As you're lost, the twilight answers with goodbye

As you're lost, the twilight answers with goodbye is a lore post made for Another UnneceSCARY Tournament, made by Teleportato and rinaten. It accompanies the track heart aches no longer.

Characters Featured

 * Squidward Tentacles
 * Giygas
 * Reigen Arataka
 * The Caretaker
 * Billy (mentioned)
 * Zim (mentioned)

Story
''It has probably been a good thirty minutes since Squidward left the party to collect his thoughts. The clear sky provides a soft, yet ample blue light for his walk. Since it’s so late, nobody is really left outside of the festivities, leaving Squidward truly alone….something he hasn’t experienced in a long while.''

"I knew I shouldn’t have listened to Reigen about all of this...No wonder those two morons were so willing to cooperate in setting up the invitation, it was all just something for them to all spoil in the end."

"...It’s all just another line in a long string of failures for your good pal Squiddy over here…I knew I shouldn’t have listened."

''Squidward continues to be lost in thought. Until...he hears the faint sound of a classical clarinet piece playing in the forest.''

"G-G-G--Giygas. Is that you?" ''[ Maybe Giygas got their clarinet fixed? He should have known that his eldritch friend couldn’t be held down that easily! ]''

"Sit tight you misty red cloud, Squidward’s coming!"

''Squidward runs down a beaten path from town...after a while the music starts to become clearer and the trees start to dissipate. Soon, a clearing is presented...a cliff viewing both the skies and clouds on the edge of the island. However, Squidward’s hopes and dreams were soon buried as the only thing in sight was a record player and a familiar collection of objects.''

[sigh….] "Guess I should have expected to find nothing here."

"Nothingness is just the undiscovered."

"Shouldn’t you be at some Halloween party that you and the rest of the assist trophies have going on?"

"It must have vanished, for there was nothing."

There is silence for a moment as The Caretaker slowly switches out the vinyl on the player, soaking in the momentary silence as he does so.

"A blissful night within twilight. Sit alongside your bewildering acquaintances."

"You know, I really don’t think I should...I don’t want to ruin your Halloween as well."

"The statement wasn’t a request."

''The Caretaker isn’t the one to usually offer to talk with someone, but since their meeting during Red Mist’s match with Reigen, the group became pretty fast friends. He could tell something troubled the squid, and there’s nothing wrong with sharing bliss with someone who needs it.''

''Squidward reluctantly sits down on the grass next to The Caretaker...This is probably a mistake, but considering he hit rock bottom already there’s probably nothing to lose. They both sit down for what feels like an eternity staring at the slowly moving stars, giving a moment of bliss for both.''

"The burning fears in your head. Send them to the stars. Emptied, you may find bliss."

"OH-"

Squidward is taken aback as he is snapped out of his worriless state.

"You moron, you just had to remin-"

"Feelings within get buried. Letting out opens us. Fill the mind with a new memory."

"..."

"The time is irrelevant. Bring it out when the mind decides."

''Squidward takes a moment to think about the evening, and even before then, trying to think of his message to “send to the stars”. He doesn’t really understand the meaning of this by the old man, but it couldn’t hurt to try...right?''

"It’s just that...no matter what I try to do, it feels like everything I do ends with some sort of catasophy. Whether it’s the meddling of two morons or getting dreams crushed by audiences who don’t understand you, it makes me wonder what reason there is to even try to do things anymore?"

"I can’t sit in a room or behind a cash register for the rest of my life... but sometimes I just want to give up on my ambitions. Something always happens no matter how much I plan ahead. Just when I thought I had someone that truly cared about me, even if it wasn’t for my art, he was taken away by something I could have stopped if I wasn’t so self-absorbed."

"...Rigid minds always fall. A glimpse into infinite defeat."

"Thanks, genius... I definitely didn’t just say that."

"Is there enjoyment in actions? For what you do alone, is there regret?"

"I..guess not, the feeling of when I work on stuff is irreplaceable, it’s just the worry of what’s going to happen afterwards."

"Others will always vanish. The feelings of yourself are what remains."

"Are you trying to give me an existential crisis? I’ve already been down that road."

"Emptied, you may find bliss. Words said long ago. Cherish the joys that you already have. Ignore the pains that will fade regardless. Accept the joys given instead. Both spread beyond to others. Given the time to sit in yourself."

"...But how will I get to where I am truly happy all the time, if I can’t rely on how the world sees me..."

"Life isn’t defined by the end. It can’t be defined by the outside. It’s a burning constant. Because it is forever chaos. Define by your own rate of change."

''And with that...the record slowly fades out on it’s music, and The Caretaker gets up to leave Squidward alone once again. Before Squidward says anything, The Caretaker interrupts.''

"Give farewells to an old man later. Time is fading for tonight. Yet, there is reason to remain now."

''And with that, The Caretaker sets off back to his home in the assist plaza nearby. Now alone, Squidward doesn’t really know what to take in from all of that, but he does feel at least a bit better? However, before he could get up, he is greeted with a sharp voice that only minutes ago would have sent him into a state of panic.''

"So this is where you’ve been. We’ve been looking all over the island to see where you went."

Reigen gives a quick text to call off the search, then comes closer to greet his friend.

"Where is everyone else?"

"With so many places to look, we all split up looking for you. I must be lucky to be the one to find my associate."

"Are you just trying to butter me up now, after this disaster of an evening?"

"No no, it was quite the opposite actually. I was getting so many compliments on how well the evening was going the entire time in your stead. You were working a lot to make sure everything was comfortable, so I just don't think anyone wanted to disturb the train of thought of an expert planner."

"Before you left, I planned a speech to thank you for your help on making a goal of mine possible. I had a hand organizing it all, and of course you can’t have a party without such a charismatic organizer, but you were the one that put in most of the work. That said, there’s nothing wrong with doing it personally, in such a wonderful spot like this, hey?"

"Well…I am glad you know that a good business can’t fail when Squidward is in charge. In the end, we did make a pretty good team…"

"Of course. Perhaps there will be business opportunities for us in the future. That said, I can never let a deed go unpaid. After all, I can’t have that loom over me during a competition. So, me and everyone else pitched in to help you out after that accident earlier. I even had to call one of my assistants to come in from town to help. It takes a lot of psychic power to contain a spirit!"

''A incomprehensible, yet familiar voice is heard as Reigen reveals a fully reformed clarinet and painted clarinet. Attached to it was a paper signed by everyone with well wishes from the party.''

"You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to get everyone to sign a piece of paper compared to re-channeling that spirit into your clarinet, but I have my ways of convincing people otherwise."

Squidward slowly takes the clarinet as Giygas’s whispers resonate into Squidward’s head...while not all of it is able to be heard clearly, it definitely felt like a warm and sympathetic tone.

"I don’t really know what to say…"

"Nothing at all. As I said, consider it a debt repaid by a friend. Though, if you ever wanted to repay me back you can come and browse my services!"

"Well we will see about that when we can. But… thanks Reigen, I really appreciate it."

"Honestly, I was expecting you to be in a much different state. When you left, I could feel your grief. But now your spirits almost look cleansed. Guess a good walk does wonders after all, who would have thought!" [He gives a small chuckle]

"Well...it is starting to get a bit late after all, I’ll leave you to catch up with Giygas and head on to bed. Don’t worry about the cleanup, we got Billy and Zim to take care of it after they woke up as little deal to not tell Yogi about their meddling."

''He puts his hands in his pockets and walks back down the trail as Squidward is left confused on how to feel about everything. He counted the amount of ways it could go wrong, and honestly? It was really a lot less than what he expected in the end. And even then, if something was going to go wrong, who else to take it and move on other than Squidward Tentacles. Many people do care about him and his work, even if they don’t understand it themselves. And even if nobody did, it was what he cared about doing and improving.''

Squidward and Giygas continue to look at the stars for a while, before heading back home to get some well deserved rest, ending our night.

''I hope you enjoyed the tales brought to you of this wonderful evening, dear viewer. One night almost felt like days worth of experiences to enjoy. I guess that’s what happens when you have a lot of fun that you have to share. So, I hope you yourself enjoy your witching hour and cherish your own tales to enjoy.''

~ Happy Halloween, on behalf of the AUT Writers, Musicians, Artists, and Admins.

Trivia

 * This lore continues off of the events from "The Plunge Into Doom".
 * The title references the title of Kix's sendoff, "as you are lost in the twilight, we say farewell", from Awesome For Another Day 2.