Public channel | D22

[hippocarnival]

Hey, everyone.

[There's a pause, like he's waiting to be sure enough people are listening before he continues. He wants to reach as much of the carnival as possible.] I spoke to Noa, and she explained a little bit more about the Void and the Harbingers to me.

She said she thinks the carnival members can still be saved. I think so, too. The Void makes them think there's nothing worth living for, but we know them and we know that's not true. If we can show them that whay they cared about before still matters, what was to their souls can be purified and the Void won't have them anymore. We think CY-Ren can be saved, too.

I... don't know exactly how to do that. But everyone taken, they have friends here, don't they? If we work together, we can find a way. Maybe we can share what made them happy, what might remind them of who they are or--or how to talk to them? [His voice wavers a little, but not out of lack of confidence in his plan.]

I know they can be reached. It won't be easy, but... I think we should try. I think it's better than just fighting them.

((TREAT THIS AS A MINGLE threadjack each other, this is an open forum of friendship.))

Comments

[hurtcomfort]

Then we'll be there too, [ Cole responds, with a matter of fact nod.

...and then he notices that Noa's there as well. Cole just kind of stares at her awkwardly, giving Noa a little nod before turning back to Yuya. ]

I don't like the radio but it stays with me. Use that.

[npcarnival]

[ Yup, Noa just looks a bit bemused by all this, because they're both referring to events she has no context before. When she's acknowledged, however awkwardly, she'll pipe up. ]

You were on the radio before, too, weren't you? And ... [ She frowns a little. That wasn't the only time she's heard him talk, she's sure of it! ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ As Noa frowns, Cole suddenly gets a bit cagey and cryptic. He knows that isn't the only time she's heard him talk but acknowledging his creepy compassion pep talks would be so much more trouble than it's worth! ]

The words matter. Not the circumstances.

[ now it's Yuya's turn to deal with events that he's got no context for. ]

[hippocarnival]

[O... kay.] Cole's a Star Guardian now, too. [Maybe that's where else she remembers him.] There's a lot of us now!

[npcarnival]

[ ??? ??? ??? Crypticism why. ]

Some of you got turned into, um, familiars too, didn't they? Like Gon and Foster...

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole nods ] Others had ours made from us.

Like meeeeeee! [ The shrillness of the conversation just went up to eleven because oh god, Nigella's here. The tiny pink nug familiar floats over to Cole and plops down on his shoulder. And then, Nigella's tactlessness is going to answer a few of Noa's questions as she looks over at the Guardian with a squeal. ] Oooh, you're the proper Guardian! The one he kept talking to!

[ Cole's just quietly despairing over here, DAMMIT NIGELLA, CUT THIS SHIT OUT ]

[hippocarnival]

Yeah, they asked the Ringmaster to--[Yuya cuts off with a sputter as Nigella pipes up, turning to look at her. That's a thing.]

[npcarnival]

That's me. [ In the grand tradition of tasteless heroines, Noa giggles. ]

Although I'm sure Cole is a proper Guardian, too. It's nice to meet you. [ Her own familiar is ... sleeping in her pocket, as usual, so best to leave off introductions of now. ]

[hurtcomfort]

Not like you are, [ Nigella simply responds, as she looks over at everybody from Cole's shoulder. ]

She's right, [ Cole has to admit. ] We leave places. Coming and going, world to world. I don't know if this will stick for us once we've saved. We aren't proper.

[ He's not sad about it, Cole's just saying this in a matter of fact tone. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya tilts his head up as he considers that. If there were no Harbingers, would they all lose their powers? Even Noa?

He frowns, a little disappointed. Even if his Guardian powers aren't impressive, if he could get the hang of it... He could do so much more.]

They wouldn't normally become Harbingers like this either, right?

[npcarnival]

Well, I've never met another Star Guardian for now, so you seem all right to me. It would be a lot harder to keep Wismuth safe without you working to fix things. [ Although she sobers at little at the mention of the other Harbingers. ]

No, they wouldn't. This shouldn't have happened like this -- it's definitely because of something CY-Ren did. [ Anyway, since Cole's a creepy spirit, he can probably have a sense of the conversation these two are referencing in bits and pieces. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole remains quiet for a bit, listening to this conversation and picking up with bits and pieces of the conversation Yuya and Noa had before. ]

How did she know what to do?

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya shrugs.] I didn't get a chance to ask any of them what happened. I don't think Creation knows, either, otherwise it'd probably tell us.

But I guess whatever it is, it might be easier to snap them out of it.

[npcarnival]

Creation doesn't actually speak that much. [ Noa smiles, wryly. Chatty familiars aside ... and even they have their limits on knowledge. ]

I think she must have been practicing for something like this, which is why there were more attacks the last few months. Trying different ways of using her powers...

[ She gives them both an encouraging smile. ]

Well, we're just going to have to get creative, too. You haven't had much time to get used to your powers, have you?

[hurtcomfort]

[ As this is after the clusterfuck of a museum outing, Cole just...kind of remains quiet and looks down at his feet. He thought he knew how to use his powers. He thought he knew what he was doing. But Lambert thinks he made things worse. Yuya also thinks he made things worse (though thankfully not as much as Lambert does.) So obviously, he doesn't know what he's doing.

Nigella floats off of Cole's shoulders and hovers in front of him. Awkwardly, Cole takes her in his arms and starts giving his familiar a few ear scratches as she starts to explain, ]

We haven't. Cole knows what his are and how they work, but what to do with them...we're still working on that.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya shakes his head.] But they haven't either, right? You and Noa have the most experience. But if we work together, maybe there's ways we can put them together?

[npcarnival]

[ Hmm... well, there's an idea. After a moment's thought, Noa nods. ]

We could try it now, couldn't we? [ With that, she reaches to her chest to draw out her own Spark. With a shimmer of light, she transforms into her own Star Guardian uniform, though instead of the ribbon and hoop she'd used at the Carnival, she's holding a pair of fans. With a flourish, she flicks them open and steps into a simple routine, trailing shimmering trails of light that linger in the air far longer than they should.

There isn't any music, but if they let themselves pay attention long enough, they might start to find themselves humming or tapping their feet to the beat. The swoop and fall of the fans are a both an invitation and a mischievous challenge: come dance with me, if you can keep up. ]

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole watches intently, as if what Noa's going to do will somehow help him figure out what he should do. He's watching...and watching...but nothing's happening.

And then a little bit of that spirit empathy kicks in and kicks in hard as Cole finds himself humming along to nothing. He's not a good singer—in fact, he's pretty tuneless. But he's humming along to the beat set by Noa's fans. And then he gets it. At least, he thinks he does. ]

Oh. [ He says, as if this explains everything. With a little laugh, Cole looks over at Yuya. ] The fans want us to join!

[ Reaching to his chest, Cole briefly glows bright green before his clothes are transformed into his Star Guardian uniform. And then he straight up joins in the dance, still humming that odd little tuneless humming of his. Cole's dancing isn't much: it's more stepping to the beat than anything complex or actually good. The most he does is toss Nigella in the air repeatedly and catch her when she falls back towards him. But it's definitely dancing. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya watches Noa for a few seconds before a wide grin stretches across his face. He sets the radio down and springs up from his seat, grabbing the pendulum that hangs at his chest as he transforms into a Star Guardian as well.

He springs to action immediately, dancing his feet in a simple pattern as he spins his bubble wand in the air. Dozens of ordinary-sized, rainbow bubbles start to filling the air. They seem to respond to the beat after a second, popping in little explosions of a tinkling, music-box sound to the beat that Noa leads Yuya and Cole through.]

[npcarnival]

[ It may not be very good, but after a few seconds at least they’ll fall into a cheerful enough little shuffling. Noa reaches out to touch one of the suspended light trails and plucks them lightly, letting out a bright peal of sound. If either Yuya or Cole touch’s them, they’ll get a similar sound of it, like a strummed guitar or harp. It’s no proper instrument, and as improvising goes, there’s room to improve... but by the time they stop, Noa’s smiling broadly, her spark seeming just a bit brighter. ]

If you weren’t already in a carnival, I’d say you should put on a show of your own!

[hurtcomfort]

[ Cole does touch the trails of light, laughing again as it lets out the strumming sound. When they've stopped dancing, Cole looks over at Yuya and Noa. He knows what to do now. And maybe, just maybe this time will be better. ]

My turn for the music. [ Because Noa has seen what Yuya can do...but does she know what Cole can do?

So, without even asking permission, Cole mentally reaches into Noa's memories and pulls out something. The memory is broadcast for the three of them to see, like it's on an invisible screen. It's Noa, watching a performance on her phone. As this is Noa's memory, everyone can hear the music even though memory-Noa is wearing headphones. It's a violin performance, played by someone who's unmistakably CY-Ren. The music doesn't sound anything like her current sound, but it's intense and beautiful all the while. ]

Sadness surrounds it, [ Cole simply responds, as he starts to sway to the beat of this new rhythm ] but this is happy enough. This is how I help.

[hippocarnival]

[As soon as Yuya catches on to the musical lights, he plucks a few himself with a broad smile. Whether this would be immediately helpful in battle doesn't cross Yuya's mind--right now, that's not so important. Right now they're carving a little bit of happiness and connection in a hard situation, and there's a strength in it that can't be underestimated.

He slows down with a laugh as Noa does.] I like to bring smiles to people. I want to be a great entertainer, like...

[He trails off as Cole flashes the memory theatre again, the music catching his afternoon first. It's a mundane memory, but his gaze still turns to Noa to see how she's going to take it.]

[npcarnival]

[ The brightness of Noa’s smile fades a little into confusion as she watches Cole pull up the image and sound. But of course, once she recognizes it, it’s impossible to feel anything but wistful, melancholy and joy mingling as she watches her younger self — only two years younger, truly, but the difference between seventeen and nineteen might as well be years — and reaches out a hand before she stops halfway. ]

This was the first time I heard CY-Ren’s music. How did you...? [ She shakes her head — of course, she knows better. Guardian powers don’t have to follow any sort of logic! But though she’s heard the music again recently, showing it to Foster and Peridot, but this is different. It takes her back to that time, in that memory and place: muscles aching, on the brink of despair, wondering if it would be easier if she just gave up and—

It’s Noa’s memory. She knows how the rest of this goes. CY-Ren’s song finishes, but already, the Noa in the memory is looping it back to start again, raising her arms — and the real Noa does the same. They begin to dance together, past and present, mirror images improvising to CY-Ren’s music, half-wild and half-defiant. It’s no perfectly mixed track, and her movements grow larger and a bit more ridiculous to match the ramping of the song’s intensity, but at the end of it the Noa of the past ends up on the floor, laughing hard enough to cry.

The real Noa slows to a stop, lowering her arms. She’s not crying, but she is a little bit misty-eyed, if nothing else. ]

I’d almost forgotten about that. [ She tells Cole. ] Thank you for reminding me.

[hurtcomfort]

[ This is what he wanted to do at the museum. This is what he wanted to show Childermass. And the fact that Noa's taking this so much better is something that warms Cole's heart to watch. So, he just watches. He's still swaying to the beat as he watches memory-Noa and real-Noa dance to the music. She's better at this than he is. And besides, this is her moment. She doesn't need any input.

Noa's words of thanks warm something in Cole's soul, and he gives her a slightly awkward smile. Good. And Cole nods, slightly, looking from Noa to Yuya. The memory fades, blipping out of existence as the three of them stand in relative silence. ]

That's why we're all doing this, [ Cole simply says. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya smiles, at ease that she's not embarrassed or offended by the sudden memory show. He nods in agreement with Cole, because he's right. Not just about CY-Ren, but all of their friends.]