Keine Quest (Part 6): Broken History (Complete)

[Hello Purvis]

>Not coins on our person, but rather to see if the one we pushed through that little riftlet ended up here.

[DracoOmega]

>Not coins on our person, but rather to see if the one we pushed through that little riftlet ended up here.

>You've certainly seen nothing like that since you've been here, and while the area is fairly large, you suspect that even a tiny object would stand out against the shapeless blackness you're standing on. You do another scan of the area but still find nothing, unless it's still somehow embedded in those branches of energy. It might not be possible to see an object like that at any depth in them.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hey, Maribel, knowing the things you do now, do you think you could figure out anything about these gaps?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Hey, Maribel, knowing the things you do now, do you think you could figure out anything about these gaps?"

>"It does feel like the space they join to is different than the space in here," she says. "But given how they seem to be woven through everything in here, I'd be... nervous to try doing anything to them. Is there anything about them you'd like me to try and figure out?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Gesture toward some of the ones we think are newer.
>"See those ones? I want to know if they open up roughly in the same place; within a few hundred yards of each other. And...if anything is caught in them."

[DracoOmega]

>Gesture toward some of the ones we think are newer.
>"See those ones? I want to know if they open up roughly in the same place; within a few hundred yards of each other. And...if anything is caught in them."

>It's very hard to gesture towards specific ones, given how crowded it is, but you do try to flag a few of the newer ones which stand out.
>"I'll try," Maribel says, concentrating. "The boundary between dream and reality feels... very different than those I've felt either wholly here or in the real world. I don't... think they're anywhere near that close to each other, though. And I'm not sure something can be caught in a boundary. Between them, maybe, but I don't think I could feel that. I don't feel anything there, at any rate."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"What do you feel about that pillar, then?"

[DracoOmega]

>Nod.
>"What do you feel about that pillar, then?"

>Maribel takes a long look at it. "It feels like the point at which all these borders meet. If I had to say, it seems like it's the origin of all this. All the places we've seen."
>"Would that make this her dream?" the other Maribel says. "And not ours?"
>"It... might." They both frown.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I doubt it, I've already given you my thoughts on this."
>"Mugetsu, what do you feel out of those gaps, and this pillar?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I doubt it, I've already given you my thoughts on this."
>"Mugetsu, what do you feel out of those gaps, and this pillar?"

>"Perhaps..." one of the Maribels says, with a little sigh.
>"I feel paths branch out from them to the other places in the dream," Mugetsu says, "and some outside. I can't tell what lies beyond these exits to the outside, or how they differ from each other. I think I agree with Maribel that this place is a starting-point of some sort."
>In the corner of your eye, you see Shadow Gengetsu move away from Wingly Gengetsu, who then raises herself off the ground and starts to float toward you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Does she seem hostile?
>If not, let her approach.
>If so, shoot her in the face.

[DracoOmega]

>Does she seem hostile?
>If not, let her approach.
>If so, shoot her in the face.

>It isn't immediately clear. Her lack of almost anything resembling facial features makes it difficult to read her tone, and even when she was busy suffocating you, she didn't especially look angry. Still, she doesn't seem to be doing anything other than drifting closer, so you let her approach.
>"I remember," she says, her voice echoing out, though there is no mouth for the words to issue from. And then her form seems to shift, curves across her face gaining definition and substance. Clothes ripple into being across the blankness of her form. A faint indentation forms into a mouth and she speaks. "I remember that I looked like this."
>Mugetsu looks at her with a somewhat unsettled expression.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do the clothes look right?
>If so: "Yes, that's right. You're doing well!"

[DracoOmega]

>Do the clothes look right?
>If so: "Yes, that's right. You're doing well!"

>They look essentially like Summoner Gengetsu's outfit, minus the whole missing side of her body.
>You give her some encouragement, although she does not seem to immediately respond, instead looking around the space with a somewhat unnatural motion. She turns towards Mugetsu. "I remember you." Then Maribel. "And I remember you."
>"How do you... feel?" Mugetsu asks tentatively.
>Gengetsu pauses. "I feel... wrong. I know I am wrong. I see the dream around me now. I see the many that should be one. I see the they that should be I."
>"And can ya... fix that?" Marisa asks. "You did kinda fix yourself, there. Sorta."
>"I can bend the dream around me," she replies. "I can bend the form my consciousness takes. But I cannot bend the consciousnesses outside my own."
>"It's a fundamental rule of our abilities," Mugetsu says, turning to you. "We can manipulate the dreamscape, but not the dreamer. Not directly."

[Hello Purvis]

>Glance to the Maribai. "Then, I guess it may be up to you. I was thinking that since they couldn't affect you, the opposite ought to have been true, too."

[DracoOmega]

>Glance to the Maribai. "Then, I guess it may be up to you. I was thinking that since they couldn't affect you, the opposite ought to have been true, too."

>"I've been thinking," one of the Maribels says. "I can sense the boundaries between space. Inside this dream, I can open them, rearrange them, erase parts of them entirely, like what I did when I nearly got us all swallowed. But in this place, space is simply a construct of consciousness, isn't it?"
>"You... could put it that way," Mugetsu replies.
>The other Maribel nods slowly. "Then what of the spaces between consciousnesses?"
>"I think I can sense them, if I try hard enough," the first Maribel says.
>"And remove it?" the other Maribel asks.
>"...maybe."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Would this imply that there's something intentionally holding that space apart?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Would this imply that there's something intentionally holding that space apart?"

>"I don't think so," Maribel says. "Maybe she just fractured with the space itself? Every piece seemed to be in a different place."
>"I think this would be easiest if you were all together," the other Maribel says. Wingly Gengetsu makes a sort of halting nod-like gesture and moves off towards some of the smaller fragments.
>"Do you... really know that you can do this?" Mugetsu asks.
>Maribel frowns. "I... I'm not sure. I think I might. I don't know what else to suggest. Do you?"
>Mugetsu is still for a moment, then slowly shakes her head. "I don't. But you barely understand what you can do. You've improved amazingly quickly, but still... you're almost guessing, aren't you? This is an experiment. And my sister is..."
>"I said I'd put her back together," the other Maribel says, "didn't I? This is my dream- uh, our dream. So if we say that it'll work, it'll work." She turns to her counterpart. "Right?"
>Maribel nods. "Right." There is a moment's hesitation before her response that makes you wonder if she's quite as certain as she says.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Is there anything we can do to help?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Is there anything we can do to help?"

>"I don't think so," Maribel says, shaking her head. "You've already done what you can." She takes a deep breath. "This part, I think, is up to me... and them."
>The cloud of wisps move in towards Maribel, Shadow Gengetsu among them. You see Wingly Gengetsu carrying Violent Gengetsu's limp body.
>Maribel turns to Mugetsu, an earnest expression on her face. "I swear I will do everything I can to make this succeed, but you're right that I'm only trusting my intuition. I feel strongly that this can work, but I can say no more than that. Given what might happen if I do this the wrong way do I... have your permission to try?"
>Mugetsu looks towards the floor, and is silent.

>After a few moments, you hear a quiet voice break the stillness. "I am not be my whole self," Gruegetsu says, "So perhaps I have no right to say this. But I would choose this risk. As I am, I am useless; trapped in a dream, and trapped within a consciousness that cannot even see my sister's face. Any risk that brings a hope that I might fulfill my responsibilities is one I'm prepared to take."
>"There is no life for us here," Wingly Gengetsu says. "Our mind can never be our own in this place. If she fails, then we will still have solitude. I wish to let her try."
>"I only wanted to understand," Summoner Gengetsu says. "That's all I came here to do. That's what every part of my being tells me matters. But I know now that there isn't enough left of me to understand anything; I will never, ever succeed. Do what you must."
>You feel some uncertainty from Shadow Gengetsu. It finds its existence interesting, and it's enjoyed learning and seeing the things that it has. But it understands that this isn't how it was meant to be. There are other things beyond it that matters. It has touched Maribel. It has faith in her.
>Mugetsu takes a deep breath and closes her eyes "Then I guess it's decided."
>"I promise I'll make things right," Maribel says quietly.

[Hello Purvis]

>Get out of the way. And keep an eye on the column for unusual phenomena.

[DracoOmega]

>Get out of the way. And keep an eye on the column for unusual phenomena.

>You give Maribel and the Gengetsus a wide berth and keep an eye on the column, in case it starts to react oddly. Mugetsu and Marisa likewise step aside.
>One Maribel takes a deep breath, while the other puts her hand on her shoulder. "We can do this," she says. The first nods, then closes her eyes.

>You watch expectantly, but nothing appears to happen to a few moments. The first Maribel is concentrating deeply, and the other seem to be concentrating with her, but you see no change among the assembled fragments. However, as you continue to observe, you slowly become aware of slight distortions in the air around the Gengetsus, almost like looking into the distance on a hot day. Your view of them starts to ripple and refract and you see the faintest hint of razor-thin lines of purple etched into the air dividing them.
>Suddenly, space around them seems to fracture into countless mirrored shards, adrift in a sea of shifting violet. Fragments of faces and forms shift across each other, at once serene, yet disordered. It grows difficult to make sense of the geometries before you.
>You hear someone breathing shallowly to your left. You turn and see Mugetsu, her gaze wholly consumed by the spectacle, teetering on the edge of desperate hope and panic. Her hands are clasped tightly together and she seems barely to blink. Were you in her position, you can't imagine you'd feel much differently.
>Looking back at the dancing shards, you feel as though something has changed. At first it seemed like the image you could see in the fragments reflected the very same one that was standing before you when this started, only scattered about like some insane jigsaw puzzle. But as the fragments continue to drift, some fracturing along bright lines of violet, while others fuse together, you slowly see a different scene assembling itself. Forms disappear. Others change or are reordered. The crowd thins until you can make out only a single shape, scattered among the arcane geometries. The shifting slows, fragment meeting fragment along smooth and perfect lines, like a broken glass reassembling itself. There is no longer any mistaking what image is held in them. With a final join, space align itself once more. You see a last faint trace of purple flicker across the air.
>Mugetsu draws in a great breath, and seems to forget to release it. Maribel collapses to the ground.

[Kasu]

> Go and help Maribel.

[DracoOmega]

> Go and help Maribel.

>You quickly move towards Maribel. Her counterpart leans over her almost as soon as she falls.
>"Are you ok?!" she asks. She doesn't get a response.

>"...sister?" you hear Mugetsu say, taking a tentative step forward.
>Gengetsu slowly moves her head, looking distractedly at her surroundings, like she's unsure of where she is. Then she raises a hand towards her head and slowly turns it, staring at it uncertainly.
>"Sister? Please say something."
>"I..." The word seems almost to surprise Gengetsu as it escapes her. She stops and feels the side of her face with her hand.
>"Please..." there is a hint of suffering in Mugetsu's voice. "Let me know that that's really you. That you're okay."
>Gengetsu slowly turns around to face her, frowning and blinking oddly, as if she has trouble focusing her eyes. "I... I remember things. I was..." She shakes her head. "I can't make sense of it all."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Don't worry about making sense of memories right now. Make sense of stuff in front of you, first."
>Check on fainted Maribel. Ponder if this was the same one that was already a bit drained.

[DracoOmega]

>"Don't worry about making sense of memories right now. Make sense of stuff in front of you, first."
>Check on fainted Maribel. Ponder if this was the same one that was already a bit drained.

>"Sorry," Gengetsu replies. "It's just... difficult to think straight when your memories are this tangled. It feels like I was just dozens of people at once."
>Mugetsu takes another step forward. "But you... you think you're ok... right?"
>"I... think I might be," Gengetsu replies. "Once I get used to this."
>"Then you're back?" Mugetsu says, tentatively. "Whole?"
>Gengetsu slowly nods. "I... think so. I-" Her sentence is cut off by Mugetsu throwing her arms around her and collapsing into her.
>"You have no idea what it means to hear you say that," she says, in a quavering voice. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do! I didn't... I didn't know..." She starts sobbing loudly.
>Gengetsu smooths her sister's hair with her hands. "I am myself," she says. "I'm sorry for all the suffering I've caused you." She turns towards Maribel. "And you."
>The still-conscious Maribel tries to smile, despite her obvious concern for her counterpart. "I already said that I forgive you, didn't I?"
>"I...  I think I remember that," Gengetsu replies. "Thank you."
>"Thank you!" Mugetsu wails, then breaks into more sobbing.

>You bend down and look at Maribel. Her face is drenched in sweat, but she appears to be breathing steadily. Given that, to the best of your knowledge, only one had the experience to safely control gaps, you suspect she is the same Maribel who was most drained from the earlier effort.

[Hello Purvis]

>Pat fainted Maribel on the head.
>"You did good."
>Glance toward the column. Any changes there?

[DracoOmega]

>Pat fainted Maribel on the head.
>"You did good."
>Glance toward the column. Any changes there?

>You pat the fainted Maribel gently on the head and give her some well-earned congratulations.
>"She did, didn't she?" the other Maribel says. "I wonder if I could have done as well in her place. Actually, would I have done exactly the same in her place?"
>The column and associated structures do not seem to have changed in any way.

>"So, uh," Marisa says. "Does that mean we can wake up now?"

[Kasu]

> "That's...  A good question.  I think we might still have to do something about that column though..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It might be that Maribel waking up will handle that. But I can't say... Normally, though, once you two leave someone's dreams, they can wake up normally, right Mugetsu?"