Interval 1: Awakening

(Open to two other characters.)

You would think that a land mass hovering in the middle of clouds, surrounded by stars, and home to a crooked mystical tower that held a powerful wizard and three good faeries would seem to be the peak of otherworldly and bizarre things to an ordinary person, and by most standards that would be correct. However, that doesn't mean that more things otherworldly and bizarre couldn't take place there.

In this regard, it is a shimmering sphere accompanied by a pale blue hue which pulsates. With each pulse it grows larger, with the area being buffeted by strong winds and having the ground and nearby trees being tinged with frost. In the midst of that shimmering sphere can be seen the figure of a woman garbed in paramilitary equipment, laying on the ground with her body curled into the fetal position, her head held between her hands and her face scrunched up in a grimace of pain... all before the the hue and the sphere disappear in one swift motion, leaving the woman there to continue to lay upon the ground. An aching gasp lulls from her mouth, followed by a series of deep coughs, as though she was trying to force something to leave her throat. Rolling to her stomach, she forces herself up onto her hands and knees before standing, stumbling backwards and stopping her from falling back down with the aid of a nearby tree. She spits onto the ground, as her eyes focus, before widening in shock. This wasn't the corridors of steel and concrete that she remembered seeing before the pain hit her.

"W-where am I?" She tries to take a few steps only to stumble and drop back to her knees and hands.

Mary appeared on the outside of the tower itself, having piloted her Gummi ship for the first time. Choosing this location was more of a test flight than anything else for her and the ninja decided to not bother with her civilian clothes yet. This wasn't a public area and she figured people wouldn't ask questions about her appearance here, especially Yen Sid, the owner of the tower if she ran into the wizard.

But as Mary took a few steps, she saw something that would be odd and surprising to most people, but not her. A woman, getting up from the floor, coughing on the floor as she got up and leaned against a tree. The confusion on her face told the ninja that the woman had no idea where she was which made sense. Only those who knew of this area weren't surprised when they arrived, which meant this was a new arrival, lost and confused. Mary walked towards her, her movement not making any noises out of habit, due to her training.

"Excuse me?" The ninja called out, keeping her face exposed so the woman didn't think she was some of thief or criminal. "Are you all right? You are not looking so well."

(This takes place after "Strange Minds" in the Ocean Between.)

Naito had come to this land, this strange tower, alone.

Arriving after dropping off Kara Newton at the location of her choice, alongside her ship, he had said goodbye to her for the time being, taking into account the ideas she had come up with for some of his designs. She was beautiful, nice, and did not ask much of him, and for that he felt something he hadn't in quite some time, if ever, with someone beyond his blood relations: kinship.

However, his reasons for coming here were his own. He did not know much about this place, only that it was isolated from many other worlds, that it remained between realms, much as he did in a different sense. A tower like this would surely belong to someone who could help him to find new ways to stay away from others, or at least would have the power to hold him back if he lost control.

Regardless, when he rounded a corner, he heard two women talking, ones unfamiliar to him. He looked, and saw what appeared to be a kunoichi from a distance alongside a woman in odd armor, perhaps from an era beyond his own, more in line with the like that Kara had worn, but covering more of her body.

Rather than walk up to them, he kept his distance, looking toward the stairway up to the tower entrance. He didn't want to bother them, and knew better than to intrude unless he absolutely felt there would be some kind of danger.

Unfortunately, he did not know that one of them was psionic.

Her vision clearing, her hearing focusing, the woman stands back up on steady legs.  Holding her head, her focus goes upon on the female ninja.  Her initial instinct was to reach for her sidearm, as ingrained into her from basic training on, but the fact she had not attacked had given her pause.  In fact, even with her hearing muffled, she could still make out that someone asked if she was okay.  As it stood, she was not a threat.  A bit strange in regards to garb, but still not a perceivable threat.

"Been better."  She kneels down, finding her equipment.  Her pistol, her shotgun, her sub-machine gun, her knife, and her visor and balaclava, all neatly piled together in a bundle. She didn't know how it happened (since she was holding and/or wearing her equipment not moments before) or who might have done this, but at least they weren't taken from her. She puts each piece on, save for her balaclava which she tucks into a pouch.

As she does so, she pauses.  She feels a faint pressure at the base of her skull, and something akin to static seems to permeate her mind, the feeling beginning to become audible to her alone, like some kind of mental white noise.  She shakes her head, fighting off the impending feeling of disorientation once again and pressing against the base of her head as if to try and find the source of this mental white noise.  Her eyes focus on Mary, her confusion apparent before receding back into a steely resolve.  "Just you here?"  She pauses, before her eyes focus on the tower, and the locale overall, and her eyes fall back into showing her confusion.  "Where ever 'here' is..."

Mary nodded in reply to the woman, giving her the space to get up and check her equipment. She looked around, out of habit, checking to see the area was clear and ensure there were no ambushes. A meaningless gesture in a place like Yen Sid's tower, mostly because Heartless have a habit of appearing out of nowhere, and her lack of experience fighting them. The ninja paid more attention to where she and the woman were right now though instead of farther away.

As Mary looked at the woman, she saw that the latter looked confused for a moment. Then the ninja heard the question and nodded. "Yes. As far as I know. As for where we are, the owner of the tower could explain it to you." She walked away from the woman, intent on looking around to see if there was yet another person here or if it was any of the Heartless that could appear at any moment. Mary figured it was more likely that someone else arrived at the tower was keeping hidden from  her and the woman out of caution.

Her steps were quiet, each movement made for silence. As she closed the corner, she quickly sidestepped to a spot where she couldn't be seen by anyone who could be spying on them. Then the ninja turned the corner, making it look as if she suddenly appeared in front of the person, a snowy haired, blue eyed man. "May I help you?" She asked politely in a firm tone.

Sneaking up on Naito was, far and wide, a bad idea. Given his constant state, the kunoichi was unlikely to have made a good impression in the first place, even in the best of times. The fact that she was working her hardest to be imperceptible until she was so close to him was going to lead to a horrible reaction, on account of how he reacted when startled.

And so, it did.

As such, she likely was surprised when he instinctually released a pulse of invisible telekinetic Yin energy, forcing the young woman back a ways and possibly even to the ground. At the same time, he drew his firearm, the malleable handgun known as Haji, and aimed it in her direction, his eyes wild. "Back," he said curtly, hands shaking, clearly wanting her to stay away from him.

It was unclear from the outset what exactly was going on. Was he an assassin? A generally sick individual without anyone guiding his actions? A sufferer of post-traumatic stress who did not actually mean any harm? Whatever the intent, it was likely clear that unless they could diffuse the situation, he was probably going to either fire or run off.

(Thought it would be a good idea for them all to meet on the outside of the tower before. Also gives an opportunity for Clarice to talk and show her nicer side, if she can figure out what's wrong on some level [if she knows he is showing a symptom].)

The woman watched as her erstwhile companion stepped away, leaving her to briefly ponder the building once again. However, as soon as she heard her companion ask a question to someone unknown, her instincts and military training set off. Pulling out her pistol, she rounds the corner, seeing a man there, a gun aimed at her recently met ally. All military instincts were to immediately thumb the hammer on her AT-14 pistol and take aim at a non-lethal point on his body to debilitate him long enough to restrain...

But she could see the panic in the man's eyes, a person who had seen such horrors that their mind could not help but recall it with crystal clarity, with even the slightest action being enough to trigger their fight or flight response. It was not unlike the woman she had tried to subdue back near the Canadian Border during her last mission. This time would be different, however.

Stepping in front of her ally, she lowers her handgun, re-holstering it. "Take it easy, friend. No one's going to hurt you." Her voice remained calm and steady, her eyes lock on the man's own, her hands held up to show she had no ill intent towards him. She needed him to feel as thought he had some semblance of control to try and ease him into a state of calm. A risk, but one she felt needed to be done.

She looks back at her female ally, a little concerned. "You okay?"

Before Mary could even see it coming, she found herself being blasted away. As her feet were lifted up the ground momentarily, she shifted her stance, quickly crouching down and landing on her feet. As the ninja managed to brake her movement, she watched the man pull out a gun on her, her hand quickly moving behind her and grabbing the handle of her tanto, a reflex from her training. She looked up to him with a glare, a few tense moments passing before simply slowly moving her hand away from her weapon. "Calm down. I will be stepping back."

As Mary began her movement, the woman she had found came into view, aiming her own gun at the man. And then got between her and the stranger, trying to calm down the latter while acting as her shield. "I am fine.... This was more my fault than his. I ended up startling him." The ninja explained as she got up from the ground and stood up straight. She decided to let the woman calm him down, intending on apologizing once the man was calm enough to be able to talk things out.

Naito remained that way for a few seconds, unsure which woman to point at. They were coming at him without warning, he didn't know what they would--

... they were just talking to him, trying to get him to calm down. He took a deep, shaky breath, then another, a bit more stable, before slowly allowed his arms to relax, lowering the weapon with both hands down to his side. The Moon Tribesman placed the firearm in its holster, still a bit shaken up, but not too badly anymore. If anything, he was ashamed at how he presented himself to these new people, mostly due to how it would reflect on how he was perceived going forward, rather than directly sorry for what had occurred. As the kunoichi admitted, she had been sneaking up on him in the first place.

He looked away in his shame, still quiet, before saying just one word in response. "... Okay." He didn't say that he did not need another apology, but he wasn't one to say too many words to people he did not know. He was willing to just go inside, if need be, if only to escape this situation.

Relieved at how the situation turned out, the woman's focus turns once again to the nearby tower, and with her focus really put forth on it, she saw how... abnormal it was to her. She had questions, no doubt... maybe if anyone resided in here, they could provide some kind of answer.

"I'm going inside." Walking up to the large wooden door leading into the tower, she presses her hands against it. As her fingers touch against the wood, that pressure at the base of her skull blasts into a full-blown migraine and the mental static blares into her mind, causing her to grimace and temporarily deafen her as she pushes the door open. But as soon as her hands no longer touch the door, the pain subsides as does the mental static. But even those brief few moments were enough to make her visibly sweat. She looks back at the other two. "You're welcome to join me."

Mary watched as the stranger calmed down, the situation having been defused for the moment. The ninja simply watched as the woman walked into the tower and gave her a nod of acknowledgment. She would follow her into the tower but there was something she wanted to do first. Mary faced the man and bowed to him in apology. "I am sorry for startling you and causing this situation. I did not meant to cause any trouble. I will go with her into the tower."

With that, the ninja followed after the woman, going into the tower. Even though she had seen this in the game back home before, it was still a different sight up close and personal. Mary was inside Yen Sid's tower, in the flesh. "Had it been when I first arrived, I would've been excited. But... things are different after some years as a Converger. Even if it was only in one world." She pushed any other thoughts to the back of her mind and pointed to the top of the stairs, which lead through a portal. "That is the only way up." The ninja replied as if the portal was nothing new to her.

Naito did not respond to the apology. He wasn't one to talk if he didn't have to, and nobody could blame him for being a people person.

However, he knew that there was likely someone up in the tower to help him with his desire to be alone, and so followed the others without a word. As they continued, he looked at the slightly strange elements around the tower, its spiraling staircase and the shimmering portal. Hearing the woman telling about how it was the only way to go higher, he just kept walking past them, seemingly ignoring them at least on a surface level as he passed through.

The portal did not feel like much of anything. It was like a door that just happened to be hovering in the air and have no easy way to see what was on the other side. As such, when he ended up on the other side, he did not react much, just seeing that he had reached another part of the spiral staircase leading upward. He kept walking...

... only to hear a swirling sound, something he had remembered from another world. Acting on instinct, he telekinetically drew his firearm, Haji, to his hand, as dark creatures began to descend the staircase from up above, consisting of the relatively weak Shadows alongside the slightly stronger and more heavily armored Soldier types of Heartless.

If he had been prepared, he may have tried to change to his Yang formation, but as it were, he was not, and would likely have to make do.

(You guys can figure out how many of each type you want to be here.)

The woman stepped into the tower and watched as one of her erstwhile partners ascended the spiraling staircase and passed through the glowing portal that stood at the top of it.  She pauses as she stares at the portal, unnerved about this object that defied all that she understood.  Her world was one that was founded on the principals of science and logic.  This...  This was magic.  Magic was something that belonged in the realm of fiction and fantasy, not something that she could see right in front of her as a point of fact.  With apprehension, her hand touches the portal, surprised at the lack of any sensation as it easily passed through.  Taking a breath, she steps through fully.

Arriving on the other side, she stands beside the gentleman, a little relieved that nothing problematic occurred with the portal.  However, she does catch the sound of something strange, something that she had never heard before, something akin to a vortex dislodging something it's core.  With her eyes focused ahead, she sees the manifestation of these strange creatures, four clad in some kind of armor and 7 small dark, wispy creatures, both varieties with piercing yellow eyes, though the sounds seem to suggest that more were likely to appear.  She had never seen the likes of them before, but a mixture of her military training couple with some innate feeling deep inside of her told her to stand ready for a fight.  Her right hand quickly snaps down to her pistol holster on the right-hand side of her belt, pulling out her pistol.  Her left hand likewise drops to the sheathe on her left-hand side, removing her karambit knife. The knife hand quickly positions itself beneath her pistol hand, ready to attack and defend as needed.

Mary followed the other two through the portal, watching the rear. It was one thing to see the portal working from the back of a screen, but actually going through it was an entirely different experience. Appearing besides the two, she heard a familiar swirling sound, one she had heard before in the Realm of Reality, as part of a game. The ninja unsheathed her tanto in response, watching as a group of seven Shadow Heartless descended the stairs, lead by four Soldiers.

She was the first to react, silently sprinting ahead and slashing at the closest Shadow. That got the attention of the other smaller Heartless, who moved to surround her, just like she wanted. Mary slashed at the injured Shadow twice with the tanto then took out a kunai knife and stabbed it into its small body, killing it. As it dissipated into black mist, the ninja motioned her hand, casting her Smokescreen spell, creating an area of thick smoke where she was. "I will deal with the Shadows. Please handle the Soldiers." She added, throwing the kunai knife at the back of a Shadow that missed her.

Wordless, Naito raised his firearm, to those more knowledgeable about the terminology being a bizarrely constructed pistol composed of midnight blue, crystalline material. Outwardly calm, or at least stoic, he stepped to the side as the small, humanoid beasts in armor came scampering toward them, some of the unarmored ones descending into the ground to flatten themselves against it as they moved into the smokescreen. He fired at one, the sound audible, but no actual bullet or muzzle flash occurring as a result, and it staggered one, the sound of something hitting the metal of the helmet resounding as it focused on him in particular.

Not stopping, the white-haired young man fired again, and again, holding it with one hand as he kept the other ready for an attack. And attack it did, jumping up and slashing at him with a clawed hand, then another. The first barely missed through a deft dodge, but the second had to be forced away through telekinetic force, tendrils of dark energy rising from his body to "push" the "Soldier" off balance as he took aim for one last shot. The power may not have been visible to Mary, as it was of particularly difficult-to-spot psychic energy, not magic, but the other woman may have understood, or at least noticed.

The final gunshot he made was one at nearly point blank, just under the right shoulder blade. He couldn't get a good shot in through the helmet, but this one would be enough to... yes, as it hit, the demonic entity, or whatever these things were, dissipated into black smoke, a pink heart rising into the air before disappearing. Now to--

He grunted as he was hit with a series of kicks to the back, and instinctually lashed out, a blast of psychokinetic energy erupting in a pulse behind him, potentially even being dangerous to his companions as if he had physically pushed them, but not much beyond that due to it essentially being a shove with the equivalent to his own body weight. The Soldier that had attacked him was sent flying backward, tumbling down the stairs in a daze, and he lowered his weapon to face it, turning in its direction with his face, though outwardly expressionless, having a semblance of some alien terror hiding deep within. Concentrating on Haji, he took it in both hands this time, and fired once, the invisible shot hitting directly in the Heartless emblem, though not its center. This attack had been charged significantly through his stress at the surprise, and so it alone was enough to destroy this second Soldier.

Evidently, he knew a thing or two about combat, but he seemed almost a danger to his allies as well as his enemies if they were not careful.

The female soldier's eyes focus on the remaining strange creatures that had not been attacked by her erstwhile allies, ones that her female compatriot called 'Soldiers'. They were around half her size, humanoid, hands ending in claws, small metal bangles around their wrists and a surprisingly shiny helmet upon their heads, and an emblem in the shape of a split heart emblazoned on their chests. However, her attention on her foes is briefly snapped as she saw a little aura emanating from the gentleman. She had never seen the likes of it, though the 'feeling' that it emanated was one that she readily recognized: Psychic energy. This guy had strong telesthetic potential. She...

She was caught unaware as one of the Soldiers leaps at her, pirouetting towards her and hitting her with a spin kick, knocking her back with the strike. Another attempts to swipe at her, while she responds by shooting at the swinging hand, knocking the appendage back and briefly stunning it. She rushes in and kicks at the stunned Soldier, sending it back and firing another two rounds with her pistol, causing the thing to break apart, a crystalline heart emerging from it before disappearing.

With the first gone, her focus turns towards her original assailant. It once again leaps at her, but she is aware this time, deftly rolling out of harm's way and firing two shots at the Soldier's knees. The shots hit their intended targets, stumbling the creature long enough to allow her to slide towards it, delivering a brutal slash across its back with her karambit knife. The slash causes it to dissipate, and another heart released by the creature's defeat.

(As an update, there are six Shadows and one Soldier left.)

Mary didn't watch the elimination of the Soldiers, more focused on dealing and keeping the attention of the six Shadows, one still having a kunai knife lodged on its back. The ninja kicked away another one as it pounced on her and slash a second one, the smoke keeping the others out of sight from the Heartless, forcing them to focus on her. But the smoke was already dissipating, lightening up and clearing the view of the staircase. Some of the Shadows, noticing the other two, shifted their attention to them.

Mary took the chance to stab her tanto at the back of one of them, easily taking it out as a heart floated and vanished from where it was. But this left her side open to a claw from the Heartless with the kunai still in its back. Wincing, the ninja dodged the attack from a second one, the three remaining Heartless joining the lone Soldier in attack the man and woman she was accompanying with. With a slash from her tanto, she finished off the wounded Shadow and face the other one herself.

(Four Shadows and one Soldier left.)

Naito kept his focus on the Soldiers, including the one remaining. He saw the women and how they were able to fight, or at least he saw bits and pieces amongst his concentration. He could see that the one stronger dark creature was being joined by three weaker ones, but as he could not quite predict when they would descend into the ground, he decided it best to keep his attention on the one that did not seem capable of such a feat.

Aiming at the Soldier, he fired once, twice, and three times, pressing against his pain mentally to keep himself from losing focus. Unfortunately, the earlier attack had caused him to have some difficulties, and while one of the shots did hit, the other two went wide, and the third in particular left him on the edge of exhaustion.

The man gasped, and as he saw a Shadow coming up on his left side, he only barely batted it away with the butt of the gun, bashing it and sending it backwards before firing another invisible bullet that caught it in the midsection, causing it to dissipate into dark smoke in midair.

That last one broke the dam. Naito cried out in pain as his handgun backfired, not causing physical damage, but rather searing straight into his brain. He grasped his head with both hands, still holding on to the firearm, but his finger off of the trigger, doubled over.

He would have switched to his Yang magic by this point, but he was having trouble concentrating.

(Three Shadows left, and one Soldier. If there is anything left by the time it comes back around to Naito, he'll be able to fight again using his Yang power, but he's not going to be able to use his gun until he can get some time away.)

Hearing the yell from the gentleman, the soldier's eyes darts towards the man, seeing him clutch at his head. She slides back over towards the gentleman, once again taking the position of acting as a shield for the man. As she does so, she takes aim at the three shadows, firing with each movement from them. However, their erratic movements, coupled with their ability to flatten themselves into the floor meant that each shot towards them would miss, until there was only a faint sound of 'Klik', signaling that her sidearm was empty. Two leapt at her, which she was able to bat them away, the third Shadow was able to hit with enough force to send her back and into the man, knocking the both of them over.

As she shakes her head, trying to get those mental cobwebs loose, the enemy Soldier leaps at her. As if on reflex, she raises up her empty handgun and aims at the impeding threat, pulling the trigger. As she does, she doesn't quite recognize that a well of energy inside of her flows into the weapon, creating a fist-sized sphere at the tip of her pistol that fires out, hitting the Soldier and sending it back into two Shadows, staggering it slightly. As much as the shock of having that happen finally hit her, she was more shocked at seeing the enemy Soldier turn and begin attacking the two Shadows that it hit, the two types beginning to in-fight, with the Soldier being able to eliminate one Shadow before the other Shadow takes it out.

(Two Shadows remaining.)

Mary watched as most of the other Heartless were taken out by the others, showing a bit of worry at the man's sudden drop of his guard and the female soldier firing an unusual shot from her gun. Still, there were two Shadows left and the ninja sprung to finish them off. She sprinted, taking out another kunai knife and slashing at one of the two remaining Heartless. The other one flattened and tried going under Mary who simply waited until the Shadow sprung and kicked it away.

She also threw the kunai knife right into its right eye, dissipating it into a floating heart. The last one soon joined it, the tanto stabbed down, blade penetrating the top of the head. Seeing the coast was clear, Mari sheathed her tanto and walked towards the two. "Is anyone injured?" She asked, taking out a small, black case with a golden, yellow, dragon design on the outside, grabbing the rope on top, ready to open it. "This has medicine that can heal. Although you could also obtains Potions. The owner of the tower could explain everything better than I could." The ninja knelt down and offered it to Naito.

Naito was shivering as he came to his senses, lowering his hand and putting away the firearm. The threat was gone. The two women were with him, and he had recognized that the military one was using some form of psychic energy herself. Had they saved him? It was unclear, but he wasn't exactly going to apologize, nor was he going to thank them outright.

The white-haired young man waved off the medication, not needing it. None of that would have helped him now, considering his problem was internally based. Instead, he stood up straight once more, and, without a word, walked to the next portal ahead, tense and ready to face something next. As he did, he focused inward, finally switching his style from yin to yang, from the dark psionics to the lighter magic.

Of course, he was liable to be more aggressive, but he had to know he wasn't going to have another headache if they were going to face something new.

(Z can set up what the next scene is.)

The soldier stands, shaking her head. What damage she did receive from the fight was insignificant, at best a few bruises that some rest could deal with. And once again, the words from her female cohort once again brought that sense of this surreal reality crashing down on her: terms such as Potions, items such as healing powders, her shooting a strange energy ball from her pistol... She again shakes her head, trying to clear her mind of this strangeness as she ejects the spent magazine from her pistol and quickly reloading with a fresh clip. Watching the gentleman head towards the next portal, she centers herself.

"We need to keep going." Keeping both her karambit and pistol at the ready, the soldier heads past the gentleman, taking point as she proceeds through the portal. As she steps through, her training kicks back in, surveying the room to see any potential threats. In this... study, there was no one present. There was a desk and a grand chair in the center of this room, a number of dusty tomes held on wooden shelves along the walls, and windows in the shape of moons and stars dotting the walls, giving her a view outside... but no person could be seen. She turns back towards the portal, looking at it as she replies, "Clear!" With the area empty, she holsters her pistol and sheathes her karambit.

Mary simply nodded and placed the Grains away. She watched as Naito moved ahead before the female soldier stopped him then took point into the portal. The ninja waited until she heard the all clear from her and stepped through it. Appearing in Yen Sid's room, she noticed it was empty and the former Keyblade Master was nowhere to be seen. "Strange." Mary said, walking towards the desk.

The ninja glanced to the right, a door leading to another room but didn't bother moving away from the desk. Instead she glanced back at the other two and shrugged. "It seems the owner is out right now. He is a man called Yen Sid if I am recalling his name correctly. Hopefully, he should get here soon." Mary commented and moved away from the desk. She turned around to face it, while standing where she could be able to get the most view of the room. The ninja knew that the wizard could simply teleport in but old habits are hard to kick, especially when they saved her life in the past.

Unlike the two women with him, one being rather serious in a military fashion, the other more forward in other ways to explain what was going on around here, Naito did not have much reaction to what was going on. He was a bit more lively, to be sure, moving a bit quicker, but aside from that, he was as taciturn as ever.

The white-haired man looked around the room, not more out of curiosity than any attempt to find anyone. He saw the mystical nature of this entire place, to be sure, and it seemed like there was a desk at the back for someone, perhaps the tower's owner, to sit. The entire space was relatively open, with a door nearby (a true, physical door like those to the landings, not the portals between), but he was in no hurry to check on it.

Instead, he was left with a brief time to think. To think on his stupid decision to overload his weapon. To think on walking with these women into this tower. To think on so many mistakes he had made in a short time.

What was wrong with him? What did he think he could achieve by going to an archmage of any sort?

The soldier moves over to one of the book shelves and picks up a rather large and dusty tome, blowing the dust off of it before opening it, the pages adorned with strange script and arcane images. "It's a bit much for me..." She sets the book back, sighing. "I mean, this is..." She purses her lips, trying to find the right way to phrase her thoughts. She looks at the two of them. "How can this be... normal to you? Magic and monsters and whatever craziness there is... It feels wrong. I..."

She sighs. "Never mind." Now wasn't the time to get complacent. She was still in unknown territory, she still was far away from any way to contact her superiors, and she was still dealing with a large number of factors that she had no idea of how to use, contend, or even understand. Her eyes turn towards Mary. "This... Yen Sid person... Can he be trusted?"