BSoL

(Penelope)

Sometimes it is hard to believe that pixie powered is all natural. Not just one of those people that only eats organic, or oatmeal every day, but legitimately natural. A self-contained and self-generated endless mana battery, that is the thought that Penelope had now.

One where she realized why a dying planet would want to take someone like Cass with her. She was an endless supply of rainbows, sunshine, and energy.

The only problem was that now that rainbow had dimmed slightly, the sunshine wasn't as bright, and the energy wasn't as clean. To the outsiders that just met her, they heard the rumors about her and wholeheartedly agreed with the statements. However, for those that had known her before and after, there were changes. Worrisome changes.

Penelope looked on as the normally self-assure in everything pixie hesitated. Worse, with that one stop, that one hesitation it was felt, for at that moment it seemed like part of the world seemed to stop as well. Not that much was observable, the sun still shone brightly, the wind still moved, but an indescribable thing occurred.

It took Penelope a moment to pause long enough to realize what the issue had been. Had this been before her training with Cass, or Dr. Spiritlight, Penelope might not have been able to even notice the difference. But now that she had taken the training, and spent countless hours on her own working on these exact sensing skills, Penelope saw, or rather felt the difference.

"There was a pause in the energy around her," Penelope mused silently to herself.

"Huh? What was that?" A nearly distracted and clearly looking for an excuse to avoid her current task asked.

"Nothing, I was just speaking to myself," Penelope replied, pausing to move in closer to Cass to see if she could once again feel this energy fluctuation. No doubt this ability to read energy fluctuations would be needed to pass Cass's imposed quest of learning to talk to Raygunnr, the Teleiotís. One that only spoke in the self-described Mana Language that Cass totally didn't invent on her own, but was somehow fluent in. Because of course, understanding emotions behind mana was natural for a pixie. That was part of why Penelope had to beg off for a few hours, so she could practice her speech with Raygunnr.

Only later on in the day did Penelope truly feel guilty about the act, as she apparently kept Raygunnr up late enough that he fell asleep during class time. Fortunately, no one noticed, that or if they did, they were so enthralled by Cass's lessons that no one said or did anything to complain. Not that anyone would logically wake up, only to then complain to a murder bot. No, everyone had let that sleeping monster lie.

"Okay," Cass responded after again what was an exceptionally long amount of time, for her. Knowing her, Penelope assumed that Cass had multiple thoughts rolling through her mind, which made her reactions so odd. Finally, after watching her friend struggle for so long, Penelope finally decided to act.

"What's wrong? Aren't you checking your status or something?" Penelope pressed, trying to remember what exactly the mad Pixie had been so worked up about.

"Yes," Cass began, determination clearly present in her voice. Only for her to falter at the last second.

"Don't worry, regardless of whatever it says, I'll be here for you," Penelope stated, wondering what exactly Cass expected to see from this display.

At that comment, Cass paused, and then floated forward, to where she was almost within Penelope's personal space.

Warm summer glow.

The closer she got, the more Penelope felt like it was a perfect spring day. This was the joy of Cass, she had multiple auras, all of which promoted Health, Healing, Energy, and curing of the Blight. Then there was her personality that seemed to amplify these effects the closer she got to you.

Just being in the pixie's presence let Penelope know that everything was going to be okay. This was why it was so jarring on those moments when there was a pause, when her auras seemed to fluctuate for a moment, almost as if she was fading out of existence.

"I'm going to do it," Cass noted, hesitation clear in her voice. The new students might not notice the hesitation, but to Penelope's ears it was clear that she was scared.

Grab.

Before Penelope even know what was happening, she reached out and grabbed the hand of the pixie within her own. Grabbing her, and actually touching her caused confusion to flare up in Penelope's mind. For here she was, someone so huge, larger than life. And yet, touching her, Penelope could both feel the barely constrained power that resided within her, the unyielding will to continue on, all constrained by a tiny vessel. A vessel whose hand was easily encapsulated fully by her own.

Warm tingle.

Just touching her was like washing hands that were nearly frostbitten in just right warm water. Water that seemed to melt their way to your bones within seconds. Warm water that instantly let you realize you made it safe just in time and could now relax and enjoy the sensation of being able to move your joints, almost like being comforted by perfect radiation. You know that if the wavelengths were off by a moment you would suffer blistering burns, but for this moment you just felt warmth.

Seeing my reaction, Cass's face lightens for a moment, as the panic and fear that had slowly been creeping into her features suddenly dissipated. That's when Cass smiled, a true actual smile that met her eyes.

"Thank you, I'm likely over thinking this," Cass began.

"You overthink something?" Penelope quipped back, smiling to try to take out some of the bite from her obviously sarcastic remark. Honestly, Cass was one of those generational geniuses that you only read about.

For years Penelope had been told she was exceptional. That her insights into Tailoring were top notch, even getting her the system awarded last name of Tailor, but even after that, and meeting Cass, it was clear there was a difference. Looking into her glowing purple eyes, Penelope couldn't help but remember back to staring into those same set of eyes when they were just a bright vibrant green. Eyes that even though they are clearly blind can still see everything.

"Yeah, I might do that sometimes," Cass replied trying to laugh at herself even now. Then with a measure of absolute adorability, she inadvertently reached up and swished a strand of hair behind her pointy left ear. A gesture done so quickly that the pixie probably did so on autopilot, unaware of her effect had on Penelope. But Penelope noticed and understood it for the moment of fragility that it was. A moment so fragile that even speaking about it would likely shatter whatever this moment was turning out to be.

Not wanting to speak, or break this moment Penelope just nodded. Nodded and smiled, as even a slightly frightened pixie was someone who could still cause nervous tensions to rise within Penelope.

Seeing her nod and accepting smile, the Pixie now done tucking away the loose strand of hair reached forward her free left hand and tentatively held it out for Penelope.

"Would it be weird if I asked you to hold me while I check my status?" Cass asked, a slightly nervous tone to her as she nervously twitched the fingers of her free left hand.

Of course it was weird, but then again what part of interacting with a colossal sized pixie wasn't weird? Which made this theoretically normal, right? At least that is what Penelope thought to herself before smiling even wider and grasping the free left hand.

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Completed circuit of energy.

If Penelope thought she felt a lot of energy before, by touching one hand, nothing could have prepared her for the full body energy that she now felt surging through her. The energy was so thick and intense that for a moment Penelope's mind surged with an inability to move or react as she just stared into Cass's eyes.

Exhale.

"Okay, I'm going to do it," Cass replied.

By this point Penelope had recovered long enough to be able to move her body slightly. While her vocal cords seemed to have been locked up, it was clear that se was able to move. That was why Penelope only gave a slight head nod in response. Perhaps reading more into the inability to move than was necessary, Cass paused, then continued.

"Please don't leave me."

Hearing her words, and worse realizing that she meant them, Penelope finally forced her body to fight through the euphoria of energy coursing through her, as she responded.

"I won't."

At that Cass just smiled, "you know, this time I believe it, which only makes this worse."

"Shh!" Penelope responded, before pulling Cass in and fully wrapping her arms around the pixie. This was a taboo, a no go. Everyone knew of the hallucinatory effects that being exposed to her ephemeral pixie wings, and the residual energy dust residue that remained from such encounters. But right now, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that her friend was there and clearly in pain. While she didn't understand the source of the pain, not fully. At least not until Cass finally told her about her time away, she could at least empathize with the pixie. That's why she held her tightly.

Completely relaxed.

While Cass initially protested the hug, or at least seemed to resist, her body eventually succumbed and her arms wrapped warmly around Penelope's torso. Finally, after a few seconds Cass let go, which caused Penelope to let go, she quickly regained her grasp of Cass's hands, but let the pixie float backwards for a moment as she looked into her eyes.

"You, know even if this is a dream, I think I would be okay reliving it, if I continue to get those types of hugs," Cass said, her words completely confusing to Penelope.

"I have no idea what that means, but if you ever need a hug, know I'm for you, and I will gladly give you one anytime you need one," Penelope responded.

There was a moment, when Cass glowed. Or maybe she regained a bit of her old radiance, that measure of light that had seemed to fade ever so slightly during her month away.

"Okay, I'm going to do it this time, for real," Cass stated nodding to herself in a manner clearly meant to psych herself up.

"Just get it over with already!" A clearly annoyed Gwen called out.

Hearing the words, Penelope turned her head to see that Penelope was sifting through discarded hand and foot joints, looking for something. Honestly, it looked sort of creepy, like trying to play zombie archaeologist without only mutated hands and feet to go off of. Yet, for some reason she and even Kujo were searching through a pile of limbs. Despite her clear concentration being on the ground, as she used her third eye to look for one particular type of leg or paw, the words that we were saying clearly were affecting her.

Though it was clear to Penelope at least that Gwen was clearly concerned about her mother, thus how even now she had more than half her attention placed on their interaction. Fortunately, the comment by Gwen was just enough to get Cass to break through her comfort zone and press on.

"Fine," Cass stated.

Swoosh.

There was a pause and whir of energy as Cass did as she said, pulling up her status window. If Penelope thought the pixie's auras were bright, they apparently had nothing compared to the bright blue surge of energy that erupted next to her. A blue light so bright that it caused Penelope to turn her face away even more.

Still, she held onto Cass, which was why she felt her excitedly bob up and down.

"It worked, it worked, it WORKED! I'm still here!" Cass exclaimed excitedly. Hearing her and feeling her joyous enthusiasm, Penelope could only smile. Then turning her head she blinked slightly as her eyes finally showed her the Blue Screen of Life as many called it, Cass's Status Screen.

There in all it's glory was everything about Cass. Or at least it should have been everything about Cass that she had ever done while here on BiPrism. While Penelope felt her mouth suddenly go dry from trying to think of a response, Gwen was faster to recover.

"Um, is it supposed to look like that?" Gwen asked.

"Umm-brella no!" Cass responded.

Penelope blinked once, then twice, and still could not unsee what it was that she was apparently seeing before her. Still despite it clearly being off, Penelope asked the ultimate question.

"It doesn't always look like that?"

"No, I'm thinking that is a matter of me being out of phase with the server, but it's alright, it's there, which means…" Cass began speaking only to trail off, before pausing for a second and then excitedly exclaiming. "Which means that I am here!"

Hearing Cass's comments, and arcing her head back a bit more, Penelope finally managed to take in the entire glowing blue text box that proved that Cass was in fact still here.

Name:

Dr. Cassiopeia Spiritlight

Age:

??

Race:

??Cosmic ???

Primary Class:

?

Secondary Class

??

Tertiary Class

???

level:

??? / ??? / ???

Strength

???

????

Personality

???

????

Perception

???

????

Dexterity

???

????

Sociability

???

????

Intelligence

???

????

Endurance

???

????

Attractiveness

???

????

Willpower

???

????

Race (Bonus Per Level):

+??

?

+?

 

+??

???

+???

Titles Gained

Bonuses

???

???

Yes, that proved that Cass was still here and apparently out of sync with the server, whatever that meant.

"I guess it is good that you are here?" Penelope tried to respond, not fully knowing how to take in or respond to everything going on.

"What? Of course it is a good thing I am here, that means I did it, after a month, I managed to escape. All those years of being a spy and practicing my escapes paid off, and let me get here," Cass began, then turning her head, she focused on Penelope and smiled brightly before exclaiming, "with you."

Then before Penelope could even understand what happened next, she felt her body get pulled forward. This forward reaction was apparently caused by Cass yanking her hands free from Penelope. Then gentle hands caught the forward tilting Penelope, only to catch her and immediately cause a tingling sensation to form on her forehead as a glowing pixie apparently chose to kiss her on the forehead.

Temporary Blessing: Eternally Grateful Kiss from the Pixie Queen: You have received the eternal gratitude of the Pixie Queen and have been granted a temporary bonus to luck. Effect: All Luck-based skills, rewards, and actions will be improved by 50%.

Seeing the message, a number of thoughts rolled through Penelope's mind. Everything from the joy that now seemed to be glowing from deep within the pixie again. A glow that was as bright as a reverse night light to draw in moths to a burning flames. Whereas in this case, the reverse part came from the fact that the moth, or pixie with ephemeral wings would be bright enough to draw in everyone and burn them with her inner light, if she but wished. There was also the shared joy she felt at getting to experience this moment with Cass. Not that she expected any different, but it was clear that Cass needed her, or someone to be with her at this moment, and Penelope was glad that she was the one who ultimately had the opportunity to spend the moment with her.

Yet, despite these thoughts racing through her mind, all Penelope managed to state was one question.

"Wait, there is a Luck stat?"

"Yeah, but it's not quite a stat as you might think, but more of a gauge that gets filled or emptied out as time goes on," Cass responded, stating something that to her sounded like shew as explaining the differences in the types of clouds in the sky. Meanwhile, Penelope could only wonder why she hadn't ever expressed this in class? Surely this would be something worth knowing, or at least trying to understand on a deeper level. Yet, she just kept this to herself. Then before she could get too far down this rabbit hole of bad thoughts, Penelope realized the one important question. Likely the one question that Cass herself would ask, if she brought up this concern of silence on this matter. If she was to speak about Luck as a form of energy, in which class would she exactly bring it up in? There as no Theoretical Energy degree program being offered, at least not yet. Though if there was, Penelope figured that she would be interested in taking it, maybe as an elective.

Completely stiff.

Just as Penelope had this thought, she felt the pixie stiffen and once again flicker, as if momentarily phasing out of reality for a second. At that moment, Cass floated back a foot to apparently take in Penelope fully, a look of betrayal on her face.

"What?" Penelope asked, seeing the hurt look cross Cass's features.

"Did you just put in a request for a Theoretical Energy Degree Program to be implemented at SVC?"

"What, no?" Penelope began, only to realize that this was exactly what she had been thinking about a moment ago, but those were just thoughts right? Nothing serious? At least that is what she thought to herself.

"I just got a request," Cass began, and was attempting to pull up a blue quest screen, but was soon cut off by a sudden interruption.

Warning: The First Mythical Monster Battle for Zone Supremacy Has Been Enacted. Everyone at World's End brace yourself as the control of your territory is now under contest.

Time remaining for Challenged to appear: 29:59, 29:58, 29:57…

Seeing the message, Cass just paused before leaning her head back in defeat as she sighed loudly to herself.

"GAH," Cass hissed annoyedly.

"What has my moron of a father done this time," Gwen asked.

"He is challenging me for control over World's End, one second." Cass responded to her daughter, before turning back to face Penelope. As their eyes met, Penelope felt the full might of her will once again level itself at her. A will that seemed to denote Penelope as the problem. "When I get back, we need to talk about this new degree path…"

Fear.

Penelope felt fear at that comment, but only for a moment as suddenly the intense pressure that had been weighing down on Penelope instantly vanished.

Poof.

Like that the overwhelmingly powerful pixie was gone, along with her immense auras that all seemed to be back to full energy.

There was a long pause, before trying to change the subject from the noted terseness that was radiating from Cass, Penelope found herself asking the obvious question. "How do you know it is your father?"

"Who else would be stupid enough to test mom, while also being a mythical monster? There are only three of them currently, and Mallory does not want to see why type of world an angry Cass would create."

At that thought, Penelope felt herself shuttering involuntarily at the idea of an angry pixie on the war path. Then suddenly found herself feeling sorry for the recklessly stupid ex.

"Do we have Darwin awards still? Or did they do away with those?" Penelope asked, wondering if the old reward for dying gloriously in a first life, only to benefit the second start was still in effect.

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