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

[laurefindil]

"Fistfight? You didn't kick him?" Glorfindel asked. She had a wicked kick, he was quite impressed with it.

He watched what she did carefully. "Like this?" he asked, mimicking her movement. "I can see why that would require some practice. Perhaps when we get back to the Train, you would allow me to try them again in the gym?"

[cassiefuckingcage]

"I kicked him plenty, I just mean it wasn't a gunfight," Cassie says.

"I'd be happy to show you how to use these. You could probably show me a few sword techniques, too. Been a while since I practiced with those."

[laurefindil]

"I've never been in a gunfight," Glorfindel pointed out with a grin.

"That sounds like a fair trade. I'm fairly proficient with a sword," he said.

[cassiefuckingcage]

"Swordfights aren't very common on my world anymore," Cassie says. "I kind of fell out of it when I moved from sport fighting to real fighting."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel laughed. "On my world swordfighting is real fighting. You do not want to go up against an orc or goblin or cave troll without a weapon in hand, trust me."

[I set up a post to have our practice session after the mission, if you are interested.]

I just saw! Will hit it up soon.

[cassiefuckingcage]

"Used to be that way on my world, too," Cassie says. "Took a couple centuries after guns were invented until lancers on horseback became obsolete. But as soon as one person could fire hundreds of bullets a minute, that was pretty much it for swords on the battlefield.

"Unless you're dealing with eight-foot centaurs from another dimension who can take a LOT of bullets. But most humans didn't know about those until a couple decades ago."

[laurefindil]

"That sounds like an interesting story...was there something that happened to cause your two dimensions to intersect?" Glorfindel asked.

He suspected that goblins would be easy to kill with a gun, orcs, maybe, but cave trolls and balrogs...perhaps not.

[cassiefuckingcage]

"They were with Shao Khan's army when he invaded to try and merge Earthrealm with Outworld," Cassie says.

"Up until then he'd been following the Elder Gods' rules. You're only supposed to be able to merge realms after you defeat its champions ten times in a row in a secret once-in-a-generation tournament called Mortal Kombat. But once he brought his armies to Earthrealm, it all stopped being a secret anymore."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel shook his head. "What is it about certain people flouting natural order? Though, I suppose to some, they don't think it natural at all."

"You helped kick his army's butt?"

[cassiefuckingcage]

Cassie grins.

"Nah, I wasn't born yet for that one. The guy I wrecked was named Shinnok, God of the Netherrealm. Place full of demons and the souls of the damned. Long story short, he had some similar ideas about what to do with Earthrealm."

[laurefindil]

"Earthrealm seems very popular. Are you the only one with pastries or something?" Glorfindel asked, smiling slightly.

"What are 'souls of the damned'?"

[nutkrusher]

"I've never checked, but probably," Cassie says.

"The damned are dead people who were evil when they were alive. I'm guessing they're not up on the whole 'eternal punishment' thing in your universe?"

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel tilted his head to the side. "Yes and no. Morgoth was banished to the Void, but any elven souls go to the Halls of Mandos. Whether they are ever reborn...is rather up to them." He smiles tightly. "If you want a more biased opinion, you can ask Feanor."

"Of all the Elves from my world, Nerdanel is the only one who has not died. Two I believe were pulled from the Halls. And then there is Curufin, who apparently cannot be contained."

[nutkrusher]

"Huh," Cassie says. "Sounds like a good deal."

Her expression grows a bit more somber.

"I know a few people who've come back from the dead. Three of them, actually. Kuai Liang, Hanzo Hasashi, and my uncle Jax. They'd had their souls stolen by the Netherrealm. Came back as revenants forced into Netherrealm's service. We were able to restore those three, but...that's not an easy experience to come back from."

[laurefindil]

"In my world, this is normal for us," Glorfindel explained. "Like I said, when you die, your soul goes to the Halls of Mandos, where you are given a chance to heal. Not everyone dies of wounds to the body, and sometimes...you carry the baggage of your life with you."

"I was asked to come back by Manwe, who is king of the Valar. I was given a new body, as my old one was buried on a mountain." He tilted his head to the side. "Maybe that's the big difference? Rather than stealing the soul and leaving the body, we are all soul and need new bodies?"

[nutkrusher]

"I'm guessing another big difference is that this Manwe isn't an evil scheming fuck," Cassie says. "The guy who did it to our friends was a Netherrealm sorcerer. A bald, pale, Pinhead-looking motherfucker named Quan Chi. He's dead now, which makes bringing the rest of them back a lot harder, but that's the only thing anyone will miss about his pasty ass."

[laurefindil]

"No, that would have been Melkor, also called Morgoth. He's in the Void now," Glorfindel said.

"I am very glad your world dealt with him." He tilted his head to the side. "Your people cannot be reborn at all now?"

[nutkrusher]

"Not in the same way they did," Cassie says. "Sucks, especially for Liu Kang. I never met him when he was a human, but he used to be Earthrealm's greatest champion. Now he's the Emperor of the Dead."

There's a brief, awkward silence.

"Nothing for it for the rest of us except to try and get to Heaven the old fashioned way. I'm not in any hurry, but...I picked the job I picked."

[laurefindil]

"Our type does not tend to die of old age," Glorfindel agreed. His first life was exactly like that. His second definitely benefitted from the upgrade he'd gotten.

"Though as we had finally won our war recently, I have been faced with the uncomfortable choice of What An I Going to Do With the Rest of My Life." He shook his head. "And I have no clue."

[nutkrusher]

"I know a couple people who're getting close to retirement," Cassie says.

"I get the feeling they feel the same way. And they've only got a couple decades at most, as opposed to, well..."

However long he's got.

[laurefindil]

"Mm," Glorfindel nodded, then sighed. "It's easier for someone like Curufin. He's an artist with a forge. Me, I...grow flowers? But others do it better. I can cook, but I am cannot hold a candle to those who have devoted the millenia I spent fighting on it."

He shrugged. "I suppose I have time to experiment. But it certainly makes you feel useless, this retirement. Though I am glad the war is over, it is awkward for some of us."

Eternity.

[nutkrusher]

"My uncle Jax has a farm," Cassie says.

"I used to go there a lot when I was a kid. You wouldn't think he was the type, but as long as Aunt Vera was there, it was a home to him."

And now she's sick. They're all pulling for her, for Jax's sake at least as much as hers.

"Not sure what I'd do if I ever made it that long."

[laurefindil]

"Home is where you make it. It sounds like she is his home," Glorfindel said.

"Oddly, that's what I've been saying for the past Age. And yet, here I am." He shook his head. "Still wondering!"

[nutkrusher]

"Well, as long as we're here you won't have to answer just yet," Cassie says.

[laurefindil]

"And yet, I am," Glorfindel said honestly. "We are not constantly fighting and I am not felling as though I need be hyper-vigilant. Perhaps because I have no idea what dangers are out there, here. So, I garden, I bake, I train, and I wonder what to do with myself. How do you spend your days?"