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[cullscuttlefish]

[GUESS WHO'S BACK. BACK AGAIN. And is on the network to say hello. If you guessed a fish troll, you would be correct.]

...huh. Didn't think I'd ever sea this plaice again. It feels like everything and nothing have changed at the same time. New room, new people, same glubbing oatmeal.

[She laughs.]

How long has it been, anemoneway? Last thing I remember was getting a box of tentacles in my mailbox and a bunch of weird shadow kids following people around.

Right, right. I'm Feferi Peixes.

[She waves at the camera.]

I was here for - glubbing shell, I don't remember. You start to get somefin like aquadementia - ocean madness - after spending too much time on a dead world. Things get fuzzy.

I'm guessing, though, based on this timer and what people are saying, that we don't have a whole lot of time left. Figures that I'd be coming back at the end. It seems to be a thing!

[She doesn't look upset; more amused than anything.]

So. What did I miss? I want to hear everyfin.

Comments

[sageprincess]

[Relief makes itself clear on her face at that, though it's touched by the kind of weariness living in the Tower brings. Feferi can probably guess that she's been busy.]

I am glad. Most are not so resilient against the silence, let alone able to find something good out of it. Though I suppose I should have expected nothing less.

[Feferi's a strong girl.]

[cullscuttlefish]

[Yep. She'll ask about that soon enough.]

I think, if anyfin, it made me realize how much I really do want everyone else to find some kind of happiness after we leave here. It's something to fight for, and I think I'd lost sight of that.

[She nods her head.]

So, what's been going on, besides Riki going turncoat and Jason finally - well, I think everyguppy here knows my thoughts on Jason.

[sageprincess]

If only Jason's death felt more triumphant...

[Said idly, glancing off to the side. It doesn't sound like Feferi knows she is one of the ones responsible, and she's fine leaving it at that unless the younger princess asks.

What else, what else... She draws Feferi away from the walls and terminals as she thinks of where to start, and speaks more quietly when she makes her decision.]

We completed the research on the collar fluid in your absence. If you would like to request the altered fluid that does not inhibit one's true abilities, then bring a note asking for such to your next collar check and give it to the retrieval unit overseeing them.

[Oh, right--]

We have allies among the retrieval units now. Another system Dax left behind to help us.

[cullscuttlefish]

[She doesn't. If she did, the reaction would be a lot brighter.]

It feels strange to know he's not here, but it's almost a relief? Even if it means Ruana's stronger now, given what I heard happened after.

[And she nods. Not like she has special powers, but it'll be nice being as far back to herself as she can be. But the last part is most interesting, and she tilts her head a little as she asks.]

...this wouldn't be 'Aria', would it? I heard the name earlier. It's awfully pretty.

[sageprincess]

Mm, his experiments have been put to an end, at the very least. [She doesn't sound as joyful about that as she probably should be.] Oh, and regarding the aftermath... Ruana's appearance has changed, presumably as a result of absorbing Jason's power. She now appears as a little girl, and it is theorized that the 'sleeping Ruana' some encountered in the past and 'waking Ruana' are now one and the same.

[Which can only mean good things, clearly. Regardless, her question gets a nod and a slightly prideful smile.]

Yes, she is their leader now. Her original designation was R-037, but we decided she was deserving of a more fitting moniker.

[And that 'we' sounds a bit more personal than when she's speaking of the Tower populace as a whole.]

[cullscuttlefish]

Thank goodness for that. It's at least something.

[...oh, but that does not sound good. Not at all.]

That can't mean anyfin good. She might look like a little girl now, but that doesn't mean she can't mess people up. If anything, it'll just be worse now.

[She likes the sound of this Aria already.]

I like it, and I'd really like to meet her and say hi. I have the feeling I'm going to like her.

[sageprincess]

[She nods her agreement regarding Ruana, and is glad Feferi realizes how appearances can be deceiving. Even in the wake of just how she came to look like she does, she has to wonder if some residents will hesitate against one who appears as a child.

As for Aria--]

I can take you to her now, if you would like. She is not far, though she can be hard to find if you do not know where to look.

[cullscuttlefish]

[She's seen too much in her time to discount someone simply because of their appearance. There's a part of that thought process that goes with being one of the royals on Alternia: if a younger troll had claimed a right to the throne, she would have been duty-bound to fight them. Those seas really don't teach kindness.

Feferi didn't quite realize she was tensing her shoulders until the subject changed and the tension went out of them.]

I'd like that. Thank you.

[sageprincess]

Of course. Come this way.

[It truly isn't that far, as it turns out - Zelda only leads Feferi down through the teleporter to the hanging gardens before wandering off towards a certain sapling. She turns on her heel upon reaching it to a give a warning to the younger princess.]

I am going to vanish in a moment, but do not be alarmed. Simply follow where I step exactly and you will reach the same place. Understand?

[cullscuttlefish]

A teleporter? Got it.

[She gives another thumbs up before following. There's not even a moment's hesitation on her part; while her own experience with them is limited, she trusts that this one's okay.]

[sageprincess]

Right.

[She nods. Better safe than sorry when it comes to things like teleportation. Don't need people freaking out just outside Aria's headquarters. True to her word, Zelda disappears as she steps to the sapling's right, but Feferi will see her again upon following after, as well as the metallic scenery of the hidden floor.]

Welcome to our sanctuary. The administrators cannot hear or see us here.

[Quite a step up from their plotting in a bathroom about a year ago, eh?]

[cullscuttlefish]

[She nods, following Zelda onto the teleporter.

It takes her a minute to get her bearings - it might look like a lounge or something, but she's not quite used to having a retrieval unit be a thing that's okay. Feferi takes a couple of deep breaths, then comes up with her signature grin.]

This is really somefin. It's - I'm speechless.

[Definitely!]

It's huge, having a space like this.

[sageprincess]

It really is. [She agrees, and then adds as an afterthought:] And it certainly angered Jason to no end when the retrieval units he was supposed to be in control of in turn wrested control of the Tower from him.

[Feferi would enjoy that little tidbit, she thinks. She glances around the room momentarily, peering at the various chipped units milling about until she points to one in particular.]

Aria is the one with spectacles, over there.

[cullscuttlefish]

...now that is poetic justice if I've ever heard it.

[And she does enjoy it.]

She looks sweet. I like her already.

[sageprincess]

Quite.

[She'll leave that there, though, because talking too much about Jason and poetic justice gets her thinking about the labyrinth.]

She is very kind. You should teach her the song you wrote for us sometime. She chose her name because she enjoys music, so I am certain she would like it.