Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-26892768-20190515161558/@comment-26892768-20190517151633

"Okay, sounds good!" Nimona's ring pulses and opens up another portal, and she looks at the group they're leaving behnd with a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't get set on fire or anything!"

And then she walks through...

And on the other side, the robot that was given a Red Lantern ring can hear distant footsteps.

"Let's be real, she probably won't - but she's part of this 'team' now," Foxglove walks up to Cassandra and pokes her right in the chest. "so suck it up and help, or the eldritch abomination that is our boss is going to punish all of us. Got it?

Meanwhile, one violet-pink ring that might look familiar to Hollow Knight now is closing in on what seems to be a castle of modern architecture right in the heart of Macro City, with it's target being deep inside...

Speaking of the target - right now, she's in her dressing room, looking in her mirror and flashing a practiced smile. Her brown hair has been styled just right, her dress is looking particularly nice today, and her blue eyes have that special sparkle to them...

It takes only a few moments for the smile to crack, and she promptly plants her face in her folded arms, sighing deeply.

Usually, it's easy for her to keep positive. But lately...

Lately, Princess Mayapple of the human kingdom has been having a very rough time.

It'd started with the harsh reality of Farrah. Poor, sweet Farrah...all she'd wanted was to make the perfect princess. Someone who could rule with a kind but stern hand, who could last for as long as necessary...but she had to face reality. With no place to rule, a lack of understanding regarding morality, and her sheer power? Farrah was a weapon. As much as Mayapple wanted to, she couldn't simply let her free and let her run around for some other villain or princess to snatch up. She had to pull the trigger, in a sense.

But she'd only intended for it to be Farrah. Nothing more, nothing less. And yet, she never took Foxglove's persistence into account. She never took Mack's desperation to be a hero again into account. Foxglove was a bit understandable, but Mack? They'd dated for three years, and somehow she never thought that maybe Mack could pull some stupid stunt and try to be a hero.

And then, shortly after she got back from all of that, and before she could even get a few days to mourn, she learned from the Council of Virtue exactly why Foxglove hated her so much and had built that orbital cannon - her own administration's incompetence in dealing with the Kyuutopia situation.

Now, as far as she'd known from her own officials, the situation was fine and there was no need for her to step in. The Council never bought it, and the only reason she'd been spared prison was the stunt Crow pulled when he was a witness in her trial.

She thought that taking the blame for her mistake wouldn't work. Turns out, it worked too well, and with Crow and Becky out of confinement...Mayapple has no idea what her fellow princesses will do now.

She looks at herself in the mirror, taking a moment to apply a bit more foundation to cover the bags under her eyes. All that to deal with, and she still has to deal with her daily duties as a ruler.

Her laugh is hollow, broken in a sense.

What she really wants to do is collapse on her bed and cry her eyes out in her pillow - and she has done that, several times - but she can't take time off because of her own issues. Her people are depending on her. She can't fall apart on them.

She can't-

And then the sound of breaking wood derails her train of thought, and she whips around, reaching for her earpiece, only for the ring to slip onto her finger as she does so.

"Princess Cherry Mayapple of Earth," The voice that speaks to her is...hard to describe. It sounds like a combination of the calming voice of a mother and the guttural growl of an alpha predator. She's not sure if she should be soothed or terrified. "You have great love in your heart. You belong with the Star Sapphires."

And then a flash goes over her body, causing her to close her eyes. When she opens them, she gasps, a genuine grin passing over her face for the first time in weeks.

She's covered in armor rather similar to her own Princess Knight armor, but with a few key differences. Firstly, any blue has been replaced with black, secondly, there's some kind of starburst symbol in place of her crown sigil on the chest, thirdly, she seems to only have her shield, which is made out of crystal now, and finally, the design of her helmet has changed - there's no crown built in; instead, long fins extend from the visor of the helmet, and what seems like a mask has been placed over her eyes.

"This is..." Mayapple looks over herself, feeling oddly giddy. Wearing this just feels right for some reason, and when she laughs again, it feels so much more natural. She can't get enough of this!

...but, this is far from proper princess attire. She has duties to attend to soon, so she should figure out how to-

The ring pulses, and Mayapple's eyes widen as she gets...some kind of command implanted in her brain. She's not really sure how to describe it.

"A meeting?" Mayapple looks at the ring and smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry, I really can't - this feels great right now, I'll admit, but I have no idea exactly what any of this is! And my people come first, so if you'll excuse me..."

The ring pulses more intensely, and a portal opens behind Mayapple. She looks at it, then looks at the ring. "I said no! Look, I can see if I have any free time in my schedule later today, but right now-"

The ring pulses again, and this time it pulls Mayapple's body around to face the portal, putting her right at the edge and allowing her to see the dark purple plains with jutting pink crystals. Mayapple sighs, seeming rather frustrated. "Okay, fine! I can spare a few minutes!"

She walks through the portal. "Rather pushy for a ring..."