Susie's nostrils flared as she looked out upon the city.
Rubble littered street after street with fires still smouldering from so many towering buildings. Darkeners stumbled around, loitering and looking so lost in what to do. Their gaze was vacant, desperate, numb, just staring lifelessly into the distance as if searching for some phantom stability that would never arrive.
The council had beseeched her to rest but... how could anyone possibly rest when everything was going to shit like this?
``We should help,'' Susie said.
Ralsei grabbed her hand within his own, holding it tight. Always the anchor in a storm, always there to curb her impulses. ``We did the best that we could, hun.'' He ran a thumb along her knuckles. Even a token kindness was appreciated right now. ``We need to rest and recharge or we're even more screwed when they finally send us out to go after the spawning grounds.''
Susie sighed. ``It just feels...''
``Hopeless?'' Ralsei asked.
Susie nodded slowly, looking towards him. ``You're feeling it too, huh?''
``I...'' Ralsei bit his lip. ``I built this city as a safe haven to keep darkners away from the threat of the Roaring. It has come a long way since then but it isn't really able to do that anymore, is it? No one is safe after that last attack.''
It seemed that fate wanted to accent this point as a group of darkners from Colombone's world whizzed by on a screeching fire truck, heading towards a burning building off in the distance. Everyone had a part to play in this, even if it didn't involve getting into a giant mech.
Susie nodded. ``I just wonder if there's something else that we could be doing right now.''
``I don't know,'' Ralsei admitted, frowning. ``I haven't known for certain for a very long time and that still scares me.''
Susie nodded. ``Kind of wish that the prophecy had a Plan B or something that you could be reading into. Kind of sucks flying blind while the whole world burns around you. Like... what if we're making the wrong choice and people are paying the price because of it?''
One of the towers in the distance buckled and visibly shifted, looking like it was finally going to collapse. It was only by some miracle that it managed to stay upright but it would probably need to be torn down and replaced before anyone would be living there again.
If there was still anyone left in the first place...
Susie clenched her free hand in a fist, gritting her teeth. Everything about this felt terrible.
``Come on,'' Ralsei said, pulling her down a turn in the road. It was rare to see him take the lead but she was thankful for it as it blocked her line of sight from the worst of the damage. ``Let's head for the park and take it easy. Just for a little while, okay?''
``Who can go to the park at a time like this?'' Susie grumbled.
Ralsei shook his head. ``We can; that's who. Queen is right, we aren't useful to anyone while we're this exhausted.''
As if Queen was one to talk.
The man was on a mission, however, and Susie just found it easier to go along with it at this point. It wasn't like she had a better idea of what to do then getting back to the hanger and moping around until her mech was ready or Gerson needed her for a lesson or whatever.
It had been a while since she had retraced these steps, heading towards the centre of Castle Town. Though rather than heading for the giant purple tree, a site Susie had no interest in seeing today, they instead went over to a park which was close by.
Green space was rare in the town though this wasn't really green. It was composed of many strange colours with neon foliage from the Card Kingdom merging with ocean hues from Evergreen's own dominion. The two species created a weird biosphere but it was the closest this land had to a genuine park and beggars couldn't really be choosers.
Susie blinked, taking it all in. It seemed that it was also a popular spot today.
There were numerous darkners who were seated amongst rows of trees or prowling the paths. Many of them seemed shocked, looking out upon the city in a hazy stupor. Yet, a fair few seemed to be in a steadier state, chatting with one another as if nothing were amiss.
A little comfort in the middle of the apocalypse.
``See,'' Ralsei said, playfully bumping into her. ``We're not the only ones taking a break.''
Susie nodded slowly. She continued to follow her boyfriend as they crossed over from the streets and into the park proper. It was like breaching a divide with a lot of those bad feelings started to fade to the very back of her mind.
Well, they were fading until she looked over her shoulder and she saw the city again, making them all rush back to the forefront in order to torment her. You could take a girl out of the moment but you couldn't take the moment out of the girl or something like that.
``Eyes forward,'' Ralsei chided.
Susie looked forward, scoffing. ``Don't go bossing me around.''
``I'm only doing it for your own good, silly,'' Ralsei teased.
Susie shook her head. ``Be careful or I might bite you.''
``Oh yeah?'' Ralsei asked, grinning nice and wide. ``If you bite me then who would take over piloting the other mech?''
``Lancer,'' Susie teased.
``You'd replace me with Lancer!'' Ralsei blurted, gasping
Susie shrugged. ``We're like drift compatible or whatever. Plus, that kid can throw one hell of a left hook.'' She grinned at him. ``But I promise that I'd only do that if shit started looking really bleak, okay?''
Ralsei scrunched his noise. ``Well, I'd replace you with Swatch if shit started looking really bleak.''
``Swatch!'' Susie blurted, playfully pushing him away from her. She glared sharply at his fit of laughter. ``You're telling me that out of all the darkners in this place, Swatch is the one that you look at and go: `holy shit I bet he can totally kick some titan ass.'''
``He's reliable and punctual,'' Ralsei chided, looking so resolute in his selection.
Susie rolled her eyes. ``I've never been late to the monster fights before. At least pick something fierce like a werewerewire. Now, that guy could do some serious damage if you put him in the cockpit of a mech.''
Ralsei smirked. ``Yeah, but I'm drift compatible with Swatch.''
Susie shook her head. The conversation was so absurd. It nearly made her forget that the only scenario in which it would be applicable, would be if one of them bit the dust out there.
...
Maybe not the best thing to think about right now.
``Good to see that some people are able to regroup,'' Ralsei said.
Susie nodded as she looked out upon the crowds loitering around the park. The deeper they pressed into the place, the easier it got to ignore the world beyond these colourful trees. Something which was reflected by all the creatures out here who didn't seem even a little bit phased by current events. They were just living their lives as if everything was normal.
``Oh hey, the nice cream guy is here,'' Ralsei beamed.
Susie looked up and saw a familiar cart parked by the side of the path. A darkner was casually leaning against it and looking absently into the distance. He seemed pretty bored. Though honestly boredom would've felt pretty freaking nice right about now. She could go for a little boredom instead of all the shit that she usually had to deal with.
Ralsei moved towards the cart and Susie followed. A girl who had just fought inside a mech deserved a little treat ever now and then. At least, that was in her ever humble opinion.
``You got your wallet?'' Susie joked.
Ralsei smirked. ``Think I forgot it.''
Not that money really existed anymore. What was the point of using it when it might just all be useless the next day. Better to just move beyond something trivial like that while a state of annihilation loomed over their heads.
Money was stupid anyways.
The nice cream guy perked up. ``Well, if it isn't our favourite heroes.''
Ralsei grinned. ``In the flesh.''
``Two nice creams,'' Susie said, flashing a smile as she pointed a thumb at Ralsei. ``And one for him too.''
The nice cream guy nodded. ``How are uh... how are things going up top?''
``Queen and the council are working on fixing everything,'' Ralsei explained.
The truth. Though with a massive unsaid caveat that their work could only go so far in actually fixing this whole mess. Best not to concern the masses with the real truth that shit was about to hit the fan in a pretty spectacular fashion.
Pull up, pull up, don't think like that. You're supposed to be relaxing, remember?
``Well, I know you folks are always doing your best,'' the nice cream guy said, plopping a scoop of nice cream onto three separate cones. ``Think it's the reason that so many darkners are going with the flow right about now. We know that you won't let us down.''
Just keep smiling...
Susie grabbed her cones and watched as Ralsei grabbed his own. They said their goodbyes and then wandered off. As they walked, Susie started to lick her nice creams, enjoying those rich faux vanilla and chocolate flavours. They were almost as good as the real thing.
``So, Queen's new upgrades are pretty fucking cool,'' she suddenly said.
Ralsei nodded in agreement. ``The giant axe feels very you.'' He ran a hand across his throat as if feeling the phantom sensation of a scarf still resting there. ``Also, a big fan of the scarf she gave me. Been way too long since I actually had a chance to wear one of those.''
``You should totally wear them again.'' Susie playfully bumped into him. ``They looked really cute on you.''
It was adorable to see that little bit of red creeping into his cheeks. He scratched at the side of his face as if that would somehow alleviate the hue. Yet, it was pretty obvious that he had been tickled by her words. ``You really think so?''
``Yeah, I still remember that nice pink one that you wore on our first date,'' Susie said.
Ralsei nodded. ``That feels like it was a lifetime ago.''
The two of them stepped away from the path and instead went into a clearing of trees. Susie sat down underneath one of them, looking around. There were no other darkners nearby nor was there any view of the ruined city beyond the canopy of foliage.
It was as good a place as any to forget about the world for a few minutes. Maybe even an hour if she was really lucky.
``You cooked for me,'' Susie said. ``I never ate anything that good before.''
``Cooking is a generous way of putting it, babe.'' Ralsei scoffed. ``I just summoned a nice meal out of my cauldron.''
``Hey, hey, hey...'' Susie draped an arm over his shoulder, pulling him in close. ``You used your skills to prepare food. Just because it came out of a cauldron instead of a stove or whatever, doesn't mean that it wasn't cooking. Don't get all elitist on me.''
``Fair enough,'' Ralsei said. There was no hiding that smile of his. It was just as rejuvenating as any medicine.
``Angel, we were just kids back then,'' Susie said.
Ralsei nodded. ``We were.'' He reached down and interlaced his fingers with her own, squeezing her hand tightly. ``But I think we've done a pretty good job of making it work so far.''
Susie nodded. ``We have.''
Ralsei rested his cheek against her shoulder. ``I feel weird sometimes.''
``Plenty to feel weird about,'' Susie said, nuzzling into the top of his head and doing her best to avoid his horns. ``What specifically is bugging you?''
``Do you ever feel naked outside of your mech?'' Ralsei asked.
Susie perked up. The idea sounded absurd. The mech was just a weapon, a tool that she used. Yet...
``Yes,'' she finally answered. It was like a second skin sometimes. ``I feel small outside of it. Kind of a bit of a culture shock going from the size of a skyscraper to just being little like this.'' She scoffed, shaking her head. ``Well maybe I'm not so little but you get the point.''
``I do,'' Ralsei said.
Susie sighed. ``Prophecy Shattered honestly feels like an extension of me at this point. Something that makes me feel stronger, faster, and tougher than I do outside of it. It's like...'' She pursed her lips together. ``It's how I imagine someone feels after they lose their hand and get a replacement for it. Does that make sense?''
Ralsei nodded. ``It does. I just wish that I could be big all of the time. Then I could defend this city without it taking days for me to recover.''
Susie went silent, pondering if that were true. Prophecy Shattered did take a lot out of her, there was no denying that. The machine was a struggle to pilot with that latex being a constant fight to wield with any sort of effectiveness.
If she didn't have to exhaust herself piloting it, then maybe she could do a better job of it. After all, she used to battle three enemies at a time during her dark world adventures. And she could do those multiple times a day without even breaking a sweat.
Why couldn't she do it again in this completely hypothetical scenario?
But even thinking about it for a moment, she knew that it was silly. The titans were different. She didn't think that any of her prior experience was even remotely applicable to them.
``Let's not worry about that,'' Susie said, nodding towards his nice cream. ``Plus, your nice cream is melting, dude.''
Ralsei perked up. ``Oh shit!'' He quickly started licking at it. ``Nearly forgot about that.''
``No shit,'' Susie ribbed.
The two of them went back to enjoying their nice cream. It really was good, the perfect treat. Way better than some of the other stuff that Susie had eaten in her life. It also helped with some of those troublesome thoughts, pushing them to the back of her mind.
Everything was going to be okay because she wasn't out of the fight just yet. She would fix this. She had to fix this.
Ralsei looked up at her and Susie looked back down at him. For a moment, she didn't know what he was getting at until he suddenly lurched towards her and met her lips with his own, locking them together in a tender little kiss. It was a gesture which Susie was more than happy to reciprocate.
This gesture wasn't passionate or anything, not having any tongue involved. It was just a nice kiss from the person she loved most in the world. That honestly made it sweeter than even the nice cream.
Everything was going to be okay because Ralsei was there. As long as he was here with her then she could keep on fighting. Just as long as she could hold him, talk to him, feel him then she knew that the prophecy was a big fucking fraud.
Sadly, even the sweetest things had to come to an end. Susie blinked as Ralsei finally drew back, smiling at her in turn.
``Where did that come from?'' Susie asked, grinning. ``Not that I'm complaining, just...''
Ralsei shrugged. ``I don't know. I guess I just felt like it.''
Susie nodded and gave him another kiss, this time on the cheek. ``Well, I like it when you kiss me.'' She scoffed. ``Especially when you kiss me like that.''
They both went silent after that, looking out upon the rows of trees. It was a nice view, removed from any of the troubles which bothered them.
It would've been perfect if the reality of the city wasn't still there in the background. The sights might've been blocked out but the noise was impossible to ignore. The crackle of fires, the blaring of sirens, and the sounds of thousands of lives which had been disrupted. Or worse... ended.
A note pierced through all these noises, however, sounding more immediate than all of them. Susie looked down at Ralsei as he started to sob.
He shuddered with each miserable sniffle. It was the kind of misery which caused his entire body to shake as he worked through the motions. Susie could only stare, struggling in terms of knowing what to do. She had never been good with people and the last few years really hadn't given her a whole lot of room to figure them out either.
All she could do was be there, an anchor, holding onto him and keeping him steady. She kept her own emotions in check, bottling them up for later. She had always found that hitting things really really hard was a cathartic means of recalibrating.
Sadly, it wasn't a method she could get him to try. For him, it always came around like this, leaving her helpless to do anything but hold him tight and hope he got better.
Stupid stupid Lizard, why aren't you better at this kind of stuff?
``We fucked up,'' Ralsei whispered, finally finding the strength to speak after so many long seconds sobbing his eyes out.
Susie shook her head. ``Come on, Ral, you know that isn't true. We did everything that we could.'' She frowned. ``The situation is what's fucked up. There's nothing we could've done to stop four titans from showing up and kicking our shit in.''
Would Ralsei buy that? Did she even buy it in the first place?
Susie looked into his eyes, hoping to see some hope in them.
``Yeah,'' Ralsei finally said, nodding. There was an inkling of hope there. It would've been perfect if he didn't follow it up by saying, ``do you think that we're going to die?''
That felt like a punch to the gut, nearly driving the wind right out of her lungs. It was a question she had been fixated on ever since their meeting with the council. Yet, to have it spoken aloud, gave it some very real weight.
``I don't know,'' Susie admitted, trying her best to smile. ``I hope not. I kind of like being alive.''
The truth. But would the truth save her?
``This sucks,'' Ralsei whispered, cuddling up against her.
Susie could only nod in agreement and hold him even tighter than before.
[hr]
Lancer peered at the map in front of him.
He was a boy of action, not a kid who liked to sit around and let others do all of the stuff that needed doing. It was a trait which made the fact that he was stuck in here instead of out there helping save people all the more frustrating.
Yet, that was the con of being the boy in charge. Sometimes he had to do stuff that peeved him off because it was more helpful than the stuff he thought was actually helpful. Even he'd learned that lesson.
``Prince Lancer?'' Seam asked.
Lancer perked up and saw his advisor pointing to some figures on the map. He had clearly been asked a question that he hadn't actually been listening to.
It made him cringe. He could only be as useful in these situations as he allowed himself to be. And not paying attention to Seam was the least useful thing that he could do.
Seam was a patient darkner, however. Bless their heart. ``I was saying that we can relocate the darkners disrupted by the last attack to a few of our common areas and ask for volunteers who might be willing to share their living quarters. It isn't a pleasant solution but it'll keep them under a roof until repairs can be made.''
``That's a really good idea,'' Lancer said, nodding. It was better than anything he could come up with. ``I...''
Seam perked up.
``I'm not really good at all of this stuff, Seam,'' Lancer admitted. ``Is there anything I can help with that I'd actually be good at?''
``I'm sure the people would love to see their prince. They could use a comforting face in times like these,'' Seam said, offering a wry smile.
Lancer nodded. ``I guess I can help with that.'' He frowned. ``I kind of meant if there was anything I could beat up.''
``You beat up plenty during the last attack,'' Seam said. They gestured towards him, likely pointing towards one of the many numerous bandages wrapped around his bruised body. It had been one hell of a fight yesterday. ``Unfortunately, that doesn't leave much left for you to beat up right now.''
Lancer nodded and looked down at the map, studying it once again. This was his district, the remains of the Card Kingdom. It felt like a paltry realm indeed.
What would his dad say if he saw it in such a state?
He shook his head. Who cared what his dad had to say about it? It wasn't like he was doing anything to help keep all of this together in the first place. If he actually cared about what became of his people then he would be the one here making decisions and not him.
Still... thinking about his dad.
``Was there anything else we needed to talk about Seam?'' Lancer asked.
Seam shook their head. ``I think I can handle most of the planning if I have your permission to start relocating refugees.'' They bowed slightly. ``Thank you for your input on the matter.''
Input... what input? It was all Seam's idea in the first place.
The elderly cat slinked away before the question could be answered, leaving Lancer alone in the conference room.
He looked down at the map, once again. There it was, his realm, a few streets and avenues which made up a paltry district indeed. A part of him missed the days of those sprawling forests and town squares he would take adventures through as a kid.
Maybe for the adults, five years didn't feel like much. To him, it felt like a lifetime.
He pulled himself away from the map and walked towards the exit of the room. The fluffy boy's palace was like a second home to him at this point. He knew his way around it easily enough, navigating towards a sprawling staircase which plunged right into the heart of the dark world.
The first few torches came alive with flames and Lancer started to head down them, feeling a little creeped out by the vast expanse of darkness which stretched out right in front of him. He might've been a teenager but the dark still had a way of making him quake in his armour.
A smart darkner might say it had something to do with danger always coming from the darkness. Sadly, Lancer was just a kid and didn't have much time to think about these sorts of things. All he knew was that it creeped him the...
He looked left and then right. There were no adults around to police his language.
Honestly, it creeped him the heck out.
Why couldn't Susie be here?
Silly question. She was probably busy getting ready for whatever mission has everyone bummed out.
Maybe it was better that she wasn't here. It always seemed that she liked to pick a fight with dad whenever she tagged along. And Lancer really didn't need another fight.
What did he need then?
He better figure that out pretty freaking quickly as the stairs soon bottomed out, opening up into that hallway full of empty cells. And at the very back of them was the sound of an old darkner flipping through a book.
``Is it dinner time already?'' his dad asked.
Lancer clenched his hands into fists. This man didn't have power anymore. He wasn't worth anything more.
If that was true then why did he scare him so much?
Lancer walked over. ``Hey dad.''
``Ah, Lancer,'' his father said, loudly closing his novel. He sounded genuinely happy to see him. ``How are things going up above? It felt like there were some pretty heavy quakes yesterday. I was worried that the roof was going to cave in on my head.''
``It's going bad,'' Lancer admitted. There was no reason to lie. He'd never been good at it and his father would be able to see right through him if he even tried it.
He walked over and reached the bars, peering in at his dad. There he was, as large and sloth-like as ever. It was strange to see the way he had just given up and just remained locked in here. He hadn't been a man to sit on his hands until the Knight got its claws into him.
Lancer felt a pang at this. Was that really all he had of those times? Memories?
``The attacks got worse?'' his father asked.
Lancer cringed. ``Don't sound too excited.''
``I wouldn't call it excited,'' King rumbled. ``I would call it vindicated.'' He sighed and tilted his head to the side, resting it within his palm. ``It doesn't please me to see you in this state but at the end of the day, it's just one step closer to us not feeling these terrible things anymore. The Knight will see to that soon enough.''
``We aren't going to let that happen,'' Lancer replied.
King studied him for a moment, shaking his head. ``Consent isn't something that the Knight really concerns itself with, son. It wants this and it will have it. It'd be like asking a farmer not to harvest a crop that they've toiled over. The Knight has put in far too much effort to be stymied.''
``Don't you feel any sympathy?'' Lancer asked.
King scoffed, lifting a brow. It would seem that no, he really didn't feel any sort of sympathy. Though why would he? Dad had never shown any attention to anything that didn't immediately concern him.
``I don't know what I was expecting,'' Lancer said, rubbing at his arm.
King shook his head. ``Me neither.''
The conversation faded, drifting away to nothingness. It was followed by an uncomfortable silence, so familiar to Lancer. It was the silence that had filled the room when his mother had left, never to be seen again. The silence of a deep loneliness as his dad became less and less present, more focused on his ambitions of serving the Knight.
``I'm scared, dad,'' Lancer admitted. He looked up and saw his dad taken aback by this. ``Everyone is looking to me to be a leader and I'm not the leader that you were. I'm just some kid who is in way over his head. I just...'' He sighed. ``I know you could be doing this better than I could.''
King frowned. ``That... that's not true.''
``But it is!'' Lancer yelped. ``Seam is helping me but my only solution to anything is beating things up. I don't know how to make people happy or safe or take care of them in the way that they need. There was totally a point where you could do all of those things and I really want you to be able to do those things because I can't.''
``I...'' King started, looking away. Was that his shame or was it because of something else? ``I'm not that person anymore, son.''
``Why not?'' Lancer asked.
King frowned. ``The Knight opened my eyes and I saw that it didn't matter what kind of ruler I was. I could be as good or bad as I wanted to be but in the end none of it really matters. When the Roaring ends, the world will end with it and everything I did would be meaningless.''
``Is that why you are like this?'' Lancer asked.
King drooped in his chair. ``I learned that you can't fight against fate, son.'' He offered a wry smile. ``You can only meet it head on.''
``Then why won't you meet it head on, right now?'' Lancer grabbed the bars and leaned in. His grip was tense, aching. ``You're the strongest guy that I know and you're just staying down here and rotting away.''
``It's because no one up above wants to actually meet it head on. They want to hide behind walls and let the lightner and her pet darkner deal with all the problems while they pretend to live happy little lives.'' He got up and gestured towards the bars. ``Meeting it head on would be to tear down those walls, accept those titans in, and just get it all over with. A brief second of pain versus years of a slow and agonizing decline. It's more merciful than what Queen and her lackies are doing.''
Lancer sniffled. When had he started to cry?
King's expression softened. It was hard to tell if that was pain in his eyes. Perhaps it was regret. Or maybe disgust. Who knew? ``I'm sorry son... I...''
Lancer turned away and wiped at his nose. ``Seam needs my help comforting your subjects. I'm sorry for trying to make you change.'' He stepped away. ``Don't worry about the inevitable because I'll be out there keeping you safe.''
``Lancer!'' King called.
But Lancer didn't bother looking back. He stormed out of the dungeon and stomped his way up the stairs. All that lingered down there were bad memories and it would be best to just leave those behind.
He had work to do anyways. After all, Susie was heading out soon and he needed to put together a going away party.
