[center]
[h2]Light and Shadow II[/h2]
[b][color=Aquamarine]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,040 (+2) (+2 rapport per character)
[b][color=Aquamarine]Midna: level 9[/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aquamarine]/////////////////////////////[/color]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (25/110) (+1 bonus pending)
[b][color=Gold]Roxas: level 8[/color][/b] EXP: [color=Gold]////////////////////////////////////[/color]//////////////////////////////////////////// (36/80)
[sup]with[/sup]
[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]
[color=Aquamarine]Warp Charges:[/color] 1
[/center]

[color=Aquamarine]”What in the goddess’ name was-”[/color] Minda cried out as something massive exploded back down in the penguin village, only for the curled up form of Rika to come crashing into view, and then tumbling right towards them. With a cry of [color=Aquamarine]”Watch out!”[/color] the princess ummed her shadow hand and made to slap the incoming boat ball, knocking it away from them, yet the recoil still took its toll, causing her to stumble backwards towards the edge of the little platform they had been on.

Roxas had instinctively rolled to one side as an immediate reaction to Midna’s warning. By the time he was upright again, she was already stumbling backward. And so he planted his feet, grabbed a hold of the rope tethering them together and yanked it toward him. This would essentially stop her backward stumble and instead redirect her weight forward, [color=gold]”I got’cha!”[/color] he reassured Midna. It probably wasn’t the most graceful way to save her from falling, but it worked nonetheless.

[color=gold]”What the heck was [i]that[/i] about?”[/color] He asked, looking at the direction the boat ball had flown in from. [color=gold]”Were attacking us or something?”[/color]

Midna made a little [color=Aquamarine]”urk!”[/color] as her waist was yanked to a stop, arms pinwheeling for another moment before they spread out as she got her balance back. Then she let out a little sigh of relief and gave him a [color=Aquamarine]”thanks”[/color]  before stepping away from the edge, only to turn right back around and peering down to follow the flight of this Rika person as she bounced down down down into the depths.

[color=Aquamarine]”Not sure, but if she was she looks like she’s smacked herself with her own bowstring because she’s going all the way down to-”[/color] Mindwa was saying, only to be interrupted by the distant thud of Rika hitting the ground.

[color=Aquamarine]”-to the bottom”[/color] she concluded.

And it didn’t look like they were the only ones taking a tumble. Not long after came the flailing forms of Roland and Captain Falcon tumbling down from some place above. [color=gold]"Did you see that?"[/color] Roxas asked Midna and added, [color=gold]"If they’re falling down too that means we’re in the lead, right?"[/color] That was quite the encouraging development. And he was quick to generate some virtual cubes for them to reach their next platform with.

[color=gold]"Nothing’s stopping us now!"[/color] He cheered from the boosted morale.

The princess flashed him a confident grin as her dragon claws gripped the stone and then let her propel herself after him, even as, internally, she was a touch concerned about whatever it was that had knocked those two down a peg. A short time after this, Roxas was the first one to notice another team a bit further below them. It was Pit and Junior. Normally that wouldn’t have been so strange, except they were somehow using virtual cubes, too!

[color=gold]"Huh? How are they doing that?"[/color] Roxas questioned. [color=gold]"The Phantom Ruby I have is supposed to be the only one of its kind, so how…?"[/color] He squinted his eyes and was able to faintly make out the shape of the little creature responsible for conjuring their cubes. Was it a Pokemon? He couldn’t tell, but maybe the Rotom Phone the Professor gave him could tell him more? So he quickly fished out his silver and white Rotom Phone and held up to try and identify the Pokemon in question. [color=gold]"Mimikyu, Disguise Pokemon?"[/color] Roxas said as he read the entry for it. [color=gold]"So it has the power to mimic moves? Is that how they’re copying my virtual cubes? Guess we’ll just have to pick up the pace and not let them get past us."[/color]

[color=Aquamarine]”neat trick”[/color] Midna observed, before reaching out her shadow hand and pulling them up off of their own blocks to a higher ledge and saying it was a [color=Aquamarine]”good thing we have two!”[/color] 

They certainly needed it, because as they got higher and higher, the dirt walls of the mine were replaced with ice and snow thick walls, which, while it certainly indicated they might be approaching the exit, came with new challenges. Not actual ice, fortunately, but the amount of places to stand started dropping off dramatically, till at one point they found themselves practicing balancing on a pole. Or at least, that was what was needed. Midna nearly instantly crouched down to grab it with one of her many arms for support as she wobbled on the precarious foothold.

Weirdly enough, Roxas was kinda used to this sort of thing. Mostly because of his Flow Motion giving him so much unintended practice with it. But even so, it didn’t hurt to take precautions. And besides, Midna probably needed the extra footholds. So he gave them small virtual platforms to increase their breathing room with the jump distances. He still needed to stand on natural spots in order to instantiate his virtual cubes in other locations as they progressed, so it wasn’t always without an occasional awkward spot. But beyond that, his virtual cubes were almost making this too easy at times.

[color=gold]”We’re… not exactly playing fair, are we?”[/color] He only just now asked. But to be fair, several of the other teams had clearly resorted to underhanded tactics as well so it wasn’t like they were the only ones doing this.

Mida simply shrugged, saying [color=Aquamarine]”You take every advantage you can get against your foes, because they’ll do the same”[/color] before, with perfect timing, slipping on a blood pool and ending up face an inch from the ground, held up on six spread out limbs.

[color=Aquamarine]”See what I mean?”[/color] she said as she hopped into a crouch and then stood herself back up.

[color=gold]”Guess so.”[/color] The Nobody responded with a shrug.

Still, it was hard to say that, when it came to cheating, they weren't the ones doing the most, and so the pair veritably blazed their way through the rest of the mines and then back out into the fresh open air. The very fresh air, as the wind began to whip through the rather open and airy section of the race. Perhaps the end now was in sight, somewhere up in the icy platforms above.

[color=gold]”Wind, huh?”[/color] Roxas said. [color=gold]”At least we’re out of the dark, I guess.”[/color]