[[PP - F:01]] Fading Memories

[Mari 1]

A solitary figure stood in front of the monument of life, hand outstretched, delicate fingers running over the names of the fallen. Every time Mari came here… she came face to face with her past, again, and again - the several names etched onto the monument forever a testament to her failings. She failed to protect them. She failed to find any sort of peaceful resolution, and in turn had burned down so many lives.   Just like that burning fire; an orange crystal silently floated above her. Tinged with the colours of her sins. Alerting other players. This person is not safe. Stay away. And many did, others ignored it. Whatever Mari had thought of those people, she didn’t pay it mind right now. The memory of her transgressions had nearly faded from those of Aincrad. She had even paid penance with time. Locked away. Penance came with price. Mari would never forget those lives, but no one could argue that she had not tried to redeem herself. More so than most in this virtual world.

 

Voices tinged at the recesses of her mind, ones she had drowned out. Ones that called her a monster. The guilt. Telling her she didn’t deserve to walk free, even now. What was a few years locked away in solitary confinement compared to a human life? Grief and regret and remorse - they didn't’ change anything. She was still a Monster.

But Mari had time to meditate. Time to reflect. Those voices no longer tore at her, they no longer took control. She had a new resolve, one that could only come from utter isolation.

In the past Mari had made it a habit to come here every week. Just to make sure. And in two years…

Two whole years she had not been able to visit it.
 

Soft blue hues travelled back and forth, yearning for the absence of a name. 
 

No Shield. No Beat. No Oikawa.
 

A sigh of relief fell from her lips. But just as one concern disappeared, another arose to sit 

firmly in its place. There was a name that was repeated, over and over again on the monument. One she recognized. Oscar? 

Oscar. Someone she recognized - a man with an exuberant love for hot dogs. She didn’t have many run-ins with him, but the ones she had…were jovial, carefree - lighthearted. He was good friends with both Freyd and Macradon, right? So - why was someone like that here, over and over again? That was the first cause for alarm.

 

The second, a name she recognized - one she didn’t recall before, but maybe - that’s just because she wasn’t intimately aware of the creature before. The Black Iron Dragon. One of the beasts that guarded the very prison she was now free from. She’d only ever caught a glimpse of it once - when she was being escorted into the prison… why was it the cause of all these deaths?

“Just what the hell happened during my time away..”

 

Spoiler

Mari | HP: 900/900 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 21 | MIT:30 | ACC:3 | KEEN: 1 | EVA:2 | BH:50 | HB: 20 | FLN: 8

Name: Mari
True Tier: 9
Level: 34
Paragon Level: 49
HP: 900/900
EN: 124/124

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 30
Accuracy: 3
Evasion: 2
Battle Healing: 50
Stealth Rating: 3
KEEN: 1
HB: 20
FLN: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
- Darkened Bore | T4 Perfect | ACC I | Keen I | Fallen I
Armor/Trinket:
- Infernal Shadow | T4 Perfect LA | EVA II | Holy Blessing
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
-

Combat Mastery:
- Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
- AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
- Rending Familiar

Custom Skill:
-

Skills:
- Battle Healing R5
- Charge
- Energist
- Light Armor R5
- Polearm R5

Extra Skills:
- Survival
- Hiding R5
- First Aid R2

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
- Focus
- Precision
- Resolve
- Stamina

Mods:
- Meticulous
- Surpise Attack: Trickster
- Untraceable
- Vanish

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:
- Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
- Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
- Alchemist[exp] R10
Gathering Profession:

 

Edited Thursday at 10:03 AM by Mari

[Oscar 0]

It was just one of those days. Oscar woke up and had his morning coffee. As the doldrums of his slumber slowly ebbed away, he suddenly found himself introspective. Over the past couple of years, so much had happened. And he hadn’t truly given himself the opportunity to unpack it all. But the morning routine was not to be denied. Grabbing a pan, he crossed over to his stove. Upon hearing the skillet clattering against the burner, his familiar perked up. The twin-headed cerberus looked at Oscar, both sets of eyes - wide and expecting - bored into him. Oscar shook his head and crossed over to the beast’s food dish - two large silver bowls engraved with the words “Leeroy” and “Jenkins.” He never quite figured out why he even bothered; they never ate out of the correct one.

“Alright boys, breakfast.”

Oscar pulled two materials from his inventory and plopped the small crystals into deach dish. They shimmered in the light, their glow becoming increasingly radiant as their forms shifted. As he turned to return to his work, the two small objects had morphed into two hunks of meat, raw and bloody. He smiled as he heard his familiar’s claws clatter across the tile excitedly. In the brief instant before the kitchen was filled with the sound of frying eggs and sausage, it was instead a chorus of horking and scarfing. As Oscar prepared his breakfast, that introspectiveness rose to a fever pitch. And by the time he was done, he suddenly found that he didn’t have much of an appetite.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Oscar grabbed the still sizzling pan and dumped what would have been his breakfast into his familiar’s bowls. With another, slightly louder, curse, he tossed the skillet into the sink and made his quick exit from the kitchen. He headed for the door, his right hand swiping open his menu. He quickly navigated the interfaces, muscle memory guiding him through the process of making himself decent for an outing. It was not an outing that he had intended to make today, but he needed to do something about this foul mood that was slowly encroaching upon him.

He flung open his front door and stepped over the threshold, slamming it behind him a bit harder than he had intended.

Ever the creature of habit, Oscar went to the place he always did when such a mood struck. It was his singular burden to remind himself of those past decisions that so closely informed his present actions. He had to carry that. To remember every name of every Player-Killer that he had slain. It was the only and final mercy he could give them. A blessing and a curse. He would not let their names die. He would remember everything they did. Every infuriating action that led to their untimely end.

It did little to improve his mood. It made him more angry, were he being honest. But Oscar needed to process. To approach to something close to closure. Closure he would never truly have. Were any of them still alive, he would want to know their motivations.

Why they took the path they did.
Whether they were even capable of feeling remorse.

And, perhaps most importantly, why they made him do what he did.

It wasn’t as if Oscar wanted to pass the blame. The opposite, really. He wore his sins on his sleeve. He wasn’t ashamed of what he did. But he was angry as to what he had had to become. Oscar had fought hard to leave his own monstrous past behind him. The gang ways. The necessary evils to survive in the city streets. The violence and the crimes. Everything he was before he met the man who would become his father. It left him with a single, burning question that he had always avoided. From that fateful day to this very moment.

Was his goodness just a mask to hide his dark intent?

As Oscar approached the Monument, he saw that orange crystal first. But Oscar was not one to strike first. At least not without a conversation. Never without gauging intent. There were at least two Player-Killers that he knew of that always gave him pause. That put the lie to the notion that people were irredeemable. 

There was Tyson, now operating within Oscar’s shadow. 

And then there was-

“Oh, Mari. It’s been a while.”

 

Spoiler

"Name: Oscar
True Tier: 10
Level: 34
Paragon Level: 60
HP: 980/980
EN: 130/130

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 152
Accuracy: 3
Evasion: 1
Battle Healing: 
Loot Die: 5
Stealth Rating: -5
AA 
PHASEVAMP-O: 162
REC: 4

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - <<Kyūketsuki>> T4 KATANA//ABS.ACC/PHASE/VAMP2 
Armor/Trinket: 
  - <<TACTICAL UNDER ARMOR>> T4 HEAVY ARMOR//MIT/MIT/MIT/REC
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - <<IVORY GOLD LEAF RING>> T1 TRINKET//ACC/ACC/EVA/EVA

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R5
  - Energist
  - Extended Weight Limit
  - Fighting Spirit
  - Heavy Armor R5
  - Howl
  - Katana R5
  - Quick Change
  - Searching R5

Extra Skills:
  - Concentration
  - Forgotten King's Authority
  - Meditation
  - Parry
  - Survival

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
  - Ferocity
  - Focused Howl
  - Iron Skin
  - Precision
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Impetus
  - Night Vision
  - Tracking

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - <<CRYSTAL OF DIVINE LIGHT>> ID: 236066 x
  - <<DARK SERAPHIM>> T4 HEAVY ARMOR - VAMP.D2/HOLY BLESSING 2 x
  - <<DIVINE RANCOR>> T4 KATANA - HOLY/HOLY/PHASE/BLIGHT  x
  - <<GLOVES OF CAERUS>> T1 LIGHT ARMOR//3 LD x
  - <<IMUGI'S INSPIRATION>> MASS HEAL x
  - <<RHINO'S HORN>> ID: 236068 x
  - <<SANCTITY'S RUIN>> T4 KATANA - FROSTBITE/BLEED/BLIGHT/BURN x
  - <<TELEPORTATION CRYSTAL>> x

Housing Buffs:
  - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
  - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
  - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
  - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
  - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
  - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.
  - Master Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
  - Master Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
  - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
  - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.
  - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
  - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:
  - Tanos
Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
 - Cooking[5280exp] R10
Gathering Profession:
 - Fishing[100exp] R2"                                                                                                                            

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Oscar

[Mari 1]

Thoughts danced across the forefront of her mind as she went over the list again, and again. It didn’t seem right. It felt…wrong. Rarely did she see anyone's name topple her own and yet here it was. At least five times that of her own - Mari lost count after the mid thirties. Oscars name carved out in a gentle blue hue - a far cry from the red stains that his hands and cursor must now hold. Taking a life, even just one - permanently scarred someone. Irreparable damage. Even the most hardened of people would struggle with the concept. Should she reach out to him? See if he is okay? Could she even? What if he was no longer the man she remembered? What if he had turned into a psychopathic killer?  Mari chewed her lip. Unsure of her next step.

“Oh, Mari. It’s been a while.”

Mari turned to see who had called her name. A man she did not recognise. He stood tall, with the beginnings of a beard on his chin. His shirt open, and brunette hair tied back in a loose ponytail. Her brows furrowed. “Did I know someone this handsome?” She asked herself under her breath.

There was something inherently off about his appearance though. He looked…haggard. His shoulders slumped, and his eyes - a riveting gold seemed dull and listless. Like he had seen some shit. They were tired. His demeanor looked as though he was simply going through the motions. Concern tugged at Mari for this near stranger.

“Do I…know you?” Mari asked quietly, taking one step toward the man.

Oh.

Right…

She had planned to message Oscar.

“Sorry - one moment.” Mari said as she held up a single finger to the man, using her other hand to open up the menu, navigating to her contact information. Ah. She did have it.

 

Quote

To: Oscar
From: Mari
Subject: (none)
I saw the monument.
What happened?

She sent off the message - knowing it was probably a little too short and abrupt, but she was never very good at messaging people even at the best of times. Let alone someone she barely knew. Had she even a right to know?

“It has been a while, but I’m not sure I recognize you.” Mari said tersely, her guard up. She’d keep it up till she figured out who this man was.

Edited 21 hours ago by Mari

[Oscar 0]

It hadn’t occurred to Oscar that he looked far different than the last time he and Mari had crossed paths. When had that been? Honestly, so much had happened that Oscar simply couldn’t remember. Her reaction did take the wind out of his sails somewhat. But it did pull him deeper into his own head. Oscar wouldn’t say that they had been close. She had been friends with Cordelia and, by that measure, landed firmly within Oscar’s good graces. But to her credit, she was almost unrecognizable too. He couldn’t give her a hard time.

But she looked tired - sad. And it wasn’t hard to guess why. That orange crystal hovering over her head was a pretty clear sign.

“I guess I have had a bit of a glow-up since you saw me last,” Oscar said.

This had probably been the longest amount of time that he had settled on one particular appearance. Changing his face had been second nature for the longest time. Much like her, he’d fallen off of the radar. Too afraid or too proud to let the people he cared for - that cared for him - to help him in his crusade. And what a massive waste of time that had been. There was a world in which he hadn’t been so stupid about it all. One that probably left more room for mercy.

But that was not this one.

Oscar nodded as she held up her finger, watched as she quickly typed away a message. The chime came almost immediately. He mirrored her gesture, holding up one finger himself. “One moment,” he said. He knew, of course, who the message was from. But he was curious as to its contents. Reading over the message, Oscar dismissed the interface with a swipe of his hand and a slight sigh. She really didn’t recognize him.

“I went to war,” Oscar said. “Against the monsters. And I won. Or I’m winning, I guess.” He gave her a shrug, hoping that understanding would strike sooner or later. “Where have you been holding up all this time? Figured I’d run into a lecture at some point or the other.”

 

[Mari 1]

The handsome man seemed almost amused at her ignorance - but his amber gaze shifted up to her crystal and there was concern etched on his features. Almost as soon as Mari had sent off her message - the man held a finger up to her.

Wait…

It could have been a coincidence - an unlikely one - but a coincidence all the same. It wasn’t until he replied to her that Mari realized that this was Oscar. THIS WAS OSCAR? She reeled, taking a step back. How embarrassing. She had just been meaning to reach out to him and he had been standing here this whole time. “I…uh…” She felt her cheeks heat - he must think her a right fool. “I didn’t know you were-” She stammered. Then paused. No. This wouldn’t do.

One.
  Two.
    Three.

It took three large steps for Mari to broach the gap between them. “What?” This was Oscar? This tired looking man? “Oscar…” Her tone dripped with relief as she reached out to cup his cheeks in her hands. Failing that, because she was a little too short Mari huffed, her hand twisting around the leathers of his chest and pulling him down - so she was actually able to place her palms on his cheeks. So she could look at him eye to eye.  “You’re not…” Her eyes shifted up to the crystal that floated above his head. “You’re not…” There was a quiver in that second, as though she were on the verge of crying, but such emotions didn’t spill forth. Mari took a deep breath. “I’m…so relieved you don’t have an orange crystal Oscar.” Her hands lingered on his cheeks for a moment. Leaching from their warmth before Mari let go.

“A glow up is an understatement.” She joked as she took a step back. And she was right, he…looked good. If it weren’t for how tired he seemed to be, that is. But Mari held her tongue on that for now.

“If I may be honest.” Mari began. “It doesn’t look like you’ve won shit. If anything…it seems like you’re just destroying yourself.”

That was harsh.

Mari shifted her gaze away. “Sorry. I just…that path is rough. But you don’t need me to lecture you on it.”

He asked her where she was, and Mari all too readily took the conversational shift.

“I was locked up in the Black Iron Dungeon for the past two years.”

 

[Oscar 0]

Oscar’s eyes widened in surprise as he was suddenly yanked down to eye level with Mari. It had been entirely unexpected - both the gesture and her feat of strength. Oscar prided himself on not moving unless he wanted to be moved. But, of course, his guard was down. And as she examined him, he examined her. He’d never really noticed the freckles that dotted her face, that cascaded down over her shoulders. Or the fishnets. And it took all of his self-control not to remark about them.

The reunion was oddly serious. Another unexpected development. It took him a moment, distracted as he was by her hand on his cheek. But slowly he began to do the math. There was Mari, standing at the Monument. Remarking that she was glad that he didn’t have an Orange Cursor. It began to click no sooner than the thought passed his mind. The mountain of bodies in his wake - either through his direct or indirect intervention. It would be easy to get the wrong idea, especially after so long without being in contact.

Oscar’s targets had been the irredeemable. The ones that lusted for blood and death. The elements in the dark corners of this game that sought to sow pain and discord among the Players. The ones that used the advantage in their numbers game to try to hinder the goal of escaping.

The ones that refused the one shot they would ever get at clemency.

“Just one of those days,” Oscar remarked. “You caught me in a rare mood.”

Frankly, he had hoped that he wouldn’t run into anyone that he knew while in such a headspace. But Mari would perhaps get it just a bit better. She looked every bit as weary as he did. And, perhaps, for similar reasons. But he wasn’t quite ready to get into that heavy talk. Introspective and slightly guilty as he felt, a pretty face had become a very real weakness of his in recent days.

And she was certainly cuter than he remembered.

Those feelings of guilt only intensified as she revealed where she had been. The Black Iron Dungeon was, in Oscar’s opinion, one big garbage disposal. A place for the condemned to languish until they died. Oscar had raided the halls, the unique mechanics contained therein lent themselves well to using it to deal with the elements that Aincrad simply did not need. There was a mixture of fear and concern that bled together with relief that she managed to make it out. But if she did, so could other people.

And that fucked up Oscar’s entire plan.

But there was something else. Indignation, perhaps? Offense almost certainly. It was a place meant for garbage. Ideal for grinding them up so that no one had to waste their time, breath, or efforts dealing with them. And it struck him that Mari had been there for so long.

She might have had a past. And she might have been many things.

But she was not nearly monstrous enough to deserve to be kept there.

“You should have told me,” Oscar said almost immediately. “You didn’t deserve to be there.”

 

[Mari 1]

“Told you?” Mari asked. “Oscar…We don’t know each other that well.” And it was true, their run-ins with each other were few and far between. “I know Cordellia, I see her as like…a little sister- but you - I hadn’t even told Macradon where I was.” A small snort as she shook her head. “Ya can’t message people when you’re in there but-” Her words weren't meant to hurt him, she just wanted to make it clear that no one...no one had known where she was bar one. It was lonely...she was lonely

This conversation…it didn’t quite suit them just standing there - by the monument. “Here.” Mari said with a level of authority to her tone as she looped an arm around his and began to drag him away from the spot. It’d do neither one of them any good to stare at that thing. Mari had done what she came there for - to ensure people she cared about were still alive. And Whatever Oscar was doing there …that could wait. Mari could tell that he needed …he needed something. She wasn’t entirely sure what - but the answer did not lie at that testament to all the lives lost. Mari knew all too well where ones mind went when you stared at your sins for too long. She knew the weight of a life. She knew how heavy the action weighed on the soul. And Oscar clearly struggled.

So there she was; someone who barely came up to his chest - dragging the man, the beast behind her like he was a lost pup. As they broached the invisible order that designated the safe zone Mari’s grip around his arm instinctively tightened. Were his muscles always so taught? Did he always smell like earthen wood? A Quizzical gaze shifted behind her to look at him. It was hard to picture the jovial hotdog man to be this tall stoic figure. Mari wanted to know what happened - what lead him to as he put in his own words…go to war - but this was not the time or place. Instead, Mari offered him a comforting squeeze of his arm.

Mari had lead them to a small lake; the early morning rays danced upon its rippling surface - and the area smelt like fresh grass. It was a place Mari enjoyed. The two trees nearby bloomed, and white blossoms drifted gently on the warm breeze. Birds fluttered to and fro - singing, trilling happily amongst themselves in the branches above. Mari finally let go of him - and took a few steps to distance herself. Missing the warmth that he bought. But that warmth was not hers to take. A pang of loneliness tugged at Mari but she pushed it down and away. Instead, she simply sat by the lake - and continued their conversation as though no time had passed. Giving him the answers he sought.

“It was self admittance.” Mari said quietly. “I was breaking. I couldn’t handle things anymore - so. I allowed myself to be taken.” She snorted. “Of course, it didn’t help the APD were after me either. So maybe a part of it was…out of spite? If anyone was going to imprison me, it’d be me.  I had a ward. Raidou - who would check on me weekly. Without him I don’t think I’d have ever been able to leave that place. Its a fuckin’ maze - guarded by all manner of mobs and that dragon. You say....I didn't deserve to there - but Im a serial killer, Oscar. I did deserve it. I deserved to spend the rest of my time in Aincrad there.”

That dragon…

Was its name always on the monument?

“Ah - I’m rambling.” Mari patted the ground beside her. “Come sit. I’ll answer anything to the best of my ability.”

Mari had questions of her own, but just by looking at him, she knew it would do him no good for her to ask.

Edited 1 hour ago by Mari