Melodies Of Life || Change those flowing tears into shining courage, life goes on

[melodiesmods]

Characters: Anyone who's been in the game
Where: Aqures Ixen
When: August 3rd
Summary: A story is over, many others are about to begin. Friends may reunite and rejoice together, friends may part and say farewell to each over forever. But even if you should leave your friends behind, your voice shall never forget their melodies.


Following the battle against Kalki, the sacrifice of old friends and the second destruction of Aqures Tosf, Palitutu cast all Heroes of Light into the Rift, each of them finding themselves in an all too familiar void. And yet... Soon the void vanished, as it had once before. This time it was all too clear none of this had been a dream. Upon coming to their senses, the Heroes of Light will find themselves on the outskirts of Aqures Ixen. Music and laughter can be heard coming from the city.

Is there a celebration in the city? Shouldn't it be filled with corrupted Heroes of Light and on the brink of destruction? Before they can do anything about these questions, the Heroes of Light are submerged by a wave of fluffy white balls of fur and fluff- the Moogles who helped them for all these years and are now overjoyed to see they are safe and sound. As they once did before, the Moogles will answer all of their questions, but also drag them into the city. A celebration is indeed taking place and why, it appears they are the reason the celebration is happening. The music is joyous, the people are happy and all appears to be for the best.

Upon reaching the third district, they will see familiar faces. Cid, Wedge, Biggs, Parajapati, Mograma, O'aka and many other friends they made along the way. They will all clap for them before congratulating them and taking part in the festivities. There are more familiar faces, however. Where once stood the Crystal of Fire is now a statue depicting four Heroes of Light: Sephiroth, Minato, Tears and Sayaka, all four of them brandishing their crystal and weapons in a heroic posture.

Whilst many might be sad and mourn them, perhaps this is also an occasion to celebrate what they were in life and carry the memory of their deeds into your own life. Melodies of life, come circle round and grow deep in our hearts, as long as we remember.

THE END

Comments

Wow, I didn't see this at all. I'm so sorry. Q_Q

[acceptedoblivion]

Were he a sailor not bound by the universal laws of Disney, now would have been the time the words 'aw, shit' would have crossed his mind - or even his lips at the sight of not one, but two rather displeased Assassin mothers. Instead, Ira visibly flinched at not just the usage of his full name, but knowing exactly what he had done to cause it. That when Saori grabbed him, he didn't even protest. "I'm sorry," he apologized without hesitation, yet couldn't meet either of their gaze.

"Believe me, I never wanted to send them in the first place," he started to say, before something caught in his throat. The choice to either follow them both, follow Lydia, or return to the Tower had been tormenting him this entire time, but knowing what the three had all chosen for themselves, he didn't have the heart to say it aloud. Yet for all the just anger he could hear, it paled in comparison to the self-loathing he felt. If anything, the combination of rage and concern only made it stronger. "Every time I tried to say something the last two weeks, the words just wouldn't come."

Meaning he had secretly been considering leaving without so much as a word, but couldn't bring himself to do that either. After all, he knew the risks. For all he knew, the shadows of his world could drag him to his death in a matter of moments should he return like so many others. Yet every time he wavered closer to leaving with the two of them to Saori's world, or to Lydia's with her, the memories of Sora, Donald, and Goofy's corpses floating in the pods in the castle's basement and Namine's empty sundress before Sora's pod came flooding back. Much like it did now, as for a brief moment, his eyes met Saori's. And in that instant, the words of his Shadow came back, and the pain and uncertainty were plain in his gaze as the cracking in his voice. "But I can't just leave those from my own timeline to their fates without trying something!"

He never wanted this - to have to choose between any of them. But he couldn't just stay here and do nothing, either.

[needsteaplz]

She closed her eyes and looked down, silent for a moment.

"I should have seen this coming, to be honest," Saori slowly admitted, anger slowly being replaced with disappointment with herself. Ira was probably very lucky that Saori couldn't bring herself to do any sort of physical lash out on him. Her hands loosen their grip but don't let go and even start to shake. He had a point and if she was in that situation her son was in, she would do the same thing. She had seen the Tower with her own eyes and the burden he carried.

"We might not share blood, but gods, you do share my stubbornness over things like this. You've made up your mind and I doubt there's anything I can do to change that." Her vision turned cloudy from the tears welling up in her eyes. She let go of Ira, to reach behind her neck to undo the clasp of her necklace. She held the silver pendant, which held a stone the same color as Ira's eyes. It was the last gift from her brother before they had a fight and he disappeared. This time, she won't have another family member go on such a note. She goes on her tiptoes to put the necklace on him.

"Take this. Maybe it'll be the thing you need to guide you home. But Ira, promise me, the moment you find a way back, you take it. You'll have a place at my house waiting for you."

[acceptedlife]

Ira seemed to slouch just that little more, even in the absence of her grip on his shirt - as though he folded into himself solely for the woman, his mother, in front of him.

Take this... guide you home.

The weight felt foreign around his neck; the delicate silver chain and pendant. Even if he might not know the full value of this simple item, he knew his mother never once removed it. It was that precious to her, and she just... gave it to him. He could feel it in the way his eyes began to sting, in how he tensed as his chest clenched as tightly as his fists did until his knuckles went white. The small, strangled choking noise that escaped his throat the moment she spoke of a place waiting for him. At that house he'd visited all of once when they traversed the different worlds.

And, in that brief flash of memory, where his sister had practically tackled him to the ground after months of being separated.

His face contorted, long white bangs doing nothing to truly hide it as a few tears began to fall down his cheeks as he all but mimicked Xion's gesture. Wrapping his arms around his mother's petite frame, holding on as though for dear life yet not nearly enough to crush her. Quietly gesturing for Mary to join them, too, as silent sobs began wracking him to the core.

"I promise," he whispered in her ear, not trusting his voice to keep from cracking once more. "I will, Mom."

[not_most_days]

Mary frowned as she listened to the two, arms crossed as her finger tugged on her sleeve. Much like Ira and all the others, these last days in this world felt like so much longer, and yet not time enough at all. It was one thing to know her last days in her own world and feel time slip away as her life did, but this was all somehow more surreal. How do you say goodbye to those people with whom you've voyaged and fought beside in such stakes as they had. Few sailors would admit it, but sometimes those first steps off of the ship and back onto dry land were the most terrifying of all. For all of the sea's deadly chaos, it was honest in its fury and danger.

Listening to Ira's plans she felt each of her teeth pressing against each other before she even realized how she had clenched her jaw. It was this sort of resolve that she tried to instill in Kenway and yet it was the same sort that saw her to that Jamaican prison.

The moment to say something seemed to pass as she was waved in to join the other two. She wrapped her arms around them both, but her eyes sought the horizon beyond. Her place in this world and others had been one she was unsure of from the beginning, even as she plied her way and pushed forward by will alone. She completely understood why Ira was doing this and that it was his path to follow as much as she wanted to spare everyone hurt and sorrow now.

Her cuff hooked on one of the buckles of his clothing and a seam tore. Her wrist twitched under the weight. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the leather.

Grand Master Ezio's given as a gift of trust.

Kenway's given as a gift of love.

She released the two and took a knee as she began to undo the straps around her left arm. The air on her skin felt alien after all this time, even if she hadn't worn it every waking and sleeping second. But the one he had worn was given to him quietly and without the pomp and tradition that he or it deserved. Taking Ira's hand she held his arm firm even as she gently slipped the bracer on. "None of us are who we once were. Those versions of us have passed from this world and the others. Don't look back at what you failed to do but instead look ahead to what is before you." She looked up at Ira, making sure to catch his eyes, "And as you plunge back into the dark, remember that the shadows your foes lurk in are yours as well, Assassin. Do your part. See it through so that when you return to port you have no regrets and solid ground beneath your feet."

Standing, she embraced her beloved friends, fellow heroes and newfound family once more.