Imperia came back to the cell carrying a neatly wrapped oilskin package, well protected from the elements and well padded, it's contents slightly more sturdy than food, but far more valuable.
She sat the package down carefully in the middle of the room, opening it up dramatically to reveal it's contents.
Cynder wasn't incredibly impressed. There were a bunch of inkwells, a chisel, and a wooden box. Imperia popped open the box and then sighed in happiness.
"Oh Flare you star. You even grabbed the right notebook. This is going to make things so much easier."
Flare was sitting patiently beside Pleasure, twirling her tail around and around while the black dragoness watched it with fascination. She smiled and nodded at Imperia's words.
"Glad I could be of assistance."
Imperia pulled out a book and flipped it open, grabbing a pen and a blank piece of paper from inside.
"Now, to trap a god. No half measures this time, no forehead scribbling or skipping out on a binding circle."
She spun the pen around her fingers.
"I'll need to plan it all out on paper first, it would be far too complex to just improvise. This could take me a while. But here's my theory: Okay, what if we mark Pleasure beforehand, right? And then we set up the circle so that it completes once Pleasure is inside it! That way I can do the full reinforcements and make it as strong as possible without anybody needing to draw anything on an angry black dragoness in the middle of battle."
"Is that even possible?" Malefor asked doubtfully.
Imperia grinned. "In the last few hundred years? Yes. There was an earth guardian dragon who was a genius with such things and invented a whole new family of seals by thinking outside of two dimensions. Seals which aren't just on a non Euclidian surface, but which are actually on a three or even four dimensional surface. That's what I'm going to create here. A seal which is contingent on not just a where, but a when."
"Ahhh, I see. I wasn't thinking about it that way." Malefor nodded. "That makes much more sense."
"It's far beyond me I'm afraid. I knew which book to bring along, but that's pretty much my limit." Flare said, shaking her head and stepping back. "Make a pretty pattern for me, okay?"
Imperia giggled and nodded. "Oh darling, I always do!" She started to sketch on the blank page, flipping back and forth through the book with her other paw. "Oh it is going to be a work of art. When it inevitably gets destroyed it's going to be positively tragic. But as long as it serves it's purpose I'll consider it a fair trade."
"Do you need better light?" Malefor asked.
"Not yet, but I will." Imperia said, looking up at him with gratitude. "Perhaps we should move to the neighbouring cell so we can work on this in peace and pop in and out of convexity as needed."
"It would be my pleasure to create this design with you. I'll leave you to plan this four dimensional aspect of the design though, as that is an area which I am not entirely familiar with."
"Heehee, not a problem. I'll explain it while I build! Ooh, Cynder, want to come along?"
Cynder shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'd prefer a basic tutorial sometime, not all this super advanced nonsense."
"It's not that hard. You just need to fit each pattern within an appropriate tessellation for the seals around it."
"You lost me already." Cynder said with a laugh.
"Funny shape go boom boom." Imperia offered.
Cynder laughed approvingly. "Now that's more like it. That is the kind of thing I need to know. You'll have to teach me someday."
"I will." Imperia promised.
She and Malefor departed, already discussing the issue as they headed into the next cell, Malefor's scales glowing with soft white light to make sure they could easily see.
Flare turned to Spyro. "So, mana burn, is it? I may be able to help you with exercises to speed you in regaining your elements."
Spyro smiled. "Thanks Flare. I remember the basics, but I'd be glad to have you teaching me."
"I might try following along with shadow fire." Cynder said.
"Can I try following along too?" Pleasure asked hopefully.
Flare glanced at Spyro and Cynder, who both shrugged. They didn't know if it was safe or not, but Cynder nodded in hesitant approval.
"It's probably fine?"
"Very well. Yes you may. But don't worry if you don't get any magic yet. It can take time, both for you and Spyro. Form a circle now."
She shifted to form half the circle between Pleasure and Spyro. Cynder moved around to complete it.
"Good, now follow my movements." Flare raised her paw and placed it on her chest. "Don't worry about your elements for now, whatever happens happens. Now breathe in, paw stays still. Breathe out, paw reaches out. Breathe in, paw goes back to the chest. Breathe out, paw goes out…"
Flare spent the next several minutes taking them through a few different exercises. Cynder found it to be very calming, while Spyro was slightly impatient and Pleasure kept on getting distracted and just watching the others instead of doing it herself.
Before long Cynder had swirls of shadow following her paw, while Flare had swirls of fire. Spyro was getting sparks and having to constantly having to reset his mental state as he got his hopes up from the progress only to lose it immediately.
But Spyro was very patient and a good learner, and eventually he was satisfied with just sparks for now.
Pleasure was getting nothing, but she didn't look too terribly disappointed. She was just absently waving her paw whenever she remembered to and swapping paws whenever one would get tired.
Eventually Spyro yawned and Flare stopped the exercise they were doing. "Okay, that's enough for today. We should rest for the night."
"What time is it?" Cynder asked. "It looked light outside through the windows but it's been so long underground I don't know anymore."
"By now it will be late evening." Flare said. "You should sleep."
"I'm fine without, but these two should sleep." Cynder gestured to Spyro and then to Pleasure.
Flare nodded. "Very well, but let's not be too loud so they can rest."
She looked around at the glow coming through from next door, where Malefor and Imperia were talking. Mostly Imperia was doing the talking, and she wasn't exactly quiet about it.
"Keep it down out there, okay?" Flare said, going to the window and speaking through it. "Spyro and Pleasure need their rest."
Imperia giggled and apologised, and the voices lowered to whispers. Flare nodded in satisfaction and changed her magical glow to a soothing night light red. She sat down next to Cynder and watched patiently while Spyro and Pleasure gradually drifted off to sleep.
"Would you like to learn some fire magic?" Flare whispered to Cynder.
Cynder gave her a smile, the red light flickering off her scales brightly despite how dim it was, and nodded. "I'd like to try."
"Okay. Give me your paw." Flare whispered.
Cynder offered her paw, and Flare placed a small flame in her hand. Cynder watched it flicker and glow in her palm like a tiny candle, smiling. Flare was still maintaining it, but Cynder could feel the warmth, she watched it flicker, and she could almost imagine that it was really hers.
"What do I do?" She whispered.
"Whatever feels right." Flare responded. "Just admire it, familiarise yourself with it. If you learn to care for it then you'll know what comes next."
"Care for it?"
"Every flame is a little life. A little child who might grow up to do great or terrible things. They can serve you like a living pet would. They follow instructions if you provide them with food in the form of fuel, no matter if it's wood, leaves or your magic."
Cynder looked up, seeing the fire reflecting in Flare's eyes. "This is spookier than I expected."
"Well I didn't except we'd be doing this lesson in a dark dungeon." Flare said with a quiet laugh. "Fire is a unique element in that it can grow and take on a life of it's own. The moment we let go of it one would think we'd just lost control of it. And with any other element perhaps that would be true. But with fire it's different. It can act on it's own without your input, following it's natural path. The same way that ice melts or wind blows, but much more powerful. Unlike the other elements, mere passive responders to their surroundings, fire shapes it's surroundings."
Cynder wiggled her fingers slightly, and the flame seemed to flicker in response. Perhaps just air currents making it move, or perhaps she had moved it with magic. It was hard to tell. "Why are you telling me this stuff? This seems more like advanced theory instead of beginner exercises."
"To get you in the mood. Young fire dragons feel these things by instinct, how fire spreads, how to throw it, send it where you desire with a gentle touch, and how to find it hidden deep within yourself. We are all fire. We breathe in air, burn food for fuel, and produce heat and energy. There is no difference between us and this flame."
"I see…" Cynder said slowly. It was a good lesson even if it was more philosophical than what she'd expected, there was enough practicality to it that it still appealed to Cynder. She opened her paw a little more, and thought the flame seemed to grow a little larger.
"Once you see you will be able to control." Flare told her. "It comes very slowly to adults who are entrenched in another discipline. I've taught it before. Perhaps a black dragon will find it supernaturally easy like Spyro did, but perhaps not. You won't be fighting any dark gods with this power anytime soon. But there is one vital thing which might save your life that I can perhaps impart in time to be useful."
"Cold resistance?" Cynder asked hopefully, and she smiled happily when Flare nodded.
"Exactly. I will teach you that your whole body is like a fire, and just like a fire you can control the temperature at which it blazes. To most natural creatures the body will burn out or sputter to a stop if the temperature is played with to any degree, but not to a fire dragon… or an ice dragon I suppose."
"Is this part of how you channel so much heat you become like a miniature sun?" Cynder asked.
Flare smiled. "Yes indeed. I will teach you that eventually if you like. One must always be careful not to burn themselves, it will take time. But with luck we might make some progress."
Cynder looked back down at the flame and was surprised to see that it really had grown.
Flare's smile widened. "Progress."
"You were right." Cynder whispered. "I do see it… and what's more I think I do understand it."
The flame flickered and danced, sending shadows bouncing off the walls.
"It makes me think of Fear."
Try as she might Cynder couldn't seem to manage to catch Flare sleeping.
She wasn't trying intentionally, but she woke up and looked around the room multiple times, seeing Spyro and Pleasure asleep, and even Malefor and Imperia seemed as if they might be sleeping based on the fact that their room was in darkness.
Every single time she looked she saw Flare's eyes already open, usually with a knowing smile.
After the third time Cynder woke up Flare finally spoke.
"Nervous?"
Cynder shook her head. "Just getting mixed up from the lack of sunlight. You?"
Flare smiled. "Just a very light sleeper. Maybe a little nervous, knowing the sheer level of power contained within our new friend, alongside her delicate mental state."
"I'm thinking about fire. Do you really think I can become immune to heat and cold in a few days?"
"At your current rate of progress? Perhaps." Flare nodded. "We might as well keep it up, as it seems everyone is in need of a few days preparation time for one reason or another."
"I remember Spyro losing his elements once before. To save me." Cynder said, gazing at the sleeping purple dragon. "He seemed to take it in stride, just like he is this time, even though it lasted for weeks. I can't imagine being without my elements like that, even temporarily."
"I've pushed myself to the brink of that state many times. It is a disturbingly vulnerable feeling, I suppose even more so for you without shadows to slide into and wind to sense your surroundings."
Cynder nodded in agreement, shuddering at the very thought. "I would hate that."
"Well you can usually endure it and continue casting magic as you please until the adrenaline wears off. It's once the fight is over that you begin to feel the negative effects."
"So at least you can probably escape to a safe place before you lose your powers." Cynder said thoughtfully. "That's something at least."
Cynder sat in silence for a few moments before she thought of another question.
"So what do you think of Pleasure? She's been alone all this time."
"It's a span of time beyond our imagination. I would not have expected any signs of life at all. Not just from passing away physically, I would have assumed the mind would atrophy and eventually fall apart completely. I'm not convinced that mere will to live would overcome such a massive timespan."
"I think that her mind was kept active by being…" Cynder hesitated for a moment, wondering if it might be better left unsaid, but eventually she finished her thought. "By being tortured into insanity, then mind wiped, then tortured into insanity again. Who knows how long each cycle takes, but we've managed to catch her while she was still in a state within our reach."
"That's a very dark thought." Flare said sombrely. "I wonder… being the victim might be intellectually demanding, bringing a whole range of emotions to the surface. But being the architect of such torment… I can imagine that would not be so engaging. How much has the mind of…" She avoided saying the name at the last moment. "The dark dragon atrophied? Perhaps a lot."
"She seemed pretty alert." Cynder said. "But maybe she's just reflecting our fears and anger, kind of like how Pleasure reflects our language."
"Ah. I did wonder." Flare said thoughtfully. "Can she speak every language?"
"As far as we know, yes."
"I wonder if she can speak to plants?" Flare asked, unable to hide her interest in the idea.
Cynder shrugged. "What would plants have to say? No offence, I know you really like them."
"Ironic for a fire dragon I'm sure. But they're good. They're lives and they are precious, mouldable, and beautiful in much the same way as fire. Besides sometimes less conversation is preferable."
"You just like things which grow in pretty ways don't you?" Cynder asked.
"Now you know why I'm mates with Imperia." Flare said with a graceful laugh.
"And Volteer?" Cynder asked.
"Same thing." Flare said with a fond smile. "He used to be quite shy, and he's just so incredibly sweet and kind."
Spyro yawned as he woke up, looking over and seeing them. "Hey. How are you two doing?" He wiggled his claws, creating little swirls of dust using earth and wind magic. "I think I'm improving."
"We're just chatting. Flare is trying to make me cold immune. Also plants."
"Immune to plants?" Spyro tilted his head.
"No, chatting about plants. I'm already immune to plants. Poison dragon remember."
"Oh, right." Spyro chuckled. "How are you going to be cold immune?"
"With fire magic." Cynder said, waving a paw around. Not even a single spark flew which was a bit disappointing, but she hadn't been trying her hardest.
"Wait, since when!?" Spyro asked, keeping his voice low but filled with excitement.
"Oh right, just since going back to Warfang. I forgot you wouldn't have known about this." Cynder said. "Flare gave me a very convincing sales pitch, so I figured I'd better give it a try."
"I want to help!" Spyro said excitedly. "That would be so cool! I can just imagine you controlling fire…" He trailed off with a dreamy expression.
Cynder blushed and smiled. "Well I'm glad you approve of my choice. It was that or ice magic, and I feel like more of a fiery sort of girl."
"Very much so." Spyro nodded. "I'd love to help in any way I can."
"Once you're recovering you can create fields of cold for us to practice in." Flare suggested. "And the more fire Cynder sees being played with, the better she learns it's nature, the more easily she'll be able to use it for herself."
Cynder nodded, raising a paw and focusing. She thought about flames, how they flickered, and she imagined a burning fire pit full of wood in front of her. She could move it, pushing the logs would change the direction of the flames and make them spread differently. She thought about what would make it burn the brightest, and then she pushed.
Sparks flew, and her eyes widened in excitement. She thought she'd done that before, but she hadn't been certain. Now she was certain she'd made fire, all by herself!
She looked up, seeing Flare beaming with pride and Spyro looking beside himself with delight.
"That's amazing!" Spyro whispered.
"It's just hatchling stuff…" Cynder muttered.
"Yes, but it's a whole new element for you!" Spyro said. "That's incredible."
"Even taking into account the reputation of a unique dragon it's quite the rapid development. But then anything faster than a year would be rapid development. That's how long it took Imperia to create snowflakes."
Cynder shook her head disapprovingly. "Dirty ice dragon. How dare she turn her back on fire."
"You're getting a bit too into this." Flare said, smiling to show that she knew it was a joke.
Cynder waved her paw around, creating sparks again. "I can see why the two elements don't get along all that well."
"But together they're strong too." Spyro noted. "Every element is special."
"True." Cynder nodded.
"Especially love." Spyro added with a grin.
"Oh shut up…" Cynder muttered.
"Love? What do you mean by love?" Flare asked, puzzled.
"Oh great." Cynder rolled her eyes.
Spyro poked his tongue out at her playfully, and then began to explain to Flare exactly why Cynder was a love dragon.
Imperia woke up protected snugly in a warm pair of wings. This was hardly a new position for her. She often woke up in such a state, but the smell was different. A little bit musty, but with a unique scent as well. Slightly Spyro-ish but mixed with Volteer's books.
She purred softly in Malefor's embrace, a rather unexpected treat. They must have fallen asleep together.
She peeked out from under his wings, just quickly checking to make sure that their piece of paper with the partially made design was safe and sound. It was laying on the floor a short distance away. Her concern satisfied Imperia had no reason not to return to the snuggle, hearing voices from the neighbouring cell, but feeling no need to join in on the conversation. She couldn't possibly keep working until Malefor woke up, he was her light source; and it would be rude to wake him as she knew he had been sleeping poorly these past few weeks. That's why she returned to the snuggle, no other reasons. Nope.
He was warm too, maybe that was another reason. But that was it.
Her mind wandered to all kinds of inappropriate places as she lay there, but at the same time she was still musing over the sealing array which they had been working on together, figuring out how different parts would fit together, how much she could add to each layer without breaking it, and all kinds of other things. It was more than enough to keep her occupied until she finally felt the purple dragon stirring behind her.
She couldn't resist giving him a morning nuzzle, which unfortunately did not have a calming effect, as Malefor was not expecting it and was used to keeping a distance from others. He flinched slightly and jolted half awake, eyes flashing open before he relaxed as he realised who it was.
A moment later he blushed and stepped away from her. "Apologies. I didn't mean to end up so close to you. I apologise if you were uncomfortable at all."
Imperia giggled. "Not in the slightest. I probably moved into you anyway. I hope you didn't mind…"
"Not at all… I suppose." Malefor replied. "It was… nice."
"Then I may have to do it again sometime." She said coyly.
He blushed harder. "If you wish to do so I would, hopefully, be comfortable with allowing it. I reserve the right to ask for space at any time."
"Of course." Imperia smiled brightly. "That comes automatically with any healthy interaction, but making it a verbal policy is a good additional measure."
"Well then, I suppose with this… incident… contextualised now we can resume work on the design."
"Sounds good. But can I tuck myself under your wing while we work?" Imperia asked hopefully.
"Well… certainly. If you would like to." Malefor responded, controlling his expression mostly, but looking rather pleased with this turn of events. He raised his wing and Imperia happily flopped under it, picking up the pen and beginning her complicated work on the paper once again.
Hours went by and the design slowly started to take shape, it was made up of a hexagon within a circle, and much of the open space was then divided up into dozens of additional triangles and circles. It looked like something which might belong on a stained glass window, or perhaps the petals of a flower. Imperia smiled in pride as she looked down at it, then grimaced slightly.
"Heck… now we need to look at the other dimensions. Can you create spires of rock for me to draw on?"
"Of course I will be able to."
"I'll need to mark out the exact places. The good news is that we don't have to be perfectly precise, that's something we tell novices to scare them into having good practice, but the more precise it is the better it will be."
"And we're trying to design a seal which will turn the power of a living god against herself. Accuracy will be paramount."
"Here, here, and a triangular one here. It needs to be the same around all six axis of symmetry."
"Eighteen stone pillars?"
"Correct. Now I need to calculate the appropriate angles for the spires."
"I had no idea you were so mathematical." Malefor said with a chuckle.
"Heehee, I dabble. But there are whole branches of mathematics which I don't understand. Imagine the secrets which might lie just beyond our knowledge…"
"I look forwards to locating them." Malefor said. "And I would be honoured if you would choose to help."
"With pleasure." She purred, then glanced over into the next room. "Not that Pleasure. They really choose awkward names don't they?"
Malefor chuckled. "They do seem to prefer a very literal naming convention."
"Primal emotions. Forces of nature."
"Fitting, I suppose." Malefor nodded. "Forces of nature is what they are. Learning about this 'darkness' makes things feel a little bit different. It doesn't change things really, knowing that Hope was perhaps a victim all along. The results are the same either way. There may be some force out there in the world which causes this, something we can end for good."
"I'm just glad that blasting it worked. Ooh, I wonder if Cynder could pull two people into a dream at the same time?"
"I'm not sure." Malefor said with a shrug. "If time works differently in that world then perhaps it could be useful for therapy."
"Although Cynder would have to sit in on the meetings, which probably wouldn't help."
Malefor chuckled and nodded. "Perhaps she could put others into shared dreams. I don't think she'd want to sit around in the dreams of others."
"That would be a really cool trick." Imperia said excitedly. She drew a straight line to represent the ground on her piece of paper and then started to draw in the triangles which represented the pillars which would be needed.
Malefor watched with interest, occasionally making comments or asking questions. Imperia had to redo the lines a few times before finally settling on a proper design.
"We should go to Convexity and make the outline for this."
Malefor tilted his head thoughtfully. "How exactly do we get her into the middle of the design?"
"Ideally you would just drop her straight into it. Can you work with that level of precision?"
"In getting back to the material world, yes. But getting into convexity? I've never had a landmark which I needed to hit with such accuracy. We will have to test to see if it's possible."
"No time like the present?"
"I suppose not. But I must confess I'm enjoying being so close to you."
"Aww, I feel very much the same, but we can cuddle again once we've done the design."
Malefor chuckled. "Very well, it's a deal then."
He got to his feet, raising a paw and creating a rift. Imperia grabbed the chisel from her parcel of tools and inks, before she got up as well and they stepped through together.
Once again Imperia took a while just to stare at the sky, smiling. "I'd love to make out with someone while floating out here. It's just so beautiful."
"Well I can hardly judge, considering I have no experience with any such matters, but if you ever had someone who you wished to bring out here I suppose I could send you out and then bring you back after twenty minutes or so."
Imperia giggled. "Tempting, tempting indeed. But mostly I'm just happy to be in a place like this with you."
She walked away, beginning to look around at the stone before pointing out a location.
"Can you flatten this for me?"
Malefor nodded, placing his paw on the stone and beginning to smooth it out. A progressively larger and larger area spreading out from the centre. For the sake of thoroughness he also solidified the cracks and folds of stone underneath in order to make a solid platform.
Imperia nodded in approval. "So would you like to draw a perfect circle at a very exact scale or would you like me to do it?"
Malefor chuckled. "I would assume you have a trick to make it easier."
Imperia giggled. "Of course I do. Stand back."
She stepped into the air, while Malefor walked back well out of the way. Then Imperia started to make the chisel orbit around her, spinning it faster and faster until it was a blur. She pushed it out, still spinning it, until she had reached her desired distance for the outer circle of the circle, and then she lowered it until it was in contact with the ground. The stone made a screeching reluctant sound as a few more rapid revolutions of the metal tool caused a circle to be worn into the stone. The chisel zipped back into Imperia's paw, a bit of smoke or perhaps just stone dust rising from it's tip. Imperia spun the chisel in her paw and blew away the smoke, grinning.
"That was… very impressive." Malefor said. "Very impressive indeed. Would you be able to do that with a weapon?"
Imperia smirked. "Of course. Now lets see if the circle is right or if you'll need to mould it to fix it."
She flew upwards and gazed down, nodding in satisfaction.
"Well it looks reasonably good. Now comes the tricky part… making the hexagon."
"Actually I may be able to make that part simpler. After all snowflakes have a six fold symmetry."
"True, but what does that have to do with anything?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Are you telling me that Cyril has known something which could save me a load of work, and he hasn't told me about it all this time?"
"Well how do you normally do it?"
"I put a piece of string across the diameter of the circle and then cut it at a certain length, then place it along the edge of the circle."
"Elegant. I think I can do better though." Malefor chuckled. He placed his paw in the centre of the circle and created a gradually increasing shard of ice, spreading out similarly to a snowflake.
Sure enough it had a sixfold symmetry, and showed Imperia the exact points which would give her the desired straight lines. She spun her chisel again and swiped it across the lines, creating a neat hexagon.
"There, Cyril could have done that for you in the past."
"Maybe he just didn't know." Imperia said with a laugh. "I won't hold it against him."
Malefor chuckled. "Very well." He gestured at the ice and it parted. "I can draw the remaining angular lines if you like."
Imperia smiled. "Sure, yes please." She held up the paper for him to look at, and he looked back and forth between it and their diagram.
"So if we did get this wrong, hypothetically, we could just create a new one?"
"Up until I draw in the gold ink. Yep." Imperia nodded cheerfully. "Looking good so far though." She said in approval as Malefor sketched out the straight lines, changing the stone with magic.
Once there was an enormous lattice of perfectly straight lines dividing up the shapes Malefor stepped back. Imperia replaced him, using her chisel to draw in the circles and curved lines, measured and careful.
It was a slow process, but effective, and Malefor only had to tweak a few of the circles and curves to perfect them.
The design started to take shape, and they both looked on in satisfaction. Once the groundwork was finished Imperia described the pillars of stone which she needed, and had Malefor create them. This process was faster, but checking them to make sure they were correct took time.
The hot white star beat down on them, and eventually they decided it was time to go back.
As they stepped back into the dimly lit cell of Darkmires Tomb they heard cheering from the other room. Imperia immediately perked up in curiosity.
Malefor waved her away. "You go check it out. I'll figure out if I can consistently hit a target while stepping back and forth through a rift to convexity."
She nodded, smiling. "Good luck then."
She wandered into the other cell, and then her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Cynder holding a small flame.
Spyro was right next to her, holding her close, but he was clearly not the one creating the flame.
"No way…" Imperia stared, then rushed forwards. "Cynder, that's so cool!"
Cynder looked up, rapidly losing the fire as it sputtered out. She still had a very pleased grin on her face. "What do you think?"
Imperia smiled delightedly. "It's wonderful! I see Flare gave you a convincing pitch about why fire is great?"
"Very convincing." Cynder said.
Flare smiled happily. "She's a natural."
"She sure is." Imperia said happily. "You know who doesn't stand a chance."
"Lets hope not." Cynder agreed.
To face Darkmire our heroes will need to be well prepared and at their best. Once again that means planning and preparing. I can imagine Imperia sitting them all down and planning it out step by step like a bank robbery in an action movie. Disappointingly for her they won't plan things out quite to that degree, but they're not going in unprepared.
This chapter was fun to write, I didn't want to do the same thing as I did before the Hope fight where there were several chapters of catching up, meeting Pleasure, and figuring everything out, so I've condensed it all down to this chapter (and a bit of next chapter) and then soon enough things will kick off. I'm excited for it!
Thanks, as ever, for reading!
-4Dragons