Deep Dark Freeze

[Vio]

Oof! Ow! Extremities screamed for relief as the worm’s weight dragged her through snow and dirt, stretching her roots to their limit and then some. Acidic oozes threatened her further, as too did the prospect of being ground to a pulp against cavernous walls, forcing Whitaker Bryony to release her penetrative grasp of this formidable foe’s body just to dodge the proverbial bullet. That left her beneath the surface, but not alone. Kite had somehow found a way down and had made his pursuit of the beast, but this world was far unlike that which lay above — this world was the enemy’s world and it knew it. Bloodied and beaten, it was making the most of its network of tunnels.

Being close to it is dangerous, and so’s being at a distance…?! Reacting as swiftly as her shrunken form would allow her, the leafy lady rolled out of the way as a volley of corrosive cannonballs flew towards Kite and herself, dissolving snow and soil with ease. Some of the spatter scorched fabric, chewing holes in winter clothing, but not deep enough as to scald flesh. The worm turned, rushing towards them with teeth bared.

^{“Kite,” she called:
“I’ve got a plan, y’know?”}

Plans weren’t her strongest suit — she knew that. But, she also had to give it a shot. Stabbing and slashing and sound alone had so far done mostly superficial damage, but the plan that came to mind was less about their direct attacks, and more about the environment. Caustic devastation had melted pathways through which the beast had cruised, but in its wake it seemed to leave supportive secretions. Roots lashed and laced their way through the earth around herself and Kite, forming a network through their section of tunnel — floor and wall and ceiling alike.

“That sound you made… Aim it at the ceiling above it!” She gritted her teeth in determination as she began to inhale, infusing her breath with unnatural energies. At the beast she stared. Straight down its gullet. She opened her mouth, a loud screech emanating from her maw agape. Waves of fiery light shot forth, caressing the creature’s form as it charged, and within seconds it screamed in retaliation. Wriggling and convulsing as the hallucinogenic force saturated body and mind, thrashing motions slowed it down, hopefully buying the duo enough time. Hopefully her roots would be able to hold…

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)

[Phantasma]

    In a show of pure speed Kite avoided each squirt and drip of that projectile fluid. His own body filing down to little more than a blur of dark clothing with a trace of white, a human sized whirlwind that solidified within the second those droplets were behind them. They sizzled and popped in the tender earth of the tunnels. Dripping and flowing deeper into the earth, leaving the battle. The smell was something that would've made a more spoiled version of Kite gag, he still had to suppress the reaction to such a sour, sour aroma.    

    A consequence of having to move so fast meant he instinctively bent his sword close to his body, favoring his right side. 

    His teammate called to him, body understanding the order enough to immediately sheathe his blade in preparation. Awkwardly fitting inside of the smaller compartments of the knife as it was doused with energy. 

     "Ensemble Forte," as fast and unforgiving as a lightning strike the blade screamed. 

    'Risky move Miss Whitaker, far more reckless than myself,' The hunter remarked having nearly been stunned by the yelled command. 

    Immediately an invisible wave bloomed between the space above the trio following a rough cone from the hunters raised right hand. Sheath still flopping on his hip as the fusion of dirt, snow, and tougher hardier materials rained down like hail. It was a contest between which source of energy was louder, the collapse of parts of the tunnels roof or the currently siren-like wail of screeching wapometal.

    Kite's legs were already moving before the concert, rejoining the side of the brunette. Briefly forgetting about a concept of decent distance he was shoulder to shoulder with her, sword held out in front batting aside debris that had managed to fly wildly off course or to blast out lesser shock waves to knock aside the sharper bits of stone. His eyes were like motes of fire dancing around in white, flicking every which way with a hunger to see the next target to knock aside as he stood in for the girls shield. 

    However her fruit worked it was evident that she remained relatively immobile when rooted to the ground like that. Wasn't too dissimilar from a tree in that regard, it meant that given the right circumstance she could be vulnerable. 

    Whatever she was doing to that bug had affected it wholly. Pained undulations rolled across its unnatural hide while ichor poured from its wounds, shrill sounds like you'd expect from a wounded animal sounded out of that stunted chasm of a snout. The white haired hunter didn't flinch and instead prepared to go in for a dash, spying several possible paths to bull rush straight through. Even now the waterfall of materials had stopped allowing the harsh unforgiving light above to illuminate their path, warped surroundings illuminated in seconds. 

    Deeper than before the party was at least several feet underground, having moved deeper at some point during their high speed chase. The physics that allowed the snow to stick up and build a carpet to hide the shoddy rough hadn't gone into effect, instead Bryony and Kite were very clearly looking at strands of that nasty fluid which constructed a sort of rough scaffolding for the snow to pile up on. Fragile it now hung in tatters and now matter how much snow drifted down into the trench the roof was not going to reassemble. The blanket of white was starting to make significant progress on enveloping the worm. 

    Still reeling from the effects of that attack pitiful squeals echoed out of the rasping teeth. Rubble sliding off of indented and exposed carapace. Mud mixing into the carnage that was either sides of the belly-up bug. A few good sized rocks had pelted it during the cave in and what hadn't been shot or batted away by Kite was on or around the bug like a shallow grave. Even if the fight was out of their target the young mans battle stance didn't lose its intense aura, his hands tightening around the grip of the blade as he walked a few steps ahead of Bryony observing just what they had accomplished. In large part she had done the most damage. 

    That wasn't what bothered him. 

    Grotesque, a pale imitation of life. That's what this insect was and even the shell seemed unnatural, a disturbing shade of white even brighter than the mans hair or the snow around him. Aspens motivations were malicious, sure, but to go so far as to make a mockery of Life? To unleash beasts like this on the island due to a grudge of some kind? 

    "I'll do the deed, Bryony," Kite offered, voice a measure more hollow than it ordinarily would be. 

    'I don't know what I'm going to do when we find this man... but at least horrors like this will stop,' He hoped, ignorant of possible fail safes or more specimen nowhere near the group. 

[Vio]

Her plan had been successful. Just. Roots held fast and strong against the structural devastation inflicted by a combination of the worm’s pained thrashing and the ear-splitting crescendo generated from Kite’s own attack — a technique the likes of which she was still unsure about. Rubble and snow piled about them, exposing them once again to the bitter air outside. And when it all stopped — when the screeching finally abated — it was practically over.

Hazel hues glared at the monster that lay half-buried beneath the permafrost, its body slick with bilious ichor and impacted by the debris that had showered it. Seeing this creature in all its supposed glory, Miss Whitaker couldn’t help but feel a sickly burn at the back of her throat as she let her form return to normal. Retracting roots allowed the arch of safety to remain standing; the only feature of the immediate terrain that had been spared from shattering and collapsing.

Kite spoke, but she didn’t take her eyes away from the mess of flesh and chitin.

^{“How could he make this?” she questioned:
“Aspen… How could he do things like this?!”}

Fists clenched tightly in front of her chest, the chestnut cherub turned to Kalisto with a tearful and angry look in her eyes — remorse and hatred for a man she had yet to meet in person made manifest as small tears that streaked down her cheeks. First atrocious weather conditions to harass the people, enraged mutations of native animals, and now this twisted demonstration of biology? How such a man had escaped and evaded authorities for so long had her beat, even more so now that she was witnessing the horrific pinnacles of his experimentation. She wished there wouldn’t be more. That this would be the last they would have to see. But the churning of her stomach suggested otherwise.

^{“J— Just…” Swallowing, she nodded:
“Make it quick, y’know? It shouldn’t suffer anymore.”}

Looking away, she inhaled deeply.

The others are probably starting to wonder where I am, she thought, looking to her hands. Adrenaline had her body heated, even if it was only a temporary protection against the eternal bite of Drum’s cold climate. They only had a limited amount of time before sailing to their next destination. Stopping on an island affiliated with the World Government had been a risky venture, only safe thanks to the Sakura Kingdom’s identity as a rather independent isle. Still, they had wanted to move fast, but Bryony had been consumed with a desire to help. Seeing all of this, she hadn’t been wrong in her choice. In a rather twisted turn of events, it hurt to be right.

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)

[Phantasma]

    "Alright," Swiftly replying he left the young woman's side, feet crunching in the snow that had drifted down into the tunnels. 

    The biting cold, the silence, just the simple act of walking pulled the hunter back to his senses. No more than half the distance from the worm and he stopped, head turning towards his left shoulder while his back remained to the revolutionary. 

    "Consequences... aren't something Aspen thinks about, chances are. Maybe he has his reasons but it's possible there's none."

    Kite picked up his pace again only stopping inches from their quarry. Kneeling down he took his blade and interlocked both hands so that the entire weight of the weapon was supported. On his right knee he gently pressed the pommel of the blade onto the quivering maw of the creature. It was an awkward angle that let the blade bow forward like some horn, arching over Kites left shoulder. 

    "We'll stop him. You'll stop him. Make sure he can't hurt anyone else,"

    The sword started ringing once Kite drew out his power, funneling it like water through his palms and into the steel. It was a soft kind of hum, the sort of noise you'd feel more than hear. Touching the creature like it was a few bubbles rose out from fluid still dripping fresh, in the process of coagulating. The worm let out a pitiful cooing-like gurgle. 

    Kite felt a pinprick of sadness as the gravity of the mercy kill hit him. 

    Ensemble Forte's effects were swift, immediate. The hum stopped only after Kite gently lifted the pommel, by which point the worm had stopped lazily squirming. Other than a few crunches from within the thick hide the finisher was almost too quiet. No violent explosions, no horrible screams, just the return of background noises. 

    Splitting his sword up once again the hunter put away his blades, not moving from his kneel. Eyes focused on the worm he hung in place for a minute to make sure the beast had truly been killed. If not for the danger, then for what surely was the final moments of agony. Deeming the lack of steam or the rising and falling of exposed parts as death he picked himself up. Stepping backward two paces, turning on his heels and walking towards Bryony. His expression was solemn, not pained or tear stained but with a slight frown and a downcast set of eyes. 

    Continuing past Bryony he wordlessly ascended the tunnel wall. Hands searching for exposed roots, stone grooves or anything else in solid earth that could support him. Grunting a few times, nearly slipping once, he ascended up and over the side in less than a minute. Instead of standing up to dust himself off once he had pulled himself over the lip he continued to lie there, looking down at his companion and offering an outstretched arm for the final stretched of the climb. 

    If accepted his grip was strong, physical ability more than enough to let him haul her up and over to his side. 

    Either way he wasted no time in getting himself ready for the final lap to the enclave, Aspens workshop so thoroughly removed from Drum Islands quiet village scene. One dust off and a once over with his coat was enough, hands finding some odd tears here and there but nothing major enough to warrant a breathy sigh or disappointed head shake. 

    The minutes spent walking close to the nearest of the Drum Rockies were silent, Kite didn't feel the need to pass words between him and his companion. Instead he hung near her, rather than cluster Bryony or something else awkward it was a comfortable distance between the two. Not too close but not too far apart. His foot falls in the snow following the chorus of hers, eyes trained on the same aged and strained path that squirreled around the back country of the winter island. It was possible they both spotted the shape of an observatory like building leaning into an earthen mound at the basin of the mountain. High walls more grim than a mausoleum, several sections littered with those innumerable pipes. The closer the party got the more opportunity there was to smell that acrid stench which had clung to the worms fluids, to the busted pipe. 

    White, pure white, with the barest hints of blue and metallic steel made up Aspens workshop. A set of tall rectangular steel doors barring the way in. Even the trees seemed to stop advancing past a certain point towards the structure leaving a 10 meter radius of lifeless, flat, snow. Occasional noises of machinery clued them both in on the possibility of activity but given how well those thick stone-like walls were at muffling the noise it was only feet away from the doors that they could hear it. 

    Kite already had his weapons out in either hand, a response to the chance of danger. 

    Maybe to pry off the door as well.

    "Ready when you are." 

---

Attack Summary

• Kite mercy-killed the Mutant Worm with Ensemble Forte.
• Ready to pry off the doors to Aspens Workshop himself, Kite has either weapon prepared.

[Vio]

A hand was welcome to pull herself from the leftovers of the tunnel network. She uttered a meek thanks, but the rest of their journey was a quiet one — a solemn trek through forest and snow that eventually led them all the way up to the front door of what would have been Aspen’s base of operations. The way everything seemed to just suddenly stop was unnerving to say the least, as if some kind of invisible ward refuted the presence of natural life; and said invisible ward had an equally offensive odour.

Kite stood at the ready.

^{“Okay!” Bryony swallowed, shape shifting until she stood tall:
“Let’s do this!”}

Unfortunately, Miss Whitaker was anything but kitted to deal with opening large steel doors. Roots could not hope to squeeze between the gaps, though there was always a chance she might have been able to kick them down if the hinges and locks were busted. That seemed unlikely, given the destructive and yet controlled nature of everything Aspen had unleashed upon them so far. Even the oversized maggot had seemed to keep itself within certain confines.

Clang… Clunk… The sounds of metal in motion filled the air, emanating from the doorway in front of which they stood. Something hissed briefly, like air escaping from a freshly popped soda, and then the clunking continued with gusto. A few seconds later, silence befell again, leaving Brie’s ears filled only by the sounds of her own pulse and the quiet whistles of a cold wind that nipped gently at exposed leaves.

^{“Do you think—?”}

Groan… The door slowly opened, disallowing the girl’s opportunity at speaking. Beyond heavy steel lay a surprisingly large entrance hall — an antechamber of tiled walls, floor, and ceiling, broken only by the presence of large pipes that passed from ceiling to floor like pillars of iron. Another door, smaller, stood at the opposite face of the room, strangely inviting. A voice, somewhat metallic, echoed through the chamber; intonations deep and well-spoken.

^{“Intriguing. Oh, so very intriguing,” it echoed:
“That the two of you have made it this far.”}

^{“W— Who’s there?”}

“Congratulations are in order, but alas I am currently preoccupied.” Eyes searched the antechamber for a point of origin, but could not pinpoint one. Hesitant to cross the threshold, the Mandrake Woman looked to Kite and mouthed in query the name of their quarry. All the while, the speech continued, distorted by tinny resonance. “Do not fret. Please, do step in from the cold, and you shall be seen to shortly.”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Half-Beast (Form):—}_{Bryony’s size increases to approximately 6’7” (200 cm), causing her skin – specifically around the extremities – to turn pallid, with thin hair-like protrusions around her arms and legs. Her skin also adopts a somewhat waxy look and texture, while various foliate protrusions appear: She gains a “skirt” of leaves around her pelvic area, with further leafy growths around her upper arms and collar, and light purple-pink petals forming flared cuffs around her wrists. Small leaves and petals also appear amongst her hair, which in turn gains pale green highlights.}

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)
Unknown Voice (82bdff)

[Phantasma]

    Emotionally strained as the Huntsman was he did his best to show little surprise when Bryony used her powers. He possessed the words to describe what he saw, but the capacity to weave them together to reflect the supernatural nature was impossible. Periodically he offered glances and let his eyes linger a bit, his lips threatening to form words. Each time he was close to bringing it up he turned around or made an awkward cough and looked back ahead, brows knitting together in personal frustration. 

    'My minds a mess and I can't even... She needs something to talk about right? That thing in the ditch-- it bothered me and her.' 

    He cleared his throat after what felt like an eternity of walking. 

    "So... You're not cold are you?"

    'That was the best I could do haha...ah...' If thoughts could have a soundtrack the silver haired bumbler would've certainly heard a sad trombone or two. 

...

    "Aspen," Kite growled back, features hardening on his face as his head whirled from Bryony to look at the entrance. 

    Resisting the urge to grind his teeth and to start ripping the complex apart inch by inch he listened. Knives wobbling in his grip, unsteady and erratic in individual deathgrips. 

    "Come now, can't have that outside air sneak in here."

    "Too much time would be spent cleaning and we already have so much to discuss," The voice was abruptly cut off by an electronic chirp. 

    Practically twisting on the spot Kite made a show of looking back to the hybridized Brunette, conflict etched into his creased brows and shifting gaze. Hands continuing to tighten and strain around his swords, fabric making a curious noise. 

    "We might be walking into a trap-- no... if that was Aspen it most definitely is a trap. I'm pretty sure I can cut our way back out if we need to escape," The bounty hunter slurred his words in his haste. 

    It went unsaid but the way he was leaving that sentence incomplete practically gave away why he was having such an issue right now. Cutting out from inside was easier than cutting through defenses meant to withstand threats from the outside. The factory, shelter, whatever was clearly built to stand up against the harsh island and it only took a glance from the nearly four inch tomb-like doors to get a hint of that. Walls, the architecture of the building, those details might convince a skeptic yet still. 

    "I--" the young man started. 

    Impatient or timed, a mechanism started to close the doors with a creeping start which only got quicker the more seconds that shot by. Equally as impatient was Kite who had only to hear the movement to back peddle in the Revolutionaries direction and offer his hand. Joined in stride or by the grip of their hands he made a charge with Bryony, three or maybe five seconds maximum between the doors starting to seal themselves. Hardly under the wire if she felt the need the Devil Fruit user could've abandoned his hold at any point and would still be there to watch the slabs slam shut at the last moment. The harsh banging echoing out like the thunder from before. 

    Sound echoed in the pristine antechamber, entirely sterile and smelling vaguely of a hospital. It gnawed at the swordsman, caused his stomach to start knotting itself and force a variety of ugly images in his head. Possible traps, mutants maybe even Aspen himself would come out with a gun!

    'Alright! Enough!'

    "We... made it," Kite breathed, turning on his heel to wander back towards the door and stop just before his feet could reach out to kick it. 

    "I did say I was sure I could dig us back out," Kite arched both daggers high above his head, arms bent. 

    "I wouldn't do that young man. During the decontamination process the room you're in has a lot of Negative Pressure."

    "All that cold air filling a cozy space. Not a lot of people could handle that," Another mechanical chirp as the intercom system cut out leaving the echoes of the vague threat. 

    'I... I can't tell if he's bluffing. Should I risk it? Should I try stabbing a hole anyway?' He looked over his shoulder at Bryony, left brow raised with the corner of his mouth leading a similar direction. 

    Hanging his arms up there like that he did look similar to a maniac, showing no apparent signs of discomfort given the awkward stabbing motion. He had held worst positions for hours at a time during stake outs, information Bryony wouldn't have had on hand. Those moments so similar to now because the hunter was unsure of what to do, was at least sure he didn't want to risk the safety of his teammate. 

    "This speaker system does work both ways, I apologize for not making that clear."

    "Aspen didn't have time to disable it."

[Vio]

Accepting Kite’s hand, Whitaker Bryony stepped into the antechamber with plenty of time to spare, heavy doors shutting once again and silencing all wintry howls from without. For a moment, it left the two of them in complete and utter silence — eerie quiet that filled the ears with phantom noises. It was almost hard for the woman to discern what was real and what was merely a figment of her imagination, or even the sound of blood rushing through her ears. Her heart was racing.

“Wait. Wha—?” Somewhat ignorant of Mister Kalisto’s rigid stance, any comment that the Mandrake Woman was about to make regarding bad posture was stripped entirely from the fore as the voice contradicted what she had thus far believed in. “B— But if that’s not Aspen,” she looked with wide eyes to her companion, “then who is it? Wh— Who are you?” A racing heart now thundered, but the sounds of silence were soon pierced by the flash of a neon red light that bedazzled her briefly, and a strange, churning hiss that rattled pipelines.

^{“One moment, please.”}

“It feels like there’s an earthquake, y’know?” Roots extended and coiled against the tiled floor, offering rudimentary support to Miss Whitaker as the entire complex juddered. But violent tremors soon diminished to naught but a vibration in the ground. Pressure had been released — a lot of pressure. She was no scientist, but Brie was sure that had some connection to the mentioned decontamination process. Strange mist spewed forth from valves hidden amidst pipes; an almost invisible vapour that formed a falling curtain that descended upon them from ceiling to floor. It stung a little on open eyes, almost like soap.

^{“I do apologise for the interruption,” the voice buzzed:
“But Aspen’s systems follow a rather… strict sequence.”}

^{“Kite…? What—”}

“Now then, please do enter,” it spoke again. Something was off. To Bryony’s ears at least, it sounded different — a slightly harsher, more guttural intonation in comparison to words previously spoken. She cast a glance to Kite, eyebrow raised and head bobbing slightly as if to ask the question without words. Another groan filled the air, doors now on the reverse side opening slowly to allow for the duo’s advance.

Beyond was a larger room. It was a stark contrast to the clean, hospital-like antechamber. It was a stark contrast to anything and everything they had witnessed up until now. A dingy, dark chamber lit only by what appeared to be emergency lighting spanned many yards in all directions, filled with strange silos that rested against the walls and assortments of pipes that formed a hazardous labyrinth of footholds for anyone who dared walk into them. Like some sort of drunken spider, they wove a web of peculiarity all around, linking together unidentifiable machinery, with their locus present in the centre of the room.

^{“What’s… What IS that?!”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Half-Beast (Form):—}_{Bryony’s size increases to approximately 6’7” (200 cm), causing her skin – specifically around the extremities – to turn pallid, with thin hair-like protrusions around her arms and legs. Her skin also adopts a somewhat waxy look and texture, while various foliate protrusions appear: She gains a “skirt” of leaves around her pelvic area, with further leafy growths around her upper arms and collar, and light purple-pink petals forming flared cuffs around her wrists. Small leaves and petals also appear amongst her hair, which in turn gains pale green highlights.}

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)
Unknown Voice (82bdff)

[Phantasma]

    "Not Aspen. I don't even think that's... a person."

    Near the dead center of the room was a massive glass tube about as wide as a refrigerator. Extending well into the ceiling and dead bolted to the floor with precious little of the contents obscured by a barrier on the ground and ceiling. A network of consoles on a raised, simplified platform which spanned the entirety of the four foot metal nest. Unlike the floor whatever support up on top of the ceiling didn't serve a secondary function, it lacked the dimly lit screens and was merely a mesh of ill-kept metal. The inside of this feature was not empty, a thick sea of orange rose up to the top with some kind of mass deeper within. The dim light made it hard to see much more than a nonsensical outline. 

    Fighting the urge to throw himself in between Bryony and the container Kite watched wordlessly as the vague shape within the nearly opaque soup of orange fluid. Audibly the contents hit against the wall, what was once a shadow in the orange was made very clear. 

    "He did a number on this place, whatever you two did really irritated him. Cut off my screens, took a hammer to my work space," A nearly white tendril pressed itself along the glass, silently drifting down towards the raised terminals orbiting the tube. 

    Sure enough aside from a few flickering streaks of blues, reds and yellows the glass of the screens were entirely dead. A few even let some sparks dance off of the rough fissures which had been beaten diagonally or vertically into them, jagged maws of glass showing impact sights. 

    "Come. Come. I want to meet you both. Without my surveillance equipment I can only know so much," The voice gurgled and spat in such a way you couldn't help but gravitate towards the tube.

    If the directional sound wasn't enough bubbles were in a constant stream with every word with increasing regularity. 

    "... Answer Bryony first. Before we take another step," As if highlighting his objection to any further tricks Kite took his right arm, leveled it with the tube making sure the blade was visible in the low light of the bunker area. 

    A minute of silence, the hunter didn't move but his free left hand lazily swung like a pendulum at his side in anticipation. At precisely every handful of seconds that tube would churn some more, a torrent of bubbles spiraling up to the top as well as the screens flickering and failing to stay on. Some of the emergency lights even buzzed. 

    "I don't know what to say."

    Kite squinted, barely lowering his blade as he spoke. Realization hit him hard enough that he wore a quick frown. 

    "You're like the worm. He made you... didn't he?"

    "Inside," Dribbled out the voice, from speed of tone alone it almost seemed dismissive. 

    Kite followed Bryony in, only making a move when she did. Everything about the guy was screaming increased guard, nervous agitation from the nuance of the situation. Distrust. 

    Mechanically, much like every process in the building, the doors swiftly shut behind them with some kind of additionally mess of hissing filling in the chamber they had just occupied. Intimate, frightening, overhead red lights flicked to a more comfortable hue of red, bright enough to make up for the lack of illuminating equipment. The air in here was heavy with moisture and clung to the skin in an unpleasant manner, the heat seemed to be at a comfortable high and made heavy winter clothing meaningless. 

    The featureless plastic-like tendril currently pressed on the glass relented, disappeared back into the murky center. In its place a mess of five glowing dots, white in nature. The motes of light didn't spin around one another but they steadily grew in size up until they were the size of a persons finger tip. 

    "Ever the eccentric type Aspen secluded himself here in his workshop. Made it a listening outpost I can't comment on the effectiveness of it all. I was a very late term addition, my only purpose was to 'watch the place'."

    "We share similar interest. I want to get him out of here, for good. The man is an unstable element."

    Red eyes drifted over to the plant woman as the conversation went along, Kites expression was oddly expressive. Shock? Concern? His brows were lowered, eyes a touch wider. 

    "Aspen was smart enough to cripple me before I could do much and my powers can only do so much. I can tell you where he is however," The sterile smell was like a miasma in here.

    "Why put so much trust into us-- why does it feel like you've been expecting us? You open your doors to us while you're vulnerable and you don't even know us." Kite addressed the nameless entity, hardly concealing the suspicion in his tone. 

    "I-- we want to save Drum Island from Aspen. I don't doubt you might want something similar, especially if Aspen trapped you here. My gut tells me there's more to your story Watcher," More of a hiss the last part was barely audible.

    Whatever this creation was it acted the part of a smart, thinking being. What it was doing here was short of blind faith or altruism-- and doing that on top of being completely defenseless was short of madness. This and more were the motivations to such a harsh backlash from the hunter.

    Again that silence, only after a few seconds Kite cleared the distance to the console and looked those eyes deadpan with his own. Glass and a few inches of open air separating the two. A lot of bubbles, a whole lot. Unblinking eyes studied the pair shifting up and down, side to side, back and forth.

    "You mentioned a worm," Watcher sighed in his own lip absent way. 

    "I sent it. At first it was to kill or scare away Aspen while he monitored the nearby towns from his Cabin. You made it this far into the mountains, killed one of my parasites. I'm nothing if not an optimist these days, you've convinced me of your abilities."

[Vio]

Bryony felt nauseous — sickened to the stomach as she laid eyes upon… something. She had expected a person — anticipated Aspen, if not a colleague of his, and instead she was greeted with a vile abomination trapped within what equated to an enormous test tube. Her gut churned. Deep breaths barely helped, what with the chemical odours that lingered about the place, but she managed to resist all urges and instead focus on what was important as the creature elaborated on its relation to Aspen, on its purpose, and on its actions.

^{“What are you?” Miss Whitaker asked:
“Wh— … What were you…?”}

It was a question she did not want to ask, and yet she found it escaping her lips nonetheless. Everything she had seen so far was a result of their target’s tampering with natural forces, stretching them beyond what they were ordinarily capable of through means unknown. Surely this was no exception? The idea that the man could have created a new form of life seemed far-fetched, even for what he’d shown to be able to do so far. Pinprick eyes receded from the glass somewhat. A bubbling hum of consideration emanated from within the vat.

“I do not know the answer to that question, Bryony,” the Watcher replied. She could feel its eyes upon her — studying her from its confines. “I can’t say I want to know, either. Some questions are better left… unanswered, you understand,” it continued. That was a statement, not a question. A knowing statement. Shadows within the amber ooze shifted. Dim light would have made it impossible for the average eye to perceive the shape within, but Brie’s eyes saw more — more than just eyes and tendrils. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw the silhouette take on a vaguely humanoid outline, but not entirely so.

^{“What about the bears, y’know?”}

^{“They were not my doing,” the Watcher gurgled:
“An aggressive species that Aspen made more so.”}

Bryony swallowed. She was shaking slightly.

“Likely to protect himself against his own designs. My creator,” it gargled, loathing detectable, “has experimented with numerous facets of biology and chemistry, the exact extent of which I was never made privy to. The hormonal aggression of the bears… The volatile chemical shot into the clouds… The exaggerated size of an already dangerous species of parasitic worm… All I know is that, shortly after my creation, he began experimenting with a drug whose details he kept secret, even from me.”

“Then… Where is Aspen?” Slowly putting two and two together, the Mandrake Woman grimaced. Had they literally been sharing a cabin with their enemy just a short while ago? Had they been face to face with the man they sought to stop and not realised it? She seethed with an undeniable heat. No more tears. Now, all that dressed her face was anger and frustration — gritted teeth and a furrowed brow. Trembling in her fury, roots still extended coiled and lashed like enraged serpents. “And what… does he look like?!”

^{“He will have retreated,” the Watcher said:
“To the summit. As for what he looks like…”}

Tsss! Something mechanical hissed…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Half-Beast (Form):—}_{Bryony’s size increases to approximately 6’7” (200 cm), causing her skin – specifically around the extremities – to turn pallid, with thin hair-like protrusions around her arms and legs. Her skin also adopts a somewhat waxy look and texture, while various foliate protrusions appear: She gains a “skirt” of leaves around her pelvic area, with further leafy growths around her upper arms and collar, and light purple-pink petals forming flared cuffs around her wrists. Small leaves and petals also appear amongst her hair, which in turn gains pale green highlights.}

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)
The Watcher (82bdff)

[Phantasma]

    Speechless the young man just listened to the revolutionary and science experiment talk.    
    
     "I've ran out of time," Watchers tone was barely above a whisper and oddly more human, less a slur of splashing sounds. 

    "Fear of failure is what motivates him, what lifts him up and sends him crashing down. It's how I suspect a man like Wapol was able to goad him into his services."

    "The tank...!" Kites eyes widened, finding the source of the noise only seconds before water started gushing out around the floor. 

    Various mechanisms previously unseen whirred to life. Pipes, grates, they unsealed themselves at the foundation of the tube and started emptying out the inside contents. As soon as the material keeping the watcher buoyant touched naked air it hissed into a thick pulsating yellow-white cloud. Whatever the chemical reaction was supposed to be it rendered the gaseous form dense enough to simply gather around the tank and hardly advance towards the group. 

    Even with keen eyes focused on piercing through the gloom the Bounty Hunter failed. There wasn't even an outline of the tube after a few seconds and soon the consoles were devoured by the menacing miasma. He inched towards the brunette, jerking his head to look up at her while his mouth opened in preparation of some kind of question or order. 

    "He's... No! He's not trying to kill me... He... So cruel," Struggle was fresh on Watchers voice, grunts accentuating every word with hissed spittle regularly returning with the harsher syllables. 

    From within the fog a regularly occurring banging sounded off. Very solid hits against an equally hard surface, a hollow thumping that slowly worked Kites guts into knots. He knew that noise, often reflected on it on his worse days. The frantic wild beat of his fists on metal, on glass or on rock. Watcher was busy slamming up against the tube in obvious pain. 

    Having only looked away from Bryony for a second he whirled his head back in her direction and sucked in a lung full of air. His heart was busy thumping in his ears. 

    "Think you can harness me? I'm going to try and run in-- whatever's happening is obviously Aspens attempt to tie up loose ends," A scowl had planted itself onto his face, mouth drawn into a snarl with brows lowered. 

    "No."

    "Need to... run... Restriction gel... no more... gel. Wants to... town. RUN!" Watcher howled, one final loud slam against the tube causing the glass to explode in every direction. 

    Knives drawn in seconds and smushed into their sword form the white haired warrior dashed near to her side. If she wasn't in the position to protect herself or was slower than he was on the uptake a spinning sword would've kept the worst of the shards at bay. The cool trick ended when the soft pitter patter of sharp debris on metal ceased, the sword remaining drawn and in both hands centered with the swordsman and aimed at the tube. 

    He was backing up towards the door which at some point had opened itself, nothing to announce it like before. The cleaning process long since abandoned. 

    "Maybe... Maybe Aspen has something to fix them? We need to--" 

    A roar practically shook the entire base causing metal pipes to strain and loose tiles to clatter around like fine china. In slow motion the gas started taking on the appearance of the best within, constantly changing and dripping, vaguely human and growing at an exponential rate. At best it was double the size of Bryony, but as it ran forward letting out that inhuman, low pitched hum of a scream its outline was rising towards the ceiling. 

    "Sh... Shit!"

    Eloquent. The hunter was sufficiently surprised and didn't waste words, he turned his back to the shape and ran with his arm shooting over to grab the plant girl or allowing her to dash alongside him. In nature it was a fight or flight reflex that gave an animal a split second window to stay their ground or retreat, Kite had no control over what was running after them. Anxiety tightened his muscles, strung him up and put an extra kick into his step vaulting him through the doors and to the other side of the lobby, not even batting an eye as the final set of doors promptly swung open. His blood was running colder than the air that greeted them. 

    Watcher was massive by the time it escaped the enclosure and only grew as the chase funneled it out of the laboratory. Equipment crunched underneath ruby-red flesh or was sundered and then flattened into a pancake. Whatever was in that test tube had mutated beyond an easily recognizable shape, more similar to a tsunami of aggression once it exited alongside the pair. 

    Open air, freedom from the doors let the rippling mass shoot skyward and assume a vaguely humanoid form. Skin flowing like water and dribbling off of the main body onto the snow, ruining white with a bloodied, mud like consistency. Several meters in height the half torso with a head and arms loomed, four white eyes orbiting around the head region all fixed onto the biggest shape currently visible. 

    The town. 

    Watcher was so large that the forest was more like a picket fence. That perceived lashing aggression was just its desire to be outside, to get breathing room. Whatever curiosity gripped it now was lost on the Albino and as he felt his heart rate rise dangerously high his breath caught. 

    Watcher slithered forward towards them intent on going away from the rockies. Going towards where the duo had just been, walked from. 

    "The town! The watcher mentioned it-- Aspen wants it to demolish the town?!" Unlike before something held the hunter firmly in place and motivated him to meet the oncoming wall of undulating flesh. 

    His sword started humming in response, unlike before this was a much deeper sound that was felt more than it was heard. The falling snow couldn't even touch its surface as it was put over the hunters right shoulder in preparation of a downward swing. 

---

Attack Summary

• Kite is about to smack that creature with an Ensemble Forte.

[Vio]

She had little to no time to respond. It seemed she and Kite both desired the same thing in that instant. But the Watcher was adamantly against it. Lucidity in those painful final moments. And then the room erupted in a shower of glass. Fortunately, it was Mister Kalisto who acted swiftly, spinning blade forming a protective barrier that took the brunt of the sparkling shrapnel. The swordsman dared to utter a semblance of hope — compassion for the monstrosity. Definitely a monstrosity now, as it stood taller and taller still. She found herself being dragged further out of harm’s way — out of warm humidity and into the dry cold.

^{“The town!”}

^{“Wh—?!” Bryony gasped:
“We need to stop it!”}

There it was. The now all too familiar hum of the snow-haired swordsman’s blade. A deep hum that almost seemed to resonate about the Drum Rockies. Minute hairs upon elongated extremities quivered in response. Whitaker Bryony could feel that power running across her body. It begged the question. Just how intense was such a technique upon the wielder’s own form? But alas, she had no time to ponder — only to witness once the deed was done. For now, her eyes were focused upon the immense Watcher. What was left of it.

A seething tide of crimson that stained the landscape as it began to advance, no longer concerned with such minute specks as Kite and Bryony, seemed much less like a suffering sapience and more akin to some sort of otherworldly horror. Biological foundations that had no doubt been tampered with at an early stage in development had been wholly consumed by rapid mutation the likes of which defied all expectations. Even her own body was heavily limited in its transitions, and hers was the power of a Devil Fruit. She could only think that science had gone too far.

She inhaled deeply. Cold air stung at her throat and chilled her core. But that was nothing compared to the agony that the Watcher had just been through — that the Watcher was still subject to. Limited were her options, but she had to try. In the Mandrake Woman’s mind, as she filled her lungs as much as possible, she dismissed one such option as meaningless, if not dangerous. Unnatural power saturated her as she forced out a loud yawn. Circular waves of a soothing indigo hue pulsed out from her mouth agape, widening as they travelled up to meet the presumed head of the enraged abomination.

Swiftly, they washed over its form. She felt eyes upon her.

^{“C’mon. C’mon,” Brie pleaded quietly:
“Please let it work…!”}

Nothing happened. She was forced to leap aside as a gelatinous mass, thick as a tree trunk, slammed into the packed snow. Little by little, quite literally fuming with frustrations, the Watcher hauled itself further towards the settlement. The sheer force of the impact was enough to send her tumbling a few yards, but she was quick to recover. Adrenaline, at least for now, was enough to hold back the chill.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vox Delirium: Oscitor Pacificae:}_{Bryony generates a series of shock waves in a 60’ (18.25 m) cone, via a deep yawn, dying the shock waves a soothing purple-blue. Those caught by the waves experience a sudden and intense drowsiness wash over them, which can be especially potent when used on those already suffering from fatigue and tiredness.}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Half-Beast (Form):}_{Bryony’s size increases to approximately 6’7” (200 cm), causing her skin – specifically around the extremities – to turn pallid, with thin hair-like protrusions around her arms and legs. Her skin also adopts a somewhat waxy look and texture, while various foliate protrusions appear: She gains a “skirt” of leaves around her pelvic area, with further leafy growths around her upper arms and collar, and light purple-pink petals forming flared cuffs around her wrists. Small leaves and petals also appear amongst her hair, which in turn gains pale green highlights.}

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)
Kite Kalisto (bd0000)
The Watcher (82bdff)

[Phantasma]

    

    "Working on it!" Kite answered back, sword cleaving back towards the earth and into the blobs pseudopod lower half. 

    Not unlike a train the creature came to a screeching halt in its advance, disturbing jiggles wracking its body and forcing it to squeal in ways previously unheard. Arms flailing up towards the sky, or arm like extensions, complete with the entire upper half eventually collapsing in on itself while the swordsman struggled to recover his blade from the foot of the mound. He had brought it down and cut into the goo no problem, the issue was the flesh currently pinching it in was tightening like a vice and threatened to pull him in alongside the trapped length of his sword! Grunting and digging in his heels into the snow he pulled as hard as he could, feet lifting up tracks and tracks of snow as he slowly advanced backward away from the vibrating mass of mutated flesh. What was once dark red was changing over from a ruddy complexion to a dark pink one. 

    "I think I almost got it! Whatever instinct it has-- it's smart enough to figure out to avoid pain!" Gritting his teeth he yanked one last time nearly flying backwards as he did so. 

    Blade extended over his head, legs wheeling behind him to prevent a spill he examined his handiwork. During the time of the blade entering Watcher it had halted its advance as a wave of disrupting sonic energy ripped through its insides, the violent reaction had only lasted a second and it was starting to piece itself back together and rise to the normal height it adopted earlier only it was like watching a volcano erupt. Air hissing out of his mouth in the form of a smokey-fog Kite tried to go in for another strike, not satisfied that his little poke hadn't knocked actual sense into the creature. 

    C'mon! I know if I hurt you just a little more you'll snap back to! An animal wouldn't just stop like that-- not a dumb one. Please! Respond! Something! The hunter begged as he closed the distance. 

    Having the sense to dodge it when he could the bounty hunter made a sidelong dash to the left avoiding the very real waves of energy pulsating straight for the quivering mound. He couldn't look over his head as he continued his charge, blade raised over head still but he felt the air rippling with the disturbance. Perhaps his senses had gotten sharp thanks to his adventures, the howl of the blizzard seemed more quiet when he tuned into the chorus of the Mandrake Woman. He made it back in time to see the dazzling rings phase into jiggly flesh, got to see the reply first hand. 

    One arm, then two, swaths of icky material were jettisoned out in a propelled punch aimed at not only Bryony but on top of Kite. The Revolutionary had been quick enough to dodge and see what happened to the platinum haired warrior, how he instantly vanished under the cover of darkened pink with a howl of some kind issuing out from the newly formed head region of Watcher. Presently it looked even more human than before going so far as to have a well defined chest, arms, even a split near the base that suggested the beginning of legs. Using its extended arm to prop itself back up the giant repeatedly slammed its other hand up and down into the snow. 

    Like a ping pong paddle tendrils of flesh, hard white, bound Kite and bounced him up into the air only to hit him into the frozen stiff soil sending up snow, rock, slime, you name it. First wave of pain nearly made him roll his eyes back and black out, tongue threatening to retreat into the back of his mouth. It was like tripping a million times in the span of a second, gravity forcing all that tension into one direction and straining until it found a chink to snap. Multiple things snapped in the attack rush of seven or so slams. Each time Kite came up into the air he looked worse, blood streaming free from his nose while his limbs flailed with the sword still defiantly clasped. 

    He couldn't even really feel the pain with the final impact into the miniature crater of disturbed soil, toiled rock. His hair was matted with sweat, grime and hints of blood. His head felt like it was filled with concrete and each labored breath was met with coughing. Some teeth felt loose in his mouth as he explored around with his tongue, spat out what blood from his nose had invaded. One of his eyes had been swollen shut by the hit, black and purple and it pained just to move its contents. Swearing at the loss of his good eye, his right, Kite felt his tomb closing in around him trying to drown him deeper into Watcher. 

    Unlike before there was a dim awareness to his actions, he knew that in order to get out he was going to have to piss it off like before. It didn't like the sonic forces from the outside, the inside might be worse-- what harm was there making a guess now of all times? Suffocation didn't seem all that grand of an end. 

    Watcher convulsed seconds later, ceasing the attacks it had aimed at Bryony all at once and halting its advance into the town. The hand it had previously drawn into its body shot out and was rattling around with Kites exposed head gasping for air, he looked in better shape than a normal person would've been. Blood smeared from his nose, a swollen eye, matted hair, a few bruises but nothing life threatening that was visible. 

    "Huh?"

    Fed up with such an annoying enemy the giant turned to his skyward limb, unseen eyes regarding Kite before the arm lower down to Bryony's level. For a moment it even appeared like Kite could get out and this whole mess could be over and done with!

    No such luck, the quick twisting of the head backwards and start of movement at the waist suggested the giant was just going for a full force throw at the wall of the rockies-- was it in the hopes of smashing the hunter?!

    "GOOOOOOOOOO!"

    The tone was distorted but unmistakable, that was Watcher roaring at them.

---

Attack Summary

Kite hit Watcher with two Ensemble Fortes! They proved super effective! The first one was resisted but the second really had an effect it seems.

[Vio]

“Kite?!” Her evasion was swift. Her company’s less so. Miss Whitaker had little choice but to watch as the silver-haired swordsman’s form was encompassed in slime and hurled about like a ragdoll during a child’s tantrum, slammed repeatedly into dense permafrost as a crater formed from repeated impacts. What little glimpses of the man’s body she caught — a silhouette in the red — were anything but promising. Perhaps the most gut wrenching moment came when an extended limb withdrew into the Watcher’s aberrant form. Strong men could survive beatings. No human could survive without air.

The mutant’s attention shifted to her.

At least a half-dozen lengths of gelatinous tendril shot out from the creature’s body — a feat which slowed the behemoth’s movements somewhat as it did so. Even an abomination such as this required locomotion. But the science behind the Watcher was the least of her concerns as its own coils tried to enclose upon her. Instinct told her to burrow beneath the snow, the soil, and out of harm’s way, but instinct was shot down by the way in which the assailant unleashed its attack. One tentacles descended from above, a sure catch if she even tried it. A show of intelligence.

She inhaled.

Eyes of hazel and green caught a glimpse of something — a pulse from within the enormous, oozing form. A pulse that rattled its entire body and halted the assault in flight, followed soon thereafter as Kalisto’s shape was unearthed from the entity’s own ichorous innards. A man beaten, bruised, bloodied, but breathing. Still, he was within the beast’s clutches all the same, but lowered as the Watcher’s form twisted and secured itself with elongated appendages. A better look reminded her somewhat of an Octopus Merman.

“Ah! Kite! Hold on!” Spying a chance to do something, the Mandrake Woman stepped forwards and extended finger-thick roots which plunged with relative ease into the orange-red mire. The warmth quickly spread through her phalanges, somewhat welcoming despite the feel of it. “I’ll pull you out of there, just hang on!” Roots attempted to entangle and support her comrade, an attempt at aiding him in achieving freedom before the inevitable repercussions of an internal assault were unleashed. But what happened next was unexpected.

^{“GOOOOOOOOOO!”}

Vibrations shot through her roots at the sound. Guttural, deep, almost primal was the bellowing of the Watcher as a moment of lucidity made itself apparent. What her waves had failed to do, Kite’s attacks had succeeded in doing. Inhuman forces pulled at her lengthened, coiled digits, raising her arms above her head. She tried to transform her toes, plunge them into the earth, but before she could extend them from inside her boots it was already far too late.

Cold air rushed against her as the whiplike motions of an enormous limb wrenched her from the ground. Ooze retreated, exposing roots once more to the cold. In seconds, the brunette found herself entirely separated from the abomination, both she and Kite fully loosed from an adherent grasp and hurtling in a most peculiar direction. Up. That was all she needed.

^{“Aiiiiiiiiii!”}

A high-pitched screech emerging from her mouth, Brie’s entire form was overcome with panic, dread, unadulterated terror. Body compressed again, smaller than human, adorning itself with waxen complexion as every fibre of her being went stiff and tight in horrified protest. Roots coiled inwards, rope-like and restrictive as she pulled herself without clear thought to the most stable thing she could find. Kite. The poor man would soon find himself up one unconventional straight jacket as binding lashes encompassed his torso. Their flight was not over yet. Tumbling, arcing, careening through a sky that howled in deep laughter at her plight. She could not tell where they were headed, though that was for certain due to her eyes being slammed shut as she clutched tight.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Full-Beast (Form):}_{Bryony’s size drops to about 3’5” (104 cm), with childlike proportions and a pale, waxy complexion. Her body becomes completely covered in a fine fuzz, concentrated around the extremities, overall resembling the tuberous root of the Mandragora. In this form, her body is somewhat rubbery and flexible, and most of her features blend into the waxy flesh. Her hair is completely replaced by a broad rosette of fleshy green leaves, somewhat obovate (teardrop shaped where the stem attaches to the tapering end) in shape. The leaves themselves are almost as long – if not longer than – the main body.}

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)
Kite Kalisto (bd0000)
The Watcher (82bdff)

[Phantasma]

    "Watcher?! No!"

    Voice stolen by the jetstream of the toss all Kite could do was go somewhat limp against the force. Instead of looking forward his focus was on the monster below, instead of charging towards the town it collapsed and hit both of its hands against the winter sewn ground. Turning its head skyward the unremarkable, bubble of a head cracked open a hastily made maw and let out a wail of a roar complete with liquid gushing from the interior contents. The lights that had adorned the creature winked out as it released the pitiable noise, the hunter had to turn his head at which point. 

    "Watcher..." 

    'We're coming back for you... I... I'm not leaving you like that. No one deserves to be a prisoner in their own body,'

    Tears threatened to collect near the injured and somewhat opened good eye, kept that way from a hand which reached up to shield against the flurry of snow. It was hard to say where they were headed but the lack of an impact or splat meant it wasn't at the wall, the way Kites stomach lurched down meant wherever it was happened to be 'up'. 

    Where 'they' were going. 

    Bryony!

    "Brie-- where-- Oh!" Kite made a uncharacteristic gasp as he felt a more demanding pressure against his arms and chest. 

    During the initial toss the power user had attempted to extract him from the soup of Watchers skin and had nearly been successful. It made sense that when Kite went airborne the only other thing anchored to him went along for the ride-- had she been in her massive form he would've instantly noticed the additional weight. Shock did well to dull his senses, but now the coiling of roots or hardened brambles was almost impossible to ignore. From a tug to a full on restraint it was getting increasingly difficult for the young man to regulate his ascent and ensure they didn't tumble or land wrong. Every attempt was made to extract his arms from the verdant embrace, snapping through the extensions or slipping past them wasn't difficult and what stopped it was their sheer number. Miss Whitaker was determined to cling to her 'rock' in all this, Kite wasn't going to have a say in such a knee jerk response. 

    "Going to have to-- Bryony! Hey... hey hey! I'm going to need my hands if Watcher ends up tossing us straight up the mountain," He pleaded, turning his neck to the right as far as he could to eye his back. 

    "...You're still conscious right?" Eyebrows folded together and his frown worsened, tongue being pressed in between teeth. 

    'Getting too caught up with my emotions again... need to focus. If I don't focus she's going to get hurt-- I can't have another person hurt! Think!' 

    Analysis paralysis gripped the swordsman and blinded him to the approaching collision with one of the Drum Rockies summits. A perfect toss aimed to have them rapidly ascend and then briefly descend right on the top of the geographic marvels. Something only made possible by Bryony and Kite knocking sense into Watcher, even as he howled in rage and in sorrow they had at least stalled out the potential fallout of yet another one of those nefarious schemes headed by Aspen. 

    Graceful or not the few minute long flight came to an end when the pair was on solid ground, Kite getting to use his hands to do a superman landing. One fist punched down, knees bent, right knee on the ground while his left leg supported his body along with his right fist. Sure the noise would've been like a gunshot, ground protesting with cracks and snow flying off the edge but it'd drive the mood of the engagement home. Because even if Bryony refused to give up his hands and he had to land face first or worse he'd rise up all the same with that stern expression. Brows glowering, middle of his lip raised in a snarl, intensity welling up in his eyes right alongside facial veins or those in his neck. Angry didn't begin to describe how he was feeling.

    Sitting atop the Drum Rocky zenith was a monolithic throne. Scaled to seat a human with the back part of its featureless, white surface rising high into the sky a good five meters in a ridiculous display of height. The aura up here was deathly stilled despite the fuming hunter and swirling snow, even the noise from the storms below and the raging animals or beasts were barely a murmur. 

    A name came to mind looking at that throne, that grotesque display of power in face of so much horror. 

    "Aspen!" Kite yelled, accusingly. 

    "Swordsman. Power user."

    "You've been an unexpectedly persistent thorn. Made my homecoming both unfulfilling and dissatisfactory," Hardly above a whisper the voice chided the duo.  

 

[Vio]

She was not sure how long passed. She didn’t want to know how long had passed. She wanted to know if it was over. Whitaker Bryony’s world was dark. Dark and loud and cold save for the warmth of Kite’s body and the slightest scent of blood. Somewhere in that enforced darkness, amidst imaginary scenes of plummeting down into the earth that looped and worsened with each passing, she heard the plea of her comrade. Inside her head, she reasoned with herself to listen, but could barely bring herself to do it.

Seconds. Precious seconds. That was all the time the swordsman must have had left when Brie’s entangling, almost suffocating roots loosened just enough for him to slip free his arms. All the while, she was quivering — shaking like the proverbial leaf as every inch of her diminutive form was forced to remain frozen in protest. It all went silent. Surprisingly, that wasn’t a good thing as her mind raced with yet more gruesome imagery, but something else allowed her rampant imagination to still itself.

^“Aspen!”

^{“Swordsman,” came a deep voice:
“Power User.”}

“Wh— What’s going on? Wh— Where are we?” Daring to open a single, hazel-green iris, the Mandrake Woman found herself momentarily blind to the dazzle of pure white snow, but it soon abated. They weren’t airborne anymore. A brief glance down told her that much as she saw Kite’s form standing firm in displaced diamond dust. But there was no other scenery, save for one structure that dared to blemish a vast sea of crisp, sparkling white. A structure, a throne, stood a blemish amongst the bleak.

“You’ve been an unexpectedly persistent thorn,” the voice continued. Both eyes were now open, though Miss Whitaker had yet to dislodge herself from the form that was Kite, peering over his shoulder with only a rosette of obovate leaves serving to cast an ominous shadow across the swordsman’s already enraged visage. But what she saw upon that throne was not what she had expected, nor what she had dared to imagine. Instead, what sat upon that throne with fingers confidently clasped beneath their chin was something old, but new.

It’s… Him… But it’s not him…? He’s…? The Revolutionary could not process it. There sat a young man, perhaps only just her own age, if not a few years above. Young and handsome, sharp of feature. Wavy lengths of deep, jade hair mostly slicked back save a few curled bangs, but allowed to flow across his shoulders. Such locks strangely supported the intensity of a pair of vivid yellow eyes that penetrated the sparkling glare of the environment.

“I was hoping for something greater,” he continued, softly, almost monotonously. A pristine, sky blue blouse beneath a waistcoat of silver grey to match similarly hued trousers were of close fit, but it was the rest of his attire that rang alarm bells. Upon his cranium sat a broad-brimmed blue hat, pointed at its top, while a coat of dark yellow flowed to his knees, silver chains clasping the front together loosely to expose the outfit beneath. What had once been bare feet now donned pointed boots.

^{“It is him,” she whispered:
“The boy from the cabin…”}

“Instead, I was presented with the obstacle of two interlopers. No. That’s not quite right,” the figure’s fingers unlaced themselves as he straightened his back, loosely gripping the arms of his immaculate throne as he gazed down his nose to them. “Three interlopers. Two foreign bodies that have somehow evaded all attempts at eradication — and a parasite masquerading as one of my own. Numerous precautionary measures were taken, and yet here you now stand. Tell me. I am curious. What do the two of you think?”

Bryony bit at her lip.

^{“I think…,” she seethed:
“You betrayed us!”}

^{“Hm? I was never on your side to begin with.”}

“What I’ve seen here, in the Sakura Kingdom,” Bryony began — emotions raced. First fear. “The fact that the people were so scared of what you could do, of what you have done, y’know?” Followed by confusion. “I don’t understand it, y’know? Why would you do all this?” His lips curled into a small, bemused smile. Hers curled into a sorrowful frown as she peeled away from Kite’s body and grew again. “Why would anyone in their right mind do what you’ve done to the people and animals of this island? And even to other forms of life?” Painful glimpses of the Watcher’s intelligence and understanding flickered in her mind’s eye. Anger. “Who do you think you are! To take the lives of others into your own hands like that?!”

^{“It’s what I do,” he replied nonchalantly:
“It’s just that simple… I. Am Aspen.”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Half-Beast (Form):}_{Bryony’s size increases to approximately 6’7” (200 cm), causing her skin – specifically around the extremities – to turn pallid, with thin hair-like protrusions around her arms and legs. Her skin also adopts a somewhat waxy look and texture, while various foliate protrusions appear: She gains a “skirt” of leaves around her pelvic area, with further leafy growths around her upper arms and collar, and light purple-pink petals forming flared cuffs around her wrists. Small leaves and petals also appear amongst her hair, which in turn gains pale green highlights.}

---

Whitaker Bryony (ace1af)
Kite Kalisto (bd0000)
The Watcher (82bdff)
Aspen (a3a3a3)