Kicking Dust/Episode 4

Kicking Dust Episode 4 - What They Saw
Duster talks to her close friends about the horrors she saw during Fractus's missions and learns much about the real nature of Flydevin society.
==Scene 1==
Duster wakes up in a house she’s not familiar with, on a couch, with an eyelids-opening effect being shown from her point of view.
:Duster: (... where… am I …?)
Duster gets up, and looks around, noticing a windows that shows it is now twilight. However, Duster hears a voice, and turns around, discovering Beruli looking at her from a corner.
:Beruli: Ah! Potato!
:Duster: P-potato… oh, Broccoli! Uh, where… am I?
:Beruli: This… this is my house.
:Duster: … huh…
Duster takes a look around. The house is noticeably smaller than Duster’s, and it’s pretty clear the Teis are not as rich as the Zhantoms - which is to be expected, since Fractus is the Flydevin General. Some of the household items in particular appear to be built out of scrap and rock.
:Beruli: Um… what do you think?
:Duster: It’s, uh, nice…
Duster sits down.
:Duster: How’d I… get here, anyhow?
:Beruli: Do you… not remember?
:Duster: Uh… there was a war, and your parents were there, and it was… it was… horrible.
:Beruli: Yeah… according to dad, you passed out!
:Duster: Right… I remember somewhat, now. I… don’t know how much I want to remember.
:Beruli: That’s fair. Very fair. Um, so, after you passed home, dad knew you were a good friend of mine, so she left you over her so that I could watch over you.
:Duster: Ah…
:Beruli: Didn’t trust Fractus to do it, he said, if you’re wondering.
:Duster: Ah, I was gonna ask about tha…
Duster suddenly has a flashback, the camera dimming.
:Fractus: … disappointing.
She stays still.
:Beruli: Um, Duster? You… ok?
:Duster: … yes, yeah. I… think.
:Beruli: What happened?
:Duster: Had… a flashback. A bad memory.
:Beruli: Oh… if it’s a bad memory, I guess I won’t ask.
:Duster: Yeah…
Duster slumps a bit, making herself comfortable.
:Duster: So, uh… I didn’t quite expect your parents to be such warriors…
:Beruli: That’s, um, good. Last things my parents want is for me to battle…
:Duster: … hmm?
:Beruli: Yeah… and I don’t want others to end up having to fight, either. That’s, um…
She steps closer to Duster and sits on the couch with her.
:Beruli: That’s why I always try and cheer up others… I, um, want them to feel better. To bring some happiness... to the dark underbelly of this town.
:Duster: A-ah… ahhh… that’s…
She smiles at Beruli.
:Duster: That’s so… nice!
Beruli smiles back.
:Beruli: Thanks…
She then thinks.
:Beruli: Anyways, you must be hungry! Lemmie get you some marshmallows.
:Duster: Marshmallows…
The two get up, with Beruli being shown to get a bowl and a bag of large marshmallows, putting a bunch in the bowl before handing it to Duster.
:Duster: Large marshmallows?! You really know what I like…
:Beruli: Eeyup! If it cheers you up…
Duster’s smile grows bigger.
:Beruli: Anyhow… Trida’s worried about ya! You should probably give her a visit. Do ya know where she lives?
:Duster: Vaguely. I think.
She picks up a marshmallow, and begins eating it.
:Beruli: Good enough. Seeya soon, Potato!
:Duster: Seeya soon, Broccoli… thanks for all of this.
Duster bows.
:Beruli: No problem!
Duster waves to her as she exits Beruli’s house, still holding the bowl.
==Scene 2==
Gilderoyde is looking over the city, on a balcony from her palace. The camera changes angle to reveal her face, which has a concerned expression on it.
The surroundings then darken as Fractus arrives.
:Gilderoyde: Ah, Fractus!
Gilderoyde coughs twice.
:Gilderoyde: I’ve been waiting for you…
:Fractus: The mission has been successfully completed, as you may know.
:Gilderoyde: Of course, I am well aware. But…
She coughs again.
:Fractus: But…?
:Gilderoyde: There were… a lot of wounded people coming into the city… I’m concerned. What happened, in that battle?
:Fractus: They… attacked us first. Relentlessly. We had to defend ourselves, and what had to happen had to happen.
:Gilderoyde: I… see.
She looks down, coughing again.
:Gilderoyde: I wish… unity didn’t have to happen with all of this violence.
:Fractus: Unfortunately, this is just how life is, Monarch Gilderoyde.
:Gilderoyde: I know…
She coughs three more times.
:Gilderoyde: (What’s with the air…?)
:Fractus: Anyways. That’s all for today. See you soon, Gilderoyde.
:Gilderoyde: See you later.
Fractus kneels, before walking away, the dark “aura” dissipating as she goes.
==Scene 3==
Trida is pacing around her house, which looks noticeably more poor than either Duster or Beruli. The camera then pans to show Erifa sitting on a chair.
:Erifa: Don’t worry so much, Trida. I’m sure she’ll be fine.
:Trida: I know, but it’s not normal for Duster to be gone for so long… even Beruli didn’t know where she was!
:Erifa: I guess so…
Trida then perks up after hearing knocking at the door. She opens the door, and io and behold, Duster is there. Her expression seems torn between a smile and a frown.
:Trida: Duster! Oh, I was so worried!
:Duster: Understandable. I did something very… reckless.
Trida tilts her head.
:Trida: Reckless…?
:Duster: I… I wanted to see how Fractus fights to become stronger. So I… snuck into one of her missions.
Trida puts a hand to her mouth and gasps, shocked.
:Erifa: Why would you do that?!
:Duster: I didn’t… I didn’t expect to see such carnage… I was expecting, maybe some ruthless duels at most… but not on such a wide scale…
:Erifa: Well, you should’ve expected th-
Trida holds a hand towards Erifa, signaling him to stop.
:Trida: I’m… sorry you had to go through that. How much did you… participate?
:Duster: I saw all of the violence, and just quickly ran back to the medics. Beruli’s dad was there, he helped reconfort me a bit, b-but then Fractus came…
:Trida: Ah…
Duster then mutters something.
:Duster: Disappointing…
:Trida: … huh?
:Duster: I-I passed out. That’s what… that’s what Fractus said when I passed out.
:Erifa: The witch!
:Duster: T-the witch…?
:Trida: That’s a name a lot of people give to your, uh, mother. Constantly attacking other Flydevin people, and that’s not mentioning that “dark magic” she has.
:Duster: Dark magic…?
:Trida: Sometimes she’s able to create this sort of… noxious, dangerous dark fog. Nobody’s really been able to replicate it.
:Duster: R-right…
Duster enters Trida’s house.
:Duster: So… do you know why Fractus even does this…?
:Trida: Fractus says it’s for unity. I suspect she just wants power, though.
:Duster: Oh…
:Trida: I guess that also explains why she said you’re disappointing… she probably wanted a strong heir. N-not saying that you aren’t strong, of course, but you’re not as strong as her standards wanted you to be.
:Duster: I see… but then, what about Nimb…? Nimbus’s an ice sculptor…
:Erifa: Do you know what they teach kids in ice sculpting schools? Those are basically Flydevin Warrior cults! Of course Fractus’s gonna want a kid that glorifies her and her enablers.
:Trida: Harsh, but… he ain’t wrong.
:Duster: That’s… I had a feeling… I saw the ice sculptures, and I wondered if those were the types of sculptures Nimbus was made to make…
:Erifa: Eeyup.
:Duster: …
Duster balls one of her fist, and tightens her grip on the bowl she’s still holding with the other hand.
:Duster: C-Calling me d-disappointing is one thing… using N-Nimbus for such n-nefarious purposes is another!
:Erifa: Right… and they mostly just honor the alive. They don’t even at least honor the dead…
:Duster: The dead…?
:Erifa: Has it not occurred to you yet…? It’s not only the invaded Flydevins that die. Even members of Fractus’s own army die in these fights.
:Duster: Oh, gosh…
Trida approaches Duster, then pauses for about a second.
:Trida: Our… our parents were victims of this.
Duster gasps.
:Duster: T-they… they… were?
Duster looks around at the house. Much of the devices are assembled out of scrap and stone.
:Duster: (Trida… Trida’s taking care of all of this alone…?!)
:Erifa: Eeyup.
:Duster: This… this is all too much to take in…
Duster sits at a chair near a table, placing the now-empty bowl of marshmallows on said table. She then places her hands on her head as she tries to process all of this new information. Trida sits next to her, and starts rubbing her hair and her back to recomfort her.
:Trida: … what was in that bowl?
:Duster: Ah, uhm… marshmallows.
:Trida: Marshmallows?
:Duster: Yeah. Beruli gave them to me.
:Trida: Ah… that’s really kind of her!
:Duster: I know, right? She’s so… nice. She’s aware of all of the… darkness, but she keeps pushing on, making it her goal to cheer everyone up…
Duster closes her eyes, smiling as she thinks about Beruli.
:Trida: Beruli’s attitude is very nice… some people react to the state of society with pessimism, but I don’t think that’s the best attitude to take.
She shoots a glance at Erifa, who looks away, scratching his head.
:Duster: Yeah…
She stands up.
:Duster: I’ll keep pushing forward, for now. I’ll go confront my mother about all of this.
:Trida: … you will?
:Duster: Yes. At the very least, I’ll get answers about why she’s still doing this.
:Trida: I see…
She puts a hand on her shoulder.
:Trida: Good luck, then. And, please… be careful.
:Duster: I… I will.
Trida smiles.
:Trida: In that case, see you later!
:Duster: Seeya later.
The two wave to each other as Duster leaves Trida’s house, the camera fading to black.
:Duster: (Be careful…? Fractus isn’t that crazy, is she…?)
==Scene 4==
The camera opens up to a tired-looking Nimbus studying the history of Flydevin Warriors. The camera then zooms on a reference book Nimbus is reading, words being revealed as Nimbus reads it.
:Nimbus: … alright, so next class, we have… Diamond Hallion… it’s some random guy, he has a cool halo ponytail, um, he’s Powder Winds like me, he’s… deceased, and he’s…
Nimbus’s reading is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing, and she quickly hops up before running outside her door, and opening it, to reveal Duster.
:Nimbus: Hiii, D-
:Duster: Is Fractus here?
:Nimbus: Um… no?
:Duster: … good, I guess.
Nimbus looks confused, as Duster comes in and sits on a couch.
:Nimbus: W-what’s wrong?
Duster taps the space next to her to signal Nimbus to sit down. She does so.
:Duster: Uh… how do I break it to you, Cloudie … I believe you’re being… used.
:Nimbus: Used… ? How so? By who?!
:Duster: Uhm… many people? Like… you know, the ice sculpting school?
:Nimbus: Yes…?
:Duster: They’re making you do sculptures of the “Flydevin Warriors”, are they not?
:Nimbus: Oh, yes! And they really insist on it! If I don’t pay attention, they begin acting really mean to me, telling me I should know everything about them on a snap… I mean, they’re heroes, but-
:Duster: Oh, gosh… here goes.
Duster takes a deep breath.
:Duster: The Flydevin Warriors are anything but heroes.
:Nimbus: What?! But don’t they defend us…?
:Duster: I mean, they do do defense work, yes. But most of the time… they’re attacking other Flydevin settlements. And I’ve seen it, recently. It’s… brutal. Violent. It’s carnage.
:Nimbus: That’s… w-what?!
:Duster: Those ice sculptures they make you do… they’re used to glorify these Warriors…
:Nimbus: N-no way! I… I never wanted to make sculptures of them, but… I-I didn’t know!
She grasps Duster’s arm.
:Nimbus: A-am I bad for making sculptures of them?
:Duster: N-no, of course not! As I said, you were used. Tricked. Abused. It wasn’t your fault.
:Nimbus: I… see. Then, does that mean, um…
Nimbus begins finger-twiddling.
:Nimbus: That I can skip my homework now…?
:Duster: . . . . . (That’s her concern?!)
Duster looks comically shocked for a second.
:Duster: Uh, if you ask me, sure.
Nimbus bounces off the couch and begins running in circles.
:Nimbus: HURRAY! Screw you, Diamond Hallion!
:Duster: … Wait, wha-
Knocking is then heard at the door, causing Nimbus and Duster to freeze in place. Fractus’s silhouette can be seen at it.
:Duster: … Nimbus?
:Nimbus: Y-yes?
:Duster: Um… g-go back to your room. I have… complicated subjects to talk with Fractus to. And, I’m not sure I want you to hear the things I’ll be saying.
:Nimbus: Uhm… okay.
She runs up to her room. Duster then takes a deep breath, before approaching it and opening it. The episode ends with a shot from a low angle, making Duster look even smaller than usual in comparison to Fractus. The former has a determined expression, while the other looks confused and annoyed.
==Trivia==
*This episode originally had a rather different structure, which was modified due to changes in production. Originally, Duster was going to inform Nimbus about what she was used for at the very start of the episode, as the original plan for Episode 3 didn't have Nimbus pass out at the end. Fractus would've returned home, which prompted Duster to visit Beruli and Trida - though she would've met up with both at the same time instead of separately. Originally, the way the wars affected Trida was a form of pessimism which would've explained why she appears to have a "lazy and careless attitude" - which was before Erifa was designed, ironically making Trida actually a hard worker. The episode's ending had Duster return home, cheered up, only to meet Fractus, after which the episode would've ended on a similar note as the final version.
Category:Episodes
Category:Poisonshot