[M&M 3e] Defying the Future IC

[Zelphas]

Round 6... ish

Gabriel glares at Floral's outstretched hand, golden eyes bright with hate. With an enormous flap of her wings, she disappears into the air, dwindling quickly into a speck in the sky. For a moment, that seems to be all, until--

With a shriek of fury, Gabriel drops towards the cocooned shape of Manchineel, her wicked, oversized talons outstretched.

Heedless of the danger, Lucia's translucent gaze slips over the four of you as though she is looking at you from a distance. "You can't see it--feel it? That's... that must be good," she says to Nope, looking through him. "I tried to--or wanted to--make a place where it wouldn't want to go. Maybe I did that. That would be good, wouldn't it? Or maybe it would go wherever I am. It's claws--I don't know if they went away."

Her eyes move towards Helios next, and she frowns faintly. "I don't know what to do," she says, her voice oddly petulant. "Calming down isn't doing, it's not doing. That isn't helpful. I need to hide, and I don't know where... can I go back? Maybe losing myself was the only way to lose it too...

Spoiler: Expertise (Magic, "Magic", and/or Metaphysics) DC 20, nested

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All right, given what Helios has seen/expressed and what Lucia is saying, you can understand that her makeup, or essence, or what have you, is currently so intertwined with whatever is chasing her that separating the two isn't a straightforward task... but that only rules out the direct route. The person of Lucia and the power that welled up at Camp Bubble Brook are still two separate things; maybe, with some more prodding, you can find a way to... emphasize that difference by removing something else.

Spoiler: DC 25

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Or you can be clever and come up with a concept immediately. If Nope can define and negate the relationship between Lucia and the power at Camp Bubble Brook, without negating Lucia or the power itself, he could free her from that influence without negative effects to either side... in theory, at least.

To one side, the giant, clover-colored tortoise continues to happily munch nectar.

Spoiler: OOC

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Lucia

No attacks (pending below), so Life and Death remain in balance. The Persuasion roll isn't enough for her to take any particular action. She moves slightly closer to returning to Manchineel in form and personality.

Raskovnik

Keep on chewing. (1d20)[12]

Gabriel

A 22 is a little low for her blind rage, I'm afraid--but it's enough to keep her from AoA/PAing this round.

Move Action: Dramatically fly up, and then down to AB42.

Standard Action: Use Thwack on Manchineel.

Accuracy vs. Silken Shields: (1d20+12)[17] vs. 20 or (1d20+10)[26] On a hit, Resistance DC 31 + Penetrating vs. Damage: (1d20+10)[17] Miss

If that at least Breaches, Manchineel (or Floral, since she's Interposing) needs to roll DC 31/26 vs. Penetrating Damage Linked Multiattack, Secondary Effect Weaken Defense.

All PCs are up.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Lily kept her focus on Gabriel. Sparing Manchineel was about as far as she was able to go; she would leave it to the others to actually help her.

(Because Lily Woods was Lily Woods, she did admittedly have a thought on the subject, one that in just about any other circumstance she would have suggested eagerly purely on its value as an interesting experiment. Whatever, Nope understood his powers better than she did and Helios and Ariadne had a better grasp of magic. They'd either figure it out or come up with something even better.)

She wasn't getting through, although that was kinda okay because neither was Gabriel getting through Ariadne's shields. Gabriel had splattered Manchineel's minions like the insects they were made from, but her diving strike had failed to so much as scratch the barrier. Not for the first time and not for the last, Lily couldn't help but marvel some at the defensive power of Ariadne's thread magic.

But she also knew that the threads were not impenetrable. Give Gabriel enough chances to get through them and she would eventually.

~Cosme, stop!~ she sent, once again opening herself to that strange communion with nature, the single least-understood ability she had. As before, she pushed it into forming a psychic link, though one that could only work between her and someone else with a connection to nature.

But that wasn't the only power she pushed, in that moment, although I maintain it was her least-understood one.

She may have had it longer, and used it more, but she still understood it less than the other power she called forth, then.

Because scientists had their own understanding of Life.

Lily's body began to glow. White light, with occasional sparkles of green. It did occur to her that Raphael's power might perhaps be of use in helping Manchineel. But that wasn't the purpose she called upon it for. Again, sparing her was about all the goodwill that Lily had to offer. Someone else more deserving had need of it.

~Listen to me. I understand. She hurt me too. I know...I know that it would not be so sad a thing, if Gabriel killed Manchineel.~

The glow only grew brighter, intensifying, as with a beat of her wings she hurled herself at Gabriel, arm's outstretched. It probably looked like she was trying to grapple her, or something. To physically restrain her. Hah. She could not have even if she wanted to. Gabriel was far, far stronger than her.

But she did try to throw her arms around her, in as tight a hug as she could give.

~But Cosme Muto should not have to live with that.~

And if she could get her arms around her...she would start dumping Raphael's power into her, wave after wave of it. Everything that she had. To heal her, yes, but that wasn't all there was to it. To a scientist, Life wasn't really a force of healing and renewal, although certainly healing was a capability that seemed mostly unique to life. A force of growth, perhaps, but even that was only one small aspect. It wasn't a power of chi or of spirit, for at least until recently there had been little enough evidence of such things in the physics of the universe. That mages and the mystics might even recognize Life, as the scientists did, as part of the fundamental nature of animals and plants, but the scientists went deeper than that. And not just to the viruses and bacteria, and all the ways that Life could be wielded as a deadly weapon. Even those were just one facet of what science understood.

To a scientist, Life was the process of cells growing, dividing, and replicating. Consuming energy and spending it. Bonding together into organs, and bones, and muscles, and skin. Reproducing, and passing along their genetic information to the next generation, keeping what worked and discarding what didn't. Evolving, mutating. Changing.

Scientists had their own understanding of Life. They also had their own word for their understanding of it.

They called it biology.

And few in all the world had a more thorough understanding of it than Lily Woods.

~It's time for you to come down, now.~

Spoiler

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Extra Effort: Power Stunt off of Flower Power (+10).

Repair Biology [Transformative] [Transmogrify] [Healing]: Mental Communication 1; Flight 5 (Wings), Enhanced Resistance 5 (Reduced Defense 5); Affliction 10 (Entranced/Stunned/Transformed [Original Human Form]; Cumulative, Concentration, Feature [If used as a Finishing Attack in lieu of killing, or target is willing, Transformed can be made permanent, but doing so sacrifices all of Raphael's power within Lily]); Enhanced Extra 10 (Extra Condition 2 [Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless]; Limited [Only against this power]).

Free: Set Favored Environment to Attack.

Move: Attempt to Feint Gabriel at (1d20+7)[21], including +2 for Favored Foe (since while Gabriel is no longer a minion of Manchineel in terms of loyalty she is in terms of like creature type/power source, which I would figure is what matters in terms of Lily better understanding them).

Standard: "Attack" Gabriel with Repair Biology, All Out Attacking for 5, Power Attacking for 2, +2 for Favored Environment, at (1d20+15)[23]. On a hit, Resistance DC 22 vs. Cumulative Concentration Entranced/Stunned/Transformed [Original Human Form], and also Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless for purposes of this power. Descriptor-wise this a painless healing effect (although still registers as an attack if the target is not willing), with Entranced and Stunned simply being from the fact that it's kinda hard to do anything while your entire body is part-way through the process of being restoratively transformed. Ehhh...might land if the Feint succeeds I guess?

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Fatigued, Exhausted as of next turn, AoA -5, Floral Blood (-5 Def/+5 Res).

[Abracadangit]

Ariadne maintains her webwork of magical silken barricades by flicking her needle through the air, in elaborate stitches and figure-eights. She keeps an eye on Lucia, and listens to her reflections and her response to Helios.

"Engoní," says Ariadne the Elder internally, with a gentleness that Kal has never heard before. "Let me speak with her, hm? There is something I would like to say." Kal's mind slips into the back of her consciousness, still aware of her surroundings, and Ariadne takes over in full. The red thread flows over and coats Kal's body completely, almost like a liquid, and a red replica of her golden mask appears on her face.

Ariadne drifts over to Lucia, hovering above the ground by way of red threads buoying her like wires on a stage actor. As she approaches Lucia's unmoored spirit, she meets her gaze.

"A very, very long time ago, I was in a situation not entirely different from yours. I was trapped in a maze, you see. The largest one that had ever been built. 'The labyrinth,' maybe you have heard of it, hm? Awful thing. A million winding passageways, leading to a million dead ends. All while something lurking in the shadows hunted your every step. The story goes that the Minotaur found everyone and gobbled them up quick, but such was not the truth for many of the people condemned to that miserable hell. Some people spent weeks, months, years trapped in the maze, every waking moment a nightmare as they hid from a demon they could not see."

Ariadne looks down at the body of Manchineel, still lying on the ground. "You are lost in a labyrinth of your own, I fear. Also stalked by something that dances at the edges of your eyes. It takes such courage to continue on in that wretched place, to keep peering down corridors with the hope that escape is near, to keep hiding when a part of you wants to be caught so the nightmare can finally come to an end. My tenure in the maze was brief compared to many. And I was equipped better than most." A pattern of red thread skitters through the air by Ariadne's face, as if aware of being mentioned. "But my greatest resource was not my magic, it was the people that were thrown in beside me."

"There is a strange power in being surrounded by friends, in times of suffering. I cannot explain it, yet I know that it is the reason I survived the horrors of the labyrinth. My magic was no small comfort, but what kept my mind intact was knowing that when I reached a dead end, I would turn and see not just yawning darkness staring back, but the faces of my companions, anguished but hopeful that we would survive. You have been alone up until now, but no longer. We can be your allies, Lucia. We can be the faces staring back at you from the dark, so you know you are not alone in this maze of dream and doubt."

"The end of your labyrinth draws near -- this I know to be true! You mustn't despair, when the exit lies just before you. Let me be your red thread, to paidí mou. Let me guide you back to the warmth of day."

Ariadne extends a hand towards Lucia's wraithlike spiritual form.

"Sing in me, O Muse! And through me, tell the story of this woman, Lucia Urquhart."

Spoiler: OOC

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Persuasion check to soothe Lucia: (1d20)[3]

[Ridai]

Nope feels very out of his depth in regards to the problem of separating Lucia from whatever necromancy stuff happened at the camp. He had to get into metaphysics to make sense of the forgotten doors, but it's not like he has a decent grasp on how the hell those happen. His knowledge of magic is more rooted in fantasy stories where they seemingly relate kinda-sorta to what is actually happening. Camp too far away to get there quickly and check things.

So... Nope has to rattle off thoughts in hopes of something forming that might help, muttering as fast as he can in an instance of rubber duck debugging. "Lucia: life, soul, human, powers emerging, possessed/tainted/submerged. Death well: death, darkness, capturing souls, siren banshee, malevolent, hijacking host with powers. Death well keeps souls from afterlife, is there an afterlife, doesn't matter, doesn't actively spread, does it feed, if it doesn't, tied to universal concept of Death, does Death include souls leaving or not, just biological death, absence of life, souls untethered from bodies, doesn't make sense, why infest living, is it soul magic, is it negative energy, does it have agency, does it want to spread death through Lucia, is it all an accident because of her powers, consuming force, but it has presence, dumb animal god consuming life, does it have intellect, Lucia wanted place it doesn't want to go, place is Order, is Death entropy, losing self being hope of making Death go away, does it feed on order, erode, but why keep shades, camp still exists, is Death Order, unchanging stillness, everything repeats, cosmic hamster wheel, full entropy means no life, no life no death no order, humans and nature in flux, creatures of entropy, humans trying to bring order, does Death like buildings and right angles, internet fan raging at original being changed, capture all that is and preserve the eternal soul without decaying body, was siren willful creation or force of nature, but ghosts were twisted, is this undeath, the Dark Souls of camps, Dark Lord ending, no fire left, all is still, decay and dementia, does it hate life or want order or both, Manchineel wasn't spreading death, converted rather than destroyed, siren imprisoned souls against their will, leftovers of siren instantly ate through floor, is it entropy after all-"

Nope shouts over to Lucia. "Lucia, did you create Order because it hates it, or did it make you create Order?" Axiomatic and chaotic forces are opponents, humans are neutral in nature, pure axiomatic and pure chaotic does not mesh with human.

[Zelphas]

Round 7

Now, Gabriel has been without human contact--and especially without human touch--for several months. It's possible that she is just touch-starved enough to--no, no, she jumps away from Floral's attempt to hug her as though it's the most dangerous thing on the field, flapping slightly into the air as she did so. Even as she runs, however, her eyes are tracing around, following the red threads back to their source. An instant later, she rockets towards Ariadne, aiming to knock the thread-weaver away from Manchineel's side and possibly free up Manchineel's form for a finishing blow.

Before that strike lands (if it lands), the wavering shade holding Lucia's form looks up at Ariadne, her translucent shape becoming vaguely clearer. "Um..." her brow furrows. "Do I... know you? I don't understand..."

Nope's shout draws the figure's attention more clearly, and Lucia grows slightly clearer even as she speaks confusing words. "Order... order, no, I... the diagnosis was given to me on a Monday, which meant it was good--or could it be a diagnosis? Is that a diagnosis? It was an even time--2:12--a palindrome and an even time, so it was good, it should have been good, but it wasn't, it was bad... You hear the jokes, the lines about it , but OCD isn't really like that, she promised, and promised there were steps we could take. That's right... but it wasn't so bad, the world wasn't so disordered, before..."

Spoiler: Nope

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You're not quite correct, you can tell, but there's still information here: whatever is affecting Lucia enhanced something about Lucia that she considers bad. That might be a thread to pull.

At Manchineel's side, the Raskovnik continues its peaceful forage.

Spoiler: OOC

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Map.

Lucia

Continued conversation brings continued clarity, but no direct action as of yet.

Gabriel

Move Action: Shift to AB46.

Standard Action: Use Talon Kickback on Ariadne, All-Out Attacking for 5. (1d20+17)[26] On a hit, Resistance DC 31/26 vs. Penetrating Damage Linked Launch (down and away from the battlefield). Gabriel shifts back up to AB42, next to Manchineel. Hit, not enough for Penetrating.

Raskovnik

Eat?: (1d20)[8] Not much...

Keep going, PCs!

[Quellian-dyrae]

~Darn it, Cosme, you're the one who asked me if I could turn you back! Let me turn you back!~ Lily sent exasperatedly as Gabriel dodged her. Gabriel's power came from a different sourceShe didn't give up though, her wings launching her after her friend as she made another attempt to lay hands upon her and deliver a wave of Life-aspected transformative power.

Spoiler

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Move: Into AB45.

Standard: Attack Gabriel with Repair Biology, All Out Attacking for 5, Power Attacking for 2, +2 for Favored Environment, -2 for Exhausted, at (1d20+13)[22]. On a hit, Resistance DC 22 vs. [Transformative] [Transmogrify] [Healing] Cumulative Concentration Entranced/Stunned/Transformed [Original Human Form] and also Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless against this power only.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Exhausted, AoA -5, Floral Blood (-5 Def/+5 Res).

[Dorni]

Lucia was talking. Good. As long as they kept her talking he could help her. Even better, she was making at least a little bit of sense.

A berserk Gabriel dive-bombing Ariadne was less good.

Helios wove Air, shaping it into a net and flung it at Gabriel with a gesture.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free: Set Spells to Strength 10, Affliction [Impaired & Fatigued / Disabled & Stunned] (Cumulative)
Move: -
Standard: Attempt to Use spell to Grab Gabriel. AoA 5. (1d20+15)[16] On hit, DC 25/20 vs Grab/Affliction.

[Ridai]

Completely off the mark, god damn it. But at least something else came up. "I'm trying to figure out the steps to help you with what's going down right now, Lucia." It's probably obvious, or maybe not in Lucia's current state. Maybe saying so doesn't do much either, it's unclear how much Lucia does and doesn't really hear or comprehend. But he can at least try.

Nope looks down, bent, hands near face, fingers moving occasionally, erratically, fists sometimes balling, sometimes opening, just anything to somehow facilitate a useful train of thought. "Wrong assumption, already had OCD, wrong guess, Death made it worse, why make that worse, is it better senses, see more stuff, camera pans out, objective view, makes no sense, why make senses better, frickin pun, is it evil, does it skew perception, Mr. Frodo, why would Death do that, what's connection with Death, what definition of Death, frickin' fantasy bull****, attack angle change, heighten negative parts, is it negative energy in the downer meaning, from bad to worse, you always crit against yourself, know how that feels-" Gabriel comes screeching down at Ariadne, battering her away, bird lady Cosme lands next to Manchineel/Lucia. Keeping the intrusive thoughts out of the stream of consciousness is getting more difficult. "-Death the evil mirror you, does it point out all flaws, does it heighten all flaws, does it heighten all flaws, does it heighten suffering, aim for maximum damage or low hanging fruit, does it speak, evil inner monologue, just evil by presence, does it infest everything or just OCD, does it infest, is it the OCD now or deeper level, is OCD the open gate, are other things attack vectors, is it already inside, does it need to keep going inside, said she feels the claws again, is Death riding on stress, do satisfying experiences close gate, visual ASMR, Death negativity, too broad or off the mark or right, personal lens skewing analysis damn it-"

He looks to Lucia again. "Lucia, do you remember being here in this place, nothing else being there, everything being in order, did you feel the thing's claws?" Why did the average loser get saddled with the Dwarf Fortress destructo power for the 160+ IQ and EQ crowd?!

A connection is made. And it just leaves Nope more confused. "Death-energy makes more Death-creatures, but not if you make it part of you?! Extra Death-energy from Floral brought Death-infection back?! But Death-energy was already there- Death-energy needs to get out of Lily, because bad, but can't go out of Lucia- Remove extra but that reverts things back to square one, but Remove relationship between Lucia and Death is better- how, what, what relationship, do you gaslight fundamental energies into thinking they aren't what they are, does that work, why does that work, how, what relationship between Deathwell and Lucia, how does this magic bull**** work, I don't understand-" Nope is yelling at this point, trying to get his stupid brain to find something, anything remotely like a solution.

[Abracadangit]

As Ariadne sails through the air, she thinks to herself that pep talks aren't really her strong suit.

With a great deal of lightning-quick weaving, Ariadne creates a threadwork trampoline to cushion her fall, which unravels the instant she steps off of it. She knows there's no time to waste, as she flies back to where she'd been standing before and starts weaving anew.

Spoiler: OOC

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Add 1 Bruise, and Dazed.
Action: Move back to her position from last turn.

[Ridai]

Another realization hits. At the same time, the very dangerous moment of having had enough hits, which is when action becomes the most decisive, but also the most unshackled by deliberate consideration and vulnerable to intrusive thoughts.

"OKAY! IT'S NOT ENERGY, IT'S MAGIC NANOMACHINES! SLAVE DEATHICHLORIANS PHONING HOME TO THE MASTER GOTH FORCE! LUCIA DEATHICHLORIANS, YOU'RE GETTING YOUR CERTIFICATES REVOKED!"

And Nope hits it. The identifying property of the Deathichlorian transmissions allowing it to do the handshake with the home base Goth Force and thus be allowed to communicate and do whatever necro BS is happening with Lucia is getting removed. Nope is imposing HTTPS-only rules on the necromantic forces if the Deathwell insists on having oh so special gluten-free all natural sustainable Death-energy, so no plebian mass produced Death-energy can mess with it. Magic isn't the only thing that can just decide to do things differently. Open a support ticket, Mystra!

Nope's head hurts. He doesn't feel so good.

[Zelphas]

Gabriel's kickoff from Ariadne limits her movements, allowing Floral to grab her in a healing hug. The giant bird-creature freezes at the touch of healing light, her feathers and muscles twitching oddly once more while her body is once again rewritten (though this time it is seemingly without pain). The touch of hardened air from Helios' spell breaks Gabriel out of her healing-induced reverie, and she manages to dodge the wind-fist trying to grab her. Her fierce golden eyes swing around to track Ariadne leaping back into the scene, and she opens her mouth to screech her displeasure--

--When the loudest dial-up screech any of you have ever heard suddenly tears the air into little fluttering bits, shaking apart everyone's plans. Sometimes, when you tried to use dial-up internet and someone was already on the phone, you'd accidentally be able to eavesdrop on their conversation; something similar happens now. The four of you hear incomprehensible growling and chilling scrapes, which are then cut off by an unintelligible voice speaking in the toneless flat voice of an operating service. There is the distinct sound of a phone line disconnecting.

"...Oh." Lucia's shade sounds... surprised, relieved, and deeply confused, all at once. "The claws... they're gone. I don't... I don't think they're coming back. ... I'm going to go back now. Maybe I... maybe I can take some of me with me, this time." Moments later, the shade sinks back into Manchineel's prone form and vanishes fully from sight.

Spoiler: Helios, Mystic Sight

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The Death energy in Manchineel changed profoundly in those few seconds. If you hadn't already sensed it before, you would swear that the Death-energy in her has nothing to do with the Deatrhwell--they're utterly unrelated. In fact, as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to distinguish the traces of Death magic from the traces of Life magic, or simply the life-force of Manchineel itself. You think it's still theoretically possible to separate the two, but it's a much more difficult task now.

That being said, the Life-energy and Death-energy in Manchineel seem... healthier, somehow. They are no longer in conflict, but seem to be in harmony, which part of why it's harder to distinguish them.

Perhaps it's because of her longer exposure to Nope, but Floral recovers from... whatever just happened much faster than Gabriel does, intensifying her healing magic. In less than half a minute, Gabriel's form shrinks and changes, revealing a petite young woman with short, light brown hair, curled up on the ground.

...Er, make that short, light brown feathers, making up a hair-like crest on the top of her head. And... humans normally don't have long, curved yellow-and-black talons at the ends of their fingers and toes... right?

Ah well. She's definitely much, much more human than she was just moments ago.

Spoiler: Floral

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Take a Hero Point for me fiating that Cosme retains some of the animal portions of her Menagerie transformation, since Lily is much more accustomed to working with plant-transformative powers.

For the first time since you entered it, the unnaturally symmetrical grove falls into full, quiet stillness... except for a giant clover-colored tortoise munching at leaves, but he seems to be harmless.

Manchineel has fallen.

Spoiler: OOC

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Battle over! Everyone take a Hero Point!

More than that: Manchineel Defeated! Everybody take 5 PP!

More's going to happen now that a League member has fallen, but here's the important stuff for now:

First, due to the League now seeing you as a threat and time passing to complicate matters: The DC for all Downtimes increase by 5.

Second, Everyone gets 5 Downtime Actions.

Third, the next Scene will be a Lull, so start thinking of ideas!

Well done, everyone! One League Member down!

[Quellian-dyrae]

The sparkling light...didn't fade from Lily, quite. It rushed out of her and into Gabriel as she put everything she had into healing what Manchineel had wrought, permanently. Or most of it, anyway, but what little traces remained could definitely be filed under "take the win".

She swayed on her feet, as the last of the energy left her. She felt tired and...strangely empty. Not hungry, just...like something inside of her wasn't there anymore, something that had grown too slowly for her to even really notice it, until she felt the difference caused by its absence. She burned it all, she realized, every last drop of Raphael's power. To excise the power of one member of the Menagerie had taken the full strength of another.

For a moment there Lily almost wanted to cry, or scream. She hadn't realized it would take all of it! She hadn't known! With Raphael's power she could have...she could have been, could have done...!

Lily took a deep breath, something she could still do for its psychological benefits even if she had no physiological need for air, and looked down at Cosme lying on the ground, back in her human form - and hopefully freed of the awful biological chains and phobias that had been inflicted upon her as part of her transformation.

Worth it, Lily told herself. It was fine. She didn't need Raphael's power to be a hero. Humans hadn't reached where they were by having the sharpest claws or the strongest armor. Lily had always believed that her mind was her greatest weapon, and if anything this battle had proven that she had been underutilizing it. Her attempts to play on Manchineel's weaknesses and obsessions, to provoke and disorient her, had done at least as much here as any of her powers or even the Blight she had prepared for her specifically. And now through their efforts, here she lay, defeated.

...Wait a minute.

It was funny. With the whole thing with Lucia, and needing to stop Gabriel from actually killing her, and trying to heal Cosme, Lily hadn't actually had a chance to really let her brain notice but...

THEY HAD DEFEATED MANCHINEEL!!!!!

As tired as she was and as belated as it was Lily didn't care! She let out an exuberant whoop of triumphant glee and literally launched herself at her nearest teammate (which according to the map appears to be Ariadne) in a massive hug! "We did it!" she said in an almost dazed tone of astonished joy and relief. "We actually did it! We got her! HAHAHAAA!"

Lily released Ariadne and pulled the noseplug off of her nose. No danger now. In fact, a valuable opportunity. She made it a point to take several deep breaths of Manchineel's scent, and that of whatever traces of her previous pheromone attack still lingered in the air, analyzing the scent and committing every detail of it to memory. She wasn't sure what the effects of Manchineel's defeat and capture would be on her minions, but she'd bet knowing what Manchineel and her pheromones smelled like would be useful in making sure they ceased to be a bother to anyone.

"Oh man," Lily said, a bit breathlessly between both excitement and fatigue. "One down, you guys. We can do this. We can actually, actually do this!" The air around Lily was filled with the scent of daisies and poppies, with some hints of sunflower and jasmine.