[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/dr1bvu8_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium[/img]
[Color=#67a4e0]Level:[/color] 3
[Color=#e607f8]Experience:[/color] 18/30
[Color=#e607f8]Currently In:[/color] Frozen Highlands, Edinburgh MagicaPolis
[Color=#67a4e0]Word Count:[/color] 3,172 [s]approximately?[/s] (+4 Exp)
[i][@Lugubrious], [@Yankee], [@TruthHurts22][/i]

[i][b]Two and a half days ago...[/b][/i][/center]

Despite last night's snowfall, the air was crisp and clear well into the boat ride to Edinburgh. Having awoken that morning after a decent night's sleep in the warmth of the fishing village's hotel, it seemed for an hour or so that the trio of Frisk, Albedo, and Linkle might be fresh out of luck, but after a little patience the winds turned in their favor. A [url=https://i.imgur.com/WrfkS0m.png]sturdy-looking paddleboat[/url] had sailed into the little harbor and dropped anchor, and as the dwarven crew got busy offloading various supplies in exchange for shipments of fish, hide, and lumber from the surrounding area, Albedo posed the all-important question. Soon enough the three got underway, quickly finding out that the Tidebreaker could reverse as well as it advanced when it moved backward out of the harbor and didn't bother to turn around on its way to Edinburgh. They kept to the upper decks at the prow so as to not obstruct the dwarves as they went about their business, and for once it seemed like everything was going well.

About the time that the enchanted Tidebreaker vessel had puttered about halfway to Edinburgh, close enough that the passengers could begin to make out its gargantuan shapes through the subarctic haze, one of the other passengers approached the corner of the ship that the Skullgirl and friends had commandeered as their own. While a handful of people from the fishing village had boarded the dwarven machine on its voyage to Edinburgh, all kept to themselves, using their warm winter gear for privacy as much as heat. This person, however, stood out like a sore thumb. Rather than a coat, she seemed to wear an intricate full-body suit of various shades of gray beneath cherry-red armor. A purple core of some kind glowed in her chest, and a black cape fluttered in the icy breeze behind her. Her face lay hidden beneath an odd helmet, broadly conical and composed of interconnected strips. As she stalked over on high heels, cutting a slender, elegantly feminine figure, Frisk could remember her from the glimpse she'd caught last night. By the time this stranger came to a stop, close enough to imply that she wanted to talk, the Seekers could see that the eyes gazing coolly out from inside her helmet were green.

"Good morning," she greeted the three. "Forgive me for approaching you without invitation. Last night I happened to see something both rare and special, and it left quite an impression." She put one hand on her hip and tilted her head slightly, her attention on Frisk. "Your eyes. Neither vivid nor red, but positively normal. Not the teensiest glimmer of Lifelight. And the same goes for you." Her gaze shifted past Linkle to Albedo. "Remarkable. And as I'm sure you've noticed, that goes for myself, as well. So in more ways than one, we're all in the same boat. Isn't that lucky? So I knew that I simply must get to know you better." She clapped her hands together, and her eyes smiled. "May I ask your names?"

Admittedly, Frisk was a little startled at the sudden appearance of the armor-clad lady. The way her gaze had lingered on her a bit longer than the others hadn't gone unnoticed beforehand, but she didn't dwell too much on that. The fact that the stranger wasn't under Galeem's influence either was a relief.

 Or a concern...

 "I'm Frisk." She introduced herself first with a polite smile.

"I'm Linkle!" the Skullgirl practically sang, excited at the prospect of another ally and/more importantly, friend. "It's nice to meet you!

Albedo's expression remained neutral as he thought for a moment, then replied. "They call me Kreideprinz," he told her. "I'm also pleased to make your acquaintance.  May I ask your name, as well?"

The stranger gave a bow of her head. "Of course, my dear. I myself am simply called...L." With playful amusement in her eyes, she made an old-fashioned curtseying motion, despite not having a dress with which to do so. "I must confess, though we've barely spoken, my heart is moved by just the sight of you two together." She offered both Linkle and Albedo a wistful look in turn. "You remind me of my own darling children, who I've yet to find in this cold, cruel world of ours. It's been...hard. Being awake but alone in a world of sheep, blissfully ignorant of their new reality. For you as well, I'm sure?" She made sure to glance over at Frisk again, thus imposing the sympathetic question to all.

Frisk's smile turned sympathetic. "I...understand. Being separated from the people you care about in an unfamiliar world, unaware of how your loved ones are fairing?" She said to L, looking back to a photo she had been staring at for a moment. "Whether or not these people are sheep to what you call 'Lifelight', isn't it only fair we help who we can regardless?" She purposefully left her words open-ended.

"Absolutely!" Linkle declared, clapping a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "I couldn't call myself a hero if I didn't try to help people! It's our duty as people with the power to do so to try and help out whoever we can, wherever we can."

L nodded as she crossed her arms. "Such a noble sentiment! I completely agree. I've been working around the Frozen Highland for some time now, moving among the people, but wherever I go I find only more suffering. People fighting and dying, just to live another day. It's all so..." Her eyes slid shut as she turned her head ruefully to the side. "Incessant." With a sigh, she turned sad eyes on the trio before her. "So, I wanted to meet you. As fellow free men and women. To ask what it is you plan to do, or...if anything can even be done."

"Aw, don't worry, ma'am!" Linkle told her, moving over to take L by the hand supportively. "Don't ever lose hope, 'cause where there's a will, there's a way. We know how to save the worlds, and turn everything back to how it was before! When you're done, you'll get to see your kids again, I promise." She looked back at Albedo, then to Frisk to follow up with more support.

[i]Hopefully.[/i] Frisk thought to herself. She was unsure whether or not this will just be like another reset from her own world, or something more permanent like the scar from a battle wound. But did anyone know? The idea that the deceased would be revived once everything was back to normal did relief some weight off their shoulders, she figured.

Frisk decided to humor L. "I'm sure you noticed the big orb of light floating above everything? That is Galeem, the reason for everything being...well...like this. Our main goal is to confront and defeat him, but we have to fight a total of, twelve? Thirteen Guardians that oversee the different regions. Defeat one, and the whole region is freed from Lifelight." She went on to explain.

"That's right!" Linkle added. "We've met the Guardian of this area, too! I even kinda beat him. But he's invincible or something, so it didn't take. We're going to Edinburgh to try and find out more about him. Some kind of weakness, maybe. If you come with us and help, everyone will be free that much faster!"

L's eyes seemed to widen. "Goodness! Do you really possess that much power?"

Linkle gave an embarrassed chuckle as she scratched the side of her head. "Well, sort of, heh. But I'm doing my best not to use it too much, or I've got a feeling things could get nasty."

"I see." L nodded again, her gaze seemingly worried. "I had been wondering if you'd been ill or something, dear. You're awfully pale. Take care of yourself, won't you?" She then held up one hand to her chin, thinking. "A Guardian, hm?" She paced backward from the ship's prow a short way as she mulled the information over, then turned around, a single finger raised. "Ah! As it happens, I think I [i]have[/i] heard a rumor or two about a man who cannot die. Perhaps I can be of help, after all."

Frisk's brows rose. "...Well, if you think it'll help. What did you hear?"

L put her hand on her hip again. "I've heard it said that he does have one weakness. A singular type of material amongst everything in every world, which can remove his infamous invincibility. And that what it is happens to be the most guarded secret in the Frozen Highlands, so secret in fact that all records of it were scrubbed from the Edinburgh databases, so that only two individuals in the whole world might know what it is."

"Oh, no. Does that mean that even if we find an internet, it won't be any help?" Linkle didn't know what databases were, but she could grasp that purposeful erasure of the information she needed had taken place. "So he's got people helping him, and they're smart enough to hide his weakness."

"Hmhm, indeed. Smart, and beautiful, and powerful. Well, one of them, anyway,"  L tittered. "He may just be a raging beast carried by a single gimmick, but as long as his handlers are around to protect him, I'm afraid that destroying him is quite impossible."

For the first time since his introduction, Albedo spoke up. "You don't seem quite as dejected anymore. Have you already learned everything you wanted to, and lost interest in your act?"

L smirked. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. My dear boy, I really haven't the foggiest what you might be on about. I'm here to help you, after all." She put on a wounded expression, and used an appropriately indignant tone of voice, and yet to one devoid of emotion her affectation rung awfully hollow. "I want nothing more to love and protect each and every poor soul in this frozen world. To spare them the worst pain imaginable. And as such, I have advice for you. I know just what you need to do to reach the best possible outcome. You want to hear it, don't you?"

...For once, Frisk was on Albedo's side here. She could feel it. Her soul was anticipating a fight. It knew what was bound to happen next and she would not be made a fool again, not like what happened with the Fellflower. And yet she restrained herself just enough for the heart shaped object to remain hidden, lest it reveal her intentions too early. Her kind expression faded as she stored the photo away.

 "I've a feeling you'll tell us either way." Frisk coldly stated. "So why don't we pry the rest of the information you're keeping from us by force?"

L stepped back with her eyes wide, as if she'd smelled some execrable odor. "Such animosity! Such [i]ingratitude[/i]! Whatever did I do to you?" She put a hand to her helmet and shook her head, then clasped her hands behind her back. When she looked up, her eyes were amused once again. "Ah, but what am I saying. How could you know? And that's really the crux of it, dear. Hence my advice, which in my boundless love I will still share with you, despite your unwarranted ill will."

She raised her left fist and opened her hand, palm-up, to reveal an [url=https://i.imgur.com/2WhTmRl.png]origami figure[/url]. "...Resign yourself to the flow."

As Albedo summoned his sword and Linkle reached for her crossbows, the origami moved at blistering speeds. An arc of light flashed out and cut cleanly through the ship itself, slicing off its forward quarter in a single stroke. With the Tidebreaker moving in reverse thanks to its magically-powered paddle wheel, it immediately left the smaller piece behind, which lurched dangerously as the water halted its momentum. L, meanwhile, drew away aboard the remaining half, and as she did she created a much larger wormhole than the one she made behind her back a moment ago. Through this aperture, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/lleVkzg.png]thirty-foot monstrosity[/url] floated, which L jumped up onto in order to grab hold. The new creature pivoted around until its thrusters faced the severed portion of the ship, giving the team just enough time to defend themselves before it blasted off, putting out such force as it flew away that the wreckage toppled over and the trio flew toward the frigid ocean below.

Before they could plummet into the deadly cold water, however, Linkle unleashed her cryomancy. By flash-freezing the water's surface she created an ice floe to save the team, and they landed on top of it the next instant. Albedo sank his sword into the ice to stop himself sliding, then watched L disappear into the distance atop her otherworldly mount. What remained of the Tidebreaker, still evidently able to function despite the damage, sailed off as well with no apparent intent to come back for the lost passengers. The alchemist furrowed his brow with a sigh. "I'm sorry, you two. I underestimated this foe's ability, and should not have provoked her."

"Ah don't blame yourself now, you've caught on quicker than I did." The pokemon trainer huffed out as she carefully stood herself back up. She dusted herself off, and her soul calmed down. "I'll have to arm myself properly for the next time we run into her. But those creatures... I don't think I've ever seen anything like them."

Linkle patted off the smoldering embers on her clothes, looking pissed. "This world is going to give me trust issues," she declared.

"The fact that we stumbled into with a meeting with a not just dangerous but dedicated enemy is rather alarming," Albedo observed. "My current hypothesis is that she was one of the two 'handlers' she mentioned, and simply unable to pass by a good opportunity to praise herself. I feel it likely that she may suffer from some sort of egotistical condition, and possibly sociopathy, given her skillful simulation of emotions." With the waves rocking the ice floe, he could not stand without risking a fall. "The bigger problem right now, however, is where we find ourselves. It appears we are stranded in the middle of the ocean, and I regret that I can conceive of few ways to proceed."

"Hah. Sounds like Flowey." Frisk noted with a wry smile. She crossed her arms. "But anything's better than freezing to death out at sea. What do you have in mind, Albedo?"

"Probably the same thing as me." Crouching down, Linkle placed her palm against the surface of the ice floe and called upon her cryomancy again. A shimmering wave of power expanded the miniature iceberg about a hundred feet in one direction, its width about the size of a country road. "I can probably make us a path to the city, since we can see it from here. It'll be tough going though, and..." Reflexively she put a hand over her chest, but no heartbeat issued from within. Her face was cloudy. "I have a bad feeling about this. The Skull Heart...it's pushing me to do it. Saying I have to if I want us to survive. It's always pushing me to use my power, in fact. I don't know much about it, but...I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be doing what it wants." She sighed, but looked out toward Edinburgh with eyes full of steely resolve. "But there's no choice. I'm not going to let you both freeze to death. And our journey can't end here. Not after Ms. L was nice enough to say that the Stranger [i]has[/i] a weakness after all." She smiled at Frisk and Albedo. "So as long as there's any chance at all, I'll keep going. No matter the cost."

Her smile was returned with a solem expression. 

 "I detest the fact that this is only giving your curse what it wants, but..." Frisk placed a gentle hand on Linkle's shoulder. "No matter the cost. We're here for you."[hr] The trio arrived in Edinburgh hours later, cold, exausted, and miserable. As a result of using her power; being forced to do what the Skull Heart wanted, Linkle's transformation had progressed to the point where she seemed to idly raise the dead around her. Frisk hadn't seen her since then. Not even Albedo seemed to know where she went. So it was down to the two of them.

 Well, [i]two and a half[/i] to be exact.

 During their whole encounter with L, the Prisoner, who had been stuck without a body ever since they fled the caves of Dragonspine, was stuck as a head in the worn satchel Frisk kept on her person. Unfortunately, he wasn't much help besides offering himself up as a distraction in fights. Not that Frisk didn't mind his company, just that she had to do the work for the both of them. 

  After a bit of investigating around Edinburgh, Albedo and her soon learned that L was a "Consul" and an authority figure in Edinburgh, with power and influence behind the scenes. They had to find a way to pin her down and force her to talk. 

 That is, if she hadn't fled town yet.[hr]
[Center][i][b]Currently...[/b][/i][/center]

 [color=67a4e0]"Oh?"[/color] Frisk herself was sitting by the fountain, watching the three spheals play. Her attention drew away from the spherical spectacle to a rather tall man, asking if she was in charge of the show, followed by a shorter, punny guy cooing over how cute the spheals were, even giving Glenn some head scritches. Luckily Sierra answered for her, then learning that the detective and the group he arrived with were there to take the job listing they posted earlier. Sierra then introduced her and the spheals to the newcomers, Frisk waving hello to the group when prompted. 

 The mention of poachers possibly taking a chance to kidnap the poor creatures earned from her a solemn look. Frisk glanced aside when Ace offered his two cents on the matter, and a reassurance that the pokemon would be safe.[color=67a4e0]"Nothing gives them the right to hurt innocent pokemon like this. I only hope this show will go on without any issues, last thing we need is to turn it into a bloodbath."[/color] She said with a sigh. Regardless, she smiled back at Ace. [color=67a4e0]"Either way, it is nice to meet you, Ace."[/color]

 And then he noticed she wasn't gleaming either. Even when he clarified, Frisk gave him a knowing grin. She stood up from her seat by the fountain. [color=67a4e0]"Yep. One of my friends freed me from Galeem's influence a couple of days back."[/color] She confided, resting a hand on her hip. [color=67a4e0]"Too bad we don't know where she went. I worry that curse she was struggling against may have become too much to bear, so she left before she could hurt us."[/color] She sadly smiled, regretful that there was nothing she could do to help. She looked back to the other three. It seemed like only Lucia was still gleaming. [color=67a4e0]"But I'm glad we're not alone here. Should be meeting up with Albedo at some point, I can introduce you guys. As for the sentient orb of pestilence I'm carrying around, that's Prisoner."[/color] Frisk motioned to the satchel hung across her shoulder.