2018-12-02: Great Detective Xantia
- Log: Great Detective Xantia
- Cast: Fei Fong Wong, Xantia
- Where: Photosphere - Domicile Level
- Date: December 2nd, 2018
- Summary: In which Xantia solves Xenogears. An act so powerful, it even manages to stabilize a mentally muddled Fei. At least for a little while... (takes place during the Photosphere Sequence on December 1st)
======================<* Photosphere - Domicile Level *>====================== The Photosphere's interior is the size of a city. The majority of it is a massive cavern, honeycombed with different levels. Here, Metal Demons make their homes in hallways that have sometimes been repaired since the Photosphere crashed here in ages past. The quarters are small and cramped, stacked atop one another. This place also holds the gathering areas that pass for centers of Metal Demon culture. Within these halls, one can find cafeterias and proving grounds. Their martial life is in abundance; armories and arenas are common, while theaters and libraries are unheard of. The technology, suffice to say, is advanced. Tram systems lead into different parts of the Photosphere. Interior lighting and climate control makes this place comfortable, but it has an oppressive feeling for anyone from Filgaia. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygpjMbQeBas
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
LAST TIME ON YOU UH YOU NEED HELP THERE FEI FONG WONG?
Fei's morale, at an all time low, helped fight Boomerang off with the Vile Fiends. It was a relatively quick exchange and Fei wasn't badly injured, but he was so exhausted afterwards--and setting off plenty of alarms with the Fiends--that they convinced him to pass out for a little while before dumping him in one of the empty domiciles to recover.
He hasn't woken up yet, actually, which probably speaks to his exhaustion, but at least the door has been left open so if a wandering Primeval Breaker passes by, they'll see Fei there.
Snoring. He might wake up on his own?
He might not though. Boy would that be a short rp session now wouldn't it?
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia comes in, decides not to wake Fei up, and falls asleep as well. THE END
Well, that's almost what actually happens. She ended up in the domicile because needed a breather of her own, and was pretty elated to find Fei there, but waking him didn't feel right. If you can sleep in a place like this, you must have seriously needed the rest, she figures. Yes, she could pretty much sleep everywhere herself, but she realizes it's more unusual for most people.
And so what she did instead was lean against the wall next to him. Keeping a lookout, making sure no stray enemies wander in. She can wait. ...Just not very long, generally. Hopefully this doesn't take too long.
Assuming Fei does wake up before she runs out of patience, he'll find her looking... fine, really. A bit sweaty, clothes have been in better condition, but she doesn't seem injured at all. Well, she used to be injured, she just isn't anymore by this point. What a cheater.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
THE END
But in this reality, Fei notices something feels off about this domicile and snaps awake with a start. He still has dark rings under his eyes, but he does seem generally alert. His gaze settles quickly on Xantia and his eyes widen.
"What.....what happened?" He rubs at his forehead for a moment. "We were fighting Boomerang and..." He lowers his hand. "Huh.... How long was I out? I didn't miss the fight did I?"
It couldn't have gone too badly if it had, otherwise Xantia wouldn't be standing around here looking completely unhurt. She WAS hurt before, of course, but presumably a lost battle would result in something sticking a bit longer.
"How'd you find me? Where is everyone?" A thought occurs to him. "Shit--I have to find him...Have to..."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"Boomerang?" Xantia wonders out loud. That's someone she only knows by name and general description, but she'd like to think she wouldn't have missed it if he were around. Hopefully if he was here before, he won't return. You know, like his namesake.
Rather than question this further, she bends over Fei to look him over, making sure he's alright in what limited way she can by just looking. Satisfied, she nods once, and shrugs a bit. "I don't really know, I only just got here. ...Wherever 'here' is. How does anybody find anything in here?" Pretty par for the course with Xantia, just suddenly turning up despite having no idea where she was going.
When Fei starts going on about 'having to' do something, she's quick to approach, and lend a hand in getting up if he needs it. "Easy! You'll get dizzy if you get up too quickly." Because that's the biggest concern on anyone's mind right now. "Are you okay? Who do you need to find? Do you mean Siegfried? I had a bad feeling, but I couldn't see... what happened back there?"
At least she's still a constant, constantly bombarding people with questions that is.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei decides taking it a little slow right now probably won't get more people killed than if he takes a moment to collect himself. Fei fell asleep for a little bit there and by RPG rules he is fully healed from all wounds though he is still a tired gent.
"I see..." Fei says. "But..." He is quiet for a moment. "Can't stay too long. I don't know what he'll do now that he knows the truth." He presses his hands to the side of the bed but, at least, doesn't push himself back up just yet. "No matter what I said, he..."
Zephyr gonna leave you, gonna leave you feeling blue.
Fei shakes his head. "Xantia, I remembered something else on the battlefield. When Mother spoke, it was like daggers sinking into my skull. And I remembered..."
He pauses.
"But it's impossible. It can't be a memory. But it feels so real..."
He is about to say more when...
"Orphans of Hyades! Who is to blame for the death of your world? Was it a natural cataclysm? No! Was it war? No! It was the thing you call 'Goddess', a horror that came to your world as she did to Filgaia--not as savior, but as devourer. Your 'Mother' has confessed. Hyades' murderer stands before you!"
Fei lowers his head for a moment. "...At least she confessed. Maybe we can save them after all." He looks over to Xantia again. "I remember fighting 'Mother'. No, it wasn't just me there. AGghh...It couldn't have been me. It was someone. An ancestor or..."
He brings his hand up to his forehead and presses it tightly against his skull.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia starts looking a little more worried when Fei is... a bit more rambly than she's used to from him. Seeming confused. Maybe RPG-sleep somehow failed to heal that status ailment.
Still, despite getting a less straight answer than usual, the gist of it is clear enough, and the Voice underscores it. "I'm surprised anyone's still fighting us at all," is all she can say on the matter. Why would anybody still support Mother after what she said? Someone who thinks of things in such simple, straightforward ways as she does can't understand the circumstances at play here.
Remaining crouched beside Fei, Xantia reaches out her hands but pulls them back a little awkwardly. She'd like to help somehow, but is not sure what she can do, what she should do. Then that magic word is spoken, and you don't even really have to look at Xantia to picture her expression lighting up. "You remembered...?" Of course she would be excited to hear the details of anything related to a memory.
Aaaaand then Fei leaves her hanging by claiming it's impossible, prompting her to urge, "Oh come on, tell me! Even if it seems impossible, it could be important!" It wouldn't be the first time she's dealt with a memory that wasn't entirely accurate, but almost certainly has truth at its core.
She isn't quite sure what to make of the feeling of having fought Mother before, though. That makes her fall quiet for a moment, then she starts to think out loud. "...How long's Mother been asleep for again? No, that shouldn't be possible... but, maybe..." She more directly addresses Fei with her thoughts at this point, positing, "Maybe it's like that boy in the desert. You felt like somebody was trying to tell you something with that, right? Maybe somebody's trying to tell you something now?" It seems important to have a good explanation for this, that's the best one's she's got.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Humans don't live for a thousand years." Fei says, looking over to Xantia. "They just don't. But it feels so real, like I'm really there. Maybe you're right and I'm just taking the place of someone else but that's...that's also impossible."
Fei places his head in his hands. "Mother... she called me her 'killer', didn't you hear her?" He turns his head to look towards Xantia. "I..."
His fingers dig deeply into his skull as if he wants to pry out the secrets within. Or maybe rip them free so he can be free of them.
"His name was Lee Byeong-Ho. Elly was there too. Ahh, but she's...different? I don't know. A man named Harthcourt Valeria, he was also there. The three of them were fighting against Mother but Elly. She ... didn't make it."
He closes his eyes for a moment before looking back towards Xantia. "Then Lee used Luisa's techniques but it wasn't enough to defeat Mother. Not until he did...something else. Something that killed her. I don't know if he survived but--"
He shakes his head. "No, he was going to die. Maybe not exactly then, but not long after. Valeria must have survived or at least--his family did."
He exhales out a sigh. "...Maybe if he didn't kill her, we wouldn't even be in this situation. All it has done is encourage her."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia nods a bit when Fei says that humans don't live that long. Of course they don't. Which is why it seems likely to her that somehow, Fei is getting this knowledge somehow transmitted to him from an outside source. That makes sense, right? Stranger things have happened. It's easier to believe than these actually being Fei's memories.
She doesn't interrupt when the details are related. She just listens quietly. Doesn't happen very often, at least not for the reason that she has no idea what to say about all this. It's certainly a detailed story. Hearing that Elly was there almost makes her chuckle, because... well honestly, how does this not sound like a dream? Familiar people appearing in situations that make no sense, she's had dreams like that herself. She shouldn't make fun though, dreams can seem very real. If nothing else, the effect this is having on Fei is very real.
Her expression abruptly changes when Fei talks about Lee using Luisa's techniques. As usual her feelings are clear as day: that surprised her, for some reason. Rattles her even, to the point where she doesn't seem to realize Fei's stopped talking until several seconds later. Even then, all she says is, "I... I see."
It's coincidence, right? It probably wasn't the same one, there's probably lots of people called that. But she's only heard that name once before. She can't help but make the connection. And she can't keep herself from focusing solely on that part of the story. She has to know. "I don't really know what any of that could mean, but... You mentioned a Luisa. Who is that, do you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "Luisa, she's one of Ida's ancestors. I don't know how direct it is, unfortunately. Honestly, until we visited her tomb, I thought she died well before that day." He manages a small smile at that. "But I guess she survived longer than I thought. Longer than even Lee did. I guess that's why I thought she died right then and there. I don't have memories of her surviving because Lee doesn't."
He raises his head. Then he stands himself up, steadying himself on the bed. "The Fiends should be resting nearby. I'll check in on them before I get moving."
He pauses for a moment. He notices something in Xantia's demeanor. "Do you remember the name from somewhere?" Fei asks, tilting his head curiously. "You seemed...like you weren't expecting me to say that."
Maybe Xantia remembered something herself, Fei thinks.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia never stops looking surprised. She didn't know about the connection with Ida. She wasn't there, that's not where she heard it. And somehow, no matter how much she tries to tell herself 'it doesn't have to be the same person', she can't help but feel that this all fits together. She wouldn't go so far as to theorize that it has anything to do with her, but... if she's right, it has something to do with someone else.
She suddenly notices Fei is looking at her, dimly realizing she was just asked a question. "...Huh?" The last things Fei said to her didn't fully register, it takes her a moment to recall what that question even was. "Oh... well, maybe. It could be nothing." She doesn't believe it's nothing, that's clear as day. And she's not the kind to pretend that she feels otherwise.
"When I last talked to Id... he told me I remind him of her. So he knows what Luisa was like. If you also know what Luisa is like, then it's obvious what's happening here." That's right, she's managed to put all the clues together and discovered the big secret...
"Id's been giving you advice!"
Xantia doesn't even pause, she's that excited about the possibility. "It makes sense, doesn't it? Since he's so old, he could know all these things. And he can do pretty much anything, he can probably share memories with people." Then she frowns, wondering, "But why tell you and not me? I thought..." She shakes her head. Never mind what she thought. "Anyway, you don't have to worry, just use whatever you see in those memories and you can kill Mother!"
Just like that, she has it all figured out, and transformed all worries into something she considers positive. Isn't her train of thought amazing?
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong blinks a few times. "Id again..."
He starts walking. It doesn't seem impossible that Id could be sending him messages through some kind of telepathy. Perhaps that's why it feels so real. It's not a dream exactly so much a memory of what Id had done in the past. "That would...also explain why they feel so conflicting. Real and unreal..."
He turns towards Xantia. "I don't want to rush to a conclusion, but you might be right." He frowns. "But that just adds another question."
"Why me?"
"Wouldn't it be better if he shared this stuff with you? Or, hell, Leon? Or...Or Dean?"
Wait why is he suggesting Dean here?!?!
But it seems that Xantia is on the samge page there. Why not Xantia? They are close aren't they? "...Maybe he didn't want to get you in trouble? I mean, if you're the only person trying to understand him, really...maybe he just thinks I'm more disposable than you."
Wow at this rate, Xenogears will be solved!!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
What do you mean not rush to a conclusion? Xantia is perfectly happy and satisfied with rushing to this conclusion. All too ready to make the assumption that the things she wants to be true and very much feel like they could be true actually are. Sometimes she takes this optimism thing a little too far. Agreeing it's a possibility even a little bit is all the validation she needs to nod eagerly and add, "Right? Right?"
A little thing like it not making much sense for Id to contact someone who never appeared to like him very much, when they could remember him at all, that's not important at all. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing!" Endless faith in Id's intentions is nothing new either. This could be more proof in that area, too!
She only turns to making an objection to Fei's last assertion, which causes a slight frown. "I... no, that can't be right. You wouldn't tell people things like this if you didn't want them to do something with it, right?" Her frown deepens, and she grumbles a little. Another theory is happening, and she likes this one a lot less. "Actually... what if it's Grahf? He kept going on about wanting you to kill a god. I hope we're not doing exactly what he wants."
She pauses, and lets out a bit of an awkward chuckle. "I mean, it's not like we have a choice. I just don't like the thought of doing anything that guy wants us to do." Even Xantia's not immune to spite.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Well..." Fei admits. "Even if Grahf wants me to kill Mother, then what does that matter? I have to fight her anyway." And hopefully stop Elly from getting anywhere near her. He doesn't comment much on Xantia's strange faith in Id of all people. It's not like Fei met the guy unless he really has been throwing messages into his head, but ultimately none of that matters.
What matters is that it means he's not going crazy. Someone else is making him crazy and somehow, that kind of cheers him up a bit.
"But I don't think Mother is the one he wants me to slay. I guess there's a whole other Mother God out there he is interested in. Kinda annoying, really."
He shakes his head.
"How many of them can there be? And do they have to all be jerks? That's not very egalitarian." At least not unless they kill a bunch of patriarchal gods! They're probably jerks too anyway. Only Cat Gods are really viable.
Xantia of course has the same attitude. They don't really have much choice. Fei laughs again at that. "Choice huh? Maybe soon, we will get to have a choice."
He stretches out his arms. "I think I'm feeling better. I want to check on the Fiends before I move out, but then...maybe we can see about opening up a path to Mother."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
At a time of great crisis, sometimes the strangest things can make you feel better. Not that anything Xantia said was strange of course. All she did was follow the facts to totally logical conclusions. No need to worry about how much sense they actually make. Much like how Xantia doesn't worry about what exactly made Fei feel better. He obviously does, and that's all that really matters.
That being the case, she readily laughs out loud at Fei's assertion on all those jerk gods. "Don't worry about it! We'll just kill this one and hope the rest leave us alone. I'm sure they're not all like this. That it's..." She pauses a moment, then tries to sound out, "E-ga-li..." She gives up there, and shakes her head. "Whatever you said. Are you just making up words now?"
Thankfully you don't need to be good at complicated words to cheer people up. Xantia's all too happy to see things once again being... well, as normal as they can get given the circumstances, and nods eagerly. "Okay! I'll go with you!" It's better for everybody if she has someone to follow, she's bound to get hopelessly lost again otherwise.
No guarantees she won't end up wandering off somewhere anyway, of course. It's not like getting separated isn't her own fault half the time.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'm not making up words," Fei says, though he's smiling as he says this so maybe it's a practical joke! Surely no word can have that many syllables! "And um...thanks. For cheering me up. And waking me up. I don't know how much more time we've got."
He heads out the door shortly thereafter in order to check on the others. Just kill this one and maybe the others will leave them alone?
It's a nice thought, Fei reflects, but he suspects it'll just make the others more interested in meddling. It would never be so easy.