"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!""
Three's Shrine
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
-Foyer-
"HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
After the disaster that was the Damcyan political rally, Four and Claudia managed to escape back to the forest shrine, but Four had completely lost her mind. For hours now, she was laughing hysterically on the floor with no end in sight. Claudia got so fed up with her laughing that she ended up calling Pete for help on how to solve this new problem on their hands.
"Yup. Four's officially lost it," Pete said after witnessing her roll around on the floor. "So she's been like this ever since her big sis attacked her?"
"Yeah, and I can't have her behave like this because I need her to finish the shit she started!"
"Hmmm, well we done already worked the darkness on her so nuthin' more we can do in that department. Sorry girlie, I just don't see a way outta this one, but look on the bright side, 'least she's a lot more tolerable like this! That's for dang sure!"
"Not when her ass is gonna be the reason I get killed! Maybe I should just jump ship..."
Out of nowhere, Four jumped up to her feet, startling both of them.
"Oh my dear friends, I'm happy to announce that the other half of my brain finally grew back so I was able to come up with the most delightful plan!" Four let out one last giggle, unable to contain her excitement. "Why don't we—and stay with me here—just kill everyone?"
"Whaddya mean 'just kill everyone'?" Pete asked.
"As in I get a bunch of my airships together and we destroy everything in sight until it's all gone and everyone's dead! Eee hee hee hee hee AH HA HA HA! That's perfect, right? RIGHT?!"
"But what about the whole getting Zero and Riku to hate each other and all those mind games you wanted to play?"
"Aw my adorable Petesy-Wetesy don't you worry your big ugly head~" She walked her fingers up from his chest to his nose, then 'booped' it. "I didn't forget about that, silly, I'm already ten steps ahead of you! When I'm through with him, he'll sit when I tell him to sit and bark when I tell him to bark~"
"And how are you fixin' to do that?"
"Weeeeell-" She rocked back and forth on her heels. "He's already halfway there so the rest shouldn't be too hard to accomplish!"
"What are you talking about?" Claudia asked.
Guest: Oh you actually guessed some of it, I had the section with Three written before you even made that comment XD
Phoenix Keyblade: Pretty much yeah! Glad you like how things are developing!
Anon: Yeah sporadic monthly updates are about what you all can expect from me these days. You're like the only one who picks up on the ff references lol. No Four didn't build the Mercurius gate, something else did tho, that's all I say. Four's insanity was the most interesting part of the character to me so I'm glad I got to lean into it a lot more this branch than-██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
"—UMMMM why did the scene cut like that when I was literally...LITERALLY just about to explain my amazing plan to you guys, anyways, back to the most important part of this chapter; yours truly!"
Three's Shrine
-Foyer-
"Claudia, Claudia, Claudia...don't you get it? Riku. Already. Has. The. Flower! I mean- seriously HOW ELSE do you think he was able to regrow his legs after Gabriella ate him?! That ritual he performed made him into an Intoner- DUH!"
"Then... we're done here, aren't we? Not only does Riku have the Flower, but you figured out how he got it, we went above and beyond what Maleficent asked of us."
"He he he he he HA HA HA HA. Who CARES about what that old hag wants? I can use Riku to take out every single Intoner that stands in my way, starting with my wonderful sister Zero! Then I can do whatever I want! Or would you rather be bossed around by that overgrown faerie all day?"
"Ugh..." Claudia's lips curled in delight. "Your mind! Where has this Four been the whole time, I've been waiting for her!"
She held Claudia's hands. "I've been right here all along, bestie! So let's destroy the world together and watch it burn to the ground! That way, no one will have to be scared of it anymore!"
"So true, bestie! Oh my gosh, I can't wait!"
"Me neither! Eeeeeek!"
In an unlikely turn of events, Four and Claudia reached an understanding with each other, perhaps even form the beginning of a friendship, and all it took was for Four to go insane. Which is often the first step in forming many meaningful relationships.
Pete, on the other hand, was incredibly disturbed at the girls giggling and gossiping about mass destruction and genocide as if they were simply talking about boys at a sleepover. So while they were preoccupied with ending the world, he gave them the slip via dark portal. "I better go report this to Maleficent. This is why we never shoulda trusted these dang Intoners."█████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
Anon (cont): -The previous one! I like to think that Three always knows more than she lets on and just kind of runs with it. Yeah had to channel bad politician energy for Four. I did a lot of research on Three in preparation for the last chapter to figure out how she was going to be characterized in the context of the chapter,so I leaned into her chaotic neutral/sometimes evil personality.
Keybladelight: Lol she's gonna have to get used to it, don't think an elixir can heal her glass bones and paper skin. Yes, password protection is a really good idea so Three doesn't end up breaking world order. Those are a lot of good questions.
Gundam-Knight-Chris: Crazy bitches is the name of the game lol
J Geil: I'm so happy you liked the chapter ^_^! I'll have to consider writing a low-stakes comedic series sometime. Yes, I've been working on N:O 2 on and off all this time, it's hard to switch gears bc I'll like laser focus on one series and not update the other for literal months, as you can see. But I'll make sure I'll update N:O 2 after I post this, I'm just about done with the fourth chapter, believe it or not!
"Verklärte Schweigen No. 1"
"Don't say those things! If you're giving up the mantle, who will lead your sisters, huh?!" Gabriella argued.
"Perhaps my time has passed. My sisters will just have to go down their own path without me."
"You'd abandon your own sisters and leave them to be a pestilence? Don't make me laugh. The One I knew, who fought for the world, would never say such stupid things like that!"
"...The One you knew had the power to back up her convictions."
"Hmph. If you thought your powers were what gave you strength, then you really are a fool."
One had nothing to say in response to Gabriella's accusations, choosing, instead, to keep her head down.
"Fine. While One sits around and throws herself the world's saddest pity party, what I want to know is what you guys are doing from here on out," Gabriella said.
"That's a good question," Riku said. "The plan was to take Four hostage, but we couldn't find her anywhere, so the next best thing we could get was the weird middle-aged guy following her around."
"—Mmm mm! Mmm mm!" The muffled noises came from Decadus, who was tied up to a tree and gagged.
"It might be a good idea to question him to see where Four could've gone. We can't just let her crazy ass run around and cause any more trouble than she already has."
"You're right. So who wants to do the honors?" Riku asked.
"Like you'd even had to ask!" Dito jumped at the possibility of torturing someone again, and ran over to Decadus to yank the gag right out of his mouth. "You heard the dragon, you better be spilling your guts to us about Four or I'll be spilling your guts...all over the ground that is heh heh heh!"
"Ohhhh, please don't threaten me ...with such a good time~ Erm I-I- mean d- do your unnngh worst to me, flog me, b-burn me, stretch my limbs uhHhHhhh...I-I'll never sell out Lady Four!"
Dito let out a defeated sigh. "Oh right, this is you we're talking about. You might bust a nut if I actually start torturing you..."
"First off, gross, second off, even if the guy's a shameless masochist, everyone has something that's torture for them. We can use that to get him to break," Gabriella said.
"I know! What if we try giving him compliments and positive affirmations?" Rosa suggested.
Dito scrunched his nose up. "What the hell is a 'positive affirmation'?"
"It's like a positive phrase that you repeat to yourself to psych yourself up for the rest of the day!"
"How cruel to deny my indulgence in torture and punishment...o-or is that a punishment in of it-"
Rosa went up to Decadus. "I don't wanna hear any more of that from you, mister! The only words you're going to say from here on out is what I tell you to say, got it?"
"Y-Y-Yes, mm-ma'am."
"Okay now, repeat after me: 'I am in the right state of mind'."
"I ...am in...the right state of mind?"
"Good, good. Now say: 'I know my self-worth and I will not make disparaging comments about myself'."
"I...know my...self-worth and-and...I will not make dis...paraging comments about myself."
His voice was beginning to sound strained, which Rosa took as a sign of the positive affirmations working.
"You're doing great, Decadus! Good job! Now here's my favorite one to repeat: 'I am loved'."
"..."
"'I am loved'." She repeated. "C'mon, this is the first step on your journey to... realizing your truest self...or something like that. When I'm done guiding you through this process, you will find no more pleasure in self-degradation or depreciation, no more pleasure in masochism, no more-"
Decadus took in a deep breath. "Four's working with an evil witch named Maleficent who gave her and Lady One's twin brother dark powers and they want the Flower to infect Riku again so that they can force him to open Mercurius gate. Everything since the Land of Seas has been a setup and—"
"Wait, wait, slow down...what?!" Riku yelled.
One raised her head. "My brother's a part of this scheme too? So it seems I've failed him as well..."
"What is... Mercurius gate?"
"It is where the Flower originates. I thought my sisters and I destroyed it and that gate some time ago but clearly, I can't do anything right so of course it's back," One said.
"...We ate from the forbidden fruit, gifted by the serpent, now the sands of the hourglass no longer flow in the same direction," Three said.
"Three...?"
"Pay her no mind, it's but another nonsensical riddle," Octa said.
"So...wait, what do you mean this was a 'set up'?" Rosa asked.
"Allow me to further clarify ...everything that's happened in Midgard for the past month or so has been carefully planned by Four and Maleficent. The destabilization of the Land of Seas by those pirates and this 'war' in the Land of Forests were all intentional. Primarily to paint elves in a bad light, but its secondary purpose was to bring Riku closer to the Flower."
"That's...insane. What does she have against elves that she hates us so much?" Rosa asked.
"Ultimately, she wants to unite all of Midgard under her rule and be seen as a 'savior', and the path to that was to use elves as her scapegoat."
"Then it's all been some game to her, ruining everyone's lives and creating so many problems in the world, just so she could offer herself as the solution."
"But why would Maleficent care about destabilizing Midgard? Why do all of this just for me?" Riku asked.
"What I'm about to say next may sound...impossible but bare with me. Apparently, this isn't the first time we've all met before, nor will it be the last. We've all encountered each other before, numerous amounts of times, albeit under much different circumstances. Sometimes we're foes...or we're allies. Sometimes the world is just ever so slightly different, other times, it's radically changed."
"As in... deja vu?" Octa asked.
"No, as in another timeline," Three said.
"Yes, that's a good way to put it. In one of these 'timelines', Riku was infected by the Flower, but since no one knows how that happened, Maleficent has been trying to recreate those circumstances so that event can occur to him again. It sounds preposterous...I know, but that is the reason for all of this madness."
"All of this is...mindblowing. I mean, can all of this really be true?" Rosa asked.
"Right? It sounds fucking insane," Dito said.
"If it is true, then that means all of this pain and suffering we've endured was orchestrated behind the scenes just to serve someone's agenda," One said. "So if we're all merely pawns on a chessboard, stuck in some endless cycle, what's the point of even fighting anymore?"
"Nah, I'm not buying that some old evil lady is this master manipulator, I bet she's only telling that to you guys to make herself sound all smart and one step ahead of everyone. In reality, she's just playing you guys against each other, every single time," Gabriella said.
"Then we outplay her," Riku said. "Maleficent wants me alive to do her dirty work, so we use that against her. So many people have had to die because of me...but no more, I'll put my life on the line if that means stopping her and breaking us out of this cycle!"
"How foolish, a foreigner like you martyring himself for people he barely knows," One said.
"Well, I don't see anyone else doing anything about it! I wield the Keyblade...and I have the Flower, I'm not letting any more people suffer because I have the power to stop it!"
"Conviction like that is rare to find, but your arrogance and heedlessness will get you nowhere."
"Then how about instead of arguing with me, you fight alongside me! That would be a way better use of your time than just...just waiting to die."
"The kid's right, you know," Gabriella said. "We're gonna need all hands on deck to stop whatever this evil witch is cooking up."
"...Answer me honestly, what could I even do in this state?! You can see with your own eyes that I am crippled and I am powerless!"
"But even when you had all the power in the world, you still let that wack job sister of yours serve your ass on a platter! It seems like you lost sight of something important a long time ago and if you can't figure out what that is, then maybe you are better off dying alone in this forest."
It was harsh, but One knew that every word her dragon companion said was true, the question was whether she would accept it or not.
"I...acknowledge that you are right, Gabriella, something was lost with each step forward that I took in reclaiming this world, I was just too blind to see it. I suppose that means I owe something like a debt to Midgard, but how can I rectify my mistakes when I can no longer fight?"
"Girl, am I chopped liver now? I will always be your sword and shield, you know that! Hell, I'll be your legs too if you're that hung up about the wheelchair."
"Thank you...my friend. There's no need for you to be my legs, I believe I can manage that much on my own."
"So...you're willing to fight?" Riku asked.
"I've been left with no other choice, but to. I'll fight to my last breath, that should suffice as being a 'better use of my time'."
"Glad to hear it." He offered his hand to her.
Taking Riku by the hand, she got herself situated in the wheelchair. "This will...take some getting used to."
Three popped up in front of One's face, then pushed her hands onto the armrest. "In the meantime, I could explain all the finer details of this contraption to you!"
"Knowing you, that would take all day."
"I could shorten it to 8 hours- with a brief intermission at the 4-hour mark!"
"How about I take you up on the offer after we are out of mortal danger?"
"...If you insist."
"In any case-" She cleared out her throat. "Ahem, listen up everyone, I know the situation we're in seems grim right now, but we're not out of the game just yet. ...Tomorrow. I've decided that's when we'll end this war."
"Ah, but that's rather sudden, isn't it? It'll take days just to round up all of our soldiers and divvy up our supplies," Octa said.
"To be frank, we're already on borrowed time. If Four hasn't lost her mind to the Flower by now, then she's surely on the way, so there's no telling what she'll do next. However, all we need is one giant weapon that will be able to cut through all of her defenses."
"A rook," Three said.
"...Elaborate, Three."
"I created a cyclops...his name is Ravus, and he's tough- very tough, but Four took him away from me."
"A cyclops? That might just work...where is he now?"
"The Fog of Lost souls, but all the soldiers we've sent there have never returned, so I'm afraid it's a highly dangerous area," Octa said.
"I see...it seems as though we've hit yet another wall. Riku, would you be up to this task?"
"Uh...I would," He rubbed the back of his head. "But I actually have a big favor I'd like to ask your dragon. If you let me."
"Who, me?! And what kind of favor is this? You better not be asking me to do any weird shit!"
"No, nothing like that. I was just...wondering...if you could take me to wherever Zero and Mikhail are."
"That nutjob and her whelp?! Why would you want anything to do with them?!"
"Hold on Gabriella, this might be to our advantage. If I recall correctly, Zero's no longer interested in killing her sisters, correct?"
"That's right."
"...How curious," Three said.
"Yes, apparently she wants to 'save' us now, but I'm sure Riku's thinking we could twist her arm into helping us take Four down."
"...Y-Yeah, that's actually exactly what I was thinking...no other reason than that!"
"Okay...in that case, it would be more efficient for us to split up. One group will retrieve the cyclops-"
"Ravus," Three corrected.
"One group will retrieve Ravus at the Fog of Lost Souls while the other goes to where Zero and Mikhail are located. We'll rendezvous at...where would a good place to meet up be?"
"Elfheim. That's where our base of operations is located, so it makes the most sense," Rosa said.
"Elfheim it is then. We'll meet there by tomorrow morning to put an end to this war once and for all. I believe the best way to divide ourselves would be for Gabriella, Riku, and I to go to Zero, while Three and the others retrieve Ravus."
"No," Three said.
"No?"
"I'm not leaving my test subject."
"Your who?"
"She's talking about me..." Riku said.
"Three, that is your cyclops and you can't just leave the disciples here by themselves!"
"And I'm not carrying any more smelly men on my back either!" Gabriella said.
"But Riku is my nascent test subject!" Three pointed at Rosa. "And she donated his body to me so that means he's mine!"
Rosa let out a nervous cough.
"That's only for dead people! You can't just donate a body if it's still alive and you can't force people to do things without their consent! How many times do I have to tell you-"
"Ughhhhhhhh. I'm tired."
"No, don't use that excuse to wiggle your way out of-"
Three fell on the ground face first.
"Three! I'm not done talking to you!"
"zzzzzzzz."
"Just because you say 'zzzzzzzz' doesn't mean you're actually asleep! Look...if you don't want to do this for the war effort, then do this for me at least."
"ZZZZZZZZZ!"
She let out a defeated sigh. "Fine...what do you want?"
Three rolled over to her back. "I want to borrow the strange..." She searched for the right word to describe it. "...device... that Riku has."
Everyone turned to Riku.
"W-What device? I don't know what you're talking about!"
"The one with the tiny people in it. There was a girl with red hair named Kairi and a weird rat-looking creature named Mickey Mouse."
"Wait...how did you remember all of that?"
"So it's true, and I have an excellent memory, it keeps you youthful you know. Anyways, do we have a deal or not?"
"Wait-wait-wait, he talks to rats inside tiny boxes? And he's not the biggest weirdo here?!" Dito pointed out.
"Not when you're here," Riku said.
"Oh no don't try and turn this around on me you freak!"
"It's not weird!"
"It is actually very abnormal," One said.
"So it's totally normal to have magical singing powers and crazy flower demons, but you draw the line at talking animals?!"
"Well, yeah, they're animals. That'd be so freaky if like, a duck or something, just started talking to you," Rosa said.
"Wait...so you also hear the animals talking? Their words are so very frightening-" Decadus shuddered. "And here I thought I was the only one."
"Ohhhhh so Riku's just crazy! Make sense," Dito said.
"I'm not crazy! Again, this is a place where there are dragons flying around in the sky!"
"You got a problem with that?!" Gabriella yelled.
"No, No, I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying no one in Midgard has any right to call talking animals weird."
"So dragons are 'weird' to you, huh? What, is it because you think you're better than me, human?! With your tiny, frail body that slid down my throat so easily..."
He gulped down as Gabriella bared her fangs at him. "N-No I-"
"Riku, I suggest you stop talking so you don't keep digging yourself deeper into this hole you're in," One said.
Three latched onto Riku's arm, bouncing up and down. "Please please please, if I can't have you, then can I have that device? Pleeeeeease I promise I won't break it! I just wanna study it!"
"If getting that device is the only thing that will placate Three, then perhaps that's the best course of action."
"You heard her, so cough the damn thing up, human!" Gabriella snapped.
Between Three's pleading eyes and Gabriella's sharp fangs, it didn't seem like he was given much of a choice, so he relented. "Just... don't make any calls."
"What does that mean?"
"It means don't touch anything-" Fishing the phone out of his pocket, he begrudgingly handed her his gummiphone, knowing full well she wasn't going to listen to a damn thing he said. 'Luckily it's password protected, so she won't be able to go through my gummiphone anyways.'
"Whoa..." Three held the chunky device in her hands, marveling at the contraption. "I've never seen anything like it before...cool."
"Three," One said sharply.
"Um...thank you for the gift, Riku. You're really nice."
"Yeah, don't mention it."
Dito rolled his eyes. "You're only saying that because he gave you a new toy to-"
She pushed the crown button and the screen lit up. "There's...pictures on it." Curious, she touched the picture and it went to the passcode lock screen. "AND THEY MOVE?!"
"What?! Let me see!" Dito tried to snatch the phone away from Three but she held it up away from him.
"Get your own! It's MINE!"
"Hey, don't fight over it! It's really important to me so please be careful with it," Riku said.
"Right Dito."
"He's talking to you too!"
"Hmph." Three reached her arm out to Riku, then extended her pinky to him. "I'll be careful. Promise."
He took her up on the pinky promise, sealing the deal. "Alright. I'm counting on you to bring that back to me in one piece."
"No worries."
"...Then it's decided. If we're all on board with this arrangement, then the end of the Intoner's era starts now," One said.
"Sounds good," Riku said.
"What's next after Intoners are gone?" Three asked.
"Who knows, but one thing's for certain, the future will no longer be dictated by someone else."
—
Land of Mountains
-Border-
Enclosed by the snow-capped evergreen trees, Zero was preparing a boar for dinner later on in the day.
["Where the hell do you think you're going?!"]
Using her dagger, she made an incision at the carcass's neck, then dragged her blade down to the end of its body.
["Stop fighting back, you know you want this you goddamn slut! So just sit still and let me fuck you!"]
After she gutted and drained the blood out of the carcass, she made several more incisions along the hooves in order to remove its hide.
["...but I want to see you cry, that'll make all of this bullshit worth—"]
The blade got caught in the thick flesh and she cut herself with her dagger, nearly taking a finger off. "Fuck..." She held her hand to stop the bleeding.
But the bleeding wouldn't stop, she could see the blood pouring down from her hand and staining the white snow. Before she knew it, her breathing became labored, like someone had squeezed the air out of her lungs and she thought she was going to—
"—Ze…ro…"
Zero spun around with her dagger clenched tightly in her hand, only to see something she'd never seen before stumble toward her. It was like a human but made of metal, wires were coming out from where the arms should've been and half of the face was missing. It carried a giant suitcase in its mouth, shuffling through the snow with what little power it had to make its way to Zero.
"...Ze...don't go... stop him... stop 84329999974 [Error Code: Corrupted Audio File]. [Error Corrupted Audio File]." Then it collapsed on the snow.
"...What the hell?" Cautiously, Zero approached the mechanical heap, drawn to the book in its hand. She started to reach for it, but stopped suddenly when she felt someone behind her squeeze her breasts.
Zero was already on edge before, but now she'd lost it completely. In one swift motion, she pounced on the woman who groped her, snatching her by the neck, then slammed her on the ground.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU...wait..." Zero took a closer look at the girl she was strangling. "Why do you look so much like that...thing?"
"I-I'd be happy to explain...once you let go of me first that is."
She loosened her grip on the girl's neck, then stood up. "Well?"
"Apologies for scaring you, I only wanted to get a feel of your measurements for record-keeping purposes. It's strictly for business."
"You have about five seconds to explain yourself before I kill you."
"Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Accord." She politely bowed to Zero. "It's a pleasure to re-acquaint myself with you, Zero."
"Just what the hell are you, anyways?"
"I or should I say, we, are Recorders."
"Recorders?"
"Right. It's our job to record world events from the ancient past to the distant future." She motioned to the other Accord lying on the ground. "Though it seems one of our own has fallen out of line. I apologize for any confusion or distress she may have caused you."
"So what was she prattling on about just now?"
"I can't answer that, sorry. If I were you, I would simply disregard whatever she said."
"Okay, look, if you're here to just make recordings of me or whatever, then you can knock it the fuck off. I already have enough on my plate."
"I've been instructed not to interfere with this world and I intend to keep it that way. The previous Recorder flew too close to the sun and she paid the price for it, you know, the same will happen to you too, Zero, if you're not careful."
"What're you talking about?"
"Let me put it like this; there are things in this world that are certain and uncertain. You assume these bad endings you receive are the result of uncertainty, but your future has already been decided. So no matter how far you try to run from it, it'll always catch up to you...and that's for certain. Hope that helped!"
"What's...that supposed to mean?"
"That's for you to decide, but I'm sure you'll come to understand what I mean soon enough." With that, Accord walked away from Zero, picking up the mysterious book and her suitcase from the fallen Recorder along the way. "Oh, and one more thing before I go; your cup size is D."
After that 'enlightening' conversation, Zero simply returned to the campsite so she could bandage up her wound.
Mikhail, who was curled up next to the campfire, perked his head up as soon as he caught sight of Zero. "Zero's back! Zero's back! Yay! So does that mean the meat's ready, huh?!"
"I can't tell if you're excited to see me or if you're just excited about the food."
"Uh...both?"
She chuckled. "...At least you're doing better."
"Yeah! I'm a big strong dragon now so I can heal a lot faster! What about you Zero? It looks like you got a really bad boo boo."
"Never heard a big strong dragon say 'boo boo' before-" She reached down into her bag and then took out some old cloth and a bottle of recovery potion. "And it's fine, I'm an Intoner."
"But even Intoners get hurt sometimes."
"Not for long."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. So ...what do you think Riku's doing right now?"
"Well if he's not dead by now, then he's doing something that'll get him killed anyways."
"You don't...actually think he's dead, do you?"
She wrapped the cloth around her finger. "Doubt it, but we'll go searching for him tomorrow, so you don't have to keep whining about him."
"...Okay."
They sat in silence for a while before Zero spoke up again, "Hey, uh...Mikhail."
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking... what do you want when all of this is over?"
"Well I wanna be with you, and-and Riku too and I want us to eat all the meat in the world and have lots of fun adventures together without someone dying!"
"Thought you'd say something like that."
"S- So you don't think it's stupid or dumb or childish or anything like that?!"
"...No, I don't."
"What about you, Zero? What do you want?"
She chuckled again. "...Unlike you, what I want really is stupid."
Suddenly, Mikhail lifted his snout to the sky. "It ...smells."
"Oh hell no, you better not be saying I stink, asshole!"
"Nuh-uh, not you, It smells like a...like another dragon! Wait, I see one flying in the sky right now!"
"What?!" She whipped her head up and sure enough, there was a giant black dragon soaring towards them. "Fuck! That's One's dragon!" Grasping for her sword, she stood up. "What the hell could she want right now?!"
"Wait Zero, I don't think she's trying to kill us, it just...doesn't smell like it."
"What the fuck does that mean?!"
"Trust me, dragons know these things. You'll see."
"So help me...if she tries to kill me then you're dead!"
Zero and Mikhail waited in anticipation for whether they would be fighting in a battle to the death or not, only to be blindsided when Riku jumped off of Gabriella's back and ran up to embrace Zero.
"I'm so glad you're okay..." He said.
She was so shocked she didn't even know how to react, let alone process what to say. The best she could get out was a weak "yeah" before Riku finally let go.
Meanwhile, Mikhail burst out in excitement when he saw him. "RIKU'S BACK! RIKU'S BACK! LET'S GOOOOO!" He rammed into Riku and Zero, causing both of them to fall into the snow. "You big dummy! I was so worried about you!"
"Ha ha, me too buddy, looks like your strength's definitely returned ha ha..." He squeezed his throbbing stomach. "Ah..."
Once the shock of Riku's return wore off on Zero, she gave Riku one good look and finally found something more to say to him, "You look like shit. What the fuck happened to you?"
He rubbed the back of his head, this was about what he expected from her, but he found Zero's... straight-to-the-point remarks to be oddly comforting. "...It's a long story, but I feel a lot better now that you're here."
"...Oh." It took her a second longer than usual to reply back. "First time I ever heard that from you."
He swallowed hard. "I-I didn't mean it like that, I was just-"
"Riku! Riku-Riku-Rikuuuuu!" Mikhail butt in. "C'mon, I wanna show you this big empty field where I like to play in all the snow! Please! It'll be really fun!"
Riku saw the lifeline to get out of a potentially awkward or, worse yet, painful conversation with Zero and took it without question. "That's a great idea, lead the way!"
Zero watched Riku leave just as quick as he came, and decided she'd have better luck with One and Gabriella. "So, what's the deal? Clearly, I missed out on a lot because I see two weak bitches in front of me ripe for the picking."
"Oh hell no! See, I told you coming to this psycho bitch was a bad idea!" Gabriella said.
"You're as cordial as ever, Zero, but unfortunately yes, you're right. We experienced a... sudden shift in power due to the actions of Four and we humbly ask that you assist us in taking her down."
"You say that like I have a choice in the matter. Anything you screw-ups do is my problem to deal with."
"...Thank...you...Zero." She said through gritted teeth. "By the way, that Riku is certainly an interesting character, to say the least. He's truly one of a kind, both an exorcist and a mage with excellent abilities. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there's something unusual about him."
"Guess so."
"It makes you wonder about who he really is. He could be an angel...or, for all we know, a devil in disguise, waiting to damn us all."
"Shit, if he's the devil, then I'll gladly be cast into hell."
"Girl, you couldn't be more desperate if you tried," Gabriella said.
"Have you seen the state of the men here in Midgard? Wouldn't mind more foreigners here if they're half as good as he is. It'd certainly make the nights here less disappointing."
"I doubt this is just a matter of sex to you. Going from wanting to kill your sisters to save them is a radical shift in priorities, after all. I suspect that there's something more he's offering you, or else you would've killed me by now."
"You're awfully chatty for someone I could easily push off a cliff."
"Only if you wanna get eaten afterward," Gabriella growled.
Zero circled around One. "You know, it really does suck that Riku 'exorcised' the Flower just before your legs could heal. I bet if you could use your legs, you'd be kicking yourself right about now."
"...Are you done?"
"Until I think of more."
"Zero, instead of worrying about my condition, I'd enjoy this short reprieve we have while you can. Life is precious and time is short. The future isn't promised. It's possible that by tomorrow, we may not all be here, so I'd address any elephants in the room if I were you."
"So you wanna get philosophical on me now that you're a cripple?"
"You can be as snarky as you want, but you understand my point, don't you? As much as I despise you...I'd prefer that you stay like this. It's better for the world."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do, and when everyone's ready, we'll discuss our plans for tomorrow."
Zero had to leave because if she was around One any second longer, she would've pushed her off her wheelchair.
"That girl's hopeless," Gabriella muttered.
Zero figured she'd go check up on Mikhail and Riku while they were in the middle of their playful snowball fight. She was content to just watch them goof off on the sidelines, but somehow a huge pile of snow got dumped on her.
Mikhail and Riku were half expecting Zero to lose her shit, but to their surprise, she ended up joining them. Albeit, making the game far more intense than what it originally was because she was throwing the snowballs at them like they were actual rounds of ammunition, it was still fun nevertheless.
Those few moments where they could enjoy each other's company without the world waiting to take it away were precious to Riku, because he thought he'd never be able to have a moment like that again, a moment of genuine happiness. Not when Sora was gone and especially not when he was stuck in the endless nightmare that was Midgard. However, being able to throw snowballs that day made him feel like a kid again, something he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Caught up by the frenzy of their snowball fight, Riku slipped on some ice and took Zero down with him as they fell into the snow together. They were laughing at first, until their eyes stayed on each other a second too long and a silence overtook them.
"...You smell like vomit," Zero finally said before getting up off of Riku.
"I know, my bad." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "I washed up, but I just can't get the smell out of my clothes."
"Lindblum's nearby, there should probably be some clothing shops around. I can take you there if you want."
"Sure."
Mikhail hopped around. "Oh! Oh! If you guys are-"
"I'll bring back some food," Zero said.
"Whoa, you knew exactly what I was gonna say before I said it! You're like a mind reader, Zero! So what am I thinking now?!"
"Let me guess... meat?"
"You did it again! You're really good at this! Make sure you bring back lots and lots of meat, okay?"
"We'll see about that 'lots and lots' part."
Soon after, they set off to Lindblum, which was hardly a distance away from their campsite. As they walked together, Zero used the opportunity to speak candidly to Riku now that the others were out of earshot.
"By the way, thanks for saving my ass that night... I owe you one," She said.
"Of course, don't even mention it. So..how have you been holding up since that night?"
"I'm fine."
"What do you mean when you say that?"
"It means stop asking me."
"...Sorry, I've just been worried about you, you know?"
"Oh? First, you're happy to see me and now you're worried about me? What's gotten into you?"
"It's called caring about your friends, but you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
She clapped her hands together. "There's the asshole Riku I know! You had me worried there for a second!"
"You really enjoy annoying me, don't you?"
"It's becoming my favorite pastime. Anyways, what's the deal with Three? Is she in a 'everyone wants to kill her' or 'she wants to kill everyone' situation?"
"It's more like a 'Four's trying to kill us all' situation and Three's just along for the ride."
"Told you we should've just gone to the Land of Sands instead."
"I get the feeling Two isn't in a much better place anyways. I have a lot I want to tell you, but I want to wait until we're all settled in."
"Can't wait to hear what the latest, completely avoidable, bullshit you've gotten yourself into."
Once they reached Lindblum, they were surprised to find the village was in the middle of celebrating a festival. An assortment of shops and stands lined the cobblestone streets for the villagers to clamor around, and the houses were decorated with green banners, pennants, and other Four-themed decors.
"Sleazy AND conceited huh," Zero walked past a villager dressed in a Four costume. "...Well, if we can't find any normal clothes, then you'll just have to pull off Four's look. That should be easy for you though, right?"
He rolled his eyes. "Ha ha."
"Actually, you might have lucked out-" She went up to a stall that seemed to have a good selection of regular clothes.
"Helloooooo~! Happy Fyra Festival and welcome to Dragoos' Armory and Wares, where we have the latest in Lady Four's fashion! Hmm, wait, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
"No." Zero turned to Riku. "Found anything you like?"
Between all the bootleg costumes of Four's iconic outfit, there wasn't much of a diverse array of clothing he could choose from. However, he did manage to find something he kind of liked; black trousers, a beige tunic, and a fitted brown jacket to replace his worn, tattered clothes. It was a bit plain for his taste but better than having to fit into a dress and tights.
"Oh, those old rags will only run you about 500G," The shopkeeper said.
Before Riku could even reach inside his pocket, Zero already put the money on the counter.
"That should cover it," She said.
"Sorry, but you're about 175G short."
"I said that should cover it."
The shopkeeper stared at Zero for a few seconds, soon realizing who she was talking to. "Oh, silly me, I must've miscounted! Ha ha...ha...a-anyways, enjoy the festival...!" She bagged the clothes up with lightning-fast speed, then handed off the bag to Zero like it was a bomb ready to detonate.
"Here." Zero gifted the bag to Riku, then nonchalantly walked away from the stall to check out the rest of the festival.
"Uh...thanks, you really didn't have to do that for me. Unless... wait, you want something out of me, don't you?"
She scoffed. "What, I can't do something nice for a friend?"
"Hm...let me think of the last time you did something nice for me for nothing in return..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"It wasn't that long ago, Riku!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Okay, okay, I get it! Maybe it was a while ago, but I'll start, you know, doing nice stuff...for you."
He crossed his arms. "What for? When it comes to you, there's usually a price attached."
"Well, I'm not charging anything for it, asshole! So ...why don't we grab a bite to eat before we go back? I promised Mikhail I'd bring him back something anyways."
"...Alright," Riku said reluctantly, still suspicious of any ulterior motives.
They found what appeared to be a popular tavern, but one look at the menu made Zero want to get up and leave.
Alice's Tavern
*Special menu for Fyra Festival*
*No you can't ask for anything different*
Boiled Cabbage—25G
Meatless Stew—30G
Grilled Haddock—15G
Sugar-Free Custard Tart—5G
Alcohol-Free Wine—15G
She drummed her fingers along the table. "...This looks like hot garbage."
"I don't know, the grilled haddock sounds good." Riku looked up from his menu to gauge Zero's reaction, the 'grilled haddock' was a calculated move to see if she was actually serious about being nice. And while he watched her face literally go through the 5 stages of grief, she actually ...came around.
"...Fine, I can't help it if you have shit taste."
He put his menu down. "So you really are committed to this whole being nice to me thing? Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"
"No, you dumbass, I just...wanted to do something nice while we still can. I don't know, lately... I've been thinking that things just aren't gonna work out for me."
"...Why would you say that?"
"I've already done so much horrible shit, I just don't think I'm gonna get off scot-free."
"Don't say that! I told you I'm not gonna stop fighting until I make Midgard a better place, I owe it to everyone who's lost their life trying to fight for it...and I owe it to you, so you can have that life you wanted!"
"It's not worth it if you're gonna keep screwing yourself over like this." She tipped back in her chair. "Because I know you have the Flower, you didn't even have to tell me this time."
"I was going to tell you...I just didn't know how to."
"'Hey Zero I shit my life away to save a waste of space and this whole journey was for nothing' would've sufficed. Can't be too mad though, that's just who you are. A martyr who's convinced himself he's not suicidal. So let's just enjoy this meal together, that's all we can do."
"I don't get it- why did you want to save your sisters so badly if you don't even care about them?! That was the whole point of all of this!"
"After knowing me for this long, did you really think I put up with all of this because I genuinely care about my sisters? I knew you were dense, but come on."
"So what did you want from all of this, Zero? I thought... when you came to me asking to save your sisters all that time ago, you wanted the same thing I did, but I'm not sure anymore. If not for your sisters, then what was your reason?"
"Y..." She hesitated because she wasn't sure if she wanted to say it out loud yet; that one thought that had been gnawing at the back of her mind for so long she thought it'd make her go crazy long before the Flower ever did, but that was the problem, wasn't it? Since when did she have the luxury to bide her time? Death was always a breath away, ready to collect on all the borrowed time she incurred. If she kept waiting for the 'right time', eventually time would pass her up, so she went ahead and told him.
"...You're the reason why, okay?! You're why I'm putting up with my bitchy sisters and living in this horrible fucking world every day because you make it worth it! That's... why."
After everything it took to get those words out of her, and lay her heart bare to him of what just short of an 'I love you', Zero wasn't really sure what to expect, but she did at least want a reaction out of him. Even if it was just a rejection, but all he did was give her this beyond stupid look, like she had two heads. Didn't say anything either, just looked at her, expressionless, as if a section of his brain had been cut out.
Zero figured that whenever Riku came back to his senses, she could expect to hear a rejection out of him because why would it be anything else? And since it would be coming from him, it was going to be one of those, 'you're a nice girl BUT...' type of rejection that she rather get stabbed than have to listen to. So rather than wait for the inevitable, she shot up from her chair so fast that it fell to the floor, then made a beeline for the tavern exit.
However, when she tried to leave, she got stopped by a group of soldiers barging in with her wanted poster in hand. Because they couldn't do this before she made her confession, no, they just had to wait until after she humiliated herself before deciding to do their damn jobs.
The soldiers didn't even have to say anything, she knew what they were there for, they knew that she knew what they were there for. So she beat them to the punch by literally punching one of the soldiers in the face, then flew out of that tavern like a bat out of hell.
"—What would you like to order?"
"..."
"I said what would you like to order?"
Riku turned to see the tavernkeeper waiting on him with her hands on her hips and a tight-lipped frown on her face.
"I ...I should go."
"Yeah, you should. You and your girlfriend have been scaring the customers away."
"...Sorry." He left the tavern, then saw a mess of footprints in the snow, creating an easy trail for him to follow. "Zero...what do I say to you? No one's ever said anything like that to me before."
The trail of footprints led him outside of Lindblum, where he saw the white snow turn red. A heap of bodies lay out in front of Zero, so he had to step over them to get close to her.
"Hey Zero..."
"Hey." She put away her sword. "...Just forget everything I said back there. I don't know what came over me. Let's go back to the-"
"A- Actually...I was wondering ...do you mind if I call you Rose from now on or do you prefer Zero?"
"What...?" She shook her head. "Why the hell are you even asking? What does it even matter."
"When I heard your name for the first time, I've always thought that 'Rose' suited you much better than Zero, and when I said your name that night...it felt like I was talking to you for the first time."
"I don't even know where you're going with this. I told you to just forget everything I-"
"...It's because you're beautiful, like a rose, but you make it so hard to get close to you."
Her heart was beating so fast, she felt like it was rattling around in her ribcage. It was hard for her to think clearly, let alone get a word out. "...I'm scared... of losing you. I don't want you to become another Michael in my life."
"I promised that I'd always be here for you, and I won't break that promise, no matter what happens. So...let me get close to you, I- I feel the same way about you, even though it took me a long time to realize it. Sorry about that, by the way."
"...It took me a long time too." She got close to Riku, leaning into his face, but stopped herself. "-Can I?"
"Y-Yeah! I- I mean, ahem... sure."
She laughed. "...I think it's cute when you get flustered."
"R-Really?"
"Mmm-hm. Why else do you think I can stand a virgin like you?" She held his face in her hands, her cheeks getting warmer the longer she stared into his eyes, then she pressed her lips against his. As calm and collected Riku kept himself, she could feel him melt into her embrace, but she kept him steady while her hands fell from his face to his shoulders.
Zero enjoyed the moment for as long as she could before breaking away from him. "...Are you into it?" She asked, still feeling self-conscious.
"...Of course." This time, Riku pulled Zero in for another kiss, he may have been inexperienced, but he was a fast learner and her lips made for an excellent teacher. With a bit of reluctance, his hands found their way to her hips, where he held them loosely.
Evidently, Zero liked the sensation of his touch because she dug her fingers into his shoulders and let out a soft moan.
"Not bad..." She breathed out, though her breaths were getting close to panting. "You learned a lot from being a stripper, huh?"
"You're never gonna let that go, are you?"
She kissed him on the cheek. "Nope."
If the previous Recorder's notes are anything to go by, then this is truly a fascinating turn of events! Good for them, good for them!
...Oh it seems as though the previous Accord was more of the cryptic type of Recorder and not the commentator type, now that I'm looking at her messages more closely. Okay, let me restructure it then, how about this;
Sometimes life is really good, other times it sucks really bad.
If this chapt- I mean...if today is the really good part then tomorrow will be the part where it sucks really bad. Hope that helped!
Flowers for the Dead
A/N: thank you so much guys for staying with me so far! It's safe to say I've been waiting on this moment for literal years lol. The next chapter will take a bit longer than usual to get out bc I want to work on another fic I've been neglecting but I'll be back shortly!
Land of Forests
-Unknown-
Pete walked out of a dark portal and entered a room lit only by the torches along the wall.
"-Ugh, it's this ugly fatso again. Who invited you to disturb our Queen Maleficent?" Asked an annoyingly high-pitched voice.
Pete angrily swatted at the faerie buzzing around in his face. "I've been Maleficent's henchman way before you dang mosquitoes so scram! I gots some important news to tell her!"
"-And what news would that be?" Maleficent walked out of the shadows to meet with Pete. "Hopefully, Four and Claudia have made a breakthrough in regards to this 'master' plan."
"Erm, about that. So Four was able to get the Flower into that keyblade bozo and figure out how he got it in the first place-"
"Excellent."
"-Buuuut, she lost her god dang mind and went cuckoo, now her and Claudia are plottin' behind your back to destroy the world and are gonna use Riku to do all their dirty work."
"What?!" She briefly lost her composure, slamming her staff on the ground, while the faeries tried to console her.
"As to be expected from those inbred Intoners, how dare they betray our Queen!" The faerie said.
"Doubly so from that nasty, smelly elf girl! Both of those tramps will have to pay for their crimes!" Another chimed in.
"Those wretched girls plan to betray me and destroy the world behind MY back? What insolence! Though...I suppose this is inevitable when they learn from the best, they may be conniving, but I have ways to discipline those children. Diablo-"
At her call, her black raven flew to her side, perching on the head of her staff.
She caressed his head. "Inform my dear pupil that he must see to Four and Claudia's disposal...they have fallen out of my grace."