[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img]
[color=salmon]Word Count: 1537 (+3 exp)[/color]
[color=salmon][u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 15/80
[b]Location:[/b] Edge of the Blue - The Maw[/color][/center]
It was good, so good. Not the taste per se, the Cadet had definitely had way tastier food before. Breakfast at that tavern in Limsa for example. Even the makeshift lunch they'd had on that island. What this particular food tasted of was like being saved from the jaws of certain doom. He wasn't going to be starving to death today, that was for sure! Though he felt a little bad about not being able to resist with what he now considering the stronger willed members of their team, he couldn't really bring himself to regret it much now that he wasn't on death's door. While the others made to unlock the door and move on, the Cadet could feel his strength and stamina recovering little by little. At some point he did manager to rein himself in, reminding himself that he was only willing to tolerate a [i]little[/i] bit of curse. Beside him, BB was still eating with all the enthusiasm expected of a still growing piglet.

[color=salmon]"You Gobul up food faster than me,"[/color] he chuckled, ruffling the minion's tuft of hair, [color=salmon]"You sure you're not really a baby Nibelsnarf?"[/color]

Maybe when the curse started happening, with all the food BB was eating the baby behemoth might act like a conduit and siphon it away from himself? ...man, what was he thinking? He really needed to find these minion's mom, or drop them off somewhere safe that could do it for him. First though, getting through this awful submarine.

[color=SpringGreen]”... hey Ace! Catch!”[/color] 

[color=salmon]"Huh?"[/color]

Thankfully the Cadet's dexterity was returning too, catching the bottle Junior tossed his way with no problem. [color=salmon]"Uh, thanks? What is this...?"[/color]

He turned the bottle over in his hands. Clearly it was a liquid of some kind. The vessel holding it was ornate, seemed like it might be alcohol? There wasn't any label, just a picture of... actually he had no idea what this was supposed to be. Some kind of monster or animal? It sort of reminded him of some old stories but— oh, there was some writing. [i]Undertow...?[/i] he read, tilting his head. The name of the drink? It clearly was meant to be consumed, and maybe the little Koopa thought he might like this kind of thing? Honestly with how crazy stressful things had been, the thought of having a drink sounded pretty good. He glanced back at Junior but he (and the rest of the group) was already making for the exit. The Cadet uncorked the bottle and downed the contents. It wasn't a particularly strong spirit, in fact it tasted water down... with sea water. There was a saltiness to it that didn't mix well with whatever other flavor it was going for. [i]Bleh. Oh well.[/i] Intending to catch up with the others quickly he started to make his way to the door.

[color=salmon]"C'mon BB, let's—"[/color]

Wait, something was wrong. Ace Cadet felt strange, in kind of a bad way. [i]C-curse? Already?![/i] The other diners all seemed fine last time he checked! Then, maybe the drink? Alcohol + child body = not a good combo? Yeah, obviously that must be it... unconsciously The Cadet had clutched his stomach, but when he looked down at himself it wasn't his stomach that seemed wrong, but his hands. Swirls of mist and sea foam were appearing and disappearing all up and down his arms, along with angry red welts. The patches of skin that weren't already scarred from the acid rain were burning a bright unhealthy color, bubbling blisters forming rapidly. This was not normal - and either he was having some kind of incredibly bad allergic reaction, or he was [i]currently getting cursed![/i]

At some point the Cadet had stopped walking, horrified. Panic was growing fast in his chest, and the condition of his hands was getting worse just as quickly. Some of the blisters swelled to massive sized and imploded, opening gaping holes in his skin. His whimpering, rubbing and swatting at his arms had drawn a small crowd of curious captive children, the ones that weren't bold enough to follow after his team. His team that consisted of some other people that had eaten - he had to go tell them what was happening! 

It was pure fear that pushed the Cadet back into movement, running as fast as he could and chasing after the tail end of the train of kids. Fear for not just himself but his friends too. There were a billion worst case scenarios flooding the Cadets brain right now, but there was also a familiar little voice of hope that said if they just got out of the Maw fast enough, or found a cure fast enough, they'd all be okay. So, he ran - following where he'd seen the procession go. There was a small mix-up at a fork in the hallway, but a crashing sound pulled him in the right direction and after that the Cadet burst into the butchery, slamming into one of the random unaffiliated kids who were currently scrambling in the opposite direction. They both careened to the ground, but the latter pushed themselves up in a hurry and dashed away. The reason was obvious: two huge men, grimy and blood stained. With captives. Sakura, Bella, and Rika!

What a situation he'd barged into. The concern he had for his friends was still at it's peak, but morphed instead to what he could see right in front of him. The trio of girls in danger. The rest of the group was throwing anything they could get their hands on at the two chefs, and the Cadet propelled himself towards the nearest things he could reach to join in. However, pelting the huge men didn't do much and they ended up escaping with the girls, locking themselves into another room. There was no pause within the team, they scattered to find a way to help Sakura and the Abyssals. Except for the Cadet, who took a moment to breath. Shaky, he lifted his arms up to see how bad they'd gotten since he last checked.

[color=salmon]"...what?"[/color] His arms and hands... they looked completely normal! The Cadet inspected every inch of them, but there were no rashes, welts, or holes in his skin. No trace of the mist either, his skin wasn't even wet. There was no way he was mistaken, just a minute ago it looked like he had some kind of disease spreading from his arms. [color=salmon]"???"[/color]

He wanted time to think about what was happening, but if they wanted to rescue the others there wasn't enough left to do that, as Geralt pointed out. Their lives were way more important than the mystery of his arms, so of course the Cadet nodded and went to crawl in after Mirage, Geralt, and Link - but he found that he didn't quite fit. Not wanting to get stuck like Nadia he pulled himself out quickly, confusion plain on his face. Actually, why did Nadia get stuck in the first place? She was skinny and short...

Something clicked in the little monster hunter's head and he whipped around to stare at Peach and Ms. Fortune. They didn't seem bigger, but that might have been because [i]he[/i] was bigger too. He couldn't fit in the vent and he was about the same size as the rest of the boys. None of those three had eaten, but he had. He'd just [i]seen[/i] his body morphing, after all. Of course the Cadet couldn't know that he was misunderstanding part of the situation, all he could think was that the food was effecting them already. While the Koopa King and son worked on breaking the door, the Cadet all but ran over to where the others were converging to think of another plan.

[color=salmon]"I know we gotta save them,"[/color] he started, words tumbling out of his mouth as soon as he was close. He cringed, because there was a 'but,' coming. [color=salmon]"And we [b]will.[/b] But the - the food we ate. I mean, are you - do you all feel okay?"[/color] He looked around at Nadia, Peach, and Glenn. They didn't look any different. Even BB didn't look different. [i]He[/i] didn't look different, but he knew what he'd seen. [color=salmon]" 'Cause something happened to me, in the cafeteria. My arms um, [i]changed.[/i]"[/color] [i]Yeah, that was a good word for it...[/i] [color=salmon]"They look normal now but they weren't! Or maybe it was making me see things but... It could be affecting us already so just - be careful. We don't want things to get [i]worse![/i]"[/color]

The Cadet started to sound more frustrated than fearful the more he talked. They'd believe him even without the 'evidence' he was sure, they had no reason not to, he just wanted to make sure they were all okay - including Sakura and the Abyssals, of course. So with his current goal of warning the diners of what he assumed was a curse doing it's work on him complete, they now just had to find a way rescue the captives. Hopefully the vent team would be alright until the rest of them found a way in.