melodiesofeternity | Apocalypse || Sen Riqeaux Castle

The airship landed by the highest level of Sen Riqeaux Castle, in an open air area. From there, the noises caused by the fighting going down in the city and in the castle's lower levels could barely be heard. Looking up at the sky, there were turbulence seen nowhere else across Vaikuntha. Lightning even striked down. Perhaps this would really be the site of Bahamut's summoning?

In the distance, one could see a gigantic armada of Airships, all ready to welcome Bahamut with their all. There were well over a hundred of them, by the look of it.

And on the opposite side of the open area, there was the Empress. She hadn't reacted to the airship arriving. Her back was turned to the Heroes of Light as she looked down upon the city in contemplation.

[ For the sake of getting the main event started quickly, we will try replying multiple times a day with the NPCs. Please, keep all of the character's interactions within a single thread. There will be branching paths where the characters can have their own small thread if they have questions to ask or things to do that do not correlate to the main thread. ]

Normally, Red was sure he'd have a few choice words for the Empress by now- given everything that had, apparently, been coming together right on her doorstep and under her nose- but, perhaps due to the gravity and gloom that surrounded the lot of them, he couldn't manage much more today than a bone-chomping look halfway between anger and determination.

Already fully geared for battle and riding the DAHAK Mk III, Red trudged onto the castle's heights with heavy, metallic footsteps. He wasn't sure whether he should be envious of the approaching air battle or whether he'd want to dedicate his next game to their memory.

"...So what's your plan now?"

"Perhaps it might be prudent to seek the Summoners in the ensuing mess regardless of how he proceed, considering we may have the bead on where the apex of their ritual lies."

She looked up briefly from the tuning of Vespertine. She was seated awfully comfortably for what may be the end of all worlds.

"They may linger to see the fruit of their handiwork, feel a tad relaxed. Make mistakes."

"If they didn't straight up cut outta town already. But I don't think like bullshit death cultists."

Kanji was pacing. He'd gotten his affairs in order, and he was ready to give it his all. He had to think of it like 'you fight one, you've fought them all', and he'd taken down gods before. He just had to keep from relaxing, getting too cocky. But he had to be firm in putting a boot in some dragon ass.

"Anyway, I ain't much of a speech guy, but let's prove a hell of a lotta naysayers wrong today, yeah?"

"I'M WITH KANJI!!! WE MUSTN'T LOSE FAITH, EVEN IN THIS DARKEST HOUR! WE MUST BAND TOGETHER, FRIENDS, COMRADES, WARRIORS SEEKING A GREATER TOMORROW!"

Papyrus punctuates this with a dramatic point. For now, he's opting to wear his Cool Scientist asterisk, but with Chemist and Magitek Knight fully maxed, that gives him a lovely level of diversity, should the need arise.

For the time being, he's hovering close to Madhuri. Here, he'll even set a supportive hand on her shoulder.

Frisk, meanwhile, is squeezing Papyrus's hand as hard as they can. They wish they had his confidence. They really, really do. But a tiny part of them, a part that was too loud for Frisk's liking, was saying that they couldn't do this. That they were all going to die.

It had really sunk in when Kuja and Snow had shown up on their door, uncharacteristically bedraggled and despite whatever they asserted, terrified. The two's entire home had been destroyed before the fight had even begun.

But, well. Fake it 'til you make it, right? Maybe, just maybe, if they acted confident enough, they'd be able to get through this. It had always worked before, anyways. Putting on a smile, they say, "Does this dragon loser compare to Great King Moggle Mog? I think not, and we kicked that guy's butt! We can take whatever Bahamut throws at us."

Standing near Kanji, already in her Summoner garb, Naoto had to do the same as the Empress for a moment. Not much considerably had happened in Ka'Pandol, but she had seen it before, helping to pilot airships and ferry survivors away as the situation got worse. While she didn't like their odds... if they did stop Bahamut and the Calamity right now, those cultist would be embarrassed - also, she'd make sure they serve time and plenty of it, Leviathan help her.

Raising her head, she focused on the sky again. What really was punching one more god in the face at this point? He could have the decency of not wasting anymore time. Some people didn't exactly erase their schedule to permit the apocalypse.

Tyzias has nothing to add. No pithy comments, no snarky one-liners, not even a bit of gallows humor. She's too tired for that. And not in the normal sense--Tyzias made sure to be well-rested before the big day. No.

She was tired of the death and destruction. She was tired of all the suffering, all the hopelessness. She was tired of the sheer injustice of it all. Tyzias was tired of watching the world fall apart. If nothing more, all the victims of the panic were owed the peace of destroying its source before it could wreak more ruin.

Tyzias joins Naoto in looking over the balcony. Her knuckles are white. "We're ending this today," she says, voice quiet but filled with an incalculable determination and rage. Notably, for the first time since she's arrived, she isn't slurring.

[This Frisk, on the other hand, might be acting just the opposite of their double. They're hovering on the other side of the room— several inches off the floor, actually— keeping their eyes on everyone and saying nothing. There's no calming words or verbal assurances, only a blank look as they consider all the people gathered here.]

[Well, perhaps not totally blank. There's a fire in their eyes, and it's with that same fire that they casually pull out their iMog and tap out a message which they play using text-to-speech.]

We're going to win.

[They haven't said a single word out loud all day, but somehow the bland computerized voice manages to convey the absolute certainty that they feel. It's not just another assurance for their fellow Heroes. They don't care how they feel. It's just a statement of fact.]

The Empress remained silent the entire time, only silently nodding in reply to Tyzias's words.

"You are correct. We are ending this today." A pause. "Today is the conclusion of a story that began before the very birth of this world."

Finally, she turned around to face everyone. Those who had approached the balcony would be able to see there was something different about her. To be specific, her eyes weren't the same color they had been when they had met her before.

"My dear, my dearest Heroes of Light... How long have I waited for this moment?"

Purple eyes looked at every present Heroes, before focusing on Red.

"I am afraid I have no plans, dear Red. Well, no plan you would approve of to be certain." A smile. "Worry not, we have yet a few more minutes before Bahamut's arrival. Pray, entertain me. What are your plans to stop Bahamut?"

He'd spent frankly exorbitant sums of money on Ethers. Kuja reflects, privately, that he probably isn't prepared for this. He'd fought Bahamut, yes, but he'd been nearly-invulnerable then. Opalescence, at least, was present for this fight as well. Somehow it felt poetic that she'd be with him here, again, to fight Bahamut.

He hadn't actually worn his old robes in quite some time. He wore them now, pristine white, makeup immaculate, hair just so. He'd spent more time preparing his outfit this morning than anything else; somehow it just didn't seem right to show up to the end of the world looking sloppy. "The heroes assemble at the end of the world, ready to fight off an insurmountable threat. My, my, doesn't this look familiar... Seeing it from the other side, however, that's new."

Of course, that all changes when 'Her Majesty' changes tone. Aha. Time to [Focus]. "And to think I thought you could not be so stupid as to attempt a betrayal. Goodness, Rama, I thought so much better of you. And, if I may be so bold, violet is really not your color."

Finn had walked out of the ship and straight to the balcony's edge. His eyes looked over the fighting beneath to the airships laying in wait on the horizon. All of those soldiers were going to die, but it was needless to stop them when everyone else was going to die, too.

This all seemed so stupid and pointless, but he was here. Where else could he be? But there were no poetic words or morale he could give. Instead, he walked forward to the Empress, knowing whatever orders or suggestions she had for them now would be just as useless as those before. It was all useless.

But then she turned to them and-... Finn was disappointed in himself that he wasn't actually surprised.

He let out a groan, rubbed at the bridge of his nose, and took out his gun. His Aim set on the Empress. "I know it's useless to ask at this point, but how do we stop it? Consider your answer carefully, Empress."

Vimes just growled. The Beast was already howling. "Dunno, your Majesty. I figured I'd kick 'im in the nadgers and do 'im for 'behavior likely to cause a breach of the peace. Gods, do I hate kings."

[Vengeance] would be forthcoming for a betrayal like this. How the hell did he not see this sooner?

Frisk is perceptive, if nothing else. Their empathy, their ability to intuitively read others, even crept into their custom job. And as they look at "Empress Ramaa," everything clicks into place. The eyes. The manner of speaking, different from what they remember of the Empress but similar to the tone of... the hacker.

Their stance shifts ever-so-slightly, from forced casualness to fluid and ready to fight--or flee. "Pardon me for avoiding the question, Your Highness," their words are dripping with sarcasm, "but I have to ask: how long have you had those new contacts?

"Or is that your real eye color? Gonna have to agree with Kuja here, they look like crap.

They pause.

"Okay, now that the witty banter is out of my system, time to get to the point. Is Rama possessed or have you just been screwing with us the whole time?"

Frisk switches as quickly as they can to [SOUL Mage].

Edited 2019-03-11 19:26 (UTC)

Serge looks around, concerned. Things are suddenly going very... contrary to what he'd expected. "Wait. Um. Question! Guys, there's no way the Empress is on Bahamut's side, I mean that makes no sense. Why would she have told us about the summoning if she was? It's like... here's a bunch of people who can totally... what'd that guy say? Kick Bahamut in the nadgers! And we only know about it because she invited us into the kingdom and stuff, so maybe we should hear her out?"

Richard doesn't talk much whenever he's on a mission. Errant quips could get overheard and get Richard killed, after all. But he has his lance. He's ready. He's as ready as he ever was, terrified and vigilant. Compelled but not defeated.

He moves with a cat-like smoothness and silence, pausing every time he hears something like a bit of rubble clattering down. He looks like a paranoid dork. He is a paranoid dork. But it felt right to do, given the circumstances. He felt the faint electric hiss of his harness working, and the faint surge of power in his muscles as he primed his [Spirit Surge].

Edited 2019-03-11 19:41 (UTC)

"Y'know, Serge? I can't figure that out myself. I'm goin' out on a limb and guessing this is that ancient god of destruction I've heard about. Gotta say I'm disappointed either way; if this is the reason the empire's been closed off for so many years, then what a waste of time. Figures they'd be that patient."

The zora gives a shrug. "I'll give you this much, though: bringing us all here, including us locals? Really got me thinking...a lot. This other me I keep seeing? See, he makes a living dealing with threats like you and I've taken a real liking to his work ethic."

As Dante cracks his knuckles, he quickly shifts over to Chemist and keeps his gaze locked on her. "So how about you entertain me instead? Experience shows you can throw one Hell of a party."

"My guess is that it was a long con." Tyzias's blade is immediately in her hand. "Probably knew we were coming, so she made sure we didn't get suspicious and look into her. If we discovered her early, we could've fucked up the summoning. Now even if the eidolons help, she has a chance instead of being taken out before Bahamut could arrive and fuck shit up." She didn't know Rama as well as the others, but even she could tell something was off. The woman looked different in that weird Starlight incident, for one, and the impression she gave over Mognet was distinctly different from how she was talking now.

She uses [Deduction Cutter], studying the Empress but not going in for the attack. Not yet. "The linkshell. That was to spy on us," she says, voice flat and colder than the Territories. "I've done my homework. The Empire fell apart a decade ago from a terrorist attack, and you took absolute power in chaos. The bombings were on you, weren't they?" If she didn't admit it, Tyzias would be able to tell if Rama was lying thanks to her careful study of the Empress. She activates [Moonsetter Scales Stance] and [Sunslammer Gavel Technique] if she decides to bring the fight to them now.

Edited 2019-03-11 19:51 (UTC)

This is... not what Papyrus expected. Is the Empress really the enemy? Is she really in favor of Bahamut? His teeth chatter as his eye sockets dart around the room... well, as well as a cartoonish skeletons eye sockets can, really.

"BUT WAIT! SURELY THERE'S BEEN A MISTAKE. A MISUNDERSTANDING! WE'VE ALL BEEN WORKING SO HARD TOGETHER. CAN'T WE WORK THIS OUT?"

The likely answer is no, they, can't. But he'll hope anyway. Hope as he contemplates what to do. He could use Blue Attack to stun, but what then? What if she has more to say?

She was foolish if she wasn't nervous about the correlation between odd eyes and enemy entities. But she had to remind herself of the whole violet thing. Still, as things began to line right up, Madhuri finally rose from her seat.

Tyzias had a good idea about her, but the others were itching to fight, weren't they...?

"Ladies and gentlemen, now would be the perfect time to restrain her..." A hissed mutter and a pointed nod. Always get the bad guy before or during the monologue, come on now...!

"Perhaps, but if you need some people to do the heavy lifting in preparations to your summoning, why not send heroes on a goose chase?"

This was not an unfamiliar situation to Naomi. Couldn't really trust royalty where she ended up, couldn't trust gods, and she could only rely on herself. Still, she'd rather not have to build a web around the building right now until they got their answers; they had a target coming in from the sky with another before them.

... Restraint was more something in her line of work. "One moment..."

Corrin likewise readies herself. She has no special abilities she can prime with Nohr Noble, but she's in the front of the group, ready to protect her allies, Shadow Yato at the ready.

"Everyone who has died to this madness...has died because of you." And her tone is ice-cold, devoid of the usual warmth and kindness she usually speaks with. "You betrayed your world, your own country...for what? What in the name of the Gods and sanity was any of this for?"

"I already gave you the solution, Finn. You awake the four Legendary Eidolons and then you summon them. I believe you did the first step. So all you need now are four Summoners with the Supreme Skill—" A pause, eyes widening as she feigns surprise. "Oh, right, you have none..."

She smiled at Tyzias and Corrin.

"Of course it was on me. Fear controls our lives. When you manipulate the fear in people's hearts, you can get them to accept anything."

She looked at all of them as they asked those questions, before closing her eyes.

"Let me regale you with a tale. The tale of this world's birth."

She started walking amongst the Heroes, going near Kuja and Naomi first.

"There was once a woman named Kalki. You know her as the Goddess of Death. She was faced with a conundrum. She hated living. Life was, ah, painful to her. But more than that, she was afraid of death. How can one exist when they hate life and fear death? Such an existence is nothing but miserable. Thus she sought to make a new world. One where neither death nor life would exist. One where the very concept of existence as we know it would be revoked and changed."

She then stopped next to Vimes.

"This was made possible by her world of birth, Crystallis and by the monstrosity plaguing it, the Calamity from the Skies: Narayana. An entity born from Crystallis's sins, made from the fragments of dead worlds, made from the broken souls of those who had once lived. Narayana was neither alive nor dead, and in an attempt to become whole again, devoured worlds. Thus, Kalki sought to become one with the Calamity. Her goal was to absorb all existence inside her, and recreate the world as she envisioned it."

Taking a few steps forward, she looked down at Frisk.

"She would have succeeded, if not for those called Heroes of Light. Your predecessors. Once useful pawns, they became her very demise. Following her death, the Heroes of Light tried to heal Narayana. And thus from the Calamity, a new world was born. A world where all the broken souls making up the Calamity could find peace and heal. This world is Vaikuntha. And all who died were reborn. Why, Kalki too."

Finally she stopped by Richard and smiled sadly at him.

"Even though she never wanted it. Even though she never desired it. Her burden was to live once more, to fear death again. And not just once, oh no. The cycle of reincarnation is eternal. How many times has she been reborn on this world? She has lost count. How lucky you are, not to remember all your lives..."

She looked at Dante when saying those words before going back to her original position.

"But there was something else... Something that is still here. Is it sorrow? Sadness? Anger? I am not sure. Vengeance, perhaps... Or could it be envy? Perhaps this is why I did it all this way. So I would see by myself your faces crumble in despair as you realize there is nothing you can do. Perhaps I gave you hope I would see that last flicker of hope be crushed by myself. So I would see you suffer just as much as I have."

[ Please reply to this thread to go forward with the main event. ]

Naoto glanced sideways at the interaction going on, but still looked up at the sky.

"Interesting story, still selfish. Waiting for a better reason."

Just like the Cloud before, Naoto didn't care. Fact was true, she didn't have Supreme Summoning, but there had to be something she could still do with what ability she had - buy the group time to deal with this.

The Apocalyspe

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