Pirate Age: The Prequel-Sequel

[Mizos]

OOC​

(Respect to Lorenzo Lanfranconi)

Runali Yay!


Also Emil Yay!​

Blue skies stretched as far as the eye could see, cloudless with the sun at it's apex. A warm spring breeze tickled the skin of any it passed, and waves gently lapped against Lady Luck as endless blue surrounded them. For the Stardusk pirates in this moment, the entire sea seemed to be theirs, and the world was merely waiting for their next adventure with bated breath.
A moment of reprieve from chaos, or perhaps a extended vacation of serenity for some.
On the edge of the ship Luro sat, cleaning his rifle with the same meticulousness he always did, a bright grin on his face as he stared at his reflection within the shiny wood. The redhead humming a small tune to himself as he did so, a song he heard Cedric sing or one he had picked up somewhere.

Zilia sat on a nearby crate with a book in hand and a small smile on her face, while part of it was born from the interesting tale in her hands, it was mostly due to the peace they were afforded.
No navy coming after them, no other pirates trying to attack them, no random enemies coming out of nowhere. The last few days had been peace personified, for the first time in a long time the doctor would actually be able to buy a normal amount of medical supplies when they reached town. The thought actually made her a little giddy, though she did her best to hide it.
"I wanna kill something."
She had in her joy forgotten the walking manifestation of Chaos a few feet away however.
"Luro…it's peaceful we don't need to kill anything."
"Agreed Makachi, why do you want to massacre now of all times?"
The other voice was Emil's, the youngest Prophet who had joined them on their present journey, mainly due to needing to do his job. She and Luro knew it involved Hanako, and why he was actually here but chose not to comment on it. He had promised not to cause trouble on the ship so that was enough, Nikos had also given him very explicit orders.
Runali's orders were basically his, so if she told him to jump, he was required to ask what direction, how high and when his feet were allowed to touch the ground. He had informed the Stardusk Captain of this upon climbing aboard the ship.
He was now fiddling with some square object and had been doing so for some time.

There was also another guest but they were below deck at the moment and not part of the present conversation.
"Remi was with us…so I had to hold back…she's with Mia now so I can go all out now. I wanna fight something."
"...while I'm glad you're holding back your murderous impulses in front of Remi…well mostly this is hardly the time, besides who are you going to kill?"
Luro brought a hand to his chin at this before looking over at the blonde haired youth.
"Emil can I kill you?"
"Let me think about that….No."
"Boo."
Luro sighed a little bit before looking up at the others.
"Does anyone know where a navy base is, Kadi? Jack? Oh wait Cedric you must know a few too."
"If you know, don't answer that," Zilia said turning the page of her book. "Luro you're here with your other half and the rest of your family, can't you just…enjoy this. Also don't ask Alicia or Hanako to spar."
"Come on Z I wasn't going to ask either…I was gonna ask both."
"Luro."
"Fine…you're right Z. I am with you guys, I don't need to kill anything. I mean it'd be nice but I am happy right now so guess it doesn't matter."
"See? How easy was that," Zilia said glancing up from her book. "I know your antsy, just wait till we reach the next town, I'll have a guardian spar with you."
"Really?!"
"Only if you're good."
"Yay! Thanks Z."
"...you handled that surprisingly well," Emil mumbled.
"Years of experience," Zilia said turning the page. "Putting that matter aside…it feels weird returning to Utsukushi for the festival. We're definitely going to draw attention…so this peace will probably only last a few more days."
The doctor sighed a bit at the thought.

"You get a guardian to spar him, you're gonna have to wait for the next empty island. They'll tear the place down in seconds and we'll have angry townspeople on our tails." Runali yawned. Sure she could've told Luro to restrain himself, but there was no fun in that. She had gotten comfortable sitting against the side of the ship not too far from where Luro sat on the edge, with a straw sunhat shadowing her face. Zilia had been right about it being peaceful. It gave the captain ample opportunity to stave off her own restlessness by napping with the cats and Coral. However when she stretched, she jostled them all awake and they scattered. Coral landed near Zilia and the cats disappeared probably to beg for food or find their owner.
Eventually, the haze of sleep blew away with the wind and Runali was on her feet with a curious look. "Mm, why's that place sound familiar…" She leaned against the edge of the ship near Luro, with a furrowed brow as she thought. And then the word 'festival' rang and she snapped her fingers. "Oh right, that's where we got our dragon princess! To think, we didn't even have to lure her onboard. Though, I s'pose all of you were pretty easy to recruit."
Another idea popped in her head and she grinned, being not so secretive as she posited the idea to Luro. "If you really wanna spar, you should join the tournament again if they have it. It'd be a clean sweep!" Waggling a finger at him, she added, "But you gotta take the prize money this time."

Zilia gave a small sigh understanding how true that statement was and made a mental note to check with Kadi later. She gently pet Coral before the door to the lower deck's opened, Seliria walking out of it, wiping what looked like oil off her hands, a bit of it still on her face.
"I think that's a fantastic idea," Seliria said looking at Luro's excited face. "Hanako, you enter the tournament too just as the 'Dragon Princess' did years ago."
The swordswoman closed her eyes.
"Friendly competition is good for you, and it'll let me better gauge where Hanako's at as well. Emil you should enter too."
"If Hanako's entering then I suppose I have no choice in the matter. It's been a while since we sparred anyway."
Seliria looked over at Runali at this.
"What an interesting opportunity you've created Runali. With three involved that prize money is basically mine."
"Um…what do you mean by 'mine' Seliria," Zilia said standing up.
"Of course I'm going to enter as well, I need to stay in shape after all. Don't hold back you three. I'm expecting decent matches from you."
Zilia squeezed the bridge of her nose pushing her glasses up in the process, there wasn't going to be an arena left if she and Luro got matched together. She chose to ignore the color that had drained from Emil's face at this sudden reveal.
"Oooh I've gotten better Seliria. I may win this time," Luro said slamming his hand into his fist.
"Is that so? I'll look forward to it a bit more then."

​

Zilia's eyes went to the blue sky above, peace was always a temporary thing, there one moment and on the horizon the next. Because of that she had learned to enjoy these small moments, these respites. She hoped with all her heart that this moment would last just a bit longer.
Then ruin found them.

It happened in what could only be a blink, one moment the skies were blue, the next they were pitch black, storm clouds hovering over them as torrents of rain slammed into the ship.
Harsh waves pummeled the side of the ship causing it to lean, almost capsizing from the first 'push', Luro almost fell over the edge but caught himself, putting his arm out for Runali since she was near him.
Violent winds crashed into the sails and threatened to remove anything off the ship that wasn't attempting to stay on, a few barrels had already flown past Emil's head and rested in the sea.
"What's going on! It was cloudless a moment ago!" Emil exclaimed standing up.
"It was also not storming!" Seliria exclaimed, holding her arm up at the sudden downpour.
Luro tried to use his gloves to try and mitigate the wind or at least redirect it, but it ignored him. The wind almost seemed to have a mind of its own, guided by an unseen hand.
Thunder roared and lightning slammed into the ship, hitting the main mast as if the tempest was intentionally aiming for it.
"Watch out!" Seliria yelled as the mast fell towards the ship.
Zilia went to move out of the way but something caused her body to freeze, as if she had been wrapped up in something, before she could confirm what it was her feet were already off the ground.
"...huh?"
In the next moment she was going over the side of the ship and was pulled into the sea.
"Z! She went overboard!"
Luro was already moving, remembering she couldn't swim only to see Seliria dive into the water."
"I got her!" The woman exclaimed before her form vanished into the sea.
In the next moment the boat rocked as the mast crashed into it, breaking off a chunk of it in the process.
"Be care-" Emil's words were cut off as the same invisible force grabbed hold of him, he fell forward his head slamming against the deck, the act disoriented him for a second. By the time he came back he noticed his foot was in the air.
"Wha-"
Emil screamed as he was also pulled into the raging waters, his voice vanished as he sunk below the waves.
For each person on the ship something unseen grabbed hold of them, and with no care for their intentions pulled them into the sea one by one, Luro reached for Runali narrowly missing her hand before the force pulled him in as well.
As those on Lady Luck went over the edge, those who looked towards the deck would see the visage of a person, standing in the center of the ship, unperturbed by the raging storm, but the ocean waters would fill their vision before the eyes of the person could meet their own.

---

In the sea.

Darkness.
That was the simplest explanation for what followed, there was no blue, no light, just infinite darkness to those who held onto consciousness, and in the next moment the darkness gave way to white. Every member of the crew temporarily or permanent fell towards an infinite bottom. If not for the bubbles escaping from an attempt to breathe, it'd be hard to believe one was still in the sea, they floated within an endless zone of white where not even shadow was cast.
Luro tried to move but found his body wouldn't listen, as if it wasn't his own. With effort he could glance sideways and noticed the others around him, he couldn't see past his left or right but he could 'feel' they were there. Perhaps due to being underwater his voice wouldn't work as usual.
From the strained look on Emil's face it was clear he couldn't move either, he also seemed able to look to his sides but little else. He couldn't see Zilia so he hoped she was outside of his view.
The same force that had dragged them down, now stopped them from even attempting to swim towards the surface, there was nothing to do but sink further into the abyss.

A sudden flash of light drew Luro's attention and directly above the crew, towards what should be the surface of the ocean a pair of golden eyes stared down at them, there was a hint of sympathy within them.

"...I am sorry. I am…so so sorry outsiders. This was not my intent."
The voice that reached them was kind and gentle, the voice sounded young and it was easy to tell from the shaking in their tone that there was true hurt behind their words.
"I did not realize you were there. When I looked there wasn't a ship and I…"
The eyes shut perhaps realizing excuses were meaningless at this point, the owner of this voice clearly had something to do with their present situation, at least that was Luro's assumption.
"...it is too late for me to retrieve you. However this is my fault. I will fix this. I promise I will find a way to help you, to bring you back to the real world."
"...the real world?" Luro's thoughts were filled with questions after that proclamation, but it was getting harder to concentrate, he couldn't feel the water flowing into his lungs, he wasn't drowning for some reason but a sudden exhaustion was enveloping him.
"...I feel the presence of others within some of you. I am sorry but you will lose them. You will lose everything. All you had from the world you come from…will be stripped from you. Stolen."
Luro noticed the eyes glance at him during this, before focusing forward again.
"Survive. Please just survive. I will find you. I will help you. Give me time. We will speak again…just survive. Al….so…..d…t….fi…."
The stranger's words started to dissipate and the darkness overtook the light again, all illumination was soon extinguished, and the unknown force took away what consciousness remained of those within its domain.

---

---

Somewhere

Hard floor was the first thing Luro felt, then it was a strange warmth.
Opening his eyes he found himself staring at his reflection, before realizing he was staring at extremely polished brown linoleum floors. Raising his body his eyes rose and immediately started looking for his friends. He noticed the crew not too far away and a sudden wave of relief filled him, he wasn't sure who was awake from where he was but a loud cough drew his attention elsewhere and he noticed Zilia nearby.
The doctor slowly climbed to her knees, and coughing up a bit of water took a few careful breaths before climbing to her feet.
Her gaze moved around until she found the others and she relaxed a little, though she immediately tensed again as her memories came back to her and she realized they were not at the bottom of the ocean, probably.

The crew found themselves in a circular grand hall, an ornamental chandelier hanging high above them and the ceiling itself seemed to spiral upwards into itself, it spun to a point that Zilia got dizzy and focused her attention elsewhere.
All around them were black marble archways in front of oak doors leading to one place or another, but the doors were shut tight, preventing wandering eyes.
Twin pillars lined each archway, a strange final resting on the top of the pillars and were they not in some strange space Zilia would take more time to look into it.
The floor also had a spiral in the center of it, but tree branches seem to burst out of it leading towards each door, stopping just short of the archway.
There was one entrance without an archway that easily towered over the rest of them, the red doors which golden spirals running along the sides of them, rose high to a point they seemed to touch the ceiling.

Emil at this point was up and moving over to Hanako to try and help her up, Zilia turned to see Luro near Runali trying to make sure she was okay, his gaze was clearly on the others as well, something she noticed as she was also keeping an eye on them. However before she could say anything she noticed Luro's whole body flinch.
"...where's my rifle?"
Luro spoke the words and reaching over grabbed at the air, normally he'd grab his gun from who knows where when that happened but now nothing happened.
"...wait I can't smell anyone either."

Zilia's eyes narrowed at this and she realized she couldn't sense anyone, running her hand along her sleeve her rope-dart was also gone.
"My weapon is also-"
Zilia cut herself off and eyes shooting wide open she stumbled back a bit and covered her mouth, the act caused Luro to look fully at Zilia.
"Z?"
"I…I can't see words. My Devil Fruit…isn't working."
Zilia spoke again, tried to summon a guardian, even tried to manifest something but nothing followed, she couldn't even feel the flow of energy anymore. She didn't feel 'off' so she was sure seastone wasn't involved, but she also didn't know where they were at. Another issue was she couldn't summon her Haki either. Seastone couldn't stop that from happening.

Runali gasped when she could finally breathe and think and feel. Everything in her told her to panic, that she shouldn't have been so careless to let the same mistake happen again - but she felt Coral shaking out her feathers next to her. And then Luro next to her. Her senses started to flood back to her and she pushed her eyepatch up to rub her face. "M'fine Luro… I think…" Something felt… off. But before she could figure out what, both Luro and Zilia confirmed it for themselves. She reached at her side, not finding her chakram there. And then she flexed her hand, feeling just how strenuous it was to even conjure it around her hand. "Coral?" The bird stretched out her wings, preening feathers with none of the familiar magma dripping off her. "...That's not a good sign."

Zilia turned to ask someone who she knew was an expert on the matter, when she realized something else concerning.
"Where's Seliria?"
"Lady Seliria has gone ahead."

The sudden voice drew Luro, Emil and Zilia's attention as someone stood nearby, Zilia was about to comment on not sensing them when she remembered that she couldn't. She noticed Luro already had his fists up, she wished she had his nose some days.
"I didn't smell you," Luro said his eyes resting on the figure.
She changed her thoughts to instincts instead of nose.

The speaker appeared to be a child, but on closer observation they were just a tad elfin, perhaps a few inches taller than Zilia.
The person wore strange flowy garments, a mix of blue and white among other colors with flowers adorning the sleeves. They peered at the crew through long bright green hair, their delicate fingers moving up to remove a long bang out of their face.
A pair of yellow eyes peered at them, but not like the ones before, while the eyes were gentle, they were different from the ones before, the voice was also different.
"I…would hope you didn't smell me. I bathe regularly after all Sir Luro."
The person's eyes moved to the remainder of the crew.
"I regret to inform you my master has taken your weapons and if I may use this term 'powers' from you, and everything tied to them. Temporarily of course. Part of my duty is to inform you of that."
The figure with a practiced motion gestured to the large door.
"If you will follow me-"
"Stop. Wait a moment-" Zilia said holding up a hand. "I…I need a minute. A lot happened. Can your master wait while we collect ourselves here?"
"I…suppose you are confused…very well I can wait. If you require answers I will respond to what I can. What I cannot answer I will pose to my master."
The figure motioned to themselves.
"I am not a threat to you so worry not. My master has asked I be absolutely courteous to you…unless you attack me. Take what time you need."
With a motion of their hand, the 'servant' calmly waited, folding their hands in front of them.

​

"Most important question," Runai pushed herself to a stand and then to the front of the group after she went around helping the others. "Are we dead? Because if we are…" She decided not to share the details of deals to a certain dead but powerful pirate she had. Jones would cause a storm if it was broken, she was sure - but the storm they dealt with didn't feel the same. "Also hard to believe you saying you're not a threat when you haven't introduced yourself and you just mentioned you took our stuff. Better question, how long is temporary? I'd rather have my stuff back now." Her haki felt like a dying candle flame and she felt a little too reliant on sight she didn't have. Runali uncomfortably flipped her eyepatch back over her blind eye as Coral landed on her shoulder.

The servant's body seemed to hunch slightly, a small sigh escaping from them. It was clear they expected such a response, it made logical sense considering the circumstances.
"I…again apologize for the inconvenience. I will answer what I can for you."
Zilia knew that body language, it was the 'forced to take responsibility' hunch, she knew it all too well, almost intimately with how often she and a few others had to do it for their resident redhead.
"I am a humble servant Lady Lev. I am not allowed to introduce myself before my Master. That would be putting myself above my station. I hope you understand. You may call me whatever you wish until it's deemed I can introduce myself…if I'm permitted."
They gave a small bow at this before continuing.
"I…tried to dissuade my Master from taking your belongings, I cannot refuse their will or question their actions. I only follow. If it's any condolence they were not taken because you were a believed threat. They just thought it'd be…'interesting' for you to wake up without them. Your weapons and 'powers' that is."
"That makes no sense. Your master sounds like a pain," Emil said. "Also why are you saying 'powers' like that?"
The servant remained silent, for obvious reasons it was clear they couldn't agree but their twitching closed eyes showed it was hard for them to disagree as well.
"My master is eccentric. Please forgive their antics as much as possible. I also say it that way as an umbrella term, some of your abilities may not be 'powers' but they have been taken all the same, such as Sir Luro's haki gloves for example," The servant finally said opening their eyes. "For your first most important question my master has permitted me to answer that."
"Greenie."
The servant stopped as Luro spoke up.
"I'm sorry?"
"Until we know your name. We'll call you Greenie, cause of your hair," Luro said.
The servant more than likely from their 'eccentric' master was very good at hiding their facial expressions, but the slight twitch of their eyebrows seemed to be enough to convey their feelings on that name.
"I…I see. If…that is the name you have chosen Sir Luro then I will…comply."
Zilia removed her glasses and squeezed the bridge of her nose, disliking allowing Luro naming privileges in this case.
"What about Ash? That's simple and easy to remember."
"How about Flameblaster?" Emil added raising his hand. "May as well give them a cool name."
"You…may call me whatever you wish…but I will say I am more partial to three to four-worded names. To answer your question. Lady Rev, Lady Tashigi's, Sir Kunal, Lady Summers, Lady Vilimar, Sir Luro, Sir Emil…you are not dead…yet."
There was an ominous shift added to the servant's tone as they answered the question, it sounded almost foreign by their almost baby faced expression but they spoke again quickly afterward in their normal polite tone.
"My master told me to say that…but you are quote alive end quote. Also I do not know when you will get your weapons and 'powers' back."
"...that's not a straight answer," Zilia added.
"...I'm sorry my master has requested I not give you one, only to inform you that you are not dead yet. With 'ominous undertones' and all. I was also asked to wave my hands spookily…but I do not know how to do that properly so I've refrained from doing so. It would be faster to speak with them. I'm truly sorry."

"I'm calling you Moss. You're green and you're small." Runali started to physically push the crew forward, with varying degrees of gentleness. "Though based on some of the books Zil's read, you're a little more useless than moss since you can't answer anything - no offense - so let's get moving and find this captain of yours. We're burning undead daylight and I want all of our stuff back." She gestured towards Coral. "Very rude of them to take a poor bird's cool power." As if on cue, Coral bowed her head dramatically, leaning on Runali as if in despair until she fell into the captain's arms. "See? Heartbroken. Cruel to treat animals like this." She glanced over at Luro and Emil giving them both nods and quickly adding, "Both good names though."
"That…is a fair assessment, Lady Lev. Perhaps that would be quicker."
Moss as they were now called relaxed a little bit at this, their shoulders dropping slightly they were clearly content with leaving things to the 'master' it seemed.
"I wouldn't call you unde-" Moss cut themselves off realizing without being able to answer questions it wouldn't help anyway.
"I am sure my master will return your 'powers' and belongings. They were taken on a whim, they will be returned on such knowing them."
Moss raised their hand and with a snap of their fingers, the large doors nearby let out a low groan before they slowly started to open, revealing the way forward. The whole area seemed to vibrate as the doors fully opened until they showed the other room, or that would have been the case had pitch black darkness not been staring back at them.
While it seemed like the other room was coated in shadows lacking any light, closer observation revealed that obsidian water was obstructing the view of the other room, it shimmered slightly the light reflecting like little stars as the crew moved closer and rippled at the slightest touch. It didn't deny entry from the arm Luro shoved through it to Zilia's dismay.
Lowering their head Moss and closing their eyes they motioned towards the 'water'.
"After you…our esteemed guests."

 

[Fox of Hearts]

[Hanako]

Location: Lady Luck

"Dragon Princess?" Eyes the colour of vivid summers widened in surprise. "Oh, you mean Amaiya-amue," she brightened from where she squatted. Her fingers buried deep inside a tub of salted cucumbers, but the amusement was clear. The title fitted her eldest sister even if the woman won't admit it. "It's a fun challenge, ne Emil?"

Her cheeks bloomed into rosy suns as her eyes finally found his blue ones. He was too cute, she realized, sitting there framed in sunlight. A blonde ha'neum (god) with kissable lips. She squeaked at the thought, swiftly grabbing Jack's arm and burying her face in his sleeve, as she recalled their sunset moment. The memories made her long, even more, to know what it was like to have a first kiss. "I'm sorry, Jack-ta'cho! I didn't mean to get salt all over you. I'll get the cloth and bucket."

Her feet stumbled as their world tilted. Hana leaped for the railing. She pivoted, after hearing Jack's shout, and grabbed Cedric as he flew past, saving him from a foamy plunge. Sid-hyeo was too frail in her mind to withstand the harshest wind and strongest wave. His lightness furthered the impression as she steadied him against the rail. She felt his shudder vibrating through her following the crash. "Jack-ta'cho, Amue (big sister)!" she shouted against winds. Shouting even louder when she couldn't see them. Her mind scolding her for not trusting they were okay. "Luro-fuku, Ru-fu'tai, are you okay?"

She pulled away from Cedric when she spotted him. Emil, running towards her, not caring about the danger. Then, he was gone! Gone! Slammed harshly against the deck and flying into the water. Hana dove after him. Her body speeding up dangerously as she was grabbed. She slammed into the waters, floating briefly, before sinking. Hana's hands reached up weakly. Amaiya-amue, was her last thought. Her sister was going to be so mad.

—------------------------------

Location: Hall of Doors

Hana blinked. Her return was met with a dark, pulsing pain. She woke in tears as she forced her wobbly legs into a seiza pose. Breathing slowly in and out for stability, and observing as much as she could by sound. Her eyes fully opening to the crystal sun. The beauty of the chandelier left her gaping.

"Where are we?" she whispered. Her gaze lowering in Alicia's direction. She knew even without seeing earlier that her sister was close by. "I thought we were swallowed by the seas." She bowed her head, indicating that she was aware of her actions and she would apologise properly later. "Ki wa su'kemasu (I'll be more careful)," she promised.

She remained unusually quiet as she accepted Emil's hand with the smallest smile. She knew they had to remain alert as they were disarmed in a strange place. She clutched his hand tightly to hide her trembling. She let go when the servant appeared. Still she did not speak, her mind too frazzled to string words together in Common. Curiosity showed in her stance as "Moss" spoke about their master. It dimmed slightly at the mention of dying; she shifted on her feet as her hands tucked behind. She finally knew what she'd like to ask.

"Tai'n, is this place a separate world or a meeting point for different worlds? The many doors reminds me of a novel Satia-amue gave me. There was a place like this inside the book, but each door leads to another world." Ooops, she lapsed into Feian without thinking. "I'm sorry. Feian is still more comfortable for me," she apologized quickly. "Do you happen to speak it too?" She stopped herself from offering to translate. It would be rude to assume they didn't.

She looked to Amaiya for reassurance as her promise continued warming her mind; she decided not to stray too far. Close behind her sister and as close to Emil as possible. Her choice brought her beside Zilia. "Are you okay, seongsaem (doctor)?" she asked softly. "Jack-ta'cho told me that sea water was bad for people with devil fruit powers." Unvoiced was her concern that the fall must even more terrifying for the doom it represented. None of them would have known then that their abilities, everything, would be stolen as they fell into this other place.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------​

[Cedric]

Location: Lady Luck

Today was one to celebrate. Blue skies, warm sun, and endless peace. All they needed was more music and it'd be a perfect day. Instead he was mummifying in blackish chili powder and vats of vinegar. The stench coming from the current batch reminded him that hell exists. He looked away, sneezing, as Jack ka-thumped a half bag into the kimchi tub and gave it loving attention. Did he know cucumber kimchi existed? Nope. The word was obliterated from his mind until it resurrected in a form of a side dish on Lady Luck. Oh yay! And, now he was recruited to keep the hell spawn coming. Thank stars that Luro is the only one who seems to enjoy pickled eggs.

He crab-walked towards the wash basin to dump out his current pair of gloves. He kept his hands soaking as he pondered Luro's question. "There are ..." he began with his inner imp showing, one that retreated after glancing at Zilia and Alicia. "I have maps somewhere," he offered vaguely. The plea obvious, take me with you! Jack's lust for food was pornographic and he didn't want to be a part of it - wait, was that correct? He definitely said that to a very, very amused Adelaide earlier, and she won't stopped teasing them; he still couldn't figure out why! These phrases came from the book she loaned him last night, one which she described as a food-themed romance and suggested he surprise Jack with phrases from it. He hoped he'd be to use at least one correctly, because he barely understood what he read.

"Why are we massaging our stripped cucumbers in bright daylight? Have you no shame?" Cedric shot Jack a withering gaze as he returned to his reserved spot. "Yours look terribly limp and wet. They are limp and wet, I mean." He raised a salty hand to wave aside Jack's correction. "Non! Stripped works. These cucumbers are naked. Skin removed, what's that Common word? Unsheathed, no?" he replied waspishly. "Stop laughing," he sputtered after Adelaide whispered into his ear. "I meant peeled! Really!"

He blushed harder as he salted the cucumber rods to avoid Adelaide's eyes. Jack, his annoying big brother was to blame! The man insisted that today's language lesson would be a cooking lesson as well. Pickles, the man said, all sorts, he said. Sid sighed as he eyed the stacked rows of gleaming jars. They had been at it all morning too - Jaipuran mango chutney, kimchi, pickled radish, pickled eggs, and now more kimchi - while listening to Jack switch effortlessly between Feian, Common and Trovalian. Show off, he thought fondly, as he flopped onto the ground, finally refusing to squat for another minute. He got up after Hanako and fell straight into his brother's arms. Salt and vinegar rubbing into Jack's borrowed shirt as he remained there, too stunned to move.

"I'm fine, fére. I'm stumbling because of the ship." Cedric gripped Jack's hand tightly and staggered back up. "Here! Let me take the cucumbers inside," he offered as they looked at the darkening skies. "This storm isn't natural."

He ran towards the open door just as the wave slammed the ship. Cucumbers, tub and all, flew into the swirling water. His fate was to follow after them. "M'ctian!" he yelled for his daemon. He grabbed at the air and found Hanako's hand. Pinned by her weight to the railings, his face gazing into the angry seas, and their side almost kissing it, Sid paled. "Thank you. I - Jack!"

He's warning too late. The beam crashing seconds after he spotted his brother. Breaking possibly over Haki. He flashed towards the wreckage and spun around. "Jack, stars, why? The kittens would have been fine." Mixed feelings overwhelmed him - relief, annoyance, gratefulness, as he fussed over his brother and the cats cradled in those arms.

It wasn't long before the furry bodies were pressed into his. He ran again. Jack's footsteps behind. Adelaide somewhere in the wind, maybe. He skidded to a stop. Zilia? He spun around in time to see Seliria jump into sea. "Go to my room and wait," he instructed after depositing the kittens on the ground.

He started running towards Jack. Towards Luro, Runali. All of them disappearing overboard. Pulled by an invisible threat. His face met wood as his current deck scattered. He dug his fingers into the grooves and tried crawling towards the cards. He could only grab one before he flew feet first towards the seas. He threw the card towards the stranger on deck, but the winds were against him. His bright spell flowered uselessly above, damaging nothing. The calls of his cat familiars growing quieter; only one spirit kept trying to reach him. He stared at the silvery body fighting the waves. It grew larger in desperation, eclipsing his dimming view. His fingers grazed the snout for a moment before he fell faster.

Bubbles escaped in his shock, but Sid didn't resist. Lily told him. as a child, that to fight would make him drown faster. He drifted, instead, like a sinking jellyfish, Jack's roomy shirt flaring around his emaciated form. He used the lull to focus on his surroundings, and the location of anyone he spotted. From complete blackness to eye watering white - he continued on this path. His lungs were screaming, because he refused to stop holding his breath. He curled his legs towards his chest to stymie panic just as the eyes appeared. Real world? His mind latched onto that fact quickly. And with it, came worry. The voice told them to try and survive. We will. The Stardusk always have. He wanted to say. Just let us find this thief and get back what's ours.

—------------------------------

Location: Hall of Doors

Cedric poked Jack awake. "Everyone else is up, fére. Stop pretending to be asleep! You can be a Spymaster even when alert." He disliked his brother habit of spying by feigning sleep. The man said he would get little rest otherwise. Sid disagreed, sensing that Jack often used this as a way to escape the mountain of paperwork forever waiting. Sid was secretly glad that the role of Spymaster would never be in the cards; the responsibility that came with it was too boring! He would kill himself before reading through those humourless reports.

He shot to his feet and sank back down. The world pulsed between different shades of nausea, slowly steadying itself when Jack cupped his face and leaned forward until their foreheads touched. Sid exhaled slowly. Jack's surprise was enough for both of them. Nothing sparked upon contact. Their usual connection - their minds meeting - silent. He watched his brother pull away and flex his fingers. "Devil fruit powers and weapons are gone as well," he confirmed. "I don't sense them either. It's oddly quiet." Jack's golden eyes showed concern. Sid squeezed his brother's hand in response. "I'm worried, yes, but I'll be fine. I didn't have the spirits when I was with Jones." He drew Adelaide into their conversation. "Do you notice anything else?"

Sid nodded to acknowledge Moss when they arrived. He saw patches of blue, yellow and grey in their outfit. The dominant colour was probably green based off what Luro and Runali chose to name them. He picked himself up slowly when the conversation finally wound down.

"Can you describe the place to me, fére? I don't want to fall while walking. It's an unfamiliar place and the contrast of light and shadow isn't helping." He didn't intend for Moss to overhear him. "Ah pardon, I didn't want anyone else to know." He paused. "Are you fluent in many languages?" he asked in Trovalian. "I admit I'm curious about your own tongue. What are some of the most beautiful names in your language?"

He waited and listened. His mind extra worried as he trundled his forward with Jack's hand steadying him. This unfound vulnerability unnerved him greatly; his vision was his strongest sense. In many ways, he was no better than a newborn kitten, learning to live with a disability. Progress was painful, and hiding this from everyone else, challenging. Not that it remained a secret for long. He fiddled with his earring, wishing, no hoping, he wouldn't be a hinderance to the crew. His powers, and his familiars, were his crutch these days. As they reached the door, Cedric stretched out a hand to feel the sides, immerse a hand in the water curtain, and then withdrew. He wasn't sure who ought to go first. "Fére?"

Three of them remained with "Moss", him, Jack and Adelaide. Her presence surprised him as he remembered she liked rushing ahead. It was one of the subtle changes he noticed in the two of them since he revived. A gentleness was taking seed inside her while Jack lost more of his dour mood. He doubted they were aware of it; they simply exist like most couples, the awe of their union burning hotly. He cocked his head towards his bella-coeur (sister-in-law). "Fais ou je te volerai ta mari (be careful! I'm going to steal your husband). He cannot resist someone in distress," he ribbed as he flipped his hair and puppy pouted. Little actions all three observed Hanako doing around Emil.

Hana's Dictionary

... Because I wanna remember, lol! Basically, the vowel 'a' is deemed more feminine in contemporary Feian compared to the vowel 'o' which is deemed more masculine. Contemporary Feian isn't viewed as formal or correct. It is mostly used on the streets, among close relatives, or among friends.

-tai'n: polite way of addressing an older woman. Think of it as a suffix for Ms, Mrs, or Ma'am. Changing the suffix to -tai or -a'tai indicates closeness.

-ta'cho: polite way of addressing an older man. Think of it as a suffix for Mr or Sir. Changing the suffix to -cho or -o'cho indicates closeness.

-fuku: polite way of addressing a man of higher rank, usually the equivalent of general or captain of the ship. Changing it to -o'ku would denote a more fatherly/friendly bond between the speaker and their superior.

-fu'tai: polite way of addressing a woman of higher rank, usually the equivalent of general or captain of the ship. Changing it -a'fu or -a'ku would denote a more motherly/friendly bond between the speaker and their superior.

-seo'tai or seo-nam are the suffixes used to address a female or male doctor/professor respectively. It's derived from the word seongsam. A more casual form address would be -a'seo and -o'seo for female and male doctors/professors respectively.

-hyeo, -hyeobae or -o'bae are suffixes used to describe one's older brother (friend or family). It denotes familiarity rather than respect. Using -o'bae would show that Hana actually considers Sid more like a younger brother rather than her older brother, something she wouldn't dare do as it would be seen as extremely disrespectful considering he's her elder sister's friend.

 

[SilentxChaos]

Jack & Ade, yay [banners to come...hopefully]
​

Adelaide from her sun-tanning spot near Amaiya, on a couple rum barrels, laughed at the conversation around the kimchi. Her voice flitted across the deck--she was only half there, an ever-shifting mirage. The rest of her enjoyed floating on the winds and keeping Lady Luck's sails full. She completely ignored the withering look Jack cast her from across the deck.

"I swear, I'm going burn that book she gave you," Jack told his brother. "Less puns, more peeling. This is the first free day I've had to meal prep."

Despite his work-aholic attitude, Jack smiled, at ease with the rest of his crew. He'd just returned to Lady Lucky a week ago, Adelaide and Cedric in tow, after he heard a rumored report of the navy skirting around the coast of one of Stardusk's islands they now owned. Jack decided to put Belvedere's--Cedric's dubious financer and opportunist-- talents to use by buying up small islands that'd gain them more crews, or hideouts, or spies. That's where Jack's attention was most days: nurturing his growing network in the name of the Pirate Lord.

Being here, now, with everyone else was becoming a rarer sight. One of these days, I'll need Luro to start working on my ship. he thought, while working on the cucumbers. He'd designed those plans years ago and shared them with the carpenter. Since then, they've redrawn, refined, and added to the plans. But he hadn't pulled the trigger yet to start construction. A part of him was reluctant. He knew it signaled change; saying goodbye to his spot on this ship. Not saying goodbye to Stardusk, never, but it meant being apart from them.

Half still lost in thought, Jack glanced up at Adelaide, as he often did, like they were magnets. She was standing now, fully solid, looking at the sky. In that moment he saw everything go peace go to chaos.

Adelaide vanished in a screech as soon as the storm hit. She gripped the gales and tried to reign it under control--her control--but something alien and powerful created this storm. What a rare thing nowadays, to meet wind and weather that didn't bend to her will. As if reproachful, the storm lashed at her. She dodged once but another hit sent her to Lady Luck's deck and half back in her natural body.

Jack was subconsciously aware of what she was doing, but the rest of his attention was on gathering everyone together. He swept up the cats as something hit the ship and rocked it. He shoved the familiars into Sid's hands and whirled in time to see Zilia go overboard, then Luro, then--

"Adelaide!" He moved at the same time he saw an invisible force pick her up bodily and shoved her into the sea. Jack dived after her.

They crashed together underwater, heard the voice overhead. Jack briefly saw those eyes--gold as his own--and thought, Whatever we lose, we'll make someone regret it. And then it was black.

The Halls

Adelaide woke up with water in her lungs and a soreness she hadn't felt since she got her Devil Fruit. If the mysterious figure on Stardusk's ship wasn't tell enough, those two things gave her enough clues: Her power's gone.

Carefully, she opened her eyes to find herself on Jack's chest, their arms around each other. Cedric was poking his brother's arm. Jack blinked his eyes open and looked at her. They got up together as Moss introduced themselves. Adelaide flexed her hands and reached--for nothing. She was caged in her own flesh. It made her itch, unused to be confined, like a crab forced to take a too-small shell for its home. Her senses were truncated, she was soaking, and not a weapon in sight. Even their hidden knives were gone. Adelaide could tell by just a glance at Jack's person, and his equally uncomfortable state. Without defense, they were naked.

Adelaide's gaze drifted back to her hands.

Jack felt relieved to find his brother unharmed, and the rest of the crew. He took silent stock of each person, looking for harm, and only relaxed a little when he saw them bedraggled but safe. It was then that he felt...off. Lighter. No weapons. Not even the gloves or his tiny wrist knife had been saved. He shuddered and looked to Adelaide. She was preoccupied...no doubt the loss of her Fruit a foreign one. We've gotten arrogant in our power and took them for granted.

He frowned, and stayed silent through the introductions and vague explanations. For now, he observed and listened. As they left the room, he kept his awareness sharp around them and clocked for any potential exists from...wherever they landed. Suddenly, he tsked. "I hope you'll get us back to our ship sooner than later. I have swordfish steak that will go bad."

As if to punctuate his statement, Adelaide undid the scarf in her hair and began ringing water out of her hair. She left puddles of seawater on the beautiful polished floors.

 

[Winter]

Alicia hadn't been too far away as she appeared to be seated comfortably on a blanket in one of her usual spots, her eyes closed as she took the time to meditate. Beside her rested a familiar chart which held information on the Stardusk finances as well as various jobs and duties around the ship. It was often during voyages that Alicia would tour the decks to make sure everything was as it should be and that anything out of place was taken care of or reported to the right person.

If part of the ship appeared to be damaged, she'd make a note and take it to Luro. If someone appeared to be unwell, she'd make a note and take it to Zilia. If the food stocks ran low, talk to Jack. And at the end of each week she'd have a report for Runali to look over while pretending she didn't notice the Captains eagerness to get the report done and out of the way. Of course she trusted everyone to be vigilant and tend to their individual tasks and responsibilities. But since becoming first mate she felt like it was her own responsibility to do these checks so that the burden was alleviated from Runali, freeing her up to put her focus into the more important details... even if those important details often lead them towards trouble.

"Not a dragon or a princess." she spoke without opening her eyes. "And Seliria please don't encourage them... lest we start calling you 'Steam Princess' so you don't feel left out." she opened an eye as an amused smile spread across her features.

It was in time to catch more of the interaction between Hanako and Emil causing her to linger her gaze curiously on them for a moment. The air surrounding their relationship hadn't evaded Alicia even if she hadn't spoken on the subject directly. Of course she had her concerns about it and was now far more judgmental towards Emil as a result. But it was only right that she would be critical over whoever would be brave enough to try and court her youngest sister. Satia had already made mention of it and had almost gone after Emil to give him a stern ultimatum, though Alicia had dissuaded her with the promise of approaching it herself when the time was right for it.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the abrupt change in weather, prompting her up to her feet as she looked around. It all happened so quickly that she barely had time to register what was going on. In one moment they were all there and in the next it was as if they were being picked off one by one, plucked from the ship like fruit on a weak stem. She saw Hanako dive over the edge after Emil and almost immediately felt fear squeeze around her body.

There was no time for her to react as a single step resulted in her body being flung from the ship into the cold embrace of the ocean. Waves tumbled and rolled her around making it hard to discern which way was up, she couldn't see anything and though she was holding her breath she began to worry that she might perish before she could even try to aid anyone else. Then that voice reached her, those words accompanying that light piercing the veil of dark. Her mind reeled and in within a moment more she found herself bereft of consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Alicia awoke alongside the others, her eyes opening to adjust to the light before mind and memory followed soon after. She quickly sat up and looked around, silver eyes searching for Hanako before seeing Emil helping her up. She exhaled a relieved sigh, slowly collecting herself up to her feet before looking around at their surroundings. She only turned towards Hanako again when she approached to make her apology, one that Alicia didn't feel was necessary all things considered. She'd acted, which was far better than freezing up and doing nothing at all. "I'm just glad you're safe." she replied softly.

At first she thought she was still recovering from what had happened, but the conversation transpiring between the green haired girl and the others only reconfirmed what it was she was feeling and why. They had been stripped of their weapons and abilities, evident as Alicia reached to her waist to find Shusui was indeed missing. But more so than that, she felt utterly exhausted and that was in no small part due to her power having been taken away.

For Alicia her power resided within her soul. With it's removal it was like a layer had been stripped away from it, leaving her feeling sluggish and tired as a result. She didn't even have to test it to feel it was gone, no longer able to feel upon the ebb and flow of life and energy currents. Even her vision had lapsed into an inferior version in the absence of her observation haki, something which she'd naturally been using before being made aware of it by Seliria. All of a sudden the smaller finer details were gone and it felt a little as if she were constantly adjusting to a new pair of eyes.

"Well, I certainly feel awful... " she exhaled before walking up to join the others as they approached towards the watery gate. "The sooner we get a grasp of what's going on here the better." she looked towards Runali as she spoke, indicating she was on board with whatever it was the Captain decided would be their way forward through this mess. With a gentle nudge to Hanako she prompted her to follow as she began to make her way along with the others.

 

[Mizos]

Runali!



Also Emil!​

Zilia's eyes moved to Hanko when she was spoken to, while the doctor was tense a small gentle smile still found it's way on her face.
"I am okay Hanako thank you. Once I realized I could breathe properly I calmed slightly though my limbs still wouldn't move. It is not the first time I've fallen into the water, besides I knew someone would get me so my worry faded quickly. Are you okay? This is…probably a lot."
"Stay near me just in case Hanako," Emil added, adjusting his outfit. "It's safer in groups anyway."
He looked over at Alicia as she spoke, a part of him wanted to comment but he had felt her eyes on him for some time now and was still gauging how to...'talk' to her properly. He had two bits of information on Alicia, what he had looked up and what Tari, who was technically his boss, told him...and if he trusted the latter's words he had to be extra careful of his wording.
Zilia however spoke up instead with Alicia's statement.
"...I feel the same, and I agree, information is key here."

'Moss' listened to the questions posed to them an answered them in no particular order, though they did look at the person when they spoke. Looking at Hanako Moss spoke.
["I cannot answer that question and for that I apologize. You may speak Common or Feian, I am proficient in both".]
They spoke in Feian to make it easier for her to understand, and they were surprisingly good at it, it was clear they had a fluency in the language it sounded natural and from their tone it was very formal and respectful.
Moss' attention moved over to Cedric.
["No apology needed. I'm sorry for the confusion."] They spoke this in Trovalian with a bow before continuing. ["I am well versed in many languages. Trovalian included. One thing I have had is time thus I studied so I may speak the tongue of any visitors, for comfort in case common is not their first or second. For my own tongue…I am afraid it is my Master's and it is not very…pleasant. Apologies but I will keep to common."]
While his Feian was very formal, his Trovalian seemed a bit more rough, still proper in a sense but some addresses were more casual, it was clear however he learned it, the original accent wasn't formal, he probably learned the formal after.
At Jack's comment Moss only offered a small bow.
"I...have no power of that, apologies. I will mention it to my Master, however. I myself am also in charge of cooking...so I can understand such frustations"
They seemed to have something else to say but their mouth shut as they watched the water splash on the floor due to Adelaide, their eyelids lowered a bit at the new puddle.
"...I just cleaned them..."
While the dejection wasn't clear in their calm composed voice, their shrunken body gave some of it away, but only for a moment as they continued forward.

The moment Stardusk moved through the strange liquid they found themselves in a grand hall.
White marble stretched out over the floor, covered only by a single red carpet, and a few floor candelabra that differed in shape as they were led toward the end of the room.
The walls were pristine white and large stained glass windows, all open allowing a gentle breeze to pass through the room, rested along them in a uniform order. The white curtains adorning the windows almost seemed to reach out for Stardusk as they passed them. Their gentle fluttering filled the silent room, accompanied only by the occasional birdsong from outside.
A single chandelier hung in the center of the room, yellow lights gently blinking on it as the group approached, the light causing what seemed like crystals to shimmer as the light passed over them.
Luro's gaze moved to the ceiling and his memories told him this was a barrel vault ceiling, his eyes moving over the adjoining arches, painted a light gray, which stretched to the end of the room.
Normally he'd admire the architecture but something about it seemed strange to him, the entire room felt off in a sense, a trained eye told him that something wasn't right with the way things were in this room, the structure, the sound of his footsteps echoing on the floor, but he couldn't figure out why it felt off.
Zilia noticed that the room was surprisingly basic for being a grand hall, she expected more flair, more displays of wealth from previous experiences but it was surprisingly simple, the room they were in before seemed more extravagant then the current one.

Just as Zilia was about to comment on the matter something in the room seemed to shift slightly, all the sound in the space seemed to vanish, for a brief moment it was mute with even their boots against the marble hushed. There was a forced stillness as if the world stopped, even the curtains stood frozen mid-reach, the wind's gentle caress retreating and vanishing as quickly as it came. Within that world which carried nothing a single voice reached out to the visitors.
"Welcome Stardusk. For some of you, I suppose this is our first meeting."
Luro came to a sudden stop, his eyes immediately moving to the source of the voice, and Zilia felt a strange chill run up her spine, her body freezing up as her eyes also moved to find the speaker.
Moss had come to a stop at the bottom of a small set of stairs, folding their hands together, they shut their eyes and lowered their head slightly.
At their back at the top of the stairs sat a figure on a simple throne, and the source of the room's hesitation, almost as if allowing the world to breathe again the figure gave a small flick of their wrist and all returned to normal, the gentle breeze passed through once more with the permission of what could only be considered the ruler of this castle.
"You can call me Imposter. Welcome to my Kingdom."

Luro froze as he stared at the visage of his sister once more, his sibling whose gaze pierced through him, her body shifted as she moved one leg over the other and rested her cheek on her fist. A glow to her red eyes as her lips curved into a cruel smirk.
"...Lina…" Luro muttered.
"Huh?" Zilia said looking at Luro. "Lina? What are you talking about? Also why is he wearing your face Luro?"
Luro looked over at Zilia as her gazed moved back to Imposter, who to her at least, wore the guise of Luro, she disliked the smirk resting on his face, it didn't suit the resident redhead.
Before the two could press the matter further Imposter opened their mouth once more.
"I'm going to save you a bit of time and discussion. I look different to each of you. Don't feel like explaining why, suppose to Zilia I look like Luro and to Luro I look like Lina…fascinating. My appearance shifts depending on who's looking at me. I could be someone you love…someone you hate. I could even be you…or flowers in an old shoe."
The voice that spoke to them seemed to echo within itself, it appeared to be a hodgepodge of voices, young and old, high pitched and low pitched, it sounded akin to a crowd all speaking at the same time.

Runali had fallen somewhere in the middle of the group as they walked through the large halls, between Jack and Alicia, barely taking in the details of their surroundings and focusing on 'Moss' ahead of them. She was also focusing on trying to get her haki back without it feeling like a chore, so when a new voice echoed she was taken by surprise like the rest. "Hopefully you feel like explaining everything else." She muttered when she nearly ran into Jack. Peeking around him, her brow furrowed to see her old mentor looking back at her. She couldn't say she really liked them all that much anymore, but hate felt like a strong word too… maybe it wasn't considering they did almost kill each other. She was going to question and possibly tease Zilia about seeing Luro, but decided to hold her tongue and focus on the person above them. "Care to be more useful than Moss? I was hoping to make a festival in Utsu. Rather not miss a tournament. Also, if you could direct us in the direction of our friend that would be great too.

Imposter's gaze fell over Runali as she spoke, their eyes lowered slightly at the outburst and Zilia's body tensed slightly, mainly because even Luro seemed more on guard than usual.
It was subtle but he seemed ready to jump in front of Runali at a moment's notice. She had heard many horror stories about Imposter from Luro, the Gleeful Tyrant, the Laughing Destroyer, endless names that touched on the wanton destruction the person in front of them could cause.

Just as she expected them to attack, especially considering Moss had lowered their body and were covering their head, a loud laugh escaped from Imposter.
Though it was joyous it was a haunting laugh all the same, filled with the laughter of children and adults all in one, warped in a sense.
"Runali you don't disappoint! Ahhh I needed that laugh today. Hm okay I'll answer some questions. I'm in a good mood now."
Moss slowly lowered their hands from their head and raised their bodies which was a sign the storm had passed.
"First let's clear up one thing. You're not making it to your festival anytime soon. Whether or not you miss it will determine your choice of actions. Since if I'm being honest…"
Imposter raised their other hand and motioned to the crew as a whole.
"I haven't decided if I'm killing you or not yet."
Luro's hand went to his back only to stop remembering his rifle wasn't there, he slowly lowered his hand back to his side not pleased every single one of his guns were taken, a general impossibility.
"I went through all the trouble of saving you so it feels like a waste but I kinda want to."
"You…saved us?" Zilia asked hesitantly, addressing the monarch.
"Yeah. I felt a strange presence near my kingdom, looked out and found you all in the ocean. You'd probably be talking to Jones if not for me."
"I…uh see…well thank you."
"No thanks necessary, there's a catch after all."
"Of course there is."
"So here's the thing. I need a favor Stardusk, and you all are great at helping people, of providing succor to those who need it…so you help me and I help you. What's your decision?"
"Can you tell us the favor?"
"Don't feel like it so yes or no, either way I get to have some fun with you all. So matters none to me."
"Your Highness may I give them a general idea of their situation."
"Sure. I'm not wasting an explanation on people I might kill."
Stepping forward Moss gave a bow.
"Stardusk you are in Facade, the Kingdom of his majesty. Due to varying circumstances, he'd like to enlist your aid and thus aided you."
"You can ask why though. It's a fun story."
"Your comrade-"
"Is on a need to know basis. Again a waste of time explaining if I'm just going to off you. That's enough my disposable peon, it's boring to tell the whole story."
Imposter waved to Moss who stepped back.
"So your answer?"

Runali didn't flinch at the sudden impending doom the person gave, not because she hadn't known about Imposter, but because she couldn't really take the face seriously. But maybe it was better than seeing whatever horrors were hidden underneath that mask. She noticed the others tense, deciding to stop testing whatever patience she didn't know she was poking at and put a hand up to ease at least Zil, to let her know she'd be peaceful.

But she couldn't help but frown when Imposter mentioned not getting to go to the festival. "So... we can't go on our trip because you saved us. But you're also the one that has the power to kill us... You sure you didn't drag us down here too..." Her arms crossed and she spoke slow to refrain from getting riled up again. "And now you want us to help you. Or the option is death."

She scratched her cheek. "And you won't give us any other explanation." She clicked her tongue and sighed. "At least Jones had the decency to explain himself." With a dramatic sigh, she rubbed her temple. "Wonder if the Sterling pirates have to deal with this kind of thing..." Coral slid into her arms and she looked at the rest of the group. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice. The royal - " She bit her tongue, refraining from calling this... creature names. She didn't know for sure, but she couldn't imagine they'd be an easy fight even with the face of a mentor she had fought before. "The master of ceremonies there doesn't sound like they're giving much of a choice, so guess we'll have to press forward with-" She used one hand to pat her person. "Out... weapons."

A grin adorned Imposter's features, the act caused Zilia's eyes to twitch. It was a warped smile that felt unfamiliar on the face of her friend, clearly full of malice and ill-intent but it slowed into a more natural smirk and Imposter clapped their hands together.
"I'm Imposter not Jones. I take great pleasure in uncertainty. Glad we have an agreement, I kinda wanted you to say no so I could kill you…but this does actually help me out a lot."
On the mention of weapons Imposter blinked.
"Oh right, I forgot."
With a snap of their fingers all of the crew's weapons were returned to them immediately. Zilia blinked a bit touching the rope-dart hidden in her sleeve glad to have it back, her powers were still gone however. Luro was hugging his rifle as if an old friend had returned, a smile on his face and he immediately started checking his rifle, something Emil did as well to his own weapon when he was able. He'd chosen to stay silent to the murderous creature and that wasn't going to change for a moment until he finished observing them.
Everyone else also had their belongings returned to them, the Haki gloves however were not returned.
"Here's your weapons back. I'll return your…'powers' after my explanation."
"May I ask why?" Zilia said adjusting her rope dart.
"It's funny seeing you without them. Not that it matters, I'm sure you could manage without Armament, Power of Destruction or whatever. You're worth an explanation now as well. Pretend I'm applauding for you. I'll have my servant slow clap for you at some point."
Imposter's gaze moved to Cedric.
"I'll return your cats to you later. So don't worry about that...I might keep one though haven't decided yet."

Zilia disliked that they were now helping Imposter on an unknown errand, but the Captain was right, their options were limited and something felt off about all this, she wasn't sure why but it also seemed like Imposter's influence was affecting them somehow, her body felt different than usual, now that she had a moment it stood out, seeing Luro opening and closing his hands nearby it seemed he felt the same. He was probably making them weaker somehow
"Remember you said you'd help. No takebacks anymore. Now the situation is I'm in the middle of a war and I need you to help me win it. That's the long and short of it. Any questions?"
"Tons!" Zilia exclaimed, which caused Imposer's brows to arch.
"I see then first and foremost I am what you would call a Sovereign, that means-"
A gunshot rang out and Zilia realized where it had come from immediately, Luro had fired his gun at Imposter after confirming it was fine. There was barely a moment to register what had happened, one moment Luro was on his feet, the next he was lying on his back, a bullet hole through the center of his skull, blood pouring out of the new opening in his skull. His body was motionless, his gun lying at his side, resting near him in the pool of fresh crimson.
Zilia's mouth opened but her voice didn't come out, her brain shut down as she stared at Luro's corpse. Her body trembling with only wordless gasps escaping her, she missed the small sigh from Imposter and the shake of their head.
"...well that's unfortunate. Guess you're down one now. All right back to the topic I'm a Sovereign, which means someone important. Questions?"
Imposter looked at Alicia.
"Do you have anything to add Alicia? You're always so insightful."

 

[Fox of Hearts]

[Hanako and Cedric]

A snowy arm wrapped around Zilia's and Hana hugged it. She pulled away as she clapped her hands. "I'm happy Zilia-seo'tai is safe. She's the one keeping us safe as the seongsam. That's why healers are called the secret generals in the army. We depend on them," She brightened as she tapped her chest with her hand. "I'm okay, seo'tai. There are so many brave people here that I trust with all my heart. Alicia-amue, Luro-fuku, Runa-fu'tai," she blushed harder as her head turned slightly in his direction. "... and Emil-hyeo. I hope you will feel the same way about me one day."

She cleared her throat, willing the warmth in her cheeks to fade, as she skipped towards Emil. She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to her and Zilia. "Ye (yes)! Let's stick closer to Zilia-seo'tai. She's the one we keep safe so everyone is safe," she chirped.

There was little else she could do, she reasoned. She was too new on the battlefield to rush in like Amue. Taking on this role would surely ease everyone's worry. She clutched her elbow with an apologetic laugh. "I'm not saying seo'tai isn't strong. Zilia-seo'tai is amazing too, um, let me help?" she ended with pleading eyes.

Her attention switched back to Moss. She heard them and Cedric-hyeo earlier, so she chatted to Zilia and Emil instead. "T'ain da'yeong kashikoi (Ms, you are really clever)." she praised before continuing in Feian like most of her earlier conversation. "I wonder if you know as many languages as Jack-tai'cho. He speaks so, so many and learns more everyday. And Adelaide-tai'n! I can barely understand them at times. I wonder why Cedric-hyeo doesn't look more confused."

It was a mystery that lingered on her mind as they passed through the water curtain. He was a terrible student of Common; other languages, she had no way of telling. Somehow, his remarks and cut-ins showed he was aware of what Jack and his wife were talking about. She saw his bare hand flickering in those moments. More magic? she ever asked Amaiya-amue. The only answer she ever got was wait and see, because observing and learning someone else's abilities was an essential skill for a swordswoman. She guessed it had to do with his hands. They were usually gloved and bare when he was alone with some of the crew. He looked almost reluctant to touch others.

Stars blazed in her eyes. Elegantly dressed in a kimono with a face similar to her sisters'. There was no mistaking who was sitting on the throne. "Lady Sakura!" she squealed. Her elation chilled after she saw the change in Amaiya's face and heard the introduction. "Imposter-kami, why do you wear Lady Sakura's face?" she whispered.

"We can never understand the workings of demons, deities and spirits," Cedric explained, stringing together bits of Feian he remembered from Alicia. He swapped back to Common after but his deep purple eyes never left the person sitting on the throne. "He is a deceiver."

This white room unnerved him more than the hall filled with shadows. The poor contrast made for an almost blinding experience that had him step into Jack earlier. He dialled down the ensuing confusion when he spotted Felix sitting on the throne; his mind sharpening to hyper-vigilance. "Merci," he replied briefly. "Your mercies I've not heard from stories Jack told me. Your want for destruction was a defining feature. I'm surprised you even want to exist as Luro's parasite in our world. You have power here."

He wondered how many fold did the entity understand of his current situation. The Imposter dangled his independence in front of him and promised to return it after this conversation. Even with the weapon his brothers gifted him, he wouldn't be effective in a fight. His reaction speed remained tied to his over reliance on his sight. Humility kept him from protesting being drafted into this strange war. What kind of enemies would the Imposter need help with? He was tempted to yell. The anger that masked his helplessness had been stoked.

Motion flickered from the corner of his eye. Realisation evolving in the aftermath of a black blur, Hana's screams, and warmth splashing his face. Sid had reacted. Trusting his body more than he should. Stumbling, almost tackling Luro, after the shot had been fired. The body falling against him before hitting the floor. "A tyrant not a sovereign." His polite voice was roughened by the emotions smouldering beneath. "Fear will not keep us on your side."

He refused to look the entity in the eye. Picking up Luro's gun, he twirled it, before aiming at the Imposter's face. He puffed loudly and spat on the ground to show his contempt. "I really wonder how you offended these enemies of yours. You can never leave people in peace." Shrugging in response to Jack, he lowered the gun. "Stupid, yes, but I know what I'm doing." He slid down and placed it ceremoniously on fallen Luro's body, clasping the man's hands on it. He remained kneeling there. Again, refusing to acknowledge any part of the conversation. He needed absolute focus to disassociate his mind from the pain, the anger. He closed his eyes and waited for Runali to come. He was shocked to realise that this death hit him almost as hard as Jack's would. Since when?

He shoved most of those thoughts aside, focusing instead on his denial of Luro's death. The Imposter existed within Luro in their world. Here? Surely, actions here would have lingering effects back there. He felt surer than ever, and that conviction turned into an itch. It didn't make any sense that the Imposter will let Luro die! He was going to do this for Jack's sake. More information was what his fére needed. He needed this too. A cathartic distraction. He rose slowly to his feet. Good, attention was not on him. The Imposter was talking to everyone else. Sid unsheathed his tanto and broke into a run. Slower than usual and thus more dramatic, but his intent was as clear as the room was bright.

Hana hadn't let go of Zilia's waist. "It's okay, it's okay," she choked soothing no one. She was fighting back black and white memories of the day Odyn attacked, how she stood in front of her mother's outstretched hand, knowing the woman was buried under the fallen roof and the people helping her were slaughtered. She felt the burn in her throat. Swallowing was delaying her need to throw up. She latched onto anything to ground herself. Her mind shattered further when she saw the smile on Cedric's face. She almost didn't recognise him. Jack-tai'cho, a look in his direction, showed that he did. Jack, he was - moving.

Hana's mind concluded one thing. The brothers were going to attack! She didn't pause long enough to see reality. Aomi leaped into her hands and she took off after Sid. Her want to protect was too strong. No one else will die! She won't let it happen. She yelled, leaping forward to lunge at the witch, feeling her blade run through flesh. She had switched directions somehow. Grabbed her mind, whispered. She was lying further from the throne than she had been. She flinched at the lightness when Cedric untangled himself from her. His hand wrapped around Aomi's hilt as he breathed deeply. Her sword had skewered him at his abdomen.

"How? I - I'm sorry," Hana gasped and dissolved into fresh tears "I …"

"I blocked," he laughed as he patted her on the head. "It's one thing for me to be stupid. You didn't have to follow. Alicia would be sad if you got hurt." He released his grip. He better wait for Zilia in case he bled more. He could already sense Jones at the back of his mind. Was the Sea God disappointed? He couldn't help wondering. He surely was making a mockery of his extended life. And, he was acting like the biggest hypocrite he knew, something, he always accused Jack of being, ironically.

He smiled at his brother and Adelaide then his original target, relentless in his pursuit for proof. "What will you do now?" he yelled at the Imposter in the next breath. "I tried to kill you too." Just leave Hanako out of this, he hoped. He never wanted to see Alicia hurt like Jack and Luro were. She was too precious a friend. Yes, a friend. He needed to pull the Imposter's attention on him to protect Alicia's sister.

"Kill me! I'm not afraid of you." He challenged in his brattiest voice. He was always like this towards Felix, anyway. Might as well goad the one choosing to use that Siren's image too. The Imposter deserved it!

"a'Ie (no)!" Hana knocked Cedric back in her haste. She fell to her knees in front of the throne, and she kept her forehead pressed to the ground. "Kami, I'm sorry. I was the one who actually attacked, please. I am at your complete mercy, ruler of this world." She slipped into politer Feian.

She was shaking badly. Fear this deep revealed memories she suppressed. She was there when the soldiers started killing the other servants! Hana screwed her eyes tighter. She had begged them to stop. Hysterically, banging her forehead raw against the ground. How did she survive? She swallowed before raising her teary face towards the Imposter. The answer didn't matter. Only the people here.

 

[Winter]

Alicia felt a mix of overwhelming sorrow and hatred as she looked upon the one seated atop the throne. She knew immediately that it was not her mother, the movements were off and the expressions a laughable attempt to emulate such a woman. Sakura had a way about her, something you saw behind her eyes that was joyous and playful, if not mischievous in a manner that would accompany her sharp wit and even sharper mind. She was a difficult person to dislike and that was perhaps a reason for why she had earned a place on Seliria's list of friends.

Nevertheless Alicia despised seeing the visage of her mother move and speak in such a way that was so far removed from the reality in which she once inhabited. Her distaste for it was evident on her features despite her best efforts not to give the creature the satisfaction. Not even the return of Shusui served to brighten her mood, though with her hand wrapped tightly around its hilt she found herself able to resist the temptation to snap at the being before her.

Shusui felt alien in her grip as she glared through the exchange of words, the swords temper mistaking her for a foreign entity due to the unfamiliar absence of her power. In response the sword would rebel, feeling heavy and cumbersome as if it were a stubborn child refusing to move at the command of a parent. It was certainly a problem as it meant Alicia would even be less capable without her power, paired with a sword that would prove difficult to wield even for one as experienced and skilled as she was.

She flinched suddenly.

The sound of the gunshot bounced from the walls and pillars, cutting through her hearing and leaving behind a painful whine that made her wince and bring a hand to her ear as her face contorted with discomfort. Then she saw Luro on the ground and her lips parted, widening at the image of her now deceased friend. Bereft of her observation haki she hadn't even seen the bullet, her senses hindered along with her speed making it impossible for her to have swatted it away like a bothersome fly. Alicia couldn't help but stare at Luro's body as the others began to react, moving only as the being addressed her causing her attention to lift away after what felt like an eternity.

None of this made any sense, this was all wrong. The more she thought about it the more suspicious she became as her brow slowly furrowed. That was before Hanako and Cid attempted their assault causing Alicia to reach out her hand in their direction. "No! stop!" she shouted, fear and uncertainty collecting as she became fully aware she had no way of catching up to the two without her abilities which usually afforded her tremendous speeds. She watched as Cedric suffered Hanako's sword, the two seeming to realize their mistake before both began to make their cases towards the foul entity.

"Both of you, shut up!" she snapped abruptly. It was rare for Alicia to deliver a harsh tone, though it was clearly out of concern as much as it was disapproval for their actions. She exhaled her breath slowly to recompose herself for a moment. "We're grossly outmatched, against an opponent that can take our weapons and abilities on a whim you're doing nothing but throwing your lives away!" she added as her silver eyes moved between Hanako and Cedric. She'd keep her scolding short, her eyes moving back up towards the Imposter once more.

"How are you here!" she asked as her expression shifted towards suspicion. "You're supposed to be locked up inside his head, a prisoner minded by the other Luro's... yet somehow here you are." she paused to give it some more thought as she crossed her arms, closing her eyes and raising a finger towards her cheek and tapping against it for a moment. It perhaps seemed odd that Luro's untimely death had passed through Alicia so quickly, but in truth she wasn't entirely buying what was being sold to her at face value and considering some past experiences she had good enough reason for that.

"Unless you never actually left... " she spoke finally, opening her eyes to once again look at the Imposter. "You're free, but not entirely I suspect. It would certainly explain how you have so much power and control here after all." she narrowed her eyes. "Though I have no idea how we got here... " it seemed Alicia was talking and thinking out loud as much as she was trying to piece this together. "But if we are here and you're not really out there, then this war you want us to win for you would mean your complete control over Luro if you succeed." she looked down at Luro's body. "Which means Luro isn't really dead." she looked back towards Imposter. "And your threats are just that... threats." she couldn't say for sure if her speculations were correct, nor if she was close but some of these details weren't adding up. "Besides, if you really were so powerful. You would hardly need us to win your war."

 

[SilentxChaos]

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Adelaide, standing behind Jack, didn't register his worried glance. Her whole attention was on Imposter, soaking in every shape they took in her eyes. Charlotte du Vontiago one moment, the statue of a Trovalian goddess the next. A talking shoe with a flower in it (they put the idea out there), a frog, seaweed, the nun from the orphanage who used to beat her, a disembodied hand. The shapeshifting never ceased--and why would it? Imposter was more a concept than a being of true shape and form. Nothing and everything suited them.

Her attraction was impossible to explain. She'd been curious about this being even before she'd met their shade. Luro and Jack made them sound like a bloodthirsty persona looking to consume and be everything you are. She got a little taste of that…and yet…

"I never expected you to need a companion," she interjected into the conversation, just after their weapons returned.

She felt the weight of her hidden knives but paid them no mind. There were only two, and their usefulness wasn't to be expected.

Adelaide inched over to Luro's side, and thus saw when he raised his weapon. She didn't stop him. She wanted to see what would happen.

His blood sprayed the side of her face as he went down. Jack made some strangled cry that itched Adelaide, shaking her for a moment out of her fascination. Her gaze jerked away from Imposter to Luro, on the floor, a new hole in his head. It could have been her imagination, but he wore a ghost of a smile. She licked her lips, tasted Luro's blood, and then raised her hands into a slow clap. That feral glee never left–it only grew broader.

Everyone erupted into stupidity after that. Cedric threw insults, then himself, in a foolhardy gambit. Jack was too slow to stop any of it. The result opened a moment of ringing silence.

She stepped to the front of Stardusk, thinking that she'd be giving them a moment to collect themselves. Jack's rage practically scorched her back with its presence but for now, he was keeping it contained. Good boy. Four years ago, he couldn't even do that.

And, ironically, out of all of them, Luro would be the one to understand the most why she didn't feel much pain or remorse over him. A little put out, sure. They created so much fun together. All she could promise now was try to get the rest of his crew out alive and maybe kill Imposter too. Giving it a good try would be fun, at least.

"Hi djal," Adelaide called Imposter's attention to her. "So, you're a Sovereign. But not a god. Obviously you're not almighty as they claim to be, or you wouldn't be needing our help. And you captured us, but didn't bring us here. That was the hood in blue. Who is that? Are they another Sovereign–one of your enemies?"

Imposter gaze moved over to Adelaide only when he heard her applause, her voice had reached him but he was reveling in the faces of Stardusk, it was a joy to watch the end of a life and the effect it had on those around them. Anguish…joy….indifference, it said so much about mortals how they responded to death. Adelaide's response…if his memories served him was to be expected. In a way it reminded him of Luro but that thought faded quickly.

He paid no mind to the antics of Cedric or Hanako; he remained focused on Adelaide as if she was clearly more interesting than the spectacle before him, one would think he missed it entirely, but Moss' gaze on the two revealed that it had been noticed, and if one looked closely they could see the worry behind the servant's gaze. A waved hand from Imposter however caused them to look forward again, he had taken notice, but it apparently wasn't a pressing matter.

"Ah…you…yes I have memories of you. My shade met you I believe, or one of them anyway. That name is fine, they found it fascinating so I will do the same."
Moss let out a silent sigh glad their master was in a good mood today.
Imposter watched Adelaide in silence, listening to her tapping a finger on the side of their cheek, their brows lowered ever so slightly, before their lips curved upwards slightly.
"Hm yes. I like that. That's a good look you have. I suppose those are your questions, I like subjects who can think or consider possibilities…but that has it's own consequences as well."
Imposter raised their head from their cheek and sat up properly.
"I dislike being referred to or referenced as a god, but that unfortunately is the extent of mortal's imagination. Being regarded as such is extremely unimaginitive, it's limiting…but it is unfortunately the best I can expect. There are things out there that contain power but don't carry such titles. I am one on them."

Imposter waved their hand and the moment they did the bright spring weather outside turned suddenly into a harsh winter chill, snow suddenly falling into the room as the seasons abruptly changed.
"I am the one who controls all within this domain, that is what a Sovereign is. Everything down to the air I allow you to breathe…is my choice. So let me clarify this. You are not needed. Case in point."
Imposter snapped their fingers and suddenly the air in the room seemed to vanish, Zilia clutched her throat suddenly unable to properly breathe, Emil doing the same, even Moss had closed their eyes and were having trouble breathing.
Trying to breathe in offered nothing, as if they were trapped in a sea without water.
Imposter however had excluded Alicia, as he had sought her opinion and to Moss fear Cedric and Hanako were left alone, another silent indication that he was listening.
"If you die I just get more of you. Only reason I'm not doing that now-"
Imposter snapped their fingers again and suddenly breathing became easier, Emil and Zilia took big gasps and Moss silently caught their own breath clearly not wanting their Master to see they had suffered as well.
"Is it'd be a pain to wait. Nothing exists here without my permission, no humans, no 'gods', no demons, whatever weird terminology you mortal's want to use. I consider you useful, like a knife and fork for my meals, and I can always get more. That's the extent I 'need' you. If my mind changes."
Imposter brought their hands together and moved them apart in a somewhat dramatic fashion.
"You stop existing. No screams, no cries…just an end with no fanfare. Easy to remember right? Know your place and you survive, simple."

With that said Imposter ended up grinning as if they hadn't just put their lives in needless danger.
"You're not completely wrong though. There is another Sovereign, and they're the reason I'm using…asking for your assistance."
"...they're not even hiding it…" Emil mumbled.
"I could go kill them…but that's boring. I actually like having someone strong to fight. They're very durable too…but I am also a monarch with responsibilities and I don't have the schedule to play all the time. In short I'm giving you my busy work so I can have more fun…and having enemies means having threats, so that isn't the case for me."
Imposter clapped their hands together offering a toothy grin to Adelaide.
"That cloaked person is more than likely from the other Sovereign. They're the only ones who can do something like that, touch the real world. I can say at the very least I had nothing to do with it…probably. Oh wait no yeah that hooded person was from them, so you should do jobs for me for revenge, yeah that, do that thing. There you go reasoning that thing you mortals love so much."
"...Your highness please don't blatantly lie."
"What's it matter, choice is illusion here, but let's keep pretending sure."
Imposter rested their cheek back on their fist.
"Anything else? I'm still in a great mood after killing Luro. Been wanting to do that for years, be nice to do it again…gah I should have made the death slower, woulda been more enjoyable."

Adelaide endured Imposter's torture with her head held high–barely. Even she wasn't infallible to being suffocated. But spite was a powerful motivator. She detested feeling her power thrown back at her; how she suddenly was vulnerable to temperatures and losing air when she once stole air from others' lungs. Through sheer will she remained impassive.

Her smile did lessen in its glee, if not its danger. "Your point's proven, djal. We're at your mercy. Which means your affirmation to help us isn't guaranteed, is it? Unless you can be bound to your word? What help are you planning to give?"

A bright grin adorned Imposter's features at Adelaide's words, a laugh even escaped from them, their head turned towards the ceiling for a moment.
"Hahaha, you are a smart one Adelaide," They said returning their gaze to her. "You ask all the right questions."

Imposter resting their cheek on their fist, lowered their eyes slightly.
"You're right Adelaide…my help is not guaranteed. It is completely possible that I'm using you all for my ends and I'm going to give you nothing back."
Imposter sat up in the chair and folding one leg over the other motioned to the group as a whole.
"Freedom. Aid me and I'll give you your freedom. For my word…well regretfully you'll just have to trust me. You are however doing me a favor so in your time here I will ensure you have all you need. Since if you fail I can remove you without it being under false pretenses."
"Your Highness…honesty is a good thing but perhaps you want to reword that?"
"Nope."
The conversation between the two ended there and Imposter continued.
"I will give you whatever you desire while here, in terms of basic needs at least. Food, drink, shelter, clothing, whatever materials all is at your disposal and nothing is unattainable. If you can tell me it I will bring it forth, granted I am Imposter, I'm never truly 'one thing' so if it's not 'exactly' how you remember we'll you'll have to overlook that. I am not a person of guarantees after all"
With a grin Imposter held their arms out.
"You are citizens of my kingdom now, allow your curiosity to consume you. I will grant any ingredient no matter how rare, I will provide whatever drink that you desire. You need only ask."
Imposter rested their cheek back on their fist.
"That is part of my help, if it exists I can get my hands on it…even things that don't exist by all means. I can even acquire that 'swordfish steak' Jack is so worried about, as fresh as can be. Name it and it shall be yours, a reward for your efforts."
Imposter raised their hand and flexing their fingers a single rose appeared between their fingers, a rose that shimmered in color, shifting between red, blue, orange and purple, reflecting a rainbow of colors as if the light danced within the petals themselves.
"Even the ephemeral is possible, though who knows if there's a cost attached to it."

Adelaide cocked her head to one side with a finger on her lips. "Can you conjure wolf's bane? Belladona? I've been looking for those flow–"

That's when Cedric's voice cut her off, him and Hanako both. Both eyebrows raised at his goading to be killed. Adelaide rolled her eyes. At this rate, they may all just be killed.

Moss' hands had gone up, a silent plea in their eyes but it went unheard of as Cedric approached and the servant lowered their head dejectedly when all was said and done.
Imposter's gaze finally moved over to Cedric, their brows arching slightly at their proclamation, especially at the comment of 'I tried to kill you too', there was no change in their expression beyond that. A small tilt of the head at best, as if they were observing a passing cloud in the sky, a gaze of casual interest.

"Ah I get it," Imposter said. "I guess they missed the message then."
Their gaze moved over to Hanako for a moment and while their mouth open, they closed it when Alicia spoke, their gaze moving over to her.
Once again Imposter's attention had moved away from the two, and Moss' body relaxed slightly, noticing this, but their hands remained folded together, trembling slightly.
Their Master wasn't paying them any attention, and Moss hoped that was because they weren't going to take any action…Moss hoped that with all that they had as Imposter listened to Alicia.

 

[SilentxChaos]

​

...Adelaide. Jack glanced at his partner behind him, unable to stop himself. She was there with a look and a smile that pushed his anxiety into high alert. He dragged his eyes back to the throne...to Imposter.

They looked upon him with achingly familiar smugness, their ruby lips curled up on one end, pale brown eyes sparking with mischief. It was the hair that allowed him to breathe normally: short and curly, like it was when Adelaide first met a shade of Imposter, through Luro. A bright shock of red framed their face. That's where the differences between the self-called Sovereign and his Adelaide stopped.

Jack breathed through his teeth as the Imposter introduced themself, and then rambled, mimicking Adelaide like a mirror. If I can kill a copy of myself, I can endure this. Not a comforting thought but it put his head on straight.

Damned if he wasn't tired of being the pawn of otherworldly beings. Or manipulated by mere humans that held more power than anyone should.

Jack stepped in front of Cedric subconsciously, half-shielding him from Imposter. His fault--distracted by the return of their weapons, worried over his brother who still hadn't recovered 100% of his health, listening to the conversation swirling the throne room--he didn't see Luro raise his gun.

With the thud of Luro's body hitting the floor, Jack's breath was knocked out of him. His gaze glued onto his blood brother's cooling body. It happened so fast...All sound snuffed out of the room, all feeling, and all reason. One of them was dead just like that.

He felt Cedric push him aside. He registered, too late, what his brother planned to do. He could watch only in horror as he ran for Imposter with Hanako right behind. A second blow, another shot to his heart, as Cedric went down. He started afer... then stopped. Hesitated.

"Z. Zilia!" He raised his voice for her attention. "Please see to Cedric. Now."

Cedric still breathed, which remained a relief, though Jack vowed later to knock his head around until sense rattled back in. But for now...he had to be someone. Jack inched over to Runali, took her by the shoulder. "I'm right here," he whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but we can't help Luro right now. You have to be our captain..."

Jack forced himself to not react to Adelaide's clapping. He wanted to glare at her, but it turned back into alarm as she pushed her way into the front of everyone. Then, slower than he should have been, he understood what she was doing.

Distraction. So we can collect ourselves. Zilia, please tend to Sid...

The room rocked with heat and cold and lack of oxygen. Jack bent over to brace himself against Imposter's onslaught. He had to bit his tongue from yelling at Adelaide for provoking the...whatever they were. He'd been listening to her questions, but as he stood, he finally processed what had been happening. I'm being too slow. I'm a Spymaster, for fuck's sake.

"Cedric!" He snapped at the same time Amaiya yelled at them. "Are you mad? Do you want to die again?"

They were devolving into madness. Jack shook his head to clear it.

"Amaiya! Throwing accusations isn't going to help either," Jack interjected. He stood up beside Runali, touching his arm to hers in silent support. Every nerve sang with tension, and yet he spoke calmly. A feat considering Luro cooled behind him and Cedric was impaled by Hanako's own weapon. His soul screamed with all the rolling emotions. And none of them mattered. Not here, not now. They were all endangered of being killed on the spot. Perhaps Imposter would find them too much a nuisance and be done with now. They had to prove they were worth the 'fun' Imposter desired.

Jack looked to Imposter. "It's their reality. Maybe everything is made of you. Whatever you say goes. So...maybe..." Jack swallowed. He didn't know if it'd be wise to say now, but nothing that just happened could be considered 'wise'. "Is there a chance you can undo your killing of Luro? Perhaps nothing is permanent if you deem it.

"But everyone, listen to me," He looked at his crew, his family, every one in their eyes. We can't afford anymore mistakes. We can't afford to be arrogant. "If what is here isn't 'real' that means our bodies aren't real--which means we're all drowning in the sea as we speak and are dead anyways. That may be counterintuitive to your plans," he addressed Imposter. "I have to assume you want us alive for your favor, so what can happen to us here will have the same result in 'our' reality. You always existed somewhere else--here, I guess-- but you could act through Luro, right? Like when Adelaide met your shade...it tried to take over her. Be her. Do you have to act through a mortal to affect the 'real world'?"

In hopes of getting a straight answer, Jack followed with, "What happens to us in the real world if we die here?"

 

[Capt. Blu]

[Runali Banner Here]​

When Luro collapsed she could only stare, frozen in place. The weight of dread sunk in quickly as she noticed everyone realizing just how powerless they were in that moment. They were powerless and Luro was dead before she could even register it happening. Stopping bullets should have been an easy feat for a Worst Gen crew. Saving each other was a passive effort at this point. It was supposed to be at least.

Runali should have said something - anything - to stop Cedric and Hanako from rushing forward, but the result ended with her fists balling tighter and tension tightening in her shoulders. Runali was losing her crew to Imposter and to madness and to panic far too quickly for her to process. She wanted to feel that rage, to follow her crew in the fight, but Jack's support grounded her. "Right…" She had to be a captain. She was the captain. And right now her crew was in disarray trying to figure out what to do next. They needed her just as much as she needed them right now. "Right." She let out an exhale she didn't realize she was holding and finally began to move. First to Hanako, placing a hand on her shoulder and ushering her closer to the rest as Adelaide drew Imposter's attention. "That is not a creature of mercy. Do not beg for something it won't give." Despite her hardened gaze, her voice softened for her. "This is not going to be easy, Hana. Strengthen your resolve."
She addressed Cedric next, still keeping a close ear on the Imposter and Adelaide's conversation. "You've lost enough lives Cedric, don't lose this one too." It was a captain's command as much as it was a thinly veiled plea not to toss his life again. She had already lost Luro, she could not lose Cedric too. If the order needed to be made, she wouldn't hesitate to demand that he stand down -- if his new stab wound wasn't doing that enough. She looked at Zilia, but Runali was sure she didn't need to tell the doctor to keep Cedric from bleeding out.

There was a subtle look of understanding that she shared. A fire broiled behind her eyes, her anger and grief rising with nowhere to go. It took all of her willpower not to follow suit into a reckless decision, but Imposter's reminder of their power: Luro's death, Cedric's injury, and suddenly being suffocated kept her in check. This wasn't a battle they could win - not running in head first anyway. Imposter stripped them of everything but their weapons and they were more human now than they had felt in a long, long time. Alicia and Jack realized it too, taking the lead in trying to reason and understand the being toying with them.
'If we die here' echoed in Runali's head as Jack spoke. The odds were never in their favor, but as she allowed herself to finally move closer to Luro, to crouch by his side and hold his hand, it felt more daunting than ever. "Jack, you're trying to get answers out of a thing that doesn't care about reason. We're just dolls to them." She held Luro's hand a little tighter. "Imposter's made it clear we don't have a choice here," Her gaze fell on everyone, giving pointed looks for them to stand down. "So it doesn't matter what the answer is. What matters is that we get out of here. And if that means making deals with another devil..." Her hand tightened around Luro's. "Then we will. And we'll figure out the rest as we go. Seliria's already moving, we can't afford to lag behind."

Finally, her attention landed on Imposter. She kept her voice steady and like Adelaide, she kept her resolve. "Fix them. Both." There was no doubt she was talking about Cedric and Luro. "You claim we're replacable, but there's obviously a reason you chose us. Why waste all that effort? If you want us to play your game, fine, but give us a fair start. If you want us to fight in your... crusade then don't waste time killing us to prove a point." She swallowed down the very real fear that she wouldn't get Luro back as she let his hand go and picked his rifle off the ground. "...And if you've finished your 'explanation' it'd be nice to have our powers back as well."

 

[Mizos]

Also Emil yay!
​

Resolve was a powerful thing.
Moss had heard so many stories of Stardusk, of their exploits, of how they faced the obstacles in front of them, but it was different to see it for themselves, the looks in their eyes, the way they all grounded and helped each other even in a moment like this. The servant's eyes twinkled at the sight, they had other visitors in this world but few shone as bright as Stardusk did, the servant brought a hand to their chest their hand closing in front of it as they watched in silence. They wanted them to succeed, they wanted to see their wishes granted, through the pain, through the worry, through the fear, they still stood.
"Pass. You agree to help me then attack me. I can't trust you so you're useless to me now. Go to oblivion with your friend."
Unfortunately, Imposter wasn't a being that followed tradition, there would be no hesitation, no understanding. They spoke the words with the glee of a child and a smile to match.
"You know it's funny. You truly are his brother Jack! You were the closest to understanding his dying message!"
Imposter stood from their throne for the first time and extended their hand towards the crew, the room seemed to shift slightly as if warping in on itself, an immense amount of power was gathering at a central point but before it could release from its spot, Moss moved in front of the crew and slammed their forehead into the ground.
"Your Highness. That's enough please!"
Imposter's eyebrows lowered a bit at Moss' actions, but their hand didn't lower.
"....what is the meaning of this Shay?"
"They don't understand what's happening! I know what you're trying to do your Highness but I think this has gone on far enough!"
Imposter stared at Moss or rather Shay for a moment, their eyes then moved to the faces of Stardusk before closing their hand into a fist the power dissipating, blood ran down the servant's forehead and a small smile came to rest on the Sovreign's face at the sight.
"...most impressive Stardusk," Imposter said. "Okay I'm done playing let's get down to business."

Imposter sat back on their throne, as they did a bright purple flame suddenly surrounded Luro, it wasn't hot to the touch, the fires were warm akin to a spring breeze tickling the skin and they surrounded the redhead's body, though he was visible through the transparent flames. Zilia had regained herself somewhat at this point and was in the process of moving to Cedric when her gaze fell back on Luro, the hole in the redhead's hole slowly closed itself and the flames dispersed. Immediately afterwards Luro sat up eyes wide, blinking a few times he reached up and rubbed the spot that had healed.
"Well that stung..."
Luro rubbed the spot for a moment before looking around at the crew, blinking again his brows arched as he looked at the expressions of his friends.
"What'd I miss?"
"Luro!"
Zilia exclaimed and immediately ran over to Luro, she quickly pat him down and checked his wound again.
"Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"
"Huh no I feel fine Z."
"Really?!"
"Really."
"Good...good...then."
Zilia's hands immediately wrapped around Luro's neck as she started choking him, Emil wasn't sure what to say about the scene since it seemed Zilia was about to send him back to the afterlife, whatever that was here.
"What in the all mother's name were you thinking?! Do you understand how worried we all were?!"
"Z...can't breathe....can't...breathe..."
"Zilia let him be. Luro's not good at complicated explanations. He was just trying to send you all a message."
Imposter's words drew Zilia back to the creature, however when she did she noticed something different about them, their appearance had shifted again, though they didn't appear to look exactly like Luro in her eyes, there was a slight resemblance to him.

Golden eyes stared down at the crew from above, as a man with long red locks gazed at the visitors to their domain, dressed in flowing clothes of blue and white with what looked like flowers adorning the edges of the outfit, similar to Shay's but slightly more extravagant. A pair of crescent earrings hung from the ears of Imposter, they wore a face inspired by Luro, but it was in no way him, he may be confused for a distant family member at best, the build of his face was slightly different, the eyes were sharper and the gentle smile more an amused smirk.
"...you don't look like Lina," Luro said once Zilia released him.
"I changed my appearance. I look the same to you all now. It's easier this way. I even borrowed from Luro, easier to talk to someone who looks similar right?"
Their voice even sounded different, the echo within it was now gone and they sounded like a normal person. One could say it was a bit husky and honeyed in a sense, like a father offering sincere praise was the first thing that came to Emil's mind but he could sense something ethereal behind it so that immediately changed to a stranger in an alley trying to coax someone closer.
"...how much fun did you have Imposter?"
"I was just playing around Luro, not like you fully understood everything either, you took a gamble. We're all friends here right, and friends play games with each other"
"Hmm...you are right...friends play games with each other."
The two men stared at each other, a quite conversation in their smiles and gazes, though Imposter eventually sighed before standing up from their throne. Folding their hands behind their back they made their way down the set of stairs and walked towards Stardusk, Luro gently squeezed Runali's hand and smiled at her as a silent apology before focusing his attention fully on Imposter.
Once Imposter stood directly in front of the crew his eyes glanced towards the window, as it did the winter outside faded and returned to spring.
"Can't have it stay winter, the farmer's crops will wither," he said before looking back at the crew. "Okay enough fun. I took your bodies and souls, and gave you new bodies, you're now immortal. Let's get that out of the way."
Zilia blinked at this new information and Imposter started to continue when she promptly held up her hand, drawing the king's gaze.
"Yes Zilia."
"...what do you mean...we're immortal."
"...you can't die. I'm sure Luro understood that immediately. I didn't need to do anything for him, he was gonna get up on his own anyway. We've killed each other countless times, he knows that feeling."
She looked at Luro who tilted his head at her as if it wasn't abundantly clear that was the case but she'd cross that road later.
"Could you explain that a bit more?"
"Sure," Imposter said. "When you fell here I stole your bodies and souls, I then made you new bodies from my powers and shoved your consciousness into them, your sense of self in a way. If I didn't you'd just be puppets. Those bodies aren't real, to put it simply...every one of you is an Imposter right now...or something akin to it. You now can't die without my permission."

Imposter said this casually and seemed ready to continue but noticing the confusion still adorning the faces of a few his brows lowered slightly as he clearly didn't feel like explaining the whole thing to them.
"I'll go into it later. Just know that Luro was never 'dead' per se."
"...and you couldn't explain all this beforehand."
"Well that'd be no fun. I wanted you all to run at me to avenge your friend, one final moment of desperation fueled by the power of friendship and love."
Imposter spread his arms out and grinned at the very sight idea.
"Then you'd all perish as I laugh maniacally over your dying bodies, filled with absolute despair that you could do nothing for your friend! That it just wasn't enough! How could you fail to avenge him?! Then you'd wake up all like 'How are we alive?!' then I'd go 'haha just kidding you're immortal like me!' then we'd all have a laugh and friendship would blossom!"
Imposter lowered their arms and put their hands on their hips.
"Only Cedric did it though, as for why I didn't tell you about the bodies...well if you knew I was holding them hostage you wouldn't have done anything, you'd understand the true futility of rebelling against me, even with all I did there was hope to defy me, as Cedric showed. Also of course there'd be no weight to death if you knew Luro was gonna come back."
Imposter shrugged at this.
"Do you know how long I practiced my laugh waiting for you all to wake up. I finally got it down before Shay brought you in."
"This guy's mental. He reminds me of a certain someone..." Emil thought but chose not to pursue the thought further.

Imposter stretched their arms above their head and Zilia realized very quickly why he could stand so close without a care in the world, right within striking range. Nothing they did would kill it, and it for some odd reason had bestowed that gift to all of them. To make the matter more obvious Cedric's wound had healed when she found an opening to check on him, at some point, a blue flame had surrounded the stab wound and closed it, he was perfectly fine now. Now that Imposter had brought it up her body did feel strange, the small inklings were more obvious now, almost as if recognizing this Imposter spoke again.
"Now that you're aware of it, the feeling should be obvious, perhaps some of you recognize you felt...'off' but couldn't place why. When your powers are returned it'll be more obvious," Imposter said. "Ignorance is a scary thing isn't it Stardusk? Ah I will say this though, your powers will be imitations cause your bodies are. They will not measure up 'exactly' to what they were. They can be as close as possible of course...but Imposters are never 'true', just fair warning."
Imposter puffed their chest out and pounded it with their first, holding his head up high with a bit of pride.
"No need to thank me for making you unkillable. It was nothing. Oh but you should still act normal though. You no longer need nourishment but as long as you recognize the need, you'll want to eat, drink and do human things. I mean you can ignore that but your humanity may suffer a bit, your call on that though. Oh and for you all dying does have consequences but not serious ones."
Imposter looked back at Shay who stayed at a distance awaiting the call of their master, noticing his gaze their gaze raised and they pointed at a few members of the crew, this caused Imposter to look back at them before clapping his hands together.

"Oh right you all posed questions to me, didn't you? Well I don't feel like answering all of them so I'll say this, nor do I have the time. I am a king after all gotta do kingly stuff."
Imposter said this motioning to their throne then to outside the window, which revealed a large town in the distance if one looked close enough as if to silently explain that he was once again a king.
"However since you made this meeting fun...even if you all didn't attack me...Jack, Cedric, Alicia and to a degree Runali...all of you were correct in one thing in your observations. I'll let Shay answer past that. They will be serving as your personal assistant, call on them if you need them. Shay you have permission to answer most of their questions, you know which ones. You can tell them why dying may be bad for them too."
"My thanks, Your Highness."
"I'll let Shay go into what your jobs will be and how to get your powers back. I'll also kill you later Jack. Older brother should take the sins of the younger and all that. Oh and before I forget."
Imposter looked over at Alicia.
"While I appreciate your input as well Alicia...I wasn't talking to you."
Imposter walked away at that waving a hand to Stardusk as he vanished into the distance, he had said his peace so there was no need to listen past that point and it was clear when his visage faded past another wall of liquid.
"...what did he mean by that," Emil said looking over at Alicia.
"He was asking for my input."

A new voice filled the air after Imposter had left, a woman's voice with a certain familiarness to it, those who chose to look would see a woman that looked strangely familiar to their swordswoman standing nearby, a half-lidded crimson eye observing the crew, the other covered by a somewhat ornate eyepatch. When she had appeared, how she had appeared was left a mystery as no footsteps had announced her arrival. She stood a few feet back from the group and chose not to speak past her explanation. She carried a quiet dignity to her, and at a glance, she showed no threat to those present though it was clear in her stance, a hand resting on one of her blades that would change if the wrong action was taken.
"I apologize once again Stardusk...I wasn't permitted to share such information with you. His Highness...enjoys practical jokes...even if they're quite twisted. Permit me to introduce myself again.
Shay spoke to Stardusk and offered a deep bow to them.
"My name is Shay and I will be your servant during your time here. Within certain permissions, I will be aiding you in your work and daily life. Please do not hesitate to call on me for anything."
Raising their body Shay placed their hand over their chest.
"I am also what you would call a monster, so there is no need to be polite with me."
"Got it so you're Shey," Luro said grinning at their new personal aide. "Nice to meet you."
"The feeling is mutual but it's Shay Sir Luro."
"That's what I said Shey."
"No no it's Shay. Sh-ay."
"Yeah Sh-ey."
"No that's not...you can just call me Moss Sir Luro."
"Okay Shay."

​

Shay decided to just move on and with their introduction of the way they motioned to another wall of liquid, one which had a light bluish color to it.
"Shall I show you to your rooms now?"
"Okay we are not ignoring the fact that there are two Alicia's now. I'm willing to put the immortal thing aside for right now cause that's confusing but I'm not ignoring two Alicia's," Emil said looking over at Shay.
"...S-shall I show you to your rooms?"
It was clear Shay wasn't allowed to answer that question, Alicia or rather the other one looked over at Shay.
"Shay. Is it all right if I answer their questions as well?"
"O-of course Lady Amaiya. We can only answer the base questions though."
"Understood," the woman said before looking at the crew. "Please follow Shay. We will both answer what is permitted. I heard most of them so I will answer what I can on the path alongside Shay. I would also ask you not to wander, I will be forced to cut you down if you do so...and I would rather not do that."
Shay turned and walked away and the other Alicia calmly stood directly behind the crew, it was clear her job was to make sure they followed Shay so she did not attempt to move until they did.
Luro walked after Shay folding his hands behind his head a small yawn escaping from him.
"I am kinda tired. Dying takes a lot out of you," Luro said. "Oh and sorry for dying guys. I'll try not to do it again."
"Luro!" Zilia said as the redhead started walking away.
She started to say more but stopped seeing Luro pause to glance back at her, the same casual expression on his face as always.
"...never mind. In hindsight, you'd never go against the Captain's words, especially her 'no dying' one. If you took an action...then you knew you wouldn't be betraying her by doing so."
Luro offered a grin at this and continued walking.
"...his message huh," Zilia said. "Luro's eyes...are extremely clear again...when he gets like this..."

Zilia trailed off at this and chose to follow after the redhead, Luro was also weird when he was like this...or weirder
"We're away from Imposter...let's just take comfort in that. Al...other Alicia. You'll answer questions about yourself won't you?" Zilia asked.
"What I'm permitted to. Our jobs are also similar so I'll be explaining what you'll be doing, for now though follow Shay please."
"...do you...know us?" Emil asked.
"Intimately."
That was the only response she offered and returned to her silence.
Emil didn't question further, he looked at Hanako and opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was got caught in his throat. Closing his eyes he pointed ahead.
"We should keep going. Immortal or not I'm sure dying still hurts."
"It really does!" Luro called from ahead.
"Thank you Luro!"
"You're welcome!"
"That was sarcasm!"
"Is that tasty?! Emil do you have snacks! That's no fair! You have to share!"

A new face?

 

[SilentxChaos]

​

The relief to see Luro rise again was staggering. Jack's whole body exhaled to see him perfectly okay again, and Cedric's wound heal too. Imposter really was playing with us this whole time...I am not surprised.

He wanted to go over and hug Luro, but they were still in the throne room, with a king who'd finally settled on a single appearance. Much to Adelaide's disappointment, her husband noted, at the pout on her lips that looked nothing more than the faintest pursing to everyone else. It turned when Imposter revealed a new twist to their existence here.

"Immortal?" Adelaide mused, tapping her cheek.

Jack immediately jabbed a finger at her. "Don't even think about it."

She raised her hands, wearing the face of innocence. "I'm thinking about it."

Jack groaned. She grinned again, sauntering over to him, and slithered into his arms. He fought back a smile. He felt the shock of Luro's "death" still working it's way out of his system; making him giddy. He choked on an inappropriate chuckle and gave her a 'This is serious, don't distract me' look.

To which she replied with a mere blink, 'I may kill you later. For the fun of it.'

'How about let's not?'

They carried on their silent conversation without losing the thread of what was happening around them. They eventually separated as Shay formally introduced themself, and the newcomer came in, and answers were promised many times without actually being given. Jack questioned what "kingly" duties the Imposter could really have.

Adelaide said to Jack as they were led out of the throne room, both eyeing Eyepatch Alicia. "What's the likelihood he has twisted copies of all of us?"

"High," he tsked. "Especially of you."

"Not in the 'real world', I mean."

Jack scoffed and shook his head. Now that they were moving on, and away from Imposter for the moment (though he had a feeling they'd know anything and everything that's happening), Jack stopped everyone in the hallway. "Hold on."

Adelaide's lip turned up, like she knew what was about to happen. He hadn't stopped glancing at Cedric and Luro this whole time, as if constantly having to confirm they were really ok. He took Cedric by the arm and walked over to Luro, and looked at them both.

He gave them a great big hug, ignoring for once Cedric's general discomfort at being touched. "I'm so glad you two are okay."

Then, quick as Runali, he floored Luro with a punch to the jaw and pushed Cedric's head down, ruffling his hair and generally messing up his appearance, as one big vein pulsed on the side of his temple. "If either of you do anything so stupid again, I'll personally see to it you get the stomach flu for the next month whenever we return from this nightmare. Got it?"

He let go of Sid first, not wanting to put his youngest brother on edge. A hand was offered to help Luro up. "Now, with that taken care of..."

Jack straightened his waistcoat and cleared his throat, then addressed Shay and...Faux Alicia. "I think it'd be helpful first for you to explain what our jobs are and the consequences of death if not...well, dying. Otherwise we have at least two psychotics who may just go on a murder spree on each other." He glared at Adelaide and Luro for emphasis.

"You're in love with both of us, so what does that make you?" Adelaide teased. Jack didn't deign to respond to that.

She laughed while sidling up to Luro--having enough respect to wait for Runali to have her turn first-- and placing an arm on his waist like he was a leaning post. "I'm more curious about the fact Imposter has an actual kingdom to run. Are there really farmers and normal people here, Shay?" A new glint came into her eyes. "Landscapes? A beach? An ocean?"

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Hana removed her ribbon and allowed her hair to cascade down her face. She settled down beside Runali while the captain held Luro's hand. "Follow these strings of fate," she whispered while tying one end to Runali's ring finger and the other to Luro's. "May they lead you to each other forever." She finished as she snapped the string at the end. "He was a good man. I hope he will find happiness after his soul transcends."

I don't believe Luro's dead! Cedric's cheeks burned with anger at Jack and Alicia's words. Why couldn't anybody see that? Not even capitaine understands him. Challenging the bounds of the realm was the only way to understand it. "Do you doubt me?" he spoke under his breath. "My real brother would never do that."

He yanked the sword from his wound and tossed it back towards Hanako. "Take back your weapon," he growled. His face wet from the excessive pain. "I'm sorry about the blood. I'll help you clean it later."

Hana stiffened visibly. Her eyes alert and doe-like when meeting the anger in Sid's. "I - ye, I can. I'm sorry," she blurted out, hoping to calm him. "Please don't be mad," she stepped past her sword and reached towards his hunched back. "Let me help."

"Don't bother." Sid snapped. He pressed a hand into the bleeding patch as he stood up. "You'll only make things worse." Looking at her and remembering her hugging Alicia earlier was a stab in the heart. Jack was ignoring him. And he hated it. He sighed as he dragged himself away from most of the group. "Stay!" he barked.

Hana flinched. "Amaiya-ami, what did I do wrong?" She looked like she was about to cry again when she heard him. "Luro-fuku!" she wailed. This time from overwhelming relief. She stood rubbing her eyes as she hiccoughed softly. "Amue, I - I'm so glad," she kept repeating to convince herself that it was true. Secretly, she remained rattled by Cedric's harsh words. She didn't mean to upset him so much. She really didn't.

—------------------------------------

The youngest member dashed towards Runali. Her hand found the captain's while her eyes switched from the Amaiya she knew and the other person wearing her sister's face. "I'm scared," she whispered. "Fu'tai, Fuku, what's happening?" Her mind could not accept any more weirdness. "I think … no? She's Amaiya and that's also Amaiya." She shook her head. "I just want my real sister."

Her words barely scratched her true feelings. She was hurting from Cedric's harsh words, she hated feeling too small to do anything about their current situation, she couldn't help worrying about Emil glancing at her like that, about immortality sounding awful and …. and she's afraid of offending the person looking like Amaiya. It - she, no, she, Hana, didn't know if angering this mirror image would be the same as angering her sister. Were the two Amaiya's separate? Were they the same soul split into two bodies? She wanted to throw up from her growing anxiety-induced headache.

"What do I do?" she asked helplessly.

"Can you stop looking around? I'm right here." Cedric wanted to say. His actual words came out far harsher than intended. "Can you stop?" He slapped away the hand and stepped back. "You need to trust me more, okay?"

That flicker of happiness when Jack hugged him stoked the fear deep in his heart. Abandonment, rejection, blame. Words that painted his distant childhood. He turned away and clapped a hand to his mouth, doubling over, as he fought the devil in his head. Sid suspected he hadn't been first on Jack's mind for a long time; today confirmed everything, making his heart echo Hana's question.

"Jack...?" He called as the man started questioning Shay. "P'grave. C'est pa ne." (Never mind. It's not important.) Two can play this game, he decided. Not caring that he was being uncharacteristically rude.

He turned sharply to Luro instead, and hid his ambivalence behind an overly sunny smile. "I'm glad you're back, fére," he told the redhead as he pulled the man into a hug after Adelaide was done. "You, I trust, fully. I didn't think the Imposter would let you die."

He never called anyone else "fére" before. The term had been reserved exclusively for Jack. The spite in his cheery voice was obvious, but he chose to maintain the charade. "So Luro, fére, what shall we do for fun later?" The lack of sideways glance to either Jack or Adelaide was extra telling as he started walking beside Luro. Arm linked with the carpenter's for support.

He didn't expect much from Luro either. Jack had AdelaIde, Luro the capitaine, and Amaiya her sister. He guessed it would be him and his familiars again tonight, if they returned. "Shay," he began awkwardly. His behaviour and the distress it caused remained fresh in his mind, and a relief from the person he tried to forget. "Thank you for earlier. Could I repay you by helping in the kitchen or anything …?" he watched the servant for signs of protest. "I won't be a bother. I've learned to live with my disability."

Not true, his mind argued. He cut himself sporadically when the kitchen was too dark, and he couldn't tell if he bled. Everything was a blend of grays. He ran his fingers through his messed up hair. "I'm surprised Your Sovereign never fixed our inherent handicaps when granting us immortality. Capitaine's blind eye, Jack's poorer vision and … me." He waved his hand to emphasize his point. "Think how much more useful we'd be, oui? That's why it's a pity."

He would love to have his familiars back, but asking to have his disability removed felt like a smaller request. The Imposter had said their powers would be returned later. Just the "when" wasn't specified. He knew he was cutting Jack off, and he felt childishly happy about it. "Could you do anything about it? I would love to be at my best to be the best tool I can be. Zilia, what do you think of my request?"

He adverted his eyes in wordless apology. Madame Doctor was caught in the crossfire between him and Jack earlier; he didn't know she was walking towards him. "I could never angry with you," he verbalised after some awkwardness. "I hated how it looked like I was shouting at you. Sorry, you deserved so much better."

The old him wouldn't allow himself to be this vulnerable. He literally handed Zilia full control of their conversation and waited for her to react. In the lull, Cedric noticed the panicked fillers crowding his mind - joking about their immortality, complaining about older siblings, missing Lia, and ... "Jack's bossy and annoying, no?" he remarked absentmindedly.

He shook his head. "Pardon, Zilia, what were you saying? I was distracted." He smiled again and cocked his head to show he was being extra attentive.

 

[Capt. Blu]

[Insert Captain Runali Banner Here Eventually]​

Runali's mouth opened and then closed. Her clenched fists slowly opened and with a sigh of acceptance more than relief, she let the frustration pass. There was no use wasting time with the Imposter, even if they wanted to play games and getting mad at them would have been pointless. It was pointless considering how easily Imposter could kill them all… and keep doing so if they so pleased. Still, it was never any easier seeing her crew hurt or dead for that matter. Cedric being able to stand was a relief. Hanako's ribbon stayed on her wrist after she untied herself from Luro's waking body. Luro's silent apology settled her whirring thoughts into something calmer. "You're so reckless, you know?" From her, it was a compliment - an exasperated one, but still one that she knew the doctor wouldn't encourage. "Try to refrain from giving everyone a heart attack please, I'm sure the Imposter doesn't need help." And when Imposter Imposter finally gave them something they could understand, albeit Imposter's version of immortality wasn't something she could grasp entirely, she felt like her point was proven more. Something told her she'd still feel the weight of death every time she saw it. Her body may have been fake, but her soul was very real and had its fair share of dying and coming back - it was an anchor every time.

As much as she was glad Imposter had finally left them be, she was even more suspicious of not seeing them around. She turned to Jack, almost immediately catching the intent in his eyes, one she had seen before. With an easy step away from Luro, she watched the blur of Jack's movement knock Luro to the ground. "Told you. Reckless." Runali let out a small laugh as Jack offered his hand out. "Nice hit though, Jackie. I'm sure if you were actually angry, he'd be out cold." She gave Luro a pat as he stood back to his feet. "We need him awake though. And not dead, correct."

Having Shay be their guide was much better company, even if it felt as if Imposter was looming around every corner. "I don't think they've been around enough people to know what a practical joke is." The comment fell to the wayside when she was looking at another Alicia. "Feels… less dragon princess-y with the eyepatch. Tashigi was not made for rugged look, I don't think - no offense to you." She looked between both Alicias. "...Both of you I guess?" When Hana took cover near Runali, the captain absentmindedly tied her hair back with the ribbon she was given. It wasn't as perfect as what a Feian could do, but she had learned enough from her first mate to get her bows (and some of her manners) looking passable. Then, she realized Hana's nerves and gave her a gentle pat on the back. "Relax Hana, your real sister can see out of both her eyes. It'll be easy to pick 'em apart. Just stick near me, you'll be fine."

As they walked along, she drifted towards her first mate, with Hana in tow, while Adelaide rooted by Luro. She kept an occasional eye on Cedric, knowing that the stress of death was never an easy thing. "Wait, hold on," She quickly interrupted the questions Cedric asked. "You don't have to repay anything, you're not getting holed up doing house work for devils." She held up a hand, to add specifically to Shay and faux Alicia, "You can argue you're not, but my fiance died not too long ago and came back. Devils. Just without the fruit." Back to Cedric she pointed out, "If anything, they owe us for the trouble. And I don't need any of us getting split up when trouble finds us." Runali looked around as Shay moved. "Feels less like a kingdom and more like the Court's playhouse. Imposter controls everything here, right?" She walked backwards, using the real Alicia as her guide forward while she eyed over the 'faux' Alicia. "And what exactly are your jobs if Imposter has all that power at their fingertips? Wait, did you guys do this with Sel too?? Where is she?? More experienced or not, I'm kinda responsible for making sure she gets back to the Novas in one piece."

 

[Mizos]

Also Emil Yay.​

Luro climbed to his feet and rubbed his jaw for a moment, though the redhead only seemed to laugh as he brushed himself off after Jack's punch, an act that caused Shay a fair amount of confusion considering one his own had just punched him.
"Haha I can be reckless cause I got someone who'll scold or punch me later," Luro said grinning. "It's a good thing…also please don't do that Jack."
Luro seemed to have more to say but he cut himself off when Cedric approached him, the clear eyed Luro stared at Cedric in silence for the most part, and after a small moment a gentle smile rested on his face. Reaching over he placed a hand on Cedric's head.
"...Cedric don't let Imposter get access to your heart…if you got something in your head, say it to who you need too."
Luro gently stroked Cedric's hair for a moment and in a blink the clarity was mostly gone.
"Hmmm we can do whatever ya want. I got all kinds of games we can play," Luro said grinning and pulling his hand away.
Whatever the redhead meant it went unsaid, and from the tilt of his head he had either already moved on or forgotten what he had said.

Zilia however watched the scene with a sideways glance, she could see what happened and calmly adjusted her glasses in response.
When Cedric addressed her she just gave him a small smile.
"I've had far worse patients Cedric, including yourself, think nothing of it. In a situation like that we are pulled in many directions, things are said and done unintentionally."
At his comment about Jack she let off a small chuckle.
"He is yes…but as a 'nagger' myself I can't fault him for it. The more annoying a person is the more they care as they say."
She adjusted her gloves to add one more thing.
"Also you are not a tool Cedric, you are a member of this crew. Also I am a doctor so putting aside my currently unavailable Devil Fruit, my work is rooted in science…magic is a touchy subject when it comes to healing. You know the cost with medicine but not magic, understanding the cost of such a thing is important for use...I think that's what's most important. The pursuit of it is fine…but know what you'll be giving up for the treatment."

Emil watched the scene in moderate silence, there was a lot he wanted to say. This Cedric kid was acting like a brat for one but it wasn't his place to say, family issues should be dealt with by family, not outsiders, though he felt the lashing out towards Hanako was unnesscary. Most of his questions were focused on Hanako in the end, at her whisper he put a hand on her shoulder.
"You do what you can…for now," Emil said to her. "Rely on the things and people you trust in moments of confusion, the rest will fall into place…okay?"
He tried to offer a small smile to her.
"...let's talk later, you'll probably feel better if you get it all out right?"
He removed his hand and focused back on the group at this, adjusting his hat his eyes went over to Runali as she provided comfort to Hanako as well.

"Ohh I'm curious about that too," Luro said grinning as Adelaide walked over. "This place seems pretty big and I'd love to go to a beach!"
Shay and the false Alicia seemed to patiently wait, seeing the crew interact with each other. While the other Alicia watched with a casual stare, Shay seemed a bit more attentive, while he didn't smile his eyes did shine a bit, showing a clear curiosity but more than likely due to his position he wasn't able to vocally express it, so instead he answered the questions, his gaze moving to the false Alicia who nodded in response to his silent inquiry.

"I'll start with your questions about the kingdom."
Shay said before speaking up again.
"Yes there are normal people here…or well as normal as Facade can put forward. It's a difficult explanation but there are non-combatants if that's your question. You probably noticed there are no guards in the castle, his highness has them stationed in and around the towns, since we are at war."
Shay said this with a small nod.
"There are landscapes, a beach and an ocean, that's even a place that's winter year round to the north, there are regular places in the kingdom. You are guests of the castle so you ended up here, there are numerous towns in Facade, the capital is actually quite large, you can see it from the windows…well you will from your rooms…not now of course."
Their gaze moved over to Cedric and given a small bow they spoke to him.
"No thanks necessary Sir Cedric. I am but a humble servant…it was…hard to watch but I can't deny his highness, his will his law after all. I will face punishment later but it is of no consequence, please feel no obligation to assist me but the offer is appreciated all the same."
With another bow Shay turned to Runali, they nor other Alicia seemed necessarily bothered by her comment on them being devils, Alicia merely closed her eye in response.
"Well I am a monster. Devil I believe matches human terminology for that so you are not wrong Lady Runali though for our jobs…Lady Amiaya could you explain…leave the fun parts out for his Highness"
Shay looked at the fake Alicia who gave a small nod and continued the conversation.
"Imposter does control all aspects but he finds some things…'tedious' those are our jobs. Shay is the sole servant in the castle, cooking, cleaning, anything of that nature is handled by them. As for my job, it's similar to your job."
False Alicia paused in her movements which caused Shay to pause as well.
"The world you all are in…betrays normal expectations as you already know. Hanako, your earlier observation was close. The one about worlds."
The false Alicia looked at Hanako at this which cause Emil to arch a brow.
"...so your Feian is the same as regular Feian then. Since you understood her."
The woman's gaze moved to Emil and she gave a small nod, whether she was pleased or bothered he noticed went unsaid.
"Lady Amaiya is the one who taught me Feian actually…"
Shay added this before the one eyed swordswoman continued.
"In your world you met a fortune teller. One who told you of possible paths."
"You must be talking about Vai," Zilia said.
The other Alicia nodded and continued.
"In your world humanity merely walks one of those paths, they end up choosing one and proceeding down it and the other rejected paths fade…but in this world those paths…those possibilities manifest as other realms no matter the path one has walked. These places contain a fair amount of energy, something Imposter wants to continue his war. Think of it as gathering supplies."
She said this before motioning to herself.
"I am one of those possibilities and proof they exist. Your duty is to go into these 'Wilds', and retrieve the energy and return it here."
"Sounds easy enough," Luro said with a grin.
"Most are dangerous as you may have guessed, and few are peaceful…however these realms respond to your place in this world, they react to your presence here. Because you exist here…these worlds have formed. Imposter is not bound by time, past, present, future none of that pertains to him. You may enter a world where you encounter your younger self…or one that is vastly different than the one you know."
Her gaze moved to Luro.
"The Luro I knew is a Feian swordsman of great renown."
"...I'm terrible with swords though," Luro said scratching the side of his head.
"I'm aware…thus it was somewhat of a shock to meet one that wasn't."
Counterfeit Amaiya looked over at the group at this.
"I am sure Imposter will wish to explain the remaining specifics, the 'fun' bits as they say. So we'll leave it there."
"You've visited the Undersea so I am certain this is not a foreign concept to you…but the worlds you visit will be tied closely to you, his highness wishes it, as for why…he will want to tell you the rest himself."

Zilia brought a hand to her chin at this, all of this was…complicated to say the least. Even wrapping her mind around all of it was starting to give her a bit of a headache.
"So basically we're gonna go into random places tied to our pasts or something," Luro said.
"Essentially yes, but not just your past, you may enter realms far different from what you know. Such as a world without Brass Cape…or a world entirely akin to Brass Cape."
"I wanna go to that one," Luro said grinning.
Zilia blinked before sighing, it was almost a comfort how simple Luro made things.
"You said the future as well…is that…even possible?" Zilia questioned lowering her hand from her head.
"It is here…but it's difficult for realms like that to manifest so I can't promise you'll encounter them. In my time here I've only come across a few…some of my descendants are…interesting. Especially the one in that bright town with the moving pictures. You can ask Imposter tomorrow more about them. Once again that's the most I can share."
With her peace said the false Alicia fell back into her silence and the group continued walking.
However she broke the silence for a moment more as her eye moved over to Runali.
"Also none taken Runali. I have been called far worse. Other me…we can speak later if you wish…though there is little I can share with you presently…you are correct on some of your assessments about Imposter."
Shay looked over at Runali to answer her final question.
"Lady Seliria woke up before you did. She took one look at your sleeping faces then followed me. When she met Imposter and learned his name she told him 'come outside so I don't stain your pretty floors' something along those lines. Lady Seliria seemed to understand something was different about her so she wasn't too surprised about the truth, since she felt 'better'."
"Seliria had a deadly disease in her body for most of her life, the effects of it are still pronounced in her today. If she got a new body that was 'magically better' she'd understand something is wrong…which I'm sure she already shared with you," Zilia said looking over at Shay.
"She did…yes," Shay said. "She's already been put to work. She specifically asked not to say anything to you about her until your choice was made."
"...that…is definitely Seliria," Emil added. "She still hates influencing choices."
"She agreed to work to aid you all…I do not know where she is or what job she is doing. His Highness was amused by her and chose her duties himself when I went to check on you…for the consequences of death…"
Shay held a hand up as a silent indication to stop before approaching Luro.
"Sir Luro may I borrow you as the first example?"
"Sure."
With a nod Shay reached up and touched Luro's chest with their finger, when they did so a small light purple sphere showed up in the center of Luro's body, near his chest, what looked like flames surrounded it, slightly lifting upwards as the strange circle 'flickered' like a lit flame.
To those aware of it's presence a strange warmth emanated from it, and there was a strange awareness, an unspoken understanding that flickered through the minds that witnessed it, that this object was both familiar and foreign.

"...what's that?"
"That is your consciousness or rather it's 'you' so to say, your core in a sense, we refer to them as your Root. The bodies you're in act as Vessel's for them, they protect them. So if you die…"
"Our consciousness…or rather Root are exposed…" Zilia said crossing her arms. "...right?"
"Precisely. Now as you saw for yourself, it's not possible to see these parts of you. Even now I'm showing it to you as regular eyes cannot see them. Same as in your world, you can't witness kindness as an object, an action maybe, but not as an entity itself. This is the same thing, only very specific people can see it."
"I'm guessing Imposter and you are two of them," Zilia said motioning to Shay.
"Lady Amaiya as well but I'll show you how to peer at them," Shay said. "Now if you should die for whatever reason, this part of you will be exposed until you come back to life…which should take under a minute, a little more depending on how you perish, but you'll come back relatively quickly. Most entities in the world can't see this aspect of you, so your Root getting attacked is unlikely."
"...you said most," Emil said. "What happens if say we meet something that can see it…or it gets hit accidentally, I'm guessing it's just floating there when we're dead right? What if something explodes near our bodies while we're deceased?"
"There are some entities that can witness it, his highness will speak more on it later. However…my advice is to not die… and if you do die then I'd perish somewhere that will protect the Root or have your friends protect it. If that part of you is damaged…you'll lose aspects of yourself."

Shay motioned to the group as a whole, sphere's hovered in all their bodies in the center of their chests, though only Luro and Zilia had spheres the shade of purple, something Emil wanted to question at the time but he was a bit shocked at his own at the moment, it was yellow in color and his eyes narrowed a bit staring at it.
"What you lose starts off small as the outer part is damaged. Perhaps a recipe you know, a tea you like, the location of a hidden rum bottle…but the inner part of your Root are more precious things. If it's damaged too much…you'll forget yourself, your values…or even those you love."
Zilia's eyes narrowed a bit at this and she noticed Luro put his hands behind his head.
"...I get it. Consequences but not serious ones," Luro said. "We can die all we want…but if our Root's are damaged we forget ourselves. Something Imposter could care less about."
"Family…friendship…bonds…beliefs…something Imposter can throw away without worry," False Alicia said. "If you don't care about these things…then your Root being damaged means nothing."
"Dying means our true selves are exposed so we should avoid dying," Zilia added looking over at Shay for confirmation.
"Precisely. Dying will expose your Root, if that's damaged as I said you lose part of yourself. So long as only the outer Root is damaged, what makes you…you won't be affected, but losing memories would be unfortunate as well."
"Dying won't harm our Root…but it will expose it…" Emil said. "Is that right?"
"Correct, the Vessel or your bodies, protect it. If you 'die' it has to repair itself which exposes your Root. Until that point, it will keep it safe no matter what is done to you."
Shay moved their finger and like that the Root's vanished from view, falling back into the realm of the unseen and the servant continued forward.
They seemed to reach their destination almost immediately after Shay's explanation, a long hallway with multiple wooden doors adjacent to each other, a single red carpet along the floor. Each door has a plaque attached to it, with the name of each person there, indicating who each room belonged to.
The only except to this was a door at the end of the hall, there was no plaque on it but it was slightly more ornamental than the other doors, it was bright red with a golden knob, and a strange design along the edges of it.

Shay opened one of the rooms revealing the inside, Emil could only think of it as 'a rich person's room', the room's were very ornate, white wallpaper with golden trims ran along the edges of the room. Large golden chandeliers hung in each room near the center, twinkling yellow lights coming off the object. The canopy beds were oversized, if not for the fact the rooms themselves were massive they'd have taken up over half the room. He was pretty sure five of them could lay in the bed side by side and wouldn't even take up half of it. The curtains on the bed differed in color for each room but he put that aside as he eyed the red carpet on the floor, he didn't need to look twice to know it was expensive, it probably cost more than the Prophet ship and all the furniture inside combined.
There were also large windows that sure enough showed the outside and even from there he could see signs of a large town in the distance.
He noticed a few white dressers with large mirror drawn to them and what looked like multiple closets, there was also another door in the room and that seemed to be the case for each one.
"These are your rooms. It's possible for you to change their state if this isn't to your taste…but I'll save that for another time…I'm sure you would prefer your 'powers' back."
Shay said this before turning to Stardusk as a whole, with a wave of their hand the door to the room shut and the servant folded their hands in front of them.
"If you are prepared…I will show you how to regain your abilities."
Shay looked over at Luro.
"Sir Luro…I'm afraid you getting yours back will...complicate you current state."
Luro's eyelids lowered slightly at this but his small smile remained the same.
"I kinda get what you mean, it's okay."

 

[Mizos]

​

"Reality Manifestation."
That was Shay's explanation in the grand scheme of things after mentioning how to return their powers, motioning towards the group the servant held both their hands out palms up.
"I believe the terminology Sir Luro used was…'Psuedo Imposters,' something of that matter, while that is not exact compared to what Lady Zilia can do it is the closest comparison we have so let's go with that."
With a small nod Shay brought their hands together.
"His Highness was preventing you from doing so earlier but it should be fine now. You can use the ability he possesses being made from his power. All you have to do is have the desire to use your ability…then remember the feeling, your body should do the rest."
Shay went silent after this and Zilia's eyes lowered a bit at that.
"...that's it?"
"That's really it. That's Reality Manifestation. It should work…now."
The moment Shay said that a sudden feeling fell over the group, a familiar shiver, a warm embrace, a stinging poke, it was different for each person but from the small flinch Zilia felt, and Luro bringing a hand to his head it was clear something passed over them. Emil looked at his hand which had started trembling for some reason, he gripped his wrist as a strange tingling sensation filled him. It was brief but it felt as if Kara's 'Haki hands' had wrapped him up, he knew the feeling too well at this point.
Zilia rubbed her arms at the strange chill that ran over her, surprised she felt it with her layers before speaking up.
"I don't see how-"
Zilia started to say something but stopped as her eyes widened, she stared at the space straight ahead of her, her eyes twitching slightly
"I…can see words again…"
Reaching forward she grabbed the air and sure enough a purple glow surrounded her hand as the words took 'shape' at her touch.
"...my powers are back…"
She looked at the others and noticed Emil was opening and closed his hand, which coated itself in Armament as he did so, she looked over at Luro.
"Luro?"
"Hm I feel normal again Z, yay!"
She wasn't sure what normal was for Luro but his eyes seemed to have lost that ' absolute clearness' from earlier, she went to speak more on it but noticed Luro used his armament as well just to make sure.
"See just like that," Shay said.
Zilia went silent and closed her eyes, a small glow surrounded her body, she stayed that way only to open her eyes a moment later.
"It doesn't seem like I can summon my guardians," Zilia said looking back at Shay.
"Well…yes as His Highness said your power won't be at absolute full capacity…you're just imitating it after all. It'll be different for each of you. Some of you won't feel any different…some of you may, give it some time, you should be as close as possible to your best with time."

It was weird to hear 'imitating' when she searched for the feelings within her, her power felt almost the same as usual, if she paid extra close attention she could feel the difference but it was barely noticeable, it was almost scary how close it felt to the original. The differences were negligible, the tingling sensation felt different, and the flow of energy was…'off' if she had to put it in the words, it felt more like she was relearning something after not using it for a bit, rather than it being something else entirely.
Imposter was able to go this far with their ability, which concerned her in more ways then one.
Imposter was also right, now that her power was back her body did feel different, subtle but it was there.

Zilia looked over at the others before adjusting her glasses.
"Just to check on all our well beings…how does everyone feel?"
"Hm I'm fine. I feel exactly the same. No difference here," Luro said rotating his shoulder.
"My armament is off slightly and I feel…out of shape a bit but aside from that I'm fine," Emil said opening and closing his hand. "Just for comparison if that helps."
Zilia gave a small nod at this and turned her attention curious how the others were also holding up, Shay's voice however pulled her back to them.
"Also…Reality Manifestation, which I will refer to as RM from this point on, ties into whatever feeling you're accustomed too. Sir Luro imagine the 'Fire' from your gloves."
"Okay but why do ya wanna-"

Luro started to question Shay when suddenly his hand lit up in flames, Zilia jumped at the sight as Luro stared at his hand in silence, turning it over a few times as the flames flickered.
"Luro! Are you okay?! Where's water?! Luro set himself off on fire again!" Zilia started looking around causing Luro to look back at her.
"I'm okay Z, it doesn't hurt."
"That could just be your nerve endings dying!"
"No it really doesn't hurt," Luro said before looking back at his hand.
The fire turned to lightning and his smile grew a bit larger, the sight seemed to cause Zilia to calm down a little bit and Shay continued.
"His Highness didn't return your gloves as they were unnecessary. RM allows you to replicate any feeling you're accustomed too…the gloves are also part of this. In short you can 'use' the gloves without having them as you know their feeling."
Shay folded their hands in front of them, their eyelids lowering slightly.
"I must inform you that this will only apply to your own 'powers' however. Your bodies will only recognize what 'you' possess, not what others do. To use abilities outside your natural understanding, you will need to speak to his highness. Luro can't use the Chat-Chat-Fruit for example."
Luro almost brought a burning hand to his face but thankfully Zilia grabbed the upper part of his arm stopping him, with a thankful smile he made the fire vanish before speaking up.
"I don't really want it but if I wanted the Power of Destruction…"
"With Lady Alicia's permission you could have it," Shay added. "You would need the person in question to 'borrow' their ability. His Highness arranged it as such."
"...which Alicia again?"
"I intend on saying no Luro," False Alicia said. "So I would speak to your Alicia."
"Booo why though? I mean I'm not going too but why won't you say yes?"
"...I have my reasons."
"Are they boring reasons?"
"Very boring, extremely long explanation kind of boring. Not allowed to drink rum during the explanation kind of boring."
"...that is really boring," Luro said bringing a regular hand to his chin.
"So it's not worth it, speak to your own."

Runali had gotten sidetracked by the rooms, staring inside one to see how grandiose it was. She still had Hanako in tow, and gushed a little. "If this place didn't give me the ick, I'd actually be fascinated. Well," She looked at Hanako. "If it wasn't the product of the undead, I guess." She noticed the names on the doors and clicked her tongue. "Bah, we're assigned rooms? S'too bad Windy doesn't care about signs." She snickered at her own joke, gently pulling Hanako along to catch up with the rest of the group just in time to see the instances of power being returned. Excitement flickered in her one eye as she bounded forward into the group with an arm coated in armament haki. She jabbed forward, only to pause and frown as she flexed her hand. "Hm… Doesn't feel right…" It disappeared and reappeared and then disappeared again. "Doesn't feel as… tough." Her senses had sharpened again, giving her a little reprieve. At least she had it back. Though the moment she saw Luro's hand light up in flames, she eagerly mimicked it. The idea of borrowing power piqued her interest the most in all of Shay's conversation. The idea of borrowing from everyone else sounded fun. "If Luro's borrowing Alicia's, I want to borrow Adelaide's. Wait-"

Runali looked at Shay with a mischievous look. "You live in this funky place. Does that mean you have special powers too? What powers do you have? Better question: which ones can I borrow?"

"I…will not stop or hinder any visitation, your rooms are private spaces I nor his highness cannot peer into them. I also assume Windy…is Lady Adelaide."
Shay watched the others in silence as they seemed to 'test' themselves, the servant remained still patiently waiting but listening, their eyes moving between the others.
Shay seemed curious about something but whatever had drawn their attention was pulled away as Runali spoke to them, the 'youth' flinched a bit at the idea of special powers and promptly waved their hands in front of them.
"H-huh? M-my powers aren't very fun Lady Runali, they're just necessary for cleaning the castle and doing my job as a servant. I can't think of one that would be interesting to bestow upon you. I will give you my gaze, so you can see Roots however if that helps…but that's for everyone…"
"Shay there is no need to be humble in this case. Lady Runali Shay does not have a high opinion of themselves so their 'powers' will all seem weak by personal observation, my advice is if you see Shay do something….'cool' that you ask for more details on the power then. They will probably be the one escorting you tomorrow on your first job. This applies to the rest of you as well. Use what tools necessary to complete your duty, we are here to aid in that."
"L-Lady Amaiya please don't raise expectations of me. My powers pale in comparison to everyone, including yours."
"My point exactly…Shay you are stronger than three of Stardusk at their best on your own. Think better of yourself."
Emil was curious which three this Fake Alicia was talking about but going off the red in the servant's cheeks they clearly weren't comfortable with the conversation, in all honesty this was the most emotion that had come from Shay, their 'professional' veil had fallen, waving their hands in front of themselves and trying to avoid eye contact, they almost looked like a normal person. A part of him wondered if this was an act but the tenseness of their body and their clammy hands made it seem real, that or they were good at faking it.
Clearing their throat Shay folded their hands back in front of themselves and motioned further down the hall.
"...A-anyway I'm weak Lady Runali. Acquiring my abilities would be more harmful than helpful. L-let's continue everyone, there's one more thing to show you."

"Tch," Runali sighed and shook her head, following Shay along. "You're as much a liar as Zil was when she complained about being weak." But, for the sake of Shay's clammy hands she let it go and followed their guides around.

Shay quickly proceeded further along to the large door at the end past all the rooms, their final destination, the door had a strange subtle glow to it upon approach. It appeared to be a simple red door but closer observation showed not only that a dull silver glow surrounded it, but also that it seemed to 'hum' slightly, akin to how the generator's on the ship or at Brass Cape would hum, though this sound seemed a bit more high pitched for how hard it was to hear it.
"This is the meeting room."
Shay opened the door to reveal a room covered in darkness, save for a single spot of light, where a lantern with a blue flame hung. Under the lantern was a round table with multiple seats around them, enough for everyone to sit with one extra, more than likely for Seliria.

It was impossible to see beyond the boundaries of the room as the darkness covered it entirely, as far as the group was concerned, the tables, chair and lamp were all that existed.
While that stood out on it's own what really made the room seem different was the fact that just like the other 'passageways' there was a liquid wall blocking the way though this one was transparent. Unlike the other liquid 'door's' this water was 'yellow'.
"...you'll learn more tomorrow…but this room is what we call an 'Enclave' your rooms are the same. I'm sure you heard me earlier about peering…but in an 'Enclave' your voices can't be heard and your actions can't be seen."
Shay said this turning fully to the group.
"Unless myself or His Highness is in the room…we won't be able to hear or see what you do here. Your rooms are the same."
Emil's eyebrows lowered a bit at this.
"You're giving prisoners privacy…you sure about that? If we can believe you about this Enclave's anyway."
"I assure you Enclave's are untouchable places. They are a result of the other Soverein's influence thus neither have pull there. Again you'll learn more tomorrow. His Highness is fine with their existence so you may use them as you will. I've been told to inform you of this."
"...so our rooms and this room are 'private' essentially," Zilia added.
"Correct…His Highness also isn't reading your minds as a common courtesy. He said it's 'boring' if he knows what you're going to do all the time thus why you're being given privacy."
"Isn't he trying to control us? That makes no sense," Emil said rubbing the side of his head.
Luro glanced over at Emil at this but ultimately just looked forward again moving his hands into his sleeves.
"I can confirm they're safe as well," False Alicia added. "I can't say how though but they are free of his influence, I promise that...as much as my word may be worth as a 'stranger' to you all."
"Ah but make sure I'm not in the room if you need to discuss something 'private', my thoughts are read by His Highness. They will no longer be private if I'm nearby…and I could get in trouble if I hear something bad. So for both our sakes ask me to leave if that's the case."
With that said Shay closed the door to the 'meeting room' and turned fully back to the group.
"There is only one more matter to touch on, then I will leave you for the night. It…is important. I'm sure Sir Luro has already noticed it but it involves a few of you, especially those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Master Jones."
Zilia's eyebrows narrowed a bit at this.
"It is a fundamental rule of Facade…Sir Cedric you've probably noticed it as well…but best we put it in the open for everyone. Lady Runali as you are also part of this, permit me your full attention for a moment."

"Hard to believe there's privacy when Imposter said we weren't even in our own bodies." But again, she decided not to argue. If Shay and Faux-Alicia said it was private, then it was as private as a room with thin walls. She had also gotten distracted by Coral, who had gone from flying above to resting on her shoulder. The bird fell into her cradled arms at some point, until Runali suddenly flinched at the sudden burn. "Hot- !Coral, your feathers." Her feathers hadn't started melting, but they started to glow a bright red like the fire Luro and Runali conjured. When she was dropped on the ground, the glow stopped. Her magma may not have returned fully, but it was obvious she could at least heat up.

She was scooping up Coral again when the bird cooled. Hearing Jones' name made a cold chill run down her spine, but she straightened up anyway. "We're not really in the business of communing with the dead anymore." She passed Coral over to Luro. "For multiple reasons. Most being it requires us to be dead and that's not a good deal for a future Pirate Lord."

Shay seemed like they wanted to say more on the subject of privacy, but ultimately left the matter alone, they closed their eyes perhaps in understanding of their concerns, since their own privacy was put into question. Seeing the bird's feather's Shay's eyes widened slightly but their expression returned to normal relatively quickly.
Luro meanwhile had a Coral on his shoulder, feeding snacks to her. Emil wanted to raise serious questions about how he had snacks in a temporary body but decided not to press it.
"I will keep it as short as I can...the only gods or…'higher beings' allowed here are the ones permitted by the Sovereign along with their influence. Sir Cedric I'm sure you've noticed that Master Er'is is missing…along with the others within you…Lady Runali Master Jones'….'watcher' also isn't present with you."
Zilia crossed her arms at this information, if that was the case then part of the reason her 'Guardian's weren't showing up was probably because they counted as 'Higher Beings', her weakened power definitely played a part…but she had a feeling even at her usual strength summoning them wouldn't work.
Her eyes moved up to Shay at this as her thoughts went back to the person who put them here.
"I am sorry but you will lose them."
She didn't let her thoughts go any further past that warning, to her knowledge Shay didn't know about the stranger, much less Imposter at least that was her hope. At the very least that confirmed Shay probably wasn't involved, since they repeated that message.
"That warning was true then…" Zilia thought closing her eyes.
"Sir Luro…the Imposter within you was quiet when you woke up, correct?"
"Yep! It was kinda nice not to have their voice in my head. Much easier to think."
"With your 'powers' returned…they have also returned. I would like to inform you that the Imposter in you is not real, the one within you is still sealed away, His Highness felt…you would miss the whispers and nightmares so he placed another one in you."
"That sounds like something Imposter would do," Luro said. "So this one's fake huh…"
Luro reached up and tapped his head at this and Shay pulled out a small book from their sleeve and continued.
"This is all to say and this is in His Highness words 'you have no help, I'm your only salvation man stinks to be you. Wahahahah! Shay make sure to say it demeaningly but not exactly, and don't write this part down."
The servant read the 'statement' in a straightforward, formal demeanor taking away the gravitas Imposter was probably trying to convey. Shay put the book away and looked over at Cedric.
"If you would like your 'summons' back, you must speak with his Highness, they will not manifest without his permission, Sovereigns allow what exists here as you have been informed…it does not matter what they are, or what they claim to be, they must have permission to be here to exist, that is the rule of this world."
Shay said this before their eyes fell to the floor for a moment, their brows lowering slightly. False Alicia cleared her throat and the servant jumped before looking back at the others, putting their 'face' back on.
"Ah but I did get permission to return these to you," Shay said before digging in their sleeve.
Walking over to Cedric they handed him something very familiar, something he would recognize even with his current sight.
"Your feline companions. I got permission to return them to you. Anything past this…you'll need to speak with His Highness, since Jones' deal can be ignored here, of course your sight can be returned as well…more than likely on a whim."
"With that said, Imposter has no intention of making an enemy of Jones. Since that would be…'tedious' I believe," False Alicia added.
"Thus your state in the world is stable," Shay added.
"...what in the world does that mean?" Emil asked looking over at Shay.
Shay blinked and clearing their throat they offered a quick bow and walked past the group.
"Have a good night, I will see you in the morning."
False Alicia stared at Stardusk for a moment, her gaze lingering on her counterpart before she gave a small bow and turning walked away from the group.
"Wait Other Alicia," Luro said causing the False Alicia to pause.
"I do have a question, and it's important. I think it's important for Hanako to know too."
False Alicia turned glancing at Hanako before looking at Luro.
"Do you and our Alicia wear the same underwear?"
The swordswoman eyed Luro for a brief moment, she seemed to suck in a deep breath and after releasing it went to draw her blade.
"Wait wait ignore him! He doesn't mean what he says," Zilia added. "I mean…he does but he doesn't…um…Captain say something!"

Runali didn't expect the hollow feeling in her chest when she was told Jones wasn't bound to her and that the ghostly creature - her 'watcher' - wasn't looming in the deepest parts of her brain. It wasn't as if they bothered her often, and she admittedly forgot they were there most times until she was a little too close to facing death… She didn't miss the consequences of it, but she'd at least tell Jones that he was the preferred dead ghost haunting behind her. Runali remained quiet about it, not as enthusiastic as she was before both because of her own relationship with Jones and Cedric's. Both were made in desperation, both were looming reminders of deaths to come. It'd sour her mood if she let it, but fortunately having to save Luro became her distraction.

With a laugh, she tugged the back of Luro's robe to get him out of arm's range. "He absolutely means what he says - too much in fact." As if Luro was the modicum of innocence, she patted his arm. "He doesn't mean any harm, he was just… dunked in too much seawater as a kid." The laughter was in her eye as she repressed it. "He's just… chatty! Any real Alicia would know he's perfectly harmless… And that Zil will do worse to him anyway so best to save your, uh, energy."

Fake Alicia remained still, her eye moving between Runali and Zilia, while she seemed 'upset' from her furrowed brow she seemed to back off easily enough to Zilia's surprise. The woman released a small sigh as Luro stared at her, clearly still waiting for an answer.
"...That was a joke," Fake Alicia said calmly. "I am aware of Luro's antics…with that said…"
False Alicia removed her sword from her waist and lightly bonked Luro on the head with her Saya, the redhead gripped his head and ducked down as she returned her sheath ot it's home at her side.
"That is not something you ask Luro…though I know at this point words are meaningless so we will go with pain this time."
If she noticed Runali's was enjoying it she didn't show it openly, only closing her eye as Luro continued to rub his head. A relieved sigh escaped from Zilia and her gaze moved to the Fake Alicia.
"Real Alicia…huh…"
The woman turned and walked away from the group at this.
"Sleep well Stardusk."
"Wait…you said you were used to Luro's antics…does that mean there's another…" Zilia said but trailed off at the thought.
False Alicia glanced over her shoulder at Zilia at this, but said nothing and continued walking away turning her attention forward again, Luro raised his hand and called out to her as she approached the end of the hall.
"You never answered whether you-"
Zilia immediately covered Luro's mouth as the woman pass through the water at the end of the hall, once she did the water seemed to ripple before it seemed to twist in the air, solidifying and turning into a wall before blocking their exit. Once she was fully gone Zilia removed her hand from his mouth.
"I know why you ask every Tashigi you come across that question, but I still dislike that you do!"
"I think my theory's right though…"
"It's not I assure you, I'm just grateful you didn't ask Hanako…anyway thank you Captain. In our current state I'm not sure how that would have gone if she'd been serious…"
Emil was knocking on the wall and gave it a firm armament coated punch after a few taps, he stared at the wall which showed no signs of changing much less showed any sign of being hit.
"...this way's blocked. I don't think there's even a crack in it. Guess we don't 'need' air so sealing us in is simple…guess they did so to keep Adelaide from slipping through."
"There's definitely air around us…maybe it's just how this place is," Zilia added.
"That aside I am curious why you haven't asked Hanako as well Makachi," Emil said turning to him. "You don't intend on it anytime soon right?"
There seemed to be something in the youth's words but it was missed by the redhead.
"Hm I don't really need too. Anyway Imma go to my room now."
"Wait what do you mean you don't have to check?" Emil said holding a hand up to him.
Luro was already walking into his room at this causing Emil to make his way back to the group.
"Oi Luro, why don't you have to ask about Hanako's…"
A gunshot rang out causing Emil to jump a bit and Luro poked his head out of his room.
"The windows are really tough, didn't even crack when I shot em, probably can't get out that way'" Luro said before pulling his head back in. "Good night!"
"Oi Luro answer the ques-"
The door to Luro's room shut and Emil lowered his hand before a heavy sigh escaped from him.
"...you know what sleep suddenly sounds great."

"Yeah… probably not the safest for him to be off on his own." Runali counted to three on her fingers just to hear the gunshot at two. With a click of her tongue and a shake of her head as Coral flew out of his room, she gestured to Emil. "Might be best to have roommates after all. Just in case the king of this castle decides to try and snatch us up in the middle of the night." She clamped her hands together like the maw of a dragon. "Can never be too careful after all." She patted Emil's shoulder and gestured him toward Luro's door with a smile. "You can be my guest and pair up with Luro if you want. Assuming Jackie and Adelaide are out the question, dealer's choice goes to the rest of you -- unless of course you want to be in these weird shape shifting, maybe private rooms by yourself. I won't stop your bravery."

Zilia eyed her own room for a moment and walked over to Runali.
"...I think I'll share with you Captain, if you don't mind the imposition."
Emil let out a heavy sigh and walked towards Luro's room.
"I'll stay with him till he falls asleep then he's on his own…gotta finish our conversation anyway. Night everyone."
The lantern lights on the walls slowly started to go out one by one, removing the light from the hallways as if to indicate that it was actually night time, the long day within the kingdom was coming to an end, if it could even be called that.
Tomorrow the grou's 'work' would begin.

---

Imposter eyes slowly opened to see Shay kneeling down in front of him, shifting in his throne he offered the servant a smile, the sun outside had set leaving only the night sky, a bright purple moon casting its light on the kingdom. The light within the room had dulled in response to the approach of night, Shay raiseed their eyes to see the light of the moon fall over their king's face, concealing the top half in shadow, a smile dipped in nihilism was all he could see of his master's expression.
"Mortal's are so fascinating aren't they Shay…"
His voice was different from the one Stardusk had encountered, there was a joyful gravitas to it, the words that came from Imposter carried an unseen weight that pressed down on those present, which at this moment was only Shay.
This was his king.
"...Very much so your Highness.
"I'll say this to rid you of your worry. You're allowed to feel whatever you like towards them…but don't forget who you serve."
"Of course your Highness. My loyalty is yours as always."
"Good...the next time you pull something like that...I'll make you prove it. Are we understood?"
Shay swallowed down the feelings that threatened to rise up in them and bowed their head a bit lower.
"Of course your Highness."
"Raise your head."
Shay slowly raised their head, taking notice that the moon had shifted slightly and Imposter's voice had returned to it's lightherted manner, but he could still feel the invisible threat hovering over his body, so they couldn't help but stay a bit stiff. His eyes came to rest on his master's face, fully illuminated by the light, the smile of his king had shifted slightly into a knowing smirk.
"Let us enjoy the madness that follows to it's fullest."

Prologue "Prisoners"
End

​

 

[SilentxChaos]

Collab bet'w Silent & Fox​

(Sid's here, yay)

​

Jack's hand hovered over the door meant for Cedric. It'd only been five minutes since the crew sequestered themselves before his anxiety got the best of him. Something's wrong, but will he talk to me about it? Jackie crawled around his neck, bumping her head against his cheek. He grimaced.

"You're right. I'm being a coward."

Taking a deep breath, he released it in a gush, and knocked on Cedric's door. "Fere, can I come in?"

Greenery stretched as far as the eye could see. Cedric sat, curled up against a large tree, in the center of a flower-filled meadow. Snow capped mountains fenced him in, keeping him safe from … everything. This was his haven whenever he needed to escape the academy. Out here, he was truly alone, able to nurse his newly acquired wounds and hide from those wishing to hurt him. He kept his face cradled in his folded arms, unwilling to answer the knock on the door. Jack - he wished the man would leave him alone!

"You can't make me," he grumbled as he tried ignoring the two pairs of eyes. His familiars' voices mingled in his head, one rational and the other excitable. "Fine! I'll send him away." He glared at Chester with red, swollen eyes. "See! I'm not crying."

Not anymore, came the purry reply inside his head.

"Just go to Amaiya. I'm sure she'd like the company," he sighed as he rubbed away the remaining tears with his sleeve. He felt a furry body caterpillaring between his legs; he paused, secretly glad that neither familiar listened to him.

The scenery shifted with each step. Tall grass flattened into polished floorboards, trees morphed into cupboards and shelves of different heights, and the ground spat out tables, chairs and finally a large stove and oven. His room was a replica of Jack's kitchen back on the ship. All the colours perfect, the way he remembered them, and could see again. He lingered with a hand at the door. He felt choked all of a sudden. Almost giddy despite the light breeze wafting from the open windows. He braced himself and shoved the door violently open.

He stood there with his arms crossed, barely stopping himself from breaking into an apology. Why should he care that the door nearly slammed into Jack's face? "What do you want?"

Chaos popped her head from behind him. "Meow," she explained. Her eyes blinked as she prodded Jack's mind. "Rrrrr," she shook her head to try reassuring her Other Master that Cedric wasn't actually angry.
Jack blinked at Sid, and his unease evaporated. "Ouch. Hello to you, too."

He moved past Cedric and into his room, ignoring any protests, looking around. "Did you change your room just for me? You definitely shouldn't have if you didn't want to talk."

Jack flashed his younger brother a smile like he was determined to meet obstinance with flippancy. He immediately started rifling through the kitchen, seeing what would appear in the drawers, pulling things out at random. He'd only partially listened to Shay when they described how to change the room to Adelaide and had left before the conversation was finished.

He wasn't used to this…Cedric being angry at him. The last time it'd happen was when Jack told him that he should stop working for Charlotte du Vontiago. At that time, he couldn't see the worst of his mentor, and Jack could only see that much.

He patted the countertop, a gesture to Sid. "Come sit, and yell at me if you must. Or get whatever's bothering you off your chest. I'll make us a drink."

Cedric scooped Chester into his arms and hugged his fluffy caterpillar closer to his chest. His purple eyes shooting daggers at Jack as the man walked around. He buried his face in the melting body, noting, much to his familiar's dismay, that his striped cat was gaining weight. "No cream for Chester," he remarked offhandedly. "You and Amaiya fed him too well. Any heavier and we'll end up stooped when he rides on the shoulders."

'Nonsense!' a miffed voice echoed in the brothers' heads. 'I'm naturally large and barely eat. M'ctian is the one you need to over feed.'

"Then why are you heavy, mon ami?" Sid teased with a smile as he dipped into an armchair that sprouted from the ground. He ran bare hands over the exposed white belly. "Don't worry, I love you all the same." He crooned while ignoring Jack's earlier question. "I'm glad you're constant in your affection. I am too."

He waited for the other cats to gather around and demand their share of affection. Sofa morphed into bed and he sat in the middle with his purring familiars. He gave Jack space to do what he liked, Sid wasn't keen to make eye contact save those accidental glances when he heard his brother rumbling through different drawers. The feeling was back again, an fiery monster that clawed up his insides, marked by a growing awareness of the pettiness and childishness he was exhibiting. He shifted until his back was to Jack.

Jack hummed a soft melody, pretending not to notice Sid's behavior. He would instantly recognize it as a Feian lullaby sung to them by their mother, Zhi Ruo. She had a gift of coaxing even the most hateful person into a kind smile. Jack hoped the sound of her would soothe Cedric now.

He came around until he was in Cedric's line of sight again and offered a steaming mug. "It's hot cocoa, with a little extra something I think you'd like."

Jack smiled and made a show of drinking his first. He sat on the opposite of the bed, giving Sid his space, but not leaving. He pinned Sid down an expectant, raised eyebrow. "You've been surly with me long before we dropped into Facade. I'd hope you'd come to me when you're ready but you didn't, and now we're in danger. I don't want us at odds in a fight."

He stared into his cup, gently swirling its contents. Sadness laid over him like a cloak. "Before you…died… we promised to be more honest with each other. To be more brothers than, well, parent and son I guess. Equal footing and trust and all that. Has that changed?"

A stubborn child stared back, sulking further into the bed and away from the steaming cup. Cedric didn't have to hiss. His actions made it clear that he didn't appreciate the intrusion, even though the memories of Ma Zhi relaxed him moments ago. The younger brother went back to staring at the cat in his lap. He reached out for his other two familiars, but they were long gone. They climbed happily all over Jack, secure in the older man's presence, as he had been the only constant in their lives while Sid was dead.

Sid addressed Chester again. "Are we really brothers? Jack's been ignoring me," he confided in his first familiar. "I thought you loved me enough to bring me back."

Unknown to him, the cat sisters were conveying to Jack every memory replaying in his mind. Instances where Sid felt truly alone and ignored. The pain and fear that overwhelmed him whenever Jack pulled away from him, leaving him confused. Cedric's anger finally boiling over when Jack didn't rush to him after he was impaled. Sid sighed loudly, trying his best to ignore the bile tainting his tongue.

Jack jerked away from the cats, Sid's emotions clawing into his heart. He took several breaths to calm himself. "Sid, I–I didn't know you felt that way. How could I know if you didn't tell me?"

Drinks forgotten, Jack moves to kneel beside the bed, placing himself lower than his brother. "Cedric, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to ignore you. I know it's hard. You came back and found four years had gone by. I have more responsibilities now and…my attention isn't always where it should be. I don't love you any less. I've missed you so much. I thought…"

Jack trailed off. He hated that he hurt his brother but then, what did Sid want? There was a time when Cedric was his whole world. They agreed it'd created an imbalance in their relationship: Sid too reliant on him, and Jack too closed off, afraid to burden his already burdened brother.

Now he accepted his role as Spymaster and it wasn't just Stardusk he had to look after. He was building a network. He was becoming a leader in his own right, something he never believed would happen. He had so much to tend too, but he thought he had always made time for Cedric. Hadn't he?

Jack waited, his eyes pleading Sid to talk to him.

Sid's throat tightened at the sight. His brother, begging on his knees, with those sad eyes. Sid wheezed and began pulling away. He couldn't think. He clutched his throat; he didn't know why but the sight made him sick. He jumped off the other side. He teleported towards the door and he ran out without a second thought. Lingering on his mind was one thing - Jack looked like him, the battered child him, in the mirror. He couldn't take it anymore! He wanted anything but this!

Angry tears slid down his face as he charged forward. He would stab the man if he stayed there a minute longer. 'Jack's so stupid! Why couldn't his brother understand that he wanted to be alone with him? It stopped being about two of them for months, and it was driving him crazy! Those moments alone kept his nightmares away. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in forever! Stupid Jack!'

Jack stayed where he was, staring in shock where Cedric had disappeared. He's never run from me before.

He rocked on his heels, trying to sort out his roiling emotions and thoughts. He suddenly took one of the mugs and threw it against the wall. The cup shattered, brown liquid staining the wall. In the next blink, it was gone–the magic of Imposter's palace righting the wrong. Jack was only more infuriated by watching his physical anger wiped away.

Eventually he threw his hands up into the air and stormed out of Cedric's room, leaving the familiars behind.

—--------------------------

​

Somewhere else…

The hallway around Cedric convulsed. Windows shuddered and the walls hummed in anger. A too sweet floral scent wafted into his face and he saw thin, translucent streaks of silver twist the air around him. He watched as, at the other end of the hall, Adelaide regained her corporeal form. Here in the Facade, her winds were visible for all to see.

She must have been testing the walls and windows. Confirming that not even she could sleep out.

What she felt or thought about that, Cedric couldn't tell. Her focus was on him: pinning down him, a butterfly under glass, trapped and on display.

Adelaide was a master imitator. She learned a long time ago that her "neutral" expression unnerved people, so she'd practiced plastering a smile on, which fooled the somewhat discerning masses. Cedric was used to it the most, that empty smile, something Jack picked up in the form of his half-smirk.

She wasn't doing that now.

All of her was empty. No smile. No mask. Her eyes–so light, so soft in color– made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Eyes of a predator. Blank. Soulless.

Was Adelaide going to kill him? Did she know his feelings toward Jack, and had come to punish him?

Her head tilted, assessing, curious.

In the end, it was Cedric who walked away.

Cedric bared his teeth as he sensed that gaze. "Laiz moi, chi -" (let me go, bi - ) he stopped himself. Some respect remained for the brother that annoyed him so. Adelaide was Jack in a way, the man's wife. He turned away and continued walking. "Cela ne vous concerne pas," (not literally: stay out of this) he hissed. "He's not your dog."

Adelaide simply grinned at his back.

 

[Winter]

Uncomfortable, that was the best word picked from a vast collection to best describe her eyes falling open the imperfect mirror facing back at her. The eyepatch, the red iris but most of all that demeanor she wore in that reflected expression, Alicia knew it well.

Like peering into the past she saw a version of herself from way back before she'd allowed the walls built around her to be eroded away by her friends. Yet there was more to this which struck Alicia rather than a mere captured moment in time, for Alicia was not without a twin.

Thus did she first assume it was another before she recognized the likeness of herself. Furrowed brows and silence expressed her thoughts and feelings, suspicion and caution warranted for another who would wear her own features so openly. After all no one knew Alicia as well as herself.

As details surrounding the nature of this world continued to filter in through conversation, the silent swordswoman began to piece together thoughts birthed from this new information and in time became all the more concerned once there was mention of branching paths made manifest based on choices.

~"We can never see beyond the choices we don't understand, but in the end it's those choices that make us who we are."~

Alicia stared into the distance of the hall as they walked and conversed, recalling that singular quote of words spoken so very long ago. It wasn't until her other self mentioned a conversation that she turned her attention away from her thoughts to finally give sound to her internal thoughts.

"A talk will be necessary, I have some important questions... for you." she spoke in a tone and manner that conveyed a directness towards her other self. Though for the nature of those questions Alicia didn't seem to elaborate further that for the time being, There would be time for that later.

Alicia kept her silvered eyes locked upon that red iris before she became distracted by Luro being... well, Luro. She was pulled from her thoughts and found herself building a rising warmth of deep embarrassment the more words spewed from that stupid mouth of his.

"Luro!" she warned but the familiar sound of a Saya tapping his head caused an irritated sigh to follow from her lips instead. She raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, looking up only to raise her eyebrow towards her other self as she caught her small comment.

She thought to question it before Luro continued on bringing Hanako into the conversation. She reached up a hand and pinched onto Luro's ear hard, tugging him downward towards her level. "That's enough... stop talking!" she spoke firmly, holding his head in place by his ear for a moment before letting him go.

She exhaled as everyone seemed to be retiring towards their rooms for now. She certainly had a lot to think about so would soon retire herself before long.

 

[SilentxChaos]

​

"Conqueror Runali."

Jack half-groaned, half-laughed. "She'[d be insufferable."

Adelaide leaned her back against his knees. "What a fight it'd be."

"With our own Captain, it's doable. But it'd only take meeting one version with superior King's haki to give us issues."

"A strong will is all we--ow." She hissed at him when he pulled her hair too hard.

He offered a goading smile. "Don't flatter yourself. Not even you can resist her King's haki. I can't and I'm around her more."

"Who else is going to flatter me, if not me?" She smirked and settled back into the warm bath.

Jack snorted, shaking his head before pouring water through her soapy locks.

They sat in a steaming, natural pool with a bubbling creak. Surrounding them, a jungle of flowers that took up half of their shared bedroom. Most of them Jack didn't even know. Those he did, he noticed that in their world, would not be found in this humid habitat. It was an explosion of color to match their creator's tastes-- and likely all poisonous, also like Adelaide.

The other side held the bed and wardrobes, which remained the same, except for one noticeable exception: The ceiling was gone , opening the room to the stars of the Facade.

The couple posited whether the celestial skies were true to Imposter's realm or taken from...somewhere else. Assuming the stars didn't change on a regular basis. Or maybe it was simply the fulfillment of Jack's wish to see a new sky and they existed nowhere. So much was unknown.

But they were alien and beautiful and Jack would constantly look up as if to commit them to memory.

After Jack's tirade of Cedric's behavior and his worries, Adelaide grew bored and decided to distract him. They began a thought experiment as to what possible alternates selves they could meet. Jack naturally worried over the darker, more dangerous options. They agreed that "evil" versions of Zilia, Cedric, and Alicia would pose the biggest threats, given their power levels. Their experiment soon turned strategic as they discussed advantages, disadvantages, and paths to victory over their myriad alternates. 'Conqueror Runali' was the latest in a long list. By the time Jack dried her hair and she wrapped it in oils and a silk bonnet, the conversation took another turn.

"Imagine Luro as an alligator," Jack chortled as he passed her a rum bottle.

Adelaide drank. "Squirrel Zilia. Her chattering makes it rain acorns."

Jack buried his laughter in her stomach. Her fingers idly ran over his dreadlocks.

She went on, "Alicia as a child would be illuminating." A smirk colored her face. "Less boring than she is now."
"On her behalf, I should be insulted." Jack stole the rum back. "But I am too drunk too care."

"I'll be sure to tell her that," Adelaide said.

He glowered. "Thanks." He took another swig. "Maybe we'll meet child you. Unbury all your little secrets."

"Maybe."

Jack rested his chin on her stomach so he could look at her properly. "You sound serious."

"If I was Imposter looking to rattle me, that's what I'd do."

"Do you think that's what he wants?"

"It wouldn't be fun otherwise."

Jack frowned. "You can't predict the unpredictable."

"I think they are more predictable than they know," she replied.

Jack snorted. He set aside the rum and pulled himself up so they could lay side-by-side, eye-to-eye. They stared at each other.

"I didn't think your childhood would rattle you," he said softly.

Even when talking aloud, there was another level of silent communication, always. A question lingered in his eyes.

Should I be concerned?
Adelaide's brow twitched. He winced at the rebuke.

"I was helpless then. Not now. We killed those part of ourselves."

Adelaide had always been Adelaide. Blank-faced and emotionally adrift, even in her childhood. Right and wrong were just words. Delivering pain and trickery seemed appropriate reactions for any slight. She learned from the adults who ran the orphanage, and they punished her when caught. She never thought much about it until she told Jack one day, not thinking much of it. Expecting the judgement, pity, or indifference that she was used to. They hadn't even been friends at the time--Jack loathed her.

Instead, Jack's brow had furrowed into what Adelaide later learned was self-righteous outrage, and he'd told her she should have burn the orphanage down. When she asked why, he'd said, "Because you were helpless in what you learned."

Adelaide hadn't considered herself helpless before. It gave her satisfaction to imagine doing what he'd suggested. She'd often fallen asleep, picturing the flames, and hearing the screams of the adults and children who'd wronged her.

Jack's gaze became downcast at her words, offering no counterargument. They both changed themselves to survive.

Adelaide continued playing with his hair and eventually broke the silence. "How would you rattle your crew, if you were Them?"

He exhaled heavily and pinched his nose to focus through the drunken haze. "Theoretically? I'd show us the versions of ourselves we never though we could become--or what we're afraid we could be."

"Such as?"

Jack thought. "I'm afraid of who I'd be if I lost everyone when I was younger. Cedric, my mothers, Hoshi too... I was angry all the time and it would've been my undoing."

"You were more sexy like that," mused Adelaide.

"Ha ha," Jack quipped. He continued, "The others will have their own answers but in my opinion... Cedric still suffers from self-perceived weaknesses--" He swallowed. Their fight burned in his mind. "To have another self that throws all of that back in his face, and feels none of it, would unbalance him.

"Runali is too confident in her own self to be swayed by a mirror image... but she carries guilt and blame for the crew members she's lost."

Adelaide hummed. "She's too passive and too trusting."

Jack's jaw ticked but he didn't deny it. "Perhaps seeing that taken to the extreme... perhaps an ultimate betrayal... I don't know."

When Jack didn't continue, Adelaide urged him on. "Keep going."

He sighed. "Lina's an open wound for Luro but Imposter knows everything about him, there's more possibilities that we can think of. Zilia has grown more accepting of her Devil Fruit power, but how much would it take to dismantle that and make her mute again? And Amaiya--"

"--threatening Imposter like she did shows she's brash," Adelaide took over. Jack side-eyed her. Not for the first time, he wondered if Adelaide detested that Alicia had wind power too. "Ready to avenge without a second thought. She's too focused on the crew and not the bigger picture."

Don't know if I'd go that far, he thought to himself. He didn't feel like adding on, especially when Adelaide gave a new look that raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

"You know you all have one mass weakness."

"Oh? What's that?" He already knew.

She scoffed, knowing that too. "You're all obscenely arrogant."

He exhaled the breath he'd been holding. In each our own way, I guess we are. He didn't tell her that. "And you're not?"

She chuckled. "Love, I'm the queen of it."

A laugh escaped him, and it broke them both out their seriousness. He drew her close and pushed his nose into the nape of her neck.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," he mumbled, sleep overtaking him.

It wouldn't be until tomorrow that Jack recalled this conversation, and feel a sickly twinge. He would wonder how much of their guesses were true... how well could he destroy his family from within?

 

[Mizos]

"Your Highness."
A strange voice called out, familiar but unable to be placed. This name was known but not by the ones observing the scene, silent observers of another world peered at the face of a man sitting upon a throne. It wasn't the face of the one they had come to know, it was a new person, a man with short raven color hair and apricot skin;, a pair of green eyes rose from the book in his hand as he peered at the person in front of him. The 'king' was dressed in regal garb but it was simple for his station, a white surcoat and white pants accompanied by brown boots, if not for the golden grown sitting on his head adorned with red jewels it's be hard to place him as the king of the country.
He resembled a mix of nobility and common in his appearance and general attitude from those that knew him.

The man who called out to him was a knight, somewhat short in stature to the king but from the way he carried himself, a trained eye could see he had earned the silver armor he wore. He was young, his long golden hair tied in a low ponytail, most would confuse him for a squire than a proper knight when he didn't wear his mail.
"It's good to see you _____, what brings you here?"
The king spoke a name but it went silent to those witnessing, as if something was preventing them from hearing it, or perhaps the name had been lost to whoever this scene was tied to.
"I've come to report the state of the kingdom…our harvest was wonderful this year, the negotiations with the other kingdom have gone well and lessing the taxes this year have allowed people to breathe after the recent draught. The people are content."
"That's all I can ask for…thank you for the report."
"Of course Your Highness… though if I may speak freely my lord?"
"We are friends here ____ go ahead."
"...the people are happy…but they are concerned why you haven't taken a wife."
"Ah that again…haha I suppose that makes sense."
"Should I say something to them in your stead?"
"No it's quite all right. I have served as king for many years. I've tried to rule fair and justly…but tomorrow is never promised. I should have an heir of some sort, or someone to take over. Someone who will ensure my country thrives for years to come. Someone who will take the people into consideration and rule with kindness and sincerity."
"I am happy to hear that…I hear there are many offers from neighboring kingdoms that we are allied with, I can speak with them and arrange meetings."
"I do not want politics mixed into my marriage ____, more than necessary anyway. I'd prefer someone I hold affection with."
"Your Highness?"
The knight raised their head as the king stood from his throne and walked down the small steps, moving past him he gave him a pat on the shoulder as he passed.
"I think it's about time I settled down too. I'm heading to town."
"...huh…your Highness? Why are you going into town all of a sudden? Your Highness?!"

---

​

(Respect to Kinoko)

---

Facade

​

Luro's eyes opened and he sat up slightly from his throne chair, he blinked as his head tried to piece together what had just happened. It wasn't uncommon for him to see random memories in his sleep thanks to Imposter, but these ones felt slightly different, this 'king' didn't seem to be another victim, the memories seemed happy. Reaching over he grabbed a rum bottle from the floor and opening it took a quick swig before standing up from his seat, he was surrounded on all sides by the 'rum room', the state the bedroom took when he focused. He noticed Emil had already left the room, which made sense as half the room had shifted into Emil's own version of the room, when he left it had apparently become fully his. Grabbing another bottle off the wall he went to leave the room.

Zilia's eyes shot open, and she sat up suddenly as the images faded from her mind. She blinked a few times and brought a hand to her head as her breathing slowly steaded. She took a brief moment to try and figure out what just occurred. She closed her eyes recalling the memory, it felt so intimate for some reason, as if she was walking in the shoes of this…'king', she could feel his happiness, his calmness, his…loneliness. Lowering her hand from her head she looked at the books surrounding her. She had shared a room with Runali, and just as Shay said when she focused half the room had turned into…well her room full of books. Opening them however the books were blank, minus the ones she had read and knew by heart. The room only imitated what her memory could spare, she hadn't read every book in her room, so those books were blank.
Standing up she brushed herself off and grabbing her coat threw it on.
"Captain…are you up? If so I feel like we should talk…and we'll meet the others."

The other half of Zilia's shared room was reminiscent of her captain's cabin. The only difference was instead of a hammock it was a smaller bed that she sank into. Unfamiliarity made it hard for her to get a deeper sleep but she was at least comfortable, with Coral perched on a pillowy nest above her head. "Awake as I'll ever be, doctor. Was hoping I'd wake up to a weird dream I could blame on accidentally drinking sea water or something." She sat up, looking over at all the books scattered and then her own emptier space, a bed and a desk no doubt filled with newspaper clippings and important papers of island ownership and various maps. All things probably better in Zil's book room… if there was a way to not get lost in the maze of books in there.

She sighed and stood to her feet, finding her belongings as well. She tested her haki again, but it left her with a disappointed frown when she got the same results. "Aye, we have to make sure everyone's accounted for. And still have to find Sel. And you know, get outta here. Lot to talk about, lot's to do." She started to walk past her desk, but paused to peek inside a few drawers. There were a few letters from different places, some were blank only with a signature while others were full. In another drawer, there were a handful of eyepatches. "Hm… feels weird to use things that aren't… really mine. Or at least, they are but an odd copy of it." Before she could go on a spiraling existential tangent, she opted to keep the eyepatch she came with.
"Agreed…I'm especially worried about Luro. Given his relationship with Imposter…" Zilia trailed off, deciding to let that thought fade. "Never mind, finding Seliria, reuniting, and escape plans sounds good."
A pair of glasses manifested in the doctor's hand and she placed them on her face before adjusting them, her power was greatly reduced but precautions didn't hurt, the devil fruit was still dangerous and active now.
"By the way Captain. Did you see a dream, something about a king that wasn't Imposter?"
Zilia looked over at Runali at this, she felt a strange connection with the others during whatever that was, as if they were next to her but she couldn't see them, she wasn't sure if that was a trick of this world or reality at this point and it admittedly concerned her.
The door to Runali's room was kicked open and Luro walked in with a grin.
"Hey Captain! I had a weird dream last night. Oh hey Z forgot you were here."
"Luro…we've talked about knocking."
"I heard voices so I figured it was okay," Luro said scratching the side of his head. "Hold on."
Luro closed the door and after knocking on the door kicked it open again.
"Hi Captain! Good morning! I had a weird dream. Hi to you too Z."
"I know you're trying but…never mind good morning Luro."

"Zil, to be fair, you're always worried about Luro." Runali couldn't deny being worried too, but she figured so long as Luro was close by it'd at least make things easier. At least that was her hope. "Oh yeah the weird-" Despite Luro's interruption, it did relax her more to see that he was fine and didn't find himself lost in the middle of a strange, unknown kingdom. "Ah, it's fine doc, it's just our room. Knock on everyone else's though, they might get upset." She waited for Luro to come back to continue. "Morning Luro! Glad to see you survived the night without trying to blow up another wall. Was your weird dream related to Zil's and mine about a king and a knight? Because if it was, join the club. Don't know what it means, but if the others saw it too we could go looking for a different crowned person. Maybe one that's willing to give more answers. Or, you know, be just as tricky as Imposter."

Luro grinned at Runali's response before looking over at Zilia who was squeezing the bridge of her nose, not happy at how right Runali was. Though as she settled down she realized Luro had also had the strange dream, she crossed her arms figuring if the three of them had it, then the others probably did as well.
"Something to keep in mind…also knock on my door Luro, wherever I am," Zilia said. "Anyway let's get going."
The moment the trio left the room they found Shay waiting nearby, they was clearly waiting for the others to join them as well. The other Alicia wasn't with them and to those that exited their rooms they gave a small bow as greeting.
"I apologize for coming this early but I've come to retrieve you…and to those still in their rooms I doubly apologize."
Shay said this and went silent before waiting a bit longer for the others to show, Emil didn't come out immediately, thus when the rooms vanished doors and Emil found himself standing in the hall, still in the middle of combing his hair.
He blinked looking at the others and with a small flourish put his comb away, tied his hair into a low ponytail and put his hat on.
"So I'm guessing we're going," Emil said.
"Yes please follow me."
Shay turned and walk down the hall that now consisted of only one 'watery' door, Zilia glanced behind her seeing there was only an empty hall and a dead end now before turning and walking in the only direction accessible to them.
When they passed through the water door she expected them to end up back in the throne room with Imposter waiting for them, instead they ended up in what looked like a large kitchen, with multiple counters, and a few ovens and hearths placed near said counters, there were also numerous cauldrons. The room seemed made for multiple cooks to take advantage of it, each with their own spots. Utensils and silverware were abound and it was clear some of the decor and heating implements were inspired by Brass cape, there was even a few bronze stoves which Luro was already poking at.

"How did we get here?"
"The Passages, what we call those doorways connect to all parts of the castle. The destination is chosen before one passes through it."
False Alicia walked into the open from another Passage and offered a small bow to the crew.
"It's other Alicia!" Luro said before waving at her.
"...If you would like, you can refer to me as Tashi. I'm fine having my counterpart go by our name. It will only be while you all are present in the end."
"That does make it easier I suppose…" Zilia said. "That aside, Shay why are we here? I thought Imposter would be summoning us and…well I didn't want to think past that."
"Huh? To have breakfast of course. You're going to work today, you need to eat properly. His Highness is giving a speech in town, he'll see you when you return. He did meet with Lady Seliria since she woke up earlier."

​

Emil opened his mouth to comment but closed it as he actually thought about their previous conversation. To maintain their 'humanity' it was important to eat, and do normal human things. He hadn't felt hungry at all until breakfast was mentioned now, as if his body 'remembered' it needed to eat he felt the pangs of hunger. They also apparently just missed Seliria, she seemed to be handling all this surprisingly well.
That aside he really wanted to ask if anyone else has a strange dream about some king.
"I will make a quick meal…ah wait some unknown person making your food is a bit much isn't it? Sir Jack is of course free to use the kitchen and materials to cook and you can eat his meals. I have to cook for His Highness and the others, I'll make extra just in case."
"...we're not going to get beheaded for using the Kitchen are we?" Emil asked glancing at the two.
"Not anymore, no," Tashi said. "Your paperwork is done, you are official members of the kingdom's forces, which means you can move around freely and use our facilities as you wish. If you would like a tour just approach one of us at any time, otherwise outside of when you have duties, you can wander freely now."
"So we can't explore right now?" Emil asked, looking over at Tashi.
"No, since you have a job to do, afterwards however by all means."
"You can go anywhere in the castle, and outside too…but you can't leave the castle grounds without one of us…the barrier won't let you, but you can go outside though," Shay added setting pots on the counter. "Once you're done eating I'll take you to your destination. If Sir Jack would like to cook the ingredients are in the cupboards above, and down here, the spices are over here and…."
Shay tapped the doors under the counters and pointed to the cupboards up top, there were small signs attached to each one showing what lay on the other side, making it easy to navigate as he pointed out each spot food was kept.
"We have everything so choose what you like. If we don't have what you need let me know and I'll retrieve it."
"I want rum," Luro said raising his hand slightly.
"Second top drawer on the right," Shay said motioning to a cupboard nearby.
Luro opened the cabinet and digging into it pulled out two bottles before closing it, with a grin he moved one into his sleeve before opening the other one.

Runali did her captain-ly check, going to each of her crew (Emil included) and making sure they had all of their arms and legs and most of their sanity intact before they ventured off with Shay. When she was satisfied, she fell somewhere in the middle of the group, listening to the chatter but not actively participating unless she was questioned. She was more curious about how the rooms and doors disappeared and changed as it reminded her of the Court's maze of a ship. It made her wonder what the limits to illusory magic were here too.

She focused a little more when Coral ducked into her arms when they passed through the 'watery' door and into the kitchen. There were a few things to take in that Runali was trying to prioritize. First, it was a sigh at the mention of Seliria being around and missing them - whether it was one of relief or distress was unclear. The captain just needed to make sure the Nova cook was on the ship with them when they all left this place. Second was the idea of having a 'job' - sure they went over it the day before, but it still made Runali's nose wrinkle at the idea of being imprisoned. She hated the idea of being someone's lackey. But they didn't have much choice so she decided not to complain too much. And last was breakfast. She hadn't thought about it or the fact that it could have been tampered with until Shay said something. "Mmm… hey Luro you've downed enough poisons, do you wanna try Moss' food to see if he's trying to kill us? Unless you want to make breakfast, Jackie. I certainly wouldn't be opposed." She raised a brow at the rum bottles Luro grabbed and gestured for him to share.
"Why aren't we allowed to leave the barrier? Think we'll run away or something?" It was partially a tease, but the idea of it did make her more curious about what was beyond the castle. "And does this job we have to do require a fight? Our track record with dealing with nobility is not the most peaceful. No fault of ours of course."

"Sure I'll eat it," Luro said looking over at Shay.
Zilia wanted to comment on making Luro the poison person but stopped remembering his surprisingly high tolerance for it, something she didn't feel like pursuing at this exact moment. She did give a nod at the idea of Jack cooking however, she could trust his cooking to at least have the proper kick. Her eyes went over to Shay at Runali's question and the servant's eyes moved to the ground.
"The escort is for your safety."
Tashi was the one that answered glancing over at Runali before her gaze moved to Adelaide.
"Especially Adelaide's."
She closed her eye after this feeling that was enough to answer the question.
"I-in terms of the job," Shay said entering back into the conversation. "You'll have to fight so-"
Shay stopped talking and jumped as a knife flew through the air stabbing into the ground between Jack's feet. A click came from nearby and Zilia's gaze moved towards the sound to see Luro had already drawn his gun, a grin on his face as he loaded a bullet into his rifle. Red energy was already crackling around her fingers, her body had reacted before her eyes noticed the anomaly.
The air seemed to distort in front of them, the space swirling into itself. She had 'felt' the presence before noticing it. Whatever 'that' was it was making no attempt to hide its bloodlust, Emil felt his hair stand on end as his hand lingered near his weapon, and he took a small step closer to Hanako.

Something or rather someone seemed to walk out of the distortion, causing it to shimmer before fading.
It was a woman dressed in a white dress shirt, slightly unbuttoned with a black vest over it. A tie hung loosely around her neck, her wear seemed somewhat a mix of formal and casual, a pair of black slacks accompanied it, along with heeled black boots.
"You want my cooking that bad Runali. What am I gonna do with you?"
A long slender finger traced along tawny brown skin, stopping near lips that curved into a grin. Though that was the only place the expression existed, there was no smile in the woman's golden eyes resting behind a pair of dark yellow glasses.
"Lemme just kill Jack real quick and I'll get right on that."
"...Jackie."
Tashi opened her eye to look at the new visitor, one that bore a particular resemblance to the Stardusk cook, the woman twirled a knife in her free hand and her tied up dreads bounced a bit as she shifted her footing.
"We talked about this at the meeting. We are to avoid confrontations with our counterparts as much as possible."
"Missed that meeting Tashi."
"...the discussion to call me Tashi was at that same meeting."
"Must have missed the part about not killing Jack then."

Tashi seemed the embodiment of calm but her hand resting carefully on her sword was enough of a silent warning, it warranted a glance from the newcomer but only for a moment. Her eyes focused back on Jack almost immediately her body leaning forward slowly. She was akin to a coiled snake, a step away from striking at the person in front of her, whatever reason was holding her back was dissolving quickly, it showed in her maddened gaze.
Shay seemed to be looking between the groups trying to dissolve the situation somehow, eventually, they spoke up.
"Lady Jackie…would you adjust your vision to the young gentleman right there."
Shay's voice caused Jackie to stop twirling her knife showing she was paying attention to him at least.
"Why do I gotta-"
Jackie's gaze fell on Cedric and her eyes widened slightly, her body seemed to relax and her arm holding the knife fell to her side. Emil's eyes narrowed a bit as the air felt less…murderous if he had to put a word to it. Jackie straightened her body up and looked over at Tashi.
"...what's the meaning of this? Cedric is supposed to be dead."
"In the meeting…once again we discussed that Jack has saved Cedric. Your tunnel vision truly caused you to miss him?"
"You mean Jack managed to…no wait. I would do something like that," Jackie said.
Her eyes moved to Jack and with an exaggerated sigh, she did a small flourish with her hand causing the knife to vanish. Reaching up she adjusted her glasses before her stance shifted again, in a single moment her demeanor seemed to shift, her eyelids drooping slightly and her shoulders relaxing. The 'snake' had turned into a lazing cat in a blink, all energy seemed to leave her body and she relaxed considerably.
"You can calm down. I'm not gonna kill Jack. If I kill him it'll make Cedric sad, and if that Cedric ends up sad…my Cedric will end up sad. Not worth it."
Zilia wasn't too partial to believing her but seeing Luro put his rifle away caused her to at least straighten her body, she let the energy linger around her hand as a just in case.
Tashi's hand moved away from her blade and her body seemed to relax slightly.
"I mean…it would be nice to have his garbled cries after I slit his throat be my accompaniment as I cook…so feel free to attack me at any time Jack, if it's self-defense I should be fine. Echo of yours or not I can't deny it's tempting."
The woman offered a smirk at this.
"...you understand I will have to tell the Captain about this."
"Tashi do you hate me that much?" Jackie said looking over at her 'comrade' the smile immediately leaving her face. "The Captain made it clear to get along with the others."
"So you do remember the meeting, all the more reason to bring it up then."
"...the fact I missed the Cedric thing…she's going to mess with me for the next month over this one."
Jackie pulled out a Cigarillo, however when her eyes moved to Cedric she put it away before leaning against the counter.
"You can use my kitchen. Captain's order to cooperate with the 'other Stardusk's' means I have to share. I am surprised she hasn't come to see you herself personally, given that grin on her face when she heard about it. You ain't come across another you already Runali? Also…"
Jackie motioned to Hanako.
"I want to squeeze this Hanako's cheeks, she's so cute. Can I?"
"No."
Emil was the first to answer, causing Jackie to shrug.

"Doesn't feel very safe t'me." Runali went from leaning on a countertop to on her feet. She hadn't moved, the others doing it for her, but as the danger died down she sauntered forward in between Jack and Jackie to eye her over. The threat may have died down, but it was never gone. If she knew her own crew, and she liked to think that she did, she knew that Jack - or Jackie in this case - was not short of a hidden weapon. So, if she wanted to strike, she'd dare her to go for the captain first. Her interest piqued a little at the mention of their captain though. Their Stardusk crew. And it was the only reason Runali was almost sure Jackie wouldn't actually strike. If she knew her crew well enough, and she liked to think that she did, they held back when they were told.
"Mm, the resemblance is awfully close. Don't you think, Adelaide?" Her head tilted one way, somewhat impressed but looking for Adelaide's approval more than Jack's. "I expect this kind of behavior from you, Windy but tsk, tsk. The bloodlust aside," Her arms crossed and she shook her head in disappointment. "A Stardusk that doesn't listen in a captain's meeting? Hm," Runali gave an innocent smile. "Well, of course nothing beats the original. Guess I can't be too surprised since this is the Imposter's kingdom and they aren't really known for their… kindness… So you have a version of Cedric… Me… Alicia… and Hanako." She gestured over to Zilia. "The doctor too?" And then she gestured to Adelaide and Emil in question as well. There was a moment where she started to gesture to Luro too but she paused, wondering if his relationship with Imposter affected that. Instead, she turned to the 'other' first mate, Tashi. "Also, good a time as any to ask why there's duplicates of us?"

"I should hope so. I am him after all," Jackie said at the reference to her similarity. "Well minus the 'him' part."
She seemed to smile a bit clearly amused by how Runali made herself a target afterward, she glanced at Tashi who said nothing, but the two had a silent conversation with their eyes.
Though she was pulled back as Runali spoke again, her eyes twitching a bit she sighed rubbing the back of her neck.
"Not this Runali too…I know I know not my best moment, can we move on…please," Jackie said averting her gaze from the group. "I'm calm now."
She looked back at Runali's mention of the 'original' and with a grin offered a shrug.
"Can't disagree with that, though in our eyes this one's not the original."
Tashi was the one that looked over at Zilia and offered a nod indicating that there was indeed another Zilia, something that made the doctor eyes narrow a bit.
"There's an Echo of each of you," Jackie said motioning to the group. "Right Shay?"
"That's correct," Shay said setting a few vegetables on a cutting board. "Lady Zilia, and Sir Luro however are special cases…Lady Adelaide as well…but…" Shay trailed off at this catching the sideways glance from Jackie.
The servant turned around at this and Jackie focused her attention forward, the matter being dropped there.

While Zilia had questions why they were 'special' she took this moment to look into the other room adjacent to the kitchen. In it was what she could only guess was the dining room. A long table rested within it, a white cloth thrown over it with what looked like red flower patterns. Atop the table were a few candelabras set evenly across the top of the table, there were no candles however, instead red flames hovered over the openings in the room, judging by the few on the wall it could be considered the light source, which did a decent job of illuminating the room.
Silverware had been laid out neatly and with clear care, at each of the seats, which upon counting easily matched the number of people present, with one or two extra chairs.
It was clearly a well put arrangement even she could see that, she did feel it was a bit much for breakfast but this was a castle, not the ship.

At Runali's posed question about 'them' Jackie looked over at Tashi.
"You really didn't tell them about the Echo's? Anything at all?"
Tashi closed her eyes and took a deep breath before releasing it, her gaze moved back over to Jackie once more.
"Shay finished the paperwork this morning. Stardusk are now officially part of Facade and our military. They are entitled to some of our secrets, and 'we' are included in that."
She paused, seeming to let that information sink in before continuing.
"Which once again, was discussed in the meeting."
"Okay I get I was a bit distracted, we can move past that. Can't have one off day…"
Putting Jackie aside, Tashi looked over at Runali to answer her question.
"That is a difficult question to answer Runali. I can give you the 'how' but the 'why'...is not a simple conversation and if you are like our Runail…" She trailed off at this and looked over at Jackie.
"To put it simply Runali. We exist because you exist. Don't think of us as duplicates but more like…siblings if that makes sense. We come from the same source…just got different experiences so of course…we're different people to an extent."
Placing a Cigarillo in her mouth she snapped her fingers causing a small red flame to dance over her forefinger.
"Now if you got nothing to say to me or you're not cooking, leave the kitchen."
"Feel free to sit at the table. Your first job will be to enjoy a hearty breakfast." Shay said glancing over their shoulder before returning to chopping the vegetables.
"If you are that interested in us Echo's then join me at the table. I will discuss as much as I can about us. As much as I believe will make sense at the very least," Tashi said walking into the other room and taking a seat.

The One who 'Smiles'