[center][abbr=Ace Cadet][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=salmon][sub][i]Friday Afternoon[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 2421 (+3 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 626/90
[b]Location:[/b] Moon Mountain, The Frozen Highlands[/color][/center]
After that second of panic, Ace's survival training kicked in. Hunters were often sent to the most inhospitable of locales after all, including high up in mountain ranges. He'd fallen plenty of times before - hell, he'd fallen from some heights pretty recently. The fall itself was unlikely to kill him. 

Landing safely was another matter. It was hard to brace, tuck, and roll out of the impact with the ground when you couldn't see when it was coming. It was the same issue that stopped him from blindly firing his slinger's grappling hook. One botched attempted would leave him in a vulnerable position if the ground came rushing up. Even a successful snag might throw him into a sharp jut or dislodge a boulder to bring it down on top of him. He just had to focus, get ready, let his body move before his brain as soon as he felt the–

The impact happened sooner than he'd anticipated, getting only a split second sight of the ground before it greeted him. Ace released his breath when he pushed back against the hard surface. It wasn't a perfect roll, his protesting arm and ribs when he slid to side said as much, but it was the best that he could expect. With his next inhale the hunter kicked up snow as he scrambled to his feet and threw his gaze up to where he'd fallen from. He must not have gone too far down, but he still couldn't see the ruins or the path above him - the shadows persisted, making his field of vision much too small. He searched the darkness for any sign of the huntress' shade too, so he wasn't caught off guard when a few seconds later she descended with a brief whistling noise, air passing through the pneumatic system of her glaive. 

Ace dodged out of the way as the pointed end of her weapon slammed into the ground next to him. The glaive was lodged into the frozen earth, but Mae was content to hang there on the upright shaft, staring down at the red haired hunter while more colored flakes spread from the impact point. The Cadet expected more brilliant, flammable blue, but was instead faced with a flurry of deep, midnight purple so dark it might as well have been black. He didn't even have to touch these flakes to identify them. Sooty, virus-carrying wing scales that belonged not to the monster which had killed Mae, but one she never would have seen before. 

[color=salmon]"You're not a ghost,"[/color] Ace said, keeping his voice steady.

[i]"Does it matter?"[/i] the shadow replied.

[color=salmon]"Yeah. Now I don't have to worry that the real Mae died regretting helping me."[/color]

[i]"But it doesn't change what happened. Because of your actions."[/i]

Ace pressed his mouth tightly closed. [i]Yeah,[/i] he silently agreed. 'Mae' slid down the glaive and raised her arm when her feet hit the ground, conjuring a swirl of scales from which another shadow emerged. This one took the shape of a monster, but he couldn't tell more than that. Its form shifted, eventually settling to resemble something like the juvenile dragon that produced these scales only much smaller. As it circled the ledge Ace held his ground, ready to counter if it leapt at him. At this point though he still wasn't sure what the fake Mae wanted, he was pretty sure that it was trying to drive him back down the mountain. Maybe all of the Seekers too, and they'd just gotten split up without notice. He couldn't move recklessly without risking another misstep.

With a snarl the beast did take a menacing step forward, but at that moment an unexpected pair flew in from above. The humbee swooped down and dropped the cat, which landed right in front of the shadow monster. 

[color=salmon]"You two!"[/color] Ace exclaimed.

The cat slammed a sharp toothed bear trap into the snow before shadow, which snapped closed on its front limb as it moved to attack the new targets instead. The beast lurched forward and was snapped back by the trap, snarling and struggling, while the humbee flew in to jab it with its pointed stinger. Being just a poor imitation of the monster it was modeled after, these attacks proved effective against it. The shadow growled as the insect's venom streamed into it and the cat at its feet began (somewhat weakly) scratching with its own claws, both smaller creatures dodging one armed swipes.

For the Cadet this was a surprising development, but he couldn't help but smile and root for the little critters. If they were determined to take on the one fake, then he could focus on the other. 

The Mae-shaped shadow made no move to help the monster she'd summoned. Instead she stepped toward Ace, swinging her glaive out in a wide lateral arc, its reach made longer when she shifted her grip lower on the weapon. But Ace was familiar with the fighting style; he scooted backward out of its range, and back once more when she pressed. Every movement of hers meant an opposite one from Ace, and even as drained as this day had left him, and further emotionally compromised thanks to the appearance of this shadow, the hunter could recognize that she was more concerned with corralling him than actually striking. 

He grimaced. What was he supposed to do to stop her? Did he really have to fight? He knew that this wasn't the real Mae, just some cruel trick, but even so he didn't think he could bear to kill her with his own hands. Not when it was his pushing that had ultimately led to her death in the first place. If they'd never crossed paths...

Ace heard the snow pushed behind him fall before he felt the ledge. He kept his spacing in mind, ducking away to one side to avoid Mae's next swipe at him. If they'd never crossed paths, his life would probably have been so much different. If it would have changed the trajectory of his future, then given the chance he wasn't sure if he even would have done anything differently. Maybe that was the point.

On the other side of the cliff top the shadow monster morphed, breaking free from the bear trap by assuming a new form. The dark scales littering the air shifted into the same brilliant blue they'd been before, and the beast's features contorted; its tail grew long, inky blue wings tipped by spikes stretched out from its back, and its face grew wide enough to accommodate wicked fangs and crown-like horns on its head. Regardless of how intimidating the dark monster got, its two opponents were undaunted. Whether the pets were used to battle themselves or their species were just well suited for it, both cat and bee didn't hesitate to charge in. Or out, in some instances, as the kitty hopped back to put some distance between itself and the shadow in order to toss a lobbed shot at it. A shot of what exactly was a mystery, but it splattered on the side of the shadow's head. The beast pounced, but was intercepted by a slam from the humbee - which followed up with its Feelers to pin point the next weak point for its partner to target, steadily piling on increased damage. It might have been that against anyone other than its true target the shadow was simply weaker, or the battle partners stronger than they looked, but the shade was losing. It turned sharply, flicking its tail out and snapping the bee out of the air only for the cat to leap up and catch it before it struck the ground. A moment later and it was buzzing back into battle, swapping support and damage duties with the feline. Stuns, traps, slams, and projectiles were thrown at the shade until its form completely broke down, its monstrous shape melting away.

But not without one last trick borrowed from the original whose form it had copied. The dander sparked up again, and this time they did catch flame and burst. Their power was much lesser than that of the true monster, but however small several sudden explosions in a concentrated area was still substantial force. Snow turned instantly to steam, obscuring the cliff and everyone scattered by the blasts. 

Ace recovered slowly. Getting knocked back onto his injured side wasn't pleasant (and he was lucky he hadn't been knocked over the edge yet again), but he wasn't badly wounded - he moved slowly as to stay quiet, inching toward a better position while the makeshift smoke screen was up. He wanted to check on his newest pals, but he had a feeling that Mae was still around. Once he was far enough from the ledge to feel safer, Ace abruptly stood, the re-freezing ice crunching under his step. As expected the sharpened end of a glaive came flying out of the lingering screen of snow in the air. It was hard to dodge even when he was expecting it, the blade nicking the side of Ace's face as he twisted not away from the huntress, but towards her.

The move caught Mae off guard, especially when instead of pull his weapons Ace caught the woman in a bear hug. Crushed against him with her arms pinned to her sides, there was no way for her to get her glaive into position to attack. 

[i]"What are you doing?"[/i] she hissed. Ace shook his head.

[color=salmon]"Zamite be something wrong with me, 'cause I thought this would work."[/color]

He recalled telling that pun the same night that she'd passed. She'd laughed at it then. She didn't now. She didn't struggle either.

[color=salmon]"I was selfish and reckless,"[/color] he continued, painful words tumbling from his mouth. [color=salmon]"Always putting us into danger. I had no idea what I was doing back then - but you went along with it anyway. And we beat it in the end thanks to you, and Ravi. The Ace Hunters took me to Dundorma afterward, and I learned so much. I know better now, but... I'm still learning."[/color]

He couldn't begin to count the number of times he'd run into trouble since that day, and dragged his team in with him. As he got older he paid more attention, but to this day he still made simple mistakes. Even in this world with his current team, there were times he'd rushed in, close calls and dangerous situations he could have prevented. It was never something that he wouldn't own up to though, and he finally had the chance to do so for the battle he'd dragged four strangers into in Timben. [color=salmon]"I'm just sorry it took you paying the price for me to start."[/color]

If he hadn't ignored the warnings about the unknown monster, maybe Fabius wouldn't have gotten hurt. If he hadn't messed up firing the dragonator, maybe Ravi wouldn't have needed to sacrifice himself. If he hadn't insisted on repelling the elder dragon and had listened to Julius in the first place, maybe both Ravi and Mae would still be alive. 

Or maybe they would have fallen to some other monster, on some other mission. That was simply the nature of their line of work.

[i]"I would have liked to see you grow up, Aiden,"[/i] [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/cc1469d64777.png]Mae[/url] said. 

Ace knew it was the copy's last ditch effort to hurt him, drive him back toward the literal and metaphorical edge. It almost worked. [color=salmon]"Come on, haven't I been through enough today...?"[/color] The Cadet squeezed her tighter. He could pretend, too; imagine that it was the sincere words of a ghost come to visit a friend.

The shadow dissolved in Ace's hold, scattering into twinkling blue-white flakes that fell to the ground and remained there as normal snow. He let one silent moment pass, and then two, before it felt like he could breathe again and he looked up. The sky was dark, but it was no longer pitch black. He could see the moon and the mountain, and... [color=salmon]"Hey, little guys!"[/color]

Thankfully his companions hadn't been thrown off the side of the cliff either. Ace hurried over to where they'd landed, carefully checking both creatures over. The humbee had gotten the worst of it, but the singes and bruising were nothing that couldn't be fixed. Relieved, Ace fell into a sitting position while letting out a sigh. The kitty, after shaking off its daze, promptly came over to rub against the Cadet's knee.

[color=salmon]"I'm glad you're both alright,"[/color] he told them, digging the last of his prepared potions out of his bag. They split it between them, their bodies small enough and wounds light enough that they'd be back in top form as soon as they drank their halves. Once they were healed, Ace reached out to pet both of them on the head. [color=salmon]"You guys are tougher than you look, huh? Basically Palico and Kinsect material already."[/color]

The cat (and only now did Ace think that he should probably give the two critters names if they were sticking around for good) mewed at him, several drawn out sounds, and he wished he was as fluent in whatever this cat's dialect was as he was Lynian. Even if he couldn't understand the cat's speech, her feelings got across just fine. Ace smiled at her, and though it was a little sad it was genuine. 

[color=salmon]"That really giggisucked, but I'm gonna be okay."[/color]

Content with his answer, the kitty nodded. She crawled up to sit on one of his shoulders, the humbee flying up to join on the other side as Ace stood up. He craned his neck to look towards the mountain peak and trace the possible paths he could see to get up there and reunite with the other Seekers. He'd like to get back to them as soon as possible, and now that he could see what he was doing his slinger would make it easier to do so, but it was still going to take some time. [color=salmon]"Welp... guess we can't do anything but move forward, right? Just gotta start climbing."[/color]

Two of the three of them actually did not have to climb, as demonstrated by the humbee who flew up, scooped its battle partner up once more, and began ascending straight up via its two pairs of wings. It was almost taunting how the kitty waved one paw at Ace. He did not take it personally, just shaking his head fondly and getting his apparently solo climb started.