It was Veld's idea to go and watch the local parade. Nero had agreed, perhaps prematurely, having thought he knew what a parade was. He'd been in parade thousands of time. Watching the WRO troops form up for inspection was something he would be familiar with, or it would have been if that was what had happened.
There were troops, but only a small color guard with flags followed by four cavalry mounted on chocobos. That and another group in historic dress bearing antique firearms were all that could be counted as military. The rest both boggled and fascinated him.
Veld had had to explain the gaggle of people in period garb bearing an obviously fake griffon's head on a small litter, and another with a chocobo skull on a long pole with streamers and ribbons. Nero wasn't sure he completely understood.
The brass band, and local sports teams, and packs of school-aged "scouts" made some modicum of sense. The floats confounded him on a number of levels, beautiful as they were. Having wrapped candy thrown at him, he could have done without.
The children in the crowd had been excited before, but their enthusiasm had reached a fever pitch as the parade went on.
"Must be Father Frost," Veld said, smiling.
"Who?" Nero tried to ask, but the question was drowned in shrill screams as the children began to jump and clap their hands.
A carriage pulled by two chocobos had come into view. Seated in the carriage was an old man with a flowing white beard dressed in fur robes. Beside him sat a young woman in a frothy blue and white gown of tulle and lace with white fur trim. Both were laughing and smiling, waving to the children. Each must have had a low-level ice materia because every now and then one or the other would send a swirl of snowflakes into the air.
'By my troth!' Omega exclaimed, suddenly taking notice. 'The pantomime has begun! We are out of countenance! Rouse yourself at once, my boy!
'Wait, what?' Nero thought back.
'The mystery play!' Omega replied, as if this should explain everything. 'Father Frost and his daughter the Snow Maiden herald the new year and the end of the oppressive darkness of winter. Together they drive off the Long Dark.'
'Right. Symbolism. Okay. Why are you getting all loud now?'
Omega gave a frustrated sigh. 'The ancient dance: light and darkness, life and death. One transitions seamlessly to the other, both are necessary. Which reminds me, as my vessel, you must perform your part.'
'My what now?'
'Your role! As bearer of Omega you must rise up as the Longest Night. Forward!'
'What? No!'
But it was too late. Despite a desperate attempt to block him, Omega surged forward. Nero felt his body dissolve into shadow, reforming into a shape far larger and more powerful than his mortal body.
"BEHOLD THE LONGEST NIGHT!" Omega boomed, spreading arms and wings wide. Several people screamed, those standing nearest grabbing their children and fleeing in terror.
'Stop it!' Nero pleaded. 'You're gonna get us shot!'
Omega was undeterred.
"DARKNESS IS MY KINGDOM, AND DEATH IS IN MY HAND! I SUFFER NOT THE SUN TO SHINE UPON THIS SEASON FOR IT BELONGS TO ME!"
He advanced on Father Frost and the Snow Maiden. Both stared at him wide-eyed. The Snow Maiden clutched at her father's robes, obviously afraid.
"WHO DARES TO CHALLENGE MY REIGN?" Omega looked meaningfully at Father Frost.
The old man shook himself and spoke. "Forsooth! It is my enemy the Longest Night!"
"Err...yes!" the Snow Maiden agreed after slightly too long a beat. "Begone, for I shall never marry you!"
Omega laughed, the perfect parody of a melodrama villain. Nero mentally facepalmed.
"STAND ASIDE, OLD MAN, FOR THE SUN SHALL NE'ER AGAIN SHOW ITS FACE SO LONG AS MY POWER HOLDS."
"Back, fiend!" Father Frost bellowed, standing and climbing down from the carriage. The Snow Maiden hopped down beside him.
"We will endure your tyranny no longer! No season- neither of darkness, nor of light- may last forever! Go back to your home in the shadows!" With that, he threw a snowball at Omega.
'Oh gods please don't kill them,' Nero begged.
Internally, Omega laughed. Outside…
The snowball struck him squarely in the chest. He made a show of staggering back as if wounded.
"YOU STRIKE ME WITH THE NEW YEAR'S FIRST SNOW?"
"Yes!" The Snow Maiden cried, manufacturing more snowballs and firing them at him one after the other. "Spring follows winter! Life follows death! You shall follow us no more until the sun sinks again!"
Omega let out a dramatic wail and stumbled to his knees.
"ALAS! I AM UNDONE! UNTIL THE NEXT YEAR, THEN! UNTIL THE NEXT YEAR!"
The crowd applauded as Omega withdrew, leaving Nero kneeling on the street, dazed. Without missing a beat, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden each lifted him by an arm and helped him take a confused bow.
"That was great, kid!" Father Frost whispered. "Wish the planners had told us. You 'bout gave me a heart attack!"
"It...was a last minute thing," Nero said, still bleary.
"Nero!"
The parade had moved on, and it was Vincent and Veld who stood on either side of him now.
"Bahamut's tail, what was that?" Veld asked.
Nero rubbed his face with one hand, head aching. "Omega wanted to be part of the show. Can we do something else?"
"Of course." Taking his arm, Vincent guided Nero away from the lingering onlookers.
"Come on, let's go get some hot chocolate. There's a booth over here selling hot drinks."
Nero felt a bit better after a cup of hot chocolate and a s'more. With the parade over, the spectators had moved on to other amusements. Aside from cocoa and s'mores, there was popcorn and kettle corn, little cookies with elaborate designs made in what looked like a tiny waffle iron, mulled cider and wine, hot chestnuts and potatoes, and endless sweets.
Vendors in little pop-up stalls lined the main street, adding a second layer of shops to the ones already there. Craftspeople sold everything from ornaments made of the thinnest slices of wood twirled and twined into elaborate shapes for ornaments, handmade bowls and plates of pottery and wood, as well as several other items that Nero did not immediately recognize.
Father Frost and the Snow Maiden had moved to a pavilion shaped like an oversized gingerbread house. A queue of children had formed, waiting to speak to them.
"What's that about?" Nero asked, nodding in their direction.
"Oh, the kids are telling Father Frost what they want for Yule."
At Nero's blank expression, Veld went on. "Father Frost brings presents with the first snow of the new year."
"But what if it doesn't snow?" Nero asked.
"They don't necessarily come at the same time," Veld shrugged.
Nero was still confused. "Won't their parents give them presents?"
"Well, yes, but the kids are meant to think the gifts are from Father Frost. Remember about the stockings? It's kind of like that."
"Oh, okay," Nero said, his 'I almost understood that' expression in place.
There were other holiday figures roaming about. To Vincent, it looked as if the inflatable luminaries at the hardware store had come to life. A snowman, a gingerbread man, and a decorated Yule tree were all wandering about, shaking hands and being photographed with the small children they met. The snowman made the mistake of approaching Nero, Vincent, and Veld. Before Vincent could shoo it away, Nero turned and nearly choked on his cocoa when he spotted the snowman less than arm's reach from him. Nero reacted out of pure reflex, punching the snowman right in his carrot nose.
"Whoa, easy!" Vincent soothed, grabbing Nero's shoulders. "That's just a costume. There's a person under there."
"I don't care," Nero said, eyes wild and still poised for a fight. "Keep that thing away from me!"
Veld took Nero aside, while Vincent extended a hand to give the snowman a lift up. The damage, thank Gaia, was minimal, a bent carrot and a few scuffs to the back of his costume.
"Apologies," said Vincent. "He's combat trained. Instinct, you know. Sorry about that. Won't happen again."
The snowman got up with Vincent's help and stomped off grumbling things not entirely appropriate for a children's mascot.
"You okay?" Vincent asked once the costumed abomination had gone.
"Yeah," Nero said, obviously still dizzy with adrenaline. "I just reacted. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," said Vincent, adding under his breath, "I always wanted to do that."
Nero laughed a little at that.
"Had enough, kid?" Veld asked.
"Yeah," Nero said, sounding apologetic. Veld patted him warmly on the shoulder.
"It's fine. You did good. Did you like any of it?"
Nero thought about that for a minute. "Yeah. Aside from getting possessed by an ameture actor and assaulted by a frozen freak of nature, it was good." The lopsided smile proved he was teasing.
Vincent laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good."