Under the Sea: Conclusion and aftermath

[voidtreckermods]

Ritual

The jellyfish is no more and as red team take stock of their injuries, or collapse from exhaustion the lights zip around them, singing their song of joy. They gather around the light that had been inside the jellyfish and now that it has been released it is obvious this light is different. Stronger. They surround it and the song gets even louder as they begin to move towards the plinth.

In the caverns where the purple and orange team are there is a stillness. For those in orange team still in the cavern they can only hope that the instructions they gave out had been followed. Luckily for them they have been, Purple team have done a remarkable job of defeating the crabs and cleaning the temple. The priests gather around the shell on the alter, arms linked together in prayer as they seek to re-sanctify their temple. As their prayer begins they will invite the voidtreckers to join them, though no one is forced into taking part in the ritual. They suggest that they use their strange wrist jewellery to open communication with their friends in Bui.

The monster on the beach is defeated and though the fight is still raging against the crabs, a beacon has been built and lit. The islanders who are not fighting gather around it, linking arms, drawing any voidtreckers who don't object to joining them into the circle.

The song begins hesitantly, almost as if everyone has forgotten the words and only half remembers the tune. The SCA translates, the prayer is simple, a blessing on the land and its people, deliverance from the darkness and hope for the future.

The light from the jellyfish reaches the plinth and is set upon it. The song heightens and the light shoots upwards, blinding in its brilliance.

Through the dark storm clouds a light streams towards the island, most of it towards the beacon on the island though there is a break away light that goes towards the train, where some of orange team have set up a second beacon. It swirls around those on the train roof, singing a song of happiness and bounces back towards the island.

The light reaches the main beacon and hits it with a strength that lights up the whole sky. The light splits more solidly into two and speeds off over the ocean. Light pours into the underground caverns, not caring about the ocean and rock in the way, the light pools into the shells, the caverns glow warmly.

Outside the storm calms, clouds roll back, the sun shines. The sea stills. The wind stops. The sun is rising, a beautiful dawn. Any monsters left scuttle away, vanishing into the ocean, away from Bui.

Those with any powers that they couldn't reach before find them returned in a rush. Those who can sense life find this world teeming with it. A song that dances between every plant and creature.

Some of red may have evacuated to the train but those who stayed to see the ritual through, the world around them seems to melt away and they find themselves back next to the rock pools. Among their number there are some confused looking islanders who intrinsically draw closer to those who helped free the lights.

Orange and Purple

Down underwater there's noise and a babble of voices as the citizens of Bui wake up. There's a shimmering around the city now, like a shield though they can pass through easily. Parents scramble to locate their children and all check on loved ones and friends.

The familiar voice of train announcements is heard through Orange team's SCAs. Orange return to the VoidTrecker Express. Once everyone is on board it flies low over the ocean, skimming the waves.

In the underwater temple the priests finish sealing the ritual and then it is time to begin the return trek. There are no monsters this time and after a few hours, as they emerge onto the first of the sandbanks they will find the VoidTrecker Express is waiting for them.

Red and Blue

The monsters gone, those of the island gather everyone from the rock pools and for a few hours everyone sleeps.

At about noon the islanders begin to stir, begin putting things to rights. Wood is moved from the strategic points to more communal campfires on the beach. Any dead monsters that haven't been gathered for food have been washed out to sea, disappeared into the depths. They begin to prepare food and won't turn away any helpers. Though those who have been fighting are encouraged to rest.

The islanders bring blankets and start to gather. Everyone is exhausted but the children, in the way of children find the energy to play in the sea and the sand.

Beach Day

Early afternoon the train lands on the beach and everyone gets a holographic message to their SCA.

Mission successful. Well done Voidtreckers. Enjoy the rest of your day. You will find suitable clothing in the dressing room. A new recipe has been added to the kitchen information points.

The dressing room is indeed open once more, this time it holds swimsuits of every style, shorts, t shirts, wraps and beach skirts. Sun hats and sunglasses can also be found. It's a bit of a mush mash but they should be able to cobble together something other than their uniform wet suits.

Time to laze around on the beach or for those who still have energy swim or play. A few hours later a ripple across the water brings some of those from Bui and they swim or lounge on rocks to talk.

Food and stories

Food is cooked and shared, the islanders will happily try the voidtreckers' offerings and share their own. As the sun begins to set they gather around the fires. Stories and songs are shared and there's even some dancing for the brave.

Voidtreckers can choose whether to sleep in their own beds or spend one last night on the island before the train flies off into the sunrise and into the void.

Comments

[mynameisallen]

Beach Day
Allen figured people were using this time to relax and have fun. Allen knew full well that this should be something he should honestly try and do. Act his age some people might say. But the problem was, Allen was to use to simply always working. Even on the train he found himself more often than not either training or in the dining car.

The only time he ever tried anything was in the gaming car and never for that long. So after Allen had back out a pair of black swimming shorts and no shirt to cover up the scarring he had stepped out on the beach and seemed more than a little out of place.

Awkwardly looking around Allen couldn't help but feel more than a little out of place, unsure of what to do.

Food and Drink
This was something Allen could at least get behind. Food. Plus it was something new and interesting. Having thanked whoever made it and much to many islanders surprise Allen sat down with a pile of food as big as he was about to eat.

"Thank you for the meal," he said happily before finally taking the first bite. It was delicious and enough to get the young man to smile. He was happy and content for the time being. After another bite he looked over toward whoever was close by, a smile plastered on his face.

"Are you enjoying the food?"

Beach Day

[laurefindil]

"Allen," Glorfindel called out to him. He was in a pair of yellow swim briefs, his hair down and loose. "Are you here to play in the water, too?"

Re: Beach Day

[mynameisallen]

"I don't know yet. Trying to figure out what to do with my time" Which was a weird answer, but Allen had always been the type of either be eating or training or usually working which on the train was not something he could really do as he would ga8in nothing for it.

Re: Beach Day

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel didn't think the answer weird, figuring Allen was stymied by the wealth of different options. "Well, what do you enjoy doing the most?"

Re: Beach Day

[mynameisallen]

"What I enjoy doing the most is eating, but I do that daily anyway." So it wouldn't be him getting much out of what he would normally be doing, which he was at least attempting to do.

Re: Beach Day

[laurefindil]

"Ah, but on the Train, we usually don't have this much variety at one time." He nodded to where the villagers had their setup, to where 47 was cooking, and where Ifrit's flames were flaring up. "You can sample it all."

"And what I will enjoy, is the sweet revenge of eating those crabs that tried to eat us," Glorfindel added with a wink.

Re: Beach Day

[mynameisallen]

"I think I will consider it later. As much as I enjoy eating, I told myself to try new things, not just new food." Though it was hard to tell what this guy has had with the worlds he has been to either way.

"But later I might, though I will probably avoid eating what I would normally."

beach day

[blitzcheer]

"Hey hey, sup!"

Whoa, that is a scar with a story, and also hard to miss. But even if it is, Tidus doesn't want to draw attention to it (he's been around a guy with a noticeable scar--it's not the first thing you ask!), so when Tidus sees and calls out to Allen, his eyes don't linger on it for long, going to the guy's face as he jogs over to him.

"Heard you guys got swarmed by crabs! You get that workout you've missing out on?"

Re: beach day

[mynameisallen]

"Hey."

Allen had been for the most part sitting on the beach under a parasol for the moment while he had pondered what his next move would be, but talk to the other seemed to jump right to the top.

"Yeah, there were quite a large number of them and it really was quite a workout that I ended up drained. But, I heard Blue had a lot to deal with as well. So, how did that go?" He figured it was best to at least ask the same question back.

[blitzcheer]

Sitting? Tidus can do sitting, he is here for it, and he doesn't need anything else but hearing the other getting into the conversation to plop down on the warm sand, sighing at the relief of getting off his feet.

"It was fine to start off with, but then everything went crazy after the second day, and nothing wanted to stop attacking!" Tidus throws up his arms to illustrate the madness of it. "And it wasn't just crabs--you get the things with the shark heads and the stupid squids too? 'Cause it was all of them, over and over!"

[mynameisallen]

"So fighting seemed to be a thing in common for both of us." The only difference for the most part was the fact that they were doing an escort mission on top of the fighting. As well as the squids and shark heads. Those were new.

"Wait, what?" Shark heads? Squids? You had to deal with more than we had to. We just had crabs as far as the eye could see."

[blitzcheer]

"Hey, you got stuck underground all that time! 'least we had sunlight!" Get more monsters, but get more freedom to move. Would he have liked being underground for all that time...? Probably not!

"I still don't know what actually happened... Were crabs wrecking the altar or whatever where you were? Was that the problem? And then we had to build that beacon for some reason..."

Someone didn't really pay attention to the explanation he think he got...

[mynameisallen]

"I don't really remember much except what I was doing for the most part." And focusing on the position of them as well to help others out if and when they needed it. "I believe there was a ritual of sorts or something though, but I really don't know what they were doing."

He put it down to the fact that well they had been doing a lot of fighting to really pay attention to everything.

beach day

[irrationally]

Allen. Allen.

Why is it that whenever she spots him doing anything, it's always his name with an exasperated tone attached to it that enters Alice's mind? But listen, at least she usually has a good reason to judge him! Like right now! Just look at him, showing off so much skin - scandalous enough by itself - but then also just showing off those scars to anyone? There's a reason some people (read: Alice) are sitting on the beach in their full usual train clothes!

"What are you doing?"

It's said with a flat voice, like it's not as much a question as much as it's a judgement of what she's seeing here. If Allen looks over, he'll be able to see Alice sitting under a parasol, as if even with just her face and hands uncovered the sun might still burn her to ash anyway. She's like a dark shadow in the corner of the beach...

[mynameisallen]

"I'm currently trying to figure out what to do next." He honestly hadn't clocked on to what the other might have meant by the wording as he turned his head before tilting it slightly. She was probably the most covered person around he was pretty sure.

But he soon made his way over, going to join her for the time being. "Not one for fun in the sun, huh? I can understand that. I have no idea what people are doing most of the time."

[irrationally]

"That's noticable," she replies, but there's no real malice in her tone. It's mostly just her trying to lightly poke fun at him, but Alice's usual deadpan tone kind of takes the humor out of it. She just isn't good at this.

Still, the company is appreciated, especially while it looks like everyone else is having fun. It's reminding Alice very starkly of just how broken she is in comparison. It makes her grow quiet for a moment before she glances back over at him.

"Are you alright just walking around like that though?"

You know. Shirtless. She means shirtless, but she's not going to say that out loud!

[mynameisallen]

He nodded slightly, though there was something calming in just watching the ocean, showing him that honestly he didn't always need to be doing something. Taking an actual break could be just as good.

'Are you alright just walking around like that?' Was a question that gave him pause and enough to look down at himself. Sure, in the times he was from being like this was an oddity and he figured that she might also be from around the same time period, but at the same time... more often than not Allen has always found himself in this kind of state from fights more often than not.

Plus getting a little too used to living in a different time period does tend to change one's thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. I mean... I know it might cause some looks, but people watching and judging me wouldn't be the first time."

[irrationally]

At least he's aware that this kind of thing will get him looks. That's good. Allen might be a tad dense sometimes from Alice's point of view, but he's not entirely stupid. He at least does realise the consequences of his actions.

The problem is just that he's still stupid enough to then still proceed with said actions regardless!

Which is why Allen might suddenly find two fingers reaching out and latching onto his ear. A moment later they pull on it. Not hard enough to really hurt, but he should still be able to feel it for sure.

"Don't just let people judge you like that!"

[mynameisallen]

Of all the things Allen hadn't expected, being pulled by the ear was one of them. It was honestly a surprise and one he wondered for a brief moment why?

At least until she spoke. Don't let people judge you. Easier said than done, but Allen himself knew no matter what he tried because of certain things there would always be someone. He had just learned to stop caring so much about what people thought when it came to the way he looked.

"Some people are going to judge regardless. I just choose to ignore them. After all if we met in different circumstances wouldn't you have judged me because of the way I look and my hand?" He moved his hand to where hers was on his ear as a way to gently attempt to remove it.

"But for me I see the things people judge me for and I remember the good it can be. My arm is to help everyone, my scar over my eye is a reminder of the path I decided to take." He shrugged slightly. "I don't care what people think because this is who I am at the end of the day."

Beach Day

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin spent the first part of the day cooking, dancing, singing, and talking to people. He didn't bother to get into swimwear, having just spent the last days diving and fighting crabs and not being much interested in getting into the water again anytime soon. Instead, he wore an outfit that Tony Stark had given him as a gift: black jeans, black leather lace-up boots, and a black denim jacket. To that he added a brightly colored t-shirt he had picked out of the train's collection of beachwear. He took breaks from his work and celebration activities to walk on the beach, and it was on one of these that he spotted Allen looking uncertain.

"Allen, are you going to the celebration?" he asked.

Re: Beach Day

[mynameisallen]

"The celebration? You mean the thing later?" In which Allen knew that if there was food, he was always going to go regardless. After all, it's food and probably delicious.

"I am considering it."

[so_dark_a_road]

"I mean the thing now. It's already started. The food's mostly cooked, and the musicians are currently taking a break, but they'll be starting again soon. And there are other activities, too."

Curufn smiled at Allen. He didn't want him to miss out.

[mynameisallen]

"Oh, so that was what I was hearing. I'll be fine listening to it at a distance." As for all he knew he might find something else to do during that time.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Yes, that was the racket you were hearing." Curufin agrees, with a chuckle.

"Well, if you aren't interested in the music or the games, there's always the food."

[mynameisallen]

"The music I am fine with, but it's also something you can listen to at a distance and relax." Music was something he had learned to somewhat appreciate since the last world and those from a theatre teaching him a tiny bit about musicals.

"As much as I would take up the offer of food and believe me, I rarely say no. I'm trying to do things outside of what I would normally. That and I eat more than the natives could probably cook in that span of time."