The crew took a well deserved break before entering the last act of the story. By this point, all knew either read or skimmed over the ending, and most were caught off guard by what transpired that day. Lian was more prepared, as she read ahead faster and Tommen was already told the story since he and Arim became friends years beforehand. But the teens and firbolgs were left without words about it.
Maci, wiping her tears with her costume's blue sleeves, runs toward Brigit and catches her in a tight hug. She can't find anything to say, to either of the two. For now. Her Fect partner pats her gently on the head, sharing an understanding smile with the teen.
Maci then turns towards Arim, nose red and eyes still sparkling from the wiped tears, she asks him for a favor. " So…you also have that swapping ability that the Tuatha told me about?"
Arim- "Used to; actually, I technically still do, but if I use it just once, my coma period would far exceed Lian's period."
Maci- "Got it…but can you give me any pointers or something helpful about it? That p-", she then noticed Temitayo and the coins giving her cold stares- "Tuatha Lord left quickly, as you saw."
It has been a long while since Arim used the swap and feels like his advice would be kinda rusty if he tries to explain the more advanced stages. " For starters…find a movement you find easy to repeat. It just needs to be something familiar, which you can intuitively use between a normal activity and ability use. I was still a kid, so it didn't make that much sense…ergo, the left-right flicking."
Rustling outside the curtains let the group know that their time was almost over.
Arim- "Ok, how about we meet tomorrow with your grandpa? He'll need some help as well, so I wouldn't mind a training session." The teen just nods enthusiastically. Lian and Finley thought to ask if they could join, but there was a sensation that told them they shouldn't intervene. Mixed with a tint of jealousy as well.
…
A stage help lets them know that the props for the end are good to go; before they could exit, Brigit asks them to stay for a little while.
Her cheeks are red, her face is turned to the side and the hands are clenched to her chest. Then, from the first letter of her first word, her voice then cracks.
Brigit- " Oh. my. Lord! Calm yourself, girl." Her head was too flustered to properly thank them for their help; then Ogda thought that this was the moment to intervene.
Ogda- " Ah, did you know that your body is producing lots of adrenaline now? Flight or fight reaction, I think." he added, as the only one unable to read the room.
Giol-" Man, this is totally not the time for you to show your encyclopedia stuff." A thought then popped in the lancer's mind. " Wait, that makes me wonder: does your body produce any adrenaline?"
Temitayo- " Excellent question, myself curious about that. You don't seem to have any traditional internal organs, even for a water elemental."
Tommen- " Asked about that some time ago, for portraits reasons. Big guy seems to have a capacity to sponge a lot of knowledge, except about himself."
The water firbolg lowered his face, feeling a bit ashamed about his memory lack. "Sorry", Ogda replied in a bleak tone. Lian immediately either patted or smacked him on the back, asking him about their discussions about occasions like this. " Remember what we talked about? Think again about what he said and interpret it differently."
Ogda's eye darted in his diamond socket from left, then right, and centered when something clicked. " Oh. Right. Because of lack of external information about beings like myself, there's parse knowledge about it. Right, not entirely my fault for that cause."
Mincha, shyly, chimed in to help out the water firbolg- " If even the library doesn't have anything about firbolgs like you, then you can't blame yourself for it. Shouldn't probably as well", she added the last part in a soft murmur, that only she could hear.
Brigit left out a snicker, then a short laugh before starting to literally shove them on stage. " C'mon, you moment squashers, there's an audience waiting for us. Let's kill out there, alright?"
Before getting out on stage, Arim turned to his Union sister and smirked, both determined to present the finale as they both recollected it.
Final Act: Scene 1
Scramble recapitulated the story in a few phrases, letting the audience know how they got where they are in the story, and then let Finley and Arim take the leads as Perren and Kuelin.
Narrator: "Perren, looking as if his soul left his body at the sudden sight of his pupil, failed to act in time to stop him from trying to strike one of the blobs.
Kuelin (played by old Arim)
Kuelin- " Keep up, you fossilized gloves!" yelled the warrior, before suddenly finding himself flying backward from a swipe by a thin, whip-like tendril. His head spinned around and a thick line of blood started to spill from his right shoulder.
Victor and Masso were first to check on the boy, but their questions were like noise made at the other end of a sliding tunnel. A few words made sense to Kuelin, while others came as muffled pieces.
Kuelin- " I'm fine", he yelled, coughing blood. " Let me back at-", but then a second attack left him in an unconscious state. Perren, with his fist still firm stuck in his abdomen, apologized to his pupil.
Perren- " Your spirit will take you to higher places, Kuelin. I just need to keep you safe until you're responsible enough to see them." They left him hidden and safe, behind a dried out rock that already started to brittle into sand.
Kuelin's enforced sleep was shorter than the rest hoped for, as just a few minutes later, he could catch through his blurry vision scenes and moments of the fight between the pillar's guardians and the Union.
Little by little, Masso and his force managed to slash away parts of one of the blobs, while keeping it at a distance from the other. Their plan was to deal with them 1 by 1; or so they hoped, until the one left unchecked uprooted the pillar and started to dart away with it towards the middle of the diminished hole the lake poured out of.
Perren- " Shit! Masso!"he cried out, already sprinting after the fugitive" it might be trying to anchor the pillar in the ground in between the portal and this land! Masso, this could also be our chance. Try to destroy this one while the other tower is pulled out! That might end this!"
The duelist gave chase after the second guardian, who was slithering and sliding left and right, trying to reach the center as quickly as possible. Suddenly, a dagger pierced its outer membrane and stuck itself in the pillar. The weapon had a chain attached to it, and at the other end was Perren, desperately trying to drag himself toward his target.
Kuelin managed to get himself up on his feet, but one of his knees felt like concrete, dragging him down. His mouth felt and tasted like iron and his fingers were tingling, with that being the only feeling he had left in them. " Is…is this what I hurt the boy for?", a sudden regretful thought struck in Kuelin's mind, now struggling to find something that would justify his actions. Something heroic to wash away his mistakes.
And an opportunity presented itself the moment he noticed that his teacher had failed in his attempt. Worse, though, Perren got captured, injured, and was on the verge of being skewered by an oozing spear. Ashen, in desperation, struck the weapon with his tail, as he no longer had the energy necessary to use his large or ranged attacks.
The dragon then became the second captive of the dark water, and from the looks of it, its next meal. Glowing sweeps of energy were being drained from the old beast, empowering the mass of dark water. Masso and Victor were too busy to hastily deal with the pillar left on the surface, which they somehow managed to destroy it - in vain, though, as the second one anchored a long while ago.
Slowly and little by little, the Union's forces fell in front of the torrent; desperation clawed at their psyches, and neither knew what else to do next. Except for Kuelin, who felt a fiery thrill burning his tarnished chest. He then yelled out at Victor, asking him for a restorative plant.
Kuelin -" Throw it to me, and I'll run it to Perren."
Unable to even think about it thoroughly, the giant immediately did as demanded: he used the last of strength to create a green leaf, with sparkling dots, which landed in the precocious warrior lap. Who then smirked at Victor and his leader, showing them his last act of defiance.
Kuelin ate the plant, and he felt all the pain leave his body; he felt lighter, in mind and body.
With a three-finger salute, Kuelin ran away from the angry and corned cries and yells of Masso and Victor, confident in his new chances. He knew that Union leader's swap worked only on non-living things, so there was nothing left they could stop him now.
The young warrior arrived in the nick of time to free his teacher, who looked up at his pupil, unsure of what just happened.
Perren- " Kuelin? What are you-"
Kuelin- " No worries, teacher, just here to finally be the hero. I'll show you…trust me on this, ok?"
The warrior then freed Ashen, who, in a daze, started to lift himself off the ground, unable to notice that his rescuer was on his back. Kuelin took that opportunity to take a look into the hole, and for a moment, the white nothing made him hesitant. A draft of cold air entered his lungs and whipped him over the numb face.
Kuelin- " Right, as if fear could stop me now…", he said, clenching his shaking hands.
From the distance, Masso and Victor could only see a shining light forming on Ashen's back, who turned around too late to realize what was happening. Perren, who was closer to the center, saw the moment his pupil jumped, forming a whirling tornado of blinding light during his plummet.
Like a shooting star, his streak of light dug into the hole, rapidly piercing through the layers of protective mantels the dark water puts up. Pieces of Kuelin armor broke under the pressure of the amount of energy he gathered into his gauntlets, flying backward into the sky. His entire body shook as if it was about to disassemble itself, until his bleeding arm gave up, losing his left gauntlet at the same time.
With the remaining claw stretched forward and pushed by gravity, will and unknown might, Kuelin squashed through all obstacles and shattered the last pillar. Right after, the remaining masses of the dark lake rushed back into the hole, which started to slowly close up by the minute.
The Union jubilated at the success, happy for just a second before realizing that Kuelin never stopped his fall. That was the last time family and close ones have heard of him. His never ending descent brought him out of our world and, with no trace left, to return to the Primal Gathering. He finally became a hero, as he always wanted.
Fin
As the curtains closed on the actors, the sudden end dawned on the actors. It was fast, filled with loose ends, and way too focused on Kuelin's sacrifice.
Brigit- "That's because the epilogue would be too long", explained unprompted Brigit. " But I already told it to the audience countless times before, so let me abridge it for you: Mom, or the firebird, joined Nizzio and saved countless more villagers; you know about me and Arim and Kuelin is still missin-"
Arim- " He's gone, Brigit, don't have to sugarcoat it anymore. He's been dead ever since that day. But yeah, he was always the dark horse in this story; I insisted on everyone to not compliment his costume that much…I wanted you all to see him as he truly was. A lying, energetic, fun-loving hero."
A bow later and round of applause later for their effort, the group finally was allowed to enjoy their true motive for joining this night gathering. A celebration for the old and the new.