melodiesoflife | Event || Revelations

"Twilight is right. It's not about just our own worlds or all the people on them. Or even all the people on Crystallis now. If we do what Palitutu wanted, it won't solve the problem with the Calamity, just pass it off to the next set of Heroes for them to solve. That just means you need to sacrifice more and more just to stay in one place. Delaying a problem that big never solves it. The Calamity isn't going to stop on its own."

That had been Roku's regret on his own world: leaving the Fire Nation for Aang, a child, to solve. It had worked out, but Aang had seen what 100 years of war had done to his world, and knew he was spending the rest of his life fixing the damage.

Aang wasn't sure if they could stop the Calamity. Palitutu was a person who could make choices, even if they were bad ones. But the Calamity seemed almost like a force of nature. Even the Avatar couldn't stop a force of nature... but they could understand it and work with what it wanted. And Palitutu and Kalki had both tried to understand what the Calamity was.

He glanced back at Palitutu. "Does she have any family or something? Someone who would like to know about... what happened?" He was so frustrated at Palitutu, but... she was still a person. And he wished they could have found another way: maybe with the same tricks she had to disable them.

Somehow, Jade hadn't expected it to end like this. Of course it made sense -- a single tarutaru couldn't possibly withstand an assault like that. Even so, he'd half-expected her to pull off some trick or another.

Still, better an overkill than a loss.

"I think her family will know soon enough... If they don't already." The response was directed at Aang's question. The photographs they'd found in Palitutu's lab were a rather clear indication who she'd considered her family.

Still wary, just in case Deweg or someone was still around, Jade approached the golden crystal on the ground. Was that...?

"...This is one of the special crystals for the Mysidian Tower, isn't it?"

A win was still a win, but it didn't feel right. Selphie skid to a halt near Jade who was examining the crystal left in Palitutu's wake. She crouched down and looked at the gold crystal but didn't touch it. There were questions on the tip of her tongue but she kept silent. There wasn't much else she could do here.

"I guess this was the only way..." She said sadly.

Near as Mary could tell, Palitutu was still alive. Close to death, but still breathing. She knelt down by her side as per Assassin custom. She would continue to hear her last words, and take a dab of blood not as a trophy but as a memory if there was time once she passed. In this moment she could still feel her anger for the little woman seething, but it was pushed back down. Now wasn't the time for it. She wasn't a threat to them any longer...not directly anyway.

"I'm not going to lecture you any further, but this all may have been avoided, at least in part, if you had come to us to begin with. What was it that made you turn away from Hope? To thinking that any level of sacrifice was acceptable?" She was sure the answers would be found in her logs, but she wanted to hear them from the Tarutaru's lips.

"What a waste..." Levy said, shaking her head sadly. She's happy none of the Heroes had to die, but still frustrated that it had to come down to this. She may not have liked Palitutu, but she never wanted to see her dead.

"We could have worked together. We could have solved this. Even after everything... I would have welcomed you into Fairy Tail. Everyone deserves a second chance. So why? Why did you have to push it this far?"

Maybe her sentiments are foolish, but Levy will always be a bleeding heart. And now she's shedding tears for their enemy.

Palitutu nodded at Jade.

“You can use it… It’ll give you some more time…” She then turned to Kidd and Levy. “I never gave up on Hope… But in reality, you can never protect what matters without sacrifices... Life and death exist as one… The very act of living itself implies taking other lives, be it to eat, breath or defend oneself…” And to Kidd in particular. “You better than anyone here should know that…”

And with that, Palitutu froze and collapsed onto the ground. She wasn’t exactly dead yet, but without heavy treatment that would be only a matter of minutes—Or seconds if someone decided to finish her off immediately. And as she collapsed, a last portal opened up behind the Heroes of Light—Presumably one that would take them back to Crystallis and Aqures Ixen. Upon hearing what Twilight said though, Artemicion stormed from Sheena’s head and pointed an accusatory finger at the pony.

“No, you are the one who doesn’t understand, Kupo! It’s not a movie, that’s reality! If the Calamity wins, all worlds will die! She’s never done this for Crystallis only, Kupo!”

The Moogle went before Palitutu’s body and shook his head. He seemed very panicked and distressed, which was his usual state of being one could argue, but more so than usual, not to mention he was also crying.

“There have been countless generations of Heroes of Light. There have been other Twilight Sparkles, Aangs or Jades before, Kupo. They had more times and means than you and they still failed! Worst, their failures nearly allowed the Calamity to destroy everything. If it wasn’t for what she did, you wouldn’t have been summoned and Narayana would already have won. And you—You’re just going to do like them, Kupo! You are the actual Calamity to me!”

With that said, Artemicion grabbed Palitutu’s arm and tried dragging her body through the portal… With very limited success. He tried his very best to lift her, but that ended with nothing more than a lot of efforts and tiny wings flailing a lot. It would seem she was heavier than she looked.

Lust was about to deliver a mocking rebuke to Pyrrha for threatening someone with no job and no weapons, but it was suddenly over. She whirled away, eyes wide...and then wider and wilder when she saw Palitutu on the ground.

No...damn all of them, no!

Her head whipped around, anger burning savagely on her pale face as she searched the crowd and -- THERE. Lust pushed past anyone in her way as she stalked furiously toward Jade ~~as if this were all his fault somehow~~, fists clenched, eyes narrowed. As soon as she was close enough, she made a grab for his shirt to make sure he understood the intensity of her desire.

"I want her alive, as a prisoner. That is my one chance at becoming human. Don't you dare let it slip away!" Maybe she'd never met Jade personally, but it didn't matter. He could heal. He could keep Palitutu alive until she made a Philosopher's Stone.

Kaji has been waiting all year for this moment: when he's got that little traitorous fluff ball in his crosshairs. His hand is on his bow as he strides over to Artemicion. Part of the game has very suddenly changed when he saw how Palitutu was changing jobs. But, if anything it has made him even more angry at the moogle. Kaji is completely disinterested in the moogle's judgment of their crimes, when he has his own to answer for.

"Artemicion. Stand down and prepare to be taken into custody. You'll be taken back to Aqures Ixen to be tried by your own people for corruption of a political office, and whatever other charges they decide to slap on there." His plan this entire time, if he didn't get the chance to shoot the little fucker, was to leave him to the mercy of the moogles.

But now they might have a problem. "Show me the Crystal. Which one did you have?" Four black crystals. Did it break upon Palitutu's death? And if not, which one is it? And why can he hold onto it without turning into an abomination? If it's shaped like a black rose, Kaji is going to consider shooting the moogle anyway.

Having Artemicion approach her like that had certainly surprised the ninja, and thinking he was either going to attack or fly over, she had gotten into a stance. Only to rise up slowly when he landed on her, water dripping from his fur and down her face.

Before she could do anything, he was off and flying again, and once again, she was following him--this time to kneel beside him. Whether Jade casts Life or not on the Researcher was up to him; right now, she was focusing on Artemicion.

"That's what we want to avoid, Artemicion. She wanted to start the cycle all over again by stopping this one. We want to stop the cycle, too--but not like this. Not at the cost of the lives we're trying to protect." She rose as the Moogle began to drag Palitutu away, and finished speaking before Kaji declared him under arrest.

"We want to stop all of the cycles, Artemicion, please remember that."

And Deadpool's standing in front of the portal, reaching out to grab the Moogle by the head, Deadmoog looming over them.

"Y'know, I've been very patient this entire time with you and your tatertot master. How about you shut up with the Humans are the Real Bastards shtick and let us do our job? Hm? Or I'll gladly show you your world being destroyed."

And he has a blade aimed at the Moogle.

Ales felt a twang of guilt - not because Palitutu had a soul like any other living being or out of the goodness of his own heart - but because he saw a lot of himself in her. They both were frustrated with the problems in their worlds and took matters into their own hands. They both understood that sacrifices needed to be made. Ales would never allow himself to get soft and stupid by sparing lives to sacrifice even more.

What a shame. He and Palitutu could have gotten along well.

"She did ask us to kill her to prove our worth, didn't she?" His puppet raised its arm, aiming it at Artemicion. He could always hit him with a Leg Shot to prevent him from escaping. "We're going to do whatever it takes to stop this nonsense once and for all."

Edited 2016-09-01 14:32 (UTC)

Jade glanced to Lust, then turned back to the dying tarutaru. It was true he could still save her life. Between Life and Curaga, it probably wasn't too late. If he were more like his old mentor, he might have even agreed to it.

Shame he wasn't like her.

"...Precisely." He shrugged off Lusts's grip. "If we spare her now, she will never trust us to do our part. She'll certainly do us no personal favors."

He pocketed the golden crystal and stood up. It wasn't as though Jade hated her. Palitutu was an enemy, but that didn't make it personal. If anything, he understood her logic all too well.

Perhaps that was why it didn't take him long to make a decision.

"If there's any mercy to be shown, it's in letting her die with the knowledge we will not shirk away from what needs to be done. So no -- I will not heal her."

If the others wanted him to change his mind, they'd have to give a convincing reason.

The moment Jade stopped speaking, Ace could already feel a wave of disagreement forming over the controversial idea... that he found himself agreeing with, ultimately.

"This is no longer the issue of whether or not she deserves to be saved. Palitutu had made her choice long before she came here, and we ought to respect such commitment."

His expression remained solemn, even as he turned towards tearful Artemicion. Although Deadpool's comments directed at the Moogle had seemed highly out of place, he had to face the consequences of his involvement, eventually.

"Of course you would wish to bring her back - she's your mentor. However, knowing what it would entail, do you honestly think this is what she would have wanted?"

In spite of what some of the Heroes of Light said or did, Artemicion didn’t back down from trying to drag the body inch by inch if need be. In particular he replied to Jade and Ace.

“Since when have you ever cared about what she wanted or respecting her ideas or ideals, Kupo? You’ve never cared to hear another viewpoint but yours. That’s just an excuse to let her die, Kupo!” he then looked at Sheena. "That's why she never trusted you. You're not ready to accept the notion of sacrifices, Kupo!"

He didn’t stop either as he was threatened, but he looked furiously at Kaji and Deadpool.

“Now there’s no one left to oppose you, you’re just showing who you are! Just a bunch of felons. You’ll have to kill me too, Kupo!”

He proceeded to go back to what he was doing and made whatsoever no efforts to defend himself or try to stop Deadpool or Kaji. He had, after all, more important things in mind from his point of view.

"Ye-ah, you don't get off that easy."

With Archer and Gunner equipped, there's a quick way to take him down. Kaji casts a Status Shot: Sleep and fires and arrow at point-blank range. If it works, he prepares to scoop up the sleeping moogle and walk away with him.

"You don't get a say in what happens to you anymore."

"We're not ready?" A smile softened on Ales's face when he saw the Moogle go down. He had his puppet lower its arm and walk over towards the fallen Tarutaru, the Teensie himself walking up the Kaji.

"Thank you."

His voice was gentle without the previous hint of bitterness. For once, he felt that things were going right.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Artemicion is nothing more than a coward. Only looking out for himself. He's blinded himself with Palitutu's words and ambitions just to save himself." Twilight walked back over to the lake to see the view beyond. "What Artemicion forgot is that there may have been multiple me or others, there's always been people like Palitutu. Of course, the legends tend to gloss over that fact."

Turning back to the others, she started trotting towards the portal. "How about we start getting back to Crystallis? We got a multiverse to save."

Sparks listened to all the Heroes go on from the top of is Magitek Armor. For once, he didn't have much to say; just a mumbled comment to himself.

"Reckon we got different ideas of sacrifices."

Without a word to anyone, the marshal pulled his hat low, and marched the armor through the portal.

Lust was livid. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth grit, cold contempt written all over her face as she pushed Jade back. "Don't patronize me," she hissed. "Make up whatever excuses you want, this is about revenge, not your convoluted sense of ethics. The furball is right about you. ALL of you." Her normal tactics would have been to threaten to kill him or someone he cared about to get her way, but that wouldn't work here. She wasn't immortal, and she was profoundly outnumbered. Whatever chances remained to her without Palitutu would be erased if they struck her down now.

She whirled around, rage and desperation making her movements sharp and savage, more like an animal's than a person's, and her eyes fell on Jack. "You. You promised you'd help me. Show me that you weren't lying." She thrust her hand toward Palitutu. "Prove that humanity really does embody mercy and compassion, not just some pretty words that can't be backed up by action."

Sheena could only stare at the Moogle in a mix of shock and anger after he stopped speaking. Not understand sacrifices? Her? She understood more than she should.

And why she didn't want to sacrifice anyone else.

Turning, she took a few steps away from the portal--only to stop and look at Lust.

"If humans are so horrible, why do you want to be one so badly?" she asked before resuming her walk.

She'd go back eventually, but for right now, she just wanted to be alone.

Jack has needed a few minutes to recover, to let his Custom Job do its work and heal up the damage that the Curse had left on him. He hadn't been intending to get involved, trusting the Heroes to make a decision they could all live with. But when Lust looks at him like that. He knows the desperation that can come when something that you want this badly about to slip through your fingers.

But all she wants is to be human. Who is Jack to deny her that?

"The right thing to do really is to save her life, to give her back the choice as to what to do with her life."

But then Jack looks squarely back at Lust. "If she even has the knowledge that you're seeking, is getting it from her worth risking more lives? If we bring her back and we can't control her, she might make the choice to kill again. She's going to keep taking up our time, to keep pushing us further until we do what she wants."

"So I need to know: is it worth it? Is humanity worth that?"

There is a trick and a trap in that question. Jack wants to know if Lust even understands this thing that she's searching for.

And among those who have been silent is one Ruby Rose, who walks past the group and towards the portal.

"I'm bored now. Can we go home and deal with everything else instead of whatever she's talking about?" She griped, hands behind her head. "Maybe get something to eat, too?"

Her eyes narrowed at Sheena. Pitiful wretch. As if she could even begin to understand the emptiness of being incomplete, of not being whole...!

Lust's rage quieted slightly as Jack addressed her. He was listening, and that gave her some sense of hope that her desperate desire wasn't about to be destroyed. She faced him directly, relaxing her hands at her sides.

"You saw what she did." She gestured to the broken necklace, and the small gold crystal now being held by...she wasn't paying attention to who picked it up, honestly. "She wants us to stop the Calamity. She gave us the gift of time to do it." Lust raised her chin slightly. "We've already proved that we can be ruthless and brutal. She got exactly what she wanted, didn't she?"

Her head shifted slightly to the right so she could regard him with a sidelong glance. "And what if she or Artemicion is an Avatar of the Calamity?" she pointed at Palitutu. "If we want Narayana to show mercy and compassion in sparing your worlds, then you had best be willing to show it to her first."

Edited 2016-09-01 18:12 (UTC)

Jack was ready to accuse Lust of not answering his question, but when she makes her final point, he visibly grins. Because she did answer. And she gets it. "You're right. It doesn't even matter if she is an Avatar or not. The Calamity has grown curious about our actions. What will we do to a defeated enemy? Whether we have something to gain out of it or not?" Jack nods towards Lust.

Jack is in full-on Doctor mode, raising his voice so all the rest of the heroes can hear. "The Avatars are going to hear about what we did here today! The ones that are friendly towards us and the ones that are against us. Whether they know it or not, they are telling it to the very being that we are going to ask for mercy! What story are they going to tell?"

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