Silver's Sims: Crystal Legacy - Generation 5 (Part 24)

Abandoned by her mother at an early age, Citrine has always been loved by her family and she loves them all the more in return. But even that love can't fill the hole inside of her, and chasing after her past only leads to more heartbreak.

Ignis: Ah, young one, you needn’t worry about “on the nose” with us. *chuckle* As for what else comes next, you go home and you live. Leave what battles are left to us.

Chronos: but do not expect our aid should the fledgling take after her birth parents.

Fulgur: So pessimistic, brother.

Chronos: She is a vampire!

Glacies: And we were once thought to be dragons, brother. Have some grace for raising a child in love instead of in hate. Or have we all forgotten where Vita got his beginning?

Ignis: Hardly!

Chronos: *aggravated sigh* Very well then.

Stone: Though that does raise one more question: What of Fern?

Nova: What about her? She’s coming home with us, too. We didn’t come this far just to abandon her now!

Fulgur: And we thank you for it! However, being that her untimely exile has been overturned, she is welcome to return to the ranks of the Hunters.

Nova: And you think she wants to come back?

Ignis: Perhaps, but this does miss the larger point.

Ignis, off-screen: why not ask her what it is she wishes to do with her life?

Mandarin: You look much better now. How are you feeling, Citrine?

Citrine: Better. Human again after a shower. Though, uh, sorry about your drains…

Mandarin: Pfft. Think nothing of it. There are always apprentices to give such dirty jobs.

Mandarin: Though I was speaking more of…how you feel after the Well. So many generations removed from Firefly…

Citrine: Ori said that, too. What was supposed to happen?

Calcite: And should we be worried?

Mandarin: If you feel well enough, I suppose not. As for what was supposed to happen…well, what did happen. If the person was given to the water in a short enough time, even life could be returned. I suspect that Nightshade was not expecting such a recovery.

Citrine: He wasn’t. He was…really surprised. Almost scared.

Mandarin: With good reason. Those blessed by the Watcher, those who carry her Light…*sigh* To say you have power is an understatement.

Citrine: Great, I can turn on a lightswitch. Can we go home now?

Calcite: We will, kiddo. Right, Sage?

Mandarin: Of course. You have been gone for a year, after all. I suspect you have much to catch up on.

Citrine: We lost an entire year…I still can’t wrap my head around that.

Mandarin: Yes…unfortunately, the Well cannot turn back time.

Calcite: What was Sanguine after? Do you know?

Mandarin: …I am afraid it is nothing good. Sanguine’s…patron, for lack of a better word, and the source of her wealth and power, is a creature of immense darkness and malice. His name is Obscuro, and he…is the Watcher’s first child.

Calcite: The Watcher–wait, the Watcher had actual children?! She’s–she’s real?!

Mandarin: Yes, to both of those questions. It is a long, complicated tale, but–very long ago, Obscuro desired his mother’s powers over creation and destruction and tried to take them. He failed, and was sealed away in a place known as the Void. He has been trying to escape it ever since. Sanguine was not the first to help, but…

Citrine: But she won’t be the last, will she. There’s always going to be others.

Mandarin: There will always be others. Nightshade calling you a Key was no lie, Citrine. The Light of the Watcher’s blessing is a shard of the same power she gave the Gatekeeper, Lady Lucera. If enough of those shards are gathered, they can be forged into a proper Key…and the door can be forced open.

Calcite: How many shards?

Mandarin: Nine seems to be the number that repeats, sometimes ten.

Citrine: Great. How do we stop it?

Mandarin: *snort* Either let your line die out entirely or never be captured by cultists again! *sigh* …there is nothing to be done, Citrine. Fate will have her way with the world, and her plans are as fickle as she. The best advice I can give is to live your lives to the fullest, and deal with what comes as it comes.

Calcite: That doesn’t mean we’re safe.

Mandarin: Life is never safe, my boy.

Mandarin: But it cannot be lived in fear. Be cautious, be aware, and hope that this is the last that you shall ever hear of the Great Darkness. We will defend the Realms until such a time as we are no longer needed. You? You get to live.

Calcite: …yeah. We get to go home.

Citrine: …home sounds…really good right now. Let me go get Fern.

Citrine: Fern–Fern! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!

Citrine: Hey…are you okay?

Fern: …*sigh* Master Terra reinstated me as a Hunter. I can come back.

Citrine: But…that’s…that’s good, isn’t it? This is…you wanted to come back.

Fern: …I used to. But after all that happened with Sanguine, I…I’m sick of fighting.

Citrine: Fern…

Citrine: You don’t have to fight anymore. We can go home–

Fern: I can’t.

Citrine: Fern. Come on.

Fern: Everything I touch turns rotten, Citrine. The Well the first time, then getting Sanguine…all I ever do is put you in danger and I can’t–

Citrine: I want you to.

Fern: You don’t mean that.

Citrine: Yes, I do. I will always mean it.

Fern: ….

Citrine: Fern…you have been my best friend since we were kids, and I’ve loved you for nearly as long. I can’t see life without you–I don’t want to! No matter how much danger that means, I want you with me.

Fern: but I–Cit, I just…

Citrine: I know. I’m scared, too. But I love you more than I’m afraid of everything else out there.

Citrine: Whatever happens, we can handle it together.

Fern: …I don’t want you to get hurt again.

Citrine: Well, I am done chasing leads into vampire art dealings, but…getting hurt’s a part of life, Fern. And I want you in my life.

Fern: Cit…

Citrine: I told you: I don’t want to see life without you with me. Who else would put up with my snoring?

Fern: *watery snort* Cit…

Fern: *sigh* Okay…okay. Let’s go home.

Citrine: Let’s go home.

Fern: …hey, Cit? I love you.

Citrine: Love you, too.

Calcite: Thank you for all your help, Sage.

Stone: Of course, my boy. I see so much of your grandmother in you…she would have been proud of the man you have become.

Calcite: Heh, I think she’d have been worried I charged right in first…

Stone: *chuckle* I assure you, Firefly did plenty of her own charging. Defending ones family is always reason to charge. Ah, and there they are.

Citrine: Everyone else go on ahead?

Calcite: Yep, just us. Let’s get going–

Delphine: Citrine. Can I speak to you for a minute?

Citrine: Hm? Oh, sure.

Citrine: Delphine, right? You work with Vita?

Delphine: And the others, yes. I’m…glad you and Fern are safe.

Citrine: Me too.

Citrine: You’re the one who knew where to find us, right? How did you…

Stone: Delphine is a Seer, one who receives visions from the Watcher herself.

Calcite: Not so sure about the floating part, though….

Delphine: *chuckle* Yes, well, I can’t help that part. A-anyway, that’s…not why I wanted to talk to you.

Citrine: Oh? Are you…do you need something?

Delphine: Only to warn you. At the moment Vita and the others rescued you both, I…had a Vision. I Saw your future, and that of your daughter.

Citrine: ….daughter? I’m…wait, when–

Delphine: I don’t know. I’m sorry, I rarely See things clearly, but…yes, you will have a daughter someday. At least…you would have. Now that you know, I’m not sure what will change.

Citrine: Oh..what…what did you See?

Citrine: I mean–what kind of future was it? Was it a good one, or–

Delphine: It was both good and bad. There were…two Visions overlapping one another. In one she was happy and living in the Springs, in the other she was a mighty Guardian of the Realm. I do not know which is the truth. Perhaps both are.

Citrine: Both? How would that be possible?

Delphine: It would not be unheard of to live one life and then another, but…perhaps it was another life entirely. Another reality. I cannot be sure.

Delphine: What I can be sure of, regardless of which was true, is that you will lose her if you do not trust her.

Citrine: Wha–lose her? As in, she’ll die?

Delphine: Yes.

Delphine: What I saw was her striking out on her own because she felt you did not trust her, because she was afraid of disappointing you. Without support, she is unprepared and…meets her end young. Too young.

Citrine: I…so I just…I just trust her and she’ll be okay?

Delphine: Maybe? I can’t promise that. Most of the Vision wasn’t that clear, but…it can’t hurt?

Citrine: No…I guess it can’t.

Citrine: Do you know what I’m supposed to trust her about? Any idea?

Delphine: How, and when, to fight…and when to know when the battle is lost.

Fern: Battle…as a Guardian, or in general?

Delphine: Both. And there was one more thing, a…sort of whisper I heard before the Vision ended.

Delphine: When the Nine Shards are reunited once more, look to desert warmth for truth and justice to be found.

Citrine: Nine Shards…like, nine Watcher blessed bloodlines?

Delphine: Yes. I don’t know what reunited would mean, though…only time will tell, I suppose.

Citrine: Oh, well…thanks.

Delphine: Of course. Have a safe journey home.

Stone: Take care, Calcite, girls.

Calcite: You too, Sage Stone. Thank you for all your help.

Stone: Of course. You will always be welcome here…but do try not to make a habit of not calling ahead first! *laugh*

Citrine: Fern…what’s a Guardian?

Fern: Ah…that’s a really long, sad story. I’ll tell you another time.

Citrine: …okay then.

Citrine: Ready to go home?

Fern: So ready. I want to sleep in my own bed!

Citrine: Our bed, babe.

Fern: *laugh* Our bed, then. …Watcher, I love you.

Citrine: I know. Love you, too.

Stone: …You keep on walking, and don’t you dare look back.

Stone: And if all you have is your own two legs…well, just be glad you’ve got them.

Stone: When the Nine Shards are reunited once more…could it be? Has she finally returned?

Moonstone: So you’re not…you’re really…

Ori: Mm-hmm.

Moonstone: …Ori…

Moonstone: How? Why?

Ori: It takes a certain amount of power to hold a physical form like I did. Mother was able to use that power to send a Vision to a Seer. It was all we could do to save them.

Moonstone: But…why? Why would you give yourself up like that?

Ori: Whatever it takes. Remember? You said–

Moonstone: Whatever it takes. Ori I didn’t mean you die too!

Ori: I was never really alive to begin with.

Moonstone: but I…I didn’t mean it like that…I didn’t want you to…

Ori: I know you didn’t. I know how you meant it. And I’m glad I did–I’d be a terrible Guardian Spirit if I didn’t do whatever it took!

Moonstone: And now? What happens to you now?

Moonstone: If you lost the dog form, then…what happens now?

Ori: I stay here, with Mother and the other Spirits, and watch over you from here. I can’t bite anyone, but…that’s probably for the best. No more porcupine quills.

Ori: You know I was always terrible about those!

Moonstone: And scorpions. And spiders.

Ori: Ugh, don’t remind me! *shudder* Ugh, so many legs!

Ori: I will miss the dog treats, though. Those just hit differently with doggy tastebuds.

Moonstone: ….I’m sorry.

Ori: For what?

Moonstone: For asking you that. For…for making you feel like you had to…

Ori: Mm, I did, though. It’s my job to look after all of you.I mean, it would have been nice to bite Sanguine where it hurt first, but…this is fine. Really.

Ori: …Moony, you didn’t kill me. I talked with Mother about it first, and this was still my choice.

Moonstone: but…would you have made it if I hadn’t asked you to? If I hadn’t…whatever it takes.

Ori: Yes. Because you are my charges, all of you.And I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.

Moonstone: ….so..what now?

Ori: Now you wake up. They should be almost home.

Moonstone: I’m glad, but…I mean…with us. Will I…ever see you again?

Ori: Someday. When you die, when it’s your time.I doubt I’ll be able to take that shape again, and you shouldn’t come here too often, but…yeah. We will see one another gain.

Moonstone: …good.

Ori: Hey. No sad faces, Moony. It’s okay. It’s not gonna be that long!

Moony: I got so used to you being there…it’ll feel like forever anyway.

Ori: Yeah, well, linear time’s a pain.

Ori: But hey–your Granbaby’s coming home! And what comes after this…*snort* Trust me, you’re gonna be glad you’re there.

Moonstone: What happens after this?

Ori: Can’t tell you. That’d be spoilers.

Moonstone: Ori…

Ori: *laugh* Come on. On your feet.

Ori: You’ve got a life to get back to!, and you’re not gonna live it here! So, come on: Up!

Moonstone: Now who’s being a dog trainer?

Ori: What can I say? I had a good example.

Moonstone: …you’re such a dork.

Moonstone: ….I’m gonna miss you.

Ori: I’m always with you. Even if you can’t see me, even if you can’t hear me, I’m always here.

Ori: And I’ll always be there when you need me. So, if you do, just call out and I’ll be there. I promise.

Moonstone: I will. …I’ll miss you.

Ori: …me too, Moony.

Moonstone: …love you.

Ori: I love you, too.

*keys jangle, door opening*

Saffron: Hm…*gasp*

Citrine: We’re back–oof!

Moonstone: Citrine! Oh, thank the Watcher! We were so worried about you!

Saffron: You scared us both gray, kid!

Citrine: Sorry, I’m sorry! That was…really not the plan at all!

Saffron: I’d hope it wasn’t! Oh, look at you…you poor thing. And–oh, Fern! Are you alright, sweetheart?

Fern: …I’m okay.

Calcite: And before you ask: Yes, Ma, we went to the clinic. Everyone’s just fine.

Nova: And thank all that’s good for that!

Saffron: Thank the Watcher, the Balance, and everyone who got off their butts to help…ooh, but I still want to punch Mantis myself!

Moonstone: Love, get in line!

Fern: ….

Fern: …excuse me.

Moonstone: And the kids, are they–

Calcite: They’re fine too. Pep and EG are gonna be real busy, though.

Saffron: What? Why?

Nova: They adopted a baby.

Moonstone: *gasp* They’re parents!

Saffron: How?! What happened?!

Nova: Ah, well, the two holding Citrine and Fern had a baby and they couldn’t leave her alone so…instant parenthood?

Calcite: We’re gonna go check in on them soon. Want to come along?

Saffron/Moonstone: YES!

Citrine: Fern? Oh, where’s she gone now…

Citrine: There you are.

Fern: Sorry. Just…needed some air.

Citrine: I know the feeling.

Citrine: It’s a lot, isn’t it. Coming back to the outside world.

Fern: …yeah. A world that’s gone and changed all over again. I’m not sure I fit here, either.

Citrine: Sure you do. You fit right in with us.

Fern: …that’s not what I mean. All my life, all I ever did was fight, or train to fight…and now that’s over and done. I won’t go back, but…what do I do with that? I didn’t even take the final placement exam…

Citrine: ….well, you could go into personal training? Or martial arts training? Not for the sake of…fighting the Dark, but just…self defense?

Fern: …I don’t have any certificates.

Citrine: No, but you’ve got talent. That matters, too.

Citrine: Or did you forget you taught us all how to fight?

Fern: Teaching a bunch of teenagers in a cave how to safely throw punches isn’t much experience, babe.

Citrine: Well, no, there were only five of us, but…it still saved our lives. It’s how we took down Nightshade.

Fern: ….d’you really think it’d be that easy?

Citrine: We deserve easy. So yeah, I do. And if it doesn’t work out, then…we try something else.

Citrine: I mean, it’s a pretty big world out there. There’s gotta be something you like doing that you can legally do for pay. Or, fudgeballs, *snort* not so legal.

Fern: ….does a reporter need a bodyguard?

Citrine: In this town? Nah.

Citrine: And, no offense, but you’d make a lousy photographer. Your aim’s bad. Real bad.

Fern *snort* I used a sword, babe. You don’t really need aim for one of those.

Citrine: Ha…guess not.

Fern: Still….*sigh* there is that gym downtown…they weren’t hiring when we left but maybe…I mean, it’d be worth a look, right?

Citrine: Don’t see why not! And if they’re not, there’s gotta be other gyms uptown or midtown or–anywhere. Chestnut Ridge isn’t much of a commute either.

Fern: I’m not a horse trainer!

Citrine: No, but I’m just saying–there’s options. If at first you don’t succeed…

Fern: …try, try again. *sigh* Okay. Okay. I’ll go into town later.

Fern: And what about–whoa! Easy, Cit, don’t fall!

Citrine: I’m good! I’m just gonna–oof–go back to the Newscast and see if I still have a job!

Fern: Why wouldn’t you? Your Dads said Spangle had a hand in helping them get to us, so,…

Citrine: An unannounced year long absence is still an absence!

Citrine: *sigh* I dunno. Everything’s different now.

Fern: Yeah…us too. Guess we’re just gonna have to make the most of it, huh?

Fern: …what if we can’t? What if nothing works anymore.

Citrine: Then we find a new place and make our own way. Leave the last year behind us and start over. But–only if this doesn’t work out. Okay? We’ve gotta try it out first.