melodiesoflife | Event || The Answer

Event || The Answer

Characters: All characters who signed-up for the event.
Where: South Continent of Balance (Imperial Territories)
When: April 20th to April 30th.
Summary: The Heroes of Light have lost consciousness and now find themselves in the middle of nowhere, without their Moogles and away from everything they know. They will have to get back home, but what awaits them on the path? For more information, please check the First OOC Post and Second OOC Post.
Warning: Bad things.

Group 01: Team Hijinks House
Group 02: Team Brigands
Group 03: Team Discovery Channel
Group 04: Sephiroth's (In)Sanity Squad
Group 05: Team (Bad) Shipping Advice
Group 06: Team Blue-Haired Lords on Fire
Group 07: Team Mom and Late Sleepers
Group 08: Nothing Bad Will Happen
Group 09: The Hellhounds
Group 10: Loftwings, A Working Title
Group 11: Team Oni
Group 12: Team F.N.T.I²
Group 13: Team Name-In-Progress
Group 14: Team The-Mods-Couldn’t-Brain-A-Name
Group 15: Seraphim Shenanigans

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Unable to disagree with Santa for once, Ace reaches a conclusion that has been a long time in the making. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieves a small box, which he then without a word of explanation pushes into the man's hand and promptly walks away in the direction of the console.

It's a perfectly usable deck of cards, just in case the idiot's predictions are right. ]

Either energy source, or the inner mechanisms have something that are causing a chemical reaction that cause it to open once you drop in the potion. [This was a not totally uncommon safety mechanism among mages back home.]

Whatever's going on, this is obviously aimed at me. So... stand back and be on guard, okay? Who knows what this could do.

[Besides, they were all kids, and he was an old man. If something was going to happen, he'd rather it happen to him. He'd wait a few minutes for the rest to get out of the way before dropping the red potion.]

O-okay.

[That makes her a little nervous, but it's probably a good idea to stay on her toes. Since she isn't sure what type of threat they'll face, if any, she uses her Focus ability to concentrate on gathering her magical energy. If something does pop up, then the spell she hits it with will be a lot more potent than just the regular stuff.]

Good luck.

[The red liquid pours in more slowly, like oil rather than water. The pedestal emits a humming noise, then a flat, empty surface glows bright red as letters begin to form. At the same time, the panels on the other side of the room come to life. A circular raised podium resting atop the panels is now visible.]

Each button has a different hologram to retrieve.
Press them in chronological order, then you may leave.

[The buttons on the panel are scattered around the panel instead of lined up properly.]

[Santa takes the cards from Ace without even quipping about 'trying to woo me with gifts?' or 'wow, way to hold out on me, man'. Look at him, not antagonizing Ace. ~~He'll save it for when they're safely out of the puzzle and he gives the cards back.~~]

Potions and holograms? Talk about some incongruous bullshit.

[But, figuring if there was danger involved, it would've already shown itself, he steps forward to examine the panels, abandoning his previous caution.]

[ ~~Sure, sure. Writing love letters takes time and dedication, man.~~

Ace waits until the others have gotten a better look before following through with a suggestion that seems to be their only option, all things considered. ]

If it's trial and error all over again, let's not waste any more time.

[ And since the buttons bear no markings, he simply decides to press the first one on the left. ]

This doesn't sound too hard. As long as we keep track of which buttons have which holograms.

[She watches Ace push the button, then quickly glances up and around her to see where the hologram is supposed to show up.]

[A figure of a person glitches above the circular stage, and a young man's garbled voice is heard from the hologram for a few seconds before he finally settles into his form.

It's a skinny boy, no older than twenty, but the bags under his eyes make him look older. His thick red hair is combed back, and he wears a black suit. Ed would recognize him right away.

But most importantly, he's clenching his fists and glaring at something - or someone? - in the distance.]

--that goddamn cheat! After all that work I put into studying under him, he decides I'm not worth his time? Why'd he even decide to become my mentor just so he can feel sorry for himself? I knew I was better off taking Doc G's books and studying on my own. He doesn't care about me. He never did, and I shouldn't be surprised.

Heh. [The hologram smirks.] It's just as much his fault as mine that so many people were killed by zombies. If he had taken the responsibility of being the first person to care about me, I wouldn't have done it.

[With that, the hologram turns off.]

[Ed pales considerably at the very sight of the person in the hologram, and once it gets a few sentences out, he almost instinctively wants to start hitting buttons in order to make him stop. But what if that only makes him talk more?

Even worse, there were four more to push.]

... I really don't want to press any more of these.

Ed stares at them with a complicated expression, several emotions being pushed back from coming to the surface.]

[Santa's not good at keeping morale up, or worrying about people's feelings, or any of that shit. What he is good at is pressing on through shitty circumstances and getting everyone out alive.]

Yeah, that's great. But you're gonna, because we're not fuckin' dying here. So listen up.

[He kneels down and draws a line on the floor. He doesn't have anything to write with, but it's easy enough to bite his finger hard enough to draw blood. He puts a mark in the middle of the line.]

That's for the brat. We're pushing the next damn button, and you're gonna mark if it happens before or after. Tune out the rest if you gotta, but you're getting this shit done.

[The emotion that wins out is anger, half at Santa's attitude and overdramatic way of marking the buttons (there are only 5, was that really necessary?). Ed scowls at him as he walks up to the console again.]

Fine. Enjoy my goddamn dirty laundry. [He pushes the next button in the line.]

[This time, a thin, frail woman shows up. Her eyes are full of worry and years of pain as she gazes into the distance.

She opens her mouth as if to say something, but instead closes it and shakes her head sadly. She drops her head and reaches into a pocket of her dress to pull out a large card with something written on it.]

Edward freed me only for my new life to kill me. I had no clue I was being controlled, so was breaking the curse worth my suffering?

[She holds it up long enough for the group to read before her image fades away, leaving only the card. When the hologram ends, that image disappears immediately.]

[ Ace steps back, letting Ed handle the puzzle that has clearly been crafted for him. Though he initially seems rather impassive about the entire ordeal, he frowns at the argument in the making, shooting both of the men a quick glare. Among his siblings, he was often the one responsible for imparting words of encouragement on their missions, but he knows almost nothing of Ed to tell if that's even going to work.

Besides, he's not sure if he's capable of optimism after countless hours of traversing these long corridors. While he tries not to pay too much attention to the hologram, he peeks at it just in time to read the card's contents... nothing but another attempt at stirring up feelings of guilt. ]

You let that get to you and it's over. Make the pick and move on.

[ It's said gently, but just as firmly, without making any reference to what's actually being shown. It's not his business. ]

[Santa gives Ace a blank look, but he's inwardly relieved somebody is taking over as the peacekeeper of the group. It sure as hell wasn't gonna be him. Santa's pretty sure he was born pissing people off.]

[He doesn't look at Ed, or at the hologram. Santa's not gonna be able to solve the puzzle, and he doesn't give a shit about Ed's tragic past or whatever. None of his goddamn business, is what it is. ~~And Ed didn't say anything about Santa's corpses in the previous rooms, so there's that as well.~~]

Before or after the kid? [is all he says when the hologram fades away.]

[Ed is quite for a moment as he thinks over Gwen's words. Feelings like that are something he'd been insecure over the entire time he was married to her. She always denied it herself, and had always said she was grateful for his help. But with how sick she got, he always felt guilty.]

.... Before.

[He'll go ahead and let Santa mark that however he pleases before he moves onto the next one.]

[There's and old man this time, wearing an elegant suit embroidered with with the initials "LC". His wizened eyes are full of sadness as he speaks.]

How could my own grandson turn out be a a liar and thief? Back in my day, you'd be expelled for lying to your elders, much less using your relationship to a guild member to cheat your way in. And for what, to steal from our renowned library, taking away valuable resources to future magicians?

[The old man shakes his head.]

Sometimes, I am ashamed Edward is of any relation of mine. I thought his parents raised him to be better than that...

[The recording ends.]

[Santa shakes his head a little as he marks down the silent woman podium.]

Holy fuck, I get the asshole who'd doin' this is trying to piss us off, but this is kinda heavy-handed as shit.

[He assumes Grandpa Disappointment over there is early on the timeline, but he waits for Ed's confirmation before he marks it down.]

Jesus Christ.

[Ed runs a hand roughly down his face as he listens to his grandfather speak. How much worse was this going to go? He quickly slaps the next button.]

First. It's first so far.

[This time, a man that appeared to be around Ed's age shows up. His hair incredibly messy from what appears to be the result of strenuous running, and his eyes are narrowed to prevent tears from flowing out. He wears a long sleeved blouse with suspenders, though those clothes are not in the best of condition. The elbow if the shirt is singed, and there are small burn marks on his face.]

My best friend didn't trust me enough to tell me he was immortal. I loved him enough that I gave up my life for him, but at what cost?

[The hologram bites his lip and pauses.]

It was only supposed to be a small favor. I thought helping him free Gwen would be a quick thing, then he'd go back to working on a potion for me. How could I be so stupid? He spent so much time saving a woman he didn't know instead of helping out a friend...and I didn't do anything about it.

Heh. Sure shows me what kind of guy he was.

[The image cuts out.]

[The moment the image appears, the anger Ed had been showing immediately turns into horror. Considering the line up so far, he knew Ash would have to be in here somewhere. But nothing could prepare him for actually seeing him like that, and hearing those words, even if he never would have said anything like that--

He backs away from the console in a few shaky steps. The other images were difficult, but this was a dagger through the heart. He closes his eyes and covers his mouth with a hand, doing his best to keep it together in front of the his party. After a few quiet, awkward seconds, he speaks up, but doesn't look others.]

Second. He's second.

[He's not made a move for that last button, though.]

[ While feelings of anger could easily lead one astray, it's watching the man's face contort with despair that makes Ace reconsider his own advice, as he regards Ed with a befuddled stare. Whether it's all been truth or not, the words have clearly hit him hard, which could ultimately affect their performance as a group. They have to get out of here, regardless of what's thrown at them, but it would be unfair not to at least grant the alchemist a moment of respite.

Besides, he simply feels sorry for the guy. ]

Need a moment?

[ He isn't going to be the one to press the button, either. ]

[Fuck that, givin' him a moment. Santa's totally the one who's gonna punch that last button. Sorry, Ace and Ed, but they got places to go and not-pajama clothes to find. He marks down the order of the buttons so far, then pushes himself up and pops the last button. If that wasn't enough time, then Ed's just gonna have to deal. Not like having more time to think about this shit is actually going to help or anything, let's be real.]

[The final hologram is one of a tall, blond man in a long black jacket. Unlike the previous four, he doesn't look distraught. There may be anger hidden behind those cold, uncaring eyes, but he stands up tall with an ill-meaning smirk as he jeers at the group below him.]

Good job, Grayson. I had one hell of a time fighting you, even if you did ruin my life more times than I can count. You made me a fool in front of the Lumen Conscientia! You destroyed my plans to rebuild my power! After all that work I put into being your mentor, you dared to bring me down?

...Well, you proved how much of an idiot you always were. So confident that you, a cheat and liar, confronted me alone. Your hubris was always your weakest point, and if only if those fires took away your life, I would have been satisfied.

You are a disappointment, my pupil, and I hope the rest of your life will be miserable.

[The images cuts out.]

[Ed doesn't protest Santa moving along. He would have soon enough.

His face while listening to the German magician one turns sour again. He has some words him when it's over.]

Worth it, you soulless bastard.

[Without looking at the others, he looked at the buttons, thinking. Chronological order. Of what? All of these people were disappointed in him, or betrayed by him, and all of these people were dead because of him. Which came first? Which was it referring to? He'd have to take his chances.

After a few moments, he walks up and begins pressing them again quickly. 3, 2, 4, 5, 1. Juno Grayson, Gwen Grayson, Ash Rookwood, Konrad Kleiner, Theo Crawford.]

[Each time Ed pushes a button, the corresponding hologram pops up and repeats.p

How could my own grandson...

Edward freed me only for my new life to kill me--

It was only supposed to be a small favor...

Good job, Grayson. I had one hell of a time fighting you...

That goddamm cheat! After all that work...

[However, nothing happens. It seems that wasn't the correct order the puzzle wanted.]

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