Kicking Dust/Episode 5

Kicking Dust Episode 5 - Mother and Daughter
Duster and Fractus have a heated confrontation between mother and daughter, to the horror of Nimbus. It doesn't end well.
==Scene 1==
The episode starts in the same way the previous episode ended, after Duster told Nimbus go to upstairs; she’s shown taking a deep breath, before opening the door of her house, allowing Fractus to enter. This time, however, the final shot is skipped.
:Fractus: Hello, Duster. You… took a while to open.
:Duster: Yeah, I-I was talking with Nimbus. And, uh… I… no, we, have a lot to discuss.
:Fractus: … it is about the battle, right?
:Duster: Y-yes.
:Fractus: Worry not. I do not blame you for checking out the battle.
:Duster: I-I really shouldn’t have done that.
:Fractus: Actually, I was expecting you to do so eventually. After all, it’s gonna be an important part of my growth.
:Duster: G-growth…?
:Fractus: Yes. May I remind you, once time is up for me, you will be the next Flydevin general. Of course, however, there is much left for you to do. You need to get stronger. Much stronger. You need to harden your spirit.
:Duster: N-no. I don’t… I don’t want to be the Flydevin general. I don’t want… to commit the same violence you do.
Fractus crosses her arms.
:Fractus: … there are necessary evils, Duster.
:Duster: How is it necessary?!? Society is doing fine! And even so, why can’t you just… talk things out?!
:Fractus: Reputation.
:Duster: Reputation?
:Fractus: I’ve built up, from ground and air, a fearsome reputation. I, Fractus, am a fearsome general. The strongest Flydevin. Other Flydevin societies know this. And so… the smart submit. The less smart fight, to no avail. It takes out the trash.
:Duster: T-trash…! They aren’t trash! What about your soldiers?! Those that perish in the battles?!
:Fractus: They weren’t strong enough. That’s all. Anyhow, I think you can agree it’s far more efficient than “talking things out”.
:Duster: No. It’s… it’s killing so many lives! If it was me, even a single life being lost would be a tragedy! And y-you… you’re completely fine sacrificing hundreds!
:Fractus: Now, let’s be honest, Duster. If you were on the battlefield right now, do you think you would save more lives… ?
:Duster: If I-I was commanding… I-I would stop the battle on the spot.
:Fractus: Right. Because you wouldn’t be competent enough to actually fight.
Duster steps back, before glaring at Fractus.
:Duster: … so it was true.
:Fractus: What was true?
:Duster: When I went unconscious… you said of me that I was “disappointing”.
Fractus sighs, straightening her posture.
:Fractus: That is entirely correct, Duster.
Duster looks visibly hurt, but still angry.
:Fractus: When I was raising you… I was expecting you to grow into someone much like me. Strong. Battle-hardened. Skilled.
Fractus glares back at Duster, raising her tone.
:Fractus: What I got was an ugly, tiny rock of a woman that can’t even win a tournament. One that faints just looking at a war. Yes, of course you are disappointing, Duster.
:Duster: …
Duster balls up her fists, baring her teeth.
:Duster: Ssssso... that’sss... how y-you feel... about me. Now… it’s my turn.
She steps closer to Fractus, who does not flinch.
:Duster: Call me ugly, tiny all you want… call me a coward… call me a loser… b-but at least... I-I’m not KILLING people.
She takes another step forwards.
:Duster: I-I could tell... you were disappointed in me, way before today. Even if I… I didn’t want to admit it to myself. T-that’s why you keep... neglecting me over Nimbus. Because Nimbus, at least... is useful to you.
Fractus raises an eyebrow.
:Duster: Y-yes. You’ve been using Nimbus. Like... a tool... to glorify you and other killers! How… how DARE you?!?
Fractus now looks offended, her eyebrows furrowing, her mildly upset-looking gaze turned into a scornful glare, her tone changing to a furious one.
:Fractus: How about YOU stop daring to speak to me with such a tone?! Nimbus is not a TOOL. I don’t USE her. If I wanted to really use her, she would be a general, just like you, because even she would make a better general than you! But rather than that, I followed what your father told me to do. Let her follow her dreams. And that is what I did!
Duster snarls at Fractus.
:Duster: Nimbus… she… she’s being forced to make statues of KILLERS! Killers like YOU!
:Fractus: DON'T BRING DOWN THE FLYDEVIN WARRIORS TO THE LEVEL OF KILLERS! AND WHO’S TO SAY THAT’S NOT WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO?
The camera cuts to Nimbus, who’s cowering in her room, the conversation becoming loud enough for her to hear it from her room.
:Duster: SHE DOESN’T WANT TO MAKE KILLERS! SHE HATES THE HOMEWORK. SO MUCH, THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT SHE TOLD ME BEFORE YOU CAME?
:Fractus: … what did she say?
:Duster: SHE… SHE SAID…
Duster attempts to mimic Nimbus’s voice, though it doesn’t quite come out well due to her greater age and her current intense anger.
:Duster: “SCREW YOU, DIAMOND HALLION!”
Fractus gasps.
:Fractus: Y-YOU MADE HER SAY THAT? YOU MONSTER!
:Duster: I DID NOT-
Fractus violently smacks Duster’s face. She then takes a few steps back. It left a mark.
:Duster: GHHH! YOU… YOU HIT ME!
Nimbus is shown to be completely terrified. Sobbing, she looks to her bed, and attempts to hide in the blankets, shaking and trembling. Then, the camera cuts back to Duster and Fractus.
:Fractus: YOU DESERVED IT! YOU MADE HER SAY, “SCREW MY FATHER”!
:Duster: I. DID. NOT.
:Fractus: YES YOU DID!
Fractus takes a big step forward before smacking Duster in the face again.
:Duster: GHHHH...
The camera cuts back to Nimbus, who is still sobbing and trembling.
:Nimbus: M-my father…?
Nimbus briefly holds an arm out to reach for her homework book, manipulating winds to bring it to her. She looks at the picture of Diamond, who does indeed have a striking resemblance to both her and Duster.
It then cuts back to the other two Zhantoms.
:Duster: SHE BLURTED IT OUT ON HER OWN, YOU DUMBASS! I… I TOLD HER SHE DIDN’T HAVE TO MAKE SCULPTURES OF KILLERS-
:Fractus: TEACHING HER IRRESPONSIBILITY, NOW?
Fractus smacks Duster again.
:Fractus: DON’T POLLUTE YOUR SISTER WITH SUCH NONSENSE!
Duster grinds her teeth.
:Duster: MAYBE, JUST MAYBE NIMBUS WOULD BE HAPPIER IF YOU COULD’VE KEPT OUR FATHER ALIVE.
Fractus gasps, before snapping. Screaming, she grabs Duster and hurls her into a wall.
:Duster: GYAAAGHHHH…!
Duster gets up, only for Fractus to grab her again, and tear off the rock wings she’s wearing, before tossing her at another wall.
:Duster: ARGH! F-FRACTUS! MOM!
Duster holds a hand out.
:Duster: S-snap out of it! I’m your daughter!
Fractus shakes her head.
:Fractus: YOU’RE DISOWNED! OUT!
:Duster: C-come back to your senses, mom...!
Duster then looks in horror as Fractus begins forming a large rock club in her hand.
:Fractus: I SAID. OUT! AND DON’T COME BACK HERE!
Duster is stunned, for a second, before she notices Fractus swinging the club at her. She dodges it, Fractus leaving a large dent in a wall instead. Horrified, Duster bolts for the door and leaves the house. She’s then shown to quickly run through the streets, much to the surprise of the people walking through the street, before exiting the town entirely.
Back at the Zhantom household, Fractus takes deep breaths, dropping the rock club. She looks through the windows, seeing Duster flee the town, before taking a sigh of relief. She proceeds to go upstairs, looking for Nimbus. She knocks at her door.
Nimbus, in her room, is shown to still be cowering in her blankets.
Fractus, as a result of the door not opening, twists the doorknob with force, though she pauses and then slowly opens the door, taking a peek inside.
:Fractus: … Nimbus?
:Nimbus: WAAAAAAGH! DON’T GET NEAR ME!
Nimbus curls up from under her blankets.
:Fractus: Nimb… don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.
:Nimbus: B-but… I heard… you HURT DUSTER!
:Fractus: I…
Fractus clears her throat.
:Fractus: … I didn’t?
:Nimbus: T-then… w-why did she…
:Fractus: She… she went mad, all of a sudden. I had to defend myself. That’s… what that was.
:Nimbus: … oh…
Nimbus begins peeking out of her blankets, shaking less. Fractus smiles.
:Fractus: … it’s all fine now. C’mon, give your mom a hug, now.
Nimbus hesitantly begins to stand up.
:Nimbus: … where is Duster, now…?
:Fractus: ……. she’s at the hospital.
:Nimbus: Oh… that’s gonna be a tough time for her…
:Fractus: … yeah, it will be.
Nimbus then stands up, before hesitantly giving Fractus a hug. Fractus proceeds to tightly hug her back. Nimbus's expression suggests she's still afraid, however.
==Scene 2==
Duster is shown slowly wandering through the deserts of Silanex, simply sobbing, without saying a word.
She walks forward… and forward… and forward, not knowing where her destination is.
This goes on for a good minute. Eventually, however, she stumbles across massive rock formations.
She doesn’t stops walking, however, and eventually slows down near one of these rock formations… before banging her head against it.
:Duster: GHHH…
She looks around, and notices a cavern.
:Duster: I’ll need shelter…
She enters this cavern, and looks around. It appears she was not the first person to come here, as indicated by an unlit fire and a makeshift bed out of desert plants, but it’s currently empty. She sits down.
:Duster: I-I should’ve listened to Trida…! She told m-me to be careful… why d-didn’t I listen to her?!
She sighs shakily, still sobbing.
:Duster: I… I’m not g-good enough for them… Trida, Beruli… Trida, you work so hard… without your parents a-around, you must be working so hard to support your brother, let alone yourself...
Duster wipes her tears, but they’re soon replaced by more tears.
:Duster: I’m… I-I can’t e-even… win fights… I can’t d-defend myself… I fainted at the sight of a b-battle… Cloudie, Cloudie m-must be so traumatized n-now…
Duster tries to wipe her tears again, though she’s crying too much at this point for it to be very effective.
:Duster: B-Beruli… y-you’re so nice… t-trying to cheer up everyone… e-even with t-the dark… the darkness of w-wars looming...
She slumps onto the floor.
:Duster: I-I’m just… the ugly d-daughter of a-a killer general… I-I don’t d-do good things… I-I don’t do u-useful things, I j-just fight… a-and I c-can’t even w-win those…
She closes her eyes, flashing back to her defeat at the hands of Bruno Incrisp at the tournament, followed by her defeat by Trida in one of her sparring matches, followed by many, many other flashbacks of getting defeated.
:Duster: I… I can’t… d-disappointing…
She begins flashing back to the canyon, remembering passing out.
:Fractus: Disappointing…
She then flashes back to scenes of the war. Soon, she stands up and begins to hurl, the camera overlaying the flashbacks with Duster trashing about in the cavern, banging her head against walls and still screeching.
Then, amongst the war flashbacks, Duster also begins to flashback about good times she’s had with Nimbus, them overlaying both the flashbacks and Duster trashing about.
:Duster: NIMBUS! NIMBUS, DON’T GO! NIMBUS! NIMBUSSSSSS! AAAAARGH!
Eventually, a robed silhouette wearing a pointy hat enters the cavern. Duster does not appear to take notice, however.
:Silhouette: You okay?
Duster still does not take notice, hurling again. She is soon hit by a harmless splash of water to the face.
:Duster: Agh… agh… …?
She comes back to her senses, taking a few seconds to compose herself, before looking at the silhouette - which turns out to be none other than Gampa Pararain. They’re holding two baskets, one filled with scrap and the other filled with scavenged food.
:Gampa: … you okay there?
The episode cuts there.
Category:Episodes
Category:Poisonshot