[center][h3]The Avenger - Tuesday Evening Service[/h3]
Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (111/150) Lvl 8 Sandalphon (37/80) Lvl 5 [color=ef6069]Grimm[/color] (8/50)
Junior, Rika, & Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate, Sectonia, & Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt, Zenkichi & Edelgard’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet, Pit, Primrose & Therion’s [@Yankee] Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Roxas, Ganondorf, & Captain Falcon’s [@Double], Celica’s [@Sadu]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 2146[/center]

When Edward deposited himself at the table to engage Sandalphon in conversation, Nadia left the two eggheads to talk turkey and turned her attention elsewhere. She figured that the Seekers’ resident smarty-pants would wind up discussing much more technical (AKA, boring) matters than what desserts people might be, and it didn’t take long for the pair to prove her right.

Luckily there were plenty of other people around who weren’t confabulating about equipment, affinity, and spellcraft, among them Zenkichi, who joined her at the table not long after Edward did. Nadia was ready with a smile, but he threw her off when he used her real name. As far as she knew, everyone only knew her as Ms Fortune. Did someone she trusted with her real name let it slip? Having been in the Underground while the detective hailed from Midgar, and not having teamed up with him during the minigame roulette in Carnival Town, she’d never really talked to Zenkichi. Then again, maybe the one who slipped up had been her; it would be pretty in-character for her to randomly forget about the bit at some point. Either way, it wasn’t worth making a fuss over.

“Hey Keechy,” she greeted the man, testing the waters with a brand-new nickname. “You come from a place with good seafood, then? Well, make sure you leave some for the rest of us. Can’t afford to be shellfish!” With a snicker she stuffed a heaping spoonful of crab fried rice into her mouth.

The tables in the mess hall filled up quickly, some faster than others, and a pleasant, communal hubbub filled the air. Nadia happily rattled off food-based puns to anyone in earshot, making light of anything and everything she could in an effort to raise everyone’s spirits. More trials and tribulations awaited them come the dawn, but for now at least the motley crew of heroes and villains could enjoy this moment of peace and plenty. If tomorrow was uncertain, and fraught with danger, then today was a gift–that was why it was called the ‘present.’

When Bracket made her rounds, asking if her food was to everyone’s liking, Nadia made sure to lavish the little chef’s work with praise. She also noticed Juri leaving in a huff soon afterward. Despite her best efforts, hot pink was hard to miss. [i]Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.[/i] Hatred didn’t come easily to Nadia, and she certainly didn’t want to hold anyone in contempt, but that woman sure made things difficult. While she’d be loath to admit it, she remembered their fight in the Qliphoth with frustrating clarity. Sure, Moebius D had mind-controlled her, but that hadn’t interfered with her fighting ability. Despite all her extra spirits and time as a Seeker, she’d been molly whopped. Part of her wanted to demand a rematch to set the record straight…but what if she lost again? How humiliating that would be. Normally Nadia didn’t care about such things, but Juri was a master at making Nadia act unlike herself. Rising to Juri’s provocations would be the real mistake. The only winning move was not to play.

“Bah,” Nadia muttered. The sooner she got that creep out of her head, the better.

The sight of a fresh face, it turned out, was just the ticket to get her train of thought chugging again. She spotted Primrose first, then Celica behind her as the dancer led the blonde toward a less-occupied table for an introductory chat. Of course, the feral couldn’t tell if Celica was a new recruit or a Lost Number, but either way she was new to Nadia, and worth a greeting. “Hey there!” She waved to Celica with her friendliest smile, her voice slightly raised over the ambient chatter. “Welcome to the party. Love your hair!” With blue eyes and a shared love of the bob cut, the two had a lot in common right off the bat. Once upon a time Nadia had been a blonde as well -platinum blonde, but still- and even with her relatively recent calico coloration, she was still primarily fair-haired. With any luck, the two of them could be friends.

“That is Celica,” Sandalphon pointed out after the newcomer passed by, before Zenkichi could. “One of our teams rescued her this afternoon. She may be interested in joining us.”

Nadia’s eyebrows went up. “Oh yeah?” She gave the new girl another glance. If Primrose had decided to help Celica out, she’d be in good hands. Given the importance of the Seekers’ campaign, it was always good to see new faces, especially after incurring some losses. Nadia managed to stop an offhand joke about finding a quick replacement, which would have been in poor taste even by her standards.

As dinner began to wind down, though, that very subject came next. As seven o’clock drew near, Sandalphon eventually rose from her table, then went to deposit her dishes in silence. Nadia breathed in deep, then exhaled and got to her feet with a heavy heart. She’d entertained the thought of not attending the next event on tonight’s schedule, since she knew it wouldn’t do her mental state much good, but even a doofus like her knew that she’d have to come to terms with stuff like this eventually. Plus, it was just the right thing to do. The man and woman of the hour deserved better than what they got, but in lieu of that, they deserved respect. From everyone they’d laid down their lives to save.

Following Sandalphon, Nadia made her way out of the cafeteria with Chucho right behind her, and down to Stolen Moments. 

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/66nvdJc.png[/img][/center]

Ultimately, the barroom wasn’t very big. Its stools could only seat seven people at a time, and about twice as many people could crowd around the bar. If this place had been chosen to house a proper funeral service, with dozens of friends and family members dressed in mournful black, it would have struggled to fit. Tonight, though, there were only a handful of people, united in common purpose but thrown together by random chance. No next of kin were present, if indeed they had any, since they never mentioned any whilst alive. As more people filed in, the mood of the place remained somber and commiserative, but gradually less bleak. As the minutes slid by, certain absences like Grimm and Juri became more notable, but attendance wasn’t required to begin with.

Half of the room, furnished with rustic decor and bathed in warm yellow, housed the bar tended in taciturn professionalism by Cirrus, and the far wall featured an array of white plaques engraved with black names that gleamed under the pale blue light. There were dozens of them, maybe even hundreds. How many generations of Lost Numbers had already lived and died? How many Seekers had already given their lives and returned to the cycle? The hairs on the back of Nadia’s neck rose and she forced herself to look away. She did not want to see any names she recognized on there. None except the two most recent additions: Goldlewis Dickinson, and Twilight Princess Midna.

On the computer screen nearby was a photograph of Goldlewis himself. Portraying Goldlewis and Tora in the hangar, with no preparation or planning, it had been taken just this morning by Poppi to test the camera the young nopon had been working on. Unfortunately, no such image had been captured of Midna. That same camera now lay on the shelf beneath the plaques, a silent and poignant impetus for the Seekers of Light to start taking more photos from now on, lest any more names become nothing but a memory.

It wasn’t long before Nadia asked Cirrus for a beer.

Sandalphon did not sit at the bar or order a drink, but stood between the memorial wall and the computer screen, staring off into space until it was seven o’ clock. Then she began to speak.

“Ahem. Your attention, please.” Her pupils were their default power symbols, but the archangel looked more sad than usual. “This is the first memorial service I have performed. I must admit that eulogizing was not among the core competencies bestowed upon me. If I underperform in this important task, I beg you all to address your complaints to the goddess Ilia.”

Taken off guard, Nadia let out a breathless, quiet laugh. She had not at all been expecting a joke from Sandalphon, but somehow the humorless archangel had managed to break the ice.

After a moment, Sandalphon continued. “However, as a result of today’s events, I somehow caught a faint glimpse of the Remembrance. Just a glimpse, small, but scintillating. Therefore, my first act as leader of the Seekers of Light will be to eulogize the fallen. Goldlewis Dickinson, and Midna, Princess of Twilight.”

“Today, they gave their lives in the struggle against Moebius and Galeem’s guardians. Erased by Moebius A. Eyewitness testimony indicates that A trapped the entire team in a rapidly closing pocket dimension, and only the sacrifice of a volunteer sufficed to free the others. In other words, both gave their lives to save everyone else. It is no exaggeration to say that it is thanks to their courage and selflessness that the Gravemind was able to be defeated–that many of us are able to stand here now, and that the fight for the future of all worlds can continue. We owe them our gratitude.”

Sandalphon paused for a moment. “I regret that I do not have any experiences with Midna that I can share. I can assert, however, that she had the heart of a true warrior. She not only led the charge into every battle, but facilitated speedy travel throughout Midgar via her portals. Our victory in Midgar would not have been possible without her as well. Today, we lost an invaluable comrade. The World of Light is a little darker without her.”

Her gaze shifted upward. “In Carnival Town, Goldlewis and I happened to be tied together during one of the challenges, and together we attempted to climb a mountain. Unfortunately, we did not get far. My lack of strength and our combined lack of agility led to a long fall, and after that, we chose to simply sit and talk for a while amidst the falling snow.” She could remember that brief but unforgettable conversation, every word spoken, every frosty puff of breath, every contoured snowflake, clear as day. “I wanted to continue and put forward my best effort, regardless of the consequences, but he wanted to stay put, joking about his age and physique. He reminded me that it was just a game, and that the point was to have a good time. That rationing our strength wasn’t weakness, but wisdom. We talked about aging. Its realities. Its gravity.”

She paused to take a breath through her nose. “Goldlewis had lived a great many years. He spent a lifetime fighting for what he believed in, on battlegrounds real and metaphorical. As a soldier, he stared death in the face many times, and he was not afraid to die. As tired as he was, though, he did not [i]want[/i] to die. He believed that even in a world like this, life is worth living, and that we should all cherish the time we have. The people we have.”

After a moment, she swept her gaze across the room. “Some of you may have wondered. Why mourn the fallen, or care for ourselves or one another, when death seems impermanent, and anyone could return again, with but a turn of the clock? It is a reasonable question. And it is true that, someday soon, we may see Midna or Goldlewis again. They may even join the Seekers again, and fight for the future of our worlds. I expect that they would want to. However…” She shook her head. Nadia just listened, petting Chucho all the while. “Remember this. Our memories make us who we are. Each moment, each experience, woven indelibly into the fabric of the universe. Goldlewis might come back, but not all of him will return. It would be…a different Goldlewis. The Goldlewis we knew…is gone.”

Sandalphon breathed in, her pupils became exclamation points. “Every life -every one of us, here and now- is precious. None of you are replaceable, nor disposable. To me.”

Another couple seconds passed before she continued. “Let us honor Goldlewis and Midna, by caring for ourselves, and one another, while we can. For we cannot know what tomorrow will bring.” For the first time in a while, Sandalphon closed her eyes. When she opened them, her pupils were back to normal. “If anyone would like to say a few words, please do.”

Silence reigned until Nadia let out a tired laugh. “Well, we better all become friends. Don’t wanna hear ‘I didn’t really know her’ at any more funerals.” She shook her hair and cleared her throat, then held up her beer. “To Midna. A role model for royals everywhere. And the old man too. Gold by name, gold by nature.”