The Jewel of Jewels

[timecrash]

Who: Serge, Corrin, Kid, Frisk.exe, Klonoa
When: February 2nd
Where: Curti Centre, the Dream Width
What: Serge and company play Find the Macguffin.
Warnings/Notes: The plot of Chrono Cross.


Here he was again. Other people had wanted to help this time- not just Kid and Corrin, at least, but... in spite of everything, he'd sent out the message asking, when he'd been told that something else of his had been found.

Not 'his', that much he knew, but rather the other Serge, the one he'd come to think of as 'Kid's Serge'. He was apprehensive, though. If there was another memory he'd be forced to relive, would he lose control again? Would Lynx show up? These were all questions in the back of his mind as he waited in the airship hangar. Not the Phoenix this time, Mochi had offered but he'd refused- Happily, someone a bit saner was available and willing.

Comments

[timecrash]

Serge has enough presence of mind, it seems, to slow down, at least- for the others to catch up. But he doesn't wait long, passing through the darkened doorway into another room, an atrium of some kind, with many floors, a single elevator dominating the center, lit by red emergency lighting- and serge yells out at the sight before him, of doors sliding shut.

There's the briefest glimpse of a man with blue hair, the exact same shade as his own, blocking a much shorter man with red hair from entering the elevator, the latter looking worried, the former looking slightly distant, but determined- and clutching the limp form of a child, heavily bandaged, dressings soaked through and dripping blood... a child with blue hair. And then the elevator descends out of sight, leaving the room dark once more.

The world seems to shimmer, for a moment, thoughts racing through his mind. He'd been here, unconscious, dying- that was why he didn't remember. But dad had been, and-
"Miguel. That's... No, I met him. Or Serge did- he was..." What was the relation? There'd been a girl, not Kid, who'd been important-

My dear Leena... may you live in a happier tomorrow.

"Wazuki and Miguel, Leena's dad, they... they were friends. Serge- other-me, got... hurt. Bad. They tried to sail for Marbule, but there was a storm and they got blown off course, to..."

More memories, flickering past like whispers as he hisses in pain, wincing-
"That fire lies hidden in the Sea of Eden-"
"-wasn't called the Dead Sea-"
"-the Frozen Flame has chosen-"
"-Lavos-"

"That child... That wounded child... bring him to me..."

And then the room is silent once more, leaving only the five of them and the stranger with red hair, looking worriedly up at the darkened ceiling, as Serge tries to catch his breath. "I think... we have to get down there. It's important. I think the way out is... at the bottom of this elevator shaft. With my father... with me. Any ideas?"

[kissthemoons]

She only skids to a halt once she's alongside him again, watching as the scene plays out in front of them— the two men and a wounded child. When the pair of blue disappear, it was only then that she noted the heaviness of her own breath, the way her shoulders rose and fell.

Kid hesitates at first, as Serge winces— but her gloved hand eventually pats down on his shoulder, an attempt at reassurance that they were all here for him. That he was no longer that suffering child that he had been the first time he'd apparently come here. Her eyes say the words that she'd voiced so many times on their adventures together, in Home World, Another, and Vaikuntha alike— You all right, mate?

And Lavos. Gods, why did that name resound somewhere deep down inside of her?

"Oi," she called out, staring straight ahead, hand still resting on Serge. "Yeah, you—" she called out to the man, Leena's father, was it? "You can hear us, can't ya?" After all, he was least apparition looking person they'd come across so far despite... still being an apparition somehow. "You heard 'im, right? We gotta get down there so get that thing back up here!"

[bladeofconquest]

The brief glimpse of the bloody, bandaged child recalled one of Corrin's deepest, most primal fears, especially since becoming a mother herself. The other Serge didn't look much older than Kana, but his wounds were grave. She puts a hand to her mouth in shock with a sharp intake of breath. But then the doors slide shut and he's out of sight. He's fine. He's going to be fine, she knows. She's seen memories of this other Serge later in life. He's going to make it.

With a shake of her head, Corrin forces herself to focus on the matter at hand. As Serge-her Serge-doubles over in pain, Kid is quick to check on him, so Corrin contents herself with trying to sort out the cacophony of voices that brought on the attack. The Sea of Eden? The Dead Sea? One of those places sounds pretty good...the other, not so much. The Frozen Flame is the artifact they're trying to retrieve, according to Kid. But what the heck's a Lavos?

Ignoring Miguel, since Corrin isn't sure if he can in fact see them, she instead approaches the closed elevator doors. "Okay, there must be a panel or something, right?" She asks. "Something we can use to call the elevator back..." She looks back at the others. "If not, maybe we can force the door open and try to climb down the shaft?" Though she sounds like she's not a big fan of that idea, for obvious reasons. For the time being, she focuses on trying to find a button or panel of some sort.

[timecrash]

Corrin's efforts find that the door seems to be mechanically shut- it could probably be pried open, but it would take tools of some kind to obtain leverage. There's also a button, the only thing still lit in the room, which responds to her summons with the faint whirrr of machinery as the lift approaches.

Serge jumps, when the hand is placed on his shoulder, but he relaxes again, smiling weakly at Kid. Though, when the red-haired man turns to look at him, he inhales sharply as the rush of memories comes back. They'd fought him. Him and Norris and Radius and Harle- they'd nearly died doing it. Miguel was Leena's father, but he was an enemy, a puppet of FATE through no fault of his own-

"It's alright," comes the soft voice. "You don't have to be afraid here, Serge. It's not your memory, after all."

At first, he's surprised. But then, Lynx had changed subtly in response to Corrin, hadn't he? Maybe it's less like a memory and more like a dream...? "You're confused, and that's understandable. On some level, you remember who 'Miguel' is, and know him to be a puppet of she who is called, 'FATE'. You- or, rather, Serge-in-the-guise-of-Lynx, fought him, and nearly died in the process. All because FATE wanted to keep you from the item she couldn't stand being yours..."

"The Frozen Flame," Serge said, with realization.

"Of course." the man shrugged, leaning against the elevator door. "It's down there, you know. The Flame, FATE, and, I think, your ticket out. I doubt very much that you'll find much in the way of obstacles, it's just a matter of finding your way- it's not you that 'she' wants. But, once you have it..." He smiled wanly. "I don't think she'll be too happy. Tread carefully, Serge. I hope, for your sake, that we don't meet again."

The lift doors open, revealing an interior of polished metal. Curiously, perhaps, no buttons exist for floors below '1'. There is, however, a slot for a card of some kind. Perhaps finding it would open the way- or perhaps they could just climb down.