Chapter 5 – Memories of the Dead Girl
Ringo's POV
A few minutes after leaving Feli and Futaba, the four of us were now outside in the school's courtyard. The setting for all of the games and attractions being hosted. Our goal this time was to find Marvett so that she could translate this book for us.
It's still strange to me that she knows this language. It really is nothing but gibberish. But understanding what this gibberish says is currently our only lead to find Arle and Amitie. So, I can't really question it so hard.
"Wow…all of these booths out here are really for the festival?" Witch asked in amazement as we looked around the crowded area.
"It makes sense." I said. "Considering that this is the first Halloween Festival ever, people wanted to go all out. Games, food, shops…it's all here."
"Interesting…still wish I thought of making my own shop here."
"Let it go already…" I gained a sweatdrop.
"Alright, Raina." Raffina said to her clone. "Where did Marvett say she would be?"
"Hmm…she said that she and Marly would be playing games out here. If I could just…Ah! There she is! Marvie!" Raina then flew over to where Marvett was and hugged her from behind. A thing that she commonly does.
"Oh. Hey, Raina. Happy Halloween." Marvett replied in such a calm manner.
I understand that she's used to it, but still…
"That's an interesting Halloween costume you got on, Marvett." I said. Pointing out her genie costume. "Are you into genies and such?"
"Oh, this? No, not really. I just didn't have a costume ready in time. So, I borrowed some of Jarne's old clothes."
"Jarne? You mean she used to wear that kind of stuff?"
"Yeah…believe it or not, Jarne had a decent sense of fashion back in the day." Witch said. "I guess she gave it up once she reunited with Yu."
"Huh…"
You really do learn something every day…
"So, what's up?" Marvett asked. "Are you guys here to play some games?"
"Actually, Marvett…we need to ask you for a fav-" And as I was about to explain…
"TH-THERE you are~…R-Raina~!"
"Oh! Hiya, Marvie!" Raina cheered as her other best friend Marle came walking up to us.
…
A-Although…she did look…d-different…
"R-Raina~…w-we TOTALLY need to have a little~…D-DISCUSSION~…a-about the "costume" you decided for me~!"
"M-Marle…isn't that the form you took from when you were controlled by Squares?" I asked.
"Wh-What are you doing using THAT form?!" Witch asked. In a bigger shock than I was.
"I-I didn't have a~…c-costume for this~…"Halloween" day everyone was talking about~! S-So, RAINA decided that~…tr-triggering this other form would be the~…P-PERFECT costume for me~! B-But~…s-since I haven't had…TH-THIS much power in so long~…th-the pain is just so un-FUCKING-bearable~! I-I'm just about to LOSE it~! Kyahahahaha~!"
"R-Raina, what did you do?!"
"I-I was only trying to help Marly!" Raina said as she was forming tears in her eyes. "Sh-She was going to be the only person not wearing a costume! I didn't want her to be left out, so…I-I stuck a feather in her head and she turned into that! I thought it was a cool costume…"
"A feather?" We all asked before finally noticing the tiny black feather poking out of Marle's head. It had a dark aura around it…giving us chills the longer we stared at it.
"Wh-Where'd you get such a thing?" Raffina asked.
"From Arly. She said that giving this to Marle would give her the most titillating costume the world has ever seen. Even plucked it from her own fallen angel wing."
"D-Did she now?" Raffina gained a sweatdrop.
"Arly being a disturbing pervert as usual…" Marvett added with a huge sweatdrop.
"Hey, by the way…what does "titillating" mean?"
"W-Well…i-it's, uh…"
"Uh…GUYS~! C-Can you please just~…g-get this FUCKING feather out of my head~?!" Marle asked as she was struggling even more.
"Oh, right…" Raffina said as she casually walked up to Marle and yanked the feather from her head. Reverting her back to her normal self.
Not a single ounce of fear…
"Phew…thank you so much for getting that feather out." Marle said. "A-And, uh…s-sorry about the swearing."
"Ah, it's fine, Marle." Witch said. "Every person should let out a few "fucks" and "shits" every once in a while."
"But yet, you're always wondering why Amitie hits you whenever you do swear…" I mumbled to myself with a huge sweatdrop.
"So, what was this favor you were asking before?" Marvett asked.
"Oh, right. Well, you see…"
*ONE EXPLANATION LATER…*
"A-Arle's been kidnapped by a ghost possessing Amitie and it wants to kill her?!" Both girls yelled in complete shock.
"Yeah…it's THAT serious." I said.
"We're trying to find them and beat that ghost before Halloween ends." Raffina added. "We first went to Feli, who gave us this book that the ghost apparently had. But it's in this unreadable language."
"Raina said that you knew how to read it, Marvett. Is that true?" Witch asked.
"Let me see…" Marvett took the book and began skimming through the pages. "W-Wow…yeah…this is definitely Uryuomoco. Can't believe this language also exists in Primp…"
"Y-You mean it's an actual language?" I asked.
"Yes…but not many people actually know about it. From what I've studied so far…it seems to had originated from a world that's parallel to the world Futaba resides in. But any more information than that is out of my reach at the moment."
"Parallel to Futaba's world?" Raffina asked. "Geez…that world's got a lot of weird things tied to it."
"It's weird, yes…but also interesting." Marle said. "Such a huge world with its own rules and customs…and strangely enough, Puyo Puyo even works there."
"Puyo Puyo WORKS there? Now, I really want to see this world for myself."
"Right? We gotta get Feli to take us there sometime." Witch said.
Not a bad idea, honestly…
"As to what it says…" Marvett then scanned a few more pages. "…This seems to be a diary."
"A diary?" We asked in union.
"Of who?" I solely asked.
"It says here…a girl named Julia Rycroft."
"Julia Rycroft…"
…
…
…
"Wh-Who the hell is that?!" Raffina yelled in frustration.
Amitie's POV
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
*THUD*
"O-Owie…how am I still feeling pain without having a freaking body?" I whined after slamming hard into a random wall.
I soon got up and looked around the area…and quickly realized that I was back at the school! That last-ditched explosion managed to get me out of Wraith's dark void!
Yes! I'm free! I'm still without my body…but I actually escaped!
"Okay, so…I don't have my body. So, all of my spells and Copy Abilities are gone. Well, except for Crash…but that's not an Ability I can rely on for long periods of time. So, my only option is to find someone, explain what's happening, and have them fight for me.
…
But…now that I think about it…who's gonna be strong enough to go up against a ghost possessing my body?! That's like…FINAL BOSS level of difficult!"
…
*sigh* Neptune's really got me doing these 4th wall break jokes…
"Well, well…if it isn't Amitie. Quite the interesting costume you've got there."
"Satan? What are you doing here?" I asked the Ruler of Puyo Hell as he walked up to me.
"What? Can't a demon king have a little fun every once in a while? I came to enjoy the festivities of this "Halloween" party. As you guys call it."
"I see…"
I guess he's never heard of Halloween, either…
"So…lucky for me to run into you here. Have you by chance seen my precious fiancé Arle and sweet little Carbunny? I wish to show them my own costume for this yearly night of fun."
Satan's costume in particular was…definitely intimidating at first glance. He wore an all-blue jumpsuit with what looked like bones on his shoulders, waists, and other minor places. On the side of his head was a flat skull possibly worn like a mask and at the center of his chest was a big red orb. One that I'm pretty sure it's glowing.
…
It…definitely fits his personality. I-I guess…
"Ah, well…there's actually a bit of a situation to that, Satan."
"A situation? Of what kind?"
"Well…"
*ONE EXPLANATION LATER…*
"WHAT?! ARLE'S BEEN KIDNAPPED?!" Satan shouted in full anger after I told him what happened. But even though I told him the whole story, that particular part seemed to be the only thing he cared about.
"She's trapped in a dark void beaten and tortured beyond compare. Caused by my own body that Wraith stole from me. And she'll do the same thing to the rest of the world if we don't stop her. But at my current state…"
"Say no more, Amitie! If it's to save my dearest fiancé Arle, then I shall lend my assistance to the FULLEST extent! That ghost will see SEVERE punishment for her interference in Arle's fun!"
"That's…great, Satan!" I said with a sweatdrop. "Thanks for the help!"
Arle's probably gonna be pissed that I got Satan to help…but it's better than nothing at this point…
"By the way…you mentioned that this ghost was named Wraith, correct?"
"Huh? Oh…yeah. I think she's from the same world you guys came from. But when I tried to ask Arle about it…there was no time for her to give me an answer."
"I see…" Satan went silent for a bit. "…Fortunately, I happen to know the history between Arle and this Wraith ghost. Unfortunately…it's quite tragic."
"*sigh*I kinda figured that was the case. So, what exactly happened?"
"Well…"
*CREAK*
"Wh-What was that?" I asked after we heard a creaking sound from the ceiling above us.
*CREAK*
*LOUDER CREAK*
*CRASH*
"KYAAAAAAAA! I-I-IT'S A DEAD BODY!"
"W-Will you calm down! It's just a puppet!" Satan yelled after he pointed out that the body that fell through the ceiling was indeed a puppet.
"O-Oh. Hehhehheh…it really is a puppet."
It looks so real, though. Almost like a real girl…
"*sigh* Honestly…you're the Light Soul and yet here you are getting scared by a mere puppet."
"W-Well, it looks real!" I then looked at the puppet again. "Where did this puppet even come from, anyway?"
"Please stop~…calling me~…a puppet~."
"H-Huh?"
Then, all of a sudden…the puppet girl began to move. It rose up from the floor with crackling sounds similar to a skeleton. Its red & black Victorian-styled dress somewhat matched her ruby-red lifeless eyes. And her puffy white hair looked like it was the only real thing about her.
…
But all of that is beside the fact that…
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! TH-TH-TH-TH-THE PUPPET IS ALIVE! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Seriously~…please stop calling me a puppet~." The girl said."It hurts that my afterlife is being referred to as such~."
"H-Huh? Afterlife?"
"U-Unbelievable…and here I thought you've gone missing." Satan said in disbelief.
"Woah~…King Satan~. It is an honor to meet you in person at long last~." The girl then tried to bow…but topped over and fell to the floor. Making her head come off in the process.
Wh-What the hell is with this girl?
"Uh…Satan. Do you know this, uh…girl?" I asked. Still feeling a bit uneasy about being around this…"puppet girl".
"Of course, I do. I wouldn't be a good Demon King if I didn't."
"W-Wait, you mean…she's from Puyo Hell?"
"Well…she's supposed to be."
"I…don't get it." I said with a confused look.
"*sigh* To put it simply…this is Julia Rycroft. Wraith's original body."
"Wr-Wraith's…ORIGINAL body?!"
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Light Soul~." Julia said as she attempted to perform another bow…
…
But then her head popped off of her body again and she was struggling to put it back on.
Is it REALLY bad to call her a puppet?
Ringo's POV
"Ni muno yuc Julia un orobom ioulc erja umja cho ieamtocg juatfgol eh cho mevro Rycroft hunyuri. YU jeh meg fubo numi hlyomjc. Umja YU un ehgom remori vosuaco eh chug. Vag cenojui...YU quyra nupo u hlyomja. Emo geh sura ni boli equm."
"My name is Julia Rycroft. I am eleven years old and the youngest daughter of the noble Rycroft family. I do not have many friends. And I am often lonely because of that. But someday...I will make a friend. One to call my very own." Marle translated in English what Marvett just read in this Uryuomoco language.
It's absolutely crazy that she can truly read this stuff…
"Julia Rycroft…an 11-year-old noble daughter…" Witch said to herself. "…That name sounds SO familiar. Where have I heard it before?"
"Well, the ghost went after Arle." Raffina said. "Is this Julia girl from the same world you guys came from?"
"Rycroft…from that world…" Witch's face then suddenly lit up in excitement as she clasped her hand to her fist. "NOW I REMEMBER! Julia Rycroft was a student at the witch academy I went to! She was even my classmate!"
"S-Seriously?"
"Wow…that's convenient." I said. Just as surprised as Raffina.
"I totally remember. She was a girl with white puffy hair, red eyes, and wore some kind of fancy dress. She always sat in the back of the classroom and really had no friends."
…
"Well…neither did I. Aside from Draco. Nobody wanted to be friends with someone who couldn't perfect a single potion…and the only other person who was on the same level as me was that bitch Kikimora. God, she was a pain in the ass back then…"
"W-Witch…you're getting a little off-topic." Marle said with a sweatdrop.
"So, we got this Julia girl…but we still don't know how this relates to Arle being kidnapped." Raffina said.
"Is there anything else written in there, Marvett?" I asked.
"Well, let me see…" Marvett continued skimming through the book to find something that could help us. "Oh! Marle, check this out. *clears throat* Losomgri...u moqu usgyubyugi fuc voseno kekarul yum cho ulou. Hlen quoug YU fubo foulja, yug yuc u tuno. Emo chug cho sennemolc lohol geh uc...Puyo Puyo. Yugc laroc ceamja senkrysugoja. Vag obom ceh...YU quyus geh gli yug. Nuivo chom...YU sum tuyum u hlyomja eh ni equm."
"Recently...a new activity has become popular in the area. From what I have heard, it is a game. One that the commoners refer to as...Puyo Puyo. Its rules sound complicated. But even so...I wish to try it. Maybe then...I can gain a friend of my own." Again, Marle translated what Marvett read in the book.
"This entry seems to had been written around the time Puyo Puyo was created." Marvett added.
"Wowie…that's a long time." Raina said.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Raffina said. "If it's THAT long ago, then this Julia girl must be old as hell."
"Raffina." I scolded her.
"What? You know it's true."
"When Puyo Puyo was created…" Witch mumbled to herself. "…Hey, Marvett. Do you think you can find anything written on a specific date in there?"
"What date are you looking for?"
"March 19th, 1992."
"1992?" Both Raffina and I were confused as to why Witch wanted to go THAT far back.
That's over 30 years ago!
"Just trust me on this. If my memory's correct on this…it should explain why that ghost wants to kill Arle."
We were still unsure about this…but if Witch was positive that this would solve everything, then we had no other choice but to give it a shot.
I just hope she's right about this…
"Ah! Here it is! March 19th, 1992. Right on the nose." Marvett said before she read for herself what the page said.
…
"O-Oh, God…"
"Wh-What is it?" I asked.
"M-Marle…c-come look at this." Marvett then signaled Marle to look at the page. And soon, the latter gained the same pale look of shock as the former.
"W-Wow…th-that actually happened?"
"What? What happened?" Raffina asked.
"W-Well, it says…" Marvett then went silent for a bit before continuing. "March 19th, 1992. YU jeh meg pmequ quoi...vag chyuc jugo fuamgc no.
YU summeg lononvol umichot vohelo chug jui. Umja oboli gyuno YU gli geh jeh ceh, ni fouja onyugc um ozslasyugot kuyum. Urnecg uc yuh ni vluyum fuc voom senkrogori jocgleioja.
Nonelyuoc eh ni ryuho ulo temo. Onegyuemc eh ni ryuho ulo temo. YU hoor mechot vag um useot kuyum eh fugloja chleatfeag ni coo-chleatf veji.
Cho emri chot YU jeh lononvol yuc u cotro muno. Arle Nadja. Umja hel ceno loucem...chug muno vlotc no mechot vag luto. Yuc uso cho emo quoeh jyuja chyuc geh no? Levvot no eh ni nonelyuoc, onegyuemc, umja obom ni equm veji?
Quoi? Quoi quearja uso jeh chyuc? Quoi jyuja laymot ni ryuho nupo folc ura cho nelo fukki?
Yuh uso glari jyuja jeh chyuc geh no...chom Arle Nadja usura kui quyuch fol ryuho. YU usura pyura fol...umja nupo fol cahhol.
Amjol cho quluch eh Quluych."
"March 19th, 1992. I do not know why...but this date haunts me.
I cannot remember anything before that day. And every time I try to do so, my head emits an excruciating pain. Almost as if my brain has been completely destroyed.
The only thing I do remember is a single name. Arle Nadja. And for some reason...that name brings me nothing but rage.
Is she the one who did this to me? Robbing me of my memories, emotions, and even my own body?
Why? Why would she do this? Why did ruining my life make hers all the more happy?
If she truly did do this to me...then Arle Nadja shall pay with her life. I shall kill her...and make her suffer.
Under the wrath of Wraith." Marle then translated.
"Wr-Wraith?" I asked. "Th-That's another word for "ghost". S-So, the ghost that possessed Amitie and kidnapped Arle…"
"Long ago…back when Puyo Puyo was starting to become popular…there was an incident involving two grade school kids." Witch said. "They were playing the game as normal when…one of the girls casted a spell which made the other girl's brain swell up and explode. Killing her instantly."
"Oh, God!" Raffina and I shouted in horror.
"Wh-what kind of spell does that?" Marle asked.
"The spell that did her in…was named Brain Damned. And the girl who casted that spell was…"
"N-No way…i-it can't be…W-Witch, you can't be serious! PLEASE tell me it wasn't Arle!"
…
…
…
"S…Sorry, Ringo." Was all Witch said after going silent for a good while.
"N-No…" Meanwhile, I had fallen to the ground in total shock and despair. Heavy tears forming in my eyes and dripping down my face. All from learning that Arle…my best friend, my girlfriend, my one true love…had killed someone. And kept it a secret for all these years.
…
I…I don't know what to think anymore…
Amitie's POV
"H-Holy crap…s-so Arle basically shattered your brain?"
"Sadly~…that is the case~." Julia said after both she and Satan told the story of how she died.
"Arle was only a child at the time. Still learning how to control her magical powers." Satan said. "It was her first time using the Brain Damned spell…and unfortunately, this was the end result."
"Get really real…did Arle had any guilt from it?"
"She had TREMENDOUS guilt from it. More than a child should ever have at her age. She fell into a deep depression…from both the guilt eating away her soul and the countless people calling her a murderer. And it got so deep that she was only moments away from committing suicide."
"S-Suicide?!" I shouted in pure shock.
A-Arle SERIOUSLY considered that?! The guilt must've been REALLY destroying her…
"What stopped her from going through with it was that the fact that I erased her memories of that day. But Wraith made her remember again as part of her plan to kill her. And when someone remembers a trauma like that, it's hard to forget. Even my mind-wiping abilities won't do much luck this time."
"So, Arle will continue to live this guilt forever…" I then went silent for a bit. "But there's one thing I don't understand. If Wraith is Julia's soul, how are the two apart from each other?"
"My soul~…or Wraith, as it is now called~…still feels resentment about my death~." Julia said. "Unlike my body~…which had remained immobile until tonight~…she refuses to rest in peace until she fulfills her one true desire~. To kill Arle Nadja~…and anyone else she sees as her enemy~."
"N-No way…and she said that she was going to do that with MY body! We seriously gotta stop her!"
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Satan asked. "You just said that she stole your body! Very few people can go up against your Light Soul powers."
"Ugh! Damnit, you're right…"
"If you wish to defeat my soul and rescue Arle~…there may be another way~." Julia said.
"Really? How?"
"We just need~…to find~…my diary~."
"Your diary?" Satan and I asked in confusion.
"Well~…to be honest, it is not actually a diary~. It is an old grimoire I had found back when I was alive~. It was blank~…so, I wrote in it~. But its powers should still work~…in sealing Wraith inside~."
"Sealing Wraith inside…"Satan said to himself. "…That just might work. We just have to hope that there's enough power inside that book."
"Where would your diary be, Julia?" I asked.
…
"Julia?" I asked again when Julia didn't respond and just stared back with her red soulless eyes.
S-So creepy…
"I~…I do not remember~." She finally spoke. "It has been quite a while since I last wrote in it~. It could be anywhere nowadays~."
"*sigh*I see…" I then thought for a moment. "…Well, we could check the school library. There's a possible chance that it ended up there after somebody found it."
"The library~…so be it~. Let us all head on over~…"
*POP*
"Oh~…"
Just as Julia started walking, her head popped off again and her body fell to the ground. Her…s-somehow still-moving hands trying to reach her severed head.
"A little help~…if you please~."
Okay, so she's not a puppet…but she's definitely not human!
Author's Note: While Ringo learns of and struggles to believe Arle's past, Amitie teams up with Satan and Julia, Wraith's original body, to stop the evil soul's plan and rescue Arle.
…
As long as Julia stops falling apart.
So, yeah…it's WAY past Halloween. I had originally planned to have this story finished by then…but the situation with FanFiction made things difficult and manually porting some of my stories to AO3 took up most of my time.
I'll continue to work on this story…but since it's past the intended due date, it's going to be less of a priority. I've got other stories to work on and now port to AO3. Again…manually.
Thanks for reading. Later.