[After much struggle, the four of you finally make your way to the gate that you've been trekking toward this whole time. You may find the injuries you've suffered from that have previously healed are starting to ache even worse and open up again, though at the same time, your minds and emotions start to clear a bit if they'd been tampered with before. Also Koharu gets stabbed in the shoulder and through the left calf by falling shards of crystal at some point because anais didn't roll for injuries but i refuse to let anyone leave unscathed amen. Also x2 everyone fell into the acid river at some point so you all get some sweet acid burns in addition to the flower burns you probably have at least a few of. Richie is still out there somewhere...
As they approach the door, they'll each find that they are suddenly alone, their three other companions no longer beside them. It's only them and one other figure...]
[For Koharu, the figure standing in front of the door is Aki. She stands in the form that Koharu might remember from when they were both in high school together, young and splattered with blood that isn't her own. Her eyes are filled with accusation, and she seems both hurt and furious.]
Are you going to walk away again, or will you finally give me some of your time?
[She'll instinctively know that she needs to get past Aki and leave through that door, but it seems like that task will be easier said than done. What does she try first?]
[As they stand in front of the door together, the ground seems to begin bleeding around them, starting from around Koharu's feet. It wells up and spreads out like a puddle and begins to burn from the heat of the ground, the noxious and choking fumes from it enough to cause anyone's lungs to burn and burn as well.
Aki shakes her head. Her anger in this moment, despite other moments, is just—tired. Just a tired, tired anger that's had years and years to set.]
Like I said: it's just you and me. We never got to finish that talk, you know. Are you really going to run away again? Are you going to leave? Try to shoo me off instead?
[Koharu may feel her solar plexus begin to hurt just a bit. Perhaps a dimly familiar sensation from long ago.]
[ Koharu almost doesn't notice the puddle forming until she feels the heat rising from underneath her feet. In her surprise she yelps, stumbling back, but it's spread too far to escape; retreat isn't an option anymore, is it? It isn't as if there's anywhere to run.
A hand flies up to cover her mouth, coughing, eyes squinting as they burn along with her lungs; the other wraps around her abdomen with an all too familiar pain. ]
Aki, what are you—please, don't do this! We can't stay here!
[For Siffrin, the figure standing in front of the door is Bonnie. They are bleeding from the eyes, mouth, and ears, but despite that, Siffrin will still be able to see the fiercely hateful way in which they regard him. There is a fury here that will be difficult to quench.]
You just stood there. You watched me die and you didn't do anything.
[They'll instinctively know that they need to get past Bonnie and leave through that door, but it seems like that task will be easier said than done. What do they try first?]
[ A door that's right there, it's so easy to just walk over and through it. Why don't they? It's only a small child, a preteen standing before it. But it just isn't any preteen. It's Bonnie. Bonnie Bonnie Bonnie. There's blood everywhere, everywhere everywhere, can almost hear that echoing snap, crunch
Nausea bubbles in their throat, breath heavy and they don't remember how to breathe how do they breathe, just in and out right
Their head shakes, gloved hands held out with palms up even as their eye stings to see the sight before them. His voice trembles. ] N-no.. I-I didn't.. I couldn't do anything, we - I was frozen -
[ The King froze them. Bonnie should know that, right? They couldn't move, any of them. If they could've, they would've done something, he would've saved them he would've he would've. ]
[Does Bonnie know that? Even knowing that, does Bonnie really understand? After all, when you're left with no recourse, only one person to desperately throw a plea out to, won't you still hope against all odds that they can save you, even if you know, logically, that they can't?
And Bonnie is just a child, truly just a slip of a thing, standing here between Siffrin and the door, staring with such hurt. But their anger is immense, radiating off of them, filling the air around them.]
Is that all you're gonna say? After everything, just "I couldn't do anything"...? You couldn't do anything, even though it was your big idea to try and talk to The King like that?!
[ Bonnie is just a child. There's some things they understand, and some they don't, can't. But they try to explain anyway. Even though that anger stings, sharp as any blade, cutting deeper than any injury.
Even though they'll do anything to save them. After all, their loss of their own eye is because they saved them before. And they would lose it again to protect them. (But you didn't save them. You didn't save them you didn't you didn't you could only watch them die as you took your own life.) ]
I thought.. [ No. Bonnie is right. It WAS their own idea. It's because of them, they died that loop. It's because of their stupid mistake they DIED. ] I- I'm sorry, Bonnie. I'm sorry. ..I made a mistake, thinking he could change. Because of me, you were hurt and..
[Bonnie's figure, so small already, hunches down even further as though in pain. Drops of blood roll down their face and plip-plop to the ground around them, sizzling instantly from the heat of the earth beneath their feet.]
Yeah, because of you! We all got hurt 'cuz of you—!! Why'd you do it?! I trusted you to know what you were doing! If I knew it was gonna be like that, I never would have listened to you—!
[As if further agitated by the rancid vibes of this area, the wind whips up again, blasting burning lycoris petals toward Siffrin. The wind tears at their hair, at their clothes, leaving scorch marks and singes.
A petal touches them right against the forehead, and it doesn't burn, but a vision bursts behind their eyes. They envision themselves trapped within a timeloop in Heaven, too. Elysia, Lucas, Yves, Uruha, Zuriel: people that they come to care for each and every time. People that they fail each and every time. They execute Elysia, or she's killed again, but she never lives beyond a few weeks. They watch Uruha die after returning from a Thursday venture, they watch him die in a dream-like church, they watch him die to a furious Claude. Lucas kills Yves each and every time, and they cannot save Yves and cannot say goodbye to Lucas. Zuriel falls under the weight of her own failings, too despondent to move on.
In this life, too, Siffrin fails and fails and fails. Wouldn't it have been a better thing to stay within that sweet, sweet dream?]
[ The sight of their already battered and broken body hunching has them step forward, closer, hands still out. From everyone, Bonnie was the only one to reach out and poke them, hug them during their friend quests, so there's no reason for them to hesitate here. But they still can't bring themselves to touch their arm, a shoulder, anything.
The sheer rejection is overwhelming. And they're right. None of them should've trusted them. Look what it got them there. But.. ] ..It'll be different. I promise. It.. It won't happened again, I'll make sure of it -
[ Arms come up to defend themselves, feeling the licks of burn and singes and flinch when their forehead gets touch. They think of an instance of soft lips against it from Elysia, the press of their own against Lucas's with the blockage between them both that one night. And yet the vision they see instead is anything but those small comforts.
The vision is too much. Too much too much. A fear. Striken by the weight of it as they collapse onto their hands and knees, a sickness leaving them as that nausea builds. No, no, n o please p l e a s e. Anything but that. Anything, anything. The good thing with loops is being able to find a way that at least works - a way to ensure everyone's safety, everyone's happiness, to feel and hold their love. If they make the right choices, it could work, it can work, even if it repeats over and over. That would be better than seeing the people they care about die and die again.
A gloved hand wipes at their mouth, breath heavy as they try to push forward. A blind hand reaching out, the - door. The door. They can't stay here any longer. ]
[ for firefly, the figure standing in front of the door is herself. she stands in the form that firefly would most recognize when she looks into the mirror, all soft curves and dainty features. however as she approaches, she'll feel her own form begin to change. not this version of her that's just like any other girl—but instead the sharp edges and destructive capacity of her as a weapon. a creation of destruction and nothing more.
the girl in front of her, the normal one she wants to be, looks at her with a betrayed gaze. ]
What are you even doing anymore?
[ firefly will instinctively know that she needs to get past herself and leave through that door, but it seems like the task will be easier said than done. what will she try first? ]
[Maybe it should be strange to look at herself like this. A mirror, accusing.
What is she doing?
Her body feels heavier than it should.
A memory, or a dream, or perhaps a type of nightmare. The SAM suit taking one hand and wrapping it easily around her neck, lifting herself up like that, until she's struggling to speak.
Wouldn't that just be accepting things how they are?
Doesn't she want to change? Diplomacy isn't her specialty (how could it be?), but she'll try.
Her voice is still her own, but it's slower now. More the cadence of SAM than Firefly. ]
[All those tiny fleeting moments where she doesn't have to be in the suit. It's not a full one, but at least she has time for herself. The small footnotes she adds to the scripts.
But...
To be destroyed is our destiny.
She can't express herself in her suit of armor, but it hurts, somehow, to have her own thoughts said aloud.
If this is her, and she's also Firefly, then they both know what the struggle is against. Time, their body, destiny, illness.
She can't deny that she's killed before Heaven and in it. She can say it's possession, but isn't she just getting used again? Again and again and again.
Sure, she can justify herself joining the Stellaron Hunters for the promise of a cure. She was made as a weapon. She wasn't under her own control.
But she's still the one taking lives. She's still a weapon, weilded by a different faction, and used the same way.]
One day, I won't be a weapon. I don't... have to be like this.
I don't know what makes you confident enough to say so.
[ she crosses her arms and brings a hand up to her face in thought, brow furrowing. ]
You don't have to be like this but you keep choosing it. You follow your scripts. You do what you're told. You're just a weapon waiting for someone to use you.
[ for marcoh, the figure standing in front of the door is venere. who else could it be but her? she stands in front of him with a haggard, unkempt appearance, as one might expect from someone who's been forced to be on the run. she looks at him with disdain and frustration both. ]
And what are you going to do now? Leave me again?
[ he'll instinctively know that he needs to get past venere and leave through that door, but it seems like the task will be easier said than done. what does he try first? ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
holyspirits) wrote2025-03-23 07:03 pm
ACT VI - THE GATE
As they approach the door, they'll each find that they are suddenly alone, their three other companions no longer beside them. It's only them and one other figure...]
KOHARU
Are you going to walk away again, or will you finally give me some of your time?
[She'll instinctively know that she needs to get past Aki and leave through that door, but it seems like that task will be easier said than done. What does she try first?]
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[ Hold up. What... ]
Aki? What are you doing here...?
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Where else would I be? It's just you and me, now.
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[ Koharu glances back and forth, uncertain. ]
Please. Don't stay here.
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Aki shakes her head. Her anger in this moment, despite other moments, is just—tired. Just a tired, tired anger that's had years and years to set.]
Like I said: it's just you and me. We never got to finish that talk, you know. Are you really going to run away again? Are you going to leave? Try to shoo me off instead?
[Koharu may feel her solar plexus begin to hurt just a bit. Perhaps a dimly familiar sensation from long ago.]
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[ Koharu almost doesn't notice the puddle forming until she feels the heat rising from underneath her feet. In her surprise she yelps, stumbling back, but it's spread too far to escape; retreat isn't an option anymore, is it? It isn't as if there's anywhere to run.
A hand flies up to cover her mouth, coughing, eyes squinting as they burn along with her lungs; the other wraps around her abdomen with an all too familiar pain. ]
Aki, what are you—please, don't do this! We can't stay here!
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SIFFRIN
You just stood there. You watched me die and you didn't do anything.
[They'll instinctively know that they need to get past Bonnie and leave through that door, but it seems like that task will be easier said than done. What do they try first?]
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Nausea bubbles in their throat, breath heavy and they don't remember how to breathe how do they breathe, just in and out right
Their head shakes, gloved hands held out with palms up even as their eye stings to see the sight before them. His voice trembles. ] N-no.. I-I didn't.. I couldn't do anything, we - I was frozen -
[ The King froze them. Bonnie should know that, right? They couldn't move, any of them. If they could've, they would've done something, he would've saved them he would've he would've. ]
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And Bonnie is just a child, truly just a slip of a thing, standing here between Siffrin and the door, staring with such hurt. But their anger is immense, radiating off of them, filling the air around them.]
Is that all you're gonna say? After everything, just "I couldn't do anything"...? You couldn't do anything, even though it was your big idea to try and talk to The King like that?!
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Even though they'll do anything to save them. After all, their loss of their own eye is because they saved them before. And they would lose it again to protect them. (But you didn't save them. You didn't save them you didn't you didn't you could only watch them die as you took your own life.) ]
I thought.. [ No. Bonnie is right. It WAS their own idea. It's because of them, they died that loop. It's because of their stupid mistake they DIED. ] I- I'm sorry, Bonnie. I'm sorry. ..I made a mistake, thinking he could change. Because of me, you were hurt and..
[ Sorry sorry, I'm sorry. ]
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Yeah, because of you! We all got hurt 'cuz of you—!! Why'd you do it?! I trusted you to know what you were doing! If I knew it was gonna be like that, I never would have listened to you—!
[As if further agitated by the rancid vibes of this area, the wind whips up again, blasting burning lycoris petals toward Siffrin. The wind tears at their hair, at their clothes, leaving scorch marks and singes.
A petal touches them right against the forehead, and it doesn't burn, but a vision bursts behind their eyes. They envision themselves trapped within a timeloop in Heaven, too. Elysia, Lucas, Yves, Uruha, Zuriel: people that they come to care for each and every time. People that they fail each and every time. They execute Elysia, or she's killed again, but she never lives beyond a few weeks. They watch Uruha die after returning from a Thursday venture, they watch him die in a dream-like church, they watch him die to a furious Claude. Lucas kills Yves each and every time, and they cannot save Yves and cannot say goodbye to Lucas. Zuriel falls under the weight of her own failings, too despondent to move on.
In this life, too, Siffrin fails and fails and fails. Wouldn't it have been a better thing to stay within that sweet, sweet dream?]
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The sheer rejection is overwhelming. And they're right. None of them should've trusted them. Look what it got them there. But.. ] ..It'll be different. I promise. It.. It won't happened again, I'll make sure of it -
[ Arms come up to defend themselves, feeling the licks of burn and singes and flinch when their forehead gets touch. They think of an instance of soft lips against it from Elysia, the press of their own against Lucas's with the blockage between them both that one night. And yet the vision they see instead is anything but those small comforts.
The vision is too much. Too much too much. A fear. Striken by the weight of it as they collapse onto their hands and knees, a sickness leaving them as that nausea builds. No, no, n o please p l e a s e. Anything but that. Anything, anything. The good thing with loops is being able to find a way that at least works - a way to ensure everyone's safety, everyone's happiness, to feel and hold their love. If they make the right choices, it could work, it can work, even if it repeats over and over. That would be better than seeing the people they care about die and die again.
A gloved hand wipes at their mouth, breath heavy as they try to push forward. A blind hand reaching out, the - door. The door. They can't stay here any longer. ]
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FIREFLY
the girl in front of her, the normal one she wants to be, looks at her with a betrayed gaze. ]
What are you even doing anymore?
[ firefly will instinctively know that she needs to get past herself and leave through that door, but it seems like the task will be easier said than done. what will she try first? ]
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What is she doing?
Her body feels heavier than it should.
A memory, or a dream, or perhaps a type of nightmare. The SAM suit taking one hand and wrapping it easily around her neck, lifting herself up like that, until she's struggling to speak.
Wouldn't that just be accepting things how they are?
Doesn't she want to change? Diplomacy isn't her specialty (how could it be?), but she'll try.
Her voice is still her own, but it's slower now. More the cadence of SAM than Firefly. ]
I'm trying to live.
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[ firefly has more emotion that's available to her than the SAM suit. she can look angry and betrayed and hurt. ]
Killing and more killing? Is that living for you? To be the reason why others can't?
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[All those tiny fleeting moments where she doesn't have to be in the suit. It's not a full one, but at least she has time for herself. The small footnotes she adds to the scripts.
But...
To be destroyed is our destiny.
She can't express herself in her suit of armor, but it hurts, somehow, to have her own thoughts said aloud.
If this is her, and she's also Firefly, then they both know what the struggle is against. Time, their body, destiny, illness.
She can't deny that she's killed before Heaven and in it. She can say it's possession, but isn't she just getting used again? Again and again and again.
Sure, she can justify herself joining the Stellaron Hunters for the promise of a cure. She was made as a weapon. She wasn't under her own control.
But she's still the one taking lives. She's still a weapon, weilded by a different faction, and used the same way.]
One day, I won't be a weapon. I don't... have to be like this.
[She must believe it. She does believe it.]
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[ she crosses her arms and brings a hand up to her face in thought, brow furrowing. ]
You don't have to be like this but you keep choosing it. You follow your scripts. You do what you're told. You're just a weapon waiting for someone to use you.
No matter what we want.
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["Who will you be in the future?"
If only she had an answer. The future is always unknown, but she fills it with her hopes.
A friend, a person, a human, a living existence only known as Firefly.]
We want a chance at "life", but we must fight to achieve that goals.
[Lives to be taken, blood on her hands.
Chasing after a chance at a cure, chasing any lead she comes across, even as they come to deadends each time.
A weapon wouldn't care about it's life this much. Wouldn't feel a well of conflicting, difficult emotions.]
We know this.
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MARCOH
And what are you going to do now? Leave me again?
[ he'll instinctively know that he needs to get past venere and leave through that door, but it seems like the task will be easier said than done. what does he try first? ]
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I've never --
[ He'd never leave her. What are you saying? ]
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[ she crosses her arms and looks away, but her fingers tremble a bit like she's still trying to hold herself together. ]
I was waiting for you in the Kingdom of Rondon like you told me to. [ her voice trembles against her will: ] Where did you go?
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I'm working on it. I'll make my way to you.
[ Even if he doesn't deserve it -- nothing has ever been about how he feels or what he deserves, it's about what he has to do. ]
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[ venere's shoulders shake with emotion before she tries to stand more resolute. to let the anger show more than her fear. ]
When you're the one who put us in this situation...!
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[ His resolve cracks easily under Venere's accusation. ]
He was going to hurt you, if I didn't...
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