So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

Comments

[flatteries]

Please, Eight, everyone is heading in this direction! It's not exactly the best plan to be something very squishy and easily trampled upon when there are so many people moving out of the luggage car and in the direction of - well, anywhere else, really.

But there is an upside to her being in that form. Once someone does notice her, it makes her very, very recognizable. And Inigo does notice her, though he just stares at the octopus trying to crawl forward for a moment or two before he lets out a tired sigh.

And then he speaks up.

"Need a hand?"

[consider8]

"I'm okay, Inigo... just tired..." Now that there was no mission to focus on, how much she had been overexerting herself had finally come to a head. She sloshes forward limply before a thought occurs to her.

She sloshes back to Inigo, one eye creaking open. "...I kept my promise." She whisperes merrily.

[flatteries]

The moment she sloshes over to him like that, Inigo squats down so he's on a slightly more even level with her. It feels like the right thing to do here, especially when she adds that last part. Inigo, too, looks tired, but there's a slight smile on his face when he hears those words.

"Thanks." It's a simple thing, just one word, but his gratitude speaks so much in his tone as he says it. "Forgive me for.. acting in such a way back there. I was just.."

His voice trails off. Inigo frowns, then shakes his head.

"I was just scared. It felt like we failed. I didn't want even worse things to happen."

[consider8]

A part of her wanted to ask if he meant it back then. If he really would have ended their relationship forever if she were to get hurt. But the weight of his words and the serious of the moment made her truly believe he would. It hurt, though the apology does help.

The octopus's eyes half open inquisitively, "We failed...? I don't understand..." It was an exhausting mission, and many bad things happen, but compared to their last outings this was starting to become more the norm.

[flatteries]

"People died."

No matter how bad their previous missions were, it was never like this, let alone on such a large scale. Even if the fights were hard, even if the illusions were terrible, even if other terrible things happened on previous missions.. They at least managed to leave worlds better than they found them.

And while it technically was impossible to leave that world better than they found it, since it had all been built upon an already destroyed world, it feels like they somehow only made things even worse than that. They didn't even do anything good there.

"That wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been there."

[consider8]

"Inigo..." Quietly the Octarian reformed to her human form, sprawled across the floor. She reaches for his face to hold it tenderly.

"You are so kindhearted... and you set your standards so high." It was a nice quality to have, to see someone who wanted so much to save everyone even in situations when the only thing they could do was save themselves.

"We never chose to be there, and people who acted were... trying to make sense of this world. We don't... even know if the people who died were even real." If given the opportunity, she would stroke his face reassuringly. "Now that we are safe we can... take time to mourn our losses. For the real people of Diagad. For the ones that are caught in the middle of us being there. And... for the friends we may never see again." She chokes a bit at that last one.

[flatteries]

She definitely is able to stroke his face. He looks a little surprised when his face is suddenly being touched, sure, but Inigo doesn't pull back or try to move from her grasp. Instead he's still just kneeling there, unmoving, almost as if he's frozen on the spot while he listens to her words.

His heart is overflowing with grief. In a way that he's not sure he can express. Because it's not just what happened here - it's what happened on that mission ages ago where the train pulled them away, and the world was devoured by shadows. It's what happened back home, and the way he remembers the face of every single person who died under his watch, all taken up on his back as personal blame.

It twists his guts, but he tries to shove the feeling down. Especially when he hears that last part. It isn't right. She's hurting, and he ought to be there for her now. None of his own feelings matter in the face of the duty of looking after his friends.

So he shows her a sad little smile.

".. Are you thinking about her..?"

That girl Eight liked back there. He's not sure how far things went in the end, but she knows that it wasn't just a small crush.

[consider8]

Eight didn't know of the turmoil he was experiencing, or of the grief his heart was feeling. She's too tired, and is feeling the loss of Three all the more keenly for it.

She opens her cell phone, bringing up the picture of that day in the aquarium. "Its silly." She stares at the screen, thinking on how happy she was at the moment and how lonely she feels now. "Before I came here I could live the rest of my days in a place like Diagad. Call me selfish, but that was all I ever wanted: a family that loved me, a job, some friends, a... crush." Compared to the stifling underground, even an illusion would seem like a paradise. She could choose to go see her friend at a dance studio, or go out for a coffee, or check out the latest fashions. It was perfect. It could have been... home.

She looks up at him, her eyes glistening. Like him, her hearts is breaking, but comparatively speaking her wants were far more mundane. "Life isn't that easy for us, is it?"

[flatteries]

"Hey.." His voice is soft, soothing. Inigo shakes his head, and it's like all fatigue disappears from his eyes. He's used to this, exactly this - sitting somewhere after intense battles, after great losses, and trying to console the people who are left. He's perfected the art of shoving down all his own wear and hurt to a T.

"Don't say that." Inigo shifts a little, but he's mostly trying to get rid of the hold on his face a little, because it's hard to otherwise do what he does next - which is wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer. His body is warm, and there's a smile on his face. "I know it's not the same, but.. you have something here that only you can do." Even if it's not a conventional job, not like in that world. "You have friends who care for you. And.. who knows. Maybe the people who were your parents back there will find themselves caring for you in a similar way here. Maybe you'll find someone to like that much."

He pulls back a little, so he can look at her face, moving his free hand to wipe at her eyes, trying to catch any tears before they spill.

"I know it's hard. And I know that it's not the same, but.. you have so many people who care about you. At least you have that much. You're just a very likeable person, don't you know?"

[consider8]

She pushes her face towards the rubbing. "I'm... learning..." Though the back of her mind refuses to understand why. She smiles again and lowers her arms to her chest.

"Hey..." She adds, looking intently into his. "I thought about it, you know. When I was serving as an anchor for Three--for Nory. As she was passing into that light a part of me felt the pull to go in with her. To say 'goodbye' to everyone here and to take the chance to go wherever her world is."

"I didn't. Do you know why?"

[flatteries]

He goes quiet for a moment. Inigo didn't act as an anchor himself, so he wasn't aware what the people who did were feeling. That they felt a pull to leave. It's quite some information to process, though he tries to file it away in the back of his mind for now.

It's something he can process later. Right now she needs his attention.

".. Why?" He just asks, giving her the opportunity to tell him, as he slowly pulls his hand back after rubbing away some tears.

[consider8]

"Because I made a promise to a friend."

[flatteries]

It's an answer he could've seen coming.

And yet Inigo's face drops a little all the same. It takes just about everything he's got within him to not burst into tears on the spot. It's tempting, but he's still fighting hard to hold them at bay once he raises his gaze once more to look back at her.

There's a smile on his face, but it's small, and there's something more to it. Like there's an emotional pressure on a dam that might burst at any moment.

"Come on. Surely it can't just have been because of that."

[consider8]

"Well... if I tried it and died, I would risk you no longer talking to me..." She admitted. "I didn't like that."

"And you'd be helpless without me." She smiled, trying to break the tension a little.

[flatteries]

"I wasn't--" He starts, but then decides that's not the right away to put it. Inigo shakes his head before trying again. "It's not as if I was really never going to talk to you again."

Please, Inigo is much too weak to his friends for that. He could never ignore one for long, even if he'd actively try.

"I just was hoping you'd be careful.. You seemed so determined to help them no matter what, and while I get that, I-- I was just so worried about you getting into trouble, all by yourself." Especially since Eight had been so set on doing it by herself, not wanting to put others into harm's way as well.

[consider8]

Her eyes lowers and she turned away slightly. "I believed you." Before returning her gaze. "It hurt to think I could lose you."

"But you were right. I needed to help them. I think... a part of me needed it for myself, too." She reached up and touched his face one more time. "I would have done the same if you were in a similar place, too. You are right. Though I don't feel like I have a place on the train, I am starting to believe I have a place as a passenger."

[flatteries]

At least he knows better than to tell her to not do it for his sake, if he were ever caught in a similar situation. For one, Inigo doesn't think it'll do anything to deter her, no matter how much she insists. Even though he's perfectly fine with being the only one in trouble, as long as that means everyone else could be safe.

Instead he closes his eyes for a moment, before slowly exhaling and opening them up again to look at her. "You won't lose me of my own accord."

He can't help it if the train separates them, after all. That's beyond him.

"I'm sure the same counts for everyone else. So.. I'm glad that you realise as much. That you're not alone. You have your own place right here."

[consider8]

At the time, his words resonated with what she left behind to pursued what her heart told her to pursue. For want of a better life she set aside everything she knew to head for the surface. All of her friendships, her family, and her place in the Octarian military gone the moment she deserted.

Her face softens at his admission. "Thank you, Inigo. I don't think my heart could take it if anything would break our friendship." She lowered her hand a content smile on her face.

"Its good a good thing to remember that there are people you like... before they are no longer there to be with. Precious moments like that... should be remembered."

[flatteries]

Now that's a sentiment Inigo can understand. If there's anything that troubles him about this train journey, it's the fact that people can just suddenly be gone at any moment.

So he realises she's right. He should appreciate this moment he has with her here. Even if they're both tired, even if they came off a mission that he feels cruddy about.. At least they have that.

"Yeah.. thank you too. I'm really glad we're friends, you know."

There's a slight pause, but then he leans his head forward a little to press a very brief little kiss on her forehead before moving his head back again.

sorry I never got the notif ;;

[consider8]

O-Oh...?? The moment changes and she is a little alarmed for it. The kiss wasn't unpleasant or unwelcome... but unexpected. Her face flushes red and she stands stunned in place.

it's ok, it happens! <3

[flatteries]

Inigo laughs - with a definite nervous edge to it - as he pulls back, running a hand through his hair.

".. too much?" Hey, Inigo knows that he sure doesn't mind platonic friend kisses, but maybe it's a little bit too much for Eight, if she's reacting that way to it.

[consider8]

It was, indeed, a bit too much. She had just gotten used to being open about hugs, and there Inigo went and took it to the next level of intimacy. Conversely, she recognizes the gesture for what it is, and is a bit overwhelmed that someone would think of her so fondly. She doesn't want to rebuff it, but she also wasn't completely ready for it.

As the ink continues to rise in her face, and she takes on a distinctive red hue. Her arms lower to her chest and she shakes her head. "I-Inigo!!" Is all she could manage to say.

[flatteries]

"I-I'm sorry!" He immediately says in return.

It doesn't seem like her reaction is too bad - it mostly reads as flustered to him, really - but he'll apologize all the same. Just in case. There's some pinkness on his own cheeks as well as he shakes his head, holding up his hand in an apologetic kind of way.

"It's fine, I won't do it again..!"

[consider8]

N-No that's... she understood what it means and knows how meaningful such gestures could be. Though, perhaps for her...

"...warn me next time..." She side glances away, normal color returning to her face.

At least then she would have the option to say no.

[flatteries]

"Ahh, sure. Of course." He smiles a little as he says it, trying his best to kick his effort up a notch to make it seem more natural.

But even as he's saying 'sure', he's just telling himself he won't do it again. He doesn't think he can take hearing a 'no', because then he'd feel stupid for trying in the first place. It's just easier to not try at all.

But Eight doesn't have to know that. Especially since he doesn't want her to feel bad for just setting boundaries. So he just moves back a little more, still smiling.

"Well, I guess I should just let you go to your room now. Sorry for holding you up when you must be tired."