AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's hard to believe that this whole fic originated from Liza's one line after the Kylin episode -- yes, the one this chapter starts with. And the rest just spiraled out of control into this end product. A sick little weirdo, that I am ^^;; It's strange, because she only appeared in my second or third Blue game (back when I was in denial and possessed by the firm belief that if I played his quest enough times I'd actually come across a decent ending...which I didn't T_T) hence why it stuck in my mind more than the preprogrammed dialogue does.
I'm hoping that if this doesn't surpass Existence, then it at least won't be worse ^.^ Then again, you're talking about a girl who hasn't touched the SaGa disc for more than two years, so I guess certain (or most) parts would be whacked out *hides* Frantic apologies if I screwed up your favourite characters! I'll be more than happy to accept a flame even if it has Blue prepacked with a Tower spell to whup me ass with ^^;;
All reviews and comments and constructive criticism or just plain criticism and Blue and Rouge jumping out from a birthday cake very much welcomed! *^_^* For more Author's Notes, be sure to read the last chapter ^_^ *wonders if anyone even will*
SPOILERS: Nothing apparent. Heck, this fic wouldn't even exist if I had lost to Kylin *sweatdrop*
WARNINGS: Mass swearing in the first chapter (which would be this). Yes, this includes the dreaded 'F' word :P Sorry, but I cannot imagine Gen going nuts without swearing even a little (drinking in bars and a destroyed homeland would do that to you, right?) It's only in the first chapter, though -- the rest are pretty much safe.
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The Winding Stairs
Chapter 1
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"Oh no, no," said the little Fly; "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."
"Does it really have to be this way?"
Liza's mournful voice cut through the silence like an invisible blade, a mixture of disbelief and anger and sorrow all mixed into a concoction mirroring the feelings of her comrades. None had dared speak up, however, save the violet-haired woman who had always refrained from showing anything more than elegant coolness -- before this. She radiated with anger now, stepping up to their group's mutually-proclaimed leader, glaring at him in the eyes even if she had to look up just to do so. The position did nothing to belittle her obvious fury; if anything, it only made it more startling, just that much harder to ignore.
Blue was usually not one to step back. He hadn't, not even when taking up arms against the mystical Kylin. The mystical, magical Kylin, whose song had given birth to a century's poetry by the bards of the Scarlet Garden Kyo; who inspired myth upon myth hailing its splendid beauty, its formidable power, its paradise of laughter and eternal sunlight; who had eventually been eliminated by the sapphire-eyed magician from the Magic Kingdom on a quest littered by spilled crimson blood even before this.
He stepped back now. The effeminate features were contorted into an expression of surprise, incomprehensible of what could possibly have created such an outburst from the acclaimed martial artist. He had never seen such anger come from a person of such a petite stature before. Then again, previous to his quest, he had never seen such power emit from such a small woman before.
And a woman, at that. Now that was the biggest surprise. Women weren't fighters, neither were they magicians -- at least, they weren't treated as such at home. A woman's place was not on the battlefield; as a nurturer, a provider and a life giver, she was never meant to witness the destruction of such life by the hands of another. Was it any surprise that he had been hesitant in accepting Liza's help earlier? Yet much to his chagrin, she had proved herself to be more than a match on the playing field, holding her own where others would have fallen long before.
Liza was not the norm, though; rather, she was the exception.
Blue had a certain respect for her. A small, minute respect -- but it was there just the same. It wasn't often one had the opportunity to meet a woman who could throw a Dullahan several feet into the sky. It had taken a while, but the young mage had gradually come to treat her like another comrade, irrespective of her gender. Hence his surprise when she posed such a strange question.
"What do you mean?" he replied with a question of his own, curiosity gnawing at him to find out what was troubling her.
"What...What are you saying? You don't understand?"
A shake of the head on the magician's part.
Liza gestured in exasperation at the now-empty courtyard on which the small group was standing, her hands sweeping left and right to cover the entire expanse. Not a soul to be seen in the entire area. Where children once darted to and fro among the candy-colored pillars, only eerie silence remained.
"The children!" she explained when it only succeeded in making Blue look more confused than before, "The children! What will happen to the children?! You said..." at this, she had to pause to draw a shaky breath, "You said that this entire plane will vanish soon. Without Kylin's power to hold it together, it will..."
"Evaporate. Disintegrate. It will cease to exist. As if it never existed at all," Blue frowned as he found himself repeating what he'd just only explained to them minutes ago.
"...And the children?"
He tilted his head, still confused as to where she was heading. Nevertheless, with the patience of one used to dealing with the numerous questions usually posed by his comrades, he answered, "I suppose they will follow suit."
In all honesty, he wasn't quite sure of what would happen after Kylin's death. All his instinct told him was to run. As he felt the gift of Space intermingle with his consciousness, his very soul, it screamed at him to leave the area at once -- but whether it was to save them from disappearing into oblivion, or so that he wouldn't cause anymore damage to what was once Paradise...he didn't know.
"Hey, wait a minute," Gen walked up from behind, coming to confront the younger boy, uncertainty lacing his usually gruff, liquor-induced voice, "You mean just...disappear? Like that?" A snap of the fingers to illustrate his point. "Poof and...gone?"
"In a word, yes."
Blue couldn't explain the myriad of expressions that crossed the scruffy swordsman's face. The latter glanced at him with something of incredulity, his coffee-brown gaze flitting back and forth between Blue and Liza, as if silently asking them if he was really hearing this -- if this whole scene wasn't some liquor-induced dream caused by the pungent booze of Scrap -- if the fifteen-odd children he'd just witness playing around a couple of hours ago were going to vanish into nothingness.
If they were actually going to let it happen.
"Y-You're joking..." he gave a shaky laugh, punching Blue slightly in the shoulder, "Right, aren't ya? Just a damned good joke you're playing."
It seemed that Blue's confusion would reach no end today. He gave Gen another quizzical glance. "What makes you think I'm joking?"
The Wakatu swordsman didn't seem to hear him. Changing the light punch into a pat, he continued his shaky, hollow laugh, "Yeah, you always did have a weird sense of humor. Kinda grim and twisted and dry, all at once. Come on now, stop joking."
"He's not joking," Liza muttered stonily, her biting gaze enough to give a worse frostbite than that of Mosperiburg's chilly snow.
"Shut the hell up, Liza! It's a fucking joke. Just a joke!" Gen snarled, showing uncharacteristic rudeness to the woman. Drunken swordsman as he was, Gen had always held the gentlemanly respect and protectiveness for women all from Wakatu had been trained to abide by. The chance to meet a woman was a great privilege at that time. On the contrary, to snap at her so crudely was an action that demanded harsh reprimand, but he couldn't care about that. Not now.
Turning back to Blue, he grasped the young man's shoulders roughly, shaking him almost off his feet, "Stop it, Blue. Stop messing with us! I see through ya; you failed, dammit. So stop it!"
"I'm not joking, Gen." Deathly silence followed the stern voice. Then, "Put me down now, and we can leave."
"Leave?! Blue, the kids! Don't you care what's gonna happen to them?!" It seemed more of his comrades were finally breaking out of the hesitance that caused them to stay quiet about the matter in the first place. Lute marched up, eyes wide with shock, his movements erratic as he imitated Liza's earlier gesture at the empty courtyard. "We'll save them first, right? Right?? Get 'em all out with--with your map or something. Or maybe that Rei chick can teleport them outta here. Or something. But fact is that we gotta do something!"
"We can do nothing, Lute," Blue's voice was still calm, still curious, still incomprehensible of their reactions. Whatever happened to the comrades he had just fought side by side with moments ago? It seemed as if Liza's outburst had rendered them into babbling six-year olds. "There is no way for us to get a hold of Rei from here. My Region Map is incapable of transporting too many people. I told you that before at--"
His explanation was cut short as Gen flung his slender body onto the pink-and-white flooring, drawing a yelp more out of surprise than of pain from the young mage. Looking up, he was stunned to find disgust practically written on the older man's face. His features were twisted into one of disappointment and repulsion, both emotions fighting ferociously for dominance as Gen's mind struggled to compute Blue's tactless explanation.
Sapphire eyes laced with shock glided over to Liza, but only her back greeted him. He detected the faintest of shivers gracing her shoulders, and with a sickening realization, Blue could imagine the same expression on Liza's face as well. In fact, he more than imagined -- he could practically see it, as if Liza was facing him there and then with the distressing expression on her normally passive face.
Why? ...Why??
He honestly didn't know. Couldn't understand what it was that had got hold of his teammates so suddenly. Was it due to the aftermath of their fight? Previously, all they had to fight were mindless monsters...The Kylin was the first sentient creature -- the first to have actually spoken to them during the entire quest. Was that why they were acting so strange? Was that why?
"...Why?" Blue blurted out, not able to stop his curiosity any longer. This time, it wasn't for the mere interest in knowing; there was a sense of desolation in his voice, the desperate need to understand just what was happening around him. He hated not understanding. The loss, the frightening vulnerability of not knowing. It was not something he enjoyed. "I don't understand...what is wrong with you people?!"
"Wrong with us?! Wrong with us?!" Gen's eyes were blazing with fury and repugnance and just the tiniest hint of...tears? "It's you, Blue! It's all you! What the hell's wrong with you?! I couldn't care less if you offed some fucking monster without a second glance -- but children? You're willing to let a couple 'a kids die just 'cause your Map can't handle it?! Worst, you don't even seem to know what the heck that means. Damn it, what's fucking wrong with you, that's the question!"
Blue sat rooted to the spot, as did the rest of his comrades, as Gen finally lost that laid-back facade to the flurry of rage that claimed him. He didn't move as the Wakatu swordsman gradually neared him, didn't notice the sword unsheathed by the latter. All he concentrated on were the words. Words which were supposed to explain everything, but actually helped nothing within his strictly one-track mind. So the children were the problem?
"...That's right," Blue consented, rapidly trying to rationalize what was happening within his mind as he spoke, "The children. But as I said, there is nothing we can do. Neither you nor I can save them. What we can do is save ourselves, before we cease to exist along with this plane."
"So we run. Like cowards." Lute muttered from behind, glaring at the younger mage seemingly with all the disturbed abhorrence of the world.
Ah, that finally drew a reaction other than confusion from him: hatred. Hatred of the word; hatred of its meaning; hatred of its implied connection to him.
"No..." Blue answered slowly, eyes narrowed as he returned the glare with barely veiled anger, "We are not cowards. We are not running away. To be a coward is to run in the middle of your task. We have already finished ours, hence we are only leaving." He would never be labeled a coward. Never. He had never run from anything -- anyone -- before. How could he be called one if he had never retreated?
"Like I said, cowards." Lute replied blithely, not oblivious to Blue's hatred of the word and not particularly caring, either.
"We are NOT running away. What, is it our duty to help these...these children too?!"
"Yes! Yes, dammit, yes!" Gen yelled, going onto one knee to stare eye-to-eye with the blonde. "We can't leave them here. We just can't! You're the new Space Lord, aren't ya? Well, here's your fucking chance to do something GOOD with your damned magic!" He sneered, "...Other than trying ta kill your brother, that is. About time you tried to save someone with that thing, isn't it?"
Something snapped. Maybe it was the tension. Maybe it was the anger. Maybe it was the stress from all the confusion plaguing the young mage's mind as he tried to process what was happening and inevitably failed. Maybe it was the mention of Rouge. Whatever it was, it only served to snap the thin line he held between control and chaos, between the calm and the storm, between tolerance and release.
The blinding green light of Energy Chain seemed to emanate almost of its own accord from Blue's hands, as if it were an extended arm itself, crashing into Gen's body and sending him flying backwards, almost hitting Liza. Silence, all this while a faithful companion to this little scenario, now seemed to perpetually thicken, creating a barrier between the mage and his shocked comrades. Could they even be considered comrades, now?
Blue felt his insides quivering from the wrath that had overcome him, his outstretched hands still shaking at the realization of what he'd just done. He had attacked Gen. Gen, the drunken swordsman who had believed him enough to bring him back to his wretched, ravaged home. Gen, who had enviously thrown him into the huge wine barrel when Blue effortlessly chugged down every glass of pungent wine in Yorkland. Gen, whose hands he'd placed his life in time and time again in their search for the four Arcana.
A chunk of swirly blue sprinkled with lemon yellow broke off from the platform, floating briefly within the void before scattering into tiny fragments of sparkling candy, vanishing into the nothingness that surrounded them. A shudder raced through the entire plane, sending shivers up its inhabitants' spines, causing the large jelly-candy buildings to wobble from left to right. Right to left.
From within the main building, the largest building, cries of frightened children pierced the air, startlingly clear against the rumble in the background.
"Shit," Lute muttered, that one word summing up nicely what turn the situation had come to.
The smaller buildings collapsed into piles of colorful rubble, slowly disintegrating themselves.
Blue chose not to notice as everyone took even the smallest step back as he got up from his position, habitually straightening his robe. His long bangs covered his eyes momentarily, as he tried so hard to wrench back that much-needed control over the situation. A situation that he knew had gone horribly wrong the moment the Kylin sang its last song. Damn that beast. That beautiful, ethereal beast. That beast which had taken from him his teammates' trust in exchange for the gift of Space.
A pillar fell over, slamming into the roof of a small, sloppily-created shelter, sending pieces of broken toys flying in all directions.
Lifting his gaze, he stared at every one of the people inhabiting the courtyard, the terrified screams of children echoing in his ears. His voice, when he spoke, was commanding. It was a voice he remembered from his long years at the Academy. It left no place for argument. It was Authority.
The remains of a blonde, straw-haired doll landed at his feet.
"We are leaving. Now."
The sound of muffled sobs were all that remained as the final fragments of Paradise disappeared forever.
***
