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You've gotten two of the five orbs you need to re-open the House of Change in Dormont, and you've been traveling east toward the closest faint flicker of another orb. All this morning, you were full of foolish confidence that your journey could succeed. At least--up to the fighting the King part. You're still not really sure about that, even with two companions. More have already fought him, and been frozen in failure. But you at least thought you could get to him.
Fifteen minutes ago, Isabeau spotted a large Sadness, and Madame suggested you skirt around and not draw its attention, as it seemed formidable. Someone in the area must have had strong regrets, and you feel terrible for them... but fighting the Sadness would accomplish nothing, as it wasn't guarding anything, and defeating it wouldn't get rid of the emotions that had spawned it, so avoiding it really was the smart thing to do.
Nine minutes ago, just as you all thought you'd gotten by without notice, it'd spotted you.
Five minutes ago it caught up with you, and it's proven formidable indeed. Madame's shouting analysis, her glasses knocked askew from an earlier Craft attack.
"ISABEAU, YOU NEED TO GUARD! IT'S PAPER!"
"I know! But Mira's--!"
Isabeau's either too winded or too focused on watching the Sadness's movements to finish his words, but they hurt all the same. He's been attacking the Sadness to guard you instead of protecting himself. Because he thinks you're Vaugarde's Savior.
Because you've been lying to him. How can you be a savior when you force everyone to save you?
"I'll be okay!" you try to reassure him. "I'm scissors/paper, you're rock, so let me--WAH!" The show of confidence crumples when five of the Sadness's arms rush at you at once, and the only evidence of all your fencing and weaponry classes at the House is a clumsy block with your rapier. Instantly you see how you could have made a parry and riposte, you're leaning too much on paper-style fighting when you need to cut through with scissors, and you're desperately trying to focus on the new set of hands coming toward you rather than listen to your own criticisms. It doesn't matter what happened four seconds ago! Everyone's alive! You're all alive and getting attacked RIGHT NOW.
A third set of hands, you've tried cutting them but they just grow back. A fourth set smacks you in the face and you stumble back, Isabeau shouting your name in alarm, Madame shouting some Ka Buan phrase that you don't know the literal meaning of at all, but you've learned in the weeks of traveling with her that these small lapses mean her Vaugardian--steadily becoming more casual but still overly formal--couldn't possibly convey how upset she is with the present situation.
Couldn't possibly convey how disappointing you are.
Madame slows the Sadness. It helps. You have some precious seconds to get your bearings back, and you can smack away the next two sets of hands that fly at you, even landing a strike of your own, a cut at its core that weeps easily. Then it draws back, its arms retreating slightly into itself.
It...did something like this near the start of the fight.
The many arms jiggle at once, an undulating wave of motion all the more creepy for how it barely stands out against the dark forest at its back.
The tornado!
You scream--you mean to warn Isabeau, but of course nothing useful comes out your mouth, just a keen cry as the air fills with paper. A second later, dozens of sheets slice against your skin. Madame gasps, and you know it must hurt her too, but Isabeau is rock-tough: he's shrugged off so many hits during a fight, seeming like he didn't get hurt at all until he sheepishly asked you for healing after (and you learned not to wait for him to ask but get on him right away), but this assault of Paper Craft is so painful for him that he's screaming, a sound that's heartbreaking--
And then the tornado abruptly stops, all the paper slowly fluttering to the ground. The Sadness...is turning away from you all? You don't understand until you catch a glimpse of light between the inky tangle of its many arms and the forest and realize it's a cloak of pure darkless fabric, your eyes slowly parsing together the equally darkless pointed hat above it, the darker gleam of a knife being held beneath. With the Sadness turning its back to you, you can see a new wound inflicted by that knife.
You've been saved yet again, and whoever your new savior is, they wear a strange style of clothes you don't think you've ever seen before and are cool and calm staring down a Sadness. It's like a scene from a story. The introduction of one of the major characters--probably a love interest or antagonist (or both!) rather than protagonist, but really, an entrance like this could work for any one of the three--
But this is not one of your stories. Isabeau's hurt. You have to protect him.
Madame is quicker on the draw than you. She always is. "Scissors II!" You follow her example--you have to take advantage of the stranger's entrance throwing the Sadness off-balance. Keep pushing it back, keep it away from Isabeau so he can get back on his feet.
The protagonist darts in from the Sadness's other side--you know this isn't one of your stories, of course it's not, but they have all darkless hair even as their quick footwork, twice as fast as you, you feel shamefully slow, makes it clear they're still young, they wear such strange clothing, that entrance--the protagonist darts in and strikes again, and Madame is casting rapidly, Paper Craft now since her Scissors Craft is on cooldown, you need to use your own Craft too, "Jolly Rondo!", and then Isabeau lands a "SMASH!!" before you pull him aside because you need to heal the cuts littering his arms and back right now, you don't think you'd forgive yourself if you didn't, and you make him promise he'll defend himself for the rest of the fight and not worry about you.
Because you're scissors/paper and he's rock.
(Because he shouldn't be risking his life for you at all.)
...The fight goes much better with a fourth fighter, especially a clear scissors type. Especially one so strong. Not just fast, they seem to have very short cooldowns, and little hesitation, like fighting a big Sadness like this is no big deal. They...really do seem like a protagonist.
Though after the Sadness is finally gone, its core hacked into oblivion, and you're catching your breath, you happen to catch their eyes in the narrow gap between their hat's wide brim and the cloak's collar. Staring at you.
Judging you? People keep talking you up as the Savior, and you're trying to be, you're doing your best, and it just...it never feels like it's enough. Isabeau and Madame Odile are too kind to let you flounder--and this person is kind, they helped you all! ...But you're afraid, for a moment, that they already see how weak you are.
If they do, they don't say anything of the sort--instead, after Isabeau breaks the too-loud silence with a laugh and some pleasantries, they finally speak with a rough voice, telling you all to "stay safe" before turning to leave. Which is really more like some mysterious mentor figure than a protagonist, except you don't think anyone's learned anything, and?? This strong heroic stranger just appears as the King is trying to freeze the country, only to immediately disappear again??
...Well, of course they are. This isn't one of your stories, and they've already saved you once, Mirabelle. They have their own life. You've dragged enough people into this quest.
Except then Isabeau asks them to wait, and Odile talks about safety in numbers, and... you know they're trying to get the stranger to join. You know from their point of view it'd be absurd not to try. And even if it weighs your stomach to think of a third person getting wrapped up in your hopeless quest, stuck with a lying false Savior, you...
Vaugarde needs you to try to get all the help you can, even if you don't deserve it. Euphrasie needs you to get all the help you can. So you choke down the creeping guilt as best you can and say, "B, but, you're pretty strong, and if you can, we could really use your help! We're on a journey to stop the King and end his Curse!"