(no subject)

[sandinmyboots]

[Behold: a bed in a stone-hewn bedroom. A bed full of sheets and rather more quilts than are probably necessary. There is movement under the quilts like the beginnings of an earthquake. Something rolls out from under the quilts and onto the floor, something small and blonde and wearing fluffy red pajamas.]

I'm awake, Sarge...ugh. I'm up, I'm up. [Kefka sits up and rubs his face. He looks tired, and his hair is long and tangled.] How am I expected to get up when there's nothing to get up for? At least being in the military meant I had a proper schedule.

[Then he notices the floating camera.] Hey! Community book! [He jumps up and tackles it, sending the screen blurring red and grey and blonde. When it recovers, Kefka's set the book up so it can face him on a white vanity; the table is covered with cosmetics.]

[Kefka picks up a brush and waves it at the camera.] You have to stay here so I can talk to you, you naughty page-flapping phase-clapper! [He pauses, then adds matter of factly:] My connection to the community is alive, so I have to make sure it's paying attention to what I say or it'll fly off and ditch me for a few months like a very very bad flying book monster. It looks like a lot of you are new, so let's get some introductions going!

I am Sir Kefka Palazzo, formerly of the Gestahlian Empire, currently god of the world of Woolsey. [He bows.] I'm bored out of my mind because it turns out 90% of being a god is doing upkeep to make sure the world is running properly, make sure the monsters are fed, blah blah blah I need something to do. If you need a fighting companion, new armor or weapons, healing supplies, miracle cures, et cetera, I can provide it for a reasonable price! Or we can talk! Talking is very reasonable and I want to know all of you new people. [Beat.] Talk to me now. Do it.

Comments

[former_endboss]

...do you do jailbreaks, oh god?

[sandinmyboots]

Yes, yes I do! Give me a time and place and there will be some jails broken!

[former_endboss]

The Crescent Chronicle, in the Tower of Ar Tonelico, and as soon as you can please.

[sandinmyboots]

On it! I'll need to get a world hop, which may take a bit, but I'll be there as soon as I can!

[[how do you want to play this out? He shows up and breaks her out, or he fails, or what? and would you like to do it here or on a seperate page?]]

[former_endboss]

I've been waiting for a while, so thank you. Are world-hops easy to get?

[[Mir is locked up inside the Super-max, single occupant dungeon called Crescent Chronicle. It's also fairly well known that the Virus Mir is stored in there and letting her out is a potentially world building Sorry, world-shattering event. And if he tries to sneak in, Tastiella will show up and warn him off. Since she kinda IS the Crescent Chronicle.]]

[sandinmyboots]

Depends on how many people are around with world hop machines. Fortunately, I know a guy. I should be there in a couple hours. I'll ping your journal

[And true to word, a couple hours later, Kefka sends her another message; this one is written.] How do you want out - snuck out or fireballs a blazing?

[Right now, he's outside the Crescent Chronicle. It's all steel and brass from here; it reminds him of his hometown before it was destroyed. Vector had been a thriving industrialized city, building itself bigger and bigger - though this place doesn't have the same sense of liveliness that Vector had.]

[It's like a zombie, an awful copy of something he didn't have anymore. Kefka's fingers twitch as he bounces from foot to foot, waiting for a response. He's going to enjoy destroying this place, destroy it, melt it downdowndown - there was no fun in destroying his world, which had accepted death much like he had, but he bet the people here didn't want to die. It would be a challenge, a change of pace. It would be like old times.]

[[hahahaha that just gives him even more reason to break her out! WORLD SHATTERING EVENTS MORE LIKE AW YIS PARTY TIME]]

[former_endboss]

Vauge, but acceptable. I'd love to see one.

[On closer inspection, the place was hardly like Vector at all-what looked like pipes were sound tubes like for a massive organ, and there was a slick...organicness to the whole thing, as if it had been grown rather than built. No seams, save in what were obvious patches and after-thoughts, the whole thing created at once in a feat of staggering magic. The creases in the walls were decorative, not indicating where two pieces of metal had been joined together.

But for all that, it was fairly dead. The guards were below, watching the gates, and inside there were only monsters, machines and madwomen to keep intruders out. Still, the place was built like a maze, with twisty chambers all alike winding through and around the structure. Getting in would not be trivial. But it wouldn't be hard to sweep aside the living meat-buns, the crazy bird ladies, and the cleaning robots either. A bigger risk might be slipping-there's a thunderstorm on, and Crescent Chronicle is right in the middle of it, winds and rain and cloud and lightning all cracking around. There was even hail occasionally coming from any direction the wind chose to blow.]

Sneaking out might be more fun, since blowing it up would be a clear challenge and signal to her. Sneaking out allows me to take her by surprise perhaps.

[[Awww yeah, Kill all humans baby. All the humans.]]

[sandinmyboots]

Roger that. Can you send me a map pinpointing your location or some kind of description of your cell? It'd make things faster. Who is her and should I look out for her?

[One handy thing about being a final boss: it gave Kefka the magic and equipment to avoid encounters. Invisible with Vanish magic, wings out and Guard Bangle equipped, Kefka flitted from wall to wall, looking for the Ar Tonelico tower.]

[As Kefka continued on, the more he realized this place was not like Vector but like his own tower, magically made - though his Tower wasn't nearly so well made. Ugh, how annoying, how this place was showing off! He wanted to take that sleek organic perfection and rip it to pieces. Those robots, so much and so little like the ones he grew on his tower. The weather, a step worse than the clouds he kept shading his tower.]

[Ow! Though the hail knew not to hit him at home.]

[[FINAL BOSS MURDER PARTYYY]]

[former_endboss]

Sorry, limited bandwidth. It's right in the center, near the core of the Tower, with a big, extra-heavy door. And you'll need to rip up the floorboards to get to my body.

She is mine, and mine alone. The girl with the dragon on a broom however, is your concern.

[Perhaps he was thick-but maybe, just maybe, the entire thing, stretching up into the blackness of the upper sky and down to the clouds below, was this 'Tower'? Nahh, nobody had ever built something so huge, and anyways that bit with the crystal in the middle was clearly free floating. Though if the top of the tower came down right now, it was liable to land on his godly head before smashing into that floating island down there. And something about it twisted magic, not making it impossible, but a low droning buzz of background magic. Power had once sung melody and harmony along it's length, but now it could at best manage a droning whisper. High above, the damage lead it to leak out, creating a barrier of destructive magic. But with that line literally miles higher, it was of no concern right now.

What was a concern was the way this section of the Tower seemed to be almost alive-doors opening and closing of their own accord, lights turning on and off in a perverse and purposeful way. And what was that in the corner of his eye-was that someone else out here in the storm? A blue garbed figure, flirting in and out of the clouds?]

[sandinmyboots]

Your body? Is your brain somewhere else?

[Give him time, mun is spacy today he's rusty.]

[A tower, huh? That's one heck of a tower, though not as good as his. Sh-shut up, he's not thick, he's - he's - Damn, he's rusty. He's used to caves and castles, not climbing hostile towers. And the magic in it made his teeth buzz. He was so caught up in the groundwork that he -shut up, he's not stupid, he's not!]

[But where there's magic, there's danger. Where there's danger, there's probably the prisoner. The core of the tower, right? Perhaps that crystal would be worth looking at. Or. Taking. Was it near the core? Time to investigate. Magic, core, tower, music. It was waiting, it was there, he was the moth and he knew there was fire waiting for him.]

[The living tower stuff didn't bother him; his own tower did much the same. Someone probably ruled this place. Probably the 'her' mentioned. Dragon broom was probably a minion.]

[ - was that her in the clouds? Was that her watching him? Damn, he's so out of it. But the thought of a fight sends shivers down his spine. ]

Olly olly oxen free, are you coming to get me?

[former_endboss]

And suddenly, with a flash of lightning, there she was-a girl-or a young woman?-on a broomstick. Her clothes were blue, her hair was white, and so was the dragonling on her shoulder. And despite the weather, she looked pressed and coiffured, not a hair out of place.

"Perhaps I am come to get you. But who are you come to get? Are you from the lower world?"

[sandinmyboots]

[Kefka considers this for a moment. Who is he - well, damn. It looks like he has two questions for this mysteriously well-kept girl on a broom.]

I actually don't know who I'm looking for. I never did catch her name. Who's in the center cell? And how are you keeping the rain off your hair? As for where I'm from: I'm not from this world or the next, but a world far beyond!

[former_endboss]

The girl was obviously confused by his tirade, and turned to look at her dragon, which only peeped at her.

"This world or any other, I cannot allow you access to that chamber. Mir is too dangerous too set loose against the world. I do not know how she reached out to your world, but I promise you, she does not mean to reward you for her freedom. She will kill you for it instead. Mir is a virus that infects Ar Tonelico. I will not permit you to spread that infection."

[sandinmyboots]

So she's a vicious world-killer. Interesting! What kind of virus are we talking here? A literal biological virus or something magical? Or one of those computer viruses?

[Kefka perches on a nub of stone. It'll be easy for him to jump and fly very high from this position.]

And you didn't answer my question about your hair! Are you going to do that or not?

[former_endboss]

"It may help if you think of her as a computer virus, yes. But she has a magical component as well." And as for your other question, this is only a projection, not my true body. The rain does not affect me because there is no me here to affect."

The girl hovered in midair, unperturbed, but watching Kefka like a hawk.

[sandinmyboots]

Oh, that's boring. Can you do anything physical or are you just a vision?

[former_endboss]

"I think you have enough information already. You were tricked into coming here, from whatever world you are from. You should leave now."

[sandinmyboots]

I'll think about it. [And with that, Kefka jumps and starts flying up, up, up, toward the crystal.]

[former_endboss]

The girl barely pauses before following him-riding her broom side-saddle in an attempt to keep him in sight.

[sandinmyboots]

[She's not shooting at him! This rescue should go smoothly!]

[former_endboss]

[Mir, meanwhile, watching this on the security cameras, can only wonder where the hell he's going.]

"Are you still intent on releasing Mir, after all I have said?"

[sandinmyboots]

[The crystal's got to be near the door inside, right? This place is ridiculous.]

Yes!

[former_endboss]

I see. Then you leave me no choice-Gate Out!"

[Enjoy the sneak-attack bolt of energy created by her disappearing into another dimension.]

[sandinmyboots]

Ye - ouch!

[Kefka's arm jerks in pain as the attack hits.]

Why, that's not fair! Get back here so I can show you how bad an idea that was!

[former_endboss]

[The problem with screaming that at the air is that nobody is there to hear-]

This is going to hurt-Gate in!

[Because she reappears right behind him and uses the energy of gating back in to nail him in the back again.]