[center][h3]Blue Team[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] The Maw - Main Kitchen
Koopa Troop’s [@DracoLunaris], Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN], Sakura's [@Zoey Boey],  Link’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy], Mirage’s [@Potemking][/center]

In the darkness that flashed briefly across the kitchen, the flames beneath Sakura and Rika cast Bella’s savagery in a terrifying light. Her leviathan tail seemed to have awakened to its monstrous nature, snapping shut on mouthfuls of still-living flesh at a time before twisting to wrench them free and swallow whole, like a hagfish on the carcass of a whale. All the while Bella herself lay splayed across Larry’s body, motionless but for the tugs of her tail as it did its work, her glassy eyes wide and her salivating mouth ever so slightly agape. For all its awful intensity, however, the moment quickly passed. Link and Geralt’s simple but lethal attacks on the brain and spine ended the hardy butcher’s agony for good. His corpse quickly disintegrated, and the hero and abyssal atop the heaping pile of ashes sank to the ground. The vicious struggle was over.

Bowser and his Koopa Troop quickly convened with Mirage, catching up on the situation that had developed in the brief time they’d been blocked off from the kitchen. Bella, however, remained still, staring down at the ashes and the spirit of Larry Chiang without any reaction to the grip on her wrist or the words in her ear, hostile or otherwise. After a dreadful moment the Seaplane Tender blinked, inhaling suddenly, then turned to Link. “I…I’m sorry, I don’t know what...agh!” She doubled over, her breathing heavy but ragged, clutching her stomach. Her tail slid through the ashes across the tile floor, its mouth open and tongue lolling in satisfaction as if to say [i]do what you must, for I have already won.[/i] As Link watched the armored appendage visibly grow in both size and length, and when his attention turned back to Bella, he found her changing as well. In only a few short moments she’d reached the size of a ten-year-old at least, her black-striped white hair waist-length.

As her discomfort wore off Bella jerked awake, staring in confusion and fear down at herself and the much shorter hero of time. “Merde!” With a yelp she backed away into a sitting position against the table, shrinking from Link’s gaze. “Don’t look at me! I’m fine!” she told him shakily. “W-well, whatever got a hold of me is gone, at least. But now…” She sniffed, tearing up, and buried her face in her hands to escape from the looks of the others. “I guess ze food was cursed after all. At least...zis won’t happen to anyone else.”

While she did her best to come to grips with her new situation, the rescue of Sakura and Rika was in progress. Bowser, Junior, the newly-recruited koopas, Mirage, and even Peach -having been too weak from hunger to do much more than follow the Troops for a while now- worked together to extinguish the flames slow-cooking the girls from beneath, then stack whatever came to hand to build a platform beneath them. An idea struck Peach, and she hurried over to where Bella had sequestered herself. “If you’re still in your right mind, give us a hand!” she urged. “You can put your height to use rescuing the others!”

“Ze others?” Bella looked up, eyes wide. “Sakura!” In a flash the Water Princess was on her feet, and just a moment later was towering above the other rescuers. “I’m sorry mon cherie, I’m here!” As she watched, her allies severed the binds that tied the other captives to their hooks, allowing them to drop down onto the makeshift platform the Troop provided. Before they could fall or even totter, Bella swept them up in her arms, holding them tight before depositing them onto the ground. Then, more self-conscious even than when she’d absorbed the shipgirl Chicago’s spirit, she backed away and crouched down. Her leviathan tail coiled around her ankles as she clasped her knees to her chest, trying to make herself seem smaller. Her friends being safe sent such a pang of relief through Bella that tears sprang from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, everyone!” she sobbed. “I couldn’t control it! I just...I just…”

Right then, of course, the Tempura Wizards reached the top of the staircase. The cyclopean eyes on their long, fried heads went wide as they discovered the source of the disturbance from upstairs: a slew of children and monsters, many wielding weapons. Floating up from the landing on their purple-patterned bowls of rice, they readied their staves and slung forward one globule each of enchanted flour. Bella’s attention shot in their direction in a spray of tears, and without so much as a thought for her own well being -perhaps believing herself to be doomed anyway by the curse- the abyssal threw her body in the way of both hexes. Instantly she poofed away, turned temporarily into a shrimp tempura. One of the Tempura Wizards blinked, exchanging its eye for a slavering mouth, and zoomed forward to eat it while the other readied another projectile.

“Come ON!” Peach pretty much screamed. “This place is the WORST!” Opening her parasol for use as an emergency shield, she ran forward. Cursed or not, Bella was part of the team, and the princess wasn’t going to let her die.

[center][h3]Wildwood Glades[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Frozen Highlands - Alpine Skyline
Linkle’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy][/center]

As the three made their way through the blossoming wildflowers and scarlet-draped trees, both of Linkle’s companions listened to her stories with rapt attention, although Albedo lacked the older woman’s encouraging smile. Although the average person might enjoy it as a heartwarming tale of one’s use, the alchemist couldn’t help but to look at it more clinically, trying to understand it all.

Losing one’s parents was a truly horrible affair--even Albedo knew that much. It was the sort of wound, imperceptible and immune to the miracles of science, that he could have no hope of being able to heal. Yet the beloved grandmother that Linkle spoke of seemed able to achieve such an incredible feat, taking a little girl too hurt and afraid to so much as interface with the outside world and turning her into a beacon of hope so irrepressible that not even a parasitical avatar of death could hold her down. All that from a wizened old woman with nothing to her name but her heart and mind. For all his lifelong research into the wonders of alchemy, accomplished to the point of being viewed as its foremost authority across several nations, Albedo could not do what Linkle’s grandmother could. Alchemy could create life, level mountains, and transmute the elements themselves, but with it Albedo could not reach into a broken creature and take away its pain. It was a sobering realization.

All too soon, Linkle’s story came to an end. Its foremost listener joined her in her laughter. “She sounds like a truly exceptional woman. Parenthood really is one of life’s greatest challenges. We all want what’s best for our children, yet so many of us fall short.” Her smile turned softer, more contemplative. “Even I could learn a lot from this grandmother of yours. Life twists and turns so often that it really is lovely to hear a little credence to that old saying, that love conquers all.”

Albedo’s consideration of his new acquaintance’s words led him to speak up. “You have a child of your own then, I take it?”

“Yes,” the lady replied, her face a mixture of muted love and pain. “A beautiful baby boy. I loved him with all my heart, and I still do. I only ever wanted to keep him safe, but in the end, my overprotectiveness drove us apart.” Wistfully she gazed off into the trees, breathing deep of the pure valley air with a deep sigh. “Still, I will never give up hope, that even though I might not deserve it, he will someday forgive me. And we can be a family once more.”

A few quiet moments later, she glanced at Albedo curiously. “Now, what about you, young man? Neither of us have heard your story, have we?”

The alchemist narrowed his eyes, perturbed by the woman’s intuition. “I am Albedo, Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius of Mondstadt,” he told her. “My role is the investigation of the world, turning the ‘unknown’ into the ‘known’ one day at a time, so that I might discover the world’s truth.”

“Quite the task,” the woman replied, stepping around a thorny bush. “But I was more curious about your family.”

Albedo breathed slowly as he thought, the question not unanticipated. “Family? Although Alice has always asked me to call her mother...when I think of the idea of ‘family’, my master comes to mind first. My earliest memories in life are of going on adventures with her. She taught me the art of alchemy and much knowledge about the world. Perhaps... even the words ‘family’ and ‘master’ are incapable of fully expressing her meaning to me.”

After a moment he continued. “She disappeared a while ago. In the letter she left me, her last words were ‘show me the truth and the meaning of this world’. And so that has been my mission, whatever that might entail.”

“You say that like you’re discussing the weather,” the lady remarked. “But I know you’re telling the truth when you say your master meant a lot to you.” She gave a brief laugh, eliciting a confused look from Albedo. “Well then! It looks like I have two rather special children on hand, both raised by very special women. It’s endearing, but somewhat humbling, as well. I’ll have to try my hardest to compare. Here...”

The woman came to a stop in a small clearing walled in on all sides by land and trees, a mat of vines knotted together in front of her. She bent, scooped up soil from the ground, rubbed it between her hands, and cast it at the vines in a plume of pink and orange lights. “Greiða.” Obligingly the vines came to life, slithering backward like snakes to reveal a passage through. 

“You’re a witch,” Albedo stated, his own intuitions proved almost certainly correct.

Nodding toward the opening, the witch of the woods wore a knowing smile. “This way.”

Another few moments of walking brought the three to a much bigger clearing. In its center stood a lone, ancient tree, its long boughs curling like sea serpents. Even in a place of unmatched splendor, it made for quite the beautiful scene, and Albedo hoped that Linkle’s camera hadn’t run out of power. Though it must have been a familiar sight for the pair’s escort, she looked happy to see it, too. “We’re here. Heimili!”

No sooner did the unfamiliar word leave her lips than a great rumble sounded out, and the tree began to rise. Albedo watched with raised eyebrows as an enormous tortoise rose from the ground, hauling beneath it what appeared to be a house. “Welcome,” the witch said, “To my humble home.”

[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/2c/8a/c52c8a2dd46acf4895b92a835ccf6ea9.jpg[/img][/center]

She led the way to the door and opened it for her guests. “Won’t you come in?”

[center][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/011/331/902/4k/stephane-gaudette-freyahouse-int02.jpg?1529020271&dl=1[/img][/center]

Inside was a cozy, well-stocked abode. The witch moved around its familiar space, fixing to prepare the tennagers some tea. “Please,” she said, gesturing toward seats by the fire. “Make yourselves at home.”