melodiesofeternity | [Closed] Serge has a present from the Cloud

There's that faint nagging sensation, again-

But Serge has precious little time to mull that over, since as soon as the moogle sees that everyone's strapped in there's a rather ominous clunk. Outside the windows, on each side of the Phoenix a large, cylindrical engine slides out, and the airship's nose points skyward.

"Y'all hold onto yer butts!" There is, then, the almost-ceremonial hammering of a large, friendly-looking red button in the middle of the console. The Phoenix dies, everything going silent as the engines cut out and, slowly, the airship's upward speed begins to drop. "Uhhhhh... that weren't s'posed to happen."
Upward momentum ceases. "Hang on, this happens sometimes, y'just gotta show'er who's boss-" a large wrench is produced, from somewhere.
The airship begins, instead, to fall. "Just gotta give'er some LOVE!" The wrench is brought down, with force, on the Large Red Button, and what follows is a tremendous whoomph, followed by an unholy roar as the airship's engines reignite, and the boosters activate, sending the Phoenix rocketing into the sky at a speed which could be comfortably called 'hellish'.

It's a journey that takes minutes. Eventually the shaking stops, the sky outside turns from pristine blue to endless black, and the airship's boosters retract.

Oh yes, and Serge releases the deathgrip he's been maintaining on the armrests of his chair. "Wow, that, uh... Thaaaat was terrifying!"

Hearing this, the moogle in the pilot seat cackles. "'Tweren't nothin'! I've flown this route about a hunnerd times in my day, don'tchoo worry none. I've got yer Dream Cloud Whatchacallit in my sights an' we should be coming up on the edge here inna minute. Y'all ever been in one o' these before?"

Serge shakes his head. "Uh. No."

"Well, it's real simple, like. I'm gonna hook y'all up with a special safety harness and let ya jump out into the Cloud t'get whatcha need to. If'n you tug on the cable a bunch I'll reel ya back in with the winch, an' if you don't tug on it I'll pull ya back in half an hour anyways. Don' look like a big cloud, so ya shouldn't have too much trouble findin' whatever it is."

[Well, Corrin had been hoping for excitement...and got way, way, waaaaaay more than she'd expected. As the ship finishes its acceleration, she staring straight ahead, frozen in her seat, a look of complete shock in her face, and unlike Serge, her fingers still holding tightly to the armrests.]

[The pilot's cackle snaps her out of it though, though, and she's finally able to peel her fingers off the armrest. She listens intently to his explanation.]

"An hour? Has it really taken people that long to find their items? Are they not just..." [She gestures vaguely out the window to the cloud.] "Just floating out there waiting to be grabbed?"

As the ship had its momentary, terrifyingly abrupt stop mid-air, Kid had felt her stomach rise to the base of her throat... then subsequently drop well below her knees as the booster kicked in.

Phoenix, indeed.

By the time their pilot is chattering at them again, somehow, even though she had been inside the whole time, the thief's hair had sprung out in every direction from her ponytail messily, as though she'd been through a whirlwind.

"WELL CAN'T SAY IT WAS BORIN' AT LEAST!" she smacked at the side of one ear, unaware she was hollering as they popped from the sudden ascent.

On her feet, she's first to the harnesses their host had been referring to, looking it over in her hands. "YA SURE IT'S—" a finger digs into her ear one last time, as her volume seems to finally rest. "Sure it's safer to be strapped to this thing?!" She means the airship, but that could probably be interpreted less rudely to mean the leash itself.

"Well, if'n you don't wanna be strapped to anythin' I can toss ya out there without an anchor line. 'Course, if that happens, if you get lost in some memory I can't getcha back." The moogle steps out, onto the deck... and, with a sheepish grimace, Serge starts to follow.

"I, uh. I had no idea it was gonna be like this. The Center airships do it all smooth, I thought... well,guess it doesn't matter now." The Cloud lives up to its name, faint wisps of white that wash over the deck as the Phoenix comes to a stop. Serge accepts one of the three offered harnesses, looking out at the small sea of white mist with trepidation. "So, what, we just... jump?"

"Yep. Like I said, don't worry none about fallin'. Ain't nothin' to crash into up here. That and gravity's a bit funny out in them clouds. Whenever y'all're ready to go, that's when we'll go."

Kid didn't exactly feel great about this development, but if there was one thing she could usually get away with, it was staring danger in the face and scoffing. The consequences usually waited until later, anyway.

Fixing herself up in a harness, she pulls at the tie down, making sure it was secure— or maybe just giving the illusion that she knew what she was doing.

"Well, after you, mate!" and there's a hearty slap on Serge's back as she steps up behind him. A slap of encouragement, you could call it.

Serge grins brightly back at Kid, offers a thumbs-up to Corrin- and takes a dive off the airship deck.
It’s such an odd sensation, a bit like swimming through soup, with no sense of either up or down- and yet, at the moment he enters the cloud, Serge feels something, a tugging sensation in the back of his mind that has him moving forward. “I think it’s this way,” he calls.

True to the pilot’s word, it’s not a large cloud. It’s quite small, and so is the object it hides. Serge drifts to a stop, staring at it. It shines and twinkles in the light of the cloud, spinning innocently in place, a blue jewel, shattered in half by some force.

“That’s… pretty,” he says, quietly. Instinct drives him forward, hand reaching out to touch it. “The heck is it? I’ve never seen anything like this…”

Edited 2018-11-22 00:09 (UTC)

With some difficulty, Corrin manages to get herself into harness. This is a bit scary, jumping out of an airship into the seemingly-limitless void of the Dream Width, yet at the same time, also kind of exciting. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest as she stands on the edge of the airship deck with Serge and Kid. She returns the thumbs up gesture, and then as Serge leaps, Corrin is only seconds behind him, her heart leaping into her throat as she jumps. Oh gods oh gods oh gods oooooooh goooooooods wait actually this isn't so bad.

The sensation is almost...pleasant, floating seemingly weightless in the void. Glancing back at the airship, Corrin nods at Serge and follows him towards the cloud.

"Oh wow, Serge, that's really pretty...but why is it broken?" That seems odd. She glances at him. "You don't recognize it at all?" How could it be his if he has no idea. "Kid, come take a look at this!"

Being submerged in the dreamwidth could be a little disorientating at times, you know? Which is why on the other side of the soupy-atmosphere, Kid was currently upside down, responding with a— "Huh?" as she tried to right herself.

As she floated over to Serge's other side, and the treasure came into view from over his shoulder, Kid's blue eyes went wide. The sudden pounding in her chest quickly made it's way up to her ears, she tightened her grip on the blue-haired boy and propelled herself forward.

"Don't— Don't touch it!" she yelled, reaching to take it for herself in her gloved hands.

Kid lunges for the jewel- but the movement is a hair too late. Serge's fingertips brush the surface of the gem, and all of a sudden there's the sense of incredibly intense vertigo, of falling. The cloud, so peaceful and quiet, becomes a swirl of color and noise, voices familiar an unfamiliar whispering, speaking, shouting-

"Wake up, Serge-"
"-never forget this day-"
"-kick yer arse so hard-"
"-hydra venom-"
"-die without the humour-"
"-dying and I can't even do any-"
"-follow my faith, even if I have to-"
"-ain't gonna drop dead-

A fishing village by the sea. A manor on the cliffs. A bustling port town. A forest thriving with life. Faces, places Serge has never known, spinning by in a maelstrom of memory unleashed.

Eyes, sharp and cruel and feline, boring into his own. A voice, low, familiar but twisted.
Come to me, Serge.

And, as suddenly as it all started, everything stops. The three of them stand atop a stone platform, rising up a shaft, surrounded on all sides by stonework both intricate and ancient.

When did Serge fall over? He stands, confused for a moment, pushing himself off the floor.

"Whoa. Must have lost my balance when it started moving." It's... strange. His movements are different, ever so slightly, his voice quieter, somehow, more subdued. It'd be a mystery to Corrin, no doubt, but Kid-

Kid knows that voice. She knows that face.

Serge turns, an Iron Swallow resting on his shoulder. "Sorry. Guess these old ruins aren't as stable as the manor, huh Gl-" Confusion crosses his face, and he stares at Corrin. "-enn..."

Edited 2018-11-22 03:08 (UTC)

It's as though she had been falling down, down... the memories drummed up were heavy, then suffocating— pushing her deeper down somewhere dark into the dark depths of the cloud...

Cloud? No. That wasn't right. This stone floor, the iron dagger in her hand— the familiar sound of Serge's voice and that look in his eye. That was right. Yeah. Yeah! Leaping up to her feet, she felt a renewed energy coarse through her, now that things were actually making sense again. That whole cloud thing, that was just a dream or something, right?

"Oi! C'mon Serge, Corrin!" she called back, then spun on her heel to face forward again. "Today's gonna be the day of reckonin'!"

Edited 2018-11-22 03:24 (UTC)

"Kid, what are you-OH GODS!" is all Corrin manages to get out before she's caught up in...whatever it is that happens when Serge touches the crystal. Suddenly, she's falling through darkness, assailed by visions of places and people unrecognizeable to her-

And then she's...somewhere else. A castle, perhaps? "W-Where are we?" She asks, looking around as she pulls herself to her feet. Then she looks at Serge. Why does he not seem to recognize her? Where did he get that weapon? Where did this sword she's holding come from? "What? No, I'm Corrin, Serge, you know that. Who's Glenn?" She glances back at Kid. "Do you know-" But Kid's enthusiasm catches her off-guard. "Wait, slow down! Where are we? What's going on?"

Edited 2018-11-22 04:31 (UTC)

Serge blinks. Right. Glenn had a... he couldn't come. Why couldn't Glenn come? He should be here. Glenn was a friend. Corrin... Corrin had come with them on the boat, hadn't she? But no, Glenn knew the way to the fort, he'd been there when they'd fought the devas-
But there'd been another boat, right? He'd dove into the cloud to retrieve the shattered Dragon Tear- is that what it's called?

There's a searing pain in his head, as the lift comes to a gentle stop and the doors slide open. "Nnnngh. Don't... feel so good." Kid. Kid's the constant. He knows Kid. They met on a beach, they shared dinner and talked about- no, that's not right they met on a cliff and she saved his life-
leenaconwayKIDmochicorrinKIDnikkipapyrusglennKIDklonoaKID-

He steadies himself against the doorframe. "Day of reckoning... y-yeah. Let's go get Lynx. After what he did to you... he owes the both of us."

"Too late to be gettin' cold feet, mate!" she chastised Corrin's lack of enthusiasm. Hadn't the three of them been gung-ho just before this? Just before this... on the airship?

This was Fort Dragonia, wasn't it? Hadn't they been planning this infiltration ever since— ever since... that message from the Curti Centre...
Shit.

Shaking her head, willing that nagging dream away, she took off, moving deeper into the fort, further motivated by Serge's words, further motivated to reveal the truth— "That's right, Lynx! Say yer prayers! Not that it'll do ya any good. Heh... heheheh!"

Corrin stares at them for a moment. Something's happened and it's affected both Serge and Kid...but why not her? She shakes her head, and starts off after the other two. That's a question for later. For the time being, play along and try to figure this out. "Sorry, you're right. We've got work to do. We need to find-" She hesitates only for a second. "-Lynx and put a stop to this."

The objections cease, and Serge takes the lead. The halls of Fort Dragonia are... quiet. He can't shake the feeling that this is somehow wrong, like he's been here before... "Five of those cores down. It's got to be one left, right? Black... Makes me wonder what's ahead. Maybe this one'll be unguarded?" Hoping against hope, here. "I swear, it feels like I've been here before..."

With each core they completed, Kid seemed to... get a little more pale. Maybe there was a sweat breaking out across her forehead if you looked quick enough— before she wiped it away with her free hand.

The other... pressed firmly over a spot on her abdomen, almost as though she was guarding it. Her eye twitched with that last step she took, but she was still maintaining her composure, whatever that meant in her current confused state.

"No reason they'd start takin' it easy on us now..." she half-muttered, her tone lacking its usual spark.

Corrin is watching them both closely, but her attention is focused more on Kid than Serge. Whatever's happened to them...well, since they're here to search for something of Serge's, him being affected by...whatever this is makes sense, but Kid being pulled into it to while Corrin herself isn't is harder to make sense of. Why does Kid know all about this? Not just this place itself, but seemingly the supposed chain of events that led to them being here? The sweat, and the hand on her abdomen are also curious, especially given that she seems to be under an increasing amount of stress, and yet at the same time doesn't appear to be aware of it.

Something like this happened to me, too. She suddenly realizes. I was fighting Takumi again before I was pulled onto the airship. A memory, yet one that seemed so real...is that what this is? A memory, shared between the two of them? But how is that possible? Serge is a native Vaikunthan, and Kid is an off-worlder like her, isn't she? So a dream, then? A dream of someone else's memory? They are in the Dream Width, after all...how do you deal with that?

Corrin decides to play a hunch and see where it goes. Serge seems far more taken by this illusion than Kid is, so Corrin gently reaches out and taps her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Kid, can I ask you something?" She whispers quietly. "The first time you were here, what happened when you reached Lynx?"

Serge stops, looking back. Kid was so excited before and now...
This isn't right. He looks over at Corrin, too- why can't he remember where Corrin came from, originally? He remembers a city, vaguely, but it's not Termina, but that's the biggest city he's ever been to...
He pauses a moment on the central platform, looking down. Far below, he can see the dim lights of the Great Hall, and he glances across.

"Doorway's right over there. If we jump across it'll be way quicker. Not a far gap..." It's probably reckless, but he takes a run up and a flying leap- before landing on the other side, nearest the door. "There. Pretty easy, all things considered. Come on over- uh, guys?"

"The first time..." Kid's wiping at her brow again speaking in a lower tone as they walk behind Serge towards the dias, "The first time I— No, we... There were all those switches or whatever, an' then Old Man Viper, he..."

But why did things get so fuzzy after that? Why couldn't she recall the details of what had happened after General Viper had fallen...? "Bollocks, it gets so hard to remember!" she was frustrated with herself, and rather than acknowledging all the things wrong with what was happening here, to her and to Serge, she used those feelings to fuel herself further onward.

"So we're just gonna have to keep goin' to find out!" She grew loud again, with that. Dragging it out just made it all that much worse— which is why she's back to her spot alongside Serge as he takes his leap of faith. Looking down, that sinking feeling that takes a hold of you at a great height swims up from her stomach to her throat, but she swallows it down, and makes her jump, landing on a bent knee.

Corrin nods. It looks like Kid's already realized that they're in a memory, or...or something. "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"

As Kid propels herself across the gap, Corrin is right behind her. "Sorry about that, Serge." She apologizes. "What happens next?"

What happens next, indeed? Serge crosses the threshold under the Dragon Emblem, into a chamber with an orb of black energy at the far end, hovering innocently over a pedestal. “That’s the last one, has to be,” he says, quietly. “I don’t see anything, but then White looked pretty innocent too-” He steps forward, ready to shut down the seal-

Something prickles, in the back of his mind. He’s rolling out of the way immediately, as a hair behind him a
massive, toadlike creature crashes down, a deep bellow of rage ringing out as it turns to face Serge. “Figured it was too good to be true!” The Swallow spins, and he’s charging, a dervish of metal for an instant and catching the counterattack on the haft of his weapon. “It’s… Red? The hell- Either of you remember to bring that IceBlast?”

Innocent? That wasn't exactly how Kid would have described that son of a—... ah, no time to even curse the thing, huh? Well at least this one didn't look as unnerving as that smiling bastard did. She's quick to get into her fighting stance, running up behind Serge to build up her combo into a dagger-uppercut.

"Red?!" What, again? That didn't seem right. "Don't look at me!" Was her response to the Ice Blast inquiry, as she jumps back to use something less powerful, but hopefully still a bit helpful— an Aqua Ball.

"Just kill it quick!" It didn't look particularly tough.

"Uh, I don't...w-wait, I think I might have it." Corrin isn't sure how she knows this, but there are words like "Black innate" and "Element grid" floating around in her head now, and she understands what those terms mean; no doubt the Dream Width at work again. And how to make use of them.

Rather than drawing her sword to attack, Corrin raises her hand and a blast of ice explodes outwards from her palm towards the toad-beast. From the way it recoils from the blast, it's clear that hurt.

"I don't think it liked that!" But the IceBlast is spent for now...she draws her sword and gets ready for another attack.

Serge drives his swallow forward, leaving a gaping cut in the beast's hide- and it plainly doesn't enjoy the spear of ice piercing it, or the concussion of water around it.

The creature shrieks, and retaliates, charging for Corrin in a gout of flame and a heavy blow- only to shriek in rage, when Serge throws his own Icelance at its back while it's distracted. Its flesh is peeling, black ichor pooling on the floor, looking for all the world as though it's dying. "I think we've got it-"

Serge is cut off, staring in horror. It vomits, spewing something that looks like crude oil and reeks of decay, the greasy substance seeping into the stones, into the walls, blocking any exit- and the creature moves, then, clawed limbs forming out of the ooze, supporting it, a massive eye opening where there might otherwise be a head...

"What the fuck-"

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