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

[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!!!

[configuration_birdwatcher]

[ Meanwhile on the newly extant ground, the immobile heap of battered mechanical parts at the bottom of the pile emits a short, buzzing whir as Bastion's systems reboot. The lights of their optics flicker in red, then blue. Their motor functions come back online, and with it the ever-present slight vibration that says they're alive. ]

[knotawolf]

[Sand starts pouring into Bastion from literally nowhere. More and more sand, filtering through their joints, cruising down wiring and then falling out the seams beneath them. The sand starts piling up and with a flash of hellfire it's suddenly in the form of a six foot long furless dog that bursts into existence beneath the Omnic, lifting them a few inches into the air as Bastion is now perched on top of it's back.

It shakes its head and the dog curls into itself becoming one very, extremely human man. Who seems very confused as to where he is and what he's under. But he's in good spirits about it?]

Hello!

[configuration_birdwatcher]

[ While their higher cognitive processes are still initialising, their autonomous functions are wiggling their joints back and forth so that the unexplained flood of sand can pass through and minimise the number of grains that get stuck. Something moves underneath them once the sand runs out.

Bastion's main optic switches on and they spin their head 180 degrees just in time to see the unidentified canid turn into Yufei. They didn't know he had an alternate form. ]

// Hello Yufei! Welcome back!

[ They do their best to shuffle sideways out of the pile elbows-first before having a Bastion unit on top of him can do Yufei any harm. The fact that the motion works, start to finish without anything failing or disconnecting, is what brings it to their attention that most of their injuries have been repaired. ]

[knotawolf]

[To be fair he didn't know he could do that either. He squirms out from beneath the metal body that definitely should have crushed him, his clothes have reformed along with the rest of him including those obnoxiously orange flip-flops. He gets to his feet and shakes himself, then does a little hop to pounce on some wayward sand to absorb it through his fingertips.]

What has happened while was gone? Did ship catch on fire? Where ... where is ship?

[OH SHIT GRASS. Sorry robo-buddy Yufei is gonna go faceplant into the scrubby, sparse grass and breathe deep.]

[inhairently]

( meanwhile meanwhile, a tiny, blood-soaked steve is just sort of chillin with jenny's brothers. a keen ear might hear his tiny, blood-soaked voice say, )

What the hell just happened?

[not_the_last]

"... Steve?" Cassandra raises her head, blinking, and turns in a circle trying to find where that tiny voice is coming from.

[theweakhavepurpose]

[Normally he is 100% all about never ending falling, his adrenaline junky nature would probably have him bungee jump out of an airplane with chainsaws that are on fire. But right now after being trapped in his own mind, and also having no idea what the fuck is going on - he's more than a little relieved when she drops back down to the ground.]

Oh fuck yeah, did we do it? Did she -- [Hair. Hair everywhere wrapping him all up. But he goes with it.] What's love and friendship without a little arson and explosions and uh.. where are we? Actually you know what, that's probably what friendship is all about too. Waking up after being blackout drunk and just chillin.

Or you know, after some hefty violence and near-death. That's probably... [A pause and the gears of his brain turning are almost visible as it actually catches up to him that they made it. They defeated Malin somehow. They're not on the ship. They're not dead.] Holy shit we did it. We really, really did it.

[He struggles out of the coccoon of hair so that he can throw his arms around Flan and kiss her. Enjoy the view April.]

[yourexoduslaughing]

Oh my god you're totally right, that is EXACTLY what friendship is all about! All of it! And- [She turns her head while Pratt's fighting his way out of her thick clingy hair, shouting to Dugg and MetalMax and whoever else is in charge of designing this new world of theirs.] AND CAN WE HAVE A BAR? OR A CLUB OR SOMETHING TO DRINK AT?

[Oooo, Pratt's free! She wraps her arms around his waist and kisses right back, ignoring the various gagging sounds April's making. It's fine, she's like, totally able to not be a photo anymore if she wants, this is a thing she's opting into by being near Flan and also friends with her. Sucker.

Her hair backs off some, mostly going back to it's usual barely sapient state, maybe just idly curling a few tendrils around Pratt's ankles.]

[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!

[makesomedeals]

[It hadn't felt like all the power of an entire reality was in his chest before, not until the Erda shoved her hands in it. And it doesn't really feel different now, but he can tell he's running on empty. He looks down at the gem, now a diffused white glow rather than the red light of his original power source.]

She told me once that she enjoyed being a fish. [A soft chuckle.] I'm glad she got to be one again.

[Finding his arms again he reaches out to smooth down a piece of Fio's hair that's come undone from her pigtails.]

Good. I'm glad.

And that I didn't somehow make it worse. This feels... right. Somehow.

[sabigoe]

Thank you, Max. For all your hard work for our new home! And... [ A fish? Right, she did catch a glimpse of one. Then at the glowing gem, assuming that the Erda is still in there and can hear her: ] Thank you, Miss Erda. I hope you enjoyed being a fish again. You were a really pretty fish!

[ As Max smooths her hair, she smiles at the gesture and begins to wonder if she looks any older or at least, gained a few inches in height. Has she become a little more mature, like a grownup? Did her birthday already pass? She should be turning ten years old... ]

You know, you should've seen me! I rushed at the eyepatch lady and then, there was a big struggle! It was scary but we won! [ Not like Fio was able to land any hits or anything. And she was quickly engulfed by the fog shortly after. The crying and cowering wasn't very cool of her. Still, she did make a small effort to be proud of, right? ]

[makesomedeals]

[Praise for a job well done? Well that's new. He could get used to that. At any other time he'd preen and adjust his tie but right now he's just too exhausted to peacock around.]

I think mostly the Erda if we're being honest. Which I probably should be. [New life, new start and all that. He should probably start this journey being a little more humble considering he thought he was going to die forever right then.] Though I did the heavy lifting. [Small steps.]

You rushed her? [A soft chuckle.] I would have liked to have seen that. Speaking of... where did she go?

[sabigoe]

[ There's a touch of embarrassment in Fio's smile. She would have liked for Max to see her too, except for the crying part. Malin should be gone. Still, she cautiously glances around if somehow that woman or any other danger could be within the distance. ]

The eyepatch lady? Hm. [ A pause. ] Didn't the Erda say she's dead now? [ She slowly rises to her feet. There's someone else she needs to check on. Her shadowy friend had to have made it to the new world too, right? She lost track during the scuffle... ] Sparkles was with her too, when we found her. It was taking orders. [ It shouldn't have to anymore, right? ] But now... [ A sad frown. Where is it? ]

[makesomedeals]

Sparkles, yes. We were looking for them, or well, more we were musing about their location. [There was limited looking to be done while being in a closet.]

They might be.. [He looks at Fio's face and her eager hope and smoothly continues with:] I'm sure they're around somewhere, in one way or another.

It does seem like almost everyone made it through. That's unprecedented. But I'll take it.

[He gently nudges her.] Go look for them. I think I need a minute to come back up to full functionality. A few minutes actually.

[sabigoe]

[ The small nudge keeps her from standing in place, sinking into worry. She barely searched around the new realm since dropping down into it. And Fio won't stop until she has a proper reunion with Sparkles. Lifting her head slightly, she nods. ]

...'Kay. Sparkles has to be around. [ Beams. ] You rest up, Max! You deserve it. Take all the time you need. Until you're in top shape. Full... fun- functionality. [ Not that she had to say that word, but she wants to.

And she wanders off, on a mission scouring the area for the shadow. ]

[sailmods]

[a small dark figures sidles up to her, looking noticeably sullen.]

It was really hard, pretending to be mind controlled. When you kept being all brave. [it is the only victim here and no one understands its struggle.]

[sabigoe]

Oh, Sparkles? ...Sparkles! [ Fio's heart leaps for joy! It looks like she might start crying again out of happiness. Her smile falters a little. She's a little surprised too, with how easily she can see how glum it looks. ] Huh? You were... pretending? This whole time?

[ A long pause. ]

Oh, yeah? I had to be brave 'cause you were too good at pretending! [ Sniffle, voice cracking. ] It was hard... and scary... [ Pouting, accompanied with a little stamp of her foot. She's not really angry though. She throws herself at the shadow to pull it into a hug. ]

[sailmods]

[it nods] She thought she controlled me, because she thought I was him. But, I'm not. I'm me. She didn't control me at all.

[it returns the embrace almost immediately, hugging her so tightly it almost feels like it should leave behind burn marks.

its voice is hardly a whisper.] ... I am me.

[a pause]

I decided. I think. What I want to look like. What I want my form to be. [pause] Is that okay?

[sabigoe]

[ The grip feels like it could nearly burn her and yet, Fio squeezes back a little tighter as if it would have been a pain worth enduring. She peels back slightly to look down at the shadow. ]

Hm? [ A brief look of surprise, followed by a smile. ] Hehe. Of course it's okay. You can even pick a new name to go along with your new form, if you'd like. [ Ava had once told her that maybe Sparkles could someday make that decision. The conversation that took place on the cruise ship feels so long ago now. It seems like they've both grown up since then.

Leaning back in a little, she plants a quick peck on its shadowy forehead. ] No matter what you decide, I'll love you always!

[sailmods]

[it nods, takes a sharp breath, closes its eyes...

when it opens them again, they are human, quite like hers. a lot like hers, actually. actually...

yeah.

it's almost like an inverted image of Fio: dark of hair and of skin, even darker of eye, but unmistakable in its similarities.

it smiles, a bit strangely, as if still trying to figure out how facial features work.]

... Okay?

[sabigoe]

[ Another flicker surprise. She used to hate her own face, thinking it was one of the many reasons she was unloved. That was also very long ago. Living on the cruise ship made her feel very loved and cared for... ]

...'Kay! [ As it tries to smile, Fio flashes an encouraging smile right back. She reaches over to clasp its hands, giving a squeeze. If that's what it wants its form to be, then she fully supports it. Though honestly, she's curious about the reason for its choice. ] You look a bit like me! [ Tilts her head slightly. ] Sooo, why'd you pick that form?

[sailmods]

[it cocks its head.]

Um... Well, I want to be a good person. Because those are the ones that always win. And if you want to be something, you have to look like it first.

So. Now I look like a good person. So. [firm nod.] I am one.