[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/nmgZzEZ.png[/img]
[color=979CB2]LOCATION:[/color] Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon
[color=979CB2]WORD COUNT:[/color] 584 (+1, +65CollabEXP/Reward)
[color=979CB2]MENTIONS:[/color] [/Center]

[Hider=A Power Every Villain Needs!][color=979CB2][b]Shine Beam -[/b] Mao can use his charged magic to fire non-elemental beams from his hands to assault enemies. Fires a fast and narrow laser that can twist and turn mid-flight, blocking off routes or caging opponents in the trail it leaves behind while potentially snaring them by piercing through their bodies. Upon stopping, the beam quickly bloats, expanding to dig into the caught victims and further limit their movement before disappearing after a short period of time.[/color][/Hider]

[Hider=A Power To Divide And Conquer!][color=979CB2][b]Fetch -[/b] Mao and Aurox can temporarily split apart, allowing Aurox free movement on the battlefield to pursue enemies for a short period of time without the hinderance of his host. Attempting to wander too far, or grabbing an enemy will cause Aurox to quickly be pulled back and reverted to an armor state around Mao. A grabbed enemy is forcibly pulled towards Mao's position for a follow-up attack.[/color][/Hider]

[hr]

Having woken up to witness the end to the Resistance, Mao was pleased enough to not find his sleeping space torn to pieces by Aurox, and instead generally in one piece. When it came to the Resistance proper, he felt good about the result. In the end, what he wanted accomplished came to pass, and he wasn't going to pursue anyone afterwards. They could live their lives, he'd instead focus on something higher. Literally, as he sat upon a rooftop and stared at his latest target on the horizon. He'd spent most of his night after splitting from Jesse actually putting everything he'd learned together, trying to make sense of it all. But in the end, it mostly just seemed like madness that he'd have to endure to get his home back. Not that it was too much of a problem, things were getting pretty cozy back home with his reign anyways; This was just another ordeal to keep him sharp.

Having lounged around long enough, Mao made a quick descent before making his way towards the station. Primrose's warming piece of regal headwear was currently set in with his few belongings, the heat being too much for the moment to wear it around in the middle of the day. Not having much to trade or barter, he'd have to take what he could get. The warmth-giving headwear and the scarf in his possession were about all he had worth anything, along with his weapon and the small potion he'd gotten from one of the X-Nauts. Such was how things would be, though even without the gear he'd push on. Giving up wasn't in his mentality, and his ego just hoped that the others wouldn't slow him down. The display from their fights yesterday made him feel like things would be fine however, at least in that regard.  

Once he'd made his way to the station, Mao found himself cautious of unfamiliar faces and yet not exactly comfortable with the familiar ones, either. Big Band was far from difficult to make out, along with Tora's unique shape and Poppi remaining close by. Midna rolled in with that Samurai, and Primrose not far behind them. A few faces from yesterday were still missing, which said enough that they weren't quite ready to embark yet. The faster the better, in his opinion, but if they had to wait he'd sit around until the time arrived. He mostly kept to himself; Lurking in the outskirts of the group and leaning up against the nearest support he could find. A little broody, perhaps, but he just wasn't terribly eager to jump in-between everyone else, as he hadn't much to say.

That didn't mean he wasn't eager to take on Galeem's champion, of course. At this point, there were two eager fighters: Mao for his personal reasons at this point, and morbid curiosity: And Aurox, who for better or worse didn't want Mao dead specifically, but didn't mind leaving other corpses. Which Mao didn't care about, as long as it wasn't in a situation that bit him in the ass. But even now, he felt uneasy about the creature of stone. It was strong, but also a bit more of a wildcard that was attached to him (seemingly) permanently. Unsure if Galeem's destruction could even part them, but it was the closest thing to a mutual goal they could relate with. 

So for the moment, cooperation seemed in the odds. Unless they started bickering once they began the climb, that is.