The fanfic ouroboros turns again - the world was yet lacking fluff set during the third part of "The Stench of Purexo" so this story attempts to fill that void! Common elements to certain sequence in The Last Mission by AgentUrsa were independently invented beforehand! I swear! Though overall this is extremely inspired by it and certainly would not have been written without, so thanks! Incorporating Cave Story (warning: contains spoilers to the game) elements to AOM fanfiction is far too easy!

Chapter soundtrack bands: Bloodbound - Avantasia - Nocturnal Rites.

-ArmageddonClan

Chapter 1: Into Eternity

Being dead was tolerable in the end, Jo thought. Especially now, as the mood was somewhat lighter. They could just sit down and joke about things for seemingly endless hours. And Ian had revealed himself to be quite the vocalist, even beyond the genre of thrash.

Of course it wasn't quite like being alive. And there were issues, like having to keep the songs they had composed in their head, with no possibility to record them even as extremely crude cell phone demos. Well, in theory they could materialize paper to write them down...

That reminded Jo of another thing. Their clothes. They were the same that they'd had on in the Yaris, as they had met their demise. Which was somewhat macabre to think of. And that led to another thought, somewhat more light-hearted. About blending in to the crowd a bit better.

Jo was just a bit unsure.

"Ian?"

He turned to her, looking somewhat absent. Last Jo remembered, he had been contemplating whether it was possible to imagine and materialize some – any – functioning recording device, even an ancient tape deck.

Jo continued. "What if I was to wear something … hotter?"

To tell the truth, it was not something she would normally say. And she could even imagine Ian's response along the lines of not being able to imagine anything hotter than the loose denim she wore now, as he would associate it with her being relaxed and content, like after a show.

"How could I say no to that? You mean, like materializing..."

Hm. Actually a bit different than what she had expected. "Yeah. Just like that. But don't laugh, no matter what happens."

"Of course not. Do I close my eyes?"

"That's probably best. In case it goes totally south."

"Deal."

Jo concentrated for a moment. To be honest, she didn't have much imagination with her right now, so she thought of the first idea that would blend well enough. Something metal. She concentrated more, until there came like a rush of air.

She could feel the faint breeze on her skin now, and looked down to confirm it had actually worked. To be honest, it hadn't been anything complicated. Just a minimal top and fake leather pants. Of course all black.

"You can look now."

Jo could see Ian's smile form almost instantly.

"Hey, I know that. It's a Guitar Hero cosplay, right?"

Jo hadn't much of an idea what he was even talking about. She didn't know games that well. Then Ian's expression changed just a bit more serious.

"But... it also kind of reminds me of Frozen Hell. Like that I need to keep you warm. You remember that one? Sorry, that's probably not what you wanted to hear."

Jo just had to shake her head. This hadn't quite gone according to plan, but was still kind of funny. Of course she remembered the mission, the worst festival ever. Hadn't it been for SCEPTRE's presence and pursuit, it would have been just pure (bad) humor too.

"Can I try too?" Ian asked.

"Just go ahead."

"Let's see … if this ends up like some freaky teleportation accident," Ian muttered to himself as he began to concentrate. Jo wasn't sure what he meant with that. Possibly some tangle of mutilated fabric or such, so she too closed her eyes.

Some seconds passed, until Ian spoke.

"Done."

Just a bit reluctantly Jo opened her eyes, not knowing what to expect. Well, it wasn't anything horror-like. Ian had nothing but black leather (these appeared not to be fake) trousers on him.

Jo had to smile back. "I think I get you now. Like … of course. A poor emo-goth boy, all alone in the fog. Of course I'd think of keeping you warm too."

Ian didn't look upset in the least.

"So, do we just change back?" he asked. "Or… of course we could be Quote and Curly. It's easy too, just a lot of red. And a radio headset. Yeah, kind of pointless, I know."

Jo had one more idea. Of which she wasn't quite sure either. But they had started already, so one might as well go all the way.

"Hold on. I'll try one more thing."

What Jo had in mind wasn't any stretch of imagination either, but she was fairly sure it would catch Ian's attention. Possibly, it was a bit too much. But should they ever exit this place to elsewhere, the opportunity was unlikely to repeat.

The main point was that the wings had to be full-size. Otherwise it would just look cheap. Then there was the matter of color. Jo honestly couldn't go with white. But totally black didn't sit right either. So she went for dark grey. That would reflect her actions as an Agent, and also afterwards.

She had to concentrate more now. Another rush of air, and the transformation was complete. Thankfully Ian still had his eyes closed, so she could confirm it had turned out right. She would have needed a mirror to be absolutely certain, but was fairly sure it was a success.

Just then she remembered something.

She flashed back a few days, to when she had become so suddenly upset upon Ian commenting of how each second of her presence helped. In the end, it wasn't about the Ka trip at all. Of how she had come very close to giving up on herself and Ian. No. That matter was resolved.

But there was someone else she had given up on, and it all came back to her now.

She remembered the darkness of the studio. How she had come to check it one last time, the backpack already 100% ready for the escape to begin. Russ had been sleeping on the couch, seemingly passed out after a session of moderately heavy drinking.

Jo had misjudged his condition, as he had actually been semi-awake.

"Hey, angel. Where are you going with that loaded … backpack on your back?"

It was a bad song lyric reference. And Russ probably had no idea what she was about to do. Probably he thought she was going to see some friend and be back in a day or two. And right in that moment, she had possessed no strength to handle it right and at least let him know she would not be coming back. So, unable to look at him or say a word, unable to tolerate one more day of how he was wasting his life away, she had turned away and left.

To remember it here, far away from him, honestly fucked up with her mind to a degree she hadn't imagined possible.