Inspired by /u/SheZowRaisedByWolves' Banlist Narratives
Warning: footnotes indicated by [#]
Wen climbed down from the tank she recently had installed in the apartment to keep Pettlephin closer to her. She was currently pulling strings off her back.
"Stupid Shaddoll strings, it's been a month since I stopped hanging out with them, but I keep finding these dang strings everywhere," the mildly damp tamer sighed, putting the bucket of fish she finished feeding Pettlephin with back in the refrigerator.
"Well, sweetie, you should have known better," Elder replied.
"But Grandpa, Grandma Winda said they had cookies!"
"Well, did they?"
"No..."
A dejected Wen was leaving the kitchen when her nose wrinkled at the smell of ammonia. "Lara, come clean Apelio's litter box!"
"In a minute, the banlist is about to be announced!" shouted the teenage tamer from the living room.
Hearing the announcement, Wen, Elder, and Pilica rushed into the living room to see the broadcast in progress.
"Newly Unbanned: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit Burner, Dragon, Ruler of Sparks, Gladiator Beast Bestiari, Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness, Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts, Lonefire Blossom, Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles, Stream, Dragon Ruler of Droplets, Goyo Guardian, and Hieratic Seal of Convocation."
Elder and Pilica took a seat on the couch on either side of Lara while Wen got comfortable on Kamui's elderly knee [1].
"Would you look at that, Uncle," Pilica mused, "the baby rulers are back. I wonder if it's because of that Dark Matter guy."
"I don't know, honey, but I have a bad feeling..."
"Newly semi-limited: Qliphort Scout, Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En, Nekroz of brionac, Charge of the Light Brigade, and Sacred Sword of Seven Stars"
"Ha, serves Brionac right!"
"Lara, be nice," Elder chastised the psychic.
"What? He grabbed my ass at regionals last week."
"Doesn't he know you're fourteen?" Pilica inquired from her side of the couch, cradling Rampengu like her baby and rubbing his belly [2].
"Yep..."
"Gross! Too bad about Scout, though. He was a nice guy," Pilica lamented.
"Yeah, but they were definitely our hardest matchup," Wen replied from her perch.
"I guess, but he loves playing with Rampengu [3]."
"Newly limited: Sinister Serpent, Tour Guide From The Underworld, Dragon Ravine, Preparation of Rites, Saqlifice, Symbol of Heritage, Temple of the Kings, Crush Card Virus, Exchange of the Spirit, Ring of Destruction, Skill Drain, and Vanity's Emptiness"
"Aw, poor Scout must be devastated."
"Forget about him, think about Dante and Tour Guide," Lara replied, "I heard he was going to propose this format."
"Hush, girls, he's about to announce the forbidden list."
"Oh... dear... newly banned: Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos, Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls, Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms, Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders, and Snatch Steal""
There was a moment of silence as the girls all stared at Elder as he held back tears. A single drop escaped as he got up and started to leave.
"Uncle, I'm-"
"Please, Pilica... I... I just need to be alone right now."
~~~
Elder had no idea how long he had wondered the streets. All he knew was somewhere between seeing the ambulances driving away from Tempest's house and showing up at Winda's house he had stopped at three different liquor stores. As he reached out to knock, he noticed Winda approaching the doorstep with a giddy smile plastered on her face. When she saw Kamui, her face dropped.
"Kamui, is something wrong?"
"Is something wrong? Is something wrong?! One of my best friends is dead!" Kamui threw a half empty bottle of whiskey at the wall in frustration before he slumped over on Winda's stairs, his head between his knees as he sobbed.
"Oh, Kamui, I forgot you and Tempest were so close," she said as she wrapped her arms around her ex-lover [4].
"I... I just don't know what happened. One day we were OTKing those Fire Fist guys, the next I have to watch Lightning chasing down an ambulance screaming 'daddy, daddy!'"
"It's okay, Kamui. You still have your family. You still have me."
"Remember when the Dragon Rulers first showed up?"
"We were still Gustos..."
"You were still our High Priestess... Everything is so different now..."
"Are you going to the funeral?"
"No. I can't do it. I can't say goodbye to another friend. Not now, not again."
They sat there for a long time. Two old friends taking comfort in each other's embrace
~~~
Elder sat on Cannahawk's back, perched in a tree on the outskirts of the True Graveyard cemetery. He showed up just in time to watch as Tempest ascended with his brothers and Stratos.
"This isn't an end," he whispered to himself, "this is a new beginning and it isn't forever."
As the mourners filed out of the cemetery, Kamui saw Winda grab Dante's hand. A fresh pain coursed through his chest.
"Good for her..."
To be continued...
[1]: Wen had recently become very attached to her grandfather. Maybe being away from her family for so long had taken its toll on the eleven year old. Maybe being turned into a creepy puppet while she had to watch her grandmother ogle Dante had made her realize how much she loved her family; no one was really sure. Of course, it could just be the fact that she was always the last one to the couch and Pilica's lap was occupied by a penguin.
[2]: No one knew how she was still able to do that; that penguin was over one hundred fifty pounds and she couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds soaking wet.
[3]: It isn't well known, but Scout and Rampengu were very close. When Scout first emerged from the Sacred Tree for his reconnaissance mission, the first thing he met was Rampengu. The two quickly became friends, with Scout even delaying the Qliphort invasion by two weeks so they could go to the carnival. Scout won Rampengu a giant stuffed Sangan.
[4]: After the Sophian war, the Gusto tribe was all but wiped out, leaving Kamui and Winda to repopulate. The marriage that followed was short lived, unfortunately. After their first child was born, Winda joined the Shaddolls. Kamui, on the other hand, blew their savings on a play set of Vanity's Emptiness and an English copy of Giant Hand.
Thanks for reading this. This is my first time writing fiction, so feedback is very much appreciated!
Submitted March 24, 2015 at 04:13AM by triforce777 http://ift.tt/1G89SNY BanListNarratives
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