Shadows of the Past

Facility Event: A Crescendo of Courage

Episode 2

Shadows of the Past

Previous Quest

The Stage of Her Dreams

Next Quest

Searching for Materials

Summary

The group is having a blast building the stage in their swimsuits, but the ever-reserved Cleo remains apart from the group and recalls past regrets. Soon thereafter, they head to town to find more materials and publicize the concert.

Dialogue

Ohmigosh, this stage is starting to look kinda adorbs! Pretty snazzy, yeah? Hell, just starin' at the thing lifts the ol' spirits! Then let's make it bigger and lift those spirits even higher! My apologies if this is a tad off-topic, but whyever are you all wearing SWIMSUITS while undertaking a construction project? 'Cause it's hotter than the hubs'a hell out here! That's why! AND 'cause we can play in the water while we work! Even you, Your Highness? I have to admit, it DOES make the work more comfortable. Er, is there a problem? Merely that there is a certain decorum one should observe on castle grounds, and swimsuits are... Aw, it's fine to cut loose every now'n then. Yeah! So stop being a stick in the poo and, like, go get changed already! Well, if you all truly think it is all right... My, but that IS bracing... Now then! To work! Right on! We're gonna embiggen the heck outta this stage! And then my concert will be totally AMAZING! Yeah! Wee-ooo, wee-ooo! Idea Alert! We should have the stage shoot BUBBLES all over the place! Notte? That idea is AWESOME. That way everyone could come in their swimsuits and party down! This thing's startin' to sound like a full-on beach festival—and ain't no beach festival worth its salt what don't have a barbecue! ...... Hmm... Heya, Cleo. Is everything okay? You're over here all alone or whatever. ...I am quite well, thank you. And why aren't you wearing a swimsuit?! Everybody else totally has one on. It is not the place of the prince's attendant to engage in such utter frivolity. Oh my gosh, you need to lighten up. Like, seriously. SER-I-OUS-LY. Perhaps I simply am not comfortable with the idea of donning something so... so terribly EXCESSIVE. But EVERYONE is wearing one! C'moooon! It's suuuuper fuuuuuun... Y-yes, I can see how everyone else has taken the plunge. Nevertheless... Yeah, okay. You do you, girl. I'm gonna head back. This sort of thing has happened before... (I remember the day well. There was a banquet, and all were in high spirits. Everyone was up on stage in flashy clothing, dancing and singing and simply having no end of fun. And there I was, watching from afar. King Alberius noticed my reticence to join in the merriment and came to me...) *murmur* *murmur* Oh no, Your Majesty. I could never... *murmur* *murmur* ...... (I no longer remember His Majesty's voice, nor the words he spoke to me. But I do remember the incident— as well as the way I felt afterward.) I'm fairly sure that feeling was regret. Regret that I didn't join in the fun. And now history has come full circle, yet I haven't changed one bit! I wish I had the strength to do so... No, no, no! Not good enough! Like, NONE of this is good enough! Siren, please calm down. We still have plenty of time. Okay, guys. We clearly need more materials for the stage, but we should also start thinking about how to actually get an audience in here. Perhaps one of us could be a barker who calls out to passersby and informs them of the magnificent show within. Yeah, but we don't have any people for a barker to bark AT. Why don't we go promote the show in the nearby port town? Hey, yeah—there's tons'a folks what pass through there! And hell, we gotta go there to get more stage junk anyway. Sounds like a plan to me. When we get there, we'll divide into two teams. One to promote the show, and the other to gather materials. Then let's LITERALLY get going already!