Archive of Our Own ^beta

Val Velocity does not believe in the Pheonix Witch. It is the first real thing The Girl learns about him. He doesn't believe in much of anything really. Neither does she, not anymore, but that's beside the point.

The point is, that Val desperately wants to be Party Poison, and she has to laugh because how could he have got it so backwards?

Party believed in everything. They believed in her: that she would save the world. In themself: that they could change the world, and they believed in the fabulous four: that they would live forever. They were wrong.

The only thing they didn't believe in was luck, and that was what got them killed; believing that they were invincible, that they'd lived this long because the witch loved them and the desert needed them and there was no such thing as random chance.

"He's with the witch now" says Vinyl, of their dead crewmate.

"Cut that shit out" says Val. "there's no such thing."

He pokes angrily at the campfire, and in this light, with his newly dyed hair, the girl feels like she's watching a ghost.

~

Another campfire, 12 years ago. A friend of Kobra's was dusted two days ago, and the girl is just old enough to know what that means.

"Phoenix will look after her" Party says.

"Who's that?" the girl asks, she has heard the name before, but doesn't know who or what it represents.

"the witch" says Jet.

"Poison's best friend" Says Ghoul.

They answer at the same time, talking over the top of each other. And then they tell her the legend of the Phoenix Witch, a masked entity who haunts the zones, picking up the masks of ghosted zonerunners, guiding souls home. Jet tells her about the mailbox in zone 4, Kobra says he saw her once after a firefight. Ghoul swears up and down that he knows what's under her mask - Poison just laughs.

"I don't have a mask" the girl asks. "what happens to me if I get dusted, she won't be able to find me."

"Yes she will" says Party Poison, and they say it with such authority that she knows it must be true. Party Poison knows things.

~

Later that night when the others have gone to sleep, the girl watches the stars. She likes to count how many there are of each colour. They change every night. Kobra Kid says most of them were people once, and she wonders what the Phoenix Witch did with their souls.

Party is awake too, watching the fire, looking like they are a million miles away.

The girl wants to ask them about the stars. She wants to ask them why they talk about the witch like they know her, what Ghoul meant by "best friend", But she decides finishing their earlier conversation is more important.

"Jet said the witch collecting your mask was the most important part, but you said she could find me without one, how does she do it?"

Poison takes a while to answer, and she almost repeats herself in case they hadn't heard.

"Phoenix doesn't need a mask find you" they eventually say. "when you're ghosted, it helps you to remember who you are."

"I wouldn't forget who I am" she tells them. "even if i was a ghost I wouldn't forget who I am"

Party nods, and lapses back into silence. The Girl has almost fallen asleep when they suddenly speak again.

"She would take care of you. Even if you forgot, I'd make sure she knew who you were."

"That's what the mailbox is for."

"Yeah"

But the Girl has a distinct feeling that wasn't what Poison meant. She notices they have a braclet wrapped around their fingers. It is dirty and worn and has a shiny black feather twisted among the colourful string. She has often seen them fiddling with it, they never take it off.

~

Val Velocity pokes another can of power pup closer to the fire. The Girl decides that maybe he is a little like Party Poison, but in all the wrong ways. She wishes she remembered what their face looked like, that red-hair-yellow-gun didn't make Val the exact same person.

Vinyl gets up. He is going to say a prayer to the Witch for Volume, but away from Val Velocity so he doesn't get mad. He tells the group this, and Vaya says Xe will join him. Val says nothing. But when they start walking away from the fire he tosses Vinyl the jacket he took off earlier.

"Don't get cold. If you ain't careful the night'll freeze off ya trigger fingers and then we'll all be pixelated"

Vaya laughs, and Vinyl puts on the jacket. Just before they turn to go he looks at the girl, there is a question in his eyes.

"No." she shakes her head. "You guys go without me. I shouldn't be there. He was your friend, I didn't know him, and I don't really beleive in the Phoenix Witch."

She wishes the last part wasn't true.

Vinyl and Vaya leave, and Val goes back to poking the fire. The girl runs a finger over the braclet she's wearing, it looks very old and very worn, there are two feathers twisted in the faded string, one is black, and the other is bright red.

It has been 10 years since she put it on, and she no longer believes in the owner of either of the feathers, but she does not intend to ever take it off.