middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

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A TL;DR notes version of days/prompts: (click to show)

EVENT BASICS:

DAYS 8-9 (M11-M12):

Buildings had begun to disappear during days 7&8, facilities and even whole streets begin vanishing. There are signs of crumbling infrastructure everywhere they look.
In the early morning of Day 9 (M12), the cracks in the city - in this illusionary world - finally spread. The void sky above shines brightly in its colours. Chaos - also referred to as the Entity, or That Guy - is heard screaming of vengeance against the Voidtreckers, blaming all that has happened onto them. It shows what happened to the original Diagad: It was destroyed by blocky shapes in the sky that came down and destroyed it, while Chaos itself fell into the void.

There is also some light mind torture, as a treat, to really wake people up. Memories, visions of their past assail them. This is the sort of stuff the voidtreckers have been training against and it's a good time for them to put all that work to the test.
Anan's group then takes over any electrical device still left. She explains that they have a way to get the non voidtreckers (4th wall characters and npcs) home and also a way to temporarily seal the world. The entity takes offence at this and the screens smash. The entity appears as a cyclone of crackling colourful energy.
Illusionary creatures are sent around to find and attack Voidtreckers, but they're also going after 4th wallers/NPCS. There's also monsters from other worlds leaking through, real monsters. People will have to move around more carefully, as going out on the streets is dangerous.
However, there's word that buildings are disintegrating/disappearing farther out from the centre sector. People see where the city limits are as the illusion of there being more to the city has completely faded.
Their SCA's begin to work fully, including comms. Of course not everyone was wearing their SCA when they got pulled and the 4th wallers don't have one so it will be up to those who do to make sure everyone is kept in the loop.
The main tasks are as follows.

"YOU. YOU WISH TO RUIN MY WORLD. TO TEAR IT ASUNDER, BREAK AND CRUMBLE AND INCINERATE ITS EXISTENCE AGAIN. AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. I WATCHED IT. THE END OF DIAGAD, PURPLE SKIES, THE CHILDREN WHO LAUGHED IN JOY, THE SMILES I BROUGHT TO LIFE. THE REASON I WORKED AND WOKE AND WHAT KEPT ME GOING EACH AND EVERY DAY. MY EXISTENCE. MY BEING.

FALLING. FALLING. FALLING. I FELL AS IT CAME, BLACK TERROR WITH A HUNGER. HOW DID THE CHILDREN CRY? DID THEY SUFFER? I CAN HEAR THEM ALL, I CAN IMAGINE THEM. SEE IT. THE POSSIBILITIES, THE MAYBES, THE TRUTH. THE WORLD-- MY BEAUTIFUL DIAGAD, OH! THE VOID HAS BLESSED AND CURSED AND DAMNED AND DESTROYED AND BROUGHT TO ME A CHANCE TO SAVE IT THIS TIME, I WILL SAVE DIAGAD, I WILL HEAR THE CHILDREN LAUGH AGAIN, NO ONE WILL DESTROY MY CITY AGAIN. NO ONE, NO THING, IT WILL BE BEAUTIFUL AND SAVED AND IT WILL PROSPER FOREVER.

ALL WHO HARM US! ALL WHO STOP OUR RETURN! I WILL FIX WHAT HAS BEEN BROKEN. NEVER AGAIN SHALL YOU YOU VOIDTRECKERS HARM MY WORLD AGAIN. TWISTING AND RUINING OUR HOME NO MORE NO MORE I WILL END YOU."

The spiel comes in the early morning of Merriment 12, their ninth day on this strange world, though morning and night are indistinguishable now with the void-scarred sky burning above Jinnjar. Little exists of the sectors but the education and political district, and everyone has had to take shelter in its buildings, on cold tiled floors and with few blankets. There is no waking comfortable, feeling at ease. The city continues to crumble, and the citizens turned into the Entity's Heroes never quit their search and harassing of people who may be secret Voidtreckers, regardless of the ruinous world around them.

And then it speaks. The Entity's voices wakes everyone, enters into dreams, reality and the fake undefinable between one another. Scenes switch from one to another. A sky. Purple, serene and calm. A feeling of great contentment. But then come the shadows. Dark clouds filling the sky, blotting out that most perfect sky. A scream. No, a thousand screams. A world of screams echoes in every ear. A shadowed figure falling into the void. Pain erupts through the body, the mind, madness and grief suffocating every sense, every fibre of the being, and more attempts to fill and drown each and every person in Diagad. There is grief, there is love, there is despair. A longing and desperation that can never be fulfilled that cries out.

Once it's over, many have collapsed from the experience, and there are screams of those scared for their lives. Go out into the streets if you haven't already, and you will see the streets breaking, buildings being pulled like cubes, splitting people and trapping them. And there is a surge that hits people - Voidtreckers, others - with a brainwashing that makes them think of only one thing:

NO MORE. END. WE WILL END THE VOIDTRECKERS.

In amongst all of this chaos screens switch on. Any screens left working in buildings, on buildings, peoples phones. All show a young woman, a droid sat on her hair, metal legs curled around her head.

"Malin?"

A woman's voice. "Yes, go Anan. Now."

"LISTEN UP!" Anan isn't as loud as the booming voice echoing through the city, but she makes herself clear. "We need to evacuate and seal this world. It is falling apart." Stating the obvious, perhaps.

"We can temporarily seal it and we think there is a way to get the others back to their worlds. I know you Voidtreckers have had no training and this is advanced and really dangerous but everyone who is not a void traveller is in a lot of danger."

In truth, even the void travellers were in danger, but she doesn't want morale to be too low.

"Anyone willing to help meet me in the big park. You'll know it, it's the only park left!"

'HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU THWART ME. NO. NO. YOU DON'T. THIS IS MY CITY. MINE NOT YOURS. NOT YOURS TO DESTROY.' There's a huge crack as the sky itself seems to crack apart as colours twist and turn, a cyclone that forms at the edgez of the city, slowly beginning to devour it.

Over the camera Anan looks visibly shocked, terrified even, lost for words. An older man with reddish greying hair steps towards her, putting a big hand on her shoulder.

"Focus Anan. Voidtreckers. We do not ask it lightly. Please those that can, fight. Buy us time to set the seals. Buy time for those with no void craft to evacuate."

The screens flicker in colour before it cracks into static.

'NONE OF YOU WILL SURVIVE.'

A DISJOINTED REALITY

[ FALLING CITY. ] The city has been torn apart, fragments of roads, buildings and structures floating in a horrible mess. Friends and comrades split apart, some trapped in rooms that once had exits, or with no way out than to fall to nowhere. Pieces may stitch back together again at random, but with the same unpredictably, tear apart.

And if it couldn't get any worse, those core lights buzz around the environment, searching for individuals. They will do anything to hinder our heroes: turn into monsters from their minds, attempt to encase them inside illusions of their fears; even try to make them see pathways that don't exist, to make them fall into nothingness.

But for those who honed their resistances against illusions, this time may be different from the last. And with some experimenting, or just some lucky wishful thinking at the right time - some will find they can bend the illusions to do as they want, if just for a while. Stitch back together pathways so they can be crossed over, or make a weapon appear where it's needed.

It requires concentration, will be exhausting with too much use, but still - when isn't an axe or road on call handy?

[ HINDRANCE OR HELP. ] But it isn't only the core lights and environment they need to worry about. There are monsters coming out of the void - monsters they may recognise, monsters they may not. But unlike those of illusions, these are real, monsters - mechanical, ghostly, flesh and blood, something else entirely - slipping through from other worlds to rampage here.

There are also civilians, those who remain brainwashed, going after the Voidtreckers with powers of their own: telekinesis, pyromancy, superstrength and endurance, and so forth. Their skill levels vary, but the strongest of all are those who features have become twisted, chaotic. Streaks of colours dance under the skin, and they listen to no reason but their own. The entity - no their god, Chaos, is remaking the world. Remaking it the way it should have always been.

Strangely, but luckily, not everyone is harmful. Amongst those out there are a peculiar sight: a short hybrid between child and woodland-creature. They're keen to help, particularly anyone young or good of heart. They will help to lead them to safe shelters - the safe-houses made by Voidtreckers, the protected rooms all that are left. They may even interrupt the core lights from harming youngsters, knocking and shattering them, and then staying close to the youngster.

[ THE EVACUATION. ] For those who manage to make their way to the park, Anan is there, looking grim. One good thing though, as voidtreckers rush towards the entity or get ready to protect those helping evacuate this world- those with SCA's will see them burst into life, comms online.

The evacuation area needs protecting. Those acting as beacons aren't able to fight for themselves and the evacuation process is intense, slow and there are many many people in this city. The main entity is distracted but the monsters are drawn towards this gathering of people. Holding them back is vital to this plan working.

It's going to take everything the voidtreckers and their new friends have, to pull this plan off.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tough, more like impossible which is just as well since Atem would rather not distract Kaiba from the task at hand. The road is rough and parts of it are phasing away as they rocket over it. At the encouragement, the pharaoh does fix his grip, not at all shy about it either..]

I.. remember a good deal more than that. [He assumed that Kaiba was testing the waters referring to him as a rival and not a lover] .. You needn't have played so hard to get.

More than that...

[ Seto briefly touches Atem's hand on his waist. His feelings are...complicated lately, and after what the other Kaiba said...

There may be a disconnect here. ]

You know I love games, especially with you. But I'm a little lost.

[The slight touch is demonstrative enough given the present confines to seem encouraging to Atem, which pleased him.]

We're both going to be a little lost if you don't angle this thing to the left!

[Atem interjected abruptly, though there was still enough time to react to the sudden formation of a hole in the path before them. He hadn't forgotten to look out for such obstacles, but once the danger was averted he considered the other's words.]

That could still be a lingering effect of whatever sort of magic is at work here.. [Offering up a potential solution to the quandary] .. I'd give it a little more time. [Not one for getting disheartened easily he chose some more innocuous questions first] What do you remember about your life beyond the confines of this city?

[ Seto obeys, steering them to safety. They're riding high now, and he can see their destination in the distance. He takes a breath. ]

We met back in Domino. You were a lost spirit protecting Yugi at the time, and I was an asshole who saw him as being in my way. You forced me to rebuild myself, we dueled over and over, you forced me to work with you, I fought to be acknowledged by you...and then you left, because destiny said so or whatever.

[ A very pointed scoff. ]

But I couldn't accept it. That you didn't face me one last time, or even say goodbye. I was willing to chase you anywhere, even beyond death...but it took me a while to realize why.

Well done!

[He commended the other man for his quick reflexes. The conversation was about to get considerably more confusing as it progressed]

That's it? [It was plenty, sure- but it was missing a significant portion of their history together] Asshole- is a little harsh. [Then he couldn't help smirking] .... even if it was true at the time.

[Thankfully it was not the end of the narrative, and Atem found himself clinging onto every word just as he was clinging on tightly not to be thrown from this bike]

So.. you do remember. [His voice grew thin as he nearly choked on the unspoken emotions] It's because of your undying affection for me. [~~what~~] A sentiment that would drive you not only to the afterlife to seek me out, but also to another dimension entirely. [By now Kaiba was likely completely lost, but Atem didn't seem to get it, unable to read facial expressions from his position] .. but we found each other, didn't we? Defied the odds against us.

[ Those words strike Seto to the core. He takes a sharp breath, keenly aware of Atem pressed against his back. Those few encounters on the train had certainly led his train of thought in this direction, but to have it confirmed...]

I didn't think you knew.

[ Okay, he needs to find a place to pull over. He veers into a safe spot in an alley and parks, releasing the handlebars so he can take a deeper breath. ]

I didn't know either. Guess that explains why I didn't object to you getting in my space in the dressing room. But you meant so much more to me than that.

... You made it difficult to feign ignorance.

[Putting it as diplomatically as he could, as he thought back to a variety of their encounters. The memories themselves made Kaiba's words seem peculiar. When they came to a stop, he puzzled over why but didn't immediately remove himself from his position, he'd grown quite comfortable here]

Kaiba? [This wasn't right. Kaiba had to know. They were already dating, living together in fact]

It's more than a physical attraction, if that's what you mean- and what's with the past tense? [It was at this point that he slipped off the vehicle, not enjoying the sensation of swelling anxiety]

You mean...we were in love. Officially.

[ Okay, that's new. He slips off too, turning to face him. ]

I'm afraid there seems to be a timeline discrepancy in effect here. While my feelings for you were powerful, I never spoke them. Didn't consciously realize them...until I came back home to Yugi, and he slowly helped me realize what it all meant.

[To hear it put so plainly and without the proper force of emotion behind it, made his cheeks color a bit, suddenly feeling exposed.]

Yes, that's precisely what I mean.

[~~How dare you not remember, Kaiba- you insufferable tease~~.]

You... did return to your own dimension once after time spent in the Magic Kingdom, but you had already confessed before then. Yugi had little to do with it. [Though he too was briefly on Mainstreet] Ha, well.. if things turned out differently in this other timeline... [He trailed off averting his eyes to a patch of asphalt as not to have to make eye contact]

You mean you really don't remember any of it? [A little bit of denial creeping in as he forced himself to look back up at Kaiba] ... Not having to learn magic, go on missions to gather sparks.... or.... us? [The us was the most important portion of that question but he buried it in other topics]

[ Seto feels his heart clench with guilt. He may struggle with emotions to a degree, but even he can read the signs. The other him and Atem were deeply in love. ]

I think I'd remember if I'd learned magic. I'm sorry.

[ And he steps closer, reaching for Atem's hand on an impulse. ]

But I do love you. That's clear to me now.

[It was unfair to unload his own emotional baggage on what must be a different Seto Kaiba, but Atem couldn't help it. He had thought that they had made a connection, that they must be the set that belonged together.]

Remember.. [There was a fleeting flash of a smile] .. you couldn't stand the irony. That you now had to wield the very thing you had denied for all those years. [It's an endearing thought, really]

[Feeling the touch of other's hand anything else he was going to say immediately vanished, so fixated on the warm sensations that followed]

I'm... a bit confused. [Was he being brushed off or.... not? He looked up imploringly for answers.]

[ Seto stops to breathe. ]

This isn't easy for me. I know it's worse for you. That I'm not the Seto you started a life with. But if he's as stubborn as I am, and he should be, he'll find his way back to you.

[ He holds on a little longer. ]

Look, I'm not going to lie to you. My mutual grief with Yugi brought us closer, and we have...a different kind of connection. A deep one, that makes us happy. But that bond can't ever replace my bond with you, just like I can't replace you for him.

Atem...

[ He steps closer. ]

I'm going to have to help send you back, so you can find him. But do you mind if I give you a little token for luck?

[ A playful little smile, almost tentative. ]

So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

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