Ch.5 "Lost Souls" / Kell and Sigrlinn

[Legendary Sidekick]

"It's been years. Three, maybe four... If she found someone, a lover perhaps..."

Through the sun-hole, you can see Phoebe sitting on Heph's body. She looks very tired...

 

[Ireth]

"I don't think she has. She still loves you. Remember I said she was heartbroken when you got stabbed?" She looks beseechingly into Heph's face.

"You told me in the club that you'd decided to go back to her. I hope that hasn't changed in a matter of minutes. Loki's illusions were just a trick to make you angry."

 

[tbgg]

Ch.5 "Lost Souls" / Kell and Sigrlinn

Kell tells Heph, "Something has been done to mess with either your sense of time or your memories. Or maybe you are some older version of Heph who came here during a previous death."

"In our time, you were on the brink of divorce at my hatching, and in a way I don't understand, my hatching saved you from that. You created a silver maiden who you named after me, but who everyone calls Kell-Pi. She has been your and Aphrodite's marriage counselor ever since. Your marriage to Aphrodite is now in a good place, and I was with your wife for a while just before we came here. I can tell you she was genuinely heartbroken at your death. We figured that if you're Immortal, there must be a way for you to get a new body, and so we came after you."


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Heph seems puzzled by the talk of time and older selves, but when Kell mentions Kell-Pi, he seems to snap out of it.

"Kell-Pi—right. I was supposed to set her free after she completed her mission. Her replacement is already built. She just lacks…"

He looks as S4M-U5.

"Well, no offense, Samus. The real you lacks a soul."

"None taken," Samus replies.

"Right," says Heph. "Of course you wouldn't take offense. You're an illusion here, which means…"

Arachne finishes Heph's sentence. "It means this version of Samus also lacks a soul."

"I was going to say that, technically, anything this Samus says is just a projection of my own thoughts. It's weird that I talked to her so much, or told her my darkest secrets, or…"

"All those times we danced together?" Samus adds.

Heph looks at you both, then says, "You took a huge risk coming here. Let me be the first to take a leap of faith for you."

With those words, he leaps from the balcony and into the sun.

S4M-U5 says, "At least I didn't mention all those times we made lo—"

She disappears as soon as Heph touches the sun below. Arachne remains on Sigrlinn's shoulder.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn tilts her head at S4M-U5's cut-off sentence, having a feeling she knows what was going to be said and not especially wanting to dwell on it. She takes a deep breath and looks back at Kell. "I think it's time we jumped, too. Think I should use magic to make us fly while I'm at it?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The mansion disappears out from under you. You find yourselves standing on the chunk of land that the mansion was built upon. The ground in rock, and the wall you're overlooking is grass—so you're still sideways—still heading down a fall toward a sun that takes you out of this world.

Arachne says, "I guess that when I rebuild his place, all my friends will be imaginary. It was nice having real company, even if only for a short while."

 

[Ireth]

"Then come back to the mortal realm with us!" says Sigrlinn. "You can hold onto me when we jump. Which should be soon, I'm thinking..."

 

[tbgg]

Kell looks earnestly at Arachne. "We'd love to have you return with us. I know there's more I'd love to talk to you about."

She nods to Sigrlinn. "Ice magic won't help for this, and I don't think my vines would have anything to hold onto, so if you can make us fly, that works for me."

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she says, "Let's do this." And she grasps Sigrlinn's hand.


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[Ireth]

Sigrlinn smiles and squeezes Kell's hand, then calls on her magic before leaping from the chunk of land they're standing on.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Arachne remains silent at first. Then there is a blinding flash. The next thing you see is a woman--Arachne--human and clad in a gown similar to yours, but in hues of bronze.

She stands at the cliff's edge, looking over with teary-eyed trepidation.

"Anything's better than staying here."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn holds out her free hand to the now human Arachne. "Come on, then!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Arachne takes Sigrlinn's hand.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn smiles and steers the three of them toward the black sun, trusting the wind to speed their progress.

((Do I need to roll again or anything?))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((No roll is necessary at this point.))

Arachne enjoys the feeling of wind in her face. As you fly toward the sun, you can see Heph rising from his machine. Aphrodite rushes to embrace him, then takes Phoebe in her hand. The wingless fairy looks worn out, but also quite proud.

Your bodies are both in the lab as well, hooked up to the same machine that is currently being disconnected from Heph's wrist by Penny. Icarus has the other two iMaidens in hand.

Arachne says, "It seems Hephæstus' wounds were healed, so his soul could return to his body. And his invention is keeping your bodies alive. You'll both be fine then." She seems relieved as she says this.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn smiles in relief at the sight of Heph and Aphrodite embracing, then turns to look at Arachne. "...Will you still have your human form in that world?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"No."

Arachne smiles as she says it.

Behind you, the sky is crumbling apart. Broken pieces of starry black dissolve as they fall. Behind the broken sky is a blinding white. Even the land where the mansion was is now gone. The waterfall is thin veil of evaporating liquid filth.

Ahead of you, the fairies no longer appear as giants, but as women your own size. The closer you get to the sun, the more normal the scale of the real world is in your eyes.

Arachne's grip on Sigrlinn's hand tightens. Her skin is soft. Her hand is gentle. But her grip is firm.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn doesn't look back, focusing on where they're going rather than where they've been, and wondering what going back to her body will feel like... Hopefully she and Kell won't end up in each other's by mistake!

 

[tbgg]

Gnawing her lip, Kell just wants to get this flight or fall or whatever it is done with. If she can't be on solid ground, she'd rather be in water. Air is so unnatural!

She, too, focuses on the path ahead. "I'm ready to be home," she mutters.


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[Legendary Sidekick]

You find yourselves in the lab, in your own bodies again. Artemis takes Sigrlinn by the hand to help her up. Kell finds her head in Aphrodite's lap. Heph looks up from his work--repairing Dimki, with Icarus and Nikki as his assistants. Hess is seated by the hearth with Penni and the fairies.

"Hey! You're awake!" Penni says, not that she was the first to notice. Just the least subtle.

She zips over to Sigrlinn. The others also stop what they're doing to greet you, except Heph who continues his work on his iMaiden's broken limb.

He does say, "You two really didn't need to risk your lives for mine. I will remember you did this for me, should there ever be a need for me to return the favor."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn blinks as she finds herself back in her body, which feels oddly heavy after flying weightlessly out of the knife-realm. She smiles and accepts Artemis' help to sit up, and holds out her free hand for Penni to land on. "It's good to be back."

When Heph speaks, she says, "It was an honor. I'm glad it all worked out in our favor."

Then she looks around, wondering where Arachne got to. If she's not a human in this world, would she be a tiny spider again?