Swampy Intent

Swampy Intent is the thirty-third episode of Reflection.

*Scattered across the godsblood swamp, OPIA reunites one by one as the head to the heart of Beleth, the mechanical fortress of Trailhead. Miles of dangerous creatures are between them and their destination, and beyond Trailhead itself is the center of demonic activity within the country.*

## Summary

Laughter finds himself inside yet another vision. In this one, he stands in a train station as several human figures ask him to help them regain themselves before abruptly melting into Flametouched. When he wakes up, he is greeted by Mic. In the central room of the house his team has been staying at, Stephano arrives alongside Isaac, who introduces himself to Mic. They then head out again to meet with Stein. Elsewhere in Beleth, a few hours later, Basil talks to Saru, who has joined up with her group after fighting off a large monster. They find an abandoned baby monster in the bushes, and Basil allows it to join her group. She then hears another rustling in the bushes, and when she and Saru go to investigate, they’re attacked by a large, predatory monster. Meanwhile, Ace crash lands in Beleth, Seagazer breaking his fall. He asks Seagazer to teleport him somewhere else, and he ends up in the burnt-out village that Laughter destroyed earlier. After sensing something incoming, Ace hides in the rubble and watches as a Free Will Backup Unit patrols the area. Seagazer then teleports him away a second time. Elsewhere in Beleth, Arg0s and Ridill land in the swamp. They notice a large, ethereal monster and decide to stay out of its way, and soon after reunite with Cast. However, just as quickly, Cast is grabbed by a gigantic plant- and crab-like monster. At the same time, Ace teleports into the area and helps Ridill and Arg0s free Cast and flee from the monster. As they continue on towards Trailhead, Ace informs them about the Free Will Backup Unit he saw. Deep in Beleth, Isaac and Stephano meet with Stein, who tells them that the Godsblood in Beleth seems to be creating some kind of mechanical structure beneath the surface and within the various monsters. He asks Stephano and Isaac to check it out in his stead, as it seems to have an adverse effect on his Pyromancer suit.

Some time later, Ace, Ridill, Arg0s, and Cast make it to the southern border of Trailhead, where they see Willow and the rest of the Wisp Family engaged in a fierce battle with a still-alive Skippy. With their help, they are able to take the monster down. In the north of Trailhead, the rest of the FLOW strike team arrives by boat. Grandpa Wisp invites the entire group to a celebratory dinner. Back with Basil’s group, Basil deals with the predator monster by abruptly firing a searing beam from her face, which her newfound companion, a girl named Pressley, finds cool. They then continue on, coming to the same area that the FLOW agents just left from, where they see two Free Will Backup Units engaged with the same plant monster. Basil and Saru hide in the bushes as they watch the two Basil clones wound the monster enough to cause it to flee. Afterwards, Unit 04 senses Basil nearby, but her companion doesn’t. 04 lies to her companion and says they should split up to cover more ground, and then goes to attack Basil. Basil frantically tries to convince her to stop, and eventually gets through after telling her that Mic won’t like it. 04 decides to travel with Basil by literally staying inside her body as they head towards Mic.

The Wisp Family’s dinner commences, with many OPIA agents attending. Outside, Cal runs into Basil. He then helps serve at a local bar and talks to Lugh. They’re eventually joined by Isaac and Stephano. After leaving the bar, Isaac reveals that he knew a version of Cal in the Old World, where he was a revolutionary leader that led an uprising against the ruling government. Back at the Wisp Family residence, Ridill explains her plan to Grandpa Wisp, asking for access to the inner swamp so that they can deal with Stein. He says that in order to authorize that, he needs to see the FLOW team prove themselves in various “trials”. He and Willow go out into the nearby lake on their own trial, where they are swallowed whole by a gigantic monster. Meanwhile, Ace, Arg0s, and Ridill are tasked with hunting down a dragonfly-like creature. Ace uses some Pyromancy to attempt to track it, but ends up brushing against a strange signal from beneath the ground. As Ace looks elsewhere for the dragonfly, Mic rushes up to Arg0s and begs him to help her help Ace. Ace overhears this, but is distracted by noticing that Ridill has also mysteriously disappeared.

Some time earlier, Mic begs Laughter to come with her so she can help him, but Laughter refuses her, telling her that he needs to gather power to break free in a way that will ensure he’ll never be hurt again, which he can only do as a Pyromancer. Once Mic leaves, the Golden Knight arrives. Laughter says their mission is done and the two secretly return to the Derelict. Upon Mic and Arg0s’s arrival, they find the two already gone. Mic finds a sliver of Flame in Laughter’s bed that simply says “sorry”, which causes her to burst into tears. She is comforted by Arg0s as well as Isaac and Stephano. Deeper in the swamp, Willow and her grandfather manage to kill the monster from within and beach it on a nearby island. They encounter Stein, who Willow attempts to convince to their side without a fight. Stein tells her that he doesn’t listen to weaklings, and demands that she fulfill trials of his own to prove herself. Meanwhile, Isaac and Stephano check out one of the underground complexes Stein told them about. They are shocked to find that the cave suddenly opens into a modern train station, and are even more shocked to see Ridill and Ace already inside.

## Characters

### Player Characters

* Ace Galatine
* Arg0s
* Basilisk Id
* Willow Wisp
* Ridill Arondite

### FLOW

* Ascalon
* Lugh
* Twice
* Lyst Solais
* Charybdis
* Saru
* Breach

### OPIA

* Mic
* Cast
* Cal
* Isabeau

### Demonic Courts

* Pyromancer of Laughter
* Golden Knight
* Isaac
* Stein
* Sei Miscellany
* Stephano

### GEIST

* Unit 04
* Other Free Will Backup Units

### Other

* Seagazer
* Grandpa Wisp
* Skippy
* Radiant Barrage