>"You started this mess, now you end it."
"But Aria-"
>The look she gives you silences your protest immediately.
>Gulping, you back away from her and turn to the door. Slowly but surely, you reach out for the handle.
>You have no idea what could be waiting for you beyond this door. No idea what she has become in the past two days since you last saw her.
>Beads of sweat start to form and trail down your face.
>Glancing over your shoulder for support, you frown when you see Aria has vanished.
>Thanks for the help, Aria.
>Turning your attention back to the door, you shut your eyes and try to listen for any sounds coming from what's behind it.
>Seconds pass by as you strain your ears. The silence is deafening.
>Wait.
>No, you hear something. A clicking.
>It is sporadic, but at times it almost seems to have a rhythm to it. It is a sound you know all too well.
>...
>What the fuck are you doing.
>Cold metal meets the palm of your hand. You twist the knob, but it doesn't give.
>Locked.
"Hmph."
>Not a stranger to this either.
>Opening your wallet, you pull out the all mighty key - the gateway opener - the skeleton key.
>A dirty old penny.
>With the deft and agile fingers that would make a bitch blush, you press the edge of the dime into the slot on the knob and turn. A resounding tick vibrates the knob.
>Open sesame, baby.
>Carelessly throwing the coin to the side - fuck it, let Sonata find it and have a lucky day - you waste no time barging into the room.
>The nest of the elder is exactly how you remember it being from the past two times you were in it.
>Only this time it's darker. Much darker.
>But there is a single light which gives you just enough leeway to see the floor.
>And by floor, you mean the patches of the carpet you can see underneath the bags of Doritos, empty Mountain Dew bottles, and uh... Unmentionables.
>Yeah panties. And bras.
>Much more racy than you thought they'd look like, given the person who would be wearing them. Heh.
>Where were you again?
>Oh yeah the light.
>It's coming from the far-right corner of the room. You can see the outline of a person silhouetted in front of it.
>Crouching down, you tip-toe closer to the light, narrowly avoiding the bags of snacks and bottles of... lemonade?
>Oh.
>Oh no, that's not le- okay keep walking.
>Been there done that too, of course.
>She comes into view at last.
>The den-master. The eldest.
>Adagio.
>She sits atop a leather throne(a shitty $20 walmart desk chair) situated before the control center(an old laptop you got 6 years ago that you gave her, which itself is placed upon a plastic table).
>In her right hand - the mouse.
>in her left... Er, no not in her left hand. Her left arm rests on the table, and her fingers tap two keys on the laptop. You know what keys they are.
>'A' and 'D', of course.
>You can hear the sounds from the laptop now. They bring back a flight of great memories and times.
>"YOU NWAH!"
>"THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"
>Yeah she's playing Morrowind.
>All along the surface of the table beyond the laptop, a metric fuck-ton of garbage.
>Empty pizza boxes, more bottles, more bags of Doritos, more panties.
>Her long and poofy hair is wild. Untamed and sticking out in places.
>Also there's a can of Milwaukee's Best sticking out of it.
>You must stop this madness.
"Adagio," you say loudly.
>She doesn't move a muscle, save for the mouse darting around the screen and the rapid ADADADADAD spam.
>Jesus Christ, her resolve is admirable.
>No wonder she's the leader of the trio.
>Closing the gap between the two of you, you shake her shoulder.
"Adag-OOF!"
>She fucking punches you in the gut.
>"Not now," she mutters - her left hand quickly taking its place back at the keyboard, "handle stupidity later..."
>Then she whispers something borderline incomprehensible. You do catch some words though, namely "keening" and "sunder".
>Wait is she...
>You look at the screen, and see her butchering some poor dreamers inside the backdrop of the final boss.
>How in the fuck is she already at the end of the game? You gave her the laptop and introduced her to the game fucking two days ago. It took you a week to get through the main quest.
>Yeah fuck you and your 'Hortator of the Great Houses', Nibani Maesa...
>Seriously though how is she this far into the game already? Surely she's had to leave the room. How else would she have all these bags of food and shit everywh-
>Her phone sits next to the laptop, covered in Dorito dust, and you piece it all together.
>Sonata's had bags under her eyes lately.
>She's also had her phone all but glued into her hand.
>Has Adagio been sending Sonata on fucking gamer fuel runs? Jesus H. Christ man. Not even you in your Morrowind addiction did anything like that.
>Then again you never had any friends or family to control like that, but that's not important!
>Hold on, why are you standing here awkwardly.
>Thank god she's too immersed to tell you standing around and thinking like this is weird.
>"Weirdo..." she mutters.
>Damn it.
"Adagio seriously," you say, "when was the last time you left your room?"
>"I last left Kagrenac's Study two hours ago, to fetch my ash-slave Sonata, and inform her that I require her to respond immediately to the broadcasted dreams of god."
>She says this with an emotionless, blank expression. Her voice sounds hoarse. But what can you expect from someone who has only consumed Mountain Dew for the past two days?
"Adagio, what the fuck? Have you lost your mind?"
>"Lost my mind? No. I am the dreamer. The dreamer is awake, and I-" her blank look cracks and she snaps at you, "No, of course I haven't lost my mind you fool. Go away, I'm having fun."
>Adagio?
>Fun?
>Never thought you'd hear her say that word.
>She was always business. Always working or reading shit. Reading specifically about how to repair magical artifacts or some shit along those lines.
>That was actually partly why you decided to try to get her into games.
>She was too busy. She always looked tired and annoyed. You figured a nice escape from reality could help give her a good break.
>But apparently that has gone too far.
>The magnificent voice of Dagoth Ur comes through the speakers, "Come Nerevar, friend or traitor, come - come and look upon the heart, and Akulakhan."
"Huh. So you actually are at the end of the game then?"
>"Mhmm..." more clicking. She's going through her inventory, and holy hell that's a lot of fucking books.
>Also she has done the classic Corprus exploit to get 2000 strength to let her carry it all.
>Looks like she's rocking a pretty banging pure-mage build. Not too surprising given her real life affinity for magic and what not.
>Hm. Your legs hurt. Standing is hard.
>Because the story demands convenience, you pull a chair out of the darkness and place it next to her desk chair.
>Taking your place at her right side, you spot a full bottle of Mountain Dew sitting there on the table, unmolested amongst the glistening of the Dorito dust.
>You reach out to grab it, but as you do so, Adagio slams your wrist down into the table and swipes it away.
"Hey, that was miii..."
>She has the same ability Aria has.
>The ability to make you shut your mouth with one look.
>"This room is mine."
>She cracks the bottle open and downs it all in one gulp, then throws it over her shoulder. The bottle disappears into the void around the laptop. Swallowed by the void more like it. You can't hear it land.
>Noticing that the game is paused, you take this moment to try to talk to her.
"So what are you gonna do when the game is over?"
>"There is no over. I'll do the expansions, then I'll go and finish up what few quests I missed, and then I'll achieve the perfect build. I will master the magic of this game, just as I mastered the magic of Equestria!"
"Uh huh. Adagio, don't you think you're going a bit too far with this?"
>She unpauses the game and nears the door to the final confrontation.
>Her cursor hovers over the door, and she sits there staring into the screen.
>"Going far how?"
"Well I mean, Sonata looks like she hasn't slept in a while, and she won't put her phone down-"
>"Good... she listened..."
"-and Aria is getting a little 'Concerned'."
>Angry was more like it.
>But you know Aria. She expresses emotion differently than other people.
>Namely by way of transmuting it into anger, or irritation.
>"Aria? Concerned?"
"Yeah, and I guess I am concerned too. Haven't seen you the past two days."
>Biting her lip, she looks at you, and you notice that she, like Sonata, also has bags under her eyes.
>"Concerned..." she says distantly, looking off into space.
>You nod at her.
"Yeah. I mean seriously, you've only left the room once in the past two days? To go and tell Sonata to make sure she pays attention to the phone?"
>"No, that's not true. I've left to go to the bathroom."
>You stare at her.
>"What?"
>You stare more.
"I saw the bottles of 'lemonade' you had. Kind of strange that Mountain Dew Code Red is yellow now."
>Scowling, her face flushes red, and she looks away from you.
>"Well I don't do... you know. In bottles."
"Okay, be that as it may, pissing in bottles is more than enough. Come on 'Dagi, there's more to life than playing games. I had this exact same problem."
>"No, no you did not," you jump not only at how loud she says this, but frighteningly scary look on her face that goes with it. You don't think you've ever seen her look like this. You've seen her mad, but she looks unhinged. Like a wild animal. There is a glint of madness in her eyes.
>Before you can say another word, or for that matter, figure out what to say, she pounds her fist on the table, sending bottles crashing to the floor.
>With an inhuman growl, she jumps out of the chair and stands with her back turned to you. Her shoulders slowly bounce up and down and she shakes slightly as she breathes heavily.
>Looking around awkwardly is all you have in response. You've no idea what else to do.
>You've calmed down Aria before, and you've helped settle Sonata down, but you've never had to calm down Adagio before. Never needed to.
>What doesn't help is that you aren't sure what she's mad about either.
>Opening and closing your mouth a few times, you try to find the magic words to help settle her anger, but no such words come. So instead you settle for just watching her, and waiting for her. You figure she'll get there on her own.
>That and you're afraid if you talk she'll rip your head off.
>Jesus. An angry Adagio. That look in her eyes, man. Aria has nothing on her(not that you would ever admit that to either of them.)
>Minutes pass, and with each passing minute, her breathing becomes slower, and the shaking of her body slows with it.
>Eventually, she's breathing normally again. She stands rigid against the dark around her.
>And at last, she speaks again:
>"No you did not. You've never had my problem."
>She turns to look at you, and you see that the madness in her eyes is gone.
>Her eyes are now bloodshot. Her lip trembles slightly.
>Okay.
>So that's two things you've never seen until today. Adagio being furious, and now, Adagio on the verge of crying.
>And you don't know how to deal with either.
"I uh... are you okay?"
>It escapes your mouth before you even know what you're saying, and when you realize how stupid what you just asked is, you shake your head.
"No wait. I mean-"
>"No. It's fine. That is a stupid question. But I will answer it: no. I am not okay."
>When she pauses and waits for you to say something, you motion for her to continue with your hand, and she complies.
>"Anonymous. Do you know what this is like? What it's been like for all three of us?"
>She takes a deep breath; closes her eyes.
>"We have lost it all, Anonymous. Losing our home was bad and hard enough, but now, we've lost what makes us... 'us'. We have lost our amulets. The things that make us sirens. We've become like... you."
>With a look of disgust, she damn-near spits as she says the word:
>"Human."
>Her eyes open slowly, and a single tear trails down her face.
>"Look at me, Anonyomus. I'm a human. One of you. All three of us are humans now. Eating, drinking, sleeping, AGING. There's nothing special about us. Nothing special about ME. I'm weak. There's nothing... there's nothing DAZZLING about me. I used to be able to bend people - ponies and human alike - to my will. I used to be strong. Powerful. Now I'm nothing. All three of us are nothing, and it's all my fault."
>What the fuck is even going on anymore.
>First she's putting your addictive personality to shame, and now she's drowning in a sea of self-loathing and depression.
>Is this how she has been feeling all along? Did you just not notice it? Did you, Aria, and Sonata not notice it?
>You know what they used to be. What they had tried to do at the battle of the bands last year. But they didn't really talk about any of it much after they told you their own account of the story.
>From what you gathered, they all waaaay over-estimated their abilities, and got fucked over pretty bad because of it.
"But all three of you messed up though. It wasn't your fault any of it happened."
>"Yes, IT WAS!" she screams, making you flinch, "I was the LEADER, Anonymous. I was the one who came up with the plan. I was the one who put it into action. It was my fault it failed. It's my fault we're in this situation now."
"Situation? What situation? Everything is fine."
>"Fine? FINE? Don't you understand? I've failed them. Failed myself. The only reason we aren't starving on a street corner is because of you. You and your damn kindness. Your... Celestia be damned, I hate you, Anonymous!"
>She falls to her knees.
>Cracks in the dam form. Tears start freely flowing, as she shakes gently.
>"It shouldn't be this way. We shouldn't have to be living off of someone else. I should be the one leading us on, like I've always done before. But I can't! I don't know what to do! I'm nothing now."
>She glances over at the monitor, where the game, in its idle state, has begun to do a slow 360 pan around her character.
>"At least on there I know what to do. I can be something."
>So...
>What, she thinks you're taking her spot? You're the one leading them now?
>Thinks she is nothing?
>That's not true in the slightest. In fact, what she just said is so absurd you can hardly believe it came out of her mouth.
>Getting out of the chair, you walk over to her, and with only a small degree of uncertainty, you reach out to lift her chin and force her to look into your eyes.
"Adagio... you're full of bullshit."
>Immediately, she furrows her brow and angrily glares into your soul.
"You aren't nothing. You aren't human. You're Adagio fucking Dazzle. And Aria and Sonata? Adagio for fuck's sake, I'm not the only reason you three aren't on the street. You were the one who asked me if I could help the three of you. You were the one who led them to me. If you had never asked, I would have never done anything. Ergo - you are the reason they are here, not me."
>Motioning towards the game, you gaze back into her now dumbstruck eyes.
"Sonata and Aria still think you're the leader. I mean shit, if you weren't the leader - would Sonata be waiting hand and foot on you right now? Would Aria be worried about you? Would I be here trying to make you see reason? Nope. You don't need to go and escape into a damn game to be what you want to be, because you're already there. You always have been."
>You rise up and hold your hand out to her.
>She stares at it for a moment, then wordlessly grabs your hand...
>And roughly yanks you to the ground.
>You land in a pile of bottles and junk, and then are blinded by the light on the ceiling fan blasting the darkness away.
>Adagio towers over you with her hands on her hips. All traces of whatever the fuck you just saw were gone. You see her again.
>You see Adagio. In her eyes, something you didn't know was missing is now there. You can't even really put a word to it. They just look... fuller. Slightly more alive.
>"You are right, Anonymous," she says with a smirk, "I am not nothing... and I'm not a siren. No, I am Adagio 'fucking' Dazzle. And I am leader of... whatever we are now. And I surrender to nothing! I will find a way!"
>She holds her hand out to you now.
>You halfway expect her to 'sike' you and move her hand away when you try to grab it, but you are pleasantly surprised when she doesn't, and actually helps you up.
>Once you are standing, she pulls the can of Milwaukee's Best out of her hair and it falls to the floor with a clank.
>The condition her room is in seems to hit her as her face falls into a frown, but then it rebounds up into a smirk.
>"Guess Sonata has some work to do..."
>She pulls out her phone and starts tapping at the screen, but then stops and taps her chin.
>With a shrug, she holds her thumb down on the screen for a moment and then starts tapping again.
>"After she gets some sleep," she says as she taps a final time, making the phone let out a small beep.
>Satisfied, she turns back to the table.
>"Now if you'll excuse me - I have a Sharmat to defeat. And then once I'm done with that, it's all over. That journey ends, and the new one begins."
>And with that, she glances over her shoulder and watches you expectantly for a few seconds.
>Confused as to what exactly it is she wants you to do, you raise a brow at her, making her roll her eyes.
>"Get out, Anonymous."
"Uh... okay?"
>Guess that's done then.
>Fucking hell. What a day this was.
>You make your way through the ruins and reach the door, and as you turn the knob to leave, Adagio calls out to you,
>"Thank you."
>Looking back at her with a smile, you nod at her.
"Don't mention it."