Work Text:
Four trolls walk on a sand-covered planet. Mountains of solid glass tower behind the trolls, and dunes of sand softly peak. The sky dances with color - a Big Wheel arcs across the sky.
One troll lags behind. This troll's name is ALMERE. They look into the distance.
As Almere's group walks ahead, Almere lags behind. They watch the faraway points & peaks move as they walk.
Everything feels unreal.
The Land of Glass and Frogs used to be someone else's. absentGating's. Almere's old friend. They met here for the first time. Almere cried when they finally got to see AG for the first time.
Almere cried because it was the last time too.
They remember all the times they spent with AG. Long nights just talking over text, refusing to sleep while on call, learning about each other's lives. They lived quite far away from each other, and it was always fun to hear about what the other was up to. It's not like the two of them had many other friends (or, in Almere's case, any other friends). Now, Alternia was dead, and Almere could barely hold onto their memories as-is...
A shout rang from the distance.
LYARAN: Hey,, Almere!! You gonna catch up??
EINQYI: *youre really far behind*
ALMERE: sorry!
ALMERE: i was just... thinqing about something.
EINQYI: *no worries*
LYARAN: I think the quest point is coming up anyways.. So you guys won''t be bored for much longer..
EINQYI: *no one said we were bored*
ARENET: HONESTLY, I'M PRETTY BORED RN
EINQYI: *this is lyarans quest*
EINQYI: *everywhere takes infinitely long to get to*
LYARAN: Stop dissing my planet!! ]XD
ARENET: I'LL DISS YOUR PLANET ALL I WANT. IT SUX
The group starts chatting fervently. Almere walks behind them, still quiet, still musing.
They think.
In a sense, this planet was AG's coffin. They should have rested peacefully here. But Skaia decided to torment them. Gave them three teammates who cared not for Almere's tragedies. Decorated the place with these garish pastel mountains.
What right did any of them have here? Shouldn't AG get the right to die peacefully? No, scratch that... why did AG have to die for these three to *live*?
It infuriated Almere. The group talked without them. Ignored them like AG did. But at least AG had a *reason*.
Almere hauled meteor rubble for hours trying to confirm AG's death. And at the end, they found exactly what they were looking for. A special gift, from Skaia to Almere.
AG had gone no-comm for months on end, and Almere had to pick up the pieces. It was grueling work, trying to make the game bend to a state it wasn't meant to bend to. No buildings, no gates, no nothing - just an endless Land of Darkness and Paint.
Skaia could have made it stop at any time. But it chose not to. It didn't have to taunt them with the promise of three new players. But it did.
And these three. Almere could swear they were sometimes worse than Skaia. They never communicated properly, always argued with each other, and when they did come to a conclusion, it was just taking the piss on Almere.
"It's been a long quest, let's all rest at Almere's with paint on our shoes!"
"Why don't we just have Almere kill these underlings? Pencilkind is perfect for this mission (and after all, Almere is expendable!)"
It was *infuriating*.
Almere looked back at the group. Something was up with these three.
The group had fallen silent, and Lyaran looked at Almere expectantly.
ALMERE: oh... sorry about the radio silence, hah.
EINQYI: *nooo worries*
LYARAN: If you have something on your mind, you can always tell us!! ]:)
ARENET: OR MAYBE DON'T? HAHAHA
LYARAN: I''m being serious......
ALMERE: alright. i thinq i have something to say.
Almere grabs Einqyi's hand. Einqyi is surprised, but not shocked.
ALMERE: you guys are probably some of the best friends i've ever had. ag barely talqed to me after we started the session. but you all are smart, qooperative, and helpful.
ALMERE: can i asq you all a question?
ARENET: YEAH?
LYARAN: Sure!!
ALMERE: will you remember me when i'm gone?
Almere pulls out the Ticondaggeroga and slits Einqyi's throat.
ARENET: ALMERE!!!
LYARAN: D:[
Arenet immediately reacts by pulling out its own weapon, a battleaxe, and swinging/missing at Almere.
Almere promptly runs away, dropping Einqyi's bleeding body to the floor. Einqyi gurgles down.
Almere glances back for a second to see that Lyaran stopped Arenet from chasing them. But they don't stop running. They know what they have to so.
Almere passes glass pillar after glass pillar.
They don't find what they're looking for. It might have been too far, or in the wrong direction. But they find something close enough.
Almere faces a spikefield, something resembling the original Land of Spikes and Fear. Something without Lyaran's nauseating touch.
Almere takes out their Ticondaggeroga.
Almere aims it at their heart and thrusts.