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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You wouldn't believe me if I said I wasn't."

So she won't waste breath on that. It's pretty natural for this kid to look like she's out for blood, but that vibe seems to be particularly strong today. The only upside here is that Alice has seen children holding knives like that and giving her those kinds of looks more often than just today.

"Though you are one too. I am fairly sure more people must already have told you that at this point, even if you are choosing not to believe it." Which is why Alice is fairly sure that the girl won't believe her as she says it now, but it's just so no one can claim she didn't try.

That was true. She wouldn't. These voidtreckers had proven themselves to be liars. After all they had infiltrated, pretended to be citizens and instead worked to destabilise the whole city.

"That is being a lie." She snarled. "I'm not a voidtrecker. I'm Buttercup Sanzo and if you don't get out my city I will kill you."

She didn't think she would be sure about that, after all, she's never killed before. But the words don't feel worrying, she feels she could do it.

Oh, boy. Getting this girl back to the train later is going to be a struggle, Alice can tell. Unless somehow that thing's influence over people is broken the moment it is defeated, but she isn't going to necessarily bank on that. It means it won't even help to tell the girl that sure, sure, they're going to get out of this city - because she won't believe that she is leaving too.

"What have I done to you that you want to kill me?" She says, her voice calm despite the situation.

Granted, Alice of all people knows people often don't need a reason for that. But she's hoping that it might trigger anything at all in the girl's brain. Even if it's just the slightest thing.

"You're one of them. A voidtrecker. You came to this world to wreck it!"

And they had succeeded. It was almost too terrifying to look at the wreckage around them. How badly a group could succeed in destroying a whole city. Such dangerous people had to be stopped, she deserved to be killed.

"If I don't kill you you will go and wreck somewhere else!"

"Listen."

Alice knows that there's a chance the girl won't listen. That she'll attack before she's even finished speaking. But that's fine - it's not as if she isn't on guard. She's prepared in case the other jumps at her, even though Alice on the outside just looks like she's calmly speaking.

"Even if you may not believe me, you're going to be very mad about all this later when you realise what's really going on." Because Alice knows the girl. There's no way she's going to take kindly to something messing with her head, making her attack people she usually interacts with. "Once that happens, you can come to me."

She gave the most put-upon sigh. She shouldn't listen to this stupid voidtrecker woman. This traitor but something in her pauses. Listens to what she has to say.

She wrinkles her nose. "I'm mad about this now!" Never mind later and why would she want to go to this woman, one of the people whose whole fault it is.

She bares her teeth, holding her dagger up as a threat.

Oh, she knows she's right. Alice knows that she's going to be right, later when this girl remembers. Not that she takes any satisfaction from that fact though - it'd be so much better and easier if she could snap the girl out of it right now, but it doesn't seem like there's anything capable of doing so.

So maybe she should leave this up to someone more capable. Or come back later, when this whole mess is over, to help and try to drag her back to the train.

But in the middle of this chaos, staying here doesn't seem like it's going to do much.

"Yes, I can see that. Then perhaps I shall leave you to be mad about it by yourself."

Not that she thinks the other will just let her leave, but.. you know, she's giving her a chance to do this the peaceful way! Don't say she never did!

"So you can go and wreck more lives she yelled again. Yelling probably didn't help, when all was said and done but it felt good. And that helped her.

Also it's getting noisy, with all that was happening. But she can't really let this woman get away. She rushed towards her, aiming her dagger at her side.

Of course this won't go the easy way. Figures, Alice thinks.

But she doesn't get scared, nor does she hesitate. In a flash the hobby horse in her hands is traded in for a large knife instead, and she immediately moves her hand to block the incoming knife with her own blade.

"Don't be stupid. You're better than this."

Knife clashes with knife and the girl grins, the fight began. Something in her thrills at the sensation of fighting.

Something more than just wanting to prevent this voidtrecker from wrecking everything.

"You don't even know me!"

She goes low this time, trying to get under Alice's guard.

It is true that the blow is a little too low for her to block, especially with their height difference. But it's not like her knife is the only trick Alice has got up her sleeve. For a brief moment it seems like the knife will enter her flesh, but then Alice suddenly isn't standing there anymore.

There's just a cloud of butterflies shifting back rapidly, before Alice reappears a few steps in the distance.

But the most surprising part may just be the fact that she doesn't bother to attack the girl, even if she may have a momentary element of surprise. Alice just stands there.

"Funny thing. I do know you."

Butterflies are much harder to stab than one woman and for a moment Buttercup is thrown off, confused but then the woman is there and not attacking back.

Still claiming to know her. It makes no sense. Why would she say such a thing?

"How?"

Did she know her dad?

"I know you can fight well. I know that there is a girl who's important to you in some way, though she is dead. I know you usually don't speak like this."

Alice wonders if any of that makes any sense to the girl at all. Probably not. But surely - surely - she must be wondering why she can fight so well here, especially if this place didn't give her some sort of knife superpower.

"I know you, because we were together on a train." Alice spreads her arms, as if to show-- "And that is why I won't attack you. I have a rather fond spot for you, even if you may not remember me."

She could fight well. But the rest? A girl important to her. Who was dead. That... Something deep in her hurts so much just thinking about that but nothing comes to mind. Who had died? Why had she forgotten.

"How else would I speak?"

They were on a train? This woman was fond of her? "Make sense!" She half yelled at her, face twisting in anger again.

It's a good thing that Alice has stood unfazed while confronting much worse enemies. There's nothing about this girl that even scares her to begin with, making it even easier to face her.

No, the only difficulty here comes from the fact that she finds herself worried about the other. It's an entirely different monster to contend with, especially when she doesn't know if she can take the other safely back with her.

She pauses, staring at the other. But right before the pause turns long enough to possibly annoy the girl into attacking her again, Alice speaks. Slowly, though, as if using words like this is hard for her. But she's pretty sure she remembers this memory clearly enough to repeat the words.

That time they sat together in the very outskirts of that fighting ring, and the girl had told her--

"They did be having no right to be taking that from my head," she repeats, out loud.

Alice pauses.

"You told me that. And right now there is someone messing with your head once more. They have no right to mess with your head either."

Edited 2021-08-04 21:49 (UTC)

"They did be having no right to be taking that from my head."

The words echo and she stares at her for a moment, the words sounding right, correct. She's never heard them before. She certainly has never spoken them to this woman.

But she was claiming someone was messing with her head? Who? "Who do be messing with my head?"

Because this woman was right, no one had that right.

She's so confused and so angry, she barely knows what to think.

"I can show you who is doing this to you."

After all, she's pretty sure that thing is around here somewhere. Not that Alice is entirely sure, but.. well, if they follow the loud sounds, they're bound to run into it, right?

"Then you can make your own decision as to whether to believe me or not. But.. you will have to follow me for that." And that involves the girl giving her even the slightest bit of trust - which may be the hardest thing to pull off here.

Alice at least does her best to meet the girl halfway, making the knife in her own hand disappear, showing that her hands are empty now.

She would have to follow her. Was this a trick? It felt like a trick. Make her follow, trap her. Brainwash her.

But the knife had disappeared, not as big a reassurance as it could be considering this girls power seemed to be pulling weapons out of thin air.

She does not sheathe her own knife. She keeps it in her hand and points toward the girl. "Be showing me."

Please, girl, you can't order her around with that knife! Since it's exactly true what the other is thinking - Alice could just pull her weapon out again if she wanted to.

But she doesn't. Instead she just shrugs, figuring that going along with this might be the best way - or rather, the only way - to show the girl what's going on.

So she starts walking, trying to look up at the sky. Trying to see where she might find the source of all this commotion.. but she sure can hear something. Something really loud, just a few streets up ahead.

Alice glances back at the girl.

"Try to keep up," she just says, before starting to run in that direction.

She follows, also looking at the sky with trepidation. The world was ending. It was the only explanation and an utterly terrifying one. These were the end times. Like some kind of movie except there were no heroes saving the day. Just chaos and panic and almost all the city were brainwashed into thinking this was some sort of good thing.

"I do keep up." She half snarled at the woman, picking up her feet and getting closer to her.

This woman was dangerous but it felt safer to be near her than on her own. She was capable, that was all it was.

Alice doesn't speak much while they run. She figures there's no point, that she's already said everything she can say before letting this girl witness what's going on with her own eyes.

So they just run. All the way to the edge of the city. Still close enough to the buildings that they aren't in the middle of the battle, but able to see the action. The people fighting, the entity consisting of blinding light, the way it yells.

"That there," Alice says, during a moment where she can be at least slightly audible. "That light, that voice. You have seen him before. He is the one who is currently deceiving you."

The world crumbles around her, she runs. She follows the woman and she tries not to dwell on all that is disappearing. Her whole world. Her school, the places she liked to hand out. The houses of her friends. Had they survived? Were they fighting? Had they been lost to the voidtrecker cause?

She was quiet as she drew up next to Alice and looked at the colours, the light, the booming voice.

"I think I'd remember...." Her voice was very small.

"He is keeping you from remembering."

She's not too sure why this illusion has such a particularly powerful hold on the girl. At least Alice had understood it in her own case. As fragmented as her own mind is, of course it's going to slip into an illusion the moment it has a chance to do so. She can hardly tell reality apart from illusions on any normal day.

But she didn't think this girl was that way. Is it just because she's still very young? Or maybe the illusion she saw last time, in the ring, wasn't as strong..

"I know you don't trust me." Alice's calm is rather odd, honestly. It's a stark contrast with all the yelling and loud noises going on just a slight distance away from where the two of them are standing. "But I am telling you the truth."

He is keeping her from remembering? Was that true? What was true? The woman's voice is soothing, but it might be a trick. To make her trust her. To want to be close and away from all the panic.

But was it the truth? She peered at the storm of colours. "How do that even be being a person?"

Surely it couldn't do this? Twist her mind. Or twist this woman's mind. Whatever had happened.

It's a good question.

One Alice doesn't know the reason to either. After all, she now remembers Wonderland. There had been all sorts of creatures and being there who were doubtlessly people, even though most people wouldn't exactly qualify as human.

But there's no way she can explain that to the girl - not while she's still under the influence of all this.

"I don't know," she just says. It's honest, which she figures is the best thing she can be with the other in the middle of this situation. "I don't even know why he seems to have it out for us so much. All I know is that he is an annoying lout who keeps messing with our minds, and he cannot be allowed to do so anymore."

So Familiar a Gleam: Finale

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