In the Wake of Everything [Cherry Post-Story]

Subject: In the Wake of Everything [Cherry Post-Story] Sun Jan 22, 2023 9:59 pm

Seeing the snow and ice melt slowly over the Highrises of Napoleon was a refreshing sight indeed. A huge swathe of the city had been blanketed in both for so long that one could easily forget it wasn't always like that. Spring was finally on its way. Or could you even call it that? Much of the Darkness that held Paris in a firm chokehold was waning away, balance returning after Khalli's resounding fall in "Reality". Lucille had returned to her rightful place in the world she had sought to protect. It gravely hurt to be separated from her dearest friend again. It was not a decision she had made lightly, but ultimately, the Dark Shadow of Earth had been her home for so long. She couldn't just abandon them. Cherry, Retuo, Zacharie... Hugo. Oh Hugo. He was still mourning, the death of his poor sister weighing heavy on the young one's heart. Too much for someone so young to bear.

But her sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. Looking over the Desolation now, the traces of Darkness giving way to how things used to be, it was all worth it. No more demons. No more oppression... No more hiding. She kept telling herself that Sonia would be proud. Proud to have been a part of something like this.

Of course, Abzu didn't plan on staying here for all too long. Her friends in Reality, her true home, still waited for her return. She had told them as much, once humanity was truly on the path to a full recovery would she return. Leading the remaining survivors had fallen on the capable shoulders of Rosario and Retuo both. Rosario had grown so much since they first met that fateful day. When his Persona finally awakened. He was the one to take the initiative on the reconstruction efforts. Making Paris habitable again. Plenty of people still remained unaccounted for in the lost vaults beneath the city. They needed to know it was once again safe to return topside.

Zoé and Les had both wandered off, outside of Paris altogether, in search of others who had survived the Collapse. Which left Cherry, Hugo and Abzu herself. Abzu made herself useful wherever they needed her. Be it in the reconstruction efforts, or in searching for lost vaults left behind by Clovis. Cherry stuck to her side ever since they first set foot on the Shores of Heaven. Whatever became of that place, Abzu was unsure. Had the Light there begun to recede just as the darkness had here, in "Hell" as Zoé had so eloquently coined their home?

"Soon, Luci... We'll soon be together again." Abzu whispered to herself, clutching the gold necklace hanging around her neck. A keepsake left at the Cradle for her. That's where everything had gone down. Things Abzu herself had no recollection of. When the World Unsundered broke apart, as Khalli's body and soul was torn from one another. Because of Lucille's intervention, Khalli, or the Countess as they knew her by then, lacked physical form in Hell, where she was forced to make use of Puppets, willing or unwilling, to do her bidding. Krim had been once such piece to the cunning god. Through him did Khalli find her body in Heaven, uniting two parts of the whole that once used to be. This joining of worlds had left what remained of the world scarred for eternity. Such wounds would never go away, but perhaps that was for the better. Reminding everyone that "Hell" was one part of a whole now.

"It needs a name..."

Posts : 349 Join date : 2021-05-06 Location : In my room

Hell.

Cherry had spent her entire life in hell. And that still weighed heavily on her mind. Really it shouldn't by now, the teenager had plently of time to think about it. She and Gale had discussed the topic in great lengths. But it was just still so weird to think about. Although that was hardly the most shocking thing to have occurred to her.

For one thing, Cherry found out the truth about her 'mother' and her real parents. And that was..... Something alright. She still was not fully comfortable being around her real parents truthfully, and honestly she doubted that she ever would be able to truly treat either of them as her real mother and father. Perhaps in another life she could have stayed with them, had a nice, safe life. But that wasn't the hand she was dealt. And as for her 'adoptive' mother, well.... Cherry could not say that she held any love for the old witch anymore. But at the same time. She could not exactly bring herself to hate her either. Seems even after all that happened, at the end of the day she was still a bit to soft hearted for her own good.

And of course, realizing that her arm was in FACT a demon weapon was another blow to the system. Honestly looking back at it now, she felt a little silly that she somehow deluded herself into thinking i- That HE was anything other then that. But she guessed the guilt was just to much for her to bear, honestly sometimes it still was, but Gale says he has moved on and Cherry has learned to let some things go. Even if often they had to be forcefully torn from her grasp in order for her to let them go.

Although, not everything was doom and gloom.

"What does?" Approaching the robot, she would find Cherry with a soft smile on her face. Her large demonic tree for a arm dragging behind her as always with her other hand wrapped around a long white blade that she had picked up along the journey. Her long blonde hair had continued to grow and had now even reached past her waist, although now instead of caked in dirt, mud, and filth, bright flowers were nested in her locks.

Plopping down next to Abzu, seemingly no charging about the mushy, melting snow underneath her she shot Abzu a teasing grin. "Y'know you shouldn't talk to yourself so much~ People are gonna think you went crazy, and if we went through all that without losing our noggin's then you better not go nuts on me bow heh." Her words were good natured and filled with mirth, before she let out a heavy breath.

"It.......... Really IS over now, isn't it Abby?"

"Hm? Oh, our world. Our home." Abzu had almost forgotten that Cherry had been 'Window shopping' for some trinkets or goods from the old days, just like how they had first met. Perhaps Abzu had just been too lost in her own thoughts to have noticed her companion sneaking up on her. "We can't just go around calling this new world of ours "Hell" anymore, can we?" The faintest of chuckles escaped her lips, looking out over the expansive parking lot. The supermarket wasn't far away. Neither was the ruins of Rosario's old vault, Lemuria, from which Krim had escaped. Where the Countess had first made contact. "Oh, don't mind my idle musings. I'm just thinking aloud, that's all." Another sigh left the android's lips. "I just miss them, y'know? Lucille. Patricia... Marcus." Within her mind's eye, she could've sworn she had seen them smile back at her then. Her comrades. They had been through it all together. Fought against the spread of ZERO, and the Countess... Even in Heaven, Abzu, Cherry and Lucille had stood side by side, fighting tooth and nail to give Sonia's soul the rest she deserved. The visage of Sonia's frostbitten, broken body laying at their feet was one she would rather forget. Must've been even worse for Cherry. Beset by nightmares perhaps? But now at least, their wayward savior, had been buried under Sinner's Rest, a world apart, but at peace nontheless.

"I think so... Well, we've for sure seen the last of the Cou-No. Khalli. And Arax's Hordes have all but faded away. All we can do now is what we've always done. Endure. Survive. Rebuild. There's much to be done." The android gave her companion one of her all too rare smiles in turn. "Its a lot of work, but at least we're free."

Posts : 349 Join date : 2021-05-06 Location : In my room

With a soft smirk, the girl could not help but give a simple shake of her head. "I dunno. 'Hell' described it pretty well." As much as she boasted otherwise, she knew for a fact that if it wasn't for her friends and some bouts of luck, that she would probably be among the fallen that gave their lives so that those who remained could try to build something from the ashes. "Hmm...." Pursing her lips in thought, she nodded. "I don't suppose the name 'Cherryland' would be taken to well, would it?" Still smiling her eyes were directed upwards to the sky. Coming up with a actual name for the world would be hard, and truthfully she felt like the task was not fit for her to handle. As much as she loved the peace she and her allies had brought about, as proud as she was of it all, this place would always be 'Hell' to her. For better or for worse. "I know....... I miss Sonia..... I even miss mom." The large bulky fingers of her arm twitched slightly as she recalled the elderly woman's death.

Gale had told her that girls her age shouldn't have had to see anybody die. Perhaps now they made a world where no other girl would have to? "But really, I think I turned out fine! Better then Hugo and his mama at least..... I really should go visit them sometime.... Never really know what to say though." Gale was better at that type of stuff and both weapon and wielder doubted the family wanted to hear the voice of a aging old man talk about death through her body. Free..... Yeah. We really are.....

Turning to look at the purple haired girl, Cherry let out a soft sigh. "Not sure what I am gonna do after everything is all fix though..... I think my parents want me to come back to them, see if we can't be a family. Gale wants that too but.... I just don't think I can do that."

"Heh... Zoé wasn't the most elegant with names, but for the state our home was in, Hell sure was an apt name." The world they had left behind when they took their first, unsure steps into heaven... that world had sure been hell. Now, Abzu wasn't quite sure. For all the lives that were lost to pave the way for a brighter future. Wages of blood paid in full for those they could concievably save. Sonia died as she had lived. Protecting that future. Had she not interviened, Lucille would've been turned into a Nephilim too. Along with the rest of them. Charity didn't leave any survivors wherever she went. The first, and strongest Angel. What the Sinners of Heaven called a 'Virtue'. The Light's answer to the Archfiend Oryx, and his commanders in Hell. The journey had been long. Sonia had seen most of it. And for her sake, Abzu, Cherry and the rest had promised to finish the fight she had started. For the lives they could yet save. For a future unclouded by fear.

"At least he's got plenty to occupy himself with. Clovis left quite a mess of vaults under ground. More than we thought. If Vault Messiah and Orion were any indication." Vault Messiah... Where they had met Clovis's sorrow. His biggest regret made manifest into a simulacrum. A Man-made shadow of his own daughter. Something to fill the void left behind in the aftermath of ZERO. Clovis had made her well. A bit too well. Retaining most of the original's fighting capability, summoning perverse and twisted mockeries of the Personae she used to wield. What other secrets had the late Clovis left beneath the earth?

"And maybe that's okay. You don't have to make a decision now. Not while there's so much more left to do." Abzu smiled, ruffling the brave, young fighter's hair. "Though that is your decision to make. Not mine. And I have things to do here still. I cannot go see them. Not yet, while there's still work to be done." Cherry knew just as well as Abzu that this wasn't where the android belonged. She was born of the world made whole, the world as it used to be. Now that she had her Persona again, what other reason did she have to stay? Her friends. They still needed her. "I will return in due time. But I cannot in good conscience leave so much undone here."

Posts : 349 Join date : 2021-05-06 Location : In my room

She nodded her head in agreement. "Mhmm. He really went crazy with them. Can't say that I wouldn't have done the same thing if I was in his shoes though..." It was a interesting what if. But that was all that was in her mind these days. Cherry didn't have time for another one. Nor could she stomach it.

At the ruffling of her hair, the young lass puffed her cheeks out in a adoreable fashion. Her pale cheeks full of character from the many scars gained fron surviving the wastelands of Hell and raging against the fiends that ruled over it. Some deep, others faint. "Geez! Come on! I am not a little kid anymore!" She huffed out, although her voice lacked any type of real heat to it. If anything the smile on her face showed off her true feelings on Abzu's actions more then her words ever could.

"Indeed she isn't miss Abzu." Came the voice of her demonic weapon through her body. "She turned sixteen last week~" Gale said in a patronizing voice. Like a grandfather would use to pester their granddaughter. Which worked quite well in this case. Her cheeks flaring with a pink flustered hue.

Knocking her fleshly knuckles against the wood, the blonde rolled her eyes. "Shuddup.... That's plently old! If she was old enough to help save the world then she might as well be a adult! Or so she so often said. "Well. The help is always nice and it's..... Even nicer to be able to spend more time with you." Smiling at her brightly, Cherry closed her eyes. "I went to get a check up at the doctor again. She says that she is pretty confident that with Gale's help, that she can learn how to properly treat my body." She was not sure if she believed the woman though. She had a tree for a arm, vines wrapped around all her bones and organs, even flowers in there. It was honestly a damn miracle she was alive and kicking right now to begin with.

She was not to scared though. Nothing was wrong with her now and even if their was, well, Gale could possibly help and if all else truly failed, then Cherry thinks that she had left a big enough mark on the world to rest should things come to that. "Anyways Abby. I gotta think of a new nickname for myself, since I am not really a demon hunter anymore. I was thinking of 'Cherry, the Heroine of Hell!'" She waved her srms around in the sky dramatically. "Whaddya think? Pretty badass huh?"

"Each vault its own little treasure underneath, wouldn't you say? " The tunnels burrowing deep beneath the city housed what little there was left of humanity, at least here, in Europe. Countless refugees had sought shelter here when the first demons had sprouted forth from the United States. At the time, she had thought they really came from someplace else. She believed that this calamity had been something out of their control, and she lamented the fact that Lucille wasn't there. Now she knew the whole truth. That the demons sprouting from the Sins of mankind after Lucille had sundered the world in three parts was a direct consequence in that act. Perhaps that had been part of Khalli's plan since the very beginning? Regardless, Demons and Angels both were born from the hearts and souls of man, a fact which... disturbed her. Being Darkened, losing ones soul to forces unknown, turning into a monster... She had been dangerously close to crossing that threshold. The new core that Clovis had built saved her from that fate. Others weren't so lucky. The Darkening was still a phenomenon they knew very little about. Not that they needed to fear them turning, with Khalli and Arax's influences gone.

"Haha, right. That you're not." After everything this young girl had been forced to see and fight against... no one could hardly call her a "little girl" anymore. In front of her stood a strong, young lady, ready to shepherd Hell towards a brighter morrow. How long had it not been since they had reason to smile and laugh? "Few could claim otherwise. She's seen the worst of it too. Braved more than many men and women she'll come to know. I'm full proud to see what a strong, capable warrior you've become, Cherry." She had watched over the youngling like an older sister would. Been there to protect her through thick and thin. It hurt, knowing that they'd have to go their separate ways eventually.

"Well, you've given me and mine lots to talk about once I return." With a sense of pride did she finally embrace Cherry. "That's good to hear. They'll need you healthy and fighting fit for the years to come, I'm sure. So stay strong, alright?" A faint chuckle escaped the android's breath, her smile warm and inviting, much in contrast to the android that Cherry had found on this very parking lot one year ago. So much had changed. "Haha, that it does. A title well earned, I'd say."

Posts : 349 Join date : 2021-05-06 Location : In my room

"Oh yeah! Totally! There is always a ton of cool stuff down in there! Like just last week I found a vault, it was full of these funky looking things. I think they were called 'Funko Pops?' Not really sure, but it was totally rad and...... Uh you were probably talking about the people under there? Right...?" Cheeks a little flushed from her ranting, Cherry found her hand having moved to stroke her own hair. Straightening it back out a bit after Abzu had ruffled it. The teen never could be called a 'girly-girl.' Truthfully a vagrant never could be. And even now as she was starting to ingrain herself more into a budding new society, or at least as much as she could, she still desired to sleep next to a roaring fire or hoard up as many neat knickknacks that she has come over. But she has recently grown a bit fussy over her hair care. And skin. And really everything health wise truthfully. Almost sixteen years without a constant and safe source to bath yourself seemed like hell to her now that she learned the pleasure of hot bathes and showers. Even if Gale still complained about being water logged.....

Filled with pride, she puffed her chest out with a smile that towed the line between being smug and being wonderfully endearing. "Heh! That I am! I think I did preeeeeeetty dang good work for a chick without a Persona!" It used to eat her up inside that others had the power over Personae and yet she didn't. These days though, she was mostly over it. Sure it would have been cool to have, but even after all that happened, she could not say in good faith that she would give up Gale for a Persona, should the option ever be given to her. "Of course you were really skilled too, even before you got your new core back, you kicked some serious butt! And you saved my own more times then I can count." Admittedly both of them had probably saved each others lives more times then could be reasonably counted, but she was sure that if they did, that the amount of times that Abzu pulled it off would have exceeded Cherry's count. If only one or two times...... Maybe three or four.

Smiling brightly, her spindly right arm wrapped around the robotic woman. Her natural flesh pressing against the synthetic skin that hid her metal frame underneath it. "Of course Abby. You stay healthy too alright? I want you to live for as long as you can." Which was probably quite awhile. She was already pretty old. Benefits of being a ASSW she supposed. "Glad you agree! I think that is what I am gonna call the book I'll write about what all that happened..... Well after I finish my reading lessons at least. I am almost there though! I can read french and I am almoooooost done with english!"

"Yes, mostly. There has to be more of them, right?" The longer she thought about it though, the more she came to doubt herself that it was people she was hoping to find. "Well... I suppose I was hoping to find others like myself. Androids who survived the sundering. Who took shelter with the people in hopes to protect them." Too little she knew about her 'siblings', if you could refer to the other androids as such. "I know there's for sure more of my kin over in "Reality", but this was the world I've lived in for the past three decades. I was hoping... maybe a little of my legacy would stay behind." She sighed, looking over the parking lot. "Heh, you went above and beyond what was expected of you. A hero in your own right. Alongside your friends, I think the world's in good hands." The moment of her reawakening had been a tumultous one. Abzu herself was embarrased to recall it. Her core darkening fully... The countess getting inside her brain, and forcing the shadow within to emerge. But from her broken body left behind in the wake of their clash, a new Abzu was born. From a core brought to her by Cherry and Rosario. And with the help of Colvis, she was back on her feet in no time, now with her persona awakened again. Stronger than before, bolstered by Abzu's newfound resolve, and the promise that she wasn't going to fail her friends again. Since she had returned from Reality however, Abzu had found it more difficult to summon her persona. It just didn't come to her as naturally as it used to here. Perhaps she just needed rest. After all, since that fateful confrontation with Krim and Khalli, nothing had remained the same.

"Well, if it wasn't for you and Rosario, I wouldn't be sitting here right now." She sounded a bit more blunt than she had intended. "And, I think I have achieved my purpose here. Every day, it becomes harder for me to summon my persona in full. It grows fainter every time. I'm no longer needed here." She found that her conclusion caused relief. That her powers were fading was perhaps a good thing. A sign that the danger was finally over. "Don't worry about me. My core's still working fine. And seeing as I'm going back to a world where Clovis is still alive, I think I have a good many years ahead of me still. Powers or no, I'll be safe. Happy."

"You're writing a book? Well, I suppose its worthwhile to document what we've been going through somewhere. For future generations and all that." But who in their right mind would read that story and read it as truth and not fairy tale? Once Cherry's Generation faded away into obscurity, so too would the memory of the other worlds, and the struggles they faced. Although, so long as the Clovis A.I was still functional, its archives would keep a solid record of everything that had happened before and after the doors to his vault first opened since the calamity struck Paris. "Something for the coming generations. One day, our deeds here won't be remembered, but maybe that's okay. So long as man is on its way to recovering, that's all I'd care about."

As the two had been talking, they slowly made their way across the parking lot, past the supermarket where she first had seen her wayward heroes awaken. Where they first saved her. "Just a little further. I think Clovis said something about a hidden vault by the old Border to the Dead Zone. In our haste, I think we may have missed it." What awaited them inside this mystery vault... was anyone's guess.

Posts : 349 Join date : 2021-05-06 Location : In my room

"I'd hope so! I love those little Funko thi- And you are talking about people again....." Clearing her throat in embarrassment, the teen shook her head and listened to the worries and concerns of her friend. Smiling she rested a fleshly hand upon her shoulder. "I am sure that there are Abby. You just have to give it some time. Paris wasn't saved in a day ya know~!" Winking she playfully stuck her tongue out at the lass before humming. "Yeah that is fair. My powers are still pretty solid though. I guess maybe it is because I was born here or something? Or maybe it is just a weird Demon thing about Gale? He has alot of weird stuff about him." She stated before looking away for a moment. ".......You're core prooooooooobably wouldn't have gone dark if you didn't use those umbral stuff though. Just saying." Cherry never once used them and a point of conflict between the two girls was often about Abzu's abuse of them. Truthfully it was a miracle that Cherry held off on doing a 'I told you so' for this long.

She nodded her head. "Yeah. I am having trouble with it though, I mean I know I am gonna tell it through my perspective but I am not sure how much to include or how much to leave out..... I will have to ask the others really." Pausing, the blonde puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "It better not! We all busted our butts saving this world, I think the least people can do is remember our names!" The idea of being forgotten was a terrifying one. She wanted her name to be ingrained in paper, in data, for years to come. The names of her friends too.

"Alright then. Let's see what's inside....." She grinned as she went to open the vault door. A sense of ease overcoming her as she remembered that, no matter the uncertainty of the future. Or the trauma of the past. That Cherry was alive in the present, doing what she loved.

And in the wake of everything?

That was all that mattered.

[END]

» Cherry's left arm (Cherry clear's demon weapon)
» "I robot. And I Cherry." (Cherry and Abzu SL)
» Can a cherry blossom bloom even in autumn? (Cherry and Autumn SL)
» Wake of Humanity - AU Marvel
» Wake of Humanity - AU Marvel