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Abandon
Jan 3, 2017 23:05:37 GMT -8
Post by metreu on Jan 3, 2017 23:05:37 GMT -8
There was a sudden urgency in the far off voice... but somehow, it was reassuring.
Clear stands up shakily, the candle and it's holder become absorbed by her for a short burst of energy. She takes off her shawl and cowl, both being absorbed as well. She lifts her dress a bit and begins running towards the voice calling out in the darkness.
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SJmun
Eggministrator 
Posts: 1,445
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Post by SJmun on Jan 4, 2017 0:25:27 GMT -8
Niki and the stampede of ghosts continue on their path!
She adjusts her glasses and it appears she can see Clear running towards her!
"There she is! she doesn't look so good... we gotta step it up here!"
She then gets an idea.
Niki focuses her light and tries to somehow make herself faster with it.
Things start getting really really really fast, some of the ghosts hanging onto her go flying backwards!
Niki, with the help of her light powers, is now running at near the speed of light!
In almost no time at all, she arrives in front of Clear, doing a couple spiral turns to give some time to slow down.
This takes just a few seconds.
She immediately hugs Clear, still radiating light, but is obviously tired from the conventional part of the running.
The ghosts are way behind, still trying to even keep up.
"I want to thank you... for everything you've done for us... if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know... You've earned it."
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Post by creeperpuncher on Jan 4, 2017 0:31:41 GMT -8
You've been walking through this place for what feels like three days, but probably has only been a few minutes or so. Darn temporal shenanigans screwing with your internal clock. After defeating the Scourge's mental illusion with the sound of squidbass (like hardbass, only squishier), you haven't seen anything else in this limbo.
???: hello?
KALMARO: 3Э ! 3Э
Your mind makes an alert noise like a certain stealth-based game, and you spin around to find yourself face-to-tentacle with... a yellow-orange inkling girl in a Maid of Space outfit!
KALMARO: 3Э ...?! 3Э
???: is... is thaat you?
???: it's been so long, kaalmaaro...
???: aafter the gaame i thought i'd never see you aagaain...
Hold up. You've been through this before, and you're not falling for it again. Time to make a Bluff challenge.
KALMARO: 3Э Back up the ink tanker there a mooment. Hoow doo I knoow it's really yoou? 3Э
???: whaat? of course it's me... don't you recognize your own sister?
KALMARO: 3Э I'm noot failing a Perceptioon check twice in oone day... Tell me soomething oonly yoou woould say. 3Э
???: my tentaacles stink.
KALMARO: 3Э ...It is yoou... Moolluk... 3Э
MOLLUK: of course it's me, inkbraain...
You can't believe it. How did she...?
KALMARO: 3Э Hoow diid yoou survive the sessioon? I remember seeing a few Super Jump trails exiting Skaia, but... 3Э
MOLLUK: see, thaat's aalwaays been your problem, you aact without thinking.
MOLLUK: in turf waars, in sturf, everything.
MOLLUK: even your decision to plaay the gaame waas aa rush.
MOLLUK: i waas aat aa friend's house when the gaame aarrived, aand you staarted plaaying without me. fortunaately he haad aa copy i could get into the session with, but...
KALMARO: 3Э OOh yeah, what happened too Pudge anyway? I thoought he entered with yoou... 3Э
MOLLUK: turns out the laand of tsunaamis aand frogs is inhospitaable to his kind. aalso, it turns out your decision to staart without me did work out, aas aall plaayers must haave their own house in the gaame to be aa vaalid player.
KALMARO: 3Э See, it woorked oout after all, didn't it? 3Э
MOLLUK: you don't get it... thaat waas only your first rush decision that ended up caausing our faailure.
MOLLUK: aas soon aas you got through the tutoriaal, you raan off to complete aas maany laand quests aas you could, without even checking to maake sure we completed the chaain...
KALMARO: 3Э OOf coourse I went ooff too grind for XP! I goot splatted by imps a doozen times befoore even reaching my first gate! 3Э
MOLLUK: aand thaanks to thaat, you aalmost got woshuu killed becaause his house's spaawn point waas aalreaady taaken offline by meteors smaashing the power grid.
KALMARO: 3Э Rest in calamari, Great Zapfish... 3Э
She shoots you a glare that can only be described as a nat-20 Intimidate check.
MOLLUK: seriously, did you even taake aanything seriously during sturf?
KALMARO: 3Э I was the first too soolve my land's ploot and reach Skaia, wasn't I? 3Э
MOLLUK: you treaated the whole thing like a beaachesdaa gaame, to be raaced through and beaaten without paaying attention to the plot.
MOLLUK: heck, i saaw you put aa bucket on aa shopkeeper consort's heaad aand loot his inventory!
KALMARO: 3Э (I still can't believe that woorked...) 3Э
MOLLUK: did you even listen to your sprite aafter the tutoriaal?
KALMARO: 3Э I think Cooralsprite goot eaten by an oogre soomewhere after the third gate... 3Э
Awkward pause. You glance behind you just in case there's another ghost about to ambush you.
MOLLUK: well if you haad listened to him raather thaan using him as shaarkbait...
MOLLUK: you would've been told aabout your responsibility to the session's ectobiology meteor.
KALMARO: 3Э OOh yeah, ectoobiooloogy. I think either Seth oor Isaac mentiooned the oother day that was suppoosed to be a thing. 3Э
MOLLUK: would you pull your heaad out of your ink saac for five seconds aand listen to me?
MOLLUK: the first plaayer in the session is supposed to seek out aa meteor laab in the veil, inside of which is aa maachine.
MOLLUK: it's pre-configured to maake paaraadox clones of the plaayers, sending them baack in time to become those saame players.
MOLLUK: it's one of the most important time loops of aa viaable session, something thaat aas aa hero of time you should've understood.
KALMARO: 3Э Well I just said I literally didn't knoow it was a thing until soomeoone on the Victoorian mentiooned it too me. 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э If yoou knew aboout it, why didn't yoou goo doo it? Yoou seemed too knoow aboout ectoostuff anyway, with thoose froog things... 3Э
She looks at the camera like she's on "The Office", and briefly wonders if her brother wasn't dropped on his head as a baby.
MOLLUK: becaause i waas busy with my own role, idiot.
MOLLUK: aalso, the plaayer-cloning maachine only responds to the first plaayer to enter the gaame aanywaay.
KALMARO: 3Э OOkay, so I missed oone sidequest. What's the big deal? We beat the final booss withoout anyoone getting splatted foor gooood... 3Э
MOLLUK: ...aalright, let me spell it out in terms even your "[intelligence 3]" braain caan understaand.
MOLLUK: that ectobiology "optionaal sidequest" waas supposed to set very importaant flaags in the gaame, which would let us aactuaally win.
MOLLUK: since you never did it, those flaags remaained unset, so when the final boss was defeaated...
KALMARO: 3Э ...We brooke a script? 3Э
MOLLUK: no. you broke the script.
MOLLUK: when the blaack king was splaatted, the gaame checked to maake sure aall timeloop-required flaags haad been set... which, obviously, one waasn't.
MOLLUK: you probaably don't know aanything aabout how ~aath works, but the ectobiology-check flaag... waas aa purple line of code.
KALMARO: 3Э Purple as in my ink cooloor? 3Э
MOLLUK: aas in "if this doesn't check out, craash the gaame".
KALMARO: 3Э Soo that sudden exploosioon oof white death... 3Э
MOLLUK: not aa scraatch. sturf just uses the saame aanimaation for aa faataal gaame craash. like aa return to the paast but eraasing raather thaan rewinding.
The weight of realization hits you like a Disruptor/Inkstrike/Kraken x3 combo.
KALMARO: 3Э ...Soo... I... 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э My speedrunning tactics loost us the game... 3Э
MOLLUK: stop thinking aabout it aas aa gaame. your recklessness got aall of us killed.
KALMARO: 3Э But... the Super Jumps... I saw seven ink trails leaving Skaia plus my oown... 3Э
MOLLUK: we aall maanaged to escaape the craash, yes... but we aall died in the void...
MOLLUK: you would haave too, if you haadn't gotten that squidchaat invite aand found someone to saave you...
MOLLUK: the rest of us weren't so lucky... especiaally with no spaawn points out here...
MOLLUK: aa few got splaatted by the blaack ink thaat seems to permeaate the void... others were eaaten by monsters...
KALMARO: 3Э Moonsters... You mean hoorroorterroors? I heard Charles mentioon them at oone pooint... 3Э
MOLLUK: i waasn't so lucky... got turned into aa puddle of goo on aa meteor paassing through aat the speed of light, like aa bug on aa windshield...
KALMARO: 3Э ...What. 3Э
She sighs dejectedly.
MOLLUK: it's probaably not entirely your faault, though...
MOLLUK: one of my visits to the prospitiaan graand libraarby reveaaled something interesti--
KALMARO: 3Э Wait. "Grand Librarby"? 3Э
MOLLUK: don't even bother.
MOLLUK: aanywaay, i discovered something aabout our universe. it seems every session from aany plaanet in our universe, is destined to haave aa "glitch" of some kind.
MOLLUK: so, you maay haave been faated to faail aat doing our ectobiology no maatter what.
KALMARO: 3Э ...Every sessioon in oour universe... glitched...? 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э Wait. 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э Hoold the shellphoone. 3Э
MOLLUK: what...?
Glitched sessions. Your mind wanders to past conversations aboard the Victorian, about sessions others have encountered in Gene and the glitches they had.
SBRIGHT, the elf session (seriously, what the fuck) that ended in elf-murder.
STOMB, the temporic session where only Time claspects were rolled, being unable to win without a Space player.
...STURF, the inkling session(s) where player-ectobiology never happened???
MOLLUK: i suppose it doesn't maatter aanywaay... our world would haave died, even if we haad won...
KALMARO: 3Э ...Noo. 3Э
MOLLUK: ...no?
KALMARO: 3Э Noo. It didn't. 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э A few weeks agoo, a friend with access too pan-universal surveilance decided too looook foor my... I mean, oour hoomewoorld. 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э It was pretty messed up froom the Reckooning, but... there were survivoors. 3Э
MOLLUK: ...?!
KALMARO: 3Э He and I theoorized that they hooled up in the depths oof OOcto Valley, with backup generatoors too keep the Spawn Pooints running. 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э We may noot have been fated too win Sturf... But oour race survived it. 3Э
MOLLUK: wow... i meaan... oh...
KALMARO: 3Э "OOh?" 3Э
MOLLUK: i'm still deaad... there's no waay for me to return home...
MOLLUK: aafter aall this i'll probaably double die with the other ghosts...
KALMARO: 3Э I... 3Э
MOLLUK: aat leaast i get to ceaase to exist knowing one of us maade it...
KALMARO: 3Э Doon't be like that... 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э Remember that oone game? A SOOUL that is Determined can't be destrooyed... 3Э
MOLLUK: ...it's still aall aa gaame to you, isn't it...
MOLLUK: thaat's whaat i aalwaays liked aabout you, bro... even if you "rolling initiaative" before aa raanked baattle got aannoying for aa bit.
KALMARO: 3Э I stoopped dooing that, didn't I? 3Э
MOLLUK: yeaah, aafter you got spaawn-splaatted by the raainmaaker five maatches in aa row aand i threw your d20 off saaltspraay rig.
KALMARO: 3Э Looook. We're gooing too meet again soomeday. Yoou, me, Pudge, Wooshuu, everyoone else... 3Э
KALMARO: 3Э We just have to st-- 3Э
MOLLUK: staay determined?
She smiles at you. Clearly, she still has a sense of humor.
MOLLUK: if you ever do get baack to our home... win aa tournaament for me, okay?
KALMARO: 3Э I will... 3Э
MOLLUK: i'll see you aaround, kaalmaaro... or should i saay, suthaar irondrum of the lonely mountaain.
You smirk at her calling you by your Dwarf Bard character's name. If you weren't convinced by now this totally is your sister, you are now. Grinning, you wave as she slowly fades back into the dark mist of this... whatever it is. You aren't sure if you'll ever see her or the rest of your session-mates again, but you know their spirit will remain with you until your game ends. And now, you have a new goal, a new destination after all this is over.
Home.
The long way round.
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Post by raz on Jan 4, 2017 7:07:04 GMT -8
His head swims in the dark, villas fading in and out of his vision as he hastily tries to reorient himself. What's going on? A moment ago he was helping rally the people of Pasral, right...? His head's fuzzy, and remembering even that much is a struggle.
"H-Hey... V? Virtue?!"
He plants his feet firm as he swings around to look, finding only darkness in every direction. An oppressive atmosphere greets him, and in that moment he knows definitively, that he is alone.
And the thought brings a faint smile to his face.
"...I'm really on my own, huh? That's good, I'm glad... V shouldn't have to get sucked into this, and she can take care of herself."
His smile grows wider as he sinks to a crouch and stretches his legs out, hopping a few times in place as his grin widens and he hones his senses. Being on his own isn't too bad, not against, whatever this is. And he's not totally alone... There's someone familiar in the far distance. He can't place them exactly but, progress forward is always better than standing in place he figures. That philosophy got him far in life and he's not going to leave it now he reasons, breaking into a run through the dark. Shadows lick at his soul, whispers of his failures and mistakes and every dark thing imaginable creep on him but he simply runs, a familiar fire in his eyes and grin never faltering.
Adversity had never scared him. Stagnation was something he left behind a long time ago. Keep on moving, always forward, to make a better today than yesterday. His faults and mistakes were things to leave in pursuit of that. He'd spent a lot of time agonizing of those things before he honed this determination to progress, and all the whispers of what could be or what bad had been weren't going to slow him. Even if it was a simple goal, finding someone familiar, he'd throw himself into it wholly. This was nothing.
"Just hang on a little V, I'll be back before you know it!"
Drive yourself forward in spite of the past. That's the way.
He nods.
Drive yourself farther and farther from your failure. It's what you're best at.
Wait...
Keep running and don't stop to look around.
No...
Always onward to something new, never one place long enough for it to catch up to you.
Stop it...
Wasn't that the life you offered her...?
"I SAID STOP IT!!!!!"
He whirls around with rage in his eyes, but finds nothing there. Another direction, nothing. And another, and.... He's, alone, isn't he? No, he's not. No, this is...
"...What are you?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is, you still don't realize it do you...? Look into your heart. Look outward. You know who you're chasing, have you consciously or unconsciously blinded yourself?"
"..."
He looks to the distance, the beacon he'd been using as a waypoint. And he closes his eyes, a bead of sweat dotting his forehead as he focuses on it... And his eyes snap open. He knew that soul... he'd seen it a thousand times. But it's not the same... No, this one, maybe once before. And never again.
".............Kat."
"Then, why aren't you moving?"
His feet feel rooted to the ground. Is he urging them forward, or is this by his will? The scary thing is he can't say for sure.
".......I. I-I can't..."
The one thing that gave him pause, possibly the only in the universe, was the prospect of seeing her again.
"Before than you had been distant and infrequent, but still present. But you saw her, just the once, and threw yourself to the far reaches of the universe rather than do it again. Did you even say a word to her?"
"..."
"She'd been exploring, much like yourself. Inviting her on an adventure, even introducing yourself to her at the bare minimum. You could have done anything and you consciously went the other direction. What wrong did you inflict on her in your head? Why would you do this? Why?"
"...........I told her. No, I, offered... When it was all over, we'd go out into space and explore, have a real blast of it. I told her that, and in the course of setting it up... Or maybe just having too much fun. I didn't come back often. And. And she died. And, I wasn't there to drag her out of the despair that brought her to that point. I let her down.
...And then she appeared again. This time it was different but... she was. She was happy. She was happy, and off exploring the cosmos... And."
"...You couldn't face her."
"...that's all there is to it."
Silence. He stands there, stewing in the simplicity of it all. Not for her safety, not out of some belief that he was a jinx, nothing like that... The core reason. He just couldn't look her in the eyes. Wasn't that the saddest thing... Of everything, that was the singular that shook him to the core and blocked his progress. He could face anything the universe had to offer in terms of challenges but that? Was beyond him.
Pretty goddamn sad.
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Post by flightlessicarus on Jan 4, 2017 7:55:14 GMT -8
"YΘURE C▲LLING ME... ΘF ▲LL PEΘPLE... W▲E▲K?! ▲ND INCΘMPLETE?!?!? I ▲M ▲S WHΘLE ▲S I'LL EVER BE, SΘ DΘNT YΘU D▲RE C▲LL ME INCΘMPLETE!"
Anger is building, though its filtered cause being a mask to protect him from dealing with true consequences.
"I STΘLE TH▲T HE▲RT F▲IR ▲ND SQU▲RE BY THE W▲Y! THE BΘY WHΘ USED IT IS NΘ LΘNGER ▲MΘNG THE LIVING, ▲ND WHY W▲STE ▲ PERFECTLY GΘΘD CΘM▲TΘSE BΘDY? "
She could be destroyed...because of him?
Chronos seems to accept the possibility, though doesn't seem to think much of it.
Yet again dodging the bullets... but then, why won't this burning feeling go away?
Thoren and Kusari keep walking through the dark, searching for the Kat Kusari never quite found.
"Thoren... do you think we'll be able to find her?"
"There's not much else to do here..."
"What about finding Raine?"
"We can search for her afterwards. I owe you afterall. And, Raine is strong. Her sheer will to survive... I'm sure she can last a little while longer."
While they both seemed to be troubled by the implications of prioritizing which one of their significant others to search for, they don't want to risk splitting up... especially in a place like this.
"Wait... I remember Raph mentioning that the dead require the energy of the living to make shit happen. Shouldn't we look for your girl first then?"
Thoren thinks for a moment.
Would it be selfish to search for Raine first, especially considering the tactical motives behind it? He really wants to reunite with her but... would it be the right thing to do?
"...are you, really willing to set your Kat aside to look for Raine?"
"Look, we don't even know if my Kat even exists or not. We know Raine has got to be out there."
"Not necessarily... but something tells me she isn't willing to go down without a fight."
Thoren calls out for Raine internally... and externally. He's not even sure if the former will even work, but it's worth a shot.
"RAINE! PLEASE ANSWER!"
"Raine! Hold on... for Thoren's sake..."
The two continue onwards, looking for a sign. Anything.
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Post by raz on Jan 4, 2017 7:56:58 GMT -8
Her eyes widen. And he lays there, turning his head to the side as he tries to think of what else to say. What else will do, with what he's said, and done. The fact of the matter is nothing will make up for it, isn't it? And he curls inward, the guilty threatening to swallow him whole.
This time, it isn't a punch that knocks him from his stupor but hands, wrapping around him and hugging tightly.
"...Cynthia... I-"
"You're you now, right?"
He looks up to meet her gaze with a mouth hanging open, and she smiles a genuine smile before a more wicked one.
"I can clock you one more time if you're still feeling a little out of it."
"N-No, no it's fine! I'm fine! We're all fine!"
Falks chuckles darkly, and he can't help but laugh too. Shakily at first, then much easier when she slings his arm over her shoulder he stands, looking to her, then the other ghosts watching this with confusion.
"Jerome...?"
He looks to her and shares a nod before turning his attention back to the others.
"...This isn't right. This isn't the right way, everyone-"
"We've gotta reach everyone caught up in this maelstorm, yeah."
"So I can count on your service, then? Good!"
Falks pounds a fist into her open palm, Jerome smiling faintly even at the dark grin she breaks out in.
"Dead or not I'm working you down to the bone, you got that?! Consider this payment for your behavior... And lets get to work you maggots!"
"Y-Yes Ma'am!"
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lunarLunatic
DEATH EGG
All your moons are mine!!!!
Posts: 1,486
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Post by lunarLunatic on Jan 4, 2017 9:42:35 GMT -8
Raine and Frost walk among the dark expanse, searching for something. Anything.
A strange pulse reaches to Raine, and she stops.
"Eh? Something the matter, Kitkat?"
"I...I think I heard someone...I think I heard Thoren..."
"Who?"
Raine turns towards the direction she had thought she heard a voice.
"Someone important to me..."
Frost seems bewildered about that...But doesn't really pry for more answers. In fact, from what she can feel, he really seem to be important enough for her friend to hear him from who knows how far away.
At least, she thinks it's a he. You never really know until you find out.
"Well, we got a lead on where someone could be, that's a first! C'mon, let's get ya boy! I probably sense him already from all that hope you're busting out from the thought of him."
Frost seems to take the lead, grinning. Whether she was joking or if she was actually serious seemed to be too ambiguous to know.
Raine seems very flustered by that.
"Frost pls...."
---------
Ophelia felt something peculiar. A familiar life signature...Could it be...No, it couldn't...!
It was. The one she'd forgotten. The one she let down the most. The one who...
But there's no way he would be here...! He's not the type to dwell on past mistakes...Could he?
She had to see him. She had to...
She runs, and she runs, as fast as her frail legs can get her to run.
"He probably doesn't even recognize you anymore."
"Do you really think he'd forgive you for taking the coward's way out!? For not waiting for him?"
"He's the one who abandoned you. Why should he need help!?"
She didn't care.
Selfish or not, she wanted to see him. Just once more, before it all ends...
"Raz...! RAZ...!!"
She's crying already. Even so, she keeps running.
Closer. Closer.
"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry!! I should have waited...I should have waited....!!! I was so stupid...!!!!"
She trips, falls...She gets up.
Still running. Closer, even closer.
No matter how many times she trips down, she pushes herself up.
"I was so stupid..So, so stupid...! I don't care if you won't forgive me, I'm just so stupid....! Just please...I....I....!"
Just only feet away, and she trips over one more time. She only barely manages to get herself to sit up. Her legs are already too tired.
"..."
She doesn't want to say it. But...if she could just muster all her strength...
"If I'm what's weighing you down...Then don't worry about me...I...I learned so many things despite being dead...And I think I can make it alone..."
She's shaking.
"I just want to apologize to you...just one more time. One final time...But after this...I want you to keep going...okay...? I don't care if you forgot about me...I don't care if you will eventually...But I want you to stay the person you were when I was around....Who seemed to always pick me up when I was down...! Who always seemed to find a way to keep his head up when things were looking dark...! And if you did...then that already makes me happy..."
She looks at him and smiles.
"I hope that's okay with you..."
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lunarLunatic
DEATH EGG
All your moons are mine!!!!
Posts: 1,486
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Post by lunarLunatic on Jan 4, 2017 10:16:17 GMT -8
"You're always so quick to anger, aren't you...? Perhaps that's your only line of defense from having to face the truth."
The man raises a hand towards Chronos, a strange light seems to emanate from their chest, right at the heart...
A light similar to the light that spider lily he once picked up.
"If you are so deserving of that heart, if you so claim that you aren't weak...That my claims of your lack of completeness were wrong...Then prove it to me. Show me that you can handle what the heart is capable of....!"
A feeling. No, multiple feelings.
It starts off faint, but grow as time passes.
The feeling of guilt has now blossomed into something more.
Grief, regret, sorrow, despair...
And something else.
But it's hard to tell what it is.
They grow in intensity, forming as thorned vines made of light, binding their captor.
"These are the feelings that you have inflicted upon that poor child...! The feelings that have been built up since the day she waited for you...! The day you left her to rot!"
He was beyond anger. Beyond rage.
What was once a gentle, forgiving spirit has become someone with no remorse.
Why is that...?
It doesn't matter. If this will be enough to give his sweet poppy flower peace before the end, then he will allow it. He will allow himself to fall into darkness...all for her sake.
His eyes glow bright red, like a flame.
"You will never know sleep. You will never again know rest, not until you know your sins, until you realize the cold and bitter truth you so desperately hide from...! I, Hypnos von Dusk, will make sure of it!"
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Abandon
Jan 4, 2017 11:21:09 GMT -8
Post by metreu on Jan 4, 2017 11:21:09 GMT -8
[Light Source Found]
[Activating Solar Energy Consumption]
[Power Remaining 1%]
[Battery Charging]
Clear breathes a sigh of relief and collapses in Niki's arms.
"Just... stay bright for a while... thank you..."
Clear realizes her own feelings that even though she is a product of a machine and ghosts, she still has feelings of her own that aren't part of subroutines.
She did fear death in some respect, she didn't want to fade away...
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Post by flightlessicarus on Jan 4, 2017 17:16:04 GMT -8
Unwilling to turn down a challenge, Chronos stands adamantly, arms open.
"BRING IT ΘN! I'LL SHΘW YΘU WH▲T IM C▲P▲BLE ΘF!"
Chronos is bound by the terrible feelings that have been thrust upon him!
Grief takes hold, feeding from the injuries the guilt left before.
She'll never be as wonderful as she could have been if you didn't treat her so harshly!
"NΘ... nΘ..."
Regret begins to set in.
"WHY IS THIS H▲PPENING? WHY?! Why... why did I h▲ve tΘ..."
And then, the sorrow washes over, stewing incessantly as it immerses him in its blanketing grasp.
"M▲ke it stΘp m▲ke it stΘp STΘP WHY WHY ME WHY HER WHY WHY WHY?!"
And then, with Chronos primed and tenderized by the preceding emotions, the despair... it begins to fester within him...
An utter hopelessness unlike any he's ever felt in his time with both time and space at his command.
A hopelessness he's only felt before then...
When he was still just Seth.
Back in the session, as the glitches began to take over more and more, and Skaia refused to be clear of error... it felt like it was all a lost cause. Nobody even liked him anyways. It seemed he had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. It was even worse than life back on earth by a long shot. Not only was everything on his land hostile, but his mentor, (which turned out to be himself later on) he treated him so terribly when he didn't do what he was supposed to.
And the slaughter he was forced to complete... despite enjoying the bloodshed, from that day on he was shaken to his core. He couldn't handle another episode like that... despite getting better treatment, he just felt...
overwhelmed.
It's no surprise that when the quest beds were fixed, he was one of the first to off himself there.
A chance to die, become a god, and achieve immortality in one simple stroke.
Strapping a time bomb to his chest, he set the timer to a couple minutes and laid down upon his deathbed, waiting.
Whatever happened, whether success or failure, he was ready.
Chronos is overcome with despair, crying tears of pure black misery.
"M▲ke it stΘp! m▲ke it stΘp ..."
It looks as if mascara is running down his face, but the anguish is in fact genuine. He can do little besides struggle and scream here.
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lunarLunatic
DEATH EGG
All your moons are mine!!!!
Posts: 1,486
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Abandon
Jan 4, 2017 23:11:32 GMT -8
Post by lunarLunatic on Jan 4, 2017 23:11:32 GMT -8
The look on Hypnos' face showed concern.
What has he done...!?
...
No.
It's not enough. He hasn't gone through enough pain to make up for the suffering Medi has gone through.
"Do you expect me to stop!? You didn't stop, did you!? My dear sweet Medicine..."
He looks back to the past...When he was first brought to life...In her dream.
...For some reason, as he reminisces...His prisoner could faintly see that memory..
A girl, crying on a bed of poppies.
He knows who it is. His creator...
But why is she...?
"My dear...Are you alright?" Hypnos reaches out for her.
The girl jumps and turns around, fear and sorrow clear on her face. Her eyes were blank. Her neck, bleeding.
She was dead.
But her expression changes as she notices who she sees.
"You're...You're-!"
A mix of shock and bewilderment is present...But soon is replaced with a strange joy. As if she's reunited with someone she knew and loved after so long...
The girl runs up towards her dearest friend and tightly embraces him.
It's strangely warm...
"This can't be real...You can't be real...But I can see you...and I can...But...how..."
"...I do not know myself...But I am more concerned about why you were crying..."
"..."
Her grip tightens.
"I don't...I don't want to talk about it..."
He can hear her sobbing again...He gently holds her head, stroking her hair.
"It's fine...I'll be here..."
Silence fills the dream for a while...
But then she says something.
"Hypnos...Why does my heart hurt...? What did I do to deserve this...?"
Cold reality cuts the memory short. The feelings that spill forth only intensify even more.
"No matter what I did...No matter how many times I try to make her happy...That hollow feeling keeps coming back to her."
Another memory. Another feeling.
With each brief memory of happiness that flashed, the shock of negative emotion grew ever stronger.
"It hurt me to see her in such a state, and yet everything I tried to do ended up doing nothing to make her forget about what you did...!"
With each transient memory, hope is built up.
Only to be knocked down by regret and despair.
Hypnos was in tears, his face shows intense anger and sorrow.
"Why should I give you mercy....!? You made her suffer for so long! You may know how long time has passed, but for someone like her...She was in pain for what felt like centuries!!"
He wasn't inclined in any way to relieve this suffering he's inflicting.
There's just so much this man must be punished for.
"I want nothing more than to see you pay for what you've done!!"
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SJmun
Eggministrator
Posts: 1,445
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Post by SJmun on Jan 5, 2017 0:07:02 GMT -8
Niki holds onto Clear, keeping her close. She continues radiating light.
"No problem... that's what friends are for, right?"
Maybe a little soon to assume friendship, but Niki has a feeling they'll get along well enough.
That is what she really wanted when she asked for peach rings.
A friend.
It seems like she might get her wish after all.
The ghosts of the lost are still a ways away, but they keep walking towards that beacon.
Niki just sorta stays there, keeping the light on for her, and anyone else out there that might need a light in the dark.
Charlotte keeps walking. Lambda's waiting for her, right?
She wonders what ever happened to Thoren and his partner. Last she saw, they were doing... something together. Hopefully they are okay. As okay as a hornless girl and an ambitious machine-dwelling spirit can be together, she supposes.
She looks out into the distance. It's a bit difficult to make out, but it looks like somebody.
"Hey! who's out there!"
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Post by raz on Jan 5, 2017 7:22:01 GMT -8
And a voice snaps him from his stupor, a familiar, impossible voice. Questions races through his mind, obliterated when he turns his head and sees her there, running toward him. Shock roots his feet to the ground as she gets closer, and her words defy any sort of response, any sort of movement. Until she's right there, falling, and this time its into his arms, this time he forces his body to move and catch her.
"K-Kat..."
She's apologizing to him? And, insisting it's all right? And...
I don't care if you forget about me...
Was. That what he'd been trying to do all this time? Running away from her... Forgetting her? When she says it and it clicks, he hugs her tightly, tears doting his eyes alongside a faint smile and chuckle. When she said it like that, gave him some perspective, it sounded dumb. Almost as dumb as he had been.
"...I'm sorry, too. I'm, really sorry... It sounds stupid, I never, really thought about it like that but. Now that you mention it, I think that's what I'd been trying to do. But it's not what I want... I promise, as long as I live I'll never forget about you."
And he pulls back to look her in the eyes, taking her hand in his as he gives her a teary-eyed smile. Her appearance doesn't throw him for a second. Dead or alive, no matter how long ago it had been, he would recognizer her. But seeing her like this makes him think...
"I'm really glad that you found peace though... I'm really glad you can smile like this. You always did have the prettiest smile, and I always wished you wore it more. Even thought things didn't go how either of us planned, that's enough for me. So... so, don't worry about me. I hid behind that cheerful guy to run away from things but, I think, it's time I ran toward something, instead of away from it. And it'll be a blast, I'll leave something etched into Paradox Space that'll never be forgotten and explore every nook and cranny of it I can, I'll pick up so many stories and experiences, enough for the both of us!"
He gulps, the tears flowing more freely now but that smile only growing brighter.
"And when it's all over, I'll find you again and I'll tell you all about it. So... just wait for me, okay?"
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lunarLunatic
DEATH EGG
All your moons are mine!!!!
Posts: 1,486
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Post by lunarLunatic on Jan 5, 2017 8:26:55 GMT -8
To think that he actually did forget about her at the time...If she had known this before everything, she would have been devastated...
But now, it seemed like everything before then seemed to be like a daydream...
Despite everything, he's still one of her greatest friends.
She laughs a little.
"I'm sure I'll have all the time in the world to hear them when that time comes...I have some stories I want to tell you as well, but t-they're probably not as nice as yours..."
Yet, still...She doesn't want to leave yet. She's only just seen him again after so long...She wanted to make this last.
"...Would it be alright if I come with you for a while, before all this is over...? I...don't actually think I'm ready to see you leave yet..."
---
Lambda is starting to be a little annoyed from this darkness.
Why can't she see anything!? How large even is this place!?
...Is there anyone really here with her...?
No, she can't give up like that yet. This for sure is not going to be her final chapter.
Again, she calls into the abyss, waving her arms around...Hopefully not like a lunatic.
"Anybody there!? I'm halfway expecting to see like...A horrorterror and that's basically...The worst possible thing to encounter, but honestly I would take that over this awful dark...! Just...please, anyone...?"
What could her awful seer eyes even see, anyway...?
---------
It seems some of the ghosts of the former Lethean Dream have made their way to Niki's beacon.
They're relieved to see that they really aren't alone.
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Post by raz on Jan 5, 2017 8:34:16 GMT -8
Surrounded by darkness, he runs. Weighed down by the sins of his past, he holds his head high. Focused on the path ahead, he fails not even a single step.
Surrounded by companions. On the wings of the fallen. The hope that threatens this darkness.
And it rebels, grinds and gnashes and tries its best to keep him and his fellows down. But they spread through the dark, splitting off to find any of the fallen or elsewise they can and remind them, that hope exists even here. To remind them of the family and friends they scorn, and their hearts. Like chapters out of a self-help book, sickeningly saccharine in some cases but no more honest than in them. Reminders that for all the evil in this world, there is good in this life, and even in this death.
Elsewhere, the general charts her own path of hope, building her own following. Creatures from the dark, patchwork monstrosities and reflections of their psyches rise in their path and threaten to end their progress as their realities blur, and they're face to face with something that dwarfs them, and all others. But she knows its not overwhelming weaponry or secret weapons that win battles, but soldiers. And she leads them in resisting, throwing herself to the front line and accepting her batterings and bruisings in defense of those others, and those elsewhere who search for those closest to her.
This immutable void of hopelessness becomes a slowly growing maelstorm as hope fights back. And through it all he dives, deeper still into the farthest reaches of this hell, because he sees there are still some buried in it. Some people he recognizes, some people he doesn't. And its changed now, the voice in his head insists, if he throws himself into this for people he's probably never even met, he's a fool. If he dives too deep, he won't be able to come back. He'll leave her behind, alone.
Oh. See. Say something like that and you only make me want to prove you wrong that much more.
And he could swear he's not the only one... In the corner of his vision he could swear he sees someone familiar diving into that darkness too. Even at these depths the ghosts he's accumulated as entourage stay by his side, leaving only when they see another lost or tortured soul to drag out of this. But that familiar face... his dive, is one focused on a spot he can't perceive far down. Much like his own goal, but distinct. And the purple ribbon his hand's closed tightly around tears it, and he can't help but smile.
Good luck.
I don't need it, but same to you so make it double.
---
Sheer despair greets Wayland when he reaches his destination, a tangible, solid thing that bars his progress. But on the other side is the one he hated fighting, the one who found some light in spite of everything and who threw her lot in with life despite everything. The one he'd been able to fight alongside for even just a moment.
The one he absolutely refused to lose again.
So he lifts his blade, and drives it down into the darkness, cutting a path forward and giving him sight of her. And it creeps back to repair the gash he's made in it but forcing it open with one hand he sheaths his blade before pushing through the gap and extending his hand, tension in his forehead as he struggles to keep it open and shouts.
"ZWEI, TAKE MY HAND! THIS PLACE ISN'T YOUR ONLY OPTION, THIS DARKNESS IS NOT YOUR FINAL REST! I WON'T... I WILL NOT LOSE YOU AGAIN! COME WITH ME! WITH US!"
---
It isn't overwhelming but a more wallowing despair that greets him when he finds himself in front of... That girl who fought with them a moment ago, and the girl Medieval Max was so keen on. The girl who's situation he knew next to nothing about, the one who was already a mess before this hellscape was introduced as a factor. Just what the hell was he supposed to do here?
And he thinks, maybe he should have taken that guy's well-wish.
What can he say to someone who's convinced their existence has no merit and their life was nothing but misery? What can he say to someone who... Wait, those feelings, that he can sense for some reason. Affection...? For him? Oh, man, what the actual hell can he do here?
"Ah friggin' 'ell...!"
Running a hand through his hair he takes a few steps closer to the girl, letting air out through pursed lips.
"Ah- Hey, there. Uh, yeesh, I didn't realize it was you. Truth be told the only reason I'm here is I could tell there were still people drowning in this and, doesn't matter who you are, no one should be locked up alone in the dark like this. I don't really know your situation like I said before, that other guy would probably be more suited to helping you but. He's kinda fighting for his life right now. I can tell that's literally the only thing that would keep him from being right here by your side, he's a good one like that."
The Knight crosses his arms loosely, licking his lips and nodding.
"So. I don't really know the deal in entirety but I know enough that it seems to me like you've got a choice ahead of you, and that much is my department, at least. I think, your heart's leading you in two opposite directions, and its a choice between this guy who would fight the world for you, who I think genuinely, really cares about you, and you him, otherwise you wouldn't try so hard to push him away. It's a choice between that guy, and the guy who I think, used your affection for him to ruin everything and when all was said and done, left you high and dry. The heart's a funny thing, not really my department but not, not my department nowadays... But. I think, you owe it to yourself, to find someone who you don't just love, but who loves you back. Otherwise that's not a relationship, that's just, someone using you because its convenient for them. What my psyche teacher would probably call an abusive relationship."
Scratching his cheek he looks up and away, wondering if he's going a little far in this.
"...Or, you could take a third option and stay here. Not much I can really do about that, but. For what it counts. I don't think that guy, Chronos, is even capable of genuine feelings for anyone besides himself, if how he treats his past incarnations and every other piece of evidence is any indication. And in the last hour I've seen the kinds of things that Rid's willing to take on for your sake. I don't know you well but I think you deserve someone who cares about you. He thinks the same thing. And... I think, he could use your help."
The Knight snaps, calling two spears to his hands and crossing them as he mulls it over. Is this the way? He's taking a big risk here but... He can't drag her out of the dark, not like this. She has to take the step. So, he reels both crossed arms back and lashes them out, the spears driving outward in opposite directions. On one side the space it pieces shatters, the gap it opens leading to the battlefield on which that Nightmare engages the army of Seths. The beast roars, that glitchy form distorting as it shakes the Seths attacking it off and stalks toward Rid in the corner, on his last rope. On the other side the portal it opens is one to the fight Hypnos engages Chronos in, the light show spectacle evidently in Hypnos' favor. Both portals, one-way, such that those on the other side can't see, and with a swing of his arms the Knight calls both spears back to him, looking definitively to Medi.
"You can make a difference, a positive difference! You just have to stand up, and take the step. So take it! Take some happiness!"
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