It Was What I Believe The Kids Call “A Graveyard Smash”
About a day had passed since you were allowed to go outside and relish in real fresh air for the first time in what felt like eternity. Painting worlds were nice, but different, somehow, from the real great outdoors. And as nice as these places were… one of these areas was rather grim, wasn’t it?
The graveyard stood as a rather unfortunate reminder to the situation you all found yourselves in. Dying off, one by one, even if that had been avoided for now. Any time you went there, you might’ve felt as though you were being watched. Seen a figure out of the corner of your eye, only for them to vanish as you tried to get a closer look. Perhaps it was your mind playing tricks on you…
But perhaps not.
This was right up Miyu Inaba’s alley, after all. She’d spent plenty of time staking out all kinds of graveyards and dark woods in her time, so after all the other fantastical places she’d been, this almost felt a bit normal.
Realistically she wasn’t sure what she would even find in here, and she didn’t have any clear goal to search for. For now, though, she just searched, eyes wandering over angel statues here, hand lightly brushing over the cracks in some gravestones there. Taking in the sights. So this was a Baltaignese graveyard, huh? Seemed relatively in line with her expectations so far- Was that an open grave?
Okay, that startled her. She shook her head slowly, letting a breath out she didn’t realize she was holding. But something else was brewing.
A mist slowly began to form near Miyu, with a robed figure taking shape within it… manifesting but a couple meters in front of the paranormal investigator. It stood in silence, for a brief moment, before extending a hand, and gesturing for her to approach.
It took Miyu a few moments to process what she was seeing. She blinked one, twice, once more. Pointed a hand at herself in disbelief. Yes, you, Miyu. She stepped forward slowly, one step, two.
“W-What? Who…?”
The figure pulled back their hood… and spoke at last.
“By Hartmann, I thought I’d lost you all! You… erm. Are Miss Inaba, correct? Ever since that fiend stole my glasses, it has been quite difficult for me to discern faces, you see.”
That voice… no, it couldn’t be.
The ghost of Calvin Amity clasped his hands together with glee. “Oh, this is a most joyous day indeed. To be reunited with my tour group, I feel like a shepherd who thought his flock to be lost, only to find them returned to their pens on a crisp fall morning! Where are the others? I’d love to see them.”
The morning after the adventure in the abstract painting, you find a note had been slipped under your bedroom door. Written out in an unappealing handwriting, you discover a calling card of sorts had reached your hands.
“The Legendary Phantom Thief Cracker Jack issues an official invitation to view the theft of Hibiki Katagiri’s heart! Tonight at 8 PM, in the music hall, Cracker Jack will win over her rival. Spectators are encouraged to come.”
The note slipped under your door is signed with a purple kissy mark, a completely unnecessary addition to an unnecessary note. What was she thinking with a stunt like this? Would Hibiki even show up when called out in such a direct manner? You set down the note and weigh the options on whether attending would be worth it. After all, there’s nothing saying this is a mandatory watch, and Jack had gotten on a significant amount of peoples’ nerves.
Whether you choose to go or not, come the time noted on the card, the music hall’s lighting slowly dims, bar a handful of spotlights in designated areas on the floor, likely for dramatic effect. Just as one such as Jack would do. However, rather than seeking out the lights in order to turn everything back on, one Hibiki Katagiri simply stands in the center of one of the lights, clearly having shown up on time. He gives all of you coming in a small wave before speaking.
"It’s bold of you all to show up when I'm the one she's after, so stay back and out of danger while I take care of this Phantom Fiend. Enjoy the show," he says with a wink ;) How cheesy… But it seems like he might have some sort of plan of his own.
Shortly after Hibiki concludes his comments, another spotlight clicks on, and Jack leaps down from the balcony, landing on a table to a loud clunk. One of her boots is still clearly damaged from her time in the abstract painting, but she stands firm as she dramatically points to Hibiki. “So you have responded to the call of my challenge, Hebiki-kun!! I see you are no coward! Interested in the final measure of your skills to mine, are you?” Cheesy indeed…. Wow this is going to be terrible fantastic, you can already tell.
Hibiki scoffs. “Stealing my heart is something I could never let you get away with, so I suppose you’ve left me no choice but to have a final battle against my greatest foe, to end your thieving ways by unmasking you once and for all. I’ve been hot on your trail, and of course, I’ve already figured out almost everything about you by now.”
Jack steps forward, walking down the end of her table perch. “Ahahah~! But you’ve never been able to stop me before now, what makes you think today will be any different? Hot on my trail or not, foolish copper-kun, a real phantom thief never leaves without her prize! Go on, just try to catch me! MINA-CHAN! CUE THE MUSIC!” Jack points towards the tech booth as a familiar song plays over the speakers. Ah, Miyu’s back there, huh? Jack dragged Miyu into this?
Once the music kicks in, Jack strikes a pose before leaping off the table and running directly towards Hibiki, arms angled behind her. Hibiki pivots around to evade the charge, placing his foot against the wall and kicking off into a highly unnecessary flip. Jack follows behind, hot on his tail, and mirrors the motion. For awhile it seems like she’ll simply be following behind and copying him up until she splits off and weaves behind a table in a series of flashy acrobatics.
When Jack makes it to the other side of the table and it seems like she’s about to grab Hibiki, he halts his movement and holds out his leg to trip her. For a moment, it seems like Jack falls for it, hook-line-sinker, as her leg makes contact and she tumbles forward, only to curl up her body and turn the motion into a roll, hopping back on her feet. “Thought you got me there, did you?” She cackles, seemingly having the time of her life. “I’m not that easy to shake off!”
“Damn, and here I thought you’d fallen into my trap… It seems as though I might be no match for you alone. You’re just too cunning, aren’t you?” Hibiki replies before moving towards her for a moment, planning to shake things up and drive Jack herself backwards. There’s a smirk on his face. “But are you sure I can’t catch you, eggplant?”
“E-Eggplant?!” Jack exclaims in a high-pitched voice as she presses one hand to her chest. Jack takes a step back. “Whatever could you mean, Hibiki? I tolerate no such vegetables in my home.” She takes another step back. “A-And of course! There is NO way you’d beat me, for I am the superior of us two riv--WAHH??” A rope snags around Jack’s ankle, tightening and bringing her up into the air. Jack wiggles around as she dangles upside-down.
“Ehehe, look what I caught!” Whuh? When did Miyu get there? She was standing by the wall of the music room, a rope grasped tightly in her hands. Straining a little, she tied the rope off on the leg of a heavy table, before turning to Hibiki and flashing him a thumbs-up. “Nice going, partner! Led her right into it!”
Hibiki grins, clearly having expected this, and gives Miyu a high five! “All according to plan, hehe. Thanks for the assist, Miyu-chan~”
“WHAT?!? A double agent?! MUTINY! TREACHERY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!” Jack continues to squirm as she protests Miyu’s sudden switch in side. She whines a bit before finally conceding defeat. “Alas… it seems teamwork is what bested me in the end! Played me like a fiddle, you two did. Well. Do your worst, Hibiki.” She sticks out her tongue and blows a raspberry.
Hibiki smirks again at the suspended Jack for a moment and steps slightly aside to let the audience have a clear few of both Jack and himself. He removes a few of the bobby pins in her hair as he speaks.
“And what a fiddle you were. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been hot on your trail this entire time, gathering clues to your identity~ Heists primarily in Fukuoka, a pension for puzzles, a height of 5’9” despite your attempts to disguise it, an inability to handle spicy food, a mole you hide on your face, even some of the subtle phrases you’ve used are among many other small pieces of information I’ve kept track of to let me build my case around you, Cracker Jack. Or should I say… Himiku Haruno?”
Hibiki steps forward for a moment to remove her mask and steal her wig, momentarily obscuring the audience’s view. He even seems to take some sort of wipe out of his pocket to rub over part of her face before stepping back again to show… Purple hair tied in twintails so long that the ends of it dangle on the ground, despite her raised location, the same bright lavender eyes you’d come to know and love/hate, and a prominent mole pronounced under her lip.
For a brief moment, she looks absolutely flabbergasted by the reveal, before her lips curl up into a snide smirk, instead. “So you have caught me, my dearest friend Hibiki. I suppose I couldn’t hide from my childhood friend forever, now could I?” Jack, no, Himiku snickers and reaches out to tap his chest. “But you know what that means? My heist was still a resounding success! It was so successful, that I stole your heart years before we even came here, isn’t that right? Now, then, take me away, officer.”
Hibiki chuckles, and pushes the suspended Himiku a little bit, making her swing in the air a bit. “So you have. I dunno though, it might be fun to leave you hanging here for a few more hours,” he teases.
“nnnNNNOOOOO!! HIIIBIIKIIII!!!” Himiku squirms and whines, speaking in that higher pitched voice you’d heard now and again when she got stressed before now. Think about it, though…. If she’s left there, she can be a piñata…
It was good that Miyu wasn’t holding onto the rope personally, or else she might have inadvertently dropped Jack in surprise, watching all of this. Once she’d recovered, though, she watched the de-masked Jack dangling for a bit, calling out to Hibiki.
“Aww, Hibi, don’t you think she’s done her time?”
Hibiki waits for a good moment to enjoy Himiku’s reaction before laughing a little and nodding at Miyu to untie the rope. And right his childhood friend is set free, Hibiki finally gives her what she’s wanted for awhile and carries her easily in his arms for a moment before he sets her down on the ground so she can stand beside him. With a giddy expression, Himiku, Hibiki, and Miyu dip down into a bow at those in attendance.
A head. That of a serpent, except far larger, with horns and curved, pointed fangs bared at the room. Yellow eyes peer in, behind a familiar pair of glasses - was that where they’d gone?
Two more heads, identical to the first, round the corner as well, scanning the room, making sure none escape their gaze. It lumbers in, its massive body now blocking off one of the exits. It does not move, it does not speak. For a moment, it stood still in the entrance, like a statue.
And then it leapt forward.
Its now-shattered marble depiction really didn’t do the hydra justice. It was far bigger, lacking in the refined elegance of the statue, but making up for it in brutality.
And despite his skill as an artist, Hartmann’s sculpture failed to capture an ounce of the ferocity burning in the beast’s eyes right now.
There were many questions, and few answers. Eleven bodies were found in the mausoleum (ten of the visiting students, plus a staff member), with no clear sign of what had inflicted their injuries. No clear link to any crimes that could be detected in this world. No matter what stories you told them, they could never definitively prove anything. The truth of the case faded into mere speculation, vastly overshadowed by the displays of memorial for those who had died in the Lotan Castle Case.
Sympathies poured in, for them and for you. You were offered extensive therapy, with Hope’s Peak footing the bill. Lotan Castle was also forced to apologize extensively for the tragedy that had occurred under their watch; it seemed that the long-standing cultural exchange deal between the school and the museum went up in smoke, but where one door closes, another opens.
No one particularly liked that dead tour guide, but an investigation of the museum revealed a will, hidden in an excessively verbose manuscript in Calvin Amity’s office. Apparently, it had been his final wish that Hartmann’s works be made more accessible, and that the castle lift many of its restrictions on visitors so that more people could appreciate them. This art was for the world, after all, and ought to be remembered. The museum’s doors should be open to all. The administration figured. Well, they at least owed him something. A new audience arose around Hartmann’s work, entrancing countless visitors to Lotan Castle.
Many of them would never know the truth of these works, never be able to explore them as thoroughly as you did, never understand the depth of the worlds within. Worlds of magic and fantasy, of friends who welcomed you back with open arms should you choose to return. Worlds that, despite their nature, were no less complete than your own.
Worlds that would live on in the memories of not just those who inhabited them, but all who observed them.
The six came to their senses outside the mausoleum, under a crisp night sky - one you had not seen since you first arrived in Baltaigne. An owl hooted in a tree, before flying off. The flow of time had resumed once more; the spell that had been cast over the castle was lifted.
Back in the main painting hall, those you’d met in your journeys awaited you, smiling. The magic was fading, but remained strong enough that they could at least say goodbye. Indy, Lynae, Calvin, the hydra, Mira, Nona, Hartmann… they all awaited you.
Indy seemed to be in a conversation with Lynae, which you could hear the end of. “It’s just a small vacation. I’ll be back in time for next poker night, or my name isn’t Indianya Jowones.” She waved the group over enthusiastically.
“I always knew you guys could do it!” Her words before you left implied otherwise. “I’m gonna take advantage of this opportunity to visit my folks. My home’s in those paintings, but. It’s been awhile, want ‘em to know I’m okay, nyaha. Gonna skidaddle quick, though. Don’t wanna be here come morning.”
She offered a wry smile. “This ain’t a goodbye, I think. I’m sure you guys are gonna find a way to make it back across the boundary, if you really want it. And any of us would be happy to have ya. I could always use some exploring buddies.” She offered a half-hearted wave as she turned and headed for the door. “See you again, have a nice day.”
Lynae waved her off, and addressed the group. “If you do return, feel free to swing by. I might be able to offer a 1% discount.” It appeared she didn’t have much to say, as she returned to the painting behind her.
Hartmann stood by an installation that was not there before… ten figures, together in a field. Happy. Your fallen friends.
“I did not create this one. I believe… well, this is a sign. And even if it may not be here come morning, your friends’ souls are at peace, at last. They are no longer being used for those peoples’ machinations.” The artist sighed.
“... Even if they will not return as ‘themselves’, for the lives lost so young… I feel nothing short of obligated to give them a second chance at some sort of life, to the extent that my abilities will allow. They won’t be able to leave this world, and… they will quite likely take on new identities, much as Lynae did. But they will have the choice to do so. It will take me… quite some time to accomplish this. My power is not what it once was when I was a living man, but it should still be within my capabilities. One day, eventually, they will get their second chances.”
A bittersweet promise. Perhaps they would never revive in the truest sense of the word, but at least this way they would get another chance to live out fulfilling lives, of some kind.
As you returned to the sculpture hall, the spirit of Calvin sat where he had once died, with the hydra standing over him. Calvin sighed. “So it would appear I have no more place in this world. I know not what will happen to me come morning, but luckily I managed to complete my memoir in case of my untimely demise.”
The hydra’s three heads frowned in unison. “Sorry, again, about that. And sorry to all of you. If we’d only been more careful, none of this would’ve happened. We were fools… and it cost most of you your lives. Nothing will ever make up for that.” They frowned. “I expect this is not the last we will see of each other. Do you intend to return to our world, I wonder? You are always welcome… though we believe you will have duties to attend to in your own world first.”
Travieso, Iusticia, and Guto stepped onto their podium, and lifted their chins up high. Not quite the pose they were in when you first met them, but one that suited them nonetheless. As moonlight passed in from the next room, the flesh and blood hydra before you returned to stone, and a silence fell over the castle.
Working as one, with all your efforts combined, you delivered the final blow.
Kouri staggered, letting her scythe clatter to the ground. How could this be? After all they had done, to be bested in the challenge they had laid down? The sheer humiliation was almost enough to distract from the fact that they had failed, that their time with these vessels was nearly spent.
They, who had saved worlds, who not even death could stop, had been defeated after centuries of imprisonment… by mere high schoolers? Gone was Kouri’s cool exterior; the shock of defeat was on her face, clear as day. She looked around at her fallen comrades, and understood right away. To continue this would be folly. It was truly the end: their strength was spent, they would not be able to hold on after this, not even as spirits as they had the last time they fell. This all felt so familiar.
“So be it. Return to your sun, and bask in it.” Though resigned, there was a bitterness in her words. “End us, and live with the memory of this world, of what happened here. Your world will never know of your heroics, nor will they believe in them. And we shall live on, in myth and legend.”
The ice that covered this world began to crack. It was small at first, but it began to spread throughout, until it felt as though the very ground was going to break beneath your feet. And after a moment of silence, it did, as the world shattered around you.
