2020-09-30: The Promise
- Cutscene: The Promise
- Cast: Marivel Armitage
- Where: The Farenheit
- Date: 09/30/2020
- Summary: Marivel learns the truth about the Summoner's Journey. Most of it anyway.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLK4ZvpkPZM
They have to stop though! The summoners get the Final Aeon - with the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin! But then - if she calls it, the Final Aeon is going to kill her! Even if she defeats Sin... it will... it will.... It will kill Yunie too, you know!
Marivel snapped her hand away from the Sphere in shock. The image cut out. Her hands trembled. All this time... She wanted to help her with her journey. She wanted her to defeat Sin and live. But it was impossible for both?
She saw how much left was on the video. How much worse could it get? She needed to watch everything. She reached forward and placed her hand on the Sphere again.
Was I the only one who didn't know?
I didn't understand.
I didn't know anything.
And all along, the whole time, I didn't know anything! But Yuna...she'd just smile.
Tears dripped from the Crimson Noble's eyes. Try as she might to bury her heart, but damn him...! He might have well been reading her own heart. She curls her hand into a fist. "..." But this time she didn't remove her hand.
No!! I'm not gonna let Yuna die!
I'm telling you, she won't die!
"Boy, don't forget those words. 'Cause if you do." Marivel murmured. "I'm gonna make you regret it."
She pulled her hand free, gripping at her head. Hob and Nob swirled around her, sensing her distress. Anastasia made them long ago as comfort companions for Marivel. They nuzzled against her encouragingly. It was all Marivel could do to not scream her rage at the heavens.
Over and over again, her friends were the ones made to bear the sins of the world upon their back and all too often they'd break. Anastasia. And now Brad. And soon--Yuna. Or some other summoner, though that would hardly be a victory. Who would come after? Who would be the next this forsaken galaxy murder. No wonder Luceid hated the world. If any god made a world like this, t'was only natural to bare one's fangs at god.
She focused again on Tidus. He wasn't from Spira. But where was he from? He certainly wasn't from Filgaia. There was something about the boy that seemed...
No, it hardly mattered. He made the promise.
Marivel closed her eyes.
Marivel could see Anastasia's hands were shaking. She reached over and placed her own hand on top of the one carrying Argetlahm.
Anastasia was quiet for a moment. She took in a deep breath and she said...
"Mari. Your hands are freezing."
Marivel blushed and snapped her hand away, her head turning as well. But Anastasia grabbed her chin and pulled her face to look at her.
Anastasia was smiling. She leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips.
Then she pulled back. Her hands tightened and relaxed--and then they were no longer shaking. "Thanks." She says. "Marivel, if it all goes badly..."
Marivel didn't say anything. Her brain had stopped working.
"Marivel this is serious," Anastasia laughed.
Marivel shook her head quickly. "Right--" She looked back to Ana and she was still smiling.
"If it all goes badly, Marivel. I want you to live."
"With no people? It'd be an honor to join my family again in death. You, Lumen, Kamui, Althena. You're all I have left to live and die for. You have a world of people left to you."
"No...!" Anastasia grabbed HER hands this time tightly. And contrariwise, Ana's hands were like a sunbeam. For a moment, Marivel worried her hands would start burning. It felt like they were.
"I... I hate death, Marivel. I want to get out of this alive. Both of us. So... don't even think about sacrificing yourself for me. If you're gone, who will share to everyone the Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles you keep on babbling about."
"You never listen to it anyway." Marivel wrinkles her nose. "...You just do your own thing."
"Just promise me you'll live." Anastasia pressed.
"Okay, okay. I promise." Marivel smiled. "And I promise you, you'll get out of this alive too, Ana."
"How can you be so sure? He's powered by negative emotion, Marivel. There's.... There's been a lot of that."
"True, true... But I've also seen what humanity can do under pressure thanks to a certain nerd over here." Marivel grinned. "Look don't tell anybody... But I've actually come to rather admire humanity. Even through all the mistakes they've been making... I've seen what even a normal average girl who could barely wield a sword can do when she loved enough. If she can be like that incredible, that means--any human could be like that. If the world puts its mind to it, I'm sure there is nothing they can't overcome."
"The world will come for us." Marivel concluded. "They will be inspired by our example and we'll save the world. Peace will reign for a while, and then slowly but surely Filgaia will recover. I really believe that."
"Okay." Anastasia says. "If you're managing to say it, then I'm sure it'll be okay. After all, we've got a team coming with us too. We...won't be alone in this world, just like you said."
"Like mom said," Marivel said. "No matter where we go, we'll never be alone."
But in the end...
In the end...!
All this time, Ana was smiling too. But she surely knew.
No... maybe she wished to believe that a miracle would happen.
But the world wasn't there. And so Marivel made a new promise.
The world is thousands of years late, but in the end the world will be here for you.
I promise.
"Don't forget those words," Marivel murmured quietly. "Or I'm gonna make you regret it, Marivel."
There was nobody else to remind her.
Hob and Nob buzzed at her to let her know that Cid was asking for a shipwide meeting. She looked over to the two of them for a long moment. No, she told herself. At least these two could remind her. Every time she saw them, she saw Anastasia's gift to the world--the only one she gave it besides time.
She embraced them tightly for a long moment, hoping Anastasia could somehow feel it.
Then she exhaled once, and made her way to the meeting.
"Let's declare war on every world again." Marivel said. "In the end, they will be here for you. Or there won't be a galaxy left to judge me. Either way... my long journey will come to an end."
Marivel wiped her eyes free of tears. No more crying now.
Filgaia and Lunar would handle the weeping from here on out.