Harlock's Palace - The Endless Orbit of Loneliness Deux

[freearcadia]

Who: Yor, Nikkolaus
When
What: Palace time
Content Warnings: same as the first.

In the same ruin-filled wasteland, Yor and Nikkolaus would find themselves some distance away from where the other group had landed, the darkness that momentarily blinded and tried to choke them them receding.

The featureless void is not so featureless now, as the dimmest of stars struggle to make themselves known, still and not twinkling as stars should - the spaceship Arcadia hovering, unmoving on the northernmost horizon.

The winds still howled, alternating between the blistering heat and arctic chill, carrying a faint melody in the air from the east and a vague shape surrounded by a localized sandstorm, and low groans from the west with what looks to be a withered tree in the distance.

The ground shakes as the Arcadia fires - debris and dust flying up as it attacked something too far away to see - hopefully no one got hurt.

Comments

[freearcadia]

Harlock!

[Now that was audible]

What do I do?

[briarliar]

Are you Miss Mayu? Could you open the door for us please? O-or tell us another way to get inside so we can talk to you?

[freearcadia]

Yes - but there's nothing on this side I can reach, I think there's a keypad on your side...

[briarliar]

W-we see one! Do you happen to know the code?

[badsunrising]

[To Yor:]

You know her?

[briarliar]

Yes! W-well, I know about her! Miss Mayu is his adopted daughter. If there was any place in his heart well-protected it would be here!

[badsunrising]

She might know how to reach him then.

[briarliar]

[ her previous excitement falters a little ]

...she might, but...they don't get to spend all their time together. Mr. Harlock says it's too dangerous to have a child on a ship like that.

[badsunrising]

[Looking away]

... He must care a lot about her.

But if this is a version of her in his heart, then she should be vital to finding him.

[briarliar]

But how do we open the lock to reach her? I-I'm afraid I don't know him well enough to know something like birthdays or special codes he might use...

[badsunrising]

Like you said, she might know. Or at least be able to tell us what to do.

[freearcadia]

It's - I think it's the notes of this song.

[She finally speaks up]

Maybe if you press them in order... just follow me.

[Mayu would recite the notation, which does seem to correspond with the odd scale keypad, repeating if asked to]

[briarliar]

[ she's going to have to repeat, Yor doesn't know music theory and there is no "Sound of Music" in Ostania (...probably). but she tries her best to press the keys in order. ]

Like this?

[badsunrising]

[Is equally lost honestly]

[freearcadia]

[It takes some tries, but persistence will pay off, the vault doors finally sliding open with a low groan.

In sharp contrast to the nearly pitch-black sky and lifeless wasteland, there is a cherry tree in full bloom, and soft green grass. Standing close to the door is a girl about seven, holding an ocarina in hand, like Franklin her eyes had the faint yellow color to it]

You did it!

[briarliar]

Miss Mayu! I'm so happy to see you're safe!

[ sorry Nikkolaus, Yor is too busy being happy to see the personification of his daughter to really remember what else to ask ]

[badsunrising]

[Stares at the tree and fresh grass. To Mayu, slightly softer:]

What do you have there?

[freearcadia]

[Mayu brightens at the question]

It's an Ocarina - Harlock gave to me for my birthday, he said he'll be able to hear me no matter how far away he is!

[Hidden the grass and the blooming flowers are photographs]

You need to get up there - in the ship my daddy built.

[briarliar]

[ Yor recognizes that paintings were important from Hunter's heart palace, so she glances at them, even though most of her attention is still on Mayu. ]

I've heard him play it before. I'm sure he thinks of you every time he does, Miss Mayu.

[ to her and to Nikkolaus ]

Do you think if she played it, we might be able to reach him? T-to at least tell him we're coming?

[badsunrising]

[To Mayu, back in that slightly softer tone:]

It sounds pretty important. And we were thinking the same thing. We want to find a way to reach your father's ship.

[To Yor:]

I think it's as good an idea as any.

[To Mayu again:]

Mayu, is it? Do you mind if we look at your flowers before we leave?

[freearcadia]

Okay, I'll try my best! And of course, you can look... the cherry trees always bloom around my birthday.

[The photos seem to be from various ages - from a stringpole of a kid with reddish-brown hair with another boy that's stout with cokebottle glasses goofing around - from elementary school to teenage - the taller boy having bandages and the distinctive facial scar in late teenagehood. An eyepatch covers the tall boy's right eye in his early twenties, but the playful, impish smile still stayed on his lips the entire time along with the short man.

Other photos showed the two men with a woman with long ginger hair pulled back with a skull barrette. It's clear the woman and the man with the glasses had gotten together at some point, with Harlock still maintaining a friendly closeness. The last one they would find depicts the three - the woman and short man sitting, and Harlock clearly trying and didn't quite beat the camera's time, in the woman's arms is an infant]

[briarliar]

[ Yor picks up the last one to look at in particular. She hopes this isn't intrusive because there's a rule that infant photos are usually everyone's "show off" pictures. ]

Thank you, Miss Mayu. We would try but...u-unfortunately neither of us know how to play the ocarina.

[badsunrising]

[Is more curious about the pictures of the age progression and passing through them carefully... Is regarding the other set with a much darker expression and pointedly keeping his distance]

[freearcadia]

It's okay - I just need to be somewhere that I could be heard clear, I'm sure that's it.

[The youngest looks like they're about a little younger than Mayu, the skinner boy hanging upside down from a branch while the one with glasses is struggling to get up, another around the same time of the two sleeping on a balcony next to a telescope.

At one point the two were the same height, but Harlock quickly shot up like a weed in his teens while the other boy stayed the same height, leading to a lot of awkward kneeling or the latter being picked up to get them both in the shot. The last of the ones before Harlock lost his eye showed them both in what looked to be military uniforms]

[briarliar]

[ to Nikkolaus ]

Do you think we can find some place high up so she can play the tune? One that isn't dangerous to climb?