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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/DyH88WMW/Kid-s-Hat-Final.png[/img]

[color=8258fa]Level:[/color] 7 (0 -> 1/70)
[color=8258fa]Location:[/color] Edge of the Blue - Limsa Lominscuttle Town - The Bismarck
[color=8258fa]Word Count:[/color] 273 (+1 EXP)

[color=8258fa]Hat:[/color] Sprint -> Brewing

[i](Level up pending…)[/i]
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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 [i]one[/i] of them as Hat Kid rebounded harmlessly away.

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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/L5r26P82/Star-Fox-Final.png[/img]

[color=5edaf6]Level:[/color] 5 (7 -> 9/50)
[color=5edaf6]Location:[/color] Sandswept Sky - Great Barrier -> Crown of Sand
[color=5edaf6]Word Count:[/color] 1032 (+2 EXP)
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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 [i]most[/i] 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, [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starfox/images/5/5e/Saucerer3DS.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140317032521]as it did not make for the first of its type he had seen[/url]. 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.

[color=5edaf6]“No, this’ll work. Save Poppi and the Queen some effort,”[/color] he answered to Tora. [color=5edaf6]“If they’re okay with it, I am,”[/color] he clarified, referring to the Thieves that knew her and better understood the mechanics at work. [color=5edaf6]“She already made this move for our sakes. No reason to second guess it now.”[/color] 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.