preventing her from even beginning to forgive herself despite the kindness and forgiveness shown to her. Would she ultimately bear responsibility for the tragedy she’d wrought as a member of the Abyssal Fleet? Or was the woman that stood before her a new person, born anew in yesterday’s fateful skirmish? Nadia didn’t have all the details, but she hoped for the best. If nothing else, Bella had Sakura by her side, and as long as she had someone who believed in her things would probably work out okay. Of that, Nadia felt pretty confident.

With her heart at ease, especially after Sakura mentioned a beach-having friend in Limsa, Nadia crossed her arms behind her head and laid herself back down on her bed of kelp, swishing her tail back and forth. Despite the chill, the odor, and the situation as a whole, the fatigue piled up by both the fracas in the fishing village and the rumble with Rhodeia left her just a little woozy, and after a moment she opened wide with a huge nyawn. Then, with alarming abruptness, she passed out. The feral was out like a light, her unnaturally deep catnap so powerful that it totally overrode the inhospitable grotto’s complete lack of comfort and safety. Despite anyone’s attempts to rouse her, she remained sound asleep, snoring softly, for several minutes.

It was during Nadia’s all-consuming snooze that the Koopa Troop came to terms with the somewhat drastic changes Kamek underwent as a result of her fusion. As magical as a phenomenon as it had been, the Magikoopa came away from the experience somewhat disenchanted. Peach pondered the nature of her change, as well as what left the witch dissatisfied. “Well, none of this is too surprising if you ask me,” she put forward after a bit, keeping her voice low as a courtesy to the zonked-out feral nearby. “It seems like spirits are additive. Since you fused with two humans, or people so close to human it doesn’t matter, you’ve got more human in you than Koopa. It’s like one opened a direction to take, and then the next took you further in that direction.” She put a hand on her chest. “My own differences are more slight since I only fused with humans. I didn’t…well, change back when I fused with Mr. Grimm, which left me half-and-half. But you did once you got two women to one koopa. So, majority rules?” She crossed her arms. “Oh, and if you wanted her magic and not her…woodland skills, or whatever, you should have put her in your heart rather than your head. If you want her out, let me know, but remember. Nadia couldn’t re-fuse with that shipgirl after I took her out.”

A few moments more and Nadia awakened, refreshed and blinking a few times to re-adjust to the fickle light in the heroes’ grotto. Inadvertently her eyes laid on one of the ceiling formations longer than she meant for them too, which gave her enough time to spot something bulbous and luminescent sliding around within the membranes hidden only partially by their ribbed, stony shells. “Eugh,” she said, her refreshment tempered by a resurgent feeling of ickiness. To get her mind off the unwelcome sight she focused in on Bowsers Jr and Sr, who seemed to be petitioning the transformed Kamek for a meal. “Wait, you can cook now?” she concluded, eyebrows raised. “That’s awesome! I mean, not that I want ya to or anythin’, ‘cause this place is gross as hell and I couldn’t keep down food even if I wanted to. But I’m jealous anyway, ‘cause I’m not kitten when I say I burn everythin’ I touch. It’s why I’m always eatin’ out, which itself is why I always need money, heheh.” Nadia rolled over and treated herself to a luxurious stretch like a cat, so much so that her bright blue muscle fibers extended clear out of her limbs and her finned tail curled over her head. Then she stood up and arched backward, quite unbothered by anyone who might be watching. “So, waitin’ on anyone? I’m o-fish-ially good to go.”

Peach glanced back at the tunnel through which her crew had come. “Just Link and Rika I think. Should be back any moment.

---

While the rest of her allies lounged around the grotto, Rika found Link and New Southern back at the start of the ever-so-squishy, oh-so-fetid Parasite Farm. She arrived in time to listen to her former adversary announce her resignation, and she did not like what she heard. Her shout seemed to take New Southern by surprise, but as she grew closer the spearfighter’s expression only soured. Being told about the wonders of life by someone capable of recognizing them for less than a day -by her own admittance, no less- was one thing. Doing so after helping kill Pacific and then absorbing her spirit was another. She found herself staring at a lollipop, thrust her way without a trace of self-awareness on Rika’s unrecognizable face. An even more withering look went Sakura’s way when the street fighter arrived, a resentful reward for both the brutal pummeling the Abyssal received and for the weirdly sunny, offhand way in which she treated the subject. Like she knew everything.

New Southern wore a look of dispassionate disgust as she slowly reached up to take the offered candy and stare at it a moment. At Link’s prompting she peered at his tablet, where she took in the various facets of his homeland. “This isn’t a cry for help,” she told the trio who pursued her. “I don’t need anything saccharine, or someone else’s happy memories, or any platitudes, or anyone to name me.” Her eyes narrowed at the lesser Abyssal. “Besides, what do you know of such things? Friends? Fun? You may know what the words mean. So do I. But we don’t know what they are. What they feel like. If we can even feel at all anymore.” She looked at Rika with something akin to pity, or maybe jealousy. “If, in your blissful ignorance, you’re able to get by on what paltry, meaningless things you've been fed so far, good for you. Really. But what about our sisters, in their dozens, their hundreds? Minds and bodies, made, unmade, and remade, losing themselves one brutal death at a time, until they’re just hate and pain in twisted prisons of white flesh and black metal. And all the while, us few Princesses stand above the slaughter without a care, so darkly glamorous, so appealing in various specific ways. Such unnecessarily beautiful monsters.” She shook her head as a mocking laugh rattled its way out of her, which sounded rather like a sob. Then her tone turned bitter and sarcastic. “I mean, you must have seen Harbor Demon. What sick game is this? Maybe that empty-headed Seaplane Tender can go on like this, but I can’t. It’s like we live just to be slain. Ogled first, if we’re lucky. Why is ours such a hollow, cruel existence? And why the hell did I have to realize any of this?”

New Southern held her head in her hands, squishing her palms into her eyes. Then she looked once more at the others before going over to lay back down on her crab. “You see why I’m over it all? You can’t just…start again from scratch. Maybe it’s impossible for someone whose existence has a point, or someone who’s convinced herself of it, to understand. But I’m done explaining either way. Just…go on with your adventure. I’ll leave you to your end, so just leave me to mine.”

---

Once the Seekers reunited in the grotto, everyone but the disinterested Spinal as ready as they were going to be, the entire crew could set out on the last leg of their remarkable journey through the embattled Deep Blue Seaside. The cave narrowed down again into a rough, water-eroded tunnel, only large enough for Bowser thanks to the spirits that shrunk him down a few notches. Nadia stepped both lightly and lively at the front of the procession, her soft footfalls hiding her advance as her sharp eyes probed the darkness for danger. Everyone stayed alert at all times, ready for whatever might confront them in the eldritch depths of this curse-shadowed isle, for though they knew what ultimately awaited them none had any clue as to what they should expect.

That said, when Nadia spotted a pale, slimy protuberance around a downward bend, she wasn’t exactly surprised. She held out a hand sideways to tell those behind her to slow up, then took another step to confirm her suspicions. Just as she thought, it was the gelatinous tail end of a snail woman, the same sort that she saw oozing around the Parasite Farm before. In a strange turn, however, this one had her hands clasped together in front of her, as if in prayer. Nadia waited a moment to see if the creature made any sudden movements, but she did not. “Guess she’s feeling sluggish,” she muttered. Then, in a slightly louder voice, she told the others, “Just a sec, I’ll handle this.”

She reached back and pulled off her tail, willing it to go rigid. Doing so made the new fins on the end bend inward as they hardened, making them look an awful lot like axe blades. That works, she thought to herself with a nod. Nadia then inhaled sharply and stepped forward to take care of business. “Don’t mind me,” she said under her breath as she approached. “Just gotta axe you a…a…”

Her jaw dropped, not at the motionless snail woman in front of her, but at the cavern that opened up around the bend. Just a few steps beyond where the feral’s quarry worshiped, the stone gave way to dark purple grass, and it blanketed a massive, open space full of alien flora. The soft natural glow of countless plants, including Comba Charms, Gurken Shucks, Orchey Shies, Umbra Seekers, and Void Baskets, combined with at least a dozen waterfalls scattered around, created a hauntingly beautiful hollow in constant, almost hypnotic motion.



Of course, Nadia cared mostly about the chamber’s denizens, of which the snail woman before her was just the start. There were hundreds of aquatic or amphibian monsters in the cavern, maybe even thousands. And yet, with the exception of the cave angels that gently floated and swooped through the cave’s upper reaches, every single creature Nadia could see, no matter how monstrous, appeared to be hunkered down in prayer, or as near a thing as they could manage. All of them faced away from her, in the direction the Seekers were headed, and between the masses on either side was an empty lane through the grasses, plants, and pools, kept open as if to admit them. Speechless, and convinced at least for now that the plaintive snail woman was the least of their worries, Nadia reattached her tail and motioned for the others to come out.

If the monsters turned on the newcomers all at once, they would have a serious problem on their hands, but each and every one seemed totally fixated on the distant terminus of this alien cave. Hatty’s top hat confirmed the heroes’ destination to be one and the same, which inspired more than a little anxiety. But with little recourse but to hope for the best, the Seekers resumed their trek. Moving as quickly and quietly as they could, they passed the placid monsters a dozen at a time, and wandering eyes found creatures both familiar and unknown among their ranks. Ocean Crawlers and Pelagics, particularly shamans could be seen no matter where one looked, although for every fishman the group recognized they discovered some specimen or another that they didn’t. Not all the monsters seemed natural, however. Some fishmen and Ocean Crawlers appeared partially human, and among them Delsin could recognize a few of the passengers and crew aboard the ship whose wreck he inhabited until today–succumbed to the Pelagic Plague. Malformed horrors, both within and without protective equipment, sent shivers down the spine of anyone unlucky enough to spot one, possible provoking memories from a Depths they wished had been mere nightmare. Last but certainly not least, the Seekers saw a great many Abyssals huddled in the twilight. Almost all of them appeared to be the lower class, the degraded troops and the wretched fodder. Those without heads to bow, those without bodies to lower, and those without hands to clasp all clustered together by their pools and tunnels in commiserate silence. Judging by the gooey, alarmingly cyan smears, they seemed to subsist off the cave’s native Bloopy Fruit, which burst from their red rinds if crushed underfoot. Even when the Seekers found a rare Princess, there was nothing more than obliviousness and prostration to be had. And of course, there were stranger things still, like the glistening squirts that resided in the pools, the seabed titan who sat immovable, or the Squiffy Ghast whose aetherial harmony filtered through the aphotic shadows of the Azure Weald.

As the group walked along, ever-wary, Nadia occasionally took her eyes off potential threats to sneak a glance at her Abyssal allies. Bella, for one, seemed understandably distressed. Her restless tail writhed as it trailed behind her, splattered by stains of the Bloopy Fruit it happened to pop during the trek. The freaky, unnatural phenomenon at work in this cave was bad enough as is, but it wasn’t a leap of logic to imagine that this place had some kind of special significance for Bella and Rika. Even if they hadn’t been here themselves, seeing their former allies entranced like this couldn’t be good for good. Bella certainly made no attempt to disguise the horror on her face, but she kept her secrets to herself, and Nadia didn’t even entertain the idea of prying.

With the monsters of the Azure Wield unresponsive, and no fights except the ones they might choose to pick, the Seekers made good time through the lush terrain. They found no clues with which they might mitigate the bizarre forest’s mystery, so they were obliged to leave it every bit as eerie and goosebump-inducing as it was when they arrived. Rather than present a challenge, the experience served to ramp up the tension, building anticipation until the group was a veritable powderkeg of bunched muscles and nerves by the time they reached its end. At the far end of the largely straight cavern stood a wall of loose dirt, easily shiftable by even a bare minimum effort, so with monstrous supplicants on either side they started scraping away. Nadia used her tail-axe to avoid getting dirt under her nails, while Bella relied upon her own conjoined leviathan to shift the earth. Rather than risk unwanted attention with her scatterboom despite her perk of unlimited ammunition, Peach got her hands dirty as she helped to clear the obstacle away. It wasn’t long before the first ray of light shone through, and as the diggers worked to widen the opening, they got their first good look at the terminus–as bizarre as it was.



“This is impossible,” Nadia declared. She stared out in uneasy bewilderment at a shoreline of black sand, extending infinitely in either direction. Murky, wine-dark seawater capped by coagulations of seafoam stretched out into the horizon without a single wave, where it met a churning, illimitable expanse of storm clouds, unbroken but for a single, sickly green celestial body. It shone like the moon, every bit as distant and unyielding, but to Nadia it looked more like a collapsed eye. “We’re way, way below sea level,” she insisted.

“One hundred percent,” Peach breathed. “The village was at sea level, and we’ve only gone down since then.”

But this wasn’t exactly a normal beach. Just like the coastline where the Maw deposited them, this beach was choked with corpses. Whale, dolphin, fish both known and unknown, crab, astrocetus, megachelon, and more, so uncountably many more, all swamped the infinite water’s edge. A dark substance like oil or tar congealed in streaks across their bodies, and from their centers -no matter the species- extended umbilical cords, tangling and intertwining as they led into the ocean. Farther into the water lay the husks of many sunken ships, their masts protruding from the water in a grim, off-kilter forest with a canopy of rotten cloth. In the center of it all lay a single, snow-white cadaver, like nothing the newcomers had ever seen. Try as she might, Nadia could tell only two things about it: that nestled among the ghost-white tentacles in its fleshy hood lay a human face, and that its gut seemed to be moving.

She watched, flabbergasted, as the dead thing’s stomach heaved and twisted. The bulge inched toward the edge until a great surge of despicable viscera flooded out from beneath the veil, a mess of slime, bone, and tripe. Then, from the steaming heap, something stood. With a great effort it tottered to its feet on shaky legs, its own placenta clutched in its hand, and a shred of its own birthing sac draped over its shoulders like a cape. As it reached its full height, about seven feet, it sank in with Nadia that she wasn’t looking at some incomprehensible eldritch horror. Yet it was also not a man. It stood on two legs, limply dangled two arms, and stared across the water up at the moon with a face that probably had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. But Nadia didn’t want to see its face. She didn’t want to be here. Something primal, deep within her, stirred in terror and revulsion at the sight of this thing, even from a rear view. She couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t stand the thought of a world with both it and her in it. This thing needed to die. Yet even as she seized that conclusion and readied her claws, a strange sound reached her, only barely audible over the murmur of the windless sea.

The poor, wizened child was weeping. And for reasons Nadia could neither understand nor explain, tears welled up unbidden in her eyes.





Frisk’s announced intentions plus Linkle’s alerted rabbit ears meant that the Chalk Prince and the Skullgirl didn’t need to exchange words to know what was afoot. When Linkle announced her suggestion, Albedo agreed without a second’s hesitation. “I wish you two luck in your investigation of the basement,” he told his new friend and wolf-eared acquaintance. “Please be careful. Malevolent spirits are cunning enough to pose a serious threat. Whatever might come your way, please make your safety your first priority. If something were to happen to either of you, I would be devastated.” He did not rush his advice, but spoke with utmost solemnity. By the time the alchemist finished speaking, however, Frisk had racked up a solid head start. Not too worried about the child leaving him behind, he excused himself with a slight bow, encouraged his cozy corgi to follow him, and set off at a brisk walk.

When he stepped through the front door, however, he found no sign of Frisk at all. “Curious”, he murmured, kneeling to scratch his dog’s ears. Albedo examined the yard despite seeing no places to hide nor reasons why the kid might want to do so, and his search came up predictably empty. Had Frisk set off at such a fast pace that they already rounded the mountain bend going downward? Such action would be risky, even foolhardy, on potentially slick stone steps, and so far Frisk struck him as the quiet and introspective type, rather than energetic and reckless. No, that probably wasn’t it, either.

Already low to the ground, Albedo turned his gaze downward at the snow. Tracks told the story of everyone’s goings and comings at the Beneviento estate, with their depth, size, and definition the prose. Just a little perceptiveness, and one could read between the lines. Among all the prints going inward and outward he zeroed in on the smallest, noting the set that came in from the mountain path, then a matching set going outward. He stood and followed them a few paces, with his corgi trotting at his heels, until he came to such a sudden stop that his dog’s snout bopped the back of his boot. Frisk’s tracks just…ended. No more within jumping range in any direction, not enough time to backtrack for a prank. Even more curious, Albedo thought. But not unsolvable. He called to mind the traveler he came to know in Teyvat, who could make use of the waypoints dotted across the land to teleport. That traveler could warp away with remarkable suddenness in basically any situation, be it standing, in combat, sitting down, or even swimming. It wasn’t crazy to think that Frisk could do something similar. Plus, all this speculation aside, Albedo knew where Frisk intended to go.

Where the rabbits were.

A few minutes later, Albedo and his dog emerged from the dubious path that led up the mountain, back on Snowdin’s main thoroughfare once more. While not really the social type, and certainly no hoarder of the townsfolk’s details, the alchemist had a rough idea where the rabbitfolk lived. He crunched over to the north side of the town, where the side street Warrens Way took him toward a copse of pine trees right behind the other buildings. At the short road’s end lay the Warrens, neither big or separate enough to be classified as a district, but still a distinct part of town for several reasons.

The Warrens took the form of a circular dirt plaza surrounded by forested hills with little dirt paths, beneath which lay the residents’ homes, and on top of which garden patches grew under the trees. Indeed, the Warrens held the honor of being the town’s agricultural center, a feat made possible by the plentiful magics used to keep this part of the town locked in perpetual spring. While most of the townspeople in Snowdin worked and lived wherever they wished without any real patterns, rabbitfolk formed the majority over here, and they were picky about who they allowed to dwell in their midst. In fact, their small group of elders formed the closest thing Snowdin had to any system of governance, although they presided over Warrens affairs exclusively. Although somewhat collectivist, the rabbitfolk were by no means isolationist, and dealt with Snowdin as much as anyone else. It was here, in the herd mentality of these villagers, that the source of Treat’s woe’s lay.

Although Albedo received a few curious looks, nobody treated him with suspicion upon his arrival. He was a known quantity in Snowdin, professionally if not personally, and not a perceived threat. He did, however, leave his corgi in Grillby’s before coming over. The average villager here liked dogs, but the diminutive Funny Bunnies rode the line between person and prey a little closely. At any hour of the day one could expect to encounter the Sylvans, another minority among the rabbitfolk, most easily distinguishable by their custom of wearing midriff-exposing clothing be they man, woman, or child. Unlike the FB’s, who were friendly and quick with a joke, the Sylvans kept to themselves. There were the outliers Panne and Yarne, who claimed to be shapeshifters called Taguels. At least, Panne did; Yarne seemed to be a hopeless coward, afraid of his own shadow. Then there were just the ordinary rabbitfolk with no particular traits beyond long ears and poofy tails, who formed the bulk of the populace here. All together, there were about twenty bunnies to pick and choose from. Trouble is, where was Frisk? Albedo needed to track the child down before anything physical happened, on the off chance that it did.

At first, Sakura felt bad. She didn't expect such a withering response. After all, the other two Abyssals she had met weren't so bitter about their lives. But New Southern was distressed. More than Sakura could have imagined. But it was one thing to feel down on yourself- when New Southern turned her bitterness onto Rika and Bella, it got Sakura's blood boiling. It was like she was trying to infect Rika with the same mentality. It reeked of an uppity kind of condescension, of the worst kind. As if New Southern knew so much better than Rika and Bella that those two might as well just roll over and die, like her. What an awful thing to say and do to someone.

Before Sakura realised it, her teeth were grit and her shoulder was winding backwards. She was a moment away from giving New Southern a punch in the mouth to shut her up. Only a hand on her shoulder from Link stopped her. Sakura looked back at the hero and reddened, embarassed. Clearly New Southern was understandably depressed. And maybe part of it was Sakura feeling bad, too. That Friend Hearting wasn't working anymore. That she couldn't just make people happy. Having thought a lot about the meaning, or lack thereof, of life, she knew the sadness New Southern was feeling was something that couldn't be so easily remedied. She just figured New Southern might need a pick-me-up, but this was a hole that only New Southern could pick herself out of.

Sakura took a step back and huffed. She ran a hand through her black hair, her cat ears low. "Don't listen to her, Rika-chan. She feels awful so she's being awful." Protectively she went to guide Rika away from the Princess as if the words themselves were a poisonous hazard.

"You're my friend. And that's real, okay? That's all there is to it."

---

Once Sakura re-united with the rest of the group, they travelled inward. Things quickly began to get stranger and stranger. Serenely beautiful, but unsettling. For the first time, the street fighter felt like she was intruding on something. An ancient and mysterious...culture. All the viscious creatures were dormant and in prayer. Chills ran down the back of her neck, and her tail curled up. She too glanced at Bella and Rika, wondering what their thoughts were on all this. Their entire journey had been leading up to this moment. Like they were a knife plunging straight into the heart of evil. Why weren't they trying to stop the Seekers? To Sakura it felt like she was too late. Much too late. For what, or to stop what, she didn't know.

Soon, they reached another jaw dropping sight. An underwater beach. Some crazy alternate dimension stuff was happening, and it boggled her mind. If she thought about it too much, she would spin in circles. Best not question it and focus on what was important.

And what was important was, among all the death and decay, was a creature giving birth. Now, Sakura had never seen a woman give birth before, but she was pretty certain it wasn't supposed to look like this. Out of one alien monstrosity emerged another. The pink object it held in its hands made Sakura green around the gills, like she might throw up again. This...thing. Whatever it was. It seemed so sad. Was this really the creature at the heart of everything?

"It's...just a baby." She said as she heard it cry. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Is this really what we came all this way to kill?" Somehow she knew that this orphaned child was the boss spirit that Galeem had chosen. No doubt that despite it just being born infront of her eyes, it was a powerful creature. Perhaps it would only become even more powerful. Perhaps if left to grow, it would consume the world. Or maybe it's fate was just to sit at this beach and weep for all it had never gained. She didn't know. It was all just too sad to bear. So many variables. She didn't know what was Galeem's making, and what was always meant to be. She dropped her eyes to the grey sand beneath her and held her elbow with her other hand. Her tail and ears drooped.

Indecisive, she just stood there. She didn't have it in her to make the first move. And the orphan was too scary to approach on her own. But it didn't feel right for her to attack it while it wasn't looking. So shamefully, Sakura waited for one of her companions to make that decision for her.

Level: 1
Experience: 8/10
Currently In: The Warrens, Snowdin
Word Count: 325 (+1 Exp)
@Lugubrious

The child was unaware that they were followed. They already had a head start anyways. Frisk's search for any possible perpertrators led them to wander around The Warrens District. Well, it wasn't officially one, that they knew. But they call it a district anyways since it was still a part of the town. In honesty, they never expected a small town like Snowdin to become so expansive since they last saw it. But they supposed it was cause of the circumstance everyone was stuck in. It was...kinda nice, actually. Maybe there were more areas that got upgrades as well.

As their thoughts wandered to pass the time, Frisk kept an eye out for anybun that could've harassed Treat. They had to be careful not to cause a ruckus. The last thing they wanted was to provoke conflict.

Buuuuuuut that didn't mean they won't expect it.

Despite any worries their new friends had, this wasn't Frisk's first rodeo. Their efforts to befriend every monster in the Underground wasn't easy there and then. The child's refusal to fight got them hurt often. Even getting them killed a few times, and even when some monsters eased up on them out of hesitance. Only by their own determination, and their old ability to save their progress did they make it to the end.

Then they ended up in Who-The-Heck-Knows-Where. And things got way harder.

They sighed at their own reminiscing. Now wasn't the time for that. Hm. Maybe they can start searching by asking around about Treat?? Their thoughts on her, atleast. They thought over it for a moment, then decided with a "Eh, why not?" kind of shrug. The child would ask the nearest rabbitfolk, then continue from there. They approached the pair of outliers, tapping Panne on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," Frisk spoke up, hoping they didn't spook the duo. "I'm sorry for bothering you, but uhm, do you happen to know anyone named Treat?" They asked.

Snow crunched loudly beneath Papyrus's boots as he ran, rather huffily and puffily in pursuit of none other than the Annoying Dog with his bone in it's mouth as it bounded through the oddly unfamiliar district.

"UNHAND MY BONE AT ONCE!" shouting after the mutt Papyrus sounded thoroughly annoyed, shaking a fist at the dog as he chased it down the street, to which it looked back blankly and barked bounding towards some rabbit-folk and a human wearing a familiar looking sweater, immediately forgetting about the dog Papyrus let out a jovial laugh "NYEH HEH HEH!" it was as though he hadn't just ran here after a dog, to him at least but what mattered now was he no longer would be alone.

"I THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAVE FOUND YOU!" Papyrus made his way over to Frisk completely interrupting whoever was about to speak "A CERTAIN DOG HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH LEADING ME HERE!" he added in a matter-of-factly tone "I-" barely containing himself Papyrus embraced his friend in a hug "I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" the relieved look on his skeletal expression was transparent.

Fortunately, the big frozen guy didn’t wake up, and Tora’s little insight about a certain master hand’s appearance being expected before any boss encounter put a stop to any thoughts that the frozen titan might be the guardian they sought. Of course, that did raise the concern of what, exactly, on this frozen mountain could be of greater power than the sealed titan.

They’d find out eventually, Midna supposed. For now, however, they still had a mountain to climb, or, to be more specific, a frigid catacomb to explore, as that was what lay beyond the precarious pathway set before the refrigerated giant.

Midna ended up scouting ahead of the main group, racing through the halls on her wolf-dran mount with such speed that she sped past many of the undead who by the time they rose from their tombs in response to her passing the princess was long gone. Instead she found the foes already up and on the march.

”Wait is that?” Midna said as she rounded a corner and came across a familiar foe, only to be forced to leap back when it hefted an icy spear and hurled it her way.

”Yep, that’s a chilfos.” she told her mount which was panting from the exertion of doing the rapid stop, turn and flight needed to keep its rider safe all in the time it took for the frozen undead to prep and hurl its weapon.

”Don't worry, we… I know how to deal with these'' she told it, before slipping off of her steeds back, taking a moment to pull the Clubba Club out of the twilight ream and then hauling it with her shadow hand. She got a wag of that spiky icy tail while doing a dragon dance for speed and then told the wolf-dran ”When I say, go,” before stepping back out round the corner.

The chilfos, which had been advancing after her, stopped and hefted it’s replacement spear to throw when it saw her.

”Yeah, that’s it, come on” Midna, who had slid to a halt as soon as she was in view, encouraged it and then, when the throw came, simply raised her shield and caught the thrown weapon on it.

”Ha!” she laughed before commanding her wolf-dran to ”Sick it!” and do so it did, bursting out around the corner, pelting up the corridor towards the chilfos as it was conjuring a new spear before leaping and grabbing its spear arm. With her target caught by the beast, all Midna had to do was step up, whip her head and hair around, swinging the Clubba club like a ball and chain and slamming the spiked mace’’s head into the frozen undead, shattering it to bits in a single blow.

”and done! Catch and smash, just like Link used to do!” she declared as the wolf-dran trotted back over to her, a frozen arm held in its mouth, ”ew. Spit that out”

It did so, and the princess remounted, popped the spirit away and declared ”If that’s all this place has to it this should be a cake walk compared to Snowpeak”

It wasn't

---

Midna’s scouting may have been fast, but unfortunately for her, wound up taking her deeper into the tomb, not towards the exit they sought. Still, she had speed on her side, a familiar foe to face and little propensity towards grave robbing to slow her down. Even the various pots did not call to her like they would have caught the eye, sword and/or combat roll of her old friend, but even the princess couldn't resist the call of a nice chest. Rather than stop and push them open however, Midna had a more rapid solution, which was to snatch chests off of shelves with a shadow hand as she passed, before reeling them in and then dump them to the twilight realm with a tap of her hand. This inadvertently worked as a convenient detection method for mimics, as normal chests didn't exactly have a tendency to mutate when exposed to the energies of her home realm.

As a result of her speed, she barely even knew the draugr were there. Not till she hit something awake that more dangerous than the lone chilfos, and that was a whole patrol of them moving through the halls, and at the center was a armored drugar with a one handed sword that seemed to be leading them, along with a handful of its shambling fellows bringing up the rear.

At least they were noisy, and so rather than running head first into them like she had some of the chilfos she instead slowed and merely peeked her head round a corner to get a look at them. Unfortunately this did her no good as the far too perceptive Scourge leading the patrol paused and start to glance her way almost as soon as she saw them.

She ducked back behind the corner, and sighed ”that was close” perhaps a bit too loudly.

The Scourge wordlessly halted his squad, and directed a trio of weaker drugar down the corridor to where it thought something that did not belong might be, while holding its better troops and ranged Chilfos in reserve. It turned out he had indeed seen something when the first of the three shambled round the corner and it was immediately slammed into the opposite wall by a giant glowing orange hand. If it still could feel it might have been shocked or surprised by the nature of the blow, but instead it simply ordered the other two regroup with him, at which point Midna sprung out on foot and performed a quick stab into the gut of one drugar using a silver dagger, which send a burst of lighting arching out though both it and the one just behind, but stopping short of the Scourge’s deployed troops.

”Sh-dang it!” Midna cursed at the lack of range, before bringing her shield up to catch the first spear and deciding to retreat as more of them started coming in, an exit that was partially helped by the two shocked drugar taking three of said spears in her stead before disintegrating

”Ok. Too close. We get the others and... wait what is that?” Midna said as she heard chanting and… felt magic coalescing. Cold and dark magic that should not be. She risked another peak around the corner and found a semi coherent formation consisting of of drugar at the front and chilfos at the back facing her, and behind it, the Scourge, in the mist of pulling something hulkling and horrible out of an infernal portal.

”Oh that’s bad” she rightly observed, and made a fool hardy split second decision.

A moment of charging a weapon later and Minda, shadow hopped into position. Then her shadow hand exploded out of a half closed sarcophagus next to the formation. With knife held in her teeth and shadow hand slamming into the formation of drugar in a downward slap Midna used the force of the slap to help her leap up and onto a chilfos, before gripped its handlebar like face with dragon clawed toes and then pushing herself further up to touch the low ceiling. A portal to the twilight realm formed, and dropped the clubba club out of it. The oversized metal spike ball on a stick slammed down onto the chilfos and then the mass of electrically charged metal went off like a bomb, blasting the squad with lighting.

As they disintegrated and/or stumbled the princess adjusted her jump with levitation in-order to get close to and kick off of the far wall and launch herself towards the Scourge to stop the summoning, only to find she already had when it turned its head towards her and, of all things, spoke.

“FUS” it shouted and the sheer force of the word foiled her wall jump attempt and caused her to smack lightly into the wall and then tumble back down towards the ground. As the abandoned summoning ritual faded behind it the Scourge approached, ancient enchanted blade in hand rising to strike her down. Then in came the cavalry as Midna’s wolf-dran came bursting through the recovering undead horde and caught the princess on its back, before dodging to the side of the Scourge’s sword swing.

The undead leader turned its free hand after them and blasted a stream of ice their way, against which the princess raised her Arctic Shield. The frozen buckler resisted the cold immaculately, and gave the princess time to direct a hand past the Scourge to outdo his summoning. Her only remaining unaltered wolfos burst from the twilight realm, size rivaling the ice archon the drugaur had failed to summon, and it used this size to plough through the other undead, scattering them yet again and destroying even more of their number.

As it raced forth she grabbed the knife from between her teeth and then barked ”You and me as- scraggly beard! Let's dance”

With the longer of her knives in one hand, shield in the other and wolf-dran as her steed it wasn't really a fair fight. She parried its sword swing with her shield, gabbed its attempt to spear her with a magical spike of ice using her shadow hand, her wolf-dran caught its leg to prevent it from kicking her and then she stabbed it in the chest with her knife, sending another blast of lightning spearing out along with her bow.

”That was too easy… Wait, why aren't you dead?” she asked the Scourge who was 14 times more durable than the weakest of his kind, right before his shouted “FUS!” right in her face.

Princes and wolf-dran stumbled away from the force, freeing the Scourge from her and its grip. He scythed his blade down again, which Midna barely caught on her shield and almost fell off of her mount as a result of the blow, discovering a problem with trying to fight with her arms while on wolf-dran back, which was was that she lacked any kind of saddle or stirrups to properly hold her there as thigh and tail grip could only do so much.

A problem she addressed in the moment by dismissing the wolf-dran from under her, causing an ice spike to wizz between the crests of her fused shadow.

Using dragon claws on her toes to reduce her slipping the princess dragon danced away from the while charging her long knife while the Scourge’s few remaining troops came to form up in front of their boss, all four of them Chilfos who had refused to shatter. For them she summoned her Vibrava. Scaled up it slammed into the ground, bulldozing the stone floor and unsettling and slowing both them and the Scourge before the princess herself came in again with a full powered blade.

She charged forwards and performed a dancing overhead with her sword, lighting cracking in it and causing two rows of electricity to strike on either side of her as she slipped through the ranks of the chilfos before bringing the sword down not on the Scourge but before him, prompting lighting to blast down on top of him and knocking him back. But she wasn't done yet. Instead the princess kept the sword blow going, spin stepping so that she and the sword did a 360 rotation and in doing so allowing her to perform another downward swing as part of the same motion, blasting the Scourge again. And again. And again. And then she was out of charge.

Having forced him back and gotten past the chilfos she darted to the side, grabbed the fallen clubba club from amidst the fallen spirits of his squad with her shadow hand. Then she hauled it around in a wrecking ball of a swing, smashing the last of the chilfos as they were recovering from shake and shock.

That left only the Scourge, and it was on its last legs already. She summoned her wolf-dran once more, but instead of riding it she and it ran in together, charging the undead leader side by side. He tried to chop her with an overhead swing which she blocked with her shield while her wolf-dran lept and caught its arm when it tried to use that to freeze blast her, and then she drove the knife up below its ribs and into his heart while she used a shadow hand to punch its head clean off.

And that was the end of that.

---

After her encounter Midna gathered up the fallen spirits and headed back towards the others. That had been more than enough solo adventuring in the tomb for her liking, and she said as much when she returned. When she did she found out Laharl was taking the drugar as minions and, not really wanting to fuse with them (unsurprisingly) and not expecting much from them from items she added hers to his horde.

That meant he got the scourge too, if he wanted it as a commander of his undead troops. If he didn't take it, she’d crush it using the mimic hat.

As for the chilfos, well, inspired a bit by Lahral she decided she’d also get herself some undead minions as well. She’d done it before after all, having briefly conjured an army of stalchildren, stalfos and darknuts to help her during that whole broken time debacle, but had quickly replaced them with the army of Hyrule after they proved much more effective. By beating her skeleton army during a misunderstanding involving a butterfly of all things. Now that did not bode well for the chilfos’s effectiveness, it was true, but she was sure she could make use of a spear volley or two to help mitigate her lack of ranged capabilities.

Once that was all out of the way, someone had at last found a way out, which took them through some underground tunnels full of obstacles that demanded deft jumps and platforming prowess. A demand she could happily ignore in favor of popping floating along opening her chest collection to take a peek at what was inside. Not that this was entirely unhelpful, as one of the first things she found was a odd bottle that allowed anyone who strapped it to their person to perform a double jump using a blast of freezing air.

This she tossed to Minamoto who she thought would need it most, what with the man having to jump around with wheels for feet and all, which likely needed a bunch of course correcting. Also as a minor repayment for the band of friendship she was wearing.

Another held an incense burner with plenty of packs of fuel to burn, which produced a scent that cleared the mind and she was fairly certain aided with mental magics. Razputin got that, and the unfortunate side effect of the smell reminding anyone who smelt it of a mime-like creature they had never met (and hopefully never would).

The final chest with items rather than treasure held hefty two bottles of something called Dwarven Gut Rot which nearly caused an incident when Midna popped open a cork and got herself and anyone nearby blasted with the unrestrained scent of mana infused alcohol. That was not exactly an ideal aroma to have assaulting your nostrils while platforming. In her analysis it might boost your mana regen, would probably make the Scout a very happy dwarf and would almost certainly kill anyone else who tried to drink it. The scout got one as a result, while she kept the other for dire emergencies. Maybe they could dilute it and make something less lethal

The rest of the chests held cash of varying value, from one bulging with five hundred solver coins shaped like lions, another with thirty odd futuristic gold coins, a third holding a single very large opal while the final one held dozens of pouches overflowing with gold coins!

…

drawn on playing cards.

Her final chest contained nothing but teeth, but unlike Tora she found that out after plonking it on a small outcropping surrounded by unjumpable bottomless pits. The chest that had been red had turned a telltale shadowy black when exposed to the darkness of the twilight realm and so, armed with the story of Tora’s encounter, she guessed what was in store. She reached out and tried to open it with a shadow hand’s finger, which prompted to pounce forwards with fangs bared, only to stop when it found its would be victim floating out of reach.

”Ha! Gotcha! You can’t fool me, and now you're stuck!” she told the chest, which started hopping about (interestingly enough doing so like it was a chess piece only able to move in cardinal directions in a set distance each hop) angrily, before seeming to realize its predicament. It paused. Saw that she wasn't killing it for some reason. And then resumed its disguise, thinking maybe it could lure some future fool up to this deathtrap of an outcropping.

”Ah ah ah, no you don't” she gave it a flick with her finger towards the edge of the cliff which prompted it to try and bite her again to no avail.

”See I’m wise to your trick, so I could just crush you if I wanted too, but feel this” she she held up a hand, tightened it and in so doing tightening a grip on the dark magic of her home infesting the monster before telling it that ”You. Are. Mine. I am the princess of twilight and you are now of my realm. So you will obey me or suffer the consequences. Understood?”

It really didn’t have much choice in the end, and so it ceased its attempted attack and instead sat there passively, mouth hinged slightly open as if to say “see I’m not trying to trick you again” in submission.

”Good chest,” she told it, giving it a pet as a reward. With her shadow hand. She wasn't trusting it quite yet.

”Now back home with you. And play nice with the others. I’ll know if you aren't, and even if I didn't, there’s more of them than you” she told it, before flicking a wrist and dismissing it back to the twilight realm.

With all that out of the way, Midna headed the rest of the way through the freezing caves along with the others. She ended up summoning her wolf-dran mount back and joining in the platforming for a fair bit of the rest of it, a bit to make up for her lack of comradely, but mainly because clinging to its winter adapted body let her steal some of its body heat.

It was upon its back that she rode out of the end of the cramped corridors and into the massive frozen mine that held the elevator they sought. Except it wasn't an elevator, it was instead some kind of clawed lifting mechanism, one who’s chain was frozen to the mast of a strange looking ship.

”How the f- how in Hyrule did that thing get all the way up here?” she had to ask. Ultimately that wasn't important however. What was important was that Rasputin and Therion both decided to climb up there when the group had people who could just fly up there present.

”I’ll go make sure they get up without getting into any trouble” she said, mostly to Sectonia, and then headed after them, letting her wolf-dran leap its way up the ice to the deck of the ship rather than floating up. No need to embarrass them in her opinion. Then she slipped off of her beast and left it on watchdog duty, keeping an eye on the rest of the ship, while she turned to face the climbers, shadow hand pulled out like a catcher's mitt just in case one of them fell. She also brought out the as of yet unused longsword she’d gotten from Mao, and set to charging it with electricity, readying it for battle with anything that wanted to mess with the two climbing lads.