middleofsomewhere | The Will to Fight: Conclusion

The Will to Fight: Conclusion

The battles rage loud and ferocious at the gates of the city and off in the ruined wastelands of Erda, and on the walls a struggle of a different kind occurs. The team who stayed behind at the towers are small but determined as they move stoically across the walls to right the stones that have become misaligned, even as their friends battle not too far away.

The city begins to hum. It's a quiet hum, not loud enough to be heard out where the others are fighting but it vibrates even through stone. The recovering monks assure them that it is done, the wards are back up and no demon will be able to enter the city.

Eventually the battle is won, all three battles. The demons fought back and killed, a major blow to their gate system that will keep them back for hopefully a long time. Those waiting in the caverns return to the city and by the time they get there the illusions are gone. Everyone can see the world for what it really is.

But despite the ruins of their world the people are relieved, the adrenaline of the fight coursing through their veins and the mood is one of hope. They will build again, their people will survive.

All Voidtreckers please return to the Voidtrecker Express. Departure will be in a few hours

It has landed not too far from the city, cloaked to make it unnoticeable to the citizens, for all the good that does. No one has been particularly subtle this last week. People can begin regrouping, packing up the camp and getting any wounded not already healed to the train.

However roughly half an hour later another message appears on their SCA.

Passenger Persephone has requested we remain on system System #86525656412355 for an additional day to further assist the people of Erda. The Voidtrecker Express will depart on the morning of Day Fifteen of the month of Kazoo.

The train remains where it is, so the voidtreckers can use its facilities. There is definitely a lot that can be done to assist those of this world and the citizens will welcome any helping hands.

After an extra day they finally depart, returning to the void once more.

(OOC Note: Once the wards are up any characters who are demonic in nature will not be able to enter the city either!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

YEAH STOP TALKING BEHIND HIS BACK, HE'S HERE!!

That is, he's coming outside the door, and then--stopping right in front of it, each hand holding a bowl and his eyes looking down at the handle, then Taiki, but it's at Inigo that he makes the 'bro!! bro, the door!!!' eyes at.

Which isn't stopping him from immediately getting impatient and trying to open it up with an elbow...!!!

Maybe Tidus shouldn't take so long if he doesn't want the boys to start gossiping about him!

Thankfully Inigo does look up during his conversation with Taiki, and so he realises that Tidus is there, caught on the other side with his useless bowl hands. There's already three different kinds of disasters playing out in his mind involving Tidus and the glass door and the bowls when he starts trying to elbow it open, so Inigo gives Taiki a quick smile before letting go of his hands and standing up.

He knows he has to rush, not just because Tidus may drop these bowls in a terrible accident, but also since Inigo just knows Taiki will try to get up and help if he's too late. And they need to prevent that at all costs.

"Look, Taiki, we're just about ready to eat!"

So Inigo pulls open the door. Quickly. Perhaps a bit too quickly. Sure hope you weren't still trying to lean against it with that elbow, bro.

Not only does Tidus buckle as the handle cocks under his elbow, but then he gets shoved by the door. Shoved!!! Misfortunes for Inigo and this door for a thousand years!!

Tidus is rather disgruntled to be both knocked and forced back when's he's delicately balancing two bowls of pasta, but fortunately, the actual food comes out of this awkward event without being thrown from his hands. As for Tidus, the knock does hit a funny bone, an 'oww' that he (exaggerates) grumbles to let Inigo know the damage, if the dirty look he throws him isn't enough. But then he's pushing his way through, loud complaints to accompany him.

"Can you believe this? Inigo's beating me up with the door! You want his pasta, Taiki? You can have both."

But for that miniature huff, he puts on a smile for Taiki, showing that he's just messing around, sitting down with a sigh on the other side.

Oh no... Was this going to end in some pasta based disaster? He hopes not... But he is ready... He's not sure what he will do if it looks like it will. He's not sure he can get to the rescue fast enough.

But then Tidus is inside and grumbling but it is just the way they always grumble at each other. He leans towards Tidus as he sits down.

"Thank you Tidus. It was kind of you to go and get that."

Wow. You say a few nice things about your bro to your mutual friend while he's gone, and then the moment he's back and you help him, he's giving you dirty looks.

Not that Inigo is going to throw some whole stink about it. He figures they've already done enough of that in front of Taiki today, and he certainly doesn't want to worry or exhaust the other with it when Taiki is in this state. So Inigo just glances from Tidus's back as the other is approaching Taiki over to the door, letting out a small sigh too before wandering back over to sit down again without a word.

Fine, feed Taiki his pasta!! See if he cares!! Tidus is getting all the compliments here anyway while he's only getting dirty looks, and Inigo isn't quite strong enough to stop his inner baby from sulking about it. Especially when he's in a bad enough mood to begin with, knowing that his mother may just be walking off the next platform.

Edited 2021-04-11 06:59 (UTC)

See! Look who's the kind one here! Not Mister Grumpypants over there!! Who shouldn't be so grumpy as Tidus holds out a bowl for him to take - both the same size, if anyone thinks Tidus would really get himself a bigger bowl.

"It's fine, Persephone's the one who made it. There's plenty!" So, Tidus doesn't feel so bad about taking a few bowls. "She wants to ask the train to stick around so she can spruce up the land. She's a kind of nature god? Hey, do you two have more than one god where you're from?"

This is apparently the conversation on Tidus's mind, going from one curiosity to the next.

A hand reaches over to touch Inigo, a reminder that he is still loved dearly even if Taiki is leaning on Tidus right now. Having friends is still a difficult thing, but they are both kind and good and he wants them to know it at all times.

"Yes, there is more than one." A group of gods that oversaw the kingdoms. "There were on Earth as well..."

Excuse you, mister grumpypants will grump just as much as he wants here!! Even if he is getting some touches from Taiki right now. The one thing he's polite enough to do is not start eating ahead of everyone else, instead waiting to make sure Taiki eats first. That boy needs it right now.

... well, okay, maybe he can do two polite things by not totally ignoring Tidus's question.

"There's only Naga and Grima where I'm from." And since they're very present and physical, it'd be hard for there to be some sort of god they've overlooked. "Does that mean other worlds have gods for very specific things?"

It's a pretty baffling idea to him. Maybe thinking about this hard enough will slowly replace his grump thoughts with actual thinky thoughts.

Isn't this some wonderful pasta-eating discussion. Tidus figures they'll dig in as they get the food, and with them each holding a bowl, he isn't shy about picking up his fork, comfortable as he is with Taiki leaning against him, jabbing it in to pick up pieces of the pasta.

"I guess so?" Gods for different things, but he wonders if Taiki would have the answer, leading the question to him. "How about your gods, then? I knew you had the god kingdom that overlooked all the other kingdoms. The uh, human kingdoms? But I didn't remember how many there were."

Admittedly, he just thought it was one. What a lonely kingdom...

"Um sort of. There is the twelve kingdoms and then above the sea of clouds are the mountain top palaces where kings rule... That is like a god kingdom, where sages and kings who live a lot longer than ordinary humans rule... I think that's what I told you of, when I drew the map. But... There is mount Hou."

He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining that maze of rocks, the meadows and flowers. "Kirin are born there and looked after by the nyosen and it is ruled by Lady Gyokuyou. I... She's not a god but she is their... ambassador you might say. There is also Tentei. He is who people pray to when they tie ribbons to the Riboku. Um... For children."

He pauses to eat more pasta, he is pretty hungry. "There's the Queen Mother of the West as well. Most people never see either of them. Or Lady Gyokuyou for that matter. Many don't believe they exist. Well... Except Tentei I guess..."

It's a good thing that Inigo has already heard some bits and pieces of this explanation before, since otherwise it would have been way too overwhelming. But he can at least understand most of what Taiki is saying right now, even though it's a little hard to imagine all of it, as different as it is from Ylisse.

Inigo glances over at Tidus while listening to Taiki, before slowly starting to eat as well. It's not going too quickly though - perhaps he's too caught up in thinking about this story.

"So they're more just.. figures of legend to most people?"

Knowledge learnt before is helping Inigo, but for Tidus, he only barely thinks he's getting in. Gods upon gods upon gods? Or should he say, mountains upon mountains upon mountains? This is getting way more complicated than it is easier to digest...!

But Tidus is trying not to let it get overcomplicated in his brain. He's also allowing himself to scoop up mouthfuls of the pasta each time, only just swallowing before he speaks up.

"Tentei's the god, but not the mother or the lady? They're just...long-lived."

Was that it?

"Oh um..." He's made it too complicated, confused them again. "Sorry. No Tentei is a god and the Queen Mother of the West is a god too. Lady Gyokuyou is not a god, she is just immortal. People don't really worship the gods and I guess a lot of people don't believe in them. But most will at least pray to Tentei if they want children."

Hopefully that would help, a little bit. "The Queen Mother of the West healed me, when I was sick after coming back from earth. I didn't actually see her though, because I was sleeping."

He has no memory of his time from En-ou taking him from the shore of Japan and waking up in the palace of Kei, but he knows a good few weeks passed between those two times.

It's a wild, wild thing to Inigo that in Taiki's world there's some sort of difference between people who are gods and people who are 'just' immortal. Especially considering the average lifespan in the world Inigo comes from. Someone who grows to a modern old age may as well be immortal in Ylisse, honestly..

"Why would they pray to her if they don't believe in her?"

That's the concept Inigo is trying to wrap his mind around, between bites of pasta. There's no question in his world whether one 'believes' in Naga or not, so it's just.. weird. Kind of.

"Are they just desperate?"

Please, isn't the question 'Why's she called the Queen Mother of the West' more important to ask here?!

But Tidus doesn't want to overload Taiki with questions, so he'll just be a squirrel here, munching at his food. Did tying ribbons do anything to make children........don't mind his brain imagining a balloon blowing up on the tree after a ribbon's been tied to it.

And then it pops and a baby falls out!!!

"I guess... They sort of believe and it is ritual. That's how it always is, they tie the ribbon and pray to Tentei and that is where the egg fruit grows. The same way..."

He doesn't understand this much himself honestly, he wasn't brought up in that world and he didn't know many people at all, far less ordinary people who were not sages or immortal themselves.

"People know of the way, the path kings must take. They know a kirin to be a creature of the gods and they accept its choice of ruler but not even a kirin sees the gods, we don't have their voice telling us what to do, instead it is just... what we feel is right. But it is their will."

"I guess kirin are a little like the Exalt then, in a sense.." The sense that they're connected to the gods and kind of carrying out the will of the gods. Except the communication back where Inigo is from is usually a little more direct than that. It's the benefit of being able to awaken Naga and actually talk to her in times of need.

Inigo doesn't say more though, which leaves the road way open for Tidus to pave it with his own questions if he so wishes. Apparently this whole story is just a lot less odd to Inigo at this point.

"What, do you feel stuff too?" is what's prompted out of Tidus's mouth, now his eyes on Inigo and waiting for elaboration. He knows Inigo can't turn into any kind of animal (right???), but when he's heard of Exalts, it hasn't been more than some ruling system. Oh, but too...

"You said Naga helped you jump around worlds, right? Did she talk to you too?"

At least it's gotten him to stop thinking about balloon babies...

He looked towards Inigo too, pausing around a forkful of pasta that he carefully lowered to not be rude. He had most the same questions as Tiudus. He's not sure if Inigo was an Exalt, or if that was just his father. His world seemed to work on inheritance though and so perhaps Inigo was considered such too.

He just watches him in silence, not wanting to pile more questions on him.

Inigo quickly shakes his head at the question, his mouth still full of pasta. Thankfully for Tidus and Taiki though, they don't have to endure actually seeing the mouthful, because Inigo starts to hastily chew and swallow it before speaking up, instead of speaking with his mouth full.

"No, the Exalt doesn't feel anything.. I think." That last part is added quickly, because who knows. Maybe it's a part of those chosen by Naga that they just don't talk about.. But he can't remember his father nor Lucina ever mentioning it. "But the Exalt does carry out Naga's will, in the end. That's why I was thinking it was similar."

He pokes his fork into his bowl of pasta, though he doesn't scoop up another bite just yet.

"Father and Lucina have spoken to Naga. I haven't. She was the one in line to become the next Exalt, after all."

"Oh." It's just a small oh, where Tidus realises he had Inigo and Naga's whole deal wrong, and letting it settle in his head. He puts a single twirl of pasta into his mouth, chewing it down quick and in time for when he lets out a little laugh, tipping his head.

"Well, I don't have any stories like that like you two do. The closest we have... the guy wasn't a god, and the fayth - those're what summoners prayed to. I tell you both Yuna was one?" He takes a second to look at them both, but either way- "but those were like, uh... everyday people, sorta! Or, they used to be. They didn't have a role with the...world, like all your guys do?"

Some kind of destined role, as it were.

"And they didn't do anything, 'cept with the summoners." Another short laugh. "I guess they aren't the same at all."

Not really.

Ah so it was his sister who could hear Naga, as she would be the next Exalt. Taiki nodded as well, eating his pasta slowly as Tidus spoke.

"I guess... Just by being summoners they have a role to play in the world. Even if they didn't know it... Our kings... They are just ordinary people until they are chosen. Lord Gyousou was a general for the previous king but sometimes they are innkeepers or... the king of Ren was a farmer before Renrin found him and the queen of Kei, she was a Taika... I mean... She was brought up on earth like me, so she just was an ordinary girl who went to high school before Keiki found her and made her queen."

So sometimes people were just ordinary, until they were not.

Inigo hums a little as he listens to Tidus, to show he remembers, even though he's eating. Tidus did tell him some stuff about Yuna, and he remembers being told about the whole summoner thing.

And even what Taiki is telling sounds familiar, though it's more because of conversations he's had with Gyousou, where the king had tried to explain him something similar.

"Hmm, I mean.. most people are ordinary, right? Us too."

It's not like Inigo is thinking of himself as special when he can't even use Falchion, when his only saving grace is the Brand in his eye - though it no longer has any meaning, as separated from his world as is after giving up his future.

There's a small pause, and a glance in Taiki's direction, and then he smiles.

"Well, us mostly. But I think Taiki's specialness is what makes him so charming!"

Could it be compared the same? True, that summoners did have a place in Spira; a place of continuing a tradition made to sacrifice them, to continue a lie. It wasn't always the case though: summoners used to just be; be something else, whatever that was. What were they, a thousand years prior?

It's a brief thought, one that's easily put aside, especially at Inigo's own prompt compliment Taiki's way. Tidus smiles, cocking his head in Taiki's direction.

"Oh yeah? Then which face do you find cuter? This one, or his kirin one?" He then looks at Taiki proper, grinning. "Too bad you can't go out and stretch your wings!"

He shook his head, a little embarrassed. "You two are the special ones."

Not him. After all, there would be another Taiki if he was no more. But there would never be another Inigo or another Tidus.

"I flew a little on the mission, it was useful, when we were fixing the stones..."

The Will to Fight: Conclusion

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