Two mysterious people in red cloaks spent the last minutes of the world together, exchanging one last conversation before time begins anew.
FF.net/AO3
This one is for @reverse-vampire :D
“It's been a while since we came here.”
Quiet footsteps sounded in the deep forest, old leaves crunched under heavy boots, sticks cracked until the footsteps came to a halt the moment the two people reached a clearing with a withered wooden house in the middle. The sun was setting low, it was slowly getting darker, and the wind picked up its speed. A mysterious quietness surrounded the area.
“We made it in time.”
“We did?”
The girl nodded.
The boy wasn't sure what to make of this message, but he just went with it. It wasn't like he understood everything she always said, he was trying though.
“It's always this place, isn't it?” He asked as he watched her strolling further until she stopped in front of a stone formation what looked like a fireplace. It wasn't used for quite some time, or so the old wood told him.
“You remember?”
“No.” He sighed and followed her. “But I know, anyways.”
A smile formed on her face.
“Your soul remembers, not you.”
“I know, I know. You've told me many times.”
He didn't know why they were here, but the place felt familiar in a way he couldn't point out. She wanted to be here without question, so he didn't ask.
Wandering around Orience was all they did, watching the events that unfolded right in front of them – the bombing of Lorica, the destruction of the Azure Dragon Crystal, and alas Rubrum invading Milites – major points of the past year's history they had no influence of.
“So,” he began to speak after a while of silence, “what are we going to do?”
She was turned away from him, walking to the wooded house and up the few steps to the small patio, ignoring his question. She let one finger slide over the weathered wood before she leaned herself with her hands on the railing.
“I've come her to make a decision.”
“Oh?” He followed her, again, up the stairs. “What is it?”
Yet instead of answering, she just sunk her head and sat herself down, stroking over her red cloak.
“I thought about it long enough, for many cycles. I think the time is finally here.” A short silence. “They have suffered long enough.”
The boy looked at her, his mind slowly catching up.
“So … ?”
“Next cycle is going to be different. I will make sure of that.” Her voice sounded confident, full of hope.
“What do you plan to do now?” He asked her curiously, deciding to join her on the wooden ground.
“Now? Wait.”
“Wait?” He tilted his head.
Again, no answer from her, but instead the environment explained it for him.
A thunder roared, loud enough to think it was right above of one. The wind from earlier died down in a second, the strange feeling creeping up on the skin, and the so beautiful setting sun vanished behind dark clouds as the sky turned into a deep red.
The boy looked upwards, clenching his eyes as black rain started to fall in his face.
“I see.” He said. “When 9 and 9 meet 9.”
The girl smiled again. “You do remember. You're catching up.”
“Hey, I try my best.”
The rain continued to pour over the two, neither of them really caring about it at all. They were drenched, yes, but they both knew that wasn't important for the things that were about to come.
“So that means … ?”
She nodded. “I will see you again in the next life.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Looking forward to that.”
“Thank you for everything, Lean. Lean Joker.”
Type 0 Week Day 5 - Morrality or Corruption
Corruption as in “corrupting of one’s mind and soul, scaring them forever”
Queen, Seven - They say Queen can hold herself in check every time, being in control of herself just fine. But there is something living inside her that knows that this is a lie, sampling the pleasures of her crumbling facade.
FF.net / AO3
(Please give Queen a hug. Also, this thing walks a fine line between Rated T and Rated M. Non-consensual things happen, implied sexual stuff if you squint. Body control, mind control, that sort of thing. Handling a traumatic event. So, please be warned, though I tried to tone it down a lot, but still. Just telling for safety)
A noise on the door brought Seven out of the deep thoughts she was in, the clouds in her mind gone when she placed a finger on the last word she read. Her head rose from the book lying in her lap and faced the door from where the harsh and sudden knock came from, quite unusual for this late time of the day.
“Yes?” she called out in a loud, curious voice, but received no answer.
For a while her gaze lingered, hoping to still get an answer to her ask. Just as she wanted to continue her study session, another bash against wood prevented from exactly doing that. Although the noise sounded mute and got drowned in the light chattering from the outside, Seven recognized the exact tone.
No one else knocked that polite.
Taking a deep breath she hurried from her bed, the book in her lap already forgotten and cast away from her mind. Instead she prepared herself for the next moments to come, because there couldn't be any other way than what she had in her mind.
Her speculation who asked for her got revealed the moment she reached for the doorknob and turned it around, the quite cooler air and smell from the hallway sweeping over her in a rush.
But that didn't surprise her, just like the person who stood in the door frame was no surprise to her, but what she saw made her widen her eyes.
“Queen?”
As if time stood still Seven stared at the smaller girl, not missing the goosebumps and shivers all over her body. Her breath ragged and eyes too wild to catch, reddened from tears that refused to fall. Her cheeks puffy and glittering in the lamps of the hallway, something that Seven had never seen on her before.
And she had seen a lot in the time of war. Exhausted, haggard cadets that were too broke to function coming from their latest mission, scarred and agitated from the horrible things they saw out on the battlefield. Some huddled in corners and didn't want to speak for days, others tried to seek comfort in quiet company with fellow classmates.
Not everyone could cope with such sights as good as Class Zero, especially not if those cadets weren't trained – made – for war.
But Class Zero was.
Raised as war machines any horrible thing they saw out on the battlefield didn’t have much effect on them - even leaving behind their comrades were of no problem. As long as the mission came first, any sacrifice was sufficient. With that training they received they got numb to physical and emotional pain, ready to fight for whatever Mother tasked them to.
Never she had seen Queen in such an emotional weak state before, not since their childhood anyways. It had been years and her mind already had abandoned those memories of such a sights from her classmates. Seeing her like this again pinched deep in her heart.
Seven silently gasped when Queen almost fell in her arms, but she managed to keep her on her toes before she lost her composure completely. She grabbed her hand and lifted her up on her back, having her on wobbly legs again, steadier than before.
Still, Queen hadn’t said anything. But words weren’t important right now anyways, Seven observed enough with her own eyes to judge the current situation.
“Come on, let's sit down first.”
With Queen in her arms, Seven kicked the door behind them close and carried her over to her bed where she just studied on. Like a wet sack of rice they fell down into soft cushions and Seven shifted until she found a good position for them, tucking a pillow under Queen's head as she decided to lay down instead.
“Is that okay?” Seven asked reassuringly.
Finally for the first time a reaction came from her, a single nod between the shivers that gnawed on her body. A sigh of relief left Seven at the answer, glad that at least her tiny help seemed to show positivity. Still, the whole situation was anything than positive, and until she didn't figure out what was going on, her concern was on high alert.
Something must have happened, something even Queen couldn't stand her ground on, otherwise her so-very upright and tight composure wouldn't crumble into a million pieces just like that.
Did something happened last mission? Seven let her thoughts wander as she simply watched Queen, sitting on the edge of the bed to give her the space she needed. She saw her taking deep breaths and just staring blankly at the ceiling, her fingers digging in the blanket she lied on.
She did came back yesterday. I haven't seen the reports yet, but … did she … again? Seven scratched her head. But Mother would never let her-
“Seven?”
“Huh?” Seven looked up at the mention of her name, widening her eyes in surprise. “What is it?”
“Thanks … for taking me in. I-”
“You know you can always come to me, you don't have to thank me.” She shifted in her seat, taking note on how Queen's breathing seemed to slowly, but surely regain a normal pattern again, the deep breaths she took definitely helping. “... And I'm glad you did.”
A silence occurred under Seven's watchful eyes, her eyes never leaving her. Though her state seemed to be better than a few minutes ago, it would still take a while until she recovered from what she experienced.
She always did. Seven might not have seen her in this post-mission state, but from the reports and telling from prior missions it was quite clear what it was.
She knew.
“Queen, do you want a cup of tea?” Seven murmured and took a glance to her desk. “I just brewed some for me and I won't be able to finish it on my own, though.”
“Oh. … Yes, thank you.” Her voice still creaked, but Seven could hear she tried to suppress it, letting her sound calm and polite like always.
Typical Queen.
Seven got the cup ready and sat down beside Queen again who in the meanwhile managed to lift herself up and leaned herself against the headboard. The company of Seven apparently did her good, the quiet calm aura radiating from her that embraced her, cuddled her while keeping a fine physical distance.
“Here.” She held the steamy mug in front of her. “Green tea. You're favorite, wasn't it?”
“You remembered that?” Queen happily accepted the cup and soaked up the warmth through her hands. A sigh left her at the smell, the steam rising in her nose that tickled in a familiar manner, calming her senses even further. Her glasses began to fog, but with her gaze lost she didn't react on it.
Another quietness occurred while they both sipped on their tea. Again, Seven didn't take her eyes off her, taking note of every single movement she made, how her eyes kept focusing on the mug she held in her hands.
The thoughts kept bubbling, Seven could feel it.
“I don't … know why it happened.”
“Hm?” Seven looked up from her cup, surprised how calm she could speak again. Queen didn't move and continued to stare. “ … What happened?”
“This thing. I …”
Seven set down the mug on her nightstand, turning completely to Queen now. “Do you want to tell me?”
It took her a few seconds to form an answer, her wild mind still foggy. “I know you … will listen to me at least.”
Seven nodded. “You can tell me, Queen.”
It all started when I entered my room again.
I came back from a mission and woke up in Mother's office. She said I was out cold and I slept for a few hours, that I should be fine again. I trusted her words, of course. I always trust Mother.
But my body started to act strangely the moment I closed the door to my room behind me. A bubbling feeling, a turmoil that slowly crept its way through all over me, I felt it tingling from head to toe – an aching pain, like pinching needles that just barely scraped your skin, a fire under it you just want to rip off.
It didn't stop and neither I could stop shaking. My lungs became heavy, my throat tightened in a way I only knew from the endless fires and ashes on a mission. I tried to suppress it, like I always did, took deep breaths and tried to lie down on my bed -
But I didn't make it. I couldn't handle the immense power that suddenly overwhelmed me. It felt alien and yet … and yet …
I fell down on my knees, my vision blurry and fading into gray. I had no idea what was going on, why this happened so sudden – I choked on my own air, I grabbed my throat out of instinct, but breathing only became harder and harder. I tried to scream, but my lungs gave in before I even had enough air for that.
That was where I knew I was helpless to … to that.
I know about … her. Or me, if you want to call that, too. I never remember anything about it, but I see the horrifying glances of the others when we meet after a mission, I read the reports, but they are alleviated. I tried to talk to Mother about it, but she never went into detail …
She sometimes appears when I die on the battlefield. When I'm gone, she takes over my body and finishes my duty … in her own way.
I cannot remember anything what she does, I do not know how many enemies she kills or how she fights, but I do know that she scares everyone around her.
Why she appeared now, I did not know. I should have been fine, like Mother said, but I was clearly not.
I could feel her. I could feel numbness spreading from the tips of my fingers and toes, my aching skin finally released from the burning fire that drowned me in a sea of flames. But it was more a curse than a blessing.
With the feeling gone from my limbs, I didn't have control anymore. I couldn't move my hands on my own, my legs gave in, they refused to work. I felt my heart racing, thumping more and more that my ears began to ring.
I was … I was scared. My consciousness was slipping away from my grasp, slowly and painfully – like if you are sitting in the back of your own head, watching your body move without your control. As if you're sitting on a chocobo and you're not the rider, your hands tied behind your back, and you can only watch where the chocobo is heading.
I tried to fight back, fight for my control again, the control I treasured for myself so much, the tiny grasp that was still left, but nothing worked.
Everything went so fast at this point.
I was pushed back inside my head. I saw how my body moved without my control, how I suddenly stood again on wobbly legs. My hands clenched and unclenched before my eyes, my lungs filled with air again – in the foggy vision I had left I could make out the dark aura surrounding my body and there I knew she … she took everything away.
I remember her voice, my voice, her words … a malice-ridden whisper over my shoulder. Even though the numbness almost spread up to my head, I could feel her voice boring daggers in my neck. Like a blade that scraped against the base of your skull, running over your cheek and down to your jaw.
Finally, she said. A laughter followed that was so alien I didn't even realize it was my voice. She asked me how it feels like being still alive.
It was the point where I only felt tiny and fragile, helpless. She knew I was still there, that I could see everything she did. Never in my life I was so … frightened. She had the power and could do everything with me, while I … I …
My fear was too great, the last remnant of myself was dangling on a fine silver string above a void I couldn't escape anymore. I wanted to scream, I wanted it to stop.
In the faint glimpses I could still make out I saw her walking over to my mirror. The lines were blurred, it was me from the outside. I still looked like myself … but it wasn't me.
She … She smiled. A toothy smile. She had the nerve to … smile at me and laugh at me how pathetic and weak I am, told me how my whole self is just a farce and how easy I am to control.
The last thing I remember from her was how she forced me to look in her eyes. She pushed herself against the mirror and stared deep in my soul – I expected to see the gray that I only saw in the vision I had left, but it wasn't the case.
My purple eyes turned red like a sea of blood, burning right in my soul and what was left of me. The eyes, blood, fire – everything spiraled in each other and let everything turn red, a sea of life that turned black the moment I blinked.
Everything went dark and what she did with me after that, I cannot remember.
I must have passed out, because I woke up in front of my mirror. I felt my limbs again, but they were too sore to move. My … My jacket was torn open and from my weak attempts to move I felt scratches over my stomach and thighs. … They did not bleed or hurt, Mother's magic must have been set in motion already, and yet –
I started to shake again, I couldn't imagine what she did to me. Where did these wounds come from and how did she … hurt me?
Her words … they still ring in my ears. I can hear them even now, how they burned down my neck. I can still see her staring at me, with her bloody red eyes.
I'm afraid, Seven, I'm afraid she appears again out of nowhere … that I lose my control over myself again.
I don't … want this to happen ever again.
Someone please … help me.
A silence hung in the air when Queen finished her last words in a whisper, clawing herself deeper and deeper in the blanket around her shoulders. Seven put it around her in the middle of the story, exchanging the cup of green tea for it.
She didn't know what to say. She could simply look at the miserable mess Queen was right now – tears were falling again, washing over her cheek in silent sobs.
It hurt in her heart to see her like this. No one should ever live through something like this. Now it was clear to her why she sought help in this distressed situation.
There was nothing to do for Seven except to offer her this.
“Queen …” She whispered, “Queen, come here.”
Queen looked up when Seven put an arm around her shoulders and tucked her close, letting her fall against her shoulder in an embrace. Gently she rubbed with a thumb over the blanket, massaging her over her shoulder and arm.
If the words didn't come right now, this was the best she could do.
For a while Queen's sobbing sounded in the room, again piercing deep into Seven's heart, but in hopes her comfort made her feel better in any way right now. Her mind raced for anything she could say to her, she just had to say something, she owed her at least that.
“ … I'm glad you told me that, I'm proud of you.” Seven began and swallowed, exhaling then deeply as she noticed Queen gave her the attention. “No wonder you felt like that, this is something which shouldn't have happened to you. … And from what you said, I … have a hard time to understand why it happened.”
She paused for a bit, but then continued.
“ … You told it happened after a mission, right? Then, maybe, what if you come over to me after each mission? Just in case if it should happen again. I'll be there for you and you're not alone. How does that sound?”
“Thank you, Seven.” Queen mumbled against her, the last tears drying on her cheeks. “I appreciate your offer.”
“No problem … Hey, rest up now, yes? You can sleep here if you want. I will be there the whole time.” Seven shot her a smile and already made space for her to lie down. Queen complied and slid down Seven's shoulder, sighing at the comfortableness of the soft cushions on the bed.
So, I was right. Seven thought while she watched Queen finding a good position to rest. But why ...
While she still couldn't figure out why this whole mess happened, offering to watch over her in critical situations might help. And who knew, maybe one day they can solve this crisis together.
They weren't called Big Sis and Class President for nothing.
Type 0 week - Day 3 Youth or Maturity
Youth and Maturity as in “the way of raising a child into a war machine”
Sice (and a bit of Arecia) - Early in her life Sice had to deal with things no child should have experienced, having a too great effect on her. But they are ways to turn things around to use it as the perfect opportunity to enable future strength.
FF.net / AO3
(Protect this smol child, and uh, Novel spoilers regarding Sice’s past.)
When Sice held her own weapon in her hand for the first time, she just reached the age of 9.
She didn't choose this way-too-big, pointy, and sharp scythe on her own, it materialized in her hand in a flash out of nowhere when she and the other children, who came with her, led into the Sorcery by Mother one day. All the other deadly weapons that lied on the table vanished bit by bit, instead appearing in the hands of the children and only minutes after they stepped into the room, everyone had a different weapon in their hand.
A ritual that was just a starting point of the things that were about to come.
Sice would never forget the generous smile from Mother when she swung her weapon for the first time, a feeling of familiarity flooding through her body when she tested several slashes on the spot and movements to get the best result. Eager she tried new ways and trained hard, never wanting to disappoint, herself and Mother.
With that familiarity, it didn't take her long to make progress fast and learn the ways of a scythe. What other might learn in a few years, Sice managed in a few months under the careful watch of Arecia, a spark appearing in her eyes whenever she got a compliment that only let her want to become better and better at fighting.
Fighting. An urge she had since she could remember. Fighting for food, a save hiding spot in the gray streets of her home city Pamidora, for a dry space to sleep for the night – fighting to live and survive.
Yet none of that mattered once Arecia took her in, holding her in the facility in safety without having to fight for her life anymore. Never she should fear death anymore – Arecia told her that over and over until it finally stuck in Sice's head.
If she fell in battle, she would stand up again.
The fear of death gone from her mind, yet her ability to fight lingered. Always on the edge, always ready to strike – the small girl loved to train with her sharp scythe and it wasn't a seldom occurrence that she showed the other children how much she learned, how much better she got which each training's session, always keeping them on their toes to push them further.
Always leading by example and never slacking off, earning approval from Mother more than often. And Sice finally gained her self-confidence back she'd lost all that time ago.
When Sice grew a year older, exactly those fears of her past caught up on her.
Tight she gripped the fine polished scythe in her hand that let her knuckles turn white from force, keeping it close to her body and silently gasped, feeling her heartbeat picking up at the sight. Her eyes twitched, her legs began to quiver and her arms to tremble, she blinked again and again, because this shouldn't be happening.
Just seconds after the small girl entered the enormous training's hall she turned from confident and excited to nervous and anxious, a change she did not expect to experience ever again.
The sight of Imperial Soldiers pierced deep in her memories and dug up things she'd rather forget forever. Betrayal, fear, helplessness flowed in her mind and washed over her tiny body, goosebumps roaming all over her skin now.
Betrayed and the only one left behind by her “friends”, while sneaking into a warehouse to search for anything edible, taking advantage of her to get away while she got caught by Imperial Soldiers in the process. The memories after that were too painful to recall, only negativity remained as a reminder of what happened.
If it weren't for Arecia, she wouldn't be here right now. And she would forever be grateful for saving her life that day.
No child should have experienced what she had. Engraved in her soul it would have forever an impact on her life, no matter how much she tried to process these memories.
That she reacted now that way just proved it.
Of course Arecia knew about Sice's fears and always managed to work around just that, yet here Sice stood in front of these two soldiers that were the cause of all her problems. That she got those as her next enemies was no coincidence.
Was it finally time to face her fears? Would it help her to become stronger?
Of course it would. Mother never made mistakes, Mother knew what was right for her children.
Closing her eyes Sice took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down from the creeping anxiety crawling on her back.
“Embrace the feeling. Give in to it and push yourself even further. You can do it, darling.”
Mother's words from before she entered the hall sounded in her head, not making much sense back then. But now she faced the situation, it was clear what she had to do.
She could only become stronger and surpass herself if she drew strength from her fears and turned it into raw energy.
Her ears were on high alert, sensing the two Imperial Soldiers with every fiber of her being and made out their movements. They were circling around her in awe-stricken silence, weapons loaded and ready to strike.
In a flash she opened her sharp eyes again, focusing on them, and in just a matter of seconds the whole intense atmosphere in the hall crashed down with a single slash of Sice's scythe.
Sice's attack rattled in the air and the two enemies that caused the pain to come back slumped down before they even reacted with a blink of their eyes, their lives vanishing from their insides in a silent groan. Their bodies hit the ground with a dull thump, echoing in the wide room that almost hurt in Sice's sensitive ears.
The noise let her pulse quicken, her body high from adrenaline and numb from her fast heartbeat.
Sice didn't look back at the work she just performed. She settled her gaze in the distance, not wasting any energy to turn around to the bloody mess she left behind, but she couldn't focus on anything she made out – too blurry was her sight to let her think properly, she shook her head.
A small puddle of blood formed right beneath the blade of her scythe, drop after drop landing on the dusty ground and decorated the bland ground with the crimson color.
It took her a few seconds to realize she just killed her first humans.
Many monsters might have lost their lives under her scythe already, but humans … humans were never on the list until now.
Her shoulders drop after she released a deep breath, the metallic air still hanging in her lungs. She did it – she killed the enemies Mother wanted her to face, no need to look back now.
The fear got suddenly washed away in a single fight – there was no reason to fear the Imperial Soldiers anymore, Sice just proved herself she was strong enough to take them down in one blow.
“You did well, darling.”
The familiar voice let her regain her focus again and a smile formed on Sice's lips when she finally turned around, her eyes widen in happiness when she saw Arecia approaching.
“I did?”
“Yes. You took them down just like I expected.” Arecia stood close to the little girl and gave her a small pat on the head that let her squirm a bit. “You're training is over now, would you come with me?”
“Sure!”
Sice took the hand Arecia offered her, yet not letting go of her beloved scythe just yet. Arecia raised an eyebrow at the odd behavior, though she didn't question Sice's decision to carry her weapon while they walked.
“Have you felt anything, my child?” Arecia asked when they reached the exit of the hall, studying Sice's face as she searched for an answer.
“I feel … stronger now that I killed them.” Sice tried to explain, holding in for a few seconds. “At first I feared them, but then I remembered your words and just did what you said.”
Big blue eyes stared into Arecia's, but Sice only received a smile from her.
“I see. Very well then.”
Just as Sice wanted to leave the room, she dematerialized her weapon in her hand, ready to go.
But Arecia didn't miss the faint red aura around the scythe.
