In-Between Happiness Part 2
"You don't...know me," Lala murmured as she rose to her feet. She stepped away from Satan, her lips frozen in a smile. "You don't remember me at all. Nothing? I was one of your top students." She itched her neck, digging in her fingernails. "Well, there were times when I slept in your class, and you would tap me on the head with a staff to wake me up. Remember that I preferred the window seat? I liked it because of the sunlight filtering in through those tall oak trees. We spoke about how I could channel sunlight and convert it to the energy, and – and – um, well, it was so long ago, and I didn't fully understand what you meant, so I can't exactly tell you the details."
Words tumbled out of her. Her jaw worked itself as she recalled their classes and lessons. In the afternoon, the headmaster would stand in front of the classroom discussing whatever topic fancied him. Compared to Arle, who didn't bother attending the headmaster's lectures, Lala was always studious, taking as many notes as she could until a distraction eventually drew her attention elsewhere.
Infrequently, it was Camus in the courtyard. He would be returning from a grand quest. He was met with adulation from their teachers, who praised him for his wits and heroism upon slaying a monster in a neighboring village or across the sea. Sometimes, his golden armor was stained in rustic hues, which Lala imagined scrubbing clean in the washroom of their cottage.
On the chance it happened to be Camus and not birdsong or gossiping girls, Lala jumped out the window calling his name. Only the headmaster would shout at her, as her classmates had become accustomed to her tendency to lunge after Camus. She remembered him throwing staffs and tomes at her, but she was already soaring out the window, colliding into Camus' back or landing on her feet to chase after him.
"There she goes again," she remembered Arle saying, her voice a whisper in the wind, "Lala, take him to the countryside so I never have to see his ugly mug ever again!"
But even if she taken Camus' calloused hand and guided him away from the dangers of the world, it was impossible to escape their fate.
Camus had been the Creator's first victim. When the war started, Camus led the charge. Sword held high in the air, a roar in his throat, Camus slashed at a being beyond their comprehension. He burned in hellfire spewed from His mouth until Camus was nothing but ash scattered by the wind. The gales prevented her from snatching even the smallest particle of his essence, and her screams drowned in the hail and thunder.
"Lala," Accord began, stepping to her side. She rested her hand on her shoulder, feeling Lala's bone jutting against skin and threadbare fabric. "This is not the headmaster you remember. He is not from your realm."
Satan drew to his full height. He gazed down at the silent girl with hollowed eyes and pale skin like a bleached skull. He observed the dirt caking her dress, her hair mangled with twigs. Satan dragged his hand along his arm, feeling injuries born from his battle with the doppelganger and huffed out his solemnity with all the air in his lungs.
"So, there was another straggler – ah, excuse me, survivor from that universe," he remarked, leering over at Ecolo.
"What? You're blaming little old me, too? I thought I was helping," Ecolo growled, crossing their arms. "Haven't I been punished enough? Somehow, Pretty Boy was able to punch me! I'm supposed to be untouchable, y'know!"
Lala flinched upon their voice. Despite the sun beating down on her matted scalp, she shivered from head to toe. She drew her fists to her mouth, pressing her knuckles into her bruised jaw. She remembered the smell of the cave where she encountered them, dank and musty, copper and death.
Ecolo impassively observed her. She didn't appear anything at all like they assumed. She was supposed to have made new friends in Primp, but she decided to languish in her misery. They disavowed responsibility over her.
Lala kicked off and swung her left fist at Ecolo's face. Ecolo glided to the side. Lala thrust herself into the space where they once floated. Roaring at the top of her lungs, Lala snatched Ecolo's throat, but they slipped free, and she grasped only a mirage.
"Lala! Stop!" Amitie cried, but her words fell on ears that refused to heed her.
"Do you know how badly I suffered in that world you stranded me in?" she bellowed, punching the air again and again, Ecolo effortlessly avoiding her strikes. "Someone like me shouldn't have ever tainted that world! I-! What I did-!" Lala screwed her eyes shut. Her sins clawed down the scarred flesh of her neck and back. The bodies of innocent townspeople slumbering and decaying in her hut while she watched with a smile filtered in her mind. Their fungal scents rose from the clothes she would tear off them. The earth claimed the cadavers and left behind marrow, overwhelming the girl who rejected a world might have accepted her in the past.
Ecolo did not reply. They hovered above her head. They sat cross-legged, observing, listening.
Lala fell to her knees and pressed her palms to her eyes. Choked sobs escaped her. She scratched her bitten fingernails into her scalp and hunched forward. Her brow met the grass, her hair splaying around her like a dirtied halo.
What had she done for the past five hundred years besides wallow in despair? She had taken her pain out on people who never wronged her. They were not made in the likeness of the Creator. They were smiling, mirthful villagers who wanted to invite the Witch of Nahe to their humble, flourishing community. At different points in time, a skeleton offered to dress her, and a former giant provided her nourishment, but she shunned them, and for those unfortunate to meet with her, she sentenced them to death by a dream from which they would never awaken.
Her heart palpitated. It could have burst from her chest, and she wished it did. It would been one way of retribution to the deceased in Primp and in her world.
Ecolo cocked their head. The sight was pitiful, even for a Wanderer of Worlds. They had seen tragedy upon tragedy to point where they had all become farce comedies. But their mouth worked itself into a frown. If their body produced sweat, then it would broken out in chilly beads along their brow.
"You didn't make any friends," they said, "and you chose to do what you did, I guess. Not that I kept tabs on you." They shrugged. "For me, I only met you a couple of days ago."
Lala's head shot up. Her eyes bulged in her skull and threatened to burst. A gasp erupted from Amitie. Raffina's hands balled into fists. Sig narrowed his glare on to Ecolo, a wordless anger stewing in his stomach. Accord tightened her grip on her magic wand, her lips pursing, and Popoi's tail shot upwards.
"Raffina, how did the rumor about the Witch of Nahe go again?" Amitie asked, holding on to the other girl's sleeve.
Her cheeks lost their natural color. Raffina swallowed the lump in her throat, replying, "Tarutaru said the Witch of Nahe has existed since the early days of Primp. She would amble into the village crying about her beloved before slinking back into the forest. Anyone who found her perished."
As Amitie covered her mouth, Sig pressed his sharp thumbnail into his palm. "Doesn't that mean Ecolo caused all of this?" he muttered, but as Amitie and Raffina stared at him trying to form a response, Lala's garbled sound silenced them.
Fragments of sentences stumbled out of Lala. All eyes fell on her. She reached out for Ecolo, her fingers twitching with the urge to gouge through his beady eyes. Through gasps, she rasped, "What do you-? Days? But for me, it was-"
"Five hundred years ago. Does no one realize that I'm a space-time traveler? Just because it's a certain year in this world doesn't mean it's that year in another dimension," Ecolo remarked, shrugging. "Gosh, it's so confusing explaining what I can do. I mean, every time I do, there's a chance someone ends up like, well..." They pointed at Lala. "...you."
Lala's limbs slackened. Her knees sunk into the soil as if she would become one with the earth. She had sent many good denizens of Primp to their doom that way. If this new world swallowed her up along with her sorrow, then she'd welcome it with her bony arms raised high in supplication.
"How could you do that to her? Why would you do such a cruel thing?" Amitie shouted, marching forward.
"Hey, I didn't do anything cruel. Do you see blood on me, Hat Girl?" Ecolo shot back with their hands shoved in her face.
Amitie tried slapping them aside, but Ecolo evaded her. "But you didn't help her! I don't get what fully happened, but to me, it sounds like you abandoned her!"
"I'm not responsible for anyone, girlie. If you make a mistake, then reflect and own up to it yourself," they countered, smirking. "Isn't that what happened with Squares?"
"That's-! You-!"
A white feather tickled her neck. Flinching, Amitie glanced over her shoulder and found her teacher smiling at her. Accord cupped the crown of her head, nodded, and placed herself in front of her student, shielding Amitie from Ecolo's stare.
"My students have informed me that you helped Squares in the end. Even if you lambasted him, you still assisted him in his darkest hour," Accord interjected, raising her wand. Amitie stepped aside, a rare flash of fury crossing her gaze as she turned away from Ecolo. "If what I suspect is true, then you have much to answer for, Wanderer of Worlds."
"Yeah! You better tell us what the heck you've done right now!" Maguro demanded, hurrying next to Accord. He felt as if an opening was given to him, like someone had lowered their block in a fighting game. Receiving any suitable answers raced across his mind, and he leered over at Satan, who focused his attention on the broken husk of a girl.
Maguro's chest squeezed when his eyes fell back on Lala. She hadn't moved a muscle. He remembered how Ringo vanished when the doppelganger was in that same position. The doppelganger had lunged out, snatching Ringo with such violence that he feared Ringo's bones would have snapped. Then, in the blink of an eye, she condemned Ringo to a realm where he couldn't follow, but as the other girl moved closer, anxiety compressed upon Maguro's lungs, and he couldn't scream.
Hands grabbed Lala's shoulders. They shook her gently, but she refused to budge. Lala wished she was like a statue, immobile and blind, eternally hunched. If only the ground would swallow her up, fill her lungs with her soil and worms and free her from the binds trying to wreathe around her.
But although she didn't resist, warmth covered her. Soft, blonde hair tickled her cheeks. They were not her own, hers too matted to feel like silk. If she cracked open an eye, then she feared she'd be blinded, the heat spreading through her body and caressing her face.
"Lala, haven't you hurt yourself enough?"
Amitie's voice broke through her thoughts. Lala peeled her eyelashes apart to gaze at the young magician. Small tears welled in the corners of Amitie's ears. Lala believed the sunlight played a trick on her. No one should have cried for her, not after the crimes she had committed against Amitie and her friends.
"I don't know the full story. I don't think I can fully get what you've went through. I'm – I'm not that smart," Amitie whispered, gripping Lala's shoulders. Dimples formed on her cheeks as she smiled. "But what I do know is that you're really hurting. You're in a lot of pain, and I want to help you."
Lala's question breathed past her lips. Confusion graced Amitie's face. She cocked her head, humming before breaking into cheek-splitting grin.
"Why? Because I think we can be good friends! You've been lonely for a super long time, but you don't have to be isolated anymore, not while we're here!" Amitie exclaimed as the sunlight beamed down upon her. "I can't replace who or what you lost, but I think I can help you start making new friends and new memories."
A hint of a smile cracked on Sig's face. He offered Raffina his human hand. He tilted his head at them, the question not needing to be asked.
Raffina hesitated. Ice ran down her spine. Sig pressed his hand to her wrist, brushing his thumb against her skin. She was still frigid to the touch.
But she closed her eyes, sighed, and relented. She took his hand, and he guided her toward them. Sig crouched, and Raffina held her skirt as she wobbled, managing to kneel in front of them.
"Um, you were a student like us, I suppose. Whatever happened to you must have been terrible enough for you to do that to me, er, us," Raffina stammered, and she glanced at Sig, who nodded.
"It's cool if you need time. Amitie's just a really forgiving person." He gently nudged Raffina. "She's not. You might have to be her training partner for the next decade if you want her to forgive you."
"Don't make me out to be such a miser," she grumbled without a hint of annoyance, "but Lala, was it? Lala, if you want to be better, then start acting like it. Don't kill people anymore. It's gross."
"That's – that's so blunt, Raf!" Amitie blurted, her jaw slacking.
She chuckled. "Am I wrong? Please, Miss Amitie, tell me exactly how I'm wrong."
"She's not really wrong, Amitie," Sig admitted when Amitie groaned.
Lala wondered if she was in an elaborate dream. Their words sounded too good to be true. Only in her dreams did she find solace and forgiveness. They were spoken to her by Camus and Arle in the schoolyard where everyone would have gathered for supplemental lessons.
But as she gazed upon Amitie, Raffina, and Sig, she knew their identities. They were not Arle or Rulue or even Schezo as she inspected the boy with cyan hair and a strange scarlet claw. They were their own people with bonds unique to Primp, and they offered her an olive branch, one that she would have eagerly spurned ages ago.
Amitie cupped Lala's hands when they trembled. She brushed her round thumbs along Lala's gaunt skin that threatened to tear with the slightest caress. "It's okay, Lala. We can't change the past, but we can make the most out of our future, right?" she offered, and like a sewing needle threading a patch on fabric, Lala's heart, once broken, mended itself together.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry," Lala crooned, and she buried her head into Amitie's shoulder. Five hundred years worth of sorrow and tears spilled out of her, muffled by the soft fabric of Amitie's shirt. She blubbered until only anguished, relieved cries remained, and Amitie did not release her, Sig and Raffina adding their hands to her back.
Out of respect, Maguro remained quiet. Although anxiety pulsed through his bloodstream, he was stricken silent as Amitie held the sobbing girl who looked like she had crawled through a nightmare. His suspicion remained. If any one of them lowered their guard, then the girl from the other world could have dragged them into a dimension where no one could reach them.
"My students are something else, aren't they?" Accord piped up, the middle-schooler flinching at her voice. She smiled at him, lightly tapping his head with her wand. "But for now, there is much to be done. If your friend is in trouble, then we need to confront the source."
He followed her wand. She aimed it at Satan and Ecolo, the former dragging his hand across his eyes. They seemed wet for a reason Maguro did not understand. Ecolo didn't look at them; their attention remained on the sobbing Witch of Nahe.
"My serum should still be in effect, Satan," Risukuma stated, and Satan grimaced. "Now, the truth about the doppelganger's identity if you please. No more convoluted theories or reasoning. The truth. Now."
Ecolo snapped out of their daze. They rolled their shoulders back, their legs stretching out as if waking from an uncomfortable nap. If they had knuckles, they would have cracked them.
"The truth? Fine. I suppose I have no choice other than clawing out my own throat and choking on my blood," Satan snarled, ignoring the shiver running up Maguro's spine. "The doppelganger who arrived here to this world is not related to my world. The doppelganger from my world has already been sent to another dimension, another Primp Town in a universe far, far from here, where there was no Arle. She found happiness there."
Amitie's head whipped over to them. "Wait, what? What about another Primp Town?" she shouted, but Sig shook his head.
"Uh, let's not interrupt. Things are just gonna keep getting crazier," he said, and Raffina solemnly nodded.
Satan narrowed his eyes on Risukuma. "The truth you seek is something I did my best to prevent from happening, but you fools had to give her hospitality! You mortals cannot fathom what kind of twisted creature she is! She defeated the Creator of her own universe! That's power that I can only match in her weakened state!"
"Which means..." Risukuma held his index fingers apart. "...you would've gladly kept her there to maintain the balance of our universe."
"'Gladly.' You're putting words in my mouth." Satan raked his fingers through his hair. "To put it plainly, the rules of her universe were far different. The me of that world supposedly failed to free her entire soul from that void, thus warping her into what she is today." He dug his claws into his palms and curled his lip. "If that fool hadn't royally screwed the pooch, then we wouldn't be in this mess. There wouldn't have been another doppelganger if he didn't fail in retrieving both halves of that Arle's soul." He pressed his palms to his temples, groaning. "That lout! How do you even split a soul and not realize it? It's maddening to conceive that the another me in that far-off dimension would be so half-baked!"
A tight smile split on Maguro's face. He heaved out a sigh with a slow shake of his head. He raised his hand, and out of habit, Accord called on him.
"And...that's the truth. She really is one half of..." His molars pressed together. "...an Arle's soul, just twisted because she spent five hundred years in the void that was once her home, and that was before she watched everyone die to their almighty being or whoever the heck massacred them. Wow." He gripped his hips. "Oh, and she's also immortal, but the Arle and friends we know aren't because they're not from that world that's obviously been destroyed, again, five hundred years ago in a totally different universe," Maguro summarized, brows furrowing. He clicked his tongue, and a slow chuckle rolled off his tongue. "Did I get all that right? Is that what's going on here?"
Satan blinked. He glanced from side to side. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Yes. That was very thorough."
Maguro's smile shot downwards so quickly he formed lines around the sides of his mouth. He threw his arms out and stomped his foot, shouting, "That's so stupid! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"I agree with Maguro! I could've gone my whole life without listening to that - that drivel," Raffina snapped, holding her head in her hands. "Honestly, I wish I could go back to sleep instead of trying to wrap my head around whatever nonsense was just said from both of you." She winced as Lala broke into even louder sobs. "Oh, stop that this instance! No more crying!"
"Um, yeah, maybe we should stop the waterworks for a minute," Amitie whispered, and Lala dried her eyes on the napkin Sig offered her. "Wait, um, where did you get that, Sig?"
"Oh, my back pocket. I keep a family of centipedes in there," he replied, and Lala uttered a short shriek as centipedes crawled on her nose.
Disgust crossed Satan's features as he barked, "Look! Tonal dissonance aside, she would have gladly killed Arly-!"
"Which means she could be killing Ringo as we sit here twiddling our thumbs!" Maguro roared.
"-to take her place! She could've killed you all!"
"Oh, she doesn't care about taking Arle's place! She's somewhere else outside of this dimension! And we don't have the Starship Tetra to blast off and find it!" Lunging forward, Maguro snatched Satan's lapels and shook him. "Let me put one more thing in your head, old man! If that doppelganger really wanted to take Arle's place, wouldn't she have sought her out the moment Ecolo dropped her off here? She would have ditched Ringo and tried to find her, not spend a whole day hanging out with us!"
"And regarding the point of killing us all, her intentions seemed friendly at first. She only became antagonistic when you arrived, Satan," Risukuma countered.
"And most importantly, who cares about any of this right now? Ringo is somewhere out there, and we're here arguing semantics about that doppelganger's origin story from an off-shoot universe! Hey!" Maguro jabbed his thumb at the Primp students. "Do you three get what's going on?"
Raffina snorted, "Well, I could've died, too, in Primp not too long ago. Thanks your concern, Maguro."
Sig arched an eyebrow. "But we already saved you. We don't have to worry about you anymore. Some freaky Doppelganger Arle running around sounds way more dangerous than the Witch of Nahe."
"Hey! I could've-!"
"Not that we're unhappy you're alive, Raffina! All of us are super pumped you're not trapped in an endless nightmare," Amitie chirped, earning a growl from the back of Raffina's throat.
"Um, I'm sorry about the attempted murder," Lala offered, and Raffina shook her fist at her.
An argument broke out between Satan, Risukuma, and Maguro. Accord attempted meditation, citing both sides having solid points, but no one listened. They were too engrossed in their fight, Maguro's fear for his friend's life fueling the rush of words spewing from his mouth.
Ecolo watched. They peered at everyone. Their thoughts stewed with information and revelations. They dragged their hand along their arm, shuddering at the feeling of small lumps dotting their skin. They had never broken into goosebumps before, not in their entirety of their existence. Goo dripped from their mouth like a flood of drool, hitting the grass in thick, inky droplets, and they bowed their head, contemplating and smiling.
This was not supposed to happen. This was not as they envisioned. This story was supposed to have ended already on a happy note.
"And do mew have anything to say about this?" Popoi asked them, his tail curling. "Mew have been awfurry quiet when mew like to cause mischief and mayhem, meow."
What should have happened was after the battle between Arle and Satan, they would have ventured into Primp and secured Lala. Because they had only met her mere days ago, they did not know of her existence before everything happened. She was merely a legend that they never knew they created, although they were aware something peculiar had happened when Amitie and Raffina waltzed through the woods to the witch's domain. They had simply assumed they were on their merry way to meet a friend.
Returning with Lala should have been the ending everyone wanted. Lala and Arle should have rushed at each other with fat tears rolling down their cheeks. That should have informed Satan of Arle's good intentions, and he would have permitted her existence as a true doppelganger now that the real doppelganger was beyond them in another Primp Town.
But no, this doppelganger abandoned their plot. She tore through her script and refused to read her lines. Instead, she snatched the wrist of their leading lady and jumped the shark. Ecolo was like an author whose characters rebelled against their narrative, stealing their pen and spilling ink all over their creation.
"Ecolo, Popoi asked you a question," Accord stated, her voice sharp, "Answer it."
All eyes latched on to them. Ecolo's mouth twitched into a straight line. They were used to attention, lived for it, but instead of the thrill, all they felt was a chill.
"So, still thinking of blaming me, huh? It's not my fault. I didn't tell you all what to do. I just let things run their course and thought I knew where it was all going," they remarked, their fingers and toes curling. "There was no chance for me to beat the Creator. I saved Lala, and then, I saved that doppelganger from the void. What should have happened was-"
"Shut up! Just shut up! Don't you dare tell me you had a scenario in mind when you did all of this?" Maguro hissed.
"Pretty Boy, I have so many scenarios cooking at all times."
"Then, Ringo's capture was another cog in the machine?" Risukuma harshly questioned.
"Of course not! That guy-" They jabbed their finger at Satan. "-kept saying so many confusing things that it ruined everything! Blame him, too!"
"Trust me. We do," Accord flatly replied, Maguro and Risukuma leaning away. She stepped in front of them like a mother shielding her children. She slapped her wand into her free hand, Popoi hissing on her shoulder. "What should have happened today simply should not have, and what did happen today was the combined results of your selfishness."
"My what?" Satan growled, baring his fangs.
"Selfishness. Would you like the dictionary definition?" she offered with a sweet smile.
When he took a breath, Popoi sneered, "Don't answer that seriously, meow."
Accord brushed through her bangs. She stepped closer, her heels digging into the soil. She toyed with a lock of hair before languidly letting her arm drop to her side.
"From what I understand, there are a plethora of people involved who need to take ownership, but there are also people out there who need our help," Accord said, setting her fist to her chin. "The wise decision would be to leave at once."
Ecolo pumped their hands above their head. "Great! Satan and I can open up a portal-"
"But another prudent manner is ensuring you two understand the depths of your mistakes," she finished, whipping her wand at Ecolo's face. If they had a nose, her wand would have jabbed it. As their eyes crossed to stare at the wand, her lips spread in a scowl, Popoi snarling. "My dear students could have been harmed. One of their friends is trapped in an inauspicious realm. Because of you two, this day could have ended in tragedy."
A hushed silence fell over them. Risukuma's breath stilled in his throat. Maguro couldn't work his stiff jaw. The Primp students glanced at each other, and Raffina rubbed the back of her skull, the haziness of sleep tugging at her eyelids. Lala bowed her head and clasped her hands in her waist, closing her eyes as shame colored her face the same dark hue as her dress.
Satan brushed his long hair over his shoulder. Huffing, he closed his eyes and opened his wings. "Fine, fine, I'll acknowledge it. I could have handled this situation better, but I did what I thought was best for Arly and the others," he said, narrowing his eyes on Accord. "The doppelganger is more dangerous than you comprehend. Don't misconstrue my intentions."
"I'm aware you did what you thought was right," she replied, lowering her wand, "but from what I'm conjecturing, settling this through violence and lies only led to suffering."
Satan's lips pursed, and his wings closed in on himself. Crossing his arms, his gaze fell on Lala. He stared at her, the one who did not exist in his world, and he breathed out a sigh.
"And Ecolo, I suppose you know exactly why you're in the wrong."
"Not really. Things just didn't go as planned." They smirked. "It's not like I'm influencing everyone like the Dimensional Parasite did to his sister."
"Ah, I see! It seems you want to act like a petulant child," Accord replied with as much mirth as humanly possible, "and when one of my students misbehave, I tend to break out a far more rigorous way to educate them."
With her back facing the rest, Accord confronted Ecolo. She approached them, and the space-time traveler hesitated. A witty response was ready to be fired at her, but Ecolo's mouth was sealed, their expression growing long as Accord did something they thought unthinkable.
Her eyes flashed open, filled to the brim with utmost hatred. They shined brighter than any jewel known to the realms, her slit pupils as dark as night. Her eternal smile twisted into a frown. Popoi growled and lunged above her, his shadow stretching into the ground, his yellow eyes like stars going supernova. His fur and fangs sharpened, reminding Ecolo of daggers, and the shrill yowl wrenching free from the pit of Popoi's stomach nearly split their head in two.
"Holy moly, Ms. Accord!" Amitie screamed, covering her mouth.
"It's – it's – that's – I can't believe this! Popoi?" Raffina sputtered.
"Whoa," was all that Sig mustered.
As Accord's students gawked, Maguro couldn't stop the small smirk pressing into his cheek when he saw the color drain from Ecolo's face.
Accord thrust her wand at them. Musical notes gathered at the tip and swirled like a ribbon. She whipped it downward faster than anyone could blink. Before Ecolo could evade her, the colorful notes rushed at them, beating into their body with the force of strong blows from a boxer.
Ecolo flung backwards. Their limbs toppled over themself. They skidded through the grass and dirt, sending soil and bits of earth in their wake. Popoi swiped them away before they could strike Accord with his long, jagged tail, his cackling filling the stunned silence.
"Nyahaha! Meow, meow, Ecolo! There's nyo way to chirp your way out of this one, nya!" Popoi jeered, his claws twitching.
Ecolo rolled into a sitting position. They saw stars and meteors swirling around their head. Their vision crossed, blurring the greens and browns of the world, and they shook their head, staring at the musical notes hovering above them.
"I will reiterate, so please, clean your ears. Throughout this debacle, you refuse to acknowledge your involvement as the catalyst," she gravely stated, and she tossed her wand in the air. The musical notes rose as well, enlarging. "I don't want to continue the lesson this way, but I will if I must for you to see the error of your ways."
"'Lesson?' I'm not your student!" Ecolo barked. "Don't think you can talk down to me when things went awry. I'm not to blame here."
But as soon as they finished speaking, they grimaced. They left behind an afterimage as they dodged the onslaught of notes. They crashed into the ground, exploding the earth and shooting hunks of it away from the group, whose own yelps and shrieks were swallowed up by Accord's magic. The scent of the soil filled Ecolo from head to toe, and they dove through the debris, electricity crackling in their palms.
"Swindle!" they bellowed, bolts of lightning blasting at Accord.
"Teacher!" Amitie cried, hurrying to her feet.
Accord snapped her fingers. Popoi lunged forward with a delighted screech and outstretched their claws. Darkness swelled like a portal between them, crackling with stardust, and gathering it, he launched it at Ecolo.
"Black Hole!" he sneered, cackling at the top of his lungs.
His attack swallowed up Ecolo's meager lightning. It swamped them, smashing them into the ground and leaving nothing behind when it dissipated. Popoi snickered and held his arms high above their head. The black hole reappeared, and out shot Ecolo smashing into the trees with the force of a tornado. Several trees cracked, precariously wobbling as bark splintered, and birds flew from their perches, abandoning them with squawks and feathers flying loose from their bodies.
Ecolo held their head, their eyes wide. They stared at Popoi with the blankest expression they could manage. Slowly, they rose to their feet and hovered. Goo slipped off them and landed in clumps below them.
Maguro swallowed. "They're still-?"
"No. Observe," Risukuma murmured, crossing his arms.
Ecolo collapsed. Their knees gave out, and they splayed themself on the uneven ground. They breathed through their mouth, battered and bruised. Gripping the grass, they tore out blades as they dragged themself to their knees, panting and rasping for breath.
Aggravation boiled in their blood. Their brain raced with reactions and spells, but they couldn't launch a single one. Weakness seeped in their bones, threatening to break.
It wasn't their fault. It wasn't their fault! They had no control over Lala and Arle. They couldn't puppeteer them, not that they wanted to do it. What they assumed would have been a lovely reunion, what should have been the end of to a grand story, was marred with strife and heartbreak beyond their control.
They didn't want any of this to happen, not at all.
Accord grabbed their arm. What shouldn't have been possible happened again. They tore away from her, falling onto their back and leering up at Accord with frightened, pebble-like eyes.
"Cat got your tongue?" Popoi jeered, leaning over Accord's shoulder.
"I can't believe you abnormalities are able to touch me," they hissed out, wincing when Accord sighed.
She tossed aside her wand. It vanished in a puff of smoke. She outstretched her hand, and Popoi nodded. He shrank, his black hue returning to bright deep blue. Landing on her shoulder, Popoi's tail flicked harmlessly and stroked her neck, purring over a job well done.
They gulped, the sound heard by everyone. "What do you want with me?"
"Sometimes, a lesson is learned through hard measures. With this, you must understand how they all feel now, right?" Accord asked, her voice dripping with sympathy. "You should understand the depths of Lala's pain, of my students' pain." Her brow creased. She reached forward and snatched Ecolo's hand, her touch motherly and agonizing at the same time. "Right now, aren't there other people in great pain because of what you set in motion?"
Ecolo's eyes widened. It was as if she had driven a stake through their heart. Gravity could have crushed them, and if it could, then they willed it to happen.
Ringo was out there, alone, scared. The doppelganger had every chance to snip the thread of her life. And it was because they guided Arle to her, all because they wanted to see a reunion five hundred years in the making. If that happened, they would lose the only friend who mattered to them.
They ripped their hand away, holding it as if wounded. They stumbled away from Accord, who closed her eyes again and stroked Popoi behind his ears. Ecolo searched her expression, the fine lines prevalent around her mouth only vanishing when she lifted her lips in a tiny grin.
"I didn't mean for this to happen," Ecolo whispered, shaking their head. "I just wanted everyone to meet and be happy. When I heard their stories, I felt sorry for them. I thought they deserved to meet, and everyone could have played a part in that meeting."
"But that's not what happened, is it?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
Ecolo returned her smile with a sigh. They tilted their head back, their small tears receding. Their chest puffed out with uneven breathes, their electrical core sputtering with power.
If they had simply given their idea more thought, then they could've avoided many tragedies. Their impulses had caused everyone severe problems, many of which bore down heavily on Ringo. They counted their lucky stars if Ringo still considered them a friend when and if they reached the final page of the story unraveling at the seams.
At the end of the day, they did it all for her and two lost, lonely souls. It was supposed to have been another typical adventure, but the rules of Arle's and Lala's worlds were much more savage and merciless than anyone could have anticipated. The truth of the matter was that Ecolo persevered without considering their pain, the horrors of war and loss, and how it twisted a person into a caricature of who they used to be before that self died.
Funny. I should've realized that in the beginning. I used to be just like them, after all.
"No. That's not what happened at all," they said, and it was the most honest statement they had ever given anyone.
"Then-" Nodding, Accord turned and faced the others. "-let's make haste."
Ecolo zipped past her where everyone gathered. Maguro and Risukuma leered at them upon their return. Amusement crossed Maguro's expression, evidently humored by the thrashing that had taken place.
"Are you ready? That battle took a lot of out you," Satan asked, raising his hand.
"I can say the same for you after Arle almost won," Ecolo jeered, and Satan scoffed.
Magic gathered in their hands. It pulsed and swirled, heat searing their palms before they thrust it an empty spot. Upon collision of their magic, massive, dark doors appeared out of thin air. Satan and Ecolo spun in front of them and tore open the door through dimensions. Stars and warp-holes presented themselves with a grand flourish. Comets streaked across endlessly dark blue horizons. The smell of sweets wafted freely, beckoning them to enter.
Holding Lala's hand, Amitie led the charge. She raced inside with Sig and Raffina in tow. Accord followed with quiet footsteps, Popoi eagerly flashing his claws. Satan cast the stragglers a glance before stepping inside, telling them to hurry.
"We'll save her," Ecolo vowed, looking at Ringo's friends.
"Of course we will. She's Ringo. She'll figure something out until we arrive," Maguro said, and Risukuma held his shoulder, providing him with all the strength he needed.
As Maguro and Risukuma entered, Ecolo stared at the bloody red sky surrounding Suzuran. Without another word, they closed the doors behind them.
They could only pray they would make it in time.