middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

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So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

YOU R̴̨̬̗̞̺̖̣̱͌̋̅͊͒̃͘Ų̴̨̨̦͎̭̥̰͍̞͙̲̰̞̭̎̆̓͂́͒̑͌̆̉̕͝Î̶̲͖͙͍̮̮̯̭͘͝N̵̡̢̢̛̛͔̳̲͚̙͕̘̠̞̈͊̂̋̆ͅÉ̸͖̟̻̯̪̭͉̭͖̱̙̠̺͎̥̿D̸̥́͒̈́̔̓̅̋͛̉̀͒̇̚̚ MY WORLD

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.

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The warning was appreciated, as Raven ducked. Battle instincts. Turning it into a roll, and coming up to her feet with both hands spread out. Dark energy at the ready. "Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" She shouted and let the dark-energy coalesce into a shielded dome around the monster. She couldn't hold it for long, but it would give her and Madoka time to think.

It, at the very least, gives Madoka a bit more time to run up closer to where Raven is. After all, it's not like her arrow aim is that good if she's shooting from too far, even if it brings Madoka closer to the danger too. But getting rid of these things and making sure everyone is safe is much more important than her own safety in the moment.

She quickly pulls out another arrow from her quiver, loading it onto her bow.

"I-It's okay! Let go of it, I'll get it!"

She'll shoot the moment the monster is released from the shield.

Cautiously, Raven lets the shield drop. Moving to come stand by Madoka, ready to shield again if needed. "I believe in you." She tells the other girl, with a tired smile.

Thankfully there seems to be no fear or insecurity about Madoka, even when the shield drops and the monster starts leaping for them again. There's no time for any of that right now, after all. So many people have already gotten hurt, and if they don't do anything, even more people will get hurt.

So the only option is to shove all her feelings aside for the moment and just fight. Which means, in this case, raising her bow and shooting off an arrow at the monster. It hits it right in the head, knocking it to the ground where it stops moving.

"You shouldn't be in the middle of all this right now.." Madoka says to Raven, though without looking at her. She's keeping an eye on the monster for the moment, making sure it's well and truly down for the count.

"There's still work to do. I can rest when I'm back on the train." Raven responded, also keeping an eye on the monster. "You okay?"

".. I'm okay," she slowly says, only turning her eyes back to Raven when she is absolutely sure that the monster isn't moving again.

It's hard to determine just how okay Madoka is. Even the emotions waving out from her, if Raven is capable of picking up on those at all in her current state, are very complicated, very mixed. She's trying to push through on willpower alone.

"But.. it's alright though. There are a lot of people who can fight. I'll fight twice as hard as long as it means you can rest for a moment, okay..?"

Especially when Raven has been through so much more than she herself has.

"...thank you." Because what else can Raven say? She believes in Madoka, knows the girl is stronger than she herself realizes. "I'm trying to stay around people, so that I'm not doing this alone."

Madoka stares at the other girl for a moment, then, though she seems to hesitant and is nervously biting her lower lip a little, she nods.

"If you're sure.."

After all, it's not like Madoka to be too pushy about this. If Raven really does want to be out here, then it's not like she can tell the girl to do anything other than that. Maybe it'll really be okay as long as she's not alone..?

"M-Maybe you can find someone who has potions too, just in case..? Usually I'm the one taking them for the blue team, but, um.. well.."

This certainly isn't a usual mission, huh.

"Not this time, unfortunately.."

"I'm used to this, Madoka. I functioned as part of a super-hero team back home." Raven says, although she reaches out to the other girl's shoulder. "And I enjoyed being your sister."

There's a mini-protest on her tongue that she's a little hesitant about saying, something along the lines that being part of a superhero team usually doesn't involve being caught by evil authorities and having to run from them--

But then there's that last sentence, and it dies completely on her tongue before she can even say a word.

Instead there's a weird mixture of emotions on her face. Something a little grateful, but embarrassed at the same time.

".. um, thanks.. Sorry that I took so long.."

Raven shook her head. "It...it was a nice illusion." Having a family, being relatively normal. Something Raven had never had herself. But she'd seen the gaps too quickly, and refused to live a lie.

.. a nice illusion. It's not exactly like it's wrong, right? Madoka wouldn't have wanted to stay in there anyway, because she does have a real family back home and all, but.. it had been nice. Much better than any of the illusions they've seen before during the previous missions.

But just as Madoka starts to open her mouth to answer the other girl, there's a sudden roar, and then a next monster is jumping at them already. And with how unprepared Madoka was for this one, the girl just lets out a shriek, clinging tightly to Raven.

Exhausted as she is, Raven's reflexes remained good from past experience. "Azarath metrion zinthos!" It's called quickly, Raven flinging up an arm to bring up a shield around her and Madoka. It was all she had the energy for right then.

Even if it might not be a full solution, it still works for the moment. The monster jumps at them, sure, but the shield being up now means that it's just bouncing off the shield. Madoka quickly fumbles to let go of the other girl and try to bring her bow back into position, trying to grab an arrow from her quiver as quickly as she can with shaking, startled hands.

"H-How long can you hold it?"

"As long as I need to for now." Raven said, arm still up and hand still stretched to hold the shield around them. "Calm down, Madoka. I can protect us, if you can take care of it."

"I just don't want to take a chance.."

It's not really a protest, since Madoka isn't the type to talk back to other people like that. If anything, it sounds like a weak justification as to why she's a little shakey and rushed with pulling out her arrow.

After all, Raven is tired. Weak. She just doesn't want to throw the majority of the burden on the other's shoulders here - especially when they also can't be sure of when Raven's powers may give out, in her current state.

It seems that Madoka has finally managed to reload her bow again though.

"Okay.. I'm ready."

"Alright, letting the shield drop in 3...2....now!" With her countdown, Raven let the dark-energy shield drop. Her hand stayed ready, mantra ready in her mind in case she needed to throw it back up quickly.

Madoka is tense, but still at the ready. The moment the shield comes down, the fires the arrow at the monster. Thankfully aiming isn't as much of a problem from this close up - which means that it does hit the monster, even though it almost reaches them before it instead falls down due to the damage of the arrow.

Raven stood ready to raise another dark-energy shield, and the beginning of her mantra was just on her lips. Then the monster fell, and she breathed out. Not quite a sigh, but definitely one of relief. "We should probably move."

They should definitely move.

Even though Madoka's first idea - first instinct, really - is to try and move them to a place that's better for Raven. Somewhere she isn't as in the middle of all the action, so she doesn't have to keep up with all of this while she's so tired. But it feels rude to do that without the other girl's permission, so Madoka seems to think with a frown for a moment before she speaks up.

"I think there's a few less monsters that way.." She points down a nearby street. Or what's left of it, anyway. "S-So if you go there, you could still help out, but it might not be as overwhelming on your current powers.." Or rather, Raven's current energy level.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

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