melodiesofeternity | A Starlight Carol

Should they take a look at the tombstone, each of them would read something different. Namely, they would see the name of their world and their own name, not that of the others.

R.I.P.
Here lies

Earth / Gaia / World

This world, its home universe and all its people ceased to exist when Elena / Frisk / Ashelia died to the Calamity.

??? - April 11th, 1019

The Ghost remains silent.

Those who took the Lalafell's hand, or connected to him by touching someone who touched the Lalafell hand, will find the atmosphere around them changing. They're still in the cemetery, but in spite of being the same place it feels very different. The sky turned blue and somehow, all fires went out. Instead, now flowers are blooming as if the catastrophe had never happened in the first place.

The Lalafell changed, too. Now it's a little girl who looks up to those who took her hand.

"H-Hi... I'm sorry for those t-things... That's the only way I could cheat-cheat and get to you past h-her... But I don't have a lot-lot of time..." A pause. "W-What the ghosts showed you... I-it's the future as it's written now... The summoning of B-Bahamut will destroy everything... And when it do-does, your worlds will die with it... I-I can't explain why, it-it's complicated... Maybe someone else could explain it..."

She let go of the character's hands. Those who didn't take the Lalafell hand or connected to it are stuck in the nightmarish version of the graveyard till it's over, unfortunately.

"You can rewrite that future... B-But it'll ask a lot out of you... That's w-why I used Starlight to contact you... That embodies the-the spirit you'll need to have... If you f-fight just for yourself, you'll fail... If you g-go at it without joy or love, you won't find the s-strength to walk through it... For you-you to succeed, you're going to have to f-form a special bond with V-Vaikuntha and its people... Not unlike the b-bond people feel during Starlight... If you c-can't do that, you w-won't be able to rewrite this ending..."

"If-If you have questions, I'll answer anything I can... S-So long as the answer doesn't put m-me at risk..."

Cor looks at everyone, gauging their current moods for a moment. And then he turns back to the ghost.

"It better be important, if there's one last thing to show us," he grumps as he takes the offered hand. He's not going to protest if anyone else takes his other hand - especially those from his homeworld.

"I-I think you've been doing great..." She replied to Sasami before replying to Papyrus. "They-They will help, yes... If you do-do not awaken them all, it will be much m-more difficult for you to succeed..."

She then turned to Asriel.

"The summoner is... Sad... B-But she..."

She stopped, looking down and hesitating before switching topic.

"V-Vaikuntha isn't t-too different from her... Didn't you n-notice weird things...? Like those h-holidays... H-How they m-made the Jobs... The way c-certain people decide to speak or b-behave..." A pause. "I-It is a place for broken souls to heal... You can o-only win by healing those souls... But you'll h-have to fight sometimes... Sometimes, w-when someone is so sad and a-angry, they refuse to be healed... And they choose o-oblivion..."

"T-The Eidolons are i-important... But the S-Summoner..." A pause. "Even if you defeat B-Bahamut, she... She will n-never stop..."

She quickly shifted the topic and looked at Tyzias.

"I-I'm not the o-one you must help... I-It's everyone in Vaikuntha... T-They d-don't know it but t-they need you... P-People here... Are i-in pain... E-Even when you ca-can't s-see it..."

[Ravus wonders, some days, how it was he and Gladio were able to bond the way they have. And then there are days like these, where he realizes how and why. They are similar in many ways, broken in the same way and forged back together into men who can understand one another's pain.

Ravus doesn't want to think of what his mother would think of his scheming and plotting for revenge for all of those years. He knows he did too little, too late, but he won't turn away Gladio's words of comfort, knowing the spirit in which they are meant.]

Yours would be proud, too. The Chosen King's worthy Shield, a dutiful son, and a brother who treasured his little sister. If she became like your mother, it is because you...and your father...passed your mother's spirit on to her.

[Now!Johnny looks back in that direction, but that figure had already turned a corner. Raleigh had a lot more signs to hang before the night was out, and a lot more pavement to tread.]

... My uncle. That was the first I'd seen him in weeks. It's a long story, but-- t was safer if he didn't know where I was.

[But that night, while cold, wet, scared and lonelier than ever, Johnny came very close to turning himself in. Teen!Johnny, after a fit of hesitation, breaks out into a jog in Raleigh's direction, but stops himself before he gets to far. Seeing that makes modern Johnny wince.]

[That idea hadn't crossed his mind before, and he grins.]

Whoops. Guess so? If you met Apollo, you'd get it though.

[The grin slips away as he goes back to watching the scene. It dawns on him anyone watching probably has no idea where this is occurring. It's certainly no American ski slope - no manicured slope no lift passes, no other people even seem to be around.]

Ah, this was Exsilium. Believe it or not. After we got back from the moon base, all that time fuckery caught up with us and changed things in a major way. From nuclear winter to permanent winter. A lotta people were really out of their element in this. Apollo, she was like-- like a pirate or somethin'. Lived at sea, basically, before comin' to Exsilium. 'N I know how to snowboard. A little, anyway.

Kanji looked confused. That didn't make any sense. The cities had their differing cultures and plights, but surely they knew the Heroes of Light and that they were here for them.

So maybe they just weren't putting enough elbow grease into it.

"After that big green shithead talked up 'ending all pain n' suffering by makin' everything a void', I'd imagine that would sound pretty tempting to some people." Soooooo this was Izanami again. Damn it, Senpai, how'd you pull it off?

He frowned. He had some idea on what he could do, but...

"Who are you? What's your name?"

"The summoner is a girl..." Sasami uttered, pondering this. Of course, the girl mentioned a lot about this world that made sense.

"But, we're not doing enough, aren't we? Celebrating the holiday just with us..."

Wait, there was that Halloween incident, that building that celebrated those other Heroes of Light!

"Ah!"

Taken aback, Madhuri gave a soft breath and wondered who on earth this was. But she explained that she had to use the ghost trick to manage her way past someone. Perhaps their big green friend out in the Dream Width... or someone else entirely.

"Sweetheart... if you truly went through such means to reach us to avoid detection, you're very brave indeed. What I haven't a clue as to who or what you are."

She paused. "Did someone send you? Are you safe where you're from?"

"BUT WOULD OBLIVION TRULY MAKE THEM HAPPY? IS THERE NO OTHER WAY TO BRING JOY BACK TO THEIR LIVES?"

Death just seems so... final. So hopeless. Like admitting defeat and Papyrus, stubborn as he is, is not one to call it quits.

"IF WE CAN JUST REACH OUT TO THEM, SURELY THERE MUST BE A WAY TO SWAY THEM FROM SUCH A DISASTROUS PATH!"

Isn't that true? One can hope.

Uendo is still struggling to process the sudden change in atmosphere, let alone the little girl's advice. If you fight just for yourself...

...No, that's something he'll have to think about later.

"So... You're that girl who used to appear in Curti Center?" He's never met her himself, but the description matches. "Then, the person pursuing you... Is it the summoner, or someone else? Can you tell us that much?"

He tries to keep his voice gentle despite how upset he's feeling. The girl sounds like she's having trouble speaking -- it would be cruel to frighten her further.

That was easy to understand but difficult to accept. Just the fact that monsters are real and live in a secret world feels fake, but hey, alternate universes. Doesn't hurt that this sounds like a plot for an Indiana Jones movie. If there was more magic and less action.

"Damn. Sounds rough. Does the underground suck that much?"

Serge beams. “Nice to meet you, Plague Knight. You might’ve seen me around the Center, that’s where I work. I’m Serge.”

“Oh, that’s Nobby.” Vimes grinned; Corporal Cecil Wormsborough Saint John Nobbs was, in point of fact, cheating. He didn’t even need to see any of the cards to know. “Very reliable man, Nobby. He always cheats at cards. I watched him play nine Aces with a straight face, once.”

[Okuyasu fills in the blanks with his own experiences - safer for Johnny? Did his uncle treat him bad? He hasn't mentioned his parents, who might also be weird demons? He probably shouldn't push it.]

But you found someone to stay with, if you're a musician now.

Ignis kept silent as they went through the memories, through the arguing between the people present, much of this hitting to close to home to put it to words. He squeezes Gladio's hand back, brows furrowing.

"Or he wants to seal the deal for help," he says quietly. Either bargain or seal some kind of deal to help this World not die. Ignis is not a hesitant person- when it comes to his kings and comrades. But he's not sure... the ghost is asking things from them without promising anything in return. Without giving any clues on how to deal with the calamity.

"This one- the decision- I will do as you do," he nods to Gladio and Ravus. They can see and perceive more than Ignis can with his senses. He's done a bargain of his lifetime- he's not sure if he has anything else to give.

Kuja very nearly snaps back when 'hysterics' are mentioned- but he's calming down, at least. "As if I could refuse. What, just lay down and die?" He takes the spirit's hand.

"WELL, I'M GLAD YOU WEREN'T ALONE, BUT... SURELY YOUR BROTHER WASN'T THAT BAD, RIGHT?"

Anyone could be a good person! And besides, brothers are family. It's just so strange to him- it'd be like saying Sans is bad because he won't pick up his socks!

Ashelia frowns (more than usual) when the children leave her, but follows Frisk over to the gravestone. She glances over to Elena, then to the Ghost - keep an eye on it, maybe?

She squints slightly at the gravestone, frozen for a moment - then shakes her head, chuckling lightly. "I understand the enormity of the situation," she retorts, crossing her arms and turning to address the Ghost directly. "I've lived with these stakes for years now. Are you quite done?"

"Serge? I see. Well, you seem a cheerful fellow, ehee." The masked alchemist glances back at his memory self, and then turns away from the scene to face Serge, "I may have seen you one or twice. I'm still living at the housing there!"

"Hey," he says in place of a sigh. "He...killed a lot of people. He created tons of monsters, givin' powers to criminals and sick bastards that killed even more people. Keicho was always the one makin' the tough decisions...but this is what happens when your crimes catch up to you."

The last time Ravus reached out to an otherworldly power, he lost an arm.

He apparently didn't learn his lesson. As much as he wants to walk away from this damned ghost, if there's a chance it could offer him the knowledge, the power he needs to stop Bahamut, he has to try.

"Fine. Let us waste no more time."

He extends his hand to the spirit.

A Starlight Carol

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sorry for the delay T_T

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no problem!

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