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

"Shit- Sorry, sorry, I-" Rich clambers across the tree and then pauses in surprise when he sees who's waiting on the other end.

"Alice! Get back! I can get rid of it!" He can have his happy reunion in a minute, but right now, he needs to do something to protect his friend.

"Easier said than done..!"

That's all she can say at first, considering the monster does still have her weapon between its teeth. And she isn't too sure how Rich is planning on getting rid of it - probably by using whatever power this place gave him, but Alice doesn't know what that is - but she still isn't going to risk it destroying her weapon either.

So after another moment of trying to tug it out of the thing's mouth, she instead makes her weapon vanish before quickly moving back.

Though the monster looks like it's ready to pounce her all over again now her hands - and its mouth - are empty.

"Quick, hurry..!"

Alice's answer - both to her unasked question and her request for help - comes in the form of a yell. Rich charges forward, voice pushed out of him, and there seems to be an almost visible ripple of a soundwave tracking the creature down and striking it right in the middle. It gets pushed back, rubble preventing it from reaching them any longer, and Rich exhales in relief.

"Hey, you okay?" His voice is softer now, and a little hoarse, honestly. He hasn't yelled this much before.

.. oh geez.

Alice sure is used to weird things happening. Honestly, would her life be her life if it wasn't constantly filled with strange things happening around her?

At least it means that her brains are able to process what she's seeing here. That Rich is yelling, and somehow that yell almost seems visible as it sends the creature flying. She can process it, accept it, but man, is it still ever strange to see Rich use a power she's never seen before.

"Good question," she says. Which obviously isn't an answer, but it's hard to tell if she's avoiding the question on purpose, or if she's just that tired that this is the best answer she can give right now. Alice seems to be trying to catch her breath as she shakes her head. ".. you seem to have found your stride though."

Isn't this what Rich wanted before? A way to be able to help protect others?

Rich is definitely still wrapping his head around this new ability of his as well, but that said, it's a little easier when in this universe, he had been convinced it was normal. Even if he has his original memories back, those fabricated ones seem to stop him from completely losing his mind here.

Plus, she's right that he's found his stride, and he beams. "Yeah. Don't know how long that's goinog to last... these powers will probably only last until we get out of here, but it's been a big help so far."

He looks around and nods seriously. "Especially for clearing out some of this rubble so we can get people out..."

"Right." It is pretty helpful in that sense. Especially since there's rubble pretty much everywhere at this point, so Alice is fairly sure that there must be a lot of people in this city who got trapped because of it.

"I have mostly been trying to fight off these creatures." Because that's always the easiest thing for her to do in any given situation. Just fight. It requires the least from her mind, which especially right now is a pretty helpful thing. "But it has been.. tiring, dealing with these double sets of memories."

"Yeah... what was it like for you here? Um, if you don't mind me asking. I mean, I could probably help you sort it out, if you need. I kinda ended up needing friends to help me get a handle on everything too."

If it hadn't been for Jeremy, Rich would have clung to this illusion for good... which is why it's so important that he find him.

...

Alice is quiet in the face of the offer. Not that she doesn't trust Rich. No - maybe it's exactly because she trusts him. She doesn't want to let him anywhere near her mind. It might just be way too much for him, considering just how much of a mess it is.

"It's okay," she therefore says. She's speaking very slowly, like she's making sure to choose her words carefully. "I.. already know what the truth is."

She knows who she really is.

"It's just that these other memories still linger in the back of my mind all the same. I can't seem to fully forget them, even though I know they are fake."

Rich realizes rather quickly that he's said something disagreeable. It doesn't take much to sense the way Alice freezes up near him, the way she thinks slowly through each word she has to say.

She doesn't want to tell him. And that's fine. Rich isn't going to force it at all, but knowing where she's coming from... he can't just let the subject drop either.

"I figured out the truth too. But for the longest time, I tried to pretend those were the fake ones." He looks at her with a sad smile.

"I had a family here. And friends. Talent, and magic, and a plan for the future. I had everything I'd been searching for for god knows how long, and the thought of letting go of that... let's just say I can't blame you for not forgetting the illusions."

"It's.."

She starts, but then frowns. It's still hard to talk about. But in the face of what Rich is saying, Alice feels like she has to clarify, or else he might get the wrong idea. A wrong idea that still makes sense, because of course Rich would prefer the illusions when it's giving him exactly what he wants, but it's not quite what's up with Alice.

So she shakes her head, forcing herself to speak.

Come on, Alice. You've been braver in scarier situations.

"It's not that I don't want to forget them." She did have some things in that illusion she always wanted - but when the illusion cleared up, she ended up realising she did have those things already, all along. "It's that I.. I can't. My own mind is so fragmented that it's hard to get anything out of there."

It feels dumb, saying that. Like she can't do something that's so natural to other people. But she's trying to own up to it, even though she feels ridiculous.

So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

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