Until We Meet Again || • Scaramouche x reader •

Chapter Sixteen

"Me?! How...?" You questioned with a confused look. You originally wanted to stop this entire thing so of course it came in handy, but never in your life did you think that you'd be able to help out the Traveler himself.

"Well, we need you to go along with his plan. We will communicate while you're there, so we can plan our moves according to what he's scheming." He started explaining his idea.

"Okay, but how do you want to talk to me while I'm there?"

"Oh, that'll be the easiest part to get done." He chuckled. "You see that Akasha Terminal you got from the guards earlier? Take it off, and replace it with this one." The boy said, while giving you something.

You looked at his palm curiously, only to find... another Akasha Terminal which looked exactly the same.

"Um...?" You looked at him, waiting for an explanation. "It's a modified Akasha Terminal. It serves the same purpose as the original one, but connection with the Akademiya has been cut off, so they can't track us. If you're wondering why that's needed, that is simply because they're also behind whatever's happening currently."

You listened to him carefully while putting on the other device. It seemed like they've already planned everything out throughly, so you didn't understand just how could he involve you so easily, but you didn't mind. It was beneficial for everyone.

"So what now?" You asked him, hoping to be able to help. "We will start tomorrow. Our group will stay here and do some things in the city and then I'll be joining you at The Balladeer's hideout later. While you're there, all you have to do is transfer whatever he's saying to us. Don't try to fight him alone, it's dangerous, okay?" The Traveler put his hands on your shoulder and looking into your eyes, showing that he cares.

All you could do was nod, because you suddenly got lost in your thoughts. Of course, it was great that you could stop him, but it also felt wrong to side with the people who wanted to defeat him when he has placed so much trust in you.

He saved you various times, went out to eat with you (even if you had to pay in the end), he showed you the truth: the past... No matter how much of an evil idea he had in his mind, you couldn't ignore his good deeds.

"Wait... where do I find him?" You asked him, suddenly realizing that you don't even know where he is. "Oh, don't worry about that. If everything's right, in order for his plan to be successful, he'll come get you today, since I'm sure he has figured that we're going tomorrow. So, brace yourself."

Well that was a surprise. You already met him once today, but then looks like there will be a second time. You had to admit to yourself, you were a little scared because even though you knew him, he was still going to be difficult to deal with considering his origins and position.

"Uh... okay." You just reacted bluntly, not knowing what to say to that. "Now, let's part ways so he can pick you up."

And with that, a goodbye, then Aether and Paimon went their own way and you decided to leave the city. It was scary to imagine just what will happen. You didn't want him to hurt others, and let's be honest, you didn't want to be harmed or turned into a God either.

As you walked out the city it clicked that you don't even know your surroundings. You looked around to search for a place where you could go without involving anyone in this mess, and you luckily found one as well. It was a big rainforest that you spotted in the distance.

"Might as well go there..." you thought to yourself. Little did you know that not much time later, the disaster would start.

• • •

After a long walk you finally arrived at the forest. You didn't expect it to look like this, the trees were enormous. There was a little river flowing between the hills which connected to a lake with a tree trunk in the middle of it. You've never seen anything like it, sure, Inazuma had it's own special areas, but you had already seen those a hundred times.

The journey to here took so much out of you, you didn't have the energy to explore further. Sitting down somewhere seemed like the best option right now. Since everything was wet due to the weather conditions in here, it didn't matter where you rested, there wasn't a dry place anywhere.

Although it was hard to see, you noticed that the sun has started setting and with that, you were getting sleepier as well. You were already physically exhausted, and the darkness slowly dawning you made it even more severe.

"I can't fall asleep at a time like this..." You thought out loud, but your body didn't seem to listen to you. All you could feel were your eyelids weighing down. It was hard to keep them open.

"That's right, you can't possibly fall asleep at a time like this!"  You heard a voice respond to your statement. It shocked you, so all the sleepiness you felt just vanished at once.

You looked up, only to see no other than Scaramouche standing in front of you in the same form as he did in Port Ormos. "Wha-... Are you in my head again?" You stood up to questions his appearance.

"I told you that we can't really meet physically anymore until you come to where I am. My body is connected to that machine, I can't move." He shrugged. "Also, what are you doing here?" The boy crossed his arms and looked around.

"Oh, I don't know... I just wanted to look around...?" You laughed awkwardly. Obviously you can't let him know the plan that you have been planning out with the Traveler.

You saw the harbinger squint his eyes at you. "I see... lies."

"Um..."

"Oh well, we'll sort this out later, after all, I do not appreciate anyone lying to me, especially someone I'm close to..." Scaramouche looked in your eyes, sending shivers down your spine.

You didn't know how to respond to that, so you just stood there, giving him an "I'm sorry" look. It was terrifying to see him mad, the last thing you wanted was him to be suspicious of you. Who knows what he could do if he wanted to...

"In any case, I came here to pick you up. Your time has come." Your friend abandoned his death glare and extended his hand to you. "Walking there would be quite troublesome, so I suggest you take my hand for a moment."

You nervously gulped before proceeding. You at the finish line, everything depended on how well you and your team will do. It was incredibly risky, no question about it, but... You had no choice. It was now or never.

Making your mind up, you slowly reached out to take his hand. As you did, you saw a smirk appear on his face. "Huh...?" You asked from yourself.

Everything started feeling dizzy around you and you felt your legs slowly give up. The last thing you could hear before fainting was a laugh packed with pure evil intentions. It would've made anyone crazy.

"Foolish human."