melodiesoflife | Event || Beginning Of The End

Wait. Wait! He was offering to answer their questions! Rialynn was ready! Her book was open, her quill was dipped in ink...ready!

But...everyone else did not seem to be of the same mind as the information-starved bard. She did remember that video (and the haunting melody she'd heard too), and she also recalled that Palitutu had said it was one of the necessary elements of defeating the Calamity.

With a forlorn sigh, Rialynn put down her pen. "Could we maybe ask some questions afterward, please? Like...where to find the last piece of the key, how to find the other crystals, and what we can use the moon base for? Stuff like that?"

Lita frowned quietly to herself, her arms folded over her chest where she reclined against the wall. She thought she remembered reading something about conquering their shadows from that guy's report that got sent out a few days ago. But though it was necessary, she wasn't exactly sure why.

She raised her hand. "What happens if we conquer that part of ourselves? Why's it matter so much? Does that mean we won't go into crystal stasis if we do?"

Rukia stiffened slightly from where she knelt. If mastering the Calamity half of themselves did prevent crystal stasis from taking effect, then...!

She bit her thumb, furrowing her brow. No, she was getting ahead of herself. The question had only been asked, not answered. But if it meant that Ichigo, Raven, and so many others she'd grown fond of over the past year would awaken from their slumber, she would try anything.

But she needed to be patient. She also needed to be careful not to get her hopes up or she risked being crushed by disappointment. Quietly she lowered her hand back to her lap and resigned herself to listening.

And ignoring Deadpool.

Unacceptable. Jack glares at Wade and steps into his space until that blade is only an inch away from his throat. "Put those away and don't draw them again. You've tried your best to ruin every chance of diplomacy and peace that you showed up to. You're not doing it again."

Jack isn't afraid of Wade and he's not willing to let this kind of behavior stand either. Doc said to play it his way? Fine. "You attack anyone? Again? At least you'll finally prove what side you're on and what you actually care about." He presses that inch forward until the point of the sword is touching his neck.

"I don't give a damn if we want the same things out of this. You're not going to enforce it through violence."

"And I'm getting really sick and tired of the high and mighty act you and the others put on. 'Oh, look at me! I don't want to kill people! That makes me so much better than everyone else!'" Deadpool said before snorting and putting away the weapons.

"But, I'll play it your way. Total Zenpool here. I won't draw them ever again. And when everyone drops dead, my last words shall be 'I told you so'!"

And he lifts up his mask to stick his tongue at Jack before stepping away.

And in that moment, Ramza's already substantial respect for Jack quadrupled. He watched for a moment to make sure Deadpool would not turn to attack the fellow diplomat. When it seemed the masked man presented no immediate threat, he turned back to the old man.

"Please proceed then, Sage. We will listen."

It was disappointing, to be denied the chance to ask their questions, but if they did not accept the Sage's begrudging help, they would likely get none at all.

His eye twitched as Deadpool raised his voice, yet he kept quiet for a moment, listening to the others. Ramza certainly seemed content with proceeding to the next part, but something was bugging him. He had a hunch a few months ago, but he couldn't help but want to find out further. Or to see if the hunch was right.

"Kalki once said..." he began, crossing his arms in the process. "-that we would have to conquer our Shadows, the parts of us we have rejected that the Calamity has fed off of, to become the Will. That's not the only use to it, is it?"

Why did they even bring Deadpool? Oh, right, because a heavily armed smart-talking mercenary went where he wanted.

"This wouldn't be a problem if we could do both," Nanami grumbled. But of course they had to choose. Because it wasn't as if they couldn't have all the information at once.

"So let's have it."

"Hard to say that if you're one of the dead," Sheena muttered quietly to herself in response to Deadpool's rant. She didn't doubt that he would have attacked any of them on the spot if they had continued pressing for answers to their questions.

She just hoped he hadn't ruined their chances for the Sage to tell them anything because he thought Deadpool was a lost cause.

Because as far as she could see, mastering the Shadow part of themselves involved using their negative emotions to their advantage--instead of letting the emotions use you.

And well...she might have to have some help with that.

Selphie rolled her eyes at Deadpool's antics and respected the way that Jack dealt with the idiot mercenary. She remembered him from when they'd tried to reason with Palitutu and knew that he was one of the people who would use their words before their fists. The girl made a mental note to send a quick thank you card to Jack for saying what needed to be said to shut Deadpool down before focusing back on the matter at hand.

Selphie was puzzled by what the Sage was saying about conquering the Calamity inside of them and made another note to ask someone more knowledgeable on the subject another time. Even though she had questions to ask, she knew that now wasn't the time to ask them. If subduing the Calamity inside of themselves helped Crystallis, then she was willing to give it a chance.

It doesn't stop the perky brunette however from pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil she'd tucked into one of the pouches around her waist to jot down her questions for later. She settles herself on the floor, crossing her legs like a young child in grade school, alert and ready to listen.

“Crystal Stasis happens as a result of your Calamity Self threatening to take over. It is not Narayana that crystallizes you, but Crystallis. The same is true for the planet. It is not Narayana crystallizing the world, but Crystallis as it defends itself against the spreading Calamity.”

The pause answered questions—But only those related to the Calamity Self. Therefore he ignored Rialynn’s inquiries.

“When you shall face Narayana, there will be nothing preventing your Calamity Self from taking over. You will lose before even trying-- Unless you have conquered it first.” A pause. “Conquering your Calamity Self will allow you to step on crystallized lands and face Narayana. It will also put a definitive end to Crystal Stasis.”

With that said, he turned and looked at Ira.

“However, Ira is right—” A nod. “Doing so will have another effect. Anyone conquering their Calamity Self will be a potential subject for the completion of Kalki’s schemes.”

"Which would mean the crystals we use to rescue lands aren't actually 'rescuing' them, but instead leaving them vulnerable to the Calamity itself." Twilight mused. "Which probably means we've been doing things completely wrong here for the longest time."

Unsurprising, really.

"And being able to travel across crystallized lands would mean we would also be able to confront Garland... or this 'Chaos' Palitutu mentioned. But, the Calamity Self? Is it like our evil self or something? I know that's sort of simplistic of a definition, but it's probably the best I can come up with with everyone else around."

"Not necessarily. The crystallization may be protecting the planet, but it also makes the land uninhabitable for normal citizens. We have no choice but to keep rescuing them."

Jade thought back to their trip to the Mysidian Tower. "Besides... As I recall, the Calamity Simulation was built to manipulate the Calamity itself, not just the crystallization process. We should be fine... Assuming the Ancients were right about their own creation."

Wouldn't be the first time they'd made a mess of things, but the Heroes couldn't really afford to worry about that. The Simulation was the only way they could protect the people of Crystallis.

"Is there a way to return the fragments of the Calamity that reside within us to the Calamity's whole?"

Since reading Jade's report, Ramza had been wondering about the Calamity. If it was truly formed of fragments of lost souls, perhaps they were wrong to try to destroy it. They should be trying to help guide those souls to find peace. And the first step, he thought, was to gather the fragments together. If such a thing was even possible.

"Owen called the crystalization an immune response, like inflammation or a fever on getting sick. It's the planet's way to fight back."

He looks to the Sage specifically, because he hasn't been able to confirm this. "It comes from the First Crystal, from the life cycle on this world. We fall into Stasis to keep from joining the cycle. And contaminating it."

"But the going theory is what gives it strength is the people already living on Crystallis. The native life here helps it fight back against the invaders. Again, just like an immune response. The more people we can keep alive, the more we can slow the Calamity, if this is right."

"But some of us can already walk on crystalized lands," Aang said. "Does that mean the group... groups that Kalki summoned don't have a piece of the Calamity in them? Or that we have them under control?"

He held out his own clear crystal as a demonstration.

Aang would be good with not having another journey into his own mind to fix things. He's done that a lot for someone who hasn't finished growing up yet. And he could focus his energy on helping others.

"We don't have to follow Kalki's plan and become gobs," Duster said firmly. With the way the Sage spoke, he felt they were only given a limited set of options. But they were Heroes of Light. Chosen people with the power to bring light to a dying world. If Lucas could do that for the Nowhere Islands, Duster could follow his footsteps and do that for Crystallis.

In both cases, the fate of the world was at risk no matter what action they took, but it was better than letting the cycle continue.

"We have a choice, don't we? Once we control the Calamity inside us, we can get closer safely, right? There's no reason not to try anything else, right guys?" He directed the last question towards the other Heroes in the hopes that their affirmation would prove that he wasn't saying nonsense.

Sparks replied to Duster with a shrug and a grumble. "I mean, sounds reasonable enough. I guess. As much as anythin' here makes sense."

Sparks scratched his chin, thinking. "I mean, we're gonna have a shakedown with Narayana eventually, we need to be ready for it. So exactly how do we accomplish overcomin' yer inner Calamity?"

"Why now?" Kaji finally speaks up, snappish. "Why-" He shakes his head. "We failed your test last time. I get it. Give us the power to walk across the crystal fields months ago, and we would have charged straight at Garland and lost."

"But-" Kaji's look is hurt, more so than angry. "My daughter was lost to Crystal Stasis only a week ago. I don't even need to know why you waited, forget it. But I want you to know what your inaction has cost us. Because I know no matter what test you put in front of her she would have overcome it."

Hearing Kalki's name made him stiffen. The woman that had brought him and many of the people he watched die here-- was also the type to use anything to get what she wants. At least from the stories and rumors about her he's heard. Of course, there's no telling how different he and his friends were when they arrived the way they did. The true fact is getting the Calamity to stop, and part of that was facing a version of themselves.

It's a concept he's not familiar with but it's almost like a doppelganger. He read in a book that doppelgangers are a bad omen and that they would attempt to try to take over the life of someone that looks exactly like them. It makes Mikleo a bit uneasy to think about it but they're looking at something maybe similar to that. He's starting to grasp things little by little.

"How will we go about ensuring that no more lives are lost? There are many people out there. We'll need to devise a plan to protect those people."

"Somehow I doubt that, Aang. Remember how, not long after we united with the others, many of us either died or crystallized?" She asked, having been quiet as she tried to piece the puzzle together. Hopefully they didn't mind the intrusion. "This world sees us as a threat as well."

Rukia frowned. Kalki's plan to become a god... That plan had transferred to Rukia and Selen in the Sage's vision. It still bothered her, to think that she'd been that desperate to try. Part of her still wondered if it would have worked, or if her will would have been crushed and swallowed by the Calamity after all.

She'd asked the Sage about that, and received no answer. In the end she'd decided to place her trust in Yuri and the others to find the solution in the sparse time they'd had left, but whether or not they succeeded, she didn't know.

It made her wonder if she would ever know. She glanced toward Yuri, then let her gaze drop to the floor. Her eyes closed as her head tipped forward, and she cleared her mind. It didn't matter now. Their fates had changed. All that they needed now was the knowledge of how to overcome their chaotic selves, but she wasn't about to speak up until everyone's questions had been answered (or until the Sage got tired of answering questions).

"I had wondered about that as well. I had thought that the sudden deaths and crystallization might have been an attack from the cultists or Kalki herself. But the fact that it didn't happen until everyone was able to reach Aqures Ixen does raise the possibility that it was the planet itself rejecting those who Kalki summoned." If so, that left her with a tightness in her gut she couldn't easily ignore. Suppose they really were a threat...?

K'pandolu frowned, hand coming to her chin as she thought. "I think- in the Research Facility, Kalki said something about gathering all the scattered fragments of the Calamity. If we do this- we're not just playing into her hands here, are we?" She hated the thought of being manipulated into something she didn't want. Particularly should it involve becoming some sort of deity- nothing good could come of that, in her mind. "Perhaps controlling it will offer an opportunity, though."

She nodded to Lucrecia and Rukia, expression dropping. "But- why was it those who had been travelling?"

Sheena looked up from where she'd been studying her feet, taking everything in. "We weren't given the ability months ago," she said to no one in particular, "because we had to face that part within us first and acknowledge it." She glanced around.

"I'm probably wrong, but if the Calamity inside us is that which we don't admit to, then wouldn't the feelings we've felt--fear, distrust of our comrades, hatred--since the beginning of the year fall into that category? And the Calamity around us came straight for us."

She wondered what would happen this year around that Christmas holiday.

Cloud friend as he listened to everyone, to everything being discussed. There was no clear path to a happy ending here. Everything they were doing that they did for the sake of doing the right thing seemed to make other things go worse on other sides. All that they'd ever been able to do was their best and they were trying. Gods were they trying.

It was probably for the best they weren't granted the power to attack their enemy straight away, but to hold the knowledge from them for so long did nothing to help them either. Or this world for that matter.

"If we do all of this. If we conquer our Shadows, if we stop Narayana...all of this is stuff we've heard in different ways, different ideas of how to stop the Calamity. How we have to be ready to do things that we will not like...even if I don't think all of us believe that but...what about afterwards?"

He took a step forward, looking the Sage in the eye, "We'll go around in circles about whether or not you were right to withhold this knowledge, and I think a good many of us have been ready to take on our Shadows from the moment we learned about them." He certainly had. "But what happens after we stop the Calamity? Will this world return to normal? What about the people who weren't able to escape the Crystalization? And what about us? What happens to us?"

Could Crystallis really be saved? Could its Heroes? This was the question, the answer that tore them apart in the vision, wasn't it?

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