behappyhere | Backdated to Halloween

Backdated to Halloween

Enoch had been wondering about some of the people he hadn't caught up with yet. Now that the garden was more or less finished and only needed occasional attention from him, he was left with very little to do to distance himself from the impact of everything that had happened.

So it was a world-hopping excursion for him. He was looking for a certain little girl he'd befriended in Animus, but with the doors not always reliable, he was bound to end up in all sorts of worlds.

Unfortunately, because it was the sort of world said little girl lived on, said worlds tended to be modern Earth or similar more often than not. And it was a certain time of year known for candy, pumpkins, and Ruana's sadistic control.

The trappings were enough to make him nervous and jumpy, at best, regarding the costumed children carrying pumpkin buckets with wide-eyed suspicion and almost dread, earning odd looks from their parents and older siblings. More than one party was escorted away from the "crazy man".

At worst, children comparing candy hauls set off brief flashbacks, bits of the horrid past year, that moment of being bound to a metal table in unimaginable pain and panic, screaming until he was physically incapable. At worst, in the middle of an innocuous holiday, Enoch fell to his knees and curled in on himself protectively, fingers clutching tight at his arms to remind himself he still had his skin.

It's a wonder he didn't stop looking. But then, when has anything really stopped him? He can be found in various worlds, even if they aren't modern Earth. The ones that aren't currently celebrating Halloween are a nice breather, which is why he even sticks around there in the first place despite them not being what he's looking for. He may even want to catch up with old Tower-mates while he's at it, or maybe this time he'll find a familiar face from before Animus. (Though, he may even be unfortunate enough to land himself in Halloween Town...). Because of this, this is open to Meridian players as well.

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Since Yotsuba had no idea what Halloween-other than a very basic explanation that her father had given her today-was and never connected it to the terrible things the Administrators did in the Tower, she had no problem walking about in the streets, wide-eyed and smiling at all the awesome and amazing decorations and people she saw. The costumed kids and people she saw didn't look much like the monsters she had dealt with before, so she was able to easily talk with them about without panicking or thinking that they were going to attack her.

Not that she would be able to do much if she actually had, since her sling was gone and her Daddy refused to make or get her another one, since she wasn't in a dangerous place anymore.

However, while she walking down and looking at the decorated houses in amazement-the webs and statues looked super cool!-she saw a very familiar face from that dangerous place, and it didn't look like he was okay, from the way he was curled up on the ground and grabbing himself! Of course, since Yotsuba didn't expect to see Enoch so suddenly, she paused for a moment, her mouth hanging open in both surprise and concern, before quickly running toward him and yelling, both happy and worried.

"Enoch! Long time no see! What's wrong?! Are you okay? How'd you get here?! Did Luci bring you here?!"

Once Enoch stopped clutching his arms, Yotsuba would give him a hug, but, right now, she just stood by his side with a million questions in her head and quite a few emotions in her heart.

Of course she'd be the one to find him. He's just glad she wasn't there to find him on the Halloween plaguing his thoughts right now.

"Yotsuba..." He uncurled slowly, and pushed himself to his feet as he picked her up in a hug.

"I was looking for you. Zo left us a present, to take us anywhere we want."

When Enoch picked her up in a hug, Yotsuba returned it, smiling a little at both the fact that Enoch had come to her world and the fact that Zo gave them all something to take them to other worlds after they fixed everything. It wasn't the biggest smile she could generate, since she was still a little worried about Enoch, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Oh..that's nice of him! Yotsuba will hafta say thanks! But you missed a question! Are you okay? And thank you for keeping your promise! Everything's fine now! Daddy and Fuuka and Ena and everyone are okay! Their bodies aren't weird anymore! Thank you!"

"I don't break promises."

He smiled as he held her tight, a sad, strained smile. He'll...he'll tell her later Zo's gone too. Right now, he's just glad to see her, even if she's the odd mortal of his adopted "family".

"I'm fine now. All of this...it reminds me of something terrible Ruana did, that's all."

At the answer, Yotsuba's smile grew much bigger, since Enoch wasn't sick or in any pain. He was okay! The decorations just reminded him of the bad people! So, while she kept clinging to Enoch, she sounded a lot less worried as she spoke, glad that her honorary uncle was fine. Though, honestly, there were quite a few reasons she was happy right now, though she was ignorant of everything that had happened to restore the worlds.

"I know, but I still wanted to say thank you! And you don't hafta worry! It's because of Hall..Halloween! You dress up and get candy! There aren't any monsters or bad people! It's awesome!"

"I'm afraid I don't like candy." Or costumes. But that's a story for another day. Or never. He sets her down, and decides to change the subject. "How have you been, Yotsuba?"

She's so young to go through something like that. He's worried about her.

Normally, Yotsuba would have asked Enoch why he didn't like candy, since it was sweet and yummy, but when he put her down and changed the subject, the question quickly became buried and forgotten underneath the answer she had. As she spoke though, she kept right on smiling. She had faced a lot in the Tower, but it hadn't been all bad, and since it all worked out in the end, she was alright. Her ignorance about the Tower's past and what had happened after she was gone helped too, though she couldn't hold onto it forever.

"Yotsuba's been good! Super good! You know, the other day, Daddy gave me a camera! So Yotsuba took a loot of pictures with it! I pho..photagraphed Miura's house, and we went over to Ena's, but a bad dog caught Juralumin and hurt her! She couldn't speak! But Asagi said she could fix her, so Yotsuba left her there and waited and waited..it was really bad! I was super worried! But she turned out okay! She had a bunch of bandages on her, but she could talk again! Oh..how about you, Enoch? And are Luci and Zett and Dia and Rick and everyone else okay?!"

"We..."

Rick was gone too... He'd lost all the gifts he'd given him; none of them were on his person when he'd been sent back.

"...I haven't seen Diarmuid since. Lucifel and Zett are doing well. Rick..." He kneels to be at her eye level again. Only needing to be strong for the child he was telling it to kept all the emotions that had been swallowed by the tide of events from making a comeback. "...We lost him. He was trapped outside the tower. I'm sorry, Yotsuba."

While Yotsuba had been to a funeral before, she had never heard someone use that figure of speech before. So, while she looked worried and puzzled as Enoch knelt down and spoke, she didn't understand what he was trying to say, though it did sound really sad..like something bad had happened.

"But..how did you get out? And if he's lost, we hafta go find him! It's okay if you got lost! Yotsuba gets lost too sometimes! But we hafta go find him! It's really scary to be lost! Luci and Zett and everyone else can help!"

As she spoke, Yotsuba reached out to try and grab Enoch's hand. If Rick was lost, they had to find him and see if he was okay! They had to hurry back!

Edited 2014-11-23 12:31 (UTC)

"No, he's...you can't- couldn't live for very long outside the tower. And in any case, Ruana destroyed the world behind us. There's-" He swallows. It's...it's really the first time it's hit him full force. Someone will never see their world again. Their family or their friends. He died and took his world's future with him.

"...There's nothing left to find."

Nothing. Truly nothing. Even if his soul had been trapped in the dead world, with that world gone entirely...so was Rick.

For a moment, Yotsuba quietly stood, still holding Enoch's hand, as the news fully sunk in. She still didn't know how they had managed to get out of the Tower-maybe the bad people had pulled them out?-but right now, that wasn't important. The world they had all been trapped in before was destroyed, and so was Rick. Yotsuba didn't quite grasp why he hadn't been brought back to life-was it a mistake? Or did the bad people decide not to, since Rick was a good person?-but..from the way Enoch spoke, it sounded like he was dead for good, just like Dax. And since Ruana destroyed the world, his body and soul were gone too.

Even though that shouldn't have happened at all! Rick was a really good and awesome person that could turn into a cat and a monster and make clothes! He was soft and squishy too! He shouldn't have died, and espeshally not like that! He should have been able to go to Sheol! But..now he and Dax and anyone else who died for good couldn't, even if they were super good.

While Yotsuba tried to be brave and grown-up, she couldn't stop herself from crying as she finished digesting the information, and while she didn't move to hug Enoch-though she wanted to-or wipe her eyes, her grip on his hand tightened as she spoke through the tears.

"The..the bad people shouldn't have done that! Rick was a good person! He shouldn't have died..but..but how are you all okay? Did Zo fix the world? Why couldn't he save Rick too?! He should have brought him back! Yotsuba died too, and it was painful and scary, but I came back! He should have too!"

..In Yotsuba's mind, Zo was still a good person, but since she didn't quite know how the world could have been restored if the whole thing was destroyed, along with the people in it, for her, there were a lot of unanswered questions that needed answering, especially since they were so important to her.

Enoch hasn't dealt with such a situation before, to explain to a child that something was final and would never ever return, has he? At least Lucifel can't recall him doing so before, since the scribe never stayed too long at one place.

Yotsuba... there was a promise they had made to her, so he was kind of glad to meet the little girl again. Even though the circumstances might not be the best right now.

The archangel appears behind her, kneeing as he places his hand on her head to pat it comfortingly. "Sometimes such things happen. But as long as Yotsuba and others think of those who are gone, they are never truly lost."

How does he always manage to find him? Enoch looks up at Lucifel, startled, as he appears, and then when he's kneeling down with them, he finds himself almost immediately more at ease.

"He's right, Yotsuba. We have our memories of him."

While Yotsuba didn't jump or flinch, she was surprised when Lucifel suddenly appeared behind her. She couldn't really see him, since he was behind her, but she could hear him and feel the head patting, and while it did help comfort her a little, she just kept right on bawling and glared at little at Enoch, mad at the bad people for being the cause of Rick's death and a little annoyed that her questions had gone unanswered.

"Yo..Yotsuba knows that! I can remember him, even though he's dead..but his soul's immortal! That should have lived! The world was fixed, even though it was destroyed, and you guys and Dia and Zett and Romeo and everyone else are okay! You have your souls! But..Rick's dead. Why couldn't he live too?! He was a good person, just like you!"

"So is the memory of him. Of them all." The archangel shifted a little so he could properly look at Yotsuba. She might be glaring at Enoch, but it was understandable why she was so upset. After all the little girl had been told that eventually everyone would be safe.

"Zo fixed as much as much as he could, but as sad as it is, saving Rick was beyond his powers, because his situation was a different one..."

"Zo's influence only extended so far beyond the tower. He was...too far away, when it happened. It was too late when we realized he wasn't with us anymore."

He assumes Rick was too far away, at any rate. How else could Zo fail to bring him back?

Thankfully, that explanation cleared up her questions, so while Yotsuba kept on crying, the glare slowly evaporated from her face as she shifted a little so that she could look at both Lucifel and Enoch. Since Zo was little, he wasn't as strong as everyone else, so he couldn't fix everything that Ruwanla broke. He could save everyone in the Tower..but not everyone outside it. He was a good person, but he couldn't save Rick or Dax, even if he tried.

"Oh..Yot..Yotsuba understands! Our mem..memories will be Rick's Sheol then! He'll have a lot of naps and yummy meals there!"

While she tried to sound cheerful and be a good support, since Enoch and Luci and everyone else were probably sad about Rick too, it was hard, since..she liked Rick too. He was a good person, and they'd had a lot of fun together, so while she tried to sound cheerful, in between her tears and her feelings, it sounded more like a desperate, sad attempt to be cheerful more than anything else.

"... Yeah..." The least they could do for those who died is to keep living their lives and to live them to the fullest, so that their deaths won't be for nothing. But Lucifel had to admit that he had thought until the very end that Dax hadn't been on their side.

However, looking at Yotsuba he could see that she was pushing herself to appear happy. "I had told Yotsuba before that it's fine to be sad at times, even as a support, didn't I?"

Back then he wouldn't have been able to say such a thing... the archangel has changed a lot, hasn't he?

"Indeed. If you keep your feelings inside...trust me, it will only hurt worse."

Probably not the way his will, knowing what he knows now, but he's had more than a lifetime's worth of the mundane version. He opens his arms for a hug, if Yotsuba wants one.

[OOC: silly.]

"Yotsuba remembers that, Luci! But..I didn't wanna make you guys sadder..I won't do it again though!"

At least, that's how she thought it worked. When her friends were sad or hurting, it made her sad too, and when she was upset, it hurt them too, so she didn't want to make them feel worse, since the situation was already terrible.

But..if it would just make everything even worse, then it was probably best not to do it, despite what Dia and everyone else said about crying and being brave. However, while Yotsuba wanted a hug, she also wanted to hug both Enoch and Luci.

So, still crying, she let go of Enoch's hand so that she could try and tug Lucifel next to him. If she managed to do that, she would try to clamber onto both of them-one leg on top of Enoch's and the other on Lucifel's-so she could wrap one arm around each of their necks for a hug.

"It's okay Yotsuba..."

She has a whole life time to learn these things, but until then everyone would help her to learn about these things. Being brave had nothing to do with being emotionally hurt after all.

Lucifel shifts closer so it would be easier to her to hug them, wrapping one arm around her and letting the other rest on Enoch's back.

Enoch follows Yotsuba's lead and then Lucifel's, wrapping an arm around Lucifel and resting his hand on the back of Yotsuba's head.

"Yes, it's okay. It's okay..."

He clings to that, needing it himself, leaning sideways into Lucifel and giving Yotsuba more room to hug him, close to this little makeshift family as he can be.

Edited (whoops) 2014-12-06 00:23 (UTC)

Since Yotsuba was both crying and had her head almost buried into Enoch and Lucifel's shoulders, her reply came out a little muffled.

"Rick's not okay..you guys and Daddy and everyone else are, but Rick's..he's not okay.."

Sure, their memories could be a Sheol for Rick, but it didn't change the fact that he was dead and his soul was destroyed. In a way, it was worse than being dead. When you died, you still had your soul, but..here, Rick had been destroyed.

When Enoch leaned into Lucifel, Yotsuba's head moved with him, though she still clung to both his and Lucifel's neck. The hug did feel nice, and while it helped Yotsuba to calm down, ultimately, it was time itself that got her to stop crying. Eventually, her tears just ran out, though she kept on clinging to the two of them, like a sloth clung to the tree it lived in.

While Yotsuba didn't notice, this whole outburst was getting some attention, and while no one had done anything yet, there were more than a few adults giving the little grieving family weird looks, and even more children that were asking their parents what was wrong, only to be quickly given a throw-away answer and moved along, away from the 'strange people'. If they stayed out in the open like this much longer though, someone probably would ask them what was going on.

Edited (Wanted to add a little bit more here.) 2014-12-19 04:46 (UTC)

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Backdated to Halloween

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While this works in my head, my brain's pretty tired right now, so let me know if this just seems-

Re: While this works in my head, my brain's pretty tired right now, so let me know if this just seem

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Sorry about the late reply! School and finals just ate up my free time there..><;