The Linear Thread

[Channelknight Fadran]

Holy gods almighty I love this woman.

[Mystic Syn she/her]

Q was the first to pull away, crying softly. “You came back,” she said, repeating it softly.

[Channelknight Fadran]

Ellis pulled her close, holding back tears of his own. "Y...yeah. I guess I did."

[Mystic Syn she/her]

“Ahem, excuse me?”

Q pulled away again, looking back at Highness, who still wore a smile. “Yes, do you mind if I borrow Q for a moment? I need to talk to her.”

[Channelknight Fadran]

"I'm sorry, does nothing about 'she just died and we need a moment' mean anything to you?"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Gerald's soul flows from the amulet and reforms into his floating squid form. The arm reattaches itself happily. Gerald blinks in surprise as knowledge from the arm trickles into his mind.

"Huh," he says. "I died."

His gaze turns to the amulet Ellis dropped. It seems dimmer now, as if drained of power. He picks it up. It is indeed a dream crystal; he realizes that now. He winces internally as he remembers Y snatching it from him.

"How did you get this?" he asked. "From the... person who had it last."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Long story." Ellis replied. "But I brought you guys back with it."

[Mystic Syn she/her]

28 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I'm sorry, does nothing about 'she just died and we need a moment' mean anything to you?"

Highness opened his mouth, but Q held up a hand. “Ellis,” she said, “I’ve been meaning to have a conversation with him. We won’t be long. After all, I am my own person and can make my own decisions.”

“I only need a few minutes with her,” Highness piped in, raising an eyebrow. “Then you can have your moment. She’s known me the longest.”

[Channelknight Fadran]

He let out a breath. "Okay."

[Mystic Syn she/her]

Highness nodded towards Ellis, then gestured for Q. She followed without saying a word, picking up her knives from where she dropped them and going out of earshot to talk with the older man.

If y'all really want to know what they were talking about, here :pp

Spoiler

  Mixed feeling churned in Q, making her feel uncomfortable as she was still trying to come to terms that she was back in the Physical Realm. Not only was Ellis and Melody there, but he was. Q wanted to scream at him, but something held her back. Only screaming about it would make her seem like a child, especially not knowing what Highness told them about her. It was for the best that she wasn't a bother to anyone about this man. They didn't need to know what he'd done with her, or how right he was by knowing that she was just a cold-blooded murderer. It would have her lose the only people that seemed to care about her. She can't lose that after being alone for so long.
  Mmm, but how long will they stay with you? Krow mused.
  She didn't say anything, continuing to follow Highness to be out of earshot. Highness eventually turned around to face her.
  “Why are you here?” she asked, not showing her resentment.
  Highness raised an eyebrow at her. “You were taking your time coming back, so I decided to help them with that.”
  “Maybe I wanted to die.”
  “Please,” Highness scoffed. “You're too emotionally attached to them to just give up.”
  “Maybe I am, but that doesn't give you reason to come here and lie about yourself and what you did to me in the past.”
  “What I did to you? I didn't do anything to you. Everything that you're suffering from is your fault. I had nothing to do with it.” He stared at Q, no remorse showing in his eyes. “I didn't tell them everything, of course, because they didn't ask or press about who exactly I am, not that you know.”
  A stab of guilt tore through her. Of course he's right, she thought bitterly. The only person I can blame for Ma, Da, Ishido, Huoyan, and Meznyx's deaths is only me. He had no part in it. Maybe she was just overreacting. The more Q thought about it, the more she felt like she was acting like a child. Highness was only protecting her, no matter what measures he took to make sure she was. Q was only complaining and making her own life worse, not Highness. She just needed to suck it up and deal with it.
  “Fine,” Q said, letting out a breath. “What do you want? You obviously wanted to talk about me about something.”
  “Remember our conversation in the Inbetween?”
  “Yeah, but I'm not killing Ellis, no matter the time limit.”
  Highness cocked his head. “Just for that, Angel,” he said, “the time limit's been shortened to three days.”
  “I'm not going to follow it,” Q snarled.
  “Oh, really? Like what you did with your family, Meznyx, and most importantly, Huoyan?”
  “I––” She turned her head, her head aching from the memories and the tears that wanted to escape.
  Arms wrapped around her in a hug, this one feeling more familiar than Ellis'. Q didn't say anything, her thoughts threatening to betray her. This person knew her better than anyone else, no matter what they said. He understood her, even if he wanted her to do things that hurt her not just physically, but spiritually and mentally. Highness was the only one that could give her the love she deserved, not Huoyan... or Ellis. He was the only one that could make her feel useful, not anyone else that came across her way.
  “Why?” Q whispered. “Why do you want him killed?”
  At first, Highness didn't say anything, letting the silence hang there. He pulled away from the hug, cradling her face with one hand. Q tilted her head against his hand, feeling comforted, like what her mother did when she was upset. “Yulong,” he said softly, calling her by her given name, “eventually you'll understand, but right now, you will just have to trust me.”
  “I don't want to be responsible for another death,” she whispered back. “I don't want to see him... dead.”
  “I know, Angel. I know. But in life, you will have to do somethings that will hurt both you and someone else. Later, you will understand why you needed to do that. If I told you now, there would be no point in His plan, let alone the plan They have for you.”
  Not understanding who he was talking about, Yulong just nodded. Highness was the only person she could trust. Everyone else had left her for dead. They said they loved her, but in reality... they only wanted to use her. He'd never been wrong about these kinds of things, why would she not trust him now? Maybe... maybe what Ellis said and did wasn't real. Maybe the emotions she was feeling just what Ellis wanted her to feel before betraying her and leaving her again. Maybe he just came back to make her feel confident that they were going to be alright, and preparing for the ultimate betrayal.
  “Kill him in three days, or I will come personally and make sure that you do it,” Highness whispered in her ear.
  Q nodded again, the feeling of mortality coming back again, the same feeling that made her not want to come back. But she was given another chance, for some reason. “I...” A single tear traced down her cheek. “I'll do it.”
  “Thank you. I know it's going to be hard for you, but it's your fault for making yourself so vulnerable to attachments. You know they will only leave you.”
  He hugged her tighter, and she returned it, believing that everything will go the way he wanted it and she will finally be free of the attachments.

Now don't ask me about it later.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

The air sparkled as Fate appeared.

"Congratulations on your success," he remarks.

[Channelknight Fadran]

Ellis let out a breath and took the amulet from Gerald. "What... is this thing?"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

9 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Ellis let out a breath and took the amulet from Gerald. "What... is this thing?"

"A dream crystal," replied Gerald. "A small one, but still fairly potent."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"And it can... bring people back to life?"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

"No," interjected Fate. "But it can bring them back from the brink of death."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Ellis looked up at Q and Gerald. "You mean they weren't completely dead?"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

7 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Ellis looked up at Q and Gerald. "You mean they weren't completely dead?"

"Gerald's soul was bound to the amulet. Q was on death's door as you passed through the portal a few moments ago, but you brought her here just in time."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"I see."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

28 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I see."

"So!" said Fate with a clap. "You've revived your friends, as promised, and acquired the dream crystal, as promised. Now it's time for you to do a favor for me."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Ellis frowned. "I thought you just wanted it."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

25 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Ellis frowned. "I thought you just wanted it."

Fate snorted. "I am the dream crystals. If I exist at all, it is as the fabric of reality itself. Possessions mean nothing to me; only the threads they wind. And the thread of this object is of particular interest indeed. As I stated before, I will need you to deliver it to a specific location in this world."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Where is that? And why?"

[Condensation she/her]

On 8/18/2021 at 8:16 AM, Channelknight Fadran said:

Ellis nodded. "Right.

He took the amulet, then grunted involuntarily as a surge of power washed over him. Ellis collapsed to his knees, suddenly shaking uncontrollably.

What... is...

"Melody." He said through gritted teeth. Nothing else escaped his mouth.

Yeah, I'm running out of stuff to wri--

"You'll be okay. Right?"

What?

"I..."

Oh, scu--

...

...

What in the...

What's...

I let out a breath. Then another. The pain is still there, but I don't comprehend it. All I can feel is the infinite power rushing through me. For a moment there, I felt like I'd been somewhere else... but now I'm here again.

Looking up at Melody, I wiped my brow. "This is... weird."

"What's weird?"

On 8/18/2021 at 1:46 PM, Mystic Syn said:

A cough came from the newly revived Q. She fell down to her hands and knees, the coughs quickly turning into gasping; not out of pain or sickness, but because of the tears. Q breathed heavily, then looked down at her hands. She quickly got to her feet, her twin blades flashing from their sheathes as Q fell into an unknown stance, the tears still streaming down her face, now contorted with anger. However, the anger melted when she saw them, fading into shock. Q lowered her knives as she took in her surroundings.

“Highness?” Q asked, turning towards the older man, taking note of the silver spot on his clothing.

Highness nodded, smiling, then gestured to the others. She followed his hand to…

“Ellis? Melody?” The knives fell from her grasp. “Don’t tell me you’ve died too.”

"No, you're alive! Hi!"

On 8/18/2021 at 4:29 PM, xinoehp512 said:

Gerald's soul flows from the amulet and reforms into his floating squid form. The arm reattaches itself happily. Gerald blinks in surprise as knowledge from the arm trickles into his mind.

"Huh," he says. "I died."

His gaze turns to the amulet Ellis dropped. It seems dimmer now, as if drained of power. He picks it up. It is indeed a dream crystal; he realizes that now. He winces internally as he remembers Y snatching it from him.

"How did you get this?" he asked. "From the... person who had it last."

"Gerald! I stole it - I was invisible! And it was Y!"

[Mystic Syn she/her]

18 hours ago, Condensation said:

"No, you're alive! Hi!"

“So I’ve been told,” Q said, walking back to the group, Highness seeming to have disappeared. “Guess it’s what I get for having someone care for me.” She folded her arms, regarding Fate for a second before looking back at Ellis. “So, what’s our next move?”

[xinoehp512 he/him]

On 8/19/2021 at 3:00 PM, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Where is that? And why?"

"This world is not natural in origin," replied Fate. "It was built from scratch by a master craftsman, grown from a single seed. The place where that seed was planted still exists in this world, hidden and forgotten though it may be. It is there that Y was going, and there that I want you to take the amulet."

On 8/20/2021 at 6:41 PM, Condensation said:

"Gerald! I stole it - I was invisible! And it was Y!"

"I know, I was there- or, well, the arm was!" He frowned. "It disturbs me that she's going after an artifact of such power... although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."