We've got a new chapter folks - Yeah! There's one thing you've got to love about this game and that is the fact that the different rare Blades have unique personalities without impacting on the story too much; that means you can do a lot with them, but it also means that it's kind of hard to implement them in cutscenes. I've been trying to intersperse unlucky Kasandra scenes and background mentions when I can, so please bear with me while I try and perfect this. Anyway, let's go!
Super hero time!
Lilith: Elwyn, right? I've never met an actual royal before!
Elwyn: the Kingdom of Aneron is one cursed by the perils of war. I am glad I can meet you like this instead!
Lilith: We both ahve similar powers, we can call upon Blades and Heroes to fight by our side!
Elwyn: I suppose we are similar in that aspect. let us both go all out then!
L + E: Don't forget me! Fight for your right!
Krabbles were strange creatures, dark brown crustaceans with eyes of blue glinting under the sun's rays and protected by a motley shell of shimmering silver. Approaching the cliff that overlooked the edge of the Gormott Titan, Lilith let out a small sound of fear as she slowly backed away from the end of the ground towards the creatures. The small thief could only give out a sigh of relief – she hadn't fallen off the edge and the krabbles didn't seem to be too disturbed to try and attack.
"You afraid of falling Lilith? I wouldn't have taken you for someone like that." Rex remarked as he approached the cliff, a little kick sending the rock beside him spiralling down into the Cloud Sea. Green eyes followed the stone's descent into the cloudy abyss, a minute spent before there was any sort of collision with the sea. "I mean, it might seem far down to someone who isn't a salvager, but it's just the low tide; you have to be ready for any type of diving situation."
"I know, it's just… I'm not too good with the cloud sea. Not that I can't swim or anything, it just doesn't seem to like me all that much…" the grey haired girl admitted, correcting her beret as she turned back to the krabbles that had congregated behind them.
"But doesn't your house hang over the Cloud Sea?" Kasandra added, only for a shiver to pass along her driver as she remained silent. "…I see, let's just focus on taking down these Krabbles then!"
"Um, can I help you with this?" Ursula suggested, leaping down from her place upon Beary's shoulders. "I'm not a big fan of fighting… but I can do what I can!"
"Um, Ursula? How are you going to fight if you don't have a weapon with you? I was fairly certain all Blades had a weapon to fight with." Pyra pointed out and indeed, the ice based child held no weapon with which to do battle. Sure, Beary might prove to be highly vicious, but that didn't leave much for Lilith to use. The answer was Ursula turning to her companion, the polar bear giving a little nod as a white sheen overtook its form. Turning away for a slight second, Lilith couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her when she moved the strangely heavier hands from before her eyes, the bear claws covering them primed to deal terrible damage to any foe that happened to be on the wrong side of them. "Wait, what?"
"It's like I said... I may not be fond of fighting, but Beary is super strong!" the ice child Blade clarified, the krabbles surrounding finally starting to take notice of them. Scuttling forward, a raised pincer prepared to cut down upon Lilith, only to been stopped by the claws as with a great heave, Lilith shoved them aside as punches shot out. It was as if each strike had been chilled beyond freezing, the smallest of patches of ice appearing along the shell where the monster had been struck.
"Come on Pyra, we're going in too!" Rex declared as he pulled the sword from the small of his back, the glowing flames within starting to burn as the bond between him and the fire Blade began to join the two together. With Pyra's strength behind him, the salvaged took a swing at another of the crab like creatures, the krabbles recoiling back as it's flesh was seared. " We may not be able to do much to the shell, but get into he cracks and it's as good as done!"
"O-Okay then!" was the reply, Lilith ducking and weaving her way around the pair of creatures that had decided to gang up on her. A glance to Kasandra haddock the lucky blade giving a nod, her weapon thrown into the air as the light haired girl did the same to the claws upon her hands, quickly grabbing a hold of the hammer as it folded out into the protective shield. With the attention diverted to the shield, it left Ursula completely free to attack, with only one issue...
"Ursula, aren't you going to attack?" Pyra prompted as the weapons began to fall, the ice Blade doing nothing to even attempt to catch the claws above her. The Aegis would be answered with a small smile, the claws seconds away from impacting the ground when they suddenly began to dissolve into light, that very same light slowly and gradually morphing back into a full sized polar bear. Letting out a growl, Beary swiped back and forth, one Krabbles looking to be little match for the frozen talons tearing through it while the other was batted away, the exposed bottom leaving it exposed to Pyra's swirling flames.
When she caught her own weapon, the fire type Blade let herself spin in place, the sword floating in mid-air as it commanded the very ether within the atmosphere itself to become fire, the energy searing the remaining crabs as the weapon returned to Rex's grip, the group looking over their handiwork.
"Rex-Rex and Lilith were amazing!" Tora cheered, the mechanic Nopon dancing in place. "Bonds between driver and Blade unbreakable! Skill with weapons unbelievable!"
"Thanks Tora, but I haven't exactly fought a lot. Most of this is just basic stuff." Lilith admitted, Ursula finding her way back onto Beary's shoulder as the grey haired girl slotted the hammer back onto her back. "Even then I was still attacking the shell when I could've hit their body from the get-go... I was thinking the shell would smash eventually..."
"Don't worry about it. The only reason any one has to know that sort of stuff is if they had to fight it before." Rex dismissed with a wave of his hand. "A salvager has to fight of these lot all the time and I only used to have a pretty naff weapon to work with before. You just end up learning these sort of things as you go along."
"Well with the monsters here dealt with, we should probably go back and tell that nice man that we cleared this place out!" Kasandra declared with a small hop of success, the group turning back towards Torigoth as Rex rolled his shoulders.
"And once we get that part done, I can show you how a proper salvager does his work! This is the sort of stuff that earns you a right pretty penny!" the salvager added, a grin appearing upon the brunette's face at the prospect. "Come on, let's get moving!"
With a perfect range sensor now safely tucked away within... well, wherever Tora managed to store stuff, the group approached the dock beside the chief's residence, Lilith taking a seat at the side and quickly joined by Ursula perching herself right beside her, Beary deciding to mess about with a butterfly that had foolishly decided to flutter before him. Letting Gramps float out of the helmet, Rex secured the different straps and locks into place, only moving towards the edge once everything had been fully checked twice.
"Wish me luck then everybody! I'll make sure to bring back something real special!" the blue clad salvager declared, shooting his hook into the wood of the ground before a great leap had him zooming downward into the cloudy depths below. Without any of the proper gear or training, it was simply left to the others to wait and hope for the best.
"Wow Ursula, your voice is so nice!" Lilith gushed as she caught the little tune that was coming from her Blade's lips, said Blade immediately shutting up with a small sound of surprise as pale skin started to turn red. "Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't meant to hear that sort of thing, was I?"
"N-no! I mean, Yes, I mean…" Ursula blustered, only the comforting hand of her partner upon her shoulder managing to get the near tears girl under control, her breathing soon reaching normal levels once more. "Um… I'm not all that good with music, but… I really like it. To sing I mean, but I also play some instruments!"
"Not good with music? But Ursula sound very good!" Tora announced, both girls springing back with a cry as Tora peered over the pair's shoulder. Had they been any closer to the edge, there was a fair chance that they would be meeting with Rex at the moment. "Sorry, but Tora hear nice humming and got little bit entranced. Couldn't help myself!"
"Might we hear this singing of yours Ursula?" Gramps prompted, the little titan floating closer to the girl. "Now, we aren't forcing you to do anything you don't want, but I'm sure your singing voice can't be that bad; I've had to endure Rex when he decided to sing while cleaning you know!"
Now that elicited a giggle from the ice Blade, her body more relaxed even as she fidgeted in place. With the warmth of Beary around her however and her driver sat beside her, it wasn't long however before she took a deep breath, the first notes exiting her mouth.
As the breeze swirls around us, the flowers will grow.
With a whisper of sunlight, the buds start to show.
Though I fear for their safety, I wonder if they'll fall,
I am told that they'll bloom soon, so give it my all.
My garden is special; it's born from my love.
I'll dream of the day, you travel my way,
Like a shooting star above.
When you come here, I will have a rainbow
Prepared just for you,
A dozen flowers grown by me,
A dozen flowers grown for two…
As her song rounded out, she was startled by the applause that came from all around, Pyra and Kasandra taking their place upon the ground as they clapped with Gramps sat between them. Lilith couldn't help but notice the way the blade's hands lightly trembled, how she looked about in slight distress and was struggling to control her breathing, but all she did in return was offer a reassuring smile, one that was gradually returned.
"It's an old song… one that was told to me by a different driver and yet it never left me…" Ursula explained gently, her eyes cast down to the ground. "Most Blades lose all their memories when they're returned to their crystal, but I can still remember the song. I can't remember their face, where they were from or their gender, and yet the music still remains…"
"That's super cool! Even if you don't remember the driver that taught it to you, if you keep singing that song, maybe you'll find someone who knows it!" Lilith remarked, her hands held to her cheeks as a blush began to envelop them. "It's just like something out of a novel!"
"That idea might actually work." Kasandra added, her hands going to her lap as the bandaged wrapped blade voiced her thoughts. "Though, if you can't remember where the driver was from, it is a bit more difficult, but keep your hopes up and maybe something amazing will happen!"
"T-thank you… thank you so much." Ursula replied, twirling her hair between her fingers as she smiled brightly. Lilith just had to have her within her arms; there was no way such cuteness could go unadorned and with the blush and response the girl had to such a tight grip, Ursula was as cute as she could possibly be.
"I wonder what we're meant to do now that Rex is under. I myself was quite content with simply lazing about while the boy went salvaging, but I'm certain that you younger things won't be so easily content." Gramps remarked, the group looking around before Tora suddenly jumped up, his wing messing about behind him before the Nopon excitedly drew out what appeared to be some sort of box.
"Tora have great game everyone can play!" he exclaimed, placing down the box between the collected group. "Is called Leftherian Life! Must go around the board and live good life before retiring in Leftherian Archipelago; it is great hit with littlepons!"
And thus they wiled away the hours, watching as Kasandra somehow managed to win lucky roll after lucky roll while Tora himself, a self-proclaimed master of the game who should've had far more experience with the game than everyone else, always seemed to draw the unlucky events. In the end, while the others player had managed to do relatively okay with their lives, the lucky Blade managing to end up the equivalent of a billionaire, the board had declared that Tora was bankrupt, without anything to sell and barely able to live off of the rations donated to him.
It was to the sight of a still desolate Tora that Rex finally reeled his anchor up, a net holding a pair of chests launched onto the ground before the salvager pulled himself up onto the titan. A few latches undone had his face exposed to the open air as Rex gave a deep breath, his fingers immediately going to work upon the locks.
"Hey guys, I think I've managed to get something good!" the brunette excitedly exclaimed, the others save for Ursula leaving the Nopon to tidy up the board game (and Ursula really only stayed because she felt bad for Tora) as the lids to the chests lifted to reveal the treasure held within. "I'm not too certain about how likely stuff is found in different areas of Torigoth, but considering that we were told they could be found around here, I'm feeling this haul!"
With his board game packed away once more, Tora rushed over reassure, rooting through the various pieces that he held little interest in before the two wings darted forward, two strange items held within glinting in the light despite the slight dirt that marred their metallic surfaces.
"These are it! Bion Connectors! Now we can finish artificial Blade!" the Nopon declared as he began dancing once more, Pyra looking to the skies as clouds began to form above them.
"Well if we can, we should probably get back to your house Tora. It looks like it's going to rain soon and I don't exactly like the feeling of being wet." The Fire Blade added, the group rushing off at the first signs of rain falling down. It only grew worse as they finally managed to make it to the safety of Tora's house, the sound of thunder serving to make the entire process of watching Tora tinker away with the robot before him all the more ominous.
"Okay, all finished!"
"It's really complete?" Rex asked as Lilith moved a bit closer to inspect. The robot didn't look all that different from its original designed – actually, from a visual standpoint, it was completely untouched. Considering that the pieces were either hidden by her hat or inserted within areas that could not be investigated (deep within the eyes), it wasn't as if it didn't make sense though.
"Very complete! Just need to use energy charge to activate!" the mechanic Nopon explained, his wing moving to rest upon a lever of a console sat nearby. With the complex wires and cables connecting it to whatever you called the strange machine the artificial Blade is attached to, Kasandra had to take a step back; who knew what was going to happen if one of those wires just so happened to become loose or something? "Okay artificial Blade! Is wakey-wakey tim-!"
"No Tora, wait!" Pyra's sudden call had the Nopon leap back from the console, turning to where the fire Blade crouched down slightly to meet his eyes. "You can't just keep calling her 'Artificial Blade' all the time. As the creator, the least you can do is give her a proper name."
"Oh, um well… actually friends, Tora did have name in mind for artificial Blade. Very good name." Tora answered, scratching his head with a grin as his wing returned to the metal of the lever. "Now then, wakey-wakey Tora's own Blade… Poppi!"
And as lightning struck the rooftop, it was as if the whole room had started to tremble, a collective cry coming from everyone as electricity far beyond safe limits coursed through the metal machinery. At first, it was as if nothing had happened as the purple haired robot began to steam, lights of orange slowly gaining in intensity as the head began to rise…
"How may I be of service to you Master?"… And a ludicrous pose was pulled as a cutesy voice filled the silent air. How such a strange looking machine was even able to act so childishly was a question never to be answered, for as quickly as he switched her own, Tora pulled back on the lever, the posing Poppi returning to a neutral state as several different buttons were rapidly pressed, Tora flinching at the eyes upon him.
"Looks like Poppi hasn't been calibrated! Just need to change settings!" the Nopon was quick to dismiss, Rex giving a slow nod as he watched the event.
"Settings, huh?"
"Okay, Tora try again, for real this time! Second time always best! Now, wakey-wakey Poppi!" Tora hurriedly stated, a second surge of lightning flowing through the very foundations of the house as the lever was activated once more. Lilith was watching with a little less awe in her eyes this time; while it was still amazing to see the robot come to life, there was a difference between seeing it one time and having it make such a baffling first impression compared to the second time around.
This time, as the smoke dissipated once more, the lights adorning Poppi's body began to glow far more calmly, fingers gently moving as the quietest of motors whirred to life once more. Eyes immediately shot upward as Poppi's head rose, eyes seemingly zooming in and out in what Lilith could only assume to be the calibration sequence. Unlike the rather abrupt maid-like actions from before, the girl spoke stoically, though still held the cute tone from before.
"Greetings Masterpon." The robot intoned, Tora sucking in his breath before he was leaping for joy, turning to the rest of the group with one of the brightest grins upon his face the Nopon could muster.
"I-I did it! Tora's very own masterpiece: world's first artificial Blade… Poppi!" he gasped, hopping from foot to foot in anticipation. "Well? Tora did good, huh? You impressed? Tora is a very big success!?"
"This looks incredible Tora!" Lilith remarked, stepping forward to wave her hand in front of Poppi's face, watching as the eyes followed the movement's carefully. By that, it was just the eyes; not a single 'muscle' elsewhere moved even the slightest bit as orange orbs followed the hand. it was almost creepy.
"She's right, this is amazing." Re admitted, scratching the back of his neck in surprise with a chuckle. "I wasn't expecting the whole thing before though, however you want to describe that…"
Forget about that! That not Tora's fault!" Tora immediately screamed out, his wings balling into fists as tiny fangs were exposed to the light. "It… It Grampypon's fault! Yes, Grampypon Soosoo make all settings, definitely Grampyon's fault!"
"Are you sure Tora?" Pyra prompted, her eyes narrowing as she stared directly into brown eyes, Tora blustering and spluttering on the spot.
"Y-yes! Grampypon's fault!" the Nopon declared, though watching the redhead's eyes tilt to the side, Tora followed to where Kasandra was silent, her hand flinching away from where the cupboard door handle had suddenly decided to give way and reveal a numerous amount of… what you could call questionable outfits. Whether it be maid's outfits or any other strange costume, they all tumbled out into the open, to a beat of silence as sweat dripped down Tora's face.
"Well… let's not dwell on that sort of stuff. We need to get going and help out Nia and Dromarch." Pyra declared, Beary giving a growl from his position at the back while Kasandra slowly backed away from the closet, pumping her fists close to her chest.
"Right! Time to save our friends with new ones!" throughout this, Poppi remained stoic until her hands were clasped before her, a jerky bow given to the group unblinkingly.
"My name Poppi. Poppi try her best to make Masterpon proud."
"Grr… that shrew from the empire thinks she owns the place, just because she's currying favour with the emperor…" Administrator Dughall growled within the opulence of his Torigoth office. The purple haired man had been constantly faced with idiocy and inadequacy and now he had to deal with the Special Inquisitor making him look incompetent despite the fact that Torigoth was moving smoothly under his control! Pulling at his cream coat, the man mumbled incoherently beneath his breath, slamming down into his chair. "If only I got the Aegis for myself… I could've returned home in triumph, sold her to Bana for a tidy sum! No, this is not over, not over at all! I refuse to let this place be the end of me! I will not be left to rot in this backwater, flea-bitten place!
Messing about with the strange projection device upon his desk, one of the captains of his force was shown within the shimmering glass, a cough escaping Dughall as he addressed the man with the usual pompous attitude expected of him by the people he interacted with.
"Captain Padraig, I want you to double up the guardsmen, take any you can! We need the greatest numbers you can possibly summon and I want them even if you have to bribe them with cake! We're going to find that Aegis before Morag can sink her paws into her, understand me!?"
"Understood sir! But… we don't have the budget for cake, are we meant to buy it ourselves?" Padraig wondered aloud, flinching back from the device when Padraig slammed his fist down right in front of his own.
"For goodness sake you idiot, it's a metaphor! Get out there now and if I hear you've spent our money on cake, I'll have your neck!" needless to say, Captain Padraig was quick to hang up on his side, leaving the purple haired man to twirl his moustache with a dark chuckle. Plans were coming together in his mind and they were going brilliant, oh so brilliantly. "Watch and learn, Morag Ladair. You're going to regret messing with Dughall."
The crack of thunder outside prevented the man from hearing the light crackling, similar to that of something burning, coming from outside his window as he let his laughter get the better of him. a dark look came over the eavesdropper, a hand going to their chin in thought. The man was becoming little more than a liability in their opinion; might as well do something about it considering he had almost perfectly admitted to the crime.
"There we go! All four badges!" Tora watched with wide eyes as Lilith moved back from the odd machine, the game screen depicting a pixelated Nopon leaping in place as he counted up the various treasure pieces and medals that had been earned. The diving game Tiger-Tiger had certainly been a strange revelation from the mechanic Nopon, but it had apparently been a creation of his grandfather in order to reveal the true purpose of Poppi over time. Why he decided to do it through an arcade machine, no one could tell.
While Pyra had proven herself rather efficient at the game and Ursula managed to get the hang of it after a few tries, Kasandra had proven far from skilled, almost dying in the first few moments as a monster seemed to get stuck upon her character without any sign of budging. Rex had a good chuckle at that, only to find that he too had all the skills of a horrid player. Whenever a piece of treasure came out, only Tora was truly knowledgeable in how to use it, but they would eventually get it installed; they had bigger issues to deal with at the moment once Lilith's game concluded.
"Well then, we should probably head for the root we were talking about before now that the Cloud Sea is falling back." Rex suggested, the salvager rolling his shoulders with a stern frown upon his face certainly out of character. "The root was stretching past Garagorm's arch, right?"
"According to the map, it would be easiest to go up to the top of the stairs located there, cross the bridge and then pass under the gate. That should have us there." Gramps remarked from where the tiny titan hovered over the paper.
"Um… there won't be too many guards, will there?" Ursula asked, sat upon the shoulder of Beary. "I don't really want to get into a fight so soon…"
"Area around Ardainian base heavily guarded, but up to Garagorm's arch should be no problem!" Tora reassured. "Ursula really doesn't like fighting."
"It's not something I enjoy, no… I know there are people who really like to hurt others… I can't understand people like that." Watching as her ice Blade shivered, Lilith moved closer to her side, Beary merely giving a passing glance before he lowered his partner to his arm to place her much closer to her driver.
"Well, we better get moving then. We have some friends to save after all!" perhaps the situation was a little wrong, but the grey haired girl couldn't help the excitement and adrenaline that built as she said those words. This was her first true moment as a hero, helping someone in need with the Blades that fought by her side. "Poppi, right? Are you ready to move?"
With a flex of every joint possible within her body and a few moments frozen, the artificial Blade turned to the beret wearing girl with a cold nod, flapping her arms up and down in an odd manner. Maybe it was meant to imitate the way her creator often acted when he was excited but the difference in species made the move little more than strange.
"Map of Torigoth memorised. All weapons systems prepared. Poppi is ready to move out whenever we need to." She declared, Tora letting out a little squeal as he placed what appeared to be a heavy shield upon his back. The Nopon had claimed that it held a lot more than being a simple shield and considering the bulk that the weapon had, it was hard to deny it but how exactly a person was meant to wield it and all the different features it held was a question she wasn't quick to ask.
The odd movements that Poppi seemed to be programmed with also seemed to mess with her movements, for her walking was apparently modelled after a tin toy – arms swinging back and forth beyond normal measures and legs rising and falling as if they were only on a single pivot. Fortunately, with the size of their group, they were able to both hide Poppi and Pyra from the eyes of passing people. Fortunately, Rex didn't stand out too much if Gramps hid down within the helmet and the majority of people already knew Lilith; if the Ardainian soldiers were talking about her, the population would probably chalk it down to another tiny theft attempt.
The titan warship was an impressive sight to see as the group made their way through Garagorm's arch, rex letting out a low whistle as they approached a cobbled wall to lean on. A stark contrast to the serene nature surrounding, various mechanical implements near fused into the massive creature's skin, turning what was most likely a dangerous foe into one that could only be fought by another of a similar calibur – with difficulty.
"It is most certainly an impressive titan." Gramps mused with a slight sigh, poking his head out from behind the mop of brown. "Another sign that Mor Ardain is readying once more for war with Uraya."
"And the root we're looking for goes all the way to the ship, just like we planned!" Kasandra added, the bandaged Blade pointing down to where the gnarled plant life jutted out. "There shouldn't be any problem with climbing that, right?"
Thankfully, it was a relatively easy task to deal with the winding pathways that led downwards, a combination of overgrown vines and necessary maintenance platforms almost painting the way down. Admittedly, it was rather difficult to get Beary to climb his way down rather than jumping; Ursula had to be plucked off her partner's shoulders just as the creature was leaping down for her own safety.
Lilith was determined to stay within the centre of the branch as the steadily approached the warship. There didn't seem to be any soldiers blocking the way yet, the entrance the group was searching for just above them.
"Uh, isn't that kind of too high for any of us to reach?" the grey haired girl pointed out, pulling her jacket tighter around her body. "What are we meant to do? I thought it was going to at least be somewhat close to the doorway!"
"Don't worry about it, just gimme a moment." Rex answered, his left arm pointing upward as with a press of a button, a line shot upwards, anchor sinking into the metal as much as it could while Rex pulled it tight. A second later had the boy soaring through the air, a firm tug at the end pulling the anchor free as he landed upon the doorway, the rest of the group watching the descending line. £Well then, who wants to go first?"
"…Pyra, why don't you go first?" Lilith suggested, backing away from the dangling line as Kasandra took a hold of her driver, though not through her own volition as an iron grip moved her arms around Lilith's neck. Though hesitant herself, the fire Blade did step up to the challenge, only to immediately let go when Rex toppled over, almost falling off the edge with the weight placed upon him.
"Ack! So… heavy!"
"Wait, what did you say!?"
With the amount of force that Rex was putting into pulling Pyra up, the boy was left to fly backwards as the line reeled itself in, Gramps' quick reactions being the only thing that prevented him from kissing the ground as well.
"Now look here Rex, you most certainly cannot go around calling ladies heavy! Have I not taught you any manners?" the small titan scolded, hovering just before his charge's face. Below, Pyra was hiding her face as it glowed a similar colour to her clothes, Ursula trying her best to pat the desolate girl on the head thanks to her height.
"I'm so sorry, I guess I just got a little surprised!"
"Oh, no, it's my fault! I-!"
"Ooh, Pyra heavier than Tora for sure, but that just means Pyra grown to good height! Is good thing, Pyra should be proud!" Tora added in as his own form of consolation, the effects of which remained unseen as a massive cloud of dust burst forward curtesy of the Poppi. Powerful rockets propelled the purple haired robot skyward, landing with a dull thud upon the doorway with a cold hand held out to Rex. Letting down the line once more, Poppi's cold eyes bore down from the top.
"Poppi help pull Pyra up. Please grab again." The robot intoned, Pyra showing just as much hesitance as she latched onto the line once more. This time however, with systematic pulls, the line succeeded in actually raising the girl upwards, Poppi silent save for the smallest sound of whirring motors as she put her strength into the act. "This nooo problem for Poppi. Poppi artificial Blade. Could lift Gonzalez if necessary."
And after the lengthy wait for Pyra to be pulled up, Tora was quick to follow at a much more rapid pace, Beary reverted to his weapon form in order to make the act of pulling Ursula up much easier.
"Really!?" Rex cried out after a small scoff had him believing he could pull the girl up alone. "She's a kid!" turns out, incredibly weight was a shared Blade characteristic for despite her size, the little ice child still managed to weight a surprising amount. At least this time he was a bit more subtle with his cries, lest he be left with a crying Blade.
Soon it was left only for Lilith to be raised up, the line dangling tauntingly before her. There were a few moments spent in silence as the group leant over the edge of the chute, the trembling girl making no movements to even attempt to climb upwards.
"… I get it! You weren't afraid of the Cloud Sea, were you?" Kasandra accused, the lucky blade near flat upon the ground as she yelled down to her driver. "If you were, then you wouldn't be living in a place so close to it! You're afraid of heights."
Her answer was Lilith lowering her head, firmly planted upon the ground as Pyra let out a small gasp of realisation. While Lilith's home did indeed lie beneath the higher homes of Torigoth, the way that the town was positioned meant it was actually relatively close to the Cloud Sea at times; if she was afraid of falling, then it would be a fairly simple task to get back on and from what Kasandra recalled, there had been something dangling off the side anyway; it was probably put there for that exact situation. Now if she fell, it would be a far greater height with the Cloud Sea falling back and it would be onto solid ground.
"Come on Lilith! It's Nia and Dromarch on the line now, we have to save them and we can't do that if we're stuck here!" Rex shouted down, wincing at the light slap that came to the back of his head curtesy of Pyra when the girl below gave a wince.
"Rex! You're making her feel bad." The redhead scolded, cupping her hands around her mouth as she looked down upon Lilith, her beret now being wrung within her hands. "Why don't you think of this like a trust exercise? You have to put your faith in rex and Poppi and they'll go as fast as they can, okay?"
"Um… right…" Lilith agreed after a few moments staring up at the considerable distance between the doorway and the root they were stood upon. With a deep breath, the girls' delicate fingers wrapped around the wire, feet cautiously attaching themselves to the anchor beneath as closed eyes tried their very hardest to prevent her from seeing the ground growing further away below her. Thanks to the might of an artificial Blade, the speed at which she rose was quite fast, though that didn't stop her from trembling lightly upon the ascent until hands reached out over her own.
Opening her eyes at the sensation, Lilith was greeted to the sight of both Kasandra and Ursula looking at her with concern as she tried to catch her breath, they grey haired girl making the mistake of turning around to see the distance she had travelled. Light headed, she almost fell back over the edge and it was only the help of her Blades that stopped her from quite literally tipping over the edge.
"Breathe Lilith… it's okay, you're on solid ground now…" Kasandra soothed, a circle rubbed along the girl's back as the black haired Blade whispered into her ear. It was clear how much Rex wanted to move on from his twitchy movements, but he was a reasonable person; he wasn't going to just let one of his friends be left behind.
"I suppose everyone has their own weaknesses to contend with." Gramps mused as he fluttered down to Lilith. "You helped us immensely when you got us the information and the items we needed to get this far. You deserve a little rest."
"No, no we have to move on…" Lilith breathed out, rising to shaky feet. "We can't leave Nia and Dromarch to sit there waiting for us. Let's move."
And then we stop. Next time, watch out for a lovely little heist, no doubt assisted by a few... 'unfortunate accidents'. Hehe, I can't wait to see how I can implement bad luck and stupidity of soldiers into that section. I don't know about anyone else, but when i played it out, it was beat everyone up and then wander about aimlessly trying to find any secrets hidden about the place; hopefully it won't be so random here.
Super hero time! See you next time!