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

[light_mischief]

[Skulduggery had always known that Maximilien was capable of grandly heroic acts, but this is an unhappy confirmation. Unhappier still is the knowledge that even though he may want to intervene, this is one sacrifice that only Max can make. It's hard to be a hero when all you can do is witness.

Still, he can see his family in the doll heap of people trying to figure out where the non-existent ground is. He can feel the heat of the Captain next to him, and Fio's voice coming out clear as a bell. He'll take what solace he can in that.]

What about Malin? Or others like her?

[sabigoe]

[ Fio visibly tenses at the answer for a moment, then her shoulders sag. They wish for freedom for everyone and they can live in a new world together. Everyone—and that includes Max. Maybe "everyone" includes some of the bad guys there too. There's always bad people. People like Malin. But they can defeat them again— and again, right?

Most of all, she's worrying about Max's fate. She doesn't say anything else. Only a faint whimper as she lowers her head dejectedly. ]

[sailmods]

That one is dead. [their head tilts.] And do take care to remember that death is quite the final word, now. We have seen many sudden mortals deal poorly with the transition... As for others? We cannot say. You are all beings unmoored from your set paths; what comes next is beyond all ken.

[they will answer any other questions posed to them, but once all that is done, they will turn their attention solely to Maximilien.]

This new world will born from what you made your heart. What do you believe it will be?

[because, as it has always been, things are only what you believe them to be.]

[abhorrently]

[this is it, huh. this is the moment they've been looking for, the idea of something new, something for those set adrift into a new ocean, a new life. and they'll all be free. free to soar, to fly, to fuck up and to try again and again. to drift apart or cling together, depending on what may come.

took them long enough to get here, if everything that's been said is true.

she pulls herself out of the pile, hissing quietly at the pain that still exists, and refuses to look down. that'll only make this splitting headache she has worse. and this entity, this divinity or whatever else, speaks as cryptically as one might expect such a being to. why they couldn't have stepped up earlier is beyond her, but you don't question such things in the moment.

instead she looks at Maximilien with a lingering regard and respect. this doesn't seem like the kind of thing it's easy to come back from, or any certainty of after. yet he's making a choice, for the rest of them to have a future.]

...We'll remember this.

[her, his allies, everyone else. whatever happens, good or bad, he'll be remembered.]

[makesomedeals]

[There's silence from the Omnic for a while, his eyes are moving, so he's still there but this is ... momentous. For as egotistical, self-centered and narcissistic as he is he'd never actually thought that the fate of existence would rest with him. That the power to reshape reality is up to his non-existent imagination.

Beliefs, as a concept, are something so human, but he does have them doesn't he? From the belief that Skulduggery has a pep talk ready to go immediately after this to believing what the Erda is telling him right now.]

I believe that everyone can make a fresh start, that we can recover ourselves from this place. Somewhere safe. Somewhere free. Somewhere that everyone can make into their home should they choose.

[He says it with meaning, trying to imagine it, trying his best to visualize the concept. The intent is there, and maybe that's enough.]

[sailmods]

… We hope you see it.

[the Erda’s human form bleeds away, replaced by a stream of violently pure light, from which a single, pale fish swims forward into Maximilien’s chest before exploding into blinding light.

it passes. they blink away the spots. and they are now… somewhere.

well. it’s a road. a forked road, to be precise. there’s some sparse grass, and mostly dirt. it extends out for a while, and then sort of fades back into the mind-hurty nothingness they had been exposed to before, though looking at it does hurt somewhat less, as if there’s some sort of protection between them and oblivion once again.

maybe creating a nice-looking reality is a bit harder than it looks. but, it’s better than nowhere.

a few things happen at once:

there’s a feeling like something being switched from “off” to “on,” and, suddenly, every power and ability that had been lost due to the actions of the Captain and Malin both come back at full force.

bahamanuel violently retches, and coughs up a very, very, very frizzy orange cat.

and the Erda is gone. though, the gem in Maximilien’s chest cavity gives off the same pale glow as that fish.]

[yourexoduslaughing]

[It's obvious the moment her powers are back because Flan's hair goes from a half missing mess to exploding in length, spilling out over the ground and writhing. Then Flan falls and she's gone, completely vanished-

-and then back with a jubilant scream of joy. She grabs Pratt and falls with him, and this time, she can still be heard screaming from directly above the group, plummeting gleefully with Pratt through the brand new sky (and a very unwilling and unhappy April stuck in Flan's mass of hair). ]

[tempingainteasy]

[April is also screaming.]

[sabigoe]

[ Fio's summoning powers are very likely functional. She doesn't bother to check. The lanterns will appear when needed and that won't be necessary for now. The nearby screaming causes her to briefly tense, but she eases up when realizing it's only Flan and April.

Her gaze sweeps about their new surroundings and quickly scans over her companions. Family and friends. There's so many people that she wants to check on. But first, especially after those seemingly last words earlier... ]

Max, you're okay! You're okay! [ With a spring in her steps, she launches into a flying hug at Maximilien's waist. ]

[makesomedeals]

Oh.

[A little ineloquent for the Omnic, but he hadn't expected to make it this far. And his processors have no idea how to catalogue what just happened to him. All of reality just channeled through his chest and he needs to ... yeah he needs to sit down for a second.

He falls to his knees in the dirt, sitting back on his legs and bringing up a hand to touch the gem in his chest. It doesn't feel different, and yet everything feels different.

Fio almost knocks him over with the force of her hug and his arms pinwheel wildly to brace himself against the ground.]

I think... I think I am? Are you alright? Is ... did it work?

[He needs a moment.]

[theweakhavepurpose]

[Pratt, who's been on an extended leave of absence in his own mind, wakes up in time to see an ... explosion maybe?]

Where the fuck are...

[Aaaaand he's falling. What the hell is happening? Pratt is also screaming along with April before he really comes back to himself.]

Flan? Oh god please be Flan.

[yourexoduslaughing]

IT'S MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! [Me, in this case, being mostly a huge trail of never-ending red hair but there is a woman in there somewhere, holding tightly to Pratt.

And though she could fall forever and ever (and ever and ever and ever) she does make herself actually land back with everyone, hitting the ground without a single impact - though the mass of hair above her seems to remember about gravity, because the moment her feet are on the ground, a waterfall of hair follows.]

WE MADE- oh fuck, it's everywhere. [She starts shoving it back over her shoulders but the clingy stuff seems to be holding fairly tight to Pratt now that it's back to semi-life. Flan gives it a few tugs, then shrugs and just gives in to giddy celebration now that she's got her void back and also they're totally not forever-dead.] Yeeeaahhhhh power of love and friendship and incredible violence!!!

[sabigoe]

[ Fio gives Max a tight squeeze before thinking—oh no, maybe she's hurting him! Somehow. She's not entirely sure how he feels after the Erda faded away. Quickly, she peels away, sitting on the ground. Another glance around, then back at him with a teary eyed smile. ]

...I'm alright. [ Even if she feels a little shameful that all she did was yell and cry during the confrontation with Malin. But well, at least she made it out alive. A head tilt, staring curiously at the gem. ] And I think it did. This already feels far better than that stupid prison!

[light_mischief]

[Skulduggery hadn't been aware of how cold he'd been until the elemental rush abruptly washes over him. All at once, he can feel the open air, the ground beneath his feet, the tingle of fire just a snap away; the realization of what he was missing nearly takes his legs out from under him. Alas, the high-speed freighter that is their "ever after" is barrelling straight towards him, so there will be no collapsing to the dirt quite yet.

He grabs the Captain's hand, feeling for the cuff briefly with his thumb. They're on his list, but first...

Resisting a showy display of self-defense, Skulduggery closes his fist discreetly by his side, pulling the air into an invisible barrier between them and the rest of the survivors. Until he knows how everyone else is feeling, vis-à-vis him having his cake and eating it too, he's not going to risk another surprise attack.


While he's taking those precautions, he's also cataloging the remaining faces, ensuring the ones he cares about are still around. Fio and the Captain are confirmed, but Darcy? Ava?

Maximilien is there, which is a great start. A burst of bravado comes over him for the first time in what feels like months.]

For someone with no imagination, this is a pretty good start, Maximilien.

[makesomedeals]

[Assuming Fio lets him go at some point he's just going to slump over into the dirt. It's been a long... however time is tracked in a reality-less void.]

Your approval means the world to me Skulduggery.

[He sounds so far past exhausted, which is probably apparent from the whole - letting dirt touch him thing.]

[light_mischief]

Apparently so. [YOU CAN'T SET HIM UP LIKE THIS MAX] How do you feel?

[decohere]

[Max isn't going to get an opportunity to answer before he's completely tackled by a totallynotcryingyouare Ava

and by tackled I mean her body weight really isn't enough to knock his off balance but you know]

[makesomedeals]

Like I [whuuuumph He's now had more hugs in the past 5 minutes then he's had in his whole life.]

Oh. You're okay. That's good. This is... this is good.

[Give him a sec to figure out how his arms work again and he'll actually hug her back.]

I should have tried to make trees.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

[he pulls on his glamour the very second it is within his power to do so, silent as he raises a hand to his neck -- only for the collar to blacken and crumble into nothingness at the first touch.]

Well. That does solve one problem.

[light_mischief]

[Fio is glommed onto Max for the moment, so Skulduggery's full attention is on the collar's dissolution. Is it just a result of Malin's poor spell-casting, or is it something more?]

Maybe freedom is something hard-baked into the dirt.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Magic that isn't your own is next to impossible to maintain after your death. There's nothing outside of your self that's making it, so it simply... isn't made. Anymore.

[pause] I do feel like that confirms that she's truly dead, but I'm not overly optimistic. How rare it is, that anything stays truly dead.

[except uncle ben. and ama.]

... Am I rambling? I feel like I am.

[sabigoe]

[ Sorry, Dad... she pretty much lunged at her Omnic uncle first. When she has a moment, she's already peering around at any nearby shadows, very clearly seeking out Sparkles again. She notices there's also a lot of people—friends and family that might be missing among them...

Her father is still here, fortunately. She'll throw herself onto him for a hug after he finishes his important conversations with the other grownups!!! ]

[light_mischief]

[Skulduggery isn't going to let anything get between him and a hug from Fio, especially not important grownup situations that will have to be remedied one way or another. Until just moments ago, he'd assumed he would never see her again, and so he should be forgiven if he grabs her up and hugs her harder than he's ever done before. (How a skeleton can be too choked up for words is a mystery we will never solve.)]

[sabigoe]

[ A skeleton's hug which is unlike the warmth from a human... and yet she always found comfort in his bony arms. She takes a quiet moment to enjoy the embrace. It feels like forever since they last hugged. Or even seen each other. After about a minute, Fio starts to squirm, wiggling her legs lightly. Though she can feel herself start to tear up again, she doesn't cry. ]

Daddy... you can put me down now. It was scary... but I'm okay. [ Fio smiles. ] Are you okay?

[light_mischief]

[Okay, yes. There are quite a few other things to get to before they can say things are truly settled. A list of casualties to be made, confrontations to defuse, and most importantly, the Captain's freedom to ensure. After that, it seems that they're at a literal crossroads -- it may be purely symbolic, or it may be a very real choice they have to make at some point.

He's finally convinced he needs to let go when she asks about his own well-being, setting her on the ground.]

I'm fine for now, Fio. You don't need to worry about me; it's supposed to be the other way around. [He tilts his skull.] Did you find Sparkles? What happened to you once we were separated?