"Hold on, Mako, I think I can handle this." With a tear, she lets go of you, and you approach the creature. I look at you, staring deep into your soul. You stand strong. You know you can handle this. You take a deep breath. You know how to talk to spirits, right? My form is definitely one of them. It's all about navigating a maze of options, picking the right one each and every time. "You are me, and I am you. You are a reflection of who I would be if I wasn't here right now. You are my fear. You are my hatred for myself. You are the hand that cuts me when I want to cut myself. You are the nightmares that have plagued me for so long." You hold out a hand. "But that doesn't mean I hate you. I think it's about time I start loving myself." I squirm and toss in the cage, part of me wanting to be let out, part of me wanting to stay within. "No, no! You don't deserve love! You don't deserve *anything!*" But, for a moment, I falter. "I don't deserve anything..." That line... I'm a mimicry like you, all those aeons ago, when you just got your first memory back. You cut your own hair in defiance of who you were, who you didn't want to be. You still don't want to be that way, sure, but you've long outgrown that fear. You keep your hand outstretched. "You deserve everything, shadow. Even the deepest of thoughts can bring light to new ideas. I can forgive myself. But I need to forgive you, too." My eye looks at you. It *blinks*. I shrink down to your size, reflecting your form, effortlessly passing through the bars. I meet your hand with my own. It's strangely familiar, like a first kiss. I speak, for once, unmockingly. My tone, it's warbled, but still recognizable. "You aren't mad at me, Ika? Even after all I did?" You shake your head. "Never was. I'm sorry for pulling you through all this." "No, no, it's my fault. I... I tried to hold you back, I..." I'm sobbing through my single eye. "I'm so sorry, Ika..." "No need to be. Life's tough. We get through it all the same." You think for a moment while I clear my tears. "Do you have a name, shadow?" "I am you, am I not...?" "Well, there is an old name I'd rather get rid of. I think we both know it. Would you like it?" "You would really do that?", I ask, slightly cheerfully. "We should make it official. Spirit to spirit." I kneel before you. Everyone else is standing in silence, waiting for your return from your deigning. You pull out your sword, and place it upon my shoulder. "By the power vested in me, I pass upon thee my old name, casting away from me forever. Shadow - you are now to be known as Era, henceforth, forevermore." Wordlessly, I morph again, wrapping around your sword, twisting and turning, until I reach the hilt, taking the shape of a band. I really could use the rest. Mako reaches out to you. "Sweetie, what was all that?" "Something I needed to take care of a long time ago. Now, come on! I think I know how to get to where The Lady is." You check your internal map. There's the long way around, but there's also a quick shortcut to where you think The Lady is: Aether Labs. ### -> Take the [[Shortcut]] ### -> Take the [[Long]] way around