2143/Rube Goldbow and the Wind-Up Whispering Woods

Rube Goldbow and the Wind-Up Whispering Woods
Date of Scene:	06 December 2024
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	Bow is akumaized and makes good progress on capturing Glimmer and Tuxedo Mask! Then Yellow Pearl Voice, Amy, Wedding Bell and Ladybug saved the day, but Bow and Glimmer suffer a setback that not even a Wedding Chara can save.
Cast of Characters:	Gabriel Agreste, Bow, Angela Erickson, Glimmer Brightmoon, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Amanda Faust, Mamoru Chiba, Coco Kiumi

---

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Obsidian Tower, being the collective workplace of some of the world's greatest megalomaniacs and would-be-conquerors drunk on the power that Dark Energy provides, is always a place of 'bad vibes' as the kids these days would say. Gabriel Agreste knows this, and as someone with genuinely magical empathetic powers, is even accustomed to it.

So when he says the vibes have been atrocious and the mood deplorable, it can be taken as the gospel truth. Maybe that's why he's sitting in his lair/office, looking out over the Tokyo skyline and rubbing his temples. Would it kill the other employees to have less angst? Were their wives in suspended animation, dying from the use of a broken Miraculous? No? Then what did they have to feel so damnably awful about?!

"You could always leave, master," Nooroo, the kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous suggests timidly. He's a lilac creature with butterfly wings, about the size of a hand, with a swirl of deeper purple on his forehead, and a perpetually sad expression. "If you have a headache, I mean. Or, or you could take off the Miraculous -"

"I'm not renouncing the Miraculous," Gabriel bites out, smoothing back his already smoothed back hair in irritation. "Not with Emilie unwell, and not because my colleagues are in a state of depression better suited to a morgue."

"But Master, it would make you feel bette-"

"You don't care about how I feel, Nooroo, and we both know it. All you care about is your Miraculous not being used for 'evil', but, that's all it's going to be used for, until I get what I want. Now silence - Dark Wings, Rise!"

Nooroo disappears into the Butterfly Miraculous clasped to Hawkmoth's collar, as Gabriel transforms into Hawkmoth. The transformation brings with it a new surge of emotional energy - a sense of the negative emotions of not only those in Mitakihara, but of all Tokyo.

And there are so many negative feelings. Children crying over juvenile punishments, adults fretting over bills, jobs, losses -

And teenagers, fretting with all their fickle hearts, over everything and anything. And where usually, he has to think about it, to search for who he's looking for...

Today he's locked onto the perfect candidate.

"Fly, my akuma," he commands, and a purple butterfly takes off into the air, flying through the open windows, headed straight a park, and a certain weathered park bench, where sits a boy with a flavor of despair that he knows he can use.

Bow has posed:
Bow sat on the weathered park bench, his violin resting against his shoulder, the bow moving with a mix of precision and frustration. The haunting melody he played hung in the air, twisting with his thoughts, each note echoing the turmoil within.

The music faltered for a moment as he sighed, lowering the bow. He stared down at his violin, his fingers resting lightly on the strings. His plans were always so meticulously crafted, every calculation, every variable accounted for. And yet, here he was again, in the aftermath of another failure. The attempt to move the Moonstone should have worked. Everything had been right. It should have worked. But it didn't. Magic had twisted it, derailed it, as it always seemed to do.

He lifted the bow again, drawing out a melancholy note that seemed to carry his frustration into the air. Even Roll With It, his most reckless improvisation, had gone better than this. He had been sure this time, so sure. And still, Glimmer had been hurt. The thought made his chest tighten, the bow trembling slightly in his grip. Why couldn't magic just stay out of it? Why did it always have to complicate things, ruin what he'd worked so hard to perfect?

Another sigh escaped him as the melody shifted, turning softer, sadder. He thought of Glimmer's words, her insistence that he should be mad at her. The very idea was ridiculous. How could he be mad at her when she was the one always carrying so much? She deserved a friend, a partner who could keep up, who could help her instead of constantly falling short.

His fingers tightened on the violin as he played a sharp, dissonant chord. The missing piece still eluded him, the failure gnawing at his mind like an itch he couldn't scratch. He didn't know what had gone wrong or how magic had undone him this time. All he knew was that he hated the helplessness, the way it seemed to cling to him no matter how hard he tried to shake it.

"Why can't I just fix it?" he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the fading notes of the violin. For a moment, the question hung in the still air, unanswered, as the song and his thoughts unraveled into silence.

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
When the butterfly arrives at Bow's park bench, Bow reaches out for it to land on his finger so he can study it, but instead it lands on his violin. As soon as the akuma has sunk into Bow's violin, Hawkmoth is speaking, the outline of a purple butterfly appearing in front of Bow's face. Only Bow can hear Hawkmoth, but everyone familiar with this sight knows what's happening.

"Rube Goldbow, you've been put in an impossible situation - trying to protect and help someone who refuses to let you stand by her side! How can you fix a problem you're not allowed to truly help? And even if you could ignore the way your so-called friend is constantly shutting you out, how can you hope to solve her problems if you don't have the power to create the perfect solution? I can give you that power - the power to make your plans to come true, and to trap your loving queen. In return, all you have to do is bring my Cat Noir and Ladybug's Miraculous!"

With the amount of despair and grim frustration filtering through Bow - and truly, Hawkmoth can understand it, because what he sees of the situation in his mind is exhausting - it would nearly impossible to resist the akuma, which offers power, action, an easy solution to what feels like an impossible problem. "If she's at your side, you won't have to doubt her anymore. You won't need to keep worrying about what will come next, because it will all be according to plan."

Privately, Hawkmoth continued to mull over what he'd learned from Bow - that the sparkly girl on Agera's team wanted to leave, but was trapped by an immovable object. She'd been hurt recently, failed by her friends, who couldn't begin to understand her troubles or solve her problems...

He might have to see if she would be an adequate target, soon.

Bow has posed:
Bow froze as the butterfly landed on his violin, its delicate wings a sharp contrast to the storm of emotions raging inside him. The world seemed to slow, his breath catching as he watched the akuma sink into the instrument. A shiver ran down his spine as the purple butterfly outline materialized in front of his face, and Hawkmoth's voice echoed in his mind.

Rube Goldbow. The name landed heavily, striking at the core of his frustration. Hawkmoth's words slithered into his thoughts, unearthing everything he'd tried to bury. He'd been in an impossible situation for what felt like forever: trying to help Glimmer, trying to be what she needed, but always falling short. He'd failed her again, and it was unbearable. His carefully crafted plans always derailed, his efforts undermined by forces beyond his control. And now, this stranger's voice offered what he didn't know he'd been longing for: power. Control. A solution.

How can you fix a problem you're not allowed to truly help? How can you hope to solve her problems without the power to create the perfect solution? Hawkmoth's voice was a knife, carving deeper into the wound Bow had been trying to ignore. If she's at your side, you won't have to doubt yourself anymore.

His fingers clenched around the violin's neck as despair mingled with the temptation Hawkmoth offered. Power to make things right. The chance to save Glimmer The weight of it all bore down on him: the hurt, the helplessness, the constant fear of failing her again. He barely noticed as his body began to glow, enveloped in a swirling vortex of gears, springs, and golden light. The violin hummed with an otherworldly energy as it transformed in his hands, elongating into a bizarre, mechanical contraption covered in whirring components.

A bright light flared, and Bow's transformation completed in a flourish of spinning gears and snapping parts. His clothing had become a patchwork of brass, leather, and shimmering ribbons, reminiscent of a living Rube Goldberg machine. A winding key jutted out from his back, slowly turning, while his gloves were etched with glowing pathways of intricate mechanical designs. His quiver had shifted into a collection of tools: tiny springs, levers, and marbles; each ready to be deployed. His bow had transformed into a literal violin bow, lined with razor-sharp strings that seemed to hum with potential.

"Rube Goldbow," he muttered to himself, the name feeling strangely fitting as he took in his new form. The voice of Hawkmoth purred again in his mind, urging him forward. With this power, you can design the perfect plan. Nothing will fail you now. Every move, every step, precisely according to your will.

Bow stood, the transformation complete. He felt powerful, more focused than he had in years, and yet a tiny, flickering part of him, a part Hawkmoth couldn't quite snuff out, whispered a question he wasn't ready to face: Was this really what Glimmer would want?

But, for now, an answer is given. "Yes... I will bring you the Miraculous. My traps shall make sure they do not escape and you will have what you want!"

Bow has posed:
Standing in the middle of the deer park after his transformation, Bow raised the violin resting against his shoulder. The air around him was electric. He closed his eyes, his gloved fingers tightening on the strings as the bow in his other hand hovered just above them. Gears embedded in his outfit whirred softly, their rhythmic ticking syncing with his own heartbeat.

With a sharp inhale, he struck the first chord, the sound slicing through the silence like a lightning bolt. The note was low and resonant, vibrating outward in ripples that shimmered in the air like heatwaves. As the sound spread, the transformation began.

The grass beneath his feet rippled and shifted, the blades elongating into delicate, interlocking levers and gears. Trees groaned as their branches twisted and reformed into spinning clockwork, leaves turning into golden, coin-shaped cogs that clicked into place. Streams of marbles burst forth from the trunks, cascading down spiraling tracks that appeared out of nowhere, creating intricate loops and turns around the clearing.

With a fluid motion, Bow drew his bow across the strings again, this time striking a higher, more vibrant note. The sound sparked tiny bursts of light as mechanical flowers unfolded around him, their petals revealing spinning mechanisms at their centers.

Bow's music intensified, each chord weaving more chaos into the park. A glittering fountain erupted in the distance, its water turning into streams of tiny gears that clicked and spun as they poured into crystalline chutes. Even the air seemed alive, shimmering with floating ribbons of light that moved as though they were part of the grand design.

With every note Bow played, the deer park became more elaborate, more alive, until the entire space was a symphony of sound and motion---a living, breathing Rube Goldberg machine. Bow stood at the center of it all, his violin singing with precision and power, the whirring, clinking, and spinning around him echoing his own determination.

"It's all part of the plan now," he muttered, a faint smirk crossing his lips as the transformation reached its dazzling crescendo.

Bow has posed:
The deer park that Bow was playing his music within has been transformed, just as Bow is. It takes his memory of the Whispering Woods and has turns it into the Wind-Up Woods.

Every tree, flower, and creature in the Wind-Up Woods ticked, clanked, and spun with mechanical precision. Towering trees were now clockwork creations, their branches resembling intricate gears and levers that shifted with the wind's push, producing a soft, rhythmic whirring. Leaves, crafted from thin, colorful metal, rustled gently like tin wind chimes, filling the air with a melodic, mechanical harmony.

Around the woods, Rube Goldberg machines sprawl in endless complexity, weaving between trees and over pathways. A stream runs along one of these machines, carrying tiny water wheels that spun to lift marbles up conveyor belts made of vines turned into chains. At the top, the marbles dropped into tubes that snake through bushes, knocking over domino-shaped mushrooms, which released bouncing springs that triggered cascading chains of events.

The forest floor was alive with wind-up creatures---clockwork three-eyed Etherian squirrels hop in perfect unison, while birds with spinning key cranks on their backs flit from branch to branch, leaving trails of glittering gears behind. A mechanical deer of green darts under a bridge, its tail a ticking pendulum that tripped a lever. This activated a nearby seesaw, launching a pebble into the air, which strikes a bell that sent a cascade of silver acorns rolling into another machine.

In one clearing, a towering contraption made of tree roots and brass pipes, where marbles spiraled downwards, setting off a series of fans that blow wind-up butterflies into flight. Another fountain houses a glittering fountain powered by a giant wind-up key at its base, where water sprayed in precise arcs, striking levers that sent toy boats sailing across a tiny pond.

Even the forest's iconic "whisper" is part of the spectacle. Instead of the natural sound of rustling leaves, the whispering comes from hidden speakers embedded in the trunks, activated by tiny clockwork birds pressing buttons.

At the heart of the woods stood the grandest contraption of all: Brightmoon, reimagined as a Rube Goldberg machine, sparkles with endless mechanical whimsy and possible danger.

The castle's towering spires are shimmering brass funnels, channeling light into mirrored tracks that bounce beams across a maze of spinning gears and pulleys. The drawbridge lowers not with chains but through a chain reaction: a marble rolls down a spiraling chute, striking a gong that tips a bucket of glittering moonwater onto a water wheel, activating a lever to set the bridge in motion.

Inside, cascading clockwork chandeliers sway gently, their spinning crystals refracting light to trigger tiny solar panels, which power miniature elevators for carrying objects through the halls. Every moonbeam that strikes the castle is part of a larger system---lighting up tracks of glowing marbles that zip through the walls, tipping scales, spinning wheels, and launching tiny flying wind-up birds that carry messages between towers.

At the heart of the throne room, a grand contraption spans the ceiling, its many arms elegantly choreographed to wind the massive clockwork moon overhead. Each movement sends cascading ripples of light and sound through Brightmoon's halls, where everything clinks, whirs, and dances in a harmonious, overcomplicated symphony of invention and magic.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson was at the deer park today. Well. OK. She was heading towards the deer park, hands at her side as she walked to the park, wearing her non-school uniform. A black blouse, blue jeans and sneakers. Very American. "Feeding the dears is so rome rome romantic~" she repeated as Suki, a tiny black haired girl in a wedding dress, inches tall floated along with her. She spun in place. Suki spun in the air, skirt going spinny.

"Let's go, Angela!" said Suki. "But I don't wanna be licked again." she offered. "I promise." Angi giggles. "That no deer shall lick you today." she said in a more serious tone. Then she got to the edge of the fence, the entrance and this is not her beautiful, romantic deer park. What is this!?

"I sense something's wrong, Angi..." said Suki as she hid her face behind a tiny bouquet.

"Yeah, something is wrong, let's go..."

"My whole romantic heart, UNLOCK!" she called out throwing a hand out.

There's a transformation here. It involves a bright white light, a girl being put into a wedding dress, arms being thrown back as fingerless gloves, long to her elbows form and she places a finger to her lips and winks to a non-existent camera. "Wedding Bell!" she calls out, as her and Suki merge into a transformation.

Wedding Bell, and her elaborate dress hop over the fence and walk slowly into this scenery at first. "What. Is this?" she asks to no one. "This isn't ro-ro-ro-romantic at all! Not at all!" she says, griping onto the bunch of flowers in her hand.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon was arriving at the park when all of this happened, her mouth falling open as everything just became... weird. Strange. Mechanical. "Uhhhhh..." she said softly. Staring at the trees, her mouth hanging open in alarm. What. The. Heck?!

After losing her powers, she'd been... panicked. After leaving the hospital, she'd been stressed. She'd wanted to go back to Obsidian... but she was VERY MUCH on edge. And facing Horde Prime when she wasn't herself, not able to fully process and react correctly? Not in control? THAT was dangerous. Possibly fatal.

So she'd asked Takashi for advice. He'd got her a hotel room, a place to lay back, clear her head, prepare for a few days before returning. He'd keep her Moonstone safe...

And she had hoped, somehow, her powers would return. But there was no connection to the Moonstone... she was out of juice. And coming up dead in terms of ideas. Of plans.

Only one thing she could think of... but it'd mean breaking her promise. Something she wasn't sure Bow would forgive her for. But Horde Prime was here. Forgiveness was quickly becoming the least of her worries.

Granted, right now the mechanical forest was rapidly rising.

But, while she'd been resting, Bow had sent her a text to meet her here. She was... running a little late. That was all. And now? Now she was making her way through the forest.... and stopping... when through the trees she could make out Brightmoon Castle. Mechanicalized. Was this... one of Horde Prime's joke? Or something else? So she stood there, peering up at the castle, her mouth falling open... and wondering how long it would take her to walk to it like an, ugh, normal person. Also, those mechanical squirrels were *weird*.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Marinette wasn't even coming here. She had no real plans today, her studying having hit a roadblock. But with the little things she's been doing of late, Tikki's been acting a bit weird. Like she's had a bit too much egg nog or something. Super weird, but kwami aren't normal anyway.

"What is wrong with you?" she asks the little bug, who for the fourth time has flown directly into Marinette's face. The bug sighs, then lands and says, "I don't know. There's something going on, and it's more than normal." Not bad speech for a ladybug. But then, she was never actually a bug either.

"Do you know which way it is, at least? I'll try, you know I'll try." Marinette looks at Tikki, then sighs at the non-answer. "Okay. I guess exploring we go. I hope you can handle it. Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

The flash, the transformation, and the red-and-black cover her, head to toe. And then, Miraculous Ladybug leaps into the air. Where, oh where is the little problem gone?

perching on a tree limb, she frowns. "Okay. That's....not little."

Well, nobody said this job was easy.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy does like snacks and food, and so volunteered to go with Mamoru to pick them up for the study group! Maybe she's not, to most, the most obvious choice to carry things long distances, but she is magic, and besides, now that the opportunity has presented itself, there's kind of something she wants to ask him about.

    Although that's... more easily said than done. Once they were out of sight and henshined, he proposed cutting through the deer park, and they're jumping rooftop to rooftop, and it's kind of hard to talk while roofleaping, and she doesn't really want to ask this loud, and then they're in the deer park and she gets kind of distracted while focusing on leaping from branch to branch just to see if she can, it's a little more challenging than just jumping over the alleys between buildings!

    Until a moment when she stops, and points down at the ground below, "Oh, look, a deer!" Not really something they see very often!

    She looks at it for a few seconds. Takes her phone out of her belt pouch to video it. And while they're here:

    "Hey, um. Mamoru. I heard from Usagi-chan that you tried the disguise p--ehhhhhhh?! Oh what is this?!"

    Amy stares as the woods around them change; The deer becomes clockwork, and even the tree branch under her feet changes. She stares as everywhere she looks is these... mechanisms. Rivers turning wheels, marbles on tracks, clockwork birds flitting over to buttons that trigger something else, even the deer below, as it moves it disturbs a bird which flies up to press a button next to her and make the tree whisper.

    "...It's like Robotnik won, but it's clockwork..." The redhead pans her phone up to the castle in the distance. "What do you wanna bet that whatever's causing this is in there?"

    And back to branch-hopping she goes, in a new direction...

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru, all caped and masked and fancy, pauses on a tree branch too, and looks through lower branches to where Amy's pointing. It's a deer. "We're in a deer park," he laughs quietly, nonetheless not wanting to spook it either. "Oh? Oh-- oh what now..."

He prods at the branch he's standing on with a cane he wasn't holding a second ago, grimacing. "Well at least it's not doing anything to us. This time." His expression clears. "It's really pretty, though. Too bad we have to wreck the aesthetic with some mahou-conventional consensus reality!"

He drops from the branch to land lightly on the ground, running at roughly the speed to pace Amy. He considers calling out ahead, but he should probably wait for the big guns to assemble before trying to pull aggro.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco breathes in the pleasant fresh air of the park, smiling brightly thanks to the pleasant walk she has been having. That joy she is feeling is released into the air, a melodious humming vibrating with cheerfulness.

Her thoughts keep soaring, right until the melody of that violin reaches her ears. A beautiful one, but brimming with sadness in a way that she can't help but stop and look at its source.

"Bow?", the mermaid frowns at the recognition of the Etherian. Has something happened recently? It has been a while she had last met him, but he had been well then.

Her steps take Coco closer to him, but before the blonde girl can reach the guy, a familiar butterfly lands on his violin, and after a impossibly large conversatìon through telepathy, dark energy spikes, confirming her fears of just what is going on. Hawkmoth again...!

"Yellow Pearl Voice!" she declares, the pearl in her shell locket responding to her and starting to shine with a yellow light. A kaleidoscope of colours covers Coco's clothes as those change into her yellow gloves and boots with flowy extensions, as well as a yellow blouse with a yellow skirt, while her pearl expands into her trusty E-Pitch microphone, its blue shape settling comfily into her hand, the yellow jewel nestled safely in the head's center.

"Can you hear me, Bow?", Coco exclaims, looking warily at the contraptions and the alien land that have appeared with the boy's akumatization. Is this the Etheria he has talked about? "I don't know what you are going through, but don't give in to Hawkmoth", the Mermaid Princess exclaims, a Live Stage appearing around her, a familiar musical beat starting to play from nowhere. "Sweet Melody: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!", Coco announces, singing a music that inspires hope and peace in those that hear it, hurting wicked hearts and purifying dark energy.

The rainbow is my wake,
that I navigate in search of
of that mountain.
The lights at dawn, a sweet melody,

they take me back

to a past time.

Colors immersed in the trail
of the rainbow
playing in the sky.
The wind blows me away,
I reach the waves of the seven seas.

The birds that fly high in the eastern sky...
The route is right, that island hides a treasure.

At dawn I will see
the seven lands that
fate wills
for me to truly find.
O sweet melody, you release life and
make me sing loudly a message of love.

Forever you will be
deep in my soul,
so that not even time can separate us.
O sweet melody, you release life and
make me sing loudly a message of love.

(Sweet melody)
(Sweet melody)

The birds that fly high in the Eastern sky...
The route is right, that island hides a treasure.

At dawn I will see
the seven lands that
fate wills
for me to truly find.
O sweet melody, you release life and
make me sing loudly a message of love.

Forever you will be
deep in my soul,
so that not even time can separate us.
O sweet melody, you release life and
make me sing loudly a message of love.

Bow has posed:
As Glimmer was getting closer to the castle, the trap activated with a gentle click, its gears and springs whirring to life as Glimmer stepped into its carefully designed range. A cascade of marbles rolled down a golden chute, hitting a series of delicate levers that sent a shimmering net of enchanted ribbons spiraling through the air. The ribbons coiled around her almost tenderly, their magical glow leaving trails of glitter that clung to her hair, her clothes, and her sparkless hair.

"Glimmer, don't struggle," Bow's voice echoed faintly through the clearing, calm but with an undertone of regret. The trap continued its meticulous sequence, lifting her slightly off the ground and guiding her along a spiraling track of brass and crystal, every motion as smooth and precise as the plans Bow had drawn a hundred times before. Glitter rained down softly around her, sticking to her in an almost mocking display of her lost powers.

The track led directly to the throne room, now transformed into a gleaming clockwork masterpiece. The walls shimmered with spinning gears and glowing conduits, the soft hum of the mechanisms filling the room. At the center stood her cage, an elegant dome of interwoven brass and crystal, its interior lined with plush cushions and bathed in warm, ambient light. It was not designed to harm, but to hold her much as the spare rooms in the Castle Brightmoon did.

The ribbons deposited her gently onto the cushions, their glow fading as they uncoiled and disappeared into the ether. Glitter still clung to her in sparkling defiance, catching the light of the chandelier-like star gears spinning above. The cage sealed itself with a faint click, the interlocking pieces of brass and crystal closing into a seamless, impenetrable barrier.

Bow stepped into the room, his violin tucked under one arm, his other hand resting on the bow at his side. His expression was guarded, his eyes flicking to Glimmer and then away, unable to hold her gaze for more than a moment. The weight of his actions hung heavy on his shoulders, but he pressed on, his voice low and quiet.

"At least... I won't have to do this alone anymore." His fingers tightened on the violin as he turned away, the faint tremble in his hands betraying his resolve. The soft ticking of the throne room filled the silence, a clockwork symphony echoing the conflict raging in his mind.

"There are others coming.. and once I have the Miraculous, I can use this new power to protect you." Much as she wanted to use the Heart of Etheria to protect him.

With the others entering the woods, they will find themselves being separated from each other, the deeper in the woods that they head, the further apart everyone seems to be. They may think someone if close, but by the time they get to where they thought they were - they're not.

And Coco caught sight of Bow for a moment, just as he had captured Glimmer. "You would do best to leave, Yellow Voice. These woods are dangerous. And I am only after the Miraculous, once I have it, I will let the others go." What others? The others he plans to capture, of course!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Well. Fortune favours the old," ladybug says as she rubs her hands together. Then pauses. "Now that I think about it Master Wu might have been misquoting that when he said it though."

"Anyway!" She grins, confident, and leaps off of her branch. Her red yo-yo whips out and grabs another, and she swings deeper into the woods, fully believing that she's heading ...

Not actually 100% sure where she was heading to begin with actually. She never saw a target exactly. So, alighting on another branch, she pauses. "Hm. Someone's been here. Weird."

Yeah, it was you, two minutes ago. Ya red-clad moron. XD

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon had paused the moment things started happening. What. In the ever loving... marbles... chute... what? Why were they--

AND THEN RIBBONS! As the RUDE goldberg machine went off, she... did not expect it. She yelped as one moment she was fine, the next? She was trussed up like the time she tried to wrap presents when she was four and thought 'Oh, I won't need anything but ribbons this way!' It was not pretty.

AND THEN SHE WAS MOVING! She, of course, started struggling. "Bow? Are you out there? What in Brightmoon are you doing?!" she asked, glowering at the raining glitter. Is this what she was like? Glitter, everywhere?

No, no, when she did it, it was cool.

Aaaand she was on a track. And going... into... the throne room?

And she was inside... a big... cushioned... dome...

"Bow," Glimmer said in a sickly sweet voice. "What... exactly... are you doing? Did you make this? Cause... heh. It's kind of cool. At least, it would be... if I wasn't--"

And then he walked in. And oh. Oh my gosh. Her mouth opened. It closed. It opened again. And it closed. She was trying to be angry. She was trying so, so hard to be rage. But...

"... This is kind of amazing. Bow? What are you wearing? Wait, the miraculous? What's miraculous? Is that what that is? Is that outfit a miraculous? I mean... I... I really have no words for this. But you can't just--"

And then she blinked. Right. She couldn't teleport. "Oh... I guess... you can... okay. WHAT!" She got to her feet, picked up a pillow... and THREW IT!

... At the dome wall.

"Bow, this isn't funny. It's very elaborate but it's not funny! ... Okay, it's a little funny! But seriously, Bow? BOW!"

Angela Erickson has posed:
Wedding Bell starts to traverse the forest and above her hops a girl in red ... a boy. Replete in tuxedo... her eyes sparkle. Be still... my beating heart. She's about to call out when the two are now moving on. Unable to catch what they're saying, she hurries to catch up to them.

She does not catch up.

She gets further away. How does THAT work genius. She's soon alone in the forest. Nothing good ever happens to girls alone in the forest. Is there a slasher of some sort in these strange woods!?

So she stops in a clearing she's run through in two different directions now and then makes a very smart move. "WHERE IS ANYONE!?" she calls out. Now if there was some mysterious slasher in the woods they know where she is now!? "What happened to Tuxedo Boy the Boy Who Tuxedos!?" she asks to no one.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He'd been checking, Mamoru had definitely been checking, but there's a moment where he stops to turn and look in another direction when he hears something, and then Amy's just gone and he's not sure when it happened. ... well. Well. The castle is still that way, right? It's--

Tuxedo Mask stops, frowning. He was absolutely certain a minute ago, but now he's really not.

After a second or two of just listening, Mamoru takes off one white glove and crouches, digging his fingers into the soil and spreading his awareness out, a warm golden presence looking for roots, looking for animal dens, looking for anything familiar ahead, and back, and side to side--

There's something, something familiar, someone... Mamoru frowns, and he murmurs, "Bow...?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    One moment Tuxedo Kamen is up in the branches with her -- he comments that at least the animals aren't attacking, and she nods and responds as she leaps between branches, "Yeah, they don't seem like badniks, they're just... there. As caught up in this as we are. Well, more caught up in it, I guess, since they've been turned into clockwork or something. Some kind of automaton."

    She actually has a little bit of fun, traversing the mechanical forest with mahou speed and strength and jumping ability. Grabbing a handhold on some spinning thing between trees, sliding down a marble track that the marbles aren't on at the moment, leaping onto a giant gear to ride around the edge as it turns, and then off again to the next tree.

    "I wonder if animals remember stuff like this. Does the veil affect them? I guess that'd be easy to test, maybe -- approach a friend's pet in henshin and see if it recognizes you? Or, well, maybe that's different from memory, huh. I guess you'd have to come up with something that's more a test of memory. Maybe teach someone's dog a trick while transformed, or while obvious magical stuff is around, and then see if it remembers after?"

    It's only after she's rambled for awhile that she realizes she's, well, rambled for awhile and Tuxedo Mask hasn't said anything. "Hey, uh, you're awfully quiet..."

    Amy stops at the next branch and looks down to where Tuxedo Mask was running along the ground just a moment ago. "Mam-- Tuxedo Mask?"

    "...TUXEDO MASK!"

    Amy calls out, but there's nothing.

    Fudge, fudge, fudge, did something happen to him? If she stops and looks, will it get her too?

    Is it more prudent to just continue on to the castle?

    Shit, he could be lost anywhere...

    If it was her... She'd hate to be alone. She'd want someone to find her. But... If she can't guaruntee that, it's better to get to the castle and end this quickly, right?

    There will be other mahou coming, for sure. She won't be alone. Maybe he'll still find his way to the castle, too, and if she's out searching for him she won't be there to help.

    She starts to move on, calling out, "Alright, whoever did this, what's your deal? Are you uh, that guy the Steam Sentinels ware fighting against? Making your big entrance? Or maybe, uh... I dunno, are you a really weird Witch?" 'No,' she mutters to herself, 'doesn't feel like a Labyrinth...'

    She stops at a tree and walks along the branch over to one of the speaker grilles, pressing the button that makes the whispers play. "Hey. Are these intercoms? Is anyone listening?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Not much working here, Coco stares frowning at the wind-up woods that don't seem to have reacted to her song. And Bow is completely under Hawkmoth's snare, so she have to find and snap him out of it, somewhere beyond these woods.

The mermaid princess doesn't stop singing, both so it mah keep up the morale of anyone it reaches, and so it may lead them to her, and form a group. There has to be someone else here besides Bow, right?

The shining Live Stage floats higher at Coco's silent behest, starting to bring her over the weird woods, peering at that castle in the distance, probably where Bow is hiding. Weird strategy to gather the Miraculous. She should find Ladybug and Cat Noir as soon as possible and making sure they aren't getting ambushed.

Bow has posed:
"I'm keeping you safe, Glimmer. It's my fault you don't have your powers. It's my fault that you got hurt. But now... I can protect you. I won't let you be taken again." A tear forms on the corner of Bow's eyes. Glimmer might, might realize... he's remembering. "I should have been there. But.. but... your father. He was there. And I wanted to bring him back with Entrapta..." He draws in a breath. "I..." Then his attention turns to the outside. "I need to deal with this, we'll have all the time in the world afterwards to talk."

As Tuxedo Mask is feeling the ground, he can tell it's constantly shifting and moving. There is a pattern to it. One that he is just realizing what it is when there's a soft click.

A nearby gear turned, setting off a cascade of tiny marbles rolling down an elaborately spiraling chute. The marbles struck a series of levers, each flipping upward with a satisfying snap, activating a spring-loaded wand hidden beneath the ground. The wand shot upward, releasing a shower of glittering smoke that coiled like a magician's flourish.

As the smoke settled, a massive magician's hat, black, silk-textured, and impossibly plush, descended from above, its brim glowing faintly with enchanted runes. A series of hidden springs and ropes beneath the ground activated with clockwork precision, drawing him smoothly upward, right through the base of the hat. In an instant, the trap's final phase triggered: the hat snapped shut with a soft poof, the brim folding neatly to seal him inside.

Within the hat, it was surprisingly comfortable - almost insultingly so. The interior was lined with the softest velvet cushions, glowing faintly with warm, ambient light. A small side table seemed to have materialized from nowhere, complete with a silver tea service and an assortment of snacks. The faint scent of lavender and fresh parchment filled the air, creating a serene, disarming atmosphere.

From outside, a faint, triumphant chuckle echoed as the oversized wand, now tipped like a conductor's baton, performed a final flourish, tipping the hat as if to bow to an invisible audience. A faint ding from a hidden bell marked the trap's flawless completion.

Somewhere nearby, Bow's voice carried faintly through the mechanism, laced with both pride and regret. "Don't take it personally," he commented. "Every magician needs their rabbit." There's a small chuckle as his double entendre. "At least you're comfortable. You're the biggest threat to capturing the Miraculous."

As Ladybug is walking through the woods, she realizes more and more that the woods are moving around her. They are trying to keep her from reaching the castle. As she swings, she catches sight of another girl in the forest. A girl that is running through the forest in full wedding attire.

And that girl seems very lost, though she is slowly starting to figure her way out, but she could probably use a little assistance as a pair of mechanical deer move to block her way forward.

Amy speaks into the intercom, and it's Bow's voice that comes out. "These woods aren't safe for you, Puella. Leave now, please. I'm doing what I must to make sure I carry out my duties as a royal guard of Brightmoon Castle... you do not need to interfere." With that, the intercom clicks off.

Coco breaks free from the forest and is flying in the air above it. With the thick tree cover, it's hard to see where individual people are. But she can see Bow. Who is standing in the parapets above the castle's throne room and he draws back the bow, forming an arrow that is weighted down like a bolo to try to capture Coco and send her back to the ground. "I said you shouldn't be here, Yellow Voice. This is my last warning!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "BOW?!" Amy shouts back at the intercom in surprise, but it seems the connection's been cut. "'Not safe?' NOT SAFE?! I'm a Puella Magi, your forest should be afraid of me, I could burn it all down, you know!"

    Nothing.

    "Oh, Bow... what have you done..." She mutters to herself, as she looks towards the castle and resumes moving.

    But now she can feel it. See it. That the forest is moving. It's been subtle, pieces changing direction or velocity only when she was in the air, but now the rhythm's off because she stopped and talked, and she feels it and looks for signs...

    Eh, the heck with it. Amy transforms to flight mode and tries to fly over the forest. "ANYONE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME AND CAN SEND UP A FLARE SOMEHOW... DO IT!"

    She'll fly towards Coco's singing, trying to stay above the treeline and get eyes on her from above...

Angela Erickson has posed:
There's a slasher in these woods, she knows it. Some sort of Black Street Slasher! She suddenly turns around in a faux karate pose. Hiya! Nothing and no one is there. Small blessings. No one got to see how dumb she was acting. Hopefully, just now.

She turns back around, to find two clockwork deer ahead.

But they move to get in her way. "Move deer." she says. "Come on. Schooch away a little bit." she says in her Boston accent

Nothing happens. "I said move. I really don't wanna have to do something dumb like fight some deer..." she frowns.

"Oh... you're not moving. Is there something you want? I did'nt get any deer food..."

"Look, maybe we can work something o---" before that sentence, as she speaks to the deer again, she's interrupted!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Yeah, sorry about that! Didn't seem like you wanted me to wait for permission!" Holding Wedding Bell in one arm, the decidedly not tuxedo-clad lass carries her up, from whence she'd been a moment before.

A few seconds prior, Ladybug had spotted a problem. You know which, it's not often that people in wedding dresses get confronted with technodeer. Tech-deer? I don't know what to call them. Anyway, she'd reacted with a swing of her yo-yo into the air, grabbing something nearly too far away to see. That's one heck of a yo-yo. And it was also one heck of a leap, as she swung in, gathered Wedding Bell up mid-sentence, and...whoop!

Now? "Nice to meet you! I'm Ladybug!" She shouts as the wind whips away much of her voice. "Try to roll when we land!"

Wait, roll? Aw hell.

She does her best to put Wedding Bell down safely, but it was an unplanned trip and might be a bit rougher than your standard Uber ride. Mind you, some drivers are ...interesting.

Putting Bell down (yay!) she's closer by far to the target when she herself lands, then she begins to whip her yo-yo around fast, to get another throw ready! "New to the group? Nice to meetcha!" Her grin is infectious. And awesome. Grins should be awesome.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Oh-- what-- ?!

He recognised that pattern, and his consciousness is spread out and there's a click and he has it buffered to review in a second once all his senses are back where they belong.

A second is too long.

A moment later, Tuxedo Mask is in a hat that's not a hat, it's like the back of a rockstar's limo with tea and snacks. He listens, mouth open and ready to object to whatever Bow had to say, but then the magic words arrive--

The Miraculous.

"Ohhh," says Mamoru, tucking his cape under himself more properly as he settles into the plush insides of the hat. "The Miraculous. Yeah, I might be able to talk you out of it." He pours himself a cup of tea and tugs some ningyo-yaki over to munch.

Before he actually takes a bite, though, he says, "Hey Bow, also, can you try and make the fight last a while? I'm really hungry and we were on our way to get snacks."

A beat. "...needs their rabbit... oh I see what you did there!"

He could try! But he's not gonna. Amy's got it, he's sure, plus whoever else shows up, and hopefully Ladybug or Chat Noir...

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
"How is this YOUR fault? It was my powers that weren't enough! You don't even HAVE magic! Or, didn't, until we came here! This can't be your fault! This... this is all... This is all Horde Prime's fault! He's the one who started this! He's the one who attacked our world! Who nearly destroyed it! He's the reason my mother is... he's the reason my mother is gone! He's... probably the reason why we're stuck on this world!" Glimmer yelled, flinging her hands out.

"I know about my father! I... I know. All about Beast Island. You and Adora were right, okay? I was wrong. But... I..."

"This isn't your fault! I was upset, okay? I know... I was fighting with you and Adora a lot, but... I'm sorry. I'd just lost my mother. I saw our kingdom falling apart. I saw my people suffering. What happened was never your fault, it was mine! I wasn't strong enough to take my mother's place! But I can do better this time! I'll find a way to fix this! I just... need you... to stop whatever any of this IS! Is this your magic? Is this something else? Is this... Okay, you know what?"

"Bow, please forgive me. And please know I love you. But you're acting a bit... crazy right now so..." She grabbed a pillow... And tried to tackle him with it. "And if this is some weird mind control thing LET HIM GO!"

Bof. Bof. Bof. Trying to smack him with the pillow.

... She didn't want to hurt him, okay?

Coco Kiumi has posed:
His last warning? "You are being delusional", she says, not tearing her eyes away from him. She wasn't really expecting a warm welcome anyway. Only Cho has treated her differently under Akumatization, and she was the source of her worries then. If this isn't due to a grudge, Bow might be doing something similar."Do you think we gave up on the others when they got Akumatized? Why should you be the exception?" the Idol asks him. "Love Beat: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

Even if the stormy sea
pushes me violently towards defeat,
I look in the eyes of the love,
the love that makes me fight
with the strength it gives to me.

Every time I fall
I can get up again
and therefore keep
that promise I made
with a sincere voice
believing in love.

It's an incandescent light,
more warming than the sun,
so clear it reveals reality!
Our voices joining to sing,
to defeat the silence,
it'll be strong, it'll be clear: it'll be the truth!

Look in the mirror,
your reflection is crystal-clear...
and all of this will be there, too.

That strong beat will be love,
giving us strength and hope to face
this storm that brings here
the intense wind suddenly coming from the sea.

Called forward by the purifying melody, 2 Live Stages appear in front of Coco, who sends them crashing against the arrow Bow has created, using the time they buy her to move to the side and rush to where the hat has crashed down onto someone. They have to be fine, right? Please, be fine, she repeats to herself in her mind.

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Hawkmoth has been listening in, of course, watching as Bow carries out his marvelous works of mechanics, technical machines of utter delight, traps and tricks and tiny gears, fantastically detailed. He's a designer at heart - he simply has to admire work done well.

But with Rubegold Bow being confronted on all sides, he feels it's time to add a little doubt to the situation.

"Oh, she says it's not your fault now, that she's sorry, that she loves you," he drawls the words scornfully, as the purple butterfly marks appear in front of Bow's face once more, "But is that what she'll say when she's free? Is that what her actions will convey? You know that she won't stay at your side, Rubegold. If you thought she would, you would have never accepted my power. She'll say what you want to hear now, and then she'll do whatever she wants, and you'll be alone again."

It helps that Glimmer promptly starts trying to attack his akuma, even if it is with mere pillows.

"She's already trying to get away, to leave you again. Holding her here, keeping her safe - without power, do you think she'll last in Obsidian?"

The Sparkling Girl losing her powers is just one interesting tidbit he's learning today among many.

Bow has posed:
Bow staggered slightly as the first pillow bof hit him square in the chest, followed by another and another. The flurry of soft blows wasn't painful, far from it, but each strike carried the weight of Glimmer's words, her emotions crashing against him like waves. His violin lowered slightly, the bow dangling at his side as he froze, letting her vent her frustration.

"Glimmer..." His voice was quiet, almost lost amidst the sound of the pillow thwacking against his chest. He didn't try to stop her, didn't even raise his hands to defend himself. Instead, he just stood there, his expression a mixture of guilt and something softer: regret, maybe, or a fragile understanding.

Finally, when the pillow paused mid-swing, he reached out---not to stop her, but to place a gentle hand over hers, stilling the motion. His eyes met hers, a flicker of his old self breaking through the mechanical precision that had taken over him.

"It's not mind control," he said softly, a bitter edge to his voice. "It's just... me. I got you hurt. I need to make it right." He sighed, lowering his gaze for a moment. "I'm sorry. For everything. For failing you, for this... for not knowing how to stop. I love you, too. You're my first and best friend... but you're a Queen and I am just an archer."

He managed a faint, self-deprecating smile. "But, uh... thanks for holding back. I don't think I could take much more than... bof." He lightly tapped the edge of the pillow with his finger, his attempt at humor a feeble shield against the mess they'd both found themselves in.

From somewhere deep within the Wind-Up Woods, a mechanical chime echoed, faint but deliberate, as if the forest itself had acknowledged Amy's defiance. The trees below seemed to shiver in response, their clockwork branches twisting and turning, sending glittering marbles cascading through unseen pathways. The gears embedded in the trunks began to whir, their pace quickening in a syncopated rhythm, matching Amy's movement overhead.

"Amy!" Bow's voice cut through the air again, this time without the intercom's crackle, though it carried an almost desperate edge. The sound came not from one point, but echoed from various mechanical speakers hidden within the forest. "You have to trust me! I'm... I'm trying to keep you safe!" Then, silence again, leaving only the ticking and shifting of the Wind-Up Woods as they continued their intricate dance beneath her.

As Amy soared above the twisting forest, the sound of ticking gears and faint chirps began to rise, growing louder with every second. From the treetops, a flock of clockwork birds erupted into the sky, their metallic wings glinting in the scattered sunlight. Each bird was intricately designed, with whirring gears where feathers should be and tiny wind-up keys spinning furiously on their backs.

They didn't attack outright but swooped and dove in calculated movements, their motions choreographed like pieces in a grand machine. One bird zipped close to Amy's shoulder, letting out a piercing whistle as if warning her to back off. Another darted toward her path, spinning in place before releasing a burst of glittering powder - a harmless but infuriating distraction. The others followed suit, herding her away from the direction of Coco's singing.

Speaking of, as Coco tries to get closer to the castle, she is having to deal with her own birds that are swarming her. The song is disabling some of the birds, but many more are still trying to get close to Yellow Voice to try to drive her away.

"You won't be safe at Obsidian, Glimmer." Bow comments, responding to Hawkmoth just as he had hoped. He's about to say more, but he pulls the violin away from being near Glimmer, as he took his position.

Bow has posed:
Bow stood at the top of the castle, his transformed violin glowing as it was resting against his shoulder, the bow poised in his hand. His expression was focused, his gaze distant, as though the world beyond the forest no longer existed. Slowly, deliberately, he drew the bow across the strings, the first note slicing through the air like a blade.

The sound was haunting, low, resonant, and layered with a strange mechanical undertone, as if the violin itself was alive, humming with the rhythm of the forest around it. Each stroke of the bow seemed to send ripples through the woods, the gears embedded in the trees clicking in sync with the music. The melody started soft, almost mournful, before shifting to something more commanding, each phrase carefully crafted to weave its way into the minds of those who heard it.

Clockwork birds fluttered above, their metallic wings catching the light as they spiraled in perfect harmony with the rising melody. Gears hidden within the trees began to turn faster, their ticking growing louder, almost as if they were keeping time with the song. Branches twisted and shifted, forming intricate patterns in the air, their movements choreographed to Bow's music.

He closed his eyes, pouring his frustration and determination into the melody. Each note was sharp, deliberate, pulling at the air and bending it to his will. The forest seemed alive with the music, responding to his every stroke. The sound wasn't just a song---it was a command, a plea, a warning, all wrapped into one. It called to Amy and Coco, urging them to stop, to turn back, to leave before the forest's traps ensnared them completely.

"I don't want to hurt you, please just leave," Bow said under his breath, the words barely audible over the swelling melody. But his hands didn't stop. The violin sang louder, its voice filling the forest, compelling everything within it to bend to his plan. The Wind-Up Woods became a living extension of his song, its mechanical symphony rising to match his every note.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red and black, a distinctive pattern that needed no introduction. Ladybug. His fingers faltered for a moment on the strings, the melody catching on a sour note before he smoothly transitioned back into harmony. His mind raced. She was here, navigating the forest, likely seeking to undo everything he'd set into motion.

"So, you're next," Bow muttered under his breath, his lips curling into a faint, grim smile. He shifted the violin under his chin, his bow hovering just above the strings as he watched her move between the trees. She wouldn't fall easily into his traps, which meant he'd have to adapt.

His fingers began to play a new tune, one with sharp, rapid notes that seemed to make the forest come alive. The clockwork birds flocked higher, their movements erratic and unpredictable, drawing attention away from the ground below where marbles began to cascade onto hidden tracks. Gears clicked faster, vines shifted subtly, and the air shimmered faintly as illusions of dead ends and false paths began to form.

All the while, Bow kept his movements fluid but deliberate, his melody designed to control the forest without pressing too hard. His real focus was giving Tuxedo Mask the time he needed to eat, his soft, lingering notes creating an almost soothing atmosphere near the magician's hat trap where the hero was securely hidden.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Ladybug is ready. Holding out her hand, she takes Wedding Bell up with her again. Into the air they go, drawn by a yo-yo and faith! It's like swinging through the trees! Wait, that's exactly what it actually is. Duh.

landing again, she asks, "Getting used to it? It's fun! We're getting closer!" Then her foot brushed an unseen thread, the first mechanism sprang to life. A mechanical butterfly perched on a branch fluttered its delicate, gear-filled wings, emitting a faint chime that echoed through the woods. The sound was the catalyst, setting off a cascade of glittering marbles from a hidden tube high in the trees.

The marbles raced down golden chutes, weaving between branches in intricate spirals. Each marble struck tiny bells along the way, creating a haunting melody that seemed to mock her growing awareness of the trap. The final marble hit a lever, tipping over a hidden teapot. Glowing moonwater poured from the spout into a miniature steam engine, which roared to life with a sharp hiss, its spinning gears winding up a spring-loaded catapult.

Looking at all of this, Ladybug says, "It's okay. I think this is going someplace we need to be. Hold on."

Then, With a whoosh, the catapult launched a puff of enchanted glitter into the air, forming a temporary cloud that shimmered and disoriented the ladies. Before she could recover, a flock of mechanical birds burst from the treetops, their wings scattering ribbons of light. The ribbons moved like living things, weaving themselves into a glowing net that wrapped tightly around them both. The birds circled, their synchronized movements pulling the net snug as they lifted her gently off the ground.

Below, a brass and crystal track emerged from the forest floor, spiraling into view like something out of a dream---or a nightmare. The birds lowered Ladybug onto the track, and it began to move, powered by a complex system of pulleys and gears hidden beneath. She was carried through the forest on the whimsical rail, past spinning flowers and tinkling fountains, each one a mocking display of the trap's intricate design.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
The track ended at a grand, spinning platform shaped like a carousel, which lifted her higher with each slow turn. At its peak, she was deposited onto a bridge of interlocking clockwork parts that led directly into the castle. The bridge moved in rhythm with the clicking gears, carrying her seamlessly to the throne room

Finally, the girls are lowered into a plush, golden cage---a crystalline dome lined with soft cushions and bathed in a warm, magical glow. The dome sealed itself with a soft click, the hum of its locking mechanism blending with the faint whir of the castle's gears. The trap had done its job flawlessly.

Ladybug, laughing and holding her stomach, says, "That was SO fun! Do it again!"

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon blinked a few times. His hands over hers. And her cheeks began to get redder and redder. Not mind control? "Know... knowing how to s-stop? O-of course! Y-you're my best friend, you're-- what does being a queen and archer have to do with anything?!" she asked, steam rising off her face a little. "I-I can be friends with anyone I want and you're the best friend I've ever had! Everyone always said it! My aunt knitted you a sweater! And you wore it! Unironically!"

She looked up at him and then... she sighed... "No. You're... right. I won't be safe at Obsidian. Horde Prime is there. But that doesn't matter. Because *he* will never stop. You can't protect me from him, Bow. The only one who can protect us from him is the best friend's squad. I know things are scary now, I know I've lost my powers. But... we can do this. I..."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but her fist's clenched. "But I lost my mother once. I will *not lose her ever again*. But *I need my best friend* to do this. So... whatever this is? I'm going to do whatever I can to help you out of it. The way I always have."

And then she'd put her gands on his shoulder... and she'd step in to turn him around, moving in close...

... And then two other girls arrived. And her face got even redder. "W-w-w-w-w-w-what?! Who are you?! WHY ARE YOU IN THAT DRESS?! BOW WHO ARE THEY?! Are you kidnapping other girls? Are you trying to protect them too? Y-you can't just, you can't just kidnap any girl you want, that's not, it's, you're not, I, that, h-how could you? BOW YOU JERK!" And then she just punched him. Right in the abs. And, well... the girl... she wasn't really magic right now. Without the Moonstone... But she had a mean right hook. She spent a lot of time punching robots... and horde soldiers... and horde robots... and some monsters... And she was mad, and flustered. And then eeped. "B-bow, are you okay? I-I'm sorry but you were acting so weird please don't be mad and please don't make me punch you again!" she was already panic flailing and she didn't even know if it had done anything!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    A flock of birds approaches.

    Amy fires a rocket that explodes into a cluster of bombs that airburst, but the birds have glittering poweder, THE BIRDS ACTUALLY DEPLOY CHAFF, they actually have countermeasures for missiles, and it's off-target and doesn't get most of them, and the ones that remain quickly scatter to avoid further area attacks, and keep herding her away from Yellow Pearl Voice, and she doesn't want to push for nuclear options just yet.

    Later, she might wonder if, ironically despite spending the last year and a half as a teenager, she is perhaps maturing in ways she somehow never could before. Because the man she was back then, or thought she was, or thought she had to be, if he was playing a character in this situation in a tabletop campaign or something... He would have said 'I start blowing up the forest' well before now.
    "UGH, I can't reach you yet!" Amy calls out. "Keep trying to escape! I'm gonna try talking to him!" And she flies back down to a tree and lands, pressing the intercom button.

    "I know you can hear me. You say you're protecting me. You say you're keeping me safe. So why don't I feel safe? You do realize -- and I have a point I'm getting to besides this -- how much like a villain you sound right now? 'I'm hurting and controlling you to protect you.'"

    She takes a breath. "Okay now, my promised point. I'm sure you've heard adults and parental figures say that before. Maybe you believed them. Maybe they believed themselves. I'll tell you a little secret they won't, that they don't like letting children know:"

    "If they really meant it? They're doing it because once they knew better, but they were taught that anyone who tries to do better will be punished -- either by people like they are now, or whoever started hurting people that way in the first place. This isn't protection, this isn't safety; This is trapping us all in a cycle of hurt, and if you feel you have no other choice, it's because someone hurt you, too."

    "Who was it, Bow?! We'll fight them together! It's the only way!" The red Puella Magi pleads, yelling into the speaker!

Angela Erickson has posed:
Wedding Bell is pulled along, lands once in a roll as suggested, and is taken a-woosh, again into the air. "This is fun!" she announces. "I'm Wedding Bell! I'm new here, yes! It's nice to meet you Ladybug? Have you considered marrying anyone at all yet?" she asks, head tilted before she's woooooshed away again.

And there's a contraption. And marbles and soon, atrack. a cart and she 'awks!' so loud as she's thrown into the dome cage.

"What the heck!" she finally goes. "That's not fair. That's not fair at all!" she says as she stands up on the fluffy pillow like insides and holds her head, dizzy a second.A

"This isn't ro-ro-romantic! THIS ISN'T ROMANTIC AT ALL. All I wanted was to feed some deer!" she says as she starts to tear up.

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
"So it's the Best Friend Squad that can save the day, but you're hardly the Best Friend she's relying on, now is she? She wants you far away, while she lays about playing video games with her new friends in Obsidian."

Hawkmoth is finding it entirely too easy to play on teenage heartstrings, but he does have the perfect cheat code.

"If you want to fix it, you need power. And you haven't had much luck finding anymore than your arrows on your own... or you wouldn't have accepted my bargain. Once you get me the Miraculous, you'll be able to keep these powers, Rubegold Bow. You'll be able to work your traps and tricks until everything is as neat and tidy as your plans say they should be."

There's yelling over the intercom, and he quirks a brow.

"Who hurt you? Why, I'd say it was your best friend. Wouldn't you?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Ascertaining that the hat's prisoner is safe despite her having no way to free Tuxedo Kamen of it, she reluctantly makes her way to the castle, continuing to look below herself in the hope that she might find someone else. At the very least, Ladybug.

On the way to the castle, birds start swarming around her, only a few falling to the purification, the rest still trying to press past the Live Stage, taking all her effort to keep them away from getting past the clear confines of the white sphere.

Pressured by the sudden attack, the Live Stage wobbles while she keeps it in the direction of the castle, hoping that she doesn't get attacked now. She doubts that she would be able to dodge in time if Bow were to attack again like that, but instead she would have to take the much less inviting option of hoping it doesn't pierce past the barrier of the Live Stage she is in.

Bow has posed:
As Ladybug arrived in the airy throne room, Bow stepped forward from the shadows, his violin resting at his side. His expression was a mix of grim determination and regret as he looked at her through the glowing bars. He took a breath, his voice low and steady.

"It's nothing personal," he commented, his words heavy with resignation. "But with your Miraculous, I can finally have the magic I need to stand with Glimmer."

His expression softened as he heard Glimmer speak and saw the tears in her eyes again, her flustered panic giving way to the deeper emotion underneath. He sighed, his shoulders dropping as he stepped forward. "Glimmer, I've always been your best friend. Always. But protecting you isn't just something I want to do---it's something I have to do. I don't care if it's against Horde Prime, an army of robots, or... apparently you." He gave her a faint, lopsided smile. And she's leaning in...

But then... she PUNCHES HIM.

Bow stumbled back slightly as Glimmer's punch landed square in his abs---not enough to truly hurt him, but enough to make him double over for a second, more out of surprise than pain. He straightened up slowly, his violin hanging loosely at his side, and looked at her with wide eyes. His mouth opened, but for a moment, no words came out. Then he let out a soft laugh, the kind that slipped through when you weren't sure whether to be annoyed, relieved, or just plain confused.

"Glimmer..." He took a breath, placing a hand over his stomach, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm fine. And no, I'm not kidnapping anyone!" He glanced at the two other girls, his face heating up as if realizing how bad this might look. "They're, this isn't-"

And Wedding Bell is getting a front row seat to a pair of people that love each other, maybe love love, but are having the hardest of times of expressing it.

A punch is an expression of love, right?

Frowning at Glimmer, Bow shakes his head. "You've always had power. You never understood what it meant to be the normal guy. But that never mattered, I still looked up to you. To see magic always save the day while you maybe get to be part of it now and again. I just wanted to contribute. I went to Beast Island and you... you... you..." Realization fills his eyes. "Swiftwind... he was trying to get me to you... in the Fright Zone... why?"

Amy is speaking in his ear, and Bow shakes his head. "No. No. There was something. Something happened." He squeezes his eyes shut as he tries to tune the Puella out, but that's hard to do while Yellow Voice's song rings in his ears. As well as the words of Hawkmoth. It's a ciphony of noise, Carnage in C Minor as all the voices and his own muddled memories are making it worse.

This might be the chance to break through.

Angela Erickson has posed:
It's the comfy throne room. Wedding Bell turns around in a huff. "Is this your castle!? What's your deal man. Is this how you treat a lady!?" she says in her Boston accent. "Why. I outta..." she shivers in frustration as she hides her face behind her bouquet. "I've reached my limit! No more of this..."

She swings her bunch of flowers around and swings it downwards. "Do you hear them!? Wedding Bells Are Ringing! she shouts into the air as she points the bouquet forward and then a bell forms above!? From nowhere in bright light, and it starts to ring. Bong. Bong. Bong.

And white it swings?

A giant, purifying laser swings all over from it's open bottom , bonging and ringing in a happy marriage of strong purification and also minor destruction!

It's still a light laser!

Wedding Bell spins happily in place, skirt going spinny, like Suki was earlier in the evening.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"I've thought about marriage. Long story, not the time," Ladybug says. And she's not kidding. It really isn't the time!

There's no time! She doesn't have enough time!

There's all the time in the world.

"LUCKY CHARM!" she shouts, throwing her yo-yo into the air. Magic gathers in it, as it spins faster and faster, pivoting around reality to the point that reality pivots around IT. The light burns brighter, more and more powerful, gathering a feeling of imminent power!

SO MUCH POWER!

Then it pops, and the yo-yo falls into her hands, along with...

A cardboard flash card.

Slumping, Ladybug looks at everyone with a 'you see the crap I have to deal with???' look in every fiber of her being. But she takes the creation, a ladybug on one side, and looks around. "It's always what we need," she mumbles. Looking hard, for the weak points. Where can this be used? Why is it always like this?

There! The wall in front of her. Wedding Bell's swinging light. The violin. The other wall.

Running away from where Bell is attacking, Ladybug puts a foot on the far wall and runs up it! She gets height, the right angle, then turns and THROWS! The card flies, right through the tiniest gap that Bell opens! Like a thrown star, it moves through the air, and makes a slight 'eh' on the violin.

Like, next to nothing. But Ladybug lands, and grins.

The card is stuck in the violin's strings, like a silencer.

"NOW!" she shouts, both hands to her mouth to maximize VOICE!

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
"How have you EVER been the NORMAL guy?!" she asked, her voice cracking as she yelled. "You have ALWAYS been my best friend! You were the one who talked with me when nobody in the kingdom would look at me! You were the guy who caught me every time I fell! You were the one who encouraged me when I was learning how to teleport! You were the guy who came up with all the neat gadgets and trinkets and devices we used to stop the horde! Yes, I had power! But I never could have done it without you! I can't do THIS without you! I *need* you, Bow! I need you to do what I can't. I don't need you to fight off a horde of bots! I need you to figure out the things I can't understand, stop me when I go down the wrong path, be the heart and soul of our group! And I need you to figure out the mess that is Adora because I can't figure that out, every time I try I say the wrong things! And I need you to NOT kidnap other girls in fancy dresses and cool pajamas!" ... Well, at least she thought Ladybug's pajamas looked cool?

But it was all so loud, she had to cover her ears, struggling to suppress it and WHY was it all so loud?! GAHHHH?! WHO WERE THESE GIRLS! WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS A LUCKY CHARM?! WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE?!

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Ladybug is here - "Get her Miraculous! Now is the time, Rubegold Bow, you can't let her stop you! She's already used her Lucky Charm, you just have to outlast her!"

She's on a time limit, this will be over soon, he just needs for this quite talented akuma to hang on as -

As the girl in the bridal gown summons a giant wedding bell. Of course it shoots lasers.

"I hate this city," he groans in pure exhaustion. Deep inside, he can practically feel Nooroo suggesting that he could always renounce the Miraculous.

"Even now, she wants you for menial work, instead of standing beside her," he tries, though, honestly, that girl's outburst out of noise is not helping with the noise - of singing and bells and yelling - that's already so overpowering. "What do you even see in her?"

That might have been the wrong line to try.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    And Evil Bow or Dark Bow or whoever this is, leaves the mic open.

    There's a lot.

    "Something happened that justified this, Bow? I'm gonna tell you something else: If anyone ever says 'it's nothing personal' to you, you make them bleed. You show them just how personal it is to you. Because it's always personal. 'Not personal' isn't a justification, it's just devaluing people."

    All his words about being powerless, though...

    She spent her life powerless. If as a child she fought bullies, adults said she was wrong, and she couldn't fight them. When she heard news on the radio that people were suffering halfway across the world, or elsewhere in the country, there was no outlet for the burning call for justice inside her, the need to do something, to stop what is wrong and make it right.

    But back then, she thought it was because, that was reality. Heroes were only in stories.

    And now she knows heroes are real. Where was magic then? When a little boy cried himself to sleep wishing he'd be replaced by someone who wouldn't disappoint adults so much?

    Where was magic for the boy who felt news of others' suffering like salt being rubbed on a wound until it scabbed over? Who just wanted to do something, if only given the chance?

    Gods, reincarnations, nothing.

    Not until a manipulative alien decided she'd be a good sacrifice for the universe -- she wasn't even that, to any other power out there.

    And Bow knew about magic the whole time.

    Amy hangs her head. She can't speak to Bow's struggle, there. But...

    She presses the button. "It's not right. How some get power and others don't. How some have it all their life, or for years, and others for a day. But you have power right now, Bow."

    "This is your chance, this moment. However brief. To make the difference you want to. What will you do with it?"

    Amy continues pleading over the intercom.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Luckily for Coco, she hadn't been under aim of Bow's... bow again, so she had enough time for her song to purify all of the birds into ceasing to work and letting her have a clearer path to the tower. Good riddance, that. She never had to be subjected to such an irritating obstacle.

Free of the mechanical-magical birds, she is sure enough those little devils are completely different from the technological magic of a device mage, they at least don't look the part of something programmed (she might ask more about any of it worked later).

Now she has stumbled onto the scene where Ladybug and Wedding Bell are, happy to finally see someone else. "Hi, Ladybug! Glad Hawkmoth didn't get you with his usual Miraculous Mess! And hello, new face!", the mermaid princess greets Wedding Bell, regarding to her with a second of curiosity before focusing on the task ahead of them.

Trusting into the blessing of the mother of the oceans, Coco raises her arm above her, the bracelet on her wrist shining with white light as a halo of yellow light moves downwards from the mermaid princess's head, changing her clothes: her left glove now adheres to her arm with a pattern made up of water ripples, while on her left leg a stocking has shown up with the same water ripple pattern, and on her right hand and on her legs a yellow glove and boots with flowy extensions show up.

Corals radiate outwards from her neck, covered by a transparent veil with brown pearls and white stars decorating it, the same decoration that is applied to the layer of fabric extending backwards and downwards from above her skirt, another layer with the water ripple pattern on the outside extending in much the same way from below the skirt. The E-Pitch mic finally changes in an E-Pitch Headset that descends on Coco's head, the yewel nestled safely on the right side.

Renewed power now filling her voice, her purifying melody expressing itself through her most beloved song. "The Sound of the Bell of Hope ~Love Goes On~:Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

Why do you wish for an end to the dream,
Even though flowers even bloom in ruined places?

Even though the seven-colored wind, the seven-colored sky
Overflow with hope to the world.

You were just having the wrong dream...
The whereabouts of your love and the mystery of your memories
Were pierced by cold loneliness,
And you were suffering.

Pure white...
Your pure white Wings, let them rest, and gently fall to sleep.

Your wish of wanting to live has been born now, hasn't it? Now!
The sound of the bell of hope becomes the final song now...
This isn't a world made up of just strong people, so
Listen to my love in this song...

Hidden in your blue eyes
Was a beautiful heart that seemed it was about to break.

In the broken sky are the tears you've cried.
You don't have to hide all of your sadness.

Let's end this wrong dream...
Forget everything and sleep
When a new dreams dwells inside of you,

You can become free.

Bow has posed:
The Lucky Charm is indeed lucky. As the violin is silenced, the purification goes off, a collection of Wedding Bell and Yellow Voice that separately would be powerful, but in the form of them together is so much more. The violin strings break, and it falls from Rube Goldbow's hands.

The Wind-Up Woods groaned and creaked, the intricate gears and clockwork mechanisms collapsing in on themselves as Bow stood in the midst of the chaos. Sparks flew from shattered cogs, and the rhythmic ticking that had once filled the air was replaced by the deafening sound of metal grinding against metal. Bow barely seemed to notice, his focus entirely on Glimmer as he stepped toward her, his voice cutting through the cacophony.

"Glimmer," he started, his tone steady despite the destruction around him, "do you even know what I see when I look at you?" He stopped, his hands tightening around his violin before he let it drop loosely at his side. "I see someone who never stops fighting. Someone who pushes through the worst of it, even when it feels like the whole world is against her."

The forest shuddered, sending a cascade of golden leaves and marbles raining down, but Bow didn't flinch. His voice softened, carrying the weight of everything he'd wanted to say for so long. "I see someone who cares so deeply about everyone. her people, her friends, her family, that she's willing to take on the impossible. And yeah, sometimes you doubt yourself. But you keep going. You always keep going."

*The ground beneath them shifted, part of the forest floor collapsing into a spiraling void of broken machinery, but Bow's gaze never left hers. "You're not just a queen or a princess. You're the person who laughs at my terrible jokes, who fights with me when I'm too stubborn to listen, and who makes me believe in all of this, even when it's hard. You've been my best friend through everything, Glimmer. And no matter how much I try to protect you, the truth is... you're the one who's always protecting me."

*Another loud crash echoed through the woods, but Bow's voice grew stronger, his determination cutting through the chaos. "You make me better, Glimmer. You remind me why we fight, why it all matters. And even though I'm scared, scared of failing you, of not being enough, I'm with you. Always."

The Wind-Up Woods let out one final groan under Yellow Voice's assault, its elaborate clockwork collapsing into a heap of sparks and broken parts. Bow took a shaky breath, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he added, his voice quieter but no less certain, "So yeah... maybe you had to punch me to get me to say it."

Amy's voice is yelling in his ears and the purification and the pure feelings of Wedding Bell's finisher, as Yellow Voice's song joins in with the washing purification as Bow returned to normal... something happened. Clutching his crystal in his hand, the remaining magic that was left started to swirl around him as the Akuma was expelled. And as it did, he henshined, but his armor changed. It took on a more techno look, his pants turning black, a brilliant black and red cape expanding from his back as he evolved. And when he opened his eyes, he blinked a few times.

"I remember." he says quietly. "Adora and I went to Beast Island to rescue Entrapta... you went to Light Hope. You forced the activation of the Heart of Etheria, even after Adora and I had begged you not to. The stars returned... but then Hordak was about to kill the star at the center of my universe. I was so close to saving you... and you and him were both teleported away." That's where his memory ends. At least for now. "I... I was so very scared that I had lost you, Glimmer and you were just gone, and then I was really angry that you had ignored me after I begged you not to. I know machines. The Heart of Etheria was one big machine... and you didn't trust me." Tears form and spill down his cheeks.

The violin she gave him at his feet, broken.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Bow is spilling his heart out, and it sounds like it's something important, and probably making progress, but then... the machine falls apart around them all, and then Amy's back in the deer park.

    Amy gets out her phone again.

Text to Bow: So, the woods went back to normal at the end of your speech there, I'm going to hope this means you ended up normal again! I hope your are OK! I'm going to go find Yellow Pearl Voice and Tuxedo Mask and check on them too!

Text to Mamoru: Hey are you okay? Sorry we got separated during the magic and I didn't think to just call you! Literally did not think of it until mid-sentence just now. Drop me a pin or call out or something.

Text to Coco: Hey are you OK? I figure probably yes but just making sure machinery didn't fall on you or something.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
After that, Ladybug nudges Wedding Bell, and murmurs, "You wanted someone to marry?" Then upnods toward Bow and Glimmer meaningfully.

Then it's purification time, and Ladybug whips her yo-yo up to speed. "No more evildoing for you, little Akuma." Whirring in the air, she casts it out and captures the escaping black butterfly, like an expert. Like a treat. Like a Magical Girl.

Touching the yo-yo in her hand, she releases it, now a pure radiant white.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly." It's always beautiful.

Then? Then she throws the card into the air, which explodes into a billion ladybugs. Which begin to fly about, repairing everything that hasn't already been fixed.

The ladybugs swarm, and trees return to normal. Deer rise up, birds are freed to cross the sky once more. The castle is gone, the speaker system vanishes and drops Amy. Sorry!

The violin is sitting there, unharmed. And Miraculous Ladybug is crying, just a little. She is a romantic, after all.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Wedding Bell Spins Spiny Spins... She stops. She's graceful despite her manner of speaking. She's not even dizzy. The Wedding Bell, the giant bell above them poofs away, as if on a time limit into a pop of white light and it rains glittery sparkles down that fizzy fizz out of existence.

The worle is falling around her. Into nothing. Her eyes look to the discussion going on....

Her thoughts turn inwards....

Thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on, out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls.... and the Thunder rolls.

She takes a deep breath. "I just wanted to feed the deer..." she says in a whisper.

She starts to leap away..... and as she leaves. She catches a shock of red hair!? "....oh no....." she whispers under her breath, staring at Amy as she passes in the distance. "She's cute!?" she says with a swallow.

She dashes away, dress billowing after her. When she gets home. She'll go to her desk in her dorm.

"Today. I ruined someone's life. And I saw a cute girl. I guess you give some and you take some... or something like that." she wrote into her diary before re-hiding it away.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon stared up at him. Her heart pounding. The world was collapsing, and he... he was talking about her. Her mouth was dry. Her hands clammy. Her urge to hug him strong.

"Your... j-jokes aren't errible..." she mumbled, her face scarlet, voice low. "We... we're the best friend's squad... we... protect each other..." she mumbled sheepishly.

But then... he got a new look. And the words changed. And she gulped again. Her hands clammy for a different reason. "I..."

I TRIED TO TELL YOU! You made the decision for me! You refused to listen to me! Horde Prime was on his way and I couldn't even tell you because you LEFT me! You didn't trust me! Our world was falling and I needed you! And you left me! You wouldn't even LISTEN to me, you just talked over me!

But... but those words were words she knew better than to say. Instead, she lowered her eyes. "I... I did..." she said softly, her voice quiet. "I... was so, so wrong. And I'm so sorry, Bow. You and Adora were right. About everything." A few tears welled up in her eyes. Behind her, Ladybug was purifying things and... "I was a terrible friend and I messed up. And... I'll try to make that up to you again... You're right. I will never stop fighting. I..."

And then her hand shot out. As the butterfly was released from the yoyo. Glimmer caught it in her hand.

"You are right, Bow. I will *never* stop fighting for my friends, my family, for my people. Horde Prime is here... and... I know you're mad at me. And I will make it up to you. But... I need to make sure there's an us to make it up to, in the future."

"... I'm sorry, Bow. You... have no idea how much I want to come back with you. But... I can't let this go." She looked down at the butterfly, now held in her palm, thrashing between her fingers. "Horde Prime is here. And I made mistakes before... But... I'll do what needs to be done... and I hope... I hope you and Adora can do what you need to do. Because... because we're great at quests. And I can't... come home until this one is done. Now... I... need to go see a man about a butterfly."

Slowly, she pulled back, not wanting to take her eyes off him, before finally... she turned and ran.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco doesn't have her phone on her in magical form, but she will reply to Amy that she was at the tower to purify Bow and then at a clearing in the Woods with everyone while Ladybug purified the Akuma once she has assumed her human guise once more.

She gives Bow and Glimmer space in the meantime, since she figures the two of them are going to need it, especially since it seems like there was something Bow had forgotten and just now came back to him. It sounds quite concerning, but anything important can be dealt with once the two have had their talk.

"I am Yellow Pearl Voice, nice to meet you", she goes to introduce herself to Wedding Bell.

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Hawkmoth scowls as affection of all things undoes his akuma - affection, a light laser from a giant wedding bell, a saccharine song, and of course, Ladybug. Even when she wasn't joined by that irritating partner of hers, she was still managing to thwart him!

"Rube Goldbow may have failed me today, but an akuma like that, from a heart so full of turmoil... I'll be sure to make sure of him again."

And Hawwkmoth is fully prepared to leave it there, except - the purified akuma - the kamiko - is captured.

And though Hawkmoth cannot control it, in it's purified state, he is still connected to it. It came from his Miraculous, after all. He can't help but feel what Glimmer feels - her anger, her sorrow, her burning indignation -

And he snorts in amusement. Oh, how wonderful. She wants to come after him now? Let her try. He knows she doesn't have any power... and if she uses Dark Energy? Well, she'll see she's no match for a Director... and she'll make it that much easier to resurrect Rube Goldbow.

Bow has posed:
Glimmer's trembling words cut into Bow, deepening the ache inside. His hands shook around the violin, his breathing uneven as he absorbed her apology and saw the tears in her eyes.

He wanted to speak, to reach out, but the storm of emotions left him silent. As she caught the butterfly and declared her resolve, he could only watch as she turned and ran, determination in her stride. He was left rooted in place, torn between hope and despair. And with no words rising in his suddenly closing throat as he realizes that he may be losing his best friend... and someone he loved... all he can do is glance over at Yellow Voice for a moment. "Thanks." he offered with a shallowness in his voice, before he moved to leave the park as well.