END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

[sailmods]

[the prisoners wake up on cold, hard floors.

the lights are bright, glaring, a sterile cell with sterile bars facing a sterile hall. the prisoners with you, across from you, and no one else. no rocking of a ship in waves, nothing. just the prisoner and their prison.

time passes, one assumes. the rhythmic click of Friday’s heels down the hall. it’s almost like the ticking of a clock.]

Comments

[theweakhavepurpose]

"Exactly what it sounds like man. They pissed on shirts and used it to saw through the bars of the prison which doesn't work." That last part is directed at Sharky with the long suffering glare of the person who had to clean that up.

"Real talk tho, a lot of shit here is based off fiction stuff so it might actually work but that's last resort, point of no return, when we're starting to starve to death or someone starts screaming uncontrollably."

[When Bastion goes THUNK]

[theweakhavepurpose]

[From down the hall.]

What the hell? WHAT JUST HAPPENED DOWN THERE??

[Trying to rattle the bars of the door as he smushes his face into the front of his cell to try and see.]

Dude what's going on? Someone get a megaphone and narrate for us cell-dwellers like the race at the diner.

[makesomedeals]

"Well, they had to get us in here somehow," he reasons, as though the answer to that isn't: magic. "I highly doubt they built the jail around us brick by brick. Though I can't see any mechanism on the door. Nor ventilation though I assume there must be air or the humans would be suffocating."

On the other hand he can't actually see any humans from where he is. Well maybe Valdis but he's pretty sure she's not what she appears.

"If you have any success do share with the rest of us."

[thismaskismybadge]

[ Her own words echo in her mind, the message to her father she never expected to go anywhere, the lost words of a child who knows that things will never be the same again, of a girl grown up too fast but who still just wants her father to be proud of her—

And then she's spiralling out of control, no spider-sense to warn her, no strength or reflexes to pull her out of it, and when she slams into the railings the momentum doesn't stop. A burst of pain, something threatens to crack, and Gwen feels herself pass into open air.

This time, there's no acceptance. There's only anger, and the stubborn refusal to let this be how another Gwen Stacy's story ends. Gwen grabs the railing. The force of her own bodyweight yanking at her shoulder threatens to dislocate it, but she holds on. She holds on as tightly as she can. ]

[prince_of_beasts]

[ Gwen goes flying. Not enough time for Dimitri to reach her. He can only trust, and hope. She's trained as a lone agent; that's the sole comfort of this disorganization. They've no skill in fighting together, and Dimitri's commander's training is useless, but they can handle themselves.

-- that's his voice --

He throws up an arm to shield his head. Small impacts pepper his shoulders, searing through cloth into his skin. Burns are noted, catalogued, filed for later. In the moment it takes him to blink the spots out of his vision the little astronaut moves again.

Bastion goes into the air. Bastion falls. There's a hideous crash of metal, and a hideous wrench behind Dimitri's eyes that almost whites his vision out again. He grits his teeth and keeps circling, light on his feet. Master's orders. Dimitri's known soldiers who were following orders, but this isn't a soldier; it's a child made into a weapon that hates being wielded, driven to hurt people who've done nothing to him besides be in his way.

Once, Dimitri begged to be put down. These days, he's had to learn a bit more compassion. Tell him you love him, said the little astronaut in Dimitri's own voice; Dimitri never got to know him, but still -- still -- ]

You deserve better. How dare she do this to you! [ Dimitri's sharp bark snaps across the deck. His love for strangers, his fury on their behalf; ever and always his greatest strength, the first and fiercest thing to define him. ] She has no right to call herself your Master if she would use you for this! I know -- [ His voice falters, breaks. He can't speak fast enough to get out everything he needs to say. ] You don't want to do this. How do we free you? Please -- tell us how to free you.

[neverleave]

Do you know what part is missing, though? [...] We want to help your sister, and your brothers, but we barely know what's going on outside these cells. Anything you can tell us would help.

[sabigoe]

[ Her mind is spinning, far too stunned to move. The letters echo throughout Fio's head, unfamiliar words to her, though it's almost similar back in the days when her nights were once flooded with the pasts of strangers via dreaming. Combined with the messages, it's Bastion's fall that completely rattles her out of stupor and she turns to stare wide-eyed at the damaged omnic.

Then, her gaze darts about frantically, taking account of those affected by Voyager's attacks. Gwen's been sent over the edge. Dimitri's taking on Voyager's assault of stars. Her friends and allies are in trouble and she has to do something.

The world of The Cage has thrown her into far more terrifying situations, forcing her, alongside Argo and Noelle, to navigate through memories of war in a land littered with corpses, all so she could save Levania. Even that bleak stone fortress itself had far more worse to throw at her. That wasn't so long ago when she regained new memories from the other world. She's brave. She can do it again, rescue another friend.

There was still so much that she wanted to do together with Voyager before he disappeared. ]

Voyvoy! Stop!

[ She cries out. Though she can't fully push back her fear, she pushes herself, springing forward, rushing across the deck towards the conflict. She keeps tight hold of Sparkles' toy spaceship against her chest like a good luck charm as she closes the distance. Maybe this is a reckless move. But maybe Voyager will be able to hear her voice... ]

You have to stop! Stop hurting everyone, please! These are my friends!

[sailmods]

[for a moment, nothing seems to happen, except for a little determined glint in his eyes. then, the tang of ozone, and the hair of everyone in the general vicinity starts to frizz with static. Guatauva seems to get it worst of all, becoming little more than a puff of orange fur, its tail sticking straight up.

lightning strikes a bar.

he probably should've warned everyone about the blinding light. whoops.]

[sailmods]

[blinks]

It's somewhere.

[sailmods]

The vents.

[...]

[sailmods]

English bitch that cheats at cards.

[ed.: she did not cheat at cards.]

[sailmods]

I am Guatauva. I came from the vents.

[sailmods]

I have seen no other human outside of these cages.

[sailmods]

[struts over]

The vents.

[sailmods]

[accepting the scritches]

Stuff?

[nepetaleijon]

Oh he talks!

"Nice to m33t you, Guatauva! I'm Nepeta."

A pause, as she looks around. (Still scritching. Let's not lose sight of purriorities.)

"I was looking fur a way out before and I thought about vents, but I couldn't find any. Are they only in the hall?"

[myagic]

[Oh...he is a cute kitty. (But don't worry babe, Catsuno is still her #1.) She'll let him move his head however he likes for skritch placement.]

Yeah, like...our possessions. We used to have stuff--objects--that might be useful. That old biddy's surely keeping them somewhere.

[...She hopes, anyway.]

[nepetaleijon]

"Course I will. I don't want anynyan stuck in here, this place is awful."

Scratch scratch scratch.

"Ventilation ... hmmmm."

(Nepeta does have some experience, after all, in crawling through vents.)

[abhorrently]

[YES YES YES YES YES YES

the lightning might be blinding but she's used to it from casting, which means that the very second she can squirm her way through the now melted bars, she is, and picking up her feet. freedom. it tastes as sweet as it did every other time.]

Next, Valdis.

[Valdis, Valdis...there she is. Fever knocks on the bars, as if her presence wasn't enough to gain notice.]

Hope you're ready to get out now.

[redlightgreenlight]

[Valdis looks up to see the cat and Fever. A smile creeps across her face.]

I'm ready for another team up with you.

[abhorrently]

Figured I owe you from that Village. Plus, Max wants you out.

[a smile exchanged for a smile. go kiss the man about it later, when they win.]

[redlightgreenlight]

[Of course Max would vouch for her. Valdis stands up.]

Even without powers, I'm pretty sure we can figure this out.

[She glances at the cat.]

Who is your friend?

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Voyages whiffs the strike, and whatever else is happening on deck, Darcy's priority switches to Fio- the rest can handle themselves, but there she goes, braver than any of them. Darcy isn't picking her up yet, but runs over to keep pace, ready to get her out of the way. ]

If you're who I think you are- you know better than this! She can't order you to do anything any more than she can order the sun to rise!

fever - breakout.

[abhorrently]

[it's tempting to run off immediately, but it's not realistic. even if it was only her, there are people she needs to see with her own eyes, to say you're here, to swear promises that she'll fulfill, no matter what. no matter what happens, however broken the body is that she needs to drag back to them. she will survive, she will see them out. no room for doubt.

the headache that throbs in her skull wants to say something, but it can howl when there's a target to sink her teeth into. breathe.

instead, she looks for those she knows, and those who will meet her eyes. if they seem inclined to talk, she wants to get a quick word in, before they have to depart.]

[decohere]

[the crash of Bastion hitting the deck rattles her to the core, as Ava starts pushing herself up into a sprinter position...

she's ready to break off for the bridge. she can make it.

but Gwen goes flying over the edge and Ava doesn't think twice before chasing after her, eyes wide in fear of losing her to the surrounding void. she exhales sharply in relief to find Gwen miraculously clinging to the railing, just barely, and Ava grasps out for her other hand to haul her back over.

looking over the side makes her feel a bit nauseous but she swallows it down.]