#i won't tag the others cuz if i tagged every single character that appears in here they wouldn't all make it to the tags

[somacruising]

TALES OF THE RAYS: THE GREAT COLISEUM REVIVAL (PART 5+6)

(Part 3+4) || (Final Part) 

SCENE 5

Meiu: We’re back! ただいま帰りましたですの！

Luke: I found a guy over here who can write a script, so I brought him over! こっちに演劇の台本書けるって人がいたから連れてきたぜ！

Guy: All right, let’s have them write a script based on a popular motif, one we could easily act out. よし、既存の有名な話をモチーフに、簡単に演じられそうな台本を作ってもらおう。

Kocis: Miss Mileena! I got clothes and scraps of cloth we could use for costumes. ミリーナ様！近所の人から衣装に使えそうな洋服と端切れをもらってきました。

Mileena: Thank you, Kocis. We can start making costumes as soon as we decide on the script. ありがとう、コーキス。これで台本の方向が決まり次第衣装を作れるわね。

Tear: Mileena, since you’re a good seamstress, I think you and Kocis should handle the costumes. ねぇ、ミリーナ。あなたは裁縫も上手だから衣装の方はあなたとコーキスに任せてもいいかしら。

Mileena: What about you and Anise? ティアとアニスはどうするの？

Anise: You’ll need stage props, right? I’ll head by the lumberyard. 舞台には大道具も必要でしょ？材木扱ってるところでいらない物を分けてもらってくる。

Tear: I’m a little rough around the edges, so I believe I’m best suited for handling large things. 私、ちょっと大雑把なところがあるから大きな物を扱った方が向いているように思うの。

Anise: Tokunaga can easily carry everything for me ♪ トクナガがいれば荷物運びも余裕余裕 ♪

Emil: Oh, I’ll help you with that. I can help figure out where things should go since I used to make sculptures. あ、だったら僕も一緒に行きます。僕、彫刻みたいなことならできるから舞台装置に協力できると思うし。

Marta: I’ll go with you. 私も一緒に行くよ。

Emil: Don’t worry. We’re getting enough help from people in town. 大丈夫だよ。街の人たちも手伝ってくれてるし。

Emil: Marta, you’ll be fighting the next round, so be sure to rest. マルタは次の戦いもあるんだから休んでて。

Marta: You’re going to fight, too, Emil, aren’t you? そんなのエミルも一緒でしょ。

Emil: I’m strong, so I’ll be fine. 僕は体力あるから大丈夫だよ。

Asch: Call a meeting with the city council! I want to make sure they know about the play! 街の自治会を招集しろ！舞台の告知を徹底させるぞ！

Asch: The name is Tales of Stage, which combines the ancient Tir Na Nog word for story and the word for stage. 名称はティル・ナ・ノーグの古代語で物語を表すテイルと舞台の意味を掛け合わせてテイルズオブステージ。ティステで行く。

Asch: I’ll send a team to the port as soon as I can. 急いで港に宣伝部隊を走らせる。

Natalia: Asch, if you want to talk to the locals, I’ll come with you. アッシュ。自治会の方とお話するのでしたら私も一緒に参りますわ。

Asch: No need, I can handle this much on my own. You should be resting for the next fight. いや、この程度の差配ま俺一人で十分だ。ナタリアは次の戦いに備えて休んでいる。

Natalia: Asch… アッシュ……。

Natalia: There’s no way I can take a day off when everyone is working so hard… みんな働いていらっしゃいますのに私一人が休むなどできませんわ……。

Marta: I know… そうだよね……。

Marta: —Say, I’ve got a great idea! ——あ、いいこと思いついちゃった！

Natalia: My, what is it? まぁ、何ですの？

Marta: I think everyone’s going to get hungry from working so hard. みんな一生懸命働いてるんだからお腹がすくと思うんだ。

Marta: I'm sure they would love it if we set up a soup kitchen! 炊き出しの準備をすればきっとみんな喜ぶよ！

Natalia: …A soup kitchen? ……炊き出し、ですか。

Marta: What? No good? え？駄目？

Natalia: I… cannot cook very well. 私……料理は苦手なんですの。

Marta: Really? Oh, I get it. That’s because princesses don't cook for themselves. そうなの？あ、そうか。お姫様って自分で料理なんてしないもんね。

Marta: But that's why I think everyone would be thrilled if you cooked them something with love. でも、だからこそ、愛情込めた差し入れなんて作っちゃったらみんな感激すると思うけど。

Natalia: …Is that…is that right? ……そう……でしょうか？

Natalia: …Well, it is certainly not a good idea to avoid something simply because you are not good at it. ……まぁ、確かに、苦手だからといって何もしないでいるのは良くないことですわよね。

Natalia: It is only when we overcome our difficulties and look at reality that our future will open up to us. ちゃんと現実を見据えて苦手を克服してこそ未来が切り開けるというものですわ。

Marta: Yes, that’s right! All right, Natalia, let’s surprise everyone! そう、その通りだよ！よーし、みんなを驚か��ようね、ナタリア！

Natalia: Yes, let’s! わかりましたわ！

Meiu: …Master, Marta and Natalia are going somewhere together. ……ご主人様、ナタリアさんとマルタさんがどこかへ行っちゃうですの。

Luke: …Hm? They’re probably going to rest up for the next fight. They’re gonna be in the play and the tournament, so we should leave them alone. ……ん？次の戦いに備えて休むんだろ。あいつら武闘会にも参加してるから大変だろうし、そっとしておいてやれよ。

Townsperson: Luke, Guy, is this the kind of script you guys wanted? ルークさん、ガイさん、台本の方向性はこんな感じでいいですか？

Guy: You finished already!? Let’s see… Huh? The Abyssmen vs The Phantom Thief of Ispania? Luke, was this your idea? もうまとまったのか！どれどれ……。え？アビスマンVS怪盗イスパニアの星？ルーク、これ、お前のアイデアか？

Luke: Huh? You don’t like it? I haven’t read a lot of books, so I guess I don’t know what kind of story you want. え？駄目か？だって俺本なんか読まないからどんな話がいいのかよくわからねーし。

Guy: Luke, both of these are children’s stories… いや、これはどっちも子供向けだからなぁ……。

Meiu: Mieu…? みゅぅ……？

SCENE 6

Townsperson A: The script is ready to print! 台本の印刷が上がってきたぜ！

Townsperson B: It’s time for the costume fitting, so call the cast members! 衣装合わせを行いますからキャストの方は集まって下さい！

Emil: You look really happy, Mr. Asch. 何だか嬉しそうですね、アッシュさん。

Asch: It looks like Tales of Stage is coming together well. テイステも何とか形になりそうだからな。

Asch: Aside from that, stop being so formal. Our ages aren’t that different—actually, you’re a spirit, aren’t you? それより敬語なんか使わなくていい。大して歳も変わらないだろ——って、いやお前は精霊、だったな。

Asch: I’m not entirely sure what a spirit is, but it sounds like I’m a fledgling compared to you. 精霊という存在がどんなものかよく分からないが、俺の方がひよっこか。

Emil: Oh, Ratatosk is the one who’s lived a long time… My personality was formed after his. Or, maybe you could think of me as the other side of him? あ、長生きしてるのはラタトスクの方で僕はその……後から生まれた人格というか。いや、もう一つの側面？

Emil: …I’m sorry. I don’t understand myself very well, either… Oh, right, you don’t want me to be so formal. Sorry. ……すみません。僕も僕のことがよく分からないんです……ってあ、敬語は無しだった。ごめんなさい。

Asch: …Has Ratatosk ever treated you like a fake? ……お前は、ラタトスクから偽者扱いされたりはしないのか？

Emil: …A fake? Ratatosk…gets annoyed by how timid I am, but I don’t think he sees me that way. ……偽者。ラタトスクは……僕の気弱なところにイライラするみたいだけどでもそんな風には思われてないと思うな。

Emil: If anything, it’s someone else who acts like I’m a fake. それにどちらかというと、僕らのこの姿がある人にとっては偽者みたいなものだから。

Asch: …I apologize. I don’t really understand, but it sounds like I’ve asked about something difficult. ……すまん。よく分からんが言いにくいことを聞いたようだな。

Emil: Mm. So, why did you ask me about that? —Oh, but if you don’t want to say, then… ううん。でもどうしてそんなことを？　——あ、言いにくいことなら……。

Asch: …Did Jade ever tell you about our world’s fomicry technology? Or anything about replicas? ……ジェイドからフォミクリーという技術のことを聞いたことはあるか？或いはレプリカのことを。

Emil: Fo…mi…cree? * ふぉ……み……栗？

Asch: Nevermind…it’s fine if you don’t know. いや……聞いていないならそれでいい。

Asch: (Even I…figured it out. Luke and I are different people.) (俺だって……本当はわかっている。ルークと俺は別人だと言うことぐらい)

Asch: (Luke didn’t know a thing, but I hated him so much I wanted to kill him.) (以前は何も知らなかったルークを殺したいほど憎んでいた)

Asch: (But, now, Luke’s found himself and I’m left with this uneasy feeling—almost like fear.) (なのに今は、自我を持ったルークという存在に、怯えのような感情を抱いている)

Asch: By the way, do you know where Natalia and Marta are? そういえば、ナタリアとマルタはどうした？

Emil: Huh…I don’t see them anywhere. あれ……確かに姿が見当たらないね。

Kocis: What the hell is this—!?!? なんじゃこりゃ———！？！？

Asch: Was that the eyepatch guy’s voice, just now!? 今のは、あの眼帯の声じゃないか！？

Emil: It came from the square! Let’s go! 広場の方だね。行こう！

     [ Asch and Emil run to the square ]

Asch: …W-what…is this…? ……な、何だ……これは……。

Emil: Everyone’s collapsed… 街の人たちが倒れてる……。

Asch: Hey, re—Luke. What’s going on!? おい、レ……ルーク。何があった！？

Luke: —Huh!? Did you just call me ”Luke”!? ——え！？今、俺の事ルークって言ったか！？

Asch: If you aren’t Luke, what are you!? You dreck! お前がルークでなくて何なんだ！？このクズがっ！

Luke: What are—blegh… 何だと——おぅぇぇ……。

Asch: Hey!? D-don’t vomit right at me!? うわっ！？こ、こっちに吐くな！？

Kocis: Shit…the Imperial army’s using food terrorism…! …Oh…I’m gonna throw up… くそ……帝国軍の飯テロか……！……あ……吐く……

Emil: Kocis!? コーキス！？

Mileena: I never thought they would poison a soup kitchen… But why would the Empire do such a thing…? まさか炊き出しに毒を盛るなんて……。でもどうして帝国が��んなことを……。

Meiu: Meeeiiuu!? Master, what’s wrong!? みゅみゅみゅ！？ご主人様！？どうしたんですの！？

Luke: …My stomach is cramping…it hurts… ……胸が詰まって……苦しい……。

Meiu: You ate so much that you’re in agony!? Natalia and Marta will be so happy to hear that! 苦しくなるほどたくさん食べたんですの！？ナタリアさんもマルタさんも喜ぶですの！

Luke & Asch: Natalia!? ナタリア！？

Mileena & Emil: Marta!? マルタ！？

Asch: Wait a minute. Is Marta also…? ちょっと待て。マルタもアレなのか……？

Emil: Eh…you mean, Natalia, too…? え……まさかナタリアも……？

Mileena: Everyone!! We’re shutting down the soup kitchen immediately!! みんな——っ！！炊き出しは中止よ——っ！！

Jade: In the meantime, all seriously-ill patients will be handed over to Jude. とりあえず、重篤そうな患者はジュードに引き渡します。

Jade: Also, I prepared an antidote ahead of time in case something like this were to happen. Please enjoy testing out this experimental concoction for me… あとは、こんなこともあろうかと私が調合した解毒薬がありますので実験がてら飲んで頂くというのも……。

Luke: Seriously!? I refuse to…—ugh… マジかよ！？それだけは断固拒否す……——おぇ……。

Tear: Luke!? First Aid!! Healing Circle!!! ルーク！？ファ、ファーストエイド！！ハートレスサークル！！！

Anise: I’m so glad~ Tear and I were making props so I was saved from the soup kitchen~ よかった～。ティアと一緒に大道具作ってたから炊き出し食べ損ねて助かった～。

Guy: …I don’t want to hear it. I want to cry after accidentally eating some. ……言うな。うっかり食べちまった自分のうかつさに涙が出る。

Kocis: Guy, you only had one bite. I was…mmph… ガイ様はたった一口じゃないかよ。俺なん……てうっぷ……。

Natalia: …I cannot apologize enough. I didn’t think it would turn into such a catastrophe… ……面目ございませんわ。まさかこんな大惨事になってしまうなんて……。

Marta: I’m sorry… We wanted to try making rice balls and miso soup… ごめんなさい……。おむすびとお味噌汁なら私たちでも作れると思ったんだけど……。

Mileena: I-I see. I know neither of you had bad intentions here. そ……そうね。二人とも悪気はなかったってことはわかっているから。

Mileena: It doesn’t look like anyone’s life is in danger. I’m sure everyone will forgive you if you apologize properly…I think. I should apologize as well. みんな命に別状はないみたいだしきちんと謝れば許して貰える……と思うわ。私も一緒に謝るわね。

Asch: I'll go with you to apologize as the person in charge. 俺も責任者として一緒に謝りに行く。

Natalia: No… The fault lies with Marta and I. Well…mainly with myself… いえ……。これは私とマルタのしてしまったことです。というか……主に私が……。

Natalia: I knew that I should not have been cooking. やはり料理などするべきではなかったのですわね。

Marta: I should have known better. I was the one who started it. そんなことないよ。言い出しっぺは私だもん。

Marta: But, what should we do? Most of the Tales of Stage staff have all collapsed… でも、どうしょう……。テイステのスタッフほとんど倒れちゃったよね……？

Emil: It’s far from just the staff, even some of the cast members… スタッフどころか、キャストも一部ね……。

Jade: Should we cancel the play? It's about time for the guests to arrive for the event. We'd better call it off. 中止にしますか？そろそろ舞台と決勝戦目当ての客が到着する頃です。早く連絡した方がいい。

Mileena: —No, we can still do it. Thankfully, some people were able to escape the food… ——いえ、やりましょう。幸い、まだ被害を免れた人も何人かいるから……。

Guy: However, things won't go as originally planned. We can't move the stage set now. We'll have to narrow down the cast of characters for the play. とはいえ、当初の予定通りとは行かないぜ。舞台装置も動かせない。劇の方も登場人物を絞るしかないだろうな。

Natalia: I will help however I can. 私でやれることは何でもやりますわ。

Marta: Me too. I’ll work harder than anyone. 私も。人の何倍も働くよ。

Emil: If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. 僕にもできることがあればやらせて。

Asch: …With so few people available, I guess I'll have to step up. ……こうも動ける人数が少ないと俺も出るしかないだろうな。

Jade: Ouch…now that I think about it, I may have eaten from the soup kitchen as well. Aah, I’m so dizzy… おっと……そういえば、私も炊き出しをいただいたような気がします。あーっ！目眩が……。

Mileena: Jade, please take your own concoction or be prepared to work. ジェイドさん。自分で調合した薬を飲むか、働くか覚悟を決めて下さい。

Jade: …My, my. You’re a bad girl, abusing an old man like this. ……やれやれ。年寄りをこき使うとは悪い子ですねぇ。

Luke: …You bastard…you were going to make us drink something you won’t even drink yourself. …Ughh. ……あいつ……やっぱり自分でも飲めないような薬を飲ませようとしたんだな。……うっぷ。

*As a fun little anecdote, Emil sounds it out in kana and kanji, which vaguely translates to “women three chestnuts.”

[underfell-crystal]

HAHA TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY. I'll most likely write a third one today. Make sure to check out the art I've done for this series with the hashtag #StoryGlitch: UnderFell or #SG: UF !

I do not own any of the characters other than Crys, the girl with the white hair.

~~~Chapter Two: Meeting the Boss~~~

When Crys awoke, she was immediately assaulted by the smell of mustard. She blinked blearily at her surroundings, and heard a VERY loud snore from right next to her. She jumped, then looked to the side. She was greeted with Sans' sleeping face. Or, rather, she assumed he was sleeping. He still had a grin on his face, but his eyesockets were somehow closed. Fascinated, Crys squirmed into an upright position in his arms and pressed a small hand to his cheekbone. The bone was surprisingly warm, and tingled lightly under her touch. Sans grunted and snorted again, shifting at her touch. Crys touched the bone covering his eyesockets, and one opened, revealing a red light inside it.

Sans blinked at the small human child that was inches away from his face. "Uh.... kiddo? Whatcha doing?"

Crys tapped the bone above his eyesockets.  "How?"

"Huh?"

"How do your eyes close? You're just bone."

Sans chuckled, the rumble shaking Crys' entire body. "Well, babybones, I'll tell ya a secret."

Crys looked at him with large, curious eyes. Sans continued as she hung on his every word. "Now, ya can't tell anyone about this, okay? The secret is..... It's.... magic."

He winked conspirationally, grinning as Crys frowned, disappointed with his lack of explanation.

"That's not a real answer!"

"'Course it is, babybones, ya just don't like it."

Sans stretched and yawned. Immediately, Crys reached out her tiny hands and touched the edge of one of his sharp teeth.

"Ah... kid?? Wha ar ya 'oin?"

Crys was too busy poking his shark teeth to answer. His large hands carefully took hold of her wrists and pulled her hands away from his mouth. Crys huffed, and Sans chuckled nervously.

"Uh... don't go around pokin' into people's mouths, okay kiddo?"

Crys nodded and sat back on Sans' 'stomach'. Sans grinned at her.

"Want some food now?"

Crys nodded eagerly, and Sans picked her up again and shuffled into the kitchen, reheating a plate with two hot dogs on it. After they were done, Sans set her on the couch and gave her the plate. Upon further inspection, Crys noted that the hot dogs had tiny cat ears and a feline face carved into it, and solemnly ate the cute little thing. She was almost done with her first hot cat when a faint shout broke the silence. Sans jumped, then swore.

"Shit! I forgot Boss' shift is over!"

Sans scooped her up, looking down at her apologetically. "Sorry kid.. I'm gonna keep ya hidden, okay? Jus' don't move around too much."

Before she could protest or question him, Sans lifted up his red sweater and dispensed Crys into the cavity beneath his ribcage and above his pelvis. A moment later, his sweater went down, leaving Crys with very little light. The shouting was quite close now, and she heard the sound of a door being slammed open, a sharp, grating voice ringing through her ears.

"Sans! Why the fuck weren't you at your post earlier?!"

Sans coughed. "Well, Boss..... I uh.... jus' overslept is all."

The grating voice got shriller, and Crys winced, covering her ears. "Sans, you lazy ass, what if a human came through?! We must be on guard at all times! Do not let me catch you slacking off again, or I'll dust you!"

Loud, stomping footsteps made the stairs groan, and a door slammed somewhere. Sans let out a breath, his shoulders sagging. He lifted up his sweater and removed Crys from his ribcage.

"Sorry, kiddo... that was m' bro."

Crys blinked owlishly at him. "He didn't seem very nice."

Sans chuckled, though it seemed empty. "Yeah.... but he's a real softie."

Sans ascended the stairs, human child secure in his arms. He shuffled past the first door, entering the door with odd colorful flames coming out from under it. He closed the door and set Crys on the mattress on the floor. He sat down in front of her.

"Okay, babybones... we need to get ya a disguise."

Crys tilted her head. "What for?"

Sans looked nervous. He rubbed the back of his 'neck', looking away. "Listen, babybones, people.... aren't very nice down here."

"But you're nice," Crys pointed out. Sans let out an amused huff.

"Yeah, well.... everyone else isn't. And they'll likely want ta hurt ya and take yer Soul."

"My Soul?"

Sans gave her an odd look, before a look of understanding crossed his face. "Okay, babybones, don't panic, okay? I'm gonna show you yer Soul."

Crys nodded slowly, still confused. Sans leaned forward and pressed a large hand against the front of the red sweater, and when he drew it back, he was holding a blue heart. Sans sucked in a sharp breath, and Crys looked up at him. His gaze was locked on the heart in front of her. "Babybones.... what happened to yer Soul? Who hurt ya?"

His tone was low, almost a growl. Crys looked back at the blue heart and saw that it was cracked- a single white crack down to the center of the heart. Crys couldn't find it in herself to answer him. Sans cupped his hands around the blue heart gently, like he was holding a baby bird. Finally, his gaze lifted and met hers. "Babybones.... yer Soul is damaged... 's halfway through shatterin'... what happened to ya?"

Crys' throat was dry. She licked her lips and looked down, fidgeting with the hem of the sweater. She saw a couple white particles floating around her legs. "I.... I dunno... there was a man with blue strings... I kept going back, until I found a way to.... to escape... it hurt so much... I..... my momma..... I couldn't- I couldn't..."

Sans flinched as her eyes welled up with tears, his gaze darting down to the small blue Soul in his hands. He carefully moved closer and let the heart go back into Crys' chest. He picked her up and sat down on the bed, stroking her hair as she started to cry into his sweater, murmuring soothingly to her. More white particles appeared as she cried, the memories of the pain and the screaming resurfacing and hitting her like a tsunami. Finally, when she was all cried out, the particles slowly disappated. Sans rested his skull on top of her head, still running his bone-fingers through her hair. "Shh, babybones.... 's okay.... yer okay..."

Crys gulped and took a shaky breath, tilting her head back to look at him. "I-Is that why m-my.... Soul is broken...? 'Cuz of the man with the strings?"

Sans looked regretful as he nodded. "'Fraid so, babybones... and I dunno if ya can be healed... never seen a Soul halfway through shatterin'."

Crys sniffled, a couple white particles appearing around her arms. "So I'm gonna be broken forever?"

Sans shook his head, sensing her growing distress. "Yer not broken, babybones... yer strong. Ya lived through a huge amount of trauma. That's crazy!"

Crys looked up at him, tears slowing their waterfall down her face. Sans grinned at her. "Yer the strongest li'l human I know, babybones."

Crys smiled shakily at him, wiping away her tears. Sans nuzzled the top of her head, still cradling her protectively in his arms. "Let's get ya somethin' new to wear, yeah?"

Crys nodded, and he stood up, walking over to a messy closet. He began sorting through the clothes with one hand, holding her with his other arm. He grunted, pulling out a few articles of clothing and a pair of shoes that were far too large for her. He shuffled back to the bed and laid out his findings on the bed. There was another sweater- a black one-, a red hoodie that looked it could drown her in the amount of fabric, a pair of thick yellow socks, and a pair of black trousers. Sans turned away as she pulled off the tear-stained sweater and dressed in her new garments. She struggled to tie the shoes with the long sleeves covering her hands, but Sans came to her rescue, lacing them up tight enough so she wouldn't trip over her feet every time she took a step. He chuckled.

"Yer tiny, babybones... ya need some actual kid-sized clothes."

Crys nodded. She knew she looked ridiculous, with the huge shoes on her feet and the hoodie that was obviously meant for a person much bigger than her. Sans shuffled over to the closet again and came back with a white cloth mask with a cartoon smile printed onto it. Crys stared at it, then at Sans. "What's that for?"

Sans let out his rumbly laugh. "So ya won't be immediately recognized as a human, babybones."

He tied the mask around her nose and mouth. Some of her skin was still showing, and Sans moved her hair so most of her forehead was covered. He surveyed her with a 'this is good enough' look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but an angry shout interrupted whatever he was going to say.

"SANS!! Get your lazy cocyx down here before I drag you out myself!!"

Sans turned towards the door, grumbling. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!"

Apparently he wasn't going fast enough, because as he was reaching for the door, it was slammed open, a very, VERY tall figure looming in the doorway. A pair of cold red lights locked onto Crys before turning to Sans.

"Sans..... what the fuck is that?"

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~AHAHAHAHA NOW I AM THE WIELDER OF ANGST AND FLUFF. Feel free to ask questions about the story, share your thoughts, ask headcanons, or send fanart! Make sure to check out the cover art and other drawings I've done for the series with the story tags! Thanks for reading, my gems!~