This would be a lot easier if Eupheria had at least let her change outfits. She wouldn't even need to give Mittens (siiiigh) back her battle regalia, honestly, anything would do. Some common silks, one of Dandy's farm outfits, an Askaian sundress, Jess' pajamas... rivers, even her "Rinley" costume would be fine. Or someone could [i]at least[/i] help her with this snakerchief. But no. Do the impossible, Mittens! And do it while wearing this unbelievably stupid dress!

CLANG! HISS! DING!

She's out of time. Left or right? Left or right? Rivers! Left or right???

Mittens catches the glint of purple light and realizes there's no choice at all. If she didn't do everything she could to rescue her lights after all they'd been through together, then she was no princess at all. She takes both steps backwards that the conveyor belt will allow, then runs forward and leaps for all she's worth. She can feel the wind from the Princess Catcher slamming shut behind her and knows she didn't have a second left to spare. 

She hurtles through the air as though she were swimming downriver. She reaches out with both hands to snag the first chain as tight as she can, but even as she rocks back and forth in relative safety she can see that this isn't going to work. For one thing, she needs to [i]gain[/i] height as she goes, and climbing one of the chains in a dress like this would be... problematic. Just sitting here her skirt is catching on the links; the rigid hoops keeping its 'poof' going are springing back from her grip and feel like they're trying to push her off entirely. For another thing, the next closest chain is in the wrong direction, and it's... oh stars and lights, even Queen Marina would have thought twice about this. 

She takes a deep breath through her nose, and (carefully!) slides down to the bottom of the chain, where at least the skirt hoops wouldn't be in her way. Her top slips just a little and feels like it's about to betray her completely, but there's no time to worry about that right now. Another deep breath, careful not to bite down on the poor snakerchief now, and... now! She kicks forward with all of her might, swinging forward, then back, then forward again with another kick. Here at the bottom it's easy to build momentum, though she has to be careful or she's going to swing herself right back into those machines again. Back and forth, back and forth, wider and wider. 

And then release. Mittens' momentum carries her feet up and over her head as she sails through the air with a slow, backward flip. Good, just as planned so far. She takes the extra half second while she's spinning to pull this stupid, padded top back up her chest a little bit. The motion swings her skirt back and keeps it out of her way so she can grab the next chain and get a really good swing on it. Her eyes are already tracking the path to the next chain after this. That's the trick of this, really, you have to be thinking  far enough in advance that you never get stuck. She's never going to be able to build good speed on these smaller chains again if she loses it now. 

She flips back and forth over the chasm like a dolphin playing in the waves. Up and up and up, until at last she gets her chance. She twists her entire torso and snatches wildly at the crystal stuck to the fire alarm. The room fills with the horridly loud, blaring klaxons, but she can feel the warmth in her hand that tells her she succeeded. Violet sparkles joyously, and Green winks back in reply. There you go, back where you belong. Eupheria would regret underestimating Mittens. 

She releases again, travelling down and across the chasm again while her arms scream at her to please finish this soon. As she flips again, her light forms into a deep purple utility knife which floats alongside her and slashes down across her skirt from thigh to foot with two quick, sharp strikes. One on either side of her legs. The hoops snap with a satisfying 'crack' that she catches even across the awful din drowning out her own thoughts, and the skirt flutters around her legs now very much deflated. It's a little embarrassing having it flutter all about like this, but at least she can move like a proper princess now. 

With one final leap, Mittens lands safely on the ground, rolling over her shoulder and popping onto her feet with a final exhausted hop. She takes a second to catch her breath and yank her dress back up again. Violet floats atop her head, glowing softly. All right. There's gotta be a door around here somewhere. Find her friends, find Rita. Find Momma. She knew, as surely as her name was M... you know what? Never mind. She just knew, ok? They had to find each other before it was too late for them to work together. One winner, six losers. She just couldn't let that happen. 

[Get Away (With Despair): [s]5[/s], 4, 2: [b]8[/b]. Mittens arrives at her destination unharmed]