songerein | closed 🌻 into the reactor

Entry tags:

closed 🌻 into the reactor

Who: Zelda and Revali
Which: Closed Log
Where: Orkili reactor
What: Investigating the reactor! And "making friends" with a Tikbalang
Warnings: Tears of the Kingdom spoilers, as per usual with Zelda

Are you ready?

[ Zelda's voice is muffled somewhat by the full-body suit the Orkilins provided for her and Revali with to protect them from the highly concentrated nightmare energy that remaining at the reactor. The emergency has been handled, the leak contained, and the Orkilins settled in temporary homes after last month's panicked evacuation. Now is the time to repair the damaged reactor and investigate the cause of the breach.

Of course, Zelda was quick to volunteer to assist with both the investigation and the repair of the reactor. She has been curious about the machine ever since Eustace's hasty message and that curiosity only grew while she and Alastor used their magic to seal off the reactor until another barrier could be erected. Nightmare energy is so dangerous, so unpredictable. How have the Orkilins manager to harness it in such a way that they can use it as a power source? And why nightmare energy rather than dreamotion? The princess's mind is constantly abuzz with questions and, now that the emergency has passed, she can finally indulge her curiosity.

And all the better that she has something to focus her mind on, lest it wander to the plans she is secretly hatching. With the baubles the dreamwalkers recently received, Zelda has enough to into the wishing well and return home. The dream world prevented her from swallowing her secret stone and transforming into a dragon when she first arrived—it won't be able to do that again if she goes back to Hyrule first.

But leaving all of her friends, leaving Link, never to see them again... the prospect sits like a stone in her gut, making her feel ill at every turn. She'll do her duty—she's the only one who can, after all—but doing so has become harder than Zelda ever thought possible.

So best to throw herself into other tasks so that there's no more space in her mind for these thoughts. ]

We'll only have an hour once we're past the barrier, so we need to work quickly.

Our aim is to pinpoint the exact location of one of the leaks so that the Orkilin engineers can repair it. They believe it to be somewhere in this area— [ Zelda points to a place on a detailed (and confusing) map of the reactor. ] —but have not been able to verify.

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[Unlike Zelda, Revali isn't particularly interested in much about the reactor's mechanisms or what might be wrong with it. But, even if he may hem and haw and act as if it's a bother to lend a wing, even here in Reverein, it's nothing more than a facade. And he knows Zelda knows that as much as he does. Really, when asked, he's perfectly happy to help; even more so when it's a chance, in his mind, to show up Link.

He frowns a bit at his suit while Zelda speaks, plucking at the material to test how thin it is and adjust it a bit more comfortably on his differently shaped frame. As she points to the map, though, he peers down, scanning the layout of the reactor grounds.]

Unable to verify because of the energy risk, or because of structural concerns?

[Not that it matters all that much, all things considered. He's said he's going to help out, so there's no backing out now. But knowing what they're working with is always important.]

Either way, we may as well start where they think it is. They're the experts as far as their own reactor is concerned.

The energy risk. The nightmare energy is quite dense behind the barrier—

[ Zelda nods her head in the direction of the barrier, a few feet away from where they stand. It looks like a giant bubble surrounding the reactor. ]

—thus the protective garb.

[ Garb that looks, frankly, ridiculous on a Rito. Zelda is doing her very best not to crack a smile whenever she looks at Revali.

Zelda folds the map and tucks it into her pocket. ]

As long as we follow the nightmare energy to its highest concentration, we should be able to locate the leak.

[ Easier said than done? Hard to say. They won't know until they're on the other side of the barrier. ]

[Truly no one suffers like he does, with this poorly-fitting protective suit. While it's probably better than being exposed directly to a whole blast of nightmare energy, the suit is on thin ice.

He turns toward the barrier surrounding the reactor area, head tilted slightly, as if just looking at it like this might give them an idea of the quickest way to get the job done. It doesn't, of course, so he sweeps a wing forward (which absolutely causes the anti-nightmare energy suit to make a loud crinkling sort of sound) to gesture that they should get going.]

Lead the way, Princess. An hour should be more than enough time to find and mark the leaks for their engineers.

[ Zelda nods in agreement. Given that the engineers have already narrowed down the area where the leak might be, it should be easy enough to be in and out well within an hour—

—Provided no complications arise. Such as a Tikbalang that is reportedly still loose in the area.

The princess steps up to the barrier. The engineers told her to just walk right through, but its glossy surface looks fragile enough that it will pop on contact. She extends her right hand experimentally, probing the barrier with her fingertips. The surface ripples at her touch, but like a big soap bubble, allows her hand to pass through without rupturing. It's stronger than it looks.

Taking a preparatory breath like she's about to plunge underwater, Zelda steps through the barrier. Again, it simply ripples with movement and she reaches the other side with ease.

Zelda opens her eyes and surveys her surroundings. It looks... exactly the same as the area on the other side of the barrier. Considering the high levels of nightmare energy, she was expecting something... frightening. The princess has entered nightmare-scapes plenty of times now and each one is as terrifying as the last. And heavy, as well—dense nightmare energy is often palpable, weighing down on a dreamwalker physically and mentally. Is because of the protective suits? She fishes the map from her pocket again as she waits for Revali to join her. ]

[With significantly less anxiety and fanfare, Revali follows Zelda through the barrier, scanning the distance to see if there's anything immediately off about this reactor. The last time they were here, after all, this area was far from the safest place to be. And while Nightmare energy doesn't sound all that palatable either, as far as he can tell, there's nothing visibly off about the area just yet.

Which, really, might be the most unsettling part.]

I guess they have been at work securing the place.

[It's almost a compliment for the Orkili and their disaster recovery efforts, but his tone is far from glowing. More observational than anything.]

To the point where I wonder if these suits are even necessary.

[He'll leave it on, for the moment, but it's not his favorite thing.]

I would quite prefer not to find out, thank you.

[ Despite her choice of words, Zelda's tone carries the unmistakable warning of, "Don't even think about removing that suit." Bold for someone who, in her youth, would've never dared question Revali (no matter how stupid his ideas were).

Zelda unfolds the map again and holds it out where he can easily see it. ]

This tank here— [ She points to a tank on the map which corresponds with a large stone tank directly in front of them. ] —must be the dreamotion tank. So the nightmare energy tank must be a bit further on. That's the one that will have the leak.

[ Zelda examines the tank before them. Cylindrical in shape and made almost entirely of a special type of stone, it stands nearly two or three stories in height. The entire reactor system is built inside a series of tremendous caverns, the scope of which Zelda struggled to understand from the map alone. Now, seeing the tank rising up and disappearing into the shadowy gloom of the cavern ceiling, she is extra grateful that she asked Revali specifically for his help. ]

[He is, indeed, thinking about removing the suit, but he'll behave for now. He'll see how this trip ends up before deciding whether to listen to Zelda's warning or not.

But for now, he looks between the tank and the map for a moment, taking in what they're really working with here. It's different being here with a less-pressing emergency allowing them to actually take some time and look around them and really take in what the Orkili have built here.]

They're sure this one isn't damaged?

[It looks to be intact, sure, but as he scans along the height of the tank, he figures they might as well check just to be safe.]

That is what they told me...

[ But Zelda's tone of voice carries her own misgivings as she gazes up at the dreamotion energy tank. The Orkili engineers seemed confident that, of the two tanks housed in this cavern, only the nightmare energy tank was leaking. ]

But given the levels of nightmare energy in here, I wonder if they would be able to detect leaking dreamotion energy at all.

Well, we're here to investigate, aren't we?

[investigate the other tanks, sure. But if he knows anything about Zelda, he knows she's probably not content to just stick to checking the one area that allegedly has leaks. The way he sees it, it's easier to take a peek now while they're already at the tank than look on the way back, or have to take a second trip. And besides, even if there isn't any damage, it'll be good to have a clearer picture of what an undamaged tank should look like, in case they're looking for something subtle.

So, without really waiting for much of a confirmation, Revali summons up a gust of wind, floating up on it as best as he can while wearing a protective suit like this. It's not ideal, and he's not happy about it, but he's able to get on top of the tank with minimal grumbling.]

[ They are here to investigate, he's right. Zelda takes a few steps backward to give Revali enough room to lift off, watching him as he goes. (Which is hilarious to watch because she's never seen him look this awkward in the air.)

Although they only have about an hour until the protective suits stop working, that's still enough time to take a quick look at the dreamotion tank before they move on to the nightmare energy one. Better to be double check that nothing is wrong with it.

When Revali reaches the top of the dreamotion tank, he will find that it is still intact—but not for lack of trying on someone's part. There are a number of long, shallow cuts in the stone, as though someone tried to slice at it with a sharp blade. Thankfully, none of the cuts are deep enough to puncture the tank.

There's also faint wisp of dark smoke lingering around the top of the tank. It's strangely unmoved by his wind, giving the impression that this isn't ordinary smoke. It circles around the top of the tank before continuing onwards towards the nightmare energy tank. ]

[As far as Revali is concerned, none of this ever happened, and he flew like the most perfect Rito even in his wardrobe-handicapped state. He will deny every moment of it.

But the part he can't deny is that there definitely was something here. Their job doesn't seem as straightforward as it once might have. He tries, of course, to blow away the strange smoke, scoffing with irritation as it does nothing in the end. It's hard to see in the relative darkness how far the trail of smoke continues, but that will have to come later. There's something else more pressing to get a look at here.

He crouches down, underneath the faint cloud of smoke, getting a closer look at the gashes left behind on the tank. He's no expert in this area--he's never really needed to be. But he's expert enough to tell that these likely aren't some leftover manufacturing cuts or otherwise intended by the Orkili.]

It doesn't seem to be leaking, but this tank is going to need looking at too. Something wanted in here.

[ Zelda watches from the ground, neck craned upward, even though she can't see much of anything from this distance. ]

"Wanted in?" Something tried to harm the tank deliberately?

[ She lifts the Sheikah Slate and points it in Revali's direction, opening the Camera Rune and using its controls to zoom in on that part of the tank. The slices in the stone are difficult to make out, but she does notice the strange cloud of smoke. That's strange. The disturbances in the air caused by his flight should have dispersed something like that. ]

Gouges like this aren't left by accident during an evacuation.

[Is he an expert? No. But it's just common sense if you ask him. Anyone in here during the reactor disaster would have no reason to be this high up. These marks were here deliberately, and have his mind racing with possibilities for what might actually be wrong with the tank here.]

I can bring that slate up here if you want to look more closely.

[It's easier to manage carrying a tiny datapad with clumsy flight than an entire princess would be.]

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