Rise Like A Phoenix

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"Hey, Boss!"

"Holy sh-!" Ballister yelped. The squeal had escaped his lips before he could stop it, and he covered his mouth before the word could be finished .  Right in front of him, as real as could be, Nimona was standing, just a few feet away from him, in the exact same position they had met in the 'evil lair'  11 months ago.

"A-are you real?" He muttered , in confusion, but pleasure netherless.
"Of course not! I'm simply a illusion caused by your immense sadness! I'll disappear soon!"
She chuckled at her own joke , before crossing her arms. Ballister stared at her in wonder. Her hair has grown, and it was slightly.. darker. Not to mention the literal fire that was burning on top of it. It was calm, however, and peaceful.

"Don't worry yourself, boss, I'm as real as can be. There's no need to pan-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ballister had embraced her in one swift movement, squeezing her. She thought she might choke to death in his arms- if that was possible, of course. But this hug (or, in better words, suffocation) didn't last long.

"Aaaagh, Nimona, your .. hair is b-burning  my moustache!" He squealed, jumping back in alarm at the 'hair do' that was now frying his moustache.
"Yeah, maybe you should trim it?" Nimona suggested unhelpfully, and to Ballister's unfortunate luck, whose moustache was now getting grilled by a small flame that stuck with him.
"I'm serious Nimona!" He yelled out, racing to the kitchen sink. Nimona didn't take in a word of that sentence, however. She was occupied bawling with laughter.
"Agh-" Ballister wet his moustache with a cup of water he had just filled, removing the flame from his facial hair.
Nimona was rolling in the floor with laughter.

"That was NOT funny, Nimona!" Ballister scolded, before turning to laughter too, though he tried to keep it inside.
"Yes, that was! It was VERY funny. Extremely funny. Hilarious!" Nimona teased.
Ballister rolled his eyes, but quickly his disapproving expression turned to one of concealed laughter, until it was no longer very concealed.
"Okay, I admit, it was slightly funny." He chuckled.
"Yeah!  Hell it was!" She laughed. Ballister watched her laughing for a moment, happy to see her happy. Then he noticed the fire in her hair was no longer burning.
"Your hair .."
"What's wrong with it?"
"No, no, it's just.. not burning."
"Would you prefer it was?" Nimona raised a eyebrow.
"No, no! I.. was just pointing it out."
"Oh. Ok."

They spent a minute or two in silence, sat in the couch. They were comfortable, and the quiet was peaceful. But Ballister couldn't just not ask questions.

"How are you alive , Nimona?"
"Do you really know nothing about mythology ?" She replied, in a teasingly irritated tone
"Huh? What?"
"Phoenixes !" She sighed, as if it would explain everything.
"Yes?"
"They come back alive, duh!"
"Oh." He bit his lip, wanting to ask more but scared it would make her upset.
She sensed this. "Ask away. I.. I don't wanna keep everything hidden anymore." There was a tone of sadness in her voice. "Especially from you.

Ballister was shocked and heart-warmed by this rare moment of vulnerability from Nimona.
"Are you sure?"
".. yeah."
"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Nimona, are you the monster from gloreth's story?"
She sighed, as if she knew this was the question he would ask first.
"Yes. That's me."
"How are you.. still alive?" He asked.
"I... I'm trapped."
"Trapped?" He frowned . "What do you mean?"
"Well.. I'm trapped as.. my inner child. I guess."
"Your inner child?" He said, confused.
She took a deep breath. "Do you want the full story?"
"Well.." Ballister said, "yes."