Scenario:Shukra - My True Desire
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My True Desire
Much to Sankara's chagrin, Shukra dismisses her as a hallucination and refuses to take her seriously. Sankara nevertheless tries to understand the true reason behind her descendant's obsession with the Divine Generals, but Shukra can only cite their coolness factor.
Having been offered a recommendation for the Divine Horse position by (Captain), Shukra wrestles over whether to accept.
Suddenly hearing a voice, she looks up to see an all-too-familiar face.
Sankara: Have a stomachache?
Shukra: Sankara?
Sankara: That's right. Your ancestor Sankara, in the flesh.
Shukra: Ooh, okay. I see what's going on.
Sankara: What's with that lukewarm reaction? Aren't you even the least bit surprised?
Shukra: Well, I did pretend to be you for ages thanks to Svaha's power.
Shukra: I was sort of brainwashed, so there are probably still some lingering effects in my mind. It's no wonder I'm seeing things.
Sankara: You think I'm a figment of your imagination?
Shukra: I mean... can you blame me?
Sankara: Well, I guess it doesn't make much difference.
Shukra: Yep, that sounds just like something Sankara would say.
Sankara: Stop analyzing your ancestor like you know everything! Show some respect!
Shukra: That sounds like her too!
Sankara: What a cheeky descendant I've got...
???: Excuse me.
With the night promising to turn cold, the innkeeper brings in some wood for the fireplace.
She pays no attention to Sankara, bowing only to Shukra before promptly exiting the room.
However, there is a trace of confusion on her face, as though curious who Shukra had been conversing with.
Shukra: So no one else can see you, hmm?
Sankara: Heh. I could be a ghost, you know.
Shukra: Ahaha! In that case, shouldn't you be haunting Svaha instead?
Sankara: Haunting Svaha, huh? I suppose I could...
Shukra: What? Don't you want to see him?
Sankara: From Svaha's perspective, it's like I chose another man. That makes things rather awkward.
Shukra: Oh, come on. You kept visiting him after you got married! And you even brought your kids and grandkids along!
Sankara: Hush, you! The situation now is completely different!
Shukra: Hmm, you think so? Doesn't seem all that different to me. If you're a ghost, why not just go see him?
Sankara: Grr, the nerve! That's no way to speak to your ancestor! Who in the skies did you inherit that attitude from?
Sankara: If I hadn't married another man, you wouldn't even exist! Do you understand that?
Shukra: Sigh... I must be losing my mind, talking to my own imagination. I'm going to sleep.
Sankara: Hey, listen to me!
Shukra pulls the covers over her head and rolls over, turning her back to Sankara.
Sankara: What do you plan to do from here on out?
Shukra: I'm going to become a Divine General. For your sake too.
Sankara: Fool! Don't concern yourself with some ancestor from the distant past!
Shukra: Weren't you just telling me to respect you?
Sankara: All that matters is how you feel. Why do you want to become a Divine General?
Sankara: I have no intention of denying my descendant's wishes, so do as you please. Nothing more, nothing less.
Shukra: I want to join the Divine Generals. But if I can't, then I'll create a new group of them.
Sankara: Why?
Shukra: Well... Because they're cool.
Sankara: How simplistic! Is that seriously your only reason?
Shukra: And what's so wrong with that?
Though Sankara continues to rant and rave, Shukra's mind has already been firmly made.
Shukra: I'm going to become a Divine General, no matter what!
My True Desire: Scene 2
Resuming her recruitment activities for the time being, Shukra stumbles upon a robbery in progress and intervenes to save the victim—only to be knocked out by the thugs afterward. Meanwhile, (Captain) and the crew await Shukra's return, unaware of what has transpired.
Shukra: How about joining the all-new Twelve Divine Generals?
Setting aside the question of (Captain)'s recommendation for the time being, Shukra returns to her recruitment activities.
Sankara: No one's even slowing down to listen.
Shukra: Ugh, do you ever stop nagging? I'm just trying a different approach so I don't come off as suspicious.
Sankara: What exactly would this new Divine Generals group be for anyway? I don't understand its purpose.
Sankara: No one has that much spare time lying around. And you have your own job too, don't you?
Shukra: You're one pesky hallucination. It's not like I'm shirking my duties or anything.
Sankara remains present even after Shukra awakens the next day, continuing to badger her relentlessly.
Fed up, Shukra decides it's time to fight back.
Shukra: So what was it that made you fall for Svaha?
Sankara: Wha! You're too young to hear about such things!
Shukra: Please, I'm basically the same age as you in that form.
Sankara: But when it comes to life experience, we're worlds apart!
Shukra: Whatever. I already know the answer anyway. We share the same memories, remember?
Sankara: How did I end up with such a shameless descendant!
Shukra: Ehehe... Huh?
Glancing around, Shukra notices passersby giving her strange looks as they watch her talking to seemingly empty air.
Shukra: Better change locations...
Brutish Man: C'mon, fork it over!
Cunning Man: Jump and let's see what you've got!
Timid Man: ...!
In a back alley, a Harvin man is surrounded by thugs attempting to rob him.
But at that moment, they hear a voice.
???: Hold it right there!
Cunning Man: Who the hell are you!
???: As long as evil exists in these skies, my eyes and ears will detect every misdeed! I'll rush to the rescue, wherever justice calls!
???: Hup!
Shukra: Divine Cat Shukra, here to save the day!
Thugs: Who?
Sankara: Laaaaame!
Sankara: That was super lame! I've never heard anything so lame in my whole life!
Shukra: Shut up! It wasn't lame!
Sankara: Yes, it was!
Sankara: Can't you make your entrance a bit more—I don't know—gritty? That's more my style.
Shukra: For example?
Sankara: This city's a cesspool of corruption. Step into these mean streets, and you're on borrowed time. Nobody's going to pull your bacon out of the fire...
Sankara: Nobody but me, that is.
Sankara: Something like that.
Shukra: Now that was lame!
Sankara: It wasn't lame!
Shukra: Yes, it was! What is wrong with your taste?
Sankara: Is there no appreciation for the suave, tough-guy attitude in this day and age?
Shukra: There is, but that was still lame!
Sankara: I already told you, it wasn't!
Sankara: If anyone's painfully lame here, it's you. Almost makes me wish we weren't related...
Shukra: Talk about harsh!
Cunning Man: Wh-what's the big idea? Bargin' in outta nowhere... Who the hell're you yappin' to?
Brutish Man: Wait, you're that chick from yesterday!
Shukra: I-I remember you! I thought you were taken into custody... You got away?
Cunning Man: Yo, that guy we were shakin' down is gone! He must've made a run for it!
Sure enough, their target has long since made his getaway.
Shukra: Good, he escaped.
Brutish Man: "Good," my ass! You've screwed up our plans two days in a row now!
Cunning Man: Hragh!
Shukra: Missed me!
Dodging gracefully, Shukra glances at Sankara.
Shukra: So? What do you think of your descendant now?
Sankara: Don't get cocky! They've got more punches to throw!
Shukra: Bring it on. They can't hit me!
Shukra nimbly evades the thugs' attacks, one after another. However...
Shukra: Urgh!
Vile Man: Didn't expect a third one, did ya?
Sankara: You buffoon... I told you not to get cocky...
Vyrn: Shukra's nowhere to be found. We need her answer about that Divine Horse recommendation, but where'd she go?
Lyria: The townspeople said they saw her around here not too long ago...
Vyrn: She's sure got one strange reputation. I figured everybody just saw her as shady, but we've been hearin' some pretty good things about her too.
Lyria: Like how she carried someone's heavy cargo and reunited a lost kid with their parents...
Lyria: She's been helping out a lot of people.
Unbeknownst to (Captain) and the crew, Shukra had been doing a great deal to assist the local residents.
Vyrn: She oughta focus more on that instead of the sketchy recruitment stuff.
Lyria: Ahaha... But the way Shukra puts her heart into achieving her goals is part of her charm.
Vyrn: That'd be fine and all on its own, but didn't people say she'd been yammerin' to herself a lot today?
Lyria: Oh yeah...
Lyria: Has she always talked to herself that much?
Vyrn: I didn't really notice it at the Skydome Temple or in Dharma.
(Captain) and company continue chatting as they wait for Shukra to return.
My True Desire: Scene 3
Shukra awakens in the thugs' hideout, where her seemingly one-sided exchanges with Sankara make her appear unstable to her captors. When they mock her ambition to create a new group of Divine Generals on her own, Shukra lunges at them, declaring that being alone won't stop her.
Brutish Man: Gahahaha! Say that again!
Shukra: I'm going to make a new team of Divine Generals!
Vile Man: Hahahaha! Heeheehee!
Cunning Man: A-a new team of Divine Generals? Heehee! Are you for real?
Shukra: I sure am! So don't laugh!
Shukra has awakened to find herself tied to a chair in what appears to be the thugs' hideout.
Brutish Man: You can't just make Divine Generals! Become one, maybe, but make outta thin air?
Shukra: Why not? They were established the same way five hundred years ago! Guess you guys just don't know about it!
Vile Man: Hah! Like you do!
Shukra: (But I do know!)
Possessing the memories of her ancestor Sankara, Shukra can recall the selection of the Twelve Divine Generals as if she had witnessed it firsthand.
Sankara: Well, well. What are you going to do now? You've gotten yourself caught like a rat in a trap.
Shukra: Then help me.
Cunning Man: What?
Sankara: Have you forgotten? I'm just a—what was it again? Oh yeah—a figment of your imagination, remember?
Sankara: I can't touch aaanything!
Shukra: Good-for-nothing...
Sankara: Did you just call me a good-for-nothing? Your own ancestor?
Cunning Man: You moron! Why would I help you!
Shukra: Argh! Don't both of you talk to me at once!
Cunning Man: Huh?
Shukra: Whoops.
Shukra: N-never mind... Forget I said anything.
Shukra: (Ugh! Thanks a lot, Sankara. Now they think I'm crazy...)
Vile Man: (This chick is nuts.)
Brutish Man: (Totally bonkers.)
Cunning Man: (She's gotta be flyin' high.)
Shukra: Erm...
Brutish Man: Hold on a sec.
Shukra: Oh, sure.
The men move away from Shukra and huddle together.
Cunning Man: Think we can actually flip this chick for cash? She's trippin' out big-time. Definitely some kinda junkie, I'm tellin' ya.
Vile Man: You'd have to have a few screws loose to come up with the idea of makin' a new group of Divine Generals.
Brutish Man: Still so young, and already messin' with weird stuff... This world's really gone to the dogs.
Meanwhile, Shukra stares daggers at Sankara, who pointedly taps her own temple.
Sankara: They seem to think you're a real nutcase.
Shukra: And whose fault do you think that is?
Sankara: So what about the matter of the Divine Horse?
Shukra: Huh?
Sankara: Which will you choose to pursue—the new Divine Generals or the Divine Horse?
Shukra: Good question...
Vile Man: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Quit gettin' all buddy-buddy with your hallucinations!
Cunning Man: We've decided to sell you off!
Brutish Man: Have fun playin' Divine General at your new gig!
Shukra: I'm not playing!
Brutish Man: Sure you are! I mean, c'mon—you're all alone!
Shukra: ...!
Shukra: Alone...
Sankara: Yes, alone. That much is certain. You're completely on your own.
Sankara: Just look around—there's no one showing up to save you, is there?
Vile Man: All right, let's load her onto the cart, cover her up, and haul her to the port. Once we get her on the ship, we're home free.
The men surround the bound Shukra, preparing to lift her, chair and all.
Shukra: I may be alone...
Brutish Man: Huh?
Shukra: But that won't stop me from becoming a Divine General!
Brutish Man: Whoa!
My True Desire: Scene 4
The crew arrives to free Shukra from her bonds, helping her defeat the thugs despite her insistence on fighting alone. When (Captain) and the others call her their friend, Shukra realizes companionship was her true desire all along and declines the Divine Horse role, choosing instead to continue seeking allies as the Divine Cat.
(Captain) and the crew have learned that Shukra was abducted by thugs after saving a man from being robbed.
As they frantically search for her whereabouts, a scream suddenly echoes through the area.
Man's Scream: Aaaaahhh!
Lyria: What was that?
Vyrn: Dunno, but let's go check it out!
Vyrn: Shukra! You okay?
Shukra: Huff... Huff...
Brutish Man: Yeooow! L-let go of me!
Shukra: Mrrrgh!
Despite being tied to a chair, Shukra had managed to bite the large man's leg, causing him to shriek.
Vyrn: Whoa! This is not what I expected!
Lyria: Are you all right, Shukra?
Vile Man: Who the hell are you lot!
Weapon drawn, (Captain) charges toward the men. However...
Shukra: Wait!
Lyria: Huh?
Shukra: Can you untie me first?
Shukra: Please.
After a moment's hesitation, (Captain) nods and loosens the ropes binding Shukra, all the while keeping a wary eye on the thugs.
Shukra: Thanks! You're a lifesaver!
Shukra: But you can stand back now.
Shukra: I'll handle these guys myself!
Cunning Man: Who d'you think you're dealin' with? Don't underestimate us, punk!
Shukra: Right back at you! I am the Divine Cat! And I'm about to give you a taste of your own medicine!
Cunning Man: Never heard of any Divine Cat!
Shukra: Yeah, I know. But get ready! You'll be hearing that name plenty from now on!
Shukra: And I'll make sure you never forget it!
Cunning Man: Quit blabberin'!
Shukra: Nyah!
Cunning Man: Guh...
Shukra: Hiss!
Brutish Man: Ouch!
Shukra takes down two of the men in the blink of an eye.
Shukra: One more to go!
Vile Man: Eep!
Vile Man: Urgh...
Shukra: Huh?
Before Shukra can strike, the remaining man suddenly collapses, revealing (Captain) standing behind him.
Shukra: Wh-what gives? I said I'd handle it.
Vyrn: C'mon, don't be like that. We can't dump everything on a friend who was just tied up.
Lyria: That's right! You're our friend, and you were in trouble. It's only natural for us to give you a hand!
Shukra: Friend?
After making sure the thugs are bound securely, (Captain) and company tend to the wounds on Shukra's body from her restraints.
Shukra: Thanks. You skyfarers really can do anything, huh?
Vyrn: Well, we're lucky they're just rope burns. We've got better medics to take a look at ya back on the ship.
Shukra: The ship... And did you both just call me... a friend?
Vyrn: Look, a lot went down, but it's not like we ever really saw ya as an enemy.
Lyria: We made it back from Dharma together. So that makes us friends, right?
Shukra: ...
Sankara: All that matters is how you feel. Why do you want to become a Divine General?
Shukra: Well... Because it'd be cool.
Shukra: Ah, I get it now...
Lyria: Shukra?
Shukra: All this time, I wanted friends.
It had never been simply about their coolness factor. After seeing the Divine Generals together as a team, Shukra had come to long for the same.
Shukra: I did all that recruiting around town, but now that I think about it, that's no way to make friends...
Vyrn: What's up? Somethin' on your mind?
Shukra: Sorry, but I have to decline the Divine Horse recommendation!
Lyria: Are you sure?
Shukra: Yeah. I've decided—I want to establish a new team of Divine Generals as the Divine Cat.
Lyria: Okay, we understand. If that's your choice, then it's definitely the right one.
Shukra: But I still admire the Divine Generals. I want to keep following and supporting them.
Shukra: By the way...
Shukra: (Captain)! I turned down the Divine Horse position, and you did too, right?
Vyrn: Hm?
Shukra: In other words, we're in the same boat, right?
Vyrn: Hmm?
Shukra: Meaning we're both free agents, right?
Vyrn: Hmmm?
Shukra: So let's team up and form a new group of Divine Generals together!
Vyrn: You're tryin' to recruit (Captain) too?
Shukra: What do you want your role to be? The original Twelve Divine Generals and Divine Cat are already taken, so you'll have to pick another animal!
Vyrn: Don't think about it!
Shukra: All right! Now I'm even more fired up!
Shukra: Leave it to me! I'll come up with the perfect role for you!
Shukra: All right! Now I'm even more fired up!
Continue 1
Vyrn: Would it kill ya to listen for once!
Lyria: Ahaha... You're as popular as ever, (Captain).
Suddenly, Shukra notices someone watching them from a corner of the room.
Sankara: ...
Shukra: Oh...
Shukra: Hehe. I'll give it my all!
Lyria: Huh?
Seeing Shukra wink at no one in particular, (Captain) and company exchange puzzled glances.
Sankara: Well, if that's what you're set on doing, then you might as well see it through to the end.
Shukra: You know I will!
With renewed determination, Shukra decides to continue her quest for companions to establish a new group of Divine Generals.
Along the way, her bond with (Captain) and the crew will surely grow even stronger.
Categories:
- Scenario Character: Sankara
- Scenario Character: Shukra
- Scenario Character: ???
- Character Fate Scenario
- Skill Fate
- Scenario Character: Brutish Man
- Scenario Character: Cunning Man
- Scenario Character: Timid Man
- Scenario Character: Thugs
- Scenario Character: Vile Man
- Scenario Character: Vyrn
- Scenario Character: Lyria
- Scenario Character: Man's Scream
- Fate Gender Check