Part 6: Interview 3 Bonus

Dudecon 03 - Constant Desire

Dudette, sitting on her own in the main room, sips a drink. Shortly, she’s joined by a serious-looking mercenary with glowing green hair and a black outfit - Professor.

“Hey. Saw you sitting on your lonesome. Everything alright?”

“Oh, I suppose.” Dudette replies. She turns to Professor. “I just… well, I had a bit of an argument with Commander before the party.”

“What happened?” Professor asks. “I’ve dealt with my students having plenty of arguments in my time… Felix and Dimitri are the worst for it.”

“Well, you remember last year, when me and Commander, uh… did the thing?”

“You can say ‘fucked’, Dudette.” sighs Professor. Dudette blushes hotly and nods.

“Well, yeah, that. I asked him about it, and he said he wasn’t down to do that again this year. Apparently things are getting more serious with Nell, and I just… I dunno. It just made me feel like I wasn’t special. Would it be so bad if we were to spend time together? Here, in the sub-dimension where there are no consequences?”

Professor muses on the question for a moment. “Hm. I see what you mean. You and Commander are both very similar, aren’t you? He’s got Nell, you’ve got Marth… but last year, neither of you were officially in a relationship. You were just pining after that special person, and you found comfort in each other.”

“Right.”

“This year, though, it’s obviously changed. I think if Commander is uncomfortable with it, you should talk to him about it. Find out specifically what’s changed. He’s a man of morals, though, so I really don’t think you’ll convince him to sleep with you this year.”

Dudette sighs and sinks into the sofa. “Yeah, seems that way… both the men I like aren’t interested in me, it seems…”

Professor grins. “I get that. You’ll find your place, Dudette. For now, please just focus on enjoying yourself, OK?”

Professor gets up, leaving Dudette to muse on these thoughts, and walks across the room with his drink. Just as he’s wondering who to speak to next, the door opens and another my dude enters - he has a halo and large, angelic wings, and has light, iridescent armour on.

“Oh, hey. You’re Celestrian, right? From Dragon Quest IX?”

“That’s me.” Celestrian replies, bowing. He’s got several bags full of snacks, drinks and other assortments. “Welcome, Professor. I just needed to get some supplies for Commander; how’ve you been?”

“I’m good. Need a hand with those?”

“That’d be nice.” Celestrian says, and Professor takes one of the bags. They head off to the kitchen together, and Professor notes that Celestrian seems nervous.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah! Fine. Don’t worry.” Celestrian replies. Professor, unconvinced, decides to drop it for now.

“If you say so. Let’s get this stuff to the kitchen, anyway; it’s a lot heavier than it looks.”

The pair continue walking as the party behind them begins to liven up.

***

Barracks 03 - Birthday Party

“Where’s everyone off to?” Dave asks, as he sees Alfonse, Michael and Selena walking past him in the corridor, looking a little smarter and more dressed-up than usual. Selena looks at him, and tilts her head.

“Did you forget already? It’s Lucy’s 18th today! She’s having a party outside the barracks.”

“Oh, god, I did.” Dave replies, slapping his forehead. “Give me 10 minutes to get dressed, I’ll catch up. I need to fetch something from my room.”

“See you there, pal.” Michael replies. The rest of the group make their way to the party area - the grounds outside the barracks are usually used for exercises and training, but they’ve been converted into a beautiful party space, with long benches and tables piled high with food, a huge birthday cake at one end of the table, and balloons everywhere. In the middle of it is Ingo, who looks up at the newcomers.

“Hey, welcome! Lucy’s on her way now.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Lucy arrives, looking positively angelic. Her hair has been curled gently, bouncing around her shoulders, shining with glitter and sparkles carefully laid on. Her neck and shoulders are slender, and she wears sweet pink lipstick. She wears a beautifully elegant party dress that looks like a rose blooming around her. Naturally tall for her age, she commands the area with her beauty and style.

“...Fuck.” Ingo says, staring at her, completely entranced.

Lucy, however, is never one for remaining aloof, and immediately squeals and runs to hug Michael when she sees him. She does the same for the rest of the soldiers, leaving glitter all over their ouftis.

“Hi, everyone! I’m so glad you could all make it!” she says breathlessly. “It’s a shame that not everyone is here, but I’m sure we’ll have a good time anyway!”

She directs them to the table, and everyone takes a seat, relaxing in the warm sunshine. It’s nice to have a night off for festivities, and Lucy is very excited to have all of her friends nearby. She sits with Michael and Ingo, chatting joyfully whilst holding Ingo’s hand.

Selena and Alfonse, on the other side of the table, turn to one another.

“Well, we didn’t get a chance to catch up properly in the battle.” Alfonse says, opening his arms for a hug. Selena nods carefully, then after a moment, hugs him.

“We didn’t. It’s a pleasure to see you looking so well.”

“Definitely. And you, Selena! Getting promoted, winning battles, becoming one of the famous soldiers in Orange Star… you’re doing quite well for yourself!” Alfonse exclaims. Selena blushes furiously.

“I, um, yes. After our conversation, I decided to stop letting my failures get me down. I don’t write to my family as often as I did. I don’t think about the deaths I was part of. I focus on my job: to protect my country.”

Alfonse smiles. “I think that’s excellent; you’ve certainly proved you can do that. I’m excited to be fighting alongside you once more.”

“Thank you.”

Dave shows up a few minutes later, still awkwardly trying to put a tie on. He sits by Michael, looking grumpy.

“Urgh. Hate ties.”

“I appreciate the effort!” Lucy says, waving at him. “Thank you for coming, Dave!”

Dave can’t help but smile. “Come on, Lucy, did you really think I wouldn’t come to your birthday?”

“I know, I’m just being silly, but I was worried when you didn’t show.”

“Yeah, it slipped my mind, I had to go get ready.” Dave replies. He fishes into his pocket for something. “Oh, right, I have a present for you.”

Lucy gives an audible gasp and looks over at Dave, who hands her a small wooden replica of an Orange Star bomber. Michael and Ingo stare at it in surprise, and Dave eyes them, daring them to say anything.

“I, uh, took up whittling in my spare time. I know it’s not very good, but it’s my first attempt at making something so detailed. Hope it suits you.”

Barely able to speak, Lucy looks up at Dave. “I… It’s wonderful! I love it! Thank you so much, Dave! I’ll keep it on my bedside table forever and ever!”

“Aw, god damn it. Don’t go saying things like that.” Dave sighs, but it’s obvious that he’s smiling.

“And I thought the best present I’d get today was a letter from my dad. This is amazing!”

“It is, yeah.” Michael replies, then turns to face the other end of the table. “That said… can we cut the cake now? I can’t hold myself back any longer.”