Work Text:
She allows him to hold her longer than usual, as she steadies her breath. "Wait, I need to do something before we go." She mutters, leaving Vax's arms. "It's important."
He hesitates, still keeping her close. "Don't stay up too long, you'll have to leave early tomorrow." He mutters, with worry in his voice, before allowing her to do so.
"I know, I know, I just-I need to speak with someone." She explains. There are bags under her eyes; it's been a while since she's had a peaceful rest. Nightmares plague her every night, and she feels weaker than ever. Now she gets why Percy always looked so restless when they first met. Vax nods, already heading upstairs. It's their last night there. Each has something equally important to do.
Walking across the walls of the Whitestone castle has always been weird for her, but now it's especially odd. It's like she doesn't belong there, like she's invading something sacred. The castle that stood for so long has now fallen multiple times, coming back from the ashes, just like her.
But there's someone who isn't going to come back anymore.
It's cold inside. The walls have cracks, and there are multiple broken windows that allow the cold of the night inside the building, and she isn't wearing any sleeves. She descends with a little, weak flame in her hand and arrives at the De Rolo family crypt.
She remembers the first time they were here, one or two years ago. Following the Briarwoods, with Cassandra alongside them. When that demon still possessed him. It has rained a lot since then, and now, there's a brand new tomb in the middle of the room, surrounded by candles and flowers of people who mourn him. Citizens, friends, and everyone who once met him. Multiple red lilies, wrapped around his body, came from her.
"Hey, Percy," She says, approaching the stone and sitting with her back against it."It's been a while since we last spoke, hasn't it?" She mutters, clutching her chest as she presses her body against the stone. "So much has happened." She whispers. "I have time, I'll tell you everything."
"First of all, we killed Thordak. Crazy, I know. We did it! We actually took down the Cinder King! We had a lot of help, yeah, but Pike and Vax dealt the final blows. It was amazing," she chuckles, expression immediately darkening. "You missed it. But it would have been a lot easier if you were there. You should have been there. Also, Kash died. We've been dealing with a lot of loss lately. It's not fair, it really isn't. You should be here, too, instead of Ripley. That bitch, I wish I had gotten there earlier, I wouldn't have let her—" She pauses. There's no point in thinking about what she would have done to the woman, now. She ran away, and it's not her who's going to go after her, as much as she wishes to. That's the twins' business.
"Raishan betrayed us. I-I would say I told you, but I don't think it's the most important thing now. She's got Thordak's corpse, and we don't know what to do. Maybe she'll just leave it there, maybe she'll become far more dangerous than she already is. We have the vestiges, though. Maybe we'll stand a chance against her. If we managed to kill the biggest dragon, maybe we'll be able to take her down too. Maybe we won't." She pauses again. She's been fighting the urge to cry for a while now, but she can't break down. She hasn't even told him half the things that have happened in his absence.
He's not going to come back. It's not temporary. He's already dead and gone; the ceremony has happened. It's the end, he's fully gone. His soul, whatever bound him to this life, has shattered. It left before they could get the chance to pull it back.
He's missed so many things. He will miss so many things. He'll miss the new dawn on Whitestone; he'll miss seeing his people rise again. He'll miss them defeating Raishan; he'll miss all the celebrations and recognition his team will get. While they will get songs, books, and everything heroes get, he'll be remembered with a minute of silence, and all texts written about him will be written in the past.
She shakes her head and sighs, swallowing her tears. He would want to know what is happening. He always cared so much about all of them. She'll cry when he's caught up to speed.
"Cassandra has been recovering well. She's been fighting like a beast; it's great that she's getting some rest. She misses you a lot, but I think she's trying to keep herself strong. You've left her alone with tons of injured people to rule, Percy, that's kind of an asshole move," she laughs to herself, but it's instantly replaced with sorrow. He would laugh, too, and assure her that as soon as Raishan was killed, he would return and take care of his city. "She's not doing so well."
"Scanlan came back, by the way. He gifted you Kaylie's song. It was a really sweet gesture." She sighs, pressing her knees against her chest harder. "He feels guilty. He wasn't there when it happened, and he even missed the funeral. There was a big funeral, an enormous ceremony. You would have probably hated all the attention, but the people cared a lot about you." Her eyes fill with tears once again, but she resists the urge to cry. She wasn't there when it happened, either. None of them were. Maybe, if they had gotten there in time, he would still be alive. "But Scanlan fell unconscious after the Thordak fight. Pike is very worried; he hasn't woken up yet. I hope he gets better. If we lose the two of you..." She doesn't finish the sentence; she can't bear to. She pushes that possibility away.
"Me and Vax...We slept together last night. I remember, as soon as the night ended, my first thought was how I had to tell you about this, that you would love to hear it. And then I remembered. It hurts, y'know? I have no one to talk about this stuff anymore." She laughs to herself again. "You asshole. You got to tell me all about your night with Vex, but I never got to tell you anything." She sobs and looks up. "You'll never get to tell me anything anymore."
The man carved into the stone of the coffin isn't her Percy. He doesn't look like him. He's missing his glasses, to begin with. He looks serene, quiet, peaceful. That was the Percy everyone saw, but he wasn't like that. He wasn't like that with her.
"The group is tearing itself apart. It's not the same without you. We miss you so much." Tears begin to fall down her cheeks. "I miss you. I miss my best friend, Percy. I've lost my best friend, man, you should be here. Tomorrow, I'll go with the Earth Ashari. It's that and water, I'm almost done with my Aramente. You should be there, I don't think you'd like missing it. It's going to be awesome." She laughs between sobs. Gods, this is so bad.
"It's so weird thinking that you're not going to come back, y'know? You already came back from the dead once, back when we returned to Whitestone. Everyone thought you were dead, and you returned. Why can't you do that again?" She asks. It's a dumb question, it's almost childish, but who's going to judge her? "Asshole. I should stop insulting you, shouldn't I? Maybe you'll come back just to scold me. Asshole." She repeats.
She glances at all the other tombs in the room. There were all people with lives, she thinks. People who might have grown up to do great things, she thinks, just like Percy. For what he has told her, children were killed that night, children that now lie here behind the lid of a coffin. She stands up, looking at the tomb. Whoever has carved his figure definitely knew what they were doing. He still looks weird without his glasses.
"You probably want to hear about Vex, don't you? She's...Well, she's not doing great. We all knew, y'know? You two weren't exactly quiet. Every room of the Chateau, damn." She laughs to herself. That wasn't even that funny, she immediately thinks, and goes back to the topic. "She's completely heartbroken. And she loved you. I told you, it was insanely obvious, but...She loved you a lot. And now you're gone."
She stays quiet. "Well, I think that's all. I'll come back soon, when everything's done. Don't worry, at the very least, Ripley will be dead soon." She traces a hand over his stone hands, making a beautiful, dark red flower bloom in between his hands. Others begin to flourish, covering the tomb's surroundings and giving it a soft red hue. "See you, Percy. I'll come back to tell you everything you need soon."
She'll need to get used to this. He went too soon, yes, but in some years, a long time for humans, barely a fraction of her lifetime for her, Vox Machina will begin to die soon. And she won't have anyone to blame, just time itself.
Grief is something she isn't used to dealing with. But since she joined Vox Machina, many have died. The Fire Ashari was attacked by Thordak when he first freed himself from the fire plane. Kash and many of their friends have died. Percy, her best friend, is gone. And in a few years, all of Vox Machina will leave her, soon. Her friends. And she'll be alone.
Time will be to blame, then, and there will be nothing to do. But now, the least they can do is take down Ripley, Raishan, and make sure Whitestone lives.
He'll live as long as Whitestone lives, after all.