Reunited and it feels so good
Summer 2021, Week 4
Thursday evening
Luna's Apartment, The Heights
Storyteller
It had been a long day for the young girl already as she had been back to AERI HQ to briefly check on how things were going there after the bolt event as well as stopped by the hospital to leave a card for both of her teammates who were still injured. Choosing to travel purely on foot to train her endurance during these errands had taken its toll, but she was filled with determination to test a theory. She sat on the roof of the towering building she temporarily called her home, preparing herself mentally for the task at hand. She would need to maintain focus and minimize any potential mistakes lest she fall unconscious as she had done before when exerting herself too much at once.Luna
"If I could push myself to summon something the size of Beatrice, surely I can open a portal large enough for someone to walk through, right?" she reassures herself as she stands up and extends her arms in front of her. 'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this,' she repeats over and over in her head as she begins to summon a portal in front of her as normal. The ring appears and reveals a glimpse of the world beyond it, but Luna doesn't stop there. She keeps focusing on the portal, trying to make it to grow larger and larger bit by bit. Eventually she goes as far as to grab hold of the glowing ring of light on both sides, seemingly trying to force it to keep expanding by pushing it outwards from within. All the while continuing to repeat that phrase in her mind, 'I can do this,' until finally her arms are fully extended and she stands directly inside the large portal. Almost immediately she falls to her hands and knees, and completely through the portal in the process, in exhaustion and the portal closes behind her.[Transporter: x1 Strenuous, -15 EP (10/25)]
Storyteller
And so while the young girl still remained on a towering structure, the scenery around her had changed dramatically. Mostly barren fields with stretches of grassland or forests scattered about surrounded the tower as far as the eye can see, with the mechanical wildlife struggling to maintain some sort of ecosystem present throughout the lands in relatively large, but ever declining numbers. Ruin has come to our family, turning this once beautiful landscape into a festering abomination. Welcome Home, young one, such as it is. This squalid hamlet, these corrupted lands, they are yours now, and you are bound to them; This sprawling estate, a Mecca of Madness and Morbidity.. And now the true work begins...Luna
Finally, Luna recovers from her use of the power and rises to her feet. She walks over to the edge of the roof, placing her hands onto the railing as she looks out at her homeland. I did it. A tear wells up in her eye as she processes the achievement. I made it back, and not by accident this time.. I did that! This power no longer controls me, now I control it! she thinks as she grins and the tear runs down her face. Then in a sudden realization she bolts away from the edge and toward the stairway. Venturing through the hallways and down the floors of the large tower she is unable to find what she is looking for, and so she has the idea to contact the only one guaranteed to know where to look. Attempting to open a communication with Beatrice leads her to suddenly hear and see what her mechanical companion was hearing and seeing as it was mid conversation with her target. Now she knew where to look. "Thanks Beatrice" she says with a smile.Alexia
"I swear that girl is going to be the death of me with how much she makes me worry. First she gets involved with this would-be hero group with no experience, then I lose connection to her during that fight, and then she manages to summon you of all things.." she says as she quickly fastens the new mechanical leg to the machine before her. "She better be okay.."[Ind. - Advanced Mind: x1 Minor, -1 EP (12/15)]
B.E.A.T.R.I.C.E.
"I have already informed you twice that Master Luna is secure, but..." As Beatrice says this her eyes glow brighter for a few moments, accepting the call she suddenly received but continuing to speak without missing a beat. "... she is also very persistent and extremely intelligent for such a young fleshing. Master Alexia should have more faith in her kin, the two of you show a genetic variance of less than 0.001%, I suppose."Alexia
"You say that, and yet I find it hard to believe in myself either.." she says, stepping away from Beatrice and looking her over once more for anything she might have missed. "Case in point, I need you to run another self-diagnostic."B.E.A.T.R.I.C.E.
The machine lifts and then brings back down each of its legs one after the other, extends its hardlight claws then retracts them, and plays a series of musical notes and sounds through its speakers all at the same time, then it all comes to a stop again at once before the machine's voice returns. "Motor functions; Operational""Hardlight emitters; Operational"
"Vocal systems; Fully functional"
"Sensory apparatus; Fully functional"
"Structural integrity; 99.89%"
"Repurposed Intelligence Core; Online with 0 critical errors"
"Self-Diagnostic Scan complete; All systems nominal, I suppose."
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