middleofsomewhere | Under the Sea: Conclusion and aftermath

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Under the Sea: Conclusion and aftermath

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.

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Tidus laughs at that last part. He can understand, or sympathise.

"That's all of us, huh? I tell people about the biggest sport where I come from that's been around a thousand years, and people give me nothing." No reaction, nada. He's gotten used to it, even if it's still outrageous. All this water, and when will they be around a sea again? And he can't even play a good game of blitzball.

"So what, you've gone to different worlds before? Or do people just...come over from other worlds to yours?"

Which he asks with some bewilderment. He's getting used to hearing this too, but it hasn't lost its sheen yet.

"Both," Cassie says. "The visitors from other realms have a tendency to come uninvited. And armed."

This isn't an entirely inaccurate portrait of herself when she last visited Outworld, either.

"I'm guessing I wouldn't know your sport, either. What's it like?"

The outer world problems gets a 'Yeesh!', 'cause what else is there to say about that in a few words? It pretty much explains itself: Trouble.

But as for the sport- "If you do? That'd be great. It's called blizball- two five minute rounds underwater trying to get the ball in your opposing team's goal. You hit it, kick it, whatever it takes to score a goal! All taking place in a big stadium, in a floating sphere of water."

His plate on his lap, Tidus extends his hands out to signify its large size. Keeping them out as he asks, though not daring to be too hopeful: "Anything at all?"

Cassie takes a bite of her kebab as he describes Spira's greatest pasttime.

"Sounds a lot like water polo. Though that's played on the surface, so...underwater hockey I guess? They aren't the biggest sports around, but they exist. Water polo's in the Olympics, I think."

"Yeaaahhh," he drags out, "thing about our sport? It's the only one we have. I have no idea what any of those are."

Also Spira's greatest pasttime: erasing any parts of history it doesn't care for, including competing entertainment.

"But I know soccer, if you know that one too. From one of the other people on the train." And not from his world.

"Yeah, I know that one," Cassie says. "It's more popular in other countries than it is in mine. Ours is...well, in most of my country it's football, but where I live, not so much."

She pauses to wash the not!chicken down with her refreshingly fruity beverage.

"I mean, in Texas football is pretty much what it sounds like blitzball is where you're from.
No other sports worth mentioning."

He's scooping up some of the grains that are with his meat--seafood, it's okay, he can absolutely eat the stuff forever--though pauses before he speaks, waiting until after to take a mouthful.

"Your world sounds big. What's it like? You said you get problems from outer space-" in words similar to that "-but, you've got all this entertainment? It sounds like your world isn't doing too bad."

He wishes he could see it. Spira seems so small when she talks about things like...countries? And Texas, and all these sports.

"Other dimensions, actually," Cassie says. "Having been to both of them, I can see why they're jealous of my world's shit.

"But we've got an understanding with Outworld now. And I took care of the god of the Netherrealm."

Tidus gives a short laugh. "Okay, I think you're losin' me. Dimensions? That's-- Outworld and Netherrealm? What makes them....dimensions?"

When it came to planets?

"Because you can't get there in a spaceship," Cassie says. "Only through a portal. They're separate realms, kinda like the train station we got picked up at."

She takes another bite of kebab.

"Also, the Netherrealm is basically Hell. It's full of demons and dead people who did evil things when they were alive."

He sounds a quiet "oh?", as that gets him thinking. Truthfully, he hadn't a clue how any of this train-travelling actually worked, but the word portal has come up before in other conversations. He thought portals were another way of getting from one place to another, which--sure, it still is, but it sounds more complicated than that.

"You don't have your dead people on the same planet...uh, in the same realm as you?" Really complicated.

"I mean, yeah," Cassie says. "Obviously.

"I can't imagine how much it would suck if we had to share the Earth with every evil fucker who ever died. Wouldn't be able to eat at a restaurant without two or three dead Nazis trying to steal your table."

Tidus stares at her blankly for a second.

"...Our dead all go to somewhere called the Farplane, underground. It's by a city that's underground." He's jabbing his spoon out, as if indicating the Farplane is right next door.

"Everyone goes there," he explains, like that's completely reasonable. ...but also admits, "I did hear they were having problems with how many people got sent there after a big event, but... I dunno. If a dead person's causing problems for us, you just have to knock them down and Send them."

Said, as if he's always known this his whole life.

"There are old stories that say that Hell or Hades or any of the old names for it are underground," Cassie says. "And that Heaven is in the sky, where the good people go.

"I mean, they're not, but I guess it's not really that weird if there's a place where that's true."

"How does it work, anyway? When someone dies, do they just...go straight to the planet they're supposed to go to? Do you send them there?"

This is bewildering.

"Normally I think it just happens," Cassie says.

There's a long pause.

"I guess a sorcerer can steal your soul, though. There used to be a guy named Quan Chi who did that to a lot of my mom and dad's friends after they all died, even the good ones. Turned them into revenants who served the Netherrealm against their will. Some of them got better. I think they could probably fill you in on more details of what the afterlife is like."

Her expression sours a little.

"My Uncle Jax doesn't like talking about it."

"Wow, uh," Tidus starts, and that's all he has for a moment or so before he offers more sympathetically, "That sucks... Your world--worlds," he quickly fixes, "has a lot going on. Sorry about your family though. And friends."

Even when it was sounding better than Spira. He can't remember anything about souls ever getting stolen.

Cassie winces. "Yeah, kinda killed the whole summer beach party vibe there, didn't I?"

To say the least. She's seen what Jax has been like lately. She doesn't want to be dwelling on it either. Just as long as he gets help.

"It's alright now, though. I beat up the hellgod in charge, now he's a severed head twitching around somewhere. So he won't be showing up to ruin everything again anytime soon."

She takes a sip of her beverage. Best change the subject now.

"So, do you have a favorite team back home? Like, in that blitzball thing?"

Tidus at least slips in a supportive, "Well, that's good," to the fate of whatever a hellgod is, other than an apparent bastard. But he can take a subject change, answering quickly.

"Oh, yeah -- actually, I played in it. Professionally. I was the star player even!" Which he'd share with more enthusiasm if they didn't just get off the subject they did, but hey, the effort is there. "Played for two years, nearly. Now, I guess I'm...this."

He waves a hand towards the people, the other people. Whatever you want to call a group of forced world defenders.

"It sounds like this kinda work is close to your alley though. I mean, whatever you were doing, it's not your average everyday job."

That he says with more spirit. If she works behind a counter -- no, his brain won't compute it.

"I could've been a prizefighter," Cassie says. "Probably could've made a lot of money doing it. My dad knows the right agents and promoters. But I picked the Army instead."

A hard choice, but she still thinks it's the right one. She takes another drink.

"Do star athletes make bank in your universe, too?"

"I was pretty much set for life," he confirms. "Started professionally at sixteen. Never had to think about money before, to be honest--my dad was a blitzball player before me, and I lived off his money since...forever."

His voice falters at the end, sharing it. A grimace of a smile, a pang to remember his dad. Funny, when really, he never thought about how that money covered him. And the times that he did, it made him determined to not need it, that one day, he'd cover all he spent, and then some.

--but they're meant to be getting away from the buzzkill of the summer beach vibe, and Tidus hums a laugh behind his mouth, picks up his own drink forgotten until then. Asks, "So your dad was some hotshot too?" before taking a long sip.

Cassie smiles. "Yeah. He was a martial arts champion who turned it into a career as an action movie star. Then he got invited to a tournament on a secret island to decide the fate of the world and...well, it's a long story with a lot of not-fun parts in it, but that's how he met my mom and my family got into the world-saving business."

She pauses briefly to finish off the last vegetable on the skewer.

"Not that he stopped doing his old job. I'm pretty sure Ninja Mime 6 is about to start shooting."

Tidus laughs a little, half-bewildered by the previous revelation about more crazy family happenings, but you know? He's got to ask the obvious than get stuck on that, a curve to his lip.

"You know if one to five are on the train? 'Cause that sounds like a good way to pass the day."

"Y'know, I haven't really checked yet," Cassie says. "I'd skip the fourth one if they do, though. Even dad's not proud of that one."

Beat.

"My name's Cassie, by the way. Cassie Cage."

"Tidus." And you know what, he offers her a handshake. Just something about it--the conversation, where they are, two people forced into the same situation--feels worth a handshake. "Just Tidus!"

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cassiefuckingcage - 2020-05-31 21:07 (UTC) - Expand

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