Crystal Legacy - Generation 6 (Part 26)

 

What should have been a simple life in the desert sand and stars becomes anything but. Haunted by dreams of a life of violence, and seeking answers as to why, Peridot and her friends find themselves caught in an ancient battle between Light and Dark...and find that the cost of being a soldier is higher than they might have ever thought.

CW: This part contains discussion of pregnancy loss

Peridot: ...Parsley...he jumped me outside the station...we fought, he...he wasn't him anymore.

Edelweiss: ...he was a Thrall. A body possessed by a Shade of Obscuro's power.

Peridot: ...I remember those...Master Chronos...he got grabbed...didn't he?

Edelweiss: ...a long, long time ago. Peri, do you...do you remember...before?

Peridot: I...think so? it's...it's coming back in pieces, not...

Edelweiss: It's okay. Take your time. We were all so sure you'd never remember, we...

Peridot: ...you knew?

Peridot: This whole time, you...

Edelweiss: ...I remembered when Cin and Royal did, not--

Peridot: You all knew!

Edelweiss: *gasp*

Peridot: You all knew and no one told me--I thought I was going nuts!

Edelweiss: Peri, no, we just...we didn't want to overwhelm you--the three of us didn't tell Dawn or Candle either, we just...

Peridot: ...you were the team leader and decided for us.

Peridot: ...and...you were protecting us. Again. Even at the cost of your own life.

Edelweiss: Well, I...mm. It wasn't as bad as before, though. No shades or skellies!

Peridot: Until now. If there's a Thrall, there's a Shade, and if there's a Shade, then...

Edelweiss: The seal is cracked. The Shade has to be destroyed. We just need to find it first.

Edelweiss: Come on. Cel's waiting downstairs. You two...should probably talk.

Peridot; ...yeah. We need to.

*stairs creaking*

Edelweiss: Cel.

Celestial: Wha--oh, thank the Watcher...

Celestial: You're a blessing, Edie, thank you--

Edelweiss: Don't thank me yet. You two need to talk.

Celestial: H-hey...how're you feeling? Head okay?

Peridot: ...physically, yeah, but...Cel...I...*deep breath* I remember everything. 

Celestial: ...oh.

Celestial: Well that's--that's--I mean it's not great but we can...hey, Peri, what--what's wrong!

Peridot: We lost them...my sibs...a-and her too...

Celestial: Who, Lady Lucera? She's fine, I swear--

Peridot: No, not her..Cel, back then I was...we were...oh, Watcher...

Celestial: Peri, what is it? Who didn't make it? 

Peridot: Mari...

Celestial: ...who?

Peridot: ...back then...Cel, I was pregnant went we went into the Abyss and we...we lost her!

Celestial: Wha--oh...oh no...Peri, no, we...

Peridot: You all...you all died and then so did she and I...*sob* I can't...

Celestial: Peri--hey...come here...I've got you, it's okay. You're okay.

Peridot: It's not okay! Our baby, she--we didn't even get to meet her she--

Celestial: Shh...shh. We can't change that now. She didn't suffer, I promise.

Peridot: but you and the others, you...

Celestial: We did what we had to do. Don't blame yourself. You stopped him--that's all that matters.

Peridot: I couldn't save anyone!

Celestial: Per, you saved everyone! Our lives...we were dead from the start, but everyone else...Per, the world kept going because of you! You did it!

Peridot:  I lost everyone! Em and--and Agate and Jade and Mal--they're not here! I lost them and Mari and--I lost everyone!

Celestial: No you didn't. We're all right here. We're here. I'm here. And I'm never going to leave you.

Peridot: Cel--*sob*

Peridot: why wasn't it enough?! Why does it have to happen again?!

Celestial: I don't know. I don't...we'll figure it out.

Celestial: It's okay. I've got you. You're okay.

Peridot: Cel...*sobbing*

Edelweiss: Oh, Peri...

Virtue: ...El, were you kids any older...before?

Edelweiss: College, not high school. We'd been Guardians for almost ten years by then. It's....*sigh* It's complicated, Dad.

Virtue: Well, uncomplicate it.

Virtue: And call the others. We need to have a long talk about what this means.

Edelweiss: I know. I will.

Later that morning...

Citrine: Peri...baby, are you...

Peridot: ...mm...not okay right now.

Citrine: Sweetheart...

Fern: what happened, kiddo? You didn't come home, or text....and now this? We found your shoes in the parking lot, but...

Peridot: Parsley, he...

Virtue: He attacked her on the way out of work. It's...a long story. One more complicated than I thought it could be.

Dawn: A thrall?! Edie are you sure--

Edelweiss: Cel was. And I trust his judgment.

Raven: Miserable piece of...great.

Candle: With an active Thrall...how long do we have?

Cinnamon: Days. Week, at best.

Edelweiss: Less than that. The Thunder Moon is a summoning moon. They're going to try and free him.

Others: Oh, great!

Edelweiss: We don't have much time, guys. We have to do something.

Dawn: but what? We don't have our powers, or our weapons. And if he's coming back in...Watcher, the moon rises tomorrow!

Raven: We don't even have time for training...that's, what, 10 days in the Realm?

Scarlet: That's if they'd even let us in...

Cinnamon: No time to argue. Must try something! Defeating Thralls bought time before--where is Parsley now?

--

Citrine: Parsley did this?! Ooooh, where is he I'll kill him myself!

Peridot: No, Parsley's...he's dead, Mom.

Virtue: Or worse than dead. *sigh* He's a Thrall now. A person possessed by Obscuro's malice.

Fern: ...like Dad. Oh, Watcher....

Citrine: Peri...honey...

Peridot: *sniff*

Fern: If there's a Thrall loose, then...the body has to be killed. Has anyone seen Parsley today?

Celestial: He wasn't in the parking lot where I left him. Watcher only knows where he's gone.

Virtue: I made some calls. Apparently, Mayor Herb's gone missing, too.

Fern: ...Cel, your Dad. Has he...

Celestial: He hasn't tried to contact me. I don't know where they are.

Virtue: We're running blind, and out of time.

Virtue: but I don't understand the half of this. How is it possible they all have memories of another lifetime? One that seems to be repeating itself?

Fern: ...the Gatekeeper must be involved. Lady Lucera. She chooses Guardians to protect the door, so if they were Guardians before...

Virtue: They could be again.

Fern: ....Vita and Morte should be here soon. They can...Watcher, I don't know. But they need to know this is happening. This is more than a Shade. This is Obscuro himself and if he gets loose...

Peridot: If he gets loose, everyone's dead...*shaky sigh*

Citrine: Shh, baby...we'll figure it out.

Virtue: Edelweiss. I think it's time you explain what you know. All of you.

Raven: Oh, this is gonna suck...

Dawn: Once more unto the breach, dear friends...

Edelweiss: It's a long, long story.

Edelweiss: The story, as we were told, was that, in the beginning there was nothing. Until, one day, there was something. Someone.

Edelweiss: A being of pure Light came out of the Darkness. I don't know if she was born of it, or if she was from somewhere else, but...there she was.

Edelweiss: The legend goes that she saw potential in that Darkness. She saw potential in that Nothing. She saw what it could become. And so, she did something with it.

Edelweiss: She created Life. Light, and Darkness, and all the colors inbetween. Her power was limitless, and through it all things were possible.

Edelweiss: At first she was pleased with this, content in knowing she had made Life. She watched over her creations, guiding them. But…

Edelweiss: She grew lonely, watching them. They had families, lives, things she did not. But why should this be so? She was the Creator, after all. Why not simply…create?

Edelweiss: And so, she created her children. Her first star, to ever light the way, and her endless void, to hint at what might be hiding, waiting to be discovered.

Edelweiss: And, for many years, things were peaceful. For many years, they lived in peace. But…then things began to change.

Edelweiss: Her void-child, her cooling Darkness, her beloved Obscuro, began to covet power. Not simply more of his own, but also…

Edelweiss:That of all Creation. The power to create worlds, life in an image he preferred.

Edelweiss: He asked first, for his mother had raised him well, but when she would not give him what he wanted…

Edelweiss: He tried to take it.

Edelweiss: The Creator did not let this happen. She fought back, and while at first she forgave her wayward son…

Edelweiss: He kept trying.

Edelweiss: But with every failed attempt, he grew more and more enraged. He would have that power, no matter the cost.

Edelweiss: His beloved Mother knew this, and so she asked her daughter for help.

Edelweiss: She bade her daughter this: Find her brother, and reach out to him in a way she could not. Bring him back to the family.

Edelweiss: The first star did as any daughter would, and followed her mother's wishes. For centuries she searched, calling out to the brother she loved, trying to make him see reason. Only…he never did.

Edelweiss: But, one day, she found him. She tried to make him see reason, tried to explain that their mother wanted him back, but…he refused to believe her.

Edelweiss: He attacked her, his sister, for daring to take their mother’s side. She fought back, only to defend herself, but she was no match for him. He made to kill her, or perhaps worse, and she knew then that the brother she loved was lost, taken by his quest for power. She called out to their Mother.

Edelweiss: Their Mother answered, putting an end to the fighting. She had given her beloved son a chance, and then another, but now no more.

Edelweiss: Even so, she could not bring herself to kill her beloved son. She had made him, bore him, loved him. And so, she took another road.

Edelweiss: She sealed him away in the space between realms, what became known as the Abyss, so that he would think upon his actions. She hoped, given time, he would come to regret, and to repent.

Edelweiss: She tasked her daughter with guarding the place of her brother’s sealing until such a time as he was ready to return.

Edelweiss: At first, the task was simple. At first, Lucera held the Gate with an iron fist. But time rotted everything, and in the thousands of years since, the gate has...cracked. Pieces of Obscuro have slipped free, attracting the Dark creatures of the world. She couldn't handle it all on her own and so...

Edelweiss: She called forth Guardians, people who could help her to keep the gate shut, to protect it and all the worlds on this side.

Edelweiss: ...A lifetime ago, we were her Guardians. But...we weren't enough.

Edelweiss: I'm still not sure how it happened, but....in that other life, Obscuro was able to get a full Shade free. He overtook Master Chronos in the Sages Academy looking for a way to get free, and when we went to seal the gate, it was...too late for any of us.

Virtue: Meaning?

Edelweiss: ...sealing the gate cost us our lives, back then. We were all reborn here, in this life, without powers.

Cinnamon: Not a great loss.

Royal Cola: Could be worse! Could still be dead.

Citrine: ....this makes no sense. Past lives? Reborn here and now? And the Shade, the--...no, okay that part makes sense but--

Fern: No buts, babe. It all lines up. ...Vita?

Vita: ...it...would explain why Lady Lucera was so reluctant to take us on as Guardians, even before Rubeus...

Morte: It all lines up.

Vita: And it would explain the rash of Shadow outbreaks in other areas, too. If the Gate is weakening, if Lady Lucera has no team to hold it shut, then...

Morte: Then his power gets loose and here we are.

Vita: ...here we are. With all that loss having meant nothing.

Morte: The Council is going to love this.

Scarlet: So don't tell them. It's not like "Master" Chronos is gonna want to hear he went Thrall on the rest of us anyway!

Raven: Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Celestial: Guys. Doesn't solve the problem now. What are we gonna do about the Thrall that's up now?

Edelweiss: It needs to be found and killed. There's...never been a way to free the original soul after Obscuro takes over.

Cinnamon: One way to get rid of bully.

Royal Cola: Still, would not wish on even worst enemy. To be consumed by Malice? *shudder* No thank you!

Calypso: ...setting aside that you kids are right, we still have to find him. It. Ugh....Watcher, we're all out of date here. And we only have until tomorrow night, too!

Citrine: Why? What's so important about tomorrow?

Fern: The Thunder Moon.

Calypso: The brightest full moon of the summer. It's powerful...and this year, it's a blood moon.

Calypso: Dark magics are stronger beneath blood moons.

Citrine: And you can't get darker than summoning the incarnation of all evil. Great.

Fern: ...but it's just this year that's a blood moon. If we can keep you kids safe, wait it out...

Fern: We can wait him out. 

Vita; It's our best chance. Morte and I will search for the thrall--you kids need to go home and stay there.

Morte: ...or, we take them all back to the Realm.

Vita: But how--without a Glimmerstone...oh. You...all have them. How?

Edelweiss: ...I still remembered where to find the shards on this side of the Realmgate. Getting them carved was the harder part.

Edelweiss: They were never fully charged, but...it was better than nothing. Something to remember us by.

Cinnamon: Trinkets. Token of friendship, nothing more.

Scarlet; Not that that stopped certain people from thinking they were more. 

Celestial: That doesn't matter.

Celestial: What matters is what we do now. Are we waiting this out here, or are we going to the Realm? Would Master Chronos even let us in.

Calypso: Ha! Let him try and stop us.

Virtue: And would he get Thralled again?

Edelweiss: ...that's the kicker. I don't know--we don't know how or why Master Chronos went under last time. I don't trust it not to happen again.

Morte: He'd have to be exposed first...and none of us know where he goes when he's not sitting Council.

Vita: ...it's a risk we'll have to take. If Obscuro escapes...all of this will have been for nothing.

Fern: And we cannot let it be for nothing. RIght...

Calypso: I'll head back to the Realm. I can bring Master Fulgur around, and the others too. We can outnumber Chronos, if nothing else.

Citrine: Take my Dad--Sage Mandarin likes us. They'll be able to help.

Virtue: In the meantime, we'll have to explain to everyone's parents what's going on. *heavy sigh* This should be fun.

Edelweiss: We don't have much choice.

Dawn: Mom's gonna freak.

Candle: Mama A's not gonna be happy, either.

Scarlet: Auntie, can you come with and help me explain to Ren? I'm worried they'll try and fight this themselves...

Raven: Would be just like them.

Celestial: ...I'm gonna take Peri home. We...*sigh* We need a break.

Celestial: How're you feeling? You look...better.

Peridot: I feel better. A little. Thanks, for holding my hand in the tub.

Celestial: Of course.

Celestial: It's the least I can do...for my wife.

Peridot: *breathy laugh* That's right...we did tie the knot back then, didn't we. Watcher that's so weird...having a whole other life in my head.

Celestial: Eh, you get used to it.

Peridot: Oh, well excuse me!

Peridot: We can't all be as adaptable as Mr. I'mma Take The Biggest Sword Ever Made.

Celestial: *laugh* okay, my claymore was not that big!

Peridot: No? Not overcompensating for something?

Celestial: You tell me. I seem to remember it worked pretty well...

Peridot: *laugh* Okay, okay, yeah it did, don't get a big ego. We're not doing that again for a while.

Celestial: Fair. We're not in college yet, or married legally here, so...

Peridot: Ugh, can you imagine?

Peridot: We go up to the clerk's office and we're all, hi, I know we're only seventeenish, but we were married in another life and we'd like to get that legalized again, please. They'd call an ambulance for a psych check!

Celestial: *chuckle* We can wait. It's worth it. Besides, we don't need any paper to know how much we mean to each other.

Celestial: That and...I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to do it again. After...what happened there at the end.

Peridot: oh, you mean the deal I caught you making with a Shade? Honestly, Cel. For better or worse is for better or worse, but.

Peridot: ....what happened? Why did you...

Celestial: ...Master Chronos had gone Thrall already, Obscuro was just better at hiding it. I was...I sold myself for your safety.

Peridot: Cel...