Scenario:Chichiri - Tears of a Shrimpy-Wimp
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Tears of a Shrimpy-Wimp
With yupei in hand, Chichiri confronts an apparition of Zhuque. She learns that the bird fears its own growing power and wants nothing more than for a Cardinal Saint to bring it relief. Chichiri summons the real Zhuque, and though they are both gripped by fear, she commits herself to seeing her duty through.
Chichiri plucks up her courage and touches the yupei.
Zhuque: ...
Chichiri: (I'm so freaked out right now... What am I even doing...)
Chichiri: (No, think about (Captain) and Grampy. They stood tall in the face of fear.)
Chichiri: (It's obvious what I'm scared of, but...)
Chichiri desperately grips the yupei and keeps eye contact on the apparition of Zhuque.
Zhuque: ...
Chichiri: (You're afraid of something too, aren't you?)
Zhuque: ...!
Chichiri: (Huh? This Zhuque is breathtaking. And its flames are so weak.)
Zhuque flaps its wings, and a single flight feather falls softly to the ground.
Almost miraculously, a village pops into existence, which develops into a city that eventually flourishes into a grand kingdom.
Chichiri: (Grampy told me this story. Back when Zhuque was seen as a god...)
Chichiri: (The first Cardinal Saint arose and defeated Zhuque, thereby fulfilling their duty.)
As the beast of yore fades away, it looks at Chichiri with a far gentler countenance than the one found on the beast of today.
Chichiri: (I don't get it. Why does it look satisfied with getting offed?)
Chichiri: (Wait, what was that thing? It felt like Zhuque... No, almost like they were one and the same.)
Chichiri: (Whoa.)
Flash forward to many years after the previous vision. Once again Zhuque flares its magnificent flames, except this time its fire has taken a sinister turn.
Zhuque appears to writhe in agony as its molted fire feathers rain down on the land.
Zhuque: ...!
Chichiri: (This Zhuque is one of calamity.)
Chichiri: (Those people must've been the previous generations of Saints. I see Grampy too.)
Zhuque: ...!
Still writhing in misery, Zhuque continues to set ablaze those who stand against it.
Its fiery feathers swell ever larger, transforming into an inferno capable of consuming everything within reach.
The beast thrashes in sorrow while the blaze roars and rages.
Zhuque: ...
Chichiri: (Do you feel bitterness? Regret? Sadness?)
Chichiri: (Fear?)
Chichiri: (You remind me of my younger self when I was clinging to Grampy's back on that haunted road.)
Chichiri: (I think I get it...)
Chichiri: (I always assumed you were lashing out in anger.)
Chichiri: (But that's not it, is it? You're crying over the incineration of every Cardinal Saint whose duty it was to bring you relief.)
Chichiri: (You feel ashamed for not being able to control your overflowing power.)
Chichiri: (You're... afraid of yourself, aren't you?)
Zhuque: ...
Chichiri: (I see.)
Chichiri: ...
Vyrn: Heyo? Is everything okay?
Chichiri: Yeah, I'm good.
Chichiri: Turns out Zhuque and I have something in common—we're both shrimpy-wimps.
Lyria: Oh?
Chichiri: It's been waiting forever for a Saint to come along and fulfill their duty.
Chichiri slowly looks up at the night sky.
A sliver of light sparks to life under the stars. It gradually grows into a burning tornado, consuming the darkness as it coils round and round.
Chichiri: Isn't that right, Zhuque?
Zhuque: ...!
Lyria: It's here! I didn't even feel it!
Chichiri: Thanks for coming to see me. It must've been tough waiting so long for this.
Chichiri: Sorry about that, Zhuque. Come on down.
Chichiri readies herself for the imminent battle. She gives Zhuque a smile, one that's full of warmth.
This seems to grab Zhuque's attention. The fiery beast ignores the crew and gently touches down in front of the girl.
Lyria: Chichiri!
Chichiri: It's okay. (Captain), whatever happens, please stay out of this.
Vyrn: You can't be serious! I see you shaking!
Choose: I'll monitor the situation.
Chichiri: Thanks, (Captain).
Zhuque: ...
Chichiri: I owe you an apology, Zhuque, for everything that's happened so far. After all, I'm supposed to be the one to save you.
Chichiri: I mean, why else do you only show your true power to us Cardinal Saints?
Chichiri: Displaying the full shock and awe of your amassed power is your way of saying, "Get this blazing gorilla off my back already," yeah?
Zhuque: ...
The words themselves mean nothing to Zhuque. However, it deliberately draws closer to Chichiri, blazing feathers flickering as though pleading.
Chichiri: Okay, this is terrifying. I wish I could bolt on outta here. I could faint at any second now... But you know what?
Chichiri: You're just as scared as I am; I can't run away from you anymore.
Still gripping her axes, Chichiri spreads her arms wide as if to offer Zhuque a hug.
Chichiri: To protect you, I will fight you. To protect you, I will... slaughter you.
Zhuque: ...!
Chichiri: Bring it.
Tears of a Shrimpy-Wimp: Scene 2
With a gentle strike, Chichiri defeats Zhuque and calms its rampage. A yupei appears in its place, which draws out and merges with the yupei in (Captain)'s pocket. The true yupei now in hand, Chichiri attempts to perform the wake once more.
Chichiri extinguishes the all-consuming flames swirling around her with a single swing.
Her hands are shaking, but her eyes are steadfast.
Zhuque: ...!
She brushes aside Zhuque's rampaging fires while closing in on the beast.
Once she's within arms-length of the bird, she gently strikes one of Zhuque's pressure points with the top of her axe.
Zhuque: ...!
Chichiri: We'll meet again for sure, Zhuque. Someday.
Chichiri: I'll help you as many times as you need me to.
Chichiri says a peaceful farewell before guiding her axe blade clear through Zhuque's neck.
Chichiri: Rest in peace, Zhuque.
As the beast's body disintegrates, the fallen head of the bird gives Chichiri a final contented glance.
Vyrn: Way to go, Chichiri! You took down Zhuque while it was in psycho mode! You're the real toughy-woughy one here!
Chichiri: Yeah. About time too!
Chichiri: I couldn't have done it without you guys! Before you came along, I badly misunderstood Zhuque.
Chichiri: I thought I had to fulfill my duty in order to prevent it from causing disaster.
Chichiri: But that wasn't the whole story. I was meant to stop its power from spiraling out of control and save it from itself.
Chichiri bends down to pick up an object left behind where Zhuque had vanished.
Lyria: Is that a yupei? It's even more beautiful than the one we have.
While Lyria's eyes are transfixed on the beauty of Chichiri's yupei, the one in (Captain)'s pocket suddenly flies out.
Vyrn: Whoa!
It smashes into the one in Chichiri's hand, merging into a single yupei.
Chichiri: This is the true yupei...
Chichiri: Zhuque probably gave (Captain) half of it in order to motivate me to do my job right.
Vyrn: I guess? Sounds overly complicated to me. If it wanted to get its butt kicked so badly, couldn't it have just surrendered?
Chichiri: As if Zhuque would ever debase itself like that.
Chichiri is suddenly reminded of the figure she briefly saw when she held the yupei.
Chichiri: If it's the duty of the Cardinal Saints to pacify the cardinal beasts, then it's their duty—so to speak—to go berserk.
Chichiri: They can't help but lose control of themselves, and when that times comes, it's up to the Saints to relieve 'em of their pressure, again and again and again.
Lyria: Mm-hm... That's sort of the impression I got too.
Chichiri: I wish there was more I could do.
Vyrn: Gotcha. So Zhuque had it pretty rough too.
Vyrn: All righty then, let's hurry up and finish the job! You still gotta perform a wake on the yupei, right?
Chichiri: Should be easy. I'll be done in no time.
Chichiri focuses her mind, channeling the power of the crystals on her body to complete the wake.
As soon as the crystals start glowing, the winds die down, and the surrounding sounds disappear.
Finally, a long overdue obligation is about to be fulfilled.