bravenewworld | [Video]

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[The focus of the video looks like a small sculpture of a Honedge sitting on top of cloth. Looking closer shows that the sculpture is made of ice and…there's a slight tinge of frost around the picture as well.

The camera shifts as it's picked up and the sculpture too. Maka holds the Warp Band in one hand and sets down the miniature with another.]

Aria, I asked you not to put those on my projects.

[She's speaking to someone off-camera, but right after she does the camera is panned over to a Froslass that seems to be forming another sculpture with…her ice?

This time it's a Gengar, appearing to be leering right at the girl.]

She's been doing this since the solstice…I mean, I appreciate her trying to keep the house cool, but--[She doesn't like that Aria is set on creating creepy sculptures of Ghost types to tease her trainer.] It's freaking Hades out.

[To explain that, Maka pans the camera again over to a Houndoom that seems to be…freaking out just a little at all the ice and chill.]

…And it's getting my projects wet. [Not to mention the ice sculpture of the Gengar is creeping up on her as she's speaking. Once it's close enough, it begins to rub itself against her face.] --Ah! Cut it out, Aria!

[The feed ends there with a ghostly giggle.]

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Trouble with Aria, Maka-chan?

[Of course she saw that. and so did Borealis, her own Froslass giggling behind her hand.]

You say "trouble" I say "being a brat."

[Aria is just serenely making another sculpture in the form of a Chandelure as Maka speaks.]

I'm trying to sew, and she starts making sculptures, that's okay. Then she starts freezing up the whole house and--[in the background, Hades appears to be sliding by, still distressed]--making sculptures of ghosts to bug me, that's not okay.

Is it really that bad? I mean...they're just ghosts. And it's really hot outside.

[That face, Maka...]

[...Oh, right, she...never talked about that thing with the ruins, did she...

Never mind, it's not important.]

Oneesan, if you like it so much, I'll send over Aria to make one big sculpture in the Shrine. It can be of Sabaeus, since she's on a Ghost type kick.

Maka-chan, what's wrong now? [She's a lot more perceptive than that...]

You were getting more comfortable with ghosts...what changed?

Nothing.

[Aria, however, demonstrates that this is a lie by creating a miniature of Maka.

Who then gets stabbed in the back by a Honedge.

Then another.

Then another.

The ice Maka is an incomprehensible mess of Honedge now.]

...That's not what happened, don't mislead Rei, Aria.

Aria, what happened?

[Or did you forget your big sis can talk to Pokemon? The icy image is telling but Ami would have mentioned seeing Maka in the hospital.]

[As per usual, before Maka can get too flustered, Stella intervenes for her--actually pushing the ghost away and scowling.

That was NOT what happened, Aria wasn't even there, she can't tell you!

Maka, for her part, still has the sense to put the feed on Private before continuing.]

It's stupid. A few weeks back, I went on an exploration of some ruins in eastern Caldera...it went sideways pretty quickly.

[The Meowstic sighs and continues for her: First we ran astray of a whole group of Honedge--naturally Maka and the two other Kindred there tried to communicate. We were ushered out into a room with doors that turned out to be an illusion created by some Gengar, which then attacked us along with Chandelure.]

...We fought back.

[Stella glares. Fool took the brunt of an attack for me.]

Stella.

[At any rate, it's not that we were attacked by ghosts, though it was a horrible experience all around--their leader, an Aegislash, appeared and told us that it was his intent to send us to our deaths, since we trespassed.]

...Something very, very bad happened in those ruins, and those ghosts are trapped there--at least some of them--feeding on the misery.

[Maka now looks somber as she recounts the story, she felt the pain of those ghosts so deeply, even while weakened and scared out of her mind. Stella is less sympathetic, scoffing: They were really trying to kill us. After that, Maka evolved, but--]

I was sick for days. [And nightmares.] --Stella, stop.

[The gist of it is that Maka felt helpless and unable to do anything. She still feels that way, compounded with the disaster that was their expedition to Sanctuary, and everything after.]

It's like I can't do anything right, things just kept going wrong after that day by day.

[Thank you Stella dear. Remind Rei to give you extra poffins next time she sees you.

She takes in all that information silently, letting her little sister go on and the Pokemon do her usual interjections. Stella was a wonderful and spectacularly loyal little Pokemon, and in a way Rei's often reminded of Deimos, who's already appeared at her side to listen.]

I...see. That is extremely unfortunate.

[Rei looks to Deimos, and the Gardevoir nods, closing her eyes. A whisper of power from the Psychic type follows, and in a flash Maka is not alone. Teleport can accomplish a great many things, with the Warp Band on.

Without a word, Rei steps close and grabs the younger girl into a tight hug. Like it or not, little sister, you are getting it. She teleported just to do that.]

Maka-chan. I don't want you to think that way about yourself. You can do a great many things right, and I don't understand why you think you can't.

[Rei's appearance is a surprise, the hug is not, she's used to getting hugs from Rei even if it still feels strange. Regardless of how Maka feels about it, she can acknowledge that right now she needs it, and she melts into the embrace--unmistakable sounds of weeping starting up.

She hates doing that. She hates crying and she hates doing it in front of other people. But it just won't stop, the tears just come pouring out and she's shaking and trying to speak, yet all that comes out is sobs.

Stella, of course, looks totally distressed at her trainer's distress but helpless to do anything about it.]

[It's not that Maka can't, it's not that she thinks she can't either, it's just an unfortunate coincidence of disastrous things happening with her in proximity. Maka has always felt like she needs to take responsibility onto herself in order to justify something that went wrong and figure out how it can be fixed. She has also not learned yet that there are different types of strength and they all have their uses, ironic given that she holds the Savior's story so devoutly to her heart--a woman who had no means of defending herself but still went forward anyway.]

I--I want to be strong! I want to be strong so I can protect people! But even when I try, I still need help to accomplish something. Even with that thing in Sanctuary...I thought going to keep the peace would help, but even Stella had to help me with calming everyone down!

[Stella's ears twitch at this. What does she mean, when they went through the citizens? That's not true, I didn't do anything.]

[Rei crushes Maka into the hug, leaning forward and covering her protectively with her body. She sags and just takes a breath, planting a kiss on the top of her head and resting it there just like a real blood relative would. Her arms are firm, unshakable, and her eyes focus on the little cat. It was hard to see anyone like this, especially Maka, and she knew Stella was internally freaking out.

Her words don't quibble, her tone remains steady.]

Maka. Everyone needs help. Everyone needs people they can rely on.

[She squeezes tighter, still holding the pig-tailed girl close, unyielding and firm in her strength.]

I rely on Ami, and on Usagi-chan, and Eiji relies on Ankh. Maya and Pearl-chan rely on one another too. It's not right to think you have to do everything alone. Without my friends? And without my Pokemon, I'd be useless. I have power, and so do you, but that doesn't make someone strong. The ability to be a part of a team...to have a partner? Like Stella there. Or like what I have with Deimos. That's strength, dear. Teamwork, with humans and Pokmeon. That's what makes our home strong, and it's why we're so different from Sanctuary or Caldera, or Citadel, Refuge and Gigas. We know how to rely on others...

[Just a few months ago, they were all standing down a charging god--unified. They showed their strength together, they showed the meaning of Union, even if they were all afraid and powerless.

Stella touches her paws to Maka's arm, ears lowered and looking close to crying herself. Don't think about him, Maka, it just hurts you! she tries to warn.

There are two people in this world that Maka relied on and ended up being left behind by. She cannot rely on those people, but still she wants to be as strong as they are. Her father's physical strength and her mother's strength of heart, both are things she wants to emulate--to surpass.]

You know before Mom left Papa, she knew what he was doing. And I felt her pain--she'd try to hide it from me, but I felt it deep down in her soul. It was so painful that sometimes I'd just cry out of nowhere, and I felt too ashamed to tell anyone why it was happening. I think...maybe, that's why ghosts started coming to me, they never bothered me until I started feeling Mom's pain. I don't know if Mom was aware it was happening, but I hope not.

[Maybe that's why she left, she thinks. Maybe she left so I wouldn't feel her pain anymore.

No, her mother wouldn't do that, and she shouldn't voice such a terrible thought aloud. Maka doesn't want Rei to get a bad impression of her mother as some kind of abandoner. She shifts so she can move her hands up to wipe at her eyes, mindful to not disturb Rei's position.]

In Sanctuary, I felt a lot of fear and anger. I hated it, I didn't want anyone to feel that way. Yeah, fear's an important part of having courage, but when you put it with anger...[it makes a sick and tarry sort of feeling that weighs on your soul.]

[And you helped them, Stella insists on this. I saw you do it, you talked to them and instructed me how to do the same, I couldn't have done it without you.]

[Rei doesn't relent on that hug, and if anything she pulls Maka in tighter. One hand gestures to Stella before scooping up the Meowstik with a tendril of psychic power and setting her down on Maka's shoulder so she can give the cat some affection too. Maka's had, by her estimation, never had people quite like Maya and Jinxie in her life. And she didn't have a group of friends like herself, either, but that didn't mean she was beyond help. Punishingly low self esteem was not unfamiliar to Rei Hino, and it calls back her own memories of a time several years ago, when she'd been alone save for a few Pokemon and the other inhabitants of Ninetales Vale.

And she grieves for Maka, for what she's going through. It was hard enough growing up five years ago, but with all the changes? With the gods returning, other civilizations cropping up, and the gods themselves interfering in affairs? She can't imagine what this is like for Maka.]

People who've been hurt feel fear...and anger.

[She knows that feeling well. She'd been the target of suspicion and fear when her abilities had manifested. Nobody liked a small child who could read your emotions or tell you when you were going to get sick next. And they liked it even less when Rei was really honest.]

The people in Sanctuary had every right to feel angry with the people in Gigas. Anger...is sometimes a good thing.

[Anger is the source of misery and destruction, but also of passion, an outlet for healthy people she remembers her grandfather saying when he'd found her trying to bottle up her fury at her father.]

Anger can drive people to do all sorts of bad things, yes. Like war, and violence and verbal abuse, and it comes from fear too. But sometimes, Maka? Anger is a good thing. It can be the spark that causes a revolution, to remove an oppressive regime, or to end a cruel experimental program. Union...at least as I see it? Is full of anger. Righteous anger, and not that misguided sort of rage and avarice that guides Gigas.

Those people you and Stella helped? Had grown up not knowing what life was like without fear, and when they got a taste of it, I'm sure they got angry. I know I would, if I saw what I was missing just by meeting people like you.

[Rei takes a deep, ragged breath, and chuffs out a heavy sigh. This wasn't something she liked thinking about at all. But Maka did need it.]

Maka, do you want to help those people? The normal people in Sanctuary?

Yes.

[She says that without hesitance, without comment on Rei's words on anger--frankly, she's right, and Maka would be a hypocrite if she said anger didn't fuel her in some way--this is something Maka has always determined.]

I want to help the ordinary people of Sanctuary, I want to help the Homunculi. I want to help everyone that feels afraid, not so they'll never feel fear again, but so they can find their courage and be prosperous. Healthy...happy. Mom gave me my courage, I want to give everyone else theirs.

[The tears have stopped, at least, Maka is trembling all the less and her stomach no longer feels twisted and cold.]

I'm not looking to save the world, I just want to help people.

[And now Rei breaks the hug and pulls back just enough to nod. Her hand runs through Maka's pigtails as she smiles solemnly.]

Good. I know your mother would be proud.

[She knows that, as surely as she knows that her own mother is smiling down on her from Heaven for reaching out to take power and using it to help people. For doing the right thing. All parents want that, she's certain.]

And I'm proud of you too. Because I know just how strong you are, dear. And so does Stella. Right, girl?

[Stella nods affirmative, of course. She herself feels like she can't appropriately help Maka sometimes--even though she's a Psychic type she can't learn the technique of eating dreams or aiding sleep, not even predicting the future, but she's still here with Maka.]

[Maka, however, is surprised by the statement. It's so simple, but at the same time it sends her into this whole new world of thinking, almost like she was set free from a long self-imposed prison.

Her mother would be proud? Rei is proud? Of course, Rei is her friend, and they're more similar in circumstances than even she can gather sometimes, yet still it surprises the girl that her own strong sense of loyalty is mirrored.]

You...really think Mama would...?

[Mistakenly using the title she used as a younger child--Mama and Papa. She hasn't called the missing woman "Mama" in years, too childish for a 15 year old girl to be using. Or at least that's what she's been told.]

[Rei flashes a little smile to Stella but her focus remains on Maka. Remind her sometime to point Maka towards a Ralts, as they can learn Dream Eater.

Of course the emotional surge inside Maka hits the empath like a hammerblow and she can't help but close her eyes and focus to shut out that upswing. It's a lot to take in, even from someone she cares a lot about.]

I do. I absolutely do. You put yourself in danger for other people. What mother wouldn't be proud?

[Well. Her father certainly isn't.

Or maybe he is, she can't tell between his blubbering and excuses.]

...Uh-huh. I think I understand now.

[A pause.]

Err, thanks Rei, sorry you had to come over when the house was all...like this.

[Rei reaches down and flicks one of Maka's ears with a fingernail.]

Don't apologize. Just accept that I'm going to be here for you because I care about you, and give me a hug.

[She huffs, reaching up to hug the older girl again.]

All right, all right, yeesh--so bossy, oneesan.

[Bossiness yields results, as usual, Maka has to admit and Stella crawls in between the girls to give equal affectionate headbutts.]

[Stella, why headbutts...you have arms.]

I'm used to getting my way.

[But she laughs and runs a hand along Maka's head.]

Cheeky thing.

[Because she is a cat, that's how they express affection.]

Hey, somehow you love me anyway, even if I am cheeky.

[She'd call it honesty, really, but ticking off the fiery priestess is not on her agenda. The thought of it sends a tingle of dread up her spine.

Or maybe that's the ice still lingering, who knows.]

[That spike of dread is enough to make Rei wonder just how damaged Maka really is. Her answer though, is another kiss on the top of the head.]

I do love you dear. You're practically family. Keep it up and I'll have to just adopt you.

[How damaged, really, is something she might never come to terms with. Early in life she saw her parents screaming at each other, she got the "not now, I'm busy" until it became expected, she knew exactly when her mother was crying and where her father was--who he was with at the time.

It's simple, it's not exactly the tragedy someone would write plays about, but it culminates into Maka--a young teen with a very damaged view of the world.

What is important, however, is her reaction to it. Maka does not like this damaged world that's been built up around her, and she wouldn't wish it on any other person. So while she's not looking to save the world, as said, she'd like to help people and hope they'll have a better life.

There are people like her out there, she knows, people who have had the world betray them and so felt they also had to be alone. But, as Rei said, though an individual can be considered "strong" no one is truly strong unless they are unified with people they care for with all of their heart and soul. That is the meaning of Union.]

Heh? I thought you already did, or was the volunteering at the Shrine and meeting your girlfriend for nothing.

[The tingling hasn't stopped. Actually, it intensifies at the press of Rei's lips into a burning sensation--Maka reaches up to rub at her shoulder as if that would help, but before either of them can assess that there's a sudden burst of energy from her.

It's not forward, or around, so it doesn't harm Rei or Stella, it's actually concentrated on her back at the shoulder blades...they're wings. Incandescent wings made of pure light have burst from Maka's back. The energy doesn't feel like it burns or that it's harmful, it's...calming, almost like the concentrated feeling of comfort. They spread out and fold around the three into a protective cocoon, then burst open back to their original position--all of the ice Aria had conjured up seems to have dispersed at that action.

Maka is, of course, in shock but...calmer somehow. She doesn't feel that this evolution was as untimely or painful as the first.]

...Nnn...oneesan? Are you okay?

Well, I mean more officially...

[She would go on, she would very much like to go on. But she's cut off by the sudden shift in Maka. The way she seems startled, the way her posture changes, and the sudden, sharp buildup of pressure that indicates something important is about to happen.

Rei steps clear, folding her arms around Stella protectively, letting the evolution take it's course. She cannot interfere, and wouldn't even if she felt it she could. Maka had seemed to take quite ill after the first time, and the second in Rei's case...and Ami's...had been a doozy. But when all is said and done, and those wings appear? She can feel the other girl's calm.

And that helps, a lot.]

I'm perfectly fine, dear. How are you?

Okay...

[That's all, simply "okay." She's not scared or surprised, though she is shifting her shoulders to give a critical eye to the "wings" that have grown.]

Oh, come on, don't show off like that.

[Maka seemed to be addressing the wings directly as their light fades and the form changes to a simpler, seemingly more frame-like one.]

That's better. [She stretches then, geez that was tiring--even if it wasn't as painful as the last one.] Sorry, I didn't plan for that to happen.

Show...off?

[Rei looks from the wings to Maka and shakes her head.]

I know you didn't, dear. But how do you feel? Evolution can be an exhausting experience. Are you feeling light-headed or anything?

[ Jack is applauding and whistling, because he loves any ice-related antics and also because he is obnoxious. ]

Nice work - Aria, was it? Obviously your friend just doesn't appreciate true artistic genius when she sees it. Plus, I totally get the need to cool the place down, this heat is brutal.

Are you done?

[Boys, ugh. Aria, however, just giggles at the compliment, continuing her method of "let's rub ice ghosts on the trainer to make her uncomfortable." Maka, for her credit, doesn't yelp like she did before, but she does shudder.]

It's not a problem that she's cooling the place down or making sculptures, I appreciate that just fine. I don't like that she's freaking out everyone else. [And reenacting Maka's horrible, horrible experiences with ghosts, but that's not something she'd talk about with some weird boy.]

Give her a break, she's having fun! Trust me, I've haunted houses before. I definitely know how much fun it can be to freak people out a little.

[ that's probably not a particularly trustworthy statement, but, well. he aims to be fun, not sensible. there is a rattling noise from somewhere off-screen, and then a Duskull comes to peer over Jack's shoulder. Jack doesn't actually know what his friends are ever saying, but he knows that noise is a happy one, so he looks smug about it. ]

See, he agrees with me.

[Oh great, ghosts all coming together into a brotherhood, consider her heart warmed.

...Or not, since it's icy in the house. Maka doesn't answer for a moment, just a hiss of breath through her teeth (slightly visible with the cold) before she unfolds her project and wraps it around her shoulders--apparently it's a cloak, half-finished but still usable.]

Thank you, sir, for your perspective. I guess I never considered how fun it was for the ghosts to push me down stairs and pull my hair. [Heavily layered with sarcasm, yes, but she doesn't actually think her ghost companion is doing anything malicious--just being a brat.] Is that how you feel about it, Aria?

[I find your bad luck amusing, yes.]

Yeah, that's about what I thought. [To Jack:] She agrees.

Well, she sounds like my kind of girl.

[ maybe he's not the nicest guy in the world - sometimes things just need a push, after all, and maybe solitude can make a person kind of self-centred at times - but he doesn't want to give her the wrong impression, either. scaring people can be fun, sure, but the violent poltergeist shtick isn't his type. ]

I don't know about pushing anyone down stairs, though. A good haunting is just a flickering ghost kid, some spooky noises, maybe a little frost on the hardwood. Any more than that and it stops being much fun, y'know?

So you're an Ice type, too.

[Yes, that was completely the point of the subject, Maka.]

Have you two been in Union long? [Meaning she's both addressing Jack and Duskull now.] I think I saw you at the meeting, now that I think of it, but I didn't stick around there very long.

[Meaning she didn't see the debate and Jack freaking out, so at least there's that.]

[ yikes, the mention of the meeting is awkward, but it's good to hear that she doesn't recognise him as "that crazy kid who flipped out and attacked everyone" or anything. it's going to be hard enough dealing with the people he argued with; the rest of the time, he'd rather just pretend it never happened. ]

Nope, we've only been here for about a week now. I don't usually stay in cities for long, but I'm thinking about sticking around this one at least a little while.

[It's...an emotional topic. Maka still has very mixed feelings towards Sanctuary, and though she doesn't know that Jack is a Homunculus, if she did, she'd understand the anger.]

I see, well, if you're ever in need of directions or information, I'll do what I can to provide that.

[Ever the helpful NPC.]

...Eh, or Duskull can play with Aria, I guess.

I think he'd like that! And I'm lousy with finding my way around cities, so I might take you up on that offer someday.

[ or the offer for the information, more likely. he'd never realised before how many things there are that you need to know about when you're staying in a place like this. and people just seem to remember all of it like it's totally natural. ]

Anyway, I'm Jack Frost, and no, I did not give myself the name.

[She sort of squints at Jack for a second.

That's a weird comment, of course he didn't give himself the name, his parents did. Didn't they?

Well, it's none of her business, so Maka just nods.]

My name's Maka, I also didn't give myself the name. At least I don't think I did, unless I was developing psychic powers in the womb and Mom didn't tell me.

[Was...was that an attempt at a joke.]

[ attempt or not, Jack laughs at it lightly. ]

Okay, I guess I kind of deserved that one. All I meant was, I'm not going around calling myself Jack Frost for a bad pun. Believe me, I get a lot of people asking about it.

[ "a lot" being... relative to the amount of people he meets and gives his name to. which is not a lot. ]

[And just like that, there was a gasp on her end while her Espurr made a giggle or two]

Goodness, is everything okay?

Edited 2015-06-26 21:46 (UTC)

We're fine--[a grouchy female Meowstic has come to do damage control, meanwhile the Houndoom in the background has started up some bizarre high-pitched "eeeee" noise. So it's not "fine," but--] Just might be going a little crazy with the weather, maybe.

[Maybe.]

You sure though? I don't know where you are but if you need help over there, I'm pretty sure my Espurr and I wouldn't mind coming over there!

[And she's serious about this!]

Really, we're fine.

Unless you want some free ice sculptures.

Well, if you say so! Because it certainly looks kind of icexciting over there!

[Fuuka, no!]

[ Ghost-types... how anyone manages to train them, Bilbo will never know, but he's also too polite to say so. ]

They're, erm, really rather life-like.

[Maka's not even sure either, they just gravitate to her without her permission and she cares about Pokemon too much to turn them away.]

Lifelike...interesting choice of words with a Ghost type, sir. It's more like un-lifelike.

[Aria giggles again. Funny joke, mistress!]

Don't call me that, Aria, it's weird.

Oh - well, yes, that as may be, I suppose. "Realistic" is probably closer to the mark.

[ he shoots a puzzled look. the thing about being a child of the verdant forest rather than a kindred soul is that the fine details of what Pokemon are trying to convey are often lost on you. ]

What's she calling you? I can tell she's amused by what you said well enough, but well, understanding Pokemon speech itself is something far beyond me.

...She said "mistress."

[A pause.]

She didn't mean it sincerely, she just wants to say stupid things to fluster me.

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