[center][h2][color=darkgreen]Linkle[/color][/h2][/center]

[center][color=darkgreen][b]Level 8[/b][/color] - (44/80) + 3

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[center][b]Location:[/b] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWc8QvIBxuA]Eryth Sea[/url]
[b]Word Count: 1825 [/b]
[@DracoLunaris][@Zoey Boey][@Lugubrious]
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As Linkle crested one of the large rocky outcroppings that enclosed the floating reef the toes of her shoes scraped along it. She gave it a sharp kick, launching her and her transport forward toward the center of the island and plopped down of the rocky road in the center and letting the cucco flutter down to her feet. She was soon joined by the other two, the ones she'd handed to The Cuphead and had chucked wholesale toward the needful Fox that had thrown himself wholesale off the island. For a moment when she'd seen that Linkle had thought that he could actually fly, but once she realized he was just falling with style she'd had to act quickly.

Speaking of the Fox she called out a quick "Here!" in response to his inquiry on if they all made it. Everyone made some indication, even if it wasn't directed at Fox. Some, like Tora, flopped down in relief. Others, like The Kid, crawled all over the newly empowered Courier in order to get a good look at the transformation that had carried him so easily to this island. Still others concerned themselves with practicalities. Bowser was a good example, stepping up to get a celebratory bonfire going, while Peace did the duty of asking whether She or Geralt wanted to part with their spirits. 

Linkle felt a flood of relief at the prospect of getting the Enderman out of her, then a hint of shame for being so ready to expel the newcomer from its place inside her. This shame was quickly tempered by a fresh flood of relief as she realized she could feel feelings again, and the subsequent reminder that the Enderman also imposed it's weird feelings on her. Tora comment about not being able to look at her sealed the deal for her. "Please, I don't think I can live like this." She said, warping forward one last time as the Nopon and his Blade began to talk among themselves.   

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It hadn't been nearly as painful as she thought it would be, but then again why would it hurt? It wasn't like her limbs stretching out had been painful in the first place so why would them shortening back hurt at all? Post extraction the first thing she'd done was whistle at Tora and jump high in the air, waving her arms, just to test that none of the monsters intrusive thoughts had had any time to set down roots while it had been a part of her. Since she didn't have any compulsion to go and hide nor rip him apart with her bare hands when he laid eyes on her she decided that Peach had ripped any trace of the monster from her being. She spun around and gave Peace a bow. "Thanks a million, Princess." She said, raising up and holding out a hand for the spirit.

She cupped her hands over it, careful to keep it totally concealed in darkness. As she made her way over to the fire where the Koopas were busy cooking food on sticks she wondered what she should do with it. She couldn't just smash something that had been as helpful as this thing had. It had saved her life after all. She couldn't repay that by destroying it. Neither could she stand to have it be a part of her again. She considered keeping it as a Striker, but... no, no. She didn't want to subject it to that, not having felt the way it did. Being summoned over and over in battle, getting looked at by all sorts of crazy people? It'd be torture for something as shy as these guys.

There was really only one option that made sense to her. She placed the spirit between the pincers of her beetle, the pincers gently closing and indenting the sides slightly, before pointing her arm back the way they had flown from. "See you later, tall guy." she said, launching the beetle. "Hopefully nobodies around to bother you wherever it is you guys go!" She called after it as it was carried to the edge of the beetles range. She watched, just a little sad, as the beetle got as close as it could to where the monster's brethren now rested at the bottom of this sea before dropping the little rainbow spec out of sight before making its return to its rest on her arm. 

Satisfied with her sendoff of the thing she sat crosslegged beside the fire, eagerly grabbing a stick of her own. She was getting hungry by now and a quick lunch seemed like the best way to go. She curiously grabbed a few of the squishy white foods she had never seen before and, watching how Bowser and Kid cooked the things, copied them in skewering them and holding them over the fire until they turned brown. Pulling the strange food back she pulled one of the slightly melted things off the end, she looked it over before blowing on it and popping in in her mouth. Linkle let out a short, excited grunt before swallowing and devouring another. "What are these?" She said between mouthfuls. "They're the best! Maybe the best ever! Do you guys have these where you're from?" She hadn't realized how empty her stomach had been before these sweet melty things were in it. 

She continued eating for a while, even as company showed up. Fox and the Princess to charge of the newcomers almost immediately, though now without Bowser attempting to assert his authority only to get rebuked by the bird man. His comments about the worth of the Koopa army actually stung. She had seen the Koopa army. She had seen how useful they'd been and how hard they tried when called to battle. So far as armies were concerned she considered them a fine army. Also, she was in the army sorta kinda so it was like he was kicking her along with them. 

Any retort from Bowser was interrupted by the appearance of Sectonia's cleaning crew which set to work on him and his torn up suit, doing a quick and fantastic fix of the Koopa's damaged clothes. Eventually a detachment of the bugs made their way over to Linkle, the green one pointing a demanding finger at pretty much her everything. Looking down it was easy to see why. Her clothes were charred in some place, ripped in others, dissolved in a few, and altogether stained with soot, dirt, ash, fishman blood, her blood, and all other manner of foulness. The last tie she had done any self-maintenance was back at the castle. She must have smelled like a combination cigar lounge/poultry farm situated right across the street from an open air fish market. At least, that's what the blue ones impatiently tapping their feet indicated. Linkle didn't have any problem with being dirty. When she was a kid sometimes she got so covered in dirt people started mistaking her for a Goron, at which point her grandmother would throw her in a washtub and scrub her like a dog until she was presentable again. It was funny, the look these bugs gave her reminded her an awful lot of her grandma. 

Not wanting to relive that particular childhood memory hastily surrendered everything but the undersuit, which was basically an entire outfit unto itself. If she had a mirror she'd be a little disturbed at just how un-Linkle like she looked without her "Linkle" gear. "Be careful with that compass." she said as the bugs got to work mending, patching, even shining her weathered outfit. One of them looked up from the big circle that had been burned into her blouse by the cigarette bat earlier, then pointed at the equally big hole in the same place of the suit. Linkle crossed her arms and shook her head. "Uh-uh. Figure something out." Compelled by his queens orders the bug launched itself at Linkle with a needle and thread, leading the girl to let out a surprised shout as the cleansing mist went up. There were the sounds of a light struggle, then a bout of riotous laughter and what sounded like a sewing machine for a few minutes before the cloud dropped. Linkle stood there fresh as a daisy and running a finger around the seamlessly patched hole in the suit. "Good job." She said, impressed. The ant gave a professional looking bow before making its way back to mend her blouse. She knelt to watch them work.

Linkle was getting dressed again, her gear all positively sparkling, when the Courier announced he was headed back to Lumbridge and asked whether anyone wanted to accompany him. "I'll go!" She said, pulling on her boot and hopping up. "We have to head for that awful land of the dead place." After all, friends had gone back to the land of the dead while they'd headed to kill the boss of this area. Linkle hadn't really gotten their names, but she did know they had fought to help the half of their group that had gone their before. That was enough for her not leave them twisting in the wind. "Besides, Cadet said that's where we can find the hero and-"

Linkle was interrupted by the shadow that flashed across the ground. Looking up and spotting the source of that she instantly pulled her crossbows and took aim as the dragon descended. Instead of shooting them with a ball of acid or thundering past to throw them around with hurricane force winds, though, this one dropped somebody off. A polite, energetic young woman that said something in a strange language before switching to Hylian to introduce herself as Sakura. At first Linkle thought she might be from the same place as the bird man and his friends, but as the dragon landed behind her Linkle spotted someone familiar on its back. "Euden!" She shouted.

While Linkle had been gushing over the survival of their friends Geralt had actually answered the girls questions, pointing out the Princess as their leader. As Linkle ran passed her on her way to meet Euden she stopped for a moment beside the girl and was surprised to see the color of her eyes. Had Euden and Link freed her? Or had the wave of darkness reached all the way to Lumbridge? She supposed it didn't really matter. She clapped the girl on the shoulder. "Welcome to the party! I'm Linkle. Nice to met you." She said quickly before taking off down the road. "Euden! Link!"

"I knew you guy were okay!" She said in the relived tone of someone who had been only 99% sure you were okay. She skidded to a stop beside the dragon and looked up expectantly behind the boy, only for her face to suddenly fall. "Wait, where's Link? Is he okay? Did the cats get lost?"