In-Between Eudaimonia Part 1
For the second time in five hundred years, Arle woke up in a colorful world. The walls were a pleasant pale green. She was swaddled in a thick, red blanket embroidered with apples in different colored threads. When she rose from the futon, her body aching all over, she noticed the floor was covered in a soft, white carpet. Slowly, she pressed down on the carpet and stood up from the futon, the blanket slipping off her bare shoulders.
She examined herself. Her armor was gone, but she remained in her tunic and skirt. Without her pauldrons weighing on her shoulders and her chest plate prominently pressing outward, she realized her stature was rather small.
Bruises marred her body. She hadn't the foggiest idea where they had come from. Considering her location, they were anomalous marks on her. She dug her thumb into a dull, gray-blue one on her left knee and noted that it didn't even sting.
With her mind still blank, Arle examined the bedroom. Framed photographs and textbooks decorated a metal desk. Pens and pencils were organized by color in a plastic box. Posters with mathematical equations covered one wall. The other wall was hidden by a dresser with a few sweaters poking out from the drawers and a bookshelf filled with fiction and nonfiction publications.
An odd scent lingered in the room. When she turned to the windows, she found one of them wide open. A cool, fishy aroma wafted inside. She followed the odor and pulled up the blinds, letting the sunlight fill in the dark room.
Voices murmured outside. Arle poked her head out, squinting only to grit down on her molars. There, on the front step, she spotted Maguro and Risukuma. The former held a platter covered in tinfoil. Hands extended out from what must have been the doorway and accepted Maguro's dish. She assumed they belonged to one of Ringo's parents.
Ringo.
Arle jolted, her head hitting the blinds. The rustle halted the chatter below her, but her attention fell elsewhere. Clarity crashed into her, deafening the sharp cry escaping from Maguro. Everything that had happened jolted her like a bolt of lightning shooting down from the top of her skull all the way down her spine.
She trembled, hunching forward and retreating from the window. Her ankle caught on the futon, but she steadied herself. Footsteps echoed from outside, thundering and pounding in her head, distorting the memories of yesterday that surfaced with the fury of a hurricane. It all came back to her. In the span of a single night and day, she had committed an atrocity the likes of which would have made the Creator laugh. It would have given Him the greatest pleasure to see her following in His footsteps. How she had taken Ringo by the arm, twisted it, and forced her to almost endure the same manner of suffering that she had tolerated for centuries.
Nausea overwhelmed her. Her stomach churned, and her head felt heavier than a bowling ball. She stumbled forward and moved without purpose. Arle clumsily stumbled in place, her eyes rolling in her skull, which stung with tears. She squeezed them shut, her brow creasing as she struggled to control her breathing, awash with disgust over her cynical actions that nearly cursed Ringo to a death filled with nothing but emptiness and despair.
But as the door swung open, Arle pulled her eyelids apart and found Ringo Andou covered up to her neck in comforters fast asleep.
She blinked and quickly wiped her eyes on the back of her head. In her stupor, she had completely missed her. Ringo was alive in her bed. She even rolled over to her side to prove it, wrinkling her nose at the noise filling her room. As Ringo sighed and slumbered, Arle wondered if she was dreaming.
She felt her shoulders slacken, her head drooping in relief. She knew she had been able to send Ringo home, but she almost didn't anticipate it to work. An ending like that at the end of their battle seemed too happy for the likes of her, even if she had been reassured by many others coming to her aid.
Glancing at the doorway, she found Maguro and Risukuma staring at her. Risukuma shut the door behind him, trapping them in Ringo's bedroom. Arle peered between them. Their expressions seemed remarkably calm, and she remembered the anguish and shock writhing on their faces when she had stolen Ringo from them.
"You're awake," Risukuma stated, rolling up his sleeve. He checked his wristwatch. "It's almost three in the afternoon. You're a heavy sleeper."
She chuckled, but when Maguro frowned, she bit it back. "Y-yes. Um, when there was nothing else to do, I slept in the remnants of my dimension."
Risukuma continued. "Regarding everything that has happened, it makes sense. You used a lot of magical energy, didn't you? It completely tuckered you out."
"A considerable amount of magic was used. Against Satan and, well, Ringo, I ended up going overboard with my power."
The corner of Maguro's mouth twitched. "'Overboard,' she says. Yeah, I'd say 'overboard' is the right term."
Risukuma looked at Maguro out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't reprimand him. Arle tensed and pressed her lips together. She had anticipated their scrutiny. It wasn't as if she had simply pushed Ringo down a hill like a schoolyard bully. She had almost given her friends a lifetime of trauma, subsequently following the pain of knowing they were nearly unable to save their friend.
Maguro approached the bedside. He examined Ringo, Arle unable to discern his emotions. He was a boy who wore his heart on his sleeve, but now, it was perfectly guarded, fortified with steel. When they caught eyes – or at least, when Arle assumed they caught eyes when Maguro raised his head – Maguro retrieved his kendama from his pocket and waited.
She knew what he wanted to hear. They all did.
"Ringo insisted on letting you sleep in her room," Maguro interjected when she took a breath.
She promptly closed her mouth, then reopened it like a fish out of water. "Uh, what? Ringo did?"
She regretted those words immediately. Maguro straightened, narrowing his eyes on her, as Arle believed it to be true when he scoffed. "Yeah, of course, she did. She already let you stay once, right? Where else would you go?" He gestured aimlessly around the room. "It's not like we're going to let you sleep outside or back in that void. Pretty sure it got destroyed, too."
His tone took an amicable note, but she still sensed his apprehension. He had every right to disdain her. She had just about done the unthinkable to his friend. If she had won that battle against Ringo, then she didn't want to consider the ramifications.
Instead, she asked, "Is Ringo still in agony?"
Risukuma stepped closer. "She is okay. You needn't worry about her. She's been getting rest and received medical aid."
Her heart dropped. "'Medical aid?'"
He seemed surprised for a moment by her repetition, but he nodded. "Naturally. You did quite a number on her."
Maguro tightened his grip on his kendama. It didn't go unnoticed.
"She's feeling better, though, rest assured," Risukuma supplemented at her silence. "She's been eating her apples, drinking water, sleeping a little more than usual. Overall, she is in better health."
Slowly, he pulled back Ringo's comforters. Ringo wore a plain white shirt and blue shorts, a normal outfit for any girl taking a nap, but Arle felt like vomiting. Like her own body, bruises painted Ringo's skin. Scabs crusted along her hands. Fresh bandages had been wrapped around her knuckles and legs. While they weren't marked with blood, Arle knew they must have bled at an earlier point.
Arle gnawed on the inside of her mouth as Maguro quickly covered Ringo. She cupped her hand over her mouth, her eyes burning again. If she could rewind time, then she wouldn't have gone back to when the Creator assailed her world. She would have returned to the moment before she captured Ringo and prevented herself from harming her.
But she couldn't change the facts. What had happened, happened. The past was not something even magic could fix, no matter how hard Arle wished.
Maguro's head tilted. He put away his kendama in his pocket. "You're crying," he stated.
"Huh?" Arle blurted, and she felt a lukewarm tear roll down her cheeks. She rubbed her face, confused. Her cheeks were damp, and her vision was blurry, meshing the colors of Ringo's room together. She tapped her palms to her eyes, forcing out the tears that clung to her eyelashes, uttering another dumbfounded grumble.
Arle pivoted from Ringo. She continued holding her face. Her shoulders, now so thin, quaked. Despite her supposed godhood, she was incapable of changing the past. She couldn't take swallow the venom she hissed or shield Ringo from her most powerful spells or fists. If she had a second chance, she would have directed every blow back at herself.
Still, she cried. Her feebleness, her fragility, her regrets, they were all on display for Maguro and Risukuma to witness. Apologies spilled out of her in fragmented sentences. She choked, her head throbbing, her chest tightening with an emotion she had long forgotten. Full of sorrow, Arle lamented.
"You should...you should save that for Ringo," Maguro muttered, "but the thought's appreciated."
Risukuma spared Maguro a look that Arle wouldn't have given him. Her own dear friends had been brutally killed before her very eyes. She had almost thrust a similar fate onto Maguro and Risukuma the moment Ringo vanished from their world.
Risukuma procured from his pocket and offered it to her. With a grateful nod, she dried her eyes and blew her nose. Risukuma raised his hand, and she tossed the damp cloth into Ringo's trash can. They stood in silence, surveying everything in Ringo's room until they naturally went back to her. Arle wanted to stroke her hair, but she gripped her wrist and pinned herself in place.
"How long has she been like this?" she asked only to pause. "Ah, wait, you already said she had woken up."
"Which makes the question how long have you been sleeping on her spare futon," Risukuma replied.
Maguro extended the fingers and thumb on his right hand, then uncurled his pinky and ring fingers on his left hand. "Today makes it a week since you've been snoozing in Ringo's room."
She felt as if an anvil had dropped on her head. Arle's mouth shot open. She fidgeted, clenching and unclenching an invisible object. If she had been grasping a pillow, she would have torn it to shreds. "A week?" she exploded, snatching Maguro's shoulders. She shook him, the poor boy wobbling back and forth. "Are you telling me I've been cooped up in here for a whole week?"
As Arle bellowed, Ringo woke up and screamed. Their shrieks intermingled, forcing Risukuma to flatten his ears to his head. Immediately hit with drowsiness, Ringo toppled, sounding as if her soul had retreated from her body. She collapsed on her bed with her arms splayed out, groaning as a sliver of drool rolled down her cheek.
As they fussed over her, Ringo snatched her comforters. She held them to her chin, snuggling back in her bed. She turned away from them and raised her hand, silencing them. They waited, watching as she got comfortable and nestled her head against the pillow.
Arle lightly nudged her shoulder. "Um, Rin-"
Arle's sentence was cut short by Ringo lurching from the bed. Her comforters flew everywhere, one of them fully covering Maguro. He didn't bother removing the warm blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders. With feline dexterity, Ringo pounced on the ground and clutched Arle's forearms, the shorter girl squeaking in surprise.
"You're awake! Oh, my gosh! I thought you were going to stay comatose forever!" she exclaimed. She threw her arms over Arle's neck, hugging her so tightly that her back popped.
Arle uttered a long, dumbfounded whine. She flapped her arms, Risukuma catching her when they almost fell over. Ringo rocked from side to side with her, singing a ditty that seemed out of place with the tension that had filled the room.
"A-L-I-V-E! We are both aliiive! That means we caaan S-T-R-I-V-E! Strive, strive, striiive!" Ringo sang, sashaying with Arle, who groaned, dizzied.
Maguro snickered, a grin finally tugging at his lips. "That's Ringo for you. Singing the moment she gets up."
"It's a good way to end an afternoon nap, Maguro," she replied, matching his smile.
"Singing right after sleeping, what an interesting combination. I should study their wellness effects," Risukuma commented, rubbing his chin.
Stupefied, Arle balked. She was at a complete loss for words. Her snuffling caught Ringo's attention, and her cheeks darkened to the hue of her friend's hair. When Ringo asked what was wrong, Arle could only gape at her.
Ringo released her and snapped her fingers. "Oh, I guess they filled you in, huh? Yeah, you've been asleep for a week," she said with a giggle. "Man, my parents were worried, too. They were like, 'Ringo, what happened?' But don't worry. I told them it was a Puyo thing, and they calmed down."
"Eh? You – I mean, you're saying – but I – I nearly killed you!" Arle cried, waving her arms. "I trapped you in my lonesome dimension, and I hurt you, and I-!"
Ringo snorted. "I've had people try to banish me from existence for, well, a long time," she said, and she began counting on her fingers. "There was Ex, but he was kind of depressed and didn't mean it. Squares and Rafisol wanted me erased. Ecolo, well, when we first met, they almost buried my world in Puyos. There's definitely going to be a lot more encounters similar to that, so I'm fine." She hitched her thumb over her shoulder. "You might as well have taken a number and gotten in line for how many other people wanted to get rid of us."
Arle blinked. She pulled back, glancing around the room as if waiting for someone to pop out and tell her she was being pranked. She turned to Risukuma, then Maguro, then back to Ringo. Unable to conjure together a cohesive rebuttal, she settled for, "That's it?"
Ringo shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, you were sobbing pretty hard just now while you were apologizing."
A snicker from Maguro brought Arle out of her stupor. She whipped her head over to him and found him chuckling behind his hand. Risukuma followed suit, chortling hard enough for his arms to quiver. And in front of Arle, Ringo's smile deepened the dimples on her cheeks.
It suddenly came to Arle that she had been thoroughly, thoroughly tricked. Heat flushed her cheeks and reached the tips of her ears. Ringo had heard her apology and pretended to sleep through it! Maguro and Risukuma had kept up appearances for Arle's apology to come through, leaving her flabbergasted as they continued grinning at her.
Ringo sighed. "Ah, we got you good."
"You devils! I was genuinely sobbing!" Arle huffed out, and they broke into a peal of laughter. She ground down on her teeth. "Can't you three take this more seriously? I almost killed you, Ringo. Laughing in a situation like this isn't right."
Sighing again, Ringo gripped her hips. "Yeah, I know, and while it sucked, I had a week to think it over. Wanna hear my conclusion?" At Arle's hesitant nod, she closed her eyes. "I was mad, and I set you off when you were feeling lower than dirt. I shouldn't have said what I said, and you shouldn't have dragged me to your not-so-nightmare realm. Yeah, you definitely did way worse to me, but after everything that happened-" She reached out and touched Arle's shoulders. "-I wanted to forgive you."
"Why?"
"Because you're my friend. We've come to an understanding, and you've suffered more loss than any person I know. Isn't that enough?"
No. It wasn't. To Arle, it was like placing a clean cloth over an oil spill. She hadn't forgiven the Creator for His devastation over the course of her centuries or throughout her mourning. She wouldn't forgive Him so long as she lived.
"You look like you don't understand," Ringo interjected, frowning.
Arle winced. She wondered when her emotions started appearing so freely on her face. Toying with a loose split end, she avoided Ringo's eyes.
Maguro slipped his arms behind his head. "If Ringo says she forgives you, that's that. Sure, you can question her decision, which I do-" He looked away when Ringo frowned at him. "-but in the end, it's her decision, and I respect that."
"Perhaps, you'll need time to understand it. After what happened, thinking it all through will be for the best just like Ringo has done," Risukuma suggested, patting Arle's back with his paw. It was warmer than she expected.
Arle didn't give an immediate answer. She lowered her gaze to the carpet, gnawing on the inside of her mouth. If she had a retort, it would have been to plead her case to a jury and convict herself. And raising her head, observing Ringo stare at her with an emotion akin to pity, she sighed.
"I understand, but I don't believe that I deserve it," she muttered, digging her fingernails into her palms.
Ringo furrowed her brows. She hummed, tapping her foot for a moment. Letting the silence linger to an uncomfortable degree, she stepped over to her dresser. On it, Arle noticed a straw bowl covered in napkins and elastics. She tugged them all off in a grand display, napkins fluttering and elastics whipping around everywhere.
"Well, Maguro, Ris, and I thought this would happen, and we cooked up this scheme," she said, stepping aside.
Inside the bowl were apples. A variety pack of different kinds, Arle took in their red and green hues. Ringo's finger hovered over the dozen fruits before digging into a slightly taller, thinner apple. It squished, the skin bruising as her finger neatly slid into it. Ringo plucked it out of the bunch and presented it to Arle.
"This is a red delicious apple," Ringo said, the corners of her lips raising to a diabolic degree. Maguro and Risukuma rounded to her side, grinning with equal wickedness.
"Uh, yes, I'm aware of the different kinds of apples," Arle said, arching an eyebrow.
Maguro raised his kendama in a way Arle perceived as threatening. Risukuma retrieved what she came to know as a mobile phone. He pointed it at her, the red light in the corner glowing. Ringo tugged her finger out of the apple, juice bubbling in the hole she made, and she revealed the unappetizing brown spots desecrating the core.
"You trapped me in a void with no food and were going to let me rot like a fruit. So, to make up for that, eat the brown part of this apple," Ringo ordered.
After a week without food, and hearing her stomach emit a low growl, Arle paled. "Oh, I should've taken your out."
Ringo's smirk didn't diminish. "Yep."
With a groan, Arle resigned and snatched the apple. She quickly chomped into it and her face scrunched up in disgust. The sour tang tormented her tongue. The mush rolled between her teeth and down her throat like curdled oatmeal. She stomped in place, her eyes watering, as she forced herself to take another bite. Another followed, then another, bits of red skin hanging out of the corners of her lips. She closed her eyes, her canines cleaving through the too soft brown craters and swallowing as quickly as possible.
And when she finally opened her eyes, she found Ringo, Maguro, and Risukuma struggling to hold back their laughter. Chewing, she nodded at them, and they exploded. Wheezing, Maguro dropped his kendama and held his knees, the comforter falling off him. Ringo wiped a tear from her eye, giggling up a storm. Risukuma gripped his wrist to keep his filming hand steady while Arle persevered through the red delicious apple, its moniker not living up to the taste.
She ate it all, including the seeds. With her stomach grumbling and her eyes watering, she said, "Ringo, I'm returning you to the void."
"I'm sure you would if it still existed," she jeered, throwing her arm over Arle's shoulder.
Fiddling with his phone, Risukuma commanded their attention. "With that out of the way, we have another matter to handle. Luckily enough, Sig is still in Suzuran searching for a rare type of centipede. I'll tell him to bring the ladies over for the reunion."
Arle rubbed her mouth, bewildered. She searched Risukuma for clues only to gasp. "Do you mean-?"
"Our friend, Amitie, has told us a similar story paralleling the events we had in our world. I believe you know the girl at the center of their tale. I believe her name is...Lala."
Her heart skipped a beat. Memories from over five hundred years ago surfaced. When she was a little girl, Lala had barged in on her kindergarten exam. They had been rivals ever since that day, even if Arle had thought of her as a bit of an annoyance like most others who claimed to be her competitor. But while Lala was arrogant and lovestruck, she had always been a good companion who she could confide in when school troubled her. Lala listened and provided advice. Whether it was good or not depended on the situation. Regardless, Lala had been someone Arle could call a friend.
She had been baffled about Lala's location during her battle with the Creator. While she had perceived the scorched or dismembered corpses of their mutual friends, she had never found Lala's body. She had assumed Lala was reduced to ash or her bones had been unrecognizable among the mountains of carcasses.
But Lala was alive. This entire time, Lala had lived through a means she couldn't understand. Arle touched Risukuma's jacket, the action surprising him. "You know her? Lala? She's not dead?" she breathed out.
Someone grasped on her elbow. She expected to turn and find Ringo, but over her shoulder, she stared at Maguro. "She's nice," he said, completely relaxed. "We had a really long talk while you were unconscious. We just gotta fill you in on everything else, but it'll be better to hear it from them."
Surprised by his kind tone, Arle nodded. Risukuma had already brought his phone to his ear. A young, nasally voice murmured out. Risukuma made his request, and the one named Sig agreed. As Risukuma ended the call, he said, "Sig will bring them as soon as he can. It's a weekend, so it should be no trouble getting them all here."
"Can this 'Sig' person jump through realities on a whim?" Arle asked, excited.
"What? No. He plays Puyo until he blasts himself back to Primp Town," Ringo replied.
Arle deflated. "Oh. That seems like it will take some time."
"Hey, now, you're not the only expert at Puyo. In fact-" Maguro snapped his fingers, summoning two Puyo boards that fit perfectly in Ringo's room. "-let's have a match! I still have a bone to pick with you!"
"Huh? Hey! Hold on!" Arle cried, the Puyos falling down at a faster rate than usual. "I'm emotionally compromised! My stomach hurts! I woke up less than twenty minutes ago! This isn't sportsmanlike, Maguro!"
"Well, Miss Excuses, I take any opportunity to play," he said, rotating his Puyos, and Arle cried out, her voice drowned by Ringo and Risukuma laughing.
In under thirty seconds, the battle naturally finished with Maguro's victory. Arle was smothered in nuisance Puyos. The only sign of her was her arm poking out from the top. It wiggled before her hand limply fell. Arle collapsed out of the pile, blinking the spinning stars out of her eyes, and with her back on the ground, she brought her hands together in a quiet applause.
"How...frightening. I'll never underestimate you again," she mumbled.
Maguro performed kendama tricks, and Ringo and Risukuma joined the applause. "Well, you should know that I'm one heck of a gamer," he jeered, setting aside his kendama and offering his hand. When Arle remained lifeless on the floor, he pinched the back of her worn tunic and lifted her off the ground. "Wow. You're a lot lighter without that cracked armor."
Ringo hummed, cupping her chin. "Hey, good point. She needs some new clothes. That tunic is starting to smell."
Arle gasped. "B-but I only wear this outfit all year!"
The trio leered at her. Maguro dropped his kendama, slowly lifting his bangs to stare at her with eyes that her mind could not comprehend. Arle realized she had committed a terrible social faux pas and looked out the window, groaning even louder.
"Ah, that truly is something an Arle would say. Tell me, Arle, do you even wash your hands or do you find that too girly?" Risukuma asked.
As Maguro and Ringo laughed, Arle groaned. Her status as a high and mighty mage had already slipped out from underneath her. She might as well have accepted that she had become a commoner.
She allowed Ringo to take her hand and guide her over to her dresser. Ringo pulled it open and tugged out a gray sweater with a yellow diamond print and a pleated scarlet skirt with white trim. Arle had no inclination to wear it, but with the pleading smile grin on Ringo's face, she couldn't say no to her puppy dog eyes, too.
They gave her a moment of privacy to change. She held the sweater, marveling over its warmth. She rubbed the sleeves to her cheeks, wondering if it was made of wool. Slipping off her tunic, she quickly donned Ringo's attire, her upper body feeling encased in heat. Although her legs were too bare for her liking – as she preferred a pair of shin guards, although her pair had been lost to time – she still found herself fascinated by the modern ensemble.
It was as if she had been given a new identity. She was not wearing Arle Nadja's typical uniform. Her attire, even if the clothing had been donated by Ringo, gave her a new silhouette. She wouldn't have been mistaken for a doppelganger from any angle, the realization leaving her tugging at the hem of her sweater.
"Strange," she muttered. "I should look into amassing a new wardrobe if this-"
Three knocks on the door interrupted her. "Ya done?" Ringo called. "Because we have guests. They came over way sooner than I expected, and my parents left to do some shopping."
"Ah, yes," she replied, hurrying to the door. When she felt her toes curl on the carpet, she blinked and looked at her feet, wondering where in the dimensions her boots had gone.
She decided to mull that peculiarity over later. She opened the door and followed Ringo up the hallway and down the staircase. Voices permeated from the first floor. She paused in the center of the stairs, catching a glimpse of people with different hair colors. Pink curls and cyan locks and tufts of blonde fascinated her. Quietening her footsteps as Ringo announced their presence, Arle froze when she finally spotted her.
Yes, there was a girl with pink curls. Yes, there was a boy with cyan locks. Yes, there was a girl with tufts of blonde hair poking out of her hat. They had been there to protect Ringo from her. She could tell they were trustworthy people standing in the quaint living room filled with spare chairs, a couch, and electrical devices that eluded Arle.
But among them was an outsider to their realm. It was a girl who shouldn't have existed. A mage like herself stood wearing a dress made of red and white threads. A large bow topped her clean blonde locks that were now free of snarls. Her hair had been cut, chopped to the nape of her neck, instead of dragging by her once soiled feet.
Lala and Arle's eyes truly met for the first time in hundreds of years. Arle's grip loosened on the railing. She wondered if Lala even recognized her. But Lala continued staring, pushing forward on a pair of black flats, her hands reaching out as if desperate to hold a holy idol.
In a voice no higher than a whisper, Lala said, "Are you-? No. You must be her. You're Arle Na-"
Arle propelled off the stairs faster than anyone could blink. To the observers, she was a streak of gray and red. Her arms wrapped around Lala's back, threatening to vivisect her. They tumbled to the ground, skidding, and Arle buried her face into the crook of Lala's neck. A noise escaped her, half keening and half gasping, as she clung to the only living remnant of her past. It strained her throat ragged while it continued leaking out of her, her anguish materializing in her cries that she had withheld for hundreds of years.
A whimper hit her left ear. Lala embraced her in a vice grip. If Arle loosened her grip for a millisecond, then she feared Lala would have been erased, an oversight the Creator should have been determined to correct had He still existed.
Somehow, Lala had evaded certain death. While everyone else had burned and been resurrected in another world, she still lived with ancient memories haunting her. As they rolled over, Lala's tears splashing on Arle's face, Arle finally accepted the fact that she was alive. Someone who remembered her and shared in her struggles survived.
"Arle! Arle, it's really you! I'm sorry! I never wanted to leave, but Ecolo-! Ecolo-!" Lala bawled, hiding her face in Arle's sweater.
Arle stroked through her silky smooth hair. "It's okay, Lala. It's okay. We're both here, somehow."
She feverishly shook her head. "No, it isn't! I couldn't help you! I-"
Arle tightened her grip. Lala's tears soaked through the fabric and landed on her skin. "I know. I was the only one who could fight that beast. I knew the burden put on me, and still, it took everyone dying for me to finally kill Him."
Another sorrowful, ragged cry rolled out of Lala's throat. Arle didn't want to let her go again. She really did fear that if her arms slipped, then Lala would dematerialize right in front of her. She'd become another ghost persisting in her dreams. But Lala wailed, the sound cruel and kind, and mollified Arle, cementing her in reality.
The girl wearing the peculiar hat joined them. Arle sat upright, still clinging to Lala, and the other girl hugged Lala. Up close, Arle noticed the hints of bone pressing against Lala's fair skin, her stomach squeezing, only to decompress when the other girl spoke.
"She's right, Lala. You're surrounded by your friends, so it's going to be okay," she whispered in a voice meant only for them. She patted Lala's shoulder, an aura of flourishing bliss emitting from her. As if the girl was a ray of sunshine, Lala turned to her, her eyes in a squint as if she couldn't fully find her.
Lala shuddered. She slowed her breathing. The other strangers approached and crouched, intermingling with sympathy and concern. The boy placed his hand on Lala's back while the girl patted Lala's neck, assuring her, while the Suzuran inhabitants silently observed.
They let her cry until she had no more tears to shed. Lala ached until Arle knew she was empty. When her arms drooped, they released her. She stayed in front of Arle, who helped her stand, keeping her grip on her hands warm and loose.
"I missed you," Arle said with a quiet smile.
"I missed you, too, terribly," Lala crooned, sniffling, her chin wrinkling in distress. "I did so many awful things. I was just so lonely, so angry, but still, it wasn't right, it wasn't right. I wasn't even a person anymore. Just a rumor, a ghost, a monster."
"You became a rumor? What do you mean?"
"Mm. Instead of a mage, I...became a witch. The Witch of Nahe." Lala dipped her head, a bitter grin hitching into her cheeks. "I know. Pretty shameful, right? Sorry. I'd rather not get into the specifics of what I did. It's-" She swallowed, the corners of her eyes wet. "-painful to discuss, especially with what I did to Amitie and Raffina."
The girl in the hat sprung up behind her. She clapped her hands on her shoulders, supporting her. "Don't worry. There's plenty of time to talk later. If it's too much for you, then it's okay to stop."
Arle sensed it. The concept of a witch wasn't a pretty notion. They were beings who sided with immorality. Whatever Lala had done over the hundreds of years must have tormented her, and she carried her regrets on her sleeves and in the dim glimmering of her eyes.
"Your friend is right. We can end it there," Arle said, turning to the girl in the hat. "So, I have you to thank for taking care of Lala."
She offered her hand, the gesture bringing her classmates closer. "Aw, I guess so, but I'm no keeper. I'm Amitie. I'm training to be a wonderful magician, and these are my friends, Raffina and Sig."
"Hey," was all Sig supplied. Arle noticed a ladybug perched in his hair and a few ants crawling on his surprisingly scarlet claw. Noticing her staring, he frowned. "That's pretty rude to keep looking without saying hi to them."
Arle shook Amitie's hand, making a noncommittal sound. "Um, yes, sorry. I'm Arle."
"Arle? This is the other girl named Arle?" Raffina questioned, her arms notably crossed over her chest. When Arle raised her hand, she pointedly stared at it until Arle dropped it back to her side. "Well, I suppose she is the troublemaker behind all of this, isn't she?"
"Raf, we just met her. Don't be mean," Amitie scolded, shaking her head.
"My apologies, Miss Amitie, but I'm still quite cross over this gambit," she remarked, Lala rubbing her neck. She had an air about her that reminded Arle of Rulue, but when she mentioned that, Raffina's expression twisted in disdain. "Oh, no, no, no. No. We are not doing that again," she added, waving her finger. "I already had to deal with Miss Lala going on about how Amitie and I reminded her of Arle, excuse me, you and your Rulue. In any case, I refuse to go down that rabbit hole again." She pounded her fist into her open palm and leaned forward, her eyes glinting with something dangerous. "I have and always will be Raffina, not Rulue. Don't call me by any other name. Understand?"
Arle agreed with a slow nod. She still needed the details on what had happened in Lala's strange world. Making connections without understanding the people around her would only lead to continuous trouble, and Arle was thankful when Amitie suddenly suggested to Lala to discuss her recent activities.
"Well, I've been attending Ms. Accord's classes in Primp Town, Amitie's world. She's the woman who helped rescue you," Lala explained. "There's a lot I need to learn and re-learn regarding magic. My new classmates have been so kind to help me understand new spells and learn my way around Primp."
"And-" Raffina sunk her fingernails into Lala's shoulder, her grin tight. "-she's been proving to be an excellent sparring and jogging partner. We wake up together at the crack of dawn to run laps. Then, when school is finished, we battle for two hours, have dinner, then have two more hours of personal study and training before parting for the evening." She shook Lala slightly. "Hasn't this been lovely, Lala? I feel like I've been becoming stronger and more beautiful by the day with our routine."
The fear crossing Lala's face told another story to Arle. Amitie giggled and gently rocked Lala's shoulder, adding, "It's just a way to pay Raffina back for almost making her sleep forever! Don't worry, Lala. You only have three weeks to go of training with Raf before she gets over it."
"Good luck," Sig said, Raffina cracking her knuckles in delight. As Lala whimpered, he added, "Yeah, you still need it."
"I am a woman of my word, Miss Lala. Three more weeks to go before we can establish our real friendship," she replied, then raised her hand to her mouth. "Ohohoho! Oh, la-ti-da!"
Ringo's chuckling distracted Arle, who had dumbly taken in the situation. She had almost forgotten Ringo and her friends were still present. It seemed they were very close as they easily joined the conversation. She passively stood by and observed their greetings with Lala, her old friend delighted at meeting new people. It must have been an excruciatingly lonely experience for Lala, a girl who loved to be surrounded by people.
She thought of Camus, her first ally in the world outside of her family, and she forced him back into her memories. She couldn't casually bring up his name. He had died like countless others in the battle against the Creator, even when he knew he was nothing but a paltry defense. He was nothing more than a shield that the Creator melted, breaking Lala's heart and inserting the first needle into Arle's chest as he burned.
"Arle?" Lala interjected, and she quickly looked up, surprised. "Um, I think they want to ask you something, but, um..." She itched her arm. "...please, don't be too shocked about what they say. I've already given them enough grief."
While she had contemplated and the Suzuran students met Lala, Amitie, Raffina, and Sig huddled together. Occasionally, they peeked out from their cluster to gaze at Arle. They murmured, gesturing in a manner Arle couldn't decipher. Amitie and Raffina paused, then directed their attention to Sig, who sighed and nodded.
Sig approached Arle. He quietly regarded her, his expression a perfect mask of neutrality. Arle glanced over at Ringo, who merely offered a shrug of her shoulders. Looking to Lala, Maguro, and Risukuma provided the same result.
"Okay, so, are you ready to get your world rocked?" Sig bluntly asked. Raffina groaned behind him, and he scoffed. "What? You wanted me to say it."
"Well, yes, obviously! But do it in a dignified manner! We don't want to come off as too callous," she argued, but Amitie shushed her and nodded for Sig to continue.
Sig gave Arle his undivided attention. Without looking away from her, he pointed at Lala. He curved in his finger, and sighing, Lala crept over. The mage exchanged a glance with her friend, unsure of what would come next, and she felt a chill creeping down her spine as Lala tapped her forefingers together.
Clearing his throat, Sig said, "You two aren't five hundred years old. You're six hundred years old."
"Excuse me?" Arle flatly asked as Lala groaned.
"If you spent a hundred years fighting your god-"
"Creator."
"Does the term really matter?" Amitie wondered.
Arle paused. "Um, I mean, I guess, no, but also yes."
Sig continued as if Arle hadn't interrupted. "Anyway, if you spent a hundred years fighting some guy, and then you spent five hundred years in a void, and Lala spent a hundred years watching you fight some guy-"
"I tried to help!" Lala exclaimed.
"-and then, Lala spent five hundred years in the woods, that all comes out to six hundred years."
A hushed silence washed over the group. Arle felt her face burn the color of her discarded armor. Lala buried her face in her hands, evidently knowledgeable about the embarrassing fact.
Arle opened her mouth, hearing Maguro snort until Risukuma shushed him. "Um, well, that is...true," she admitted, finding the wooden flooring very interesting at the moment, "but you see-"
"Sorry to add on to this, but," Amitie began, pressing her index fingers together, "we kind of, sort of, already have a Doppelganger Arle."
A second hushed silence fell over Arle. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Amitie, who had the biggest, sheepish grin on her face. Lala continued covering her face, and Maguro barked out another laugh.
"You're kidding," Arle deadpanned. The urge to throw Suzuran into the void was growing stronger by the second. If she had the Seraphim Orb, she would have down in a heartbeat.
"Nope. We already have one of you running around in Primp," Sig said.
"You see, you look nothing, and I mean, nothing like the Arle we know," Raffina said, and she flicked her fingers through her hair. "You are a brunette. Our Arle has orange hair, and her doppelganger has a dark pink hair color that matches her lighter pink eyes."
"And you act nothing like our Arle or our Doppelganger Arle! The doppelganger we know is kind of, um, weird! She likes to spy on us, and she keeps getting our names wrong because she might be kind of forgetful. She called me Feli the other day. You're a bit, um, well, mean?" Amitie offered, scratching her head. "I dunno. Maguro and Risukuma told me you tried to bully Ringo just like Lala tried to make me and Raf sleep forever in the woods."
"'Bully' is a very Amitie way to put it," Ringo remarked, sharing a smirk with Maguro.
"That doppelganger just challenges us to Puyo battles. She doesn't cast us into oblivion," Sig added with a short nod of his head. He reached into his bag and retrieved what appeared to be a yearbook. Flipping through the pages, he stopped in the middle and held it up for Arle. "Here. Check this out."
Like a malfunctioning robot, Arle accepted the book and dragged her gaze down. In the center of the left page was a class picture. She spotted Amitie and Sig in front and Raffina to one side and their teacher on the other end. She examined the remaining students only to let her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates when she realized the truth.
Between a small girl with horns and Sig, was Arle Nadja. Arle Nadja, with burnt orange hair. Arle Nadja, with Carbuncle the size of her head held between her hands. And peering in through the window with a devious smile on her face, was Doppelganger Arle just as Raffina described her.
Arle dropped the book. Her knees threatened to give out. And she let them, crashing to the floor and startling the joy out of the Suzuran students. Lala fell to her side, immediately asking if she was alright. Ringo wondered aloud if she was going to vanish herself back to the void only to correct herself with the reminder that it was gone.
But Arle continued gazing at the yearbook. Her fists shook, her fingers trembling as she crumpled the pages. Amitie knelt in front of her, blurting to know what was wrong.
Sucking in a deep, unrelenting breath with enough force to shake Ringo's home, Arle expelled it from the pit of her stomach and roared, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THIIING?"
Everyone scrambled to cover their ears and manage their footing. Ringo and Maguro jerked their arms up, the former yelping, "What? What thing?"
Arle stabbed the photograph with her pointer finger more times than any of them could count. "That thing! Thing! Thing! What is that?"
Amitie squinted at the class photo. She cocked her head, confusion blossoming on her face as she asked, "Do you...mean Carbuncle? Did you not have a Carbuncle? An Arle without a Carbuncle is pretty wild."
Snatching Amitie's shoulders, Arle lowered her voice to a whisper. "I did have a Carbuncle. I had the cutest Carbuncle in the world."
As Risukuma dragged Arle from Amitie, Lala fidgeted with the collar of her dress. "Um, Arle, I know it's a shock, but the Carbuncle of this dimension is just, well, bigger."
"No, no! My Carby was precious! My little itty bitty Kaa!" Arle cried, raking her fingers through her hair. She jumped up to the Primp students and shoved out her hands. "He fit right in the palm of my hand! On my shoulder! He wasn't the size of an adult rabbit or a cat or whatever that thing is! He was tiny like a mouse! With an extra-long tongue! And – and – and-! Gah!" She lost the strength in her legs and collapsed to her knees again, a groan bouncing around her closed mouth. Weakly, she pounded her fists on the floor, not caring in the slightest if she was acting like a petulant child or if the snapping sounds above her came from mobile phones.
Lala lightly poked her head, asking, "Arle, are you okay?"
"Kaa," she mumbled to the floor.
"She needs time," Lala told the others.
She couldn't even have the pleasantry of knowing Carbuncle was still tiny. It was truly, truly despairing. Ringo gently patting her back with her heel did not make her feel any better.
"I made a huge mistake. I should've tried conquering my actual dimension instead of hanging around here," she whined and grabbed Ringo's hand. She pulled herself to stand and buried her face into Ringo's shoulder. "Riiingooo, Riiingooo."
Without looking at her, she asked, "What is it, Arle?"
"Put me out of my misery."
"Oh, no, we're not going to go down that route," Ringo mumbled, pressing Arle's forehead and pushing her off.
As if on cue, one of the mobile phones rang. Amitie removed hers from her pocket and held it to her ear, turning away from the group. She hummed, nodding along, then faced everyone with a smile. She said her goodbyes and hung up, positively beaming as she said, "Ms. Accord is on her way he-!"
But before she could finish her sentence, the front door swung wide open. A woman with a cat perched on her shoulder let herself in while tugging along two people behind her. Arle wondered if anyone in Suzuran heard of a lock. She recognized the finely dressed woman as the teacher who had helped her before she was lost to the vacuum of space, her gratitude on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back when she realized who accompanied her.
"Now, now, both of you stop squirming," Accord stated, pinching Satan's earlobe and Ecolo's cheek. "You know I had to do this because you didn't want to leave the castle in the Puyo underworld."
"You sprung this on me! I was in the middle of my beauty rest when you barged into my castle," Satan huffed, a bit of cucumber still attached to his face. When it fell, he caught it on his tongue and chewed it, wincing. "Ick. Still has lotion on it."
Ecolo didn't bother to wriggle. They seemed more melancholy than agitated as they grumbled, "I don't even know how you're touching me. I'm meant to be intangible."
"Implying that at my age, I wouldn't know the magic that would let me hold you. How naive," Accord teased, releasing them both.
"Well, I was going willingly! You didn't have to nab me like Satan," they retorted as Satan massaged their sore ear.
"Hey, Ecolo, you're not that intangible if I managed to sock you," Maguro added, smirking.
Surprised, Ecolo raised their head to the group. Locking eyes with Maguro, they snapped, "Oh, can it, Pretty Boy! I felt the magic you threw in that punch!"
He shrugged. "And I don't even know how I did it."
"With how often we play Puyo, those practices have normalized magic in your body. I've theorized that a moment of strong emotion can cause your magic to surge through you in a physical manner," Risukuma explained as if it was the most obvious concept in the world.
"Well, that's convenient!"
"Too convenient!"
As Maguro and Ecolo shouted over each other, Arle blinked, stupefied. In a room full of people, she felt their presence around her. They were a lively gathering of personalities meshing and clashing wonderfully. She felt her heart skip a beat, watching as they all came together, realizing she was the center of attention.
With a shaky breath, she met Satan's eyes. He narrowed them, but he lacked his harshness. She wondered if he pitied her with his inscrutable gaze. When Accord cleared her throat and Popoi flicked his claws at his cape, Satan scoffed, sighed, and started.
"I apologize for trying to deceive you," he said, "but I had my reasons. I should've discussed the situation with you before we...engaged in our duel."
"If I wasn't placated, there was the chance I would have gone on a rampage. Is that what you're saying? I could've destroyed many worlds in the process," Arle stated. When he merely nodded, she smirked. "I suppose if I was in your position, then I would have done my best to trick me with that nonsensical communication. In the end, this wasn't even my dimension."
Satan pursed his lips, his fangs slipping out. He raised his hand, his fingers curling inwards, before dropping it. He tried again, managing to rest it on Arle's shoulder. "Regardless, my deception was unwarranted. Playing up my lies about creating this particular universe and all of that in hopes you would just leave. I was afraid of what you would have done without seeking out your side of the story."
A bubble of laughter popped in her throat. She coughed and shook her head. "We both should have done better for our sake and theirs," she admitted, glancing over her shoulder at Ringo.
Ecolo floated between them, chuckling. They seemed ready to quip only to pause when their attention fell on Lala. She whimpered, folding into herself. Accord raised her arm, her long sleeve protecting her, and Lala cowered behind her teacher, the sight making Arle gasp.
She wasn't aware why Lala feared Ecolo. To her knowledge, they had never met. Their first encounter should have been at the present moment. Instead, Lala trembled with enough force that even Raffina comforted her, promising to punch Ecolo if they harmed her.
"What is going on here?" she asked, looking among everyone.
Maguro answered for Lala, who squeezed her eyes shut. "Makes sense that you'd be out of the loop. During the week while you slept, Lala came here and explained herself. It turns out that when you were fighting the Creator, Ecolo showed up."
"What?" Arle hissed, her head starting to throb.
"And Ecolo whisked her out of your world and into Primp hundreds of years ago. That's how she managed to survive," Risukuma finished.
It all crashed into Arle like a sledgehammer through the side of her skull. When Sig mentioned Lala had spent five hundred years in the woods, it had gone completely over her head. She hadn't caught on to how strange the comments Lala made about Ecolo, too engrossed in simply being around her friend again.
It was strange that Ecolo had managed to find her in the void. No one else could have. Only a space-time traveler had the capabilities to penetrate that endless dimension, but even then, they wouldn't have known about her. They must have encountered Lala first before seeking her out, the realization chilling her to the very bone, and she sucked in a sharp breath through her clenched teeth, whirling around to snarl at Ecolo.
"Explain yourself, Ecolo!" Arle shouted. "It wasn't a coincidence that you uncovered me! You discovered me because you knew about me! Because you found Lala and my world first, right? There's no contradiction there, right? This was all because you wanted to have some fun, right? Right, right, right?"
They hesitated. With so many eyes on them, some dismayed, some angered, Arle knew they were trapped. It was the same, squeezing sensation that trapped in her within that white plane. Cornered on all sides like prey, Ecolo could only let their limbs droop along with the globs from their body.
Finally, they mustered out two sentences. "I'm sorry for acting without thinking. I didn't consider how any of this would impact you all."
Without warning, Arle's fist swung wildly at Ecolo's head. Satan caught her wrist, and the room dissolved into chaos. Accord pulled Lala away, holding her to her chest, and Popoi hissed at anyone who approached them. Amitie, Raffina, and Sig stepped aside, each of them wearing different expressions of shock. Risukuma sprung into action and also restrained Arle's other arm. She struggled in their grasp, her brain too much in pain to consider using magic, and she screamed for them to release her.
"You set up Lala to fail! Release me, you two!" she shrieked, squirming in place.
Ecolo waved their hands, Ringo and Maguro joining their side in case a brawl brewed. "No! That isn't what I wanted. I saw how this was going to play out-"
"What? You can use foresight?"
"Eh, um, no! I – I just thought-!"
"And you thought wrong!" Arle gnashed down on her teeth, thrusting forward, but Satan and Risukuma tightened their grip. "Let me go already! Let me sock them in their goopy face!"
Ecolo grimaced. They turned to Ringo and Maguro for aid. Maguro seemed unable to speak, holding his kendama in a tense grasp. Ringo nibbled on her lower lip only to suddenly snap her fingers. She hurried between Arle and Ecolo, raising her hands, the gesture stopping Arle in her tracks.
"I'll mediate," she volunteered, "and we can get to the bottom of this." She peered back at Accord. "Is that okay?"
Accord relaxed. She noticed Lala nodding, and in return, she gave her approval. She gestured for her students to come closer, the trio obeying with trepidation.
"Ecolo," Ringo began, folding her arms behind her back, "can you tell us what happened?"
With a sigh, they told their tale. Arle listened to every word, grappling with how they could have allowed Lala to leave. They had saved her from certain destruction, but they abandoned a war-torn, traumatized girl who had witnessed decades of bloodshed in the pits of a new world.
"She would've died," Ecolo finished, "and I didn't want that. I thought she'd be able to make new friends. With her immortality, I thought, maybe, she'd be friends with Hat Girl and the rest of them, even if she did some bad things. I didn't know what she was doing for all those years." They winced, perhaps understanding the weight of their words. "After I dropped her off, I ventured to find you, Arle, and when I did, I just knew Ringo would be the best fit for you." The corners of their lips raised. "Ringo's great at throwing a welcome party. That's why I dropped you off at her pad." They hummed, their mirth fading. "I didn't anticipate anything so terrible happening. I was going to pluck Lala and the rest of them out of Primp after your fight with Satan. It would've been the cherry on top to see the two of you happily reunite, but that's...not what happened at all."
"It was for my sake?" Lala asked, peeking out from behind Accord.
Ecolo nodded and repeated, "But that's not what happened at all."
Arle straightened. She felt Risukuma's paw leave her arm, but Satan held her. She tugged herself free, the prince making no move to stop her. Slowly, she approached the midway point between herself and Ringo, her friend staring at her with a critical eye.
"I'm not the one to forgive you. That's up the Lala," she said, and Lala slowly shook her head, "and it appears that she can't."
"Wha-? I just-!" Ecolo seemed to bite their tongue, grimacing. "I only wanted to help. I thought this was going to be such a perfect happy ending. A nice, fun story with a happy ending and all loose ends tied together."
"No story is like that," Accord replied, wreathing her arm around Lala's shoulder. "A loose end can extend for years after the fact. A loose end can be remembered by the one affected by it for much longer than the one who caused the loose end."
Her words seemed to strike a chord with Ecolo. Arle watched them shiver, their usual confidence replaced with terror. They hugged themself, bowing their head. She almost pitied the poor creature feeling the heft of their mistake on their back.
"I'm sorry. I acted without full consideration for you. Yeah, I saved your life, but I ended up making a monster out of you, didn't I?" Ecolo wondered, looking right into Lala's eyes.
She rubbed her tired, bloodshot eyes. She broke all contact with Ecolo, keeping her attention everywhere else. On Amitie, on the floor, on the couch, everywhere so long as they weren't in her line of sight.
"In time, I think I'll forgive you, but-" Lala shook her head again, "-I don't think I can right now."
A grim smile strained Ecolo's face. "Got it. I'll have to work harder to make it up to you."
Arle felt her stance falter. If that was what Lala wished, then she respected it, just as she did for Ringo's decision to forgive her. She smoothed back her split ends behind her ears and felt her disdain for Ecolo ebb away, though she still carried a strange feeling toward them.
When Lala offered a meek smile, Ringo clapped her hands together, dispelling the tension. "Alright! Good work, people. We made amends, for the most part."
Satan heaved out a sigh. "Finally. Can I leave? I need to finish my beauty nap in order to meet up with Arly later. We have our honeymoon walk under the moonlight in a few hours."
Accord pinched his earlobe even harder, grinning as he yipped like a mutt. "There is a time and place for that kind of talk, and this isn't it after such a tense moment."
Arle sneered. "Ha! Are you still desperate to kiss the Arle in this dimension when everyone knows she isn't interested? How depressing, Satan."
Satan's nose wrinkled, and he shot back, "Says you, Miss Popular! How about your harem, hm? Your entourage of possible suitors whom you all rejected! Don't tell me you left that out when discussing your past!"
A final silence filled the room. Arle froze in place. She looked at Satan with as much rage as she could muster only to hear someone clearing their throat. It was Accord, who seemed frankly appalled. She urged her students to forget what they were going to hear, but her students appeared all the more interested when Ringo growled, her fists shaking.
"Har...em?" she murmured, her eye twitching as Arle slowly tiptoed to the front door. "What...harem? She told me that her world was nothing but hopeless."
"Huh?" Satan blurted, his eyes widening. "That's not it at all! Sure, their Creator was terrible, but the world wasn't that bad. What, did she say she had to fight for her life every day?" He scoffed. "Yeah, big whoop. Sure, it was more violent than what I know and had a massive emphasis on destiny or whatever, but come on, a bunch of silly nonsense happened to her! Every Satan across the dimensions knows that!"
Just as Arle clutched the doorknob to freedom, Risukuma threw a vial at her. It exploded, and she coughed on thick purple smoke. With nowhere to go, she ambled back to the group. Opening her teary eyes, she gasped, finding herself surrounded on all sides, Ringo front and center.
"Hold it, Arle! You said your world was all doom and gloom! What's up with the harem?" Ringo exclaimed.
"Uh, um, you see, I wasn't into any of them. They sort of latched on to me, and I, um..." Arle backed away, keeping her hands raised while Ringo advanced her. "Don't be mad, my friend. I only told you the important parts."
"You withheld info! Your world wasn't always bad!"
"Eh, for the most part, it was! I mean, I loved it, of course, but that's what off-shoot realities are, right? Ah, they're so troublesome to fully explain that I only focused on the end of my world! Hehehe!"
Ringo jabbed her finger onto Arle's nose. "So, you just told us the last chapter in the book of your world!"
Arle avoided Ringo's gaze. "Oh, well, when you put it that way, it does leave out a lot of history. Not like it fully matters, right?" She squeaked under Ringo's growl. "Um, Ringo? Buddy? Friend to the bittersweet end?"
Something bumped into her back. She jerked her head over her shoulder and found Lala whimpering, frightened by someone. She looked as well, swallowing hard when she discovered Amitie glaring with a vengeance. Raffina broke into a wild smile, and Sig offered a thumbs up in Amitie's support.
"Ya know, Lala," Amitie rumbled, gripping her elbows, "I have a feeling that I was a bit...deceived."
Lala immediately waved her arms, her mouth stupidly wide in a grin. "Amitie! My friend! My savior! You don't need to be upset! I didn't have a harem, sooo..."
"Get real! You told me your world was all doom and gloom, too! But during this week, you said to me that going to Primp Magic School was like attending the magic school in your world! In other words, it was a lot of fun!" Amitie shouted, waving her fists in the air. "Was your place always so bad or did it get worse because of the Creator?"
"Um...the second one, I guess?" Lala squeaked out only for Arle to gawk at her.
"Don't tell them that!"
"Huh? Why not?"
"For sympathy! I guess! I don't know!"
Amitie smirked and thrust her finger into the air. "Ringo! You know what we gotta do now, right?"
Ringo grinned and imitated her. "Indeed I do! Punishing Puyo-"
"-Puyo battle!"
Arle and Lala screamed as four boards appeared in Ringo's living room. Lala cried and clung onto Arle, the latter trying to shove her off. But Lala rapidly shook her head while Amitie and Ringo smugly began their chains, Raffina and Maguro cackling while Sig and Risukuma looked in amusement.
"Lala! What are you doing? Get off m! I need to try to counterattack the nuisance!" Arle demanded.
"But Arle, I have no clue how to play Puyo!" she sobbed, not loosening her grip.
"What? What the hell are you talking about? We learned that spell as kids! Everyone else learned it in a heartbeat! Even Zombie and Mummy knew it! And in this dimension, you announce a battle, and that starts a battle! How did you not learn any of that? Aren't you being taught by that teacher over there?"
As Accord innocently chuckled, Lala wailed, "I dozed in class during that lesson! And during the lesson in our world! It just didn't interest meee!"
"Bayoeen!"
"Permutation!
"Lalaaaa! You idi-! Wait, why does Amitie know Bayo-?"
The last thing Arle saw before being knocked unconscious by nuisance Puyos were flashes of light from their spells and from mobile phones.
When Arle woke up later that evening, the Primp students had gone home. Accord had left her a note placed on her forehead that said they had class tomorrow and welcomed Arle to join them. Arle was delighted to know that she had been invited to explore a new world, making immediate planes to visit Lala soon.
But it was the time that bothered her. It was nearly midnight. Sitting up on the couch, she observed the darkness bleeding in through the windows. Silence filled the Andou home, recognizing the familiar angles of the tables, chairs, and hallways, as her eyes adjusted to the dimness.
She wasn't alone. Much to her displeasure, Satan sat at the corner of the couch with Ecolo residing on an armchair. They both greeted her, the former sliding a magazine about fruit in his cloak as she asked, "Shouldn't you two be elsewhere, or do you enjoy watching someone sleep like creeps?"
Ecolo chuckled. "People watching is a hobby of mine."
"And Arly rejected me again, so I had nothing better do to," Satan added.
Arle snorted. It seemed the Arle of this world had common sense. With a sigh, she rested on the armrest, her gaze searching the ceiling as she asked, "Is it really okay to let it end like this?"
Satan arched an eyebrow at her. "You've already asked that. Hasn't it been fine so far?"
She closed her eyes. "Yes. Of course. This is more elation than I could've dreamed for."
It wasn't a lie. Arle was the happiest she had ever been in her entire life. Meeting new people, making friends, battling, being recognized, she couldn't have wished for anything more.
And yet, she was still troubled. It was selfish to acknowledge that she wasn't entirely fulfilled. They had all given her more felicity than she thought she deserved. In the end, though, she believed something else needed to be done as a penance.
"I think there should be some more enjoyment to squeeze out of this ending," she said, rising from her spot. She stretched, popped her back, and rounded behind the couch. Raising her arm as Satan turned his head, she added, "Excuse me, Satan, but you'll need to be hypnotized."
"What did you-?"
Before Satan could finish his question, Arle slammed the side of her hand into his jugular. Satan gagged, his eyes bulging in his skull. Slowly, he fell forward, collapsed to his knees, and tumbled on his face.
Ecolo hummed, floating and crossing their arms and legs. "Oh, boy, are you going rogue again? I'll have to stop you if you do. You don't wanna wake up Ringo, do ya?"
Arle shook her head. "Not to worry. This isn't heinous at all. Spiteful, yes, but not evil," she said, and she propelled herself over the couch. Kneeling by Satan, she pinched his collar and dragged the much taller ruler of Puyo Hell to his feet. "Sorry, Satan. If you didn't share the face of the Satan who left with the other half of my soul, then I'd go easy on you. In the end, I think you'll enjoy your new role..." She grinned. "...Master of Ceremonies."
Hoisting Satan on her shoulder, Arle grunted and regained her footing. She squared her shoulders and draped his arms over her. Arle felt her joints crack, wondering if she was finally feeling her age.
"Ecolo, you'll accompany me, won't you?" she asked as she headed to the front door.
"Sure! This sounds fun!" Ecolo replied, flying next to her. "You know, I'd help you carry him, but I'm not tangible enough to do it."
"Hardy har."
"I'm serious."
"Sure."
"No, really!"
"Whatever." Arle blew her hair out of her eyes and rotated the doorknob. Pushing open the door, she smirked at her companion. "Well, we can finally get to know each other. I don't think talking in that dismal place suited our first meeting, and yet, despite everything, I'm grateful to you. None of this would've happened without your curiosity."
Ecolo sighed. "Don't worry about it. I should've been more delicate with that situation."
"You absolutely should have. Poor Lala suffered all alone, which is why if you refused, then I would have dragged you by your cheek as that nice teacher did."
"Hey, she could've just walked out there and introduced herself to the villagers." Arle glared at them, and they averted her glower. "I'm just saying, is all. Seems like a waste to not make new friends." When she sharpened her glare, they sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll shut up. So, where are we going?"
The doppelganger once known as Arle Nadja smirked, and as she held out her hand, a mask appeared in a puff of smoke. Holding it up to her face, she asked, "Tell me, Ecolo, do you like clowns?"