[center][h1][color=00aeef]Hyrule[/color] [color=darkgreen]Warriors[/color][/h1][/center] [center]Word Count: 4,171 [/center] [center][color=00aeef][b]Level 4[/b] [/color] - (37/40) + 3[/center] [center][color=darkgreen]Level 9 [/color] - (8/90) + 3[/center] [hr][hr] [h2][center][color=00aeef]Link[/color][/center][/h2] [center]Location: The Edge of Blue ~ Luma Pools[/center] [hr] "There! That's the way!" Link called up, patting the side of the ship like it was his favorite horse as she took the potion and gulped it down. Link glanced back to see the effects, a load of Shippy springing back into existence all at once. At the rear He saw two shipgirls put their back against her and start to push her back on course, it only taking him a moment to recognize The Princess and Ms. Fortune despite their new powers. They had the back covered, so Link flexed his good hand and swam forward to grab onto the ship's prow and put whatever was propelling him through the surf into full gear. "Just a little further. Look, you can see it right? Little river, right there. That's safety. We're going to be fine. You're going to be fine." He could just barely with his face up out of the waves, make out the river that they had been fighting all day to reach. If he could see that so could she. What he couldn't see was very many Abyssal's left. The battle lines must have been pushed far enough forward to leave only the stragglers for them to deal with, and in the face of those stragglers he laid his free arm across the front of the ship and fired without mercy at any that were foolish enough to attack from the front. He heard most of the conversation behind him not that the sound of battle was growing distant, Bowser crashing down, the Cadet leaping at the chance to avenge them on the monster that had fired at their ship, Ms. Fortune zooming off after him. He wished he could go with them, but someone had to stay and protect the ship. Besides, looking like he did, that was asking for friendly fire. Eventually they didn't need to guide her anymore. The enemy fell away behind them, the Healing of Blazermate's beams finally fully outstripped the damage she was taking, and Link was able to let go. He didn't move from his spot though, keeping one eye underwater just in case more came from underwater. The last of the resistance they faced was practically a joke, a handful of Abyssals and fish monsters the Navy had hardly even taken notice of. He opened fire along with everyone else, but this battle had at least one casualty. One of his armored fists, armor worn down under the constant assault of the sea monsters and gun barrels beginning to warp from fire, exploded off his arm in a cloud of blue shards. He winced, his broken fingers exposed and no longer set by the patting within the glove, but the battle was over soon after. As Shippy passed the mouth of the river and started sailing up it and Link gave her one last thumbs up before diving down and making sure to collect the remains. Afterward he jumped up out of the water like a dolphin, caching the railing of the chip with his good hand and gingerly cradling the spirits he'd collected in the crook of his arm. He let them spill across the deck as he pulled himself up, put his feet on the deck, and was instantly hit with the worst vertigo he had ever experienced in his life. He flopped back downward, hitting the deck like a sack of potatoes and ending up back flat against the railing as he surveyed the damage. To his great relief most of them seemed to be around. The Witcher, the fighting girl, Glenn, Blazermate. Cadet would probably be back any time now. Still, it wasn't all of them. Just one look at the Princess was enough to tell him what had happened to Chou, but that didn't sting nearly as hard as the absence of their Captain. He had feared it from the moment he had seen the chunk of Shippy that had evaporated, and had been trying to ignore it to focus on getting the rest of them out, but Sakura's grief confirmed it for him. It was like being stabbed, a twisted and wretched feeling that started in his gut and spiraled out across his entire body. It flowed easily, as though running along cracks that had already been etched into his soul. Cracks etched by trauma so heartfelt that even if the vent had been largely forgotten the damage remained. In that moment he felt like everything that they had fought for today had been for nothing as he was lost in the infinitely large gulf separating "most" from "all." He heard Sakura try and pull some good out of it, some wisdom she could use to better herself, but it did nothing to abate the feeling of profound loss. Then, like his mind tossing him a life preserver, he remembered meowing. As he sat there, head down, the dark thoughts that had begun clouding his mind suddenly fell away. "He might not be dead." He said suddenly, lifting his head. His face shone with desperate hope. "This isn't going to make much sense, but does anybody remember hearing cats? Seeing cats?" He tried to stand again, didn't manage it, and toppled forward onto his hands and knees. "I was killed by a dragon yesterday, and I woke up in a cart in Lumbridge. Me, the Euden Kid, and a machine. Hauled there from a floating island. By cats!" Of course even if he was alive thanks to a recurrence of cat miracles that still left the problem of Shippy. No one really knew her. There didn't seem to be hardly anyone to know until...Hylia, it was hard to tell time when you were fighting like that...around an hour ago? This thought was interrupted when he heard a voice calling from the shore. He couldn't see the guy from where he was, but apparently there was some kind of...another living boat thing up ahead? Some kind of new Abyssal. He flopped backwards, pulled himself up on the railing, and used that as a way to make his way to the front of the ship. "Shippy." He called out over the raining as he reached it, looking down at the figurehead. "Can you stop for a while? Take a breather until we're sure what's ahead. You've earned it." [hr][hr] [center][h2][color=darkgreen]Linkle[/color][/h2][/center] [center][h3][color=red]Merge Rate: 30%[/color][/h3][/center] [center]Location: The Previous Night - Snowdin ~ [img]https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/detroit-become-human/images/a/a5/Eastern_Motel.jpg[/img][/center] [hr][hr] Linkle pondered the motel as they approached it, dragging her sled along behind her. The building was pretty big, too big to be someone's house. So this was like a... The question was answered when they walked into the main office. So, a motel was what people from Modern Times called an inn. She took a step back when she saw the two fat monsters behind the desk, looking almost as startled for a moment at their appearance as they did at hers, but relaxed as soon as the two started talking. Even if these two were monsters by the sound of it they wouldn't be very dangerous ones, but they were very good at making her feel self conscious. Albedo tried smoothing things over. She smiled awkwardly when he said so, maybe a little too wide. "I could probably find a place to lie down outside." She said. "I'm used to it. I don't think I'd freeze or anything." That matter was settled soon enough, with the two getting over their bad feelings and sliding a pair of cards over to them. As he added the cost of her stay to his own tab Linkle became acutely aware that she was racking up another debt, but didn't say anything except a good night to the pair of them as she followed Albedo out the door. They crunched snow as they past by the rows of darkened windows and doorways, [url=https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/011/098/626/large/simon-magnan-eastern-night-014.jpg?1527839055]past of pair of glowing boxy machines that gave off a light hum[/url], and finally to a pair of doors. Albedo inclined his head to her, and offered her sweet dreams. "Hopefully. Nighty night." She said, then he entered his room and Linkle was left alone in front of her own door. She slid her card inside the slot above the handle just like she had seen him do, heard a high pitched beep, and pushed the door open. The room in front of her was dark, a shaft of light from the open door only showing the corner of what looked like a bed. Making sure to kick the snow off her boots on the doorframe she made her way inside. There had to be a light in here somewhere, right? Some kind of button or switch she could push? She started running her hand up and down along the inside wall as she moved forward. She found a square that was fastened securely to the wall, nothing happening when she tried twisting it. She banged her ankle on what felt like a small table and found a little box that displayed some glowing numbers. She pawed at that a little, pressing all the buttons she could feel, but only succeeded in triggering some kind of screeching alarm that was torture on her ears! She fumbled with it, clumsily trying to press all the buttons she had before, and thankfully the hateful thing stopped wailing long enough for her to put it down. She looked toward the door, expecting something to happen, but nothing appeared. She kept moving, crawling over what was definitely a bed and bumping her head on...something? A bell? She crawled under it, using what felt like the headboard for guidance, until she felt something on the wall. Switches! She turned one, and suddenly the room was flooded with light from the bell things she had felt earlier. [center][img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/011/098/609/large/simon-magnan-eastern-night-016.jpg?1527839044[/img][/center] Linkle collapsed back onto the bed. "Da da da daaaaaaaa!" she sang, almost sighing the last of the jingle out before sitting up again and pointing an triumphant finger at the room in general. "I solved your light puzzle." It was the first real view of the room she had gotten. Just looking at it felt strange. It was like the complete opposite of Mr. Kashiwagi's place. Survive had been a pub, but at the same time it had felt like someone was living there. Here? Even though it was a bedroom, even though you were clearly meant to live here, it didn't feel like anyone was supposed to be living here. Even the inn's back in Hyrule, she had heard, had a certain homeliness to them. It had a black screen sticking off the wall, a little cooler box like Kashiwagi's tucked away into the corner, a painting of what looked like the Dead Zone when it was still alive, but no spirit at all. At least the bed was comfortable, she thought as she sat up on the edge of it and bounced up and down on it a few times. Springy. She bounced a few more times, a little harder. [i]Very[/i] springy. She tore off her boots, leaving them and her bows in a crumpled heap by the side of the bed, and stood up. She felt herself sink in, then with a delighted giggle she began to jump. Very, [i]very[/i] springy she decided as she bounced up and down on the bed. Springier than any bed she had ever laid in. She reached up and easily brushed the ceiling with her hand, then spotted the other bed in the room and did what anyone with even a semi-functional inner child is tempted to do when they're staying in a hotel room. She leaped, flipped over once, and belly flopped onto the other bed. She bounced one more time before settling. She hadn't realized how much she had missed having a bed. What she had told Albedo earlier wasn't exactly true. It wasn't just that she hadn't slept in a bed since she had gotten free, she hadn't slept in a bed since she had left home. From the moment she had set out it had been goodbye blankets and big feather pillows for her. She rolled over, laughing like she was a decade younger. She saw that the door was still open. She should probably close that before anyone saw her acting stupid. Jumping up she went out, gathered her things from the sled, and parked it next to the door. As reliable as she knew it was nobody was going to be stealing something that was made of sticks and looked like it was held together by hope. Door shut and locked, loot crate and spirits safely inside and thrown onto the bed, Linkle pondered what to do next. The problem was that, despite the events of the day, she still wasn't particularly drowsy and just being alone in a room brought that into sharp relief. Idly she picked up one of the black things covered in buttons off the little side table and started fiddling with that. The television suddenly switched on, but unfortunately it was a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVtFC6erxb0]rerun[/url]. She shut it off and didn't touch the remote again. There was a door she hadn't explored near the back of the room. She walked over and opened that one. Still dark, but the light from the room helped her find the switches for this one quickly. There was a hum as the room's single light flared to life. [center][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/011/098/630/large/simon-magnan-eastern-night-015.jpg?1527839058[/img][/center] The bathroom reminded her of the one in Peach's castle. Even though peaches was definitely nicer her heart still did a triple backflip when she saw there was a shower in this room. As she stepped inside toward it she caught her reflection in the mirror and instantly turned away. Then, after a pregnant moment, she sighed and turned back. She walked over to the sink and leaned over it to give herself a good examination. She didn't look any better than she had in the ice, and whenever she leaned in too close the light of her eyes reflected back and made it so she couldn't see anything. She would have to keep in mind that, for now, she looked really creepy and try to find a way to mitigate her more monstrous look. She didn't want to give people like Clark a fright, after all. That's not what heroing was about! She pulled down her hood, letting her rabbit ears pop on up like two cheery dandelions. She flopped them from side to side. Well, that would be a start. No one looked threatening with rabbit ears on. Her hair was also in kind of rough shape. It was tangled, dirty, and still had bits of gunk in it from the monsters that had shown up when they'd first gone to the dead zone. It needed a good scrubbing or else she was going to have to cut it off. She couldn't do that. It wasn't just her hair anymore, it was Blue's too. It was simple to figure out the controls for the shower, and only a little harder to figure out how to get out of her suit. She had never had a reason to take the thing off before, but after some pawing she found the zipper. She hadn't realized how damp most of her now outer clothes were before she started taking them off, so those she laid on the thing along the wall that was radiating heat to dry off before she stepped into the warm stream of water and let all the tensions of the day just wash away. [hr] After giving herself and her hair a thorough scrub, scrub, [i]scrub[/i] to make doubly sure there was no blood, bone dust, or residual green gunk anywhere on her body she set the plug, let the tub fill up, and just soaked in the warmth until she was nice, pruney, and tired. The water had sucked all that excess energy she had built up right out of her. She walked out of the bathroom ready for bed, but frowned when she saw she still had a little business to attend to. The spirits of the wolves still floated in the bottle on the bed nearest the door. She looked down at the pile of clothes she wasn't wearing to sleep in her arms, the pouches sitting prominently on the top, and crossed the room to set them down beside the bottle. She snapped the pouches open and pulled out the spirits she had collected today. She had to use these before they faded away. She dug into the pouches, pulling out the spirits from the now muddy dust they laid in. One by one she took all the spirits in her possession and crushed each between her fingers. [center][hider=For Linkle]You have Acquired: [b][url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gensin-impact/images/5/57/Item_Wolfhook.png]Wolfhook[/url] x2[/b] [i]A berry with thorns that often gets attached to the pelt of passing wolves. Their tartness is invigorating, and if mixed into food or made into juice will give a temporary attack buff to whoever has it[/i] [b][url=https://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Dark-Souls-3/wolf's_blood_swordgrass.png]Wolf’s Blood Swordgrass[/url][/b] [i]A leaf signifying duty fulfilled by the Watchdogs of Farron, who stand beside the old wolf to ensure serenity to those at rest. Depicts a swordgrass leaf stained with dried blood. Long ago, the swordgrass leaf quietly identified members of the Undead Legion. In the rotted forest rest the spirits of warriors past, their acceptance and gratitude toward their guardians is expressed eloquently by the humble leaf[/i] [b][url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/0/0d/Support_Materia_from_FFVII_Remake.png]Blue Materia[/url][/b] [i]A sphere of crystallized Mako, support type. When inset into equipment alongside other materia, it enhanced those materias’ effects, and it works similarly for other magic gems[/i] [url=https://remnantfromtheashes.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Remnant-From-The-Ashes/alternator_weapon_remnant_from_the_ashes_wiki_guide_220px.png][b]Alternator[/b][/url] [i]Few but the Vargyl survive Reisum's coldest storms--the ice that roasts, the wind that rends. A long gun with decent damage, firing 9 rounds per second, with a magazine of 32 shots. Its ideal range si 17m, its max ammo is 224, and it has a 5% crit chance per shot. When subjected to extended use it builds up power for its Weapon Mod, Incinerator, which will spew a barrage of 11 fireballs when triggered[/i] [b][url=https://styles.redditmedia.com/t5_378cg/styles/communityIcon_vookjgltqgg11.png?width=256&s=e382bef04ab34710c2a61303a2e2c22545d1e34c]Nunu’s Hat[/url][/b] - an adorable long-earned snowcap, guaranteed to keep the ears warm and the brain in good working order even in a snowstorm[/hider][/center] Linkle examined every item before putting it down on the bed. The berries were prickly to the point where she didn't think you could just eat them. The pretty gemstone, that could be the solution to her financial woes, she laid down carefully beside them. One of the wolves spirits, oddly enough, a small pair of dried leaves with a bloodstain running across them. She turned those over, struggling to find some meaning in it. Before today she might have dismissed it as just trash, but Albedo's talk about the "pool" dissuaded her. If he was right than everything you got from a spirit was a prize. It had value. Maybe it was some kind of medicinal herb or a charm? The gun was a far more substantial prize. It was a crude thing, not at all like Michael's clean and deadly weapon, looking as though it had been scrounged together from parts of different guns and, much like her sled, held together by hope. On instinct, the guidance of the spirit stirring inside her head, she turned it over and checked the magazine. Counting her shots. She could also tell there was something more to it, like the bounce effect she had gotten on the rabbit gun, but couldn't quite tell what it was. She flipped it back over and braced it against her shoulder, aiming at the TV to let the thing know she meant business just it case it got any funny ideas in the middle of the night. One thing she was sure of, carrying this thing around wasn't going to make her look any less threatening. As though to mitigate that the last spirit gave her a frankly adorable hat. With its rounded, stuffed up ears and button eyes it was even able to make a wolf cute. She pulled it only her head, where it fit snugly. This would be pretty warm. So, not exactly for her right now. She pulled it off, setting it beside its more realistic cousin. It would look great on one of the little kids though, Junior or Hatty... A bead of loneliness coalesced in her heart at that thought. She sat down on the bed, busied herself with gathering the dust that spilled out of her pouches into her spirit bottle, but the activity wasn't enough to shake off the feeling. She hadn't known them for very long at all, any of them. She had know people in her village for far longer than she had the eclectic collection of personalities that made up Bowser's army, but she had nevertheless hardly spared the other villagers a thought. She worried about them in the general sense, but being away from them didn't hurt like this. Up to this point she had been fairly rare breed in the word of light. She had been largely free of connections. She didn't have anyone she desperately needed to see. Tora had his friend Rex, Bowser had been missing his son and dad, it had nearly killed Mina to have to fight Junpei, and even Din had been holding out for her hero. Those were just off the top of her head, too. Who else was motivated to travel in this world mostly to recover the people dear to them? She could only imagine it was most of them. She had never looked out into this world with the sort of pain Albedo had shown when he thought of Sucrose. Not until now at least. Just being alone here also brought that into sharp relief. With that thought fresh in her mind and crawled into the bed farthest from the door, pulling the covers snug to her body and burying her head in the pillow. Thankfully the sleep she drifted of into was the dreamless rest of the dead. [hr] "Morning!" Linkle replied cheerfully to Albedo as she stepped into the office. Her hood was down, her ears bouncing as she walked, and behind her her hair swung pendulously from side to side in a single long braid like the two she had in front of her natural ears. It had taken some time and a couple of restarts, but the result wouldn't get quite so dirty quite so easily and she would be able to keep her hood down without the stuff flying everywhere. She was about to give him something, but he immediately launched into an explanation about coffee. "Ha ha! I finally know something that you do." She said playfully as he finished. "They have this stuff in Castle Town cafes. At least, that's what I've heard." She had never actually tried the stuff before, but she was always open to trying new things. She waited behind the motel manager, arms behind her back, as the new batch was brewed. As she collected the liquid in a little ceramic cup and gave it curious sniff the boy asked if she had slept well. "A lot better than I have in a while." She replied, taking a sip. It was really warm, which she was finding more and more to be an important factor of the things she liked, but despite that her face scrunched up. That was the most bitter thing she had ever tasted. She immediately set to work with the sugar and cream, pouring them both in to see if that helped. "At least until the screaming box woke me up. That scared me half to...well, more like almost fully to death I guess." She took another sip. Oh, that was much better! So much so she pocketed a few of the sugar packets in case she had to sweeten up something else. "How about you?" Downing the rest of her the coffee, she laid her mug down and made her way over to the couch and sat down next to the the dog. After fiddling with her pouches for a moment she pulled out the bottle of dust and handed it across the dog to him. "Here you go. It's what I managed to get yesterday. And speaking of yesterday." She held up the other thing she had gotten out, the faintly glowing blue gemstone. "Pretty, isn't it? Do you think this is enough to get you a new coat? If we wind up having to go far out again I don't want you ending up shivering like that, it scared me. Soooo, first things first I thought we'd head to the shop and see what they have. Don't worry, I already found a good hat." "Then," She said, leaning back and rubbing her hand along to puppy's back while thinking. "Grilby's, for a couple of reasons. First, I want to see if my mysterious man in black has shown up yet. And, when our wildman friend showed up yesterday, nobody seemed surprised when he landed on the roof. How often does he show up in town?"