[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5r7OTIh.png[/img] [b][color=Aquamarine]wordcount:[/color][/b] 2,262 (+3) [b][color=Aquamarine]Midna: level 9[/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aquamarine]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (122/100) (+1 bonus pending) [b][color=Aquamarine]Location:[/color][/b] [color=Aquamarine]Warp Charges:[/color] 1 [hider=warp locations] Virgin Victory teleport room Top of the Split mountain Outside the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage Tostarena Town S.O.U. Building Seiran Clinic Underground Roadway (Seiran Rebel Base Outskirts) Below City of glass entrance (plate maintenance tunnel) Vandelay Campus (Alleyway) Arahabaki’s entrance Deep Ground - the Source [/hider] [/center] Midna, slumped atop her invisible to others steed, retreated in shame onto the command deck of the Virgin Victory. It was a prelude to the bad news the commander received only moments later, the still panting in fearful breathless princess pulling herself onto a chair just in time for him to get the call about how bad things were outside. The next few moments where a rollercoaster of emotions, which did nothing to help Midna’s mental state as the relief escape turned to the despair of being caught, turned to the astonishment, awe, and a feeling of impotence as surprise reinforcements arrived and Dante saw off Z with only a bit of help from the three Cerberus ladies. That should have been the end of it, but the war still raged within Midna as her body refused to calm down. The brush with death, reminder of her near end, memories of the dream of a Consul striking her down and Urbosa’s actual death all swirled around with the pain of her wounds to keep the adrenaline pumping when it was no longer needed. Once the excitement subsided, giving way to a mercifully uneventful cruise through clear skies in pursuit of the unknown airship, a couple minutes passed before she became aware of heavy footsteps. Earlier in her adventure through the World of Light, before things got so complicated, she might have expected such footfalls to belong to Bowser, but right now only one member of her team fit the bill. After another moment, Goldlewis poked his head in. He kept his aged face neutral, each crease and wrinkle stern, but not unkind. The way he zeroed in on Midna immediately suggested that he’d been searching for her specifically. “Howdy,” he grunted after a brief moment. “Figured I oughta check in. Looked like you were in a mighty bad way back there. Don’t wanna overbear or nothin’, but if there’s ever anythin’ ya need, just call me, y’hear?” [color=Aquamarine]”I’m f-fine”[/color] she lied, before insisting [color=Aquamarine]”This isn’t me, it’s that traitor’s fear, messing with my head. Her death, not mine, at the hands of …”[/color] and here she paused as things suddenly slotted together in her head. What, exactly, had killed Urbosa that now caused so much fear in her now; it was the very thing Midna had then killed her a second time for fighting alongside. The warrior had been killed, resurrected by Galeem and made to unknowingly fight alongside her murderer, only for Midna to come along and in her blind hatred of that man, end Urbosa's life again for a crime she had been made to commit. [color=Aquamarine]”Is this why it's so bad? As punishment for killing her?”[/color] she asked reality, asked her soul, before letting out a single sob of a laugh and then slumping, defeated as she declared [color=Aquamarine]”Then I guess I deserve it”[/color] Goldlewis couldn’t speak to what Midna had done, or what she did or didn’t deserve, but he could offer her the same practical advice that he gave Geralt. “What’s done is done, for better or worse. But even if you made a real bad mistake somehow, that don’t mean you can try and make it better. You could try fusin’ with spirits who’re liable to undo your problems.” He paused, thinking. The princess’s irrational fears were a tougher nut to crack than Geralt’s rage. “Or, we could try an’ find a way to defuse you. It’d be worth it to have to back in top condition.” He shrugged, a kind smile manifesting itself on his face. “And to make sure you feel at peace with yourself again. Whaddya think?” [color=Aquamarine]”Maybe, but this”[/color] she flexed a hand, causing electricity to spark around it briefly [color=Aquamarine]”is too useful. Besides, Peach isn’t here or herself, and I’m not sure what possible fusion could stop me being deathly afraid of swords, shields, and electricity.”[/color] To that, the veteran couldn’t offer much of a response. Midna’s decisions were hers to make, and her problems were hers to solve. Though he knew he wouldn’t be much help from the outset, as long as Midna knew he had her back, Goldlewis had done his job. He gave her a sympathetic nod, then jabbed a thumb at the door. “Wanna come back up top? The fresh air up here sure does a body good.” The princess gave the smallest of flinches at the prospect of going back out there, but the danger was over, and so she nodded. She slipped out of the chair, cringed in pain from her untreated wounds, and then mounted back up on her Beast Legion so she could be carried out into the fresh air. It did help, exposed to clean air and a sky free from the storm, though the unobstructed light still made her squint her eyes to protect them. Nothing was perfect. Well, other than the reliable and effortless healing magic they had access to in spades anyway. Upon spotting the princess and her still wounded condition, Sandalphon casually began to twirl her lance around to bombard her with explosive healing bombs, the angel’s face a complete deadpan as she performed this acrobatic act of aid. Being noticed like that did make her feel a bit self conscious about having run off while the others were fighting, but Goldlewis’ concern checking in on her, and returning alongside her, made that feeling far less prominent than it otherwise would have been. It also had her thinking more about how she could work around her flaws rather than wallowing in her own fear and remorse. It was in that state of mind that something rather simple clicked, as, once she was healed, she summoned her Flygon to receive the same treatment, and in doing so reflected on two simple facts. It was immune to electricity. She had a flygon spirit inside of her. She should be able to get that same resistance, yet the question was, how? What, exactly, caused spirits to manifest new power? It was something to mull over. At any rate, air and a healed body didn’t exactly wipe away her bad mood, but it did at least perk her up enough to offer a quiet thanks to Goldlewis for his kindness. Soon after that, they touched down, and were met with an unexpected but most certainly welcome reunion. Incredibly welcome even, given that it resulted in getting hugged by Tora, which was not at all a thing Midna had realized she had needed till she received it, which left her a little stunned. She awkwardly and then enthusiastically shook Poppi’s hand, and then smiled as the pair got scooped up into a bearhug by Goldlewis. The big man’s heart was very much built to scale, she felt. With others more familiar with the pair and what had occurred to the mechanical member of the duo closing in for a reunion, she left it to them to find out how the miracle of her return had gone down. She instead had something she had to say to the ‘Lost Numbers’ [color=Aquamarine]”Thank you, for your intervention, that was, well, a very bad situation we were in. If you hadn’t jumped in when you did…”[/color] she said, trailing off when it came to what their fate might have been. Rather than stick on that point, she pushed forwards with questions instead, such as [color=Aquamarine]”You called yourselves the Lost Numbers? Are you survivors from Alcamoth or-?”[/color] or had they not been alone after all in their freedom? Dawn crossed her arms. “Some of us.” She nodded at Dante and Cerberus. Now that the questionnaire had started, the triplets had wandered off to check out some of the local wildlife spooked by the Avenger’s descent. “As you might expect, everything’s riding on our ship here to keep us afloat, so we usually keep our distance. But the attack on Alcamoth wasn’t exactly low-profile. We swooped in just after Moebius left to lick their wounds. We found Dante, Cerberus, and a few others in the water. When we found out that the rest of the survivors escaped to Markarth, we headed there too.” “Most of us aren’t from there, though,” Cirrus piped up, getting to the point. “We’re what you might call ‘citizens of the world’, eh? That being the World of Light.” While she wanted to ask more about who they were and where they’d come from, what was more important right this moment was Midna quietly asking [color=Aquamarine]”How, how bad was it? How few are left?”[/color] Her question troubled Dawn, and she found herself unable to answer. Both Tora and Poppi changed gears in an instant, their joy of reunion replaced by fear and horror. Evidently they knew even less than the Seekers did, despite arriving alongside the Lost Numbers. Cirrus breathed in through his nose. Compared to his sister, the man looked a lot more downcast in general, like someone going through an interminable rough period with the aid of copious amounts of alcohol. His disheveled hair and gaudy, cheap-looking suit certainly didn’t help the impression. At the same time, though, his cynicism empowered him to say what needed to be said. “A couple dozen. Maybe…thirty?” He gave a mirthless chuckle through his nose. “But don’t worry, the rest’ll be back. Sooner or later.” “Cirrus,” his sister hissed through her teeth, her face clouded. A shocked hand went to Midna’s mouth, before being slowly pulled down it in a claw like fashion as she came to grips with just how bad it had been. An entire city, reduced to a mere 30 souls [color=Aquamarine]”That… I knew it would be… how could we…”[/color] she tried and failed to enunciate her feelings on this, before blinking in confusion and asking Cirrus [color=Aquamarine]”What?”[/color] in regards to his last comment. He blinked back at her. “What?” “Nothing you need to worry about right now,” Dawn protested, giving her brother an indignant push. “I’m sorry for your loss. Really. This world is infinitely cruel, but losing people never gets easier.” At that, Cirrus sighed, staring at the ground. [color=Aquamarine]”I…”[/color] Midna began, floundering as to what to do with that strange exchange, and then switched tracks to the other key question, which was [color=Aquamarine]”Who [i]are[/i] you? The Lost Numbers?”[/color] Dawn glanced at her brother, but he avoided her gaze. She shook her head as if to say [i]guess it’s up to me.[/i] She looked over the gathered Seekers and Centennials. “We’re…we’re new life,” she said simply. “People without records in the Source Engine. We were born in this World of Light itself, the children and grandchildren of people like you, stolen from your own worlds. Who managed to find love in what little time they had.” As Goldlewis stroked his whiskers, thinking, Sandalphon nodded. As always, the archangel was lightyears ahead. “That explains the vague familiarity I feel seeing you both, at least in part. Particularly you, Ms. Dawn. The resemblance is certainly there.” She knit her brow together slightly. “Yet…I very much struggle to conceive of how this could be. No pun intended. Unless…nobody ages in the World of Light…?” “No, we do,” Dawn sighed wearily, holding a gloved hand up to her cheek. “Growing older all the time. As to how…well, it’s complicated. No need to get into the nitty-gritty just yet.” [color=Aquamarine]”That all… raises so many questions”[/color] Midna said, rather redundantly, before agreeing [color=Aquamarine]”But yes, let’s focus.”[/color] before asking [color=Aquamarine]”That’s who you are, or what maybe, but why are you all together? What’s your, well, plan?”[/color] in an attempt to gauge what the organization's deal was. At that point, Dante cut in with a smile. “Why, to take out Moebius, the Guardians, and Galeem, same as you guys.” He glanced at the siblings, then shrugged. “Course, it’s hard to do that when you’re on the run, living in fear of getting caught while trying to survive day to day.” He raised his eyebrows at the Seekers. “But now the Lost Numbers have some heavy hitters, eh? Maybe it’s time to take a stand.” Dawn nodded, her face resolute. “We have ample resources. Now more than ever. With the loss of Alcamoth, you could use a new home base, right? And what better than one that can fly? Not to mention turn invisible.” She crossed her arms. “I said we’re here to help, and we are. We found those who didn’t want to fight places to live. It’s been a long time coming, but everyone here is ready to fight the good fight.” The look of relief and hope was plain on Midna’s face was palpable as she let out a breath, and then said [color=Aquamarine]”That is the first bit of good news I’ve heard all day”[/color], before grinning toothily and adding [color=Aquamarine]”and if you want some, we just took down a guardian in Midgar this morning, as well as one of the Consul’s watching over it. Y I think was their name or designation or what have you”[/color] Her announcement seemed to surprise Cirrus, but Dawn looked energized. “That [i]is[/i] good news!” “Meh, meh! Good work everyone!” Tora congratulated the team. “Wish we were there to help. Maybe Tora and Poppi lend hand next time!” His partner nodded. “Poppi look forward to it.” [color=Aquamarine]”There’s plenty more to go, so you’ll get that chance, I’m sure”[/color] Midna replied, not nearly as Sordonic as she could have been with that statement because the lost numbers and their flying invisible fortress where exactly what they needed to get off of the back foot and get ahead of the now waking giants that were the Consuls. No more scrounging for transport, no more being hunted. Things that had been looking down were now looking back up again.