A/N: Definite spoilers for parts of Lies of P, as this follows the Rise of P ending (Lie Ending.) Only warning!
This is my GOTY as of right now, so I couldn't resist writing something for it while we have no idea what'll come next. Hope you enjoy!
Lies of P
The Fox's Last Waltz
Two months had passed since the Red Fox escaped the hellscape that was once the beautiful city of Krat, and yet, the woman found herself there once again.
Her long curved sword dripped with green ichor as she moved swiftly along the stone-bricked street, ducking to deliver an elegant, spinning slash towards the legs of a monstrosity, cleaving straight through flesh and bone.
By the time the carcass began to screech, she had already hooked her blade under its jaw and pulled, ripping its head clean off and sending it tumbling along the brick.
The heavy rainfall concealed the loud splatters of monster guts accompanying the footsteps of the Fox as she ducked into an alleyway and then into a broken-down door to an apartment building.
Her breathing heavy, the woman put her back to the wall facing the doorway and slid down to her bottom, soaking wet and feeling the cold grasping her.
This was all so much easier with you here, brother…
Pulling her mask off, the woman named Claudia wiped sweat from her face and stared down at the message etched into the inside of the mask.
" I have become weary of being a puppet, and I wish at any price to become a boy."
The quote from an old children's tale had been her brother's favorite in his last days, before disease had claimed him. Despite escaping this cursed place, the ghosts of their deceitful past had caught up to them and delivered their due justice.
Claudia took a deep breath and let herself calm, setting the mask back upon her face.
I must do this.. I have no other path, she thought as she used her blade as a crutch to help herself stand. She moved her right leg a bit, wincing at the delayed movement and the pain that brought. I hope your kindness still remains.
That puppet— no, that boy of Geppetto's… He had shown them all the kindness in the world, and yet they had absconded with his Golden Coin Fruit in search of vain fortune.
..And for what? The Red Fox became lame, the Black Cat became blind, just as they'd pretended— The irony was clear.
Stepping out from the back entrance of the apartment, Claudia gazed upwards towards her sanctuary looming close by— Hotel Krat.
Someone must be there. If not that boy, then somebody. It was her only option now. He was capable of many amazing things, so, perhaps, a cure was among them.
The thunder was growing more distant, and the rain was beginning to let up when the woman made her move again.
Passing through the streets as carefully as she could, Claudia stayed wary of every broken puppet she passed. Despite the defeat of Simon Manus, the Petrification Disease and the monsters caused by Ergo remained and grew, and even some lost puppets could be found with a maddening anger in their very cores.
It seemed clear enough as she reached the bridge littered with broken and decayed decorations promising a parade, that no effort to clean the streets had been made yet. The city looked more abandoned than it had even before she'd left.
Was it really so hopeless? Or did something terrible happen to those remaining here?
A limp starting to form as she ran, the fox eagerly headed up the steps towards the parade grounds—
And that proved to be the biggest mistake of her life.
Sliding to a stop along the wet ground, Claudia stared at the golden glow emanating from a strange machine settled in the center of the plaza. In front of it was the silhouette of a figure that she couldn't quite make out, but as they turned to face her, her blood went cold.
"Oh..? It isn't normal to get visitors here anymore," the person spoke, sounding almost frightened. "Are you.. lost, little fox?"
Claudia held a hand up to try her best to block out the light so she could see the person more clearly, but it was to no avail— In fact, the split moment that she lost sight of them when attempting to do so, they were suddenly right beside her.
Gasping, the woman hobbled to the right and turned towards the person, seeing him more clearly now.
Long silver hair, pale skin, a black top-hat and long black coat.. She had seen this man at some point, hadn't she? But where.. and when?
The man's eyes were downcast, and he tipped his hat slightly towards her.
"I was pretty sure everybody here was dead or fled by now," he said, sighing and tapping the umbrella he held against the ground lightly. "If you were looking for salvation from the horrors out there, well.. You will not find it here."
The man didn't sound very apologetic, offering a slight shrug. His nonchalant attitude mixed with the strange machine led Claudia to the reasonable conclusion that he was extremely dangerous.
"..Are you another Simon, looking for your shot at godhood? Because that did not work out so well before."
The question was straightforward, and didn't seem to puzzle the man, meaning she had likely hit the mark.
After a brief cough, the man retorted with, "Simon's studies were.. interesting but.. no, we don't need to tread old ground. In fact, I don't think we need to speak at all. Sorry."
It was almost in a blur that the man stabbed his umbrella straight towards Claudia's heart, but the expert in the dance of battle she was, her blade emerged in a flash to greet it, stopping it just before it made contact.
"Interesting. You're not ordinary. What makes you tick?"
With a flourish, the man pulled the umbrella back and swung in a downward arc, the tip hitting the brick on the ground with a thud. Claudia almost managed to block, but the umbrella's tip grazed along the side of her blade and made contact with her corsage.
Hopping back a step, the Red Fox heard a rip and stared down in disbelief as her shirt split almost completely right down the middle with ease. She then eyed the sharp umbrella tip jutting into the brick, knowing now it was not as it seemed.
The man chuckled lightly. "A spot of fun before the ceremony. I guess I should be happy. Well, maybe if this place wasn't so.. dead."
Claudia leaped forward, putting her good leg out there and crouching low as she swept her curved blade in a wide arc from the side. The man brought his umbrella to meet it, then pressed a button at its handle to cause it to open. The surprising force of the action easily parried her sword, and with a hop and twirl of the open umbrella, she felt blades slashing into her face, the fox mask breaking apart with ease.
Falling back, she scrambled back a ways, just the top part of the mask lying on her face, mouth agape. Blood trickled along her face and the bridge of her nose as cuts formed there, her eyes staring in disbelief at the bladed edges of the umbrella.
"Who are you?" Her voice was growing shaky, but she used her blade as a crutch to slowly stand, her weak leg buckling under the fear and uncertainty. "I.. have no quarrel. I am here for—"
"For Carlo, yes yes. Always that boy."
Claudia did not know the name of the boy, but she had recalled Geppetto mumbling that name over and over again after they'd captured him.
The dark suited man rubbed at his temple, the umbrella closing with the flick of a button as he began to pace a bit along the slick brick ground.
"It is.. unfortunate, really. We must close this chapter of the world for good, you see," he began, "Simon and Andreus were means to an end, but Carlo.. now he is what we truly need. But he isn't here at present, which is unfortunate— however, it is an ample opportunity to shut this book and toss it into the fire, wouldn't you say?"
Claudia didn't understand the man's ramblings, but if the boy, Carlo, was his goal, then…
She looked to the side, up towards where Hotel Krat loomed above.
"Apologies, I don't often get to speak to others," the man bemused, stopping to look at her again. "Maybe if you were born special, you could have played a part here. But.. not every soul is worth their life, I suppose."
With that, the man seemed ready to finish the job, as he appeared in a blur with his umbrella held in two hands, stabbing down towards Claudia before she could hardly react.
..But she had to escape. Flashes of her brother passed through her mind while her body got to work, grabbing her corsage in one fluid motion, ripping its remnants away and tossing them upwards. In the same motion, she leaped away, using the clothing as a smokescreen of sorts, and bent backwards for one desperate idea.
Claudia's curved blade slammed hard between the fabric of the man's umbrella, managing to pass between the intricate mechanisms and blades that allowed its quick changes, and then jamming hard into the stone brick below, managing to push a few inches deep.
SNAP!
She felt something in her right leg give way, but the agony that jolted through her couldn't match her adrenaline and determination.
As she rolled forward, the remnant of her mask flew off her head and clattered to the stone, and then she ran towards the Hotel like her life depended on it, passing the strange machine that glowed as bright as the Sun and even possessed similar warmth, not daring to look back.
Behind her, the man simply laughed.
The absurdity and futility of it all— Humanity sure was something unexplainable, even to someone who had ascended like himself.
"I can see how Simon could be bested," he muttered as he easily pulled his umbrella free, making the fox's blade fall free and clatter to the ground. He slowly walked to the discarded top half of the mask and bent down to pick it up, examining it.
"…I think I may just have an idea."
By the time Claudia reached the front steps to Hotel Krat, she barely had the strength to push against its heavy door and cross the courtyard.
Just a little longer.. I can't stop here!
Her right leg was mostly useless by now, and the woman was practically dragging it along as she headed inside and laid her hands against the lobby wall, panting and searching frantically with her eyes.
Empty. Everything seemed to be gone. All of the puppet bodies, the decorations, and trashed artwork, luggage, accessories from their assault on the Hotel months ago… Gone.
"No… please…"
Her voice sounding weak and pathetic, the woman searched.. and searched.. eventually coming to a study on the second floor. Nothing still, besides a couple of stray books left to rot on the ground.
Growing more desperate by the moment, she eventually found a single golden leaf upon the ground. Falling to her knees to grasp at it, she stared wide-eyed at it before heading down the hallway it was in front of.
Here.. it must be..!
Sure enough, a secret passage in the wall was slightly ajar at the end of the hall. She pulled it open just enough to squeeze through, falling to the floor on the other side and frantically crawling, and crawling..
Then there it was. The location of the Golden Coin Fruit Tree.
Except it was.. nothing but a stump now.
"No…!"
She crawled towards the stump, passing through dead flowers and golden leaves, placing her hands upon the wooden surface in disbelief.
"It.. it cannot he. Who would.."
Then she felt something sharp at the back of her neck, lightly digging at her skin. She froze, not needing to ask who or what was behind her.
"Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I am Paracelsus," the man spoke. "And you..?"
"…Claudia."
"Hmm.. I had heard of the dastardly Red Fox during my time here, but to think she is just a normal woman," Paracelsus mused. "I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or surprised."
Claudia slowly turned her head to where she could gaze back at the man, a trickle of blood oozing down the back of her neck from his sharp umbrella's tip against it.
"Where.. where is the tree? You must have it. Why..?"
Paracelsus cleared his throat, as if uncomfortable.
"Apologies yet again. I harvested what I needed and absconded with the rest," he stated. "This place will be gone soon anyhow; it won't be missed. No need for a cure anymore."
Claudia felt tears threatening to emerge, but she gritted her teeth, glaring daggers at the man behind her, stamping down any defeat that may arise.
"..You can make a cure?"
Paracelsus smiled. "Of course. Like this right here, perhaps?"
With his free hand, the man brandished a small vial of golden liquid. Claudia's eyes stared at it in disbelief as he waggled it between two fingers tauntingly.
"My experiments with the tree were successful. Krat could be saved, were it not too far gone," Paracelsus mused. "That leg of yours seems terrible, and this could cure that as well."
Claudia wanted to argue with that, but from everything she'd ever heard of the fruit, them being a cure-all seemed more plausible than a mere snake-oil salesman's pitch.
"You can have it, but I have a.. condition."
Paracelsus grasped the vial tightly in his fist and pressed the umbrella more against Claudia's neck, making her gasp and tense.
"There is a land far across the water, one full of inexplicable wonders," he began. "I am tied up here for the foreseeable future, but there are people there that must be.. guided, let's say. Someone like yourself seems capable of such a thing, perhaps. Now that you're all alone—"
Claudia tensed and scowled, but he dug the tip in deeper to make her squirm.
"I know, losing that other one that stood with you must have been hard, but now you have an opportunity here. A rare one at that!"
The fact that the man knew of her brother and was using his death to coax her was making Claudia's blood boil. She was always known to be regal and level-headed, keeping the air of her rich family even in these dire times.
…But now..
"No matter what happens, we'll be alright.. Right?" The words of her brother echoed in her mind.
"What do you say? It would sure solve a lot of issues I'm having," Paracelsus said with a bit of a chipper tune to his voice now. "You've got nothing to lo—"
"I have lost.. A lot," Claudia began, remembering her life of unfortunate event after unfortunate event that led her here. "It is not something so simply understood."
Her vision was a haze at this point, the mixture of pain, grief, and sorrow all making it difficult to hold on to the life she had left within herself. Just the simple act of breathing was growing more and more labored, and Claudia felt like something was gripping at her chest.
Fear? Guilt? Perhaps both?
Paracelsus scoffed. "Everybody knows of loss, come on now—"
"Shall we, sister?"
Claudia ducked forward and kicked backwards with her good leg, catching Paracelsus' own leg and causing him to stumble forward. Then, in a fluid motion, the woman swung her arm around to elbow him in the side of the head hard. As his hat flew off his head and he elicited a grunt, the woman leaped onto him and wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling back with all her might..
..But it was to no avail. Paracelsus stayed firm, leaned backwards, as solid as a stone as she tried to pull him further.
"A shame, really."
His umbrella swung in a quick movement, and before Claudia knew anything had happened, the man was standing beside his hat a few yards away, kneeling to pick it up.
"I hope that puppet and that stupid girl aren't this thick-headed," he grumbled.
Claudia's vision tilted, and then she fell… No, her head fell to the ground, her vision spinning til she settled against the stump of the Golden Coin Tree.
"This world has no evil, not truly," she heard Paracelsus speak. "Only Gods, and those that imitate them. What is evil is purely up to those above."
In her last moments of consciousness, Claudia saw the silhouette of that man rise to his feet again, feeling the pure terror fade away to a warm bliss.
The top-hatted man's shadow morphed and changed before her fading eyes, becoming a boy in a Black Cat mask, kneeling down before her, the Red Fox mask in his hands. He gently placed it over Claudia's face and nodded.
"Ain't it cool, sister? We're regular thieves in the night now!"
It was over. The struggle, the fighting, the pain.. Claudia smiled.
She would be with her brother again.
…
Throughout the barren Hotel Krat, a record suddenly began to play. A piano led the way, playing a powerful and haunting melody til an accordion thundered in, leading to a woman's sung chorus:
"If I could shed my tears…"
Paracelsus froze, feeling his blood run cold as the distant music reached the secret courtyard and cut through the void of silence.
"In this daunting fantasy,"
The man stared down at the blood splattered across the ground, regret bubbling within him, a very unfamiliar feeling to the man.
Click… click… click…
The sound of slow, deliberate footsteps were growing closer. Familiar footsteps.
"Many.. of them.. call reality."
The footsteps were then accompanied by the loud grind of metal on metal. The man sighed and tipped his hat towards the deceased Fox.
"It seems that, maybe… I was the foolish one."
In the end, the last waltz of the Red Fox would not be forgotten, for a boy named Carlo who felt sorrow for her remained–
And the truths he upheld would destroy even the Gods.
The End..?
A/N: As if the game didn't sequel/DLC bait already, hope this leaves some kind of impression. Let me know how you liked it!~
If it wasn't obvious, Quixotic is my favorite record in the game, and it is from the Fox, so it was a big inspiration here!