2023-05-04: Pilgrim's Progress

• Log: Pilgrim's Progress
• Cast: Captain Bartholomew, Kaguya, Rebecca Streisand, Dean Stark, Avril Vent Fleur
• Where: The Mayflower
• Date: May 04, 2023
• Summary: Aboard the Mayflower, there are certain questions -- and remarks -- that are yet to be had between a certain trio (and Kaguya!) and the leader of their unexpected rescuers from atop the White Tower.

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<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

The Mayflower's seen better days. It's also seen worse; that's just the natural result of being a long-lived Veruni ship. But long story short: you don't get out of a scrap with a Fell Dragon completely untouched.

It's the seas of Lunar somewhere outside of smiting distance of Pentagulia that the silvery-purple flagship of the elusive Veruni Moderates has currently parked. Much of the time since has seen its crew occupied with tending to repair and maintenance work before the Veruni ship can rightly carry its newfound passengers to a proper safe haven far, far away from the seat of the would-be Goddess. Veruni - most of them in full-body suits that cover even their faces - are a far more common sight here than they are in most of Filgaia, and especially Lunar - and all of them are hard at work. They're conversant, at least. Not especially hostile, either -- not even to Kaguya.

Most of them, though, treat Avril with a certain sort of respectful wariness, for reasons she should know very well by now.

Even damaged, though, a Veruni ship is still a Veruni ship, and for anyone who hasn't seen a true Veruni city -- the technology on display here is miles beyond anything on Filgaia short of what Solaris can bring to bear. Sleek, gunmetal gray corridors lead to a variety of areas, from recreation rooms to simulators to the engine room housing a reactor capable of powering trips between the stars. There's a lot to see here, if anyone is easily marveled by the technological. But mostly... it's a waiting game. At least -- until now.

Whether Avril and her companions are seeking an audience or not, eventually word comes down courtesy of one of the crew members that 'Johnny Appleseed' was looking for a meeting with them. Thankfully, they quickly correct themselves as if using that title had become habit, clarifying: the captain of the ship wants a word. He'd be waiting on the bridge, whenever they were ready.

In his own words, "Not like I got a lot to do right now and staring at moon water's only interesting for so long, y'know?"

And so, Captain Bartholomew awaits the group of Drifters and Kaguya at the expansive, silvery bridge of the Mayflower. Dressed in white, orange and black Veruni attire, Bartholomew is a tall and - apparently - middle-aged man, his ponytail-bound hair a sandy blonde and his features tanned and rugged. Hands on his hips, he's monitoring several holographic data feeds as he waits -- damage assessments, time until the Mayflower is at peak operation, what looks like some reruns of a very old Veruni gameshow--

--some reruns of a Veruni gameshow--

"Pick the red one, dammit -- the red one!"

--Well. That aside. He still looks pretty leadery.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Not even to Kaguya!! That's surprising to her--but not unwelcome. She's not going to push it. Instead, she's going to relax a little, look out at the water (her ancient enemy), and hang out a little. Some with Magilou, even some with Dean. But as for the technology...

Kaguya's not fazed in the least. Quite the opposite she says at least once, "Ugh, finally. Decent corridors. More dungeons should have nice corridors like these, you know?"

Kaguya though does want to talk to the Captain... and she doesn't blink at least at the talk of 'Johnny Appleseed.' But when they clarify, correcting--Kaguya looks to the others. "That's his old title," she says. "It's not his anymore, but it used to be."

Moon water will sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Maybe stranger to the other Veruni--she doesn't even pretend to be in a containment suit. Not anymore. Instead, she's in nice Lunarian clothes, a long shirt that's too big for her and some trousers, along with a green mantle. But here and now...

Here and now, Kaguya says, "Oh, man, I love that show!" She looks at it, "He's never gonna pick the red one, is he?" she muses. "Man, do I remember this epiode...? I think what happens is--"

Someone will probably stop her from ruining the show. Possibly. It's in the realm of possibility. Maybe.

"...Uh, I mean. ...Hey."

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

"Seems strange that we finally made it. Or rather that he just picked us up out of nowhere?"
 
Rebecca asides to Avril and Dean when the news that 'Johnny Appleseed' wanted to see them.
 
"You taking it alright Avril? Finally getting the chance to meet that certain someone you've been looking for for so long. If it were me, it'd be more pressure than I can stand."
 
Putting her hands behind her head, her face screws up in consternation, "Still I wonder, what are Veruni doing on Lunar?" She asides to Kaguya, "'sides you of course."
 
When they get there, Rebecca is, facing his back. He cuts an impressive figure but...
 
... what he's watching...
 
Rebecca stands there awkwardly, then coughs and, looks sideways at Avril with a 'Are you kidding me?' expression.
 
Fortunately Kaguya breaks the ice, and her expression quickly morphs to 'Really???'
 
Crossing her arms, she just waits for Avril to take the lead here. This is the guy she wanted to meet after all, seems wrong to encroach on that.

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Dean hadn't even known there *were* Veruni Moderates until he boarded the Mayflower and met Captain Bartholomew and the rest of the crew. It was heartening to learn, honestly. Dean likes to believe in the best in other people, but that doesn't mean he's blind to people's weaknesses, foibles, and cruelties--and he's seen Veruni cruelty firsthand more than a time or two. Meeting more reasonable Veruni, and getting to know them as people, is nice.
    
    ...even if it is sad to see them have to wear those full-body suits, and understand the reason why. As for the Mayflower itself, it's no Golem, but Dean has been exploring it and talking to people with wonder and ample curiosity. This indeed includes hanging out with Kaguya.
    
    Plus apparently Captain Bart is the Johnny Appleseed that Avril's been seeking all this time?? At least, that's what he's called, right before it's corrected to just 'the captain.' This doesn't stop Dean from wondering, and he shares a curious look with Rebecca.
    
    Kaguya explains, though, and Dean gives *her* a curious look next. "Wait, so it's not a name? It's a title?" he wonders. "Then again, it could be a name too, huh? Like how there was that Johnny Appleseed wine in Gounon."
    
    And even if it's not a title he uses *now*, he could still well be the Johnny Appleseed that Avril's been looking for, as Rebecca points out when she asks Avril how she's doing. "Hey, yeah! This could be the guy!" he exclaims, looking over at Avril. "You think you'll know for sure when you see him?"
    
    Soon enough, they reach the bridge. The Captain, the former Johnny Appleseed... is watching a variety show.
    
    Dean, who has never been shy a day in his life, trots right over to peek over Bart's shoulder at the Veruni game show. He hasn't seen a lot of TV in his life, aside from the few shows they caught while passing through Laila Belle, so he wants to see! Even if Kaguya is doing her level best to spoil the plot. (Do variety shows really have a 'plot'?)

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    The battle against the Trial Knight had cost her. There had been wounds, of course, but channeling her powers of old comes at a price even to Avril: with her mind as it is and with the toll of having slept for millennia she cannot fully wield such spells as she might once have. There had been a touch of ice, briefly, on the Mayflower's deck, ere her landing.

    Then, Avril had simply swooned then and there. She had only learned of the dragon's attack the morning after, when she had awoken on that ship, which had sought berth on Lunar.

    She knows full well why they treat her thus. Though she had sought to speak with the captain for the very reason behind such reactions, there are protocols that even a queen in absentia should follow, and so she had waited. Besides, was the repair of the airship not the most important thing?

    But she still had not had to wait terribly long. The message had been passed along in due time, that...

    "...So... he is Johnny Appleseed..." She looks pensive in the moment, furrowing her brow. "That was the title that Volsung had said that I should claim... but, is it possible, then, that he is the original...?" Avril asks, glancing between her friends as they linger without the airship's bridge.

    But Kaguya clarifies. He had been the former holder of the title -- the Johnny Appleseed that had come after her, and the one who might yet be her predecessor for that office.

    "Yet, I wonder... is he the one I have been seeking?" She nods, at Dean's remark. "Perhaps so. Then, let us meet him, and..." If the name is a title, might it not instead be that--

    But they step onto the bridge. There, before them, stands the captain of the Mayflower. Johnny Appleseed--

    --the person Avril has been searching for (??)--

    --is watching an old gameshow.

    Avril slowly tilts her head to one side like a puzzled dog, not entirely parsing the meaning of this. She's... rather less versed in such things than even her friends though... "Is there something important about that...?" But as she glances over at Rebecca -- as Dean and Kaguya weigh in themselves -- she realize the ball is in her court.

    Avril steps forward and clears her throat. "We wished to speak with you, captain." She pauses.

    "The former 'Johnny Appleseed'."

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

He's never gonna pick the red one, is he?

"C'mon, don't be like that! A person's gotta believe in -something-, or else what's it all for -- ah, crap. He picked the blue one."

Captain Bartholomew is in the zone. So in the zone, in fact, that he doesn't even realize he's talking to the resident Radical on his ship -- or even probably that he's talking to anyone at all. In fact, Avril, Rebecca, Dean and Kaguya seem to go completely unregistered as he leans in, watching intently at - as Dean peeks - some Veruni on the screen rides what looks like a shoddy Scooty-Puff Jr. through a topsy-turvy antigravity tunnel, hands balled into fists and drawn up as if in preparation to pump. And --

"HELL YEAH! WAHAHA!"

Comes a booming cry as the man manages to cross the finish line seconds before his hodgepodge, terribly tiny vehicle just literally falls apart. Bart spins, TRIUMPHANT --

--and gives Dean a totally awesome high five of victory!!

"We did it! Now we're just seventeen points behind!"

--which is about when Captain Bart realizes his guests are here.

He pauses, at the end of his high five. Peers. And then:

"Huh. Damn. You got here quick. Good for you."

A second passes.

Man, do I remember this episode...? I think what happens is--

"Hey, it was enough of a pain in the ass getting my hands on this without you spoiling it, come on now!" It looks pretty old. Does the spoiler sanction really apply, and to game shows at that--??

Still, arms folding over his chest, Bart considers the gathered. Facing them fully, the scar over his right eye is a much more visible thing as those thoughtful blue eyes turn on Kaguya, brows lifting.

"... You're... Kaguya, right?" he ventures, like someone grasping at a far away memory, before his gaze turns back to Avril, Rebecca and Dean.

"And so that makes you our Johnny Appleseed and her entourage. So, let's make this official-like: welcome aboard the pirate ship of the Moderates, the Mayflower! I'm her captain, Bartholomew!"

He's a boisterous man -- it's a quality that carries even into the grin he carries as he offers that aggressive, friendly welcome. But when Avril makes her request -- he pauses. Bart considers for a moment, and then nods once.

"... Yeah. 'Former's' about right. That's a title I haven't held for a long time now." His head tilts, just a few degrees to his right.

"I got an idea about what you all wanna see me for." His gaze turns Kaguya's way. "... Well, most of you. And I've got some things I want to ask myself. Still -- tell me what's on your mind. All of you. I'll do my best to answer what I can."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"I've got some ideas," Kaguya says to Rebecca about what Veruni are doing on Lunar. She doesn't actully explain those ideas, though. Neither does she respond to Rebecca's very vivid expressions. Instead, Kaguya explains to Dean, "Yeah. It's sort of--well, you could call him by it, back when he was." The original. Not quite. "...He might be," Kaguya admits to Avril of the one she's been seeking. But once they meet him...

"Ooh, right." Kaguya does not spoil the show. ...It's a lot more recent for her, given how long she was in cryosleep. She rubs at the back of her neck, "Ha ha, sorry."

But you gotta believe in something... Hmmm. Is that the kind of person he is? Maybe game shows say a lot to people...

But he adresses her, and she nods. "That's right. The Professor's top student." That's what she was, back then, anyway. A long, long time ago...

She looks between the others, and debates what she's going to say, when Bartholomew asks. And then, eventually, "I may as well go first."

"...Volsung's plans are bad news. I know a lot about them, and I know things I can't share even with these three, for their own safety. I've been trying to foil them from the inside for a while now, but I'm not making progress. I can't do it alone."

"I never expected to hook up with you guys... But it might be exactly the way. Or it might not. Either way, I'd rather make your acquaintance. When I woke up from cryosleep... Everything was different. All these people who weren't even born yet when I was arond were in charge. And I was sick. So yeah, I did a lot of messed up things, when I was sorting it all out. But I've come to believe that humanity is worth protecting. ...And I'm hoping that not all of our people are on board with what Volsung wants. I'm pretty sure you're not, from what I've heard."

"Related," she says, "I'm here to protect Avril in particular. She's demonstrated to me that she's worth it, no matter who she used to be. ...No, maybe because of who she used to be. Either way... Who she is 'now' matters." Kaguya looks sidelong to Avril, Dean, and Rebecca. "...Don't get me wrong, we're not all buddy-buddy or anything. But they're OK. You can trust them even if you can't trust me."

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

"That's right, you did mention him saying that." Rebecca murmurs, taking that information in stride with what Kaguya brought to the table. "I bet you do." Rebecca says wryly towards Kaguya.
 
A hand makes contact with her forehead, as Dean and this guy take to each other in solidarity of a game show that Dean has never watched.
 
'Spoilers?' Rebecca mouths even as she works out the word from context clues. She did want to go on TV once upon a time but she doesn't really know anything about it.
 
"So she's definitely Johnny Appleseed? And you're the 'Former'? So you mean all along Avril was really looking for herself? That's-" Weirdly fitting, given her memory problems. Rebecca puts a hand up alongside her head, "Geez even having gotten a hint of it before, it's such a weird turn of events."
 
She flashes a smile sidelong at Avril and Dean, still looking confused, but Kaguya keeps explaining, "Alright. ... I've gotten enough of a feel for you that I believe that you're telling the truth. If you think humanity's worth protecting then..."
 
Rebecca takes a long breath, a deep sigh, part of her wonders how much Dean has affected her over this journey that she's saying this right now, "I'm willing to hear you out and give you a chance at least."
 
As she then looks between them, "So first thing's first. What brought you over to this neck of the woods? Did you just happen on rescuing us too, or were you looking for us?"

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "So what's this show about, anyway--" Dean is in the middle of saying before the man on the TV show barely wins and Bartholomew moves to HIGH FIVE him in victory!! With a bright, broad grin and a resounding CLAP, Dean completes the high five and cheers, "Woo! We won! Wait, we are?"
    
    He still has no idea what's going on with this show. To whit: Avril's question about it gets a big old shrug and a, "No idea!" But who's he to not share in someone else's enthusiasm?
    
    Still, whatever the show is about, or which team in it wins, Bartholomew does remember the fact that he called them here in the first place... and then, after Avril greets him, implies back that *Avril* is Johnny Appleseed. Volsung had apparently said she should claim it, which makes sense if it was a title all along, but she already was it?
    
    "Whaaat?" he utters, confusion twisting his face as he looks from Bart to Kaguya (whom he apparently also already knows).
    
    Rebecca weighs in on this, and Dean nods vigorously. "Yeah, no kidding!" ... "So what exactly *is* a 'Johnny Appleseed'?" he then asks, first and foremost, to Bartholomew and Kaguya equally. (Sorry, Kaguya, your explanation explained nothing.) But then Kaguya chimes in too, and...
    
    So Volsung has some big bad-news plans that the rest of them don't know about. This is so unsurprising to Dean that he can only muster disappointment in his would-be friend. Volsung never did respond to the package he sent him... Even though Elvis must have delivered it. He promised, after all!
    
    Kaguya also says they're not all buddy-buddy. "Yeah we are! We even fought that Fell Dragon together!" Dean protests, unwilling to let this much slide. Then he laughs and elbows her jovially. "You're such a kidder, Kaguya!"
    
    Still, when she says that Avril's worth protecting for who she is now, Dean nods firmly. "She's exactly right! It doesn't matter who she used to be!" He smiles at Rebecca. "See, I told you Kaguya was our friend!"
    
    Since obviously a friend of Avril's is a friend of theirs. Even if that wasn't the case to start with *either*.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril, briefly, glances towards Rebecca. Again. As if an answer can be found there.

    But reality kicks in for Captain Bart, if a touch belatedly, and he realizes that he has company. Perhaps not just any company, at that.

    For just a moment, Avril looks at Kaguya, as if to inquire silently after the untold story between the two of them. Perhaps, after a fashion, she might be able to guess it, given what she knows of Kaguya and given Bart's age.

    "That is... the title that Volsung had told me was mine to claim," Avril tells him. "Then, I am pleased to meet you, Captain Bartholomew." She smiles, wan. "I see there is no need then to introduce myself? Then, permit me to introduce my dear friends."

    She glances between each of them in turn as she speaks their names. "Dean Stark and Rebecca Streisand."

    He has an idea about what Avril is about to ask him, he says.

    "Yes. You see... I believe I need your aid, Captain. There is much that I need to know. About myself... and about our people. What is more..." She closes her eyes, briefly, as if in thought. "...You must understand what I am about to say. I intend to reassume my role as queen. Yet, I cannot do this presently. To simply claim the throne as my right, I would be falling into their trap... is that not true? Without my memories, I..."

    Avril trails off here, perhaps realizing one crucial thing:

    Her lost memories are not common knowledge.

    "...And you must also know this," she finishes, after a long moment of silence.

    "I remember but one thing from my life of over five thousand years ago. Save but this, I know only what I have learned or have been told. The one thing that I know is this: I can remember the name 'Johnny Appleseed'."

    Again, she pauses. "...But, that cannot be you, can it? By the time you assumed that role, I had still..."

    Perhaps all this time, she's really been looking for herself, as Rebecca suggests. Yet, why is this the only thing that she recalls over the millennia? Was that the one thing that was important to her past self, being the ruler?

    "Then, perhaps means that I was, and he means me to be again." The once and future queen.

    She is quiet again, as Kaguya says her piece.

    "For all that Kaguya has done, if I am to understand what I have learned about who I had been, then I am by far the one with more blood on her hands," she tells Bart, gazing at him almost as if she were quietly deliberating to fix him there with her eyes alone. "I am not asking for your forgiveness for her, Captain. I ask only that you understand and pass your judgement accordingly. ...I wish us to be allies."

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

"See? This kid gets it!" Bartholomew proclaims, gesturing at Dean, who absolutely has no clue about the show he is watching and yet is ENTHUSED ANYWAY. See. That's the mark of a good leader right there...!

A gloved hand waves through the air. The screen with the show pauses. Bartholomew isn't going to miss a single second of it.

"The Professor. Man. It amazes me that old quack's still running around like a kid at a candy store. You got a hell of a lot of stones, managing to survive under him."

For all that Bartholomew apparently lacks in eloquence, he makes up for in just... saying what he feels, basically all the time, it seems. He strikes an odd portrait for a Veruni, but, well.

Maybe that's part of why he's here, with the misfits that don't quite fit in.

"I got some good stories about the old man from when you were asleep, we can share 'em some time. ... But I don't think reminiscing's why you're here, right?"

In some ways, the past is one of the few things the Veruni have. But what concerns Bartholomew most is their dismal present -- and their questionable future. Thick, sandy brown brows scrunch inward, just a bit, as Kaguya takes point with a simple, clear observation: '...Volsung's plans are bad news.' A frown tugs at weathered lips.

"... I'm guessing you mean the TF System."

Spoken with all the gravity of someone painfully aware of what those words mean.

The rest of what Kaguya says is tabled -- at least for now. Instead, his attention turns towards Rebecca, Dean and Avril, as the Veruni queen introduces her friends. His head tips to both Dean and Rebecca in turn, one gloved fist thumping against his chest.

"Dean, Rebecca. Let me get this outta the way first: thank you, for looking out for Avril for so long. It couldn't have been easy, and you had plenty good reason not to. Makes me proud to get a chance to meet you in person."

For some reason, he sounds painfully sincere -- and bafflingly casual, despite having once been the leader of the oppressive force that was the Veruni. But if there's any bias to be found there -- it's completely lost in the easygoing nature of that grateful grin he offers. They all voice similar questions and concerns about just what 'Johnny Appleseed' is. First thing's first, though:

What brought you over to this neck of the woods? Did you just happen on rescuing us too, or were you looking for us?

"Uh... huh. Well. For the first one, consider it something like a favor for a friend. They needed an escape route, and hey, I got one that flies! Seemed like a win-win. Didn't really expect we'd end up tussling with a god damn dragon though!" Bartholomew rubs the back of his neck, looking sidelong with a grimace.

"Never seen a beastie quite like that before..." Is he lamenting the state of his ship? The tight situation they all found themselves in? Or--

"And I didn't even get to tangle with it! Hell!"

--or that it was that

"As for the rest..." Bartholomew's lamentations subside, as he considers how best to put this. "'Looking for you' sounds like we just started. Truth is -- we've been looking for Avril for a long time now. Since the beginning."

And it is here, Bart's blue gaze falls back on Avril... just in time to blink. First, at the mention of a 'trap' on the part of the Radicals; his expression is one of mild confusion, one brow lifting. And then...

Without my memories, I...

... a second blink, accompanying a shift from confusion to surprise.

"--You... lost your memories?!" He mulls this over for several seconds, brows knotting together. "... Honestly, that explains a few things. I was wondering why the Radicals hadn't activated the system when they found you..."

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

It's a drifting thought. And one that he lets fall by the wayside, as he considers the rest of what Avril had to say. Her intention to resume her mantle. He considers, for a long moment.

"... So you wanna know more about yourself so you can claim your title, huh. Hrm." Arms fold over his chest; a gloved finger tap against his bicep for five, six seconds worth of beats.

"Truth is, we Veruni haven't had a king or a queen in a long time. The royal line died off a long time ago. Except for you." And that, it seems, is singularly important. There's obvious reasons for that, of course, but...

"So. Let's start with the beginning: Johnny Appleseed." That hand that had been tapping lifts at the wrist, gesturing at Kaguya and Avril both. "Back in the day - way before my time - Johnny Appleseed was the term people on Filgaia gave to the pioneers who discovered new lands. The trailblazers. Y'know, kinda like planting the seeds for civilization's growth, and whatever. So, yeah. We Veruni decided to honor the tradition by naming our leaders 'Johnny Appleseed.' I gave up the role when we finally resettled on Filgaia." Blue eyes look Avril's way.

"It's belonged to Avril over here, ever since, by right of pact. It's not something she needs to claim. It's something she is. Without her, well..."

And here, Bartholomew turns towards Kaguya.

"... Well, you've seen it. You've been a part of it. Interim leadership'd been serving us fine, until a faction of us, the Radicals, started soaring in power and influence. What they want is pretty simple: Filgaia. They want the land to be ours, they want to keep our people from dying, no matter what the cost. And they've been pushing a single, surefire way to do it."

One Kaguya knows, by now.

"... You're right, Kags" did he just casually start nicknaming her-- "This sure as hell isn't something you can do alone. It's not something any of us Veruni can do alone. Those of us who don't agree with Volsung and his Sentinels - us Moderates - we're few and far between and we're losing members every day that passes without a solution for our people. We've been fighting a losing battle, for a long time. They've already secured Locus Solus. At this point, their word is law." A second passes. And then: "... It sure doesn't help that they're carrying out the will of our terrible Ice Queen."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya always has ideas, of course. But Rebecca seems to believe her in this case. "...Appreciate it," Kaguya says of 'hearing her out'. "There's a lot that needs doing."

Kaguya calls her a kidder and Kaguya siiiighs. "I mean, I guess," she says. "...I could use some friends. But I'm not sure everybody's as friendlyw ith me as you are, Dean."

Kaguya doesn'te xplain Johnny Appleseed for now. Instead she gards Avril, who indeed, speaks up on her behalf. Kaguya looks openly surprised at her. 'Allies'...

"That's a lot of blood," Kaguya points out. "When you have as much blood as we do there... it's not really a competition anymore. It's all 'too much.'"

'We'.

But Bart speaks of, "...Yeah. The TF System," kaguya confirms, because Bart knows full well what she's talking about. And that's a relief and a concern at the same time.

"That's right," Kaguya confirms of Avril's memories. And Johnny Appleseed... "I might've hoped to follow in steps like that," Kaguya says, to the others. "Filling the new world with flowers..." She shakes her head.

"'No matter the cost' is exactly the problem," Kaguya says, and then she gets a nickname. She opens her mouth and closes it. "...Well--"

"...Yeah," she settles on, instead of arguing with it. "And you're not going to get new people, anyway. I don't know how much you think we can share with them about it, but, they'd push the TF System to full activation today if they could."

"I still can't believe our ancestors turned it on and then just... left. Left like it wasn't our problem anymore." There's perhaps a surprising anger in her voice when she says that. But then, pause. "...Except, it seems like, you. And that's why I haven't written off our 'terrible Ice Queen', too."

"...So do we know? Is it actually her instructions, or are they just claiming it? I wasn't exactly privy to the higher-up decisions back on the Locus Solus, and I'm sure as Althena's tits are fake not now."

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

That's how reality always tends to be, right?

Rebecca still puts a hand in front of her forehead as Captain Bart proclaims that DEAN GETS IT IN REGARDS TO THE GAMESHOW!!

Rebecca gives Kaguya a sort of, darkly amused look, "Yeah if there's one thing you're right about, it's that." Though there is a small shake of her head as Kaguya points out, they're not quite as friendly.

Rebecca lifts a hand, giving one short sharp wave of her fingers as Avril introduces them. She gives Avril a glance as she speaks about her role as Queen. And how claiming it would be a trap.

She lets her explain, to mull over the possibilities, of what Volsung wants. Two fingers pinch together within her glove, hidden, save the slight subtle rub of leather.

'the TF system' causes her to straighten up, but the words are tabled for now, and Rebecca at his words replies first so easily, "S'no problem. Avril's our..." Yet it shifts in thought, and, "... Avril's precious to us."

Plenty good reason not to? That might have been true once, but not anymore.

'Forgiveness' is always a touchy subject for her. Like everyone wants Avril to make up for things she can't even remember. Forgiveness relies on knowing what one did wrong and promising to do better, so how can someone demand forgiveness of an amnesiac?

All the same, she understands Avril wanting to take responsibility.

Still, the tone of Captain Bart, he's not like other Veruni she's met in an endearing way, she finds herself taking to him in that same maddening way Dean manages to. He explains how it was a favor to a friend and...

"You would have wanted to!?" She exclaims at the idea of him tangling with the Dragon.

Ah. That explains a lot, that this whole group of people didn't realize she'd lost her memories. The Radicals must have tightly controlled that. The title is explained, and Rebecca considers it and... "Huh. Makes a lot of sense put into context like that." Before she eyes Kaguya at 'filling the world full of flowers.' As that sounds much cuter than it likely implies.

It really puts things into perspective hearing that the Radicals are kind of a new development in the Veruni, with a rapid rise to power. Rebecca would have just thought... all Veruni were like that.

Which isn't great of her perhaps, but that's just her experience.

He explains further about the 'will of our terrible Ice Queen', Kaguya says she hasn't written her off, and Rebecca- "That might have been true once, but there's no way Avril wants that now." Rebecca says, with a certainty and sincerity that she hopes- has faith can be backed up.

Even if she got back her memories of the Ice Queen, there's no way this hasn't changed her... right?

Her question though is to Kaguya this time, "So maybe it might help if you explain what... turning it on and leaving would do? Guessing how you're talking that's not so healthy for the people who were left behind."

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Yeah!" Dean cheers. "What do I get?"
    
    He is genuinely amazed when the TV pauses with the wave of a hand. How convenient! (More convenient than multi-world teleportation? That depends on who you ask.) The way Bartholomew talks about the Professor pulls his attention back to him, though. "No kidding! He's really smart, but he just does whatever he wants!! This one time, he stole a mirror, and someone else got blamed for it, and they were gonna get executed over it, and we went to him to get the mirror back so that wouldn't happen, and he didn't even care!! He just said his research was more important!" Dean huffs. "He's kind of better now, but can you believe that?!"
    
    But reminiscing isn't why they're here. Dean blinks at the 'TF System'--he doesn't know what that's about any more than he knew what that game show was about--and he turns a blank stare to Rebecca and Avril, as if to silently ask them, 'Do *you* know what that is?'
    
    For now, though, Avril's properly introducing them, reminding Dean that he never did that himself. No big deal; he grins at Bartholomew, gives him a nod, and rubs a finger under his nose. "Nice meeting ya, Captain! I'm Dean!"
    
    The gratitude Bart gives him, though, gets another blink, albeit one with a smile this time. "Of course! She's our friend!" he declares, with everything that implies. She's our friend, so it was worth doing. She's our friend, and that's reason enough. Rebecca takes it one step further by not even defining their relationship, simply saying she's precious to them. Dean nods once, decisively, in agreement.
    
    Then Rebecca, ever the sensible, suspicious one (*someone* in this friend group needs to be), asks more pointed questions. Dean listens, considers them--and then laughs at what Bartholomew's issue with the Fell Dragon was. "You'd get along really great with Zed and Asgard," he comments, grinning. He laughs again at Rebecca's open disbelief. "He seems like that type, doesn't he!" Maybe at one point he might've been surprised too--Dean is brave, but he's not really battlehungry--but over the years. he's gained an appreciation for those who are.
    
    His grin fades into puzzlement when Bartholomew says they'd been looking for Avril 'since the beginning.' He mulls on that for a moment, and on the fact that they didn't know Avril was an amnesiac, somehow. Then, brightening, he pops a fist into an open palm. "Oh! That Golem arm that Avril was held in! Was that Golem with you?" And then, with some painful sincerity of his own: "Are they okay??"
    
    But there's the past to talk about. The past, and the Ice Queen, and Johnny Appleseed. Dean falls quiet to let Bartholomew and Avril talk. So that's what 'Johnny Appleseed' means... and it's just automatically what Avril is. "So you really were looking for yourself this whole time," he muses. "...I guess that's how it is when you don't have your memories."
    
    He does grin at Kaguya, though--or rather, he keeps grinning. "Maybe not everybody, but you've got lots of friends too, Kaguya! Even if you say you don't!" he says cheerfully. He does sober at the talk of blood, and who exactly has more of it on their hands... but that doesn't make him think less of Avril. They *should* be allies, so they can finally stop all this needless bloodshed between humans and Veruni once and for all. For that reason, he gives another decisive nod at Rebecca's protest. "Yeah! Avril's not that person anymore! Most of the time!" he declares. Maybe not helpful, Dean?
    
    A pause.
    
    "...So what exactly *is* the TF System? And what's Volsung trying to do?" he wonders. It... honestly wouldn't surprise him if Volsung were trying to use Avril's title to pull something... He does give Kaguya a curious look when she talks of their ancestors turning this system off and then 'leaving.' Lacking context, he wonders, "Left what? That Locus Solus place you've been talking about?"
    
    Talk of Althena's tits, fake or otherwise, makes him grimace as his sudden hunched-in body language radiates discomfort. But he doesn't remark on it. Some things you're best keeping your mouth shut on.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril, meanwhile, regards Bartholomew the entire time with a faintly wrinkled brow, as if there were something she were attempting to parse out about him and failing to accomplish. Is it his roguish charm, perhaps? Or the way that he knows Kaguya and the Professor so very well? Or, perhaps...

    "The... TF System," she echoes at last, the words finally bubbling their way to the surface. Perhaps herein Dean will have his own answer. "I know those words. I have heard them before." Loosely, the fingers of her right hand curl in towards her palm. She has heard them before, yes. But they speak also soul-deep to her.

    Marivel had spoken of it in the same breath as so many other misfortunes that had fallen upon ancient Filgaia -- in the same breath as the end of the world.

    It has something to do with her. Of that much, she is certain. But as to what it is and of what it is capable--

    It's something... Volsung has control over. That's enough to be concerned about it..

    They had been looking for her for a long time now. Since the beginning.

    "I... do not recall," she says, haltingly this time. "When I awoke, I was in the hand of a Golem. Rebecca and Dean... they were the ones who found me. I can remember nothing before then." Nothing except her own name and the knowledge of the name of the person she needed to find.

    The system... couldn't be reactivated -- not fully -- without her presence. "Yes," she says, for now letting that realization sit to the side. "I believe that is the only way to aid my people. If they remain under the control of the Radicals, they will only be a danger to the world and themselves." This is easier said than done though -- not only the act of reclaiming her throne and setting their governence to rights, but to also find a way for her people to live on Filgaia so there is no need to resort to such ends. But it would hardly be fitting to give up before she's even begun, however impossible it seems.

    And there isn't anyone else who might do it, if she is to take Bartholomew's words into account. If she is the proper holder of the title -- if she is Johnny Appleseed...

    "Then it was true. The one I was in search of was... me. I suppose that I still am," she says, raising a hand to rest over her heart.

    Yes. Without question, she may well be the only one who can do it. But--

    "I, as well," she says, joining Kaguya's own statement. "This is not something which I can hope to achieve alone." Particularly not under current conditions, her gaze alone replies to Bartholomew. Particularly not if they are carrying out 'her will'.

    "Even if I regained my memories," she says, with a sidelong glance towards Rebecca; her gaze softens in gratitude, if only for the moment. "I do not think I could accomplish this alone. There are too many means by which they could stymie my actions and words. I am afraid that, however I might attempt such a change, it would not come gently. They will not give up what they have gained willingly, for they have staked their whole future upon it."

    There is a long pause as Dean speaks up.

    "...First, I think we must understand what the TF System is."

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

"What d'you get?! Nothing, we weren't betting! But, hell, I'll give you the odds on the next round once we're done here and--"

Maybe it's a good thing that Bartholomew is distracted by talks of dragon clobbering before he can drag Dean into the seedy world of gambling on reruns of game shows.

He would have wanted to!?

"Huh? Hell yeah!" is the former leader of the dread Veruni's exclamation, one fist pounding into its opposite's open palm. "Who wouldn't? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity! Scrapping with a dragon's on my bucket list, too. Suckers are hard as hell to find. I woulda thought Lunar woulda been crawling with 'em, too..."

Captain Bart grumbles, denied his legendary tussle.

"Ah well. Probably for the best they're not all over the place." Especially -that- kind of dragon. He pauses, tossing a curious look Dean's way.

"Asgard, huh? Heh. Good to see some legacies living strong."

Still. There are more serious things to discuss than Bart's inevitable date with dragon destiny. Arms folding over his chest, the Veruni captain looks between the trio of Dean, Rebecca, and Avril - before sparing a glance Kaguya's way, too.

"Let's be clear, here," he begins. "I'm not making excuses for my people. The reason we Moderates are so barebones as a group is because the majority mindset of the Veruni falls in line with the Radicals. Might as well just've been the same thing with a different name. We've got a long and shameful history of subjugation and most of us don't just want to live - they believe it's our right to dominate. Radicals didn't suddenly make us what we are now -- and I share my load of the blame for it, too. Resettling Filgaia -- my first thought was for my people. Everything else was secondary. But the longer I spent in this scarred homeland of ours..."

Well.

"Seeing things with your eyes wide open has a way of widening your perspective at the same time, I guess."

Otherwise, he wouldn't be here.

There's two topics at play in the immediate sense, though, and they're both of them intimately intertwined. Rebecca and Dean talk about how Avril is different now -- to which Bartholomew's only answer, for now, is the furrow of his brows and the careful neutrality of his expression as those blue eyes tilt the once-and-future Ice Queen's way. Perhaps, not that he doesn't believe that -they- believe. But...

But...

It lasts only a handful of seconds before the would-be pirate captain barks out a sharp, impressed laugh at Dean's question. "Wah hah! You're a sharp one, kid!" he compliments, thumping a fist against his chest. "Yep, that was ours. I sent 'em after Avril here, to try and snag her before Volsung could. He was supposed to deliver her back to the Mayflower, but, well..."

Bart grunts irritably; he even rolls his eyes. "... Let's just say the Ice Queen's a hot commodity to more than just us. Word to the wise: you oughta keep an eye out for Solaris, your highness."

They all likely have more than enough experience with Solaris by now, at least. So rather than lingering on it, he instead offers: "He's down an arm, but he's still going strong. Asgard's older than most of us Veruni put together; a lost arm's not gonna keep down the Ice Queen's guardian."

Asgard. See? Legacies.

For now though, Bartholomew shifts to consider the questions about the TF System. A thoughtful eye turning on Dean as he curls up in discomfort, it earns a curious look before he continues on: "Left Filgaia. The way the story goes with us Veruni, we used to be one of two of the dominant forces of Filgaia thousands of years ago. -The- dominant, if you asked anyone buying in to our hype. When the world was facing down a great calamity, our ancestors turned to using one of the Ice Queen's greatest creations - the TF System. But just when it was being activated, the Veruni's enemies sabotaged the system, and, well..." Bartholomew gestures. He makes a 'pffwhooosshhhh' sound effect. He feels like this is evocative enough.

"... We lost the name of our enemies in the thousands of years adrift in space, so we just took to calling 'em the Moderates. But I think you'd all be more familiar with 'em as Zeboim."

Like he said. Keep your eyes wide open... inevitably, you're going to find some things out you weren't expecting.

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

"Anyway. The TF System." He looks to Kaguya, considering, before shaking his head. "I think it's too late now to beat around the bush on this one, Kags. We might as well lay things out for these guys -- they're gonna have to deal with this sooner than later, if they're sticking with Avril. Besides," and here, Bartholomew grins, mostly for his own amusement, "they're asking so nice-like!"

His attention turns, back to Avril, Rebecca and Dean -- the ones who want - need - to know what the TF System is. He pauses for a few moments, as if to get his thoughts together. And then:

"By now, you know what's happening to the Veruni, right?" he asks, perhaps somewhat rhetorically. Kaguya, after all, is living evidence of it. "There's something about Filgaia that's killing us off. We call it the Veruni Rejection Factor, for lack of any fancier words. Fact is -- we woulda all been dead a long time ago, if the planet wasn't in such shit shape. Funny, huh? The only thing saving us right now is what's damning the rest of the planet. As it is... we're staring down a slow spiral into extinction as a species. Last I checked, we got maybe a decade, tops. Who knows, if the VR Factor intensifies or not; more and more of us are getting sick every year. ... Locus Solus is getting more and more quiet every damn year."

Blue eyes have narrowed at some point during his explanation; Bart's lips have twisted into a grimace, the bridge of his nose wrinkled in a frustration that he eventually looses from his features with the shake of his head. "... Anyway, the TF System is the Radicals' way of fixing that. Like I said, according to legend, the thing's one of the last inventions of the Lolithia, but whatever happened when it misfired way back when, the original intent behind it was something like a terra-formatting system. It was supposed to fix the planet. But 'fixing' it can mean a whole bunch of things." And in this case...

"If they can activate it, the Radicals plan to use it to reformat Filgaia to accept the presence of the Veruni. We wouldn't be suffering from VR Factor anymore." The 'but' is plain as day on Bart's expression, far before the word leaves his lips. "... But... it's got consequences, that'd damn the rest of life on Filgaia."

He looks sidelong to Kaguya, as if to indicate -- to let her explain, exactly, the consequences. Maybe it's better to hear from someone who's suffering from that very rejection themselves. Or maybe Bart can only handle so much exposition.

He has more to say himself, but he holds back for now. He does, at least, answer one last question Kaguya posed him:

"It's her instructions, alright. We were supposed to wake the Ice Queen the second we returned. But, well. Five thousand years is a long damn time, especially when you don't really have anyone alive who can tell you, 'hey, your ancient god queen's hangin' out in THIS dilapidated ruin over here, just take a left at the first continent!'"

...

"... So... y'know. It took a while."

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya in turn is mysteriously quiet about wanting to fight the Fell Dragon. ...It's a little personal, so obviously she doesn't bring it up. But since Bart wants it, "Done it a couple times. Not as much fun as you'd think."

 "What?" she says to Rebecca eyeing her. "I was a kid! Kids want stuff like that."

Dean, though, insists she does have other friends, and she siiiighs at him. "Yeah, yeah. Make it all obvious-like..."

But Bartholomew makes clear he's not making excuses--and if he looks at Kaguya again, he might detect a little more respect from her for that much. She nods along, because she hears nothing in that to argue with. Subjugation, domination... Their people first.

"It does have that way," she says.

Both topcs... And Solaris. Kaguya scowls outright at the matter of Solaris. "Yeah," she agrees.

But Bart explains them leaving. SHe knows what that great calamity was now, too--but she doesn't say it. It'd just confuse the matter for now. What she hadn't heard of was the sabotage... So she's still piecing together what she can, figuring out what she knows.

'Zeboim.'

"...Yeah," the smaller Veruni agrees. "You're right. We might as well be out with them." She doesn't laugh, but she gives an expression that's the ghost of one, at them asking nicely.

Kaguya gestures to herself about what's 'happening to the Veruni'. Though she looks a lot healthier than she used to, for some reason. Probably not important.

"Consquences," Kaguya explains, "Like Zopt Syndrome. ...The simple truth is that the TF System is already active. It's already partially functional. And the more it works, the more Filgaians die. I don't know if you're that familiar with it, but Zopt Syndrome is the humans' name for the exact same thing that's happening to us. My ex-girlfriend's mother had it; I've seen it for myself."

"Reformatting the planet so it accepts us means it won't accept the 'other side'. I have no idea what the consequences would be for the Guardians, but the humans are the ones who would go extinct for sure. Elves and Beastfolk probably, too."

"So... that's what's at stake. Right now, if we can't stop it, it's you or us. That's it. And I don't aim for it to be you. We left this world behind, once, to leave to the rest of you to clean up. It's not right if we just come back, kill you, and pick up where we left off."

Then she crosses her arms, and looks down. "I see. Her instructions after all..."

She looks to Avril. "So what do you think, then?"

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

"I meant that a lot needs doing!" She retorts to Kaguya, "What did you think I meant?"
 
... Though now she's thinking of young Kaguya watching gameshows and that's a little adorable.

Rebecca shakes her head at Dean with both hands raised as if to indicate that she's just as clueless on this one.
 
What's the TF System? A question they all ask in their own way.
 
"I mean sure Dean but come on-! Who really wants a dragon to show up and claw at their airship!?"
 
Dean's protest with the qualifier 'Most of the time' gets a look from Rebecca as if to indicate that's not quite what she meant!!! Captain Bart at least... well, his neutrality, she can understand his skepticism. But Avril... "... You won't have to." 'Do it alone' she says, softly, eyes upon her.
 
Maybe Dean really has affected her more than she'd like to think along the way this journey.
 
Dean asks about the Golem arm and if the Golem is okay and again Rebecca gives him that 'Seriously?' questioning look but without actually being that surprised.
 
Dean and Golems... Dean and Golems.
 
But then Bart- "Wait that WAS you?!" Rebecca actually is taken aback by the positive answer that it was them. "Down an arm huh?" The idea makes her look pensive, thinking about how many versions of Asgard are out there.
 
She keeps 'Solaris' under her hat right now... Solaris hasn't been too aggressive about it but...
 
The story begins of the Veruni's past, and Rebecca grimaces at the pffwoosh. "Zeboim." She repeats quietly, as if that explains a lot in and of itself.
 
"Yeah. We know." And she cants her head towards Kaguya, as if she were the reason they knew. Vividly. The TF System. It's hard to think that... the person who Avril was created it. That they need her to complete it. "... I wish I could say I'm shocked about that, but from what we've seen of this Volsung, seems completely in character. Though - I guess I get it to some extent, that's a pretty horrible choice for anyone to make. Your own people - or everyone else."
 
She murmurs then Kaguya mentions 'Zopt Syndrome' and Rebecca looks towards Dean and Avril, "We've... never heard of it but we've seen humans with symptoms like yours, yeah. Didn't realize it was connected."
 
In the end she looks towards Captain Bart, and asks, "So - her instructions were to awaken her, but why are you following them? You don't sound like some true believer in the Ice Queen's rule." Crossing her arms, she asks a touch suspiciously, "And you didn't know about her memory loss. So you just assumed you were getting her back - as she was before. So what were your intentions for the 'Ice Queen'?"

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Wait, what?" Dean utters, enthusiasm changing once again to confusion. It's very good that Bart doesn't wrangle Dean into an actual wager because this poor young man would get clowned. The topic of dragons is, weirdly, something he's actually relatively informed on, and so he says, "There's actually more dragons around than you think! But most of them are good so you shouldn't fight 'em anyway. Dragons like the one we fought that day..." His bright smile falls into something grim. "...Yeah. It's better if there aren't a lot of *those* kinds around. It's too sad."
    
    He doesn't chime in with Kaguya on that mark. She knows what he means better than anyone, he's sure. He does smile at her grumbling, though. Rebecca's protest gets a shrug befre he points at Bart. "This guy," he says simply.
    
    He brightens again into a broad grin when Bart calls him sharp. That's a compliment he doesn't hear often! But that Golem had to be with *somebody*, and Volsung never said anything about it, so if Bart was there from the start, it had to be with him! (It's a simplistic conjecture. But Dean isn't *stupid*; he just has a unique way of thinking.) As for Asgard: "Yeah!" After all, Asgard is a popular name for Golems! (...He isn't stupid, I swear.) He remains bright as Bart reassures him that the Golem in question, also Asgard (see??), is doing just fine, even down an arm. "Oh wow, he's THE Asgard?? That's so cool!!! No wonder he's fine! Besides, you can't keep a good Golem down! I'd love to meet him sometime!"
    
    All considered, it's no shock that Avril *does* recognize those words. She says she's heard them before, and Dean's confusion at *her* melts into a certain gravity as he nods. "Yeah, that makes sense," he says.
    
    But what actually *is* it? Kaguya had said she'd been keeping that info away from them, to protect them. Dean can appreciate that her heart was in the right place, but the time for that is over. He looks to her and Bart expectantly as Avril says they need to know.
    
    The story is... well, there's no surprise that it's grim. Dean's jaw sets as Bart acknowledges that, actually, most Veruni really are jerks. That's something he's seen for himself time and time again. Still, there are worse out there, and Bart even names one of them. "Solaris is the *worst*," he grumbles. "Almost as bad as Janus Cascade!!"
    
    Who, as we all know, is THE Worst. Yes, even after death. He came back once, he could do it again!!
    
    But... so the Veruni lived on Filgaia a long time ago. No wonder Bart called it their homeland. And... their enemies were the Zeboim? *That's* a surprise for sure. Bart and Kaguya finally do explain what's going on, and... Dean's eyes widen. It's a lot to take in, and frankly it's horrifying, even for his powerful ability to take things in stride. Especially since it turns out it's the same as what Matilda's mother had. So right now, as Kaguya says, it's them or us. Dean covers his mouth with one hand. "Oh, geez..."
    
    Because what else can you really say?
    
    But even so, Avril's still their friend. No matter how politely skeptical Bart looks. He looks over at Avril as Rebecca says she won't have to, and he gives her an encouraging smile as he leans in closer to her. To let her know this doesn't change how he feels about her.
    
    "Yeah," he chimes in after Rebecca, subdued. "I... get why they'd decide to use it, too. Nobody wants to die. But... that's awful. For everybody." LITERALLY everybody. The ultimate them or us. It honestly makes him a little queasy to think of the sheer scale of it.
    
    He blinks a couple times as Rebecca raises some very good points about the Moderates' intentions for the Ice Queen. Then he gives Bart an uncertain look. He hasn't instantly lost his trust, but those *are* questions in need of answers.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "I know," she murmurs in reply to Rebecca, glancing at her friend sidelong. It's almost, almost shy. Her gaze shifts towards Dean in turn as he chimes in through his smile alone. "Thank you."

    Avril is, perhaps, the last to make excuses for her own people's actions. She has already seen what their actions have sown in this world and knows full well that this shall not be the end of it.

    This, born perhaps of her own legacy, is what she must also take into account. To conquest, to rule -- such things have it seems long been a part of Veruni nature. And so they shall continue to be, until, unless something is done about it.
    She seeks to save the world from her people, and her people from their own nature.

    "I understand," she tells Bart. "I, too, have seen and learned much from my travels in both of these worlds. The most important thing that I have learned is... there are people who are good and people who are bad everywhere." She pauses, clasping both hands before her. "I say this not to absolve the Veruni but to state a plain truth. Our people deserve a future as much as any other. Yet, to continue on our current path..."

    She closes her eyes and gows her head.

    But Dean had asked after the Golem that had rescued her, and here, she lifts her head at last to glance his way, then over at Bartholomew. "So that is what happened. He was attacked before he could return..." And so she had come to fall to earth from the heavens.

    'Keep an eye out for Solaris'. In that moment she straightens, almost as if she had received a mild shock. Nearly--
    But it is as if her fingers brushed against glass. It slides away, rolls away from her, becomes forever out of reach. "I shall... keep that in mind," she says at last.

    But Bart returns to the tale they had asked after -- that of the TF System and what, precisely, it was intended to be.

    "...Like Demetrioi," she murmurs, furrowing her brow. "But, the system was sabotaged, and after that the Veruni left to head into space. Meanwhile, I stayed behind."

    Her attention turns towards Kaguya as Bart indicates her way -- this part is hers to tell? Avril's mild befuddlement is writ on her expression.

    It's Kaguya's to tell because it is a subject near and 'dear' to her: VR Factor. Yes, she knows this part of the tale, of how the Veruni are rejected by Filgaia itself. Through the TF System, this could be fixed.
    With consequences.

    Avril's eyes widen when Kaguya speaks of Zopt Syndrome. As she realizes what it is that Volsung -- and the other Radicals -- intend. "This is not... just an integration of the Veruni," she says in hushed tones. Perhaps it is that way because it isn't possible. "This is... you mean to say this is a 'trading of places'. For the Veruni to become accepted by Filgaia, it would mean changing the fundamental nature of the planet. Thus, those people who live here now would no longer be able to exist. ...I believe... that I understand." She creases her brow, lifting a hand to her mouth as she averts her eyes. "Even if their desire is only to live... how terrible..."

    Only at a remove does she ask: "How long might we have until he brings the system fully online?"

    Was this... the reason she had designed the TF System? Or... was it for another purpose? What is it that the ancient Zeboim had forstalled so long ago?
    Yue, she realizes, might know for certain.

    But Bart isn't finished.

    There's another part of the puzzle, she realizes. "...My... instructions. For what reason did I... remain behind?"

    That might be a question no one can answer anymore.

    What does she think, Kaguya asks her.

    "...I think that we cannot ignore this. Yet, neither can we stop him, as we are." She turns towards Bartholomew only to pause as Rebecca asks a very important question.

    "...To keep me from them, I presume, though I know not the reason why. It cannot be simply that I am a 'symbol' around which to rally."

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

Janus Cascade, worse than Solaris?!

"Huh," says Bart, who has no idea what a Janus Cascade is. He scratches the back of his head.

"I swear I need a damn encyclopedia to keep track of all of these weirdos. Is that the one with the wrecking ball, or some kinda Lunar thing, like the one who's part tree?"

Look, he has good reason to be out of the loop. Don't judge.

"Maybe I could get some of the tech guys to start up a database network for this kinda stuff..."

Avril, at least, seems to take his warnings on Solaris to heart, even if her reaction to it is like she got a sudden jolt through her spine. His head cocks -- but he leaves it at that for now. The most he can do is warn her: they came for her before; they might well try again.

Even Captain Bart can't keep track of Solaris' intentions. They're just too damn slippery.

The VR Factor, at least, is much more straightforward a problem, if much more harrowing. Kaguya explains the other, damning side of the coin. And as Dean, Rebecca and Avril digest the horrific implications of both, Bart gestures with a gloved hand towards Kaguya, nodding once her way in an echo of the look of respect she offered him not too long ago.

"That's about the long and short of it. The TF System would completely change the fundamental laws that govern the world. We'd have our chance to live, and we'd build it on the sacrifice of every single other living thing on Filgaia. Hell -- who knows how it'd affect Lunar, too?" Bart glances at a viewscreen of Lunar's endless oceans, frowning.

"This place couldn't really save us. Doubt it would for all of you, either."

Throughout the conversation, he's been watching attentively. For all Captain Bart has that boisterous, devil-may-care attitude, the man was once Johnny Appleseed for a reason -- their interactions, both Kaguya's -and- Dean and Rebecca's. With each other -- and most importantly, with Avril. They're all things the Moderate leader keeps in the back of his thoughts as they work through the complicated web of the Veruni's situation. The ultimate 'us versus them'.

By the time Rebecca's pointed but very fair questions come, the Veruni's eyes are closed, his hands on his hips.

How long might we have until he brings the system fully online? Avril had asked.

So what were your intentions for the 'Ice Queen'? comes Rebecca's own.

In these moments, the fact that they're all on the Moderates' flagship, with the man who led the Veruni war on Filgaia, might become painfully obvious. If they -did- have unkind intentions for Avril, well -- they've all more or less fallen into the lion's den, haven't they?

For a while, Bartholomew is quiet, as Avril makes her own supposition. And then...

"Y'know, when we first got here, I -did- look for her so she could take up leadership of the Veruni. It was the pact we made. I meant what I said -- Veruni haven't had kings and queens for a long time, and I don't think that kinda rule is what we need right now. But hell if I'm not gonna honor my peoples' word -- even one made way before my time. But the more I saw of this world after I stepped down from leading our people... the less I pushed the search, til I just let it quietly fade out. If it were up to me, the Ice Queen woulda just kept up a peaceful sleep forever."

At the very least, the man is honest. Blue eyes crack open, a rueful smile crossing his lips. "... But that damn Volsung. That kid... he's persistent. I don't know how he found your tomb so fast, but it was like clockwork. The second he got the influence to launch the search, he led 'em straight to you like a goddamn bloodhound. At that point, my hand was forced. We deployed Asgard to take you from Volsung before he could bring you to the TF System. I just needed to keep you outta his hands, any way I could. My hope was gonna be to talk you down, but..."

He laughs, despite the graveness of the scenario he paints.

"... well. I'd do what I had to if not. Even if I'm pretty sure that's a scrap I wouldn't make it out the other side of alive, playing fair."

It's here that stare, weighed down by history, turns towards Avril -- towards all of them. He's explained -what- he was trying to do. But why? Why keep her from Volsung? Why would someone like Volsung even want her? As a symbol?

"... I mentioned, we don't have any more royalty, right? Thing is -- the TF System requires a -huge- amount of power to function. And when she created it, the Ice Queen keyed the system to make sure that it could only access its power source on the authority of Veruni royal blood. Avril -- she's not like the rest of us Veruni. Not really. And she's the last of her line. So effectively..."

Avril Vent Fleur is the only one who can activate the TF System to its full capacity.

"As long as she's not with the Radicals, the TF System can't be activated. But like Kaguya said, that crafty kid's not one to be deterred so easily. He's been looking for alternate ways to power it. Based on the latest information I got my hands on, the most they've managed is twenty percent." So even just twenty percent could do this much.

"... But... It's probably only a matter of time, until they find something viable to replace it with."

It's been years now since the Photosphere. But maybe Avril or Dean will remember something Volsung had muttered back then, when they first - 'first' - met him:

    ... the Teardrop no where to be found in this crumbling wreck. I had almost thought this alliance would bear no fruit at all...

"My people - our people - deserve to be saved, but doing it this way? We'd just be repeating the same mistakes we made in the past, and probably be damning Filgaia in the process. If we're gonna save ourselves, it's gonna be working -with- the planet and its people. Not against 'em." Blue eyes focus on Avril - Dean, Rebecca. They narrow.

"So, yeah. That's the gist of it. If I could keep the Lolithia locked down, if I needed to, I'd do it in a heartbeat, even if it was just a temporary salve. ... But the situation's different now. These kids vouch for you. Kags vouches for you. Hell, you don't even have your memories! But how long's that gonna last? To me, it's only a matter of time, just like Volsung and the TF System."

And so, he offers Avril one last, important question:

"So... can you tell me for sure, if those memories came back, you'd be on our side, and not theirs?"

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Oh," Kaguya answers Rebecca. "That's fine. Sure."

But for Dean, well--Dean understands it. About dragons like this. The one that was... Well, he wasn't her friend. But he was someone, before he became that dragon. That's enough to matter.

Kaguya says nothing about 'there are good and bad people everywhere', silent at that. It is a plain truth, but... As for humans with symptoms like hers, "Most people don't. The most brilliant minds in human medicine haven't figured it out, because it's not a medical problem. It's technological. It's spiritual." She nods again, though, "That's why I was so fixated on Demetrioi. I saw a way to integrate the Veruni into the planet without the TF system. I saw a way to save both our peoples at once, and remove the need to use it. ...But that's not what the Radicals want anyway, I think. They want to be on top, not to coexist. Or else they'd have followed my suggestion to bring some of the afflicted here to Lunar." She pauses at that. Bart's right; it wouldn't save them. "...Could've bought them a little more time, though. For a while." Pause. "...But like I said, that's not what they want. They have a plan already."

Rebecca has a good question; Kaguya needs to know the answer, too. There's a lot of things that the time is 'over' for, as Dean thinks, except, maybe, for...

"Yeah," she says of Janus. "But he's gone." She used to work with him, too. "Never trusted him. But I did like him." Someone had to, right? But Bart doesn't know who he is so Kaguya clarifies, "Really bad bandit man. Turned into a metal fish. Not good news."

But it is awful. And Avril gets it, all right. SHe thoroughly understands, the way she speaks. "Terrible," Kaguya agrees.

Kaguya is... aware, that they are on the Moderates' stronghold. She's done the math--whether she could get Avril out of here or not. But she doesn't want it to come to that. When Batholomew explains, she listens.

"Dunno how he did it either," Kaguya admits. "He never let me in on his secrets. The only reason I know as much about the TF System as I do is that time I snuck into the Locus Solus... and his Sentinels didn't let me forget that was a no-no."

Do what he had to do... "We'd all do that, if we had to."

Bartholomew keeps explaining, and Kaguya is quiet as he talks about the TF system; she has little now to add. ...She doesn't add anything about the Veruni's deservings. SHe's just quiet.

"...I agree. We have to work with the planet."

She looks to Avril, at the question. "...I know what I believe," Kaguya says. "What I've gambled on."

"But it's up to you, Avril. You're the only one who can say."

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

"Don't get it." Rebecca says to Kaguya's statement, "Why wouldn't the Radicals send the worst afflicted away towards Lunar, just as a temporary measure? That doesn't make any sense unless they see their own people as just that..." She trails off, but the painful word hangs there as if to her horror, 'expendable'.

Avril's evaluation, is painful, if only because she can only imagine how she must feel having heard how a system she once designed is being used now in such a horrible way. To understand she too might have once intended it to be used in this way.

Still, Avril has her own guess to Rebecca's question. And sure, Rebecca understands that she just asked a very dangerous question, but for some reason, Captain Bart's nature tells her that he's not just gonna ambush them here and now after telling them all that.

Still, she understands the tension she created from the asking.

Crossing her arms, she listens, eyes narrowing on the peaceful sleep part. It continues though, and in the end, "Well that's what we want, sure." She says, lifting a hand away from her crossed arm for emphasis but...

Captain Bart asks a question, and despite Kaguya's statement of gambling...

"That ain't a fair question." Rebecca a little sharply, "Noone in her situation can answer that in a way that'd put your mind and the mind of all the moderates at ease. There's not a person alive that wouldn't have doubts. In fact if a person exists out there who has no doubts, I sure wouldn't trust them because they don't."

After a momentary pause she looks Avril's way and releases a breath as she adds-

"Nevertheless, we've traveled with Avril all this time. Seen her at her best and worst, she's worth putting your faith in. That I've got no doubts about."

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Anytime," Dean tells Avril warmly. "That's what friends are for!"
    
    But... Dean might growl about Solaris, but Avril tenses, straightens, a motion that reads to Dean more like fear than anger or surprise. Seeing that, he blinks and looks at her in concern. "Are you okay, Avril? We're not gonna let them get their hands on you! Them or anyone!"
    
    Demetrioi... Yeah. Dean frowns in memory. He only heard about what happened for the most part, but he certainly remembers meeting the little AI himself. The poor little guy... He was just trying to help people... He shakes his head. If all that was related to this TR System, too, then...
    
    "The wrecking ball? Uh, no, I think that was Berserk. He's dead. I heard so's the half-tree guy, uh, Seymour? Seymour Guado? Like, DEAD dead, he was fake dead for a while, they call it Unsent over in Spira. Actually, Janus is dead too, but he also came back once already, so..." His frown deepens. He could leave Kaguya's explanation at that, but... "He got together with these jerks who--wait, weren't the Prophets trying to remake Filgaia too, come to think of it? They were sucking out all the life to redirect it to just one little garden! D'you think they might be working with Volsung, too?"
    
    Something to consider, at least. For now, he shakes his head at Kaguya, as she explains that the Veruni are quite content with the solution they've chosen. "Then we'll make them change their minds! If they think there's such a big wall separating us, we'll smash it down and pull them right over the rubble to join the rest of us!"
    
    Rebecca's confusion over why the Veruni extremists haven't sent some of their own to Lunar gets him thinking about that too, though. "Hey, yeah! It worked great for Kaguya! Why not try it for some other people? It couldn't hurt, right?" He furrows his brows when Rebecca trails off; it simply doesn't occur to him what the end of that sentence might be.
    
    So instead, Dean looks to Avril and nods again. "You're right. Everybody deserves a chance to live free and happy." He looks at Bart. "But you're right too--we absolutely can't let Volsung or anyone use the TF System. We've all got to do this together!" Which is easier said than done, considering how much the Veruni have oppressed the rest of the world. Even so, he folds his arms as he frowns in thought. "If the TF System is supposed to change Filgaia itself... and it's been online for ages now... maybe the Guardians know something about it?"
    
    He looks again at Bart. "I dunno if you knew this, but I sort of work for one of the Guardians--the Fire Guardian, Moor Gault! Maybe I can summon him and ask what he knows about this?" He shakes his head. "No guarantees, though. I asked him about a different thing before and he didn't really know any more than we already did." He reaches into a pocket and pulls out the Artificial Mountain Medium. "And if not him, there's always Dinoginos!" He nods to Avril. "Or Lucadia!" He nods to Rebecca. "Or Solais Emsu!" He turns a fierce smile back to Bart and Kaguya, clenching a fist over his Medium and pumping it in determination. "And if not any of them, we've got tons of friends with connections to other Guardians! We've gotta work with the planet, so we'll keep asking until we find a Guardian who'll work with us! As long as we don't give up, we'll find a way. Because you can do anything as long as you don't give up!"
    
    For the nonce, though, Avril has more good questions. How much time they have left... and why she stayed behind. He nods grimly at what she says--he'd thought that maybe he could reach Volsung through kindness, but even if Volsung is someone who still *can* be reached with kindness, he's still not going to turn away from this path. Because now he's doing it because his people need him to do it. But it's true that Volsung is *astonishingly* strong, and is probably only stronger since they last met. That's not even counting all the Sentinels.
    
    And for everyone's questions, Bart has answers. Dean relaxes when he explains himself, but not for long--since Bartholomew has yet more grim things to say. Back then, Volsung had been muttering about the Tear Drop. Dean had forgotten all about it until now. If Volsung found some other power source like that... if maybe he's been searching for one all this time--like how he'd showed up for that baby Clysmian--his eyes widen as he looks again at Rebecca and Avril.
    
    "Desperation," he utters. "Remember? Volsung showed up to try to take it. If he'd gotten his hands on a mini-Sin back then..."
    
    The outcome might've been even more catastrophic than they'd feared at the time. There might not be much if any time to linger on that, though--because now Bart has a question for Avril, and Kaguya's right: she's the only one who can say. When Rebecca speaks up in her defense, Dean shakes his head. "It's okay, Rebecca," he says firmly. "They've gotta hear it from her." He meets Avril's eyes and smiles. "Rebecca's right, though. No matter what you have to say, we've got your back."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "...I am alright, Dean," she does say when he asks after the way she starts. "Perhaps, it was a premonition? I have felt such before." Briefly, she raises her hand to her chin. "We must take caution."

    "Even if we were able to evacuate everyone to Lunar, and even if the change would not spread here," Avril says, shaking her head, "it would be no solution. We would only be placing our burdens upon their shoulders." Lunar is healthy in defiance of Filgaia's slow decay, but could even Lunar support all those who would seek refuge here? Would a wholesale evacuation of an entire planet even be feasible? Besides which, such a parting of ways would hardly be sufficient for the Veruni, as Kaguya points out -- many wish to rule, not coexist.

    No, it would not be a solution even if it were possible for both peoples to live on their separate, similarly inhospital-to-one-another worlds. Dean has some ideas -- perhaps they might work, if given enough time, if they can gain enough support -- but for now, they can at least get behind the one thing that matters: this plan of Volsung's cannot be allowed to come to fruition.

    Rebecca asks after his intentions towards her -- towards the Ice Queen.

    Indeed, the feeling of this moment is one Avril has been managing since the moment she awoke aboard the airship and realized whose company she was among. They are not Volsung's lot -- that is clear. But she could not be certain of their intent towards her. Would she now be used as a bargaining chip, or worse?
    And yet, she had asked to meet with the Captain.

    When he had first arrived on Filgaia, he had looked for her. But, as the years turned to decades...

    "...I see," Avril says, after that moment's contemplation. "I understand."

    If she had been left to sleep forever, there are many things she would have never been able to experience. But would the Veruni -- and Filgaia -- be in a better position now, were she still asleep? ...It's not a question she can answer on her own.

    "There are things... I should like to know of Volsung," is the statement she makes instead, as he speaks of how quickly the man had found her 'resting place' and how then, the Moderates had been forced to cast the proverbial die and intervene. But... why was that?

    It's to that end that she voices her question. As it happens, the answer is a simple one.

    Avril the Ice Queen had set up the TF system to ensure that none but her or her kin -- her immediate kin, at that -- would be able to operate it at full capacity. "I... see," she voices, her gaze focused somewhere towards the middle distance in the moment. "That is why... I did not travel with them into space. There are..." she pauses, furrowing her brow, as if she were struggling to find the precise terms to phrase her statement and failing, "...tiny things... in space that can damage your body. It might have caused the system to no longer recognize me."

    She still understands the principle, even if she lacks the correct terminology.

    But even keeping her away from Volsung won't stop him forever. Eventually, he'll find something to replace it with.

    The way that she flinches, ever so slightly, might be the clue that she has some idea of what could bridge the gap -- if it were again found.

    "...To lock me away..." she echoes, when he speaks of such an extreme. "If that were necessary, then..." She puts up a brave face, but still averts her gaze. Being cooped up somewhere for the rest of her days might be for Avril a fate worse than death. "Or, to put me back to sleep..."

    If she were to regain her memories, though, who would it be standing before them and what would her wishes now be?

    She stands before them all, silent for a long, long time.

    "I... cannot say for certain," she says at last, shaking her head. "Would I become as I am, with memory of the past? Or... No, there is much I do not know about myself, or the power of memories." Still, there is a certain resolve in her gaze as she lifts her head to regard Bartholomew. "I will not lie, even to preserve my freedom. If my uncertainity is sufficient reason for you to lock me away, then do as you must." She glances at Rebecca and Dean in turn as they offer their support. "...Yet, I would instead propose an alliance. One alone may be broken where two together may endure. Do you accept, Captain Bartholomew?"

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

Wrecking ball? No, that's Berserk; he's dead. Half-tree? No, that's Seymour; he's also dead. Janus? Metal fish demon jerk who used to be a regular jerk. Also dead.

Bartholomew considers this helpful rundown of the Jerks of Yore, stroking his chin.

"Damn," he concludes.

"You've had to deal with a lotta assholes, huh?"

Really -- it's pretty impressive.

Still -- the talk of Lunar has the Moderates' captain furrowing his brow. The others express confusion as to why they don't move to Lunar, as Kaguya suggested -- but Bart merely tips his head to his fellow Veruni as she suggests they simply have no wish to humor any plan beside their own.

"That's one reason," he says, simply. "The Radicals don't want a temporary solution; they want to fix the problem, now. We're desperate, and desparation makes you more inclined to agree to extreme choices. Even something temporary like moving to Lunar could make people more complacent. Still..." He looks back, towards those view screens, thoughtful.

"... it's a lot more complicated than -just- that. When we took back Elru, we made a lot of enemies in the process. Making a move to Lunar doesn't just mean a huge amount of time and resources -- it also leaves us vulnerable to those enemies, like Solaris, who're probably just waiting for the right opening to strike. Opening ourselves up to strike means risking our lands, and probably the TF System, too. And more than anything, we Veruni are a bunch of proud bastards. It took us thousands of years to find a new home; thousands of years to return here. After all that, we're not about to just give up what we got."

No matter how bloody and brutal the means they got it with.

"... As for the worst afflicted..."

Bart frowns, a rare thing on features so accustomed to grinning they've developed the lines to prove it.

"... when it gets to that point... there's only one place we can go. It's... something you'd have to see for yourself to understand. The last stop for Veruni kind."

And that is where he leaves it.

Maybe it's just as he says: it's not something he can explain with words.

... Just something that they'll have to see for themselves one day.

As for the Prophets, well:

"Don't think they've got Radical ties, but hell, I could be wrong. If Volsung's working with them, it's not outta some mutual love. If he's working with them -- it'd just be because they've got something he wants."

And the Guardians, well... when Dean breaks out a whole SLEW of options on that front, Bartholomew just blinks... and then -- "Hah! You people have -really- been busy, damn! You're starting to make me feel like I've been kicking my heels!" He looks down at that Artificial Medium for a second, thought overcoming him, even if briefly. "Huh, those are... ..." He shakes his head, dismissing the thought. Something to consider for later. For now...

"'Because you can do anything as long as you don't give up,' huh? I like the way you think, kid! This is way above my paygrade though; if the Guardians are an angle you wanna try, I say go for it -- but it's probably for your benefit if I stay outta it: those Guardians aren't the type to take kindly to having someone like me sitting in at their meetings. And besides..." His words trail here for a moment, before he shrugs helplessly.

"... even if I think we gotta work with Filgaia, I'm not at the place where I can sit down and break bread with the things that have killed so many of my people just yet."

If nothing else -- he's honest.

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

"Desperation?" he asks, with a blink. "--Oh. That thing with the tree-man and the Baskars, huh? Heard about that, but pretty well after the fact. Good job keeping it outta his hands, if that was the case. Thing is... my usual pipeline for that kinda information didn't have anything about it, so I didn't have a damn clue what was going on there. There was nothing on the official channels about deploying anything out there. If Volsung was there..." Either his information is compromised, or --

It's something Volsung was doing without consulting anyone.

Maybe things like that are why, for now, Bart can only answer Avril's desire about Volsung with the shake of his head. "... I've got some idea about his circumstances, but... That kid's been hard to figure out. I can't get heads or tails of him, to be honest. I think you're gonna have to see for yourself, if you really want to know him."

But for right now... information on Volsung is shelved, in lieu of something else; something important. It's why he doesn't hesitate to ask that impossible question of Avril; Rebecca rightly points out that the question itself is unfair, that Avril would have no way of knowing.

"Probably is," Bart concedes easily enough, but doesn't retract it; he doesn't budge a single inch. "But it's a question I'm gonna need an answer for all the same. I've got no room to truck with 'fair' when it's a question that has billions of lives hanging in the balance. So -- I'm gonna be unfair."

Rebecca throws her support behind Avril, though. And so does Dean, and Kaguya -- but those sharp blue eyes are focused on Avril, as the former Veruni queen contemplates. And...

    I... cannot say for certain.

At the very least, when the doubts come, Bart does not look especially shocked or disappointed. No; that's saved for this part:

    ...Yet, I would instead propose an alliance.

It's -then- that Bartholomew blinks. Once. Twice. Squints, as if he were looking at a cartoon cutout of a person or something else suitably absurd as Avril makes that request, fresh off the heels of admitting she isn't sure she'd be on their side, if her memories returned. For a long time, there is silence. And then --

--and then, suddenly--

"WA HA HA HA!"

Bartholomew just -GUFFAWS- in so boisterous a way one of the bridge crew still manning the ship just JUMPS in alarm.

It's just -- so loud. So loud it completely demolishes absolutely -any- sense of gravitas in an instant.

"Man, you sure do know how to take the bull by the horns, huh? I like that outlandish attitude you got there!" They're earnest compliments, but they're not answers, necessarily. Bart shakes his head as his laughter lapses, wiping an eye with a gloved finger. "Not gonna lie -- it feels kinda weird, parleying with someone straight outta my history classes. It's not quite the same as tangling with a dragon but..."

And here, he just throws his hands up into the air as if to say --

"Ah, why the hell not? Honestly -- you might be the ace in the hole we need to get outta this whole thing alive." It's something he's been thinking, regardless, ever since he learned of that memory loss. Even so...

"How's about this: we can have an alliance. But if we do, I need you to try to figure out some way to square with yourself. The person you are... the person you were. We're not gonna get anywhere if you can't manage that."

He looks towards Dean. Rebecca. Kaguya.

"... I'm willing to bet on the strength of the bonds you've made to get you through that, though."

And here, he returns his attention towards Avril, extending one gloved hand.

"If you can agree to that much -- then you got yourself a deal, Avril Vent Fleur."

He's say it's not the craziest decision he's ever made.

... but it's probably the craziest decision he's ever made

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"It's admitting weakness," Kaguya explains. "It's accepting a half-measure. It's an affront to their pride." Maybe expendable, maybe not, but... Kaguya certainly sees it. She sees this possibility, for sure. "..I hadn't considered that angle," Kaguya admits. "I'm still all hyped up on how buff we are, I guess, on one level. But it would make us vulnerable. That, at least, is the other reason I don't want this information to spread--if everybody learns what the Veruni are really doing... That's a huge target to put on your own people. I'm not... quite ready for that."

Most days.

But Dean explains... a little more, about the others and then about Janu, too. "If they were working together," Kaguya says, "I wasn't in on it. I think they both had incompatible ideas about what kind of terraforming they wanted to do."

The 'wall', Dean says... and Kaguya looks at him, seeing him anew for just a moment. He really does believe that. She's... not sure she can, in the same way.

Especially since, "I bet they know it exists. I can't think of a better reason for them to curse us."

But--Dean does work for one of the Guardians... is that an option? Summoning Moor Gault? It makes Kaguya thoughtful as Dean continues about it. There's a lot of them. She had made plans earlier, but...

"...Maybe so," she answers Dean. She looks to bartholomew, and she can understand his position... but for some reason, she doens't share it. She doesn't explain why that is.

Neither does she opine on Volsung, despite having met him herself. But Avril speaks. Avril understands something that Kaguya hadn't even considered--she recognizes immediately, of couse, the terms for those 'tiny things' Avril mentions, and Kaguya's eyes widen. "Wait, is that why?" she wonders. It's... not the noble reason she was thinking of, but perhaps it's a practical one. Her hand curls at her side again, as she debates it. But...

But Avril is silent. Avril then has her answer. Of course, she won't lie. Kaguya could've expected that, even if it would be really convenient if she'd instead just make a reassuring statement. Really, really, really convenient.

Avril proposes an alliance and--Bartholomew's laugh makes Kaguya jump, too. It seems to work out, though. An alliance that may well come together... "..."

Kaguya nods. "If you need someone to watch their backs because you're worried about it," Kaguya says, "That I can do. But I think he's right--you'll have to square it one way or another."

"Still..." She leans back, hands up behind her head, as if she's not going to touch this one. It's not her call, after all. But she does smile at Rebecca. Faith...

Yeah.

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

"So many." Is Rebecca's immediate response to Captain Bart after Dean's list. "Soooo many." She casually gestures to Kaguya, "For a while she was one of them."
 
Dean backs up the thought of why they didn't send their people here and for a while one can see the gears in Rebecca's head working as she reassesses all of her assumptions on how Veruni society works.
 
'Last stop for Veruni kind'? she mouths, but doesn't question it beyond. She believes him when he says she has to see it.
 
Rebecca then gives Kaguya a long look, "Pride? That's the-" Still she stops, as Kaguya considers her prior answer, "I just... don't get how these Radicals think. A lot of their polices seem as self-destructive as they are... for preservation."
 
But then, Dean suggests the Guardians might know something, "Uh - I mean we could try Dean." She takes out her Original Medium, and taps it, "Solais Emsu doesn't really come out for chats though?"
 
Just to rain magical death from above? She does catch the comment from Bart, but... she decides not to follow up right now, given the pressing concerns.
 
Tear down the wall? Rebecca shakes her head, and sighs, but she can't help but smile a little, "Easy enough for you to say Dean." But at the same time, she knows he's right.
 
Even if just for Avril's sake, it's her only chance of a certain kind of life, isn't it?
 
In the end Dean says that they've gotta hear it from Avril, "I know Dean, still. Someone's gotta point it out."
 
If only maybe to put out there the absurdity of asking an amnesiac to know something about herself - with her memories back - without a doubt.
 
Bart however declares he's gonna be unfair, and Rebecca can't even be mad about his logic. If she were in his position rather than her own...
 
... let's just call her wary, for a moment, even if she's not grabbing her ARM, she still has her Original Medium in hand from the visual aid.
 
And Avril...
 
There's a small sigh, and a smile, but it wasn't unexpected, her answer. Not really. What is the surprise is suggesting an alliance DESPITE the misgivings, which gets a 'wait really'? look from Rebecca.
 
What surprises her a little, is despite her pegging Captain Bart as like Dean, she's still shocked at his answer. "... I just know it now in my bones, one day Dean is gonna say." And then she mouths, 'Why the hell not.' "When making a big decision."
 
There's a deep sigh, a hand in front of her face, but in the end, she's happy that this isn't going to turn into a fight.
 
And she just smiles at Avril, in the end, she's still gotta say the words of agreement but... that feels like a foregone conclusion now. "Could do much worse than an alliance with these folks." She finally says, sounding grudging, but those who know her know it's a positive response.
 
A glance from Kaguya and... yeah, she definitely gets it.

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "You sure?" Dean presses Avril--but then he nods. Avril's premonitions *have* shaken her before. "Yeah, definitely." He grimaces at her point on overcrowding Lunar. "It'd only be for a little while... but you're right. That wouldn't be any real, permanent solution, just a way to buy people more time. And I don't want to make more problems for the people of Lunar, either. Still, time can count for a lot." Just ask Dan Dairam. Too bad the Veruni are too proud to accept even a stopgap measure, something that Dean makes another face at. "That's dumb," he declares. His expression sobers when Bart explains how it's more complicated than that... including that 'last stop for Verunikind.' He might not get it, but he trusts that Bart is right and they just have to see it for themselves. "All right... In that case, it doesn't matter if they can't do it or they won't do it. We'll just work on finding a real solution, one everyone can accept."
    
    Though it's possible they won't be able to find one... just like how they couldn't find one for the Fangs of Valmar. Still, if it doesn't work out, it won't be because they gave up. Especially if Kaguya's understandably reluctant to spread this truth far and wide. Dean doesn't exactly cheer about *that*, but he nods. He gets it. "Okay. But it's gonna come out eventually, Kaguya."
    
    As for jerks of yore: "*So* many. You wouldn't even believe it," Dean says emphatically. Rebecca says as much too, and he grins. "She hit me with a wall once. It hurt!" he says, of Kaguya.
    
    Bart says he doesn't think Volsung has any ties with the Prophets, something that Kaguya basically confirms, and that much is a plus, at least. He grins at Bart's exclamations, but he nods and tucks the Artificial Mountain Medium away when Bart says it's probably best they talk to the Guardians on their own. "Okay," he says. "But if you're really serious about working with Filgaia, you're gonna have to sooner or later." He nods to Kaguya--what she says about the Guardians knowing and cursing them for it is probably true. That's why: "One of you guys, Guardians or Veruni, has got to break this cycle. And you can't expect other people to do something you won't do yourself, so it's gotta be you. Don't worry, though--until then, I'll do everything I can to help."
    
    He crooks a smile at Rebecca at her point. "Yeah, usually not, but I've done it before with Moor Gault, so it can definitely happen!" Did he ever mention that?? He might have forgotten to mention that. It didn't get the results he was hoping for, after all. He nods, too, as Rebecca says someone has to point it out. "Yeah. You're right," he concedes. As far as the wall goes: "That doesn't mean it'll be easy to do! But it's still worth doing!" ...Maybe not Rebecca's point, but at least she knows he gets the gravity of it.
    
    Avril says she wants to know more about Volsung, and Dean perks. "Oh! Me too!" Somehow, despite how much Volsung has said about him already, it hadn't occurred to him that Bart might know things about Volsung personally--Elvis hadn't seemed to, after all. When Bart admits he doesn't, Dean is... well, disappointed, but he'll get over it. See for themselves... Maybe, if Volsung's going to ghost his gift, that's the next step.
    
    He'll talk about that with Avril and Rebecca later, though. He knows how bad it could get if Volsung decided to do something nasty.
    
    Tiny things in space, meanwhile... Dean doesn't quite get it, but it *is* a neat piece of trivia. He looks from Avril to Bart when she suggests an alliance--and Bart BOOMS with laughter. Dean takes that instantly as a good sign, and he smiles even before Bart decides to accept it. "That's what it's like to live the Drifter life! Sure, it's not the same as being a Golem Hunter or a circus acrobat--" He shares a meaningful glance with Rebecca, "but it's been a heck of a ride anyway. And we've still got the rest of our lives to make our other dreams come true--right, Rebecca?"
    
    Even Bart's caveat that Avril square with herself first seems completely reasonable. It might be unfair of him to ask these questions of Avril, but honestly, if this is the worst kind of unfair Bart gets up to, then he's a pretty all right guy in Dean's book. Rebecca's shock about it is honestly more shocking to him than Bart's actual answer. "Hey! Sometimes you have to give people a chance, even if you think it might be risky!" Dean protests.
    
    ...So yes, Dean will absolutely say 'why the hell not?' one day for a big decision.
    
    Kaguya chimes in on that too, offering to help keep an eye on everyone. He gives her a thumbs up. "Happy to have you officially on the team, Kaguya!" he says, which is maybe not what she was saying, but they're always speaking a slightly different language from one another, aren't they?
    
    For now, though, Dean gives Avril an expectant smile. Squaring herself with herself... That's part of what they've been trying to help her do all along, isn't it? And Bart's 100% right that they'll help her every inch of the way.
    
    He has total faith in her. It's just a matter of waiting for her to shake Bart's hand.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "I belive so," she tells Kaguya, nodding the once as if to underscore her explanation. "It is... difficult for me to put into words, but I am certain that must have been the reason. Should I have travelled through the sea of stars for so long, I would not have returned the same person."

    "...So I have come to understand," Avril remarks, pensive on the subject of the enemies that the Veruni had made, ere their arrival in Elru. Wherever they had been in Elru, there had been signs of the Veruni incursion -- and elsewhere, besides. Had they not encountered their presence even on Kasutho? They managed a toehold there out of sheer reputation, one which even bandits were able to successfull test. If they were to withdraw... she can already imagine how things would play out there.

    And that's just one place out of many that the Veruni have managed to lay claim to. The fallout wouldn't just come to the Veruni, but upon any who had come to rely upon their reputation.

    As for the worst afflicted...

    She trades a look with Dean and Rebecca, then casts her gaze over towards Kaguya and Bartholomew. She will find no answers there, however. Some things must be seen with one's own eyes.

    "From what I have heard," she says, speaking of the Prophets, her gaze cast downwards in this moment, "They are not now allies. The Prophets seek their own ends. Yet, we cannot discount such a thing occuring in the future. Did Volsung not ally himself with Siegfried...? In the end, such an alliance could not have lasted for them, either. Yet, you yourself had said it," she continues, lifting her head to look at Bartholomew. "We are a desperate people."

    There's some glimmer of recognition that comes over him as he looks at the Medium Dean brandishes. Almost, as if Bartholomew knew something more about the Mediums -- but it is perhaps something she thinks they might ask after another time. They have much and more to discuss regarding their more pressing threats presently.
    Should this go as she wishes, there will be enough time to ask him about it, later.

    "I see... so there is little you can tell us regarding his history," Avril says, frowning faintly, as if in thought. "...Perhaps we should need to travel within Veruni territory to learn more," she continues, glancing Kaguya's way. "Surely, someone must be able to tell us about him. Yet, such a journey would not itself be without risk. We shall need to think carefully on this... understanding Volsung may give us the insight we require to anticipate his next moves." It's something to consider, even if they ultimately decide not to risk it.

    There is only one answer she can truthfully give regarding her inner state, however--

    Just as there is only one way she can approach the matter she has been wanting to ask Bartholomew about. They both have similar goals, after all -- should they not ally?

    The Ice Queen of eld might have instead opted for an equally blunt if less... compromised version of this same request.
    Assuming she had requested an alliance of such at all.

    This Avril is utterly nonplussed at Bartholomew's response, slightly tilting her head to her left as if to underscore her increasing state of confusion.

    "Is it that odd?" she asks of him. "I had thought it a reasonable suggestion. Do we not wish the same outcomes?" ...she really doesn't see the issue, does she

    But why not, he says. If she can square herself with herself, he says.

    "I can but try," Avril says, and here, trading a glance between Rebecca and Dean alike, she extends her hand to take Bartholomew's own.

<Pose Tracker> Captain Bartholomew has posed.

    She hit me with a wall once. It hurt!

Bartholomew slowly looks sidelong at Kaguya as Rebecca and Dean list her crimes.

"Damn, Kags. Just bullying all the kids on the schoolyard."

he's acting like she flipped dean upside down and stole his lunch money

Veruni bullying clearly just hits different...

A hand waves through the air errantly after this, though, as Dean speaks to him about having to deal with the Guardians -eventually-. "Yeah yeah, I get it, I get it," he mumbles, before exhaling out a trill. "I got my issues to tackle, just the same as anyone else. Anyroad -- you're gonna wanna speak to 'em without me first regardless. Grease the wheels, and all. Those Guardians can hold a grudge, and I'm guessing they wouldn't take too kindly to the guy who spearheaded the Veruni invasion."

No point in mincing words; even if it was a homecoming for them --

Those blasted lands of Elru did still have people on them, when they arrived.

The rest, well. The rest hinges on that single exchange between Avril and Bartholomew. Her bemusement is met with the amused shake of his head, before his ultimatum is delivered: "You know, I'm getting the impression it's just perfectly you. I wouldn't worry about it. Being able to make outlandish requests as easy as breathing is a strength in a world as luckless and insane as this."

It's -- sort of a compliment?!

At least, he delivers it like that sort of insanity -absolutely is praiseworthy-.

Just as much as he uses his free hand to jab a finger Dean's way prior to the handshake and announce, once more, "Hah! See? This kid gets it!"

... Yes. This is fate, Rebecca.

"I tell you, you got a good head on your shoulders!"

Dean, and Dean of Christmas Future.

But ultimately... ultimately, it all comes down to that last exchange. The Leader of the Moderates can be serious when he needs to be -- and this? This is serious, to him. As light as he may be able to make it feel, it remains a serious gamble. If she -does- square up, and she -does- end up falling on the side of the Radicals... well. He said it himself.

He's not sure that's a fight he could win.

But sometimes the only choice you have is to go all in on the underdog option.

And so, a hand is offered.

And so, a hand is accepted.

"Alright," says Captain Bartholomew,

"But I think you'll be capable of much more than that."

And with a single crisp shake --

An unlikely alliance is formed.

Bart's gloved hand falls back after that. It's oddly -- anticlimactic, despite the significance of the moment. Maybe it's just because of the way he carries himself. With the deal sealed, he just heaves a heavy breath, running a hand through his hair to scratch at the back of his head as he goes on in that overly casual, friendly way of his. "Alright! I got some possible ideas for what we might do about your memories, but, well... that's a tech nerd thing, and I'm gonna have to check a few things with my people to make sure it's not just gonna fry your brain if we try it" what "so let's leave it at that for now. I got some important business I need to get to."

That screen paused in the background suggests that is absolutely what he considers important business.

"... but we'll talk more soon about all the nitty gritty of this." He seems content to leave it there -- but then he pauses. Considers.

"... I'll leave you all with this for now. If you ever end up in Elru, two things: the first is to be careful. There's not a whole lotta lands on Filgaia I'd consider more dangerous than Elru, especially for your types. And two...

"... If you're really that interested in Volsung, go to a town called Twelbit and look up a woman named Diana. She'll have at least some of the answers you're looking for. Just tell 'em her Captain Bart sentcha, that oughta get you in."

A second passes.

"Just -- do it subtle-like."

Warning others not to shout around that you're affiliated with the leader of a rebel faction to the people they're rebelling against:

That's called good leadership.