Dawnrider

World of Light

Level: 5 (16 -> 18/50)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Sweet Canyon
Word Count: 926 (+2 EXP)

With the threat of machines and the Molduga behind them (right behind them in the latter case, forcing forward progression), Yellow Team continued onward at ease, slackening to a more manageable pace to allow those who needed it to catch their breath. Thankfully, most of them had the stamina for it--a benefit undercut by the need for certain others to recover their mana as well. They would see their moment’s rest once they reached the end of the tunnel, they hoped, foreshown by the nightlight visibly shining through in the near distance. They followed the beacon of moon rays along the train tracks until its boards were replaced with wafers, its rails with hardened chocolate, and up to the point when they made for open space again to get a good look at why.

Everything, from the flora, to the fauna, ‘man-made’ structures like the station they were in, and even down to the weather phenomena were seemingly all of a confectionery makeup. From what world a fully edible(?) biome and elements thereof was something that occurred naturally, Fox couldn’t so much hazard a guess. He could practically feel a toothache coming on just to behold it. It was a good thing one couldn’t get cavities just from looking, or else he might have been the first among the relatives of canine-kind to find out if they even could. At any rate, desserts may very well have been the preferable theme to any theoretical alternatives, for all he knew--like say, meats and/or vegetables. The thought, however, didn’t cross his mind; perhaps for the better. From the looks of it, the area stood no less a chance of greeting the party with dangers and hostility regardless, the breadth of which were now slightly more difficult to predict.

At Poppi’s mention of picking up an auditory distress signal, Fox made his own attempt to hone in on its source via his headset. In receiving nothing through communications, he at least ruled that out as a possibility, and concluded simply that it was something they would have to attend to personally, as would have ultimately been the case anyway. He concurred with Primrose on the initiative taken by Midna to go investigate, but before he could set off in tow, Joker demanded Fox’s ear. At his beckoning, Fox approached and lent him his attention.

The Phantom leader quietly voiced his concern about the physical and magical exhaustion of his teammates, wanting foremost for a solution to that before prolonging their day’s expedition much more, stifling any compulsion he might have otherwise had to explore. He agreed that prioritizing search and rescue was in order, suspecting it would be beneficial in finding their way--possibly to accommodations. Fox co-opted this, volunteering Yellow Team to take point in the meantime in consideration of the Thieves’ conditions, adding that he would too keep his eyes and earpiece open in lookout for the missing Persona of their group. As Midna had gotten them a head start on the next step of their journey, their marching order was already halfway established, and summarily agreed upon.

Just as they were about to set off, a new face--not the friendliest of which they’d seen--showed itself, belonging to what appeared to be a grim, aberrant humanoid, and approached with questions rather than the hostility that her appearance would suggest. Poppi and Joker stepped in to mediate at the first sign of aggressive response and offered the hooded wanderer a place among the pack for as long as she needed it, provided she remained on peaceful terms. All she asked in turn was that they provide any information they had on an apparent nemesis of hers: “a real bastard of a wolf.” Doubtful were the odds that she and Fox were thinking of the same person, but in the ever unlikely case that they were, he’d not soon indulge her that. That was a fight for him, and rivalries were something to be shared with no one, especially overeager unfamiliars with expressly violent intentions.

With the matter provisionally handled the party pressed on, guided by Midna’s tracks, trusting she would lead them true. They hit their first snag when Ryuji--as all in earshot learned his name to be, thanks to Panther’s involuntary tongue slip--found himself encased in a flash-hardened candy shell. It wasn’t so dense, however, as to require anything large of one’s own fists to break it down, so Fox pitched in with a rapid, standing flurry of kicks to free Skull, rather than turning a firearm on him to the same effect. They continued onward from there, carefully watching for more traps along the way, but it wasn’t long before Tora’s appetite created another problem for them (but mostly him), revealing yet another previously unaccountable danger of the sweet wilds.

“Nobody else eat anything here!” Fox ordered with a sigh while Mona and any other available healers attended Tora, the Medic perhaps being strangely qualified to deal with such a matter on account of a certain… unique experience with the opposite occurrence (animating pastries, rather than pastrifying living matter). He had expected such a caution would go without saying, considering not that enticing the sweet tooths of the unwary might have been the point of this place. In need of some better news, Fox attempted to contact Necronomicon, hoping for a response and update of any kind from her to let him know that she was still with them in some way. “You there? Come in!” He requested simply, not expecting anyone else but the Persona to answer.

World of Light

Level: 7 (2 -> 12 -> 14/70)
Location: Edge of the Blue - Limsa Lominscuttle Town - The Bismarck - The Drowning Wench -> Limsa Harbor
Word Count: 802 (+2 EXP)

Hat: Ice -> Standard

‘Day 3 (I think?)...

So… a LOT happened today… or days??? (I *knew* I should’ve done this before I left!) Too much to fit in one entry anyway. I guess I’ll just have to leave this one blank. Sorry, (again) future me!’

Hat Kid’s diary read thusly, as jotted down on the vacant back of a menu she absconded with from one of the two eateries she had been to that evening. Certainly, a great deal had taken place for the Seekers over the course of a single day, or what at least seemed like one for those who might have lost track of time throughout it. Many of the meatier story beats, it seemed, took place in the child’s absence, as she found out by sitting in on the dinner table discussion. One element of the already interesting story of Red Team’s escapades through the Dead Zone stood out to her; Linkle’s disappearance.

A somber mood fell over the table for those who knew her, insofar as they were able to get to over the course of three days. Hat Kid was little exception in that regard, as she couldn’t honestly say she had grown close with anyone during her time awake in this World. Linkle just happened to be among those she directly interacted the most with, which still amounted to little more than sharing a stale cookie and rescuing a monk pilot who didn’t need it. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else; nothing besides a shared cause on which to form a kinship. Not that it ever stopped her before.

That was just it. Hers was less a feeling of loss (though still felt in some part) than a reminder of its possibility. She had to ask herself again, what was she doing here? With all these other people? Who were they, really? Did she really care to know? Did she have to? What was to stop her from going back to doing things the way she used to and always had--on her own? Would she--or they--ultimately prefer that she did, or miss her if she left? After all, she had her own task to complete that none of them knew about, and loathe as she was to entertain the idea, they might be glad for it by the time they need to reach Space. To that end, she couldn’t shake the sense that she would be more useful elsewhere, doing what she did best: reclaiming what was hers! Though, the one, and perhaps most important question remained… Was she okay with that?

Her waking thoughts echoed clamors of the past. They “didn’t need a hero”; they had enough of them already. But then, she remembered it was her who inspired, through her actions, those outcries to begin with. That happened because she was there to make it happen, whether she meant to or not. They only got to say that because she gave them the courage and a chance to. They may not have needed, or wanted, a hero, but they had one. And in the end, they were glad to have had one. How would that have changed if she had turned away?

These dwellings kept her awake for no longer than was reasonable to allow them to. That, and the Dead Zone explosion did wonders giving her something else to think about, making her especially glad to have not been there herself, whilst also reminding her of what they were up against with Galeem, waking momentarily for seemingly the first time since the day it all ended. The view of it from nightlit Limsa, though, happened to be particularly spectacular. She sat for a moment to admire the scene from the balcony of the room she had been afforded before eventually heading back in, setting her hat atop the nightstand, as per her routine, and bedding down for the night. She would wake tomorrow with renewed determination to give this ‘crusader’ thing another try.

---

Hat Kid made her way to the harbor the following morning to rejoin her group amidst the naval assembly. The inclusion of children within their ranks didn’t particularly bother her, for why would it. She was there, after all, despite her doubts about being the night before. Her mind lay forward, in the direction of the Bottomless Sea past Peach and the Captains, where her Hat pointed her, toward what lay in store for them. She stood to attention saluting the present authorities, unprompted, before and during the speeches, and following them, took her place aboard one of their two ships--whichever had more vacancies, or better suited her strengths. It occurred to her rather late into this phase of their adventure that she still had next to no clue what it entailed, or how she would best serve their efforts there...

World of Light

feat.

GM

@Lugubrious

Level: 5 (13 -> 16/50)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Shady Oasis; outbound
Word Count: 1481/1754 (+3 EXP)

Minutes passed--possibly an hour--with Fox keeping lookout while everyone else rested and divvied up Spirits and loot, none of which he was particularly interested in or thought he would need himself. His watch and their downtime concluded without a hitch; uneventfully on his end. Perhaps he had been overthinking in his assessment that someone else was there (besides a gaggle of slain hippos that inhabited the oasis ahead of their arrival), but it was better to have one person who could spare it making sure than none. He was doubly glad to have waited anyway when Joker clarified in his assembly call that Necronomicon had plotted a route for them in that time. Had he been alone, Fox might have sooner wandered off with aimless determination until he found something of import; but that, he learned, was where patience and teamwork availed him in ultimately wasting less time.

She led them through darkness and low-level opposition that spelled little issue for those eager to flex their newly acquired Spirit boons. Their path ended at a sunlit chamber and continued downward through the floor by way of a sloping river of sand that would carry them the rest of the way out. Fox stepped from the sandslide in seamless stride, taking in the landscape as he walked out beyond the temple’s boundary. Appreciably majestic as it was, he was less drinking in the picturesque view than trying to get a lay of the land ahead of setting off for the mountain. They did just that in short order once Necro and Joker refined their heading and took the initiative to lead on, following the railroad to the source.

---

The party pressed on at a steady pace through the evening into the night; long enough for stars to replace daylight and for everyone who didn’t already know that deserts could get just as cold as hot in the sun’s absence. The dark of nightfall made the following phenomenon all the harder to ignore. An entire region away, a grounded, painfully bright white nova spontaneously came into being with a resounding detonation that could be heard--and for some, faintly felt--throughout the World of Light, and for the short time it remained, it had the entire World’s attention… even that of its slumbering ruler.

Galeem--the sun that never set--took notice of this sudden disturbance in its realm, and sent a surge of its power forth in the same direction to hitherto indiscernible effect before going dormant once more. Fox (as well as a few others) stopped to see this transpire for himself, blocking the wind, sand and shine from his eyes when he could look no more, and reopening his eyes once the blast died down to nothing. He’d witnessed up close no small number of massive explosions throughout his career, between the Subspace Events and and those he had caused himself (even once escaping planetary destruction), but the otherwise desensitizing experiences didn’t make dealing with the unknown (regarding ‘how’ and ‘why’) any easier; especially if it fell within the notice of a ‘god’. Naturally, the question came up of what exactly had happened, and Fox was eager for an answer, calling in whoever he thought might have them. Though long-distance communication with Alcamoth was out, there was still an option of correspondence available to him that involved him putting a hand to his headpiece and simply imagining that he would reach someone.

A moment after he called out, a furry creature popped into existence before him in a little burst of magic. He waved ‘hello’, causing the pom on its head to bob back and forth. In his other tiny hand he held half a donut. “Hiya, kupo! What can I do for ya?”

“Sitrep,” Fox answered simply before clarifying, “Any idea what that was?” Given the urgency with which the creature was summoned just shortly following the inquired upon event, he hoped his request for information wasn’t premature; that they knew (or swiftly learned) enough to tell.

“Oh, it must have happened!” the Moogle exclaimed, remembering something with a start. “Boss told us that this nasty place called the Dead Zone was gonna blow up, but I went inside to have dinner, kupo. Guess I missed it? What did it look like?”

“Status on Red Team?” At the mention of the Dead Zone (which he remembered to be one of the three prospective mission destinations at the start of the day) and its subsequent destruction, Fox immediately thought of those that volunteered for it (without knowing specifically who they were), and threw out his follow up question in the middle of the Moogle’s lattermost thought. Naturally, the well-being of his fellow Seekers constituted a greater concern than a detailed recap of the explosion, which he glossed over out of a sense of priority rather than an unbefitting, unintended lack of regard for the underling.

The Moogle’s little brows shot up as he realized he’d forgotten an important detail. “Fine, fine! They got out of there way in advance. Went over to join the seaside team.” He nodded his little head furiously, trying to make Fox feel reassured.

“All of them?” Fox added, hoping the entirety of Red Team could be (and was being) accounted for.

“Um…” Even with his eyes pursed, the Moogle looked uneasy. “I don’t think so, kupo. Boss said..um, someone they met there died, a someone named Linkle got turned into a monster and disappeared, and they lost contact with the monk guy.” He fidgeted, his fuzzy face apologetic.

Fox morosely cast his sight down in thought, unable to put faces to the name or descriptor he’d been given. He didn’t remember either of them, for he had only met them while he was still Gleaming, and hadn’t engaged with either one of them since then. To him, however, it made little difference. They still counted as casualties in his mind--any and all of which were unfortunate, if expected.

“The Courier’s missing on our end as well,” he explained to the effect that they too had unaccounted personal. Had he known the Courier at all, he might have realized the ‘lonesome’ attitude was completely in-character for him and expected him to take off on impulse to do as he may. Perhaps they would find him at the end waiting for them--a thought he entertained hopefully before getting back on track with the Dead Zone report. “So, that’s one more Guardian down, then?”

Since Fox shouldered the bad news, the Moogle decided to do the same. “Guess so! Nobody’s gone to check yet, but that Banjo guy seemed interested. Been hanging around Alcamoth.”

“Send whoever else is interested. We need to be sure.” As Fox put in the order to investigate that would likely have been carried out regardless, he suddenly had another assignment in mind. “Assemble a team to send here, while they’re at it. Tell them there’s a lakeside compound with mercenaries waiting to be picked up, and they should go ready for a fight, because whoever’s left will probably be looking for one. Someone there is putting them up to it--goes by ‘The Administrator’. Keeps reviving them and forcing them to fight. Have them look into that. Find out who and where she is and deal with her, if they can! Might be their best bet at freeing them. They just don’t know they need it yet.”

The Moogle polished off his donut, patted his stomach, and said, “Alright, kupo! Two missions, one Scout, one Strike. I’ll hop right on it!” He turned away, whispering to himself. “Hmmmm...bet that crazy lady and her friends would wanna check the Dead Zone, kupo. And then for this lake place…” With that, he vanished.

With his call concluded, having done all he could for his part for the time being, he set back on the path alongside the rest of the party. Necronomicon provided them with a report on the terrain ahead, cautioning them of hindering sands before flying ahead to get a more detailed assessment. Soon enough they found out for themselves exactly what she was talking about, sinking to the ankles--then the shins--with every footfall as those grounded were forced to slow their pace to a crawl. That was until they made their collective way onto the railroad proper, finding on it a stable foothold/pathway to proceed as normal, albeit more carefully along the narrow track..

It wasn’t long until Necronomicon hurried back to meet them to make her report more interesting. It wasn’t simply the terrain gradually changing, but the entire biome. As sands began to bleed over into brown sugar syrup, their surroundings started to make less sense to Fox. Perhaps that was the idea; to confound passers-through, be they Seekers or otherwise. To what end, who could say.

More urgent was the matter of the new area’s hostile denizens that quickly became their problem to deal with. Fox drew and readied himself at the first sign of impending enemy contact, and was adequately prepared to respond to the preemptive attack by the trawlers, which Heavy was notably quick to deal with to aid the Medic. In his fury he failed to notice the small flyers on approach, that Fox began to fire upon; at one point even leaping in front of Heavy’s bullet hail to deflect some of it into the machine flock. The combination of enemy and Yellow Team fire going the same way would surely suffice in suppressing the lighter of their opposition, levelled out by the narrow footing they had to work with. Hence the need to rescue the heaviest of their team from the ‘sands’ following the initial ambush.

Then came an enemy they were ill-suited to deal with in their relatively disadvantaged state, uprooting the train tracks in a wave as it plowed through after them. Fox had to silently agree with Joker in booking it rather than staying to fight, even if that meant possibly fighting it elsewhere. Poppi gave them a suitable head start by flash freezing the Molduga, knowing it wouldn’t last long; certainly not long enough to last the rest of their expedited trip, but if they were lucky, it wouldn’t have to. Luck willing, the tracks would eventually cross over into a bridge to lead the monstrous sand whale over and off of. Should that be the case, Fox would happily dare it to keep chasing them. Until then, they could only continue to fight and push on toward the mountain at their now grueling pace.

World of Light

Level: 5 (12 -> 13/50)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Crown of Sand
Word Count: 958 (+1 EXP)

The ‘dragon hunting’ excursion couldn’t have ended in a more timely manner, for the three that had carried it out were already being lifted to the plateau by the time Fox and company made it back to the edge of the barrier to catch them on their return flight from afar. In part, they may have had the conversational delay to thank for the ground team’s tandem progress in the meantime, and the distance and wait of retrieving them for subsequent progress made by the Thieves in their advance. On that note, as Poppi and the Queen crested the cliff with their respective passengers, Fox received a call from one of their new “honorary” allies ahead.

“I read you,” he answered, verifying the working order of their newly established line of communication. Necronomicon then summarized their route and destination for them to follow, giving them a specific mark to look for in a ‘Sphinx,’ whatever that was. “Got it. We’re on our way, now. We’ll be right behind y-” Fox went aback in a surprise take as Tora caught him off guard, crowding him to talk into his headpiece after faintly picking up on the Persona’s speech through the other end. Just as well, since he at least thought to ask the proper question of what a ‘Sphinx’ was.

As little sense as it made in concept, at least by the description, Fox was confident they could put it together when they saw it. Though, she was gracious enough to offer that she wait out front for them just in case they didn’t. “Understood. We won’t keep you waiting.” With that, Fox was off by the way he last saw the Thieves heading, expecting the regathered Yellow Team would follow minus the need to direct as much, thus he abstained to as he began to march.

Through the obscuring sandwinds, the resulting inability to fly in them, and the visually samey nature of the ruined streets they passed through, it proved difficult further on to gather a solid sense of direction. Tora forged ahead, and soon found a path wrought with obstacles--possibly the one Necronomicon mentioned, but none of them could be sure short of crossing it to the other side. With a long history of putting his own aerial mobility to use where his continued survival and forward progress was concerned, Fox had little trouble at all finding his way across the suspended obstacle course. It was mostly a matter of skipping some of it in long, horizontal strides of air dashing, at one point timing a jump to lure a harassing Skullcrusher into dropping through the crumbling floor at his feet as he left it, kicking off of the face of an obstructing Walleye to maneuver around it, and just altogether ignoring the distraction of the Cymuls and Ergotroks, refraining from so much as entertaining the latter with a pulse of his Reflector.

At the end of the path lay the temple described to them previously, indicated doubly by the presence of the girl-turned-saucer outside waiting to greet them. She led the Team in at the thirst-driven behest of Tora, through an expectantly gloomy inner sanctum that the Thieves no doubt fought through in their absence, to a contrastly lavish, pristine pool hall where they now resided in respite. They were even adorned in decidedly casual attire as opposed to their masks and adjoining outfits, suggesting that their purpose may be more expressive rather than a means to conceal their identities. Though, perhaps the absence of a real name was all that mattered to them on that end.

At Skull’s direction, Fox took his needed drinks from the designated pool before rejoining the others around the swimming hole, but not in it. He wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, nor set to strip down accordingly, on top of having the added layer of fur that would take extra time to dry off, even in the sun, while it collected sand in the meantime. Mona, if no one else, might understand as much, even if he was comparatively advantaged by the allowance to go conventionally nude.

While they were still on a mission, Fox had no desire to cut short their revelry by urging them onward, even if he didn’t partake in it himself. Besides the brief intermissions of downtime between travel, most of them haven't had much honest opportunity for rest since Alcamoth, and more still had been at it for longer than that throughout the same day. It did them more good than not to take advantage of the moment while they had it to recuperate at their own pace in preparation for what lay ahead.

A thought occurred to him then; one not terribly reassuring. For an abandoned temple, the place in which they now resided was conspicuously well-kept, he thought. Not even a dusty surface presented itself. As for the provisions and camp setup, unless the Thieves had some manner of conjuration magic or the like (not that Fox would be able to distinguish or understand as much) that allowed them to summon or manifest them as needed, as per their outfits, that could only mean one thing to him: someone was there already. The arousal of his suspicions stopped him just ahead of taking a seat in a shaded area of the central platform overlooking the pools, almost thinking to ask Joker how much of it was there when they arrived before thinking the better of it. He opted instead to let them relax while they were down instead of putting them on edge, while he took an independent shift on watch for them, keeping a calm lookout for anything on the off chance he happened to be correct in his assumption.

World of Light

Level: 7 (1 -> 2/70)
Location: Edge of the Blue - Limsa Lominscuttle Town - The Bismarck
Word Count: 572 (+1 EXP)

Hat: Brewing -> Ice
Power (Hat): Ice Hat
Item: -1 Honeycomb

And now, there were four! That was fair, because it had just been the sorceress (and her dark Link clones) versus the same said amount of them up to that point, plus one out of nowhere… whoever he was. At least both sides (and that one guy) were (numerically) even now, discounting the fact that she could (and did) continue summoning shadows to assist her at will. By her power to boot, they were all now stuck in there with her, along with every bystanding patron and staff member within who failed to evacuate the scene in time. Not that the child figured otherwise at this point, but if it wasn’t certain already that one side or the other would have to go down hard for this conflict to end, it was now so.

Hat Kid hadn’t yet learned, from personal experience anyway, that there was no quit in a ‘red-eyed’ Spirit still beholden to Galeem’s terms. Once disturbed, they would not cease, for they could not. They would fight until dead, freed, or sated by killing their aggressor; in this case, Hat Kid herself. This might explain the Red and Blue duplicates targeting her, specifically, out of all of them. Her evasive saulting and sliding under, over and atop tables helped her to a point, even once yanking the cloth from one to throw out and conceal her movements momentarily, but she soon faltered as she was caught with successive impacts of dark, spherical blasts that juggled her with each hit, interrupted only by the interference of the newcomer.

Groaning, Hat Kid sat halfway up, more hurt than irritated, but more expressing the latter. On the floor with her was the Blue clone, having paid for her zeal by taking the brunt of an incineration spell, suffering inarguably worse injuries. Her already dark skin scorched black across half her body, with her mask gruesomely grafted to her on the same side, yet she weakly persisted still, clearly in what could only be agonizing pain. Hat Kid shrank back, wincing at the sight not meant for young eyes such as her’s, and looked beyond to the woman’s sister duplicates, who seemed to show no care or concern for her well-being whatsoever. The child found herself hoping, in any case, that this was just a transient copy of the Prime sorceress, and not an individual, conscious living being doomed to suffer through her wounds.

She popped one of her spare Honeycombs in her mouth, golden casing and all, to heal and re-energize herself before kipping up from the floor into an advancing suicide dive. While airborne, she hooked onto the awning/rafters and swung toward the center of the action, sailing over Blue and bypassing her altogether, preferring not to cause her any more pain than necessary dealing with her. She then released mid-swing, throwing herself into a still gainer overhead. By which point, she had switched from her vial-loaded witch’s hat to a cyan cub-eared toboggan. From there, she instantly froze herself, dropping forcefully to the floor as a posing statue of crystalline blue ice between (or on top of) the sorceresses, shadows, and whoever else, launching airborne any uninitiated with the resulting quake of impact. Failing that, she could still block a couple of hits before losing her cold shell and having to disengage. Either way, it should serve to momentarily disrupt the flow of battle, one way or the other.

World of Light

feat.

GM

@Lugubrious

Level: 5 (9 -> 12/50)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Crown of Sand
Word Count: 1701 (/2241) (+3 EXP)

A well-distributed series of combined techniques and maneuvers strung together in succession resulted in a quick, decisive victory for the top-side splinter of Yellow Team, leaving but a single serpentine humanoid creature, seemingly unaware how hopelessly outmatch it was up to that point… until it realized as much. In tandem with the Thieves, Fox drew on the Lamia the instant he became aware of its presence, by which point it began pleading, bargaining for its life. He wouldn’t have guessed the creature to be sentient or reasonably intelligent--expecting something more primal and unreasonable--but who was he to question. He came from a galaxy of talking animals, after all, as fact he had only become enlightened to following and thanks to his initial cross-universal foray.

Joker and the she-serpent conducted a brief exchange of terms before arriving at what, to Fox, came across as a somewhat lopsided accord. In fairness, he wasn’t entirely following or trying to follow on the particulars of their discussion. Joker taking in her Spirit all the same did have him subtly cocking his head in curiosity, then quickly dismissing it as a unique aspect of his powerset that he wasn’t at all privy to. Or yet another function of Galeem’s World, one he might also fail to understand. He could hardly tell, and it hardly mattered to him. All that mattered was that they were safe.

A moment later Poppi and Necro crested back over the clifftop, along with the next round of passengers, and approached the scene in its aftermath with concern. Fox’s sharp, inscrutable eyes fell on Tora, blinking once, as the Nopon looked to his team nervously to help him sell an obvious fib to his companion; a lie that Fox didn’t then attempt to corroborate him on. That would have been rather difficult to do with his weapon still drawn. He was right and honest about two things: that they were likely in for a miserably hot day before them, and that they had apparently encountered another new tagalong/potential member. Tora segued the stranger into his own introduction, both asking and answering the question Fox would have otherwise had as to who he was.

“We’re alright here, Poppi,” he reassured, now holstering his sidearm. “What about the rest?” he asked, accounted for the remaining members still down below that he couldn’t see--more rhetorically than inquisitively, but given how quickly he found out things can heat up without him looking, one couldn’t be too sure or careful. Joker echoed his inquiry, pinning an additional line to the question of their whereabouts. Necro answered, explaining in short that Midna and two others had opted on a brief outing of additional activity, that apparently being the fulfillment of Midna’s earlier “dragon hunting” scheme.

Again, Fox was in no hurry to interrupt, object, or otherwise act to veto this, even if he had the proper authority to (not that one could expect a princess to understand or abide by such a chain of command). Specifically, he wasn’t about to tell Midna that she couldn’t take off on her own (it being more important that she not be) to fulfill her whims to the group’s prospective benefit. Not after their conversation from earlier in the hour (or the one prior), whereafter he did much the same. He had his go; let her have one too.

Besides, he figured if nothing else, the Twilight Princess could take care of herself, and may very well be content to, provided the results of her hunt were fruitful enough as she had hoped. As for how her and the hunting party would get back otherwise, and how soon, the question still remained. The girl-turned-spaceship shyly offered her continued assistance, met with a counterproposal by Panther that Sectonia pick up the rest herself, mostly out of transparent eagerness to keep their own together. Joker, her leader, looked at Fox warily, and he shared a look back, hoping to arrive at a silent understanding for taking her up on that.

“If it’s alright with you, we could probably use you down there with them,” he said, to her as well as her comrades. “Do you have any way of communicating remotely?” he asked on the assumption that her technologically advanced form would accommodate telecommunication. Again, it was a question not just for her, but those who best knew her as well, considering their presumed function as a unit.

Necronomicon said nothing for a moment, but Joker spoke on her behalf. If he was irritated at all it lay hidden beneath his mask and even tone, but the firmness of his voice came through well enough. “Our friend has done her fair share of ferrying. If some of your friends elected to stay behind while the rest moved on, into danger no less, that seems like your team’s responsibility.” The knife-wielder let the distinction between Yellow Team and the Phantom Thieves remain implicit.

A reasonable objection from the Thieves wasn’t exactly surprising, but one so standoffish, Fox wasn’t anticipating. “And I thought we were all friends here,” he retorted sardonically, shifting not his tone, and meant it. They ALL came from different backgrounds, shared or not, but as far as he was interested, they were all part of the same team; there was ultimately no difference. Perhaps the Thieves leader would recognize that in recalling Primrose taking off on her own accord, aided by Midna no less, to go check on them in Alibaba’s temple, who wouldn’t now be there without her.

Joker raised an eyebrow, invisible as it was. He didn’t reply to what he perceived to be a rather ineffective joke on Fox’s part, instead considering his options. Getting a hold on the personality of this ‘leader’ was quickly proving difficult, not helped by the fact that the two hadn’t spoken at all prior.

“Look, I get it. You all know each other and want to stick together. That’s fine,” he conceded more gently, aiming to reach a fair compromise. “I can’t and won’t stop you, or ask you to do more than your fair share. But you didn’t answer my question,” he paused. “Can we reach each other if we need to?” he reiterated, which happened to be the main point in asking Necronomicon as much in nominating her. To that end, the proposal’s rejection by Joker wasn’t entirely unreasonable, but again, compromise may have been in order. If he could reach any of them at all while they went ahead, that would suit Fox just fine.

This time Necronomicon spoke up, holding up a tentacle. “Although I may look technological, keep in mind that I’m a manifestation of the personality of Sakura Futaba. In other words, a mental construct.” The craft tilted sideways, quiet for a moment. “Hm...while that might sound like bad news, because things here in the Metaverse work as you’d expect them to, I should be able to reach any communications devices you might have. As long as we’re part of the same...um, well, team.”

“I guess that’s up to you,” he added. “Are we?” He crossed his arms and looked expectantly to the one who spoke for them...

“Not right now.” Joker held his fist to his chin, thinking. “We’ve come full circle, hm? Well, perhaps we can strike a deal.” He headed over to Fox. “‘If you’re good at something, never do it for free’. A professional relationship is one of give and take. We were planning to leave in search of more of our members, but instead we can provide you the formal collaboration of the Phantom Thieves in your efforts to defeat the Guardian of this region, considering you honorary Thieves until that time.” He smirked. “That is, if you can provide us something we need in return.”

Now, they were talking! For one clearly younger than himself, it was apparent to Fox that Joker had a solid grasp on what it meant to be a professional, whatever that profession may be (under the name ‘Phantom Thieves’, one could only hazard a wild guess), or why they lent themselves to it. Of course, he wasn’t one to judge or assume one’s competence by their age. At the same apparent age, he was already fighting (and winning) wars, and in seeing what children like Ness and Lucas were capable of, he had long since not been one to question. Though Joker may just be a young sophist for all he knew, for only time would tell, he was at least glad to be making some kind of progress in arriving at the understanding he previously hoped they would have already had. One corner of his lips curved up slightly in a smirk, as he inquired the Thief on his terms, hoping they might both find them agreeable.

“What do you have in mind?”

“What have you got?” Joker countered.

“You said you ‘needed’ something…?” he clarified, pausing thoughtfully in wait for a response.

The thief crossed his arms. “That’s for you to convince us of. We might not know we need it. Do you have something valuable to offer us in exchange for our services?”

“Convince” them, huh? Fox never expected in all his years that he would have to negotiate terms or at all talk anyone into fighting for a shared cause, let alone twice in one day. Persuasion was hardly in his repertoire of expertise, and convincing this lot, through the most devious one of them, would doubtlessly prove tougher than incentivizing a few ragtag mercenaries who were no more aware of their new putupon existence. For lack of understanding their needs, as he couldn’t speak to them, he thought for a second back to the last thing they shared with them to a practical end.

“We have a landship?” he suggested, referring to and gesturing in the direction of Vah Naboris. “You might need that again later, same as us, and the only one who can pilot it is still down there,” he emphasized, before continuing. “We don’t have to stop there, but I can’t decide for you what you need. All we need is the extra help.” “Want” was really more the word. This was to say that they weren’t starved for it, and that they simply preferred to have more. “So, what’s your help worth?” That much, Fox understood, being a career mercenary himself, and having (nearly) every time been compensated for his heroics.

At the mention of Vah Naboris Joker waved his hand, dismissing it as a bargaining chip at the moment. Aside from that Fox couldn’t drum up anything specific he could use to convince the Thieves to cooperate. With their real goals unrealizable in this world and money not an object, that left few options, but the young man had not been quietly watching the other heroes thus far for nothing. Although he missed what was no doubt a grand battle at Lakeside, Joker witnessed a few interesting things only moments ago.

“Your skills,” he told Fox. “Panther can learn new magic from Primrose and Sectonia, Skull can take a lesson in toughness from Tora, Poppi, and Heavy, and Mona can study your Medic’s healing, and perhaps this new fellow’s swordsmanship, if he volunteers to join you. As for me, I can profit from your ability with a pistol and agility. And we hone our skills, we’ll be a greater help. Sound like a deal?”

Skills for skills, help for help? It would seem as fair a bargain as any, if a tad specific. Either way, they reached an agreement, and Fox would gladly accept… provided a condition of clarity...

“If by that, you mean ‘watch and learn’...” he opened, expecting Joker might take his meaning. After having just witnessed him absorb another being from a living state, following a similar negotiation, and undergoing the Alcamoth crash course on Spirits earlier that day, it was a subject he would do well to regard warily.

“Instruction as well, when convenient. Nothing more,” Joker confirmed.

“Then, we have a deal,” Fox agreed, “but I want to be clear. We each offer our talents, insights, and aid by our own ability. We don’t touch each other’s Spirits,” he asserted more firmly. Though this wouldn’t function as a ‘will’, it should ideally suffice to cover everyone’s asses on all sides in their verbal contract, for as long as their trust was contingent on mutual benefit. “As long as we’re working together, our interest is in keeping each other alive. If we share that interest, and an understanding, then we’ll get along just fine.”

Joker smiled. “Of course.”

With a nod, Fox continued, “In that case, you can go on ahead. We’ll catch up to you shortly. Call us if you need us sooner, and be careful.” With the Thieves off, and their terms set, he addressed Tora regarding their next course of action. “We’ll hang back to check on the others before picking them up,” he answered, more or less restating himself, but with directives to follow. “Poppi and Sect can take up one each,” omitting Midna, expecting she wouldn’t need the lift, “or two of us down in case they need our help.” As he moved closer back to the cliff’s edge, he looked between the outgoing and plotted directions, with allies in both. “I’d rather not be too far from either of them. Once they finish up down there, we bring them up, then we move.”

World of Light

Level: 7 (0 -> 1/70)
Location: Edge of the Blue - Limsa Lominscuttle Town - The Bismarck
Word Count: 273 (+1 EXP)

Hat: Sprint -> Brewing

(Level up pending…)

It turned out there wasn’t as much trickery or lateral thought involved in dealing with the shadow puppet as she thought. The child expected the sorceress to contort Link’s actual shadow into harming Ace intangibly through his own, and sought to thwart that accordingly. Instead, she summoned a dark, inexact clone of the Hylian warrior through it, destructively toppling over every carted dish above it with its emergence (which in Hat Kid’s eyes exempted her from accountability for property damage by technicality). This, of course, followed the amphibian knight taking bold initiative in disarming her, seemingly freeing Link from whatever spell she had him under.

The shade struck out for the Cadet, only to be intercepted by Link, and another like it was commanded forth after the Frog. The date (if it could really be called that) was over, and the fight was on. Hat Kid slid out from under her table and bounded from another, switching to her pointier hat as she went, unpocketing and juggling a vial for one toss in her right hand to swirl and activate its contents. Fitting she would don what most resembled a stereotypical witch’s hat to combat a witch, however purely coincidental it might have been. With its ingredients primed, Hat Kid hucked the (mildly) explosive cocktail in a shallow arc at the umbral clone harrying the Cadet and Link, then zipped through the air going the other way after Link’s bad date in an attempt to smash the sorceress between the eyes with her own forehead. Should she successfully connect though, it would only hurt one of them as Hat Kid rebounded harmlessly away.

---

Level: 5 (7 -> 9/50)
Location: Sandswept Sky - Great Barrier -> Crown of Sand
Word Count: 1032 (+2 EXP)

Fox hadn’t much to add in response to Midna besides a simple nod of understanding, accepting the answers she gave, as well as her reasoning for forgoing the use of Naboris’ eyes while in motion, and saying no more. As one occupationally accustomed to regular overexposure to excessive g-forces--and having trained accordingly to acclimate--concepts of motion sickness, vertigo and the like had long since ceased to be a point of concern for him, so it never would have occurred to him otherwise that not everyone shared his experience with it and the acquired immunity it afforded. No matter. The plentiful forward view from Naboris’ shoulder would suffice for the remainder of the trek there, which Fox settled in for, leaning onto the masonry as he watched the great cliff Mona and Midna spoke of grow closer.

It became increasingly apparent in the time leading up to their arrival that the Divine Beast, unless it had tricks they were unaware of, wouldn’t be able to scale the monumental plateau before them, confirming their previous suspicions that they would have to leave it behind for the next leg of their journey. The question was, how were they to get everyone to the top, without overtaxing the only two fliers among them? Fox liked the idea of propping up Naboris against the cliff face for added reach until Midna tested its range of motion enough to inspire within her reasonable doubts on which to turn down the idea. Upon further consideration, he made his own rough estimation that the Beast’s head would only reach them most of the way up, from which the majority of them would still need lifted to the top two at a time, so it would have been functionally pointless save for buying them a couple of stories on each round trip. Less keen was he on the follow-up suggestion of ‘Spirit harvesting’ any of the winged creatures Poppi described--tying it with the first of simply throwing everyone to the top--as it struck him as a semi-permanent solution to a momentary issue. Moreover, how were they to retrieve them from where they were anyway? If they could get to them at all, there would be no need to, and they wouldn’t be talking about it. For lack of any better ideas of his own, it still left table room for a viable solution.

Then, such a solution seemed to present itself, as Alibaba, the freshly rescued friend and member of the Phantom Thieves (and thereafter Yellow Team), spoke up to pitch her potential contribution to their efforts, there and going forward. As she explained, and all of her colleagues knew, the form she would need to assume was permanent, but in weighing the cons of it, Joker concluded aloud that there were none, assuaging any concerns that anyone might otherwise have, then proceeded to the outer deck to make room for the transformation ritual. Fox watched on curiously, then cautiously, then in awe, as this meek, timid girl he’d just met--the ‘darker’ half of a whole other person elsewhere in the world--took on her new, ‘true’ form in spectacular fashion. The ritual hit its climax with a unified command, and with its conclusion, Alibaba emerged anew, and under a new name: Necronomicon.

With a moment of observation, Fox was able to recognize her form as that of a saucer ship, as it did not make for the first of its type he had seen. Strange as he still found the design to be, he understood immediately (probably sooner than most of his company) exactly how she would be useful to them this way for traversal. Her utility in combat, in the eventuality thereof, was a matter more difficult for him to guess on, but would table questions about it until such time as it became necessary to know. For now, they need worry simply about moving forward.

“No, this’ll work. Save Poppi and the Queen some effort,” he answered to Tora. “If they’re okay with it, I am,” he clarified, referring to the Thieves that knew her and better understood the mechanics at work. “She already made this move for our sakes. No reason to second guess it now.” Without further delay, he stepped aboard and grabbed a hold of one of the tentacles, as if onto a rescue ladder (which he had never actually done before), and volunteered himself as the first of her passengers to ride roof-side to the top of the cliff, which he would have no issue with managing.

Though he didn’t share anyone else’s interest in exploration, Fox wasn’t about to pretend he cared to object to another brief side excursion, given the progression of their overall expedition thus far. While the rest of the initial landing party advanced to explore, Fox elected to hang back at the cliff’s edge to help supervise the ferrying of the remaining members to the top and making sure everyone was accounted for in the meantime. He wouldn’t stay at this for long, however, for a more pressing matter soon demanded his attention. The slightly distant sounds of clashing, roaring, lightning, and a singular report of gunfire caught his ear and drew his eye behind him to the commotion that had quickly broken out in the nearby ruins. Recognizing it as a sudden priority, Fox set off posthaste to lend his aid.

Weaving around one another in loose formation, the Roader trio were fast approaching the gathered heroes on their return to the fray, every bit intent on running them down. Before they could close in, however, a bright, ringing pitch cut through the air as Fox appeared right on top of one with a boot to its back and a hand on its collar, forcing it into a violent spin to sweep its brothers off their treads. After building enough centripetal force, he let go of the spinning Roader, flinging himself into a multi-rotational corkscrew twist. During this stunt he squeezed off a single heavier shot aimed for the larger creature’s forehead, and finished with a landing inside kick brought down onto the wheeled monster’s helm, launching it overhead flipping end over end to crash wherever it may.

World of Light

Level: 6 (58 -> 60/60) LEVEL UP! ---> 7 (0/70)
Location: Edge of the Blue - Limsa Lominscuttle Town -> The Bismarck
Word Count: 876 (+2 EXP)

On her way (literally) down to street-level to regroup with the rest of her party, Hat Kid spotted them passing by in an apparent hurry on their way to somewhere else. She tilted her head in curiosity at the sight while swinging from her line attached bottom-side to suspended cargo mid-haul, then detached on the forward swing into a gainer tuck to hit the street in a run, augmented with a quick switch to her Sprint Hat. Whatever was so important to inspire the sudden sense of urgency in everyone she was swiftly on her way to finding out for herself, as a few corner-cutting bounds, dives and boosted somersaults coupled with a creative shortcut choice or two would likely have her passing at least half of them in a matter of seconds along the way. She ended up getting ahead of even herself as she ended up nearly tripping over her own feet correctively doubling back to huddle in with Ace and his new companion after she noticed them stop at their target destination in passing.

She concluded upon closer inspection that they had arrived at what seemed to be a nice looking outdoor restaurant at an oddly slow hour for late afternoon. She mentally raced to answer her own questions as to exactly why they were there. She admitted to herself that the day had been long, having ventured and fought through one region just earlier the same morning into this one, and she could use a good bite and a nap, if that’s what was on the itinerary. She wondered then if the plan was to have their team meeting over food, as if that might make sense of the rush. Why not just place a tentative reservation for an as of yet indeterminately sized party of at least a dozen or more, if they were that worried about landing a seat in the establishment. Did they even check the ratings on this place?

Then she spotted the real reason for their being there. Oh, hey! It’s that guy, she thought to herself when noticing Link already seated. I know it’s only been a little over an hour or two, but I almost forgot about him. And who’s the lady he’s sitting across from? It’s pretty obvious she’s trying to impress someone with the immodest getup. This must be what they call ‘dating’, where strangers talk about themselves to each other over dinner, sit silently in a theater together afterwards, argue about who’s paying for it all, then go home, right? Do we really have time for that though? Aren’t we at war, or something? She should just let him down easy and- Ooooh! She brought him here and is keeping him against his will. I see.

As she was catching up on the truth of the situation at hand, Cadet and the Frog were deliberating briefly on a course of action, neither of whom bothered to address the waiter. Rude! Hat Kid decided not to leave the already underappreciated service worker hanging, and counted on her fingers the total number of mouths in their party as she went over it in her head before simply flashing the waiter all ten digits as a broad answer requesting a table for at least that many, with room for more if and as need be.

With that aside, and an apparent plan of attack in place, Hat Kid assumed her best game face and posture for stealth, complete with finger gun, and quickly, quietly assumed ‘cover’ beneath a nearby table set with an insufficiently sized cloth to conceal her as she drew out a path for approach in her head. She would have plenty of time to figure it out, as the witch didn’t seem to notice or otherwise care about their presence, save for the Cadet providing for a successful, if unconvincing, distraction. She used this chance to dive behind a bussing cart to send it into motion while she remained hidden behind it. This move, while principally sound, turned out to be counterintuitive, for it accomplished nothing as far as improving her positioning and in fact wheeled her further away from the objective table than she had started.

She realized at this point not to get playfully caught up in the stealth aspect and gently scooted back the way she came. Ace’s ill-conceived ploy began to falter as things looked to be on their way to breaking down. The child alone was close, keen, and aware enough to spot the sinister irregularity in Link’s shadow, its weapon at the ready where his wasn’t. She couldn’t guess whether it could affect or be affected by other shadows only or the physical objects that cast them as well. It was safe to assume a voodoo-esque effect either way, and she didn’t have time to warn Ace about it. Her immediate idea to counter it was to shove the cart his way to obscure Link’s shadow with its own, crashing it harmlessly into the Cadet if she had to, in hopes that might nullify any action by the umbral puppet. The child’s next action would depend on those taken by the sorceress, for which she would wait as she moved back into hiding, however she could manage.

---

Level: 6 (24 -> 42 -> 43/60)
Location: Smash City Alcamoth
Word Count: 691 (+1 EXP)

Being no strangers to portal travel (as of their debut), the duo strode seamlessly through the teleporter to arrive within the ever busy Smash City. Probably slower than they should have given the apparent urgency of their departure. After the day’s events, they were similarly in no hurry to head off to anywhere else just yet, so they decided instead to wander away from the pack and take the opportunity to explore the hub and savor their much needed momentary reprieve from their ongoing endeavor. Perhaps it was a good time to revisit and sneakily raid the Cucco pens in Lumbridge again to stock back up on their essential materials. Banjo would have felt slightly bad about robbing the caretaker (again) of resources he may have not even known he had or were at all valuable, if not for the question of who else he would otherwise sell them to--both better left unsaid, he thought, lest the owner attempt and succeed, thus diminishing their supply chain. If they were lucky, their repeat pilfering might miraculously yield a Golden Feather or two, or a different Egg type, but they would take what they could get if they didn’t get caught doing it.

---

Following the success or failure of their Egg hunt, the two decided to check on the status of the Dead Zone in the best way they knew how: by making a precarious climb to Alcamoth’s highest point in search of a vantage point to survey it from. It took some doing, creativity, and time, having to work with and around smooth surfaces, but eventually Banjo managed to laboriously haul himself and Kazooie atop the grand tower, having forgone the convenience of Flight for the sake of resource conservation. The effort spared turned out a fruitless waste, however, for they could see naught from the peak of their respective island but the Eryth Sea and the mountainous rim that encompassed it, with a sparse glimpse of the Sandswept Sky beyond its northeastern edge. Banjo futily peered out into the horizon, squinting, straining his sight for focus from underneath a visoring hand to no avail.

“Anything on your end, Kazooie?” Banjo asked redundantly, as if her foot of neck height on him would make any meaningful amount of difference.

“Nothing,” she answered, shaking her head. “You’d think a floating island could at least sit high enough to make it worth it,” she complained, mostly from a perspective of situational inconvenience.

“Should we maybe go ask one of the others who know more about it?”

“That would’ve been the smarter thing to start with, yeah.”

Banjo answered with a nod before adding, “Alright. Your turn to get us back down.”

“That’s fair,” she agreed, and proceeded to lift them both skyward and direct them on a slow, careful descent back to the main atrium.

A quick inquiry to Vandham (or the next available de facto authority figure) regarding Nero’s direction or whereabouts would have the duo shortly on their way to finding him. Though the question/s they had were simple enough that anyone in charge might have been able to answer them, Nero was the only one of the Dead Zone party to exposit any knowledge or awareness of a plan to obliterate the region with whatever kind of ‘bomb’ could accomplish that, so that made him the best closest person to ask about it.

---

Once they found the Devil Hunter trio again--probably wherever Dante could get pizza, a strawberry sundae and a cheap drink in the same place--Banjo worked his way awkwardly into the line of questioning.

“Excuse me, Mr… uhh… Niro, right?” Only half, deducting for misspelling and pronunciation, with Kazooie above him vaguely signing ‘close enough’. “Since we can’t see the place we just left from here,” he started.

“Believe it; we tried,” Kazooie briefly interrupted to clarify, met with an affirming nod from Banjo as he continued.

“When this ‘bomb’ does go off, how will we know?” As almost stupidly simple as his opening question was in its simplicity, for critical punctuality’s sake (assuming anyone cared about that), it was one no less deserving of a valid answer.

World of Light

Level: 6 (57 -> 58/60)
Location: Limsa Lominscuttle Town - Sky’s Hatchery -> Pirate’s Cove?
Word Count: 523 (+1 EXP)

Hat Kid confirmed her intentions to Sky with a nod, and her expression fell a couple of steps when she received answers to her own questions--that being a hard ‘no’ on all accounts. To start, Sky didn’t seem too happy with the child’s idea of crossing the Bottomless Sea on the back of one of her ‘babies’ (her fondness presumably extended even to the likes of the Crow Demon), but tried to reel in her displeasure with the idea as she expressed her concerns, further highlighting the apparent dangers of the child’s target destination. What was that about “dog fights” though? Like, with planes--NOT birds (or bird-like)--or are dogs somehow involved too? Whatever meaning the child took, the avian caretaker seemed oddly versed in the subject either way, but she didn’t have time to worry about dog ethics.

More importantly, it was made abundantly clear that none of them would be able to survive long enough to facilitate a round trip as needed, as expressed from a point of reasonable doubt by Sky herself. Thus, they were deemed unfit and ineligible for the prospective journey over the treacherous Sea, even if their owner were to allow for it. Still, Kid didn’t mean to upset her at all with her request, unaware of what it constituted until then.

“Sowry,” she said simply, coming dangerously close (though not entirely by accident) to cutely bending all of the consonants in her apology. It was right around the time that Sky was making an exception for the Cheepoofs that a familiar from the child’s adventuring party had arrived with a plus one, specifically looking for her. The Ace Cadet announced himself in, waving her down to fill her in on the next step, and introduced her to a frog he picked up along the way. Between owls, penguins, crows, goats, seals, and now frogs, she figured for no particular reason that she could probably do worse as far as new animal species to collaborate get acquainted with.

When asked by Cadet about the fruitfulness of her detour, she simply responded with a shrug and a head shake, but then she caught herself ‘speaking’ too soon and paused, squinting thoughtfully. Leaning in to whisper in the hunter’s ear, she relayed the perils spoken of by the shopkeeper; “saves big enough to drown ships whole, tentacled leviathans,” and something about a nondescript “machine” that some “girl” told her about. Cadet could inquire or investigate further from there if he wanted, but as far as she was concerned, her business there was concluded (albeit empty-handedly). After Ace said his piece in response, Hat Kid would saunter over to the open deck area of the Hatchery where she came in at (in lieu of the door in the closed half) as she made ready to leave back out the same way, in accordance with the assembly call delivered unto her.

“Bye!” She bid Sky adieu as a monosyllabic thanks for her time and unfulfilled business as she leapt from the deck and began making her quick, controlled descent to the port where she last saw everyone to reconvene with them.

World of Light

Level: 5 (6 -> 7/50)
Location: Sandswept Sky
Word Count: 628 (+1 EXP)

From the helm of Naboris, Fox watched the distance between them and the pyramid gradually shorten one titanic step at a time until they shortly came inbound. Seeing as much for himself, he hardly needed Poppi’s announcement to be aware of the Thieves and Primrose’s impending arrival, and moved preemptively to meet them at the top of the lower deck once they came aboard. As observed, they brought yet another newcomer on with them as well, by the name of Alibaba, which one could surmise as the answer to the question of who they went looking for. The question of how they knew to look there in the first place would be a matter of speculation for anyone who cared. With all of them--plus one--safely accounted for, Fox bade them welcome for their return.

“Good to have you aboard,” he politely directed to Alibaba with a nod. “We’re a long ways from done here. I hope we can count on you for the rest of the mission ahead,” he beseeched Joker and his crew, awaiting any one of their replies before excusing himself to split off from the group on a separate path from Joker, but not before addressing the presented order of what to do with the Divine Beast should they reach an impassable point with it. “Up ahead or later on, we’ll have to get off eventually, but we’ll worry about that when we get to it. Until then, we’ll take it as far as it can go, and go from there on foot if we have to.” As a career fighter pilot, Fox knew as well as anyone the eventuality of needing to step out of the cockpit and hoof it, so the prospect bothered him none. Still, he didn’t consider abandoning Naboris altogether to be in the cards, for it was simply better to have a flagship (or the closest practical equivalent they had to it) for extended transport than not.

With that taken care of for the time being, Fox headed for one of the outer decks at Naboris’ shoulders to secure a forward view of their travel, unimpeded by the actual head of the Beast had he gone there instead. It didn’t take long for Midna to follow and question him on his mood regarding the turnout of their previous side venture, citing the "look" of him as precedent for concern. He was unaware that it 'looked' to be anything at all besides mere self-dismissal to collect one’s thoughts and reassess their progress in the face of the daunting tasks that no doubt lay ahead. Perhaps he wasn’t so keen at burying his discontent beneath the veil of pragmatism as he hoped, or maybe he never was. Certainly, there was no shortage of things for him to be bothered by; further questions, lingering concerns, creeping doubts, relevant memories, but nothing he cared (or felt comfortable) to discuss, preferring not to spend untimely, undue attention on them.

“Do we still have our heading?” he inquired of her regarding their plotted course and destination, maintaining his default stoical bearing as he did. “What can you see from here?” he asked further, hoping and expecting her second set of Beastial eyes would somehow afford her the best lay of the land on their continued travel, and that she may be able to pick out any vital details ahead of their arrival. In light of the questioning, he aimed to present himself not as one dodging a question, but one simply focused on what mattered, looking ahead rather than behind. Which is not to say that he wasn’t doing that. Rather, he was just trying slightly harder to. Either way, he hoped Midna would accept it for an honest answer, and think no more of it.